Posted on by Brad Norman

Points leader Smith unhappy with wreck that costs him top-five finish

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — This was going to be the race where NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers finally put a dent into Regan Smith’s points lead.

Smith had a 58-point lead entering Saturday’s Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards, his standing boosted by two wins and 11 consecutive top-10s. But the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet had never raced at the 4.048-mile Road America course, and his attempts at practice on Friday came during and after rainy weather.

Drivers expected — or perhaps, simply hoped — that Smith might have an off day and they could gain in the points standings.

One of those two things happened. Smith put to rest the notion he wouldn’t be competitive at the track, running in the top five as the laps ticked off, but a late-race wreck dropped him well out of contention and out of the top 30.

"If that’s how we have to start racing, then we’ll start playing the game dirty, too.”

— Regan Smith

Smith wasn’t alone in losing ground due to accidents. There were eight cautions on the day and two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, but the crash with the biggest figurative impact came when Parker Kligerman nosed Owen Kelly’s No. 54 Toyota, sending it flying into the back of Smith’s car and spinning out the series points leader.

“The 77 car evidently had more car than he had talent and decided to (push) it up in there and wreck us all,” Smith said after the race by his hauler. “That’s disappointing, and that’s the crappy part about this type of racing. No matter where your talent level is, if you can drive in and bury your car in there and wreck five guys, then you’re probably going to have a good day. I don’t race that way, and this team doesn’t race that way.”

The wreck knocked Smith down to a 32nd-place finish, and he wasn’t near the front of the pack when AJ Allmendinger outdueled Justin Allgaier, Kligerman and Kelly for the first win of his NASCAR career.

With his second-place finish, Allgaier lopped Smith’s lead in the points standings from 58 to 28. Kligerman, with the car of his hood dented from multiple incidents and the back all torn up, gained two spots in the standings with the highest Nationwide Series finish of his career.

The late-race contact amongst drivers comes with the territory, he said.

“Any time you take a car that isn’t meant to be on a road course … you’re probably going to end up with a lot of cars smashing into each other, especially in a field as close as we have in terms of talent and equipment level,” said Kligerman, whose helmet ventilation system stopped working on Lap 1. “You end up with a lot of close racing. We have fenders on ’em, and we’re going to run into each other.

“You’re going to get tempers flaring because you don’t see this type of racing anywhere. It’s just complete chaos toward end of race, all you hope is that you put yourself in the right place among chaos and things go your way.”

Kligerman was on the opposite end of a similar incident early in the race that knocked him from the lead and threatened to wreck his day. In the lead and heading into Turn 5 on Lap 19, Kligerman was sent spinning into the gravel pit off the course with a bump from Kelly.

It dropped the driver from first to 28th place, but served only as a speed bump.

Kelly was involved in the action throughout the afternoon. The 36-year-old Australian was brought into this race by Joe Gibbs Racing for his road-course prowess, and he didn’t back down from the full-time drivers on the circuit.

Kelly claimed responsibility for spinning Brendan Gaughan out, but said it wasn’t intentional. He also said he gave as good as he received in the final laps.

“Everybody takes their brain out and just throws it in the toolbox. It’s WWF wrestling there at the end,” Kelly said. “We were wrecked a couple of times, but still managed to get a top-five.”

Kelly won’t be around for any impending potential consequences from this race that tested the patience of every driver, but the incidents in the final laps are apt to linger in the mind for a while.

Especially for the series points leader.

“We took a bad (points) hit today,” Smith said. “With that said, I think everyone saw we had speed here and they pretty much know it’s going to take a lot to beat this team this year short of wrecking us every week. If that’s how we have to start racing, then we’ll start playing the game dirty, too.”

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Points leader Smith, others learn as they go in first road race of season

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Just hours into the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ first day at Road America, it was clear that this weekend would be unlike any on the schedule.

It wasn’t just one factor, either.

