Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 2010 American Le Mans Series Test

The American Le Mans Series has named G-OIL from Green Earth Technologies as the official motor oil of the series and the sanctioning body, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Unlike conventional petroleum-derived motor oils, G-OIL is made from saturated animal fats which have been processed through dehydrogenation. While the stuff may not be good for people to ingest in any significant quantities, the saturated fats apparently make a good lubricant and G-OIL has similar properties to petroleum oils. G-OIL is claimed to be biodegradable and Green Earth sells all its products in fully recyclable containers. The car pictured is the G-OIL ORECA-Courage FLM09 racing car for the newly formed Green Earth Team Gunnar (GETG), driven by Gunner Jeannette whose effort had him finish 14th overall and third in LMPC class. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 2010 American Le Mans Series Test

The Monterey hills were greeted with a wondrous, but a little chilly, spring day for the third test of the nine race 2010 American Le Mans Series season. The wind blew at times and the day's temperature never hit 70 degrees causing tire adhesion problems for some of the contenders throughout the day. One car even spun as it entered the front straight ready to take a restart, and another overshot the corner entirely and caused a wreck from which it never fully recovered ... from one of many Yellow Flag Caution periods throughout the race.

All in all, the race was hotly contested throughout the six hours until the checkered flag flew and the fireworks from the Mazda bridge, located just past the Start/Finish line, lit up the sky.

This excerpted and edited from American Le Mans Series PDF report -

At 8:18 pm (5h 48m running), Checkered Flag.

Marino Franchitti (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) crosses the line to take the overall victory.

Christophe Bouchut (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) wins in class by 7.105 seconds over Tom Sutherland (#36-LMPC Oreca FLM09).

Joey Hand, who drives the #90 BMW E92 M3 for Rahal Letterman Racing's BMW team, just before the race. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Patrick Long (#45-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) wins the closet battle just 0.365 seconds ahead of Joey Hand (#90-GT BMW E92 M3) and 2.766 seconds ahead of Oliver Gavin (#4-GT Chevrolet Corvette ZR1).

Jeroen Bleekemolen (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) lead flag to flag beating Andy Lally (#63-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) by move than one lap.

Marino Franchitti (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) records his 3rd ALMS win.
Simon Pagenaud (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) records his 7th ALMS win.
David Brabham (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) records his 21st ALMS win.

Christophe Bouchut (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) earns his second ALMS victory.
Mark Wilkins (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) earns his first ALMS victory.
Scott Tucker (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) earns his second ALMS victory.

Joerg Bergmeister (#45-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) now has 31 ALMS wins.
Patrick Long (#45-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) with 17 ALMS wins.

Jeroen Bleekemolen (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) earns his second ALMS victory.
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) earns his second ALMS victory ... and first in the United States.
Tim Pappas (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) earns his second ALMS victory.

American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented Patrón – Race Quotes:

Marino Franchitti (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) “Procedurally this was a great performance for the team. Simon's drive was just a pleasure to watch. David got in and backed us up and got is a bit more of a lead. I knew the Dyson car was a bit of a terrier and I knew I didn't want to let them go. The guys made a great call not to put on new tires right there at the end. I was definitely hanging on for life, it was a bit like drifting or rally driving. It was great to have no damage and keep it together cause the car leaves Friday for Le Mans. So this is great heading to France.” (about the last stop) “Perry, our Michelin guy looked at our tires and said we were good.
Either way I was going to be happy. I knew I'd still have great tires and new tires were still really good. It was a perfect call because I could drive like I wanted to. Michelin was a big part of the win today.”

Simon Pagenaud in the HPD ARX-01c (lower left, black and green) as he brings the car forward through traffic from a start at the back of the pack. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Simon Pagenaud (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) “Thank you to the Highcroft Racing team, they did a fantastic job. The whole crew in the pits did a great job. The opening laps were pretty exciting. Starting at the back you have to find motivation and that was getting to the front. The ending of my stint was really good, the Michelin tires were working really, really good. We went through the traffic very quickly. We got ahead a lot from the first yellow the went out. It is a great team to be part of the operation like HR. Its great to go off to Le Mans where we're looking for the win.”

