Newspapers / The Charlotte post. / June 29, 2006, edition 1 / Page 20
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4C #©0 SPORTS/tE^e Charlotte $o«t Thursday, June 29, 2006 DID YOU KNOW? Richard Petty holds the Daytona record for most wins (10), most top-five finishes (28) and most top-tO finishes (37). Jimmie Johnson’ No. 48 Chevroiet rolls Into Victory Lane after the Hendrick Motorsports driver won the season’s first points event, the Daytona 500. Johnson holds the top spot in the standings as the Cup circuit returns to Daytona for the Pepsi 400. THIS WEEK Race: Pepsi 400 Where: Daytona International Spi When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET Television: Fox Defending race winner: Tony Stewarf Photos by BITA HONARVAR / Cox News Service PLATE PERFORMER Johnson returns to Daytona, where he looks to extend streak of restrictor-plate victories By RICK MINTER Cox News Service Adanta A s the Nexiel Cup circuit returns to Daytona International Speedway for the traditional start of the second half of the season, Jimmie Johnson is atop the points standings, just like he was when the series left the beach in February. And it’s a pretty safe bet that his Hendrick Motorsports team — and his teammates — will pad their points totals during Saturday’s Pepsi 400. Hendrick seems to have replaced Dale Earnhardt Inc. as the dominant race team at Daytona and Talladega, the two tracks where restrictor plates are used to slow speeds. The track also requires cars to have special engineering, to wring power from the air-starved engines, and bodies that can deal with the track’s aerodynamics. Hendrick's drivers have won three of the past four Daytona races. They have 10 victories in all. one be hind Petty Enterprises and four behind the Wood Brothers on the all-time list. Hendrick has won two of the past three Cup races at Talladega and seven overall, which is second behind Richard Childress, who has nine. Johnson, who has won both restrictor-plate races this season, told reporters at Infineon Raceway last week that he’s confident, he can make it three in a "I feel very good about my road racing program, but 1 feel even more comfortable about our plate program," he said. "I know it’s strong. I’ve won [at Daytona] at the 500 and looking forward to coming back; really excited to go back." Also in Hendrick’s favor is, the fact that one of his other drivers, six-lime Daytona winner Jeff Gordon, enters the Pepsi 400 with plenty of momentum after snapping a season-long losing streak with a victoiy last week DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL , SPEEDWAY Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose DEI team had the best restric tor-plate program for several Track length: 2.5 miles seasons before Hendrick R3Ce length: 160 laps/400 miles Banking in corners: 31 degrees Banking on straights: 3 degrees n’t really get to see what we had at Talladega, but 1 know at Daytona the car was handling perfect all day long. "We ended up lllh with a car that could have been in the top six or seven.... I feel like [car owner Ray Evemham] has put a lot behind our restrictor- plate stuff. The engine shop has stepped up and our cars are good. We just need to keep working on more horsepower.” moved to the head of the pack, acknowledged that his team is catch-up mode. But he said Banking on tri-oval: 18 degrees the part he plays is simple. Frontstretch: 3,800 feet ■I just get in it and tell them Backstretch: 3,055 feel whether it’s slow or fast,” he Grandstand seating: 168,000 said at Infineon last week. “I First race: Feb. 22, 1959; Dayfona 500 don’t really know what they Qualifying record: Bill Elliott, Ford; change to make it better. We’ve 210.364 mph; Feb. 9, 1987 got some gains to make at the Race record (400 miles): Bobby Allison, plate tracks.” Mercury; 173.473 mph; July 4, 1980 Kasey Kahne, who has driven his No. 9 Dodge to victory four times this season on intermediate-sized tracks, said he believes his team also is capable of winning with restricted engines. He said he considere his team’s restrictor-plate program “pretty good.” He said he had a good car at Talladega this spring but never really got to show it. ‘Talladega was pretty disappointing,” he said. “We got in that big wreck on Lap 8 when they tried to go five or six wide. We just got in a wreck and did- Catching up with. jodd Kluever Tbdd Kluever of Sun Prairie, Wis., drives the No. 06 Roush Racing Ford in NASCAR’s Busch Series. He’s a graduate of Roush’s “Gong Show” tryouts and is set to take over the No. 6 Ford driven by Mark Martin in Nextel Cup. Kluever plans to make his Nextel Cup debut at Chicagoland Speedway next week in a sixth Roush Racing entry then replace the retiring Martin next year. He recently spoke with Cox News Seirice reporter Rick IVEnter. Q. What has your season been like so far? A. “We’ve bem up and down. The best thing that’s helped us so far has been that test at Charldtte [after the track was repaved]. We’ve really grown together as a team since then.... At Dover, we didn’t have a very good car and we fin ished 18th. At the beginning of the year, if we didn’t have a very go^ car, we’d have finished 35th, so we’re slowly getting there.” Q. Do you feel pressure to not wreck cars? A. “[Tfeam owner Jack Roush] always tells me that he’s never more proud of me than when I take a 20th-place car and finish 20th with it. Jack’s real big on if you can finish 15th, finish 15th, especially if you’re going to wreck trying to run 12th- Fortunately we’ve been pretty good about that, but we did have some bad luck at the beginning of the year — getting caught up in wrecks that weren’t really our fault. Obviously when as a team