There was the course. A 4.048-mile winding, looping track with 14 turns nestled deep in the Wisconsin woods, Road America had drivers marveling. From the meticulousness with which it was crafted to the idyllic town of Elkhart Lake (Population: 967) where it resides, there’s not a place on the Nationwide Series circuit quite like it.

There was the weather. It rained Friday, as it has rained several Fridays during the Nationwide season. On this day, though, crew members strapped Goodyear rain tires on to their respective machines. One windshield wiper was added to the front, and a flashing red light — to help others with visibility — was added to the back. Racing in the rain is allowed — some would say encouraged — on road courses.

"A lot of good road course racers are here. We don’t have Jacques Villeneuve to drive us crazy, but the field in general is so strong. It’s going to be as competitive a race as you’ll find anywhere."
–Nelson Piquet Jr.

There was the entry list. There are several almost unrecognizable names among the 40 entrants. Owen Kelly. Billy Johnson. Johnny O’Connell. They are known as road-course ringers and were brought in by multiple owners solely for this race.

All of which makes the Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN) perhaps the most intriguing race of the season.

“Road America is very different than a lot of the road courses in North America,” said Michael McDowell, who finished second in the event here last season. “It’s one of the most, sort of what I call traditional (courses). … You think of the fast, narrow, daunting race tracks that North America used to be full of, and this is one of the great ones still left.”

Nestled on 640 acres, Road America is a place with its own vocabulary. There’s the long straightaway with the start/finish line before drivers turn right — yes, right — and head into Corvette Corral. They drive over a bridge, make a hard left, then another left to get to Johnsonville Bridge. Then it’s a sharp right-hand turn that puts them on Kettle Bottoms, a brief straight stretch before another hard right on Canada Corner that ultimately spits drivers back out onto the straightaway.

McDowell’s done the drill before. He’ll drive the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and joins Kelly, Johnson and O’Connell as a road-course specialist. Others brought to Road America for that reason include AJ Allmendinger and Derek White.

One name missing: Jacques Villeneuve, who made contact with Danica Patrick on the final lap to cause a big wreck in 2012, which added to a reputation NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers at Sonoma Raceway picked up on this weekend. Villeneuve is in the No. 51 Phoenix Racing entry for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

“A lot of good road course racers are here. We don’t have Jacques Villeneuve to drive us crazy, but the field in general is so strong,” said last year’s winner Nelson Piquet Jr. “It’s going to be as competitive a race as you’ll find anywhere.”

Piquet Jr. has positive memories of the track, given that his lone Nationwide Series victory occurred here last year. He wasn’t quite so optimistic Friday afternoon after posting a best average speed of 94.541 mph, good enough for 14th, in the opening practice session.

The opening session was run in rain, and it could be a precursor for the race.

Practice was delayed for 90 minutes due to lightning in the area, and that wasn’t the only bout of inclement weather. Rain fell hard and steadily, the wind whipped through the surrounding trees and roared down the straightaway, knocking over plastic trash cans and sending a couple of Porta-Johns skittering 30 feet down the pavement.

Crews struggled to keep their canopies over the cars during a strong weather surge that may be prevalent in the area again Saturday. Thunderstorms are expected in the morning and early afternoon.

“I’d rather it just stay dry,” said series points leader Regan Smith, a notion that was echoed by most drivers. “We’re able to drive in the wet, but then it becomes a whole ’nother deal. I was driving (during practice) and went around Turn 12 and looked in my mirror, and there was a car sideways coming straight at me. I’d rather not deal with conditions and guys driving over their head.”

Smith’s points lead over Sam Hornish Jr. grew to 58 points following his win last week at Michigan International Speedway. Still, though, the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet has never raced Road America. In fact, only six drivers on the entry list have competed in tge three previous races here — Justin Allgaier, Mike Bliss, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell, Brian Scott and Mike Wallace.

With so little cumulative experience at the track, drivers know just about anything can happen.

