THE LINE #465

October 1, 2008

(IMS)
Paul Newman, shown in one of the on-track scenes for the 1969 motion picture release Winning, part of which was filmed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1968. Newman acquired the racing "bug" (much to the dismay of his wife, Joanne Woodward) while filming the movie and went on to a significant driving career, winning four SCCA national championships. Newman was part of the Dick Barbour racing team that finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979, and he also recorded two Trans-Am wins in the early 80s. Newman - at age 70 - also co-drove a Roush Racing Mustang in the 1995 Daytona 24 Hours with Mike Brockman, Mark Martin and Tommy Kendall. The team easily won the GTS class. In 1983, Newman formed a partnership with rival Carl Haas, and Newman/Haas Racing became a power in American motorsport. The team, now known as Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, has won eight Indy-style racing championships and 107 races, the most by any open-wheel racing team over the past 25 years. Justin Wilson recorded the team's latest win at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, on Labor Day weekend. Mario Andretti told USA Today in an interview last weekend that he would remember his off-the-track moments with Newman as much as the 12 years he drove for him. "I got to appreciate his character," Andretti said. " He's fun to be with. He had so many dimensions. We had a ball arguing like hell because we were on different ends of the political spectrum. He was way left and I was way right. We were locking horns a lot, but always with respect."

Carl Edwards. He didn't win the NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway last Sunday, but he sure made the end interesting. Edwards, driving the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, made a desperation "slide job" pass of Jimmy Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet), which succeeded - at least for a moment - only his momentum then carried him all the way up into the wall. But Edwards kept his foot in his Ford while dancing along the wall and actually came off the wall hard to press Johnson right to the line. “I planned on hitting the wall, but I didn’t plan on the wall slowing me down that much,” Edwards said. “In video games, you can just run into the wall and run it wide open. That’s what I did, but it didn't quite work out the same as the video game.” With his victory (making it five for the season), Johnson took over the lead in The Chase by ten points over Edwards, with Greg Biffle another 35 points back.

(Photo by Autostock)
Carl Edwards drove the wheels off his Ford in an attempt to get by Jimmie Johnson at the end of the Camping World 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday.

(Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved)
B-K Motorsports’ Mazda MZR-R-powered Lola LMP2 coupe is one of two closed-top prototypes entered for the annual American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans (Peugeot’s diesel-powered 908 HDi being the other). Ben Devlin made the initial passes in the Lola B08/80 coupe at Road America a couple of weeks ago. “We really didn’t do anything at speed. We just did a few laps there to make everything worked - gear shifts and things like that,” said Gerardo Bonilla, who will drive the Lola-Mazda with Devlin and Raphael Matos. “Hopefully the next two days (of Pre-Petit testing) will be beneficial in that regard." Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New MAZDA6 is the 10th round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series. The 1,000-mile/10-hour race is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Saturday, October 4, from Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. SPEED will televise the race live with XM Satellite Radio airing live race coverage throughout the day on Channel 166. Live coverage from American Le Mans Radio will be available at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring.

(ALMS)
Peugeot’s diesel-powered 908 HDi was back on the track last Sunday at Road Atlanta less than 24 hours after suffering a heavy crash in testing for this weekend’s Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New MAZDA6. Pedro Lamy was not injured in the Saturday crash, which happened at the final downhill turn. He lost control trying to avoid a slower prototype but the car impacted the outside wall multiple times before coming to rest halfway down the front straight. Minassian will drive with Stephane Sarrazin and Christian Klien in Saturday’s annual Petit Le Mans. Sarrazin said most of the damage was concentrated on both the front and rear suspension, as the monocoque was intact and not damaged. “Our mechanics did a fantastic job working late yesterday and during the night to have the car prepared for today,” Sarrazin said. “There are still some things that we need to work on. We are trying to work on some of the suspension settings and power steering system.” Peugeot will fight for overall victory against such manufacturers as Audi - which is unbeaten at Road Atlanta since debuting in 2000 - along with Porsche, Acura, Zytek, Creation and Mazda.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
James Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif., finally captured his first-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge win (after 99 attempts), leading every lap of Saturday’s SCCA SPEED GT Championship Round Nine race at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway in his No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3. Brandon Davis (No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang), of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Remington Shaving & Grooming Cadillac CTS-V ), of Boca Raton, Fla., completed the podium. Davis stalked Sofronas, cutting his lead to less than a second, when a lap-26 full-course caution flew for debris off Michael Galati’s Porsche. The two-lap caution created a green-white-checker finish, and Sofronas was able to hold Davis off for a 0.172-second victory, averaging 87.127 mph. With the win, Porsche clinched the SCCA SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine with one race remaining, this Friday, Oct. 3, at Road Atlanta. “It feels like a weight off my shoulders,” an excited Sofronas said. “I’ve been trying for a long time. The first 75 starts were with a really small, self-funded effort, but lately I’ve finally got some good equipment. My team this year has been as good as it’s ever been. To reward the guys for all their effort – I told Todd [Ketcham, crew chief] as I crossed the finish line ‘this one’s for you man! All your work pays off right now with the win.’ It validates everything that he does and it feels amazing." With Sofronas’ win, Porsche will enter the finale with an 18-point advantage over Cadillac, its nearest competitor. With only 10 points available at each race, Porsche clinched its seventh Manufacturers’ Championship, the second in three years. Randy Pobst (Porsche 911 GT3) continues to hold a healthy lead in the Drivers’ Championship. His 901 points are 92 more than Pilgrim’s 809. Davis moved back into third, with 711, followed by Michael Galati (Porsche 911 GT3, 685) and Sofronas (678). The Road Atlanta finale has a maximum of 122 points available. This race will be broadcast Wednesday, Oct. 15 at noon (Eastern) on SPEED.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Robert Huffmaster (No. 27 Team MER/Huffmaster Co. MX-5), of Clarkston, Mich., captured his second MX-5 Cup victory of the season on a damp, but drying Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park, winning the 29-lap, 62.93-mile race by 2.301 seconds. Teammates Eric Foss, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Ryan Schimsk, of Austin, Texas, completed the Team MER podium sweep for Round Seven of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. The runner-up finish was Foss’ sixth podium finish of the season and further extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship heading to the season finale, Oct. 17 – 19, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. It's all over but the whining for DEI as it was announced that Paul Menard would be leaving the team - and taking the sponsorship from his dad's Midwest-based hardware chain with him - to Yates Racing beginning in 2009. That leaves the team with just one major sponsor (Bass Pro Shops for Martin Truex Jr.). Watch for Darrell Waltrip's prediction - "DEI without Dale Jr. is a museum" - to come true, and sooner rather than later.