Sports, Ink

NOTE: During the race I'm at a separate blog post. Thanks.

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Good morning from Watkins Glen International. 

If you haven't seen them already, here are our stories in today's paper: a main preview and report of qualifying by me and report of qualifying by me, as well as a Nationwide race report as well as a notebook focusing on Western New York natives by Larry Ott.

We'll have a few notes here leading up to the race, when I'll do a live interactive blog. I keep notes on the race anyway -- it will be something I reference when I'm putting my story together later on.

9:21 a.m. As any race fan (or race reporter) knows, It's always great to get to the track very early on race day.

The drive up from Corning was pretty smooth -- I took an alternate route to stay away from potential backups and clogged infield roads. A house close to Corning on Route 414 was decorated with some serious Jeff Gordon material, including a birthday wish (he turned 39 on was Aug. 4). The local police, as they have for years, have divided the two-lane roads to the track into three lanes with temporary barriers -- a big help for the tens of thousands of fans making their way to the track on race day.

9:49 a.m. A shout-out to Mother Nature for what has been a fantastic weather weekend, one thing that was missing last year when the race was rained out and pushed to Monday for the first time.

11:47 a.m. Went for my annual Sunday morning walk around the infield, which was pretty great considering the weather, what seemed like a better-than-usual crowd and an infield setup that seems to improve every year. There was a time where it was quite cramped when one walked around the merchandise trailers, but the layout has improved in the last couple of years.

The Turn 10 Village -- which consists of various merchandise trailers -- had steady traffic while throngs of people made their way through paths lined with tents set up by various companies, many of them offering freebies or prizes. There was also the Speed television stage, where the network has been broadcasting all weekend, and various food options. Seemed like an improved fan-friendly experience from previous years.

I took some photos and will add them soon.

12:18 p.m. This one will be quick. I just want to thank Watkins Glen International for going to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que for its media center food this year. Yum.

I also highly recommend the Terrell's Dinosaur Bar-B-Que potato chips, although I'm not sure if the Syracuse company's chips are available in Buffalo. What can I say? Sportswriters become sportswriters for the free food. 

12:21 p.m. Race time is about an hour away. The ESPN broadcast starts at 1 p.m.

1:06 p.m. The National Anthem has concluded (former American Idol guy Bo Bice, for those of you in anthem singer fantasy leagues).

1:13 p.m. Time to shift gears (heh). We've got our live blog/chat post up now.

---Keith McShea

Hello from Watkins Glen International where myself and Larry Ott are on hand for the annual NASCAR weekend here.

We'll have updates throughout the day and we'll have a live interactive chat Sunday afternoon.

11 a.m. While Larry was here Friday (check out a cool story on Colden's Glenn Waldron of Greg Biffle's No. 16 Ford team), I arrive for Sprint Cup qualifying on what is a fabulous day in the Finger Lakes.

Marcos Ambrose was fastest in Nationwide qualifying and will start from the pole in the race this afternoon at 2. He set a Nationwide track record with his lap of 122.410 mph. Not a shocker at all -- the road racer-turned-NASCAR regular has won the last two Nationwide races here.

11:29 a.m. Cup qualifying is under way; Jacques Villenueve just visited in the media center (answering some questions in French); Ott interviewed Roxanne Kraemer, a Western New York native who is a series coordinator/technical inspector for the Nationwide Series.

12:19 p.m. Carl Edwards and his crew are thrilled with a very fast lap that puts him atop the speed chart.

1:01 p.m. As the go-or-go-homers (the drivers who have to race their way into the race -- there are 10 drivers for seven spots) start their qualifying runs, Edwards is still on top and in position to be on the pole.

1:26 p.m. Qualifying has concluded and Edwards is indeed the pole winner. His lap was measured at 124.432 mph and clocked in 1 minute, 10.88 seconds

The drivers who failed to make the race are: J.J. Yeley, Dave Blaney and Tony Ave. Max Papis was the last driver to attempt to qualify for the race; he put his No. 13 Toyota in the 28th spot, leaving David Gilliland as the last man in and Yeley as the first man out.

1:40 p.m. After Ganassi Racing teammates Juan Pablo Montoya (starting third) and Jamie McMurray (second) met with the media, Edwards literally ran in and ran out after a brief but good Q&A -- he answered three or four questions before heading back to the track for the Nationwide race.

Edwards' pole is his first since 2008 at Bristol and it comes at a good time as he is 10th in points with five races remaining until the top 12 advance to the 10-race postseason.

