Stewart wins at Fontana for first time in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career

Tony Stewart won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday. He won the Pepsi Max 400 leading the final 11 laps of the race that included a two-car crash on the frontstretch that took out Kurt Busch and David Ragan.

Stewart posted his 11th top-10 finish in 19 Cup races at Auto Club Speedway.

It was a good day for Stewart in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings as well. He moved from 10th to fifth place and trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 107 points after four races in the 10-race Chase playoffs.

“This is what they pay me to do,” Stewart said. “I mean, I’m supposed to do this every week, or at least try. You know, it’s a situation where we were at and as many points as we were out and have been out since day one, we have the flexibility to just look forward and not worry about if we take a gamble and it doesn’t work.”

As good a day as it was for Stewart, it was an even better day for Johnson. He finished third and saw his three-race winning streak in fall races snapped at Auto Club Speedway.

But Johnson was able to extend his lead over Denny Hamlin, who finished eighth, and took another step toward an unprecedented fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in a row.

Johnson entered the race at Auto Club Speedway with an eight-point lead over Hamlin. He has a 36-point edge of Hamlin with six races to go in the Chase.

Seven drivers were within 80 points of Johnson in the Chase standings before the race in Fontana. Three drivers are within 85 points of Johnson after Fontana.

Kevin Harvick maintained his hold on third place in the Chase standings. He finished seventh at Fontana and is 54 points out of first.

Jeff Gordon actually made up some ground. He finished ninth, moved up a spot to fourth place in the Chase standings, and trails Johnson by 85 points.

It was not such a good day for four of the Chase drivers, three of them from Roush Fenway Racing. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle all finished 30th or worse. Kenseth, Edwards and Biffle, the Roush Fenway Racing trio, fell to the bottom of the Chase standings.

Biffle was the first to withdraw after his engine failed early in the race. He pulled off the track on lap 40 and was not able to return to the race. He finished 40th.

Edwards was the next to go with an ignition problem midway through the race. He took his car to the pits for repairs and returned, but he was down 15 laps.

“It’s definitely out of my control, but my guys build great engines,” Edwards said. “Like I said, there are so many moving parts in a race car.  You’ve got to run well enough to absorb these kind of days. We’ve run really well. We’ve got six races left and we’re 162 points back, so over six races that’s not a lot of points per race, so I think we can do it. We just have to keep digging.”

Kenseth was the last car on the lead lap and led the twice for 29 laps, but finished in 29th.

“It was up and down,” Kenseth said. “I felt like we ran really good before the track got rubbered up and, kind of like Kansas, we lost the handle there in the middle pretty bad. Jimmy and Chip made some good adjustments and really brought the car to life two or three runs from the end, but on the second-to-last restart I could feel the engine wasn’t running right. I had something wounded that was getting ready to break, so I just held on to what we could.”

Busch blew his engine on lap 155 and had to withdraw from the race. He finished 35th and dropped from seventh to ninth in the Chase standings.

“Just engine failure, apparently knocked us out of the race,” Busch said. “They guys did a great job there adjusting on the car – getting it a lot better for us. We had something there coming back forward and got to fifth, and it just blew up. Real unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

Clint Bowyer had a bittersweet second-place finish. He finished one spot ahead of Johnson and led four times for 40 laps, but despite the strong finish, he only gained five points in the Chase standings. He entered the race in Fontana in 12th place, 252 points out of first. He leaves Fontana in 12th place, 247 points out of first.

Mark Martin led a race-high 41 laps and finished sixth.

