The Passing Grade

There is plenty of excitement on NASCAR road courses; you just have to know where to look.

Infineon Raceway is listed as an 11-turn course, but that is a little misleading. The modern NASCAR circuit skips turns five and six, which comprise an inner loop. This part of the track was used when the series first started visiting Sonoma, but designers decided that the stock cars would perform better if a chute was added to connect turns four and seven.

They were right. The twisty segment that is currently avoided acted a lot like the current esses, only with drivers reaching much faster speeds. Not a lot of passing went on in this segment, but during the last five years, 11 percent of the total passes for position have come in turn seven. Another 10 percent come in the segment of turns two, three and four, which is an uphill climb following the start/finish line, but most of these passes are actually made in the final corner numbered "four A."

The grandstands at Infineon are located between turns 11 and one, which also provides a great view of turn 10, and there is a good reason for that. Thirty-two percent of the total passes for position come in the turn 11-12 complex—otherwise known as the hairpin and kink onto the front stretch. Another 27 percent of the passing occurs in turn 10, which comes at the end of a long sweeping left hand corner that is the culmination of the backstretch esses. That will continue to be the action spots on Sunday.

Some road racing specialists, however, have shown they can pass anywhere. Only two percent of the total passes have been made in the backstretch esses. Tony Stewart has been the king of turns eight and nine. Of the total 158 passes that have been made in that section during the last four years, Stewart has completed seven percent of them. The next most productive driver in this segment might surprise fantasy owners, however. Casey Mears has six percent of those passes to his credit and no one else has more than four.

Of course, Mears has had more opportunities to pass overall than most of the leaders. Drivers like Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Juan Montoya spend most of their time in the front of the pack and therefore don't have to overtake as many cars. With an average of 49.3 passes per race during the last four events (which is when NASCAR Statistical Services started tracking this stat), he has made the 10th most passes per race.

So who has had to pass the most cars? Among drivers with more than one start, Denny Hamlin leads the league. He's completed 64.7 passes per race in the three events he's run at Infineon. He's passed a lot of cars and that will get his fans up on their feet, but it hasn't always landed him at the very front of the pack. Hamlin finished 12th in 2006, was 10th in 2007, but only 27th last year.

Total Passes at Infineon

Driver	Races	Total	Avg. per race	Avg. Fin	Turn 1	Turn 2-4
Regan Smith	1	73	73.0	30.0	7	6
David Stremme	1	67	67.0	32.0	6	2
Denny Hamlin	3	194	64.7	16.3	20	12
Michael Waltrip	3	184	61.3	23.3	28	22
Brian Vickers	3	174	58.0	20.7	12	14
David Ragan	2	115	57.5	26.5	10	7
Bobby Labonte	4	229	57.3	31.3	36	22
J.J. Yeley	2	114	57.0	27.0	16	8
Clint Bowyer	3	165	55.0	8.0	26	9
Jeremy Mayfield	2	107	53.5	14.5	20	10
Travis Kvapil	2	103	51.5	21.5	23	7
Casey Mears	4	197	49.3	18.0	38	15
Tony Stewart	4	189	47.3	11.3	30	41
Kevin Harvick	4	187	46.8	23.3	54	17
Matt Kenseth	4	187	46.8	17.5	27	21
Ron Fellows	4	185	46.3	22.3	22	16
Joe Nemechek	4	184	46.0	28.0	35	17
Terry Labonte	4	183	45.8	16.8	28	11
Reed Sorenson	2	91	45.5	34.5	11	7
Martin Truex Jr.	3	133	44.3	18.3	27	23
Carl Edwards	4	176	44.0	17.8	27	20
Chris Cook	1	44	44.0	28.0	10	4
Jeff Gordon	4	172	43.0	11.0	21	14
Dave Blaney	4	171	42.8	29.8	29	26
Greg Biffle	4	170	42.5	8.5	34	21
David Gilliland	3	127	42.3	19.7	19	8
Elliott Sadler	4	169	42.3	11.8	33	16
Robby Gordon	4	169	42.3	27.0	42	26
Bill Elliott	1	42	42.0	19.0	5	0
Juan Montoya	2	84	42.0	3.5	18	13
Michael McDowell	1	40	40.0	21.0	6	4
Jeff Burton	4	159	39.8	13.3	34	13
Kasey Kahne	4	158	39.5	32.0	29	8
Kyle Busch	4	157	39.3	15.0	37	18
Patrick Carpentier	1	39	39.0	23.0	7	2
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	4	152	38.0	23.3	39	12
Jimmie Johnson	4	151	37.8	19.5	25	21
Boris Said	4	145	36.3	19.0	14	14
Jamie McMurray	4	140	35.0	21.5	29	21
Ryan Newman	4	138	34.5	9.5	23	10
Paul Menard	1	33	33.0	34.0	3	5
Scott Riggs	2	65	32.5	25.5	18	10
Mark Martin	2	64	32.0	14.0	8	11
Sam Hornish Jr.	1	30	30.0	31.0	5	0
Kurt Busch	4	114	28.5	15.5	22	6
Aric Almirola	1	27	27.0	28.0	8	0
Brian Simo	2	54	27.0	26.5	8	2
Marcos Ambrose	1	25	25.0	42.0	2	3
AJ Allmendinger	1	24	24.0	37.0	2	2
Sterling Marlin	3	59	19.7	37.0	12	8
David Reutimann	1	19	19.0	40.0	5	1
Max Papis	1	19	19.0	35.0	3	1
Tom Hubert	2	34	17.0	43.0	9	6
Mike Bliss	1	12	12.0	39.0	4	1
Brandon Ash	1	6	6.0	38.0	1	3
Total		6,249			1,067	617
Percentage					17%	10%

