KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES – NOVEMBER 3, 2008
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HORSEPOWER TO BE PART OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MOTORSPORTS NIGHT NOV. 11
Kentucky Speedway’s official mascot “Horsepower” will visit Miami University in Oxford, Ohio Nov. 11 for the Redhawks’ football Motorsports Night. Miami will take on the Associated Press Poll 18th-ranked Ball State Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. Fans will be able to see great Mid American Conference football action, show cars and much more. IndyCar Series drivers Graham Rahal and Will Power are scheduled to greet fans along with Miami alumnus and Firestone Indy Lights competitor Travis Gregg. Call the Miami University ticket office at 1-866-MUHAWKS (1-866-684-2957) to reserve seats and learn more.
EDWARDS GAINS VALUABLE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP GROUND WITH TEXAS TRIUMPH
Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards continued his strong late run toward the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship yesterday at Texas Motor Speedway by earning his second straight and eighth victory of the season. The two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner raced 69 laps on his final tank of gas, slowed dramatically during the final race laps and still earned an 8.31-second win over Jeff Gordon. The triumph marked Edwards’ third straight and sixth top-three finish in his past eight races and also helped him gain 77 points on championship leader Jimmie Johnson. Johnson placed 15th in the Texas event and ended his string of top-10 finishes at nine. He starts the week with a 106-point cushion on the second-place Edwards with two races remaining on the schedule. The next chapter in the 12-driver, 10-race championship saga will unfold Nov. 9 at Phoenix International Raceway. Edwards’ teammate Jamie McMurray grabbed third at Texas, Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer raced home fourth and Greg Biffle completed a solid Roush Fenway Racing day with a fifth-place showing. Gordon earned his fourth straight top-10 finish and his second top-five finish in that stretch. He moved from sixth to fifth in the championship standings. McMurray booked his second top-five and ninth top-10 finish of the season while advancing from 18th to 17th in the standings. He has driven to two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the past four races. Bowyer notched his sixth top-five and 16th top-10 finish of the season en route to moving from seventh to sixth in the standings. He has knocked out two top-five and three top-10 finishes in his past five starts. Biffle, who continues to hold the third spot in the championship standings, reeled off his 12th top-five and 17th top-10 finish of the season. He gained 42 points on Johnson while claiming his first top-five and third top-10 finish in the past four races. He will trail Johnson by 143 points when drivers take the green flag in Phoenix. Should Biffle successfully narrow the gap and collect the title, he would become the first driver to earn championships in NASCAR’s three major divisions. He took the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship and the 2001 NASCAR Nationwide Series title. Phoenix race coverage begins at 3:00 p.m., on ABC television and 3:45 p.m., on the Motor Racing Network, Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 and XM Radio Channel 104. Johnson scored an April 12 victory at the track in an event Ryan Newman started from the pole position. Edwards finished the race in fourth place and Biffle crossed the finish line ninth. The Chase for the Sprint Cup standings are: Johnson (Leader: 6,366 points, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Edwards (Second: -106 points, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Biffle (Third: -143, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Jeff Burton (Fourth: -212, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Gordon (Fifth: -255, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Bowyer (Sixth: -267, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing), Kevin Harvick (Seventh: -279, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Matt Kenseth (Eighth: -393, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Tony Stewart (Ninth: -404, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kyle Busch (10th: -428, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (11th: -429, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports) and Denny Hamlin (12th: -431, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing).
