star-telegram.com: Raceweek 2008

INDIANAPOLIS 500 NOTES Rain cancels second day of qualifying at Indy

Tue, 13 May 2008 08:41 CDT

By CLIFF BRUNT

INDIANAPOLIS -- Next weekend's busy schedule just got tougher for some Indianapolis 500 teams.

The second day of qualifying at the 2.5-mile oval was rained out Sunday, marking the third time in the opening week that drivers lost a full day of track activity. And it might not get any better.

More rain is expected for Wednesday's practice, and the long-range forecast is calling for a chance of more rain late in the week. But track officials are still hoping to fill the remaining 22 spots in the 33-car field Saturday.

If it does remain dry, Sunday would still be the traditional "Bump Day," when non-qualified drivers can make the starting grid by knocking out the slowest qualifiers.

The original schedule called for 11 spots to be filled each of the first three days of qualifying. The opening day of time trials Saturday was dry and successful. Then the rain returned.

"I think it's a shame because it certainly alters everyone's plans for the week," said Brian Barnhart, Indy Racing League president.

Joie Chitwood, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president, said the previous weather issues made Sunday's decision difficult.

Buckman update

Dale Coyne Racing crewman Charles Buckman remained in the hospital Sunday after track officials initially announced he had been released.

Officials said he would be held for continued observation.

Buckman was walking through the pits Friday when he was knocked to the ground by Danica Patrick's car as she pulled into her pit box.

Buckman's left leg was struck by Patrick's left front tire, and he went airborne. He was taken to the hospital with a concussion and cuts to his face and scalp.

Mechanics hit deer

Two mechanics for Rahal Letterman Racing hit a deer on a highway Saturday while driving to team headquarters to repair Ryan Hunter-Reay's crashed car.

Mike Kranz and Jim Volini were not injured in the accident on Interstate 70 en route to Hilliard, Ohio.

MOTORSPORTS ROUNDUP

Mon, 12 May 2008 04:37 CDT

Felipe Massa held off Lewis Hamilton to win his third straight Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday in Istanbul and earn Ferrari's fourth consecutive Formula One victory.

Massa finished 3.779 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Hamilton on the 58 laps at Istanbul Speed Park to continue a trend of winning from pole position in Turkey.

All four winners at the circuit have come from the pole.

Defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen finished 4.2 seconds back in third place as Hamilton denied Ferrari a third successive sweep of the top two positions.

Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber was fourth, ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld. Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren finished 12th after starting from second on the grid.

Raikkonen leads the standings with 35 points, seven ahead of Hamilton and Massa. Kubica is next with 24. Ferrari opened a 19-point lead over BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings.

"I'm in the fight. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't win, but it's important to be competitive," Massa said after his seventh career win. "It's important to be consistent."

Massa's win was his second in three races. He has taken 28 of a possible 30 points since failing to finish the first two races of the season.

"It's just fantastic, today was a very difficult race," Massa said. "Lewis was pushing me hard the entire race. Three stops was quite a lot optimistic and it opened up a reasonable gap."

Hamilton overtook Massa after 24 laps, but the McLaren driver's three-pit strategy didn't leave enough time to pass him again on soft tires with Raikkonen bearing down.

Kyle Busch speaks out

Kyle Busch is not one of the more popular drivers on the NASCAR circuit right now. In fact, he's probably the most loathed.

But Busch, who won his third Sprint Cup victory of the season Saturday night at Darlington Raceway amid a chorus of boos, doesn't seem to mind.

"I don't care," said Busch, who enraged many race fans after bumping Dale Earnhardt Jr. on May 3 in Richmond with two laps remaining. "I am here to race. I am here to win. If I win, it just makes them more upset and crying on their way home."

Jeff Gordon, who finished third Saturday, knows all about being booed.

"I think if he had his choice he wouldn't be the villain," Gordon said of Busch, a former teammate at Hendrick Motorsports until Busch moved to Joe Gibbs Racing this year.

"I know Kyle is a good guy, and he's a incredibly talented race car driver. There's no doubt about that.

"He just gets himself into situations that follow him. But having a love-hate relationship out there with the fans is not a bad thing."

World Superbike

Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga won races at the Italian Round of the Superbike World Championship.

