report: Kyle Busch wins Budweiser Shootout
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kyle Busch used a last-gasp pass of defending NASCAR championTony Stewart to grab the first win of the 2012 season at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch pushed Stewart to the lead on the last lap of Saturday night's exhibition Budweiser Shootout. Then Busch ducked to the outside of Stewart as they closed in on the finish line and beat him by .013 seconds to the checkered flag.
Busch used two brilliant saves earlier in the race to remain in contention for the win.
The 75-lap race was marred by two big accidents as NASCAR successfully split up the two-car tandem racing that dominated at Daytona and Talladega last season. A series of rules changes pushed the style back to pack racing, and the end result was multiple-car accidents.
Busch pushed Stewart to the lead on the last lap of Saturday night's exhibition Budweiser Shootout. Then Busch ducked to the outside of Stewart as they closed in on the finish line and beat him by .013 seconds to the checkered flag.
Busch used two brilliant saves earlier in the race to remain in contention for the win.
The 75-lap race was marred by two big accidents as NASCAR successfully split up the two-car tandem racing that dominated at Daytona and Talladega last season. A series of rules changes pushed the style back to pack racing, and the end result was multiple-car accidents.
Rick Hendrick defends No. 48 car
HMS owner Rick Hendrick said before Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout that the car is the same one that Johnson ran in all four restrictor plate races last season, including the Daytona 500, and the roof had not been altered.
He added that the car went to NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for inspection and was returned without any notification of being outside the lines.
"That car, we've run it four times,'' Hendrick said. "It was built for this place and they never touched the roof, and it's been to the Tech Center after they won Talladega (in the spring). All that's been done is paint it, so I don't get it.''
He added that the car went to NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for inspection and was returned without any notification of being outside the lines.
"That car, we've run it four times,'' Hendrick said. "It was built for this place and they never touched the roof, and it's been to the Tech Center after they won Talladega (in the spring). All that's been done is paint it, so I don't get it.''
Tony Stewart wrecks in practiceDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart caused the first accident of Speedweeks.
Stewart, who did little wrong in last year's season finale and clinched his third NASCAR title, rear-ended Kurt Busch during practice Friday for the exhibition Budweiser Shootout. Stewart turned Busch's No. 51 Chevrolet sideways, collecting four others. Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger, as well as Kyle Busch andJeff Gordon, also were involved in the six-car accident about 45 minutes into the first practice session. "I was pushing the 51 car and he had to move a little bit, but I'm still the one pushing so I'm responsible for it," said Stewart, who was transported to the infield care center, treated and released. The cars of Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Allmendinger sustained significant damage. Stewart's crew decided to fix his car. The other four teams switched to backup cars. Gordon's car sustained minor damage. The Budweiser Shootout, a non-points race, kicks off the 2012 season Saturday night. It's considered a warm-up event for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 26, the series' premier event. Martin Truex won the poll for the Shootout in a random draw Friday night. "It's the first time that we get back on the track, and everybody is aggressive, learning what the limits are," Keselowski said. "Sometimes you get caught up in that. ... It's better to do it now than next Sunday. So hopefully we'll learn something from it and be good to go." |
Jimmie Johnson's car deemed modifiedDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Crew chief Chad Knaus and other members of five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's Daytona 500 team face possible suspensions after NASCAR said it found modifications on the rear quarter panel of Johnson's No. 48 car.
The C-posts -- pillars that come down from the roof to the quarter panel -- were confiscated by NASCAR on Friday after going through an initial inspection for the 500 at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR officials said the violation first was discovered prior to the car going through initial inspection, noting the C-posts stood out so much it was evident to the naked eye. |
Jim Irsay on Peyton: 'We've talked a lot'Jim Irsay says his relationship with Peyton Manning doesn't boil down to the mundane, give-me-an-update-on-how-you-feel communication that could play a role in determining whether the veteran stays with the Indianapolis Colts.
Instead, as Irsay has remained in vigilant contact with Manning, the matters at hand -- beyond the quarterback's pending status -- would draw the ear of nearly every sports fan. "We've talked a lot this month, probably more than most Februarys, and it's probably not what most people think we talk about," the Colts' owner said, speaking to reporters Thursday at a business event held in his honor, according to WRTV.com, the website of the Indianapolis ABC affiliate. "Very recently, we got into a debate about will Tiger Woods win more majors than Jack Nicklaus or not." |
breaking news: Vikings have preliminary deal The Minnesota Vikings have reached a preliminary agreement with Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota on a new stadium, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The report, citing multiple sources who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity, said the sides agreed on the division of costs for a $975 million stadium on a site at or near the Metrodome, the Vikings' home since 1982. Sources told the Star Tribune the city would pay $150 million in construction costs and roughly $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years, while the state would pay $398 million and the Vikings would pay $427 million. The sources said other details, including cost overruns, still had to be ironed out, but that an announcement was expected next week. |
Violation found on No. 48; Knaus faces penalty
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson's crew chief is facing potential penalties after body pieces on his Daytona 500 car were confiscated by NASCAR officials Friday in initial inspection for next weekend's season-opening event.
