Performance was the name of the game in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing this past season. The level of competition in NASCAR’s most elite arena has been growing over the past decade to the point where stock car racing in America is considered the toughest form of auto racing in the world.

A look at statistics for some of the sport’s biggest names explains why NASCAR enjoyed another incredible season in 2008.

Kyle Busch, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, dominated the season’s first 26 races, claiming eight victories to go along with 15 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.

He was the points leader heading into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this past September. Across all three national series, Busch won a total of 21 races in 2008, including a NASCAR Nationwide Series record-tying 10 victories.

Carl Edwards, a driver for Roush-Fenway Racing, won a series-high nine races in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, including three victories in the Chase. He finished in the runner-up position in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Edwards also posted a NASCAR Sprint Cup series best 27 top-10 and 19 top-five finishes.

Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports etched his name in the record books by claiming his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, joining Cale Yarborough as the only other driver to accomplish the feat.

Johnson was particularly strong during the Chase, as he had three wins, six top fives, eight top 10s, and an average finish of 5.7 during the season’s final 10 races.

While driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Regan Smith was named the Raybestos Rookie of the Year for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

In 34 starts, Smith became the first rookie in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to finish all 36 races on the schedule throughout the course of the season. He turned in a pair of 14th-place finishes at Martinsville and Bristol and completed 98 percent of the scheduled laps in 2008.

Even though he enjoyed a successful start, Smith is looking for a full-time Sprint Cup ride for the 2009 season. He will run a limited schedule with Furniture Row Racing in 2009. The team is owned by Barney Visser and based in Denver, Colo.

Team owner Rick Hendrick won his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner championship, second only to Petty Enterprises with nine. Johnson claimed his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in Hendrick’s Chevrolets, and three of Hendrick’s drivers finished in the top 12 in driver points in 2008. Johnson finished first, Jeff Gordon finished seventh and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th.

In just his second season of competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, David Ragan, a driver for Roush-Fenway Racing, could be considered the most improved driver of the season.

The Georgia native finished 13th in the point standings, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Ragan posted six top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, including a pair of career-best third-place showings at Michigan in August and Talladega in October. Ragan completed a series-best 99.4 percent of the scheduled laps during the season.

Greg Biffle, another of the Roush-Fenway drivers, returned to the Chase after a two-year absence. Seeded ninth heading into the last 10 races of the year, Biffle got off to a blazing start by winning the first two Chase races at New Hampshire and Dover. He ultimately finished third in the final point standings and established himself as a championship contender in 2009.

With the Bud Shoot-Out special non-points event for pole position winners scheduled for Feb. 7 and the Daytona 500 set for Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR is ready to get started on another record-setting season.

Author - Ben White is the motorsports columnist for The Dispatch.

Announcing the New Dale Earnhardt Diecast Elvis Presley The King and The Intimidator. This car is the third in the series of American Icons adorned on Dale Earnhardt Sr Diecast Cars. Dale Earnhardt Diecast Elvis Presley car will be officially released after the homestead race images will be available at that time and will replace this image. This car will look similar to the graphics in this picture. With a wrap around collage look to it very similar to the two preceding cars in this series. This diecast car will be produced in 1/24 scale & 1/64. The estimated delivery from the manufacture is March 2009. The first car in this series is Dale Earnhardt Johnny Cash Man In Black Diecast and the second is the Dale Earnhardt John Wayne Diecast .
The Dale Earnhardt Elvis Presley Diecast 1/24 is offered in the Action Platinum Series which features, diecast body and chassis, opening hood and trunk, collector box and is sequentially numbered. The 1/64 scale will be offered in the HO version Hood open and the KS which is the kids version.
Along with the diecast release there will also be an entire clothing and novelty like that will be avail after homestead for preorder. This is sure to be a true collectable and will sell out fast order yours today!

Please visit www.copperstateracing.com for more info or to preorder yours today.
Brock Clever
www.copperstateracing.com

New, Hot Dale Earnhardt Jr Diecast Amp Relaunch 1/24. Just released is the new 2008 orange and white paint-scheme that Dale Jr will be running later this year. This car is sure to be a great NASCAR diecast collectible. Motorsports Authentics is limiting these cars to just 5,000 pieces and they are only available through dealer/master wholesalers. With such a low production number and limited distribution this car has alot of resemblance to the Dale Jr diecast Born on Date from 2005 these cars sold for over $400.00 in there prime and still remain a sought after collectible today. Don’t miss your chance to own this rare diecast piece.

This car is offered in a bundle with the Amp Mountain Dew and The Amp Relaunch in a special frosted sleeve. We are also offering them individually for those that have already purchased the Amp Mountain Dew car.

The Dale Earnhardt Jr Relaunch 1/24 is offered in the Action Platinum Series which features, diecast body and chassis, opening hood and trunk, collector box and is sequentially numbered.

Please visit www.copperstateracing.com for more info.

by Brock Clever
www.copperstateracing.com

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 6, 2008) - Whenever the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, the unexpected can and probably will happen. The unexpected definitely took place for Joey Logano in his Truck Series debut during Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie. Logano, piloting the No. 59 Team ASE/Raybestos/HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra, qualified in the sixth position to start the 94-lap event from the third row. The 18-year-old rookie consistently ran with the Truck Series veterans until lap 19 when the unexpected happened. The side window of the No. 59 Tundra flew out and tore the B-post off, which cost Logano valuable laps as the truck had to come behind the wall for repairs. Returning to the track four laps down, Logano worked with the truck and turned lap times just as fast as the leaders. Logano was never able to regain the ground lost behind the wall and ended up getting heavy damage in a wreck on the final lap coming to the checkered flag, thus ending his day five laps down, in the 26th position.

“Well, my No. 59 Team ASE/Raybestos Tundra was pretty good,” said Logano. “We had our side window come out early and it took the whole B-post with it. We had to come behind the wall to fix it and after that happened, we were five laps down and ran alright. We really had nothing to gain, so we just kept coming in to get the truck as good as possible. Then on the last lap, it was just a situation of wrong place, wrong time. The truck got a lot of damage and unfortunately ended pretty much as junk.”

Even though he had to overcome some wild obstacles during the NCTS race, the seat-time that Logano gained was invaluable in preparation for the 2009 Sprint Cup Series, as he will be running full-time in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.  In addition to the laps that the Middletown, Conn. native ran on Saturday, Logano also competed in the ARCA RE/MAX Series race on Friday evening, where he finished second as he was passed on the final lap in dramatic superspeedway fashion.

“This weekend has been a good learning experience for me, between the Truck and ARCA races,” Logano said. “Hopefully I will be able to take this seat-time and carry it over to the Sprint Cup Series. I would like to thank all of the folks at HT Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing for the opportunity to drive this Toyota in the Truck Series.” This if the first time Joey Logano has driven in the Truck Series. To commenorate this even a diecast replica of this car is being produced. Please visit copperstateracing.com for more details this Joey Logano Diecast Truck .

