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Author: SM Staff

  • AdvoCare Allows David Starr to Focus at Bristol

    AdvoCare Allows David Starr to Focus at Bristol

    Just as in many forms of sports, momentum is a key part of a NASCAR teams success and momentum is exactly what the SS Green Light team has heading into this weeks race at the worlds fastest half-mile racetrack. Over the last six races, the team has strung together six lead-lap finishes that include two top-fives and five top-tens. During the recent run, veteran driver David Starr has moved from nineteenth to eleventh in the NCWTS point standings and looks forward to continued success this week

    The SS Green Light Racing No. 81 Toyota Tundra will have a fresh new look this week at the Bristol Motor Speedway as premier health and wellness company AdvoCare will back Starr’s effort. AdvoCare will also be supporting David in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Bristol this week as the fourteen-year NASCAR veteran attempts his first ever “triple” in all three touring series.

    “I’ve been using and endorsing AdvoCare performance and wellness products for over nine years and I can honestly say I believe in them. They also have energy, weight loss and skin care products and I use them all. My favorite is AdvoCare Spark® which is a vitamin packet you mix in water,” explained Starr. “I’m a pretty energetic guy and I can feel the energy and focus I get from using AdvoCare products.”

    Between his busy race schedule at BMS this week, Thursday evening David will make an appearance at the Food City Race Night where he will sign autographs in the AdvoCare booth from 6:00 to 8:00 on State Street in downtown Bristol.

    “For a company as large, well established and successful as AdvoCare to choose SS Green Light Racing and the NCWTS to market their products to the NASCAR community is a great honor for both the team and myself. AdvoCare is a leader in the vitamin and supplement industry and we are going to do our best to put the AdvoCare Toyota Tundra up at the front of the field Wednesday night at Bristol.”

    In nine previous NCWTS races at the .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway, David’s average start is 15.6 and average finish is 14.8. He has one top-five and four top-ten finishes with his best finish of fifth coming in 2005.

    “I’m so excited to get to Bristol this week; we’ve got a new partner, the team has so much momentum and our performance has improved tremendously as the season has gone on. Bristol is such a cool racetrack with so much history. There is always a lot of action and excitement both on and off the track, I can’t wait to get there.”

    The Boot Campaign and Zachry will provide associate sponsorship on the AdvoCare No. 81Toyota this week.

    The O’Reilly 200 is the 261st consecutive NCWTS start for the SS Green Light Racing team and the 281st career start for Starr in the Truck Series. David has four victories, 47 top-fives and 114 top-tens through his 14-year career including two top-fives and seven top-tens so far in 2011.

    There are 40 trucks on the preliminary entry list for the O’Reilly 200.

    Practice for the O’Reilly 200 will be Wednesday, August 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. with qualifying at 4:35 p.m. and the green flag will fall on the O’Reilly 200 at 8:00 pm. It will be shown live on SPEED TV. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and also Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. All times Eastern.

    AdvoCare International, LP is an award-winning, premier health and wellness company headquartered in Plano, TX, that offers more than 70 exclusive nutritional and skincare products and a business opportunity that empowers individuals to explore their ultimate potential. Since 1993, AdvoCare has offered nutritional supplements and vitamins of the highest quality developed through comprehensive research and backed by a Scientific & Medical Advisory Board. For more information on AdvoCare, visit www.advocare.com or call 800-542-4800.

    For more information about SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com or email pr@ssracingonline.com.

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: MICHIGAN AND MONTREAL MOMENTS

    HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: MICHIGAN AND MONTREAL MOMENTS

    Over the previous NASCAR weekend we witnessed a powerful display of driving talent that led to the first driver to secure a starting berth in the 2011 Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship. We witnessed our favorite “Aussie” score NASCAR gold for the second time in less than a week. We witnessed a Sprint Cup regular, in a hot pick up truck, also score some NASCAR gold for the second weekend in a row and, oh yeah, a prominent NASCAR television personality may have to consume tobacco products in a rather unorthodox manner. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

    HOORAH to Kyle Busch, and his Joe Gibbs Racing Team, for an outstanding performance that led to winning the Pure Michigan 400. Busch had to endure a green-white-checker finish and fend off the presence of Jimmie Johnson in a race that ran three laps into overtime. The margin of victory was a mere .568 of a second. The event marked the series’ points leader’s first ever win at Michigan International Raceway, his series high fourth win of 2011, his 23d career win and it places him a three way tie for 20th, with his brother Kurt and Ricky Rudd, on NASCAR’s all time win list.