“A lot of people are still learning the race track,” Smith said. “For me personally, I know the car is better than I am because I’m not familiar with this place. But I’ll pick up on it quickly. We all will.”

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New qualifying rules could lend to some foul play, but drivers hope to have a "gentlemen’s agreement"

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SONOMA, Calif. — The new road course qualifying format for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, TNT) at Sonoma Raceway throws variables into the equation the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers haven’t had to consider in the past.

With cars qualifying in groups, rather than a single car for a single lap, will the fastest cars be able to get a clean run around the 1.99-mile track? Kurt Busch believes the Cup drivers will have an understanding during the qualifying laps.

“When we qualify, everybody that’s going to be in that fast group — and hopefully I’ll be in that group — we’ll just do one lap, and we’re all going to pull off after the finish line right behind the grandstands in Turn 1,” Busch told the NASCAR Wire Service.

“You don’t have to go the rest of the track and mosey around. You can get off the track quickly. You want to go out behind a guy that going to know to use his mirror and respect the guys behind him after he’s done his lap.”

Busch got his wish. With a lap in the first practice session at 93.430 mph, fourth behind Marcos Ambrose’s 94.049, Busch will qualify in the final group, with qualifying order set by practice speeds. All else being equal, the pole for Sunday’s race should come from the final group.

"You want to go out behind a guy that going to know to use his mirror and respect the guys behind him after he’s done his lap."

— Kurt Busch

That wasn’t the case last year during Busch’s debut at Road America in a Nationwide Series race. Because he was commuting between Sonoma and Elkhart Lake, Wis., Busch’s first track time at Road America was during qualifying, and the group-based format for time trials — already in place in the Nationwide Series — hurt him.

“I was on my third lap trying to post a lap, because it was my first trip to Road America,” Busch said. “I didn’t even practice at Road America last year. I just went there to qualify and to race, so I’m using qualifying as a practice session, and a couple of guys were in my way in the Carousel. It wasn’t their fault, but I needed that track time to get the lap time.”

With his momentum broken, Busch qualified 22nd. At Sonoma, however, he expects the Cup drivers to be more cognizant of fellow drivers.

“The Cup guys seem to yield to each other a little more easily, with the knowledge of where they are on the track and still somebody trying to post a lap,” said Busch, who finished third at Sonoma last year in the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. “The guys I had trouble with at Road America were rookies.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t potential complications.

If a driver makes a mistake on his first lap, he or she has the option of trying a second or even a third, time permitting. Each group will have five minutes to complete qualifying, starting with the green flag to the first car in the group.

“If you make a mistake, it gives you a second chance,” Ambrose said. “In the original one-lap format, if you made a mistake and you lost a second, you could lose 20 spots on the starting grid. With this format, if you make a mistake, you’ve got a second lap to make amends.

“You may not get the pole, and you may not go as fast as you could have on the first lap, but you’re still going to minimize the position loss. You’ve probably get a little more indicative lineup of cars based off their speed, because last year there was a bit of randomness, if you made a mistake.”

 

Best practices

There was a real sense of urgency in Friday’s first Cup practice, as drivers vied to be part of the final qualifying group on Saturday afternoon. Ambrose ran 12 laps during the session and posted the fastest speed (94.049 mph) on his 12th lap.

With the five quickest drivers in first practice comprising the final qualifying group, that group  (No. 8) will include Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya (93.890 mph), Casey Mears (93.535 mph), Kurt Busch (93.430 mph) and Jamie McMurray (93.421 mph).

Group No. 7 includes Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, defending race winner Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano. Series leader Jimmie Johnson, who spun during practice, will lead group No. 4 to the green flag.

 

Uncomfortable feel

Danica Patrick thought the combination of seven IndyCar starts at Sonoma and solid performances in NASCAR Nationwide Series road course races would help her in the NASCAR Sprint Cup car Friday.

Instead, she fought an unruly No. 10 Chevrolet throughout practice.

