Juan Pablo Montoya Wins First Cup Race
Juan Pablo Montoya already had one Busch Series victory but after that win in Mexico City, he desperately wanted to win a Nextel Cup race, and he did it on Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Driving hard enough to pass other cars but still be in a fuel conservation mode, must have been difficult for the Colombian born racer, but he was up to the task, winning the Toyota Save Mart 350. His crew was on the radio the last 40 laps guiding him through the process an telling him every few minutes to be smooth and to conserve fuel. The crew had done their calculations and figured to be a lap or two shot on gas, but Montoya crossed the start-finish line in first place and a dry fuel tank. It was only the 17th start for Montoya. After starting in the 32nd spot he took the lead from Jamie McMurray with seven laps to go and just prayed that the car would make it. McMurray and Carl Edwards, both running in the top ten, ran out of gas with two laps remaining.

The win by Montoya was the first win by a manufacturer other than Chevrolet in the new cars. Kevin Harvick stayed close enough to the front that he could have taken advantage of the win should anyone in front of him falter, but only McMurray did. Harvick finished second. Jeff Burton brought his RCR car home in the third spot with teammate Clint Bowyer in tow for fourth. Then came Greg Biffle for fifth followed by Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Boris Said and Denny Hamlin to round out the top ten. The victory for Montoya marked the first time anyone had come from that far back (32nd) to win at Infineon. The Nextel Cup Series moves to New Hampshire International Speedway next Sunday, July 1, 2007, for the Lennox Industrial Tools 300. TNT will cover the race live -- scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for the setup show and the green flag will drop at 2:35 p.m. Eastern time.
To read the full article...     (Insider Racing News)
For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

Hamlin Wins For Almirola
What an unusual night of racing at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin on Saturday night. Aric Almirola practiced and qualified Denny Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet -- and put it on the pole, but when it came time to start the AT&T 250 Busch Series race, Hamlin was hovering over the speedway because the helicopter that brought him from Sonoma, California -- couldn't land. It seems that several cars had parked in the helipad landing area. Hamlin had to land at a local airport and was late getting to the car. Almirola started the race and led the first 43 laps but the team took him out to put Hamlin in the car on lap 59. Almirola was visibly upset at the turn of events. The change of drivers left the No. 20 team a lap down but Hamlin not only made up the lap, but he drove the car to victory. Since Almirola started the car, he is the winner of the race. It was the first time in Busch Series history that a relief driver had won a race. It was Almirola's first Busch Series win and he was nowhere to be found after the race. It was the first time a relief driver had won a race in one of NASCAR’s top three national racing series since Darrell Waltrip did it at Talladega Superspeedway, in place of Donnie Allison, on Aug. 7, 1977.

Scott Wimmer, who is native to Wisconsin, wanted a win badly and he led some laps but had to settle for second. Jason Leffler was pressuring Wimmer in the closing laps but he too fell short and finished third. 19 year-old rookie Brad Coleman was fourth followed by Jason Keller, Todd Bodine and David Reutimann for seventh. Carl Edwards finished eighth after leading the most laps, but a flat tire left him a lap down. He also fought back from the adversity and was coming to the front when the race ended. He just ran out of time to get back to the front, though he clearly had the quickest car. rounding out the top ten were Johnny Benson and Shane Huffman. The Busch Series moves to New Hampshire International Speedway next Saturday June 30th.

DEI Can't Sell No. 8
Hendrick Motorsports will not be able to purchase the No. 8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc., nor will any other team for that matter. NASCAR on Monday reiterated its long-standing policy that the sanctioning body owns and assigns car numbers, and spokesman Ramsey Poston said a team cannot sell its car number.

"NASCAR owns the numbers and licenses them to teams on an annual basis," Poston said. "A team may allow another team to use the number for that year pending NASCAR's approval." And the numbers are not for sale, he said.

Poston said each year a team submits numbers it wishes to use. If a team has been using that number, it is generally re-issued. If a team chooses to relinquish the number, the number returns to NASCAR and it will assign it to a team requesting it. When asked if a team could make a financial arrangement to encourage another team to give up the use of a number, Poston said NASCAR would discourage such deals

Tony Eury Sr. Leaves DEI, Goes To JR Motorsports
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has turned to a familiar face and proven winner to help lead the competition efforts of his race team, announcing today that his uncle and longtime NASCAR crew chief, Tony Eury Sr., has been named Director of Competition at JR Motorsports. Commonly referred to as “Pops” around the NASCAR garage, Eury Sr. will oversee competition and technical support for all of JR Motorsports, which includes a full-time NASCAR Busch Series program, a USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series entry, and three late model teams.

Earnhardt Jr.’s latest addition continues a racing bond between the Eurys and Earnhardts that started more than three decades ago when Eury Sr. accompanied his longtime Kannapolis, N.C., friend, Dale Earnhardt Sr., to Daytona International Speedway in 1976. Racing in the NASCAR Sportsman Division (later renamed the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series) Earnhardt finished 13th in his first-ever race at Daytona. Eury continued to work on Earnhardt’s cars and travel to select races on a part-time basis through the mid-80s before joining Earnhardt’s company full time in 1987.

