Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 02:49:49 pm
YOU HAVE TO FEEL GOOD WITH YOUR POSITION IN THE STANDING SO FAR THIS YEAR?
“Yeah, I think we’re right there. We’ve had a few races that weren’t so good for points, but we still were running strong. The last three races, we haven’t scored many points, but we’re a top 10 – and Talladega - you’re anywhere from 1st to 40th. But as far as the two before that, we had a shot easily in the top 10. The guys are doing a great job. The team is coming together. Gillett Evernham has done a good job putting everyone back together and working hard for our goal. I think our cars are much better. I was third today in practice. Elliott was fifth. The Nationwide car we were second, so I think things are coming and getting better.”
=> Read more!
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 10:54:26 am
ANY CONCERN ABOUT YOUR DROP IN THE POINTS STANDINGS THE LAST FEW RACES?
“I’m not really concerned because the last two races we’ve been running in the top 10. A piece of debris hit the splitter and broke it off (in Texas). Then a right front went down and we had a brake issue running in the top 10 at Phoenix. Those are two finishes that have been pretty bad when we could have been in the top 10 very easily. I feel like our Dodge Chargers have been right there – they’re not as good as we need them yet. They’re not capable of winning but they’re very close and keep getting better each week.”
=> Read more!
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 11:05:04 am
Bristol Motor Speedway
Food City 500 Open Interview
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger)
TALK ABOUT COMING BACK TO BRISTOL?
“It’s a fun track. It’s a good track to race at. With the improvements last year made for a more exciting race – especially in the Busch cars. You could run pretty much anywhere on the track. The Cup cars weren’t as racey as the Busch cars were – but still pretty good. We led a lot of laps and had two pretty good cars here. I’m looking forward to it – I always like racing Bristol, it’s been good to us.”
IS IT A DISADVANTAGE TO RUN BOTH THE CUP AND NATIONWIDE SERIES CARS ON THE SAME WEEKEND?
“It’s definitely different. They’ve always different with the engines - that’s even a bigger difference now. The cars themselves have felt a bit different, and now it’s even more so. But it was like this at times last year. I think the place where it hits you the most where it makes it a little more difficult – say today when we practice the Nationwide car – and jump into the Budweiser car and qualify it – the first lap has to be your best lap. That makes it tough, but we’ve done it for a while and we’ve kind of learned it and know the feeling. If I was a rookie and just jumping in one and then the other – it would be tough. The way it is now, it’s a little difficult, but you just have to think hard about it and just realize what you’re getting into before you turn those laps. To race them both is just to race. I think the reason most of us do it anymore is just to race. I wouldn’t race 10 races for any other reason because I’m not going for any points – not doing anything other than to race and have a good time.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE WITHOUT RAY (EVERNHAM) THERE ON A DAILY BASIS?
“I think as far as the people at the shop and the way the shop is run – it’s not a big difference. You may not see him quite as much - they’re all busy doing their jobs and they have certain priorities and things that they have to do. So it’s not that big of a difference. To me, I’m up there when I get up there. Some weeks not at all – other weeks two or three times. Whether I see Ray or not, is the same now as it was two or three years ago. To me, he’s there – he still helps me with what I need. I talk to him once a week. I run into him – whether it’s seeing him out or he gives me a call – we talk every week and try and go over things. I think the shop side is a little bit different for those guys. They all have jobs and priorities and they’re working on them so I don’t necessarily think it matters a whole lot.”
WHAT EFFECT HAS IT HAD ON THE TEAM WITH HIS NEW ROLE?
“His impact on me is the same. He calls me and works with me a talks to me and says what I have to work on – what I’m doing good and what I’m doing bad and how to go about that. That’s how it’s been since 2004. I think mine and Ray’s relationship is really good and is still the same as it’s always been.”
HOW DIFFERENT IS THE FEELING THIS YEAR VERSUS LAST YEAR?
“Going into last weekend’s race, we had a lot of momentum and things were really good. Last week it kind of showed that you can miss it very easy still. A lot of teams did. At the end of the race we were a top-15 car but we were too far behind at that point and finished 28th. It’s definitely not a hole, it’s a great spot to be in. Everybody did a good job and we just have to keep working on where we’re at. I feel like to start the season the way we have is as good or better then what we could have really expected coming off of last year. It’s been a good start and everybody knows it and doing a good job to keep running good run here, Martinsville, Texas and down the line.”
HOW TOUGH IS IT TO PUT A WEEKEND LIKE ATLANTA BEHIND YOU AS A DRIVER?
“I had some things that I did this week, so I got over it pretty quick. When you think back to a race, that’s the first one you think to and we didn’t run that well. As far as going into this race, I feel like were just fine. I feel like we’re going and doing great. It’s kind of difficult. We ran well the first three and then to have a race like that (Atlanta) - it was all about the sun. We had practice on Saturday - the speeds were up - the track was green and we were decent. We were going faster and as soon as we started to slow up because of the sun, there was zero grip. And the car starts floating more – it drives completely different – and everybody is in the same boat, some people worse than others.”
WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE GOING THROUGH THE COT LEARNING CURVE?
“As far as myself, I’ve figured how to drive it much better. I think I do a better job with the car. As far as the team, they’ve done an excellent job figuring what that car likes as compared to where we started. We’re still not the best car by any means - but we’ve figured out a lot about what that car likes and how that makes me feel and how I drive it. Finding certain ways that the car goes and that’s where I like to drive it. That’s been the most difficult part. We’ve come along ways and still have a ways to go. I think things are good – there are certain tracks that we were good right off the bat. Tracks that we tested like here (Bristol) – last year - we were good for both races. We tested all three tracks that we’ve raced this year. Atlanta we tested – but we were on a different tire – we were really good at the test and to come back on a different tire and we weren’t as good. I think it just shows that if we can test everywhere, we’re going to be good and we need to figure out to be fast places where we can’t because we can’t test all the tracks.”
YOU’RE THOUGHT ON DALE JARRETT AS A DRIVER AND HIS RETIREMENT?
“I was listening to the radio on the way up this morning and it’s kind of cool that Ned Jarrett is going to drop the green flag for Dale’s last point’s race. Same place he started at – he’s had a great career. I’ve known Dale since 2000, but probably in the last year it’s the first year that I really talked to him and have a conversation with him and felt like we’re somewhat friends. He’s a good guy – I like him a lot – the sport is going to miss him.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE THE FANS SO CLOSE AT BRISTOL?
“When you’re racing, you (don't) really ever look up there (in the stands). It’s really cool for driver intros – as loud as it gets – whether it’s myself (it’s pretty decent) or Jeff Gordon gets a variety. He gets 70 percent yells and 30 percent boos – Dale Jr. gets the most yells – but not as loud as Gordon’s usually. I think it’s just a small area with as many or more fans at any other race track. It’s all right on top of you – the stands go straight up and the noise stays in there. You have to put up with a lot of noise for the whole race. Last year winning the Busch race here was really cool. To get out of the car with that many fans surrounding you when you win something here – it t would be pretty awesome to win a Cup race here as well.”
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 11:01:50 am
TRACKING KASEY KAHNE
Today's race: Sprint Cup drivers are in Bristol, Tenn., for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. on Ch. 13.
Green flag: Enumclaw's Kahne starts 20th after qualifying was rained out for the second time this season. Today's race is the fifth race of the season, the final to use 2007's points to set the starting lineup if qualifying is canceled. In eight races at the half-mile Bristol track, Kahne has five top-20 finishes, including a second-place finish in August 2007.
Point tracker: Kahne is seventh in Sprint Cup standings with 528 points.
Kasey's take: "We had a good practice. We got the car better throughout all practice and our No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger really felt great. We knew that the rain was coming in and wanted to make sure that we had our race package ready for (today).”
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 11:13:25 am
Friday, March 7, 2008; Kobalt 500 Open Interview
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger)
YOU’VE HAD SOME GOOD RUNS HERE AT ATLANTA, IS IT BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT AFRAID TO RUN TH HIGH LINE?
“Yeah, I think the high line definitely is a good spot a lot of the time here. When you run there (high line), you can look around. Actually the last couple of times here – the win in ’06 – I was running right in the middle of the race track in 1 & 2 and high in 3 & 4 or right on the bottom. It’s different – it changes - it moves around depending on how your car is. I think that’s why I like this place so much. Because there are so many lines -so much race track for a driver to find the best spot for your car.”
=> Read more!
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 11:07:16 pm
The first penalties of the season have rolled in for the NASCAR teams...and this time there's no 100-point infraction for Michael Waltrip. Robby Gordon on the other hand...
- Penalized Robby Gordon 100 points and suspended crew chief Frank Kerr
for six races and fined Kerr $100,000 for Sprint Cup infractions found at
Daytona International Speedway.
- Penalized Dale Earnhardt Jr. 50 points, owner Rick Hendrick 50 points and suspended crew chief Chad Walter for six races and fined him $25,000 for Nationwide infractions.
- Penalized Nationwide drivers Kertus Davis, Johnny Sauter, David Gilliland, David Stremme and Cale Gale 25 points each and their owners 25 points each for various infractions discovered after qualifying.
- Suspended Nationwide crew chiefs Gene Allnutt (Davis), Newt Moore (Sauter), Bob Edwards (Gilliland), Steve Darne (Stremme) and Charlie Wilson (Gale) for six races and fined each $15,000.
- Fined Jerry Baxter, Nationwide crew chief for David Reutimann, $5,000 for an infraction discovered on an opening day inspection.