Driver		Turn 7	Turn 8	Turn 9	Turn 10	Turn 11-12
Regan Smith		6	1	0	22	31
David Stremme		2	3	0	25	29
Denny Hamlin		27	3	2	70	60
Michael Waltrip		23	1	6	38	66
Brian Vickers		28	2	1	37	80
David Ragan		7	4	2	36	49
Bobby Labonte		31	2	2	61	75
J.J. Yeley		15	1	4	32	38
Clint Bowyer		30	1	2	47	50
Jeremy Mayfield		7	2	1	27	40
Travis Kvapil		5	0	1	37	30
Casey Mears		15	6	3	51	69
Tony Stewart		23	5	6	43	41
Kevin Harvick		25	1	0	29	61
Matt Kenseth		26	4	2	53	54
Ron Fellows		18	5	0	73	51
Joe Nemechek		14	2	2	50	64
Terry Labonte		14	1	3	54	72
Reed Sorenson		3	2	1	32	35
Martin Truex Jr.		9	0	3	31	40
Carl Edwards		20	2	3	59	45
Chris Cook		3	0	1	11	15
Jeff Gordon		31	0	3	49	54
Dave Blaney		20	0	1	40	55
Greg Biffle		14	0	3	48	50
David Gilliland		11	2	1	47	39
Elliott Sadler		18	3	0	45	54
Robby Gordon		18	2	2	31	48
Bill Elliott		6	1	1	20	9
Juan Montoya		12	5	0	15	21
Michael McDowell		4	0	1	7	18
Jeff Burton		15	2	1	42	52
Kasey Kahne		8	0	1	58	54
Kyle Busch		18	3	2	47	32
Patrick Carpentier		2	1	0	8	19
Dale Earnhardt Jr.		24	2	2	22	51
Jimmie Johnson		17	2	3	38	45
Boris Said		24	0	1	44	48
Jamie McMurray		20	1	1	27	41
Ryan Newman		16	0	1	43	45
Paul Menard		2	0	0	10	13
Scott Riggs		2	1	0	10	24
Mark Martin		12	0	1	16	16
Sam Hornish Jr.		1	0	0	8	16
Kurt Busch		23	1	2	25	35
Aric Almirola		1	0	2	5	11
Brian Simo		9	2	1	16	16
Marcos Ambrose		6	0	0	4	10
AJ Allmendinger		2	1	0	5	12
Sterling Marlin		13	2	1	12	11
David Reutimann		0	0	1	5	7
Max Papis		1	0	0	5	9
Tom Hubert		2	1	1	6	9
Mike Bliss		2	0	0	2	3
Brandon Ash		0	0	0	0	2
Total		705	80	78	1,678	2,024
Percentage		11%	1%	1%	27%	32%

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Mayfield expert qualifications clarified

In an article at NASCAR.com, Jeremy Mayfield's expert Harvey MacFenerstein clarifies his credentials and says that he tried to correct the mistakes before court documents were filed.

Our View: After seeing the real credentials, you'll realize why Mayfield's lawyer may have embellished. The true credentials include "taking some classes" toward certification as a medical review officer and a degree from a Dominican Republic college.

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European short track racing

Short track racing goes international. Check out this video from a short track in Belgium.

Dark Horse Report: Andretti best at Infineon

Looking for a strong dark horse at Infineon Raceway this week? In terms of career average finishes, John Andretti lists Infineon as his best track.

Our View: It would be a little easier to get excited about him if that average result wasn't 17.8 in nine starts, but if he practices well, he could be one cheap alternative.

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N'Wide Coleman looks to repeat top five Milwaukee run

Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished fourth in first outing at the Mile

Charlotte, NC (June 16, 2009) – 19 year-old Brad Coleman had never seen the famed Milwaukee Mile when he first set sail on the track in 2007. Undaunted, the rookie brought the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 home in fourth and looks to repeat and improve on the finish this coming Father’s Day weekend.

“It is a fast, flat race track and I love racing there,” said Coleman. “I finished Top 10 in my debut in the No. 20 Rudys.com Toyota two weeks ago and am determined to improve that finish this weekend at Milwaukee. It’s my turn to give my dad a Father’s Day present he’ll never forget.”

This will be Coleman’s third run at Milwaukee, finishing fourth two years ago and 25th last season in a Baker Curb prepared race car. His last outing on-track was setting up Kyle Busch’s No. 18 machine last week at Kentucky.“

It was all I could do not to hope Kyle’s helicopter was late last weekend at Kentucky,” smiled Coleman. “I enjoyed practicing and setting up his car for him and would have loved to have raced it. I do know he got the most out of it because he is the best there is right now in the driving world.”

From a team press release

Digger sealed in hole

Several weeks ago, we suggested TNT should run over a cartoon gopher to signal the end of the idiocy that was Fox's NASCAR coverage. They did the next best thing. Click here for an animation of Race Buddy (their cartoon hero) sealing up a gopher hole.

Our View: As cute as that is, Race Buddy may be only a half step up the intelligence scale, but at least it's not that danged gopher.

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N'Wide: Trouble brewing for Wallace sponsor

According to NASCARDaily.com, trouble is brewing for one of Rusty Wallace's sponsors. "At last count, 40 Attorneys General were actively involved in pursuing criminal complaints against US Fidelis," they report.

Our View: There is also a nice mugshot of the CEO of the company at the above link, listing his record of Theft, Burglary, Forgery and Counterfeiting.

Even in these tough economic times, teams have an ethical obligation to the fans not to advertise fraudulent products and services. Kevin Conway has sponsorship from a male enhancement product named Extense that is also under scrutiny.

IRL: Patrick agents entertain offers

In the last year of her contract with Andretti – Green Racing, Danica Patrick is letting her agents field offers, according to DailyNASCAR.com. "That’s what I leave up to my agents," she said. "And as they tell me — which is the best thing — all I have to do is go there and perform and they’ll take care of the rest, so that’s what I’m going to do."

These offer reportedly are coming from Indy Racing League, NASCAR and Formula 1 teams.

Our View: While Patrick would find a transition to either NASCAR or Formula 1 to have a steep learning curve, she is one of the best values in IndyCar at the moment and we believe she has the talent to eventually become a contender wherever she races.

