Montoya hits out at Gordon

Juan Pablo Montoya blamed Jeff Gordon for his debacle in the closing stages of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Loudon, which he had led from pole position early on.

The Earnhardt Ganassi driver led the race for the first 36 laps before the first round of pitstops dropped him to fifth as different strategies came into the play. He eventually moved back up to second and raced inside the top five for most of the afternoon.

Montoya was running third before the second caution of the race came out and when the leaders pitted he dropped behind Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jimmie Johnson.

The Colombian tried to recover on the track what he lost in the pits, but ended up in a heated battle with Gordon for fifth place, that ended with contact between the two and some damage to the right-front bodywork of Montoya's Chevrolet.

A few laps later he made contact with Clint Bowyer and AJ Allmendinger, before his race ended against the wall following an incident with Reed Sorenson with 18 laps to go.

"The guy that really messed me up was the #24 [Jeff Gordon]," said Montoya following his fifth retirement of the season.

"Everything started with a bad stop. We had a bad stop and you end up a little bit further back than you have been all day. It was the end of the race and nobody gives you any room and that is what happens..."

"[Gordon] just didn't give me any room, he never does. He has it coming one day."

Montoya reckons Gordon's driving in the closing laps hurt both their chances of fighting for victory.

"It is just hard because it is 20-40 laps to go or whatever, and everybody wants the same piece of rubber," said Montoya. "I had been running in front of him all day and we had a faster car than him.

"He was just getting me really loose in the corner cause he was right against my door getting in. So it got me loose, so I actually bumped into him so actually both of us got hurt."

Gordon, who had been criticised by a number of drivers last week following the previous race at Infineon Raceway, eventually finished fourth, coming out unaffected from the exchange with Montoya.

"Well, that's just all the type of racing you're seeing these days," Gordon said. "Double-file restarts get really hairy and wild and crazy. It was a little bit eventful with us and the #42 [Montoya] there but we recovered."

Montoya's chances of making this year's Chase have taken another hit, as he now ranks 22nd in the standings, 183 points behind 12th-placed Carl Edwards with nine races to go before the cut.

Agent - Novo options openTruex critical of Jeff Gordon

Labonte parts ways with TRG

Andy Lally will make his Sprint Cup oval debut with TRG this weekend at Loudon, filling in for Bobby Labonte who has suddenly parted ways with the squad.

After a disappointing first part of the season in which the California-based team has struggled financially, being forced to become a "start-and-park" squad, it has announced 35-year-old Lally will drive the #71 Chevy at New Hampshire, as the relationship with Labonte came to an abrupt end.

Labonte competed in seven races for TRG last year after starting the season with Hall of Fame Racing.

This season the team had high hopes, but two 21st-place finishes have been the best results thus far, and the team is lacking in resources to be able to even complete the distance in the last few races.

The former Sprint Cup and Nationwide series champion has been entered for Sunday's race at Loudon in Robby Gordon's #7 car, which ranks right ahead of the TRG entry in the owner standings.

"After Infineon we went through some soul searching regarding the direction and goals of our team as we have yet to achieve what we have set out to do this year," said team owner Kevin Buckler. "Bobby [Labonte] is a NASCAR champion and a good guy.

"We figured out after Infineon though, that our relationship had run its course and we both needed to mix it up a little. We may still have Bobby in our car for a few more races this season, but for now we are going in different directions.

"We are a young team in this sport and we are trying very hard to attract a sponsor partner as we have a lot to offer on all of our programmes. We are exploring our options for the Daytona weekend as we plan to race hard at the Coke Zero 400."

Lally, who raced for the team last year at Watkins Glen and competes for TRG in the Grand Am Series in the GT class, has been named as the outfit's driver for this weekend only. It is yet to be determined who will be in the car for next week's event at Daytona.

"I am going at this weekend with the most positive outlook that I can," said Lally. "I am getting a pretty neat opportunity to get some laps in on an oval in a Sprint Cup car on a track that I have never driven. This will be my first time on an oval in a Sprint Cup car.

"Having just one 90-minute practice session before we qualify to acclimate myself with how this car feels and drives with an oval setup on it and 44 other guys on the track at the same time will be pretty tricky. It will be a monumental challenge to be productive. I am going to take it one lap at a time, respect every other driver's space out there and do the best that I can."

Lally's entry into Sunday's race is guaranteed thanks to the team's 33rd place in the owner standings.

Ambrose eager for strong showingMoratti calls for Inter focus

Patrick 30th on NASCAR return

Danica Patrick finished 30th on her NASCAR return in the Nationwide series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, following an early incident.

The IndyCar regular qualified 25th after steadily building up her speed during practice on Friday, despite getting off to a slow start having been away from NASCAR for nearly three months while focusing on the IZOD IndyCar Series.

After losing some places at the start of the race, Patrick and series veteran Morgan Shepherd made contact at Turn 1 while battling for position on lap seven. The JR Motorsports racer, who was on Shepherd's outside, spun and hit the wall, causing damage to the left front and rear of her car.

She eventually dropped a lap down to 38th place after pitting for repairs, something she would be unable to recover from. A long 85-lap green flag stretch followed the next restart, which made it hard for her to get back on the lead lap.

Patrick ran around a second off the leaders' pace for most of the first half of the race and when she pitted under green for the first time she was already four laps behind.

In the last quarter of the distance she was able to improve her pace, but by then she was already five laps down and unable to make any significant progress in the order.

"Well I didn't finish 200 laps, but I finished however many laps I was down on 200 laps," said Patrick. "It's disappointing to go down a lap so early, it's disappointing to start the race with the car damaged, it's disappointing to get lapped so many times, but then again, I was thinking out there at the end that it reminds me a lot of my first couple of short oval races in an IndyCar.

"It's part of the process, it's part of the learning, I know these things are going to happen and there are a lot of really good drivers out there and I was learning how to set people up and pass and how much track to use and I did learn a lot.

"It was important to do these laps and I'll be much better off next time."

Patrick seemed puzzled about the incident with Shepherd, not knowing exactly what happened despite initially blaming her rival on the radio.

"All I know is that I was sort of a quarter into the corner around [turns] 1 and 2 and got bumped-in sideways," said Patrick. "I tried to save it and... I don't know if I was supposed to hit the gas or something, I don't know, it's completely counter-intuitive from driving an IndyCar.

"So I just got on the brakes and tried to slow the car down once I couldn't catch it the second time and that's it. At least the car wasn't so bad that I couldn't keep going."

The female racer was glad to be able to improve the balance on her car in the last quarter of the race, something that reflected in her lap times. However she believes there is still a long way to go in her transition to stock car racing.

"We definitely improved the car," said Patrick. "It was very tight to start and then also just fine-tuning what I was doing out there. Sounds silly but hitting your marks, braking at the exact spot, picking up the throttle, not too early but just a little bit after that to make sure you don't get the front sliding... those things all feel slow because you're not sliding, pushing, hustling, but those are the things that work in these cars. So, it's all just a tremendous learning process."

Kyle Busch took his sixth win of the season in dominant fashion in the event, also claiming the all-time record for laps led in the series with 8,117, breaking the previous mark set by veteran Mark Martin.

Patrick will compete next in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in two weeks' time at the mile-and-a-half Chicagoland Speedway, following the IZOD IndyCar event at Watkins Glen next week.

Ronaldo won’t returnPatrick ‘nervous’ about return

Johnson dreaming of F1 test chance

Jimmie Johnson says he would love to get the chance to sample Formula 1 machinery in the near future, following his first road course win in the Sprint Cup series last week at Sears Point.

The reigning champion claimed his maiden victory in a non-oval track last Sunday, as the main rival to Marcos Ambrose for most of the distance until the Australian stalled his car during the final caution, handing Johnson victory.

Johnson says his career path took him in a different way to single-seater racing, which was what he dreamt of when he was a kid growing up in California. He reckons it won't be easy for him to get the chance to try out an F1 car eventually, but believes a "creative" commercial approach may allow that to happen.

Back in 2003, BMW was involved in arranging a car swap at Indianapolis between Juan Pablo Montoya and four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who drove the BMW Williams FW25.

Although for Gordon it has been his only F1 experience, Montoya ended up as joining the NASCAR ranks three years after first sampling Gordon's Chevy Monte Carlo.

"The way I grew up, IndyCar racing was the only asphalt exposure I had," Johnson said. "So I dreamt of racing in the Indy 500, we'd go to the Long Beach Grand Prix and hoped that I'd be on that circuit racing at some point.

"My path has clearly taken me in a different way and I know it would be very difficult to get an F1 test, but maybe putting it out there and being creative, it could happen."

