Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006
14B
t k r\
ON THE TUBE
All times Eastern
Nextel Cup
Bank of America 500.
7 p.m., Saturday NBC
Busch Series
Dollar General 300, THT
8 p.m., Friday
Truck Series __ Qjggg
Kroger 200. SSSffim
1 p.m., Oct 21
- ri- fIU
► NASCAR vice president for
competition Robin Pemberton
told reporters on Oct. 7 that no
restrictor-plate changes would
be made, even though practice
speeds had surpassed 198
mph on Talladega's freshly
repaved surface. On the morn
ing of Oct. 8. Pemberton an
nounced the plates would be
changed from 57/64ths of an
inch to 7/Bths. He also said he
hadn't lied to anyone.
* Another NASCAR assertion
was that the changes would be
across the board and wouldn’t
have any effect on competition.
David Gilliland went out and won
the pole. His previous best qual
ifying performance had been
22nd. Gilliland's Robert Yates
Racing teammate, Dale Jarrett,
qualified second. Jarrett's previ
ous best had been a fourth
granted, it was also at Talladega
and it was only his third top
-10 start of the year.
► Mark Martin will drive a Chevy
next year. The last time Martin
drove anything other than a Ford
in a Cup race was in 1987. It
was an Oldsmobile owned by
Roger Hamby.
+■ At MB2 Motorsports, the driv
ers next year will be Martin,
Sterling Marlin and Joe Ne
mechek. At the Daytona 500,
the combined age of the three
will be 140.
► Next year, for the first time in
21 years, the flagship of
Richard Childress’ Chevrolet
fleet will carry sponsorship from
something other than GM/Good
wrench. Shell and Pennzoil will
combine to sponsor Kevin Har
vick in No. 29. The number 3
to 29 has changed, as well
as the driver Dale Earnhardt,
then Harvick but the black
and silver colors were a con
stant ... but not in 2007.
► As of now, Martin will compete
in 20 races, plus the Budweiser
Shootout and Nextel All-Star
Challenge. His avowed goal of
competing full time in the
Craftsman Truck Series has ap
parently been abandoned, at
least for now.
► Qualifying at Talladega takes a
long, long time. After taking sec
ond place, Dale Jarrett noted:
"Entire college football games
have begun and ended since we
started qualifying.”
- VVHfO ’'S''
’ ANO WHO ’ S NOT
► Who's hot Brian Vickers
became the 170th driver to
win a race in NASCAR’s pre
mier series, although he was
booed as loudly as any previ
ous winner. ... Martin Truex Jr.
finished a career-best fifth.
► Who’s not
Jeff Gor
don led 27
laps but
wound up in
a crash that
left him 36th
in the race
and seventh
in the
Gordon
TOP 3LO IN POINTS *
Nextel Cup
X. Jeff Burton 5,598
2. Matt Kenseth - 6
3. Mark Martin -10
4. Kevin Harvick -33
5. Denny Hamlin -51
6. Date Earnhardt Jr. -106
7. Jeff Gordon -147
8. Jimmie Johnson -156
9. Kasey Kahne -185
10. Kyle Busch -185
Busch Series
1. Kevin Harviok 4,810
2. Carl Edwards - 729
3. Clint Bowyer - 855
4. Denny Hamlin - 902
5. J.J. Yeley - 984
6. Kyle Busch -1,257
7. Paul Menard -1,267
8. Greg Biffle -1,331
9. Reed Sorenson -1,573
10. Johnny Sauter -1,658
Craftsman Truck Series
1. Todd Bodine 3,076
2. Johnny Benson -113
3. David Reutimann - 255
4. Ted Musgrave - 281
5. Rick Crawford - 368
6. Ron Hornaday -411
7. David Starr -432
8. Terry Cook - 495
9. Dennis Setzer -499
10. Mike Bliss - 502
► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1538. Gastonia, NC 28053
NrxiFl CUP SERIES
■ Race: Bank of America 500
■ Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Concord. N.C. (1.5 miles). 334
laps/501 miles.