The No. 59 HT Motorsports team will take a well-deserved week off before returning to action on Saturday, October 18, for the running of the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. The 200-lap event at the Virginia short-track will begin shortly after 3:00 P.M. Eastern, with live coverage only on SPEED starting at 2:30 P.M. Eastern with the NCTS Set-up. Select affiliates of MRN Radio, along with Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128, will also have the live radio broadcast.

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Wrecked Chase contenders, two red flags, record lead changes and a Tony Stewart victory on a controversial finish.

The Amp Energy 500 was a show for the ages. Unfortunately, it also was a tire explosion waiting to happen.

Sound familiar?

Once again, tires were a major issue in a 2008 Sprint Cup race, and no one knows why.

Three times tires exploded off the wheel. It could have ruined a spectacular day, and did ruin the day for about a dozen drivers.

“I was worried all the way back when the 88 [Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.] blew a tire in practice,” Jimmie Johnson said. “When you run over something, you cut a tire. These tires exploded. In my opinion, something was wrong. It was in the back of my mind all day.”

Johnson escaped with a ninth-place finish and padded his points lead. Copperstateracing has Jimmie Johnson Diecast still avalible and it looks like he is making another charge for the Championship so get yours today.

The wild ending Sunday — Regan Smith illegally went below the yellow line to pass Stewart at the checkered flag — was the story of the race.

Tires became an afterthought. Denny Hamlin, who spent the night in a Birmingham hospital, probably felt differently.

The right-front tire on Brian Vickers’ No. 83 Toyota exploded, triggering a nine-car pileup.

Hamlin slammed the wall in Turn 2 when his tire disintegrated while he was leading midway through the race.

“That was scary,” said J.D. Gibbs, the president of Joe Gibbs Racing and Hamlin’s boss. “Denny’s going to be OK. He has a headache and his foot was hurt, but he’ll be all right.”

An earlier tire failure for Brian Vickers caused a nine-car pileup and brought out the first red flag. And Jeff Gordon’s day was ruined when David Reutimann’s tire burst into shredding rubber, causing Gordon to crash.

The first sign of trouble came Friday when Earnhardt had a tire explode during practice. At that time, everyone hoped it was an isolated incident. It wasn’t.

“It was a little nerve-racking today with the tires blowing for no reason,” Earnhardt said. “The Hoosier tires also blew in the ARCA race [Friday], so maybe it was something to do with the [track] surface. It’s made me nervous, but you have to run.” For new 2009 Dale Earnhardt Jr Diecast please visit copperstateracing.com.

Earnhardt’s backup car was a contender to win, but his race ended with 15 laps to go. Earnhardt was a victim of 10-car pileup caused by Carl Edwards’ bump-drafting too aggressively with teammate Greg Biffle.

It proved the continuous danger of restrictor-plate racing at Talladega, a clear reason why the 2.66-mile oval is the worst place for tires to go off like a TNT charge.

Sunday could have been so perfect. It was Talladega at its best — an incredible 64 lead changes among 28 drivers, a NASCAR record.

This was the edge-of-our-seat drama fans have come to expect at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR’s biggest bad boy. But tires shouldn’t explode, not at this track.

In fairness, the only tire issue in the final 89 laps was a single-car spin by Jamie McMurray when he cut a tire.

And the race was a night-and-day difference from the travesty at Indianapolis at the Allstate 400 in July. That event was a series of competition cautions to keep the tires from coming apart on the track.

But as it was that day at Indy, drivers at Dega had to wonder if they would become the next victim of tire destruction.

Goodyear product manager Rick Heinrich didn’t have a definitive answer for it.

“Our engineers still are looking at all the tires,” Heinrich said during the race. “I can’t say for sure in every case what happened. We don’t know all the details. We will do some analysis back in Akron [Ohio]. What we do know is we have the exact same tire as we had here in the spring, a race-proven tire.”

Heinrich said one of the tires that failed Sunday had evidence of a puncture.

“The teams are telling us there’s a lot of car contact out there,” Heinrich said. “That loosens things up and drops debris on the track.”

That’s true for every Talladega race.

“We didn’t have any issues,” said Paul Menard, who finished second. “The guys blowing tires maybe have a fender rub or aggressive camber.”

The shape of the new car — taller and boxier — puts extra loading on the right-side tires.

Heinrich wouldn’t place the blame on setups by the teams or the new car, which was racing at Talladega for the third time. Some crew chiefs thought a few teams were overinflating the right-side tires.

If so, NASCAR needs to get better control of what the teams are allowed to do with the tires.

It’s one thing for a driver to lose points in the Chase because of a mistake in pack racing at Talladega. But no one wants to see a driver lose a chance to win the championship because a tire failure caused him to miss a race.

If an answer isn’t found soon, wrecked cars, red flags and controversial finishes will become the least of NASCAR’s problems. Tony Stewart Diecast Subway car is nearly sold out get yours today at copperstateracing.com. There should not be a raced version produced for this car, licencing for Tony Stewart / Home Depot / Subway runs out at the end of the year.

By Terry Blount
ESPN.com

Marcos Ambrose will become the first Australian to race fulltime in the top flight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009, with plans of his campaign confirmed in an announcement from JTG Daugherty Racing.

The 32-year-old former V8 Supercar champion will pilot the No.47 Toyota Camry for the outfit, co-owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and former NBA All-Star Brad Daugherty.

“For me it’s the realisation of a dream and the culmination of a lot of hard work from a lot of people,” said Ambrose.

The Tasmanian secured his first NASCAR victory earlier this season at Watkins Glen and is currently 10th in the second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

“Over the past three seasons I could not have enjoyed my time in NASCAR any more. In 2009 we are stepping it up to the next level so it’s only going to get better.

“I know that I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I can’t wait.

“It’s quite a day for me to see this all confirmed.”

The announcement ends a long-time association between Ambrose and Ford, which began when he joined the Stone Brothers Racing team in the Australian V8 Supercar series in 2001.

“For sure, we are closing a really great chapter of my career with Ford,” Ambrose said.

by Australian Associated Press Pty Limited

1. Taming Talladega
Talladega Superspeedway, the biggest wild card in NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Chase for the Championship, is up next. The AMP Energy 500 is 2 p.m. Sunday on ABC. This is sure to be an exciting race! With “the big one” looming over the Chase Drivers. This race can change everything in the Chase for the Championship!

2. Funny Car fever
The fourth annual Funny Car Nationals returns to U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin on Saturday. Gates open at 9 a.m., followed by time trials at 10 a.m. and racing at 5 p.m.

3. The race is back on
Ron Hornaday has almost caught up to Johnny Benson Jr. with six NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races to go. Benson has a one-point lead heading into Saturday’s 4 p.m. race at Talladega on the Speed Channel.

4. Stock car sizzle
Kalamazoo Speedway hosts the 22nd annual Super Shoe Nationals, with more than 250 cars. Time trials are 7 p.m. Friday, and racing is at 5 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

5. Bus bash
They’re not aerodynamically sound, but children love them. Bus racing returns to Berlin Raceway at 6 p.m. Saturday with school bus racing.

by Steve Kaminski | The Grand Rapids Press

It’s been a tumultuous week for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. In the past 72 hours alone, it has lost two primary sponsors, a driver and been forced to deny rumors of an outrageous comeback. But no amount of crazy news off the track will mask the fact DEI is headed for its worst season in nearly a decade. And that proves to be the center of DEI’s current crisis far more than money, betrayal or the oft-criticized Teresa Earnhardt. It’s the drivers’s poor performances that have left DEI on the verge of becoming a catastrophe far worse than when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. left a little over one year ago.

