Auto Racing Capsules: Fuel-sipping Bodine ends Busch's win streak
SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Todd Bodine tried to outrace Kyle Busch. When that didn't work, the NASCAR Trucks Series veteran decided to outsmart the Cup star.
Bodine recovered from a midrace spin — one started when Busch edged a little too close to Bodine's rear quarterpanel — to end Busch's three-series winning streak at four with a brilliant fuel-saving run Friday night.
The series points leader managed to squeeze out 58 laps on one tank of fuel to beat Johnny Sauter and Aric Almirola while ending Busch's two-week stranglehold on Victory Lane.
"Our misfortune turned out to be our fortune," Bodine said his fourth win of the season.
Sauter was second, followed by Almirola, Jason White and Ricky Carmichael.
Bodine exacted a little revenge on Busch.
The two got together briefly last week at Chicagoland, where Busch eventually rolled to his fourth straight win across NASCAR's three national series.
They were at it again at the bumpy 1.5-mile oval in northern Kentucky. They were battling for the lead just past the race's halfway point when Bodine got loose trying to take the lead from Busch on lap 82. He lost control coming out of Turn 4 and slid onto the infield grass. His truck was largely unscathed and he pitted on lap 92.
Bodine wasn't supposed to make it 58 laps on one tank, yet he managed to sip enough gas to make it hold up and extend his lead over Almirola to 261 points with seven races to go.
"I'd like to thank Kyle for driving dirty and pushing us down," Bodine said in Victory Lane. "That made us get the gas."
The remark angered Busch and the two exchanged pleasantries. Bodine didn't back down from his comment, saying he's getting tired of Busch's seeming lack of respect for his fellow drivers.
"Unfortunately, I've always had a lot of respect for Kyle," Bodine said. "Slowly but surely I'm losing it."
Busch, who will look for a record-breaking 11th win in the Nationwide Series on Saturday in Atlanta, was not approached for comment afterward.
He began the day hoping to match Fred Lorenzen, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and David Pearson as the only drivers to win five consecutive NASCAR events.
No biggie. He wasted little time making his way through the field. Busch was in front by lap 55 and appeared ready to continue the dominance that began two weeks ago at Bristol, when he swept the Trucks, Nationwide and Cup race. He backed it up last week in Chicago and clearly had the fastest truck Friday.
It just wasn't so great on fuel mileage. He pitted under green with 23 laps remaining, ceding the lead to Bodine who kept his right foot gingerly on the throttle as the laps wound down.
Bodine crossed the finish line with a couple of ounces to spare. Not bad for a truck that needed a serious facelift after getting banged up in Chicago. The truck was in the shop Sunday and had a new engine by Monday.
Five days later, it was good enough to help Bodine pick up his 21st career Trucks victory.
Bodine hopes there's more checkered flags in his future. He knows he'll have to beat Busch to get there. He's hoping the supremely talented Busch, however, will learn some manners.
"It's not just the Trucks Series, it's every division he races," Bodine said. "He's so good. He's without a doubt one of the best drivers NASCAR has ever seen ... he doesn't have to drive like that to win races but he does and he's getting away with it because NASCAR won't do anything about it. He was mad because I called him out on it."
IndyCar
Carpenter on the pole, Power 2nd at Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Will Power isn't one to pout.
The IndyCar Series points leader bounced back from a late-race pit gaffe at Chicago last week to qualify second for Saturday's Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway, hoping to put some distance between himself and defending series champion Dario Franchitti.
Veteran racer Ed Carpenter captured the first pole of his career by posting an average speed of 217.933 mph at the 1.5-mile oval.
Power's seemingly comfortable lead took a major hit at Chicagoland when he didn't receive enough fuel during a late pit stop, forcing him to head back in with a few laps remaining. The miscue dropped Power to 16th and when Franchitti took the checkered flag, the Australian's advantage had been trimmed to just 23 points with three races remaining.
After admittedly stewing about it on the short drive back to Indianapolis, Power says he was over it by the time he went to bed.
A week later he'll start from the front row for the 11th time this season.
"We're got to have a good finish," Power said. "We can't afford another bad one."
Not the way Franchitti is driving. Power has joked he hears the theme music from "Jaws" every time he sees Franchitti in his rearview mirror. The two-time Indy 500 winner is suddenly larger than ever.