The 34-year-old has been working hard at improving his capabilities on road courses, taking part in a number of Grand Am races in the Daytona Prototype class. He believes an F1 or even an IndyCar test would further allow him to further improve his technique.

"Even driving an IndyCar - I know ovals aren't the safest thing, but just to experience that on a road course would be really good for me," Johnson added. "I think running a Grand Am car has helped me be a better road course racer and that would be another step up that.

"It would be faster speed, deeper braking zones, the capabilities of the car, how it turns in. I think the Grand Am series has been real good for me and going faster yet would make it even better."

Two years ago NASCAR star Kyle Busch was scheduled to test a Toyota F1 car but his run didn't happen in the end and now the Japanese manufacturer is out of the sport.

Johnson eager for road course winAgent - Novo options open

Daytona Cup race to air in 3D

NASCAR is set for a breakthrough in televised motorsports broadcasting as next month's Sprint Cup event at Daytona will be televised in 3D for the first time.

The Coke Zero 400 telecast, which will be aired live on July 3 by TNT in the United States, will be available to viewers in 3D, besides the usual high-definition feed. In order to experience the novelty, viewers must have the right hardware in place.

Online users will also be able to follow the race in 3D on NASCAR.com through the RaceBuddy application on http://www.nascar.com/promos/racebuddy/3D/

The 3D production will feature two custom feeds produced specifically for the 3D format. The first will provide race action from strategically placed cameras around the track, designed to maximise the effect of 3D. Meanwhile, the second stream will focus on action in the pits.

Round 17 of the Sprint Cup series at Daytona will be on air July 3 starting at 7:30 PM US Eastern Time.

Cup cars get power boost for DaytonaHleb set for Barca return

Burton: Sears was 'demolition derby'

Jeff Burton said he was unimpressed with the lack of respect among drivers at last weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup road course race at Infineon Raceway.

Burton found himself on the receiving end in the closing laps at Sears Point, getting knocked out of the way by Australian Marcos Ambrose, following the final restart and while running in the top 10.

The veteran was surprised with the increased level of aggressiveness he found on the track, which he claimed was unacceptable. There were plenty of incidents in the 110-lap event, many involving some of the most experienced drivers in the field, including four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

"I thought last week was horrendous," said Burton. "I thought the behaviour shown last week from driver to driver was completely unacceptable. If our sport is going to become that, then we need to change it from racing to demolition cars because that wasn't racing last week.

"The last ten laps of that race didn't look like we were the best drivers in this country - it looked like we were some of the worst drivers in this country. Again, it's just ridiculous...

"I think Jeff [Gordon] will readily admit that he hit way too many people last week; but I know exactly why he did it. The reason why he did it was if he slowed down as much as he really needed to slow down, he was terrified that the guy behind him was going to run over him because history says that's what is going to happen.

"That race has just turned into a demolition derby."

The Richard Childress Racing driver believes the uniqueness of the year's road course events allow for more aggressive racing than usual, which led to some drivers taking more chances than they normally do on ovals, specially those hoping to get well inside the top 12 in the drivers' standings, 10 races away from the cut for the series 'play-off'.

"If you look at the people that got into incidents and then start looking at where everybody is in points, it's not a coincidence." said Burton. "A lot of the people that are racing to get in the Chase were involved in those incidents. It's not a coincidence. It's an extremely competitive sport; there is a lot at stake.

"There is opportunity presented at a road course when you're running 60mph and the guy in front of you is running 30mpg because there's a corner that he's got to make. There is an opportunity to make a move there.

"I don't think that it was just a genuine 'I don't care about the guy in front of me.' I think it was more 'I'm willing to stick my nose in here even though I'm not real sure what the outcome is going to be.' I think it boils down to the fact that this is a self-serving sport and everybody is trying to go get what they can get."

Despite several incidents and some feuds arising from on-track contact, no penalties were issued by officials.

This year NASCAR has promoted a more flexible ruling on racing clashes, letting drivers police themselves on the track.

Busch laments Burton incidentPrimera Liga round-up

Patrick 'nervous' about return

Danica Patrick is looking forward to her NASCAR return at New Hampshire, although she admits to being nervous about this weekend after being away from the Nationwide Series for more than three months.

The IndyCar star last competed in the series at Las Vegas in April, where on her third NASCAR outing she crashed out of the event following contact with a backmarker, despite showing progress relative to her previous two outings.

Back then she was only competing in stock cars, while this time she is set to switch back and forth between her JR Motorsports Chevy Monte Carlo and the nimble Andretti-Autosport Dallara-Honda for the coming weeks.

Following her race at Loudon on Saturday she will return to the IndyCar Series next week for round nine at Watkins Glen. After that, she is scheduled to race in the Nationwide series at Chicagoland, then returning to IndyCar for the Canadian rounds in Toronto and Edmonton.

Despite doing some NASCAR testing recently at Milwaukee in preparation for her race return, she admits to being uncertain as to what to expect from switching between such different cars over the next few weeks.

"It's really hard to answer how the transition will be, because it's going to be what it is. And it's kind of unknown," said Patrick. "And I've started doing more stock cars, and then went to Indycars. There wasn't much overlap, necessarily. But there was some testing in amongst. But I've gone back and forth, I guess you could say, between the two.

"And they're just so different that you don't get confused, you know? So I'm just looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to getting back to the team, to the fans, to the paddock and everybody in it.

"Everybody was so nice when I first came into the series at the beginning of the year. So I'm just really looking forward to seeing everybody again."

Patrick admits to being nervous about this weekend's event at Loudon, due to the number of unknown elements she faces in what will be just her fourth stock car outing ever, the first at this kind of track.

"I'm nervous because it's new and there's so much to learn about the way a race goes, how the race kind of plays out normally, and the yellow flags and the pitstops and how the car changes over a fuel run and how the tires change," said Patrick. "And there's just so much that I'm unfamiliar with.

"And so that makes me nervous because I care and I want to do well. And I'm not going to know it all the first time I go there, but I hope to do a good job. So I know that people are watching and I want to put on a good show for the fans. I want to give them a reason to cheer for me.

"So I just want to do well. So I'm just nervous for that, as it's all very unfamiliar."

Following a string of good results in her last three IndyCar races, scoring top 10 finishes at Indy, Texas and Iowa, Patrick is targeting a top 20 finish on her NASCAR return, something she hopes to be able to build on in future outings.

"I think it's probably better for me to say like, you know, I hope this weekend I finish in the top 20 or the top 15, and kind of build myself up," said Patrick.

"I didn't really set any expectation levels in the first few races that I did. And I think it would have paid off to do that, even in qualifying, set some expectation levels. Like I've had a tough time because qualifying is so different in those cars, you never experience the amount of grip or the kind of car that you get in qualifying until you're really in qualifying.

"So that takes some learning. So to say, hey, look, qualifying in the top 20 and maybe finishing in the top 15, that would be great. And build myself up from there and then hopefully one day they'll be the same expectation levels that I have in IndyCar."

Patrick crashed on her Nationwide series outings at Daytona and Las Vegas, while she struggled to a 31st place finish at Fontana on her second outing.

Ronaldo won’t returnVilleneuve targets top-three finish

Burton doesn't regret Busch clash

Jeff Burton has admitted he crossed the line last weekend at Charlotte when showing Kyle Busch his disgust at an incident between the two, but says he does not regret any of his actions.

Last Sunday, Busch made contact with Burton in the final restart of the race, while both were contending for a top five finish. The incident meant the Richard Childress Racing driver got a puncture.

Following the race Burton confronted the Joe Gibbs racer and accused him of ruining his day, something he now admits was unacceptable even though he does not regret it.

"[Racing] means a great deal to me and because of that and because of my passion for it, every now and then, I'm going to behave in a way I probably shouldn't," said Burton.

"I crossed the line a little bit last week, but I don't regret it... and could have been more productive by having a conversation on Monday rather than Sunday night."

Burton said he has not talked to Busch since last weekend and reiterated he does not have any personal issues with him. His view of what happened on the track in the closing laps of the race at Charlotte remains the same thus far.

"We haven't talked, not because I'm avoiding him or I think he's avoiding me," said Burton. "I was at Watkins Glen doing a tyre test for Goodyear the last two days and just honestly been really busy. I don't mind sitting down and talking to Kyle.

"I told you guys two weeks ago, I like racing with Kyle and I don't have any personal problem with Kyle, he's aggressive. Last week, my perspective was exactly what it was that week. Kyle tried to make it three-wide and got in my left rear.

