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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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ON THE TUBE-
All times Eastern
Naxtetcup irmyt
Batman Begins 400,
1:30 p.m.. Sunday
Butch Series 13415 Y
Meijer 300,
7:30 p.m.. Saturday
Truck Sertes J99Ef
Paramount Health
insurance 200,
3 p.m., Saturday
•BURNING ISSUES ‘
► One of the fascinating ques
tions lingering in the aftermath
of the Pocono 500 is why some
drivers had repeated tire prob
lems and others the ones
who finished up front didn't.
► No one was more frustrated af
ter the race than crew chief
Michael McSwain, whose driver,
Ricky Rudd, suffered five
blowouts during the race, all on
the left-front tire. McSwain said
each tire was carrying a differ
ent air pressure and disputed
the notion that the chassis set
up contributed to the failures.
► All three of the legitimate pass
es for the lead ln other
words, by one car passing an
other at full speed were exe
cuted by race winner Carl Ed
wards. whose Ford passed Brian
Vickers' Chevy each time.
► NASCAR officials reviewed the
outcome and changed positions
five through seven, 10 and 11.
At issue was whether last-lap
passes occurred before or after
the yellow flag waved.
► Edwards couldn't have been
more complimentary of second
place finisher Vickers. "He
raced in a lot more respectful
manner than I probably would
have," said Edwards, "and that
probably brought out the best in
both of us."
► Now Dale Earhhardt Jr. really
has his back to the wall. He's
504 points behind leader Jim
mie Johnson, with only 12 more
races left in the regular season.
He trails lOth-place Tony Stew
art by 124.
► Edwards finds himself fourth in
the points, having picked up five
places with his victory. Stewart
fell five positions.
► For the first time all year, Earn
hardt Jr.'s teammate, Michael
Waltrip, is ahead in the points.
Waltrip is 15th and Earnhardt
tied for 16th with Jeff Burton.
► Only 12 drivers are now within
400 points of first place,
meaning that it's highly unlikely
the year-end 'Chase' will con
sist of more than 10 folks.
TOP XO IN POINTS
Nextel Cup
3. Jimmie Johnson 2,062
2. Greg Biffle 123
3. Elliott Sadler -281
4. Carl Edwards - 303
3. Mark Martin - 328
3. Ryan Newman - 329
7. Kevin Harvick • 347
8. Rusty Wallace _ - 348
9. Jeff Gordon - 362
10. Tony Stewart - 380
Busch Series
1. Reed Sorenson 2,026
2. Martin Truex Jr. -51
Clint Bowyer - 51
4. Carl Edwards -96
3. Kenny Wallace -156
8. Ashton Lewis - 240
7. Denny Hamlin - 262
8. David Stremme -284
9. Greg Biffle - 340
Isl. Jason Keller -348
Craftsman Truck Series
3l Ted Musgrave 1,321
2. Ricky Craven -17
3. Bobby Hamilton -62
4. Ron Hornaday -66
5. Dennis Setzer -87
6. Jimmy Spencer
7. Matt Crafton -143
8. Terry Cook ■ 168
9. Johnny Benson -193
Isl. Jack Sprague - 202
f ANDVVHO’SHOT*
► Who’s hot Rookie Kyle
Busch has three top-five finish
es in the past four races. ...
Mark Martin has improved from
12th to fifth in the points stand
ings in the past two races.
Stewart
► Who’s not
Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
and Tony
Stewart
were two of
the many
drivers who
had trouble
with left
front tire
blowouts. Stewart lost five
spots in the points standings,
falling from fifth to 10th.
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► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1893, Gastonia, NC 28053
NE>^^^CU^SERIES
Race: Batman Begins 400
Where: Michigan Internation
al Raceway, Brooklyn (2.0
ryiles), 200 laps/400 miles.
When: Sunday, June 19
Last year's winner: Ryan
Newman
Qualifying record: Dale Earn
hardt Jr., Chevrolet, 191.149
mph, Aug. 18, 2000.
Race record: Dale Jarrett,
Ford, 173.997 mph, June 13,
1999.
Last week: Carl Edwards al
ready proved he could win.
But not at a track he'd never
even seen. Not at a track
that was completely unlike
anything he had ever raced
on. Rational rules obviously
don't apply here. Racing for
HAT’S UP INI I
Carl Edwards
Picking Up Steam
Edwards says win at
Pocono bigger than
his first career victory
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
LONG POND, Pa. - To Carl Ed
wards, the victory in the Pocono 500
was even more significant than his
first Nextel Cup win at Atlanta Motor
Speedway earlier in the season.
