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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
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- ON THE TUBE -
A// times Eastern
Nextel Cup
Checker Auto Parts wf
500 k. 3 p.m.. Sunday NBC
Busch Series
Arizona Travel 200, SHR
2 p.m., Saturday NBC
agt-Shis— Bsm
Casino Arizona 150, oHAmwa
8 p.m.. Friday
► Think Tony Stewart is making a
personal statement with his
dazzling performance in the
Chase he isn’t in? Though Stew
art isn’t saying it, it goes some
thing like this: “Maybe I can’t
win the championship, but I’m
still the best driver out here."
* Kevin Harvick's Busch Series
victory was his ninth, which
leases him just one shy of Sam
Ard’s all-time record, set in 1983.
► The Craftsman Truck Series
championship race has dissolved
in the past two races. Todd Bod
ine only finished 14th at Texas,
but he stretched his lead from 87
to 137 points ove/ Johnny Ben
son, who finished 31st.
► Stewart still has plenty of in
centive. If he wins the final two
races, he will achieve a career
best for victories in a season.
Stewart won six times in 2000
and has equaled his victory to
tal of 2005. when he won his
second championship.
* Nothing reveals just how domi
nant Stewart was at Texas more
than the fact that his final lap at
Texas was the fastest run by
any driver all day. Stewart pulled
away from Jimmie Johnson by
turning the 339th lap at
187.188 mph.
► Stewart’s victory was the 22nd
of the season for Chevrolet,
matching the modern-era (1972-
present) record for victories by a
manufacturer in a single season.
Chevrolet drivers took the top six
finishing positions at Texas and
have combined to win seven of
the eight Chase races to date.
► Juan Pablo Montoya suggested
that he might wait until next
season to make his Nextel Cup
debut. He had been expected to
debut in the season finale at
Homestead-Miami Speedway,
and it still may happen. An ap
pearance at Homestead would
seem fitting since the area has
a huge Hispanic population.
► Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr.
are scheduled to compete in the
Busch Series race this week at
Phoenix. Both, of course, are In
dianapolis 500 winners. That’s
unprecedented for the Busch
Series.
S NOT "
► Who’s hot
Tony Stew
art has as
many top-five
finishes (15)
as any driver,
yet he can fin
ish no better
than 11th in
points. ...
Stewart
MUIIII3. ...
Jimmie John
son’s had a victory and three
second-place finishes in the
past four weeks.
► Who’s not Jeff Burton
has fallen from first to sev
enth in the Chase in a span of
three races. ... Finishes of
38th and 33rd have ended
Kasey Kahne’s title hopes.
Nextel Cup
1. Jimmie Johnson 6,157
2. Matt Kenseth -17
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -78
4. Denny Hamlin -80
5. Kevin Harvick -105
6. Jeff Gordon -157
7. Jeff Burton -184
8. Kyle Busch - 233
9. Mark Martin - 253
10. Kasey Kahne - 290
Busch Series
1. Kevin Harvick 5,323
2. Carl Edwards -834
3. Clint Bowyer - 935
4. Denny Hamlin - 981
5. JJ. Yeley 1,146
6. Paul Menard -1,470
7. Kyle Busch -1,576
8. Greg Biffle -I>lo
9. Johnny Sauter -1,793
10. Reed Sorenson -1,836
Craftsman Truck Series
1. Todd Bodine 3,406
2. Johnny Benson -137
3. David Reutimann -165
4. Ted Musgrave - 262
9. Rick Crawford - 336
6. Ron Hornaday - 338
7. David Starr - 347
8. Jack Sprague - 379
9. Terry Cook - 401
10. Mike Skinner -420
► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1538, Gastonia, NC 28053
-WH AT'S UP NEXT ]
■ Race: Checker Auto Parts 500 (k)
■ Where: Phoenix International
Raceway, Avondale, Ariz. (1.0
miles), 312 laps/miles.
■ When: Sunday, Nov. 12
■ Last year's winner: Kyle Busch
■ Qualifying record: Ryan New
man. Dodge. 135.854 mph, Nov.
5, 2004.
■ Race record: Tony Stewart. Pon
tiac, 118.132 mph, Nov. 7,1999.
Last week: The Dickies 500 was
delayed by rain by nearly an hour,
took 3 hours, 46 minutes, 11 sec
onds to complete and went into
overtime, but Tony Stewart would
probably have won it had it been
10, or 100, or 1,000, laps. Stew
art’s orange Chevrolet matched
his mood at Texas Motor Speed
way. "It was loose all day long,”
said Stewart, "but it was loose in
Exiting With Class
Two-time former
champion Terry
Labonte retiring
with quiet dignity
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
JUSTIN, Texas Terry Labonte
brought his career to a close in his na
tive state. Even though Labonte and
younger brother Bobby left Corpus
Christi, Texas, in 1978, they have al
ways considered themselves Texans,
right up to the moment Terry selected
Texas Motor Speedway as the site of
his final race.
