This Week in Auto Racing March 23 - March 25

Autoracing Betting Lines

03/20/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Its opening day for the IndyCar Series in Florida and its also the debut of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow in the Nextel Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

NASCAR

Nextel Cup

Food City 500 - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, TN

There are two big stories unfolding this week at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

The first is the debut of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. For years NASCAR has been working towards this day in an effort to bring a safer car to the sport. It is also one that tries to reduce all the manufacturers' aerodynamic differences.

The Car of Tomorrow is the end result of the crash at Daytona in 2001 that killed legend Dale Earnhardt. Since that day, NASCAR's goal has been to make cars more resilient and to increase the likelihood that a driver could survive crashes with a minimum of injuries.

NASCAR built a $10 million Research and Development Center in North Carolina with that goal. They helped develop the SAFER barrier and after years of research NASCAR announced that their COT would begin competition in 2007 on the short track at Bristol.

"The Car of Tomorrow represents one of the sport's most significant innovations and we feel everyone involved in NASCAR will experience the benefits," said NASCAR President Mike Helton.

The COT is actually a collaborative effort involving NASCAR, manufacturers, teams and industry suppliers. The Car of Tomorrow is four inches wider and two inches taller than current race cars. The driver compartment has been shifted three inches to the rear. The driver's seat has been shifted four inches to the right, allowing more protection from a driver-side impact.

"The first thing about it is the car is safer," said Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick. "Whatever it is after that is a bonus. The drivers have more room inside. There's a lot of things built into the car to absorb energy when they hit the wall. That's just the starting point...The bottom line is, NASCAR has to make the best decision for them. They felt it was time to evolve the car and make it safer, and the teams will figure out the rest."

"We designed this car to run for a long time, at road courses, short tracks, intermediate-sized tracks all the way to Daytona," said NASCAR Vice President for Research and Development Gary Nelson.

Beside this week in Tennessee, the COT will be used at Phoenix, Martinsville, Richmond, Dover, Darlington, the fall event at Talladega, the two road courses and New Hampshire this season. More races will be added in 2008 and the full schedule will use the Car of Tomorrow in 2009.

The second story is Mark Martin and his determination to take this week off. Before the season began, the 48-year-old left Roush Racing after 19 years and signed on with Ginn Racing as a part-time driver and "mentor." He would help the team develop and he would guide youngster Regan Smith who would share his ride in the No.01 Army Chevrolet.

Then Martin nearly won the Daytona 500, being edged by just a couple of feet at the checkered flag by Harvick. He followed up the great start with back-to- back top-5s and last week finished a solid 10th at Atlanta. The result is that Martin now leads the Nextel Cup standings.

But Martin has stuck to his guns, wanting to spend more time with his family and in particular his son Matt who has begun a racing career of his own. Matt is scheduled to run on Sunday at Lake City in a Super Late Model Division.

So the Nextel Cup points leader will be sitting out this week and likely knock himself out of the "Chase for the Nextel Cup."

"I feel good, man, and I am looking forward to next weekend," Martin said after Sunday's race in Atlanta. "People might not believe it, but they'll have a hard time finding me.

"This thing has really been encompassing. We've worked hard since January and put a lot into this. It's been a hard-working stretch, and I'm really looking to taking a little break. There are mixed emotions, but the bottom line is that I'm gonna take a break."

Martin will end a streak of 621 consecutive starts.

Martin's decision, if he sticks to it, makes Jeff Gordon the de facto points leader. But Gordon isn't even the best driver at Hendrick Motorsports. That title must go to 2006 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson struggled at Daytona this year, finishing 39th, but since then has been the best driver on the track. He finished third in California and then won back-to-back races at Las Vegas and Atlanta to close to with 28 points of Martin - fourth overall.

"We just had a great race car," said Johnson, who celebrated back-to-back victories for the second time in his career.

Johnson had the dominant car at AMS, leading 140 laps in all, but was third with 11 laps to go. When the green flag dropped to restart the race, Johnson sped around Matt Kenseth for second.

Johnson was driving at the bottom of the track and closing on Stewart. Six laps to go and he was just two lengths back. They were side-by-side with five to go, but Stewart fought him off. Johnson tried it again on lap 323 and squeezed Stewart into the wall slightly. Stewart regained control, but he lost all his momentum.

Johnson took off and Stewart, now with a damaged right-side fender, had to settle for second place. The Nextel Cup champion took the checkered flag without challenge.

Can Johnson make it three-in-a-row?

His history say probably not. He has never won at Bristol and Johnson's average finish is just 15th.

Jeff Gordon (five wins) and defending Food City 500 winner Kurt Busch (five wins) have the most wins of any active drivers. Busch in particular has been outstanding at BMS winning four of the last five spring races.

But with the Car of Tomorrow in use for the first time, communication between driver and team might be more important than past performance. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have that "something" that allows them to know just what the other is thinking.

In testing at Bristol with the COT, Johnson was fifth in the first day's morning session and led the evening session. He was ninth in the second day's only session.

Look for another big effort by Johnson that winds up with the No.48 Chevrolet driver leading the championship by the end of the day.

Busch

Sharpie Mini 300 - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, TN

Saturday's Sharpie Mini 300 marks the first race of 2007 where this year's top-30 will be used to determine who is guaranteed a position in the race.

This means that some big names will be required to qualify on time for the event. They include: J.J. Yeley, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two- times series champion Earnhardt Jr. will be making just his second start of the season. In his only other Busch start, "Junior" finished seventh at Daytona.