■ When: Saturday, Oct. 14
■ Last year's winner Jimmie John
son
■ Qualifying record: Elliott Sadler,
Ford, 193.216 mph, Oct. 13,
2005.
■ Race record: Jeff Gordon,
Chevrolet, 160.306 mph, Oct. 11,
1999.
■ Last week: Brian Vickers
wrecked the sport's most popular
driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and his
own teammate, Jimmie Johnson,
on the final lap at Talladega Super
speedway. That’s the way he won
for the first time in his Nextel Cup
career. Asked to describe it, Vick-
WHAT’S UP NEXT
Kyle Petty
Link to the Past
Petty’s not competitive anymore, but he’s a key NASCAR figure
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
Kyle Petty, at age 46, is no longer
one of NASCAR's leading contenders.
The most recent of his eight Cup vic
tories occurred on June 4, 1995, in
Dover, De|., 356 races ago.
Does he remain a significant fig
ure? Most definitely. Petty is a link to
the past because he carries a name
that is synonymous with stock-car
racing as the founding Frances. Kyle
Petty’s grandfather, Lee, competed in
the first major race staged by William
H.G. France, the founder of NASCAR
and grandfather of current chairman
Brian Z. France. Kyle Petty’s father,
Richard, is, by virtue of his 200 victo
ries and seven championships, the
most successful driver in history.
No, Kyle Petty isn’t in the Chase for
the Nextel Cup and likely never will
be. But he’s still out there every week,
trying to bring Petty Enterprises, the
family team, back to some semblance
of the place of honor it once occupied.
So what would Kyle do differently?
“The last 10 races of the season, the
point system has been really good, but
I don’t like it,” he said. “We’ve had ex
citing Chases, but that still doesn’t
mean it’s the best system. I’m not a
big fan of continuing the same points
system in the last 10 races that you
had in the first 26 races.
“I would probably judge those 10
guys off of each other rather than off
the field. The highest finishing guy, if
you win, gets X number of points, and
the second-highest-finishing guy gets
nine, eight, seven, six, or whatever it
may be and the last guy gets at least
one point. They race inside the race
because that's basically what it is.
They race inside our race now. If
you’re going to have a different race
inside the race, why not have a differ
ent point system?”
The Chase, at present, includes at
least the top 10 drivers at the end of
Harvick says the Chase doesn’t change much
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
TALLADEGA, Ala. Kevin
Harvick said it’s a myth that
the dynamics of the Chase have
a notable impact on the final 10
races.
“I know there has been a lot
made of racing guys different
ly,” he said. “I’ve been on that
side of it (i.e., out of the Chase)
the last couple years. No mat
ter what series you’re in, the
last couple races of the year, if
you’re racing the guys who are
racing for the championship,
you give them a little extra
room. When you’re out on the
race track, everybody has
something at stake. Everybody
is trying to win the race, and
everybody is trying to get as
high in the points as they can.
“If you get caught up in all
that, you’re probably putting
more into it than necessary.”
■
An astonishing performance
With five laps to go in the
ers initially used one word: “Excit
ing." Then he anticipated the obvi
ous question: "Yes. I did have
mixed emotions." At one point,
Vickers said, he dropped to the
back, hoping to miss the almost
inevitable multicar crash that al
most always characterizes the
races at this sprawling track. But,
he said, it was too boring back
there. "If we get in a wreck, we get
in a wreck." he said, "and that’s
what we did." "I showed Brian
(Vickers) a couple of moves earlier
in the race I probably shouldn’t
have shown him," said Earnhardt
Jr. Once upon a time, a Talladega
race had 75 lead changes. This
one, contested on brand-new coat
of silky smooth asphalt, had 63.
