Auto Racing Capsules: Solid field heads to Montreal for Nationwide race
Carl Edwards thought he had no chance of catching Marcos Ambrose in the waning laps of last year's Nationwide Series race in Montreal.
As he slogged his way around the rain-soaked Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course, Edwards decided on one final desperate attempt to get past the leader. He ducked wide in "a last-ditch effort to rattle him a little bit," causing Ambrose to miss the entrance to the final turn and give Edwards the opening he needed to pounce for his first career victory on a road course.
"It gives me chills thinking about it," Edwards recalled this week. "That victory lap last season, and the response I got from the crowd, that was one of the neatest wins I've ever had in my life."
And one that won't be easy to defend.
Edwards and the Nationwide Series return to Canada this weekend for NASCAR's only trip outside the United States in any of its three national series. The event typically attracts the top road racers from North America, and the fourth running of the event will be no different.
Among Edwards' challengers will be Ambrose, who coughed up a Sprint Cup Series win on the road course at Sonoma in June, but rebounded to win the Nationwide race at Watkins Glen earlier this month. Ambrose is still smarting from his many near-misses, including the inaugural Montreal event in 2007, when Robby Gordon spun him in a controversial sequence of racing over the final laps.
Ambrose has a seventh, third and last year's second-place to show for his three trips to Montreal.
"It's frustrating and disappointing because we should have won Montreal multiple times," Ambrose said. "This time, no dramas. We're going there to win, and I'll keep racing there until we do win."
Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve is entered in Sunday's race and will try to drive a stock car to a victory on the circuit named for his late father. Villeneuve was fourth in last year's race, and was running behind winner Edwards at Road America in June until an electrical problem took him out on the last lap.
He'll be back for a third consecutive year driving for Braun Racing and searching for a win in NASCAR.
"We are coming in aggressively," Villeneuve said, noting the team has a new braking system in the car this year to suit his style. "We are pulling out all the stops for Montreal so we can compete. The first year when it was the heavy rain, we led the lap and then I crashed under a caution. That was a little bit annoying. And we were quite competitive last year. So I think we are coming this year to try and win it."
Also in the field will be Gordon, who is making his first appearance in the race since his dramatics in 2007.
Gordon passed Ambrose to take the lead, but Ambrose spun him, all at the same time a caution was called for an accident far behind them. Gordon believed he should have been second on the restart, but NASCAR ruled he was actually in 13th because he had not maintained reasonable speed after his spin.
Gordon refused to drop back in the field, held his second position on the restart, then spun Ambrose to deny Ambrose the win. Gordon then continued on and was the first driver to cross the finish line and celebrated as if he were the victor.
NASCAR disqualified him for disobeying a black flag, Kevin Harvick got the victory, and Gordon was suspended for the next day's Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono for his disregard of a NASCAR directive.
Edwards, upon learning this week that Gordon had entered this year's race, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"That's another guy we have got to beat," Edwards said. "Robby, he'll be going there for one thing and one thing only. Marcos, too."
It's setting the stage for what is expected to be one of the most exciting races of the season, and one many hope will get even better beginning next year. Montreal is scheduled on an off weekend for the Cup Series this season, so many of NASCAR's top stars aren't racing on what is the final scheduled off date of the year.
The race shifts to a Saturday afternoon next August, with the Cup Series scheduled to run the next day in Michigan. Some believe that could lure a few more Cup drivers into the field.
But, there's also a cry for Montreal to land a date on the actual Cup calendar some day. NASCAR only has two road courses on its current Cup schedule, at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, and doesn't take its premier series outside the U.S.
Edwards believes the Cup Series would be a tremendous success in Canada.
"I was standing in Victory Lane and we had just won the race last year and the crowd was singing in unison ... singing songs and cheering. I had never seen anything like it," he said. "So if you had guys up there, like Tony Stewart and you know, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and people like Richard Petty walking around, I can't imagine.
"I assume the fans would be very excited about that and I don't think you can build enough seats."
NASCAR reinstates LaJoie following suspension
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR reinstated former driver Randy LaJoie on Wednesday following his suspension for a failed drug test.
