(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Going into tomorrow’s Cup Series race in Phoenix, I had been leaning toward picking Jimmie Johnson. Historically, this is one of his best tracks. Unfortunately for him, he and his Lowe’s team have struggled this weekend, and will have to fight to earn a good finish.

Jimmie Johnson, “Without testing before the season, it’s just tough to know if the areas you’re working on during the off-season are good. We have a lot of ideas we’re trying to work through now so this weekend we haven’t had the raw speed that we had hoped to have but we’re working in a lot of areas to find speed. So I think in a couple of races from now, we’ll be where we want, but we’re going to have to deal with some tough moments I think, just because we can’t test like we used to in the old days.”

Of course every possibility exists that Johnson can come from a poor starting position to win, as he has done this several times. He starts 28th.

Last week’s surprise winner, Trevor Bayne, was no surprise for me. I picked him on the basis of his Speed Weeks performance leading up to the Daytona 500. He showed great maturity and skill negotiating his way through practice, qualifying and The Duel. In doing so, he gained the trust of the field, with four time Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon taking the young rookie under his wing, and making Bayne his drafting partner above all others in the field. Trevor Bayne took this maturity, luck and new found trust all the way to the bank to claim his first victory in only his second start. This tied the record of Jamie McMurray, whom also won in his second start, and bested the record set by Jeff Gordon in becoming the youngest winner of The Great American Race. Phoenix however, is another story. Bayne didn’t make a full lap in practice before a brake issue sent him into the wall, destroying his racecar and sending the Daytona 500 Champion to a backup car. I don’t see see Trevor Bayne repeating the success he acheived last week, but I do look to see him perform well in his Wood Brother’s Ford. Look for Bayne to finish on the lead lap, perhaps top 15 and gain yet more trust and experience in the process.

In my opinion, this is KYLE BUSCH‘s race to loose. He has the momentum of winning the Truck Series and Nationwide Series races this weekend, and the track record of success at Phoenix.  Busch achieved this feat last season at Bristol.  In victory lane after leading every lap of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, Busch was asked if this was a perfect race.  In response, Busch said, “Probably not,” then joked, “See??? I’m not perfect, OK!?”

Even though I predict a solid finish for last week’s winner, some of you may still be looking for an underdog to win.  This week’s Underdog to Watch is REGAN SMITH.  After a very strong Speed Weeks where he and his team showed the racing world that they were every bit as potent as Trevor Bayne, Smith rolls into Phoenix with a strong start to his season, and the cofindence that he is a contender.  To back up this surge of confidence, Smith posted the 5th best qualifiying speed and was strong in practice.

When asked about his qualifying effort, Smith said, “I was surprised. I thought it was a slow lap, to be honest with you. So I’m really pleased with that time. Sometimes when you’re fast it feels slow. We were quick when we unloaded. We were a little off in qualifying trim today so we made some adjustments today and everybody on this Furniture Row Chevy did an awesome job. We’ve been really working hard with this program to get it to this level and I feel like this is the year we can take advantage of it and hopefully that’s what we keep doing.”

One thing is certain for this week’s race.  It is the last for the current configuration, as following the race Phoenix International Raceway will undergo it’s own repaving and reconfiguration with adjustments made to the “dog leg” on the backstretch in the process.  Coming back for the fall race will mean a fresh notebook and an entirely new set of challenges, smack in the middle of the Chase.

UPDATE: Jeff Gordon passed Kyle Busch with 8 laps to go to claim his 83rd victory Sunday in Phoenix. With the win, Gordon moves to 10th on the all time Cup wins list. Kyle Busch misses his second Trifecta, but leaves Phoenix with the Cup Series Points Lead. (Feb. 27)

The IZOD INDYCAR Series announces that the final race of the 2011 season will be October 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

MORE: $5 million bonus for win in Indy Car finale by outsider: The Izod IndyCar Series confirmed its 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with an enticing twist: A $5 million reward to any driver from another series who can win the race. IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard says a selection committee would be created to select a group of five entrants from outside IndyCar, likely determined by mid-summer. A test session also will be held at Las Vegas, and Bernard singled out the series’ top teams — Penske Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport — as prime candidates for offering rides to the interlopers. Bernard wouldn’t speculate on who might be interested in the proposition, but the race date was designed with NASCAR in mind. IndyCar will make its return to Las Vegas’ for the Oct. 16 race, which will be held at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Sprint Cup Series will race the night before at Charlotte, with the Bank of America 500 ending sometime between 11-11:30 p.m. in Concord, N.C. The Charlotte race is the fifth of 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup, which might dissuade many big names in Cup from participating because of focus on the title hunt. The obvious candidates would be former IndyCar drivers Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, Sam Hornish Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. But Montoya has indicated no interest in racing Indy cars again, and Stewart has said he doesn’t want to do a one-off. Gordon and Hornish, however, might be interested in returning, and other veterans (such as Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne) have admitted intrigue in the prospect.(Jayski via USA Today)(2-23-2010)

IndyCar to Officially Sanction iRacing Series in 2011.

For those of you who have followed along with my posts about iRacing you have an extensive knowledge of my own series, the 16th Street Racing League.  It’s an awesome league with opportunities to race against real life racers as well as some of the best sim-racers in the world.  Unfortunately, I can only admit 43 people every season to compete with us and it’s purely a competition for pride.

