March 2, 2016

(Photo by Alan Marler for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday. It was Johnson's 76th career win, tying him with NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt, Sr. for seventh on the all-time win list at the sport's highest level. The key to Johnson's victory was a pit call gamble by crew chief Chad Knaus, who called Johnson to pit road as soon as the race reached the team’s final fuel window. Johnson held off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Nationwide Chevrolet SS), who made it a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS) was closing in on Johnson in the waning laps, but a caution flag with two laps remaining curtailed his momentum, with Earnhardt Jr. then stealing second place. "Yeah, definitely a gutsy call,” Johnson said in Victory Lane. “It was just a great team effort. The No. 4 car was awfully tough and it was going to take some strategy to get by him. When he told me to whip it as hard as I could there, I just felt like I was going to take too much life out of the tires. But, it worked. And I got rolling around the top and got to where I got this Lowe’s Chevy in Victory Lane. I’m so happy for Hendrick Motorsports and for everybody at Chevrolet.” Harvick, who led nine times for a race-high 131 laps, was forced to settle for a sixth place finish after getting shuffled on the final restart.

(Photo by Andrew Coppley for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Nationwide Chevrolet SS) made it a 1-2 for Hendrick Motorsports at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. went from fifth to second on the restart.

(Photo by Russell LaBounty/LAT Photo USA, ©2016, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
After a streak of dominance by Toyota in NASCAR Sprint Cup, including last year's championship, Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's 75 Toyota Camry) finished third at Atlanta. A beginning of momentum for Hendrick and Chevrolet? We'll see. Watch a NASCAR video here.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet Turbo V6) was fastest in the INDYCAR open test session at Phoenix International Raceway last weekend with a 19.2735 lap. INDYCAR returns to Phoenix for the first time in eleven years on the weekend of April 1-2.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet Turbo V6) was second quick in Phoenix with a lap of 19.28884. Pagenaud ran 337 laps over the two-day test session.

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet Turbo V6) was third quick at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 19.2917. He ran 295 laps in total. His car owner, Ed Carpenter, was fourth quick with a 19.3316 lap.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Marco Andretti (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Snapple Honda Turbo V6) was fifth quick with a lap of 19.3351 and the fastest of the Honda-powered machines.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
Nine-time FIA World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb will join Team Peugeot-Hansen to compete in all 12 rounds of this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. Loeb, 42, will partner last year’s runner-up Timmy Hansen in a two-car effort, with both drivers piloting a Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar. Loeb has more rally championships and wins than any other driver.

(Ford)
The Ford Focus RS will make its competition debut as Ford’s factory entry in the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship. Ken Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division will field two factory-supported Focus RS race cars based on the all-new global 2016 Ford Focus RS featuring advanced Ford Performance torque vectoring all-wheel drive. Block will be joined by Andreas Bakkerud for the 2016 WRC. The Focus RS build is a global collaboration between Ford Performance, Block’s Hoonigan Racing and U.K.-based M-Sport.The cars will feature all-wheel drive, a new EcoBoost® engine producing 600 horsepower, and a 0-60-mph launch time of less than two seconds. “We’ve dedicated the same level of cutting-edge tools, technical resources and engineering know-how from our Le Mans GT and NASCAR programs, and working with M-Sport brings renowned expertise in rallycross and stage rally vehicle development,” said Mark Rushbrook, motorsports engineering manager, Ford Performance. “Ken, Andreas Bakkerud and Hoonigan Racing give us insight from the competition and driver perspectives. Our three organizations have a great working relationship, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the Focus RS in action.”

Editor's Note: Watch the latest episodes of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here (note that this episode is in two parts #12 & #13) -WG