Week of 4/17/05
RACE RECAP | PHOENIX
10 Joe Nemechek
9 Johnny Sauter
8 Kyle Busch
7 Carl Edwards came from laps down
6 Bobby Labonte - with his luck this year, this is as good as win
5 Brian Vickers
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3 Jeff Burton - best finish since 2003
2 Michael Waltrip
VICTORY LANE
1 He led 219 of 312 laps and grabs his 12th career win, and first of 2005. Kurt Busch and the 97 team take the checkered flag.
OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY
-Tony Stewart battled radiator problems all night after a pit road incident
-An insanely long caution, and then red flag period was caused by a power outage at the track
-Matt Kenseth had a right front tire go flat, he pounded the wall and finished 42nd
-Greg Biffle was running up front most of the night, until a hole in his radiator put him behind the wall and a 41st place finish
-Jimmie Johnson ends his string of 13 consecutive top 10 finishes by ending up 15th on the night.
April 23, 2005
Kurt Busch wins Phoenix under the lights
1 Kurt Busch
2 Michael Waltrip
3 Jeff Burton
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5 Brian Vickers
6 Bobby Labonte
7 Carl Edwards
8 Kyle Busch
9 Johnny Sauter
10 Joe Nemechek April 23, 2005
Biffle wins after spin
Greg Biffle wins Busch race after causing the first caution of the race from a spin.
1 Greg Biffle
2 Elliot Sadler
3 David Stremme
4 Kevin Harvick
5 Tony Stewart April 23, 2005
Gordon Wins Phoenix Poll
1 Jeff Gordon
2 Kurt Busch
3 Greg Biffle
4 Bobby Labonte
5 Brian Vickers
6 Tony Stewart
7 Ryan Newman
8 Jeremy Mayfield
9 Rusty Wallace
10 Kevin Harvick April 22, 2005
Newman fastest in Cup Happy Hour
Ryan Newman had the fastest time in Nextel Cup Happy Hour, Kasey Kahne topped the charts in the Busch Series.
Get all your favorite drivers times right here:
http://www.finallapradio.com/newsfiles/stats.shtml April 22, 2005
Kentucky gets SAFER
Kentucky Speedway is adding the SAFER walls in time for the June 18th Busch Series race. Most Cup teams also use that track for testing purposes as well. April 22, 2005
Happy Gilmore Grand Marshall at Talladega
Adam Sandler has been named the grand marshall for the May 1st race at Talladega. NASCAR often looks toward the entertainment industry for such duties. April 22, 2005
WHO'S HOT going into this weekend?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has moved from 27th to 15th in points in the last 4 races
Rusty Wallace is up to 3rd in the points
Greg Biffle has 5 top 10's in 7 races this year April 21, 2005
DRIVER MILESTONES
Dale Jarrett is looking at start #575 this weekend
Jeff Burton 375
and Ricky Rudd will make his 760th start in a row! April 21, 2005
TRACK STATS | PHOENIX
It's race 8 of 36
1 mile flat oval
Only 11 degrees of banking in turns 1-2, 9 in turns 3-4
Cup race is 312 laps and miles
Up for grabs: $4,795,076
This race is new on the schedule, but Ryan Newman has 3 straight polls and Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the win in the fall race. April 21, 2005
Bill Elliott to drive for Rusty Wallace
Look for Bill Elliott to drive for Rusty Wallace in a Busch race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 11th. This will be Bill's first Nashville race since 1989. April 20, 2005
Invasion of the Cup drivers
Cup drivers will again invade the Busch race at Phoenix on Friday. Included on that list are Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler and others... April 20, 2005
Testing News
TESTING | INFINEON
Kasey Kahne topped the speed charts of three drivers checking their setups at Infineon this week. Kasey's #9 Dodge posted a lap time of 1:17.25.
