Sunday, July 14, 2002
Biffle moving up to Cup
Auto racing notebook
By MIKE HARRIS
AP Motorsports Writer
JOLIET, Ill. — Greg Biffle will be a fifth Roush Racing entry in the Winston Cup series in 2003.
Biffle, currently leading the Busch Series in a Roush car, will join Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch driving Fords for Roush in NASCAR's top stock car series.
The 32-year-old driver from Vancouver, Wash., will run the full Cup schedule in the No. 16 Ford with both his current crew chief, Randy Goss, and sponsor Grainger Industrial Supply moving up with him.
“We've been planning this for quite some time,” said Biffle, who ran his first Cup race earlier this season at California Speedway. “I'll definitely have the best opportunity as a rookie to finish well in the races and in the points.
“Some people have said it's tough for a rookie driver and crew chief, but Randy had no experience in trucks or in Busch before he went to those series. We'll learn together.”
Goss, who started with Roush racing in 1993 and worked on Roush's successful sports car program, became Biffle's crew chief in 1998 in the truck series after working with Joe Ruttman for two years.
Biffle came up just eight points short of the truck championship in 1999 and won the title in 2000. He then moved to the Busch Series and was the 2001 Rookie of the Year.
“Greg and Randy have been a real quick study in trucks and Busch and I'm sure it will be the same in Winston Cup,” Roush said. “Like Kurt, they will bring fresh ideas to Mark, Matt and Jeff Burton.”
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LOOKING FOR LUCK: Jeff Gordon hasn't been able to break into the victory column in 25 races, dating last September 2001 at Kansas Speedway.
“I think we just need to get a little bit of racing luck,” said Gordon, fifth in the Winston Cup standings, 150 points behind leader Sterling Marlin.
“It's a big issue because I want to win,” Gordon said. “We're in the thick of this championship and a win would do a lot for us.”
The defending and four-time series champion said his Hendrick Motorsports team has been doing a good job overall.
“We've led laps, we just can't seem to put all those pieces together and get us to the finish and have a shot at winning,” Gordon said. “If we can start to get the car to the end in the top five, I think we'll have a shot at winning a race. We just can't seem to do that. We have a cut tire or a broken rear gear. It's just a lot of little things.”
Despite his problems, Gordon has been running at the finish in 48 consecutive races. The last time he didn't finish a race was at Darlington, S.C., in March 2001.
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GETTING BETTER: Jimmy Spencer, failed to qualify Friday and had to use a provisional to make the race, got some much-needed confidence in practice Saturday.
“Yesterday, we just couldn't get the car to drive real good,” said Spencer, who finished fifth here last year in the inaugural race. “Today, we kept working hard on trying to get it to drive good and it's decent now.
“We want to get a little more speed through the corners. If we do that, we'll be a factor in the finish tomorrow.”
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FEELING BETTER: Christian Elder, injured in a hard crash during Friday's Busch Series qualifying, was released from St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields on Saturday.
Elder came away from the crash with a concussion, a broken right shoulder and a laceration on his forehead. He was held overnight in the hospital for observation.
Mark Green was hired to replace Elder in Saturday's race and the next two events on the Busch schedule.
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SPARK PLUGS: Nobody has won from the pole in the first 17 races this season. Only seven of them have even finished in the top 10, with Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart both finishing second after starting from the pole. ... If Kevin Harvick wins Sunday he would be only the second driver to win the first two races at a track since A.J. Foyt at the now-defunct Ontario Motor Speedway in 1971-72. Tony Stewart won at Homestead in 1999-2000. ... Sunday's race marks the halfway point in the 36-race Winston Cup season, with 12 different winners already. ... The only race Winston Cup rookie Jimmie Johnson won in 72 Busch Series starts was the Chicagoland inaugural last July. ... The series leader at the halfway point has gone on to win the championship each year since 1993.
• Polesitter Newman going after first win
By MIKE HARRIS
AP Motorsports Writer
JOLIET, Ill. — Ryan Newman is feeling a little frustrated.
The 24-year-old racer is having an outstanding rookie year, but is still being overshadowed by fellow first-year driver Jimmie Johnson.
