Pepsi 500

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.

Auto Club Speedway History

• Groundbreaking for Auto Club Speedway took place in November 1995.
• The first race was a NASCAR West Series race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 22, 1997 and won by Jeff Gordon.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Cup race was held on Oct. 19, 1997, won by Todd Bodine.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race was won by Mike Bliss on Oct. 18, 1997.
• September 2004 was the first night race and was also the first year there were two races a year for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• 2005 was the first time the first Auto Club Speedway race was a triple-header with all three major NASCAR series competing.
• The track name was changed from California Speedway to Auto Club Speedway in February 2008.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 16
• Pole Winners: 11
• Race Winners: 13
• Five drivers have competed in all 16 Auto Club races: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek and Kyle Petty.
• Joe Nemechek won the pole for the inaugural race in 1997. Greg Sacks broke Nemechek’s short-lived, track-qualifying record in the second round of qualifying.
• There have been 11 different pole winners, led by Kurt Busch (three) and Jeff Gordon (two) Qualifying was canceled in 1999 and 2008-1.
• 12 different drivers have posted victories at Auto Club Speedway. Jeff Gordon (three), Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth (two) are the only multiple race winners there.
• Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing have each won six races, more than any other organization.
• Eight of the 16 races were won from outside the top 10 starting positions.
• Matt Kenseth won the 2006 sprint race from the 31st starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

NASCAR in California

• There have been 122 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in California:
• 404 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as California.
• There have been 32 race winners from California in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver	NCSC	NNS	NCTS
Jimmie Johnson	35	1	0
Marvin Panch	17	0	0
Ernie Irvan	15	3	0
Dick Rathmann	13	0	0
Kevin Harvick	11	32	2
Dan Gurney	5	0	0
Eddie Gray	4	0	0
Parnelli Jones	4	0	0
Eddie Pagan	4	0	0
Robby Gordon	3	1	0
Ray Elder	2	0	0
Danny Letner	2	0	0
Marvin Porter	2	0	0
Casey Mears	1	1	0
Dick Brooks	1	0	0
Marvin Burke	1	0	0
Jim Cook	1	0	0
Lou Figaro	1	0	0
Danny Graves	1	0	0
Johnny Mantz	1	0	0
Bill Norton	1	0	0
John Soares	1	0	0
Danny Weinberg	1	0	0
Ron Hornaday Jr.	0	4	36
Jason Leffler	0	2	1
Mike Skinner	0	1	24
Joe Ruttman	0	1	13
David Gilliland	0	1	0
Matt Crafton	0	0	1
Boris Said	0	0	1
Scott Speed	0	0	1
Brandon Whitt	0	0	1

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Kyle Busch (188.425 mph, 38.248 seconds, 2-25-05)
• Track race record: Jeff Gordon (155.012 mph, 6-22-97)

Qualifying/Race Data

• 2007 pole winner: Kurt Busch (182.399 mph, 39.474 seconds)
• 2007 race winner: Jimmie Johnson (131.502 mph, 9-2-07)

California Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 40-44 laps, based on fuel mileage
• # 25 of 36 (8-31-08)
• Track Size: 2 miles
• Race Length: 250 laps/500 miles
• Banking/Corners: 14 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 11 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 3 degrees

Robby Gordon to visit Fort Lee’s Warriors in Transition Unit and will run a special Operation Homefront paint scheme.

Robby Gordon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ driver, will visit soldiers assigned to the Warrior in Transition Unit (WTU) at Fort Lee, VA on behalf of Operation Homefront Thursday, September 4.

The visit coincides with Jim Beam’s efforts to help increase awareness of Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing emergency assistance and morale to U.S. troops and their families.

Additionally, the No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge will sport a special red, white and blue paint scheme featuring Operation Homefront under the lights at Richmond International Raceway.

“It is rewarding to be associated with Jim Beam, who supports organizations that represent the stuff inside,” said Gordon. “Operation Homefront’s dedication to helping troops and their families is amazing. I’m really excited about visiting our brave men and women and I’m honored to help raise awareness of Operation Homefront by having them on our race car at Richmond.”

Jim Beam®, the world’s No. 1-selling bourbon, formed an association with Operation Homefront earlier this year when it recognized the organization had the same commitment and values as the Jim Beam brand – true character, integrity and doing the right thing.

