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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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ON THE TUBE
AW t/mes Eastern
WmW Cup
Dodge/SaveMart 350.
2:30 p.m., Sunday
BuscJiSeria*
SBC 250,
8:30 p.m., Saturday
Thick Sari—
Milwaukee 200,
9 p.m., Friday
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► What had been the domination
of two teams Roush and Hen
drick seems to be down to
one. Roush Fords have won
three in a row.
► Fords Roush Fords, in fact
have won eight of the sea
son's 15 races, and Ford, al
most solely on the strength of
Jack Roush's team, has wrested
the manufacturer points lead
away from Chevrolet.
► Tony Stewart has now led the
most laps three times without
managing to win. Greg Biffle has
led by far the most laps, 953
this season, but Biffle is the
season's biggest winner with
five victories.
► Owner Chip Ganassi raised a
few eyebrows when he ex
pressed hope that lame-duck
driver Sterling Marlin would be
come "an ambassador" for his
team and sign a personal-servic
es contract. Marlin has no inten
tion of retiring and is actively
seeking employment elsewhere.
► An obviously uninformed Darrell
Waltrip suggested to TV viewers
of the Batman Begins 400 that
Marlin had decided to retire at
the end of the season. Fox's
other analyst, Larry Mcßeynolds,
tried to correct Waltrip's gaffe,
but the damage had already
been done.
► Carl Edwards' triumphant sea
son continued with a Busch Se
ries victory in Kentucky and a
fifth-place finish in Michigan.
► Roush's Fords finished in four
of the top five positions. At the
previous visit to Michigan, in Au
gust 2004, Roush Fords took
five of the top 10 spots.
► Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished
17th and dropped to 17th in the
Nextel Cup points standings.
Earnhardt's qualifying woes con
tinued. He has qualified no bet
ter than 11th this year, although
he started fifth in the Daytona
500, thanks to the fact that
150-mile qualifying races play a
major role in setting the field for
that event.
TOP IQ IN POINTS ;
Nextel Cup
< 1. 1 ifelmie Johnson 2,173
2. Greg Biffle -49
3. Elliott Sadler -250
4. Carl Edwards - 259
8. Mark Martin - 269
6. Tony Stewart - 311
7. Ryan Newman -317
8. Rusty Wallace -325
8. Kurt Busch - 360
10. Kevin Harvick - 370
Busch Series
5. Reed Sorenson 2,186
2. Martin Truex Jr. -36
3. Clint Bowyer -41
4. Cart Edwards -66
8. Kenny Wallace -195
8. Denny Hamlin - 304
7. Ashton Lewis - 312
8. David Stremme - 377
9. Greg Biffle - 422
10. Jason Keller - 433
Craftsman Truck Series
1. Bobby Hamilton 1,429
2. Dennis Setzer - 5
3. Ted Musgrave -24
4. Ricky Craven -56
5. Ron Hornaday -101
8. Jimmy Spencer -119
7. Terry Cook -147
8. Matt Crafton -154
9. Jack Sprague -176
10. David Starr -187
E WHO’S HOT
AND WHO'S NOT ,
► Who's hot Mark Martin
has scored three straight top
-10 finishes.... Michael Waltrip
and Joe Nemechek have two
in a row.
Gordon
► Who's not
Jeff Gor
don has fin
ished out
side the top
30 in four of
the past five
races and is
12th in
points.
Dale Earn-
hardt Jr. has finished outside
the top 10 in five straight.
THE MOST r
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STREET AS A RACETRACK. Obey the law. and read your owner's manual thoroughly. For rider training information or to locate a rider-training course near you. call the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at ■
I-800-446-9227. Rearview mirrors are standard equipment. VTX and Performance First are trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (MM/YY)
► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1893, Gastonia, NC 28053
NEXTEL CUP SERIES
Race: Dodge/SaveMart 350
Where Infineon Raceway,
Sonoma. Calif. (1.99 miles),
110 laps/218.9 miles.
When: Sunday, June 26
Last year's winner Jeff Gor
don
Qualifying record: Jeff Gor
don, Chevrolet. 94.303 mph,
June 25,2004.
Race record: Ricky Rudd,
Ford, 81.007 mph, June 23.
2001.
Last week Greg Biffle isn’t
the only driver out there. It
only appears that way. As in
credible as it seems, Biffle
won for the fifth time this
season at Michigan Interna
tional Speedway in a race
known as the Batman Begins
-
.
2
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Ricky Rudd
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John Clark/NASCAR This Week
Ricky Rudd checks under the back end of his No. 21 Ford before hitting the track at Daytona earlier this season.
