NCWTS - Memphistravel.com 200

Ron Hornaday Jr wins 2 in-a-row! Hornaday dominated the Memphistravel.com 200 for his 2nd consecutive win and back-to-back wins @ Memphis.

Hornaday started on the pole, jumped out in front of the field immediately and would go on to lead a race-high 175 of 201 laps, but the race wasn't without drama. With 5 laps to go, an accident between Dennis Setzer and Tayler Malsam brought out the 6th and final caution to set up a green white checker finish. Hornaday Jr had to hold off a hard charging Brian Scott to get the win.

(Photo Credit: John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Last week, Hornaday led 180 of 200 laps @ Milwaukee to score a win on his 51st birthday. This marks his 3rd victory and 2nd consecutive @ Memphis - the first time a driver has ever won 2 in a row there. It's Hornaday's 3rd win of the season and 42nd career.

Scott finished second followed by David Starr and Aric Almirola.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

There were 6 cautions for 29 laps and 6 lead changes among 5 drivers:

R. Hornaday Jr. 1-53; T. Bell 54-57; R. Hornaday Jr. 58-112; A. Almirola 113; S. Compton 114; B. Scott 115-134; R. Hornaday Jr. 135-201.

On Track - Saturday @ NHMS

On track activities started early today @ NHMS.

There were 2 Sprint Cup Series practice sessions held with little or no incidents. Reed Sorenson was fastest during the 1st and 4th quickest during Happy Hour. Martin Truex Jr was on top of the speed chart for that final practice round.

(Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

There are 11 drivers pulling double duty this weekend.

Joey Logano won the pole for the Nationwide Series race with a speed of 128.109 mph. It's his 3rd pole this season. Carl Edwards will start 2nd followed by Clint Bowyer, Scott Speed, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch and Mike Bliss - in the top 10. For the starting line-up, click here.

Nationwide drivers were able to get some practice in yesterday, but their final "Happy Hour" practice was canceled due to rain. The forecast calls for a chance of rain tonight and fog overnight.

There's been a lot of talk in the garage this weekend about the state of NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series. It had been reported that the Truck tour could possibly be severely cut next season. Economic woes have hit the Camping World and Nationwide Series rough. GM, Ford and Dodge have withdrawn financial support in both series with Toyota possibly doing the same. NASCAR VP Steve O'Donnell said the truck series is "really strong" during an interview on SPEED.Word has it that he may have addressed this during the drivers meeting before the truck race in Memphis.

The Nationwide Series race, Camping World RV Sales 200 starts at 2:30 on ABC.

TV coverage begins at 12:30 on TNT for tomorrow's Sprint Cup Series race, Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

NNS - Camping World RV Sales 200

After 2 straight runner-up finishes, Kyle Busch gets the job done today @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway!

Kyle didn't lead the most laps as we've seen him do over the past couple of races, but he was able to pass his JGR team-mate Joey Logano with 35 laps to go. Busch held off another charge by Logano in the closing laps to collect his 26th Nationwide series win.

(Photo Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)

"I wanted to be (up front) -- I just couldn't get there," said Busch, who started 9th. "These flat tracks, you just can't do stuff like that. You don't have the room to do stuff like that. Texas, Charlotte, Atlanta -- all those big tracks -- Kansas, Chicago, you've got room. You can go way up to the wall and run around the outside and pass guys, and you've got the whole racetrack to use. Here, Milwaukee, Phoenix, you've got one, one-and-a-half lanes to use in order to get through guys and make it up towards the front. So you've got to be methodical about it, think about it and try not to get into anybody."

Busch started 9th. It's his 5th win and 13th top-10 finish in 16 races this year. Here's an interesting stat: Busch has led 1,486 of the 2,787 laps he had completed so far this season.

It might not be much of a surprise that a Joe Gibbs Toyota still dominated the race. Joey Logano started from the pole and stayed up front all day. He led six times for a race-high 108 laps.

"I guess this is how Kyle feels lately -- leading the most laps and not winning," said Logano.

Brad Keselowski finished 3rd, his 4th consecutive top-5 finish. Mike Bliss finished 4th. Kevin Harvick was 5th.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

Carl Edwards is chasing after Busch in the standings. Edwards led twice for 51 laps and wound up with a 6th place finish. Busch extends his lead in the point standings by 162 points over Edwards.

There 3 cautions for 15 laps and 11 lead changes among 5 drivers:
J. Logano 1-3; C. Edwards 4-6; J. Logano 7-53; M. Annett # 54; J. Logano 55-59; C. Edwards 60-107; J. Logano 108-146; K. Busch 147; J. Logano 148-158; M. Bliss 159-161; J. Logano 162-164; K. Busch 165-200.

On Track - Friday @ NHMS

It was a rough start to the race weekend in Loudon and an even rougher start for some.

Mark Martin and Tony Stewart crashed during their first practice session less than 2 hours before rain moved through the area. Sprint Cup Series qualifying was washed out. The weekend schedule has been revised.

