NASCAR Daily News Headlines * October 28, 2008

Knaus Named Best Crew Chief

While running a comfortable seventh with just 11 laps to go, Knaus, in hopes of advancing his driver even further up the leaderboard, made a gutsy call to bring Johnson in for four fresh tires during the race's final caution period. As a result, Johnson slipped back to 11th position behind lead-lap cars that stayed on the track.

The bold decision proved to be the right one. With just seven laps to go at the drop of the green flag, Johnson and his fresh tires passed cars at ease and vaulted all the way to second place at the checkered flag.

"Chad is never afraid to make a call," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 48 Lowes team. "He lives and dies by the calls he makes."

"The decision to pit was certainly an aggressive play on Chad's part, but being aggressive is what got us where we are today," said Johnson, who battled back from a lap down after being penalized for excessive pit road speed earlier in the race.

With just three races to go in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings (top 5) are as follows (in wins): Steve Addington and Knaus are tied with four wins, Bob Osborne has three wins, and Chip Bolin, Tony Eury Jr., Gil Martin and Pat Tryson all have two wins.

The 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge is a season-long contest that will determine the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel will vote to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It isn't necessarily the crew chief that goes to victory lane, but the crew chief that made the biggest difference to his team.

Representatives from WYPALL Wipers, together with FOX/Speed television analyst Jeff Hammond, and three of NASCAR's top crew chiefs who represent WYPALL, including Todd Berrier of the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 Shell Pennzoil Chevy team, Bob Osborne of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Office Depot Ford team, and Kenny Francis of the Gillett Evernham Motorsports No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team, make up the panel of judges.

In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead, FL.

Petty May Move To Grand-Am

“We’re trying to put something together to run not only the 24 Hours but all year long,” Petty said. “Obviously I’m in a place with the Cup stuff where I don’t really have a ride right now. I have always said this is where I wanted to be. From the time I came here for the first time, I said to run the Grand American division would be the next step up. I don’t want to go back to Nationwide and I don’t want to go run Trucks. That’s a step down from the Cup Series. This is a step over. I don’t look at this as a step down. This is a step to the top of road racing. It’s been a lot of fun out there so far. I forget where the infield goes sometimes.”

Petty has made six previous starts in the Rolex 24 including three with Orbit Racing between 2001 – 03. He has three top-15 finishes overall including a sixth-place finish in 2003 and a seventh in 2001. He remembers fondly his 2004 Rolex 24 start in which he shared driving duties with the late actor Paul Newman, who recently passed away. The car, which was driven by Petty, Newman, Gunnar Jeanette and Michael Brockman, finished 48th overall and completed only 185 laps. The memories of that start are special to Petty because he got to drive with Newman.

“I had the privilege of driving with Paul one of the last times he came down here and drove,” Petty said. “Obviously it was for the Hole In The Wall Gang camps and Victory Junction and Boggy Creek over here in Eustis. It was for his group of camps. That was the main reason I did it. You look at it and we came down here and probably didn’t have a shot at winning it. Now here I stand today, it’s one of my most cherished memories to come down here. It rained the whole time and we threw windshield wipers off the thing but it was fun no matter what.”

“That’s what’s so great about the 24-hour race. You bring people from all over the world, from all walks of life, from all forms of motorsports, from all forms of entertainment that want to be a part of it. That’s the way the 24-hour race was back when I was growing up and that’s what it’s becoming again.”

The October Test Days session features more than 20 sports cars testing for the Rolex 24. This is the first of three off-season tests for the Rolex Series at Daytona. Teams will test with 2009 tires Nov. 11-12. A star-studded lineup is expected for the Jan. 2-4 session, the last major session prior to the 2009 season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

This week’s three-day session will continue through Wednesday. The sessions will be open to the public, with fans able to view testing from the Sprint FANZONE with a $10 Daytona 500 Experience tour-only ticket. Fans who have already purchased tickets to the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona will be admitted free.

Edwards Selected For Team USA

“Once again it’s an honor to be selected to represent Team USA at The Race of Champions,” said Pastrana. “I have a new teammate this year in Carl Edwards and am looking forward to improving what Jimmie (Johnson) and I were able to accomplish last year. Carl is extremely talented and brings a new perspective to the event so we’re expecting big things this year!”

"Its great to be able represent the United States in the Race of Champions this year in England," stated Edwards. "I’ve never been to Europe and expect it will be spectacular. To race with the top drivers in the world is the opportunity of a lifetime. I will be teaming up with X Games Champion Travis Pastrana, which will be a great experience in itself. He’s the man, and the goal is to bring back a trophy. I can’t wait. It should be a lot of fun."

Pastrana has represented Team USA in The Race of Champions for the past three years and single-handedly took the country to the finals of The Race of Champions Nations Cup in 2006 after his teammate was forced to drop out at the last minute. In 2007 he raced alongside current NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson who believes Edwards is a strong asset for Team USA.

“Carl has a great racing background which will allow him to adapt to the variety of cars he’ll be driving and the unique track at this year’s Race of Champions.” Johnson continued, “It will be a tough challenge, but I know Carl will represent Team USA well and have a great time doing it.”

Pastrana has starred on both two and four wheels. With a combined nine X Games gold medals in motocross and rally, plus three US rally titles, Pastrana can certainly be considered a threat to the competition. He made history at the X Games in 2006 when he became the first man to land a double back flip during moto X best trick finals winning the gold.

Edwards, the reigning Nationwide Series champion, is no stranger to success either. Over the last five years Edwards has claimed 13 Sprint Cup, 17 Nationwide and six Truck Series wins along with two Rookie-of-the-Year titles (’03 - Truck; ’05 - Nationwide). Edwards currently sits fourth in the overall Sprint Cup “Chase” standings and with four races to go, he still has a shot at performing his celebratory back flip after claiming his first Sprint Cup championship.

Tickets for The Race of Champions are on sale now by calling 0844 412 1743, or online at (www.raceofchampions.com). Adult prices start at ú18 and child tickets at ú9.