Flag2Flag September 11, 2011

Gilles Villeneuve drives to victory in the 1978United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen

SPRINT CUP SERIESWONDERFUL PISTACHIOS 400S i t e : Richmond, Va .S c h e d u l e : F r i d a y, practice (ESPN2,noon-4 p.m.); qualifying (ESPN2,5:30-7 p.m.); Saturday, race, 7:30p.m. (ABC, 7-11 p.m.).Tr a c k : Richmond InternationalRaceway (oval, 0.75 miles).D i s t a n c e : 300 miles, 400 laps.Last year: Denny Hamlin raced tohis second straight Septemberv i c t o ry at his hometown track,holding off Joe Gibbs Racingteammate Kyle Busch.Last race: Jeff Gordon held offHendrick teammate Jimmie Johnsonover a thrilling last 10 laps Tu e s d a yin the rain-delayed race at Atlanta.Gordon won for the third time thisyear and 85th overall, breaking a tiewith Bobby Allison and DarrellWaltrip for third on the career listbehind Richard Petty (200) andDavid Pearson (105).Fast facts: The race ends theregular season. The top 10 in thestandings and the top two victoryleaders from Nos. 11-20 will earnspots in the Chase. Five-timedefending champion Johnson,Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth,Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Buschand Ryan Newman have wrappedup spots in the top 10. BradKeselowski, a three-time winner this

y e a r, has locked up at least a wild-card spot. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ninthin the standings, two points aheadof No. 10 Tony Stewart and 25ahead of 11th-place Keselowski.Hamlin (12th) and Paul Menard

(20th) are in position to earn awild-card spot with a victory.M a rcos Ambrose (21st) and DavidRagan (23rd) could earn a wild-card spot with a victory and moveinto the top 20. Ambrose is sevenpoints outside the top 20, andRagan is 20 points out. ... In April,Kyle Busch won the Richmondspring race for the third straighty e a r. Hamlin was second.Next race: Geico 400, Sept. 18,Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.

N ATIONWIDE SERIESVIRGINIA 529 COLLEGES AVINGS 250Site: Richmond, Va .S c h e d u l e : To d a y, practice,qualifying (ESPN2, 4-5:30 p.m.),race, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.).Tr a c k : Richmond InternationalRaceway (oval, 0.75 miles).D i s t a n c e : 187.5 miles, 250 laps.Last year: Kevin Harvick raced tothe last of his three 2010Nationwide victories.Last week: Carl Edwards won atAtlanta, overcoming an early pit-stop penalty and holding off KyleBusch. Edwards has six Nationwidevictories this year and 35 overall.Fast facts: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has13-point lead over Elliott Sadlerwith eight races left. Reed Sorensonis third, 40 points behindStenhouse. ... In the owner’sstandings, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No.18 Toyota has a 45-point leaderover Roush Fenway’s No. 60 Ford.Busch has driven the No. 18 in 18of the 26 races, and Edwards hasmade 25 starts in the No. 60. Buschhas seven victories this year and aseries-record 50 overall. ...Hometown star Denny Hamlin wonthe April race at the track.Next race: Dollar General 300,Sept. 17, Chicagoland Speedway,Joliet, Ill.

FORMULA ONEI TALIAN GRAND PRIXS i t e : Monza, Italy.S c h e d u l e : To d a y, practice (Speed,8-9:30 a.m.); Saturday, practice,qualifying (Speed, 8-9:30 a.m.);S u n d a y, race, 8 a.m. (Speed, 7:30-10 a.m., 4:30-7 p.m.).Tr a c k : Autodromo Nazionale diMonza (road course, 3.6 miles).Race distance: 190.8 miles, 53 laps.

Last year: Fernando Alonsoo v e rcame a poor start to giveFerrari a victory on its home track.M c L a r e n ’s Jenson Button wassecond, 2.9 seconds back.Last race: Sebastian Vettel won theBelgian Grand Prix on Aug. 28 forhis seventh victory of the season and17th overall. Red Bull teammateMark Webber was second.Fast facts: Defending serieschampion Vettel has a 92-pointlead over second-place We b b e r.Alonso is third, 102 points behindVettel. ... Bruno Senna is replacingNick Heidfeld with Renault for therest of the season. Heidfeld tookover after Robert Kubica sustained acareer-threatening injury in a rally-car accident in February. Senna, thenephew of Brazilian F1 great Ay r t o nSenna, was 13th in Belgium.Next race: Singapore Grand Prix,Sept. 25, Marina Bay Street Circ u i t ,S i n g a p o r e .WORLD OF OUTLAW S : S p r i n tCar: Gold Cup Race of Champions,t o d a y - S a t u r d a y, Silver DollarS p e e d w a y, Chico, Calif.; Monday,Antioch Speedway, Antioch, Calif.Super DirtCar: Race Mania 7,S a t u r d a y, Autodrome Drummond,Drummondville, Quebec.

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On Track This Weekend

Sharp tos e rve as guestat Vi n t a g eGrand PrixTHE LEADER STA F F

WATKINS GLEN | B o bSharp, the Connecticut manwho became a key figure dur-ing Datsun’s successful run inauto racing, will serve as thefeatured guest of the GlenoraWine Cellars U.S. Vi n t a g eGrand Prix at Watkins GlenInternational this weekend.

