http://www.thatsracin.com/158/index.xml Motorsports News from ThatsRacin.com en-us Copyright 2008 ThatsRacin.com Indianapolis Motor Speedway 60 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:31 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive Workbench webmaster@thatsracin.com http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5729.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5729.html Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:11 EDT Steve Wallace, 19-year-old son of ESPN announcer and former NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, suffered minor cuts and bruises in an attempted mugging after the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.<p/> The younger Wallace was attacked Sunday by at least three people outside a convenience store following the race, according to a statement on Rusty Wallace's Web site Tuesday.<p/> Steve Wallace, who was 17th in the Kroger 200 Busch race Saturday night at nearby O'Reilly Raceway Park, remained in Indianapolis to watch the Nextel Cup race on Sunday.<p/> Steve Wallace said the men jumped him as he left the store and tried to take a wrist watch he received from a sponsor after his second career pole position at Nashville Superspeedway in June.<p/> The robbery attempt was unsuccessful and one of the suspects was caught later that night, the team said. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5726.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5726.html Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:25 EDT Four-time champion Jeff Gordon greeted Formula One-turned-NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya at a news conference by joking, "Not bad for a rookie."<p/>The Miami resident, who has won the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, is no normal rookie. While Montoya reveled in a second-place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, Gordon's teammate, Jimmie Johnson, left Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a somber note -- he continued his free fall in the standings and escaped a fiery single-car wreck with singed eyelashes.<p/>Montoya's performance allowed him to climb to 18th place, and he said he still is in the hunt for the 12-driver Chase for the Cup that starts next month. Johnson's precipitous slide has resulted in him slipping to ninth. After a 39th-place finish, Johnson has dropped seven spots in seven races, and might be in danger of falling out of championship contention if he continues to be plagued by bad luck.<p/>Brickyard winner Tony Stewart, who struggled before the races leading up to the postseason last year and consequently missed the Chase, conceded: "Somebody I feel bad for right now, honestly, is Jimmie Johnson. This guy can't buy a break."<p/>For the second consecutive race, Johnson had a strong car, but crashes forced him to retreat to the garage early.<p/>The reigning Cup champion, whose dream 2006 season included winning the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, is entering a critical stretch that will determine whether he can defend his title. Johnson has four wins, which would put him in second if the Chase started today, because NASCAR seeds the contenders based on wins. None of those wins would mean much though, if he fails to make the Chase.<p/><strong>BAD STRETCH</strong><p/>"It's been a steady roll of bad races for us," Johnson said. "We've got to keep fighting and make sure we stay in this Chase."<p/>After Montoya -- who raced primarily on road courses before arriving in NASCAR -- had his top finish on an oval at Indy, he said he is chasing the postseason.<p/>"I tell you the truth," he said, "if you could get this type of finish the next two races, then you have a chance. If we get to next weekend and have an average weekend, then you're out."<p/>The next few weeks might favor Montoya's strengths. The circuit races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Sunday, a track that is similar to Indy in that it has varying shaped corners. The next Cup race is at road-course Watkins Glen International in New York. Montoya triumphed in his first start on a Cup road course at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif.) on June 24, and is viewed as a favorite by his competitors to win at Watkins Glen.<p/><strong>VULNERABLE DRIVERS</strong><p/>Montoya trails 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 200 points. Several drivers standing between Montoya and a postseason berth have been vulnerable. Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray, who are in 14th and 15th place, both fared poorly at Indy. Greg Biffle (16th) has struggled for much of the season, and Mark Martin (17th) has performed well but runs only a partial schedule and splits time with a rookie.