Worse, that first Winston Cup victory hasn't happened yet.
“This team is too good not to win,” said Newman, a teammate to former series champion Rusty Wallace at Penske Racing South. “The wins will come.”
Newman will try to make good on that promise Sunday, when he starts from the pole in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, a place that suits the Purdue graduate from nearby South Bend, Ind.
“It is the closest track to my home that we race at,” he said. “I think that's cool, but it's still a racetrack and we're still here trying to do the same job we tried to do last weekend.”
While the 26-year-old Johnson, an impressive third in the points, has three poles, two wins, seven top-fives and 11 top-10s in the first 17 races this season, Newman is 16th with two poles, no wins, five top-fives and eight top-10s.
The biggest difference between the two is that victory category and poor finishes. Johnson has failed to finish only twice, but Newman has been sidelined five times.
“Every racetrack we've been to, we've been pretty successful,” Newman said. “Our biggest struggle all year has been at the Coca-
Cola 600 where we just missed the handle at the start and ended up blowing the motor.
“But every place we've been to, we've been running in the top 10, whether we finish up there or blow up. It's been one of the two. I think our worst finish without any accidents has been a 14th, and that's pretty good.”
Newman pointed out that his No. 12 Ford Taurus has been taken out of races by things like a faulty fuel pump and a broken oil pump belt.
“Those are just freak things,” he said.
Newman was supposed to start Sunday's 400-mile race alongside another member of NASCAR's outstanding Kiddie Corps, Kurt Busch. Instead, thanks to NASCAR's one-engine rule, the 23-year-old Busch will have to pull out of line during the pace laps and go to the back of the field after blowing his engine in Saturday's practice.
That hasn't been much of a problem, though, with Busch, Matt Kenseth and series points leader Sterling Marlin winning races earlier this season after being forced to go to the back after engine changes.
That will be a tough chore here for the second-year driver, because the 1 1/2-mile oval is still a tough track on which to pass in only its second year.
“The big question is whether that second groove will come in,” said Busch, 10th in the points. “Last year, on a new track, there was definitely only one racing line, but the second groove is at least starting to come in. That's going to decide how much passing we'll be doing.”
Johnson, who would love to turn a bad week around with a strong showing on Sunday, has the same problem as Busch. He'll have to come from 37th after wrecking his primary car Friday morning.
That came after his crew chief, Chad Knaus, was hit with a $25,000 fine and Johnson lost 25 championship points because NASCAR discovered an unapproved part on their No. 48 Chevrolet last weekend at Daytona.
“Luckily for our team, the backup car is just as good,” Johnson said. “This is the car we won Dover with. All our efforts for qualifying were in the original car, so we got behind. Chad and the guys will have it ready to race.”
Marlin, who has a 77-point lead on runner-up Mark Martin, qualified fourth and will move his Dodge right up alongside Newman after Busch vacates that spot.
The 45-year-old Marlin, chasing his first championship, says he's ready for the 20 consecutive weekends of racing that begin Sunday.
“This stretch should favor the bigger, more experienced teams, but you never know what's going to happen,” said Marlin, who has led in points since the second week of the season.
• Sauter gets first Busch win of season at Chicagoland
By JOHN MILBURN
Associated Press Writer
JOLIET, Ill. — Johnny Sauter went 112 miles between pit stops Saturday and outran polesitter Todd Bodine following a red-flag restart to take the NASCAR Busch series Tropicana Twister 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Sauter last pitted on lap 125 for fuel and four tires, along with Bodine and Joe Nemechek. The gamble paid off with the trio able to maintain track position when the race was stopped on lap 195 after Kasey Kahne crashed in turn 4.
Bodine finished second, followed by Jeff Burton, who had the fastest car most of the day, and Nemechek.
The caution came after many of the early contenders had made final pit stops under green to take fuel. NASCAR officials stopped the field on the backstretch for five minutes, setting up the dash to the finish.
