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5C SPORTS/dfie CJarlDtte ^o«t Thursday, October 13, 2005 iMii STANDING THE RACING 411 How the top 10 stack up this week NEXTEL CUP NEXTELCUP BUSCH SERIES CRAFTSMAN TRUCK. Following the Banquet 400 1. Tony Stewart 5,684; previous: 1 2. Ryan Newman 5,609; previous; 2 3. Greg Biffle 5,596; previous: 5 4. Rusty Wallace 5,594; previous: 3 5. Jimmie Johnson 5,592; previous: 4 6. Carl Edwards 5,589; previous; 6 7. Mark Martin 5,571; previous: 9 8. Matt Kenseth 5,568; previous: 7 9. Jeremy Mayfield 5,527; previous: 8 10. Kurt Busch 5,460; previous: 10 Tony Stewart’s lead in the standings grew to 75 points after a top-five finish in Sunday’s Banquet 400. Race: UAWASM Quality 500 Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C. Race distance: 334 laps, 500 miles When: Saturday, 8 p.m., ET Defending champion Jinmiie Johnson won last year’s UAW/GM Quality 500, leading teammate Jeff Gordon across the finish line for a 1-2 finish for Hordrick Motorsports. TVack qualifying record: Ryan Newman, 186.657 mph; Oct. 9, 2003. Race record (500 miles): Jeff Gordon, 160.306 mph; Oct. 11,1999. Fast facts: Johnson has three wins, four top-fives and six top-10 finishes in seven starts at LMS. Race: Dollar General 3(X) Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway When Friday, 8:20 p.m, ET Track length 1.5 miles Defending champion Kfike Bliss scored his first career Pusch victoiy in last year’s race at LMS, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300. TFack qualifying record: Kevin Harvick, 184.445 mph; May 24, 2003. Race record Mark Martin, 155.996 mph; May 25,1996. Fast fact: Mark Martin has sdx wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 26 Busch races, the most of any driver. Race: Kroger 200 Where: Martinsville Speedway When Oct. 22, 1:30 p.m,, ET Track length 0.526 mile (200 laps, 105.2 miles) Defending champion Jamie McMurray held off Demiis Setzer on a restart with 12 laps to go to win last year’s Kroger 200. Qualifying record: Mke Bliss, 94.275 mph, Apiil 16, 1999. Race record; Jon Wood, 72.069 mph; Oct. 18, 2003. Fast facts; The past two races at Martinsville have been won by first-time series winners, Jamie McMurray and Bobby Labonte. Bobby Hamilton and Scott Riggs won their first series races there. % BANQUET 400 REVIEW Aj KANSAS NOTEBOOK BUSCH SERIES Following the United Way 300 1. Martin Truex Jr. 4,206; previous: 1 2. Clint Bowyer 4,157; previous: 2 3. Reed Sorenson 3,955; previous: 3 4. Carl Edwards 3,820; previous: 4 5. Denny Hamiin 3,623; previous: 5 6. Kenny Wallace 3,574; previous: 6 7. Paul Menard 3,385; previous: 7 8. David Green 3,311; previous: 9 9. Greg Bittle Greg Biffle jumped into the top 10 in the standings following a second-place finish in the United Way 300. 3,300; previous: 11 10. Jason Keller 3,256; previous: 10 CRAFTSMAN TRUCK NASCAR Following the Las Vegas 350 1. Dennis Setzer — 2,877; previous: 1 2. Ted Musgrave 2,872; previous: 2 3. Ron Hornaday 2,677; previous: 3 4. Mike Skinner 2,627; previous; 5 5. Todd Bodine 2,593; previous: 7 6. Jimmy Spencer 2,593; previous: 4 7. Bobby Hamilton 2,577; previous: 6 8. David Starr Dennis Setzer leads the Craftsman Truck Series standings by only five points , heading into the 2,507; previous: 10 Oct, 22 race at 9. David Reutimann 2,493; previous: 8 10. Matt Crafton 2,483; previous: 9 Martinsville. Did you know? Chevrolet is closing in on its sixth series manufacturer’s championship, but Toyotas have led the most laps in the season’s first 20 races. Toyota has 1,407 laps led while ,Chevrolet has 1,401. . Mark Martin holds off Greg Biffle to win Sunday’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway. Martin ends skid at Kansas Roush drivers sweep four of top five spots in fourth Chase event ■fel' ON TV Eastern NEXTELCUP UAW/GM Quality 500 7 p.m., Saturday NBC BUSCM SERIES Dollar General 300 8 p.m., Friday TNT CRAFTSMAN TRUCK Kroger 200 1 p.m., Oct. 22 By RICK MINTER Cox News Service Kansas City, Kan. I t was all Roush Racing all day at Kansas Speedway as Mark Martin ran away with Sunday’s Banquet 400 and joined his team mates in sweeping four of the lop five spots. Martin’s victory, his first win in a points-paying Nexiel Cup race since June 2(104 at Dover, capped off a day in which Roush drivers led all but nine of 267 laps, with the rest of the field leading only during pit stops. Team owner Jack Roush stopped .short of pro claiming the race a sweep because while Martin,.Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Matt Ken.seth were in the top five, Kurt Busch finished 14th after an unscheduled pit stop. "‘We didn’t have all five [drivers] in the top five,” Roush said. “But certainly we had a good spread.” Tony Stewart, the points leader in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, was the only non-Roush driver In the top five on Sunday, and he’s developing a nice spread of his own. His fourth- place finish was almost as good as a win because it gave him a 75-point cushion over second-place Ryan Newman and clearly established him as the driver to beat during the stretch run to the title. Stewart made the gains in spite of a broken alternator belt on his car and because Newman, who entered the 4(X) just four points behind, lost ground due to a 23rd-place finish, worst of the 10 Chase contenders. Stewart said that while it’s still relatively early in the Chase — only four of the 10 events are in the books — his strategy is becoming more conservative. He said he sim ply wants to run in the lop five for the remaining races. ‘That’s what we need to do,” he said. Newman has dropped back amidst a group of drivers so close in the standings that only 41 points sepa rate him from eighth-place Matt Kenseth. Martin’s victory boosted him from ninth to seventh in the standings, but because of his wreck during the pre vious race at Talladega Superspeedway, he’s still 113 points out of the lead. “That’s too far back, but we’re going to go out and get some more victories.” Marlin said. The often pessimistic Marlin — he says he’s just realistic — said he wondered Sunday what might go wrong as he sped away from the pack for the second half of the race, leading all but seven of the last 146 laps, including the final 48. “That’s the formula for heartbreak in my world, because more often that not, something goes wrong to spoil that,” he said. Like fellow vet eran Dale Jarrett, who won at Talladega, Martin, who is 46 and in what is supposed to be the final year of his Cup career, especially cher- i.shed the victory. “I was relieved after the race,” he said. “It wa.sn’t the most exciting win of my career. It was one that is well deserved by my team, and as long as I live I will remember what it feels like to give to my team.” Sunday’s ddminance by Roush signals a daunting stretch of racing for the rest of the Cha.se contenders. Four of the next six events arc on 1.5-milc tracks like Kansas Speedway, and the horsepower and aerodynamic combination that worked so well for Roush at Kansas also should bring big results at Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas and Miami. Roush teammates not in giving mood By RI(2K MINTER Cox News Service Kansas Qty, Kan. T he on-track cooperation between the five drivers at Roush Racing seems to be a bit strained as a ti^t race in the CTase for the Nextel Cup approaches its midpoint Kurt Busch seemed upset Sunday that Roush teammate Matt Kenseth didn’t pull aside and let him lead a lap and pick up five bonus points — something Rou^ driv ers have done routinely all season “When you get in the Chase, you’ve got to get all the points you can,” Kenseth said. “It would be pretty stupid to give somebody a fi*ee five points and lose the championship by four at the end of the year, ‘There comes a time when you’ve got to race, and that’s all there is to it.” Greg Biffle agreed that the time for giving teammates fi^ pemts has passed. Tt’s probably not the thing we need to be doit^,” he said. BUSCH Talladega memories still fresh The repercussions finm the wrecks at Tblladega the previous week were