Pages

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sprint car driver Nick Davis gearing up for season

Nick Davis and his Speedline Racing Team have been working on a new sprint car to take racing at tracks in Northern California.
The driver from Stockton admits his 2010 season did not unfold as he expected. He called it a growth year.
Part of that growth included building a new wingless car to take to tracks in Chico, Marysville and Petaluma among others.
He is still a couple weeks away from making his season debut, most likely at the track in Chico.
Go to the K&N website for more on Davis and his plans for the 2011 racing season.

Photo: Nick Davis, a driver from Stockton, plans on making his season debut in Chico.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Part-timer Jason Fensler wins West Series race at Roseville

Jason Fensler doesn't race that often in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. In only his fifth career start, Fensler won his second race at All American Speedway in Roseville on Saturday night.
Fensler, a driver from Wilton, Calif., said he doesn't plan on racing again in the West Series until June in Las Vegas. He might want to reconsider given his track record in his first five West Series races.
The last time he won a race in the West Series was in 2008 at Altamont Raceway Park.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race at Roseville.

Photo: Jason Fensler won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at All American Speedway in Roseville on Saturday night. It was his second win in five career West Series starts. (

Sergio Pena wins first NASCAR K&N Pro Series race of his career

It took a while, but Sergio Pena won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston SPeedway in Virginia on Sunday, the first of his career.
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale fans saw his potential in the 2010 Toyota All-Star Showdown when he won the pole and finished second to Joey Logano.
Even though Pena had a great start to his K&N Pro Series career, he struggled in his first full season in the East Series.
After two races into the 2011 East Series season, Pena leads the standings by one point over Coleman Pressley.
Go to the K&N website for more on the race.

Photo: Sergio Pena won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston Speedway, the first of his career. (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Scott Dixon vs. Dario Franchitti at Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach


Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are teammates with Chip Ganassi's Team Target in the Izod IndyCar Series. Franchitti has won three IndyCar series championships. Dixon has won two.
Franchitti has Dixon beat at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He won the race in 2009. The best finish for Dixon came last year when he finished fourth.
"Last year, we messed up man," Dixon said Thursday during a media lunch at the track in Long Beach. "We were not as consistent as we needed to be."
Dixon and Franchitti might be the drivers to beat in Sunday's Grand Prix of Long Beach. Dixon said he considers Franchitti to be his biggest rival in the race.
"You look at Dario, even if he has a bad day, they somehow turn it into something that achieves a lot of points," Dixon said. "To win championships, that's what you got to do.
"We're great friends first and foremost. We push each other to the limits. I think we're definitely stronger in different areas. That's nice to feed off. It's a healthy competition. It gets fierce as it does with anyone on the track."

Don Gatlin picking up speed in Summit Drag Racing Series

Don Gatlin, a drag racer from Bakersfield, plans on racing two cars in two different parts of the country this year. He has one on the West Coast and has won races in Sonoma and Bakersfield.
He has another car in Indiana that he plans on racing at tracks in Tennessee and Kentucky over the summer.
He won a race at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield and at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. But he said he's off to a bit of a slow start despite the two wins.
Go to the K&N website for more on Gatlin's drag racing season and his goals for the 2011.

Photo: Don Gatlin has won two races this year, one in Bakersfield and one in Sonoma.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

RJ Johnson wins NASCAR Super Late Model season opener at Irwindale

IRWINDALE – RJ Johnson, in his debut for Position One Motorsports, won the NASCAR Super Late Model season opener at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Johnson, a two-time track champion at Irwindale, won in dominating fashion, taking the lead on lap 12 and pulling away for his first Super Late Model win at the track.
Jack Madrid and Jason Pattison collided on lap 73 of the 75-lapper. Pattison, who was running in third place at the time of the crash, hit the wall between Turn 1 and 2 and did not finish the race. Johnson won the race on a green-white-checkered flag finish.
Johnson, a driver from Canyon Country, won the NASCAR Late Model championship at Irwindale last year and the Super Trucks championship at the track in 2009.
Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga was second, followed by Kevin Thompson of Conroe, Texas, in third. Thirteen cars started the Super Late Model opener.
Andrew Porter of La Verne won the S2 stock car race, but was disqualified when his car did not pass post-race inspection.
It would have been the first win of his career at Irwindale. He was disqualified for having illegal shocks on his car.
Andrew Anderson of Lancaster was awarded the win. He was followed by Jace Meier of Las Vegas in second.
The race featured Sebastian Labrie, a Dutch actor and driver from Holland. His entry in the race was filmed for a Dutch reality TV show, “Try Before You Die.” He came in third in the 10-car race.
Christian McGhee of La Verne won the Bandoleros race. He was followed by Ricky Schlick of Claremont in second and Brandon Weaver of Baker in third.
Haley Deegan, the daughter of freestyle motocross rider and X Games champion Brian Deegan, was entered in the race. She finished 13th.
Chad Schug of Oak Hills won the Legends Cars race. He is the reigning Legends Cars champion at the track and won one race last year. He had five runner-up finishes in 16 races in 2010.
Eric Gunderson of San Diego was second, followed by Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma in third.

