Some Indianapolis 500 hopefuls will have to wait until May 17 to earn a spot in the 33-car field. Rain washed out the second day of qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Spots 1-11 were filled on Saturday and spots 12-33 will be determined on May 17, with Bump Day scheduled for May 18. The 92nd Indy 500 will run on May 25. Read more here.
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix for the third consecutive year, a mere 3.7 seconds ahead of second-place McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Massa and Hamilton chipped away at Kimi Raikkonen's championship lead. Raikkonen finished third, but now leads Massa and Hamilton, who are tied, by seven points (35-28). Read more about the Turkish GP here.
Kyle Busch, who rallied from a mid-race lug nut problem and several scrapes with the wall, won his third Sprint Cup race of the season and first at Darlington Raceway on Saturday. Busch grabbed the lead from Jeff Gordon after a restart on lap 283 and checked out from there. The leaders all pitted for the final time during a caution period on lap 302 of the 367-lap Dodge Challenger 500, with Busch winning the race off pit road. The Sprint Cup points leader was never challenged and cruised from there, winning by more than three seconds over Carl Edwards. Busch led a race-high 169 laps. Gordon finished third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth and David Ragan in fifth. Find out where your favorite driver finished here. Updated points standings can be found here.
Strategy was almost as important as speed Saturday as Scott Dixon won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a big gamble by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.
Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon, who took the second spot, both took advantage of Indy’s unique qualifying format, which allows each entry up to three tries on each of the four days of time trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dixon, who has three pole positions in five tries in the IRL IndyCar Series this season, got the biggest benefit of the team strategy, canceling out a four-lap average of 225.178 mph earlier in the day and making it pay off with four laps at 226.366 that held up for Ganassi’s third Indy 500 pole.
The New Zealander’s pole run came with just over two hours left in the session. The 11-car grid can be found here. The next 11 spots will be determined Sunday. The final 11 spots in 33-car field will be set on May 17, with Bump Day scheduled for May 18.
Penske cars fare well
Scott Dixon’s pole run came only moments after Ryan Briscoe, the first driver to qualify Saturday, made his own gamble in an effort to give team owner Roger Penske a record 15th Indy pole. The team withdrew his earlier speed of 224.833, and Briscoe, who wound up third, put his Team Penske entry on top briefly with a run of 226.080.
Penske’s other driver, Helio Castroneves, a two-time Indy pole winner, had his car pulled out of the qualifying line by his team earlier in the day because of gusty winds. When the two-time Indy winner finally made his only attempt, he also came up short at 225.733, good for fourth.
Danica fast early
Danica Patrick, just three weeks after making history as the first woman to win an IndyCar race, set the early pace, knocking Ryan Briscoe off the top spot with a four-lap run averaging 225.197 mph on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
That drew a huge cheer from the crowd of about 40,000 at the sprawling speedway, the biggest spectator turnout for pole day in more than a decade.
But Dan Wheldon spoiled her storybook moment Saturday when he came out about 20 minutes later and pushed Patrick to the middle of the tentative front row.
Patrick, who was doing an interview in the media center during Wheldon’s run, just shook her head and smiled when Wheldon’s speed was announced. She got back onto the track later for practice, but never made another qualifying run and wound up fifth.
Lloyd released
Rookie driver Alex Lloyd, injured in a hard crash during practice Friday, was released from Methodist Hospital on Saturday. With medical clearance by the IRL, he could be back on the track when practice resumes Wednesday. The 23-year-old Englishman completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He was examined at the track’s infield hospital, then taken to Methodist for further tests after complaining of neck pain and a headache. All tests were negative, although he was kept overnight in the hospital for observation.
Hunter-Reay wrecks
Ryan Hunter-Reay, a Rahal-Letterman Racing rookie, crashed during his second qualifying attempt Saturday. He completed one lap at just over 223 mph but spun and hit the wall hard on the first turn of the next lap. He climbed out of the car on his own, apparently unhurt, but his car had heavy damage to the left side.
