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Category: Other Series Racing

Other series racing

  • Power continues to show speed at Mid-Ohio, claims third pole of season

    Power continues to show speed at Mid-Ohio, claims third pole of season

    [media-credit name=”indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the sight of some fast IZOD IndyCar’s today.  Will Power, who led yesterday’s practice session, put his Penske Racing machine atop the speed charts with a lap of 1:05.647.  Power’s lap equates to a speed of 123.825 mph, demolishing last year’s pole speed of  119.405 set by Scott Dixon and setting a new IndyCar track record at Mid-Ohio.

    This is Power’s third pole of the 2012 season and his first since Brazil back at the end of April.  Starting up front has proved vital in IndyCar’s  history at Mid-Ohio.  Since first sanctioning a race at the Lexington, Ohio road course in 2007,  four out of the five winners here have come from no further back then third on the starting grid.

    Advancing to the Firestone Fast 6 at Mid-Ohio were Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, Will Power, Dario Franchitti, Simon Pagenaud, and Ryan Briscoe.  Power turned the most laps out of all six drivers, completing five laps in the final session and claiming pole for tomorrow’s Honda Indy 200.  Following in second was Franchitti, who posted a 1:05.895.

    Only 8 one-thousandths of a second behind Franchitti was Simon Pagenaud for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.  After subbing in for the injured Justin Wilson last year, Pagenaud has been looking for a stable and structured weekend at Mid-Ohio this weekend.  The Sam Schmidt driver seems to be doing exactly that, before qualifying third for tomorrow’s race Pagenaud finished the first two practice sessions P4 and P2, respectively.

    Alex Tagliani posted a 1:06.004, good enough to start fourth tomorrow, however after an unapproved engine change yesterday, Tagliani will have to start 14th on the grid.  Following Tagliani was Scott Dixon, with a best lap of 1:06.096.  Dixon has three victories at Mid-Ohio and has won from 6th on the grid before.  Scott will look to win again tomorrow at a venue he has been so dominant at in the past hermes outlet and improve his chances at a third IndyCar Championship.

    Rounding out the Firestone Fast 6 was Ryan Briscoe, completing 4 laps in the final session and turning a best time of 1:06.200.

    The Honda Indy 200 from Mid-Ohio can be seen on ABC tomorrow beginning at 12:30 pm.

  • Wolfe Wins First at Bloomington

    Wolfe Wins First at Bloomington

    [media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”212″][/media-credit]Bloomington Indiana is the home of the biggest name in Winged Sprint Car history. That name is Kinser. Steve Kinser to be exact. There would be 3 Kinser’s in the field tonight. But the victory would go to a first time winner. It seems hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature before. But it was true until tonight.

    The evening was hot and humid as is typical in the midwest in August. The 1/4 mile dirt track at Bloomington Indiana was still wet from a brief rain shower but it didn’t discourage the fans from flocking to the home track of 20 time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser. The 22 drivers who also gathered at the track were geared up and ready to go. The semi-banked, quarter-mile oval track record of 9.672 seconds was established by Jason Meyers on Aug. 5, 2011. That track record would remain intact after qualifying was complete. Quick Time would be set by Donny Schatz with a time of 10.798 seconds or 81.98 mph. Lucas Wolfe, Jason Sides, Sammy Swindell, and Craig Dollansky would round out the top 5.

    The heat races would be uneventful, with the small narrow track keeping passing to a minimum. The first heat race would see Greg Wilson fend off a hard charging Cody Darrah and Steve Kinser to take home the win and secure a spot in the dash. Also securing a spot in the dash would be Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz with their times.

    The second heat race would see Logan Schuchart hold off a hard charging Kraig Kinser in front of Kraig’s home town crowd. Finishing third was Craig Dollansky. Also transferring out of the 2nd heat to the dash based on his time was Lucas Wolfe.

    The third heat was won by Joey Saldana by a straight away over fellow Outlaw Kerry Madsen.  Also transferring to the Dash based on time was Jason Sides.

    With the dash field set the inversion of a 6 was drawn putting quick time setter Donny Schatz back to 6th and Cody Darrah to the pole next to team mate Joey Saldana. Saldana would take the lead on the first lap and never look back. The real battle would be between Darrah and Sides for 2nd and Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz for 4th. Saldana would lead Darrah and Sides  across the line with Sammy Swindell holding on to 4th ahead of Donny Schatz.

    With the A Main Line up set it was time to get down to business. The track reworked the surface to try to widen the groove out for the Outlaws. It wouldn’t take long for it to become obvious that it worked well. At the drop of the Green Joey Saldana took the lead and at times stretched it as far as 2 seconds over team mate Cody Darrah.  Saldana would hold on the lead through lap 18 when Lucas Wolfe would make a slide move to the inside out of turn 4 to take the lead. Donny Schatz would challenge over and over for the second spot but Saldana would hold on to finish second with Schatz coming home in 3rd. Jason Sides and Cody Darrah would battle all the way to the line for the 4th spot with Sides holding off last years Rookie of the year Darrah. The victory would be the very first World of Outlaws feature win for Lucas Wolfe. It was a popular win with the crowd and with his competitors. A very quiet and calm Wolfe contained his excitement and paid tribute to his crew and his father in victory lane.  Wolfe would also be the Hard Charger of the race gaining six positions from 7th.

