Auto Racing Capsules: Newman, Hamlin say they were fined by NASCAR
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Asked the amount of his NASCAR fine, Ryan Newman kept quiet.
What did he do? Shrugged shoulders.
Hey, maybe the threat of secret fines for speaking out against the stock car series is working after all.
NASCAR expects omerta (the code of silence) from its drivers when it comes to publicly lashing out against the sport. If they do, they'll be fined. Ask Newman or Denny Hamlin.
Both Sprint Cup star drivers acknowledged at Pocono Raceway they were the ones fined by NASCAR for making critical comments about the racing series.
"It's not a good thing by any means for our sport," Newman said Friday. "The less we talk about it, the more we can talk about the racing."
Newman refused to disclose the amount of the fine or what he said. He implied that it was for comments he made after he crashed at Talladega Superspeedway.
Newman said in April that winning was "a lottery, racing for a championship shouldn't be a lottery." He added the wreck-heavy races at Talladega "affect our championship because it's not racing."
He was one of a few drivers Friday who blamed the media for stirring up controversy and an easy willingness to criticize the sport. Newman suggested if he was left alone for a few moments after his wreck instead of being instantly forced to answer questions, he might have cooled down and not been so quick to pop off.
"When you get a microphone stuck in your face when the adrenaline's still rushing, don't expect everything to be positive," Newman said.
Or, he could have said "no comment."
Hamlin said he was punished for comments he made on Twitter. He also did not reveal the amount of the fine.
People familiar with the penalties told the AP this week fines were levied because the comments were considered disparaging to the sport. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR was not publicly identifying the topflight drivers it fined. They say one driver was penalized as much as $50,000.
Newman said the penalties are "behind me. It's behind Denny right now." He was frustrated about the fine "because I didn't understand what it was or why it was."
Hamlin understood why he was fined.
"Whether you agree with it or not, it happened. They're in control," he said.
The decision to fine competitors for critical comments puts NASCAR in line with many other professional sports leagues. The NFL and NBA both routinely issue fines for criticism of officiating.
"Other sports do the same thing, they just do it in different ways," Newman said.
It also backs up NASCAR's season-long effort to rebuild the slumping sport through an improved on-track product and off-track promotion from its drivers.
"We're all in it together, and I understand that," Hamlin said. "I definitely understand, I don't really know what it was, but more than likely it was the Twitter comments more than anything that kind of got me in trouble with them."
What irked fans and others in the sport was how NASCAR handled the fines. There was no press release or public announcement. They handled it privately in an era where most news leaks out somehow anyway.
Drivers seemed to support the discretion in the decision.
"The secret part of it is a good thing," Newman said. "That's what people need to understand. I don't want to talk about the negative, NASCAR doesn't want to talk about the negative. There are people in the garage area that want to talk about the negative aspects of our sport and that's not good."
Four-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson knows it's a tricky balance for a driver to speak his mind and not blast the sport.
"NASCAR is just trying to help up us, not hurt ourselves," he said.
Tony Stewart, who owns Newman's car, had no prior knowledge of the fine. The two-time Cup champion blamed the media for some of the woes that have hit the sport, like sagging attendance and declining television ratings.
"When you finally tell someone that the racing is bad enough, long enough, you're going to convince people that it really is," he said. "The result of that is not having as many people in the grandstand because of that."
He said everyone from drivers to owners to promoters to the media play a role in NASCAR's success or failure. But it's not the media's role to act as cheerleaders for the sport, only to report and analyze the news.
"Everybody sitting here and listening to this right now makes a living off this sport, myself included, and we're all shooting ourselves in the foot because we're convincing some of these people that this stuff is bad," he said.
Juan Pablo Montoya might be on the right track. Asked why he didn't speak to the media after a wreck took him out late at the Brickyard, Montoya said he wasn't in the right mood.
"You'll say something dumb and regret it," he said.
Stewart takes Pocono poles
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Tony Stewart unbuttoned the top button on his racing suit and let out a sigh.
Qualifying for the pole always makes a trip to Pocono Raceway more fun. Stewart zipped his No. 14 Chevy for a qualifying lap Friday of 171.393 mph around the 2.5-mile triangle track to start from the top for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.
"Man, it felt good," Stewart said. "If you want a place where you want good track position, it's here at Pocono."
Juan Pablo Montoya will start second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race for an impressive follow-up to last week's pole start but disappointing 32nd-place finish at the Brickyard 400.
Denny Hamlin will start third as he tries to sweep both Pocono races. Hamlin won the Pocono 500 in June.
They'll both have to get past Stewart first, who's got a little experience with starting up front at the Tricky Triangle.
Stewart started the June race in sixth place, and finished third. He was awarded the pole at the two Pocono stops in 2009 after rainouts washed out qualifying.
This time, Stewart sped his way to the top. He said he felt good going around the first two turns before thinking he hit a rough spot around Turn 3.
"I felt like I might have lost a little bit of time there, but we got through there pretty good, too apparently. Better than I thought, I guess," Stewart said.
