4C
SPORTS/tri^e Charlotte $o0t
Thursday, August 31, 2006
NASCAR QUIZ
Q; Which driver has the most
wins at Calitornia Speedway?
A; Jett Gordon (3)
NEXT rm;e
Race: Sony HD 500
Where: California Speedway
When: 7 p.m. ET Sunday
Televiston: NBC
Defending race winner: Kyle Busch
Planning for...
‘Tonwirow’
Drivers, teams preparing
for next-generation car
BjEICKMlNTER
Cox New*? ^rvice
Bristol, Tenn.
W hile m(«it of the aUentioti in
NASCAR is fbciised on the points
race and who’ 11 make the cut for
the Chase for Uie Nextel Cup, which begins
after ra(«s at California and Richmond,
the Car of Tomorrow is heating up as a
topic of dLscusston.
"rve been so occupied with this and
woticing on the current package that i
gut^js I foi^t about that." points leader
Jimmie Johnson said of the radically new
car. which makc« its racing debut next
spring at Bristol and will be used in elect
ed races next season with tlie goal of lim
ning it at ail tracks by 2:*® and possibly
sooner
Johnson’s teammate, Jeff Gordon, tested
the Car of Tomorrow at Michigan last
week and said much more development
work is needed,
'T have some cona'rns; tberc’s no dotibt
alx)ut that." he said. Gordon said his main
:oncern with the car is how it reacts in
traffic tweause of aerodynamic changes
like a splitter on tJie ti'ont and a spoiler on
the itear that are de.sl|5ned to alleviate the
aero push.
'i feel like a car punching that b^' of a
hole in the alK in a piick, has a lot of chal
lenges.” he said. “It seemed to mo like the
lead car was in ftiU command of teing able
to control the field. I don’t think that’s real
ly what we’re looking for.”
Gonlon said he believes Ore concern.s he
and others have can be worked out as more
teams test the Cite
‘T think the one gxd thing that came out
of it was that ewry test that hapjxms, we
get more teams and drivers involved and
get more input to take to NASCAR,” he
said. “I thtrdc the more we get involved
with it, the more they’re goim? to be open
to ideas."
Gordon said he and others In the sport
didn't take the car seriously when
NASCAR began working on it.
“I think for the long(»it time, none of us
believed it and 8up|x>rted it because we
thought that it was just a phase,” he said.
“Now we realize that that’s not the case,
and we've all got to get serious about it,
And we are."
He said one of the big challenges will
come when teams have to race the amr-ent
car at some tracks and the Car of
T^rmorrow at others.
'Td rather »?e them wait until 2008 and
Just run it everyTA'liere,” Gordon said. “The
things that we’re having.to do as a team to
try to buiW two different cars thM ate in
spected tetally differently we're even
having to change different things in the en
gine for that cal'. It's basically like nmning
CAUFORNIASPEEDMY
Track length: 2 miles
Race length: 250 laps! 500 miles
Banking In straights: 16 degrees
Banking in turns: 14 degrees
Banking in frontstretch: 11 degrees
Banking in backsiretch: 3 degrees
Length of frontstretch: 3,100 feet
Len0h of trackstretch: 2,500 feet
Grandstand seating capacity: 92,000
First race: June 22.1997; California 500
Qualifying record; Kyi© Busch. Chevrolet;
188.425 mph; Feb. 25, 2Q05
Race record: Jett Gordon. Ghevrolsi;
155-012 mph; June 22,199?
Rick Minter’s
OBSERVATIONS
5k>me k^' storylines as tlie Cup tleries heads to Caldi^nia:
Qtasing respect
It’s a given in NASCAR circles that a lot of fans come to
ra*is to watch wrecks. Tlsafc’s particularly true at Bristol
Motor Speedway where the high-banked, half-mile con
crete oval tends to produce fender bangere and the accom
panying hot tempers. That’s one of the reasons the seating
diere Im grown to 160,000. But &iturday’s Sharpie 500 was
relatively imeveniffil by Bristol standards as there were
only 10 caution periods, no major multi-car crashes and
few pit-road spats afterward.
