2 fans at race injured when car goes into crowd
April 30, 2010
IPSWICH, Australia (AP)—Two spectators and a driver were taken to hospitalwith minor injuries after a car flipped into the crowd during a support race forthe V8 Supercars Ipswich 300.
Driver Kain Magro’s vehicle cartwheeled over a protective barrier atQueensland Raceway during the opening race of the Mini Challenge seriesSaturday.
A V8 Supercars spokesman said two spectators were taken by ambulance toIpswich Hospital and treated for cuts, while Magro had a neck injury.
Gordon says he and Johnson have “moved on”
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Jeff Gordon is done being angry at teammate Jimmie Johnson for two consecutive run-ins on the race track.
Gordon didn’t like the way Johnson raced him two weeks ago at Texas, and uncharacteristically expressed anger in his teammate following last week’s race at Talladega. Johnson admittedly made a mistake late in the race that contributed to Gordon wrecking.
Team owner Rick Hendrick moderated a conference call this week between the pair of four-time champions, and Gordon said Friday that everything is fine.
“It’s amazing what happens when you get Mr. H involved,” Gordon said before qualifying at Richmond International Raceway. “The three of us had a good conversation. I think we all recognize what contributed to everything that happened at Texas, as well as Talladega. We feel like the most important stuff is all the communication we have in the week and at the race track—what that contributes to our success as a group is too important to let a rivalry escalate out of control.
“It’s OK to have rivalries, we understand that, and to be competitive. We are very competitive. All that’s good, and healthy, and that’s what we talked about. He pleaded his case, and I pleaded mine, and we both said “Yep, it’s all good,” and we moved on.”
Gordon has raced with increased intensity this season and come close to Victory Lane at least three times. But while he’s still winless this year, Johnson has won three races—including the one at Las Vegas that Gordon dominated.
Gordon has never shown resentment or jealousy of Johnson, who has surpassed him as the top driver at NASCAR. But after their Talladega incident, he said on national TV that Johnson is “testing my patience.”
Gordon said Friday he doesn’t regret criticizing Johnson.
“But it is a fine line when it is your teammate, as well as your friend, and when you look at the whole organization, there’s a fine line between being emotional and it affecting the day-to-day operations,” Gordon said. “I had to look at the bigger picture, and I think Jimmie did as well. I think that is where Rick is so good in allowing us to recognize those things.”
Johnson said the notion of a potential feud has been blown out of proportion.
“At the same time, when somebody gets out of a race car and says pretty pointed things, it gives everybody the opportunity to chase it down and see what’s going on,” Johnson said. “I think the lesson in all of it is that we’re very competitive guys and emotions are high regardless of if it’s a teammate or not, and we’re both doing everything we can to win races.
“Everything’s in good shape. And we’ll just make sure we stay away from each other for a week or two and not let anything else fester this thing along and we’ll be fine.”
Keselowski dominates, wins at Richmond
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Brad Keselowski raced to his second straight NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, dominating all night and then rallying from fourth in a green-white-checker finish Friday at Richmond International Raceway.
Keselowski began rebuilding his series points lead, cut to 10 points after he won at Talladega last week and then failed post-race inspection and was docked 50 points. The victory gave Keselowski a 59-point advantage over Kevin Harvick.
Keselowski, an eight-time winner in his Nationwide career, was on pace to lead the last 192 laps, but pitted as the leader under caution with five laps to go, handing Kyle Busch the lead.
But Keselowski reasserted his dominance by powering through the field on new tires to pass Busch and teammate Justin Allgaier, who had also stayed out, to win by 0.261 seconds.
“We made the right moves today,” Keselowski said. “We had the car to beat.”
Greg Biffle rallied from fifth on the restart to finish second. Jamie McMurray was third, followed by Busch and Carl Edwards. Allgaier was hurt by his late strategy, falling to 15th.
Biffle, who also pitted before the last dash, had no chance to slow Keselowski.
