KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES

EDWARDS OUTLASTS CALIFORNIA WEATHER, NSCS FIELD

Former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series Kentucky Speedway race winner Carl Edwards outlasted two rain delays and the 43-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field assembled at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Feb. 25 en route to earning his first victory of the 2008 season. The win marked the eighth of his career and his first since Sept. 23, 2007 at Dover International Speedway. Edwards and his No. 99 Ford came out of the pits in third place during the 11th caution period of the race with 26 laps remaining. He proceeded to guide his machine past Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet and Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet in the closing segment of the race and grabbed the race lead for good on Lap 236 of 250. Edwards secured his win under caution over the second-place Johnson, who led the event nine times for a race-high total of 76 laps. Edwards led the race five times for 64 laps. Gordon and his racecar led the event seven times for 68 laps and placed third. Kyle Busch occupied fourth in his No. 18 Toyota and last season’s February race winner at the track, Matt Kenseth, placed fifth in his No. 17 Ford. Edwards used his second straight top-two California finish to advance 13 positions in the series standings to fifth. Kyle Busch vaulted to the top spot in the standings by registering his second straight top-five and third straight top-10 finish at the track. Busch knocks Daytona 500 winner and 10th-place California finisher Ryan Newman to the second spot in the standings. Johnson jumped 17 spots in the standings to eighth on the strength of his third straight top-three California finish. Gordon advanced 24 spots in the series standings to 14th while Kenseth gained 19 spots in the standings and occupies the 19th position. The series makes a jaunt to the new-look Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a March 1 400-mile battle. FOX Television coverage is set to start at 3:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Johnson won the 2007 event at the track. Kasey Kahne took the pole award. The top 12 drivers entering the event are: Kyle Busch (Leader: 335 points, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Newman (Second: -6, Dodge, Penske Racing); Tony Stewart (Third: -19, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kurt Busch (Fourth: -36, Dodge, Penske Racing); Edwards (Fifth: -39, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kahne (Sixth: -41, Dodge, Gillett Evernham Motorsports); Kevin Harvick (Seventh: -67, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Johnson (Eighth: -68, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Greg Biffle (Ninth: -73, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Jeff Burton (10th: -74, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Brian Vickers (11th: -78, Toyota, Red Bull Racing); and Martin Truex, Jr. (12th: -82, Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.).

STEWART SNARES CALIFORNIA NATIONWIDE SERIES WIN

Joe Gibbs Racing star Tony Stewart and his No. 20 Toyota snared their second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series win in Fontana, Calif., at Auto Club Speedway Feb. 25. Stewart scored his fourth career series win and his first away from Daytona International Speedway after leading 136 of 150 race laps. Kyle Busch, who earned a second-place finish last week with his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry, continued his hot start to the season by taking second in the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota. The tandem crossed the finish line 2.408 seconds behind Stewart. Kevin Harvick raced home third in his No. 33 Chevrolet and was followed by David Reutimann in fourth in his No. 99 Toyota. Defending series champion and two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner Carl Edwards took fifth just a few hours after scoring a victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the track. Harvick, Reutimann and Edwards all earned their first top-five series finishes of the season. Edwards also owns two top-10 finishes. The series will be back in action during a 300-mile event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 1. ESPN2 coverage is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. Radio coverage is set to start at 4:30 p.m., on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. Jeff Burton won last season’s race at the track that Harvick started from the pole position. The top 10 drivers in the series standings entering the race are: Tony Stewart (Leader: 385 points, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kyle Busch (Second: -30, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Carl Edwards (Third: -96, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); David Reutimann (Fourth: -104, Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing); David Ragan (Fifth (tied): -115, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kevin Harvick (Fifth (tied): -115, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Seventh: -119, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Mike Bliss (Eighth: -144, Dodge, Fitz Motorsports); Jason Leffler (Ninth:-149, Toyota, Braun Racing); and Clint Bowyer (10th: -154, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing).

KYLE BUSCH TAKES RACE WIN, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES LEAD IN CALIFORNIA

Former NASCAR Nationwide Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series Kentucky Speedway race winner Kyle Busch earned his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season and his second-straight top-two finish at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Feb. 23. Busch also took over the lead in the series standings. He now owns a total of seven series wins, 16 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes through just 38 career starts. Busch and his No. 51 Toyota led a dominating 51 of 100 race laps, including the final 11, before crossing the finish line 1.415 seconds ahead Todd Bodine, a former NASCAR Nationwide Series winner at Kentucky Speedway, and his No. 30 Toyota. Johnny Benson placed third in his No. 23 Toyota, Terry Cook brought home a fourth-place finish in his No. 60 Wyler Racing Toyota and 2006 Kentucky Speedway series event winner Ron Hornaday, Jr., grabbed fifth in his No. 33 Chevrolet. He took his first top-five finish of the season and moved to ninth in the series standings after gaining 15 positions. Bodine slipped to second in the standings despite earning his second consecutive top-two finish. Benson took his second straight third-place finish while Cook collected his first top-five finish of 2008. The series will take a break until its 200-mile event at Atlanta Motor Speedway March 7. Mike Skinner, a 2007 Kentucky Speedway series race winner, won last season’s Atlanta event from the pole position. SPEED Channel coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 will go on the air at 9:00 p.m. The top 10 drivers in the series standings going into race will be: Busch (Leader: 365 points, Toyota, Billy Ballew Motorsports); Bodine (Second: -20, Toyota, Germain Racing); Benson (Third: -25, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); David Starr (Fourth: -81, Toyota, Red Horse Racing); Rick Crawford (Fifth: -84, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Phillip McGilton (Sixth: -104, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Chad McCumbee (Seventh: -110, Ford, MRD Motorsports); Dennis Setzer (Eighth: -111, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Ninth: -112, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.) and Stacy Compton (Tenth: -115, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing).

INDYCAR, CHAMP CAR TO UNIFY OPEN-WHEEL RACING FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON

Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Feb. 22 that will unify the sport for 2008. Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in principle in Chicago, joining his partner Kevin Kalkhoven and Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George. Details will be forthcoming. The unified series will make its Kentucky Speedway debut Aug. 9 in the Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Edy’s. Tickets are on sale now and can be reserved online through the tickets pages of http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com, or by phone at 888-652-RACE (7223). Fans also can visit any Meijer store or the Kentucky Speedway ticket offices at 200 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 100 in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., next to Montgomery Inn or the speedway Fan Center off of I-71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 in Sparta, Ky. Season race plans also are available now and can be reserved by phone at 859-578-2300, online through the Kentucky Speedway Web site or through track ticket offices.