Pole-starter a solid pick; Hamlin to drop to rear after engine change
Because Phoenix is a rhythm track, practices are the most important sessions of the weekend. Drivers with good records often jump to the top of the speed charts immediately, but there is plenty of time for others to erase the deficit.
Qualification did not hold very many surprises with pre-race favorites occupying the first four rows, but practice helped clarify who should be this week’s favorites and dark horses.
Mark Martin was listed as a dark horse in this week’s fantasy preview based largely on his modest salary cap. He confirmed his worth and should actually be elevated to favored status based on his pole winning run, plus his fastest laps in both of Saturday practices.
Phoenix has not been very kind to Jimmie Johnson since it was reconfigured and repaved in fall 2011. He knows he needs to improve on this track, particularly because it hosts a Chase race, so he entered the Dollar General 200 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The extra seat time contributed to a qualification effort of third for the Subway Fresh Fit 500, but most importantly he posted the fastest 10-lap average in the first practice session and the fifth-best average in Happy Hour.
Danica Patrick struggled in qualification, but improved to 35th in Saturday morning’s session; she was 34th in Happy Hour. This is a track that rewards seat time. It is important to note that she improved from a qualification of 37th last fall to finish 17th. In fact, she improved over qualifications in all but two of her attempts last year.
Denny Hamlin felt a vibration in practice and the team has elected to change engines. Dropping to the rear of the field to start the race certainly does not help matters any, and it could keep the No. 11 from getting the track position needed to win the race, but he should be able to earn a top-10 and possibly add to his two-race streak of top-fives. Players should take note that his official starting position is still eighth, which what the pass differential will be based on.
One of this week’s dark horse selections, Aric Almirola did not make very much noise in practice or qualification. He rolls off the grid mid-pack in 18th and posted only the 27th-fastest lap in Saturday morning’s session. His fastest lap in Happy Hour improved to 12th-best, but his 10-lap average in that session ranked in the middle of the chart. At 312 miles in length, this is a sprint by NASCAR standards and that does not give him much time to work on the car.
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Crossover gates to be one focus of inquiry
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR will bring in outside experts to examine potential changes to race track fencing in the wake of last weekend’s accident at Daytona that injured several spectators, and could apply any short-term improvements to the next restrictor-plate event at Talladega in May.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s senior vice president for race operations, said Saturday that the car of Kyle Larson, which flew up into the Daytona catchfence, will be reconstructed at the sport’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. The sport will also involve outside experts, including SAFER barrier developer Dean Sicking and fence engineering firms, to examine potential improvements that could include the relocation of crossover gates.
“To do this right, we’ve got to take the time to reconstruct the car, reconstruct the fence, reconstruct the accident,” O’Donnell said at Phoenix International Raceway, “and then go out and say — OK, here’s what we know happened, and what would prevent that moving forward?”
Larson’s car flipped onto the frontstretch fence as part of a massive final-lap accident that marred last Saturday’s Nationwide Series opener. Although all the drivers involved walked away, several spectators were injured after parts of Larson’s car — including the tires and engine — penetrated the fencing. Two of those spectators remain hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
O’Donnell said Larson’s car and its parts were impounded by NASCAR, and initially remained in Daytona so track officials and their fencing experts could inspect the wreckage. The vehicle is now on its way to North Carolina, where it will be examined both by NASCAR engineers as well as the Turner Scott Motorsports employees who built it.
“The team hasn’t had a chance to look at it,” O’Donnell said. “We want to talk abut how car was constructed, how it was fabricated, what we can learn jointly as they look at the car.”
Outside experts will also be involved. O’Donnell said NASCAR would include Dr. Dean Sicking, director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who worked closely with NASCAR to develop the SAFER barrier, as well as officials from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and fence engineering firms. It was a collaboration with a fence engineering firm that led to a new fence at Daytona in the wake of a 2009 accident at Talladega that involved Carl Edwards’ car flying up into the catchfence, and debris from the vehicle getting into the grandstands.
One focus of the investigation will be crossover gates. Larson’s car impacted the Daytona fence at the site of a gate, which allows access from the grandstand to the infield. O’Donnell said NASCAR will look at the placement of gates specifically as it applies to Talladega, given the similarities between that track and Daytona.
