Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/magny-cours-throws-its-hat-into-ring/
Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler
Saturday
Magny-Cours throws its hat into ring
Magny-Cours says that it has been overlooked in the recent negotiations about the French Grand Prix. This is true but only, according to French Prime Minister Fran�ois Fillon, because the Formula One group does not want to go back to the Nievre circuit, believing it is too far out in the wilds to be right [...]
Should Bristol Be Changed?
In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Bruton Smith said he is considering $1,000,000 worth of renovations to Bristol Motor Speedway that would return it to it’s pre-2007 configuration. Smith said the lower than normal attendance at Sunday’s Cup race isn’t the reason why he is considering changes, but that he wanted the [...] 
TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/-UX_jaGutLQ/
2012 Qatar Moto2 FP3 Result: Luthi Dominates, Espargaro Gets Close
Thomas Luthi has completed a clean sweep of free practice at Qatar, the Interwetten Paddock rider taking the top spot in all three sessions so far. Luthi held a sizable advantage for most of the session, but Pons Kalex rider Pol Espargaro cut his lead to just four hundredths of a second in the final moments. Espargaro's teammate Tito Rabat took third, ahead of Marc VDS Racing's Scott Redding and Claudio Corti of the Italtrans team.
Results:
Friday
Webber ?will threaten? Vettel in 2012
Bernie Ecclestone has stated his belief that Mark Webber could be Sebastian Vettel’s biggest rival for the title this year. Check out our review of Red Bull in 2011! Webber failed to win a race last year of course, but Ecclestone is convinced that the Australian will improve, threatening his Red Bull team-mate along the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/WvCtgq-iUMQ/webber-will-threaten-vettel-in-2012
Kasey Kahne sets off big wreck, takes out big names
Shades of the early wreck in the Daytona 500! Barely 20 laps into the Food City 500 at Bristol, Kasey Kahne didn't quite clear Regan Smith, setting off a chain reaction that collected several more of the biggest names in the sport. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose all suffered damage, with Busch, Edwards and Kahne all seeing their very real chances of winning the race go up in a haze of smoke and blue foam.
Kahne, in particular, is in a lot of trouble standings-wise now. In his first season at Hendrick, the heralded driver has crashed out or brought home poor finishes week after week, and even though we're not out of March, he's already in a win-to-get-in situation with the Chase. The wild card may be his only option if the season isn't to be a total bust.
Thursday
NASCAR President Mike Helton stands by both inspection and appeals process
On Tuesday, Middlebrook, the chief appellate officer for NASCAR, rescinded the points penalties and suspensions following Hendrick Motorsports' final appeal, but kept the $100,000 fine that was levied against Knaus in place.
Helton said the decision upholds the inspection process and what the inspectors found on the C-posts.
"We believe in our inspectors," Helton said."We think that the decision that was made this week supports the inspection process because the elements of the penalty that were upheld indicate that the inspection process, or the inspectors, did their job correctly.
"I think the debate over the decision this week was more about the decision after that point, of how we reacted to it. That's as much a bureaucratic decision as it is a competition decision. So we believe very strongly in our inspection process and are very proud of it.� So the inspection process is status quo as we go forward."
Helton said that despite the overturning of the points penalty and suspensions, he also believed in the validity and legitimacy of the appeals process and that Middlebrook's association with General Motors ? Hendrick Motorsports is aligned with Chevrolet ? wasn't an issue.
"We believe in the appeal panel members, we believe in the chief appellate officer and we believe in that process. And that process exists, and we've been through hearings in the past when our decision has been altered, but that's what the due process is for," Helton said.
"Well, let me answer it this way. When we chose John Middlebrook as our chief appellate officer, we chose him based on our experiences with him for several years, his pragmatic approach to business and to his relationship with race teams and with NASCAR. The reasons that we chose the current chief appellate officer haven't changed.� Our opinion and our belief in our chief appellate officer hasn't changed."
After the appeal on Tuesday, Hendrick said, "I felt from the very beginning that we were clearly by the rulebook, within the guidelines, and the car had been seen multiple times and raced everywhere we raced in 2011."
Helton reiterated Friday that the C-posts were in violation of the rulebook.
