“That battle with Brad at the end was awesome, and I couldn’t have been happier at the end to see two Penske cars up there running for the win,” Allgaier said.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” Allgaier said. “We had a great car in practice, and I screwed up qualifying and didn’t get the run we really needed and had to start 30th. But (crew chief) Chad (Walter) told me, ‘You’ll be there all day long, and if you push it really hard, you’ll be in victory lane.’

Keselowski, who led 73 laps, finished second to give Roger Penske his first 1-2 Nationwide Series finish. It is the first 1-2 finish for Dodge in the series since July 30, 2005 at Gateway International Raceway when Reed Sorenson (Chip Ganassi) and Mike Wallace (Ray Evernham) turned the trick.

Justin Allgaier narrowly avoided an accident on Lap 187 that collected six other cars, including Kasey Kahne and Brendan Gaughan - Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

“I had one coming,” Keselowski smiled.

Keselowski tried to pass several times and turned up the pressure over the final 10 laps. But he backed away from his usual aggressive driving — particularly with a win on the line — and raced cleanly to the end.

“I had the opportunity and just erred on the side of caution,” he said. “The last thing I need is to wreck either one of us. That’s the last thing our program needs.”

Kyle Busch led 59 laps and finished third. Edwards came home fourth and retained the series points lead by 26 points over Keselowski. Allgaier is third in the standings, 31 points behind Edwards.

Kevin Harvick, who finished fifth, spun Joey Logano on the final lap. Logano wound up 14th.

“I just raced with him and raced with him, and he kept chopping me and chopping me,” Harvick said. “I got in there and just got into the back of him a little bit and I hate that happened. You’ve just got to have a lane to race, you just got to do what you got to do.”

The finish was Harvick’s 123rd top five in the series, tying him for the career lead with Tommy Houston.

The 19-year-old Briton has spent his whole car racing career so far in FRenault, initially in the second-string BARC series before moving up to the British Touring Car supporting main UK championship for 2008.

Driving for his family squad Alpine Motorsport throughout his FRenault stint, Stoneman has finished fourth in the UK championship for the past two years.

He has participated in pre-season GP3 tests with Tech 1 Racing but thinks F2 gives him the best chance of reaching Formula 1.

“I showed what I am capable of in my first season in Formula Renault, and although I had some bad luck last year I still scored well,” said Stoneman.

“I think Andy Soucek showed that if you win F2 you get noticed by some key figures in the sport, and for me Formula 2 is the best and quickest way to reach the highest tier of motorsport.”

Series boss Jonathan Palmer believes that Stoneman will flourish in F2.

“His strong performances in two years of Formula Renault UK have marked him out as one of the few British drivers with a realistic chance of making it to F1, particularly as he has been racing without the benefit of a leading big name team,” Palmer said.

F2 organizers also announced this week that sometime British Formula 3 and A1GP driver Parthiva Sureshwaren had joined the championship, in his first full campaign for several years. The Indian has been sidelined by a lack of finance in recent seasons.

Alongside Olympique Lyonnais, Bordeaux will become the second French club to race in Superleague Formula, meaning the two Ligue 1 giants will extend their rivalry from the football pitch to the race circuit, ensuring huge interest this season, particularly during the club’s home race at Magny-Cours on 22-23 May.

Bordeaux’s car, one of 18 identical V12 750bhp single-seaters that race in Superleague Formula by Sonangol, will be operated by the Le Mans-based Barazi-Epsilon team and will fight with renowned football clubs from across the world, including Liverpool, AC Milan, AS Roma, PSV Eindhoven, Anderlecht, Sevilla, Corinthians and Flamengo, for the 2010 title.

The six-time French Ligue 1 champions have also secured a coup for their first season with the signing of ex-Formula One and current Peugeot Sport works driver, Franck Montagny.

