May 8, 2009
- Kenseth on pole at Darlington: #17-Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway with a Track Record lap of 179.514mph for his 1st pole of 2009 and 4th of his career and first in 125 races, last pole was at Kansas in Oct 2005. The pole is the first for Ford of 2009. #24-Gordon will start 2nd, followed by #39-Newman, #77-Hornish Jr., #20-Logano, #31-Burton, #9-Kahne, #2-Busch, #99-Edwards and #47-Ambrose. #48-Jimmie Johnson wrecked on his first lap, will start 42nd [ties his worst starting spot, three other times] and have to run a backup car with no practice.
The non Top-35 drivers who made the race: #13-Papis, #78-Smith, #71-Gilliland, #25-Keselowski, #36-Riggs and #09-Marlin.
The two drivers who failed to qualify: #41-Mayfield and #82-Speed.
See qualifying results, pole progression and starting lineup on my Darlington Starting Lineup/Qulaifying Results page.(5-8-2009) - Qualifying Order for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is posted. 45 cars/drivers are listed. Go-or-go homers will qualify at the end of the session, once the top-35 drivers are done. The first of the top-35 drivers scheduled to go out is #26-McMurray, the final top-35 driver scheduled to go out is #96-Labonte. The first go-or-go homer scheduled to qualify [36th] is #36-Riggs and the final driver scheduled to qualify is #78-Smith. See the full qualifying order on the Darlington Qualifying Page.(5-8-2009)
- Happy Hour practice for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is over, the top five:
#24-Gordon 177.633
#31-Burton 177.608
#48-Johnson 177.441
#11-Hamlin 177.371
#5-Martin 177.319
slowest: #43-Sorenson 170.342 and #55-Waltrip 170.543
incidents: #77-Hornish Jr. spun off turn 4, no damage. #33-Bowyer, #11-Hamlin, #13-Papis, #16-Biffle, #44-Allmendinger, #47-Ambrose, #96-Labonte are among the drivers to scrape the wall. #12-Stremme and slapped the wall and will go to a backup car. #43-Sorenson’s team is changing engines. #47-Ambrose slapped the wall but will not go to a backup car.
See best speeds, average speeds, laps run, see my Darlington Practice Speeds page.(5-8-2009) - Where did the non top-35 drivers practice in the final session at Darlington Raceway:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#71-David Gilliland, 20th fastest overall
#78-Regan Smith, 23rd
#36-Scott Riggs, 25th
#87-Joe Nemechek, 29th
#09-Sterling Marlin, 30th
#25-Brad Keselowski, 33rd
#41-Jeremy Mayfield, 37th
#13-Max Papis, 38th
these drivers would miss the race if theings stayed the same:
#66-Dave Blaney, 40th
#82-Scott Speed, 43rd
See best speeds, average speeds, laps run, see my Darlington Practice Speeds page.(5-8-2009) - Friday’s first practice for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is over, the top 5:
#83-Vickers 174.167
#16-Biffle 174.117
#71-Gilliland 174.037
#99-Edwards 173.264
#12-Stremme 173.216
slowest: #13-Papis 168.949 and #55-Waltrip 169.007
no speed: #66-Blaney
incidents: there has been a bunch. Just into practice, #2-Busch lost it off a turn and clipped the wall with the right rear and spun around. #14-Stewart, #77-Hornish Jr., #55-Waltrip, #25-Keselowski, #12-Stremme, #9-Kahne and #41-Mayfield were among the drivers who slid up in a turn and pancaked the sides of their cars.
#82-Speed wrecked and backed into the fence and the team will go to a backup car and also put a Darlington stripe on the backup car. #00-Reutimann spun and hit the inside wall near the entrace of pit road and will go to a backup. #66-Blaney spun off turn 4 on his first lap on the track.
Happy Hour practice comes up from 1:30-3:00pm/et and qualifying is scheduled for 5:10pm/et.
