Flag2Flag, August 11, 2011

August 11, 2011

THE LEADER FILES

SPRINT CUP SERIESHeluva Good Sour Cream Dips at The GlenS i t e : Watkins GlenS c h e d u l e : F r i d a y, practice noon and 4:10p.m. (Speed Channel); Saturday, qualifying,11:40 a.m. (Speed Channel); Sunday, race, 1p.m. (ESPN).Tr a c k : Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile, 7-turn road course).D i s t a n c e : 90 laps (220.5 miles).Last year: Juan Pablo Montoya took care ofhis car to overtake Marcos Ambrose andcruise to his second-career Sprint Cup Seriesv i c t o ry. Last race: Despite a broken ankle, BradKeselowski won the Good Sam 500 atPocono Raceway.Fast facts: Tony Stewart leads all NASCARdrivers with five wins at The Glen, and has

completed every lap at thetrack since 1999. ... From1989-2005, Mark Martin’sworst finish was 10th – thelongest stretch of top-10finishes in Glen history. ...Jeff Gordon has won inSchuyler County fourtimes, but none since

2001. ... Carl Edwards, who leads the Sprint

Cup Series standings, took pole position forlast year’s race. ... Gordon still holds thequalifying record at 124.580 mph, set in2003. ... The farthest back any driver hasstarted to win the race is 18th, when StevePark scored his first-career victory in 2000. ...The race has been won from pole positionnine times in 28 NASCAR events – includingthree straight by Martin from 1993-95.

Next race: August 21, Pure Michigan 400,Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn,M i c h .

N ATIONWIDE SERIESZippo 200 at The GlenS i t e : Watkins GlenS c h e d u l e : F r i d a y, practice, 2 p.m.; Saturday,qualifying, 9:45 a.m. (Speed Channel); race,

2 p.m. (ESPN). Tr a c k : Wa t k i n sGlen International(2.45-mile, 7-turnroad course).D i s t a n c e : 82 laps

(200.9 miles).Last year: M a rcos Ambrose three-peated atThe Glen, winning his third straightNationwide Series race in Schuyler County.Joey Logano finished second and KevinH a rvick was third. Last race: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was, ahem,pushed across the finish line by teammateCarl Edwards at Iowa. Stenhouse’s engineblew on the final lap of the race andEdwards slammed into his Ford Mustang –sending both crashed cars spinning acrossthe line.Fast facts: Te r ry Labonte won four times inN A S C A R ’s AAA circ u i t(1991, 1994-96). ... Onlytwo drivers racing forNationwide Serieschampionship points towin were MikeMcLaughlin in 1997 andM a rcos Ambrose in 2008.... Kyle Busch can pass

ON TR A C K TH I S WE E K E N D

S T E WA R TB U S C H

Mark Martin as the series winleader – the two are tied at 49apiece. ... Ambrose set thequalifying record at 122.410 mphlast year. ... Ambrose has anaverage finish of 4.0 in four startsat The Glen, while Labonte’saverage finish is 2.0 in seven startswith a low of fifth place in 1997. Next race: August 20, NAPA AutoParts 200, Circuit Gilles Vi l l e n e u v e ,M o n t r e a l .

ROLEX SERIESWatkins Glen 200Site: Watkins GlenS c h e d u l e : F r i d a y, practice, 9 a.m.and 11 a.m., qualifying, 5:40 p.m.;S a t u r d a y, race, 6 p.m. (SpeedChannel). Tr a c k : Watkins Glen International(2.45-mile, 7-turn road course).D i s t a n c e : 82 laps (200.9 miles).Last year: Scott Pruett and MemoRojas won by nearly three secondsfor their seventh of nine wins in2010. The pair also won the six-hour race at The Glen in June. Last race: Pruett and Rojas won afuel mileage race for theirchampionship lead-extending fifthv i c t o ry of the season. Fast facts: In the DaytonaPrototype era, Scott Pruett has sixvictories at The Glen on two

d i f f e r e n tc o n f i g u r a t i o n swith threedifferent co-drivers. ... MaxAngelelli has wonhere three times.... Nic Jonssonand RicardoZonta won the 200-mile race herein 2009 starting eighth – thefurthest back a team has been ableto win. ... Jon Fogarty has theshort-course DP record at 135.548mph, set in 2009. SylvainTremblay set the GT qualifyingrecord in 2010 at 112.906 mph. ...The all-time short-course speedrecord was set by Davy Jones’Jaguar XJR-14 in 1992 at ablistering 150.334 mph. ... JamesWeaver and Butch Leitzinger eachhave three Rolex Series wins.Next race: August 20, Montreal200, Circuit Gilles Vi l l e n e u v e ,M o n t r e a l .

1994—Gianpierro Moretti/EliseoS a l a z a r, Ferrari 333SP1995—Butch Leitzinger/JamesWe a v e r, Riley&Scott Mk3-Ford1996—Max Papis/GianpierroMoretti, Ferrari 333SP1997—Elliot Forbes-Robinson/Butch Leitzinger/JamesWe a v e r, Riley&Scott Mk3-Ford1998—Gianpiero Moretti/DidierTheys/Mauro Baldi, Ferrari 333SP*1999—David Donohue/Jean-Philippe Belloc, Viper GTS-R2000—James We a v e r / A n d yWallace/Butch Leitzinger, Ford-R i l e y & S c o t t2001—Fredy Lienhard/DidierTheys/Mauro Baldi, Judd-Ferrari**2001—Butch Leitzinger/JamesWe a v e r, Ford-Riley&Scott2002—Chris Dyson/JamesWe a v e r, Ford-Riley&Scott**2002—Butch Leitzinger/RobDyson, Ford-Riley&Scott2003—Mike Borkowski/ScottGoodyear/David Donohue,P o r s c h e - F a b c a r* * 2 0 0 3 — Te r ry Borc h e l l e r / F o r e s tB a r b e r, Chevrolet-Doran2004—Max Papis/Scott Pruett,L e x u s - R i l e y

**2004—Didier Theys/JanMagnussen, Lexus-Doran2005—Nic Johnsson/Tracy Krohn,P o n t i a c - R i l e y**2005—Max Angelelli/Wa y n eTa y l o r, Pontiac-Riley**2005—Max Angelelli/Wa y n eTa y l o r, Pontiac-Riley2006—Jorg Bergmeister/BorisSaid, Ford-Riley**2006—Scott Pruett/Luiz Diaz,L e x u s - R i l e y2007—Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty,P o n t i a c - R i l e y**2007—Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty,P o n t i a c - R i l e y2008—Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas,L e x u s - R i l e y**2008—Brian Frisselle/MarkWilkins, Ford-Riley2009—Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas,L e x u s - R i l e y**2009—Nic Jonsson/RicardoZonta, Ford-Lola2010—Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas,B M W- R i l e y**2010—Scott Pruett/MemoRojas, BMW- R i l e y2011—Ricky Taylor/Max Angelelli,C h e v r o l e t - D a l l a r a**—summer sprint race