    Other notable performances on the race track included that of Steve Kinser. Kinser who tangled with Kody Kinser (distant relation) on the opening lap and got over on his side in the infield and started the race from the last spot charged through the field to finish 10th. Sammy Swindell would cut a tire at lap 38 and would make the tire change with no work time on the clock and make it back out on to the track as the last car on the lead lap. He would finish 13th on the lead lap.

    It’s hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature with the Outlaws before tonight. His skills certainly would deny that. But if you ask anyone who follows the world of winged sprint car racing about Bloomington Indiana you will find an almost reverent tone. It is the home of champions. It is the home of extreme talents on the dirt. It is the home of the King. It is the home of Karl and Sheldon Kinser. It is the home Kraig Kinser and in that little town in Indiana it is a given that if your name is Kinser you are probably a front runner in the world of dirt. Tonight was no different really, Bloomington held magic in her hand and she gifted it to a young man who was more than deserving and very long over due.

    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Qualifying results: 1) Donny Schatz 10.798. 2) Lucas Wolfe 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Joey Saldana 7) Cody Darrah 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Kody Kinser 10) Greg Wilson 11) Logan Schuchart 12) Kerry Madsen 13) Steve Kinser 14) Bill Rose 15) James McFadden 16) Chad Kemenah 17) Danny Smith 18) Paul May 19) Ty Deckard 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Brad Greer 22) A.J. Martin.

    First Heat Race Results: ‎1) Greg Wilson 2) Cody Darrah 3) Steve Kinser 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) A.J. Martin 7) Ty Deckard 8) Chad Kemenah

    Second Heat Race Results: ‎1) Logan Schuchart 2) Kraig Kinser 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Danny Smith 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Bill Rose 7) Wes McIntyre

    Third Heat Race Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Kody Kinser 4) James McFadden 5) Paul May 6) Jason Sides 7) Brad Greer

    Dash Results: Inversion was a 6. ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Cody Darrah 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) Greg Wilson 7) Lucas Wolfe 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Kerry Madsen

    A Main Results: ‎1) Lucas Wolfe 2) Joey Saldana 3) Donny Schatz 4) Jason Sides 5) Cody Darrah 6) Greg Wilson 7) Kraig Kinser 8) Logan Schuchart 9) Craig Dollansky 10) Steve Kinser 11) James McFadden 12) Danny Smith 13) Sammy Swindell 14) Kerry Madsen 15) Bill Rose 16) Brad Greer 17) Paul May 18) Chad Kemenah 19) Kody Kinser 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Ty Deckard 22) A.J. Martin.

    Hard Charger of the Race was Lucas Wolfe.

    World of Outlaws Points

    Pos. Driver Total Diff Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s QT
    1 Craig Dollansky 6338 0 6 23 34 8
    2 Steve Kinser 6321 -17 3 21 35 0
    3 Donny Schatz 6299 -39 4 18 37 1
    4 Sammy Swindell 6280 -58 8 19 31 7
    5 Joey Saldana 6276 -62 5 17 33 6
    6 Kraig Kinser 6195 -143 4 17 33 5
    7 Cody Darrah 5911 -427 1 14 23 2
    8 Kerry Madsen 5855 -483 3 8 23 1
    9 Chad Kemenah 5799 -539 2 8 22 2
    10 Lucas Wolfe 5550 -788 1 6 16 1
    11 Bill Rose 5040 -1298 0 0 8 0
    12 Jason Sides 4151 -2187 0 12 19 0
    13 Daryn Pittman 2462 -3876 0 6 13 1
    14 Danny Lasoski 2356 -3982 1 5 8 0
    15 David Gravel 2310 -4028 0 7 9 4
    16 Tim Kaeding 2301 -4037 3 5 10 0
    17 Paul McMahan 2221 -4117 1 2 3 0
    18 Jac Haudenschild 2054 -4284 0 1 2 0
    19 Austen Wheatley 1818 -4520 0 0 2 0
    20 Brad Sweet 1779 -4559 1 5 8 1
  • Power sets quick pace in Mid-Ohio practice one

    Power sets quick pace in Mid-Ohio practice one

    [media-credit name=”autoweek.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]The IZOD IndyCar Series took to the track at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time this season in its first of two practice sessions in preparation for the Hondy Indy 200.

    The session proved eventful with three short red flag periods and numerous drivers posting times that held them atop the leaderboard throughout the session.  The first practice session showed a tightly knit field of drivers, with the 25 car field being separated by only 2.1 seconds.

    Josef Newgarden found speed early in the session and posted a 1:08.486, which was good to keep him at the top of the charts for the opening 30 minutes of practice.

    After about 40 minutes into the session the red flag came out for a Alex Tagliani going off the course at turn 9.  Just 10 minutes later, James Hinchcliffe ventured off the track in turn 10 to bring out another short red flag period.  Tagliani was later able to return to the track and post a 1:07.346, a time that was good enough to put him in eighth position.  Hinchcliffe will look to find more speed in the second practice session tomorrow morning, posting a 1:07.676, only good enough for 17th.

    Takuma Sato was able to head in the right direction with his set up on the #5 Rahal/Letterman entry.  Sato led most of the middle portion of the 90 minute session, with a best time of 1:08.233.

