Tim Tuttle: Ed Carpenter's tenacity over the season pays off with victory at Fontana

Ed Carpenter jumps for joy after his victory at Fontana, making him the only one-car team to win an IndyCar race in 2012.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Ed Carpenter began the Izod IndyCar season with two strikes against him: he was the owner and driver of a first-year team and a single-car team. Every team in racing in either situation faces significant challenges, and Carpenter dealt with both. Ahead was the proverbial building season, where competitiveness would be measured carefully in increments.

In terms of expectations the season had gone well for Carpenter going into the season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., last Saturday night. Carpenter has a background in USAC's short track national series, so from the beginning of his IndyCar career, which began in 2003, ovals have been his strong suit. This year he racked up his best finishes on oval tracks: eighth place at Milwaukee and Iowa, and 12th at Texas. Carpenter was also strong at the Indy 500, running third with less than 20 laps to go before his front wing broke and spun him.

In 2005 IndyCar began adding road and street courses, where Carpenter had struggled big time through the years. But in 2012 he started to show signs of progress -- more speed, fewer spins and crashes, and had a 12th-place finish at Belle Isle in Detroit and 14th at Long Beach to show for it.

At Fontana Carpenter made an astonishing breakthrough. He won with a last-lap pass of Dario Franchitti. It was David beating Goliath.

"I think to be where we are right now as a first-year team is pretty remarkable," Carpenter said. "I think it's something that's extremely hard to do to win in this series anywhere. To do it as a new team is pretty special."

It wasn't the first time this happened (Carpenter passed Franchitti in 2011 with five laps to go at Kentucky for his first IndyCar victory), but this was different. He'd finished second at Kentucky the two previous years by fractions of seconds. The single-formula equipment package, a Dallara-Honda, had remained the same, and he'd done it with veteran teams -- Sarah Fisher Racing in 2011, Panther Racing in 2010 and Vision Racing in 2009 -- that had plenty of data on the car on that track.

This season IndyCar introduced a new formula that required a completely different engineering approach to bring out a car's speed, and multi-car teams had a huge advantage over single-car teams in gathering information. Franchitti's Chip Ganassi ran four cars; Penske, Andretti and KV ran three; Dale Coyne ran two; Dragon ran a partial schedule with two; and Panther and Dreyer & Reinbold formed a technical alliance to get to two on the track. There were five one-car teams and out of all of them, Carpenter was the only to win.

"I had been working with the old car since 2003 and everyone we hired brought a lot of experience with the old car into the team," Carpenter said. "Going into the season with a new car as a single-car team, there's a lot of catching up to do and the multiple car teams had an advantage. In [2011] the last year of the old car, it was easier for the small teams to do something, like Dan Wheldon winning at Indy for Bryan Herta. The old car was over developed and there was nothing new to learn. [With the new car,] We were on our own."

Carpenter's decision to add ownership to his responsibilities was sponsor-driven. He drove full time in the series for six seasons -- one with Cheever Racing and the next five for Vision, until the team folded prior to the 2010 season. Carpenter put together a four-race season with sponsorship from Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka, owned by Indiana golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, in 2010 with Panther.

When Fisher decided to retire in 2011, she hired Carpenter and he drove in 11 races with sponsorship from Dollar General.

"Fuzzy's couldn't be on the car with Sarah because of Dollar General," Carpenter said. "We knew Dollar General was leaving at the end of the season, so we started talking with Fuzzy's about sponsoring Sarah's car and they came to me with the idea of starting my own team. I hadn't thought about it at this point in my career, but opportunities like that don't come up very often and it may not come back again. It seemed like the right thing to do."

At this point Carpenter had a sponsor and not much else. But he found a ready-made solution to starting a team by hiring Derrick Walker -- who won IndyCar races with Gil de Ferran and Robby Gordon, and was Penske's team manager in the 1980s -- as general manager and leasing his first-rate race shop, transporter and equipment needed to run an IndyCar team. He didn't have an IndyCar program for 2012, but had a deal with Falken Tires to run a Porsche in American Le Mans GT.

"We wouldn't be here without Derrick," Carpenter said. "His thumbprint is all over this team. Tim Broyles is the team manager, and he's called the strategy all year long even when Derrick's here. We've built the team to kind of operate the same whether Derrick's here or whether he's not.

"More than anything, he likes to refer to himself as the rudder of the team. [...] I would call him an architect of helping us shape us here in year one."

Carpenter would like to expand to two cars next year. Ideally, it would be a strong road racer to help him and the car improve.

"It's something that we're continually working on, but it's got to be the right situation and do it in the right way and we're not there yet," Carpenter said.

With Ryan Hunter-Reay winning the championship at Fontana, it became an all-American celebration. Hunter-Reay and Carpenter were the sole Americans to win in the series this year.

"I'm really happy for Ryan," Carpenter said. "We were teammates for a few races back in 2009 and have been good friends since then. My daughter was in his wedding. He deserves it. He's had a great year."

Fontana made it a great year for Carpenter, too.

"I still would have been happy with the year and team," Carpenter said. "We had a lot of things go well. I think the win really caps it off. It will make for a nice off-season. It's something to be proud of."

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tim_tuttle/09/19/Ed-Carpenter-Fontana/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Too early to start predicting NASCAR's champion

Even though he had a tough race in Chicago, Jeff Gordon still has time to get back into the title hunt.

Rob Grabowski/US PRESSWIRE

(AP) -- It doesn't take long for the pretenders to be separated from the contenders in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Sometimes, through bad luck or mediocre performance, a driver leaves the Chase opener sentenced to an also-ran status for the remainder of the season. This season may be an anomaly - the field is too stacked to start crossing names off the list of legitimate title contenders.

That could be good news for Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, who each had mechanical problems in the Chicago opener. Kenseth had a shock fall off his car, Gordon crashed after his throttle stuck and the two head to Round 2 of the Chase in New Hampshire ranked 11th and 12th in the standings.

"I think even Jeff Gordon, even though he had a disappointing finish, he still can't count himself out," said defending champion Tony Stewart. "Everybody can have a bad race, so it's way too early to predict after one race."

There's usually room for a mulligan in the Chase: Stewart limped to a 25th-place finish last year in Round 3 at Dover and still won the title. Jimmie Johnson overcame not only a 39th-place finish in the 2006 Chase opener, but also a crash at Talladega. An early crash at Texas in 2009 led to a 38th-place finish, and he still won his fourth title. And in 2010, he opened with a 25th-place finish and rallied over the remaining nine weeks for his fifth-straight championship.

So nobody is expecting the champion to have a flawless 10-race run.

"You're probably going to see guys having a little bit of trouble here and there," said Greg Biffle. "I think with this field, people are going to be climbing back in this game because other guys may have trouble or may have a mediocre race and a guy wins. I think there will probably be more guys in it for a longer period of time in this Chase."

