St. Joseph News-Press from St. Joseph, Missouri • C5

C5 Saturday, August 17, 2013 By DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Kan. The new road course at Kansas Speedway will get its rst real taste of speed this weekend when the Grand-Am series visits the 2.37-mile circuit for the first time. a lot riding on Saturday race, too. The merger between the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series announced earlier this year means Kansas Speedway could be left out of a combined schedule next season. More established venues such as Road Atlanta and Daytona are virtually assured of dates, making it more dif cult for a newcomer such as Kansas to land a race weekend.

issue is simply Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren said. many races are there going to be on the schedule next year? How many places are they going to go, and which tracks may or may not be included? I think a reflection on Kansas Speedway. not a reflection on the track or the market, and not a reflection on the Indeed, even if Kansas Speedway is left off the schedule of the rebranded United SportsCar Racing series next year, Warren said it would aggressively pursue future races. have to make some decisions for 2014 that are some tough he said. they try to figure out how they want to grow the series, what they want to do to bring the two series together, we just know where we fit in that Rather than focus on things they control, Warren and his team are focusing on what they can: a strong sports car debut that could convince series pow- erbrokers to stick around.

Of cials are anticipating a crowd of about 15,000 and are hopeful for more than 20,000 with good weather for Saturday Grand-Am Rolex Series race. The 2-hour, 45-minute race highlights two days of events at Kansas Speedway that also include Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge developmental series and two races in the Lamborghini Super Tro- feo series. The early feedback from drivers about the surface has been positive. Daytona Prototypes were doing more than 190 mph on the main track before reaching Turn 1, the most demanding on the circuit. The tight left-hand- er sends cars through an S-curve and down the back straightway before a hairpin turns sends them on the return.

They get back on the main track in Turn 2, head down the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4 to complete a lap. a very challenging track, I can tell said Max Angelelli, a former Rolex series champion. not like you approach a corner, brake, turn, go back on throttle, and it. You have two corners that are extremely Angelelli and teammate Jordan Taylor are chasing point leaders Ryan Dalziel and Alex Popow as they enter the 10th stop on the 12- race schedule. Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney are second in points with familiar names such as Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Pruett also giving chase.

one of the fastest tracks been said Oswaldo Negri who turned some of the quickest laps at Kansas during last testing session. one of the hardest ovals that we have gone to. It is much faster than Homestead or any of the Negri said. many passing zones, but the track is fun to drive and we had a good car when we tested there, so I am looking forward to being Former Olympic medalists Bruce Jenner racing in Kansas City, Kan. Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Kan.

Bruce Jenner, former Olympic decathlon champ and reality television star, is racing this weekend at the Kansas Speedway. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Jenner is racing with his 34-year-old son Burt Jenner in the SFP Grand Prix on the road course at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. co-driving in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo class on Friday and today. Jenner, now 63, won the gold medal in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, setting a then-world record with 8,616 points. He may be better known now, however, for the TV reality show, up with the which chronicles the life of extended family.

Practice were qualifying for the race are Friday, along with the first of two Lamborghini Super Trofeo races were held Friday night. Grand-Am series readies debut at Kansas Speedway Associated Press Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge driver Jim Norman practices on a wet track on Thursday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. races will be held on a 2.37-mile layout that includes a six-turn in eld road course in addition to a portion of the 1.5-mile banked speedway. It will be the first Grand-Am race at Kansas Speedway. By NOAH TRISTER Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich.

On another record-setting day at Michigan International Speedway, Joey Logano raced to one of the fastest qualifying speeds in NAS- CAR history. Logano won the pole at 203.949 mph Friday in his No. 22 Ford, breaking the track record set by Marcos Ambrose last year. mark of 203.241 came on the first Sprint Cup weekend on a newly paved surface at MIS. His record lasted 14 months.

speed was the ninth-highest by a NAS- CAR pole winner and the fastest since Bill Elliott set the record of 212.809 at Talladega on April 30, 1987. know how fast it is, but it feels freaking Logano said. Kurt Busch quali ed second, and points leader Jimmie Johnson was third. Logano is 16th in the Cup standings, and this is his rst pole of the year. He could use a good showing this weekend as he tries to make a final push to reach the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Logano is 27 points behind 10th-place Martin Truex and he won a race this season. But a victory at Michigan could change everything, vaulting him closer to Chase position on points and boosting his chances at a wild card. There are four races left before the Chase. 27 points out. That sound like a lot, but the amount of cars that are in between us is a Logano said.