    Of equal importance, Busch’s latest win makes him the first driver to officially clinch a starting berth in the 2011 Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship. With only three races remaining, prior to the September 10th Chase cut off, Busch can literally stay home for all three of them and still make the Chase. His four wins alone will guarantee him a wild card berth.

    ************

    HOORAH to Brad Keselowski for his third place finish at Michigan despite having to once again endure high pain levels due to a fractured left foot and a back injury. In his last three Sprint Cup starts, while playing hurt, Keselowski, and his Penske Dodge team, has scored a first, second and a third. Over the course of the last four races the team has advanced their ranking in the series’ points standings 11 positions. He’s currently 12th in the standings, with two season wins, and there’s strong possibility he’s going to lock down that first Chase wild card berth.

    If that happens, then WAZZUP with Jimmy “Mr Excitement” Spencer having to eat a cigar live on the SPEED Channel? As we all know, every Tuesday Spencer appears on the SPEED Channel’s “Race Hub” program to analyze the racing from the previous weekend. He awards high quality cigars to those individuals he was impressed with and crying towels to those performances he was not too thrilled with.

    Last week Spencer said that he didn’t think Keselowski was going to make the Chase and if he did then he would eat one of his cigars. Here’s a suggestion for “Mr Excitement”: he may want to consider lining up his favorite dipping sauce to help that cigar taste a little better and he’ll need to back that up with a giant bottle of Pepto Bismol because it’s beginning to look like Keselowski and company is going to make the Chase line up. Bon appetite dude.

    ***************

    WAZZUP with the totally unexpected racing luck by Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing Team? The two time Michigan winner, including last year’s race, was heavily favored to be a major player in the Pure Michigan 400 and was expected to advance his Chase status. Instead, he smacked the wall early on and had to make a trip to the garage area for repairs. He wound up finishing 35th and 15 laps down. The damage drops Hamlin to 14th in the points standings.

    Due to his previous win this year he still owns the second wild card berth but the safety net is not that strong. For example, if Clint Bowyer could find his way to victory lane next week he would take over control of the second wild card berth. If previous race winners Paul Menard, 18th in points, or David Ragan, 20th in points, could score their second win of the season then Hamlin would lose his current wild card status. Yet another possibility is last week’s winner Marcos Ambrose who is currently 23d in the standings but only 11 points away from the top 20. A second win by Ambrose would give him control of a wild card berth. Isn’t all of these wild card numbers fun?

    ***************

    WAZZUP with the Roush Fenway Fords at Michigan? These four teams, and the power of their FR9 engines, were a major part of the pre-race chatter. All of the previous race numbers indicated a strong RFR weekend and there were plenty of Ford executives who made the trip from Detroit to the track who were ready to celebrate.

    Greg Biffle’s Ford came out of the hauler strong and he proved it by winning the Coors Light pole with a lap of 190.345 MPH. On lap two of the race he won the Goodyear Gatorback Fast Lap Award with a lap of 187.568 MPH. Biffle also led a race high 86 laps. We all thought “the Biff” was back and he was finally going to turn around his disappointing season only to watch him fade to a 20th place finish.

    Matt Kenseth, who shared the front row with his team mate, led 15 laps race only to fade to tenth due to handling conditions. David Ragan, who barely got a mention during the race broadcast, did manage a respectable 12th. But the big surprise was race favorite Carl Edwards who came down pit road with a major engine problem that sent him to the garage area. Edwards finished a disappointing 36th and a whopping 29 laps down. He started the weekend tied with Kyle Busch for the series’ points lead. He finished the weekend fourth in points 39 markers from the top.

    **************

    A HOORAH award for making chicken salad out of chicken do do goes to Marcos Ambrose for finally winning a NASCAR Nationwide Series event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal Canada. After four consecutive years of heartbreaking, late race, losses the fifth time turned out to be the charm for every one’s favorite NASCAR Aussie. After winning the Sprint Cup road course event at Watkins Glen last weekend, Ambrose now has two consecutive NASCAR wins in a period of six days.

    But winning the Napa Auto Parts 200 in Montreal was not easy. Ambrose had to do a lot of stirring to create that chicken salad. That process started on Friday when the double duty driver could not make the Nationwide Series qualifying due to Sprint Cup commitments at Michigan. Because another driver qualified his Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, Ambrose had to start the race from the rear of the field. Even getting to Montreal from Michigan was not easy due to a scheduled Sprint Cup practice Saturday morning. It required the use of two helicopters, a private plane and a boat to make the trip happen. Once the Montreal race was underway, Ambrose found himself caught up in an early race restart incident, with driver Jacques Villeneuve, that sent him from second to 28th. Fortunately, determination and some very superior road racing skills paid off in the end for Ambrose.

