NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Close quarters: It’s all about the competition

The new cars being used the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continue to boost the competitive environment in a variety of ways. Start with the actual side-by-side racing.

  This past Sunday’s Daytona 500 also was one of the most competitive in the history of the “Great American Race.”

Won by Ryan Newman, who seized the lead on the final lap, it boasted 42 lead changes – the most since 2001 (49) and the fifth time since 1972 that a Daytona 500 had 40 or more lead changes. Also, 16 drivers led at least one lap, the second-highest leader total in Daytona 500 history. Only the 2006 race had more (18) leaders.

Also, check out this competitive balance: Seven different teams were represented in the top 10 finishing order of the 500 – Penske, Gibbs, Ganassi, Gillett Evernham, Robby Gordon, Hendrick and Roush Fenway.

He’s Back: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Re-Energizes His Fan Base

Fans of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver no longer have to live in the past. Dale Earnhardt Jr. clearly is a contender again. He wasted no time in tasting victory with his new race team – the No. 88 of Hendrick Motorsports. During the recently completed Speedweeks, Earnhardt won the Budweiser Shootout and also won his Gatorade Duel qualifying race. He was the top finisher for Hendrick in the Daytona 500, placing ninth.

He’s Back, Too: Daytona 500 Winner Ends Long Winless Streak

 Early in this decade, former open-wheel standout Ryan Newman was considered by many as an almost-certain future NASCAR champion. After solid success, including a series-high eight wins in 2003, Newman slumped slightly in recent seasons. He came into the Daytona 500 with an 81-race winless streak.

He then went out and captured NASCAR’s biggest race, winning for the first time since Sept. 18, 2005 at New Hampshire.

Image Adjustment: Busch A Team Player

A driver who comes off sometimes as somewhat controversial went a long way toward boosting his image Sunday at the Daytona 500.

Kurt Busch’s push of Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman on the last lap of the 50th Daytona 500 not only guaranteed Newman’s victory and Busch’s runner-up finish, it showcased him as an unselfish teammate.

It’s been an eventful 2008 for Busch thus far. The former (2004) series champion started the season by relinquishing his team’s 2007 position (seventh) in the top-35 car owner standings to his rookie teammate Sam Hornish Jr., enabling Hornish to be “locked into” a starting position through the first five events of 2008. The top 35 teams in final ‘07 owner standings are guaranteed starting berths for this year’s first five races. After five races, the current point standings determine those automatic spots.

Then came the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona where a practice session altercation with Tony Stewart resulted in Busch and Stewart receiving six-race probations from NASCAR.

Also, in last week’s 150-mile qualifying race for the 500, Busch had to drop out with electrical problems. That forced him to use a “past champion’s” provisional berth for the 43rd and final starting berth in the 500.

He responded with a back-to-front run capped by one of the most sportsmanlike gestures seen in years, in any sport.

Three-Peat Possibility: Kenseth Tries To Win Again At California

The 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth is the two-time defending champion of the Auto Club 500. The fact that he leads several “Loop Data” categories at California illustrates his dominance the last two years there. Kenseth leads in Driver Rating (113.9), Average Running Position (7.242), Fastest in Turn 1 (179.453 mph).

NASCAR Axis Tilts: Hendrick Teams Seek Rebound After Troubles At 500

After relentless media buildup as preseason favorites, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolets now have some catching up to do, after a very disappointing Daytona 500.

Defending and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson finished 27th after a late on-track spinout. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon finished 39th with suspension problems. Casey Mears, who was running in the top five with five laps remaining before hitting an outside wall, finished 35th.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., the team’s newest member, finished the highest – ninth – after running short on drafting help from his teammates in the race’s closing laps.

The good news for Hendrick? Seven Chevrolets finished in the top 10 in last season’s Auto Club 500 at California, including Gordon, who finished second, and Johnson, who finished third.

Toyota Time: 2007 Problems Seem Like Distant Memories, After Daytona

In just its second year of competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Toyota race teams have shown dramatic improvement in their performance on the race track, thus far.  Denny Hamlin won his Gatorade Duel qualifying race, while Tony Stewart raced to Victory Lane in the season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Stewart finished third at the Daytona 500, while Kyle Busch was fourth, after leading a race-high 86 laps. In fact, Toyota drivers paced the field most of the day, leading a race-best 138 of the 200 laps. 

60 Years Of NASCAR, 1948-2008: Plenty of California Tradition

NASCAR’s 60th anniversary season continues this week with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returning to California Speedway for Sunday’s Auto Club 500, renewing a tradition that has long preceded the 2-mile Fontana oval.

NASCAR has a rich, varied history in California that is worth remembering and cherishing. California events in NASCAR’s premier series – a total of 119 heading into Sunday – have played a vital role in building the sport’s popularity. Twenty-three of those 119 events were held in the 1950s.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are two of seven California natives currently competing in NASCAR Sprint Cup. Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Robby Gordon, David Gilliland and AJ Allmendinger are the others
No other state has that many NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers these days.

And that situation surely owes some sort of debt to the “old days” of NASCAR in California that began with NASCAR’s third season of existence, 1951.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

Big Homecoming:

Bryan Clauson, a native of Carmichael, Calif., returns home after putting together a day to remember at Daytona. Starting his first superspeedway race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates last Saturday, the young driver finished sixth in a lineup that featured 18 double-duty drivers – 10 of those were in the first 11 finishing positions. Clauson seemed to pick up where he left of at NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona last month when he was one of the fastest drivers throughout the test sessions. Carmichael is in northern California near Sacramento.

Leffler Honored In Hometown:

Jason Leffler will be honored in his hometown on Wednesday at Smooth’s Sports Grille in Long Beach. Leffler’s uniform and helmet will be on permanent display at the establishment as a tribute to his hard work and success, and of course, his roots in Long Beach.

“I always look forward to coming home to California but this trip is going to be even more special for me,” he said. “Smooth’s is a staple in Long Beach and has been for the last 26 years. John Morris has made it a point to celebrate and pay tribute to other athletes from this area and I am honored to now be a part of that history.”

Two for One:

The NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are in for a historic day on Saturday at California. Both series are scheduled to race on the same day for the first time. The trucks lead off the doubleheader followed by the NASCAR Nationwide Series State Bros. 300.

Two drivers are entered in both races – Kyle Busch and Mike Bliss. Busch will be even busier as he’ll also participate in NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice in between both events.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

Homegrown Heroes: California Natives Competing In Trucks

Four California natives will compete at California Speedway: Mike Skinner (Susanville but born a few miles from the track in Ontario); Ron Hornaday Jr. (Palmdale); Matt Crafton (Tulare) and Justin Marks (Rocklin).

Kevin Harvick, co-owner of Chevrolets driven by Hornaday and Jack Sprague, is from Bakersfield.

With a win in 2007, Skinner is the track’s only California native winner for the series.

New Blood: Rookies On Roll, Coming Out Of Daytona

Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders came out of the gate strong in the season opener Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway.  Justin Marks led the charge, qualifying and finishing eighth. Brian Scott finished ninth. Five of six freshman drivers competing in the race posted top-15 finishes.

Kurt Busch is California Speedway’s only Raybestos Rookie winner in 2000. Only three rookies have finished among the top five at the track: Busch, Kenny Irwin (1997) and Andy Houston (1998). The most recent top-10 finish by a Raybestos candidate is sixth by David Reutimann in 2004.

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