NASCAR winless streaks

As hard as it is to believe, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards each have some pretty long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winless streaks.
Gordon has gone 58 Cup races without a win. He is a three-time winner at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, site of today's Pepsi Max 400. His last win in Fontana came in 2004.
When asked if he knew what it takes to win at Auto Club Speedway, he said, "I don't know. Ask me after Sunday because it's been a while since we've won one anywhere and this track is a tricky one."
Tricky is a relative term. It seems the driver who can get out front at Auto Club Speedway can break away from he rest of the field. The drivers left behind have to work to get to the front.
Still Gordon insists track conditions can present some challenges.
"It's slick. The grooves move around during the race and we haven't had the success here recently that we've had in the past," Gordon said. "Sometimes it takes fuel mileage. Sometimes it takes having a good car on the restarts. Sometimes pit strategy, but a lot of different things. I'll take a fast car anywhere we go, that always help."
Edwards hasn't won a Cup race in his past 65 starts. He is also a former winner at Fontana, coming in the February race in 2008. He is coming off a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway last weekend.
"I believe last week was a good test for us," Edwards said. "That Kansas race track is a lot like the Auto Club Speedway. It's going to be a really hot, slippery race on Sunday. It looks like the temperatures are going to be pretty high. I feel like our team has been marching towards this points lead just little bits at a time and I think is an opportunity for us to do that again."

Photo: California native Jeff Gordon is fifth in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup standings after three races. He starts 17th in today's Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. (Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Tanner Foust wins Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Tanner Foust, a driver from Laguna Beach, beat Vaughn Gittin to win the Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Foust entered the Formula Drift competition dubbed Title Fight as the fifth-seeded driver in the 32-car field.
He beat Jodin LeJeune in the first round, Conrad Grunewald in the second round, Justin Pawlak from Long Beach in the quarterfinals, Darren McNamara in the semifinals before taking out Gittin in the final.
McNamara was the top qualifier. He raced against Michihiro Takatori in the third-place race. McNamara crashed and ended up in fourth place. Takatori completed his run through the course and was awarded third place.
Foust and Gittin raced four times to determine the champion of the seventh and final race of the 2010 Formula Drift season.
Gittin wrapped up the Formula Drift championship earlier in the day when he won his first-round race against Nikolay Konstantinov. Gittin beat Taka Aono, Matt Powers and Takatori to reach the final against Foust.

Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Vaughn Gittin won his first Formula Drift championship at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Gittin beat Nikolay Konstantinov in the first round of the Title Fight Formula Drift competition, the final round of the Formula Drift season.
It was the first Formula Drift championship for Gittin, who started his professional career in 2004. He was fifth last year and eighth in 2008 in the Formula Drift standings.
Daijiro Yoshihara entered the final round of the Formula Drift season in second place in the series standings. He earned the third seed in the round of 32 field, but lost to Matt Field, the No. 30 seed, in the first round.
Tanner Foust was the fifth seed and beat Jodin LeJeune in the first round.
More from Irwindale later....

Jimmie Johnson reaches dynasty status

Jimmie Johnson has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships in a row. He has the lead in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship after three races.
Heading into Sunday's Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Johnson has an eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin.
Johnson, the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, has already broken the NASCAR record for most consecutive championships. One more and his team will join the likes of the New York Yankees and Montreal Canadiens. Perhaps one day his team might surpass the UCLA Bruins and their seven straight NCAA men's basketball titles or the Boston Celtics and their eight NBA championships in a row.
Go to ESPN.com and read what other drivers and owners are saying about Johnson's championship streak.

 

Photo: No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus, left, directs his team in the garage as four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series defending champion and five-time Auto Club Speedway race winner Jimmie Johnson looks on during practice Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers take different paths to success

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

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

Each has his strengths and both styles have produced wins.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MK Kanke wins SRL Southwest Tour Series race at Irwindale

