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Earlier this week, word came out the the head of International Speedway Corporation, Lesa France-Kennedy, was looking to expand operations at the company's Kansas Speedway.

In other words, she wants a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date for the mid-west 1.5-mile cookie-cutter track as part of the deal to woo a Hard Rock Casino & Hotel to just outside the track's Turn 2:

As part of their proposal, Kansas Speedway announced International Speedway Corporation ("ISC") will petition NASCAR for a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date for the track if Kansas Speedway and The Cordish Company are awarded the casino management contract for Wyandotte County (Kan.).

While the "petition" to NASCAR hasn't gone through yet, I'm willing to bet that the casino is a sure-bet to come to the area. (Ha, get it?)

And once that casino goes through, ISC's move to ask NASCAR for a second race date that comes at the expense of one the other race dates in the company's portfolio will go through faster than a stack of chips next to a degenerate gambler.

Of course, it makes things a little easier when ISC and NASCAR are owned by the same people.

Ryan Newman went from first the last Saturday night in a cloud of smoke both from under his hood and from the carnage caused behind him.

Newman, who had led 30 laps, blew a front seal on his Dodge motor on lap 133 during theSubway Fresh Fit 500, ruining his night and several others. Watch as the red flag comes out at 0:06:



As you can see, Newman lost his engine heading into turn three, and behind him several drivers lost control. The list included point leader Jeff Burton, Reed Sorenson, Matt Kenseth, Johnny Sauter and J.J. Yeley.

Now, I'll admit, I was one of the fans yelling at his TV because Newman failed to get off the track after obviously oiling-down the race track.

His quotes, though, after the race helped to settle me down some after Newman fully explained his issue and tried to reason why he caused a full-fledged race-stopping oil cleanup.

NASCAR fans across the country were treated to a pre-race show that consisted of nothing but balls and strikes after Fox Sports decided to keep a game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox on the air deep into the NASCAR timeslot.

Fans who had tuned in for the NASCAR event in Phoenix, Ariz. were abruptly switched to racing as the field entered turn three during the first lap of Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500, while viewers hoping to catch the end of the baseball game were told nearly a minute later that they could continue watching on FX.

All in all, the situation simply wasn't handled well.

Me? I was hoping to see the NASCAR action. But neither here (Fox) nor there (FX) could I see any of the pre-race show, much less "Gentleman, Start Your Engines".

I understand that there are obligations Fox Sports has to carry while covering these two events, but it seems pretty clear to me that Fox Sports should have just been proactive enough to at least start the NASCAR coverage over on FX.

The Red Sox/Yankees tiff was a close one and I understand that millions of people were wanting to see the end of that one. Was it right for those fans to have to quickly switch over to FX to catch the last few pitches of a one-run game?

I don't think so.

The solution to put one or the other on FX long before the green flag of the Sprint Cup Series race makes a lot of sense to me. What say you?

Jimmie Johnson kicked all of those stories about Hendrick Motorsports struggling to find its way to the curb Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway.

By outlasting the rest of the field, Johnson had enough gas at the end to take his first victory of the season during the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

A restart on lap 233 left 79 laps left until the checkered flag and forced teams to calculate their pit strategy according to how far they could run on fuel. Only Johnson and Clint Bowyer were able to conserve enough to avoid a pit stop.

What: Subway Fresh Fit 500
Where: Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Ariz.
When: Saturday, April 12 8:30pm/et FOX
Distance: 312 laps, 500k
Weather: Clear, with a low around 61. East northeast wind around 7 mph.
2007 Winner: Jeff Gordon
Predictions: Keep Reading





Gordon Was Horrible at Texas, Could Be Horrible at Phoenix - All across the NASCAR web world, there's been plenty of talk about how bad Jeff Gordon was one week ago at Texas Motor Speedway.

There's also been plenty wrote about how Gordon scored his first Phoenix victory one year ago in this same race and how that should bode well for a comeback for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

I just don't see that happening. Remember back to last fall when Gordon was battling teammate Jimmie Johnson for the Cup title and how Gordon flat out struggled to stay in the Top-10. During Friday's practice sessions at PIR, Gordon was a lowly 30th-fast in both practices.

Ryan Newman will start out front for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

The Penske Racing driver, fresh off a 25-point penalty from his Dodge being too high in post-race inspection Sunday at Texas, will line up from the pole after laying down a lap of 133.457mph.

His pole-winning run -- the 43rd of his career -- was just .009 seconds faster than Elliott Sadler. It also puts Newman 10th all time on the list of pole winners.

Last week's winner Carl Edwards will start third.

Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne will round out the Top-5.

The rest of the Top-10 Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr. and Scott Riggs.

Johnny Sauter, who replaced Jeremy Mayfield this week in the No. 70, made the field despite being outside the Top-35 in owner points.

Kyle Petty and John Andretti both didn't make the race.

Kasey Kahne may be a highly talented Sprint Cup Series driver, but put him on the roadways of America and he's just like you or me.

From the NASCAR Scene:

According to police reports, Kahne ran into the back of a car driven by a 17-year-old woman as traffic slowed on Highway 114 near the track. No one was injured and neither driver was charged in the accident. Both vehicles had to be towed away from the scene.

I'm glad their both OK, but do you think those crazy Allstate mom's were involved?

Kahne, according to the article, was driving a Dodge Durango "leased" from a dealership near Texas Motor Speedway. That's likely a perk of being a Dodge driver.

I'd really like to know, though, if the "17-year-old" driver had any clue who Kahne was. Can you imagine that phone call home if she happened to be a NASCAR fan?

"Hey Dad. Uh, I've been in accident, but it's totally sweet because Kasey Kahne hit me!"

That's a story I'd be proud to tell.

Jeremy Mayfield is once again a free agent in the NASCAR world.

The 5-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series left his ride with Haas Racing as driver of the No. 70 car just seven races into the season in what has been described as a "mutual" situation. (Is it ever really mutual though?)

Haas plans to put Johnny Sauter in the car starting Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway.

Mayfield, who has bounced around the Sprint Cup world for the past few years making just 22 starts in 2006 and 17 in 2007, scored his best finish of the season at Las Vegas when he came home 16th. Five other races, though, saw Mayfield finish 30th or worst.

Sauter drove for the Haas team in 2006 and had some respectable runs, including a 9th-place finish a year ago at Phoenix and a 5th-place at Richmond in the fall. At the end of the season, though, Sauter was canned by the team along with teammate Jeff Green in favor of Mayfield and Scott Riggs.

I've always liked Johnny Sauter as a driver though his style can be ragged at times. If given the right equipment, Sauter can be a consistent driver inside the Top-35.

But then again, I thought Mayfield could do the same.

As of a western swing through Fontana, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev. wasn't enough, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series got its fourth official test session wrapped up in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon.

The test at Phoenix International Raceway was the fourth of six that teams suggested to NASCAR prior to the season, and joins Daytona, California, and Vegas as tracks the teams have tested at.

Only Pocono and Lowe's Motor Speedway remain on the official Sprint Cup series testing docket. Teams can otherwise only test on tracks that the Sprint Cup series doesn't compete on.

Juan Pablo Montoya -- who was fastest during the Las Vegas test prior to the season -- again led all drivers over the five different sessions offered. The No. 42 put down a lap of 131.459mph in the Tuesday morning test session.