NASCAR drivers prepare for the downhill journey toward phase one of the championship this weekend. It is the first race of the final five before the Chase for the Cup begins September 16th in New Hampshire.
The race teams pull the high-speed caravan into Watkins Glen, New York for the second—and final—road race run of the year this weekend.
Watkins Glen is the longest road course for Nextel Cup drivers. The speedway is 2.45-miles long and has 11 turns to negotiate.
The track has been on and off the NASCAR schedule since 1957. Buck Baker, Buddy’s dad, won that 1957 event. Billy Wade got a win in 1964 and Marvin Panch in 1965.
There were no Winston/Nextel Cup races at the facility for over 20 years following Panch’s win in that 1965 race. The series returned to the track in 1986 and has continued an annual appearance there ever since.
Jeff Gordon has the best record at the Watkins Glen. He has won four races there since 1997. Gordon has six top-five finishes in the 14 events he has run at the track. He has finished 13th and 14th in his last two Watkins Glen runs.
Mark Martin and Tony Stewart have three Watkins Glen trophies each. Martin’s wins were in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Stewart has won three of the last five races at the track.
Kevin Harvick, Kyle Petty and Robby Gordon are the only other active drivers with wins at Watkins Glen. The “other” Gordon snatched up his victory in 2003 and he has claimed top-five finishes in five of the seven Winston/Nextel Cup races he has run there. Petty took the top prize in 1992 and Harvick took the winner’s hardware home last year.
The top-five finishers of the 2006 Watkins Glen race were Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Robby Gordon and Carl Edwards. Eleven drivers traded the lead 14 times.
Kurt Busch collected the bonus points for leading the most laps. Busch led 38 of the 90-lap race, but had fallen to 19th by the end of the race. Busch was also the pole winner for the event.
Kevin Harvick led 28 laps on his way to Victory Lane.
Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman led seven laps each. They were the only drivers to lead more than five laps of the event.
There were ten caution flag incidents and the race took just over two hours and 52 minutes to complete.
Bad Boys: Robby Gordon felt the hammer of NASCAR justice fall last weekend. Gordon was banned from competing in the Nextel Cup race at Pocono as punishment for actions he committed while behind the wheel of his Busch Series car in Canada.
NASCAR was quick to react following the final laps of the Busch Series debut in Montreal. Gordon had refused to obey NASCAR orders regarding his starting position for the final restart of the race. Instead of dropping back as requested, Gordon stayed right behind the race leader and then bumper-punched leader Marcos Ambrose into a spin.
Gordon refused to acknowledge the black flag NASCAR was waving and he came on around the track in front of the true race leader Kevin Harvick. Gordon probably didn’t help his case much when he decided to do a victory burnout alongside Harvick after the race.
By Sunday morning NASCAR had decided Gordon was gonna have to pay for his reckless disregard for the official commands. They notified Gordon he would not be allowed to race in the Nextel race at Pocono and more punishment would follow.
The additional penalties were announced Tuesday. Gordon was fined $35,000 and some additional probation guidelines were also in store.
The fine and probation also carried the stipulation that if, “during the remaining NASCAR events in 2007, there is another action by Gordon that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event, he will be suspended indefinitely from NASCAR,” according to the official documents.
Gordon attempted to make amends for his misbehavior this week by announcing he would provide a Nextel Cup car for Ambrose, the driver he spun in Canada, this weekend at Watkins Glen.
He also issued a statement giving his side of the story. “It was not my purpose to disrespect the authority of NASCAR or the officials. I do respect their authority to run the race and make the calls, and I understand the significance of the black flag. I strongly disagree with the calls that affected me at the end of the race. Being spun under the yellow and not being allowed to resume my position prior to the spin put me in a position to react as I did. Nonetheless, I accept NASCAR’s decision and I intend to move forward under the rules,” said Gordon.
Georgia Boys: Awesome Bill from Dawsonville was the top finishing Georgia driver in the Nextel Cup race at Pocono. Elliott finished 18th in the tenth race he has run for Wood Brothers Racing this year.
Peachtree City’s Reed Sorenson finished 28th at Pocono. Sorenson holds down the 25th position in the Nextel Cup point standings.
David Ragan was the only Georgia driver to compete in both the Pocono and Canada events. He collected 33rd-place pay in the Nextel Cup race at Pocono. The Unadilla driver is ranked 22nd on the Nextel Cup point chart.
Ragan finished 19th in the Busch Series race and he is ranked fifth in the Busch points.
Gwinnett County’s Richard Johns finished 25th in the Canada Busch race. It was his seventh Busch event.
Ron Young will be back on the track this weekend in Nashville. The Rockdale County driver will attempt to qualify for Saturday’s ARCA/ReMax race. Young has run two Busch Series events this year.
Pep Boys 500 At AMS
August 8, 2007 – The Pep Boys, a national automotive aftermarket retail and service chain, announced today that it will be the title sponsor for Atlanta Motor Speedway’s (AMS) 500-mile NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Sunday, October 28.
The event will be officially known as the Pep Boys Auto 500. As the headline event for the October 26-28 race weekend, the Pep Boys Auto 500 will feature NASCAR’s top stars in the chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. “We’re proud to have Pep Boys join our family of great sponsor partners,” said AMS President and General Manager Ed Clark. “They have a great heritage and brand. We will work hand-in-hand to deliver a great event weekend to fans attending the Pep Boys Auto 500.”
Tickets for all October events at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including the October 28 Pep Boys Auto 500, are still available and can be obtained online at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-877-9-AMS-TIX (877-926-7849).
Saturday’s Allan Vigil Ford 120 will air from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Newstalk 750 WSB Radio and www.wsbradio.com. For more race information visit our Fastcar Newsdesk at www.captainherb.net.
Nissan Skyline for sale
