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A twin win for Harvicks in Trucks Series finale

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:59:18 +0100

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kevin and Delana Harvick were an extremely happy couple Friday night.

Kevin Harvick made a late pass to cap a dominating show to win the season-ending Trucks Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and wife Delana clinched the owners' championship when Ron Hornaday Jr. — who had already wrapped up his fourth Trucks title — finished eighth.

"That's the way to put an end to a year, right there!" Harvick shrieked into the radio as he crossed the line.

Kevin Harvick went into the pit after Ryan Sieg went into the wall and brought out a caution flag with seven laps left. Harvick took four tires, exited pit road first and lined up just behind Timothy Peters for a green-white-checkered finish.

Harvick passed Peters in the very first turn after the restart and cruised to the win. And then Harvick and Hornaday went side-by-side after the checkered fell, sending thick plumes of white burnout smoke into the air.

Matt Crafton finished second, polesitter Colin Braun took third and Peters finished fourth.

Glock agrees to 2-year deal to drive for Manor GP

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:28:05 +0100

FRANKFURT (AP) — Timo Glock will drive for the new Manor GP team next season in Formula One.

The German driver agreed to a two-year contract Tuesday, with another season as an option, according to Glock's manager, Hans-Bernd Wersauer.

Glock drove for Toyota the past two seasons but the Japanese automaker has announced it is quitting F1. Glock missed the last three races of the 2009 season following a crash in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in which he cracked a vertebra.

"With a year left on the Toyota contract, we originally had other plans and were aiming to really compete for the world championship with the team. Now, for obvious reasons, that is not going to happen," Glock said on his Web site. "Ahead of me now is a great challenge."

Manor GP is one of three new teams on 2010's racing grid after having been prominent in the junior series.

"It might seem like a brave step. But there are many good reasons to join this team," the 27-year-old German driver said. "For me as a driver, for example, it was important that I was assured I would be involved in the development of the team and the car."

Glock scored two points on his debut for Jordan at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix but had to wait another four years to secure a full-time ride, when Toyota signed him following his victory in the 2007 GP2 Series.

A 32-race career with Toyota brought Glock 49 championship points and three podiums, but his 2009 season was cut short after the crash in Japan forced him out of the final three races. His best showings were two second-place finishes.

Mercedes-Benz takes over Formula One team Brawn GP

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:45:43 +0100

FRANKFURT (AP) — Mercedes-Benz is taking over Formula One champion Brawn GP and plans to end its shareholding in McLaren.

Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche, speaking in a telephone conference on Monday, said Brawn would race in 2010 as the Mercedes GP team. The German car maker had previously supplied Brawn with engines and will continue to supply both Ross Brawn's team and McLaren.

In terms of shareholding, Mercedes and Aabar Investments PJSC will get 75.1 percent of Brawn GP. Aabar is the biggest single shareholder of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz's parent company.

McLaren said in a statement it would continue to use Mercedes engines until 2015 and that the team would continue to be known as McLaren Mercedes.

However, the British-based team also announced it would be buying out the stake in the team owned by Daimler AG.

"In a transaction structured so as to be completed by 2011, the McLaren Group will undertake a phased purchase of the 40 percent shareholding currently owned by Daimler AG. As a result, the McLaren Group will become a fully independent stand-alone corporate entity," McLaren said.

Mercedes motorsports chief Norbert Haug said the separation was a "friendly solution."

Brawn GP, which took over from Honda when it pulled out from the sport in March, had a spectacular first season with Jenson Button winning the 2009 drivers' title and the team taking the constructors' championship.

Team principal Ross Brawn had only spent one full season with Honda, leading the team's 2008 campaign after 10 years with Ferrari.

Button was partnered this year with Rubens Barrichello, who is moving to the Williams team next season.

McLaren's drivers were 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.

The decision on the two drivers for the new Mercedes GP team "will still take come time," Haug. "We have to consider this carefully."

Daimler, Abu Dhabi to buy Formula 1 team Brawn GP

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:24:46 +0100

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Abu Dhabi investment fund with the biggest stake in automaker Daimler says it is teaming with the Mercedes-Benz manufacturer to buy a controlling stake in Formula 1 championship team Brawn GP.

Aabar Investments says the new "Mercedes Grand Prix" racing team will compete in next year's Formula 1 season under the existing leadership of Ross Brawn.

Mercedes maker Daimler will owns 45.1 percent of the team, while Abu Dhabi government-run Aabar will have a 30 percent share. The remaining quarter will stay with the existing owners.

Aabar says the deal is subject to approval by Swiss and European Union regulators.

