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.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers take different paths to success

NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs knows his two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship have completely different styles.

Hamlin is the calculated one, Gibbs said. Busch is more aggressive.

Each has his strengths and both styles have produced wins.

Hamlin has six Cup wins this year and enters the fourth race in the Chase at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday in second place in the Chase standings, only eight points behind Jimmie Johnson, the four-time Cup champion.

Busch is seventh in the Cup standings, 80 points out of first, and has won three Cup races this season.

“We worked extremely hard to get ourselves in position where we could challenge,” Gibbs said. “The 48’s (Jimmie Johnson) the favorite and everybody knows that. Somebody’s going to have to catch them at some point. We have two guys who come at it a little different ways."

Busch won a Cup race in Fontana in 2005. Johnson has the most Cup wins at Fontana with five and has won the past three fall races at Auto Club Speedway.

Not many, not even Gibbs, will admit anyone other than Johnson is the favorite at Auto Club Speedway or the favorite to win the Chase. After four Cup championships in a row, it’s hard to pick against him.Gibbs said he wants both his drivers to come out of Fontana within striking distance of Johnson.

“I think it’s a big race, I think it’s a big race obviously in the Chase,” said Gibbs “I would say for us, when we get past L.A. is where we think we’re going to start hitting some tracks that we’ll run extremely well and have a great history. I think Jimmie Johnson won three out of four. It’s one thing to say that we’re pretty good, I think when you look at it, they’re going to be stout here. I think you got to try and put yourself in the best position you can to try and be up front, have a chance to win it, but also you don’t want them to get another big jump here.”

Gibbs said he thinks the tracks on the second half of the Chase schedule are better suited for his drivers. Hamlin won races at Martinsville Speedway and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year.

Johnson won races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway in last year’s Chase.

“I think if you would ask our guys, I think most of them feel like the first part of this Chase was going to be the toughest for us because there are places in there where we have not run well,” Gibbs said. “They were going to be our biggest challenges. For us, we aren’t going to be the favorite this weekend, but I think if we can get ourselves up front, and have a chance to be there at the end, I think it’s a huge deal for us. What you don’t want to have is a points drop to give them a big lead heading in to some of these other races where we think we’re going to be able to do real well.”

When the Chase started, Gibbs said Hamlin was the driver who had the edge over Busch because of Hamlin’s six wins. He’s already won at Martinsville and Texas Motor Speedway, two tracks the Cup Series will visit in the remaining six races of the Chase. But Busch has a tendency to win unexpectedly and win races in bunches.

“The way I describe them is Denny is really calculated and probably from a points standpoint is the guy that if his car’s a 12^th he’s willing to take a 12^th. Kyle, his general temperament is: I want to try to win, I don’t care what the car is,” Gibbs said. “From that standpoint, that’s kind of the difference in the two. One is more aggressive, the other one is more calculated.”

Which type of driving style will produce a championship has yet to be seen. Gibbs said he won’t know which style is more productive until both their careers are over. While Hamlin has shown he can win races and has put himself in position to challenge for the Cup championship, Busch has one advantage.

“Both of them are focused. I don’t think we’ll know until their careers are over who’s going to have a better chance at winning championships, what driving style helps,” Gibbs said. “I will say this, I think Kyle last year, winning the Nationwide championship, I think when he won that Nationwide championship I think it really helped him toward his Cup effort. He had to take a third, he had to take a fourth, he had to take a fifth on occasion and not get in trouble. I think that process over there really helped him over here.”

Photo: Denny Hamlin (11) and Jimmie Johnson (48) swapped spots in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup as Johnson took the points lead by eight (5,503 to 5,495) after finishing second in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400. Hamlin finished 12th. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kyle Busch wins 31st NASCAR Nationwide Series race of his career

Kyle Busch led only four laps of the NASCAR Nationwde Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, but it was enough to notch the 31st win of his Nationwide Series career.
Busch passed Greg Biffle on the last lap.
Joey Logano led a race-high 130 laps, but was passed by four cars on the final restart. The race ended with a green-white-checker finish. Biffle was second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Logano.

