Wheldon Opens Indycar Series Season With Third Homestead-miami Speedway Win
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dan Wheldon opened the 2007 IndyCar Series season with this third straight win at Homestead-Miami Speedway March 24. The Emberton, England driver overcame a pit stop miscue that knocked from the race lead to the ninth position on Lap 92 and wheeled past the finish line 6.4993 seconds ahead of second-place driver and teammate Scott Dixon.
Three-time and defending series champion Sam Hornish, Jr., a two-time series winner at Kentucky Speedway, closed out the race third.
Vitor Meira claimed fourth.
Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan completed the top five.
Wheldon, who missed out on his second consecutive series championship after losing a tiebreaker to Hornish, Jr., last season, will attempt to win the season-opening race and the series championship for the second time in three seasons.
Others to accomplish the feat were Dixon (2003), Hornish, Jr., (2002, 2001) and Buzz Calkins (1996).
Veteran Sarah Fisher came across the finish line 11th.
Danica Patrick placed 14th in her Andretti Green debut. Her car was knocked out the race after it made contact with the interior pit road wall on Lap 155.
The series hits the street course in St. Petersburg, Fla., April 1 for its next event.
The top-10 drivers in the series standings entering the race are:
Wheldon (Leader, Chip Ganassi Racing, 53 points)
Dixon (Second, Chip Ganassi Racing, -13)
Hornish, Jr., (Third, Penske Racing, -18)
Meira (Fourth, Delphi Panther Racing, -21)
Kanaan (Fifth, Andretti Green Racing, -23)
Ed Carpenter (Sixth, Vision Racing, -25)
Dario Franchitti (Seventh, Andretti Green Racing, -27)
Tomas Scheckter (Eighth, Vision Racing, -29)
Helio Castroneves (Ninth, Penske Racing, -31)
Buddy Rice (10th, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, -31)
The engine/chassis/tire combination for all drivers is Honda/Dallara/Firestone.
INDY PRO SERIES
Alex Lloyd opened the Indy Pro Series season with a March 24 Homestead-Miami victory. He finished the race under caution in front of event pole award winner and second-place driver Chris Festa. The series will compete on the Streets of St. Petersburg April 1. Both series will visit Kentucky Speedway Aug. 10-11.
Edwards Earns First NBS Win Of 2007 At Bristol Motor Speedway
Former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner Carl Edwards scored his first NASCAR Busch Series win of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway March 24. Edwards has now registered six straight top-10 finishes through as many events and placed in the top-five in five of races.
He gained 53 points in the series standings over second-place driver and defending series champion Kevin Harvick by beating Roush-Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth across the finish line by 0.260 of a second. Edwards also charted his first career victory and fourth top-10 finish through six Bristol starts.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Busch finished the race third.
Ryan Newman delivered a fourth-place performance and Richard Childress racer Clint Bowyer closed out the race top five.
Kenseth moved up seven positions in the series standings to fifth with his second top-five and third top-10 finish of the season through five starts.
Busch advanced one rung on the standings ladder to third with his fourth top-five performance of the campaign.
Newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya continued his strong series performance with a 14th-place Bristol finish and advanced four positions in the standings to sixth. He owns one top-five and two top-10 series finishes through six starts.
The series will continue its season April 7 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Harvick won last seasons race at the track and Denny Hamlin started from the pole position.
The top 10 drivers in the series standings entering the event are:
Edwards (Leader, Ford, 1005 points)
Harvick (Second, Chevrolet, -197)
Kyle Busch (Third, Chevrolet, -248)
Dave Blaney (Fourth, Toyota, -291)
Kenseth (Fifth, Ford, -322)
Montoya (Sixth, Dodge, -355)
Marcos Ambrose (Seventh, Ford, -363)
Greg Biffle (Eighth, Ford, -370)
Mike Wallace (Ninth, Chevrolet, -382)
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. (10th, Chevrolet, -405)
Kyle Busch Masters Car Of Tomorrow Design And Delivers NNCS Bristol Win
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Busch mastered the handling of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Car of Tomorrow design at Bristol Motor Speedway yesterday where he delivered his first series win of the season. He survived 15 caution periods that consumed 90 of 504 race laps to post his first top-five and third top-10 finish of the season. He now owns one win and three top-10 finishes through five career series starts at the track and has won at least won race in each of the past three series seasons.
Busch nipped second-place driver and Richard Childress Racing veteran Jeff Burton by just 0.064 of a second at the finish line. Jeff Gordon finished third, Kevin Harvick occupied fourth and Greg Biffle drove home fifth. Busch advanced eight positions in the series standings to sixth.
Gordon advanced one spot in the series standings to the lead with his third top-five and fourth top-10 finish of the season.
Burton also advanced one spot in the championship race to second with his fourth top-five finish through five events. He trails Gordon by three points entering the series April 1 event at Martinsville Speedway.
Harvick moved up two places in the series standings with his second top-five finish of the season.
Biffle vaulted 11 spots in the standings with his first top-five and top-10 finish of the campaign.
Roush-Fenway driver Matt Kenseth finished 11th in the race and outside the top-10 for just the second time in five starts. He still advanced one spot in the standings to fourth.
Mark Martin, who began last week with an eight point lead in the series standings, stayed true to his part-time series schedule and did not compete in the Bristol event. He slipped to seventh in the standings. His co-driver in the No. 01 Army car, Regan Smith, finished the race 25th.
Tony Stewart won the 2006 spring race at the track that Jimmie Johnson started from the pole position.
The top-10 drivers in the series standings entering the race are:
Gordon (Leader, Chevrolet, 791 points)
Burton (Second, Chevrolet
Johnson (Third, Chevrolet, -75)
Kenseth (Fourth, Ford, -94)
Kevin Harvick (Fifth, Chevrolet, -144)
Kyle Busch (Sixth, Chevrolet, -152)
Martin (Seventh, Chevrolet, -162)
Clint Bowyer (Eighth, Chevrolet, -170)
Denny Hamlin (Ninth, Chevrolet, -185)
Carl Edwards (10th, Ford, -193)
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