THE RACE: 2007 O’REILLY CHALLENGE – TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Busch Series Race #33 of 35 for the 2007 season
- Race: 3:30pm/et, Saturday, November 3, 2007 in Justin, TX
- Length: 200 Laps, 300 miles
- TV: ESPN2 – 3:00pm/et
- Radio: PRN
- Purse: $1,244,106
- Announcers: Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree
- Pit Reporters: Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro
Practice Dates/Times
- Practice: Friday, November 2, 10:00-11:00am/et & 11:55am-12:55pm/et, Rookie practice 11:10-11:40am/et
Qualifying Info
- Qualifying Draw: Friday, November 2, 9:00am/et
- Qualifying Time: Friday, November 2, 6:35pm/et
- Qualifying: 2 laps for all positions, cars will be impounded.
- NASCAR Online will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Busch qualifying via the web (NOTE: this is a paid subscription service). TheHotLap.com has free qualifying coverage.
Goodyear Tire Notes
Busch Series — Race #33 — O’Reilly Challenge
Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) — Fort Worth, Tex.
Fast Facts for November 2-4, 2007
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials (Nextel Cup); Goodyear Wrangler Speedway Radials (Craftsman Truck)
Number of Tires: Busch Series: Left-side — 600, Right-side — 600
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-4078; Right-side — D-4064
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 87.4 in.; Right-side — 88.7 in.
Technical Inspection Inflation: Left Front — 30 psi; Left Rear — 30 psi; Right Front — 50 psi; Right Rear — 47 psi
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 23 psi; Left Rear — 21 psi; Right Front — 49 psi; Right Rear — 45 psi
Notes: Teams in all three NASCAR series will run the same tire codes at Texas this weekend, though the Nextel Cup and Busch Series tires will be branded “Goodyear Eagle,” while the Craftsman Truck tires will be branded “Goodyear Wrangler” . . . this is the same specific combination of left- and right-side tires that Goodyear brought for Cup and Busch teams to run at Texas this past April . . . Craftsman Truck teams ran this right-side tire code (D-4064) with a different left-side code in their early-season appearance at Texas . . . in addition to Texas, this specific tire combination has been run at Chicagoland and will be run at Homestead on the 2007 schedule . . . this left-side code (D-4078) has been run with a slightly different right-side code by major NASCAR teams at California, Dover, Michigan, Kansas and Kentucky this season . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Texas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
ENTRY, PRACTICE, QUALIFYING, AND RACE INFORMATION
- Harvick Wins at Texas: #21-Kevin Harvick picked up his 6th win of the season in the O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the 32nd win of his Busch career, which moves him into second all time behind Mark Martin [47 wins]. #5-Kyle Busch finished second, followed by #20-Denny Hamlin, #2-Clint Bowyer, #17-Matt Kenseth, #88-Brad Keselowski, #18-Tony Stewart, #33-Tony Raines, and #90-Stephen Liecht. Busch Champion Carl Edward finished 11th. The race was slowed by 4 cautions for 20 laps and there were 8 leaders with 12 lead changes.(11-3-2007)
NASCAR Race Number 33
Unofficial Race Results for the O’reilly Challenge – Saturday, November 3, 2007
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 300 Miles – Purse: $1,244,106Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps 1 4 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 200 190 5 $73,275 Running 2 36 2 5 5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevy 200 175 5 $52,000 Running 1 10 3 6 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 200 170 5 $47,925 Running 1 11 4 11 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 200 160 $29,375 Running 5 25 17 Matt Kenseth iLevel Ford 200 155 $29,050 Running 6 9 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 200 150 $36,938 Running 7 2 18 Tony Stewart Goody’s Cool Orange Chevy 200 156 10 $22,285 Running 3 114 8 15 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevy 200 147 5 $27,045 Running 1 1 9 26 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 200 138 $25,350 Running 10 19 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 200 134 $32,122 Running 11 3 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford 200 130 $24,575 Running 12 22 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 200 127 $26,672 Running 13 7 55 Robby Gordon Verizon Wireless Ford 200 124 $17,475 Running 14 12 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 200 121 $26,222 Running 15 24 24 Casey Mears National Guard 256th Infantry Brigade 199 118 $16,875 Running 16 20 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 199 120 5 $21,825 Running 2 26 17 8 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 199 112 $16,200 Running 18 1 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 199 109 $25,872 Running 19 28 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 199 106 $18,350 Running 20 17 00 Michael McDowell NAPA/Aaron’s Toyota 198 103 $16,600 Running 21 33 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 197 105 5 $25,047 Running 1 1 22 29 11 Jason Keller Sweet Baby Ray’s Chevy 197 97 $22,122 Running 23 34 66 Steve Wallace Memorex Dodge 197 94 $21,997 Running 24 21 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge 197 91 $21,200 Running 25 18 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 197 88 $22,825 Running 26 38 37 Casey Atwood Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 