LaJoie was suspended in June for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy. He said at the time he had smoked marijuana in May, and in reinstating him, NASCAR said he successfully completed a counseling program.
"I am thankful to NASCAR for reinstating me for competition, and grateful to my friends and family who supported me through this time," LaJoie said in a statement.
"This has been a tremendous learning and growing process for me, and I have come through it a stronger, better person. I am looking forward to returning to work, and continuing to prove to NASCAR, my colleagues, my family and my friends that this was an isolated incident that I have put behind me."
LaJoie, who was also an ESPN analyst, was suspended by the network following his suspension. He had been randomly drug tested by NASCAR because he applied for a license to become a spotter for one of Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series teams.
Lajoie raced in 44 races over 12 years in NASCAR's elite Cup Series. His success was in the Nationwide Series, where he won 15 races over 19 seasons.
IndyCar
Power's title hopes now rest on ovals
SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — His dominating run through the IndyCar Series road and street courses at an end, Will Power heads into the final four races with a comfortable points lead over defending champion Dario Franchitti.
He's far from at ease, though. These final four races are on ovals and while Power has made progress going in circles, he's not on the same level as Franchitti, arguably the best all-around driver on the circuit.
So as the IndyCar Series heads into its final stretch, starting this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Power can't help but peek in his rearview mirror.
"I don't think this championship is almost mine," Power said after winning at Sonoma on Sunday. "There's a lot of racing to go. Four races, a lot can happen. Really, whatever the buffer is, you can lose a lot of that in just one race. We're going to work really hard. I'm going to race those ovals like I want to win the championship."
It's been an impressive run toward the title so far.
Power won the season-opener in Brazil to take the points lead and never relinquished it, thanks to a win at St. Petersburg the following week and again at Watkins Glen and Toronto.
The Aussie already had the inaugural IndyCar Series road course championship locked up before Sonoma. A year after having to be airlifted from the course with a broken back, he made it look easy in the hills of California's wine country by overcoming some early week jitters, securing his series-record eighth pole of 2010 with late bursts of speed in the final two qualifying sessions and leading all but two laps of Sunday's race.
The win, combined with Franchitti's third-place finish, pushed Power's lead to 59 points over the Scotsman.
Now it's time to find out if Power's power is limited to the road.
All of his series-leading wins this season came on road and street courses. The final four races — Kentucky, Japan and Homestead after Chicago — are all on 1.5-mile ovals.
Three years removed from Champ Car, Power is making gradual progress on ovals. Prior to this season, his best finish on an oval was fifth at Chicago in 2008, but this year he earned the pole at Iowa, where he finished fifth, and was eighth at the Indianapolis 500.
Still, Power has never won going in circles and he finished the first portion of the oval schedule eighth in the standings, 49 points behind Franchitti's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon.
The two Ganassi drivers have dominated the ovals the past few years. Both are two-time series champions, Indy 500 champs — Franchitti won his second this year — and have combined to win eight oval races since 2008.
And they know how to run well at the final four tracks. Both drivers have won at Homestead. Dixon, 95 points behind Power in the overall standings, has a victory at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan and Franchitti has won in Chicago, where Dixon has three second-place finishes. Neither has won at Kentucky, but Ganassi Racing has.
"It's a fairly large deficit, but it's four tracks we've run well on," Franchitti said. "I don't underestimate the challenge at all. Will is going to be quite strong. People are writing him off because of his lack of experience on ovals, but he'll be right up there. We have to do a better job and we'll be pushing 100 percent."
Power's goal is to win an oval race and the overall title. He doesn't have to win an oval race to get the title, though.
All Power has to do is stay away from catastrophe, run near the top and hope neither Franchitti nor Dixon strings together two or three wins in the final four races.
He's done it all season on the road courses. Now it's time to show he can do it on the ovals.
"We've been thinking about it (the ovals) for weeks — it's going to be fun," said Clive Howell, Power's strategist. "I think he's going to be good. He's going to shake that monkey and we'll be fine."
