Jimmie Johnson won the first skirmish in this week s Chase battle, winning the pole at Martinsville

Extreme racer Travis Pastrana s transition to NASCAR will take a step up in 2013. Frontstretch.com has learned discount hotels nassau bahamas the driver is finalizing a deal to run full-time for Roush Fenway Racing next season in the Nationwide Series, attempting a run at the championship. Driving a car that will likely be changed to No. 99, Pastrana has sponsorship sold for approximately half the 32-to-33 race schedule but sources say RFR is committed to run the driver regardless.
Pastrana, who ran a No. 60 RFR Ford at Richmond this September showed chemistry with the program right off the bat. In that event, he qualified a career-best fifth and hung on for a 17th-place, lead-lap finish despite being involved in a midrace accident. It was the culmination of a part-time effort for the X Games Medalist, who had teamed up with Robby Benton and RAB Racing for an eight-race schedule earlier in the year. So far, his career best in Nationwide is a 13th, with RAB as the 29-year-old continues a transition from the aggressive rally racing world into the ovals of the Nationwide Series. His performances have been impressive, most notably an Atlanta event where he led six laps on older tires before wrecking and fading to 26th.
Trevor Bayne, according to sources is also set for a full-time ride at RFR which would give the organization two entries fighting for the championship. Current title contender, discount hotels nassau bahamas Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will move up to the Cup Series full-time next season driving the No. 17 car, creating the opening for Bayne; now, RFR has decided to expand along with it. They ll pick up a former AMA Rookie of the Year in Pastrana who s been successful in virtually every form of racing where he s competed; the rally champ, freestyle X Games champ in motocross and extreme sports enthusiast has said he d like to master stock car racing going forward.
An official announcement on the partnership is expected in the next few weeks. Sponsors discount hotels nassau bahamas were not confirmed but Boost Mobile was the backer for nearly all Pastrana s starts in 2012; the role of Red Bull, which has backed him in other forms of motorsports but not NASCAR is unclear.
Our own Matt Stallknecht is reporting that there is a big announcement scheduled for Thursday in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. City officials, along with GP3R CEO Dominic Fugere will announce the addition of the NASCAR Nationwide Series to the city s annual GP3R Grand Prix Trois-Rivieres. The race will be held on the Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, a 1.521 mile street course. It will be the first-ever street course race for the Nationwide discount hotels nassau bahamas Series.
Last year, IndyCar s Firestone Indy Lights and NASCAR s Canadian discount hotels nassau bahamas Tire Series were the co-headliners in Trois-Rivieres. However, Firestone Indy Lights discount hotels nassau bahamas continues to suffer from low car count. Only 11 cars contested the Trois-Rivieres round last year after 13 did in 2010. According to La Presse , IndyCar was forced to make payments to Trois-Rivieres organizers for failing to meet the minimum car count of the 17 in their contract the past two years. As a result, Trois-Rivieres announced that Firestone Indy Lights would not be on the schedule for 2013, despite the series being under contract to race at Trois-Rivieres next year.
Ever since the announcement was made that the Nationwide Series would not return to Montreal s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for 2013, NASCAR has been trying to find a replacement Canadian venue. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formerly Mosport International Raceway) was considered to be a likely target, but the track was unable to meet NASCAR s standards. The race will be held the weekend of August 16-18, 2013, the same weekend that the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was held this year. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, which supported the Nationwide Series in Montreal, would likely remain on the weekend discount hotels nassau bahamas schedule as a support series, along with other regional series.
200 laps of typical short track racing at Martinsville resulted in a lot of bent sheet metal, quite a few hurt feelings, a new point leader and another grandfather discount hotels nassau bahamas clock for Denny Hamlin. discount hotels nassau bahamas Hamlin started the race at the tail end of the field because he missed the drivers meeting. It took him 76 laps to make it up to the top five and 194 laps before he finally took the lead. Nelson Piquet Jr. survived a heated battle with Joey Coulter to come home in second. Coulter crossed the finish line in third while Matt Crafton ended up fourth after leading on the final restart only to be muscled out of the top spot by Hamlin. Scott Riggs drove a patient, veteran race to score a fifth place finish for RBR in the 92. That was the first top five for RBR since February 2011.
Kevin Harvick led the most laps in the race but fell victim to a cut tire on the last caution and had to pit. He ended up with a 12th place finish.Ty Dillon was running solidly in the top 10 when he blew a right front tire on lap 151. Whiile driving back to pit lane on the flat tire, Dillow ground off the sway bar arm which resulted in an extensive amount of pit time for repairs and eventually a 28th place finish, 6 laps down. Prior to that misfortune, Dillon had completed discount hotels nassau bahamas all but two laps of competition in the Truck series in 2012.
