tool name
closeDavid Poole's Raceday notebook
Friday, Jul. 11, 2008
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. Tony Stewart made news off the track all week, announcing the deal that will make him co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing next year. He has two wins and five top-five finishes in the seven races at this track, so he could make noise on track tonight.
2. Brian Vickers is trying to climb into Chase contention and this has been a good track for him. He has finished in the top 15 in all three of his starts at Chicagoland and was fourth here two years ago.
3. Roush Fenway Racing had three of the five fastest cars in Friday afternoon’s practice, and six cars using the Ford team’s engines were among the 12 fastest. Could that indicate a big night for the Roush brigade this evening?
OBSERVATIONS
--I didn’t get to the track in time for Tony Stewart’s press conference Thursday, but I did get a chance to speak to him for a few seconds Friday morning. I asked him if he knew what he was getting himself into in owning a Cup team, and I thought what he said was illustrative. “I’ve never failed at anything in my life,” he said. “I don’t see a reason to start now.” He didn’t say it with arrogance. He said it with determination. There’s a difference between the two that will be critical as he faces this challenge.
--Apparently some feel that I have not expressed sufficient outrage that some fans threw objects at Kyle Busch as he celebrated his Daytona win last week. OK, let me combine that with speculation that surfaced Friday that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign could sponsor Ken Schrader in a No. 49 Toyota in an upcoming race. I don’t care if you’ve never voted for a Democrat or driven a foreign car in your life, or if you think Kyle Busch is the devil. If you throw a beer can at a car on a race track, toward any car for any reason, you’re an idiot. And you have no business being allowed out among decent folks. – DAVID POOLE
JUST THE FACTS
What: Lifelock 400
Where: Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.
Track type: 1.5-mile oval, with 18 degrees of banking in the turns
Race distance: 400 miles (267 laps)
When: Tonight at 8
Weather: Showers ending, temperatures in the 70s
TV: TNT cable
Radio: Motor Racing Network (WSOC-FM, 103.7)
OBSERVER PICKS
DAVID POOLE
Matt Kenseth has been the runner-up in this race in two of the past three years. He’s also been on a run lately, clawing his way back into the Chase picture. That’s enough omens for me. Winner: Matt Kenseth
JIM UTTER
All signs point toward a Tony Stewart victory, but there is a driver fighting tooth and nail to push Stewart out of the Top 12 and get back in it himself. And he also won twice at this track. Winner: Kevin Harvick