“I think because of where it hit, it having pieces that did get through, and it being a gate area, I think that’s really going to be the focus for us,” he said. “We’ll certainly look at fencing in general. But I think that particular area, the fact that it is a gate, did that impact it. We know the gate was locked, we know it was secure, but does that provide as much stability as the rest of the fencing? We believed it did. But we’ve got to now take a look at that based on this impact.”
O’Donnell said the search for fencing improvements will involve all tracks, but restrictor-plate venues — where vehicles are more likely to become airborne — will come first.
“Superspeedway racing at Daytona and Talladega is going to be the first concentration for us,” O’Donnell said. “We have a race coming up in May at Talladega, so anything we can learn in the in the immediate future that we can apply to Talladega, we’ll do that.”
O’Donnell also addressed other issues Saturday:
— The injury Nationwide driver Michael Annett suffered in an earlier crash last week, he said, is concerning. Annett suffered a fractured and dislocated sternum in a head-on crash, and Thursday required surgery that used a metal plate and screws to pull his sternum back to its original position. Although Annett is already out of the hospital, he could miss up to two months.
“That’s an injury that we have not seen for some time now,” O’Donnell said. “So we’re going to look through that car now … That’s something that we’ve got to take a hard look at it, and make sure all the things that were in place worked for Michael, and anything we can improve on, we will.”
— Nationwide driver Jeremy Clements, recently suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for using a racial slur in front of an MTV reporter at Daytona, will work with Richard Lapchick, who founded the Center for the Study of Sport in Society and is now chair of the sports business program at the University of Central Florida. Lapchick is renowned for his efforts in furthering diversity and human rights activism within sports.
“We’ll have Jeremy work with Dr. Richard Lapchick,” O’Donnell said, “and get him back in the race car as soon as possible, and as soon as we deem fit.”
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Auberlen, Dalla Lana 2-for-2 in Turner BMWs
Austin, Texas — The Red Dragon returned to Victory Lane in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series after a long absence Saturday. Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney won the GRAND-AM of The Americas Presented by GAINSCO and TOTAL in their No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP in an unpredictable race on the 3.4-mile Circuit Of The Americas.
The pole-winning car led the final seven laps – its only stint out front – as Fogarty and Gurney won in the Rolex Series for the first time since late 2011. The GAINSCO/Bob Stallings crew appeared destined for a runner-up finish until Brendon Hartley in the leading No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley made contact with a GT car and stopped off circuit.
Gurney was one of the first drivers to make his final pit stop, which came 20 minutes before the race’s last full-course yellow. As each of the cars in front of Gurney pitted, he moved up to second at the restart.
“It’s great to be back,” Gurney said. “We finished second quite a few times last year, and man, what a day! We pushed it so hard the whole way. It was an incredible battle at the end with [Ryan)] Dalziel and [Scott] Pruett, and it feels amazing to hold them off. We had 500 GAINSCO guests today, and we created 500 new racing fans. They were all going crazy.”
Dalziel and Alex Popow were second in the No. 2 Starworks Ford/Riley. Championship leaders Pruett and Memo Rojas were third in the No. 01 TELMEX Target Chip Ganassi Racing BMW/Riley.
In GT, Bill Auberlen went from 12th to a class victory in Turner Motorsport’s No. 94 BMW M3. He and Paul Dalla Lana capped a remarkable day after winning in the Grand Sport class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge on Saturday morning. They are the only drivers to win races in both series on the same day, having previously accomplished the feat in 2011 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In the Rolex Series race, they came from two laps down after an early spin on the uphill run to Turn 1.
Auberlen made what turned out to be the winning pass with seven minutes left when he got around Andy Lally in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 Cup. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 crossed the finish line first in the GT class but was assessed a one-lap, plus 90-second penalty after the race for avoidable contact with Lally five minutes from the end.
“I didn’t see what happened with Andy and the Ferrari, but it slowed Lally down and he came back to me,” Auberlen said. “I had a move ready and I put it into action. It got tight, we bumped a few times and ran out a few times. Andy got mad, and I apologize if he felt I did him wrong, but I don’t race dirty. This was a great win for Turner. This team is good enough to win races, so there’s no reason we shouldn’t try to win everything we get our hands on.”
Lally and John Potter were second, and the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3 Cup of Andrew Davis and Leh Keen finished third.
