KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY “DRIVE THE TRACK” SALE SET FOR APRIL 19

Kentucky Speedway will stage its first of two popular “Drive the Track” gift shop sales on Saturday April 19, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Guests that make a minimum purchase of $40 in the Fan Center Gift Shop will be able to turn paced laps on the Kentucky Speedway 1.5-mile paved tri-oval track in their own vehicles. The sale will feature Kentucky Speedway and popular driver merchandise specials. Event ticket purchases also will be applied to the customer purchase total. The Fan Center is located off of Interstate 71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 North in Sparta, Ky. Fans can phone 859-567-3400 for more information.

DIXON DIALS IN SEASON-OPENING INDYCAR SERIES WIN

Chip Ganassi Racing driver and 2007 IndyCar Series runner-up Scott Dixon dialed in a season-opening series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway March 29. Dixon delivered a second straight season-opening win for owner Chip Ganassi, who saw Dan Wheldon win from the pole position in last season’s opening race. Dixon and his No. 9 machine overtook Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan and his No. 11 racecar on Lap 196 of 200 and crossed the finish line 0.5828 of a second in front of Kanaan’s teammate, Marco Andretti, and his No. 26 car. Wheldon placed third while Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves and Ed Carpenter completed the race top five. Dixon captured his 11th career open-wheel racing win while Andretti pocketed his 11th career top-five finish. Wheldon reeled in his 45th career series top-five finish and Castroneves finished in a race top five for the 52nd time in his 12-year open-wheel career. Carpenter captured his second career top-five series finish and his first since his fifth-place showing at Chicagoland Speedway in the 2006 season finale. Twenty-five racers formed the starting grid for the new-look series. Spaniard Oriol Servia posted the best finish among the new series drivers with a 12th-place performance. The series remains in Florida for its April 6 event on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Castroneves won the 2007 race from the pole position. Race coverage begins on ESPN 2, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 145 at 2:30 p.m. The top 10 drivers in the series standings are: Dixon (Leader: 50 points, Chip Ganassi Racing); Andretti (Second: -7, Andretti Green Racing); Wheldon (Third: -15, Chip Ganassi Racing); Castroneves (Fourth: -18, Penske Racing); Carpenter (Fifth: -20, Vision Racing); Danica Patrick (Sixth: -22, Andretti Green Racing); Ryan Hunter-Reay (Seventh: -24, Rahal Letterman Racing); Tony Kanaan (Eighth: -26, Andretti Green Racing); A.J. Foyt, IV (Ninth: -28, Vision Racing); and Vitor Meira (10th: -30, Panther Racing).

HAMLIN CRACKS NASCAR SPRINT CUP STANDINGS TOP 10 WITH MARTINSVILLE WIN

Joe Gibbs Racing and Virginia native Denny Hamlin scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the season at Martinsville Speedway in his home state March 30. The victory helped Hamlin jump seven positions in the series standings to eighth. He makes his first appearance in the series top 10 this season. He qualified for his second straight Chase for the Sprint Cup last season and placed 12th. Hamlin earned his fourth career series victory by leading the closing 74 of 200 laps. He guided his No. 11 Toyota across the finish line 0.398 of a second ahead of Hendrick Motorsports racer Jeff Gordon. Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton placed third, two-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson took fourth and two-time series champion Tony Stewart completed the race top five. Gordon advanced five positions in the series standings to ninth and now owns 25 top-10 Martinsville finishes through 31 career starts there. He secured his third top-five finish of the season and his second top-five finish in his past three races. Burton took over the lead in the series standings with his second straight top-five finish and fourth consecutive top-10 finish. He has taken 14 top-10 finishes at Martinsville through 28 career races there. Johnson picked up three spots in the series standings and moved to 10th with his second top-five finish of the season and first since his second-place finish at California Speedway Feb. 24. Stewart gained one spot in the series standings and started the week sixth after taking his second top-finish in his past three races and his third top-10 finish of the season. The series moves on to Texas Motor Speedway for an April 6 tilt. FOX Television event coverage is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Radio coverage will begin at 2:00 p.m., on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the event are: Burton (Leader: 915 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Harvick (Second: -39, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Greg Biffle (Third: -60, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Dale Earnhardt, Jr., (Fourth: -69, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Kyle Busch (Fifth: -84, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Tony Stewart (Sixth: -104, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kasey Kahne (Seventh: -129, Dodge, Gillett Evernham Motorsports); Denny Hamlin (Eighth: -157, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Gordon (Ninth: -166, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Johnson (10th: -169, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Ryan Newman (11th: -174, Dodge, Penske Racing) and Clint Bowyer (12th: -175, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing).

SHORT-TRACK EXPERT SETZER SCORES NCTS MARTINSVILLE WIN

Bobby Hamilton Racing driver Dennis Setzer collected the 12th short-track victory of his career and his third on the 0.526-mile oval at Martinsville Speedway March 29. Setzer, a 2005 race winner at Kentucky Speedway, has now earned 12 of his 18 career series victories on tracks measuring 1.5-miles or less in distance. The win also was the first for Bobby Hamilton Racing since its founder passed away. BHR last took a win in May 2005 win in Mansfield, Ohio. Setzer led the closing 126 of 253 race laps and earned his first top-five and second top-10 finish of the season. He advanced five spots in the series standings to fourth. He crossed the finish line in his No. 18 truck ahead of the No. 88 truck of Matt Crafton during the 16th and final caution period of the race. Circle Bar Racing driver Rick Crawford placed third, Bobby Hamilton Racing driver Ken Schrader grabbed fourth and Roush Fenway Racing pilot and 2007 Kentucky Speedway ARCA RE/MAX Series event winner Erik Darnell took fifth. Crafton advanced eight spots in the series standings to sixth with his second straight top-five finish. Crawford moved from sixth to fifth in the series standings with his second top-five finish of the season. Schrader kept hold of the 34th position in the series standings with his first top-five finish of the campaign and Darnell moved from 13th to eighth in the standings with his best finish of the season. Kyle Busch retained the lead in the series standings despite his 26th-place finish. He finished outside a race top-two for the first time in four races. The series will visit Kansas Speedway April 26 for its next event. Darnell won the 2007 race at the track that Mike Skinner started from the pole position. SPEED Channel coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. Radio coverage will begin on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 at 6:00 p.m. The top 10 drivers in the series standings going into race will be: Busch (Leader: 645 points, Toyota, Billy Ballew Motorsports); Bodine (Second: -35, Toyota, Germain Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Third: -65, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Dennis Setzer (Fourth: -67, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing); Rick Crawford (Fifth: -69, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Matt Crafton (Sixth: -106, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); David Starr (Seventh: -111, Toyota, Red Horse Racing); Erik Darnell (Eighth: -118, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Johnny Benson (Ninth: -144, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing) and Terry Cook (10th: -146, Toyota, Wyler Racing).