Kyle Busch wins NASCAR Nationwide Series race; Biffle and Logano renew rivalry

Kyle Busch took advantage of a green-white-checker finish and won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.
But it was Greg Biffle and Joey Logano who traded paint on the final three laps of the race and then traded barbs after the race was over.
Logano, who led a race-high 130 laps of the 150-lap race, said Biffle tried to wreck him on the final three laps.
“I got hit. I don’t know… We had an awesome race car that should have won the race," Logano said. "The 27 (Biffle) decided to hit us again. I don’t know what his deal is with me, but for some reason in California he feels like putting me in the fence or hitting me towards the end. I know we were racing hard there at the end, but… I don’t know. I think he could have done it a little cleaner than that. Oh well. It was a good run for the GameStop Toyota. Obviously we were the dominant car. I should have won it. It’s tough after leading that many laps and you don’t get a victory out of it.”
Biffle said Logano made a rookie mistake, spinning his tires on the restart, and allowed the cars chasing him the entire race an opportunity to make a run at the checkered flag.
Biffle, Busch, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards passed Logano on the final laps of the race. Busch ended up chasing down Biffle on the final turn of the final lap. Logano ended up spinning across the finish line and through the infield grass.
While Busch walked away the winner, Biffle and Logano reignited a rivalry that started last year when Logano was a rookie and Biffle made a habit of taking advantage of Logano’s mistakes.
“I guess he’s not happy about that,” Biffle said after the race in regard to how Logano was passed by four cars. “But when you got a guy inside of you, you’ve got to give him room, you know. I got a great run off the corner and Kyle just side-drafted me to the line. It was quite interesting down the front stretch. He had my tires off the ground most of the way down. It was a great finish. I think the fans really got to see an exciting finish today.”
Biffle was asked repeatedly after the race about how he passed Logano. All the questions had the same underlying theme: Why can’t you and Logano get along? It prompted Brad Keselowski, the third-place finisher in the race, to say to Biffle, “It’s pretty cool seeing someone else go through this.”
Keselowski has been accused of some aggressive tactics after races. Biffle had to answer some of those questions after the Nationwide race in Fontana.
“A few people saw the interview and said I tried to put him (Logano) in the wall or tired to wreck him or something,  but that’s obviously not the case,” Biffle said. “I mean, if I wanted to do that, it’s pretty easy to do. I was just inside him down there and he knows I was inside him. Everybody saw the same thing. It was a lot of fun that last lap.”

Photo: Greg Biffle finished second in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He passed Joey Logano on the green-white-checker retart and took over the lead, but Kyle Busch won the race.

A NASCAR Christmas for Toyota: A one-act play

The scene opens in an office at Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are writing Christmas cards to fans, sponsors and family. J.D. Gibbs is in the room, making phone calls and answering questions from the drivers.

Kyle: How do you say Merry Christmas in Japanese?

JD: (With cell phone in hand and held to his hear) I don’t think they celebrate Christmas in Japan.

Kyle: Then why am I sending a Christmas card to Toyota?

JD: (Talking into his cell phone) No, dad, it’s just that I don’t think Christianity is that big in Japan. (He covers the mouthpiece and turns to Kyle) We are all signing a card to send to Toyota for the holidays. No need to write Merry Christmas.

Kyle: Well, what am I supposed to write?

JD: (Talking into his cell phone) Buddhism I think. I’m not sure what religion is big in Japan, dad. I just have a feeling there aren’t that many Christians there. (He covers the mouthpiece on his cell phone again and turns to Kyle) You don’t have to write anything. Just sign your name.

Kyle: I need to add something clever, something snappy. I want to say something cool in Japanese.

JD: How ‘bout a simple thanks. (He uncovers the mouthpiece on his cell phone) Can we talk about this later dad? I have to make sure these cards get out today. All right. Talk to you later.

Kyle: Thanks? For what? Giving me a 13th place car?

Denny: My car worked fine, for the most part. It’s not Toyota’s fault you didn’t make the Chase.

Kyle: Fine. You can thank Toyota. I’m not going to do it.

Denny: Why are you so upset? They gave you a championship Nationwide car. You won almost half your truck races. Those were all Toyotas too.