Champ Car transfers struggle
None of the former Champ Car drivers who made attempts Saturday where fast enough to make the field. Graham Rahal, a winner earlier this season at St. Petersburg, was flirting with the top 11 before his first run of 223.355 mph was bumped out. When the 19-year-old son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal was ready for one last qualifying run, he found his team hadn’t brought any new tires to pit lane.
-- Compiled from Indycar.com and Associated Press reports
Felipe Massa of Ferrari won pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix for the third straight year Saturday. The two-time defending race champion will start first on the grid for Sunday's race at the Istanbul Speed Park after clocking a best lap time of 1 minute, 27.617 seconds. Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren will start second after finishing less than 0.2 seconds behind Massa. Kovalainen's best career qualifying position comes less than two weeks after a violent crash at the Spanish GP that left the Finn in the hospital. Check out the full grid here.
-- The Associated Press
Tony Stewart must have needed a new surface to finally break through at Darlington Raceway. The two-time Sprint Cup champion had never won here in 19 previous races, four of them Nationwide events, dating to 1996. Yet, Stewart was dominant throughout in gliding to victory in the first race on Darlington's slicker, repaved surface Friday night in the Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200. Stewart led 90 of 147 laps for his fourth Nationwide victory this year and Joe Gibbs Racing's sixth straight. Series points leader Clint Bowyer finished second and fellow Cup regular David Reutimann was third. Read more about Stewart's win and his praise for the tires Goodyear brought to Darlington here. Full results can be found here.
-- The Associated Press
Rookie driver Alex Lloyd didn't break any bones in a hard crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500 that left him hospitalized. Lloyd was taken off the track Friday complaining of neck pain. Though a CT scan showed no broken bones, he was kept at the hospital as a precaution.
Another accident Friday occurred in the pits, where Dale Coyne Racing crewman Charles Buckman was knocked to the ground by the front wing of Danica Patrick's car as she drove into her pit. Buckman, who was walking through the pits, was taken to the hospital with a concussion and cuts to his face and scalp.
He was initially unconscious after being hit, but regained consciousness before being transported to Methodist Hospital.
“I really don't remember how it happened,” Buckman said. “All I remember was talking with someone on (Patrick teammate) Marco Andretti's team and then everything is blank from that point. I will be OK and hopefully back to work in a day or two.”
Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing, did not talk about the accident other than to say, “What happened today was very unfortunate, but what is most important to me is that Chuck is going to be OK.”
There was also a minor crash involving rookie Mario Dominguez of Mexico, who was not hurt when his car tapped the inside wall at slow speed in the warmup lane. Dominguez was examined at the track hospital and cleared to drive.
Lloyd, the champion last season in the IRL's developmental Indy Lights Series, completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He struck the outside wall with the rear of the car and continued into the second turn.
The 23-year-old Englishman was examined at the track's infield hospital, then taken to Methodist for further tests.
-- The Associated Press
On a fast new surface, 41 of 44 drivers broke the qualifying record at Darlington Raceway.
But it was Greg Biffle who set the pace, turning a blistering lap of 179.442 mph Friday night to win the Sprint Cup Dodge Challenger pole at Darlington. He shattered the previous record of 173.797 mph set by Ward Burton in 1996.
“Everybody has talked about how the track is really fast, but it's the same old Darlington,” Biffle said. “It will bite you as soon as you let your guard down, especially with the speeds now. You can get in trouble in a hurry, and I've been close to getting that (Darlington) stripe.”
Biffle's lap in a Ford beat Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, who qualified second and third for Saturday night's race in their Chevrolets. Earnhardt ran a lap at 179.357, while Johnson clocked in at 179.206.
-- The Associated Press
Sprint Cup Dodge Challenger 500 lineup
at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
Lap length: 1.366 miles
Race length: 501.322 miles/367 laps
TV: Saturday, KDFW/Ch. 4, 6 p.m.