    With 30 minutes remaining and the session at the beginning of its final stages, Will Power jumped to the top of the leader board with a 1:07.297.  As the session drew to a close, the time Power posted remained the fastest of the day until the final minute of the session, when Power bested his own time and improved to a 1:06.863.

    Following behind Power was Chip Ganassi’s #9 entry of Scott Dixon, who drove his Target Honda to a 1:07.021.  Just two tenths of a second behind Power was Marco Andretti, who posted a 1:07.064, a time good enough for third position.  Rounding out the top 5 were Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal who set marks of 1:07.106 and 1:07.108, respectively.

    Finishing the session in 23rd position was Giorgio Pantano, who is replacing the injured Charlie Kimball this weekend.  Pantano, who hasn’t been in an IndyCar yet this season, completed the most laps of any driver in the session and generated a best time of 1:08.075.

    Like most tracks this season, the DW12 chassis is proving it has a strong pace.  Pole speed last year for the Honda Indy 200 was 119.405 mph.  Power’s best lap of the opening session was 121.574 mph.  Look for some fast qualifying and race speeds throughout the rest of the weekend.

    The drivers will be on track next for the second practice session, 8 – 9 am on August 4th. Later that day, at 11:00 am, qualifying will take place.  The green flag for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be at 1:00 pm on August 5th.

  • Venturini Motorsports teammates Poole and Reed lead ARCA Practice at Pocono

    Venturini Motorsports teammates Poole and Reed lead ARCA Practice at Pocono

    [media-credit name=”ARCARacing.com” align=”alignright” width=”345″][/media-credit]Following a mock qualifying run by each of the Venturini Motorsports teammates right at the end of the practice session at Pocono Raceway, Brennan Poole would lead practice with his teammate Ryan Reed second.

    Poole posted the fastest lap at 52.494 seconds, beating Reed by 0.013 seconds.

    Both drivers are looking for success this year in Venturini’s 30th year competiting in the ARCA Series. It marks the first full season for both drivers and they’ve been impressive as Poole has two wins, while Reed is looking for his first win to go with his four top fives.

    Alex Bowman led most of the 80 minute practice and was in the garage making changes to run a mock qualifying run, however did not make it out on track before the end of the session.  Bowman would finish the session third, less than 0.2 seconds behind Poole.

    “We’ve got that different tapered spacer for the old-style motors and that’s definitely helping us out a bit,”  Bowman says. “Everybody at Cunningham Motorsports prepared the same race car. We’re the same as we were, just different gears. (Crew chief) Paul Andrews is definitely doing a great job, we’ve got great Penske horsepower, and it’s cool to have St. Jude’s on board. I definitely feel like we’re the fastest car here.”

    A.J. Henriksen was fourth and Frank Kimmel was fifth. It was Kimmel that took the checkered flag first in the last race for the ARCA Racing Series for his 75th ARCA win.

    Chad Hackenbracht, Matt Lofton, Chris Buescher, Will Kimmel, and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top 10. Buescher currently leads Poole by 20 points in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards point standings. Both drivers are looking for their first championship.

    Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will begin at 5:15 p.m. Live timing and scoring coverage from the session will be available on ARCARacing.com.

     

    Practice Results

    2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #14    
    Pocono Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania, 8-4-12    
    Pennsylvania ARCA 125      
               
    August 3, 2012 / 3:11 PM      
               
    POS NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR TIME SPEED
    1 25 Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX Cometic Gasket-Midas-Venturini Motorsports Toyota 52.494 171.448
    2 15 Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA JDRF Ford 52.507 171.406
    3 22 Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dodge 52.675 170.859
    4 55 AJ Henriksen/Elgin IL Engineered Components Company Toyota 53.156 169.313
    5 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell-Menards Toyota 53.242 169.039
    6 58 Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadephia OH CGH Motorsports Chevrolet 53.302 168.849
    7 16 Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC Strutmasters.com Chevrolet 53.557 168.045
    8 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX Reliance Tool-BeavEx Ford 53.705 167.582
    9 68 Will Kimmel/Clarksville IN Knuth Machine Tools Ford 54.104 166.346
    10 09 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL Casite-Roush Yates Performance Products Ford 54.168 166.150
    11 95 Michael Leavine/Bullard TX WRL General Contractors Ford 54.256 165.880
    12 32 Matt Merrell/Portland TX Toyota of Scranton-Red Line Oil Toyota 54.314 165.703
    13 66 Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela Venezuela Tourism Toyota 54.443 165.311
    14 23 Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV Allegiant Air Chevrolet 54.950 163.785
    15 61 Aleks Gregory/Baton Rouge LA The Mosquito Patch Chevrolet 55.454 162.297
    16 99 Brandon Davis/Huntington Beach CA Roulo Brothers Racing Ford 55.529 162.077
    17 02 Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford 55.608 161.847
    18 35 Tom Berte/New Berlin WI CGS Premier Chevrolet 55.609 161.844
    19 88 Buster Graham/Lafayette LA Batter’s Dream-RoushYatesParts.com Ford 55.897 161.010
    20 13 George Cushman/Waterville NY Cushman Truck Repair Chevrolet 55.954 160.846
    21 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Chevrolet 56.094 160.445
    22 07 Brian Kaltreider/Reading PA Independent Graphics-Lica Ford 56.510 159.264
    23 3 Steve Fox/Hazleton PA Universe Towing & Auto Body-The Southside Dodge 56.797 158.459
    24 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Milwaukee Crusher Company-Double H Ranch Chevy 57.202 157.337
    25 04 Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD First Mariner Bank-Trauma Doc Dodge 57.509 156.497
    26 94 Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela Corazon Venezulano-Cantv-Milka Way Toyota 57.948 155.312
    27 40 Maryeve Dufault/Sorel Quebec M5 Sports Entertainment Dodge 58.215 154.599
    28 06 Tommy O’Leary/Cygnet OH GreatRailing.com Ford 58.700 153.322
    29 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 59.319 151.722
    30 43 Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA The Breast Cancer Coalition Chevrolet 59.545 151.146
    31 7 Brent Cross/Cortland NY Bestdeck-Cummings Auto Machine Chevrolet 60.239 149.405
    32 18 Rick Clifton/Circleville OH C&B Farm Supply-Liberty Link Chevrolet 61.211 147.032
    33 0 Don Thompson/Carlisle PA JMPCO Ford 62.297 144.469
    34 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Radon.com Ford 63.225 142.349
    35 69 Clair Zimmerman/Denver PA Tilted Kilt Ford 67.558 133.219