Those at the bottom of the standings have no time to waste.

"If those same guys continue to have trouble, that might start eliminating a few," said Biffle, who counts himself among those needing a strong rebound this Sunday at New Hampshire.

He was the points leader at the end of the "regular season" but opened the Chase in fifth after the field was re-seeded based on bonus points. He figured a strong race at Chicago would push him back into the points lead, but he struggled all weekend and had to settle for a 13th-place finish. It cost Biffle another three spots in the standings.

"It was an unfortunate race for us. We felt like we were going to be on the money there and we just ended up off a little bit," he said. "It's a very, very tight points battle going on right now, so we know a couple good finishes and we're going to be right back in the top three in points."

Biffle finished third at New Hampshire in the second Chase race a year ago; he was ninth at the track when NASCAR stopped there in July.

Kenseth, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, is in a deeper hole. His 18th-place finish Sunday marked the third consecutive year Kenseth opened the Chase with a finish of 10th or worse. And New Hampshire hasn't been all that good to him of late. He was 13th there in July, but has just one top-10 in his last nine starts.

"Loudon has been a place that I've struggled at, but our goal is to get a good clean run on Sunday in order to make up some of our position in the point standings that we lost last weekend at Chicago," Kenseth said.

And then there's Denny Hamlin, who isn't in danger of falling out of title contention just yet. He was disappointed after running out of fuel late at Chicago - his gas man didn't get the tank full on the final stop and it cost Hamlin a top-10 finish.

After opening the Chase as the points leader, Hamlin's 16th-place finish dropped him to fifth in the standings. Only 15 points behind Chicago winner and new points leader Brad Keselowski, Hamlin is confident about his chances.

"This is 1 week of 10. We will win next week," Hamlin tweeted.

Maybe he will. Hamlin might have won at New Hampshire in July if not for late race miscommunication with crew chief Darian Grubb, who changed four tires when Hamlin only wanted two changed. The longer pit stop dropped Hamlin deep in the field, and despite a frantic final push, he finished second to winner Kasey Kahne.

He had a good attitude after the race - "I've been through this long enough now (that) you're going to have plenty more chances in the future, especially the way we're running," he said - and gets a chance to prove it Sunday.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/19/NASCAR-championship-hunt.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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IndyCar finishes season amid rumors of unrest

Ryan Hunter-Reay slipped by Will Power in the final race at Fontana to secure the IndyCar title.

Robert Reiners/Icon SMI

(AP) -- A new champion, improved racing, at least two top team owners calling for harmony for the sake of the series - IndyCar wrapped up a very trying year with a successful final weekend.

That doesn't means there isn't trouble ahead.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard planned to meet Thursday with the board of directors to begin working in earnest on the 2013 season. Among the issues expected to be resolved is the race schedule, which Bernard wants to announce by Oct. 1. Trouble is, rumblings of an attempted team owner-led coup against Bernard followed IndyCar right through Saturday night's finale at Fontana, and Bernard's ouster as CEO remains a very serious topic.

Roger Penske, the most powerful owner in open-wheel racing, threw his support behind Bernard last weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

"There's always a two-year itch by the car owners, and we spent more time (this year) worrying about parts prices then how we can build the series," Penske said. "Overall, I think Randy has brought a lot to the series. I know some of the people maybe think he hasn't, but at this particular time, he's our leader. I'm supporting him."

There was a similar sentiment from team owner Chip Ganassi, who stopped short of endorsing Bernard but said his IndyCar brethren were part of the problem.

"I don't like people to point the finger at challenges and issues we have; I like people with solutions," Ganassi said. "We say, `It's that guy's fault. He's the reason it's good. She's the reason it's good. He's the reason it's bad.' Rather than pointing the finger at television ratings or CEOs or family politics, let's point the finger at what we need to do to make this better.

"Let's point the finger at what needs to be done instead of pointing the finger at the same old people or the same old problems."

And so it's the same old conversation in IndyCar, and it is threatening to spoil what should be a banner moment for the series.

IndyCar's season ended last year with a horrific 15-car accident that killed Dan Wheldon in the season finale. The death of the popular two-time Indianapolis 500 winner rocked the series to its core, and the healing process is ongoing.

Wheldon's death, caused in part because of the pack racing that comes on oval tracks, created an anxiety about the safety of the series and its cars. IndyCar addressed both issues with the debut this season of its first new car in nine years, and a change to the aerodynamic specifications at oval tracks that broke up the pack.

The result was an Indianapolis 500 many lauded as one of the most exciting in history, a thrilling race at Texas, where there had been much hand-wringing about the compatibility of the cars, the banking and the fencing, and Saturday night's exciting finale.

Tony Stewart, the 1997 IndyCar champion who has three NASCAR titles since leaving the series, has been impressed with the racing this year. He was engrossed in the Indianapolis 500 and found the finale to be entertaining as he watched Ryan Hunter-Reay trying to snatch the title away from Will Power.

"I thought the racing was good the other night," Stewart said. "The drama behind it, it wasn't the wheel-to-wheel battle for a championship, but you kept watching for Ryan to pick up positions. When the track was slick, those guys were having to drive those things. And watching as the night went on and how guys got their cars dialed in .. it was good racing.

"I think the product is good right now, and for going to a new car this year, it was a successful first year."

Hunter-Reay became the first American to win the championship since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006, and Chevrolet celebrated its return to the series after a seven-year hiatus with both the driver and manufacturer title.

The championship was the first for team owner Michael Andretti since 2007, and it ended a five-year reign of Ganassi drivers. Hunter-Reay's four wins this year was also best in the series, bringing an end to the cycle of Penske and Ganassi drivers collecting the lion's share of the trophies each season.

In terms of pure competition, Bernard thought it was a good year.

"I was overall pleased with the year from the standpoint of the new car, it performed phenomenally well, and I was very excited about the quality of the drivers and depth of the field," he said. "I was very pleased going into the finale there was a championship race, and either competitor would have been a fantastic champion. Will has fought hard for three years and come close and is a great ambassador for IndyCar, and I think Ryan, being the first American champion since 2006, he has a great personality and will represent IndyCar well."

And what didn't Bernard like about the season?

"I'd say I was disappointed in the length of the schedule," he said. "I would have preferred a longer season than 15 races."

Las Vegas had been announced as the site of this year's finale, but the event was canceled after Wheldon's death. Then the promoters of an August race in China pulled the plug on their event.

Bernard is working hard to boost that number, and has already added a street race in Houston to next year's schedule. He has the series back in talks with longtime IndyCar staples Pocono, perhaps for next season, and Phoenix, no sooner than 2014, and fans seem eager for both venues to return to the schedule.

Bernard has also had conversations about a street race in Rhode Island next season, and has promoters interested in an event in New Orleans in the future.