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 179.442 mph
2. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 179.357
3. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 179.206
4. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 179.076
5. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 178.965
6. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 178.809
7. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 178.129
8. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 178.071
9. (66) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 178.064
10. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 177.775
11. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 177.736
12. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 177.659
13. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 177.307
14. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 177.134
15. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 177.109
16. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 177.109
17. (78) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 177.077
18. (00) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 177.070
19. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 176.822
20. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 176.778
21. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 176.638
22. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 176.606
23. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 176.581
24. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 176.568
25. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 176.498
26. (84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 176.473
27. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 176.359
28. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 176.283
29. (5) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 176.170
30. (44) David Reutimann, Toyota, 176.126
31. (96) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 175.848
32. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 175.666
33. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 175.578
34. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 175.528
35. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 175.172
36. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 174.494
37. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 174.253
38. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 174.241
39. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 173.644
40. (7) Robby Gordon, Dodge, owner points
41. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, owner points
42. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, owner points
43. (10) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 175.166
Failed to Qualify
44. (70) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 174.798
45. (34) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 174.105
Scott Dixon, left, paced the field in Fast Friday practice, posting a lap of 39.6531 seconds and 226.968 mph. Marco Andretti, who posted the fastest time on Tuesday -- the last time the cars were on the track for practice -- was second fastest on Friday. Andretti's teammate Tony Kanaan was third. Read more about practice here.
Indy 500 Pole Day qualifying is set for Saturday, where the top 11 spots will be locked in. The qualifying process for the Indianapolis 500 is like no other in motorsports. Get ready for Pole Day by visiting Indycar.com, where the four-day/two-weekend qualifying procedure is explained in detail.
TV coverage on Saturday starts at 11 a.m. on ESPN2, switches to WFAA/Ch. 8 at 2 p.m. and then continues on ESPN2 at 5 p.m.
-- Michele Vincze
Photo: The Associated Press
Sprint Cup star Denny Hamlin, who won the past two Nationwide Series events at Darlington Raceway, hit the wall during qualifying and did not make Friday night's Nationwide race.
Hamlin is still part of Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 in the Sprint Cup series.
He had hoped to jump start his weekend with a good run in the Nationwide race. Instead, he ran up against the wall in turn two and could not continue his lap.
“I feel bad for him. He really laid it out there,” said Carl Edwards, who was to start the race from the pole.
The crash continues a bad week for Hamlin. He was criticized last Saturday night when he purposely caused a caution so he could reach pit road for a tire change.
Then Hamlin fell hard on his left hip during a pickup basketball game. He limped into Monday's test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Complete qualifying results for Friday's Nationwide Series race can be found here.
-- The Associated Press
A second consecutive rained out practice is forcing Indy 500 drivers to improvise.
Veterans have had only one practice session this week, and although they can still test setups Friday and Saturday — assuming the track is dry — teams are doing anything they can to get ready for Saturday's pole qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Even if it's just making adjustments in the garage.
“The whole thing about this place is speed,” said Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 pole winner and race winner. “If you can find a couple of tenths of a mile per hour by sitting there and looking at the car and cleaning it up and doing what you can, you're going to do that.”
The lack of practice time may not hurt the drivers who come to Indy each year nearly as much as others.
Unification of America's two biggest open-wheel series, the Indy Racing League and the former Champ Car series, has created a large pool of talented rookies. Thirteen newcomers are trying to make the 33-car starting grid, which would be the biggest rookie class to stat in the since 1997.
IRL veterans believed the extended practice time on the 2.5-mile oval would help the ex-Champ Car drivers get more accustomed to driving on ovals for the rest of the season. But they also need time on the track to figure out how the changing weather and tricky winds can affect the car's performance.
“Obviously, we need the track time to continue our development of the car and this rain isn't helping,” said Brazilian rookie Enrique Bernoldi, who raced on Indy's road course as a Formula One driver. “It makes for long days just sitting around waiting. I'm not used to this.”
-- The Associated Press
Photo: AP
“I've got more important things to worry about. If I let that get under my skin, everything I do this week is going to be a pain in my butt, make for a long week.”
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr., talking Thursday at Darlington about how he's put last Saturday's dust-up with Kyle Busch behind him. In fact, Earnhardt went so far as to say Busch's driving style reminds him of the late Dale Earnhardt. Wah? Read for yourself here or here.
Dale Sr.'s former car owner and friend Richard Childress isn't buying into the "Intimidator"/Busch comparisons. Read Childress' remarks here.