A l l - Time Grand-Am Wi n n e r sWeekend ScheduleF r i d a y8 a.m. – Grandstands, ticketoffice, Pyramid open9 a.m. – Rolex Series practice11 a.m. – Rolex Series practiceNoon – Sprint Cup practice2 p.m. – Nationwide Seriesp r a c t i c e4:10 p.m. – Sprint Cup finalp r a c t i c e5:40 p.m. – Rolex Series qualifying6:30 p.m. – Rolex Series finalp r a c t i c eS a t u r d a y7 a.m. – Donuts with thepresident (a sit-down withMichael Printup at Stand 5)8 a.m. – Grandstands, midway,ticket office open9:45 a.m. – Nationwide Seriesqualifying 11:40 a.m. – Sprint Cup qualifying2 p.m. – Zippo 200 NationwideSeries race (82 laps)6 p.m. – Canadian Tire 200Rolex Series race (82 laps)S u n d a y10 a.m. – Grandstands open12:30 p.m. – Driveri n t r o d u c t i o n s1 p.m. – Heluva Good SourCream Dips at The Glen SprintCup Series race (90 laps)

P R U E T T

Remember that girl noone wanted to dancewith at the freshman

mixer, despite all her friends’urging? She wasn’t hideous oranything, in fact there wereplenty of guys who would selltheir collection of G.I. Joe fig-ures – still in the original pack-

ing, butStormshadowis off-limits –to awkwardly“hold” herduring athree-minuteCutting Crewsong. Alas,the mixer wasthe sameweekend as

Jimmy’s big Dungeons andDragons campaign in his par-ents’ basement.

You were at the dance, buttoo cool to so much as warnher she’s in the path of a cruisemissile, forget sashaying acrossthe gymnasium floor as herdance partner. Years later,you’re in Wegmans’ producesection – not because youchose a healthy lifestyle oranything, but because youneed ingredients to fill yourbuddy’s Gatorade cooler for anepic mai tai. While staringquizzically at the pineapples, asweet, unfamiliar voice says“Hey there. I haven’t seen you

since high school.”Turn around and there’s a

blonde bombshell, the kindusually reserved for Hef’s grot-to. While your fingers strain tomaintain a suddenly-sweatygrip on the plastic basket han-dle, weighed down by fruit youotherwise wouldn’t be buying,your brain frantically tries torecall her. No name. No recol-lection. Nothing comes tomind. Even if you had alreadyput a hurt on the epic mai tai,surely you’d remember a stun-ning beauty such as the onewho stands before of you. Still,nothing.

You guessed it: the girl onlythe D&D kids were willing todance with. She aged excep-tionally well, which is more thananyone can say for your liver.

I imagine that’s how WatkinsGlen International feels lately.

For years, The Glen was thebutt of jokes on the NASCARcircuit, loathed by the nationalpress and viewed as the prover-bial red-headed stepchild inthe International SpeedwayCorp. family. A decade ago,The Glen was rumored to besold off, at worst. At best, itwas destined to lose the super-lucrative NASCAR weekend toa new speedway on StatenIsland – one to be built andpromoted by the step-mother.

In the 2000s, everything

started to change, albeit slowly.The Glen had something of a

makeover, while at the sametime a series of events occurredthat certainly favored the track.

In 2005, the IndyCar Seriesheld its inaugural race at TheGlen, giving the track, if noth-ing else, a series to fall back onif NASCAR bolted SchuylerCounty for the New York Cityskyline. It also helped legit-imize a course built with fast,open-wheel cars in mind. Iknow, that didn’t end so well,but it did expose the circuit,and the region, to a new kindof audience.

Meanwhile, the track wasundergoing massive renova-tions to the infrastructure andfacilities. From 2001-10, nearly$30 million was spent on themost comprehensive modern-ization project in the track’shistory. New buildings (withrunning water and everything),a slew of safety modificationsand grandstands popped upevery year.

As The Glen changed, so,too, did people in NASCAR andthe press.

Much of the old guard, whosaw road racing as the samekind of necessary evil asunclogging a toilet, was retir-ing on both fronts. They werereplaced by younger driversand scribes who actually got a

kick out of the action on thewinding tracks, and at thesame time became increasinglydisgusted by a lack of fender-bashing races once enjoyed attracks like North Wilkesboro,Rockingham and a recently-declawed Bristol.

In 2007, a new car was devel-oped for the Sprint Cup Series,and it was an immediate hit onthe road courses. Sturdier, a lit-tle tricky to drive and safer, the“Car of Tomorrow” alloweddrivers to bounce off eachother several times with mini-mal impact on performance.You can imagine what theresult is when 43 testosterone-buzzed competitors climbbehind the wheel.

Sports Illustrated named the2007 Centurion Boats at TheGlen the best race of the year –the nicest thing said in thenational press about the tracksince the Carter family occu-pied the White House. Lastyear the Heluva Good SourCream Dips at The Glen (orHGSCDATG) was only one ofthree Sprint Cup races to growattendance, thanks in largepart to relatively inexpensivetickets and a lot of fendersmashing. In January, SceneDaily – the former Winston CupScene, and gold standard forNASCAR publications, still –ranked The Glen fifth on its

list of top 10 races to see in2011.

You don’t want to knowwhat kind of lists Winston CupScene put The Glen on in the1990s, but most included termsQuentin Tarantino shies awayfrom. Some columnists calledfor its utter annihilation.

This year alone The Glen hasgrown attendance for stapleevents, while adding a successfulPhish festival – well, those whocan remember it say it wasgreat – and the Mobil 1 CarSwap in June, which attractednational and international presswith a one-hour special onSpeed Channel. This year alsomarks the 50th anniversary ofthe first Formula One race inSchuyler County, a bittersweetanniversary celebration.

Suddenly, the transformationof the dour girl in the corner ofthe gym – once repellent to theopposite sex – is complete.

Haters, don’t worry. TheGlen is much more forgivingthan a teenage girl scorned.You’re welcome back anytime.Remember, she was here beforeyou, and she’ll be here longafter you’re gone. Just show alittle respect from now on.

■ Chris Gill, who covers autoracing for The Leader, can bereached at cmgill@the-leader. c o m .