197 85 $17,050 Running 27 36 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 196 82 $21,472 Running 28 10 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge 195 79 $16,825 Running 29 14 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevy 195 76 $20,250 Running 30 27 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford Ford 195 73 $21,697 Running 31 16 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 194 70 $16,645 Running 32 42 28 Robert Richardson Jr. # U.S. Border Patrol Chevy 193 67 $16,610 Running 33 31 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 188 64 $14,575 Engine 34 41 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 188 61 $16,540 Running 35 23 27 Brad Baker Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 171 58 $16,510 Accident 36 32 70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevy 170 55 $16,475 Engine 37 37 10 Brent Sherman Fan1st.com Toyota 161 52 $19,807 Running 38 30 30 Stanton Barrett Smith & Wesson Chevy 131 49 $16,385 Accident 39 40 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 33 51 5 $14,335 Handling 1 1 40 43 0 Eric McClure Hefty/Jason March Chevy 18 43 $16,300 Electrical 41 39 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL/Jason March Chevy 12 40 $16,240 Vibration 42 35 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 4 37 $16,200 Accident 43 13 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 3 34 $19,490 Accident Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 94,000 – Kevin Harvick won the O’Reilly Challenge, his 32nd career NASCAR Busch Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear for the reason(s) indicated: #88 Keselowski and # 24 Mears (unapproved impound adjustment); #14 Krisiloff and #7 M. Wallace (engine change); #03 Marks (backup truck). Failed to Qualify: (3) 05 Brett Rowe, 72 D.J. Kennington, 44 Mike Harmon. Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 04 Mins, 49 Secs. Average Speed: 144.212 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.486 Seconds Caution Flags: 4 for 20 laps: Laps: 5-9 (#22,27,36 accident turn 4); 22-26 (#12 spun turn 4); 129-132 (Debris); 135-140 (#27,30 accident turn 4). Lead Changes: 12 among 8 drivers: D. Reutimann (Pole); T. Stewart 1-22; M. Wallace 23; M. Shepherd 24; K. Busch 25-34; T. Stewart 35-88; K. Harvick 89; G. Biffle 90; J. Burton 91; T. Stewart 92-129; D. Hamlin 130-140; G. Biffle 141-165; K. Harvick 166-200. Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge: Stephen Leicht, #90 (119.289 Seconds) Featherlite “Most Improved Driver: Bobby Hamilton Jr, #35 (24 Places) Raybestos “Rookie of the Race: Brad Keselowski, #88 Sunoco Diamond Performance: Kevin Harvick, #21 WIX Filters “Lap Leader: Mike Wallace, #7 (1 Lap)
- Edwards Clinches Busch Championship: Carl Edwards’ 11th place finish sealed his championship for 2007. David Reutimann now stands 552 points behind. Jason Leffler remains third, Kevin Harvick fourth, and David Ragan fifth.(11-3-2007)
Points Report
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
UNOFFICAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Saturday, 11/3/2007 @ 5:01 PM CentralPos Driver BPts Points Ldr 1. Carl Edwards 125 4494 0 2. David Reutimann 30 3942 -552 3. Jason Leffler 30 3733 -761 4. Kevin Harvick 65 3713 -781 5. David Ragan # 20 3576 -918 6. Bobby Hamilton Jr. 5 3434 -1060 7. Stephen Leicht 20 3337 -1157 8. Greg Biffle 60 3256 -1238 9. Marcos Ambrose # 20 3225 -1269 10. Mike Wallace 65 3188 -1306 11. Matt Kenseth 80 3136 -1358 12. Denny Hamlin 75 3011 -1483 13. Clint Bowyer 50 2961 -1533 14. Scott Wimmer 25 2907 -1587 15. Jeff Burton 80 2812 -1682 16. Kyle Busch 110 2748 -1746 17. J.J. Yeley 10 2716 -1778 18. Steve Wallace 15 2639 -1855 19. Kyle Krisiloff # 0 2634 -1860 20. Casey Mears 20 2536 -1958 21. Mike Bliss 15 2447 -2047 22. Brent Sherman 20 2425 -2069 23. Dave Blaney 15 2401 -2093 24. Jamie McMurray 5 2087 -2407 25. Brad Keselowski # 5 2080 -2414 26. Jason Keller 15 2069 -2425 27. Kasey Kahne 35 1956 -2538 28. Bobby Labonte 10 1929 -2565 29. Reed Sorenson 15 1881 -2613 30. Aric Almirola 20 1850 -2644 31. Regan Smith 25 1820 -2674 32. Shane Huffman 5 1727 -2767 33. Tony Stewart 25 1723 -2771 34. Juan Pablo Montoya 20 1689 -2805 35. Todd Kluever 15 1687 -2807 36. Brad Coleman 10 1680 -2814 37. Eric McClure 5 1639 -2855 38. Kelly Bires 10 1620 -2874 39. David Gilliland 5 1597 -2897 40. Ward Burton 0 1555 -2939 41. David Stremme 10 1554 -2940 42. Stanton Barrett 0 1212 -3282 43. Paul Menard 0 1208 -3286 44. Jon Wood 0 1154 -3340 45. Robert Richardson Jr. # 5 1091 -3403 46. Richard Johns 0 1057 -3437 47. Robby Gordon 0 1027 -3467 48. Danny O’quinn, Jr 0 952 -3542 49. Ryan Newman 20 851 -3643 50. Morgan Shepherd 5 789 -3705 51. Kevin Hamlin 5 748 -3746 52. Brian Vickers 15 714 -3780 53. D J Kennington 0 685 -3809 54. Bobby East 5 679 -3815 55. Dale Earnhardt, Jr 10 668 -3826 56. Cale Gale 0 658 -3836 57. Todd Bodine 5 655 -3839 58. Timothy Peters 0 646 -3848 59. Chase Miller 0 642 -3852 60. Tony Raines 0 638 -3856 61. Mark Green 0 632 -3862 62. Timothy McCreadie 0 600 -3894 63. Johnny Sauter 0 587 -3907 64. Mark Martin 0 573 -3921 65. Kertus Davis 0 544 -3950 66. Kurt Busch 20 527 -3967 67. Sam Hornish Jr. 0 526 -3968 68. Brett Rowe 0 524 -3970 69. Kevin Conway 0 523 -3971 70. Justin Diercks 0 505 -3989 71. Ron Hornaday, Jr 5 481 -4013 72. Scott Riggs 0 460 -4034 73. Boris Said 5 452 -4042 74. A J Allmendinger 0 449 -4045 75. Landon Cassill 0 449 -4045 76. Bryan Clauson 0 443 -4051 77. Derrike Cope 0 440 -4054 78. Casey Atwood 