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  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: KYLE BUSCH STEALS A NATIONWIDE WIN ON PIT ROAD AT FONTANA

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: KYLE BUSCH STEALS A NATIONWIDE WIN ON PIT ROAD AT FONTANA

    [media-credit name=”Patrick McBride” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Kyle Busch will be the first to tell you that he stole his latest win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series last Saturday at the Auto Club Speedway. The truth of the matter is he won the Royal Purple 300 following a gutsy, hero or zero, two tire stop call by his crew chief Jason Ratcliff in the final laps of the event.

    Nearly all of the pit stops in this race were performed following yellow caution flags which flew five times for a total of 19 laps. The lone exception was the final round of stops, under the green, when nearly all of the lead lap teams needed a little extra fuel to finish the race. Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards surrendered the race lead to Busch and came down pit road to take on gas and four tires. With 15 laps left in the race, Busch entered pit road for his final stop. That’s when Ratcliff made the two tire call that had his driver exit pit road still leading the race. He won the race despite nudging the backstretch wall on the white flag lap which reduced the margin of victory to a mere 0.713 seconds over race rival Carl Edwards.

    Busch continues to create amazing numbers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Last Saturday marked his 46th series win, in 207 starts, and his third win of the still young 2011 racing season. The Royal Purple 300 also marked Busch’s fifth series win at the Auto Club Speedway, his third Fontana win in a row and his fifth win in six starts at the southern California two mile oval.

    Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliot Sadler completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten, in the Royal Purple 300, were drivers Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski.

    After taking his famous ceremonial bow in front of the fans after the race, Busch parked his Z Line Design/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Auto Club Speedway’s Gatorade victory lane and said “we stole this one. We don’t deserve it, actually I should say the car doesn’t deserve it.” Commenting on his final green flag stop of the race, Busch said the credit goes to Jason, (Ratcliff). He told me we’re not going to win this race taking four tires. Let’s gamble and take two.”

    Commenting on the rather hair raising moment during the final lap, the race winner said ” I ran at the top of the track much of the race. Every time I ran a lower line I lost speed and positions. After the final stop I had to return to top of the track to regain speed. I got a little too high, got into the marbles and nudged the wall.”

    Carl Edwards, who led the race seven times for 48 laps, brought his Roush Fenway Racing Ford home in second and said “I really needed a caution to win this race. Kyle and the #18 guys really did a good job. That call for the two tire stop was just too much to overcome.”

    Kevin Harvick led the Royal Purple 300 seven times for a race high 64 laps in his Rheem Pool and Spa Heaters/Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet. Following his third place finish Harvick said “I hated to give it away, we can’t seem to get going here. I am pleased that we were so competitive. The team really worked hard to make the car so competitive and that’s all we can ask for.” With a wry smile on his face, Harvick also said “I hate to see that thing, (Busch’s #18 Toyota), in victory lane.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr garnered a lot of high praise for this strong run and fourth place finish at the Auto Club Speedway. The young driver left California the new series points leader and holds a six point advantage over Jason Leffler. After the race a very happy Stenhouse said “we have been consistent, our cars have been fast and we have a lot of momentum. I just hope we can keep it up to be around at the end of the year.”

    Elliot Sadler brought his Bad Boy Buggies/Kevin Harvick Inc Chevrolet to a fifth place finish and seemed very pleased with the effort in light of the fact that he started the race from 34th. “I’m really proud of my guys,” he said adding “we had a good car, good pit stops and we had a really good points day.”

  • Two tires was the right call; Busch wins NNS race at Auto Club Speedway

    Two tires was the right call; Busch wins NNS race at Auto Club Speedway

    [media-credit name=”Patrick McBride” align=”alignright” width=”262″][/media-credit]Kyle Busch opted for two tires on the final pit stop with less than 13 laps remaining in Saturday’s Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Auto Club Speedway and was able to hold off Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick to win his third straight NNS race.

    Busch now has 46 career NNS wins, just three behind Mark Martin’s all-time record.

    Edwards and Harvick opted to take four tires with 20-laps remaining and found themselves nearly a straightaway behind after Busch made his final stop.

    “Those guys took two tires and that was the right call. We could not catch them. I didn’t think about taking two tires. Mike Beam did a good job. We made the calls we needed to make to be the best we could be. It just didn’t work out.” Edwards said.