Of course, losing a little cash never helps. Financial problems are front and center these days, so plenty of eyes were opened when a company this big lost two multi-million dollar backers in the course of three days. And while neither sponsorship departure came as a big surprise, the truth still hurts. The U.S. Army, which replaced Budweiser as the backer of DEI’s No. 8 Chevrolet this season, informed the team Monday it wouldn’t return in ‘09.

The lone financial holdover from the Ginn Racing merger had been looking elsewhere for months, now on the verge of inking a deal with Tony Stewart’s second team. For the Army, linking up with veteran Ryan Newman proved far more lucrative than taking chances with unproven Aric Almirola, set to take the reins full-time in the No. 8 next season. That leaves the car once driven by Earnhardt, Jr. with no sponsorship, although Almirola has impressed enough as a rookie — he’s one of two first-year drivers to score a Top 10 — that he should have the funding in place come February.

As far as the organization’s other two cars, things aren’t looking quite so rosy. Second-year driver Paul Menard announced he was jumping ship to Yates Racing on Tuesday, making official a move that’s been well-known in insider circles for weeks. Taking his father’s company with him as a primary sponsor, Menard gives the type of stability to the cash-strapped Yates team he ripped right out of DEI’s financial coffers. The team he leaves behind (No. 15) now has no substantial funding beyond this season, joining the plight of the No. 01 currently driven by rookie Regan Smith. Smith’s car has already been running unsponsored for two-thirds of the season, with the company footing the bill simply to keep four cars on the track.

In all likelihood, one or both of those cars won’t appear in 2009, with Smith’s No. 01 likely the first to go (sources have linked the team to anything from a potential sale to its owner points being sold off to Richard Childress’ new No. 33 car). The failure to maintain financial stability has quickly put the focus back on owner Teresa Earnhardt, who’s kept a low profile since the pledge to rebuild her operation in the wake of her stepson’s departure last year. When that happened, Teresa claimed the company would grow to be bigger and better in spite of losing NASCAR’s most popular driver; instead, it’s about to go bust.

But while legions of Junior fans think their driver would solve all the problems at DEI, they’re sorely mistaken. Even if Junior put up Hendrick-style numbers with DEI’s No. 8, there are still three other cars to worry about — and none of them have shown signs of life.

Since the end of ‘06, the organization has won just once while failing to put any car in the Top 10 in points. This season, their four cars have combined for just 19 Top 10 finishes — three fewer than Carl Edwards has by himself. Unless there’s a miracle over these final seven weeks, the organization will go winless for the first time since 1999. Back then, the company’s founding father was alive (Dale Sr.) while his son was busy winning a championship … in the Busch Series.

Junior’s departure also left Martin Truex, Jr. as the returning star of the program, and the company was supposed to build around him. But it’s Truex who’s had the most disappointing season of all. One year removed from making the Chase, he’s winless and 16th in points, with just three Top 5 finishes and eight Top 10s on the year. In comparison, teammate and part-time driver Mark Martin has more Top 10s (10) despite nine fewer starts in the No. 8 Chevy.

Things are so bad that at Kansas, Truex led more laps (27) than the previous 28 races combined. That race ended early with a broken shifter, the third DNF for this team this season and typical for the way the year has gone. But with Truex and crew chief Kevin Manion in their third season together, you’d expect better out of a pairing like that. The third year is supposed to be the breakout season in NASCAR: think championship for Jeff Gordon in 1995 or former teammate Dale Jr.’s 2002 success story. Instead, Truex’s team made the news for cheating, a template violation at Daytona robbing the team of 150 points and his crew chief for six weeks.

That type of news doesn’t help when you’re trying to bring the other three teams up by your bootstraps. And that’s what is just as disturbing about DEI’s lack of success — its failure to integrate additional support into a unified front. As SI.com’s Brant James’ interview with Tony Eury Jr. revealed, DEI never really was the biggest team with the most resources. However, a midsummer purchase of Ginn Racing in ‘07 added plenty of cars and personnel to an operation that had previously been small-scale. With enough equipment to run six full-time Cup teams, DEI trimmed some of the fat but retained the resources to keep it at four. At the time, only Hendrick and Roush had that many teams on the Cup tour, as many new CoTs built that gave the team a baseline upon which to build.

But bigger didn’t wind up better, and DEI is paying for some personnel choices made following the merger. When Ginn Racing’s and DEI’s style failed to mesh, it was the Ginn Racing employees who many times got the boot; and now, they’ve gone on to successful seasons elsewhere. Number one on that list is former Ginn Racing exec Jay Frye, who’s gotten busy building Team Red Bull into the powerhouse he could very well have achieved with double the cars and drivers at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Ryan Pemberton was also adored by Mark Martin in ‘07, but the lovable crew chief is now turning heads with David Reutimann in ‘08. Instead, Martin was paired with Tony Gibson at DEI, a marriage that was slow to craft and will never have time to fully develop — Martin’s signed a deal with Hendrick and will leave following the season.

Martin’s the latest in a revolving door of famous drivers who’ve chosen to go elsewhere. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael Waltrip, and now Menard have left an ugly stain of negative press around an organization just looking for some basic loyalty these days. That’s why a bogus rumor surrounding a comeback by 1989 champ Rusty Wallace — squashed as quickly as it began Tuesday night — would have been a boon for DEI. They need a veteran with a successful past to come in and lead this organization through the tough times.

But a comeback for Wallace is out of the question — or so he says — and with most drivers already settled for ‘09, that leaves the future of the organization in peril. DEI needs cash, but to get it, it needs drivers capable of taking those resources and putting their cars in position to win. And in what is a performance-based business, DEI’s struggled to do that consistently in ‘08 — and that’s the problem no amount of money can overcome.

Tom Bowles > INSIDE NASCAR

Kyle Busch now has 7 wins and has won the last 4 races. He is on track to break Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR single season win record in the Modern Era (1972-Present). This record is 13 wins, Gordon and Petty both have accomplished this feat.

Can Kyle Busch break this record? With 17 races left this season, and his current win streak and average finishing position, it seem like just a matter of time.

With Kyle Busch’s current winning streak and the fact that he has been at the top of the Nascar Sprint Cup points for several weeks now, his NASCAR diecast collectibles are on fire.

The newly announced Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Daytona Win Coke Zero 400 raced version 1/24 scale Action diecast car preorders are racking up like a slot machine jackpot. (pictured)

Also, his standard paint scheme (M&M’s) is extremely close to being sold out and anywhere you can find them the price is starting to soar.

This is one of the most dramatic changes in sales I have seen in my 10+ years in the nascar diecast industry. Last year, Kyle Busch’s cars were barely selling. Now he is one of our top sellers and I see no reason for this to change in the near future.