BGB Motorsports won in GX with drivers Dr. Jim Norman, Jeff Mosing and Spencer Pumpelly. The trio led all but 12 laps of the race, and Norman was two laps clear of Sylvain Tremblay in the No. 70 Speedsource Mazda 6 GX at the checkered flag. Tremblay, who drove with Tom Long, lost time with a fuel line issue.
The next Rolex Series race is the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, April 6.
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Busch overcomes pit road penalty to take back first
RELATED: Dollar General 200 results
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Nothing was going to keep Kyle Busch out of Victory Lane on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.
Not a pit road speeding penalty. Not a spate of cautions that kept bunching the field. Not Brad Keselowski, who in the past has found magic out front on old tires.
The prohibitive favorite in the Dollar General 200 after he won the pole in a laydown earlier in the day, Busch overcame a speeding penalty that dropped him to 22nd position for a restart on Lap 44.
That was a momentary setback. Working his way through traffic in short order, Busch passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead on Lap 89. He lost the top spot briefly by pitting under caution on Lap 152, as Keselowski and three other drivers remained on the track, but Busch regained the lead on Lap 164, clearing Keselowski as the cars streaked into Turn 3.
Busch stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was his first in the No. 54 Toyota and a record 52nd in the Nationwide Series.
“It’s great to be back, working with (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and these guys,” said Busch, who was winless last year in the Nationwide Series driving for his own team. “It was a bummer deal not to be able to get a win at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) last year, but (owner) Joe (Gibbs) putting me back in his operation and being back with the Joe Gibbs Racing side of things and Mark Cronquist engines, it’s a phenomenal day for us to get back to Victory Lane, to feel the taste of it again."
"I was almost nervous, feeling like it was my first win, although it’s win No. 52 in the series. It’s nice to be back.”
Keselowski held second by stretching his fuel to the end without pitting. Justin Allgaier ran third and leaves Phoenix tied for the series lead with Sam Hornish Jr., who came home seventh. Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler completed the top five. Jimmie Johnson, using a rare Nationwide Series appearance to get some extra laps on a track that has befuddled him since its resurfacing in 2011, finished 12th.
Even though he tried a contrarian strategy, Keselowski knew that tactics alone wouldn’t be enough to overcome Busch’s advantage in speed.
“I knew I had a shot if something happened to Kyle, and we had to put ourselves in position for good things to happen,” Keselowski said. “But Kyle’s car was so fast. I probably could have had four tires and he could have had none, and it still wouldn’t have mattered. He’d still have drove through the field.
“When you have that much speed, you’re pretty much immune to strategy.”
Beginning his fifth full season of Nationwide racing, Allgaier is off to the best start of his career.
"The first five (races) kind of get you kicked off for the next 10 or 15,” Allgaier said. “This has been huge for us, for Turner Scott Motorsports. Our program has come a long way during the offseason. I’ll be the first to tell you that, at the end of the year last year, we were kind of scratching our heads. We knew we had a great organization. We just didn’t know what we were missing.
“Everybody at the team really buckled down… This is the strongest season start I’ve had. I hope we can keep that going and transfer it into a championship.”
The race wasn’t two laps old when Johanna Long drove hard into Turn 3 and tagged the back of the Ford of Hornish, the series leader entering the race. With the front of her car damaged by the contact, Long slapped the wall exiting Turn 4, triggering a chain-reaction wreck that collected five other cars, including those of Hornish (who had fallen behind her) and Travis Pastrana.
"I don’t know; it just took off on me," Long said of her contact with the wall. "I got in a little too hard, there (into) Hornish, felt bad, got under him. I got into the gas, and it just took off.
"I definitely didn’t want to finish like this. It’s really disheartening. I feel really bad. I don’t know what else to say."
The aftermath of the wreck turned bizarre when the scoring transponder from Jamie Dick’s car (another victim of the accident) lodged in the nose of Hornish’s Ford. Though Hornish lost two laps on pit road while the transponder was removed, NASCAR restored the No. 12 to the lead lap because the extraction — to prevent Dick’s car from being scored improperly — was ordered by the sanctioning body.
Hornish’s travails weren’t quite over. After restarting sixth on Lap 109, Hornish spun in Turn 2 a lap later to bring out the fifth caution but remained on the lead lap. The nose and hood of his car heavily taped, Hornish salvaged the seventh-place finish.