More Indy Racing League Newsbreakers

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Jones to run Infineon

Add P J Jones to the Infineon entry list. He'll drive a second Robby Gordon car.

Jones is Gordon's go to test guy and a road racing specialist. Unfortunately, there are much better road ringers available this week.

Week 25 Unified Power Rankings

With Formula 1 taking another week off, no one has been able to challenge Jenson Button, so he remains the hottest driver in auto racing. It's hard to argue the point since he has won six of the first seven events on that calendar.

Tony Stewart remains second on the Unified Power Rankings after posting a solid seventh-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. He's been both consistent and strong with 10 consecutive Cup races in which he's finished on the lead lap. To prove his versatility, in recent months he's also won a dirt late model race at Paducah International Raceway and finished sixth in the Dream at his Eldora Raceway—one of the premier races for that type of car.

And in the Indy Racing League, Helio Castroneves continues to tower above his peers. Currently, Castroneves is about five percentage points better than Ryan Briscoe and eight better than Dario Franchitti, but there could be a shakeup in next week's standings since neither Castroneves nor Briscoe have been overly impressive on the IRL short tracks.

Castroneves was 14th at Iowa last year and since that is the next venue on the calendar, he's going to have to pick up the pace. He also finished outside the top 10 in Richmond in 2007, which outbalances his second-place result there last year.

In two short track starts last year, Briscoe finished seventh at Iowa and 15th at Richmond. In stark contrast, the last time Franchitti was on these two tracks, he swept victory lane.

The biggest mover inside the top 10 last week was Mark Martin. The aged veteran used a fuel mileage strategy to win his third NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season, which ties him with Kyle Busch. He's skipped the last four road races while running a part time schedule, but this driver once posted 23 top-10 finishes in 24 starts on that track type from 1989 through 2001, so you can expect him to keep his momentum.
Nationwide Regular Jason Leffler has done a great job of staying in the Unified Power Rankings' top 10. He finished sixth in the standalone race at Kentucky Speedway, but don't start thinking his strong effort was because there were so few Claim Jumpers in the field. That was his ninth consecutive top-10 finish in NASCAR's second series.
Unified Power Rankings
Top 50

Rank	Driver	Points	Last week	+/-
1	Jenson Button	110.57	1	0
2	Tony Stewart	97.15	2	0
3	Helio Castroneves	95.80	3	0
4	Ryan Briscoe	90.67	5	1
5	Mark Martin	88.77	10	5
6	Jason Leffler	88.09	6	0
7	Jimmie Johnson	88.08	4	-3
8	Dario Franchitti	87.67	7	-1
9	Rubens Barrichello	87.14	9	0
10	Mark Webber	85.29	11	1
11	Ryan Newman	85.19	8	-3
12	Scott Dixon	84.50	12	0
13	Kurt Busch	84.33	13	0
14	Brad Keselowski	84.00	15	1
15	Danica Patrick	83.33	14	-1
16	Erik Darnell	83.00	NR
17	Jeff Gordon	82.83	16	-1
18	Kyle Busch	80.48	17	-1
19	Denny Hamlin	80.42	23	4
20	Matt Crafton	79.67	19	-1
21	Carl Edwards	79.48	18	-3
22	Greg Biffle	78.47	26	4
23	Timo Glock	78.43	22	-1
24	Dan Wheldon	78.17	24	0
25	Matt Kenseth	77.76	20	-5
26	Juan Montoya	77.50	27	1
27	Joey Logano	76.95	25	-2
28	Jeff Burton	76.82	21	-7
29	Fernando Alonso	74.00	28	-1
30	Nico Rosberg	72.57	30	0
31	Kasey Kahne	72.17	29	-2
32	Sebastian Vettel	72.00	31	-1
33	David Reutimann	70.43	32	-1
34	Marco Andretti	70.00	33	-1
35	Tony Kanaan	69.83	34	-1
36	Justin Allgaier	69.82	38	2
37	Steve Wallace	69.45	36	-1
38	Jason Keller	68.00	35	-3
39	Dale Earnhardt Jr	67.80	39	0
40	Ron Hornaday Jr	67.33	42	2
41	Tayler Malsam	67.33	85	44
42	Brian Vickers	66.94	43	1
43	Clint Bowyer	66.87	44	1
44	Jamie McMurray	66.58	46	2
45	Jarno Trulli	66.29	40	-5
46	Johnny Benson Jr	66.00	41	-5
47	Marcos Ambrose	65.58	37	-10
48	Rick Crawford	64.83	45	-3
49	Burney Lamar	63.63	65	16
50	Kevin Harvick	63.28	49	-1

Previous Unified Power Rankings:

Week 24
Week 23
Week 22
Week 21
Week 20

Mark Martin at Infineon

Look for Mark Martin to run strong this week. From 1989 through 2001 he once earned 23 top-10s in 24 starts on road courses.

N'Wide: Former Milwaukee winners

The Milwaukee Mile is one of the most famous racetracks in America, and with rumors circulating that this could be its last Nationwide race for a while, drivers are going to be highly motivated to take the checkered flag. We'll have to wait and see if Kyle Busch burns it in victory lane if he should win.

The final Milwaukee trophy is only one incentive, however. Less than a handful of Claim Jumpers will be in the race this week, so the Nationwide Regulars are going to pull their gloves a little higher and climb up on the wheel to make sure that their name gets etched in the record books.

