LIVE: Cup qualifying updates from Phoenix
April 20, 2006His crew chief is recovering from surgery, but last year's Subway Fresh 500 winner Kurt Busch paced practice. See if he can win the pole on SPEED, and get updates here NOW.
Kurt Busch paces first Cup practice
April 20, 2006NASCAR NEXTEL Cup SeriesSubway Fresh 500Practice #1Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, Ariz. Provided by NASCAR Statistical Services - Thursday, April 20, 2006 @ 6:36 PM Eastern Pos Car # Driver Team Time Speed Lap# #Laps -Fastest -Next 1 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 27.162 132.538 29 29 2 16 Greg Biffle National Guard/Subway Ford 27.204 132.333 23 24 -0.042 -0.042 3 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet 27.253 132.096 25 26 -0.091 -0.049 4 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 27.349 131.632 25 25 -0.187 -0.096 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 27.439 131.200 25 28 -0.277 -0.090 6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 27.461 131.095 24 25 -0.299 -0.022 7 11 Denny Hamlin # FedEx Express Chevrolet 27.461 131.095 24 24 -0.299 0.000 8 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 27.472 131.043 17 17 -0.310 -0.011 9 1 Martin Truex Jr. # Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 27.487 130.971 25 26 -0.325 -0.015 10 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 27.496 130.928 21 22 -0.334 -0.009 11 29 Kevin Harvick GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 27.496 130.928 22 22 -0.334 0.000 12 12 Ryan Newman Alltel My Circle Dodge 27.507 130.876 27 27 -0.345 -0.011 13 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet 27.524 130.795 15 16 -0.362 -0.017 14 07 Clint Bowyer # Sylvania Chevrolet 27.533 130.752 27 28 -0.371 -0.009 15 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet 27.583 130.515 26 27 -0.421 -0.050 16 66 Jeff Green Best Buy Chevrolet 27.586 130.501 21 21 -0.424 -0.003 17 10 Scott Riggs Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge 27.592 130.473 34 34 -0.430 -0.006 18 18 J.J. Yeley # Interstate Batteries Chevrolet 27.593 130.468 28 28 -0.431 -0.001 19 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 27.604 130.416 17 18 -0.442 -0.011 20 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet 27.612 130.378 29 30 -0.450 -0.008 21 31 Jeff Burton Priosec OTC/cingular Wireless Chevrolet 27.614 130.369 42 43 -0.452 -0.002 22 * 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 27.615 130.364 17 17 -0.453 -0.001 23 25 Brian Vickers GMAC Chevrolet 27.635 130.270 26 26 -0.473 -0.020 24 38 Elliott Sadler Pedigree/M&M's Ford 27.639 130.251 20 25 -0.477 -0.004 25 14 Sterling Marlin Waste Management Chevrolet 27.650 130.199 18 18 -0.488 -0.011 26 96 Tony Raines DLP® HDTV Chevrolet 27.654 130.180 27 27 -0.492 -0.004 27 * 78 Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Chevrolet 27.669 130.110 10 11 -0.507 -0.015 28 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 27.684 130.039 30 31 -0.522 -0.015 29 6 Mark Martin AAA Ford 27.698 129.973 20 21 -0.536 -0.014 30 * 40 David Stremme # Coors Light Dodge 27.727 129.837 19 20 -0.565 -0.029 31 21 Ken Schrader Motorcraft Genuine Parts Ford 27.742 129.767 18 19 -0.580 -0.015 32 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 27.743 129.762 30 30 -0.581 -0.001 33 * 32 Travis Kvapil Tide/Downy Chevrolet 27.752 129.720 17 24 -0.590 -0.009 34 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge 27.778 129.599 21 21 -0.616 -0.026 35 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge 27.782 129.580 22 23 -0.620 -0.004 36 * 4 Scott Wimmer AERO Exhaust Chevrolet 27.785 129.566 17 17 -0.623 -0.003 37 41 Reed Sorenson # Target Dodge 27.952 128.792 25 28 -0.790 -0.167 38 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Chevrolet 27.961 128.751 23 25 -0.799 -0.009 39 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge 27.984 128.645 16 16 -0.822 -0.023 40 * 49 Brent Sherman # Serta Dodge 28.010 128.526 11 12 -0.848 -0.026 41 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge 28.024 128.461 20 20 -0.862 -0.014 42 * 61 Kevin Lepage RoadLoans.com Ford 28.032 128.425 7 7 -0.870 -0.008 43 * 51 Mike Garvey Marathon AmericanSpirit MtrOil Chevrolet 28.094 128.141 16 16 -0.932 -0.062 44 * 92 Chad Blount TBA Dodge 28.134 127.959 21 21 -0.972 -0.040 45 * 89 Morgan Shepherd Dutch Quality Stone/Racing w/ Jesus Dodge 28.378 126.859 12 15 -1.216 -0.244 46 * 34 Chad Chaffin Oak Gloves Chevrolet 28.405 126.738 17 19 -1.243 -0.027 47 * 02 Brandon Ash Sprinter Trucking, Inc. Dodge 28.440 126.582 22 23 -1.278 -0.035 48 * 95 Stanton Barrett TheRaceSpace.com Chevrolet 28.740 125.261 1 6 -1.578 -0.300 49 * 52 Steve Portenga Pro30.com/Taco King Dodge 28.908 124.533 6 7 -1.746 -0.168 * - Required to qualify on time
Biffle: Girlfriend's spat with Busch's fiancee "out of proportion"
April 20, 2006NASCAR officials have yet to speak with Greg Biffle's girlfriend about her confrontation with Kurt Busch's fiancee following a wreck between the two drivers. But Biffle did. Nicole Lunders has been embarrassed by the attention her spat with Eva Bryan received, and Biffle said Thursday that too much has been made about the words exchanged on pit road two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway. "It certainly got way out of proportion because there wasn't any big news that week," Biffle said.