     

  • D.J. Kennington Making NASCAR Canadian Tire Series History, One Win at a Time

    D.J. Kennington Making NASCAR Canadian Tire Series History, One Win at a Time

    [media-credit name=”Perry Nelson” align=”alignright” width=”350″][/media-credit]The past two months of racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series have gone perfectly for D.J. Kennington as he won five consecutive races, becoming the eighth driver to complete the feat in NASCAR Touring Series history. Nobody has gone six races in a row so everybody is asking who will be the one that can stop the streak, if possible.

    With this weekend’s race begin at Circuit de Trois-Riveries, everybody is betting on Andrew Ranger as he won three of the five races won on the 1.53-mile temporary road course. Meanwhile, Kennington has yet to score a win on the road course, scoring a best career finish of third. He has scored four straight top 10s and considering the St. Thomas, Ontario driver has been getting better each year on road courses, a win could quite possibly happen.

    The string of success by the 2010 series champion is surprising, though equals the promise he offered at the beginning of the year. After finishing second to Scott Steckly last year, Kennington vowed to come back this year even stronger to get his crown back. Now, with the five wins, Kennington leads the standings by 41 points over last year’s champion Scott Steckly.

    So far this year in seven starts, Kennington has won five of the races while finishing second and fifth in the other two. History shows that in championship strings, there’s always one race that deals the championship team a bad finish to force them to fight harder.

    In the inaugural season of the Canadian Tire Series in 2007, Ranger had one win, seven top fives and 10 top 10s in 12 starts. He finished 13th at both Mosport and Kawartha.

    In 2008, Steckly had four wins, nine top fives and nine top 10s in 13 starts. He was handed a 21st at Mosport, an 18th at Cayuga and a 17th in the season finale at Kawartha.

    In 2009, Ranger had six wins, eight top fives and 13 top 10s in 13 starts. His worst finish was ninth, coming at Barrie and Kawartha.

    As previously stated, Kennington had five wins, nine top fives and 11 top 10s in 13 starts in 2010. He finished 15th at Edmonton and 28th in Montreal.

    Last year, Steckly had three wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s in 12 starts. He was handed a 20th in Saskatoon and a 14th at Barrie.

    So where is it most likely that Kennington will have a hiccup this year?

    Well, this weekend doesn’t look like a likely chance as he has finished in the top 10 in his four last starts with a 12th in his first start at Trois-Rivieres

    Circuit de Villleneuve is a likely spot as he has finished 28th and 18th in his last two starts there, despite finishing fourth in his first three starts in Montreal.

    Barrie Speedway isn’t a likely spot despite being a tight track as he finished no worse than 10th, including three wins.

    Riverside Speedway has been a mixed bag for Kennington as he has a third, 21st, 18th, first and fourth in five starts.

    Despite finishing 25th in his first Kawartha Speedway start, Kennington has finished no worse than third since so that’s a solid spot for the St. Thomas, Ontario native.

    No matter how the final five races of 2012 go, it’s no question that Kennington has made history this season already and could easily expand on that before the season is over in September.

     

  • Race No. 8: JuliaWine.com 100 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres (Que.)

    Race No. 8: JuliaWine.com 100 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres (Que.)

    Last week, D.J. Kennington picked up his fifth consecutive NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victory at Saskatoon. The victory tied the NASCAR touring series record in the modern era among currently sanctioned series as he joins former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor and current ESPN analyst Ricky Craven in 1991 (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), legendary West Coast driver Herschel McGriff in 1972 (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), NASCAR Hall of Fame member Richie Evans in 1985 (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and nine-time NASCAR champion Mike Stefanik (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) as winners of five straight races at the NASCAR touring series level.

    The victory also put Kennington at the top of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series all-time win leaders list with 16 victories.

    “It’s really been an amazing run,” Kennington says. “We’ve worked hard for it, but we’ve had some luck, too. You have to for a streak this long.”

    This weekend, if Kennington is able to pick up his sixth win at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec, he will become the only driver in NASCAR touring series modern era to win six straight races.