Kyle: Nobody cares about that. All anybody cares about is why I didn’t make the Chase.

Joey: To enjoy success
One must first find meaning in
Appreciation

Kyle: What was that?

Denny: It’s a haiku, a type of Japanese poetry. Joey’s been talking like that for weeks now.

Kyle: It didn’t even rhyme.

Denny: It’s not supposed to. I guess it can, but not always. It’s just supposed to, y’know, be truthful, profound. It’s supposed to be only three lines too. Short and sweet.

Joey: Poetry needs rhyme
Like a shrub needs a loud voice
Unnecessary

Kyle: Yeah, a loud, talking shrub. That would be obnoxious. C’mon Joey, help me write one of them haikus for Toyota.

(Joey does not respond. He closes his eyes and starts to hum)

Kyle: What’s he doing?

Denny: Meditating.

Kyle: What for?

JD: If he has nothing to say, he doesn’t say anything. Especially now since he’s speaking in haikus. Takes some time and thought to put those things together.

Denny: He’ll answer you when he’s ready.

Kyle: This is killing me. I’ve got hundreds of Christmas cards to sign. I just need one cool haiku to send to Toyota.

Joey: Greetings Toyota
Let’s build something together
Sincerely, KyBu

Kyle: Perfect!

(The scene closes as JD and Denny open their mouths to try  to say something to Kyle, then stop. Kyle writes furiously on his Christmas card to Toyota. Joey sits back, puts his hands behind his head and smiles)

22 is magic number for Hornaday to be No. 1 again

Ron Hornaday Jr. needs to finish 22nd or better in his last two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races to win the championship.
Given that he has 18 top 10s in 23 races in 2009, finishing 22nd or better shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
Still, Hornaday said he is taking nothing for granted.
“To me right now we are just focused on two more races,” said Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. “I don’t look at the championship until Homestead. The No. 33 team is not only racing for the driver’s championship, we want to make sure Kevin and DeLana win the owners championship as well. I don’t go into it looking at how many points we are ahead. I know that we just need to win the last two races. That’s what I want to go do and then the points will take care of themselves.”
While Hornaday has a commanding 197-point lead in the Truck Series driver standings, Kevin Harvick Inc. holds a 75-point lead over Billy Ballew Motorsports in the owners standings.
Kyle Busch, winner of the past five Truck Series races he’s started, is the driver for Billy Ballew Motorsports. He will be in the truck for the final two races of the Truck Series season at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"This is an awesome race truck," Busch said after the race on Friday. "This is the same one we won with at Chicago. We’ve got a match to number 11 (chassis). This is (number) 32 here, 11 was always our chassis that kicked butt, so now we found another one. All these guys, they do a great job.”
For the Phoenix race, Hornaday will be driving the truck that finished second at New Hampshire International Speedway in September. Hornaday led the most laps in that race, but finished behind Busch, winner of a Truck Series best seven races this year.
“I have been pretty successful at Phoenix International Raceway over the years,” Hornaday said. “I have had a lot of great races there and have two wins there in 1998 and 1999. It’s a flat race track for the most part. It has a little more banking in turns one and two than in turns three and four. We have been really good this year on the flatter, shorter tracks. Phoenix is a place that I have been running for a number of years and I really like going back to one of the roots of the Truck Series.”

Photo: A heated battle between Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort/Graceway Toyota, and Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 33 VFW Chevrolet, in the closing laps of Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Busch went on to win the race, while Hornaday Jr. finished third. (Photo Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Crafton can't take advantage of Hornaday's misfortune

Ron Hornaday was collected in a late wreck in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, but it didn't hurt him that much in the Truck Series standings.
Matt Crafton, the second-place driver in the Truck Series standings, couldn't take advantage of Hornaday's hit and finished 10th in the Talladega race.
Hornaday ended up 17th after returning to the race for the final laps with a badly damaged truck.
“It’s Talladega,” said Hornaday following the race. “I’m not really sure how we were involved in that wreck. Before I knew what was happening we were in it. I’m really proud of this No. 33 Copart team for never giving up and working to get the truck back out on the track to finish with so few laps left. We will just go to Texas next week and try to get back what we lost.”
Hornaday has a 202-point lead over Crafton after the Talladega race.
Kyle Busch won the race and his Billy Ballew Racing team has a slim chance of winning the owner's championship. Busch's teammate, Aric Almirola, finished second, followed by Todd Bodine in third.
"I owe everything to Aric Almirola today," Busch said on Saturday after the race. "From that last pit stop to the end, I told him that, if he just stayed with me, they wouldn't be above to beat the 15 (Almirola) and the 51 (Busch). Awesome job to Aric. He can take half of my pay after today."
DeLana Harvivck, the owner of Hornaday's Kevin Harvick Inc. team, has a 100-point lead over Ballew in the owner's standings with three races remaining.