Brett Thompson reaches century mark in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West

Brett Thompson made the 100th start of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career at Phoenix International Raceway last month. He started 17th and finished fifth in the West Series season opener.
His first West Series race came in 2000 at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Utah.
His only West Series win came at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield in 2004.
As Thompson prepares for his next race, he has a West Series championship in his sights.
Go to the K&N website for more on Thompson and his first 100 races in the West Series.

Photo: Brett Thompson made the 100th start of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career last month at Phoenix International Raceway. (Getty Images for NASCAR)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Moffitt top driver in NASCAR Hunter Index for April

Brett Moffitt won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina and earned the top spot in the Hunter Index for April.
The Hunter Index ranks NASCAR's top developmental drivers in the nation. Moffitt narrowly edged George Brunnhoelzl III, who won the first two NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events, for the top spot in the latest Hunter Index.
Greg Pursley, a driver from Newhall and a Canyon High graduate, was third. He won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix International Raceway last month. 
Here is how I ranked the top-15 drivers:


Hunter Index top 15 for April
1.    Brett Moffitt, K&N Pro Series East driver
2.    Greg Pursley, K&N Pro Series West Series driver
3.    Jorge Goeters, Mexico Series driver
4.    George Brunnhoelzl, Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver
5.    Jonathan Gomez, K&N Pro Series West driver
6.    Derek Thorn, K&N Pro Series West driver
7.    Coleman Pressley, K&N Pro Series East driver
8.    Chase Elliott, K&N Pro Series East driver
9.    Brandon Davis, Whelen All-American Series driver
10.    Phillip Morris, Whelen All-American Series driver
11.    Keith Rocco, Whelen All-American Series driver
12.    Zachary Hausler, Whelen All-American Series driver
13.    Anthony Anders, Whelen All-American Series driver
14.    Alex Bowman, K&N Pro Series East driver
15.    Ty Dillon, K&N Pro Series East driver

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Brett Moffitt wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener

Brett Moffitt switched teams in the off-season but he didn't trade in his winning touch.
Moffitt won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina on Saturday night. He won the 2010 East Series season finale at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.
Moffitt won the Dover race driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. He made the move to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2011 season, winning the pole and his first race in his debut with his new team.
Go to the K&N website for more on the East Series season opener.

Brett Moffitt in the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing wins the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. (Sara D. Davis/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Brandon Davis wins NASCAR Late Model season opener at Irwindale

IRWINDALE – Brandon Davis swept the NASCAR Late Model Twin 40s to open the season at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night and has surprisingly put together a string of impressive races.

He won the late model season finale in 2010 giving him three in a row. He set fast time and a track record in qualifying for the late model race of the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale in January.

"The car was awesome," Davis said. "It was a great night and a great way to start the year."

Davis, a driver from Henderson, Nev., won a crash-filled race in the first of two scheduled 40-lappers to start the late model season at Irwindale. It was the second win of his career at Irwindale. Toni McCray from San Bernardino was second, followed by Tim Smith of Bakersfield in third.


Davis came back and won the second race of the Twin 40s ahead of Chris Holloway in second and Travis Irving in third.

Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga started the NASCAR Super Trucks season the same way he did in 2010. He won the season opener for the second year in a row. He won the first 10 races of the 2010 season en route to his first Super Trucks championship.

Dennis Arena of Duarte was second followed by Connor Cantrell of Valencia in third.