ThatsRacin.com: California Speedway

| Hamlin fastest, Petty slowest in Cup sessions at California Speedway

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:48 EST

Fastest speeds for each driver during two days of Sprint Cup testing at California Speedway, with position, car number, driver, car make and speed:

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 182.523.

2. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 181.511.

3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 181.470.

4. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 181.456.

5. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 181.228.

6. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 181.036.

7. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 180.918.

8. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 180.764.

9. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 180.578.

10. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 180.537.

11. (70) Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet, 180.487.

12. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 180.388.

13. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 180.180.

14. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 180.167.

15. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 179.703.

16. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 179.672.

17. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 179.542.

18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 179.497.

19. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 179.453.

20. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 179.453.

21. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 179.430.

22. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 179.399.

23. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 179.350.

24. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 179.341

25. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 179.265.

26. (84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 179.167.

27. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 179.162.

28. (27) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 179.051.

29. (5) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 179.029.

30. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 179.002.

31. (66) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 178.851.

32. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 178.687.

33. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 178.629.

34. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 178.580.

35. (78) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 178.523.

36. (7) Robby Gordon, Ford, 178.280.

37. (10) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 178.213.

38. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 177.936.

39. (65) Chad McCumbee, Chevrolet, 177.791.

40. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 177.892.

41. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 177.870.

42. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 177.866.

43. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 177.550.

44. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 177.423.

45. (96) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 177.187.

46. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 176.987.

47. (40) Dario Franchitti, Dodge, 176.935.

48. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 175.966.

Defending Cup champ looking for answers in California testing so far

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:46 EST

Things have gone so well for Jimmie Johnson in the past two NASCAR seasons, it’s news when he and his team struggles even a little bit.

Johnson’s No. 48A Chevrolet was only 38th fastest at 177.940 mph Thursday morning in the first of three sessions on a busy day of testing for Sprint Cup Series cars at California Speedway.

“We haven’t had any fun yet,” Johnson said at the midday break. “It has been a pain in the butt. It’s not driving worth a (darn). If I had the answer, we’d fix it.The car has had a major push in it.”

Johnson gained a bit of speed in the afternoon session, running 178.483 mph.

Denny Hamlin’s speed of 182.523 mph in the early session was the fastest lap in the first two sessions, followed by Ryan Newman at 181.511 mph, Kyle Busch at 181.470 mph and Mark Martin at 181.456 mph.

Three sessions, including one under the lights, were scheduled for Thursday at the 2-mile track.

Two more sessions will be held Friday. Each team can pick any four of the five sessions in which to participate.

NASCAR sees TV ratings for California Cup race decline

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:10 EDT

RICHMOND, Va. - ESPN’s broadcast of last Sunday night’s Cup race at California Speedway received a 4.3 national rating, down 15.7 percent from last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last year’s race received a 5.1 rating.

Monday night’s Florida State-Clemson football game on ESPN was the highest-rated sports programming of the week, receiving a 5.0.

Last Saturday’s broadcast of the Busch Series race on ESPN2 received a 1.3 rating, down slightly from a 1.5 it received on TNT last season.

NASCAR levies fines against a pair of Busch Series crew chiefs

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:52 EDT

NASCAR announced Thursday that Scott Zipadelli, crew chief of the No. 47 Ford driven by Kelly Bires, and Stewart Cooper, crew chief of the No. 37 Ford driven by Bobby East in the NASCAR Busch Series, have been fined for rule violations at California Speedway.

Zipadelli was fined $2,500 for violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20A – 16.3 (unapproved fuel cell installation: spacers (washers) in bottom of recessed well) of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Rule Book.

Cooper was fined $1,000 for violating 12-4-A, 12-4-Q and 20A – 12.4B (unapproved slots in lower A-frame spring bucket).

The infractions were discovered during opening day inspection on Aug. 30.

at Sunday's race

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:43 EDT

ELEVATOR

CHASE DRAMA:

It's the same as it has been for weeks. Unless somebody completely falls apart, the 12 who are in will stay in. STALLED

JEFF GORDON:

Five finishes out of the top 10 all year, but three have been in the past three races. DOWN

KASEY KAHNE:

For a change, the No. 9 Dodge didn't fade after a good qualifying run on a track like this. Kahne finished a respectable 10th. UP

OBSERVATIONS | DAVID POOLE

• It's absolutely unfair to criticize race fans or California Speedway for the half-full grandstands Sunday night. The people who did show up, who were tailgating in a paved parking lot at 1 p.m. with the temperature at 107 degrees, who were standing at the exit of the garage snapping photos of cars as they came out to the grid and who were generally acting like Nextel Cup fans, need to be commended for weathering these elements. But you can't fairly blame anybody for choosing to stay home.