    “We have stepped up our road-course program over the years, but I’m an oval guy,” Kennington adds. “The ability level of road racing in this series is really high with Ranger, (Robin) Buck, (J.R.) Fitzpatrick, (Kerry) Micks and the list goes on and on. The guys in front of me giftwrapped that Edmonton race. That’s the luck I was talking about. You can bet we’ll show up in (Trois-Riveres), though.”

    Kennington has been good on the 1.530-mile temporary street course before as he scored a ninth last year for his fourth straight top-10 finish at the track. The 2010 series champion has yet to finish the race in victory lane as his best finish is a third in 2009, followed by a fourth in 2010. With his current streak of nine straight top five finishes and 10 consecutive top 10s, Kennington will look to continue that consistancy to keep the points lead. He currently leads by 41 points.

    While Kennington has yet to find victory lane at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, Ranger has found victory lane on three separate occasions. He won three straight races from 2008 to 2010, before finishing runner-up to Robin Buck last year. He is arguably the best driver in the Canadian Tire Series at Trois-Riveries as his worst finish is a second in five starts, while leading a series-best 48 laps. Ranger has been consistant during his time in the Canadian Tire Series as he has finished inside the top 10 in 28 of his last 30 series starts dating back to 2008. The two-time series champion sits third in points, 46 points behind Kennington.

    Two other drivers have found victory lane at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, those being Robin Buck and Kerry Micks.

    Buck won last year’s event for his second career series victory while finishing outside the top 20 in his three other starts at the Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. Buck is known for only racing the road courses, scoring six top 10s in his last eight series starts.

    Micks, meanwhile, won the series’ inaugural visit to Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in 2007. He finished 21st last year for his only finish outside the top 10 in five starts as he was the runner-up in 2010 while finishing ninth in 2008 and sixth in 2009. He has a top 10 in six of his seven last starts dating back to Montreal last year. Micks is splitting driving duties of the No. 02 PartSource/BDI/Leland Ford with Mark Dilley, hoping to win the owner’s championship. They currently sits fifth.

    The one closest though to catching Kennington in the driver’s championship standings is last year’s champion Scott Steckly. He finished third last year at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres while his best finish is a second that came in 2008. The two-time series champion has top-10 finishes in four of his last five starts on the 1.53-mile Quebec track. He has eight top five finishes in his last nine series starts as he currently sits 41 points behind Kennington.

  • MARTIN ROY & ISABELLE TREMBLAY READY FOR TROIS-RIVIERES

    MARTIN ROY & ISABELLE TREMBLAY READY FOR TROIS-RIVIERES

    July 30, 2012.  Leader of the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series rookie of the year standings Napierville, QC racer Martin Roy can’t wait to return to action this weekend in the #90 Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge in front of the Quebec fans.  Also returning to action this weekend is teammate Isabelle Tremblay driver of the #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge.

     

    With top ten results in all three western races including atop five result in Edmonton Roy is extremely proud of his team and looks forward to taking the next step of success.  “As both a driver and team owner I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far” said Roy.  “The confidence and momentum is building each week and we’re very happy to be back to race in front of the Quebec fans at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres this weekend.  And we couldn’t be making this progress without our sponsors at Veloce Gamache and Battery Expert ” he added.

     

    Also back in action this weekend will be Roy’s teammate Isabelle Tremblay in the #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge.  Last season’s runner up for rookie of the year is also poised for a strong weekend.  “Isabelle has been working very hard to be ready for this event” said Martin Roy.  “She’s been preparing physically, mentally and done a tremendous amount of work with her sponsor Frank Lyman Designs that will be featured on the hood of the car this weekend”.

     

    Isabelle Tremblay herself is anxious to return to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series racing action.  “It’s been wonderful to work closely with our partners leading up to the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres” said Tremblay.  “Archibald and Arcopel have been very supportive of the team and I can’t wait to get back on track this weekend” she stated.

     

    In addition to seeing them in action on the track, race fans will have plenty of opportunities to meet with drivers Martin Roy and Isabelle Tremblay beginning with an Autograph Session Wednesday, August 1st at 2:30PM at the Agriculture Expo in St. Hyacinthe for Collete Sport.  “Both Martin and I are very excited to meet with the many race fans at the Expo and on the open day this Friday and all weekend a the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres” said Isabelle Tremblay

     

    On track action opens Friday August 3rd at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.  Martin Roy & Isabelle Tremblay will be on track for their first practice Saturday August 4th at 11AM and qualifying at 5:15PM.  The race will take place Sunday August 5th at 3:30PM.  The race will also be shown on TSN Saturday August 11th at 9:30PM and on RDS2 on Wednesday September 5th at 10PM.

  • 2012 IndyCar title contenders

    2012 IndyCar title contenders

    [media-credit name=”sportsnet.ca” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]After the IZOD IndyCar race in Mid-ohio on August 5th, the series will have but only three races left.  Auto Club Speedway will host the finale this year in mid September, ending the season months before both NASCAR and Formula 1.  With the season coming to a close more rapidly than expected, top drivers are entering the climatic stages of the season where every point earned will be crucial to who wins the 2012 IndyCar Championship.

    Realistically there are four drivers in the hunt for the championship this season (note that IndyCar awards points even for finishing last in a race).  Ryan Hunter-Reay has earned 362 points thus far, leading the standings by 23 points over Helio Castroneves.  Will Power is close behind his Penske Racing teammate, 26 points out of the lead.  Lastly, Scott Dixon is currently fourth in the championship with 301 points, 61 points out of first.  With our focus on these four drivers and the four remaining tracks on the schedule, an interesting title fight is in the works.