JGR rookies thriving under Stewart's tutelage
April 20, 2006It was supposed to be a major mismatch - two-time series champion Tony Stewart teamed with a pair of raw rookies in NASCAR's premier series. It has worked out quite the opposite. Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley have held their own so far this season, taking the steps necessary to return Joe Gibbs Racing to its status as one of NASCAR's elite teams. "I feel like we've really taken our program to another level," Stewart said.
TonyStewart.com
April 20, 2006Tony Stewart became the ninth driver in NASCAR history to win a race in all three of the sanctioning body's top series, winning his second race in a row at Daytona this week — the Hershey's Take 5 300 Busch Series race.
17 Buschwhackers among 47 drivers on Phoenix entry list
April 20, 2006NASCAR Busch SeriesBashas' Supermarkets 200Entry List - NumericalPhoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, Ariz. Provided by NASCAR Statistical Services - Thursday, April 20, 2006 @ 01:01 PM Eastern Car # Driver Hometown Team Owner * 0 Kertus Davis Gaffney, SC RACEGIRL Chevrolet Johnny Davis 00 Johnny Sauter Necedah, WI Yellow Transportation Chevrolet Gene Haas * 01 Jay Sauter West Salem, WI Western Union Chevrolet Keith Duesenberg 1 Mike Wallace St. Louis, MO Miccosukee Resorts Dodge James Finch 2 Clint Bowyer Emporia, KS ACDelco Chevrolet Richard Childress 4 Mark Green Owensboro, KY GEICO/BryMak Dodge Fred Biagi 5 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV Lowe's/Hitachi Power Tools Chevrolet Rick Hendrick 06 Todd Kluever # Sun Prairie, WI 3M Ford Jack Roush * 6 Mark Martin Batesville, AR Ameriquest/Soaring Dreams Ford Jack Roush 9 Scott Riggs Bahama, NC Ragu Dodge Ray Evernham 10 John Andretti # Indianapolis, IN Freedom Roads/Camping World Ford Gregory Pollex 11 Paul Menard Eau Claire, WI Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet Teresa Earnhardt * 12 Joel Kauffman # LaGrange, IN TakeMeOnVacation.com Dodge Mimi Fitz 14 Tracy Hines # New Castle, IN TBA Dodge Armando Fitz * 16 Greg Biffle Vancouver, WA Ameriquest Mortgage Ford Jack Roush * 17 Matt Kenseth Cambridge, WI Pennzoil Ford Jack Roush 18 J.J. Yeley Phoenix, AZ Vigoro/The Home Depot Chevrolet Joe Gibbs 20 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Rockwell Automation Chevrolet Joe Gibbs 21 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet Richard Childress 22 Kenny Wallace St. Louis, MO AutoZone Ford Gregory Pollex * 23 Marc Mitchell Tallahassee, FL TBA Chevrolet Keith Coleman 25 Ashton Lewis Jr. Chesapeake, VA United States Marines Ford Edward Rensi 27 David Green Owensboro, KY Ravenswood Wines Ford Tammy Brewer 32 Jason Leffler Long Beach, CA Ft McDowell Resort Destination Chevrolet Todd Braun 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Palmdale, CA Outdoor Channel Chevrolet Delana Harvick * 34 Mike Bliss Milwaukie, OR Sport Clips/Five Peaks Technologies Chev Frank Cicci 35 Regan Smith Cato, NY McDonald’s premium chicken Ford Sam Rensi * 36 Tim Sauter Necedah, WI Lester Buildings Chevrolet John McGill * 38 Ryan Moore Scarborough, ME Great Clips Chevrolet Doug Stringer * 39 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Penske Truck Rental Dodge Don Miller 41 Reed Sorenson Peachtree City, GA Discount Tire Co. Dodge Chip Ganassi * 42 Casey Mears Bakersfield, CA Texaco/Havoline Dodge Floyd Ganassi * 43 Aaron Fike Galesburg, IL RFMS Dodge Mike Curb * 46 John Young Woodside, CA