The girl no one wanted to dance with, until now

Chris Gill

C O M M E N TA RY

BY CHRIS GILLc m g i l l @ t h e - l e a d e r. c o m

By conservative estimates,Marcos Ambrose should be atleast a two-time winner in theNASCAR Sprint Cup Series bynow.

There was his Sprint Cupdebut in 2008 at InfineonRaceway, when he pushed theWood Brothers’ Ford into con-tention with the fastest car onthe track, only to have thetransmission expire in the lastquarter of the race. That sameyear at Watkins GlenInternational, he drove fromdead last in the field to thirdplace.

In two starts, he was alreadyconsidered among, if not the,

best road racers in the series. In 2009, he finished third at

Infineon Raceway and secondto Tony Stewart at The Glen.Then there was last season,where the Tasmanian sufferedtwo wrenching defeats. AtInfineon Raceway, while lead-ing, he shut the motor offunder caution to save fuel.However, the car wouldn’t turnover as the field approached theuphill swing past pit lane. Hefaded back while the leaderspassed his stalled car with fourlaps remaining and eventuallyrallied for sixth place. Comingback to The Glen, where he’dwon the last three NationwideSeries races, Ambrose carefullypicked off his way to the frontfrom his 11th starting position

The f o u r t h ti m e ’s a charm?M a rcos Ambrose has been so close to his first win at The Glen

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

and began pressuring JuanPablo Montoya, who relenteduntil pit stops cycled through.

The two aces swapped thelead five times in the middlestages of the race, putting on aroad racing clinic for the mass-es. However, after the last roundof stops, the abused brakes onA m b r o s e ’s car couldn’t keepcontact with Montoya, and hehad to settle for third place.

Defeats like those usually doone of two things – break a manor strengthen his resolve. Somedrivers would feel a sense ofentitlement after gettingscrewed by fate, but notAmbrose. Sure he’s frustrated,but not incensed.

“ I t ’s just tough. You’re inthe toughest sport in theworld in racing,” he said.“ You rely the other competi-tors, your team, your car – it’spretty hard to win. I don’t feellike I’m owed anything, I’vegot to work for it.”

This weekend, Ambrose is stillamong the favorites to win theHeluva Good Sour Cream Dips

at The Glen, and would be theno-brainer pick to snare a fourthstraight Zippo 200 in Saturday’s

support race (what could be ahistoric feat, since no driver orteam has ever won four straightat The Glen in a pro series),which he has not been enteredto race in this year.

In six combined starts at TheGlen (Cup and Nationwide),Ambrose’s worst finish is thirdwith three victories and a poleposition. If not for a rained outqualifying session in 2008, hisaverage start would be 8.2.

“Yeah, I’m ready to get upthere. It’s a great track, greattime of the year to be up thereand I just feel good about goingup there,” he said. “It’s beengood to me, that track. I’ve donewell in the Naionwide Series,came close to winning in a Cupcar. I’m not guaranteeing suc-cess, but I feel like we’re goingto be a real contender up there.I look forward to closing thedeal if I can.

“The road courses have beengood to me in the Cup series,but I'm looking for that win. Itdoesn't really matter what I'vedone in the past, it's what I'm

going to do in the future, andwinning is clearly on the list.”

The only difference this yearis his team.

Ambrose won three straight200-milers and placed third andsecond in the Cup cars with TadGeschickter, a one-car team co-owned by former NBA forwardBrad Dougherty. In 2011,Ambrose joined Richard PettyMotorsports – a two-car opera-tion with A.J. Allmendinger asthe other driver – and the 1999championship-winning crewchief Todd Parrott calling theshots.

With Ford power and spon-sorship from Stanley andD e Walt, it would appearAmbrose is better prepared thanhe was with either the WoodBrothers or Geschickter. Whenit comes to road racing, it reallyd o e s n ’t matter who or whatAmbrose drives.

“I’ve had nothing wrong withmy equipment in the past, soI’ve got no problem there,” hesaid. “I’ve got as good a chancethis year as I’ve had any.”

A l l - Ti m eNationwide Series

Wi n n e r s1 9 9 1 — Te r ry Labonte,Oldsmobile, Busch Series1992—Ernie Irvan, Chevrolet,Busch Series1993—Bill Elliott, Ford, BuschS e r i e s1 9 9 4 — Te r ry Labonte, Chevrolet,Busch Series1 9 9 5 — Te r ry Labonte, Chevrolet,Busch Series1 9 9 6 — Te r ry Labonte, Chevrolet,Busch Series1997—Mike McLaughlin,Chevrolet, Busch Series1998—Ron Fellows, Chevrolet,Busch Series1999—Dale Earnhardt Jr. ,Chevrolet, Busch Series2000—Ron Fellows, Chevrolet,Busch Series2001—Ron Fellows, Chevrolet,Busch Series2005—Ryan Newman, Dodge,Busch Series2006—Kurt Busch, Dodge,Busch Series2007—Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet,Busch Series2 0 0 8 — M a rcos Ambrose,Chevrolet, Nationwide Series2 0 0 9 — M a rcos Ambrose,Toyota, Nationwide Series2 0 1 0 — M a rcos Ambrose,Chevrolet, Nationwide Series

“ I t ’s just tough.You’re in the

toughest sport inthe world in

racing You relythe other

competitors, yourteam, your car –i t ’s pretty hard towin. I don’t feellike I’m owed

anything, I’ve gotto work for it.”

Marcos Ambrose


When you think about it,Andy Lally has one of the mostdiverse resumes at Watkins GlenInternational this weekend.

The 36-year-old from LongIsland has raced prototypes, GTand stock cars on all four cor-ners of the Earth and hit justabout every major race track inthe U.S. Along the way he’searned more than three dozenvictories in four different proseries and won three Grand-AmRolex Series championships.

“I'm one of the most fortu-nate people in the world,regardless of motorsports andrace car drivers. I’ve got to seethe coolest race tracks, period,whether it’s oval or roadcourse,” Lally said at PoconoRaceway. “I’ve got to add it up.I wonder how many tracks I’veactually driven on now withmost the NASCAR scheduleunder my belt and just aboutevery major road course in thecountry.”

That kind of experiencehelped him get into theNASCAR Sprint Cup Series, butthrough his first 18 races of arookie campaign, it hasn’tequated to results.

Lally, who joined The RacersGroup for some one-off races in2009 and 2010 to secure a seatfor the full schedule this season,is mired in 33rd place in thedriver standings with a season-high 19th at Talladega in April.For a guy who has conquered LeMans and proven to be one ofthe best GT racers of his era,2011 has been humbling.