"First of all, I go back to the fact that some of our penalties were upheld.� That tells you the inspection process was correct and there was an issue with the car," Helton said. "The pieces that were not upheld, if there's a way for NASCAR to be more clear, and we learn every time we go through a process, whether the penalties are upheld or modified, we learn from the process.� We should because we've worked very hard to do this."
"If we can make it more clear, more understandable, more definitive to where it's more difficult to disagree with it, then we'll continue to try to do that.� In this case, it came out this way."
Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Michael Silver: Tim Tebow trade may work out well for Mark Sanchez & Co.
? Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer buys expensive new house
? Kevin Love's commitment to Minnesota Wolves may hinge on Ricky Rubio
? omg!: Why Kim Kardashian ignored warnings about Kris Humphries
Jeff Gordon?s gas man goes for a ride as the four-time Cup champ exits the pits
Sunday was a rough day on pit road for Jeff Gordon and his crew.
Gordon had driven up to as high as fifth after starting 21st, and during his third stop of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, the team wanted to make sure that the car was packed full of fuel. When, as customary, Gordon accelerated out of his pit when the jack on the left side of the car was dropped, gas man Brad Pickens still had the fuel can engaged in the car.
As Gordon pulled away, Pickens went for a scary tumble as the fuel can finally disengaged after Gordon sped off. However, the can -- and Pickens -- went outside of Gordon's pit box. That meant a penalty, and Gordon was forced to serve a stop-and-go penalty under green.
Then, as the race was under caution for rain, Gordon pitted from a lap down in 17th. On that final pit stop, a tire got away from the crew, relegating Gordon to 26th.
Unfortunately for Gordon, mistakes and mishaps have overcome fast race cars through the first five races of the season. Thanks to Sunday, a blown engine at Daytona and a cut tire at Bristol, Gordon is in 25th, already 91 points behind points leader Greg Biffle.
Wednesday
Volkswagen Alltrack to Make its First Appearance in the U.S.
 |
In November 2011, Volkswagen displayed a concept called the Passat Alltrack at the Tokyo Motor Show with no plans of it coming to the U.S. In the auto industry, things tend to change quickly, as now Volkswagen has decided to display a concept car bearing just the Alltrack name at the 2012 New York Auto Show.
At this point, the Alltrack is strictly considered to be a concept, but it wouldn?t be completely outlandish to see it hit the market here soon, especially given the fact that VW no longer offers a wagon model in the U.S. The closest to a wagon that VW offers is the Tiguan, a crossover SUV, and the Routan, a minivan.
The Alltrack is reported to arrive with a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine that cranks out a respectable 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. Along with the TDI engine, the Alltrack will feature a six-speed, dual clutch automatic transmission and 4Motion AWD.
The Jetta Alltrack is a really good looking car, for a station wagon that is. The question that really arises is can a traditional station wagon not named ?Volvo,? roam the streets of America anymore? Lately automakers are starting to move back into the wagon market, but most are ?sport wagons,? including: Acura TSX Sport Wagon, Audi A3 Wagon, Cadillac CTS-V Wagon, and so on. Its most likely competition would be the BMW 3-Series Wagon and the upcoming Volvo V40.
The determining factor will be the response it gets at the auto show. If potential buyers start clamoring for it, you can expect VW to release it almost as quickly as they can produce them. We will continue to provide details on this potential new model, as VW releases them. One thing is for sure, we can all appreciate VW spelling ?Track? the right way. Not ?Trac,? ?Trak,? ?Trax,? or any other odd variation.
Volkswagen Alltrack to Make its First Appearance in the U.S. originally appeared on on Thursday, 5 April 2012 00:05 EST.
Worrying developments in Bahrain
The press lunch in London to promote the Bahrain Grand Prix gave the impression that all was well in the Gulf kingdom. Within hours, however, there was street fighting again and the country’s leading human rights campaigner was arrested. Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights has long been seen as untouchable because [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/worrying-developments-in-bahrain/
Tony Stewart notches second 2012 victory in rain-shortened California race
Last year, Tony Stewart famously said that his team didn't deserve to be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup after the August Michigan race. This year, they may very well be locked into the Chase after the season's first five races and all talk about Smoke's customary slow starts to seasons can be officially put to rest for 2012.
The reigning champion defied conventional wisdom (and his own) on his way to a blistering performance in last year's Chase for the Sprint Cup after a relatively porous regular season in 2011 and he's doing it again in 2012 after grabbing his second win of the season in the rain-affected Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday -- his seventh win in the last 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races dating back to last year's Chase opener at Chicagoland.