As such, Sharp will beavailable for questions andautographs throughout theweekend, which highlightsthe Datsun/Nissan marque inSunday’s feature race at TheGlen. Sharp was a multiplechampion in the Sports CarClub of America before field-ing cars for Paul Newman,Elliott Forbes-Robinson andhis son, former IndyCarSeries star Scott Sharp.

Sharp will spend today atthe Grand Prix Festival indowntown Watkins Glen,addressing the fans at theLegends Speak forum inLafayette Park before givingthe command to startengines for the grand prixreenactment.

Saturday, he’ll be at TheGlen for autograph sessionsat 10 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. atthe Pyramid store, will hold afan forum in the garage atnoon and hold a Q&A ses-sion in the Crown Royal Clubat 1:30 p.m. Sunday will seeSharp hold two more auto-graph sessions at 9:40 a.m.and 3:15 p.m. with anotherfan forum at 12:10 p.m. anda Crown Royal Club Q&A at11:15 a.m.

BY CHRIS GILLc m g i l l @ t h e - l e a d e r. c o m

WATKINS GLEN | This beingthe 50th anniversary of the firstFormula One race held atWatkins Glen, the InternationalMotor Racing Research Centerhas spent 2011 celebrating themost romantic era in the 63-year history of world-class rac-ing in Schuyler County. Whilethe festivities don’t end thisweekend, coinciding with theGlenora Wine Cellars VintageGrand Prix at the track andt o d a y ’s festival downtown, itdoes offer a climax.

Three documentary films willmake their U.S. debut at The

Glen Theateron Franklin St.t o d a y, aLegends SpeakForum will beheld atLayfayette Parkand MichaelArgetsinger willlaunch his

fourth, and most personal,book: “Formula One at WatkinsGlen: 20 Years of the UnitedStates Grand Prix, 1961-1980.”

A r g e t s i n g e r, son of racing’sfounding father in Wa t k i n sGlen Cameron Argetsinger, haspublished three books – his firstabout the life and career ofAmerican racing pioneer WaltHansgen, his most recent worksabout the late, great MarkDonohue – but his latest laborof love centers around an era inwhich he was completelyimmersed.

“I realized it’s the most per-sonal book I’ve ever written. I’mnot going to say it’s my favorite,but each of those books meant alot to me,” Argetsinger said.“This one really came home forme, it’s got my life’s blood in it.That wasn’t so apparent to mein (writing) it as it was in reflec-tion when I actually had thething in my hand.”

The first United States GrandPrix held at The Glen was onOct. 6, 1961 and won by InnesIreland, only after Formula Libreraces were held on the then-2.3-mile track. In 1971, the course

underwent several renovations,including the addition of anextra mile of asphalt.

The grands prix held at TheGlen marked the longest stretchone site in America hostedFormula One – then and now.Sites including Long Beach,Calif., Phoenix, Las Ve g a s ,Detroit and Indianapolis haveall had their chances to keep thelucrative F1 date. The next hostto try will be the Circuit of theAmericas in Austin, Texas in2012.

Had the Watkins Glen GrandPrix Corporation not beenbankrupted by the costly reno-vations, Argetsinger believes thelikes of Sebastian Vettel, LewisHamilton and Fernando Alonsomight be racing at The Glentoday.

“If the business model werethere, which it’s not, for thegrand prix to come back, therewould be some expenditure toget things the way (F1) wants,but this track remains an incred-ible track and would be anincredible venue for FormulaOne,” he said. “The businessmodel has changed, but interms of the facility, the organi-zation, had it stayed it couldhave carried on through thechanging era.”

Argetsinger pored through

tens of thousands of documentsand photographs during theresearch process from his homein Chicago, but found his timespent at the source, and hishometown, proved most fruit-ful.

The International MotorRacing Research Center, openedin 1998 in downtown WatkinsGlen, houses some of the rarestcollections and periodicals ofracing history in world. Severalauthors, Argetsinger included,from across the globe spendweeks in Watkins Glen just touse the facility. That’s a big rea-son why all proceeds from hislatest book will go to benefit theresearch center.

“In any form of motor sport,there’s so much mythology, butwhen you get into the history –t h a t ’s something I learneddoing this – yes the mythologyis nice, but when you get downto what really happened, it’salways better than the mytholo-g y,” Argetsinger said. “Whereare you going to find that stuff?That original core source materi-al, that’s why this place is soimportant.”

What better way to launch abook about an era his father wasinstrumental in ushering inthan the 50th anniversary cele-bration, spearheaded byIMRRC?

The book details howA r g e t s i n g e r ’s father and thecommunity convinced F1 –then still in its infancy – tocome to The Glen, marks thehighlights, triumphs, tragediesand what led to the end of anera that put the tiny town at thesouthern tip of Seneca Lake onthe world map.

“To be reminded of what atremendous community com-mitment this race was. What aremarkable thing this race cameto little town in upstate NewYork, and what a tribute thatwas to the organization,”Argetsinger said. “All of that wasreflected by the teams and thedrivers. They did love this cir-cuit, there’s no doubt, but theyloved it was so well organized,they liked the rural feeling, theyliked the small town atmos-

phere and responded to that.”“I make this point in the

book: I didn’t just write aboutwhy it came here, but why itwent away,” he added. “Theinteresting thing to rememberis, the races themselves werealways very profitable, the trackwent bankrupt because of thedebt (it) incurred when theyexpanded it. It wasn’t because ofthe individual races. The costwas going up, yes, but that costof doing business could havebeen absorbed.Demonstratively, the track is asgood as any in the world.”

