Native son Bowyer dominates Kansas truck race

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

June 4, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The unquestioned class of the field in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway, Clint Bowyer won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the season in dominating fashion.

Bowyer, from Emporia, Kan., beat Johnny Sauter to the finish line by 1.695 seconds to claim his third victory in 11 starts in the series. Todd Bodine ran third, followed by James Buescher and Joey Coulter, who passed Kyle Busch on the last of 167 laps for the fifth spot.

It was a watershed race for Bowyer, who posted his first NASCAR national series victory in his home state in the 400th race in Truck Series history. Previously, Bowyer had finished second in the 2007 Sprint Cup race at the 1.5-mile track and second in the 2008 Nationwide Series event here.

“We’ve come close here,” Bowyer said. “We’ve had good runs here, but we just haven’t been able to seal the deal. To finally be able to do a burnout on the frontstretch in front of that crowd is big, man. It’s a good feeling.

“This place means a lot to me. I watched this place being built. I dreamed of being able to race here in anything, and to be able to roll into victory lane … is pretty cool.”

Bowyer, however, has unfinished business at his home track.

“I want to win a Cup race here bad,” said Bowyer, who will start 27th in Sunday’s STP 400 Cup event.

A debris caution on Lap 98 was a godsend for Bowyer and Sauter, who hadn’t been to the pit for fuel and tires since Laps 50 and 59 respectively. Both took advantage of the yellow and came to the pits.

After restarting third on lap 103, Bowyer took the lead from Todd Bodine on Lap 109, two laps before Shane Sieg smacked the Turn 2 wall to cause the sixth caution of the race. Bowyer returned to the pits under yellow on Lap 112 to take on enough fuel to go the distance.

Though he restarted 11th on Lap 116, Bowyer quickly moved to the front, passing Bodine to regain the lead on Lap 122. Bowyer, Sauter and Busch all remained on the track under caution for Clay Rogers’ spin off Turn 2 on Lap 131.
Bowyer led the field to the green flag on Lap 138 and after battling Sauter for half a lap began to pull away.

Notes: Bowyer led 124 laps, including the first 49 … Sauter took over the series lead from Cole Whitt, who fell to second and trails Sauter by 12 points … Polesitter Austin Dillon, who finished 12th Saturday, gained one spot to third in the standings.

Allgaier Coasts To NASCAR Nationwide Series Win

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
June 4, 2011

JOLIET, Ill. – The final lap of a NASCAR race is usually a blur of speed.

Saturday night’s STP 300 was something else. Justin Allgaier coasted across the finish line to win despite running out of fuel after passing Carl Edwards on the final lap at Chicagoland Speedway as Edwards also ran out of fuel.

Both were traveling about 50 mph when they rolled across the finish line, even as Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was barreling toward them from behind. Bayne finished third.

The outcome was almost surreal, given the ferocity of the first 199 laps. Edwards and Elliott Sadler dueled for most of the last 50 laps. First Edwards was in control, then Sadler. Then Edwards, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader, forced the issue and retook the lead with 25 laps remaining.

Did that scrap use too much fuel?

“I thought I’d saved about a lap of fuel,” Edwards said. “With five or six laps to go, Justin really started coming, so I laid it down.”

And ran out just before the entrance to Turn 3 on the 200th and final lap. Allgaier was wide-eyed at the sight.

“Coming off Turn 2, I didn’t know if I’d have the time to catch him,” Allgaier said. “Then he started wiggling, and I got a big grin.”

Allgaier drew even, and as he did, his engine went silent. It was a coast to the finish, and Allgaier would win it. He led only the final lap, and only about seven-tenths of a mile of it.

“We were on power another 100 feet, and that was the difference,” Allgaier said.

The difference by 1.719 seconds brought Allgaier his first win since last year at Bristol, and the second win in the last three races by a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship contender.

Bayne’s third place finish came in his return after a six-week absence for an illness that baffled even doctors from the Mayo Clinic. He told ESPN during the race he “felt like an astronaut” with all of the air hoses blowing on him, fitting given the way he rocketed through the field. Bayne started 31st and ran as high as sixth after 57 laps. Then he held steady until the final laps, when drivers, including Sadler, had to pit for a splash of fuel.

“Man, I should have started going six laps earlier,” Bayne said. “You can always say ‘Shoulda.’ ”

Reed Sorenson finished sixth, the 38 points he earned enough to move him into the standings lead. Sadler is two points behind after finishing 11th, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped from second to third in the standings after running 14th.

