Local drivers fared well at Reno-Fernley Raceway's season opener last Saturday night. Vuki Wilson Jr. of Carson City took the checker in the Hardtop Meteor (the division formerly known as Dwarf cars) main. Dayton's Royce Goetz held off Carl Barlow of Silver Springs for the Hobby Stock win. Carson City's Goss brothers both took top five finishes in the Pro Stock division with Big Al second and Ed fifth. And Gardnerville's Robert Miller finished third in the Modifieds after Carson City driver Tom Purcell dropped out with a flat tire while battling for second.
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Perhaps you were like my wife and many other race fans at the end of last Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide race ... glad to see the winner salute the crowd with a back flip rather than a bow. But I have to say that I was glad to see the runner-up, Kyle Busch, much more gracious in his post-race interview than in the past. It's a pattern that I have been noticing this year. I don't know if it's marriage or the continued counseling of coach Gibbs, but we are seeing a kinder, gentler Kyle this season, at least in his off-track interactions. On the track, it's pretty much the same old Kyle ... aggressive, talented, and a threat to win every race he enters. And that's OK. If he keeps getting nicer, maybe someday he'll topple Junior off the Most Popular Driver pedestal. Hey, stranger things have happened!
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Richmond International Raceway, a fan favorite race track and one also popular with the drivers, is the site of this weekend's NASCAR action. The Nationwide series raced Friday night, and Sprint Cup race coverage starts at 4:30 p.m. today on FOX. Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have won the last four races at Richmond, and both drivers turned in dominating performances last season. Busch led 226 laps on his way to victory at Richmond last spring, and Hamlin led 251 in his winning performance in the fall. Provided JGR has its engine problems behind them, they'll be tough to beat.
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First-time IndyCar winner Mike Conway will be looking to add his second straight street race victory to his resume Sunday in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Conway's Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second to Penske Racing driver Will Power last year in the Brazilian race, and the team is looking to carry the Long Beach momentum forward. Power is coming off a disappointing Long Beach outing where he was taken out by teammate Helio Castroneves. Helio has come under fire from fans and his fellow drivers after a series of incidents this year, and I'm sure that Roger Penske isn't happy about having Power taken out of contention by a teammate. Maybe Roger needs to get Gibbs to have a little talk with Helio.
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The IndyCar series season-opening road/street course segment will be over after Brazil, and all the teams will begin preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500. It is not the 100th Indy 500, however, because the race was not run during World Wars 1 and 2. In honor of the event, ESPN's Sports Center will run a daily video segment taking a historical look back on some of the greatest moments and biggest heroes of the so-called greatest spectacle in Racing, beginning May 1 and ending when this year's 500 is run on May 29. Each segment will run a minimum of three times a day, and can also be seen on ESPN.com.
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Finally, there has been a lot of controversy the past couple of seasons about "start and park" race teams in both NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series. Some fans have called for NASCAR to ban the practice, while the teams maintain that they need to keep themselves out there to attract sponsors. Well, it worked for Tommy Baldwin Racing, as the team announced last week that Golden Corral will sponsor Dave Blaney's number 36 Chevy for 19 of the remaining 28 Sprint Cup races, and Big Red soft drink will be on board as primary sponsor for Infineon, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Chicagoland, and Texas. Don't you just love a "good news" story?