Photo: Rick Crawford, driver of the No. 14 Circle Bar/International Truck Engine Ford, gets caught up in an incident with Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 PC Miler Navigator Toyota, during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday in Talladega, Ala. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Here's a scary thought

Based on a poll from Ask.com, Kyle Busch is the most popular search for Halloween costumes among NASCAR drivers.
Equally surprising is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in at fifth, with only seven percent of the vote.
Busch had a whopping 35 percent. It's hard to imagine anyone sincerely wanting to look like Kyle Busch, even for Halloween. It will be interesting to see what NASCAR fans do with a Kyle Busch mask and firesuit.
As good a driver as Kyle Busch is, it's hard to understand why he isn't more popular among NASCAR fans. He's a bit of a throwback in that he will race anything, from trucks to stock cars, on anything, from concrete to dirt and mud, and pretty much anywhere.
He has some of the appeal of Tony Stewart, except that Stewart looks like he would kick Kyle Busch's butt if they ever got in a fight. Heck, Jimmy Spencer took out Kurt Busch with a sucker punch after a race once. Can't imagine Kyle Busch faring much better given the same circumstances.
Still, it would be fun to see some of the Kyle Busch creations people have planned for Halloween.

Kyle Busch not 100 percent

But he's close.
Kyle Busch was feeling some flu-like symptoms on Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and they have lingered through Nationwide Series qualifying and Cup Happy Hour today. Before qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Denny Hamlin took Busch's Nationwide Series car out for practice.
Busch qualified his own Cup car. He will start 19th. Not the best qualifying effort, but apparently Busch was fortunate to get in the car for the two qualifying laps.
“I’m not sure how he’s feeling," Hamlin said after Cup qualifying on Friday. "Obviously, if he's getting out of the car, he’s not feeling well at all. It was different. He obviously requires a whole lot different feel on a car than what I do. When I got in it, it didn't feel like a JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Nationwide car at all -- it felt a lot different so it's definitely getting keen to his driving style."
Swapping seats is nothing new at Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin and Busch are teammates at the Cup level. Joey Logano and Busch have raced the Gibbs cars on the Nationwide level.
"We've been in that situation before, where I've needed Kyle and Joey to kind of step in when that kind of stuff happens and that's the good thing about it though, that we've got good enough talent in our teammates that we can rely on them," Hamlin said on Friday. "I'm sure he'll be fine for tomorrow and if he can’t we'll be there and ready."
Busch was fine enough to put his Nationwide car on the front row for today's Nationwide race. He will start second, next to Logano, his teammate and the pole winner.
Busch leads the Nationwide Series standings.
In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour practice, Busch was 25th and apparently still a race-time decision if he will start the Nationwide Series race.

Photo: Kyle Busch (18) and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano (20) will start 1-2 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Logano won the Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway last weekend. Busch finished second. (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kyle Busch seeking first NASCAR championship in Nationwide Series

Kyle Busch is out of the running for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. But he has a commanding lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.
He is 245 points ahead of Carl Edwards in the Nationwide standings with six races remaining.
Busch won the Nationwide Series race at Fontana in February and won last year's Nationwide race in September.
No stranger to victory lane, Busch has gone almost 10 years without a championship. Winning the Nationwide Series championship would mean a lot to Busch.
"It would be big," Busch said. "It'd be my first NASCAR championship, so of course it would mean a lot to me. I haven't won a championship since 1999 when I was racing Legends cars. It's big to win any NASCAR championship, no matter what division it is."