Edwards' lap was quite a bit faster than McMurray's (123.814; 1:01.24).

The best line during Edwards' session was him relaying that his super-quick lap time prompted some people to wonder if he had driven straight through the Inner Loop at the end of the backstretch, a spot referred to as the "bus stop" because of its notched-in nature to the infield.

"I heard a couple people were questioning whether I made the bus stop or not," he said. "I thought that was pretty funny - with that lap time, I would have said the same thing."

Edwards was just off the record lap of Jeff Gordon in 2003 (124.580 mph; 1:10.798).

2:03 p.m. National Anthem just concluded for Nationwide race.

It might be interesting to monitor the drivers who race both events here this weekend due to a minor change in the schedule. In years past, things were a little stretched out with Cup qualifying Friday, the Nationwide race on Saturday before the Sunday Cup race. Actually, on first glance the guys who are doing double-duty are having strong weekends in both series. We'll see.

2:41 p.m. This Nationwide race here -- the Zippo 200 -- is always an entertaining event, and we saw a little of why when Kyle Busch raced past Jacques Villeneuve heading into the final turn, Turn 11. Might have had a little contact there.

2:50 p.m. We're yellow for the first time due to some debris. With 20 laps down, Joey Logano leads with Ambrose second. Edwards' Nationwide day is not going well right now -- a long stop in pit road due to some damage and apparently some communication and mechanical problems. As Marty Reid said on the ESPN coverage, "than that, he's fine." Nice.

2:57 p.m. Edwards went back out on the track, then came off -- and went to the garage. Yikes.

3:05 p.m. Speaking of "Yikes," we have a major smash-up coming out of the caution. Jason Leffler went off course wide out of Turn One then came whipping back across the accelerating line of cars, slamming right into Justin Allgaier's car and causing a chain reaction accident not unlike something you might see (hopefully not) on the highway.

In the back of the pack, Tony Raines' No. 34 gets propped up onto another car after getting whacked hard from behind by Billy Johnson in the No. 6 -- with Victor Gonzalez in the No. 05 going into the back of Johnson as if he wasn't even paying attention. It is a 10-car pileup in the Esses and we have a red flag after 23 laps. 

3:29 p.m. We hear engines fired up on pit road just outside the media center, and indeed the red flag has changed to yellow. NASCAR just announced the red flag period lasted 25 minutes, 23 seconds.

3:37 p.m. We're back to racing and Kyle Busch has surged to the lead ahead of Ambrose; Edwards is back on the track but very, very slow.

3:40 p.m. Edwards is off the track again and his day is over. Ambrose is hounding Busch up front, a familiar sight here. While Ambrose has won the last two Nationwide races here, Busch has been second.

3:56 p.m. The Nationwide order has been restored -- Ambrose passes Busch as they came upon some lap traffic. Some nice moves by the Australian, as usual. 

4:08 p.m. Ambrose came back after his second pit stop to battle with Kyle Busch behind leader Villeneueve; then Ambrose passed Villeneauve (who still had to pit) for the lead as a caution flag came out for apparently some oil on the track. It's 52 laps down, 30 to go.

4:23 p.m. With 26 to go, Ambrose keeps the lead after the restart after challenges from Busch and Brad Keselowski.

4:32 p.m. We have another caution after a piece of debris broke off of Paul Menard's car; Ambrose had a lead of four seconds while Busch just recently got loose and lost a few spots up front. Scoring monitor shows 65 laps down, 17 to go.

4:39 p.m. Back to green after a two-lap caution and Ambrose speeds out again to a big lead.

4:58 p.m. Marcos Ambrose wins his third straight Zippo 200 -- by a ton. 

Ambrose makes the familiar turn into victory lane. The rest of the top 10: Logano, Harvick, Keselowski, Busch, Ron Fellows, Nelson Piquet Jr., Villeneuve, Steven Wallace, Michael McDowell.

Time to get stories set for Sunday's paper.

---Keith McShea

Hello again on what is a beautiful Fourth of July in the beautiful Finger Lakes region. We'll be monitoring today's IndyCar event at Watkins Glen International, the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, when the race goes live -- television coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. but the race itself is scheduled to start at 3:55.

Before our green flag drops for the live chat at 3:45, check out today's coverage -- my story focuses on Team Penske sweeping the top three qualifying spots; Larry Ott's column is a great first-person view of a couple of laps around the road course here in a two-seater Indy car. 