“The 22 was coming like gangbusters. I held him off as long as I could,” Biffle said.
The dramatic ending served only to reinforce that Keselowski had the best car.
Earlier, he was leading by more than 3.5 seconds when a crash by Jason Leffler brought out a late caution, and gave Busch an opportunity to make amends for an earlier error on pit road that dropped him from second to sixth. This time, he went into the pits fourth and came out second, lining up to the outside of Keselowski on a restart with 57 laps left.
It hardly mattered.
“We just didn’t have anything for (Keselowski) tonight,” Busch said. “He was so stellar.”
Keselowski powered away easily, closing off the inside when Allgaier tried to get below him, and quickly found himself clear of the field, building a margin of nearly 3 seconds.
He wound up leading 189 laps in a race that went two overtime laps for 252 in all.
Busch, who swept both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races here a year ago and then won both pole positions in qualifying Friday, led the first 58 laps until Keselowski went by.
Keselowski dominates, wins at Richmond (PA SportsTicker)
April 30, 2010
By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer
RICHMOND, Va.(AP)—Brad Keselowski raced to his second straight NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, dominating all night and then rallying from fourth in a green-white-checker finish Friday at Richmond International Raceway.
Keselowski began rebuilding his series points lead, cut to 10 points after he won at Talladega last week and then failed post-race inspection and was docked 50 points. The victory gave Keselowski a 59-point advantage over Kevin Harvick.
Keselowski, an eight-time winner in his Nationwide career, was on pace to lead the last 192 laps, but pitted as the leader under caution with five laps to go, handing Kyle Busch the lead.
But Keselowski reasserted his dominance by powering through the field on new tires to pass Busch and teammate Justin Allgaier, who had also stayed out, to win by 0.261 seconds.
“We made the right moves today,” Keselowski said. “We had the car to beat.”
Greg Biffle rallied from fifth on the restart to finish second. Jamie McMurray was third, followed by Busch and Carl Edwards. Allgaier was hurt by his late strategy, falling to 15th.
Biffle, who also pitted before the last dash, had no chance to slow Keselowski.
“The 22 was coming like gangbusters. I held him off as long as I could,” Biffle said.
The dramatic ending served only to reinforce that Keselowski had the best car.
Earlier, he was leading by more than 3.5 seconds when a crash by Jason Leffler brought out a late caution, and gave Busch an opportunity to make amends for an earlier error on pit road that dropped him from second to sixth. This time, he went into the pits fourth and came out second, lining up to the outside of Keselowski on a restart with 57 laps left.
It hardly mattered.
“We just didn’t have anything for (Keselowski) tonight,” Busch said. “He was so stellar.”
Keselowski powered away easily, closing off the inside when Allgaier tried to get below him, and quickly found himself clear of the field, building a margin of nearly 3 seconds.
He wound up leading 189 laps in a race that went two overtime laps for 252 in all.
Busch, who swept both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races here a year ago and then won both pole positions in qualifying Friday, led the first 58 laps until Keselowski went by.
Gordon says he and Johnson have ‘moved on’
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Jeff Gordon is done being angry at teammate Jimmie Johnson for two consecutive run-ins on the race track.
Gordon didn’t like the way Johnson raced him two weeks ago at Texas, and uncharacteristically expressed anger in his teammate following last week’s race at Talladega. Johnson admittedly made a mistake late in the race that contributed to Gordon wrecking.
Team owner Rick Hendrick moderated a conference call this week between the pair of four-time champions, and Gordon said Friday that everything is fine.
“It’s amazing what happens when you get Mr. H involved,” Gordon said before qualifying at Richmond International Raceway. “The three of us had a good conversation. I think we all recognize what contributed to everything that happened at Texas, as well as Talladega. We feel like the most important stuff is all the communication we have in the week and at the race track—what that contributes to our success as a group is too important to let a rivalry escalate out of control.
