AUTO RACING roundup

nascar truck series

Nemechek wins second straight

newton, iowa

John Hunter Nemechek raced to his second straight NASCAR Camping World Truck victory, taking the lead with his six laps left Friday night at Iowa Speedway.

Nemechek took four new tires during the final caution. The gamble paid off, as he passed leader Johnny Sauter soon after a restart.

The 20-year-old Nemechek raced to his fifth career victory, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for his father, former NASCAR Cup driver Joe Nemechek. He won last week at Gateway in Madison, Illinois.

NASCAR

Bowyer gets Lightning McQueen this week

SONOMA, CALIF.

Lightning McQueen went to NASCAR’s victory lane last week when Kyle Larson drove the “Cars 3” vehicle to a win.

The McQueen paint scheme has shifted to Clint Bowyer’s car this week, and he’s looking to keep the winning streak going.

“Hopefully, lightning strikes again,” Bowyer said. “The kid (Larson) won in the Lightning McQueen scheme last week and it would be cool to take Lightning McQueen to victory lane again this week.”

His odds could be decent. Bowyer won at Sonoma in 2012 and is piloting the car that Tony Stewart drove to victory — the last of Stewart’s NASCAR career — last year.

So Bowyer smartly removed any additional pressure by not telling 2-year-old son Cash about the special “Cars 3” paint scheme. He estimates he’s watched the franchise with Cash “no less than 300 times,” and his son would have been extremely thrilled by the car.

But Cash wasn’t invited to this race weekend in picturesque wine country, so Bowyer didn’t mention Lightning McQueen.

“It is almost impossible to bring the kids on the road out here. The wives go out and have some fun,” Bowyer said. “That is why we didn’t tell him. Hopefully, he will be able to see it on the news come Sunday afternoon back home.”

Johnson’s crew chief victimized in theft

SONOMA, CALIF.

Seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus was oddly calm Friday even though his race notes for star driver Jimmie Johnson this weekend had been stolen from his rental car in San Francisco.

Knaus and his wife arrived in California on Wednesday night and headed to Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner. Knaus told The Associated Press they parked at a meter in a bustling area and were gone approximately 90 minutes.

When the couple returned, the right side passenger rear window of their SVU was smashed and their briefcases were gone. Their luggage was not stolen.

In one of the briefcases was a laptop with all of Knaus’ preparations and details for Sunday’s race. Hendrick Motorsports said the information is encrypted, and Knaus said other members of the No. 48 team had similar notes so the notes aren’t “gone.”

“Unless you are in motorsports, you aren’t going to care too much about the information,” he said. Knaus had photographs of the broken window, as well as the job he did of sealing the window with a garbage bag and tape.

indycar

Series building on Road America success

elkhart lake, wis.

When he was growing up, Graham Rahal found more than enough to do to stay occupied at Road America while the racers in his family went to work.

Now Rahal is the doing the driving, and he feels like a kid again back at the rural Wisconsin road course.

It is Year 2 of IndyCar’s return to Road America. The track went nine years in between stops from a major open-wheel circuit before IndyCar roared back in 2016. The 221-mile Kohler Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday

“So it means a lot to us. I’ve spent many, many, many days running around, terrorizing this place,” said Rahal, who drives for a team co-owned by his father, 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. “It’s changed a little bit, but just an awesome, awesome race track. A lot of great memories.”

Road America officials have said that last season’s IndyCar date drew the largest crowd ever in the track’s 35-year history, though they did not have specific attendance numbers.

IndyCar had no major issues with the track, which is in the middle of three-year contract with the series. The sides will likely start talking about an extension later this year.

NHRA

Kalitta leads Top Fuel qualifying

NOrwalk

Doug Kalitta took the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday night in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals with track-record time.

Kalitta had a 3.709-second pass at 327.43 mph during the second session of the day.

“I was hopeful that we would run well and fortunately we had a good tune-up for the track tonight,” Kalitta said. “We’re hoping to turn things around at our home track in front of home fans and we always feel good about coming to Norwalk.”

Matt Hagan topped the Funny Car field, Greg Anderson took the Pro Stock lead, and Matt Smith was the fastest in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Hagan also broke the track time record with a 3.865 at 333.33 in a Dodge Charger R/T. Anderson had a 6.808 at 208.62 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and Smith ran a 6.885 at 195.11 on a Victory Gunner.

Associated Press