Simi Valley's Adrian Starrantino wins F1600 Championship Series opener

Adrian Starrantino, an 18-year-old from Simi Valley, won the first two rounds of the F1600 Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway over the weekend.
Starrantino, a graduate of Royal High School, will be competing for Bryan Herta Autosport in the open-wheel developmental series.
Starrantino made his debut for the team in the 2012 season finale at Watkins Glen in New York, where was the runner-up in his first race in the F1600 Championship Series.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on Starrantino and the F1600 Championship Series.

Photo: Adrian Starrantino from Simi Valley won the first two rounds of the F1600 Championship Series season at Virginia International Raceway.

Kwasniewski wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Bristol Motor Speedway

Dylan Kwasniewski made the leap from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West to East with relative ease. He won the K&N Pro Series East season opener at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kwasniewski won the K&N Pro Series West championship last year driving for Gene Price Motorsports.
He made the switch to the East Series and is now racing for Scott Turner Motorsports.
The 17-year-old from Las Vegas led 96 laps of the DRIVE4COPD 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
Go to the K&N website for more on Kwasniewski and his win at Bristol.

Photo: Dylan Kwasniewski won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Adam Bushman wins three Wisconsin Ice Racing state championships

Adam Bushman won three pro titles at the Wisconsin Ice Racing state championships in Wisconsin in February. He won the Open Pro, 450 Pro and the GP Pro championships.
Bushman, who lives in Oak Creek, Wis., is coming off hip surgery and has raced in Florida and Georgia since his championship runs in Wisconsin.
He has his sights sets on GNC national events throughout the country.
Go to the K&N website for more on Bushman and his ice racing endeavors.

Photo: Adam Bushman won three pro titles at the Wisconsin Ice Racing state championships.

Photos from the Auto Club 400

Kyle Busch wins NASCAR Auto Club 400 in Fontana

 

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He also won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway. It was the first NASCAR Cup win for Joe Gibbs Racing at the track. Busch was the first driver in a Toyota to win a Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second followed by Kurt Busch in third.

Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano crashed on the last lap of the race. Both drivers were battling for the lead in the final laps of the race. Hamlin hit the infield wall hard and broke his back. He will be out of the race car for several weeks.

 

NASCAR drivers to watch in the Auto Club 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana this weekend for its one and only stop in Southern California.

Danica-mania has died down a little since the Daytona 500 last month when she won the pole and finished in the top 10.

That has been Danica Patrick’s best race so far this season. She crashed at Phoenix International Raceway the following weekend. She was 33^rd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks after Daytona.

She was 28^th and five laps off the lead lap in Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

She has cooled off tremendously since Daytona.

Here is a look at the drivers who are hot coming into the Auto Club 400 in Fontana on Sunday.

Kasey Kahne: He won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol and was second in the race in Vegas. Neither track compares to Fontana though. Auto Club Speedway in a wide-open 2-mile oval. Bristol is one of NASCAR’s tiniest tracks, a half-mile bullring. Vegas is a 1.5-mile oval, a tad smaller than the Fontana track.

In Kahne’s favor, though, is his history at Fontana. He won the Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in September of 2006 and had a ninth-place finish in 2010.

Those were before his Hendrick Motorsports days. Still, he is the hottest driver entering the Fontana weekend. His second season with Hendrick didn’t start off so well either. He was 36^th at Daytona and 19^th at Phoenix.

“Since Las Vegas, the test day went really well,” Kahne said after winning at Bristol on Sunday. “I thought we learned some things there, were able to put a really good weekend together, and again this weekend.”

With the win in Bristol, coupled with his runner-up finish in Las Vegas, Kahne is in seventh place in the Sprint Cup Series standings after four races.

“We’ve gained a lot of spots here in the last two weeks and feel really good about where we’re at, where our team’s at,” Kahne said. “There was a lot that went on during the off‑season to get a little bit better. I felt like each one of us needed to get a touch better. So far it’s all paying off. The guys are doing an awesome job.”

Brad Keselowski: The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has yet to finish outside of the top five in the first four races.

He was third at Bristol on Sunday. He won the pole and finished in third place at Las Vegas the previous race. He posted a pair of fourth-place finishes at Daytona and Phoenix. He holds a nine-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Sprint Cup Series standings after the first four races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: He has four top 10s in the first four races of the year and probably should have won the race at Las Vegas. He led the most laps, but came in fifth place.

His best finish came at Daytona, where he was the runner-up to Jimmie Johnson. Junior is coming off a sixth-place finish at Bristol.

Carl Edwards: He won the Cup race at Phoenix and was fifth at Las Vegas. His only real setback came at Daytona with a 33^rd-place finish.