<p/>Gordon gushed about Montoya's rookie campaign, saying, "It's obvious how talented he is. You look at everything he's ever driven, he's fast and he's had success. When their team steps up and gives him the car, he steps up and shows what he can do."<p/>Montoya is vying to show improvement the second half of the season -- but the barometer won't be based on whether he makes the Chase.<p/>"From where I thought I was going to be, I think I've got say we're way ahead," the 31-year-old said. "Where do I want to be? I think we're still behind." http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5724.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5724.html Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:09 EDT That’s Racin’s David Poole ranks the top 40 teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series following the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (Rankings based on team performance and potential. Each team’s preseason ranking is in parentheses:) <p/><b>1. (3) Tony Stewart – car No. 20</b> Momentum and the Chase format makes this the team to beat for the title right now. <p/><b>2. (1) Jeff Gordon – car No. 24</b> It’s hard to demote a guy after his eighth straight top-10 finish, but here you go. <p/><b>3. (2) Matt Kenseth – car No. 17</b> Another quiet top 10 at Indianapolis. Momentum doesn’t seem as vital to this team. <p/><b>4. (4) Denny Hamlin – car No. 11</b> Hangs onto this spot more because of Pocono promise than Indianapolis performance. <p/><b>5. (8) Kyle Busch – car No. 5</b> Team has a remarkable 866 points in six races since its driver became a lame duck. <p/><b>6. (7) Kevin Harvick – car No. 29</b> Ran into a tough break – well, actually, it ran into this car’s fender – late in Indy race. <p/><b>7. (6) Carl Edwards – car No. 99</b> For goodness sakes, ESPN, the man’s thumb is going to be JUST FINE! Let it go! <p/><b>8. (5) Jimmie Johnson – car No. 48</b> Stewart surge and Johnson swoon have become familiar summertime Cup themes. <p/><b>9. (9) Martin Truex Jr. – car No. 1</b> Battled through some adversity to get decent Indy finish and some Chase cushion. <p/><b>10. (10) Jeff Burton – car No. 31</b> A little worked up at Kyle Busch after the race at Indianapolis. Good to see that fire. <p/>11. (11) Clint Bowyer – car No. 07 <p/>12. (13) Kurt Busch – car No. 2 <p/>13. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – car No. 8 <p/>14. (18) Mark Martin – car No. 01 <p/>15. (14) Ryan Newman – car No. 12 <p/>16. (19) Juan Pablo Montoya – car No. 42 <p/>17. (17) Greg Biffle – car No. 16 <p/>18. (15) Jamie McMurray – car No. 26 <p/>19. (16) Casey Mears – car No. 25 <p/>20. (20) Bobby Labonte – car No. 43 <p/>21. (21) Reed Sorenson – car No. 41<p/>22. (22) David Gilliland – car No. 38<p/>23. (23) David Ragan – car No. 6<p/>24. (24) Robby Gordon – car No. 7<p/>25. (25) J.J. Yeley – car No. 18<p/>26. (33) Ricky Rudd – car No. 88<p/>27. (26) Kasey Kahne – car No. 9<p/>28. (27) Elliott Sadler – car No. 19<p/>29. (28) Tony Raines – car No. 96<p/>30. (36) Dave Blaney – car No. 22<p/>31. (31) David Stremme – car No. 40<p/>32. (29) Jeff Green – car No. 66<p/>33. (32) Johnny Sauter – car No. 70<p/>34. (38) Paul Menard – car No. 15<p/>35. (34) Bill Elliott– car No. 21<p/>35. (37) Brian Vickers – car No. 83<p/>36. (35) Kyle Petty – car No. 45<p/>37. (37) David Reutimann – car. No. 00<p/>38. (NR) Ward Burton – car No. 4<p/>39. (NR) Scott Riggs – car No. 10<p/>40. (NR) Ken Schrader – car No. 49 http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5721.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5721.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:40 EDT Racing for the elevator and mashing the buttons:<p/><B>UP</B> - Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates<p/>Juan Pablo Montoya second and Reed Sorenson fifth makes for a solid day for this team.<p/><B>DOWN</B> - Ryan Newman<p/>Missed a golden opportunity to move up into the top 12 in the standings with an early race wreck.<p/><B>DOWN</B> - Jimmie Johnson<p/>It’s still not quite time for this team to panic, but it has slid seven spots in the standings - from second to ninth - in seven races. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5720.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5720.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:37 EDT Some observations on Sunday's Allstate 400 and more from David Poole of The Charlotte Observer:<p/><LI>Tony Stewart said the same four-letter word on television after winning Sunday that Dale Earnhardt Jr. did after a win at Talladega in 2004. Earnhardt Jr. got a 25-point penalty and Stewart should, too.