As a crew chief at DEI, Eury worked with a vast assortment of drivers who took turns driving Earnhardt’s Busch Series entry, including Neil Bonnett, David Bonnett, Bobby Hillin, Ben Hess, Jody Ridley, Michael Waltrip, Steve Park, and, of course, Earnhardt himself. His biggest challenge, however, came prior to the 1998 season when he was asked to mold an up-and-coming driver that had very little professional stock-car racing experience.

Infineon Highest Rated Sports Event
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway was the highest-rated televised sporting event last weekend nationwide. The event earned a 4.7 rating on TNT, with the next closest sporting event being a Major League Baseball game on FOX (2.8). The pre-race show on TNT netted a 2.7 rating, and NASCAR on TNT Live (prior to pre-race) garnered a 1.8 rating. Moreover, it was the highest-rated NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race broadcast on TNT this year, and the 4.7 rating was also better than the average rating for a NEXTEL Cup race that aired on TNT during the 2006 season (4.5).

Martin Could Have Been Docked 100 Points
I've been asked the question many times this week. "If Mark Martin had been driving the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet this past week at Infineon Raceway, would he have been been penalized the 100 NASCAR Nextel Cup driver's points instead of Jeff Gordon." As a contingency plan, Gordon did have Martin standing by to drive the car just in case his baby was born on the weekend. Herb Brannam, NASCAR communication manager said "Yes, he would've been penalized the 100 points".

Hendrick Won't Appeal Penalties
Car owner Rick Hendrick confirmed today that the sanctions levied by NASCAR on Tuesday against the Nos. 24 and 48 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams will not be appealed by Hendrick Motorsports.

"The penalties are excessive," Hendrick reiterated. "But we're not going to put time and resources into issuing an appeal. Instead, we will direct that energy into our internal processes to make sure we have full confidence that our cars will meet standards when presented for inspection each week. We've said from the beginning that this would be a learning process (with the Car of Tomorrow) and there would be a lot of give and take between NASCAR and the teams to figure it out. That doesn't seem to be the case now, and I don't think it's the right direction to go."

Hendrick Motorsports Interim Crew Chiefs Named
No. 24 car chief Jeff Meendering and No. 48 car chief Ron Malec have been named interim crew chiefs for their respective teams beginning with Sunday's NEXTEL Cup event at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Crew chiefs Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus will resume at-track duties for their respective teams at the Aug. 19 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway.

NASCAR Says Don't Mess With New Car
NASCAR is determined to take any guesswork out of its new Car of Tomorrow. With a new system of templates and sensors to measure the parameters of the taller, wider and reputedly safer car, NASCAR chairman Brian France said the sanctioning organization wants to leave no doubt that it will come down hard on infractions.

"We have to lay down the law," France said Sunday at Infineon Raceway, where the Nextel Cup cars raced in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

That doesn't bode well for the teams of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who were parked for Friday's practice and qualifying after NASCAR inspectors found front fenders on their COT Chevrolets had been illegally modified.

Asked if NASCAR is taking all the creativity away from the teams, France said, "There will always be room for imagination and ingenuity in the sport. But we don't want this thing to revolve around technology. It's important to keep it in the hands of the drivers."(espn.go.com)

Hendrick Crew Chiefs Penalized
NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 24 and No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams that compete in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found this past weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Both cars – the No. 24 driven by Jeff Gordon and the No. 48 driven by Jimmie Johnson – were found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); 20-2.1E (parts or components of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that have been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted); and 20-2H (fenders may not be cut or altered except for wheel or tire clearance which must be approved by the Series Director) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during the initial inspection process last Friday.

As a result, Gordon and Johnson have each been penalized 100 driver championship points. Their respective crew chiefs – Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus – have each been fined $100,000, suspended for the next six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events until Aug. 15, 2007 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2007. In addition, Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 24, has been penalized 100 car owner championship points as has Gordon, who is the owner of the No. 48.

Ganassi Switches Crew Chiefs
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced Wednesday it is making crew changes to its No. 41 Wrigley’s and No. 42 Texaco/Havoline NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) teams. Crew chief Brad Parrott and his crew will move over to work on the No. 41 Dodge with drivers Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Scott Pruett, Scott Lagasse Jr., and Bryan Clauson, while crew chief Brian Pattie and his team will now work with drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Hamlin on the No. 42 Dodge effective this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS).

Benson Holds Off Hornaday To Win Truck Race
On a restart with four laps to go, Johnny Benson held off a hard charging Ron Hornaday Jr., to win Friday night's Toyota Tundra 200 Craftsman Truck race. It was Benson's second straight victory at The Milwaukee Mile and the sixth of an 86 Truck Series career. Hornaday started 14th -- on a track difficult to pass on and he drove to second place -- pressuring Benson in the final laps. Todd Bodine, who started on the outside pole, finished third and pole sitter Mike Skinner, brought his truck home in the fourth spot.

Skinner, in the No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota out of the Bill Davis Racing stable, turned a fast lap of 29.463 seconds/122.187 miles per hour to earn his seventh pole of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Skinner's lap also broke the existing track record of 29.503 seconds/122.021 mph set by Ron Hornaday in 2006. Skinner led most laps on Friday, 103 of 200.