Today’s events during today’sfestival are as follows:

■ Driver documentaries at theGlen Theater include GrahamHill at 1 p.m., Jackie Stewart at 3p.m. and Jimmy Clark at 8:30p.m. The films were producedby Jackie Stewart’s son, Matt, incooperation with the BBC. Theywill be making their first screen-ings in the U.S.

■ Induction of two new mem-bers of the Legends of The Glenat Lafayette Park at 2:45 p.m.

■ Legends Speak forum atLayfayette Park at 3 p.m., featur-ing Argetsinger.

■ Evening party at IMRRC at6 p.m., with $30 admissionwhich goes to benefit the center.

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Argetsinger to debut new book today

A R G E T S I N G E R

“Formula One at Watkins Glen:20 Years of the United StatesGrand Prix, 1961-1980” willmake its debut today at theInternational Motor RacingR e s e a rch Center and Wa t k i n sGlen Grand Prix Festival.Proceeds from the book will goto benefit IMRRC.

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C h a s ef a v or it e ?Jeff Gordon is poisedto win a fifth Cup title

BY PAUL NEWBERRYAP Sports Wr i t e r

HAMPTON, GA. | Jeff Gordonnever went away.

It only seemed that way.Throughout the last

decade, he was alwaysbehind the wheel of thatfamiliar No. 24 Chevrolet,winning more races thanmost, perennially claiming aspot in the Chase for thechampionship.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

But the titles dried up, hisdomination of the sport cededto a protege and teammate, noless.

“I’ve been trying to step it upfor 10 years,” Gordon said.

Well, looks who’s in the thickof things again.

No one who watchedTuesday’s rain-delayed race atAtlanta Motor Speedway – espe-cially those last 10 laps – coulddeny this is a guy who’s foundhis old spark at age 40, racingwith all the nerve, skill andbravado of ... well, a young JeffGordon.

He went bumper to bumperwith five-time defending cham-pion Jimmie Johnson, the twoof them pushing their cars tothe limit and then some. Theywere sliding all over the track onworn-out tires, fishtailing thisway and that as they struggledto keep their machines off thewall.

Johnson kept trying to put hiscar in front. Gordon just would-n ’t let him past, taking thecheckered flag for his third winof the season and 85th of hiscareer. Only two others drivers –Richard Petty and DavidPearson – have more.

Not bad company.More important to Gordon is

the way he feels now. Like hedid in his prime, when he wasthe one everyone was chasing,not Johnson.

“This is the best we’ve beensince I can remember,” Gordonsaid.

Those three wins are not onlymore than he had the last threeyears combined. They’ve alsogiven a huge boost to Gordonand his team, which knows itcan run with anybody.

“This is why winning is big,”Gordon said. “It might only beworth a few more points, and itmight only be one numberthere in the stats, but it is hugefor the momentum and confi-dence in team building andheading into the Chase. Yo uknow, we had a strong seasonlast year. But because we didn’twin, it just kind of took thewind out of our sails. We werelike, “Gosh, we’re good, butwe’re not great.’ Right now,we’re great.”

D o n ’t underestimate theimportance of his thrilling vic-tory at Atlanta, where he went

head-to-head with the sport’sbiggest star – heck, another ofthe greatest drivers in NASCARhistory – and came out on top.

Clearly, Gordon has rediscov-ered that little edge he had dur-ing his first decade as a driver,the thing that separates a mere-ly good driver from a great one.When the car is wobbling andshaking and feels like it couldwreck at any moment, he won’tback off if he’s got a chance towin.

That wasn’t always the caseafter Gordon won the last of hisfour titles in 2001. As one yearwithout a championship led toanother, some wondered if he’dgotten a little comfortable withhis very full life, if getting mar-ried a second time and havingchildren and throwing himselfinto charitable pursuits wasaffecting his performance onthe track.

It’s only natural. It happens toall the greats at some point.

But now, for whatever reason– and it’s easy to point to newcrew chief Alan Gustafson –Gordon has rekindled that innerfire.

Johnson was certainlyimpressed by what he saw inAtlanta while riding onGordon’s rear bumper.

“He may not have had thedominance that we’d seenbefore,” Johnson said, “but it’sstill Jeff Gordon. And it’s so coolto race that hard with him. Andeven if I did come in second, it’sOK. I’d much rather have won.But we left it all out there on thetrack. And he got it done.”

Gordon gives a lot of thecredit to Gustafson, who joinedthe No. 24 team whenHendrick decided to shakethings up for three of his teamsafter last season (Johnson andhis crew chief, Chad Knaus,were excluded).

While Mark Martin is endur-ing a dismal final season at

Hendrick and Earnhardt hasgone through another winlessyear, Gordon flourished in hispairing with Gustafson.

“It’s been a new relationship,”Gordon said. “And there’sexcitement that comes alongwith that and you can kind ofstart over. And that felt reallygood in a way because I saw theexcitement in the guys’ eyes inthe shop when I walked in therethe first couple of times.”

With each win, the confi-dence only grows.

