Budweiser to sponsor Harvick in 2011
Richard Childress Racing made it official Tuesday morning: Budweiser will sponsor the No. 29 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick next season.
Budweiser will be the primary sponsor of 20 points-paying events next season, as well the Gatorade Duels and Budweiser Shootout. The King of Beers will also be a co-primary sponsor for the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte. Budweiser will stay on the ride as an associate sponsor for the remaining 16 events on the schedule.
“Budweiser is one of the most respected sponsors in our sport,” Harvick said. “They do a lot to market their teams and the sport in television broadcasts and away from the track. I’m looking forward to driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, taking it to Victory Lane and winning championships.”
Earlier this season, it was announced that Harvick’s team would lose the Shell-Pennzoil sponsorship after this season. It was later announced that Shell-Pennzoil would move over to Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch next season.
Kasey Kahne had held the Budweiser sponsorship since it left the hood of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car after the 2007 season when Earnhardt left Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne announced last week that he would drive at Red Bull Racing next thus giving him full sponsorship next season from Red Bull.
Budweiser has sponsored a long-list of drivers since they entered the sport in 1983. The most popular of those drivers have been Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, Bill Elliott, Kenny Schrader, Ricky Craven, Wally Dallenbach, Earnhardt and Kahne.
Harvick will race in his tenth Sprint Cup Series season next year. Through 345 starts in the Cup Series, Harvick has recorded 14 victories to go along with 72 top-five and 145 top-ten finishes.
This season has been a career-year on several aspects. His three victories so far this year makes it the second-most winningest year, trailing just his five-win season in 2006.
As far as average finishes go, however, his 8.6 average earned so far this season trumps any previous season. Entering the season, a 12.3 average finish in 2006 was his best.
“Throughout his career, Kevin has shown he can win at any level in NASCAR,” team-owner Richard Childress said. “Combining his talent with Budweiser’s NASCAR lineage and proven track record of innovative sponsorship activations makes this an exciting pairing for fans everywhere. RCR prides itself on its heritage and authenticity, so working with a brand like Budweiser, which has built their reputation on those same values, is a very special opportunity.”
Harvick brings in a 293-point lead to Bristol Motor Speedway after becoming the first driver to clinch a Chase berth following his win last weekend at Michigan.
RPM to announce 2011 drivers, sponsors Tuesday
Richard Petty Motorsports has called a Tuesday teleconference to announce the specifics of the organization’s 2010 Sprint Cup Series drivers and sponsor lineups.
The organization announced Aug. 6 that they had re-signed AJ Allmendinger to a multi-year deal to stay with the team. However, two drivers have confirmed that they will be leaving next year and another driver is on the fence.
Kasey Kahne announced earlier in the year that he would part-ways with RPM after this season. He announced last weekend that he would join Red Bull Racing in 2011 before he moved into his multi-year ride with Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.
Kahne’s sponsor Budweiser is also on the move next season, according to sources. Multiple internet reports say Budweiser will head to Kevin Harvick next season, with an announcement of the new sponsorship deal expected to come Tuesday.
Paul Menard also announced last weekend that he would join Richard Childress Racing next year as RCR gives a second attempt at a four car team. Menard will also take his primary sponsorship from his father’s company, Menard’s, with him.
Elliott Sadler was quoted earlier in the year as saying the team did not have him in their plans for the future. However, a team spokesperson has since denied those comments saying Sadler is one of about three drivers the team was looking at for next season.
Sadler said last weekend that he has had little talks with the organization and that he is even considering moving down to the Nationwide Series or Camping World Truck Series next season.
“If I have to go back to Nationwide or go back to the Truck (series) and get my chance and opportunity to win races, you’ll see Elliott Sadler do that instead of go somewhere where there’s a start-and-park (car) or ride around,” Sadler said. “That’s not me. I’m way too competitive for that. I don’t have a big enough ego to where I have to be labeled a Cup driver. I want to be a driver that’s competitive.”
Marcos Ambrose, who recently announced he would be leaving his Sprint Cup Series ride with JTG Daugherty Racing after this season, is rumored to be headed to RPM. This would give the RPM two drivers next season if Sadler does indeed leave.
Drivers are not the only issue for the team, however. Sponsorship is also a problem with the departure of Budweiser and Menard’s. Although, when the team announced a new deal with Allmendinger a few weeks ago, they also said they had some another announcements in their pocket.
“We have some announcements in our pocket,” team co-owner Richard Petty said. “We like to have press conferences, so we wanted to spread it out a little bit.”
