Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/hamilton_saga_nearing_endgame.html
Saturday
Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano: Does track type determine the acceptability of contact?
Denny Hamlin has every right to be frustrated.
The first Sprint Cup race he?s missed since becoming the full-time driver of the No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing is rapidly approaching. Martinsville is one of his best tracks statistically, and he?ll be atop his team?s pit box next to crew chief Darian Grubb while Mark Martin drives the car.
As you?ve read, oh, fifty, sixty, seventy times since that race on March 24, the injury Hamlin suffered came when after he and Joey Logano made contact in turns three and four on the final lap at Auto Club Speedway. After the two banged sidepanels and drifted towards the outside wall, Hamlin?s car made a hard left turn and went careening towards the inside wall. An inside wall that didn?t have a SAFER barrier. Hamlin suffered a compression fracture to his L1 vertebra, an injury that will likely keep him out of the car for five races.
Of course, it?s not as simple as a final lap ?racin? deal.? The week prior at Bristol, Hamlin had spun Logano as the two were racing for second place. Logano, after talking to Hamlin briefly after the race, said that Hamlin had one coming.
?Obviously I know who I?m racing against and what happened a week before but going into turn three on the last lap, I remember ?I?m going to win the race,?? Logano said on ESPN Tuesday. ?My number one goal is to go win a race. So did I intentionally wreck him? No, I did not intentionally do that. If I was going to do that I would have hit him in the left-rear tire. I hit him in the door. It?s hard racing at that point.?
Hamlin said Thursday that he didn?t blame Logano for the injury, but did for the crash at California.
?(I do not blame him) for the particular injury; I do for the wreck,? Hamlin told a group of reporters on Wednesday. ?I think the injury was circumstantial. For what happened, I think it?s just a product of wrecking on a 2-mile speedway, you risk getting hurt.?
The type of track is the crux of Hamlin?s argument. Logano?s comments about the crash sounded awfully similar to Hamlin?s after Bristol. At Bristol, Hamlin said that he had meant to make contact with Logano, but that he didn?t want to spin him.
?I didn?t see it as a huge deal,? Hamlin said before the race at California. ?People at Bristol make contact. Where my frustration level was, people didn?t see the three times I got cut off before you saw it on TV, one time giving us left front damage. So that ticked me off, and obviously my way of retaliating was to nudge him. Well, I shouldn?t have nudged him in the spot where I did, and he spun out.?
While Hamlin?s frustration about the injury and seeing his chances for the win at California disappear like they did is understandable, should he have been expecting Logano to treat him the same way he treated Logano at Bristol, even if he personally felt that Auto Club wouldn?t be the right place to back up his words with actions?
Generally, short track races have served as the sport?s grudge levelers, as the higher speeds and spread out nature of NASCAR?s intermediate tracks don?t usually lend themselves to many opportunities for revenge. But how often do you find yourself racing for the win on the final lap alongside the driver who crashed you the week prior? Would Hamlin?s actions on that final corner had been any different had the roles been reversed? (Logano has also been on the wrong side of intentional contact at larger tracks before, having been bumped out of the way for the lead approaching the white flag at Pocono in 2010.)
''How is (the contact) not intentional? It's not like he got loose because I took air off him,'' Hamlin said Thursday. ''I saw him getting closer, and I moved up the track. He was just going to keep going until he ran into us. Whatever happened after that, I'm sure he didn't mean to wreck or get me hurt, but he meant to run into us, there's no doubt. He didn't get loose with the back. He drove into us with the front. That's a guy seeing I was going to get the better of him that week. He wasn't going to let that happen. He hit the gas until he hit something.''
There?s a difference between aggressive driving to cause contact and aggressive driving to cause a crash, and both drivers claim their actions were intended to be the former, though they resulted in unintentional consequences. The debate if Logano?s actions were appropriate at a track with speeds that reach as high as they do at California will continue; Hamlin certainly doesn?t think so. Is there a right answer? Or are the lines simply blurred or nonexistent?
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Helmut Marko on Vettel: ?At this stage it went out of control??