Points leader Tony Stewart crashed in turn 2 after running 29 laps in practice midday Friday.






“I just got loose going in the corner,” said Stewart. “Goodyear came down and was worried, but it wasn’t a tire problem. Once I got out of the groove, I just ran out of room. I was staying right with it and I just needed another 50 feet to get it gathered up. I just ran out of racetrack."

The team was able to get Stewart back out on the track in the back-up for some important seat time. Stewart was able to complete 16 laps before practice ended and improved his speed from 127.304 mph to 127.316.

"By going out, we made sure that the package we had on the other car worked on this car," Stewart explained. "I do feel like it's a car that's very comparable to the one we started with, which was very, very good."

Shades of Pocono? Stewart had to start the Pocono race in a back-up in the back of the field. He went on to win that one. This time, the crash and consequential switch to the back-up happened before time trials so he won't be penalized. Since qualifying was rained out, the starting line-up will be set on owner points - giving Stewart the #1 starting position.

Mark Martin scuffed the wall and took into the infield at the same time Stewart crashed. Martin suffered minor damage on his #5.

Defending race winner Kurt Busch laid down the fastest speed during that practice session at 130.667 mph.
2. David Reutimann 130.011
3. Juan Pablo Montoya 129.967
4. Jimmie Johnson 129.927
5. Reed Sorenson 129.900

It's a double header weekend with the Nationwide Series also @ NHMS. There have been 22 different race winners in 22 Nationwide Series races @ NHMS.

First Practice:
1. Clint Bowyer 128.628
2. Scott Speed 127.902
3. Elliott Sadler 127.291
4. Kevin Harvick 127.291
5. Kenny Wallace 127.214

Final Practice:
1. Justin Allgaier 126.787
2. Kevin Harvick 126.715
3. Paul Menard 126.707
4. Carl Edwards 126.686
5. Kyle Busch 126.547

Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast throughout the race weekend.

Double-File Restarts for the Nationwide Series

A press release from NASCAR:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 26, 2009) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) today announced the addition of “Double-File Restarts – Shootout Style” throughout each race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Beginning next weekend at Daytona International Speedway, the first- and second-place cars will line up side-by-side as the green flag is displayed for each restart.

Double-file restarts were introduced at the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in May and the change was fully instituted for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series earlier this month at Pocono Raceway. Under the previous format, cars on the lead lap would restart in a single-file line while lapped cars would start in a line next to them.

Drivers and fans have been enthusiastic about the new format, which has been showcased on three different track types thus far in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition. NASCAR officials chose to gauge the format on various configurations before instituting double-file restarts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

"This is going to be extremely exciting for the NASCAR Nationwide Series," said Joe Balash, the NASCAR Nationwide Series director. "As they have done in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, double-file restarts – shootout style will add to even more close competition in our series and offer more excitement for our fans. The format will also help give us more standard restarts every time."

NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Jason Leffler is supportive of the move. “Double-file restarts are going to add a lot of excitement to the [NASCAR] Nationwide races. It’s going to allow us the opportunity to race for position on the restarts instead of wasting valuable time trying to get by a lapped car,” Leffler said. “There are going to be times it hurts you, but I think more often than not, it is going to be a benefit. I’m looking forward to it and I think the fans are going to love it!”
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will use the same double-file restart format as NASCAR Sprint Cup. The race leader will have the option to restart on the inside or outside lane. The second-place car then restarts next to the leader. Regardless of the leader’s starting position, cars in odd-number positions (3rd, 5th, 7th places, etc.) will restart on the inside lane, while those in even-number positions (4th, 6th, 8th places, etc.) will restart on the outside. All restarts will use the same format regardless of the number of laps remaining in the race.

The first-place car will continue to control the timing of restarts in a designated zone on the track, while the rest of the cars are to stay in line until they reach the start/finish line. The first eligible car a lap or more down will continue to earn one lap back following a caution, which is known as the “free pass.” Also, the “free pass” will remain in effect the entire race instead of being eliminated with 10 or fewer laps to go in the event. Lapped cars choosing to remain on the track will be “waved around” the caution car and will restart the race in respective track position, thereby picking up a lap on the leader, provided the leader also pits. This will also remove lapped cars from behind the pace car, allowing the leaders to take the green without interference.

Need For Speed Race Preview: Loudon

(June 26, 2009) The Race to the Chase begins this Sunday at "The Magic Mile" in Loudon, New Hampshire. It's a 10 race countdown until the Chase for the Championship starts.

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon sit 1-2 in the standings. They're tied with 8 top-5 finishes this season and 1 points race each. They'll both line up on the front row for Sunday's race as qualifying has been rained out.

They are definitely 2 to watch for @ The Magic Mile.

Tony Stewart has scored 2 wins, 10 top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes @ NHMS. He led a race-high 132 laps in the rain-shortened race last year. Currently, Stewart has an 84 point lead over Gordon in the standings.