"He didn't mean to do it, he didn't set out and say that he was going to cut the left rear tyre of the #31 car. He just did what he thought he needed to do to pick up a position. I have respect for that. He made a mistake and I paid the price for it."

The veteran says that he does not plan to race Busch any differently because of what happened last week and gave the 25-year-old credit for the way he handled things last Sunday, as Busch did not take their face-to-face confrontation any further.

"I won't race him any different and I don't think he'll race me any differently," Burton said. "I think that we're both professionals. Kyle's consistent and I think I'm consistent. I'm coming to Pocono to race Pocono, I'm not coming to Pocono to race Kyle. I'm not interested in a weekly confrontation. I don't like them. I don't like yearly confrontations much less weekly.

"I'm here to race Pocono and go out and win this race and that is what he's here to do too. I understand it was heated. To his credit, he handled that pretty well. It's hard when somebody is in your face, he handled it well, his crew handled it well. It's a new week."

Burton doesn’t regret Busch clashIniesta gets training boost

Burton doesn't regret Busch clash

Jeff Burton has admitted he crossed the line last weekend at Charlotte when showing Kyle Busch his disgust at an incident between the two, but says he does not regret any of his actions.

Last Sunday, Busch made contact with Burton in the final restart of the race, while both were contending for a top five finish. The incident meant the Richard Childress Racing driver got a puncture.

Following the race Burton confronted the Joe Gibbs racer and accused him of ruining his day, something he now admits was unacceptable even though he does not regret it.

"[Racing] means a great deal to me and because of that and because of my passion for it, every now and then, I'm going to behave in a way I probably shouldn't," said Burton.

"I crossed the line a little bit last week, but I don't regret it... and could have been more productive by having a conversation on Monday rather than Sunday night."

Burton said he has not talked to Busch since last weekend and reiterated he does not have any personal issues with him. His view of what happened on the track in the closing laps of the race at Charlotte remains the same thus far.

"We haven't talked, not because I'm avoiding him or I think he's avoiding me," said Burton. "I was at Watkins Glen doing a tyre test for Goodyear the last two days and just honestly been really busy. I don't mind sitting down and talking to Kyle.

"I told you guys two weeks ago, I like racing with Kyle and I don't have any personal problem with Kyle, he's aggressive. Last week, my perspective was exactly what it was that week. Kyle tried to make it three-wide and got in my left rear.

"He didn't mean to do it, he didn't set out and say that he was going to cut the left rear tyre of the #31 car. He just did what he thought he needed to do to pick up a position. I have respect for that. He made a mistake and I paid the price for it."

The veteran says that he does not plan to race Busch any differently because of what happened last week and gave the 25-year-old credit for the way he handled things last Sunday, as Busch did not take their face-to-face confrontation any further.

"I won't race him any different and I don't think he'll race me any differently," Burton said. "I think that we're both professionals. Kyle's consistent and I think I'm consistent. I'm coming to Pocono to race Pocono, I'm not coming to Pocono to race Kyle. I'm not interested in a weekly confrontation. I don't like them. I don't like yearly confrontations much less weekly.

"I'm here to race Pocono and go out and win this race and that is what he's here to do too. I understand it was heated. To his credit, he handled that pretty well. It's hard when somebody is in your face, he handled it well, his crew handled it well. It's a new week."

Ambrose laments costly mistake

Australian Marcos Ambrose lamented losing Sunday's race at Sears Point and disagreed with NASCAR's call to take the lead from him after he stopped behind the pace car during the final caution of the event.

The former V8 Supercar champion looked on course to his maiden Sprint Cup win on Sunday at Infineon Raceway but his fuel-saving tactics ended up costing him big in the closing laps of the race.

Ambrose was shutting down the engine of his car to save fuel under the final caution with six laps to go, when he suddenly struggled to get it going again, rolling to a halt on the way up to turn two.

Around four seconds later he was able to fire the engine back on, but already six cars had gone by him before he was able to get back up to caution speed, which was set at 40 mph for this event.

NASCAR ruled that Ambrose had failed to maintain "reasonable speed" during the caution and despite him driving back up to the lead, he eventually had to drop back to seventh for the last restart, following instructions from officials.

"I'm disappointed," said Ambrose following the race. "It's NASCAR's house and I'll always play by the rules. I don't agree with it, I don't like it and that's only because I lost the race...

"I had the motor turned off trying to save a bit of fuel and just had trouble getting it fired again. That's it."

The 33-year-old admitted his mistake in the end, saying he should have had the engine fired up before going up the hill into turn one. Ambrose was trying to save some gas in case the race went beyond the scheduled distance, due to the maximum of three green-white-chequered finishes allowed by the rules for this year,

"I tried to refire it on that left-hand uphill and it just didn't refire," said Ambrose. "My bad. Really disappointed. I don't like the call but I should have had the motor cranked up and it would have never been an issue."

NASCAR's Robin Pemberton said the ruling indicates that once a car gives up position by stopping on the track during a caution, it is not allowed to get any places back behind the pace car.

"For whatever reason, he stopped on the race track," Darby said. "And when you stop on the race track, you relinquish whatever position you're in whether it's 30th or whether it's first. Once you get going again, you blend back into line."

Race-winner Jimmie Johnson, who dominated the first part of the race, was second when Ambrose stopped on track and then led the field to the final restart, pulling away to claim his first Sprint Cup series win on a road course.

However he felt some sympathy for the Australian and his team, who proved they would have been hard to beat had they stayed at the front for the final sprint.

"I feel bad for him and his team owner," said the reigning champion. "His team owners gave me my chance in Nationwide in '98 maybe it was. So I'm very familiar with the team.

"I think Marcos had a very fast car in the short runs. I had a try or two at him before that, couldn't get by him. So I'm not sure I would have gotten by him. It was definitely a gift kind of handed to us, as [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] said on the radio to me. From that point on, I just needed to get a good restart and get away from those guys."

Ambrose dominated every practice session of the weekend but also made a mistake in qualifying, as his foot got stuck between the throttle and brake pedals as he approached the final turn on his flying lap.

Restarting seventh for the last five laps, he eventually finished sixth behind Jeff Gordon.

Ambrose eager for strong showingVictorious Pep apologises to fans

Villeneuve close to victory on return

Jacques Villeneuve enjoyed a promising return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, being a contender for victory in Saturday's race at Road America.

The 1997 Formula 1 world champion was a factor on his return to Elkhart Lake, setting the pace in the final practice session of the weekend and starting from the front row after qualifying second to polesitter Carl Edwards.

Villeneuve, driving Braun Racing's #32 Toyota Camry, followed the Roush Fenway driver for most of the first part of the race but then got shuffled back as different strategies came into play. However, following his final stop for fuel, he was able to charge back to the front and took the lead of the race with 12 laps remaining.

On a single lap and following a restart he was able to get from 8th to 1st, making some impressive overtaking moves such as the one that put him in the lead as he went three-wide under braking on the inside of Edwards. That was despite his front tyres rubbing with the fenders as a consequence of some previous contact.

He led the race for three laps before Edwards re-passed him at the next restart and a couple of laps from the end he was slowed down by a broken alternator wire that eventually cost him a strong finish. He was officially classified in 25th place.

"It was actually a lot more fun than I expected," said Villeneuve. "The cars drove really well around the course and it was a fun race. It was obviously a lot different than the last time I was here, but it was fun out there today."

"The car felt really good here. It's too bad. It's really annoying to work so hard all weekend and not have the result. The crew worked hard and my car was amazing all weekend. It's just tough when you do two races a year. You have to make the most of them."

The Canadian took particular pride in his overtaking move for the lead, one that he had been setting up since he followed Edwards earlier in the race.

"That was fun," said Villeneuve. "That's one place I knew I was braking later than the 60 [Edwards]. I had seen it all race and I was close enough. It was three-wide and I knew it was going to be tight, but you have to take your chances when they're available.

"He was quicker than us all through the race so I had to take my chance when I could. I was battling the front brakes all race. Then at the end, after the last restart, the car was really, really quick, but then we had electrical problems."

Edwards' victory was his first this season and also gave Ford its maiden NASCAR victory in a national touring series this year.

Villeneuve will be back in the Nationwide Series in August when the series makes its annual visit to the Ile Notre Dame in Montreal.

Villeneuve to return to NationwidePrimera Liga round-up

Montoya: I can still make the Chase

Juan Pablo Montoya is not giving up on his goal of making the NASCAR Sprint Cup play-off for the second year in a row, despite being 20th in the standings with 11 races left before the cut.