one bad race from saying, So got to make the most out of these the sixth career pole for the 23-year-old Logano. coming off three consecutive top-10 finishes, although he won in over a year. Logano finished ninth at Michigan in June. Busch is in 11th place in the standings, so his solid starting position comes at a good time for him. Busch started second in this earlier race at MIS, but he nished 35th.

really neat to overlay exactly what we did here in June, when we were outside pole, and try to improve on Busch said. pace today was just quick. It was just an extreme pace that the qualifying simulations were showing us. I shot for a 35.35 (seconds) in my mind for a lap time and ran a 35.347. I thought it would be good enough for the pole, but Logano just hit it Logano sets qualifying track record at Michigan Associated Press Joey Logano smiles after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Friday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Logano won the pole. most decorated drivers, with an Indianapolis 500 victory and wins in Formula One, NASCAR and the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. But his results in NASCAR have been under- whelming. He has two wins in 239 career starts and his best season finish was eighth in 2009. latest stint with Ganassi began in 2006, when he left Formula One for NASCAR.

They also teamed up to win the 1999 CART championship and 2000 Indianapolis 500 before Montoya moved to F1. When asked if he could work with Ganassi in In- dyCar or Grand-Am, Montoya left that door open. could be with Chip, could be with somebody he said. Chip, something we said is, No. 1, make sure we keep our friendship.

We are really good friends, we have a good However, Montoya acknowledged that a change could help both parties. been together for seven years. We had our ups, we had our downs. I think if we kept going and the results come, we end up hating each he said. really good friends.

We respect each other as boss and driver and as friends as Montoya is the only non-white Sprint Cup driver, and he helped expand popularity outside the United States, but not clear if be involved at all in NASCAR in the immediate future. He said talked with other NASCAR owners this year, but he wanted to make sure he had the option of staying at Ganassi if possible. There many good open seats available on the Cup circuit, and Montoya could be forced to look at sports car racing, a return to open wheel, or maybe even a European series. He was perhaps most vague when asked about possibly going to the IndyCar series. was committed to NASCAR.

When committed to NASCAR, you want to make sure your head is in Montoya said. heart has always been in open wheel, I had a lot of fun in NASCAR. not clear who will replace Montoya in the No. 42 Chevrolet next season. Kurt Busch, who drives for single-car team Furniture Row Racing, could be a candidate.

know Chip real well and the whole Busch said. came up with that decision not based off any of the talks that had with them, but it is a potential opportunity, for Montoya seeks team to drive for in 2014 CONTINUED FROM Page C1 By RUSTY MILLER Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ohio NASCAR Nationwide Series races can be treacherous, with large, fast cars competing for tight space in the corners. Now imagine putting 40 of those four-wheeled missiles on a twisty road course with 13 turns over 2.25 miles of a narrow ribbon of pavement. No wonder almost everyone is expecting lots of rumpled fenders and crumpled trackside fences when the series races for the rst time at Mid- Ohio Sports Car Course in the inaugural Nationwide Hospital 200 on today. certainly the potential for a full-contact Regan Smith, third in the driver points standings, said with laugh.

a lot of areas on the race track where probably not a passing zone, but you can claim that you had your nose in on the guy. It just depends on how guys want to race on Saturday if they want to dive-bomb and be dirty, then going to wreck the car in front of All of the top drivers Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish Smith, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers make up the top five in the standings anticipate a wild day of racing in the 90-lap, 203-mile event contested over the rolling hills midway between Cleveland and Columbus. During practice sessions on Thursday and Friday, several cars and drivers got a close-up look at the gravel areas off the track in the corners. When the actual racing begins qualifying is this morning, with the race set for mid-afternoon who knows what might happen? Mid-Ohio is a challenge for those negotiating its turns during the annual IndyCar race at the track. And those cars are lighter and quicker.

Asked how dif cult it will be to pass during this race, Vickers tried to be precise. think you can say zero because anything is possible, but if there is such thing as a 0.1-percent chance that going to go caution- free, about what going to he said. cars are very different. not familiar with IndyCar races here, but we have a lot more power and we have a lot less NASCAR NATION IDE National Hospital 200, 1:30 p.m., today; TV ESPN be tight fit as fast Nationwide cars hit Mid-Ohio track.