BLOG: Ashley Van Dyke on NASCAR Action @ Phoenix International Raceway

It's been a while, but our USA correspondent, Ashley Van Dyke, is back in the saddle – with a a nice NASCAR feature for us lucky folk from Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale. 

She says...

Hi Roadies! 

Top NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Jeff Burton and the throbbing No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS from the Richard Childress Racing stable have just returned to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, AZ for the second scintillating stop of the year. This stunning southwest desert race track nestled in the desert sun next to the stunning Estrella Mountains is always a pleasure to attend – but especially for the roar of NASCAR!
This will be Jeff Burton’s 28th start at Phoenix International Raceway and he's had a hell of a career here –  sporting two wins in 2000 and 2001, seven top-five finishes, and 14 top-ten finishes. Plus, he's led a total of 222 laps at the one-mile facility. More importantly, this event marks a milestone in Burton’s career making it his 1,000th career NASCAR start. Congratulations Jeff!
"Phoenix International Raceway is a really fun race track, I enjoy going there. We had a top-10 finish in March and I fully expect to go there and contend for the win again," said Jeff. 

"It's definitely another track that is in a transition phase. As the fresh asphalt from the recent repave goes through some of those hot, Phoenix summers, the grip level is starting to fade. That's a good thing though because the tire that Goodyear was taking there made it so difficult to get going on restarts. Now you can take right off and go fast. I think it will be a better race because the restarts will be more aggressive."
On Friday, Burton qualified in 15th position with a best time of 26.153 and best speed hitting 137.652 mph average in his two qualification laps. NASCAR is a fast sport folks! His practice times were timed consecutively at 26.354, 26.703, and 26.964 over the course of the weekend. 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup race got started Sunday afternoon where the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet crossed the finish line in 17th position, after a typically rough, tough race.
No. 99 Ford driver Carl Edwards was leading at the White Flag but ran short of gas on the last lap and No. 29 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick took the easy pass over Edwards for the win and scored the 200th victory for the Richard Childress Racing organization.
Five drivers have amassed at least 1,000 career NASCAR national series starts in their careers: Richard Petty (1,185), Mark Martin (1,141), Joe Nemechek (1,073), Michael Waltrip (1,062) and Terry Labonte (1,013), and now Burton with 1,000.
Another great NASCAR race over at Phoenix International. Always a buzz. See you soon for more USA reports Roadies. 

Ashley x

Main photo credit:

Photo by TheHotLap.com and caption: Burton making the pass on Danica Patrick at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

BLOG: Pirelli World Challenge by Ashley Van Dyke

Our USA correspondent, Ashley Van Dyke reports on the double top 10 finishes at the newly re-vamped Circuit of The Americas for JCR Motorsports' Audi R8 LMS in the Pirelli World Challenge.

Ashley says:
Jeff Courtney and the No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS rolled into the newly built Circuit of The Americas feeling confident coming off a very successful test just a few weeks prior to the event. Thursday allowed for more testing and Courtney was showing great pace heading into the Pirelli World Challenge race weekend, which was a scorcher – with temperatures reaching the high 90’s. And on Friday afternoon Courtney qualified the car P10 on the starting grid for Round 4.
"The car was great and I think we could have qualified near the front of the field had I not had a slight bobble on my best flyer lap," stated Courtney. "The lap times are so close from the session that less than half a second splits us from P3."
Courtney had a well-executed standing start in Round 4 and was able to get a pass in before the first red flag caution came out. When the field came to take the restart, Courtney started to experience overheating issues with the No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS that would continue throughout Saturday’s race.
"The crew did a good job keeping my head in the race as it was very frustrating having to short-shift and find clean air to keep the car at a temperature that would allow us to finish the race," said Courtney.
The No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS was able to withstand the 50 minute sprint race, despite overheating issues, and score a Top 10 finish.
The crew worked hard to make changes and best cool the car for Sunday’s race. Another strong start allowed for Courtney to jump from P14 to P11 by Turn 1.
"We had a great car again on Sunday," said Courtney. "For the first part of the race we were able to push hard up to P7. Unfortunately, we started experiencing overheating issues again and from that point forward it was just a matter of trying to hold our position."
Courtney finished P7 in Round 5. Watch the Pirelli World Challenge Live Stream from Rounds 4 & 5 here, www.world-challengetv.com.
Check it out!

BLOG: Driver Focus: Pirelli World Challenge Racer, Jeff Courtney

Our very own USA correspondent, Ashley Van Dyke (pictured below) gives us an insight into Audi R8 LMS driver, Jeff Courtney, racing this year in the thrilling Pirelli World Challenge. 

Jeff Courtney entered the road racing scene at a fast pace by first enrolling in the Panoz Racing School in 2003, immediately entering into their amateur series, and winning the 2005 Panoz Winter Series Championship with multiple podium standings and two race wins. Simultaneously, Jeff was also competing in the SCCA Club division and SCCA Pro-Mazda series. Now, having had several wins under is belt, Courtney was ready for bigger and better competition.

In 2006 Courtney signed up for Touring Car and joined the Pirelli World Challenge Series, competing in an AWD Audi with STaSIS Motorsports. He was awarded Rookie of the Year honors after a very successful season where he posted four top 10 finishes, one top-five finish, and one top 10 start. The following year proved to be even more successful with the entry into World Challenge GT series. Courtney joined Woodhouse Performance in the No. 99 KendaTires/ProMPI Dodge Viper Competition Coup. It was with the No. 99 Dodge Viper that earned him four top-10 finishes, the Hard Charger Award at the Long beach Grand Prix, and was the top placing Viper in the overall championship.
Beginning in 2012, Courtney’s JCR Motorsports teamed with TruSpeed Motorsports to campaign the #99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Porsche 911 GT3. He finished the season in Sonoma showing strong 10 ten finishes throughout the year but also dealing with an onslaught of mechanical setbacks.
Now, fast forward to the 2013 season where Kenda and RecStuff.com are returning to support Courtney along with STaSIS, JG Wheels, Speed Seat Factory, Oakley and GoPro. In a last minute off-season decision, JCR Motorsports decided to switch brands from the Porsche 911 GT3 to the Audi R8 LMS and a significant amount of effort was put into preparing the car for the season opener in St. Petersburg. The Streets of St. Petersburg double-header allowed the team to get the kinks in order to prepare themselves for being competitive in the new car. Jeff Courtney could not be more enthusiastic to continue the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championship series and see how far the Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS can go with JCR Motorsports driver Jeff Courtney behind the wheel. More information on Jeff and JCR Motorsports can be found at www.jeffcourtneyracing.com and @JeffCourtney99 on Twitter.