July 2008 Archives

Robert Hight, fresh off his NHRA Funny Car win at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, was at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night to throw out the first pitch. He grew up in Northern California, in the heart of San Francisco Giants territory, but says he's a Dodger fan.
When he was younger, he could hear the radio broadcasts from Los Angeles all the way up north. Back then, the Dodgers were a playoff team almost every year and won a couple World Series in the 1980s.
I was able to meet Hight during the seventh inning of the game Wednesday night; Dodgers won 4-0 in case you're wondering. I was at the game with my 3-year-old son. We are fans and go to about 20 games a year.
Hight was there with family and friends as well. Earlier in the day, his team revealed a Dodger car celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium that he will race at Las Vegas and Pomona in November.
"To be able to throw out the first pitch is a baseball dream come true but to be able to honor the Dodgers' 50th anniversary at two NHRA events with my race car is really beyond anything I ever dreamed possible," High said in a release. "I want to thank my sponsors primarily, Automobile Club of Southern California, as well as our other team sponsors Castrol, Ford, Old Spice, Mac Tools, BrandSource, and Sanyo for agreeing to the changes on my Mustang. I plan on being the championship hunt at those last two races and it would be pretty special to see that Dodgers Auto Club Ford Mustang in the winner's circle at the end of the season."
Hight is second in the NHRA Funny Car standings with three races to go before the Countdown to One begins. The Countdown is a six-race playoff to determine the Funny Car champion.
The Dodgers Auto Club Ford Mustang will also be commemorated with a limited edition run of Motorsports Authentics die-cast collectibles. The replica Ford Mustangs will be the standard 1:24 scale and will be available for order by the end of the year though a variety of outlets including the John Force RaceStation (www.johnforceracestation.com).

Things are falling in to place for Tony Stewart and his new race team. He announced his sponsors, Old Spice and Office Depot, on Friday and unveiled his new car, a No. 14 Chevrolet. The No. 14 was made famous by A.J. Foyt, who winner of four Indianapolis 500s in the No. 14 car. Foyt gave Stewart his approval and his blessing for using the No. 14 on his car.
"Tony and I have been friends for a long time," said Foyt, winner of the 1972 Daytona 500 and the 1967 24 Hours of LeMans. "I think I first met him when he was running Midgets. It was quite a while ago so I don't actually remember where and when. A few times he drove the Silver Crown car I had with George Snider back in the mid-90s and I gave him his first test in an Indy car in Phoenix (in 1995) and he ran pretty quick as I recall.
"In addition to being quick, he's always told it how it is. I don't think there's anyone better to carry the No. 14."
Stewart, winner of two Cup championships, has been in five Indy 500s and owns a USAC team. Foyt is still involved in Indy car racing, owner of an Indy Racing League team.
"A.J. has always been my hero and will always be No. 1 on my hero list, with the best part being that we are really good friends," Stewart said. "We obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for one another. I remember him calling me after I won my first Cup championship in 2002 and I remember how much it meant to have him call that night and congratulate me. We really do have similar pasts and carry a lot of characteristics that are the same. He is one of the greatest icons in racing worldwide and to be compared to him in any way is always a huge honor."

What was supposed to be a temporary fix until a better idea came along has turned into a change that will last for the rest of the NHRA season.
The Top Fuel and Funny Car entries will race 1,000 feet, instead of the traditional quarter-mile (or 1,320 feet) for the rest of the year.
The change in distance was made in the wake of the death of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during the race weekend in New Jersey last month.
The shorter race distance gives drivers more braking area and prevents the cars from reaching higher speeds. Some of the Top Fuel and Funny Car entries reached speeds between 320 mph and 330 mph.
The decision to keep the distance at 1,000 feet was made by NHRA officials and a safety task force headed by Dan Olson, NHRA director of Top Fuel & Funny Car racing. He is joined by Austin Coil, crew chief for John Force Racing; Jim Head, Funny Car driver/crew chief; Alan Johnson, crew chief for the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster; Jon Oberhofer, crew chief for the Doug Kalitta-driven Top Fuel dragster; Mark Oswald, co-crew chief on Melanie Troxel's Funny Car; and Tim Wilkerson, Funny Car driver/crew chief. Other representatives from NHRA and the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) will also participate.
NHRA's two other Professional categories, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, and all Sportsman competition will continue to be contested over the traditional quarter-mile distance.