Will Kyle Busch become this years Champion? I would love to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. pull a championship out of his hat, but I think the cards are definitely in Kyle Busch’s favor.

by Brock Clever, Copperstateracing.com

Truex sets NASCAR carousel of driver moves in motion again

The latest game of musical chairs among Cup drivers is in full swing, as each move sets another move in motion. Let’s take a peek at the latest head-spinning moves:

Martin Truex Jr. will probably replace Ryan Newman at Penske Racing next season, filling in another piece of the jigsaw puzzle in an active year of driver movement in Sprint Cup.

Newman, for his part, is likely headed for the revamped Haas CNC Racing operation being put together by Tony Stewart, who will be its new co-owner in addition to a driver.

Mark Martin is almost certain, “99 percent” according to once source, to replace the released Casey Mears in the No. 5 at Hendrick Motorsports for the entire 2009 schedule.

Mears, a source says, has been contacted by four teams. They haven’t been identified, but with Truex, Newman, Martin and Greg Biffle (who re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing last week) off the market, he’s the top remaining veteran free agent, which should put him at the top of the list for the fourth seat at Richard Childress Racing.

Stewart is the sole driver who may be on the move who has a complication. He’s under contract with Joe Gibbs Racing through ‘09. Stewart wants to return to Chevrolet and the manufacturer is apparently willing to assist in buying out the final year of his contract.

How will the moves affect each driver’s current and projected teams? Let’s see …

1. Truex from DEI to Penske.

Penske trades even up, like two 15-game winners in baseball, but gets a driver with a fresh attitude and approach. Truex has only one win, but he made the Chase last year and, at 28, is in his third Cup season. With a load of potential, he’s a good bet to get much better.

For Truex, he goes to an organization that has the financial resources for the long run, something DEI lacks. Truex currently is 14th in the points, only 71 behind 12th-place Kevin Harvick, so he still has a chance to make the Chase this year, but it won’t change his mind about leaving.

It’s a right uppercut to the head for DEI, which was counting on Truex to build its team around him for the long term. Without Dale Earnhardt Jr. to bring in extra money to the company this year, the team has already started sliding into the midpack and it will be difficult to recover. Losing Martin hurts, too, but he was only a part-time driver. DEI is left with Paul Menard and Aric Almirola, who are decent but unlikely to win races or make the Chase.

DEI’s biggest problem will be hiring a top-notch driver. Mears has to be on its list, but is he interested?

2. Newman from Penske to Haas-Stewart.

A few years ago, Newman’s destiny seemed to be a Penske-for-life driver. He came through the ABC (ARCA, Busch, Cup) development program and won races in each of his initial four Cup seasons — 12 total — and went to the Chase twice. But Newman was winless in ‘06 and ‘07 and missed the Chase. His victory in this year’s Daytona 500 was a great start, but he’s 15th in the points with only one more top-five. Newman has cited performance issues as the reason for wanting to leave.

He’s a big catch for Haas-Stewart, a fast and smart driver who can win races and make the Chase.

The loss of Newman hurts Penske, who would have preferred to retain him, but it’s mitigated by getting Truex.

3. Stewart from Gibbs to Haas-Stewart.

Stewart brings everything a team needs and wants to Haas-Stewart: the ability to win races, championships and attract sponsorships. Stewart has had success with his USAC and World of Outlaws Sprint Car teams, putting together tremendous organizations, and he can apply the same principles to this endeavor, too.

Stewart’s departure will sting Gibbs for a season or two, but having Joey Logano to replace him as well as Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin to win races will keep the organization in the top tier.

4. Martin from DEI to Hendrick.

Martin, who will be 50 at the start of next season, has apparently decided to make one more run at the championship, which he’s never won, in accepting an offer from Hendrick to run the full season after two straight three-quarter seasons with Ginn and DEI. Hendrick can give him the equipment and the team to do the job and figures, at minimum, that Martin can win a race or two for the fourth team. Martin will also mentor his replacement, probably Nationwide driver Brad Keselowski.

Martin’s move hurts DEI on several fronts, reinforcing the image the team is headed downhill and taking away a competitive driver who can also attract sponsorship.

5. Mears from Hendrick to Childress? DEI? Ganassi?

Mears has had a difficult season — 23rd in the points with one top-five — but he’s the best available and works great with teammates and sponsors, important on an expansion team. Mears has one win and was 15th in the points last year, 14th with Ganassi in ‘06. The case can be made that with a little good luck and a little better performance, Mears can make the Chase.

His competition for the job probably comes from Scott Wimmer, David Stremme or Reed Sorenson, all Cup veterans without Mears’ credentials. For the same reasons, Mears should be attractive to DEI and Ganassi, where Sorenson is expected to depart.

RCR, a Chase team, is clearly Mears’ best option.

Hendrick didn’t enjoy releasing Mears, who was popular within the team, but it’s a performance- and sponsor-driven business. Martin has two top-fives in 12 races this season and 35 career victories in Cup. With Hendrick and some good fortune, he might be able to make that run at the title.

Tim Tuttle > INSIDE NASCAR

Scotland’s Dario Franchitti

Franchitti has not lived up to expectations so far in Nascar

Reigning IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti has lost his Nascar drive after owner Chip Ganassi closed the Scot’s No 40 team.

The 35-year-old has struggled in his first year since switching to Nascar and Ganassi said he could not justify going on without new sponsorship.

“There’s no money. It makes no sense to be running this out of my pocket. I had to put a stop to it,” stated Ganassi.

Franchitti was 41st overall with his team - part of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Ganassi will continue to run two other cars in the stock-car racing series, with former Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya currently 20th in the standings, while Reed Sorenson is 31st.

Long-time team sponsor Coors Light left at the end of last season and Ganassi was unable to secure fresh funding for Franchitti to drive the No 40 Dodge Avenger.

“This is a difficult decision that did not come without its share of anguish,” added Ganassi.

“In this tough business environment, continuing to run the car without proper funding has become increasingly difficult.

“If I kept it going I ran the risk of dragging the other two cars down and I don’t want to do that.”

In October 2007 Franchitti announced he was joining Nascar’s elite Sprint Cup but a broken ankle in April resulted in him missing five races and his best finish of 22nd was a major disappointment.

The entire No 40 team has been shut down, with virtually all the 70-plus employees losing their jobs.

Franchitti, who is expected to race in the second-tier Nationwide Series, was the first European driver to race full time in Nascar, which is the most popular form of motorsport in the United States.

Story from BBC SPORT

It is not what you’d call a shocker, the news this week that Casey Mears will be losing his ride at Hendrick Motorsports come season’s end. What is surprising is that Mark Martin will replace Mears. To the NASCAR-challenged, this is like the New York Yankees replacing a struggling, young outfielder with someone like, say, Ken Griffey Jr.

No announcements have been made yet, but the dominoes will soon fall, according to a source close to the situation.

Though he’s well-liked personally at HMS, Mears simply hasn’t performed. Teamed with crew chief Alan Gustafson, whom I consider one of the top-three crew chiefs in the Sprint Cup Series, Mears has done virtually nothing of note this season.