“I had hoped that being here before would have made it a little better for me out there, but it just didn’t,” Patrick told reporters Friday between practices. “The car just didn’t feel very good. It just feels like it’s all over the place — it’s loose, it’s tight, it’s loose, it’s tight.

“It just doesn’t feel very settled, so I feel that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Patrick was 31st fastest in opening practice, which puts her sixth in group No. 3 for Saturday’s time trials, right behind her nemesis, Jacques Villeneuve, who dumped Patrick out of a top-five finish at Road America last year.

 

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Last year’s Sprint Cup runner-up calls former F1 champ a ‘train wreck’

SONOMA, Calif. – Other than a polite hello, Danica Patrick said she had very little to say to Jacques Villeneuve during what could be considered a rather intimate rookie drivers meeting before Friday practice at Sonoma Raceway.

It was a more cordial exchange than she would have offered a year ago when the former Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One world champ Villeneuve turned Patrick on the final lap of a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America.

The incident is still up for debate.

"Train wreck, extremely fast train, but usually ends up derailed somehow. I don’t mean that rude. There has to be a level of respect…"
–Clint Bowyer

“I was like, ‘Oh, … hey’ and that was about it,’’ Patrick said of greeting Villeneuve on Friday.

“After the things that have happened, it’s hard to have a lot of respect for somebody like that. I respect what he’s done in his career, but the way he treats other drivers on the track, I can’t (respect that). That’s all there is to say.’’

Actually, drivers had plenty to say about Villeneuve’s entry in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, TNT). And much of it wasn’t warm and fuzzy.

Although a champion and well-respected open-wheel racer, the Canadian has developed a reputation as a ready-to-tangle road course ace, more than willing to use his bumper if necessary in his limited stock car appearances.

Defending Sonoma winner Clint Bowyer was direct when asked what came to mind when he found out Villeneuve would be racing this weekend.

“Train wreck, extremely fast train, but usually ends up derailed somehow,’’ Bowyer said. “I don’t mean that rude. There has to be a level of respect, and it doesn’t matter if you’re racing for points throughout the season, or just show up and race against the peers of one of the premier levels of all of motorsports.

“If that respect is not there, you’re not going to come in and beat and bang on this bunch for long, and you’re probably going to be frustrated by the end of the day. That’s not a threat or anything else. We’ve all seen what will happen in those Nationwide races, and it was too bad because there seemed to be one common denominator in a lot of the cautions that came out."

The dust-up with Patrick occurred while she, Max Papis and Villeneuve were contending for fourth place in the Nationwide race at Road America. And Villeneuve insisted this week at Sonoma that it was unintentional contact and the resulting brouhaha was overblown.

Same with a much-hyped run-in with Marcos Ambrose in a Nationwide race at Montreal in 2011.

“I don’t know what happened with this image of a reckless driving thing,’’ Villeneuve said Friday. “It got taken out of proportion. I understand the guys that race here, that’s what they read. But they have to understand.

“I’ve raced Marcos and ran into him just because I made a mistake, and he ended up winning the race anyway. Aggressive is good, but you still need to stay clean. Bending fenders can happen but not just taking people out on purpose, which is not something I normally do.

“When you’re racing, anything can happen, but there’s a difference between making a mistake and taking someone out. I really don’t want to ever take anyone out.’’

As for the incident with Patrick, the 11-time F1 winner Villeneuve still insists there was nothing intentional. He’s not looking for a feud.

“It started with Elkhart Lake and that was a stupid move, and I took two cars out and that was just not a good day,’’ Villeneuve continued. “There’s nothing to talk about with Danica. She was racing Papis there. She wasn’t even racing me.

“When you hit the brakes at that point, there’s nothing you can do, and she just got caught up in that incident. I don’t understand this huge reaction that happened afterward, it was as if I’d done something on purpose. I got taken out earlier by (Michael) McDowell and nobody cares, they thought that was great. Same thing at Montreal, I got taken out leading the last lap, and that was (considered) great.