This is second victory in the Camping World Truck series in 15 career starts. Both of the wins have come at Martinsville. Nelson Piquet s second place finish discount hotels nassau bahamas was his second top 10 at Martinsville and his 12th top 10 of the season. Coulter s top 10 was also his second top 10 in four career races at Martinsville. Max Gresham was the highest finishing rookie. discount hotels nassau bahamas James Buescher s point lead is 21 over Ty Dillon.
Jimmie Johnson won the first skirmish in this week s Chase battle, winning the pole at Martinsville with a speed of 97.598 MPH , his third of the year. Brian Vickers will start on the front row beside Johnson after topping the charts in the only practice session of the day. Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five, and Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola complete the top 10 for the TUMS Fast Relief 500.
Qualifying up front is important at Martinsville, as cars near the back of the field are in danger of losing a lap early as there is little ground for the leaders to make up on the tail end of the pack. Because of the importance discount hotels nassau bahamas of track position, time trials could have some big Chase implications as point leader Brad Keselowski, who enters the weekend with a seven-point advantage over Johnson in the standings. Hamlin discount hotels nassau bahamas is currently third, 20 markers behind Keselowski. Both Johnson and Hamlin have multiple wins at Martinsville with six and four victories, respectively. Keselowski s best finish at the Virginia short track is ninth, his result from the spring race this year.
The Sprint Cup teams have two practice sessions on Saturday, discount hotels nassau bahamas a 55-minute session at 9:30 AM and the final Happy Hour practice at noon. The weather could also play a role as Sunday s forecast calls for temperatures ten degrees colder than Friday and Saturday as well as possible winds from Hurricane Sandy.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returns to what the 38-year-old driver classifies as narmal discount hotels nassau bahamas this weekend at Martinsville discount hotels nassau bahamas sitting behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet. Earnhardt sat out two weeks following a concussion that he suffered in a last-lap crash at Talladega, during which Earnhardt says he learned much about both himself and about head injuries in general.
You just have got to be patient and let thing happen. I've learned a ton, just about what I've went through. Feel like I'm a lot smarter. A lot more prepared, and understand the situation a lot better now than I did beforehand. So, that's really good. It's been a good experience. discount hotels nassau bahamas It's something I'd rather not have went through; I learned a lot from it. It's been good for me. I'm just excited to be back to work. Get back in the car, and get back to normal. Get back to the life that I'm used to, Earnhardt said at Martinsville Friday.
Earnhardt said that although he suffered discount hotels nassau bahamas two concussions, one at Kansas and one in the Talladega incident, the two were not similar and affected different areas of his brain, discount hotels nassau bahamas with the second one being more emotional. I'm trying not to get long winded, but the two concussions were completely different as far as where my brain was injured. As far as I can understand what the doctors have told me. The first one at Kansas was your typical concussion discount hotels nassau bahamas where the frontal lobe and the headaches and the fogginess that you typically feel. The one that I had at Talladega was a vestibular is what they call it. It's more in the back or the base of the brain where the brain and your spine sort of connect. It sort of mixed up a lot of anxiety and emotional stuff so they symptoms were more like anxiety driven. If I would get into sort of a busy situation I would just get a lot of anxiety. I was already that way anyways I've never really been much on being around crowds and a lot of people. So the two concussions discount hotels nassau bahamas were completely different. I was dealing discount hotels nassau bahamas with different symptoms, Earnhardt explained.
But Earnhardt says he s feeling 100% this weekend, and that he was honest with his doctors during the clearance process. I've been pretty honest, and so far they've been real pleased with what they've seen, and feel like I can get back in the car. That is what I want to do. I felt like I could have raced in Kansas for sure, and probably ran at Charlotte with no problem. I feel foolish…you discount hotels nassau bahamas know…I feel kind of foolish discount hotels nassau bahamas sitting at home feeling okay, and not being in the car. It feels really discount hotels nassau bahamas un-natural. I feel good, and the doctors say it's okay, I want to be in the car.
Editor s Note: Rick Hendrick has clarified earlier comments clearing Earnhardt, Jr. to race at Martinsville. Earnhardt must test today at an undisclosed facility, likely Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia, discount hotels nassau bahamas then be re-evaluated (likely Tuesday) before being given the go ahead by Dr. Jerry Petty and NASCAR officials.
Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports owner