NASCAR Chase has created a big, boring monster

Jimmie Johnson leading the Chase is great for Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports, bad for NASCAR.
By my account, the Chase has cost Jeff Gordon at least one, most likely two, more Cup championships.
It probably cost Tony Stewart his third this year.
About the only good thing about this year’s Chase is that it put Mark Martin in the lead for a while and gave him another great shot at a championship. After this, it really wasn’t meant to be for him.
But let’s look at how different the NASCAR would be if the Chase didn’t exist.
First Gordon would be knocking on the doorstep of NASCAR immortality. There aren’t that many polarizing figures in NASCAR. Stewart, Gordon and Kyle Busch are probably the only drivers who have as many fans as detractors.


If Gordon had one more Cup championship, that would make five for his career. In the best-case scenario, Gordon would have six career Cup championships without the Chase format and be one Cup championship away from being mentioned in the same sentence with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. That would drive his detractors, most of the state of Alabama and at least half of NASCAR nation crazy.
Before the Chase started, Stewart was in control of the Cup standings. He was going for his third Chase championship. He is still the only driver to win a Cup championship the old way and win one with the Chase format.
But would have made his pursuit of a third Cup championship so compelling is that he is doing it on his own. The likelihood of that happening, with a team that a year ago was struggling to finish races, let alone win them, and was more associated with the top-35 bubble than the top-12 Chase field, was remote.
Stewart proved the nay-sayers wrong. He brought his experience, savvy, confidence, whatever he wants to call it, to a team that was in desperate need of it. Other drivers will try to duplicate it (see Kevin Harvick), but it won’t work nearly as well for them. Stewart was in the midst of a monumentus season that was ruined because of the Chase.
Martin was the sentimental favorite to finally win a Cup championship. After four runner-up finishes, after retiring, after years of being known as the best driver in NASCAR never to win a Cup championship, he was in perfect position to erase all that.
It’s not like he can’t turn the Chase around and make a run at it, but Johnson is hard to beat at this time of year.


That’s the frustrating part of the Chase. Johnson is so good at this time of year it’s unlikely he and his team will make any mistakes that will cost him another championship. Even racing safe, he’ll end up winning a couple more before the season is over.
But what makes Johnson’s success so frustrating is that he is hard to root for or against.
There are NASCAR fans out there who want to see anyone other than Johnson win the Cup championship. It’s not because they don’t like Johnson, they are just tired of seeing him win.
It would be different if they hated seeing him win. Hated it like seeing Busch or Gordon win races. But it’s not hate, it’s boredom. Fans are bored of seeing Johnson win.
That’s why it’s bad for NASCAR. The last thing NASCAR needs is a tired viewing audience. Part of the problem is NASCAR's fault for creating this playoff system. Part of the problem is that the rest of NASCAR, including the other three teams at Hendrick Motorsports, suck at this time of year.
It would be great for NASCAR if someone other than Johnson won the Chase. But it’s not going to happen.

Photos: At top, Jimmie Johnson celebrates winning the NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America at Lowe's Motor Speedway. With the win, Johnson ties Buck Baker for 13th on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins list. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

In middle, NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America Grand Marshals Brian France, Richard Petty, Teresa Earnhardt and Junior Johnson prepare to give the command to start engines at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

At bottom, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin race side by side during the early stages of the NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Johnson won the race, extended his lead in the Chase standings and is halfway to his fourth Cup championship in a row. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Formula Drift at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Ryan Tuerck won the season finale Formula Drift event at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night. Tuerck, driving a Pontiac Solstice GXP, won when Tyler McQuarrie hit the wall in turn 3 and spun out in the final round.
“This is the epitome of drifting in America,” Tuerck said. “This is where everything started from. To get a win here is definitely a big check mark off the list of accomplishments.”
McQuarrie, a driver from Walnut Creek in a Nissan 350 ZX, finished second. Tanner Foust of Laguna Beach, in a Scion tC, was third.
Tuerck, a driver from Derry, N.H., beat Matt Waldin in the first round, then knocked out Ken Gushi in the second round, Robbie Nishida in the quarterfinals, Foust in the semifinals and McQuarrie in the final.
Chris Forsberg, a driver from Huntington Beach, won his first Formula Drift championship by defeating Doug VanDenBrink in the first round. But Forsberg was knocked out in the second round by Nishida.
“Me and Chris are such good friends,” Tuerck said. “I expected him to win and if he didn’t, I would be really disappointed in him.”
Forsberg qualified seventh and moved into the round of 16 by knocking out VanDenBrink, the 26th qualifier.
Kyle Mohan, a driver from Long Beach, was the fifth qualifier. He moved into the round of 16 with a first-round win over Jodin LeJeune. Mohan lost in the quarterfinals to Matt Powers
Justin Pawlak, another driver from Long Beach, knocked out Calvin Wan in the first round. Pawlak, the top qualifier for the Irwindale event, lost in the second round to McQuarrie.
Alex Pfieffer pulled off the upset of the first round. He was the 21st qualifier and defeated Vaughn Gittin, the 12th qualifier and the reigning champion of the Irwindale event.
Pfieffer lost in the second round to Mohan.

Childress says Kevin Harvick is staying put

Richard Childress was asked at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina about how his book with Kevin Harvick is progressing. Harvick and Childress have been working on a book, but apparently Harvick told ESPN he's not sure if the book project will continue beyond next year.
It was just another rough patch in a tumultous season for Childress and Harvick. Rumors have surfaced that Harvick will leave Childress and race for Tony Stewart next year.
Childress said Harvick isn't going anywhere.
"Kevin is going to be with us next year and Shell is going to be with us," Childress said. "We'll just see how everything plays out in the future. I didn't see his interview. I've heard some comments on it. But whatever happens, happens. We'll just move forward."
Richard Childress Racing, which has four cars, failed to qualify any of them for the Chase. Harvick has expressed his frustrations with the team.
Childress said no one is more unhappy than him. His team is going through a rough time, but it is something he has experienced previously with Dale Earnhardt.
"No one is happy when you aren't running well," Childress said. "I'm not happy. No one is. We just try to control it as well as we can. Kevin's a driver that really wants to go out and run well and win. I don't blame him for being upset when we don't. We just try to work through it as good as we can.
"I can remember when one of those years we were talking about earlier. I think it was maybe '95 or '96, we didn't have a very good year. Dale was telling me 'It has just got to be me.' I kept telling him, 'Dale, it's not you; we don't have you the equipment you need.' And he worked through it. It is just different times that people look at things different. There is a lot of unhappy people when these cars....
"These cars are tough. I'll tell you. They can bring the best out of you. We are getting them better, we are putting on good shows with them, it is a great product. But there is such a fine line of being good and bad. You can be good through two stops, two runs, and the next one, you wonder what happened."

Pawlak gets powered up - Press-Telegram

Long Beach's Justin Pawlak takes top spot in qualifying for Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

Pawlak gets powered up - Press-Telegram

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Formula Drift qualifying at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Justin Pawlak, a driver from Long Beach, was the top qualifier for the Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Friday night.
The 30-year-old transplant from Michigan put his Mazda RX-8 in the top spot for Saturday night races at Irwindale. The top-32 drivers earned spots in the final race of the Formula Drift season.
Chris Forsberg, the leader in the Formula Drift standings, qualified seventh. Ryan Tuerck, the second place driver in the Formula Drift standings, qualified second for the Irwindale races. Vaughn Gittin, in third place in the Formula Drift standings, was the 12th qualifier.
Michael Essa, one of the top rookies in Formula Drift and a driver from Los Angeles, qualified 14th in his Mazda RX-7.
“I’d like to place in the top-eight this weekend,” said Essa, a graduate of Culver City High School. “That would be awesome against all these guys that have been out here for years.”
Cody Parkhouse, a driver from Long Beach making only his second start of the season, put his Nissan 240-SX in the 25th qualifying spot.
“Irwindale usually draws a pretty good group,” said Parkhouse, a graduate of Long Beach Wilson High School.

