Newspaper Page Text
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FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2005
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AH times Eastern
H»rW Cup (MpM
Pocono 500,
1 p.m., Sunday
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Federated Auto Parts
300,7:30 p.m..
Saturday
Truck Serie* MBBSt
Chex 400 k, f,7fg&{
9 p.m.. Friday
► Through 13 races, there have
been 146 caution periods. Last
season, at the same point,
there had been 102.
► Jeff Gordon said the next time
Tony Stewart holds him up,
Stewart Is going into the wall.
Stewart said he doesn't hold
people up when his car isn’t
fast enough.
►While criticizing Gordon, Jimmie
Johnson and Ryan Newman for
blocking tactics, Stewart praised
Mark Martin, of whom he said,
"The best thing that could hap
pen to NASCAR racing Is for
Mark Martin to give a seminar
on ‘give and take,' because it
didn't used to be like this."
► Martin returned the favor, say
ing, "Tony Stewart ought to hold
court and teach some of these
young guys how to give the older
guys that have been there the
respect they have coming."
► Greg Biffle is obviously the
biggest beneficiary of offseason
rules changes that have made
the cars "looser" and more diffi
cult to drive. The driver who's
had the toughest time adjust
ing? Could be Dale Earnhardt Jr.
► Warm temperatures could have
had a little to do with the heat
being raised between drivers.
The frustration of chasing Biffle
was probably a factor, too.
"Well, it's the first hot day we've
had in a long time and it was
definitely real hot inside the
car," said Matt Kenseth.
► Another feud has arisen be
tween Dale Jarrett and Carl Ed
wards. Edwards remained upset
that Jarrett refused to accept
his apology for an incident in
the Coca-Cola 600 and said, "I
couldn't care less whether he's
upset or not right now."
► Kyle Busch has now finished
second twice, which makes him
heir apparent in the waiting list
for first-time winners.
► Only Biffle is within 100 points
of Jimmie Johnson's points
lead. A mere three are within
300, and only 12 are within
400.
- - 4
Nextel Cup
1 Jimmie Johnson 1,912
2. Greg Biffle -46
». Elliott Sadler -231
4. Ryan Newman - 240
8. Tony Stewart - 306
». Mark Martin -324
7. Rusty Wallace ~ -328
5. Kurt Busch ~333
9. Carl Edwards - 338
38. Kevin Harvick 339
Busch Series
1. Carl Edwards 1,930
2. Reed Sorenson -74
3. Martin Truex Jr. -120,
4. Clint Bowyer ■ 140
8. Kenny Wallace - 230
6. Ashton Lewis - 232
7. Greg Biffle -244
8. Denny Hamlin - 312
fa. David Stremme -338
10. Jason Keller - 382
Craftsman Truck Series
X. Ted Musgrave 1,200
2. Ricky Craven -20
3. Bobby Hamilton -53
4. Ron Hornaday -100
3. Jimmy Spencer -116
6. Dennis Setzer -136
7. MattCrafton 182
18. Terry Cook ■ 193
9. David Starr - 223
30. Johnny Benson - 242
fIIPPiPwV 7 ■
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y
► Who's hot
Greg Bif
fle is the
season's
only four
time winner.
Kyle
Busch has
scored four
top-five fin
ishes in his
Biffle
past six races in NASCAR’s
three major touring series.
► Who's not Jeff Gordon
dropped six positions, from
fifth to 11th, in the Nextel Cup
points standings.... Jamie Mc-
Murray fell from ninth to 13th.
Sports Fanatic Plus
Lochlyn Plaza
1240 S. Houston Lake Rd.
Warner Robins, GA
478.988.3686
► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1893, Gastonia, NC 28053
a t r- 1. « «Jr- r sv
Race: Pocono 500
Where: Pocono Raceway,
Long Pond. Pa. (2.5 miles),
200 laps/50 Omiles.
When: Sunday, June 12
Last year’s winner: Jimmie
Johnson
Qualifying record Kasey
Kahne. Dodge, 172.533
mph, June 11, 2004.
Race record Tony Stewart,
Pontiac, 118.132 mph, Nov.
7,1999.
Last week: All season long.
Greg Biffle has been "the
man." At Dover he got even
"manlier." Biffle, in a Ford,
led 150 of the last 160 laps,
although he only regained the
edge with 16 to go. In the re
\VM AT t* k It' OJt V T
Ryan Newman
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Hello, Newman
NASCAR's top qualifier finally finding consistency on race day
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
DOVER, Del. For a man who has
n’t won a race yet, Ryan Newman’s
season has gone remarkably well.
“We’re fourth in points now,” said
the 27-year-old. “The last three races
have been good for us as far as results
and finishes. We’re just going to try to
carry that on. We always do. It’s just a
matter of getting it done.”
Newman has already earned a repu
tation as one of the finer qualifiers in
NASCAR history. In 129 NASCAR
races, Newman has already started
out front 31 times, but that doesn’t re
ally tell the whole story. Before 12 of
those races, qualifying was rained out,
so Newman’s 31 poles have actually
occurred in only 117 tries.