Qualifying for Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington is scheduled for 4 p.m. today, with live coverage on Speed Channel.
-- Michele Vincze
Photo: Getty Images
Formula One qualifying rules changed Thursday after the Super Aguri team withdrew from the Formula One championship. With only 20 cars racing at Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, race stewards decided five rather than six cars will be excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying Saturday. That will leave 10 cars to compete for the pole in the final 10-minute qualifying session. The Super Aguri team pulled out of F1 on Tuesday due to financial difficulties. The Japanese team, founded in 2005, had no points from four races this season.
In other F1 news, Heikki Kovalainen, left, has been cleared by doctors to race in the Turkish Grand Prix, giving McLaren a boost as it aims to snap Ferrari's three-race win streak. The 26-year-old Finn was given a go-ahead for Sunday's race after undergoing medical checks by governing body FIA on Thursday, following his violent crash at the Spanish GP. A wheel rim failure caused a tire on Kovalainen's car to explode and send him barreling into a wall at high speed. The crash left him in a hospital overnight with slight injuries, including a concussion. Ferrari is still the favorite at the Istanbul Speed Park circuit, where its drivers have won all three races.
Read more here.
-- The Associated Press
Photo: AP
So 10 races are in the books for the 2008 Sprint Cup season and the top 12 in points features no surprises. The Chase for the Championship will begin Sept. 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and these 12 drivers have 16 more races to prove their worth. Let's take a look, shall we:
1. Kyle Busch
Stats: 2 wins (Talladega, Atlanta), 6 top-five finishes, 7 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Wild child Busch's destiny as a Chase contender is firming in his own hands. Unless he has some kind of summer swoon, he's a lock.
2. Jeff Burton, 18 points back
Stats: 1 win (Bristol), 3 top-five finishes, 6 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: His Richard Childress Racing team and teammates are having one heck of a year. No worries.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 104 back
Stats: No wins, 3 top-five finishes, 7 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Junior is off to one of his best starts in Cup (average finish of 10.9) and it would be an utter travesty if he didn't make the Chase in the equipment crew chief/cousin Tony Eury Jr. and his Hendrick Motorsports crew are giving him each week.
4. Clint Bowyer, 123 back
Stats: 1 win (Richmond), 3 top-five finishes, 7 consecutive top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Another RCR success story, Bowyer has hit a hot streak of late. The Chase's feel-good story last year should make this year's 10-race "postseason" with ease, if his equipment holds up.
5. Kevin Harvick, 145 back
Stats: No wins, 2 top-five finishes, 5 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Harvick started the season with four consecutive top-10 results, then hit a bit of a skid. Hard to say he's the weakest of the RCR drivers right now. He alone will dictate his Chase destiny.
6. Denny Hamlin, 146 back
Stats: 1 win (Martinsville), 4 top-five finishes, 6 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Hamlin has proved he and his Joe Gibbs Racing team are a force on tracks big and small. He coulda/shoulda won at Talladega. Same with Richmond. He has at least two more wins in him this season.
7. Jimmie Johnson, 177 back
Stats: 1 win (Phoenix), 4 top-five finishes, 3 finishes of 27th or worse
Why he'll make the Chase: The two-time and reigning Cup champ will be a fixture in this year's Chase purely because he's Jimmie Johnson and he still has crew chief Chad Knaus on the box.
8. Tony Stewart, 198 back
Stats: No wins, 4 top-five finishes, 6 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Hard to believe Stewart is the only JGR driver winless at this stage of the season, but Stewart is notorious for starting slow. He'll hit his summer hot streak again and make a legitimate run for his third title.
9. Greg Biffle, 226 back
Stats: No wins, 3 top-five finishes, 5 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: Hard to get a read on Biffle this season. Just when you think he's ready for a hot streak, he finishes in the 20s or worse, on a track he's dominated in the past (example: Texas). He needs to channel some of teammate Carl Edwards' mojo this summer.
10. Carl Edwards, 265 back
Stats: 3 wins (California, Las Vegas, Texas), 4 top-five finishes, 6 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: If not for a 100-point penalty after his win at Vegas, Cousin Carl would be in a much more comfortable points position. He has far too much momentum right now to miss the Chase.