Johnson cruising into finale after Phoenix victory

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:32:40 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson won't plan any parties this week, or waste a minute pondering his place in NASCAR history.

Instead, he'll spend this next week mentally running laps around Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson's win at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday moved him one step closer to a record fourth consecutive championship, which can be wrapped up with a mediocre run in the finale.

"I'm not one to let my mind wander and think about the possibilities — I've always known I've got to go out and race the race, get it done," he said. "When I go home, I'm going to be (mentally) driving laps, what I think I need to do in qualifying trim so I can put my best effort in on Friday. Same thing for race practice on Saturday, and go racing Sunday."

Johnson cruised to a dominating win at Phoenix, leading 238 of the 312 laps en route to his fourth victory in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It widened his lead in the standings to 108 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin, and Johnson needs only to finish 25th or better at Homestead to wrap up the title.

The strong showing came a week after a fluke accident at Texas chopped a chunk of points off Johnson's lead, and the rebound was considered something of a "statement."

"I guess in the end it could be looked at like that," Johnson acknowledged. "It was, 'Hey, guys, you know, we need to step up and get it done ... we need to show what we're made of, we need to get this done.' I'm very proud of the fact we looked each other in the eyes, knew what we had to do, and delivered."

Johnson was wrecked on the third lap at Texas, and sat inside his disabled race car as his crew did a total rebuild of the Chevrolet. He limped to a 38th-place finish that sliced his lead in the standings to just 73 points over Martin.

Martin, who won at Phoenix in April, delivered a fourth-place finish Sunday — not enough to keep pace with Johnson.

"We gave it everything we had," Martin said.

It's technically not over: Martin has gained 108 points on Johnson nine times in 265 races, including last weekend at Texas. He did it once at Homestead, in 2005. But Martin is not counting on catching Johnson this year, and the sentimental favorite for the championship will likely finish second in the final standings for a fifth time.

He's the only driver still in mathematical contention to catch Johnson. Fellow Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon will be eliminated as soon as Johnson starts next week, and Johnson's win at Phoenix knocked everyone else out of the running.

Despite the harsh reality of his position, Martin is refusing to concede to Johnson and said he won't let up next week in Homestead as he tries to at least stave off Gordon for second in the final standings. But should Johnson coast to the win, Martin will be fine.

"We've still got to go to Homestead and run like this again, because we still have heat behind us, Jeff Gordon, especially," Martin said. "I definitely have been beat by the best — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt. It wouldn't embarrass me if it was Jimmie Johnson as well.

Jeff Burton finished second and was followed by Denny Hamlin, Martin and pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr.

Kurt Busch, winner last week at Texas, finished sixth. Clint Bowyer was seventh, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Gordon, and David Reutimann.

Nobody was surprised to see Johnson in Victory Lane, particularly since he'd had such a rare race the week before.

"Anytime that Jimmie is down is not usually because of performance, it's usually because of an incident like last week," Hamlin said. "There was no doubt in my mind they were going to come this week and make a statement.

"Obviously leading all the laps pretty much and winning the race sends a statement out there that he is the best, that they're not going to be denied this year."

Johnson, though, was reluctant to start any celebration after his win. Although his Hendrick team initially reacted as if the title had been locked up, the No. 48 crew quickly settled down in Victory Lane.

He admitted the win at Phoenix gave him a small sense of relief after "the carpet was jerked out from underneath our feet" at Texas, but it also provided a valuable lesson of not looking too far ahead. Johnson promised to remain focused this entire week and not get too far ahead of himself in thinking about his impending trip into the record books.

"Texas was such a good lesson," he said. "And I hope that the points we lost in Texas isn't what keeps us from winning this championship."

Johnson gana en Phoenix y acaricia el cetro NASCAR

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:51:59 +0100

AVONDALE, Arizona, EE.UU. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson se recuperó de una inusual mala carrera con una dominante victoria el domingo en la Phoenix International Raceway que le colocó al borde de su cuarto campeonato consecutivo en la NASCAR, lo que sería un récord.

Johnson estuvo al frente 238 vueltas para ganar por cuarta vez en las últimas cinco carreras en Phoenix. Fue su séptima victoria de la campaña y cuarta desde el inicio de la contienda por el campeonato.

El colombiano Juan Pablo Montoya terminó octavo.

Lo que es más importante, el triunfo de Johnson aumentó a 108 puntos su ventaja sobre Mark Martin, su compañero en Hendrick Motorsports, antes de la última carrera del campeonato en Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson sólo necesita finalizar 25to o mejor la semana próxima para llevarse el cetro.