    Harvick finished third, series points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fourth and Elliott Sadler finished fifth.

    “That is pretty cool to say you are the points leader but hopefully we can say that at the end of the year. We have been really consistent all year and have had really fast cars.” Stenhouse Jr. said.

    Unofficial Race Results
    ===========================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make
    ===========================
    1 7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota
    2 1 60 Carl Edwards Ford
    3 2 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
    4 12 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford
    5 34 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet
    6 9 16 Trevor Bayne Ford
    7 4 20 Joey Logano Toyota
    8 8 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet
    9 3 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet
    10 5 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge
    11 16 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet
    12 10 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet
    13 11 11 Brian Scott Toyota
    14 14 30 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet
    15 17 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota
    16 6 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet
    17 19 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota
    18 20 62 Michael Annett Toyota
    19 13 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet
    20 25 27 J.R. Fitzpatrick Ford
    21 22 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet
    22 18 87 Kevin Conway Toyota
    23 35 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet
    24 23 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet
    25 21 39 Charles Lewandoski * Ford
    26 33 52 Tony Raines Chevrolet
    27 15 66 Steve Wallace Toyota
    28 26 24 Kevin Lepage Ford
    29 41 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge
    30 30 79 Tim Andrews Ford
    31 36 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet
    32 32 15 Timmy Hill * Ford
    33 29 81 Blake Koch * Dodge
    34 24 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet
    35 31 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet
    36 42 70 Dennis Setzer Dodge
    37 27 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet
    38 40 141 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford
    39 43 97 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet
    40 28 103 Alex Kennedy Dodge
    41 37 168 Carl Long Chevrolet
    42 38 55 Brett Rowe Chevrolet
    43 39 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back in the thick of things but says team can do better

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back in the thick of things but says team can do better

    Following his 11th place finish last Sunday at Bristol, Dale Earnhardt Jr. enters Sunday’s race at California in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”276″][/media-credit]To be mentioned in the top-10 in any category for Earnhardt Jr. is an accomplishment after two years of riding off the radar. When you’re NASCAR’s most popular driver that’s hard to do, but when you haven’t won a race, qualified for the Chase and run mid-pack each weekend, people tend to forget about you after a while.

    After four races in 2011 the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team is working hard to become the center of attention for all the right reasons. New crew chief, Steve Letarte appears to already be paying dividends early in the season and Earnhardt Jr. has been pleased with the performance of his cars, but knows he needs to be taking care of business on his end.

    “We should have finished higher,” he said of Bristol. “I screwed up speeding on pit road and that cost us a lot of spots there. But I’m just trying to do the best you can each week.”

    Following a wreck in the final laps of the season opening Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. and company have finished 11th or better in the last three races. While they may not have started off fast in practice of qualifying, the team has been able to make the No. 88 better throughout the weekend and during the race when adjustments are needed.

    That to Earnhardt Jr. is “a really good thing.”

    So is working with Letarte. The two have a lot in common and good communication, Earnhardt Jr. says, is easy between them. It has even been reported that Letarte has Earnhardt Jr. arriving to the garage earlier and leaving later than he use to.

    According to Earnhardt Jr. it helps to talk face-to-face instead of texting. More work can be done on the car. Ideas are being bounced around and everyone is on the same page.

    Yet, even with his fast start and plenty of positives, Earnhardt Jr. says there is comes a point when he’s unhappy.

    “I was last week,” he said. “I was a little disappointed with myself and a little disappointed at how we began the race. I was just frustrated that we weren’t closer. We felt like we were a little bit better than that at the end of practice, so it was frustrating that the car showed a lack of grip it has at the start.”

    Though frustrated, Earnhardt Jr. says you just have to go to the next race, eliminate mistakes and get the finish the car is capable of.

    The next race is the Auto Club 400. It’s a track that has not been kind to Earnhardt Jr. in the past. In 18 starts he has just four top-10’s with a best finish of second  in 2006.

    However, in the last five races he’s finished 16th or worse. His overall average finish in California is 22.3. There is no better time to improve on those numbers than this weekend and with a team that Earnhardt Jr. has high praise for when asked if they were top-10 material.