    But WAZZUP with the car’s post race inspection? NASCAR officials notified Richard Petty Motorsports that they were confiscating the car’s right rear spring for an intense inspection. A possible penalty could be announced later this week.

    WAZZUP with the dust up between drivers Patrick Carpentier and Steve Wallace that led to a rather bizarre pit road incident after the Montreal race? Carpentier, who was driving his final race before retiring a distinguished 27 year career, only found disappointment when lap 56 contact with the Wallace car ruined any chances of getting one final win. After the incident Carpentier said “I guess Steve Wallace hasn’t learned how to brake so he spun me at the Casino Hairpin turn.” Relaying his side of the story, Wallace said “we had a couple of challenging moments where me and Carpentier were racing really hard. I got underneath him, he crowded me, I got loose and I spun him out.”

    The fact that Carpentier finished 32nd while Wallace finished fourth apparently did not sit very well with Jerry Baxter, Carpentier’s crew chief. After the race Wallace was sitting inside of his car, with the window net down, when all of a sudden an extremely angry Baxter ran up to the Wallace car and pulled his hair.

    Seriously Jerry? Hair pulling? Wallace had already removed his driver’s helmet and was in perfect position for a round house right. I guess hair pulling was the lesser of the many available evils here. Wallace probably put it best when he said ” Obviously Baxter was upset, I’d be upset too: only girls pull hair.”

    *************

    In some final thoughts this week, HOORAH to Kevin Harvick who did some double duty and won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan following an exciting green-white-checker finish. The event marked Harvick’s second, consecutive, truck series win within a period of seven days.

    Another HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do goes to truck series championship contender Johnny Sauter. With 15 laps left in the Michigan race, Sauter’s truck got loose, spun out and hit the wall. Sauter began the weekend second in points and only a single point behind leader Austin Dillon. It appeared that this accident was going to create a huge hit in his points rankings. However the team did an outstanding job of making repairs, during the caution flag laps, and kept their driver on the lead lap. Sauter managed to rebound to a 13th place finish. Then he got lucky. With 12 laps remaining, Austin Dillon was caught up a big wreck and went from race contender for the win to a 22nd place finish. Sauter reclaimed the series’ points lead, James Buescher moved to second five points out while Dillon dropped to third eight points from the top.

    WAZZUP with a Kyle Busch did not finish, DNF, at the Michigan truck race? After being a major player for 63 laps, he went to the garage area with a punctured radiator caused by debris from another truck. You have to go all the way back to 2007, at the Texas Motor Speedway, to find the last time Busch had an engine related DNF in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

    WAZZUP with the multiple issues of debris getting trapped on the front grill work of the cars during the Michigan Sprint Cup race? It created some genuine concerns over water temperature. This sort of problem surfaces from time to time but all of that paper flying in the wind that afternoon defied believability.

  • Lally Continues Streak of Improvement at Michigan

    Lally Continues Streak of Improvement at Michigan

    Mooresville, N.C. (8/22/2011) – Andy Lally piloted his No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford to a 29th place finish in this weekend’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The race marks the fifth consecutive week Lally has finished in the top-30. The rookie driver has earned an average finish of 26.6 over the past five races. Perhaps the even more impressive statistic is that Lally has completed 99.7% of the laps run over that five race span.

    The team improved its position in the all-important top-35 of NASCAR’s Owner’s Point Standings yet again this weekend. While the No. 71 team remains in the 35th position, it now holds a solid 35 point lead over 36th.

    Lally commented, “We have taken a step forward in each of the last five races in one area or another. This weekend we took steps forward in a few different areas and it’s very nice to leave the track with such positive feelings. This was only a 29th place finish but with very little attrition this weekend I feel like we did a good job. Our pace to the guys that we normally race against was good and we didn’t have a glaring weak point or big low point in the race. I’m still learning a lot in these races and working together with Doug has been great. TRG Motorsports recently added our engineer Mark Catania to the mix and I think having a third person to work with on that aspect has also really helped. The whole team has been working really hard on this program and I can’t say enough of how happy I am to be working with them.”

    Lally also credited his team’s position in the top-35 as being a large factor in his recent success.