The Frenchman, who drove for Renault, Toyota and Super Aguri in F1, is now part of Peugeot’s sportscar program at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where he finished second last season. He also has previous experience working with Barazi-Epsilon having raced with the French squad in Formula Nissan, later to become World Series by Renault, in 2001.

Franck Montagny: “I’m delighted and I can’t wait to participate in this championship, especially with its expanded calendar and continued growth. Superleague Formula will allow me to meet some old friends from F1 and other categories again. The involvement of Barazi-Epsilon, with whom I have already achieved great things in the past, as well as FC Girondins de Bordeaux, the current French champions, makes this challenge very motivating for me.”

Vincent Repoux, Deputy General Manager of Girondins de Bordeaux: “The club has followed the launch of the Superleague Formula project closely, but was not able to put everything in place to sign up immediately. Now, with a partnership which sees a driver such as Franck Montagny and a technical team led by Michel Lecomte, who has a proven record in single-seater championships over the last 20 years, the chances of the colours of Girondins de Bordeaux flying high against the group of other big international clubs represented in the series, are very good.”

Michel Lecomte, Team Manager of Barazi-Epsilon: “We are delighted to be participating in this high-profile championship which benefits from good publicity and media coverage and gathers together the best drivers on the market. Superleague Formula is developing well and by associating ourselves with Franck Montagny and Girondins de Bordeaux, Barazi-Epsilon is making this championship our main focus in 2010.”

Alex Andreu, President of the Superleague Formula by Sonangol: “Our discussions with FC Girondins de Bordeaux started at the beginning of last year. I am proud today to be able to reveal that the French Champions will join Superleague Formula this year with a driver of the talent of Franck Montagny, who has shined in many disciplines from Formula One to endurance racing.

After only two years of existence, this shows the growing interest of the Superleague Formula concept from the most reputed football clubs at the international level. FC Girondins de Bordeaux will now race on-track against Olympique Lyonnais, another great French football club, which promises a magnificent French ‘derby’ during the Magny-Cours race. France deserved to have its best drivers in a high-level international championship such as Superleague Formula. We are proud to be able to offer this opportunity to French motorsport.”

The season, which includes 12 weekends of racing including 11 in Europe, will start on 3/4 April at Silverstone and will stop in Magny-Cours on 22/23 May.

Sureshwaren began his single seater career in 2001 when he competed in the British F3 National Class. He went on to contest selected races in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in the USA before taking an enforced sabbatical from the sport due to a lack of budget.

Born in Chennai, the Indian racer made his return to competitive motorsport in 2007 when he contested a part season in Formula Renault V6 Asia - scoring two podiums in his first eight races. His performances earned him a call up to race for A1 Team India in Eastern Creek, Australia, and a position as their permanent reserve driver.

He raced again for the team in 2008 when he stood in for the injured Narain Karthikeyan in Durban, South Africa. Parthiva also has previous experience of the F2 car, having joined the official winter test in Valencia on the opening day.

Parthiva Sureshwaren said: “I’m really looking forward to the new F2 season, especially as I have already tested the car in Valencia and I know most of the circuits F2 will visit. The car has good downforce and good ground effect aerodynamics, so my first impressions of it were very positive. On top of that the championship is very cost effective for such a high level of motorsport, so it’s great to be joining. My aim is to regularly score points and by mid-season be in a position to score podiums, and I’m confident I can achieve that.”

Jonathan Palmer, Formula Two Series Director, said: “Parthiva is our second Indian driver in the 2010 championship, which really affirms F2’s strong international profile, particularly in a country where the popularity of motorsport is growing so quickly now with Karun Chandok graduating to F1. Parthiva has already experienced a similarly high level of motorsport when he competed in A1GP, so I’m sure he will be looking to make a strong start to the season. He certainly faces some tough competition though, and with several very quick young drivers close to finalising their budgets for next year it is looking clear that F2 will soon be full with 24 cars for its second season.”

