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Undaunted, Chase Rookies Qualify 1-2

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2007

LOUDON, N.H. - So much for the pressure of competing in the Chase for the Championship for the first time.

Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. didn't flinch Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. Rather, they took the front-row positions for Sunday's Sylvania 300, with Bowyer getting his second career pole at 130.412 mph.

'The pressure is off us,' Bowyer said. 'We're 12th. We only have one way to go, and that's forward.'

Said Truex, 'It's an exciting time for me and my whole team. ... We've got a lot of tracks in the Chase we feel like we'll be real competitive at.'

Defending Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who'll start the Chase in first place because he leads the series with six wins, took the third spot. Fellow championship hopefuls Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick also qualified in the top 10.

Carl Edwards' Chase got off to a poor start when he crashed his No. 99 Ford during practice and was forced to a backup car. His backup car turned out to be pretty good, though, as Edwards qualified 11th, one spot ahead of fellow Chaser Kyle Busch.

Jeff Gordon, who led the standings most of the year but starts the Chase 20 points behind Johnson, qualified 18th. Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth were the only Chasers to qualify outside the top 20 - in 23rd and 30th, respectively.

EARNHARDT, KAHNE SPONSORS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be sponsored by PepsiCo brand Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink and the National Guard, and Kasey Kahne will take over his Budweiser sponsorship next year, according to several reports and talk throughout the garage area Friday.

Additionally, the Charlotte Observer reported on its racing Web site Friday that Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports Chevy will carry No. 88, which is owned by Robert Yates Racing and was associated with Dale Jarrett for many years. Earnhardt's JR Motorsports fields a No. 88 Chevy in the Busch Series.
Hendrick Motorsports has scheduled an announcement next Wednesday in Dallas, where PepsiCo executives will be holding an annual conference. Neither team officials nor Earnhardt would discuss the subject Friday.

Kahne has been the favorite to land the lucrative Budweiser sponsorship for several weeks, and Gillett Evernham Motorsports has scheduled an announcement for Tuesday at its Statesville, N.C., headquarters.

Dodge, which currently sponsors Kahne's No. 9 Dodge through its Dodge Dealers, issued a statement saying new sponsorship will allow the manufacturer to 'redirect valuable resources to the challenges facing all of our teams.'

REUTIMANN, MWR CLOSE: Zephyrhills' David Reutimann still doesn't have a contract for next year, but he said Friday 'it's looking pretty good' he'll return with Michael Waltrip Racing.

'We've had some discussions, and we'll just have to see how our options play out,' he said before qualifying the No. 00 Toyota 20th for Sunday's race - second among drivers needing to qualify on speed.

Reutimann's name has been mentioned with a fourth team that Richard Childress Racing may be starting and some other rides that have since been filled.

Though only 41st in the standings, Reutimann ran well two weeks ago at California before being caught up in a wreck and scored a career-best 13th-place finish last week at Richmond. He was 13th fastest in Friday's final practice session.

'It just seems things have clicked here the last couple of weeks,' he said. 'The cars have been good, the pit stops have been good ... we're making progress.'

NO GO FOR HORNISH: Three-time Indy Racing League champion and 2006 Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. failed to qualify for what would have been his Nextel Cup debut.

Driving a third car for Penske Racing, Hornish went 126.631 mph, which was 45th fastest among the 48 drivers who posted speeds. The number would have been 49 except John Andretti's speed was disallowed when his No. 49 Dodge failed inspection.

'I don't know, we made some changes after practice, and we couldn't get the car to come off the corner like it needed to,' Hornish said. 'We're disappointed, but we'll try again.'

Hornish is trying to decide whether to move full-time to NASCAR next year with a Penske Racing expansion team. He's tentatively scheduled to enter the four other 'Car of Tomorrow' races during the Chase.

HOT LAPS: Temperatures for Sunday's race are supposed to be in the mid 60s, or about 40 degrees cooler than they were for the Sharp Aquos 500 at California Speedway two weeks ago. ... Tampa's Aric Almirola is running today's Craftsman Truck Series race. ... Zephyrhills' Wayne Reutimann Jr., David's cousin, will compete in today's 75-mile USAC Silver Crown race. Wayne led the standings earlier this year and is now second, 53 points behind Bud Kaeding.

Tony Fabrizio

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