NASCAR officials said the No. 48 car's C pillars -- the posts that connect the roof to the rear deck lid, in between the side and rear windows -- were found to be illegally modified, and removed from the vehicle. Hendrick Motorsports was flying replacement pieces down Friday afternoon from team's headquarters in North Carolina, with plans to weld them onto the car and go back through inspection again, likely Saturday.
"There were some obvious modifications that the inspectors picked up on, and did some additional inspections with some gauges and stuff, and found that they were just too far out of tolerance to fix," Sprint Cup director John Darby said. "So they were removed from the car."
NASCAR won't determine any punishment for the violation until officials return to North Carolina following next weekend's Daytona 500. But Chad Knaus, crew chief on the No. 48 car, is clearly facing penalties.
"We'll go back, we'll review it, and we've been known to have reactions," series spokesman Kerry Tharp said.
The other three Hendrick cars -- those of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne -- passed inspection, Darby said. Since the violations were found on Johnson's Daytona 500 car, the infractions did not impact his participation in Budweiser Shootout practice later Friday, the first time NASCAR vehicles were on the track in these Speedweeks. Top teams like the No. 48 use a different car for that opening exhibition, which is slated for Saturday night.
"The car obviously failed inspection, and NASCAR have directed us how they want it fixed, and we're busy doing that," said Ken Howes, Hendrick's vice president for competition. "We're waiting on some parts to arrive, and we'll put it back together and run it back through inspection again."
Knaus, who was working inside a Hendrick hauler Friday afternoon and could not be located for comment, has dealt with inspection issues at Daytona before. He was ejected from Speedweeks -- and suspended for the following three events -- in 2006, after Johnson's car failed post-qualifying inspection because of a modification in the rear window area. He was later fined $25,000, although Johnson went on to win the Daytona 500 and again two weeks later at Las Vegas.
Howes admitted that modifications to any body areas can result in a vehicle gaining an aerodynamic advantage, particularly on a restrictor-plate track like Daytona where it's so crucial for a car to cut through the air. All teams work to find an edge in that department, he added, and the No. 48 just pushed it too far.
"We allow crew chiefs to make decisions on parts of the car that they think will work," Howes said. "... We trust that they'll make the right decision, and obviously in this case, they didn't."
NASCAR officials said the No. 48 car's C pillars -- the posts that connect the roof to the rear deck lid, in between the side and rear windows -- were found to be illegally modified, and removed from the vehicle. Hendrick Motorsports was flying replacement pieces down Friday afternoon from team's headquarters in North Carolina, with plans to weld them onto the car and go back through inspection again, likely Saturday.
"There were some obvious modifications that the inspectors picked up on, and did some additional inspections with some gauges and stuff, and found that they were just too far out of tolerance to fix," Sprint Cup director John Darby said. "So they were removed from the car."
NASCAR won't determine any punishment for the violation until officials return to North Carolina following next weekend's Daytona 500. But Chad Knaus, crew chief on the No. 48 car, is clearly facing penalties.
"We'll go back, we'll review it, and we've been known to have reactions," series spokesman Kerry Tharp said.
The other three Hendrick cars -- those of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne -- passed inspection, Darby said. Since the violations were found on Johnson's Daytona 500 car, the infractions did not impact his participation in Budweiser Shootout practice later Friday, the first time NASCAR vehicles were on the track in these Speedweeks. Top teams like the No. 48 use a different car for that opening exhibition, which is slated for Saturday night.
"The car obviously failed inspection, and NASCAR have directed us how they want it fixed, and we're busy doing that," said Ken Howes, Hendrick's vice president for competition. "We're waiting on some parts to arrive, and we'll put it back together and run it back through inspection again."
Knaus, who was working inside a Hendrick hauler Friday afternoon and could not be located for comment, has dealt with inspection issues at Daytona before. He was ejected from Speedweeks -- and suspended for the following three events -- in 2006, after Johnson's car failed post-qualifying inspection because of a modification in the rear window area. He was later fined $25,000, although Johnson went on to win the Daytona 500 and again two weeks later at Las Vegas.
Howes admitted that modifications to any body areas can result in a vehicle gaining an aerodynamic advantage, particularly on a restrictor-plate track like Daytona where it's so crucial for a car to cut through the air. All teams work to find an edge in that department, he added, and the No. 48 just pushed it too far.
"We allow crew chiefs to make decisions on parts of the car that they think will work," Howes said. "... We trust that they'll make the right decision, and obviously in this case, they didn't."