Indy Car Info: 9/30/12

Saturday

Sizing up the Chasers at New Hampshire

If the past two Chase races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are any indication, Sunday's Sylvania 300 will come down to fuel mileage. And Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer should be in the mix.

Two years ago, Stewart was running first and Bowyer was second when Stewart ran out of fuel a lap from the finish. Bowyer finished first. Stewart was 24th and never really regained his title hopes. Bowyer's were looking good -- until his car failed post race inspection and he was docked 150 points. He went from being 35 points behind Chase leader Denny Hamlin to being 185 points behind. He finished 10th in the Chase.

In 2011, Stewart and Bowyer were dueling again, but this time the roles were reversed. Bowyer was leading and ran out of gas in turns 3 and 4 as the duo was coming to the white flag. Stewart drove by and took his second Chase win in two races on his way to the title. Bowyer, who wasn't in the Chase, finished 26th.

This year, nine Chasers enter with New Hampshire victories to their name:

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin's only win at Loudon came back in 2007, but he has the highest average finish of any Chaser at 8.3 and has four top three finishes in the last six races. In last year's Chase race, Hamlin finished 29th, two laps down.

Jimmie Johnson: After recovering from a 39th place finish at New Hampshire in the first race of the Chase in 2006 to win his first title, Johnson strung together seven straight top 10 finishes. His average finish is 9.9 and finished 18th last year.

Jeff Gordon: If it wasn't for so many other Chasers' success here, this would be a prime spot for Gordon to make up a lot of points. Gordon has three wins in 35 New Hampshire starts and hasn't finished outside the top 15 since the summer race at the track in 2005. His average finish is 10.7.

Stewart: Stewart has three wins at Loudon including last year's victory, and has an average finish of 11.6. He was average this summer at Loudon, finishing 12th. Random fact: his title hopes were dashed in the inaugural Chase in 2004 at New Hampshire when he got together with now-teammate Ryan Newman.

Kevin Harvick: Cupcake dominated in his only New Hampshire win in 2006 when he led 196 laps. He's got an average finish of 13.8 and finished eighth earlier in the year.

Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has never won at New Hampshire and he's led just 88 laps in 25 starts. His average finish is 14th, and he's got 12 top 10s. Like Stewart, he too was average at New Hampshire earlier in the year, as he finished 13th.

Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has an average finish of 14.8, but that's bouyed by his success at New Hampshire when he was with Dale Earnhardt Inc. when he didn't finish outside the top 10 in 2007 and 2008. Since he's been with Michael Waltrip Racing, his only top 10 came during last year's summer race, but as we've seen so far this year, we can heavily discount MWR's past performance.

Brad Keselowski: The Chaser with the fewest starts at New Hampshire also has the fewest laps led. In fact, he's got a lap led for every one of his 6 starts at the track. He's got an average finish of 15.3, but has finished second and fifth in the last two Loudon races.

Bowyer: Before getting his first Sprint Cup Series win at New Hampshire in 2007, Bowyer's best finish at the track was 24th, which contributes to his 15.9 average finish. In his first race with MWR at New Hampshire this summer, he finished third.

Greg Biffle: The Biff won this race in 2008, and generally runs better at New Hampshire in the fall than in the summer. His average finish is 16.2, but that's compromised by four finishes outside the top 25 in his first five starts.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Junior has 11 top 10s in 26 starts, and finished fourth earlier in the year. His highest finish at the track is third, and he hasn't led a lap at New Hampshire since 2008. His average finish is 16.2

Kasey Kahne: Can you believe that the driver who won this summer's New Hampshire race has the worst average finish among the 12 Chasers? That 16.8 average finish is because of a stretch of nine races from 2006-2010 in which Kahne finished inside the top 10 just once. And that was a 10th place finish. Given Kahne's win earlier this year and success with Hendrick, he probably won't be the worst finishing Chaser Sunday.

Related NASCAR video from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/sizing-chasers-hampshire-020942377--nascar.html

Olivier Beretta Allen Berg Georges Berger Gerhard Berger

Professor Sid Watkins dies

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/X4CdrqmIyvg/professor-sid-watkins-dies.html

Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade

Vettel reprimanded but keeps pole | 2012 Japanese Grand Prix

Vettel reprimanded but keeps pole is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Sebastian Vettel will keep his pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix after the stewards investigated him for holding up Fernando Alonso.

