Indy Car Info: 4/15/12

Saturday

Video: Who?s staying, who?s going from the Chase picture?

We're only five races into the season, but there's a saying: "Get to five, Chase hopes alive." OK, we just made that up, but it COULD be a saying. Anyway, the top 10 is stuffed with drivers who haven't been there lately, and quite a few well-known names ? Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne ? are on the outside looking in. Who's staying, who's going? Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, are here to discuss the ins and outs of the Chase prospects. Have your say in the comments below.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/video-staying-going-chase-picture-131130414.html

Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca

Suzuki Swift Lengthens To Transform It Into The Ertiga

In India, the Maruti-Suzuki brand is the most successful, with nearly 700,000 annual sales and nearly 40% market shed over the past year. But you can always improve, to enter new segments or offering more variations of a model. That’s why enter the MPV segment in India, covering about 10% market share. For this use [...]

Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/210-suzuki-swift-lengthens-to-transform-it-into-the-ertiga.html

Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi

Servia In At DRR

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/01/servia-in-at-drr.html

Bernard Collomb Alberto Colombo Erik Comas Franco Comotti

Fireball Cup: Jeff Gordon leads a still-tame competition

Catching up with our year-long Fireball Cup competition, recognizing excellence in the field of NASCAR brawling. And through five races, it's been a pretty damn boring season, frankly. We could use some more anger and fist-throwing; everybody's just too darn calm these days.

Recall our rules, which can and do change on a whim:

? Verbal/Twitter exchange; slightly aggressive driving leading to issues: 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

Fireball Cup stats, Bristol and California:

Jeff Gordon: 1 point for jawing at Dale Earnhardt Jr. over a flat tire. (Bristol)
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 1 point for overly aggressive driving that knocked out Gordon. (Bristol)
Kevin Harvick: 1 point for threatening to put Tony Stewart in the wall. (California)

So that gives us the following standings:

Jeff Gordon, 4 points
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3 points
Kevin Harvick, 1 point
Matt Kenseth, 1 point
Joey Logano, 1 point
Ryan Newman, 1 point
Danica Patrick, 1 point
David Ragan, 1 point

With Martinsville on the horizon, we should have plenty more opportunity to add to these totals. Come on, guys! Step it up!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/fireball-cup-jeff-gordon-leads-still-tame-competition-141452239.html

Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell Raul Boesel Menato Boffa

CGR To Test 4-Cars In Cali, 2 In Indy

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/03/cgr-to-test-4-cars-in-cali-2-in-indy.html

Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari Philippe Alliot

Friday

Travis Pastrana locked into field for Nationwide debut

Michael Waltrip Racing and RAB Racing announced an alliance on Tuesday that would ensure that motocross and X-Games star Travis Pastrana would be guaranteed a spot into the field for his Nationwide Series debut at Richmond on April 27.

Pastrana was supposed to make his debut last year at Indianapolis, but a broken foot and ankle in an X-Games crash put his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race on hold.

The alliance means that the No. 09 of RAB Racing will now be the No. 99 and will be driven by Pastrana and sponsored by Boost Mobile in all seven of his scheduled Nationwide Series races, and, according to Michael Waltrip, by other MWR drivers in any other races they so choose. RAB Racing had fielded the No. 09 for Kenny Wallace and had been searching for funding. Last week at Texas, Ryan Truex, younger brother of MWR Cup driver Martin Truex Jr., was in the car with sponsorship.

It's a deal that benefits both parties significantly. Pastrana doesn't have to qualify on time for the races he's in, and RAB Racing will have more equipment, less sponsorship to search for and more exposure thanks to Pastrana's presence. It's similar to the agreement that Stewart-Haas and Tommy Baldwin reached before the 20112 season to (hopefully) guarantee Danica Patrick's starting position in the No. 10 for her Cup races in 2012 and for the beginning of the 2013 season. In the Stewart-Haas and Baldwin arrangement, Patrick is in 10 Cup races in SHR equipment, while David Reutimann is in the No. 10 in TBR equipment for the other 26.

