ThatsRacin.com: Sprint Cup

Notes: Chiefs get proposed testing rules

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:26 EDT

NASCAR has given Sprint Cup crew chiefs proposed testing rules for 2009 that would allow each racing operation, such as Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, a certain number of testing days at tracks where the Cup Series competes.

NASCAR is looking for feedback from the teams on the draft, which is based on responses after crew chiefs were asked for their ideas on testing two weeks ago.

Under the proposed rules:

-- Preseason Daytona testing will not change. Teams in odd-numbered positions after Saturday’s Lifelock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway would test one week with teams in even-numbered spots testing the next.

-- Teams would be allowed 24 additional test days throughout the season. A single-car team such as Robby Gordon or the Wood Brothers would have 24 days at tracks where the Cup Series races. Roush Fenway Racing has five cars, but the entire Roush organization would also get just 24 days beyond the Daytona preseason test.

-- Teams would be limited to as few as two cars or as many as four per test, with that determination still to be made.

-- A team could bring all of its drivers to any test, but a driver could not test for any other operation other that the one he drives for – for instance, a driver from Hall of Fame Racing could not test with Joe Gibbs Racing despite any affiliation between those teams.

-- No team could test a track within seven days of a race there, and no teams could test between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15.

-- No team would be allowed to rent any track exclusively – if a track opens for testing for one team on any given day any other team must also be allowed to test there.

-- Tires would be limited, either by number of sets per test day or by number of sets per year. Teams would be told what tires Goodyear will use at each track provided teams order tires for that track by a certain date prior to the test. Teams would be required to turn in tires used at one test before getting more tires for additional tests.

-- Teams will still be able to use tires from previous races and with obsolete tire codes to test at tracks where the Cup Series does not run. Over the past few seasons, NASCAR has designated the tracks on the Cup schedule at which all teams were allowed to test. The new policy is aimed allowing each operation to decide which track it needs to test on so it can improve its overall performance. – DAVID POOLE

Briefly

-- Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s appeal of penalties against is No. 1 Chevrolet team, which had a car impounded by NASCAR after initial inspections at Daytona last weekend, will be heard on July 21. Driver Martin Truex Jr. and owner Teresa Earnhardt were penalized 150 points each. Crew chief Kevin Manion was fined $100,000 and he and car chief Gary Putnam were each suspended for six races. Manion and Putnam worked Saturday night’s race at Chicagoland pending the appeal. – D.P.

-- Amid increasing grumbling about a purported horsepower edge enjoyed by Toyota in the Nationwide Series, NASCAR impounded 10 engines after Friday night’s race and will take them to its research and development facility in Concord for evaluation. Engines from Toyotas driven by winner Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and David Reutimann were taken along with those from the Fords of Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, Chevrolets from Clint Bowyer, Jason Keller and Brad Keselowski and Dodges driven by Elliott Sadler and Dario Franchitti. – D.P.

A year of big changes for NASCAR

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:10 EST

McClatchy Newspapers motorsports writers David Poole and Jim Utter (Charlotte Observer), Sarah Rothschild (Miami Herald), John Sturbin (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and Jim Pedley (Kansas City Star) voted on the year's 12 biggest stories in NASCAR. That's Racin's review of those stories concludes this week with stories four through one on the list:

4. Y'all come

For the first time in the history of NASCAR's top series, no driver born in North Carolina won a race in 2007. That's not the only indication that times have changed, either.In a sport that once was something of a closed society for good ol' boys, stock car racing's gates now seem to open wider than ever before.

Only two race winners, Virginians Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin, were from the sport's historical hotbed in the Southeast.

Juan Pablo Montoya is from Colombia, but that's the South American country and not the state capital of South Carolina. When he won at Infineon Raceway, he became the first foreign-born driver to win a Cup race since Earl Ross, from Canada, won at Martinsville in 1974.

Montoya also is a former Indianapolis 500 champion whose open-wheel experience included a stint in Formula 1. When the 2008 season begins, three other Indy 500 champions -- 2006 winner Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr. and Jacques Villenueve -- will be in full-time Cup rides and former F1 driver Scott Speed will be driving in the Automobile Racing Club of America series preparing for his own NASCAR foray.

But the trend doesn't stop with drivers from a variety of backgrounds.

Another infusion of new blood -- and new money -- came from investors without previous backgrounds in racing who've decided to buy into the sport.