Like David Reutimann and Joey Logano, winners of rain-shortened races in 2009 who found themselves in the right place at the right time because of well-timed decisions not to pit, Stewart's win was also because he didn't elect to pit when the only caution came out for rain on lap 123.
But unlike Reutimann and Logano, who were afterthoughts until the rains came, Stewart had arguably the best car of the race's 129 (of 200 scheduled) laps. Smoke, who qualified 10th, started moving through the top 10 after the first handful of laps clicked off, and quickly ran down the Joe Gibbs Racing cars of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, who started on the front row. Green flag pit stops stymied Stewart's attempts at the lead through the race's first 85 laps, but he took the lead for good after passing Busch on lap 85.
Hamlin was able to briefly close in on Stewart's bumper a handful of laps before the rains came, but Stewart pulled away as quickly as Hamlin arrived.
However, Hamlin didn't finish in second. When Stewart elected not to pit, Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb, Stewart's championship-winning crew chief who was let go from Stewart-Haas before the Chase began, chose to hit pit road, betting that the rains weren't going to last very long. For a split second, it looked that Stewart had snookered Hamlin into pitting, deking to pit road before peeling back onto the track before descending upon the infield grass, but it was a calculated decision for the No. 11 team that ended up being the incorrect one. Hamlin finished 11th.
Hamlin grabbed the final wild-card spot in last year's Chase with one win, while Brad Keselowski snagged the other with three wins. With two wins, Smoke's sitting pretty in fourth in the points standings. At this rate, the wild card sure as heck isn't going to matter.
More qualifying frustration for Rosberg
For the second Saturday in a row Nico Rosberg has compromised his grid position with a scrappy lap in qualifying. Despite showing impressive speed at times over the weekend, the Mercedes driver will start only seventh in Malaysia ? and … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/03/24/more-qualifying-frustration-for-rosberg/
HRT name Cuqurella as technical director | 2012 F1 season
HRT name Cuqurella as technical director is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
HRT have promoted Toni Cuquerella from engineer to technical director.
HRT name Cuqurella as technical director is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/04/02/hrt-cuqurella-technical-director/
Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen
Tuesday
NASCAR says Matt Kenseth legally beat Brad Keselowski to line on Bristol restart
Generally, there are two cardinal rules when it comes to NASCAR's double-file restarts: don't change lanes before you cross the start/finish line and if you're in second, don't beat the leader to the start/finish line.
With 154 laps to go in Sunday's Food City 500, Matt Kenseth restarted second. The leader, Brad Keselowski, was next to him on the inside line. It was the first time the leader had taken the inside line all day.
Kenseth clearly beat Keselowski to the start/finish line as you can see in the video above, and the two entered turn one side-by-side before Kenseth prevailed and cleared Keselowski a few laps later. Kenseth never conceded the position to Keselowski, nor was he black-flagged by NASCAR.
[ Related: Brad Keselowski dominates Bristol, fends off Matt Kensth for win ]
Why? Because according to NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp, race officials deemed that Keselowski hadn't mashed the gas in the designated restart zone before the start/finish line, allowing the second-place driver -- Kenseth -- the right of way to accelerate on his own.
"It's such a ball/strike call that I don't know? I'd hate to be on NASCAR's side trying to decide that he beat you to the start/finish line," Keselowski said after the race about Kenseth beating him to the line. "I can tell you that there's two yellow lines on the wall and visually you can't tell that someone goes 50 feet before them or right at them. It's damn near impossible to visually tell that. Even if you had telemetry it'd be very hard to tell that. So it's very very subjective and I think when things are as subjective as that is, a no-call is the right call."
The restart zone, designed for consistency where the leader starts and restarts, is marked on the outside wall with two lines. The leader can accelerate from the caution pace anywhere within that zone. However, NASCAR deemed that Keselowski hadn't gotten to the gas and restarted the race until after passing through the zone, giving Kenseth the opportunity to beat him to the start/finish line without penalty.
Could Keselowski have been using the same restart tactics that Carl Edwards, Kenseth's Roush teammate, alleged him of late last year? Last year at Kansas, Edwards said that Keselowski was slowing down before the green flag waved -- commonly referred to as brake-checking -- in order to bait Edwards, restarting in second, to beat him to the start/finish line and draw a penalty. That happened in the Nationwide race, and Edwards brought it up in the Sprint Cup drivers' meeting the following morning. And Keselowski was subsequently warned about his restarts during the Cup race.