Dale Earnhaifft Jr;, who raced ft^m hts 4Ctth starting po
sition to thirel at the end without having to use his thont
bumper to merv^ competitors aside, .said that's due to the
tight points race created by the Cha.se format.
"With £he Chase and everybody being so d(^e, there was
a kjt more respect being shown on ff»e track." he said. “You
don't normally that here.”
NASCAR
Bill Elliott tests the Toyota Camry
during Car of Tomorrow testing last
week at Michigan International
Speedway.
two different .seriw?."
Another ronceim expressed by many is
the look of tlte car cuid how different it is
from a ittoduction vehicle.
Penske Racing I^>sidcnt Don Miller said
NASCAR's intent in creating the car is cor
rect, hut he worries about several factors,
including how the car looks.
■’it Is prateibly the ugliest race car* I have
ever seen,” MlUer said “It doesn’t look liite
a Pord. Dodge, Piymouth. Chev^; Linorln
or anything.”
Miller said he believes NASCAR grew
over the years, In laige part, because the
cars on the track resembled those in fens’
driveways.
“America doesn't follow Fbrmula One be
cause the c^.s don’t look like anything
they drive,” he sakl. "[NASCAR] has te-
come .so popular bwause NASCAR has
done an excellent job of creating a relation
ship beb^’een the vehicles thiit ai« compet
ing and the ernes fans drove to the race
track, even though they’re entirely differ
ent Internally.”
 Kahne watch
Catching up with ...
Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Rtirnhardt Jr, ninth In
the Ne.xtel Cttp standings enter
ing this weekend's race at
California S)»edway visited
with members of the media, in
cluding Rick Minter of Cox
News Service, to discuss his
ihougJits on the ChtJse for the
Nextel Cup:
Q. How do you fbel about rac
ing Ka.sey Kaime tor a spot in
the Chase?
A. He's tough. He’s a great
race-car driwr. There tu’e rome
other good on«> who aren't
goli^ to hijve a sliot at it, I like
it because he’s a good friend of
mine, I wnn't be too dejected, 1
guess, by-being outrun by him,
rather than being beaten by
.somebody else that I don’t have
as much respect tor.
Q. W^ Cati Edwards’ ^.OW
fine Iftir nmning into
BiU'nhaixlt's a»r Jifter the Busch
race at Michigan] appngiriate?
A. I felt like years ago. w-e
should have been stepping the
fint^ up into the $10Q,000-to-
S20O.QO0 range. Nothing agaimt
Cttel or the situation, but S10-.
815-, or S2D-grand don’t mean
anything to these guys —• my
self included.
Q. When tlie Chase Is over,
will you be relieved whether or
not you make the Chase'?
A. No. not reEilfv I'm always
relieved, T really don’t get
worked up owr stuff broause it
just aggravate you and gets
under your sWn and you can't
go home and enjoy yourself It's
just alwajTJ on ymir mind, if
you ).et it. So 1 jiKt focus on rac
ing. Wlien Tm in tlie car. I just
focus cm Vk'hat it takes to get
aroimd the corner faster
Q, With the way you ran at
Michigan, does that give you
iwpefoi' California?
A. Yeah, My gus’s are real ex
cited, so I'm just sort of follow
ing their lead. Hopefully once
we get there. ITl feel like I've
known my way cuxmnd there
all dong.
Q, Do you think you got a
“superetai-” break at the end of
the Bu-sch race at Michigan
Iwhen he spim Edwards from
the l5id cm the next-to-last lap]?
A. Not really; f m going to see
Cox News Sarvica
Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped a spot in the Cup standings
to ninth following a third-place finish Saturday at Bristol.
it differently NASCAR is
watched so cl(.«el,v for that —
est^ially in the past —• that
they are more aware of it. I'm
not in those sltimtl«)ns all too
often, but they really mre care
ful not to give ttot perception,
and they go out of their waj' to
make sure tliat people aren’t
^ing to say that 'hey mcOi, they
cut him a break.' I don't feci
like 1 get treated any differently
Of course I ain't been in thttt
situation enough to know If 1
was in it more often, I’d hav'e a
better idea of whether* 1 .was or
not. But I hte^e a lot of respect
for th(®e guys in there, and I've
done the best 1 can to represent
the sport well and not wnbar-'
rass any of the employees or
:\nybodyat NASCAR.
