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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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ON THE^TUBE
A// times Eastern
Nextel Cup
USG Sheetrock 400. TNT
3 p.m., Sunday
Busch Series
USG Du rock 300. TNT
4 p.m., Saturday
Truck Series /99*fV
Built Ford Tough 225, cJa“TT.
8 p.m„ Saturday
► Think the Chase is exciting?
Well, if it doesn't bother you
that a guy who's dominant all
year long can have his advan
tage erased with 10 races to
go. then you’re probably going to
love what Brian France has in
mind for next year. Nothing's of
ficial yet, but the title race is go
ing to become even more wide
open. If it's "tricked up" now, it’s
going to become even more so.
► Dodge announced that its new
Challenger will go into produc
tion in 2008. It GM follows suit
with its new Camaro concept,
it's possible that Challengers,
Camaros and Mustangs will
eventually become the models
of choice in the Busch Series.
► Tony Stewart’s late charge in
the Pepsi 400 was reminiscent
of one of the late Dale Earn
hardt's famous rallies in restric
tor-plate races. Stewart has
something else in common with
Earnhardt. Even though he’s be
come a master at "plate rac
ing." he still insists that he real
ly doesn't like racing with the
engines sapped of horsepower.
► Jimmie Johnson, when he
heard that Brian France planned
to tweak the Chase, said he
hoped the field would be limited
only to those within 400 points
of first place, not the top 10. Ac
tually, what France has in mind
is almost the opposite of what
Johnson proposed. The field is
likely to get bigger, not smaller.
► Another likely change is a sep
arate points system for the driv
ers who make the Chase. In oth
er words, points would be
awarded on the basis of how
the drivers fare in relation to
each other. If a driver is fifth
among the Chase drivers in one
of the final 10 races but ac
tually finishes, say, 21st he
would get fifth-place points in
the Chase standings.
► Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated
Daytona’s Busch Series race,
ending consecutive races in
which the races went to drivers
who do not also compete in
Cup. Those are the only two vic
tories this season by "Busch
specialists.”
WHOSHOT
AND WHO’S NOT -
► Who'* hot Kurt Busch
has finished in the top 10 in
four straight races.... Boris
Said, fourth at Daytona, had
his best-ever finish in a non
road-course event.
► Who's not
Jimmie
Johnson had
his worst fin
ish of the
season, and
his points
lead dropped
from 101 to
eight. ... Jeff
Gordon fell
‘ML j
Gordon
back out of the top 10 in
points.
TOP* JLQ 4N POINTS^]
Nextel Cup
3L Jimmie Johnson 2.501
2. Matt Kenseth : 8
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. • 267
4. Ka»ey Kahne ■ 292
5. Tony Stewart - 299
X MarV Martin - 324
7. Jeff Burton - 349
8. Kyle Busch -406
X Kevin Harvlck -413
10. Denny Hamlin - 453
Busch Series
1. Kevin Harvick 2,812
2. Carl Edwards - 388
3. Clint Bowver 423
4. Denny Hamlin - 431
». JJ. Yeley -452
6. Greg Biffle -639
T. Paul Menard - 645
8. Kyle Busch - 658
X Kenny Wallace 830
10. Johnny Sauter - 854
Craftsman Truck Series
JL ToddJßod ine 1.909
X David Reutlmann -1328
X Johnny Benson -143
4. Ted Musgrave - 252
X Rick Crawford -273
X Terry Cook - 307
T. OawM Start -309
X Dennis Setter -316
8. Jack Sprague - 331
10. Ron Homaday - 349
NCKTEir CU P C^-
■ Race USG Sheetrock 400
■ Where: Chicagoland Speedway,
Joliet. 111. (1.5 miles). 267
laps/400.5 miles.
■ When: Sunday. July 9
■ Last year's winner: Dale Earn
hardt Jr.
■ Qualifying record: Jimmie John
son, Chevrolet, 188.147 mph,
July 8, 2005.
■ Race record: Kevin Harvick.
Chevrolet, 136.832 mph. July 14
2002.
■ Last week: Tony Stewart's per
formance at Daytona Internation
al Speedway was positively Ro
man. He came. He saw. He con
quered. Debris in turn three
turned what might have been a
glorious finish into an anticlimax.
mtir^Vigs7iaKT={i^B
Tony Stewart
Weekend Warrior
Resurgent Stewart
wins a pair of
races in Daytona
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. A victo
ry in the Pepsi 400 capped off a mem
orable weekend for reigning Nextel
Cup champion Tony Stewart.
On the night of July 29, Stewart won
his second straight International Race
of Champions event, dominating a
field of stars from a variety of racing
backgrounds on the Daytona Interna
tional Speedway road course.
The Pepsi 400 was also Stewart’s
second straight in Daytona's summer
time night race. Those are the only re
strictor-plate victories of his career,
but in races at Daytona and Talladega,
Stewart has 13 top-five finishes in 31
career starts.
Though the race ended under cau
tion, all but the very end was breath
taking. Stewart, 35, charged to the
front after a pit stop left him in 10 th
place with 10 laps remaining. Stewart
regained the lead by passing Boris
Said with three laps remaining and
then held off Kyle and Kurt Busch,
with Said finishing fourth.
