Auto Racing Capsules: Hot Stewart looks for 1st Darlington victory

DARLINGTON, S.C. - There's only three active tracks on the NASCAR schedule where Tony Stewart has yet to win a Cup race, and he'd like to cross Darlington Raceway off the list this weekend.

The best of the best have conquered NASCAR's oldest superspeedway. From David Pearson's record 10 wins to Richard Petty's three trips to Victory Lane, the trophy sports the names of NASCAR biggest stars.

But Stewart has yet to join their company. The two-time series champion goes into Saturday night's Southern 500 a frustrating 0-for-16 on "The Track Too Tough To Tame."

"I'd win on my roof and on fire here. I'd take it anyway I could get it," Stewart said Friday.

The egg-shaped, 1.366-mile track has never been overwhelmingly good to Stewart, who scraped the wall shortly after Friday's first practice session began.

Stewart was sixth in his 1999 rookie race here, but has finished inside the top-10 in just 50 percent of his starts. He was hospitalized overnight following a 2002 accident that led to his career-worst 36th-place finish.

Although he won the Nationwide Series race here last year, he finished 21st in the Cup race, an event won by then-teammate Kyle Busch.

"We won a Nationwide race here last year, and it was an awesome feeling to finally win at Darlington. But to win a Southern 500, that's a big one," Stewart said. "Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on and to be good at all day. You don't see a lot of guys who have a lot of success. You see only a handful of guys who religiously run well there.

"If you can have a good day and win there, it's a track that's like winning at Bristol. It's the same type of feeling - knowing that you conquered something that's very hard to obtain."

Ordinarily, Stewart might be dismissed from the list of contenders at Darlington. A notoriously slow starter, Stewart has failed to win a race before the 11th event of the year in all but two of his first 10 seasons.

Darlington is the 11th race this year.

But Stewart can't be counted out at anything this season, his first as owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. Although many people predicted Stewart would struggle with the dual role of owner and driver, he's found remarkable success in a job so many before him had trouble balancing.

Haas CNC Racing, a noncompetitive team he rebranded after claiming a 50 percent ownership stake, has quickly developed into one of NASCAR's most solid organizations. Stewart, who has seven top-10 finishes through 10 races, is third in the points. Ryan Newman, the second SHR driver, has rallied to 10th in the standings after a poor opening month to the season.

Either could break through with a victory at any time - a win would be the first for the organization, dating back to its first seven seasons as Haas CNC - but it's Stewart who seems closest to Victory Lane. He's had two runner-up finishes over the past three races, and is seeking to become the first owner/driver to win a race since Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in 1998.

Darian Grubb, in his first year as Stewart's crew chief, thinks the win can come anytime over the next few weeks. Stewart has a strong record at several of the upcoming tracks - he's won at Charlotte, Dover, Pocono and Michigan, site of five of the next six races - but Grubb isn't ruling out a Saturday night win at Darlington.

"I don't think I have to pick a track where we can win, because every single week we've surprised ourselves," Grubb said. "We're learning more and more about Tony each week, and we're getting more and more comfortable with what he wants from the car.

"I don't see why we can't win at Darlington. I think we can. His confidence level is high and his momentum is rolling."

Grubb, who was unaware until earlier this week that Stewart doesn't have a Darlington Cup win, spent time preparing the No. 14 team for what could be a long, humid night in South Carolina. The race-time forecast called for temperatures near the 90s, which makes for a hot 500 miles for driver and crew.

But in molding his race team, Stewart has assembled an organization of employees who dig deep for the boss. Although Stewart's primary home is in Indianapolis, Grubb said Stewart spends a surprising amount of time in the North Carolina shop with his guys.

It's one aspect that's helped SHR achieve this start.

"I always sort of thought he was a hands-off driver who showed up and drove his butt off," Grubb said. "But in reality, he's really involved. He's very visible. He makes his rounds through the whole shop and makes sure everything is good.

"When you develop a personal relationship with a driver, you care more. You aren't just a name and number collecting a paycheck for building cars for Joe Schmo. Well, Joe Schmo just came in and patted you on the back. That makes these guys want to work hard for him, and they do."

Kenseth sets Darlington record, Johnson wrecks

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Jeff Gordon left his car with hands shaking and heart pounding after another harrowing experience at Darlington Raceway.

Gordon's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, wasn't as lucky qualifying Friday, crashing before he could finish his lap.

``This is a nail-biter, white-knuckle experience qualifying here,'' said Gordon, who'll start second Saturday night in the Southern 500.

