Carl Edwards leads current Ford drivers with two NASCAR Sprint Cup victories at Pocono Raceway, where the series runs this weekend.

Edwards, who is leaving Roush Fenway Racing and the No. 99 Ford at the end of the season, won on "the tricky triangle" in 2005 and 2008.

Greg Biffle, who drives the No. 16 Ford, won in 2010; Brad Keselowski won in a Dodge in 2011, and Joey Logano won in a Toyota in 2012. 

Keselowski (Rochester Hills) and Logano are Team Penske teammates in the Nos. 2 and 22 Fords, respectively.

The GoBowling.com 400 starts at 1 p.m. Sunday at Pocono.

Tony Granato

The Detroit Red Wings, prone to injury last season, and first-round playoff losers to Boston, are still capable of being a force in the NHL post-season.

That’s the take from Tony Granato, the latest addition to coach Mike Babcock’s staff.

“Absolutely,” Granato said Tuesday when asked if the Red Wings can make a deep playoff run.

“I think it’s a great lineup, and I think it’s a lineup that can win,” Granato added. “The Detroit Red Wings play a system and brand of hockey … that’s tough to play against every night.

“They know how to develop players. They know how to win.”

Granato, who was drafted by the New York Rangers, and also played for the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, has seen the Red Wings from the outside looking in during an NHL career that included stints as an assistant coach and head coach.

Most recently an assistant at Pittsburgh, the 49-year-old Granato signed a one-year contract with an option year in Detroit. He’s tentatively slated to work with the Wings’ defense and penalty-killing team.

And he’s eager to get started.

“I’m really looking forward to being a part of it and seeing what makes the Red Wings tick,” Granato said.

“It’s great to finally be part of (the franchise) and I’m looking forward to helping, and being part of something special.”

Granato, who interviewed with other teams, said he couldn’t ignore the lure of working for an organization run by owner Mike Ilitch and general manager Ken Holland.

“I looked at the team, I looked at the staff, I looked at the management team led by Kenny and ownership,” he said. “This is a premier organization, and I wanted to be part of it.

“I’m lucky it became available when it did and I’m thrilled to be part of it.”

Granato filled the vacancy created when Bill Peters left the Wings last month to become head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Babcock has another opening to fill following the departure Monday of Tom Renney, who was named president of Hockey Canada.

Granato’s role on the staff might change depending on Babcock’s next hire, Granato said.

“I think I can relate to the players well,” said Granato, who added that he wants to “be a complement and do whatever Mike needs of me.”

Last season, Red Wings veterans Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk missed 37 games apiece due to injuries. Darren Helm missed 40, and Johan Franzen 28.

Those absences from the lineup paved the way for playing time for younger players who contributed as Detroit went 39-28-15 and extended its streak of consecutive seasons in the playoffs to 22.

“There’s no franchise that can match the consistent success that the Wings have had,” Granato said. “They always find a way.”

“I just started watching video on (the younger players). I’ll continue to do my homework over the summer to get to know them a little bit better.

“But I do know there are some exciting prospects that have some great potential to play more significant roles as we move forward.”

Granato scored 248 goals in a 773-game NHL career that ended in 2001.

He had two stints as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche.

While coaching the Avalanche in 2008, Granato went face-to-face with Babcock as they argued following a Colorado player’s hit on Wings defenseman Nick Lidstrom.

Several friends sent Granato a photo of the confrontation after he was hired by Babcock.

“I think it shows the competitiveness that we have,” Granato said. “I think we were both defending our players and, yes, it’s a funny thing right now. It’s one of my favorite pictures of me on the bench.”

Tony Granato

Tony Granato filled Mike Babcock’s checklist.

Not coincidentally, he also filled an opening on Babcock’s Detroit Red Wings coaching staff.

Babcock, the Wings’ coach, hired Granato as an assistant Monday on what was a busy day for the team’s staff.

Tom Renney, who had been Detroit’s associate head coach, was named president of Hockey Canada.

Granato had been an assistant to Dan Bylsma in Pittsburgh, but was let go when the Penguins replaced Bylsma last mont.

