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Miles Around Motorsports Calendar
The NorthWest Wingless Tour has announced that its June 5th and June 6th races at Willamette Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway will be known as the “NWWT Summer Shootout” and will offer bonus money to the top point scorers over two nights of racing in Oregon.
Keith Steenslid, a former dwarf car racer and father to midget racer Tyler Steenslid, is helping to organize the event for the NWWT. Points will be tallied over the two nights and the top five sprint car drivers and top five midget drivers will receive bonus money from the NWWT. NWWT is seeking sponsorship for the event and numerous packages are available, ranging from $200 to $500. The intended minimum bonus for the NWWT sprint car division is $500 for first place, $300 for second, $200 for third, $150 for fourth and $100 for fifth. In the NWWT midgets, it will be $300 for first, $200 for seconds, $150 for third, $100 for fourth and $75 for fifth. Drivers who pass more cars than anyone will get some additional cash also. The hard charger in the main event each night in the NWWT sprint car division will score $150 and the NWWT midget division hard charger award winner will earn $100 each night.
The first event is Friday, June 5th at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. during the track’s annual Strawberry Cup weekend. Willamette Speedway, a 3/10-mile, semi-banked clay oval, is one of only a handful of dirt tracks left on the west coast where teams still pit inside the track instead of the outside as is common now. It is the first of two scheduled events at Willamette Speedway this season, the second being the October 3rd Fall Classic. Saturday, June 6th will see the NWWT teams make the drive south down Interstate 5 to Cottage Grove, just past Eugene. Cottage Grove Speedway, under new owner Bob Farwell, is the unofficial home track of the NorthWest Wingless Tour in 2009, hosting the most NWWT events. Cottage Grove is a ¼-mile, high-banked clay oval that is one of the fastest tracks of its size in the United States.
The NWWT’s sprint car division runs 360ci steel block motors and the midget division is an open class. More information on the NorthWest Wingless Tour can be found online at http://www.nwwingless.com.
Team Mopar driver Samuel Hübinette owns a series-high nine career Formula Drift wins, yet the two-time champion hasn't visited the top spot on the podium since his triumph in the June 2007 FD West Virginia event.
The "Crazy Swede" will look to return to his winning ways and bring home his 10th career victory this weekend at the FD Round Two: Proving Ground battle. The event is scheduled for May 8–9 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Ron Capps, driver of the Mopar HEMI powered NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T, reached his fourth Funny Car final round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season and the 58th of his career at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway, but failed to turn it into his fourth victory of the year. Capps did extend his points lead to 119 markers over event winner Del Worsham.
Next up is the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, May 15–17. For more info on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com
Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson's high hopes were dashed early Sunday in the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway by a red light start in Round 1 of final eliminations.
But in a strange way, he thinks it may end up as a positive. The Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver faced off against fellow Mopar-powered driver Rickie Jones in the first round of eliminations and was one of three Pro Stock red light victims in the round. Jones ran a slower 6.646/207.88 to record the win after Johnson jumped the light by five-thousandths (-.005) and ran 6.608/209.46.
Johnson will look to get back on track in his home state of Tennessee at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, May 15–17. The Greeneville native will speak to students from Avoca Elementary School during a Pro Stock test session at Bristol on Tuesday, May 5. For more information on Bristol Dragway or the NHRA, visit http://www.bristoldragway.com or http://www.nhra.com.
Garrett Evans waited until the final green flag lap to win the first ever iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour feature.
In 1985 Evans won the first ever Northwest Tour race. Gary Lewis a close 2nd and Brent Harris was third. Twenty cars started the ‘Apple Blossom 125’ at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval. Evans took advantage of the new commitment cone restarts. With first place Lewis and second place Harris choosing to go to the inside Evans went to the outside putting himself along side of Lewis at lap 119. When they got back to the finish line under green Evans beat Lewis by less than .200 of a second. Another caution came out as Evans and Lewis crossed the line with Evans just inches ahead of Lewis. While getting the field lined for the restart the track got too wet forcing an early end to the 125-lap feature. Lewis took the lead on lap 61 after then leader Jared Vorse had to head to the pits to remedy a flat tire.