Whether Bernard is given the chance to see his visions through - or ever have the chance to lead a series that isn't saddled with the same old poisonous politics - remains to be seen.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/19/IndyCar-season-wrapup.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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NASCAR reinstates A.J. Allmendinger after rehab

Roger Penske said he'd consider rehiring A.J. Allmendinger now that he's been reinstated by NASCAR.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR reinstated A.J. Allmendinger on Tuesday, saying the driver had successfully completed its rehabilitation program after testing positive for a banned substance.

Allmendinger was suspended two months ago after failing a random drug test in June and his backup "B" urine sample later tested positive. NASCAR has not revealed the substance, but he has said he tested positive for Adderall, a prescription drug typically used to treat attention deficit disorder. He does not have an ADD diagnosis or prescription, and said he took it a couple of days before the June 30 race at Kentucky Speedway because he was tired.

"The Road to Recovery program was really helpful to me in getting my priorities reset away from the race track," Allmendinger said in a statement. "And, honestly, that helped find my love of racing again and why I began racing in the first place. I'm looking forward to taking this experience and be better for it moving forward."

Allmendinger was suspended July 7, just hours before the race at Daytona and forcing Penske Racing to bring in Sam Hornish Jr. at the last moment. Allmendinger was released by Penske Racing after the "B" sample failed and the only way to come back to the series was to complete NASCAR's "Road to Recovery" program.

Now that he's done it, he may find a home sooner than anyone expected back in July.

Team owner Roger Penske had Allmendinger as his guest at the IndyCar season finale last weekend and said the 30-year-old driver is a viable candidate for rides in both NASCAR and IndyCar. Penske said he'd consider hiring Allmendinger again.

Allmendinger was hired in late December by Penske to fill the seat that opened when Kurt Busch split with the organization. It was the most prolific ride of Allmendinger's career, and both driver and team seemed thrilled with the pairing even as Allmendinger struggled at times in the No. 22 Dodge. He was 23rd in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Daytona, where he won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race in January.

The July suspension came at a time when Penske was evaluating picking up the option on Allmendinger for 2013. Hornish filled in for Allmendinger, but Joey Logano was hired to drive the car next season.

The next step for Allmendinger may be up to owners like Penske.

"He could be an option for us, for sure," Penske said before the IndyCar finale at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday. "He's someone we would consider."

Allmendinger spent three seasons in Champ Car, and won five races in 2006 before moving to NASCAR.

"This is a speed bump in his career, but he's certainly an option for people on the NASCAR side and the Indy side," Penske said.

Penske doesn't have an open seat in NASCAR, and it's not clear what will happen with his third IndyCar team. He's already picked up the 2013 options on Will Power and Helio Castroneves, but has told Ryan Briscoe he's free to look around while the team tries to secure sponsorship for that seat.

Allmendinger was the second Sprint Cup Series driver suspended under NASCAR's tightened drug policy implemented in 2009. Jeremy Mayfield was the first and he unsuccessfully sued to have the results overturned. Court documents showed that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine.

In 2009, Allmendinger pleaded no contest in North Carolina to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired. He was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 18 months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service. Allmendinger drove for Richard Petty Motorsports at the time, and the team put him on probation through 2010 and fined him $10,000.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/18/AJ-Allmendinger-reinstated.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Is Keselowski a championship contender?

Brad Keselowski won his first ever Sprint Cup race at Talladega in 2009, when he bumped Carl Edwards and sped past for the checkers.

STEPHEN A ARCE/CSM/Landov

JOILET, Ill. -- Brad Keselowski did not sneak quietly into Sprint Cup racing -- far from it. Instead, he made his presence known in one of the loudest, most spectacular ways possible. In only the fifth start of his Cup career, in 2009 at Talladega Superspeedway, Keselowski refused to back off as Carl Edwards attempted to block him on the low side of the track as the two drivers raced toward the finish line. As a result, Keselowski clipped the rear end of Edwards' car, sending it airborne and into the catch-fence along the track's front stretch. With carnage raining behind him, Keselowski sped away to his first Cup victory in one of the wildest finishes in NASCAR history.

It would have been easy for a young racer in his position -- driving for a part-time operation, no less -- to express regret for the incident that took out an established star in the sport. But just as he had done on the track, Keselowski did not back off one bit in his post-race comments that day.

"I'm sure [Edwards] probably regrets that now, but I certainly don't," Keselowski said after the race in 2009. "It was up to him on whether he wanted to run me down or not, and he did, and I just held my ground. I was here to win and I've got no other reason to be here than to win and put these guys in victory lane. Holding your line was the way to do it.

"I'd do the same thing again. Trust me in what I say: without hesitation."

We should have all known right then that this was no one-win wonder. Despite his boyish looks and lack of Cup experience (he was only 25 years old at the time), Keselowski immediately was displaying the win-at-all-costs mentality that most of the great drivers have. Would Dale Earnhardt Sr. or Tony Stewart have backed off in a similar situation, even as Cup rookies? It's extremely unlikely.

Yet here we are three years later still seemingly underestimating Keselowski. His victory at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday in the first race in this season's Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship gives Keselowski a total of seven wins over the past two seasons, second during that span only to Tony Stewart, who has eight. Keselowski was the hottest driver on the circuit entering this year's Chase, with six top-five finishes and nine top-10s in the previous 10 races.

But despite all his success, Keselowski was rarely mentioned as one of the favorites to win the championship. Most analysts went with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Others chose Denny Hamlin, who entered the Chase with a series-best four victories this year. Greg Biffle was considered to be a legitimate contender, as was defending champ Stewart even though he limped into the Chase with only one top-10 in his previous five starts. Even Jeff Gordon was given a decent shot despite needing a furious rally to secure the final Chase berth in the last race of the regular season.

SI.COM'S PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2012 SPRINT CUP CHASE

As for Keselowski, he was considered by most to be a dark horse at best. Yes, he is a talented driver with great potential, but this is still only his third full season in Sprint Cup racing. Certainly it must be too soon for him to actually win the championship. Right?

Well, maybe not. Keselowski currently sits atop the standings with a three-point lead over Johnson and an eight-point edge over Stewart. And he continues to display his racing bravado and overall disregard for what his fellow drivers might think. Following the final round of pit stops at Chicago, Keselowski pulled onto the track in front of Johnson, forcing Johnson to lift off the gas ever so slightly. That was enough to enable Keselowski to take a lead he would never relinquish. Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, loudly complained to NASCAR officials that Keselowski had re-entered the track too soon, but to no avail.

Keselowski proclaimed his innocence when asked about the incident after the race, though he did so with a bit of attitude.

"There is no enforced line like you see in other sports, and that's not a bad thing. That's just one more thing to monitor during the race," Keselowski said. "You can make rules that count it down to the inches and just make it a pain in the ass for everybody that participates in the sport, or you can just have a [general] rule like we do, and I felt like I was inside those guidelines."