Photo: The crew of the No. 18 NOS Toyota service the car driven by Kyle Busch in a pit stop Saturday during Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Sunday auto racing roundup

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Series East-West race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night. The race at Iowa Speedway included drivers from the Camping World Series West and East Series.
David Mayhew of Atascadera won the West portion of the race. Busch, a driver from Las Vegas who races for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was in the Sprint All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina on Saturday night. Busch was seventh in the all-star race.
Jason Bowles of Ontario was fourth in the West Series portion of the race at Iowa Speedway. Greg Pursley, a Canyon High School graduate, was 12th in the West Series portion of the race.

Photo: Kyle Busch celebrated the Long John Silver's 200 win in Victory Lane Sunday at Iowa Speedway. (Photo Credit: David Purdy/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Tony Schumacher won the NHRA top fuel portion of the drag races at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee on Sunday. The reigning top fuel champion won for the third time in his career at Bristol and recorded his third win of the season.
Del Worsham won for the second time in a row in the funny car division. He beat Tony Pedregon in the final at Bristol.
Jack Beckman, a funny car driver from North Hills, beat John Force in the first round at Bristol, but lost in the second round to Tim Wilkerson.
“We just didn’t get the job done," said Beckman, who drives for Don Schumacher Racing. “Wilkerson outran us that round. I think we had a great recovery from smoking the tires first round to put that competitive lap up there, but it wasn’t enough.”
Ashley Force Hood made it to the semifinals at Bristol and lost to Pedregon by 0.012 seconds.
“That shows how far our category has come,” said Force Hood. “Our class is almost like Pro Stock with how close the racing is. They are showing these races at the finish line where my team is driving down track along side of us and they can’t tell who won. I can’t tell who has won when I am in the car. That is a good thing. I am glad that I am in those races, the close races. That means our team is up to par with everyone else is doing. If we can keep that up we’ll have a really good chance at the end of the year.”

Stanton Barrett, a stuntman in movies and television, NASCAR driver and IndyCar Series driver, failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
He was one of a handful of drivers trying make the 33-car field on Bump Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was one of three drivers who did not qualify for Sunday’s Indy 500.
"I don’t know. We just gave it our all,” said Barrett. “Team 3G worked really hard, and all these guys just put a huge effort forth. It’s just a real bummer it didn’t work out. I don't know. They called it off because we didn't have the speed the first lap, and I just think taking time to learn without a teammate and taking time to learn what a difference this year and last year. We definitely made a change with the car speed-wise, aero-wise. I think it’s right in there. Too much scrub in the corners really killed our lap times, and unfortunately tough to go back and study what I can do better and what we can do as a team better. It’s a real disappointment.”
Former Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier and Alex Tagliani were the other two drivers who did not qualify for the Indy 500.
With Barrett not qualifying for the Indy 500, it could hurt his team financially.
“We need to make this race for sponsors that we had in line,” Barrett said. “It’s just one of those things. A lot of other guys didn’t make it too. There were (two) others. It’s not an easy deal.”

Sprint Cup drivers and their off weekend

After four straight weeks of racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers and teams have a weekend off. But that doesn't mean it's all R and R.
Michael Waltrip is going to be on an episode of "My Name is Earl." Kyle Busch is going to visit the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Scott Speed is going to hang out with his future in-laws at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the Gator Nationals in Gainesville, Fla., this weekend. Here's a look at what these drivers have to say about their free weekend.

“I am proud to be a part of this show as it always tells a great story about Earl’s need to do good things for people," Waltrip said about getting a chance be part of the "My Name is Earl" TV show. "How he gets to the resolution is absolutely hilarious. This experience is going to be a lot of fun for me. I play myself and I help Earl and his brother Randy get out of a big jam.”