It might be an off weekend of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but Kyle Busch will be on the race track Saturday night.
The leader in the Cup standings will be in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. He has missed the past two Truck Series races and has the No. 51 truck for Billy Ballew Motorsports in fifth place in the owners standings.
"It's been great to be able to have the success that we've had this year," said Busch. "In the Truck Series, we ran second at Daytona, we won at California and Atlanta back-to-back, and haven't really had much since. We've had fast trucks just haven't had the opportunities to win races in them."
In addition to leading the Cup standings, Busch is the series leader in wins with seven. He also has five Nationwide Series this year, but hasn't won a Truck Series race since March in Atlanta.
"We have to try and get back on task," Busch said. "Try to get back on what we were doing earlier this year and get our trucks back going again. We tried some different things and they weren't working to well for us, so we feel like we are back on track here this weekend in Kentucky. We had a good truck in practice there and made some gains on it. Hopefully, we can go back out here in the second practice -- a little bit closer to night time -- and have a good solid run."

Joey Logano, the heir-apparent to the No. 20 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing, will be racing at Gateway International Raceway for a Nationwide Series race. He was asked before the race about his chances of moving into the Cup Series as the driver of the No. 20 car.
"Nothing has really changed," said Logano, who won the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale last year. "It's pretty much the same deal. If they offer it to me, I'd take it. It's something that has been talked about but I'm not in a position to say anything. I don't really know what I'm going to do yet. Like I said before, I'm focused on the No. 20 Nationwide car right now and from there that is Joe (Gibbs) and J.D.'s (Gibbs) deal."
Logano did say he is a little surprised his name is in the discussion about driving the No. 20 car at the Cup level.
"I definitely think it's a cool thing to even have your name in the hat on that one," Logano said. "It's a great team and a great car. The car has won two championships with Tony driving it. The whole team has been together for so long and to be driving any car for Joe Gibbs Racing right now would be great. I'm just trying to make the best of my opportunities now. The only thing I've got set in stone right now is this Nationwide car so I'll make the best of it."

From John Force's people, for those who can't get enough of John Force Racing.
The 2009 John Force Racing Team Calendar, with 16 months full of drag racing excitement, is now available for pre-order. Pre-orders are being taken exclusively through John Force RaceStation online at www.JohnForceRaceStation.com or via phone at (714) 921-1651.
The 2009 John Force Racing Team Calendar offers a complete behind the scenes look at the winningest team in NHRA Professional Drag Racing. The calendar highlights all JFR drivers, teams and facilities with exclusive photos, plus Force Fast Facts, and the NHRA Full Throttle 2009 Drag Racing Series schedule each and every month.

The combination of Marco Andretti and Franck Montagny produced a fifth-place finish at Lime Rock Park for Andretti Green Racing in the American Le Mans Series.
For the race this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Montagny will be teamed with Raphael Matos and the hopes of a better finish.
Montagny made his debut with Andretti Green at Lime Rock Park, replacing Valencia's Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi in the team's No. 26 Acura.
Matos, a driver for Andretti Green Racing in the Indy Lights series, will be making his first start in the American Le Mans Series.
"I'm very excited to be driving the XM Acura at Mid-Ohio in addition to my duties for the Firestone Indy Lights Series," Matos said. "I got to test AGR's ALMS car at Mid-Ohio earlier in the season, which I think will help me get up to speed much quicker. I am looking forward to driving with Franck as I know that we will be able to work well together to set up the car. Hopefully we can give Acura a win at their home track and give AGR their first win of the season."
Matos will be a busy driver. He is entered in the American Le Mans Series race and a doubleheader Indy Lights weekend with races on Saturday and Sunday.

Kyle Busch won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series best seventh race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. He has won two straight Cup races and three of the past four.
Here is a look at the races he's won this year:
March 9: Atlanta Motor Speedway (first Cup win for Toyota)
April 27: Talladega Superspeedway
May 10: Darlington Raceway
June 1: Dover International Speedway
June 22: Infineon Raceway (first road course win for Busch)
July 5: Daytona International Speedway
July 12: Chicagoland Speedway
"This is just an unbelievable year and something to be really proud of and really fortunate to be involved with," said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "To have a ll these guys on my side with Joe Gibbs and J.D. (Gibbs) and Steve (Addington, crew chief) and everybody, it's just unbelievable. You cherish them when you can get them, and definitely this year is one to cherish."
Denny Hamlin, Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, has one win, giving Toyota eight Cup wins in its second season in the Cup Series.
Hamlin won the race at Martinsville Speedway on March 30.
But Busch has been the story of the year so far.
"This doesn't come along very often -- I never dreamed of this for myself," Busch said. "You always see it happen with somebody else and you feel good about them being able to do that. Now, that that feeling has come upon me, I know you have to stay humble and yet stay hungry, go out there and do what you can in order to survive in these races, and to survive up front and try to win. Somehow, it's paying off and it's working out. I'm just so proud of the effort."