11. Ryan Newman, 283 back
Stats: 1 win (Daytona), 2 top-five finishes, 5 top-10 finishes
Why he'll make the Chase: This might be a flip-a-coin deal here. Newman started out the year with a huge win, then reeled off an average finish of 18th in his next five races. He finished dead last at Martinsville after winning the pole and leading 37 laps. Go figure.
12. Kasey Kahne, 333 back
Stats: No wins, 5 top-10 finishes, 6 laps led
Why he'll make the Chase: Kahne is another anomaly and he's only as good as the car he's driving. If he can pick up some momentum and improve his average finish (16.8 through 10 races), he might make it.
The lurkers hovering just outside the Chase cut-off
Jeff Gordon (13th, 6 back of 12th): This one's a puzzler until you look at his stats: no wins, average finish of 17.9, three finishes of 35th or worse, including a 43rd-place showing at Texas. Ouch.
David Ragan (14th, 56 back of 12th): Two seasons ago, this kid was running rough-shod over the Craftsman Truck Series. Now he's a promising sophomore in the Cup Series. It would be a nice story if he made the Chase.
Martin Truex Jr. (15th, 58 back of 12th): Truex has only one top-five finish this season, a fifth at Richmond last Saturday. He also has five finishes of 20th or worse. Not terrible, but he's in need of some improvement to make his second consecutive Chase.
Juan Pablo Montoya (16th, 66 back of 12th): After a runner-up finish at Talladega, Montoya sat 12th in points. But a disappointing finish (32nd) at Richmond set him back again. He might make the Chase if he and new crew chief Jimmy Elledge start to click.
-- Michele Vincze
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ESPN The Magazine's cover boy for their May 19 edition. Read Marty Smith's piece, check out extra portrait photos of Junior and read Marty's "Behind the Story" here.
-- Michele Vincze
Rain canceled the second day of practice for the Indianapolis 500, the first time in almost two years that a full day of track activity was lost because of bad weather. Marco Andretti paced the field on the first full day of practice on Tuesday with a quick lap of 226.599 mph (39.7177 seconds) on the 2.5-mile oval. Read more about IndyCar practice here.
-- Michele Vincze
Nearly 50 Sprint Cup teams participated in a special, two-day test of NASCAR’s Car of Today at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday, with Elliott Sadler topping the overall chart in his No. 19 Dodge Charger at 186.245 mph Monday evening. The test was added after several drivers complained about poor handling characteristics, and inability to pass or race side-by-side, during the Samsung 500 at the sister 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway last month. TMS president Eddie Gossage continues to lobby NASCAR for a similar test in Fort Worth before the Dickies 500 Chase weekend in November. Read more about the LMS test session here.
-- John Sturbin
Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart reaffirmed his ties to General Motors on Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he helped unveil Chevrolet’s all-new Midget racing engine. Designed by GM Racing for the U.S. Auto Club National Midget Car Series, the purpose-built 4-cylinder Chevy engine initially will power Tony Stewart Racing drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones later this season. Read more about Stewart's visit to the Brickyard here.
-- John Sturbin
In voting concluded three days before Saturday night’s infamous “tap heard ‘round the world” with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond International Raceway, Kyle Busch has emerged as first-quarter winner for Driver of the Year. Busch won a combined seven races in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series to earn 14 first-place votes from a panel of 17 motorsports journalists, including this writer, and 142 points. Cup rival Carl Edwards earned one first-place vote and 72 points as runner-up. Danica Patrick, who scored her first IndyCar Series victory in Japan last month, received two first-place votes and 51 points for third. And rising Funny Car star Ashley Force, who posted her first career NHRA national event victory by beating father John Force at Atlanta Dragway, finished fourth with 49 points. A total of 17 drivers received votes for the award, now in its 42nd year.
-- John Sturbin
Courtesy of The Associated Press
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Dodge Challenger 500
Site: Darlington, S.C., Darlington Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.366 miles, 25 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 23 degrees in turns 3-4)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4 p.m.); Saturday, race (KDFW/Ch. 4, 6 p.m.)