Busch is going to Park City, Utah, and visiting some of the sites of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Amazing he didn't find a stock car race to enter. Still, he might find a way to sneak in a bobsled race or maybe even a super-G run in Utah.
“Me being the face of NASCAR isn’t what I’m looking for -- I’m just looking for reasons to fill up the record books and everything I guess, and put my name in it as many times as I can," Busch said. "It will still go on even when I’m not here later. We’ve proven that fact with a bunch of other drivers that have made this sport what it is today. I’m just fortunate enough to be another one of those guys to be a part of it.”
Speed's fiance, Amanda Mathis, has two family members racing in the drags in Florida. Her brother, Matt Smith, won the 2007 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship and races for Don Schumacher. Her father, Rickie, is a seven-time IHRA champion and will be entered in the NHRA Pro Modified division in Gainesville.
“Amanda and I are going to Gainesville this weekend for the NHRA race," Speed said. "Amanda’s dad and brother are both racing down there so we are going to check out a different form of racing this weekend.”

Kyle Busch adds Iowa

This is why it's hard not to like Kyle Busch. He'll race anywhere, anytime, against anyone. Reminds me of A.J. Foyt, unlike that other driver who is running his number and claims to be a Foyt fan.
http://localracing.nascar.com/node/2019

From Saugus Speedway to Auto Club Speedway victory lane

Here’s a blast from the past.
Doug George, who used to race in the old NASCAR Southwest Series and Winston West and made regular visits to Saugus Speedway, is the crew chief for Kyle Busch’s Camping World Truck Series team. George won his first Truck Series race as a crew chief Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
“It feels awesome,” said George, who raced against Ron Hornaday Jr., Dan Press and Rick Carelli, among others, when they were on the Southwest Series and Winston West. “We started out a little bit tight. It’s kind of new for me because I have not worked with Kyle before, but his skills with the truck are a lot different than with guys I’ve worked with in the past. I does help that he knows what he wants for a feel from the truck.”
When George, who calls Atwater, Calif., home, was asked about his days racing against Hornaday and Carelli, he said they would be the better ones to ask. Then Ricky Carmichael, a driver for Kevin Harvick Inc. and a teammate of Hornaday’s in the Truck Series, wanted to know about racing against Carelli. Carelli is an advisor for Kevin Harvick Inc. and works with both drivers during the season.
George didn’t have any good stories to offer about Hornaday or Carelli. He wanted to focus on working with Busch.
“The biggest thing that I see with Kyle is that even though he is young he does have a lot of experience behind the wheel and he has a feel that he is looking for,” George said. “I mean I’ve crewed for Denny Hamlin and for rookies that have never run in the Truck Series and I’ve had the whole realm of different drivers and Kyle just has that aggressive driving style and what he wants for a feel is just a little different for me to get used to.”
Busch won in dominating fashion, led 95 of 100 laps and had a nearly 10-second margin of victory. Hornaday, a three-time Truck Series champion, finished sixth at Fontana. He was a little embarrassed by the show he and the other Truck Series drivers put on.
"I don't think the fans got their money out of that race,” Hornaday said. “It was a pretty boring race for the fans and I am ashamed to say I was a part of that race there. We had to put fuel only in twice, just because you don’t have enough tires and somebody is going to get hurt. I hate to say that but we'll take a top 10 out of it and go on.”
NASCAR implemented some new rules in the Truck Series to cut down on costs and make it more affordable for teams to race. One of the rules limits what crews can do on pit stops. Trucks can either change tires or take fuel, but not both. If a driver wants both, the truck needs to come into the pits twice. That makes green-flag pit stops timely and challenging.
“We just have to figure out how to strategize because you don’t know if the race is going to go yellow and you hear they are talking about debris, then not talking about debris, then they are talking about oil, then they are not talking about oil,” Hornaday said. “So do you put fuel in or to you put tires on? You just don’t know. It’s tough. It’s the second race and we’ll just have to sit down with NASCAR and see what we can do to make this think a little better.”

Two down, one to go

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He's already made history by becoming the first driver to win two NASCAR races in the top three divisions in the same day.
He can become the first driver to win a NASCAR Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Cup Series race at the same track on the same weekend if he can win the Auto Club 500.
He says he has a top five Cup car, and his biggest challenge awaits him.
When asked if he thinks he can sweep the NASCAR races in Fontana, Busch said he didn't know.
"The Interstate Batteries Camry on that side was decent, it wasn't the best (Saturday) but I'm sure Steve (Addington, Busch's crew chief) is thinking about it and I'll call him after this race to see what I learned and talk to him a little bit and see if we can't figure something out to make it a little better for tomorrow," Busch said.
For the record, only two drivers have won NASCAR races in two of the top three divisions in the same weekend at the same track. Greg Biffle did it at Phoenix in October 2001 and Busch did it at Phoenix in 2007.

