El Cajon's Scott Douglas tops the featured Pro-4 standings and veteran desert racer Rob MacCachren holds the lead in the Pro-2 and Pro Buggy classes going into this weekend's second of three Championship Off-Road Racing events this season at the Quarry in Chula Vista.
Carl Renezeder is second in the Pro-4 and Pro-2 truck divisions.
Douglas, who first gained the Pro-4 lead with a victory in the Sunday feature of CORR's first visit to the Quarry this season, holds a nine-point lead on Renezeder in the four-wheel drive pickup truck division.
Douglas is also coming off his second straight Pro-4 win in the Off-Road World Series at Crandon, Wis.
MacCachren holds a 56-point lead on Renezeder in the two-wheel drive pickups. Former Supercross/motocross champion Ricky Johnson of Encinitas ranks fourth. MacCachren has a larger lead in the buggy division.
MacCachren has won five Pro-2 races and four Pro Buggy races this season. He is one of eight drivers on the Menzies Motorsports team, which leads three CORR classes. Bryan Freeman tops the Single Buggy division.
Racing Saturday and Sunday starts shortly after 1 p.m. on the short-course off-road track. Saturday's races will be televised live on the Speed Channel. July's first CORR doubleheader at the Quarry attracted more than 25,000 fans for the two days.
NASCAR gains Grand-Am
NASCAR has gone from supporting Grand-Am to owning the sports car series.
NASCAR Holdings, the legal operating company that controls NASCAR and its subsidiaries, is buying the Grand-American Road Racing Association. The organizations will combine marketing and communications programs.
The Grand-Am Rolex Series features the Daytona Prototypes and is anchored by the annual 24 Hours of Daytona on the road course at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. America's only around-the-clock race is the kickoff to Speed Weeks, which concludes with the Daytona 500.
The Grand-Am Series was founded by Jim France, son of the late Bill France Jr. and grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.
Cars are the stars
NASCAR is changing its format for the annual Budweiser Shootout all-star race, which is also part of Speed Weeks.
In the past, the nonpoints Shootout has been reserved for pole winners from the previous year and past champions. Starting in February, each manufacturer – Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge and Toyota – will be allowed to start six cars in the Shootout based on the previous season's car owner points.
“This could not be better timing,” said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter. “It's no secret that the manufacturers need all the exposure they can get right now. This is a good strategic move in that direction.”
The format change has eliminated three drivers who would have been in the 2009 field. Joe Nemechek won a pole this year but won't rank high enough in the standings to get a berth. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will be teammates on Stewart's new Chevrolet-based team next season, meaning they won't be running for Toyota and Dodge, respectively.
CHECKERED FLAGS
Scott Dixon: Wins first merged IndyCar Series championship with a runner-up finish to Helio Castroneves in the season finale at Joliet, Ill. Dixon almost pulled out the win with a great pit stop late in the race.
Martin Christensen: Escondido driver teams with German Armin Schwarz to place third overall and win the Open Buggy title in the SCORE Primm (Nev.) 300 off-road race.
RED FLAGS
IndyCar Series: Faulty transponder initially awards season-ending victory to Scott Dixon although Helio Castroneves crossed the finish line first. Castroneves was awarded the win in the closest finish in Indy Racing League history.
IndyCar Series II: Although ABC retains rights to the Indianapolis 500 and four other races a year, the Versus Channel gets a contract to televise at least 13 races a year through 2019. Versus also televises the National Hockey League, Davis Cup and Tour de France.
SCHEDULE
Friday
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Qualifying, Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. (1.058-mile oval; ESPN2, noon).
Saturday
CORR Off-Road Racing: the Quarry, Chula Vista, gates open and practice begins 9 a.m.; racing at 1 p.m. (Speed Channel, live)
NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Camping World RV Rental 200, Loudon, N.H. (200 laps; Speed Channel, 11:30 a.m.) – Chevrolet's Ron Hornaday Jr., who is coming off his sixth win of 2008 and his 37th overall at Madison, Ill., last week, is also the defending champion of this race. Hornaday has moved to within 94 points of series leader Johnny Benson, who was third in his Toyota last week. Hornaday last year became the first two-time winner at Loudon.
Barona Speedway: Street, factory and pony stocks; IMCA modifieds; 600cc minisprints and Dwarf cars; practice and qualifying 2 p.m., racing 5 p.m.
Sunday
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. (300 laps; Channel 10, 10 a.m.) – This is the first race of the Chase for the Championship. Jimmie Johnson is seeking his third straight championship, and eight-race winner Kyle Busch has the No. 1 seed entering the Chase. Twelve drivers remain eligible for the title. Johnson won the last two races of the regular season. Clint Bowyer won last year's race from the pole. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon enter the Chase winless for the first time. This is the first time either has gone this far into a season without a win. Kurt Busch won the June race at New Hampshire.
Formula One: Italian Grand Prix, Monza (53 laps, 3.599-mile, seven-turn road course; Speed Channel, 5 a.m.) – McLaren has filed a protest over the decision that took away Lewis Hamilton's win in Belgium and gave it to Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Hamilton was penalized for cutting a chicane to pass Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The decision decreased points leader Hamilton's edge over Massa from 80-72 to 76-74.
NHRA Drag Racing: Carolinas Nationals, Concord, N.C. (ESPN2, 1 p.m.) – The inaugural event on the strip built at Lowe's Motor Speedway. At the U.S. Nationals, five-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher set records for consecutive wins (six) and wins in a season (11) while tying Joe Amato's all-time class record of 52 wins.
CORR Off-Road Racing: the Quarry, Chula Vista, gates open and practice begins 9 a.m.; racing at 1 p.m.
Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Renegade Bracket drags, 10 a.m.
RACING NUMBERS
11 – Wins in Chase races by Jimmie Johnson over the first four years of the event.
QUOTABLE
“I got a flat and lost about 11 minutes in a wash. I kept trying to run my impact jack and it sank deeper and deeper into the sand. I just had a couple of rookie mistakes.”
– Vista's Adam Ashcraft, who was 12th overall and second among class 10 buggies in his first SCORE off-road finish and fourth start in the Primm 300 in Nevada
