NASCAR NATION -8-18

After a poor showing in 2009, it’s safe to say that Richard Childress Racing has returned in 2010. And their resurgence has been led by Sprint Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick, who added to his momentum by winning Sunday’s Carfax 400 at Michigan international Speedway.
Harvick passed the Toyota of Denny Hamlin with just 11 laps remaining and then held off the Joe Gibbs Racing driver for his third win of 2010, increasing his points lead with only three races remaining before NASCAR’s version of the playoffs, the Chase for the Sprint Cup, begins.
“The season has gone so well from last year, but to come to Michigan and be able to run the way we did today, after the way we’ve run here the past three years, this shows how far the organization has come as a whole,” Harvick crew chief Gil Martin said.
Harvick gambled with 32 laps remaining, when he and then leader Tony Stewart chose to remain out on the racetrack during a caution. The move paid off for Harvick, who lost tracked down Hamlin and took the lead for good with 11 laps to go.
Harvick is easily the car to beat as the season winds down, Hamlin says.
“Those guys, they’re tough. They’ve really got everything working right now. Their cars are handling really well, and they’ve got horsepower. Those are two things that are tough to beat.”
Hamlin was second, followed by the Roush Fenway Racing trio of Carl Edwards in third, Greg Biffle in fourth, and Matt Kenseth in fifth.
Several Chase contenders had poor performances at Michigan, including Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Kurt Busch. Burton and Gordon were involved in an incident with less than 50 laps remaining, negated Burton to a 24th-place finish. He dropped to seventh in the standings. Gordon finished 27th.
Mark Martin was involved in an early incident that led to a 28th-place finish. Martin’s finish, coupled with Clint Bowyer’s 13th place position dropped Martin outside the top 12 into 13th position in the points with only three races before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
Kurt Busch took the biggest blow of any contender, suffering from engine failure to finish 40th and drop six spots in the standings from fourth to 10th.
Martin Truex Jr. of Ocean County started ninth, led five laps, and finished eighth.
Nationwide Series:
Brad Keselowski took the lead on a restart with just eight laps remaining to hold off rival Carl Edwards and win the CARFAX 250 at Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski led a race-high 89 of 125 laps en route to his fourth win of 2010. Edwards was second, followed by Kyle Busch in third, Justin Allgaier in fourth, and Paul Menard in fifth.
Ryan Truex, younger brother of Mayetta, New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr., made his second career Nationwide Series start. He qualified second, was competitive for a majority of the race, and finished a career-best 12th.
Camping World Truck Series: Todd Bodine can now add a Camping World Truck Series victory to his Darlington Raceway resume after his victory Saturday night in the Too Tough To Tame 200. Timothy Peters was second, followed by Ron Hornaday in third, Johnny Sauter in fourth, and Austin Dillon in fifth.
ARCA RE/MAX Series in Millville: Eighteen-year-old Casey Roderick became the 11th different first-time winner in the 13 ARCA RE/MAX Series events this season after winning the Garden State ARCA 150 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Roderick started 34th after missing an opportunity to qualify due to a failed engine. Joey Coulter was second, followed by Chris Buescher in third and Frank Kimmel in fourth. Cherry Hill, New Jersey native Tom Hessert was fifth.
Tragedy in California Desert: Eighth people were killed and 12 others injured when an off-road racer lost control of his truck and barreled into a crowd of close onlookers in a remote desert area in Northern California, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Crowds of several thousand lined the unmarked race course, with some sections, including the section where the incident occurred, with crowds as close as four feet from the racing surface with no barriers.
Driver Brent Sloppy hit a rock after a large jump, than abruptly lost control of his modified Ford Ranger. The Ranger then rolled onto its side into the crowd, trapping several spectators. It took emergency crews more than 30 minutes to reach the remote desert location. Until their arrival, the few medics the race organizers had hired treated the injured with the help of several off-duty police and firefighters in the crowd.
Six people were pronounced dead at the scene, and the other two died at area hospitals.
Coming Up: All three series head to the fastest half-mile in the world, the Bristol Motor Speedway, for a weekend of short-track racing under the lights.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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