Kevin Harvick's 10th place run at Auto Club Speedway

FONTANA -- Kevin Harvick wasn’t in much of a talking mood after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday.
Who could blame him?
His crew chief admitted his team took a fifth-place car and wound up in 10th place. Harvick battled tire air pressure and aerodynamic problems after the second round of pit stops. He had a great car on long runs, but got killed on restarts.
“That's just one of the factors of these new cars,” Harvick said. “We have great power under the hood, but getting the air pressure up faster seems to be a problem. I tried swerving, spinning and just about all the tricks to get the air heated up in the tires."
An eight-car pile-up with five laps to go in the race brought out a red flag and stopped the field. Gil Martin, Harvick’s crew chief, called him into the pits to change four tires and get fuel. Harvick returned to the race in 15th place and made up only five spots on the final three laps.
When asked if he was happy with a 10th-place finish, Harvick said, “Not really.”
“We ran better than that all day,” Harvick said.
Martin said he was in no-man’s land at the end of the race. He had Harvick pit with 23 laps to go and had enough fuel and tires to make it to the end of the race, but Mart in had some tough choices to make when a series of caution flags came out with 16 laps to go.
“It’s a no-win situation that you’re in right there,” Martin said. “The way it worked out, that we were able to come back in and get tires there at the end helped us out to get back to 10th. But basically we took a car that was about a fifth place car today and ran 10th with it.”
A dreaded debris caution came out on lap 234. Harvick was running in 10th place at the time. The race leaders pitted a couples lap earlier, so none of them came in again. Martin didn’t want to get fresh tires. He told Harvick over the radio, “Everyone in front of us don’t have tires.”
But on the restart on lap 239, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle spun out through the infield grass on the front stretch and another caution came out.
Five laps later, an eight-car crash that collected Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcos Ambrose and Kahne, brought out a red flag. Martin wanted to Harvick to pit and get tires once the race restarted. The move cost Harvick five spots. He moved from 15th to 12th with two laps to go and passed Ryan Newman on the last lap to finish in 10th.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise promising day.
Harvick qualified seventh and quickly worked his way into the top five. He moved into fourth place on lap 11 and passed pole sitter Denny Hamlin for third place on lap 17. He stayed there until the first round of pit stops on lap 38. Harvick and Martin decided to make no adjustments to the car. Harvick said he wanted to see “where the track goes.” The race started under overcast skies and the track was cool and fast. Harvick was able to pass the cars to get in the top five, but he had trouble tracking down the race leaders, Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Harvick ran in third place until the next round of pit stops on lap 60. His car seemed to get stronger the longer the race stayed under green flag conditions. He picked up a spot in the pits and came out in second. When the race restarted on lap 66, Harvick dropped to fifth place. By lap 70, he was in sixth. He said his car left like it had a rear right flat tire. Martin assured him that his car looked fine. But Martin decided to make a drastic change in the tire air pressure on the next stop. He was going to take a half-pound of air pressure out of the rear right tire. It was the beginning of several air pressure and tire adjustments Martin made to Harvick’s car.
Harvick was running comfortably in sixth place when the sun broke through the clouds. The track started to heat up and Martin told Harvick the s un might be affecting the tires on his car. The next pit stop came on lap 83. Harvick’s crew got him out of the pits in fourth place, but NASCAR officials ruled that Hamlin beat him out. Martin didn’t agree. “I’m sure the tape shows it, but it didn’t look like it from here,” Martin told Harvick over the radio.
The air pressure adjustment didn’t work for Harvick’s car. He dropped quickly, from fifth to ninth in seven laps. On lap 90, Harvick told Martin his car was too tight. Meanwhile, Montoya was building a huge lead. On lap 95, he was almost 2.5 seconds ahead of Johnson’s car running in second.
But the longer the race stayed green, the more cars Harvick passed. Even with a tight car, Harvick moved up to sixth place again. The race stayed green until lap 117 when another debris caution came out. Harvick said over the radio, “These debris cautions are a bunch of crap.”
Martin decided to change the air pressure in Harvick’s car again, this time adding a half pound to the right front. That didn’t work either. He dropped to 10th place.
“I’m starting to lose my mind on the restarts,” Harvick told Martin over the radio. “It feels like the freaking tires are flat.”
Harvick battled to stay in the top 10 until the next=2 0round of pit stops. The race leaders pitted under green flag conditions on lap 159. By lap 166, Harvick was back up to sixth place.
Harvick pitted again on lap 184. Martin asked Harvick how the car was running. Harvick said it was too loose. Martin decided to make a track bar adjustment and leave the air pressure in the tires the same. That wasn’t the right combination either.
By lap 205, Harvick dropped to eighth place. He was complaining that he couldn’t handle the car and that it was driving sideways.
“It’s loose, loose, loose, loose,” Harvick said over the radio. But after the race, Harvick said Martin made the right decision.
“That was the right call because of how the car reacted to the air pressure adjustments,” Harvick said.
Harvick came in for what was supposed to be his last pit stop on lap 237. But after two more yellow and one red caution, Harvick pitted with four laps to go, giving up 10th place. He went from 15th to 10th with fresh tires over the last three laps.
“All in all it was a good day,” Martin said. “It wasn’t the kind of day we were needing, but it’s something we can build on anyway.”

Haddock in the Paddock goes to Auto Club Speedway

Haddock In The Paddock's Tim Haddock, (that's me on the left) a member of the Citizen Journalists Media Corps, talks with NASCAR Managing Director of Corporate Communications in the Auto Club Speedway Drivers Meeting Room. (Photo Credit: NASCAR Public Relations)

Kevin's Krew and a 10th place finish at Auto Club Speedway

Kevin Harvick showed two sides of his personality at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday. He showed his generous side before the race started, providing 75 at-risk students with tickets to the race and spending time with them before the driver introductions.
He showed his prickly side after the race when he rushed out of the garage area not wanting to talk much about his 10th place finish.
Harvick can be that way. It was great to see Harvick spend time with some kids who might not otherwise get a chance to see a NASCAR race, let alone meet one of the drivers. He took photos with them, signed autographs and answered some questions all with team representatives urging him to leave and go to the trackside stage for the introductions.
The program, called Kevin’s Krew, has grown from five kids he invited to attend a race at Auto Club Speedway last year to more than 700,000 kids who got a chance to attend races at six tracks.
The program was initiated by Colton Police Officer Todd Smith. Kevin’s Krew has expanded with support from the Avondale Police, Phoenix Police, Oakland Police, Charlotte Police, Henry County Sheriff and Brooklyn Police departments.
With a new group of fans wearing bright yellow Pennzoil colors securely seated in the grandstands, Harvick did his best to give them something to cheer about.
He started the race in seventh, moved into the top five and raced in third place for the first half of the race. He had great pit stops, but he had troubles on the restarts after the pit stops. His crew would gain one or two spot in the pits, but his car did not respond well with fresh tires. Harvick battled his way to a 10th place finish as his team made a number of adjustments throughout the race.
Gil Martin, his crew chief, said after the race he was faced with a tough decision about Harvick’s car. An eight-car crash stopped the race with five laps to go. Martin decided to bring Harvick’s car into the pits for tires and gas. The pit stop cost Harvick track position. With only four laps left in the race after it resumed, Harvick did not have enough time to make up many spots.
Martin said he turned Harvick’s fifth-place car in to a 10th place effort. Harvick said after the race he wasn’t happy with his 10th place finish. That was about all he said as he walked out of the garage area and to his trailer.
Jimmie Johnson won the race. It was his fifth of the season. He also took over the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Johnson has a 12 point lead over Mark Martin, who was fourth in the race at Auto Club Speedway.
Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, finished second. Juan Pablo Montoya was third.
The race at Auto Club Speedway was the fourth in the 10-race Chase, NASCAR’s playoff. The next race will be at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Gil Martin makes tough calls for Kevin Harvick

FONTANA -- Kevin Harvick wasn’t in much of a talking mood after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday.
Who could blame him?
His crew chief admitted his team took a fifth-place car and wound up in 10th place. Harvick battled tire air pressure and aerodynamic problems after the second round of pit stops. He had a great car on long runs, but got killed on restarts.
“That's just one of the factors of these new cars,” Harvick said. “We have great power under the hood, but getting the air pressure up faster seems to be a problem. I tried swerving, spinning and just about all the tricks to get the air heated up in the tires."
An eight-car pile-up with five laps to go in the race brought out a red flag and stopped the field. Gil Martin, Harvick’s crew chief, called him into the pits to change four tires and get fuel. Harvick returned to the race in 15th place and made up only five spots on the final three laps.
When asked if he was happy with a 10th-place finish, Harvick said, “Not really.”
“We ran better than that all day,” Harvick said.

