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| RACING SCENE Column - (New Winners) by Tim Kennedy |
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Los Angeles, CA. - First time winners in various series during recent weeks deserve mention. Some of the new winners had their victories caught live on national television. Other initial triumphs came on smaller, more remote tracks and in front of spectators at various short tracks. IRL Indy Cars at Milwaukee on June 1 had Ryan Briscoe score his first IRL victory in a close duel with first-time Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon. The milestone trophy was the 300th major victory by Team Penske Racing. Polish driver Robert Kubica, 23, was the second fastest qualifier and won his first Formula One race on June 8 at Montreal, Canada in his 29th F.1 start. He took over the F.1 point lead for the first time in his career. His winning ride—the No. 4 BMW-Sauber—also won its first F.1 race in its 42nd race under that name. Kubica's teammate, Nick Heidfeld, finished second to give BMW-Sauber its first 1-2 finish in F.1. Appropriately, Kubica's first victory let everyone present and in the TV audience hear the national anthem of Poland for the first time after a F.1 race. The Montreal circuit was the site where last year Kubica had his frightening crash into a concrete wall and flip back across the track. He suffered a sprained ankle that caused him to to miss only one F.1 race. Surprising F.1 crashes in recent races were Finland's Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari at Monaco running into the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India car near the bottom of the downhill section following the tunnel. Another F.1 shunt was British second-year F.1 star Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes running into the back of Raikkonen's Ferrari, which had stopped along with the adjacent car of Kubica for a red light at the pit road exit. Then Nico Rosberg's Williams skidded into the back of Hamilton's car. I enjoyed the understated protest by helmeted Raikkonen as he walked away from the disabled cars. With Hamilton also on foot, Raikkonen turned and pointed up to the red light to disgusted Hamilton, who waved off Raikkonen. The IRL Saturday night, June 7 Texas Motor Speedway 228-lap race taped delayed (7:00-9:30 pm PDT) had the usual close, wheel-to-wheel IRL competition that fans have come to expect at the lightning fast, banked 1.5-mile track. It is both exciting and scary racing for open-wheel cars. The contact between Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay sent both cars hard into the SAFER barrier. Did Marco crowd Ryan down under the white line, or did Ryan come up into Marco? It seems the two drivers agreed to disagree on the subject. The IRL car count of 28 at TMS shows the reunification of Indy Car teams has the group headed in the right direction. Now the Indy Car teams need to secure a national sponsor to ramp up advertising, plus more sponsorship for individual racing teams. The Indianapolis Star newspaper auto racing reporter present at the track estimated the TMS crowd at 75,000 for the June 7 race. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series had three first-time winners in the series in late May. Matt Crafton (No 88 Menard Chevy) won his first NCTS race at Lowe's near Charlotte, N.C.. Then Donny Lia (No. 71 Chevy) made a thrilling last lap pass to lead only the final lap and beat two challengers at Mansfield, OH. On May 30 at Dover, DE Scott Speed drove the No. 22 Red Bull Toyota to victory in only his sixth NCTS start. On Saturday, June 7 second generation driver Brad Keslowski won his first NASCAR Nationwide Series feature at the 1.33-mile Nashville Super-speedway 225-lap race. He drove the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No. 88 Navy Chevrolet in which he has been getting close to victory this season. You could sense his confidence growing this year as he raced up front against NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. He did not back down from a verbal conflict recently with Cup veteran Denny Hamlin. During late May, Californian Brian Ickler, 22, won his first NASCAR Camping World Series East feature at Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA. He then backed up that triumph with a second victory in the series at South Boston, VA. Ickler was a late model driver at Irwindale Speedway several years ago. Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Joey Logano turned 18 on May 24 and made his heralded debut in NASCAR's Nationwide Series at Dover, DE on May 31. He started ninth and finished sixth at Dover. A week later on June 7 at the 1.33-mile Nashville Super-speedway Logano set fastest qualifying time. He started from the pole and led the first 60 laps in his second NNS start. His involvement in a crash caused by another driver cost him 42 laps and he finished 31st in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Logano was the 2007 NASCAR Grand National East champion and rookie of the year at age 17. Joey also won the annual Toyota All-Star Showdown last October at Irwindale, CA on his first visit to the Los Angeles County track. Joey, who is confident, personable and polite, made his third NNS start on June 14 at Kentucky Speedway. He drove the Gibbs No. 20 Toyota and set his second consecutive fastest qualifying time in a 44-car field. That's living up to your advance billing. USAC open-wheel champion Bobby East started 13th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Friday, June 6 race at Texas Motor Speedway. The FOMOCO development driver drove the No. 09 Ford truck. He ran near the front most of the race before finishing eighth. East still competes in USAC and on May 24 won his first USAC Midget "Night Before the 500" at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, IN. ARCA Re/Max Series: ARCA stock car racing also chipped in with first-time feature winners. Scott Speed, a Formula One driver for a year and a half in 2006-07 for the Red Bull Toro Rosso team, won his first ARCA stock car race in the No. 2 Red Bull Toyota. Matt Carter drove the No. 46 Ford, formerly raced by 8-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, to his first ARCA victory at Toledo, OH. Earlier this year, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won his initial ARCA stock car feature in the No. 99 Conway Trucking Ford as a development driver for Roush-Fenway Racing. He could well become the next Carl Edwards in NASCAR. Stenhouse, a 20-year old from Mississippi, was a USAC Silver Crown and sprint car double-main event winner on March 10, 2007 at the half-mile clay Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. He has made a seamless transition from USAC open-wheel cars to ARCA stock cars on much larger tracks. On Saturday, June 7 Stenhouse won his second ARCA race in the No. 99 Ford and became the 2008 point leader on the competitive ARCA circuit. After nine races this year he is the first repeat winner. He beat Scott Speed in the No. 2 Red Bull Toyota. Washington state-based Dodge Development driver Tayler Malsam finished third in the Cunningham No. 4 Dodge. Versatile Malsam has raced sprint cars at the Skagit Speedway dirt track in Alger, WA and he also has raced a NASCAR late model stock car in Whelen Weekly Racing Series races at the half-mile paved track in Irwindale, CA. Stenhouse, Speed and Malsam all could be on the radar of NASCAR Sprint Cup and/or Nationwide Series teams. Justin Lofton, a 22-year old from Westmorland, CA (in the Imperial Valley near El Centro north of the US/Mexico border) won his first ARCA race on June 14 in the No. 20 Eddie Sutton Racing Dodge. The Michigan 200 on the 2-mile was just his eight start in the series. He had been qualifying well and running up front this season..During 2005 Justin raced all year as a rookie in the Auto Club Late Model Series at Irwindale Speedway. He had four fastest qualifying times and a victory in his No.. 66 Lofton Cattle Co Ford. Justin raced for the last two years on the touring NASCAR GN West circuit. He had five top tens and finished 11th in 2006 points. He headed east to further his stock car career and it appears that it was the correct choice. Stenhouse, Kimmel and Speed finished 2-3-4 to Lofton. Josh Wise, who raced the Eddie Sutton No. 22 Dodge in ARCA last year, has been testing Toyotas this year for Michael Waltrip's team. Past USAC midget and sprint car national champion Josh, 25, recently picked up the Armando Fitz NNS No. 22 Supercuts Dodge ride vacated by fellow USAC grad Mike Bliss, who jumped to the No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevy ride.. Josh qualified 11th fastest at Dover and finished 19th, two laps behind winner Denny Hamlin. TV racing analyst Rusty Wallace has had favorable things to say several times on telecasts about Wise, his character and racing ability. USAC RACING: The record as youngest USAC National Sprint Car Series main event winner fell twice this month...in the same week. Cole Whitt, a 16-year old diminutive redhead from Alpine, east of San Diego, won for his first time in the series on Thursday, June 5. The site was Big Diamond Raceway, Minersville, PA, in a strong 39-car field. Then on Saturday, June 7 Chad Boat, an even younger 16-year old, won his first USAC National Sprint feature in his dad Billy's No. 30 Maxim at Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, MD. Chad traded the lead with Whitt and led lap 1 and 9-30. After leading lap 