MK Kanke won the Stockcar Racing League Southwest Tour Series race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night. It was Kanke’s fifth career win at Irwindale.
Jonathon Gomez finished fourth and took over the lead in the SRL Southwest Tour Series standings. He entered the race seven points behind Derek Thorn.
Thorn, who had the fifth fastest qualifying time, was involved in a three-car crash on lap 19 and drove to the pits for repairs. He returned later in the race, but finished in 27th place.
Jason Gilbert was second, followed by Ryan Foster in third.
“There were quite a few wrecks,” said Gilbert, a 28-year-old driver from Dublin, Calif. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Gomez, a driver from Twin Falls, Idaho, set the fastest time in qualifying and led a race-high 53 laps. He took the lead on lap 19 and held it until lap 72.
Kanke, a driver from Frazier Park and the reigning SRL Southwest Tour Series champion, took the lead from Gomez on lap 73 and held it for the last 27 laps of the race. Kanke was able to maintain his lead through two caution periods, the last coming on lap 98 when Ross Strmiska ran into the turn one wall.
The race was stopped twice. The first red flag came out on lap 45 when Troy Ermish and Carlos Vieira crashed. The second red flag came out on lap 59 when Jacob Gomes crashed into the turn one wall.
Kanke missed the SRL Southwest Tour Series race at Irwindale in July. He entered Saturday night's race in 15th place in the SRL Southwest Tour standings.
Gomez won the race at Irwindale in July.
Donny St. Ours of Upland won the Legend Cars race, his first of the season. St. Ours was making only his third Legend Cars start of the season. He was coming off a seventh-place finish two weeks ago.
Chad Schug of Oak Hills was second, followed by Darren Amidon of Santee in third.
Brent Sheidmantle of Alta Loma, the leader in the Legend Cars standings at the track, was fifth.
Dylan Lupton from Wilton won the S2 stock car race, his third of the year. Michael Lewis of Laguna Beach was second and Andrew Porter of La Verne was third.
Lewis is a two-time winner in the USAC Western Ford Focus Midgets this season. He was making his S2 stock car debut at Irwindale.
Lupton took the lead in the S2 stock car standings at Irwindale. He has a six-point lead over Roman Lagudi from Las Vegas. Lagudi was fourth in the S2 stock car race. He and Lupton entered the race tied for  the lead in the S2 stock car standings.
Ryan Cansdale from Laguna Beach won the Bandoleros race. It was his fourth win of the season and his second in a row.
Blaine Perkins of Bakersfield was second, followed by Christian McGhee of La Verne in third.
Trevor Huddleston, the leader in the Bandoleros standings, was sixth.

Mike Johnson wins second straight NASCAR Late Model race at Irwindale

It looks like Mike Johnson is poised to put together another winning streak in the NASCAR Late Model division at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Johnson won the Late Model race at Irwindale on Saturday night. It was his second in a row and his third of the season. He won four in a row last year and five of the last nine races. Johnson said he would like to win the rest of the races in the Late Model season at Irwindale.
“That’s my plan,” said Johnson, a driver from Covina. “I always think I’m gonna win when I come here. I guess that’s a good thing to have.”
Nick Joanides, the reigning Late Model champion at Irwindale, was second and R.J. Johnson, the leader in the Late Model standings at the track, was third.
“I felt like the meat in the Johnson sandwich,” Joanides said after the race. “We kept it close. R.J.’s a great racer. We chipped away two points off the 22 we lost last week.”
R.J. Johnson saw his lead in the Late Model standings trimmed to 24 points over Joanides. There are four races remaining in the Late Model season.
In other races at the track, Darren Amidon of Santee won the Legend Cars race, his third in a row. He has won seven of the past eight Legend Cars races. His worst finish in that stretch was a runner-up.
Chad Schug of Oak Hills was second, followed by Tony Green of Oak Hills in third.
Brent Sheidmantle of Alta Loma, the leader in the Legend Cars standings at the track, was sixth. He has a 34-point lead over Schug.
Gerrit Cromsigt of Saugus won the NASCAR Super Stocks race. It was his fourth win of the season and his fourth win in the past five Super Stocks races.
Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita, the leader in the Super Stocks standings, was second. Eric Sunness of Chatsworth was third.
Daryl Scoggins of Sunland won the NASCAR Mini Stocks race. It was his second win in a row and his sixth of the season.
Ryan Bragdon of Beamont was second, followed by Richie Altman of Wildomer in third.
Scoggins leads the Mini Stocks standings by 16 points over Jacob Rogers of Riverside. Rogers was seventh out of eight cars in the Mini Stocks race.
Jeff Williams of Newbury Park won the Southwest Tour Trucks Series race. It was his fourth win of the season.
Neil Conrad of Arcadia was second followed by Brady Helm of Huntington Beach in third.
Michael Zimmerman of Hemet, the leader in the Southwest Tour Truck Series standings, was fourth.