“He’s an impressive guy,” Babcock said of Granato, 49, who filled the vacancy created when Bill Peters left last month to become head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Babcock has a list against which he measures staff candidates.

He wants a “real good person” who must “love hockey” and have coaching experience.

“That’s kind of the order for me,” Babcock said.

Granato, a former NHL player, completed the hat trick.

“He’s a real good person,” Babcock said. “He’s got four kids in college. He talks about his family like they’re more important than hockey, which is what it should be.

“He has vast experience as a player and a coach. He loves the game.”

Babcock talked to the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz, and to former Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero, about Granato.

“They all gave him ringing endorsements,” Babcock said. “I was surprised we could get him.

“He met with three other teams first. We let him do that. We were excited he chose to be a Red Wing.”

Granato scored 248 goals in 774 career NHL games before retiring in 2001.

He was head coach of the Colorado Avalanche on two different occasions, for a total of 215 games over three seasons.

Renney was on Babcock’s staff the last two seasons.

Babcock said he’ll apply his checklist when seeking candidates for Renney’s job.

With Hockey Canada, Renney will replace Bob Nicholson as president.

The Canadian Olympic men’s team has won consecutive gold medals. The Canadian women’s team has won gold medals as the last four Olympic games.

Stan Yee Jr.

Frank Jiovani of Harrison Township and Stan Yee Jr. of Clinton Township are in the top five in the updated standings for the ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model series at Flat Rock Speedway.
Steve Cronenwett Jr., who won the July 12 race at the quarter-mile oval, is first with 1,635 points, and Paul Pelletier is second with 1,575.
Jiovani is third (1,495), Derek Wiley fourth (1,465) and Yee Jr. fifth (1,400).
The next race is the Stan Yee Memorial, a 150-lap event named in honor of Yee Jr.'s father, on July 26.

Jimmy Shane

Count the newest Gold Cup champion among those glad about the date change for the annual unlimited hydroplane race on the Detroit River.

“We’ll be back; I’m excited,” Jimmy Shane, whose U-6 Oberto won the APBA Gold Cup on Sunday, said of the move to late August 2015.

“There’s going to be some fantastic racing coming in. It’s going to be an exciting time.”

One feature of the move from the weekend following the Fourth of July holiday, race director Mark Weber said, will be the addition of Grand Prix boats to the racing program.

That’s fine with Shane, who went undefeated in qualifying, heat races and the Gold Cup final last weekend.

“Those Grand Prix boats are going to rock your world,” Shane said. “Those guys put on a great show. Crazy drivers. Crazy boats.”

“You guys are going to be really happy that they changed the date for the Gold Cup, because it’s going to be a great show next year.”

The Detroit River Regatta Association, which puts on the Gold Cup, is considering changing the event from three days to two, Weber said.

But, for the time being, the Gold Cup is scheduled for Aug. 21-23.

“We’re saying it’s three days right now, because those are our traditional dates,” Weber, a Washington Township resident, said.

The DRRA sought a date change because many fans are on vacation and out of town the first two weeks in July due to widespread automotive industry shut-downs, Weber said.

“That was a big part of the problem,” Weber said. “The holiday draws people out of town.”

June weekends were not good, Weber said, because of events like the open-wheel automobile race on Belle Isle and the annual Detroit fireworks show, the latter of which compels the City of Detroit to maximize police overtime expenses.

With July comes the city’s new fiscal year, Weber pointed out.

The weekend of Aug. 21-23 will not interfere with events like NASCAR racing at Michigan International Speedway and the Woodward Dream Cruise.

“Making a major event change is not something you take lightly at all,” Weber said. “That weighed very heavily on our decision. It’s a little scary.

“But we’ve got to embrace this thing the best way we can.”

A casualty of the change will likely be the loss of 5-liter boats racing during Gold Cup weekend, Weber said.

The 5-liters are scheduled to race in Ohio on the new Gold Cup weekend.

“It’s a business decision, nothing against them whatsoever” Weber said. “They will be fine.”