    “Yeah, I do,” he said, not only of this weekend but in general.  “We’re capable of that. We’re good enough for that. You should come to the racetrack and expect to run around guys that are in that position. I feel like we’re legitimate, yes sir.”

    Junior Nation feels the same.

    After appearing to be in a two-year slumber themselves, only making noise to voice their displeasure, the nation as awaken and are thus far enjoying what they are seeing with from their driver. For the first time in a long time they feel as though a win might be around the corner.

    Earnhardt Jr. was pleased to hear of his fans enthusiasm.

    “That’s good,” said Earnhardt Jr.  “I just hope we can run a little bit better and get a top five and challenge for some wins to really give them something to cheer for. I’m glad we’re running better, but in the grand scheme of things we were unable to run 10th or 11th last year. I think we can do better. We’re showing good signs of improvement and hopefully we continue to get better and we can challenge for some wins.”

    Should Earnhardt Jr. win one of the next seven events it would be a relief for a few reasons. Not only to erase his winless drought but it would earn his place in the 2011 Sprint All-Star race, which he is currently not eligible for.

    As of last Wednesday, Junior Nation was already taking to the voting polls to help him earn an entry through the Sprint Fan Vote. Since Earnhardt Jr. won the All-Star race in 2000, his 10-year automatic entry has run out and he will need the Fan Vote or to transfer from the Showdown in order to compete.

    If California doesn’t go as planned, there’s always next week and Martinsville, a place Earnhardt Jr. says he’s looking forward to and feels he’s close in challenging Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson for a win.

    “I’m excited about going there and trying to see if there is a difference in how I can compete versus what I’ve done over the last 10 years just due to having Steve.”

  • Will Power ready to defend his title in Saint Pete

    Will Power ready to defend his title in Saint Pete

    Will Power served notice to the rest of the field for the Honda Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg, that he was ready and able to defend his title. Power cruised to Victory at this event last year and intends to repeat this feat this year. Power was fastest during the third and final practice session for the IZOD Indy Cars Saturday morning, Mike Conway, making his return to Indy Car was second quickest with Castroneves, Briscoe and the 02 of Oriol Servia rounding out the top five.

    [media-credit name=”Cg Photography” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The morning session was not without incident, shortly after the track went green Simona De Silvestro looped her car in turn eight of this beautiful 14 turn street course to bring the session under yellow, after a couple caution laps the green was displayed again and again turn eight would claim another victim, this time it was Danica Patrick. Both Simona and Danica were able to continue with no damage other than flat spotted tires. The third caution of the session came out for the off course excursion of Dario Franchitti, Dario ran into the turn 11 and 12 complex got into the grass and ended up near the tire wall between turns 13 and 14. Dario kept the car off the wall but did enough suspension damage to end his morning session, interestingly enough, Dario would still post the eighth fastest time of this morning session. The final incident was for team Lotus Driver E.J. Visio, E.J. would get into the safety barriers in turn 12 and do significant damage to the car, Visio was able to walk away from the mishap with no injuries.

    As qualifying rolled around, the teams were forced to deal with the new tire rule for this season, which allows for just one set of the soft compound Firestones. These tires are known to be faster, but also wear more than the harder compound tires that most teams had been using for practice, this would leave the teams thinking they would have only five laps to post their fastest times,  one out lap, one in lap and three hot laps to get the job done.

    Qualifying was marred by a grinding crash in turn three, Sebastian Bourdais making his return to Indy Car made contact with rookie Sebastien Saavedra sending him head on into the outside retaining wall. Saavedra was unhurt but the car was destroyed forcing the Conquest Racing Team to bring out the backup car in order to start the race tomorrow at noon. Saavedra said after the incident, “This is a blow to our team we operate on limited funds, we have a backup car available but losing a car is difficult”.

    When all was said and done, Will Power would again be the fastest man in town with a fast lap just over one minute and one second around this 1.8 mile circuit. Dario Franchitti will start alongside Power on the front row Scott Dixon posted the third fastest time and will start on the inside of row two, Mike Conway will round out the second row, and Ryan Briscoe, and Justin Wilson will start fifth, and sixth respectively.