- Penalized Todd Bodine and car owner Stephen Germain 25 points for an infraction found before the Craftsman Truck qualifying.
- Suspended Mike Hillman Jr., crew chief of Bodine, for four races and fined him $10,000.
- Fined Rick Renn, the Truck crew chief for Ron Hornaday Jr., $5,000 for a violation found in an opening day inspection.
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 04:38:00 pm
Alright folks, so I've "slacked off" enough (read: been busy with high school sports) over the past couple months. Caught a bit of Las Vegas testing on the SPEED Channel today and it kicked me back into gear.
Some things for us to catch up on:
- Chili Bowl: Gotta love indoor dirt racing. Three racers with local ties participated. More on that to come.
- NHRA: They'll be back in Kent this year, July 18-20. A year removed from Eric Medlen's tragic accident, and after John Force's September crash, what are the biggest safety modifications in these cars recently?
- Kasey Kahne: The best thing Enumclaw is known for. After Kahne's disappointing season in 2007, he's topping the charts in Daytona and Las Vegas test sessions early this year.
- Sprint racing: We've got a handful of local dirt tracks. Most of them don't start up until April, but we'll talk about some of the drivers and favorite tracks.
- Champ Car: Heading to Portland yet again, this year July 25-27 (the weekend between NHRA and Hydros for those of you keeping score), this event is always an iffy will-it-return race. CC needs to be successful in Portland for NASCAR to ever hope of claiming the Seattle market. What have they been doing to build fans and publicity?
- NASCAR West Series: Schedulers, take note. Last year, this race was the Saturday of SeaFair's hydro weekend. This year? The Saturday of NHRA in Kent. (C'mon folks, there's a week in between - use it! - wait, Champ Car did already; what about the week before?) Keep your fingers crossed; the schedule is "subject to change," but for now, mark July 19 down.
- Hydros: They'll hit Seattle's Lake Washington again August 1-3. I'm stoked about this, are you? We didn't talk about it in September, but Kayleigh Perkins - the Kentlake grad who races a light boat - won the lights points title in 2007 at the final event of the season. You go, girl. :)
What else do y'all want to talk about? I'm game for anything motors-related, as long as it doesn't have to do with the snow falling outside my window right now!
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 06:39:35 pm
Kahne sued over shoving incident with speedway guard
MIAMI (AP) — A security guard filed suit against Kasey Kahne seeking damages for “severe physical injuries” when the NASCAR driver allegedly shoved him to the ground at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Archibald Hutchinson is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $15,000 in the suit filed Tuesday in the 11th Circuit Court.
Kahne is due in court Jan. 8 to answer charges of misdemeanor battery stemming from the Nov. 16 incident. The maximum sentence for misdemeanor battery is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
He had no comment on the suit, but Rick Russell, president of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, said the team supports its driver.
“The alleged action in this case is not consistent with the Kasey Kahne we know,” Russell said. “It is unfortunate the issue has progressed to this point. We support our driver, Kasey Kahne, and have complete confidence in the legal process.”
Hutchinson and a Monroe County deputy sheriff stopped a golf cart carrying Kahne and his brother as they attempted to enter the motorhome lot at Homestead, and asked for credentials. Kahne was wearing a driver suit.
“One of the occupants of the vehicle wearing a bright-colored jumpsuit became belligerent and refused to produce ID,” Hutchinson said in his police report.
Hutchinson claimed Kahne used profane language and then pushed his brother’s foot off the accelerator pedal of the golf cart, attempting to drive past. The guard claims Kahne then got out of the golf cart and “without saying another word shove(d) me with great force from which I landed on my back and left shoulder on the entrance pavement.”
Kahne’s brother, Kale, disputed the events in his statement to police. Kale Kahne said his brother did not have a credential because he’d just finished practice.
“He (Kasey) said, ’I am going to walk to my motor home then,”’ Kale Kahne wrote. “One guard got in front of Kasey and grabbed him and said that you are not going anywhere. ... Kasey pushed his hands off of him. The guard lost balance and fell to the ground.”
Four witnesses, all law enforcement officers, gave statements that supported Hutchinson and accused Kahne of shoving the guard.
Hutchinson was treated and released from the track’s infield care center.
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 05:39:41 pm
From an open interview session Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO THE FINAL RACE? “I think for this weekend we’ll be fine. Everybody is happy to get the year done with and finish on a strong note. It’d be a good way to kind of go into the winter with a real strong run, so I think it’ll be just fine to have a good weekend and really do our best and then take some time off. As far as next year goes, that’s up the guys. It’s up to the guys building the cars, engineers and the people at Gillett Evernham. If they want to get things turned around and figure it out it’s up to them.”
=> Read more!