Keselowski is a lot like the football or basketball player who can irritate other teams, but is beloved by those who play with him. His swagger rubs off on his pit crew, which has consistently been one of the best in the business this season. Even 75-year-old team owner Roger Penske says that Keselowski's attitude can be infectious.

"He has been an amazing young guy," Penske said following Sunday's race "He's a very constructive driver from the standpoint of our people within the company. We had a lunch this past Monday. Brad just revs them up. He goes around and thanks them, and that's important. These [Cup drivers] are big deals, big stars. But I think he has the roots from his family and the way he started to work with everybody from top to bottom. [Sunday] was a byproduct of that.

"He won't let me sleep, I'll tell you that. I get Twitters [from him]. I'm a big texter now. He and I are talking all the time. I tell him, 'I've got to get to my day job sometime.'"

Keselowski was in Penske's ear even before he was driving for him. During the 2009 season, while running a handful of races for James Finch -- the part-time owner who supplied him with the winning car at Talladega -- and then Hendrick Motorsports, Keselowski was already campaigning for a full-time Cup ride.

"At one point he came by to see us and said that he'd like to come and race for our team," Penske recalled. "He said, 'When I do come, I want to help build a team to win the championship.' That was the year before he started with us. He's been focused.

"He went through a lot of rigmarole [early in his Cup career], some maybe he was due, some he wasn't. But I think he's managed to develop a lot of rapport with the drivers. I think they trust him wheel to wheel. He's not a reckless guy at all."

Indeed, despite Keselowski's willingness to push things to the very edge, most of his fellow drivers do not seem to harbor any ill will toward him. Even Johnson did not appear to be overly upset about Keselowski cutting in front of him near the end of Sunday's race.

"It did impede my progress. I had to check up and wasn't sure where things were going," Johnson said calmly. "But it didn't affect the outcome, I don't believe. The way he made quick work in traffic and stretched it out on me, I'm not sure I would have held him off. At the time it messed me up, but I don't think it played an outcome in the race."

Either way, in the end it was Keselowski -- not Johnson -- celebrating in victory lane. That is the bottom-line objective for Keselowski whenever he slides behind the steering wheel of his racecar.

"It's my goal to be a Sprint Cup champion, to be a winner," Keselowski said. "Racing is one of the few things I've ever done in my life that has been able to take me to another level mentally and physically. [...] I approach it as though I was a baseball player at the plate, and you know there are 100 mile-an-hour fastballs coming at you all the time. There's always somebody trying to beat you. But if I go down, I'm going to go down swinging the bat as hard as I can each and every time."

19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/cary_estes/09/18/Brad-Keselowski-Chase/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Dustin Long: Brad Keselowski takes over Power Rankings after Chase's first race

Chicago Power Rankings

The Chase represents a new beginning and with it comes a new No. 1 in this week's Power Rankings, but it's not someone we haven't seen before. The opening race at Chicagoland not only changed the top spot but also jumbled this week's rankings, as some drivers fell out and new ones took their place.

 

Keselowski's victory, his 10th top-10 finish in the last 11 races, moved him into the points lead. In the last four races on 1.5-mile speedways, he has two wins and four top-five finishes; though Keselowski isn?t looking back. "I'm going to focus on the next nine [races], and I know everybody on my team is going to do that," he said. "It's great to get to the points lead, but we've got so much racing left and it would be a disservice to [Sunday's] accomplishments to allow our focus to get off of tomorrow's workload."

 

Johnson's runner-up finish Sunday was his third in 11 career starts at Chicagoland Speedway, a track where he's still not won a Sprint Cup race. "My philosophy is just to stay in the hunt," Johnson said. "Let's get midway through this Chase, and see who's where and what to do."

 

Consistency has been the name of the game for this team all year, and Earnhardt left Chicago with an eighth-place finish after starting at the rear of the field because of an engine change. "Eighth is all right, but I know Brad [Keselowski] is going to run well and [Jimmie Johnson] is obviously going to be tough," Earnhardt said. "You can't run eighth every week and win the championship."

 

Third-place finish continued stretch of solid runs. He's scored seven top-10 finishes in the last 11 races. Of those four races he placed outside the top 10, he finished 12th twice, 13th and 23rd.

 

Bowyer started ninth, gained four spots in the last 25 laps and finished 10th at Chicago. However, he still remains winless in his Cup career on 1.5-mile tracks; with four 1.5-mile tracks left in the Chase, he'll need to be stronger to contend for the title.

 

After his sixth-place finish, Stewart said his team was a "little bit off" on the car and its setup. Still, he ended a five-race streak this season on 1.5-mile tracks where he had finished no better than 13th.

 

Hamlin was headed for a top-10 finish until he ran short on fuel at the finish and placed 16th. Now, the question is: will losing seven positions (and points) hurt him later in the Chase? The series heads to New Hampshire where he finished second earlier this season, and he tweeted that he would win this time. If he can deliver on that tweet, he'll move up in next week's Power Rankings.

 

Truex struggled a good part of the day before rallying to finish ninth, but he has to be better than what he showed Sunday. "It wasn't the way we wanted to start the Chase," Truex said.

 

A fourth-place finish at Chicagoland was his fourth top-10 finish in the last six races. Struggles throughout the season, though, prevented him from making the Chase.

 

Blaney, the 18-year-old son of Cup driver Dave Blaney, won last weekend's Camping World Truck race at Iowa to become the youngest winner in series history. He's running select Truck and Nationwide races this season but has already had some impressive runs.

19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/dustin_long/09/18/Chicago-NASCAR-Power-Rankings/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Keselowski helps Penske deal with IndyCar loss

Roger Penske was disappointed after Will Power crashed and lost the IndyCar title for Penske Racing, but Brad Keselowski won for them in Chicago the next day.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Fortunes turn fast in racing. Roger Penske knows that well.

In an emotional 24-hour span, his bid to win the IndyCar championship came up just short - again - when points leader Will Power crashed early in the season finale. It made Penske a runner-up in the IndyCar final standings for a third consecutive year, and the fourth time since Penske Racing's last title in 2006.

Penske left California disappointed, but not defeated. He was rewarded the next day when Brad Keselowski won NASCAR's opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

"I guess the first thing is that after last night at California Speedway, I wasn't sure what to expect when I came here," Penske said after Keselowski's win on Sunday. "It's a great day for us. It cools me down a little bit after being hot last night."

Keselowski's win at Chicagoland made the third-year Penske driver the Sprint Cup points leader for the first time in his career, and reaffirmed that The Captain may actually have a shot at a NASCAR championship this year.

It's the one crown that has eluded Penske, one of the most successful team owners in history. He has 15 Indianapolis 500 wins and 12 open-wheel championships. But in 29 years in NASCAR, Penske has never claimed the spot on the stage at the end of the season.