A late race caution bunched the field. On the ensuing restart Evans chose the outside groove and was able to beat Lewis back to the line as a yellow flew for a car stalled in turn one. Lewis was able to take advantage of the new style of restarts on the lap four restart. From his 6th starting spot he was able to move to 4th and by lap eight. Lewis was content to stay behind Vorse until the flat tire for Vorse. Evans had fallen as deep as 7th in the early portion of the race. By lap 61 Evans had moved into 3rd. During the post race interview when asked about the new format Evans said “I raced with a series in the south and they used the same format. It is exciting for the fans."
Next up for the iRacing.com ASA Northwest Late Model Tour is a stop on May 9, 2009 at the newly owned and operated Spokane County Raceway’s .500-mile oval. The 125-lap feature is being billed as the ‘Grand Opening’ of their 2009 season.
Thanks to third position taken at the seventeenth and last round of the series in front of almost 40,000 spectators at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
The 23 year old claimed his second SX title and the sixth of his career while successfully defending Yamaha’s crown in the premier class. The 19th Supercross event to take place in Las Vegas saw a tense final face-off between points-leader Stewart and defending number one Chad Reed; the pair had been trading places at the top of the standings throughout the campaign. Stewart carried a six point advantage and could afford to ride conservatively and within distance of Reed.
He led for the opening laps of the Main Event but relinquished control to Ryan Villopoto and then withstood close pressure from Reed, no doubt hoping to force a mistake, before settling for third behind the Australian and confirming the championship by just four points.
Kyle Busch’s burnout on the frontstretch was a loud and smoky substitute for candles on a birthday cake. But for Busch, there was no better way to celebrate his 24th birthday than to win his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season and the 15th of his career.
In a race that featured a record-tying 15 cautions—but none in the final 40 laps—Busch powered past Jeff Gordon for the lead on Lap 352 and pulled away to win Saturday night’s Crown Royal Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway and complete a weekend sweep of NASCAR events there. Busch, who won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Friday night at the .75-mile short track, joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win NASCAR Sprint Cup races on their birthdays. With a full year in hand, Busch also holds the record for most victories in the series before turning 25.
Busch got to the finish line 2.751 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart who made a late pit stop for tires and worked his way up through the field in the final 50 laps. Jeff Burton survived a medley of wrecks to finish third. Ryan Newman came home fourth and Mark Martin fifth.
It may be too early to call the run for the Nationwide Series championship a two-man race, but Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards continued to assert their dominance Friday night at Richmond International Raceway.
In a five-lap run to the finish after the 10th caution of the race, Busch held off Edwards by .584 seconds in the Lipton Tea 250 and extended his lead in the championships standings to 82 points over second-place Edwards. "It's fun here at Richmond -- I love winning here at Richmond," said Busch, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Saturday. "We're in championship form. We've just got to keep digging." The victory was Busch's third of the year, his third at Richmond and his 24th in the series. Matt Kenseth finished third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Joey Logano, Mark Martin, rookie Michael McDowell, Jason Keller and Jason Leffler completed the top 10.
Falken Tire, well regarded for its high performance tires, officially entered the 2009 American Le Mans Series’ highly competitive GT2 class by competing at Long Beach with its in-house-prepared Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
The car was driven by veterans Dominic Cicero and Bryan Sellers and ran on specially prepared Falken AZENIS RT slicks. Qualified in eighth position by Sellers, the Team Falken Tire RSR ran within a second of the race podium-winning #92 BMW car, a considerable accomplishment for a brand new team and tire that has never previously experienced the unforgiving Long Beach street course.