“I've been looking forward totaking that challenge up andsee how we can do against theseguys. I certainly knew comingin we were going to be theunderdogs and the odds wereagainst us and it wasn't going tobe an easy go of it,” said Lally,

who has been driving for KevinB u c k l e r ’s TRG team for adecade. “That's the fun partabout racing, is trying to over-come those obstacles and chal-lenges. We're trying, we're try-ing real hard.”

B u c k l e r, a privateer who builtTRG from the ground up andstunned the racing world in2002 by winning the 24 Hoursof Le Mans with virtually nof a c t o ry support. In 2003, hisGT Porsche won the Rolex 24overall – a feat not seen in 25years. It wasn’t long beforeTRG became a GT powerhouse,and eventually TRG partneredwith Krohn Racing – a short-lived, but highly successfulventure that pushed JorgBergmeister to the DaytonaPrototype championship.

In 2008, TRG started aCamping World Truck Seriesprogram which produced mod-est success. The high point wasDonny Lia’s stunning upset atMansfield, and in 2009 theoperation moved to the SprintCup Series. In less than threeseasons, TRG has had 11 differ-ent drivers behind the wheel,including Winston Cup Series

Andy Lally’s uphill batt l eRookie relishes return to Watkins Glen this weekend

THE LEADER FILESAndy Lally leads Kasey Kahne through the esses during last year’s Heluva Good Sour Cream

champ Bobby Labonte, andonly two top-10 finishes.

This season, Buckler put Lallyin the seat for a full campaign.

“For a single-car team with arookie driver that really hasn'tbeen to these tracks before, it'sdefinitely been a tough first halfof the season, and i expect it tobe a tough second half of theseason,” Lally said. “At leastwe're coming to places we'vebeen before and have a little bitof notes on, and I have my ownnotes on, so hopefully we cankeep on moving up the ladderhere.”

In 18 races, the team hasswitched from Chevrolet toFord and had three differentcrew chiefs. Doug Richert, whohelped Dale Earnhardt win aseries crown in 1980, has beenwith the team since May and istrying to lead the team to bettertimes.

“We're still very much lookingfor our baseline. We just keepchanging and evolving, it's verydifferent everytime we show up.On the performance side, you'regoing up against the best in theworld here,” Lally said. “Thatmeans every single detail has tobe paid attention to - you can'tleave any rock unturned to findspeed here.

“There's almost an infiniteamount of variables that you

can have with the setups ofthese cars. We don't live in thewind tunnel, we don't have apull-down rig in the shop, andwe don't have all the sim workand sim models we need. Wehardly have any sim models atall. We're doing a lot seat-of-the-pants stuff and my crew chief,Doug Richert, has done a real

good job of what he's done inthe past and adapting it to ournew cars.”

This weekend, Lally has causeto smile.

“I can’t wait to get to WatkinsGlen, for multiple reasons. One,it's the site of my best finish inCup, it's my favorite race trackand it's in my home state. Andwe're back on a road course,” hesaid.

Lally has four Rolex Series vic-tories at The Glen – three withTRG – to go along with ninepodium finishes and he’s wonthree Continental Ti r eSeries/Grand-Am Cup/KoniChallenge wins at the historictrack. He finished 18th in lastyear’s Sprint Cup race for hiscareer high – with no assistancefrom fuel strategy or attrition.

Sunday’s Heluva Good SourCream Dips at The Glen is achance for something positiveto happen. That’s all TRG needsright now.

“TRG as a race team has beensuccessful at every part ofmotorsport that it's tried to be.We've won Le Mans, we've wonDaytona (24 hours), we've wonchampionships, but this is asbig as it gets right here,” Lallysaid. “This is the place I want tobe personally. I think the com-mitment from our owners atTRG has been great, especially

in the face of what could easilysomething to scare you awayand make you fold when youlook at the budgets of whatthese big teams are. A little bit ofheart, a lot of hard work and

getting some good personnel inhere goes a long way. We'vebeen consistently chippingaway at the big guys, just tryingto get a foothold on this mon-strous mountain.”

THE LEADER STA F F

The Grand-Am Rolex Serieswill feature a slew of newand/or recognizable names inthe GT class for this weekend’sWatkins Glen 200.

Three NASCAR regulars willmake their sports car racingdebuts, while Andy Lally returnsto the series and PatrickDempsey might just be themost sought-after autograph ofthe weekend.

Roush Fenway Racingstabelmates Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,who leads the NationwideSeries standings, and DavidRagan, winner of the JulyDaytona race, will share a FordMustang GT in Saturday’s 200-mile race. Neither has made astart in sports cars before.

“This is cool to be able to dothis,” Ragan said. “Watkins Glen

has been a struggle for bothmyself and Ricky – and he's gota chance to win thechampionship and we've got achance to make the Chase.Watkins Glen is an importantrace for us, and we need all theseat time we can get.”

Meanwhile, Joey Logano, whodrives for Joe Gibbs in the SprintCup Series, will be teaming upwith Watkins Glen Internationalfavorite Boris Said in the No. 31Corvette for the race. Lally, wholeads the Sprint Cup Rookie ofthe Year standings, will return tohis roots, driving one of TheRacers Group’s Porsches.

Dempsey, an actor and seriesregular since 2008, will be co-driving his Mazda RX-8 with JoeFoster. Dempsey has neverraced on the 2.45-mile shortcourse at The Glen.

Grand-Am Rolex Series full ofmoonlighters this weekend

“There's almost aninfinite amount ofvariables that youcan have with the

setups of these cars.We don't live in the

wind tunnel, wedon't have a pull-down rig in the

shop, and we don'thave all the simwork and sim

models we need.We hardly have anysim models at all.”

Andy Lally


Juan Pablo Montoya prefers tolive in the moment.

He enjoys past accomplish-ments, but doesn’t dwell onthem. He looks ahead, but does-n ’t glean any expectations.That’s why he’s approaching histitle defense of this weekend’sHeluva Good Sour Cream Dipsat The Glen with a wait-and-seeattitude, despite last year’s dom-inant performance at WatkinsGlen International.

“Sometimes you go (to a track)with the samesetup and yougo, ‘Ooh. Wewon with thatlast year andnow we suck.’I t ’s whoevercan do a goodjob throughthe weekend,”Montoya said.

That mightbe more truethis year sincethe NASCARSprint CupSeries cars havea new nosec o n f i g u r a t i o nand differentGoodyear tire construction.

Montoya could use, if not arepeat performance, than atleast a strong run with five racesleft until the Chase for theChampionship kicks in.Through the first 21 races, he’sstarted on the front row fourtimes with two pole positions,but staying up front has proveddifficult. He had two top-fivefinishes in the first six races ofthe season, but only two top-10shave followed. That prompted acrew chief change in July, withJim Pohlman taking over forBrian Pattie at Indianapolis.