BodiPro Ford John Young --> 47 Jon Wood Stuart, VA Clorox/American Red Cross/Bashas' Ford Jodi Geschickter * 49 Jorge Goeters # Mexico City, MX Xtreme Gel/Advil Ford Jay Robinson 50 Danny O'Quinn Jr. # Coeburn, VA World Financial Group Ford Jack Roush * 56 Chris Cook Montello, WI Shift Into Gear Chevrolet John McNelly 59 Stacy Compton Grit, VA Kingsford/Bush's/Bashas' Ford Tad Geschickter 60 Carl Edwards Columbia, MO Henkel Ford Jack Roush 64 Jamie McMurray Joplin, MO Top Flite XL Extreme Dodge Rusty Wallace 66 Ken Schrader Fenton, MO Yard-Man Ford Clarence Brewer 77 Burney Lamar # West Sacramento, CA Dollar General Chevrolet Delana Harvick * 78 Jerry Robertson Arvada, CO Furniture Row Chevrolet Barney Visser * 84 David Gilliland # Bakersfield, CA Hype Manufacuturing Chevrolet Clay Andrews 88 Mark McFarland # Winchester, VA NAVY Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Jr. 90 Elliott Sadler Emporia, VA citifinancial Ford Robert Yates 99 Michael Waltrip Owensboro, KY Best Western Dodge Elizabeth Waltrip * - Required to qualify on time
Biffle paces first Busch practice
April 20, 2006NASCAR Busch SeriesBashas' Supermarkets 200Practice #1Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, Ariz. Provided by NASCAR Statistical Services - Thursday, April 20, 2006 @ 4:26 PM Eastern NOTE No. 46 - John Young has withdrawn. Pos Car # Driver Team Time Speed Lap# #Laps -Fastest -Next 1 * 16 Greg Biffle Ameriquest Mortgage Ford 27.859 129.222 2 23 2 32 Jason Leffler Ft McDowell Resort Destination Chevrolet 27.874 129.153 4 18 -0.015 -0.015 3 * 17 Matt Kenseth Pennzoil Ford 27.876 129.143 3 6 -0.017 -0.002 4 * 39 Kurt Busch Penske Truck Rental Dodge 27.950 128.801 4 22 -0.091 -0.074 5 66 Ken Schrader Yard-Man Ford 28.002 128.562 3 30 -0.143 -0.052 6 47 Jon Wood Clorox/American Red Cross/Bashas' Ford 28.019 128.484 5 21 -0.160 -0.017 7 * 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge 28.051 128.338 5 35 -0.192 -0.032 8 27 David Green Ravenswood Wines Ford 28.070 128.251 8 12 -0.211 -0.019 9 * 6 Mark Martin Ameriquest/Soaring Dreams Ford 28.073 128.237 2 24 -0.214 -0.003 10 4 Mark Green GEICO/BryMak Dodge 28.089 128.164 20 21 -0.230 -0.016 11 18 J.J. Yeley Vigoro/The Home Depot Chevrolet 28.098 128.123 4 24 -0.239 -0.009 12 25 Ashton Lewis Jr. United States Marines Ford 28.102 128.105 4 28 -0.243 -0.004 13 9 Scott Riggs Ragu Dodge 28.122 128.014 3 31 -0.263 -0.020 14 * 0 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevrolet 28.123 128.009 3 18 -0.264 -0.001 15 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevrolet 28.141 127.927 5 23 -0.282 -0.018 16 5 Kyle Busch Lowe's/Hitachi Power Tools Chevrolet 28.164 127.823 10 25 -0.305 -0.023 17 60 Carl Edwards Henkel Ford 28.179 127.755 17 25 -0.320 -0.015 18 11 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 28.180 127.750 3 24 -0.321 -0.001 19 64 Jamie McMurray Top Flite XL Extreme Dodge 28.195 127.682 2 29 -0.336 -0.015 20 21 Kevin Harvick U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet 28.202 127.651 4 12 -0.343 -0.007 21 41 Reed Sorenson Discount Tire Co. Dodge 28.220 127.569 10 19 -0.361 -0.018 22 14 Tracy Hines # TBA Dodge 28.264 127.371 2 4 -0.405 -0.044 23 90 Elliott Sadler citifinancial Ford 28.317 127.132 4 8 -0.458 -0.053 24 * 34 Mike Bliss Sport Clips/Five Peaks Technologies Chevr 28.330 127.074 3 16 -0.471 -0.013 25 2 Clint Bowyer ACDelco Chevrolet 28.341 127.024 4 12 -0.482 -0.011 26 99 Michael Waltrip Best Western Dodge 28.356 126.957 3 