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Filed under: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Kyle Busch became the first driver in a national NASCAR race to win wire-to-wire in nearly eight years.

It wasn't as easy as it looked, not with his car getting loose and Carl Edwards bearing down over the final few laps.

Busch dominated from the pole early and held off Edwards late, maintaining the lead the entire way in the Nationwide race Saturday to set up the chance for a perfect weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

"It came down to the end of the race and Carl was alongside of me and we were racing really hard trying to beat each other, and I was like, 'Man, just beat him back to the start-finish line, man, just beat back to the start-finish line,"' Busch said. "I was just trying to hold on for as long as I could."

The Nationwide opener last weekend was a nail-biter, with Tony Stewart nipping Clint Bowyer by .007 seconds for the series' closest finish ever at Daytona. Busch had race No. 2 looking like a walkover until Edwards pulled beside him three times in the final 20 laps.

Busch never let him get around, though, fighting a car that had lost some handling after the final pit stop to lead all 200 laps around Phoenix's bumpy mile oval. He's the first green-to-checkers winner in any NASCAR series national race since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it during a Nationwide race at Daytona in 2003.

 

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Filed under: Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Phoenix International Raceway is filled with bumps and cracks and has patches on top of patches trying to hold it together for one last race.

It may be falling apart, but one thing it has never lost is speed.

Carl Edwards had the fastest lap on one of the fastest days ever at Phoenix, setting the last in a slew of track records on Saturday during the final qualifying session before the surface undergoes a makeover.

"This track is great," Edwards said. "I talked to (track president Bryan) Sperber earlier and I think the question I asked him seems a lot of people have asked was: 'Why would you even mess with this?"

Raceway officials don't have a lot of choice with the track nearly crumbling.

It's at least going out with flourish.

 

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AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne is still working on finding sponsors for his Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars.

The 20-year-old driver says he'd like to add both races at Talladega, but doesn't have anything lined up. He also says Friday his car would have a lot of open spaces on it this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway because the Wood Brothers are still trying to line up more sponsors.

Bayne is scheduled for 18 Sprint Cup races, but would like a full season. His Nationwide car doesn't have a sponsor.

The youngest driver to win the Daytona 500, Bayne says he's had a chaotic week, including calls from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, TV appearances and meeting actress Pamela Anderson, who told him he reminded her of her son.

 

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Filed under: Formula One

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- The crown prince of Bahrain called off Formula One's season-opening race Monday, handing another victory to protesters aiming to break the ruling dynasty's stranglehold on power in the Gulf kingdom.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa owns the rights to grand prix and serves as commander of the armed forces in an island country were at least eight protesters have been killed in a week of unrest. Angry protesters, who see the Bahrain GP as particularly meaningful to him, wanted the March 13 race dropped.

Facing more demonstrations around an event that draws a worldwide TV audience of around 100 million in 187 countries, the crown prince told F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone by telephone that the race would not go ahead.

"We felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date," Bahrain's crown prince said in a statement.

After launching deadly attacks on protesters at a landmark in the capital city of Manama, the nation's security forces pulled back Saturday under international pressure and allowed demonstrators to occupy Pearl Square. The protesters have now established a tent city there.

 

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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona Int'l Speedway

(AP) -- A look at drivers competing in the 2011 Daytona 500, in order of starting position:

No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

BORN: Oct. 10, 1974

HOMETOWN: Kannapolis, N.C.

CREW CHIEF: Steve Letarte

SPONSOR: Mountain Dew/AMP Energy/National Guard

NOTES: NASCAR's most popular driver won the Daytona 500 pole, then wrecked in practice on Wednesday. Now, he'll start Sunday's race at the back of the field. Earnhardt was a non-factor on the track for the fourth consecutive year in 2010. Earnhardt finished 21st in points. With teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon also struggling, owner Rick Hendrick shook up most of the four-car team. Will another new crew chief and a shop change be enough to overhaul Junior's fortunes?

