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Sprint Cup
CUP: Friday Auto Club Notebook (UPDATE 9)
Auto Club Speedway is the fifth stop so far this year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar…
Denny Hamlin is shown winning the pole Friday for Sunday's Auto Club 400. (Image: SPEED)
RESULTS: Auto Club 400 Qualifying
VIDEO
[FRIDAY 8:35 pm ET]
HAMLIN WINS POLE – A few days after his infamous dustup with former teammate Joey Logano at Bristol, Denny Hamlin made headlines for a more positive moment, winning the pole Friday for Sunday's Auto Club 400. Hamlin ran 187.451 mph to score his first pole of the season. Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth followed
[FRIDAY 6:31 pm ET]
PHOTOS: CUP Practice Gallery
[FRIDAY 5:11 pm ET]
ANOTHER FORD ENGINE CHANGE — Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski Tweeted that he, too, would have to change engines, just as fellow Ford driver Greg Biffle did earlier in the day. This could be a long weekend for the Blue Oval Boys if this keeps up. Keselowski was 20th in Friday’s lone practice round for the Auto Club 400, but said his No. 2 Penske Racing Blue Deuce was fast in race trim.
[FRIDAY 4:30 pm ET]
IN THE BOOKS — NASCAR gave the Sprint Cup teams a full two hours to practice at Auto Club Speedway and the drivers and crews made good use of it. From the start of the session, the Toyotas looked like the cars to beat. Clint Bowyer wheeled the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota to the top of the board early in the session with a lap of 185.414 miles per hour.
Second fast was Denny Hamlin in the first of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas at 184.824 mph. The big surprise was third place, where AJ Allmendinger cranked off a lap of 184.611 mph in the unsponsored No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Busch was fourth in a second JGR entry, followed by
Joey Logano in the first of the Fords.
The second five was Greg Biffle , Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth.
[FRIDAY 4:15 pm ET]
DANICA’S DOWNER — After winning the pole and finishing eighth at the Daytona 500, Danica Patrick has struggled mightily. In the three races following Daytona, Patrick hasn’t qualified better than 37th or finished a race better than 28th. Friday’s lone round of practice at Auto Club Speedway was another difficult time for Patrick, as she couldn’t crack the top 30 during the first 90 minutes of the two-hour session.
Patrick said it’s a matter of getting the setup right on her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
“I just feel like in general we are working on a pretty small window of grip where it’s easy to push it over one way or the other,” Patrick said. “We just need to have a bigger platform to work around so that we can be decent more of the time instead of only when we hit it perfectly. To me grip is always the answer if we can just widen that platform we will be better off much more of the time.”
Despite the poor performance, Patrick said she isn’t frustrated.
“I know that I have a lot to learn and I know that as a group we have a lot to learn together to figure out where the car is best for me so we can be closer more of the weekend, but we will get it,” said Patrick. “I’m not discouraged or afraid at this point for anything. This is just the process that we go through. We will be fine.”
[FRIDAY 3:17 pm ET]
GETTING INK — Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said he so far has avoided the temptation to get a tattoo, but he came close once. Spoiler alert: Alcohol was involved.
“There was one moment when I entered Nationwide racing and we were testing at Indy,” Johnson said Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “We went out with the guys and we ended up at a tattoo parlor and thankfully the guy sent me home and said to come back when I was sober. I had a brilliant idea of ‘WFO’ tattooed on my right foot. I think we all know what ‘WFO’ stands for. I’m thankful that didn’t go through and they sent me home.”
[FRIDAY 2:59 pm ET]
FEEDING THE NEEDY — Farmland Foods, which sponsors Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, today presented $20,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank serving Riverside and San Bernardino (Calif.) Counties as part of an expanding effort by the company to raise awareness of hunger issues. The company also donated 43 cases of Farmland's Hickory Smoked Bacon.
[FRIDAY 2:43 pm ET]
RED FLAG — NASCAR Sprint Cup practice is halted briefly after Greg Biffle's No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing begins spewing huge plumes of white smoke after just one lap on the track. Biffle will have to start the race from the back of the field as his crew will make an engine change. In 2006, Biffle led 168 laps here, but finished 42nd after an engine failure.