Aunque su equipo inicialmente celebró como si ya hubiese ganado, las cosas se calmaron pronto.

"No puedo bajar la guardia", dijo Johnson. "Cualquier cosa puede salir mal",

Así fue hace una semana en Texas, cuando se vio atrapado en un choque en la tercera vuelta de la carrera y terminó 38vo, lo que le costó 111 puntos.

Aún así llegó a Phoenix con 73 unidades de ventaja sobre Martin, pero Johnson se negó a manejar con precaución. El estelar piloto corrió a toda máquina todo el fin de semana, determinado a tener una actuación dominante en el desierto.

Martin finalizó cuarto, una posición respetable pero no la que necesitaba para acercarse a un campeonato que le ha eludido en toda su carrera en la NASCAR. El favorito sentimental este año casi seguramente finalizará segundo en la tabla final por quinta vez.

Martin es el único piloto con posibilidades matemáticas de alcanzar a Johnson. Jeff Gordon, también de Hendrick, quedará eliminado en cuanto Johnson arranque el domingo próximo, y la victoria de Johnson aquí dejó fuera a todos los demás.

Jeff Burton finalizó segundo, seguido por Denny Hamlin, Martin y Martin Truex Jr. Kurt Busch fue sexto y Clint Bowyer séptimo.

Schumacher wins 7th Top Fuel title

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:50:44 +0100

POMONA, Calif. (AP) — Tony Schumacher won his sixth straight and seventh overall Top Fuel championship on Sunday, beating Larry Dixon by two points in the closest season title race in NHRA history.

Schumacher was on deck, sitting on a two-point lead over Dixon, when Dixon was upset in the semifinals by Spencer Massey, clinching the title for the U.S. Army team.

"This trophy will go to Fort Hood. I don't think there's any question in the world where it belongs," Schumacher said. "We'll present it to the family, the friends, everyone at that base."

The win capped an intense battle between rivals Schumacher and Dixon. Schumacher had to completely rebuild his team during the offseason after crew chief Alan Johnson left to form his own team and hired Dixon as his driver.

Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won a championship on the final Sunday of the season; while the other two championships were decided Saturday as Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) clinched their titles in qualifying.

The race winners at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona were Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

In the Nitro classes, Brown (3.801 at 316.90) won for the Top Fuel-best sixth time this season over Massey, who fouled out; and Neff (5.131 at 285.05) defeated teammate Ashley Force Hood (DQ, wall) in a wild pedal-fest for his first career win.

Each of the Pro Stock finals were decided by a red light as Greg Anderson (6.564 at 210.70) defeated Kurt Johnson in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec (6.905 at 194.32) defeated Doug Horne in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Keselowski meets with NASCAR before race

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:33 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Brad Keselowski met with top NASCAR officials for about 20 minutes before Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway, where the young driver had yet another on-track run-in with Denny Hamlin.

Keselowski was summoned to a closed-door meeting in the NASCAR truck with president Mike Helton, vice president of competition Robin Pemberton and Nationwide Series director Joe Balash to discuss growing tension among rival drivers about Keselowski's aggressive nature.

NASCAR chairman Brian France entered the truck mid-meeting.

"I really respect the fact that Brian France walked in there, that meant a lot to me," Keselowski said after the meeting. "It's really the first time I've ever had a conversation with him. I think that's a good sign for the sport that he was involved in that conversation."

At issue is an escalating feud with Hamlin. Contact between the two has led to five Hamlin wrecks dating back to last season, and the latest came in Saturday's Nationwide race at PIR.

Hamlin hit Keselowski on a restart, and Keselowski retaliated by hitting him back to knock Hamlin's car out of line. He then followed with a second hit that wrecked Hamlin.

"The second time was a little overboard," Pemberton said.

Hamlin has vowed revenge in next week's Nationwide finale at Homestead, pretty much promising to wreck Keselowski. He's grown increasingly frustrated with an inability to discuss on-track issues with his new rival, and it continued after Saturday night's race when the two had a short but animated conversation in which Hamlin declared he'd have been more successful making his point "talking to the concrete."

Keselowski said after meeting with NASCAR that he doesn't see a need to talk to Hamlin about their conflict.

"I don't really want to engage that," he said. "I'm quite satisfied with my own role in the sport as it is with the other drivers. So I don't feel the need to engage that situation."

But Rick Hendrick, who co-owns the Nationwide car that Keselowski will drive one last time next weekend, said he thinks the two need to sit down and resolve their differences.

"The sooner they get that behind them, the better off they are going to be," Hendrick said. "Those kind of things only tear you down and slow you down and get your head all tore up. The way to bury that deal is face-to-face, talk it out, and it will be over."