0 412 -4082 79. Scott Pruett 10 395 -4099 80. Jimmie Johnson 10 387 -4107 81. Jay Sauter 0 376 -4118 82. Martin Truex, Jr 10 370 -4124 83. Ron Fellows 10 328 -4166 84. Kevin Lepage 0 306 -4188 85. Mike Harmon 0 301 -4193 86. Joe Nemechek 0 300 -4194 87. Jorge Goeters 5 297 -4197 88. Brad Teague 0 295 -4199 89. David Green 0 294 -4200 90. Brian Keselowski 0 292 -4202 91. John Graham 0 286 -4208 92. Patrick Carpentier 5 256 -4238 93. Jeff Green 0 255 -4239 94. Andy Pilgrim 0 236 -4258 95. Bobby Santos 0 235 -4259 96. Donnie Neuenberger 5 228 -4266 97. Elliott Sadler 0 212 -4282 98. Andy Lally 0 210 -4284 99. Ron Young 5 210 -4284 100. Alex Garcia 0 210 -4284 101. Max Papis 0 205 -4289 102. Sterling Marlin 0 203 -4291 103. Michel Jourdain 0 203 -4291 104. Brad Baker 0 198 -4296 105. Frank Kreyer 0 189 -4305 106. Jeremy Clements 0 174 -4320 107. Chris Horn 0 174 -4320 108. Travis Kvapil 0 170 -4324 109. Jerick Johnson 0 157 -4337 110. Dario Franchitti 0 155 -4339 111. Marc Mitchell 0 155 -4339 112. Kenny Wallace 0 146 -4348 113. Adrian Fernandez 0 138 -4356 114. Johnny Benson 0 138 -4356 115. Shelby Howard 0 137 -4357 116. Justin Ashburn 0 134 -4360 117. Trevor Boys 0 134 -4360 118. Niclas Jonsson 5 132 -4362 119. Danny Efland 0 132 -4362 120. Blake Bjorklund 0 131 -4363 121. Scott Lagasse 0 119 -4375 122. Travis Kittleson 0 112 -4382 123. Josh Wise 0 106 -4388 124. Carl Long 0 104 -4390 125. Michael McDowell 0 103 -4391 126. J R Fitzpatrick 0 98 -4396 127. Brian Simo 0 97 -4397 128. Carlos Contreras 5 97 -4397 129. Todd Souza 0 94 -4400 130. Dale Jarrett 0 94 -4400 131. P J Jones 0 91 -4403 132. Scott Gaylord 0 89 -4405 133. Steve Grissom 0 88 -4406 134. Kerry Earnhardt 0 88 -4406 135. German Quiroga 5 84 -4410 136. Rogelio Lopez 0 76 -4418 137. Colin Braun 0 73 -4421 138. Mike Mackenzie 0 64 -4430 139. Deac McCaskill 5 63 -4431 140. Michael Valiante 0 61 -4433 141. A J Frank 0 52 -4442 142. Ian Henderson 0 52 -4442 143. Brandon Miller 0 52 -4442 144. Dange Hanniford 0 49 -4445 145. Larry Foyt 0 49 -4445 146. Jeff Fuller 0 49 -4445 147. John Andretti 0 46 -4448 148. John Young 0 46 -4448 149. Matthew Carter 0 46 -4448 150. Jamie Mosley 0 43 -4451 151. Joe Fox 0 40 -4454 152. Eddie Macdonald 0 40 -4454 153. Chase Austin 0 40 -4454 154. Caleb Holman 0 37 -4457 155. Mike Potter 0 37 -4457 156. John Borneman 0 37 -4457 157. Randy Macdonald 0 34 -4460 158. Michael Waltrip 0 34 -4460 159. Jason White 0 0 -4494 160. Ruben Pardo 0 0 -4494 161. Tono Perez 0 0 -4494
- Owner Points: Richard Childress continues to lead the owner points over Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush.(11-3-2007)
Owner Points Following Race # 33
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Saturday, 11/3/2007 @ 5:01 PM CentralPos Owner Car # Points Ldr 1 Richard Childress 29 4,753 0 2 Joe Gibbs 20 4,640 -113 3 Jack Roush 60 4,494 -259 4 Richard Childress 21 4,436 -317 5 Michael Waltrip 99 3,942 -811 6 Delana Harvick 33 3,802 -951 7 Ray Evernham 9 3,785 -968 8 Todd Braun 38 3,733 -1,020 9 Armando Fitz 22 3,666 -1,087 10 Jack Roush 6 3,576 -1,177 11 Rick Hendrick 5 3,531 -1,222 12 Jack Roush 17 3,518 -1,235 13 Delana Harvick 77 3,492 -1,261 14 Gregory Pollex 10 3,471 -1,282 15 Jack Roush 16 3,462 -1,291 16 Gary Weisbaum 35 3,434 -1,319 17 Dale Earnhardt, Jr 88 3,425 -1,328 18 Chip Ganassi 41 3,374 -1,379 19 Robert Yates 90 3,337 -1,416 20 Joe Gibbs 18 3,251 -1,502 21 Tad Geschickter 59 3,225 -1,528 22 Floyd Ganassi 42 3,220 -1,533 23 Clarence Brewer 37 3,196 -1,557 24 James Finch 7 3,188 -1,565 25 Tammy Brewer 27 3,160 -1,593 26 James Finch 1 3,154 -1,599 27 Jodi Geschickter 47 3,054 -1,699 28 Richard Childress 2 2,867 -1,886 29 Edward Rensi 25 2,739 -2,014 30 Rusty Wallace 66 2,727 -2,026 31 Rick Hendrick 24 2,662 -2,091 32 Gregory Pollex 14 2,634 -2,119 33 Joe Custer 28 2,454 -2,299 34 John McGill 36 2,447 -2,306 35 Keith Duesenberg 0 1,937 -2,816 36 Bobby Ginn 4 1,820 -2,933 37 Roger Penske 12 1,734 -3,019 38 Jack Roush 126 1,607 -3,146 39 Bryan Mullet 11 1,535 -3,218 40 Stanton Barrett 30 1,239 -3,514 41 Teresa Earnhardt 15 1,208 -3,545 42 Mary Louise Miller 70 1,162 -3,591 43 John McNelly 156 918 -3,835 44 Jimmy Means 252 906 -3,847 45 Johnny Davis 01 869 -3,884 46 Pat MacDonald 72 855 -3,898 47 Robby Gordon 55 819 -3,934 48 Cindy Shepherd 89 768 -3,985 49 Keith Coleman 23 758 -3,995 50 Teresa Earnhardt 8 722 -4,031 51 Frank Cicci 34 592 -4,161 52 Wayne Day 05 562 -4,191 53 Steve Germain 103 505 -4,248 54 Donnie Richardson 44 441 -4,312 55 Bill Riley 91 431 -4,322 56 Rick Hendrick 148 387 -4,366 57 Todd Braun 32 353 -4,400 58 Andrea Nemechek 87 300 -4,453 59 Dusty Whitney 249 292 -4,461 60 Jack Roush 106 282 -4,471 61 Jerry Young 171 241 -4,512 62 Alex Garcia 298 235 -4,518 63 Fred Horn 158 205 -4,548 64 Michael Waltrip 00 197 -4,556 65 Teresa Earnhardt 111 195 -4,558 66 James Rowe 273 186 -4,567 67 Gina MacDonald 271 174 -4,579 68 Roger Penske 139 170 -4,583 69 Jack Johnson 176 157 -4,596 70 Susan Spraker 163 152 -4,601 71 Jay Robinson 149 139 -4,614 72 Charles Fridell, Jr 154 132 -4,621 73 Eddie D’hondt 192 98 -4,655 74 Kelly Souza 113 94 -4,659 75 Armando Fitz 144 80 -4,673 76 Tom Eriksen 167 76 -4,677 77 Chris Lencheski 130 70 -4,683 78 Lori Morgan 200 68 -4,685 79 Stanton Barrett 231 49 -4,704 80 Doug Taylor 240 46 -4,707 81 John Young 146 46 -4,707 82 Rusty Wallace 64 40 -4,713 83 Charles Henderson 175 37 -4,716 84 Jeff Barrister 250 31 -4,722 85 Robert Richardson 180 31 -4,722 86 Jim Braddock 254 31 -4,722 87 J L Pennington 208 25 -4,728 88 Brian Carter 161 25 -4,728 89 Earl Sadler 195 22 -4,731 90 Bryan Mullet 112 22 -4,731