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It is the first victory at Watkins Glen International for Team Penske, which has started from the pole in all six races here.

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After the race, I'll be busy writing for Monday's paper, but you can feel free to give your opinion on the race in the comments section below.

---Keith McShea

Hello from high above the southern tip of Seneca Lake -- Larry Ott and I are at Watkins Glen International this weekend for the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen.

Qualifying is today with the race Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. I'll have a live blog here Sunday afternoon as I take notes on the race.

1:15 p.m. Qualifying has begun. IndyCar qualifying is a three-round process. The first step has two groups of cars going out -- with only the fastest six advancing to Round Two. You can keep track of the action at indycar.com.

The only thing of note from this morning's practice session was E.J. Viso's spinning crash along Turns One and Two; he was fine. He took his No. 8 KV Racing Technology car wide out of Turn One, made contact with the barrier on the right side of the track, then slid across to the left side, making contact again with the barrier and sustaining heavy damage.

1:33 p.m. The first session of qualifying has concluded with Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Justin Wilson, Adam Carroll and Mario Moraes advancing to the next round.

Not advancing are, notably, Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick -- she had the second-worst lap of the session and will start well in the back of the pack. Also not making it: Simona deSilvestro, Vitor Meira, Alex Tagliani and Bertrand Baguette.

1:40 p.m. Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for a spin in the boot, I believe, to bring out the caution flag with about nine minutes left in the 15-minute second session.

2:03 p.m. I got out of the media center for a bit to take a walk outside by the track -- it's a spectacularly sunny day here. Snapped a few photos (there's one above) and took a few videos (there's one below).

Round Two has begun, with Will Power, Takuma Sato, Dario Franchitti, Raphael Matos, Scott Dixon and Paul Tracy having advanced from the second group in Round One.

The lineup of spots 13 through 25 in the starting grid are all set with cars that did not advance from Round One; they are based on lap times from the first round of qualifying: Kanaan (13th), Hideki Mutoh, deSilvestro, Hunter-Reay, Meira, Mario Romancini, Tagliani, Dan Wheldon, Patrick, Alex Lloyd, Baguette, Milka Duno and E.J. Viso (25th). 

2:11 p.m. We have our Fast Six who will race for the pole in Round Three: Power, Castroneves, Franchitti, Briscoe, Wilson and Sato -- Sato is the surprise guy there, he's a rookie who is 22nd in the points standings. 

In spots seven through 12: Dixon (a surprise he's not in the final six -- second in points and a three-time winner here), Andretti, Moraes, Carroll, Matos, Tracy.

2:25 p.m. The 10-minute Fast Six qualifying session has begun.

2:35 p.m. The qualifying session ends with Will Power on top, followed by Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Sato and Wilson.

Castroneves' session ended in ignominious fashion as he was apparently unable to turn in the bottom of the boot (the section of the track not used by NASCAR) and drove straight through Turn Seven and into the gravel that slows cars down. He doesn't appear to have been injured.

Power leads a Team Penske 1-2-3 sweep of the podium positions. Penske has won eight straight pole positions -- this is the ninth race of the IndyCar season. Power's lap took 1 minute, 29.3164 seconds and went an average of 135.832 mph.

3:20 p.m. The postrace interviews have concluded and I'm going into story-writing mode soon. Sato was very pleased with his fifth-place starting spot, the best of his career.

I'm starting to research him -- he's been a low-level Formula One driver prior to coming to IndyCar this season as a "rookie." The Penske guys were pleased with their sweep of qualifying and they were asked about Penske's drought here at Watkins Glen, where the team has never won. With Wilson starting fifth, Franchitti fourth and Dixon seventh, there's a nice mix up front. Sounds like that's what I'll be writing my story about.  

One interesting thing during the press conferences was when Will Power was talking glowingly about the Glen -- he said "I hope we come back here." I thought it was pretty notable that there would even be a possibility that this historic track might be without an open-wheel race in the future, but I suppose with the new leadership of the IndyCar Series (including new CEO Randy Bernard) and changes on the way (Baltimore and New Hampshire are getting races in 2011), anything's possible.

5 p.m. I just read Larry Ott's column for tomorrow -- you should definitely check it out in the Sunday paper (or on here). He went for a ride in a two-seat Indy Car and wrote about it. Great stuff.

I'll be back here tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. for a live chat during the race.

