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Bayne Continues to Learn
By Richard Allen
Trevor Bayne
took yet another giant leap forward in his
career Saturday night at the Iowa Speedway in
the U.S. Cellular 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series
race. The 19 year old Knoxville, Tennessee
driver put his Aaron’s Toyota on the pole for
the third consecutive week during time trials.
“Three poles in a row,” the excited Bayne said
of his qualifying feat. “I hear that’s not often
heard of.”
Once the race
started, Bayne did as he has been doing week
after week of late. He battled with Sprint Cup
stars Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brad
Keselowski over the course of the entire 250 lap
race distance. Just as they did at the
O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Bayne and
Busch staged a furious side by side battle for
the lead throughout much of the first half of
the race in front of a sell out crowd on the
track hosting only its second Nationwide Series
event.
During the
race, ESPN commentators Ricky Craven and Ray
Evernham made note of how impressed they were
with Bayne’s abilities on more than one
occasion. But more importantly, his fellow
competitors have had to note Bayne’s abilities
as well. Over the course of the last six races
this Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver has recorded
four top-5 finishes to go along with those three
consecutive poles. “We’re so happy about these
top-5s every weekend,” Bayne declared after the
Iowa race. “We’re just as excited as we can be.”
One factor
contributing to this recent run of success for
Diamond-Waltrip could be the addition of veteran
driver Johnny Benson to serve as a coach
and mentor to Bayne. “Johnny Benson’s worth his
weight in gold,” remarked crew chief Jerry
Baxter during a mid-race interview in Iowa.
But not only
is Bayne learning from Benson but also from his
fellow competitors. “I learned so much from
following Kyle (Busch),” Bayne explained. “He
deserves every bit of credit he gets. The first
50 laps he was sideways the whole time. “I
just followed him in that top groove and learned
how to get the car straight off the corner,” he
continued.
It appears as
though Bayne has learned his lessons well. For
that matter, he may not be very far from giving
a few lessons of his own. He even felt as though
victory was within his grasp in Iowa. “We
started off loose and got tighter,” he
explained. “If that race had run in daylight we
probably could’ve got our first win here.”
His 5th place
finish moved the young driver up to 8th in the
Nationwide Series standings. Bayne is actually
3rd among drivers who do not compete on the
Sprint Cup Series.
Johnny Travels to Iowa
Johnny took on a new
role this weekend, providing support to Trevor
Bayne and the Diamond-Waltrip Racing team.
The two day show turned into a one day show as
Friday's activities were a complete washout as
Iowa was showered with consistent rain.
The Nationwide teams were up early Saturday
morning to participate in only one practice
session from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Bayne was
7th fastest with a time of 23.961. The top
spot was held by the #20 car with a time of
23.819.
Qualifying was held in the afternoon.
Bayne won the pole award with a lap of 23.637
seconds, 133.266 mph. This was his third
consecutive and fourth career pole in 36 NASCAR
Nationwide Series races. Bayne is the
youngest, and first driver in 18 years, to post
three consecutive poles in the NNS. Jeff Gordon
last did it 02/29/1992.
Bayne started the race on the
inside of the front row. Even though Kyle
Busch took the lead, Bayne never let Busch of
his sight. Bayne led twice for
21 laps and raced in the top 10 for the entire
250-lap race. Bayne scored his
third-consecutive top-five finish and his fourth
career top-five finish.
Click here for Bayne's Post Race Report.
Summer Time Fun
Schools
out ... What do you do to fill up the summer
days? You head to the track!
Time was spent at Craigs Cruiser making laps
on the outside go kart track. Here's a
glimpse of our friend Ashley and Mikayla
during their "race". Wonder if we have
a future driver on our hands?
Busch wins at Iowa
#18-Kyle Busch won the
U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway for his
second consecutive win and his 9th of the
season. #33-Kevin Harvick finished second. The
rest of the top 10: #38-Jason Leffler, #22-Brad
Keselowski, #99-Trevor Bayne, #66-Steve Wallace,
#15-Michael Annett, #12-Justin Allgaier,
#20-Matt Dibenedetto, and #60-Carl Edwards.