See best speeds, average speeds, laps run, see my Darlington Practice Speeds page.(5-8-2009) - Where did the non top-35 drivers practice in the first session at Darlington Raceway:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#71-David Gilliland, 3rd fastest overall
#87-Joe Nemechek, 7th
#78-Regan Smith, 8th
#36-Scott Riggs, 10th
#09-Sterling Marlin, 22nd
#25-Brad Keselowski, 32nd
#82-Scott Speed, 40th [to a backup]
#41-Jeremy Mayfield, 41st
these drivers would miss the race if theings stayed the same:
#13-Max Papis, 44th
#66-Dave Blaney, no speed
See best speeds, average speeds, laps run, see my Darlington Practice Speeds page.(5-8-2009) - Penske may make bid for Saturn: [NASCAR team owner] Roger Penske says he is contemplating a bid for the Saturn automotive brand that General Motors Corp. plans to sell or shut down. While Penske has not yet made an offer, he said Friday a decision would have to come soon and that a number of unidentified details need to be worked out. Penske has a vested interest in the automotive industry. He owns the second-largest U.S. automobile retail chain in terms of sales, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Penske Automotive Group Inc. He also owns heavy-duty engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel and has race teams in the IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am series. But Penske denied that he has made a deal and said published reports are ahead of the process.(ESPN.com/Associated Press)(5-8-2009)
- Quaker State to sponsor Robby at Darlington: Robby Gordon Motorsports heads south to Darlington Raceway for the legendary Southern 500. Gordon will pilot his #7 Quaker State Toyota around the 1.366-mile track, which is notorious for its “too tough to tame” characteristics.(RGM), see an image of the Quaker State scheme on my #7 Team Schemes page.(5-8-2009)
- Labonte’s Birthday Gift Inspired by Fans: Ask.com, the primary sponsor of Bobby Labonte’s #96 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series, today presented him with a special birthday gift. Hundreds of fans submitted their ideas to Ask.com to be considered as the gift the Official Search Engine of NASCAR presented to Labonte on his 45th birthday. The suggestion from Hilary Mathis of Danville, Ill., inspired the gift – a commemorative racing helmet that includes the names of each fan that sent their supportive wishes and gift ideas over the past week. Mathis has been a Labonte fan since 1997 and lists him and Brian Vickers as her top-two favorite NASCAR drivers. Labonte’s “positive and determined attitude and his passion for racing” are characteristics Mathis noted for reasons she’s a fan.(Taylor/Ask.com PR)(5-8-2009)
- Farm Bureau Insurance to sponsor Hamlin at Darlington: For the first time since the 2005 Daytona 500 there will not be a FedEx car entered in this weekend’s Sprint Cup race. Farm Bureau Insurance takes over the FedEx as the primary sponsor of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing entry this weekend at Darlington. FedEx will be represented on the C-post of the #11, as well as on Hamlin’s firesuit, this weekend and will be back on the car when the teams take to the track in Charlotte next week for the All Star Race.(FedEx Racing), see images of the scheme on my #11 Team Schemes page. Hamlin recently announced that the Short Track Showdown held on April 30, 2009 raised $100,000 for the Denny Hamlin Foundation. Proceeds from the event will be split between the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and St. Jude’s Hospital. The 175 lap race drew over 5,000 spectators to the track where Hamlin started his Late Model career. It featured Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, former teammate Tony Stewart, and spotter Curtis Markham.(5-8-2009)
- Dale Jr. Foundation Unveils All-Star Suite Fundraiser Event: The Dale Jr. Foundation, in recognition of its special primary paint scheme that will be featured on the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy during the Sprint All-Star race [see an image of the scheme on my #88 Team Schemes page], announced it will host an All-Star suite fundraiser to benefit several area charities. With the purchase of a Dale Jr. All-Star suite ticket, race fans can experience a variety of VIP activities surrounding the race, including an appearance by both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Richard Petty. The money raised will benefit The Dale Jr. Foundation and Speedway Children’s Charities. Fans that purchase an All-Star suite ticket get a reserved seat in a luxury box overlooking the 1.5-mile Superspeedway, complete with complimentary food and drink throughout the race. Also included are a cash bar, souvenir gift bag and eligibility for raffle prizes. Prior to the start of the 100-lap race, tickets holders will receive a pre-race pit tour and an appearance from Earnhardt Jr. himself, and NASCAR Legend Richard Petty, in the VIP suite. Dale Jr.’s All-Star suite tickets are still available for $288 a piece. Visit dalejr.com and click on the All-Star banner to purchase. To learn more about how you can help Dale Jr. make a difference, go to thedalejrfoundation.org.(JR Motorsports)(5-8-2009)
- Darlington Rookie Notes: #20-Joey Logano was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the May 2 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Logano scored a 19th-place finish and claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the seventh time this season. Logano leads Speed by nine points (109-100) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the May 9 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Since 2001, two Raybestoso Rookies have won pole positions at Darlington Raceway: Kurt Busch (2001) and Kasey Kahne (2004). The most recent Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya captured the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, 65 races ago.(Camp & Assoc./Raybestos PR), see rookie histoy, wins, standings and more on my 2009 Rookies Page.(5-8-2009)