David Brabham (#1-LMP HPD ARX-01c) “The last couple of races here have been pretty good. Last year we won the championship here. I cant say enough about the team, today was an absolutely flawless demonstration of endurance racing. Everything happened out there and we made no mistakes in the pits. My teammates performed perfectly. This is the way to head off to Le Mans with this momentum.”

Joerg Bergmeister (#45-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) “It was definitely a bit more relaxing this year. Especially last year being chased down by Jan. I knew Patrick would do a good job because he has been good all week long. There were some who thought it wouldn't work out because the BMW was charging but I knew that Patrick would work it out and pull away. The car was working well all day long. It was a good race.”

Patrick Long (#45-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) ”Laguna Seca has been special. It was always the race we finished up. And of course last year we finished with a literal and figurative bang. This year not quite as exciting but still exciting none-the-less. We had a call if we were going to play for points or go for the win. On the restart Joey left a bit of an open door and I took it 3 wide through 11. Then it was all about running because I knew Joey wouldn't be happy. We came from P8 and worked our way through a very competitive field. We know Risi had a hard day so unfortunately they were in the mix with everyone else in the end because they were so
tough this weekend. I cant say enough about the competitiveness in all the classes in this Series. So many cars on the lead laps at the end and its just tough.”

Scott Tucker (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) “I don't know if there is a secret. I have great co-drivers and a great team. Our manager has a great mind and these guys make it easy for me. They do a great job behind the scenes. “

Mark Wilkins (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) “We had to push really hard to keep up front. Christophe drove a great stint, so did Scott to keep the car up there. Level 5 gave us a great car at Sebring and they did here. We knew if we could run to the end we'd be right there.”

Christophe Bouchut (#55-LMPC Oreca FLM09) “Its a nice feeling to win again here. It was a great race, this time we had to fight really hard until the end. The car was working really well. We had no problems at all. I just pushed the car to the maximum to keep our positions.”

Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) “It feels great. Joroen said, we came here to win. We have a race Monday morning and we fly back home. This track is really sandy, it is the most difficult of the track. There was a car who went off at turn 4. An LMP went off and you couldn't see the track. But every driver knows this course so it's fun to drive when everyone is so familiar.”

Tim Pappas (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) “This is pretty cool. We came out for Long Beach without much preparation. We had a difficult, frustrating race. We went home and worked hard and practice. All the guys at Black Swan are great. The Bleekemolen brothers come over and it was a great race. We didn't put a tire off and made zero mistakes in the pits so that turned out to a race win.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen (#54-GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) “I know the guys are great. We had a great start in Long Beach but some things went wrong, today it went really right. Its great to get the win and hopefully move up in the championships.”

Falling back into Spring, this race will rest for at least another year. It was good to be back so soon, now on to Le Mans, then the second have of the North American Tour begins.

... notes from The EDJE

Bobby Rahal ... a multiple team owner with a couple of problems at ALMS

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)


Bobby Rahal ... a multiple team owner with a couple of problems at ALMS

Bobby Rahal, after witnessing his son, Graham Rahal make the IRL field for one of the set 33 positions in the field at the 2010 Indianapolis 500 yesterday (assumed ... or was he at Barber Motorsports Park?), flew in to the Monterey area to oversee the activities of his Rahal Letterman BMW M3 GT ALMS team. What greeted him was the following bit of damage to the #90 driven by Dirk Mueller ... at the time of this posting, it is unknown if the car will make the field.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

This excerpted and edited from an ALMS track report PDF -

At 10:31 am, Dirk Mueller (#90-GT BMW E92 M3) into the pits with damage to the right front, right rear, and rear end of the car. Apparently the car spun with contact but was able to drive back to the pits. This will be a big repair for the car before the race. There are left-over BMW parts near the tire barrier coming out of turn 6, it looks like this is where the incident occurred.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

... and the curtain is drawn.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)



UPDATE: It's just like ... it never happened!


Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

... notes from The EDJE


Post Script: Bobby Rahal BMW with friends and Drivers (Larry Koch BMW M-Brand Manager white shirt, Dicken Wear yellow shirt) ... Tom Milner background - image taken at the Monterey Historics a few years ago. Image Credit: Jan Wagner - AutoMatters

Driver Meet-Up & American Le Mans Vitesse Mazda RX8 Ride Along

Guy Smith put Mazda power out front at its home track with the fastest time in Friday’s first official practice session for the American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Patrón. Dyson Racing’s English ace posted a best lap of 1:14.335 (108.385 mph) in the Lola-Mazda coupe that he will drive with Chris Dyson and Andy Meyrick. Qualifications Update: Guy Smith (#16-LMP Lola B09 86/Mazda) earns his 1st ALMS pole. Strategy for tomorrow from Guy Smith, "Tomorrow, we are looking for a very boring race. We want to just drive around, drive our own race, not make any mistakes. The Dunlop tires are really good. We've never run them here, it was a bit of the unknown. We knew they'd be good" continued Smith, "but they have exceeded my expectations. Dunlop worked hard in the winter, and worked hard with the Europeans. It's great to show we can battle with the Michelins and the Yokohamas. It's really good competition." This is the first pole position for a non-Michelin team since Mosport 2004 when Dyson Racing's Lola-AER was on Goodyear.Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)


Driver Meet-Up & American Le Mans Vitesse Mazda RX8 Ride Along

The Vitesse program is a new initiative to demonstrate relevance between American Le Mans Series manufacturers' race entries and the vehicles these manufacturers have available to consumers. It's an opportunity for the public to get up close to the vehicles as well as see them perform and maneuver while undertaking hot laps on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca race track.

My camera shifted to video in compact but I posted it anyway ... PART 1: It was fun to see Patrick Longiver for Flying Lizard Motorsports, talk with another driver about the braking and steering dynamics in negotiating turns 3 & 4 with Pete Brock watching on with affirmative amusement. PART 2: Monterey's Jonathan Bomarito Team SpeedSource's race winning GT class driver (2010 24 hours of Daytona) was a joy to ride with and he turned me on the the fact that turn six is tighter and more challenging than it looks from anywhere else than the track! He also happens to do double duty as a teaching driver for Skip Barber Racing School here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Video Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

The Mazda RX8 is the consumer legacy of the legendary RX8 race car that recently won the 24 Hours of Daytona at the beginning of this year. Much of the technology on the Mazda RX8 was developed through Mazdaspeed Motorsports extensive investment in racing and demonstrates as direct a link between technology transfers from the track to the showroom as exists within the American Le Mans Series.

Other Vitesse cars offered like the Corvette Z06, and also a Porsche Turbo have teams that field racing models in the ALMS, fans and guests of the Vitesse program are guaranteed not just an exciting experience, but an exotic encounter with some of the most desired and rare cars on the road. Attending the next ALMS race in your area to get a glimpse of the Vitesse cars and the 200mph prototypes they've inspired is simply a must.
(ht: SPEED TV)

GMG Open House

GMG Open House 2010
(All Images: Dicken Wear)

GMG Race Team with a Great Finish at Mazda Raceway 2009

Chuckwalla Valley Raceway Opens With A Flourish

Dicken Wear's helmet as it sits on the hood of his BMW 740il Dually at ChuckWalla Valley Raceway (CVR) Media Introduction Day - April 23, 2010. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Chuckwalla Valley Raceway Opens With A Flourish

On April 23rd, members of the automotive press from all over the Southwest were invited to preview this new private racing facility - Chuckwalla Valley Raceway (CVR) - and learn first hand what might be involved in starting up a new racing operation. First impressions and the attentions to detail leave one with the feeling that this effort will be a resounding success.