[FRIDAY 2:25 pm ET]
PASSING GRADE — In his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is doing OK so far. Stenhouse, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, is 11th in points after four races, a respectable performance, but not one Stenhouse is thrilled with.
Asked by SPEED’s Bob Dillner what kind of grade he’d give himself so far, Stenhouse laughed. “Myself? Probably a C,” Stenhouse told Dillner prior to Sprint Cup practice Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “I think I’ve hit the wall every single race, so I’ve still got some improvement that I can do. We’re building as a race team. They’re giving me great race cars, the communication’s getting better.”
[FRIDAY 12:49 pm ET]
CARDINALE REMEMBERED — From Dianna Brennan at Sonoma Raceway:
Hello,
We are saddened to share that we have lost our dear friend and colleague, John Cardinale.
He passed away at home with his family after a two-year battle with gastric cancer. John was 47 years old and is survived by his wife, Andrea, and their two daughters.
For those who would like to make a donation in John’s honor, a memorial fund has been set up on behalf of his family. Donations may be sent to the John Cardinale Memorial Fund, care of Sonoma Raceway, 29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476.
We will share information on services and other arrangements as they become available.
Thoughts from Steve Page, president & general manager of Sonoma Raceway:
“There is a hole in the heart of this organization.
“John Cardinale was as true a friend, as loyal a colleague, as devoted a husband and father and as fine a human being as you could ever hope to know.
“John has been a part of every good thing that has happened at this track over the last 15 years. We are all so fortunate to have had him in our lives and to have shared in his intelligence, his wit, his integrity and his brave spirit.”
He will be incredibly missed,
Diana and the Sonoma Raceway Staff
[FRIDAY 9:02 am ET]
ON THE LEFT COAST — The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the Left Coast this week for the running of the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, race No. 5 of the 2013 season. SPEED will televise Sprint Cup practice at 2:30 p.m. ET, followed by NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at 4:30 p.m. and Sprint Cup qualifying at 7 p.m.
Brad Keselowski comes into this weekend’s race leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. by nine points and Jimmie Johnson by 15.
It is with considerable sadness that we report the passing of former Sonoma Raceway vice president John Cardinale, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this week. John was a friend to all in the media and someone respected and admired by all who knew him. All of us at SPEED extend our thoughts and prayers to John’s friends and family.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
VIDEO
[FRIDAY 8:35 pm ET]
HAMLIN WINS POLE – A few days after his infamous dustup with former teammate Joey Logano at Bristol, Denny Hamlin made headlines for a more positive moment, winning the pole Friday for Sunday's Auto Club 400. Hamlin ran 187.451 mph to score his first pole of the season. Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth followed
[FRIDAY 6:31 pm ET]
PHOTOS: CUP Practice Gallery
[FRIDAY 5:11 pm ET]
ANOTHER FORD ENGINE CHANGE — Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski Tweeted that he, too, would have to change engines, just as fellow Ford driver Greg Biffle did earlier in the day. This could be a long weekend for the Blue Oval Boys if this keeps up. Keselowski was 20th in Friday’s lone practice round for the Auto Club 400, but said his No. 2 Penske Racing Blue Deuce was fast in race trim.
[FRIDAY 4:30 pm ET]
IN THE BOOKS — NASCAR gave the Sprint Cup teams a full two hours to practice at Auto Club Speedway and the drivers and crews made good use of it. From the start of the session, the Toyotas looked like the cars to beat. Clint Bowyer wheeled the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota to the top of the board early in the session with a lap of 185.414 miles per hour.
Second fast was Denny Hamlin in the first of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas at 184.824 mph. The big surprise was third place, where AJ Allmendinger cranked off a lap of 184.611 mph in the unsponsored No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Busch was fourth in a second JGR entry, followed by
Joey Logano in the first of the Fords.
The second five was Greg Biffle , Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth.
[FRIDAY 4:15 pm ET]
DANICA’S DOWNER — After winning the pole and finishing eighth at the Daytona 500, Danica Patrick has struggled mightily. In the three races following Daytona, Patrick hasn’t qualified better than 37th or finished a race better than 28th. Friday’s lone round of practice at Auto Club Speedway was another difficult time for Patrick, as she couldn’t crack the top 30 during the first 90 minutes of the two-hour session.
