Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Gordon critical of Edwards' antics

Gordon critical of Edwards antics

Jeff Gordon believes Carl Edwards went too far in crashing into Brad Keselowski to take victory in the Nationwide Series at Gateway last weekend, and says such an action would have been penalised by NASCAR in the past.

Last Saturday Edwards and Keselowski, who compete full-time in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, were at the centre of controversy when an on-track exchange while fighting for victory on the last lap ended with a massive accident for the Penske driver.

Thus far NASCAR has yet to step in and take any action against either driver, having adopted a more relaxed approach towards on-track incidents for this year.

Earlier this season Edwards was placed on probation for three weeks after a similar incident with Keselowski in a Sprint Cup series race at Atlanta ended in the latter's car flipping over at high speed.

Gordon believes the Roush Fenway driver's antics were "out of line," and that a move such as Edwards' retaliatory contact with his rival out of the final corner of the race, would not have gone unpunished in the past.

"I think it's been well documented this year that NASCAR is allowing the racing to be more in the drivers' hands, to try to stay out of some of those incidents that are judgement calls," Gordon said.

"Probably it's hard to really say just because there is a little bit of a past history with those two. You don't really know what all has gone on over the years with them that has brought it to this point.

"But just looking at the incidents, looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into [Turn] 1, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done.

"Again, you don't know what kind of bad blood there is between the two. Whether or not NASCAR gets involved in it, I think two, three, four, five years ago, I would have thought absolutely they would have done something, maybe taken the win away or docked points or a fine or something like that. Today, it's letting the guys race."

The four-time Sprint Cup champion says NASCAR's judgement, or lack of it, on the incident, has left him wondering how far the sanctioning body will let the feud between Edwards and Keselowski escalate, as he believes it is not over yet.

He added that the current NASCAR cars are safe, but that such incidents could still have unwanted outcomes.

"I'm anxious to see how far it's going to be taken before [NASCAR] do step in or if they step in," said Gordon. "Those are some questions that I have for Robin [Pemberton, vice president of competition] and Mike [Helton, president] and [Sprint Cup series director, John] Darby and [Race Director David] Hoots.

"It's a question I think on a lot of people's minds that, This is great, but what's too much?

"The thing is, the drivers have always taken care of these things on track, whether you knew about them or not. They just weren't maybe as much out in the open because there would be a fine or there would be some kind of penalty handed down immediately.

"So you thought from an outsider's standpoint, that's over. But, trust me, as a driver, that was not over, that was not the end of it."

While both Keselowski and Edwards will meet again in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis this weekend, they are also set to compete in the short-track Nationwide series race on Saturday night at the nearby O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Agent expects Maicon stayGordon critical of Edwards’ antics

Piquet to make Nationwide debut

Piquet to make Nationwide debut

Nelsinho Piquet will make his Nationwide Series debut next Saturday at Watkins Glen, driving for Baker-Curb Racing.

The Brazilian will race for the first time in the second-tier series this weekend in what will be his eighth stock car event and his fifth in one of NASCAR's national series, following four outings in the Truck Series, where he has achieved three top-ten finishes.

It will also be the first time Piquet competes on a road-course event in NASCAR.

The former Formula 1 driver will be behind the wheel of the #27 Ford Fusion for Baker-Curb Racing, a single-car team that ran Australian V8 Supercar racer Owen Kelly at Road America, taking an impressive fifth place on his Nationwide Series debut.

"I'm really excited to do my first road course NASCAR race in the Nationwide series with Baker Curb Racing," said Piquet. "I can't wait to get back in the driving seat! I've had a good year having positive experiences in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series.

"I've learned so much every time I've raced, had some encouraging results and this is another good step for me. Everything will be new again, from the team to the car and the track, but I'm sure I'll get up to speed quickly and have another really constructive race weekend in NASCAR."

AUTOSPORT understands that Piquet's outing is a one-race deal for now, but the Brazilian is working on the possibility of racing at Montreal later this month.

"We are excited to have Nelson driving our #27 Ford Fusion this weekend at Watkins Glen," said Baker Curb Racing president Matt Crews.

"He has been very successful in his transition to American stock car racing this season; running well on the oval tracks in both the Camping World trucks and the ARCA Series cars.