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 12:53:22 pm
Yeah, you read that right. It kind of creeps me out, but who am I to judge? The Oreo marketing people are apparently an interesting bunch. From Jayski:
On Friday, Nov. 16 in Victory Lane at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Greg Biffle will officiate the first-ever Oreo Double Stuf Race "lick-off" where five finalists from across the country will see who can twist, lick and dunk their Oreo Double Stuf cookie and glass of milk the fastest for the grand prize of $10,000. As the "Official Cookie of NASCAR," Oreo teamed up with Biffle on the Oreo Double Stuf Race campaign to encourage friends and families to enjoy some friendly competition, and find a few lucky lickers to compete in Miami:
* DeAnn Bennett of Niles, Ohio
* Justin Channen of Lakewood, Calif.
* William Reed Hair of Eliot, ME
* Kristie Sullivan of Kansas City, KS
on Friday, Nov. 16, 2007, 7:30am/et at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. For more information on the contest, visit www.oreo.com
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 01:37:41 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A NASCAR team owner was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of more than $34 million in taxes.
Gene Haas, the 54-year-old owner of Oxnard-based Haas Automation and NASCAR’s Haas CNC Racing, was ordered to begin serving his term on Jan. 14, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Haas pleaded guilty in August to a felony conspiracy charge for orchestrating a plan to list bogus expenses that could be written off as business costs and save Haas Automation millions in taxes. The company makes computerized machine tools.
As part of his plea agreement, Haas paid a $5 million fine, plus more than $70 million in back taxes and interests.
Haas owns the 66 and 70 cars, currently driven by Jeremy Mayfield and Johnny Sauter, respectively. Next year, Sauter will be replaced by current Gillette Evernham Motorsports Scott Riggs to join Mayfield. Mayfield and Riggs were teammates at Evernham from 2004 to the middle of the 2006 season, when Mayfield was let go.
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 01:27:51 pm
Sorry I've abandoned you all, but high school sports have flooded my time lately. I know there are some season-ending things at tracks that I want to catch up on, but if you have any ideas or thoughts, leave a comment or drop me an e-mail to the address on the right.
Thanks!
As for below, Kahne had a press availability today at Texas Motor Speedway. This is courtesy Dodge Motorsports PR...and apparently Denny Hamlin and Dave Blaney weren't the only cars with water in the tanks. Interesting that water would be in the tanks in Atlanta, where the region is in the midst of a record drought. Makes you wonder how some things happen...
KASEY KAHNE (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
DID YOU HAVE WATER IN YOUR FUEL SYSTEM FOLLOWING THE LAST RACE? “All our cars had some water. It didn’t affect us on the track. It didn’t affect to where I could feel it from sitting behind the seat, but all our cars had water when we got home.”
HAVE YOU HEARD NASCAR’S EXPLANATION? “I’m not sure. I just think that the good thing is it’s happened. We’ll probably keep a closer eye on it, so we should be fine for a long time.”
=> Read more!
Friday, September 28th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 05:26:26 pm
Kahne will start 29th in Sunday's LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway.
RE: QUALIFYING
“We made some gains. We were real tight in practice and loose there. The front still didn’t work quite like we wanted it to, so I don’t know. It was a handful, but it was good. It was a pretty decent lap for where we were. I think we gained more or loss less than most of the other cars so just want to make some gains.”
DOES IT FEEL GOOD TO BE BACK IN A CONVENTIONAL CAR OR WOULD YOU RATHER BE IN A COT?
“It doesn’t really matter to me right now. Whatever car we’re in we just try to get better, because we have work on all of them, so it doesn’t matter either way.”
HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF RUNNING THIS WEEKEND:
“I don’t know. We’ve had a tough time this year with this car, with all cars. We’re working on it and trying to get better. Maybe this week will be a change, maybe we can make some gains and get a top-10 on Sunday, but it’s tough to say right now, it’s tough to say until we get out there and we are actually racing on Sunday.”
Following the cut, Kahne on Budweiser, new owner George Gillette, the Chase and Talladega...
=> Read more!
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 11:37:10 pm
Labonte, Waltrip, Elliott and Earnhardt. In addition to being among the most celebrated names in motorsports, these drivers share in the proud tradition of racing for one of NASCAR's most successful sponsors – Budweiser. Today, Budweiser announced Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will become the next world-class racer to take the wheel of the iconic red Budweiser car when the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season kicks off in February.
"Budweiser has a long and storied history with NASCAR and some of its most successful drivers. We're excited about Kasey's ability to add to that outstanding lineage," said Tony Ponturo, vice president, global media and sports marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "Along with team owners George Gillett and Ray Evernham, we feel the pieces are in place for the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge to contend for NASCAR Sprint Cup championships for years to come."