Kahne is currently the highest RPM driver in the Sprint Cup Series driver points standings thru last weekend at Michigan International Speedway. He is 16th and trails the 12th place Chase for the Sprint Cup cutoff by 126 points.
Allmendinger is 22nd, Menard is 23rd and Sadler is 29th.
Earnhardt turns in worst qualifying effort since 2006
Hendrick Motorsports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t known for outstanding qualifying efforts or his success at road courses. However his 41st qualifying effort for Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen will be his worst starting position since March of 2006 when he started 42nd at Las Vegas.
Earnhardt was the last driver guaranteed a starting position to go out for Saturday’s Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Watkins Glen. After making his lap around the road course, Earnhardt said his lap wasn’t good.
“It’s not good,” Earnhardt said. “We’re not good this weekend. This is the worse car I’ve ever had here by far, a couple of seconds off. Normally, we’re mid-pack at worse here and we’re just not good.”
His teammates at Hendrick Motorsports — Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin — also didn’t show up with their normal dominance at Watkins Glen, but all out-qualified Earnhardt by at least 16 positions, with all holding spots in the top-24.
However, it took large gains by his other three teammates to get there.
To open up the weekend with the first practice at Watkins Glen, none of the Hendrick teams were in the top-24 fastest laps. Martin was 25th fastest and led the Hendrick brigade as Johnson and Gordon were 29th and 30th, respectively. Earnhardt was 38th fastest in the session.
In happy hour, HMS was absent from the top-12 fastest drivers, with Johnson holding the 13th fastest lap. Martin was 21st fastest, Gordon was 39th and Earnhardt was 42nd.
“The other guys (at HMS) have gained a little bit over the past 24 hours,” Earnhardt said. “We all showed up pretty bad. I guess we’re putting the same stuff in that they are, but it’s not working.”
Earnhardt’s previous worst qualifying effort at Watkins Glen was a 32nd starting position last year. He has two starts inside of the top-five, three in the top-ten.
Last year, Earnhardt finished 38th.
Atlanta losing one Cup date next year
Atlanta Motor Speedway announced Thursday afternoon that they will be hosting only one Cup Series event next year. Atlanta is the first track to announce a lost Cup Series date, after hosting two Sprint Cup Series events per year for the past 50 years.
Atlanta’s only race next season will be the first weekend in September. It will be the third consecutive year that Atlanta has hosted a Cup race on Labor Day Weekend.
“We were thrilled with the acquisition of the Labor Day date two years ago and are proud to host such a prestigious, historical date on the NASCAR schedule,” speedway president Ed Clark said. “This track produces some of the greatest racing the circuit sees, it remains one of the drivers’ favorite tracks and we will continue to build a platform that sets this one date apart from the rest.”
Atlanta Motor Speedway is owned by Bruton Smith’s Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Smith has been adamant about getting his recently purchased Kentucky Speedway onto the Sprint Cup Series schedule, a move that could only be maneuvered by taking away on his track’s dates.
NASCAR is expected to announce the schedule for next years’ national touring series in the coming weeks. There is no word if Kentucky will be on the schedule.
IndyCar fines Castroneves $60,000
The IndyCar Series slapped Helio Castroneves with a $60,000 fine and placed him on probation for the remainder of the year following his post-race tirade at Edmonton last weekend. Castroneves grabbed an official after the IRL took a win away from him for a blocking penalty late in the race.
According to the news release from the IZOD IndyCar Series, Castroneves “was penalized for refusing to follow the direction of officials as well as portraying unsportsmanlike conduct when he engaged in physical contact with two officials on pit lane after the conclusion of the race.”
The initial penalty was a pass through pit lane following what the series officials deemed a block on lap 93 while Castroneves was racing with Penske Racing teammate Will Power. However, when Castroneves did not adhere to the penalty, the series assessed a 20-second penalty after the race that sent Castroneves to a tenth place finish as the last car on the lead lap.
Scott Dixon would go on to score the victory after leading just two laps.
“This sport is so close and competitive that emotions are always on display,” Randy Bernard, chief executive officer, IZOD IndyCar Series, said. “However, that does not justify the post-race conduct of Helio toward series officials. This is a very serious matter and we weighed all options, including suspension. But we felt suspension would hurt the fans more than anyone else. Fans have paid their hard-earned money to watch the best drivers in the world and many bought their tickets for upcoming events with the expectation of watching Helio. He is a great ambassador for this sport and we know his actions after the race in Edmonton are not indicative of his normal behavior.”
