Roush, Hendrick Favorites in Southern California
Roush, Hendrick Favorites in Southern California
Written by: Tom Jensen
Fontana, California: It’s back to normal business for the NASCAR Nextel Cup teams.
The Daytona 500 was its own animal altogether, with all the attendant drama and controversy that the year’s biggest race always seems to generate.
Yeah, there was cheating and rough driving and hard feelings at Daytona. Nothing new there. Still, Daytona is an anomaly, one of only four races run per year with restrictor plates. The 500 is the year’s most important race, but it’s a lousy barometer of who’s got good stuff and who doesn’t. The last time a 500 winner went on to win the series championship was in 1997, when Jeff Gordon turned the trick.
This week’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway is an entirely different case, however. More than half of the 36 NASCAR points races are run on so-called “intermediate” tracks, facilities that are either 1.5 miles or, like California, 2.0 miles.
The Auto Club 500 is the first intermediate race on the schedule, and drivers who are good on Sunday likely will be good at upcoming races in Las Vegas and Atlanta.Last year, Roush Racing trounced the competition at intermediate tracks, with Greg Biffle winning this race in 2005 and kicking off a hot streak that would see him win five of the season’s first 15 events. The Biff also managed a second-place finish in the Labor Day weekend race at this track.
The Roushkateers ought to be strong again this weekend, which will be a good test of the all-new 2006 Ford Fusion.
A curious footnote to the Roush gang: 2006 is the third consecutive year a Roush driver finished 43rd at Daytona. Mark Martin in 2004 and Matt Kenseth last year each finished last in the Daytona 500 and them raced into the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup at the 11th hour.
Last week, Carl Edwards was 43rd at Daytona and although this week is only the second points race of the season, he can ill-afford another bad result this Sunday.
The other NASCAR Nextel Cup Series powerhouse team, Hendrick Motorsports, was all over the board on the intermediate tracks last season. Hendrick’s Kyle Busch won here last year and Jimmie Johnson swept at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte. Johnson led Busch to a Hendrick 1-2 at Vegas last spring as well.
Perennial superstar Jeff Gordon struggled mightily on the intermediates for much of ’05, or at least until new crew chief Steve Letarte came on board late in the season.
Still, given that Hendrick Chevrolets have won five of the 11 Cup races at California (three for Gordon, one each for Johnson and Busch), they ought to be co-favorites with the Roush cars here.
Of the five drivers in the field with the best average finish at California, two drive for Roush (Edwards and Jamie McMurray); one used to drive for Roush (Kurt Busch); and two drive for Hendrick (Gordon and Johnson).
One driver who doesn’t finish especially well here is two-time and defending NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart. In nine starts here, he’s never finished higher than fourth and has five finishes outside the top 15.Southern California will also be a litmus test for how well the Dodge teams have been able to tame the balance and pitch sensitivity woes of the Charger, which last year was uncompetitive.
Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte are expected to race 2004 Dodge Intrepids this weekend, while the rest of the Dodge pilots should be in Chargers
Track facts/notes:
Ford has six victories at California while Chevrolet has five. Rusty Wallace posted the best California finish for Dodge with a third-place finish in 2003, which was duplicated by Ryan Newman in the first race of 2004.
Nine different drivers have posted NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victories at California Speedway. Jeff Gordon (three) is the only multiple race winner there.Mark Martin has five top-10 finishes, including one victory, in 11 races at California. He also failed to finish three times.
Six drivers have led almost half of the 3,004 laps raced at California. Jeff Gordon (410), Mark Martin (267), Matt Kenseth (206), Kurt Busch (186), Rusty Wallace (164), and Tony Stewart (157) have combined for 1,390 laps led.
There are 16 million people living within 150 miles of the California Speedway, which is the only superspeedway in the Southern California area.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has finished 19th or worse in his last four races at California Speedway. Two of those finishes were DNFs.
Brian Vickers leads all drivers at California with a 4.5 average start in four races.
