NASCAR Daily News Headlines * June 26, 2009

Qualifying Cancelled, Stewart On Cup Pole

Stewart Wrecks In Practice

"I just got loose going into the corner," Stewart said of the crash. "Goodyear came down and was worried, but it wasn't a tire problem. I just got loose, and once I got out of the groove, I just ran out of [room] - I was staying right with it, I just needed another 50 feet to finish getting gathered up and sliding up. I just ran out of race track."

Stewart said he has a lot of confidence in this backup car, which he raced to a runnerup finish at Richmond earlier this year, and its chance in Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. He was, however, worried about the additional wear on his team. While he appreciates that he can count on them to turn around the backup car - Stewart actually got out on the track in it for a few laps Friday - he wasn’t happy that they had to do so.(scenedaily.com)

Robby Gordon Won't Appeal Penalty

Gordon was penalized 50 owner and 50 driver points, while crew chief Kirk Almquist was fined $50,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31. The driver/owner said he was going to appeal but has changed his mind and opted not to go through the NASCAR appeals process.

“I’m not going to appeal,” Gordon said Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when asked whether he had had his appeal prior to getting in his car for practice.(scenedaily.com)

Mayfield Fights Back

Both Mayfield and NASCAR filed several documents Thursday in preparation for a hearing next Wednesday on Mayfield’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop NASCAR from enforcing the suspension. Mayfield was tested May 1 and suspended May 9. He filed a lawsuit against NASCAR on May 29, and NASCAR countersued him June 5.

Mayfield claims that a combination of Claritin-D taken for allergies and the prescription drug Adderall, taken for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder resulted in a false positive determination by Aegis Laboratories, which conducts the NASCAR testing program.

NASCAR claims that Mayfield had an additional illegal drug in his system, which it has not identified, but Mayfield indicated in an affidavit filed that he was suspected of having used methamphetamine.

“I have never taken methamphetamines in my life, and when accused of taking them, I immediately volunteered to give another urine sample,” Mayfield states in an affidavit that accompanies his brief in support of the injunction request. “Aegis refused my offer. … The Aegis drug test was erroneous. Their actions and those of NASCAR have eliminated my ability to show the test results were a ‘false positive.’” -- ...MORE AT....(scenedaily.com)

Reutimann-Childers to Receive a Pair Of 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustangs

How did these guys get so lucky? On the night of qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 in May, Reutimann and Childers made a bet with Kauffman. If the two were able to bring home the Coca-Cola 600 trophy from Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kauffman would allow both of them to take home one trophy muscle car from his RK Collection auto restoration shop.

“We were having our engineering meeting after qualifying at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and I had parked a freshly restored green Shelby Mustang outside the coach that the guys at RK Collection had just finished, and I was driving the car around to test it,” Kauffman said. “David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, Rodney Childers and the rest of the team files into the coach for their engineering and crew chief meeting after the garage closed. They sit down and Rodney turns to me while I’m making a sandwich and says, 'So Rob, if we get the trophy on Sunday, is the car outside mine?' The room went totally silent. Never making a bet I’m not happy to lose, I said, ‘done’. David then perks up and says, 'Hey, what about me?' I said, 'Well, we are just finishing a blue one so you can have that one if you win.'

“They asked, ‘Are you serious?',” Kauffman continued. “Then it became a running joke all weekend. The pit crew said, ‘Oh sure, Rodney will get a car and all we get is lunch.’ When everyone came to RK two days later, Rodney would tell everyone, ‘This car is mine’. Frank Kerr came over and said, ‘I like the Corvette - if we win [the No. 47 of Marcos Ambrose] can I have that one?.’ Sunday came and the race was rained out and we all know what happened on Monday. For me, a deal is a deal.”

On Monday, May 25th, Reutimann was declared a first-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner and presented with the coveted Coca-Cola 600 trophy. As Kauffman was boarding a plane to Europe simultaneously, he received a call from Victory Lane.

“I was on a plane when Cal (Wells) handed the phone over to Rodney,” Kauffman said. “Rodney said, ‘My wife already left, so I need a ride home.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry it’s yours’. Then I asked David, 'Do you want it or not and he was like, ‘Well ya know…’. He was being coy about it and just being David. The next week when he won the pole at Dover, I texted him and told him to make room in his garage.”

"He was serious," Childers added. "When I saw the car sitting outside the coach that night, I told him that I was ready to wheel and deal for the car. If we delivered the Coca-Cola 600 trophy, the car would be mine. Rob didn't hesitate and made the deal.'"

Childers took Kauffman seriously, but Reutimann is still in the state of disbelief that he to will receive one.

"When Rodney said that Rob showed no hesitation," Reutimann said. "I thought if we are going to win this race, I said 'What about me? What do I get?' Rob said, 'Do you want the blue one?’ My response was 'Well, heck yeah!' I was just joking around and then we won the race. I kind of cheated off of Rodney when he said he wanted a car. Then I didn't feel right about the deal because I was piggybacking off of what Rodney said. We hadn't really talked much more about it since then and I know Rodney's getting one on Tuesday. I wasn't aware of anything else of me being involved until I was told that I need to be at RK Collection next week. Although, Rob did send me a text in Dover that said make room for that Mustang after I won the pole. So, I don't know. It just seems too amazing to be true. It just seems unreal."

Kauffman will hand over the two sets of keys on Wednesday - one set to Childers and one to Reutimann. He is also extending an invitation to media to attend and have lunch at RK Collection LLC, which is home of the finest and collectable muscle cars, exotics and motorcycles. RK Collection LLC is located at 7975 Westwinds Blvd NW in Concord.