Stewart wins Nationwide Series race at NHMS

LOUDON, N.H. _ Tony Stewart, making his eighth Nationwide Series appearance of the season in the No. 20 Toyota fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing, won for the fifth time this season in the Camping World Series RV 200 today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

But, to hear Stewart tell it, this had nothing to do with the driver.

It was all about the T-E-A-M, led by crew chief Dave Rogers, of Marshfield, Vt.

``The master himself, Dave Rogers, he's behind every one of these wins this year,'' said Stewart, noting how the eighth victory for the No. 20 car was achieved by four different drivers, including Kyle Busch at Mexico City, Denny Hamlin at Richmond, Va., and Joey Logano in Sparta, Ky.

Yesterday Stewart, who started the season with back-to-back Nationwide Series wins at Daytona and Fontana, finished ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Busch, who finished second and third, respectively.

``We were about two changes away from getting it right,'' Stewart said of a two-tire pit stop Rogers shrewdly called on Lap 130 that vaulted the driver from third to the race lead five laps later. ``I gave Dave so much credit _ he knows when you tell him that we have a long way to go that he's not afraid to make a big change. That's what won us the race today _ his confidnece and his being able to make the call there and pick two tires.

``He won us the race today.''

It was a triumphant homecoming for Rogers, whose father, Dave Sr., first brought him to the Magic Mile in Loudon in 1990. Yesterday Rogers was supported by his father's presence in the pits.

``Me and my engineers logged over 50 hours in three days at the shop preparing for this race, but it wasn't because it was Loudon,'' Rogers said. ``It was just because it was another race that we wanted to win. But the last five laps I realized that this was a pretty big one for me. When we crossed the stripe it was very emotional for me.

``It's big too because Dad was about off the guest list because he's been to a few races and we haven't gotten it done,'' Rogers added, with a laugh. ``I thought he was bad luck, so we'll bring him back for a few more now.''

Hossfield wins New England .001

Several times during the closing laps of yesterday's Whelen Modified Tour New England 100, Chuck Hossfeld grabbed the inside line on Ted Christopher and nosed his car past the leader.

Each time, Christopher revved up his No. 36 Chevrolet and sprinted right back past Hossfeld in Turns 3 and 4.

``I'm not the smartest driver out there,'' Hossfeld said. ``But when I kept passing him in 1 and 2 and giving it back in 3 and 4, I pretty much knew it wasn't going to work on the last lap.''

So on the final lap, Hossfeld, yesterday's polesitter, hung back and watched Christopher whiz around New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

When Christopher peeled into Turn 3, poised to grab the checkered, Hossfeld made his move, darting to the inside. As Christopher lost a touch of momentum, his chaser stood on the gas and the two drag-raced to the start/finish, with Hossfeld winning by the closest of margins:

One-thousandth of a second.

``I keep getting scared they're going to take it away. `Let's recount this,' '' Hossfeld said. ``Either way it turned out, I would have been happy with the race. We really had a great race. Of course, I'm really happy I'm on the other side of the 0.001.''

Christopher, piloting the dominant car of the field, started the race on the front row and held off all challengers. First, Todd Szegedy tried to nose-dive inside Christopher in Turn 1. Christopher shrugged off Szegedy's challenge and kept on going. Next, Eric Beers took a sniff, also in Turn 1. Again, Christopher regained the lead.

Then during a mid-race caution caused by a Kevin Goodale spin, Christopher declined to hit the pits for a fresh set of Hoosiers, figuring his car was so good that he didn't need any new rubber.

``Usually we're the ones who pit,'' Christopher said. ``But my car was just as good, start to finish.''

As strong as Christopher was throughout the 100-lap event, Hossfeld noticed that the No. 36 Chevrolet was tight toward the end and wasn't turning as efficiently as before. Hossfeld set up Christopher and went to the inside on the last lap.

``It feels special because it was so close,'' Hossfeld said of the victory. ``Our car wasn't perfect at the beginning. We pitted, which is always difficult to give up track position. So this is just really special. It feels great to win. It will probably sink in on the ride home at some point. Just thrilled to come out on top.''

Logano parked

NHMS is the closest thing to a big-league home track for 18-year-old Joey Logano. But the native of Middletown, Conn., had to sit out yesterday's Nationwide Series Camping World RV Sales 200 because Joe Gibbs Racing had previously committed to putting Tony Stewart in the No. 20 car for yesterday's race.

``Wish I was racing here today,'' said Logano with a smile prior to the race.

Logano, already considered the Next Big Thing, has only made four Nationwide starts this season and has never entered a Cup event. But Logano has one Nationwide victory and a pair of poles, a taste of what he hopes to bring someday to NASCAR's big leagues. Team president J.D. Gibbs said there is no plan to accelerate Logano to Cup action, but the teenager said if it were his call, he'd like to be racing against the top guns.

``I'd say, `Let 'er rip,' ''Logano said. ``Ever since I was little, I've said I'd like to drive in the Cup series. It would be a perfect opportunity to jump into one of the JGR cars. It would be the chance of a lifetime. I'd be stupid to turn it down.''

Testing all options

NASCAR Sprint Cup officials met series crew chiefs yesterday at NHMS to discuss its testing policies for next season, proposing several options including a no-limit testing policy.

``There was a pretty good gasp of air when you got to talking about wide-open testing,'' said NASCAR Sprint Cup director John Darby. ``Because the immediate perception is `Holy cats, we're going to be testing 38 weeks a year.' Now, after you talk to everybody for a little bit and then ask them to count the actual number of tests they usually do at all the places they go to a test, and taking those same amount of days and applying them to places where we race, there's probably not much different there.''

NASCAR's current testing policy allows for teams to participate in seven test sessions at Cup tracks, but it does not preclude teams from circumventing the policy by staging unofficial test sessions at non-Cup tracks.

Darby said he hoped to solicit input from crew chiefs and their car owners and then make a decision in two weeks.

``In the past, it's just been a matter of here, select your racetracks and here we go,'' Darby said. ``This year, I felt it was time we sat down with everybody and talked: We're open to any suggestions you may have, from leaving our testing policy exactly like it was in '08, to going all the way to what I call wide-open testing. No limits. Any track any time, as many times as you want to go. We're prepared for either way.

``It doesn't matter to us, we'll listen to what all the teams come back with as suggestions, formulate a test plan and go forward.''

Mr. Excitement returns

Jimmy Spencer, a former two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion (1986-87) who developed the nickname ``Mr. Excitement,'' was honored at NHMS as part of the series' on-going celebration ``60 Years of Modified Champions.''

Spencer, 51, of Berwick, Pa., owed his nickname to the go-for-broke driving style he displayed in one Mod race at Stafford, Conn., where press box announcers Mike Joy and Ben Dodge christened him with the moniker.

Spencer's success against local heroes throughout New England made him the object of scorn.

Spencer chuckled at the recollection of beating one of his buddies, Bugsy Stevens, on his home track and ``getting booed as bad as the Bodines ever did,'' he said.

Now a co-host on Speed's ``NASCAR RaceDay'' and ``NASCAR Victory Lane,'' Spencer has found a new career on TV offering his unvarnished opinions.

``I'm usually right about 99 percent of the time,'' he said