“Operation Homefront is one of Jim Beam’s leading charities,” said Rory Finlay, senior vice president and global chief marketing officer, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. “We are happy to lend our racing platform as a way to heighten the visibility of Operation Homefront and their tireless efforts helping our troops and their families.”

"We are so grateful to Jim Beam and Robby Gordon for the opportunity to be a part of the NASCAR stage," said Amy Palmer, executive vice president of operations and development for Operation Homefront. "This exposure will create awareness of our organization and will allow us to enhance our support of the brave men and women in uniform and their families who are experiencing hardships."

Gordon will arrive at Fort Lee, Thursday, September 4 at 1:15 p.m. and will begin signing autographs at 1:30 p.m. The visit to the Warriors in Transition Unit will take place at 2:30 p.m. Images of the Operation Homefront special paint scheme can be downloaded by going to http://www.box.net/shared/07zn7juvs0.

About Operation Homefront & CinCHouse.com

peration Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)(3), Operation Homefront served more than 33,000 military families in 2007 with the help of 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide. Operation Homefront is also the parent organization of Webby Award-winner CinCHouse.com, the Internet’s largest magazine and online community of military wives and women in uniform. For more information, please visit www.operationhomefront.net and www.cinchouse.com.

About Robby Gordon Motorsports

Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Gordon, 2008 marks its fourth season of competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and continues to operate successful racing programs in the SCORE International Off-Road desert series, The Dakar® Rally and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

About Beam Global Spirits & Wine

Inspiring conversations around the world, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., is building brands people want to talk about. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for our brands, including Jim Beam® Bourbon, Sauza® Tequila, Canadian Club® Whisky, Courvoisier® Cognac, Maker’s Mark® Bourbon, Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, Larios® Gin, Whisky DYC®, Teacher’s® Scotch Whisky, DeKuyper® Cordials and Liqueurs, Knob Creek® Bourbon and Starbucks™ Liqueurs. Beam Global Spirits & Wine is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $8 billion. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamglobal.com and www.drinksmart.com.

After a week of setting of shop here, some people might be wondering “who is this guy?”

And more importantly, “What the heck Darren was thinking?”.

I can’t help with the second question, but if you were curious who the heck I am, and have done all your chores and finished your homework, here’s some light reading.

Enjoy the race this weekend!”

In light of the Olympics craze, it’s easy to try and relate it to NASCAR. Sometimes it works, like comparing Michael Phelps’ Olympics to Kyle Busch’s season. It’s a stretch but at least holds some parallels. Other times it just won’t translate and looks like grasping at straws. Witness one such grasp from the AP:

In NASCAR, the safest record appears to be the 200 victories by stock car king Richard Petty, 119 more than Jeff Gordon, the leading active driver with 81 wins.

On first glance it looks like Petty’s record would be unattainable today. Of course Petty’s numbers are like adding apples and oranges to Gordon’s apples. Prior to 1972 NASCAR featured as many as 56 races per season and many of these events did not feature all of the top drivers. Some were the rough equivalent of a Nationwide race. 140 of Petty’s 200 wins came prior to 1972. In 1972 a more regular schedule was devised. Since 1972 Darrell Waltrip holds the record for most wins with 84, which is only three ahead of Gordon.

Another “record” was set at Watkins Glen this season when Kyle Busch won his third road course race in a season (Mexico City, Infineon, Watkins Glen). Somehow this one failed to capture my imagination too. Other drivers like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart have swept the Cup road courses, but didn’t always choose to race in Busch/Nationwide races. Kudos for Busch for loving to race in any series, but it’s a little skewed when the races are in different series and many of the top drivers pass on the lower series. Plus there haven’t always been five road races in a season. It would be like Peyton Manning setting a record for most combined TD passes in NFL and Arena Football. He could do it but it wouldn’t really mean a lot because the competition isn’t at the highest level.

Another key to a worthy record is longevity. Swimming records mean nothing because they are broken in almost every big race. The same goes for a qualifying record at any track. No one really cares whether Ryan Newman sets a record for the fastest lap at Lowes Motor Speedway. But it would be impressive if Newman broke Jeff Gordon’s career pole record (65 to Newman’s 43).