Race distance: 501.322 miles/367 laps
2007 winner: Jeff Gordon
Fast facts: Richard Childress Racing has three drivers among the top five in the standings. Clint Bowyer's win moved him into fourth, Jeff Burton dropped to second and Kevin Harvick climbed to fifth after finishing eighth at Richmond. The trio has combined for 18 top-10 and eight top-five finishes. ... Kyle Busch is the points leader for the second time this season after his runner-up performance at Richmond. He has six top-five finishes this season. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now mired in a 72-race winless streak. ... NASCAR forced Michael Waltrip to sit out the final 58 laps at Richmond after he intentionally rammed the back of Casey Mears' car, pushing it several hundred yards after the two made contact moments earlier. The penalty cost him as many as 60 Sprint Cup points.
www.nascar.com
NASCAR NATIONWIDE
Diamond Hill Plywood 200
Site: Darlington, S.C., Darlington Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.366 miles, 25 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 23 degrees in turns 3-4)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 2 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 6 p.m.)
Race distance: 200 miles/147 laps
2007 winner: Denny Hamlin
Fast facts: Joe Gibbs Racing will carry a five-race winning streak into this weekend's event. ... Mark Martin, who won at Las Vegas in March, is expected to make his second Nationwide start of the season this weekend. He owns eight career wins and poles at Darlington, both track records. ... Darlington is one of three tracks where Richard Childress drivers have failed to win a Nationwide event. The others are Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City and Talladega Superspeedway.
www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Turkish Grand Prix
Site: Istanbul Park (road course, 3.342 miles, 14 turns)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 6 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, 7 a.m.)
Race distance: 193.836 miles/58 laps
2007 winner: Felipe Massa
Fast facts: McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen could return this weekend after being hospitalized following a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix. While traveling at 150 mph, his car went off the track and slammed into the protective wall at the Circuit de Catalunya. The 26-year-old Finn was unconscious briefly. ... Massa's win in the 2006 event was his first in F1. ... Kimi Raikkonen won the inaugural race from the pole in 2005. ... The track was created by German architect Herman Tilke, who also designed the Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai circuits. The cars run counterclockwise.
www.formula1.com
Denny Hamlin didn't win at Richmond and now he has a bum hip. The two are not related. Read more here.
Rookie Jaime Camara can get back in the cockpit this week. The 27-year-old Brazilian, who was injured in a crash during Indianapolis 500 practice Monday, was cleared to drive Tuesday afternoon, a day after crashing hard into the first turn wall.
Camara was hospitalized after complaining of back pain, and X-rays were negative. He returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday for the examination but never made it onto the track.
Camara, who passed his rookie test Sunday, had just turned a lap at more than 218 mph when his Dallara went low through the first turn, made a half-spin and struck the outside wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The car made another half-spin and came to a stop at the entrance of the second turn.
He got out on his own, was examined at the Speedway's infield hospital and was taken to Methodist Hospital for further observation.
It has been the only crash in the first three days of practice. Tuesday was the first time veterans and rookies were on the 2.5-mile oval together.
-- The Associated Press
The head of Japanese Formula One team Super Aguri said Tuesday his team will withdraw from the 2008 F-1 World Championship due to financial difficulties.
“I have participated in the championship for two years and four months,” team president Aguri Suzuki said at a news conference Tuesday. “I regretfully must inform you that the team will be ceasing its racing activities as of today.”
The team was denied access to the Turkish Grand Prix circuit ahead of the next F1 round at Istanbul Park on Sunday. Super Aguri, which has been struggling since its debut in 2006, held talks with its backer Honda on Friday in Tokyo to discuss the team's future.
Super Aguri hasn't scored any points after four races this season, with drivers Takuma Sato and Britain's Anthony Davidson both failing to finish in the opening race in Australia. Their best result was Sato's 13th place in Barcelona, where Davidson retired.
Read more here.
