Chicago Sun-Times

NASCAR: As Chase action opens in Joliet, Toyota’s chances look good

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:41:11 -0500

Is NASCAR nation ready for a Sprint Cup champion affiliated with a foreign automaker? ‘‘I think they need to be,’’ Martin Truex Jr. said, ‘‘because there is a pretty good chance of it happening this year.’’ Truex is one of three Toyota drivers in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which opens with the GEICO 400 on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. Truex’s teammate at Michael Waltrip Racing, Clint Bowyer, and points leader Denny Hamlin all drive Toyotas. The trio gives the Japanese automaker its strongest chance of having a championship driver for the first time since Toyota …

Danica Patrick lifts Daytona 500 TV ratings

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:06:01 -0500

NEW YORK — With Danica Patrick starting from the pole, the Daytona 500’s television ratings were much higher than last year’s. Sunday afternoon’s race earned a 9.9 rating and 22 share on Fox, the network said Tuesday. That’s up 24 percent from 2012, when rain pushed the event to a Monday night. It was the highest rating since 2008. Jimmie Johnson won the race while Patrick was eighth, the best finish by a woman at the Daytona 500. The race had plenty of buildup: Patrick making history as the first woman to start a Sprint Cup race from the pole, …

Johnson wins second Daytona 500; Patrick finishes 8th

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:08:07 -0500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson has won his second Daytona 500, racing past defending NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski on the final restart, while Danica Patrick finished eighth.

At least 33 fans injured after massive car wreck at Nationwide race in Daytona

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:03:03 -0500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — At least 33 fans were injured Saturday during a NASCAR race when a car flew into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, hurling a tire and large pieces of debris into the stands. The accident happened on the last lap of the second-tier Nationwide Series event on the eve of Sunday’s Daytona 500, which officials said would go on as scheduled. The crash began as the field approached the checkered flag and leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski to preserve the win. That triggered a chain reaction, and rookie Kyle Larson hit the cars …

Debris from fiery crash at NASCAR race injures at least 30 fans

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:00:51 -0500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A last-lap accident during the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway sent rookie Kyle Larson’s car sailing into the fence that separates the track from the seats, and large chunks of Larson’s car landed in the grandstands. The car itself had its entire front end sheared off, with a piece of burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence.

Danica Patrick admits to relationship with fellow driver

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:08:28 -0500

Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. confirmed Friday they are in a romantic relationship while preparing to race each other at 200 mph every week for Sprint Cup rookie of the year. Patrick and her Stewart-Haas Racing team didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment. Spokesman David Higdon told USA TODAY Sports NASCAR had recently learned of the coupling, reported by the Associated Press. “This relationship in no way violates any rules or regulations of the sport, so we have zero concerns, particularly since we’re talking about two fiercely competitive individuals who both want to win NASCAR races and be …

Jeff Gordon defends NASCAR fight with Clint Bowyer

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:27:51 -0500

Jeff Gordon was fed up with Clint Bowyer and decided the final laps of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway was a good time to take out a season’s worth of frustration. Gordon intentionally wrecked Bowyer’s No. 15 Toyota late in the AdvoCare 500, a move that ruined both cars and led to a melee between the teams in the garage and Bowyer to say that Gordon’s action “makes us look like a bunch of (idiots).” NASCAR met with both drivers after Sunday’s race in a Sprint Cup Series hauler guarded by five sheriff’s officers at one point. …

Denny Hamlin crashes during testing at Kansas Speedway

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:40:00 -0500

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase contender Denny Hamlin crashed during testing Thursday at Kansas Speedway and remains under observation after visiting the infield care center. Hamlin was testing on the repaved surface of the 1.5-mile tri-oval when he hit the wall entering Turn 1. The heaviest damage was to the front right side of his No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin managed to get his car back to the garage area and then walked to the care center. He emerged a short while later but said he had to return to the center in an hour. NASCAR said he will be reevaluated. …

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has concussion, out 2 races

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:50:59 -0500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss the next two races with his second concussion in the past six weeks, ending the championship chances of NASCAR’s most popular driver.