Gambling men Dixon, Wheldon give Ganassi Racing an early edge

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

Strategy was almost as important as speed Saturday as Scott Dixon won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a big gamble by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.

Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon, who took the second spot, both took advantage of Indy's unique qualifying format, which allows each entry up to three tries on each of the four days of time trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Dixon, who has three pole positions in five tries in the IRL IndyCar Series this season, got the biggest benefit of the team strategy, canceling out a four-lap average of 225.178 mph earlier in the day and making it pay off with four laps at 226.366 that held up for Ganassi's third Indy 500 pole.

The New Zealander's pole run came with just over two hours left in the session.

Penske cars fare well

Scott Dixon's pole run came only moments after Ryan Briscoe, the first driver to qualify Saturday, made his own gamble in an effort to give team owner Roger Penske a record 15th Indy pole. The team withdrew his earlier speed of 224.833, and Briscoe, who wound up third, put his Team Penske entry on top briefly with a run of 226.080.

Penske's other driver, Helio Castroneves, a two-time Indy pole winner, had his car pulled out of the qualifying line by his team earlier in the day because of gusty winds. When the two-time Indy winner finally made his only attempt, he also came up short at 225.733, good for fourth.

Danica fast early

Danica Patrick, just three weeks after making history as the first woman to win an IndyCar race, set the early pace, knocking Ryan Briscoe off the top spot with a four-lap run averaging 225.197 mph on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

That drew a huge cheer from the crowd of about 40,000 at the sprawling speedway, the biggest spectator turnout for pole day in more than a decade.

But Dan Wheldon spoiled her storybook moment Saturday when he came out about 20 minutes later and pushed Patrick to the middle of the tentative front row.

Patrick, who was doing an interview in the media center during Wheldon's run, just shook her head and smiled when Wheldon's speed was announced. She got back onto the track later for practice, but never made another qualifying run and wound up fifth.

Lloyd released

Rookie driver Alex Lloyd, injured in a hard crash during practice Friday, was released from Methodist Hospital on Saturday. With medical clearance by the IRL, he could be back on the track when practice resumes Wednesday.

The 23-year-old Englishman completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He was examined at the track's infield hospital, then taken to Methodist for further tests after complaining of neck pain and a headache. All tests were negative, although he was kept overnight in the hospital for observation.

Who's hot

Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi's drivers followed up a strong early-season showing (two poles, two wins) by claiming the top two spots Saturday. "One thing that was great out there, even on an average lap for us, we still had the field covered as a team," pole winner Scott Dixon said. "That just goes to show how strong we are this year."

Who's not

Ryan Hunter-Reay. The Rahal-Letterman Racing rookie crashed during his second qualifying attempt Saturday. He completed one lap at just over 223 mph but spun and hit the wall hard on the first turn of the next lap. He climbed out of the car on his own, apparently unhurt, but his car had heavy damage to the left side.

By the numbers

Sprint Cup report

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:37 CDT

Dodge Challenger 500

Why Kyle Busch won: Busch, who rallied from a mid-race lug nut problem, grabbed the lead from Jeff Gordon after a restart on lap 283 and checked out from there. The leaders all pitted for the final time during a caution period on lap 302 of the 367-lap event, with Busch winning the race off pit road. The Sprint Cup points leader was never challenged and cruised from there, winning by more than three seconds over Carl Edwards. Busch led a race-high 169 laps for his first career Sprint Cup win at Darlington Raceway and third of the season.

