Mammoth Blog

It's a championship kind of weekend at Chicagoland Speedway where the IndyCar Series stages its final event of the season and Richmond International Raceway where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will finalize the field for this season's Chase for the Sprint Cup 10-race playoff. The IndyCar Series title bout will feature Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves and Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon. Dixon plans to nab his second career series championship and holds a 30 point edge over Castroneves, who is in search of his first title.

Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer will be on the NASCAR Sprint Cup hot seat at Richmond. He is holding down the 12th and final Chase spot and leads 13th-place Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan by 17 points. Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne sits 48 points behind Bowyer in 14th. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin is currently 11th in the standings holds a 76-point advantage over Bowyer.

The Nationwide Series also is in action at Richmond, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will visit Gateway International Raceway while the ARCA RE/MAX Series joins the IndyCar Series at Chicagoland.

DIXON, CASTRONEVES TO BATTLE INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AT CHICAGOLAND
Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves will enter the 2008 IndyCar Series season finale within 30 points of securing his first career series championship after crossing the Belle Isle, Mich., finish line 4.4058 seconds behind first-time series winner Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Aug. 31. Castroneves charted his eighth second-place finish of the season and gained 13 points on championship leader and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon, who grabbed his 13th top-five finish of the season with a fifth-place Belle Isle road-course result. Castroneves led a race-high 53 laps and was made to yield the race lead to Wilson on Lap 73 when series officials enforced a blocking penalty. Wilson guided his car around Castroneves' and did not yield the top spot through the closing 14-lap stretch of the 87-lap affair. Dixon drove to his fifth top-five finish in the past six races and remains poised to capture his second career series title and first since his debut 2003 season. Championship coverage from Chicagoland Speedway will commence at 3:30 p.m., on ABC television and 3:00 p.m., on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Radio Network along with XM Radio Channel 145. Former Andretti Green Racing driver Dario Franchitti locked up the 2007 championship by winning the Chicagoland event from the pole position. Dixon placed second in that race after starting sixth and Castroneves placed fourth after starting third on the 1.5-mile paved oval track. The top-10 drivers in the championship standings entering the season-ending event will be: Dixon (Leader: 606 points, Chip Ganassi Racing); Castroneves (Second: -30 points, Team Penske); Kanaan (Third: -125, Andretti Green Racing); Dan Wheldon (Fourth: -142 points, Chip Ganassi Racing); Ryan Briscoe (Fifth: -194, Team Penske); Danica Patrick (Sixth: -247, Andretti Green Racing); Oriol Servia (Seventh: -261, KV Racing Technology); Marco Andretti (Eighth: -267, Andretti Green Racing); Ryan Hunter-Reay (Ninth: -268, Rahal Letterman Racing) and Hideki Mutoh (10th: -272, Andretti Green Racing).

CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP FIELD TO BE SET AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson displayed the stellar form that earned him the 2007 and 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles while driving to a dominating 2.076-seconds win over Roush Fenway racer Greg Biffle at California Speedway Aug. 31. Johnson started from the pole position and led the 250-lap event eight times for a total of 228 laps. Johnson's third victory of the season helped him become one of five drivers to clinch a spot in the 12-driver, 10-race "Chase for the Sprint Cup" that begins Sept. 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He moved from fourth to third in the standings with his second win, fourth top-three and fifth top-10 finish in his past seven series events. Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., secured his Chase spot with an 11th-place California finish and Richard Childress Racing stalwart Jeff Burton made his Chase reservation with a 17th-place showing. Series leader and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, who placed seventh in California, and two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing locked down their Chase positions in the Aug. 23 series event at Bristol Motor Speedway. Drivers will compete for the remaining seven Chase positions at Richmond International Raceway Sept. 6. Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer won the May 3 event at the track earlier this season that Hamlin started from the pole position. Johnson scored a Sept. 2007 win at the facility. Race coverage is slated for a 7:00 p.m., start on ABC Television and a 6:45 p.m., start on Motor Racing Network radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the event are: Kyle Busch (Leader: 3,755 points: Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Edwards (Second: -208, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Johnson (Third: -369, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Earnhardt, Jr. (Fourth: -432, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Burton (Fifth: -521 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Greg Biffle (Sixth: -596, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kevin Harvick (Seventh: -623, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Tony Stewart (Eighth: -645, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Matt Kenseth (Ninth: -674, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Jeff Gordon (10th: -681, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Denny Hamlin (11th: -690, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing) and Bowyer (12th: -766, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing).