The successful racer will stand alongside legends like Sam Ard, Jack Ingram, and modern superstars such as Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Former Winners

Season	Race	Driver
2008	Camping World RV Rental 250	Carl Edwards
2007	AT&T 250	Aric Almirola *
2006	AT&T 250	Paul Menard
2005	SBC 250	Johnny Sauter
2004	Alan Kulwicki 250	Ron Hornaday Jr.
2003	GNC Live Well 250	Jason Keller
2002	GNC Live Well 250	Greg Biffle
2001	GNC Live Well 250	Greg Biffle
2000	DieHard 250	Jeff Green
1999	DieHard 250	Casey Atwood
1998	DieHard 250	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1997	Sears Auto Center 250	Randy LaJoie
1996	Sears Auto Center 250	Buckshot Jones
1995	Sears Auto Center 250	Dale Jarrett
1994	Havoline 250	Mike Wallace
1993	Havoline 250	Steve Grissom
1985	Milwaukee Sentinel 200	Jack Ingram
1984	Red Carpet 200	Sam Ard
	*relieved by Denny Hamlin at sponsor's direction.

Milwaukee's last five races

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Infineon Yahoo! preview

This week marks the first road course race of the year. It's easy to overlook, but just as many points get paid out this week as on an oval track. Check out this week's Yahoo! Fantasy Preview (.pdf) for our best bets.

N'Wide: Milwaukee's last five races

Milwaukee has been host to some of the most competitive races in recent years, and perhaps one of its lowest points.

While the Claim Jumping Cup drivers are in Infineon Raceway, the Nationwide Regulars get a chance to shine, but that wasn't to be in 2007—and the source of the frustration came from an unlikely angle. Making the long commute, Denny Hamlin got to the track late and could not get into the car in time for the race.

Aric Almirola qualified and started the No. 20, but that wasn't to the sponsor's liking, so with heavy pressure from Rockwell Automation, he was brought into the pits on lap 59 and replaced with Hamlin. To add injury to insult the tandem won, but Almirola has never really been able to relish his first—and so far only—Nationwide Series win. The next year, he left Joe Gibbs Racing for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

This year, only two Claim Jumpers are expected to make the long trip from Infineon. One of them is last year's winner Carl Edwards, so the Cup dominance of the second series could continue.

Average finish, last five races

Driver	Avg Finish	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
Aric Almirola *	1.00		1
Joey Logano	2.00	2
Paul Menard	2.00			1	3
J J Yeley	3.50			3	4
Denny Hamlin *	4.00			2	6
Shane Hmiel	4.00					4
Martin Truex Jr	5.50				2	9
Todd Bodine	6.00		6
Randy LaJoie	7.00				7
Greg Biffle	7.00					7
Danny O'Quinn Jr	7.00			7
David Reutimann	7.33	5	7	10
Jason Keller	7.50	9	5		13	3
Brad Keselowski	8.00	8
Jason Leffler	8.00	10	3	4		15
Johnny Benson Jr	9.00		9
Shane Huffman	10.00		10
Clint Bowyer	10.25	3		18	10	10
Carl Edwards	11.00	1	8	21	14
Jay Sauter	11.00			11
Bobby Hamilton Jr	11.00	15	13			5
Mike Wallace	11.25	18	11	5		11
Hermie Sadler	12.00					12
John Andretti	12.00			12
Reed Sorenson	12.00				12
David Green	12.00			17	11	8
Scott Wimmer	12.33	6	2	29
Mike Bliss	12.67	7	25			6
Stephen Leicht	13.50		14	13
Johnny Sauter	13.67			9	1	31
Robert Pressley	14.00					14
James Buescher	14.00	14
Brad Coleman	14.50	25	4
Auggie Vidovich	15.00			15
Marcos Ambrose	15.50	16	15
Ashton Lewis	15.67			16	18	13
Justin Labonte	16.00				16
Kevin Hamlin	16.00		16
David Stremme	16.75	34		26	5	2
Bill Elliott	17.00				17
Stacy Compton	17.00			6	25	20
Kenny Wallace	17.25	28		8	8	25
David Ragan	17.33	4	12		36
Cale Gale	17.50	12	23
Ron Hornaday Jr	18.00		36	20	15	1
Stanton Barrett	18.67	17			21	18
Richard Johns	19.00		19
Kevin Harvick	19.00			19
Tracy Hines	19.00				19
Jon Wood	20.00			14	26
Kyle Busch	20.00			24		16
Marc Mitchell	20.00		20
Aaron Fike	20.00				20
Chase Miller	20.00	23	17
Bryan Clauson	20.00	20
Kelly Bires	20.50	11	30
Todd Kluever	20.50		18	23
Colin Braun	21.00	21
Todd Szegedy	21.00					21
Mark Green	21.25	13	21		28	23
Tony Raines	21.50				9	34
Landon Cassill	22.00	22
Scott Lagasse	22.00				22
Tim Fedewa	22.00				27	17
Bobby East	22.00		22
Ryan Hemphill	23.00				23
Steve Wallace	23.67	19	27	25
Brandon Miller	24.00				24
D J Kennington	25.00	24	26
Regan Smith	25.50			22	29
Bobby Dotter	26.00					26
Kevin Lepage	26.00	26
Jimmy Kitchens	27.00					27
Brian Keselowski	27.00	27
Tim Sauter	27.67			27	37	19
Gus Wasson	28.00					28
Tim McCreadie	28.00		28
Erin Crocker	28.00			28
Trevor Boys	29.00		29
Jason White	29.50			30		29
Michel Jourdain Jr	30.00				30
Steve Grissom	31.00				38	24
Wade Day	31.00				31
Joel Kauffman	31.00			31
Travis Kittleson	31.00	31
Eric McClure	31.33	29	31		34
Casey Atwood	32.00					32
Brent Sherman	32.00		32
A J Fike	32.00				32
John Hayden	32.00			32
Josh Wise	33.00	33
Kyle Krisiloff	33.00		24		42
Robert Richardson	33.00		33
Mark McFarland	33.00			33
Eddie Beahr	33.00					33
Frank Kreyer	34.00		34
Derrike Cope	34.00	38	43	34	33	22
Scott Lagasse Jr	35.00		35
Bryan Reffner	35.00				35
William Hoff	35.00					35
Burney Lamar	35.50	36		35
Justin Ashburn	36.50	43				30
Ian Henderson	37.00		37
Morgan Shepherd	37.00	37
Brad Teague	37.20	30	39	38	43	36
Jerick Johnson	37.67	35	41	37
Mike Potter	39.00	32	42			43
Butch Jarvis	39.00					39
Johnny Chapman	39.00	39
Kertus Davis	39.00	42		36	39
Chris Horn	39.50		40	39
J C Stout	40.00	40
Kim Crosby	40.00			40
Josh Richeson	40.00					40
Tyler Walker	40.00				40
Chad Beahr	40.50				44	37
Jeff Fuller	41.00				41	41
James Hylton	41.00			41
Terry Cook	41.00	41
Mike Harmon	41.33	48	38			38
Jason Schuler	42.00					42
Danny Efland	44.00		44
Ruben Pardo	44.00	44
Kenny Hendrick	45.00	45
Todd Shafer	45.00				45
Andy Ponstein	46.00	46
Chad Chaffin	47.00	47
*In 2007, Denny Hamlin relieved Aric Almirola at sponsor's direction even though Almirola led most of that race.