Saturday's results at Darlington Raceway

Fin.	St.	Driver	Make	Reason out	Laps	DRP
1	6	Kyle Busch	Toyota		367 laps	138.6 rating
2	36	Carl Edwards	Ford		367	98.1
3	8	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet		367	116.5
4	2	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet		367	117.7
5	15	David Ragan	Ford		367	97.5
6	34	Matt Kenseth	Ford		367	89.7
7	21	Denny Hamlin	Toyota		367	99.1
8	24	Travis Kvapil	Ford		367	94.8
9	13	Dave Blaney	Toyota		367	100.4
10	12	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet		367	89.4
11	25	Jamie McMurray	Ford		367	80.9
12	5	Kurt Busch	Dodge		367	95.9
13	3	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet		367	98.0
14	22	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet		367	100.8
15	38	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet		367	67.6
16	27	Mark Martin	Chevrolet		367	70.7
17	9	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet		367	74.1
18	10	Bobby Labonte	Dodge		367	75.0
19	30	David Reutimann	Toyota		367	74.9
20	33	David Gilliland	Ford		367	63.4
21	4	Tony Stewart	Toyota		366	53.8
22	42	Kasey Kahne	Dodge		366	60.3
23	19	Juan Pablo Montoya	Dodge		366	46.6
24	37	Michael Waltrip	Toyota		365	51.1
25	28	Brian Vickers	Toyota		365	67.0
26	31	J.J. Yeley	Toyota		365	57.3
27	26	AJ Allmendinger	Toyota		364	48.2
28	18	Michael McDowell	Toyota		364	48.5
29	16	Regan Smith	Chevrolet		363	58.5
30	20	Bill Elliott	Ford		363	38.1
31	17	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet		363	49.9
32	39	Reed Sorenson	Dodge		362	34.4
33	40	Robby Gordon	Dodge		361	46.8
34	14	Sterling Marlin	Dodge		350	50.3
35	29	Casey Mears	Chevrolet		341	63.0
36	41	Paul Menard	Chevrolet		340	40.2
37	32	Ryan Newman	Dodge		295	39.0
38	23	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge		270	33.2
39	11	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet		265	71.7
40	43	Patrick Carpentier	Dodge	engine	261	42.1
41	35	Kyle Petty	Dodge		250	25.3
42	7	Elliott Sadler	Dodge		247	26.4
43	1	Greg Biffle	Ford	engine	234	108.6

Race Statistics

Average speed of race winner: 140.350 mph. Time of race: 3 hours, 34 minutes, 19 seconds. Margin of victory: 3.115 seconds. Caution flags: 8 for 31 laps. Lead changes: 35 among 15 drivers. Lap leaders: G.Biffle 1; D.Earnhardt Jr. 2-16; Ky.Busch 17-39; G.Biffle 40-59; Ku.Busch 60; T.Kvapil 61-62; M.Kenseth 63-64; K.Kahne 65; J.Yeley 66; P.Carpentier 67-69; D.Gilliland 70; Ky.Busch 71-109; G.Biffle 110-121; J.Gordon 122; D.Hamlin 123; P.Carpentier 124; Ky.Busch 125; G.Biffle 126-127; Ky.Busch 128-140; G.Biffle 141; D.Earnhardt Jr. 142-159; G.Biffle 160-193; M.Truex Jr. 194-201; D.Earnhardt Jr. 202; M.Kenseth 203; D.Ragan 204-205; J.McMurray 206-208; G.Biffle 209-233; M.Truex Jr. 234-236; D.Hamlin 237-250; J.Gordon 251-269; Ky.Busch 270-280; J.Gordon 281-284; Ky.Busch 285-302; D.Earnhardt Jr. 303; Ky.Busch 304-367.

POINTS LEADERS

Driver	Points	Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Money
1. Kyle Busch	1,690	11	3	7	8	$2,474,860
2. Jeff Burton	1,611	11	1	3	7	1,856,928
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1,556	11	0	4	8	1,832,720
4. Denny Hamlin	1,500	11	1	4	7	1.919.771
5. Clint Bowyer	1,490	11	1	3	7	1,629,570
6. Jimmie Johnson	1,442	11	1	4	4	2,224,591
7. Carl Edwards	1,400	11	3	5	7	2,701,680
8. Tony Stewart	1,397	11	0	4	6	2,430,691
9. Kevin Harvick	1,396	11	0	2	5	1,738,281
10. Jeff Gordon	1,326	11	0	4	5	1,864,396
11. Greg Biffle	1,308	11	0	3	5	1,419,224
12. David Ragan	1,266	11	0	2	3	1,329,885