“It’s not about me just decid-ing one day I’m going to step itup or not step it up,” Gordonsaid. “I’ve got to do my job andthey’ve got to do their job andwe’ve got to come together andbuild chemistry and connectand just be on the same pagewhen it comes to running races.And that’s what I love about this

group, Alan and these guys.”Gustafson has focused on

improving Gordon’s perform-ance at high-banked, mile-and-a-half tracks such as Atlanta.Nearly identical circuits in Texasand Charlotte are part of theChase, and they’ve not beenGordon’s strong suit.

“This is one of the tracks wefelt like to be an elite team andcontend to win the champi-onship, we’ll have to do well,”Gustafson said.

To Gordon, the future looksso bright, no matter where he’sracing.

Just like it did a decade ago.“The way things are going,

the way the team has rejuvenat-ed me and the confidence theyhave in me and the confidence Ihave in what I’m doing now,”he said, “anything is possible.”

Page 5

RICHMOND, VA. | JeffGordon’s efforts to raiseawareness of hunger in Americaand money to fight it will beaided by a new sponsor inSaturday night’s race atRichmond InternationalRaceway. Chase Card Serviceswill put the AARP Visa Card andthe Chase logo on the hoodand decklid of the No. 24Chevrolet at Richmond andagain at Dover later this

month. The sponsorship is incooperation with the AARP’sDrive to End Hunger campaign,which this year became the firstcause-related primary sponsorof a major race team. Sincesigning on as sponsor of thefour-time NASCAR champion,the AARP Foundation has raisedmore than $12 million towardthe campaign throughindividual and corporatedonations.

Gordon gets new sponsor to aid AARP

Page 6

Rejuvinated Red Bull screams into MonzaBY ANDREW DAMPFAP Sports Wr i t e r

MONZA, ITA LY | SebastianVettel is relishing his position asthe runaway Formula Oneleader.

The Red Bull driver enters theItalian Grand Prix this weekendwith a commanding 92-pointlead over teammate MarkWebber and has won seven ofthe 12 races this season.

It’s a sharp contrast from lastyear, when Vettel didn’t take thelead until the final race in AbuDhabi.

If Vettel wins this weekend,he could seal the title at thenext race in Singapore thismonth.

“We’ve made very few mis-takes and I think we deserve tobe in that position,” theGerman said Thursday. “As ateam we’ve learned a lot. Our pitstops are very good but a lot of

the things that you don’t see onTV have made us more consis-tent. The team is a lot calmerand doesn’t panic as much.”

Still, Vettel could be out of hiscomfort zone at Monza, with hisfourth-place finish last yearmarking Red Bull’s best result insix attempts at the historictrack.

“We’re not clear favorites forthis race. Last year McLaren andFerrari performed really wellhere,” Vettel said. “We know it’snot one of the circuits we reallyprefer from the layout point ofview. There are a lot of straightsand no real high-speed corners.But I think we should be allright after Spa.”

Vettel and teammate MarkWebber finished 1-2 in theBelgian GP at Spa two weeksago. Vettel also can count on hispersonal experience in Monza,having become the youngestwinner in F1 history when he

THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSebastian Vettel leads teammate Mark Webber around Spa-Francoorchamps.

Page 7

won here in 2008 at 21 when hewas with Toro Rosso.

“It would be nice to get backon the podium,” Vettel said.

Webber is still seeking his firstvictory of the season – after 10podium finishes.

“ I t ’s disappointing that Ihaven’t won a race yet, but I’msure it will happen before theyear is out,” the Australian said.“If it’s this weekend then there’sno better place to start thanMonza.”

Fernando Alonso thrilledFerrari’s home fans with victoryhere last year, Jenson Button ofMcLaren was second and FelipeMassa of Ferrari was third.

Having won just one race thisyear – Alonso’s British GP victo-ry in Silverstone – Ferrari wouldlove to repeat last year’s podi-um, but the Italian team isn’tpromising anything to the localfans.

“We want to win races but wealso have to be realistic,” Alonsosaid. “We haven’t performedthat well the last two-threeGrands Prix and the updates forthe car here are minimal.”

Still, racing at home providesextra motivation.

“ I t ’s a special atmospherehere. All the mechanics havetheir families in the paddockand we all want everything to

be perfect from tomorrow’spractice to Sunday’s race,”Alonso said.

Having struggled to adapt tothe new Pirelli tires being usedby all Formula One teams thisseason, and especially in coldertemperatures, Ferrari is encour-aged by the warm conditionsforecast for the weekend – even

though there is a possibility ofrain.