    Will Power be able to repeat or will Franchitti or Dixon take charge? Maybe Conway can complete his return with a season opening victory, and of course Briscoe, Wilson, and another 18 teams may have something to say about the outcome also. The 7Th annual Honda Grand Prix goes green Sunday afternoon at 12:30PM.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE MOBILE RESIDENTS OF NASCAR CITY ROLLS INTO THE AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE MOBILE RESIDENTS OF NASCAR CITY ROLLS INTO THE AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

    Many of them arrived at Fontana-California early Thursday morning so they could be one of the first to pass through the infield gates of the Auto Club Speedway. Some were driving exotic recreational vehicles, easily valued at six figures plus, that are actually nicer than the homes and apartments that many of us live in. Still others arrived in the old school, tear drop shaped, campers. The type of temporary housing that requires getting out of bed very carefully to avoid a concussion. Every one of them was thrilled to be there.

    [media-credit name=”FMCM” align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]Exactly who are these people? They are the mobile residents of “NASCAR City.” They are a highly unique breed of race fan who chooses to spend three days at a speedway for the right to combine the two elements of social life they love the most: racing and having a party. In the case of this weekend, literally thousands of them will pack the 1,800 RV spaces, in the Auto Club Speedway’s infield, to live that high powered NASCAR experience.

    The amenities of the modern day speedway infield have changed over the years. As a youngster in my native South Carolina I spent many weekends camping, at the Darlington Raceway, doing just fine with my two man pup tent and an ice chest. Today’s speedways that host NASCAR weekends have seriously gotten into the spirit of presenting their fans the best experience possible. Many of those infields feature temporary grocery stores where fans can purchase the important basic staples such as beer and ice. There’s also the availability of food vendors with some infields even offering pizza delivery. My infield experiences now seem like Daniel Boone roughing it in the woods compared to the amenities of these modern times.

    First off, the weekend is all about the racing. Throughout the Auto Club Speedway’s infield you will see signs, banners and flags letting you know who the fan’s favorite drivers are. Many of these flags are on long poles and fly high above the tops of the RV’s. Many of them are black flags with the white number three on them in honor of Dale Earnhardt Sr. There are also some confederate flags proudly flying in the breeze because sometimes old habits and philosophies die hard.

    One of the more interesting groups you will find there is the Junior Nation: those you strongly support driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. They’re very easy to spot because they are adorned in Amp Energy/National Guard clothing from head to toe. They also seem to have a higher level of intensity that separates them from fans of other drivers. It’s almost like they believe if they raise a higher level of hell then it will help their driver eradicate that ungodly win less streak.

    It’s also about the party element this weekend. There will be mega ice chests in the Auto Club Speedway’s infield filled with every kind of party juice, both domestic and foreign, that you can name. This will be fortified by large brown bottles with names like Jack, Jim and Johnnie on them. Some of those bottles will be filled with high priced elixirs featuring names that most people can’t pronounce.

    There will also be plenty of music coming from these campsites with the audio sources being anything from old fashioned boom boxes to lap top computers attached to sophisticated sound systems.. One RV stall will be playing classic country from the likes of Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Jr. The very next site will be blaring the rock classics from Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and ZZ Topp. Perhaps the third site will be playing some edgier rock and you might hear Distrubed “getting down with the sickness.” It’s truly amazing how all of these different sounds seem to blend together while walking through the camping area.

    Live music will also be a big part of the weekend in the infield. The Auto Club Speedway has arranged to have four different bands play on a stage appropriately sponsored by Crown Royal Whiskey. It’s also rather interesting that, just this past Saturday, there was a press release that named 3 Amigos as the official tequila of the Auto Club Speedway. That should also help fan the party flames to a very hot level.

    When the checkered flag falls on the Auto Club 400 late Sunday afternoon the mobile residents of NASCAR City will somehow find the energy to pack up their gear. They will next line up at the infield gate to begin their journey home. Many of them will have literally hundreds of miles to drive Sunday before they see their front doors again.

    Despite three days of race track parties, they will find the energy to be at work on Monday morning. They will find the enthusiasm to stand in the employee break room and tell co workers about how much fun they had and how they can’t wait to do it again. When they return home after work, many of them will be in a state of exhaustion and will go to bed at 730 pm. That’s okay. They’ve earned that right.

    God bless them one and all. NASCAR simply wouldn’t be able to function without them.

