RACE RECAP | PHOENIX
Race #9 in the chase

10 Jamie McMurray
9 Kurt Busch
8 Mark Martin
7 Matt Kenseth
6 Kevin Harvick
5 Jimmie Johnson
4 Greg Biffle
3 Joey Logano
2 Ryan Newman

VICTORY LANE

1 Carl Edwards takes his first win since 2008, snapping a 70 race winless streak, and doubles up the weekend with a Nationwide Series win as well

CUP SERIES POINT STANDINGS

OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY

Denny Hamlin led the most laps locking up the 5 bonus points, led 190 laps but was bit by fuel mileage and finished 12th

Kevin Harvick came out of a pitstop with 85 laps to go in 5th, but was sent back to 19th for a missing lug, this ultimately helped him in the closing lap, allowing him to race hard

Jimmie Johnson fought handling issues all race long, but gambled on fuel mileage and finished ahead of Hamlin and Harvick

Fuel mileage was a factor in the closing laps

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(November 13, 2010)
Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photo

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Carl Edwards continued his dominant weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, winning Saturday’s Wypall 200 Nationwide Series race in a cakewalk over runner-up Kevin Harvick.

On Friday, Edwards paced the Sprint Cup practice session and won the pole for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 Cup race. On Saturday, Edwards posted the fastest speed in both Cup practice sessions. The only thing Edwards didn’t win was the Nationwide pole.

Edwards started second to Joey Logano but quickly went to the front. He led 153 of 200 laps at the one-mile track en route to his fourth victory of the season and the 29th of his career. The victory was Edwards’ fourth at Phoenix and his second straight in the series.

“This is the best car I’ve ever had in the Nationwide Series,” Edwards radioed to crew chief Mike Beam after the race.

Actually, Edwards ran second in Friday’s first Nationwide practice, too. He sat out the second session to concentrate on his qualifying effort in the Cup car. The lack of practice, however, made no difference in Saturday’s race.

“That was (owner) Jack Roush’s call,” Edwards said of the decision to skip the second Nationwide practice. “I thought about it, but I thought, ‘Man, I don’t have the guts to sit out a whole practice,’ and Mike Beam said, ‘Hey, the car’s good,’ and Jack said it was good, so it let me go focus on our (Cup car) and get the pole there.

“I wouldn’t have imagined this thing would be that fast today. A great day for us. Man, it’s just unbelievable how fast this thing is. After three or four laps, I could do whatever I wanted with it. I’m really blessed to have the crew that I have.”

Logano finished third, followed by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson. Aric Almirola, Colin Braun, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Steve Wallace completed the top 10. Danica Patrick finished 32nd, seven laps down, in her 12th Nationwide start.

Notes: Cole Whitt finished 15th in his series debut. … Kyle Busch cut a tire during the final 56-lap green-flag run and finished 16th in the No. 18 Toyota. That shrank Joe Gibbs Racing’s lead in the owners’ standings to 41 points over the No. 22 Dodge owned by Roger Penske and driven by Keselowski.

TRAVIS PASTRANA COMING TO NASCAR
Creates Pastrana-Waltrip Racing To Own & Drive Nationwide Toyotas

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Travis Pastrana is coming to NASCAR in 2011.

After mining gold medals in the X Games, shattering jump records on both motorcycles and automobiles and starring as a cultural icon for the action sports world, the star of MTV’s “Nitro Circus” is ready to turn his attention to America’s most popular form of motorsports – NASCAR.

Michael Waltrip Racing, Gary and Blake Bechtel and Pastrana announced today the creation of Pastrana-Waltrip Racing that will field cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning in 2011.

Pastrana-Waltrip Racing will focus on creating programs that expose the action sports world’s fans and participants to NASCAR and develop youth marketing initiatives designed to create greater awareness of both sports.

Initial plans are for Pastrana to compete in seven NASCAR Nationwide races in 2011 and twenty races in 2012.
“I’ve been following NASCAR closely for years as a fan of the sport with competing in the sport a life-long dream,” Pastrana said. “I decided it was time to try and turn that dream into reality and with the help of the Bechtel family, Michael Waltrip Racing and Wasserman Media Group I’m now one step closer!”
Pastrana-Waltrip Racing will field Toyotas out of the Michael Waltrip Racing shop in Cornelius, N.C. Waltrip noted the importance of the youth demographic Pastrana brings to NASCAR.

“Travis has built an enormous and unique following all over the world,” said Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion. “As a race team owner, we are always looking for ways to deliver to our partners and engage our fans better. This is an opportunity to showcase our company and our sport to a new generation of young fans. We’re also looking for that next big star. Travis already is one and action sports is full of talented athletes. Having Travis as a part of our program adds another great dimension to our team and NASCAR.”
Travis Pastrana is one of the most recognized and celebrated athletes in the world. An action sports icon, Pastrana owns 16 X Games gold medals along with multiple supercross, motocross and rally championships in his career. Pastrana also created the Nitro Circus empire, which includes a television show, live tours and a soon-to-be-released feature film.

The latest preview video from the wacky world of Jimmy Joe. Phoenix! The Desert! Duel! Can it top last week’s old school spectacle???

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(November 12, 2010)

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Clint Bowyer didn’t lose his touch during a three-year hiatus from NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series.

Driving Kevin Harvick’s No. 2 Chevrolet, Bowyer won Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway in his first start in the series since Oct. 20, 2007 at Martinsville.

Todd Bodine also had reason to celebrate. With a 12th-place finish at Phoenix, Bodine wrapped up his second truck series championship. He leads Aric Almirola by an insurmountable 202 points entering next Friday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Bowyer beat race runner-up Kyle Busch to the line by 1.039 seconds. Johnny Sauter finished third, followed by Matt Crafton and Almirola.

“Everybody back at the shop did such a great job building this thing,” Bowyer said. “They were excited about it before we came down here, and any time these guys get excited about building a truck back at the shop, you know as a racecar driver that you’re going to have a good hot rod, and we certainly did.

“I love this series, and I think this is some of the best racing we have in NASCAR. It’s fun to be back in it.”

Bowyer had the dominant truck in the early going. After taking the top spot from polesitter Austin Dillon following a restart on Lap 24, Bowyer opened a lead that reached 6.626 seconds before NASCAR called the second caution of the race on Lap 53 because of fluid on the track.

Busch led 25 laps in the middle of the race, but Bowyer reasserted his superiority after beating Busch out of the pits for a restart on Lap 67.

Bodine added the 2010 crown to his 2006 truck series title.

“Along the way, we had a lot of good luck,” Bodine said. “Along with good performance, along with hard work, you’ve got to have good luck, and we had it this year. We did that. But the old adage is ‘You make your own luck,’ and this team has done a great job all year of doing that.”

Note: Busch, who drives his own No. 18 Toyota, holds a 120 point lead over Bodine’s No. 30 Toyota, fielded by Germain Racing, in the battle for the owners’ championship.