Related articles at FT

• 15 Signed, 9 Open Spots for Second Formula Two Season

Karthikeyan, who is India’s first NASCAR driver, will drive the Wyler Racing No. 60 SafeAuto Chevrolet Silverado. Karthikeyan previously tested an ARCA car at Daytona International Speedway in December and brings 22 seasons of experience in open wheel racing including Formula 1 and the Le Mans Series.

“The opportunity to compete in a NASCAR series is a dream come true for me,” said Karthikeyan. “I have raced all over the world, but this is a different kind of challenge for me and I look forward to learning everything I can about racing in this environment. NASCAR is known for its passionate fans. I am excited to be introducing India to this sport and hope to help develop an equally passionate fan base there.”

Newly formed Starbeast Motorsports is focused on bringing NASCAR to the international community through foreign drivers. Karthikeyan is the center of Starbeast’s efforts to grow the sport in India.

“After his success in Formula 1, Narain has become one of India’s most popular athletes and the obvious choice to introduce NASCAR to the subcontinent,” said Abaroa. “His story is that of a motorsports pioneer, and this next chapter will be his most compelling.”

Starbeast Motorsports and Karthikeyan have entered into an agreement with Wyler Racing for the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Karthikeyan will race the No. 60 in select races to be announced at a later date. SafeAuto Insurance will serve as the primary sponsor after signing a multi-year agreement with Wyler Racing and driver Stacy Compton in 2009.

“We have always had a desire to work with drivers to help with their transition into NASCAR,” said Stacy Compton, who has driven in 27 events for Wyler Racing since partnering with the team last year. Compton will serve as a driver coach to help assist Karthikeyan as he makes the transition from open wheel racing to NASCAR.

“SafeAuto is excited to have such an accomplished Formula 1 driver behind the wheel of our race truck,” commented Jon Diamond, president of SafeAuto, “Many of our customers are fans of NASCAR and we are looking forward to being part of taking this sport to an international level.”

NOTES: Wyler Racing announced the team has switched manufacturers and will begin fielding Chevrolet Silverado race trucks in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series beginning with next weekend’s Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

The team has fielded Toyotas since 2005, - the marquee’s first year in the sport - and scored three wins, 20 top-five, 45 top-10s and four pole positions.

The cars ran with the spoiler on the rear of the cars, as NASCAR announced in January that it was going to transition from the wing to the traditional spoiler sometime during the first quarter of this season. Teams started the day with a 1 1/32-inch sized restrictor plate.

For the majority of the morning session, the teams participated in single-car runs over the 2.66-mile superspeedway. However, five cars hooked up for some drafting shortly before the lunch break and the speeds picked up a bit, with Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) putting up the quickest time of 48.741 seconds or 196.467 miles per hour.

Teams began drafting in earnest after lunch. The plate size went down to 31/32” and the teams adjusted the size of their rear spoilers in order to find that happy medium between high speeds and handling.

“I think we are going to take some benefits from today’s test and be able to apply them down the road with this car and particular package,” said Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet). “I think the car looks really cool and I think you’re going to see some more great racing here at Talladega next month. You see it all here – you have pile ups, you have three-four wide racing, you have bump drafting and you have passes for the lead.”

A view of the spoiler on the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge driven by Kurt Busch during testing at Talladega Superspeedway. - Photos courtesy NASCAR Media

“We saw that the closure rates were a little too quick in the initial drafting session after lunch,” said Pemberton. “So, we had the teams make some adjustments, including going down on the plate size and trimming the spoiler back some. We believe we came away here today with a good starting point and are looking forward to coming back here next month with a great race.”

More than 1,500 fans participated in a Fan Q&A session during the lunch break. Sitting in the track’s newly renovated grandstands on the frontstretch, the fans heard from drivers Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) and Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet), along with NASCAR Managing Director of Competition John Darby. Some of the fans were seen waiting in line outside the gates as early as 6 a.m. Tuesday.

NASCAR also has a test planned next week – March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams to test the spoiler on a 1.5-mile race track.