Danica Patrick, in a one-week visit to NASCAR between IndyCar Series races, finished 10th, the first car a lap down. She also finished 10th in last week’s Indianapolis 500.

An afternoon thunderstorm in the middle of qualifying forced the gridding of the field based on owner points, but the skies were clear throughout the race.

FARMERS INSURANCE TEAMS WITH BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK
$25,000 DONATION COINCIDES WITH ALL-STAR RACE NO. 25 THROWBACK PAINT SCHEME

CONCORD, N.C. (May 19, 2011) – Farmers Insurance is proud to donate $25,000 to Blessings in a Backpack in conjunction with its No. 25 Farmers Insurance “Throwback” paint scheme that Mark Martin will drive in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The donation spans three cities and will feed 374 students whose families qualify for the federal free and reduced meal program.
“This unique program with Farmers Insurance has lasting value for the community,” said Stan Curtis, Founder of Blessings in a Backpack. “More than 62 percent of children in the United States public school system are on the free or reduced meal program. We’ve found that our program leads to better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, improved health and increased attendance for the kids who benefit from it.”

The donation will aid three schools in communities with ties to Hendrick Motorsports: Community Charter School in Charlotte, N.C., a short drive from the team’s facility; South Hill Elementary near car owner Rick Hendrick’s hometown of Palmer Springs, Va.; and Sulphur Rock Elementary in Batesville, Ark., Martin’s hometown.

AUDIO INTERVIEW: LANCE MCGREW, CREW CHIEF FOR MARK MARTIN’S #5 CUP CAR

“The Blessings in a Backpack organization fills a crucial void for children who might otherwise go hungry,” said Chuck Browning, Vice President of Community Branding for Farmers Insurance. “This is a great way to enter NASCAR and our partnership with Hendrick Motorsports — by supporting communities that are in need and important to all of us.”

Blessings in a Backpack is a non-profit organization that currently feeds more than 37,600 students in 216 schools in 32 states and three countries — Canada, Columbia and Haiti. Students benefiting from the program receive a backpack full of food every Friday for three years.

“We’re proud to be associated with organizations like Farmers that give back to the community,” said Hendrick, who attended South Hill Elementary. “The schools that will benefit from this program have a lot of meaning to us, but it’s going to mean even more to those kids and their families. What a special way to kick off our partnership with Farmers.”

On Thursday, members of the Hendrick Motorsports team will join representatives from Farmers Insurance at Hendrick Motorsports to fill 62 backpacks that will be donated to Community Charter School in Charlotte.

Farmers Insurance announced in April that it had joined Hendrick Motorsports as a five-race primary sponsor of the Chevrolets driven by Mark Martin in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Farmers Insurance will launch its program with a special No. 25 Farmers Insurance Throwback Chevrolet in Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The paint scheme will resemble the red No. 25 car fielded by Hendrick Motorsports for the first time in 1986 — 25 years ago.

ABOUT FARMERS INSURANCE:
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is the country’s third largest insurer of both personal lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

Vickers Skydives Solo Into Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brian Vickers typically enters the infield of historic Daytona International Speedway through the Turn 4 or Turn 1 tunnel.
On Wednesday, he took a different route. Vickers skydived solo into the legendary infield of the “World Center of Racing” from a jumping height of 5,000 feet.

Photo credit: Luke Aikins/Red Bull Air Force

“It was incredible,” Vickers said after landing in the tri-oval. “It was absolutely beautiful. This race track is an impressive and amazing facility when you’re standing here on the ground but at 5,000 feet, it’s gorgeous.”
The skydiving jump was part of a media event to promote the upcoming Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race scheduled for Saturday, July 2.

Vickers, a skydiving enthusiast, has been skydiving since 2007 and estimates he has about 75 solo jumps under his belt but Wednesday’s jump was his first into a race track.
“Jumping into the Daytona International Speedway was almost like doing your first jump again … almost like starting a race here,” Vickers said.

Vickers, who drives the No. 83 Toyota for Red Bull Racing, was scheduled to skydive into Daytona International Speedway last year but the jump was scrubbed after health issues sidelined him from racing.

Now a year later, Vickers returned to Daytona to complete the memorable jump.
“To be able to come back here and do this and finish the job was very special,” Vickers said.
Tickets for the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola are on sale by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or going online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway)

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