It had been a tough year for Roush-Fenway Racing’s Fords leading up the Brickyard 400 as the team and manufacturer were mired in a season long winless streak. Ford hadn’t seen a drought like that in NASCAR since their 1977 campaign. Owner Jack Roush was confounded by the lack of production from his cars that hadn’t won on his type of track – the 1.5 and 2-mile ovals – since the second race of the 2009 season.
SPRINT CUP
A thread on the popular drag racing website Nitromater.com is titled: “Are we second fiddle?”
It refers to the U.S. motor sports pecking order where NASCAR is No. 1 and NHRA a distant second.
The writer is not happy about a revision to the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule that moves a race at Phoenix International Raceway from mid-April to the second race of the 2011 season on Feb. 27. The move was made after the date opened when Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., lost one of its two Cup races on what traditionally had been the weekend after the Daytona 500 opener.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Juan Pablo Montoya finally had a race without a mistake, and he proved invincible.
Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International could be one of the more competitive races we’ve seen on the 2.45 road course over the last 13 seasons. Just by looking at the wide array of unusual’s who had quality practices Friday and by witnessing Jimmie Johnson win at Sonoma in June, almost anything looks to be possible Sunday.
NEWTON, Iowa — Kyle Busch is now a better bet than the Nationwide Series field.
The most telling statistic in the history of NASCAR racing at Pocono Raceway is in regards to where the winners have started. In 65 Sprint Cup starts, the eventual winner has come from a top-10 start position 46 times (72%) with the front row producing 23 winners. When looking at possible candidates to win this week, it’s a great idea to begin with looking at the drivers starting up front.