Kyle Busch is up for two ESPYs and Jimmie Johnson is up for one.
Busch is nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Driver. Johnson is up for Best Driver as well.
Dario Franchitti, who recently lost his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride with Chip Ganassi, is also nominated for Best Driver. He did win the Indianapolis 500 and the IRL IndyCar Series championship last year.
The other drivers nominated for Best Driver are:
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Scott Dixon, IRL
Tony Schumacher, NHRA

The others nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete are:
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Stephen Curry, Davidson Basketball
Ana Ivanovic, Tennis

NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray will be in L.A. for the next couple of days for the ESPY awards. The show is being taped Tuesday and will be televised Sunday on ESPN.
McMurray is nominated for Best Finish for beating Kyle Busch in last year's Pepsi 400 at Daytona Internationa Speedway.
"This is going to be a very busy week, but certainly it's going to be a lot of fun," said McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "On Tuesday, we are flying out to L.A., where we'll spend a couple days, and then it's off to practice my go-kart for a day, then fly to Gateway for the Nationwide race, and then back to Indiana for the go-kart race on Sunday."
Following the ESPY Awards on Wednesday evening, McMurray will fly to Indiana, where he will practice his go-kart during the evening practice session on Thursday. On Friday morning, McMurray will travel to St. Louis for the Nationwide race weekend.
In the ESPYs, McMurray is up against Western Kentucky's upset win over Drake in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Game 1 of the NBA playoff game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns, and Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup finals, triple overtime win by the Detroit Red Wings over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With a final round appearance at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado, Jack Beckman climbed back in the top 10 in the NHRA Funny Car standings.
The top 10 drivers in the highly competitive Funny Car division will qualify for the Countdown to One, the playoffs to determine the NHRA champion in the Funny Car division.
Beckman, a driver from North Hills, holds a slight two-point lead over Bob Tasca in 11th place. There are two drivers, Del Worsham and Melanie Troxel, outside the top 10 who have won races this year.
Here's a look at the Funny Car standings after 13 races. Race wins are in parentheses:

1. T. Wilkerson (4) 978
2. Robert Hight (1) 763
3. T. Pedregon (3) 750
4. Ashley Force (1) 739
5. Cruz Pedregon 720
6. John Force (1) 695
7t. Gary Densham 632
7t. Ron Capps 632
9. Mike Neff 600
10. Beckman (1) 530
11. Bob Tasca -2
12. D. Worsham (1) -13
13. Gary Scelzi -39
14. M. Troxel (1) -86
15. Jerry Toliver -116

Patron Highcroft Racing gave Acura its first overall win in more than a year in an American Le Mans Series race at Lime Rock Park in the Northeast Grand Prix.
Scott Sharp and David Brabham won the race at Lime Rock Park, the first overall win for an Acura team since the 2007 12 Hours of Sebring. The Andretti Green Racing team won that race with Valencia's Bryan Herta as one of the drivers.
Sharp and Brabham also won the LMP2 portion of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The win at Lime Rock Park was the second of the year for the Patron Highcroft Racing team.
"You couldn't have written a better story for our group at Acura and HPD," said Erik Berman, President of Santa Clarita-based Honda Performance Deveopment. "It was a wild weekend with the front row of the grid all Acura. It was an amazing race. I followed Robert Clarke in this position, and Robert did a massive amount of work to help make this win possible. I am proud of all of the Acura teams and I am sure he is, too. Winning overall is a new milestone for this young Acura program. But we have to continue to work hard and keep pushing."

Now that it looks like Ryan Newman is headed to join Tony Stewart at the soon-to-be-formed Stewart-Haas Racing next year, there are three really good seats available in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Newman's team at Penske Racing in the No. 12 Dodge has been struggling of late, but it is the car that won the Daytona 500 and has won 13 Cup races with Newman behind the wheel.
Another open seat is the fourth car that Richard Childress Racing will add next year. Then there's Stewart's car, the No. 20 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing, that won two Cup championships.
First, the No. 12 Dodge: Reports have Dario Franchitti as the frontrunner for this seat, but David Stremme's name has been kicked around too. It makes sense for Franchitti. Roger Penske, who owns the No. 12 Dodge in the Cup Series, is familiar with Franchitti's abilities from his days in Indy cars.
It would funny, though, if Stremme ended up with Penske. Stremme was the guy nudged out by Chip Ganassi to make room for Franchitti at the Cup level. That move didn't work out so well.
As for the fourth car at RCR, Casey Mears appears to be in the driver's seat to land that driver's seat.
And pretty much everyone agrees that Joey Logano will end up in the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing next year. Probably the bigger question is who will be Greg Zipadelli's driver next year.