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Date	Event	Location
May 17	NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race	Concord, N.C.
May 25	Coca-Cola 600	Concord, N.C.
June 1	Dover 400	Dover, Del.
June 8	Pocono 500	Long Pond, Pa.
June 15	LifeLock 400	Brooklyn, Mich.
June 22	Toyota/Save Mart 350	Sonoma, Calif.
June 29	Lenox Industrial Tools 301	Loudon, N.H.
July 5	Coke Zero 400	Daytona Beach, Fla.
July 12	Chicagoland 400	Joliet, Ill.
July 27	Allstate 400	Indianapolis
Aug. 3	Pennsylvania 3	Long Pond, Pa.
Aug.10	Centurion Boats	Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Aug. 17	3M Performance 400	Brooklyn, Mich.
Aug. 23	Sharpie 500	Bristol, Tenn.
Aug. 31	Pepsi 500	Fontana, Calif.
Sept. 6	Chevy Rock and Roll 400	Richmond, Va.
Sept. 14	Sylvania 300	Loudon, N.H.
Sept. 21	Dover 400	Dover, Del.
Sept. 28	Kansas 400	Kansas City, Kan.
Oct. 5	Amp Energy 500	Talladega, Ala.
Oct. 11	Bank of America 500	Charlotte, N.C.
Oct. 19	NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 500	Martinsville, Va.
Oct. 26	Pep Boys Auto 500	Atlanta
Nov. 2	Dickies 500	Fort Worth

Chase for the Cup begins Sept. 14

Busch tames Darlington

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:37 CDT

By Jenna Fryer

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Kyle Busch won the battle of attrition Saturday night as NASCAR's least popular driver overcame a pit-road penalty and several scrapes with the wall to win at Darlington Raceway.

Busch's third Sprint Cup Series victory of the season hardly thrilled the crowd, which viciously booed him in prerace introductions and hadn't softened by the time he took the checkered flag. Already loathed by many, he enraged Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s massive fan base by wrecking him as they raced for the win last week in Richmond.

It created a frenzy of hatred toward Busch, but the 23-year-old driver tuned it out and focused on what he does best: winning races.

The win was his eighth of the season spanning NASCAR's top three series, and he has won most of them in very convincing fashion. This one was no different, as Busch led a race-high 169 of the 367 laps in a Toyota he described early in the race as the "most pathetic" he'd ever driven.

He also overcame every speed bump thrown his way on the track "Too Tough to Tame" en route to the win.

"Darlington showed again tonight it's one of the hardest places. Always has been, always will be," Busch said in Victory Lane. "We're going to go through a lot of Mac tools trying to fix this thing, but that's OK."

An offseason repaving project smoothed the asphalt on the egg-shaped, 1.366-mile superspeedway, and the new surface gave the entire field fits. It made the track extremely fast and grippy, forcing Goodyear to bring a very sturdy tire that could handle the speeds and survive long runs.

The combination of the smooth surface, hard tires and narrow racing line put passing at a premium, and forced several drivers into the wall for the infamous "Darlington stripe."

Busch was no exception, bouncing hard off of it at least twice in what was an eventful fight to the finish. He was leading early in the race but was penalized when his crew left a lug nut off his rear wheel following a pit stop, dropping him to 29th.

He battled his way back to the front, patiently picking off Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt and finally seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon to reclaim the top position. From there, the kid who chases the checkered flag every time he's on the track pulled away, forcing spotter Jeff Dickerson to beg him to slow down a mere 50 laps from the finish.

"I know you are digging, dude, but you've got to take care of that thing there," Dickerson radioed. "You're scaring the fans. There's not enough security up the Turn 2 wall. Just nice and easy."

But Busch isn't capable of going slow, and he stayed on the gas until the finish while stretching his Sprint Cup Series lead to 79 points over Jeff Burton.

Carl Edwards finished second and was pleased with the outcome after initially loathing the new surface.

"Kyle had the best car. He was pretty unbeatable tonight," Edwards said.

Jeff Gordon ended up third, followed by Earnhardt and David Ragan.

Biffle grabs pole with a record at Darlington

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:38 CDT

By Jenna Fryer

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- On a fast, new surface, 41 of 44 drivers broke the qualifying record at Darlington Raceway on Friday.

But it was Greg Biffle who set the pace, turning a blistering lap of 179.442 mph to win the pole at Darlington. He shattered the previous record of 173.797 mph set by Ward Burton in 1996.

"Everybody has talked about how the track is really fast, but it's the same old Darlington," Biffle said. "It will bite you as soon as you let your guard down, especially with the speeds now. You can get in trouble in a hurry, and I've been close to getting that [Darlington] stripe."

Biffle's lap in a Ford beat Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, who qualified second and third for tonight's race in their Chevrolets. Earnhardt ran a lap at 179.357, while Johnson clocked in at 179.206.