Keselowski is moving to Penske Racing full time next season for a Sprint Cup Series ride, and there seems to be a growing list of drivers who hope Keselowski has a difficult transition. Hendrick thinks Keselowski needs to avoid that situation.

"If you get to a point where everybody you get to wants to put a fender on you, you are not going to be very successful," Hendrick said.

___

DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT COMING?: Chip Ganassi has had a seat to fill since July, when Martin Truex Jr. said he'd vacate the No. 1 Chevrolet to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing next season.

Ganassi vowed to take his time replacing Truex, and has: With one week left in the season, he's yet to announce a replacement.

That could change next week, though. Ganassi said before Sunday's race that he should be able to discuss the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing lineup next week.

Although Ganassi declined to discuss specifics, he's expected to reunite with Jamie McMurray, who left his team to drive for Roush Fenway Racing in 2006. But Roush has to cut a team at the end of the year to meet NASCAR's four-car cap, and McMurray is his only driver in a contract year.

Ganassi's seat is one of the few competitive opportunities available, but there were whispers of potential sponsor problems in that Bass Pro Shops didn't think it was a fit with McMurray. That's apparently been resolved — potentially by McMurray's win three weeks ago at Talladega.

___

NO DANICA DEAL ... YET?: Rick Hendrick says he has no deal to bring IndyCar superstar Danica Patrick to NASCAR, and there's no certainty she'll even be driving stock cars next season.

"I just think that they are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year," Hendrick said of Patrick and her representatives at IMG.

"You never know until it's done. You never know until it's signed. And anybody can change their mind. When you get down to the nitty gritty of any deal, it's always complicated. There can always be someone who comes back and says 'I can't do it because of this.' So until it's done, it's not done. And that's the honest truth."

Patrick is reportedly in the final stages of a contract that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, the team owned by both Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hendrick called the reports "premature" and insisted nothing is imminent.

"I think everything is an option, and it's just too early to really comment on it," he said. "I can't give you anything concrete, because there isn't anything concrete right now. Nothing is imminent until it's signed. Too many things can happen."

___

PRE-RACE ACCIDENT: A van carrying crew members for Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in an accident outside Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday morning.

No one was injured, although some of the crewmen did go to the infield medical center for evaluation.

"All I know is they were stopped and they got run into," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "They were pulling into the track and got hit. That's all I know. They were just stopped, from what I was told, and somebody hit them. They are all OK."

___

USE CAUTION: Mark Martin used the question-and-answer period of the pre-race driver meeting to ask the competitors to be careful entering pit road.

Martin raised his hand when race director David Hoots opened the floor for questions, but instead made a statement.

"In green-flag pit stops, everybody needs to be conscious of not going into the corner and washing up into the second lane and then turning down pit road," Martin said. "Some of the worst wrecks I've been in have been like that and last week was close a couple times. All you've got to do is go in the corner and stay on the white line. And of course, waving (to signal to the drivers behind you), too."

Hoots told Martin he'd made a "very valid point."

Hendrick denies having a deal with Patrick

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:12:31 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Rick Hendrick said Sunday he has no deal to bring IndyCar superstar Danica Patrick to NASCAR, and there's no certainty she'll even be driving stock cars next season.

"I just think that they are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year," Hendrick said of Patrick and her representatives at IMG.

Patrick is reportedly in the final stages of a contract that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, the team owned by both Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

But speaking before Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick called the reports "premature" and insisted nothing is imminent.

Hendrick, who just returned from a weeklong vacation in Israel, said there have been no new developments in talks with Patrick and that IndyCar remains her first priority. Existing contracts she has in that series could also complicate a potential venture into NASCAR.

"These are complicated deals, you have other contracts with the sport she's in, that's primary to her," he said.

Patrick has said very little about her 2010 plans, including an apparent contract extension to stay with Andretti Green Racing. Part of that holdup is a pending change of team ownership, which is expected to be transferred solely to Michael Andretti.

Once that transaction is complete — potentially by the end of this month — then Patrick is expected to announce her extension. That could also be holding up any deals in NASCAR.

But Hendrick said he supports her decision to try NASCAR on a limited schedule to gauge her skill and interest.

"I've been impressed with the way her approach has been," he said. "She wants to do the right thing and the right pace, and that's the only way she should do it.

"It's not like she's going to try to run Cup out of the gate. I think she's going to see how she likes it, whether she might be into it. I think she's doing it the right way."

Edwards' win staves off Busch title

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:02:15 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carl Edwards rolled to a dominating win at Phoenix International Speedway that temporarily staved off Kyle Busch's bid to clinch the Nationwide Series title.

