NASCAR notebook

Notebook: Labonte will drive for JTG/Daugherty in 2011
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 28, 2010)
Bobby Labonte’s concerns about an uncertain future in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing have been settled.
JTG/Daugherty Racing, which fields Toyotas in partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing, will put Labonte behind the wheel of its No. 47 Camry for a full 36-race [...]

Marcos Ambrose leaving JTG

Ambrose leaving JTG, could land at Petty Motorsports
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 
(July 27, 2010)
Marcos Ambrose has decided to leave JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of the season, the team announced Tuesday.
Ambrose, in his second full year of Sprint Cup racing for the team, is a disappointing 27th in the standings after [...]

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Driver Standings

Below are the unofficial driver standings for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
(After 20 races)

RANK
+/-
DRIVER
POINTS
BEHIND
STARTS
POLES
WINS
TOP 5
TOP 10

1
–
Kevin Harvick
2920
Leader
20
0
2
9
14

2
–
Jeff Gordon
2736
-184
20
0
0
10
11

3
+1
Denny Hamlin
2660
-260
20
0
5
7
8

4
-1
Jimmie Johnson
2659
-261
20
0
5
8
11

5
–
Kurt Busch
2658
-262
20
2
2
7
12

6
–
Kyle Busch
2630
-290
20
2
2
5
10

7
–
Jeff Burton
2615
-305
20
0
0
4
10

8
–
Matt Kenseth
2573
-347
20
0
0
4
8

9
–
Tony Stewart
2544
-376
20
1
0
5
10

10
–
Carl Edwards
2496
-424
20
0
0
2
9

11
–
Greg Biffle
2462
-458
20
0
0
3
11

12
–
Clint Bowyer
2446
-474
20
0
0
3
11

13
+1
Mark Martin
2384
-536
20
1
0
5
6

14
-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2353
-567
20
1
0
2
6

15
+1
Ryan Newman
2299
-621
20
1
1
2
6

16
+2
Jamie McMurray
2295
-625
20
3
2
6
7

17
–
Kasey Kahne
2290
-630
20
1
0
5
7

18
-3
David Reutimann
2269
-651
20
0
1
4
4

19
–
Joey Logano
2241
-679
20
1
0
2
8

20
–
Martin Truex Jr.
2145
-775
20
1
0
1
4

21
+1
A.J. Allmendinger
2136
-784
20
1
0
0
3

22
-1
Juan Montoya
2121
-799
20
2
0
4
8

23
–
Paul Menard
2102
-818
20
0
0
1
3

24
+1
David Ragan
1939
-981
20
0
0
0
1

25
+1
Brad Keselowski
1936
-984
20
0
0
0
0

26
-2
Scott Speed
1926
-994
20
0
0
0
2

27
+1
Marcos Ambrose
1839
-1081
20
0
0
0
2

28
-1
Elliott Sadler
1799
-1121
20
0
0
0
0

29
–
Sam Hornish Jr.
1768
-1152
20
0
0
0
0

30
–
Regan Smith
1663
-1257
20
0
0
0
0

31
–
Bobby Labonte
1537
-1383
20
0
0
0
0

32
–
Robby Gordon
1438
-1482
18
0
0
1
1

33
–
Travis Kvapil
1394
-1526
19
0
0
0
0

34
+1
Kevin Conway*
1299
-1621
19
0
0
0
0

35
-1
David Gilliland
1260
-1660
16
0
0
0
0

36
–
Brian [...]

Saturday notebook

Notebook: Kahne staying out of 2011 discussions
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 24, 2010)
INDIANAPOLIS —Kasey Kahne wants no part of discussions about his future.
Kahne’s former team owner, Ray Evernham, stirred the pot Friday by suggesting that Mark Martin will step aside at Hendrick Motorsports to make room for Kahne, who is the heir apparent [...]

Montoya nips Johnson for Brickyard pole

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 24, 2010)
INDIANAPOLIS —Juan Pablo Montoya took advantage of an early qualifying draw and a slightly conservative approach from Jimmie Johnson to win the pole for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as Chevrolets claimed nine of the first 10 starting spots.
With a lap at 182.278 mph (49.375 [...]

NASCAR By The Numbers

NASCAR Number
 
By Roger Kuznia
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 
(July 24, 2010)
 
6: Number of Sprint Cup tracks where Jeff Gordon has an average finish better than 10.0. One of those is Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Gordon has an average finish of 8.6 in 16 starts. His last Brickyard win came in 2004. The other five tracks on Gordon’s [...]

NASCAR podcast — Indianapolis preview

On this week’s podcast:
— Find out what why it’s an advantage to be a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion at Indianapolis
— Hear from all three active drivers with multiple Indianapolis wins—Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson
— NASCAR managing director of R&D Brett Bodine explains how difficult it is to master the Brickyard
— NASCAR stats [...]

NASCAR By The Numbers

NASCAR Number
By Bill Marx
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 22, 2010)
This week’s daily double is a special triple play.
36: Times Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski have raced against each other in the Sprint Cup Series. In those 36 races, Edwards has finished ahead of Keselowski 27 times and has two wins to Keselowski’s one.
123: Times Edwards [...]

NASCAR By The Numbers

NASCAR Number
By Bill Marx
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 20, 2010)
2: Sprint Cup oval tracks that have zero-degree banking in the straightaways. The two tracks are Martinsville Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
 

NASCAR Racing Schedule For Week Of July 19-25

Below is the racing and TV schedules for NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series (all times are Eastern):

Camping World Truck Series, AAA Insurance 200, O’Reilly Raceway Park, 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, Speed
Nationwide Series, Kroger 200, O’Reilly Raceway Park, Indianapolis, 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN
Sprint Cup Series, Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, noon [...]