Auto Racing Capsules: RFR hopes for another big weekend at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Things couldn't possibly have gone any better for Roush Fenway Racing last weekend, when the organization swept the three races it entered.
Now RFR heads back to Charlotte Motor Speedway, eager to return to the dominance it once showed in NASCAR's longest race of the year. It doesn't look like it will be a problem.
Carl Edwards goes into the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday with momentum from last weekend's victory in the $1 million All-Star race. He won three of the four segments, and outran Kyle Busch over the final 10-lap sprint to claim his first All-Star win.
Greg Biffle won the only other segment of the All-Star race that Edwards didn't claim, and David Ragan won the Sprint Showdown held for drivers not already qualified for the main event.
The final running order showed all four RFR cars in the top eight, and left team owner Jack Roush feeling good about his chances moving ahead.
"The guys worked hard," Roush said. "I'm just proud to be part of their program."
It's a program that obviously had turned a corner at the start of this season, when Edwards and Ragan contended for the Daytona 500 victory. Although the win went to Roush development driver Trevor Bayne, driving for the Wood Brothers in a car that's closely aligned to the RFR organization, the Roush cars were clearly at a pace to run up front again.
It's continued week after week, as Edwards won at Las Vegas and is the current Sprint Cup Series points leader. Matt Kenseth has two wins, Biffle has had dominant cars at points this season, and Ragan has shown clear improvement.
Toss in a win Sunday at Iowa by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the first series regular to win in the second-tier Nationwide Series, and RFR is clicking.
Roush credited everyone but himself for the turnaround, from competition director Robbie Reiser, to manufacturer Ford and engine builder Doug Yates.
"There's a lot of discussion about hard work in this business, but the Roush Fenway guys have really, really suited up for it in the winter," Roush said. "They've got me really close to the door, so there's not as many tools I can get my hands on and not as many things I could screw up as I used to.
"The engine is good, the car is good, the engineering is just incredible."
Maybe good enough to get Roush back to Victory Lane on Sunday.
His drivers once reeled off four consecutive wins in the Coca-Cola 600, starting with Jeff Burton's victory in 1999. Then came a win by Kenseth, another one by Burton, and finally Mark Martin's victory in 2002.
The dominance ended the next season with the emergence of Jimmie Johnson, who strung together five wins in six points races at Charlotte, including three-straight 600 victories.
RFR began to slide the other way, and Edwards himself admits Charlotte became a struggle. His average finish is 13.1 in 12 career Cup starts at Charlotte, and his 2006 victory in the Nationwide Series is his only win at the track.
But he credits crew chief Bob Osborne for helping him turn it around, and is confident he'll be good this weekend.
"It's fair to say that we have been not very good here, and sometimes terrible," Edwards said. "I think that we figured some things out. Bob and the guys have done a really good job. I think it bodes well for the 600, for sure.
"I would hope we can come back here with as good or better a car and definitely a lot more confidence than we had before."
He's the not the only one.
"I feel great about next week, I really do," Biffle said after his fifth-place run in the All-Star race. "We'll run good for sure."
And Kenseth, who finished sixth, will race Sunday in the car that led 169 laps earlier this season in a win at Texas. He knows making it to the final 100 miles is the key to winning the race, and is excited to use strategy to be in it at the end.
"I think you really want to be in at least the top 15 the whole race, especially at the beginning to make sure you don't get lapped or if you have a problem you get too far behind," Kenseth said. "There have been times we've run really well, and then there have been times where we struggled, but the 600 is probably my favorite event of the season."
Stewart would be interested in signing Patrick
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tony Stewart would be interested in signing Danica Patrick if she makes a full-time move to NASCAR.
But Stewart only would be interested in signing Patrick to a Sprint Cup ride for Stewart-Haas Racing, which does not field a second-tier Nationwide Series team.
"Anybody that's got a Cup team that would have the availability would jump at the chance to do something with her," Stewart said Wednesday during an appearance for sponsor Office Depot's new Tech Services stores.