David Mayhew turns flat tire into 5th-place finish at Colorado

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Colorado National Speedway

Eric Holmes won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Colorado National Speedway on Saturday night. It was his second West Series win in a row and his fourth of the season.
Paulie Harraka finished second. He won the race at Colorado National Speedway last year. He needed a late surge to pass Luis Martinez Jr. as the race winded down for second place.
Martinez won the pole and turned in the first podium finish in his West Series career. The leader in the rookie standings also led his first laps in a West Series race.

Eric Holmes wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race in Colorado

Eric Holmes won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Colorado National Speedway on Saturday night. It was his second win in a row and his fourth of the season.
Holmes is the leader in the West Series standings. The two-time West Series champ from Escalon, Calif., started on the front row next to pole sitter Luis Martinez Jr. of Long Beach. Holmes took the lead on lap 3 and survived a late surge by teammate Paulie Harraka who finished second.
"That was a hard run there, a lot of fun, really fun," said Holmes, driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing. "This track creates a good two-wide, three-wide racing."
Martinez finished third, behind Holmes and Harraka.
"The car stayed about the same the whole day from the time it came from the shop," said Martinez, the rookie driver of the No.6 Ford for Bob Bruncati.."It unloaded fast. Right before qualifying, my guys told me just sail it into the corner because it looks like the track's got a lot of grip. That's what I did. It ended up paying off real well for us."
Holmes leads the West Series standings by 114 points over David Mayhew with three races remaining in the West Series schedule. The next race is Sept. 12 at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

Photo: Eric Holmes won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Colorado National Speedway, his fourth of the season. 

Michael Self looks to get ahead in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West

Michael Self is second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. He is four points behind leader Luis Martinez Jr. with four races remaining.
But Self is more focused on winning his first West Series race than he is in winning the rookie of the year award.
"It’s still anyone’s battle," Self said about the rookie race. "We have to go through these next four races and be consistent and be smart and not let anything push us out of the way. Hopefully we can gain a couple more spots in the points standings, which I’d really like, and if we can win the rookie of the year deal that would be awesome too."
When Self isn't racing in the West Series, he is taking classes at the University of Utah. The 19-year-old  from Park City, Utah, took some business classes over the winter term. He said he wants to change his focus this winter and take some psychology classes instead.
Self has had some good races, but not necessarily the best results. He understands it's part of the growing pains of being a rookie in the West Series.
"It’s just kind of been that way throughout the season," Self said. "Every race I feel like we’ve been awesome at. We’ve run good at, maybe I made a mistake. It’s not always been the crew guys. There’s no way for me to put the blame on anyone. It’s just paying my dues and learning those rookie things."
Go to NASCAR Home Tracks for more on Self and his rookie season in the West Series.

Photo: The No. 88 car for Michael Self goes through inspection at Colorado National Speedway before NASCAR K&N Pro Series West practice at the track.