    “Being in the top 35 has really helped us the last few weeks. It is such a huge benefit to be able to get some long runs in during practice. We have started so far behind in past races because all we have focused on is qualifying and in the first half of the season I was seeing these tracks for the first time and never had any race time. I was doing all of my learning when the green dropped and you can’t expect to hang with the best guys in the world while still learning the ropes about a particular track.”

    After leading only one lap in the first eighteen races of the season, Lally has now led five over the past five races.

    “It was cool to lead the race under green today, obviously we did it just through pit stop cycles but it was still a small accomplishment by the team and a neat moment for me. I always say, you have to take time every once in a while to take a breath, take it all in and appreciate what you are doing. I had about 1 second to do that this weekend when they came over the radio and said, “New leader, car 71″ I smiled for a minute under the helmet and then got back to work. Sometimes the little things help you to drive harder toward the bigger things.”

    Team owner Kevin Buckler is encouraged by his team’s recent performance.

    “I was watching practice in our hauler and I heard the commentators say some really nice things about Andy and how well he is doing and how much he and the team are improving. I’m glad to see others beginning to take notice. Like I have been saying, this team probably has the biggest potential “up-side” of any in the garage right now. We’re taking small steps towards being more competitive each week. Andy is completing laps and gaining seat time. His confidence has improved tremendously. We have built a talented little group around him with Harry, Doug & Mark, our new engineer, and it is starting to work. I also think a large part of that has to do with him coming to the realization that he can finish races and he can compete at this level. I’m really proud of him and I’m really proud of our entire organization. Our TRG Motorsports partners have been terrific and we couldn’t have done this without them. We have the opportunity to keep building upon our finishes. I think we can really surprise some folks over the final thirteen races.”

    Lally will look to continue his streak yet again this weekend as the team heads of to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 ET on ESPN.

     

    # # #

    TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach. This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Mooresville, North Carolina, the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.

    The company’s NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.

    The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 32. The team’s resume is highlighted by five championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.

    Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Irish eyes were smiling in the hills surrounding Michigan International Speedway, keeping the rain which had plagued the last two Cup races, at bay. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 42nd annual running of the Pure Michigan 400.

    [media-credit name=”Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Surprising:  Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, could not have summed up the surprisingly bad day for his manufacturer and team any more succinctly.

    With a surprisingly uncharacteristic engine failure, Edwards was Ford’s worst finisher at Michigan, a track where not only has Ford excelled but where Roush Fenway Racing has traditionally had free reign to play at the front of the field.

    “I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane,” Edwards said. “I thought one way or another, we would win this thing.”

    “It was a very tough race,” Edwards said. “We weren’t expecting a failure like that.”

    Edwards lagged behind his Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth, who finished in 10th in the No. 17 Kroger Ford Fusion; David Ragan, driving the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, who brought home a 12th place finish; and pole sitter Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, who finished a disappointing 20th after leading the most laps in the race.

    Biffle was as surprised by his disappointing finish as his teammate Edwards was of his finish and engine failure.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Biffle said. “I have a feeling we kinda got a bum set of tires and then we got off on our adjustments. I really don’t know what happened.”

    Not Surprising:  After being ever so close to Victory Lane at both Pocono and Watkins Glen, it was no surprise that the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota outran a five-time champ in a green-white-checkered finish to finally took the checkered flag and made his trademark celebratory bow.

    This victory was Kyle Busch’s first at Michigan International Speedway. It was his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races at Michigan.

    “Today the car was flawless,” Busch said. “We knew the restart would be treacherous but I got a good run on the top-side and I was able to take the lead off Turn Two and set our sights on the checkered flag from there.”

    With his fourth victory of the season, including this win at the Irish hills, Busch was also the first driver to officially clinch his berth in the championship Chase. And with Edwards’ poor finish, Busch now sits alone at the top of the leader board.

    “It feels awesome,” Busch said of his guaranteed Chase spot. “It gives us an added bonus to just go out there and race for wins. We certainly feel good about it.”

    Surprising:  Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, continues to surprise all by starring in his own sequel, ‘Iron Man Part Three.’ Keselowski finished third in the Pure Michigan 400, his third straight top-three finish since breaking his ankle and wrenching his back in a testing crash.

    This was Keselowski’s first top-10 finish in five races at Michigan. With his finish, Keselowski also moved ever so close to Chase contention, moving up two positions in the point standings to 12th.

    “It was a good effort,” Keselowski said. “It was a great day, with great execution and I’m proud of my team.”

    “I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Keselowski said of his Chase chances. “I feel better every week.”