"You would be crazy not to entertain an offer like that and an opportunity for her to drive a race car for you."
Patrick is running a limited Nationwide schedule for JR Motorsports for a second consecutive year. She's got an option year coming up on her contract with Andretti Autosport and is deciding whether to stay in IndyCar or make a move to full-time NASCAR next year.
She said during preparations for the Indianapolis 500 last week that she doesn't know what she'll do next year.
"I suppose anything is possible," she said. "But I know for me, I haven't made any of those decisions yet."
Stewart fields two cars at Stewart-Haas Racing, but the two-time champion eventually wants to get to the NASCAR-maximum four-car limit. He's not spoken to her about joining his team, but did not know if his business managers had spoken with Patrick's team.
He also dodged any questions on if Patrick is ready for the elite Cup level. In 17 career starts, her highest finish was fourth at Las Vegas in March. She's run only four Nationwide races so far this season and has eight remaining on her schedule.
"It's just time (she needs)," Stewart said. "I didn't think I was ready for Cup and Bobby Labonte and Joe Gibbs said, 'Yeah, you're ready.'
"It took me running some Cup races before I realized I was ready. I'm not sure you know until you get out and do it. She's smart enough. She didn't get to this level by making bad decisions."
Stewart has given Patrick advice during her NASCAR trial, but the one thing he can't counsel her on is giving up on the dream to win the Indianapolis 500. Stewart won the 1997 IndyCar championship but left the series to move to NASCAR.
He's never won the Indy 500 but does have two Brickyard 400 wins in NASCAR.
"That's not an easy decision to make, but you have to think about what is best for you long term," Stewart said. "She's the only one that knows what she wants to do. Whatever decision she makes, she's going to have a reason for it."
Meanwhile, Stewart declined to comment on former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch's speeding ticket Tuesday. Busch was pulled over doing 128 mph in a 45 mph zone test driving an almost $400,000 Lexus on loan from manufacturer Toyota.
Stewart, who represented Office Depot while delivering laptops, printers and a gift card to a Charlotte elementary school, cited the nature of his appearance as reason for not discussing Busch's ticket.
-- Jenna Fryer
Daytona 500 Bayne to sit out both Charlotte races
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Roush Fenway Racing will hold Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne out of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the fifth consecutive week he'll miss because of an inflammatory condition.
Team officials said Wednesday that Bayne has been testing, but decided to hold him out of racing 900 miles over two days at Charlotte.
The Nationwide Series race on Saturday is 300 miles, and Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race on the NASCAR schedule.
Bayne will now make his return in next week's Nationwide race at Chicagoland Speedway. His next Sprint Cup race will be June 18 at Michigan.
"By all standards Trevor had a great week," Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark said in a statement. "His symptoms have completely subsided. He tested at Virginia International Raceway on Tuesday, had one of the fastest Nationwide Series cars on the race track and his team was extremely pleased with his progress.
"As a result, we plan to have him back in competition next week in Chicago."
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will make his first Sprint Cup start by replacing Bayne in the Coca-Cola 600 for the Wood Brothers Racing, and Matt Kenseth will run the Nationwide race. Stenhouse is coming off his first career victory, Sunday at Iowa, when he became the first Nationwide regular to win this season.
"Obviously it's not the circumstances that you want to make your first Sprint Cup start," Stenhouse said. "But you grow up dreaming about this moment and I am excited and grateful for the opportunity.
"Trevor is a very good friend of mine and he's going to be around this weekend, and I know that his help with the transition will be instrumental. Hopefully we can give him an effort that will make him proud before we turn the car back over to him for the rest of the season."
-- Jenna Fryer
IndyCar
Drivers cringe at thought of Indy's new restarts
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After a crazy qualifying weekend and frantic deal-cutting Monday to get Ryan Hunter-Reay back into the race, Indy 500 drivers now can focus on the greatest controversy in IndyCar racing: the new double-file restarts.
