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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Engines Grind To A Halt
At least half a dozen cars had major engine problems Sunday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 21, 2010   Fontana, CA
Ryan Newman's engine blows up during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Auto Club Speedway proved to be another grueling test of engines, with several of the best racers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series failing to go the distance in the Auto Club 500 because of what happened under their respective hoods.

RESULTS: Auto Club 500

Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., Marcos Ambrose and Robby Gordon all retired early because of engine woes, while others like 20th-place finisher Jeff Gordon had to nurse his ailing car to the checkered flag on seven cylinders.

The long, flat ACS track has always been hard on racing engines, in the Cup Series teams wind the powerplants to the limit, with entrance speeds into Turn 1 sometimes in excess of 205 miles per hours. And that usually means mechanical gremlins affect some of the cars. This race was no exception.

The carnage started early on Sunday, as Truex completed just 64 of 250 laps before the engine let go his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

“It’s a shame for all the guys on this NAPA Toyota,” said Truex. “We had a good car. We came a long way from Friday’s practice and had a good car yesterday, felt good about it today. It’s just unfortunate that we lost the engine. It was looking like it was going to be a good day. We have a lot to build on as far as the race car goes. The guys did a good job all weekend getting it tuned up and making it fast. I had fun while it lasted, we were up driving to the front and I thought we were going to have a good day but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Montoya, who led 29 laps, made it as far as Lap 140, before his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet puked its powerplant. Asked if he'd had any warning, Montoya said, “No. It was running fine. Something happened. It's a shame. We build such good motors. And to have one let go, it sucks. But, it's part of racing.”

Eight laps later, on the restart from Montoya's problem, Newman was the next victim in his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

“Had a really horrible restart,” said Newman, who already has more DNFs this season than he had all of last year. “We had a really good car with the Haas Automation Chevrolet. Just grenaded basically. I couldn't tell you what but it was big and there was smoke and that was the end of our day. Something let go in the bottom of the motor. I spun my tires on the restart, but didn't over rev it or anything. Horrible restart on my part. But either way, it grenaded and that was the end of our day.”

RESULTS: Auto Club 500

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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