There were 6 cautions for 27 laps (and 2 red
flags) and 7 lead changes among 3 leaders. The
race had an estimated attendance of 56,000.
Bayne on Pole at Iowa
#99-Trevor Bayne won
the pole for the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa
Speedway with a speed of 133.266mph. It is his
3rd consecutive pole and the 4th of his career.
He is the 3rd driver in the history of the
series to win 3 poles in a row, matching Sam Ard,
Jeff Gordon, and Michael Waltrip. #18-Kyle Busch
will start second, followed by: #11-Brian Scott,
#22-Brad Keselowski, #66-Steve Wallace,
#38-Jason Leffler, #33-Kevin Harvick, #12-Justin
Allgaier, #20-Matt Dibenedetto, and #56-Kevin
Lepage.
Benson to Coach Trevor Bayne
Starting prior to the ORP race,
Diamond-Waltrip Racing hired Johnny Benson as
Bayne’s driving coach. Benson will attend a
large majority of races with the No. 99 team.
Benson owns a championship in both the NASCAR
Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck
Series.
BAYNE ON JOHNNY BENSON:
“I think having Johnny Benson on board is going
to be very helpful. I talked with him before we
went to IRP and he gave me some really good tips
on how to get around the racetrack. This weekend
will be the first time he is coming to the track
with us. I think he will be able to help me get
adapted to the track quicker. I also think he
could provide some benefit to the entire team.
He can help communicate to Jerry Baxter what the
car is doing around the race track.”
Sadler wins at Pocono
The second of two
green-white checkered restarts, sealed the deal
for pole-sitter #2-Elliott Sadler as he picked
up the win for the inaugural Pocono Mountains
125 at Pocono Raceway. This is Sadler's first
win in the Camping World Truck Series.
With ten laps to go, points leader, #30-Todd
Bodine spun after making contact with #3-Austin
Dillon, restarted from the rear and finished in
12th position. Tough day for #33-Ron Hornaday as
he finished in the 29th position. The #13 got
squeezed on the first green-white-checkered
restart, got loose making contact with Hornaday;
Hornaday spun, hit the inside wall, sustaining
significant damage, sending him to the garage.
Rounding out the top ten were; #18-Kasey Kahne,
#88-Matt Crafton, #51-Aric Almirola, #7-Justin
Lofton, #5-Mike Skinner, #3-Austin Dillon, #17-Timothy
Peters, #15-Denny Hamlin, #23-Jason White. There were 6
lead changes among 4 drivers and 6 cautions for 18 laps.
Hornaday wins at ORP
#33-Ron Hornaday Jr.
looked as if he were on cruise control as he
easily took the checkers to pick up the win for
the AAA Insurance 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park.
It was Hornaday's first win in 2010; his 46th
career Camping World Truck Series win overall.
#18-Kyle Busch finished second. Rounding out the top ten were; #88-Matt
Crafton, #13-Johnny Sauter, #31-James Buescher,
#3-Austin Dillon, #30-Todd Bodine, #90-Brad
Sweet, #81-David Starr, #17-Timothy Peters.
Eighteen year-old, Johanna Long had an
impressive run finishing 17th in her first
series start.
Tough night for #51-Aric Almirola, who,
following an early-accident wound up with a 31st
place finish. As a result, #30-Todd Bodine
increased his points lead to 177 points ahead of
Almirola, who remains second in the standings,
but only 5 points ahead of third place, Johnny
Sauter. There were 3 lead changes among 2
drivers, with 5 caution flags for 29 laps.
Old Dominion Speedway Race
Report
By: JB Fan - Sue
Johnny was one of several name
drivers racing at Old Dominion Speedway in
Manassas, VA in a special program to benefit Joe
Gibbs’ Youth for Tomorrow program. I got there
early figuring there’d be an autograph session,
but it turned out I arrived just after it ended.
However, I saw Johnny riding on a golf cart that
was stopped, so I hustled over to take his
picture. I was so happy that I was able to shake
his hand and speak to him.
