NASCAR from Daytona to Irwindale on tap for July 4 weekend

Most major motor-racing series are idle over the July 4 weekend, but NASCAR's top series returns to its most famous track, Daytona International Speedway, on Saturday night while one of its minor-league series does the same at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Carl Edwards leads the field for the Coke Zero 400 at the high-banked, 2.5-mile Daytona super-speedway.

Drivers again are expected to pair up in two-car drafts as they did in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, when Trevor Bayne, who had just turned 20, won the race in a huge upset.

Bakersfield native Kevin Harvick, who won the July race at Daytona a year ago, is in second place in the Cup standings, 25 points behind Edwards, and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson is 33 points behind in third.

NASCAR's second-level Nationwide Series also is racing at Daytona on Friday night, where Danica Patrick will again take a weekend off from her IndyCar schedule to drive in a Nationwide event.

Patrick already has driven in more than a dozen NASCAR races and there is widespread speculation that Patrick will leave IndyCar next season to race stock cars full-time.

Also on Saturday night, the half-mile Irwindale track near the intersection of the 605 and 210 freeways will host NASCAR K&N Pro Series West drivers in the Southern California Toyota Dealers 200.

Greg Pursley of Newhall leads the K&N Pro Series West title standings after winning four of the series' first six races this season.

The Izod IndyCar Series, the NHRA Full Throttle drag-racing series and Formula One are all off this weekend.

When they resume July 10, IndyCar will race on the streets of Toronto, the NHRA will be in Joliet, Ill., and Formula One will be at the Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Trevor Bayne, front, leads Carl Edwards, David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte to win the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Credit: Glenn Smith/Associated Press 

Kurt Busch wins at Sonoma for first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of year

Kurt Busch was dominant Sunday in winning the NASCAR race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., his first Sprint Cup Series win of the season.

Busch and his No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge were followed by second place Jeff Gordon, who holds a record five wins at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile Infineon track.

"Unbelievable day," Busch said. "Once we got into the groove with this car it seemed to get better."

Carl Edwards finished third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Marcos Ambrose was fifth. Joey Logano, who started on the pole, finished sixth.

Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers were involved in the latest chapter of  NASCAR's "boys, have at it" policy that left both of their cars heavily damaged.

On lap 37, Stewart pushed Vickers into a spin that triggered a multi-car crash that heavily damaged Vickers' Toyota. Later, with 23 laps left, Vickers paid him back by turning Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet, sending Stewart crashing into the tire barriers next to the outside wall.

Vickers finished 36th and Stewart was 39th.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. was finished before the race was half over when his No. 88 Chevrolet was one of several cars involved in a wreck on lap 37. The crash punched a hole in the radiator of Earnhardt's car that damaged the engine. He finished 41st.

--Jim Peltz in Sonoma, Calif.

Photo: Personnel work to free Tony Stewart's car from the tires in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Credit: Ben Margot/Associated Press 

Kurt Busch leads at halfway point of NASCAR race in Sonoma

Kurt Busch and his No. 22 Dodge Charger were the class of the field at the halfway point of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway.

Tony Stewart was second, Clint Bowyer third and Jimmie Johnson was running fourth on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile Infineon track.

Busch climbed from his 11th starting spot into the lead after only 13 laps of the 110-lap Toyota/Save Mart 350, then the Penske Racing driver held the lead after several restarts.

One restart followed a multicar crash on Lap 37 that collected Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman, among others.

The radiator and the right side of Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet were heavily damaged and his car had to be pushed to the garage for lengthy repairs.

-- Jim Peltz in Sonoma, Calif.

Photo: Kurt Busch, in the No. 22 Dodge, leads the field in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway. Credit: Ben Margot / Associated Press

Joey Logano wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race in Sonoma

Joey Logano held off David Gilliland on Saturday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., winning a race in one of NASCAR's minor league series in a warmup for the Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Infineon.

Logano won the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200, a race in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series West circuit. Gilliland, a Riverside native who mainly races in the top-tier Cup series along with Logano, finished second.

Logano, a 21-year-old who drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is by his own admission less assured on twisty road courses such as Infineon than he is on oval tracks. Yet Logano also won the pole position Friday for the Cup race.

"The main priority today was to learn" for Sunday, "and I think we accomplished that," Logano said. "It was a lot of fun."

Eric Holmes of Escalon, Calif., was third Saturday and Greg Pursley of Newhall, Calif., was fourth.

Pole-sitter Brandon Davis of Huntington Beach finished 39th after his Ford suffered a blown engine early in the 64-lap race.

The race had to be stopped for several laps on a dry, windy day when a grass fire erupted in the infield of the 10-turn, 1.99-mile track located in Sonoma wine country, a fire apparently sparked by the hot pipes of one race car that had spun out in the area.

-- Jim Peltz in Sonoma, Calif.

