NASCAR Daily News Headlines * June 7, 2008

Busch Crashes In Practice

“It wasn't nothing that has anything to do with his racing in Texas, Pocono and Nashville. I talked to him [Saturday] morning and he was fine. He got plenty of rest [Friday] night. It's just part of racing," said Busch's crew chief, Steve Addington, who spoke for his driver, who left the track to head to Nashville Superspeedway without commenting. "The car got a little bit loose off [Turn 3] and then he tried to just turn down pit road and spun out and tore the front end up on the car. It's no big deal. These guys will dig in and we'll have a good car [Sunday] afternoon for the race."

The car, with which Busch turned 20 laps and posted the third-best time in the session -- behind Edwards and Jimmie Johnson -- made a long slide and hit the low, inside pit wall right in front of where several spectators were standing immediately after Busch drove away.

"It was the transition off the patch onto the racetrack and onto the old asphalt and it just got a little loose on him," Addington said. "He thought he was going to save it and it didn't. It was just a mistake and he's sorry about that."

NASCAR officials were immediately told to speak to Busch's spotter about the incident. Sprint Cup director John Darby said that was a result of Busch's "bad decision at the last minute to come to pit road."

After crashing, Busch drove his car, which was new this weekend, back to the garage, trailing fluid. He briefly stopped between his garage stall and the Joe Gibbs Racing team's transporter, and then parked the car near its hauler as his teammates unloaded his backup. Addington said the backup is also a new car with no race action, though it was tested here last week for two days. Addington's comment on his driver's mood was no surprise.

Busch's crash was the only major incident in three Cup practices this weekend in the corner that's been predicted to cause the most trouble in Sunday's 500-miler; but about five minutes into Happy Hour, Clint Bowyer slipped off the same patch and bent the very end of his No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet's right-rear corner against the wall.(nascar.com)

Sportscaster Jim McKay Dies

The broadcaster who considered horse racing his favorite sport died only hours before Big Brown attempted to win a Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

He was host of the influential "ABC's Wide World of Sports" for more than 40 years, starting in 1961. The weekend series introduced viewers to all manner of strange, compelling and far-flung sports events. The show provided an international reach long before exotic backdrops became a staple of sports television.

McKay provided the famous voice-over that accompanied the opening, in which viewers were reminded of the show's mission ("Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports") and what lay ahead ("the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat").

McKay -- understated, dignified and with a clear eye for detail -- covered 12 Olympics, but none more memorably than the Summer Games in Munich, Germany. He was the anchor when events turned grim with the news that Palestinian terrorists had kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes...MORE...(espn.go.com)

Keselowski Wins First Race

Clint Bowyer finished fourth while David Ragan was fifth. Mike Wallace brought his Toyota home in sixth place followed by Scott Wimmer, Kelly Bires, rookie Landon Cassill and Greg Biffle to round out the top ten. Pole sitter, eighteen year-old Joey Logano, led 64 laps before getting caught up in a wreck on lap 88. Logano finished 31st. “We had a really good car," said Logano. "Obviously, we put it on the pole and led the first part of the race there. We made our green flag stop and were still in the lead. Then, we came in and took those four tires and it put us back there in the trash. You got lap cars that are way slower than you and they’re all sideways. You put stickers on and you’re obviously going to be looser. Somewhere within that mess – I’m not sure what happened behind me but I got tagged in the left rear and around I went. I got hit hard enough that I knew I wasn’t going to save that thing. It was definitely a bummer. We had a great car – a car that could win the race and couldn’t capitalize on it.”

Nashville Superspeedway over the years has produced seven first time winners. * The Nationwide Series moves to Kentucky Speedway next Saturday, June 14th.
For Nationwide Starting Lineup...     (Federated Auto Parts 300 Race Results)
For Nationwide Starting Lineup...     (Nationwide Points After Federated Auto Parts 300)

Joey Logano On Nashville Pole