It marked a comeback for the two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion, who crashed two cars during Friday's practice sessions. He wrecked his primary on the third lap of the first practice, then had to replace the splitter on his backup when he wrecked in the second practice.

"I'm just glad I didn't hit anything on that last run," Johnson joked. "I'm very proud of my guys. I worked them real hard on two cars, and almost needed a third."

Track officials repaved the surface over the winter, spending $7 million to smooth out the track while maintaining the integrity of the quirky, egg-shaped, 1.366-mile superspeedway. Although the new asphalt smoothed out the trademark bumps that drove drivers nuts and gave all of them their fair share of "Darlington Stripes," it created tremendous grip that's made the cars reach eye-popping speeds.

Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman all hit speeds faster than 200 mph along the backstretch during a March tire test, forcing Goodyear to bring a very hard compound that it believes will withstand the speeds.

It made for a tricky mix of smooth track, hard tire and quick speeds that not everybody could handle. Dozens of drivers banged the wall during Friday's practice, and several more continued doing so into qualifying.

Kasey Kahne, a three-time Darlington pole winner, wrecked his Dodge on his qualifying lap and joined the long list of drivers scratching their heads in the garage at day's end.

"I just feel like maybe I overdrove it," he said.

Biffle said he was fortunate to have so far avoided the wall, and hoped to parlay his experience into a third Darlington victory.

Nascar Sprint Cup Dodge Challenger 500, 6 tonight, KDFW/4

MOTORSPORTS NOTES: Rookies at a loss after rain at Indy

Sat, 10 May 2008 09:59 CDT

A second consecutive rained-out practice is forcing Indy 500 drivers to improvise.

Veterans have had only one practice session this week, and although they can still test setups today and Saturday -- assuming the track is dry -- teams are doing anything they can to get ready for Saturday's pole qualifying.

Even if it's just making adjustments in the garage.

"The whole thing about this place is speed," said Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 pole winner and race winner. "If you can find a couple of tenths of a mile per hour by sitting there and looking at the car and cleaning it up and doing what you can, you're going to do that."

The lack of practice time may not hurt the drivers who come to Indy each year nearly as much as others.

Unification of America's two biggest open-wheel series, the Indy Racing League and the former Champ Car series, has created a large pool of talented rookies. Thirteen newcomers are trying to make the 33-car starting grid, which would be the biggest rookie class since 1997.

"Obviously, we need the track time to continue our development of the car, and this rain isn't helping," said Brazilian rookie Enrique Bernoldi, who raced on Indy's road course as a Formula One driver. "It makes for long days just sitting around waiting. I'm not used to this."

Briefly

Kovalainen cleared to race: Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen, involved in a violent crash nearly two weeks ago in the Spanish Grand Prix, has been cleared by doctors to race in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

F1 changes qualifying: Formula One modified its qualifying rules after the Super Aguri team withdrew from the series. With only 20 cars racing at Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, race stewards decided five rather than six cars will be excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying Saturday. That will leave 10 cars to compete for the pole in the final 10-minute qualifying session.

THAT'S RACIN': GM exec knows how vital racing is to Chevy's legacy

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:05 CDT

By JOHN STURBIN

If you are one of the 1,200 second-shift production workers who, as members of UAW Local 276, are dealing with another week of layoffs at the General Motors assembly plant in Arlington, you have real-world priorities.

That said, you probably are not overly concerned that NASCAR superstars and Chevrolet drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. remain winless through 10 Sprint Cup Series starts apiece this season.

That puzzling dilemma, and related racing issues, fall into the laptop of Brent Dewar, GM North America's vice president of field sales, service and parts. Dewar will shed that long-winded title for another effective June 1, when he assumes duties as GM Europe vice president, sales, marketing and after sales.

As such, Dewar's fingerprints are all over GM Racing, which, like the new car market, has gone global.

"Racing's part of our DNA here, so I'm going to have a great team to continue the efforts at Chevrolet," Dewar said in a recent interview. "We race Corvettes at Le Mans. That'll be my home ground... which is a pretty good gig."

GM's reason for racing the Chevrolet Impala SS in NASCAR is obvious -- the brand/marketing exposure afforded by the most popular form of motorsport in North America is undeniable. Similarly, GM's factory-backed American Le Mans Series program, highlighted by the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, is about validating the 'Vette as a world-class sports car.