The Porsche moved to seventh on the grid after the pole-winning car was sent to the rear for a ride height infraction. Sellers started the race, but reported shifting problems early on. He continued to nurse the car for 30 laps, maintaining his position of seventh, but eventually had to retire the Porsche. The team finished 20th overall and 12th in class. “The car was extremely consistent for a long time,” Sellers said. “I was able to run a steady pace for the whole stint never dropping off more than four-tenths of a lap until we had transmission problems.” Co-driver Cicero agreed: “The tires were consistent and held up very well in our practices. We feel we have a great product for the 2010 season.” The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is painted in traditional Falken teal and blue livery, now highlighted by its new sponsor, Cleveland Golf of Huntington Beach, CA. Cleveland Golf, a force on the PGA tour, embraces many of the same product development ideologies which Falken Tire Corporation applies to their Azenis RT Slick tires used for ALMS competition. “The American Le Mans is an excellent series and the perfect platform for Falken to demonstrate the strength and capabilities of our technology and capabilities,” noted Andrew Hoit, Director of Marketing, Falken Tire. “The competition this year is extremely tough, and we knew that going in, because we wanted to be able to challenge the factory teams as well as the privateers and our competitors, the other tire manufacturers. We’re running a shorter season this year, in preparation for a full assault in 2010."
The Falken Tire/Cleveland Golf team will next compete at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in September.
After a wild weekend at the big Talladega Superspeedway, both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series completely switch gears and head to the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway short track.
Some call Richmond “the perfect track.” One thing is for sure: it’s of vital importance. The spring Richmond race is the appetizer to race No. 26 at Richmond, the final race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES.
Big Brother Is Back: Former Champ Kurt Busch Leads Points. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, the resilient and resurgent Kurt Busch, is atop the series standings for the firs time in more than four years, coming out of Talladega. Before Sunday, the last time Busch led the points was March 13, 2005. Busch has a five-point lead over another former champion, four-time titlist Jeff Gordon.
Finally, Some Momentum for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is up to 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points, following an outstanding second-place finish this past Sunday at Talladega – his best result of the season. He also had a solid run the day before, finishing fifth in the NASCAR Nationwide event. This week, Earnhardt returns to Richmond International Raceway and at first glance that looks like good news. Earnhardt has 18 career NASCAR Sprint Cup wins. The 17th came at RIR in the track’s 2006 spring race. Earnhardt has won only one other points race since – last spring at Michigan. In all, Earnhardt has three wins at Richmond.
A picture-perfect day greeted the SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup at VIRginia International Raceway for Round One of the 2009 season. While series veterans put on a strong showing, it was rookie Joey Atterbury who took the checkered flag in the No. 14 Red Bull car.
Mike Skinner drove Randy Moss Motorsports to its first Camping World Truck Series victory Monday in the rain-delayed and -shortened O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.
Skinner's win was his first of the season and 26th of his career. He joined the team, formed when NFL star Moss became partners with Morgan-Dollar Motorsports owner David Dollar this past July, in January to form a two-truck effort with rookie Tayler Malsam."Randy, we got it buddy," Skinner said. "We got us one. It's really, really cool. We've got a lot of effort to build this program." Johnny Benson finished second, followed by Brian Scott, Ron Hornaday and Brian Ickler. Skinner took the lead on a restart on Lap 119, passing Stacy Compton. Skinner and the rest of the field had stopped under caution. Skinner only took fuel. Hornaday had led the previous 24 laps and had to stop twice, once for four tires and once for fuel under the new pit-stop rules that do not allow refueling and changing tires in the same stop. He emerged in ninth.The race had four laps under green following the Lap 119 restart before it began raining and the caution came out. The trucks ran 14 laps under caution before the race was red-flagged.
With the rain continuing to fall, NASCAR decided to end it after 132 laps, 35 short of the scheduled distance on the 1.5-mile track.
Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson is hoping to make a special weekend at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. even more special. The long-serving Team Mopar veteran will compete in his 300th race at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, scheduled for May 1–3, and would like nothing better than to mark the occasion by bringing home his sixth career win and first of the 2009 campaign.
