by Jay | Apr 9, 2012 | Connecticut, Modified, NASCAR, Thompson, Touring Series News
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Set To Open At Thompson
Icebreaker Begins Season For 11th Straight Year
The 2012 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is set to take the green flag in the traditional season-opening Icebreaker weekend at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on Sunday, April 15.
Picking up where the 2011 season left off, and where Ron Silk captured his first championship, the Whelen Modified Tour returns to the high banks at Thompson to begin its 28th season of competition. The .625-mile oval in northeast Connecticut has played host to more events than any other facility in the Tour’s history: the 2012 Icebreaker will be the 117th there since 1985.
Silk celebrated the 2011 championship at Thompson in the season finale last October, and he’ll open his title defense at a track where he’s won three times previously and has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his last 13 visits. The Norwalk, Conn., native will be looking for his first win in the Icebreaker, an event where he’s finished on the podium just once in six previous tries.
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by Jay | Apr 1, 2012 | NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Touring Series News
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — In the wake of a controversial late-race caution, Ryan Newman spoiled an afternoon of Hendrick hegemony with an opportunistic victory in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup photos
After Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson dominated the action for 497 laps, an untimely caution flag flew on Lap 497 and sent the race to overtime, after David Reutimann stalled on the frontstretch.
Gordon and Johnson stayed out on old tires as the lead-lap cars behind them came to the pits for tires and fuel. On the restart on lap 504, Clint Bowyer took Johnson and Gordon three-wide into the first corner, and all three cars spun, ruining a potential 200th victory party for Hendrick Motorsports.
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by Jay | Apr 1, 2012 | NASCAR, Touring Series News, Trucks
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kevin Harvick may have relinquished ownership in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, but he hasn’t lost any speed in the process.
Martinsville Speedway Truck Race Photos
Harvick crushed the rest of the field in Saturday’s Kroger 250, winning in seemingly effortless fashion by .953 seconds over Richard Childress Racing teammate Ty Dillon.
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by Jay | Apr 1, 2012 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Touring Series News
Greenville, SC – Hattori Racing Enterprises driver, Brett Moffitt overcame odds to finish 4th and Sergio Pena experienced engine failure to finish 29th in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville, SC on Saturday March, 31, 2012.
Both cars were fast in practice. Pena topped the charts for both practices of the afternoon. Moffitt was 2nd quick in the first practice and 14th quick in the second practice though they did not do a mock qualifying run.
“The car was real good in race trim,” explained Grimes, IA native, Brett Moffitt. “We just fine tuned it and worked on our race set up during practice.” “We drew the first qualifying position so we are a little worried about that, but the car is good so we will be fine.”
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by Jay | Mar 31, 2012 | NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Touring Series News
Team Chevy Drivers Occupy Three of the Top-5 Starting Positions For Sunday’s Race
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kasey Kahne No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, earned his second straight pole in NASCAR Sprint Cup series (NSCS) competition in the past four weeks, and fifth top-10 start in 2012, by capturing the top spot in today’s qualifying session at the .586-mile Virginia short track. It was Kasey’s 24th career Coors Light Pole Award but was his first career NSCS pole at Martinsville Speedway in 17 races.
A total of 46 cars took turns at the front row for Sunday’s race and when the 43-car field was set, Chevy drivers took the front row and three of the top-5 starting spots for the 500-lap race. Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser is Back Chevrolet, held the top spot until being bumped by Kahne by a mere 0.016 seconds. It is the best qualifying effort (barring events where the race was set by points) since Phoenix International Raceway in November of 2006 for Harvick. It was also his fourth top-10 start of 2012.
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by Jay | Mar 25, 2012 | NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Touring Series News
Race Photos
FONTANA, Calif. — Tony Stewart made all the right moves Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, and the last one proved decisive in taking the three-time champion to Victory Lane in the rain-shortened Auto Club 400.
After raindrops slowed the race on Lap 124, Stewart, the race leader, faked a move toward pit road but stayed on the track and matched the pace car’s speed of 65 mph, a far cry from the lightning-fast laps he ran under the green flag.
But that move — staying out and running slow caution laps before NASCAR stopped the race on Lap 129 — proved decisive for the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, who claimed his second victory of the season, his second at Fontana and the 46th of his career, tying him with Buck Baker for 14th on the career victory list.
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