Jack Roush brought in John Henry, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, with his Fenway Sports Group. Ray Evernham became partners with George Gillett, whose holdings include ownership of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. Michael Waltrip sold partial ownership in his team to Robert Kaufmann, a New York native now living in Europe.

3. Tomorrow becomes today

In the weeks before the "car of tomorrow" raced for the first time at Bristol in the season's fifth race, there were some people in the Cup garage who still actually believed NASCAR would back off its plans to make it the new standard vehicle for the sport.

The opposite happened, of course. NASCAR not only ran the new car in all 16 of the races it had planned to do in 2007, it accelerated the rollout schedule and decreed that it will be used in all races in 2008.

The new car is taller and wider, with an array of safety features that were a major part of NASCAR's impetus for developing it. But NASCAR also wanted to get control of how teams build -- and alter -- their cars. Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all were hit with 100-point fines after their teams tried to "push the envelope" on rules governing the car.

The most tangible impact of the new car, however, can be seen in the season's results. Gordon scored the most points in the year's 36 races and Johnson won the championship with his performance in the Chase to the Nextel Cup. Want to guess which two teams scored the most points in COT races in 2007? Gordon had 2,482 while Johnson had 2,406. Tony Stewart was third with 2,285.

2. They're all Chasing Jimmie

Jimmie Johnson swears he has no idea what happens to his team every summer, but thanks to NASCAR's four-year-old Chase for the Nextel Cup format, apparently it doesn't really matter.In the first half of the 26-race regular season, Johnson had 1,907 points and trailed only teammate Jeff Gordon. In the second half, he had 1,532 points and 13 other drivers had more in that span.

But Johnson did win the final two races of the regular season, giving him six victories to that point in the season. For the first time under the Chase format, that equated to six 10-point bonuses for each of those victories, and even though Gordon led the standings through 26 races he only had four wins to that point. So Johnson led by 20 points as the Chase started.

Halfway through the Chase, Gordon was once again out front and seemingly in position for a fifth career title. But Johnson won four straight races, the first time that has happened since Gordon did it in 1998. That streak propelled Johnson to his second straight title and to a record-setting Chase performance. His 1,663 points is the most ever scored in the 10-race playoff.

Through four years, Johnson has won 11 of the 40 Chase races ever held. Every year since 2003, Johnson has either been first or second in the standings going into the season's final race.

1. Breaking up is hard to do

With his contract up at the end of the 2007 season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself at a crossroads in his career.

When his father, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, was alive, there was never any question that Earnhardt Jr. would be part of his father's race team. But with Earnhardt's death in 2001, everything changed.

With Earnhardt gone, Teresa Earnhardt was running DEI and Earnhardt Jr.'s relationship with his stepmother, as Earnhardt Jr. himself would say in January at Daytona, has never been a bed of roses.

With a contract negotiation staring them down, their differences became even more public. Earnhardt Jr. is NASCAR's most popular driver and its most marketable individual star, so the possibility of him hitting the open market was in itself a major story -- even without all the familial overtones.

It was clear from the start that keeping Earnhardt Jr. at DEI would be an uphill battle. In February, he said he would stay only if he got majority ownership of the team. Nobody believed Teresa Earnhardt would agree to that, and they were right.

Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would not return to DEI. After weeks of speculation, he announced that he would move to Hendrick Motorsports to join the sport's most powerful driver lineup for 2008 and beyond.

The List

Stories five through 12 of the top NASCAR stories of 2007:

5. THERE'S A KIND OF HUSH: With television ratings slipping downward and some seats going empty for Cup races, has NASCAR's streak of robust growth come to an end?

6. NOT EXACTLY A RUNNING START: Toyota enters Nextel Cup racing with three multi-car teams and struggles through a difficult first season. But the addition of Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008 holds promise.

7. A GIANT FALLS: Bill France Jr., the son of NASCAR's founder and a man who led the sport through three decades of remarkable growth, passes away at 74.

8. WONDER DAD: Jeff Gordon has a remarkable year on track, with six wins and a modern-era record of 31 top-10 finishes, and off track, as he becomes a father for the first time.

9. FAIR? ISN'T THAT WHERE YOU GET FUNNEL CAKES?: The 2007 season was a particularly difficult year for NASCAR's rules officials, with their judgment and integrity coming into question.

10. THE JUAN-DER OF YOU: Juan Pablo Montoya makes the move to NASCAR, picks up his first victories in the Nextel Cup and Busch series and is named Nextel Cup rookie of the year.

11. FANTASTIC FINISHES: Beginning with a wild finish in the Daytona 500, the Nextel Cup Series sees four races determined by last-lap passes. Several other races also feature late-race drama.