Matt Kenseth set a track record to win his first pole since 2005, his 179.514 mph eclipsing Greg Biffle's mark from a year ago. And Gordon marveled at Kenseth's record-setting performance at the track "Too Tough To Tame.''

"You've got to push really hard. You've got to be committed,'' Gordon said. "This track is narrow. It's got a lot of grip, but the edge is right there. It's really easy to break loose.''

That's what happened to Johnson, a two-time winner at Darlington. His No. 48 Chevrolet slid in turn two, the back end crunching the wall then the front side bounding into an interior wall and coming to a stop.

Johnson's crew ran out to help. He was taken the infield care center for evaluation and released a short time later.

Johnson said right before his lap, crew chief Chad Knaus' "final words were, 'Go like hell,' and off I went and didn't make it back.''

Johnson qualified on owner's points and will start 42nd, his worst opening spot in 11 career Cup races at Darlington.

"I hate that happened to Jimmie,'' Gordon said. "I know they've got another great car in the truck. They're a championship caliber team. They'll rebound, I'm sure, in a big way.''

Kenseth's hopes his fourth career pole - and first since Kansas in October 2005 - leads to a rebound in confidence.

He won the Daytona 500 and then the next week at Auto Club Speedway in Los Angeles. However, he's just one top 10 finish in the past eight races.

Kenseth had felt good during practice, then came an afternoon rain that threatened to wash off much of the grip Sprint Cup drivers had spent the morning laying down.

To Kenseth's surprise, his car held its line and led to the quickest lap in Darlington's 60-season history.

"It's the most confident I've been in my car since, I don't know,'' Kenseth said.

Ryan Newman qualified third, followed by improving Sam Hornish Jr. and Darlington first-timer Joey Logano.

Defending Darlington champion Kyle Busch, who swept last week's Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Richmond, will start 14th.

Brad Keselowski made it into his first Cup race since winning Talladega two week ago and starts 31st.

Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Speed failed to make the 43-car field.

Johnson, sixth in the points, had hoped a strong qualifying lap would end a run of bad races. He was 30th at Talladega and 36th a week ago at Richmond.

"Unfortunately, I tore up a race care but we have great backups and we'll be out there tomorrow night,'' he said. "I'm looking forward to it.''

-- Pete Iacobelli

Martin insists love of racing led to extension

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Mark Martin insists he didn't sign with Hendrick Motorsports to chase a NASCAR championship.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson has other ideas.

He says that with Martin firmly in place, don't be surprised if the No. 5 Chevrolet gets into the title mix.

"We have the people to do it. I know we have the driver to do it. Things just have to go our way," Gustafson said Friday.

Martin and Gustafson are prepping for the Southern 500 at Darlington on Saturday night.

Martin re-upped with Hendrick for 2010, setting up the 50-year-old driver for a second straight full season only a few years after considering retirement.

"I did this because I love racing with all my heart and I love this race team and I'm having a blast driving the race car," Martin said.

That's shown this season. Martin broke a 97-race winless streak that stretched nearly four years when he took the checkered flag at Phoenix last month. He's edged up to 15th in points, 61 out of the 12th and final spot in NASCAR's Chase for the championship.

Martin said owner Rick Hendrick wanted to lock him up much earlier than this. For the veteran racer, he had make sure he meshed with his crew and had the same fire to compete as before.

Martin recalled his Roush Racing prime in July 1999 when he injured his wrist, knee and rib in a Daytona practice accident. He raced in pain the next night to maintain his championship position.

"I allowed that points thing to affect how I felt about racing," Martin said.

It wasn't until Martin left Roush and scaled back his schedule he rediscovered how much he enjoyed the sport.

"I'm going to keep it that way," Martin said. "That requires a little bit more discipline by me. But I'm going to continue to race because I love to race."

After Martin's win at Phoenix, it took just 60 seconds or so for both sides to agree on next season and keep him part of Hendrick's all-star garage with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With them as teammates, it "means I've got to pay attention every day if I want to compete the way those guys do," Martin said.

Gustafson has been with the No. 5 team since 2000, joining as a shock specialist and rising to crew chief for Kyle Busch in 2005.

No matter what Martin says, Gustafson finds him every bit as focused to succeed as any Cup driver.

"Mark had a great quote at the beginning of the year. ‘I can't guarantee results, but I can guarantee the effort and the work that we're going to do.' That's just what we're looking at," Gustafson said.

The 33-year-old Gustafson grew up admiring Martin's skill and ethic and is excited about the opportunity to help him win a title.