“There was a run of four-to-five races where we had atough time. It’s good to know itwill be a little warmer here,”Alonso said. “We’re going tohave to be perfect. If not, wecan be in seventh or eighthplace very quickly. ”

ScheduleMarch 27 — Australian GrandPrix, Melbourne. (SebastianVettel)April 10 — Malaysian GrandPrix, Kuala Lumpur. (SebastianVettel)April 17 — Chinese Grand Prix,Shanghai. (Lewis Hamilton)May 8 — Turkish Grand Prix,Istanbul. (Sebastian Vettel)May 22 — Spanish Grand Prix,Catalunya. (Sebastian Vettel)May 29 — Monaco Grand Prix,Monte Carlo. (Sebastian Vettel)June 12 — Canadian GrandPrix, Montreal. (Jenson Button)June 26 — European GrandPrix, Valencia, Spain. (SebastianVettel)July 10 — British Grand Prix,Silverstone, England. (FernandoAlonso)July 24 — German Grand Prix,Nurburgring. (Lewis Hamilton)July 31 — Hungarian GrandPrix, Budapest. (Jenson Button)Aug. 28 — Belgian Grand Prix,Spa-Francorchamps (SebastianVettel)Sep. 11 — Italian Grand Prix,Monza

Sep. 25 — Singapore GrandPrix, SingaporeOct. 9 — Japanese Grand Prix,SuzukaOct. 16 — Korean Grand Prix,YeongamOct. 30 — Indian Grand Prix,DelhiNov. 13 — Abu Dhabi GrandPrix, Abu Dhabi, United ArabEmiratesNov. 27 — Brazilian Grand Prix,Sao Paulo2011 Driver Standings1. Sebastian Vettel 2592. Mark Webber 1673. Fernando Alonso 1574. Jenson Button 1495. Lewis Hamilton 1466. Felipe Massa 747. Nico Rosberg 568. Michael Schumacher 429. Vitaly Petrov 34(tie) Nick Heidfeld 3411. Kamui Kobayashi 2712. Adrian Sutil 2413. Sebastien Buemi 1214. Jaime Alguersuari 1015. Sergio Perez 8(tie) Paul di Resta 817. Rubens Barrichello 418. Pastor Maldonado 1

Formula One Schedule, Standings

THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSebastien Vettel celebrates his eighth victory of the season.

JOHN KEKISAP Sports Wr i t e r

When Wayne Taylor climbsatop his pit box for a race in theGrand-Am Rolex Sports CarSeries, he’s under more pressurethan most.

There’s stress enough oversee-ing the No. 10 SunTr u s tChevrolet Daytona Prototypethat sits second in the standings

and has Wayne Taylor Racingon the upswing. But when yourson is behind the wheel in yourcar competing against hisyounger brother, not to men-tion some of the finest road rac-ers in the world, it’s a much dif-ferent story.

“You have the added pressureof your son in the car,” WayneTaylor said. “It never ends. Ilove it, sick bastard that I am.”

And why not? At age 22,Ricky Taylor is a rising star.

“ T h e r e ’s a lot of expecta-tions,” Ricky said. “Regardless ofmy dad, just how good thisteam is puts a lot of pressure onme. I have to perform, and it’sexpected that a top team isgoing to have to be at the front.I don’t want to be considered asone of those drivers’ sons. Idon’t want everybody to think

I’m just here because he’s mydad. I want to earn it.”

Most certainly, he has.Taylor captured six straight

poles this season, falling oneshy of the series record set fouryears ago by Jon Fogarty, andhe’s led 16 straight races in DPcompetition, a series record.

“ H e ’s quite good. He justlearns really quick,” team man-ager Simon Hodgson said. “Hehas the right balance of aggres-siveness and patience. He knowswhen to put his nose in thereand when to wait for the nextcorner. He’s going to be the fullpackage. He’s the future of theteam.”

Still, barring a miracle nextweek in the season-finale atMid-Ohio, Taylor and teammateMax Angelelli will finish secondfor the second straight year tothe Chip Ganassi Racing withFelix Sabates duo of Scott Pruettand Memo Rojas.

It seems, however, that it’sonly a matter of time beforethere’s a changing of the guard.

“I think he’s doing a fantasticjob,” Pruett, the only driver towin three DP titles, said of RickyTaylor. “It’s tough competition,it really is. You need to step upand we certainly have seen thatfrom him. By what we’ve seenwith his qualifying and with thesix-hour race he had (at WatkinsGlen International), I thinkthere’s a bright future for him,

for sure.”And for Wayne Taylor’s other

son, 20-year-old Jordan. He andAutohaus Motosports teammateBill Lester have their No. 88Chevrolet Camaro at the top ofthe Rolex GT class.

And to think that Wa y n eTaylor never steered his sons tothe sport he loves when theywere growing up.

“I certainly didn’t want themto race when they were kids,”Wayne Taylor said. “I just didn’twant them to live in this diffi-cult world of motor racing. I justthought I wouldn’t want to gothrough this all over again.”

Wayne Taylor grew up inSouth Africa dreaming ofFormula One and becominganother Sterling Moss.

“We didn’t have any moneyto do it, so I begged, borrowedand worked hard to try andmake it,” said Taylor, who droveFormula Ford and FormulaAtlantic, winning one title. “ButI realized at a certain point thatthat was becoming almostimpossible, and I had given upeverything else in my life torace. I looked at sports car racingthinking, you know, maybethere’s a longer time that youcould compete.”

With an offer to race in theUnited States, Taylor movedhere with wife Shelley and 1-year-old Ricky in 1990 to keepchasing that dream. Jordan was

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Wayne Taylor: an embarrassment of riches

Page 9

born a year later.“We had no family, nobody

here,” said Wayne Taylor, whowon three sports car champi-onships and twice captured theRolex 24 at Daytona before retir-ing from driving four years ago.“We started from nothing andgot into this business, and so wespent all these years, just thefour of us together. We’re a veryclose family, and the two ofthem are incredibly close andincredibly competitive.”