Busch's first NASCAR championship is still a near-certainty — he's up 190 points over Edwards and only needs to start next week's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to grab the title.

But early problems Saturday spoiled Busch's bid to get it out of the way. He spun his Toyota eight laps into the race, suffered heavy damage when he hit the wall, and had to battle to a ninth-place finish.

"I was driving a bucket of (junk)," Busch said when asked what happened on the accident.

It wasn't enough, though, as Edwards picked up bonuses for leading the most laps and winning the race to put a halt to the celebration.

"I know Kyle's almost clinched the championship, but that's what we came here to do, win the race," Edwards said. Still recovering from a broken foot suffered in a frisbee game in September, Edwards skipped his traditional celebratory backflip and instead did a somersault.

The race was marked by yet another run-in between rivals Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski during a late sequence of hard racing. Both were inside the top five when Hamlin tapped into Keselowski, who retaliated by hitting Hamlin twice. The second contact caused Hamlin to spin.

The running feud had many believing there would be post-race fireworks.

"I got out of my car as quick as I could, I thought we would see some action," second-place finisher Kevin Harvick said.

Nothing happened as Hamlin drove by Keselowski's parked car on pit road. But in a post-race interview, he warned he'll be looking for Keselowski in next weekend's finale.

"I'm just happy that I signed up for next week's Nationwide race," Hamlin said. "There's a lot of guys that owe him. There's a lot of guys that have a lot of chips that they're going to cash in.

"I'm just going to be the first to the pay window."

That could be bad news for fifth-place finisher Keselowski, who is trying to catch Edwards for second in the standings. He's currently 60 points behind Edwards.

Asked if NASCAR needs to step in to temper the escalating tension between the two drivers, Hamlin declined.

"Nah, I'll take care of him," he said. "I got it."

Keselowski, as usual, downplayed the incident and said he has no beef with Hamlin. It's a pattern he's repeated consistently after each of their run-ins: Hamlin gets angry, and Keselowski acts as if he doesn't care.

"Denny got into the back of me and pushed me up the track, I was going to return the favor," Keselowski said. "When he did it to me, I saved it. When I did it to him, he didn't save it. We just got in a pushing match. I don't hold any grudges. Whatever. It's just the way racing is, I guess."

Long after the race had ended, Hamlin found Keselowski in the Nationwide garage and the two had a civil, but animated, discussion. Hamlin didn't feel any better after the talk, though, and said NASCAR officials had told him they plan to speak to Keselowski on Sunday morning before the Sprint Cup Series race.

Back in the motorhome lot, Hamlin approached NASCAR president Mike Helton for a brief conversation. When they were through, Helton headed into the motorhome of Dale Earnhardt Jr., car owner for Keselowski's Nationwide team.

Stewart considers 1st season as owner a success

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:07:13 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tony Stewart's won't win the Sprint Cup championship this season, and his bid to join the late Alan Kulwicki in the NASCAR record books will have to wait at least another year.

That won't change how he views his first season as owner of his own race team.

"I think it's hard to be disappointed, no matter where we end up," Stewart said Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Stewart-Haas Racing stormed out of the gates this season and had solidified itself as a championship contender by May. As Stewart built a lead of 179 points through the first 26 races, he seemed poised to become the first owner/driver since Kulwicki in 1992 to win the championship.

As an added bonus, teammate Ryan Newman also claimed one of the 12 berths in the Chase field.

But neither contended for the title. Stewart, who started the Chase seeded second, is currently fifth in the standings with two races remaining. Newman is ninth.

Regardless of where they stand after next weekend's finale at Homestead, Stewart will be pleased.

"Just by getting two cars in the Chase and winning the races we've won this year exceeded more than what any of you guys could have anticipated, and we could have anticipated," Stewart said. "We knew on paper that it was possible, but the reality of it was competing against great race teams every week.

"So to be able to accomplish this goal has been an awesome year for us."

Stewart is right in that few thought he'd have success in leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, where he won two championships and 33 races, to become part-owner of Haas CNC Racing. The team lagged behind in sponsorship and success, and molding it into a contender was supposed to be a long and arduous task.

But Stewart has had remarkable luck in landing sponsors — he chalked it up Saturday to the charm of good looks of him and Newman — and the increased funds was the first step in building a winner.

His streak continued this weekend, when the U.S. Army said it would be back for 15 races as Newman's primary sponsor next season. On Saturday, Stewart introduced Tornados, a brand of Ruiz Foods, as a five-race sponsor for Newman.

