Bloggin' is Racin'

This week's racing schedule

Courtesy of The Associated Press
(All times Central)

NASCAR Nationwide
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
Site: Madison, Ill., Gateway International Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.25 miles, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees in turns 3-4)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 4 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 8 p.m.)
Race distance: 250 miles/200 laps
2007 winner: Reed Sorenson
Fast facts: Kyle Busch’s victory last week at Chicagoland was his fifth in the Nationwide Series this year and the 13th for a Joe Gibbs Racing driver this season. ... Joey Logano, another JGR driver, returns to the series after missing the last three races. He has a win, two poles, two top-five finishes and three top-10 showings in his first four starts this season. ... Chevrolet won the first five Nationwide races at Gateway, but only one in the six races since. Toyota is the only manufacturer not to win at the track. ... Reed Sorenson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers to have two Nationwide wins at Gateway.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Built Ford Tough 225
Site: Sparta, Ky., Kentucky Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 2:30 p.m.), race (Speed Channel, 5:30 p.m.)
Race distance: 225 miles/150 laps
2007 winner: Mike Skinner
Fast facts: Roush Fenway Racing will compete in its 316th truck event this weekend, passing Spears Motorsports for most starts in series history. The team has recorded 49 victories, including two at Kentucky. ... Kyle Busch will be trying to win in three different national series in consecutive starts following his Chicagoland sweep in the Nationwide and Cup events last weekend. ... Eight races at Kentucky have produced eight different winners, including Ron Hornaday Jr., Dennis Setzer and Mike Skinner. ... Todd Bodine has won a series-high eight times on five of the seven 1.5-mile intermediate tracks on the truck schedule, but has yet to record a victory at Kentucky. He won with the Nationwide series in 2002.
www.nascar.com

IndyCar Series
Honda 200
Site: Lexington, Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (permanent road course, 2.4 miles, 15 turns)
TV schedule: Sunday, race (ABC, 12:30 p.m.)
Race distance: 191.93 miles/85 laps
2007 winner: Scott Dixon
Fast facts: Former CART champion Paul Tracy will drive in the July 26 Rexall Edmonton Indy in a car fielded by Walker Racing. The 39-year-old Tracy, winner of 31 races in CART and its later incarnation as Champ Car, found himself out of a ride when Champ Car was absorbed into the IndyCar Series in February. ... Scott Dixon’s latest win, at Nashville Superspeedway last Saturday, was also the 100th overall in motorsports for Chip Ganassi Racing. ... Ryan Hunter-Reay went from Victory Lane the previous event at Watkins Glen to 19th at Nashville after a crash. ... The series did not compete in Ohio prior to last year.
www.indycar.com

Formula One
German Grand Prix
Site: Hockenheim (road course, 2.842 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 7 a.m.); Sunday, race (FOX, noon, taped)
Race distance: 214.132 miles/67 laps
2007 winner: Fernando Alonso
Fast facts: The McLaren team settled its legal dispute with Ferrari on July 11, agreeing to pay the Italian team’s court costs from the F1 spying scandal. McLaren apologized last December after Ferrari data and documents were found at its chief designer’s home, resulting in a $100 million fine for McLaren and disqualification from the 2007 constructors championship. ... Felipe Massa surrendered sole possession of the standings by spinning his Ferrari five times and finishing last of the 13 drivers who completed the British Grand Prix earlier this month. ... Three days prior to the British Grand Prix, David Coulthard announced he will retire after the season, ending a career in which he won 13 races but repeatedly fell short of the world championship. ... Toro Rosso announced on July 2 that it will continue racing in 2009 despite the owner’s plan to sell the team.
www.formula1.com

NHRA
Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals
Site: Kent, Wash., Pacific Raceways
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 7 p.m., taped); Sunday, eliminations (8 p.m., ESPN2, taped)
2007 winners: Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock)
Fast facts: Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson will clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship field with just one qualifying run this weekend. In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson can seal his spot if he either qualifies 12th or higher, wins a round on Sunday or if the drivers who trail him in the standings fail to gain the maximum amount of qualifying points. ... Tony Schumacher earned his 47th career Top Fuel win to move within five of Joe Amato’s career record. ... Wilkerson eliminated John Force Racing drivers Ashley Force, Mike Neff and Robert Hight during his win at Bandimere last week. The fourth member, John Force, was eliminated by Neff in the first round. ... John Force advanced to the finals at Pacific last year before his car went up in flames during the loss to Beckman. ... Allen Johnson was denied a second straight win at Pacific last year with his loss to Connolly in the Pro Stock final.
www.nhra.com