My Two Centavos: If anyone thinks speeds of over 200mph average will occur during the next Sprint cup event in Talladega I have about a hundred acres of prime real estate to sell ya - on Mars.

The morning session was conducted using plates measuring 7/64 inches larger that those used for last October’s Chase event at Talladega and speeds were a tick over 12mph faster than the poll speed during the April Talladega event. (Fall quals were rained out)

Reportedly, and very unoffcialy speeds topped 213 on the long back-stretch, that ain’t gonna happen again no matter what anyone tells you. Look for a smaller plate to bring speeds back to the 185-188 range.

For my money I’d cut them to about 175, but that’s just me.

Top ten speeds during morning session:

Car # Make Best Tm Best Spd
1. 48 Jimmie Johnson Chv 48.741 196.467
2. 24 Jeff Gordon Chv 48.780 196.310
3. 83 Brian Vickers Tyt 48.905 195.808
4. 82 Scott Speed Tyt 48.936 195.684
5. 14 Tony Stewart Chv 48.958 195.596
6. 2 Kurt Busch Dge 50.581 189.320
7. 09 Aric Almirola Chv 50.751 188.686
8. 20 Joey Logano Tyt 50.836 188.370
9. 11 Denny Hamlin Tyt 50.838 188.363
10. 98 Paul Menard Frd 50.847 188.330

Top ten speeds during afternoon session:

Car # Make Best Tm Best Spd
1. 11 Denny Hamlin Tyt 47.366 202.170
2. 20 Joey Logano Tyt 47.438 201.863
3. 83 Brian Vickers Tyt 47.841 200.163
4. 00 David Reutimann Tyt 47.909 199.879
5. 18 David Gilliland Tyt 47.914 199.858
6. 48 Jimmie Johnson Chv 47.928 199.800
7. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chv 47.930 199.791
8. 56 Martin Truex Jr Tyt 47.939 199.754
9. 78 Regan Smith Chv 47.962 199.658
10. 98 Paul Menard Frd 47.969 199.629

The late Alan Kulwicki piloted a Ford to a victory at GMP as well, joining a list of drivers including Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip who are now Legends in NASCAR.

This weekend, Chase Elliott looked to follow these inspiring stars to Victory Lane in his Aaron’s Ford Fusion.

Instead, he took home second place in the CRA 125 Super Late Model season opener instead. But second-place at the Jefferson track puts him in pretty good company.

Augie Grill was the fastest car in CRA Super Series qualifying (and set a new track record for any Super Late Model) and proved to be the fastest in the race.

The latest runner-up at Jefferson started his day by topping the speed charts in the first practice session, then qualifying fifth. Augie Grill took the pole with a lap at 111.324 miles per hour, breaking the record of 111.262 mph, set by Elliott in a Pro Late Model last fall in the World Crown 300.

With the rain-shortened schedule, there was no time to spare after qualifying, as CRA officials announced teams would have 15 minutes to get their cars on the line and ready to race, reversing the race schedule order.

The Aaron’s team hustled and was ready for “Gentlemen, start your engines.”

Chase Elliott continued to impress with a second-place finish in the CRA main event.

“I just knew that if I didn’t get around Lawler that Augie was going to check out on all of us and lap the field,” said Elliott. “He [Grill] has his stuff figured out, and he knew what he needed all day.”

On Lap 48 Lawler was sent to the pits because of fluid leakage, moving Elliott to second position. With crew chief Ricky Turner and spotter/dad Bill Elliott giving him information on lap times and his line around the track, Elliott held off Reaid pulling away from the third-place contender by three car lengths.

On Lap 118 of 125, the red flag was displayed so officials could determine the source of fluid on the track. Reaid was found to be one of the culprits, and he was sent to the pits, moving Bubba Pollard to third behind Grill and Elliott.

On the restart, Elliott motored away from Pollard, but Grill pulled away for the win while Elliott finished second.