- Reutimann On Pole in Texas: #99-David Reutimann continued his strong run at Texas by capturing the Busch pole for the O’Reilly Challege. His qualifying speed was 191.646mph. #18-Tony Stewart will line up on the outside of row 1. The rest of the top 10 are #99-Carl Edwards, #21-Kevin harvick, #5-Kyle Busch, #20-Denny Hamlin, #55-Robby Gordon, #6-David Ragan, #88-Brad Keselowski, and #41-Bryan Clauson. Not making the race: #05-Brett Rowe, #72-D.J. Kennington & #44-Mike Harmon.(11-2-2007)
Starting Line Up by Row
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 02, 2007 @ 07:03 PM CentralPos Car Driver Team Time Speed 1 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 28.177 191.646 2 18 Tony Stewart Goody’s Cool Orange Chevy 28.279 190.954 3 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford 28.310 190.745 4 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 28.333 190.590 5 5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevy 28.409 190.081 6 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 28.444 189.847 7 55 Robby Gordon Verizon Wireless Ford 28.504 189.447 8 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 28.556 189.102 9 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 28.560 189.076 10 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge 28.562 189.062 11 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 28.624 188.653 12 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 28.627 188.633 13 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 28.643 188.528 14 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevy 28.656 188.442 15 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevy 28.698 188.166 16 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 28.706 188.114 17 00 Michael McDowell NAPA/Aaron’s Toyota 28.724 187.996 18 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 28.747 187.846 19 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 28.768 187.709 20 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 28.772 187.682 21 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge 28.786 187.591 22 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 28.798 187.513 23 27 Brad Baker Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 28.828 187.318 24 24 Casey Mears National Guard 256th Infantry Brigade 28.889 186.922 25 17 Matt Kenseth iLevel Ford 28.894 186.890 26 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 28.933 186.638 27 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford Ford 28.937 186.612 28 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 28.988 186.284 29 11 Jason Keller Sweet Baby Ray’s Chevy 29.029 186.021 30 30 Stanton Barrett Smith & Wesson Chevy 29.031 186.008 31 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 29.067 185.778 32 70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevy 29.086 185.656 33 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 29.149 185.255 34 66 Steve Wallace Memorex Dodge 29.177 185.077 35 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 29.180 185.058 36 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 29.212 184.856 37 10 Brent Sherman Fan1st.com Toyota 29.308 184.250 38 37 Casey Atwood Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 29.324 184.150 39 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL/Jason March Chevy 29.589 182.500 40 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 29.618 182.322 41 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 29.666 182.027 42 28 Robert Richardson Jr. # U.S. Border Patrol Chevy Owner Points 43 0 Eric McClure Hefty/Jason March Chevy 29.988 180.072
- Reutimann Paces Happy Hour: #99-David Reutimann backed up his fast opeing practice, with the top speed in Happy Hour at Texas. His top speed was 189.700mph. He was followed by #35-Bobby Hamilton, Jr., #24-Casey Mears, #5-Kyle Busch, and #88-Brad Keselowski. Slowest were #0-Eric McClure & #44-Mike Harmson.(11-2-2007)
NBS Final Practice (HAPPY HOUR)
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 02, 2007 @ 11:57 AM CentralPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps 1 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 28.466 189.700 19 2 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 28.830 187.305 28 3 *24 Casey Mears National Guard 256th Infantry Brigade 28.845 187.207 21 4 *5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevy 28.851 187.169 11 5 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 28.881 186.974 31 6 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 28.909 186.793 20 7 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge 28.932 186.645 29 8 *55 Robby Gordon Verizon Wireless Ford 28.982 186.323 17 9 18 Tony Stewart Goody’s Cool Orange Chevy 28.987 186.290 27 10 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 28.999 186.213 28 11 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevy 29.013 186.123 35 12 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge 29.071 185.752 23 13 *2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 29.101 185.561 18 14 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 29.117 185.459 23 15 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevy 29.137 185.331 23 16 *00 Michael McDowell NAPA/Aaron’s Toyota 29.142 185.300 19 17 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 29.148 185.261 23 18 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 29.157 185.204 29 19 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 29.163 185.166 21 20 