Eric Holmes tops NASCAR Hunter Index

Eric Holmes, the leader in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings, earned the top spot in the NASCAR Hunter Index for the developmental drivers.
Holmes, a driver from Escalon, Calif., won the K&N Pro Series West race at Montana Raceway Park and was second in the race at Portland International Raceway in Oregon. The two-time West Series champion has three wins this year and has a 79-point lead with four races to go.
The next West Series race is Saturday at Colorado National Speedway.
No other driver from the West Coast made it in the top 10 of the Hunter Index. David Mayhew, a driver from Bakersfield and the second-place driver in the West Series standings, earned an honorable mention. Patrick Long, a driver from Thousand Oaks who won the West Series race at Portland International Raceway, also earned an honorable mention.
Antonio Perez, the leader in the NASCAR Mexico Series, came in at No. 8 in the Hunter Index. 
Go to NASCAR Home Tracks for more on the Hunter Index.

The Heat, scheduling hurt Fontana track attendance for NASCAR races - ESPN Los Angeles

The Heat, scheduling hurt Fontana track attendance for NASCAR races - ESPN Los Angeles

Auto Club Speedway has hosted two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since 2004. It started hosting a Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship race last year.
The track will only have one Cup race in 2011 and it won't have a Chase race.
The realigned Sprint Cup Series schedule has a bunch of changes. The Cup race at Auto Club Speedway will be in March. The second race of the season, which used to be at Auto Club Speedway, will be at Phoenix International Raceway. The first race in the Chase will be at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois. Kansas Speedway will have two Cup races. Kentucky Speedway will host a Cup race for the first time.
Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker said she expects her race track will have two Cup races again. But she said she isn't so sure she wants a Chase race if and when a second date is added to the NASCAR Cup schedule.
Roger Penske, whose Penske Motorsports Inc. bought the land and completed building the track in Fontana in 1997, said adding new venues to the Cup schedule is a good idea.
Go to ESPN LA.com for more on the Sprint Cup Series schedule and Auto Club Speedway losing one of its races.

Photo: Jimmie Johnson won the first Chase race at Auto Club Speedway in 2009. Auto Club Speedway lost one of its races and won't host a Chase race in 2011. (Getty Images)

Eric Holmes wins NASCAR K&N Pro Serie West race in Montana

Eric Holmes has been looking forward to racing on some of the short tracks on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule. He won at the tiny Montana Raceway Park on Saturday night and padded, if ever so slightly, his lead in the West Series standings.
Holmes won the inaugural race at the quarter-mile, high-banked oval in northwest Montana. It was his third win of the season and his first since winning at Douglas County Speedway in Oregon in June.
Holmes started seventh and had to work his way through the field to take the lead. The race went 103 laps caution free before the first yellow flag came out for debris. After that, a series of caution periods bunched up the field and helped Holmes close in on David Mayhew.
Mayhew led the most laps in the race. But Holmes took the lead on lap 113 and held it for the final 38 laps of the race.
"The late yellows there were a little nerve racking having to go through those restarts again," Holmes said. "The car was real good on the bottom, got some great restarts, brought the NAPA Toyota back to victory lane."
Mayhew finished second, followed by Moses Smith in third. Smith was able to avoid a late crash between Travis Bennett, Paulie Harraka and Greg Pursley.
Pursley won the pole and led the first 18 laps of the race. Mayhew took the lead on lap 19 and held it for 94 laps. Mayhew and Holmes raced side-by-side over the last 20 laps, but Holmes was able to pull away at the end.
Jonathon Gomez finished fourth, followed by Gary Lewis in fifth. Lewis, a driver from Bothel, Wash., won the Best of the West Tundra 125 late model race at Montana Raceway Park earlier in the night.

Live from Montana Raceway Park

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West is making its first visit to Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell. The tiny quarter-mile oval is being compared to the old Mesa Marin track in Bakersfield by some of the drivers.
Greg Pursley won the pole for the race. It was his second pole of the K&N Pro Series West season.
Rookie driver Justin Funkhouser was the last driver to arrive at the track. His truck towing his car and carrying his crew overheated in Nevada and he didn't make it to the track until the middle of the second practice session on Friday.
Jack Sellers is making his 238th career West Series start, the second most among West Series drivers.

Photo: Greg Pursley won the pole for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Montana Raceway Park.