Twenty-three different drivers led.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Nextel Cup Series No. 45 Victory Junction Dodge
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John Clark/NASCAR This Week
Kyle Petty hasn't won a NASCAR race since 1995, but that doesn't diminish his popularity
or his standing within the sport.
the 26-race regular season. Any other
driver within 400 points of the lead
would also make the field, although
that’s never happened in the three
years of the Chase’s existence. Petty
would be even more inclusive.
“At the end of 26 races, I don’t think
you should knock the hottest driver on
the circuit out, especially a driver
with a huge following,” he said. “We
could have gotten Junior (Dale Earn
hardt Jr.) and Jeff (Gordon) in with a
ANC
Banquet 400 at Kansas Speed
way on Oct. 1, Jimmie Johnson
wanted to pit. When Kasey
Kahne spun, his spotter told
him to stay on the track be
cause a yellow flag might re
sult. It didn’t, so Johnson, who
had been dominating the race,
accelerated back up to speed
and pitted the next lap, after
which NASCAR officials penal
ized him for speeding.
When the race ended, John
son was driving down pit road
the “drive-through” penalty,
as opposed to the window at
McDonald’s at the time Tony
Stewart’s car was taking the
checkered flag.
Somehow, Johnson finished
14 th , on the lead lap.
Asked how this could be pos
sible, Johnson said: “I don’t
have a clue.”
■
Driver changes Scott
Wimmer is out, Todd Bodine in
as driver of Larry McClure’s
SPORTS
BUSCH SERIES
■ Race: Dollar General
300
■ Where: Lowe's Motor
Speedway, Concord. N.C.
(1.5 miles). 200
laps/300 miles.
■ When: Friday, Oct. 13
■ Last year's winner:
Ryan Newman
■ Qualifying record: Jim
mie Johnson, Chevrolet,
187.735 mph. Oct. 14,
2005.
■ Race record Mark
Martin, Ford, 155.799
mph, May 25,1996.
■ Last race Points
leader Kevin Harvick
won the Yellow Trans
portation 300 at Kansas
Speedway, holding off
Matt Kenseth.
No. 4 Chevrolet. Bodine failed
to make the field at Talladega.
Mike Bliss fared better, quali
fying 20 th in the BAM Racing
Dodge after being tapped to re
place Kevin Lepage. Lepage
moved to another team but failed
to make the -Talladega show.
Wimmer’s release was an
nounced last week. Bodine,
who leads the Craftsman Truck
Series standings, will take over
for at least one more race.
“We are sorry to lose Scott,
but at the same time we all have
to do what is best for each of
us,” said McClure. “He is one of
the nicest young men I’ve had
the opportunity to work with,
and we enjoyed having him with
us this year and getting to know
him and his family.”
“We just decided to go differ
ent ways in ’07,” added Wim
mer. “We were working real
hard to put sponsorship togeth
er and get things going in the
right direction, and it just nev
er seemed to materialize."
■
Wood plans lncumbent
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK
■ Race: Kroger 200
■ Where: Martinsville
(Va.) Speedway (1.526
miles), 500 laps/263
miles.
■ When: Saturday, Oct.
21
■ Last year's winner:
Ricky Craven
■ Qualifying record: Rick
Crawford, Ford. 95.966
mph, Oct. 21, 2005.
■ Race record: Jon
Wood, Ford. 72.069
mph, Oct. 18, 2003.
■ Last week: Mark Mar
tin, in a Ford, won for
the fifth time this sea
son, capturing the inau
gural truck race at Tal
ladega Superspeedway.
little bit of a different system (in
2005).
“I’m not saying it’s right or wrong.
On a personal level, I’m not a big fan
of it. Obviously, it’s working because,
for two years in a row, there has been
excitement leading into the last race.
There’s been some hype.... You can’t
say it’s all bad.”
Contact Monte Dutton at
hmduttonso@aol.com
Ken Schrader will split the No.
21 Wood Brothers/JTG Ford
next year with Jon Wood, the
Busch Series regular and son
of co-owner Eddie Wood.