Castroneves is currently sixth in IndyCar Series points and trails current IRL points leader Power by 115 points heading into Sunday’s race in Lexington, Ohio.
Biffle gives Roush, Ford first win of the year
Greg Biffle celebrates after winning the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday. (Tyler Barrick/Autostock)
After coming into the race thinking their car’s setup would not give them a chance at taking the checkered flag following a 35-minute pre-race rain delay, Greg Biffle gave Ford and Jack Roush their first victory of the season.
“This one’s for Jack,” Biffle said in victory lane. Biffle’s team owner Roush was involved in a plane crash Wednesday in Wisconsin and continues to recover from surgery but is expected to make a full recovery from the injuries.
Tony Stewart, Biffle’s teammate Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five finishers in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-ten in the unofficial race results.
Sam Hornish Jr. finished 11th after taking two tires before a rain delay in Pocono to take the race lead.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 27th after starting 20th. NASCAR’s most popular driver lost a cylinder late in the race after bringing out the caution once in the race for a spin on lap 158.
The race saw a red flag for a four car crash on lap 166. Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler received the worst of the incident, however both walked away from the crash. Sadler hit the inside wall head on in an area that stuck out towards the race track. The force of impact was great enough to rip the engine from Sadler’s Ford.
Elliott Sadler talks with ESPN's Mike Massaro after being evaluated and released from the Pocono Raceway infield care center on Sunday in Long Pond, Pa. (Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)
“I’m okay,” Sadler said. “I’m a little sore. The breath definitely got knocked out of me. It was probably the hardest hit I’ve ever had in a race car, but I’ve got to thank all my guys back at home that put these things together. It knocked the engine out of it. I know it knocked the swaybar tube and the whole swaybar out of it and the whole left-front wheel assembly, but I’m still in one piece so it did its job. The way it hit the guardrail back there was pretty tough. It’s not the run we wanted to have with U.S. Air Force car, but we’ll go get ‘em next week.”
Busch and Sadler wrecked in separate incidents. Busch crashed while racing beside Clint Bowyer when he received a bump from Johnson that sent him through the grass into the inside wall. Bowyer received only very minor damage and went on to finish 15th.
Sadler was hit from behind as the field was checking up for the incident. The red flag for the wreck lasted 24 minutes and 48 seconds.
Busch and Sadler finished 33rd and 34th, respectively and both picked up DNFs.
Notes: The race lasted 3 hours, 46 minutes and 51 seconds and occurred in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000 fans. The margin of victory was 3.598 seconds. The race included five cautions for 31 laps and saw 19 lead changes among nine drivers.
CORRECTION: Dale Earnhardt Jr. started 20th NOT 25th.
NASCAR fining drivers for critical comments
According to a report by the Associated Press published Monday night, NASCAR has fined at least two top NASCAR drivers for making negative comments about the sport. The report said that multiple sources, who spoke anonymously, said that one driver was fined as much as $50,000.
NASCAR spokesperson Ramsey Poston confirmed that NASCAR has taken action behind closed doors, but refused to go further.
“It is the sanctioning body’s obligation on behalf of the industry and our fans to protect the sport’s brand,” Poston said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Any action taken by NASCAR has nothing to do with the drivers expressing an opinion — it’s focused on actions or comments that materially damage the sport.
“We have specifically discussed this in meetings with teams, drivers and stakeholders.”
Pit Road Scene requested comment from Poston late Monday night, but was not yet answered at press time.
The report from the AP did not name drivers, however many drivers, namely Denny Hamlin, have been critical of NASCAR throwing debris cautions at the end of the race to bunch up the field.
If the report holds true, NASCAR wouldn’t be the first sport to fine participants for negative comments and actions. The National Basketball Association recently fined Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, $100,000 for writing a controversial letter in response to LeBron James’ recent departure of the team.
NASCAR wrapping up schedule overhaul
NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said before the start of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday that the Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2011 is one or two weeks away from being completed.
According to France, the series schedule will undergo several changes for next season. However, he thinks fans will be good for NASCAR fans.
“There will be some changes as I look now, and that could not quite materialize, but I sense it will,” France said. “We’ll have some pretty impactful changes to the schedule that I think will be good for NASCAR fans.”
Putting together a schedule is not a simple process for NASCAR, especially when they add or remove tracks and shift dates around.
“When you agree on a schedule, then you have to have sanction agreements that are executed, everybody has to agree on that,” France said. “That process is simultaneous to the schedule.