With seven laps remaining, Stewart
passed six cars in less than a quarter
of a lap.
“I did get a big run,” he said, "and I
think, if I remember right, that it was
a restart that kind of led us up to that.
I was behind anyway, and I got sepa
rated from that pack a little bit. I think
I just got a good push that gave me the
run when I got there. Those guys real
ly weren’t paying attention to me; they
were paying attention to the ‘two-wide’
that they were involved in.
“I got underneath Denny (Hamlin)
and got by him, and then Casey Mears
was stuck in the middle and working
on somebody on the outside, and I
don’t even think he even saw me com
ing because he never even flinched.
France says Chase changes are likely next season
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
NASCAR chairman Brian
France, who hasn’t often been
readily available for public
comment this year, conducted
a press conference on June 30,
and the chief news was his
strong intimation that the
Chase for the Nextel Cup for
mat will be changed next year.
France said it was “a natural
time” to tweak the format that
determines the champion, cit
ing the phase-in of the so-called
“Car of Tomorrow” and the be
ginning of a new television
deal.
Expect NASCAR to make the
Chase even more “tricked up”
than it already is. France sug
gested that some changes
might be implemented to re
ward victory in the final 10
races. Tony Stewart won the ti
tle last year despite failing to
win any of the Chase races.
Another likelihood is a sepa
rate point system for the driv
ers who make the Chase. Such
► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1538, Gastonia, NC 28053
Stewart executed a remarkable
comeback after the final caution
flag. He drove from 10th to sec
ond in a span of two laps. then,
after another caution flag, pol
ished off Boris Said, the driver
whom he had started alongside
at the start. But, on the final lap,
the champ was in a bit of a
predicament. A pair of brothers,
Kyle and Kurt Busch, were posi
tioned behind him. That's when
the debris was discovered in turn
three. When the yellow waved,
the field was frozen, giving Stew
art his second consecutive victo
ry in this race. The road-course
specialist Said, meanwhile,
wound up fourth, his highest ca
reer finish on an oval track.
Nextel Cup Series No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet
NUTS AND BOLTS
a system would keep the race
closer since Chase drivers
would be rewarded for their
finishes relative to one another
instead of relative to the entire
field.
How can that be? On a fairly
regular basis, NASCAR an
nounces what would seem to be
a contradiction in terms.
Before the Pepsi 400, offi
cials announced that two cars,
the Dodges ?f Kasey Kahne
and Michael" Waltrip, would
start at the rear of the field for
“making unapproved adjust
ments after the impound.”
How could unapproved ad
justments possibly be made
“after the impound”? Isn’t that
the purpose of impounding the
cars after qualifying? Was
there some espionage opera
tion in which mechanics from
Kahne’s and Waltrip’s teams
cut a hole in a fence or busted a
window, and stealthily snuck
SPORTS
HN^+IE-SPGTfaIQHT"
tv* - _ '
Special to NASCAR This Week
Tony Stewart's win in the Pepsi 400 was his 26th career victory, leaving him tied
with Fred Lorenzen for 21st place all-time.
You could’ve driven a semi between
me and him. He never tried to block
or anything. I had such a big run that I
just blew by all those guys and the
next thing I knew, I was in second.”
Stewart’s 26 th career victory left him
tied with another star from the Mid
west, Fred Lorenzen, for 21 st place all
time. Lorenzen, who is from Elmhurst,
111., won his final race in 1967.
The Daytona victory could hardly
have come at a better time. It ended a
string of five races in which Stewart
had fallen from second to seventh in the
points standings. Winning at Daytona
moved Stewart back up to fifth, 299
points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
l€S
■ Race: USG Durock
300
■ Where: Chicagoland
Speedway (1.5 miles),
200 laps/300 miles.
■ When: Saturday. July 8
■ Last year's winner.
Kevin Harvick
■ Qualifying record:
Ryan Newman. Dodge.
186.438 mph. July 9,
2005.
■ Race record: Kevin Har
vick, Chevrolet, 130.340
mph. July 9, 2005.
■ Last week: Dale Earn
hardt Jr., in a Chevrolet,
dominated the Winn-Dix
ie 250 at Daytona.
into a darkened impound area
with wrenches and flashlights?
Well, no ... the cars are
locked into garages, but before
the race, teams can request
permission to make specific
changes, the penalty for which
is starting at the rear of the
field.
Tough guy Despite the
fact that it was 90 degrees,
Vice President Dick Cheney
wore a jacket when he ad
dressed the crowd before the
start of the race. He also ad
dressed the drivers’ meeting.
Cheney also made a point, af
ter his public remarks, of back
ing away from the microphone
into a snug spot between Ken
Schrader, whose Ford was
sponsored in part by the Air
Force, and Joe Nemechek,
whose Chevrolet carried the
colors of the Army.
In the drivers’ meeting, Ch
eney called the president of
NASCAR “Big Mike” (Helton)
and said he’d heard what goes in
the Nextel Cup hauler “is some-
»• CRAFTSMAN TRUCK-]
■ Race Built Ford Tough
225
■ Where: Kentucky
Speedway. Sparta, Ky.
