Kyle Busch won his eighth race of the season of Sunday at Watkins Glen, holding off Tony Stewart to guarantee top seed in the Chase for the Spring Cup.
Busch managed to edge out his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Stewart - as well as the charging Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya - to ensure his spot in Victory Lane.
Busch stayed out front for a nine lap shootout - after a red flag which stopped the race for nearly 45 minutes following a monster 10 car crash.
The 18 car took the lead on lap 66 of 90 after then-leader Dale Earnhardt Jnr was forced to pit after staying out in first after the rest of the field had pitted. 'Junior' managed a respectable 22nd, but the result pushed him to fourth in the standings after being leapfrogged by Carl Edwards (ninth) and Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jimmie Johnson (seventh).
But perhaps the most impressive run of the race was not those of Stewart and Busch, but Australian Ambrose, who is not hugely experienced on the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing scene. But after he won on Saturday night and grabbed third place at Watkins Glen, he may well be a picture of the Sprint Cup's future.
Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon retained fifth and sixth place in the standings after finishing 17th and 29th respectively, while Stewart jumped two places to seventh.
Kasey Kahne dropped to eighth in the standings after finishing 14th, while Denny Hamlin is ninth after an eighth-place finish.
Greg Biffle, who was 21st, sunk two places to tenth, while Kevin Harvick (sixth) is in 11th. Matt Kenseth jumped into the Chase after recording a decent 12th place, but Clint Bowyer fell to 13th - which will cost him a place in the Chase should the standings stay the same after the next four races have been completed - after stopping in 23rd.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Fellows wins as NASCAR runs on rain tires for first time at Nationwide race
MONTREAL _ The first NASCAR race ever run in the rain went to a veteran driver who knows all about bad Canadian weather _ Toronto veteran Ron Fellows.
The 48-year-old was in the lead at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on Saturday when the scheduled 74-lap event was halted after 48 laps due to heavy rain and a flooded track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that Fellows described as ``treacherous.''
That gave him his fourth career win on the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series, one step below NASCAR's main Sprint Cup series, while another Canadian, Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., finished second for a second year in a row.
``It's a great day for Canadians and it's very special here at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve,'' said Fellows, who three previous wins were all at Watkin's Glen, N.Y., in 1998, 2000 and 2001. ``Gilles was a hero of mine.''
Australian Marcos Ambrose, who led for 40 laps until he made a disastrous pit stop and took a drive through penalty for speeding in pit lane, placed third.
And Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula One world champion who racing a stock car on the track named after his father for the first time, was sixth until he banged into Ron Hornaday Jr.'s back while the cars were in line in pouring rain behind a pace car just before the race was halted. Villeneuve was placed 16th for failing to maintain the pace under a yellow flag.
It was the first time a NASCAR race has ever been run in rain and while there were fewer crack-ups than anticipated, it ultimately became undrivable and several drivers asked race officials to stop it. The faster cars went, the more spray went up into the windshields of cars following.
The only previous times the grooved rain tires went on were at a practice for a Craftsman Truck event in 1997 at Watkins Glen, and in qualifying at an exhibition race in Japan in 1999.
``I thought we'd have a lot more guys spin and go off the track but the guys were good,'' said Carpentier. ``I was mad that they stopped it, but they had to.''
Fellows has seen it all in motor racing, having won in his class at the Le Mans 24 Hour race and in other road racing series where racing in rain is common.
Because it hadn't rained all day before the race, his car was set up for dry weather to start, but he opted for a pit stop and rain tires after a yellow flag on the 21st lap. He dropped from sixth to 26th place, but then breezed past car after car and quickly found himself in the top five.
Ambrose, who took the lead early, kept building leads only to see the cars bunched together again behind the pace car. When he made a pit stop after lap 40, Villeneuve briefly held the lead until he too went to the pits.
That put Fellows in front, and he had a 43-second lead until the pace car came out again after the 45th lap because visibility had become impossible for racing. Three laps later, the race was declared and Fellows had the win.
Had the race continued, he likely would have had to make another pit stop, although he said the cars were going so slow his fuel probably could have lasted for many more laps.
``We made a little change with the rain tires and that helped,'' said Fellows. ``After that pit stop, we were the fastest car on the track.
``I'll be pinching myself for a couple of hours because this is really cool.''
Fellows had worn a T-shirt from the Gilles Villeneuve museum in Berthierville, Que., for practice on Friday, but left it off for the race ``out for respect for Jacques,'' he said.
Fellows was driving the No. 5 GoDaddy.com car for Dale Earnhart Jr., who skips some of the few road races on the NASCAR circuit, although Earnhart is scheduled to be back in the car for the next race at Watkin's Glen.
A year ago, Carpentier won pole position and finished second at the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200. He said this year's second place was not as sweet.
``I wanted first place so bad,'' said Carpentier, a regular in Sprint Cup for Gillett Evernham Racing. ``We had a good car.
``I wanted one position higher, but I'll be back.''
Light rain began on the fifth lap and then it hammered down in the seventh as spectators either ran for cover, huddled under umbrellas or hauled out raingear. Several drivers expressed surprise that nearly all the 60,000 fans in the packed grandstands stayed until the end.
All the cars were brought to the pits and were given three minutes to change to rain tires and, for those who had one, install a windshield wiper. The race was delayed another eight minutes three seconds due to standing water on the track.
The cars then went back out for six laps behind a pace car under a yellow caution flag before real racing resumed.
It was a tough end for Villeneuve, who has been scrambling for sponsors for a full-time ride in NASCAR.
``I'm disappointed, because when it rained hard, I didn't have a wiper to get rid of the water,'' he said. ``I couldn't see cars three feet in front of me so when he stopped, I ran right into him.