“It’s something I don’t understand, you know. Mistakes will happen and sometimes you get caught in mistakes that aren’t even your making. The perception that came out of it was enormous, and it’s still bad now. I guess too bad, I am stuck with that now.’’

Villeneuve was 30th in the opening practice and spun in the second. But as NASCAR fate so often has it, Villeneuve will qualify in the same group as Patrick. He will go to track just after Patrick’s boyfriend, fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and just before Patrick.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Former champ has struggled at road courses in years past, but is determined to change things up

Related: Practice results | Weekend schedule | Latest news

SONOMA, Calf. — Matt Kenseth is a two-time Daytona 500 winner, claimed the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and an IROC title the following season competing against the sport’s very best.

He’s won 27 Cup races, including three of the first 15 this season — a feat matched only by points leader Jimmie Johnson. Throughout a stellar career, Kenseth’s proven himself a force on superspeedways, short tracks and plenty of the 1.5-milers that crowd the Cup schedule.

The only thing missing from his impressive resume? A road course trophy.

"I don’t know exactly why it is,’’ Kenseth said Friday just before opening practice for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m ET, TNT).

“I’ve always really enjoyed Watkins Glen.  This track has been a little bit more of a struggle. They’re really, really different. Everybody groups road courses together — it’s kind of like grouping ovals together. These two tracks, in my opinion, couldn’t be any different.  

"You are always working to get better everywhere."

— Matt Kenseth

“This one’s always been very challenging for me. It’s really narrow. It’s really slick.  It’s just been a bad challenge. We only go to two road courses so they kind of group them all together. I don’t know. Just felt like I have been very good at it. So, hopefully I’ll be better at it this week."

Then Kenseth added with a straight face and tongue in cheek, “Can’t you see the optimism oozing out of me?”

When NASCAR arrives at the 12-turn, 1.99-mile Sonoma Raceway course through scenic Northern California wine country, typically there are a handful of drivers that don’t fare well otherwise, but consider a road course their best shot to win.

Yet for Kenseth, who has won everywhere else, the opposite has been true.

He has only one top-five finish at either the Sonoma course or the historic Watkins Glen, N.Y. course the series visits later in the summer.

For a driver who has had enjoyed so much success elsewhere, his results on the road courses may surprise.

In 13 Cup seasons, Kenseth doesn’t have a single top-five on either road course venue and has led only one lap in the 26 races combined.

He has only a single top-10 — eighth place in 2008 — in 13 Sonoma starts and four top-10s in 13 Watkins Glen races — an eighth place there last year his best effort.

So how can a champion who’s so good everywhere else struggle on one particular brand of racing?

Sonoma’s all-time winningest driver Jeff Gordon says, don’t be so quick to question Kenseth. There are more factors that go into it, he reminded.

“How did the other Roush-Fenway (Racing) cars do in that time?,’’ Gordon asked, referring to Kenseth’s previous 12-year tenure with the Ford team.

To his point, Roush has only four road course victories in the Cup Series and none since 1997. Mark Martin was responsible for them all — once at Sonoma (1997) and an impressive three-peat at Watkins Glen (1993-95).

“I think a lot of it has to do with your willingness to explore and enjoy the adventure that it is,’’ Gordon said. “Then your team has to back that up with the right car, brakes, setup for you to do what you need to do.

“Matt’s a great driver and I’m sure if the car’s where it needs to be, he’ll be a threat for a win.

The struggles have perplexed Kenseth as well, who says he likes this style of racing just fine. He doesn’t have a single DNF and his average finishes are a respectable 17th at Sonoma and 15th at Watkins Glen.

Like several other drivers, Kenseth’s Joe Gibbs Racing team did test at Virginia International Raceway in preparation for the road course portion of the schedule to “get back into the swing of things.’’