“That was just an extremely emo
tional win for me because, after our
win at Atlanta, everything was on
such a high,” said Edwards. “We had a
couple bad weeks there, and I felt
like, as a team, it really made us
stronger. We got to look at what our
weaknesses were. Jack (Roush, his
owner) and Bob (Osborne, his crew
chief) and everyone helped me with
not running into so many things and
just being patient. I’m starting to get
the feel for how these 400- and 500-
mile races progress. To get a win like
this at a time when we really need it in
the points, it means the world to me.
It's an awesome win.”
Osborne agreed.
“Winning the second race, every
body says that, a lot of times, that’s
the hardest one," he said. “Some peo
ple will say you win the first one, and
that’s beginner’s luck or something
like that. You win the second one and
get through the second one, then it’s
no-holds-barred at that point. It’s time
to win and keep winning.”
Edwards, who is from Columbia,
Mo., and was making only his 27 th Cup
start, edged Jimmie Johnson in a side
by-side finish at Atlanta on March 20.
The second victory was less spectacu
lar as Edwards seized the advantage
over another young driver, Brian
Vickers, in the closing stages at
Pocono Raceway.
“Maybe from your perspective, the
Atlanta one was more heart-pouqding,
but for me as a driver, being able to
run second chasing a guy for the win
is way, way easier than being the guy
in front,” Edwards said. “It takes a
different level of confidence. It takes
a different style of driving to go out
there and start a race in the lead and
hang on. I really enjoy picking people
apart and following them and trying
to beat them at the end. That’s some
thing I find really fun. I really am
learning to like being on the other side
of it, but it takes a different style of
racing.
“So, for me, this one was way more
heart-pounding. I think this is some-
Ford to be Leffler’s crew chief; Racing pioneer Carrier dies
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
LONG POND, Pa. - Mike
Ford, who not too long ago was
Dale Jarrett’s crew chief, has
resurfaced at Joe Gibbs Racing
to help shore up the efforts of
Jason Leffler and the No. 11
FedEx Chevy.
Ford replaces Dave Rogers,
who will remain with the or
ganization in another capacity.
“Despite the best efforts of
everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,
the performance of the No. 11
team wasn’t where it needed to
be,” said team president J.D.
Gibbs. “There is still a lot of
the first time at Pocono
Raceway. Edwards, the 25-
year-old from Columbia. Mo.,
outran another young driver.
21-year-old Brian Vickers, to
claim his second victory in
27 career Nextel Cup starts.
Edwards' victory was the sev
enth for a Ford driver (to six
for Chevrolet this season),
but Chevy still leads the man
ufacturer points standings,
100-99.
IN THE SPOTUGHT
Nextel Cup Series No. 99 Roundup Ford
I
ft T* * 1
John Clark/NASCAR This Week
Carl Edwards is currently fourth in the Nextel Cup points race after winning in Pocono last
weekend. Edwards is in his second season as a driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit.
thing I needed in my career. I needed
to win a race like this.”
Technically, Edwards isn’t a rookie,
having run the final 13 races of 2004.
But his victory at Pocono occurred on
his first visit to the 2.5-mile track,
which he never saw before Friday.
“I consider myself a rookie at any
racetrack that I haven’t gone to, and
then overall, I feel like I’m just get
ting my legs underneath me at this
newness with that operation,
and the experienced leadership
of Mike Ford as crew chief will
be invaluable as we shape the
‘ll’ into a race-winning team.”
Ford’s first crew-chief posi
tion was with Bill Elliott in
2000. In four years together the
duo logged four wins, including
the Brickyard 400 in 2002. Ford
moved to Robert Yates Racing
in 2004, where he served as
Dale Jarrett’s crew chief
through the first 11 races of
this season.
■
Carrier’s loss Larry Carrier,
SPORTS
busch semes
Race: Meijer 300
Where: Kentucky Speedway,
Sparta (1.5 miles). 200
laps/300 miles.
When: Saturday, June 18
Last year's winner: Kyle
Busch
Qualifying record: Martin
Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 180.102
mph, June 18, 2004.
Race record: Bobby Hamil
ton Jr., Ford, 136.123 mph.
June 14. 2003.
Last week: flint Bowyer, in a
Chevrolet, won at Nashville
Superspeedway in Gladeville,
Tenn.
who built Bristol Motor Speedway
in 1961 and later founded the Inter
national Hot Rod Association, died
on June 7.
Carrier sold the .533-mile
oval but eventually reacquired
it. He sold both the speedway
and adjoining drag strip to
Bruton Smith in 1996.
■
Denial - Richie Gilmore,
director of motorsports at
Dale Earnhardt Inc., strongly
disputed rumors that million
aire businessman John
-^gAFTSMANTgUCK
Race: Paramount Health In
surance 200
Where: Michigan Internation
al Speedway, Brooklyn (2.0
miles), 100 laps/200 miles.
