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NASCAR Nationwide Series
Last updated:08-10-2010 from 20:00 until 21:00
NASCAR Nationwide Series PRACTICE, Camping World 300, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA
In her own version of “double-duty,” Danica Patrick returns to NASCAR for her first race since Feb. 27 at Las Vegas. Since that last NASCAR event, she’s competed in the first eight races in her full-time ride in IndyCar where she has two top-five and five top-10 finishes. This is an open week for IndyCar.
This will be Patrick’s first visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It also will be the shortest track she’s run thus far in her short NASCAR Nationwide Series career. She has finishes of 35th, 31st and 36th, respectively, in her previous NASCAR Nationwide races at Daytona, Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas.
Patrick will be featured on the NASCAR Teleconference on Tuesday, June 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Can You Repeat That, Please?
It’s one of the more interesting stats in NASCAR’s three national series – there has been no repeat winner in 23 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at New Hampshire. The other active series tracks with no multiple winners are Kansas (9 races), Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (3 races) and Iowa and Road America (1 race each). In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, there have been no repeat winners at Dover (11 races) and Kansas (10). Every active NASCAR Sprint Cup track has had a repeat winner.
Reigning series champion Kyle Busch is the defending winner at New Hampshire. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate (and New England native) Joey Logano is defending pole winner. This is Busch’s first NASCAR Nationwide race since last month in Charlotte. Its Logano’s first since two weeks ago at Kentucky where he won his third race in a row – all from the pole.
Elliott Sadler returns to the series for his first start since last year at this race when he finished 18th for Braun Racing. Sadler’s last meaningful races in the series came in 2005 when he ran 16 for Roush/Yates Racing, sharing the ride with Dale Jarrett, one of the charter members of the series. Sadler competed in two full NASCAR Nationwide seasons from 1997-98, earning his first NASCAR national series wins and poles before graduating to NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Keselowski Holds Serve Through First Stand-Alone Triple
Series standings leader Brad Keselowski didn’t just hold on to his standings lead through the first tough stretch of three consecutive stand-alone races, but also increased his lead to 237 points over second-place Carl Edwards in the process.
Keselowski began the trek with a scant one-point lead. The three races included back-and-forth events at Nashville and Pocono; Kentucky and Michigan and Road America and Infineon.
The next three races are combination events – including at Daytona on July 2 with debut of NASCAR Nationwide Series new car – before the last consecutive stretch of stand-alones in July. Those races include Gateway 7/17; ORP 7/24 and Iowa 7/31. Gateway is contested during an open week for NASCAR Sprint Cup while the ORP race is the same weekend as The Brickyard 400. The Iowa race will include travel to and from Pocono.
The final two stand-alones are in Montreal 8/29 (another open weekend for NASCAR Sprint Cup) and again at Gateway to close out stand-alone season on 10/23 (Martinsville for NASCAR Sprint Cup).
NASCAR Sprint Cup LIVE
Last updated:08-10-2010 from 21:00 until 22:30
NASCAR Sprint Cup PRACTICE, Pepsi Max 400, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Steve Salmons has circled the Texas Motor Speedway oval hundreds of times and never made a dime.
Poised behind the wheel of a specially adapted full-cab pickup, Salmons is a member of the volunteer track restoration crew that answers the headset call after an accident.
The goal for the crew of just more than a dozen people is to return the track to racing condition as quickly as possible.
The 62-year-old Salmons, now retired, has been volunteering his services at Texas Motor Speedway for 12 years. The Euless resident drives truck No. 1, which hauls bags of a track-drying agent in its bed. A broom the width of the truck hangs outside the rear bumper.
When liquids are leaked onto the track after a wreck, the call goes out to Salmons' truck or two others similarly equipped.
"A lot of times the job is fun," said Salmons, "and lot of times it is just work. A five- or six-car crash can be a madhouse."
On a rainy Saturday, it was just a lot of waiting for the crew members, decked out in their yellow jumpsuits. Rain forced the postponement of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 until 8 p.m. Sunday, following the Sprint Cup Samsung Mobile 500.
Salmons said he doesn't consider his job dangerous. What's tricky for the crew is finding the small pieces of jagged metal created by a collision. He had a couple of samples on his truck's console.
"If you pick this up with your hand after a wreck, it would be so hot you couldn't get it off," he said. "That's why guys use a bucket for pieces like this."
New plans for local drivers: Any previous Sunday evening plans for James Buescher and Robert Richardson Jr. will have to be put on hold following Saturday's postponement of the Nationwide race.
Buescher, 20, who grew up in Plano, qualified in 33rd position. Richardson, 28, is from McKinney and attended SMU.
Raindrops keep falling: Billy McElroy and 20-year-old son Wes waited out the rain like many at TMS Saturday, sheltered underneath the grandstand.
Designers wisely included long rows of seats for just such occasions.
McElroy, a Fort Worth resident and an operator of a welding supply business, is a three-year season-ticket holder at TMS. Wes and his two brothers take turns accompanying their dad on the other ticket.
"I just like being out here and having fun with my dad," Wes said as the two polished off lunch from the concession stand.
At their feet were jackets and a bag that included headphones and scanners to listen to driver and crew.
McElroy, who lives just 15 minutes from the track, approves of the fan-friendly approaches to bringing in concessions and free parking. He wasn't sure whom he was going to cheer for in Saturday's Nationwide Series race, but there was no doubt about his favorite drive in Sunday's Samsung Mobile 500: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Get your rain gear, right here: Ponchos, jackets and sweatshirts were the hottest sellers at TMS souvenir stands.
A souvenir stand employee said 100 ponchos had been purchased by the 2:30 p.m. scheduled start time for Saturday's Nationwide race. Three hours later, the race was moved to Sunday night.
NASCAR Nationwide Series LIVE
Last updated:08-10-2010 from 22:30 until 00:00
NASCAR Nationwide Series PRACTICE, Camping World 300, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA
