Backstretch Motorsports

Q: You are heading back to some familiar grounds in Indianapolis. What are your thoughts going into the weekend, this time in a Cup Car?
A: I am really looking forward to it. I guess I don’t know what to expect, I don’t have an opportunity to go and test there so there are a lot of unknowns for me. I am really happy I have had the opportunity to not only run there in IndyCar, but now I am getting the opportunity now to get in a Stock Car. I think that it’s going to be a really good weekend for us. Regardless of the on-track stuff, just the opportunity to be back in Indianapolis should be really fun.

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SONOMA, Calif. – There aren’t many synonyms for the word “dominant” that haven’t already been used to describe Tony Schumacher. Perhaps none exist.

Schumacher, the 38-year-old son of team owner and drag racing pioneer Don Schumacher, took only three years to prove himself as a professional driver after his Top Fuel debut in Indianapolis, the oldest and most storied stop on the NHRA POWERade Series tour, in 1996.

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Springfield, IL — Tim Wilkerson is in the midst of a dream season. By anybody’s standards. The fact that his is a one car team winning against the likes of John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing and the unlimited budgets of those giants is downright inspirational.

The Levi, Ray and Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS driver is leading the NHRA Funny Car points with 4 event wins and round by round, leading the way for the independents of the sport. And as an independent driver/owner/crew chief that means giving a fit to the large, well-funded multi-car teams is pretty enjoyable.

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Rick Crawford, driver of the No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150, participated in NASCAR’s teleconference today in advance of this weekend’s Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers. Crawford is fifth in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, just 74 markers behind the leader.

RICK CRAWFORD – No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150 – THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES COMES OFF A TWO-WEEK BREAK. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU PREPARE DURING THE BREAKS, ESPECIALLY WITH A TIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE? “We’ve appreciated the two-week break. I think all the teams needed it. We battled hard through the first half of the season. The Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-Series pick up has been performing well. I think it’s coming to potential now. We’re looking forward to going to Kentucky this weekend for the Built Ford Tough 225. In the couple of weeks that we’ve had off, I’ve been visiting some short tracks and I’ve done some testing at Darlington with the pickups.”

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KENT, Wash. – Jack Beckman (shown left) describes the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series as the “Top Gun” for race car drivers. Its categories are the fastest motorsports contests in the world; where extremity runs headlong into a deep pool of stubborn talent.

And it’s where, as rookies soon find out, being just ‘good’ doesn’t always win.

Most of the focus in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing is, naturally, what happens during a run – the four-point-something-seconds-plus between the green light and a win light.

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Doug Herbert and his SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel dragster team lined up for photos, smiles wide and arms raised in a victory salute that never gets stale. That happiness wasn’t faked. Herbert had just broken a 10-month winless spell and with the win in Norwalk gave himself some breathing room with a 131-point cushion between his eighth-place current seed and Morgan Lucas, who sits in the No. 11 spot currently and is 32 points outside the cut for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola
Daytona International Speedway
Qualifying Fast Facts

Coors Light Pole Winner: Paul Menard
Age: 27
Team: No. 15 Menards/Vertis Chevrolet
Owner: Teresa Earnhardt
Crew Chief: Doug Randolph

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MARK MARTIN TO JOIN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS;35-TIME RACE WINNER WILL DRIVE FULL 2009 SEASON IN NO. 5 CHEVROLETS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 4, 2008) - “Since this has been such a well-kept secret” laughed Rick Hendrick, as he announced officially that Mark Martin, a 35-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner and the all-time leader in NASCAR Nationwide Series victories, has signed a two-year agreement to drive for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2009.

“they must’ve been reading our text messages” added Martin, grinning.

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Venerable ALMS Team Celebrates Twenty-Five Years of Racing

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Twenty-five years ago, Rob Dyson raced a1983 Firebird at the IMSA Coca-Cola Three Hours of Lime Rock. Of the thirty-seven cars entered in that race, there is only one team still racing today: Dyson Racing.

The upcoming American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on July 12 marks their celebration of twenty five years in professional motorsports. It is a silver anniversary built on success at the highest levels: sixty-one victories, one hundred sixty five podiums and seventeen championships.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Hot on the heels of their first 2008 victory two weeks ago, reigning Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Champions Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing will be looking for consecutive victories in both the Rolex Series and the Brumos Porsche 250 when the second half of the 2008 season begins Thursday night under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.

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