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Benson released from hospital

Johnny Benson Jr. has been released from the hospital, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: Let's hope that he's resting comfortably at home. Benson had to feel like Job last week after losing his Camping World Truck Series and then getting seriously injured in the ISMA modified race on his home track.

More Camping World Truck Series Newsbreakers

Short Trackin' Indy style

For the next two weeks, the Indy Racing League is going short trackin', but don't look for the same beating and banging you've grown accustomed to in NASCAR competition. The sleek open wheel cars are all about precision, even on ovals measuring less than a mile in length. Of course smaller tracks mean that drivers are rarely out of contact with another car, and a different mindset is required to run well on these.

Three drivers have been nearly perfect at Iowa Speedway—a .875-mile course—and Richmond International Raceway—the .750-mile short track that Iowa was patterned after. Foremost among these is Dario Franchitti. He took last year off to race with NASCAR good old boys, but in 2007 he swept both races at Iowa and Richmond. Before 2007, the IRL ran at Richmond only and Franchitti finished second in 2005 and third in 2006. The only time he failed to finish in the top five was in his first effort in Virginia in 2004.

Dan Wheldon has finished in the top 10 seven times in eight starts on IRL's two active short tracks and he also has a pair of victories on these courses. He won at Richmond in 2004 and Iowa last year. With a worst finish of 11th, Wheldon has an average of 5.25 at Richmond and Iowa, which lags well behind Franchitti's 3.80.

Marco Andretti has the third-best average finish among active IndyCar drivers. With a 6.0, he's had higher lows than his three principal rivals. Andretti has failed to win one of his five short track attempts, but he came close at Iowa in 2007 when he finished second to Franchitti. With three top-fives, four top-10s and a worst finish of 12th, he nevertheless makes a great candidate for this week's lineup.

IndyCar short tracks, last five races

Driver	Avg Finish	2008 Richmond	2008 Iowa	2007 Richmond	2007 Iowa	2006 Richmond
Dario Franchitti	1.67			1	1	3
Dan Wheldon	5.60	4	1	3	11	9
Marco Andretti	6.00	9	3	12	2	4
Scott Dixon	6.00	3	4	2	10	11
Hideki Mutoh	7.50	13	2
Helio Castroneves	9.00	2	14	11	8	10
Danica Patrick	9.20	6	6	6	13	15
Justin Wilson	9.50	7	12
Tomas Scheckter	11.00			7	19	7
Ryan Briscoe	11.00	15	7
Tony Kanaan	11.40	1	18	4	16	18
E J Viso	11.50	10	13
Sarah Fisher	11.50			16	7
Ed Carpenter	11.60	11	23	10	6	8
Ryan Hunter-Reay	12.00	16	8
Anthony Foyt IV	13.50	24	5	13	12
Graham Rahal	14.00	18	10
Mario Moraes	18.00	17	19
Milka Duno	20.33		24	19	18

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NASCAR seeks to exclude Mayfield expert

In the case of Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR is seeking to have expert testimony of Harvey MacFenerstein, President of a drug testing company in San Antonio, Texas, excluded, according to HamptonRoads.com. Several issues are at issue, including the claim that he did not graduate with certain degrees that would make him an expert in the field.

Our View: This case is going to be ugly, but it is important in establishing how drug tests will be performed and driver's rights in contesting them.

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Gordon guarantees Indy tires

Will the new Goodyear tire hold up? "I will guarantee it. I'm 100 percent confident," Jeff Gordon said after the latest test. "I ran this tire as hard as I possibly could, put numerous laps on them. It's a dead issue. There's going to be a race here." (Quoted @DustinLong.)

Our View: According to @NateRyan, the various tests were made up of "13,000 miles of testing, 31 drivers, at least 20 tire compounds." If Goodyear hasn't got this one right, it's not for lack of effort.

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LifeLock 400 Results, with avg. finish

Mark Martin led only a single lap en route to his third victory of the season, but it was the one that counted. While the two most dominant drivers Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle baited one another into running too fast while trying to conserve gas, Martin refused to play their game and ran the pace he and crew chief Alan Gustafson decided upon.

Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon admitted he might have been running too conservatively with plenty of gas at the end of the LifeLock 400. He finished second, giving Hendrick Motorsports a one-two finish.

Johnson ran out of gas on the frontstretch as the field took the white flag; Biffle lasted until the middle of the backstretch, then he also ran short on fuel. Both managed to finish on the lead lap, but Johnson was only in 22nd; Biffle was fifth.