And on a steep learning curve.“We went karting for quite a

few years when they were like 8and 10, and they loved it,”Wayne Taylor said. “I could seestraightaway that if they wantedto do it they could, but theynever seemed that interested. Assoon as they’d get back home,they’d be kicking the soccer balland doing other stuff, so I washappy.”

E v e rything changed in aheartbeat.

“In 2003 it just clicked for me.It was all I wanted to do,” Rickysaid. “Up until then, I was play-

ing soccer, hockey, whatever.Not interested. It was so weird. Iguess it was just the differenceof doing it every now and thenfor fun and then thinking this isactually what I could do for aliving.”

Following dad’s wishes, bothbrothers are studying mechani-cal engineering in college. Andwhen they’re not hitting thebooks they’re glued to the seatof a racing simulator, so it’sprobably no surprise their rise inthe sport has been exponential.

“Every year it just gets biggerby multiples of 100,” Wa y n eTaylor said. “I look at their ageand I look at where I was at thatpoint, and they are so far aheadit’s unbelievable.”

Ricky had to pay his dues,spending time with BeyerRacing and Doran Racing beforehis dad dared make an offer.

“We’re a team that obviouslyhas big commercial partner-ships, so there’s always thatmuch more pressure,” WayneTaylor said. “At the same time, Iwasn’t going to put him in a car

if I didn’t feel he was readybecause I have a responsibilityto every b o d y. It was prettytough thinking, what happens ifthis doesn’t pan out?”

Ricky Taylor made a break-through of sorts on a rainy dayin June at the Sahlen’s Six Hoursof the Glen at Watkins GlenInternational. Coming off a win

at Lime Rock, Taylor won thepole, started the race and was inthe cockpit at the checkered flagwith the imposing Pruett barelyvisible in his rearview mirror.The only downside on the daywas that Ricky’s hard drivingdeprived his brother of a shot athis second win of the season(Jordan finished second in his

class).“Ricky feels he can take on

Pruett now. Up until that point,he didn’t know,” Wayne Taylorsaid. “I always felt that theyhave the ability to do this at thehighest end because if I didn’t Iwouldn’t have taken the risk. Iwas just surprised how quick ithappened.”

“We knew the potential andthe fact that he is such a goodlistener helped him a lot,”Angelelli said. “He is open tocomments and advice. He lis-tens.”

For all his initial fears, WayneTaylor faces a much more enjoy-able dilemma now.

“What’s made this worse inthe quick transition that they’vemade is that now we can’t standcoming in second. It’s a freakingpain, but it’s been a dream, real-ly. Incredible,” said the proudfather, who even toys with theidea of NASCAR. “The big thingnow is where do they go fromhere? That’s the million-dollarquestion, I guess.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESSRicky Taylor drives his father’s Daytona Prototype aroundWatkins Glen International during the Canadian Tire 200.

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Different year, same story: Power vs. DarioBY DAVID GINSBURGAP Sports Wr i t e r

BALTIMORE | The IndyCarSeries points race again hasdeveloped into a two-man duel,only this time Dario Franchittiis peeking over his shoulder at arapidly closing Will Power asthey head toward the checkeredflag.

A year ago, Power establishedan early lead and took a double-digit edge into the final race.The Australian literally and figu-ratively hit the wall atHomestead-Miami Speedway,and his 25th-place finishenabled Franchitti to snag histhird title in four years.

Franchitti and Power havereversed roles in 2011.Franchitti held a 47-pointadvantage before Power wonthe Indy Grand Prix of Sonomaon Aug. 28, and the gap nar-rowed further last weekend atthe Baltimore Grand Prix, wherePower captured the pole and ledfor 70 of 75 laps in a runawayvictory.

So now, with three races leftin the season, Franchitti is cling-ing to a shaky five-point lead.

Before the 28-car field beganthe Baltimore Grand Prix,Franchitti was frank about thepotential problems of a trouble-some, unpredictable streetcourse.

“There are infinite possibili-ties,” the Scotsman said. He wasreferring to the perils of thetrack, although he might as wellhave been talking about theultimate outcome of theIndyCar Series.

Franchitti has the lead, butPower has the momentum.Anything can happen, begin-ning with the Sept. 17 race inJapan.

“ With my experience withchampionships, I don’t thinkyou’re ever safe,” Power said. “Itonly takes Dario have a bad dayand me to have a good day andI’m right there. ... These lastthree races, I have to have verygood races, and I will be doingeverything I absolutely can tomake sure I do.”

After a winless rookie seasonin 2008, Power joined PenskeRacing in 2009. Since then, hehas won 12 races (including ac i rcuit-leading six this year),captured 17 poles and recorded

25 top-five finishes.“I was lucky enough to be his

teammate in 2008, and he iscommitted every corner,” saidOriol Servia, the second-placefinisher in Baltimore. “Early onin his career he had a fair num-ber of crashes because he justtakes 110 percent every corner.He doesn’t make mistakes any-more and he still drives 110 per-cent, so to beat him takes a lot.”

Told of the compliment,Power acknowledged that he’smade a point of being precise onthe track this year.

“I don’t make mistakes? Ihaven’t made many this year,”

Power said. “I thought last yearas a team we made a few mis-takes together; I made some,and we made some in the pits.This year, definitely solid pitstops and I think my oval gamehas picked up. And now we’re incontention.”