In recent years, unlimited hydroplane teams have traveled to Detroit after racing at Madison, Ind.

Unless the H1 Unlimited order of events changes, Detroit will be fourth on the 2015 schedule, following Madison, Tri-Cities (Washington state) and Seattle.

“There’s a level of concern (about travel),” Weber said. “At the end of the day, we needed to make what we feel is the best decision for this association.”

H1 Unlimited, which sanctions the Gold Cup and other unlimited hydroplane events, is “supportive” of the date change, chairman Sam Cole said.

“H1,” Cole said, “is committed to assisting the DRRA and (ensuring) the long-term viability of the Detroit event and the APBA Gold Cup race,” Cole said in a statement. “H1 leadership will work to integrate the new dates into the 2015 schedule and coordinate changes with any events which might be impacted.”

Grand Prix hydroplanes look similar to unlimiteds and use supercharged engines. The 2014 ACHA schedule includes stops at Valleyfield, Quebec, and Brockville, Ontario.

“They make gobs of noise,” Weber said.

Jimmy Shane

DETROIT – The winner cried. So did the man who thought he should have won.

Jimmy Shane took advantage of a foul by J. Michael Kelly and drove the U-6 Oberto to victory in the Gold Cup final on the Detroit River on Sunday.

It was the first DYC Detroit APBA Gold Cup win for a boat sponsored by Oberto Beef Jerky, which has been in the unlimited hydroplane racing game since 1975.

Steve David, a long-time driver for Oberto, whose retirement prior to this season opened the cockpit for Shane, was the Gold Cup runner-up 12 times.

Shane’s boat, also known as the Miss Madison and owned by the citizens of the Indiana town of Madison, won despite breaking a part on the rear of the boat about halfway through the race.

It was the first Gold Cup for a Miss Madison boat since 1971 when Jim McCormick was the driver.

“This is a childhood dream,” Shane, choking back tears, said after his seventh career unlimited hydroplane victory. “To put my name on the Gold Cup is great.

“I could not be any happier for the city of Madison and the Oberto company. This is a wonderful experience for these guys.”

Kelly, the winner in the final of the Madison Regatta last weekend thanks to a foul against Shane, had a similar Gold Cup misfortune after what otherwise was a solid weekend in the U-1 Graham Trucking boat

Kelly, who said his cockpit timer and GPS malfunctioned, was too quick getting to the marker boats must not reach before the start of the race is one minute away.

That gave Kelly a one-lap penalty and took him out of contention for what would have been his first Gold Cup victory.

The penalty aside, Kelly drove his boat at top speed and crossed the finish about a quarter-lap ahead of Shane’s, but he officially finished fourth in the H1 Unlimited event.

“Nobody’s going to purposely take it from you,” Kelly, who was in tears following the race, said, dismissing the notion of an improper call.

“Now I know what Steve David went through. I know what he feels like; it sucks.

“On the water, you win the Gold Cup, but for the rules you don’t. How long am I going to have to wait for a Gold Cup?”

Kelly had an average speed of 144.534 mph in the final. Shane, who over the final couple laps nursed the boat after the U-6 broke a rear stabilizer bar, averaged 140.863.

“We showed we can beat them,” Kelly said.

Brian Perkins finished second in the U-21 Al Deeby Dodge of Go Fast Turn Left Racing. His average speed was 134.876.

Cal Phipps drove the U-7 Graham Trucking boat to a third-place finish.

The Sterling Heights native’s team set up the U-7 for a rough-water final, he said, but the hydroplane didn’t have the speed of some others in the five-boat final.

“We didn’t have all the top-end speed,” Phipps, who nonetheless was satisfied with the finish, said.  “We don’t have a hurt piece (boat). We’re on the podium.”

Shane leads the H1 Unlimited points list with 3,569 after piling up a Gold Cup-high 2,100 in Detroit. Kelly is second with 3,019.

Shane was the top qualifier and won all four heat races he was placed in at the Gold Cup competition.

Kelly won three of four heats, missing out on first place only in the first heat of the competition, which included Shane.

