Weekend NASCAR Television Times All Times Eastern * Subject To Change
Sprint Cup Series Practice Friday, Nov 20 11:30 AM SPEED
Nationwide Series Practice Friday, Nov 20 01:00 PM SPEED
Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying Friday, Nov 20 03:00 PM ESPN2
Camping World Truck Series Keystone Qualifying Friday, Nov 20 05:00 PM SPEED
Nationwide Series Final Practice Friday, Nov 20 06:30 PM SPEED
Camping World Truck Series SetUp Friday, Nov 20 07:30 PM SPEED
Camping World Truck Series Ford 200 Friday, Nov 20 08:00 PM SPEED
Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying Saturday, Nov 21 11:30 AM SPEED
Sprint Cup Series Practice Saturday, Nov 21 01:30 PM SPEED
Sprint Cup Series Final Practice Saturday, Nov 21 03:00 PM SPEED
Nationwide Series Countdown Saturday, Nov 21 04:00 PM ESPN2
Nationwide Series Ford 300 Saturday, Nov 21 04:30 PM ESPN2
Sprint Cup Series Countdown Sunday, Nov 22 02:30 PM ABC
Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 Sunday, Nov 22 03:15 PM ABC
Robby Gordon To Run Baja 1000
Robby Gordon Motorsports driver/owner Robby Gordon is set for another unique double-duty race weekend. Gordon, an independent NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner/driver, will take time away from his stock-car racing this week to compete in the 42nd Tecate Score Baja 1000 beginning Friday. The race marks the fifth and final competition in the Score International Off-Road Racing Series 2009 championship, a series in which Gordon is leading the standings in both the Trophy Truck division and the overall Desert Series championship standings. Gordon will race against 337 competitors in this weekend's Baja 1000. The field will include at least 35 entrants for the Trophy Truck division, in which Gordon competes. ...More
Jack Daniel’s Says Thanks
After five seasons with RCR, Jack Daniel’s and the people of parent company Brown-Forman wanted to show their appreciation in a very personal way for this weekend’s race in South Florida. So, they placed the names of everyone who worked on the program since partnering with RCR in 2005 right on the hood of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. Drivers, crew chiefs, crew members and administration personnel are all being honored with approximately 140 names placed all around the words “Jack” and “Thanks” on the hood. During their time with RCR in NASCAR, three drivers drove the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. Dave Blaney in 2005, Clint Bowyer 2006 to 2008 and Casey Mears in 2009, who collectively earned two victories, two pole awards, 21 top-five and 61 top-10 finishes. ...More
Fuel Injection In 2011
Several sources, including a NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief and a manufacturer's representative, have confirmed that the sanctioning body intends to replace carburetors with fuel injection on Sprint Cup engines in 2011. The move has been discussed for several years, but in a meeting between NASCAR representatives and representatives of the manufacturers held after the Talladega race, the plan was reportedly presented to those in attendance. NASCAR and the manufacturers are presently considering which of the multiple fuel-injection types -- throttle-body, multi-point, sequential or -- the latest darling of the auto manufacturers -- direct injection, would be the best, and easiest to police. ...More
McMurray To Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing?
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has agreed to terms with a driver to replace Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Manion will remain as the crew chief for the No. 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup car, team president Steve Lauletta said Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Lauletta wouldn’t name the driver, but sources indicated it would be Jamie McMurray, whose Roush Fenway Racing team is being phased out so the organization can go from five to four teams. McMurray started his Cup career driving for team co-owner Chip Ganassi. ...More
UPDATE...McMurray Signs With EGR
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today that they will add NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver Jamie McMurray as a teammate of Juan Pablo Montoya, to drive the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet for the 2010 NSCS season. Fresh off his win at the Talladega Superspeedway on Nov. 1, McMurray will return to Ganassi whom he raced for from 2002-05. Bass Pro Shops will once again return for their fifth season as one of the primary partners on the No. 1 Chevrolet. The Joplin, MO native has won three NSCS races since he entered the series near the end of 2002. In his seven years and 258 races at NASCAR’s highest level he has 30 career top-five finishes and 80 top-10 results. ...More
Homestead Hotpass Lineup
NASCAR HOTPASS™ on DIRECTV is free to all DIRECTV customers. Four dedicated driver channels offering viewers multiple camera angles, real-time statistics and audio of the network broadcast augmented by live communication between the drivers and their pit crews has been available for all 36 point-paying races during the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The NASCAR HOTPASS lineup for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is as follows:
DIRECTV Channel 795: Mark Martin and the No. 5 Kellogg’s / Carquest Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports
DIRECTV Channel 796: Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac Ford team of Roush Fenway Racing
DIRECTV Channel 797: Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports
DIRECTV Channel 798: Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports
Based upon owner championships won, Hendrick Motorsports is the New York Yankees of NASCAR. Drivers in Rick Hendrick-owned cars and trucks have won 11 NASCAR national series titles. Either Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin will add a record 12th championship on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The record currently is shared by Hendrick and Richard Childress Racing. Four drivers —- Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Jack Sprague -— have won NASCAR national owner championships for Hendrick. Gordon, Johnson and Labonte won NASCAR Sprint Cup titles. Sprague is a three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
Rick Hendrick’s NASCAR ChampionshipsYear Driver Series
1995 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1996 Terry Labonte Sprint Cup
1997 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1997 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
1998 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1999 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
2001 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
2002 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
2006 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2007 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2008 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2009 Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin Sprint Cup ...Daily Headlines
Logano Nears Rookie Title
Points remain to be totaled but Joey Logano (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) is the prohibitive favorite to claim 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors with only Sunday’s Ford 400 left on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. Logano, who grabbed his 25th rookie of the race award at Phoenix, leads rivals Scott Speed (No. 82 Red Bull Toyota) and Max Papis (No. 13 GEICO Toyota) by 36 and 88 points, respectively. Logano won in mid-summer at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Connecticut native at age 19 years, five months, 29 days would become the youngest rookie of the year in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&Ms Toyota) was age 20 years, six months, 13 days when he won the title in 2005. Winning the rookie of the year title is a good indication of things to come. NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Richard Petty won the award in 1959; David Pearson was top rookie in 1960. Since 1979 six Raybestos Rookies of the Year have gone on to win series titles including seventime champion and Hall of Fame Inductee Dale Earnhardt (1979) and Jeff Gordon (1993). ...Daily Headlines
Top 35 Owner Points Picture
There’s one spot up for grabs this week — 35th place –- and with it goes a guaranteed starting position in the 2010 Daytona 500. The No. 34 team owned by Teresa Earnhardt currently ranks 35th with 2,667 points. The only team with a shot at taking the position is the No. 82 of Dietrich Mateschitz. -- Mateschitz and driver Scott Speed, however, trail by 114 points. Speed, who has a single top five in his rookie season, will at least have to match his best performance of the year (fifth) to overcome the deficit. ...Daily Headlines
Knaus Named Best Crew Chief
Chad Knaus, crew chief for the No. 48 Lowes Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson, has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. The focus and determination, along with the positive coaching from Knaus, equipped the No. 48 team with the right tools to dominate and leading 238 of the 312-lap event, taking their seventh win of the season. The first 116 laps were caution free as Johnson battled with last week's winner, Kurt Busch for the lead, eventually claiming the first position on lap 57. Knaus called his driver in for the first time of the day on lap 74 for a wedge adjustment and four fresh tires. Although he returned to the track in third it didn't take him long to regain the lead on lap 90 where he stayed for most of the race. Johnson headed for the pits once more on lap 117 during the race's first caution of the day. "Once [Chad] called for the second set of tires, we were set," said Johnson.
Bowyer's Crew Best On Pit Road
Clint Bowyer’s No. 33 crew captured the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday’s (Nov. 15) NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. It was the third Tissot win of the season for Bowyer’s crew and the second straight win for a Richard Childress Racing (RCR) team. Last week’s Tissot winner was the RCR teammate of the No. 33 – the No. 29 crew for Kevin Harvick. Bowyer’s No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on pit road – 170.217 seconds -- during the Checkers O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. The quick stops lifted Bowyer to a seventh-place finish. Bowyer's over-the-wall crew, earned $5,000 for the win.
