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June 23,2002 |
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Inherit the win
INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: |
By Tom Gardner, AP,June 23, 2002  Ricky Rudd celebrates his win at the NASCAR Dodge-Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway Sunday, June 23, 2002 in Sonoma, Calif
With the bad luck that Ricky Rudd has had, he knows how Jerry Nadeau feels. Nadeau, driving for Steve Grissom in the No. 44 Dodge, had just two laps left and a wide margin of victory in the Dodge-Save Mart 350 on Sunday when he suddenly spun off the track. Rudd, who ran a steady race in the No. 28 Havoline Ford after starting back in the seventh position, went on to win for the first time this season. ``We were sort of resigned to the fact that we ran out of time and we were going to run second today, and, all of the sudden, he pulled over and we won the race,'' Rudd said. _____________________________________ Race Results Dodge/Save Mart 350 _____________________________________ ``It's not something you want to go bragging about and be proud of, but, again, we've lost some,'' he added. ``We've had some races where we've led the most laps and didn't win the race.'' It was Rudd's second victory on the winding track formerly known as Sears Point Raceway, christened Infineon Raceway over the weekend. Rudd also won the inaugural race in Northern California back in 1989.
Jeff Gordon, who has a NASCAR Winston Cup-record seven road course victories, had early gear trouble and wasn't a factor in the finish. Defending champion Tony Stewart, who held the pole for the 110-lap race on the two-mile course, came in second.
Jerry Nadeau had the win in the bag before mechanical problems ended his day two laps early. Nadeau, who hasn't had a steady ride since he was let go by Hendrick Motorsports last month, was despondent as he climbed out of his disabled car on the island near turn No. 11. ``We broke a rear end gear,'' Nadeau said. ``The car started vibrating really bad with about four laps to go. I thought it was the fuel pressure, but it wasn't. Coming off turn 11, I spun the gears and we lost the rear end.''
FULL STORY
Marlin, Gordon struggle in early going
Sterling Marlin stood in the Infineon Raceway garage, peering into the engine that gave way on the 30th lap of Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Just as he exited his car, the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon came roaring into the garage -- right beside Marlin -- as his team attempted to make repairs to a damaged rear end gear. Once repairs were made 12 minutes later, Gordon rejoined the race seven laps down.Gordon had led 32 laps in the early going and seemed poised to break his losing streak, which now stands at 23 races. Jimmie Johnson was poised to gain 80 points on Marlin with a mid-pack finish, but his rear-end gear also failed, sending him to a 35th-place finish. Johnson went from second to fourth in the Winston Cup standings. Gordon, who finished 37th, led the most laps and collected 10 bonus points. He stayed third in the standings and actually gained 19 points on Marlin, who was 43rd. |
---KEN SCHRADER TO PETTY? --NEW CUP TEAM PLANNED --ISC BUYING PIKES PEAK? --ARCHITECT SUES KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY --SHEPHERD TO HANDLE WOOD TEST -- MICHIGAN TO ADD GATES -- DISTANCE CHANGES AT SONOMA --NASCAR TO TEAM WITH BRITNEY --MICHIGAN EASILY OUTDRAWS OTHER RACES DOUBLE DUTY
Tony Stewart won the pole on Friday for the Dodge-Save Mart 350, took part in happy hour Saturday, then headed to Altamont Raceway Park in nearby Tracy for a USAC Western States Sprint car race. Stewart set a record in qualifying to win the pole, finished second in the heat and won the feature on a last-lap pass. ``It was fun racing,'' he said. ``We ran in front of maybe 6,500 fans and maybe a couple dozen of them asked for my autograph. It was just good racing.'' He crossed the line second on Sunday, just behind Ricky Rudd. FULL STORY
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Rusty Wallace, sixth in points after 16 Winston Cup races, has never been considered timid. But now, he says it's time to really start bearing down. ``I've kind of taken a conservative approach that has been netting me those sixth through 10th-place finishes,'' he said. ``I haven't been near as aggressive with some of the new things going on.'' He said some drivers, including teammate Ryan Newman, had experimented successfully with chassis and suspension adjustments he thought were ``too far off the beaten path.'' ``But now that I see it working, I'm more apt to start the second half of the season by getting on the aggressive side of things,'' he said. ``I think the wins will come and the top 5s should start coming.''
He finished 27th in Sunday's Dodge-Save Mart 350, the last car on the lead lap.