To me a record only means something if it has lasting value. Dale Earnhardt and Petty’s 7 Championships is an easily recognized milestone. Ricky Rudd’s record of 788 consecutive starts is another record that almost anyone can appreciate the scope of. It doesn’t have to require longevity or compiling, but it has to be something that lots of people have attempted but failed. Like winning four Cup races in a row or 13 Cup races in a season.

I’d love to hear from others. Do you care about records in NASCAR? What constitutes something being noteworthy in racing? Because of the evolving technology, are records even applicable to NASCAR?

Does the Bristol night race’s reputation precede the actual quality of the race? It’s still one of the most anticipated races of the season, but in recent years it’s become something resembling a parade more than a race. Last year’s resurfacing project helped introduce a second groove, but things still didn’t change at the front of the pack. Pole sitter Kasey Kahne led 305 laps and winner Carl Edwards led 182. That’s 487 of a possible 500 laps by the cars that finished 1-2. It’s hard to even write about this without nodding off.

While the racing action might be a little bit lacking, the importance of this weekend is still great. 103 points separate 8th from 14th place. That may sound like a lot, but it’s only a difference of 1st place to 26th place. In last year’s race Jamie McMurray finished in 26th place, but was only two laps down. A garden variety flat tire or pit road mistake could boot a driver from a safe Chase spot to nail biting for the final two races.

The other thing about Bristol is the fact that practically anyone in the top 12 could win the race and no one would be surprised. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick have won races. Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin have both come close and led enough laps at the track to make one dizzy. Maybe the longest shot is Jimmie Johnson, but he ran very well in the spring race (more on that later). Further back is Kurt Busch, who has five Bristol wins and 9 top 10’s in 15 starts. With his season in the compost bin, Bristol would be one of the select races that the #2 team tries to put out a good effort (check out Jame’s rundown of the top 12 for more info).

• Get ready for retro night at Bristol. Sterling Marlin (#09), Ken Schrader (#96) and Bill Elliott (#21) are all entered in the race. While none of the three can still be considered threats for the win, they can all still hustle their way around a half mile track. I would say they know it by the back of their hand, but seriously can anyone describe the back of their hand to me?

• Last year David Ragan was a 21 year old rookie and got involved in three cautions last year. This year he is in the hunt for a Chase spot and is tied for 13th in the points. What a difference a year can make.

• Kyle Pety returns to the #45 after his summer hiatus was extended a few weeks. He also sums up the Bristol race.

  “This car can still be considered ‘new’ at some tracks. We just ran it for the first time at Indy a few weeks ago. When we go to Bristol, though, it’s just a racecar. This will be the fourth race for this car here. Everyone has it figured out by now. It does a great job on the short tracks, like Bristol, where you tend to use the ‘bump and run’ to pass. The way the bumpers on these cars line up, you can still nudge someone to make the pass, but they don’t spin out as often.

  Petty is exactly right. The CoT is not new to the short tracks so teams should have a decent idea of what to expect. Whether they can do anything about it is another story.

Who Will Win?

Jimmie Johnson has never ran well at Bristol. He has 2 top 5’s and has never come close to winning a race. However after they repaved the track last summer, Johnson has fared better. With more lines to run Johnson was much better this past spring. He won the pole, led 14 laps and ran in the top five most of the day before fading late. After struggling last week at Michigan it is time for Johnson to return to the front and pull of a mildly surprising win. Of course when you’ve won 35 races since 2002, no win should be surprising.

Tony Stewart has had a rough year. He’s still in good shape to make the Chase, has led over 500 laps and has 8 top 5’s and 11 top 10’s (not to mention over $4 million in winnings). But Smoke is used to winning races. He’s won at least two ever year since 1998. Something is wrong and I’ve got a few ideas.

1. It’s Goodyear’s fault.
2. Lord Voldemort cast a winless curse on Stewart. “Losera Eterna!
3. Complications from a back-hair wax has left Stewart uncomfortable sitting in a car for three hours.
4. He’s not currently on probation with NASCAR.
5. Scott Bakula leaped into Stewart’s body and can’t get out until he wins a Cup race.
6. He is getting acclimated for his 2009-2015 seasons with Haas.
7. You mean those drivers talking about shooting for second was just a Rapid Release commercial?
8. Due to an unpaid parking ticket from a test session, the #20 car has a boot on the right rear.
9. The first 32 wins of a driver’s career are typically flukes.
10. Switching from DQ Blizzards to Subway sandwiches has sapped his strength. Also known as the curse of Jared Fogle.