---Keith McShea

Today's online version of Larry Ott's story about the three Western New York natives working on Greg Biffle's crew has an extended look at their weekend that's not in the paper. Check it out here.

It's an interesting glimpse into what a crew member does to prepare for raceday, as well as what the trio were responsible for once the green flag flew.

The long weekend -- extended by one day due to Sunday's rainout -- concluded with Tony Stewart making it a fifth impressive victory at the Glen. I also compiled some highlights and lowlights.

---Keith McShea

Good morning from Watkins Glen International. It kinda feels like I'm in a version the movie Groundhog Day because it's race day, take two.

Join me in the nifty box below for an interactive blog of the race. I won't tell your boss if you don't.

Here's the lead-up to race time:

We'll be blabbering here as we count down to this afternoon's one-day delayed Sprint Cup series' Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen (and our one-day delayed live chat). NASCAR's schedule states that the green flag will fly at 12:19 p.m.

Here's yesterday's blog and today's Buffalo News story about the rainout, in which I talked about first-time Sprint Cup starter Andy Lally having to wait another day for his debut.

8:16 a.m. It's kind of a surreal scene here today after the race was rained out Sunday. As I drove in one of the Glen's side doors -- Gate One off of Meads Hill Road -- several campers and cars were on their way out of the track. I'd imagine that plenty of people, as much as they'd like to see the race, either had to hit the road last night or have to stick around until tomorrow.

As I drove past the outside of the Esses portion of the track, the super-powered-blow-drying trucks were going by. I had to roll up the window because I was catching a significant part of the breeze.

8:20 a.m. Oh yeah. The most important thing, of course: we have sunny skies right now. The weather.com forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms and a 60 percent chance of rain. We're keeping our fingers crossed as we type.

9:51 a.m. Just went for a quick walk around the pits and garage area, both which were buzzing with activity. I took the two pictures you see here -- note those sunny skies.

9:53 a.m. News local auto racing expert Larry Ott was also out in the garage checking in with local guys Rodney Fetters (Niagara Falls), Ryan Gamble (Sanborn) and he'll be seeing Glenn Waldron (Colden) a little later -- they are all part of Greg Biffle's No. 16 Ford team, and Larry will be spending the day in the pits watching out their crucial day at the Glen goes -- Biffle is 12th in the points standings. Fetters is a jackman, Gamble a gas man and Waldron a mechanic. Should be a fun story.

10:38 a.m. The volume in the media room went up suddenly when a guy stuck his head in and started hollering at some reporters and media reps. The guy is made-for-television former driver Jimmy Spencer.

10:43 a.m. We have some good weather news. The weather.com forecast is now for scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon, with the precipitation chance down from 60 to 50 percent.

11:15 a.m. I'm off to see some serious bumping in traffic. Heading to the lunch room in the media center. That joke works every race.

11:31 a.m. We've got reporters grumbling about the food and one media member on the phone arguing with someone about what they've been charged for changing their flight. This is not a happy room.

11:33 a.m. After all this waiting, it's almost hard to comprehend we'll be racing in less than an hour.

I took another quick walk out to pit road and it's out phenomenal out right now.

I snapped the two pictures, one looking up the track from the entrance to the garage and one looking back. Fans are filing in. We'll have to see if the huge grandstand on the frontstretch is as filled as it was when we were about to go racing Sunday.

12:04 p.m. Every thing is ready to go. National Anthem is in the books. I'm switching over to the live blog window now.

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Afterwards, feel free to add comments below.

---Keith McShea

Hello from NASCAR raceday at Watkins Glen International.

8:52 a.m. We arrive at the track after a grey, gloomy, drizzly, windshield-wiper-y drive up from Corning. All morning we'll be watching the Weather Channel to see if Mother Nature has any plans to disrupt today's 2 p.m. scheduled start of cars on the track.

9:49 a.m. While I've been doing a lot of Web-work, Larry Ott -- has he has done all weekend -- had been in and out of the garage tracking locals involved in today's race. He's already talked to Rodney Fetters of Niagara Falls, who is the jackman for Greg Biffle's crew. He's out talking to Ryan Gamble of Sanborn, who is the gas man for Biffle's team. With Glenn Waldron, a surface plate mechanic, also on the team, Larry's going to be hanging out with them for a lot of what is a crucial race for the No. 16 team (12th in points).

9:53 a.m. Great weather report from Larry. "It's not raining right now."

10:11 a.m. Not great weather report from James Johnson of the Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle. "Drizzling, off and on."