    Not Surprising:  With the Chase race heating up, it is no surprise that the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet has found his groove, as well as his lucky horseshoe. Jimmie Johnson, who like Busch has also never won at Michigan, scored a career-best second place finish.

    This was Johnson’s eighth top-10 finish in 20 races in the Irish hills. It is also his 15th top-10 finish in the 2011 season to date.

    “It was a great finish for the Lowe’s team,” Johnson said. “We had a tough start to the race on pit road and on the race track but we got that ironed out.”

    “Good runs put so much confidence in the driver and the team,” Johnson continued. “It felt good to be racing with the leader and have a shot at it.”

    Surprising:  Although Stewart-Haas Racing had a surprisingly good day at Michigan, with Ryan Newman finishing fifth in his No. 39 Wix Filters Chevrolet, and team owner Tony Stewart also finishing top ten in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, the latter seemed surprisingly depressed after the race.

    “I don’t know what we got to do to get one balanced for a day but we haven’t figured it out yet,” Stewart said. “We were on both sides of the coin today between tight and loose.”

    “I’ll be perfectly honest at this stage in the deal if we’re going to run this bad, it really doesn’t matter if we make the Chase or not,” Smoke continued. “Our stuff’s so bad right now we’re wasting one of those top 12 spots.”

    Not Surprising:  On the flip side, it was no surprise to see the Hendrick Motorsports gang have a good day on the sweeping turns of Michigan International Speedway. Following closely behind runner up Jimmie Johnson, HMS teammate Mark Martin finished fourth in the No. 5 Carquest/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “It’s an incredible privilege to drive stuff like that,” Martin said. “We were right there and could see the lead and anytime you can see the lead, you feel like you have a crack at it. I feel very fortunate.”

    HMS four-time champ Jeff Gordon also had a decent day at the office, finishing sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, moving up another spot in the point standings to sixth as well. Gordon also made history, marking over 22,000 laps led in his career.

    “All in all, a solid day for the Dupont Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “I loved the effort and the cars and team that we are bringing to the race track. It was a lot of fun out there.”

    The final driver, piloting the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet for Mr. Hendrick, had a fairly good race as well. In spite of pit problems, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished fourteenth, keeping himself solidly in the ninth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I had some awesome runs and the car was really fast,” Junior said. “And then I put on some tires and I couldn’t drive the car. We had some bad stuff happen on pit road, but we drove it back up there.”

    Surprising:  With a starting spot of fourth, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota had high hopes for redemption in Michigan, as well as the hope of keeping his Chase chances alive. Surprisingly, in spite of Denny Hamlin’s new engine, he struggled throughout the race, hitting the wall and heading to the garage to repair significant right front suspension damage.

    Hamlin finished the race in 35th and lost two positions in the point standings, falling to a disappointing 14th, barely hanging on to any chances of a Chase berth.

    Not Surprising:  Coming off his top-10 finish at the Glen, it was not surprising that A J Allmendinger almost pulled off another one at MIS. The driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports powered through the field from his 29th place start to finish 11th.

    Surprising:  On the flip side, the Dinger’s teammate Marcos Ambrose, winner of the Cup race at Watkins Glen last weekend and the Nationwide race in Montreal this weekend, had a surprisingly frustrating day.

    The driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion started out strong but then was tagged from behind by Kevin Harvick while trying to pit, shoving his car head first into the pit wall, relegating him to a 27th place finish.

    “That was frustrating,” Ambrose said. “We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day.”

    “We just kept getting tighter and tighter,” Ambrose continued. “We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too.”

    Not Surprising: Although the driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet qualified poorly and started 35th, it was no surprise to see him drive as hard as he could to a top-ten finish. With Clint Bowyer’s 8th place finish at Michigan, he has managed to hang on to the 11th spot in the Chase standings.

    “It was a good, hard fought battle all day long,” Bowyer said of his race. “From where we started, starting 35th, getting up there in the top ten, we had a good car all day long.”

    “We gained but not near enough. We’re running out of time but if we keep digging, who knows what’s going to happen.”

  • Busch wins at Michigan; Clinches Chase birth

    Busch wins at Michigan; Clinches Chase birth

    Kyle Busch held off Jimmie Johnson in a green-white-checkered finish at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]With 12 laps to go, Busch took the lead from Johnson and pulled away by .568 seconds in the final laps for his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season and the 23rd of his career.