The list of "Buschwhackers" is lower than the last few weeks. Just 19 Nextel Cup regulars are included in this week's preliminary entry list. Unfortunately for the young drivers in the series, the list of Nextel Cup regulars includes the top six drivers in the current Busch Series standings and eight of the top-10. Only Marcos Ambrose and Mike Wallace cracked the top-10 for Busch Series regulars.

It is also the first short track race of the season. It is NASCAR's roots. It is rubbin' and it is the type of racing that made NASCAR what it is today. This week's racing will include the "bump and run," bent sheetmetal and arguments between drivers and sometimes pit crews.

Bristol is the site of many famous arguments.

Who can forget when Harvick was knocked out of the race in 2002 by Greg Biffle nine laps from the checkered flag, waited until the end of the race and leapt over a car to get a piece of Biffle. The two had a heated exchange, which quickly turned into a large riot involving other crew members before NASCAR officials finally broke up the melee.

This is the 50th Busch Series race at Bristol. No wonder the stands are packed for every race.

Through five races, Carl Edwards leads the standings with 810 points. He is 144 points ahead of defending series champion Kevin Harvick who did not compete in Mexico City. Edwards has finished sixth or better in all five 2007 starts though he has yet to taste victory. He has five career Busch starts at Bristol, with three top-10s.

Edwards won five times in 2005 and four times in 2007 so a win here would not be unexpected except for the fact that Harvick has an extraordinary record at BMS. In 14 Busch starts at the 0.533-mile, high-banked, short track Harvick has accumulated four wins and 10 top-5s.

INDYCARS

Homestead-Miami Indy 300 - Homestead-Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL

If Roger Penske can pull his star driver away from his current infatuation with NASCAR, it is time for Sam Hornish Jr. to defend his 2006 IndyCar Series crown.

Hornish Jr. won the title by the thinnest of margins - a tiebreaker over Dan Wheldon. Both drivers finished the season with 475 points, but the Defiance, OH native took the title by virtue of his four wins to Wheldon's two.

Hornish Jr. has spent some of his off-season testing the NASCAR waters. So far this season the three-time IndyCar Series champion has run three times in the Busch Series finishing 31st at Daytona, 35th at California and a solid 15th in Atlanta.

"I think we had a top-10 car, but to be able to go a lap down, come back late in the race, get back on the lead lap and give ourselves an opportunity to move up in the top-15 was good," said Hornish Jr. "It's the best finish we've had so far, so we can't be too disappointed."

He has also announced that he would like to run the Nextel Cup race at Indianapolis. But his first priority in 2007 is defending his championship.

"I'm really excited about getting going in the IndyCar Series and for the kickoff this year," said Hornish Jr. in a recent teleconference interview.

Hornish Jr. will again have to fend off teammate Helio Castroneves (finished third just two points back) along with Wheldon and his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon. Wheldon won the title in 2005 with Andretti Green Racing and Dixon won the championship in 2003.

All four should be right there again in 2007.

The real question in 2007 is can AGR rebound from an off-year to compete for the championship. The team has plenty of talent in 2004 IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick and Dario Franchitti.

In 2004 Kanaan had one of the most remarkable seasons ever when he won three times and finished in the top-5 a record 15 of 16 events. He completed every lap (3,305) that season (only driver to ever accomplish that feat) and led a record 889 laps.

Dario Franchitti certainly has the ability to win a championship though his best finish to date is fourth in 2005.

The other two members of the team are "media darlings" who are still very young and improving each year. Patrick, who finished a career-best ninth overall in 2006 is very good in qualifying, but is still learning how to race with the "big boys."

Andretti, son of Michael Andretti and grandson of legend Mario Andretti, exploded on the scene in 2006 when he nearly won the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. He finished second to Hornish Jr. when the series champion made a pass on the final straightaway.

Hornish Jr. got past Michael Andretti and on lap 198 of 200 took a shot in turn three for the lead. But Marco Andretti got to the corner first and Hornish Jr. fell back about six lengths.

"I thought that it was over when I didn't get by him in (turn) three," said Hornish Jr.

The three-time IndyCar Series champion gathered up his Penske Honda and made one last effort. He closed onto Marco Andretti's bumper as they entered the final two turns. Marco was still ahead as they came out of turn four and could see the finish line and the last "yard of bricks."

Hornish Jr. made one last move on the inside and got alongside Marco Andretti as they neared the checkered flag. Hornish Jr. edged Marco at the finish line by just 0.0635 seconds.

Marco came back later in the season to grab his first IndyCar win at the Infineon Raceway and finished seventh overall. He should improve in 2007 and must improve to satisfy his fans and family members.

These three teams - Penske, Ganassi and Andretti Green should win the majority of this year's events and compete for the crown.

Last year's Homestead-Miami Indy 300 was won by Wheldon who edged Castroneves by 0.0147 seconds.

With only a few laps to go Wheldon battled side-by-side with Castroneves for the lead. On lap 200, with Castroneves on the inside and Wheldon on the outside, the eventual winner got his nose ahead of Castroneves. But it wasn't much of a lead as they headed for the final two turns. They were still side- by-side and maybe six inches apart as they crossed the finish line with Wheldon about two feet in front of the red and white nose of Castroneves' race car.

But the race was run under a dark cloud after Rahal-Letterman driver Paul Dana was killed in a practice crash. Ed Carpenter (also injured in the crash) and Dana's teammates Patrick and Buddy Rice did not compete.

The season opener is scheduled for Saturday night under the lights.