Brad Keselowski wins in Joliet, claims top spot in standings for Roger Penske

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:23:46 -0500

Roger Penske wasn’t sure what to expect Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet during the GEICO 400, the opening race in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Penske, the iconic IndyCar owner who has yet to win a NASCAR championship, watched Penske Racing driver Will Power lose the IndyCar title to Ryan Hunter-Reay at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Saturday night. Power blew a 17-point lead in the standings when he wrecked, enabling Hunter-Reay to win the title. But Penske knows how important the Chase is, and his spirits lifted when Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski beat Jimmie …

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins Nationwide race, takes points lead

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:50:16 -0500

This time Ricky Stenhouse Jr. mastered Chicagoland Speedway’s mile-and-a-half track. Stenhouse led only 22 laps, but won the Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide race in Joliet on Saturday, overtaking Elliott Sadler for the NNS points lead. Stenhouse, the defending NNS champion, leads the standings by nine over Sadler. Kyle Busch led 50 laps but finished second and Austin Dillon was third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard to round out the top five. “In this business and in this sport, anything can change at any time,” Stenhouse said. “You have to keep your guard up and keep not making …

Tony Stewart dealing with sponsorship issues as team owner

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 06:12:52 -0500

There was news going around the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet on Friday that Tony Stewart was nearing a deal to get Bass Pro Shops to replace Office Depot as his primary sponsor for 2013. When Stewart heard that, he buried his head in his hands and said he wouldn’t comment. Such is the life of Stewart, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and team owner of Stewart-Haas racing. His title defense as a driver and owner begins Sunday in the GEICO 400, the first race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. “I have a lot more gray hair …

NASCAR weekend: The Chase is here and Matt Kenseth can get serious now

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 06:18:59 -0500

The “Silly Season” in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garages began early this year when Matt Kenseth announced in June that he was leaving Roush-Fenway Racing at the end of the season. That was the first domino to fall. At a Chicagoland Speedway event in late June to promote the Nationwide STP 300 July race weekend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said he was going to race a full-time Cup schedule in 2013 — for Roush-Fenway Racing. So Kenseth’s replacement was pretty much set long before Kenseth, 40, announced Sept. 4 that he was going to race for Joe Gibbs Racing next year. …

Nationwide Series driver Elliott Sadler is looking for a Joliet sweep

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:03:53 -0500

Elliott Sadler may be leaving Richard Childress Racing at season’s end, but Sadler wants nothing more than to give his owner a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship as a parting gift. Sadler will need to pad his NNS points lead when he races his No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet in Saturday’s Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. If Sadler wins, he will have swept both NNS races at Joliet this year after battling a severe stomach virus to win the STP 300 in July. “We are bringing the same car back that we won with in July at the track,” …

Jeff Gordon’s mustache has NASCAR talking

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:43:25 -0500

For one day, at least, the most talked-about story in NASCAR wasn’t the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. It was the rebirth of Jeff Gordon’s mustache. “He’s got to grow back the eyebrows, too,” Tony Stewart said Wednesday at the House of Blues, where the 12 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship qualifiers gathered to promote Sunday’s Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. “It was kind of a matching set.” Gordon is growing a mustache for the second time in his career, harkening back to his early NASCAR days during the 1990s when he was dubbed “Wonder Boy” and challenged …

Jimmie Johnson obliterates field to win Brickyard 400

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:15:31 -0500

INDIANAPOLIS — No one seemed to have an answer for Jimmie Johnson once he took the lead in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It appeared the rest of the 42-car field could do nothing but watch as Johnson built a huge advantage. And even after he lost the lead briefly because of pit stops, Johnson ignored the cars in front of him and picked off the field one by one. Johnson won his third Sprint Cup Series race of the season and moved into a tie with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the most Brickyard …