MK Kanke wins Stockcar Racing League race at Irwindale

M.K. Kanke of Frazier Park won the Stockcar Racing League Southwest Tour Series race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Kanke, the leader in the SRL Southwest Tour Series standings, won his fourth race of the season. He’s won races at All-American Speedway in Roseville, the Bullring at Las Vegas and Madera Speedway. The season-finale is at the Bullring in Las Vegas on Oct. 31.
Rip Michels, a driver from San Fernando and a regular in the NASCAR Super Late Model division at Irwindale, was second. He was followed by Mike Mendenhall of Santee was third.
Greg Voigt of Goleta, who is second to Kanke in the SRL Southwest Tour Series standings, was fourth.
Troy Ermish, winner of the SRL Southwest Tour Series race in July at Irwindale, finished two laps down and in 13th place.
Ken Michaelian of Lawndale won the Classic Stocks race and the Classic Stocks championship. It was his 10th win of the season. In 12 races, was either the winner or the runner-up.
Tommy Agosta of Chino was second, followed by Mike Colato Jr. of Chastworth in third.
Ryan Reed of Bakersfield won the Legends Cars race and the Legends championship. It was only his second win of the season, but it was his seventh top-three finish in a row.
Mark Borchetta of Valencia was second, followed by Brandon Toy of Bakersfield in third. Rookie Dallas Montes of Bakersfield, who won four straight Legends Car races, completed only 17 laps and finished 28th.
Randell King of Riverside won the S2 stock car race and claimed the first S2 championship at Irwindale. It was his sixth win in seven S2 races and his third win in a row.
Reed, pulling double duty at Irwindale, was second, followed by Kyle Longmore of Camarillo. Reed was the runner-up for the third race in a row.

Joanides lands NASCAR Nationwide Series seat

Nick Joanides, a driver from Woodland Hills, will race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 24.
The NASCAR Super Late Model and Late Model champion at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale will drive for Rick Ware Racing and his Circle K Racing team for one race.
Rick Ware Racing has fielded cars in the Nationwide Series for drivers Stanton Barrett and Kevin Hamlin in 2009. Hamlin started the race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday and finished 38th.
Joanides said he is looking forward to the opportunity to race in the Nationwide Series, but his expectations are not too high.
“A top 20 would be a solid run for that team,” Joanides said.

Dave Rogers calls Greg Biffle a coward

Dave Rogers, the crew chief for Joey Logano's NASCAR Nationwide Series team, called Greg Biffle a coward after Biffle pushed Logano into the wall during the race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.
Logano rallied through the field and worked his battered car to the front.
Biffle ended up getting collected in a wreck late in the race and finished 14th.
Logano and Rogers said after the race the best revenge was winning.

Joey Logano wins "crazy race"

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday. It was his second Nationwide Series win in a row and his sixth career Nationwide Series win in 38 starts.
He has won five Nationwide Series races and has 15 top 10s in 2009.
It was his first win at Auto Club Speedway and his third top 10 in three Nationwide races at Auto Club Speedway.
Logano said after the race, "It was not the race I thought I had a shot at winning."

Carl Edwards talks about cut-throat racing

Carl Edwards talked about some of the tight racing that was going on during the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday night.
Greg Biffle and Joey Logano tangled early in the race. Denny Hamlin was collected late in the race and finished in 31st place.
Edwards said the cars are more competitive and it leads to some tight racing.

Carl Edwards likes Auto Club Speedway

The racing got a little tight at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Carl Edwards might have been the greatest benefactor of the rough racing. He finished third in the race, but closed the gap on Kyle Busch, the leader in the Nationwide Series.
Busch started the race, but was relieved by Denny Hamlin after the first pit stop. Busch was suffering from flu-like symptoms.
Hamlin was leading the race, but he was collected late and taken out of contention. Hamlin finished in 31st driving for Busch.
As a result, Edwards knocked 90 points off Busch's lead in the Nationwide standings and is now 155 points out of first.

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)

Best seat in the house at Auto Club Speedway

Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team will let me sit on the pit box during Sunday's race.
I will be writing a story for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. I will also be Tweeting from the pit box during the race.
Let me know what you want to know. I will have Gil Martin's ear during the race and be able to talk to Harvick before the race. Plus I will be able to keep track of the radio traffic between the team and Harvick.
Send me your questions, and I will do my best to provide you with the answers.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick, who led 66 laps, finished the race in second -- his fifth top-10 finish in 18 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Racing for second at Auto Club Speedway

Everyone knows Jimmie Johnson dominates at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He has three wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s in 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at the 2-mile oval. He has an average finish of 6.2, best among drivers in the Chase.
He won the Cup race at Fontana last year in September. He heads into the fourth race of the Chase in second place in the Cup standings.
It would be hard to find a track Johnson has not had success at. But adding Fontana to the Chase only strengthened his chances of winning a fourth Cup championship.
"I think the season comes to us in a way," Johnson said. "I know that we perform well in the Chase but I think the schedule is helpful for the No. 48 car. We have great results and it gives us a lot of hope going into these tracks but we still have to show up and get the job done. So we have a positive mindset looking forward to those tracks. It will make the week easier leading into those tracks but we still have to go in there and get to work. I’m excited for it.”
If Johnson owns Auto Club Speedway, who has the best chance of foreclosing on his property?
He has to look no further than his own teammate and part owner at Hendrick Motorsports. Jeff Gordon has three wins, nine top fives and two poles in 18 races at Fontana. He has an average finish of 10.8 in those races.
"The competition is as even as I've ever seen it, so we must make the most of our bad days," Gordon said. "And we definitely need to take advantage of tracks where we should be good. Like this weekend at Fontana."
But Gordon isn't Johnson's biggest threat. Carl Edwards has an average finish of 6.7 in 10 Cup races at Fontana. He has one win, six top fives and nine top 10s in those 10 races. It's a pretty safe bet he'll be in the top 10 again, if not competing for the win.
Kasey Kahne might be the wild card in this race. In 11 races at Fontana, he has one win and seven top 10s.

Photo: Points leader and three-time Chase for the Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson (left), driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, chats with Kansas native Clint Bowyer (right), driver of the Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, during qualifying Friday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on Saturday. (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)

Vickers hoping he can pick up Chase - DailyBulletin.com

Vickers hoping he can pick up Chase - DailyBulletin.com

NASCAR drivers typically don't like to see their names and crash in the same sentence. But there is really no other way to describe how Brian Vickers qualified for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase.