“It’s OK to have rivalries, we understand that, and to be competitive. We are very competitive. All that’s good, and healthy, and that’s what we talked about. He pleaded his case, and I pleaded mine, and we both said “Yep, it’s all good,” and we moved on.”
Gordon has raced with increased intensity this season and come close to Victory Lane at least three times. But while he’s still winless this year, Johnson has won three races—including the one at Las Vegas that Gordon dominated.
Gordon has never shown resentment or jealousy of Johnson, who has surpassed him as the top driver at NASCAR. But after their Talladega incident, he said on national TV that Johnson is “testing my patience.”
Gordon said Friday he doesn’t regret criticizing Johnson.
“But it is a fine line when it is your teammate, as well as your friend, and when you look at the whole organization, there’s a fine line between being emotional and it affecting the day-to-day operations,” Gordon said. “I had to look at the bigger picture, and I think Jimmie did as well. I think that is where Rick is so good in allowing us to recognize those things.”
Johnson said the notion of a potential feud has been blown out of proportion.
“At the same time, when somebody gets out of a race car and says pretty pointed things, it gives everybody the opportunity to chase it down and see what’s going on,” Johnson said. “I think the lesson in all of it is that we’re very competitive guys and emotions are high regardless of if it’s a teammate or not, and we’re both doing everything we can to win races.
“Everything’s in good shape. And we’ll just make sure we stay away from each other for a week or two and not let anything else fester this thing along and we’ll be fine.”
Gordon says he and Johnson have “moved on” (PA SportsTicker)
April 30, 2010
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
RICHMOND, Va.(AP)—Jeff Gordon is done being angry at teammate Jimmie Johnson for two consecutive run-ins on the race track.
Gordon didn’t like the way Johnson raced him two weeks ago at Texas, and uncharacteristically expressed anger in his teammate following last week’s race at Talladega. Johnson admittedly made a mistake late in the race that contributed to Gordon wrecking.
Team owner Rick Hendrick moderated a conference call this week between the pair of four-time champions, and Gordon said Friday that everything is fine.
“It’s amazing what happens when you get Mr. H involved,” Gordon said before qualifying at Richmond International Raceway. “The three of us had a good conversation. I think we all recognize what contributed to everything that happened at Texas, as well as Talladega. We feel like the most important stuff is all the communication we have in the week and at the race track – what that contributes to our success as a group is too important to let a rivalry escalate out of control.
“It’s OK to have rivalries, we understand that, and to be competitive. We are very competitive. All that’s good, and healthy, and that’s what we talked about. He pleaded his case, and I pleaded mine, and we both said “Yep, it’s all good,” and we moved on.”
Gordon has raced with increased intensity this season and come close to Victory Lane at least three times. But while he’s still winless this year, Johnson has won three races – including the one at Las Vegas that Gordon dominated.
Gordon has never shown resentment or jealousy of Johnson, who has surpassed him as the top driver at NASCAR. But after their Talladega incident, he said on national TV that Johnson is “testing my patience.”
Gordon said Friday he doesn’t regret criticizing Johnson.
“But it is a fine line when it is your teammate, as well as your friend, and when you look at the whole organization, there’s a fine line between being emotional and it affecting the day-to-day operations,” Gordon said. “I had to look at the bigger picture, and I think Jimmie did as well. I think that is where Rick is so good in allowing us to recognize those things.”
Johnson said the notion of a potential feud has been blown out of proportion.
“At the same time, when somebody gets out of a race car and says pretty pointed things, it gives everybody the opportunity to chase it down and see what’s going on,” Johnson said. “I think the lesson in all of it is that we’re very competitive guys and emotions are high regardless of if it’s a teammate or not, and we’re both doing everything we can to win races.
“Everything’s in good shape. And we’ll just make sure we stay away from each other for a week or two and not let anything else fester this thing along and we’ll be fine.”
Hendrick signs Knaus, Gustafson to extensions
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Hendrick Motorsports locked crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson into long-term contract extensions Friday that keep two of the sport’s top innovators at NASCAR’s top organization.
