Saturday
Tombazis Looks Toward Valencia
NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Cotton Owens passes away
Cotton Owens, who was recently voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame,�has died after a battle with cancer. He was 88.
Owens found success both as a driver and an owner. He scored Pontiac's first NASCAR victory in 1957 and as an owner he hired Junior Johnson, and later, David Pearson. Pearson won 27 races driving for Owens, as well as the 1966 season championship.
In 1970, Buddy Baker was the first driver to break 200 MPH in a NASCAR event when he did it at Talladega in Owens' car.
Our condolences go out to the Owens family. Owens will be officially enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 8.
European Grand Prix Preview
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/DfTKG1hy58s/european-grand-prix-preview
Scott Dixon wins pothole delayed IndyCar race at Detroit
On Sunday at Detroit, the IndyCar Series found out how dreadful a two-hour delay to patch potholes can be.
The race was run on the street course on Belle Isle, and like many city streets and even older tracks, parts of the surface had been sealed or patched because of wear. And because of the high speeds and downforce generated by the the cars, small bits of the surface and sealant were being dislocated from the track throughout the race.
As the race progressed, mirrors, front wings, (and even helmets, in the case of Tony Kanaan), bore the signs of the flying debris. And then, so did the cars of James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato.
As you can tell from the audio, Hinchcliffe was not thrilled. In fact, in one area of the track, track workers were able to pull up the entire rectangular section of patch in one piece, and fairly easily, to boot.
The race was officially red-flagged on lap 45 for two hours, while track workers made repairs. (Roger Penske, who was the race promoter, said that the circuit had used some tips and tricks from Daytona's pavement escapades. However, it's doubtful that Tide was utilized.)
The delay meant that the race was shortened from its original 90 lap scheduled distance to 60 laps. The frantic scheduled 13 lap green flag sprint to the finish also began as some raindrops began to fall on the course, leading to some carnage as Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Ed Carpenter and others spun around. Scott Dixon easily pulled away from teammate Dario Franchitti over the final six laps.
In all honesty, while there wasn't any action during the delay, the race before that wasn't much of a barnburner. Passing throughout the entire course was very difficult and Dixon, the pole sitter, wasn't passed on track for the lead all day. To put it nicely, this wasn't what the series was looking for as a follow-up to a thrilling Indianapolis 500 and as a distraction to the controversy surrounding its owners and CEO.
Will we see thrilling action Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway? That's the first race for the series since last October on a high-banked intermediate track.
Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais
Friday
Power Rankings: Everybody is digging in their heels
The race is done, and that means it's time for Power Rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. It is not scientific, nor is it meant to be. And remember, whoever your favorite driver is, we're biased against him and like someone else better. We continue with a guy who likes his perch...
6
Dropping out of the rankings: Brad Keselowski.
Lucky Dog: Landon Cassill. Mr. Cassill ran less than one lap and earned $90,000 on Sunday. That is some damn good work if you can get it.
DNF: The qualifying-day groundhog. Adios, lil' feller. Hope you had a dignified end, but since you got knocked into the infield, we've got a feeling there were groundhog burgers on the menu Friday night.
Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell
Pocono?s new surface will be faster, but will it be better?
Drivers have been testing the new surface at Pocono this week in advance of Sunday's race, and if initial lap times are any indication, we're in for a far faster afternoon than we've had at Pocono in recent years.
The track was repaved for the first time since 1995, and while the track's surface hasn't always been the point of concern around here ? the three distinct corners are ? drivers were leery enough of the new changes that they showed up in droves for the testing this week. Many even jetted in and out of Pocono to meet their commitment to Tony Stewart's Eldora race.
The fastest driver in initial laps? Mark Martin, who got around the track at 175.380 mph. Besides Martin, 32 other drivers beat Ryan Newman's practice speed in 2001 of 170.026 mph. For comparison's sake, Kasey Kahne's qualifying record, set in 2004, was 172.533 mph back in 2004.
""For a new pavement surface, [Goodyear] did a good job matching the surface and the tire," said Denny Hamlin. "Really, we're just running in each other's snow tracks right now. There's a distinct line along the bottom of which you have to run and you can't get out of it. That part of it is going to be tough, but really it's going to be a fight for whoever gets position on each other into the corner. There will be a lot of drafting and things like that down the straightaway and you're going to see massive dive bombs going into the corner trying to get position. My estimation is you'll probably see a lot of excitement."