He tried for 15 years with Rusty Wallace, who built a Hall of Fame career driving for Penske. But not even a 10-win season in 1993 could get Penske that title; Wallace wound up second to Dale Earnhardt in the final standings.

Then along came Keselowski, who was unapologetic about his brash driving style or his big mouth. He says what he believes, races to win and doesn't let much stand in his way.

So even though he had a good gig in the Hendrick Motorsports pipeline, waiting in the wings for an open seat at NASCAR's top organization wasn't good enough for Keselowski. He decided he wanted to go somewhere else, and help another organization reach to the top.

He decided the best fit was Penske, where both driver and owner could reach their goals together.

Penske recalled speaking to Keselowski about a potential partnership when Keselowski was still under contract to Hendrick.

"He came by to see us and he said that he'd like to come and race for our team. But he couldn't do it, he had a commitment," Penske said. "But he said, `When I do come, I want to help build a team to win the championship.' I think he's never forgotten that."

Keselowski's desire has clearly resonated with Penske, who had created a perception that NASCAR was secondary to his open-wheel passion. He spends most of his time in IndyCar, where he was the race strategist for Ryan Briscoe this season. So when both series race on the same day, Penske is always with his open-wheel teams.

Keselowski makes it hard for him to stay away.

"That's one of the things, I've got to check in with Brad. He expects me here," Penske said.

Penske has had an increased presence in NASCAR the last year or so, and Keselowski is the attraction. His win Sunday was his first Chase victory, but seventh Cup win in two seasons. Although Kurt Busch was an annual title contender in his six years with Penske, he won just eight races with the organization.

Keselowski makes it hard to say no, especially when he's passionate about an idea or a belief.

He was certain Penske needed to strengthen its development system, and in 2010 he won the Nationwide Series championship for the organization. But the bigger payoff is in the feeder system at Penske. Paul Wolfe was pulled from the Nationwide Series to be Keselowski's Cup crew chief, and the team stayed in-house again last December when they moved Todd Gordon up to the car currently driven by Sam Hornish Jr.

It was Keselowski who pushed Penske to go after Joey Logano, who will take over Hornish's seat at the end of the season and give Penske one of the youngest and most talented lineups in NASCAR.

Keselowski, aware of the standard Penske Racing has set in IndyCar, is determined to take the organization to that same level in NASCAR.

"I think that these are really good times, and I think we're just getting into them, and the best is still yet to come here at Penske Racing," Keselowski said. "I really believe in the process that we have going forward, and bringing on Joey is certainly one piece of that. I feel like Penske Racing is putting itself in a position to be a team that can win multiple titles over the next few years and to be the elite team, elite company it's capable of being across the field in NASCAR."

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/17/Penske-IndyCar-loss.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Tony Eury Jr. out as crew chief at JR Motorsports

Tony Eury Jr. was released from his position as Danica Patrick's crew chief.

Dave Tulis/AP

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- JR Motorsports has parted ways with crew chief Tony Eury Jr., two weeks after his father was ousted as competition director.

Eury Jr. was crew chief for Danica Patrick and is a partial owner of the Nationwide Series team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a statement Monday that a difference in ideas for the direction of the company led to Eury's departure. He and Eury Jr. are cousins, and Eury Jr. was his crew chief for many years.

Earnhardt says no decision has been made as to who will crew chief Patrick this weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

The team last week hired Ryan Pemberton as competition director. He replaced Tony Eury Sr., who was released two weeks ago.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

18 Sep, 2012

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Keselowski harder to overlook for title after win

Brad Keselowski won the first Chase race of his career Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- For over two months now, Brad Keselowski has been racing as well as anybody on the Sprint Cup circuit.

After his impressive victory in the opener of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, it's becoming harder to overlook the confident 28-year-old.

"I feel like it's my goal to be a Sprint Cup champion, to be a winner," Keselowski said. "Racing is one of the few things I've ever done in my life that has been able to take me to another level mentally and physically, and it demands that out of you to be successful."

Keselowski finished comfortably ahead of Jimmie Johnson on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, winning a Chase race for the first time in his career. He also took over the lead in the points standings for the first time.

Afterward, he was quick to remind reporters there are still nine races to go, but this has been quite a run for Keselowski. Beginning with a victory in Kentucky on June 30, he's finished in the top 10 in 10 of 11 races.

"If I go down, I'm going to go down swinging the bat as hard as I can each and every time," he said. "I'm not going to stare at the ball every time it goes by and be struck out."

Keselowski and his No. 2 Dodge got ahead of Johnson after a crucial pit cycle with about 35 laps remaining and led the final 26 laps in the 400-mile race. Johnson finished 3.171 seconds behind, and he said he thought Keselowski crossed a restraining line too early when exiting after that pit stop near the end.

The incident was reviewed and there was no infraction called, and Johnson never made much of a run at catching Keselowski during the final laps.

"He did cut up early. It did impede my progress," Johnson said. "But it didn't affect the outcome, I don't believe. The way he made quick work in traffic and stretched it out on me, I'm not sure I would have held him off. At the time it messed me up, but I don't think it played an outcome in the race."

It was Keselowski's fourth victory of the season. The Michigan driver leads Johnson by three points - and gave Penske Racing a reason to feel good after Will Power's failed bid for the IndyCar championship Saturday night in California.

"It's a great day for us," owner Roger Penske said. "It cools me down a little bit after being hot last night."

All 12 of the Chase drivers finished in the top 18, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, who went into the wall with about 80 laps remaining. Gordon barely qualified for the Chase to begin with, and his championship hopes are in serious jeopardy after his 35th-place showing Sunday.

Kyle Busch finished fourth, the best performance of any driver not in the Chase. Among other Chase qualifiers, defending champion Tony Stewart was sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was eighth, Martin Truex Jr. was ninth and Clint Bowyer was 10th. Kevin Harvick finished 12th, one spot ahead of Greg Biffle.

Denny Hamlin, the top seed coming in, fell all the way to 16th in the race while low on fuel at the end, and Matt Kenseth finished 18th.

Stewart is third in the standings, followed by a three-way tie among Hamlin, Kahne and Bowyer. Earnhardt is seventh, followed by Biffle, Truex, Harvick, Kenseth and Gordon - who is 47 points behind the leader.

There were only four cautions for 23 laps, the last coming when Gordon needed to return to the garage with damage to the right side of his car. He said his throttle became stuck, causing the crash.

"Disappointing," said Gordon, who started the race in 19th position. "We had to fight hard to come from 19th up there in the top five, and the car was feeling good."

Keselowski began the year poorly with a late accident at Daytona. Earlier in that race, he caused a bit of a stir when he posted on Twitter during a red-flag stoppage. Afterward, NASCAR said it was OK for Keselowski to keep his cellphone in his car during events, and that all drivers were encouraged to use social media.