Pole-sitter Canadian Alex Tagliani calls the restarts "really stupid," and such short, curt responses have been the norm from drivers all month.
"That's what happens when you try to imitate NASCAR," Marco Andretti said after getting collected in a crash at the season-opener in St. Petersburg. "Our cars have too much power to start right nose-to-tail, you know. It creates disasters."
With Indianapolis Motor Speedway's narrow groove, excessive rubber buildup in the corners and traditionally tricky winds, Sunday's race could turn into a demolition derby. At least that's the warning coming from Gasoline Alley.
So IndyCar officials have spent the past week meeting with track officials to figure out a solution.
One change already has been made. IndyCar spokeswoman Amy Konrath said Tuesday the track will use four sweepers to clean the tiny rubber pieces, often referred to as marbles, out of the corners. Two trucks will be used in tandem to clean the first two turns, and two more will the clean the third and fourth turns.
Traditionally, the track has used only two sweepers on race day.
The hope is the marbles will be cleaned up before the race restarts.
One key issue still to be determined is where drivers will be told to accelerate in the mile-long front straightaway. The farther back it is, the less likely it is for a massive pileup in the first corner. Brian Barnhart, IndyCar's president of competition and racing operations, is scheduled to meet with three drivers on Thursday about that concern.
But no matter what Barnhart decides, it's unlikely to tone down the reaction in Gasoline Alley.
IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said it was team owners who lobbied for the new restarts. In January, he announced they would be used only on ovals this season. When drivers complained it would be too dangerous on Indy's historic 2.5-mile ovals, Bernard adapted, deciding to use them on the road and street courses, too.
Bernard contends IndyCar drivers are the best in the world, and they should be able to figure out how to make double-file restarts work safely.
"Look, I think as long as we keep the double-file restarts, they're not going to be satisfied," he said. "But I have a tremendous amount of respect for Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske, and this was their idea. This is racing."
Sunday's 33 starters might pick a more colorful term to describe what's happened on the track this season.
At St. Pete, there were four full-course cautions in the first 14 laps, with five cars running into trouble on the opening turn.
At the next race, in Alabama, Barnhart tweaked the procedure and things improved over the last three races.
Still, concerns remain about double-file restarts at Indy.
"I think when you double file you have no opportunity to pass," said points leader Will Power, the Aussie who drives for Team Penske. "You're sort of stuck in your row, so that's going to make it really interesting. I think the last two restarts of the day are going to be pretty wild."
Most drivers seem resigned to the change, and complaints have become more muted this week, with drivers saying they'll follow the rules.
"If they tell us to line up three-wide, four-wide, double file, we'll do it," said Paul Tracy, who's driving for Dreyer & Reinbold and will start 24th. "They tell us what to do, and we do it."
Clearly, though, drivers don't like the concept, the carnage or the conversation.
No matter. Officials are not changing their minds or their rules.
"I's great for the fans if they want to see 10 cars piled up in the first turn, but maybe we can get ourselves sorted out at some point," South African Tomas Scheckter said after qualifying the No. 07 car for KV Racing Technology. "My predication is there's probably gonna be some crashes."
-- Michael Marot
Servia will start in front row at Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Last year, Oriol Servia spent the Indianapolis 500 aimlessly wandering around the garage area — a driver without a car.
This year, he's planning to win "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
He'll start Sunday's race in the front row after qualifying third for Newman/Haas Racing.
"I feel it's our time," said Servia, whose best finish in two starts is 11th in 2008. "I truly believe we will be proud winners. We're going to have good pit stops. We're going to have a good car."
The 36-year-old Spaniard has gotten off to a blazing start this season. He finished in the top 10 in all four races and is third in the point standings.
Although he and his team were confident coming into Indy, they certainly didn't expect to be in their current position.
"I think we wouldn't have bet that we'd be in the front row," he said. "We know we were going to have a good car because we always get good cars at Newman/Haas. We just had not spent the money over the winter like these big-time teams on pure speed for qualifying. We just did the best we could every day."