“For me, it was just a reallygood weekend all the way

around – we had a really goodcar, we ran smart all day, tookour time and did what we hadto do. This year, you neverknow,” Montoya said. “The racemight go your way or it mightnot. The way I always look at itis: that’s a great opportunity toscore big points and you have totake advantage of it.”

In the 2010 Glen race,Montoya started third, foundthe lead on the sixth lap andenjoyed a comfortable marginuntil Marcos Ambrose sliced hisway into second place. That setup one of the classic duels at

The Glen, withMontoya andA m b r o s echanging thelead and stalk-ing each otherthrough twothirds of the90-lap race.

In his youth,M o n t o y aearned a repu-tation as ah a r d - c h a r g i n gdriver whotook no prison-ers in CARTand FormulaOne. That does-n’t work so well

in the heavy stock cars. In hisfourth Cup start at The Glen,Montoya proved more cerebralthan madman. He let Ambrosedo the charging and waited.

“That car was good, but thebig thing last year was: wec o u l d n ’t run hard early onwith the brakes. If you remem-ber the race, (Marcos) Ambroseseemed to be faster than me,”Montoya said. “We wentthrough the corners at thesame pace, but I was reallylooking after the brakes, and itpaid off because he ran out ofbrakes. Who ever had betterbrakes at the end was going Story Continued on Page 13

Montoya ran away witha win at The Glen lasty e a r, but that doesn’tmean anything in 2011

THE LEADER STA F FJuan Pablo Montoya has twoN A S C A R Sprint Cup Seriesvictories in his career.

to win, and we ran really smartall day. At the end we had thepace lap after lap after lap andthat what needed to get done toget the win.”

That victory was his second inthe Sprint Cup Series, where he’sbeen a regular since 2007.

The well-traveled Colombianstarted his pro career in the U.S.,driving at The Glen under PeterA r g e t s i n g e r ’s tutelage in the1990s, before replacing AlexZanardi in Chip Ganassi’s CARTpowerhouse team. He immedi-ately wowed fans, won the 2000Indianapolis 500, with ease,before heading to Formula Onewhere his fame hit internationalproportions.

He drove for Sir FrankWilliams and the mightyMcLaren for five-and-a-half sea-sons, winning seven times –including the famed MonacoGrand Prix. After a less-than-graceful exit at McLaren,Ganassi was quick to recruitMontoya for his NASCAR opera-tion. Since that time, Montoya’swon two Cup races, oneNationwide Series race and fin-ished a career-high eighth inthe 2009 Sprint Cup standings.

NASCAR’s proven more diffi-cult than any of Montoya’s pre-vious stops, but he’s neverenjoyed anything as mucheither.

“Fans don’t know how wellthey have it here. The problemis when you’re used too some-thing and you think it’s OK, youdon’t know how good it is untilyou see the other side,”Montoya said. “Access to thegarage, fans can come into therace track before the start of theraces – I mean, you don’t getthat anywhere. You get to aFormula One race and you’relucky to get a grandstand ticket.You see 50-lap races and seethem pass (by) in five seconds,‘vroom’ and they’re gone, andyou’ve got to wait one-and-a-half minutes. That’s it. Andt h e r e ’s not enough cars. ANASCAR race gets 43 cars, so thefield is spread so long that evenin road racing, the fans arealways seeing something, whichI think is very good.”

And for only the second timein his stock car career, Montoyais a defending race champ.Sitting 20th in the driver stand-ings, he’d like to think another

win at The Glen is within hisgrasp, even with a new crewchief, new nose and new tires.

He won’t think about thatuntil practice starts Friday.

“For me, I don’t even payattention to that. For (the press),you really focus on the race atThe Glen, and I think it’s reallygood because it’s an interestingrace,” he said. “For me, I go toplaces and sometimes I don’teven ask because you expect thetire to be different.”

1957—Buck Baker, Chevrolet,Grand National1964—Billy Wade, Merc u ry, GrandN a t i o n a l1 9 6 5 — M a rvin Panch, Ford, GrandN a t i o n a l1 9 8 6 — Tim Richmond, Chevrolet,Winston Cup1987—Rusty Wallace, Pontiac,Winston Cup1988—Ricky Rudd, Buick, Wi n s t o nC u p1989—Rusty Wallace, Pontiac,Winston Cup1990—Ricky Rudd, Chevrolet,Winston Cup1991—Ernie Irvan, Chevrolet,Winston Cup1992—Kyle Petty, Pontiac,

Winston Cup1993—Mark Martin, Ford,Winston Cup1994—Mark Martin, Ford,Winston Cup1995—Mark Martin, Ford,Winston Cup1996—Geoff Bodine, Ford,Winston Cup1997—Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet,Winston Cup1998—Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet,Winston Cup1999—Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet,Winston Cup2000—Steve Park, Cherolet,Winston Cup2001—Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet,Winston Cup

2 0 0 2 — Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,Winston Cup2003—Robby Gordon, Chevrolet,Winston Cup2 0 0 4 — Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,Nextel Cup2 0 0 5 — Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,Nextel Cup2006—Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet,Nextel Cup2 0 0 7 — Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,Nextel Cup2008—Kyle Busch, Toyota, SprintC u p2 0 0 9 — Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,Sprint Cup2010—Juan Pablo Montoya,Chevrolet, Sprint Cup

A l l - Time Sprint Cup Winners at The Glen“For me, I go to placesand sometimes I don’teven ask because youexpect the tire to be

d i f f e r e n t . ”Juan Pablo Montoya


When Max Angelelli andRicky Taylor left Watkins GlenInternational in June, theWayne Taylor Racing teamappeared indomitable. The duohad just won back-to-back racesfrom pole position with nosigns of slowing down.

And they haven’t, in qualifying. Since Memorial Day week-

end, the No. 10 Sun Tr u s tChevrolet-powered Dallara hasbeen on pole – a streak of fiveraces. They’ve finished noworse than third since then, buthaven’t been able to make big

gains on Rolex Series leadersScott Pruett and Memo Rojas.What they need is another per-fect weekend, like the oneenjoyed in the Sahlen’s SixHours of The Glen.

“There has been nothing elseeven close to that in my entirecareer, so far. That was by farthe best day I ever had,” saidRicky Taylor, in his third fullseason of Grand-Am racing. “Ithink we just had the dominantcar. It’s hard to pick out just onemoment that made it so specialbecause the weekend was per-fect from start to finish.”