Before NHRA Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan heads to Pacific Raceways outside of Seattle in Washington, the second stop of three known as the West Coast swing in drag racing circles, he will be making a pit stop in California.
"Three weeks on the road is tough, but I have to go back to California before I get to Seattle and bury my grandmother (who died last week) and then I'll be in Seattle on Thursday ready to start qualifying and hopefully knock 'em dead on Sunday," McClenathan said.
McClenathan is fourth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings and has won once at Pacific Raceways in 1997. Last year he was the 11th qualifier and was eliminated in the first round.
"Seattle is a great place," said McClenathan. "We've done very well there in the past and I look forward to returning there. The weather's been off and on there, but one thing about Pacific Raceways is that you have all those trees and you get a lot of oxygen, which helps produce more power in the engines, and we also get back down to sea level. And that's good for this FRAM dragster. I think crew chief Mike Green and the guys will do a great job there."

There will be an open casting call for the NBC game show "Deal or No Deal" at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night. Buy a ticket to the race, get a chance to try out for the show.
Plus, because rain washed out some of the races last weekend at Irwindale, the track will honor tickets purchased last Saturday night for this Saturday night's races.

If Tony Stewart goes to Haas/CNC Racing, as most expect will be announced Thursday at Chiacgoland Speedway, it will create a number of moves throughout NASCAR.
For one, it will open a seat on one of the best teams in the Sprint Cup Series. Most likely Joey Logano will move up to the Cup Series. Logano has been in the developmental program for Joe Gibbs Racing and won the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale last year.
Part of Stewart's move to Haas/CNC Racing might include the move of Ryan Newman from Penske Racing to Haas/CNC Racing. That would give Haas/CNC Racing a two-time Cup champion and a Daytona 500 winner. Quite an upgrade from Johnny Sauter and Scott Riggs.
Speaking of Sauter and Riggs, they will most likely be out of work. Chances are they will end up on another Cup team, but it looks like their time with Haas/CNC Racing is limited.

Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing have agreed to part ways at the end of the 2008 season. Stewart is reportedly headed to Haas/CNC Racing next year and will have an ownership stake in the two-car Sprint Cup Series team.
Stewart has scheduled a news conference Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway to announce his future plans in NASCAR.
He will be in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota for the remainder of the Cup season and will race in two Nationwide Series races for the team. He will be in the No. 20 car for JGR in the Nationwide Series races at this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois and Aug. 16 at Michigan International Speedway.
"I cannot thank Joe and J.D. Gibbs enough for the opportunity they gave me and for the support they've given me throughout my entire NASCAR career," Stewart said. "I've learned so much from them and have a tremendous amount of respect for what they've built."
Stewart won two Cup championships and 32 Cup races racing for Joe Gibbs Racing.
"We've had a lot of success with Tony in our 12 years here at Joe Gibbs Racing," said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. "While this moment is bittersweet, we're parting on good terms and we know that each of us has benefited greatly from the other."

Martin Truex Jr. was fined and his team was penalized for bringing a car to Daytona last weekend that did not pass inspection by NASCAR officials.
Truex was penalized 150 points and dropped four places in the Cup standings. He is 18th in the Sprint Cup standings.
Truex's crew chief Kevin Manion was fined $100,000 and suspended until Aug. 27. Teresa Earnhardt, the owner of the team, was penalized 150 points in the owners standings.

Tony Stewart is making an announcement Wednesday at Chicagoland Speedway about his future plans in NASCAR.
ESPN.com is reporting that Stewart will announce that he has been granted a release from his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. That would allow Stewart to pursue a deal with Haas/CNC Racing that could include Stewart gaining partial ownership of the two-car Sprint Cup Series team.
Haas/CNC Racing was founded and owned by Gene Haas, a Cal State Northridge graduate who is serving a federal prison sentence for tax evasion.
ESPN.com is reporting among other things that Ryan Newman will join Stewart at Haas/CNC Racing.
Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter drives for Haas/CNC Racing. Riggs is in the team's No. 66 car. Sauter is in the No. 70 car.

The Sporting News is reporting that Chip Ganassi Racing is suspending operations of Dario Franchitti's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team. Franchitti will not be racing in Saturday night's Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.
According to The Sporting News, the team cited a lack of sponsorship funding for the reason why it is shutting down the No. 40 car.
The team will continue to operate the teams for Juan Pablo Montoya, in the No. 42 car, and Reed Sorenson, in the No. 41 car.
The team also said it is committed to continuing Franchitti's development as a NASCAR driver. It is considering expanding Franchitti's involvement in the Nationwide Series.