Is it a “here we go again”, or is it just the first win for Hendrick Motor Sports this year? Johnson sealing the deal with teammate Dale Jr. 7th, and Gordon behind the curve again this week but a better finish coming in 13th. No Cup or Truck Race this weekend, but maybe we’ll get some good action from the Nation Wide boys as they tackle Mexico City.
NASCAR takes Humpy up on testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Schrader gets another ride, Craftsman Truck Drivers head to Mexico, Stremme becomes a tester and Robbie Gordon Off Road Racing News!!! Direct TV subscribers be sure and watch Robbie Gordon on channel 101 April 19 th-26th.
Race Dates:
Cup Series: Open Weekend.
Nation Wide: Corona Mexico 200 presented by Banamex 04/20/08 on ESPN.
Truck Series: Open Weekend.
P.S. Matt and I will be getting the blog up and going some time this week… And if you get lonely from no racing this weekend, check out the Rolex Sports Car Series on Speed, Saturday from Mexico City, 3pm Central. http://www.grand-am.com/rolex/
(News @ Jayski’s dot com)… www.jayski.com/
Sprint Cup Series Test Session Added for Lowe’s Motor Speedway:
NASCAR announced the addition of a Sprint Cup Series test session May 5-6 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. On May 5 practice times are set from 9am – 12 noon; 1pm – 5pm; and 6pm – 9pm. On May 6 practice times are set from 9am – 12 noon and 1pm – 5pm. Teams may test a maximum of four of those five practice segments. NASCAR visited with the teams this past weekend at Phoenix about the possibility of adding a test to further prepare for the remaining 17 events the series has at intermediate tracks the rest of the season, including next month’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The extra test gives the series seven sanctioned test sessions this year, the same number the teams had in 2007. “We received input from the teams last weekend at Phoenix and a vast majority of them were receptive to adding a test next month at Lowe’s,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition. “We always strive to work with the teams and do what is in the best interest of the competitors. We have 17 events ahead of us on intermediate tracks and the additional test allows the teams the opportunity to learn more about the new car, work on their setups and adjustments, and apply that information to these future races.”(NASCAR PR)(4-15-2008)
NASCAR announced the addition of a Sprint Cup Series test session May 5-6 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. On May 5 practice times are set from 9am – 12 noon; 1pm – 5pm; and 6pm – 9pm. On May 6 practice times are set from 9am – 12 noon and 1pm – 5pm. Teams may test a maximum of four of those five practice segments. NASCAR visited with the teams this past weekend at Phoenix about the possibility of adding a test to further prepare for the remaining 17 events the series has at intermediate tracks the rest of the season, including next month’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The extra test gives the series seven sanctioned test sessions this year, the same number the teams had in 2007. “We received input from the teams last weekend at Phoenix and a vast majority of them were receptive to adding a test next month at Lowe’s,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition. “We always strive to work with the teams and do what is in the best interest of the competitors. We have 17 events ahead of us on intermediate tracks and the additional test allows the teams the opportunity to learn more about the new car, work on their setups and adjustments, and apply that information to these future races.”(NASCAR PR)(4-15-2008)
Darnell to make Nationwide debut in Mexico City: Erik Darnell will make his Nationwide Series debut this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. The 25-year-old NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular will pilot the #17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion and will be led by crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. The Beach Park, Ill., native has two road course races under his belt; one at Infineon Raceway and one at Brainerd International Raceway. He also joined his Roush Fenway Racing teammates last month for a test session at Virginia International Raceway.(
Hornaday in first Nationwide race of 2008 at Mexico: Ron Hornaday will jump behind the wheel of the #33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Camping World Chevy for the first time this season when the Nationwide Series travels to Mexico City for Sunday’s running of the Corona 200. Hornaday has one previous start at the track in 2005, driving for KHI. He started the race from the 21st position and finished the day 12 th