"That's a big one," said Johnson of reaching the 300-race mark. "I never thought we would race this long. But I have to say now that we're here, I could see us going on and getting to the 500-race mark. I can only count a handful of teams that have been around as long as we have. We have to be doing something right. The Mopar Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver added, "We've been very lucky to have Mopar as a sponsor for almost our entire career, so obviously that partnership has paid dividends. To sustain a team for that long and to be a productive team, that's really something." Johnson and his Mopar Racing squad have reached one final this year, at the NHRA Gatornationals in March, taking away a runner-up finish. The Team Mopar driver has also experienced his fair share of previous success at the Gateway drag strip, located on the outskirts of St. Louis, claiming runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2003. The Greeneville, Tenn. native is banking on a third trip to the finals at Gateway this weekend, but with a different—and decidedly better— outcome. "I always feel confident going to St. Louis," Johnson remarked. "I like the track and we've had some success there in the past, with a couple of runner-ups. One of my crew chiefs, Mark Ingersoll, and my crewman Mike Gott, are from the area, so it's always an upbeat atmosphere at Gateway. We think we can put this Mopar-powered Stratus into the winner's circle this weekend and make the atmosphere even more upbeat."
The O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals is scheduled for May 1–3 at Gateway International Raceway. For more info on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.
PRESS RELEASE:
GM Accelerates its Reinvention as a Leaner, More Viable Company.
Updated Viability Plan Speeds, Deepens Restructuring of U.S. Operations.General Motors today presented an updated Viability Plan that will speed the reinvention of GM's U.S. operations into a leaner, more customer-focused, and more cost-competitive automaker.
The Viability Plan is included in an exchange offer whereby GM is offering certain bondholders shares of GM common stock and accrued interest in exchange for certain outstanding notes. Revised Viability Plan goes further and faster The Viability Plan announced today builds on the February 17 Viability Plan submitted to the U.S. Treasury. http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=52168.
The revised Plan accelerates the timeline for a number of important actions and makes deeper cuts in several key areas of GM's operations, with the objective to make us a leaner, faster, and more customer-focused organization going forward. Significant changes include.
* A focus on four core brands in the U.S. - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC - with fewer nameplates and a more competitive level of marketing support per brand.
* A more aggressive restructuring of GM's U.S. dealer organization to better focus dealer resources for improved sales and customer service.
* Improved U.S. capacity utilization through accelerated idling and closures of powertrain, stamping, and assembly plants.
* Lower structural costs, which GM North America (GMNA) projects will enable it to breakeven (on an adjusted EBIT basis) at a U.S. total industry volume of approximately 10 million vehicles, based on the pricing and share assumptions in the plan.
This rate is substantially below the 15 to 17 million annual vehicle sales rates recorded from 1995 through 2007. "We are taking tough but necessary actions that are critical to GM's long-term viability," said Fritz Henderson, GM president and CEO. "Our responsibility is clear - to secure GM's future - and we intend to succeed. At the same time, we also understand the impact these actions will have on our employees, dealers, unions, suppliers, shareholders, bondholders, and communities, and we will do whatever we can to mitigate the effects on the extended GM team." Fewer U.S. brands, nameplates, and dealers As part of the revised Viability Plan and the need to move faster and further, GM in the U.S. will focus its resources on four core brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. The Pontiac brand will be phased out by the end of 2010. GM will offer a total of 34 nameplates in 2010, a reduction of 29 percent from 48 nameplates in 2008, reflecting both the reduction in brands and continued emphasis on fewer and stronger entries.
This four-brand strategy will enable GM to better focus its new product development programs and provide more competitive levels of market support. The revised plan moves up the resolution of Saab, Saturn, and Hummer to the end of 2009, at the latest. Updates on these brands will be provided as these initiatives progress. Working with its dealers, GM anticipates reducing its U.S. dealer count from 6,246 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010, a reduction of 42 percent. This is a further reduction of 500 dealers, and four years sooner, than in the February 17 Plan. The goal is to accomplish this reduction in an orderly, cost-effective, and customer-focused way.