• After Jimmie Johnson finished 37th at Chicagoland and 39th at Indianapolis and slipped to ninth in the points standings, there were people asking with a straight face whether Johnson might fall out of the Chase. He has had four top-five finishes in the five races since then.

• On ESPN's prerace show, a correspondent reported that he'd "learned" on Sunday that Amp, an energy drink made by the folks at Pepsi, would be part of the sponsorship package for Dale Earnhardt Jr. For the record, he could have "learned" the same thing by reading the Charlotte Observer on July 12.

TURNING POINTS

LAP 10

Edwards pulls out of his pit stall and hits Juan Pablo Montoya, doing some damage to the No. 99 Ford. Edwards still finished second, but without the early incident who knows how things might have been different.

LAP 119

Just as the sun is going down, Johnson takes the lead for the second time. He led Lap 113, but this time he stays there for 18 laps. There was more of that to come, as Johnson leads 65 of the final 82 laps on the way to a win.

LAP 180

Gordon and Jeremy Mayfield bump to set off a six-car crash that could have been a disaster for Harvick. But Harvick makes it through the wreck and finishes 14th.

LAP 212

Johnson comes in for his final pit stop, under the green flag, and his crew nails a solid one. It takes until Lap 229 for the lead to cycle back to the No. 48, but Johnson was still firmly in control.

LAP 244

Johnson is trying not to drive any harder than needed, keeping his eye on Kyle Busch. But then Johnson realizes it's Edwards in second, so he adjusts his line to hold the No. 99 Ford at bay.

NOTES

Chase scenarios simplified greatly

Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. need only to start Saturday night's race at Richmond to join Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Kurt Busch is 141 points ahead of 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and needs only to finish 36th or better to clinch. Kevin Harvick is 128 points ahead of Earnhardt Jr. and needs only 32nd or better.

A different way to look at how slim Earnhardt Jr.'s hopes are is this: He has to finish at least fourth and lead a lap to have any shot of making the Chase. And that only works if Harvick finishes last.

Earnhardt Jr. gives all despite hot conditions

Earnhardt Jr. looked spent after climbing from his No. 8 Chevrolet after a fifth-place finish on a very, very hot night.

"It was fun, hot and sweaty and the car was tight, loose and never perfect," he said. "But we worked hard. I am so proud of my guys. They worked so hard and it was so hot this weekend.

"I would like to think they could run just as good without me. I would never be able to run this good without them."

Edwards finishes 2nd, but he can't complain

Edwards thought he was going to catch Johnson in the final laps and contend for the win, but he had to settle for second.

Still, one year ago he finished fourth in this race and was 226 points outside the top 10, eliminated from Chase competition. Now, he's locked in for this year's title competition.

Gordon still feels confident about team

Gordon made it from the start of the season in February all the way into August without having back-to-back finishes outside the top 10 this season. But after finishing 22nd Sunday, Gordon has had three of those in a row.

"None of these races really means a whole lot," Gordon said after having his night derailed in a multicar crash on Lap 180. "We'd like to be running better and be out there getting bonus points, but this team is going to come with a whole different focus and attitude when we get to New Hampshire."

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson won four of the season's first 10 races, and Gordon also won four times in a seven-race stretch ending at Pocono in June.

Gordon leads the points standings by 317 points over Tony Stewart, but Johnson's victory means Johnson has 50 bonus points to take with him into the Chase to 40 for Gordon, pending the final pre-Chase race at Richmond.

"He's definitely going to be one of the guys to beat in the championship," Gordon said of Johnson. "You don't want to give him one point."

Kahne makes it 2 straight in top 10

Kasey Kahne hadn't finished in the top 10 at an intermediate track all year until getting a 10th here.

"We will take it," said Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Dodge. Kahne's other top 10s this year came in the two races at Daytona and last week when he was second at Bristol on the short track in a car of tomorrow race.

"There was a point where I was really having a problem getting the car off the corner," Kahne said. "I just couldn't carry any momentum, and that's when we dropped back and eventually lost a lap."