<p/>Some things are different - Stewart's word was said on a cable network while Earnhardt Jr. said it on network TV, and court rulings have changed the climate about the use of such words on television. Fans won't care about that, though, and for the sake of consistency Stewart should get the same penalty.<p/><LI>Ward Burton was the last driver to make the race on speed Saturday afternoon, and once he was in his son, Jeb, joked that he was glad to see that happen since the money his father won would go to Jeb's go-kart fund. <p/>Ward finished 14th and earned $161,125.<p/>Even if Pops only gets half of that, Jeb's going to get some nice new toys.<p/><LI>The “merger” between Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing reminds me of my marriage.<p/>Shortly after my wife and I “merged” our respective domiciles, I noticed that a lot of things that I had at my apartment just weren’t part of the new setup. In those terms, DEI is my wife and I am Ginn Racing. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5719.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5719.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:33 EDT Some of Sunday's key moments at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:<p/><B>Lap 46</B> - Defending race champion Jimmie Johnson is involved in a multi-car wreck in Turn 1. The damage later leads to a cut tire on Lap 61 that sends Johnson crashing into the wall and out of the race.<p/><B>Lap 111</B> - Stewart works his way past Kevin Harvick to grab the lead, putting the No. 20 Chevrolet back in command of the race that the Indiana native wants to win more than any other race on the Nextel Cup schedule.<p/><B>Lap 135</B> - Dale Earnhardt Jr., running fifth, has the engine in his No. 8 Chevrolet go up in smoke. That gives Stewart's challengers a chance to regroup and battle for the victory.<p/><B>Lap 141</B> - Stewart has the lead on a restart, but his car gets a little too tight as he goes into the first turn and Harvick gets a run on him. Harvick moves into the lead, but Stewart keeps his head and realizes he still has time to catch up again.<p/><B>Lap 151</B> - Stewart pulls past Harvick for the lead, but Harvick tries to execute a crossover move and the two Chevrolets bang fenders. Stewart holds off the counterattack and goes on to win, but Harvick's fender is damaged and he falls back to finish seventh. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5718.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5718.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:25 EDT Kevin Harvick was none too pleased with the outcome of his late-race battle with Tony Stewart for the lead.<p/>At one point on Lap 151, Stewart made contact with Harvick’s fender. After the race, Harvick nudged up against Stewart’s car on the backstretch and was called to the NASCAR hauler.<p/>NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter said officials just wanted to make sure Harvick was not engaged in any retaliatory actions, which they believe he was not.<p/>“He’s always the first one to whine about people not giving him enough room,” Harvick said of Stewart. “I gave him plenty of room all day to race and he winds up knocking the left-front fender off and we wound up finishing seventh.<p/>“It is what it is. Just race them how they race you.”<p/>Harvick still managed to gain a position in points to seventh, 94 behind sixth place Carl Edwards. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5717.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5717.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:21 EDT INDIANAPOLIS - Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s fortunes took a wild turn in Sunday's Allstate 400.<p/>He appeared to have a car capable of winning the race and even led 33 laps. But late in the race, while running in the top-five, Earnhardt Jr. saw his engine blow up.<p/>He ended up finishing 34th and saw his claim to the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup grow even more precarious. With six races before the cut-off to set the Chase field, Earnhardt Jr. is only 13 points ahead of Kurt Busch, who is in 13th.<p/>Ryan Newman, who was 13th entering Sunday's race, was poised to capitalize but got wrecked early and now sits 14th, 46 behind Busch.<p/>“I’m really proud of the engine shop. That was a good one before it went,” Earnhardt Jr. said.<p/>“We need the same power the rest of the year. You just have to take chances when you’re trying to stay in the Chase.<p/>“We can do way better than that, but that is definitely the best car (I’ve had here). We’ve had some pretty bad ones at this place.” http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5716.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5716.