“I am real proud of the team; we have come a long way in this Super Late Model. I can’t thank Aaron’s, Mom, Dad, Ricky Turner and all the guys enough for giving me this opportunity,” said Elliott.

It was Huffman’s second career UARA win and the first of any kind for the former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver in over three years.

Kyle Grissom started on the pole for the season opening UARA-STARS event and jumped out to a five-car length lead over Huffman on the initial green flag. Grissom, a former series race winner, was in his first race with a new crew chief, Nick Hutchins, who won the 2008 series championship with Jake Crum and worked with Brandon McReynolds in 2009.

The first caution fell on lap 12 for series newcomers Lucas Ransone and Frank Deiny, Jr., as they made contact with the turn four wall significant enough to end both of their days. Under that first caution, leader Kyle Grissom experienced suspension problems and brought his pole-sitting car down pit lane, giving the lead to Shane Huffman.

“From the first time I went into the corner at speed, the car bottomed out on the right front and I knew something was wrong but couldn’t figure out exactly what it was,” said Grissom. “When we got that caution, it laid over really bad so we came in and found it had sheared the right front lower A-frame in half. We had a really good car and it would have been nice to have seen what we could have done.”

Twenty laps after the lap 25 restart, caution number two came out on lap 45 for a spin by Michael McGuire in turn two. With his car broadside across the racetrack, the cars of Julia Dawson, Dennis Queen, Max Papis and second-place Jamie Yelton all caught a piece of the action. Everyone was able to continue except for the youngster, McGuire, while Yelton had to pit from second place to repair a damaged fender.

The restart gave new second-place driver Coleman Pressley a chance to pounce on leader Shane Huffman but Pressley kept his distance on the early race leader. Another caution on lap 64 eliminated Lee Tissot from competition as he was caught up in chain reaction when Brennan Poole and Brandon Dean made contact entering turn three. Dean and Poole saved their cars while James Goff, Grant McGinnis and Tissot were caught up behind the initial incident.

After the next restart, Pressley stalked leader Huffman and after working the top and the bottom of the track, got beside the driver of the No. 66 on lap 90. After four laps of racing wheel to wheel, Pressley cleared him and pulled away until the next caution on lap 103 when John King went for a spin off of the front bumper of Adam Long in turn four. Immediately after the restart, Brandon Dean was sent for a wild ride in turn one by another competitor that ultimately ended his day and brought out the caution once again.

Soon after the ensuing restart, the yellow came out again on lap 118 when Roger Lee Newton and Patrick Molesworth tangled in turn one. The 47 backed hard into the wall and lifted off the ground but the driver climbed out uninjured. Molesworth proceeded to express his displeasure with the driver of the No. 38 and was escorted back to his pit by track personnel.

Following a restart on lap 129, Shane Huffman muscled his way by leader Pressley to retake the top spot in turn number three and left a mark not only on Pressley’s door, but also his temper.

“To be honest, I was pretty upset,” said Pressley after the race. “Dad (Robert Pressley) said I could do everything I needed to do except for wreck him.”

A late-race restart on lap 147 saw Pressley get a jump on leader Huffma,n but the new Ford crate engine under the hood of the No. 59 took a couple of laps to get wound up and that led to a finish that had the entire grandstand on its feet. As Pressley pulled alongside of Huffman entering turn three on the final lap, the two made contact and then came together once again exiting turn four. Both cars slid sideways out of control but each driver was able to hang onto his ride and Huffman beat Pressley to the stripe by less than a car length.

“Coleman was definitely better on a long run and he had a really good car. We were better on a short run. It took us about three or four laps to get going but then we were good for about another five to ten. After that we would fall off,” remarked Huffman after the event. “The cautions started falling and I knew that if they fell right we would be in good shape. I could really get a good run on him the first few laps but I knew I was going to have to rough him up to get by him after I got under him. He got back into me and we had a heck of a battle. It’s good, hard, short racing at its best. I really have to thank Steven Wallace, Wes Ward and all of my guys. It’s been about three and a half years since I’ve won a race, so this is pretty important to me.”