  • Dario fastest on Danica’s birthday at Saint Petersburg

    Dario fastest on Danica’s birthday at Saint Petersburg

    [media-credit name=”Photos by Cg Photography” align=”alignright” width=”187″][/media-credit]Picture perfect weather greeted large crowds as the Izod Indy car Series open the 2011 season on the downtown waterfront streets of Saint Petersburg Florida for the 7th annual Honda Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg.

    The 14 turn, 1.8 mile temporary street course would provide plenty of challenges and fast times for the 25 teams entered. The schedule for Friday would be a morning and afternoon practice session.  The morning practice saw all 25 teams on track searching for the combination of speed and handling that would put them at the top of the pack in this season opening event.

    Several teams were quick in the morning including defending race champion Will Power.  His Penske team mates, Heillo Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe also turned in very respectable practice laps.

    Target Ganassi Racing with Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti looked to be ready to take the top spot and the three car team of Andretti Autosport was showing some strength also.

    Mike Conway looked comfortable in his return to Indy Car after suffering severe injuries on the last lap of last season’s Indy 500, Marco Andretti was consistent and birthday girl  Danica Patrick was also running in the top ten, (Danica celebrated her birthday today and although you should never ask a lady her age, Danica smiled a little grin, and said “29”).

    [media-credit name=”Photos by Cg Photography” align=”alignright” width=”187″][/media-credit]Ryan Hunter-Reay would top the morning practice session with a lap just under one minute and four seconds . This morning session ran without incident and although a few teams were scratching their heads trying to figure out this tricky street course, all indications are this will be one of the most competitive fields in the 7 year history of this event.

    The afternoon session saw a number of drivers taking their turns at the top of the speed charts; Marco Andretti was quick, along with Will Power. Tony Kanaan looked good in his new ride. Ryan Brisco, Justin Wilson, Alex Tagliani all showed signs of being very fast. Danica remained in the top ten, but at the end of the day it was Dario Franchitti that would be the quickest. “This is good for our team, and we hope to be able to carry this into our qualifying tomorrow” Dario said.

    The afternoon session saw the car of E.J. Visio get off course, and damage both ends of the race car, the team thinks they can repair the car, and should not need to use a back up. Minor spins by Sebastien Bourdais, and Oriol Servia also slowed the action.

    Activities continue Saturday with a final practice session in the morning followed by qualifying and the Firestone fast six to determine Sundays pole position.

  • The Numbers for Auto Club 400

    The Numbers for Auto Club 400

    THE NUMBERS for the AUTO CLUB 400

    Auto Club Speedway

    2 –races won from the front row at Auto Club Speedway; one from the pole

    4 –number of drivers that have competed in all 21 races at ACS (Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek)

    4 –fewest cautions for a Sprint Cup race at (6/22/97)

    8 –number of jet dryers available for track drying during race weekend

    9 –most wins by a car owner in previous 21 races (Rick Hendrick)

    12 –most cautions (2/24/08)

    13 –different winners in previous 21 races

    14 –different pole winners

    18 –fewest lead changes (twice, most recent 2/26/06)

    22 –fewest caution laps (twice, most recent 4/30/00)

    33 –most lead changes (2/24/08)

    51 –most caution laps (9/5/04)

    120 –minutes, the amount of time it takes to dry the .533-mile track after a significant rainfall

    188.245 –mph, track qualifying record (Kyle Busch, 1/25/05)

    1995 –year track construction began on site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill and completed in 1996

    1997 –year first Sprint Cup race held at the track (6/22/97)

    2008 –year facility name changed from California Speedway to Auto Club Speedway

    2011 Caution Recap

    41 –cautions in the first four Sprint Cup races of 2011

    24 of 41 – cautions have been for accidents

    195 of 1287laps completed have been under caution

    275.881 of 1,499.000miles completed have been under caution

    BONUS: Although only two tracks currently host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, 15 California tracks have hosted a total of 129 Sprint Cup races over the years. Riverside International Raceway had the most – 48 – with the last event in 1988. Only Riverside, Ontario Motor Speedway (nine) and the two tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule – Auto Club Speedway (21) and Infineon Raceway (22) – have hosted more than six Cup races.