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:16 EDT INDIANAPOLIS - Although Jimmie Johnson is one of only three drivers with multiple wins this season, he has fast becoming in danger of losing his grip on one of the 12 spots in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.<p/> Johnson got in two accidents in the first 67 laps of Sunday's Allstate 400, the second one ending his day in a burst of flames from his No. 48 Chevrolet.<p/> He finished 39th and is ninth in points, 252 ahead of 12th place Earnhardt Jr. with six races before the cut-off. Johnson has dropped from second to ninth in points over the past seven races.<p/> “It’s been a steady roll of bad races for us,” Johnson said.<p/>“We’ve had lots of speed. Chicago, we were in position to win. Here we had a top-five car, but we don’t have the results to show for it.<p/> “We need to make sure we don’t lose our focus, which is building fast race cars. We’ve got to keep fighting and make sure we stay in the Chase.” http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5715.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5715.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:11 EDT INDIANAPOLIS - Reed Sorenson turned his first Nextel Cup pole into his second-best career finish in one of the series’ biggest races. <p/>Sorenson started from the pole and led 16 laps in Sunday's Allstate 400; he led three in all previous 19 races this season. He finished fifth, one spot below his career-best earlier this season at Charlotte.<p/>“It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career,” Sorenson said. “The last two weeks have been good.<p/>"I won the Busch race last weekend (at St. Louis). The guys had a great car for me this weekend to get a pole and a top five.” http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5714.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5714.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:09 EDT INDIANAPOLIS - Toyota completed a strong weekend, getting a ninth-place finish in Sunday's Allstate 400 from driver Dave Blaney – his first top 10 of the season – to go with the manufacturer’s first Busch Series win.<p/>The Busch win came courtesy of driver Jason Leffler on Saturday night at nearby O’Reilly Raceway Park.<p/>There was another bonus for Blaney and his No. 22 Toyota team. The good finish moved him into 35th in car owner points, assuring the team of a spot in next weekend’s race at Pocono.<p/>“I can’t say enough about (crew chief) Tommy Baldwin; he’s been doing a great job,” Blaney said.<p/>“He just keeps getting better every week with (the cars). That was a brand new car and it ran great.” http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5711.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5711.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:49 EDT http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5708.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5708.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:12 EDT INDIANAPOLIS – In the immediate aftermath of his runner-up finish in Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, someone asked Juan Pablo Montoya if he could still make this year’s Chase for the Nextel Cup.<p/>It’s a stretch to think that’s possible, but six months ago the notion itself would have been totally absurd.<p/>Montoya is 18th in the standings, 200 points behind 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’d likely need top-10 finishes in each of the next six races before the Chase cutoff to have any kind of a shot, and would still need some help from the guys ahead of him.<p/>But there is a road-course race, at Watkins Glen, among those six races. Pocono, the site for next week’s race, has a lot of the same characteristics as Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Michigan and California are relatively straightforward 2-mile ovals.<p/>OK, stop. Again, the very idea that Montoya is even a dark-horse contender to make the 2007 Chase is kind of out there. But ask yourself this question. If Montoya shows as much improvement from now to end of his rookie Nextel Cup season as he has so far this year, wouldn’t you just about have to consider him a candidate to make the 2008 Chase?<p/>“I think from where I thought I was going to be at this point, you’d have to say I am way ahead,” Montoya said. “But from where I want to be, we are still behind.”<p/>This is Montoya’s mentality. He’s not a novelty act, or a road-course ringer. He’s won the Indianapolis 500 and the Grand Prix of Monaco, and on Sunday he became the first driver to ever run in all three of the major races – the Indy 500, the Allstate 400 and the U.S. Grand Prix – at this track, and he’s already one of only three drivers with victories in NASCAR, Formula One and American open-wheel racing.