"We feel that although it is his first time in a Nationwide Series car he will be able to compete for a win on the road course and help us in our battle to remain in the top 10 in owner's points."

Baker Curb Racing has run a number of drivers during the season including Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle, who scored second-place finishes for the team at California Speedway and Richmond.

Villeneuve targets top-three finishHenrique returns to Racing

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Villeneuve struggles on Cup return

Villeneuve struggles on Cup return

Jacques Villeneuve had a tough return to the Sprint Cup series at Indianapolis, finishing three laps down after struggling for most of the race.

The Canadian, who had not driven a Cup car in more than two years ahead of his return to the series, managed to make the field on speed during Saturday's qualifying, getting the final spot on the grid for what was only his third points' race ever at NASCAR's top level.

Villeneuve suffered with an overheating car, handling issues and contact with the wall, besides massive heat inside the #32 Braun Racing Toyota Camry due to faulty cooling. Besides being his maiden Brickyard 400, his team also had little experience to rely on, Sunday's being their first outing in the race.

The former Indianapolis 500 winner lamented all the issues that hampered him during the race, but said he enjoyed driving his car hard in the end, once some of the problems he had were sorted.

"It was tough," said Villeneuve. "The first time out with the car, we didn't have the cooling working, the helmet or back cooling. That didn't work in the car. And, my drink bottle wasn't working until the caution around lap 100 when we could replace it. That was rough. Then the engine overheated and that killed me.

"Then it was a question of staying out there. Halfway through the race, the car was really difficult to drive with a broken splitter. I hit the wall a couple of times, so I backed it down because there was no point in trashing it.

"Then we came in the pit and fixed it and the car was very strong. I could run two-wide even against the quick guys and hold my own. Too bad we lost too much time when the splitter came up. The car was loose after that, but it was fun. I could drive it hard."

The 1997 Formula 1 world champion admitted he was worried by his lack of pace ahead of the race but seemed relieved he was able to find more speed once the racing unfolded.

"It was very stressful because we came here without any practice and the team not knowing the car or the track, and me not being in the Cup car for over two years," he said. "It was a big question mark. But, that's how I like it, when it's tough.

"We managed to get going. After practice yesterday, I was worried for the race because we were very slow. But, we fixed it overnight and we kept fixing it during the race and by the end, the car was running really strong."

It is uncertain yet when Villeneuve will be back behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup series car, his next NASCAR outing set already for next month in the Nationwide Series.


Ronaldo won’t returnVilleneuve struggles on Cup return

Gordon critical of Edwards' antics

Gordon critical of Edwards antics

Jeff Gordon believes Carl Edwards went too far in crashing into Brad Keselowski to take victory in the Nationwide Series at Gateway last weekend, and says such an action would have been penalised by NASCAR in the past.

Last Saturday Edwards and Keselowski, who compete full-time in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, were at the centre of controversy when an on-track exchange while fighting for victory on the last lap ended with a massive accident for the Penske driver.

Thus far NASCAR has yet to step in and take any action against either driver, having adopted a more relaxed approach towards on-track incidents for this year.

Earlier this season Edwards was placed on probation for three weeks after a similar incident with Keselowski in a Sprint Cup series race at Atlanta ended in the latter's car flipping over at high speed.

Gordon believes the Roush Fenway driver's antics were "out of line," and that a move such as Edwards' retaliatory contact with his rival out of the final corner of the race, would not have gone unpunished in the past.

"I think it's been well documented this year that NASCAR is allowing the racing to be more in the drivers' hands, to try to stay out of some of those incidents that are judgement calls," Gordon said.

"Probably it's hard to really say just because there is a little bit of a past history with those two. You don't really know what all has gone on over the years with them that has brought it to this point.

"But just looking at the incidents, looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into [Turn] 1, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done.

"Again, you don't know what kind of bad blood there is between the two. Whether or not NASCAR gets involved in it, I think two, three, four, five years ago, I would have thought absolutely they would have done something, maybe taken the win away or docked points or a fine or something like that. Today, it's letting the guys race."

The four-time Sprint Cup champion says NASCAR's judgement, or lack of it, on the incident, has left him wondering how far the sanctioning body will let the feud between Edwards and Keselowski escalate, as he believes it is not over yet.

