Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 19

Auto Racing Sunday, June 24, 2007 C-3 tErte OttMana (Gazette RACING SCOREBOARD i flc it- 1 Hendrick cars return to track Gordon, Johnson make up for lost time on road course o- lessly at one point, wound up 10th. Gordon, a five-time winner and the defending champion at Sonoma, said it's going to be tough to try to drive to the front on the treacherous road circuit that winds through the hills of Northern California wine country. Making it even more difficult is the fact that this is the road racing debut of NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow, a virtually unknown quantity on this kind of track. "We're really put into a bind here and we're going to do our best, that's all I can say," said Gordon, the series points leader. "You know we're going to do all we can to make the car as fast as it can be and to try to come up through that field the best way, smoothest way possible while trying to stay out of trouble and trying to play the right pit strategy- "We'll try to do everything in our power to get the best finish out here we can.

I'll be honest, right now it's a little hard for us to be realistic about a win. It's more about being realistic about trying to get a top 10." Johnson said the key is to concentrate and not get too upset about the track time he and Gordon lost. "We can't get that back," he said. "We just have to make sure that when we do get on the racetrack that our heads are in the right spots, we're focused on the right things and we do the best job that we can." By MIKE HARRIS AP Auto Racing Writer SONOMA, Calif. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon wasted no time returning to the track after NASCAR inspectors approved their cars.

Johnson, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, and Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and four-time series champion, were the first cars on the 1.99-mile Infineon Raceway road course for practice Saturday. The two had an unexpected day off Friday after their cars failed to pass inspection. NASCAR deemed the front fenders on the No. 24 and No. 48 Chevrolets illegal and banned the two drivers from the day's practice and qualifying.

NASCAR did, however, allow the teams to alter the fenders and send the cars back through inspection. Both teams did that Friday, but waited until Saturday morning for official approval. "Everything is fine," said Doug Duchardt, vice president of development for Hendrick. "We're way behind, but we'll just go out there and prepare today the way we would on any Saturday and hope for the best" Johnson and Gordon will start 41st and 42nd in the 43 -car lineup for today's ToyotaSave Mart 350. In the morning practice, with cooler track temperatures and fast speeds, Gordon was third fastest and Johnson 16th.

In the afternoon, Johnson was ninth and Gordon, who spun harm Montoya By MIKE HARRIS AP Auto RAcing Writer SONOMA, Calif Juan Montoya, known as a great road racer during his years in Formula One and CART, and one of the favorites to win today's ToyotaSave Mart 350, made the job a lot tougher with a disappointing qualifying effort Going out last in Friday's qualifying on the 1.99-mile road course, Montoya's much-anticipated attempt wound up placing him 32nd in the 43-car field. "Yesterday, we just didn't get it done," said Donnie Wingo, Montoya's crew chief. "We came out this morning (in practice) and we haven't run a lap as slow as we qualified yesterday. That's just racing. You've got to take what you get" Montoya didn't appear too concerned by starting deep in the field.

"With the lap time we did in practice today on 10-lap tires, we should have been on the front row," Montoya said. "That's a little frustrating, but that's the way it goes. We're learning. "We should be OK. It's a long race.

You've got to be patient and work on the car and see what happens." Wingo saw Montoya win the Busch Series road race in Mexico City early this season and is con- has ground to make up at NASCAR NEXTEL CUP TOYOTASAVE MART 350 LINEUP After Friday qualifying; race today At Infineon Raceway Sonoma, Calif. Lap length: 1.99 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 92.414 mph. 2. (7) Robby Gordon, Ford, 92.399.

3. (8) Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, 92.384. 4. (60) Boris Said, Ford, 92.312. 5.

(20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 92.263. 6. (31 Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 92.258. 7. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 92.203.

8. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 92.126. 9. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 92.051. 10.

(07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 91.907. 11. (96) Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 91.887. 12. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 91.827.

13. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 91.753. 14. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 91.744. 15.

(99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 91.698. 16. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 91.644. 17. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 91.462.

18. (1) Martin Truex Chevrolet, 91.388. 19. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 91.375. 20.

(14) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 91.357. 21. (91) Marc Goossens, Toyota, 91.313. 22. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 91.309.

23. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 91.265. 24. (5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 91.223. 25.

(55) Terry Labonte, Toyota, 91.222. 26. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 91.149. 27. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 91.089.

28. (88) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 91.079. 29. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 91.065. 30.

(23) Butch Leitzinger, Toyota, 91.051. 31. (66) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 90.996. 32. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 90.976.

33. (18) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 90.900. 34. (70) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 90.842.

35. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 90.758. 36. (11) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 90.592. 37.

(6) David Ragan, Ford, owner points. 38. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, owner points. 39. (13) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, owner points.

40. (40) David Stremme, Dodge, owner points. 41. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, owner points. 42.

(48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, owner points. 43. (00) P.J. Jones, Toyota, 90.899. Failed to qualify 44.

(4) Ward Burton, Chevrolet, 90.813. 45. (10) Scott Riggs, Dodge, 90.779. 46. (02) Brandon Ash, Dodge, 90.477.

47. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 90.440. 48. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 90.287. 49.

