Clauson makes Grand Prix of Long Beach debut

Bryan Clauson, a two-time USAC National champion, turned his first laps on a street course in Long Beach in the Toyota Pro Celebrity race.

He’ll make his first trip to the Indianapolis 500 in May.

Clauson, an open-wheel racer backed in part by K&N, ran into a tire barrier midway through the Toyota Pro Celebrity race during the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He didn’t complete the entire 10 laps of the race, but he said racing at Long Beach was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer to get the opportunity to be with super people and the personalities and everybody that’s in this group is phenomenal,” Clauson said. “To get the opportunity to be a part of it and to spend some time with these people has been amazing. You learn a lot about how to be successful in life when you’re around successful people. It’s been a lot of fun and we definitely had a great time.”

Thorn wins West Series race in Havasu

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West made its first visit to Havasu 95 Speedway in Arizona and plenty of new faces came to the forefront.

Derrek Thorn, a driver from Bakersfield, won his first K&N Pro Series West race, leading the last 42 laps in the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Gene Price Motorsports.

Thorn won the pole, another K&N Pro Series West first, and led a race-high 141 laps.

“I’ve got to pay a tribute to the Sunrise Ford team, (car owner) Bob Bruncati and (crew chief) Bill Sedgwick and all the guys at the shop,” Thorn said. “It was really hard coming here to this track, because no one had raced here. It’s hard to take something from practice and prepare yourself for a 150-lap race, because at 125 laps the car is doing something completely different than it was at Lap 50. It was a lot of guess-work, but the guys did an awesome job of putting an awesome car underneath me. I’m so thankful to be here and get this victory in (the) K&N (Pro Series).”

Wallace wins East Series race in South Carolina

Darrell Wallace Jr. won his sixth NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina on March 31.
Wallace won the first race of his K&N Pro Series East career at Greenville in 2010. It was his first win of the 2012 season.
Corey LaJoie finished second, his first runner-up finish since 2011 at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Brandon Gdovic was third, the best NASCAR K&N Pro Series East finish of his career.
Go to the K&N website for more on the Pro Series East race from Greenville.

Photo: Darrell Wallace Jr. wins the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, the sixth of his East Series career. (Getty Images for NASCAR)

From Irwindale Speedway to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Gilliland won his first stock car race on pavement at Irwindale Speedway. He won a NASCAR Southwest Tour race, a West Series race and a All-Star Showdown race at Irwindale before moving to the Cup Series with Front Row Motorsports.
The track management at Irwindale Speedway cancelled the 2012 racing season and filed for bankruptcy last month.
A number of Cup and Nationwide series drivers raced at Irwindale Speedway early in their NASCAR careers.
Joey Logano won two All-Star Showdown races at Irwindale. Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears raced in the USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale.
Jason Bowles and Travis Pastrana raced at Irwindale before moving up to the Nationwide Series.
Go to ESPN Los Angeles for more on the NASCAR drivers who raced at Irwindale Speedway.

Photo: David Gilliland won late model, Southwest Tour and All-Star Showdown races at Irwindale Speedway.(Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR)

California dreaming in NASCAR

NASCAR has the Alabama Gang and North Carolina is where the blood pumps fastest. But California has produced the most drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Jeff Gordon, who grew up in Vallejo, Calif., is the most successful NASCAR driver in terms of wins. He has 85 in his career, the most of any active driver in the Sprint Cup Series and the most in NASCAR's modern era.
Jimmie Johnson, from El Cajon near San Diego, has the most Cup championships with five of any active drivers in the Sprint Cup Series.
Kevin Harvick from Bakersfield is the reigning race winner in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
The Sprint Cup Series makes its annual visit to the Fontana track this weekend.
Go to ESPN Los Angeles for more on the NASCAR races at Fontana and the drivers from California who are racing there.

Photo: Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, meets with fans at the Lucky Strike bowling alley at LA Live. (Credit: Auto Club Speedway)

Piquet wins NASCAR East Series race in Bristol

Nelson Piquet Jr. became the first driver from Brazil to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race by taking the Widow Wax 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
Piquet won the pole and led a race-high 62 laps.
He is racing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and will be entered in two Nationwide Series races, at Road America and Watkins Glen.
The East Series race at Bristol featured Chase Elliott, son of Bill Elliott, Ryan Blaney, son of Dave Blaney and Travis Pastrana.
Go to the K&N website for more on the East Series race from Bristol.

Photo: Nelson Piquet Jr. (14) and Ryan Gifford race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. (Getty Images for NASCAR)

David Mayhew wins West Series race in Phoenix

David Mayhew, a driver from Atascadero, won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.
The race was short, only 50 laps, and Mayhew led every one of them. He also won the pole for the Walking Stick 50.
It was the fourth win of his West Series career. His previous three wins came in combo events with the K&N Pro Series East.
Mayhew was winless in 2011 after finishing as the runner-up in the West Series standings in 2010.
Go to the K&N website for more on Mayhew's win in Phoenix.

Photo: David Mayhew leads Dylan Kwasniewski in action at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Phoenix International Raceway. (Getty Images for NASCAR)

Three minutes with four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Jeff Gordon

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon visited LA Live in downtown Los Angeles on Monday and talked about, among other things, how much the stock car series has changed since his rookie season.
He talked about momentum, how to get it and how much it helped Tony Stewart win the Chase for the Sprint Cup last year.
He said he has great respect for Stewart and his team for what they accomplished last season.
Gordon was very candid about what he needs to do to capture a fifth Cup championship and how his relationship with new crew chief Alan Gustafson has developed.
Gordon and the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will visit Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on March 25. Gordon is a three-time winner at Auto Club Speedway.

Matt Kenseth visit Pink's in Los Angeles before heading out to Arizona for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.
Kenseth won his second Daytona 500 on Monday, a race delayed a day by rain and red-flagged for more than two hours after Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer safety vehicle and set the track on fire.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will visit Auto Club Speedway in Fontana from March 23-25.

Three minutes with Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth

Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth visited Los Angeles on Wednesday. He was at Pink's on Melrose and La Brea where he created his own Daytona Dog, complete with guacamole and jalapenos.
It looked more like something Oscar the Grouch would sneeze on to a hot dog bun, but there weren't many complaints from the fans who showed up to see and meet Kenseth and grad a dog.
He won his second Daytona 500 on Monday, a race that was delayed a day by rain and for more than two hours when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer during a caution period. The crash caused a fire and red-flagged the race, forcing the finish well past midnight in Florida.
During the red flag, Brad Keselowski became a Twitter star. He was Tweeting from the track and gained tens of thousands of followers.
Kenseth has about as many followes, 75,000, as Keselowski gained at the Daytona 500. The two-time Daytona 500 winner compared his two Daytona 500 wins, showed off his newest Daytona 500 ring, and discussed the penalty Jimmie Johnson's team received after the Daytona 500.

Daytona International Speedway has good news for short track racers

Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway will have a place for the short track stock car racers across the nation in 2013.
A two-day event that will include the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours North and South is planned on a short track oval being built on the backstretch of Daytona International Speedway, a NASCAR official said on Wednesday.
The two-day of races will be in 2013 on the Monday and Tuesday before the Daytona 500, once called the dark days of Daytona, on a proposed .4-mile paved oval. The event will also include a late model race. Drivers and teams from the NASCAR international series in Mexico, Canada and Europe will also have an opportunity to enter the races.
The event is being described as the next step up from the NASCAR All-Star Showdown that was run at Irwindale Speedway. The NASCAR All-Star Showdown evolved into a three-race event with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East, Super Late Models and Late Models.
The All-Star Showdown was a stepping stone for a number of NASCAR drivers who moved up to the Sprint Cup Series. Joey Logano and David Gilliland won All-Star Showdown races and Travis Pastrana made his NASCAR debut at the Showdown last year.
More details about the track and the races will be announced on Friday.

Irwindale Speedway LLC files for bankruptcy

Irwindale Speedway LLC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, the same day track management cancelled the racing season for 2012.
In the bankruptcy papers, Irwindale Speedway owes its creditors $331,773.11 plus unknown amounts on two personal injury claims.
Irwindale Speedway owes Nu-Way Industries Inc., the company that owns the property where the track and office buildings are built, $55,000 in rent.
Go to ESPNLA.com for more on the bankruptcy filing and who Irwindale Speedway owes.

Irwindale Speedway cancels racing season

Irwindale Speedway cancelled its 2012 racing season, track management announced Monday.
In a brief statement, track management left no explanation for why the racing season was cancelled or if another owner and management team would take over the track.
The announcement was not unexpected, but still a shock to drivers, teams and stock car racing fans who called Irwindale Speedway their racing home.

“Irwindale Speedway is a great facility that brought some tremendous racing to fans in Southern California," George Silberman, the NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series said. "Today’s news is an obvious disappointment. There are a lot factors out of our control in a track having to make a decision like this. We wish the track the best of luck and hope racing returns in the near future.”
Go to ESPLA.com for more on the news from Irwindale.

Megan McKernan turns drag racing into rocket science

Megan McKernan has championship equipment and the mind of a physicist. That makes for a dangerous combination in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster division.
The driver from Sierra Madre has two degrees in physics, one from USC and the other from the University of San Diego. Her car is the same one Ashley and Courtney Force drove when they were racing Top Alcohol Dragsters for her dad, 15-time NHRA champion John Force.
McKernan is entering her second full season in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster this weekend in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Winternationals at Pomona Racweay.
Go to Patch.com for more on McKernan's NHRA career and her expectations for the 2012 season.

Photo: Megan McKernan finished third in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster standings last year.

Fire captain burning up the drag strip in Pomona

Johnny Ahten, a fire captain in Santa Clarita, is racing his NHRA Top Alcohol Fuel dragster in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Winternationals at Pomona Raceway this weekend.
The 40-year-old from Newhall has been racing since 1999. He has been driving top alcohol dragsters for eight years.
Some of his best drag racing moments came at Pomona. He made it the semifinals once and laid down the best run of his career, 5.25 seconds down the 1000-foot strip, in 2010.
Go to Hometownstation.com for more on Ahten and his drag racing career.