Tornados is new to NASCAR, a coup for any owner trying to bring in money during the current economic climate.

"This is a time when you don't see a lot of new groups coming into the sport," he said. "When we made the decision to start this venture last year and Ryan came on board, I think everybody kind of rallied around that and I think that's what's attracted a lot of these corporations to be a part of our family ... we were looked at from day one as the underdog.

"I think everybody sees now how hard we're working at it, and the commitment, that we have people who have wanted to join because of that."

Aside from sponsorship opportunities, Stewart's team offered a fresh start for crew members throughout the industry. He was able to lure crew chiefs Darian Grubb from Hendrick Motorsports and Tony Gibson from Dale Earnhardt Inc., and a slew of first rate mechanics and engineers.

Stewart also was able to grab Newman, who wanted a fresh start after several frustrating years with Penske Racing.

But it was still a leap of faith for Newman, who was leaving a proven organization for nothing more than a vision Stewart had of building a successful team.

Newman admitted Saturday he didn't know what to expect from this season.

"People ask about our expectations and our goals, and we had some goals, but we didn't know what the expectations were going to be," he said. "To echo Tony's thoughts, it's not that we would ever be disappointed because of all the things that we've achieved. It's just that we may not be totally satisfied.

"We've done a lot of great things as an organization. We've done a lot of great things as drivers to get to where we are. For me personally, to make the big change ... didn't have any idea what to expect. Just knew that I wanted to go out there and have fun, and if we had fun, we were going to be successful one way or another."

Saturday Time Schedule

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:47:30 +0100

No. 1 Florida at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m.

No. 2 Texas at Baylor, Noon

No. 3 Alabama at Mississippi State, 7 p.m.

No. 4 TCU vs. No. 16 Utah, 7:30 p.m.

No. 6 Boise State Next: vs. Idaho, 3:30 p.m.

No. 7 Georgia Tech at Duke, Noon

No. 8 Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame, 8 p.m.

No. 9 LSU vs. Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m.

No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Iowa, 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 Southern Cal vs. No. 25 Stanford, 3:30 p.m.

No. 12 Miami at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.

No. 13 Houston at UCF, Noon

No. 14 Oregon vs. Arizona State, 10:20 p.m.

No. 17 Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech, 8 p.m.

No. 18 Arizona at California, 10:20 p.m.

No. 19 Penn State vs. Indiana, Noon

No. 20 Virginia Tech at Maryland, 1 p.m.

No. 21 Wisconsin vs. Michigan, Noon

No. 22 BYU at New Mexico, 2 p.m.

No. 24 Clemson at N.C. State, Noon

No. 11 Butler vs. Davidson, 2 p.m.

No. 14 Washington vs. Belmont, 10 p.m.

No. 15 Michigan vs. Northern Michigan, 7 p.m.

No. 17 Oklahoma vs. Mount St. Mary's, Md., 1 p.m.

No. 21 Dayton vs. Creighton, 1:05 p.m.

No. 22 Georgia Tech vs. Florida A&M, 7 p.m.

No. 1 Connecticut vs. Northeastern, 2 p.m.

Boston at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Washington, 7 p.m.

New Orleans at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Portland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Utah at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Golden State at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

NASCAR Nationwide, Able Body Labor 200 Qualifying, Avondale, Ariz., Noon

NHRA, Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals Qualifying, Pomona, Calif., 2 p.m.

NASCAR Nationwide, Able Body Labor 200, Avondale, Ariz., 4:30 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa, 2 p.m.

Anaheim at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Calgary at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Washington at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Florida, 7 p.m.

Boston at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

Los Angeles at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

San Jose at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

Montreal at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Vancouver at Colorado, 10 p.m.

Eastern Conference Championship: Real Salt Lake at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Hornaday wins record 4th Trucks title

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:57:20 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The record books will list Ron Hornaday as the oldest champion in NASCAR history. But behind the wheel of one of Kevin Harvick's trucks, he feels like a kid again.

The 51-year-old Hornaday won a record fourth Trucks Series championship by outrunning Matt Crafton on Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway. Hornaday wrapped it up by finishing fourth to Crafton's eighth.

"When you drive Kevin and (wife) Delana's equipment, you feel like you are 18," Hornaday said. "You feel young. The trucks they give me make me feel like a hero."

Harvick, the team owner, won Friday night's race and celebrated with Hornaday with simultaneous burnouts along the frontstretch.

"To see Hornaday lock up the championship and to win the race, I don't know if you can script it much better," Harvick said.

But the job is not finished for Hornaday or Kevin Harvick Inc.