How slow has he been? He’s authored only one top-five run (last week at Sonoma), he’s led a whopping total of five laps and he’s 24th in points. What makes Mears look even worse is that last season this No. 5 team, with Kyle Busch piloting the car, had one win, 11 top 5s, made the Chase, and finished fifth in the final standings. In other words, this is a championship-caliber team; it’s just not getting a championship-caliber performance out of its driver.

Enter Martin. A four-time runner-up in the final standings, Martin will turn 50 in January. According to my source, Martin wants to make one last serious charge at that elusive title, and that’s why he wanted to sign a one-year deal with Hendrick, the most dominant team of the Chase era.

No driver Martin’s age has ever won a championship — the oldest to capture a title was 46-year-old Bobby Allison in 1983 — but Martin believes he has one good year left in him and that, given top-flight equipment, he can contend. Considering that Martin was leading the points last season after the first three races — he then opted to drive a part-time schedule — he appears to still have what it takes to challenge for checkered flags on a regular basis, age be damned.

But to me, the real winner of the Martin-to-Hendrick storyline is going to be Dale Earnhardt Jr. Little E shares the same garage at Hendrick with Mears, and while the two have a solid relationship, it’s pretty clear that Mears isn’t bringing much to the table in terms of setup information. Martin, on the other hand, will be in a unique position to help Earnhardt. This season Martin has been driving Junior’s old car at DEI, the No. 8 Chevy, and Martin is working with many of the same people that Earnhardt spent time with over the previous eight years. So Martin and Junior have plenty in common, and the depth of their shared history will only help them as they work together to find speed next season at Hendrick.

In a way, this move to bring Martin to Hendrick almost seems to be as much about Earnhardt as it is Martin. Rick Hendrick desperately wants to get Little E his first title, and while that might happen this season — he’s currently third in the standings — Earnhardt will be the first to tell you that he hasn’t consistently flashed the speed that’s been shown by Kyle Busch, who is clearly the championship favorite at this point. By luring Martin to Hendrick in ‘09, Earnhardt will have an ideal mentor who’s part father figure and part racing guru. Think about it: Will anyone in the sport next season have a better supporting cast than Earnhardt?

In a word, no. It would be a nice story if Martin wins his first championship next season as he drives into the sunset, but it would be an even bigger story if he helps Little E hoist the Cup in Homestead come November 2009.

By Lars Anderson > Inside NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr.’s road to NASCAR appeared to be paved with gold.

So far it’s been anything but.

The New Jersey native, who broke in with tons of promise, has had a dark shadow hanging over his head - along with the entire Dale Earnhardt, Inc. team - for much of his time in the sport’s top level.

Last year the talk was all about Dale Jr. leaving the team. This year it’s about Truex’s contract, and just recently there’s been talk about teammate Mark Martin moving to Hendrick Motorsports next year.

The fact is Truex hasn’t had a clean, controversy-free season at DEI. Not yet at least.

“No, I really haven’t to be honest with you,” Truex said this week. “I think part of that is DEI being Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated. It’s always been under a tough microscope. I think whether it was before Dale Jr. or after Dale Jr. it’s always been that way.”

It’s not all his fault, but he’s right in the midst of the storm cloud.

And when Truex talks you can hear the deep frustration in his voice.

He made the Chase for the Championship last year, but now he’s sitting 17th. His performance - the team’s performance - will have to change fast if he’s going to have any shot at getting into the Chase.

While there have been some good runs, he’s not been great. Adding to the performance misery is the off-track nonsense. Face it, DEI gets slammed just for being DEI. DEI head Teresa Earnhardt often unfairly becomes fodder for talk radio chatter by callers and hosts.

“I think a lot of the people are harsh in their opinions of DEI and what they are, you know, the job they’re able to do,” Truex said. “I think the perception of DEI is not as good as what it really is. So that’s been tough at times. Seems like I’ve always had to stick up for them when there is really nothing to stick up for. So it’s been a weird situation. It’s always been something a little different. But there’s always been somebody trying to, you know, make their job a little tougher than it should be I think.”

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Truex got his start in New Jersey, following in his father’s footsteps. Along the way he won a bunch of races, including the 1999 Turkey Derby Classic at Wall Stadium. He’s also won two titles on the Nationwide level. And he moved gradually into Sprint Cup at DEI.

A year ago with Junior leaving Truex was fixing to be the man at DEI. He may be the man, but clearly the team is off a tick.

Truex said it’s easy to not let the off-track nonsense get in the way of his driving because he’s a racer and that’s all he’s ever done

No one would blame him, though, if the constant chatter and controversy had a role in his performance. Now there’s the talk of his uncertain future.

There’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and he’s got mixed feelings about carrying that load, too.

“I’m not one to just walk out and take the easy road,” he said. “I don’t mind the challenge. I think if we succeed and we do our job, it’s a lot more gratifying. We’ve got more pride in it.”

Still he’s an underdog.

“I kind of like that situation. But at the same time if things aren’t going right and people are pointing the finger and asking why you’re not getting the job done, you’ve got to take the heat then, too,” Truex said. “So it’s a tough situation either way.”

Truex said he’s enjoyed his time at DEI and he’s still having fun. No surprise that he won’t show his hand on what his plans are other than saying he and DEI are working hard to put things together for next year. It has taken a little bit longer than everyone expected, he added.

“For me it’s just trying to get comfortable and be comfortable in the position I’m in - what they’re doing and the direction they’re headed for the future, so I can make sure that we can be together for a long time,” he said.

Interestingly Dale Jr. used some of those same reasons for leaving. Considering his performance and the level of frustration in his voice you wonder if the future for Truex means moving away from the storm cloud in order to get ahead, just like Junior did.

Sometimes the grass is really greener.

by Richard Huff
nydailynews.com

Carl Edwards feels your pain. So does Denny Hamlin.

While their occupation as NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers might suggest otherwise, Edwards and Hamlin are just like every other American who has been staggered by the cost of gasoline. After all, they’re paying the same price at the pump as you when they go to fill up their personal vehicles or recreational toys such as motorcycles, boats, and, yes, even aircraft.

So they feel it, too.

“I really do, believe it or not,” said Hamlin, the 27-year-old driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. “It’s tough when you have a normal vehicle and it takes $85 to fill it up where it used to take about $26.

“I haven’t been around too long and I haven’t had my license too long, and I don’t remember when it was 25 cents [a gallon], but I do remember when it was about $1.69.”

And that’s to say nothing of the rising cost of aviation fuel, which has hit those drivers who fly from race to race in private jets.

“I feel it through that, for sure,” Hamlin said. “I think it probably costs us somewhere in the neighborhood of $12,000-$13,000 to fill it up and that will take us about three or four hours [of flying time] and that’s it. I know that’s what it was when gas prices were normal.”

Ah, those halcyon days when gas was less than $2 per gallon and it took no more than a $20 bill to fill up the tank. Now, with the price of crude hovering near $137 a barrel, Americans sometimes have to reach for the C-notes instead to fill up.

