Johnson Again in Vegas
Jimmie Johnson overcame the odds to win his second race of the year in Nextel Cup, and he is yet to finish worse than second.
Matt Kenseth had the car to beat and - stop me if you've heard this before - a late race caution for debris bunched the field up for a green, white, checkered finish. Johnson set up Kenseth to protect the bottom on the final corner, Johnson went high and that was that. He just beat Kenseth to the line for his second win in three races this year. Kenseth was second, and Kyle Busch was third.
A1GP Does the USA
The penultimate round of the A1GP season was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend, and the two North American entrants had decent days.
Patrick
Carpentier, driving for A1 Team Canada climbed to ninth in the A1GP Nations Standings, courtesy of a double points-scoring run. A sixth place in the Sprint followed by fifth in the Feature rewarded the Canadian team with 11 priceless points in a day where A1 Team France clinched the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations Championship while A1 Team Mexico scored back-to-back victories.
"The rain actually helped me in the first race as some people made mistakes and I was able to get past them at the start," Carpentier said. "From there I just worked my way up to get a good start position for the Feature. I was fighting to catch Portugal at the end of the main race but it was still pretty slippery out there. Overall though, it's been fun and we scored points and improved our position. Today was a lot better than yesterday, that's for sure, it's all a learning experience and I really enjoyed myself out there."
Things looked good for the USA entry after Bryan Herta finished ninth in the Sprint race, but dropped to 15th, three laps down, in the Feature.
Carpentier Eyes NASCAR
While
doing an interview on Driveline Radio with A1GP's Patrick Carpentier on Saturday, I asked the Canadian about his future this year. He surprised all of us by saying he is close to putting together a 'stock car' deal, and an announcement should come soon. Carpentier has seen others move over to stock cars, and from the plan he told us to start in ARCA or Craftsman Truck seems like a good idea. Carpentier said he thought it would take time to learn that style of racing, especially where patience is key. I think if Carpentier can put together a deal, it could well be one of the more successful 'transitions' the sport has seen.
Jimmie Johnson overcame the odds to win his second race of the year in Nextel Cup, and he is yet to finish worse than second.
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| Jimmie Johnson overcame the odds to win his second race of the year in Nextel Cup. (Photo: Patrick Dorsey) |
A1GP Does the USA
The penultimate round of the A1GP season was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend, and the two North American entrants had decent days.
Patrick
 |
| Things looked good for the USA entry after Bryan Herta finished ninth in the Sprint race. (Photo: A1GP) |
"The rain actually helped me in the first race as some people made mistakes and I was able to get past them at the start," Carpentier said. "From there I just worked my way up to get a good start position for the Feature. I was fighting to catch Portugal at the end of the main race but it was still pretty slippery out there. Overall though, it's been fun and we scored points and improved our position. Today was a lot better than yesterday, that's for sure, it's all a learning experience and I really enjoyed myself out there."
Things looked good for the USA entry after Bryan Herta finished ninth in the Sprint race, but dropped to 15th, three laps down, in the Feature.
Carpentier Eyes NASCAR
While
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| Carpantier is doing well in A1GP, but does his future lie in NASCAR? (Photo: A1GP) |
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