Backstretch Motorsports

Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti added more fuel the TCGR/Penske 2009 IRL feud by winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award for tonight’s running of the Bombardier Learjet 550k under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway, in the process, securing another 2 all-important championship points.

Franchitti , the 13th qualifier on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval, wrestled the provisional pole from Penske’s Ryan Briscoe with a four-lap average of 214.513 mph (1 minute, 37.6725 seconds) in the No. 10 Energizer car.

Every point counts as the ‘09 championship hunt is ever so tight and a victory would give the Scotsman the points lead over teammate Scott Dixon - at least heading to Iowa Speedway on June 21.

Only three points seperate the TCGR duo, with Briscoe one point behing them.

“To win the pole at Texas says a lot about the Target guys and the job they do building the car,” Franchitti said. “The regulations are so tight now that it’s all about the details. The team makes a great car and it’s my job in qualifying is not to screw it up. If the car is fast enough, you’re looking good.

“It’s a tough, long and demanding race. I think it’s going to be a fight all night; pretty interesting.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas win goes to Bodine

Todd Bodine won his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 1.321 seconds in front of runner-up Matt Crafton in the WinStar World Casino 400.

Bodine became the first driver in the history of the series to have five victories at one track. They’ve all been accomplished in a Toyota for Germain Racing. It was Bodine’s 17th career victory in trucks, also all with Germain.

“It’s incredible to win five races at one track,” Bodine said. “It’s hard to win anywhere.”

Bodine took the lead on the 125th of 167 laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway and was never threatened. He had a 2.5-second lead over Crafton’s ThorSport Racing Chevrolet with 25 laps to go and 2.1 with five remaining. Making sure he had enough fuel to reach the checkered flag, Bodine backed off the throttle on the final lap.

Bodine had been running third behind Ron Hornaday Jr.’s Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet and Crafton when a sequence of green-flag pit stops began on lap 98.

Hornaday was penalized for a right-side tire violation and given a drive-through penalty, which put him a lap down. He never regained it. Hornaday had more trouble four laps from the end when he lost oil pressure and finished 19th.

With the series rule that limits trucks to taking only fuel or tires on a pit stop, Rick Crawford’s Circle Bar Racing Ford took the lead by making one stop for fuel as most of the rest of the trucks made two stops. It allowed Crawford to lead for 17 laps before the race’s second caution came out. Crawford pitted, along with all but two trucks: Bodine and Colin Braun’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

Bodine had made his last stop for fuel on lap 103. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. believed he could go the distance.

“We needed clean air,” Bodine said. “To get out front was key. Junior made a great call. I had to stretch the fuel at the end.”

Second was Crafton’s best finish of the season and moved him into the points lead for the first time in his nine seasons as a full-time driver in the series. He’s 30 points in front of Hornaday.

Crafton stopped during the final caution with 45 laps to go for four tires because of concerns of wear from a previous run that showed cords. Crafton restarted sixth and moved up to second with 30 laps remaining.

“Without a doubt, that’s the most disappointing second place I’ve ever had,” Crafton said.

Braun finished a season-best third. Johnny Benson’s Red Horse Racing Toyota was fourth and Crawford finished fifth.

Bodine averaged 152.282 mph in one of the fastest truck races in history. There were two cautions for 10 laps.

Pruett Gives Lexus Third Pole In Last Four Races

Scott Pruett was the fastest qualifier for Saturday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen to give Lexus its third pole in the last four Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series races.

After recording a time below the track record in the morning practice, Pruett quickly jumped up to the top spot in qualifying and stayed in the catbird seat throughout most of the 15-minute session. He improved his own pole speed on three separate laps in registering a final time seven-tenths quicker than Alex Gurney, who will start on the outside of the front row. The pole is a record 12th Daytona Prototype pole for Pruett – and the 27th for Lexus since entering Grand-Am competition in 2004.

Pruett will co-drive with Memo Rojas, a two-time pole winner himself this season, in Saturday’s six-hour event. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 2:15 p.m. EDT, with SPEED providing live coverage in two different segments. The first segment will run from 2-4 p.m. EDT and the network will then show the final two and a half hours from 6-8:30 p.m.

Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Entries Qualify 1-2 in GT at Watkins Glen; Porsche Daytona Prototypes Lag Behind Leaders in Qualifying

The Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche Motorsports customer team qualified its two Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars 1-2 in the GT class Friday for Saturday’s Sahleen’s Six Hours at the Glen, the sixth race of the 2009 season for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 at legendary Watkins Glen International. Dirk Werner (Germany) qualified the #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in a GT track record 1:51.007 = 110.263 mph. The old record was 1:52.239 (108.996 mph) around the 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course. He will co-drive the six-hour race with Eric Lux (Jacksonville, FL) in quest of their second GT victory of the season.

Meanwhile, the three Porsche-powered Daytona Prototypes were disappointed in their qualifying efforts. Timo Bernhard (Germany) qualified the #12 Verizon Wireless Penske Porsche Riley sixth at 1:41.648, well off the record pace of pole sitter Scott Pruett (Auburn, CA)’s lap of 1:40.744 in the #01 Lexus Riley.

Bernhard will team with fellow Porsche works driver Romain Dumas (France) in Saturday’s race. The twin Brumos Porsche team took 11th and 17th on the grid, with Darren Law (Phoenix, AZ) posting a best lap of 1:42.706 that put the #58 Brumos Riley he will share with David Donohue (Malvern, PA) and Buddy Rice (Phoenix, AZ) 11th on the grid.

JC France (Ormond Beach, FL) qualified the #59 Brumos Porsche Riley 17th at 1:45.890. By Grand-Am rules, France will start the race in the car he will share with Joao Barbosa (Portugal), Terry Borcheller (Vero Beach, FL) and Hurley Haywood (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl). This race marks the 40th anniversary of Haywood’s first professional racing history in 1969 here at Watkins Glen in a Porsche 9111R.