10:19 a.m. Just stepped outside the media center for my own weather report: I think we're going to go racing just fine today. Grey skies, but brightening.

10:20 a.m. Went to the bathroom and washed my hands alongside ... Boris Said, who will start ninth in today's race. That adds to my famous (or infamous) brushes with greatness (or not so much) in bathrooms at Watkins Glen International. A few years ago, when the bathrooms were in a trailer outside the rickety, cramped media center. I walked out and realized I had taken care of business next to then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Insert punchline here.

11:02 a.m. If you're Facebook friends with me, you can see video of my pace car ride yesterday. But I can't post it here due to NASCAR restrictions. Makes sense though that other media entities have the online rights.

11:06 a.m. Yikes. One of the greatest weekends ever for Buffalo sports fans ... and Patrick Kane gets arrested. 

11:11 a.m. Off for the annual walk around the Glen infield.

11:54 a.m. A successful trip to the "mall." The Glen rearranged the merchandise trailers this year -- it was a longer walk, but the layout is much friendlier. It's less of a grid and more enjoyable to walk around. It's crowded but there seemed to be more space this year. I got a program, which comes with a small diecast -- I've got a diecast from each year they sold them when I've covered the race for The News. 

The best news: no precipitation. It's overcast but the temperature is rising and it seems to me like the sun is ready to burn this stuff off. But I'm just a sportswriter

1:01 p.m. You want bumping and banging? You want major traffic? Try getting lunch in the media center! Baddump-bump.

1:10 p.m. Stepped outside the media center on the second level that looks over victory lane and the skies were overcast but the sun was trying to power through. Things look good.

1:12 p.m. Then again, I just got an email from a race fan drooling for some race action. "It's raining and thunder-bumping big-time here in Hamburg, perfectly lined up for a 2:30-ish arrival in Schuyler County. There's no way they get this thing in, is there?" We shall see, race fans.

1:39 p.m. One radar Web site-scouring reporter to another just drawled: "It looks like it's gonna rain from 3 to about 4:15 -- but after that it should be fine." 

1:58 p.m. Our live blog post is up and we'll be hanging out there for the race ... and hopefully not any rain delays.

2:16 p.m. Check that. No race yet. We've been delayed, and that's a good thing. I was just atop the media center and saw a few lightning bolts. The cars have been covered and drivers are hanging out in the garage area. 

TV showed some menacing-looking radar screens. The jumbotrons here read: "Heavy Rain. Please Seek Shelter."

2:30 p.m. The media center is getting crowded, and noisy, as photographers and cameramen come in from the storm.

2:39 p.m. Rain is coming down and puddling on pit road. Thunder audible here in media center. 

2:55 p.m. You can bet that NASCAR will wait as long as they can to get the race in, particularly when you think about last week's race at Pocono being rained out.

Two consecutive races being moved back a day would be bad news in terms of TV ratings, attention for the series and the sponsors and logistics for all the teams (the next stop is next weekend Michigan).

If you work backwards from 8-8:15 p.m. as your daylight expiration time, and you guesstimate two hours for a official race (halfway through would be 45 laps), the race could conceivably start close to 6 p.m.

3:20 p.m. My sunny disposition is taking a hit, because I'm now having doubts about whether we'll get this race in. The radar says a system will pass through here, but my Facebook is gettng hit with status updates of Buffalonians complaining about the rain. Hmm. It's still dark grey skies and drizzling here, with blow-drying trucks making their way around the track. 

3:32 p.m. More gloomy evidence: the weather.com page for Watkins Glen states there is a severe thunderstorm watch on until 7 p.m. Yikes. The hour-by-hour forecast calls for 65 percent chance of rain at 5 p.m. and sunny skies at 6 p.m., which one would think would be the latest the race could be started. 

3:39 p.m. NASCAR's race page stated at 3:19 p.m. "The rain is now a drizzle as the storm looks to have moved past the track. Drying efforts continue as it will take a couple hours to get the track race-ready." We're going to be cutting it close if we go racing today.

3:43 p.m. It's pretty wild -- on television it doesn't nearly look as dark as it is here. A few shots of pit road were just on ESPN, while here just a glance out the window shows it a lot darker. I noticed that earlier this year while attending the U.S. Open golf tournament at Bethpage -- I was on the course as groups played up until the horn sounded to suspend play. Later when I watched the same action on television highlights, it looked much brighter than it actually was when I was in person. 