BUSCH LOOKS TO CONTINUE NNS ROLL AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Joe Gibbs Racing driver and two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner Kyle Busch earned his 18th overall NASCAR win and seventh in the NASCAR Nationwide Series under caution over Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards Aug. 30 at California Speedway. Busch led all but six of the 150 race laps while engineering his third win, fourth top-five and fifth top-10 finish in the past five races. He has delivered a total of six top-three and seven top-10 finishes in the past seven events. Edwards registered his second top-two finish in the past three events and held on to the third spot in the series standings. He gained 19 championship points on standings leader Clint Bowyer, who took seventh in the California event and earned his third straight top-10 finish. The series begins its final eight-race stretch of the season at Richmond International Raceway Sept. 5. ESPN2 coverage is set for a 7:30 p.m., start. Motor Racing Network radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 will begin coverage at 8:00 p.m. The top 10 drivers in the series standings entering the race are: Bowyer (Leader: 3,913 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Brad Keselowski (Second: -204, Chevrolet, Jr. Motorsports); Edwards (Third: -222, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); David Reutimann (Fourth: -410, Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing); Mike Bliss (Fifth: -439, Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing); David Ragan (Sixth: -485, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kyle Busch (Seventh: -569, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing / Braun Racing); Mike Wallace (Eighth: -777 points, Toyota, Germain Racing); Jason Leffler (Ninth: -784, Toyota, Braun Racing); and Marcos Ambrose (10th: -831, Ford, JTG Racing).

BENSON LEADS NCTS CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE TO GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Bill Davis Racing driver and reigning Kentucky Speedway "Built Ford Tough 225 Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers" champion Johnny Benson will hold the lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings when drivers take the green flag at Gateway International Speedway Sept. 6. SPEED Channel coverage will begin at 2:00 p.m., and the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will take to the radio airwaves at 2:30 p.m. The broadcast also is available on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. Benson will attempt to lay claim to his second straight Gateway win. Mike Skinner started last year's race from the pole position. Benson gained 74 valuable championship points on second-place title contender Ron Hornaday, Jr., by racing to a fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the series' last event Aug. 20. Billy Ballew Racing powerhouse Kyle Busch rolled to his third NCTS win of the season in his 11th series start in that race after leading 145 of 203 race laps. The top 10 drivers in the series standings going into the Gateway race are: Benson (Leader: 2,426 points, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Second: -119 points, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Matt Crafton (Third: -156 points, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); Todd Bodine (Fourth: -239, Toyota, Germain Racing); Skinner (Fifth: -254, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Rick Crawford (Sixth: -261 points, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Erik Darnell (Seventh: -287, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Jack Sprague (Eighth: -353, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Terry Cook (Ninth: -380, Toyota, Wyler Racing); and Dennis Setzer (10th: -436, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing).

KIMMEL TO SHOOT FOR THIRD STRAIGHT ARCA RE/MAX SERIES WIN AT CHICAGOLAND
Nine-time and defending ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel ground out his second straight dirt track win in Illinois at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds yesterday by 0.310 of a second over Patrick Sheltra. Kimmel led 96 of the 102 race laps including 72 straight to close out his second victory of the season, the fifth of his career on the DuQuoin dirt and his 73rd overall series victory. He remains fourth in the series standings and 200 points behind championship leader Scott Speed, who delivered an eighth-place finish in the race and charted his 14th top-10 finish of the season. His record includes a series-leading four wins through 15 events. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Ken Schrader placed third, Dexter Bean took fourth and this season's May Kentucky Speedway series winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., collected fifth. Bean earned his third top-five finish of the season while Stenhouse, Jr., stayed in championship contention by gaining 35 points on Speed with his eighth top-five showing of the campaign. The series continues its Land of Lincoln tour with a Sept. 6 visit to Chicagoland Speedway. A delayed race broadcast will air Sept. 7 at 4:00 p.m., on SPEED Channel. Former Kentucky Speedway series winner Michael McDowell took last year's Chicagoland victory from the pole position. The top-10 drivers in the championship standings with five races remaining on the schedule are: Speed (Leader: 3,905 points, Toyota); Stenhouse, Jr. (Second: - 75, Ford); Matt Carter (Third: -110, Ford); Kimmel (Fourth: -200, Ford); Justin Allgaier (Fifth: -255, Chevrolet); Tom Hessert III (Sixth: -600, Ford); Tayler Malsam (Seventh: -610, Dodge); John Wes Townley (Eighth: -625, Ford); Patrick Sheltra (Ninth: -670, Dodge) and Ken Butler III (10th: -735, Dodge).

RATE THE INDYCAR SERIES DRIVER CHANGES FOR 2009
Two IndyCar Series drivers made news this week when they announced driving plans for the 2009 season. Last season's champion, Dario Franchitti, announced he is ending his stock car career and returning to Indy racing with Chip Ganassi Racing next season. Subsequently, current Ganassi star Dan Wheldon raised eyebrows by announcing plans to join Panther Racing next season. Which heavy IndyCar Series hitter will have the better 2009 season? Log your vote through our weekly fan poll at http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com