Vettel reprimanded but keeps pole 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/2012/10/06/vettel-reprimanded-alonso-block-pole/

Mauro Baldi Bobby Ball Marcel Balsa Lorenzo Bandini

Gordon Off To Worst Start Of His Career

Three lead lap finishes through ten races, two DNFs, an average finish of 21.6, and a points position of 23rd. It all adds up to the worst start of Jeff Gordon’s career. And with a crash and a 33rd place finish at Talladega, there is no end in sight to Gordon’s bad luck. After blowing [...]

TheNASCARInsiders.com

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

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/Bf-MVj1IK28/

Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt

2012 Magny Cours World Supersport QP1 Results: Cluzel Fast In France

Jules Cluzel took advantage of the dried out track to grab a clear provisional pole ahead of Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret in a session split by a red flag.

Results:

Race Details

Round Number:

2012

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/XELfFrnjK6k/2012_magny_cours_world_supersport_qp1_re.html

Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich

Friday

Kurt Busch to drive for Furniture Row Racing in 2013

Kurt Busch will be switching teams at the end of the season again as Furniture Row Racing announced Monday that he would be behind the wheel of its No. 78 Chevy in 2013 replacing Regan Smith.

"Though we have made strides as a resourceful single-car Sprint Cup team, we are not where we want to be, which led us to the difficult decision of making a driver change as we move forward," Furniture Row Racing general manager Joe Garone said in a release. "Kurt's exceptional driving talent has the capacity to take a team to another level. We look forward to having Kurt join our Denver-based organization and feel his racing experience will play an important role as we plan ahead to 2013."

[Chase Power Rankings: Cue the Imperial March]

After parting ways with Penske Racing after a tumultuous end to the 2011 season, Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, has spent this year at Phoenix Racing and is currently 25th in the points standings. He was suspended earlier in the season for the Sprint Cup Series' first race at Pocono for berating a reporter, an incident similar to the ones that helped lead to his departure from Penske in 2011 when he tore a reporter's transcript in half at Richmond and cussed out another at Homestead.

Running mostly sponsorless for one-car Phoenix Racing this season, Busch has two top 10s this season; his highest finish is third place at Sonoma and he's currently 25th in the points standings. Smith is two spots higher in 23rd, and would still be ahead of Busch in the standings if Busch had run the full season. Phoenix Racing gets both engines and chassis from Hendrick Motorsports while Furniture Row has an alliance with Richard Childress Racing.

Smith has been with the team since 2009 and won the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington.

Garone had expressed interest earlier in the season about adding Busch to a second car at Furniture Row, with the mandatory caveat being if sponsorship could be found. Last week at Chicago, Busch and Garone expressed mutual interest and Smith said he didn't believe he'd be back with the team. On the flip side, Phoenix owner James Finch has mentioned the possibility of shutting his team down at the end of the season if it doesn't have sponsorship for next year.

So do you think Busch will crack the top 20 next year with his new team or have a shot at the Chase? Or will his performance improve at all? Drop us a line in the comments.

College football video from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/kurt-busch-drive-furniture-row-racing-2013-001328816--nascar.html

Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco

The Battle of Titans ? World?s Biggest Trucks

When business meets truck engineering, the challenge of building the ?biggest? emerges sooner or later. However, the trucks mentioned may as well have been built for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records ? the miner?s dump truck. If you think the multi-axle LGVs are huge, look at a dump truck. An average LGV [...]

Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/335-the-battle-of-titans-worlds-biggest-trucks.html

John Barber Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello

De Puniet And Espargaro To Return With Aspar MotoGP Team For 2013

The Power Electronics Aspar Team confirmed today that they extended the contracts of current riders Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro for the 2013 season. Both the Frenchman and the Spaniard are to remain with Aspar for another year, and will once again contest the season on Aprilia-built ART machines under the Claiming Rule Team regulations. The two teammates are currently battling it out to take the honors as top CRT rider for 2012.