"You know, I think we are in a situation now in the point standings where we kind of have that opportunity, because of the bonus system, to sit there and take a couple of extra chances," Stewart explained. "If we feel like we might be able to get a win and pick up those 10 bonus points going into the fall, it's definitely a situation that we're able to utilize at this point. I mean, because we are where we're at in the point standings, it really doesn't matter where you're at as long as you get locked into those 12. Those bonus points are going to be important, so if you have to go from 1st to 6th in the point standings - taking chances to gain those extra 10 bonus points, it's really not a penalty."

(Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jeff Gordon has 3 wins, 12 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes @ NHMS. He has led the most laps there - 1,141; more than any other driver.

“Our goal is to make it into the Chase,” Gordon said. “But you can't help but keep an eye on the bonus points. Right now, I know we're 20 points behind those with three wins, so I'd like to cut – or possibly eliminate – that gap before The Chase begins. The first race of the Chase is at New Hampshire, and that's a confidence boost when you return as the track's previous race winner.”

Kurt Busch is the defending race winner. He scored his 3rd win at the track after the race was called on lap 284 of 300 due to rain. Kurt's currently 4th in the standings - 280 points behind Stewart.

Jeff Burton leads all drivers with the most wins @ NHMS - 4. We can't forget he led all 300 laps in the September race in 2000. He's also posted 8 top-5s and 13 top-10s there.

In all, there have been 8 different race winners in the past 8 races @ NHMS.

TV coverage for the Lenox Industrial Tool 301 begins at 12:30 ET on Sunday (TNT, PRN)

The Nationwide Series will race on Saturday @ NHMS (ABC)

The Camping World Truck Series will race on Saturday @ Memphis (SPEED)


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NSCS - Toyota/SaveMart 350

Kasey Kahne held off Tony Stewart on a green-white-checker finish to put his #9 and his boss man, Richard Petty in victory lane @ Sonoma!

"It feels great," Kahne said. "With myself, I've had issues here in the past with finishing anywhere on this course ... and then race really strong today was the first time that I've been able to pull that off. Working with Kenny Francis (crew chief), Keith Rodden (engineer) and our whole Budweiser team did just a perfect job today. Our car felt great. It turned awesome, it had great forward drive, and I was able to race with some of the fastest guys throughout the race, and we were able to win. I'm excited as can be to win a race at Infineon."

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The King greeted Kahne in victory lane. It's the first time in a decade that a Petty-owned car has been in the winner's circle; since John Andretti won the spring race @ Martinsville in '99.

"You know, after watching today and watching the guys run and having two other cars in the Top 10, this just really made us feel good because we've run good enough to win a couple or three races, but circumstances just haven't been on our side," Petty said. "Today it really looked bad to begin with because we got two of our cars, one of them had trouble and they had to come in the garage area, and the other two got a lap down, not no fault of their own, but it just happened. They was able to catch it back up and run 7th and 10th. So from Richard Petty Motorsports it was really a good day. I think going in on Monday morning, I think all of us will be welcomed home a little bit more than what we have been for the last few weeks."

"To see Richard Petty in the winner's circle with us today, that was big," Kahne explained. "That was a neat deal, and excited to see him up there. I don't think coming in today he expected the 9 to win. I don't know if anybody did. You know, I think that was really cool to see Richard in victory lane with us, and it's a big deal. Richard Petty Motorsports is a great company, and we keep building and trying to make it better and stronger, and Kenny Francis is a huge part of that. So I'm happy driving cars that Kenny works on, that's for sure."

Kahne led the race high 37 laps. He had to hold on to the lead and fend off Tony Stewart through 4 restarts. It's Kahne's first win since Pocono last June, a 37 race stretch. His best previous finish @ Infineon was 23rd in '07.

Tony Stewart lead twice for 11 laps, but settled in to run 2nd behind Kahne through the closing laps of the race. He held on for a runner up finish and his 8th top-5 this season.

"We weren't getting the fuel mileage we wanted, and that changed our strategy a little bit. Instead of being a two stop race it turned into a three stop race for us," Stewart said. "Kasey just never made a mistake at the end. He did an awesome job those last 20 laps and just never slipped a wheel, never missed a corner and made a mistake. He made one mistake the whole time in the closing laps there and we were able to get a run on him, but couldn't do anything when we got there. He was just better than we were."

Marcos Ambrose finished 3rd followed by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here.

There were 7 cautions for 20 laps and 10 lead changes among 8 drivers:
B. Vickers 1-16; Kyle Busch 17-26; T. Stewart 27-29; K. Kahne 30-32; D. Hamlin 33-36; Kurt Busch 37; D. Hamlin 38-66; T. Stewart 67-74; R. Gordon 75-77; S. Speed 78-79; K. Kahne 80-113

Tony Stewart is now 84 points ahead of Jeff Gordon in the point standings.