The weekend began with eight boats hoping to compete for the Gold Cup.

But various mechanical problems took out the U-9 Team Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar; the U-11 Peters & May and the U-12 SERVPRO Miss DiJulio. None of those boats raced Sunday.

The U-22 Webster Racing boat had ignition issues early Sunday, owner Steve Webster said.

The boat was repaired and competed in the final, but was never a factor and finished fifth.

Shane won the H1 Unlimited points championship last season driving for Graham Trucking.

Steve Cronenwett Jr. won the ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model race at Flat Rock Speedway on Saturday night. It was points leader Cronenwett Jr.'s second win of the season.
Brad Riethmeyer finished second and Paul Pelletier third. Dennis Strickland was fourth and Stan Yee Jr. of Clinton Township fifth.
Frank Jiovani of Harrison Township took seventh place.

Jon Zimmerman got a chipped tooth, a disappointed psyche and an uncertain immediate racing future after he and the U-9 unlimited hydroplane crashed during a Detroit Gold Cup heat race on the Detroit River.

“I’ve got a little bump in my ribs; that’s about it,” Zimmerman, who said he also chipped a tooth in the Saturday crash. “Everything else is just fine.”

The same could not be said for the U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar, the Jones Racing boat based in Kent, Wash.

“We’re going to have to work hard to get it to Tri-Cities (to race the final weekend in July in Washington),” Zimmerman said Sunday. “The biggest deal is, we’ve got to find some parts, or build some parts.”

The U-9 crew took the boat engine apart.

“We had to get all the water out of the engine and get it so it doesn’t rust up and (become) unusable before we get home,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman thought the U-9 was capable of winning the Gold Cup.

“We went out there with a plan,” he said. “We had a plan to babysit the boat and save it for the final.

“We were laying up a little bit to save something for the final.”

But the plan was foiled when Zimmerman hit a “bump” in the water on the final lap of a heat race.

His boat went into the air and turned completely around before landing on its bottom.

“It hit that bump, it popped up, did a little wheelie and wouldn’t come back down,” Zimmerman said.

“It’s hard to see that stuff coming, and you can’t really do anything about it anyway. It’s there. You’re going to go through it.”

Jimmy Shane won Heat 4A Sunday, giving the driver of the U-6 Oberto a sweep of four heat races during the Detroit Gold Cup on the Detroit River.

Shane won two heats Saturday and two more Sunday in advance of the Gold Cup final.

J. Michael Kelly in the U-1 Graham Trucking won Heat 4B, the final heat of the H1 Unlimited event.

Kelly also won Heat 3B Sunday.

Kelly won three of his four heats for the weekend, finishing out of the top spot only in Heat 1A that included Shane.

The field for the APBA Gold Cup is dwindling, and that’s OK with U-7 driver Cal Phipps.

“No,” the Sterling Heights resident said when asked if he was disappointed the original eight-boat roster had been cut by at least three.

One of the boats still in the running was the U-1 driven by J. Michael Kelly.

Phipps and Kelly are Graham Trucking teammates.

“If the only two boats standing are the two Graham Trucking boats, if either one takes the Gold Cup, because I’m a team player, I’ll take it,” Phipps said.

“If (Kelly) wins, I get my hands on it. If I win, he gets his hands on it. The goal at the end of the day today is to get our hands on that Gold Cup.”

The U-9 withdrew Saturday after being damaged in a crash. The U-12 and U-11 have had mechanical failures and did not leave their pits Sunday.

The U-22 raced after ignition issues were resolved, team owner Steve Webster said.

Jimmy Shane kept his APBA Detroit Gold Cup record clean with a heat race victory Sunday morning.

The driver of the U-6 Oberto won Heat 3A.

Shane on Saturday won Heat 1A and Heat 2B.

On Friday, he was the fastest qualifier in the H1 Unlimited event on the Detroit River.