1 fry my best to be mindfUl sff
that as I get older.
a What did NASCAR offi
cials tell you about the way the
Michigan Busch race finished?
A. NASCAR expressed to me
that they weren’t negative lo-
waM my aetioas on the track,
but they were negative towahi
how we allowed the race to fin
ish and how ugly it was. It was
n’t a very pretty finish.
When I got in Victoiy Lane, I
didn't have a lot of pride in
what just happened-1 was
happy for my team.They wiH*k
hard. But ibr myself, personal
ly I was not really getting a
whole lot of excitement out of
it
I don’t like hav'ing rontrover-
sial finishes, I like having
cl«m, excittog finishes where
we come down and are mrmlng
side-by-side the last thrw or
four laps and race clean.
Kasey Kahne appears
to be the only driver out
side the top 10 in Nextel
Cup points with any
chance of joining the
elite top 10 who will par-
ticipide in the 10-race.
sc.ason-endmg Chase for
the Nextel Cup
Grog Biffle, I2th in the
standings, and Carl
Edwai*ds. I3th, are more
than ^ iK>mts behind
lOth-pi^ Mark Maitin
with almost no chance of
getting into the top 10 in
, just two mce&. The most
points any driwr can
gain on another in one
race in which both start
is 156. and there are just
tivo ra{^.s —at California
Co* News Service
Kasey Kahr« needs a
strong performance in
Sunday’s Sony HD 500.
and Richmond ~ left to i-un befoi'e the .start of the Chase.
Kurt Busch, 14th in points, was eliminated after his 37th-
place finish at Bristol
For Kahne to make the Chase, it would mean that he’d
need to finish at or near the front while his rompetitors
faltered.
Drlwrs ranked as high as fourth potentially amid fall to
11th at California.
“We jiLst need to put. it together and have some real good
racas and see w'hat evBi*ybody else daes.” Kahne said.
Richmond fiiadc
There are sev'eral samarlos in which the Chevy Rock
and Roll 400 at Richmond rould bo anticlimactfc,
Kahne. in many resiiocts. the key to the Chase field. If
he stumbles badly at California, the field amid be set be
fore thecircuit moves to Richmond on Sept. 9.
The drivers in petitions three throufdi 10 in the stand-
ing.s — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Bnsdi. Jeff Gordon, Itenny
Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Tbny Stewait, EarnhartJt and Martin
— all amid clinch at California, depending on where
Kahne finishes and as.suming all of them run the last two
laros.
Eorexmnple. If Khh-place Martin finishes 67or more
points ahead of Kahne at Califbmia, Martin would be as
sured of a Chase berth and Kahne vrould be eliminated.
Fast lane
It doesn’t seem to take long for rookias to m^e them
selves at home on the Nextel Cup circuit.
Rookie Denny Hamlin already has his own auplane, and
others, like the normally reserred Reed Sorenson, don’t
seem to be at all in avre of veteran drivers they knew only
from T’V a cxiuple of years ^o.
Sorenson put on a rare display of emo-
t.to after being collected in a wreck at
Bristol in Friday's Bu^h SeriK? race.
After climbing from his battered car, he
gave an insincere thumbs up to Ryan
Newman, who triggered the crash by
spinning a lapped car, then told a TV re
porter that Newman be too fast to
run in the Busch Scries,”
Saturday after having time to cool off, Sorenson, a rook
ie in Nextel Cup and satend-j-ear aanpaigner in Busch,
said he wasn’t .sure how he .^ould hare reactoi.
“There's not mudi you can do about it at that point,” he
said, adding that it's hard for fans to understand the emo
tions drivers go throu^i in incidents on the track.
“If you're watching it on TV you don’t really feel what a
guy feels when he gets wrecked.” he said. “There are a lot
of things you don’t see on. TV especially for the »iys rac
ing from !2th to 15th place.
“But everybcidy makes mistakes."