The team will continue to
field one entry at the Nextel
Cup level and two in both the
Busch and Craftsman Truck se
ries. Eddie Wood said the team
would enter a second car in oc
casional Cup races.
Little Debbie will sponsor
Schrader in 18 races, with Ore-
Ida and Delimex combining to
sponsor Jon Wood in the other 18.
Wood will also continue to run
the entire Busch Series schedule
in the team’s No. 47 Ford. His
Busch Series teammate will be
the Australian Marcos Ambrose,
who will replace Stacy Compton
in the team’s No. 59.
■
Martin continues to set
records Mark Martin, by
winning the John Deere 250,
became the only driver to have
won races in Cup, Busch and
Trucks at Talladega. There
could, of course, be no more
THIS WEEK
CHARLOTTE DATA
Coca-Cola 600
Ijtay2B
6*X
All-Star Challenge
May 20
t --Lowe's,
M-TiTi ——- Horn* Improvement Warehouse
Distance: 1.5 mile oval
Length of frontstretch: 1,952 ft
Length of backstretch: 1,360 ft.
Miles/Laps: 600 mi. - 400 laps
m
Banking in
straights
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Bank of America
500 Oct. 14
24 °^W
Banking in
turns 1-4
FEUD OF THE WEEK
V
E
R
S
u
s
Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
vs. Brian Vickers
Vickers, leaving Hendrick Motor
sports at season's end. won his first
race at teammate Johnson's ex
pense. When Vickers’ Chevy tapped
Johnson’s, it also had the purpose of
wrecking both Johnson and leader
Dale Earnhardt Jr. "I can't believe it."
said Johnson. "Here we went all day
long and had a great chance to
make up some points ... and got
crashed by a teammate.”
NASCAR This Week’s Monte
Dutton gives his take: "Wrecking a
teammate and the sport's most pop
ular driver on the last lap won't help
Vickers pick up ground in the most
popular-driver voting.”
f- LEGENDS AND ISrEJ
NASCAR has run a couple
of races across the border
NASCAR’s top series has never
raced in ivjexico, but that doesn’t
mean that what is now known as
Nextel Cup never crossed a border.
Richard Petty made his first start at
Canadian National Exposition Speed
way, a 1/3-mile paved track in Toron
to, on July 18,1958, in a race won
by his father, Lee. The race was run
in what was later known as Exposi
tion Stadium, home for many years
to the Toronto Blue Jays.
That, however, wasn't NASCAR's
first Canadian visit. On July 1,1952,
Buddy Shuman drove a Hudson to
victory at Stamford Park, a half-mile
dirt track, in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
.... fan tips ■
Jeff Gordon’s charity
holding an online auction
The Jeff Gordon Foundation is
holding an online charity auction that
will include various mementos from
Gordon’s career as well as an au
thentic, race-used Budweiser firesuit
used in a race by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The online auction is being hosted by
GoMotorßids.com. an online auction
house. The Jeff Gordon Foundation
benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ri
ley Hospital for Children, Marrow
Foundation in partnership with the
Hendrick Marrow Program and the
Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital at
North East Medical Center. For more
information, visit www.jeffgordonfoun
dation.org.
than one because Talladega
hosted a Craftsman Truck Se
ries race for the first time. In
February, the 47-year-old Mar
tin won the truck race held at
Daytona, a similar track.
■
Getting longer Talladega
is the eighth track of a mile or
longer that has been added to
the truck schedule since 2000.
When the series began in 1995,
it had no races at tracks longer
than a mile.
■
New tour guide The Victo
ry Junction Gang Camp, found
ed by Kyle and Pattie Petty, has
launched a new Web site
(www.victoryjunction.org) that
includes a debut of the camp’s
new mascot, Vic the Horse,
which is used to give “virtual
tours” of the camp. The camp
relies solely on donations to
give children life-changing ex
periences. The cost of having
each child at camp is $2,500,
and no child pays to attend.
Vickers