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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL r_ONJTM«^jrtJ«*S^ All times Eastern Next*! Cup AMD at the Glen, | ji~^ 1 p.m.. Sunday NBC ImehStriw zippo 200, mm 2 p.m.. Saturday NBC ftucKSertos ffgggg Toyota tundra 200, cm4«*h 5 p.m., Saturday P Jimmie Johnson has impecca ble timing. He overcame more than his share of adversity at Indy. His crew replaced a dead battery just before the start, he suffered tire failure on the 39th lap and weathered a pit-road fire. Somehow, he managed to win. It's the stuff of champions. P Attendance at this year s All state 400 was only about 225,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which seats approxi mately 257.000. Sellouts were commonplace until the past few years. p Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to slip back into the Nextel Cup standings' top 10, thanks to a late decision not to pit in order to gain track position. He fin ished sixth but still seemed a bit disappointed afterward. “I’d like to have a better car so we don't have to make those kinds of calls,” he said. “We've got a lot of talent on our team. We put it to good use on pit stops. We need to do better and get better cars." P For now, at least, the sport's biggest names are all in the top 10, with Jeff Gordon eighth. Tony Stewart ninth and Earnhardt Jr. 10th. The situation is perilous, though, entering the final five races of the regular season. Four other drivers Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards still have a shot at making the top 10 and the Chase. p Jimmie Johnson has won 22 races in only 168 tries. That's the same number of victories as his occasional teammate, Terry Labonte, who is retiring at sea son’s end. Labonte has compet ed in 843 races. p Thirty-five drivers finished on the lead lap at Indy. That's the most in NASCAR history for a 400- or 500-mile race. p It seems unbelievable that Ryan Newman ranks 18th in the points standings. He's 408 points out of 10th place. P Jeremy Mayfield, who made the Chase in both 2004 and 2005, is now 34th in the points standings. He’s nearly 1,500 points behind Johnson. ANOWHO'SNeT- > Who's hot Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top 15 in 19 of the season's 21 races. ... Jeff Burton has finished in the top 15 in Burton 15 straight races. Who’s not A crash on the last lap cost Kasey Kahne four positions in the points stand ings and dropped him out of the top 10 for the first time since the Daytona 500. Driver rosters should fall into place soon The final pieces of next year’s driving roster should fall into place in the next few days. Jeremy Mayfield is out at Evernham Motorsports, per haps as soon as this week. He’s headed to Bill Davis Racing. The sec ond Toyota Camry at Davis’ race team will be driven by Dave Blaney. Elliott W'-ti Mscuri ' [fclsi33|] cur sinus NOTEBOOK Don Coble Morris News Service Sadler will replace Mayfield at Evernham. David Gilliland will replace Sadler at Robert Yates Racing. That leaves one job open at Yates - the position vacated by Dale Jarrett, who will drive one of Michael Waltrip’s Toyotas next year. The addition of new teams has created a shortage of good drivers and crew chiefs in the sport. It’s also putting a lot of pressure on teams to keep sponsors happy, especially since many are not guaran teed a spot in the starting lineup. “I personally think that much like the Dallas Cowboys or the Carolina Panthers, they know they are going ► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, RO. Box 1538, Gastonia, NC 28053 ■ Race: AMD at the Glen ■ Where: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Inter national (2.45 miles). 90 laps/220.5 miles. ■ When: Sunday, Aug. 13 ■ Last year’s winner: Tony Stewart ■ Qualifying record: Jeff Gordon. Chevrolet, 124.580 mph, Aug. 8. 2003. ■ Race record: Mark Martin. Ford. 103.300 mph. Aug. 13. 