FOR NASCAR’S NEXTEL CUP; HIGHT HANGS ON TO LEAD IN NHRA FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Matt Kenseth was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Loudon, NH, finishing seventh in his No. 17 Fusion. Kenseth moves up one spot to seventh in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, 54 points behind leaders Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who are tied for the lead.
Erik Darnell was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race, finishing second in his No. 99 F-150. Darnell moved up one spot to ninth in the standings.
Robert Hight, driver of the AAA of So. Cal Mustang, made it all the way to the third round of the NHRA event in Memphis before losing to Jack Beckman. Hight defeated Jeff Arend in the first round and Tony Bartone in the second round and remains atop the Funny Car standings.
Mark Ackley and Todd Snyder were the top-finishing Mustang FR500C drivers in the Koni Challenge race, placing sixth. Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger finished 14 th in their No. 77 Ford Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Series race.
Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards both kicked off their championship efforts in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup in Loudon, NH, while Robert Hight won two rounds in Memphis and is hanging on the championship lead in the NHRA Funny Car race on a busy weekend for Ford Racing.
Kenseth started the NASCAR Nextel Cup race from the 30 th position and used a two-tire pit stop early in the race to gain track position before eventually finishing seventh. His performance moved him up one spot to seventh in the Chase standings with nine events to go.
“I wish we would have finished a little better,” Kenseth said, “but we ran a lot better today so I’m pretty happy with that. We need to run better than that, obviously, to contend for a championship but we ran pretty good. Our speed was pretty good, it’s just that these cars compared to the old conventional cars are just so much harder to pass. You can run a tenth or two better than the guy in front of you, but you can’t really go anywhere and then once you get to him, it’s just so hard to pass with them.”
Kenseth’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards had a tough start to the weekend when he wrecked his primary car during practice on Friday. Edwards still managed to qualify 11 th and finish 12 th in the race.
“With a back-up car that’s pretty good,” Edwards said. “Overall, it’s not the kind of weekend we wanted. We need to run better than that, but it’s nobody’s fault but my own for wrecking the primary. I’m just really proud of my guys for being able to come back and run that well with no laps on the race car. That says a lot about our team.”
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Loudon, Erik Darnell just couldn’t catch up to series leader Ron Hornaday, who dominated the race, but was able to hold off Mike Skinner for a second place finish.
“We knew we had a good truck in practice yesterday, said Darnell. “We struggled a little bit, but all the guys on this Northern Tool + Equipment crew did a great job adjusting the truck and getting it to where it needed to be. I’m kind of bummed out that we didn’t get to qualify, but we had good pit stops all day long and we were able to come away with a second-place finish.”
At the O’Reilly Midsouth NHRA Nationals in Memphis, Hight took his Mustang to the third round before losing to Jack Beckman. Despite not making it to the finals, Hight still remains on top of the Funny Car standings with only four more races remaining.