    August 3rd – 5th the IICS is at the Mid-Ohio course in Lexington, Ohio.  Looking at the statistics from all five races IndyCar has held at Mid-Ohio since the 2007 season, Hunter-Reay, Power, and Castroneves have average finishes at the sports car course of 6.8, 6.6, and 7.8 respectively.  Scott Dixon possesses a statistical advantage at Mid-Ohio by accumulating an average finish of 2.2 throughout the five races he’s contested there.  Theoretically, if all four drivers continue to finish close to their average finishes this weekend, Dixon will make up considerable ground on his competitors, therefore squeezing the top four drivers in the standings closer together.

    After a three week break, the IICS will be back in action at the Sonoma Raceway for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.  As with most road courses, Will Power has excelled at Sonoma the last two years, winning the 2010 and 2011 races.  Ryan Hunter-Reay however, has had different fortunes in wine country, earning an average finish of 14.6 in five starts. Castroneves and Dixon both have one win a piece in Sonoma.  RHR, the current points leader, has had the least amount of success at Sonoma among the top four drivers in contention for IndyCar’s crown this year. Thus Sonoma will see an extended effort by him to either go for a win while he’s got the momentum in hand from a great season so far or be on the defensive all weekend, trying to leave with minimum damage in the points race.

    The climatic point of the season could come with two races remaining, at the Grand Prix of Baltimore.  The streets of Baltimore serve as a wildcard for the championship, IndyCar has raced there only once, the circuit is also undergoing three changes to its layout in an attempt to promote more exciting racing around Camden Yards.  With limited data and experience at the venue, the playing field for the weekend will be leveled slightly.  Qualifying will be as important as ever, with the wrong set up, any of our drivers could find themselves starting in the back of the pack on a tight street course that may be difficult to overtake on.  Look for Baltimore to produce some plot twists in the quest for the 2012 title, Josef Newgarden of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing visited the venue recently and discussed his thoughts on the inaugural Baltimore event last year.

    “Baltimore was the most physical event last year. It’s really bumpy on half the circuit and really smooth on the other, which made it really difficult to drive the car.”  Newgarden also stated how the changes to the circuit layout will “make for good competition” in this year’s event.

    With Baltimore being one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar to drive as well as additional changes being placed on the track for more passing opportunities to arise, look for any of the title contenders to either create momentum and thrust themselves to the top of the standings, or make a mistake under the rough conditions, eliminating them from championship contention.

    Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California will play host to the IZOD IndyCar World Championships on September  15th.  The IICS hasn’t held a race at the venue since 2005 and of all the drivers currently in the IndyCar Series, only Dario Franchitti has gone to victory lane in Fontana.   Racing on the 2.0 mile oval for the first time in seven years with the brand new DW12 chassis will present many unknown variables to the teams, setting the series up for a climatic final round of the season.

    IndyCar has had success ending the season on ovals in the past.  In 2007, Scott Dixon ran out of fuel on the last lap of the Chicagoland event, while his future teammate Dario Franchitti cruised by to take the win, and the 2007 championship.

    [media-credit name=”indymotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]In 2009, the series shifted the finale to Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Dixon, Franchitti, and Ryan Briscoe emerged as title favorites heading into the last race, with the three of them being separated by just 8 points.  Dixon and Briscoe were dominating the field, lapping everyone but third position, Franchitti.  Franchitti who himself was under threat to go a lap down, won in dramatic fashion due to Dixon and Briscoe being forced to pit with only a few laps to go.

    Two road courses, a street course, and an oval present a diverse set of venues to decide who will ultimately be IndyCar’s 2012 Champion.  Amongst the four drivers mentioned, all have seen varying results at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma in the past.  With the possibility of those events bringing the contenders closer together in points, the unknowns that are present in Baltimore and Fontana will surely make for a great championship fight for the history books.

  • Kimmel Hopes to Go Back-To-Back at Pocono

    Kimmel Hopes to Go Back-To-Back at Pocono

    No. 44 Ansell/ Menards Toyota Camry

    ARCA RACING SERIES – RACE 14 OF 20 – POCONO RACEWAY        

    Coming off his 75th career win last Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, Frank Kimmel returns to the Pocono Raceway looking for his second consecutive win and fourth career win at the Pennsylvania Triangle. Kimmel and the Ansell/Menards team enter the second Pocono event of 2012 riding a wave of impressive performances through the summer, and look to continue gaining on the championship point leaders.

    In June, Kimmel battled back from a flat tire to finish 6th in the Pocono ARCA 200. Since the off weekend at the beginning of July, Kimmel has gained 95 points on the series point lead on the strength of three top five finishes. Leading up to his monumental 75th win, Kimmel scored a 5th place finish in Iowa and followed that effort up with an impressive 3rd at the Chicagoland Speedway. Kimmel and the #44 Thorsport Racing team come to Pocono to continue their momentum through the hot summer stretch of consecutive races, and look to improve on their effort in the June Pocono event.