When: Saturday. June 18
Last year's winner: Travis
Kvapil
Qualifying record: Jamie Mc-
Murray, Chevrolet. 177.414
mph, 2000.
Race record: Robert Press
ley, Dodge, 142.208 mph,
July 27, 2002.
Last week: Jack Sprague, in
a Chevrolet, won at Texas
Motor Speedway in Justin,
Texas.
level of the sport,” he said. “We’ve got
enough experience now that we
should be able to run well, but I still
feel like a raw rookie at places like
this. When we show up, these guys
have a huge advantage. It’s hard to un
load and be able to run with guys that
have this much experience.”
Contact Monte Dutton at
hmduttonso@aol.com
Menard is attempting to buy
the team.
Talk of a potential sale was
prevalent in the garage area at
Pocono Raceway, where sever
al drivers and owners from
other teams confirmed that
they had heard the rumor.
“There is no truth to it at
all," he said. “John (Menard) is
a great sponsor of ours, but
that’s all it is. Over the years,
many ‘players’ have tried to
buy DEI. We’ve been contacted
by owners of NFL and NBA
teams about it.
“Teresa (Earnhardt) has no
interest.”
Menard’s son Paul drives a
MICHIGAN DATA
O Michigan 400 GFS Marketplace 400
June 19 Aug. 21
|
speedway. m
Distance: ....2 mile oval
Length of frontstretch: 3,600 ft.
Length of backstretch: 2,242 ft.
1 Mltes/Ups: 400 mi.-200 laps I
FEUD OF THE WEEK
.bf*wP • ■■ Wk
Kyle
Petty
Kyle Patty vs.
Brendan Gaughan
Petty was angry at Gaughan, the
Craftsman Truck Series regular who
was at Pocono to relieve injured Mike
Bliss, after the two were involved in
an early Pocono crash. "There's a
truck driver driving one of those cars
out there, and he ran all over the
back of me and spun me around. I
ran into the back of Jason (Leffler).
Jason wouldn't be out of the race If I
hadn't been out of the race. That guy
should have stayed in Texas, I think."
Gaughan came to Pocono after com
peting in a truck race at Texas Motor
Speedway.
NASCAR This Week's Monte
Dutton gives his take: "It's not like
Gaughan is some raw rookie. He
competed in the Nextel Cup Series in
2004. When Leffler had a tire prob
lem, other drivers slowed behind
him. Petty slowed down faster than
Gaughan ... obviously."
LEGENDS AND LORE
Burks won tho only raco
ho ovor entered
Marvin Burke won the only major
NASCAR race in which he competed.
It was a 250-miler at Oakland (Calif.)
Stadium in 1951. Driving a Mercury
owned by Bob Phillippi, Burke led
156 out of 400 laps and earned
$1,875.
Gordon's first win came in
NASCAR’s longest raco
Jeff Gordon's first Cup victory was
in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600. In fact,
Gordon, who had gone winless during
his rookie season, signaled future
superstardom with victories in two of
NASCAR's premier events that year.
He followed up his 600 victory with a
win at Indianapolis in the Brickyard
400. The following year he won the
first of four championships to date.
• YOUR TURN H
, LETTERS FROM OUR READERS "1
No surprise that Lowe’s
cars win in Charlotte
I've got a couple of 'burning issues'
of my own! First, it came as no sur
prise that a couple of Lowe's-spon
sored cars were in victory lane at
Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Last but definitely not least is the
hypocritical racing style of Jeff Gor
don and the Hendrick Motorsports
team at Dover. It looked to me that
Tony Stewart gave Jeff a taste of his
own medicine, and it was a pill that
was difficult for Jeff to swallow.
Hey NASCAR, I've got an idea!
Let’s have a race in Lu'ckenbach,
Tex., with Willie, Wayion and the
boys!
Brian Huckeby
Chesterfield, Ind.
Vou covered a lot of ground in a
little space. Thanks for writing!
DEI Chevy in the Busch Series.
■
Ulterior motive Daytona
officials have announced they
are moving the annual Rolex 24
endurance race back from the
first weekend in February to
the last weekend in January,
beginning next year. Ostensi
bly the purpose is to place the
race on the weekend between
NFL conference finals and Su
per Bowl, but there may be an
ulterior motive. NASCAR test
ing may be moved to occupy
the week formerly occupied by
the sports-car race.
Present this Coupon for
10% off
In Store Merchandise
Sports Fanatic Plus
1240 S. Houston Lake Rd.
Warner Robins, GA 988-3686
Don'Uust Be AFariJE A FANATO
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2005 ♦
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.
s
is*
V
E
R
S
U
S
Brendan
Gaughan
1924?
3B
•£772