Iowa Recap/ Points Shuffle/ Iowa Images Added/ USAC Returns to RIR in 2007 Kinser and Shepherd Return to the Trucks/ It’s Going to be a Bumpy Road
Note: Due to technical issues, we were not able to bring you the images associated with the Iowa Speedway Recap post. Those gremlins have been fixed. You will find the republished stories below.
Iowa Recap
The inaugural racing weekend at Iowa Speedway provided fans and competitors with memories that took their breath away.
New speed records were broken in the USAC National Midget and Sprint divisions during qualifying.
USAC driver Daren Hagen became the fastest man ever in a sprint car Saturday when he broke the world record for fastest average qualifying speed in a sprint car at 146.145mph. The now closed Pikes Peak International Raceway and Dave Steele held the old record at 144.980. Before that Jay Drake had the record at PPIR at 144.951 set in 2003.
On a day where the Iowa-Iowa State football game dominated the Iowa sports scene, over 5,000 showed up just to watch practice and qualifying.
Many of those on the backstretch that were camping were watching the game on their TV that was set up so they could see the game and the track at the same time. Fans also took in the amenities at the new facility. The popular eatery Kin Folks served BBQ out of one of their several concession stands.
The grandstands provide a great view of the track.
When the teams entered the pits this waterfall greeted them. It is just another item that makes Iowa Speedway first class.
The USAC teams worked out of spacious garages. The Iowa Pork Producers offered free sandwiches to folks working in the pits on raceday. While crewmembers were munching on pork, country music artist Josh Turner was performing on the main stage before a large crowd. Over 11,000 fans witnessed USAC’s three national divisions compete.
Fans were from all around the Midwest although about 1/4 were from Iowa. Some of the folks in the stands I spoke with made a point to see the non-wing action. Many were regulars at Knoxville Raceway. Some said they liked stock car racing better but where there because it was racing. While many were looking forward to the ARCA race later this year and the IRL weekend in 2007, they also said they would love to see the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on the high-banked track. There were familiar faces in the pits from Knoxville Raceway.
The famed track’s push trucks serviced the midgets and sprints. One on the more unique aspects of Iowa Speedway will only be seen on TV.
The track installed cameras in the pavement for one of a kind views what you can see when the Silver Crown race airs this weekend on the Outdoor Channel at 4pm central time on Saturday.
The 12-14 degree compound banking saw three wide racing for all four races during the weekend. Being new, the surface was a little tough on tires but that should go away as the track ages. The Silver Crown race saw the new Hemelgarn 91/ Johnson team claim second in their first series start.
Team owners Ron Hemelgarn and Roger Johnson were on hand for the race.
Points Shuffle
All three divisions saw some movement in the points Sunday. Jay Drake moved up to second in the midget points and is now only 19 points behind Jerry Coons Jr. Dave Darland was pushed to third. Josh Wise moved up to fourth. Wise also increased his sprint points lead on teammate Levi Jones from 19 to 34 points with his second place finish.
In the Silver Crown division, Bud Kaeding narrowed Brian Tyler’s lead to 8.
Both Tyler and Kaeding pitted for tires during the second caution but Tyler had to come back in on the next caution to remedy another problem. Kaeding finished 5th, Tyler 8th. There are now only two drivers and teams that have a shot to be the 2006 USAC Silver Crown champion. The next two races at Eldora and Kansas will determine who will be crowned champion.
Drivers Championship Points Back
Brian Tyler 580 -
Bud Kaeding 572 8
--- Mathematically Eliminated from Championship ---
Aaron Pierce 477 103
Dave Steele 454 126
Wayne Reutiman Jr. 447 133
Minimum estimated points available: Eldora 9, Kansas 27 = 36
Maximum points available: 132 Difference: 96
Owners Championship Points Back
21 Team Six R 760 -
29 BK Leffler Motorsports 752 8
--- Mathematically Eliminated from Championship ---
199 Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies 664 96
26 Sam Pierce 657 103
1 Randy Steenbergen/ Team Six-R 619 141
Minimum estimated points available: Eldora 24, Kansas 42 = 66
Maximum points available: 162 Difference: 96
You can view images from the race at Iowa at http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/USAC Returns to RIR in 2007
Richmond International Raceway announced today that the track will host the USAC National Sprint Car Series tentatively on Friday, June 29 and the USAC Silver Crown Series on Saturday, June 30. So far only two other dates have been announced for the USAC Silver Crown Series for 2007, July 27 at O’Reily Raceway Park on the NASCAR weekend at Indy and November 8 at Phoenix International Raceway on the Cup weekend at Phoenix.