"I'm chasing him as hard as I can," said Franchitti, who will start 11th.
And maybe messing with Power's head a little bit too.
Franchitti chastised Power, a road racing ace who is still searching for his first win on an oval for erratic driving in Chicago.
"He was being pretty crazy on Saturday night," Franchitti said. "He was doing some stuff that was really beyond what you would normally consider almost safe at some points. He had three or four accidents; he just didn't hit anything."
Power politely disagreed, arguing he had to race as aggressively as possible just to keep up at a track that creates pack racing at over 200 mph.
"I just raced like all the other maniacs were racing out there," Power said. "When you go to a track that creates a pack race that requires everyone to race 100 percent throttle all the time, you have to do crazy things to get to the front."
That doesn't mean Power feels he crossed the line, and Franchitti was quick to point out that Power wasn't the only driver dancing dangerously close to the edge at Chicago.
With hundredths of a second separating the majority of the field, there just isn't a lot of room to move. Although it can make for a compelling product, the drivers don't always enjoy it.
"It can be quite a frustrating type of racing," Franchitti said. "When people pull stupid stuff like they were doing on Saturday night, it can get pretty dangerous too."
Things might not be much better at Kentucky. Carpenter nearly picked up the first win of his lengthy career at the bumpy circuit last August. He led late before Ryan Briscoe slipped by on the outside to win by .0162 seconds for one of the closest finishes in series history.
Carpenter has spent most of the season watching races from home after Vision Racing closed shop following the 2009 season.
He ran a respectable 17th at Indianapolis before signing a three-race deal to drive the No. 20 car for Panther Racing last month. Carpenter finished 20th at Chicagoland before his surprising run Friday.
The 29-year-old will make his 102nd career start on Saturday. It's an opportunity he isn't taking for granted.
"I'm obviously not ready for my career to be over," he said. "Every time I get in the car for practice, qualifying, racing, I'm trying to maximize all my potential."
It's something Power has done with aplomb during his breakout season. He's been atop the standings following all but one race this season and won the first-ever road championship by dominating the nine road races on the schedule. He's won five times when forced to turn left and right.
Things haven't been quite so promising when only nudging the wheel left. His best finish on an oval is fifth at Iowa in June. With three ovals to close the season, he needs to get better quickly to hold off Franchitti.
He believes his No. 12 team is up to the challenge. Though not exactly happy with what happened in Chicago, he led 17 laps and ran at the front until the end. Despite Franchitti's suggestions, he's also more than comfortable handling his business in close quarters.
"I think it all has to do with the car," he said. "If the car is good, you're as comfortable as you like. If it's not, you hate it. I don't think it matters how many miles you have done on ovals; if you've got a good car, you're laughing."
-- Will Graves
Formula One
FIA opens investigation into Massa's start
PARIS (AP) — The world governing body of motor sports has opened an investigation into Ferrari driver Felipe Massa's start at last weekend's Formula One Belgian Grand Prix.
A FIA spokeswoman said Friday it is trying to find out how Massa started the race ahead of his designated spot on the grid without it being noticed until amateur footage was posted on the Internet.
It was unclear whether the Brazilian driver could lose his fourth-place finish.
In another case, Ferrari will face a disciplinary hearing next week after it was found guilty of breaking team-ordered rules at the German Grand Prix.
Ferrari was already fined $100,000 after Massa appeared to let teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain pass him to win the race on July 25.
NHRA
McClenathan leads Top Fuel field at U.S. Nationals
CLERMONT, Ind. (AP) — Cory McClenathan took the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday with a record-setting run in the NHRA's playoff-opening U.S. Nationals.
McClenathan, a two-time Indy winner who entered the six-event Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship second in the standings, had a run of 3.789 seconds at 319.98 mph, breaking the O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis record for time.
Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Andrew Hines also topped their divisions in the prestigious event that will end Monday.
Two-time Indy winner Hight set a Funny Car track record for time at 4.055 and 310.98 mph in a Ford Mustang. John Force, Hight's team owner and the points leader, was second at 4.058 and a track-record 312.86 mph. Force is a four-time U.S. Nationals winner.
Edwards, the defending Pro Stock champion and season leader, paced the division at 6.596 and 208.46 in a Pontiac GXP. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the top-seeded Hines was quickest at 6.974 and 185.69 on his Harley-Davidson.
