European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 34 stars and stripes Friday april 27 2007 so far cot is not so hot cup Drivers displeased with cars performance at Phoenix by Mike harks the associated press Nastars grand Experiment the car of Tomor Row took the next step last saturday night in Phoenix and it was not a big hit with Many Sextel cup Drivers other than a late race Duel be tween eventual Winner Jeff Gor Don and Tony Stewart the 312lap cup race on the 1mile Oval at Phoenix International raceway appeared to most to be a plodding affair the cot is the culmination of a seven year project by Nastars research and development Divi Sion an Effort to make a safer car and one that also provides better Competition passing and Side beside duels the Phoenix race was the first cot event on a track longer than a half mile and what the Drivers considered the first real test of the aerodynamic features of the new car if this is what they have to look Forward to As the cot continues to be worked into the schedule no body is going to be very Happy i could see the leaders almost the whole race and it was like we All were just out there running the exact same Lap times Dale Earnhardt or said it was a Parade i was bored no one could pass anybody else we were All equal it seemed Greg Biffle who finished two spots ahead of Earnhardt in 17th want too thrilled with the new car either i Only saw what was around me but it didst look like a Good race really to me Biffle said i didst see a lot of Side beside i didst see the big everybody equal i saw everybody sliding a Over the place Ken Drivers take the Green Flag in the subway fresh fit 500 on april 21 in Avondale Ariz Nastars car of tomorrow took the next step in the race and it was not a big hit with Many Sextel cup Drivers claim to Fame is they want them hard to drive Well its not that there hard to drive if s just that there not like driving a race car there like giving us Pinewood Derby cars and saving of everybody this is what youre going to race Biffle said he thought the big Gest problem was that the new cots we rent racy you race anybody and thais what we want to do he said if s our passion if s in our want to race them strangely one of the Drivers who complained the most was Denny Hamlin who overcame a speeding penalty on pit Road that set him Back to 31st and ended up finishing third to do that he had to pass More than half the cars in the 43car Field at least once to be As Nice As i can if s frustrating Hamlin said people will say but you went from the Back to the front but yeah it took us 300 laps to do it when it have our car was just that much better than everyone else i dont know How were going to run these cars on bigger tracks without changes Robin Pemberton Nastars vice president of Competition and a longtime Crew chief said it int surprising mat Drivers Are complaining because the cot is very different from the cars that have been raced in the top Stock car series and been in development since 1981 we Are satisfied with the Progress thais been made by the teams Pemberton told the associated press in a Telephone inter View the races were Good with fewer a nos did not finish than weve seen historically and the finishes were close and from my viewpoint there was More racing going on around the whole Racetrack in really pleased about what i see be Hind third place the intensity Pemberton noted that Drivers such As the 26yearold Hamlin Haven been through major changes before which makes it More difficult for them to adjust we have a lot of very very Young Drivers and this is the first Rule change some of these Guys have Ever gone through he said they dont understand How you work through these changes and they dont have the same feel for it As somebody like Jeff Gordon or Mark Martin who have lived through changes before the Drivers who Arent Happy with the new cars will need to Start making those mental adjust ments soon because the cot will be raced 13 More times this sea son and will be phased into the entire 36race schedule by 2009 for sure and possibly by 2008 i would say some of the teams like Hendrick and Gibbs and Earnhardt have had Good cars in this race Pemberton said they obviously have worked real hard to get a leg up on the other teams the places where All the teams Are making strides is learn ing How to work on these cars How to make them better for their Drivers and not All of the Drivers Are unhappy with the car now if this had been last years car with that bumper i would have been wrecked reigning cup Champion Jimmie Johnson said after finishing fourth at Phoenix it seems like these cars Are More forgiving you cant just Knock the Guy out of the Way you actually have to pass him Hendrick motor sports team mate Gordon who won for the first time at Phoenix and equated the late Dale Earnhardt s career record of 76 victories was of with the cot too for the most part Well ill be honest with you it was better than i thought it was going to be Gordon said i really thought that once you got out front All you had to do was just Mirror drive and theres no Way that Guy behind you had a Chance but Tony Stewart got by me and then i got by him it was better than i thought it was going to be it really was Sextel cur race 9 Aarons 499 at Talladega super Speedway Tah Adega Alaj 8 pm sunday get of Naira last race Jeff Gordon the fou time Lascar Champion tied the late Dale earn Hardt for sixth place on the career Victory list with 76 winning for the first time since last july Gordons Victory ended a 26race drought last year Jimmie Johnson erased a Ca reer full of Talladega super Speedway Trou Bles barrelling past teammate Brian Vick ers with one Lap to go and then hold ing off a charge from Tony Stewart to win the rain postponed Aarons 499 Driver to watch the race Falls on what would have been the 56th birthday for racing legend Dale earn Hardt Dale Earnhardt or has had an Upan Down year but it would be interesting timing for his first Vic tory Driver standings after 8 of 36 races 1 Jeff gordon1326 2 Jeff burton1252 3 Matt kenseth1166 4 Jimmie johnson1115 5 Denny Hamlin 1084 6 Kyle busch1oo2 7 Tony stewat994 8 Carl Edwards 937 9 Cstro bowyer963 10 Mark martin921 11 Kevin kanfck902 12 Jamie mcmurray899 13 Kurt busch868 14 Greg biffle850 15 Dale Earnhardt jr843 16 Juan montoya831 17 Eholt sadter817 18 David Stremme 813 19 Bobby lafoante780 20 Martin to we jr774 Busch series this week Aarons 312 at Talladega Ala delayed 5 pm sunday last race Clint Bowyer won a stirring Duel with Matt Kenseth taking the Lead with 14 laps to go and holding on in the Busch series race at Phoenix International raceway Bow yer led five times for 120 laps while Kenseth led just once As usual Sextel cup Drivers dominated the race with Timothy Peters in 13th the top finishing Busch regular last Yean Martin Truex or returned to his roots to win his third straight Busch race at Talladega super Speedway next race circuit City 250 May 4 Rich mond a craftsman tracks this we Etc Oreilly Auto parts 250 at Kan Sas City Kan last race Mike Skinner started on the pole and stayed out front nearly All Day at Martinsville a Speedway on March 31 leading All but seven of 253 laps to win his third consecutive race last year Terry Cook used pit strategy to his advantage to take the Oreilly Auto parts 250 next race Quaker Steak and lube 200 May 18 Concord no for More coverage Iney racing this week Kansas lottery 300 at Kansas City Kan delayed Arru monday last race Tony Kanaan took the Lead with four laps remaining and won the indy Japan 300 giving Andretti Green racing its first Vic tory of the season last Yean Sam Hornish or collected his Sec Ond straight Victory and took the Points Lead Hornish blew past Wheldon after a restart with 17 maps to go then won a Backan Forth Battle Down the stretch next race Indianapolis 500 May 27 Forf Vul la 01m e last race Felipe Massa won the Bahrain grand Pix on april 15 Lewis Hamilton was second becoming the first Driver to Start his Al career with three to three finishes next race Spanish grand prix May 13 bar Celona Cham r cars last race Sef Wastien Bourdais raced to his second grand prix of Houston Victory and grabbed the inside track for his fourth consecutive Champ car title Rookie Graham Rahal just 18yearsold finished second next race i Joes grand prix june 10 port land Ore standings for other series on Page 33