J. Michael Kelly won Heat 3B on Sunday. Only two boats started that heat, Kelly's and the U-21 driven by Brian Perkins.
"It's pretty lumpy out on the course right now," Shane said. "It's white-capping out there a little. This is the Detroit water that I expected to be racing on. We set the boat up for this kind of conditions. The Oberto handled it beautifully."
The wind blew from the north during heats 3A and 3B.
"It can stay in that direction as long as it gets a little bit lighter," Shane said. "Everybody's got to race in it. Hopefully everybody will use their heads. The Belle Isle turn was nice and calm today. The straightaways are pretty lumpy."

Jon Zimmerman

Driver Jon Zimmerman was not injured in a final-lap crash during a heat race for the Detroit Gold Cup on Saturday, according to a post on the U-9 Jones Racing Facebook page.
"... As a matter of fact, he helped us tear down our equipment this evening,"  the post said.
The U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar lifted out of the water and landed right-side up during Heat 2B, which was won by Jimmy Shane in the U-6.

The U-9 Jones Racing hydroplane

Jones Racing is evaluating damage to the U-9 and has not determined whether the craft can race at Tri-Cities in Washington state on the final weekend of July, the Facebook post said.

Top qualifier Jimmy Shane went 2-for-2 in heat races on the Detroit River on Saturday.
Shane drove the U-6 Oberto to first-place finishes in a pair of heats for the DYC Detroit APBA Gold Cup. Two more flights of heat race

Jimmy Shane

s and the Gold Cup final are scheduled for Sunday.
Shane had an average speed of 157.197 in Heat 1A, which for awhile featured side-by-side racing between the U-6 and the U-1 Graham Trucking driven by J. Michael Kelly.
Only three boats, the U-6 included, started Heat 2B. Shane, of Renton, Wash., averaged 148.941 mph as he finished ahead of Sterling Heights resident Cal Phipps in the U-7 Graham Trucking. The U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar driven by Jon Zimmerman crashed on the final lap.
Kelly and Brian Perkins won the other heat races. Perkins drives the U-21 Miss Al Deeby Dodge.
The U-11 Peters & May boat did not start either heat to which it was assigned. Nor did the U-12 SERVPRO/Miss DiJulio.
Heat victories were worth 400 points apiece in the H1 Unlimited standings.

The APBA Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane race will be in August in 2015, the Detroit River Regatta Association said Saturday. Racing is scheduled for Aug. 21-23 on the Detroit River, although a three-day show is not certain, race director Mark Weber said.
One reason for the change was to get the Gold Cup away from the July 4 holiday.
"When the third weekend in August opened up, we jumped at the chance," Tom Bertolini, president of the DRRA, which produces the race, said.
The Grand Prix racing class will be part of the 2015 Gold Cup, Bertolini said. They will compete for the Silver Cup.
Sam Cole, chairman of H1 Unlimited, said his organization supports the date change.
"Our priority," Cole said, "is to ensure that the move benefits fans, sponsors and our teams in a manner that provides a positive impact on our series. H1 is committed to assisting the DRRA and help ensure the long term viability of the Detroit event and the APBA Gold Cup race."

Teddy Dudley can’t kick the racing bug.

Cal Phipps, left, and Teddy Dudley

The Rochester Hills resident used to drive race boats, but moved out of that side of the sport when he started a family.

Now he’s responsible for the cockpit for the U-7 Graham Trucking unlimited hydroplane driven by Sterling Heights resident Cal Phipps.

“I keep Cal safe,” Dudley said. “And I do repair on the boat when we need it.”

Dudley started racing in 1985. He drove 5-liter, 7-liter and Grand Prix boats.

“Then when I started having kids, having a family, I had a lot of liabilities,” he said.

Dudley and his wife, Camilla, have four children.  Jada, Justin, Michael and D’Mario range in age from 12 years to 27.

Teddy Dudley owns a Rochester Hills construction business and a Detroit collision shop.

This weekend, he has left his businessman’s cards at home and taken on the persona of a racer and competitor.

The U-7 is among eight boats trying to win the DYC Detroit APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River.

“We come to win,” Dudley said.