12. BRUTON BOWS HIS NECK: Bruton Smith kept busy, reshaping his Las Vegas and Bristol tracks, buying the track in New Hampshire and deciding to leave Lowe's Motor Speedway where it is.

NASCAR allows Penske to swap owner points between Busch and Hornish

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:49 EST

NASCAR has approved Penske Racing's request to transfer the owner points from Kurt Busch to Sam Hornish Jr., a move that locks the three-time IndyCar Series champion into the first five races of next season.

Hornish publicly thanked Busch for giving him the points at the Penske holiday party on Friday night. Bud Denker, senior vice president of Penske Corp., confirmed Saturday that the team would swap the points with NASCAR's approval.

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said the sanctioning body had signed off on the transfer.

"This would obviously help Sam as he prepares to run the first five races instead of prepares to qualify for the first five races," Denker said. "With a champion like Kurt Busch and the opportunity to utilize (the points), anyone would be foolish to not take care of the situation."

Hornish, a former Indianapolis 500 winner, is leaving that series for NASCAR next season. But his No. 77 Dodge won't be one of the 35 cars locked into the first five races of the year. As the 2004 series champion, Busch has a provisional position that he could fall back on should he fail to qualify on speed.

Penske said last month that he had not decided if he would give Hornish the points Busch earned because the focus was not on the first month of the season.

"This isn't all about the first five races," Penske said at Phoenix International Raceway. "This is about a long career for a great race car driver and someone who has delivered for us for a long time at Penske Racing."

But not taking the points put Hornish at risk of not making early races, and a failure to qualify could cripple his first full Sprint Cup season. Of the five new teams that started last season outside of the top 35, all missed early races, fell into a deep hole and never recovered.

This swap will prevent that for Hornish, who failed to make the first six races he attempted to qualify for last season. He finally made it into the field at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla., and finished 30 and 37th in his only two starts.

Locking him into the field will give Hornish an edge on former open-wheel drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, who will not be in cars guaranteed a starting spot. Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, however, will enter the series locked into the top 35.

NASCAR awards show better, but not there yet

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:10 EST

NEW YORK -- Credit NASCAR for how much it has improved its Nextel Cup awards ceremony over the past two years. This year's soiree at the Waldorf-Astoria on Friday night had more warmth and personality than the annual festivities have had in a long time.

It began with Tom Brokaw's eloquent tribute to the late Bill France Jr. Tinged with humor and personable remembrances, the former NBC News anchorman who had a friendship with the late president of NASCAR gave it precisely the right tone.

Then Motor Racing Network radio anchor Barney Hall, one of the sport's true gentlemen and a living broadcasting legend, got the Bill France Award of Excellence. Hall was completely surprised and genuinely moved, but he deserves every honor he gets.

The real difference, though, began when the top 10 drivers in the final standings were introduced. Each was brought to the stage after a short piece featuring the driver and somebody or something special in his life.

All were better than a brief video review of their on-track highlights, and some were actually quite amusing or touching.

More to the point, these pieces provided welcomed glimpses into each driver's personality. The whole question of how to get a driver's personality "out there" had become a big topic of Champions Week.

It began Wednesday with Jeff Gordon saying he believes the structure of the sport, with its heavy emphasis on corporate sponsorship, stifles a driver's ability to be himself.

"If you go back to the days when maybe guys were a little rowdier, I definitely think there wasn't as much media scrutiny," Gordon said. "The repercussions weren't as broad as they are today. We rely on our sponsors more today than we ever have. Our sponsors want to be proud to have us as representatives."

But Gordon, who finished second to repeat champion Jimmie Johnson, said he believes drivers, sponsors, NASCAR, the media and fans need to ease up on the possible negatives that might come from displays of emotion.

"My opinion is that there is a way for all of us to continue to open up with our personalities and show ourselves a little bit more," Gordon said. "It's almost as if sometimes I watch the sport and see some of the interviews and I think it was scripted. I blame myself at times, too. I see my own interviews and say, `Why do I always say the same thing?' "

The speeches given by the drivers Friday were examples of how things should not be done. Each was tightly scripted and they all sounded virtually the same.

As long as NASCAR insists on making this annual fete about recognizing 10 drivers, teams and sponsors, only so much can be done to help that.

And, as part of the admirable effort to shorten the banquet it seems the champion's portion of the evening is too hurried. The winning crew chief and team need to be a much bigger part of the party, and the champion should get more than the same perfunctory few minutes to say thank you that the guy who finished 10th does.