"I don't think you accomplish anything bigger in your professional life than to win a championship at Hendrick Motorsports with Mark Martin. I think that's as good as it gets," Gustafson said. "I'm going to do everything in my power to do it."

-- Pete Iacobelli

Smith calls on former track owners to drop lawsuit

DARLINGTON, S.C. - The owner of Kentucky Motor Speedway called on the track's founding group to drop the antitrust lawsuit that's preventing him from adding the facility to next year's Sprint Cup Series schedule.

"They have a moral obligation to their state to get out of the way," Bruton Smith said Friday. "NASCAR understands that I will bring them an event from another speedway, but these people need to get out of the way. They have an obligation to Kentucky to do that."

Speedway Motorsports Inc. recently asked NASCAR to consider Kentucky for the 2010 Cup schedule, but the sanctioning body will not consider any proposals until the former owners drop their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp., its sister company.

The 2005 suit stemmed from the group's unsuccessful bid to bring a coveted Cup race to Kentucky. The suit was dismissed in early 2008, but the case is on appeal.

Smith traveled to the Kentucky Derby last weekend to urge the group to drop the appeal, but said "nothing much was accomplished" because there are two staunch holdouts.

Smith identified the two holdouts as Richard Duchossios and Richard Farmer, two of the five listed principals in the original ownership group. Duchossios is the chairman at Arlington Park, a horse racing track near Chicago, while Farmer is the chairman of Cintas Corp.

Because the original ownership group sold the Sparta track to Smith last year for $78.3 million, it stands to gain nothing if the track finally does get on the Cup schedule.

But Smith wondered what the businessmen stand to gain by moving forward with the suit.

"It's already been dismissed once," he said. "I guess they want something for their aggravation in dealing with NASCAR all those years. And I suppose they have lawyers who tell them they will win the appeal. I don't know. They need to just stop standing in the way because the state of Kentucky has spent a lot of money to help that track."

The group spent $152 million to build the facility, which opened in 2000 and hosts an annual second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series event. At seating for 68,000 fans, it's currently the largest venue that hosts a Nationwide race but doesn't have a Cup date.

Smith said he has roughly two to three weeks to resolve the lawsuit conflict and give NASCAR a 2010 proposal for Kentucky. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said earlier this week the sanctioning body has an approaching deadline in mind for beginning next year's scheduling process.

NASCAR last year eliminated Kentucky from 2009 consideration in late May.

"I want to be respectful of NASCAR's time element," Smith said. "But we do need a decision and I'm siding with NASCAR on this one."

Smith said he "probably would not" have purchased the track if he had known the former ownership group would have posed such a roadblock to getting the track a Cup race.

Kentucky is the eighth NASCAR-sanctioned track in SMI's portfolio, but the only one without a Cup race.

"I didn't expect this, the problem of not being able to just go ahead and move a race there," he said.

SMI has signed off on a $75 million expansion it hopes will make the track worthy of a Cup race. The expansion will add 50,000 seats and an infield area catering to motor homes that would accommodate up to 600 vehicles.

SMI also will build new restrooms, concession stands and souvenir shops.

Speculation has put Atlanta Motor Speedway at the top of the list of SMI tracks that could lose a date to accommodate Kentucky, but Smith has refused to reveal which of his tracks he is targeting.

-- Jenna Fryer

Busch gets flat, Kenseth soars at Darlington 

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Matt Kenseth found one of the few ways to beat Kyle Busch these days.

Kenseth took advantage when Busch's dominant car got a flat with two laps to go Friday night, lifting him to his first Nationwide Series win this year and capping a record-setting day at Darlington Raceway.

"That's a lot that went down those last five laps," Kenseth said with a grin.

Nothing was bigger than Busch's tire going down.

He led 143 laps and looked like he would ease to victory. Then a late collision between Scott Legasse Jr. and Joe Nemechek brought out the race's 10th caution and set up a two-lap sprint to the finish.

As Busch ran through the wreckage, he got a flat in his right rear tire. Busch tested the tire for several laps before rolling into the pits to loud cheers from Darlington fans.

Kenseth, who earlier set a track record to win the Southern 500 pole, still faced a green-white-checkered finish. That, too, went Kenseth's way when Morgan Shepherd spun out on the restart, ending the race.

"It's been a good day for us," Kenseth said. "Let's hope it continues."

Jason Leffler finished second, followed by Carl Edwards, and Nationwide rookies Erik Darnell and Justin Allgaier.

Busch wound up 16th, a disheartening finish to what figured to be his third straight NASCAR win after last week's sweep at Richmond.