-- John Marshall
Formula One
Webber in lead as F1 returns from summer break
MADRID (AP) — Mark Webber will be looking to build on his win in Hungary and pad his narrow overall lead when Formula One returns from its summer break at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Red Bull driver has won two of the last three races to take the lead in a tight championship race with only 20 points separating the top five drivers: Webber (161), McLaren's Lewis Hamilton (157), Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel (151), McLaren's Jenson Button (147) and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso (141).
Webber has overcome problems within the team to overtake Hamilton and Vettel in the standings, capitalizing on the circuit's fastest car to show he's a capable No. 1 for Red Bull.
Red Bull has been the pace setter all season, but Webber has been able to turn that into points better than Vettel. Webber expects the car to maintain its season-long edge at one of F1's most iconic races in the rural Ardennes countryside.
"I expect we can do well there. Whether it's as well as I did in Budapest is a question for everyone," the Australian said. "But I know our team is ready."
All drivers are looking forward to tackling high speed corners like Eau Rouge and Pouhon come Sunday's 44-lap race. Vettel is worried about whether Red Bull can command in the straights, however.
"Our weakness will be the long straights and, with uphill sections too, we know it won't be easy for us," the German driver said. "But I am optimistic for the race."
McLaren will be keen to rebound from the disappointment of Hungary, where Hamilton failed to finish due to a gearbox problem and Button was eighth. McLaren hasn't won a race since Hamilton triumphed in Canada.
"We know that we have some catching up do to — it's still important that we regain the momentum we'd reached earlier this season," Button said. "While I don't think these two European races will be pivotal to the title fight, it will be harder to introduce bigger upgrades to the car at the end-of-season fly-aways so it's important for the whole team that we score well in both events."
With the Italian GP closing the European leg of the calendar on Sept. 12, points will be important now as drivers and team crews return refreshed from a four-week break.
Button took part in a triathlon, while Alonso spent his time biking in the Asturian hills. Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali is hoping the team will return inspired and ready to reap the momentum that has seen Alonso gain in the standings.
"The Belgian track is possibly the most appealing of the entire season," Alonso said. "I have a good feeling following on from the positive results obtained in Germany and Hungary."
Points will be even more important for Ferrari, which risks being docked some or all of its points from the 1-2 finish by Alonso and Felipe Massa in Germany after Massa allowed Alonso to pass team orders. Governing body FIA will hear the case Sept. 8 and decide whether to impose a sanction.
Rubens Barrichello will suit up for race No. 300 — a record — with Williams.
"I took my first pole there and have won at Spa while racing in the lower categories so I'm looking forward to it," the 38-year-old Brazilian, who has won 11 times since his debut in 1993, said. "It feels great to reach this milestone."
Force India is not expecting a repeat of last year when Giancarlo Fisichella took the pole and then finished behind race winner Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari for the Indian team's best-ever result.
"We have to look at what we are doing now rather than to the past," driver Adrian Sutil said. "I'm pretty confident that we've got a car that will still suit the track very well."
Practice starts Friday, with a third session Saturday morning before qualifying.
-- Paul Logothetis
Auto Racing Glance
IndyCar
Site: Joliet, Ill.
Schedule: Friday, practice, qualifying (Versus, 5-6 p.m.); Saturday, race, 7:50 p.m. (Versus, 7-10 p.m.).
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Ryan Briscoe raced to the third of his three 2009 victories, beating Scott Dixon by 0.0077 seconds.
Last week: Series leader Will Power won for the fifth time this year, leading 73 of 75 laps at Infineon Raceway — the track where he broke his back in practice last year — in Sonoma, Calif. Dixon was second.
Fast facts: Power swept the season-opening races in Sao Paulo and St. Petersburg, and won consecutive events at Watkins Glen and Toronto. The Team Penske driver has a 41-point lead over Dario Franchitti, the defending series champion.
Next race: Kentucky 300, Sept. 4, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
| NASCAR |
|---|
| NATIONWIDE |
| NAPA Auto Parts 200 |
Site: Montreal.