Power prefers a road course,and the Indy Japan 300 runsthrough the streets of Motegi,Tochigi. But the final twostops of the season, inKentucky and Las Vegas, willbe on ovals.

Advantage, Franchitti?“In a way, (Power) has

improved his game on ovalsbecause that’s when he got beatlast year,” said Tony Kanaan,who finished third in Baltimore.“It plays a lot in Will’s favor, usgoing to Japan on the roadcourse now. So let’s see aboutthe last two ovals. It’s going tobe interesting.”\

Kanaan has no intention ofhandicapping the points race.

“I know Dario really well, soyou should not think he is wor-ried,” Kanaan said. “I’m not say-ing he’s happy right now, butjust watching. It’s like fishing.He gives the fish a little more

line, a little more line, and he’sgoing to grab it back.

“I don’t know who betweenthe two is going to win it. I’mDario’s friend, but I love to seepeople win their first champi-onship.”

Power can’t even fathom thenotion of finishing secondagain.

“Second means nothing,third, fourth, fifth. Who cares? Iwant to win, you know?” hesaid. “It’s a disappointment tolose out (last year) by fivepoints. The whole team felt likethat. We had such a lead to lose.We’re determined this year.”

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Sprint Cup Series ScheduleFeb. 12 — x-Budweiser Shootout (Kurt Busch)Feb. 17 — x-Gatorade Duel 2 (Jeff Burton)Feb. 17 — x-Gatorade Duel 1 (Kurt Busch)Feb. 20 — Daytona 500 (Trevor Bayne)Feb. 27 — Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Jeff Gordon)March 6 — Kobalt Tools 400 (Carl Edwards)March 20 — Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City(Kyle Busch)March 27 — Auto Club 400 (Kevin Harvick)April 3 — Goody’s Fast Relief 500 (Kevin Harvick)April 9 — Samsung Mobile 500 (Matt Kenseth)April 17 — Aaron’s 499 (Jimmie Johnson)April 30 — Crown Royal Presents The Matthew& Daniel Hansen 400 (Kyle Busch)May 7 — Showtime Southern 500 (Regan Smith)May 15 — FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks(Matt Kenseth)May 21 — x-Sprint Showdown (David Ragan)May 21 — x-NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (CarlEdwards)May 29 — Coca-Cola 600 (Kevin Harvick)June 5 — STP 400 (Brad Keselowski)June 12 — 5-hour ENERGY 500 (Jeff Gordon)June 19 — Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400(Denny Hamlin)June 26 — Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Kurt Busch)July 2 — Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola(David Ragan)July 9 — Quaker State 400 (Kyle Busch)July 17 — Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (RyanNewman)July 31 — Brickyard 400 (Paul Menard)Aug. 7 — Good Sam RV Insurance 500 (BradKeselowski)Aug. 15 — Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at TheGlen (Marcos Ambrose)Aug. 21 — Pure Michigan 400 (Kyle Busch)Aug. 27 — Irwin Tools Night Race (BradKeselowski)Sep. 6 — AdvoCare 500 (Jeff Gordon)Saturday — Wo n d e rful Pistachios 400,Richmond, Va .Sep. 18 — GEICO 400, Joliet, Ill.Sep. 25 — Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H.Oct. 2 — AAA 400, Dover, Del.Oct. 9 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan.Oct. 15 — Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C.Oct. 23 — Talladega 500, Talladega, Ala.Oct. 30 — TUMS Fast Relief 500, Ridgeway, Va.Nov. 6 — AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, TexasNov. 13 — Kobalt Tools 500, Avondale, Ariz.Nov. 20 — Ford 400, Homestead, Fla.

Sprint Cup Points Leaders1. Jimmie Johnson (1) 8732. Kyle Busch (4) 8523. Carl Edwards (1) 8354. Matt Kenseth (2) 8345. Jeff Gordon (3) 8306. Kevin Harvick (3) 8197. Kurt Busch (1) 7898. Ryan Newman (1) 7869. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 75310. Tony Stewart 751

11. Brad Keselowski (3) 72812. Denny Hamlin (1) 70913. A J Allmendinger 69814. Clint Bowyer 69715. Greg Biffle 68116. Martin Truex Jr. 67617. Kasey Kahne 66718. Joey Logano 66219. Mark Martin 66020. Paul Menard (1) 65721. Marcos Ambrose (1) 65022. Juan Pablo Montoya 65023. David Ragan (1) 63724. Jeff Burton 60325. Jamie McMurray 57926. Regan Smith (1) 56327. Brian Vickers 56028. David Reutimann 53829. Bobby Labonte 51530. David Gilliland 42931. Casey Mears 36032. Dave Blaney 32433. Andy Lally 32134. Robby Gordon 22935. Tony Raines 12936. J.J. Yeley 10137. Bill Elliott 10038. Terry Labonte 9239. Ken Schrader 8740. Michael McDowell 8641. David Stremme 4942. Boris Said 3843. Michael Waltrip 2044. Andy Pilgrim 1845. Chris Cook 1746. T.J. Bell 1447. Brian Simo 1148. Geoffrey Bodine 6