Although the driver championship is locked up, the owners' title is still up for grabs headed into next weekend's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Billy Ballew trails Delana Harvick by 60 points in the owners standings, and Ballew driver Kyle Busch wants to make it a split championship.

Hornaday plans to foil that plan.

"It's not over by far," Hornaday said. "We're racing Kyle Busch for owners' points and that's truly the goal."

Busch, who finished second to Harvick to snap his streak of five wins in the last five races he's entered, wasn't overly confident about pushing Ballew past the Harvicks with one race remaining.

"It's going to be hard to do," acknowledged Busch, who drives for Ballew for free. "They've got the drivers championship locked up, so if they go out there and try to win the race and are successful at that, then we can't catch them."

Hornaday said he raced conservatively Friday night to nurse his 197-point lead over Crafton, but still had to overcome an early pit road penalty when his team began fueling his truck before the catch-can was in place.

"I was sweating real bad," Hornaday admitted. "To come home in the top-five, that's what we needed to do."

A series of cautions helped him get back ahead of Crafton when he beat him off pit road following a yellow flag, and he held on over two more late cautions and a two-lap sprint to the finish. Hornaday also won the championship in 1996 and 1998, and finished second last season by seven points to Johnny Benson.

It was his first championship, though, with Harvick, a longtime friend dating to their early days of West Coast racing. Hornaday eventually moved to North Carolina for a career in NASCAR, and opened his home to Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and scores of other fledgling racers as they followed him across the country.

All took turns sleeping on the couch, and Harvick considers their partnership today a payback of sorts.

"What you see is what you get with Ron and (wife) Lindy," Harvick said. "One big family. And if you want to be a part of it, come on over."

Delana Harvick, the listed owner of the truck, joked about how much KHI owes Hornaday.

"I told him back in 2007, he had a job forever," she said. "I didn't tell him he'd get paid forever, but as long as he keeps winning championships, we'll figure it out."

Harvick credits Hornaday for helping turn KHI into a championship organization. KHI has won 30 races in Trucks and Nationwide since its 2002 inaugural win in the Trucks Series.

"In 2005 we put Ron in the truck and we didn't really have our stuff together," Harvick said. "We had what we needed from the driver standpoint, and in 2007 we built a team that could keep up with the driver."

Truex, Kurt Busch take top 2 spots at PIR

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:23:00 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. bounced back from a midweek NASCAR penalty with a pole-winning run at Phoenix International Raceway.

Truex turned a lap of 135.120 mph Friday to qualify first in his No. 1 Chevrolet. It was a huge lift for his team, which failed post-race inspection last week at Texas to draw a 50-point penalty. Crew chief Kevin Manion also was fined $50,000.

"That's how you can sum up our season," Truex shrugged.

Kurt Busch qualified second for Sunday's race with a lap of 134.589 in his No. 2 Dodge. It's the first time in NASCAR that the Nos. 1 and 2 will start next to each other on the front row for a Sprint Cup race.

Defending three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson qualified third, and was followed by Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin.

Mark Martin, who trails Johnson by 71 points in the standings with two races remaining, qualified 10th.

Regan Smith, Kevin Conway and Brandon Ash failed to make the race.

For Johnson, the return to the track was a chance to reset his emotions following an accident on the third lap of last week's race. He was wrecked trying to pass Sam Hornish Jr., who ran into Johnson after he made contact with David Reutimann.

Johnson finished 38th and lost a large portion of his points lead. But with two races remaining, he still likes his chances, particularly Sunday at PIR, where he's won three of the last four races.

"I can't wait to get on track so I can start thinking about something else," Johnson said before qualifying. "All I can think about is three laps of Texas right now. That's all I've thought about for the whole week. Ready to get that out of the brain."

That's similar thinking to how Truex has felt this season, his last with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. He's moving to Michael Waltrip Racing when the season ends in two weeks, putting an end to his up-and-down ride in the No. 1.

He made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship two years ago, but hasn't had much success since. This season, he has three poles but just four top-10 finishes. His penalty dropped him to 26th in the standings.

"We've had decent speed and good cars, we just don't have good finishes to go with it," Truex said. "We've had a lot of weird things happen, a lot of bad luck, but at the end of the day, we just haven't gotten the job done on race day. It's things like that that constantly happen to us all year."

Drivers still have incentive for final 2 races

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:40:53 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson has such a stranglehold on the championship that it's out of reach for every driver besides Mark Martin. And his only chance would likely require a major stumble by the points leader.

So what incentive does that leave for the rest of the drivers over the final two races of the season?

Quite a lot.