“My sense is that will all be wrapped up here shortly. I don’t know how it will get released, but it looks like there are going to be some interesting, good changes for the schedule in terms of how fans get to events, which events they’ll attend.
“There’s been a big cooperation. Everybody has a slice of the pie that they want to make sure fits them perfectly. And so we’ve had to adjust that around where it fits everyone in the industry. That’s gone fairly well. Almost ready to announce something here shortly.”
Schedule changes that have been rumored include Kansas getting a second Cup date and Kentucky getting its first date in the Sprint Cup Series, after hosting races in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series for the past few years.
However, in order for NASCAR to maintain its 36-race schedule, other dates will need to be shifted to make room for the new additions.
“All the requests (for track and date changes) are in,” France said. “They all have lots of effects, as you can imagine. When anything moves around of significance on the Cup schedule, it has consequences for the second part, whatever part of the schedule you want to look at.”
It has also been rumored that NASCAR is contemplating adding a road course to NASCAR’s ten race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which is also under the magnifying glass for changes next year.
“Whatever we do, it will be with the industry having lots of chances to weigh in, and us in the end thinking this is something that we can build around that enhances winning, enhances the championship, gives us more of a playoff field than we currently have now, if that’s where we end up,” France said. “We haven’t made a decision. We may not think the timing is right. We’re doing some research. I’ll be in some focus groups myself on the 11th of August listening to fans directly as they hear the idea.”
McMurray wins Indy; Ganassi claims triple
Jamie McMurray celebrates his Brickyard 400 win. (Dan Helrigel/IMS)
“Honestly, I’m in shock right now.”
— Jamie McMurray
Team owner Chip Ganassi claimed NASCAR’s version of the Triple Crown on Sunday as his driver, Jamie McMurray, won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. With the win Ganassi became the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.
“I’m the luckiest guy on the planet,” Ganassi said. “You wouldn’t dare to dream this. You wouldn’t dare to dream this kind of year.”
McMurray became just the third driver in NASCAR history to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. The last driver was Jimmie Johnson in 2006. Dale Jarrett was the first driver in 1996.
Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series race earlier this year in Ganassi’s Target car.
McMurray took the lead from Kevin Harvick on the final restart with 11 laps to go and went on to win the race by 1.391-seconds.
“I’m running the last 10 laps of this thing and just praying every lap there isn’t going to be a caution and that my car was going to have the grip I need,” McMurray recalled. “It is remarkable to be put in this position. Honestly, I’m in shock right now.”
Harvick had just taken the lead when the caution came out on lap 167 to set up a double-file restart and an 11-lap shootout.
After the race Harvick, who finished second, said his car didn’t show the muster it had to pass McMurray before the caution.
“I got tight going into turn one there in the middle and just had to wait on my car and Jaime was able to carry the momentum around on the outside,” Harvick said. “The first restart my car actually took off and we were able to get by him but my car never acted like that again but it was a good day for our Shell-Pennzoil Chevy and everybody did a great job just putting us in position. I felt like we had a top-five car but we didn’t have a winning car and we had a chance to win there at the end but just came up a little short.”
Harvick, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five finishers as Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch filled in the rest of the top-ten positions.
Kyle Busch was involved in a seven-car accident in turn two on the opening lap of the race. However, he sustained only minimal damage to his No. 18 Toyota and drove his car up through the field through the race.
“I don’t know what happened there on the opening lap,” Busch said after the race. “I just lost it, I guess. It just went around. I had trouble every restart really trying to get going, especially through (turns) one and two. I had trouble getting going on restarts. All in all, we came back and bounced back solidly, so that was good. We needed a good run — it’s been a while.”
Mark Martin finished 11th and was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to finish inside of the top-20 at Indianapolis. Jeff Gordon, who was looking for his fifth Brickyard 400 victory, finished 23rd after battling with a tight-handling car throughout the race.
Jimmie Johnson, who was running for a third-consecutive Indy victory and the fourth of his career, started off the race strong and ran in the top-five for the first 47 laps of the race. Johnson was tenth when the caution came out on lap 66. On lap 69, Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus decided to keep Johnson on pit road for a long stop to make adjustments to the car, leaving Johnson to restart 22nd on lap 70.
Johnson continued to drop after the stop and spent more time on pit road during the fourth caution of the race on lap 120 to change shocks. He would later go a lap down while on pit road.
Johnson later finished 22nd, but made it back to the lead lap.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running the top-15 before he was involved in a crash with Juan Pablo Montoya. Earnhardt was an innocent bystander when Montoya got loose off of turn 4 on lap 147.