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Cars
Porsche 250
Site: Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (permanent road course, 2.3 miles, 16 turns)
Race distance: 250 miles, or 2 hours, 45 minutes
TV schedule: Sunday, race (2 p.m., Speed Channel)
www.grand-am.com/rolex/

American Le Mans Series
Acura Sports Car Challenge
Site: Lexington, Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (permanent road course, 2.4 miles, 15 turns)
Race duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
TV schedule: Saturday, race (Sunday, NBC, 11 a.m. taped)
www.americanlemans.com/Home/ALMSHome.aspx

McLaren/Ferrari spy case comes to a close

The McLaren Mercedes team settled its legal dispute with Ferrari on Friday, agreeing to pay the Italian team's court costs from the Formula One spying scandal. McLaren apologized last December after Ferrari data and documents were found at its chief designer's home, resulting in a $100 million fine for McLaren and disqualification from the 2007 constructors championship.
McLaren said Friday that both sides had agred to bring the dispute to a final conclusion. The exact terms of the deal were not released, but Ferrari said it would donate the payment from McLaren to charity.
The Italian team said it would continue to pursue its case against former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney. Stepney was head of performance development at Ferrari in July 2007 when the scandal broke after a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.
Stepney and Coughlan were later fired by their teams.

-- The Associated Press

Hamilton wins home F1 race

Lewis Hamilton, left, won the British Grand Prix for the first time, leading his rain-soaked home race from the fourth lap to take the lead in the Formula One drivers championship. The McLaren driver lapped all but two cars in the field Sunday at Silverstone and finished more than a minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber in a race at Silverstone that was full of spinouts and near misses. Honda’s Rubens Barrichello was third for his first podium in four years and Honda’s first of the season. Hamilton’s third victory of the season gives him 48 points. He is tied with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, but leads the championship chase based on his better finishes in the other races. Read more here and get full results here.

-- The Associated Press

Kovalainen wins first F1 pole

Heikki Kovalainen captured his first Formula One pole on Saturday and will now try for his first series victory in Sunday's British Grand Prix. The McLaren driver crossed the line more than half a second faster than Red Bull's Mark Webber, who also will be seeking his first win. World champion Kimi Raikkonen, last year's British GP winner, was third fastest in his Ferrari ahead of home favorite Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, whose bid to take the pole was hampered when he skidded off the circuit at a left-hand bend. Points leader Felipe Massa will start ninth in his Ferrari. A full lineup can be found here.

-- The Associated Press

Massa crashes in F1 practice

Formula One points leader Felipe Massa spun off the track and hit a wall during Friday's practice for the British Grand Prix, but only after setting the fastest time (1 minutes, 19.575 seconds) in his Ferrari. The Brazilian, who leads the Formula One standings by two points over Robert Kubica, climbed out of his car a few minutes after the crash and did not appear to be hurt. Massa spun on some oil at the end of the fastest straight of the Silverstone circuit. His car spun 180 degrees and went into the safety wall backward, damaging the rear. Read more here.

-- The Associated Press

Veteran Coulthard to retire from F1

David Coulthard will retire from Formula One after the season, ending a career in which he won 13 races but repeatedly fell short of the world championship. The 37-year-old Scotsman, who has driven for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull since 1994, has not won since the 2003 Australian Grand Prix. His best finish this season was third at the Canadian GP on June 9. Read more here.

-- The Associated Press
Photo: AP

Formula One urges changes to cut costs

Formula One wants to cut team budgets in half and improve fuel efficiency by 2011 to improve racing. FIA president Max Mosley said Thursday that “urgent” changes were necessary because the sport was becoming “unsustainable.” “The major manufacturers are currently employing up to 1,000 people to put two cars on the grid,” Mosley said. “This is clearly unacceptable at a time when all these companies are facing difficult market conditions.” The ruling body said changes were necessary to “allow a back-of-the-grid independent team to operate profitably.” Such as leading teams providing technology to others at an affordable price. Teams are bracing for next season's move to hybrid technology through an energy recovery system that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions without affecting performance. Read more here.