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 29.192 184.982 30 21 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 29.200 184.932 19 22 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 29.216 184.830 21 23 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford Ford 29.255 184.584 12 24 *17 Matt Kenseth iLevel Ford 29.281 184.420 32 25 *70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevy 29.282 184.414 12 26 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 29.342 184.037 30 27 *11 Jason Keller Sweet Baby Ray’s Chevy 29.362 183.911 22 28 *12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 29.390 183.736 33 29 66 Steve Wallace Memorex Dodge 29.403 183.655 26 30 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford 29.469 183.243 16 31 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 29.475 183.206 30 32 37 Casey Atwood Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 29.481 183.169 28 33 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 29.500 183.051 11 34 27 Brad Baker Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 29.520 182.927 25 35 10 Brent Sherman Fan1st.com Toyota 29.565 182.648 16 36 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 29.654 182.100 34 37 *30 Stanton Barrett Smith & Wesson Chevy 29.879 180.729 28 38 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 29.944 180.337 32 39 *01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL/Jason March Chevy 30.134 179.200 6 40 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 30.201 178.802 15 41 *72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge 30.669 176.074 15 42 *05 Brett Rowe 31-W Insulation Chevy 30.673 176.051 15 43 *89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 30.780 175.439 4 44 28 Robert Richardson Jr. U.S. Border Patrol Chevy 30.824 175.188 18 45 *0 Eric McClure Hefty/Jason March Chevy 31.001 174.188 12 46 *44 Mike Harmon Marty Lyons Foundation/Spring Hill Suites 32.456 166.379 5
NBS Rookie Practice
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 02, 2007 @ 10:41 AM CentralPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps 1 *00 Michael McDowell NAPA/Aaron’s Toyota 28.749 187.833 5 2 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge 29.088 185.644 13 3 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 29.244 184.653 14 4 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford Ford 29.330 184.112 14 5 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 29.472 183.225 11 6 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 29.512 182.976 6 7 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 29.596 182.457 8 8 *12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 29.596 182.457 17 9 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 29.626 182.272 10 10 27 Brad Baker Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 29.776 181.354 10 11 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 29.777 181.348 5 12 28 Robert Richardson Jr. U.S. Border Patrol Chevy 30.732 175.713 9 13 *72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge 30.830 175.154 8
- Reutimann Fastest in First Practice: #99-David Reutiman’s speed of 187.820mph was fastest of all drivers in the opening practice session for the O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. He was followed by #21-Kevin Harvick, #5-Kyle Busch, #12-Sam Hornish, and #90-Stephen Leicht. Slowest were #28-Robert Richardson & #05-Brett Rowe.(11-2-2007)
NBS Practice 1
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly Challenge
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 02, 2007 @ 10:01 AM CentralPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps/TD> 1 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 28.751 187.820 16 2 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 28.828 187.318 7 3 *5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevy 28.839 187.246 24 4 *12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 28.911 186.780 27 5 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 28.924 186.696 25 6 *2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 28.977 186.355 13 7 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 28.991 186.265 21 8 *55 Robby Gordon Verizon Wireless Ford 29.013 186.123 19 9 *24 Casey Mears National Guard 256th Infantry Brigade 29.040 185.950 18 10 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevy 29.055 185.854 20 11 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 29.065 185.790 14 12 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevy 29.071 185.752 18 13 18 Tony Stewart Goody’s Cool Orange Chevy 29.118 185.452 26 14 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 29.128 185.389 22 15 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 29.129 185.382 24 16 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 29.131 185.370 18 17 *17 Matt Kenseth iLevel Ford 29.220 184.805 15 18 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford 29.227 184.761 14 19 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 29.265 184.521 28 20 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 29.279 184.433 27 21 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 29.295 184.332 23 22 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge 29.300 184.300 14 23 *00 Michael McDowell NAPA/Aaron’s Toyota 29.328 184.124 21 24 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 29.347 184.005 30 25 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 29.396 183.698 26 26 37 Casey Atwood Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 29.417 183.567 