Decisions on what series GM should compete in, Dewar said, are made by the company's racing council. Consider, for example, the idea that GM needs to compete against Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda and Toyota in Formula One.

"We evaluate all sports on three things," Dewar said. "If you're going to race, you've got to race to win. That's the fun part. We think we have the technology to win in any of the race [series] around the world.

"The second thing, you only go racing if it matters to somebody -- that there's a fan base that matters.

"And the third thing is ROI [return on investment]. All three have to be balanced. Some series have a good fan base, but the ROI doesn't make sense. This is a business. It has to meet those criteria to race."

With those guidelines, here are some motorsports topics The General is dealing with in these not-so-kind domestic economic times:

The return of Tony Stewart to the GM family: This rumor took on legs last month after Stewart began looking for a way out of Joe Gibbs Racing and its Toyota Camry lineup before his contract expires at the end of the 2009 season.

"We love Tony," Dewar said. "Tony is our partner on [World of Outlaws] Sprint Cars and Tony Stewart Racing. In the [USAC National] Midget class and Sprints, we're with him as a team owner. We stay in touch with Tony... you never know what the future brings."

GM's plans for the reunited IndyCar Series: Chevrolet last supplied engines/tech support to the Indy Racing League in 2005. "That was a tough decision to leave it," Dewar said. "At this point we don't have any current plans, but we will be in Indianapolis for the Indy 500, and I'm sure there'll be opportunities to continue talks with them."

Alternative fuels in big-time racing: Dewar said most forms of major motorsports could make the switch from unleaded to alternative fuels in "less than two or three years."

"We're pushing hard," Dewar said. "We believe in green racing. Our C6.Rs (Corvette in the ALMS) is racing on cellulosic ethanol made from biodegradable waste products. We're going to have Emerson Fittipaldi pace the Indy 500 in a Concept Corvette E85 vehicle. The next few years, we're going to build 50 percent of GM vehicles to be Flex Fuel -- to run on either biofuel or unleaded gas.

"We have to reduce our dependency on petroleum products. Economically, we have to do it. And we're willing to do it."

PIT STOPS

Kyle Busch wins quarterly vote: In voting concluded three days before Saturday night's infamous "tap heard 'round the world" with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond International Raceway, Kyle Busch has emerged as first-quarter winner for Driver of the Year. Busch won a combined seven races in NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series to earn 14 first-place votes from a panel of 17 motorsports journalists, including this writer, and 142 points. Cup rival Carl Edwards earned one first-place vote and 72 points as runner-up. Danica Patrick, who scored her first IndyCar Series victory in Japan last month, received two first-place votes and 51 points for third. And rising Funny Car star Ashley Force, who posted her first career NHRA national event victory by beating father John Force at Atlanta Dragway, finished fourth with 49 points. A total of 17 drivers received votes for the award, now in its 42nd year.

Stewart reaffirms 'Bowtie' ties: Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart reaffirmed his ties to General Motors on Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he helped unveil Chevrolet's all-new Midget racing engine. Designed by GM Racing for the U.S. Auto Club National Midget Car Series, the purpose-built 4-cylinder Chevy engine initially will power Tony Stewart Racing drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones later this season.

'Remarkable career' lands Euless rider in Hall

Wed, 07 May 2008 08:51 CDT

By JOHN STURBIN

Terry Poovey has a date this fall with the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, where his wife believes his acceptance speech will be a revelation.

Poovey, of Euless, is recovering from the effects of traumatic brain injury, the result of a last-lap, last-corner crash at the famed Springfield (Ill.) Mile on May 28, 2006.

Terry's speech is halting these days, and Kathey Poovey says her husband is "not as fast to get around." But his motor skills and short-term memory are improving, and induction weekend in Columbus, Ohio, near the Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, is not until Oct. 11.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that he won't be able to give a speech," Kathey Poovey said. "It won't be lengthy, but it will be emotional. He'll be able to stand in front of his peers and this wonderful group of people at the American Motorcyclist Association we've known for almost 30 years... and it'll be emotional."

Poovey, 49, is among six inductees selected as the Class of 2008. Poovey earned 11 AMA Grand National victories on mile, half-mile and short track courses aboard Bultaco, Harley-Davidson, Honda and Rotax-powered bikes. One of a select group of riders to have competed in 350 AMA National main events, Poovey posted more than 200 top-10 finishes, 80 top-fives and two championships.