The Colombian and his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team have shown great speed during the year, but a number of incidents, mechanical issues and lack of consistency during races have both him and his team-mate Jamie McMurray well out of the top 12 in the points after 15 of 26 races in the regular season.

A year ago, Montoya had six top-10 finishes arriving at round 16 at Sears Point, the scene of his first and only Cup victory. This year he has already scored seven top 10s plus four top 5s - he had none at this stage last year but still made the Chase.

His 4 DNFs and other poor finishes are weighing hard on his scoring and he has a 189-point deficit to Mark Martin's 12th place in the standings.

"I know for everybody the Chase is a big deal but you know, there's races, there's racing and with seven crashes or DNFs nearly, it's very hard to make the Chase," said Montoya. "But I don't really think about it. We just go out, do the best we can and we know we gotta score big and that's it. We go big or that's it.

"Right now we're trying to go big every week, but it's crazy. You look at last week [at Michigan], we had a great car and at the end we just lost the balance and finished 13th. The weekend before [at [Pocono] we had a horrible car and finished eighth. That's the way the racing goes."

After Sunday's race at Sears Point where he ranks as one of the favorites, Montoya will go back to Loudon - where he kicked off the Chase in style with a third-place finish from pole. He will then race at Daytona, where his team-mate won the season opener, and then Talladega, where he finished third earlier this year.

He hopes a good result this weekend can put his season back on course, as he reckons the next few races should favour his chances of making great strides in the standings.

"The next few races are pretty good for us, so you just gotta run and see what happens," Montoya said. "I think the Chase is still possible, especially because there are a couple of cars in the top 12 that are not that strong. I know we're quite a way behind but we've just got to give it a try."

Montoya qualified 14th for Sunday's race at Sears Point, which will give him his best starting position for the event. He anticipates the closing laps of the race to be wild, something that can potentially affect fuel and tyre strategies, with the maximum three green-white-checkered finishes allowed by the rules for this year.

"I think it'll be big because I guarantee you're going to see a couple [of green-white-checkered attempts]," said Montoya. "If you get a caution with like 10 laps to go, from there to the end of the race it's going to be caution, green, caution, green. I mean, you're not going to run more than three [consecutive green-flag] laps. But we'll see."

Montoya's results at Sears Point are the best for him at any NASCAR track. He has taken three top six finishes in three starts, including his win as a rookie in 2007.

Montoya eager for change of luckPellegrini salutes Ronaldo

Magnussen enjoys Sprint Cup debut

Jan Magnussen enjoyed a solid Sprint Cup series debut, finishing 12th on Sunday at Infineon Raceway.

The four-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner had started the race from 32nd place on the grid but a good strategy coupled with a strong final stint allowed him to rally back to finish just outside the top 10.

The Dane, who drove the #09 Phoenix Racing Chevy with technical support from Hendrick Motorsports, said his first NASCAR race experience was an eye-opening one, specially due the way racing got more aggressive in the middle of the pack in the closing laps.

"Well, it was fantastic; unlike anything I've ever experienced," said a joyful Magnussen. "The first two hours compared to the last hour was a big difference. People got more aggressive. The last 20 minutes, it just got nuts! Nothing prepares you for that other than doing it. So it was a fantastic experience all the way through."

The former McLaren and Stewart Grand Prix driver was particularly surprised at how clean drivers raced each other relative to the series where he has competed, including the American Le Mans.

He declared himself admired by how much respect he found between rivals on the track, but admitted sometimes contact was inevitable. In fact, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards went to face him following the race, after he apparently got pushed into him while fighting for position in the closing laps.

"They drive so aggressively, but still with respect and that, I admire," he said. "They go two-wide and three-wide. That'll never happen in ALMS. Anyway, and not only in ALMS, but anywhere else I've run. If somebody is on the inside of me, I'm either lifting or falling off. But here, they allow you to race and to be two and three-wide; it was fantastic.

"I'm a little bit sorry that Carl Edwards came over to me after the race, but I got shoved into him and he spun around. He did not know that and was really angry. So I'm sorry for that. But this was a really great day for me. I learned a lot and had fun."

Magnussen will not be able to enter the second road course event of the Sprint Cup calendar this year, as it clashes with an American Le Mans race at Mid Ohio.

However, he is expected to remain involved with Hendrick Motorsports and its development programme, which showed improvements on Sunday as Jimmie Johnson claimed his maiden road course victory and all the team's cars finishing in the top 15.

Magnussen aims high in Cup debutBenzema’s Real happy

Ekstrom frustrated by late incident

Mattias Ekstrom had a promising Sprint Cup debut at Sears Point but he ended up disappointed as a late incident prevented him from getting a good finish.

The Swede ran a different strategy to most in the first part of the race and as the leaders pitted for the first time under green, he was able to place his #83 Red Bull Toyota in the lead on lap 36, having started way back in 38th place.

The 31-year-old eventually stayed up front for seven laps until early race leader Jimmie Johnson passed him on lap 42.

He would later get into an interesting battle with four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who clipped the right rear corner of his Toyota while trying to pass him for position, causing him to hit and spin Roush Fenway's David Ragan around.

Ekstrom kept the pressure on the Gordon afterwards and showed enough pace to stay among the the top five at one point. As strategies unfolded in the end and while he fought for a strong finish, the Red Bull driver got turned around by Penske's Brad Keselowski at the exit of turn seven with 18 laps remaining, bringing his promising run to an end.

He was able to rejoin and eventually recover many places in the closing laps, taking 21st at the checkered flag after dropping well bellow 30th following his incident with Keselowski.

"I'm happy with the way we were running but the result is not what I would like," Ekstrom told AUTOSPORT. "It's a bit frustrating that we didn't get anything better out of it. I think we deserved something better than this... I don't know. In Sweden I would say the 'i' was already there and I got the dot in the end."

The two-time DTM champion, said his first Sprint Cup experience matched his expectations but he could not hide his disappointment at finishing only 21st after leading the race and showing enough pace to contend for a much better finish.

"Everything matched my expectations," said the Swede. "Everybody was racing hard and most of them also fair. It's just disappointing when you cannot deliver a good result because the team and everybody took care of me at Red Bull like if I was a queen since I walked in here the first time.

"You spend so much time and energy and everybody here was racing for winning - I mean, I was dreaming of winning but we came like leading some laps, running quick all day and then 21st place is not so nice."

Next month Ekstrom will be back in behind the wheel of his Audi A4 for round four of the DTM at the Norisring.

Primera Liga round-upTruex critical of Jeff Gordon

Truex critical of Jeff Gordon

Martin Truex Jr criticised Jeff Gordon for ruining his day after the Hendrick driver spun him around while running in the top 10 on Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway.

Following the second restart of the race, Gordon made went too deep under braking for the final turn, clipping the right rear corner of Truex, who ran as high as third shortly before the incident.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver was able to rejoin but was later involved in a multi-car wreck on the start-finish stretch following the next restart, being forced to retire on the spot with massive damage to his Toyota.

"We got put in by Jeff Gordon," Truex stated. "Getting spun out there on that restart is what got us in the back there. We should have never been in that position. We've been running up front all day long with a great car... We had a shot at running top-three or four and maybe we had a shot at winning if the thing played right.

"I guess Jeff [Gordon] figured he couldn't catch us on the race track he was going to spin us out on the restart."

"...He was six, seven car-lengths behind me coming into [turn] 11, and I did think I had anything to worry about. The next thing I know I'm spun around. If he's a car length or two back, yeah you take your defensive line, you prepare for it, him trying to dive-bomb me, but he was seven car lengths back. There's no way he should have been where he was."

Before his clash with Truex, Gordon had also clipped the rear of Mattias Ekstrom's Red Bull Toyota into turn seven, sending him into Roush Fenway's David Ragan, who ended up spinning.

In the closing laps, the four-time champion also got into the rear of Penske's Kurt Busch, cutting his right-rear tyre and costing him a strong finish, while Greg Biffle also accused him of pushing him off the track.

Following the race, Gordon said he understood Truex being mad at him and anticipates being justifiably on the receiving end of him in the future. He said that while running behind Truex, Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya was also putting the pressure on him.

"He should be [upset], you know, and whatever is coming back to me, I understand," Gordon said. "When you blatantly get into a guy like that, you can say you are sorry all you want and I certainly had no intentions on what happened with him.

"I have the #42 [Montoya] behind me dive bombing me into the braking zone and where I made a mistake is trying to outbrake him.

"I will try and explain that to Martin. I fell terrible because Martin races me and a lot of guys clean out there. He had a good run going and I ruined that for him."

Despite such an eventful race, Gordon was able to claim fifth in the end, allowing him to win two places in the standing up to fifth place.

