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KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES - AUGUST 18, 2008


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NEW KSRR AIRS TWICE THIS WEEK ON FSN OHIO A new 30-minute edition of the Kentucky Speedway Racing Report will air Monday, Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m., on FOX Sports Net (FSN) Ohio. Hosts Tim Bray and Brian Giesenschlag take a look back at the track’s season-ending “Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Pepsi and Edy’s” weekend complete with a feature story about IndyCar Series legacy Graham Rahal. Check local cable system and satellite service guides for channel numbers.

NCTS BEGINS CLOSING 10-RACE STRETCH OF THE 2008 CAMPAIGN AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY AUG. 20

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers with have their toughness dials cranked to the maximum when they begin the closing 10-race stretch of their season Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnny Benson will hold a 45-point lead over Ron Hornaday, Jr., in the championship standings when drivers take the green flag. Benson has won three straight and four of the past five races, including a victorious run in the Kentucky Speedway “Built Ford Tough 225 Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers” July 19. He owns a total of nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes through 15 starts this season. Hornaday, Jr., will ride a string of five consecutive top-10 finishes into the event. He took second at O’Reilly Raceway Park July 25 and fifth at Nashville Superspeedway Aug. 9. Benson won last season’s Bristol race that Travis Kvapil started from the pole position. Race coverage begins at 7:30 p.m., on SPEED Channel and 8:00 p.m., on Motor Racing Network (MRN) radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. The top 10 drivers in the series standings are: Benson (Leader: 2,261 points, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Second: -45 points, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Matt Crafton (Third: -91 points, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); Mike Skinner (Fourth: -235, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Erik Darnell (Fifth: -240, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Todd Bodine (Sixth: -244, Toyota, Germain Racing); Rick Crawford (Seventh: -251 points, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Jack Sprague (Eighth: -309 (tied), Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Terry Cook (Eighth: -309 (tied), Toyota, Wyler Racing); and David Starr (10th: -374, Toyota, Red Horse Racing).

EDWARDS GAINS VALUABLE NNS CHAMPIONSHIP GROUND WITH MICHIGAN WIN

Two-time Kentucky Speedway NASCAR race winner Carl Edwards gained 61 points on NASCAR Nationwide Series championship leader Clint Bowyer by locking down a 250-mile Michigan International Speedway win under caution Aug. 16. Edwards and his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford held point for 71 of the 125 race laps after starting from the pole position. He moved from third to second in the championship hunt after registering his third victory of the season along with his 10th top-five and 13th top-10 finish. He has earned two wins and a total of three top-10 finishes in the series last five events as he pursues his second straight series title. Bowyer surrendered championship ground despite taking his series-leading 20th top-10 finish with a 10th-place Michigan run in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. He has posted three top-10 finishes in the past five races. Moonlighting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars completed the race top-five. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart claimed third, Mark Martin took fourth in a Jr. Motorsports prepared machine and Greg Biffle nailed down fifth for Roush Fenway Racing. Jr. Motorsports driver Brad Keselowski slipped from second to third in the championship standings with an 11th-place Michigan performance. He finished outside a race top-10 for the third time in the past four races. The series continues its championship battle Aug. 22 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer took a March 15 win at the track this season in a race Scott Wimmer started from the pole position. ESPN coverage opens at 7:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network (PRN) radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. The top 10 drivers in the series standings entering the race are: Bowyer (Leader: 3,582 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Carl Edwards (Second: -113, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Keselowski (Third: -132, Chevrolet, Jr. Motorsports); Mike Bliss (Fourth: -359, Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing); David Reutimann (Fifth: -363, Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing); David Ragan (Sixth: -380, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kyle Busch (Seventh: -579, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing / Braun Racing); Mike Wallace (Eighth: -619 points, Toyota, Germain Racing); Jason Leffler (Ninth: -656, Toyota, Braun Racing); and Marcos Ambrose (10th: -679, Ford, JTG Racing).