"He had a remarkable career... like a Kenny Roberts," said Mark Mederski, the Hall's executive director. "We only induct six a year, and it's done very democratically. It's not a boiler room process where they say, 'Hey, it's time to put Terry in.'"

Still, Poovey said he was surprised to learn of his selection.

"I wasn't expecting it at all," said Poovey, synonymous with the No. 18. "I figured I might be elected but I really didn't count on it, even after all I accomplished. It's a good deal. I'm retired now and I'm a little too old to race. But I raced for a long time."

What proved to be Poovey's last race was a "one-off" ride nearly a year after he officially retired. "I never quite saw this in our future. We were home free," Kathey Poovey recalled. "It had nothing to do with anything except for the fact he has a passion for what he does."

Poovey was running mid-pack in the feature when the engine blew on one of the motorcycles ahead of him. Poovey's bike went down when he ran over coolant and oil on the hardened dirt surface at a speed in excess of 100 mph.

"They were flipping and tumbling, and we think he got hit by another bike, not his own," Kathey Poovey said.

The impact with a 300-pound bike knocked Poovey unconscious for 22 days. His list of injuries was extensive, as every rib on his left side was broken, some with multiple fractures; his left shoulder blade was fractured, as were the C-6 and C-7 vertebrae in his neck. He was not paralyzed, but spent 12 weeks in a neck brace and five and a half months in hospital care before beginning an extensive, and ongoing, rehabilitation regimen in Texas.

"We kept thinking he'd wake up and be himself," said Kathey Poovey, an analyst in the cargo division at American Airlines headquarters in Fort Worth. "When he started coming around, he had to re-learn how to do everything. It's been two years and he's gone from being wheelchair-bound to a walker and a cane. They say it could be at least five years before he's back to himself."

Friends have kept up with Poovey's progress via his Web site, www.terrypoovey.com. Meanwhile, the Pooveys will mark their 29th wedding anniversary in October, a celebration including that trip to the Hall of Fame.

"It just validates everything he worked for for so long," Kathey Poovey said. "And he's thought about going back to Springfield. Why? He wants to see the people he hasn't seen in a couple years -- and watch a really good race."

MOTORSPORTS ROUNDUP

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:39 CDT

John Force cemented his position as the most prolific Funny Car driver in NHRA history, becoming the first to reach 1,000 round wins with a first-round victory over Ron Capps at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill.

Sunday wasn't a complete success for Force, however. He was beaten in the next round by teammate Robert Hight. Not much of a way to finish off your 59th birthday.

"You can't win without a good crew, sponsors... and crew chiefs like Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly," Force said. "Five hundred races [a milestone he achieved last week in Atlanta] just means you showed up a lot. But winning 1,000 rounds, that means that at a point in time, we were pretty good."

Force has won 125 titles overall.

Tim Wilkerson denied one of John Force Racing's other drivers, Mike Neff, his first career win. On his hometown track, Wilkerson earned his second victory of the season and seventh of his career. He drove his Chevy Impala SS to a 4.874-second finish at 317.27 mph to Neff's 4.886 at 321.58.

Wilkerson enters the next event in Bristol, Tenn., leading the points race for the first time in his 11-year career.

Rod Fuller has his own reason to celebrate. Fuller drove his Top Fuel dragster to a 4.525 time at 328.70 mph and beat Tony Schumacher's 4.583 at 325.45.

Kurt Johnson earned his first win since Phoenix last year when he drove his Chevy Cobalt to a 6.631 at 209.30 mph for a win over Dave Connolly's 6.651 at 208.78 in Pro Stock. It was his 37th career victory and third at Gateway International Raceway.

Andrew Hines turned in his 16th consecutive run in the 6-second range to earn his second consecutive and 15th career win in Pro Stock Motorcycle, beating Matt Smith.

Teen wins ARCA debut

Teenager Joey Logano won in his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut, leading 257 of 312 laps and easily holding off NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader in the Carolina 5000, the return to racing at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway.

The 17-year-old Logano, driving the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports-prepared Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, started from the pole and beat Schrader by 4.164 seconds in the 312-mile race.