Some Engine News: Hendrick Motor Sports had apparently found a way to squeeze more power out of their engines, according to dyno numbers, but actually had to dial back some. Yet, it’s not Hendrick that has Cory DeMarco, front tire changer for Yates Racing. “Toyota has the most power out there right now,” DeMarco said during one of the several rain delays the NASCAR Sprint Cup series endured trying to get the Auto Club 500 concluded Sunday night at the newly renamed Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. “Especially now that they have Gibbs [Racing] on board; those guys are doing most of the engine development.” DeMarco is pleased with the strength being shown by the Roush-Yates engine program. “The engines are strong,” DiMarco said, especially when you look at what Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards were doing Sunday. “From and engineering standpoint, we’re just a little behind last year.” DeMarco pointed out that NASCAR has pretty much taken away much opportunity to change anything on the cars. “It’s all chassis development and suspension parts to get the cars to grip better,” he said. “The sport is going where it’s all engineering.”(Ford Racing)(2-25-2008 ) Comment here
Dynos after 150’s show Toyota’s stronger: Judging from NASCAR’s post-150s chassis-dyno tests, which showed Toyota’s #20-Tony Stewart had at least a 15 horsepower edge at his rear wheels over Chevy’s #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Thursday’s twin races. And Richard Childress’ Chevy engines were about 30 horsepower off the Toyotas, which is some concern in both the Childress camp and with GM officials. NASCAR didn’t post any official numbers, but Stewart’s engine – built by Mark Cronquist, head of Joe Gibbs’ motor shop – pulled around 462 to 464 effective horsepower, according to those familiar with the results. That’s about 15 horsepower more than Earnhardt had and about 30 horsepower more than Chevy’s Kevin Harvick.(Winston Salem Journal)(2-16-2008)
UPDATE: NASCAR tested about 10 different Sprint Cup engines following last Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races. According to several officials from NASCAR, the manufacturers who race in the Sprint Cup Series and race teams, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, all parties involved are satisfied that the engines from Toyota, General Motors, Dodge and Ford are competitive with each other in terms of horsepower. Most of the engines tested varied by less than 10 horsepower, multiple sources told SPEEDTV.com, with all but two of the engines within 7-8 horsepower of each other. And none of the four brands tested had a consistent advantage over the others. Media reports on Saturday that Toyotas had a 30-horsepower advantage over the Chevrolets were, to say the least, erroneous. Had that actually been the case, Chevrolet teams would have been raising a ruckus with NASCAR and complaining bitterly to the media about being at a competitive disadvantage. Nothing of the sort has happened.( SPEED)(2-17-2008) Comment here
UPDATE: NASCAR tested about 10 different Sprint Cup engines following last Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races. According to several officials from NASCAR, the manufacturers who race in the Sprint Cup Series and race teams, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, all parties involved are satisfied that the engines from Toyota, General Motors, Dodge and Ford are competitive with each other in terms of horsepower. Most of the engines tested varied by less than 10 horsepower, multiple sources told SPEEDTV.com, with all but two of the engines within 7-8 horsepower of each other. And none of the four brands tested had a consistent advantage over the others. Media reports on Saturday that Toyotas had a 30-horsepower advantage over the Chevrolets were, to say the least, erroneous. Had that actually been the case, Chevrolet teams would have been raising a ruckus with NASCAR and complaining bitterly to the media about being at a competitive disadvantage. Nothing of the sort has happened.( SPEED)(2-17-2008) Comment here
BAM goes to a part time schedule; Schrader to #70?: Open letter from BAM Racing owner, Beth Ann Morgenthau: “Our recent switch toToyota is a strong testament to our focus andcommitment to become more competitive. Even though we were disappointed it became necessary to miss two races to complete the transition to Toyota. We were excited about the potential for the balance of the 2008 season. That excitement was abruptly interrupted this past week by news that a primary sponsorship deal once planned for the majority of the 2008 season had been reduced to a fraction of a season and that fraction will likely be in the fall. The private company has been in the process of raising funds in the equity market for working capital which included a portion going to a product launch using the #49 race car. Due to the uncertainty of the stock market raising the capital is taking longer than expected. With no other primary sponsor currently in place to fill the void the harsh reality of this most recent news is that we are forced to reduce our 2008 participation to a partial season. Our marketing groups are working hard to fill the sponsorship void so we can get back on the track sooner than later. When new primary sponsorship is secured you will be one of the first to know! It is of little consolation that we are not alone in this plight. The uncertain economic times affecting our sponsor are affecting sponsorships throughout NASCAR and are having a winnowing affect on the number of teams showing up each week to compete. We’re confident that with the decreasing numbers of teams, with the competitive cars we produce and with the horsepower Toyota engines provide, we will be able to step back into competition effectively and successfully on short notice–and we are making every effort to make our sabbatical as short as possible.(BAM Racing)