He added that the current NASCAR cars are safe, but that such incidents could still have unwanted outcomes.

"I'm anxious to see how far it's going to be taken before [NASCAR] do step in or if they step in," said Gordon. "Those are some questions that I have for Robin [Pemberton, vice president of competition] and Mike [Helton, president] and [Sprint Cup series director, John] Darby and [Race Director David] Hoots.

"It's a question I think on a lot of people's minds that, This is great, but what's too much?

"The thing is, the drivers have always taken care of these things on track, whether you knew about them or not. They just weren't maybe as much out in the open because there would be a fine or there would be some kind of penalty handed down immediately.

"So you thought from an outsider's standpoint, that's over. But, trust me, as a driver, that was not over, that was not the end of it."

While both Keselowski and Edwards will meet again in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis this weekend, they are also set to compete in the short-track Nationwide series race on Saturday night at the nearby O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Gordon critical of Edwards’ anticsAgent expects Maicon stay

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Montoya moves on from Indy loss

Montoya moves on from Indy loss

Juan Pablo Montoya said he quickly left his frustration behind last weekend after dominating the Brickyard 400 before a strategy decision on his final pitstop put him out of contention for victory.

For the second year in a row the Colombian led the most laps at Indianapolis and seemed on the verge of making history as the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.

After a speeding penalty cost him the win in 2009, this year his team's strategy on the final stop did not turn out as expected, while his team-mate Jamie McMurray went on take victory for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, earning his team owner Chip Ganassi America's triple crown following this year's Daytona 500 and Indy 500 wins.

Montoya left Indy without speaking to the media, but at Pocono he showed he had kept some momentum as he qualified second for Sunday's race. The 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner said it took him "about 15 minutes" to get over the disappointment of losing a race that looked to be his for most of the distance and praised his team for putting him in such a strong position at Indy.

"As a team we win together, we lose together and actually in a crazy way with myself hitting the fence helped [McMurray] win the race," said Montoya. "It's one of those deals where you never really know who you're working for. It benefited the team.

"It's one of those deals where I think if I would have taken two tyres, everybody else would have taken four and we probably would have got beaten anyway. I don't know... I'd rather have 20 of those than run 15th every weekend and have good finishes."

Montoya's crew chief Brian Pattie was devastated following last Sunday's race and took the blame for the decision that probably cost his team the race. Pattie called for a full set of Goodyears to be bolted onto Montoya's Chevrolet for the final 20 laps of the race but McMurray took only two tyres as did other five cars, placing Montoya back in seventh for the restart with 18 laps remaining.

Once in dirty air, Montoya struggled with the handling and ended up crashing out a few laps later. He said that despite his own frustration at losing the race, he tried to bring some consolation to the man calling the shots for his team from the pits.

"I sent him a text, and said 'Dude, we're in this together. You gave me an awesome car. If it wasn't for you guys we wouldn't be in this position so don't worry about it. We'll move on, there's another one next Sunday. One of these days that race will go into our hands,'" said Montoya.

"It sucks that we've been so fast three years in a row with one I blew, the other one was a call that wasn't ideal. You know last time I screwed up there Brian didn't say anything to me. He said, 'Don't worry about it.' At the same time, do I gain anything by getting mad? No.

"It sucks that in traffic we couldn't do anything and I was actually pretty loose getting into the corners by myself and when the #99 [Carl Edwards] dive-bumped me, I kind of turned right a little when I came back. As soon as I turned right, I knew I wasn't going to come out of that corner pointing the right way."

Montoya believes that now that he is out of contention for a Chase berth this season, his team can afford to take gambles and learn from those experiences. Despite not having won a race in an oval in more than three years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, the Colombian is confident that his time will come.

"Something that is nice is by not being in a position of making the Chase, I think as a team we're going to try a lot of different things and make sure and use what happened last week as a learning experience," said Montoya.

"Like knowing when to take two tyres. Maybe not the right call, but it happens. At Phoenix for example, we were running top three all day, five guys took two tyres and neither of the three guys won. We were half a lap ahead of the field and somebody else won. You just have to learn when to take two tyres.

"But to win some, you have to give some away and I don't think we have given ourselves enough opportunity to win races. Some day it will come."