Agent - Novo options openBusch wins All-Star race at Charlotte

Johnson eager for road course win

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson says not yet having won on a road course is an "irritation" that he hopes to clear soon as he starts Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race from the front row at Infineon Raceway.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver's 50 career wins have all been achieved on ovals, and both Sears Point and Watkins Glen remain among the six tracks where he has yet to win a race.

Johnson has twice competed in Grand Am this year with former series champion Gainsco/Bob Stallings, at Daytona and Watkins Glen, in an effort to improve his road course driving technique.

He hopes that experience and a number of tests he has undertaken this year can put him closer to his goal of ticking a road course win off his list. However he says he will not jeopardise a good result on Sunday in pursuit of that aim.

"Everybody knows on how much I have focused on it and how badly I want to win on road course, especially here," said Johnson. "It's time. We're here. I'm excited. I've run two [Grand Am Daytona Prototype] races this year to get more experience.

"We've been testing and doing everything I can to be a better road course driver and to get our cars better and working with [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] and the engineers and talking road course racing.

"So we'll see what happens. I feel really good about it. I'm not going to let my desire to go out and try to win this race become too intense."

The Sprint Cup calendar only allows Johnson a couple of chances every year to win on a road course, with a second non-oval race taking place at Watkins Glen in August, a track where Johnson qualified on pole last year.

Although a victory at Sears Point would not be on a par with his Brickyard 400 or Daytona 500 wins, Johnson says winning on a road course would allow him to put an end to a personal frustration of his, as he believes he is more than capable of mastering any kind of track.

A few days ago the 34-year-old proved his talent and versatility once again by winning on the dirt in a charity event organised by Sprint Cup colleague Tony Stewart, where he competed against many of his current NASCAR rivals.

"This is just an irritation," says Johnson. "I know I can do this. I get in other road course cars and I'm plenty fast and competitive. I've run good at times in the Cup car on road courses, so I know I have it in me. I just need to figure out how to do it over the course of 90 laps. So it's more of an irritation.

"Sure, it would be good for my resume, but it's not like I feel there's a void or something major missing."

Johnson's best career result at Sears Point came last year when he crossed the finish line in fourth place.

Ambrose eager for strong showingDepor to land Desmarets

Magnussen aims high in Cup debut

Jan Magnussen hopes to be able to get a top-ten finish on his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Sears Point on Sunday.

The Danish driver qualified 32nd on Friday, driving the #09 Phoenix Racing Chevy, with technical support from Hendrick Motorsports.

Magnussen's NASCAR deal came together thanks to his links with General Motors through the Le Mans Series, which led to testing outings on road courses with the manufacturer's top team in the Sprint Cup.

The four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner said he didn't get the most out of his car in qualifying, but was still happy to make the field as he had to do so on speed, given that his entry was not guaranteed a start in Sunday's race.

"We're in, which was the goal," Magnussen told AUTOSPORT. "I would love to have been a little bit further up but I was being very cautious not to make any mistakes and you only have like a third of a lap to get heat into the tyres. I didn't feel comfortable pushing like hell in the first couple of corners, so I took it easy, tried not to make any mistakes and was in [the race] safe."

Magnussen has enjoyed his first NASCAR weekend and says he would like to pursue his experience in the series further, as he feels he got little time to prepare for his debut this weekend.

In the final practice session before the race, he managed to finish tenth fastest, something he hopes to be able to back up in the race.

"I love being here," said Magnussen. "Everything about it is pretty fantastic except for the very limited time you get in the car to prepare yourself. I've never been this unprepared for anything but it was just important to be in the race and we'll work from there.

"Thirty-second on the grid is absolutely not good and we were way further down than what we were in practice earlier in the morning, but it's more important to be in the race than trying to go for something big. I'm pretty happy. I'd like to be further ahead but I'll have to do that in the race."

Magnussen carried out a test session with all four Hendrick Motorsports race drivers at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, helping the team with his feedback in preparation for this weekend's race at Sears Point, back in April.

He says he was able to run very close to the times set by them, and expects to be able to prove that on Sunday's race.

"At the test we were very, very close," said Magnussen. "I think I will be on Sunday also, I just need more than one lap to prove it... A top-ten would be fantastic. For me I'll take whatever I get but I believe that we had a car in qualifying capable of a top-15 at least, had everything been right."

Magnussen's deal to drive for Phoenix Racing is set for this weekend only since his American Le Mans schedule clashes with the second road course event of the season at Watkins Glen in August, meaning this is likely to be his only Sprint Cup series outing of the year.

Magnussen to make NASCAR debutMoratti calls for Inter focus

Ekstrom open-minded for Sears Point

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom hopes to be able to earn respect from the NASCAR regulars this weekend when he makes his Sprint Cup debut at Sears Point.

The 31-year-old qualified in 38th place for the race on Friday afternoon, ending 20th fastest out of 43 cars in the final practice session on Saturday.

The Finn tried to prepare as best as he could for his first Sprint Cup Series race, running also in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West support race, which took place on Saturday afternoon. The series runs Nationwide Series-type machines, which have more downforce, less horsepower and different tyres than Sprint Cup cars.

The Swede qualified eleventh and was running 10th in the race when he crashed out on lap 12.

"The race was a good experience for me for as long as it lasted," said Ekstrom following the race. "It was helpful to experience the start of the race, to drive around the course and see what happens following cars closely - the main thing is just seeing how these cars handle."

Ekstrom has completed already some good mileage at the track before his Cup debut and has been pleased with the layout of the 1.99-mile circuit, which he says has some sections reminiscent of the Nordschleife, which he raced on in the Nurburgring 24-hour event last month.

The Red Bull driver has enjoyed his NASCAR weekend thus far, specially due to the friendlier atmosphere between drivers in the garage relative to his experience from Europe.

"The culture is way different here," said Ekstrom. "Everyone is much more friendly and it comes mainly from respect.

"The best NASCAR drivers in the world are really good and everybody knows how to pay respect and when you have so many drivers, so many series, you have to be a nice guy in a way but you have to be hard on the other side.

"When you also spend so much time together, you also get some personal stuff that you have to take in mind. Spending the time with guys you respect is much nicer than with guys you have problems with."

Having watched a lot of NASCAR races on TV, Ekstrom appreciates the way drivers race each other in the series, giving a lot more room to each other relative to how they compete in Europe. However, he says he doesn't intend to apply his aggressive DTM style of racing this weekend, as he hopes to earn his rivals' respect with speed and fairness on the track.

"I'm not here to wreck anyone," Ekstrom said. "I'm here to race quick and looking to race good and be fair and earn my respect. Sure in the end of the race I will do like all the others but even if I won't be racing them next weekend, I still want to do it with respect.

"I mean, I would like to run the whole race, start to finish trouble-free, look after the tyres and drive smart and try to be there in the end when everybody starts to race a little bit harder. What position that means I have no idea today but it would be nice to have a good result."

As far as a further run in NASCAR in the future, Ekstrom says he would like to drive the car in an oval one day, although he says it is uncertain when that will happen. He remains interested in the sport but his commitment for now remains in the DTM with Audi.

"I have a good deal and I'm running a really enjoyable time with Audi in DTM and I have been there for ten years and sure, I've said it before and I'll say it again, if it would be a possibility, I mean, I'm interested and I follow [NASCAR].

"It's difficult for Europeans to come here and I'll do my best this weekend to earn some respect and show there are some from Europe who can do it as well."

"For me NASCAR is oval. This is like a holiday for the drivers to come to a road course because it's only two races like out of 40. For us, I only do this tracks, so this is my everyday. To go to an oval I think also the cars would feel way different than in a road-course like this.

"One day I would like to try but I don't know when it will happen."

Ekstrom gets NASCAR race chancePellegrini slams Real sacking

Burton furious at Kyle Busch

Jeff Burton has criticised Kyle Busch for being too aggressive with him, following contact between the two in the final restart of Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Charlotte.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver hit the left-rear of Burton's car when the green flag waved for the final time in the 600-mile race, where both Busch and the Richard Childress Racing driver fought for a top-five finish.

The contact cut a tyre on Burton's car, making him furious with Busch as he would only manage a 25th place in the end. He confronted the 25-year-old when the race finished and team personnel and officials had to split the pair as Burton accused Busch repeatedly.

"The last restart, Kyle [Busch] made it three-wide on the restart because the guys on the bottom didn't have tires and he trying to make something happen, which I don't have a problem with," Burton explained.

