April 19, 2008
- Ford improving over 2007: Ford had only one victory in 2007’s first eight events, that by #17-Matt Kenseth in Week 2. In three races with the Car of Tomorrow, the manufacturer was winless with only four top-10s, none better than fifth. Rival Chevy had seven wins, including all three races in the COT and 23 top-10s in the new car. Hendrick Motorsports, the top Chevy team, had five wins and was so dominant in the COT the rest of the competition looked clueless. These are much happier times for team owner Jack Roush and Ford exec Dan Davis. “I really felt like we didn’t have the engineering base that they had at Hendricks,” Davis said. “I felt like, ‘OK, it’s going to be a struggle all year, and we’ve got to work really hard to catch up.’” That they did. Two-thirds through the 2007 season, Ford — specifically Roush Fenway — had all but eliminated the deficit it faced in the new car. And eight races into the 2008 season, despite Jimmie Johnson’s win last weekend at Phoenix to give HMS its first win, one could even argue Ford has taken over the top spot. Edwards’ victory at Texas was Ford’s third in seven races. Two top-10s at Phoenix gave the manufacturer 18, including eight top-5s, in the new car, which was fully implemented for this season.(ESPN.com)(4-19-2008) Comment here
- Phoenix TV ratings share match 2007: Fox’s broadcast of last Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.4 and an 8 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating matches the 4.4 Fox earned last year, while the market share dropped from a 9 in 2007.(SceneDaily), for more info on TV Ratings, see my 2008 TV Ratings page.(4-19-2008)
- Pocono test sched revised again: Pocono Raceway officials, at the direction of NASCAR, announced a second revision to the on track schedule for the two day Sprint Cup Series test at Pocono Raceway on May 27-28, 2008. The test, which is open to the public, is now scheduled to be run on Tuesday May 27 from 12:30 PM to 7:00 PM and Wednesday May 28 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Grandstand gates will be open to spectators one hour prior to the start time of the test each day. This important test will be the first opportunity NASCAR teams will have to test the new Sprint Cup Series race car at Pocono Raceway. Approximately 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are expected to attend. 2008 Pocono NASCAR ticket holders will be eligible to receive up to four (4) FREE tickets to the test session. A mail-in coupon for the test and additional information will be sent to all ticket holders who purchase their NASCAR race tickets prior to May 9, 2008. Fans who are not current ticket holders for either of Pocono Raceway’s 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or ARCA Re/Max Series events will be able to purchase test tickets for $5.00 each by calling the Pocono Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929), online at poconoraceway.com or tickets can be purchased at the Pocono Raceway Gate 8 Ticket Booth each day of the testing. Tickets for the Pocono 500 weekend, June 6-8, 2008 and the Pennsylvania 500 weekend, August 1-3, 2008 are still available but are selling fast. For more test day information or to order race tickets, call the Raceway ticket office toll-free at 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929) or online at www.poconoraceway.com.(4-19-2008)Comment here
- Robby Gordon’s sister to run race: #7-Robby Gordon’s sister, off-road racer Beccy Gordon is scheduled to race in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race April 19, one of six events to be run in conjunction with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Despite it being her first pavement start, Gordon will participate as one of six racers in the professional category that start the race 30 seconds behind the celebrity division. She will compete against the likes of NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, “That 70’s Show” star Wilmer Valderrama, “Dancing With the Stars” winner Drew Lachey, former NBA star John Salley, ESPN NASCAR reporter Jamie Little and fellow pro’s NASCAR driver Mike Skinner, Tony Pedregon and Whit Bazemore, both NHRA Funny Car champions, as well as former Olympic gold medal cyclist Marty Nothstein. In addition to the on-track competition, Gordon also will be helping to raise money for “Racing For Kids.”(Toyota Motorsports PR)(4-19-2008)
- Nationwide COT coming mid-2009: The NASCAR Nationwide Series likely will go with its own version of the “car of tomorrow” in 2009, but not at the start of the year as had been originally targeted by NASCAR officials. The rollout of the new Nationwide car most likely will be around midway through 2009, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said Saturday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. “It will probably be in the middle of next year sometime,” Pemberton said. “We will try to do something that’s more user-friendly than the roll-out schedule that they had in the Cup Series. “We probably will go later in the year but more races in a row. We haven’t determined that but we’ll look at sometime after mid-year.” Once it starts, it likely will be a clean break with the new car used in all events except for road courses where NASCAR will revert back to the old car, Pemberton said.(SceneDaily.com)(4-19-2008)
- Barrett’s Father Will not Qualify: It was supposed to be a day where father and son could share the spotlight, but Stanton Barrett has had to replace his father, Stan, with Kenny Hendrick in the #31 Stanton Barrett Motorsports car for the Corona Mexico 200 this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. With brake and other issues plaguing both of the team’s cars (Stanton Barrett is driving the #30) in practice Friday, Stan Barrett never could get up to the speed likely needed to get the car into the race. With 46 entries (the #0 Davis Motorsports entry likely will have to withdraw), there are 16 drivers vying for the final 13 spots in the field in qualifying today. NASCAR now lists Hendrick as the driver of the car, although the team could put Stan Barrett back in the car for the race. NASCAR has approved the elder Barrett to race on Sunday if he reconsiders. In another move, Derrike Cope will drive the #49 Jay Robinson Racing car. He shared time in practice with Robert Richardson.(SceneDaily.com)(4-19-2008)
- Colin Braun on Nationwide Series Pole in Mexico: #16-Colin Braun, making his 3rd career start in the Nationwide Series, grabbed the pole for the Corona 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with a top speed of 102.756mph. Braun is a rookie in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he is 20th in points. Complete starting lineup can be found on the Nationwide Mexico City Race Page.(4-19-2008)
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