Photo: Chase for the Sprint Cup first-time contender Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, spun out in the infield grass in Turn 4 to bring out the caution on lap 149 during Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway. It wasn't a good day for Vickers, who ended up finishing in 37th after having engine problems. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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New start times for NASCAR Cup races

The start times for most of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races will be uniform starting in 2010.
Twenty-one of the Cup races, including the Daytona 500, will start at 1 p.m. Eastern time, 10 a.m. Pacific. Twenty-eight races will start earlier than they did in 2010.
The other races will either start at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific, or 7:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. Pacific.
Brian France, the Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, said during a teleconference on Wednesday that part of the reason to change the start times was to preserve some of the traditions at race tracks throughout the country.
“NASCAR fans have been asking for earlier and more consistent start times, and we are making this change for our fans, beginning with the Daytona 500 next February," France said. “We are revisiting our sport’s tradition of earlier green flags, and the added consistency will make it easier for fans to know exactly when the races are being televised. Additionally, the new start times will help track operators get fans in and out of the track earlier in the evening. Many fans heading home from the race earlier will be able to eliminate the costs of an extra travel day.”
Both races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana will start at noon Pacific time. The first race is Feb. 21 and the second race is Oct. 10.

Auto Club Speedway essentials

Auto Club Speedway in Fontana is hosting its first Chase for the Sprint Cup race. This is race No. 4 of the 10-race playoff. After three races, Mark Martin leads the Chase standings, with three-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson 18 points behind in second.
Johnson pretty much dominated this race last year. He won the pole and the race. The difference is, because Fontana is in the Chase, the race is in October, not Labor Day weekend. It will be much cooler, and consequently much faster than last year's race.
Weather cooperating, the track should yield some favorable conditions for drivers and crew. In talking to some of the drivers, they are especially looking forward to racing in Fontana without 117 degree temperatures. Surely the fans will appreciate not having to bake in the sun for three or four hours.
Here are some record speeds and times that might fall this weekend:
Brian Vickers holds the qualifying record at Fontana. He recorded a lap at 187.417 mph to win the pole in 2004.
Kasey Kahne holds the race record. He had an average speed of 144.462 mph and won the race in 2006 in 3 hours, 36 minutes and 3 seconds.
Denny Hamlin holds the Nationwide Series qualifying record at Fontana. He won the pole at 180.316 mph in 2007.
Greg Biffle won the Nationwide Series race in 2004 with a record average speed of 138.978 mph and in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 31 seconds.

Photo: Mark Martin (5) leads the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings after three races. He has an 18-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, who won last year's race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, site of Sunday's race. (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Scary crash overshadows NHRA races at Memphis Motorsports Park

The first-round of eliminations of the funny car portion of the National Hot Rod Assn. races at Memphis Motor Sports Park got off to a rocky start. Daniel Wilkerson lost control of his car and crashed in spectacular fashion on Monday. The race was postponed a day because of rain. Wilkerson said the conditions at the track on Monday were a little misty. His first-round opponent was Ron Capps.
"I just wanted to apologize to all the other racers for causing a mess and huge delay," Wilkerson said. "We sat out all of Sunday, then it kept misting this morning and we weren't sure if we were even going to run, and before you know it my race car goes out there and basically comes apart and I'm into the wall making a huge mess. And, I knew my mom was going to be back there worried sick, so I wanted to let everyone know that I was okay.
According to a report from Wilkerson's team, various sources provided photographic evidence that both rear wheel assemblies were off the car before it hit the wall, but the team has yet to do any forensic research to track the problem or discover the cause.
"It was really pulling hard off the line, and it sure felt like it was on a huge run, then just a fraction of a second before it all went bad I felt it start to wobble and sashay a little bit," Wilkerson said. "Next thing I know, it feels like I'm riding on the ground and it's making a hard left. For a bit I thought I had it, with the wheel cranked hard right, but then the wall was right in front of me and I knew I was going to hit it. I just held the wheel, gritted my teeth, and held on. With no rear wheels, I basically had no brakes, so then I just skidded down the track until the thing came to a stop."
Jeff Arend won the funny car portion of the races at Memphis. He beat Tony Pedregon in the final. It was Arend's second career NHRA funny car win and only his third career NHRA funny car final appearance.
Ashley Force Hood took over the lead in the funny car standings by three points over John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight. Force Hood advanced to the semifnals at Memphis, losing to Arend.
"We are bummed we didn't win but we are pumped that we went to another semifinal," Force Hood said. "That is our third semifinal in the first three Countdown races. Our Mustang ran really good this weekend that semifinal was just a really good close race. That will sometimes bite you. I don't know if we would have done anything differently. That was one of our best runs of the day. We will just take that and know that we have a really good running car and even in these crazy changing conditions we managed to still have a handle on our Mustang.
"We’ll go to Richmond and I’ll assume the conditions will be cool like this. That is a plus for us. We’ll try and go some rounds there. Semis is our goal every race. If we can just semi-finalize them to death we’ll be good. You are getting a lot of points and if you can get to that second half of the race you are doing well.”
Pedregon, third in the funny car standings, beat Capps in the other semifinal race.

Photo: NHRA funny car driver Daniel Wilkerson swerved across the race track at Memphis Motorsports Park and crashed in the first round of eliminations on Monday. (NHRA)

"Memories of the California Jalopy Association"

Thomas Luce, author, publisher and friend of the Paddock, is releasing a second printing of his book, "Memories of the California Jalopy Association."
The book is described as a 14-year journey hunting down nostalgic memorabilia from former drivers, owners, officials, families and fans who dug through hundreds of closets and garages.
To order the book, go to www.autobooks-aerobooks.com, www.sprintcarstuff.com or www.coastal181.com.

Joanides wins NASCAR Late Model championship at Irwindale

Nick Joanides put the perfect book end to a championship season in the NASCAR Late Models at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Joanides, a driver from Woodland Hills, won the Late Model season finale and captured his first Late Model championship at the track.
Joanides won the opening night race in March and capped his championship season by winning the last race of the Late Model season.
Joanides added to his championships in 2009. He won the NASCAR Super Late Model championship at the track two weeks ago. He became the first driver to win the Super Late Model and Late Model championships at Irwindale in the same season. He also won the NASCAR Whelen All American Series California State championship.
It was the third Late Model win of the season for Joanides and his first win since April 25. Travis Motley of Tucson, Ariz., was second, followed by Travis Irving of Corona in third.
Mike Johnson of Covina won the first of two Late Model races at the track. He was followed by Tim Huddleston of Agoura Hills in second and Irving in third. Joanides was fourth in the first Late Model race of the night.
Huddleston, the runner-up in the Late Model standings, won five races including three in a row from May 9-30.
Johnson won six Late Model races, the most of any driver in the division. He won four in a row July 25 to Sept. 5 and won five of the last seven races of the season.
R.J. Johnson of Canyon Country won the NASCAR Super Trucks race and moved into a tie for first place in the Super Truck standings at the track. Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill, the reigning Super Trucks champion at Irwindale, came in as the leader in the Super Trucks standings by 10 points. He finished sixth and lost his lead.
It was Johnson’s seventh win of the season and his third in the past four Super Trucks races. Matt Kimball of Mission Viejo was second, followed by Ron Peterson of Riverside in third.
The Super Trucks season finale is Oct. 24.
Dalton Kuhn of San Marcos won the South West Tour Trucks race. Christian Copley of Santa Ynez was second, followed by Jeff Williams of Newbury Park in third.
Christine Thiebert won the demolition derby after her sister, Alisha Thiebert, was disqualified. Tammy Kalb was second, followed by Shayle Zins in third.

No California race for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

How is it that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is not racing in California in 2010?
The Truck Series schedule includes races in Las Vegas, Phoenix and for the first time at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. But no races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana or anywhere else in California. For a series that has its roots at the old Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, it's a little surprising to see no Truck Series races in California.