Sprint Cup Pole Winners1. Kurt Busch 32. Kyle Busch 22. Carl Edwards 22. Kasey Kahne 22. Joey Logano 22. Juan Pablo Montoya 22. Ryan Newman 22. David Ragan 29. Greg Biffle 19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19. Jeff Gordon 19. Jimmie Johnson 19. Matt Kenseth 19. Brad Keselowski 19. Mark Martin 19. Jamie McMurray 1

Sprint Cup Manufacturer Standings1. Chevrolet 162 (10)2. Ford 138 (6)3. Toyota 136 (5)4. Dodge 114 (4)

Sprint Cup Laps in Top 15PCT. LAPS

1. Kyle Busch 80.5 56942. Carl Edwards 75.6 5351

3. Jimmie Johnson 71.4 50514. Jeff Gordon 68.4 48405. Matt Kenseth 66.6 47166. Denny Hamlin 65.6 46457. Kurt Busch 63.9 45248. Ryan Newman 63.1 44679. Kevin Harvick 61.6 4358

10. Kasey Kahne 56.1 3968Sprint Cup Laps Led Percentage

PCT. LAPS1. Kyle Busch 16.7 11812. Jeff Gordon 10.1 7143. Jimmie Johnson 8.7 6174. Matt Kenseth 8.0 5645. Kurt Busch 7.7 5486. Carl Edwards 6.3 4457. Denny Hamlin 5.5 3928. Tony Stewart 4.8 3409. Kasey Kahne 3.9 274

10. Clint Bowyer 3.8 271Sprint Cup Fastest Laps

Fastest laps with points standing positions, percent -age and total fastest laps:

POS. PCT. LAPS1. Kyle Busch 2 9.5 5722. Jeff Gordon 5 8.2 4933. Jimmie Johnson 1 8.1 4894. Carl Edwards 3 7.2 4335. Matt Kenseth 4 6.3 3776. Tony Stewart 10 6.2 3757. Denny Hamlin 12 5.0 2988. Kasey Kahne 17 4.6 2799. Kurt Busch 7 4.3 260

10. Brad Keselowski 11 4.1 246Sprint Cup Driver Rating

Driver ratings with season points position, single-racehigh rating and overall rating:

POS. HIGH RATING1. Kyle Busch 2 145.6 108.82. Jimmie Johnson 1 135.6 99.23. Jeff Gordon 5 145.4 98.54. Carl Edwards 3 134.4 98.15. Kurt Busch 7 142.6 96.46. Matt Kenseth 4 144.7 96.37. Denny Hamlin 12 126.7 91.98. Kevin Harvick 6 115.1 89.89. Tony Stewart 10 133.4 89.4

10. Ryan Newman 8 140.2 88.6Sprint Cup Average Running Position

RACES POS.1. Kyle Busch 25 9.8032. Jimmie Johnson 25 12.1673. Kurt Busch 25 12.2914. Jeff Gordon 25 12.7515. Carl Edwards 25 12.9126. Matt Kenseth 25 13.3097. Ryan Newman 25 13.5338. Denny Hamlin 25 13.7339. Kevin Harvick 25 14.184

10. Clint Bowyer 25 14.591Nationwide Series Schedule

Friday — Virginia 529 College Savings 250,Richmond, Va.Sep. 17 — Dollar General 300 Powered By Coca-

Cola, Joliet, Ill.Oct. 1 — OneMain Financial 200, Dover, Del.Oct. 8 — Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas City, Kan.Oct. 14 — Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage,Concord, N.C.Nov. 5 — O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, FortWorth, TexasNov. 12 — Wypall 200, Avondale, Ariz.Nov. 19 — Ford 300, Homestead, Fla.

Nationwide Series Driver Standings1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2) 9092. Elliott Sadler 8963. Reed Sorenson (1) 8694. Aric Almirola 8455. Justin Allgaier (1) 8406. Jason Leffler 8117. Kenny Wallace 7478. Steve Wallace 7379. Brian Scott 72410. Michael Annett 71111. Mike Bliss 62412. Trevor Bayne 61113. Mike Wallace 60114. Joe Nemechek 59415. Josh Wise 58316. Jeremy Clements 51517. Timmy Hill 49018. Blake Koch 43519. Eric McClure 43320. Derrike Cope 432

Camping World Trucks ScheduleSept. 16 — Fast Five 225, Joliet, Ill.Sept. 24 — F.W. Webb 175, Loudon, N.H.Oct. 1 — Kentucky 225, Sparta, Ky.Oct. 15 — Smith’s 350, Las VegasOct. 22 — Coca-Cola 250 Powered by Fred’s,Talladega, Ala.Oct. 29 — Kroger 200, Ridgeway, Va.Nov. 4 — WinStar World Casino 350k, Fort Worth,TexasNov. 18 — Ford 200, Homestead, Fla.

Camping World Trucks Driver Standings1. James Buescher 5882. Johnny Sauter (1) 5763. Timothy Peters (1) 5744. Austin Dillon (1) 5715. Ron Hornaday Jr. (2) 5406. Joey Coulter 5377. Matt Crafton (1) 5358. Cole Whitt 5319. Parker Kligerman 52610. Todd Bodine 52411. David Starr 49312. Nelson Piquet Jr. 48213. Brendan Gaughan 48214. Jason White 45015. Max Papis 44916. Ricky Carmichael 44817. Justin Lofton 44818. Miguel Paludo 44419. Ryan Sieg 38820. Clay Rogers 343

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