Kahne got that lap back on a caution and team director Kenny Francis made some adjustments on the car, and Kahne rallied.

Rookies get taste of success in California

David Ragan brought out three cautions a week earlier at Bristol and AJ Allmendinger has had more than his share of trouble just making races, but both rookies had decent runs Sunday night.

Ragan finished 12th, his best finish at any track other than Daytona this year, in the No. 6 Ford despite getting a pit road speeding penalty.

Allmendinger finished 18th, 13 spots better than his previous best Cup finish in just the 10th race he's made.

Briefly

Ricky Rudd hurt his left shoulder in the Lap 180 crash. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. One report said his shoulder separated, but NASCAR officials would say only that the shoulder was injured. T.J. Ford, a crew member on the No. 15 team for Paul Menard at Dale Earnhardt Inc., also was taken to the hospital after being hit during a pit stop. ... The No. 21 Wood Brothers team moved back into the top 35 in points after Dave Blaney'sengine failure dropped him to a 38th-place finish.

Next Race

CHEVY 400

WHERE: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va.

WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday

TV: Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN

RADIO: Motor Racing Network

LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Kevin Harvick

OFFICIAL RESULTS, STANDINGS

Fin	St	Driver	Car	Laps	*	Earnings	Pts
1	2	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	250		$289,411	190
2	19	Carl Edwards	Ford	250		185,450	170
3	5	Kyle Busch	Chevy	250		163,225	175
4	15	Jeff Burton	Chevy	250		163,491	165
5	7	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevy	250		180,433	160
6	8	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevy	250		135,345	155
7	36	Matt Kenseth	Ford	250		158,941	146
8	17	Brian Vickers	Toyota	250		102,975	147
9	1	Kurt Busch	Dodge	250		146,308	143
10	3	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	250		148,216	134
11	11	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	250		138,361	135
12	33	David Ragan	Ford	250		137,475	127
13	22	Tony Stewart	Chevy	250		143,286	129
14	12	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	250		141,836	121
15	13	Casey Mears	Chevy	250		111,525	123
16	38	Jamie McMurray	Ford	250		104,275	115
17	10	Greg Biffle	Ford	250		109,325	112
18	18	A.J. Allmendinger	Toyota	249		90,275	109
19	9	Denny Hamlin	Chevy	249		108,600	106
20	24	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	249		103,900	103
21	31	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	249		119,083	100
22	16	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	249		135,011	97
23	32	Jeff Green	Chevy	249		115,533	94
24	20	Paul Menard	Chevy	249		91,850	91
25	14	David Gilliland	Ford	249		114,689	88
26	26	Bill Elliott	Ford	248		109,689	90
27	34	Tony Raines	Chevy	248		97,925	82
28	39	Kyle Petty	Dodge	248		103,858	84
29	23	J.J. Yeley	Chevy	248		117,408	76
30	41	Johnny Sauter	Chevy	248		89,850	78
31	40	Aric Almirola	Chevy	248		97,200	70
32	28	David Reutimann	Toyota	247		100,808	72
33	42	J.P. Montoya	Dodge	247		124,125	64
34	21	David Stremme	Dodge	245		86,050	61
35	6	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	245		104,345	58
36	27	Jeremy Mayfield	Toyota	229	{+1}	85,950	55
37	43	John Andretti	Dodge	203	{+1}	95,447	57
38	30	Dave Blaney	Toyota	201	{+2}	93,850	49
39	4	Ryan Newman	Dodge	194	{+2}	117,875	51
40	37	Ricky Rudd	Ford	179	{+1}	116,783	43
41	35	Robby Gordon	Ford	159		85,705	40
42	25	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	38	{+1}	85,640	37
43	29	Joe Nemechek	Chevy	9	{+1}	85,008	34

TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 48 minutes, 8 seconds. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.868 seconds. CAUTION FLAGS: 11 for 33 laps. LEAD CHANGES: 30 among 16 drivers. LAP LEADERS: Ku.Busch 1-10; Andretti 11-12; Ku.Busch 13-23; Ky.Busch 24-40; Earnhardt Jr. 41; Petty 42; Elliott 43; Sauter 44-45; Ky.Busch 46-72; Earnhardt Jr. 73; Truex Jr. 74-77; Earnhardt Jr. 78; Ky.Busch 79-80; Earnhardt Jr. 81-90; Newman 91; Earnhardt Jr. 92; Ky.Busch 93-112; Johnson 113; Ky.Busch 114-118; Johnson 119-136; Ky.Busch 137-153; J.Burton 154; Reutimann 155; Ky.Busch 156-164; Earnhardt Jr. 165; Vickers 166-168; Johnson 169-211; Labonte 212-215; Stewart 216-227; Mears 228; Johnson 229-250. *REASON OUT: 1. Wreck; 2. Engine.