Lately, Keselowski's driving has been drawing the attention. He's showing the consistency and maturity needed to make a run at the title.

"He went through a lot of rigmarole, some maybe he was due, some he wasn't," Penske said. "But I think he's managed to develop a lot of rapport with the drivers. I think they trust him wheel to wheel. He's not a reckless guy at all, and on and off the track I think he's got high integrity."

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/17/Brad-Keselowski-NASCAR-Chase.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Langdon races to first career Top Fuel victory

Shawn Langdon topped Tony Schumacher at NHRA Nationals for his first Top Fuel win,

Mark J. Rebilas/US PRESSWIRE

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Shawn Langdon raced to his first career Top Fuel victory Sunday, beating Tony Schumacher in the final of the rain-delayed O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.

Langdon edged Schumacher with a 3.785-second run at 326.71 mph in the first event in the six-race NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Schumacher finished in 3.808 at 322.27.

"To start the Countdown with a win is great for the team," Langdon said. "I think that puts us within a round of the points lead. We've really turned things around over the past couple races, and it builds my confidence as a driver. It was an excellent job all-around for the Al-Anabi team."

Ron Capps topped the Funny Car field, Jason Line won in Pro Stock, and Andrew Hines took the Pro Stock Motorcycle competition.

Capps raced to his fourth victory of the season, beating Mike Neff in the final to increase his points lead. Capps had a 4.067 run at 315.49 in his Dodge Charger.

Line claimed his second win of the season, powering his Chevy Camaro to a 7.518 at 200.20 in the final against points leader Allen Johnson.

Hines won for the fifth time this season and 30th overall, beating teammate Eddie Krawiec in 6.862 at 194.49 on a Harley-Davidson. Krawiec leads the standings, 10 points over Hines.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/17/Shawn-Langdon-NHRA-Nationals.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Dustin Long: Hamlin promises redemption on Twitter, Keselowski stays quiet, more thoughts

Denny Hamlin lost a (likely) top-10 finish and the points lead when he ran out of gas at Chicago.

Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Whether confidence, cockiness or calculating, it doesn't matter why Denny Hamlin posted what he did on Twitter after Sunday's race at Chicagoland Speedway. It's that he did.

The sting of a top-10 run ending when he ran out of fuel before the checkered flag and finished 16th combined with his eviction from the points lead -- he trails race winner and series leader Brad Keselowski by 15 points -- sent Hamlin to Twitter to motivate and reassure.

Not afraid of issuing bold statements, Hamlin told his 175,000-plus followers what to expect this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"This is 1 week of 10. We will win next week,'' Hamlin wrote.

Such predictions are often foolish in NASCAR, where there are 42 other competitors to beat. Although maybe only 10 have a reasonable chance of winning many weekends, the odds of making good on such a promise are still much worse than a football, basketball or baseball player who only has to defeat one team to make their guarantee come true.

With the way Hamlin raced at New Hampshire in July, his tweet is not an outlandish declaration. He was in position to win that race, but a miscommunication with crew chief Darian Grubb led to a four-tire change, instead of a two-tire change, which dropped Hamlin deep in the field. Hamlin's frantic late-race drive, one of the most exciting all season, earned him a runner-up spot to Kasey Kahne.

Seemingly minor mistakes often define the Chase. Greg Biffle remains haunted by the loose lug nut that cost him the title in 2005. Fuel-mileage issues at Phoenix all but took the 2010 title from Hamlin. Dale Earnhardt Jr. still ponders the pass he attempted late at Atlanta in 2004 that caused him to wreck and impact his title hopes.

With nine races left, Hamlin has time to overcome Sunday's finish. He's talked about not dwelling on what happens in the Chase but looking ahead. Now can he deliver?

WALKING THE WALK

Brad Keselowski has been known to stir things up by what he says. It was only a month ago that he mentioned the tricks Hendrick Motorsports seemed to be employing to make their cars better. Coincidence or not, NASCAR later issued a technical bulletin limiting what teams could do to the rear of their cars.

After running away from Jimmie Johnson in the final laps to win Sunday, Keselowski could have crowed about beating a Hendrick car and taking the points lead. Instead, Keselowski knew this wasn't the time to antagonize the Hendrick teams, especially with one of Johnson's teammates, Kasey Kahne, finishing third and Dale Earnhardt Jr. placing eighth. Jeff Gordon also ran well, and Hendrick often had all four cars in the top 10 until Gordon crashed.

"Any time you win, it's a bit of a mission accomplished for that particular weekend, but the Chase isn't about one particular weekend, it's about 10, and there's a long road to hoe,'' Keselowski said.

ESTES: KESELOWSKI DOES THINGS HIS WAY IN CHICAGO

Winning the opening race in the Chase doesn't guarantee what a team will do the remaining nine weeks but it provides a hint. Four of the last five years the winner of the first Chase race went on to finish in the top three in points. Twice the winner won the championship (Tony Stewart in 2011 and Kurt Busch in 2004).

What's intriguing about Keselowski is how he and crew chief Paul Wolfe work together. They're not afraid to use a different pit strategy than most teams during a race, like the one they used Sunday.

When most took two tires on the first caution-flag pit stop, Keselowski took four. He drove from eighth to second before the next caution. That's when Keselowski changed two tires while most of the field took four tires. The strategy put Keselowski into the lead, where he stayed for the rest of the day.

And this approach is not a new way of calling races for Keselowski's team.

They were on a different pit cycle at Indianapolis, which put them in the lead at times, and it would have helped them finish better than ninth had it not been for contact with Regan Smith on a restart and a slow pit stop.

They also went on a different pit cycle with a few other teams at Michigan. With the help of a fast pit stop late in the race, they took the lead from Johnson, causing crew chief Chad Knaus to say on the radio, "I don't know how they pulled it off, but they did. I really, really for the life of me don't know."

Johnson eventually passed Keselowski for the lead and was headed for the win when his engine blew in the final laps, and Keselowski finished second to Greg Biffle. That finish provided him the platform to talk about Hendrick's cars. Sunday, though, there was no need to do so. Winning and taking the points lead said enough.

RUNNING HARD

Consistency has been a hallmark of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s season, and it continued at Chicagoland. His eighth-place finish Sunday was his 18th top-10 finish of the year, which tied Jimmie Johnson for the best in the series. Earnhardt has credited crew chief Steve Letarte with making the right calls to help him gain positions late in races. On Sunday Earnhardt gained five spots over the final 100 laps. Two weeks ago at Atlanta Earnhardt gained 11 spots in the last 100 laps to finish seventh. He gained five spots in the last 100 laps at Bristol to finish 12th.

However Earnhardt has been outside the top 10 with 100 laps to go in those races, and no one likes to be chasing that late in a race.

Earnhardt's run Sunday can be applauded after he started at the rear of the field for changing engines, but he didn't want to hear any accolades afterward.