Kahne was NASCAR's Rookie of the Year in 2004 after closing out the Cup season 13th in the points standings. In 2006 he won six races and six Budweiser Pole Awards – more wins and poles than any other driver – and qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup in just his third year in the Cup Series.
"The fan in me is thrilled because driving for Budweiser is the kind of opportunity you dream of when you break into this sport. I'm excited about getting behind the wheel of a car that's been driven by some of the best this sport has seen," said Kahne, who has seven wins, 31 top-fives and 46 top-10s in three and a half years on the Cup circuit. "We'll be out to win races and championships, and everyone involved with our organization feels we can do that."
=> Read more!
Sunday, September 16th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 08:45:08 pm
By Andrew Kunas, NSCS Publicist
ELMA, Wash. - Shane Stewart and Mike Doyle have become one of the most scary good driver/owner combinations in 360 sprint car racing this year, and they proved it further on Saturday night, when Stewart scored a $10,092 victory in the inaugural Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge at Grays Harbor Raceway.
The Oklahoma driver, a hired gun picked up in July by Doyle, got his second win in as many nights and has won five main events in eight starts with the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series, including July's $10,000-to-win Skagit 360 Nationals. This was also in addition to a $10,000 victory in the Knoxville 360 Nationals in Iowa. They later put in a 410ci motor and won the World of Outlaws event for another $10,000 at Grays Harbor less than three weeks ago.
"When it's your year, it's your year," a jubilant Stewart said after letting out a big "Woo!" when he accepted the large check on the front stretch following the event. "This car has been exceptional all year."
Despite the cash, hardware all the attention on himself, the night was about Fred Brownfield to Stewart, who was among 54 drivers who were racing this weekend in honor of the former track promoter and founder of the NSCS's predecessor, the Northern Sprint Tour.
"I didn't know Fred very long, but what I was able to learn was that he was a great man, a family person," said Stewart, who raced with Brownfield's National Sprint Tour last year.
Brownfield was killed in an on-track accident when he was struck by a
modified as he was lining up cars at the same track in June 2006. The race, originally known as the Evergreen State Sprint Challenge, was re-named for him and was originally scheduled for July 20 and 21. The remains of a western Pacific Ocean typhoon, however, had made its way across the Pacific and struck western Washington, forcing the postponement of the event until this weekend.
Several member of Brownfield's family, including widow Debbie and most of their grown children, were in attendance as were several former NST officials and staff members. Brownfield's daughter Jessica Kellogg gave the A-Main drivers the initial green flag and also showed Stewart the checkered flag. Brownfield's grandson Seth Hespe drove a pair of memorial laps around the track during opening ceremonies and was also on the track to lead the four-wide parade lap in the long familiar No. 92, which was Brownfield's car number for most of his driving days.
Stewart started the No. 1 Shaver-powered Maxim inside the front row for the 40-lap event as a result of his dash victory as was the case the night before. Like the night before, Stewart did not the take the lead right away, as British Columbia's Travis Rutz bolted into the top position from his outside front row starting spot. Rutz, who entered the evening third in NSCS points, led four laps until he was chased down by Stewart on lap five. Stewart, using the high side going through the turns on the 3/8-mile, high-banked clay oval, passed Rutz exiting turn four. Stewart never looked back from there.
Three laps after losing the lead, Rutz found himself up over the cushion in turn four, allowing Tacoma, Wash.'s Shawn Rice to move into second. A lap later, Rutz lost third to NSCS point leader Roger Crockett of Medford. Crockett, who leads the NSCS with seven A-Main victories in the Henderson Motorsports No. 7N Eagle, caught Rice for second on lap 14.
Stewart, meanwhile, worked his way through slower traffic, almost with ease. Lap 13 saw Stewart make a spectacular move, splitting both J.J. Hickle and Brock Lemley going through turns three and four. After a spin by Oregon's Rob Held on lap 15, Stewart had four lapped cars between himself and Crockett for the restart.
"I knew I had a good car and I had to pick (off) my lapped cars right," Stewart said. "This was our race to win, and I can't thank my crew enough."
Rutz, who had three straight top-five finishes in NSCS competition going in, moved back by Rice for third on that restart. Rutz, however, had his right rear tire going down late in the race. After being passed by Rice again for third, Rutz pulled to a stop in turn four when the tire in question shredded on lap 36.
Rutz took advantage of the caution that resulted, changed the tire and came back out as the tenth and final car on the lead lap. In the last five laps Rutz passed both former track champion Jay Cole and Iowa visitor Joe Beaver to finish eighth in the Rutz Racing No. 8 Triple X.
Crockett, never able to catch Stewart, settled for second with a tire going down at the end. Rice, as he did Friday night, finished third in the RAM Racing No. 76 Rocket.
"I was pretty lucky to finish," said Crockett, who padded his point lead over Mitch Olson. Crockett knew his finish helped him in season points, but he was quietly disappointed.