“It was a good race, it’s what short track racing is all about. We’re going to miss one show this season, but we did what we had to do today by being the top UARA regular. If we can do that the next three races, we should be in good shape before we have to miss the fourth one,” the runner-up Pressley said. He will be competing in a NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Darlington, SC, that particular weekend.

Ty Dillon quietly finished third in his first race of the season with the UARA and last season’s Rookie of the Year, Brennan Poole, came home fourth. Outside front row starter Alex Yontz faded to finish fifth.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Max Papis (24th place finish after suffering broken shock) remarks on his first Late Model start:

“We had blast in the beginning but the right rear shock broke from the word ‘go,’ so we had to come in and change it. After we did that it was fine and was fun. We will be back for sure, but with four shocks, not three!

It was a shame, but at the same time once it was fixed it was fun and it was fast. There was a lot of beating and banging and I can see why these young, American kids come up so strong because after doing something like this you have to be strong.”

The classic muscle cars treated the crowd to a great nine-lap race that was not short of close racing, with some panel-rubbing and paint-swapping.

It was Australian motor-racing royalty on the front row, with Ford Falcon Sprint of Jim Richards (pictured above - ed) on pole for the final Touring Car Masters race of the weekend, alongside the Chevrolet Camaro of Andrew Miedecke (See photo slideshow).

Andrew Miedecke goes through the chicane on his way to victyory inr ace 2 of the Touring Car Masters on day 3 of the 2010 Clipsal 500. Picture: Simon Cross

Only Graham Alexander’s Monaro and the XY Falcon of Steve Makarios - with two wheels in the dirt - looked like not making it to Senna Chicane for the first time as they rubbed shoulders on the start-finish straight, but both cars made it through.

The Mustang of John Bowe was looking for a pass on Alastair MacLean’s Camaro at the notorious turn 8 but thought better of it and took him at the turn nine hairpin.

Bowe, who started in 7th spot on the grid, was up to 5th by the end of the first lap.

By lap four the first four cars had made a break from the pack, with Gavin Bullas putting the pressure on Jim Richards before passing him on the approach to the main straight.

By half race distance Bullas and John Bowe were hard at it for positions three and four, a fight that went on for the rest of the race.

Touring Car Masters - Fastest Qualifier - John Bowe Picture: Brodie Campbell

Jason Humble’s Datsun 1600 was dicing with the Ford Falcon of George Nittis on the main straight, almost circumnavigating the Falcon as they approached the hairpin.

Race-winner Andrew Miedecke admitted to having had some bad race starts over his long career but was getting better in the Camaro.

“I’ve made a couple of really good starts this weekend, Jim kept the pressure on me - it was a wonderful way to start in the series.”

Second-placed Jim Richards believes the category has proven its crowd-pleasing worth this weekend and should be given a better spot in the race schedule.

“It’s the most cars we’ve had, all the cars look spectacular and with Andrew coming in now it makes the rest of working a little bit harder.

“The object is to put on fantastic racing for the public - we’re some of the best racing on the day and I think we should be on a bit later in the day.”

Richards also said the category has broad appeal to race fans young and old.

“The younger people haven’t seen these cars race, they’re excited about watching them and the older generation remember them from Moffat and Jane had them as well.

“I think we’re the most popular class, we’re not trying to be a V8 Supercars - we’re trying to be entertaining, popular category - the racing is really good, that’s what we want,” he said.

Touring Car Masters overall results:

1. Andrew Miedecke, Chevrolet Camaro SS; 2. Jim Richards, Ford Falcon Sprint; 3. Gavin Bullas, Ford Boss Mustang; 4. Brad Tilley, Ford Falcon XY GT; 5. Steve Mason, Chevrolet Camaro SS.