TALLADEGA
Running the #33 RCR Chevrolet was Kerry Earnhardt, and in the #8 Budweiser Chevy was Paul Menard for Dale Earnhardt Inc. --Dale Jr. was not able to test. April 20, 2005
Weekend TV Schedule
BUSCH SERIES QUALIFYING @ 4:30 p.m. Friday on Speed
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING @ 6 p.m. Friday on Speed
BUSCH SERIES RACING @ 9 p.m. Friday on FX
NEXTEL CUP RACING FROM PHOENIX @ 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox
All times eastern April 20, 2005
Sauter's crew chief suspended for big carburetor
Crew Chief for the #1 Busch Series Team, Joe Shear Jr. has been suspended for the next 4 races starting at Phoenix and put on probation until the end of the year. NASCAR found the carburetor to be too large after post race inspection at Texas. The team was already disqualified from the race and was stripped of all points and prize money for the 14th place finish. April 19, 2005
Tons 'O testing this week
KENTUCKY
Dale Jarrett and his #88 Ford are on hand at the track, checking out their setups.
INFINEON
Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Travis Kvapil are turning right and left to prepare for the June road course race.
TALLADEGA
Teams from Evernham Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing are strapping on their restrictor plates this week. April 19, 2005
POINT STANDINGS | BUSCH SERIES
10 Jon Wood
9 Kevin Harvick
8 Shane Hmiel
7 Marin Truex Jr. down 2 spots
6 Denny Hamlin
5 Ashton Lewis
4 Kenny Wallace up 3 spots
3 Clint Bowyer
2 Reed Sorenson
1 Carl Edwards leads by 76 points April 19, 2005
Ganassi 3 all have top fives at Texas
Chip Ganassi Racing had a strong showing this past weekend in Texas, with all 3 cars getting a top 5 finish. Sterling Marlin was 5th, Casey Mears 4th, and Jamie McMurray was second. Dodge has yet to win a race however, running their new Charger. April 18, 2005
Braun will not appeal penalties
Braun Racing has decided not to appeal the penalties NASCAR placed on Shane Hmiel and the #32 Busch team. NASCAR fined Shane Hmiel $10,000 and docked him 25 driver points for making an obscene gesture that appeared on live TV during the Bristol race. April 18, 2005
Leffler not leaving #11 car according to Gibbs
Joe Gibbs himself is denying the rumors flying around the Jason Leffler might lose his ride in the #11 FedEx car, in favor of Ward Burton. President J.D. Gibbs also backed up that up, by saying that Jason has a 3-year deal to drive that car. April 18, 2005
POINT STANDINGS | CUP SERIES
10 Dale Jarrett
9 Ryan Newman
8 Elliott Sadler -5
7 Mark Martin
6 Sterling Marlin +6
5 Jeff Gordon
4 Kurt Busch +5
3 Rusty Wallace +4
2 Greg Biffle
1 Jimmie Johnson up by 135 points April 18, 2005
Sauter's #1 Busch car, disqualified from race
ON SATURDAY
Johnny Sauter's #1 car was totally disqualified from the race, no points, no money after NASCAR found his carburetor to be too large...more on this throughout the week. April 17, 2005
Race Recap - Texas
RACE RECAP | TEXAS
10 Rusty Wallace
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8 Ricky Rudd - 2nd top 10 in a row
7 Kurt Busch
6 Michael Waltrip
5 Sterling Marlin
4 Casey Mears - matches his best career finish
3 Jimmie Johnson - 13th top 10 finish in a row
2 Jamie McMurray
VICTORY LANE
Using his backup car Greg Biffle and the 16 team grab their second win of the year, leading 219 of 334 laps, plus it's Greg's 5th career Cup win.
OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY
-The #20 car became a fireball late in the race, Tony Stewart was able to get out generally okay, but did sustain 1st and 2nd degree burns. He drops to 11th in points.
-Bobby Labonte was caught up in yet another wreck this year as part of a multi-car incident.
-Kasey Kahne had a strong Dodge all day, that is until he spun while running 5th. Kasey gets his 3rd DNF of the year.
April 17, 2005
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