Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 21, 2008) – Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane has transformed itself into a Hall of Fame of sorts.
The list of winners reads like a who’s who of NASCAR. Of the 14 races, 12 have been won by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions.
The only Brickyard winners who are not also series champions are Ricky Rudd (1997) and Kevin Harvick (2003).
Also, “Kissing the Bricks” – the traditional celebration of the winning team – often foreshadows a series championship. Six winners in the 14-race history of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard have gone on to win the series championship in the same year:

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 7, 2008) – Tony Stewart is in familiar territory. And if the past is any indicator, he shouldn’t be all that worried that he’s winless over the first half of the season.
The exact same drought occurred last year, with Stewart not winning until race No. 19 at Chicagoland Speedway. That win spurred a two-race winning streak, and wins in three of four events.

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BEACH, FLA. — Fireworks started the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola Saturday night. Fireworks ended the race as well, both on and off the track.

In a wild and wooly finish so typical of races at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch won by a whisker over hard-charging Carl Edwards with a chain-reaction accident behind them sending up a cloud of smoke that covered the track.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 30, 2008) – The July 4th weekend NASCAR tradition continues this weekend at Daytona International Speedway – the 50th running of what is now known as the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola. The milestone lends itself perfectly to a By the Numbers:
2 – Margins of Victory in this race that rank in the top five closest since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993. In 1994, Jimmy Spencer beat Ernie Irvan to the line by .008 seconds, which is tied for the fifth-closest MOV since 1993. Last year, Jamie McMurray nipped Kyle Busch by .005 seconds, tying the second-closest MOV ever.

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Koretsky Picks Richie Stevens to Drive Nitro Fish Pontiac GXP

After deliberating for more than a week, Kenny Koretsky decided Tuesday to put Richie Stevens in the seat of his Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Pro Stock Pontiac GXP for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk,
Ohio.

“It’s no secret I’ve been thinking about doing something like this since my crash at Topeka (May 31),” said the fan friendly Koretsky. “Well, now it’s official. Richie was in Joliet (Ill.) testing with Eddie (Guarnaccia, team crew chief) and getting comfortable in the car. If everything goes well – and it should – Richie will be racing at Norwalk.”

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Busch of 2008 is the Jeff Gordon of 2007, at least in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Their numbers are very similar:
Wins: After 13 races last season, Gordon won three races. Busch has won four this year.
Points Lead: Last season, Gordon was 152 points ahead of second-place Jimmie Johnson after 13 races. Right now, Kyle Busch is 142 points ahead of second-place Jeff Burton.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Coca-Cola 600 – one of the crown jewels of NASCAR – will be especially important to three previous winners for three different reasons:

Kasey Kahne
Kahne is trying to end a winless drought which stretches 52 points races long and, perhaps more importantly, return to the top 12 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

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Darlington, SC — Kyle Busch won the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. By the only method that works — taming the track’s “Too Tough To Tame” reputation with patience and refusing to lose to everything the South Carolina speedway throws at a driver.

First let her stripe you, let her think she’s in control. Watch her take out the competition one by one. Let the new car think it isn’t going to turn through the corners the way you want it to. Get into the wall with the right side 3 or 4, even 5 times.

Overcome a loose lug nut penalty in the process.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 5, 2008) – This season has been a strange and unpredictable one for Jeff Gordon – especially compared to 2007.
Through 10 races last season, Gordon had one finish outside the top 10 – a 12th-place result at Atlanta.

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Talladega, Al. – Jeff Gordon finds himself in a peculiar position – outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cut-off.
It’s a position he’s been in after every race but one this season (Gordon was in ninth after Martinsville). But prior to this season, the last time Gordon was outside the Chase cut-off was back in 2006 – after race No. 17 at Daytona (he was in 12th, when only 10 drivers made the Chase).
But Gordon’s season looks destined to right itself this weekend. Too many statistics suggest a return to the top 12 for the four-time champion:

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