The facility currently has one road course track operational that is 2.68 miles long (a little longer than the old Riverside International Raceway) and features seventeen (17) turns, is 40 feet wide, multiple elevation changes, a couple of double apex turns, a long banked turn, and a tricky three turn off-cambered section that mimics (to a lesser degree) the famed corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The track was designed by internationally known motorcycle racing school operator, designer, and author ("Features of Race Track Design") Ed Bargy.

The Suzuki SX4 SportBack GTS Test Drive (driven by John Dinkel) begins on the short straight between turns 3 and 4 ... and ends on the front straightaway. Camera car driven by Dicken Wear and new media contributor/co-pilot, Ed Jenks. Video Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Graphic Credit: CVR

The new road course race track operation is now open ... just off an airstrip down California's Interstate 10 between Coachella Valley (Palm Springs) and Blythe at Desert Center.

Desert Center had been famous for mining, a fuel and food stop on the way to either LA or Phoenix, and Palm Trees planted in a circle (gone fallow) to attract attention to passing motorists. Get off and head North toward Highway 62 at the intersection of Interstate 10 and 177 and after four miles turn right at the sign heralding the "Chuckwalla Valley Raceway - Bringing the Future to you!"

Scion Does It Again At Long Beach Grand Prix

Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2010)

Scion Does It Again At Long Beach Grand Prix:

DG-Spec and Scion Win Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Robert Stout Drives Number 18 Car to World Challenge Touring Car Victory

In front of one of the largest crowds at any race in the world, the DG-Spec Scion road racing team showed they have what it takes for World Challenge gold. Robert Stout drove the number 18 Scion tC to a decisive victory through the historic streets of Long Beach. The win brings Scion their first in the Touring Car category.

The event began with positive signs during the first practice on Friday. Team owner and driver Dan Gardner was the fastest Touring Car, with Stout taking second position. Neither driver had ever driven the course before, showing just how fast the two can come up to speed. Things were looking good, despite Gardner and the 36 car getting drilled by a GT Porsche early in the session. Most of the damage from the incident proved to be cosmetic, and the team had it fixed in a jiffy.

The second and final practice session of the event would take place on Saturday morning, so teams had little time to make any preparations. The 18 and 36 cars took to the track, but on the first complete lap on the front straight of Shoreline, something clearly was wrong with the 36. Gardner looked in his mirrors and saw them filled with a thick cloud of smoke. He radioed in that he thought the car was on fire, but heard over the radio that it might be oil. As he pulled his finger away from the fire button, Gardner tried to assess the situation. Further down the straight, Gardner saw the oil pressure warning going off. As he limped the car down the straight, he shut the engine off, and coasted past Turn 1 into the runoff.

The team would find a severed oil cooler line, and it was time to find out if the motor could be salvaged. The motor shut-down had kept it from grenading, but other damage still may have occurred. The team did their due diligence, and all signs were positive. Unfortunately, when they finally started the motor back up, the gut-wrenching sound of rod knock dashed all hope for the engine.

The second practice did, however, yield some good news as Stout was now the fastest Touring Car, nipping the RealTime Honda Civic Si by two-tenths of a second.

Huge logistical challenges stood in the team’s way, as their rig was a mile away, and because the track was constantly hot, they couldn’t easily get their spare motor over to their pit in the convention center. But with the dedicated crew of Brad Allen, Sean Morris, John McNulty, David Fredrickson, and special addition Merritt Johnson, they figured out a way. A furniture dolly and a lot of pushing took care of the motor, and the great guys at CRP Racing loaned their engine hoist.

The crew’s blood, sweat, and tears took them into 4 in the morning, but they got it done, and the 36 car would be ready for Qualifying, which would take place just four hours later.