1995. ■ Last week: It must have been tempting at dusk for Jimmie John son to whistle, or snap his fingers, or sing some song along the lines of "Everything's Going My Way.” For Johnson, the man who has achieved everything but a Cup championship, an Allstate 400 vic tory could hardly be read as any thing but a good omen. But races aren't tea leaves, even though the winner of the (now) Allstate 400 WM AT'SHJ P N EKrT Casey Mears Family Tradition When Mears comes to Indy, he visits ghosts from the past By Monte Dutton NASCAR This Week SPEEDWAY, Ind. Many drivers have sentimental ties to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but no one has fami ly ties that approach those of 28-year old Casey Mears. Mears’ father, Roger, competed in the Indianapolis 500, and his uncle, Rick, is one of three four-time win ners in the history of the 500. Rick Mears is one of the legends of Ameri can motorsports. For obvious reasons, Casey Mears said: “Out of every place that we run, this is the place I probably look for ward to the most. You know, one, the track is a lot of fun. Obviously, it’s got a lot of history. Then, you know, hav ing the family history in the back ground here, as well, just makes it much more exciting to me.” Mears, from Bakersfield, Calif., could manage only a 23 rd -place finish in the Allstate 400, and he started the race 39 th . The result was bitterly dis appointing, especially when compared with his sixth-place finish in 2005. He holds the track record, having turned a lap at 186.293 mph in winning the pole in 2004. This time, Mears faded after running ninth with 40 laps re maining. He recalled his track-record quali fying run,on Aug. 7, 2004, as“one of the most special days I ever had in motorsports. ... What was crazy about that was we were one of the cars that went out early, and the track contin ued to cool off the whole time, but it was such a great lap that it would have been really hard for anybody to beat. ... To actually come home with that pole, you know, was just huge.” Before he moved to NASCAR, Mears tried unsuccessfully twice to make the field for the Indy 500. “Just didn’t have the team to do it with,” he said, matter-of-factly, “and missed the show.” Next year Mears will move from "I think we need 43 teams that know they are going to be in the show that at the same time have to do a certain amount of things to validate that they deserve a franchise/' -Jeff Burton to have a chance to play in every game,” Jeff Burton said. “They don’t know if they are going to make the playoffs, but we need that here. I think it would protect the owners and it would pro tect our sponsors and I think we have to find a way to move towards that. I think we need 43 teams that know they are going to be in the show that at the same time have to do a certain amount of things to validate that they deserve a franchise. We need to find a way to guarantee everybody they are going to be in the show for our sponsors and car owners. It isn’t about the drivers; it is about the spon sors and the car owners.” MARTIN MERRY-GO-ROUND: Mark Martin has been offered $8 million to return to the No. 6 Ford next year, accord ing to Speed Channel. Ford and Roush Racing are concerned there isn’t enough has gone on to win the (now) Nextel Cup championship five times. John son virtually disappeared early, thanks to a blown tire on the 39th lap. and appeared as if by magic to seize the lead for the third and final time on the 151st of 160 laps. “It's way too early to say we've broken the pattern." said Johnson, “but it's a great start.' Johnson had never finished better than ninth at Indy, and his finishes the previous two seasons had been 36th and 38th. Johnson has also never won the championship, so the obvious ques tion in this race's aftermath was whether the victory would be a har binger of the glory experienced by Jeff Gordon in 1998 and 2001, Dale Jarrett in 1999, Bobby Labonte in 2000 and Tony Stewart in 2005. All won championships in the year they also won at Indy. Nextel Cup Series No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge wHmL,-, k - HHB— Hr || T~ IHI aw k\ £&/'' ' Y M U Wl jJEiIjHHnBHIBI John Clark/NASCAR This Week Next year, Casey Mears will move from Chip Ganassi Racing to Hendrick Motorsports, where he will succeed Brian Vickers in the team’s No. 25 Chevrolet. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to Hendrick Motorsports, where he will succeed Brian Vickers in the team’s No. 25 Chevrolet. He said he will continue as driver of Ganassi’s No. 42 Dodge through the end of the season. When Mears was growing up, he didn’t actually attend the races in which his father and uncle competed. TJie speedway didn’t allow pit-and- talent available to replace Martin, who was supposed to retire from the Nextel Cup Series after last year. Todd Kluever hasn’t shown any real promise in the Busch Series, so car owner Jack Roush is desperate to keep Martin in the car for one more year. RACE FOR THE CHASE HEATS UP: The wreck on the final lap of last Sunday’s Allstate 400 may have a lasting affect on the Chase for the Championship. Robby Gordon’s Chevrolet veered into Greg Biffle’s Ford in the fourth turn, sending both cars into the wall. At the same time, Kasey Kahne crashed. Both Biffle and Kahne were headed to top -12 finishes. Biffle wound up 33rd; Kahne was 36th. Kahne dropped four spots in the Nextel Cup Series standings to 11th; Biffle is 12th. SPORTS ■ Race: Zippo 200 ■ Where: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45 miles). 