He was 17th fastest in the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota during opening practice Friday and will be in the fifth of eight groups to qualify Saturday.

“You are always working to get better everywhere,’’ Kenseth said, acknowledging few teams use an official test date at a NASCAR road course.

“It’s hard to really work at it besides to study and think about it and look over information and watch races and do things like that with a limited amount of testing.

“We aren’t going to burn a test up to come all the way out here. So, when you only get to do it twice a year it’s hard to really work at it a whole lot, but certainly I work at it as hard as I can."

All kidding aside, Kenseth said he’s never felt better coming to a road course.

“Our cars have been pretty fast everywhere,’’ Kenseth said. “I’m more optimistic today than I’ve ever been on a Friday coming to Sonoma. You don’t know what the day holds or the rest of the weekend holds, but I feel alright about it."

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Posted on by Staff Report

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NASCAR.com’s RaceView Premium for PC is now offered at a reduced, half-season rate.      
 
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11/3

AAA Texas 500

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11/9

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Homestead

 

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Road racing veterans Ambrose, Montoya finish 1-2 in opening practice before defending winner Bowyer takes final session

Related: Practice results | Weekend schedule | Latest news

SONOMA, Calif. – Road racing veterans Marcos Ambrose and defending race winner Clint Bowyer split leaderboard honors in a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices Friday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway.
 
Ambrose – who has two Sprint Cup wins to his credit, but none on the 1.99-mile Sonoma track – clocked a series-best lap of 94.049 mph with about 10 minutes left in the 1 hour, 45-minute opening session. The Australian driver for the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford won the Coors Light Pole Award for this event last season.
 
Bowyer, who scored a dominant breakthrough win on a road course in last year’s race, topped the 90-minute final practice with a lap at 94.556 mph as speeds picked up over the first session.
 
Montoya, the former Colombian open-wheel star who scored the first of his two Sprint Cup wins at Sonoma in 2007, was second-fastest in the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in the opening session. Native Californian Casey Mears, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray completed the top five.

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The speeds in the first practice set the groupings for the Sprint Cup Series’ first experience with European-style group qualifying Saturday. That means that the fastest five drivers will go out in a group with five-second intervals between them as they leave pit road.
 
Bowyer was followed by McMurray, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Montoya in the top five during finalpractice. Ten drivers eclipsed the 94-mph plateau in the second session, compared to only Ambrose in the first.
 
A handful of solo spins as drivers made mock qualifying runs in the second session created highlights. Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski slid off the road in Turn 10 early in the 90-minute session, just minutes before Ryan Newman looped his car at the top of the hill in Turn 2.
 
Points leader Jimmie Johnson skidded into a long slide in Turn 10, but escaped damage. The same couldn’t be said for Denny Hamlin, who creased the right-rear of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the same corner. The team opted against deploying a backup car for Sunday’s race.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Driver has two top-fives, but a Sonoma victory eludes Ambrose

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SONOMA, Calif. — Of the 11 races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup postseason deadline, two are on road courses. With that sort of schedule, it stands to reason that road racer extraordinaire Marcos Ambrose has more than a puncher’s chance.

While the familiarity and special knack for road racing favors Ambrose in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, TNT) at Sonoma Raceway, it also creates a double-edged sword of pressure. With heavier expectations on his shoulders given his fair to middling performance on ovals this season, the burden of bettering his Wild-Card status will be even more crucial here Sunday.

Ambrose has his work cut out for him. He currently ranks 23rd in Sprint Cup points, having led just one lap all season with two top-10 finishes in 15 races so far. The Australian driver will need to push into the 11th to 20th range in the standings, plus nag a win or two to improve his eligibility for a Wild-Card spot.

“I’m very mindful that we’ve had a terrible year and this is a really good opportunity to get your year back on track, so certainly there is added pressure there,” Ambrose said Friday. “I would love to be top 10 in points coming into this weekend and just rolling through like a normal one, but it’s not for us. We need to turn our year around and this is a good opportunity for us, so we’re looking to break out and have a good weekend if we can. That does add pressure, but that’s just part of the job.”