- Goodyear Tire Notes for Darlington: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same tire codes at Darlington this week . . . this will be the same right-side code (D-4130) that teams in these two series ran at Darlington last season, but it is paired with a different left-side code (D-4152) . . . this year’s left-side has a softer compound than the one run at Darlington last year and will give the cars more grip . . . this set-up came out of a Goodyear tire test at Darlington on March 10-11 . . . participating in that test were Denny Hamlin (Toyota), Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet), Bobby Labonte (Ford) and Elliott Sadler (Dodge) . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Darlington . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire. The estimated pit window is every 60-65 laps, based on fuel mileage.(Goodyear PR), see tire pressures, codes and more on my Darlington Race Info Page.(5-8-2009)
- Special scheme for Sadler in 2 races: #19-Elliott Sadler is scheduled to run the lime green colored Insignia scheme at Chicago in July and Richmond in September. See an image of the scheme on the #19 Team Schemes page.(5-8-2009)
- Darlington has about 5,000 tickets left: It could take nice weather and motivated NASCAR fans to continue a string of sellouts at Darlington. Darlington Raceway spokesman Jake Harris said in an e-mail Thursday there were fewer than 5,000 seats available for Saturday night’s Southern 500. Darlington leaders are hopeful they can sell out their fifth straight Mother’s Day weekend race. Darlington seats about 62,000. The track had gone several races without selling out until 2005, when it first began holding a Saturday race under its newly installed lights. Darlington has sold out each season since. In January, Darlington officials cut prices on some tickets by $10. The track also recently announced price cuts at concessions for the upcoming race.(Associated Press). Tickets to the Southern 500 and Nationwide Series race can be purchased by calling the Darlington Raceway ticket office at 866-459-RACE or online at darlingtonraceway.com.(5-8-2009)
- AMS sues Pep Boys over sponsorship: Atlanta Motor Speedway is suing Pep Boys over a payment dispute on a contract that called for the auto parts chain to pay $3 million for a two-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race sponsorship, according to court documents. Pep Boys has allegedly stopped making payments for the 2009 race, according to the lawsuit filed April 30 in Georgia Superior Court in Henry County, Ga. The suit says the deal was worth $1.4 million for the track’s 2008 fall race and $1.6 million for the 2009 fall race. According to the complaint, Pep Boys did not make the $800,000 payment due March 1, 2009, and the track is owed $1.6 million for the 2009 race. Although the contract states that the sponsorship is for “a fall NSCS Event,” SMI says in its complaint that Pep Boys did not object to the 2009 race being moved to Labor Day weekend before it was announced. According to the complaint, Pep Boys sent a letter saying it could terminate the contract because the track breached the agreement since the 2009 fall race is now “during the summer.” Atlanta Motor Speedway alleges that the wording in the contract prevents it from being terminated on those grounds.(SceneDaily)(5-8-2009)
- RWI benches Gaughan’s pit crew: Rusty Wallace said Friday at Darlington Raceway that his Rusty Wallace Racing Nationwide Series team will sit its pit crew for driver Brendan Gaughan this weekend. Pitting Gaughan’s #62 Chevy in Friday night’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 will be Richard Childress Racing’s #33 Sprint Cup pit crew, Wallace said. “We’ve had so much problems with our team [that] this particular race, Brendan Gaughan’s team, I said, ‘You guys are having so much problems that we’re going to have a timeout for one week. We’re going to have practice for the next two weeks,’” Wallace said. “I lost confidence in what we were getting done.”(Scene Daily)(5-8-2009)
- Fuller in the #23 for Richardon: R3 Motorsports is placing veteran driver Jeff Fuller behind the wheel of their #23 Chevy for tonight’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway. Fuller will replace Robert Richardson, Jr. for tonight’s 200-lap event. Richardson, who shares the ride with Ken Butler III, experienced exactly why the historic oval is called the track “too tough to tame” during the morning practice session. The decision was mutually reached by all parties of R3 Motorsports for the betterment of the team.(R3 Motorsports PR)(5-8-2009)
- Baker Curb Remembering Grubb: Baker Curb Racing will pay to the late Kevin Grubb with a special decal with his initials on the #27 Kleenex Racing Ford Fusion tonight at Darlington. Grubb drove in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Brewco Motorsports, which was purchased by Baker Curb at the end of the 2007 season, from 1999 to 2001. Grubb’s brother Wayne, also a former Nationwide Series driver, is a mechanic at Baker Curb Racing.(Baker Curb Racing PR)(5-8-2009)
- HT Motorsports welcomes Cajun Industries as co-primary sponsor: HT Motorsports and Driver Terry Cook are proud to announce Cajun Industries as a co-primary sponsor of the #25 Toyota Tundra. Cajun Industries partnered with HT Motorsports for the season opener this year at Daytona, and will continue that sponsorship with HT Motorsports for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series entry. Cajun Industries, LLC and its subsidiaries are nationally recognized companies providing a broad range of construction services to various markets including government infrastructure, industrial, water quality, power, manufacturing, and oil and gas.(HT Motorsports PR)(5-8-2009)
- Lafferty Motorsports picks up sponsor for Lowe’s: Lafferty Motorsports is pleased to announce that Horizon Computer Systems and Blue-Ox will be backing the teams #89 Chevy Silverado entry in the NC Education Lottery 200 which is to be held here at Lowes Motor Speedway here in Concord, NC. Driving duties will be released in the next 2-3 days.(Lafferty PR)(5-8-2009)
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