"To win the championship, we're going to have to turn days like that, those kind of mistakes, around into wins and top threes,'' Earnhardt said. "I just know we need to be great and I really believe we've got a shot at winning the championship."

THINGS TO PONDER

• Matt Kenseth finished 18th Sunday and fell to 11th in the standings, 26 points behind series leader Brad Keselowski. This marks the third consecutive year Kenseth has made the Chase and been 10th or worse after the opening Chase race. NASCAR travels next to New Hampshire, where Kenseth finished 13th in July and has had one top-10 finish in his last nine starts there.

• Tony Stewart is third in the standings with 2,048 points. After last year's win at Chicago, Stewart had 2,047 points.

• Jimmie Johnson's second-place finish marked the first time the chassis he drove had been defeated this year. He drove that chassis to wins at Dover and Indianapolis earlier this season.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished in the top 10 in all seven races on 1.5-mile speedways this season, and he's the only Chase contender to do so. Four more 1.5-mile races remain (Charlotte, Kansas, Texas and Homestead).

• Chicago marked the ninth time in the last 11 races the driver who led the most laps did not win. Johnson led 172 of the 267 laps Sunday.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/dustin_long/09/17/Denny-Hamlin-Brad-Keselowski-Dale-Earnhardt-Jr-Chicago/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Cary Estes: Five things we learned from Chicagoland

Brad Keselowski took over the points lead after his Chicagoland win.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

JOLIET, Ill -- Brad Keselowski apparently feels his future is so bright in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship that he has to wear shades, regardless of what anybody else wants him to do.

The 12 drivers who qualified for this year's Chase gathered in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Wednesday for a publicity photo in advance of Sunday's opening Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway. It was a sparkling sunny day, but the photographer wanted the drivers to pose without wearing sunglasses.

GALLERIES: CHASE PARTICIPANTS | 2012 NASCAR CUP WINNERS

All the drivers complied, except for Keselowski. Despite pleas from NASCAR officials, team reps and even his fellow racers, Keselowski steadfastly refused to remove his shades. When the photo was finally taken, there was Keselowski in the middle of the line of drivers, eyes carefully covered. Taking a cue from singer Frank Sinatra, who considered Chicago to be his kind of town, Keselowski is determined to do things his way.

It is hard to argue with the results so far. Keselowski won Sunday's Geico 400 at Chicagoland for his fourth victory of the season and his 10th top-10 run in the past 11 races. Keselowski now leads the standings by three points over five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and by eight points over defending champ Tony Stewart.

"There's no better place to start than in the lead. Why not go from there?" Keselowski said. "Our team did a phenomenal job of executing and got my car running really, really strong.

"It feels like round one of a heavyweight title fight, but it's a 10-round fight. We might have won the round, but we haven't by any means knocked them out. ... The Chase isn't about one particular weekend, it's about 10. And there's still a long way to go."

Here are five things we learned at Chicago ...

1: Jeff Gordon's mustache has lost its mystical powers -- After making an amazing rally to barely squeak into the final Chase position, Gordon followed through on a promise me made several weeks ago to regrow the infamous mustache he sported early in his career if he made the Chase. But his championship chances might be over before the stache reaches full form.

After running near the front for much of the day, Gordon said his throttle stuck as he entered the first turn on lap 189 of the 267-lap race and he slammed hard into the wall. The wreck dropped Gordon to a 35th-place finish, a devastating blow in the 10-race Chase. He is now 47 points behind Keselowski and 21 points out of 11th place.

"In this deal, you can't afford to have issues like that," Gordon said. "It's very disappointing."

2: Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to show his maturity -- As he stood next to his No. 88 Chevy minutes before the green flag waved, Earnhardt predicted a top-10 run, even though he was starting in the rear of the field because his team changed engines after qualifying. "We've had great speed all year and this car is no different," Earnhardt said confidently. "We'll be just fine."

Earnhardt then authored a quietly solid race, which is what he has done all season. Mostly using the high-line around the 1.5-mile oval, Earnhardt steadily worked his way through the field and finished eighth. In years past, Earnhardt's lap times usually fell off as races progressed -- it was, by far, his biggest flaw -- but this season he has consistently passed cars as the laps have wound down, which is what he did Sunday.

Earnhardt does not possess the raw speed of some of the top competitors, so for him to win the championship, he likely will need to string together nine more top-five and top-10 runs while hoping that others make a mistake at some point in the Chase and suffer finishes of 20th or worse. Earnhardt should be fast next weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway, where he finished fourth in July.

"We're still in the fight," said Earnhardt, who trails Keselowski by 17 points. "So we'll go on to the next one still with a shot."

3: Kyle Busch might do more than just run around in circles during the Chase -- Three weeks ago, Busch declared if he didn't make Chase, he would be "just another race car out there on the racetrack running around in circles." In other words, there wouldn't really be any purpose in racing if he wasn't eligible to win the championship.

Well, Busch didn't make the Chase, losing the final position to Jeff Gordon last week. But while the championship is no longer a possibility, there are still races that can be won, and Busch must have realized that at some point during the week leading up to Chicago. Busch put in some serious practice time on Friday, running 48 laps during the first session (the sixth most of any driver) and then turning another 40 laps during the second session. By the time practice was over, Busch had posted the second-fastest lap of the day at 181.507 mph.

The work paid off, as Busch finished fourth, his first top-five in seven races. Busch will not win the championship this season, but if he is willing to keep his head in the game, do not be surprised if he wins another race.

4: Goose is cooked for lame-duck Matt Kenseth -- As soon was it was announced in June that Kenseth would be leaving Roush-Fenway Racing at the end of the season, there was speculation his championship hopes were over because the team would not be able to maintain the chemistry needed for a title run. Of course, last year crew chief Darian Grubb was told midway through the Chase he was being let go from Tony Stewart's No. 14 team at the end of the season, and that discord didn't prevent Stewart from winning the championship.

Kenseth's crew is still working hard for him. During Friday's second practice session, Kenseth ran one lap and said the car was extremely loose. He immediately returned to the garage and the team worked on the car for more than a half-hour. Kenseth went back out on the track, ran two more laps and said the car was better but still too loose. So it was back to the garage for some more adjustments. Finally, with the practice session winding down, Kenseth managed to sneak in four more laps. He hit 180.905 mph during one of them, which was the eighth-fastest speed of the session.

It appeared that performance was going to carry over into Sunday's race, as Kenseth was running in the top 10 most of the afternoon. But he began fading following a restart with a little more than 100 laps to go, and eventually his right front shock fell completely out of the car. Kenseth dropped all the way back to 24th before a caution allowed his team to make the needed repairs. It wasn't enough to salvage the day, however, as he finished 18th. Kenseth has only three top-10 finishes and one top-five over the past nine races. After leading the point standings for six consecutive weeks midway through the season, Kenseth has now dropped to 11th.