82 laps/200.9 miles. ■ When: Saturday, Aug. 12 ■ Last year’s winner: Ryan Newman ■ Qualifying record: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 121.069 mph, Aug. 13, 2005. ■ Race record: Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 91.468 mph, June 30, 1996. ■ Last week: Points leader Kevin Harvick won for the fifth time this season in the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind. BACK TO SCHOOL! BACH TO SHAPE! Htyaun Sxcu&e fu&t Ask Us How.To Receive (MONTHS FREE! * Child Care || • Sauna * Smoothie Bar * Professional Staff rf*sß**> PRIMS CIITE& 1291 S. HOUSTON LAKE HO., SUITE Q WARNER ROBINS, GA 4TB-2 18-9363 Must be 18 yrs of age or older, first time guest, local resident. 'Certain restrictions apply. cftArrsMxNrrST ■ Race: Toyota Tundra 200 ■ Where: Nashville Su perspeedway, Gladeville, Tenn. (1.333 miles), 150 laps/200 miles. ■ When: Saturday, Aug. 12 ■ Last year's winner: David Reutimann ■ Qualifying record: Mike Skinner, Toyota, 161.440 mph, Aug. 13, 2005. ■ Race record: Scott Riggs, Dodge, 132.466 mph, Aug. 10, 2001. ■ Last week: Rick Craw ford, In a Ford, won the Power Stroke 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind. garage access to persons under 18 years of age. He watched the 500 at family gatherings back in Bakersfield. Of his father and uncle, he said: “They were both very influential on my racing career and my life. It would be hard to name somebody above and beyond those guys.” Contact Monte Dutton at hduttonso@aol.com SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2006 WATKfNSOtEN BATA AMD at the Glen Aug. 13 j f : I Watkins Glen. Distance: 2.45 mile road course [’ejSStT] Turns: 1.1 ° ” Mlles/Laps: ...220.5 mi. -90 taps W Banking m Banking varies straights in tome l llj Tj|/ ! fl mm I MiP Jf MM ‘ipw| H' iffL/ MM! 5 : fc* A FEUD OF THE WEEK v E R S U S IX Jmm Said Boris Said vs. Read Sorenson It was only the 20th lap of the All state 400 when Sorenson's Dodge tapped Said's Ford in turn three. “On the restart, I guess the '4l' car (Sorenson) just got into me a little bit," Said remarked. “It's just one of those racing deals where he was do ing his deal, and I was doing my deal and our deals ended up colliding, so it's a bad day for me. I feel really bad because I really wanted to run this race." NASCAR This Week's Monte Dutton gives his take: “Said, mak ing his third start as a car owner, had none of the luck he had in the Pepsi 400, where he used a strate gic move (not pitting) to gain track position and end up finishing fourth. Easy come, easy go.” »~vxrgi v i - New book examines origins of East Coast racing “Paved Track, Dirt Track” (Coastal 181), by Lew Boyd, is the complete history of two famed race tracks. Old Bridge Stadium in New Jersey and Nazareth Raceway in Pennsylvania. The author chose the two tracks to "exemplify the heart of East Coast modified racing.” Boyd conducted more than 100 interviews with Mario Andretti, Wally Dallenbach, Frankie Schneider, Gil Hdarhe; Buzzle Reuti : ’ mann and others. The book covers the evolution of racing at the two tracks from just after World War It to the 19905. The book is available for $23.95 plus $6 for shipping and handling. To order, call toll-free 1- 877-907-8181 or order online at www.coastallßl.com. 1-1 szt tsi I remember Pearl Harbor Toyota may be an employer of 25,000 U.S. workers, but where are the profits going? To Japan, of course. Were our government wise enough to keep foreign cars out, this money could be going into our own economy. This will spoil the racing picture for me. Oh, I'll still watch it until the for eign entries outnumber our own. I still remember Pearl Harbor. Bob Rice Canton, Pa. Thanks for letting us know how you feel. As we've seen this season, there are plenty of fans upset that Toyota is coming to Nextel Cup. 24 Hour Access Best Equipment In Town • Free Weight V * Tree One On One Training * Indoor Cycling * Aerobics * Tanning *4’. ff* jsy Spwtig|gg IJuEil * Super Clean Facility • Conveniently Located 3B Sorenson