“

NASCAR has fined Donnie Wingo, crew chief of the No. 41 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, for a violation committed during the Aug. 17 race at Michigan International Speedway.

The No. 41 car driven by Reed Sorenson was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4-W (improperly attached weight) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book.

As a result, Wingo has been fined $25,000 for the rule infraction.

The biggest news of the Michigan weekend was Joe Gibbs Racing getting caught interfering with NASCAR’s engine inspections. They apparently used magnets to alter a Nationwide dyno test on the engines. The magnets prevented the gas pedal from accelerating 100%. (Rumors that Regan Smith’s car had magnets to pull the pedal to the floor in order to accelerate 100% were untrue and made up by me.)

After Michael Waltrip’s fiasco at the 2007 Datyona 500, plus Jack Roush’s accusations of a Toyota team stealing proprietary parts, the Japanese manufacturer’s image (Toyota needs a nickname in line with blue oval, bow tie or ram’s head) has not exactly endeared itself to fans and officials. For some fans it’s all the ammunition they need to fire off more claims about Toyota being bad for the sport. To be clear this was a Joe Gibbs Racing offense, and the manufacturer probably had nothing to do with it. The offense would be the same whether Gibbs was still with Chevrolet, Pontiac or Toyota.

While it’s NASCAR’s job to determine intent, it appears that Gibbs will receive serious penalties in this case. Cheating is typically regarded as mild embarrassment for the offenders. A team tries to sneak something past NASCAR like a child trying to sneak out of bed during naptime. They get busted, but in the scheme of things it’s not a serious offense. It’s almost greeted with a sporting, “Nice try.” In contrast, Gibbs not only tried to sneak something past the officials, but also tried to cover it up. In the words of JGR president, JD Gibbs, “This one here is clearly — if it turns out what it is — it’s an intentional opportunity to lead someone astray.” And that is where some will call for harsh penalties.

While throwing Gibb’s Nationwide teams in NASCAR jail would probably make some fans feel better, what would the overall effect be? For a powerful Cup team like Gibbs, not much. While winning 14 races obviously impresses sponsors, Nationwide races don’t have any bearing on what happens on Sundays in the Cup series, which is exactly why such a blatant offense occurred in the series that it did. It’s also the reason why Chad Knaus tends to experiment with things during the regular season but doesn’t mess around during the Chase. The good teams pick their spots for rule bending.

The other thing to note is that Joe Gibbs Racing does not have a previous record of rule breaking. The pattern of cheating isn’t there yet, and while NASCAR might make an example out of Gibbs for all teams to heed, that doesn’t seem fair to a team with an otherwise pretty clean record. Don’t get me wrong, the Gibbs teams deserve punishment for breaking rules. But all of the brash talk about making them pay or questioning their 2008 accomplishments doesn’t really do much either. The only way NASCAR can truly curb cheating is to penalize teams so severely that they would stop. That severity in this case would be penalizing the Cup team, which would be grossly unjust. And that brings us back to my original question: What will these penalties really affect? Unfortunately probably little.

The one positive that will come out of this little fiasco (and please don’t call it _____-gate) The next time you get pulled over for speeding, be sure you have some magnets in the glove compartment and then exercise your legal right to a dyno test. “See officer, I couldn’t possibly go 95 mph.

What do you think? Is it a case of “If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying”? How should NASCAR handle this? Do you believe JD Gibbs that he didn’t know about it? Have your say in the comments.“

PRESS RELEASE: DAYTONA BEACH, FL (August 19, 2008)

NASCAR announced today its national series schedules for the 2009 season, which features realigned dates for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Truck Series.

In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series there will be a three-way date swap between Atlanta Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) and Talladega Superspeedway.

• Atlanta’s second 2009 race will be held on Sunday, Sept. 6, taking the Labor Day weekend slot now held by Auto Club Speedway.
• Auto Club Speedway’s second race will be Sunday, Oct. 11 – the fourth week of the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup,” a slot formerly held by Talladega.
• Talladega’s second event will move to Sunday, Nov. 1, making it the seventh Chase event – the slot formerly held by Atlanta.