Hit and Miss
Rudd finding success elusive in latter stages of his remarkable career
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
BROOKLYN, Mich. - It’s not the
best of times for veteran drivers, and
Ricky Rudd, a winner of 23 Cup races
dating back to 1983, is no exception.
Rudd, 48, has only a pair of top-10
finishes to show for the season to
date. Rudd, who drives the No. 21
Ford of the Wood Brothers, ranks
33 rd in the Nextel Cup points stand
ings but hopes to improve signifi
cantly during the season’s remaining
21 races.
One highlight stems from the
longevity of Rudd’s career. He has
been competing in Cup races since
1975, and his most recent race, at
Michigan International Speedway,
was his 57 th at the two-mile track.
He has competed in more Michigan
races than any driver in the track’s
history.
“This has been a fun track to come
to over the years,” he said. “I remem
ber the first time I sailed in here,
about 1977 and, to me, it was just a
nice, big sweeping racetrack that you
could have fun on and pass on. I’ve al
ways done fairly well here. We’ve got
a win in the past (1993) and a lot of
Mayfield passes along his definition of what a real racer is
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
BROOKLYN, Mich. - Some
one asked Jeremy Mayfield to
define the term “racer.”
“A racer isn't worried about
his souvenir sales,” said May
field. “You’ve got to have that.
“That’s part of the deal, but a
racer is one who is involved in
the car, involved in the setup,
knowing what he’s got, under
stands how everything works
and that’s all he cares about:
getting in that car and winning
races, not off the track. It’s not
a dig against anybody. You see
some guys in the sport and
400. Biffle. from Vancouver,
Wash., has won a third of the
races, two more than Jeff
Gordon and three more than
points leader Jimmie John
son. For Biffle, who began
the season with three career
victories, everything is com
ing up roses. He and Chevro
let driver Tony Stewart waged
what was little more than a
two-way battle. After three of
the race's four caution flags,
Stewart seized the advan
tage first only to be eventual
ly hunted down and eclipsed
by Biffle. Stewart led 97
laps, marking the third time
this season he has led more
laps than anyone else with
out managing to win.
fVI THE SPOTLIGHT
Nextel Cup Series No. 21 Motorcraft Ford
“Its not like we have to
completely overhaul the
team and get rid of everybody
and start over again. The team
is solid. VJe just need to quit
having such nonsense little
things bite us when we’re
having a good run.”
Ricky Rudd
on his team’s lack of success
their priority is worrying about
that kind of stuff instead of
racing the car and being in
volved with the guys and doing
what it takes to win races.”
■
More goodies available
Putting Kyle Busch in his No. 15
truck has enabled owner Billy
Ballew to tap into the resources
of Hendrick Motorsports.
But that’s not all.
Next weekend, Martin Truex
Jr. will drive the Ballew Motor
sports Chevy in the truck race
at the Milwaukee Mile in West
Allis, Wis. Part of that deal is
SPORTS
BUSCH SERIES
Race: SBC 250
Where: The Milwaukee Mile,
West Allis, Wis. (1.0 mile),
250 laps/miles.
When: Saturday, June 25
Last year's winner: Ron Hor
naday Jr.
Qualifying record: David
Stremme, Dodge, 122.553
mph, June 26, 2004.
Race record: Jason Keller,
Ford, 103.093 mph, June
29, 2003.
Last week: Carl Edwards, in
a Ford, won at Kentucky
Speedway in Sparta, Ky.
NUTS AND BOLTs7
assistance from another major
Cup team, Dale Earnhardt Inc.
■
Another shot Bowling
Green, Ky.’s Stuart Kirby has
bounced around NASCAR’s tour
ing series in recent years, earn
ing his share of praise but never
really finding the right ride.
The latest is Competitive
Edge Motorsports, which has
put Kirby behind the wheel of
its No. 51 Chevrolet. Marathon
Ashland Petroleum is begin
ning what a press release
Race: Milwaukee 200
Where: The Milwaukee Mile,
West Allis, Wis. (1.0 mile),
200 laps/miles.
When: Friday, June 24
Last year's winner: Ted Mus
grave
Qualifying record: Ted Mus
grave. Dodge, 121.980 mph,
June 25,2004.
Race record: Brendan
Gaughan, Dodge, 109.689
mph, June 28,2003.
Last week: Dennis Setzer. in
a Chevrolet, won at Michigan
International Speedway in
Brooklyn, Mich.
top-fives (9), but I’ve always enjoyed
the track because it’s a big, wide-open
track. It’s not a follow-the-leader
track. It’s a track where you can make
your own line and make it work. I’ve
always enjoyed coming here for that
reason, and the fans up here have al
ways supported us well.”