This coming Saturday all of that will change.  iRacing recently announced their brand new iRacing.com IZOD INDYCAR Premier Series. This series will closely mimic the real life IZOD IndyCar Series.  Both road and oval courses will be featured, allowing members from all over the world to compete against each other in a live format.  The overall winner and top finishers will be crowned at the of a 16 race season, scheduled to take 30 weeks to complete.  Bi-monthly results will be posted and featured HERE on INDYCAR.COM.  And just like in the real world the series will feature a road champion, an oval champion, and an overall champion.

This Saturday, February 19, marks the start of the 30 weeks of racing.  The races will begin every 2 hours in a 24 hour period, providing drivers in every time zone with an opportunity to participate.  All the races will be on Saturdays to maximize participation, giving 12 possible races in one single day!

The schedule is designed to mirror the actual INDYCAR schedule as much as possible with the currently available tracks on iRacing:

2011 Schedule: 16 Races, 8 Oval Races, 8 Road Races

• Michigan 2/19
• Phoenix 3/5
• Laguna Seca 3/19
• Barber 4/2
• Watkins Glen 4/16
• Homestead 4/30
• Mosport 5/14
• Indianapolis 5/28
• Texas 6/11
• Milwaukee 6/25
• Sebring 7/0
• Road America 7/23
• Mid-Ohio 8/6
• New Hampshire 8/20
• Infineon IRL 9/3
• Las Vegas 9/17
  

To be eligible for the series you must, obviously be a member, have a C license with a minimum of 4.0 safety rating, or a B license of any safety rating.

Now comes the absolute best part of this new series… PRIZES

The overall champion will be the driver with the highest calculated point total over the course of the 16 race, 30 week season.  There is only one division in this series.  The overall champion will win airfare, hotel acommodations, $1000 cash and a trophy.  They will be flown to the final race in the real-world IZOD IndyCar Series to be presented the trophy on stage in front of the introduction ceremony crowd.

Mike Skinner (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Mooresville, North Carolina (February 21, 2011) – Fresh off a solid Top-15 finish in Daytona, FAS Lane Racing is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Gainey Suites Hotel for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend.  The Scottsdale area hotel will be home for the FAS Lane Racing team while being featured on the No. 32 Ford driven by veteran driver Mike Skinner in the running of the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500.

“We look forward to this partnership with Gainey Suites Hotel and hosting some of their folks at the track this weekend,” stated FAS Lane Racing team owner Frank Stoddard. “We do a lot of traveling during the course of the race season and stay in a lot of hotels and it is awesome to be able to call Gainey Suites Hotel home this week for our race team.  The staff has been great to work with on this program and we appreciate all of their support.”
Mike Skinner will make his debut with FAS Lane Racing in Phoenix as he climbs behind the wheel of the No. 32 Ford.  The veteran NASCAR driver has over 500 starts in NASCAR’s top three series and was the 1995 Champion in the inaugural season of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Stoddard, a veteran crew chief in NASCAR, has 14 wins to his credit atop the pit box and after a solid run in Daytona looks forward to Mike Skinner climbing behind the wheel of his No. 32 Ford.

Gainey Suites Hotel is stylishly remodeled and ranked by Tripadvisor.com as the #1 Scottsdale Hotel. This all-suites boutique hotel in exclusive Gainey Ranch-Scottsdale offers spacious and well-appointed studio, one and two bedroom suite accommodations featuring the wonderful Gainey Suite Dreams Bed with plush featherbed and opulent 300 thread-count linens, marble baths and vanities and fully equipped residential style kitchens and dining areas. Relax with New LCD HDTVs, Free Wi-Fi throughout the property and work desks with ergonomic chairs, halogen lamps, and laptop size safes for your valuables.  The hotel also includes a complimentary full hot breakfast buffet and evening reception with hot and cold appetizers, beer, wine, and soft drinks. For reservations call 1 800 (970) 4666 or book online at www.gaineysuiteshotel.com

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is honored to partner with NASCAR for the 2011 Daytona 500 and the Auto Club 400. Ronald Reagan loved all sports, in particular, NASCAR. He was the first American president to attend a NASCAR race, the 1984 Firecracker 400, where The King, Richard Petty, won his 200th race. In commemoration of the Reagan Centennial we are proud to honor our nation’s 40th President and show this ‘Tribute Video’ narrated by none other than famed NASCAR and FOX announcer, Mike Joy.

By: Jimmy Joe Ball, TeamJimmyJoe.com

Editor’s Note: Jeff Gordon won the Daytona in 1997 at the age of 25, not 26. Sorry for the confusion folks. Hope you enjoyed the video.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 12: Trevor Bayne, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, drives off pit road during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 12, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Underdog to Watch: 87 – Joe Nemecheck, NEMCO Motorsports

UPDATE: Trevor Bayne has won the 53rd Daytona 500 after David Ragan was black flagged following a starting procedure violation.  This is Bayne’s first win in only his second Cup Series start.

MD joins Erica and Racing Electronics’ Kevin Hughes at an italian restaurant near Daytona Int’l Speedway that has become a Speedeats favorite.