Results with average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	32	Mark Martin	200	1	Running	12.87
2	27	Jeff Gordon	200		Running	11.45
3	14	Denny Hamlin	200	1	Running	13.71
4	29	Carl Edwards	200	1	Running	6.30
5	20	Greg Biffle	200	42	Running	12.54
6	7	Juan Montoya	200		Running	27.60
7	11	Tony Stewart	200		Running	12.19
8	5	Kurt Busch	200	9	Running	19.41
9	1	Brian Vickers	200		Running	16.55
10	9	Clint Bowyer	200		Running	23.00
11	31	Jamie McMurray	200		Running	17.92
12	25	Elliott Sadler	200		Running	22.10
13	2	Kyle Busch	200		Running	16.89
14	30	Dale Earnhardt Jr	200		Running	16.55
15	23	David Ragan	200		Running	13.00
16	15	Bill Elliott	200		Running	13.95
17	13	Robby Gordon	200		Running	25.63
18	12	Kevin Harvick	200		Running	15.41
19	4	David Reutimann	200		Running	21.20
20	16	Matt Kenseth	200		Running	9.65
21	8	Kasey Kahne	200		Running	16.82
22	3	Jimmie Johnson	200	146	Running	14.87
23	18	Ryan Newman	199		Running	18.88
24	37	Casey Mears	199		Running	19.77
25	24	Joey Logano	199		Running	25.00
26	22	Jeff Burton	199		Running	16.13
27	28	Reed Sorenson	199		Running	24.00
28	17	Bobby Labonte	199		Running	14.88
29	34	Sam Hornish Jr	198		Running	24.33
30	36	Michael Waltrip	198		Running	20.63
31	33	Marcos Ambrose	198		Running	37.00
32	35	David Gilliland	198		Running	28.00
33	10	John Andretti	198		Running	24.32
34	38	Paul Menard	197		Running	23.33
35	43	Max Papis	193		Running	35.00
36	19	Martin Truex Jr	192		Running	17.00
37	21	Scott Speed	174		Running	37.00
38	26	David Stremme	159		Accident	29.20
39	6	A J Allmendinger	144		Running	29.25
40	39	Dave Blaney	23		Quit	24.42
41	42	Sterling Marlin	23		Quit	18.96
42	40	Joe Nemechek	20		Quit	25.55
43	41	Tony Raines	17		Quit	34.80
44		Mike Skinner	0		DNQ	27.13

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Busch, Speed to race in Grand Am

Chip Ganassi will field a second car in the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway during the Fourth of July weekend, according to NASCAR.com. The two drivers will be Kyle Busch and Scott Speed.

Our View: The road course at Daytona is unlike Infineon and Watkins Glen, but seat time on this track type is always helpful.

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Mayhew looks to run up front at Infineon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 15, 2009) – David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Services/Ron’s Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet) has not had much chance to show his road-racing skills since coming into the NASCAR Camping World Series two years ago. He hopes to change that this season.

His first opportunity comes this week when the NASCAR Camping World Series West heads to Infineon Raceway for the Bennett Lane Winery 200 presented by Supercuts on Saturday, June 20. The race is a companion event as part of the big NASCAR weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Sonoma, Calif., road course.

The twisting track, which hosts the first of three road course events on this year’s NASCAR Camping World Series West schedule, is one where Mayhew spent much time early in his racing career.

“I’ve run quite a bit at Sonoma,” said the 27-year-old California driver, who originally hailed from Atascadero, but now lives in Bakersfield. “I won a bunch of scholarships through karting to the Jim Russell School there. I ran the school series they have there for a year. We were there all the time, testing and such. So, I’ve got quite a bit of road-racing experience at Sonoma. I did a lot of Formula Ford and open-wheel stuff before I made the move to NASCAR. So, I’m looking forward to getting back up there and turning both ways.”

This will only be Mayhew’s second time to compete in a NASCAR Camping World Series West car at Infineon Raceway. The team he drove for in 2007 ran a limited schedule and did not enter the event. Last year, Mayhew qualified fourth and ran with the leaders early, but was sidelined by a mechanical problem.

He’s confident of being up front again this year. “We’re going up there to win the race and get as many points as possible,” Mayhew said. “Running against Jason (Bowles) and Eric (Holmes) every week, it seems like that’s the place you’ve got to win to gain any points on them. That’s our plan. With the background we have up there, turning left and right, I think we should do pretty well.”

Although Mayhew is driving for his third team in three years, the transition does not appear to have had a negative impact on his performance.

“You just go out there and whatever car you’re given, you’ve got to do the best you can,” he said. “You can’t control the situations that you’re put in. So, whatever comes along, that’s what we try to do and make the best of it.”

And Mayhew seems to be doing precisely that this year. He’s third in the championship standings – 64 points out of first – with one win, four top-five and five top-10 finishes in six races. Not bad for a team that did not plan on chasing points. “We originally did the deal to just go have fun and run a few races here and there,” Mayhew said of car owner Steve McGowan and crew chief Terry Henry, who gets behind the wheel of a second car for some events. “Things started going real well. Steve’s got good cars and good equipment and Terry does an awesome job as a crew chief when he’s not driving.”

“We don’t have any full-time guys or anybody working at the shop full time. So, it’s me and Terry and Steve most of the time at night,” Mayhew said of the Bakersfield-based team. “We go to have fun. Obviously, winning is a lot more fun than not. That’s why we do it and keep on going back.”

The team does get help from Bakersfield native and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and his Kevin Harvick Incorporated team.“

Steve and Kevin have a good relationship,” Mayhew said. “They (KHI) help us in getting the cars ready for some of the races, with setups and stuff like that. It really helps out. At some of the other races, like Phoenix, we used some of their guys to help crew chief my car when Terry was racing. It really helps our program as a whole, getting information from someone like KHI.”

From a NASCAR Press Release

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Pardo dies in NASCAR Mexico crash

Carlos Pardo died due to injuries sustained in a NASCAR Mexico race on the Autodromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, Mexico. He was leading the race at the time of his accident. Since the race was not finished because of a time limit and NASCAR Mexico rules revert to the last completed green flag lap, he ironically won his final race.

Pardo also competed in various Camping World East and Nationwide series races during his career.

Our View: Our condolences go out to his brother and fellow competitor Ruben Pardo and the rest of his family and friends.