    Pocono Raceway has been the site of great success for the 75-time ARCA Racing Series race winner. Kimmel has scored three wins at the Tricky Triangle, the most recent of those coming in July 2006 when he won from the pole. In recent history, Kimmel has been a model of consistency at the 2.5 mile facility finishing inside the top ten in the last six consecutive ARCA events at Pocono, and finishing all but one lap. The 2012 edition of the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 will hold added intrigue for the nine-time champ, as he will look to accomplish something he has not done since 2008, win back-to-back races.

    TOP FIVE STREAK: Kimmel returns to Pocono on a streak of three top five finishes dating back to Iowa Speedway on July 13th where he finished 5th. Before last week’s victory, Kimmel finished 3rd in the Ansell ActivArmr 150 at the Chicagoland Speedway. Starting with a 7th place finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Kimmel has a streak of four consecutive top ten finishes since finishing 11th at Winchester Speedway in June.

    CHASING THE RECORDS: By taking his 75th career checkered flag in last week’s Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 in Indianapolis, Kimmel moved to within four wins of the all-time ARCA win record, held by Iggy Katona.  Kimmel can tie Katona’s all-time record of 43 pole awards this weekend during Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell on Friday at 5:15pm ET.

    POINTS REPORT: After 13 of 20 races, Kimmel sits third in ARCA Racing Series points and trails point leader, Chris Buescher, by 65 points. As a result of his win at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, Kimmel gained 35 points after leading 43 laps en route to his first victory with Thorsport Racing. Kimmel has accumulated one win, six top fives, and ten top ten finishes thus far in 2012.

    CHASSIS CHOICE: Kimmel will race Thorsport Racing’s A-2 chassis at Pocono, the car’s fourth appearance of 2012. Chassis A-2 has been raced to three top ten finishes in as many starts this season. (Pocono – 6th, Michigan – 7th, Chicagoland – 3rd).

    SUMMER STREAK: During the three races in July, Kimmel scored one win, three top five finishes, and led in two events for a total of 66 laps. Those performances vaulted Kimmel and the Ansell/Menards Toyota team 95 points closer to the championship lead with seven races remaining.  GOING FOR BACK-TO-BACK: In his ARCA Racing Series career, Kimmel has scored consecutive race wins on 23 occasions. After breaking a 75 race winless streak, Kimmel will look to visit victory lane in back-to-back races at Pocono Raceway.

     

    THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Frank Kimmel

    WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT POCONO IN JUNE THAT YOU WILL TRANSFER TO THIS WEEKEND? “We don’t know if we’ll have a tire issue when we go back. We don’t know if the track has cured enough and lost a little bit of grip. We’re going to be aware of the tire issues and pay attention to that. The tires are going to need some attention, and our car was pretty good in the spring race. What we learned at Michigan and Chicago we are applying to the car, because we’ve raced this chassis at all those races.”

    WHAT KIND OF PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE DO YOU HAVE COMING OFF THE WIN AT INDY? “Confidence. We were all worried if we were doing the right things to the racecars and in the racecars. We were close several times, but could never get ourselves to break through. All that is gone now. That pressure is off Jeriod Prince and myself, and the entire team. The guys that work on the cars want to win, and everybody wants to see results. It wasn’t an easy one, we had to improve the car all race and really work for it. That’s what you have to do. It really increased our confidence to know that we can go out and win races now.”

     

    Race Info

    August 4, 2012

    Pocono Raceway

    2.5 Mile Oval

    Pennsylvania ARCA 125

    50 Laps/125 Miles

    Broadcast Info:

    Live Timing & Scoring at ARCARacing.com

    Friday August 3rd: Practice – 1:40pm -3pm ET

    Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell – 5:15 pm ET

    Saturday August 4th: Race – 3 pmET – LIVE ON SPEED

    Team Facts:

    Current Driver Point Standings: 3rd

    Chassis: A-2 (Recently Raced at Chicagoland – 3rd)

    Engine: TRD (Toyota Racing Development) & TRIAD

    Frank Kimmel ARCA RACING SERIES results at Pocono:

    WINS: 3

    POLES: 4

    Top 5s: 18

    Top 10s: 27

    Total Appearances: 39

     

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  • Mason Mingus Shines In Indianapolis; Delivers Another Top-10 Run

    Mason Mingus Shines In Indianapolis; Delivers Another Top-10 Run

    CLERMONT, Indiana (July 29, 2012) – – Even though he soon may be entering his senior year of High School, not to mention is an amateur wrestler and champion – Mason Mingus clearly proved another talent during Friday night’s running of the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 by Federated Car Care at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

    Mingus, driver of the No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Chevrolet Impala had been dubbed as one of the pre-race favorites entering the 13thrace of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season. The rookie’s performance throughout the day showcased why.

    Led by veteran crew chief Mark Rette, the duo dodged Mother Nature but still were able to fine tune their automobile in preparation for Mingus’ ARCA debut at the historic Indiana-short track. Practicing 16th in the first practice and topping off “happy hour” with 10th, the Win-Tron Racing turned their attention towards Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell where the driver hustled his No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Chevrolet Impala to a lap of 22.540 seconds at 109.565 miles per hour, the team’s fastest lap of the day.

