Chicagoland Synonymous With First-Time Series Winners Including Mears

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 10, 2007) – Chicago may be known as the “Second City,” but its 1.5-mile speedway is quickly gaining a reputation as a “first-timer” track.

The six previous races at Chicagoland Speedway have resulted in four drivers securing their first career NASCAR Busch Series win.

Casey Mears (#24 National Guard – 53rd Infantry Brigade Chevy) is the most recent member of the group; he’s the defending winner of the race, capturing his first NASCAR national series victory at Chicago one year ago.

Justin Labonte won his first – and to date only – NASCAR Busch Series race at Chicago in 2004 when he took advantage of Mike Wallace (#7 GEICO Chevy) running out of fuel on the final lap.

In 2002, Johnny Sauter (#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy) held off late charges from Todd Bodine and Jeff Burton (#29 Holiday Inn Chevy) to win his first NASCAR Busch Series race.

The inaugural race at Chicago in 2001 was won by Jimmie Johnson, a victory that still stands as his lone NASCAR Busch Series win in 85 career starts.

Mears and Sauter are entered in Saturday’s race, as are former winners Bobby Hamilton Jr. (#35 McDonald’s Ford – 2003) and reigning series champion Kevin Harvick (#21 AutoZone Chevy – 2005) who also won the first two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events at Chicagoland.

Those four drivers also will try to become the first two-time winner at Chicago in NASCAR Busch Series competition.

Sherman Hopes Chicago Homecoming Results In Second-Half Resurgence

Since homecomings bring back familiarity, Brent Sherman (#36 Big Lots Chevy) is banking that Saturday’s visit to Chicagoland Speedway can help return him to his first-half performance this season.

Sherman, a resident of Wauconda, Ill. – a tick under 50 miles from Chicago – began the year in surprising fashion. He was 10th in the standings after three races, and 19th after seven events. Included in that span was his season-best finish to date, 15th at Mexico City.

Since a 16th-place at Talladega Superspeedway last April, Sherman has struggled to find early-season consistency. His average finish in that span has been 33rd, although he has registered three finishes of 24th or better in his last five races.

Sherman has one other NASCAR Busch Series start at his home track, in 2005 with owner Ketih Barnwell. He finished 24th.

In The Loop: First To Claim Second? Defending Race Winner Mears Among Chiacgo Repeat Favorites  
 
Casey Mears  will try to make it two in a row Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway – a lofty feat considering consecutive wins haven’t been posted since the NASCAR Busch Series started racing there in 2001.

Mears impressed last season in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at Chicago since 2003, leading 47 laps and racking up solid statistics. He had a Driver Rating of 127.3, an Average Running Position of 5.9, 24 Fastest Laps Run and spent 193 of the 200 laps in the top 15.

But the competition is strong again this weekend, with a number of double-duty drivers competing in the USG Durock 300.

One driver pulling double duty is Ryan Newman (#12 Kodak Dodge) who, in two starts (2001, ‘05), has two Busch Poles. In 2005, Newman finished third, earning a Driver Rating of 135.4. In that race, he also had an Average Running Position of 3.3, 40 Fastest Laps Run and spent all but four of the 200 laps in the top 15.

As usual, series leader Carl Edwards (#60 Sharp Ford) should run up front at Chicago. In his only two starts at the Joliet track, Edwards has two top-five finishes. In 2005, he finished fourth and last year, he was second to Mears. Combined, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 120.8, an Average Running Position of 6.6, 66 Fastest Laps Run (which is more than any other driver) and 361 Laps in the Top 15.

Reigning series champion Kevin Harvick will run his third consecutive race this weekend and there’s no reason to think his success won’t continue. Harvick has a win and a runner-up finish over his last two NASCAR Busch Series races this season and has finishes of first and fourth in his last two Chicago races.

He has a Chicago Driver Rating of 120.2, an Average Running Position of 5.6, 13 Fastest Laps Run and 386 Laps in the Top 15 – which is more than any other driver.
   
NBS ETC. 