Meanwhile, crew chief Steve Letarte said he’s in discussion with team owner Rick Hendrick to extend his contract, too. Letarte, in the final year of his current deal, said he wants to return as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief.
“I’ve spoken with Mr. Hendrick, and he’s told me his intentions, and he wants me to crew chief here and I want to crew chief here,” Letarte said before qualifying at Richmond International Raceway. “His word is good enough for me, paperwork is just paperwork. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Their futures at HMS may be intact, but it’s not exactly clear what the team’s lineup will look like.
Knaus, who has led Jimmie Johnson to the last four NASCAR championships, said “it’s very well to know that I’m going to be with the No. 48 car.” But Gustafson, currently the crew chief for Mark Martin, dodged what his role will be.
“I am going to work at Hendrick Motorsports,” Gustafson said. “Whatever it takes for us to be successful, that is what I want to do. Beyond that, no matter what it is, where I need to fill, what role I need to fill to help make this team the most successful, that is what I will do.
“I might be sweeping floors. I am pretty good at it. I am a good landscaper, too. I can make that place look good.”
That’s the first indication that Gustafson might not be the crew chief when Kasey Kahne moves into the No. 5 Chevrolet. Kahne has signed to drive for HMS in 2012, and Hendrick is still trying to figure where Kahne will drive next season and a driver-crew chief alignment.
Hendrick said last week that the No. 5 belongs to Gustafson, the team he has crew chiefed since 2005.
“As long as I’m alive, Alan is going to work for me. And the 5 car is his,” Hendrick said.
But Gustafson avoided the issue, making it difficult to predict what Hendrick actually has planned for one of his most loyal employees.
“I bleed the No. 5,” Gustafson said. “I have been here for 11 years. It is something I have put a lot of effort into. It is something I take a lot of pride in—that team. I have been with those guys for a long time. I want to be with them for a long time in the future. But who knows where it is going to go or where the future goes? I don’t.
“All I am saying is I am going to do whatever I have to do to help keep this company successful. Whatever that is, I don’t know.”
Potential scenarios for Gustafson include being paired with Kahne when he arrives at HMS, being paired with Kahne wherever he drives next year, moving into a management role at HMS, or maybe crew chief a different driver.
Gustafson did not dismiss moving to another Hendrick car, specifically when asked about potentially pairing with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the No. 88 team.
“If that’s what Mr. Hendrick and the management at Hendrick Motorsports deems to be the best fit for the company, yes,” he said after a brief laugh.
One thing that’s clear is that Gustafson, who signed a four-year extension through the 2014 season, won’t be paired with Johnson. That job is reserved for Knaus, who got a five-year extension that puts him in line with the contract Johnson and sponsor Lowe’s agreed to last November. All three elements of NASCAR’s top team are intact through 2015.
“Between Chad and I, we made a promise together a long time ago that if I’m driving, I’m driving his race cars,” Johnson said. “So I felt confident that he would always be here.”
Knaus, though, seemed to think this contract might be his last.
A tireless and sometimes obsessive worker, Knaus has learned to do a better job of pacing himself since Johnson’s championship run began. The need to step back a little became obvious after the 2005 season, when he and Johnson fell short again of winning their first title, and the bickering between driver and crew chief had grown so intense that Hendrick considered splitting them.
So it came as no surprise that Knaus thinks 2015 might be it for him.
“In five more years of crew chiefing, I’m pretty sure I’ll be about done by then,” he said. “Crew chief years are about like dog years, so I’m thinking I’m about 97 years old. I don’t think I can go much more after that.”
Hamlin relaxed at Richmond
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Denny Hamlin started Friday in a fairly relaxed mood, the stress he usually felt from racing at Richmond International Raceway lifted after last year’s breakthrough win.
Then his No. 11 Toyota slogged around the speedway all day, and Hamlin no longer seemed so at ease.
“It’s slow right now,” Hamlin said after qualifying 30th for Saturday night’s race. “It’s the only word I can really use for it.”
