MOTORSPORTS ROUNDUP News and notes

Champ Car Series: Sebastien Bourdais will win his first Champ Car title Sunday in Australia by scoring eight points more than Newman/Haas Racing teammate Bruno Junqueira. Frenchman Bourdais, in his second year in the American-based series, goes into Friday's first round of qualifying for the Lexmark Indy 300 with a 27-point lead over Brazilian Junqueira, who has finished second in points each of the past two seasons. "For sure, it would be nice to be able to wrap this up in Australia," Bourdais said. "It's not the main target, though. Bruno is going to be right there. It's going to be a fight to the end and I have no problem to wait until the end of the season." The race in Surfers Paradise is the penultimate event of the season, which ends Nov. 7 in Mexico City. Bourdais has built his lead with six wins and seven poles, and could become just the seventh driver in the modern era of Champ Car (since 1979) to win as many as seven races in a season. He has led laps in each of the last nine races and has qualified in the top three in a series-record 13 consecutive events. But those numbers have not won the title for Bourdais because of Junqueira's consistency. He has six runner-up finishes -- the most since Bobby Rahal in 1991 -- and goes to Australia with four consecutive top-threes. "We need to have a very good two races, finish strong, and hope that Sebastien has a bad result for us to win the championship," Junqueira said. "I'm quite happy that every year I've been competitive. I'm fighting for the win, fighting for the championship. That keeps me motivated. It is very important to be consistent like that." The 2.795-mile street circuit in Surfers Paradise has produced 13 different winners in as many years of racing there.
Tubby Smith in NASCAR: Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith is the latest sports personality to catch NASCAR fever. Smith, whose Wildcats won the 1998 NCAA championship, will co-own a Busch series car next year. He and wife Donna will join ARCA driver Jamie Mosley and NEMCO, the 1992 NASCAR Busch Series national championship team led by Nextel Cup ace Joe Nemechek. "I am very excited to be partnering with a young driver like Jamie Mosley and a proven winner like Joe Nemechek," Smith said. "This is a unique opportunity to expand the scope of our efforts with the Tubby Smith Foundation, to further the education of many children in need and to bridge the knowledge gap that exists for many of our young people today." Mosley, a 34-year-old driver from Hazard, Ky., with nine previous Busch series starts, is thrilled by the association with Nemechek and the Smiths. "The attraction of one of the top names in collegiate sports and one of the top names in major league stock car racing has already gotten attention from potential corporate sponsors," he said. "We've been in discussions with several top corporations, and no doubt will be speaking with more who see this arrangement as a unique opportunity to be part of a championship scenario."
Hot on TV: NBC's coverage of the NASCAR Nextel Cup race from Lowe's Motor Speedway earned a 4.9 national rating -- a 14 percent increase over the previous year and a boost of 88 percent from the 2.6 rating in its first broadcast of the race in 2001. The strong numbers for the race Saturday night came despite competition from the baseball playoffs and college football. Last year's race was held on a Sunday afternoon. NBC said the race built to a peak of 6.0 from 11 to 11:30 p.m., when Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag just in front of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. Each rating point represents slightly more than 1 million households. Through 14 telecasts this season, Nextel Cup coverage on NBC and broadcast partner TNT has produced a 4.3 national rating, matching last year and considered particularly good in light of hurricanes hampering ratings in multiple key metered markets for two races.
Fast campaign: Seven NASCAR personalities hit the campaign trail Tuesday and Wednesday, taking part in a four-state tour to show support for President Bush in his bid for re-election. Mark Martin and Bill Elliott took part, along with retired drivers and current TV personalities Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons. Also on the stump were former crew chief and current broadcaster Jeff Hammond, and team owners Jack Roush and Eddie Wood. The campaigners made appearances on a 14-stop tour of Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Associated Press