Photo: Joey Logano, in the No. 18 FleetLocate Toyota at front left, leads the field in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race June 25, 2011, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Credit: Todd Warshaw / Getty Images

Joey Logano wins pole position for NASCAR race in Sonoma

Joey Logano hustled his No. 20 Toyota around the 10-turn Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., faster than anyone else Friday to win the pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

The driver for Joe Gibbs Racing turned a lap of 93.256 mph on the 1.99-mile track nestled in the hillsides of Sonoma's wine country.

Jamie McMurray was second at 93.223 mph and will start alongside Logano on the first row in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion and defending winner of the race, qualified 12th and Dale Earnhardt Jr., his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, was 18th.

"We made some good adjustments [after practice] and found good speed in the car," said Logano, who by his own admission is more capable on ovals than twisty road courses such as Infineon. "This is the last place I figured we'd get a pole."

Five-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon qualified 13th in the 43-car field, Logano teammate Kyle Busch will start 19th and Carl Edwards, who leads the Cup point standings, qualified 23rd.

The race begins at noon PDT on Sunday.

ALSO:

NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to like Sonoma track

NASCAR's Red Bull team 'encouraged' about finding new owners

--Jim Peltz in Sonoma, Calif.

Photo: NASCAR driver Joey Logano in practice Friday before winning the pole for Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Credit: Ben Margot/Associated Press

NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to like Sonoma track

It's no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and curvy road courses don't mix well, but the popular NASCAR driver wants to change that.

Amid a resurgence in Earnhardt's performance this season -- he's third in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series championship point standings -- Earnhardt said he wants that improvement to extend even to the 10-turn Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, site of Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Asked Friday what his hopes were for this weekend, Earnhardt replied, “To make it my favorite place and go out there and be fast and competitive.

"We want to go out there and be a factor all day and look forward to coming back next year," said Earnhardt, who has never finished in the top 10 in 11 starts at Infineon.

Earnhardt, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, has gone three years without a win but so far this season has eight top-10 finishes.

Earnhardt also said he'd patched things up with teammate Mark Martin after contact with Martin's car sent Earnhardt into the wall at last Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway.

"It's good," Earnhardt said. "We handled it after the race and talked a little bit and texted each other back and forth. Everything's cool."

ALSO:

NASCAR's Red Bull team 'encouraged' about finding new owners, sponsors

Jeff Gordon wants you to pick his brain

-- Jim Peltz in Sonoma, Calif.

Photo: Dale Earnhardt Jr. during practice Friday for the NASCAR race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday. Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

NASCAR's Red Bull team 'encouraged' about finding new owners, sponsors

Red Bull Racing is now actively seeking to sell all or part of its two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team to new owners and sponsors as the energy drink company prepares to pull back after this season, a team official said Tuesday.

The team's drivers are Kasey Kahne, who drives the No. 4 Toyota and already has announced plans  to move to the Hendrick Motorsports team after this season, and Brian Vickers, who drives the No. 83 Toyota and is in the final year of his contract.

The team is "very encouraged about the prospects" of finding new ownership partners and sponsors for the 2012 season and beyond, Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing's general manager, told reporters on a conference call.

"Hopefully over the next 30 to 45 days we're in some sort of talks" that could lead to a transaction, Frye said.

Red Bull's NASCAR team replaces Casey Mears with Reed Sorenson

The Red Bull NASCAR team said Wednesday that it will replace Casey Mears with Reed Sorenson as driver of its No. 83 Toyota starting with the June 27 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Mears, a member of the famed Mears racing family of Bakersfield, drove in four Sprint Cup Series races for Red Bull after he was tapped to fill in for Brian Vickers, who was sidelined for the season after he was diagnosed with blood clots.

But Mears' best finish in those four races was a 22nd at Dover, Del., and he probably didn't help his cause Sunday when he made contact with Red Bull teammate Scott Speed at Michigan International Speedway, sending Speed into a spin.

Sorenson won't take over Vickers' car this Sunday because the series is racing at the twisty Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, Calif., and Red Bull plans to have Mattias Ekstrom, a two-time champion in the European DTM sports-car series, drive the No. 83 at Infineon.

Mears, 32, found himself without a full-season ride this year after driving for Richard Childress Racing in 2009. He previously had spent two years with Hendrick Motorsports before being released after the 2008 season, and four years with Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team before moving to Hendrick.

During that span, Mears won one Cup race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in 2007.

Sorenson, 24, also formerly drove for Ganassi but likewise hadn't had a full-time ride in the Cup series this season, and he has never won a Cup race. He had been driving in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series this year.

"Our unique situation [with Vickers] has afforded us the opportunity to try some different things, and we're continuing to do that with Reed," Jay Frye, Red Bull's general manager, said in a statement.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Casey Mears pits the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race June 13 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Credit: Jason Smith / Getty Images.