Kahne Grabs Pole In Kansas

 

Kahne wins pole for Banquet 400
Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Shaking off the effects of an early exit last Sunday at Dover, Kasey Kahne blistered the field in Friday's qualifying for Sunday's Banquet 400 Nextel Cup race at Kansas Speedway.


Kahne turned the fast lap of the day in 30.273 seconds (178.377 mph) to beat Evernham Motorsports teammate Scott Riggs for the pole by .075 seconds. The next-to-last driver to make a qualifying attempt, Riggs ran a lap at 177.936 mph to earn his front-row starting position.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson (176.887 mph) and Brian Vickers (176.846 mph) will start side-by-side on the second row.

In addition to Kahne and Johnson, the other competitors in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup qualified as follows: Matt Kenseth 8th, points leader Jeff Burton 10th, Jeff Gordon 11th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12th, Kyle Busch 13th, Kevin Harvick 14th, Mark Martin 19th and Denny Hamlin 25th.

There was a difference of nearly four miles per hour between Kahne's pole speed and Hamlin's qualifying effort at 174.390 mph.

For Kahne, it was a remarkable turnaround from last Sunday's 38th-place finish, the result of an early wreck with Tony Stewart. Kahne left that race 182 points behind Burton in the points standings.

But the passage of few days has restored Kahne's optimism, especially since he's driving the same car that has won five times in seven races of use this season.

more on Kasey Kahne winning the pole in KC

Kahne Feels He Can Do...If?

 

Kahne Not Giving Up on Championship
By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- After further review, Kasey Kahne figures he still has a shot at the championship. But he knows it's a long shot.

The third-year driver was caught up in Tony Stewart's spinout at Dover International Speedway last weekend, and heads into the race Sunday at Kansas Speedway ninth in the Nextel Cup standings - 182 points behind leader Jeff Burton.

To get back in the race, Kahne will have to do more than just drive hard and avoid trouble. He'll also need several of his rivals to find their own bad luck.

"I think we're a long ways from winning the championship," Kahne said. "I think that, you know, with the right breaks and the performance that we're capable of doing, we can get right back in it."

Kahne was more upbeat about his championship chances this week than he was in the immediate aftermath of the Dover incident, which caused him to declare, "No more championship."

But the short history of NASCAR's postseason-style championship format would suggest that Kahne's first reaction was the correct one.

Yes, Kurt Busch had a 42nd-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway during his championship run in 2004. But Busch held the points lead going into that race and didn't lose it afterward.

And last year, Stewart's worst finish in the final 10 races was 25th. That's why Stewart expressed what seemed to be legitimate remorse after his spinout took Kahne out.

more on Kahne's chances winning the NEXTEL Cup

Talks Under Way To Change Nextel All-Star Race

 

NASCAR Mulls Changes to All-Star Format

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR's championship-deciding system isn't the only thing about to be changed. The annual All-Star race is also being examined by series officials for tweaks to its format, The Associated Press has learned.

Lowe's Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler confirmed Tuesday that talks are under way to make changes to the Nextel All-Star Challenge. The race has been run at the suburban Charlotte track 20 of its 21 years.

"We're getting together in the next few weeks with NASCAR and Nextel to discuss some ways to tweak this thing," Wheeler said. "The bottom line is we are trying to find a way to put together 2 1/2 hours of absolutely great racing."

The All-Star race currently is a 90-lap invitational, non-points race for Nextel Cup drivers. The winner gets a $1 million payout.

Click here for more changes to All-Star race

Dover Has Dupont On Pole

 

Gordon Ends His Longest Pole Drought

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Jeff Gordon felt like a rookie. In one of those hard-to-believe stats except for maybe the most diehard Gordon fans, the four-time NASCAR champion had gone 47 races without a pole - the longest drought of his career.

All it took was a trip to top sponsor DuPont's backyard to put him back on top. Gordon took the top spot with a lap of 156.162 mph Friday at Dover International Speedway, his first pole since June 24, 2005, on the road course at Sonoma.

"It feels like my first pole ever," Gordon said. "When it goes by for a while, you feel like you lost that magic touch or that combination that it took to get on poles."

Gordon is fourth in the points standings heading into the second race of NASCAR's 10-man Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. Maybe a new chassis for the No. 24 Chevrolet this weekend helped him.

"(It's) really the best car we have out there right now for this type of race track," he said.

Other than Gordon, it wasn't really a strong qualifying effort for the other nine drivers in the Chase. Series leader Kevin Harvick will start 25th. Matt Kenseth enters third and will start third. Mark Martin was the only other driver in the top-10 of the points standings (sixth) who will start on the first five rows (ninth).

read more on Jeff Gordon winning Dover pole.

Look for "Smoke" at Dover, Tony Stewart is Fired Up!