That’s not a position Hamlin is used to at RIR, his home track. He’s been a contender every time he’s raced here since his 2006 rookie season, but he never could find his way to Victory Lane despite very strong cars. The desire to win in front of family and friends was nerve-racking, and Hamlin definitely felt the pressure.
“Every time I came here, I was very nervous,” he said. “For practice, I was extremely nervous. Qualifying, extremely nervous. This time, for some reason, I’m just way more relaxed this weekend than what I’ve been here in the past.”
He earned that with last September’s victory, a win that gave Hamlin renewed confidence and a ton of momentum as he headed into the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Hamlin won two of the 10 Chase races and closed the season as the popular pick to dethrone four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson this year.
Although he started slowly this season, he’s picked up the pace considerably with two victories in the last four races. A fourth-place finish last weekend at Talladega continued his march through the standings, and Hamlin has jumped from 18th to ninth in just two races.
He’s done it during the most physically challenging stretch of his career, too. Hamlin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee playing basketball during the offseason and planned to postpone surgery until after the year. But when his knee began to bother him, the surgery was moved up and Hamlin had the ligament repaired in early April, two days after his win at Martinsville.
He struggled in his first race after the surgery, finishing 30th on a long night in which he had Casey Mears on standby as a replacement driver but refused to get out of the car. He bounced back a week later with a win at Texas, but was still dismayed by the lengthy recovery time.
Hamlin still walks with a limp, but has been encouraged with the progress made this week in rehabilitation.
“I feel like day-to-day, I gained about one percent, or half a percent, since the surgery,” he said. “But, for some reason, I’d say over the last four days, that number has been like five percent better. It’s taken big leaps. I didn’t think it would be this far into it that I would still feel the effects, but obviously I am.”
But he’s confident his knee is not affecting his on-track performance.
“It hampers everyday life and weekly life, but nothing here on the race track,” he said.
Still, the 0.75-mile Richmond oval could present a problem for Hamlin, who will have to use more brake than he’s had to while racing at Texas and Talladega.
“This will be not as bad as Phoenix on it, but it will definitely be much harder than where we’ve been the last two or three weeks,” he said. “I will be interested to see what kind of pressure I can put on the brake here at Richmond.”
That wasn’t the problem, though, with Friday’s on-track sessions. His Joe Gibbs Racing entry just wasn’t at its usual pace, and Hamlin couldn’t figure out why.
“I’m just running as hard as the car will let me, and it just won’t take any more speed,” he said. “So, we’ve just got to figure that part out.”
Briscoe ends Power’s pole run at Kansas (PA SportsTicker)
April 30, 2010
By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Kan.(AP)—A shift to the ovals meant a shift in power in the IndyCar Series.
One of the last drivers of the day, Australian Ryan Briscoe was the fastest qualifier at Kansas Speedway on Friday, ending Will Power’s bid for a record-tying fourth consecutive pole.
Briscoe had a four-lap average of 212.145 mph and will start on the front row Saturday with defending champion Scott Dixon in the 300-mile race on the 1 1/2-mile oval.
Defending series champion Dario Franchitti will start on the second row with Hideki Mutoh, who moved up after Dan Wheldon’s time was disallowed for driving under the white line.
Heavy rain and hail washed out the early practice session and pushed back the second, leaving drivers an hour of prep time before qualifying.
Kyle Busch wins sixth career pole in Cup series
April 30, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Kyle Busch has won the pole for Saturday night’s NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway with a fast lap at 127.077 mph.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned the lap as the 19th of 47 cars attempting to qualify, easily beating David Reutimann for the top spot. Reutimann’s speed was 126.618 mph.
The pole is just the sixth of Busch’s career in NASCAR’s premier series, and gives him his choice of pit stalls as he defends his victory in this race a year ago.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who said the air has been cleared in their well-publicized fued of the past two weeks, will start in the second row, followed by Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray.