The first of Labonte’s 22 victories
was the 1980 Southern 500. The Dick
ies 500 was the 848 th race of his ca
reer. He finished in the top five 182
times and led 7,035 laps. No driver in
NASCAR history ever won two cham
pionships with as great a span of
years between them. Labonte drove a
Chevrolet owned by Billy Hagan to
the Winston Cup championship in 1984
and came back in 1996, driving for
Rick Hendrick, to win a second title.
“I really feel like I’ve been awful
fortunate to be able to compete in this
sport for as long as I have and been
able to win a couple of championships
and some races,” said the soft-spoken
Labonte, who turns 50 on Nov. 16. “To
do the things we did were really spe
cial. Now I’m kind of moving on and
doing something else. I’m not sure
what that’s going to be exactly yet.”
Few drivers have ever been as pop
ular among their peers. Most would
consider the rise of Jeff Gordon as the
most important factor in the success
of Hendrick Motorsports, but Hen
drick himself puts just as great a
stake in the hiring of Labonte in 1994.
“He’s the statesman,” said Hen
drick. “He’ll stand up and tell the guys
why this is important. I don’t care if
Fan save Martin says goodbye sort of once again
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
JUSTIN, Texas Mark Mar
tin said the experience of com
peting full time for the final
time has been overwhelming.
“I think the fans have made
it the year of my career,” he
said, “that along with being
able to savor a great opportuni
ty and having a
shot at the
championship,
i making the
,0W ■ Chase one more
J time and the
time I’ve been
Martin with the com
petitors and sa
vor all this time and all this his
tory.”
Though no deal has been fi
nalized, Martin may end up
driving occasional Craftsman
Truck Series races next year
with the Wood Brothers. Pro
vided everything remains as is,
it means Martin would com
pete in 20 Cup races in a
Chevrolet while competing in a
Ford in trucks.
a really, really fast way." The 29th
victory of Tony Stewart’s career
was one that undoubtedly warmed
the hearts of Buddy Baker and
Cale Yarborough and would have
similarly met with the approval of
Dale Earnhardt. Glenn "Fireball"
Roberts, Curtis Turner and Joe
Weatherly were they still around
to see it. Stewart renewed his
membership in the Hard Chargers
Club. Stewart led 278 out of 339
laps. The final lap of the race,
when Stewart might have figured
to be at a disadvantage, was his
fastest. At the time, his Chevrolet
had only two relatively fresh tires,
half as many as the one driven by
fast-closing Jimmie Johnson. The
No. 20 zipped around the 1.5-mile
track at 187.188 mph, and John
son was fast-closing no more.
THE SPOTLIGHT
Terry Labonte
I i
sj/
|
CIA Stock Photo
Terry Labonte gets In a Nextel Cup car for the last time on Sunday in the Dickies 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte, a Texas native, finished his career with 22 victories.
you’re Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt
Jr. or Matt Kenseth. If Terry Labonte
walks up in the room and says some
thing, he doesn’t show up much and he
doesn’t say much, but when he says
something, you know he’s thought
about it and he means it. He’s been re
ally good for our organization.”
Labonte, of course, seemed mildly
embarrassed by all the compliments
that greeted his retirement. In typical
fashion, he deflected attention with
■
Closing the deal lntern
ational Speedway Corporation,
previously involved in a part
nership at Chicagoland Speed
way, has announced an agree
ment that would result in ISC
acquiring an additional 37.5
percent ownership in Raceway
Associates, the track’s owner
ship group.
The $69 million deal would
give ISC 100 percent of Motor
sports Alliance and 75 percent
of Raceway Associates. ISC
will also exercise its right to
purchase the minority part
ners’ 25 percent interest in the
track, with the transactions
likely to close early next year.
■
Not a bad perspective
Dale Earnhardt Jr. twice won
the Busch Series championship
before he moved up to Cup.
Now he owns a team that com
petes regularly in the series.
He’s well-aware of the effect of
SPORTS
■ Race: Arizona Travel 200
■ Where: Phoenix Interna
tional Raceway. Avondale.
Ariz. (1.0 miles), 200
laps/miles.
■ When Saturday. Nov. 11
■ Last year's winner: Carl
Edwards
■ Qualifying record: Kyle
Busch, Chevrolet, 133.819
mph, Nov. 4, 2004.
■ Race record: Jeff Bur
ton, Ford, 115.145 mph,
Nov. 4, 2000.
■ Last week: Kevin Har
vick continued his domi
nation of the series, win
ning for the ninth time
this season in the O’Reilly
Challenge at Texas Motor
Speedway.
Nextel Cup Series
having almost all the races in
that series won by drivers who
also compete regularly in Cup.
“We could spend a lot of time
talking about this,” said Earn
hardt, “but I think you’re al
ready seeing the effect of Cup
drivers running in the series
for that long of a time because
of the effect on the guys who
are ‘Busch Series regulars.’
When I was racing in the Busch
Series, I had great cars, but
there were other guys in the
series that had no Cup re
sources whatsoever who also
had great cars and could com
pete and win.
“I don’t know what you’re
supposed to do about it. How do
you tell a guy he can’t do it,
that he can’t race in the series?