Points leader Greg Biffle was one those who pitted and found himself a lap down. He finished eighth and padded his points lead to 47 over Jason Keller and 150 over Jack Sprague. Biffle had to start from the back of the 43-car field because he changed engines after Friday's qualifying.
The race was punctuated by numerous caution periods at the 2-year-old speedway, including a crash on lap 125 when Scott Riggs hit the wall on the backstretch on the 1.5-mile tri-oval. Riggs, who had led 50 laps of the race, was taken to a Joliet hospital, complaining of sore ribs.
It was Sauter's third top-10 finish of the year and his first career victory. Earlier this season he finished third at Las Vegas and sixth last week at Daytona.
Burton was dominant through the first and third legs of the race, but became a victim of fuel mileage and was forced to give up the lead and pit.
“I just couldn't go that far,” Burton said.
Burton gave Sauter some advice earlier in the weekend, telling him not to pay attention to criticism concerning his ability to succeed despite driving the same car Kevin Harvick won the 2001 Busch title.
“I told him 'don't let anybody screw you up. Just pay attention to what you're doing,”' Burton said.
The crashes caused more than damaged equipment, causing a shuffle in the points standings. The biggest winners were Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Randy Lajoie, who moved up to sixth and seventh place, respectively. Jamie McMurray cracked the top 10 finishing 12th a lap down.
• Longer stay for drivers in Cleveland
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND — It will take Sunday's winner of the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland a little longer to see the checkered flag.
CART and TV officials have lengthened this year's race to 115 laps, and have placed a 2-hour, 15-minute time limit on the event.
The last three Cleveland Grand Prix races have been 100 laps. Sunday's race will be the longest since 1983, when Al Unser was first after 125 laps.
“I would rather it wasn't quite that long,” defending champion Dario Franchitti said Saturday. “I was quite happy with the distance that it was before.”
The extra distance will take its toll as drivers navigate the bumpy, 2.106-mile road course laid out on the runways and taxiways of Burke Lakefront Airport.
“It's going to be very physical,” Franchitti said. “I'm glad that I've been working out.”
Franchitti completed his 100 laps last year in 1:47.04. The fastest race was in 1994, when Al Unser Jr. needed just 1:27.32 to go 85 laps.
“I think it's too long, 12 laps would be enough,” joked Patrick Carpentier, who will start alongside polesitter Cristiano da Matta on the front row.
Da Matta will be trying to win a CART-record fifth straight race.
“Physically, I don't think I'm going to have a problem,” said the 5-foot-4, 129-pound da Matta. “But it's going to be a tough race.”
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WEIGHT ONE SECOND: Cristiano da Matta, who has spent most of the season standing on podiums, was forced to step on a scale.
All CART drivers were weighed on Friday as the series prepares for a rule change later this season at the Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio in Lexington on Aug. 11.
There will be a median weight established for the event, and drivers who don't meet it will have ballast added or subtracted to their cars — as is done in horse racing and other sports to equalize the competition.
CART says it planned to make the change for some time, but with the tiny da Matta dominating the series by winning five of eight races, some wondered if it wasn't done to slow him down.
“I think people are making too big of a deal about it,” said da Matta, who claimed to weigh 135 before the weigh-in. “I don't think the rule is fair. ... and it shouldn't be done in the middle of the season.”
Although da Matta, who tipped the scales at 129, weighs as much as 40 pounds less than some other drivers in the field, he doesn't think it gives him an advantage.
Da Matta says things balance out for the bigger drivers, who say their size allows them to power through turns easier than he can.
He used the NBA to make his point.
“Just because Shaquille O'Neal gets the ball, they don't raise the basket,” said the 5-foot-4 Brazilian.
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SNEAK PREVIEW: With Cleveland's race taking place on airport runways, it's only fitting that da Matta is continuing to preview an in-flight movie for the rest of the field.
The rear wing of da Matta's No. 6 Toyota-Lola has a promotional logo for “Road to Perdition”, his co-owner Paul Newman's new movie, which opened to strong reviews nationwide on Friday. The 200-mph marquee has been on da Matta's car, and that of Newman-Haas teammate Christian Fittipaldi, for three weeks.