(84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 90.147. 50. (37) Brian Simo, Dodge, 90.048. 51. (78) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 89.883.

52. (49) Klaus Graf, Dodge, 89.438. WINNERS 2007 schedule and standings Feb. 10 x-Budweiser Shootout, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Tony Stewart) Feb.

1 8 Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Kevin Harvick) Feb. 25 Auto Club 500, Fontana, Calif. (Matt Kenseth) March 11 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400, Las Vegas (Jimmie Johnson) March 1 8 Kobalt Tools 500, Hampton, Ga. (Jimmie Johnson) March 25 Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn.

(Kyle Busch) April 1 Goody's 500, Martinsville, Va. (Jimmie Johnson) April 15 Samsung 500, Fort Worth, Texas (Jeff Burton) April 21 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Avondale, Ariz. (Jeff Gordon) April 29 Aaron's 499, Talladega, Ala. (Jeff Gordon) May 5 Crown Royal 400, Richmond, Va. (Jimmie Johnson) May 12 Dodge Avenger 500, Darlington, S.C.

(Jeff Gordon) May 19 x-NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, Concord, N.C. (Kevin Harvick) May 27 Coca Cola 600, Concord, N.C. (Casey Mears) June 4 Autism Speaks 400, Dover, Del. (Martin Truex Jr.) June 10 Pocono 500, Long Pond (Jeff Gordon) June 17 Citizens Bank 400, Brooklyn, Mich. (Carl Edwards) BUSCH SERIES 250 Saturday At The Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wis.

Lap length: 1.0 mile (Start position in parentheses) 1. (1) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 250 laps, 85.203 mph. 2. (3) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 250. 3.

(2) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 250. 4. (4) Brad Coleman, Chevrolet, 250. 5. (21) Jason Keller, Ford, 250.

6. (6) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 250. 7. (8) David Reutimann, Toyota, 250. 8.

(9) Carl Edwards, Ford, 250. 9. (7) Johnny Benson, Chevrolet, 250. 10. (5) Shane Huffman, Chevrolet, 250.

11. (20) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 250. 12. (13) David Ragan, Ford, 250. 13.

(11) Bobby Hamilton Ford, 250. 14. (15) Stephen LeicM, Ford, 250. 15. (12) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 250.

16. (22) Kevin Hamlin, Dodge, 250. 17. (19) Chase Miller, Dodge, 249. 18.

(23) Todd Kluever, Ford, 249. 19. (25) Richard Johns, Ford, 249. 20. (31) Marc Mitchell, Chevrolet, 249.

21. (26) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 248. 22. (17) Bobby East, Ford, 248. 23.

(28) Cale Gale, Chevrolet, 248. 24. (29) Kyle Krisiloff, Ford, 248. 25. (18) Mike Bliss, Dodge, 247.

26. (33) D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 247. 27. (16) Steve Wallace, Dodge, 246.

28. (24) Tim McCreadie, Chevrolet, 241. 29. (40) Trevor Boys, Chevrolet, 241. 30.

(14) Kelly Bires, Ford, 241. 31. (35) Eric McCIure, Chevrolet, 238. 32. (30) Brent Sherman, Chevrolet, accident, 236.

33. (38) Robert Richardson Chevrolet, 232. 34. (32) Frank Kreyer, Chevrolet, accident, 217. 35.

(10) Scott Lagasse, Dodge, accident, 163. 36. (27) Ron Hornaday, Chevrolet, accident, 56. 37. (39) Ian Henderson, Ford, engine, 29.

38. (36) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, brakes, 1 0. 39. (37) Brad Teague, Ford, brakes, 9. 40.

(42) Chris Horn, Chevrolet, handling, 4. 41. (41) Jerick Johnson, Chevrolet, brakes, 4. 42. (43) Mike Potter, Chevrolet, engine, 4.

43. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, ignition, 0. Race Statistics Time of race: 2 hours, 56 minutes, 3 seconds. Margin of victory: .502 seconds. Caution flags: Nine for 117 laps.

Lead changes: Five among four drivers. Lap leaders: D.Hamlin 1-43; CEdwards 44-166; M.Wallace 167-172; D.Hamlin 173-223; S.Wimmer 224-237; D.Hamlin 238-250. Leaders summary (driver, times ILed, laps led): C.Edwards, 1 time for 123 laps; A.AImirola, 3 times for 107 laps; S.Wimmer, 1 time for 14 laps; M.Wallace, 1 time for 6 laps. practice and qualifying for a technical violation and having to start from the rear of the field today would have been far more difficult to take before daughter Ella Sofia Gordon was born Wednesday. "Really, nothing can bring me down this week," Gordon said, smiling.

Asked how he feels about fatherhood, he said, "It's absolutely incredible. I expected it to change my life, but I never had any clue how it was going to. But it has. It's just different Things are different now, in a great way, though. It was just probably the best thing of my life." Gordon said the thing he remembers best about the birth of his daughter is the first time she cried.