“The 2009 schedule reflects realigned dates that are good opportunities for everyone involved in our sport – fans, sponsors, tracks and teams," said NASCAR President Mike Helton.

The season begins with a tripleheader weekend at Daytona International Speedway capped by the running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15.

In addition to that season-opening event for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Truck Series starts its season on Friday night, Feb. 13, followed the next afternoon by the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener.

For all three series, the season will conclude with another tripleheader weekend, at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20-22.

Other key NASCAR Sprint Cup dates in 2009:

The 31st annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona – a non-points event – will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7.

On the evening of Saturday, Sept. 12, Richmond International Raceway will again host the “Chase cut-off” race, affording the last opportunity for drivers to qualify for NASCAR’s championship playoffs.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the first races in both the “Race to the Chase” (Sunday, June 28) and the Chase (Sunday, Sept. 20).

There also will be an additional off-week for NASCAR’s premier series in 2009, prior to the Labor Day weekend event, giving teams a final break before a 12-week stretch that will end the season. Because of the way the calendar falls, NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will have a total of four off-weeks during the 2009 season.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will have a 35-race schedule. Changes from this year include a new event at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 1, replacing Mexico City; a switch of the Atlanta Motor Speedway event from March to September; and moving the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve event in Montreal to Sunday, Aug. 30.

The NASCAR Truck Series in 2009 again will have 25 races, with one realigned date: The series’ late-season race at Atlanta will be replaced by a night event at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, Aug. 28.

(The 2009 schedules follow on subsequent pages. Starting times and television information will be announced at a later date.)

2009 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Site
Feb. 7	Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Daytona International Speedway*
Feb. 15	Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 22	Auto Club Speedway
March 1	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 8	Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 22	Bristol Motor Speedway
March 29	Martinsville Speedway
April 5	Texas Motor Speedway
April 18	Phoenix International Raceway
April 26	Talladega Superspeedway
May 2	Richmond International Raceway
May 9	Darlington Raceway
May 16	NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Lowe’s Motor Speedway*
May 24	Lowe’s Motor Speedway
May 31	Dover International Speedway
June 7	Pocono Raceway
June 14	Michigan International Speedway
June 21	Infineon Raceway
June 28	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 4	Daytona International Speedway
July 11	Chicagoland Speedway
July 26	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 2	Pocono Raceway
Aug. 9	Watkins Glen International
Aug. 16	Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 22	Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 6	Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 12	Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 20	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 27	Dover International Speedway
Oct. 4	Kansas Speedway
Oct. 11	Auto Club Speedway
Oct. 17	Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Oct. 25	Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 1	Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 8	Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 15	Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 22	Homestead-Miami Speedway
* – Denotes non-points event.

2009 NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Site
Feb. 14	Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 21	Auto Club Speedway
Feb. 28	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 21	Bristol Motor Speedway
April 4	Texas Motor Speedway
April 11	Nashville Superspeedway
April 17	Phoenix International Raceway
April 25	Talladega Superspeedway
May 1	Richmond International Raceway
May 8	Darlington Raceway
May 23	Lowe’s Motor Speedway
May 30	Dover International Speedway
June 6	Nashville Superspeedway
June 13	Kentucky Speedway
June 20	Milwaukee Mile
June 27	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 3	Daytona International Speedway
July 10	Chicagoland Speedway
July 18	Gateway International Raceway
July 25	O’Reilly Raceway Park
Aug. 1	Iowa Speedway
Aug. 8	Watkins Glen International
Aug. 15	Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 21	Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 30	Circuit Gilles Villenueve
Sept. 5	Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 11	Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 26	Dover International Speedway
Oct. 3	Kansas Speedway
Oct. 10	Auto Club Speedway
Oct. 16	Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Oct. 24	Memphis Motorsports Park
Nov. 7	Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 14	Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 21	Homestead-Miami Speedway

2009 NASCAR TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Site
Feb. 13	Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 21	Auto Club Speedway
March 7	Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 28	Martinsville Speedway
April 25	Kansas Speedway
May 15	Lowe’s Motor Speedway
May 23	Mansfield Motorsports Park
May 29	Dover International Speedway
June 5	Texas Motor Speedway
June 13	Michigan International Speedway
June 19	Milwaukee Mile
June 27	Memphis Motorsports Park
July 18	Kentucky Speedway
July 24	O’Reilly Raceway Park
Aug. 1	Nashville Superspeedway
Aug. 19	Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 28	Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 12	Gateway International Raceway
Sept. 19	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 26	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct. 24	Martinsville Speedway
Oct. 31	Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 6	Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13	Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20	Homestead-Miami Speedway

Note: All dates subject to change.