However, in a potentially ominous note (relatively speaking, of course), Hamlin noted that there's really only one strong line, the low one, and that there's not yet enough grip in the high line. Could that lead to a parade on Sunday? We shall see.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/pocono-surface-faster-better-193241633.html
Thursday
You knew it was coming: Can Earnhardt win a championship?
Look, you knew we had to ask: Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. win a championship? And the answer ... is in the video. Put it this way: look how easy it was for him on Sunday! Of COURSE he can! Or maybe not. Watch the video for the answers to this and other burning questions, courtesy of your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee. Enjoy, everybody, and have a field day in the comments below.
Smart Fortwo electric drive
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Daimler?s Smart lineup has been begging for an electric variant since its inception, due to its small stature and focus on being more ?green? than other cars on the road. It took some time, but Smart finally did debut an electric variant and it is now due for an upgrade. Well, after much delay, the redesigned Smart electric drive ? yes, it?s all lowercase letters to stay true to the ?smart? way ? is finally set to hit the streets without hitting the filling station.
With the influx of EVs in the marketplace, can the puny smart fortwo really stand up to the challenge? The fortwo has always been a niche car and adding in the hum of an electric motor in the place of its three-pot gasoline power plant just places it into an even narrower niche.
Only time will truly tell whether this car will gain any traction in the EV market, but we are all set to dive into it and tell you what to expect. We will also let you know if this car is one for the ages or one that you can live without.
Click past the jump to read our full review.
Smart Fortwo electric drive originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 21 June 2012 14:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/smart/2013-smart-fortwo-electric-drive-ar131228.html
CVC sells another chunk of F1 business for $500m
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/06/16/cvc-sells-another-chunk-of-f1-business-for-500m/
Wednesday
Aerodynamics Case Study: Engine Covers at the Indy 500
2012 Silverstone MotoGP Post-Race Round Up: A British Hero, Tire Problems And A Troubled Marriage
For the past few years, attending a MotoGP round has been a disheartening experience for most British fans. After sitting in traffic for several hours, they then faced a day getting soaked to the skin while watching their local heroes - if any were actually on the grid - circulating around at the rear of the pack. At the end of the day, they faced yet more hours sitting in a traffic chaos in a downpour to get home again. They loved it, of course, but it tested their courage.
2012 would be different. The miserable weather magically disappeared for race day - it was far from perfect, but it remained largely dry - Scott Redding got on the podium in Moto2, and Cal Crutchlow put on a heroic and brilliant performance in MotoGP. It might be fair to question the wisdom of Crutchlow's decision to lie about his foot not being broken and race anyway, but there is no question about his bravery or pain threshold, nor, after starting at the back of the grid and slicing through the field to finish 6th, matching the pace of race winner Jorge Lorenzo, about his ability. The British fans have a hero again. More than one, in fact.
Philippe Alliot Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati
Photo of the Week: Ferrari 599 GTO shot in Belgium
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An incredible picture of a Ferrari 599 GTO has already made its way into our ?Photo of the Week? a couple of weeks back, and even though the latest addition to our weekly promotion of stunning car photography features the same car, the following GTO shot by Willem Rodenburg showcases Ferrari?s fastest production car from a completely different angle.
Shot in a desolate forest in Brasschaet, Antwerp, Belgium the 599 GTO is showcased from a high-angle which helps to capture the aggressive stance of the car, while the light bursting through the trees directly behind the car help to create one of our very favorite GTO photos.
Being Ferrari?s fastest production car produced to date, and despite the upcoming F70 set to supersede the old Enzo and the 599 GTO, it still produces an impressive 660HP at 8,250 rpm and 457lb-ft of torque thanks to the 6.0-liter V12 engine directly behind the front axle.
As a result, the 599 GTO can launch to 62 mph in less than 3.4 seconds before hitting a top speed of 208 mph.
Be sure to check out Rodenburg?s facebook and flickr pages!
Photo of the Week: Ferrari 599 GTO shot in Belgium originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 16:00 EST.