"I'm happy to finish second, but that's not why we're here. It would've meant a lot more to us to win this," said Crockett, who in another scary good driver/owner combination with Roger Henderson, winning seven out of 17 NSCS races and scoring several top five finishes.
Rice, who is still looking for his first touring victory, was satisfied with his weekend.
"This race is what I've been gearing up for all year. The wins haven't come but the consistency has," said Rice, who has finished in the top-ten four times and the top-five three straight times in five NSCS races at Grays Harbor Raceway.
Seattle area driver Tayler Malsam, who started fifth, ran in the top ten the entire race and finished fourth in the Rudeen Racing / Malsam Motorsports No. 26 Maxim. A night after he crashed through the wall in turns three and four, California's Jonathan Allard started the A-Main tenth and finished fifth in the Main Racing No. 35a JEI. Snohomish, Wash.'s Seth Bergman, who entered the night fifth in points, finished sixth in his family's No. 23a Eagle.
Mitch Olson, out of Puyallup, Wash. came from his 13th starting position to finish seventh in the Mike Olson No. 98m Rocket. Cole, the six-time Grays Harbor Raceway champion, came out of the B-Main and finished ninth in his own No. 0J Maxim. Beaver, a regular at Knoxville Raceway, earned his second top-ten finish in as many nights in his first visit to Grays Harbor Raceway when he rounded out the top ten in the Beaver Racing No. 53 Maxim.
Former NST champion Bill Nutter, who started third, finished 11th after cutting down a left rear tire and spinning on the initial start. Reigning Grays Harbor Raceway champion Glenn Borden Jr. of Raymond, Wash. finished 17th and Alberta visitor Tyler Pinceman was 18th. Skagit Speedway 410 sprint car champion Brock Lemley pulled to the infield in the closing laps and was scored 19th. Allard's older brother Stephen, this year's track champion at Silver Dollar Speedway in California, was scored 20th after rolling his car over in a lap 17 accident.
Stephen Allard, who drove the No. 33v Rocket for the injured Henry Van Dam, won the 15-lap B-Main event, taking Lemley, Jared Peterson and Cole with him to the A-Main. Earlier in the evening Derek Ingalls won the 10-lap C-Main, transferring with Tyler Spath to the B-Main.
Stewart's victory in the six-lap dash, which featured the top six point scorers from Friday's preliminary events and Saturday's qualifying session and heat races, came over Rutz, Nutter, Rice, Malsam and Crockett.
Hespe, who is in his first year racing full-sized 360 sprint cars, finished fifth in the second heat and finished fifth in the C-Main after running as high as third.
Points for the weekend were tallied following the heat races, and main events were lined up accordingly, meaning the top four finishers in each of the four heat races didn't automatically transfer like they would usually do in a typical NSCS show. Idaho's Joe Ramaker in Heat 1, Stephen Allard in Heat 2 and Everett, Wash.'s Jayme Barnes in Heat 3 were all winners who still had to race in the B-Main. Only Heat 4 winner J.J. Hickle of Quilcene, Wash. was locked into the A-Main based on points.
Forty-seven teams returned to compete in Saturday's finale, and it was Crockett who paced the field in qualifying, wowing the crowd with
consecutive record breaking runs. Crockett bested Rice's old record of 12.313 seconds with a first run of 12.208 seconds and then an even better time of 12.143 seconds. Crockett's average speed on that second lap was 111.175 miles per hour. Crockett was the only driver to break Rice's old record.
The NSCS will close its inaugural season on September 28 and 29 at Central Washington State Fair Raceway in Yakima. Both nights will see the double-points system in effect. More information on the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series and its drivers can be found online at
http://www.racenscs.com.
Northwest Sprint Challenge Series
Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge
Grays Harbor Raceway
Elma, WA
September 15, 2007
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
47 cars
Fast qualifier: 7N Roger Crockett, 12.143 seconds (New Track Record, average speed 111.175 mph).
Heat 1 (10 laps): 1. 98 Joe Ramaker, 2. 76 Shawn Rice, 3. 7N Roger Crockett, 4. 5h Brad Holmes, 5. 91 Derek Ingalls, 6. 9p Jared Peterson, 7. 68 Rob Held, 8. 15 Dan Dunlap, 9. 38 Jason Bloodgood, 10. 7k Danny Kirkpatrick.
Heat 2 (10 laps): 1. 33v Stephen Allard, 2. 8 Travis Rutz, 3. 4x Chris Adams, 4. 7D Josh DeWitt, 5. 92 Seth Hespe, 6. 4c Charlie Cash, 7. 12p Randy Pierce, 8. 23a Seth Bergman, 9. 72 Glenn Borden Jr., 10. 08 Steve Vague.
Heat 3 (10 laps): 1. 24 Jayme Barnes, 2. 26f Shane Forte', 3. 9j J.J.