He comes into the race at Fontana in eighth place in the Sprint Cup Series standings and is coming off an 18^th-place finish at Bristol.

Matt Kenseth: He won the Cup race at Las Vegas, but has been very inconsistent in the other three races. He was seventh in Phoenix, but 35^th at Bristol and 37^th at Daytona.

Still, he is another driver with a successful record at Auto Club Speedway. He also has a new team. Perhaps Joe Gibbs Racing equipment combined with Kenseth’s experience can produce a winning weekend.

…

On a more local NASCAR note, Canyon High graduate Greg Pursley won the K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.

The 2011 Pro Series West champion was part of a 1-2 finish for Gene Price Motorsports at the race in Phoenix. Pursley’s teammate, Cameron Hayley, a teenager from Canada, was second in the Phoenix race.

Photo: Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on Friday in Fontana, Calif. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Pursley wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener

Greg Pursley looks like he has regained his championship form.
He won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix International Raceway. Pursley won the West Series championship in 2011, but was the runner-up to his Gene Price Motorsports teammate, 17-year-old Dylan Kwasniewski, last year.
Pursley has another teen-age teammate this year. Cameron Hayley, a 16-year-old from Canada, was second in the race at Phoenix.
Pursley led 56 laps in the Talking Stick Resort 60 and set the track record in qualifying.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race from Phoenix.

Photo: Greg Pursley won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix International Raceway. It was the third West Series win of his NASCAR career at Phoenix. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Hayley wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series UNOH Battle of the Beach race

Cameron Hayley had quite a debut for his new team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
Hayley, who took over as driver of the team at Gene Price Motorsports that won the K&N Pro Series West championship in 2012, won the UNOH Battle of the Beach race at Daytona International Speedway.
The teenager from Canada was making his first start for Gene Price Motorsports. He survived a crash-filled race and passed another teenager on the last lap to win the race.
Gray Gaulding was second, followed by Brian Ortiz in third.
Go to the K&N website for more on the K&N Pro Series UNOH Battle of the Beach race.

Photo: Cameron Hayley won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series UNOH Battle of the Beach race in his debut with Gene Price Motorsports. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

NHRA Pro Stock drivers prepare for K&N Horsepower Challenge

The NHRA Pro Stock drivers have a series within a series with the K&N Horsepower Challenge. Eight drivers will compete for a $50,000 prize in Las Vegas. The battle for position started at the NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series season opener at Pomona Raceway in February.
Mike Edwards, Allen Johnson and Jason Line are among the Pro Stock drivers eligible for the Horsepower Challenge championship.
Go to the K&N website for more on the K&N Horsepower Challenge.

Photo: Mike Edwards will be one of eight NHRA Pro Stock drivers competing for the K&N Horsepower Challenge championship.

NASCAR teenager takes on K&N Pro Series

Gray Gaulding, a teenage rookie taking his first steps in NASCAR, is off to a great start.
He was second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series UNOH Battle of the Beach at Daytona International Speedway.
He followed with a top 10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway in the K&N Pro Series West.
He will be racing the entire K&N Pro Series East schedule starting at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.
Go to the K&N website for more on Gaulding.

Photo: Gray Gaulding was the highest-finishing rookie in both NASCAR K&N Pro Series races this season.

Irwindale Speedway re-opens April 6, partners with Kern County Raceway Park

The Irwindale Speedway racing schedule for 2013 was released with seven divisions, 15 nights and a partnership with the Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield.
The auto racing season will open on April 6 with four classes of stock cars and a demolition derby. NASCAR Super Late Models will highlight the re-opening night of the race track. Late Models, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks will also race on April 6.
Race trucks, Legends cars and skid plate cars will also race at Irwindale. Figure eight, trailer races and Lucas Oil Modified cars are also on the the Irwindale Speedway schedule.
The season ends Oct. 26 with the night of destruction.

Here is a look at the schedule:

Opening night for Irwindale Event Center set for April 6

Buried in the release of LoanMart's new partnership with the Irwindale Event Center is the tentative opening night for racing to return to the oval tracks.

LoanMart will have new billboards posted around the track and for the drag strip. The company also reserved on of the suites at the track.

"We couldn't be happier to be associated with the great new Irwindale Event Center," said Colby Estes, LoanMart's Director of Marketing. "Our company loves all forms of motorsports competition and the people who love it. We really can't wait for the stock car season to begin."

... And right now that's set for Saturday April 6, 2013.

Oval track racing returning to Irwindale in 2013

Oval track racing is returning to Irwindale. The track formerly known as Irwindale Speedway and then Toyota Speedway will have an oval track racing schedule in 2013.

The track management team has yet to put together a schedule, but it has put together a staff for the track.