20 -0.497 -0.015 27 * 43 Aaron Fike RFMS Dodge 28.389 126.810 2 15 -0.530 -0.033 28 00 Johnny Sauter Yellow Transportation Chevrolet 28.423 126.658 7 31 -0.564 -0.034 29 * 36 Tim Sauter Lester Buildings Chevrolet 28.429 126.631 5 29 -0.570 -0.006 30 10 John Andretti # Freedom Roads/Camping World Ford 28.433 126.613 3 26 -0.574 -0.004 31 * 84 David Gilliland # Hype Manufacuturing Chevrolet 28.435 126.605 2 14 -0.576 -0.002 32 * 38 Ryan Moore Great Clips Chevrolet 28.466 126.467 3 11 -0.607 -0.031 33 35 Regan Smith McDonald’s premium chicken Ford 28.480 126.404 3 22 -0.621 -0.014 34 * 12 Joel Kauffman # TakeMeOnVacation.com Dodge 28.544 126.121 4 23 -0.685 -0.064 35 59 Stacy Compton Kingsford/Bush's/Bashas' Ford 28.544 126.121 2 24 -0.685 0.000 36 50 Danny O'Quinn Jr. # World Financial Group Ford 28.573 125.993 12 35 -0.714 -0.029 37 88 Mark McFarland # NAVY Chevrolet 28.576 125.980 15 18 -0.717 -0.003 38 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Outdoor Channel Chevrolet 28.581 125.958 7 17 -0.722 -0.005 39 1 Mike Wallace Miccosukee Resorts Dodge 28.587 125.931 13 25 -0.728 -0.006 40 22 Kenny Wallace AutoZone Ford 28.628 125.751 11 21 -0.769 -0.041 41 06 Todd Kluever # 3M Ford 28.727 125.318 6 17 -0.868 -0.099 42 * 78 Jerry Robertson Furniture Row Chevrolet 28.813 124.944 8 14 -0.954 -0.086 43 77 Burney Lamar # Dollar General Chevrolet 28.829 124.874 8 11 -0.970 -0.016 44 * 01 Jay Sauter Western Union Chevrolet 28.948 124.361 4 23 -1.089 -0.119 45 * 56 Chris Cook Shift Into Gear Chevrolet 29.034 123.993 11 26 -1.175 -0.086 46 * 49 Jorge Goeters # Xtreme Gel/Advil Ford 29.422 122.357 16 25 -1.563 -0.388 47 * 23 Marc Mitchell TBA Chevrolet 29.499 122.038 6 7 -1.640 -0.077 * - Required to qualify on time
Do-or-die Duel in the Desert
April 20, 2006Jeff Hammond says the first 10 races will separate the Chasers from those fighting for 11th so Saturday night's race is among the most important of the year as Jeff Gordon goes for his first Phoenix Cup win. See if he can sit on his second consecutive spring pole at 8:30 p.m. ET on SPEED.
After surgery, Kurt Busch's crew chief to miss Phoenix race
April 20, 2006Roy McCauley, crew chief for driver Kurt Busch and the Miller Lite Dodge team out of the Penske Racing stable, will not be making the trip out West for this weekend's Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He will be absent per doctor's orders.
Alonso expects Ferrari challenge
April 20, 2006Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari have their best chance of winning a race at this week's San Marino Grand Prix.
Renault hedge bets over F1 future
April 20, 2006Renault will wait until June before confirming their future in Formula One.
Toseland chasing Valencia glory
April 20, 2006James Toseland vows to keep up the pressure on Troy Bayliss in this weekend's World Superbike races.
Get out of your dreams, get into my truck: 'Idol'-style competition for NASCAR truck series
April 20, 2006There's "American Idol" for wannabe divas and rock stars. "The Apprentice" looks for a few good tycoons-in-waiting. Now drivers wanting to grab fame and fortune have their own chance at creating a new reality: "Operation Big Chance." There's no TV deal - yet. And there's no tour, recording contract or job.
Harvick Q&A: Kurt Busch is 'a dork'
April 20, 2006On FOX Sports Radio, Kevin Harvick said the difference between the past two Cup champs is Tony Stewart is "a racer" and Kurt Busch is "a dork." Hammond: Gas 'n' Go