Dishneau, 4. 40 Brock Lemley, 5. 0J Jay Cole, 6. 3N Bill Nutter, 7. 53 Joe Beaver, 8. KR14 Tyler Spath, 9. 4r Robby Vaughn, 10. 7t Jeff Thompson.
Heat 4 (10 laps): 1. 7h J.J. Hickle, 2. 35a Jonathan Allard, 3. 1 Shane Stewart, 4. 98m Mitch Olson, 5. 99 Randy VanAagten, 6. 4 Nick Engberg, 7. 99p Tyler Pinceman, 8. 26 Tayler Malsam, 9. 55 Andy Jacobson, 10. 87 Kyler Barraza.
Points earned in Saturday's qualifying session and heat races are added to point totals from Friday's events to determine main event line-ups, except first three rows of A-Main.
C-Main (10 laps): 1. 91 Derek Ingalls, 2. KR14 Tyler Spath, 3. 99 Randy VanAagten, 4. 55 Andy Jacobson, 5. 92 Seth Hespe, 6. 7t Jeff Thompson, 7. 4c Charlie Cash, 8. 15 Dan Dunlap, 9. 87 Kyler Barraza, 10. 12p Randy Pierce, 11. 22c Blake Cook, DNS - 5k Willie Croft, 22 Geoff Beck, 34 John Wincewicz, 66 Barry Martinez. Top two finishers transfer to B-Main.
Dash (6 laps): 1. 1 Shane Stewart, 2. 8 Travis Rutz, 3. 3N Bill Nutter, 4. 76 Shawn Rice, 5. 26 Tayler Malsam, 6. 7N Roger Crockett. Finish determines first six starting positions of A-Main.
B-Main (15 laps): 1. 33v Stephen Allard, 2. 40 Brock Lemley, 3. 9p Jared Peterson, 4. 0J Jay Cole, 5. 24 Jayme Barnes, 6. 7D Josh DeWitt, 7. 4r Robby Vaughn, 8. KR14 Tyler Spath, 9. 26f Shane Forte', 10. 08 Steve Vague, 11. 9j J.J. Dishneau, 12. 91 Derek Ingalls, 13. 98 Joe Ramaker, 14. 65 Brendan Boyce, 15. 5h Brad Holmes, 16. 38 Jason Bloodgood, 17. 7k Danny Kirkpatrick, 18. 4x Chris Adams. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.
A-Main (40 laps): 1. 1 Shane Stewart, 2. 7N Roger Crockett, 3. 76 Shawn Rice, 4. 26 Tayler Malsam, 5. 35a Jonathan Allard, 6. 23a Seth Bergman, 7. 98m Mitch Olson, 8. 8 Travis Rutz, 9. 0J Jay Cole, 10. 53 Joe Beaver, 11. 3N Bill Nutter, 12. 33t Jimmy Trulli, 13. 4 Nick Engberg, 14. 7h J.J. Hickle, 15. 68 Rob Held, 16. 9p Jared Peterson, 17. 72 Glenn Borden Jr., 18. 99p Tyler Pinceman, 19. 40 Brock Lemley, 20. 33v Stephen Allard.
Lap leaders: Travis Rutz 1-4, Shane Stewart 1-40
NSCS: The Northwest Sprint Challenge Series
http://www.racenscs.com
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 10:39:08 am
The Washington Midget Racing Association's final race of the season is Saturday (rain date: Sunday) at South Sound Speedway in Rochester.
Tacoma's Evan Margeson, with 1,517 points, has seemingly clinched the title, while Vader's Brea Lopez is second with 1,303.
Gates open at 1 p.m., practice begins at 2 p.m. and qualifying starts at 5 p.m. To get to the track, take I-5 South and follow the signs (it's exit 88).
And, from the WMRA Web site, the race is a tribute race:
"The WMRA Championship race on September 15 will be a tribute to Jim and Dee Crews. Jim and Dee are both WMRA Gold Card (lifetime) members. Jim and Dee sponsored and owned midgets from 1958 until 2000. In addition to that , Jim is a WMRA past president and served on the Board of Trustees for many, many years. Among other things, Dee Crews was responsible for all the WMRA banquets from 1974 until 2006."
-- Mindi Rice
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 08:41:36 am
Joe Gibbs Racing is holding a press conference as I type to announce that JGR will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota next season.
No knock to JGR, but this is a much bigger win for Toyota than for the Gibbs folks. After entering the Nextel Cup series with three teams — Michael Waltrip Racing, Team Red Bull and Bill Davis Racing — in February, this is the big fish that Toyota needed. Toyota probably can win (and likely is a stronger manufacturer for NASCAR than Dodge) and has in the two smaller series, but it needs standout drivers to be able to tell them more intricacies of the engines and cars to tweak.