Kinser and Shepherd Return to the Trucks
Fresh off his third place finish Sunday at Iowa Speedway, Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies Racing driver Peter Shepherd will head to Las Vegas to drive the No. 6 Scotts Miracle-Gro Ford F-150 this Saturday.
“It will be a big weekend for myself next weekend going to Las Vegas next weekend in the No. 6 truck,” beamed Shepherd. “It is good to get some confidence before next weekend. This has been a good week for us.”
Shepherd will make his third truck series start of his career but his first in the No. 6 Ford.
“I am thrilled to death to drive the No. 6 truck that Mark Martin drives. It is a life long dream not just for myself but I think anybody in the world would like to get in that truck. It is one of my dreams coming true right there. Hopefully I can bring some of the experience of what I learned in Vegas back to the Silver Crown Series.”
Kraig Kinser is back in the No. 46 after Clint Bowyer drove it last weekend at New Hampshire.
“I have never raced at Las Vegas before,” said Kinser. “I have only been to the dirt track and the drag strip. I am just excited to get back into the truck after a month break. Hopefully we can qualify up front, and have great pit stops, and get a good run in for the Morgan-Dollar Motorsports team.”
It’s Going to be a Bumpy Road
Erin Crocker is in what could be the toughest part of her career right now. Her team is struggling and the rumors are still circulating about her alleged relationship with team owner Ray Evernham. She finished 32nd at New Hampshire last weekend adding to her streak of bad finishes just when teams are announcing their plans for 2007. In her latest entry co-written by NASCAR.com writer David Newton,http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/truck/09/20/ecrocker.vegas/index.html Crocker says that the team doesn’t know if sponsor Betty Crocker will return.“As far as our deal with Betty Crocker, we don't know exactly what we're doing for next year. As of right now it looks like they're coming back. But you can't help but worry about sponsors and things like that when things are going bad. This is my lifelong dream. This is what I've worked really hard to do.”Crocker says in her weekly entry that the team is planning on running a full truck schedule, some Busch races and even possibly some Cup races in 2007.
Open Wheeler Truck Entries for Las Vegas
6 Peter Shepherd
10 Terry Cook
16 Mike Bliss
17 David Reutiman
21 Bobby East
25 Boston Reid
46 Kraig Kinser
63 Cameron Dodson
98 Erin Crocker
Erin Crocker Entered for ARCA Talladega
She said she would race in an ARCA event before the season was over. Erin Crocker has entered the ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Talladega. The race is scheduled for October 6th.
Busch Series Entries for Dover
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Dave Blaney
38 Jason Leffler
60 Carl Edwards
66 Ken Schrader
77 Burney Lamar
IRL Announces Dates for Richmond, Chicagoland, Kansas and Watkins Glen
The IRL IndyCar Series will return to Richmond International Raceway on June 30th in 2007. The race will again be held under the lights. According to an RIR news release, the USAC National Sprint Car Series will tentatively run Friday, June 29, along with pole qualifying for the IndyCar Series. Saturday night features the seventh annual SunTrust Indy Challenge, which will be tentatively preceded by the USAC Silver Crown Series race.
The IRL Indy Car Series season-finale will be held Sept. 9, while the 100-mile Indy Pro Series season-finale will be held on Sept. 8. The IRL will also visit Kansas Speedway on April 29th and Watkins Glen on July 8th. This brings the announced schedule up to eleven races. The IRL is interrested in running in the Los Angeles area. In a conference call today, the IRL said they are waiting to hear from promoters about possible races in Montreal and downtown Detroit. The IRL also said that the series test in Daytona could lead to a race there on the roadcourse in the future. Expect to the IRL to have 16 to 17 races when the full schedule is released in the next two weeks.
In other IRL news:
Sam Hornish Jr. won by a landslide in the third quarter voting for SPEED’s Driver of the Year.
Argent Mortgage is following Danica Patrick to Andretti Green Racing in 2007. The company will also sponsor Marco Andretti.
TV Listings
Sept 22
3:00 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Dover (LIVE) SPEED
Sept 23
10:30 am NASCAR Nextel Cup Final Practice Dover (LIVE) SPEED
11:30 am NASCAR Busch Qualifying Dover (LIVE) SPEED
3:00 pm Busch Series Race - Dover TNT
5:00 pm USAC Silver Crown Series Iowa Speedway OUTDOOR CHANNEL
9:00 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Las Vegas (LIVE) SPEED
Sept 24
1:00 pm Nextel Cup Race - Dover TNT
2:00 pm Champ Car World Series Road America (LIVE) SPEED
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Iowa Recap
The inaugural racing weekend at Iowa Speedway provided fans and competitors with memories that took their breath away.
