And though Gordon struggled in his first road course outing in a stock vehicle, his background served him well.
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How has Jeff Gordon schooled other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers on road courses throughout his career?
Ward and Stewart had been racing for position at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York on August 9 when Ward crashed.
Although Stewart was cleared of any criminal charges, Ward’s parent allege that with his “extreme skill and control over his auto”, the NASCAR champ could have avoided hitting their son.
The suit filed by Ward’s parents, Kevin and Pamela Ward, claims wrongful death, reckless conduct, gross negligence and their son’s terror and suffering.
1979 – Stewart wins first his competitive race in a go-kart in Westport, Indiana.
There is no doubt, however, the accident deeply affected Stewart.
“I’m trying to not think about it”, Stewart said at a midweek appearance in Texas.
Stewart and Ward bumped cars during the race and the collision sent Ward into an outside retaining wall while Stewart remained in the race.
“Strange would be one word”, NBC legal analyst Jack Furlong said. It’s the one-year anniversary. The focus should be on the actions of Tony Stewart and not Kevin.
Stewart and Ward were involved in an on-track incident that left Ward unable to continue in the Empire Super Sprints race. The suit was filed in Lewis County, where the family lives. We lost a young driver that had a lot of talent.’.
“No matter what was said, it was a tragic accident”, he said. They determined the death was accidental and that Stewart’s driving was not the reason for Ward’s death.
Gordon hasn’t won here since 2001 and has not triumphed at either NASCAR road course since a win at Sonoma in 2006. However the forecasts suggest that is unlikely to happen this year at least.
With a second-place finish last Saturday at Iowa Speedway, Regan Smith moved closer to the top of the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings.
AJ Allmendinger doesn’t need a reminder that this weekend will likely determine whether he qualifies for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Maybe even top three. “It’s been in my blood since I’ve been 5 years old and nothing is changing”, he said on the video.
Now they’re making good on that promise. “If the opportunity is there, he or she is going to go out there to do whatever they can to get the win”. But, we’ll see. It’s a tough race.
What is most impressive about Gordon’s nine road course wins is that the first six were in succession, starting at Watkins Glen in 1997 and ending here three years later.
Earned the nickname “Smoke” because that’s what other drivers saw coming from his tires as he steered through turns on asphalt tracks. “It’s great when you get it right, it’s easy to get it wrong”.
“I did some go-kart racing too”. I don’t know how you could be. Electrical problems during the race took him out of contention. “I missed it by eight inches or a foot, just a tiny little bit”. It’s really hard to make this better when people don’t want to listen. “What can be going through his mind”. But the night’s racing festivities were on the back burner thanks to news that surfaced earlier in the day. “I’d love to race in the rain”.
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Kyle Busch said he has mixed feelings about running in the rain in Cup cars. “I’m actually praying for rain on Sunday”. He declined to share his own ideas publicly to respect the process.