<p/>If he keeps getting better, he’s going to make a lot of motorsports history. But what he’s more interested in now is making NASCAR history.<p/>“We have to be able to do what Hendrick Motorsports does,” Montoya said of his Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team, which had Montoya second and Reed Sorenson fifth in Sunday’s finishing order. “They show up every week and they’re up there. You have to be good week in and week out.”<p/>Montoya started second alongside Sorenson on Sunday, and there was nothing fluky about his day. He ran near the front all afternoon and added his best NASCAR oval-track finishing spot to his best oval starting spot.<p/>“I am in a nice position,” Montoya said. “I have managed to achieve a lot of things in my life already, and now I don’t have the pressure of performing to keep my job. ...It’s great working for Chip since he believes 100 percent in me.”<p/>It may be a little early for all stock car fans to believe that strongly that Montoya will ultimately be the kind of consistent contender he talked about being after Sunday’s race.<p/>But it sure is getting a lot harder to doubt it. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5706.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5706.html Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:25 EDT INDIANAPOLIS – Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will never, ever, be routine for Tony Stewart. Winning here, as he did for the second time in three years in Sunday’s Allstate 400, will never get old. <p/>This historic track, less than 50 miles from Stewart’s hometown of Columbus, Ind., means too much. He first came here at age 5, riding in on the luggage rack of a bus for his first up-close look at cars whizzing by at impossible speeds and his first whiffs of the methanol that powered them.<p/>Later, as he was living in Indianapolis and still working toward turning his talents into a racing career, Stewart got a job driving a wrecker. He’d pass by on 16th Street or Georgetown Road and dream of being on the other side of the massive grandstands.<p/>“I was thinking, ‘Man, what would it be like to be 150 yards inside that fence, running 200 miles per hour?’” Stewart said.<p/>And then, he got that chance. He raced in the track’s showcase event, the Indianapolis 500, knowing he had the talent and the equipment to win. But he never did.<p/>His career path veered to NASCAR, but he desire to win here never wavered. For six Nextel Cup seasons, he came here looking to fulfill what everyone kept telling him was his destiny. Each time, it was denied.<p/>Finally, in 2005, Stewart won at Indianapolis. He passed his young friend Kasey Kahne with 11 laps remaining after Kahne had taken the lead from Stewart, threatening to turn a dream-come-true into yet another Indy heartache.<p/>“The first one was just like taking the weight of the world off your shoulders,” Stewart said. “Today, we’re just happy.”<p/>Happy because he was able to wrestle the lead back from another friend, Kevin Harvick, this time with just 10 laps to go after Harvick had passed Stewart for the lead following a restart 10 laps earlier.<p/>“It wasn’t like my whole life depended on whether I could pass that one car in front of me,” Stewart said of the climactic tussle in front of a crowd well north of 200,000.<p/>“It was like life or death for me two years ago. ...It’s never a ‘normal’ race for me here. But it was easier to put it in perspective and calm down and do what I needed to do.”<p/>Stewart showed early that his No. 20 Chevrolet was strong, moving smartly from his 14th starting spot toward the front and taking the lead from pole-winner Reed Sorenson on Lap 17. He stayed well in front of early race mayhem – eight cautions in the first 90 laps of a 160-lap race – that took out would-be rivals like defending race champion Jimmie Johnson.<p/>Stewart seemed to be in command after a final round of pit stops under green. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an engine problem while running in the top five to bring out the final yellow and set up a restart with 20 laps to go. <p/>That was a problem, since Stewart’s car got tight going into the first turn after a restart.<p/>Harvick, who’d powered his way into contention in the No. 29 Chevrolet, drove right through that open door on Lap 141 and took the lead.<p/>No worries, Stewart thought. He’d run Harvick back down and passed him for the lead just before the final pit stop and was so confident he could do it again that at one point he was saying “Here, kitty, kitty,” over his radio after the green flew.<p/>Harvick, though, was tougher to pass this time.