It's also still not as much about where this thing is -- New York, Las Vegas or anywhere else -- as it is about what it is. Right now, it's an exclusive party for corporate partners and industry insiders. It's almost as if NASCAR is telling fans they can't be trusted to be around decent folk. It has long been time for that to change, but there's little use in beating that dead horse any more.

The reason fans care about NASCAR is because of the people in it. And while this year's ceremony wasn't perfect, it did take significant steps toward making those people and the stories behind them a bigger part of the final event.

I call that progress.

Doing the Math

The final earnings for 2007 for the 10 drivers atop the final standings:

Driver	Race winnings	Special awards	Points fund	Total earnings
1. Jimmie Johnson	$7,646,421	$350,000	$7,317,499	$15,313,920
2. Jeff Gordon	$7,148,622	$499,150	$3,280,915	$10,926,687
3. Clint Bowyer	$4,215,869	$0	$2,358,924	$6,574,793
4. Matt Kenseth	$6,485,629	$105,600	2,633,887	$8,624,816
5. Kyle Busch	$4,685,518	$0	$1,789,880	$6,475,098
6. Tony Stewart	$6,396,751	$0	$1,626,833	$8,023,584
7. Kurt Busch	$5,287,846	$100,000	$1,464,152	$6,852,008
8. Jeff Burton	$6,015,668	$0	$1,431,620	$7,447,288
9. Carl Edwards	$4,611,967	$0	$1,399,077	$6,011,044
10. Kevin Harvick	$7,494,593	$0	$1,366,535	$8,861,128

Hendrick Motorsports aims to remain dominant

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:42 EST

The NASCAR offseason began Monday, and one of the biggest challenges facing teams will be finding a way to beat juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports.

Jimmie Johnson won a second consecutive championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, culminating an 18-win season for car owner Rick Hendrick. Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon, the championship runner-up, combined for an astounding 16 victories.

A promising and perhaps foretelling sign for 2008 was that a Hendrick driver did not win the Ford 400 season finale. Gordon and Johnson won six of the season's final seven races. But Victory Lane belonged to Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth at Homestead.

Owner Jack Roush knows dominance. His five drivers all made the Chase for the Cup in 2005 and won 15 races that season and have experienced a drop-off in performance since. He said Hendrick's magic won't last.

''We think we'll be able to close any gap,'' Roush said. "This is a momentum sport. You have things going for you for a while. [Hendrick] executed brilliantly, but they also missed more wrecks than my guys did that weren't anybody's fault, and they'll have to give some of those back going forward. Hopefully, we'll be able to reap the benefits of some more Cinderella years where nothing will go wrong.''

Other teams besides Roush's that could unseat Hendrick include Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. An unknown is how Gibbs will fare changing manufacturers to Toyota from Chevrolet. Gibbs should be stronger with the addition of 22-year-old wunderkind Kyle Busch, who is being replaced at Hendrick by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Busch was emphatic in saying Gibbs would be on par with Hendrick.

''I don't believe I would have signed with a team that wouldn't be able to challenge them,'' Busch said.

Childress Racing was the only team to put all of its drivers in the Chase, but needs to improve its Car of Tomorrow program. Beginning next season, teams will race the NASCAR-designed next generation car full-time.

Even though no team threatened Hendrick in 2007, the owner knows keeping the magic next season won't be easy. Hours before the NASCAR finale, he already was outlining plans with his teams.

''We can't come back just like we are,'' Hendrick said. ``We're going to have to be better. We're going to have to look at every area of our company and all of our teams and figure out where we're a little weak, or we're not going to be able to compete at the level we have this year.''

Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, said it's time to start thinking about the Daytona 500 in February.

''You can't lose sight of the fact that next year is coming,'' Knaus said.

``We have to make sure we're on our game, and I want everybody to know we're on our game when we get there.''

The rest of the teams probably wouldn't mind, though, if Hendrick had an offseason hangover.

Johnson, Knaus already thinking about 2008

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:20 EST

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- As Jimmie Johnson made his celebratory trip around the track, crew chief Chad Knaus fumbled with papers that had fallen from his notebook, too distracted to celebrate.

"I wanted to make sure I had everything, so none of the competitors could get them," Knaus said.

Two Nextel Cup championships down, and Johnson and Knaus are already thinking about a third. Based on their dedication and dominance, there's no reason to believe they won't contend for it next season.

