April 20, 2008 6:15 PM ET
Nationwide: Ambrose impressive in 2nd
 The News
Marcos Ambrose may not have won the race, but he was one of the most impressive drivers in the field. After dropping to the back because of a clutch problem, he stormed up to second.
 Our View
Put a not in your calendar for August. He will be a driver to watch at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
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April 20, 2008 5:56 PM ET
Nationwide: Ky Busch wins three in a row
The News
Kyle Busch is not known as a road course racer, but that didn't make any difference on Sunday. He held off a determined Marcos Ambrose to win the Corona Mexico 200.
Our View
With wins at Texas, Phoenix and now Mexico City, Busch is becoming one of the best all around drivers in the Nationwide series.
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April 20, 2008 3:04 PM ET
Schrader to race at Rockingham
The News
Ken Schrader, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and several other drivers with a NASCAR connection will run in the inaugural ARCA Carolina 500, which marks the return of major league racing to Rockingham, N.C.
Our View
The competition level may be different, but this race will actually be a good warm-up for the upcoming contest at Darlington Raceway.
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April 20, 2008 1:26 PM ET
R Gordon 2nd after rally stage one
The News
Robby Gordon got off to a strong start in the Central Europe Rally, finishing second in the first stage after starting 12th.
Our View
The makeup for the Dakar rally cancelled this spring lacks some of the cache, and it's going to be a sprint instead of a marathon, so it pays to get off to a strong start.
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April 20, 2008 1:15 PM ET
Nationwide COT likely for mid 2009
The News
The Car of Tomorrow (COT) is coming to the Nationwide series, but instead of happening at the beginning of 2009—as many speculated—it will most likely happen during the middle of the season to allow for a smoother transition.
Our View
The junior series already suffers from a lack of identity and converting to a spec car is not going to help, but the increased safety of the COT will offset some of those concerns.
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April 19, 2008 11:23 PM ET
Nationwide: Fernandez 8th at Long Beach
The News
Adrian Fernandez hopes his Nationwide series race on Sunday is better than his ALMS race on Saturday. He and co-driver Luis Diaz finished only eighth overall and sixth in class.
Our View
The tandem drove the next to last car on the lead lap, and he is going to arrive in Mexico City tired and disappointed.
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April 19, 2008 6:52 PM ET
Nationwide: Pruett second in Grand Am
The News
In a slightly wounded Daytona Prototype, Scott Pruett finished second to Marc Goosens in the Rolex Grand Am portion of the weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
Our View
The cars are different enough that this won't impact his chances either way in the Nationwide event, unless momentum counts for a little.
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April 19, 2008 1:10 PM ET
Nationwide: Braun wins Mexico City pole
The News
Teenage sensation Colin Braun won the pole for Sunday's road race in Mexico City.
Our View
This race has been won from the first three spots in each of its three previous runnings, but never has been taken by the pole winner. Braun has the skill to reverse that.
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April 18, 2008 6:53 PM ET
Nationwide: Braun fastest regular
The News
Colin Braun was second fastest in Happy Hour and the fastest among the Nationwide Regulars. His speed was 102.882 miles per hour.
Our View
Braun is going to be a much better value this week than on many ovals, and he has a bargain basement salary cap.
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April 18, 2008 6:43 PM ET
Nationwide: Pruett wins Happy Hour
The News
Scott Pruett posted the fastest time in Happy Hour, with a speed of 102.896 miles per hour.
Our View
Pruett is in the car that beat him last year and this time, Juan Montoya is not in the race to crash him at the end. He should be heavily favored to win.
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April 18, 2008 4:39 PM ET
Marlin to attempt Aarons 499
The News
Sterling Marlin will attempt to qualify a James Finch entry at Talladega SuperSpeedway for the Aarons 499.
Our View
Finch fields competitive cars on the restrictor-plate SuperSpeedways and Marlin is likely to be a better value than his salary cap suggests.
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April 18, 2008 4:30 PM ET
Nationwide: Edwards tags the No. 49
The News
Carl Edwards made contact with the No. 49 of Robert Richardson and damaged his nose. The car is repairable, but Edwards will miss valuable practice time.
Our View
This could be a tough weekend for Edwards. He finished fourth in Mexico City, but was in the 30 at both the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Watkins Glen International.
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April 18, 2008 4:26 PM ET
Nationwide: Reutimann crashes in Happy Hour
The News
David Reutimann spun and crashed in Happy Hour in exactly the same spot as Landon Cassill in the first practice session.
Our View
Reutimann barely hit the wall, but it appears the team should be able to fix the left quarter panel. They'll have a lot of work to do, however.
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April 18, 2008 3:46 PM ET
Nationwide: Braun fastest regular in practice 1
The News
Colin Braun was the third fastest driver in the first practice session for the Corona Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the fastest among the Nationwide Regulars. His fastest speed was 89.868 miles per hour.
Our View
Braun could actually be called a road ringer as well since his background is in the sports cars.
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April 18, 2008 3:42 PM ET
Nationwide: Pruett fastest ringer in practice 1
The News
Scott Pruett posted the second fastest lap among the road ringers at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, posting a speed of 89.800 miles per hour.
Our View
Pruett's speed was second fastest overall and he nearly won this race last year before he got spun out by his teammate Juan Montoya.
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April 18, 2008 3:38 PM ET
Nationwide: Ky Busch leads practice 1
The News
Kyle Busch posted the fastest lap in the first practice session for the Corona Mexico 200, with a speed of 89.661 miles per hour around the Mexico City road course.
Our View
Busch is not known as the greatest road racer in the field and he skipped all three Nationwide series road races last year, but he has momentum on his side with back-to-back wins this season in the junior series.
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April 18, 2008 3:20 PM ET
Nationwide: Cassill crashes in practice 1
The News
Landon Cassill found the wall in the first practice session for the Corona Mexico 200. He spun out of the final turn before the entry to pit road—one of the fastest segments of the track.
Our View
Cassill is racing for James Finch this weekend and he destroyed that car. He's going to have to be careful from here on, because it's a long way to send back to Charlotte for another mount.
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April 18, 2008 2:07 PM ET
Hornish will not run the Indy 500
The News
With speculation rampant that David Stremme would become a replacement for the Sam Hornish Jr. in the Coke 600—freeing the struggling open wheeler a chance to run the Indy 500—Roger Penske called from Europe to report that would not happen.
Our View
Hornish needs all the track time he can get, and slowly but surely, he will become an increasingly good value. He still has a long way to go before fantasy owners want to consider him for their roster.
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April 17, 2008 9:54 PM ET
Burton has best avg. fin of 2008
The News
Jeff Burton has the best average finish of 2008, with a 7.0 in eight starts.
Our View
He's earned the points' lead on the strength of a perfect record of top-15s. Equally impressive his last six races of 2007 ended in results that strong, which gives him a 14-race top-15 streak.
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April 17, 2008 8:53 PM ET
Hamlin most crash-prone on plate tracks
The News
Denny Hamlin has the dubious distinction of being the most crash prone driver on the restrictor-plate SuperSpeedways of Talladega and Daytona during the past three years. He's been swept into six accidents in nine races.
Our View
The new body style is much more stable in the draft, however, and this year's Daytona 500 was run without a single "Big One" crash. The biggest incident was a three-car pileup, so hopefully Hamlin's fortunes will reverse quickly.
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