Martin says 15-year-old Logana is the ‘next big thing’
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
DOVER, Del. Mark Martin
said he knows who is going to
be the next superstar in
NASCAR.
Well, maybe not the next one.
The young man Martin was
talking about, Joey Logano of
Alpharetta, Ga., is 15 years old.
On a rainy Friday morning at
Dover International Speedway,
Martin raved about Logano’s
talent, despite the fact that he
won’t be eligible to race in one
of NASCAR’s touring series un
til he is 18.
“I’m telling you,” said Martin
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maining laps, he boosted his
margin over Kyle Busch, the
20-year-old brother of reign
ing Cup champion Kurt, to
4.281 seconds. It was Bif
fle's fourth victory of the sea
son and solidified his sec
ond-place position, behind
Jimmie Johnson, in the
points standings. Kyle Busch
took second in a Chevy, fol
lowed by Mark Martin in a
Ford, Johnson in a Chevy and
Rusty Wallace in a Dodge.
Drivers representing either
the Roush or Hendrick teams
took the top four spots and
seven of the top nine.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Nextel Cup Series
Newman is no slouch on race day ei
ther, of course, having collected 11
victories since he debuted on Nov. 5,
2000, at Phoenix International Race
way.
“I won’t say we’ve got a handle of
everything,” Newman said. “I think
we’ve got a handle on a lot of things
we didn’t have a handle on before.
We’ve got a good string of races com
ing up that we’ve always performed
well at.
“This is usually the point in the sea
son, for whatever reason, that our
candle is lit. We’ll have to see if it hap
pens again this year. It’d definitely be
nice if it does. At Michigan, we’re usu
ally really strong in June.”
Newman is pleased with his recent
performances but knows he is far
from nailing down a spot in the sea
of Logana, “he can do it. I know
what I’m talking about.... lam
100 percent sure, without a
doubt, that he can be one of the
greatest ever to race in
NASCAR. It doesn’t matter
what they race, the first time
they go, he turns it into a top
five car.”
Logano recently debuted in
the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Se
ries at a race in Jennerstown,
Pa. In that event, a pit-road
mixup left Logano a lap behind
at the start of the race, but he
passed the entire field to get
back on the lead lap. Eventual
ly, working his way back
through the field again, he be-
SPORTS
«VUV.,H
Race: Federated Auto Parts
300
Where: Nashville Super
speedway. Gladeville, Tenn.
(1.333 miles). 225
laps/299.925 miles.
When: Saturday, June 11
Last year's winner: Jason
Leffler
Qualifying record: Martin
Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 166.515
mph. 2004.
Race record Reed Soren
son, Dodge, 124.436 mph,
March 26.2005.
Last week: Martin Truex Jr.,
in a Chevrolet, won the
MBNA 200 at Dover, Del.
Andrea Kjerrumgaard/NASCAR This Week
[ NUTS AND eOLTG^
came involved in a crash that
relegated him to a 27 th -place
showing.
B
Rumors of my demise ...
Hermie Sadler took exception
to a report on a Web site claim
ing that his departure was im
minent at Peak Performance
Motorsports, so much so that he
responded via his own Web site.
“First of all,” he wrote, “I am
committed to staying with the
... team for the entire 2005 sea
son and am hopeful that rela-
Race: Chex 400 k
Where: Texas Motor Speed
way, Justin (1.5 mile). 167
laps/250.5 miles.
When: Friday, June 10
Last year's winner: Dennis
Setzer
Qualifying record: Mike Skin
ner, Toyota, 182.174 mph,
June 10,2004.
Race record: Brendan
Gaughan. Dodge, 140.621
mph, June 6, 2003.
Last race: Kyle Busch, in a
Chevrolet, won the MBNA
200 at Dover, Del.
No. 12 Alltel Dodge
Ryan Newman,
left, and crew
chief Matt
Borland have
found a
successful
formula this
season.’
Although
Newman has
yet to win a
race, he’s
fourth in the
points standings.
son-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup.
“It feels good,” he said, “but if you
look at the big picture, we came from
seventh to fourth in one race, so we
could very easily go from fourth back
to seventh or eighth in one race. We
have to continue on. If we were sitting
fourth and there was 400 points back
to fifth, it would be different.
“We just have to keep our nose to
the grindstone. Our goal every week
is to come out and win the race or get
a top five.... That’s the tough part, ac
tually doing it. It makes me know
we’re capable of doing it. It’s very im
portant to us to be able to get that part
done. That’s making or breaking the
season, that 26th race.”
Contact Monte Dutton
at hmduttonso@aol.com
tionship lasts beyond that.
While we are disappointed with
our performances so far this
season, we are working togeth
er as a team to improve. Al
though we have a way to go, we
are steadily making progress.
“It concerns me that a Web
site would post a rumor that
could be fatal to an upstart
team such as ours without con
sulting ... the team owner, pub
lic-relations representative or
the driver. Not only do we have
employees that may be affect
ed, but this can also be detri
mental to our hunt for addition
al sponsorship, which is vital to
the growth of our team.”