•       Keselowski In #88 Chevy: JR Motorsports will have a new driver in the #88 U.S. NAVY Chevy this weekend at Chicagoland.
  Brad Keselowski, who most recently competed in the NASCAR Busch Series for Keith Coleman Racing, replaces Shane Huffman for the next three events. Huffman was relieved of his duties last week and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the #88 Chevy at Daytona International Speedway.
          Keselowski, a 24-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., drove in 13 races for KCR this season before the team suspended its operations due to owner Keith Coleman’s medical issues. Keselowski, who finished 12th in the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings running for his father’s team, posted his career-best finish of 24th at Dover last month.  He competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series two weeks ago at Memphis Motorsports Park for Germain Racing when the team needed a last-minute replacement for Ted Musgrave. Keselowski scored the pole, led four times for a total of 62 laps and contended for the win.
•        Turning The Leicht Back On: Although Stephen Leicht (#90 CitiFinancial Ford) is ranked a career-best ninth in the standings, he’s fallen into a mini-slump following his landmark win at Kentucky Speedway late last month. The 20-year-old was a respectable 14th at The Milwaukee Mile after his Kentucky win, but has finished 25th and 27th in his last two races at New Hampshire International Speedway and Daytona, respectively. Leicht has a daunting task in front of him as he works to gain back momentum – he will compete at Chicagoland for the first time in his NASCAR Busch Series career. Last season, Leicht’s then-teammate Elliott Sadler drove the #90 Ford in this event.
•        Keller Approaching More Milestones: Jason Keller (#11 Dutch Quality Stone Chevy) returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2005 and is once again on the precipice of breaking series records.
  The first series driver to earn $9 and $10 million in winnings is also second in all-time series starts with 408 – the only driver other than Tommy Houston (417) to surpass the 400-start mark. Keller is $23,189 from the $11 million threshold as well and could break through at Chicago. His current combined CJM Racing and Brewco Motorsports schedule also could make the all-time starts leader before the end of the 2007 season. The 37-year-old Keller, with 10 career victories, doesn’t want to look too far into the future, however.
  “I try not to think about [the starts record],” he said. “I don’t want to jinx myself. The focus with this team (CJM) is to go out there and try to build on our program.
  We’ve learned a lot but there is still a ways to go.”
•         Interesting Combo At Iowa: Iowa Speedway – the 7/8-mile tri-oval in Newton, Iowa designed by former NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion and current NASCAR Busch Series team owner Rusty Wallace – will host a  Rolex Sports Car Series race Friday night with an interesting duo as participants. Mark Martin, the all-time NASCAR Busch Series wins (47) and poles (30) leader – and Patrick Carpentier, who announced this week his intentions to participate in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal on Aug. 4 – both are scheduled to compete at Iowa. The race will be Martin’s debut in a Rolex Series car while Carpentier, a Rolex Series veteran, will debut in the NASCAR Busch Series at Montreal.

The Director’s Take: Chicagoland

INSIGHT FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR

“At Chicagoland, like at most of the 1.5-mile speedways we run on, the majority of the teams will try to make the best use of their “coil bind” set-up, where the front spring is fully compressed.

Teams want to find the best balance so the car will rotate in the corners and turn as easily as possible.
The coil bind makes the car look like it’s riding directly on the front bumper; the nose seals right to the track giving the best aero advantage to the team that manages to use their shocks to hold the car down the best.

The driver will need to do his part, too, using the brakes to “set” the car down on the spring. They won’t want it to slam, instead there needs to be a smooth compressing of the spring.”

News From The NAPA Auto Parts 200

Carpentier In The Field: Patrick Carpentier, a regular driver in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series who also has competed in the IndyCar and Champ Car series, announced Tuesday that he will enter the Aug. 4 NASCAR Busch Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Carpentier, a 35-year-old native of Quebec, is scheduled to drive the #22 Dodge for Fitz Motorsports in the event. Carpentier was already scheduled to race in Round 11 of the 2007 Daytona Prototype schedule in Montreal on Aug. 3.

“I think running both series on the same weekend will be a plus for me … however, this advantage shouldn’t last forever as my opponents

are all talented professionals and they won’t take too much time to figure out the track,” Carpentier said at a press conference in Montreal announcing his participation.