-- The Associated Press

Toro Rosso's future in flux

Toro Rosso will continue racing in 2009 despite its owner's plan to sell the Formula One team.
Team principal Franz Tost said the Toro Rosso budget and structure will remain next season, despite the intentions of owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who also owns Red Bull, to sell the team.
“Then, from 2010 we will see what happens,” Tost said. “At the moment the team is stable. We are pushing hard, taking one step at a time and we have improved our performance.”
Toro Rosso has shown improved performance since introducing its new car at Monaco, with Sebastian Vettel finishing in the points in two of the three races since then.
“We are just one point short of our total for the whole of last year, so we must have done something right,” technical director Giorgio Ascanelli said. “I don't regret any decisions we took.”

-- The Associated Press

This week's racing schedule

Courtesy of The Associated Press

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Coke Zero 400
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla., Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.); Saturday, race (TNT, 5:30 p.m.)
Race distance: 400 miles/160 laps
2007 winner: Jamie McMurray
Fast facts: Jamie McMurray’s margin of victory last yearm (0.005 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch) tied Dale Earnhardt’s over Ernie Irvan at Talladega in July 1993 as the second closest finish since the advent of electronic timing and scoring, also in 1993. ... Co-owner Chip Ganassi has shut down Dario Franchitti’s race team because of a lack of sponsorship. ... Kyle Busch, a five-time winner leads the drive standings by 64 points (2496-2432) over Jeff Burton.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide
Winn-Dixie 250
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla., Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (ESPN2, noon), race (ESPN2, 6 p.m.)
Race distance: 250 miles/100 laps
2007 winner: Kyle Busch
Fast facts: The summer race at Daytona has been contested since 2002. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only driver to win twice and there have been five different pole winners for the event. ... Clint Bowyer is the leader in the driver standings, holding a 182-point lead over David Reutimann (2649-2467). Bowyer has 15 Top-10 finishes in 18 races.
www.nascar.com

Indy Racing League
Camping World Grand Prix
Site: Watkins Glen, N.Y., Watkins Glen International (permanent road course, 3.4 miles, 11 turns)
TV schedule: Sunday, race (ABC, 2:30 p.m.)
Race distance: 204 miles/60 laps
2007 winner: Scott Dixon
Fast facts: Scott Dixon leads in the driver standings, 351-308 over Helio Castroneves. Dixon has eight top-five finishes in nine races, including three victories. ... Dan Wheldon is the only racer to complete every lap (1,886) of competition this season.
www.indycar.com

Formula One
British Grand Prix
Site: Silverstone, England, Silverstone Circuit (road course, 3.194 miles, 14 turns)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 7 a.m.); Sunday, race (FOX, 1 p.m., taped)
Race distance: 191.64 miles/60 laps
2007 winner: Kimi Raikkonen
Fast Facts: It has been 50 years since Mike Hawthorn became the first British Formula One world champion. Lewis Hamilton, a two-time winner this year, hopes to repeat his countryman’s success this season. ... This weekend’s race is also a homecoming for David Coulthard and Jenson Button. ... Felipe Massa leads Robert Kubica by two points (48-46) in the driver standings.
www.formula1.com

Formula One will skip U.S. event again in 2009

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials still want to host the U.S. Grand Prix. It might take at least another year to get it back.
When Formula One released its provisional 2009 schedule Wednesday, the race that had become synonymous with Indianapolis was left off the list. The mid-June weekend after the Canadian Grand Prix, a previous date for the U.S. race, was left blank on the new schedule, a strong indication F1 officials plan to skip the country for a second straight year.
But race organizers haven't lost hope about reaching a deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
“Discussions will continue,” speedway spokesman Ron Green said. “We believe a return of Formula One to our calendar, especially during our centennial era, the period between 2009-2011, would be appropriate. But it must be on terms reasonable to all the groups.”
The provisional schedule can be found here.

-- The Associated Press