Yet, the agreement to give Patrick a locked in starting spot drew much criticism. This deal, so far, hasn't generated near the reaction and scrutiny. It's not an apples to apples comparison ? the Patrick deal involved the owner's points of Baldwin's No. 36, and the equipment deals that each team has limited the true "alliance" aspect ? but at the basic level, they are both the same thing: a team with a highly marketable driver and considerable resources partnering with a smaller one in need of said resources to guarantee that marketable driver's grid position. If you're against one, don't you have to be against the other?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/travis-pastrana-locked-field-nationwide-debut-031238008.html

Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth

Mercedes Benz Is Pronounced Regarding Purchase Of Ducati

As the law of cause and effect, corporate acquisitions also have their consequences, and in this sense the purchase of Ducati by Audi is no exception. In this case the “collateral damage” is especially funny, because it means that the German giant now officially owns Mercedes Benz AMG few, or something like that. Before the [...]

Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/207-mercedes-benz-is-pronounced-regarding-purchase-of-ducati.html

Tony Brise Chris Bristow Peter Broeker Tony Brooks

Travis Pastrana locked into field for Nationwide debut

Pastrana was supposed to make his debut last year at Indianapolis, but a broken foot and ankle in an X-Games crash put his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race on hold.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/travis-pastrana-locked-field-nationwide-debut-031238008.html

Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb

Jerez To Stay On Calendar For 2013, Valencia, Estoril Candidates To Be Dropped

Jerez is to remain on the MotoGP calendar for at least one more year. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta announced the extension during the official presentation in Madrid of this year's Spanish GP at the iconic Jerez circuit, stating that Jerez will stay on the calendar for 2013. He also confirmed that from next year, there will be just 3 races on the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), with Jerez and Aragon certain to stay, while Barcelona and Valencia could alternate, as is currently being proposed for Formula 1. The Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril appears destined to disappear from the calendar.

Rumors surrounding the fate of the Jerez Grand Prix had been circulating for a while, with the circuit still in financial problems over non-payment of debts to the consortium which carried out remodelling work at the circuit back in 2001. It was widely expected that Jerez would be dropped from the calendar, but sources close to the circuit owners were confident of being able to continue. Though the official confirmation is only for 2013, the chances of the race remaining at the track for the next five years look very good.

Source:

http://www.marca.com/2012/04/16/motor/mundial_motos/1334573692.html

http://www.motoworld.es/deporte/motogp/ezpeleta-confirma-tres-g.p-en-esp...

http://www.telecinco.es/motogp/MotoGP-Jerez-Estoril-Dorna-Carmelo_Ezpele...

https://twitter.com/BorjaGonzalezG

https://twitter.com/MOTOCI_Maroto

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/PSBStqEWCyY/jerez_to_stay_on_calendar_for_2013_valen.html

Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies Colin Davis

INDYCAR: The Friday Setup (Long Beach)

Source: http://www.popoffvalve.com/2012/4/13/2945662/indycar-the-friday-setup-long-beach

Gianmaria Bruni Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum

Thursday

Ceramica Althea Cleared of Accusations of Financial Irregularity

The sword of Damocles that has been hanging over the Althea Ducati racing team, the accusations of fraud lain at the feet of their title sponsor Althea Ceramics, has finally been removed. The Althea Ducati team have had to distance themselves from their sponsor while at the same time wear the Italian bathroom fixtures company's logo on their bikes. Luckily for Carlos Checa and his team, they can get back to the business of winning races without accusations of stereotypically Italian corruption.

Here follows the text of their press release:

Year:

2012

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/ml1b7sLFFJI/ceramica_althea_cleared_of_accusations_o.html

Gino Bianco Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti Pablo Birger

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says incident with Jeff Gordon at Bristol was a ?freak situation.?

Usually at Bristol, the severity of the contact equates to the consequences from that contact. However, last Sunday, a slight side-by-side bump from Dale Earnhardt Jr. had disastrous results for Jeff Gordon, as it cut down the left rear tire of the No. 24 car and sent Gordon into the wall.

"It was just a freak situation and you kind of got to remember that, you know, and not really beat yourself up too much about it," Junior said. "Jeff has a good reputation in this sport.� I've got a lot of respect and enjoy being his teammate.� I've learned a lot from him even before we were teammates, just racing him over the years.� He has been here a long time and I think we will be able to race each other without any problems.