 

Stewart looks for redemption Heading To Dover
By Mike Arnig
Joe Gibbs Racing,September 21

Tony Stewart's last visit to Dover (Del.) International Speedway was a lot like being stranded in an airport - nothing was comfortable, and your mode of transportation was inaccessible.

The two-time and reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion came to Dover in June with a non-displaced fracture at the tip of his right scapula. Back-to-back crashes the week earlier in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at Charlotte (N.C.) were the culprit. The injury didn't require surgery. The only remedy was rest and time.

Neither is available at Dover. Nicknamed the "Monster Mile," Dover can chew up and spit out green rookies and savvy veterans alike. It's indiscriminate, with its 24 degrees of banking and bumpy, concrete surface making Dover one of the more physically demanding tracks on the series' 36-race schedule.

As a result, Stewart had to stand on the sideline for much of the Dover race weekend while veteran NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd piloted Stewart's familiar orange and black No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Stewart made only a handful of practice laps, as it was Rudd who qualified the No. 20 and then dialed it in for 400 laps at Dover.

To earn the points for whatever finish Rudd would post, Stewart started the race, and under the first caution period on lap 38, ceded the wheel to Rudd. Considering the circumstances, the 25th place result was a respectable one.

Three months later with the series set to return to Dover for Sunday's 400-miler, Stewart is 100 percent healthy and 100 percent determined.

For the first time in his eight-year Nextel Cup career, Stewart will not finish among the top-10 in points. He missed the Chase for the Championship by a scant 16 points following the cutoff race Sept. 9 at Richmond (Va.). While disappointed with not being a part of the 10-driver, 10-race Chase for the Championship, Stewart has turned that disappointment into steely determination.

If a championship can't be won, races can.

more on Tony Stewart at Dover

Gibbs Brought Football To NASCAR, Could Roush Do The Same With Baseball?

 

Report: Boston Red Sox company thinking about spending 'something north of $50 million' for share of Roush Racing
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Will red socks soon become part of the official Roush Racing uniform?

Geoff Smith, president of the NASCAR team, confirmed this week that Roush Racing has “entered into discussions to sell an interest in Roush Racing to Fenway Sports Group.”

Fenway Sports Group is the sports marketing subsidiary of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, whose owner, John Henry, is an avid racing fan.

Henry has visited New Hampshire International Speedway several times, so when he was seen with Jack Roush at the track on Sunday and sat on Mark Martin’s pit box for the Sylvania 300, it didn’t necessarily mean there was something up.

But, apparently, there was something up.

Smith said that if Roush and Henry’s discussions should “ultimately materialize into a definitive agreement, Roush Racing will provide further information on the topic.”

Already, though, the story is big news in Boston. The Boston Globe reported Wednesday morning that Fenway Sports Group could be looking to buy as much as 50 percent of the Roush team “for something north of $50 million.”

more on Roush Racing and The Boston Red Sox

Mark Martin In The RYR #88 Ford For 2007?

 

CUP: Yates Near Deal For No. 88
Written by: Tom Jensen

Despite recent dire predictions that he may have to shutter his venerable No. 88 Ford Fusion next year for lack of a sponsor, car owner Robert Yates told SPEEDTV.com on Saturday that he’s close to inking a deal for next season — and he hopes the driver of the No. 88 in 2007 will be Mark Martin.

“From my side, we’re getting pretty optimistic,” Yates said following “Happy Hour” practice for the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway. “We’re given and getting some good (sponsor) opportunities … I think it’s going to happen, and I’m anxious and I’m happy that we’re getting the cars better. … I think it’s all going to end up on the positive. I think I may have a job for a while longer.”

Last week at Richmond, Yates said he might have to close the No. 88 team down next year, because he didn’t have a sponsor, but events of the last few days have changed his mind about 2007. Asked if things had changed in the last week, Yates said, “Big time,” adding, “I turned upbeat this week.”

Asked how close he was to a sponsor deal, Yates said, “It could happen this week. The sooner, the better, but I want to make sure we get our cars right. We’re gaining on that quite a bit. It needs to happen. Right now, I’m very optimistic that we’ll be in good shape and good to go for another season.”

Yates said he was excited that his team’s cars are improving after a disastrous start to the season. “You’ve got to be a threat (to win) every week to enjoy what we’re doing,” he said, calling the recent return of longtime crew chief Todd Parrott to the RYR fold, “huge.” more on Robert Yates Racing in 2007

Harvick Happy Winning New Hampshire Pole

 

Harvick maintains pace in New Hampshire
Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

LOUDON, N.H. -- Fresh from winning the Nextel Cup and Busch Series races at Richmond last weekend, Kevin Harvick carried his speed into the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

In Friday's qualifying for the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Harvick turned a lap in 28.793 seconds (132.282 mph) in the No. 29 Chevrolet to win the pole for Sunday's race.