As he well knows, you don't want to be a spectator come race day.
A year ago, no one noticed him in the garage area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now, it's nonstop high-fives, autograph requests and shouts of "Way to go!" and "Good job!"
Servia joined Newman/Haas after missing the entire 2010 season and driving just five races in 2009 because he couldn't get enough sponsorship. The ensuing countless Power Point presentations and sales calls forced him to consider ending his racing career.
"The truth is, that's not what I do best," he said. "What I do best is to drive and set up the car and work with the team. I'm not a salesman."
Still, Newman/Haas is sold on his potential.
"The first thing we wanted to do was to look for who we thought was the best driver to lead the team, who is the best driver available, and it was pretty easy for us to choose Oriol," Newman/Haas owner Brian Lisles said. "We expect Oriol to be with the team this year and for a good number of years after."
Servia never doubted his skills. In 2008, he and Will Power, who leads the point standings, were teammates with KV Racing, and Servia felt they had comparable skills: "I knew inside of me that when Power went over to Penske and was the new revolution of the paddock, I said 'Wait a second! I don't think I'm that bad!'"
"I had been doing this all my life," he said. "It's not like I take it for granted, but all of a sudden, when you're forced to stop for a year because teams need money and you don't bring money, there's just a moment where you decide, it's time to do something else, or there's something inside of you that says, 'No, I still want to do this.'"
Servia is glad he chose to keep driving because he believes he has improved over the years.
"I think like wine," he said. "I think I've gotten better with age."
-- Cliff Brunt
Formula One
Red Bull to change pit strategy at Monaco GP
MONACO (AP) — Red Bull will change its pitstop procedures during the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday amid concerns that rival Ferrari was doing copycat stops during last week's race in Spain.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims Ferrari was mimicking Red Bull in Barcelona because it appeared that two-time former F1 champion Fernando Alonso was pitting for Ferrari immediately after Red Bull had called in Mark Webber.
Horner says that "Ferrari's only way to beat Mark (in Spain) was to cover him in the pitstops" and "we've just changed our procedure to be less transparent" in Monaco.
Defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany aims for his fifth win of the season in Monaco. The Red Bull driver already has a commanding 41-point lead over Lewis Hamilton.
Auto Racing Glance
All Times EDT
INDYCAR
Indianapolis 500
Site: Indianapolis.
Schedule: Friday, Carb Day, including Firestone Freedom 100 Indy Lights race (Versus, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.); Sunday, race, noon (ABC, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.).
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles).
Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Dario Franchitti raced to his second Indianapolis 500 victory, winning under caution after a spectacular, airborne crash with a lap left that sent Mike Conway high into the fence and to the hospital with a broken left leg and compression fracture in his back. The victory made Chip Ganassi the first owner to win the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Daytona 500 in the same year.
Last race: Will Power won the Sao Paulo 300 on May 2 for his second victory in four races this year — all on road or street courses. Graham Rahal was second.
Fast facts: Alex Tagliani became the first Canadian to earn the pole, topping the field with a four-lap average of 227.472 mph Saturday for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon, the 2008 winner, qualified second, and Oriol Servia completed the front row. ... Franchitti qualified ninth. Helio Castroneves, the winner in 2000, 2001 and 2009, was 16th. Danica Patrick earned the 26th spot Sunday. ... Ray Harroun won the inaugural event in 1911.
Next races: Firestone Twin 275s, June 11, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
Coca-Cola 600
Site: Concord, N.C.
Schedule: Thursday, practice (Speed, 3:30-5 p.m.), qualifying (Speed, 7-9 p.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.); Sunday, race, 6 p.m. (FOX, 5:30-11 p.m.).
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 600 miles, 400 laps.
Last year: Kurt Busch held off Jamie McMurray for the second of his two 2010 victories. Busch also won the exhibition All-Star Race the previous week at the track.