Pos	Driver	Pts
1.	Jeff Gordon	3679
2.	Tony Stewart	3362
3.	Denny Hamlin	3335
4.	Carl Edwards	3330
5.	Matt Kenseth	3309
6.	J. Johnson	3249
7.	Jeff Burton	3219
8.	Kyle Busch	3199
9.	Clint Bowyer	3047
10.	M. Truex Jr.	3042
11.	Kurt Busch	3022
12.	Kevin Harvick	3009

13.	D. Ernhrdt Jr.	2881
14.	R. Newman	2755
15.	Greg Biffle	2674
16.	Casey Mears	2581
17.	B. Labonte	2541
18.	J. McMurray	2486
19.	J.P. Montoya	2439
20.	J.J. Yeley	2372
21.	Kasey Kahne	2278
22.	David Ragan	2266
23.	D. Stremme	2236
24.	Mark Martin	2220
25.	R. Sorenson	2220
26.	Elliott Sadler	2197
27.	Robby Gordon	2156
28.	D. Gilliland	2109
29.	Jeff Green	2105
30.	Ricky Rudd	2017
31.	Tony Raines	1939
32.	Johnny Sauter	1901
33.	Dave Blaney	1808
34.	S. Marlin	1600
35.	J. Nemechek	1593
36.	Paul Menard	1581
37.	Scott Riggs	1470
38.	Kyle Petty	1418
39.	Brian Vickers	1409
40.	Bill Elliott	1080
41.	D. Reutimann	1078
42.	Dale Jarrett	1009
43.	Ward Burton	816
44.	K. Wallace	789
45.	J. Mayfield	737
46.	Ken Schrader	632
47.	AJ Allmndngr	631
48.	John Andretti	520
49.	M. Waltrip	487
50.	Boris Said	467
51.	Regan Smith	461
52.	Mike Bliss	325
53.	Ron Fellows	283
54.	P.J. Jones	267

Line at Chase for the Championship cutoff.

| Sunday's race action from California

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:27 EDT

Johnson wins, reprising role of favorite as Chase nears

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:33 EDT

FONTANA, Calif. – After the lead came back his way following green flag pit stops in Sunday’s Sharp Aquos 500 at California Speedway, Jimmie Johnson was tooling along in the high groove keeping one eye on Kyle Busch in his mirror.

Johnson thought Busch was the first car chasing him, and the No. 5 Chevrolet wasn’t getting all that big all that fast in that mirror.

Busch, however, had grazed the wall and crinkled up his car a bit. He was just trying to hold on, and what he was holding onto was third place.

Carl Edwards, meanwhile, had another view of what was going on.

“I thought he was going to be a sitting duck,” Edwards said of Johnson. “He was searching and he was a little slow.”

The deal, you see, was that Johnson wasn’t aware that Edwards had moved into second place. And Edwards, you see, didn’t know that Johnson didn’t know that. “With like five or six laps to go I heard it was the 99 in second,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t recognize the hood on his car. I thought, ‘Well, that must be the 99.’ And I went back down on the bottom …and started matching his times.”

What all of that tells you, of course, is just how good Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was on its way to the team’s fifth victory of the season but the first since May 6 at Richmond. There were cars that ran well low and cars that ran well high. There were cars that were good on short runs and cars that were good on long runs. But when the sun went down, the air cooled to a level tolerable to human flesh and the track had done all of the changing it was going to do, Johnson was able to put his car wherever it needed to go to stay out front.

When Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and their Hendrick Motorsports team are on their game, that happens a lot. Johnson has now won 28 races in 208 career Nextel Cup starts, a winning percentage of 13.5 percent that ranks second among active drivers only behind teammate Jeff Gordon.

Oddly, the calendar seems to have something to do with it, too.

Johnson has only five career wins in June, July and August combined. But he’s won 12 times in March, April and May, and nine times in September and October. He’s had one victory in February, his 2006 Daytona 500 win, and one in November.