Not bad for a driver who doesn't particularly like to qualify.

The 40th driver to make a qualifying run, Harvick knocked fellow Chase competitor Jeff Gordon off the provisional pole and extended Gordon's streak without a pole to 47 races. Gordon will start second after a lap at 131.751 mph.

qualifying results for New Hampshire

NASCAR considering giving more points to race winners

 

When Kasey Kahne came perilously close to not making the Chase For The Nextel Cup despite a series-high five victories, the debate raged during the Richmond race weekend on how a win should affect determining the Chase field.

The question: Whether the driver with the most wins in a season might qualify as a wild card or whether a win should be worth more points in general.

"I don't know of too many situations you'd be in with five wins on the outside looking in," Kahne said Sept. 8, the day before he put himself in the Chase with a third-place finish at Richmond. "As good as we've been all year, we've had those six or seven races we did not run well in.

"We've had some engine problems, we've had three or four we just didn't run good in, and I've wrecked in a couple. You add up all those and that's a lot of points."

NASCAR is considering adding more points for a win. The sanctioning body increased the points margin between first and second place from five to 10 points in 2004 when it instituted the Chase format.

"We're looking at what effect it would make to award more points," NASCAR Managing Director of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston said Sept. 9. "But at this point, nothing is done. It is important for us to get through this season so we have three full seasons to look back on." more on more points for a NEXTEL Cup race winner

Chase Drivers Appear on "Late Night with David Letterman"

 

Here's what they said on Letterman's show:

The Subject: Things Never Before Said by a NASCAR Driver:

10) Kasey Kahne: "Anyone Know How to Drive a Stick"

9) Jeff Gordon: "Does this gas taste funny to you"

8) Jeff Burton: "I don't care much for country music or beer"

7) Mark Martin: "Switch the "R" and "C" in 'Racing' and you get 'Caring'

6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Wow, Letterman Looks so young in person"

5) Denny Hamlin: "Your're looking at a guy who can drive 500 miles without taking a Leak"

4) Kyle Busch: "A Truely Great Driver doesn't mind asking for directions, am I right, Ladies?"

3) Kevin Harvick: "It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something"

2) Jimmie Johnson: "The Nextel Cup is great, but what I'm really excited for is The Late Show ventriloquist week"

and.....

1) Matt Kenseth: "If You think I'm fast in my car, you should see me in the bedroom"

How To Add More Nextel Cup Drivers To The Chase

 

Cool Down: Chase set; start tweaking
Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service


Memo to Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO.

RE: Tweaks to the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup

Dear Brian,


During Pepsi 400 week at Daytona, I was delighted hear you say NASCAR is contemplating some tweaks to the Chase for next season. Though the Race to the Chase produced more than its share of drama, culminating in Saturday's suspenseful Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond, I agree that a few minor changes might serve to enhance interest in the final 10 races.


I don't believe the field for the Chase should be restricted to 10 drivers, the number the current system has produced in each of its first three seasons. With that inclusive attitude in mind, I offer the following additional qualifications for potential Chase participants:


1. Immediate Past Champion's Provisional. One of the prizes for winning the championship should be a free pass into the following year's Chase. What good is a title, if you don't have the opportunity to defend it? Welcome back, Tony Stewart.


2.Throwback Provisional. Let's provide an automatic berth for the most recent champion under the old points system who's not otherwise eligible for the Chase. That would take care of Bobby Labonte.


3. Freedom of the Press Provisional. Consensus preseason choices of the media must be included in the Chase. To maintain credibility, the press can't be perceived as that far wrong. So Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle must have berths in the Chase.

read more on tweaking the chase

Chase Is Set...Kahne Is In, Stewart Is Out!

 

Kahne in, Stewart out
by Monte Dutton
Gazette Sports Writer

RICHMOND, Va. — Not all races are classics. This one wasn’t a Harlequin romance.

Kevin Harvick, the embodiment of Richard Childress Racing’s resurgence, boosted his chances at a championship with a victory in the final race of the regular season, Richmond International Raceway’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

It was an evening of events, not action. The driver who won wasn’t as newsworthy as the one who lost. Tony Stewart’s utter failure to defend his championship — he finished 18th, a lap behind — put the final nails in a mystifying collapse at the very point where, a year earlier, the champ had been at his best.

Third-place finisher Kasey Kahne was the beneficiary of Stewart’s collapse. He eked into the Chase, clearing the hapless Stewart by 16 points. There was virtually no competition between the two in the actual race. Afterward, Stewart had little to say.

Harvick, in a Chevrolet, passed another Chevy driver, Kyle Busch, on the next-to-last lap. He held Busch off by .154 of a second and enters the Chase third, 15 points behind Matt Kenseth and five behind Jimmie Johnson.