Johnny qualified 15th , just ahead of Curtis
Markham, a former Old Dominion champion who is
now Denny Hamlin’s spotter. You could tell JB
was having trouble in the corners during his
qualifying laps, smoking the tires at least
once.
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JB in the golf cart
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JB drove the #81 |
Driver's introduction |
The race itself wasn’t
particularly eventful. They ran 100 laps, took a
break and then ran 50 more laps. In the first
few laps, JB was able to pass on the inside, but
then the handle went away and he struggled the
rest of the race. He was close to losing a lap
when a caution saved him on lap 81. During the
break, they had the left side of the car jacked
up and it was reported the car wouldn’t turn in
the center of the corner and they weren’t sure
what to do to fix it. He restarted 18th in the
second segment and the car still wouldn’t turn,
so he never was a factor. They didn’t announce
the complete finishing order, but I think he
finished 13th.
Some observations – it was a very hot day, even
for July. I felt bad for JB at 10:45 pm when he
was signing autographs after the race. I was
worn out just from being in the heat and here
he’d just driven 150 laps in an ill handling car
in addition to cooking in the sun a lot of the
day. I know it won’t surprise anyone here that
even though he should have been cooling off
someplace, he was graciously signing autographs
and posing for pictures. I just had to get my
picture taken with him and I’m grateful he could
hang in there.
I checked on the Gateway truck race sometime
after 3:30, before I left for the track and Ron
Hornaday and Max Papis were still running. I was
amazed when they arrived at Old Dominion at
6:30. That had to have been some fast airplane.
It may sound corny, but I have to say that
meeting Johnny last night was a really big deal
to me. I was just thrilled to shake his hand and
speak to him. And I have a picture of me wearing
a Johnny Benson tshirt while I’m standing next
to Johnny Benson! Life is good. Thanks JB!
Special thanks to Sue for her report and
photos!
Legendary Old Dominion
back in the spotlight
Joe Gibbs-backed charity event on
off week featuring Benson, Hornaday
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
July 16, 2010 - 12:38 PM EDT
Vacations -- and time off -- can
be a time for a lot of different things,
including getaways from the everyday, norm and
grind of your daily existence.
But for a lot of people in the motorsports
industry, "time off" means a time to give back.
And that's exactly what's going to happen
Saturday at Old Dominion Speedway, which is
located a short hop west of Washington, D.C., in
Manassas, Va.
Heck, I'm wondering if I'll see visions of
Wendell Scott, Roy Tyner and God bless him, that
old NASCAR pace car driver and stalwart
owner/driver Elmo Langley, who won the last
Grand National race held at Old Dominion in
1966, bouncing it off those rumpled
red-and-white guard rails.The Cup Series is off
for the weekend and even if those guys weren't
in the position of Jimmie Johnson, who's just
days beyond becoming a first-time father, for
the most part they're nowhere to be found.
But for a handful of guys with national series
backgrounds, supporting Old Dominion and NASCAR
owner Joe Gibbs' charitable endeavor "Youth for
Tomorrow" for a full day of activity followed by
a night of short track racing, is what it's all
about.
Old Dominion is a 3/8ths-mile asphalt short
track that's a legendary NASCAR venue after
hosting everything from the forerunner of
today's Cup Series, to being the claimed
birthplace of the ubiquitous Late Model Stock
Car and the home of former NASCAR Weekly Racing
Series national champion Mark McFarland.
For me, it's going to be at least the 120th
speedway I've visited in my
race-watching/working career.
And with such notables as Ron Hornaday, Johnny
Benson, Max Papis, David Stremme, Timothy
Peters, Andy Lally and fellow Grand-Am Rolex
Series GT standout Spencer Pumpelly all
scheduled to attend and race in a 150-lap LMSC
special, it should be a show.
Even another Old Dominion legend, former Busch
Series standout Curtis Markham, who spots Cup
races for Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, will
be there. And it's a guarantee it'll create some
memories.
Of course, I'm not talking about the ghosts of
"Gentleman Ned" Jarrett and Richard Petty and
Frankie Schneider -- who all won Grand National
races at the track.