Schedule: Saturday, practice (ESPN2, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), qualifying (ESPN2, 5-7 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 2-6 p.m.).
Track: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (road course, 2.709 miles).
Race distance: 200.466 miles, 74 laps.
Last year: Carl Edwards won in rainy conditions, passing Marcos Ambrose on the final turn after Ambrose hit the rumble strips and slid sideways. The race was the longest in series history at 3 hours, 49 minutes, 19 seconds. It was slowed by 11 cautions and went two extra laps.
Last week: Kyle Busch matched the Nationwide season record with his 10th victory, winning at Bristol after intentionally spinning leader Brad Keselowski in retaliation for Keselowski's bump seconds earlier. Busch also won 10 times in 2008 to tie the record set by Sam Ard in 1983.
Fast facts: NASCAR is cutting Nationwide purses by 20 percent next season, a move designed to make hosting the second-tier series a more profitable proposition for tracks. ... The race is the third and final road-course event of the year. Carl Edwards won at Road America and Ambrose won at Watkins Glen. ... In 2008, Canadian road-racer Ron Fellows splashed his way to victory in the first NASCAR points race run on grooved rain tires. The event was cut from 74 to 48 laps because of heavy rain, flooding and poor visibility. ... Keselowski leads the series standings.
Next race: Great Clips 300, Sept. 4, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS |
|---|
| EnjoyIllinois.com 225 |
Site: Joliet, Ill.
Schedule: Thursday, practice; Friday, practice, qualifying (4:30-7 p.m.), race, 9 p.m. (Speed, 8:30-11:30 p.m.).
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch held off Todd Bodine on a restart with seven laps to go.
Last week: Busch raced to his third straight Bristol victory, holding off Aric Almirola in a green-white-checker finish. Busch has 19 victories in 77 Trucks starts.
Fast facts: Busch is making his ninth Trucks start of the year. He has three victories. ... Bodine leads the standings, 211 points ahead of Almirola. Four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. is fifth, 323 points behind Bodine.
Next race: Built Ford Tough 225, Sept. 3, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| SPRINT CUP |
|---|
Next race: Emory Healthcare 500, Sept. 5, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
Last week: Kyle Busch completed an unprecedented Trucks-Nationwide-Sprint Cup sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway. David Reutimann was second.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| FORMULA ONE |
|---|
| Belgian Grand Prix |
Site: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Schedule: Friday, 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: Spa-Francorchamps (road course, 4.35 miles).
Race distance: 191.415 miles, 44 laps.
Last year: Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen raced to his fourth victory at the track in five years, holding off Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella.
Last race: Mark Webber won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Aug. 1 for his fourth victory of the year, taking advantage of a penalty against Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel. Webber took the lead in the series standings, four points ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Vettel was given a drive-through penalty for falling more than 10 car-lengths behind the safety car.
Fast facts: Vettel is third in the standings, 10 points behind Webber. ... In 2008, Ferrari's Felipe Massa was declared the winner after Hamilton was penalized for cutting a corner. Hamilton finished 14.4 seconds ahead of Massa, but was penalized 25 seconds.
Next race: Italian Grand Prix, Sept. 12, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
| NHRA FULL THROTTLE |
|---|
Next event: Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1-6, O'Reilly Raceway Park, Clermont, Ind.
Last event: Top Fuel points leader Larry Dixon remained perfect in final-round appearances in 2010 by defeating Cory McClenathan at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Bob Bode (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
| OTHER RACES |
|---|
ARCA RE/MAX SERIES: Ansell Protective Gloves 150, Friday (Speed, 7-8:30 p.m.), Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES: Grand Prix of Mosport, Sunday (Speed, 4-7 p.m.), Bowmanville, Ontario. Online: http://www.americanlemans.com
GRAND-AM ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES: Montreal 200, Saturday (Speed, 2-4:30 p.m.), Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. Online: http://www.grand-am.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car, Oil City Cup, Friday-Saturday, Castrol Speedway, Edmonton, Alberta; Super DirtCar, Thursday, Lebanon Valley Speedway, West Lebanon, N.Y. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