“I got into (Busch) once earlier,” said Harvick, “and I didn’t really want to pass him if I couldn’t do it clean. I passed him without even coming close to hitting him.”

“Our car was awesome,” said Busch, “and we should’ve won. We lost it on the final (actually next-to-last lap). more on who made the chase...

Richmond - One More Shot At The Chase

 

Richmond will be one last chance to make the Chase
September 7

The Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway means one thing to 11 drivers: One Last Race to Make The Chase.

Fortunately for Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, they have already clinched a spot in the third installment of the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. But for nine other drivers, Saturday night's race at America's Premier Short Track is the final opportunity to earn a berth in The Chase.

Here's a look at what each driver in positions three through 10 needs to do at Richmond International Raceway to keep his championship hopes alive. The following drivers can clinch a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway with the following finishes, no matter where any other competitor finishes:


Kevin Harvick (third in points): 40th
Jeff Gordon (fourth in points): 25th
Kyle Busch (fifth in points): 22nd
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (sixth in points): 16th
Denny Hamlin (seventh in points): 16th
Tony Stewart (eighth in points): 7th
Mark Martin (ninth in points): 4th
Jeff Burton (tenth in points): 4th


That leaves one driver--Kasey Kahne--looking to race his way into The Chase, just like Jeremy Mayfield did back in 2004. Could a Ray Evernham-owned car repeat the feat? Kahne is on a roll coming off his win at California Speedway last weekend, and the young gun recorded his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win at Richmond International Raceway in 2005. more from Cup Scene Daily

It's Kahne's Race To The Chase

 

Sunday NASCAR Notebook: Kenseth, Dale Rolling
Written by: Ben Blake, RACER Magazine
Fontana, Calif.

Matt Kenseth, riding a late-summer hot streak, took the points lead with a seventh-place finish in Sunday's Sony HD 500 at California Speedway. Jimmie Johnson, who had led all season after winning the Daytona 500, finished 11th Sunday and fell 9 points behind.

The lead doesn't mean a lot, but the momentum does. NASCAR will re-rank the top 10 competitors after next week's race at Richmond. Only 11 drivers will be eligible for the top 10, with 11th-place Kasey Kahne, Sunday's winner, 30 points out of 10th.

Carl Edwards, in 12th place, and Greg Biffle, in 13th, are mathematically eliminated.

Momentum involves hitting stride at the right time, and right now, Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seem to be holding the high cards. Kenseth had won the prior two races, at Michigan and Bristol, and has finished top-10 in four of the past five.

"We've been gaining some points every week, and that's a good thing," Kenseth said. "I'd love to leave Richmond as the points leader. I think it would help to go into the chase as the leader, so that would be great."

Johnson, who won at Indianapolis first of August, has finished 17th, 13th, 10th and 11th in the races since.

Earnhardt perhaps is most surprising, having popped out of the box with a sixth place at Indianapolis. He led 40 laps at Michigan before finishing sixth, and 35 laps at Bristol before finishing third. Junior is sixth in points, 77 ahead of Kahne, who is fighting to get in.

Kahne has won the most races this season, five, but his season has been one of deluge or drought. He had not won since Michigan in June, then suffered through six finishes of 22nd or worse, in the next seven starts, with just one lap led.

After next week's race at Richmond, the leader will be set at 5050 points, about 1900 ahead of where the leader is now. The remainder of the top 10 will be ranked in five-point intervals through 10th. The 10th-place driver will start at New Hampshire at 5005. more on the Race to the Chase

Big Brother Busch Takes California Pole

 

Kurt Busch puts Dodge on the California pole
Mark Martin, 38th-fastest on Friday and 10th in the standings, still hopeful
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer

FONTANA, Calif. – Mark Martin doesn't even want to think about what it would feel like to be the odd-man out once the field for this year's Chase for the Nextel Cup is set.

"It's everything to me," said Martin, who is 10th in the standings going into Sunday's Sony HD 500 at California Speedway.

"I guess if something happens and we don't make it, then that's that. I'm pretty sure that I'll wake up Sunday after Richmond and still be alive. But I don't want to chance it. ...I'd rather wake up that Sunday and realize we've got a shot at the championship."

Kurt Busch won his second straight pole and his third in four races in Friday's qualifying, running a lap at 185.540 mph to beat Brian Vickers and rookie Clint Bowyer.

Matt Kenseth, who won here in February and who'll start 11th on Sunday, will be going for a third straight Nextel Cup victory, but the main focus this weekend clearly is on the battle for the final spot in the Chase.

Martin, who struggled to only a 38th-best speed in Friday's qualifying, is a big part of that story, of course. His 28th-place finish at Bristol last weekend dropped him to the "bubble" in the Chase standings. He comes into the season's 25th race 90 points ahead of Kasey Kahne with this race and next Saturday night's event at Richmond left before the Chase field is set.

more on California qualifying