Heck, I'm wondering if I'll see visions of
Wendell Scott, Roy Tyner and God bless him, that
old NASCAR pace car driver and stalwart
owner/driver Elmo Langley, who won the last
Grand National race held at Old Dominion in
1966, bouncing it off those rumpled
red-and-white guard rails.
Oh no, I'd settle for seeing a retro of a more
recent Old Dominion event, like Hamlin -- before
he became a household name and a Cup
championship contender -- giving up a top-four
starting position in a historic 250-lap Late
Model Stock Car special in October 2004, for a
chance at a $5,000 bonus if he could win from
the tail.
And I'll be darned if he didn't come close
before falling short to winner and multiple Old
Dominion track champion McFarland, as well as
2003 track champion Brandon Butler.
I've got to tell you, I looked at the Old
Dominion LMSC point chart and I didn't recognize
a single name except former Busch Series racer
Nathan Buttke -- who isn't a regular there.
But you know, earlier this year in Hamlin's own
charity event at Southside Speedway near
Richmond, local Late Model standout C.E. Falk
knocked Hamlin aside and beat him, adding to
Langley Speedway champ Falk's local notoriety.
Can one of those locals do that Saturday night
at Old Dominion?
You'll have to be there to see -- and I know
I'll be spending some time hanging as close to
the fence as I can get.
But really, I'm looking forward to seeing if the
pizza measures up to the best I've ever had at a
short track -- Lebanon Valley Speedway's in
upstate New York. Heck, it's in the same state
as South Boston, so maybe they have bologna
burgers.
But don't worry -- I won't go for 20 -- I
wouldn't even do two. I would try one, with
extra onions, of course.
And the best part -- you can join in, for a
small donation to a pretty worthwhile charity.
And as a bonus, you'll get no less than five
divisions of racing action. Personally, I can't
wait to see the Virginia Sprints in action.
And I bet you wouldn't have to coax Benson or
Hornaday -- and heck, even that
fast-becoming-a-short-track-nut Papis -- to give
one a try.
Harvick wins at Gateway
#2-Kevin Harvick turned in a
dominating performance, leading 143 of the 160
laps to win the CampingWorld.com 200 at Gateway
International Speedway. This is Harvick's third
win in four starts in 2010, and his first
victory and first top-10 finish in three races
at Gateway International Raceway.
#33-Ron Hornaday had another disappointing day
after having trouble with the sway bar early on
in the race. Hornaday finished in 26th position;
ten laps down. Rounding out the top ten were;
#29-Brad Keselowski, #13-Johnny Sauter, #30-Todd
Bodine, #88-Matt Crafton, #17-Timothy Peters,
#3-Austin Dillon, #51-Aric Almirola, #18-Brian
Ickler, #5-Mike Skinner. There were 4 lead
changes among 3 drivers with 5 caution flags for
27 laps.
Berlin Fair - July 19 - 24
Next week for Berlin Raceway will be a week of
family fun as the Berlin Fair is back in town
July 19-24. The grand stand events for the week
include a Christian music concert featuring Hark
Up and Geoff Moore. All tickets are $5 with
children 5 and under FREE. On Tuesday, the fun
continues with the International Demolition
Derby and School Bus Races. Tickets for adults
are $10, children 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under
are FREE. One of the most anticipated events is
the FreestyleMX.com Tour. The Wednesday night
motor cross event is sure to have some high
flying action, tickets for adults are only $15.
Tickets for children ages 6-12 are $10 and
children 5 and under are FREE. The Monster Truck
Madness show featuring "Avenger" will be on
Thursday. Tickets for adults are $12, children
ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are FREE. The
Enterprise Iron & Metal Friday Night special
includes qualifying and heat races for ALL
divisions. The post race party will also have a
concert by the popular country band Bomshel,
with a special $1 BEER $1 Hotdog deal for the
fans. The week of events ends Saturday with the
Budweiser Party Time Weekend. The show includes
feature races for ALL divisions and the $1 BEER
$1 Hotdog special once again. All grandstand
events will begin promptly at 7 p.m., for more
information visit
www.berlinraceway.com
Berlin Raceway Winners
The stands at Berlin Raceway were once again
filled for an exciting night of racing. The
Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Foundation Night
presented by GFS Marketplace featured the always
fan favorite School Bus Races, along with its
usual series the Super Stocks, Modifieds, and
Pro Stocks. Winners included, five time feature
winner #51 Weston Jewett (Super Stocks), #99
Brian Bergakker (Modifieds), and #1 Brian
Wiersma (Pro Stocks).