Patrick said it’s a matter of getting the setup right on her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
“I just feel like in general we are working on a pretty small window of grip where it’s easy to push it over one way or the other,” Patrick said. “We just need to have a bigger platform to work around so that we can be decent more of the time instead of only when we hit it perfectly. To me grip is always the answer if we can just widen that platform we will be better off much more of the time.”
Despite the poor performance, Patrick said she isn’t frustrated.
“I know that I have a lot to learn and I know that as a group we have a lot to learn together to figure out where the car is best for me so we can be closer more of the weekend, but we will get it,” said Patrick. “I’m not discouraged or afraid at this point for anything. This is just the process that we go through. We will be fine.”
[FRIDAY 3:17 pm ET]
GETTING INK — Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said he so far has avoided the temptation to get a tattoo, but he came close once. Spoiler alert: Alcohol was involved.
“There was one moment when I entered Nationwide racing and we were testing at Indy,” Johnson said Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “We went out with the guys and we ended up at a tattoo parlor and thankfully the guy sent me home and said to come back when I was sober. I had a brilliant idea of ‘WFO’ tattooed on my right foot. I think we all know what ‘WFO’ stands for. I’m thankful that didn’t go through and they sent me home.”
[FRIDAY 2:59 pm ET]
FEEDING THE NEEDY — Farmland Foods, which sponsors Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, today presented $20,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank serving Riverside and San Bernardino (Calif.) Counties as part of an expanding effort by the company to raise awareness of hunger issues. The company also donated 43 cases of Farmland's Hickory Smoked Bacon.
[FRIDAY 2:43 pm ET]
RED FLAG — NASCAR Sprint Cup practice is halted briefly after Greg Biffle's No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing begins spewing huge plumes of white smoke after just one lap on the track. Biffle will have to start the race from the back of the field as his crew will make an engine change. In 2006, Biffle led 168 laps here, but finished 42nd after an engine failure.
[FRIDAY 2:25 pm ET]
PASSING GRADE — In his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is doing OK so far. Stenhouse, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, is 11th in points after four races, a respectable performance, but not one Stenhouse is thrilled with.
Asked by SPEED’s Bob Dillner what kind of grade he’d give himself so far, Stenhouse laughed. “Myself? Probably a C,” Stenhouse told Dillner prior to Sprint Cup practice Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “I think I’ve hit the wall every single race, so I’ve still got some improvement that I can do. We’re building as a race team. They’re giving me great race cars, the communication’s getting better.”
[FRIDAY 12:49 pm ET]
CARDINALE REMEMBERED — From Dianna Brennan at Sonoma Raceway:
Hello,
We are saddened to share that we have lost our dear friend and colleague, John Cardinale.
He passed away at home with his family after a two-year battle with gastric cancer. John was 47 years old and is survived by his wife, Andrea, and their two daughters.
For those who would like to make a donation in John’s honor, a memorial fund has been set up on behalf of his family. Donations may be sent to the John Cardinale Memorial Fund, care of Sonoma Raceway, 29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476.
We will share information on services and other arrangements as they become available.
Thoughts from Steve Page, president & general manager of Sonoma Raceway:
“There is a hole in the heart of this organization.
“John Cardinale was as true a friend, as loyal a colleague, as devoted a husband and father and as fine a human being as you could ever hope to know.
“John has been a part of every good thing that has happened at this track over the last 15 years. We are all so fortunate to have had him in our lives and to have shared in his intelligence, his wit, his integrity and his brave spirit.”
He will be incredibly missed,
Diana and the Sonoma Raceway Staff
[FRIDAY 9:02 am ET]
ON THE LEFT COAST — The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the Left Coast this week for the running of the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, race No. 5 of the 2013 season. SPEED will televise Sprint Cup practice at 2:30 p.m. ET, followed by NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at 4:30 p.m. and Sprint Cup qualifying at 7 p.m.
Brad Keselowski comes into this weekend’s race leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. by nine points and Jimmie Johnson by 15.
It is with considerable sadness that we report the passing of former Sonoma Raceway vice president John Cardinale, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this week. John was a friend to all in the media and someone respected and admired by all who knew him. All of us at SPEED extend our thoughts and prayers to John’s friends and family.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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