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Trucks: Former Milwaukee winners

Milwaukee was accustomed to unique winners before Johnny Benson Jr. came along.

Prior to 2006, only Ted Musgrave had won more than a single event on this track, which made it all the more incredible that Benson rattled off three straight victories there from 2006 through 2008. It was beginning to look like he would have the horsepower to make it four in a row since Kyle Busch was ready to place him in the No. 15 Billy Ballew Toyota. Unfortunately, Benson has bigger things on his mind at the moment as he recuperates from a heavy crash in an ISMA Supermodified race at Berlin Raceway.

Former Winners

Season	Race	Winner
2008	Camping World RV Sales 200	Johnny Benson Jr
2007	Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200	Johnny Benson Jr
2006	Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200	Johnny Benson Jr
2005	Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200	Dennis Setzer
2004	Black Cat Fireworks 200	Ted Musgrave
2003	GNC Live Well 200	Brendan Gaughan
2002	GNC Live Well 200	Terry Cook
2001	GNC Live Well 200	Ted Musgrave
2000	Sears Diehard 200	Kurt Busch
1999	Diehard 200	Greg Biffle
1998	Diehard 200	Mike Bliss
1997	Sears Diehard 200	Ron Hornaday Jr
1996	Sears Auto Center 200	Jack Sprague
1995	Sears Auto Center 125	Mike Skinner

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IRL: Iowa's last two races

With only two previous Iowa Speedway races in the Indy Racing League book, there isn't a lot to go on this week, but fantasy players may find some inspiration in who ran well in these few events.

Dario Franchitti took last year off to make an attempt at NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, but before he left, he won his only race at Iowa after starting third. This short track was patterned after Richmond International Raceway and on that course, he's been nearly perfect with finishes of second (2005), third (2006) and first (2007) in four attempts. That speaks volumes about his odds for this week.

Marco Andretti has run both Iowa races and he's been close to perfect. With a second in 2007 and a third in 2008, he's come close to winning twice. Perhaps there is something in short track racing that is appealing to his somewhat aggressive style of competition. By contrast, his teammates Tony Kanaan (with a 16th in 2007 and an 18th last year) and Danica Patrick (13th and sixth respectively) have not been nearly as strong.

Last year's winner Dan Wheldon proved that fantasy players cannot always rely strictly on past records. After a modest showing of 11th in 2007, he stormed into victory lane last year, so don't be afraid to take drivers with momentum on their side.

Average finish, last two races

Driver	Avg Finish	2008	2007
Dario Franchitti	1.00		1
Hideki Mutoh	2.00	2
Marco Andretti	2.50	3	2
Scott Sharp	3.00		3
Dan Wheldon	6.00	1	11
Ryan Briscoe	7.00	7
Scott Dixon	7.00	4	10
Sarah Fisher	7.00		7
Ryan Hunter-Reay	8.00	8
Anthony Foyt IV	8.50	5	12
Will Power	9.00	9
Danica Patrick	9.50	6	13
Graham Rahal	10.00	10
Helio Castroneves	11.00	14	8
John Andretti	11.00	11
Justin Wilson	12.00	12
Vitor Meira	12.00	15	9
E J Viso	13.00	13
Buddy Rice	13.00	22	4
Darren Manning	13.00	21	5
Sam Hornish Jr	14.00		14
Ed Carpenter	14.50	23	6
Kosuke Matsuura	15.00		15
Oriol Servia	16.00	16
Tony Kanaan	17.00	18	16
Jeff Simmons	17.00		17
Enrique Bernoldi	17.00	17
Mario Moraes	19.00	19
Tomas Scheckter	19.00		19
Jaime Camara	20.00	20
Milka Duno	21.00	24	18
Bruno Junqueira	25.00	25
Marty Roth	26.00	26

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Gordon on Infineon restarts

WE HAVE DOUBLE-FILE RESTARTS COMING UP NEXT WEEK ON A ROAD COURSE. I BELIEVE IT IS REALLY GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT?

“Absolutely. I think NASCAR knew that trying it at Pocono and at Michigan were two good tracks to test it out and get some of the bugs worked out. I think its going to create some havoc at Sonoma and I am just anxious to get through it and see how it turns out and see if we need to………the only way to know what you have is to race with it and while I’m not sure if we need it at a road course they are pretty adamant to do it there and we’ll see how it turns out.

“You know sometimes it’s a combination of as drivers we have to rethink how we have raced in the past because now we have to figure out how to get through the first corners of the first lap with the double-file restart, but at the same time we have been put into a position that you have to fight even harder and be more intense and sometimes that causes more accidents and mistakes.”

IS THERE A PREFERRED POSITION THERE TO BE ON THE INSIDE OR THE OUTSIDE (at Infineon)?

“You know, I have played it both ways just in the restarts out there and that first kink to the left doesn’t look like much but it is a pretty decent turn. And I think that’s the thing that its not so much the guys on the front row but it’s the guys behind them that are trying to get that track position because it's so valuable there. Its slick out there and there is not a lot of grip out there, you are going uphill, and you are downshifting but I’m not sure right now what the preferred line is for the restart. The good thing is that whoever the leader is, he restarts the race, so I like that.

From a GM Press Release

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D4D driver the first female to win LM at LaCrosse

WEST SALEM, Wisc. – Emily Sue Steck picked up her first career win Saturday night and became the first female to win in LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway’s Kwik Trip Late Model Division.

The 23-year-old Drive for Diversity participant led every lap of the caution-free feature held off pole sitter Cole Howland to win the Coca-Cola 25.

“When it got down to a couple laps to go, I just reminded myself not to look back in the mirror,” said Steck in Victory Lane, “and that certainly helped. I did better when I didn’t worry about the car behind me. Thanks for everyone for their support and encouragement!”

Steck, in her third year in the Late Model division, also overcame a cast around a healing broken thumb – an injury suffered earlier this season.

