AP Denny Hamlin will have to start from the back of the field in Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Phoenix International Raceway.
Hamlin, who is the defending champion of the Phoenix spring race, and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team elected to change the engine on his Toyota Camry. He had qualified eighth for tomorrow’s Subway Fresh Fit 500k.
SPEED Channel’s Bob Dillner tweeted word from Toyota Racing Development that Hamlin had felt a vibration during today’s first practice session and that it had returned after efforts to fix the problem.
Hamlin’s issues continues what has been a problematic couple of weeks for Toyota motors.
TRD engines for Hamlin’s two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, suffered terminal issues during last Sunday’s Daytona 500. Also, Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Michael Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr. were forced to nurse their cars home at Daytona due to problems with their own TRD powerplants.
Following the engine change, Hamlin posted the 15th-fastest lap of Sprint Cup final practice, which was paced by polesitter Mark Martin. Martin, who also led this morning’s first practice session, posted a hot lap of 134.248 miles per hour in his No. 55 MWR Camry and appears to have the fastest ride this weekend at PIR.
Three of the top 5 times in final practice were posted by Toyota drivers: Martin at the top, then Kyle Busch with the second-fastest lap (133.904 mph), and Clint Bowyer with the fifth-fastest lap (133.526 mph). Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards were third and fourth-quickest, respectively.
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Jun 19, 2013, 1:40 PM EDT
Danny MacAskill isn’t a household name in the world of motorsports, but he’s a star when it comes to doing outlandish stunts on his BMX bicycle. The Island of Skye (part of Great Britain) native can do things on two wheels that most people can’t do on four wheels — or even two legs, for…
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For the second year in a row, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 field will be determined by a series of heat races. Wanting to make some changes to their usual oval qualifying format – and perhaps nodding to the state of Iowa’s strong heritage of short-track racing – INDYCAR instituted the heat format last season…
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Reuters
On the surface, Tuesday’s announcement by International Speedway Corp., promising a palatial $400 million makeover of Daytona International Speedway sounded great. But the fact the track will have 46,000 less seats once the project is completed in 2016 — a decrease of more than 30,000 from its current capacity of 147,000 — has caused at…
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As NASCAR’s Nationwide Series prepares for its fourth go-round on the challenging and twisting 4.05-mile, 14-turn road course at Road America in central Wisconsin this Saturday, a report Wednesday suggests that Indy cars may soon return there, perhaps as early as next season. SpeedTV.com’s Robin Miller reported that the open-wheel series is considering hosting a…
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NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace was wise to mimic Richmond International Raceway when it came time for him to help design the Iowa Speedway in the early 2000s. Like RIR, Iowa is a short track that “thinks” like a superspeedway and boasts a decent amount of banking that enables drivers to embrace that mentality as well.…
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Alex Kennedy attempts Sprint Cup debut, will drive Jason Leffler’s car
Jun 19, 2013, 10:23 AM EDT
There may be a new name on the 43-car starting grid of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sprint Cup race at Sonoma Raceway. That is if New Mexico native Alex Kennedy manages to qualify the No. 19 MediaMaster/Dream Factory Toyota on the twisting 12-turn, 1.99-mile road course. Driving for Humphrey Smith Racing, Kennedy, 21, hopes to…
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As the IZOD IndyCar Series returned to the NBC Sports Network for this past weekend’s Milwaukee IndyFest, so too did we check in with our resident NBCSN driver analyst Townsend Bell for his take on the 250-lapper at the historic Milwaukee Mile. Since Bell’s last “Ten with Townsend” after Brazil, he’s finished fourth in the GT…
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Brian Vickers to attempt grueling dual road-course weekend
Jun 18, 2013, 8:58 PM EDT
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Brian Vickers loves to race, any time, anywhere. He also loves to travel. He’ll get more than his share of both this weekend, as he’s the only driver who will attempt to race in Saturday’s Nationwide Series Johnsonville Sausage 200 (no, we’re not making that name up) at Road America and then double up by…
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Nationwide Series crew member Ryan Hess suspended for second time in 10 months
Jun 18, 2013, 7:37 PM EDT
Nationwide Series crew member Ryan Hess has been suspended by NASCAR for the second time in 10 months for failing a random drug test, the sanctioning body announced Tuesday. In a brief statement, NASCAR said: “Ryan Hess, a crew member in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning…
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Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards have apparently toned down their post-race rhetoric against each other following Biffle’s win Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. “We’re going to sit down and talk about it, just expectations, what can you do to help another competitor,” Biffle said during NASCAR’s weekly media teleconference call on Tuesday. “I’ve backed up…
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Boston fanfest set to promote NHRA drag racing’s first-ever race in New Hampshire
Jun 18, 2013, 5:52 PM EDT
When New Hampshire Dragway opened its doors in 1966, its goal was to eventually play host to a National Hot Rod Association national event. It may have taken nearly 50 years to fulfill that goal, but drag racing fans wanting to see the sport’s biggest stars will finally get that opportunity in this weekend’s inaugural…
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Daytona International Speedway to get major facelift, eliminate 46,000 seats
Jun 18, 2013, 4:43 PM EDT
Illustration courtesy of Daytona International Speedway.