After all, Johnson wasn't even out of his car following Sunday's title-clinching race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Knaus was looking toward 2008.

"It's been a phenomenal ride," he said. "Sad it's over, but I can't wait for Daytona now. When you're fortunate enough to be with a group of guys and have an organization behind you like we've got right now, all you want to do is just keep going. I think there are more wins out there for us. I think there are more championships out there for us."

As does everyone else.

Johnson didn't back into a second straight title. He wrested it from teammate Jeff Gordon and never looked back, turning a tight championship chase into a runaway.

He was 68 points out after Gordon's win at Charlotte in the fifth race of the Chase for the championship, then reeled off four wins in the final five races to knock Gordon out of contention. When he finally finished his quiet Sunday drive at Homestead with a seventh-place finish, Johnson had a 77-point advantage over Gordon -- the largest in the four seasons of the Chase.

With four wins and eight top 10s in the Chase, Johnson posted an untouchable average finish of 5.0. Gordon, who won twice in the Chase and averaged a 5.1 finish, was dumbfounded.

"I'll be honest with you, I'll take a 5.1 average for the rest of my career in the Chase," the four-time series champion said. "I'm pretty sure that will win a few championships."

Just not this year, not against a team that can't seem to do anything wrong.

In winning 10 races this season -- the first double-digit total since Gordon did it in 1998 -- Johnson and Knaus proved they aren't afraid to be aggressive. So confident in their skill, they know they can gamble and go for wins. And if it backfires, the end result probably won't be too bad.

The two never stop pushing, even when Johnson had taken command of the standings and could have coasted to the title. Johnson went hard after wins in Texas and Phoenix when settling for second place would have been just fine.

"We're pretty fierce competitors and what we want to do is win races," Knaus said. "When we knew that was our only way to get back into the championship hunt was to win races, it was nice."

Now that it's over, neither will relent.

Oh, sure, they partied till the sun came up in South Beach early Monday, and they'll do it again in New York City next week for the season-ending awards banquet. But make no mistake, this team is deep into its 2008 preparations and their goal of joining Cale Yarborough (1976-78) as the only driver to win three straight titles.

"You can't lose sight of the fact that next year is coming. There is a next season," Knaus said. "We have to make sure we're on our game, and I want everybody to know we're on our game when we get there."

Car owner Rick Hendrick was along for the ride the last time a driver dominated NASCAR this way, when Gordon won 40 races and three titles in four seasons. He saw firsthand the kind of commitment and drive it took, and knows this current combination of Johnson and Knaus can rival that run.

"The fact that (Johnson) goes Monday morning and works out after a race on Sunday, he's as determined as anybody I've ever seen sit down in a race car," Hendrick said. "Chad's the same way. Chad is like always thinking. We fly home together at night, and it's 1 o'clock in the morning, he's got his computer out, and he's dissecting the race.

"I just don't see anything that is going to slow Jimmie down. He just gets better every time I see him get in the car."

Hendrick was no fool when it came to Gordon, locking him into the organization with a lifetime contract. Now he's willing to start the same contract talks with Johnson, who is signed through 2010.

"I want to do whatever I can to keep it together," he said. "When you've got someone that you really enjoy being with and see that they've got unlimited potential, and he and Chad have great chemistry, I try to look down the road as far as they feel comfortable.

"When you see somebody that has it all from talent of how to handle sponsors, of how to represent the company and has unbelievable talent and can make the organization better, you want to keep them in the fold. That's what I have here with these two guys."

And that's bad news for everybody else in NASCAR.

NASCAR 2007: Good guy finishes first

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:16 EST

At last we can refer to 10-race winner Jimmie Johnson as the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, after he took a virtual stranglehold on the title weeks ago.

Well done, Jimmie. Your second consecutive title, which you celebrated at Homestead on Sunday, is a plus for racing and professional sport. We all have a few skeletons in the closet, but yours don't rattle all that often. Nice to know some good guys still finish first.

Looking back at the 36-race NASCAR season, here are some thoughts on an intriguing year and some other people and events that made it one to remember:

• Nothing topped Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s announcement that he would leave DEI and join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. A case of bye-bye, Teresa, and hello, brave new world.

• Speaking of good-byes, best wishes and thanks a million to NASCAR ironman Ricky Rudd and team owner Robert Yates, who will retire after distinguished careers.

• The mysterious disappearance of Kasey Kahne, who had six Cup wins in 2006 and not a single victory this season, in which he finished 19th in points.

