Nextel & Busch Series @ Vegas, AS THE CRANKSHAFT TURNS (3/12/2005)
SKIRT FLAPS ADDED TO TRUCKS NASCAR officials have changed a rule in the Craftsman Truck Series Rule Book to require body extension panels and larger cowl flaps on the trucks starting on March 18th World Financial Group 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. According to Wayne Auton, Craftsman Truck Series Director this will give teams a chance to reduce costs and help the handling of the trucks. This all came together after wind tunnel testing was conducted by NASCAR'S Research and Development Program after many incidents that occurred at Daytona.
The rule now reads:
Under Section 20-B-3.6 of the rulebook, all trucks will be required to install a vertical extension – side skirts – flush with the outer sheet metal at the bottom, on both the right and left rocker panels. The extensions must be the same length front to rear as the rocker panel, cut only for exhaust and jack clearance with a minimum of four inches ground clearance on the right side and three inches of ground clearance on the left side.
The lower edge of the extension may be constructed of a plastic type material.
Rule 20-B-5.12.2 has been amended to increase the size of the truck's cowl flaps – two trap doors, hinged at the front in a way that the wind will keep them closed when the truck is moving forward – from two inches by 10 inches to four inches by 15 inches.
All for safety is a good thing!!
BUSCH SERIES MARTIN WINS AT VEGAS MAKING IT TWO IN 2005
Saturday afternoon the Busch Series was back in the United States at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Sam's Town 300. It looked as if Carl Edwards was going to take the win leading 125 laps of the 200 lap event, but fate had a mind of it's own, on lap 186 his tire went down, which sent him sliding into the infield. Teammate to Edwards, Mark Martin took the misfortune to hold off Kevin Harvick to win his 48th Busch Series career win. Martin said after the win, "I had a little lady luck today. Carl Edwards was in a position to win that one; I was just lucky to get into the front. He was just checked out there, wasn't much we could do about it, that one just slipped through his fingers. I knew Carl had a problem down the backstretch, and I knew at that point the race could be on between (Stremme and me).”
Kevin Harvick held off David Stremme after passing him on the last turn of the last lap and won the battle by the length of a hood. Joe Nemechek finished 4th and Greg Biffle, another teammate to Martin finished 5th.
BUSCH SERIES TOP TEN FINISHERS 1. Mark Martin 2. Kevin Harvick 3. David Stremme 4. Joe Nemechek 5. Greg Biffle 6. Reed Sorenson* 7. Carl Edwards* 8. Randy Lajoie 9. Clint Bowyer 10. David Green
TOP TEN IN POINTS 1. Kevin Harvick – 690 2. Carl Edwards – 610 3. Clint Bowyer – 571 4. Reed Sorenson – 564 5. Martin Truex Jr – 538 6. Ashton Lewis – 494 7. David Stremme – 452 8. Shane Hmiel – 431 9. Justin Labonte – 427 10. Denny Hamlin* - 418
NEXTEL CUP JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS IN VEGAS
Jimmie Johnson won his fifteenth Nextel Cup career race on Sunday in the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the last nine races including last seasons, Johnson has won an impressive five wins and with Sunday's win he's back on top of the points race. Rookie Kyle Busch, teammate to Johnson finished second holding off his older brother Kurt Busch who led the Roush teams in the race, which Roush Racing had been a race favorite team to win the race because of the team's dominance at the track. Jeff Gordon co-owner of Johnson's car finished 4th followed by Kevin Harvick.
Jimmie Johnson received a $30,000 bonus check for earning the points lead said, "I can have a little fun at the Blackjack table. But I'm not concerned about the points lead yet,” Kurt Busch, the reigning Nextel Cup Champion said after the race, "It's going to be a fun battle all the way to the end. You could say that Hendrick and Roush definitely have a distinct advantage over the other groups.” A happy Kyle Busch said after the race, "This is as good as a win as far as I'm concerned. I had a bunch of guys put money on me, so it would have been cool to have Jimmie pull over and let us win. But, hey, next year I'll probably have lower odds,” he was referring to that prior to the race his odds were 60 to one.
The season is still new, so stay tuned to AutoGeek.com for all your racing information.
NEXTEL CUP SERIES TOP TEN FINISHERS 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Kyle Busch* 3. Kurt Busch 4. Jeff Gordon 5. Kevin Harvick 6. Greg Biffle 7. Casey Mears 8. Matt Kenseth 9. Tony Stewart 10. Ryan Newman
TOP TEN IN POINTS 1. Jimmie Johnson – 525 2. Kurt Busch – 510 3. Greg Biffle – 428 4. Jeff Gordon – 418 5. Carl Edwards – 408 6. Tony Stewart – 406 7. Rusty Wallace – 395 8. Kevin Harvick – 394 9. Ryan Newman – 385 10. Mark Martin - 374
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