“The car was really good,” Earnhardt said. “Right in the middle of the race, it got real tight, then we fixed it. I felt like we were pretty good coming up through there. Right at the end, I felt like we had a good car, a good top-ten car. Montoya got in the fence there and just kind of pulled down and stopped in front of us. I was side-by-side with somebody (Marcos Ambrose).
“I didn’t even see him hit the wall, I didn’t even know there was a car in the wall until he came across the No. 47 (Ambrose) hood and there he was, I ran right in the back of him. Nowhere to go.”
After leading a race-high 86 laps, Juan Pablo Montoya lost the lead on pit road on Lap 140. Six laps later, he lost control of his car and was involved in an accident that ended his day. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)
Montoya would head straight to the garage and would go on to finish 32nd after leading 86 laps. Earnhardt did receive major damage to his left front, but continued and finished 27th, two laps down.
Montoya had the dominate car for the second year in a row only to finish outside of the top-ten. Last year, Montoya led 116 laps but picked up a pit road speeding penalty from NASCAR in the closing laps to finish 11th.
It was a call for four tires for the then race leader Montoya, as his teammate and a handful of other cars took two tires that put Montoya further back in the pack.
“Bad call,” Montoya’s crew chief Brian Pattie said. “Crew chief error. We should have taken two tires.”
Notes: The 16 laps led by McMurray were the second-least amount led by an eventual Brickyard 400. Jarrett led only 11 laps in his 1996 victory. … The race saw 14 lead changes among 10 drivers. … The race had six cautions for 25 laps. Four of those cautions were for debris, on laps 16, 67, 118 and 139. The other two were for accidents, one on the first lap and the other on lap 147. … Harvick leads Gordon by 184 points heading into Pocono with six races left until the chase cutoff at Richmond.
Truex Jr fastest in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Indy
Michael Waltrip Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest driver in final practice for the Brickyard 400 on Saturday. Truex turned in a lap of 51.245-seconds, averaging 175.627 mph, to jump to the top of the board.
Jeff Burton, who was fastest in the third practice earlier Saturday afternoon, was second quickest, with a lap of 51.273-seconds.
Burton’s teammate, Clint Bowyer was third fastest as Carl Edwards and Mark Martin rounded out the remaining top-five fastest drivers. They joined Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin to complete the top-ten fastest drivers in single-lap runs.
Johnson was the fastest drivers in ten-lap averages in the session. He ran ten straight laps to average 172.358 mph.
Burton leads third Cup Series practice at Indy
Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton broke up Juan Pablo Montoya’s weekend domination Saturday afternoon in the third Sprint Cup Series practice of the weekend. Burton turned a 51.221-second lap to be the fastest driver in single lap runs.
Teammate Clint Bowyer was second fastest with a lap of 51.292-seconds with the other RCR driver, Kevin Harvick completing the top-three fastest driver sweep, clocking in with a lap of 51.375-seconds.
Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five fastest drivers in single-lap runs. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin joined Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle to round out the top-ten fastest.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his improvement on the weekend, finishing practice 12th quickest.
After leading Friday’s two practices and qualifying on the pole Saturday morning, Montoya was 14th quickest.
Hamlin held the fastest ten-lap average speed of 172.254 mph. Montoya was the second-best with a 172.010 mph average while Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five fastest drivers in 10-lap runs. They were the only drivers to complete ten consecutive laps in the session.
The Sprint Cup Series will practice again at 3:30 p.m. ET for the final time of the weekend.
Keselowski leads final Nationwide practice
Brad Keselowski swept both Nationwide Series practice sessions at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis Saturday, leading both the opening and final practice sessions in his No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge.
With a 22.621-second lap and an average speed of 109.173 mph Keselowski finished the final practice session at the top of the single-lap speed charts.
Paul Menard, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Leffler and Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top-five fastest. Rookies Colin Braun and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. joined Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier and rookie Brian Scott in rounding out the top-ten fastest on Saturday.
Allgaier was the only driver to run ten consecutive laps in the session. He averaged a speed of 104.414 mph.
Keselowski leads opening Nationwide practice
The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge of Brad Keselowski was the fastest driver in opening Nationwide Series practice at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. Saturday morning. Keselowski ran a lap of 22.898-seconds, averaging 107.852 mph.
Ron Hornaday Jr., who won the truck race at ORP Friday night, was second fastest in the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet.
Morgan Sheppard, Jason Leffler and rookie James Buescher were the remaining top-five fastest drivers in single lap runs in the session. Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Michael Annett, David Starr and Shelby Howard rounded out the top-ten.