"So he run into me and cuts my left-rear tyre, then I have a problem with it. He's real aggressive. That's cool. But when he starts affecting me with his aggressiveness, I just will not put up with it. I've been around here long enough. I just will not tolerate it."

"...I like racing with Kyle, I really do," Burton added. "I enjoy it, but when he gets over aggressive and I pay the price for it, I won't tolerate it. I'm just not going to put up with it. I don't mind racing with him. I don't mind him being aggressive, but I'm not going to be the victim of his aggressiveness, I'm just not going to put with it."

Busch for his part said he simply raced Burton the way he does anybody else and stated that his veteran rival is going against his own predicament about being respectful of fellow drivers.

"He [Burton] said I didn't race him very nicely," said Busch. "He said I ran into him and I don't know what I could have done to have made that work without touching.

"His team-mate, the 33 [Clint Bowyer] made me three-wide getting into [turn] one. I held it as tight as I could on the 33 trying to stay off the 31 [Burton]. I guess all that nice respect stuff that he talked about earlier this week is out the window. I guess that's how I race everybody."

Earlier this week Burton had said he enjoyed racing with Busch although he did state he saw him as a very aggressive driver who usually puts himself in risky situations that he's not always able to pull off while attempting a pass.

"Kyle, in my view, has never been a guy that wrecks other people," he said last Thursday. "Honestly, he puts himself in some situations where you're thinking, 'I don't know if he's going to come out of that.'

"On restarts he's real aggressive, but I've never felt that Kyle was a guy that I looked at and said, ‘that dude takes a lot of people out.' There's been a lot of guys that came in trying to be aggressive that have been taking more people out than Kyle ever did in my opinion. I really like racing with Kyle."

Busch was able finish the race third after recovering from a pit incident with Penske's Brad Keselowski and a speeding penalty following that. Burton ran as high as third, but the contact on the final restart hampered his chances of a strong finish.

Primera Liga round-upBurton furious at Kyle Busch

Ambrose eager for strong showing

Marcos Ambrose expects to rebound strongly this weekend at Sears Point, after suffering a disappointing NASCAR Sprint Cup season so far in 2010.

Driving a Toyota for JTG-Daugherty this year, the 33-year-old Australian had high hopes of contending for a Chase berth in his second full season at NASCAR's top level.

However, 15 races into the season he lies down in 30th place in the standings with six DNFs and only one top-10 result.

Ambrose has been a contender at the front in each of his four road course outings in the Cup, recording top five finishes in four of his three non-oval races in the past two years.

He believes that more than his previous showings at Sears Point, his current results put the pressure on him and his squad to score a top result this weekend.

"Well, there's pressure every week," said the former V8 Supercar champion. "So whenever you're running badly, you've probably got more pressure than when you're running well. So I expect to run well at Sonoma. We should be somewhere in the top 10 in practice, in qualifying trim, which sets us up well for the race.

"That race is what it is. If you get caught up in someone else's problems, so be it. You just put your best foot forward and try to apply yourself. So I think a race like Sonoma this weekend, I'll be breathing a little easier knowing that it's my forte. It's what I've grown up doing. I should have as good a chance of any of running at the front.

"I've run at the front both years I've attempted the race. We've done a lot of practice, a lot of research on the car, we've done a lot of development. Fingers crossed, it's going to work out."

Last year, Ambrose recovered to an impressive third place finish after starting from the back of the field due to an engine failure in final practice. His strategy helped him charge to the front, but he ran a very long tyre stint at the end and had to surrender his attack to defend his third place to the checkered flag.

Ambrose hopes to be able to get the right fuel mileage this weekend, something he considers as key to having a shot at his maiden Cup win on Sunday.

"We've just got to try to run at the front all day and pit when we need to for our fuel mileage," Ambrose said. "Each team has different fuel mileage numbers that they get, depending on who is driving the car or what kind of carburetor configuration they've got and what kind of rpm they'll be using on the racetrack.

"So we'll go through our fuel mileage numbers during practice and qualifying practices to get ourselves as familiar with our engine and that track as we can. And then it's going to come down to trying to stay on strategy.

"The last couple of road [course] races we've had to be off strategy during practice or fuel mileage problems that we had during the race. So we've got to really make sure that we try to just stay on strategy with the majority of the field so we don't have to pass them twice, and if we can do that we should be somewhere in the front."

Ambrose's best Cup result came in August last year when he finished second at Watkins Glen behind Tony Stewart.

Pellegrini salutes RonaldoMontoya eager for change of luck

Ekstrom to test for Red Bull team

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will test for Red Bull Racing Team at the Virginia International Raceway road course today.

Fresh from his first DTM win of the season, which he claimed at Valencia last weekend, the Swede is set to provide support to the team ahead of the first road course event of the year, which takes place next month at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

The 31-year-old, who has been backed by Red Bull for the past nine years, will make his maiden NASCAR outing in the #83 car, which was usually driven by Brian Vickers, now sidelined for the rest of the season due to treatment he is currently undergoing to dissolve blood clots discovered on him.

"It's no secret that the NASCAR series fascinates me," said Ekstrom, who will test alongside the team's regular driver Scott Speed. "It's been a long-harboured dream of mine to drive such a car."

Casey Mears has been drafted in place of Vickers for the past few weeks, but speaking at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, the team's vice president and general manager Jay Frye said it has still to be determined whether he would fill in for the remainder of the year.

Ekstrom's DTM schedule would not hamper the Swede from eventually racing for the team at Sonoma on June 20th. Due to Vickers stepping out, the team's focus has now shifted from the drivers' standing to the car owners' ranking, which is not affected by different drivers racing the #83 entry.

For now, Frye expects Ekstrom's tin-top experience to help prepare the team for next month's road course event.

"With Brian Vickers sidelined for the rest of the season, we needed a road-racing expert to help prepare the #83 for Sonoma," said Frye. "We appreciate Mattias' willingness to help out and we look forward to his insight."

Ekstrom, who has competed in the World Rally Championship also, has won the Race of Champions three times and he currently ranks second in the DTM standings.

Recently, sportscar racer Jan Magnussen also tested for Hendrick Motorsports to help the team with its road course development programme.

Ekstrom to test for Red Bull teamNo itchy feet for Ibra

Ekstrom pleased with NASCAR test

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom was pleased with his first NASCAR outing with the Red Bull Racing Team on Tuesday at Virginia International Raceway.

The Swede got his first chance to sample Sprint Cup machinery driving the #83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, sharing the track with some of the series regulars as team regular Scott Speed was on hand, as well as JTG Daugherty's Marcos Ambrose and Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ekstrom was initially surprised at how the car drove but through the day he was able to familiarise himself with how its handling characteristics differed to his more nimble DTM Audi A4. While a Sprint Cup car has close to twice the power of a DTM machine, it also weighs nearly 500kg more and has less downforce.

In the end he came out satisfied with his first NASCAR experience.

"I was really surprised how the car drove," said Ekstrom. "Everyone had told me that it would be very special and it was quite nice. The first hour of the test I was fighting the car a lot just getting used to the power, the weight, and the fact that the car has little aero, all things that are very different for me.

"A few hours into the test I felt a lot more comfortable in the car and overall I think we had a really good test.

"I came into this test not having any experience in these type of cars, and also having never worked with the #83 team before, so it was nice to see how well we all worked together.

"I really enjoyed my first Sprint Cup test and am glad to have had this opportunity."

The 31-year-old was expected to contribute to the team's preparations for the first road course event of the season, which takes place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California next month.

Red Bull has Casey Mears currently set as Brian Vickers' replacement, with the latter sidelined for the rest of the year due to blood clots.

According to Red Bull's Jay Frye, it is still to be determined whether Mears will actually drive the car in all remaining races of the season.

Ekstrom pleased with NASCAR testHernandez pleased with interest

Harvick signs new Childress deal

Kevin Harvick has signed a new multi-year deal with Richard Childress Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team announced on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The current points leader will stay on with the only organisation he has ever raced with at NASCAR's top level, although the team has yet to announce a new sponsor due to Shell and Pennzoil leaving at the end of the year to go to Penske Racing.

Harvick had one of his worst seasons ever last year, finishing 19th in the standings and missing the Chase for the first time since 2006. The team's form led to speculation about Harvick moving on at the end of his current deal, which runs out at the end of this year.

However RCR has been able to bounce back and Harvick claimed his first win since 2007 at Talladega last month, while his team-mates are both currently in the top 15 in the drivers' standings.

"I think for us it's great to put everything - all the questions - to bed," said Harvick. "I've been pretty quiet about the way we've gone about everything but I've felt pretty good about the way things have gone between Richard [Childress] and myself and all that's been going on.