Everyone in the field has their own motivation to finish the season strong. Some drivers want a win, while others are trying to improve their spot in the final standings. There's opportunities to test new ideas for next year, as well as a chance to make personnel changes before the offseason.

Then there is Martin, who needs no impetus to race hard each week.

"I'm going after it every week," he said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "Every time I strap in that race car, I'm going after it ... I'm going to the extreme limits. It's everything I got, points or no points. If it's just practice, I like being on the top of the scoreboard even in practice. We're digging as hard as we can go."

That's got to be his mentality as he heads into Sunday's race trailing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by 73 points in the standings. He needs a flawless race, and some Johnson misfortune, to finally win his first Cup title.

But he's the only one with a realistic chance at catching Johnson, raising questions as to what's still out there for everyone else in the field.

For starters, only 14 drivers have been to Victory Lane this season, leaving the bulk of the field hungry for their first win of the year. Among them is Carl Edwards, a nine-time winner last season, and Juan Pablo Montoya, who has six top-four finishes in the last 10 races but hasn't won since 2007.

"We are trying to run as good as we can every week," Montoya said. "It doesn't matter whether we're in contention or not. We've got to try to finish as high as we can, high in points. It would be nice to try to get a win this year. It's been a great year otherwise. I couldn't really ask for more."

Greg Biffle is angling for a higher finish in the final standings, which can boost his payday considerably. Biffle is currently seventh in the standings, but only 76 points separate him from fourth-place driver Kurt Busch and Biffle thinks he's got an opportunity to make up ground.

"It pays a lot of money for the final point standings for our sport, and your name is etched in that book for a long time, so getting the highest finish we can in the points is important," Biffle said. "We really have an opportunity to be fifth, I think, or at least sixth. To finish fifth in points would be really big for me, I think.

"So, you're always trying to get the most points you can and try and get your car going for next year, and you're sort of all doing it together."

The potential to make advances for 2010 has turned this final stretch of season into a glorified test session for many teams. Biffle said his Roush Fenway Racing team tried new ideas on the car he drove to a third-place finish.

"It was something new we were trying, something in our development plan, so we were super-excited," Biffle said. "We were celebrating like we just won the Daytona 500, won 10 races in a row, even though we finished third. We felt like at that point, man, we've really made a year-and-a-half's worth of gain here in one race."

As the season winds down and job changes begin, there's a handful of drivers still jockeying for a 2010 ride.

Jamie McMurray, winner two weeks ago at Talladega, has nothing firm locked up for next season but could be headed back to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing if a sponsorship deal can be worked out on the No. 1 Chevrolet. But Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, David Stremme and Bobby Labonte have nothing firm in place, and that might not change regardless of how they run the next two weeks.

"We all know what's out there," McMurray said. "It's not like anything is going to change anytime soon."

Johnson says he blamed Hornish a little too much

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:58:12 +0100

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Upon further review, Jimmie Johnson believes he probably blamed Sam Hornish Jr. a little too much for their costly accident last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

Johnson wrecked three laps into the race after contact with Hornish, forcing a total rebuild of his car. He finished 38th and saw his lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship trimmed to 73 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin.

Johnson said on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway that he's talked with David Reutimann, who tapped Hornish and took some blame for triggering the wreck.

Johnson, the three-time defending series champion, said he tries not to place blame too often, and his harsh postrace words for Hornish were sparked by frustration.

"Once I got back to the media center, four hours of sitting there watching the points disappear, I probably put a little more blame on Sam than necessary," Johnson said at PIR, where he'll try to lock up his record fourth consecutive title on Sunday.

After the Texas race, Johnson placed the blame squarely on Hornish.

Hornish "just lost it inside of me and I wish he would have waited a little longer to lose it," Johnson said then. "I saw he lost it later on in the race and he can do that from time to time."

Hornish countered that after Reutimann hit him, he didn't have time to correct the car before hitting Johnson.

"I don't ever want to feel like I've affected the outcome of the championship when I'm not in it," Hornish said after the Texas wreck.

On Friday, Johnson said he revised his opinion a bit after taking "a quick look" at the race and talking with Reutimann.

"I guess it was easy for me to blame the 77 (Hornish) because he was the guy that came up inside and got into me," Johnson said. "I think he was the one kind of holding up the line. It's just easy to blame him. But it did take two cars."

Johnson said he thinks Hornish had some handling issues and "wasn't going all that well."

"As he got into the turn, he checked up more than (Reutimann) thought," Johnson said. "The 00 made contact and off it went. So there were a lot of ingredients to what went on."

Could it happen again this Sunday?

"I don't think lightning can strike two weeks in a row," Johnson said. "I'm certainly hoping it doesn't."