28 27 *70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevy 29.422 183.536 21 28 *11 Jason Keller Sweet Baby Ray’s Chevy 29.431 183.480 25 29 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 29.440 183.424 41 30 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford Ford 29.456 183.324 32 31 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 29.476 183.200 19 32 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 29.526 182.890 20 33 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge 29.538 182.815 14 34 10 Brent Sherman Fan1st.com Toyota 29.586 182.519 21 35 27 Brad Baker Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 29.616 182.334 18 36 66 Steve Wallace Memorex Dodge 29.626 182.272 26 37 *30 Stanton Barrett Smith & Wesson Chevy 29.767 181.409 11 38 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 29.903 180.584 4 39 *89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 29.964 180.216 6 40 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 30.050 179.700 9 41 *01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL/Jason March Chevy 30.280 178.336 7 42 *0 Eric McClure Hefty/Jason March Chevy 30.606 176.436 13 43 *72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge 30.856 175.006 25 44 28 Robert Richardson Jr. U.S. Border Patrol Chevy 30.861 174.978 23 45 *05 Brett Rowe 31-W Insulation Chevy 32.225 167.572 3
- Texas Entry List: There are 46 drivers on the tenative entry list for Saturday’s O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.(10-29-2007)
Ent Car Driver Team Name Owner 1. 0 Eric McClure Hefty Chevy Keith Duesenberg 2. 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resort Chevy James Finch 3. 01 Kertus Davis TBA Chevy Johnny Davis 4. 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy Richard Childress 5. 5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevy Rick Hendrick 6. 05 Brett Rowe 31-W Insulation Chevy Wayne Day 7. 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford Jack Roush 8. 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy James Finch 9. 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value / Bumper to Bumper Dodge Ray Evernham 10. 10 Brent Sherman Fans1st.com Toyota Greg Pollex 11. 11 Jason Keller Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce Bryan Mullet 12. 14 Kyle Krisiloff Lilly/Walgreens Ford Greg Pollex 13. 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford Jack Roush 14. 17 Matt Kenseth iLevel Ford Jack Roush 15. 18 Tony Stewart Goody’s Chevy Joe Gibbs 16. 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy Joe Gibbs 17. 21 Kevin Harvick Auto Zone Chevy Richard Childress 18. 22 Mike Bliss Family Dollar Dodge Armando Fitz 19. 24 Casey Mears National Guard Chevy Rick Hendrick 20. 25 Richard Johns FreeCreditReport.com Ford Ed Rensi 21. 27 Brad Baker Kleenex Ford Tammy Brewer 22. 28 Robert Richardson U.S. Border Patrol Chevy Joe Custer 23. 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevy Richard Childress 24. 30 Stanton Barrett Smith & Wesson/SKI Motorsports Chevy Stanton Barrett 25. 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy Delana Harvick 26. 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr McDonald’s Ford Gary Weisbaum 27. 36 Jeremy Clements TBA Chevy John McGill 28. 37 Casey Atwood Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford Clarence Brewer 29. 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota Todd Braun 30. 41 Bryan Clauson Memorex Dodge Chip Ganassi 31. 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge Floyd Ganassi 32. 44 Mike Harmon Marty Lyons Fdtn/Spring Hill Suites Chevy Donnie Richardson 33. 47 Kelly Bires Clorox / American Red Cross Ford Jodi Geschickter 34. 52 Donnie Neuenberger TBA Ford Jimmy Means 35. 55 Robby Gordon Verizon Wireless Ford Robby Gordon 36. 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford Ford Tad Geschickter 37. 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford Jack Roush 38. 66 Steve Wallace Atreus Homes & Communities Dodge Rusty Wallace 39. 70 Mark Green Foretravel Motorcoach Chevy Mary Louise Miller 40. 72 D.J. Kennington TBA Dodge Pat MacDonald 41. 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevy Delana Harvick 42. 88 Brad Keselowski U.S. Navy Chevy Dale Earnhardt Jr. 43. 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge Cindy Shepherd 44. 90 Stephen Leicht Citifinancial Ford Robert Yates 45. 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Michael Waltrip 46. 344 TBA UPS Toyota Michael Waltrip
NASCAR Busch Series News & Notes – O’Reilly Challenge
Following the race at Gateway International Raceway last July, Carl Edwards (#60 Dish Network Ford) had an 852-point lead over second-place David Reutimann (#99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) in the NASCAR Busch Series standings.
He commented at the time that no lead was too large because no lead is ever safe.Many eyes rolled over that remark.
Now, with three races left in the season, Edwards’ statement doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
His lead over Reutimann is still stout at 531 points, but his luck lately has been anything but.
Three weeks ago in Charlotte, he was seemingly en route to clinching the title when he was caught up in an incident on Lap 133, ending that opportunity. Last Saturday at Memphis he was forced to start from the rear of the field following a driver change upon his arrival from Atlanta and his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series duties after substitute driver Matt McCall qualified the #60 Ford.