2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

     Driver                         Points
 1. David Ragan               180
 2. Marcos Ambrose        166
 3. Juan Pablo Montoya   153
 4. Kyle Krisiloff               150
 5. Brad Coleman              88
 6. Brad Keselowski          87
 7. Robert Richardson Jr.   67
 8. Justin Diercks              51
 9. Sam Hornish Jr.           35
10. Bobby Santos             21
11. Alex Garcia                  7

ESPN/ABC

ESPN on ABC will feature NASCAR Busch Series racing live from Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET; the race starts at 3 p.m. ESPN2 will carry the final practice session on Friday and qualifying on Saturday.

Suzy Kolber hosts NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN Pit Studio, joined by Wallace and analyst Brad Daugherty, while Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

Rusty Wallace will work in the ESPN booth as analyst for the telecast and will be joined by Andy Petree. Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play. Pit reporters will be Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro.

ESPN2 will have live coverage of qualifying from Chicagoland as well as the series’ final practice session. Practice coverage will air at 5:45 p.m. ET Friday, with the live qualifying show hosted by Kolber at 11 a.m. Saturday.

2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 19 Of 35 Races:
Traditional Statistics:
Driver points – Edwards (2966)
Victories – Edwards (4)
Races led -- Edwards (14) 
Laps led – Edwards (648)
Top-five finishes – Edwards (12)
Top-10 finishes – Edwards (15)
Owner points – Roush (#60) - (2966) 
Money Won – Edwards ($776,355)
Miles led – Ky. Busch (928.53) 
Busch Poles – Hamlin (3)
Closing in on Top 10 – Leicht 10th (1866 pts): Bowyer (-6); Smith (-25); M. Wallace (-26)
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 – Blaney, Edwards, Harvick (19)

Loops Data Statistics:
Average Running Position - Edwards (7.2)
Fastest Laps Run - Edwards (420)
Quality Passes - Edwards (736)
Laps In Top 15 - Edwards (3,204 of a possible 3,564)

Chevy Lands 10th Win Of 2007; Posts 16th Consecutive Double-Digit Win Season

With its 10th win of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season having been registered last Saturday at Daytona by Kyle Busch (#5 Delphi Chevy), Chevy not only continued to lead the Bill France Performance Cup standings, but extended its double-digit win streak to 16 consecutive seasons.

Chevy had 10 wins in 1992 to begin the streak – the longest in each of NASCAR’s three national series – and averaged nearly 18 wins through last season.

Ford remains in second place in the manufacturer standings, 20 points behind Chevy and has one win at Chicagoland, in 2003 with Bobby Hamilton Jr., who returns to the track in a Ford for Saturday’s race.

Dodge ranks third in the standings, four points ahead of fourth-place Toyota. Dodge has won two of the last three races at Chicago while Toyota makes its series debut there.
  
Manufacturers' Championship
2007 Point Standings
Chevy  142
Ford    122
Dodge   79
Toyota   75

Up Next: Gateway 250 At Gateway International Raceway

The NASCAR Busch Series returns to its stand-alone schedule next week at Gateway ternational Raceway for the Gateway 250 on Saturday, July 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will carry the broadcast.

The race, held in St. Louis – the home city of series sponsor Busch Beer – is the first of three consecutive stand-alone events that also takes the series to O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis (Aug. 28) and then to the inaugural race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Aug. 4.

Missouri native (Columbia) and series points leader Carl Edwards is the defending winner of the Gateway 250 while Denny Hamlin was the polesitter in 2006.

A pair of two-time series champions, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick, each has two wins at the track and both won their races in consecutive seasons – Earnhardt in 1998-99 and Harvick in 2000-01.

2007 Point Standings
No. Driver                 Points
1   Edwards               2966
2   Harvick                 2168
3   Reutimann            2095
4   Blaney                  2056
5   Leffler                    2033
6   Ragan                   2010
7   Hamilton Jr.           1983
8   Ambrose                1887
9   Leicht                    1866
10  Biffle                     1845

The Race:  USG Durock 300
The Place: Chicagoland Speedway
The Date:  July 14, 20071
The Time: 3:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1.5-mile tri-oval
Race Purse: $1,544,672
2006 Winner: Casey Mears
2006 Pole: Carl Edwards

Schedule:
Fri.: 1:10-2:10 p.m. – Practice; 2:15-2:45 p.m. – Rookie Practice; 4:45 p.m. – Final Practice (one hour, time permitting). Sat.: 10:05 a.m. – Qualifying (Impound).