Two weeks ago at Las Vegas, teammates racing each other also contributed to an incident when Matt Kenseth slapped the wall after being three-wide with Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, his Roush teammates.

Before Bristol, Kenseth said that he hadn't talked to Edwards, but didn't harbor any animosity towards his teammate for the situation, saying that he was responsible for his own car in that situation. On Friday, Junior said that he and Gordon had talked after Bristol and that the two were still on good terms.

"We talked and I feel pretty good about how that went.� We should have no problem going forward.� It was an unfortunate situation, especially for him.� I'm sure it stings a little bit for him and the team."

Unfortunately for Junior -- a cut tire was his downfall at Bristol too. With a handful of laps to go he cut down a tire and limped to the finish line in 15th.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/dale-earnhardt-jr-says-incident-jeff-gordon-bristol-221609228.html

Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy Colin Chapman Dave Charlton

Who remembers the 1988 Australian Grand Prix?

We are not too far away from the 2012 Australian Grand Prix and everyone is rightly excited. You can check out the drivers that need to deliver in 2012 right here. However, we are going to be building up to Melbourne with a series of videos from races gone by. To begin with, do you [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/GhtjeKpc8QY/who-remembers-the-1988-australian-grand-prix

Don Branson Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow

Street Party in Bahrain continues

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/qbyTsMcvDrw/street-party-in-bahrain-continues.html

Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha

Wednesday

Jerez To Stay On Calendar For 2013, Valencia, Estoril Candidates To Be Dropped

Source:

http://www.marca.com/2012/04/16/motor/mundial_motos/1334573692.html

http://www.motoworld.es/deporte/motogp/ezpeleta-confirma-tres-g.p-en-esp...

http://www.telecinco.es/motogp/MotoGP-Jerez-Estoril-Dorna-Carmelo_Ezpele...

https://twitter.com/BorjaGonzalezG

https://twitter.com/MOTOCI_Maroto

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/PSBStqEWCyY/jerez_to_stay_on_calendar_for_2013_valen.html

Henry Banks Fabrizio Barbazza John Barber Skip Barber

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/

Fabrizio Barbazza John Barber Skip Barber Paolo Barilla

A little more on the Group Lotus situation

The complicated situation regarding Group Lotus and Lotus F1 Team is beginning to become a little more clear. British Prime Minister David Cameron was in Malaysia on Thursday and spoke of improving trade relations between the two countries. “Britain is back to do business with Malaysia, back to build our partnership on vital global issues,” [...]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/a-little-more-on-the-group-lotus-situation/

Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra Derek Bell

Will Power conserves fuel to win Long Beach Grand Prix

Will Power stretched his fuel and held off a hard-charging Simon Pagenaud to win Sunday's Izod IndyCar Series Long Beach Grand Prix and give Team Penske it's third straight win to open the 2012 season.

It's also the second straight win for Power, who won two weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park.

Power started 12th thanks to the 10 place grid penalties that were assessed to all of the Chevrolet teams before the start of the race weekend. During a test at Sonoma, Chevy found an issue and made a precautionary move to change all of its teams engines before Long Beach. Because of the new IndyCar Series engine rules regarding rule changes, that meant that each Chevy team was required to start 10 places behind where it qualified, leading to a jumbled up field with the front-row from Saturday's qualifying session starting in the sixth row.

The front row consisted of Dario Franchitti and Josef Newgarden, both in Hondas. Newgarden, a rookie driving for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, went for the lead on the outside of turn one on the opening lap, but made contact with Franchitti and slammed into the outside wall -- contact that ended his day.

The penalties led to a bunch of different strategies with seemingly every team on a different tire and fuel strategy. After pitting on the edge of his fuel window, Power passed Takuma Sato for the lead and built enough of an advantage to make it to the checkered flag as Pagenaud ran out of laps to catch and pass him. Despite the penalties, eight Chevrolets finished in the top 10.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/power-conserves-fuel-win-long-beach-grand-prix-223847876.html

Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies Colin Davis

Ferrari director ?disappointed? with performance level

Ferrari�Technical director Pat Fry has said that he doesn’t expect the team to start the 2012 season well. Who remembers the 1988 Austalian Grand Prix? Many have suggested that Ferrari need to hit the ground running to improve on last year, but Fry is in a rather�pessimistic�mood. Speaking at the end of a tough pre-season, [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/VcaBfnzCfTQ/ferrari-director-disappointed-with-performance-level

Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier

Tuesday

Conway In At Foyt

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2011/12/conway-in-at-foyt.html

Raul Boesel Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto

Kyle Busch Motorsports Sputtering Out Of The Gate

Five races into the 2012 Nationwide Series schedule, Kyle Busch is experiencing just how difficult it can be to own a team in the upper tier of NASCAR. A combination of mistakes, bad luck, and slow race cars has added up to an average finish of 17.4 and just two lead lap finishes. His team’s [...]