EDWARDS COMPLETES MICHIGAN SWEEP WITH FIFTH NSCS WIN

Former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series event winner Carl Edwards completed a two-race sweep at Michigan International Speedway by scoring his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season by 0.947 of a second over championship leader Kyle Busch Aug. 17. Edwards and his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford held off Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the closing 18-lap stretch of the 200-lap event that included a caution restart with on Lap 198. Edwards gained 20 points on Busch in the series standings and has delivered two wins along with a total of three top-two and four top-10 finishes in the past four series events. Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan took third in the No. 6 Ford, his teammate Greg Biffle crossed the finish line fourth in the No. 16 Ford and Matt Kenseth completed an impressive Roush Fenway day with a fifth-place showing in the No. 17 Ford. Busch rolled to his fifth top-two finish in an eight-race in which he tallied four wins. Ragan used his fifth top-five finish of the campaign to move within 26 points becoming eligible for the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup that begins Sept. 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He has knocked out two top-five finishes in the past three events and three top-10 results in the past five series races. He will start the week tied for 13th in the standings with Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer, who placed 20th in the Michigan race. Both are in pursuit of current 12th-place driver Denny Hamlin, who slipped three spots in the standings following his 39th-place run in the Irish Hills. Biffle jumped three spots in the series standings to seventh with his seventh top-five and 10th top-10 finish of the season. He has wheeled to two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the past five races. Kenseth moved out of the 12th-spot hot seat and advanced two positions in the series standings to 10th with his fifth top-five and 13th top-10 showing of the season. He wrapped up his second top-five and third top-10 finish in the past six races. Richard Childress racer Kevin Harvick tore off an eighth-place Michigan finish and solidified his Chase for the Sprint Cup hopes by moving from 11th to eighth in the series standings. He now owns four top-five and nine top-10 finishes this season. Series drivers will tighten their belts this week for a 266.5-mile battle on the 0.533-mile track at the Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday. Jeff Burton claimed a March 16 victory at the track in a race Jimmie Johnson started from the pole position. Edwards earned an Aug. 25 win there last season. Race coverage begins at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN and 8:00 p.m., on Performance Racing Network radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the event are: Kyle Busch (Leader: 3,429 points: Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Edwards (Second: -222, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Johnson (Third: -302, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Dale Earnhardt, Jr., (Fourth: -345, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Burton (Fifth: -349 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Stewart (Sixth: -558, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Biffle (Seventh: -575, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Harvick (Eighth: -617, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Jeff Gordon (Ninth: -638, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Kenseth (10th: -646, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kasey Kahne (11th: -673, Dodge, Gillett Evernham Motorsports) and Hamlin (12th: -694, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing).

KIMMEL SLIDES TO SPRINGFIELD, ILL., ARCA/REMAX SERIES DIRT TRACK WIN

Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion and four-time Kentucky Speedway series race winner Frank Kimmel slid to his first win of the season on the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt-track in Springfield Aug. 17 by guiding his No. 44 Ford across the finish line 0.921 of a second in front of the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driven by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kimmel used his second straight Springfield win to gain 60 points on championship leader Scott Speed, who placed eighth in the race. Kimmel now owns a total of eighth top-five and nine top-10 finishes through 15 events this season. Speed has generated 13 top-10 finishes that include a series-leading four wins and nine top-five showings. Brian Tyler took third in the No. 25 Toyota, Matt Carter placed fourth in the No. 46 Ford and Tayler Malsam completed the Springfield top five in the No. 4 Dodge. The series returns to dirt action Sept. 1 on the 100-mile battle on the tradition-rich DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. The top-10 drivers entering the race are: Speed (Leader: 3,715 points, Toyota); Stenhouse, Jr. (Second: -110 points, Ford); Carter (Third, -120, Ford); Justin Allgaier (Fourth: -215, Chevrolet); Kimmel (Fifth: -255, Ford); Tom Hessert III (Sixth: -565, Ford); Malsam (Seventh: -585, Dodge); John Wes Townley (Eighth: -610, Ford); Ken Butler III (Ninth: -680, Toyota) and Patrick Sheltra (10th: -700, Chevrolet).