Newman stars in the film along with Tom Hanks and Jude Law. Newman plays the father of Hanks' character, an Irish mobster.
Fittipaldi visited the set during the shooting and attended the film's premiers in New York earlier this week.
In the film, 'Perdition' is a town and a metaphor for going to hell, which is about as hot as da Matta has been lately.
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EXHAUST FUMES: Da Matta, who will enter Sunday with 120 championship points, is on pace to break Alex Zanardi's season points record. Zanardi had 285 points in 1998. After eight races in '98, Zanardi had 113 points to 118 for da Matta. ... Michael Andretti's start — in the third row — Sunday will be the 299th of his career. ... Da Matta has won four straight poles on road courses, and he just missed winning a fifth this season by .003 seconds at Long Beach. ... In addition to winning another pole, da Matta also had the fastest time during Saturday's morning practice session, 57.177 seconds (132.599 mph) or .455 faster than Kenny Brack, who will start in the fifth row.
• Lazier leads open-wheel romp
By MIKE HARRIS
AP Motorsports Writer
JOLIET, Ill. — Buddy Lazier turned the International Race of Champions event at Chicagoland Speedway into a one-man show Saturday.
The 2000 Indy Racing League champion led all 67 laps on the 1 1/2-mile oval and was the front man in a 1-2-3 IRL sweep — the first time open-wheel drivers have done that since April of 1996 when Al Unser Jr. led Robby Gordon and Scott Pruett across the finish line at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I went into the race last in the points, and starting up front and having clean air was what made it happen for me,” Lazier said.
Lazier started up front because IROC fields — with the exception of the traditional season opener at Daytona — are set in reverse order of points. Saturday's race was the third of four this season.
Lazier went into the inaugural Chicagoland IROC event with a game plan to race hard at the start to try to stay in front and break the draft if possible. He knew, though, that strategy probably would wear out his tires more quickly.
“We started the race on a stock car line, higher on the track, and when my front end starting to go away, I figured it was all over,” the first-time IROC winner said. “I started to get lower on the track and found it was real sticky down there.
“I was able to run an Indy-car line the rest of the race, and that's what won it for us. Had there been a yellow, I'd have been in trouble.”
He averaged 161.374 mph in the all green-flag race, becoming the first open-wheel racer to win an IROC event since the IRL's Eddie Cheever Jr. prevailed two years ago at Michigan Speedway.
After Lazier, the 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner, began to pull away midway through the race, the only question was who would finish second. The battle came down to a pair of two-time Indy winners — Unser and Helio Castroneves.
Castroneves, an IROC rookie, started third in the 11-car field, but moved past World of Outlaws sprint car star Danny Lasoski into second before the first turn.
The Brazilian stayed close to Lazier for a while, but eventually began to fade. Meanwhile, Unser worked his way to third and began to stalk Castroneves, finally getting past seven laps from the end when Castroneves was momentarily slowed by the lapped car of NASCAR Busch series driver Jack Sprague.
Lazier finished a whopping 5.195-seconds — more than a straightaway — ahead of second-place Unser.
“By the time I got past Helio, Lazier was just gone,” said Unser, a two-time champion in the all-star series that pits a dozen drivers against one another in identically prepared Pontiacs.
Castroneves finished third, followed by NASCAR Winston Cup star Kevin Harvick and two more IRL entries, Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish jr.
Unser was happy to be back in a race car after making another kind of news on Tuesday when his girlfriend accused the 40-year-old driver of hitting her and abandoning her on a highway. Domestic violence charges are pending in Indianapolis.
“It's in the hands of the authorities in Indianapolis and I can't make any comments,” Unser said.
Winston Cup stars Tony Stewart and Harvick won the first two races this season, and Stewart came into Saturday's event leading Harvick by three points in the standings.
Harvick moved into the lead, five points ahead of Unser as Stewart went out of the race with a mechanical problem on the 20th lap and fell to third, six points back.
Heading into the season-finale Aug. 3 in Indianapolis, defending series champion Bobby Labonte, another NASCAR star, and Lazier are tied for fourth, seven points behind the leader.
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