_
fB Pocono 500 Pennsytvanla 500 w
fwggL jUngthof frontstretch: 3,740 ft fwjjC]
Length of backstretch: 3,055 ft s
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Tony
Stewart
Tony Stewart
vs. Jeff Gordon
Gordon vowed revenge after a tap
from Stewart's Chevy sent his into
the wall on the 41st lap. He admit
ted, however, that he had been hold
ing Stewart up. Stewart said he did
n't mean to get into Gordon, but
added basically that Gordon thought
he owned the track.
NASCAR This Week'B Monte
Dutton gives his take: “These are
two great drivers. One of them, Stew
art, hasn’t won yet. Perhaps the
tracks aren’t big enough for the both
of them.”
Patrick’s success raises
bar for women in NASCAR
Danica Patrick's success in the
Indianapolis 500 has focused atten
tion on opportunities for women in
NASCAR. Owner Ray Evernham has
high hopes for Erin Crocker and
plans to put her in five Busch Series
races later this year. "What we hope
to do with Erin and hopefully
some girls that will follow her is to
put them in the right situations. ... I
believe that Erin Crocker has the tal
ent to be a superstar in NASCAR. If
we do the right things and find the
right sponsorships, you will see her
make a big name for herself and
have a big impact on this sport."
t I f,( NO', ANIJ I (JRI
Roper won NASCAR’s first
race but never won again
Jim Roper, of Great Bend, Kan.,
won the first race in what eventually
became the Nextel Cup Series, at
Charlotte Speedway on June 19,
1949, but it wasn't Roper who took
the checkered flag. The apparent
winner, Glenn Dunnaway, was dis
qualified. Bob Flock started the race
on the pole, and NASCAR’s first
woman driver, Sara Christian, fin
ished 14th. Roper never won another
race and only competed in one more.
' VO IJ K TURN ;
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS
There’s just no place for
Pam Anderson in NASCAR
I know that NASCAR is a man's
sport, but children watch, too. I was
amazed at Pamela Anderson (grand
marshal for the Nextel All-Star Chal
lenge) parading around dressed in
that fashion. The guys I know en
joyed it, but it wasn't right for a fami
ly event. I also know that I won’t
watch NASCAR if this sort of thing
happens again. She is an exhibition
ist... this was not the place to do it
in front of families.
Thelma McCaslin
Salina, Kan.
Editor's note: How exactly do beer
and liquor sponsorships, Viagra ads
and overpriced tickets fit into the
"family sport"?
That old Waltrip spirit The
National Motorsports Press As
sociation announced that
Michael and Buffy Waltrip had
been named first-quarter nomi
nees for the NMPA/Pocono
Spirit Award. The Waltrips
were honored for Operation
Marathon, a fundraiser that
raised more than $1 million for
the Victory Junction Gang
Camp in Randleman, N.C.
Michael Waltrip ran in the Las
Vegas Marathon in conjunction
with the project. Wife Buffy
competed in a half-marathon
on the same weekend.
Present this Coupon for
10% off
In Store Merchandise
Sports Fanatic Plus
1240 S. Houston Lake Rd.
Warner Robins,GA 988-3686
- -Rpn'Uysi
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
V
E
R
S
U
s
Jeff
Gordon
eAn i
Dixie
Communications
NEXTEL
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
202 C Highway 49 N„
Byron, GA
Phone:47B-956-6052
Fax:47B-956-6216
WIN 2
WEEKEND PASSES
TO THE RACE
IN DAYTONA
To prospective and
current Nextel customers:
You can win 2
completely FREE
weekend passes/tickets.
You will receive passes to
the qualifying, the
truck race, and the race
on Sat. July 3. The
drawing will be held June
25, 2005. The race is the
weekend of July 4.
There are 2 ways to win.
STEPS TO ENTER:
1. Refer a customer to
Dixie Communications to
purchase a Nextel phone.
If they activate a new line
of service anytime between
May 1 and June 25, your
name will be entered into
the drawing.
2. Activate a new line of
Nextel service anytime
between May 1 and June 25
at Dixie Communications,
your name will be entered
once for every activation.
Nextel’s coverage area is
growing very quickly and
your family and business
will benefit from
having Nextel. Listed
below are the nine new
towers and their
anticipated turn on dates
going up in and around
our area to enhance the
Nextel coverage in the
next few months.
•Kathleen 5/2/05
•Eatonton 5/16/05
•Lizella 6/8/05
•Cochran 6/9/05
•Hawkinsville 6/16/05
•Marshallville 6/26/05
•Andersonville 7/27/05
•Eastman 7/28/05
•Juliette 10/6/05
The drawing for the free
passes to each event
(Thursday- qualifying,
Friday- truck race,
Saturday-400 Race) will
be June 25. With every
activation you will also
receive a free car charger
and belt clip compliments
of Dixie Communications.
Winner seats are in the
Nextel Tower front row
beside the start/finish
flagman.
HHB