"You Asked for It, You Got It; Happy Birthday Mario.."
Kyle Busch may not be the only Toyota driver going to the rear of the field for the Shelby 427 here in "Glitter Gulch". Toyota Racing Development (TRD) boss Lee White talked with a few reporters about some problems with the engines built by his shop. We hear at least David Reutimann and the Red Bull tandem on Brian Vickers and Scott Speed have changed engines. There's an issue with the valve train in the engines from TRD, which power the Michael Waltrip and Red Bull squads. This is a setback also for Michael Waltrip who has had a better start to 2009 than in past years. Starting from the rear makes any chance for a top 10 finish--let alone a win--not so easy. The Kyle Busch team had to change their engine, for an unrelated piston problem. Max Papis put his Toyota in the field in 26th place...the NASCAR rookie is one of the most demonstrative drivers ever. His team is using an earlier generation of the Toyota pushrod V8. Mark Cronquist is the veteran engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing--his engines have not suffered the valve train problem.
Also, we'd be remiss if we did not wish a happy birthday to the feisty native of Montona, Italy, by way of Nazareth, PA--Mario Andretti. Mario, for those who do not remember history, is the only driver ever to win the World Driving (Formula One) Championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
No comments:
Post a Comment