The pair led 128 of 174 lapsaround The Glen’s 3.4-mile

grand prix circuit in June with-out so much as a hiccup, andthat was even after Taylor andAngelelli switched roles – Taylortaking over as the closer. In thefinal half hour of the race,Taylor even left Pruett, theseries’ all-time wins leader, inthe dust.

“Our win in the six-hour racewas simply magnificent inevery way,” Angelelli said. “Justlook at all the races this year – ittakes that kind of a weekend tobecome the winner. We did it at

Watkins Glen in June, and wedid it at Lime Rock.”

For Saturday’s Watkins Glen200, the team won’t be able toemploy notes from the six-hourenduro because the race will beheld on the super-quick 2.45-mile short course duringNASCAR weekend.

Aside from driving one fewermile every lap, the DaytonaPrototypes will have to contendwith different tire compoundson the course and lapped traffic– a lot of it. Slower GT cars and

prototypes will become movingchicanes at 130 mph. That alsomeans a new way of setting upthe Dallara.

“On the long course, you goone way with your set-up. Youd o n ’t have to weigh manyoptions,” Angelelli said. “Onthe short course, you have dif-ferent options, and they allpoint toward low downforc e .The big question is, ‘How lowyou can go? How low do youwant to go?’”

Taking downforce off the carwill be a huge asset on thestraightaways, but once in acorner with traffic, the car willbe a handful.

“As far as this race goes thisy e a r, there are over 20 GT carsentered, and I think that’sgoing to play a big role becausefrom (Turn 5) to the back-straight, it’s going to be diffi-cult to pass GT cars,” Ta y l o rsaid. “That should make therace a lot more interesting forthe fans, for every b o d y. ”

Thrown into the GT cars willbe at least three true rookies.

NASCAR Nationwide seriesleader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. willco-drive a Mustang with Coke400 winner David Ragan, sothat’s one car with two racersmaking their sports car debuts.Joe Gibbs Racing’s 21-year-olddriver Joey Logano will makehis first Rolex Series start withveteran Boris Said.

All that means starting upfront will be paramount – some-thing the team’s proven prettygood at lately. However, trailingPruett and Rojas by 29 points,they need to make some head-way with just three races left inthe season.

“Obviously, we want to winit. When I look back on the lastfive races, we have five poles,two wins, a second and twothirds,” said team owner, andRicky Ta y l o r ’s accomplishedfather Wayne Taylor. “So, if youwent back five races with anyteam, we’ve achieved the mostin the last five races. I’m justexcited to get back to WatkinsGlen, and it’ll be great to beback with NASCAR and have allthose guys around.”

Watkins Glen a welcome sight for Taylor team

THE ASSOCIATED PRESSRicky Taylor leads Scott Pruett during June’s Sahlen’s SixHours of The Glen.

The Chasers and the hopefulsNASCAR added another new wrinkle to the Chase for the Championship – wild card spots. The top 10 drivers get automatic berths into the

playoffs, while the last two positions will be filled by race winners inside the top 20. Entering Sunday’s Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at TheGlen, Brad Keselowski occupies one spot with two victories, while Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard and David Ragan (one win each) are battling

for the last spot. Below is a list of the championship leaders, how they’ve fared at The Glen and what their position in the standings are.

CARL EDWA R D SA g e / h o m e t o w n : 31, Columbia,M o .C a r / t e a m : No. 99 Aflac/SubwayFord, Roush Fenway Racing2010 finish: 5 t hBest finish: 3rd (2009)Best start: 1st (2010)Avg. finish: 8.2 in 6 startsTop 5s: 3, Top 10s: 5Best finish this season: 1st (LasVe g a s )Points position: 1st, 9 pointsa h e a dO u t l o o k : Odd calling Edwards asleeper pick anywhere, but watchout for him this weekend.

JIMMIE JOHNSONA g e / h o m e t o w n : 35, El Cajon,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy,Hendrick Motorsports2010 finish: 2 8 t hBest finish: 3rd (2007)Best start: 1st (2004)Avg. finish: 14.7 in 9 startsTop 5s: 3, Top 10s: 4Best finish this season: 1 s t( Ta l l a d e g a )Points position: 2nd, 9 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : F i v e - Time shouldn’t beterribly concerned about this race.

KYLE BUSCHAge/hometown: 26, Las Ve g a sC a r / t e a m : No. 18 M&Ms To y o t a ,Joe Gibbs Racing2010 finish: 8 t hBest finish: 1st (2008)Best start: 1st (2008)Avg. finish: 10.3 in 6 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 5Best finish this season: 1 s t(Bristol, Richmond, Kentucky)Points position: 3rd, 11 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : Busch has only failed tofinish in the top 10 once here, so ifyou want points he’s a great pickfor your office pool.

KURT BUSCHAge/hometown: 33, Las Ve g a sC a r / t e a m : No. 22 Shell/PennzoilDodge, Penske Racing2010 finish: 2 n dBest finish: 2nd (2010)Best start: 1st (2006)Avg. finish: 18.0 in 10 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 4Best finish this season: 1 s t( I n f i n e o n )Points position: 4th, 14 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : One of the favorites thisweekend, going for a road racingsweep.

KEVIN HARVICKA g e / h o m e t o w n : 35, Bakersfield,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 29 BudweiserC h e v y, Richard Childress Racing2010 finish: 1 1 t hBest finish: 1st (2006)Best start: 6th (2002)Avg. finish: 13.6 in 10 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 5Best finish this season: 1 s t(Fontana, Martinsville, Charlotte)Points position: 5th, 20 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : If this team rediscoversthe touch from 2006, look out.

M ATT KENSETHAge/hometown: 39, Cambridge,Wi s c .C a r / t e a m : No. 17 Crown RoyalFord, Roush Fenway Racing2010 finish: 1 3 t hBest finish: 8th (2003)Best start: 3rd (2007)Avg. finish: 15.7 in 11 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 3Best finish this season: 1 s t( Texas, Dover)Points position: 6th, 26 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : He never dazzles here,but never screws up either.

JEFF GORDONA g e / h o m e t o w n : 40, Va l l e j o ,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 24 Drive To EndHunger Chevy, HendrickM o t o r s p o r t s2010 finish: 1 0 t hBest finish: 1st (1997-99, 2001)Best start: 1st (1998, 2003,2 0 0 7 )Avg. finish: 14.6 in 18 startsTop 5s: 6, Top 10s: 9Best finish this season: 1 s t(Phoenix, Pocono 1)Points position: 7th, 52 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : Possibly in the bestposition to win a fifth race herethan he’s been in three seasons.

