By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(April 25, 2009)(Photo: CIA Stock)
TALLADEGA, Ala.— For David Ragan, his first victory in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series took a long time coming — 196 races combined.
When it came, there was a bittersweet aspect to the win.
In a wild scramble at the finish, Ragan beat polesitter Ryan Newman to the stripe to win Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, but the victory came at the expense of teammate Matt Kenseth, who barrel-rolled and slid on the roof of his No. 16 Ford after contact from Ragan’s No. 6 sent him out of control on Lap 105.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 23, 2009) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that Las Vegas formally becomes the “Official Host City of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week.” NASCAR’s annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. The move to Las Vegas provides for greater flexibility for driver and fan events.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events will be combined and held at the Loews Miami Beach on Monday, Nov. 23. The Grand-Am Rolex Series banquet will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla. on Monday, Oct. 12.
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JEFF GORDON TO DRIVE PEPSI THROWBACK
PAINT-OUT CAR AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
Gordon to Race Darrell Waltrip’s 1983 Pepsi Challenger Paint Scheme
PURCHASE, N.Y.- April 23, 2009- Jeff Gordon will give fans a blast from
the past at Talladega this weekend when he drives a retro Pepsi Throwback paint- scheme on his No. 24 DuPont/ Pepsi Throwback Challenger Chevrolet on April 26 at Talladega Superspeedway. The last time fans
saw this memorable yellow paint scheme was over 25 years ago, when
Darrell Waltrip drove the No. 11 Pepsi Challenger to victory lane six
times in the race for the 1983 Cup Championship.
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CONCORD, N.C. (April 22, 2009) – Yates Racing today announced Ben Leslie, former crew chief for the No. 28 Yates Racing Ford, will serve as crew chief for Bobby Labonte and the No. 96 Hall of Fame entry for the remainder of the 2009 season. Previous crew chief Todd Parrot will assist the Yates organization as a whole.
“Ben’s experience with Ford Racing is really an asset to our organization,” said Max Jones, co-owner of Yates Racing. “The No. 96 team is fortunate enough to have a Champion driver and a group of experts in the sport. I believe Ben will bring the right changes to this team to help it accomplish some solid finishes this season and climb a few positions in the points.”
Prior to joining Yates Racing, Leslie served as a liaison between Ford Racing and NASCAR managing Ford’s development in all three series. Earlier in his career, Leslie worked with several notable drivers including Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Ricky Rudd. In 2001 Leslie led Martin to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, recorded 15 top-10 finishes and a win in the Coke 600.
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Rich Get Richer: Points Leader Gordon Restrictor Plate King
Jeff Gordon holds an 85-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. It could grow with another patented Gordon restrictor plate win.
Gordon is the all-time leader in restrictor plate wins with 12. He broke the record in the second Talladega race in 2007, passing Dale Earnhardt’s 11.
Gordon is looking to rebound off a 25th-place finish at Phoenix, his first finish outside the top 10 since the Daytona 500 (13th).
By Reid Spencer