Bristol Motor Speedway: Sharpie 500

Courtesy of NASCAR MEDIA

• Edwards Seeking Second Consecutive Win; Third In Four Races
• Johnson Among Drivers Who Could Clinch Chase Berths At Bristol
• NASCAR CAM: Kevin Harvick
• ‘On The Bubble’: No Room For Mistakes Among Chase Contenders
• In The Loop: Five Drivers Seeking First 2008 Win Also Excel At Bristol
• Bristol Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of August Night Race

Edwards To Test Winning Momentum On Bristol’s High Banks

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) is on a hot streak, perhaps the perfect set-up for a hot August night in Bristol, Tenn.

Saturday’s Sharpie 500 — the 30th anniversary of such an event at Bristol Motor Speedway — is known simply as “the night race,” where fenders bang, nerves fray and results are crucial to those drivers vying for a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

This weekend’s action — Week 8 of the Race to the Chase, the 10-race stretch that precedes the Chase — promises to be as pivotal as ever.

Currently the series’ hottest driver, Edwards has won two of the last three races, including last weekend’s event at Michigan International Speedway. He’s also the defending champion of Saturday’s Sharpie 500 and sits second in the series standings behind leader Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota).

More importantly, Edwards also ranks second to Busch in Chase bonus points.

Drivers get 10 bonus points for each win in the first 26 races, and Chase seeding is done according to bonus-point totals. A total of 30 bonus points — and three races — remain until the 2008 Chase begins Sept. 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

Busch’s series-high eight victories gives him the lead with 80 Chase bonus points. Edwards is second with five wins and 40 bonus points (his team lost 10 bonus points due to a post-race inspection infraction at Las Vegas earlier this season).

2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule Announced

The 2009 schedules for all three NASCAR national series — the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Truck Series — were released Tuesday.

Three realignment changes highlight the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.

The second 2009 event at Auto Club Speedway will move from Labor Day weekend to Sunday, Oct. 11, becoming the fourth event in the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The fall race at Atlanta Motor Speedway moves to Sunday, Sept. 6, ensuring the return of a longtime NASCAR tradition — Labor Day weekend racing in the southeast. 

Talladega Superspeedway’s fall event moves to Atlanta’s former slot, on Sunday, Nov. 1, becoming the seventh event in the 2009 Chase.

The 2009 series schedule also contains four off weeks, an increase from three on the 2008 schedule.

“The announcement of our three 2009 national series schedules has some significant news in it,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton of Tuesday’s across-the-board announcement. “We think this news and these moves benefit all the industry, including the tracks and the teams, but most importantly our fans.”

Four Drivers Could Clinch Chase Berths At Bristol

Heading into Saturday’s Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, only one driver — standings leader Kyle Busch — has clinched a berth in the 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

He did so last weekend at Michigan, also ensuring his position as the top seed with a series-high eight wins and the accompanying 10 bonus points per victory.

Others, however, may join him this week.

Four drivers can clinch Chase spots following Saturday night’s race, depending on their finishes or those of other contending drivers.

Second-place Carl Edwards leads the list. He can lose 108 points to 13th-place Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet) and 14th-place David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford), who are tied for 13th (Bowyer earns the tiebreaker with one win this season to Ragan’s none).

But regardless of what Bowyer and Ragan do, Edwards clinches if he finishes 25th or better, finishes 27th and leads at least one lap or finishes 30th and leads the most laps.

Third-place Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) can lose 27 points to Bowyer and Ragan and still clinch. He also clinches if he finishes second or better Saturday night, finishes third and leads at least one lap or finishes fifth and leads the most laps.

Fourth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) can lose 16 points to the Bowyer/Ragan duo and clinch. But Earnhardt will clinch regardless if he wins Saturday night and leads the most laps.

Fifth-place Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) can lose 20 points to Bowyer and Ragan and clinch. He’ll also clinch if he wins and leads the most laps, regardless of their performances.