No drivers completed ten-consecutive laps.
Montoya wins pole, Chevys dominate qualifying
View the Brickyard 400 Starting Lineup
After leading both Sprint Cup Series practice sessions Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Juan Pablo Montoya was again the fastest, this time capturing the pole for Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
Montoya edged second place qualifier Jimmie Johnson by 0.037-seconds to grab his 4th career pole, and first pole at Indy.
“It was a good lap,” Montoya said. “I think in (Turn) 2, I got a little bit tight and I had to brake a little bit coming off, but I don’t think it was a major deal. I don’t think I made up any time, but I don’t think I really lost much of a lap time there. Everywhere else was pretty good. I thought it was a good lap. The car has been pretty good. You know, we came here and tested and when we got off the truck, it was good; put it in the truck, it was good; brought it here, was good. So just got to make sure, you know, like Chip says, do everything right tomorrow and see what happens.”
Chevrolets claimed nine of the top-ten positions in the qualifying session. The Ford of Greg Biffle broke Chevy’s hold on the top-nine positions late in the session by qualifying seventh.
Johnson, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman joined Polesitter Montoya as the top-five qualifiers in Saturday’s Brickyard 400 qualifying.
Clint Bowyer, Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-ten fastest drivers in qualifying.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 17th after his other three teammates at Hendrick Motorsports qualified in the top-eight Saturday.
Joey Logano qualified 34th, but had to start at the rear of the field anyway after he blew an engine in Friday’s second Cup Series practice session.
Four drivers failed to qualify for the race on Saturday, those drivers being David Gilliland, Casey Mears, David Stremme and J.J. Yeley.
With questions of future, Martin feels “disrespected” by media
For the umpteenth time, Mark Martin fielded questions from the media about his plans of the future. And for the umpteenth time, he gave the same answer.
It all started with Ray Evernham, who during an ESPN media conference Friday morning at Indianapolis said he thought that Martin would eventually step out of the No. 5 Chevrolet to make room for Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports.
“At some point Mark will realize Rick Hendrick has been very good to him, and … the best thing for Hendrick Motorsports is for Mark to make room for Kasey to come over there,” Evernham said. “I think Mark eventually will do that. There’s lots of balls in the air. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next three to four weeks that Mark Martin says, ‘Rick Hendrick has been good to me, but the best thing I can do for him is to make room for Kasey Kahne.’”
Martin says again, however, that he will be driving in the No. 5 next year.
“I made myself perfectly clear last weekend, or over the last several weeks,” Martin said. “There is no inclination of any change. But I will tell you this — there is no road map for me and my future. So don’t even start to think about criticizing what I do in 2012 or beyond, because I don’t know.”
Frustrated by the media’s constant hounding of the same question week after week, Martin said he feels disrespected by the media.
“That’s what I’ve said all along and I felt very disrespected when the media doesn’t accept that,” Martin said. “What that means is that you made me look like I am about to get fired. That’s very disrespectful, guys. That’s what you all are doing.
“It’s very disrespectful and I deserve better than that from you guys. I’ve always been as straight as I can be and any little bit of waffling that I have done in my whole career was based on being asked questions before I was ready to answer them. I should be able to do the things that I want to do. I went to a limited schedule because I wanted to. I came back full time because I wanted to drive the 5 car. I never said I was going to retire. I said I wasn’t going to run full schedule anymore and I changed my mind. I’m going to have a hard time telling you guys what I’m going to do in 2012 and beyond because you pick at that like I’m indecisive.
“I’m at the point in my career where I get to do whatever in the heck I want to do. Rick Hendrick and Alan Gustafson (crew chief) indicated to me that they wanted me to drive their car as long as I would drive it. After thinking about it, I told them I would drive it through 2011 and that would be long enough commitment for me and then I would do something else. They wanted me to go further than that and I wouldn’t do it because it’s too far out. I don’t have a road map and I don’t want to change my mind. I just want to do what I said I was going to do.
“That’s what we’re going to do, that’s what they want, that’s what I want and I don’t know why everybody makes such a big deal out of all this. Understand that it will all be put to rest whenever they announce what Kasey (Kahne) is going to do and I understand that, but you should be focusing on that. What is Kasey going to do? Because I have told you what I’m going to do.”
Martin’s No. 5 team has struggled this year, compared to last year when they were fighting for a championship until the last race of the season. Now, however, Martin sits outside of the chase and is winless thus far in 2010.