Why Brian Vickers thinks he can win the Chase

Brian Vickers is the most unlikely of drivers in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. He secured the final spot in the Chase with a seventh-place finish at Richmond International Raceway and moved from 13th to eighth place in the Chase standings.
What makes Vickers’ surge even more remarkable is that he said Richmond is one of the tracks his team has struggled at in the past. Richmond, New Hampshire and Dover are admittedly three of the tracks he and his team do not like racing at. Partly by design, partly by circumstance, those three tracks have produced poor results for Vickers and his No. 83 Red Bull Racing team for the past three years.
“The two tracks we just left are probably two of our worst,” Vickers said. “I’d like to be a little higher than we are right now in the points. We knew we weren’t probably going to be leading coming out of Dover, but we knew we could at least be within striking distance. I still feel like we are. We’re probably about 30 or 40 points further back than I wish. My goal was to come out of the first two races in the top 10. We came very close to that. We put ourselves in position to do that.”
Vickers was 11th at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race of the Chase. He was 18th at Dover. After two races in the Chase, Vickers is 10th in the Cup standings and 151 points out of first.
Vickers and crew chief Ryan Pemberton are focused on the next eight races of the Chase. The 1.5-mile ovals, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, have been the types of tracks the Red Bull Racing team has been focusing on since its inception three years ago. Vickers said that was the approach from the start and it is at those tracks where his team is at its best.
“When we started this team, we had to start with nothing,” Vickers said. “We had to pick, we only had so many resources, we got to focus on something. Let’s focus on mile-and-a-half race tracks. A lot race tracks are high downforce, mile, 1.5 and up. Let’s pull our resources there because it’s going to have the biggest impact. That’s what we did and we excelled at those race tracks and we learned a lot. It took time, but we excelled at them.”
Pemberton added Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, site of race No. 4 in the Chase, to the list of tracks that he expects his team to post a good result.
“The rest of the race tracks, we feel confident,” Pemberton said. “We feel like we got a good set-up for and good strategy for getting the car where it needs to be on these tracks that are coming up: California, Kansas, Charlotte. We feel like we got a good baseline going into that weekend. We do have better races in front of us than behind us.”
It’s taken some time, but Vickers said his team has gained the confidence to be competitive at the 1.5-mile tracks. His only win with Red Bull Racing came at Michigan International Speedway in August, a 2-mile speedway.
“Once we reached that level where we felt like we could win at those tracks, then we started to spread our resources toward the short tracks,” Vickers said. “We got better, but it took time. It’s going to take time. Short tracks aren’t our best tracks. The concrete tracks aren’t our best. I believe that they can be our best. What’s our best right now is what we focused on.”
With four races on 1.5-mile tracks and one at Auto Club Speedway, a 2-mile speedway, Vickers said he expects to rise in the Chase standings. He also is confident in his team’s ability to improve because of how his team performed in the 10 races prior to the start of the Chase.
Vickers scored 1,205 points in the 10 races leading up to the start of the Chase. By comparison, that is more than 100 points better than the top three drivers in the Chase standings. Mark Martin scored 1,074 points in the 10 races leading up to the start of the Chase. Jimmie Johnson recorded 1,049 and Juan Pablo Montoya had 1,096.
Vickers said if his team can repeat that type of run, he will have a chance to win the Chase.
“I’m pleased with making the Chase,” Vickers said. “I’m pleased with what all we’ve accomplished to date. But our goal now is to win the championship. I think we’re capable of it. It doesn’t mean we will. That’s a tall order for a young team. The 10 weeks prior to the Chase we collected more points than anyone on average. That’s essentially what you have to do to win the championship, be the best for 10 weeks. We proved that we could do that. That doesn’t guarantee that we can do it again, but I think we proved that we can do it.”

Photo: Brian Vickers enjoyed a hot streak in the Race to the Chase and came into Richmond in 13th place, one position out of Chase contention. He finished seventh at Richmond and qualified for the Chase. (Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Vickers says worst tracks are behind him

In an exclusive interview, Brian Vickers said his worst tracks are behind him and he hopes to make up some ground in the next few races of the Chase.
Vickers, the driver of the No. 83 Toyota for Red Bull Racing, is making his first Chase appearance. His first two races haven't been that impressive and he sits 10th in the Chase standings. But he said he wasn't expecting to have great finishes at Dover or New Hampshire, tracks that have given his team troubles in the past.
He said he is looking forward to the races at Kansas Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, tracks that have been kinder to him in the past and tracks where his team has posted some productive finishes.
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana is similar in distance and design to Michigan International Speedway, the site of Vickers only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win this season. The Fontana race is Oct. 11 and the fourth race in the Chase.
More to come...

Photo: Brian Vickers (83) and Denny Hamlin (11) were the lowest two finishers among Chase drivers, finishing 18th and 22nd, respectively, Sunday at Dover International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

NASCAR West Series crew chief fined

Robert Dixon, the crew chief for Eric Schmidt's team in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, was fined and suspended after his driver's car did not pass post-race inspection at All American Speedway in Roseville on Saturday night.
Schmidt finished second in the West Series season-finale race, his best finish of the season.
Dixon was fined $500 and placed on suspension until the fine is paid.

Eric Schmidt, driving the No. 34 car in the Toyota/Copart 150 at All American Speedway in Roseville, finished second, but his car did not pass post-race inspection. (Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

No one hotter than Hight in NHRA funny cars

National Hot Rod Assn. funny car driver Robert Hight was the last one invited to the drag racing playoff party, but he has been the beau of the ball since it started two weeks ago.
Hight won for the second week in a row and vaulted into the lead in the NHRA funny standings. After going winless through the regular season, Hight has won the first two races of the Countdown to One, the six-race playoff to determine champions in the four national drag racing divisions.
Hight won at zMax Dragway in North Carolina, the first race of the Countdown, and followed that up with a victory at Texas Motorplex on Sunday. It was also his third straight finals appearance. He lost to teammate Ashley Force Hood at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend.
“This is probably the best race car I have ever had,” said Hight, a driver for John Force Racing. “We have won races and been close to winning the championship but to be this dominant and this consistent and steady. It is going down the track every single run. The only person to beat me was my teammate Ashley Force Hood in the final at Indy. We had a malfunction. It kind of blew up. It is not hurting itself. It is running fast we had top speed here. Jimmy Prock definitely has a handle on this Mustang. We still have to give it to Guido and Ron Douglas. Without them we would not be where we are now. They helped us and I thank God Jimmy listened to them and worked with them. That is what is great about our team we all listen and work together.”
Hight defeated Jack Beckman in the finals at Texas Motorplex. Hight beat Tim Wilkerson and Force Hood en route to the championship. But his win over Sweden’s Leif Helander in the first round had the biggest impact on Hight through the races at Texas.
“Something kind of hit me this morning actually last night,” Hight said Sunday after winning at Texas Motorplex. “My first round match up was with Leif Helander from Sweden. He came by after I came by the press room and he introduced himself. He told me his story. He reminded me of that movie, ‘The World’s Fastest Indian.’ We have had controversy here lately. We have had drivers arguing. Talking with a guy like that puts it in perspective what we are doing out here.”
Hight has a 13-point lead over Force Hood in the funny car standings. Beckman is in third place, 45 points behind Hight. Tony Pedregon, who held the lead in the funny car standings when the Countdown started, is in fourth place, 59 points out of first.
"I have to tell you, losing in the final round stinks," said Beckman, a driver from North Hills and a driver for Don Schumacher Racing, “but we recognize what we did here and everybody on this Valvoline/MTS Dodge crew has that look in their eye right now. We did what nobody could do all day, we got down that right lane. And our goal on that one -- what Johnny (West, crew chief) wanted to do -- was make them beat themselves.”
In other races, Tony Schumacher defeated Larry Dixon in the top fuel final to win at Texas Motorplex. Schumacher has a 33-point lead over Dixon, a Van Nuys High graduate, in the top fuel standings.
Greg Anderson defeated Johnny Gray in the pro stock final. Mike Edwards leads the pro stock standings by 65 points over Jeg Coughlin.
Hector Arana defeated Eddie Krawiec in the pro stock motorcycle final. Arana leads the pro stock motorcycle standings by 27 points over Krawiec. Karen Stoffer, a graduate of St. Geneveive High School in Sun Valley, is seventh in the pro stock motorcycle standings.