The Aspar team has been the showcase for the CRT rules this season, with both De Puniet and Espargaro closing the gap on the prototype bikes. How the team will fare next year when most of the other CRT bikes will start to use the highly advanced Magneti Marelli ECU, while they stick with Aprilia's electronics package developed in World Superbikes remains to be seen, and will provide a good yardstick by which to measure the spec ECU on offer.

With the prototype rides all filling up quickly, remaining with Aspar was the best option for both men. With a year of development on them, the Aprilia CRT bikes should be even closer to the prototypes next year, allowing De Puniet and Espargaro to put themselves in the shop window for the 2014 season, when Suzuki make a return to MotoGP, and more factory rides should be available.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/5ftyItp53Og/de_puniet_and_espargaro_to_return_with_a.html

JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore

Live: 2012 Japanese Grand Prix first practice | F1 Fanatic Live

Live: 2012 Japanese Grand Prix first practice is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Follow the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix first practice session on F1 Fanatic Live.

Live: 2012 Japanese Grand Prix first practice 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/2012/10/05/live-2012-japanese-grand-prix-practice-2/

Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion

Thursday

Hamilton looks for long-term success at Mercedes

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/hamilton_looks_for_long-term_s.html

John Cannon Eitel Cantoni Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli

Schumacher retires for a second time

Michael Schumacher has announced that he will retire for a second time at the end of this season. The� seven-times World Champion joked that this time it would probably be permanent, and said that he just wants to enjoy the … Continue reading →

Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/10/04/schumacher-retires-for-a-second-time/

Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno

'500' Payout Breakdown

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/05/500-payout-breakdown.html

Alan Brown Walt Brown Warwick Brown Adolf Brudes

2012 Moto3 Championship Standings After Round 14, Aragon

Championship standings for round 14, 2012

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/5fMzbdPOjYk/2012_moto3_championship_standings_after_.html

Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk

Bridgestone Press Release: Shinji Aoki Talks Testing Conditions At Aragon

The Bridgestone press office released it's usual post-race debrief after last weekend's round of MotoGP at the Motorland Aragon circuit. In the press release, Shinji Aoki talks about how the vastly different weather conditions on Sunday affected tire choice, convincing all of the riders to try the harder front tire which almost no one had tested before the race:

Aragon MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki

Wednesday 3 October 2012
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Last Sunday’s Aragon Grand Prix was won by Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, the Spaniard finally winning at the circuit after finishing runner-up the previous two years.

In what has been an almost regular occurrence this season, bad weather affected the first couple of days of action at Aragon, requiring wet tyres to be used for the first three sessions. The rain did clear for Sunday, but temperatures were still not high for the race with a peak track temperature of thirty degrees Celsius recorded. The limited dry track time and moderate track temperature meant that tyre choice for the race was consistent throughout the grid, with all riders opting for the softer rear slick and all but three riders selecting the harder front slick.

Round Number:

Year:

2012

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/ngw8brNmdts/bridgestone_press_release_shinji_aoki_ta.html

Tom Belso JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta Allen Berg

Wednesday

F1 fans? guide to the Japanese Grand Prix | 2012 Japanese Grand Prix

F1 fans’ guide to the Japanese Grand Prix is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Several F1 Fanatic readers have made the trip to Suzuka. Here's what they had to say about visiting the race.

F1 fans’ guide to the Japanese Grand Prix 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/2012/10/02/f1-fans-guide-japanese-grand-prix/

Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi

Maserati GranTurismo Project Deathbolt II by SR Auto Group

Many of us are still under the influence of the beautiful GranCabrio MC that was displayed at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, so we decided to stay on that path and bring you another Maserati to admire. Meet the luscious GranTurismo tuned by our favorite American tuner: SR Auto Group.

This is actually an updated version of the Deathbolt package introduced to the market in September 2011, but the tuner strayed away from the original sleep package to provide the sports car with a more distinguished look. Painted in a bright white exterior finish, the sports car now sits on a new set of PUR 4OUR Depth wheels sized 21" at front and 22" at the rear. The wheels combine a very cool finish of modern black and davinci red. The last addition is a new KW Clubsport Coilover system that gives the car a lower and more powerful look.

All we can say is that this car looks amazing and we definitely want it in our garage!