Bleary eyed and filled with caffeine, a few hours later the crew began staging the cars for Qualifying. The entire session had been shortened, as it was to be split, with the GT cars going the first 12 minutes, and the TC and GTS cars heading out for the second 12. As they went out on track, Gardner constantly watched his gauges, radioing back to the crew the status. Things were looking good, but the entire session was spent with an eagle eye on the dash, looking for anything that could cost the team another motor.

Gardner was working on a decent flier when he caught the Mazda RX-8 of Eric Meyer doing a cool down lap going into Turn 1. That would put an end to the flier, but the car looked to be in good shape…frustrating, but some good news was to come. When the results came in, Stout had barely gotten edged out by Nick Wittmer in the RealTime Civic Si. The difference was the same two-tenths from the second practice, but this time it had gone RealTime’s way. Still, the team now sat with the 18 and 36 cars, second and fourth on grid respectively.

Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2010)

The race was to take place that afternoon. The 18 car was looking good, but the 36 showed some minor signs of detonation. World-Class tuner Shawn Church of Church Automotive Testing sprung into action, analyzing the logs and emailing Gardner a tweaked map for the new motor. This was to be the final step of the motor swap.

As the race approached, both cars took their starting spots and prepared for the standing start. The light boxes extinguished and both Scions churned their front tires, boiling a bit, but launching hard forward. Stout mostly held his line, as Gardner made a move to the inside up against the wall. He passed a few cars and then situated on the back bumper of the 18 car, on the outside of Turn 1. GTS and TC cars were now intermingled and it looked like the cars would go 3 or 4 wide into the first turn. Gardner moved to the inside, and then moments later got rammed by Meyer’s Mazda, putting a hole in the Scion, and tearing off the RX-8s front bumper.

Stout stood his ground and followed Wittmer’s Civic through the mayhem, holding onto the second spot, as Gardner moved up into third. Coming back around and entering the hairpin, the RealTime Civic got a bad exit, allowing both Stout and Gardner to make a run on the leader. Stout motored by before start-finish, but Gardner would see Wittmer make his one move hard to the inside to thwart Gardner from getting around. As Gardner swung to the outside, the Civic made another move down the straight to block that lane, then weaved a bit, until bailing out to go track right in preparation for Turn 1.

Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2010)

Gardner stayed inside, late-braked, bounced of the apex and moved track right. On the way to the Fountain, Wittmer crashed into Gardner, causing the Scion to lose a mirror, but Gardner stood his ground and took the position. Stout and Gardner were now 1-2. The Civic started to slow, and the team would later learn heheh had flattened his tire after making contact with Gardner. As the Civic pulled into the pits, Meyer took over third and began hunting down Gardner. All the while, Stout started to pull away.

A call came in from the crew to the 36 car that race control thought it may again be leaking oil. Gardner noticed some strange behavior with the oil pressure and became concerned that they may have another motor problem. He watched the gauges relentlessly, all the while trying to keep the gap between his car and the Mazda.

Most of the rest of the race was spent keeping a close eye on GT cars as they pushed their way back up through the TC cars several times. Gardner kept an eye on the dash, and Stout just drove smart. Late in the race, Stout would report that the car was wandering on the straight, but he kept in all in check.

Unfortunately for Gardner, on Lap 15, as Turn 9 approached, he turned in a hair early, clipped the apex, and then felt the car go to an evil push condition. Gardner saw the wall at the exit fast approaching. He turned the wheel harder right, but still glanced the wall. The incident would unfortunately bend a lower control arm, forcing Gardner to retire. Stout, however, would hold onto the lead, taking the number 18 DG-Spec Scion tC across the finish line for the big win.

Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2010)

“It’s quite obviously a huge win for the team,” said Gardner. “We just won Long Beach, and that’s a major accomplishment. My hat’s off to Robert for a good, clean drive. I’m a bit disappointed in myself. It just goes to prove what all racers know…small errors on a street course have major consequences. It’s my first DNF that’s entirely my fault. It’s hard when you know you were sailing to a 1-2 finish, but you have to get over it, move on, and go kick some butt next time.”