There, he was involved in two incidents that looked to knock him out of a clinch chance. He rallied, but a spin with less than 10 laps left relegated him to 25th –- the seventh finish of 25th or worse in his last 10 races.
To clinch, he needs to leave Texas with a 390-point lead over Reutimann. If he finishes 36th or better, 37th and leads at least one lap, or 39th and leads the most laps, he will become the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series champion – finally.
His luck could very well change at Texas, where he finished third last spring. In five races there, he has three top-five and four top-10 finishes. He also won the fall race last year in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition.
Texas Two-Step: Wallace, Kenseth In Three-Race Showdown For 10th
Series regular Mike Wallace (#7 GEICO Chevy) comes to Texas in 10th place in the point standings, 102 points ahead of 11th-place Matt Kenseth (#17 I Level Ford). Kenseth is scheduled to compete in the final three races of the season, making Saturday’s race the first of three showdowns between the two drivers.
Even though he’s got a substantial cushion heading into the O’Reilly Challenge, Wallace has the law of averages to overcome in order to capture a coveted spot in the final top 10.
In the 21 races the two drivers have competed in together this season, Kenseth has an average finish of 11.1 while Wallace’s average finish is 23.8. Kenseth has two wins, one of which came at Texas this past spring. He has two wins overall at Texas (2004).
Wallace has competed in at least one race in the series over the last 18 seasons, but 2007 is only his fourth full-time campaign.
In The Loop: Reutimann Hopes To Postpone Edwards’ Title Clinch Once More
Can David Reutimann accomplish the improbable and delay Carl Edwards’ quest to clinch the NASCAR Busch Series championship for a third consecutive week?
Yes he can. It will be tough but here’s how he can do it:
Step One: Control what he can control. Reutimann first has to worry about his own performance. That’s exactly what he did at Memphis by winning, leading the most laps and earning a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0.His past Texas performances suggest he’ll run well this weekend. Reutimann has competed three times at Texas in the NASCAR Busch Series, averaging a finish of 14.7 – and he has been strong of late, notching a sixth-place result this past spring. In his two Texas races since 2005, Reutimann has a Driver Rating of 85.1, an Average Running Position of 14.0 and has run 55% of the total laps in the top 15.
Step Two: Get lucky. Edwards needs to finish 36th or better to clinch the championship – a likely scenario considering his Texas past. In this season’s spring race, Edwards finished third and in this race last season, he finished seventh. In 2005, he finished fourth and third, respectively, in the two races. The one blemish on Edwards’ Texas record is a 43rd-place finish in the spring race last season. Overall at Texas, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 93.6, an Average Running Position of 14.7, 36 Fastest Laps Run and has spent 66.8% of his laps in the top 15. Reutimann needs another last-place finish from Edwards if he wants to prolong the inevitable.
Step Three: Deal with the competition. The competition will be fierce this weekend, as reigning series champion Kevin Harvick (#21 AutoZone Chevy) returns to the scene. Harvick has been solid at Texas, earning a Driver Rating of 117.7 and an Average Running Position of 5.9 (both are best of any driver competing Saturday).
Matt Kenseth, winner of this year’s Texas spring race, is also entered in Saturday’s field. He has a Texas Driver Rating of 108.1.
NBS, Etc.
• “Veteran” Advice: Bryan Clauson (#41 Memorex Dodge) turned 18 years old this past June. He started his fourth career NASCAR Busch Series race for the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team at Memphis last Saturday where he finished a season-best 18th in the event. His “experience” also put him in an interesting spot; to serve as a mentor to his new teammate – 34-year-old Dario Franchitti (#42 Target Dodge). The reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar champion, Franchitti made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Memphis where he started an impressive third and finished 32nd in the caution-filled event. Both will race together again at Texas.
• Franchitti, Hornish Together Again: Dario Franchitti will be joined at Texas by his former IndyCar rival Sam Hornish Jr. (#12 Kodak Dodge), giving the O’Reilly Challenge a field consisting of the last two Indianpolis 500 champions. Hornish, though, has the leg up on Franchitti as far as his body of work at Texas. Both will be making their stock-car debuts at the track, but Hornish won the IndyCar event at the track last June; Franchitti finished fourth.
• Labonte, Richardson Look To Home Track: Bobby Labonte (#77 Dollar General Chevy), the 1991 NASCAR Busch Series champion and Corpus Christi, Texas native, returns to his home track seeking his first series win there. Labonte has 195 starts in his series career to go along with his championship. At the other end of the spectrum is rookie driver Robert Richardson (#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy), who is from McKinney, Texas. He hopes to make his track debut at TMS Saturday; he’ll have to qualify on time to do so. Richardson, 25, has started 14 races for Jay Robinson Racing and is one of eight drivers competing for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. His best career finish is 19th last April at Talladega Superspeedway. Richardson attempted to make the spring race at Texas driving for his family-owned team but did not qualify.
• Ambrose Seeks Consistency: With his first career series pole and his best finish to date (fourth) last week at Memphis, Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford) got a needed boost. The result was the Australian’s first top-five finish of the year and his first top-10 since placing seventh in Montreal. His only other oval top-10 finish was sixth at Dover International Speedway in June. The finish was also welcomed heading into another intermediate track where he’s struggled, especially recently. He posted DNFs at both Kansas Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway and has an overall average finish of 26.8. He was 31st at Texas last spring.