Schrader? hearing Ken Schrader may drive the #70 Haas CNC Racing Chevy at Talladega.(4-15-2008)
Schrader? hearing Ken Schrader may drive the #70 Haas CNC Racing Chevy at Talladega.(4-15-2008)
Robby Gordon and Central Europe Rally on DIRECTV’s The 101: Team Dakar USA announced the acquisition of the United Statesbroadcast rights for the Central Dakar Rally. DIRECTV will air a daily half-hour show on channel 101, the in-house channel available throughout the United States on the satellite television service. The show airs April 19-26 featuring 13 minutes of overall rally coverage plus nine minutes dedicated to the American efforts of Team Dakar USA. The program airs at 7 pm then re-broadcast at 12:30 am/et. When terrorist threats cancelled the 2008 Dakar Rally in January, the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) moved quickly to schedule the Central Europe Rally as a replacement event for all the teams, fans and sponsors of the legendary Dakar Rally. The Central Europe Rally was already in the works as part of the Dakar Series set to debut in 2009. Beginning in Budapest, Hungary, the varied and technical route covers 2,972 kilometers, about 1,846 miles, in seven days. The route includes a stint in Romania before concluding at Balaton Lake in Hungary. Team Dakar USA Owner and driver Robby Gordon is no stranger to logistical challenges, but the Central Europe Rally may prove to be the greatest challenge yet. Gordon, a fulltime Sprint Cup driver, plans to fly to Paris after Saturday’s Sprint Cup race in Phoenix. In Paris he’ll join members of Team Dakar USAprogram then drive the race and support vehicles over 1,300 kilometers to Budapest for the rally’s start. At the rally’s conclusion on April 26, Gordon will fly back to the United States to compete in the Sprint Cup race at Talladega on April 27th.
“Timing is everything with this event. First, I’m very grateful to the ASO for coming up with a solution for all the fans and sponsors. The schedule that they selected has made it possible for us to compete. I also have to thank Chris Long at DIRECTV for helping televise this event. He and The 101 team have mobilized quickly, and I think motorsports fans everywhere will have something to get excited about,” said Gordon. Team Dakar USA fields two identically prepared purpose-built race Hummers in the Central Europe Rally. In the 2007 Dakar Rally, Gordon in his same Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Hummer H3 finished first in the open class, eighth overall and scored a stage win. It was Gordon’s third stage win in three years and allowed Hummer to become the first American manufacturer to win a Dakar Rally stage. For additional rally coverage please visit robbygordon.com and robbysuprising.com where Team Dakar USA will have daily updates, the twitter micro blog feed, and videos.(RGM)
AND P.J. Jones will sub in Robby Gordon’s #7 Dodge during practice and qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway in two weeks. Gordon will be competing in the postponed Central Dakar Rally. Jones could race if Gordon’s return from Hungary is delayed.(Arizona Republic)(4-13-2008
“Timing is everything with this event. First, I’m very grateful to the ASO for coming up with a solution for all the fans and sponsors. The schedule that they selected has made it possible for us to compete. I also have to thank Chris Long at DIRECTV for helping televise this event. He and The 101 team have mobilized quickly, and I think motorsports fans everywhere will have something to get excited about,” said Gordon. Team Dakar USA fields two identically prepared purpose-built race Hummers in the Central Europe Rally. In the 2007 Dakar Rally, Gordon in his same Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Hummer H3 finished first in the open class, eighth overall and scored a stage win. It was Gordon’s third stage win in three years and allowed Hummer to become the first American manufacturer to win a Dakar Rally stage. For additional rally coverage please visit robbygordon.com and robbysuprising.com where Team Dakar USA will have daily updates, the twitter micro blog feed, and videos.(RGM)
AND P.J. Jones will sub in Robby Gordon’s #7 Dodge during practice and qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway in two weeks. Gordon will be competing in the postponed Central Dakar Rally. Jones could race if Gordon’s return from Hungary is delayed.(Arizona Republic)(4-13-2008