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Memorable loss taught Robby Gordon a lesson Gaston Gazette June 23, 2002
Last year’s Dodge/Save-Mart 350 is popularly recalled as the day Robby Gordon let his emotions get the best of him, thus costing him a victory. Gordon, who won later that year in New Hampshire, was leading late in the 2001 race at Sears Point Raceway when he refused to let Kevin Harvick, now his teammate, pass him to get back on the lead lap. Gordon wanted Harvick to shield him from runner-up Tony Stewart. Harvick, who had fresh tires, wanted Gordon to let him go. _____________________________________ _____________________________________ They raced each other fiercely, eventually getting together. Stewart took advantage of the situation, passed both cars and earned his first road-course victory.Yet, in retrospect, Gordon thinks that race was the key event of his career. "Last year was a bit of a learning curve for me," Gordon said. "I drove here in Jim Smith’s NationsRent (sponsored) car at the last minute. Running as fast as we did and being as competitive as we were changed a lot of people’s views. I look at Sears Point a year ago as a turning point for us. FULL STORY ESPN.com, June 23, 2002 
Kurt Busch is devolping quite a West Coast bias. But who can blame the Las Vegas native, who only gets to return west of the Rocky Mountains four times a year to race. Busch's three best qualifying efforts so far this season have come at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (third), California Speedway (second) and Sears Point Raceway (second), which was renamed Infineon Raceway on Saturday. _____________________________________ Stewart has an eye on Robby Gordon _____________________________________ Busch momentarily posted the fastest qualifying lap for Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 on Friday, before Tony Stewart, the very next qualifier, knocked him off the pole. Busch did manage to keep his front row spot next to Stewart.This year's performance so far at the two-mile road course in Sonoma, Calif., has been night and day compared to the effort in his rookie campaign. Last season Busch started 41st, but improved to a 23rd-place finish. "Last year when we came here, I told my crew chief that I had enough experience at Sears Point," Busch said. "Well, I was blown away when I came here with a Winston Cup car, trying to figure it out in a two-hour session." |
Guest Columnist's From Team Racin.com -- LOOKING FOR MR. GOODWRENCH: THE SEQUEL Pammy -- - No Win For Daddy Evelyn Adams --The Rumor Mill Keeps Goin and Goin And Goin Don Smith -- Rankings for Sears Point Tim Haddox -- Should we keep road courses? Ann Stacy -- Race Fans Want to Know: NASCAR, how BAD can you get? Valerie Wood
Bobby Labonte - Tour of Sears Point
Interstate Batteries Pontiac driver Bobby Labonte shared his insights on Sears Point Raceway prior to practice Saturday morning from behind the wheel of a van. Below are a few of Labonte's thoughts on the racetrack and the technique it takes to be competitive around the 11-turn, 2.0-mile road course. |
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Charity Ride Kicks off Today 
Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty is gearing up for a big week on the road. But instead of piloting his #45 Sprint Dodge, Petty will be on a Victory motorcycle leading a pack of 250 riders cross-country for the Sprint/Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. The 2002 ride marks the eighth year that Petty, father Richard, wife Pattie and other friends in and out of the racing community will take to the open road to raise money for various children’s charities FULL STORY
Turn, brake, try the wine
Mike Skinner went hunting for wine to add to his collection. Dale Jarrett changed uniforms and took batting practice with the San Francisco Giants. Jeff Gordon visited Alcatraz. Despite plenty of extracurricular activities in California's Napa Valley area, even the most hardcore Winston Cup fans in Daytona Beach likely don't make a habit of traveling to Sonoma, Calif., for one of Cup's two road course races. Absentee fans can thank 2000 Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte, the humble tour guide, for taking the time earlier this week to provide a "virtual" tour of the former Sears Point Raceway -- now known as Infineon Raceway. _____________________________________ Kvapil Wins Memphis Truck Race _____________________________________ The newly rennovated track has 11 turns and a straightaway, and it's an intense ride from the start as drivers put the clutch in fourth and head into Turn 1. "You're in high gear, you come around the corner and you're hauling mail pretty good," Labonte said. "You hug the left side, drift out and it gets real tight. It looks like it's probably not all that tight, but it gets real tight. "Now you're up against the wall. You're still in fourth gear, you kind of blip the gas pedal a little bit, come down and cut this corner (Turn 1) -- using a lot of wheel input -- and you're like, 'Whoa, I'm going to run out of racetrack.' It's all you can do. You use up all the racetrack right there to get around this corner." |
SONOMA NOTES:
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STORIES ELSEWHERE
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-- ASA driver Councilor killed in crash
ESPN.com -- Hamilton could be a surprise this weekend Mike Mulhren, LapBylap.com -- Sonoma: Ken Schrader preview Motorsport.com -- Childress hopes to reverse woeful showing LapByLap -- Komen Foundation benefit from Jarrett's success Motorsport.com -- Jarrett, Newman press conference Motorsport.com -- Wood Brothers' heritage runs deep at two-mile track Monte Dutton,Gaston Gazzette |
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NOTES FROM THE TRACK AND AROUND THE WEB:
LAST RACE Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Infineon Raceway Winner:Ricky Rudd Average Speed: 154.822 miles per hour Time of Race: 2 hours, 35 minutes, 1 second Margin of Victory: .131 seconds Cautions: 4 for 16 laps Lead Changes: 15 among 10 drivers B>Race Results Dodge/Save Mart 350 Unofficial Race Results Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Pocono 500 results MBNA Platinum 400 Results Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 Results |
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