    — The Numbers provided by Dodge Motorsports

  • St. Pete To Host Opener This Weekend As Fourth Unified Season Of Open-Wheel Racing Begins

    St. Pete To Host Opener This Weekend As Fourth Unified Season Of Open-Wheel Racing Begins

    Following a five-month offseason break, the teams and drivers of the IZOD Indycar Series are ready to begin the 2011 campaign on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Unlike last year’s event that was postponed by one day due to torrential rainfall, weather is not expected to play a role in the outcome this year as conditions are expected to remain consistent with temperatures staying in the 70 to 80 degree range throughout the weekend festivities.

    [media-credit name=”Dan Helrigel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]In the time between last season’s closer in Miami to this weekend, the full-time field landscape has changed somewhat with twenty-five car and driver combinations in play, but with a few that may be added in as the series moves closer to its marquee event, the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500-mile race in May.

    Last year, St. Petersburg marked the official recognition of Team Penske’s Will Power as the series’ top road and street course driver, as he backed up his win two weeks before in the 2010 opening round in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and once again the winner of the 2010 Mario Andretti Trophy for the series’ top road and street course driver is among the favorites.

    With that in mind, here’s how the field looks for this weekend’s season opener.

    Team Penske

    Will Power- The former Formula One test driver has been the best on the twisty circuits over the past twelve months, including victory in last year’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in which he led 50 of the event’s 100 laps, after starting from the pole. Proved he is still among the best on these courses by running near the top of the time sheets during the Barber Open Test earlier this month.

    Helio Castroneves- Consistently at the top of the time sheets throughout the Barber Open Test, Castroneves has earned two victories at St. Petersburg (2006, 2007) and finished fourth in last year’s race. Helio is as good a candidate for victory as his teammate Power.

    Ryan Briscoe- This weekend begins an important season for Briscoe, who was consistently behind his two teammates during the 2010 season, particularly on road and street courses. Won here in 2009, and was in contention to win here as a rookie in 2005 until he found the tire barrier late in the race.

    Chip Ganassi Racing

    Dario Franchitti- A series champion in each of the last three seasons he has participated in, yet he has not won here at St. Petersburg, with a pair of thirds as his best results. However, he is among the best on road and street courses, having placed no worse than 7th in all but one event on these circuits last season.

    Scott Dixon- The New Zealander won three times last year, but only once on the road and street courses. Dixon led the second most laps in last year’s race at St. Petersburg, before misjudging the entry to turn 9, which resulted in contact with the barriers and an 18th place finish.

    Graham Rahal- The winner at St. Petersburg in 2008 finds himself in the best ride of his career in 2011, after driving for multiple teams during the 2010 season. He earned a ninth-place finish last year for Sarah Fisher Racing at St. Petersburg. Has the best chance for a breakout season

    Charlie Kimball- The early favorite for 2011 Indycar rookie of the year honors, Kimball moves up to the top circuit after two full seasons in the Indy Lights Series. Was unable to win a race in either year, but he made the podium in five of thirteen starts last year, also finished fourth in St. Petersburg in the Indy Lights event last year.

    Andretti Autosport

    Ryan Hunter-Reay- Last year’s Long Beach Grand Prix winner, earned all three of his podium finishes on street circuits last year, however he wasn’t a factor at St. Petersburg where he placed eleventh.

    Marco Andretti- Last season was a year to forget for Andretti, as his top performances were on ovals. A fifth-place result at Barber Motorsports Park was his best effort in a road race in 2010, and he finished 12th at St. Petersburg.

    Danica Patrick- Clever pit strategy put her in contention early in last year’s race at St. Petersburg, resulting in a seventh-place result, one of two top ten finishes she earned on street circuits last year.

    Mike Conway- Makes his return to the series, following his nasty shunt on the penultimate lap of last year’s Indianapolis 500. Has earned all of but one of his six top ten finishes on road and street circuits, but has not finished in his two previous tries at St. Pete.

    Panther Racing

    J.R. Hildebrand- The 2009 Indy Lights Series champion enters his first full season in the IZOD Indycar Series. He participated in two road races last year in Indycars, earning a 16th place at Mid-Ohio. He has had more success on the twisty circuits over the ovals, earning four of his five Indy Lights wins on road and street circuits.

    Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

    Justin Wilson- Last year’s St. Petersburg runner-up is one of the mid-pack runners who may have the best chance to win this weekend. Has proven he can win on road and street circuits, having won twice, including at Watkins Glen in 2009 for Dale Coyne Racing.