TheNASCARInsiders.com

Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/jmW5DEhJT2s/

Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine John Cordts

The Paddock Pulse: April 4 Edition

Source: http://www.popoffvalve.com/2012/4/4/2923455/the-paddock-pulse-april-4-edition

Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi

Vote for your Chinese Grand Prix driver of the weekend | 2012 Chinese Grand Prix

Vote for your Chinese Grand Prix driver of the weekend is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Which driver had the best race weekend in China? Cast your vote for Driver of the Weekend.

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/04/16/vote-chinese-grand-prix-driver-weekend/

Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi

Alonso sets the standard

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/03/alonso_sets_the_standard.html

Jim Clark† Kevin Cogan Peter Collins Bernard Collomb

Monday

Trevor Bayne sidelined for Texas Nationwide race despite high ranking

Tough news for Trevor Bayne: a lack of sponsorship will sideline him for this weekend's Nationwide race in Texas, despite the fact that he's currently fourth in the standings.

Roush-Fenway officials said they'd run Bayne in the No. 60 in the first five races of the year in an attempt to get him some sponsor notice, but despite three top-10 finishes, it was no dice. Bayne will still run in the Sprint Cup race driving the No. 21 for Wood Brothers.

However, Roush officials were quick to note that the 60 is not closed down, and if any money was available for sponsorship (phone lines now open!) Bayne would be brought back on board at a moment's notice.

So why the trouble funding a guy who's won the Daytona 500 and is, by all accounts, a clean-cut sponsor's dream? Blame the biggest spenders at the Sprint Cup level. When major players like UPS and Best Buy cut back their investment from full- to partial-season sponsorships, that can open doors to other sponsors to take on "fill-in" races. Many sponsors are gambling that a partial-season sponsorship of a Sprint Cup level car is worth more than a full-season sponsorship of a Nationwide one, and given the disparity in exposure, it's tough to argue the point on its face.

None of which comes as any comfort to Bayne, however. Roush-Fenway still hopes to get him into 30 races this year to prep him for a Cup career.

And Bayne's not the only one without a ride; Kenny Wallace will step out of his car to let Ryan Truex, who brought along a sponsor, take the wheel. Wallace has won nine times and made more than 500 starts on the Nationwide level.

Tough times, all the way around.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/trevor-bayne-sidelined-texas-nationwide-race-despite-high-154335691.html

Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick

Porsche Panamera Stingray GTR 7/25 by TopCar

The 2012 Top Marques Monaco is only days away from opening, and we’re now getting a good look at some of the tuning programs that we’re going to see in the annual auto spectacle.

One tuning company that always has a presence at this auto show is Top Car. This year, they’re presenting a couple of vehicles, one of which is the Porsche Panamera Stingray GTR. As part of the program, the Russian tuner dressed up this Panamera - the 7th model in a 25-piece run - in a blue and carbon black color scheme and added a slew of new components made out of high-quality carbon fiber and kevlar. The components include a front and rear bumper set, a new carbon fiber bonnet, front and rear fender extenders, front and rear door panels, and new side skirts. As far as the interior is concerned, TopCar added carbon fiber accents to go with plenty of Nappa leather treatment.

Power upgrades are also part of the program, and while Top Car didn’t elaborate on what kind of modification the car will have, we do know that the end game is an output of 700 horsepower.

All told, the conversion will set you back ?47,765 - $62,280 at the current rates - for the carbon fiber parts and ?41,315 - $53,900 at the current rates - without the carbon parts. It sounds a little ridiculous to pay that much for a tuning program, but if you have the funds for it, you can enjoy all that carbon fiber goodness, courtesy of Top Car.