"We've been through a lot of ups and downs but I feel like as an organisation and a team we're positioned as well as we've ever been to race for a championship."

Harvick praised his team for being able to turn things around this year, after such a disappointing 2009 for the squad, when it not only failed to have any drivers in the championship play-off, but also had to shrink back from four to three cars after losing one of its main sponsors.

"It's been an incredible turnaround," said Harvick. "The attitude and the morale of the people that I've been around for a long time, those are the things that you want to work out when you've got so much time and effort invested in years and years.

"To be able to race for a championship this year was our goal, we've been able to accomplish that and our goal is to race for championships every year. Last year we didn't do that but we feel like we've made all the right changes and hopefully we can continue going forward with the performance and things that we've done."

Richard Childress is very optimistic about the future with Harvick, who he to fill the void left by Dale Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500. He is also confident of finding the right sponsors for Harvick's car now he has been re-signed for the long term.

"Both of us want the same thing and I think with the way we're structured now, we've got a lot of good things coming for the rest of the year and hopefully we'll just get better as the year goes. We want to run for that championship," said Childress.

"I think Kevin and I both have enough confidence in each other that we know we can go out and put a great package together. We've put great packages together for companies in the past and we're going to do so moving forwards.

"It's a huge plus when you can go to a company and say we've got the driver, the driver's got us. We're ready to go."

Harvick is currently in his 10th season with RCR in the Sprint Cup Series. In his time with the team, he has won 12 races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, plus a victory in the All-Star race in 2007.

He has finished in the top five in the standings three times, his best season coming in 2006 when he won five times en route to fourth in the final Chase ranking.

Dos Santos signs Barca dealHarvick signs new Childress deal

Burton doesn't regret Busch clash

Jeff Burton has admitted he crossed the line last weekend at Charlotte when showing Kyle Busch his disgust at an incident between the two, but says he does not regret any of his actions.

Last Sunday, Busch made contact with Burton in the final restart of the race, while both were contending for a top five finish. The incident meant the Richard Childress Racing driver got a puncture.

Following the race Burton confronted the Joe Gibbs racer and accused him of ruining his day, something he now admits was unacceptable even though he does not regret it.

"[Racing] means a great deal to me and because of that and because of my passion for it, every now and then, I'm going to behave in a way I probably shouldn't," said Burton.

"I crossed the line a little bit last week, but I don't regret it... and could have been more productive by having a conversation on Monday rather than Sunday night."

Burton said he has not talked to Busch since last weekend and reiterated he does not have any personal issues with him. His view of what happened on the track in the closing laps of the race at Charlotte remains the same thus far.

"We haven't talked, not because I'm avoiding him or I think he's avoiding me," said Burton. "I was at Watkins Glen doing a tyre test for Goodyear the last two days and just honestly been really busy. I don't mind sitting down and talking to Kyle.

"I told you guys two weeks ago, I like racing with Kyle and I don't have any personal problem with Kyle, he's aggressive. Last week, my perspective was exactly what it was that week. Kyle tried to make it three-wide and got in my left rear.

"He didn't mean to do it, he didn't set out and say that he was going to cut the left rear tyre of the #31 car. He just did what he thought he needed to do to pick up a position. I have respect for that. He made a mistake and I paid the price for it."

The veteran says that he does not plan to race Busch any differently because of what happened last week and gave the 25-year-old credit for the way he handled things last Sunday, as Busch did not take their face-to-face confrontation any further.

"I won't race him any different and I don't think he'll race me any differently," Burton said. "I think that we're both professionals. Kyle's consistent and I think I'm consistent. I'm coming to Pocono to race Pocono, I'm not coming to Pocono to race Kyle. I'm not interested in a weekly confrontation. I don't like them. I don't like yearly confrontations much less weekly.

"I'm here to race Pocono and go out and win this race and that is what he's here to do too. I understand it was heated. To his credit, he handled that pretty well. It's hard when somebody is in your face, he handled it well, his crew handled it well. It's a new week."

Burton doesn’t regret Busch clashIniesta gets training boost

Harvick signs new Childress deal

Kevin Harvick has signed a new multi-year deal with Richard Childress Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team announced on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The current points leader will stay on with the only organisation he has ever raced with at NASCAR's top level, although the team has yet to announce a new sponsor due to Shell and Pennzoil leaving at the end of the year to go to Penske Racing.

Harvick had one of his worst seasons ever last year, finishing 19th in the standings and missing the Chase for the first time since 2006. The team's form led to speculation about Harvick moving on at the end of his current deal, which runs out at the end of this year.

However RCR has been able to bounce back and Harvick claimed his first win since 2007 at Talladega last month, while his team-mates are both currently in the top 15 in the drivers' standings.

"I think for us it's great to put everything - all the questions - to bed," said Harvick. "I've been pretty quiet about the way we've gone about everything but I've felt pretty good about the way things have gone between Richard [Childress] and myself and all that's been going on.

"We've been through a lot of ups and downs but I feel like as an organisation and a team we're positioned as well as we've ever been to race for a championship."

Harvick praised his team for being able to turn things around this year, after such a disappointing 2009 for the squad, when it not only failed to have any drivers in the championship play-off, but also had to shrink back from four to three cars after losing one of its main sponsors.

"It's been an incredible turnaround," said Harvick. "The attitude and the morale of the people that I've been around for a long time, those are the things that you want to work out when you've got so much time and effort invested in years and years.

"To be able to race for a championship this year was our goal, we've been able to accomplish that and our goal is to race for championships every year. Last year we didn't do that but we feel like we've made all the right changes and hopefully we can continue going forward with the performance and things that we've done."

Richard Childress is very optimistic about the future with Harvick, who he to fill the void left by Dale Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500. He is also confident of finding the right sponsors for Harvick's car now he has been re-signed for the long term.

"Both of us want the same thing and I think with the way we're structured now, we've got a lot of good things coming for the rest of the year and hopefully we'll just get better as the year goes. We want to run for that championship," said Childress.

"I think Kevin and I both have enough confidence in each other that we know we can go out and put a great package together. We've put great packages together for companies in the past and we're going to do so moving forwards.

"It's a huge plus when you can go to a company and say we've got the driver, the driver's got us. We're ready to go."

Harvick is currently in his 10th season with RCR in the Sprint Cup Series. In his time with the team, he has won 12 races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, plus a victory in the All-Star race in 2007.

He has finished in the top five in the standings three times, his best season coming in 2006 when he won five times en route to fourth in the final Chase ranking.

Harvick signs new Childress dealDos Santos signs Barca deal

Ekstrom to test for Red Bull team

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will test for Red Bull Racing Team at the Virginia International Raceway road course today.

Fresh from his first DTM win of the season, which he claimed at Valencia last weekend, the Swede is set to provide support to the team ahead of the first road course event of the year, which takes place next month at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

The 31-year-old, who has been backed by Red Bull for the past nine years, will make his maiden NASCAR outing in the #83 car, which was usually driven by Brian Vickers, now sidelined for the rest of the season due to treatment he is currently undergoing to dissolve blood clots discovered on him.

"It's no secret that the NASCAR series fascinates me," said Ekstrom, who will test alongside the team's regular driver Scott Speed. "It's been a long-harboured dream of mine to drive such a car."

Casey Mears has been drafted in place of Vickers for the past few weeks, but speaking at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, the team's vice president and general manager Jay Frye said it has still to be determined whether he would fill in for the remainder of the year.

Ekstrom's DTM schedule would not hamper the Swede from eventually racing for the team at Sonoma on June 20th. Due to Vickers stepping out, the team's focus has now shifted from the drivers' standing to the car owners' ranking, which is not affected by different drivers racing the #83 entry.

For now, Frye expects Ekstrom's tin-top experience to help prepare the team for next month's road course event.

"With Brian Vickers sidelined for the rest of the season, we needed a road-racing expert to help prepare the #83 for Sonoma," said Frye. "We appreciate Mattias' willingness to help out and we look forward to his insight."

Ekstrom, who has competed in the World Rally Championship also, has won the Race of Champions three times and he currently ranks second in the DTM standings.

Recently, sportscar racer Jan Magnussen also tested for Hendrick Motorsports to help the team with its road course development programme.

Ekstrom to test for Red Bull teamNo itchy feet for Ibra

Villeneuve targets top-three finish

Jacques Villeneuve is targeting a top three finish on his one-off outing in the NASCAR Nationwide series at Road America this weekend.

The 1997 world champion will make his first stock car start of the season in the inaugural NASCAR race on the 4-mile road course track, driving for Braun Racing.