RYAN NEWMANA g e / h o m e t o w n : 32, SouthBend, Ind.C a r / t e a m : No. 39 U.S. ArmyChevrolet, Stewart Haas Racing2010 finish: 1 2 t hBest finish: 2nd (2002)Best start: 3rd (2006)Avg. finish: 16.3 in 9 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 3Best finish this season: 1 s t(New Hampshire)Points position: 8th, 62 pointsb e h i n d

O u t l o o k : After rookie perf o r m a n c eat The Glen, really thought he’dwon a couple of these road racesby now.

TONY STEWA R TAge/hometown: 40, Columbus,I n d .C a r / t e a m : No. 14 Office DepotChevrolet, Stewart Haas Racing2010 finish: 7 t hBest finish: 1st (2002, 2004-05,2007, 2009)Best start: 1st (2005)Avg. finish: 5.4 in 12 startsTop 5s: 7, Top 10s: 1 0Best finish this season: 2nd (LasVegas, New Hampshire)Points position: 9th, 78 pointsb e h i n dO u t l o o k : S t e w a r t ’s margin forerror is pretty thin where he’s at inthe points. A sixth win here wouldsure help.

DALE EARNHARDT JR.Age/hometown: 36, Kannapolis,N . C .C a r / t e a m : No. 88 AmpEnergy/National Guard, HendrickM o t o r s p o r t s2010 finish: 2 6 t hBest finish: 3rd (2003)Best start: 2nd (2008)

Avg. finish: 22.9 in 11 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 3Best finish this season: 2 n d(Martinsville, Kansas)Points position: 10th, 79 pointsbehind, 23 points ahead of Chasec u t o f fO u t l o o k : E a r n h a r d t ’s an enigmahere – either really good or reallybad. Which is going to be thisweekend?

DENNY HAMLINA g e / h o m e t o w n : 3 0 ,C h e s t e rfield, Va .C a r / t e a m : No. 11 FedEx To y o t a ,Joe Gibbs Racing2010 finish: 37th (crash)Best finish: 2nd (2007)Best start: 2nd (2007)Avg. finish: 13.4 in 5 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 4Best finish this season: 1 s t( M i c h i g a n )Points position: 11th, 23 pointsout of Chase spot O u t l o o k : H e ’s got one win in hisfavor and given his track recordhere, should get out of town ingood shape.

CLINT BOYWERA g e / h o m e t o w n : 32, Emporia,K a n .C a r / t e a m : No. 33 General MillsC h e v y, Richiard Childress Racing2010 finish: 3 2 n dBest finish: 9th (2009)Best start: 11th (2007)Avg. finish: 18.8 in 5 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 1Best finish this season: 2 n d( Texas, Ta l l a d e g a )Points position: 12th, 41 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Bowyer needs to win.Like, now. Unfortunately, The Glenhas been utterly poisonous to him.

GREG BIFFLEAge/hometown: 41, Va n c o u v e r,Wa s h .C a r / t e a m : No. 16 3M Ford,Roush Fenway Racing2010 finish: 2 4 t hBest finish: 5th (2009)Best start: 2nd (2003)Avg. finish: 25.1 in 8 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 4 t h( Te x a s )Points position: 13th, 44 pointsout of Chase spot

O u t l o o k : The Biff needs to pick itup in these last five races.

PAUL MENARDA g e / h o m e t o w n : 30, Eau Claire,Wi s c .C a r / t e a m : No. 27 MenardsChevrolet, Richard Childress Racing2010 finish: 1 6 t hBest finish: 16th (2010)Best start: 14th (2009)Avg. finish: 23.9 in 7 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 1 s t( I n d i a n a p o l i s )Points position: 14th, 54 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : His win couldn’t havecome at a better time.

MARK MARTINA g e / h o m e t o w n : 52, Batesville,A r k .C a r / t e a m : No. 5 Go DaddyChevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports2010 finish: 1 9 t hBest finish: 1st (1993-95)Best start: 1st (1993-95)Avg. finish: 8.3 in 21 startsTop 5s: 12, Top 10s: 1 6Best finish this season: 2 n d( D o v e r )Points position: 15th, 74 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Owned Watkins Glen likeno one else in history. He needs to

summon that old magic. KASEY KAHNE

A g e / h o m e t o w n : 31, Enumclaw,Wa s h .C a r / t e a m : No. 84 Red BullToyota, Red Bull Racing2010 finish: 1 7 t hBest finish: 14th (2004, 2008)Best start: 2nd (2006)Avg. finish: 18.1 in 7 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 3 r d( R i c h m o n d )Points position: 16th, 74 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Wait ’til next year.

A.J. ALLMENDINGERA g e / h o m e t o w n : 28, Los Gatos,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 43 Best Buy Ford,Richard Petty Motorsports2010 finish: 4 t hBest finish: 4th (2010)Best start: 4th (2010)Avg. finish: 9.3 in 3 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 5 t h( C h a r l o t t e )Points position: 17th, 79 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Should have been athreat to win some of these roadraces by now.

BRAD KESELOWSKI

Age/hometown: 27, RochesterHills, Mich.C a r / t e a m : No. 2 Miller LiteDodge, Penske Racing2010 finish: 3 2 n dBest finish: 32nd (2010)Best start: 43rd (2010)Avg. finish: 32.0 in 1 startTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 1 s t(Kansas, Pocono 2)Points position: 18th, 83 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : His gutsy win at Poconoput a heap of pressure on all theother Chase hopefuls. Now he’sgot to get around The Glen with abroken ankle.

D AVID RAGANA g e / h o m e t o w n : 25, Unadilla,G a .C a r / t e a m : No. 6 UPS Ford, RoushFenway Racing2010 finish: 2 5 t hBest finish: 24th (2009)Best start: 14th (2008)Avg. finish: 27.8 in 4 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 1 s t(Daytona 2)Points position: 19th, 85 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Thanks to Keselowski,R a g a n ’s clutch win at Daytonaw o n ’t mean anything if he can’t

overtake some people in the points.Not likely to happen this weekend.

JOEY LOGANOA g e / h o m e t o w n : 2 1 ,Middletown, Conn.C a r / t e a m : No. 20 Home DepotToyota, Joe Gibbs Racing2010 finish: 3 3 r dBest finish: 16th (2009)Best start: 18th (2010)Avg. finish: 24.5 in 2 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 3 r d(Charlotte, Daytona 2)Points position: 20th, 93 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : P e rformance has pickedup lately, but maybe too little tool a t e .