• The end, for the moment anyway, of open-wheel racing at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn with the Indy Racing League and the speedway unable to agree on a date in 2008. We hope an agreement can be reached for its return.

• The astonishing rookie performance of England's Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who should be this year's Formula One champion but for a couple of mistakes late in the season. He's the favorite to win the title in 2008.

• Another "almost" season from Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing), who has come so close to winning in the IRL but remains without a victory. Her doubters continue to grow, but if you think she'll lose focus, you're wrong.

• F1 spying and cheating episodes involving the Ferrari and McLaren teams. The horror of it all!

• The effort of Kyle Busch (Hendrick Motorsports) to finish fifth in the Chase for the Championship after being dumped by the team for 2008. He can be a royal pain in the butt, but they don't come much gamer or better.

• Michael Waltrip's fall from grace at Daytona in February when he was caught breaking the rules and couldn't talk his way out of it.

• Toyota's season-long struggle in Nextel Cup, where they paid their dues, missed races but learned plenty. With Joe Gibbs Racing and Tony Stewart on board for 2008, expect Toyota to burst from the gates at Daytona in February.

• Finally, one Jeff Gordon, who didn't win his fifth NASCAR title this season but recorded six victories, finished second in the championship and became a father along the way. Nice going, Pops.

Visit the Freep, the World Wide Web site of the Detroit Free Press, at http://www.freep.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

January ruling expected in NASCAR dispute

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:08 EST

COVINGTON, Ky. -- A federal judge said Monday he will probably decide after Jan. 1 whether Kentucky Speedway may proceed with a lawsuit alleging that NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. have conspired to keep the Sparta track from getting a lucrative Nextel Cup race.

In the lawsuit, filed in July 2005, Kentucky Speedway alleges that NASCAR has violated antitrust laws because the majority of Nextel Cup races are held on International Speedway tracks. NASCAR and International Speedway are both controlled by members of the France family, whose patriarch, Bill France, started NASCAR.

"We have presented ample evidence that NASCAR has monopoly power," Stephen Susman, an attorney for the track, said during a federal court hearing in Covington.

But, in court documents asking that the case be dismissed, attorneys for NASCAR and International Speedway say that, after two years of discovery, Kentucky Speedway cannot show that NASCAR or International Speedway conspired to keep the Gallatin County track or any other independently owned tracks out of the Nextel Cup race circuit.

"There is no evidence that NASCAR wanted to reduce the number of independent tracks," said David Boies, an attorney for NASCAR and International Speedway.

Boies noted that Kentucky Speedway hosts two lower-tiered NASCAR-sanctioned events -- the Busch series and the Craftsman truck series. Moreover, Boies argued, NASCAR has developed a popular and sought-after product -- the Nextel Cup. But just because a product is successful does not mean that it qualifies as a monopoly. And just because someone wants that product doesn't mean they should get it, Boies said.

Kentucky Speedway attorneys said in court yesterday they have evidence that John Saunders, executive vice president of International Speedway, has said that independent tracks are a threat to the organization.

International Speedway has also sought to get the case thrown out on the grounds that it does not have operations in Kentucky.

Kentucky Speedway is asking for more than $400 million in damages and wants a Nextel Cup race.

After a hearing of more than two hours, Bertelsman said he will not rule until after Jan. 1. If the case goes forward, a trial has tentatively been scheduled for March.

NASCAR, in court documents, has said it might call some of the biggest names in racing to testify on its behalf, including drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

"If you settle, you won't hurt my feelings," Bertelsman said. Both sides indicated during the hearing that a settlement was unlikely.

Visit the World Wide Web site of the Herald-Leader at http://www.kentucky.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Hendrick crew chiefs balance each other during Chase

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:20 EST

Chad Knaus burst through the doors, almost an hour late for a lunch appointment.

"I'll take a bloody mary!" Knaus called from halfway across the room, a distance not great enough to mask his frazzled demeanor from his waiting party.

"That's my boy," Steve Letarte replied from his seat at the table. "Nothing wrong with unwinding a little bit."

Less than 24 hours before they headed to Phoenix for what proved to be a pivotal race in their fight for the Nextel Cup title, the Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs squeezed in a late lunch and a quick round of nine holes at the local country club.

There's no doubt Knaus would rather have been working, fine-tuning the race cars Jimmie Johnson needs to hold off Jeff Gordon in the race to the championship. But his intense work ethic nearly destroyed him before, and taking time to live a little has become a priority.