Busch did not speak to the media after the race, jumping on a golf cart and pulling away. His crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, said the team was disappointed by the dramatic turn. "But hey, that's part of this sport," Ratcliff said.

Not when Busch is rolling.

The 24-year-old has been an upstoppable NASCAR force the past two seasons. Last week, he reached 50 victories in the sport's three touring series and was ready to check off No. 51 at Darlington, where he's the defending Sprint Cup winner.

Car owner Jack Roush thought Busch's lucky streak had held up again, mishearing Kenseth on the radio and thinking it was the Roush machine's tire that had gone flat. "My heart was in my stomach," Roush said. "Man, I thought it was all over."

It was for Busch. As the cocky superstar shook his car from side-to-side behind the pace car, Kenseth thought Busch might try and stay out and pray a quick wreck would preserve victory.

Busch had no choice, though, but to slowly roll into the pits.

"It was so flat, I think I would've passed him before turn one," Kenseth said.

Turns out Kenseth barely made it that far before Shepherd, starting his 250th Nationwide event in 27 years, hit the inside wall to instantly end the race.

Brad Keselowski, racing for the first time since his surprise Sprint Cup win at Talladega, had his struggles with the "Lady In Black." Keselowski was hit from behind in turn one, lap one, then spun out twice more during the race. He finished 11th, ending a streak of five top 10s in the Nationwide Series.

Pole Day at Indy a guessing game

INDIANAPOLIS - Pole Day qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is the ultimate guessing game.

With six hours of time trials scheduled Saturday, when do you use one or more of your three chances to earn a spot up front for the May 24 race?

"Until we see what the weather is tomorrow, we don't make a decision," said Roger Penske, whose team has won 14 poles and 14 races, both records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"You have to see where you are in (the qualifying) line, what the competitors ... you have to beat are going to do and where are they in the line," Penske added Friday before the day's practice began. "Do you go out when it's warm? Is it going to be cooler later? Is it going to rain? You have lots of variables."

Thirty-one cars that have been on track this week will be eligible to take a run at the $100,000 pole on Saturday, the first of four days of time trials to fill the 33-car field.

The pole-winning driver will be the one who can put together the best four-lap average on the historic 2.5-mile oval.

Penske has three shots at adding a 15th pole, with two-time pole-winner and two-time race-winner Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power.

To do it, they will have to overcome more than nerves and changing track conditions. The National Weather Service forecast was calling for winds gusting from 15 to 25 mph.

The last time Castroneves won the pole was in 2007, when he managed to beat out Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan despite having to deal with gusts up to 45 mph.

"You've got to analyze what's going on in that situation and you just got to take (it) step by step," Castroneves said.

The wind was negligible on "Fast Friday," but Castroneves, among the fastest competitors in practice, said it was still important to get as much track time as possible to prepare for qualifying.

"You always learn something, even if sometimes you're not changing anything in the car," the Brazilian said. "The track changes itself and you're about learning that day.

"Whatever happens, you've got to follow what your instincts and the track is telling you to do. So, (you've) got to wait and see tomorrow. All we can do today is continue working a little bit on speed and see what happens."

With so much track time there was nearly constant action, with 31 of 32 cars over 218 mph and some inevitable mishaps.

Rookie Robert Doornbos and former pole-winner Scott Sharp both crashed in single-car incidents. Both were immediately cleared by the speedway medical staff to drive. Doornbos, from The Netherlands, got into his backup car late in the day for six laps, getting up to 217.716. Sharp had to wait to try his backup Saturday.

Briscoe and Castroneves topped the speed chart with laps of 225.981 and 225.438, respectively.

Close behind were Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti (224.984) and Scott Dixon (224.822), winners of the last two Indy 500s.

Danica Patrick (224.755) and Marco Andretti (224.724), teammates for Andretti Green Racing, were next, followed by Power (224.588) and 2005 Indy winner Dan Wheldon (224.357), in his first season driving for Panther Racing.

"You know, yesterday we ran very safe and just got some confidence in the car, and I'm just taking little steps," said Power, who is being mentored by four-time Indy winner and longtime Penske driver coach Rick Mears.

"Rick has been a huge help," added Power, in his second year at Indy but first with Penske Racing. "I think he'll be there all month and we're looking for a good result at the end, not at the beginning."

The top 11 cars will qualify Saturday, with 11 more on Sunday and 11 more next Saturday. After the field is full, the slowest qualified cars can be bumped out on next Sunday, the final day of time trials.