With JGR in 2008, Toyota gets the second-best (but not by much) pack in Nextel Cup - Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. If Toyota wants to run for top dog with Chevrolet, it needed this. JGR? They could have easily stayed with Chevy and been second-best. Instead, they'll be able to lead the pack and, in turn, help three smaller teams - as well as Hall of Fame Racing's No. 98 car (now driven by J.J. Yeley...), which receives engines from JGR's shop.
Some (many?) fans of JGR will disown them because of their loyalty to Chevy. Another interesting twist? With Hamlin and Stewart running for a title for Chevrolet this season, do they still get help from Chevy?
And then, next season, the big question will finally be answered. Is it more about the manufacturer or about the driver?
In the press conference, Denny Hamlin's crew chief Mike Ford said, "it's about the people." That seemed to be the consensus among the nine people on the panel (Stewart, Hamlin, crew chiefs, J.D. Gibbs, etc).
Come February, it'll be time to find that out.
-- Mindi Rice
Friday, August 31st, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 07:31:43 pm
TRACKING KASEY KAHNE
Sunday’s race: Nextel Cup drivers visit the West Coast for the final time in 2007 with the Sharp Aquos 500 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Race coverage begins at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
Green flag: Enumclaw's Kahne qualified third for Sunday’s race with a 39.556-second qualifying lap Friday, less than one-tenth of a second behind Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson, the top two qualifiers. Kahne has one victory and four top-10 finishes in seven races in Fontana.
Point tracker: Kahne is 23rd in the Nextel Cup driver standings with 2,144 points.
Kahne’s take: “It was a good lap. It was a great draw. The fastest three cars went out right after the sun went away, so the track gained a lot of grip. ... We just have to work on our setup for Sunday night. I hope we can figure it out and have a great race on Sunday night.”
Mindi Rice, The News Tribune
In another note, Kahne qualifed second for Saturday's Busch race. He was also inducted into the California Speedway Hall of Fame today for his September 2006 victory.
Other thoughts from Kahne:
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
“It was a good lap. It was a great draw. The fastest three cars went out right after the sun went away, so the track gained a lot of grip. I slid a little bit too much. I think I may have overdrove in one and slid up just a little bit and didn’t get to the throttle soon enough in one and two and lost a little bit of speed. Other than that the car was really nice. We keep qualifying good. We’ve been doing that for probably two months now qualifying up front. We just have to work on our setup for Sunday night. I hope we can figure it out and have a great race on Sunday night. I really like the picture on the back wall – it’s pretty cool. I’d like to get up there again.”
YOU WERE INDUCTED INTO THE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME. YOU ARE A LITTLE YOUNG TO BE GETTING INTO HALL OF FAMES? “Yeah, I got that because I won both races last year. That’s the only reason that I can figure out why I would get to be into that. It’s cool. It should be fun. I haven’t played in wet cement in a long time. I guess I put my footprint of my Puma racing shoe in the cement and it’ll be pretty cool. It’s exciting.”
HOW HOT WAS IT OUT THERE IN PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? “It’s been warm all day in the sun in both the Busch cars and the Cup cars. We tried to stay hydrated. It was warm last week, the same as this week. It’s probably a little warmer this weekend, but it’s going to be like that all weekend long. It’s good the races are at night so it cools off some. The track will be much better at night I think when the track has a little more grip comes back on the track and you can race maybe a little bit better than you can do right now in the 107 degree weather.”
ANY BIG CHANGES THAT YOU GUYS MADE BEFORE BRISTOL? “Well Bristol was the COT car. We’ve been putting a lot of time into that car. We were good there the first race in April and we were good again this race. They’ve been working on that car. That’s what we have all of next year and we don’t want to have another performance like we did this year so they put a lot of time into it. Hopefully it’ll be better next week at Richmond also and we’ll just keeping working on it.”
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 10:33:04 am
Tony Stewart crashed, again, but at least this year he made it out of the hot laps and heats and into the "A" main. Maybe third time's the charm, Smoke?
(Story from today's paper...)
ALGER, Skagit County – Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw’s golden boy of racing, has endured a 50-point penalty for illegal modifications on his car, three race-ending crashes and nine finishes worse than 30th in the first two-thirds of the NASCAR Nextel Cup season.
But sometimes it takes just a little bit of getting back to the things you’re used to and everything seems right again.
=> Read more!
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Posted by Mindi Rice @ 04:31:22 pm
Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart are currently downstairs in a trailer at Skagit Speedway signing autographs for the first 150 people who bought tickets to tonight's event.
In case you missed the story today, they're at Skagit for the second-annual Kasey Kahne Foundation Sprint Car Challenge. In last year's race Stewart crashed during hot laps and Kahne finished fourth.
Read the story behind the cut...
=> Read more!
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