Now in his sixth full Cup season, Johnson has been asked repeatedly about how might change his team’s pattern of getting a fast start, then hitting a slow spell before surging late in the season. But given that Johnson has never finished worse than fifth in the standings, the better question might be why would he want to? “I don’t know why the cycle goes like it does,” Johnson said. “We all look at our weak points and try to pick those up. We’ve tried to address the tracks in the summer and what to do, we just didn’t get the results.”

Johnson was without Knaus for much of this summer, as his crew chief served a six-race suspension for a rules violation at Infineon Raceway in late June. The team finished fifth and 10th in the first two races Knaus missed, but then wound up 37th after Johnson wrecked at Chicagoland and tore up one of Knaus’ favorite cars in the No. 48 team’s fleet. Johnson then was 39th after another wreck at Indianapolis, and the typical summer shakes had returned.

“I certainly was concerned,” Johnson said. “We had great race cars but bad luck and lost a lot of ground.”

Johnson fell all the way to ninth in points, but he finished fifth, third and third in the first three races in August to steady everyone’s nerves. Knaus was back and despite an off night at Bristol, the team came here set to re-establish itself. Knaus had supervised a rebuild of the car that got wrecked at Chicagoland and brought it here with a purpose. “We really wanted to come out here and win this race,” said Knaus of this 2-mile track, which was the site of the team’s first win in April 2002. “We felt very confident coming in.”

Johnson led 65 of the final 82 laps and, once he figured out who was actually chasing him, generally in control of things. He finished it off 1.9 seconds ahead of Edwards. Hendrick Motorsports cars won 10 of the season’s first 14 races, but hadn’t won since Gordon’s victory in that 14th race at Pocono in June. “I told you guys,” team owner Rick Hendrick said after Johnson broke the 10-race dry spell. “I said, ‘It won’t be long before you ask me what’s wrong.’ I was waiting for that. I knew it was going to come. I was concerned that we had peaked too quickly.”

Apparently, though, Johnson’s team was just going back down its own well-worn path.

| Busch race, early Sunday action

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:14 EDT

Two-time Cup champ Tony Stewart in solid position in Chase

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:54 EDT

FONTANA, Calif. – Two-time series champion Tony Stewart was feeling a lot more secure at California Speedway this time around.

Last year, Stewart left Fontana in a tenuous eighth place in the Chase standings. The following week at Richmond – the last race before the 10-race Chase – he crashed in practice and wound up finishing 18th in a backup car.

That dropped him to 11th, 16 points behind 10th-place Kasey Kahne, so he missed the then-10-man Chase.

Stewart headed into Sunday’s Sharp Aquos 500 at Fontana second behind Jeff Gordon in the standings, solidly in with this year’s field for the Chase expanded to the top 12. The most important thing for Stewart and the other drivers already in the Chase is going for wins, which this year are worth a 10-point bonus for seeding purposes at the start of the stock car playoff.

“It’s nice coming here and knowing that if it comes down to a fuel mileage race this weekend that we can take a chance like we did at Kansas City and go for those 10 points, versus not being locked in like we were last year and fighting at this time,” Stewart said.

“So it’s definitely taken a lot of the stress and the pressure off, for sure.”

Out of the Chase last October at Kansas Speedway, Stewart was able to gamble on fuel and ran out of gas on the final lap – but coasted across the finish line to win.

Baseball team execs buy controlling interest in Aikman-Staubach Hall of Fame race team

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:52 EDT

After shopping around, Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel settled on a racing team owned by a couple of proven winners – Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.

Moorad, CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Garfinkel, the NL team’s chief operating officer, have bought controlling interest in Hall of Fame Racing.

“We spoke with several teams and decided that Hall of Fame has assembled a special group of people and created a foundation for success that we hope to build on,” Moorad said Sunday at California Speedway.

“You win with people and we want to add resources and opportunity for the people who are here.”

Moorad and Aikman have longtime ties, going back to when Moorad’s sports management agency represented the former Dallas Cowboys’ star in his first contract negotiation.

Garfinkel previously was executive vice president of Chip Ganassi Racing and was involved in Ganassi’s NASCAR and open-wheel organizations.

“Jeff has been a positive influence for me throughout my career and has been successful in whatever he’s done,” Aikman said.

