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Todd Bodine won his fifth Truck Series race Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 1.321 seconds in front of runner-up Matt Crafton in the WinStar World Casino 400.
Bodine became the first driver in the history of the series to have five victories at one track. They've all been accomplished in a Toyota for Germain Racing. It was Bodine's 17th career victory in Trucks, also all with Germain.
"It's incredible to win five races at one track," Bodine said. "It's hard to win anywhere."
Perhaps it was fate that moved Tony Stewart into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points lead after Dover last weekend because the new team owner/driver notched his first pole thanks to Mother Nature.
Seems like many who have been cheering on the Stewart-Haas Racing team, she also showed mercy with the constant rain in the Pennsylvania mountain region. Without having turned even one lap on the Pocono Raceway 2.5-mile tri-oval, Stewart's Chevrolet will lead the field to the green flag, weather permitting, on Sunday afternoon.
Saturn owners are some of the most loyal automotive consumers that you will find. The initiation of that same type of loyalty was rolled out in a car company that was just “different” as their slogan stated at one time, “Saturn: A Different Kind of Car Company”.
Current owners of Saturn vehicles begged and pleaded for General Motors not to sell the brand off but despite all of the efforts and GM’s current bankruptcy status, the Saturn brand has to find a new owner. Since the bankruptcy status of General Motors has taken first place in recent news headlines, we witness massive changes in what was one of the biggest automotive companies around.
General Motors has said that they will agree to sell the Saturn brand to Penske. Penske, who seeks to purchase Saturn for $100 to $200 million.
The official teaser for the launch of...
SRTv: Speed and Racing Television
Comcast SportsNet Network NW.
It was a weekend of what might have been for many MotoGP riders at Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi might have once again dominated his home event. His Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo very well could have earned his third victory this year, helping him to keep his lead in the title chase.
Italian Andrea Dovizioso, who held the lead at one point today, looked on track for his first premium class win. Yet for all these riders, one man, Casey Stoner, took their goals over his knee and gave them a thorough thrashing. The Aussie came from sixth position in wet conditions to taste victory one second ahead of Lorenzo on the drying track. An afternoon rain shower before the start of today's race made for the fourth out of five grand prix weekends to be impacted by the weather.
Much like in France, on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, the surface was just damp enough to make wet tires necessary. However, by lap eight the line had dried to make slicks the obvious choice. Stoner made the switch on lap ten, opting for a medium compound with the intent to charge back up the order as high as the Ducati would take him.
Stoner now retakes the points lead, while handing his manufacturer their first Italian GP win.
Scott Dixon didn't lead the majority of laps around the treacherous Milwaukee Mile, but led the right ones en route to winning his second IndyCar Series event of the season.
The New Zealander drove from fourth on the grid and made a late-race pass of Ryan Briscoe to take the point on lap 201, which he did not relinquish for the rest of the day. Dixon dove to the inside of Briscoe and Tomas Scheckter, a lapped car, on the back straight for the winning move.
Runner-up Stewart takes points lead; Junior finishes 12.
It's tough to keep a good man down and when you have the combination of a great car and an excellent driver, it's downright impossible, as Jimmie Johnson proved in Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Restarting eighth on Lap 374 of 400, after NASCAR called the 10th caution of the race for David Stremme's hard crash on the frontsretch, Johnson atoned for a slow pit stop and charged through the field to run down Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart and win his fourth Cup Series race at Dover, his second of the 2009 season and the 42nd of his career.
Keselowski's good fortune came at the expense of continued bad luck to Kyle Busch, who failed to win Saturday's Heluva Good! 200 despite leading a race-high 108 of 200 laps at Dover International Speedway.
Keselowski took the lead for the first time on the next-to-last lap of the Nationwide Series race after Joey Logano ran into the back of Busch, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, moments after a restart on Lap 199. The contact sent Busch up the concrete racing surface at the Monster Mile and gave Keselowski the opening he needed. A day after failing to qualify for Sunday's Sprint Cup race, Keselowski made a winner of JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he powered his No. 88 Chevrolet past Logano's No. 20 Toyota through Turns 1 and 2 and crossed the finish line two laps later, .299 seconds ahead of the 19-year-old driver. "We had a great car, we put ourselves in position to win, we needed a break, and we caught a break," said Keselowski, who won his third Nationwide race but first of the season.
"Don't feel guilty about it. Not one bit. I saw the 18 slow down and the 20 making a basic maneuver. I just saw a hole, went for the hole and I made it. I was there and ready for it, and it worked out." Earnhardt was one of the first people to congratulate Keselowski.
The dry heat of Oregon’s high desert beckoned competitors to test their best set ups on one of the most technical tracks in Oregon. Arriving the water logged surface glistened with trenches of standing water as the familiar white with red speed striped water truck was stowed away. Heat mirages vapored from the backstretch as the Warriors of Dirt unloaded their latemodel chariots to battle.