    Initially, Mingus would record the ninth quickest lap overall, but when Clay Rogers withdrew himself from competition after an engine failure; the team would be notified that they would start the contest from eighth. Before the Brentwood, Tennessee native would tackle his eighth ARCA race of the season, the teenager would compete in the ARCA / CRA Super Series Fatheadz 100 presented by Team Construction driving the No. 811 Call 811 Before You Dig / Diamond Equipment Chevrolet for Mingus Motorsports. Early on, the Tennessean showed speed and consistency but would be plagued by late race misfortune, ultimately denying him of a strong finish.

    Still with one race down and one to go, Mingus strapped into his No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Chevrolet Impala ready for battle in his ninth career ARCA start.

    From the drop of the green flag, Mingus fell to 10th in the early stages of the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200, but his machine virtually came to life 15 laps into the 200 feature jumping from 10th to eighth. When the first caution flag waived on lap 23, Mingus maintained his Chevrolet bowtie in seventh where he restart.

    Nearing the lap 50 mark, Mingus impressively maneuvered his racecar into the top-five and began closing in on fourth. His momentum though would be stalled when leader Matt Crafton wrecked in turn one. Under the yellow, Mingus joined the rest of the leaders on pit road for a routine pit stop which included tires and fuel.

    Rejoining the competition inside the top-10 after two cars elected to stay out, Mingus wasted no time throttling forward once again and reentered the top-five by lap 73. Just 11 laps later, Mingus moved to a race high fourth where he rode through the halfway mark.   Having by far his best performance of the year, Mingus would continue to race hard. On lap 132, Mingus was racing with the No. 66 of Kevin Swindell when the two made contact on the frontstretch knocking loose the bumper cover of the No. 32 entry.

    The piece eventually flew off forcing a debris caution. During the yellow, Rette ordered his protégé to come to pit lane to survey the damage. With the damage deemed minimal and cosmetic, the team instructed their driver to dig deep and work his way back to the front.

    When racing resumed, Mingus did exactly that. After restarting 11th, Mingus worked his way back into the top-10 with 58 laps remaining. 20 laps later and a strong piece underneath him, the rising star demonstrated his courage and talent by moving into the sixth position with the final stages of the race on deck.   Briefly, Mingus was able to battle his way into the top-five but had to fight for sixth between a gaggle full of lead laps cars. Despite making contact with point’s leader Chris Buescher in the final stages of the race, Mingus was still able to hold onto sixth while battling a tight car until the final caution flag waived inside the final 10 laps of the race.

    The 18-year old knew that he needed a powerful restart to leave his mark in his Lucas Oil Raceway debut. Giving it his all, Mingus found himself in a huge wad of cars jockeying for a rightful spot inside the top-10. On the last lap of the race, hard racing and incidental contact would slip Mingus to 10th when the checkered flag was thrown.

    “We had an extremely fast No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Chevrolet,” offered Mingus. “I can’t begin to thank Mark (Rette), Nate (Thiesse, co-car-owner) and the entire Win-Tron Racing team for their dedication and hard work. It was a lot of fun. Obviously finishing 10th was not an indicator of our performance. We bounced back from the incident with the No. 66 – but the car became really tight when we collided with the No. 17. But still we proved to everyone that we can run in the top-five and be a threat. We’ll get there. We’re getting stronger and stronger with each race; I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

    Nate Thiesse, co-car owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his sentiments on Mingus’s performance. “I can’t begin to describe how impressive Mason was. He wasn’t afraid to get up on the wheel and drive that No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Chevrolet. Start to finish, I’m really proud of his effort and attitude. If not for a little bad luck near the end of the race, we probably would’ve been celebrating our first top-five together. Still a good night overall. We’re looking forward to having Mason back in the car at Berlin in a few weeks.”

    In addition to Call 811 Before You Dig, Diamond Equipment leaped aboard the team as an associate marketing partner for Mingus’s ninth-career ARCA start. In eight races this year, Mingus has recorded five top-10 finishes including a career-best finish of sixth at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in June.

    On top of Lucas Oil Raceway, Mingus’s current ARCA schedule also includes Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield), the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds and the traditional Fall Salem (Ind.) Speedway classic.

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a return trip to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for the running of the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 in a double-header combo with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) at the 2.5-mile triangle. The 14th race of the year will air live on SPEED beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

    Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.comor contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

    Learn about Call 811 Before You Dig and what it can do for you by connecting to call811.com.

    For more on Mason Mingus, please visit MasonMingusRacing.com.

     

    About Win-Tron Racing:

    Located in Lakeville, Minnesota, Win-Tron Racing is the home of one the most potent ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards single-car operations. Owned by former racers Kevin Cywinski and Nate Thiesse, the team since has acquired the assets of County Joe Racing has become a favorable fixture on the circuit. Since Win-Tron Racing’s inception in 2007, the team has hosted a variety of drivers including leading drivers James Buescher, Blake Bjorklund, Justin Marks and Matt Merrell to their first career ARCA victories. In 2012, the team will begin its sixth year of competition with current drivers Chris Windom, Mason Mingus and Aleks Gregory.

    About Call 811 Before You Dig:

    811 (call811.com) is the new number you should call before you begin any digging project. A new, federally-mandated national “Call Before You Dig” number, 811 was created to help protect you from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. People digging often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked due to concerns about project delays, costs and previous calls about other projects. These assumptions can be life-threatening. Every digging job requires a call – even small projects like planting trees or shrubs. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially be responsible for fines and repair costs.