    Ana Beatriz- Popular Brazilian begins her first full IZOD Indycar Series season this weekend. She was a contender for the win in three of her four starts at St. Petersburg in the Indy Lights, with a best result of third in 2008.

    Sam Schmidt Motorsports

    Alex Tagliani- Another dark horse pick this weekend, after finishing sixth here last year and running amongst the top contenders several times in road and street circuit events. Former FAZZT team should remain competitive despite the squad’s assets being picked up by Sam Schmidt.

    A.J. Foyt Racing

    Vitor Meira- Opened last season with an impressive third-place result at Sao Paolo, but couldn’t keep the momentum going for the rest of the season. He earned five other top ten finishes, but all of those were in oval track events.

    KV Racing Techonology-Lotus

    Tony Kanaan- Finally secured a drive for 2011 last week, after leaving Andretti Autosport and seeing a potential ride with Gil de Ferran fall apart after the team shut down. He has finished no worse than tenth in any of his six starts at St. Pete, including four podium results. He is a contender for a fifth podium, if he can quickly get used to his new surroundings.

    E.J. Viso- Put his stock on the Indycar radar, with an excellent fourth place result at St. Pete in 2008, however he has not factored in most road and street circuits events since then. He is not likely to factor among the frontrunners this weekend.

    Takuma Sato- Ran amongst the front runners in several road and street circuits in his rookie season last year, but only garnered one top ten and several did not finish results. He can post a good result if he can reach the checkered flag.

    Dale Coyne Racing

    Sebastien Bourdais- A definite x-factor after winning four Champ Car World Series titles. How competitive a car Dale Coyne can produce for him will determine how much of a threat he can be to the front runners in his road and street circuits only appearances this season.

    James Jakes- Little known newcomer joins the series at St. Petersburg, after a lackluster season in the European lower ranks. Growing pains are likely for him this weekend.

    Newman-Haas Racing

    Oriol Servia- Returns to full-time duty for the first time since 2008, after not running in any events last year. He finished seventh at St. Pete in 2008 and could pull a surprise if he can match the numbers posted by Newman-Haas tester James Hinchcliffe during Barber open test.

    HVM Racing

    Simona de Silvestro- Promising Swiss pilot begins her second full season, which saw her best performances come on road and street circuits. Up in the air as to how she will fare at St. Pete as she was among the bottom half of the pack during the Barber open test.

    Conquest Racing

    Sebastian Saavedra- Colombian newcomer only placed eighth in the 2010 Indy Lights standings, but is in a car capable of posting top ten results, as Bertrand Baguette proved late in 2010.

    AFS Racing

    Rafa Matos- Two-year Indycar veteran reunites with the same AFS team with which he won the 2008 Indy Lights title. The team has only made four Indycar Series starts so St. Pete will be a learning experience for them.

    Outlook

    For those who are expecting a more competitive season, where other teams besides Penske and Ganassi are consistently winning races, that does not appear as a likely outcome for most of the races. However, with the way the driving talent is spread out there is a greater chance for surprises to occur on the road and street circuits than the ovals, however it’s not enough for one to pick a winner outside of the top two teams as the best bet to win the race. In this case Will Power is the best at road and street course currently in Indycar, and based on that, he is the logical choice for victory this weekend in St. Pete.

  • As NASCAR Heads to California…

    As NASCAR Heads to California…

    I’ll be short this time. The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams are headed to Fontana, California and Auto Club Speedway, and while the folks who cover NASCAR continue to try to brainwash us into thinking that we’re just going to love the race on Sunday, it’s woefully obvious that we’re going to see a race that disappoints us. Why? Because it’s California, that’s why. Despite the rave reviews I’ve heard this week about how much the fans are just prejudiced against this track, the truth is that they have good reason for their prejudice. It hasn’t been a show to remember ever. Let’s hope that things change this week.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]And one more thing about Fontana. Who in the wide, wide world of sports decided it was a good thing to go out to Phoenix and Las Vegas, take a week off, run Bristol and head back to California? It boggles my mind. The week off makes more sense if you run at Fontana and come back to Bristol due to weather considerations. The schedule makers get a bye because last weekend was so wonderful and this weekend is going to be cold. Luck, I guess, but the travel costs for teams are not a laughing matter.