<p/>“I thought, ‘Man, this may or may not happen,’” Stewart said. But he didn’t panic, which he might have done had it not been for the win here in 2005.<p/>Stewart finally timed his move and, on Lap 151, dove inside of Harvick in Turn 1 to try to reclaim the lead. He got by, but Harvick tried a crossover move off Turn 2 and nearly made it work. With the race on the line, the two cars banged fenders but Stewart won the drag race into Turn 3 and that was that.<p/>Stewart said the contact was a mistake. He said he would never intentionally wreck Harvick, for whom he sometimes drives in the Busch Series, to win a here or elsewhere.<p/>Still, Harvick’s car was damaged to a point where he slid backward to a seventh-place finish.<p/>“It was just good racing until I got the left-front fender caved in,” Harvick said. “He didn’t quite give us enough room.”<p/>Juan Pablo Montoya eventually pulled into second and stayed there for his best career finish on a NASCAR oval. Jeff Gordon was third, with Kyle Busch fourth.<p/>After taking the checkered flag, Stewart pulled his car across the yard of bricks at the finish line and climbed out. Family and friends joined his Joe Gibbs Racing team members in climbing up the fence, kissing the bricks and generally having a big old time.<p/>“This one is for everyone in the stands who pull for me and have to take the bull(expletive) from everyone else,” Stewart said.<p/>Asked later if he’s concerned the use of that word would draw him some kind of NASCAR sanction – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 25 points and fined when he used it after a win at Talladega in 2004 – Stewart wasn’t sweating it.<p/>“It’s a little late to be concerned about it now, isn’t it?” he asked. “Whatever happens, they can’t take this away from me today.”<p/>As he said it, he touched the silver winner’s trophy that he’d just earned. Now, he’s got two of them. http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5700.html http://www.thatsracin.com/158/story/5700.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:58 EDT INDIANAPOLIS – This gamble failed in several ways.<p/> Desperate to do something to get to the front of Sunday’s Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch’s team elected to have him pit for four tires on a late-race caution while most of the lead-lap cars remained on the track.<p/> Busch, who had one of the fastest cars during the race, restarted 12th on Lap 141 but could only get to fifth in the final 19 laps. He also managed to irritate driver Jeff Burton along the way.<p/> Immediately after both cars stopped on pit road after the race, Burton emerged from his No. 31 Chevrolet and took off to find Busch’s car. Burton then engaged Busch in a heated and animated conversation for nearly a minute as Busch tried to climb from his car. <p/> Asked what he was upset about, Burton replied, “That’s between me and Kyle” and declined to answer other questions related to the topic. <p/> “I passed him and he was mad at that,” said Busch. “On the restart before (the last one) when I made the pass on him, we were talking about how (Mark Martin) didn’t have second gear and was getting a slow run down the front straightaway.<p/> “He was kind of checking everybody up and then he would pull low and then (Burton) would act like he was going to the outside and I would go down to the bottom. I was getting run over from behind, so I had to go the outside. I had no choice.<p/> “If he wants to be mad at it, go look at the tape.”<p/> Busch had just attempted this weekend to clear up another controversy, when he apologized to his Hendrick Motorsports teammates on Saturday for comments he’d made two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway.<p/> “I have made a lot of mistakes and opened my mouth too much,” Busch said. “We had our team meeting and after it was over I went ahead and made an apology to my teammates and my crew chief.”<p/> At Chicagoland, Busch said he didn’t plan to help any of his teammates as he finishes what will be his final year with the Hendrick team. The trouble started at Daytona, where Busch complained after narrowly losing the Pepsi 400 to Jamie McMurray that his teammates didn’t help him in the draft as much as they could have.<p/> Busch, who gained a position and is eighth in points, said the payoff on the gamble to pit never materialized.<p/> “It wasn’t worth pitting. You try to figure out something to win the race. If you would have had third on back come down pit road, the first and second cars would have been done,” he said.<p/> “For us to come and get tires, we thought it was in our best interests, but in the end, with the way those guys were racing up front, we probably could have gotten by them because we had a good enough car.”