The record-breaking start wasn’t
particularly impressive in terms of
performance. Rudd finished 33 rd
his position in the points in the Bat
man Begins 400, three laps off the
pace. He shrugged the disappointing
performance off.
“The main thing is that the car has
been competitive on the race track,”
he said. “We ran well enough to run
fifth last week (at Pocono, where he
finished 28 th ) and it’s been like that
week in and week out. It just seems
like it’s been one thing after another
that has been biting us.
“It’s not like we have to completely
overhaul the team and get rid of
everybody and start over again. The
team is solid. We just need to quit hav
ing such nonsense little things bite us
when we're having a good run.”
Contact Monte Dutton at
hmduttonso@aol.com
termed “a multi-year market
ing partnership” with this race.
Kirby held up his end of the
bargain, qualifying for the Bat
man Begins 400 field.
■
Upset of the week After
Carl Edwards won the Busch
Series race in Sparta, Ky., not
once was he quoted as saying
he “had a blast.” “Cool” and
“awesome” were in abundance,
but at least in quotes distrib
uted in his name, he never ut
tered the word “blast.”
Edwards did, however, say
he had a blast after finishing
INFINEON DATA
m Dodge/Save Mart 350 j
June 26 .xgMBHMX
iBL i
Infineon C|
Distance:.. 1.949 mile road comse j
Laps: 112 ;
Turns; 10 (50 ft, wide) I
MHes/Up*:..218.288 mi. - 112 laps
m
\ Banking in
i straights
FEUD OF THE WEEK
B
Brian
Vickers
Brian Vickers
vs. NASCAR officials
Vickers' crash into the Michigan
International Speedway tire barrier
came partially as a result of offi
cials’ reluctance to bring out a cau
tion flag. Feeling a vibration in his
Chevrolet, Vickers said, ‘I was this
close to just coming in anyway and
saying, I don't care, we've got to
come in. I've got a problem.' Then
NASCAR said there might be debris
in turn one, so I went around one
more lap, thinking there would be a
caution." Vickers had a blowout try
ing to make it back to pit road.
NASCAR This Week's Monte
Dutton gives his take: "Vickers
rolled the dice and came up snake
eyes."
[ t EGENDS AND LORf ]
These six won Mg then
never won again
Six drivers in NASCAR history
have won their very first races in the
ruling body's premier series. They are
Jim Roper (1949), Jack White
(1949), Harold Kite (1950), Leon
Sales (1950), Marvin Burke (1951)
and Johnny Rutherford (1963). None
of them ever won again.
FAN TIPS J
Skinner’s golf tournament
chock-full of celebs
Mike Skinner is hosting -a charity
golf tournament on June 29 at LPGA
International in Daytona Beach, Fla.,
with the proceeds going to the Victo
ry Junction Gang Camp and the
Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital.
NASCAR celebrities attending include
Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Tony Stew
art, Benny Parsons, Kevin Lepage,
Brett and Geoffrey Bodine and Allen
Bestwick.
[ YOUR TURN
’ LETTERS FROM OPR READERS ,
The Buschwhackers need
to stick to Nextel Cup
NASCAR should make a new
rule: If the (Nextel) Cup drivers
want to be Buschwhackers on
Saturday, when the Cup and Busch
races are held at the same track, the
Cup drivers should be made to start
last on Sunday in the Cup race.
For every Cup driver going over to
the Busch race, there's a young
Busch driver going home without
money or points.
Jack McVan
Abilene, Kan.
Although plenty of fans feel the
same way about this as you, owners
of Busch teams feel differently. For
them, they just want the best driver
available to drive their cars. If that's
Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle or even Dale
Earnhardt Jr., that's fine with them.
fifth in the Batman Begins 400.
■
Rare candor After last
week’s race’s second caution
flag waved on lap 52,
NASCAR’s “cumulative report”
listed the cause of the caution
as “TBD,” which presumably
meant “to be determined” but
might, some suggested, have
meant “terribly bad debris.”
Eventually the cause of the
caution flag was “determined,”
and it was officially listed in
subsequent reports as “oil on
track.” Glad we got that one
cleared up.
Town & Country
HONDA
PERFORMANCE FIRST™
805 N. Davis Dr.
Warner Robins, GA 31093
Moving Soon to
Carl Vinson Parkway
across from The Audio Shop
FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2005 ♦
Dixie
Communications
NEXTEL
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE |
202 C Highway 491 L
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.
I I
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Versus
mom
Choose from [I
one incredible I
sefedfon of I
oars, frocks, vans!
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Chris:
Come secine and
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"If we don't have -what
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EH—ra
a wide
setaetton!
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