To read more articles from Tom Jenson visit: http://www.speedtv.com/speed/bio/467/
Written by: Tom Jensen
Fontana, California: It’s back to normal business for the NASCAR Nextel Cup teams.
The Daytona 500 was its own animal altogether, with all the attendant drama and controversy that the year’s biggest race always seems to generate.
Yeah, there was cheating and rough driving and hard feelings at Daytona. Nothing new there. Still, Daytona is an anomaly, one of only four races run per year with restrictor plates. The 500 is the year’s most important race, but it’s a lousy barometer of who’s got good stuff and who doesn’t. The last time a 500 winner went on to win the series championship was in 1997, when Jeff Gordon turned the trick.
This week’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway is an entirely different case, however. More than half of the 36 NASCAR points races are run on so-called “intermediate” tracks, facilities that are either 1.5 miles or, like California, 2.0 miles.
The Auto Club 500 is the first intermediate race on the schedule, and drivers who are good on Sunday likely will be good at upcoming races in Las Vegas and Atlanta.Last year, Roush Racing trounced the competition at intermediate tracks, with Greg Biffle winning this race in 2005 and kicking off a hot streak that would see him win five of the season’s first 15 events. The Biff also managed a second-place finish in the Labor Day weekend race at this track.
The Roushkateers ought to be strong again this weekend, which will be a good test of the all-new 2006 Ford Fusion.
A curious footnote to the Roush gang: 2006 is the third consecutive year a Roush driver finished 43rd at Daytona. Mark Martin in 2004 and Matt Kenseth last year each finished last in the Daytona 500 and them raced into the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup at the 11th hour.
Last week, Carl Edwards was 43rd at Daytona and although this week is only the second points race of the season, he can ill-afford another bad result this Sunday.
The other NASCAR Nextel Cup Series powerhouse team, Hendrick Motorsports, was all over the board on the intermediate tracks last season. Hendrick’s Kyle Busch won here last year and Jimmie Johnson swept at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte. Johnson led Busch to a Hendrick 1-2 at Vegas last spring as well.
Perennial superstar Jeff Gordon struggled mightily on the intermediates for much of ’05, or at least until new crew chief Steve Letarte came on board late in the season.
Still, given that Hendrick Chevrolets have won five of the 11 Cup races at California (three for Gordon, one each for Johnson and Busch), they ought to be co-favorites with the Roush cars here.
Of the five drivers in the field with the best average finish at California, two drive for Roush (Edwards and Jamie McMurray); one used to drive for Roush (Kurt Busch); and two drive for Hendrick (Gordon and Johnson).
One driver who doesn’t finish especially well here is two-time and defending NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart. In nine starts here, he’s never finished higher than fourth and has five finishes outside the top 15.Southern California will also be a litmus test for how well the Dodge teams have been able to tame the balance and pitch sensitivity woes of the Charger, which last year was uncompetitive.
Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte are expected to race 2004 Dodge Intrepids this weekend, while the rest of the Dodge pilots should be in Chargers
Track facts/notes:
Ford has six victories at California while Chevrolet has five. Rusty Wallace posted the best California finish for Dodge with a third-place finish in 2003, which was duplicated by Ryan Newman in the first race of 2004.
Nine different drivers have posted NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victories at California Speedway. Jeff Gordon (three) is the only multiple race winner there.Mark Martin has five top-10 finishes, including one victory, in 11 races at California. He also failed to finish three times.
Six drivers have led almost half of the 3,004 laps raced at California. Jeff Gordon (410), Mark Martin (267), Matt Kenseth (206), Kurt Busch (186), Rusty Wallace (164), and Tony Stewart (157) have combined for 1,390 laps led.
There are 16 million people living within 150 miles of the California Speedway, which is the only superspeedway in the Southern California area.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has finished 19th or worse in his last four races at California Speedway. Two of those finishes were DNFs.
Brian Vickers leads all drivers at California with a 4.5 average start in four races.
To read more articles from Tom Jenson visit: http://www.speedtv.com/speed/bio/467/
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