you’re strug gling and not running up fixjnt in these races, it’s find of like if you swim with sharks, you’re goir^ to get eaten.” Q. What are your future career plans? A. ‘WeYe going to be full-tinie in the [No.] 6 car in Nextel Cup and full-time in the Busch Series. We’re going to run seven Cup races this year, starting with Chicago. I’m so excited about thatbecai^e not only is it a dream come true to run a Nextel Cup race, but I think it’s going to help our Busch program so much. If you look at what doing double duty has done for guys like Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlm this year, both programs seem to b^efit so much more by running both.” Q. Is it intimidating for you as a rookie to ask for hdp firom established veteran ' teammates like Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth? A. “They’re alwaj^ very open. The only concern I have with that is I imderstand those guys are busy They’re working on their cars. I try not to harass them too much, but Fm definitely not afi’aid to walk up and as! them something.” Todd Kluever won the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 300 Busch race at Nashville Superspeedway. Rick Minter’s OBSERVATIONS Here are some of the top storylines this week heading to Daytona: Changing the focus Jeff Gordon quieted any critics he may have had with his victo ry last week at Infineon Raceway He also changed the focus firom when he might win again to when he’ll pass the late Dale Earnhardt on the career-win hst. Gordon’s first victory of 2006 and his league-leading ninth on a road course moved him to eighth in points and put him at 74 vic tories overall, two short of the late “Intimidator.” “I didn’t know if we were ever going to win another one of these races,” Gordon said in "Victory Lane, adding that he never doubti ed his Steye Letarte-led crew. “I knew'this team was something special. We just haven’t had a chance to show it.” Back on track Ryan Newman’s strong run in the season-opening Daytona 500 didn’t turn out to be much of an indicator of how Ms season was going to turn out. He led 23 laps of the Daytona 500 and finished fhird, but then he had a stretch of disappointing runs and dropped to 17th in tiie standings. But he returns to Daytona en couraged by a strong runner-up run at Infineon Raceway “It was a great points day for us,” Newman told reporters after moving within 209 points of 10th place. He’s now focusii^ on making the Chase for the Nextel Cup, a feat he accomplished in 2004 and 2005, the two seasons in which the Chase format has been used to determine the series champi on. Rookie watch The heralded rookie class on the Nextel Cup circuit has one vic tory tMs season — Denny Hamlin at Pocono. Hamlin was in the top 10 in points before a flat tire at Infineon dropped him to 11th. Chnt Bowyer has been a steady performer, with one top-five and three top-10 finishes, while J.J. Yeley Martin Triiex Jr, Reed Sorenson and David Stremme.have shown only glimpses of their potential- Bowyer is 18th in the standings, Sorenson is 21st, Triiex is 22nd, "Yeley is 27th and Stremme is 36th- Busch stars shine The recently completed three-race stretch of stand-alone Busch Series races has allowed the beleaguered Biosch regulars to show their strengths, wMch were oveiehadowed by the “Riischwhacfing” Cup regulars in earlier companion events this At Nashville, Tbdd Kluever got Ms first Btisch pole. The nect week, David Gilliland pulled off a stunning upset at Kentucky and last Saturday at Milwaukee, Paul Menard outdueled Cup regulars Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley to get Mis first Busch victory The schedule shifts back in favor of the Cup drivers this week as both the Busch and Nectd Cup series race at Daytona international Speedway The stnigglcs of MB2 The MB2 Motorsports teams of Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin have had htfle to edebrate this season, Nsnechek is 28th in the standings, while Marlin, after crashing at the start of the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway is 34th. Historically the MB2 cars have been at the top of the speM charts at Daytona, but unless major improvements have be^ made since February the two drivers won’t be among the favorites tMs weds. Nemechek started 38th in the Daytona 500 and finished 33rd; Marlin started 39th and wound up 34th. More team struggles The merger of the Wood Brothers No. 21 Nextel Cup team and Thd and Jodi GescMcker’s Busch Series operation hasn’t brought the on-track improvements both parties were seeking when they pooled their resources. Stacy Compton’s sixth-place finish Saturday at The Milwaukee Mile was Ms best of the season and despite moving him up one spot in the standings, he’s still 20th. Etis teammate Jon Wood is 12th in points with a best finish of fourth in the season oi)ener at Daytona. On the Cup side, Ken Schrader had a fast start, fimsMi^ ninth in the Daytona 500, but all of Ms other finishes this season have been 15th or worse. He enters the Pepsi 400 33rd in the standir^ after crashing on the start at Infineon. NUMERICALLY SPEAKING 501 151 Most laps led in a 400-miie race at Daytona International Speedway (Tony Stewart in 2005). Tony Stewart (right) celebrates his victory in last year’s Pepsi 400, Points separating Jimmie Johnson, who is atop the Nextel Cup standings, and Denny Hamlin, who is lllh. 60 0 Most lead changes in a Cup race at Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 17, 1974). Fewest caution laps in a Cup race at Daytona (12 times, most recently on Feb. 11. 1971). 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June 29, 2006, edition 1
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