Good enough for his second pole of the season, the first coming at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Ninth in the points race, Stewart hopes to get a boost as the schedule draws closer to the Chase playoffs.
And to think, Stewart considers qualifying a "weak suit."
"The qualifying run for sure, I'm hoping is a glimmer of hope to what the rest of the weekend will hold for us," Stewart said. He's had first-place finishes at Pocono in 2009 and 2003.
Few others have had as much success at Pocono than Hamlin, who has turned the triangle into his personal playground. Besides the June victory, he also won the Pennsylvania 500 last year and both Pocono races in 2006.
He's slumped the last five weeks, finishing no higher than eighth in that stretch. Pocono could give his No. 11 Toyota team a spark for the season's stretch run as they try to climb from their third-place standing in driver points.
Earlier Friday, Hamlin acknowledged he had been fined by NASCAR for making critical comments about the racing series, but not even that touchy subject could dampen his day.
"No, not really," Hamlin said when asked if there was extra motivation because of the revelation about the fine. "Really, there's no relation either way."
Montoya, 22nd in points and out of contention, plans to use Pocono as a venue where his team "can try a lot of things."
After a disappointing outing last week, Montoya was asked if there were similarities between the Brickyard and Pocono, both 2.5-mile tracks.
"I haven't figured it out yet. Honestly, if there's anything similar between these two places I haven't seen them," said Montoya in typical entertaining fashion. "Honestly, this place is bumpy hell ... It's hard, it's unpredictable."
-- Genaro C. Armas
Gordon's crew chief signs extension
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Jeff Gordon has a new spotter this weekend at Pocono Raceway. He won't have to look for a new crew chief for at least three more years.
Steve Letarte, who has done it all with Gordon except win a championship, signed a three-year extension this week with Hendrick Motorsports and has earned more time to bring home that long-awaited fifth Cup championship.
Letarte, who replaced Robbie Loomis, has been with Gordon since the September 2005 race at New Hampshire. Gordon has 10 wins, 14 poles and leads NASCAR in top-five finishes since then, but is winless since Texas in April 2009, a span of 49 races.
"I don't think we can do anything different to try to win races, but that is definitely our number one priority," Letarte said Friday after the deal was announced.
Letarte made another big call this week when he decided the time was right to change Gordon's spotter. Hendrick Motorsports hired Jeff Dickerson on Wednesday only days after he split with Kyle Busch.
Dickerson, considered one of the top spotters in the sport, replaced Shannon McGlamery. McGlamery will still be a mechanic at Hendrick Motorsports, building the cars for Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson.
"Shannon has done a great job for us, but there's just been moments in time when I felt the chemistry, the information that I was looking for, versus what he was giving, wasn't always in sync," Gordon said. "We agreed on that, and the other thing, somebody became available who was known to be strong in the garage area."
Letarte said Dickerson will help Gordon at the end of races.
"Some of the double-file restarts get pretty wild," Letarte said. "I think his style might maybe suit the races better."
Dickerson had been with Busch since his early days at HMS, and the driver often credited Dickerson for guiding him on the track to several victories.
Dickerson became Busch's business manager and agent following his 2007 firing at Hendrick Motorsports, negotiated Busch's deal with Joe Gibbs Racing, and continued to represent Busch until this past winter.
Since the start of this season, his only duty had been spotting for Busch.
Busch was vague when asked why the two split at this point of the season. He said Dickerson had other plans at the end of the season and decided to cut ties now.
He used Eddie D'Hondt last race at Indianapolis.
"Jeff is one of the best spotters in the business," Busch said. "Will he make a difference for Jeff Gordon to be able to win races? I don't think a spotter can help you win races."
Mired in the longest losing streak of his career, Gordon will take all the help he can get these days. He's second in the points standings, but would be seeded much lower when the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship starts if he doesn't start winning races. He's the only driver in the top six of the standings who doesn't have at least one victory.
"We're just trying to find little pieces here and there to get ourselves in better shape and position to win races as well as win this championship," Gordon said.
-- Dan Gelston
Edwards, Biffle wish injured Roush speedy recovery
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carl Edwards hopes Jack Roush makes a speedy recovery from injuries the NASCAR team owner sustained in a plane crash this week in Wisconsin.
Edwards said before qualifying Friday for the Pennsylvania 500 that Roush will be missed because he can jump in on any project on his No. 99 Ford, from tuning the engine to helping the crew chief with setups. Edwards said Roush was tough and should be back soon.
Roush has been transferred to a Minnesota hospital as he recovers from surgery on facial injuries. A passenger in the plane Roush was flying was also hurt but has been released from a hospital.
Roush also owns Greg Biffle's No. 16 Ford. Biffle says Roush likely faces multiple surgeries but he is optimistic Roush will be back at the track.
Pocono Raceway flips switch on solar energy system
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Pocono Raceway has the flipped the switch on a solar energy system that leaders say will make the NASCAR track the world's largest solar-powered sports facility.
It will be partially up and running this weekend and provide power to the raceway for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. It would be the first track to run on solar energy.
Track leaders say the 25-acre installation is so large that it's visible from space. Track president Brandon Igdalsky says the roughly $16 million project will provide enough power for more than 1,000 homes beyond what's needed for the raceway.