Stout, at just 18 years old, became the youngest driver in World Challenge history to win a race. The win brings the team, Stout, and Scion their first TC victory.

“I’m on the top of the world,” Stout said. “I’m not sure I dreamed of winning a World Challenge race so soon, especially not Long Beach. Dan and the DG-Spec crew gave me a great car to drive, and I just put my head down to get the job done. Right now I’m still filled with excitement, but soon it will be time to put the game face on and get ready for Mosport. Anything can happen in racing, and I’m not going to take anything for granted.”

With the victory, Stout moves into first place in the season points standings with 350. Gardner holds his fourth place standing, and is just a single point out of third and 18 out of second. The team’s performance pushes Scion into the lead for the Manufacturers’ Points, ahead of second place VW and third place Honda.

Standings and results can be viewed at http://www.world-challenge.com/index.php. The race will be broadcast on the Versus Network on Saturday, May 1 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Twenty-four hours later the program can be viewed online at http://www.world-challengetv.com/. Rounds 1 and 2 of the series can now be viewed at http://www.world-challengetv.com/#/races/161.

The team now readies for a double-header at Mosport and the Victoria Day SpeedFest, in Ontario, Canada. The event will take place May 21-23. Saturday’s race will begin at 2:50 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday’s race will begin at 12:45 p.m.
(HT: Story with permission from Dan Gardner | Edited by Dicken Wear/Ed Jenks)

NASCAR at PIR

Jimmie and Jeff

The Winning Duo

The Artist at Work in Victory Lane

JTG Pit Wagon

AJ Allmendinger

The Red Bull Car

Marcos Ambrose

Michael McDowell's Ride (Image credite: Dicken Wear)

Marcos Ambrose Spotter, Al DiRusso and the Editor at PIR April, 2010

It's always good to see old friends and fellow Karters do go in mainstream Motorsports. And it was great to see AJ get his first pole at one of our favorite tracks. AJ Allmendinger described his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole as "a small victory" - with the fervent hope that it leads to something bigger, as in a race win.

Allmendinger led a quartet of former open-wheel stars in Friday's qualifying session for Saturday's SUBWAY Fresh Fit 600™ at Phoenix International Raceway. With a lap at 134.675 mph (26.731 seconds), Allmendinger's No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford edged Scott Speed's No. 82 Toyota (134.373 mph) for the Coors Light Pole Award. (Ed Note: Both AJ and Scott raced Karts with us as did Sam Hornish, Jr before he moved onto Indy Cars).

Sam Hornish Jr. (134.198 mph) qualified a career-best third in his No. 77 Dodge, followed by Marcos Ambrose (133.814 mph) in his No. 47 Toyota. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fifth fastest at 133.640 mph.

"I knew we were going to be quick," Allmendinger said. "We were quick in practice, but you go out there and you just don't know how much grip is going to be on the racetrack. I knew I was going to have to get everything out of it to have a chance of beating (Speed).

"It's a small victory for us to get our first career pole together, and to start up front is really cool, but the big picture is (Saturday), and that's what we're focused on."

Speed was the 13th driver to make a qualifying attempt. Allmendinger went out 30th and had the benefit of a slightly cooler track.

"As soon as Turn 1 started getting shaded - that's when Scott ran his lap, when the shade had kind of come over - I knew the grip was going to be there, but it was a little surprising how gripped-up the racetrack got," Allmendinger said.

"It was still really hot out there, but it seems like, at a lot of these older racetracks, a couple of degrees, when it gets cooler, can really change the racetack a lot."

Speed was sporting a shaved head at Phoenix, a far cry from the blue-black dye job he had for the last two races, at Bristol and Martinsville.