“And Tom is certainly an impressive individual with a unique blend of significant business acumen and racing experience.

Aikman and Staubach and their partners formed the racing team in 2003. They retain minority interest, along with partners Bill Saunders, Paul Whitman and Mark Griege.

Hall of Fame Racing is in its second season, with Tony Raines and Terry Labonte splitting driving duties. The No. 96, sponsored by DLP HDTV, finished 26th in owner points last year and was 25th heading into Sunday’s race.

‘Oh, he’s OK, he got out,’ Burton says of wreck commentary, and 'they don’t have a clue'

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:56 EDT

Jeff Burton said that, unless a NASCAR driver is pulled out of his car and hauled off on a gurney, everybody assumes he’s completely OK.

“A lot of times we’re hurting more than people ever know about because you don’t want everybody to know you’re hurt,” he said. “I always laugh when I watch a race and a guy takes a big hit and he gets out of the car and someone says, ‘Oh, he’s OK, he got out.’ They don’t have a clue if he’s OK or not.

“So I always find that a little humorous. From the outside looking in, OK sometimes is a relative term, but this is a dangerous sport. Anytime you strap yourself into something that’s propelling down a straightaway at 200 miles an hour, you have the potential to get hurt and that’s just the way it is.”

Brad Keselowski released from hospital after crash in Busch race

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:44 EDT

Rookie driver Brad Keselowski, airlifted to a hospital after crashing in Saturday night’s Busch Series race, has been released from Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Keselowski was released later Saturday night after undergoing CT scanning and X-rays of his left ankle and chest. Several hours earlier, he was in a four-car crash midway through the race.

The accident sequence began when A.J. Allmendinger, J.J. Yeley and Eric McClure bounced off each other while jockeying for position heading into turn one. Allmendinger slid down the banking, where he clipped Keselowski and sent him hard into the wall.

Keselowski’s car went up the wall and became momentarily airborne before bursting into flames. It slid several hundred yards along the top of the wall before flopping down on what remained of its wheels.

The race was halted for 28 minutes, and Burton was the eventual winner.

Race Day at California

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:49 EDT

Race Information

Sharp Aquos 500

WHERE: California Speedway, Fontana, Calif.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday

WEATHER: Oppressive heat, about 100 at the green flag, falling into the upper 80s

TV: Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

RADIO: Motor Racing Network

RACE DISTANCE: 500 miles (250 laps)

TRACK LENGTH: 2 miles

Practice Update

Edwards continues strong showing

Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards topped the speed charts in Saturday's first blistering hot Nextel Cup session, with Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon following. Edwards then was fastest in the final session, with David Gilliland second and Hamlin third, followed by Kevin Harvick and David Stremme.

Observer's Picks

DAVID POOLE

KURT BUSCH: No reason to believe his momentum from Pocono and Michigan will slow down here.

JIM UTTER

JIMMIE JOHNSON: A little home cooking helps Johnson snap a Hendrick Motorsports dry spell.

News and Notes

Sunday's Lineup

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
1.	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	182.399
2.	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	182.394
3.	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	182.020
4.	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	181.415
5.	5	Kyle Busch	Chevy	181.342
6.	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	181.333
7.	8	D. Earnhardt Jr.	Chevy	181.132
8.	1	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevy	180.818
9.	11	Denny Hamlin	Chevy	180.805
10.	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	180.605
11.	43	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	180.596
12.	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	180.542
13.	25	Casey Mears	Chevy	180.542
14.	38	David Gilliland	Ford	180.533
15.	31	Jeff Burton	Chevy	180.338
16.	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	180.185
17.	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	180.144
18.	84	AJ Allmendinger	Toyota	180.086
19.	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	179.937
20.	15	Paul Menard	Chevy	179.856
21.	40	David Stremme	Dodge	179.721
Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
22.	20	Tony Stewart	Chevy	179.502
23.	18	J.J. Yeley	Chevy	179.497
24.	07	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	179.417
25.	55	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	179.332
26.	21	Bill Elliott	Ford	179.305
27.	36	J. Mayfield	Toyota	179.207
28.	00	D. Reutimann	Toyota	179.203
29.	78	Joe Nemechek	Chevy	179.024
30.	22	Dave Blaney	Toyota	178.904
31.	41	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	178.824
32.	66	Jeff Green	Chevy	178.594
33.	6	David Ragan	Ford	178.576
34.	96	Tony Raines	Chevy	178.545
35.	7	Robby Gordon	Ford	178.372
36.	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	178.297
37.	88	Ricky Rudd	Ford	178.258
38.	26	J. McMurray	Ford	178.024
39.	45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	OwnPts
40.	01	Aric Almirola	Chevy	OwnPts
41.	70	Johnny Sauter	Chevy	OwnPts
42.	42	J.P. Montoya	Dodge	OwnPts
43.	49	John Andretti	Dodge	178.722

Three things to watch

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 10:45 EDT

SUNDAY: SHARP AQUOS 500

California Speedway 8 p.m., ESPN.