“Just like anyone, I filled up my truck this morning and the pump stopped at $75 and the tank is half-full,” said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford fielded by Roush Fenway Racing. “So I’m very fortunate right now that I have a very good job and I get paid a lot of money and it’s the greatest thing in the world.

“But I can understand, because just a few years ago, I was driving myself around the country, doing odd jobs, trying to go to college, and I was broke. And fuel prices weren’t $4 a gallon, so I can definitely understand that this is tough on a lot of people.”

But how tough has it been for NASCAR to operate what, on the surface, appears to be a gas-guzzling enterprise? Car owners and drivers don’t necessarily feel it at the pump when they go to work, because Sunoco, which has been the official fuel of NASCAR since 2004, supplies a custom, high-octane fuel for each and every team that lines up in the 43-car grid.
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At no cost.

So, for example, in this Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., NASCAR officials estimate that Sunoco will bring about 2,738 gallons of race fuel to the track to be distributed to race teams. Total cost: Zero.

If NASCAR teams, which will consume an estimated 63.8 gallons of fuel Sunday, getting an average of 5 miles to the gallon, were forced to pay what the average American pays at the pump ($4 per gallon), then the fuel bill would come out to almost $255 per team.

For a 500-mile race, NASCAR car owner Eddie Wood of Wood Brothers Racing calculates that it would require 116 gallons at a cost of roughly $464.

“That’s one tire,” said Wood, trying to put it in relative terms. “In the real world, to us, that’s one tire. Everything’s based on tires. ‘Well, that’s one set of tires, that’s two sets of tires.’ ”

A drop in the barrel
Sunoco produces its custom race fuel for NASCAR’s top three series at a refinery in Marcus Hook, Pa., near Philadelphia. The amount it produces annually for NASCAR represents but a tiny fraction of the fuel Americans consume.

“The amount of fuel used in NASCAR is relatively insignificant, when compared to the amount of consumption by Americans who drive each day,” said Andrew Giangola, NASCAR’s director of business communications. “The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series uses about 135,000 gallons of fuel, racing from Daytona and all the way through to the [season-ending] Ford 400 [in Homestead, Fla.]. And that compares to 360 million gallons used by Americans every day.”

And, Giangola was quick to point out, because the amount is so minute in comparison to the daily domestic demand, “It has no impact on the availability or price of regular passenger fuel.”

While they may not feel it at the track, NASCAR owners and drivers feel the pain at the pump off it. They must absorb the costs of ferrying not only themselves but a convoy of tractor-trailer rigs, each capable of hauling up to 80,000 pounds of equipment from NASCAR’s nerve center near Charlotte, N.C., to all compass points on the 36-race schedule.

According to Chris Sweeny, driver of the hauler for the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne, “Most teams figure that their transportation costs have gone up about 33 percent.”

Sweeny said it costs Gillett Evernham Motorsports roughly $1,500 to fill up the 300-gallon fuel tank on the diesel tractor-trailer.

To make the cross-country trek to Sonoma, Calif., for Sunday’s race at Infineon Raceway, Sweeny said it required two fuel stops each on the outbound and inbound portions.

NASCAR owners and drivers have been forced to deal with such staggering costs as part of the price of doing business in the sport these days.

“You conduct business as usual,” said car owner Len Wood, Eddie’s brother. “You can’t shop it around. The trucks usually leave with only a few hours of pad for a problem. So there’s really not any time to be riding by a truck stop, saying, ‘Oh, man, I can save some money there.’ There’s no time for that. You’ve got to keep on doing business as you were, as far as things like that.

“Transportation is not going to change. You’ve still got to go. You’ve still got to be there.”

Chimed in Eddie Wood, “They’re still going to have a race whether we’re there or not, no matter what you do.”

As for the Wood Brothers’ operating costs, how has their bottom line been affected?

“Well, steel costs are up,” noted Eddie Wood. “The steel sheets we bought four years ago were about $10,000. Last year, it was $16,000 for the very same thing. So that’s a piece of equipment we need.

“Obviously, the steel that we use to build our cars is more expensive than it was a year ago. Then everything you purchased to go on the car is more expensive, because a lot of those products have to be made somewhere and they have to be transported somehow, so their costs are going up.

“Seems like everything gets back to fuel, doesn’t it?”

By Michael Vega
Globe Staff / June 24, 2008

Jeff Gordon continues to seek his first win of 2008, but no one will be holding a tag sale any time soon for the four-time Cup champion.

Even though he remains winless in the first 16 races, Gordon’s third-place finish Sunday at Sonoma, Calif., helped him jump three spots in the Sprint Cup standings.

He comes into Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ranked sixth.

With 10 races remaining, Gordon still is not a lock to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup 10-race playoff, but his odds have certainly improved, even if he still hasn’t won a race.

But until, if or when that happens, Gordon is still having a good year, no matter what the cynics keep saying.

Q. You’re so competitive that anything less than a win can be considered disappointing. Still, wasn’t finishing third a good day in the big picture of moving closer to qualifying for the Chase?

A. “Well, I’m disappointed the way we started the race. I really thought (Saturday that) we were going to be good on the long runs and instead, we were not. So I feel very fortunate that we finished third. Things really went our way to get that third. You know, when we’ve won out here in the past, we didn’t need things to go our way; we were good enough to make up for some of that. (Sunday) we weren’t.”

Q. What do you think about your former teammate, Kyle Busch, winning his first career road course race?

A. “I’m really impressed with Kyle, because I’ve been around him and I don’t think he’s a very good road racer. You know, obviously he’s maturing and he’s learning, and that’s what it’s going to take for him to maintain that points lead and be a factor and continue to win these races. If he can win (at Sonoma), it’s going to boost his confidence; he’s going to think he can win anywhere.  He might be able to.”

Q. You say this season has been disappointing, the same thing many of your cynical critics are saying, yet you’re up to sixth in the standings. How can you be disappointed, being that high in the rankings?

A. “As a team, we’re performing unbelievable. But it is very frustrating that the cars were so good last year, and this year, we’re just not where we need to be. I know that Hendrick Motorsports has the resources and I still feel like I have what it takes, and I know my team does. It’s been frustrating at times because when you don’t have the cars running the way you want them to, everybody starts to lose their confidence.  The team does, you do, and it only takes a few little things to click, and all of a sudden, you’re right back there and that’s what we constantly have to remind ourselves. We are very happy to be where we are in the points, feel pretty blessed to be honest with you, to be where we are in the points because I can’t necessarily say that it’s been from being awesome fast.”

By Jerry Bonkowski
GateHouse News Service

June 21, 2008
As silly season 2009 continues to pick up steam, the hottest seat in the NASCAR garage for next year appears to be the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by Casey Mears.

Despite Mears’ contract lasting through 2009, many of NASCAR’s top stars have been rumored to take over the seat. The names with the most weight attached to them in the rumor mill as of late are Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart.

Mears’ season has been full of disappointment thus far. Currently sitting at 27th in points, and at one point in danger of falling out of the top 35 cars in owners’ points locked into every race, Mears’ best finish so far has been seventh, at Martinsville and Talladega. Mears opened the season with a 35th at Daytona and a 42nd at Fontana, followed by another 42nd at Bristol three races later. Mears has led only one lap all season, at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte; a race he won last season.

