AUTO RACING: Racing their way into the top 35

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Wood Brothers Racing didn’t get any break from the tensions of qualifying for this weekend’s Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway, even though the famous team’s shop used to be just a few miles from the track.

Co-owner Len Wood and the rest of the team had to sweat out qualifying because of a rule that forces drivers not in the top 35 in owners points to race their way into the field. It can make for a harrowing experience for teams trying to move up from the bottom.

“Nervous probably would be a good term,” Wood said Saturday.

Wood Brothers Racing showed up Friday 40th in owners points with its Car of Tomorrow but it turns out it didn’t have to worry. With veteran Ken Schrader behind the wheel, the No. 21 Ford qualified fourth for today’s race, one of eight teams to race its way into the field.

During practice, “when Schrader popped up high on the (speed) charts, I had a better feeling and then, as everybody else started going out, we fell down to what would have qualified about 40th or 41st,” Wood said. “He went back out for his next run and he popped it right back up. I felt better then, but I kept saying to myself, ‘You’ve got to do it when it’s time.’ He did a really good job.”

Schrader said Martinsville is just like every other place is, and will continue to be, until they get in the top 35 and show up knowing they’ll be able to race.

“It’s just pressure every week,” he said.

Schrader’s qualifying laps put his Ford Fusion right outside Jeff Gordon’s Chevrolet Impala in the Goody’s 500, and left Wood encouraged about his COT program.

“We’re better right now than we were with the other cars we were previously using,” he said.

A week ago at Bristol, in the debut of the COT, Schrader qualified 15th and finished 28th, his best finish in the four races he’s run in the No. 21 this Nextel Cup season.

Schrader slipped back to 17th fastest in Saturday’s final practice, but the strong early showing boosted by the experience of a veteran racer allowed Wood to at least entertain the possibility that a 34-year team losing streak here will end Sunday.

“There are obviously a lot of factors like not getting torn up, getting in some else’s mess and not making your own mistakes,” he said, “but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Craftsman Trucks

Mike Skinner started on the pole and stayed out front virtually all day at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., leading all but seven of 253 laps to win his third consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Coming off victories at California and Atlanta, Skinner set a series record by leading 246 laps and won for the 22nd time in his career. He became only the second driver in the series to win twice on the small, tight oval at Martinsville.

“This was about as good as it gets right here,” he said in Victory Lane.

Skinner beat Todd Bodine to the finish by 0.527 seconds after the 15th caution of the race brought about a two-lap dash to the finish in overtime. In all, the race went 253 laps, and 85 of them were run under a yellow flag because of numerous accidents.

IndyCar Series

Tony Kanaan stood next to his battered car, his helmet in his hand and a dejected look on his face.

The Brazilian, easily the fastest driver in qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, made a costly mistake with just under 7 minutes to go during the Firestone Fast Six in St. Petersburg, Fla., a 10-minute showdown among the half-dozen fastest drivers in single-car qualifying.

He had already turned two laps faster than Helio Castroneves, who will now start from the pole today after Kanaan badly damaged his car, bouncing off one concrete barrier and hitting another.

His Andretti Green Racing team was facing an all-night scramble to put the car back together because a repaired car would start sixth, while a backup Dallara-Honda would have to start at the rear of the 18-car field.

Kanaan had posted a fast lap of 1 minute, 1.596 seconds (105.202 mph). But that was erased by penalty for bringing out a yellow flag during qualifying. That left Castroneves on top with a lap of 1:01.684 (105.052), breaking the record of 1:02.275 (104.054), set last year by Franchitti.