Deegan prepares for X Games, NASCAR

Brian Deegan is heading to this weekend's X Games entered in three events and considering adding a fourth. He has also started pursuing a career in NASCAR.
Deegan will be competing in Rally Car Racing, the new SuperRally and Speed and Style at X Games. He has been invited to compete in Step Up. When interviewed on Wednesday, Deegan said he was undecided on Step Up.
When it comes to NASCAR, however, Deegan has no reservations. He started racing late model stock cars at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale and wants to move up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West by November.
He isn't the the first X Games veteran to delve into NASCAR territory. Ricky Carmichael started racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series a couple years ago.
Deegan said he has talked to Carmichael about the challenges NASCAR present.
"My timetable for NASCAR would be coming through the ranks, like Ricky Carmichael did," Deegan said last week from his Metal Mulisha compound  in Temecula. "I talked to him years ago. He’s like, you gotta do local races, these guys are fast and this is all they do. It’s a harsh reality starting over at something. For me, fortunately I’ve had the opportunity given to me and I want to take it."
Deegan has been in two NASCAR Super Late Model races at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He plans on returning to the track for a few more races in August before making the jump to the West Series at Phoenix International Raceway.
"I’ll go as I feel right. If it takes two years, oh well. If it takes three, it takes three," Deegan said. "I’m going to go as I feel safe and progress. Obviously I’d like to be there right now, but that’s not how it is."

Photo: Brian Deegan will be competing in Rally Cars and Speed and Style at Summer X Games 16. He is also pursuing a career in NASCAR.

Jonathon Gomez wins SRL Southwest Tour race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Jonathon Gomez survived a five-lap shootout and won the SRL Southwest Tour Spears Manufacturing 100 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Gomez, a driver from Twin Falls, Idaho, took the lead on lap 17 and held it for the next 81 laps. Derek Thorn took the lead on lap 99, but Gomez beat Thorn to the finish line on the last lap and won by 0.012 seconds. It was the second SRL Southwest Tour win of the season for Gomez.
“Very nerve wracking,” Gomez said after the race. “Every time we saw a yellow we were pretty nervous. Before I knew it (Thorn) was in third. I was pretty surprised.”
Thorn came in second and Greg Voigt was third. Rookie Jacob Gomes was fourth, followed by Kyle Cattanach in fifth.
Gomez was in the lead when a five-car crash in turn 2 brought out a yellow caution flag and slowed the field on lap 95. It was the second caution period in the final 15 laps of the race.
Carlos Vieira, Joe Farre and Rex Lockwood crashed on lap 85, bunching up the field with 15 laps to go in the race. Gomez was in the lead, followed by Ryan Foster in second and Vidovich in third. Rookie Jacob Gomes was in fourth and Justin Westmoreland was in fifth when the race resumed on lap 88.
Thorn, a driver from Bakersfield, had worked his way to the front of the pack after falling back midway through the race. He set fast time in qualifying. Vieira, a driver from Livingston, the ninth fastest qualifier, started the race on the pole on the invert.
Auggie Vidovich of Lakeside took the lead on the first lap of the race. He stayed out front for the first 10 laps of the race. Foster, from Redding, took over the lead on lap 11 and held it for six laps before Gomez passed him.
Gomez, a regular on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, is traveling between Portland, Ore., and Irwindale for races over the weekend. The West Series is racing at Portland International Raceway on Sunday.
Gomez is third in the West Series standings with two top-five finishes in six races. He has also won the SRL Southwest Tour race at Stockton 99 Speedway on June 12 and entered the race at Irwindale in third place in the Southwest Tour standings.
Jim Pettit II, the leader in the SRL Southwest Tour standings, finished 13th. Vidovich, who won the West Series race at Irwindale on July 3, finished 16th.
Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga won his eighth straight NASCAR Super Trucks race of the season. He is undefeated in the Super Trucks at Irwindale in 2010. Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill was second and Jeff Peterson of Riverside was third.
Partridge increased his lead in the Super Trucks standings at the track to 56 points over Todd Cameron of Monrovia. Cameron, who has been the runner-up to Partridge four times, took a big hit in the standings. He finished 17th. Matt Kimball of Mission Viejo, the third-place driver in the Super Truck standings, had a bad night too. He finished 18th in the 21-truck field.
Mintey, a two-time champion in the Super Trucks at Irwindale, had his best finish of the season.
Brent Scheidelmantle of Alta Loma won the Legend Cars race. It was his third win of the season and snapped Darren Amidon’s four-race winning streak.
Amidon, a driver from Santee, finished second, followed by Chad Schug of Oak Hills in third.
Scheidelmantle increased his lead in the Legend Cars standings at the track to 16 points over Schug.
Dylan Lupton of Wilton won the S2 stock car race, his first of the season. Roman Lugadi of Las Vegas was second, followed by Joe Anderson of Valencia in third.
Lupton is two points behind Lugadi for the lead in the S2 stock car standings at Irwindale.

