HAMPTON, Ga. — Car owner Jack Roush strongly denied any intentional wrongdoing Friday in the wake of NASCAR penalties that knocked driver Carl Edwards out of first place in the Sprint Cup points and put crew chief Bob Osborne on a six-week suspension.
"Jack is mad," a visibly upset Roush declared as he strode to a podium Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway to respond to Toyota official Lee White's claim in a published report that Edwards' No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team had intentionally taken the cover off the car's oil tank to gain an aerodynamic advantage.
"He's a real nice guy," Roush said of White, a former Roush employee. "I respect him, but he's also a great racer and would seek any advantage he might think he had an opportunity for."
The 99 car failed postrace inspection last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after NASCAR inspectors found there was no cover on the oil tank. Roush Fenway Racing said the cover came off when a bolt failed during the race, possibly due to vibration.
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"It was tight," Roush said of the cover. "It was secure when the race started. Sometime during the 400 miles, it came off."
White had a hard time believing that could happen.
"I guarantee you the cover bolts didn't fall out, because if they fall, the engine leaks and you can't run," he said in a story published Friday in USA Today. "If you want something to fall off, you fix it so it can."
Jeff Gordon takes Atlanta pole
HAMPTON, Ga. — Jeff Gordon, bouncing back from a hard crash in Las Vegas, felt a whole lot better Friday night after winning the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
On Sunday, Gordon walked away without injury after bouncing off the car driven by Matt Kenseth and slamming into the wall in a hit that tore apart the front of his car, leaving his radiator sitting steaming on the track.
"I was sore, but none of the soreness affected me in the race car," Gordon said after posting a fast lap of 185.251 mph on the 1.5-mile Atlanta oval, easily faster than the 184.852 of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
After what he called "one of the nastiest wrecks I've ever had," Gordon was able to take part in the Cup test Monday and Tuesday in Phoenix, so he knew he'd be OK heading into this weekend.
"My stomach was sore and my elbow was banged up, but I was able to put that aside in the race car," he said after earning his second Atlanta pole and the 64th of his Cup career. "This makes me feel just fine.
"You know what, this is a tough place to sit on the pole and I'm extremely excited by this. This is a very fast race track and it's very tough to get around here quick."
Martin Truex Jr. made it a sweep of the top three places for Chevrolet with a lap of 183.807.
Pit stops
● In Hampton, Ga., Kyle Busch grabbed his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck series victory in three tries this year, winning the American Commercial Lines 200 on Friday night.
● The owners of the Champ Car World Series have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just two weeks after agreeing to an open-wheel unification plan with the Indy Racing League.
The filing in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, dated Wednesday, states that Champ Car has spent tens of millions of dollars in the past four years to maintain the series and that its takeover by the IRL is in the best interest of the sport.
The bankruptcy filing will not affect the IRL deal, said a lawyer representing Champ Car.