(Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)
UP TO SPEED
The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard becomes one of the most infamous races in motorsports history all with the explosion of a Goodyear tire; Scott Dixon, Scott Speed and Tony Schumacher continue their winning ways; and how's that horsepower affecting Toyota? This is Up to Speed.
The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was, at best, a sad joke; one that couldn't even get a chuckle from the most amusable audience member. Tire wear issues, along with a grooved track and a heavier car, created problems and havoc from the second teams unloaded. Little did NASCAR know they'd have a full-blown crisis on racing's biggest stage.
After a long day of tire trouble, Jimmie Johnson was able to dominate the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and capture a victory from the pole. Johnson had the most dominant car throughout the entire race, leading 71 of 160 laps in his Lowes Chevy Impala. Johnson was able to hold off a late race challenge by Carl Edwards to capture his second victory at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his second of the season. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was a team victory, with the majority of the credit going to the pit crew who had ten excellent pit stops during competition cautions.
Since the beginning of the season, Toyota teams have dominated in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, capturing 14 wins so far. Many critics, especially Jack Roush, have argued that the Toyota teams have had so much success in the NASCAR Nationwide series because of a horsepower advantage in the engine package developed by Toyota Racing Development. After continuous testing throughout the season in the dyno machines, NASCAR finally acknowledged the critic's concerns and issued a technical bulletin requiring all the teams using Toyota engines to reduce the amount of horsepower in order to provide an even level of competition among the four manufacturers in the series. But will this move by NASCAR finally end criticism that the sanctioning body has shown favoritism towards Toyota?
UP TO SPEED
Tragedy at Toledo, wild race at Kentucky, and a girl fight. This is RacingForTheWin.com Up To Speed.
It was a normal Friday night short track race at the Toledo Speedway in Ohio until, once more, the unthinkable happened. On the third lap of the race, a four-car melee ensued. This crash sent Terry Gibson, 46 years-old from LaRue, ass end first in to the outside wall. He was pronounced dead on the scene. More on this from NBC Sports on MSNBC.com.
(Photo courtsey: High Point Racing, Picture This Photography)
For the first time in the prestigious history of the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, a female driver found victory lane in late model stock car competition. That one very fast woman is 19 year-old Lindsey King, a NASCAR Drive for Diversity participant competing in the #59 car for High Point Racing. King won in a thrilling photofinish in a trophy-dash heat race Saturday afternoon at the Toyota Speedway.
RACINGFORTHEWIN.COM FOLLOW UP
After a strong showing at a recent test session at Kentucky, ARCA rookie sensation Alli Owens appears to be on the brink of a major breakout. Fans have noticed her for a while, she is the third most viewed driver on ARCA Nation. But now, it appears the racing mainstream is turning their attention towards her as well.
Last month, we documented her struggles, her career and how her racing career almost came to an end in a one-on-one interview with the ARCA rookie. Tonight, Alli Owens will be on ARCA Thunder at 8:00pm EST. The Kentucky ARCA Re/Max 150 can be seen live on SPEED Friday night at 8pm EST.
If you walk into the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage and ask who the next great driver in the series is going to be, you will get a variety of answers. Mark Martin would swear that Joey Logano is the next great NASCAR champion, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. would argue that his driver, Brad Keslowski, is the next NASCAR great. While both veterans could be correct, there is one driver that has not had as much attention, yet has the potential to become the next great NASCAR Sprint Cup series champion. Scott Speed has been working his way up the stock car ranks after transitioning from a career in Formula One. Though he has not had the same amount of hype other young drivers have had, Speed is already showing all the signs of becoming one of NASCAR's greatest drivers.
Another shoe has dropped in a high-dollar, high-stakes Silly Season that could see as many as 12 more possible driver changes before the 51st Daytona 500. Ryan Newman, the reigning Daytona 500 champion, and Roger Penske have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Chicagoland Speedway for the Lifelock.com 400. For the first time, the race at the mile and a half "cookie cutter" will be run under the lights, which were recently installed at the track. The race at Chicagoland Speedway may be one of the final chances for drivers to prepare for the Chase, which has five different mile and a half tracks in its schedule. There are many story lines going into Chicagoland, including Tony Stewart's departure from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009, Kyle Busch's continuing dominance, and NASCAR's struggle to fill seats with the current status of the economy. All these story lines may come into play during the race on Saturday night. As such, here are some drivers to watch during the Lifelock.com 400.