"I'm not too worried about joining halfway through the season, as it is the first road course this year and the first time ever for NASCAR to be racing at Elkhart Lake," said the 39-year-old. "A lot of drivers will be learning the track.

"We'll be looking for a strong result this weekend ­ hopefully a top three finish if we avoid any issues."

The Canadian has not raced on the track since 1995, when won there for the second year in a row on his way to the Indycar title.

"Returning to Road America is very exciting as it remains one of my favourite tracks," he said. "I was hoping to return one day.

"I have great memories of the circuit as I won both times when I raced there in Indycars. In fact, Road American in '94 was my first win in the series."

Villeneuve has two previous Nationwide starts to his name, at Montreal in 2008 and 2009. His best result is the fourth place he took last year.

Hernandez pleased with interestVilleneuve to return to Nationwide

Sorenson replaces Mears at Red Bull

Casey Mears will be replaced by Reed Sorenson in the #83 Red Bull Toyota from round 17 of the Sprint Cup series at Loudon, the team has announced.

Following just four races of filling in for a recovering Brian Vickers, Mears will see his former Ganassi team-mate Sorenson take over his current drive.

Mears' best finish for the team was a 22nd place on his first weekend driving for Red Bull at Dover, scoring very similar results to his team-mate Scott Speed for the past month.

During last weekend's event at Michigan, Mears was involved in an incident with Speed, then made contact with another driver in the pits and then ended up crashing out of the race.

"Our unique situation has afforded us the opportunity to try some different things, and we're continuing to do that with Reed," said Red Bull Racing Team's Jay Frye. "We appreciate Casey's work and everything he's done the past five weeks."

Sorenson has been running a very limited schedule for Braun Racing in the Sprint Cup this year, although he has not finished in any of his three outings. Driving for the same squad, he had shared duties in the #32 car in the Nationwide Series with Vickers.

This weekendm, two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will drive the #83 car at Sonoma before Sorenson takes over next week.

Mears will drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Loudon, where he will need to make the field on speed.

Moratti calls for Inter focusMears to substitute for unwell Vickers

Ekstrom pleased with NASCAR test

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom was pleased with his first NASCAR outing with the Red Bull Racing Team on Tuesday at Virginia International Raceway.

The Swede got his first chance to sample Sprint Cup machinery driving the #83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, sharing the track with some of the series regulars as team regular Scott Speed was on hand, as well as JTG Daugherty's Marcos Ambrose and Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ekstrom was initially surprised at how the car drove but through the day he was able to familiarise himself with how its handling characteristics differed to his more nimble DTM Audi A4. While a Sprint Cup car has close to twice the power of a DTM machine, it also weighs nearly 500kg more and has less downforce.

In the end he came out satisfied with his first NASCAR experience.

"I was really surprised how the car drove," said Ekstrom. "Everyone had told me that it would be very special and it was quite nice. The first hour of the test I was fighting the car a lot just getting used to the power, the weight, and the fact that the car has little aero, all things that are very different for me.

"A few hours into the test I felt a lot more comfortable in the car and overall I think we had a really good test.

"I came into this test not having any experience in these type of cars, and also having never worked with the #83 team before, so it was nice to see how well we all worked together.

"I really enjoyed my first Sprint Cup test and am glad to have had this opportunity."

The 31-year-old was expected to contribute to the team's preparations for the first road course event of the season, which takes place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California next month.

Red Bull has Casey Mears currently set as Brian Vickers' replacement, with the latter sidelined for the rest of the year due to blood clots.

According to Red Bull's Jay Frye, it is still to be determined whether Mears will actually drive the car in all remaining races of the season.

Hernandez pleased with interestEkstrom pleased with NASCAR test

Burton furious at Kyle Busch

Jeff Burton has criticised Kyle Busch for being too aggressive with him, following contact between the two in the final restart of Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Charlotte.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver hit the left-rear of Burton's car when the green flag waved for the final time in the 600-mile race, where both Busch and the Richard Childress Racing driver fought for a top-five finish.

The contact cut a tyre on Burton's car, making him furious with Busch as he would only manage a 25th place in the end. He confronted the 25-year-old when the race finished and team personnel and officials had to split the pair as Burton accused Busch repeatedly.

"The last restart, Kyle [Busch] made it three-wide on the restart because the guys on the bottom didn't have tires and he trying to make something happen, which I don't have a problem with," Burton explained.

"So he run into me and cuts my left-rear tyre, then I have a problem with it. He's real aggressive. That's cool. But when he starts affecting me with his aggressiveness, I just will not put up with it. I've been around here long enough. I just will not tolerate it."

"...I like racing with Kyle, I really do," Burton added. "I enjoy it, but when he gets over aggressive and I pay the price for it, I won't tolerate it. I'm just not going to put up with it. I don't mind racing with him. I don't mind him being aggressive, but I'm not going to be the victim of his aggressiveness, I'm just not going to put with it."

Busch for his part said he simply raced Burton the way he does anybody else and stated that his veteran rival is going against his own predicament about being respectful of fellow drivers.

"He [Burton] said I didn't race him very nicely," said Busch. "He said I ran into him and I don't know what I could have done to have made that work without touching.

"His team-mate, the 33 [Clint Bowyer] made me three-wide getting into [turn] one. I held it as tight as I could on the 33 trying to stay off the 31 [Burton]. I guess all that nice respect stuff that he talked about earlier this week is out the window. I guess that's how I race everybody."

Earlier this week Burton had said he enjoyed racing with Busch although he did state he saw him as a very aggressive driver who usually puts himself in risky situations that he's not always able to pull off while attempting a pass.

"Kyle, in my view, has never been a guy that wrecks other people," he said last Thursday. "Honestly, he puts himself in some situations where you're thinking, 'I don't know if he's going to come out of that.'

"On restarts he's real aggressive, but I've never felt that Kyle was a guy that I looked at and said, ‘that dude takes a lot of people out.' There's been a lot of guys that came in trying to be aggressive that have been taking more people out than Kyle ever did in my opinion. I really like racing with Kyle."

Busch was able finish the race third after recovering from a pit incident with Penske's Brad Keselowski and a speeding penalty following that. Burton ran as high as third, but the contact on the final restart hampered his chances of a strong finish.

Burton furious at Kyle BuschPrimera Liga round-up

Burton doesn't regret Busch clash

Jeff Burton has admitted he crossed the line last weekend at Charlotte when showing Kyle Busch his disgust at an incident between the two, but says he does not regret any of his actions.

Last Sunday, Busch made contact with Burton in the final restart of the race, while both were contending for a top five finish. The incident meant the Richard Childress Racing driver got a puncture.

Following the race Burton confronted the Joe Gibbs racer and accused him of ruining his day, something he now admits was unacceptable even though he does not regret it.

"[Racing] means a great deal to me and because of that and because of my passion for it, every now and then, I'm going to behave in a way I probably shouldn't," said Burton.

"I crossed the line a little bit last week, but I don't regret it... and could have been more productive by having a conversation on Monday rather than Sunday night."

Burton said he has not talked to Busch since last weekend and reiterated he does not have any personal issues with him. His view of what happened on the track in the closing laps of the race at Charlotte remains the same thus far.

"We haven't talked, not because I'm avoiding him or I think he's avoiding me," said Burton. "I was at Watkins Glen doing a tyre test for Goodyear the last two days and just honestly been really busy. I don't mind sitting down and talking to Kyle.

"I told you guys two weeks ago, I like racing with Kyle and I don't have any personal problem with Kyle, he's aggressive. Last week, my perspective was exactly what it was that week. Kyle tried to make it three-wide and got in my left rear.

"He didn't mean to do it, he didn't set out and say that he was going to cut the left rear tyre of the #31 car. He just did what he thought he needed to do to pick up a position. I have respect for that. He made a mistake and I paid the price for it."

The veteran says that he does not plan to race Busch any differently because of what happened last week and gave the 25-year-old credit for the way he handled things last Sunday, as Busch did not take their face-to-face confrontation any further.

"I won't race him any different and I don't think he'll race me any differently," Burton said. "I think that we're both professionals. Kyle's consistent and I think I'm consistent. I'm coming to Pocono to race Pocono, I'm not coming to Pocono to race Kyle. I'm not interested in a weekly confrontation. I don't like them. I don't like yearly confrontations much less weekly.

"I'm here to race Pocono and go out and win this race and that is what he's here to do too. I understand it was heated. To his credit, he handled that pretty well. It's hard when somebody is in your face, he handled it well, his crew handled it well. It's a new week."

Iniesta gets training boostBurton doesn’t regret Busch clash