MOTORSPORTS

Five to Stay Alive

By Ryan McGee

KEY: MOVING UP: + , SLIDING BACK: —

WATKINS LEN AUG. 10
KEY TO WIN: Qualify up front and practice pitting the car on the right side instead of the left.
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With his 2009 plans out in the open, TONY STEWART looks focused again, which is bad news for his rivals at the Glen, where Smoke has won four of the past six races.
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A year ago, Greg Biffle gutted out a 10th-place finish, his best showing at this track. But all that did was raise his average finish here (over five starts) to a brutal 30th.

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MICHIGAN AUG. 17
KEY TO WIN: Horsepower is nice, but with fewer yellows, so is mpg (as Motown is learning).
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Mark Martin once said a monkey could drive a Roush Fenway car here and finish top-10. That's good news for up-and-comer David Ragan, who drives Martin's old ride.
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After a hot '07, CLINT BOWYER has wilted in the summer sun of '08. And he'll get no relief in Michigan, where he hasn't finished better than 16th in five tries.

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BRISTOL AUG. 23
KEY TO WIN: The cleanest car wins. In Thunder Valley, there's usually only one.
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KEVIN HARVICK was second here in March (behind teammate Jeff Burton), and his career average Bristol finish is 9.9, good for sixth all-time among the track's 37 winners.
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Brian Vickers is aces at California, but it won't matter. His Red Bull rally will go flat at Bristol, where he has led exactly one of his 3,783 laps.

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CALIFORNIA AUG. 31
KEY TO WIN: When the sun—and track temps—go down, he who adjusts best, wins.
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Matt Kenseth loves going back to Cali, even with the trickier New Car. In his past six starts at Fontana, he has won twice and hasn't finished worse than seventh.
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In five visits, DENNY HAMLIN has been pedestrian at best, with four finishes of 11th or worse. That's not how you gain ground with one race to go before the Chase.

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RICHMOND SEPT. 6
KEY TO WIN: If the right-side tires aren't gripping, then your ride will be slipping.
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JEFF GORDON hasn't won here since 2000, but his past three tries (fourth, fourth, ninth) have him in the groove. And when it's time to make the money, there's no one better.
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Kasey Kahne won here in '05, but is 1-for-4 in making the Chase. The heartbreak of '04 (he came to Richmond ranked ninth, then finished 24th and missed the cut) still looms.

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HELLO, MUTOH!

by Chad Nielsen

When Hideki Mutohat Raced Motegi in April, the IndyCar rookie took the rare chance to visit his parents' Tokyo home. "I had Mom-cooked food," he says, although he doesn't remember what she prepared. Alas, Mutoh doesn't wax nostalgic. He has found a new home at Andretti Green Racing, and he sits seventh in the overall standings, between teammates Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti.

"I don't miss Japanese food anymore," says the 25-year-old Mutoh. "I'm more American right now. I eat cereal every morning." He spends his free time going to dinner and nightclubs with team members, and he joined Andretti on a family visit in Pennsylvania. Thanks to the camaraderie, Mutoh is adapting to the intense IndyCar environment despite a 13-hour time difference that makes it hard to phone his family. Still, it doesn't hurt to hang on to some comforts from home. Before each race, he listens to Japanese pop, then settles behind the wheel of a familiar car (AGR drives Hondas, the make he's used to driving).

Mutoh came up through the Honda Formula Dream Project in Asia and Europe, and he spent a year in Indy Pro before sliding into the spot vacated by 2007 IRL champ Dario Franchitti. Five years after watching his first Indy 500—when countryman Tora Takagi finished fifth—Mutoh led all rookie qualifiers for the big race, then finished seventh. "He still has lots to learn," says AGR co-owner Kim Green. "Hideki experienced every single kind of situation in that race and handled it very well."

Almost as well as he handles expectations. "This is my rookie season," he says. "I'm not looking for the championship. I just try to win the race."

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