"You go through so many different emotions," he said. "You're excited, you're scared, nervous. Once she's there and you hear her cry and take that first breath then you're just overwhelmed with emotion and it was just an incredible feeling." ROAD WARRIOR Robby Gordon may be the dark horse pick to win today's race. Gordon, one of the few drivers who has won races at both Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen JEFF GORDON, above, and Jimmie Johnson signed autographs for fans during practice for today's race. The team, particularly crew chiefs Chad Knaus (Johnson) and Steve Letarte (Gordon) could face further penalties from NASCAR after officials return home Monday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 points and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended six races after NASCAR discovered illegal brackets on the rear wing of the No. 8 COT Chevrolet last month at Darlington Raceway. NOTEBOOK MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZAssociated Press the favorites to win today's road a little different here.

The competition level is a lot different" NEW VIEW Being a father has put everything in a different perspective to Jeff Gordon. He said that having his car and the car of teammate Jimmie Johnson banned from Friday's in Victory uzzx under caution during Saturday night's and Jason Leffler in Turn 1. Wimmer finished second and Leffler finished third. Edwards finished eighth, maintaining a dominant lead in the Busch Series points standings. Edwards provided some entertainment earlier in the day, literally hitting the ground running once he arrived in Milwaukee.

Edwards left Sonoma early on Saturday, skipping the final Cup practice session to fly to an air MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZAssociated Press Sonoma International, the two road courses at which Nextel Cup competes, is rarely mentioned as one of the favorites heading into a race. That's because fans and media like to focus on the big names guys like Jeff Gordon, Stewart and Montoya. But Robby Gordon, an ownerdriver of a one-car team, will start from the outside of the front row today and is definitely a threat to win for the second time here. "The most important thing is putting yourself in a position where you can win the race," he said. "The last couple of years, we've given up qualifying to focus on the race and, last year, I got together with Boris Said trying to pass him and knocked the toe out of it and that was the end of our race.

"So, if you can position yourself to start up front and drive at a conservative pace most of the way, you'll have a whole race car for the last 20 laps and you can win the race." HE SAID IT "It's start No. 799. 1 just turned 47 and I don't think I'll make it to 1,000." Kyle Petty, talking about his 799th career start in today's race. knowing he was cutting it close to make the start of the Busch race. The No.

20 team asked Almirola to qualify Hamlin's No. 20 car and he put it on the pole, just as he did for Hamlin at Milwaukee last year. The helicopter carrying Hamlin got to the track in time for the race, but wasn't allowed to land because the track's helipad was blocked by parked cars. They considered landing on the racetrack, but couldn't work out the logistics before the race's scheduled start Hamlin had to land at a local airport and didn't make it to the track until after the race had started. The team allowed Almirola to continue driving the No.

20 car, and he held the lead until Edwards passed him on lap 44. Almirola continued to run with the leaders, providing a potential career boost for the 23-year-old driver. But when Ron Hornaday Jr. crashed on lap 57 to bring out a caution, the No. 20 team called Almirola into the pits and had him step out of the car so Hamlin could take over.

Almirola retreated to the team's transporter, refused interview requests, and later sneaked out a side entrance to leave the track without comment NASCAR JUAN PABLO MONTOYA is one of race in California. fident his driver can bring his Dodge Avenger to the front, if he remains calm and focused. "He's going to have to have to a lot of patience tomorrow," Wingo said. "I'm going to instill that in him a lot. I'll just stay on him about it.

"He knows what he's up against. He came from the back to the front in Mexico, but this is 1 'un fc'Uw CARL EDWARDS made a pit stop to go then saw of his biggest competitors fall out of contention seconds later when Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards pulled off for an unscheduled pit stop to change an apparent flat tire. Hamlin was shuffled back to fourth on the final round of pit stops, giving Scott Wimmer the race lead. But Hamlin charged back into the lead on an aggressive move with 13 laps to go, squeezing past both Wimmer HamLLn lands safely Lane at Busch race By CHRIS JENKINS AP Sports Writer WEST ALUS, Wis. After missing the start of the race because his helicopter couldn't find a place to land, Denny Hamlin rallied to take the checkered flag in a wacky NASCAR Busch Series race at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday.

But because a substitute driver, Aric Almirola, started the race in Hamlin's car, NASCAR officially will credit Almirola with the victory. It was the first time a relief driver had won a race in one of NASCAR's top three national racing series since Darrell Waltrip did it at Talladega Superspeed-way in place of Donnie Allison on Aug. 7, 1977. Hamlin, one of a handful of drivers splitting time between the Nextel Cup race in Sonoma, and the Busch race in Milwaukee this weekend, arrived late to the racetrack and took the wheel from Almirola during an early pit stop. In Victory Lane, Hamlin said it wasn't his decision to kick Almirola out of the car.

"I didn't want to do it," Hamlin said. "I knew he would be really upset." Hamlin steadily sliced through traffic throughout the race and finally took the lead with 78 laps r- DARREN HAUCKAssociated Press 250 at the Milwaukee Mile. port in Milwaukee, where he caught a helicopter ride to the track. From there, Edwards got a golf cart ride into the infield then had to sprint through the garage area past bewildered racing fans so he could make it to his car in time to qualify. Hamlin's commute was considerably rougher, but it worked out better in the end.

Hamlin stuck around in Sonoma for the final Cup practice,.