    I am amazed at the continuing saga of Rick Russell’s 2nd Chance Motorsports and driver Jennifer Jo Cobb’s disputes. Today, Russell filed a complaint against Cobb saying she was guilty of larceny for stealing parts. If I read the comments right, Cobb says that the parts were moved to a storage building on Russell’s property and the storage facility belonged to Russell. What? Sounds like the way things are going all over America. Everyone wants to sue once there is a disagreement and if a suit is not possible, you either take it to the press or call the law. Even more amazing is that Russell and Cobb had a contract that required her to repair the car if it was damaged in a race, which happened at Las Vegas. Furthermore, she was required to supply engines for the car. I guess Jennifer Jo really wanted to race so much she entered into a really lousy contract. This can be best described as a mess.

    I noted with interest that TRG Motorsports is changing to Ford bodies and power after California. It’s a limited agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to build the cars and with Roush-Yates Engines to supply powerplants. I wonder if this is a trend. We’ve seen Richard Petty Motorsports move from Dodge to a similar agreement with RFR last year. The same thing happened with Front Row Motorsports and now with TRG. Ford has now increased their number of cars from five in 2008 to nine in 2011, and if rumors are to be believed, there could be more. It’s very interesting, to say the least.

    Finally, all I’ve heard this week is how Jimmie Johnson is a lock to win at Auto Club Speedway. And if not him, it has to be Jeff Gordon. I might agree if it weren’t for a couple of guys who have performed much better and have a record at Fontana, namely Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, not to mention Kevin Harvick. No one promotes “Five-Time” and Gordon more than the fine folks, who cover the sport, but here’s my shocking prediction—it might be Kyle Busch, much to the chagrin of NASCAR Nation. But, then again, who knows? I just know that we’ll know late on Sunday evening. But the constant presumption that the favorite always has to be one of the Hendrick teams is interesting. It ignores recent performances. But what do I know?

  • Matt Crafton Eyes the Championship After Solid Start to Season

    Matt Crafton Eyes the Championship After Solid Start to Season

    [media-credit name=”mattcrafton.com” align=”alignright” width=”290″][/media-credit]So far this season, Matt Crafton is having one of the best seasons of his career as he currently leads the point standings.

    “The season has been good so far,” he told me earlier this week. “It hasn’t great so far that we’ve got two top five finishes and a top 10. The last race at Darlington we had a really truck. That will help towards building for the next race at Martinsville and build off the momentum for the team and having momentum is huge in this sport.”

    The last race at Darlington was a trying race for the No. 88 team as they got stuck back outside the top 20 late in the going with a late pit stop. Though Crafton proved that his team is ready to make a run at the championship as he drove back to a fourth place finish.

    “It was cool that we had as good as a truck as we did to come back to finish fourth,” he said. “That was awesome. I think if we had better track position, we would’ve had a better shot.”

    One of the keys to Crafton’s run at Darlington was working with teammate Johnny Sauter, who he has a good relationship with.

    “It’s awesome,” he said. “Things are great. If we’re off a little bit in practice, you can over there and see what they’re doing and get your program with what they’re doing. We actually went to them at Darlington. And that’s go back and forth as they can come to us.”

    Crafton is set to go for the championship after watching ThorSport Racing grow through the years.

    “It would be everything,” he said. “I mean, that’s what we all strive for. We’re all here to win the championship. That weekend is one thing, but its all part of working towards that.”

    He got the call to drive for them in 2000, after winning the Featherlite Southwest Series Championship. When he first joined, they were a team that was just starting out, though have since grown to a three-truck organization. ThorSport Racing announced last week that they’d be adding a third truck to the organization with Dakoda Armstrong behind the wheel.

    “I remember when it was just one team and not a whole trucks and to keep adding to it makes it better and better every year,” he said. “That’s pretty awesome to have another truck at the race track; I look forward to working with him.”

    Key highlights to his career to date include his first racing memory of winning his first ever go-kart racing and his first career Camping World Truck Series win at Atlanta, followed by the win at Charlotte. Though one track that he has yet to win at that’s on his radar is Bristol, following the second-place finish last year.

    Outside of his driving commitments, Crafton has also been working with Travis Pastrana in helping him learn the ropes of driving stock cars.

    “He is going to be a good racecar driver,” he said. “He has been good to work with. He has already done well. To finish sixth in his first ever start and then the second one, he got caught up in someone else’s mess.”