Photo: Robert Hight won the NHRA funny car portion of the races at Texas Motorplex on Sunday. It was his second win in a row and his third straight final appearance. With the win at Texas, Hight took over the lead in the funny car standings. (NHRA)

Harraka wins West Series race, Bowles wins West Series championship

Jason Bowles, a driver from Ontario, won the NASCAR Camping World West Series championship on Saturday night at All American Speedway in Roseville.
Bowles nearly missed getting collected in a crash on lap five and finished fourth in the season-finale West Series race.
“There were a few wrecks right there that I didn’t want to see happen, because they were all right in front of me it seemed,” said the 26-year-old Bowles driving for Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing team. “I was really watching in front of me tonight, trying to keep my nose clean and be real, real careful.”
Eric Holmes, the 2008 West Series champion and only driver with a chance at catching Bowles in the West Series standings, was collected in the lap 5 crash. He completed 108 laps of the 150-lap race and finished 16th.
Paulie Harraka won the West Series race at Roseville, leading 149 laps. It was his second win of the season and his second win in three races to close out the season.
“The NAPA AutoCare/Adaptive One Brakes Toyota was great,” said, Harraka, who won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the West Series. “Duane (Knorr, crew chief) and the team did an awesome job. I never had to use 100 percent of the race car at all. That was the key to pulling away at the end.”
Harraka, a driver from Fairlawn, N.J., won a NASCAR Super Late Model championship at Roseville in 2008.
Greg Pursley, a driver from Canyon Country finished third in the race and was third in the West Series standings.

Photo: Paulie Harraka jumps from his car in Victory Lane in celebration of his win. (Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Hornaday leaves Las Vegas with a smaller lead in NASCAR Truck Series standings

Ron Hornaday Jr. saw his lead in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series trimmed a bit in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Hornaday finished sixth in the Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Matt Crafton, the second-place driver in the Truck Series standings, finished second at Las Vegas and closed the gap by 20 points for the lead.
“It was a really good run for the Copart Chevrolet,” said Hornaday after the race. “I felt like our truck was better than where we finished. It is just so tough to make the call in these races with this new pit (road) strategy. Our truck just ended up too tight on that last run to compete with those guys. I’m really happy for Johnny (Sauter) to get his first Truck Series win. It’s really cool to see all these young kids come into our series and make a name for themselves. We have a nice little break coming up here and then we will head to Martinsville (Speedway) and see what we can do with them there.”
Johnny Sauter, Crafton’s teammate at ThosSport Racing, won the first Truck Series race of his career. Sauter, considered a rookie in the Truck Series despite three wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, became the first rookie to win a Truck Series race since Scott Speed did it on May 30, 2008, at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.
“It’s unbelievable, man,” Sauter said. “This is a big deal for me. Last year at this time, all I was doing was start-and-parks in the Nationwide Series. We’ve had speed all year, but we haven’t been able to close the deal. Our truck has been phenomenal for the last two months.”
Hornaday, winner of a Truck Series best six races, has a 197-point lead over Crafton in the Truck Series standings. There are five races remaining in the Truck Series season. Hornaday is in search of his fourth Truck Series championship.
“It was a decent points day, but the thing that makes me happy is finishing 1-2 for Duke and Rhonda Thorson,” Crafton said. “It's the first time we've finished 1-2.”

Photo: Johnny Sauter celebrates his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Joanides wins 100-lap NASCAR Super Late Model race, set of springs

With $5,000 and a set of Eibach Springs on the line, Nick Jonaides of Woodland Hills won the 100-lap NASCAR Super Late Model race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
The season-ending race for the Super Late Model drivers was a non-points race. Joanides, the recently crowned Super Late Model champion at Irwindale, took the lead from Rip Michels of San Fernando on the second lap of the race and led the remaining 99 laps.
It was the 14th Super Late Model win of the season for Joanides. He finished in the top five in all 22 Super Late Model races at the track including the 100-lapper on Saturday night. He was the runner-up or winner of 21 of 22 races this year.
Ricky McCray of Highland was second, his best finish of the season. He won $2,000 and a set of Eibach Springs. Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga was third. He won $1,700 and a set of Eibach Springs.
In other races, rookie Jeremiah Wagner of Las Vegas won the ASA Speed Truck Challenge race. It was his third ASA Speed Truck Challenge win at Toytota Speedway at Irwindale. Chris Birdsong of Las Vegas was second, followed by Cole Cabrera of Exeter in third.
Randel King of Riverside moved into first place in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge standings with a seventh-place finish. He and Joey Licata of Van Nuys entered the race tied for first in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge standings. Licata finished 17th.
King pulled double duty at the track. He also won the S2 stock car race, his third in a row and fifth in six races at Irwindale. Ryan Reed of Bakersfield was second, followed by Andrew Anderson of Lancaster in third.
Daryl Scoggins of Sunland won his second NASCAR Mini Stock race in a row. It was the sixth win of the season for Scoggins. Tyler Rogers of Riverside was second, followed by Ryan Bragdon of Beaumont in third.
Mike Colato Jr. of Chatsworth won the Classic Stocks race and snapped the five-race winning streak of Ken Michaelian of Lawndale, the leader in the Classic Stocks standings at the track. Michaelian finished second, followed by Tommy Agosta of Chino in third.
Tom Landreth of Alta Loma, the reigning Legend Cars champion at Irwindale, won the Legend Cars race, his first of the season. It was the 42nd Legend Cars win of Landreth’s career. Donny St. Ours of Upland was second, followed by Reed in third. Reed, the runner-up in the S2 stock car race, is also the leader in the Legend Cars standings at Irwindale.

Irving sweeps twin NASCAR Late Model races at Irwindale

Irving snaps Johnson's four-race NASCAR Late Model win streak at Irwindale

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Irving snaps Johnson's four-race NASCAR Late Model win streak at Irwindale

Mike Johnson of Covina had his four-race win streak in the NASCAR Late Model division snapped at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Johnson was rear-ended by Dallas Colodny in the first of two Late Model races at the track. Johnson’s car suffered rear-end damage and a flat tire which resulted in a 17th-place finish.
Johnson didn’t fare much better in the second race, coming in 10th place.
Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills, the leader in the Late Model standings at the track, posted a pair of top fives to maintain his lead. He was second in the first race, fourth in the second race, and holds a 34-point lead over Tim Huddleston of Agoura Hills, the reigning Late Model champion at the track.
Travis Irving of Corona won both Late Model races. He has three wins on the season and recorded his first victory at the track since April 25.
Dalton Kuhn of San Marcos won the South West Tour Trucks race, his fifth win in six races at Irwindale. Jeff Williams of Newbury Park was second, followed by Christian Copley of Santa Ynez, the leader in the South West Tour Trucks standings, in third.
Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill won the NASCAR Super Trucks race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night and gave himself a little breathing room atop the Super Trucks standings at the track.
Mintey, the reigning Super Trucks champion, has a 10-point lead over R.J. Johnson of Canyon Country with two races remaining.
Mintey won his fourth race of the season and his first since July 25. Johnson has six wins in the Super Truck division and won three in a row in June. His last win came on Sept. 5.
Valencia’s Joe Anderson was seventh and Canyon Country John Watkinson was 11th in the 17-truck field.
Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita was fifth in the NASCAR Super Stocks race. Larry Cerquettini of Redlands won the race, his eighth of the season. Cerquettini opened the season with seven wins in a row. His win Saturday night was his first since July 18.
DeLong, winner of two Super Stocks races this year, is third in the Super Stocks standings at the track, 36 points behind Cerquettini.