5: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a star in the making -- One of the best young drivers in NASCAR was not on the track Sunday. He had punched the clock a day earlier, and in the process demonstrated once again he might be the future of the sport.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Chicago for his fifth victory of the year, and extended his lead over Elliott Sadler in the series standings to nine points. Stenhouse is vying for his second consecutive Nationwide Series championship. The last two drivers to win back-to-back Nationwide titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr., are both in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Stenhouse might soon be a Chase contender as well. He is replacing Kenseth in the No. 17 Sprint Cup car next year, and team owner Jack Roush has already declared that Stenhouse will go down as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. While that statement is definitely a bit over the top -- let him win at least one Cup race first -- there appears to be little doubt that Stenhouse will quickly become one of the sport's better drivers.

"Ricky Stenhouse is going to be a force in this sport," said fellow Roush-Fenway driver Carl Edwards. "It's the beginning of a new era for our sport to have Ricky in the car."

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/cary_estes/09/16/five-things-chicagoland/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Keselowski takes first Chase race at Chicagoland

Brad Keselowski took over the Sprint Cup points lead with Sunday's win.

Sam Sharpe/US PRESSWIRE

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski raced to an impressive victory in the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, outdueling five-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.

Keselowski led after a crucial pit cycle with about 35 laps remaining in the 400-mile race, and held on comfortably from there for his first victory in a Chase race. He also takes over the points lead.

Kasey Kahne was third. All 12 of the Chase drivers finished in the top 18, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, who went into the wall with about 80 laps remaining. Gordon barely qualified for the Chase to begin with, and his championship hopes are already in serious jeopardy.

It's Keselowski's fourth victory of the season. He leads Johnson by three points.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/16/brad-keselowski-wins-chicagoland.ap/index.html#?eref=si_motorsports
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Keselowski takes Chicagoland

Brad Keselowski took over the Sprint Cup points lead with Sunday's win.

Sam Sharpe/US PRESSWIRE

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski raced to an impressive victory in the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, outdueling five-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.

Keselowski led after a crucial pit cycle with about 35 laps remaining in the 400-mile race, and held on comfortably from there for his first victory in a Chase race. He also takes over the points lead.

Kasey Kahne was third. All 12 of the Chase drivers finished in the top 18, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, who went into the wall with about 80 laps remaining. Gordon barely qualified for the Chase to begin with, and his championship hopes are already in serious jeopardy.

It's Keselowski's fourth victory of the season. He leads Johnson by three points.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/09/16/brad-keselowski-wins-chicagoland.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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Hunter-Reay wins first IndyCar title after Power crash

Ryan Hunter-Reay was fourth in Fontana as he handed Will Power his third straight second-place finish in the points.

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan Hunter-Reay saw his only competition for the IndyCar championship crash out of the title-deciding season finale.

Will Power's accident should have given Hunter-Reay a wide-open road to his first championship. Instead, he had to hang on for 500 nerve-racking miles, withstand several hairy restarts and a controversial red-flag to snatch the title away from Power on Saturday night.

Needing to finish fifth to win the title after Power exited the race, Hunter-Reay did one better, finishing fourth to put the American flag back atop the IndyCar podium.

Hunter-Reay claimed the title by three points over Power to become the first American since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 to win the IndyCar championship.

"I just drove 500 miles like it was for my life," he said. "I can't believe we're IndyCar champions. I cannot believe this. My dream has come true."

Power, denied for a third consecutive year, was in street clothes watching the finish on television after crashing out early at Auto Club Speedway. He took a 17-point lead into the finale, but once out of the race, gave Hunter-Reay total control of his destiny.

But it certainly wasn't easy.

Hunter-Reay struggled all week at California, even wrecking in Wednesday's open test session, and was off at the start of the race. But he picked his way through the field and was on the edge of where he needed to finish as the laps wound down.

Still, a flurry of late cautions made for some hair-raising restarts and a late red-flag that drew the ire or team owner Michael Andretti. Hunter-Reay managed to hang on in a race that was won by Ed Carpenter, another American.

"We were struggling all weekend. I didn't want to let anyone really know about it that much. We were really in the woods," Hunter-Reay said.

Power, an Australian who has finished second in the points three years in a row, visited Hunter-Reay after the finish.

"At the end of the day, Hunter-Reay is a deserving champion, a real fighter," Power said.

Hunter-Reay won a series-best four races this season, his third with Andretti Autosport. He used a string of three consecutive wins during the summer to climb into the championship, and with Power in position to clinch two weeks ago at Baltimore, he won again to stay in the hunt.

He was rewarded on the eve of the championship race with a new two-year contract from Andretti, the team he has credited for giving him the continuity and support he needed to put together the best season of his career.

"It was really an unbelievable weekend," said Andretti, who won his fourth championship as an owner but first since 2007.

Power, meanwhile, was left wondering how yet another title slipped away.

He's the most dominant driver on road and street courses, and knows that racing on ovals is the one glaring weakness in his program. And when he looks back at this season, he knows that a blocking penalty at Texas and crashes on the ovals at Indianapolis, Iowa, and now, California, cost him the title.

"I wish I could put my finger on one particular thing I don't do right," Power said. "If you look at it, three ovals I crashed out of is a massive hit on points. It's over a whole season that you win a championship and that was proven tonight."

Power crashed 55 laps into the race, spinning hard into the outside wall when his car slipped in a seam in the track. It's the third consecutive year Power has gone into the finale with the title on the line and had an incident snatch away his chances.

He brushed the wall at Homestead in 2011 and lost the title by five points to Dario Franchitti. Last year, his points lead was gobbled up when another car hit him on pit road in the penultimate race, and he was involved in the 15-car accident that killed Dan Wheldon in the finale.

Power broke his back in that accident in Las Vegas.

"Man, depressing," Power said after leaving the wreck. "I wish I could care less."

Power laughed nervously, searching and failing to find the right words to describe his frustration.

"I don't know what to say. It's depressing," he said. "Depressing to lose the championship again that way. Nothing I can say, mate, it's just depressing. I don't know what emotion to even feel right now."

But his Penske team, which has not won a championship since Hornish in 2006, worked furiously to get his car back on the track so he could turn 12 laps and gain more points in the standings. Power had already changed into street clothes, rushed back into his firesuit, and had a total change of attitude when he got back in the car.

"Keep our fingers crossed," he smiled, his mood completely changed.

Both Power and Hunter-Reay went into the race seeking their first career title, and Power said he watched on TV the closing laps unsure how it would end. He was cracking self-deprecating jokes when it was over, perhaps an unusual reaction for one of the most intense and driven drivers in the series.

"Well, I've done it for two years in a row, so I've kind of learned how to cope with it," he said.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/more/09/16/indycar-championship-ryan-hunter-reay.ap/index.html?eref=si_motorsports
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