"I had to shave all the black hair because that seemed to be bad luck," Speed said. "I also named our car. Her name is 'Rattlesnake.' I think it's kind of mean and sounds fast. We're in Phoenix, so it fits. I don't know which one of those has changed our luck around, but we'll continue doing all of them."

It was a game of numbers - two and four.

Capitalizing on a late caution that extended Saturday's SUBWAY Fresh Fit 600™ three laps past its scheduled distance of 375 laps, Ryan Newman and crew chief Tony Gibson snatched victory from Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch with a two-tire call under the final caution.

Both Busch and Johnson took four tires on Lap 373, under caution for Scott Riggs' blown tire in Turn 4 one lap earlier. Gordon, who took two tires and left pit road with the lead, spun his tires on the decisive restart on Lap 377, allowing Newman to surge into the top spot.

After two circuits under green at the flat one-mile track, Newman crossed the finish line 0.13 seconds ahead of Gordon to win his 14th NASCAR Sprint Cup race and his first since the 2008 Daytona 500 – ending a 77-race drought.

Johnson charged from seventh to third during the green-white-checkered-flag finish. Mark Martin, also on two tires for the final restart, ran fourth, one position ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

Johnson extended his lead in the series standings to 36 points over Kenseth in second and to 96 over third-place Greg Biffle, who finished 22nd Saturday.

"I've got to throw Gibson under the bus - he wanted to go four, and I said, 'Just give me two,'" Newman said. "I liked the track position. I'd rather block than have to boot. I was in a good position there, obviously.

"I had restarted on the bottom side earlier tonight and could not get going. On two tires, I was kind of impressed - but there were a lot of cars behind us with two tires. It was a good situation to be in. It was just the right time, right place."

Busch and Johnson had dominated the two long green-flag runs that preceded the two-lap dash to the finish. In fact, Busch, who tied Johnson for most laps led with 113, stayed out front from the time he passed Johnson on Lap 262 until Riggs' accident 110 laps later.

"I can't freaking believe this," Busch lamented on the radio to crew chief Dave Rogers when the ninth and final yellow flag flew. "What do you want to do?"

Busch and Rogers opted for four tires. Johnson made the same call for his No. 48 team.

"I was excited to see the caution come out, because it was an opportunity to win," Johnson said. "I decided - I made the call for four tires. It's the first time that I can remember in a long time that I actually said what I wanted for a pit stop, with the way Martinsville played out and Bristol and last night's (Nationwide) race (where four-tire calls proved successful). I knew with the green-white checkered there weren't a lot of laps, but I felt we might get a caution with everybody racing so hard.

"So I made the call for four and made the most of it. We got from seventh to third and just did what we could. So, not a bad night at all. Excited to see us stretch out the points a little bit and get another top-five finish here."

Racing for the first time since March 31 surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, Denny Hamlin completed the race in 30th place, two laps down.

Asked after the race if he was in pain, Hamlin replied, "More than I can tell you. I'm pretty sure I didn't do any damage or anything like that, but I'm absolutely exhausted right now."

Hamlin had Casey Mears standing by as a relief driver, but opted not to use him.

"I got a lot of encouragement from the team," said Hamlin, who fell three spots to 18th in the standings. "Through thick and thin, we're a team. I feel like they'd give their left leg for me and do everything they could do to make sure we were successful, and I felt like it was my duty and my job and that's what I'm hired to do, is to try to do the best I can and keep this team as good as we can."

Editor's Note: PIR has always been a fun track to go to for me since moving out West in 1997. When I was the President of the Arizona Sports Racing Association, we held many events at PIR. I also helped start a Kart Racing Group within ASRA after the Open Wheels Classes died off. It runs to this day in the Southwest at various tracks. As the President of the Professional Test Drivers Association of America (PTDAA), I have spent many days of private testing for OEs at PIR, and always find the staff there very helpful. A special thanks to Griffin Hickman and his staff at PIR in thee Media Center for all their help and understanding.