New speed records were broken in the USAC National Midget and Sprint divisions during qualifying.
USAC driver Daren Hagen became the fastest man ever in a sprint car Saturday when he broke the world record for fastest average qualifying speed in a sprint car at 146.145mph. The now closed Pikes Peak International Raceway and Dave Steele held the old record at 144.980. Before that Jay Drake had the record at PPIR at 144.951 set in 2003.
On a day where the Iowa-Iowa State football game dominated the Iowa sports scene, over 5,000 showed up just to watch practice and qualifying.
Many of those on the backstretch that were camping were watching the game on their TV that was set up so they could see the game and the track at the same time. Fans also took in the amenities at the new facility. The popular eatery Kin Folks served BBQ out of one of their several concession stands.
The grandstands provide a great view of the track.
When the teams entered the pits this waterfall greeted them. It is just another item that makes Iowa Speedway first class.
The USAC teams worked out of spacious garages. The Iowa Pork Producers offered free sandwiches to folks working in the pits on raceday. While crewmembers were munching on pork, country music artist Josh Turner was performing on the main stage before a large crowd. Over 11,000 fans witnessed USAC’s three national divisions compete.
Fans were from all around the Midwest although about 1/4 were from Iowa. Some of the folks in the stands I spoke with made a point to see the non-wing action. Many were regulars at Knoxville Raceway. Some said they liked stock car racing better but where there because it was racing. While many were looking forward to the ARCA race later this year and the IRL weekend in 2007, they also said they would love to see the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on the high-banked track. There were familiar faces in the pits from Knoxville Raceway.
The famed track’s push trucks serviced the midgets and sprints. One on the more unique aspects of Iowa Speedway will only be seen on TV.
The track installed cameras in the pavement for one of a kind views what you can see when the Silver Crown race airs this weekend on the Outdoor Channel at 4pm central time on Saturday.
The 12-14 degree compound banking saw three wide racing for all four races during the weekend. Being new, the surface was a little tough on tires but that should go away as the track ages. The Silver Crown race saw the new Hemelgarn 91/ Johnson team claim second in their first series start.
Team owners Ron Hemelgarn and Roger Johnson were on hand for the race.
Points Shuffle
All three divisions saw some movement in the points Sunday. Jay Drake moved up to second in the midget points and is now only 19 points behind Jerry Coons Jr. Dave Darland was pushed to third. Josh Wise moved up to fourth. Wise also increased his sprint points lead on teammate Levi Jones from 19 to 34 points with his second place finish.
In the Silver Crown division, Bud Kaeding narrowed Brian Tyler’s lead to 8.
Both Tyler and Kaeding pitted for tires during the second caution but Tyler had to come back in on the next caution to remedy another problem. Kaeding finished 5th, Tyler 8th. There are now only two drivers and teams that have a shot to be the 2006 USAC Silver Crown champion. The next two races at Eldora and Kansas will determine who will be crowned champion.
Drivers Championship Points Back
Brian Tyler 580 -
Bud Kaeding 572 8
--- Mathematically Eliminated from Championship ---
Aaron Pierce 477 103
Dave Steele 454 126
Wayne Reutiman Jr. 447 133
Minimum estimated points available: Eldora 9, Kansas 27 = 36
Maximum points available: 132 Difference: 96
Owners Championship Points Back
21 Team Six R 760 -
29 BK Leffler Motorsports 752 8
--- Mathematically Eliminated from Championship ---
199 Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies 664 96
26 Sam Pierce 657 103
1 Randy Steenbergen/ Team Six-R 619 141
Minimum estimated points available: Eldora 24, Kansas 42 = 66
Maximum points available: 162 Difference: 96
You can view images from the race at Iowa at http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/USAC Returns to RIR in 2007
Richmond International Raceway announced today that the track will host the USAC National Sprint Car Series tentatively on Friday, June 29 and the USAC Silver Crown Series on Saturday, June 30. So far only two other dates have been announced for the USAC Silver Crown Series for 2007, July 27 at O’Reily Raceway Park on the NASCAR weekend at Indy and November 8 at Phoenix International Raceway on the Cup weekend at Phoenix.
Kinser and Shepherd Return to the Trucks
Fresh off his third place finish Sunday at Iowa Speedway, Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies Racing driver Peter Shepherd will head to Las Vegas to drive the No. 6 Scotts Miracle-Gro Ford F-150 this Saturday.