3 Things To Watch

1 THE WEATHER. Yes, it's hot in a race car every week, but the track temperature has been around 150 degrees each afternoon. Even when the sun goes down and the air temperature "dips" below 100, that's as hot as it usually is at the worst on most days.

2 KURT BUSCH starts from the pole in a car he led 175 of 200 laps in on the way to a victory at Pocono. Can Busch continue the summer hot streak that has carried him into solid position to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup?

3 THE 12-MAN CHASE FIELD could be set after tonight's race. Or, somebody could have a problem and Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have a good run and there might actually be a little race to the Chase drama going into Richmond next week.

Fresh tires the difference as Burton takes Busch win

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:29 EDT

FONTANA, Calif. – Jeff Burton took charge after a restart with 10 laps to go, passing and then pulling away from Kyle Busch to win the Camping World 300 in the NASCAR Busch Series at California Speedway Saturday night.

Burton came to pit road for tires and fuel after Denny Hamlin spun out while running second to bring out a caution on Lap 127. Busch stayed on the track and took over the lead, with Burton lining up fifth on the restart.

Burton had worked his way to second before a multicar wreck on Lap 133 slowed the field again. That put Burton’s No. 29 Chevrolet behind the leader with fresher tires for the restart. On Lap 143, Burton pulled to Busch inside and the two cars ran side-by-side until Burton cleared him off Turn 4 the next time by.

Once he was in front, Burton took off and won by 2.9 seconds.

“Our car was really good,” said Burton, who extended the lead the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team has in the Busch Series car owner standings. “I am real proud of this team. These cars are a honor to drive.”

It was Burton’s third Busch Series victory of the year, his first since a win in Atlanta on March 17. But in 15 Busch starts this year, Burton now has 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. It was Burton’s 25th career Busch Series win, breaking a tie for fourth on the all-time list with Tommy Houston.

“You’re never sure you can get around Kyle Busch,” Burton said. “He is such a good driver. I knew we had better tires, but it was Kyle Busch and I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me.”

Busch recovered from a penalty for speeding on pit road to hold off Hamlin for second. Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five.

“I figured the tires would be a bigger deal than track position, but I didn’t know how many guys were going to stay out with us,” Busch said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold him (Burton) off.”

The race was halted under a red flag for 28 minutes following a wreck on Lap 68 that sent Brad Keselowski to a hospital by helicopter for evaluation.

Keselowski, driving a No. 88 Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team, slammed the outside wall in Turn 1 head on after being spun by AJ Allmendinger’s car in a multicar crash.

Allmendinger, J.J. Yeley and Eric McClure were racing three wide to the outside of Keselowski when the cars driven by Allmendinger and Yeley made contact. Yeley spun toward the outside wall and hit McClure, while Allmendinger’s car came down track and caught Keselowski’s.

After going nose first into the wall, Keselowski’s car went airborne and was hit by Allmendinger’s. Flames erupted briefly from under the No. 88 Chevy and the car finally came to rest at the bottom of the track. Keselowski was awake and able to put down his window net. He was helped from the car by emergency workers, who held him and kept him from putting weight on his left leg and foot until an ambulance arrived with a backboard and stretcher.

“I thought I was clear and I guess I got clipped in the right rear,” said Allmendinger, who said he could feel the flames from Keselowski’s car as it momentarily was tangled up with the No. 42 Dodge being driven by Allmendinger as they slid toward a stop.

Keselowski went by ambulance to the track’s infield care center, and then was taken to the helicopter. No further word on the extent of his injuries was available.

Busch Series driver points leader Carl Edwards finished 26th after his car was damaged in the multicar crash on Lap 133. Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Kelly Bires and Stephen Leicht were also involved in that wreck.