Certainly driving for four teams in four seasons doesn’t help a driver’s psyche, or teach him anything about consistency, but the #5 team expects better from their driver - especially after Kyle Busch led the team to four wins and a Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in three seasons.

Truex is highly unlikely to take the seat from Mears, after Dale Earnhardt Inc. exercised its contract option on him for 2009. However, Truex is a good friend of newest Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and could possibly be lured to the team that way. Since winning his first career race at Dover last season, Truex’s race finishes have been composed of hot streaks intertwined with many finishes of 30th or worse. Indeed, he only has one top-5 finish thus far this season (at Richmond) and sits 15th in points.

Bowyer’s contract also stipulates that he will drive for his current team, Richard Childress Racing, through 2009. However, that team is expanding from three cars to four. Combined with the presence of two top drivers already, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, and the potential addition of Ryan Newman for 2009, Bowyer may find himself the number four driver at RCR next season. However, with Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick, it’d be hard to see him any better off in the #5.

Bowyer’s performance may see a slight drop if he stays with the team next season. However, he hasn’t had any performance issues so far this season: he sits 12th in points, has one win, three top-5s, and an average finish of 16.9. Bowyer may not want to risk starting anew with a new team and crew chief Alan Gustafson, as his current partnership with Gil Martin has landed him in one Chase for the Cup and should keep him in this year’s title hunt.

Tony Stewart is the most interesting rumor of the bunch. Not only is he signed with Joe Gibbs Racing through 2009, the #5 car appears to be a fall-back option for him.

His current goal is to assume partial ownership of a team, which he may do with Haas CNC Racing. Stewart’s relationship with manufacturer Chevrolet is very strong, and he was reportedly not very pleased with Gibbs’ decision to leave them for Toyota this season. Stewart fields Chevrolets in USAC competition.

Stewart has also been the number-three driver at Gibbs this season as far as performance goes, as he is the only driver in the stable to not have won a Sprint Cup race thus far this season. (For the record, he’s won four Nationwide Series events in six tries.)

Stewart usually heats up late in the season, but to not have won through 15 races and be sitting 11th in points is a disappointing first part of the season for him.

The answer, however, may not lie in further change for either Mears or the #5 team. Since being shuffled from the #41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge in 2005, to the #42 CGR car in 2006, to the #25 at Hendrick last year, to the #5 in 2008, Mears has never truly had a chance to prove himself with any one team, and his best years should be yet to come.

Hendrick shouldn’t take a risk at going after any more contractually obligated drivers, let Mears fulfill his contract, and go driver-hunting again in 2009, when all of those mentioned above will truly be free agents. Perhaps Mears will break out and prove himself worthy of the #5.

by Chris Leone, Bleacherreport.com

June 22, 2008
SONOMA, Calif. — For David Gilliland, it always has seemed simple at Infineon Raceway, a tricky 1.99-mile road-course that gives other Sprint Cup series drivers serious fits.

Gilliland made his first Sprint Cup start at the track in June of 2006, but it wasn’t the first time he had raced at the venue. He had raced there while on the NASCAR Camping World West circuit and also in the NASCAR Southwest series, winning two events.

So it came as no surprise — at least to Gilliland — that he registered a Cup career-best second-place finish in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon. He said he owes much of his Infineon success to his father, Butch, formerly a formidable driver in his own right in what is now known as the Camping World West series.

“My dad has won here four times, and the first time I ever road raced I came here,” said Gilliland, who served as his father’s crew chief when Butch won the Camping World West series championship in 1997. “I had never road raced or nothing, and I qualified fourth. We broke a transmission then, but I just always came here with the attitude that if my dad could do it, I guess I can do it.

“I’ve never really taken any lessons on road racing. I’m just kind of at home here. It’s been good. It’s been a great racetrack for us.”

The only one better Sunday was race winner Kyle Busch, who said he once drove for the Gilliland family in a lower series when he was starting out as a driver.

“We’ve been friends kind of through the years,” said Busch, who recalled getting moved out of the way for a spot by Gilliland on the last lap of one of those early races.

It was ironic, then, that Busch felt all along that Gilliland wouldn’t attempt to do the same in the final laps Sunday — even though he said he knew how badly Gilliland hungers for his first Sprint Cup victory.

“To be racing with him at the end of the race was neat. I knew he would race me clean,” said Busch, who won his series-high fifth Cup race of the season. “I’ve got to thank him for doing that and also congratulate him on a great finish of his own.”

Jeff Gordon, who finished third right behind Gilliland, also said he was impressed with the way Gilliland smoothly negotiated his No. 38 Ford around the 12-turn Infineon beast.

“I wasn’t around him enough to know what he did most of the race, but there at the end he was definitely impressive,” Gordon said. “He was good on the restarts. He would get in there, and I thought he was going to have something for Kyle there at the end. I think actually if all the speedy-dry hadn’t been on the racetrack, he might have.

“Kyle did a great job. It shows all the talent he’s got and what a great team effort it was. But David really impressed me. I was happy for him; I like David a lot.”

The speedy-dry was on the track after a 12-minute delay when the race was red-flagged, following a late-race accident that removed three key players from contention and benefited Gilliland perhaps most of all.

It occurred in Turn 4 when Kevin Harvick drove his No. 29 Chevrolet in too deep, locked up the brakes, and got into the back of the No. 26 Ford of Jamie McMurray, who then hit the No. 20 Toyota being driven by Tony Stewart. All three cars had been running in the top five when Harvick, running fifth, attempted to pass Gilliland, who was running fourth, and set off the melee (watch video).

Much to the pleasure of Busch as well as Gilliland, the No. 38 Ford drove right through it all and into second place, where Gilliland remained the rest of the race.

“Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but when Harvick comes up to me and runs his mouth like he did at Michigan [after an incident in a Craftsman Series truck race last weekend] and says all the stuff he did, he kind of stuck it right back in his mouth here this weekend. That was good to see,” Busch said.

Gilliland was just happy to survive the incident and come home with the best finish of his season and his Cup career.

“It looked like Harvick got in there and wheel-hopped a little bit. It was not on purpose. It was just one of those deals,” Gilliland said. “Turns 7 and 11 are dangerous, just for that deal. You try to get in as hard as you can, and if you wheel-hop the back tires at all, it’s trouble.

“It was close. It was right there in front of me, but we were able to get past it.”

Avoiding that kind of trouble was key to Gilliland’s strong day, as he ran in the top seven most of the sunny afternoon.

“We never got off the track, we never missed a beat, and our brakes were perfect,” Gilliland said. “That’s what it takes to do well on a road course: no mistakes.”

Gilliland said he hopes to build on it and help his employer, Yates Racing, and a full-time sponsor. The organization has been in search of one all season long.

“To come here and have a good day, we’re in a sponsor search right now for a full-time deal, so hopefully this will help. We’re just excited about it,” Gilliland said. “We had a terrible run last weekend [finishing 27th at Michigan]. This should help us build some momentum. We’re going to use this; we’re going to build this up.