still being felt after Sunday’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway Kansas winner Mark Martin believes the crashes brought on by wreck-prone restrictor- plate racing at Tblladega cost him a chance to dose his Cup career with a championship He’d hoped to retire finm Cup this year but may stay on for one more season if his replacement, Jamie McMurray, can’t get a release from his cun*ent team. ‘We made the Chase, and unfortunately, we had some trouble — big trouble — at Tblladega,” Martin said. Rusty Wallace, who is retirii^ for sure next month, said he too lost too many points at Tblladega. Tf we hadn’t got in that wreck at Thlladeg'a, we’d probably be 20 points down right now,” he said. “Those restrictor-plate races are great for the fans, but too many things can happen in a plate race, and I don’t think we need one in the Chase.” RACE STATISTICS Even the pessimistic — or realis tic — Martin is giddy about that. “Charlotte is next,” he said. “Woohoo!” Time of race: 2 hours, 54 minutes, 25 seconds Margin of victory. 0.557 seconds Winner’s average speed: 137.774 mph Caution flags: Seven for 28 laps Lead changes: 16 among 12 drivers Lap leaders: Matt Kenseth, 1-16; Mike Wallace, 17; Kenseth, 18-72; Greg Biffle, 73-93; Jeremy Mayfield, 94; Biffle, 95-120; Mayfield, 121; Mark Martin, 122-179; Tony Stewart, 180; Carl Edwards, 181; Rusty Wallace, 182; Travis Kvapil, 183; Jeff Burton, 184; Martin, 185-217; Jimmie Johnson, 218; Kevin Harvick, 219; Martin, 220- 267. HOW THEY FARED A look at how Chase competitors performed Sunday 1. ) Tbny Stewart: He pushed his pednts lead finm four to 75 points over sec ond-place Ryan Newman with a fourth-place finish, which 1^ accomplished despite a broken alternator beft on his No. 20 Chevrolet. 2. ) Ryan Newman Having to start at the rear of the field because of a transmission change after c[ualifying led to his undoing He was involved in a wreck and stru^ed to remain on the lead lap. He finished 23rd 3. ) Gr^ Biffle: A second-place finish boosted him two spots in the stand ings, but his lO-pcant gain was minimal because Stewart also finished well He said his title hepes “just depend on what [Stewart] does.” 4. ) Rusty Wallace; Under most circumstances, a seventh-place finish would be a plus, but Wallace lost ground because six contenders fini^ied ahead of him. He overcame time lost when his car slipped off the jack oi a pit stop. 5. ) Jimmie Johnson He finished a respectable sixth, but lost a ^xrt in the standings and 10 pcants to the leader. “Tlvery p»int counts at this point, and everyboefy in fitmt of me, really was in the Chase, so it’s going to be a do^ght all the way to Homestea^t” he said 6. ) Carl Edwards He finished third at his heme tracic and said rodde mis takes cost him a chance to win. T tried some stuff c«i the top, and if I would have stuck to the bottom, we might have had something fca- than,” he said 7. ) Mark Martin His 35th career win miiJit not be enough to overcome his pxants loss at Tblladega, where he was 41st and lost five spots in the stand ings. He said the title ‘TtttibaWy slipped out erf"my hands lak week" 8. ) Matt Kenseth Starting ai the pde, leading 71 Isps and finishing fifth didn’t in^Hwe his progjects f»- a secaid chan^cxi^p. He lost ime spot in the standings and drepped five pemts further behind 9. ) Jaemy Mayfield He ran in the tep five fca'the first half of the race, but his 16th-place finish pxits him at a gre^ disadvantage as the seasons nears its end He said his car was ^uggish on restarts. 10. ) Kurt Busch: The defending Cup champion overcame an unadieduled pit step fco* a flat tire to finish 14th, but because other Chase contenders were ahead of him in the finishing c«der, he’s cn the Irink of diminaticn Do-It-Yourself Pidl-A-Part USED AUTO PARTS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Our Prices” SAM - 6PM* *Aiimissions Closes At 5:30 PM CASH FOR JUNK CARS & TRUCKS Se Habla Espaiiol 704-596-6800 www.pullapart.com • FREE Admission W/Ad
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