3:48 p.m. Some scuttlebutt from the garage, where Larry Ott just returned from -- a theory that if NASCAR got at least one lap in, then it would be on better footing as far as trying to get the entire race in. If it waits until later to start a race that obviously won't go the full 90-lap distance, that won't likely sit well with fans who paid to see a whole race. Then again, if I'm a fan, I probably have to go back to work tomorrow and would probably settle for a 50-lap fun. But that's just me. 

In any case, Ott says it is raining right now. If NASCAR as looking to fit this entire race in, that window (guesstimate at least three hours) would appear to be closing quite quickly.

4:03 p.m. A full-time national Cup newspaper reporter is on the phone with what sounds like an editor. "We're done ... I'll file a story from my hotel." That doesn't sound good :-) No announcement has been made on television or to the media center. 

4:06 p.m. The jumbotrons have it: "Heluva Good! at the Glen has been rescheduled to 12:00 pm tomorrow."

4:22 p.m. Just ran out to the garage to get some quotes from Andy Lally. I'm all wet but happy I got an angle and some good quotes for a halfway decent rainout story. Gotta update a lot of stuff on here.

4:59 p.m. Updated and reworked a story for buffalonews.com.

---Keith McShea

Ride along with Keith McShea and Larry Ott for a live blog of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.

Afterwards, feel free to comment below.

---Keith McShea and Larry Ott

WATKINS GLEN -- Hello again from Watkins Glen International. We've got two practices for the Sprint Cup cars today as well as qualifying and the race for the Nationwide Series. Here's how things went on Friday.

One fun thing on tap for today is a ride in the pace car. I was fortunate enough to do that last year -- here's link to the story and the blog entry.

10:42 a.m. It was a pleasant drive up from our Corning hotel and with sunny skies it looks like another great day at the Glen (thank goodness, the way this summer has gone).

10:58 a.m. The Nationwide cars are on the track right now for qualifying. The race is later on today at 3 p.m.

11:09 a.m. Brad Kesolowski just went for a little spin after the Inner Loop. Marcos Ambrose, the winner of last year's race, is atop the speed charts at the moment as qualifying winds down.

11:50 a.m. Kevin Harvick just posted a track-record lap -- to best Marcos Ambrose track-record lap -- to win the Nationwide pole. 

Noon: The Sprint Cup cars are on the track for the first of two practice sessions today.

12:11 p.m. Syracuse University head coach Doug Marrone, who is the grand marshal for today's Nationwide Series race, the Zippo 200, is meeting the media. I just asked him about his recruiting world being challenged by the University at Buffalo as well as Buffalo native Mike Williams. Marrone spoke very highly of Williams. I'll get those quotes online as soon as I can [here they are].

12:27 p.m. Just updated a story for buffalonews.com about Harvick winning the pole.

12:44 p.m. Myself, Larry Ott and James Johnson of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle are off to go on a pace car ride. Booyah.

1:26 p.m. Larry and I had a heck of a ride in the pace car, driven by former Cup driver and Chemung native Brett Bodine. I'll post some pictures soon and Larry is going to write up his experience. Bummer for James -- we ran out of time and he couldn't get a ride.

2:24 p.m. After some lunch, we're back and typing away as the second practice session is winding down. Marcos Ambrose continued his fast day in the first session -- he was quickest in 1 minute, 11.916 seconds (122.643 mph), followed by Sam Hornish Jr., pole sitter Jimmie Johnson and Juan Montoya. Fifth was Max Papis, who is driving for Germain Racing which Lockport's Hillman family is a big part of.

2:41 p.m. Ambrose loves driving at this place. He had the quickest lap during Saturday's second practice session at 1:11.695 (123.021 mph). Johnson was second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Boris Said.

3:02 p.m. Just transcribed SU coach Doug Marrone's quotes at the Campus Watch blog.

3:04 p.m. We're going to have a live interactive blog going during Sunday's Sprint Cup race, but we're not sure about today's Nationwide race -- we have a lot going on here today and we might save the "live" show for the big race (feel free to offer feedback in the comments section below).

3:35 p.m. Larry Ott and I made an executive decision -- we're live and blogging the Zippo 200 on a separate post. Tune in there.

6:57 p.m. Marcos Ambrose wins the Zippo 200 -- the story for buffalonews.com is posted and will be updated.

7:03 p.m. Check out the live blog post for a cool picture I took from the upper level of the back of the media center. This blogging thing is pretty fun, huh? But it's a lot of work -- I've still got a lot to do.