A drive to succeed : Racing : Ventura County Star

Louie Pagano, a 14-year-old go-kart racer from Santa Rosa Valley, will compete for a spot on America's Team at the Rotax Grand Nationals in Norman, Okla., and a chance to race for a world championship in Egypt in December.

A drive to succeed : Racing : Ventura County Star

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Nick Joanides wins NASCAR Super Late Model championship at Irwindale

Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills wrapped up the NASCAR Super Late Model championship at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night. He won the Super Late Model championship last year and leads the NASCAR Late Model standings at the track.
He posted a pair of top-five finishes in the final points races of the season at Irwindale. He was fifth in the first race, second in the second race and needed only eight points to capture his second straight Super Late Model championship. He has 13 wins and 21 top-five finishes in 21 races.
Joanides finished in third place in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings. Bill Leighton Jr., who races at I-80 Speedway in Omaha, Neb., and Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., and Joanides entered the night tied for third place with 803 points each. Leighton has nine wins and 27 top five finishes in 33 starts, but his race at I-80 Speedway was rained out. The national standings are determined by the drivers’ best 18 races.
Phillip Morris of Ruckersville, Va., won his third NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship. He entered the night with a 19-point lead over Keith Rocco of Wallingford, Conn.
Joanides won the NASCAR Whelen All-American California State Championship and the Lucas Oil Slick Six championship at Irwindale.
Rip Michels of San Fernando won the first of two NASCAR Super Late Model races at Toyota Speedway. It was his third win of the season and his 60th career win at the track. Michels has won more races than any other driver at Irwindale.
Travis Thirkettle of Fillmore won the second Super Late Model race. It was his first win of the season and his first win since winning the abbreviated, rain-delayed All-Star Showdown at Irwindale in January. He was the runner-up in the first Super Late Models race.
Dallas Montes, a rookie driver from Bakersfield, won his fourth Legend Cars race in a row. Ryan Reed of Bakersfield, the leader in the Legend Cars standings, was second. Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma was third.
Randel King of Riverside won his second S2 stock car race in a row and his fourth of the season. He leads the S2 standings by 18 points over Andrew Anderson of Lancaster.
Reed, pulling double duty at the track in the Legend Cars and S2 stock cars, posted his second runner-up finish of the night. He was second in the S2 race. Kendell Lopez, a driver from Independence, Mo., was third.
Billy Ziemann of Bloomington won the figure 8s race. He was followed by Steve Stewart of Long Beach in second and Tony Curtis of Hawthorne in third.
Ken Mets won the demolition derby.

Another first for Ashley Force Hood

Ashley Force Hood became the first woman to win the U.S. Nationals in the National Hot Rod Assn. funny car division on Monday.
She beat John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight in the final of the funny car portion of the races in Indianapolis.
Force Hood joins Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey as the only women to win an NHRA U.S. Nationals championship. Muldowney won in top fuel and Sampey won in pro stock motorcycle.
It was the second win of the season for Force Hood, who is third in the funny car standings.
“I am really excited. This has been a great weekend for Team Force,” said Force Hood. “Winning the race couldn’t get any better for me. We have struggled in the summer and haven’t done as well as we’d hoped we would. Two weeks ago in Reading (Penn.) we really had a tough one. We came into this racing looking to get back into our groove. Let’s do what we know we can do. Let’s go rounds. Let’s get this car down the track.”
The Countdown to One, the six-event playoffs to determine the NHRA champions on top fuel, funny car, pro stock and pro stock motorcycle begin on Sept. 17 in North Carolina. Force Hood will be the third-seeded driver in the Countdown behind Tony Pedregon, the leader in the funny car standings, and Ron Capps.
“I can’t give (co-crew chiefs) Ron (Douglas) and Guido (Dean Antonelli) enough credit,” Force Hood said after winning in Indianapolis. “They have had a lot on their shoulders this weekend. They were trying to figure out the track and working really hard. My team is the best bunch of guys out here. I couldn’t ask for any more from them. I am just so proud to have won the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Again I just can’t believe it happened.”
Even though Hight, the winner in Indianapolis a year ago, lost in the final to Force Hood, he was able to secure the 10th and final spot in the Countdown.
“It is unbelievable,” Hight said. “At the beginning of every season your biggest fear is to not make this Countdown. When you look at the class and the field of these funny cars and how good the cars are that are out there it is not that easy to make this top 10. Cruz Pedregon is a great racer, reigning world champ. He is an awesome driver. They have a great team over there. It just shows you how tough this is. We just pulled this out. What is best though is we are getting to go to the finals against our teammate Ashley Force Hood so a John Force Mustang will win this race. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Hight passed Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan to get into 10th place in the funny car standings at the U.S. Nationals this weekend.
In other divisions, Tony Schumacher defeated Larry Dixon in the top fuel final to win his eighth U.S. Nationals championship. He Schumacher tied “Big Daddy” Don Garlits for the most top fuel U.S. Nationals wins.
“I’m a little speechless right now,” said Schumacher. “It’s a little tough to comprehend just what we’ve accomplished here today.”
Karen Stoffer, a graduate of St. Genevieve High School in Sun Valley, was eliminated in the second round of the pro stock motorcycle division, but secured enough points for 10th place in the pro stock motorcycle standings. She earned the 10th and final seed in the pro stock motorcycle Countdown.

Photo: Ashley Force Hood became the first women to win the NHRA funny car U.S. Nationals. She is only the third women driver to win an NHRA U.S. Nationals championship. Shirley Muldowney won in top fuel and Angelle Sampey won in pro stock motorcycle.

Mayhew wins NASCAR West Series race at Iowa Speedway

David Mayhew, a driver from Atascadero, won the NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Iowa Speedway on Friday night.
It was Mayhew’s first win of the season and earned him a spot in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in January.
Mayhew’s team had to play some catch-up to prepare for the race. The team’s truck and equipment arrived at the track late.
“The day started off a little shaky, with our truck not making it here in time for the first practice,” Mayhew said. “We had all kinds of trouble getting to the track. As soon as we put the car on the track, the car was awesome. All the guys at the shop did a great job of prepping everything. We qualified third, in our 10th lap on the track all day and then got lucky with a move to the front row, with Greg moving to the back.”
Greg Pursley, a Canyon High graduate and driver for Gene Price Motorsports, set fast-time in qualifying and won the second pole of his West Series career, but had to start from the back of the 27-car field because his team had to switch engines after the first practice.
“The crew was flawless in changing the engine,” Pursley said. “All we really lost was some track time as the car was really good.”
Pursley was seventh in the race, his 10th top-10 finish of the season.
Jason Bowles, a driver from Ontario, was second. Bowles leads the West Series standings by 78 points over Eric Holmes of Escalon with one race remaining in the West Series schedule.
The race also featured Brian Ickler of San Diego, Patrick Long of Thousand Oaks and Brian Wong of Newport Beach. Ickler was eighth, Wong was 14th and Long was 15th.
The season-finale race is Sept. 26 at All American Speedway in Roseville.

Photo: Greg Pursley displays the Coors Light Pole Award he won at Iowa. (Photo Credit: David Purdy/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Hornaday finishes 4th at Iowa, extends NASCAR Truck Series lead

Ron Hornaday Jr. made his first visit to Iowa Speedway a top-five performance. Hornaday finished fourth in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night.
Mike Skinner won the race, his second of the season.
Hornaday increased his lead in the Truck Series standings to 225 points over Matt Crafton. Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc., is in search of his fourth Truck Series championship.
“The guys on this Longhorn Silverado did a great job,” said Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway champ. “We didn't have the truck to beat, Skinner did. We just fought loose-in, tight-off all night. Actually, we really struggled the last two days, but this is why this KHI team is championship caliber. It was a lot of fun here. We didn’t give up and with eight races to go, we still have our lead. Crafton was good and I am not sure how we gained five points on him, but we’ll take it.”