It has a chief operating officer, a vice president of communications and a race director. Mike Atkinson is the race director and he has been working with the staff at the new Kern County Raceway Park. It was indicated in the release sent out Monday night that a technical set of rules is being developed for cars to race at both tracks.

Here is the release sent out by Team 211 Entertainment President/CEO Jim Cohan:

Larson wins his first NASCAR K&N East Series championship

Kyle Larson won his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship in the season finale at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.
Sixteen-year-old rookie Tyler Reddick won his first East Series race in his first start in the series.
Larson finished in sixth place at Rockingham, but it was high enough to secure the East Series championship.
He made it through a last-lap crash that took out Brett Moffitt, one of the East Series championship contenders.
Corey LaJoie was also in championship contention and finished in second place, but fell a little short of the title.
Go to the K&N website for more on the East Series race at Rockingham.

Photo: Kyle Larson won his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship after a sixth-place finish at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kwasniewski becomes youngest driver to win NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship

Dylan Kwasniewski is the youngest driver to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship. He was the runner-up at the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway and finished six points ahead of Greg Pursley, his teammate at Gene Price Motorsports.
Pursley was in search of his second West Series championship in a row.
Michael Self won the race at Phoenix, his third of the season.
Go to the K&N website for more on the race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Photo: Dylan Kwasniewski won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship, the first of his career. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Samantha Kenny joins dad, brother in NHRA Super Comps

Samantha Kenny's dad, Alan, won the NHRA Super Comp national championship.
Her brother, Jason, won a Super Comp race at Las Vegas.
On the final event of the year at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, she was the only one of the three Kenny racers to reach the final day of elimination.
Samantha Kenny says she had one of her best seasons even though she didn't win a national event. She was eliminated in the fifth round at Pomona, but she had her family and supporters rooting her on.
The 30-year-old from Ohio is keeping the family tradition of drag racing alive and will be joining her dad and her brother when the NHRA drag racing season begins in 2013.
Go to the K&N website for more on Samantha Kenny and her drag racing career.

Photo: Samantha Kenny reached the final day of eliminations in the NHRA Super Comp division at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona in November. (Credit: Jegs)

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West adds Kern County Raceway Park to schedule

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule for 2013 is out. Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield has a race on Oct. 26. The series will make two stops at Phoenix International Raceway and one at Sonoma Raceway.
Missing from the schedule again is Irwindale Speedway.
The series will make one stop at All American Speedway in Roseville and one stop at Stockton 99 Speedway.
Go to the NASCAR Home Tracks website for the complete schedule.

Alan Kenny wins NHRA Super Comp championship

Alan Kenny has been chasing a national championship in drag racing for nearly 40 years. He won his first, the NHRA Super Comp national championship, with the help of his son.
The 60-year-old Kenny capped his championship season from the pits at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. He didn't advance to the elimination rounds at Pomona, but he secured the championship before the elimination rounds began.
Two weeks prior, Jason Kenny, his son, won the Super Comp event in Las Vegas and put a comfortable gap between his dad and his nearest competitors in the Super Comp standings.
Go to the K&N website for more on Alan Kenny's championship season.

Photo: Alan Kenny won his first NHRA Super Comp championship at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. (Credit: National Dragster)

Automobile of Southern Calfornia NHRA Finals

Tony Schumacher needed to win the NHRA season finale at Auto Club Raceway for a chance at the Top Fuel championship. He reached the finals against Brandon Bernstein, beating Bob Vandergriff by 0.027 seconds in the semifinals.
Antron Brown, looking to become the first African-American to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship, lost in the first round and could only watch as Schmacher marched through the elimination rounds.
Jack Beckman and Ron Capps battled for the Funny Car championship. Both drivers reached the semifinals. Beckman came into the season finale with the lead in the Funny Car standings, but needed to win one more round than Capps to capture the championship.
Beckman won the championship by two points over Capps. They both lost in the semis, Capps to Courtney Force, Beckman to Cruz Pedregon.

Thorn wins West Series race in New Mexico

Derek Thorn won his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at NAPA Speedway in New Mexico on a night when a pair of rookies stole the spotlight.
Dallas Montes was the runner-up in his West Series debut. Hannah Newhouse, a 15-year-old making her West Series debut, was sixth.
Thorn started seventh and worked his way to the lead holding off Montes and Eric Holmes in a green-white-checkered flag finish in the NAPA Auto Parts 150.
Greg Pursley was eighth and leads the West Series standings by 13 points over teammate Dylan Kwasniewski.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race from Albuquerque, N.M.

Photo: Derek Thorn won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at NAPA Speedway in New Mexico. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)