“It will be a big weekend for myself next weekend going to Las Vegas next weekend in the No. 6 truck,” beamed Shepherd. “It is good to get some confidence before next weekend. This has been a good week for us.”
Shepherd will make his third truck series start of his career but his first in the No. 6 Ford.
“I am thrilled to death to drive the No. 6 truck that Mark Martin drives. It is a life long dream not just for myself but I think anybody in the world would like to get in that truck. It is one of my dreams coming true right there. Hopefully I can bring some of the experience of what I learned in Vegas back to the Silver Crown Series.”
Kraig Kinser is back in the No. 46 after Clint Bowyer drove it last weekend at New Hampshire.
“I have never raced at Las Vegas before,” said Kinser. “I have only been to the dirt track and the drag strip. I am just excited to get back into the truck after a month break. Hopefully we can qualify up front, and have great pit stops, and get a good run in for the Morgan-Dollar Motorsports team.”
It’s Going to be a Bumpy Road
Erin Crocker is in what could be the toughest part of her career right now. Her team is struggling and the rumors are still circulating about her alleged relationship with team owner Ray Evernham. She finished 32nd at New Hampshire last weekend adding to her streak of bad finishes just when teams are announcing their plans for 2007. In her latest entry co-written by NASCAR.com writer David Newton,http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/truck/09/20/ecrocker.vegas/index.html Crocker says that the team doesn’t know if sponsor Betty Crocker will return.“As far as our deal with Betty Crocker, we don't know exactly what we're doing for next year. As of right now it looks like they're coming back. But you can't help but worry about sponsors and things like that when things are going bad. This is my lifelong dream. This is what I've worked really hard to do.”Crocker says in her weekly entry that the team is planning on running a full truck schedule, some Busch races and even possibly some Cup races in 2007.
Open Wheeler Truck Entries for Las Vegas
6 Peter Shepherd
10 Terry Cook
16 Mike Bliss
17 David Reutiman
21 Bobby East
25 Boston Reid
46 Kraig Kinser
63 Cameron Dodson
98 Erin Crocker
Erin Crocker Entered for ARCA Talladega
She said she would race in an ARCA event before the season was over. Erin Crocker has entered the ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Talladega. The race is scheduled for October 6th.
Busch Series Entries for Dover
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Dave Blaney
38 Jason Leffler
60 Carl Edwards
66 Ken Schrader
77 Burney Lamar
IRL Announces Dates for Richmond, Chicagoland, Kansas and Watkins Glen
The IRL IndyCar Series will return to Richmond International Raceway on June 30th in 2007. The race will again be held under the lights. According to an RIR news release, the USAC National Sprint Car Series will tentatively run Friday, June 29, along with pole qualifying for the IndyCar Series. Saturday night features the seventh annual SunTrust Indy Challenge, which will be tentatively preceded by the USAC Silver Crown Series race.
The IRL Indy Car Series season-finale will be held Sept. 9, while the 100-mile Indy Pro Series season-finale will be held on Sept. 8. The IRL will also visit Kansas Speedway on April 29th and Watkins Glen on July 8th. This brings the announced schedule up to eleven races. The IRL is interrested in running in the Los Angeles area. In a conference call today, the IRL said they are waiting to hear from promoters about possible races in Montreal and downtown Detroit. The IRL also said that the series test in Daytona could lead to a race there on the roadcourse in the future. Expect to the IRL to have 16 to 17 races when the full schedule is released in the next two weeks.
In other IRL news:
Sam Hornish Jr. won by a landslide in the third quarter voting for SPEED’s Driver of the Year.
Argent Mortgage is following Danica Patrick to Andretti Green Racing in 2007. The company will also sponsor Marco Andretti.
TV Listings
Sept 22
3:00 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Dover (LIVE) SPEED
Sept 23
10:30 am NASCAR Nextel Cup Final Practice Dover (LIVE) SPEED
11:30 am NASCAR Busch Qualifying Dover (LIVE) SPEED
3:00 pm Busch Series Race - Dover TNT
5:00 pm USAC Silver Crown Series Iowa Speedway OUTDOOR CHANNEL
9:00 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Las Vegas (LIVE) SPEED
Sept 24
1:00 pm Nextel Cup Race - Dover TNT
2:00 pm Champ Car World Series Road America (LIVE) SPEED
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Images courtesy of RE Technologies, SPEED and NASCAR Images.
posted by Blake Johnson at 4:28 PM
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