On Sunday Montoya will take the green flag from the front row at Pocono, beside former Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart.

Ganassi: Split strategy won BrickyardDiarra plans Mourinho talks

Gordon's crew chief extends deal

Gordons crew chief extends deal

Jeff Gordon's crew chief Steve Letarte has signed a new multi-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports, the leading NASCAR Sprint Cup organisation announced on Friday.

Following the renewal in April of deals for Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson, who currently serve as crew chiefs for reigning champion Jimmie Johnson and veteran Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports has also extended Letarte's contract, nearly five years after he first served as the leader of the #24 team.

After Gordon missed the Chase in 2005, Letarte was named as his new crew chief, replacing the departing Robbie Loomis. Since their first full year together in 2006, the four-time champion and Letarte have always been part of the championship play-off, taking runner up spot to Johnson in 2007.

This year Gordon has yet to win a race, but he is safely inside the top 12 in the points, currently running second in the standings.

"I'm extremely excited," said Letarte about his contract extension. "Hendrick Motorsports is the only company I've ever received a pay cheque from. I've worked here since I was a teenager, and they've provided wonderful opportunities for me. I owe a lot to them. I'm really excited to be extended here so I can go a few more years."

Since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 1995, Letarte has worked his way up, starting as parts assistant while still attending school, then becoming a tyre specialist, a mechanic and later car chief for Gordon's car, being part of the championship winning team in 1997, 1998 and 2001.

Letarte has called the shots from the pits in 10 out of Gordon's 82 Cup wins.

Depor to land DesmaretsJohnson eager for road course win

Gordon critical of Edwards' antics

Gordon critical of Edwards antics

Jeff Gordon believes Carl Edwards went too far in crashing into Brad Keselowski to take victory in the Nationwide Series at Gateway last weekend, and says such an action would have been penalised by NASCAR in the past.

Last Saturday Edwards and Keselowski, who compete full-time in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, were at the centre of controversy when an on-track exchange while fighting for victory on the last lap ended with a massive accident for the Penske driver.

Thus far NASCAR has yet to step in and take any action against either driver, having adopted a more relaxed approach towards on-track incidents for this year.

Earlier this season Edwards was placed on probation for three weeks after a similar incident with Keselowski in a Sprint Cup series race at Atlanta ended in the latter's car flipping over at high speed.

Gordon believes the Roush Fenway driver's antics were "out of line," and that a move such as Edwards' retaliatory contact with his rival out of the final corner of the race, would not have gone unpunished in the past.

"I think it's been well documented this year that NASCAR is allowing the racing to be more in the drivers' hands, to try to stay out of some of those incidents that are judgement calls," Gordon said.

"Probably it's hard to really say just because there is a little bit of a past history with those two. You don't really know what all has gone on over the years with them that has brought it to this point.

"But just looking at the incidents, looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into [Turn] 1, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done.

"Again, you don't know what kind of bad blood there is between the two. Whether or not NASCAR gets involved in it, I think two, three, four, five years ago, I would have thought absolutely they would have done something, maybe taken the win away or docked points or a fine or something like that. Today, it's letting the guys race."

The four-time Sprint Cup champion says NASCAR's judgement, or lack of it, on the incident, has left him wondering how far the sanctioning body will let the feud between Edwards and Keselowski escalate, as he believes it is not over yet.

He added that the current NASCAR cars are safe, but that such incidents could still have unwanted outcomes.

"I'm anxious to see how far it's going to be taken before [NASCAR] do step in or if they step in," said Gordon. "Those are some questions that I have for Robin [Pemberton, vice president of competition] and Mike [Helton, president] and [Sprint Cup series director, John] Darby and [Race Director David] Hoots.

"It's a question I think on a lot of people's minds that, This is great, but what's too much?

"The thing is, the drivers have always taken care of these things on track, whether you knew about them or not. They just weren't maybe as much out in the open because there would be a fine or there would be some kind of penalty handed down immediately.

"So you thought from an outsider's standpoint, that's over. But, trust me, as a driver, that was not over, that was not the end of it."

While both Keselowski and Edwards will meet again in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis this weekend, they are also set to compete in the short-track Nationwide series race on Saturday night at the nearby O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Agent expects Maicon stayGordon critical of Edwards’ antics