Photo: Derek Thorn finished second in the SRL Southwest Tour race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night. He was 0.012 seconds behind race winner Jonathon Gomez.

Martinez Tackling Steep Learning Curve | NASCAR Home Tracks

Martinez Tackling Steep Learning Curve | NASCAR Home Tracks

Luis Martinez Jr. has been asked to take the steering wheel of one of the more successful teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The rookie driver from Long Beach is driving the No. 6 Sunrise Ford for Bob Bruncati, the same team that won the West Series championship with Jason Bowles as its driver in 2009.
Martinez said his rookie season has had its share of ups and downs. He is looking forward to the second half of the season, especially the road courses.
The next race on the West Series schedule is at Portland International Raceway, one of two road courses that remain on the West Series schedule.

Photo: Luis Martinez Jr. is the leader in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings after six races.

Johnson returns to Victory Lane in NASCAR Super Late Models at Irwindale

Justin Johnson of Las Vegas won the NASCAR Super Late Model race and extended his lead in the Super Late Model standings at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
It was Johnson’s sixth win of the season and his fifth in the past six Super Late Model races at the track. He has a 34-point lead over his Vision Aviation Racing teammate Dusty Davis after 12 races.
“They remind me every week. We’re just out for points right now,” Johnson said.
Johnson started from the pole and led all 50 laps of the Super Late Model race. Travis Thirkettle of Fillmore was second. Randel King of Fullerton was third.
Davis finished sixth. It was the first time he finished outside the top five since the second race of the season.
Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga was fourth and Luis Martinez Jr. of Long Beach, a rookie in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, was fifth. Partridge has won all seven of the NASCAR Super Trucks races at Irwindale this season.
Johnson raced in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Toyota Speedway last weekend. The Super Late Models have a break for the next few weeks. The next time they are scheduled to race is July 31.
“Long couple weeks,” Johnson said. “Glad we have a break now.”
Joey Licata Jr. of Van Nuys won the ASA Trucks race. Mike Herda of Las Vegas was second, followed by Jimmy Putman of Corona in third.
Joe Anderson of Valencia won the S2 stock car race, his second win of the season.
Nick Johnston of Mission Viejo, making his second start in the S2 stock cars, was second. Roman Lagudi of Las Vegas was third.
Lagudi, the leader in the S2 stock car standings, posted his fourth podium finish in eight races. He has a four-point lead over Dylan Lupton of Wilton.
Gerrit Cromsigt of Saugus won the NASCAR Super Stocks race, his third in a row. Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita was second, followed by Eric Sunness of Chatsworth in third.
DeLong leads the Super Stocks standings. He has a 48-point lead over Bryan Harrell of Riverside after nine races.
Billy Ziemann of Bloomington won the Figure 8s race. Steve Stewart of Long Beach was second and Andy Schoening of Corona was third.