JUAN PABLO MONTOYAAge/hometown: 35, Bogota,C o l o m b i aC a r / t e a m : No. 42 Ta r g e tChevrolet, Earnhardt GanassiR a c i n g2010 finish: 1 s tBest finish: 1st (2010)Best start: 3rd (2010)Avg. finish: 12.5 in 4 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 3rd (LasVe g a s )Points position: 21st, 102 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : JPM needs to repeat atThe Glen, and get a lot of help.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.Age/hometown: 31, Mayetta,N . J .C a r / t e a m : No. 55 NAPA To y o t a ,Michael Waltrip Racing2010 finish: 1 5 t hBest finish: 5th (2008)Best start: 12th (2007)Avg. finish: 16.4 in 5 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 6th (LasVe g a s )Points position: 22nd, 104points out of Chase spotO u t l o o k : The Glen’s been ... OK tohim over the years. Not great, justO K .

MARCOS AMBROSEA g e / h o m e t o w n : 34, Launceston,A u s t r a l i aC a r / t e a m : No. 9 Stanley Ford,Richard Petty Motorsports2010 finish: 3 r dBest finish: 2nd (2009)

Best start: 4th (2009)Avg. finish: 2.7 in 3 startsTop 5s: 3, Top 10s: 3Best finish this season: 3 r d( D o v e r )Points position: 23rd, 112 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : How hasn’t he won twoor three of these races by now?

JEFF BURTONA g e / h o m e t o w n : 44, SouthBoston, Va .C a r / t e a m : No. 31 CaterpillarC h e v y, Richard Childress Racing2010 finish: 9 t hBest finish: 2nd (2001)Best start: 4th (1998, 2000, 2007)Avg. finish: 21.3 in 17 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 4Best finish this season: 1 1 t h( Texas, Dover)Points position: 24th, 160 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : What the heck is Burtondoing all the way down here? Didhe forfeit some races?

D AVID REUTIMANNAge/hometown: 41, Zephyrhills,F l a .C a r / t e a m : No. 00 Aaron’s To y o t a ,Michael Waltrip Racing2010 finish: 23rd Best finish: 23rd (2010)Best start: 25th (2009)Avg. finish: 27.0 in 3 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 2 n d( K e n t u c k y )Points position: 25th, 165 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : D o n ’t worry David, this isthe last road race of the season.

REGAN SMITHAge/hometown: 27, Cato, N.Y.C a r / t e a m : No. 78 Furniture RowChevrolet, Furniture Row Racing2010 finish: 34th (suspension)Best finish: 3 4 t hBest start: 1 0 t hAvg. finish: 35.5 in 2 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 1 s t( D a r l i n g t o n )Points position: 26th, 167 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : The hometown fansdesperately want to see this guy dowell here.

JAMIE MCMURRAY

Coverage all weekend long at w w w. t h e - l e a d e r. c o m

Age/hometown: 35, Joplin, Mo.C a r / t e a m : No. 1 Bass Pro ShopsChevrolet, Earnhardt GanassiR a c i n g2010 finish: 6 t hBest finish: 3rd (2006)Best start: 2nd (2010)Avg. finish: 18.4 in 8 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 4 t h( I n d i a n a p o l i s )Points position: 27th, 178 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Another one of thiss e a s o n ’s “What happened?” stories.

BRIAN VICKERSAge/hometown: 2 7 ,Thomasville, N.C.C a r / t e a m : No. 83 Red BullToyota, Red Bull Racing2010 finish: Did not competeBest finish: 8th (2005)Best start: 17th (2008)Avg. finish: 20.7 in 6 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 1Best finish this season: 5 t h( D o v e r )Points position: 28th, 192 points

out of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Sometimes you forgeth e ’s not even 30 yet. Still time toreach his potential.

BOBBY LABONTEAge/hometown: 47, CorpusChristie, Te x a sC a r / t e a m : No. 47 Clorox/KleenexToyota, JTG-Daugherty Racing2010 finish: 2 9 t hBest finish: 5th (1996, 2000)Best start: 1st (2000)Avg. finish: 19.4 in 18 startsTop 5s: 2, Top 10s: 6Best finish this season: 4 t h(Daytona 1)Points position: 29th, 195 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Driving for a team that’sfinished second and third here withthree Nationwide Series wins.

D AVID GILLILANDA g e / h o m e t o w n : 35, Riverside,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 34 Taco Bell Ford,Front Row Motorsports2010 finish: 2 7 t h

Best finish: 27th (2010)Best start: 26th (2008)Avg. finish: 33.3 in 3 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 3 r d(Daytona 1)Points position: 30th, 262 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : Highlight of theweekend might just be the drive t othe track.

ANDY LALLYAge/hometown: 36, EastNorthport, N.Y.C a r / t e a m : No. 71 InterstateMoving Ford, TGR Motorsports2010 finish: 1 8 t hBest finish: 18th (2010)Best start: 15th (2009)Avg. finish: 22.5 in 2 startsTop 5s: 0, Top 10s: 0Best finish this season: 1 9 t h( Ta l l a d e g a )Points position: 33rd, 393 pointsout of Chase spotO u t l o o k : L a l l y ’s been looking

f o rward to this race like a kid atChristmas time.

ROBBY GORDONAge/hometown: 42, Orange, Calif.C a r / t e a m : No. 7 Speed Dodge2010 finish: 36th (engine)Best finish: 1st (2003)Best start: 4th (2001)Avg. finish: 13.3 in 12 startsTop 5s: 7, Top 10s: 7Best finish this season: 1 6 t h(Daytona 1)Points position: 34th (partials c h e d u l e )O u t l o o k : One of the most fundrivers to watch at The Glen.

BORIS SAIDA g e / h o m e t o w n : 48, Carlsbad,C a l i f .C a r / t e a m : No. 51 Security BenefitChevrolet, Phoenix Racing2010 finish: 38th (contact)Best finish: 3rd (2005)Best start: 2nd (1999)Avg. finish: 24.6 in 10 startsTop 5s: 1, Top 10s: 2Best finish this season: 2 8 t h( I n f i n e o n )

Points position: 45th (partials c h e d u l e )O u t l o o k : Would love to see himgive his devoted followerssomething to cheer about.

G E O F F B O D I N EA g e / h o m e t o w n : 61, Chemung,N . Y.C a r / t e a m : No. 35 Luke &Associates Chevrolet, To m m yBaldwin Racing2010 finish: Did not competeBest finish: 1st (1996)Best start: 1st (1988)Avg. finish: 19.1 in 15 startsTop 5s: 3, Top 10s: 4Best finish this season: 3 8 t h(Daytona 2)Points position: 47th (partials c h e d u l e )O u t l o o k : A hometown Bodine is inthe field for the first time in three

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