The mystery of what type of track would develop buzzed in the minds of crew as the trying ground for competition shifted several forms before finalizing on that frictionless smooth black magic driver’s track. Scott Puncochar rolled out as the lone wolf on American Racers. The teams of Terry Ferrando #12, Ronnie Saner #14R, Tom Lawson Jr. #02, and Robby Ireland #8 donned the Goodyear G45 and G50 tires hoping for moisture and abrasion to feed their hungry rubber. The rest of the field predictably ran Hoosiers, the tire ran more here in Oregon than any other brand. If there was a popularity contest in Madras Hoosier won hands down, but this wasn’t a high school election, this was straight up battle for victory. Thunder boomers towered skyward as dark menacing clouds gathered to watch the heat races. Doing what clouds do, the rain came down and didn’t let up. First heat sat on the grid as the Junior division mudded muddled through the mess. Not wanting to lose the track, the first heat led by Jeff Biffle slid down turn three and started the packing process. Within 20 minutes the track was back, but where did all the slick go?
A flurry of W.o.D. pit activity followed as bars were moved and setups changed to match the heavy racing surface. The first heat started out with Jeff Biffle #60 taking the low line with Robby Ireland #8 searching the high side. After a couple laps the Goodyear tires dominated with Robby Ireland #8 winning the first heat by lengths over Greg Walters #97. Second heat Tommy Lawson #02 wins only being challenged by Terry Ferraondo #12, both running Goodyear tires. Third heat Scott Puncochar #14 prevailed on American Racers with Jason Wines #41 churning his Hoosiers in hot pursuit. During the heats the racing surface had moisture to burn and gave away bite to anyone racing on Goodyears or American Racers.
By the six car Dash, the track had changed again with the mid to high lines sporting a dull dark moisture fat surface while the low line polished off to the familiar light sandy pre-rubber slick surface. At the green Ireland and Lawson pull away with Ireland on the low and Lawson on the high line. Each corner the two danced further away with Terry Ferrando #12 slowly gaining, all on Goodyear tires. Then Puncochar #14 started sticking his car. White flag lap Ireland moves higher than Lawson going into three and finds nothing but marbles leaving Lawson to win, Terry Ferrando second. By the A-Main, heat and wind blew away moisture, leaving the surface hungry for rubber. As winner of the first heat, Ireland rolled the fate dice of inversion, four dots, four rows invert. Ireland goes from pole to 8th, and the shift puts Hoosiers across the front row for the start.
The W.o.D. pulled the Madras crowd to their feet with a three wide waive before getting down to business. Green flag and the competition began with Jason Wines #41 acing through to the lead. Who was following??? Nobody that close for certain, Wines mastered the field leading by a straightaway but the cautions kept the competitors chewing at their bits waiting for their opportunity. As each caution restarted, Wines demonstrate his superior set up and skill, as the #41 dominated with tortured Hoosier tires screaming through the corners. The casual observer could have left the race at midway and easily bet Wines would win with odds. There is no script to the action for a W.o.D. race and this show was just getting started by lap 30. Like a bubble surfacing through viscous fluid, the #14 of Scott Puncochar started to hook up. There was not scream from the American Racers, more like a howl and “Tool Time Tim Taylor” grunt grunt grunt as Punchochar closed the distance on leading Wines. The Madras crowd took to their feet as the last few laps played out. Scott Puncochar #14 showed signs of his car getting tight, while others looked like loose gooses hunting bugs. Left front tire pulled up on the #14 as a tell tale indication of what was to follow. Jason Wines #41, mastered this race, but fell victim to lap traffic and Puncochar closed the gap. Battle royal between Wines and Puncochar ensued with the #14 and #41 swinging through the corners as one. There was no space between these to master drivers as Wines leaned into Puncochar. The low line of Wines could not hold off the high line attack of Scott Puncochar. The scream for Wine’s Hoosiers resonated with Puncochar’s growling American Racers, as the two GM 604 motors blended a melody not soon forgotten in the minds of the Madras crowd. Victory circle has parking for one on the Madras front stretch, and Puncochar’s battle damaged Rayburn chariot took it’s position followed closely by Jason Wines #41 and Greg Walters #97. Jeff Biffle #60 kept his car underneath him to the checker finishing a solid fourth. The early promise of the Goodyear tires didn’t continue into the main event, resulting in Ferrando finishing 5th, Ireland 7th, and Tom Lawson 9th.
Other Hoosier prevailers were Tim Goodwin #16 in the Jerry Schram machine and Mike Keely #21 with an 8th place finish. Goodwin earned the Hardcharger distinction and an extra $175 dollars for the effort. Scott Puncochar gives credit to his crew for helping him replicate the “Madras Setup” that earned him $5,000 dollars in 2008, and American Racers for making such a versatile compound. Credit must also goes to the pilot behind the controls as Scott proves again that his decisive driving skills and racecraft understanding is a winning combination. Scott will be happy to assist anyone interested in buying some American Racers, so feel free to call him.
As for his “Madras Setup” Scott offers, “I’ll share some of the setup, but not all.” The only hints this interviewer could get out of Scott is that the springs are soft and the tires are American Racer.The W.o.D. Tour will next race in Elma June 20th.
