Race Weekend Central

Marcos Ambrose’s Pit Strategy Doomed His Chances at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Marcos Ambrose came into Watkins Glen International for Monday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen (Aug. 3) as a legitimate favorite to win the event. His No. 47 had been the quickest in both practice sessions on Saturday, and he had a lot of confidence coming into the race. …

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Tony Stewart Records Record-Breaking 5th Win in 2009 Heluva Good! at the Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Tony Stewart had an OK qualifying effort on Friday afternoon, placing his No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS 13th on the grid. Before the race was postponed on Sunday, Stewart said that he would like the weather to warm up, allowing the track to get slippery. He got his wish. On …

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Marcos Ambrose Successfully Defends His Crystal in the 2009 Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Marcos Ambrose is a forgetful person, apparently. As part of his prize last year for winning at Watkins Glen, he was presented with a golden lighter, courtesy of Zippo. He then proceeded to lose the lighter. It eventually popped up randomly a few months later. Now, he’s got a second one …

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Jimmie Johnson Claims 2009 Coors Light Pole at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – In the pre-qualifying press conferences at Watkins Glen, a recurring theme in some of the questioning was the idea that Jimmie Johnson needs to win on a road course in order for him to be considered “complete” as a Sprint Cup legend. On Friday afternoon, Jimmie put himself in position to …

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Cup Series Regular Brad Keselowski Wins Inaugural NNS Event at Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa – A sellout crowd of nearly 60,000 fans stood cheering wildly as the green flag flew to start the Nationwide Series’ inaugural race, the US Cellular 250, at Iowa Speedway Saturday afternoon near the small town of Newton. With the Cup Series appearing in Pocono this weekend, usual suspects Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards …

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Jimmie Johnson Bests Mark Martin to Win 2009 Brickyard 400

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The 16th running of the Brickyard 400 saw the first repeat winner of the event. Jimmie Johnson made a furious late-race maneuver to get past Mark Martin on a restart and then held off the oldest pole winner in IMS history to claim his second 400 in two years and third of …

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Mark Martin Wins 2009 Brickyard 400 Pole

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After a long, soggy morning, the Sprint Cup Series finally took to the track for qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 2 p.m. Sam Hornish Jr. was the first car on track after heavy rain overnight and occasional showers during the morning cleaned off the rubber that had been laid down …

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Mark Martin Tops 2nd 2009 Brickyard 400 Practice

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Carl Edwards was the first car on the track for the second practice session. The majority of the teams queried stated they were going to work on qualifying runs during this session. Greg Biffle did admit that his last run during the first session was a qualifying run and that was reflected by …

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Kevin Harvick’s Gamble Pays Off for Kyle Busch in 2009 Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway

MADISON, Ill. – There are a few things that one can usually count on when the Nationwide Series comes to Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis; hot weather, a Wallace or two (or three) will be racing and a long green-flag run sometime during the race. Last Saturday night’s presentation of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers …

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Joey Logano’s Pit Strategy Pays Off Big Time at Loudon, Wins 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301

In NASCAR, anything can happen during races. On lap 180, Joey Logano blew out a left-rear tire in turn 3. He had to make multiple pit stops under the caution (during one stop, the crew had to remove part of the tire that had wrapped itself around the left rear hub) and lost a lap. …

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Kyle Busch Wins 2009 Camping World RV Sales 200, Becomes 23rd Different Winner at NHMS

LOUDON, N.H. – Kyle Busch stormed to the checkered flag in Saturday’s Camping World RV Rental 200 Presented by Turtle Wax (June 27), but his win was overshadowed by a New Hampshire Motor Speedway milestone: Busch was the 23rd different winner in the 23 Nationwide Series races that the track has hosted. “That’s pretty cool. …

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