McMurray On Infineon Pole
Jamie McMurray didn't run a perfect lap on Friday at Infineon Raceway but it was pretty close. Robby Gordon was the provisional pole sitter for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 Nextel Cup race until McMurray made his qualifying run. McMurray turned a lap of 77.521 seconds around the 1.99-mile track for an average speed of 92.414 mph. McMurray narrowly beat out Gordon, by 0.012 of a second and a pumped up Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified in the third spot. "I was a little nervous," McMurray said. "I felt like somebody could definitely run faster. I definitely felt with Juan and Ryan going out later, I would definitely get beat. I kept telling everybody that." The pole is the third one in McMurray's career, but the first one on a road course. He did sit on the outside pole for last years Infineon race.

Boris Said turned in the fourth best lap and Tony Stewart will start fifth. Jeff Burton will roll off in the sixth spot followed by Bill Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer to round out the top ten. Juan Pablo Montoya, a pre-qualifying favorite, had a disappointing run and starts 32nd on Sunday. All three Michael Waltrip Racing cars made the field, Dale Jarrett was 16th -- Terry Labonte in for Waltrip qualified 25th and P.J. Jones, in for rookie David Reutimann, qualified 34th. Points leader Jeff Gordon and his teammate, Jimmie Johnson will start in 41st and 42nd after their cars failed the initial inspection. Nine drivers failed to qualify, Ward Burton, Scott Riggs, Brandon Ash, rookie Paul Menard, Brian Vickers, rookie A.J. Allmendinger, Brian Simo, Kenny Wallace and Klaus Graf. Sunday's race will be the first to host the new cars.
For Full Starting Lineup...     (Insider Racing News)

Statement From NASCAR Concerning Hendrick Cars
Nextel Cup Series points leader Jeff Gordon and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, both of the Hendrick Motorsports stable, have failed inspection at Infineon Raceway. The cars of neither Gordon, the defending race champion, nor Johnson will be allowed to practice or qualify Friday.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said both cars "failed the initial inspection … as a result of body modifications found to be outside NASCAR tolerances. The front fender [of both cars] was modified outside of NASCAR regulations. They did not meet the C2 template inspection."

According to Poston, Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 and No. 25 cars, for Kyle Busch and Casey Mears, passed inspections.

Poston added, "both teams have an opportunity to repair and resubmit their cars" for inspection up to the start of practice Saturday. "Assuming they pass inspection, they can practice [Saturday] and start at the rear of the field [Sunday]," he said.

"It's important to know this is a Car of Tomorrow penalty," Poston said of the short-term severity of the sanction. "The inspection process and NASCAR's response to Car of Tomorrow violations are going to be more severe.

"We're going to keep this car in check. It's important to know all cars in the field are starting out equal and have the ability to win the race."

Poston said both teams' crew chiefs, Steve Letarte on the No. 24 and Chad Knaus on the No. 48, would be allowed to supervise the repairs, and at this point, NASCAR had no plans to immediately confiscate the cars. The decision on further penalties would be made next week, Poston said.(nascar.com)

NASCAR Parks Hendrick Cars
NASCAR will make an announcement at 2:45 p.m. (EST) today apparently regarding issues found with two Hendrick Motorsports cars in pre-qualifying inspection Friday at Infineon Raceway.

The No. 24 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon and the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson were sitting in their garage stalls with no rear wings attached as of 2:40 p.m. (EST).

A NASCAR spokesman would not confirm reports that those two cars will be parked for the day and will not be allowed to practice or participate in qualifying this evening, choosing to wait for the news conference.(That's Racin')

NASCAR Adds 50 lbs To New Car
At Infineon this weekednd and all future races involving the new cars, NASCAR has mandated that 50 pounds be added to the weight of the cars. The new total minimum weight will increase from 3,400 lbs to 3,450 lbs. The added weight will allow the teams to more evenly distribute the extra pounds and eliminating the possibility of the teams lightening up the car in other areas. This will improve the integrity of the new cars. Many of the teams have requested that NASCAR do this and NASCAR responded to their need.

Chad Chaffin Back For One Race ~ Maybe More
Veteran NASCAR driver Chad Chaffin is returning to the Craftsman Truck Series and to Key Motorsports as team owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. announced today that Chaffin will return to his team to drive the #40 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet Silverado next weekend in Memphis. Chaffin started the 2006 NCTS campaign as the full-time driver for the team and attempted to qualify for the first six races. Though he only qualified for two of those events, Chaffin is excited to return to the Mooresville, North Carolina-based organization.

“Even though we had some rough times early last year in trying to get into races and compete, I still enjoyed my relationship with Curtis and the team,” Chaffin said. “The race team was a young one last year and worked through motor and personnel issues before finally righting their ship and actually qualified for and raced in the final 17 races. Now the #40 is solidly in the group of trucks racing every weekend in 2007, and some new people now in place on the competition side, I’m looking forward to getting back in the truck and finally making something good happen for them,” he added.

Chaffin, who won two NCTS races in 2004 en route to a 10th place finish in points, hasn’t raced in the Series since the latter part of the 2006 season but has been behind the wheel of a race car recently that has helped sharpen his skills and create some motivation.

“I had the chance to practice the #1 Miccosukee Chevrolet for James Finch’s Busch Series team the last two races (at Nashville and Kentucky) and I really enjoyed it. I had turned in some really good laps and provided some good feedback, and it helped J.J. (driver Yeley) to have two good runs. They (Phoenix Racing) may be asking me to do some Cup testing and driving for them later in the year, but my first job is to finish the job I started with Key Motorsports last year,” said Chaffin, who wants to prove that he can still get the job done behind the wheel of a NASCAR racing machine.

Chaffin will be the fourth driver in the #40 this year, joining the list that includes Mike Bliss, Clay Rogers and Shane Huffman. Bliss raced in the first four races after which Rogers ran four times and Huffman twice, although the latter is driving tonight in the Toyota Tundra 200 at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, WI.

“Since we do have a full-season sponsor, I’m free to put different drivers in my trucks to see who can get the job done for us and who can’t,” Key stated. “Mike, Clay and Shane all did well, even though we could have had better luck and better finishes in some of the races. But bringing Chad back to race with us on tracks that he is very familiar with should help us be more competitive in those races. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does with a different team this time around,” Key added.

Key is referring to the addition of Gary Showalter as crew chief and veteran Tommy Morgan to his team after a major shake-up following the race in Charlotte, as well as five new shop and crew members that Showalter brought with him. Chaffin is no stranger to many of the new Key Motorsports personnel additions and is even more anxious to see what he will be driving the second time around with the organization.

“I ran 10 races with Wyler Racing in the Truck Series in 2005 and Gary was the truck chief. I also ran a race for Sutton Motorsports in Atlanta early in 2006 when I failed to qualify the #40 Key Motorsports truck and the team needed a driver to step in for Kelly (Sutton) who was recovering from injuries from a wreck the race before. I like the way Gary works with his team, and I’ve known about Tommy Morgan and his background for a long time,” Chaffin explained. “Based on what I have seen so far this year, I know that they will give me a truck with a good set-up and on a track (Memphis) that I really like and have run well at during my career,” he ended.

Bliss and Rogers are not scheduled to run for Key Motorsports in any races over the foreseeable future, but plans have been set for Huffman to continue to run races for the team when they do not conflict with his Busch Series responsibilities for JR Motorsports. Chaffin is thus a candidate to drive beyond Memphis, although Key has not yet made that commitment.