It doesn't always come easy, though, and Knaus sometimes needs a swift push from Letarte to get out of the race shop and onto the links.

Don't think, though, that Letarte is the slacker. He most certainly puts his hours in. But with a young family at home and vast interests outside of racing, Letarte recognizes when he's done all he can to get Gordon ready.

Devoting every waking minute, obsessing over the tiniest details, will never guarantee a trip to Victory Lane.

The crew chiefs couldn't be more different, and yet they have so much in common.

It's made them a perfect fit for each other and provided the balance both need to manage the very best race teams in NASCAR. It's also taught them teamwork is always the best strategy – even when you're trying to beat your friend.

Yes, the two have been locked into a tight championship battle for the past three months, but they've refused to let it interfere with what's grown into one of the best working relationships and friendships in the garage.

"We're competitive, don't think for a minute that we're not," Knaus said.

"It's just that there's a time to be competitive and a time to forget about work for a few hours," Letarte finished.

They've clearly mastered it, combining to win 16 races this season while dominating the points standings all year. Gordon built a lead of more than 300 points during an incredibly consistent "regular season" and Johnson heads into Sunday's finale with a comfortable 86-point margin over his teammate in the title hunt.

It's been a magical season for both teams, and if only there could be two champions ...

But there can't be, and Johnson staked his claim on the title by scoring his fourth-straight victory on Sunday in Phoenix to widen the gap over Gordon.

Although Gordon finished a solid 10th, he conceded the title as soon as he got out of his car. A crestfallen Letarte climbed off the pit box and made the long, slow walk back to the garage.

A few hundred yards away, Knaus was subdued. His gain was Letarte's loss, and Knaus just wasn't comfortable reveling in the moment. He quickly credited the hard work and teamwork the two have put in all year, acutely aware that if the 24 and 48 teams didn't work hand-in-hand, neither would be successful.

Team owner Rick Hendrick struck gold when he put these two crew chiefs together in the same shop late in the 2005 season. Gordon had just missed the Chase and needed a change atop his pit box. The job went to Letarte, 28, who started at Hendrick as a 15-year-old parts assistant while still in high school.

Wise beyond his years, Letarte's carefree attitude sometimes belies the tremendous job he's done in bringing Gordon back to championship form.

Letarte moved into the big chair at a time when Knaus was hanging on for dear life. Despite giving everything he had, he and Johnson had just lost another title and their relationship was in danger of falling apart.

Johnson was weary of Knaus' regimented approach, and the cool Californian needed his crew chief to chill out a bit. If anyone could help him do it, it was Letarte.

Married to a lawyer with two small children at home, Letarte went into the job with his priorities intact. He recognized that no matter how the team performed on Sunday, somebody still had to make breakfast for the kids on Monday.

Trips to Victory Lane are wonderful, but they don't compare to the petting zoo and pumpkin patches. And at the end of a long day, there's nothing wrong with unwinding over a nice dinner with friends and family.

Knaus, who is single but has a longtime girlfriend, isn't wired that way. Small talk can be a struggle when concerns about a setup are running through your head. And who has time for rest and relaxation when preparation for next season isn't complete?

So Letarte pushed him to work just a half-day once a week, dragging him to the golf course for a brief respite. When the wheels didn't fall off the car because Knaus wasn't there to personally oversee their assembly, he finally figured out this thing called living.

Now he's able to leave the office on time, schedule a massage during the week, even leave the track on a Saturday afternoon to get away from racing for just a few hours.

The benefits aren't limited to Knaus, either. Letarte, who admittedly isn't always as intense as he needs to be, has someone there to push him when he'd rather just call it a day.

Of course, the pushing maybe can go too far. Knaus is a repeat offender of NASCAR's rules, with numerous suspensions for pushing the envelope – some call it cheating – and walking a very fine line with the inspectors.

And Letarte had a clean record, until he and Knaus manipulated the noses on the Car of Tomorrow before a June race in California. It earned them each a six-week suspension, and many in the industry snickered that Knaus had corrupted his new accomplice.

The two laugh about it now.

"I learned what it is that Chad's been doing all these years – every time he needs a vacation, he goes and gets suspended," Letarte joked.

"Oh, we did have a great summer, didn't we?" Knaus replied.

"Yup. It's fun getting suspended with a friend," Letarte quipped.

So is winning and losing.

Jimmie Johnson doesn't feel sorry for Jeff Gordon

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:35 EST

It's not unusual for Jeff Gordon to visit teammate Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane, but no one would have been surprised if he skipped it following Johnson's win at Phoenix.