(1.5 miles), 150
laps/225 miles.
■ When: Saturday. July 8
■ Last year's winner:
Dennis Setzer
■ Qualifying record: Bill
Lester. Toyota. 178.141
mph, July 9, 2005.
■ Race record: Mike
Bliss. Chevrolet.
143.515 mph, July 13,
2002.
■ Last week Terry Cook,
in a Ford, won the O'Reil
ly Auto Parts 250 at
Kansas Speedway.
Stewart, from Columbus, Ind., actu
ally celebrated with the fans. After
climbing the Daytona flagstand, a
Stewart signature after victories, he
dove into a sea of fans before return
ing to his car.
“I don’t know why I do half the stu
pid stuff I do," he said. “I felt good af
ter the end of the race until I got stu
pid and went up the flag stand again.
“I’ll be honest. There was no way I
was going to let those race fans down
tonight because it (the celebration)
started here, and this was the year af
ter it all started, and I was either go
ing to get all the way up, or I was go
ing to fall off and fall on my butt.”
times more exciting than what
happens in the race itself.”
Making hay David
Gilliland, who became a sensa
tion by winning a Busch Series
race on June 17 at Kentucky
Speedway, is still reaping the
benefits. Even though he was
n’t entered in the Winn-Dixie
250, Gilliland was on hand for a
press conference put on by
NASCAR officials so that jour
nalists could “get to know
David better.”
“What’s that saying? ‘You’ve
got to strike while the iron’s
hot.’ I think it’s important for
me to take advantage of the ex
posure, but I also think we’ve
found some good stuff as far as
our team goes," said Gilliland.
“We’re building our own mo
tors, and we’ve got a good car
we built from the ground up. I
hope soon we can get a sponsor
together so that I can run the
full series next year.”
Gililand’s next start is sched
uled for Chicagoland Speedway
on July 8.
FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2006 ♦
- OHIGAGOtAND OATA
USG Sheetrock 400 - July 9
Distance: 1.5 mile trioval
Length of frontstretch: 2,400 ft
Length of backstretch: 1,700 ft.
Miles/Lap5:. .400.5 mi. - 267 laps
Banking in
triaval
Jimmie Johnson
vs. Bobby Labonte
Near the end of the Pepsi 400,
Johnson lost control and slid into
Labonte, with his car pinning
Labonte's against the wall. The inci
dent cost Johnson most of his
points lead and left him in 32nd
place, his worst finish of the year.
The crash was as costly for Labonte,
who is trying to bring his new team,
Petty Enterprises, up to speed. "The
car was fast and good and every
thing," said Labonte. “We were sit
ting at the right place and, then, all
that happened at the end, and it was
very unfortunate.”
NASCAR This Week's Monte
Dutton gives his take: "Johnson had
won the first two restrictor-plate
races of the season, putting behind
a reputation, among some of his
peers, for recklessness in 'plate
races.' It doesn't take much of a
mistake for a crash to occur in the
close, narrow quarters of Daytona.”
'.... -voUR TURN ■ «*•
'Toyota has as much right to
race in NASCAR as anyone
I have been a NASCAR fan for about
15 years, and I would like to justify
Toyota competing in Nextel Cup in
2007. Some fans feel that Toyota
does not belong because they are a
foreign manufacturer.
Toyota produces ... vehicles ... in
the USA. which I believe is a rule that
is in the NASCAR rule book. The Tun
dra is built in Indiana and will be built
in Texas starting in 2007, and the
Camry is built in Kentucky. These ve
hicles are American-made. Toyota em
ploys about 25,000 team members
in North America and is still growing.
I have read that some fans and
teams are worried that Toyota will
come in and spend hundreds of mil
lions of dollars and buy a champi
onship. I do not think this is possible
in NASCAR with the rules that are in
place. Nobody is complaining when
Chevy wins the championship almost
every year, or when Dodge wins a lot
of poles.
I am proud to be a team member
at Toyota and am looking toward to
seeing Toyota compete in Nextel Cup
and watching them give the Big Three
a run for the championship!
D. Goebel
Evansville, Ind.
Thanks for letting us know how you
feel. We've gotten dozens of letters on
this issue and are happy to air an op
posing view.
Good idea ln the after
math of Jeff Fuller’s spectacu
lar Busch Series crash on June
17, Kentucky Speedway will in
stall SAFER (Steel and Foam
Energy Reduction) barriers
across an interior section of its
back straight. The new barrier
is 56 feet long.
Fuller suffered only a broken
wrist and finger after crashing
nearly head-on into a wall at the
site of the planned installation
during a Busch Series race. Ac
cording to the speedway, Fuller
hit a “rounded inside portion”
of the concrete wall.
Sorry, no tickets The Ford
400 isn’t until Nov. 19, but it’s
already sold out. Homestead-
Miami Speedway announced
that all tickets for the Nextel
Cup season finale have already
been sold.
Tickets remain for the final
races in the Craftsman Truck
Series (Nov. 17) and Busch Se
ries (Nov. 18).
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