Last week: Carl Edwards won the All-Star Race to take the $1 million prize. He won three of the four segments in the 100-lap race, holding off Kyle Busch for the victory.
Fast facts: Five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson has six Charlotte victories. He won five times in a six-race stretch at the track — taking the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 and sweeping the spring and fall races in 2004 and 2005 — and also won the 2009 fall race. ... Jeff Gordon won the 1994 race for his first victory. He also won in 1997 and 1998, and has two Charlotte fall victories. ... Darrell Waltrip won the race a record five times. ... Edwards leads the season standings, 24 points ahead of Johnson. ... Kyle Busch was cited for careless and reckless driving and speeding Tuesday after a sheriff's deputy closed him driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone between Troutman and Mooresville. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. is winless in 104 races and has one victory — on fuel mileage at Michigan in June 2008 — in 119 starts for Hendrick Motorsports. He had 17 victories in 291 starts in nine seasons for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Next race: STP 400, June 5, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NATIONWIDE
Top Gear 300
Site: Concord, N.C.
Schedule: Thursday, practice (Speed, 2-3:30 p.m., 5-6:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10-11 a.m.), race, 2:30 p.m. (ABC, 2-5:30 p.m.).
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch won the fifth of his series-record 13 2010 victories.
Last week: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. raced to his first Nationwide Series victory, winning at Iowa Speedway to become the first Nationwide regular to win since Justin Allgaier at Bristol in March 2010. Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards was second a day after winning the All-Star race.
Fast facts: Busch has five victories this year to push his career total to 48, one behind Mark Martin's series record. Busch skipped the Iowa race. He has 97 NASCAR national series victories — 21 in Sprint Cup, 48 in Nationwide and 28 in Trucks — to tie Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip for third place on the career list. ... Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One champion, is making his Nationwide debut. He was 15th last week at the track in his first Trucks start.
Next race: STP 300, June 4, Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS
Next race: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, June 4, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.
Last week: Kyle Busch raced to his second straight Trucks win at Charlotte, his third straight Trucks victory and fourth of the year.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Monaco Grand Prix
Site: Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Schedule: Thursday, practice (Speed, 8-9:30 a.m.); Saturday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 8-9:30 a.m.); Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (Speed, 7:30-10 a.m.).
Track: Circuit de Monaco (street course, 2.075 miles).
Race distance: 161.9 miles, 78 laps.
Last year: Mark Webber won from the pole for the second of his four 2010 victories. Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel was second.
Last week: Vettel won the Spanish Grand Prix for his second straight victory and fourth in five races this year. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was second.
Fast facts: Vettel swept the opening races in Australia and Malaysia and also won in Turkey. The German star has a 41-point lead in the season standings over second-place Hamilton, the Chinese Grand Prix winner. ... Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has a record 91 victories, winning at Monaco in 1994, '95, '97, '99 and 2001. He's winless in two seasons with Mercedes GP after a three-year retirement.
Next race: Canadian Grand Prix, June 12, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
NHRA FULL THROTTLE
Next event: NHRA Supernationals, June 2-5, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, N.J.
Last week: Robert Hight gave John Force Racing its 200th win, beating Funny Car teammate Mike Neff in the Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan. Spencer Massey (Top Fuel) and Shane Gray (Pro Stock) also won.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
OTHER RACES
GRAND-AM ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES: Memorial Day Classic, Monday (Speed, 2-5 p.m.), Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn. Online: http://www.grand-am.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car, Outlaw Showdown, Friday (Speed, 8-10 p.m.), The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.; Monday, I-96 Speedway, Lake Odessa, Mich. Super DirtCar, Sunday, Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Elbridge, N.Y. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Silver Crown, Hoosier Hundred, Friday, Indiana State Fair Grounds, Indianapolis. Sprint Car, Thursday, Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute, Ind.; Monday, Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, Pa.; Tuesday, Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, Pa. Online: http://www.usacracing.com