Igdalsky says the system should be finished in the next week.
Nationwide
Nationwide-only drivers looking for breakthrough
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — The NASCAR Nationwide series has been dominated by double-duty Sprint Cup drivers all season, which isn't exactly a new phenomenon.
The so-called "regular guys" on the Nationwide tour are hoping to break that trend in Iowa.
The Nationwide series will make its second stop at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night with a thinner-than-usual roster of double-duty drivers. The Sprint Cup race in Pocono on Sunday starts less than 18 hours after the green flag drops in Iowa, so just eight drivers are scheduled to double-dip this weekend.
That could leave the door open for the likes of Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne or Steve Wallace to snap a stretch of 16 races without a win for a Nationwide-only driver.
"I feel like it's not impossible for us to win a race," Allgaier said. "I think towards the end of the season we're going to see more Nationwide-only guys win races."
Allgaier should know, of course. He's the only non-Sprint Cup driver to win a Nationwide race this season, crossing first at Bristol on March 20.
Allgaier was the Nationwide rookie of the year in 2009 and has continued to show he's one of the brighter young talents in stock car racing. The 24-year-old Allgaier is third in the points standings behind Cup drivers Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards, and he led 35 laps at Iowa last year before a string of bad luck left him 15th.
Bayne has taken the last two poles in the Nationwide series. Neither translated into a win — though he did finish a career-best third at Gateway two weeks ago — but his No. 99 car has run its best races in back-to-back weeks.
Though the challenge of running against Cup drivers has been a daunting one for Nationwide regulars, Bayne said he appreciates that struggle. He thinks it's only going to help him in his quest to become a Cup regular himself.
"I know we can be fast here. I think we've got a good shot at these Cup guys this weekend, probably as good as any weekend remaining in the year," Bayne said.
"That's what is going to benefit me the most is racing against these guys every weekend," he said. "It's going to make me a better driver. And racing against this tough equipment. I mean, if everything was just handed to us, it would seem easy and we'd step into Sprint Cup and we'd struggle."
Wallace enters Iowa with eight straight top-15 finishes, a streak that trails only Edwards and Keselowski. He'd also seem to have the edge in Iowa, since the 0.875-mile oval was designed by his famous father, Rusty Wallace, and he won the inaugural ARCA event at Iowa in 2006.
Then again, Wallace got involved in an accident at the NASCAR Truck race at Iowa Speedway three weeks ago and finished a disappointing 30th.
"We all need to try a little harder to get these cars handling better and try and beat these Cup guys," Wallace said.
Of course, the likes of Keselowski, Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will be in the field as well, and recent history suggests that one of those guys will end up on top. Last year it was Keselowski, who moved past Busch with eight laps left for the win.
There's also the matter of the "Dash for Cash," a $50,000 incentive for the winner as long as they're either Nationwide-only drivers or double-duty running a full Nationwide schedule.
Harvick and Busch won't be eligible for the prize, though the money would be a luxury for them. That's not the case for the series regulars, and things could get interesting if Harvick or Busch are out in front late with a few "regular guys" on their tails.
"Any time you can bring home cash, it could get ugly at the front," said Brendan Gaughan, a Nationwide-only driver ranked eighth in the points standings. "If it's two (Nationwide) regulars that comes down to it and a regular and a Cup guy that comes down to it, 50 grand is worth making a few enemies."
-- Luke Meredith
Formula One
Red Bull's Vettel sets pace at Hungarian practice
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel posted the best times during both 90-minute practice sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday.
Vettel outpaced teammate Mark Webber in the morning session, then topped Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 0.49 seconds in the afternoon.
Red Bull and Ferrari alternated the other top places in the afternoon, with Webber third ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa — back at the scene where he suffered near-fatal skull fractures in a qualifying crash last year.
"It was just normal to go back on the track," Massa said. "It was nice to be back after what happened last year, but I didn't think about it when I was in the car."
Alonso said Saturday's sessions — a third practice and qualifying — would show more clearly the teams' strengths and weaknesses than these initial laps around the Hungaroring's twisting and relatively slow design.
"It's only Friday," the Spaniard said in the Ferrari paddock. "All the teams have tried different things and we don't really know how much faster the others may be than us."
Alonso said Ferrari's main objective in Sunday's race was to finish ahead of McLaren, which leads the team and the drivers' championships.
"First of all we'll try to reduce the difference with McLaren and then see if in a few races we can cut the gap to less than 25 points, a one-race difference," Alonso said.
Among the teams, McLaren has 300 points, Red Bull is second with 272, and Ferrari third with 208.
Lewis Hamilton is the top driver with 157 points after 11 races. Teammate Jenson Button, the defending champion, is second with 143 points. Red Bull drivers Vettel and Webber each have 136 points and Alonso, the only other contender in triple digits, has 123.
In other afternoon placings, Renault's Vitaly Petrov of Russia beat Hamilton for fifth, while the other Renault of Robert Kubica was seventh. Button was ninth.
-- Pablo Gorondi