    Busch also became the first driver to clinch a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    Busch is also qualified to be a finalist for a chance to earn a $3 million payout in the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO™ 3D. If Busch can also win the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he will claim the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO 3D title and win $1 million for himself, $1 million for his designated charity, Kyle Busch Foundation, and $1 million dollars for a lucky race fan. Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose are the drivers currently eligible.

    “I can’t say enough about Sprint. Being in the Sprint Summer Showdown, I hope we get a chance at Atlanta to run up front and win the thing, and bring home some extra money for charity, for a fan and for all of us here at Joe Gibbs Racing.” Busch said.

    Last weeks winner at Watkins Glen International, Marcos Ambrose finished 27th.

    “That was frustrating. We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day. We just kept getting tighter and tighter. We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too. It was just a very frustrating day.” Ambrose said.

    Brad Keselowski finished third, Mark Martin fourth and Ryan Newman finished fifth.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    Pure Michigan 400, Michigan International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=23
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 17 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 47
    2 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 43
    3 6 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 41
    4 5 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 41
    5 3 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 39
    6 9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 39
    7 14 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 38
    8 35 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 36
    9 18 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 35
    10 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 35
    11 29 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 33
    12 7 6 David Ragan Ford 32
    13 30 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 31
    14 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 30
    15 26 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29
    16 28 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 28
    17 32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 27
    18 15 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 26
    19 12 0 David Reutimann Toyota 25
    20 1 16 Greg Biffle Ford 26
    21 23 20 Joey Logano Toyota 23
    22 24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 22
    23 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 21
    24 20 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    25 25 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 19
    26 11 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 18
    27 16 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 17
    28 27 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    29 38 71 Andy Lally * Ford 16
    30 42 32 Ken Schrader Ford 14
    31 33 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    32 39 34 David Gilliland Ford 12
    33 34 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 11
    34 13 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 10
    35 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 9
    36 22 99 Carl Edwards Ford 8
    37 21 13 Casey Mears Toyota 8
    38 41 37 Tony Raines Ford 6
    39 40 66 Todd Bodine Toyota 0
    40 36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 4
    41 37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 43 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 0
    43 31 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 1
  • Batteries Announces New Power Play Text-to-Win Promotion through September 30, 2011

    Batteries Announces New Power Play Text-to-Win Promotion through September 30, 2011

    OPTIMA® Batteries Announces New Power Play Text-to-Win Promotion through September 30, 2011
    Consumers Can Text or Scan On-Pack QR Code for a Chance to Instantly Win One of Hundreds of Great Prizes from Performance Automotive Power Brands

    OPTIMA® Batteries, a leader in high-performance automotive and marine batteries, today announced its new 2011 retail promotion that is designed to benefit automotive enthusiasts as they gear up for an action-packed season of high-powered events. Beginning July 1, 2011 consumers will find OPTIMA RedTop® and YellowTop®products with a specially designed on-pack sticker, and will be given an opportunity for text-to-win one of hundreds of prizes instantly from leading automotive aftermarket brands.

    OPTIMA_LOGO“This Text-to-Win program is designed to demonstrate OPTIMA Batteries’ commitment to supporting the lifestyle of performance automotive enthusiasts, and drive a two-way conversation between the brand and our customers while they’re shopping the category at our retail partners,” said Cam Douglass, director of product development and marketing for OPTIMA Batteries. “We like to reward people who spend time learning about batteries and our product in general. We know that the more time people spend educating themselves on the differences in batteries, the more likely they are to choose the Ultimate Power Source.”

    When consumers enter the text-to-win code (or scan the QR code that is also provided) they can instantly win prizes from highly-sought-after brands like Superwinch, Red Line Synthetic Oil, K&N Filters and Holley. The promotion will run through September 30, 2011.

    To learn more about OPTIMA Batteries and to find your nearest retailer, please visit http://www.optimabatteries.com/. You can also visit OPTIMA on-the-go using your iPhone, Android or Blackberry device for helpful tips on charging, battery care and maintenance and product information at http://www.optimabatteries.com.

  • Ambrose wins at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

    Ambrose wins at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

    Marcos Ambrose passed Alex Tagliani with ten laps to go and won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

    “I was so happy to have the good fortune to race for Penske Racing and drive the Dodge Challenger car this weekend. It was pretty quick.” Tagliani said. “I’ve very proud, very thankful for all the help I had from Penske Racing. It was great to drive the Hot Wheels Dodge this weekend here in Montreal.”

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It was not an easy task for Ambrose to find victory lane at Montreal. Ambrose had to start in the back of the field because he was not able to qualify on Friday due to being at Michigan for the Sprint Cup Series race and arrived in Montreal less than 30 minutes before the race started.

