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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL & __*m j^wBMBB bMM MB JHUH. JBf MB BMkkJBH BM - 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