Billy Ray Cyrus and other familiar faces

Kyle Busch, top, won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Auto Club Speedway, his second in a row at the Fontana track.
Billy Ray Cyrus, middle, sang the national anthem before the Truck Series race, then visited the NASCAR garage after the Truck Series race.
Ricky Carmichael, AMA Supercross star turned Truck Series driver, was the highest finishing rookie. He was eighth in the Truck Series race.

Triple duty for Kyle Busch

It's nothing new to see Kyle Busch in three races in the three national touring divisions of NASCAR on the same weekend. He will be racing in the Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Cup Series races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana this weekend.
He's done it before, more than once, at a number of tracks across the country. It's gotten to the point where he will have to win all three races in the same weekend to impress anyone.
Even Busch, who grew up racing in Las Vegas, doesn't think it's that big of a deal to be entered in three races in two days.
“Not my first rodeo here this weekend," Busch said. "Looking forward to the triple -- have a pretty good truck, had a lot of speed there in qualifying. Think we’re on the pole there and wasn’t expecting that so the truck’s pretty good. Nationwide car seems to be pretty good -- we unloaded it and it was a little different than what we ran here last fall and didn’t quite have the speed we were looking for. We made some changes and made it better. Cup car so far was good in race trim and as soon as we came off the truck it felt pretty good. Went to qualifying trim and wasn’t too pleased -- I think we really missed it so we’ve got some work to do to try to get it better there."
Busch did win the pole for the Truck Series race. He was 10th in qualifying for the Cup race. Nationwide Series qualifying is Saturday morning.
"Looking forward to the race on Sunday -- 500 miles will be a long one," Busch said. "Hopefully it will be a nice, hot day for everybody. Besides that, last weekend was a bit of a downer, but we put it behind us and look forward to the future. This week is the start of the season for us anyways -- Daytona you’re down there for too long and doing so much stuff that you just want to get out of there. Looking forward to here in California and Vegas, Atlanta and so on.”

NASCAR drivers' picks for the Super Bowl

Kyle Busch, Scott Speed and Joey Logano, all drivers who grew up racing on the West Coast or won some big races in Southern California, made their predictions, along with a handful of other NASCAR drivers, for the Super Bowl.
Between Busch, Speed and Logano, the Arizona Cardinal are a 2-1 favorite. Busch and Speed like the Cardinals. Logano is pulling for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here's what they had to say:
“I’m going to go with the Arizona Cardinals," said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing who grew up in Las Vegas. "There’s really no reason why, I’m just not a big fan of the Steelers. I’m going to go with 24-21 as the final score. I’m kind of friends with Kurt Warner, so I would really like to see him win. I got to spend some time with him at a Super Bowl party last year in Phoenix when M&M’s had me out there. Kurt came around the room and we talked a little bit, so it would be great to see him do well and the Cardinals win.”
Speed, the new driver of the No. 82 Toyota for Red Bull racing, was born in Manteca, near Sacramento.
“I went to my first NFL game a couple weeks ago when the Panthers played the Cardinals in the playoffs," Speed said. "The Panthers lost really badly because the Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught everything that got thrown in the sky! I’m pulling for the Cardinals to win the Super Bowl, for sure. Fitzgerald is the man -- he has sticky fingers. I don’t like the Steelers, not for any particular reason, I just don’t like them. I think they’re bullies! On Sunday, I’m going to have some friends over to my house to watch the game, so I hope my team can pull off the win!”
Logano, who won the 2007 Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale and went from first to last place on the last lap of this year's version of the Showdown, will be driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
“I have to admit, I’m not a huge football fan -- I did follow the Redskins a little when Coach Gibbs was there," Logano said. "It’s tough when you race during most of the football season. Every year we do get family and friends together to watch it though. This year I’m pulling for Pittsburgh, they are closer to where I grew up. And anyway, I have a 50-50 chance of being right.”