It’s tough.”
■
Back in charge Crew chief
Roy McCauley, suspended for
two races by NASCAR due to a
shock-absorber irregularity at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway, was
back to head Kurt Busch’s
team this week.
[ CRAFTSMAN TRUCK ]
■ Race: Casino Arizona
150
■ Where: Phoenix Interna
tional Raceway. Avondale,
Ariz. (1.0 miles), 150
laps/miles.
■ When: Friday, Nov. 10
■ Last year's winner:
Todd Bodine
■ Qualifying record: Bran
don Whitt, Toyota,
131.200 mph. Nov. 11,
2005.
■ Race record: Kevin Har
vlck, Chevrolet, 108.014
mph, Nov. 8. 2002.
■ Last week: At TMS,
Clint Bowyer drove a
Chevrolet to victory, his
first in the series; in his
third career start.
his understated but pointed sense of
humor.
Referring to his final race, Labonte
said, “Yeah, I think, if I need a caution,
I’m going to throw some roll-bar rub
ber out the window because I figure,
what the heck, they can’t suspend me.
If they fine me, I’m not coming back
anyway, so I don’t have to pay that.”
Contact Monte Dutton at
hmduttonso@aol.com
“It’s been about the toughest
two weeks I’ve ever experi
enced,” said McCauley.
“I’ve really learned that I
don’t make a good absentee
crew chief, armchair quarter
back, or whatever you want to
call it.”
■
Point Earnhardt spoke
glowingly of the Chase, though
he took a devastating hit here.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I
was really critical about hav
ing the Chase and bringing in
that point system, but it’s done
what it’s intended to do. It’s
made the season really excit
ing from start to finish.
“It’s fun to be battling for the
championship with 10 guys and
just feels more prestigious to
me, as far as the way it rolls
out throughout the season and
how we crown a champion with
this system. It’s feels more ex
citing to me.”
■
Counterpoint Terry
Labonte, who won Winston Cup
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER B, 2006 ♦
i
SH Subway Freeh 500 Checker Auto Parts 500 &
April 22 Nov. 12
Distance: 1.0 mile oval
Length of fnmtstrateh: 1,179 ft. Xjm
n ° Length of backstnrtch: 1,551 ft ▼
Miles/Laps: 312 mi.- 312 laps
ftfeafc: M A
Harvlck
FEUD OF THE WEEK
V
E
R
S
U
s
Riggs
Kevin Harvick
vs. Scott Riggs
Contact from behind by Harvick
sent Riggs into the wall hard, and at
the very least, it cost Riggs a top-five
finish. "He was blocking all over the
place, he got loose, I got in the back
of him and spun him out," said Har
vick. A post-race fracas will probably
result in disciplinary action against
one or more of Riggs’ crew mem
bers. *
NASCAR This Week's Monte
Dutton gives his take: "Yet another
frustrating week for Riggs, who drove
a fine race and, for the umpteenth
time, saw it all come to naught in the
final moments."
»
>-UEGENPS ANP LOREr
Kulwicki’s star was bright,
however fleeting
Alan Kulwicki’s entire Cup career
consisted of only 207 races, but he
won five of them and pulled off one
of the more improbable champi
onships in history in 1992. The
sport tost a true champion when Kul
wicki perished at age 38 in a plane
crash on April 1,1993. He won the
first race at Phoenix International
Raceway on Nov. 6, .1988, winning
over Terry Labonte by a whopping
18.5 seconds.
f* LETTERS-FROM OURfIEAOERS*
Vickers’ win at Talladega
lights a fire under some
I was very disappointed ... at Tal
ladega. (Brian) Vickers should have
not won that race the way he did. ...
Me and four old ladies get together
at my house every race day. ... Jeff
Gordon said (Earnhardt) Jr. bumps
hard. He should talk. We saw him do
it when he took car 17 (Matt
Kenseth) out by driving the same
way. I don’t care for a crybaby. ...
(Mark Martin) is a good man and will
be missed by us.
Clara Sanders
Lindsay, Calif.
Thanks for taking the time to
write, and we hope you and your
friends continue to enjoy watching
the races on TV.
championships in 1984 and
1996, took the opposite stance.
“You’ve really taken a lot of
advantage away from some
guy who’s really had a tremen
dous beginning of the season,
and now he can face losing the
championship with just a cou
ple of bad races,” he said.
“Then a guy can win the cham
pionship by just slipping in the
top 10, never won a race, and
he can still never win a race
and win the championship.”
Owner Rick Hendrick
agreed.
“I’m not a big fan of the
Chase,” he said. “I never have
been. I don’t know that it’s a
real clear-cut indication of who
the best team was all year long.
“It’s good for the sport. It’s
good for TV. It’s good for the
fans if everybody likes it, but I
think they ought to pay more
points to win because I think
that’s what it’s all about. A guy
who wins four or five races, or
two in the Chase, ought to have
a pretty good spread.”
Contact Monte Dutton
at hmduttonso@aol.com
3B