7:17 p.m. Check out Larry Ott's pace car ride -- I was along for the ride and snapped some photos.

---Keith McShea

Hello from Watkins Glen International, where NASCAR is making its annual visit.

This afternoon we'll have qualifying for the Sprint Cup is the big thing today, and that will be starting at 3:10 p.m.

We'll be having a live chat at 2:15 p.m.

1:48 p.m. Kurt Busch was fastest in the Sprint Cup's first practice session with a lap of 70.922 seconds (124.362 mph). Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Casey Mears.

2:16 p.m. We pushed our live chat back 15 minutes since Mr. Jerry Sullivan is "on the air" right now.

3:12 p.m. Just completed the chat, and the Sprint Cup cars are on the track for qualifying.

A moment ago, a short press conference was held to unveil a painting by motorsports artist Sam Bass which has been reproduced as this weekend's event poster. Bass was asked about the incident earlier this year in Nashville in which a guitar he painted was smashed to bits by Kyle Busch after Busch won a Nationwide race.

Bass, as detailed in this story, again handled the question with class. He said people want to "set up some sort of celebrity deathmatch" between the two, but Bass has received so much publicity about the incident he's been astounded.

3:21 p.m. An update on the Nationwide Series -- the first Zippo 200 practice has Kyle Busch (73.371 seconds; 120.211 mph), Denny Hamlin, RobbyGordon, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano leading the way.

3:32 p.m. Kyle Busch seemed to nearly lose his No. 18 car coming out of the Inner Loop that interrupts the backstretch, but he put up a lap that is second after eight drivers. Busch can flat-out drive.

3:55 p.m. Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch are the top five as we're through 16 drivers. A total of 47 will attempt to qualify for the 43-car field, including Max Papis in the No. 13 Toyota which has Lockport natives Mike Hillman Sr. and Jr. leading the team.

A total of 11 drivers are listed as being required to qualify on time. In addition to Papis, they are familiar faces Ron Fellows and Boris Said, veterans Joe Nemechek and Dave Blaney as well as Brian Simo, Scott Speed, David Gilliland, P.J. Jones, Andy Lally and Tony Ave.

4:03 p.m. Qualifying update: David Stremme is fifth; Ryan Newman sixth; Kyle Busch seventh.

4:20 p.m. Sam Hornish locked up the brakes and got a little grass time on his lap and is 24th of 25 cars at the moment.

4:35 p.m. Greg Biffle posted a nice lap and is in the seventh spot, bumping Busch to eighth.

4:44 p.m. Tony Stewart, who had the 34th-best practice lap earlier, is currently in the 12th spot.

4:48 p.m. Jeff Gordon 27th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 28th, Carl Edwards at 29th. Yikes.

4:57 p.m. The go-or-go-home guys are taking their turns now.

5:08 p.m. Max Papis, driving for the Germain Racing team full of the Hillman family of Lockport (read more about them in Larry Ott's story in Saturday's paper), put down a strong lap and will make the race. Andy Lally will be the first New Yorker in the race in a long time after also runnig a strong lap -- both he and Papis should be in the top 20. Boris Said has posted the ninth-best lap while Ron Fellows may have been holding his breath for a moment -- he just was guaranteed a spot in the field when other cars couldn't match his time. Fellows will start towards the back of the pack, however.

5:17 p.m. Scott Speed is the final driver on the course; he's trying to knock Joe Nemechek out and make the race. David Gilliland and Brian Simo are on the outside looking in.

5:19 p.m. Speed makes it in 26th position, bumping Nemechek out. The field is set, led by Jimmie Johnson on the pole. The starting line up is at NASCAR.com.

Here's some phone video of Johnson talking about the portion of the track known as "the Esses."

5:50 p.m. The top three qualifiers have done their turns in the media room. The Nationwide cars are on the track, and Jason Leffler went for an awful hard crash -- apparently he is OK after being released from the infield care center. I'll be doing some writing for a while.  

9:10 p.m. Stories have been filed for the paper and will be up on the Web shortly. Small note -- Ron Fellows had the best time in the second Nationwide practice, followed by Marcos Ambrose, Robby Gordon and Carl Edwards.

9:23 p.m. Here's my main story on Johnson winning the pole while here's Larry Ott's story that leads off with the Hillman family of Lockport making Sunday's race. Good night and see you back here tomorrow.

---Keith McShea