``It was difficult, but we were quick. I have no complaints there.''
More disappointed was Ambrose, who said he couldn't see the line on pit lane that indicates where the 30 m.p.h. zone begins. Last year, Ambrose was leading this race when he was run off the track by Robby Gordon, who was disaqualified.
``I feel a little jinxed,'' he said. ``I feel I've come here twice and dominated and didn't win.
``Maybe I should go have a few beers and wake up with a hangover and forget about it.''
Another disappointed driver was Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., who started 15th and was in the top five but, without wipers, fell back to 29th in the rain.
D. J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ont., was 27th and Trevor Boys of Calgary was 34th.
Few drivers questioned the decision to race in the rain, but doubted that NASCAR would try it in a Sprint Cup event. Carpentier said the extra 200 horsepower per car would make it much more difficult. As yet, there are no plans to allow rain races in Sprint Cup.
The 48-year-old was in the lead at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on Saturday when the scheduled 74-lap event was halted after 48 laps due to heavy rain and a flooded track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that Fellows described as ``treacherous.''
That gave him his fourth career win on the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series, one step below NASCAR's main Sprint Cup series, while another Canadian, Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., finished second for a second year in a row.
``It's a great day for Canadians and it's very special here at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve,'' said Fellows, who three previous wins were all at Watkin's Glen, N.Y., in 1998, 2000 and 2001. ``Gilles was a hero of mine.''
Australian Marcos Ambrose, who led for 40 laps until he made a disastrous pit stop and took a drive through penalty for speeding in pit lane, placed third.
And Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula One world champion who racing a stock car on the track named after his father for the first time, was sixth until he banged into Ron Hornaday Jr.'s back while the cars were in line in pouring rain behind a pace car just before the race was halted. Villeneuve was placed 16th for failing to maintain the pace under a yellow flag.
It was the first time a NASCAR race has ever been run in rain and while there were fewer crack-ups than anticipated, it ultimately became undrivable and several drivers asked race officials to stop it. The faster cars went, the more spray went up into the windshields of cars following.
The only previous times the grooved rain tires went on were at a practice for a Craftsman Truck event in 1997 at Watkins Glen, and in qualifying at an exhibition race in Japan in 1999.
``I thought we'd have a lot more guys spin and go off the track but the guys were good,'' said Carpentier. ``I was mad that they stopped it, but they had to.''
Fellows has seen it all in motor racing, having won in his class at the Le Mans 24 Hour race and in other road racing series where racing in rain is common.
Because it hadn't rained all day before the race, his car was set up for dry weather to start, but he opted for a pit stop and rain tires after a yellow flag on the 21st lap. He dropped from sixth to 26th place, but then breezed past car after car and quickly found himself in the top five.
Ambrose, who took the lead early, kept building leads only to see the cars bunched together again behind the pace car. When he made a pit stop after lap 40, Villeneuve briefly held the lead until he too went to the pits.
That put Fellows in front, and he had a 43-second lead until the pace car came out again after the 45th lap because visibility had become impossible for racing. Three laps later, the race was declared and Fellows had the win.
Had the race continued, he likely would have had to make another pit stop, although he said the cars were going so slow his fuel probably could have lasted for many more laps.
``We made a little change with the rain tires and that helped,'' said Fellows. ``After that pit stop, we were the fastest car on the track.
``I'll be pinching myself for a couple of hours because this is really cool.''
Fellows had worn a T-shirt from the Gilles Villeneuve museum in Berthierville, Que., for practice on Friday, but left it off for the race ``out for respect for Jacques,'' he said.
Fellows was driving the No. 5 GoDaddy.com car for Dale Earnhart Jr., who skips some of the few road races on the NASCAR circuit, although Earnhart is scheduled to be back in the car for the next race at Watkin's Glen.
A year ago, Carpentier won pole position and finished second at the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200. He said this year's second place was not as sweet.
``I wanted first place so bad,'' said Carpentier, a regular in Sprint Cup for Gillett Evernham Racing. ``We had a good car.
``I wanted one position higher, but I'll be back.''
Light rain began on the fifth lap and then it hammered down in the seventh as spectators either ran for cover, huddled under umbrellas or hauled out raingear. Several drivers expressed surprise that nearly all the 60,000 fans in the packed grandstands stayed until the end.
All the cars were brought to the pits and were given three minutes to change to rain tires and, for those who had one, install a windshield wiper. The race was delayed another eight minutes three seconds due to standing water on the track.
The cars then went back out for six laps behind a pace car under a yellow caution flag before real racing resumed.
It was a tough end for Villeneuve, who has been scrambling for sponsors for a full-time ride in NASCAR.
``I'm disappointed, because when it rained hard, I didn't have a wiper to get rid of the water,'' he said. ``I couldn't see cars three feet in front of me so when he stopped, I ran right into him.
``It was difficult, but we were quick. I have no complaints there.''
More disappointed was Ambrose, who said he couldn't see the line on pit lane that indicates where the 30 m.p.h. zone begins. Last year, Ambrose was leading this race when he was run off the track by Robby Gordon, who was disaqualified.
``I feel a little jinxed,'' he said. ``I feel I've come here twice and dominated and didn't win.
``Maybe I should go have a few beers and wake up with a hangover and forget about it.''
Another disappointed driver was Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., who started 15th and was in the top five but, without wipers, fell back to 29th in the rain.
D. J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ont., was 27th and Trevor Boys of Calgary was 34th.
Few drivers questioned the decision to race in the rain, but doubted that NASCAR would try it in a Sprint Cup event. Carpentier said the extra 200 horsepower per car would make it much more difficult. As yet, there are no plans to allow rain races in Sprint Cup.
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