Hendrick Denies Danica Patrick Deal
It's been assumed recently that there's a deal in place to bring IndyCar driver Danica Patrick to NASCAR next season for a limited number of races, but team owner Rick Hendrick reportedly told the Associated Press yesterday that no such deal is in place. Hendrick isn't sure she'll be in NASCAR at all next year, either: "I just think that they are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year," he said of Patrick and her IMG reps. "You never know until it's done. You never know until it's signed. And anybody can change their mind. ...More
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Finale Live on ABC
The 2009 season finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is this weekend at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ends with the crowning of the champion. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Ford 400 airs Sunday, Nov. 22, on ABC and ABC HD beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m. -- Also from Homestead, ESPN2 airs coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m., as well as coverage of final practice on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio. ...More
Engines and Cars To R&D Shop
Post-Race inspection at Phoenix International Raceway, found no problems. NASCAR took engines from the following Sprint Cup cars, to the Research and Development shop: the No. 48, the No. 31 and the No. 17. NASCAR also took three cars for inspection, those were the No. 48, the No. 5 and the No. 17. ...Daily Headlines
Best Western Renews With MWR
Best Western International, the World's Largest Hotel Chain, has extended its partnership with one of NASCAR's most popular teams, Michael Waltrip Racing, for the 2010 NASCAR season. Best Western has been a loyal sponsor of the two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and his team for the past six seasons. The hotel chain will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 00 Toyota Camry driven by the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 winner David Reutimann for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to be held at the Phoenix International Raceway on April 10, 2010. Best Western will also serve as an associate sponsor of the No. 00 for the remainder of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. ...More
Next Nationwide Series Race * Homestead-Miami Speedway * Miami, Florida * Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wallace Switching To Toyota
Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR), Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) announced today that beginning with the 2010 season, RWR will field Toyota Camrys in its quest for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. The team currently plans to enter the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the 2010 Nationwide Series, piloted by Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan, respectively. Additionally, a separate agreement with RWR team owner, Rusty Wallace, will enable the racing legend, television analyst, and Toyota dealer to represent the Toyota brand on a national basis. ...More
Carl Edwards Wins Nationwide Race ~ Busch's Party Postponed
Christian Peterson/Getty Images For NASCAR
Edwards Gets Winning Checkered Flag
Carl Edwards won Saturday's Able Body Labor 200 to postpone Kyle Busch's formal NASCAR Nationwide Series championship clinching party for one week. But Busch still had cause for celebration. With a 190-point lead entering next Saturday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch needs merely to start the Ford 300 to claim his first title in one of NASCAR's top three national touring series. Saturday's race also fanned the smoldering rivalry between polesitter Denny Hamlin and fifth-place finisher Brad Keselowski into full flame. The drivers traded shots with their cars after a restart on Lap 157, with Keselowski spinning Hamlin's Toyota in Turn 1 to bring out the sixth and final caution of the race. -- "That's 25 -- 25 (career Nationwide) wins," said Edwards, who beat runner-up Kevin Harvick to the finish line by 2.415 seconds. "I know Kyle's almost clinched the championship, but that's what we came here to do, to win this race." -- Reed Sorenson ran third in Todd Braun's No. 32 Toyota, followed by Clint Bowyer and Keselowski.
Busch's clinching prospects were in jeopardy early in the race, after he spun the No. 18 Toyota off Turn 2 in front of Clint Bowyer's No. 29 Chevrolet on Lap 7. Busch tagged the outside wall with the right rear of his car and the inside wall with the left front. Busch's team worked on the car on pit road and got Busch back on the track before he lost a lap. After restarting 35th, Busch worked his way to 12th in the running order by Lap 30 of 200. Busch ran as high as fourth before the final caution but faded to ninth at the finish. With Edwards winning and leading the most laps, Busch needed to finish seventh or better to lock up the title. Asked about the early-race spin, Busch gave a terse explanation. -- "I was driving a bucket of (expletive)," he said.
Keselowski and Hamlin had a lot more to say after the race, thanks to the Lap 157 incident that started with Hamlin bumping Keselowski and ducking beneath him. Keselowski retaliated in the corner and turned Hamlin's No. 20 Toyota. Hamlin kept the car off the wall but had to pit and restarted at the back of the field on Lap 164. He finished 12th. -- "On the last restart there, Denny got into the back of me and pushed me up the track," Keselowski said. "I was going to return the favor. When he did it to me, I saved it. When I did it to him, he didn't save it. We just got into a pushing match. I don't really hold any grudges. I don't know why he wanted to do that. But whatever, that's just how racing, is I guess. To me, I was over it. I'm focused on running the No. 88 Junior Motorsports car and trying to run up front, chase down Carl (for second in the standings) and finish second in points. I haven't put a lot of thought into (the rivalry), but apparently he has."