Photo: Johnny Ahten is the driver and clutch man on his NHRA Top Alcohol drag racing team.

Three minutes with NHRA rookie Alexis DeJoria

PASADENA – Alexis DeJoria wanted to be fighter pilot when she was a kid. She’s become probably the next best thing for a thrill seeker who also happens to be the daughter of the owner of a hair-care product empire.

DeJoria is a driver on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. She begins her rookie campaign in the NHRA Funny Car division this weekend at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals at Pomona Raceway.

DeJoria, the daughter of John Paul DeJoria, the owner of Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products, said during a media lunch at Ruth Chris Steak House in Pasadena on Wednesday that she inherited the racing bug from her father. In addition to making a fortune selling hair spray and gels, he liked to drive and occasionally race fast cars.

Alexis went to work for her father’s company as a teenager, but, as she said, “made a left turn out of the family business” and pursued a career as a drag racer.

The 34-year-old driver competed in four NHRA Funny Car races last year, qualifying for three events. She made her debut at Pomona Raceway in the Auto Club Finals in November.

She also likes tattoos. She says she has 16 of them, the most recent, an ode to racing which includes an F-15 Strike Eagle surrounded by piston rods and checkered flags.

She also has a tattoo with her daughter’s name, Isabella, on her left wrist.

Alex Tagliani to drive for Bryan Herta Autosport IndyCar Series team

Alex Tagliani will drive for Bryan Herta Autosport's Izod IndyCar Series team in 2012, the team announced on Monday.
Tagliani is a veteran of the IndyCar, CART and Champ Car World Series. He won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in 2010 and won one race and four poles in an eight-year career in the CART and Champ Car World Series.
Bryan Herta Autosport won the Indianapolis 500 last year with Dan Wheldon as the team's driver. Wheldon died in an on-track crash at the IndyCar Series season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bryan Herta Autosport will be using the new Lotus cars in the IndyCar Series as a factory partner team. It is the team's first full season in the IndyCar Series.
Go to Hometownstation.com for comments from Tagliani and Herta.

Photo: Alex Tagliani will drive for Bryan Herta Autosport in the 2012 Izod IndyCar Series. (Courtesy of BHA)

NASCAR K&N Pro Series Pro skips Irwindale

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will not be making a stop at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale or Southern California for that matter.
The closest the West Series will get to Los Angeles is Stockton.
NASCAR released the scheduled for the 2012 West Series on Friday. The series has expanded to 15 races and will visit Minnesota, but the traditional Fourth of July race at Irwindale is not part of the schedule.
The West Series will make three visits to tracks in California. Stokcton 99 Speedway, Infineon Raceway in Sonoma and All-American Speedway in Roseville are on the West Series schedule.
Go to ESPNLA.com for more on the decision to skip Irwindale.

Tanner Swanson keeps Turkey Night Grand Prix championship in the family

The 71st running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale didn't start out very clean.
A five-car crash at the start of the USAC Sprint Car race took out the leader in the Western Sprint Car standings and a former Turkey Night Grand Prix champion.
Tanner Swanson spun out before the start of the 40-lap Sprint Car race. Audra Sasselli, who entered the race with a 20-point lead in the Western Sprint Car standings, had her car overturned in the crash.
Tracy Hines, who won the Sprint Car race at the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2008, was also collected in the crash.
Cody Gearhardt was taken to a nearby hospital for observation. Jo Jo Helberg and Bobby East also crashed at the start of the race and did not return.
Tanner Swanson escaped the crash and went on to win the Sprint Car race. He was followed by his brother, Kody Swanson, in second. Kody Swanson won the Turkey Night Grand Prix Sprint Car race last year.
Caleb Armstrong from New Castle, Ind., won the 98-lap, crash-filled USAC Midget race.
Bryan Clauson, who won the previous two Midget races at the Turkey Night Grand Prix, was third.
Ross Rankine won the USAC Ford Focus Midgets race, the first of his career. Nick Drake was second, followed by Garrett Peterson in third.
Jessica Clark, a senior at Westlake High School, won the USAC Ford Focus Western Pavement and Southern California championship. She finished in 13th place in the 23-car Turkey Night Grand Prix field.

Jack Beckman's rough road to NHRA Funny Car title

Jack Beckman has survived cancer and beat the odds on starting a family. By the end of the weekend, he can check another goal off his list.
Beckman is one of three drivers in contention for the NHRA Funny Car championship at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.
He entered the weekend one point out of first place and behind his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan.
Cruz Pedregon, a two-time NHRA champion, is in third place and only 26 points out of first.
Go to ESPNLA.com for more on Beckman's rise to the top of the NHRA Funny Car class.

Photo: Jack Beckman, top, trails Matt Hagan by one point in the NHRA Funny Car standings. The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season finale is this weekend in Pomona. (NHRA)