• Of Note – Texas: Jason Leffler (#38 Great Clips Toyota) won his first NASCAR Busch Series pole at Texas in 2000. … Two former winners are entered at Texas – Kevin Harvick (2001, ’05, ’06) and Matt Kenseth (2004, ’07). Kenseth owns the most top fives (five), top 10s (10) and most starts (12) in series competition at the track. … Harvick’s next win will be the 32nd of his series career and will vault him into second place on the all-time list. He’s currently tied with Jack Ingram with 31 victories. The two-time and reigning series champion averages a win every six starts – it has been seven starts since his last victory (Watkins Glen). He did not compete at Memphis.
The Director’s Take: Texas
“Texas Motor Speedway is the last of the 1.5-mile tri-ovals for the NASCAR Busch Series this season. The frontstretch is 920 feet longer than the backstretch and has a double dogleg configuration.
“Drivers will be looking to hit their marks entering the corners in order to get the car to ‘set’ and ‘rotate’ to get a good exit.
“Texas provides multiple grooves for passing. And this track is all about aero and having the car’s body at the right angle of attack with little drag for speed, yet enough downforce to turn.
“Drivers will give each other more room on the track, which should help reduce the number of cautions that we saw last week at Memphis.”
2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGSDriver Points
1. David Ragan 232
2. Marcos Ambrose 201
3. Kyle Krisiloff 178
4. Brad Keselowski 170
5. Juan Pablo Montoya 165
6. Brad Coleman 163
7. Robert Richardson Jr. 107
8. Justin Diercks 51ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with live racing from Texas Motor Speedway. The telecast of the 300-mile race begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.
The 1.5-mile track could be the scene of Carl Edwards’ clinching of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship, even though two races remain in the 35-event season Saturday’s race.
Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 1989 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits.
Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown. Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion and one of the founding drivers of the NASCAR Busch Series, will join Bestwick in the ESPN Pit Studio along with Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 32 Of 35 Races:
Season Traditional Statistics:
Driver points – Edwards (4,364)
Victories – Harvick (5)
Races led – Edwards (20)
Laps led – Ky. Busch (958)
Top-five finishes – Edwards (14)
Top-10 finishes – Edwards (19)
Owner points – Richard Childress Racing (#29) – (4,606)
Money Won – Edwards ($1,113,485)
Miles led – Ky. Busch (1,286.08)
Busch Poles – Hamlin (5)
Closest to 10th – M. Wallace 10th (3,083 pts); 11th – Kenseth, -102
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 – Edwards, Harvick (32)Season Loop Data Statistics:
Driver Rating – Edwards (106.0)
Average Running Position – Edwards (10.1)
Fastest Laps Run – Edwards (526 fastest laps)
Quality Passes – Edwards (952)
Laps In Top 15 – Edwards (4,822 of a possible 5,953)Final Push: Can Toyota Rally For Third-Place Breakthrough?
Chevy, having already crowned the 2007 Bill France Performance Cup champion and Ford, this season’s probable runner-up, may be favorites in the final three races of the season as the leaders in manufacturer wins at Texas (Chevy – 6), Phoenix International Raceway (Ford – 6) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Chevy – 6), respectively.
But Toyota’s second-half surge and its 10-point deficit to third-place Dodge gives the manufacturers’ race some late-season drama. This is the closest Toyota has been to Dodge since a 10-point advantage by Dodge following the race at California Speedway in early September.
Toyota won its second series race last Saturday at Memphis as David Reutimann registered his first career NASCAR Busch Series victory. Jason Leffler won Toyota’s inaugural series race in July at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
Dodge has one win in that 11-race span – Kasey Kahne’s victory at Bristol last August.
Manufacturers’ Championship 2007 Point Standings
Chevy 240
Ford 186
Dodge 144
Toyota 134Up Next: Arizona.Travel 200 At Phoenix International Raceway
A final race out west for the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007 waits next week at Phoenix International Raceway. The Arizona.Travel 200 will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Matt Kenseth won last year’s race from the Busch Pole; the second consecutive season a Roush Fenway Racing driver had done so. Carl Edwards won the 2005 fall event from the pole, the first driver in the first eight series races at the 1-mile track to accomplish the feat.
Greg Biffle, another Roush Fenway team member, is the only driver with multiple wins at Phoenix (2001, spring ’05). A driver now with Roush Fenway, Jamie McMurray, won in 2004.
Jason Leffler owns two poles at Phoenix (2000, spring ’06), the most of any driver.
Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer, the Richard Childress Racing duo that has forged a stout lead in the owner points, have each won a race at Phoenix – Burton in 2000 and Wimmer in ’02.
Fast Facts
The Race: O’Reilly Challenge
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Nov. 3, 20071
The Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 3 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,244,106
2006 Winner: Kevin Harvick
2006 Pole: Mark Martin2007 Point Standings
Pos. Driver Points
1 Edwards 4,364
2 Reutimann 3,833
3 Leffler 3,606
4 Harvick 3,523
5 Ragan 3,464
6 Hamilton Jr. 3,313
7 Leicht 3,203
8 Ambrose 3,152
9 Biffle 3,136
10 Wallace 3,083Pre-Race Schedule:
Friday–Practice, 9-10:00 a.m.; Rookie Practice, 10:10-10:40 a.m.; Final Practice, 10:55-11:55 a.m.; Qualifying, 5:35 p.m. (impound).
- Additional Texas Busch Race Info at:
texasmotorspeedway.com
ESPN.com Busch page
TheHotLap.com
Catchfence.com Busch site
NASCAR.com