Hamlin implied he'd have a shot at revenge in next Saturday's race. -- "I can sit here and bash him for the next 20 seconds or so and give you all a bunch of sound bites," Hamlin said, "but I'm just happy that I signed up for next week's Nationwide race, and you know in turn, there's a lot of guys that owe him. There's a lot of guys that have a lot of chips that they're going to cash in, I'm just going to be the first to the pay
window." -- Later on, after Hamlin spoke to NASCAR president Mike Helton, the two drivers had what USA Today reporter Nate Ryan described as an animated but civil discussion. -- The next event on the Nationwide Series schedule is the Nov. 21 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final race of the season starts at 4:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by ESPN2 beginning with its pre-race show at 4 p.m. ...Daily Headlines For Final Results...Able Body Labor 200 Final Results Point Standings...Point Standings After Able Body Labor 200
Next Camping World Truck Series Race * Homestead-Miami Speedway * Miami, Florida * Friday, November 20, 2009
Photo Christian Peterson/Getty Images for NASCAR
Harvick and Hornaday In Dueling Burnouts
Harvick Rallies To Win Truck Race; Hornaday Clinches Fourth Title
Kevin Harvick held off Kyle Busch to take the checkered flag in Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, but the big winner was Ron Hornaday Jr., who secured his record fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with a fourth-place finish at the one-mile track, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet owned by Harvick. Harvick won the race despite bringing out the first caution, on Lap 6, with a spin off Turn 4. Hornaday, at 51 the oldest champion of a major NASCAR touring series, overcame an early penalty to claim the series title by finishing ahead of Matt Crafton, the only driver with an outside chance to overtake him. Crafton came home eighth and heads to the final event Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway locked into second in the series standings.
In a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race one lap past its scheduled distance of 150 laps, Harvick won the race under caution after Tayler Malsam wrecked on the final lap. Aric Almirola was third, followed by Hornaday and polesitter Johnny Sauter. "To see Hornaday lock up the championship tonight and win the race, I don't think you could script it much better," said Harvick, who at one point slept on Hornaday's black leather couch when he was trying to make a name for himself in racing. -- "I thought I had screwed it up there in the beginning. I thought I got in oil. I about spun out in the turn before down there and came down here and just spun out, and (crew chief) Ernie (Cope) said the tire was bald when we came in. It just kind of took me a while to get back in the swing of things. I had lost a little bit of confidence in the truck. We got a little tight and made an adjustment there on the last stop and just came on strong."
Hornaday broke a tie for most series championships with his close friend Jack Sprague, who is not active in the series this year. And even at 51, Hornaday is confident he can add to his championship total. -- "We're not done," Hornaday said. "As long as Kevin and DeLana will still have me, we're going to win some more. When you drive Kevin and DeLana's equipment, you feel like you're 18 years old." -- On Lap 6, Harvick slid up the track into Almirola's Toyota and spun toward the infield, but neither truck lost a lap because of the accident. In fact, Almirola passed Busch for the lead on Lap 44 and stretched his advantage to 3.3 seconds by Lap 65. Harvick was running third by then, having changed tires on Lap 35, under caution for Brad Sweet's spin in Turn 3. Hornaday drew a penalty for improper fueling under caution on Lap 35, when the fuel-filler can was inserted into the receptacle on the truck before the catch can was in place. Faced with restarting from the rear of the field, Hornaday returned to pit road for tires and gradually worked his way through the field.
By Lap 81, Hornaday was 12th, seven positions behind Crafton, who had not stopped for tires. Hornaday passed Crafton in the pits on Lap 92 -- under caution called when Wheeler Boys slowed on the backstretch -- after Crafton was forced to retrieve a dropped lug nut. Hornaday restarted seventh on Lap 96 and quickly gained two positions, while Crafton remained mired in ninth place until he slipped past David Starr for eighth on Lap 107. The Camping World Truck Series moves to Homestead-Miami Speedway next Friday night for the Ford 200.
Final Race Results...Lucas Oil 150 Results Point Standings...After Lucas Oil 150
Turner Motorsports Signs Ricky Carmichael
Turner Motorsports, LLC announced today former professional motocross and supercross racer Ricky Carmichael has joined the organization to pilot the No. 31 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado in the final two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) events of the 2009 season, at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition, Carmichael has signed a multi-year contract and will compete full-time in the 2010 Truck Series season for owners Steve and Sandra Turner and the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team. In an effort to gain maximum seat time, Carmichael will also participate in 10 ARCA RE/MAX Series races throughout the 2010 season. ...More
Truck Series Rule Changes In 2010
NASCAR announced several rule adjustments to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series that will not only assist with cost control, but will continue to promote the same top-flight competition for which the series is known. -- Here are the amendments to the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Series rule book:
Double-file restarts “shootout style” will be implemented to further enhance the close competition and offer additional excitement for the fans. The format will be the same as in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The addition of fuel and changing of tire(s) will be permitted on the same pit stop.
During any pit stop, under yellow- or green-flag conditions, six pit crew members will be permitted in the truck servicing area. This is an increase from five pit crew members in 2009.
A new self-venting fuel-can will be introduced as an option for teams to use in addition to the conventional fuel can.
The tire lease program will remain the same with these new options available to teams. ...More
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Welcome to our Open Wheel news and commentary site called "Speed News Now". We'll cover the highlights of the Indy Racing League and time permitting -- maybe some Sprint Car or World of Outlaw action. Listed below are some of the items currently in the news:
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