This reduction in U.S. dealers will allow for a more competitive dealer network and higher sales effectiveness in all markets. More details on these initiatives will be provided in May.
Joey Atterbury won his 2nd SCCA Oregon Region Race at PIR this last weekend. Joey’s performance was strong, his driving consistent and his car performed absolutely flawlessly on both days of racing.
A ‘tip of the cap’ to Pat McFall and FMR for the great job they did with the set-up of Joey’s car for both the March and April races here at PIR as Joey was able to concentrate solely on driving the race without having to be distracted by any mechanical issues with his car.
Rally Argentina, the fifth round on this year's World Rally Championship calendar. Known for dusty roads winding their way across rivers, the only event held in South America is the latest scene of one man striving for perfection against all odds. That man is living legend, Sebastien Loeb, who earned his fifth consecutive win of the season.
There was no stopping Kyler Barraza on Saturday night, as he bolted to the lead on the start of the race and never looked back as he won the inaugural NorthWest Wingless Tour sprint car feature at Cottage Grove Speedway. Barraza started the 30-lap NWWT feature outside the second row behind front row starters Kyle Miller and Keary Morris. Barraza, long familiar with Cottage Grove Speedway, took the lead on the first lap as he swung high around the top of turns three and four and passed both Morris and Miller. Barraza would lead every lap, and was pleased despite the limited time he had to work on the car between races.
The NorthWest Wingless Tour next races on Saturday, May 23rd back at Cottage Grove Speedway, and this time will be joined by the midgets. More information on the NorthWest Wingless Tour can be found online at http://www.nwwingless.com
Valentino Rossi started on pole with Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, the order decided by Friday practice times after qualifying was cancelled due to the heavy rains.
By the checkered flag it was Lorenzo that took the win, followed by teammate Rossi. Stoner was missing from the podium; the best he could earn was fourth. The Fiat Yamaha team couldn't have asked for a better finish in their home country. For Lorenzo, this win is affirmation he is back in good health and ready to renew his title fight. At the start the Spaniard fell behind but was soon able to contend with Dani Pedrosa for second. Meanwhile Rossi was trying to pull a clean lead over their battle. However, the reigning champ wasn't able to escape his teammate's clutches once Lorenzo dispatched Pedrosa.
The Yamaha riders had a good spar, with Lorenzo finally breaking free and leaving Rossi to defend for second. The Spaniard now leads the title fight, one point over Rossi and three over Stoner.
Scott Dixon returned to form by leading 134 laps on his way to his first victory at the 1.52-mile Kansas Speedway. After failing to finish the first two races, Dixon, the 2008 IndyCar Series Champion, fell to 17th in points. Dixon is now fourth in the standings with 81 points. "There were definitely a lot of long faces after Long Beach," said Dixon. "This is a fantastic turn as we head to the Speedway." Dixon has led 279 of the last 400 laps at Kansas, but has only produced one victory. "This place kind of owes me," Dixon said. "Last year we led just about every lap until the last pit stop and got caught out on a yellow, cycled all the way back to 15th, and got back to third."
Brad Keselowski won't soon forget his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Keselowski claimed the checkered flag in a wild day at Talladega Superspeedway that ended with Carl Edwards crashing into the catch fence, Dale Earnhardt Jr. getting his best finish of the season and a rookie winning at Talladega for just the second time in NASCAR history. Keselowski was 10th with four laps to go and moved to eighth with two to go.
He pushed Edwards around leaders Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with the white flag waving and then made contact with Edwards approaching the finish line. Edwards rolled into the outside wall and Keselowski claimed the win.
The NorthWest Wingless Tour has announced that its June 5th and June 6th races at Willamette Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway will be known as the “NWWT Summer Shootout” and will offer bonus money to the top point scorers over two nights of racing in Oregon.