    Carl Edwards, Ambrose and Trevor Bayne all arrived via Edward’s helicopter and a speedboat ride along the Olympic rowing basin to the garage. Edwards and Bayne also started in the back. Substitute drivers Billy Johnson (Edwards), Owen Kelly (Ambrose) and Michel Jourdain Jr. (Bayne) qualified for the drivers.

    On lap 44, pole-sitter and local favorite Jacques Villeneuve gets off course and then slams into the side of Ambrose on the restart. Villeneuve had to pit two laps later after also making contact with Elliott Sadler.

    “On the restart with Marcos, I got caught sleeping. Instead of leaning on him, I gave him too much room, ended up in the gray and lost control of the car. I should have been more aggressive. Our Dodge was very fast. It’s disappointing. We had the car to beat.” Villeneuve said.

    Danica Patrick started 25th and finished 24th.

    This could be the final race in Montreal. The government turned down a request for $500,000 in funding.

    Michael McDowell finished third, Steve Wallace fourth and J.R. Fitzpatrick finished fifth.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the series standings over Elliott Sadler by eight points.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    NAPA Auto Parts 200, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=24
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 9 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 0
    2 2 12 Alex Tagliani Dodge 43
    3 5 18 Michael McDowell Toyota 0
    4 7 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 40
    5 21 167 J.R. Fitzpatrick Ford 39
    6 4 33 Scott Speed Chevrolet 39
    7 14 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    8 10 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 36
    9 3 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 36
    10 16 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 34
    11 13 5 Ron Fellows Chevrolet 0
    12 19 11 Brian Scott Toyota 32
    13 15 164 Jason Bowles Toyota 31
    14 22 97 Kyle Kelley Chevrolet 0
    15 29 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 29
    16 24 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 28
    17 27 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 27
    18 28 62 Michael Annett Toyota 26
    19 34 39 Luis Martinez Jr. Ford 25
    20 20 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 24
    21 14 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 23
    22 32 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 22
    23 17 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 21
    24 25 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 20
    25 23 32 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 19
    26 18 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 18
    27 1 22 Jacques Villeneuve Dodge 19
    28 41 52 Louis-Philippe Dumoulin Chevrolet 16
    29 35 40 Josh Wise Chevrolet 15
    30 39 81 Maryeve Dufault Dodge 14
    31 6 277 Robby Gordon Dodge 0
    32 8 99 Patrick Carpentier Toyota 12
    33 26 23 Alex Kennedy Chevrolet 0
    34 46 141 Tomy Drissi Ford 0
    35 40 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 9
    36 33 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 8
    37 12 30 Boris Said Chevrolet 0
    38 38 70 Blake Koch * Dodge 6
    39 37 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 5
    40 43 113 D.J. Kennington Dodge 4
    41 11 153 Andrew Ranger Dodge 3
    42 42 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 2
    43 30 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 1
  • IndyCar Wants to Return to Mexico in 2013

    IndyCar Wants to Return to Mexico in 2013

    by Luis Ramírez at La Aficion

    The president of IndyCar’s commercial division, Terry Angstadt, revealed to La Aficion that they would like to have a race at the Hermanos Rodriguez track and a Mexican driver in the series.

    [media-credit name=”IndyCar” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]Mexico not only has awaken interest in Formula One to have a race in the medium term, but also the IndyCar Series who is working to bring its show to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in two years.

    In this way they are looking to integrate into the Hispanic market through a project that also includes the arrival of a Mexican driver into the grid of the series as an additional element so the event has more appeal to the local fans.

    Terry Angstadt, president of the Commercial Division of the American open wheel series, explained to La Aficion that they’ve started conversations that will eventually bring drivers like the Brazilians Helio Castroneves and Tony Kannan, and the Americans Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick, among others, to the race track in Mexico City.

    “I was in Mexico City approximately four weeks ago, and I have been there before in the last three years.  We are in conversations with strong companies to be able to return to the city and go to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez”, revealed the series executive in an exclusive interview for La Aficion.

    The visit however has not been the only one in 2011 by the commercial director of the series.  Sources close to the negotiations pointed out that they’ve had at least three more meetings this year in Mexico City to advance the project.

    With the arrival of new chassis and engines for 2012, which will represent a revolution for the series, IndyCar does not wish to limit its markets to the USA, Canada and Brazil, and because of that Mexico is an obvious choice for an event: “I think that everything points to 2013.  I don’t think the negotiations will allow us to do it by 2012, but it’s still too early to decide.”