On The Cam: Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Pennzoil Platinum Chevrolet), a former Bristol winner and current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contender, was the guest Tuesday on the weekly NASCAR CAM Video Teleconference.

Following are some excerpts.

Q: On improved summer performances:

Harvick: “You know, there’s just better cars, better engines, better everything.  Everything just seems to be going our way now, and we’re getting some breaks and doing things right in the shop. Not that we were doing them wrong before, it just seems like everything is transferring over to finishes now. 

“Hopefully, we’re hitting our stride at the right time and we can carry that into the next three weeks and hopefully onto the Chase. ”

Q: On handicapping the 2008 Chase:

Harvick: “It seems like everybody has closed the gap on the 18 (Kyle Busch). Obviously they’ve been running really good every week, but it seems like the 99 (Carl Edwards) has been running really well all year.

“I feel like we’ve closed up the gap. We’ve got a little bit more work to do to get to where we need to be. But hopefully over the next three weeks we can get everything done that we need to get done on the racetrack and then really throw everything at it for the Chase. Hopefully in an underdog role you don’t really have anything to lose, so that’s hopefully what we’re looking forward to.” 

Q: On the re-paved Bristol, a year later:

Harvick: “I think they’ve done a great job with the race track and just making some of the grooves. The first time we went there, I think the tires were a little bit too hard and you could run all the way up at the wall.

“The last time we went there, it was more like the old Bristol, but you still had a couple options from the bottom to the middle. I think once they got the tires squared away, the race track kind of came back around and the racing was a lot more normal the last time.”

Q: On the re-pave affecting aggressiveness:

Harvick: “That’s almost funny to hear somebody say that because I don’t know that there is a tame race at Bristol. 

“I think if everybody is running over the top of each other, people are going to complain about that. Now that there’s places to pass, people are going to complain about that. Let’s write a happy story about it. They did a hell of a job on the race track, and I think they should be commended for that, and I think the racing is good and it was really good at the first race this year. Just because you don’t have 20 cautions in one race doesn’t make it an abnormal Bristol. ” 

In The Loop: Five Drivers Winless In ‘08 Thrive At Bristol

The list includes some of NASCAR’s most prolific drivers: Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet), Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford), Greg Biffle (No. 16 DISH Turbo HD Ford).

Those five drivers have three things in common. They’re all in the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ top 12 standings. They all rank in the top five in pre-race Driver Rating at Bristol. And they all are winless in 2008.

That last “tie that binds” may end this week.

Going down the Driver Rating line:

Matt Kenseth, 109.0 Driver Rating. He’s won twice at Bristol, and always seems to run up front. He boasts series-high marks in Average Running Position (7.3), Fastest Laps Run (218) and Laps in the Top 15 percentage (93%). His most impressive Bristol performance came in August 2005 when he led a startling 415 laps.

Greg Biffle, 103.2 Driver Rating. Though without a Bristol win, Biffle looks on the verge of one. He has finished in the top 10 in six of the last seven races and has an Average Running Position of 10.7 and 178 Fastest Laps Run (third).

Kevin Harvick, 102.6 Driver Rating. Harvick finished second at Bristol in March and has the talent and gutsiness to grab his second Bristol win — his first came in the spring race of 2005. In the last seven races (four of which were top-10 finishes), Harvick has an Average Running Position of 10.3, 158 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 78.1%.

Tony Stewart, 102.4 Driver Rating. Stewart has led the most laps in three of the last six Bristol races and has exactly zero wins to show for it.

He does have one Bristol win (summer 2001) and was on his way to another this past March before a tussle with Harvick ended his hopes. Since 2005, Stewart has an Average Running Position of 11.6, 195 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 65%.

Jeff Gordon, 101.4 Driver Rating. Gordon has five wins at Bristol, but has finished outside the top 10 in each of the last two races. But, he always seems to save his best for the brightest stage: the night race. Four of his Bristol wins came in the night event, and he finished third at this race last year.

On The Bubble: Battle For Final Chase Spots Tightens

Last week’s action at Michigan International Speedway acted like a cement mixer for drivers in positions six through 12 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

With only three events remaining until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 14 at New Hampshire, points-jockeying is in full swing.

While the top five positions remained unchanged, seven others changed, some to dizzying highs and lows.

Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) and Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) each dropped three positions thanks to DNFs (did not finish) at Michigan.

Gordon fell to ninth, Hamlin to 12th and Kahne to 11th.

Conversely, Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick each jumped three spots thanks to top-10 Michigan finishes — Biffle to seventh and Harvick to eighth.

Matt Kenseth, who finished fifth, jumped two spots to 10th.

Nearly lost in all that movement was Tony Stewart’s quiet move to sixth, a one-spot improvement.

Intrigue also thickened just below the 12th-place cutoff for the Chase.

Clint Bowyer, a 2007 Chase participant, is 13th, followed by David Ragan in 14th.

Both drivers have identical point totals — Bowyer wins the tiebreaker, thus the 13th spot — and both trail the 12th-place Hamlin by only 26 points.

Just below is Michigan pole winner Brian Vickers (No. 83 Team Red Bull Toyota), who jumped two spots to 15th thanks to last Sunday’s seventh-place finish. He trails Bowyer and Ragan by 140 points and Hamlin by 166.

Ragan, a second-year driver for Roush Fenway Racing, and Vickers, the 2003 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion in his second year with Team Red Bull, are vying for their first Chase berths.

The bottom line?

Only 82 points separate the ninth-place Gordon from the 14th-place Ragan.

The Night Race: A 30th Anniversary Celebration

Renowned to many fans as the toughest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ticket, this weekend’s Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway marks a special milestone

It’s the 30th time drivers will gather for the Saturday night race in August, an event that’s earned a place in the sport’s lore.

The first took place in August 1978, an event won by former series champion Cale Yarborough.

Forty-three drivers fighting for space on Bristol’s high-banked, half-mile usually guarantees fireworks and standings shifts.

Not surprisingly, Saturday night marks the 53rd consecutive sellout for Bristol, a venue that seats over 160,000.”

In that setting, Saturday’s crowd will attempt another historical footnote: A representative for the Guinness Book of World Records will be there to document what organizers say will be the largest fan wave in sports history.

Nestled in the mountains of the most northeastern corner of Tennessee, Bristol draws heavily from neighboring North Carolina and Virginia.

It hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 1961 and its record books are dotted with stock-car racing’s biggest names.

Yarborough leads all drivers with nine poles at Bristol. Another former series champion, Tennessee resident Darrell Waltrip, leads all drivers with 12 victories there.

“The King” — seven-time series champion Richard Petty who celebrated his 50th anniversary in NASCAR last month — also reigns at Bristol. He leads all drivers with 26 top fives and 37 top 10s.

NSCS, Etc.

Tennessee Natives … The Volunteer State contributes plenty of talent to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage:

Charlie Brock (Brentwood), No. 84 car chief; Gil Martin (Nashville), No. 07 crew chief; Mike Ford (Morristown), No. 11 crew chief; Chris Carrier (Bristol), No. 77 crew chief; Stewart Cooper (Nashville), No. 45 crew chief; Phil Jimenez (Germantown), No. 84 engineer; Mark Wilkinson (Memphis), No. 5 engine tuner; Adam Roberts (Cleveland), No. 24 tire specialist and Bryan White (Knoxville), No. 12 jack man. 

Busch Brothers At Bristol … They’re pretty good there, an understatement.

Both Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) have excelled on the high-banked half mile. Kyle Busch won the March 2007 event, while Kurt and Jeff Gordon lead all active drivers with five wins each at Bristol. 

“I learned from the very first race that you have to be around at the finish to do well at Bristol,” said Kurt Busch, who started 39th and finished 42nd in March 2001. “It really is a situation of surviving the first 400 laps – keeping the fenders on the thing and staying out of the wall. Then, if you’re in good shape after four-fifths of the race, it’s time to really get down to business during the final 100 laps.”

Kyle Busch has one win, two top fives and four top 10s in seven career starts at Bristol.

Kurt Busch has five wins, one pole, five top fives and nine top 10s in 15 career starts there.

Gordon has five wins, five poles, 12 top fives and 18 top 10s in 31 career starts there.

Milestones … David Gilliland (No. 38 Yates Racing Ford) will make his 75th career start at Bristol. Kyle Petty (No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge) could make his 50th career Bristol start Saturday, the most among active drivers.