The victory was Johnson's 10th of the season and gave him such a firm grasp of the Nextel Cup title, Gordon conceded the championship as soon as he climbed from his car.

But after changing into street clothes, he found his friend in Victory Lane, where he saluted him by bowing to Johnson then waving a white flag as if to say "I surrender."

"I couldn't believe he was there doing that, especially in front of all those photographers," Johnson said Tuesday. "I thought 'You are crazy, man, these pictures are going to be everywhere.' But it just goes to show you his level of class. I don't think in that situation that I would have thought about going to see him in Victory Lane."

Johnson's win was his fourth straight and gave him a comfortable 86-point lead over Gordon in the standings heading into this weekend's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He needs only to finish 18th or better to win his second consecutive title and end a season-long rivalry with Gordon, the four-time series champion.

Gordon had his own remarkable year, winning six races and dominating the "regular season" by opening a lead of more than 300 points. Either is a deserving champion, but Johnson isn't capable of feeling sorry for beating his teammate to the prize.

"I don't think it's in a racer's makeup to feel sorry for someone," he said. "I look at how strong we had to be and how hard we've had to push to beat them. They are just great. A great race team, and they certainly are deserving of the title. And it's not over yet. There's still 400 miles left to go in this thing.

"But Jeff and his team have made us a better team, and I know how hard we had to push to beat them."

Q&A

Q: One to go and a comfortable lead. How are you feeling after your 10th win of the season?

JJ: I'm trying to think about how or why this has all happened, and how we can keep it and recreate it. But I don't know what it is. It's just clicking on all eight cylinders and I'm so stoked to be in this position. It's a situation that a kid would dream of, any athlete in any sport would dream of. But there's still 400 miles left to get the job done. It's just been a dream year.

Q: You've never won at Homestead, but do you think you can pull it off this Sunday and make it five in a row?

JJ: I really do think we can win at Homestead. We really can if we just keep doing what we've been doing.

Q: What's your mind-set like this week?

JJ: I'm sort of just going through the motions right now. I worked out this morning, I'm on my way to the office because I haven't been home in about a month. So I'm going to get some stuff done. I'm going to be in a race car tomorrow, so that's going to be sort of like 'race car therapy' and I'm just trying to stay sharp and stay fresh.

Q: I saw pitcher Mike Hampton in Phoenix with you. Did you guys have a good time?

JJ: Absolutely. He's such a good guy. He only came out for Friday, and then he had to leave because he's getting ready to go play in the Mexican Leagues. I'm just happy to see him feeling better and recovering from the issues he's had. I've only known him through his injuries, so it's just great to see him playing ball again.

Q: You draw a lot of heat from all your famous friends this time of the year. Who can we expect to see in Miami?

JJ: We've got a lot of different plans. Nick Lachey will probably show up. I am not sure about Brian and Marcus Giles. I think Brian is getting married this weekend? Or he did just get married? At one point they were coming, but I am not sure and I've been trying to lay low. My voicemail box is probably full.

Q: You are on the verge of consecutive championships. Where does that put you in the sport?

JJ: It's tough thing to rank yourself. I'm excited that we've been able to race and compete and get people thinking about us in the upper echelon of NASCAR, and it's sort of made me wonder how can I leave a legacy behind in the sport and be talked about when I am out of the car. It blows me away from all the goals I ever set in my life because it is extremely difficult to win one and to win two is just unreal. It puts you just at the top of the top and makes me wonder if I was able to win three or four ... it's just impossible to fathom what it means now. I suppose the simplicity of it is I want to be one of the best. As I am older and my career slows down, the stats and where I stand in my career will become more important.

Q: What were your early goals?

JJ: I just wanted to keep a job. Jeff was coming off a championship and I was getting all his hand-me downs, stuff that was proven and able to win. I was nervous and didn't know what was going to happen. I just wanted to keep my job."

Q: And now?

JJ: Just trying to improve in the win column. Rusty (Wallace) is up there in the 50s. I think what Jeff has done to get to 81 is just impossible to reach in the new era. Those kind of numbers are going to be so tough to beat. But maybe we can get there.

Q: Do you think you are finally out of Jeff's shadow?

JJ: I really think so. Over the years we have clearly defined ourselves. We do have similarities and drive for the same team, but we are different people and we are experiencing different things in life. As the years have gone on, we've done a good job of differentiating ourselves and showing that I am not Jeff Gordon.