2-8, Whitt finished second to Boat. Whitt's DOB is 6-22-91 and Boat's DOB is 1-30-92. The young talent in auto racing these days is astonishing. It must be in the fact that youngsters start so early in quarter midgets and kart racing. In Boat's case his racing talent also could be in his genes. His dad Billy, 42, was a champion midget and sprint car driver and from 1997-2003 an Indianapolis 500 starter. He drove for A. J. Foyt and was the Indy 500 pole starter in 1998, the same year he won his only IRL Indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway in Foyt,s No.. 11 Conseco Dallara. Auston Harris, a 17-year old from Hayward, CA (near San Francisco) also made USAC history. He became the first African-American main event winner in the 53-year history of USAC racing. He accomplished the feat in USAC's Ford Focus Indiana Series at Wednesday, May 28 at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schereville, IN. He drove Ford-affiliated Bob East's No. 5 Beast and led lap 16-30. Reportedly, Auston has a three-race deal and he made the most of his opportunity. The acclaimed karting winner and his father, Dean, were guests of Ford Motor Co at Irwindale Speedway last November for the annual USAC National Midget Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix. His racing goal, like so many other young drivers, is racing in a major NASCAR national series. Dad Dean wanted to name his son after four-time Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna, of Brazil, but his mom Denise nixed that idea. Auston was the compromise name they selected. Dad wanted to spell it Auston instead of the usual Austin spelling. He won on that point and gave his son the second half of the name Ayrton. Tanner Swanson, from the central California town of Kingsburg in the San Joaquin Valley, won the 2007 USAC Ford Focus Carolina Series driving championship. This year the 16-year old comer is making waves in USAC Western 360 cu. in. sprint cars with feature victories at northern California paved tracks in Tracy and Roseville last month. Tanner is three years younger than his talented open-wheel midget/sprint car driver brother Kody, who has won a USAC feature at Kenly, N.C in one of Steve Lewis' Beast/Toyota midgets. NorCal driver Bradley Galedrige also scored his first USAC National Midget feature victory in his family-owned No. 29 on May 17 at Slinger, WI. Teenager JoJo Helberg also broke through and scored a victory in the USAC Rocky Mountain 360 Sprint car Series at Salt Lake City on May 10. He drives a Beast owned by his Santa Rosa, CA-based family.. Female drivers have made news as well. Congratulations to petite Shannon McQueen, a CPA in Bakersfield, CA and midget owner/driver. The 29-year old 2006 fourth place driver in USAC Western Midget points was voted most improved driver in the 2006 series. She won her first BCRA feature Saturday, June 7 at the quarter-mile paved Lakeport (CA) Speedway in her No. 7 Stealth/Esslinger. It was her second midget main event victory. Her first triumph came last season in a USAC Western Series race at the third-mile paved Madera (CA) Speedway in her own colorful No. 7. Mackena Bell, of Carson City, NV, made page 3 of the USA TODAY sports section on Monday, June 9. The story even carried a photo of the18-year old recent high school graduate standing by her No. 11 stock car. She races it in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Weekly Racing Series at All-American Speedway in Roseville, CA, north of Sacramento. Mauricia Grant, an African-American 32-year old NASCAR Nationwide Series technical inspector, filed a $225 million dollar lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York June 10 against NASCAR. Her lawsuit alleges racial discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Her involvement in racing began in the Los Angeles area where she attended a Los Angeles Urban League automotive careers training program. In 2004 she began working as an intern in the pits at Irwindale Speedway, a NASCAR Weekly Racing Series track. She assisted track technical officials by taking pre-race car measurements and performing post-race checks as directed. A feature story in the Los Angeles Times newspaper in 2004 profiled Ms Grant and included photos. Retired NBA LA Lakers star Magic Johnson, who had been enlisted by NASCAR to help in its diversity program, saw the story and told NASCAR headquarters staff about Ms Grant. She was hired to work the then named NASCAR Busch Series and travel to all races of the national circuit. She relocated south and worked in the second-tier NASCAR Series as a paid ($30,000 per year reportedly) NASCAR inspector from January 2005 to October 2007 when she was terminated. More details will follow in the national news media. |