SORENSON
STANDINGS
NEXTEL CUP
following the Sharpie 500
1-Jimmie Johnson
3,499; previous: 1
2. Matt Kenseth
3,492; previous; 2
3. I^tn Harvirir
3,178; previous: 3
4. Kyle Busch
3,097; previous: 7
5. Jeff Gordon
3.091; previous; 6
6. Denny Hamlin
3.070; previous: 8
7. Jett Burton
3.064; previous; 9
8. Tony Stewarl
3.(B6; previous; 5
9- Date EarnhardiJr.
Cup next up: Sony HD 500;
California Speethway
TV: 7 p.m. ET Sunday; NBC
Busch next up: AmeriquesS 300;
Caiifon^a Spaedway
TV: 10p.m. ETSaturday; TNT
Truck next up: New Han^shtre
2(»; New Hampers internaGonai
3.(K1; previous; 10 Speedway
10- Mark Martin TV: 9 p.m. ET Sept. 16; Speed
3.049; previous: 4 Chainet
BUSCH SERIES
1. Kevin Harvick
4.095: previous: 1
2. Car! Edwards
3.576; previous; 3
3. Denny Hamlin
3,533; previous; 2
4. Clint Bowyer
3,429; previous: 4
5. J.J.Ybley
3,391; previous: 5
TRUCK SERIES
1. Todd Bodine
2,624; previous: 1
2. Johnny Benson
2,470; previous: 2
3. David Reutimann
2,394: previous; 3
4. Ted Musgrave
2,380: previous: 4
5. Rick Crawford
2,323; previous; 5
Up and coming...
Jason
Hogan
Jason Hogan, a ‘.S-yete'-oM
Late Model racer from
Cleveland. Ga,, is ready to make
the move to
NASCAR.
When he's nrsl
racing, he’s
woiking the
NASCAR
gar^e. intro
ducing himself
I to the sport's
I powerbrokers.
I He wwi the
I prestigious All-American 400 at
I Na-shvaie in axs and has partic-
I ipated in Roush Racing’.? ‘‘Goi^
1 Show” tiyout-s the past two
I years. He recently s^Ae with
t Rick Minter of Cox New's
I Service.
Cox News Service
Jason Hc^an has
been preparing most
of his life for a career
in NASCAR. In this
1999 photo, he makes
sure his water tattle is
installed correctly
while racing at Lanier
National Speedway in
Braselton, Ga.
numeric:ally
SPEAKING
8
5
I On w'orking the garage try-
I ing to get a ride: “it’s really dlf-
I flcult being at any racetrack and
I notbemginthedrirer’s.^at •
tuning ftie cai- and getting ready
to race, but I know- that’s what 1
have to do to further ray career.
It’S also hard to look at people
that have rides that I’ve outrun
in the past. I know Tm just as
gcKid as them. I Jtist haven’t had
the opportunity titey have, but I
know it will come.”
On the current job market
for young drivers: “Silly
Season Is pretty silly this year.
There are a lot of prople chang
ing rides, but not a lot of people
are talking. I do think that some
of the establi^ed drivers are
getting ready' to mot'e on, so that
shoidd mean that teams will be
looking for younger rtrirera. It
seems that teams ai^ stai’ting to
look at like the Southtsist
Series that I'm running in to
find drivel's."
On the benefits of being in
the “Gong Show”: “ft was a
real g(K>d thing, ^tsng aU the
TV exposure. I wish it had
turned out better, and I wish
diey’d show the ’05 rersion on
'TV because I fared much better
hi that one. 1 put tcK> mudi pr^-
siire on myself the second
time,"
On his Immediate racing
future: 'T’m woricing on deiUs
to either move to ARC A («• tte
Craftsman Truck Series. I’d like
to get something woilied out to
run the truck race at
Martinsville in October, If
«)mebody would just give me
one chance, I know I can get a
ride out of it."
Chevrolet drivers in the top
10 in Nextel Cup points
heading to California
Speedway.
The number of times that
Jimmie Johnson and Matt
Kenseth (shown below
winning Saturday's Sharpie
500 at Bristol) have
qualified lor the Chase.
5
0
NASCAR
The number of times that
team owner Rick Hendridt
has won at California
Speedway, tops among
team owners.
Dodge drivers In the tc^ 10
in points entering the Sony
HD 500 at California.
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate for Cox News Service. (800) 255-6734. *For release the week of August 28, 2006.