Jimmy Shane drove the U-6 Oberto to a top qualifying speed of 162.613 mph for the DYC Detroit APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River on Friday.

Jon Zimmerman in the U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar was second and J. Michael Kelly in the U-1 Graham Trucking third for the H1 Unlimited hydroplane event. Zimmerman's speed was 160.432, and Kelly turned a lap of 159.454.

Cal Phipps of Sterling Heights was fourth in the U-7 Graham Trucking (150.707), followed by Brian Perkins in the U-21 Al Deeby Dodge (148.302) and Mike Webster in the U-22 Webster Racing (141.261).

Greg Hopp's U-12 ServPro/Miss DiJulio had a speed of 133.836 mph.

Heat races will be Saturday.

More heat races and the Gold Cup final will be Sunday.

Jimmy Shane signs autographs for fans Friday.

J. Michael Kelly drove the U-1 Graham Trucking unlimited hydroplane to victory in the season-opening Madison (Ind.) Regatta last weekend.

Next up for the H1 Unlimited Series racers is the APBA Detroit Gold Cup on the Detroit River, Friday-Sunday, July 11-13.

Qualifying begins at 5 p.m. Friday.

Heat races will be run Saturday and again Sunday, with the Gold Cup final Sunday.

Go to www.gold-cup.com for more information.

The third of five Discount Tire ARCA Gold Cup Series races for late models will be Friday at Toledo Speedway.

Justin Schroeder of Canton won the May 24 race at Flat Rock Speedway, and Dakota Carlson of Cedar Springs won the June 6 race at Toledo.

Other races in the series will be July 26 at Flat Rock and Aug. 15 at Toledo.

The San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies have had no-hitters pitched against them this baseball season. Tim Lincecum of the Giants no-hit the Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Josh Beckett and Clayton Kershaw no-hit the Phillies and Rockies, respectively.
Twelve of the 30 major-league teams have been no-hit since 2012.
The Chicago Cubs have not been no-hit since Sept. 10, 1965, the longest no-hitter "drought" in the big leagues, according to baseball-reference.com. The Dodgers' Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Cubs that day.
The Cincinnati Reds have the second-longest no no-hitter streak. The Reds haven't been victimized since manager Sparky Anderson's crew was no-hit by the Phillies' Rick Wise on June 23, 1971.

Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township is scheduled to compete in three winged sprint car racing events in Ohio during the Fourth of July weekend.
She will open the trio of races aboard the Jimmy’s Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim on Thursday, July 3, at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, for the “Night the Stars Come Out” with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions.
She will then visit Attica Raceway Park on the Fourth of July, and will wrap up the weekend on Saturday at Fremont Speedway. Both of those races will be Fremont/Attica Sprint Title (F.A.S.T.) events.
“Racing with the All Stars (Circuit of Champions) you really have to be on your game, because you are racing against some of the best like Dale Blaney and Randy Hannagan,”  Ferns told Ferns Racing PR. “I’ve raced with them a couple times this year and have learned a ton every time I’ve been on the track, whether it’s been for hot laps a heat race or a feature. As a driver you always want to keep getting better, and racing against tough competition is a good way to do that.”

Justin Schroeder's victory in the ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model feature race at Flat Rock Speedway on June 28 made him the first two-time winner in the division this season.
Here are the race winners:
Race 1, April 26: Eric Lee (Macomb Township)
Race 2, May 3: Frank Jiovani (Harrison Township)
Race 3, May 24: Justin Schroeder
Race 4, May 31: Paul Pelletier
Race 5, June 14: Steve Cronenwett Jr.
Race 6, June 21: Brad Riethmeyer
Race 7: June 28: Justin Schroeder

Frank Jiovani

Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski’s win at Kentucky last weekend marked the second time this season Ford has won consecutive races.  The last time Ford captured three straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events was in June 2005 (Dover, Pocono and Michigan), according to Warren native Dan Zacharias of Ford Racing.

What's more, Zacharias said, Ford’s six Sprint Cup wins this season through 17 races match the entire single-season totals for 2012 and 2013.

The Sprint Cup drivers run at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.