Photo: Colin Braun driver of the No. 6 Con-Way Freight Ford visits with Kevin Harvick Inc's Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) during qualifying for Saturday night's Lucas Oil 200. Braun finished the race third while Hornaday ended his night in fourth. (Photo Credit: David Purdy / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Johnson Wins Again at Toyota Speedway

Mike Johnson of Covina captured his fourth straight feature win in the Auto Club Late Model series at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday. The win was Johnson’s fifth of the season. Johnson guaranteed he would win every remaining race after winning on July 25 and so far he has followed through. Johnson took the lead from pole-sitter Travis Motley on lap two of the race. Motley, from Tucson, Ariz., led his first lap ever in the division and held on for a career best second place. Rookie Beau Debard of Reno, Nev., finished third. Points leader Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills finished sixth after being involved in a lap one incident that also included Johnson, Travis Irving, Debard, and reigning series champion Tim Huddleston. Huddleston, a driver from Agoura Hills, sustained the most damage and finished 14th. The result allowed Johnson to move into second in the Late Model standings, just 26 behind Joanides with four races left.
Rod Johnson Jr. of Canyon Country won his sixth race of the season in the King Taco Super Trucks division. The win was also his second straight. Johnson took the lead from Grant Hebner of Fallbrook on lap seven and never looked back. A last lap incident involving Hebner and Jeff Peterson of Riverside severely altered both the finishing order and the standings. Coming to the checkered flag, Hebner slid up the track into Peterson in a battle for second. The two bounced off the wall, allowing Ryan Partridge to sneak bye for second. Peterson came home third, while series points leader and two-time champion Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill went from seventh to fourth. Hebner ended up fifth, while Mason Britton and Ron Peterson both lost spots, finishing sixth and seventh. Had the finishing order not changed, Johnson would have taken the lead in the Super Trucks standings, Jeff Peterson would have maintained second and Mintey would have fallen to third with Ron Peterson not far out in fourth. As a result of the crash, Mintey maintains a slim lead of six points, with Johnson in second and Jeff Peterson just eight points back of the leader in third. Ron Peterson sits fourth, 18 points from the top spot, with just two races left.
Dallas Montes, a rookie from Bakersfield, won his third consecutive race in the Legends Cars. Montes passed Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma with two laps remaining to take the win. Scheidemantle held on for second, while series point’s leader Ryan Reed of Bakersfield finished third. Reed holds a commanding 56-point lead over Brandon Toy of Bakersfield with three races remaining in the season.
Dalton Kuhn of San Marcos captured the South West Tour Truck race. Kuhn passed overall series points leader Christian Copley of Santa Ynez with two laps left after Copley had a right front tire go flat. Copley held on for second while bouncing off the wall twice on the final lap. Jeff Williams, the three-time defending series champion from Newbury Park, finished third. Kuhn holds a 14-point lead over Copley for the track championship with two races left on the schedule.

Karen Stoffer clinging to final Countdown spot in NHRA pro stock motorcycles

Karen Stoffer expects a battle for the last spot in the pro stock motorcycle Countdown to One playoffs. She is in 10th place and has a two-point lead over 11th-place Steve Johnson. Only the top 10 drivers in the pro stock motorcycle standings will qualify for the Countdown.
Stoffer was in a similar position last year, needing to win her first-round race at the U.S. Nationals to earn a berth in the Countdown. This year is a little different. She just has to stay ahead of Johnson all weekend to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
“To tell you the truth, I really do not like being here again, but now that we are, we are focused on solidifying our spot,” said Stoffer, a graduate of St. Genevieve High School in Sun Valley. “I’m not giving up. Don’t give up on us.”
There are less than 100 points separating the eighth place driver from the 12th place driver in the pro stock motorcycle standings. It’s possible three drivers in the top 10 won’t qualify for the Countdown.
“We just need to get our head in the game,” Stoffer said. “We have had a tough year and now is our last chance to turn it around. We were in the same spot last year, and made it to the chase, so we know how to do it.”

NHRA driver Jack Beckman sees room for improvement

Jack Beckman has a pair of goals in mind at the NHRA U.S Nationals in Indianapolis this weekend. First, he wants to improve in his runner-up finish from a year ago. Second, he wants to improve his position in the funny car standings before the Countdown to One playoffs begin.
Beckman advanced to the finals of last year’s U.S. Nationals, losing to Robert Hight.
“A lot of times you’d be pretty pleased to make it into the final round, but to get to the final round in Indy and not win is definitely unfinished business,” said Beckman, a driver for Don Schumacher Racing and a driver from North Hills.
Beckman has two funny car wins and is fifth in the funny car standings.
“We have a great shot at locking in fourth place,” Beckman said. “Right now we’re in fifth, but if we can do well in Indy we can seal fourth place, which is good. Even though NHRA tightens the points up for the playoffs, every 10 points means a lot at the end of the year.”

Photo: Jack Beckman has two wins and is in fifth place in the NHRA funny car standings entering the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Ashley Force Hood say NHRA funny car championship up for grabs

Ashley Force Hood is looking to position herself for an NHRA funny car championship run this weekend at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. She is third in the NHRA funny car standings, 164 points behind leader Tony Pedregon. The U.S. Nationals are the last race of the regular season before the NHRA’s Countdown to One playoffs begin Sept. 17 in North Carolina.
For Force Hood, her team is still recovering from a spectacular explosion in the last race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania.
Force Hood is one of several drivers who have led the funny car standings at some point this season. Ron Capps, Pedregon and Force Hood have all spent time in first place in the funny car standings this year. Del Worsham, Jack Beckman and Tim Wilkerson have posted at least one win in the funny car division this year.
“If you look at all the drivers in our category, there’s not one dominant person,” Force Hood said. “It could be anybody’s championship. That’s exciting for us because we are a newer team. You wouldn’t think that, going up against teams that have been racing longer than I’ve been alive, we would be thinking about a championship, but in our sport, anything can happen. I think we have a great shot at it.”

Photo: Ashley Force Hood is one of three NHRA drivers to lead the funny car standings this year.

Dixon bypasses tests, ready for NHRA U.S. Nationals

National Hot Rod Assn. driver Larry Dixon is so confident in his car and team right now that he didn’t test last weekend in Indianapolis in preparation for the U.S. Nationals.
A number of NHRA teams spent last week at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis testing for this weekend’s U.S. Nationals.
But Dixon’s Al-Anabi Racing team, owned by Alan Johnson, decided against testing after two straight final appearances and a win in the races at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa. It was his fifth win of the season and his sixth finals appearance.
“We tested before Brainerd, and we have two finals and a win,” said Dixon, a Van Nuys High graduate. “The car is definitely responding the way he and Alan would like it to respond, and for that reason, we didn’t test this past week at Indianapolis.”
Dixon is second in the NHRA top fuel standings and has already secured a berth in the Countdown to One, the playoffs that determine the NHRA champions. Dixon has advanced to the semifinals in nine of the 17 races so far this season. He is also a three-time champion in the U.S. Nationals, winning in 1995, 2001 and 2005.
“It’s always exciting to race at Indy,” Dixon said “It’s obviously the biggest and most prestigious race on our tour and you want to be piquing right now. We have a really good car going into this race. I’m honored that I’ve won the U.S. Nationals. As a kid growing up in the sport, going to that race with my dad for so many years with my family top fuel car, we never did the full tour, but we always went to Indy. That’s where everyone congregated on Labor Day weekend.”

Photo: Larry Dixon has five NHRA top fuel wins and is second in the top fuel standings entering the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.