HORNADAY, JR. CLIMBS WITHIN SIX POINTS OF NCTS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH TEXAS VICTORY
Former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner Ron Hornaday, Jr., reeled off his sixth victory of the season Oct. 31 at Texas Motor Speedway and pulled within six points of championship leader Johnny Benson. Benson finished the race third and gave up 25 points to his nearest rival. He delivered his third straight top-10 finish and second top-five finish that stretch. Hornaday, Jr., continued his charge toward a second straight series title by posting his third win, fifth top-two finish and sixth top-five result in the past six series races. He led the closing 40 race laps before rolling across the finish line 0.958 of a second in front of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch. Former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Nationwide Series race winner Todd Bodine secured fourth-place and Roush Fenway Racing rookie Colin Braun completed the Texas top five. Busch moved from 16th to 15th in the series standings with his eighth top-five and 14th top-10 finish. He has started 16 series races this season. Bodine held on to the third spot in the series standings by posting his fourth consecutive top-five finish and fifth straight top-10 finish. Braun took his second top-five and fourth top-10 finish of the season. He earned his first top-five finish Oct. 4 at Talladega Superspeedway with a fourth-place performance. The series opens a tripleheader NASCAR weekend at Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 7. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Speed Channel and 8:00 p.m., the Motor Racing Network, Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 and XM Radio Channel 104 radio airwaves. Kyle Busch wheeled to a 2007 win at the track and Mike Skinner started the race from the pole position. Hornaday, Jr., finished second in the event and Benson took seventh. The top 10 in the series standings entering the race are: Benson (Leader: 3,489 points, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Second: -6 points, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Todd Bodine (Third: -223, Toyota, Germain Racing); Erik Darnell (Fourth: -353, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Matt Crafton (Fifth: -356, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); Skinner (Sixth: -366, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Rick Crawford (Seventh: -376, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Dennis Setzer (Eighth: -565, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing); Jack Sprague (Ninth: -579, Toyota, Wyler Racing) and Terry Cook (10th: -685, Toyota, HT Motorsports).
KYLE BUSCH SCORES RECORD-TYING NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES WIN AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Joe Gibbs Racing and two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner Kyle Busch rolled to a 0.253 of a second win over Carl Edwards at Texas Motor Speedway Nov. 1 and tied the NASCAR Nationwide Series single-season victories record set at 10 by Sam Ard in 1983. Busch used 21st career series win to move into a 10th-place tie on the all-time series wins list with Dale Earnhardt and Harry Gant. Busch led a dominating 174 of 200 race laps while chalking up his 16th top-five and 18th top-10 finish of the season in his 28th start of the season. Edwards ran his string of top-five finishes to seven, registered his 17th top-five and 20th top-10 finish of the season and moved within 91 points of championship leader Clint Bowyer, who took sixth-place at Texas and banked his 27th top-10 finish of the campaign. Bowyer has pinned down top-10 finishes in eight of the last nine events. Mark Martin claimed third in the Texas race, Kentucky Speedway “Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo” winner Joey Logano took fourth and Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan completed the top five. Martin secured his third top-five finish of the season in his fifth series start. Logano moved from 23rd to 21st in the standings with his fifth top-five and 12th top-10 showing of the season in his 17th start. He has earned two straight top-five finishes and placed in the five of the past seven series events. Ragan moved from fifth to fourth in the championship standings by engineering his seventh top-five and 21st top-10 finish of the season.
He has clicked off three top-five and six top-10 finishes in the past seven races. The series will stage its second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix International Speedway Nov. 8 at Phoenix International Raceway. Race coverage will begin at 4:00 p.m., on ESPN2 and radio coverage takes the green flag at 4:30 p.m. on the Motor Racing Network, Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 and XM Radio Channel 104. Kyle Busch took an April 11 victory at the track this season from the pole position. Edwards finished second and Bowyer closed out the race in eighth place. The top 10 drivers in the series standings are: Bowyer (Leader: 4,817 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Edwards (Second: -91, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Brad Keselowski (Third: -293, Chevrolet, Jr. Motorsports); Ragan (Fourth: -507, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Mike Bliss (Fifth: -567, Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing); David Reutimann (Sixth: -623, Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing); Kyle Busch (Seventh: -691, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing/Braun Racing); Mike Wallace (Eighth: -936, Toyota, Germain Racing); Jason Leffler (Ninth: -979, Toyota, Braun Racing) and Marcos Ambrose (10th: -987, Ford, JTG Daugherty Racing).