Patrick, who flirted with winning the pole here as a rookie in 2005 before starting fourth, said she is just focused on the first day of qualifying.

"I want the pole pretty bad," she said. "I at least want to be on the front row. It's all about keeping your cool all day.

"It seems to be more an art form on Pole Day. The competition has gotten so close, especially with those 11 spots to fill. That can make some people really anxious."

Castroneves, who has started second, first and fourth here the last three years, said he may not be as patient as some of the other drivers.

"It's hard to predict," Castroneves said. "With the rules (allowing) three attempts, no question it creates more competition. It gives you sometimes a little more edge to try to squeeze a little bit more, a little more speed into the car.

"But Roger and (team president Tim) Cindric, we always talk before (about) what are our chances. We never take unnecessary chances. We always know what we need to do. It isn't like a secret. You just have to feel it."

-- Mike Harris

Rosberg fastest in practice ahead of Spanish GP

BARCELONA, Spain - Nico Rosberg dominated Formula One practice Friday, setting the fastest lap time over two sessions ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Williams driver clocked 1 minute, 21.588 seconds around the Circuit de Catalunya track, just ahead of teammate Kazuki Nakajima.

Local favorite Fernando Alonso of Renault was third fastest ahead of Brawn GP pair Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton posted a lap of 1:22.809, off the pace by 1.2 seconds.

Recent upgrades appeared to have kept Brawn GP ahead of the field. The team is likely to be the favorite on Sunday with Button capturing three of the first four races.

The Briton leads teammate Rubens Barrichello by 12 points in the drivers' championship, with Sebastian Vettel trailing by 13.

Red Bull pair Mark Webber and Vettel were the only other drivers to get within half a second of Rosberg, who pulled his car off the track in the closing moments because of an apparent mechanical failure.

Rosberg has set the fastest lap time in eight of the season's 13 sessions, but has picked up only 3.5 points from racing.

Ferrari, which is off to the worst start in its 60-year history, sits way off the leader's pace despite an array of aerodynamic upgrades.

Kimi Raikkonen was more than a second behind Rosberg and ahead of teammate Felipe Massa. The last win for Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion with three points, came in this race last year.

Improved performances by Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld in the morning session were not repeated in the afternoon, the BMW Sauber pair finishing more than 1.3 seconds behind the Williams cars.

Kubica and Heidfeld finished 18th and 19th at Bahrain, and the German team needs a strong performance in Spain to maintain its hope for a championship.

-- Paul Logo thetis

Hamilton honored at track where he was taunted

BARCELONA, Spain - Lewis Hamilton was honored at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday, the same Spanish track where fans shouted racist abuse against Formula One's first black driver last year.

Hamilton, who became F1's youngest winner last year at 23, earned a plaque on the circuit's "Walk of Champions" alongside fellow champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.

"Knowing I am welcome here is a great thing for me," Hamilton said in between practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix. "And to be recognized as world champion is something very, very special to me."

A ceremony was held inside the paddock and out of sight of the spectators. At a testing session in February last year, some fans gestured and shouted racist abuse at the McLaren driver. A group of spectators had worn wigs, dark makeup and T-shirts with the words "Hamilton's Family" scrawled on them.

Circuit director Ramon Praderas said the ceremony to unveil the plaque was held within the paddock to accommodate the large media presence, despite ample space being available under the main grandstand where the plaque will eventually be placed.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone expected Hamilton to rebound from a poor start to the season, that was made worse when he was deemed to have misled stewards at one of the races and stripped of his third-place finish. Hamilton is 22 points behind leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP.

"The good thing about Lewis is he hasn't forgotten his roots. He supports go karting, supports all forms of motor sport, not just Formula One," Ecclestone said. "This is what we need guys to do, not to forget where they come from."

Hamilton acknowledged the fans, saying he "Thanks you for your passion and support" above his signature on the plaque.

TERMINATOR

BARCELONA, Spain - Jenson Button has been so dominant on the Formula One track this season that his competitors would probably forgive him for using Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous "Hasta la vista, baby" phrase.

The British driver may use it at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, after Brawn GP and Sony Pictures agreed Friday that the team's cars would carry imagery from the upcoming Terminator Salvation film.

"Formula One represents the best of mechanical engineering and is a true trial of human spirit, themes that perfectly parallel Terminator Salvation," said the film's director McG in a statement.

It is the second time Terminator imagery will feature on an F1 car after T3 Rise of the Machines movie imagery was displayed during the 2003 British GP.

Terminator Salvation, the fourth installment in the popular movie series, will be released this month.

-- Paul Logothestis