No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Jeff Gordon

BORN: Aug. 4, 1971

HOMETOWN: Pittsboro, Ind.

CREW CHIEF: Alan Gustafson

SPONSOR: Drive To End Hunger/DuPont

NOTES: After a winless season, Gordon was one of three drivers shuffled at Hendrick Motorsports. He moved out of the 24/48 shop into the building now known as the 5/24 shop. The four-time series champion is paired with crew chief Gustafson.

 

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Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- NASCAR has made another change to cars for the Daytona 500, this one because temperatures are expected to reach 80 degrees Sunday during the season-opening race.

Sprint Cup officials say teams can add an extra inch to grill openings, allowing more air to flow to engine-cooling radiators.

The change was made following the final practice session Saturday and should help drivers keep their engines cooler at speeds nearing 200 mph around Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.

NASCAR made three changes earlier in the week, reducing the size of the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates, adding a pressure-relief valve to cooling systems and reducing the size of grill openings. The moves were made to slow downs cars after speeds topped 206 mph.

The 43-car field will take the green flag at about 1:15 p.m. ET.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks and other supplemental copy have been inserted by AOL.

 

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Filed under: Kyle Busch, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Testing, NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The recently repaved surface at Daytona International Speedway is fast. Really fast. Maybe too fast.

In the most significant test on the 2 1/2 -mile superspeedway, cars topped 203 mph Friday during practice for the Budweiser Shootout.

Joey Logano turned the fast lap with an average speed of 203.087 mph in the second of two practice sessions. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch also topped 203 mph. Several others were close behind. In all, 10 cars hit 200 mph. Four more were in the 199 mph range, creating some concern at NASCAR's most famous track.

 

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Filed under: Sprint Cup, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The Ford Motor Co. has informed NASCAR it would like to race the Mustang in the elite Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2013.

Ford currently uses the Fusion in the Cup Series. The Mustang was used in four second-tier Nationwide Series races last year, and will be raced full-time this season. The 2011 Ford Mustang Boss is shown at right.

The director of Ford's North American Motorsports program tells The Associated Press that fan reaction to the Mustang exceeded all expectations. Jamie Allison also says Ford wants to bring the iconic Mustang to NASCAR's top series to have its entry consistent with a model fans can buy in the showroom.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks and other supplemental copy have been inserted by AOL.

 

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Filed under: NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR is considering scrapping the points system it has used since 1975 in favor of a simpler method that awards points per finishing position, The Associated Press has learned.

The overhauling of the system is one of a handful of changes NASCAR is considering implementing before the season begins next month. Series officials have been detailing their ideas in individual meetings with teams, a person who attended one of the briefings told The AP on Monday.

The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because NASCAR has not finalized its upcoming changes.

The sanctioning body wants to go to a scoring system that would award 43 points to the race winner, and one point less for each ensuing position down to one point for the 43rd-place finisher.

NASCAR is also shying away from wholesale changes to its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format.

Currently, a race win nets 185 points, with 170 points for second, 165 for third and dropping in increments from there, with 43rd place winning 34 points. Five bonus points are awarded to any driver who leads a lap as well as the driver who leads the most laps.

 

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Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Petty Enterprises, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Richard Petty will once again run his race team and participate in day-to-day operations as chairman of the new ownership group that was announced Monday.

The assets of Richard Petty Motorsports have been sold from George Gillett Jr. to an investment group that consists of Petty, Medallion Financial Corp. and DGP Investments.

"Today is a great day for me, my family, our fans and our wonderful sponsors," Petty said in a statement that listed 10 partners that "have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart."

RPM will field cars for AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose in 2011.

The transfer of assets has been in the works for several weeks because of Gillett's ongoing financial problems. Debt-laden English soccer club Liverpool recently was sold despite the objection of Gillett and business partner Tom Hicks. And a U.S. hedge fund is suing Gillett over what the firm says is more than $117 million in debt he racked up investing in Liverpool.

 

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