THE LINE

July 6, 2011

(Russell LaBounty Autostock c 2011)
David Ragan celebrates with his team in victory lane after winning the Coke Zero 400 in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing-prepared UPS Ford Fusion at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. It was Ragan's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win and the fifth of the season for Ford Racing, one more than all of last season. It was also the 124th all-time NSCS win for Roush Fenway Racing. “This is fun," Ragan said after. "There’s not a better place to do it than Daytona...I wasn’t ready (for the Sprint Cup series) a few years ago, but Jack Roush gave me a chance and this is all we needed. We’ve been so close so many times and finally we’re here. I can’t thank UPS enough for standing behind us. We’re here and we’ll enjoy it. We’ll enjoy it Monday and Tuesday and then we’ll go back to work for Kentucky next week.” Matt Kenseth was second in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Affliction Clothing Ford Fusion.

(Nigel Kinrade Autostock c 2011)
David Ragan gets pit service from his Roush Fenway Racing crew on his way to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win last Saturday night.

(Nigel Kinrade Autostock c 2011)
Andy Lally leaving the pits in his No. 71 TRG Motorsports Interstate Moving Services Ford Fusion. Lally had a great run in qualifying to start in the 7th position, but he faded during the race, finishing 27th. After qualifying Andy had this to say: “This is the same car we ran at Talladega and we didn’t have it exactly right then, but with the little bit of down time the guys have had since then they’ve been massaging on this and it’s a testament to their hard work. I’m thrilled and proud about the effort these TRG Motorsports guys have put into this. It’s great for Interstate Moving Services to be a little further up the grid and for us we’re showing progress. This starts an important part of the season I’ve been looking forward to because almost every place we go to from here on out I’ve been to at least once, so I can look at my own notes instead of trying to interpret other peoples’ feelings on how to go about things. For the most part, we’ll be able to go back with the same car and that’s huge, so I’m looking forward to that.”

(Tyler Barrick Autostock USA c 2011)
The dreaded two-by-two drafting technique once again was the rule on Daytona's high banks during the Coke Zero 400 last Saturday night. Here Matt Kenseth and David Ragan demonstrate it as they race down the front stretch.

(Russell LaBounty Autostock c 2011)
David Ragan takes the checkered flag for his first career Sprint Cup Series win with Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Toyota Camry) and Kasey Khane (No. 4 Red Bull Racing Toyota Camry) right behind him.

(BMW AG)
Although the six-hour Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race in Imola, Italy, didn’t go according to plan for the BMW factory team, Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller drove their No. 55 BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M3 GT to a third place result in the GTE Pro class. The second team car with drivers Dirk Werner and Pedro Lamy crossed the line in eighth, following a technical problem and a long stop for repairs. Ferrari’s Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander scored the victory at the “Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari”.

IndyCar. The IZOD IndyCar Series will return to Auto Club Speedway for a night race in 2012. "We feel the time is right to bring IndyCar racing back to Auto Club Speedway," said Randy Bernard, chief executive officer, INDYCAR.  "We want to maintain the diverse line-up of ovals on our schedule and the addition of Auto Club Speedway adds a great venue that was built for the high-speed, wheel-to-wheel excitement of IndyCar racing under the lights." CART raced on the 2-mile oval from 1997-2002 and the IZOD IndyCar Series from 2002 to 2005. The facility has been the site of two major Indy car records. Gil de Ferran set the track record for the fastest lap during qualifying at 241.426 mph in 2000.  It stands as the world speed record for the fastest lap on a closed course.  Sam Hornish Jr. averaged 207.151 mph in winning the race in 2003, setting the record for the fastest race on a closed course.

(McLaren Automotive)
The first McLaren car built for racing outside of Formula 1 since the McLaren F1 GTR will make its world debut at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed, June 30 - July 1. The new GT3 car, based on McLaren’s MP4-12C high-performance road car, will appear in its revised form, the result of an intense period of development. The 12C GT3 is being developed by the recently established McLaren GT.  Led by McLaren Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh and CRS Racing Team Principal Andrew Kirkaldy, McLaren GT is spending the 2011 race season developing the 12C GT3 before delivering 20 cars to privateer teams for GT3 racing in Europe in 2012. Formula 1 suppliers past and present including Akebono, Mobil 1, McLaren Electronic Systems, Ricardo and Michelin are working with McLaren GT on the project.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE AE STORE

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:

Subscribe via iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=311421319

Subscribe via RSS:

http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/podcasts/feeds/afterhours-audio.xml