Steck started the feature second but got a run off Turn 4 of the first lap to wrestle the lead away from Howland, who wound up second. Jeff Baker finished third, followed by former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Steve Carlson in fourth and track points leader Kevin Nuttleman in fifth.

It is the 29th win for a Drive for Diversity participant. The Drive for Diversity initiative, managed by The 909 Group, develops minority and female drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Series and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

Inspection complete at Michigan

Inspection is complete at Michigan for the LifeLock 400 and no issues were found, according to a tweet from @DustinLong.

Our View: The cars of Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott will all go to the R&D center for a further inspection, but this is standard procedure.

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Changing face of Michigan

Once upon a time winning at Michigan was reserved for drivers who started in the top-10. In the LifeLock 400, the top five finishers all started 14th or worse including the winner Mark Martin who started 32nd.

Our View: That leaves the fall race wide open for fantasy owners to pick drivers based on their records and practice times.

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Martin wins at Michigan

For the second straight week, fuel mileage played an important role in the finish of a NASCAR race. This time Mark Martin passed Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson on the white flag lap when both of those drivers ran out of gas.

Our View: Even though Pocono and Michigan were determined by fuel mileage, the drivers raced hard until the final lap, which kept the outcome in doubt until the checkers waved.

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To the back at Michigan

Three cars will drop to the back before the start of the LifeLock 400. The No. 87 of Joe Nemechek, No. 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. and No. 24 of Jeff Gordon all changed engines, according to a tweet from @NASCARSays, NASCAR's official feed.

Our View: Gordon says he has a car fast enough to get to the front. Penske Racing South is also stout, so Hornish should be ok as well.

N'Wide: Meijer 300 by Ritz Results

The Nationwide standalone events are known as opportunity races because only a handful of Claim Jumpers make the long commute to compete with the Regulars. And in fact, eight of the top-10 positions were claimed by these racers, led by Brad Keselowski in third.

Unfortunately for them, the race was dominated by Cup drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. These two racers provided what little excitement there was. At the end, the teenager Logano blasted past Busch with only a handful of laps remaining and cruised to an easy win. He became the first driver to win two wins and both of those victories came from the pole. He was also the first to driver to win two poles at Kentucky.

Next week will be another opportunity for the Nationwide Regulars to shine. The Cup drivers will be in Sonoma, Calif. for a road race while the second series is on the flat Milwaukee Mile. It's the toughest commute in NASCAR and only Busch and Carl Edwards will attempt it.

Results, with average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Status	Avg Fin
1	1	Joey Logano	200	Running	1.00
2	2	Kyle Busch	200	Running	11.50
3	9	Brad Keselowski	200	Running	3.50
4	6	Brendan Gaughan	200	Running	4.00
5	3	Justin Allgaier	200	Running	5.00
6	11	Jason Leffler	200	Running	16.60
7	4	Michael Annett	200	Running	7.00
8	18	Burney Lamar	200	Running	19.67
9	7	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	200	Running	9.00
10	42	Kelly Bires	200	Running	12.00
11	5	Erik Darnell	199	Running	11.00
12	8	Trevor Bayne	199	Running	12.00
13	15	Scott Lagasse Jr	199	Running	13.00
14	13	Steve Wallace	199	Running	16.00
15	27	Kevin Conway	199	Running	15.00
16	30	Scott Wimmer	198	Running	8.00
17	36	Ken Butler III	198	Running	17.00
18	33	Danny O'Quinn Jr	198	Running	26.33
19	22	Mark Green	197	Running	22.60
20	10	Carl Edwards	197	Running	22.00
21	38	Tony Raines	197	Running	11.00
22	28	Derrike Cope	197	Running	26.50
23	16	Jason Keller	196	Running	17.38
24	25	Brandon Whitt	196	Running	24.00
25	29	Morgan Shepherd	195	Running	38.80
26	24	Shelby Howard	195	Running	26.50
27	17	Bobby Hamilton Jr	192	In Pit	23.00
28	21	Mike Bliss	182	Accident	15.80
29	23	Michael McDowell	168	Handling	29.00
30	37	Eric McClure	154	Running	33.25
31	12	Stephen Leicht	137	Overheating	14.00
32	14	John Wes Townley	83	Accident	32.00
33	40	Mike Harmon	77	Handling	37.25
34	32	Kenny Hendrick	75	Accident	28.25
35	41	Brian Keselowski	38	Brakes	35.00
36	19	Kevin Hamlin	35	Electrical	28.50
37	20	Kenny Wallace	19	Engine	25.29
38	26	Chris Horn	17	Quit	38.25
39	31	Johnny Chapman	6	Quit	37.50
40	34	Brad Baker	2	Quit	29.00
41	43	Justin Hobgood	2	Quit	39.50
42	39	Chad Blount	1	Quit	32.00
43	35	Stanton Barrett	1	Quit	33.00
44		Jeff Green	0	Did Not Qualify	31.00
45		J C Stout	0	Did Not Qualify
46		Benny Gordon	0	Did Not Qualify
47		Blake Bjorkland	0	Did Not Qualify
48		Kevin Lepage	0	Did Not Qualify	18.00
49		Travis Kittleson	0	Did Not Qualify

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Michigan pit stall selections

Jayski.com has posted the pit stall selections. As expected, pole winner Brian Vickers took the final pit at the turn one end of pit road. Other drives with openings in front of them are Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, Juan Montoya and Jimmie Johnson.

Our View: This could be one of the tie-breakers you use for drivers who are evenly matched in your estimation.

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Benson injured in fiery crash at Berlin

Recently out of his Camping World Truck Series ride, Johnny Benson Jr. too the opportunity to run in an ISMA Supermodified race on his home track Berlin Raceway, according to MichiganLive.com. What should have been a fun outing turned catastrophic when he crashed in turn three and his car burst into flames. Benson was transported to a local hospital, where he is serious, but stable condition.

Our View: According to his Web site, Benson has a broken rib, but should recover. Keep him in your prayers throughout the week.

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