“We ran strong all day long. We ran in the top six or seven 90 percent of the day, and I’m really proud of that. I’m just really proud, most of all, of Yates Racing and where we’ve come as a team — [fellow Yates driver] Travis Kvapil and I both — in the six months from where we ended the year last year. Yates Racing is definitely coming back, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM

June 22, 2008
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who ended a 76-race winless streak last week at Michigan International Speedway, will seek his second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory today at the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

But oddsmakers do not give Earnhardt much of a chance on the road course at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. At betEd.com, Earnhardt is listed with 120-1 odds, numbers that put him deep in the pack of 43-car field.

Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who has won five times on the difficult course at Infineon, is listed as the favorite at 3.75-1.

Gordon, who had already gained four of his six 2007 victories by this point last season, is still looking for his first win of the season. Oddsmakers like Gordon’s chances based on his history at Infineon, where he holds the qualifying track record, most laps led and the most races led.

Robby Gordon, also seeking his first victory of the season, has the second-best odds for today’s race at 6.75-1.

He’s followed by Tony Stewart with 7.5-1 odds, and Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick at 9-1.

The odds are slightly different at Bodoglife.com, which lists Jeff Gordon as the favorite at 3-1.

Robby Gordon is next at 7-1, and then things change up. Kyle Busch, who leads the Sprint Cup Series standings, is listed along with Montoya at 9-1, followed by Stewart at 10-1.

In updated odds for the 2008 driver’s Cup championship, Busch is listed as the favorite with 7-2 odds, followed by Earnhardt at 5-1, and Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards at 6-1, according to Sportsbetting.com.

Jeff Burton, who trails Busch by 32 points in the Cup standings, is listed at 15-1 odds.

By Lonnie White, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

6/22/2008
Sonoma, CA (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch and the Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew made the right moves at the right times and he captured Sunday afternoon’s Toyota Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway. The No.18 M&M’s Toyota crossed the finish line 1.717 seconds ahead of David Gilliland.

The victory was Busch’s fifth of the season and ninth of his Sprint Cup career.

Twice Busch made pit stops just before a caution flag and it set him up with the lead on the final run to the checkered flag. He was never really challenged over the final 40 laps and led a total of 77 laps.

“These guys worked so hard,” said Busch. “This is really special. We came a long ways with this thing. That’s what makes me so proud of this team.”

Kasey Kahne, winner of three of the last five races and Friday’s pole, brought the field to the green flag for 110 laps of road-course fun. He led them through the first laps, but it was Robby Gordon that was showing the most speed. The No.7 Dodge started eighth but by the end of the third lap he was already past road-course ace Jeff Gordon and into fourth place.

Also of note was that Kahne was reporting to his pit crew that he had already lost first gear. Jimmie Johnson caught Kahne on lap five and passed him in Turn 11 to grab the lead and five bonus points.

Robby Gordon, who only knows one way to drive - at 110-percent, took third place from a fading Kahne on lap eight.

Meanwhile, Johnson was out for a “Sunday drive” with the clean air built his lead to almost four seconds after a dozen laps. Two drivers who looked strong early were Carl Edwards and rookie Marcos Ambrose. Also of note, defending champion Juan Pablo Montoya cracked the top-10 on lap 13.

Edwards was on the move and got around both Robby Gordon and Busch for second place on lap 21. He was more than four second behind the two-time series champion. But Edwards was faster than Johnson and began to eat into his lead. Johnson’s lead was under one second at lap 28 as Edwards closed on the No.48 Chevrolet. A caution flag on lap 30, cause by David Ragan, slowed Edwards’ assault on Johnson.

Differing pit stop strategies, left Greg Biffle, Montoya and Busch at the front of the line. Johnson came out 11th, but the first of those who had pitted.

Biffle led for just three corners before spinning and when the smoke had cleared, Busch had slid underneath Montoya to grab the lead. Busch quickly built a two-second lead on Montoya.

In the middle of the field, Edwards got around Johnson and began to slowly move his way past those who had not stopped at the last caution flag.

Busch, Montoya and McMurray stayed in line at the front, although Busch built the lead to more than three seconds by lap 50.

In this “strategy race,” the question for every crew chief is when they would make their final stops. Last year, Montoya made his final stop on lap 68 and after everyone had cycled through he was left with the lead and the only question was could he stretch his fuel to the checkered flag. He did and won the race.

The drivers were mostly staying in line waiting for the final pit stop and run to the checkered flag. Exceptions were Edwards who cracked the top-five on lap 62 and Ambrose was also climbing - he was up to ninth. By lap 65 Edwards was up to fourth and Ambrose to seventh.

Gilliland pitted on lap 66, the first of the top-10 drivers to pit.

Could he go 44 laps on a tank of fuel?

Jeff Burton came in on the next lap as did Harvick and Clint Bowyer. Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in on lap 68. Busch came in on lap 69 as did Montoya, McMurray and Tony Stewart.

Then on the next lap Robby Gordon and Max Papis made contact and it brought out the caution flag.

With the caution flag in the middle of pit stops, the advantage went to those who had stopped before the yellow…the opposite of what you want at an oval track.

The remainder of the cars stopped when pit lane was opened on lap 71.

The race would restart with Busch, Montoya and McMurray again leading the way. Behind them were Ambrose, Gilliland, Stewart, Harvick and Ron Fellows.

Montoya, McMurray and Ambrose got together in Turn 11 when Ambrose tried to make a pass on the No.26 Ford. The end result was Montoya getting knocked back to 15th place and Ambrose taking over second.

McMurray fought back and passed Ambrose as the crossed the start/finish line to start lap 77. Ambrose began to fade as Gilliland, Stewart, Harvick and Elliott Sadler all got around the rookie. Then Ambrose’s transmission blew and his great day was over.

Busch again built a comfortable lead, almost three seconds at lap 90, 20 to go. Without a caution flag it appeared that it was Busch’s race to lose - assuming he had enough fuel to go 41 laps on his final fill up. His margin back to McMuray at lap 100 was more than four seconds.

But then David Reutimann slammed into the tire barrier with nine laps to go and it brought out a full-course caution flag. The yellow erased Busch’s big lead and gave those chasing him one last chance to catch him.

It took a while to dig Reutimann’s Toyota out of the tire barrier and the green flag dropped with six laps to go. Busch got a great start, but McMurray slipped off the track in the first turn and Stewart stole second from him.

A couple of turns later Harvick went in too hot, hit McMurray who in turn hit Stewart sending all three cars spinning. The accident also collected Ron Fellows who was set for a top-six finish.

The race would restart on lap 107 with Busch leading Gilliland and Jeff Gordon. But they couldn’t get in even one green-flag lap completed before the caution flag came out again.

The red flag came out to clean up the multi-car accident and officials declared the race would go to lap 112 on a green-white-checker finish. Busch got off to another great restart and was never challenged the rest of the way.

Jeff Gordon, Bowyer and Casey Mears completed the top-five. Montoya finished sixth.

Busch’s win gives him a 103-point lead over Burton heading to the next race - set for Sunday, June 29th at the New Hampshire International Speedway.

by: The Sporting News