Dillon Wins at Iowa
Pole-sitter, #3-Austin Dillon
dominated the race, leading over 180 laps on the
day to pick up the win for the Lucas Oil 200 at
Iowa Speedway. A green-white-checkered finish
saw Dillon take the outside line and on the
restart hold on to the lead, with no real
challenge from 2nd place finisher #13-Johnny
Sauter. This is Dillon's first Camping World
Truck Series win.
The top four in the driver points standings all
had a tough day at Iowa. Bodine, Almirola, &
Hornaday sustained significant damage from
incidents on the track, while Peters retired
early with a blown motor, making the points race
even tighter going into Gateway.
Rounding out the top ten were; #88-Matt Crafton,
#2-Ken Schrader, #31-James Buescher, #60-Stacy
Compton, #5-Mike Skinner, #62-Greg Pursley,
#4-Ricky Carmichael, #81-David Starr. There were
5 lead changes among 4 drivers with 7 cautions
for 42 laps.
Billy Ballew Team Not
Missing A Beat
07-07-2010 | Jared Turner
SPEED.com
Billy
Ballew Motorsports has remained a contender
without Kyle Busch with a strong showing this
year from Aric Almirola and great support from
Johnny Benson and Steve Wallace...
For Complete Story -
check out
Truckseries.com
Berlin Raceway Winners
Marne, MI- It was another great night at the
Berlin Raceway. The Pepsi Summer Spectacular
treated fans to a fun night of racing! The Coors
Late Models were in action with a 100 lap
feature. The Burnips 4-Cylinders and the
Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks also took the
track, giving the fans an exciting night at the
track. Rhodes, Roelofs, Jewett and
Meeuwsen were winners at the Pepsi Summer
Spectacular.
Kalamazoo Shootout
Johnny Finishes 4th
Kalamazoo Speedway
played host to the All Star Shootout on the 4th
of July. The race was held in 3 segments:
20 laps - 10 minute break, 20 laps - 10 minute
break and the final 15 laps.
Johnny earned a spot in the field with his win
on Saturday, June 26th.
The grandstands were packed to see the late
models, enduro race and the grand finale - the
fireworks. It was one of the hottest days
so far this summer. The lines to buy
the race tickets were long. We ran into JB
Fans - Denny and Donna were waiting patiently
for their turn to buy their tickets.
The late model teams were parked
on the outside of the track - so they could make
their exit without being involved in the enduro
race - wrecks.
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#10 was
sponsored by
Scott's again this week |
Johnny
getting ready to drive his car inside the
track to the tech line |
The field was regrouped and
Johnny started in 5th. On the first lap
the leaders crashed - sending them to the pits.
Johnny was now running 3rd. By lap 34, he
slid back to 4th. The laps clicked by and
the checkered flew on lap 40. It was back
to the pits for fuel and adjustments.
The last 15 laps were underway
... Johnny tried his best to handle his
loose car and was able to hang on to 4th position.
Terry Senneker Jr. won the shootout. The good news
... #10 late model finished in one piece!
Johnny Returns to Kalamazoo -
July 4th
The Kalamazoo Speedway will be
hosting an All-Star Shootout for the top Outlaw
Lake Model Drivers in the Midwest on Sunday,
July 4th.
The top 3 finishers of the late model race last
night is guaranteed a spot in this race.
So with the win last night, Johnny will be
returning to Kalamazoo.
They will also have the largest Fireworks
display in the state of Michigan. (Rain
date will be Monday, July 5th.) For more
information, check out -
www.kalamazoospeedway.com
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