-- The Associated Press
NASCAR Sprint Cup Crown Royal 400
Richmond International Raceway
www.nascar.com
Clint Bowyer earned his first victory of the season and second career win when he slipped past first-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and second-place Kyle Busch after Busch and Earnhardt tangled with three laps remaining, leaving Earnhardt in the fence with a damaged No. 88 Chevy. Busch wound up finishing second on Saturday after battling Mark Martin in a green-white-checker finish. Tony Stewart finished fourth and Martin Truex Jr. was fifth. Earnhardt ended up 15th and his win drought now stands at 72 races, or two full seasons. Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin, who led a track-record 381 laps of the 400-lap event, suffered a tire problem late in the race and finished 24th. Busch took over the points lead with his finish, but almost certainly didn't win any fans. Read more here. Full results can be found here.
NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Ill.
www.nhra.com
Funny Car: Tim Wilkerson won at his home track on Sunday, beating rookie Mike Neff in the final. The win was Wilkerson's second of the season and helped him gain the points lead for the first time in his career. John Force earned his 1,000th career round win when he defeated Ron Capps in the early rounds. Force will have to wait for No. 1,001 because he was beat by Robert Hight in the next round. Force is the first to reach 1,000 round wins.
Top Fuel: Rod Fuller beat Tony Schumacher with a pass of 4.525 seconds at 328.70 mph. Fuller defeated Cory McClenathan, No. 1 qualifier Dave Grubnic and Doug Kalitta to reach the final.
Pro Stock: Kurt Johnson earned his first win of the season when he drove his Chevy Cobalt to a 6.631 at 209.30 mph and defeated Dave Connolly.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Andrew Hines earned his second consecutive win in beating Matt Smith. Hines' run was his 16th straight run in the 6-second range and his 15th career class win.
AMA Supercross
Las Vegas
www.amamotorcross.com
Chad Reed beat points challenger Kevin Windham in the series finale on Saturday to claim the championship. Reed finished 13 points ahead of Windham (365-352).
ARCAR Re/Max Carolina 5000
Rockingham Speedway
www.arcaracing.com
Teenager Joey Logano started from the pole on Sunday and won in his series debut, holding off NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader. Logano, 17, is a Joe Gibbs Racing development driver.
-- Michele Vincze
Denny Hamlin didn't realize how much he was feeling the pressure to perform in front of his hometown crowd until he was hurtling around the track in qualifying.
“I knew I was under pressure because my heart was beating out of my chest during my lap,” Hamlin said after his fastest lap at 126.198 mph gave him his sixth career pole and second at Richmond.
He's from Chesterfield, about a 15-minute drive from Richmond International Raceway.
“When your foot is shaking on the gas pedal, the nerves are starting to get to you,” Hamlin said. “I don't know why. It's just a starting position for us, but it's something special about this race track. When you perform well, it just gives you that extra boost of confidence.”
Hamlin's Toyota will have the Chevrolet of Mark Martin on the outside for Saturday night's Crown Royal 400, with the Chevrolet of Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Patrick Carpentier's Dodge in the second row. The Dodges of Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya are next. A complete lineup can be found here.
-- The Associated Press
Local favorite Denny Hamlin used a late pit stop for tires to foil the strategy of fellow NASCAR stars Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, blowing by them to win the Nationwide Series Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond International Raceway on Friday night.
Harvick and Edwards dominated the race all night, but when the sixth caution flew with 22 laps to go, Hamlin gave up his fourth-place position to head to pit road for tires. When everyone behind him followed, leaving Harvick, Edwards and No. 3 Mike Bliss as the only cars still out on the track, Hamlin emerged still running fourth and with brand new traction.
He didn't waste any time, blowing by Bliss and then Edwards on lap 241, the first after another restart, and then ducking underneath Harvick at the start-finish line on lap 242.
Hamlin quickly built a huge lead, but when another caution came out with three laps left, it allowed Kyle Busch to get right up on Hamlin's bumper for a two-lap dash to the finish.
It didn't matter, and the resident of nearby Chesterfield again pulled away with ease for his sixth career victory in the series and his first at the track 15 miles from his home.
Harvick wound up second, followed by Busch, David Ragan and Steve Wallace. Series points leader Clint Bowyer was never a factor in the race, finishing ninth, and saw Edwards close to within nine in the standings. Busch is third, just 12 off the pace.