Big changes are on the way for NASCAR’s most famous racetrack, Daytona International Speedway, with the most significant facelift since the track opened 54 years ago in 1959. Home of the season-opening Daytona 500 and the early July Coke Zero 400, the track will undergo a multi-phase update that will break ground July 5, the…
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Forget driving or flying to Sonoma NASCAR race: take the train
Jun 18, 2013, 3:59 PM EDT
You’ve heard of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, the Orange Blossom Special and the Wabash Cannonball. Now you can add the NASCAR Express to the list, as fans attending this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/SaveMart 350 race and activities at Sonoma Raceway will have a rather unique way to say they’ve arrived — at the racetrack,…
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Sonoma Raceway to honor memory of late PR chief John Cardinale
Jun 18, 2013, 3:17 PM EDT
Sonoma Raceway will honor its late public relations director, John Cardinale, during this weekend’s 25th Toyota/SaveMart 350 activities. Cardinale passed away in March after a two-year fight with stage IV gastric cancer. He had worked at the track since 1998 and was promoted to Vice President of Media and Community Relations in 2003, a post…
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Pirelli World Challenge: Duncan Ende highlights dangers of distracted driving
Jun 18, 2013, 3:00 PM EDT
Living in Los Angeles, Pirelli World Challenge driver Duncan Ende is constantly reminded of the dangers of distracted driving. “It’s bad when I’m driving in my car and sometimes really scary when I’m on my road bicycle, and drivers on the road are speaking on the phone, looking at the map on their phone, or…
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Force India’s 2013 performance thanks to car working with tires
Jun 18, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT
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Force India’s pair of drivers has made the most of the Pirelli tires this year, as evident by their performances in Canada. The validation for the prime medium compound tires came via Paul Di Resta, who ran a 56-lap opening stint in Montreal before switching to the supersofts for the finish. He ultimately finished seventh…
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As Chicago temperatures crept close to 90 degrees on Monday, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Regan Smith and Travis Pastrana cooled off in a unique way — and did a good deed in the process. Making several stops around the Windy City, Smith, who won Saturday’s NNS race at Michigan, and Pastrana sold ice cream bars…
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Lotus stake sale to Infinity creates a more tangled web of names
Jun 18, 2013, 12:15 PM EDT
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Sooner or later, it seems every team in the Formula One paddock might be interconnected by way of similar names or branding. The latest chapter came Tuesday, as Lotus announced a 35 percent sale to an investment consortium called Infinity. And now we begin our six degrees of Kevin Bacon to describe the tangential relationships…
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Lotus F1 Team had been wholly owned by Genii Capital, but on Tuesday the Enstone-based squad announced a sale of 35 percent stake of the team to a new investor group called Infinity Racing Partners Limited. Noting the spelling, this Infinity is not at all related to Infiniti, the car manufacturer that sponsors Red Bull.…
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AP
NASCAR driver Mike Harmon has turned himself in to authorities after warrants were issued for him and a business partner. Rowan County (N.C.) Sheriff’s deputies said warrants were issued on Monday, while Harmon and his business partner are charged with breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering. It’s the latest turn in the…
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