"We feel like we’ve got as good a shot as anyone here to win it."

— Marcos Ambrose

Given the emphasis, Richard Petty Motorsports spent one of its in-season test sessions here, hoping to gain an edge with the sixth-generation stock car that debuted at Daytona in February. Ambrose made it clear that his background and road-racing savvy won’t be an advantage in itself, given the increase in parity in the Sprint Cup field on road courses.

“I think the level of competition continues to get stronger in NASCAR, it just has to,” Ambrose said. “There’s more money in the sport and more at stake, so everyone is putting a lot of effort in, and the level of driver on road courses is as high as anywhere I’ve seen, so there’s no gimme. If you look down the sheet of people who can win, there’s at least 20 drivers that could win. Would you have put Clint Bowyer on that list last year when he went around here? Probably not, so it could be even thicker than that. It could be thirty-odd drivers that have a chance to win.”

Bowyer, who secured his first road course triumph in this event last season, jokingly said that Ambrose’s remarks were “kind of mean” before reminding the media of the Aussie’s 2011 defeat at Sonoma when he lost positions under caution after his car stalled. But the defending race winner was quick to mention that Ambrose’s skill on the winding courses is uncanny.

“He is amazing,” Bowyer said. “To watch him, last year I remember, his car was terrible and he had that thing hung out driving absolute daylights out of it and you see that and you’re like, ‘Man, I hope I don’t ever get that thing pointed in the right direction and rolling good because he’s going to be a handful,’ and he usually is and I think he will be this year.”

Ambrose secured the Coors Light Pole Award for this race last season, but faded after the drop of the green flag to an eighth-place finish with an ill-handling car. It marked his fourth straight top-10 finish on the California track, but clearly the affable Aussie is hungry for more.

“This track has certainly eluded me for the victory,” Ambrose said. “Some things were in my control and some have been outside, but this track is tough. It’s not gonna give it to you and we feel like we’ve got as good a shot as anyone here to win it."

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Posted on by Staff Report

Cars divided into groups for road course qualifying laps, 2 p.m. ET, SPEED


SONOMA, Calif. – The groupings for the first European-style road course group qualifying session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are set, based on the results of Friday afternoon’s first practice at Sonoma Raceway.

Each of the eight groups, ranked slowest to fastest, will get five minutes of on-track time to record their best lap. Cars will be sent onto the 1.99-mile road course in five-second intervals.

The fastest five drivers from opening practice will go last. The starting lineup for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, TNT) will be set by fastest qualifying laps as usual.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

25th Annual Toyota/Save Mart "350" Qualifying Groups

Sonoma Raceway 1.99 miles


Qualifying Date: June 22, 2013 Race Date: June 23, 2013

Group 1

1) No. 30 David Stremme Lean 1 / Raley’s / Swan Energy Toyota

2) No. 36 Victor Gonzalex Jr. IMCA Dominican Republic Chevy

3) No. 7 Justin Marks GoPro Chevy

4) No. 52 Paulie Harraka(i) Hasa Pool Products Ford

5) No. 37 JJ Yeley Chevy

6) No. 87 Tomy Drissi TheWolverineMovie.Com Toyota

Group 2

1) No. 34 David Ragan Taco Bell Ford

2) No. 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver’s Ford

3) No. 32 Boris Said Hendrickcars.com Ford

4) No. 83 David Reutimann Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota

5) No. 35 Josh Wise(i) MDS Transport Ford

6) No. 19 Alex Kennedy MediaMaster Toyota

Group 3

1) No. 33 Ron Fellows Canadian Tire Chevy

2) No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevy

3) No. 55 Justin Bowles(i) RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota

4) No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Ford EcoBoost Ford

5) No. 51 Jacques Villeneuve Tag Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear Chevy