[ Photos: Check out slideshow of Bristol race ]
Keselowski wasn't tipping his hand at what happened at Bristol.
"I know I've seen moves on restarts without picking any one particular guy, where guys have jumped it by a mile ? and I mean a hundred-some foot," Keselowski said. "And you watch it on TV and I know what I saw in the car. I can go back and watch it on TV and it doesn't look it. So I can't imagine that the perspective of an official up in the pit box or the press box or wherever they're at or even TV can tell, can pick that stuff out. I think they're has to be some leniency.
"Obviously if there's a guy that beats you by a full car-length to the start/finish line then something's going on, but I don't think we're seeing that. I think if you're close, NASCAR's been cool enough about it to let it go and I respect that."
[ Related: Food City 500 results ]
Keselowski got around Kenseth after a restart on lap 129 (where Kenseth led coming to the green flag), and when the caution flag flew late in the race, the two drivers found themselves side-by-side again on the front row with 17 laps to go. This time, Keselowski beat Kenseth to the line, but it was oh-so-close.
While NASCAR deemed Kenseth did nothing wrong and Keselowski had no issue with the no-call made from the control tower, the issue does stoke the embers of the perception of inconsistency from NASCAR -- and it may not be the sanctioning body's fault.
While the Fox telecast showed the replay conclusively showing that Kenseth was the first to the line, an apparent penalty, the issue was immediately dropped. There was no follow up, no attempt at an explanation, other than that it was "close." Subsequently, viewers at home were left with the impression that NASCAR missed the call entirely or chose to ignore a violation, when in fact there was a reasoning for why the race for the lead wasn't affected.
Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Twist in Peyton Manning derby as San Francisco 49ers reportedly emerge
? Jay Hart: No matter how you describe it, Baylor makes Sweet 16
? Shine's Munch Madness: Basketball-shaped foods for game night
Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy
Caterham principal aims for ?fresh impetus?
Caterham team principal Tony Fernandes has spoken about the decision�to axe�Jarno Trulli in favour of�Vitaly Petrov for the 2012 season. Go here for Red Bull v Cowboys! You heard right! Trulli was under contract for the team, but his future in Formula 1 now looks uncertain after being replaced by the Russian. Speaking about the [...]
Presenting the 2012 Fireball Cup, recognizing excellence in NASCAR fighting
Until now. With a deep bow in the direction of our pals at Every Day Should Be Saturday and their Fulmer Cup, we proudly present the 2012 debut of The Fireball Cup, recognizing excellence in NASCAR brawling. (We did a soft launch of this last year, but this is the kind of thing you need to start early in the season.)
Here's how it works. Every week, we'll award points based on participation in fights or rivalries across all series, breaking down in the following way:
? Verbal/Twitter exchange: 1 point
? Bumping cars in an aggressive, making-a-point fashion: 2 points
? Spin, non-critical: 3 points
? Spin, critical: 4 points
? Out of car, punches thrown: 5 points
So far this year, no driver has amassed more than one nomination. (Step it up, guys!) And we will always err on the side of assuming everything is aggressive. Points are cumulative; you can pile up multiple points for a single incident. As a result, we have a surprise leader:
Jeff Gordon, 3 points (see below)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2 points (bumping Mark Martin at Vegas)
Matt Kenseth, 1 point (upset at Carl Edwards after Vegas)
Joey Logano, 1 point (angry with Kurt Busch at Daytona/Nationwide)
Ryan Newman, 1 point (hints at retaliation on Edwards after Phoenix)
Danica Patrick, 1 point (rages at Cole Whitt at Daytona/Nationwide)
David Ragan, 1 point (rages at Elliott Sadler at Daytona)
Gordon at Vegas is our first multi-point leader, first for hammering his car into Logano (2 points) and second for his over-the-air shot ("There's going to be a caution soon if this dumb [censored] doesn't get out of the way," 1 point).
So there you have it. Feel free to send in your nominations after each race, and if you have a write-in vote (like somebody going crazy at your local dirt track), hey, let us know that too!
We'll total up the figures and award a Fireball Cup to our brawling champion at the end of the season. Any guesses who it'll be?