    Terry Angstadt also mentioned that they had not lost interest in Mexico, however there were needs that had to be taken care of before: “We’ve always had interest but lets not forget that this is a business.  We need a motivated promoter, someone on the other side of the table that sees the potential of an IndyCar event, I see the potential, but we need that on the other side and it is something we are working on.

    The plan of a Mexican driver

    On the list of regular drivers on the IndyCar series only three are Spanish speaking: the Spaniard Oriol Servia, the Venezuelan E.J. Viso and the Colombian Sebastian Saavedra, however the last report given by the US Census Bureau says that the majority of the Hispanic population, which has grown to 50.5 million, are of Mexican decent.

    “In my opinion, this is a great opportunity to enter into the Latin market, I think it’s the best.  We are in talks to have a Mexican driver, a successful driver, and we are working very hard so he can be in the series.  I think we need a Mexican driver”, pointed out the commercial director.

    The locals Memo Rojas (Champion of the Grand Am Series with Ganassi) and David Martinez have shown interest in reaching IndyCar and both are working in projects to be able to make that happen.

    Angstadt explained that what’s important at the moment is to help the competitors find sponsors and be able to join the series:

    “We don’t have to worry about the talent of the drivers, because they have it, we simply need to focus on the commercial side”, he said.

    For him, having a race in mexico city requires an necessary element to attract t the attention of the public: “I think that the combination of the race wit ha drivers is necessary and would be the best way of doing things”.

  • Harvick wins the NCWTS VFW 200 at Michigan

    Harvick wins the NCWTS VFW 200 at Michigan

    Kevin Harvick held off Timothy Peters on the final green-white-checkered restart in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) VFW 200 and won at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]This was Harvick’s second consecutive win in the truck series and the 11th of his career.

    “This has always been a fun racetrack for us, but honestly, as a program, we’ve had some struggles here over the years. Today, we were really loose at the beginning of the race and the guys did a great job making huge changes to the truck to get it to where I could drive it.” Harvick said.

    Mark Martin was leading during the restart on lap 89. Martin and Parker Kligerman got together as Kligerman got loose. Kligerman clipped the rear of Martin, sending him spinning and pole-sitter Matt Crafton crashed into him. Austin Dillon was also involved, he T-boned Kligerman’s truck.

    “We had a run on the 2 (Kevin Harvick) down the back, but he can cut through the center better than we could with our Tundra. Great points day. How about Miguel, great run for him and his Stemco Duroline Tundra as well.” second place finisher Peters said.

    Miguel Paludo finished third, James Buescher fourth and David Starr finished fifth.

    “Today was a great day for us. We had an awesome truck — this is the same truck we used at Dover with a new body. These guys did great. We did small adjustments. I was on the longer runs a little bit snug and then I was perfect. I couldn’t get (Kevin) Harvick on the second restart but I went and raced with him. I’m really proud of my guys on this Stemco-Duroline Toyota Tundra.” Paludo said.

    Johnny Sauter leads in the series standings over James Buescher by five points.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    VFW 200, Michigan International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=15
    ==============================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    ==============================================
    1 6 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 12 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 42
    3 9 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 42
    4 11 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 40
    5 19 81 David Starr Toyota 39
    6 18 23 Jason White Chevrolet 38
    7 3 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 37
    8 23 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 36
    9 15 51 Colin Braun Ford 35
    10 17 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 34
    11 2 5 Todd Bodine Toyota 33
    12 7 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 33
    13 14 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 32
    14 4 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet 0
    15 22 6 Justin Lofton Toyota 30
    16 8 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 28
    17 25 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 27
    18 20 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 27
    19 16 9 Max Papis Toyota 25
    20 30 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 24
    21 1 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 24
    22 10 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 23
    23 5 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 21
    24 21 98 Dakoda Armstrong Chevrolet 20
    25 13 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    26 32 189 Chris Lafferty Chevrolet 0
    27 31 7 Butch Miller Chevrolet 17
    28 27 66 Peyton Sellers Chevrolet 16
    29 24 93 Casey Roderick Chevrolet 0
    30 26 138 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 14
    31 29 175 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 0
    32 28 174 Mike Harmon Ford 0
    33 33 87 Chris Jones Chevrolet 11
  • Fogarty takes Montreal Pole

    Fogarty takes Montreal Pole

    Jon Fogarty stopped Ricky Taylor’s six-race pole winning streak to preserve his own place in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series record book while continuing to dominate qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.