6) No. 10 Danica Patrick # GoDaddy.com Chevy

Group 4

1) No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevy

2) No. 31 Jeff Burton Utility Trailers Chevy

3) No. 93 Travis Kvapil Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota

4) No. 47 Bobby Labonte Kingsford Toyota

5) No. 43 Aric Almirola Farmland Ford

Group 5

1) No. 39 Ryan Newman HAAS Automation 30th Anniversary Chevy

2) No. 20 Matt Kenseth Home Depot / Husky Toyota

3) No. 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota

4) No. 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford

5) No. 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevy

Group 6

1) No. 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevy

2) No. 29 Kevin Harvick Rheem Chevy

3) No. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota

4) No. 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops Chevy

5) No. 27 Paul Menard Menards / MOEN Chevy

Group 7

1) No. 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford

2) No. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford

3) No. 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota

4) No. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota

5) No. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford

Group 8

1) No. 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford

2) No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevy

3) No. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Ford

4) No. 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing / Sealy Chevy

5) No. 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevy

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Posted on by Brad Norman

A year removed from first Nationwide win, Brazilian expects more competition

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — In 2012, there was no doubt Nelson Piquet Jr. was one of the favorites to win at Road America.

A full-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the time, Piquet was second-fastest in the opening practice, third-fastest in the final practice and qualified on the Coors Light Pole.

So when he led 19 laps, including the final 17, to win in just his third career NASCAR Nationwide Series start, Piquet’s trip to Victory Lane was memorable, but not unexpected.

The driver expects a more difficult path this year.

"I think the field in general is stronger with the Nationwide guys, and then the guys who are strong on road courses. It’s going to be competitive and probably even a little bit harder."
–Nelson Piquet Jr.

“I think the field in general is stronger with the Nationwide guys, and then the guys who are strong on road courses,” Piquet said following a final practice run in which he finished seventh. “It’s going to be competitive and probably even a little bit harder. I think we’re going to be fighting up there in the top five. It’s just going to be who has a perfect day.”

Entering the Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards (Saturday, 5 p.m., ESPN), Piquet is 13th in the points standings. In 13 races, he has one top-10, a ninth-place showing last week at Michigan.

It’s been a frustrating experience for the 27-year-old Brazilian driver, who’s in his first year of driving the No. 30 Chevrolet for Turner Scott Motorsports.

“Obviously, I am frustrated with the results,” Piquet said. “We’re not where I wanted to be. Part of it is because it was a last-minute deal, the team was put together very quickly a few weeks before Daytona.

“We know we have a car that can constantly be running in the top 10, but we’re struggling to get those top-10s.”

First time for everything

Nationwide Series points leader Regan Smith studied film before coming to Road America.

With no experience at the track, Smith got his hands on TV footage and in-car cameras to try and get a feel for the course that winds through the Wisconsin woods.

It didn’t help.

“I thought I knew what I was preparing myself for, but I had no clue when I got out there,” Smith said following practice.  “At the end of a straightaway I saw an oak tree, and I didn’t know whether to turn left or right. I knew I was kind of in trouble.

“So studying the film does help, but doesn’t (replace) being here.”

Ready for the rain

Lightning in the area delayed the first scheduled Nationwide Series practice for 90 minutes. When the cars got the OK to go out on the track, it was going on three hours of raining.

Several teams opted to wait to see if the rain would halt (it did, eventually).

Not Michael McDowell. The runner-up in the 2012 race, McDowell is driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and was the first driver to steer his car onto the track.

“I actually was first on track, so I was looking forward to running in the rain just because there is a chance that we’ll have it (Saturday),” McDowell said. “So, I just wanted to experience the conditions. The hardest conditions anytime you have rain is that transition from rain to dry and knowing when to do it and how to do it and what it’s going to be like. So, I wanted to make sure that I had some time in the wet just to be prepared for that.”

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