(One note: We need a trophy. So if you have Photoshop skills, or craftmaking skills, write us at jay.busbee@yahoo.com with your submission. We'll be sure that the winning driver sees this at the end of the year. You'll be famous!)
Should Bristol Be Changed?
In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Bruton Smith said he is considering $1,000,000 worth of renovations to Bristol Motor Speedway that would return it to it’s pre-2007 configuration. Smith said the lower than normal attendance at Sunday’s Cup race isn’t the reason why he is considering changes, but that he wanted the [...]
TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/-UX_jaGutLQ/
Monday
A change of pace
This morning I am off to the Chinese consulate in an effort to get my visa sorted out for Shanghai. Hopefully it will nice and easy this year. There are a couple of pieces to be written today, but they will have to wait for a while. In the interim, I leave you with a [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/a-change-of-pace/
Michael Schumacher: ?I don?t think we have to think right now about winning races??
Michael Schumacher?s third place on the grid in Malaysia represents his best qualifying performance since his comeback, but despite being behind just the two McLarens, he insists that he?s not thinking about victory. Back in Melbourne, where Michael qualified fourth, … Continue reading 
Allmendinger Off To Slow Start With Penske
The opening three races of the 2012 season have not exactly been what A.J. Allmendinger and his new Penske team were hoping for. Coming into the year, expectations were certainly higher for the sixth year driver after his off season move to the #22 Dodge. In December, Allmendinger asked for and was granted his release [...] 
TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/6qc44rCFIzg/
Wreck of the week, with the new ?Crazed Montoya? rating system!
It's time to bring back Wreck of the Week, and this year, we've got a whole new twist. In honor of the man who brought us NASCAR's greatest wreck in a generation, we're proud to begin ranking each week's wrecks in the currency of Crazed Montoyas.
Suggested by reader Patrick Jacques, we're shamelessly ripping it off from Puck Daddy's "Stunned Milbury" ranking system (get the home office to cut you a compensation check, Wyshynski). We'll go from one Crazed Montoya (routine spin/fender bender) to five Crazed Montoyas (jet dryer exploding into a fireball). So let's begin, shall we?
It wasn't a banner week for wrecks, but this spin-and-park-it by Kurt Busch gave us something to talk about, if only to see if Busch was going to go batcrap crazy in the infield care center. He's now up to four wrecked Phoenix Motorsports cars. James Finch is going to have Kurt bring his own cars to the track before long.
Verdict: Two Crazed Montoyas. Just barely, and only because the car got towed off the track.
Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz
How I Saw It Happen? The Season has Started, Edition
Holy all that is good, the drivers made it through turn 1 repeatedly without absolutely disrespecting each other by running over the cars in front. Last year I was completely embarrassed to call myself an indycar die-hard for the first … Continue reading 
Sunday
What a break: Rain salvages 10th-place finish for Jimmie Johnson after oil leak under caution
Let's be honest, the 10th-place finisher in a rain-shortened race is never the most fortunate person on the track. But on Sunday, he certainly was, and that driver was Jimmie Johnson.
During the caution flag for rain that preceded the race's postponement on lap 129, an oil line broke in Johnson's engine while he was on the frontstretch, and the No. 48 started spewing oil and smoke on the track.
Johnson's car was still running, however. In fact he didn't know anything was wrong until he was notified by the gestures from the drivers around him. As Johnson continued to circle the track, the oil continued to leak and the smoke continued to spew. And when he pulled onto pit road under the ensuing red flag with the rest of the field, the oil from his engine started to form a puddle underneath the car.
But since his engine kept running, Johnson was able to keep pace with the field under caution. That meant that Johnson was able to keep his 10th place spot.
It was a fortunate break for the team that had been in the spotlight in the week leading up to Sunday's race when NASCAR chief appellate officer John Middlebrook rescinded the 25-point penalty (and six-race suspensions for crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec) handed to Johnson and his team for an issue that was found with the C-posts on the No. 48's car at Daytona.
On Sunday, before the caution flag flew, Johnson had worked his way into the top five and his finish could have actually been higher had Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus not chosen to pit along with Denny Hamlin on lap 125, hoping that the rain shower would be brief. It wasn't. But given the leak in the oil line, had the race been able to continue under green, Johnson would have likely finished much lower than 10th.
Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)