Midwest Sports Fans » atlanta motor speedway http://www.midwestsportsfans.com A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:14:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Auto Racing Weekend TV Schedule: 10/24-26/2008 | NASCAR – IndyCar http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/10/auto-racing-tv-schedule-nascar-and-indycar/ http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/10/auto-racing-tv-schedule-nascar-and-indycar/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:17:07 +0000 EJWasson http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/?p=546 atlanta motor speedwayNASCAR nation rolls into Atlanta this weekend as the Chase for the Sprint Cup really heats up. Jimmie Johnson leads by 149 points with just four races to go. However, in the modern era at least, no driver has ever eclipsed that wide of a margin to become the champion.

If Jimmie Johnson plays it nice and tight and focuses on top tens for the duration of the 2008 season, he will be the second back-to-back-to-back champion in NASCAR history. Qualifying is Friday evening and the race is Sunday at 1pm on ABC.

Here are the standings going into the weekend:

RANK +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS TOP 5 TOP 10 WINNINGS
1 – Jimmie Johnson 6073 Leader 32 5 6 13 20 6,550,440
2 +1 Greg Biffle 5924 -149 32 2 2 11 15 4,449,390
3 -1 Jeff Burton 5921 -152 32 0 2 7 17 5,018,220
4 – Carl Edwards 5875 -198 32 1 6 15 23 6,710,870
5 – Clint Bowyer 5831 -242 32 0 1 5 15 3,962,640
6 – Kevin Harvick 5817 -256 32 0 0 6 16 4,857,210
7 +1 Jeff Gordon 5798 -275 32 3 0 11 16 5,100,600
8 -1 Tony Stewart 5735 -338 32 0 1 10 15 5,740,340
9 +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5694 -379 32 1 1 10 15 4,217,970
10 +1 Matt Kenseth 5665 -408 32 0 0 8 18 4,921,980
11 +1 Denny Hamlin 5653 -420 32 1 1 10 16 4,889,750
12 -3 Kyle Busch 5628 -445 32 2 8 16 18 6,135,120

indycar INDYCAR DOWN UNDER!

The IndyCar Series is back on track this weekend. It has to be one of the most bizzare situations caused from the merger of CART and the ICS at the start of this season. The Australian race was originally a CART event, and when the two series merged earlier this year, the ICS was left with a contract that was quite expensive to break. So down under they go…

The IndyCar series ended its season officially weeks ago at Chicago. That race was won by Helio Castroneves by just inches, and the championship went to Scott Dixon. Dixon, who also won the Indy 500 in 2008, had one of the most dominating IndyCar series runs in recent memory. It was a great season for the Target Chip Ganassi racing driver.

So, if the season is over…why are they racing? And what are they racing for?

For competition sake only. Why should you watch? There is no championship on the line, but an IndyCar win is still a win…so watch out for younger drivers to flex their muscles and try to make passes that they normally wouldn’t attempt. It could be a very expensive race for some teams.

Why else? Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira and Dario Franchitti are in the race this weekend. Wheldon and Meira are on new teams, Dario (2007 Indy 500 and ICS Champion) is back from his stint in NASCAR. Franchitti took Wheldons seat when Dan went to Panther. Vitor was kicked out of Panther and picked up by Foyt. This race is the first time they will competitively run with their new team colors.

Why else? Helio Castroneves was allowed by a Federal Court to attend the event to race this weekend. HCN has a lot to prove to his team owner and his fans. When the outcome of his court case will be known is anyones guess, but I assure you that Helio wants to win this thing. In fact, he wants to win everything. (See Dancing with the Stars in 2007)

Here is the Fast Five from Practice Session 2 on Friday:

Will Power

Helio Castroneves

Dario Franchitti

Oriol Servia

Graham Rahal

The race is broadcast on ESPN Classic Saturday night at 10:30pm EDT. Tune in!

Check back on Monday for our weekend recap, and our forward look into the conclusion of the Formula 1 World Championship.

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