Find out where your favorite driver finished here.
-- The Associated Press
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway International, Madison, Ill.
Funny Car: Melanie Troxel topped qualifying Friday with a quarter-mile pass of 4.802 seconds at 327.59 mph in her ProCare Rx Dodge Charger. Troxel won the Top Fuel event last year at Gateway International. “We definitely had way too good of a team to be running the way we've been running, and we knew just over the last couple of races that we were turning the corner,” Troxel said. “We could see the performance coming around. We knew it was going to change. It was just a matter of time when that would happen. This track was really good to me last year, so it's perfect that this is the race where we got it turned around.”
Top Fuel: Dave Grubnic piloted his Kalitta Motorsports dragster to a 4.519 at 326.32 for the provisional No. 1 position. “We're very happy with that run,” Grubnic said. “It's good to be back. The run felt great. Watching the Funny Cars, they seemed to be struggling a lot, moving around and so forth. One of the things I paid attention to is making sure the car stayed in the groove. But honestly, I really didn't have to do anything. The car just went straight down there. Full credit to (team owner and crew chief) Connie Kalitta and all my guys. They did the job. They made the car run, they put the numbers in there. It's great to be back it's great to be No. 1.”
Pro Stock: Greg Anderson led the field with a 6.646 at 206.83.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Chip Ellis topped the charts with a 6.957 at 190.22.
-- The Associated Press
Carl Edwards briefly explored free agency before deciding to stay with Roush Fenway Racing for the next several years. Edwards said Friday he signed a multiple-year contract extension to continue driving the No. 99 Ford, a decision that takes NASCAR's most sought-after free agent off the market.
“I'm staying with Roush,” Edwards said. “I looked at everything and I talked to everybody and, for me, the number one thing is looking into the future and saying, 'Where can I win the most races and have the most success?' I just feel like for me, personally, this is where I want to be for the near future.”
Read more about Edwards' announcement here or here.
-- The Associated Press
So you're Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a pretty girl has just planted an idea in your head to try something new, something way out of your comfort zone. On Thursday night, on Earnhardt's live XM Radio show, that pretty girl was IndyCar star Danica Patrick and she apparently talked to Junior about swapping cars and suggested Texas Motor Speedway might be a great place for him to make his open-wheel debut. And it gets even better. TMS President Eddie Gossage has sweetened the deal, offering Earnhardt $100,000 for his favorite charity if he'd like to give IndyCar racing a try in the Bombardier Learjet 550 on June 7.
“It was interesting to learn Dale Jr. and Danica discussed trading cars on his ‘Unrestricted’ show, and we’re pleased Danica’s track of choice for him would be Texas,” Gossage said in a release. “... we would love to facilitate having Dale Jr. in an Indy car for the Bombardier Learjet 550k. After all, next to the Indy 500, it’s the biggest IndyCar race of the year. Junior would make it even bigger.”
Earnhardt Jr. said thanks, but no thanks.
“He thinks I’m a cheap date, I guess,” Earnhardt said. “If I had the opportunity, if I was there testing my car and somebody had their car there, I’d like to jump in it and run a couple of laps, but that would be the extent of the adventure.”
And, seriously, why would he? Fans might remember the last time Junior ventured away from stock car racing to race a Corvette C5-R in an American Le Mans Series event at Infineon Raceway in 2004. A fiery crash in practice left Junior with painful burns on his leg and neck. And would Rick Hendrick really allow Junior, who is third in Sprint Cup points after nine races, risk life and limb with a one-off IndyCar "stunt?" This blogger and fan hopes not.
-- Michele Vincze
The broadcast for Friday's Nationwide Series Lipton Tea 250 has been moved from ESPN2 to ESPN Classic, starting live at 6 p.m. The broadcast also will be shown live on Speed Channel and ESPN360.com. The switch was made so the Washington vs. Cleveland NBA playoff game can be shown on ESPN2. If the NBA game gets over early, ESPN2 will switch to the race. ESPN2 will re-air the Nationwide race in its entirety after the live broadcast is over.
--Michele Vincze
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