It?s a measure of just how much turmoil Sebastian Vettel created in the Red Bull camp that even his number one supporter and mentor Helmut Marko was frustrated at the way the Malaysian GP turned out. Intriguingly he tried to … Continue reading 
Not so fast! Brian Vickers to sub for Denny Hamlin starting at Texas
Remember that time that Joe Gibbs Racing said that Mark Martin would be the driver to fill in for Denny Hamlin while he recovered from his back injury? Well, that's not entirely true.
Yes, Martin will be in the car at Martinsville, but starting at Texas, Brian Vickers will be behind the wheel of the No. 11. The news was announced in a Friday evening release.
?Obviously having to find someone to fill in for Denny is not an ideal situation to have to be in and when you start a process like this you obviously begin to look at the drivers that are not only available but also able to drive for your race team and manufacturer. We were a bit premature in determining Mark?s status past Martinsville however,? Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said in the statement. ?We're real happy to have the opportunity to get Brian in our Cup cars and with him driving Nationwide for us we think we have some continuity there that is beneficial."
?We really appreciate everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota for working with us through this process. The good thing for us is that we have drivers the caliber of Mark and Brian to help fill in until Denny comes back.?
According to the AP, after the deal was announced, MWR said that Martin would fulfill his commitment to the team, which meant that JGR was looking for a replacement for its replacement. Martin, driving a part-time schedule for MWR, wasn't scheduled to drive the No. 55 at Martinsville, where Vickers was scheduled to be in the car.
Vickers has competed in 264 Sprint Cup Series races and has won at Talladega and Michigan. He drives the No. 20 full-time for JGR in the Nationwide Series.
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Friday
Di Resta: 2014 Plans Could Compromise Season
Force India?s Paul di Resta has expressed concerns that the team may risk their 2013 performance in a bid to prepare for next season. F1 will switch to 1.6L turbocharged V6 units next year, in a bid to reduce costs and entice more manufacturers and teams into the sport. The bigger outfits may be able [...]
Christian Horner: ?They?ve never been the best of mates??
Christian Horner says that Sebastian Vettel has apologised to Mark Webber and Red Bull for disobeying team instructions in Malaysia. Vettel was told to hold station immediately after coming out of the final pit stop behind his team mate, but … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/03/24/christian-horner-theyve-never-been-the-best-of-mates/
Thursday
Kasey Kahne drives away from field for Bristol win
A week after finishing second, Kasey Kahne found himself in second place once again late in the race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. But this week, Kahne sprinted away on a late race restart and drove away from the field over the last 40 laps to collect his first win at the half-mile bullring.
Kahne started on the inside of leader Brad Keselowski, and given the race's pattern of restarts, it looked like he'd be at a disadvantage as for most of the day, the leader of the field had jumped out to a large lead rather quickly. However, with fourth place Denny Hamlin on Keselowski's bumper, Keselowski spun the tires and couldn't get going, opening the door for Kahne to be the one to dash out to the lead into turns one and two.
"This whole team was flawless again today," Kahne said. "Last week, today, this whole season so far, it's been a lot of fun."
During the final laps of last week's race, Kahne closed in on the back bumper of eventual race-winner Matt Kenseth, but never was able to complete the pass. This week, he never had to worry about anyone getting close to his bumper in the waning laps.
And the first four races of 2013 have been quite different than the first four of 2012 for Kahne as well. After crashing in this race a year ago and finishing 134 laps off the pace, Kahne left Tennessee 32nd in the points standings. Now he's seventh in the standings.
After Kahne said sayonara to the field, the best racing of the closing laps was for second place between polesitter Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Busch had also gotten by Keselowski on that restart and staved off numerous challenges from the defending champion by sticking to the outside line, a maneuver Keselowski had used to hold off Kahne before the race's final caution flag.
With nowhere to go but the bottom lane, Keselowski was able to pull up alongside Busch in the middle of the corners, but Busch's momentum off the turns carried him down the straightaways. Their battle, instead of Kahne's relatively large margin of victory, was indicative of the quality of racing throughout the field the entire day. While tire falloff wasn't a factor, drivers were able to make and complete passes and drive both the bottom and middle grooves. Kahne's final charge was the only time the leader was able to escape the rest of the pack quite comfortably.
Keselowski's third place finish vaulted him to the points lead over Jimmie Johnson, who caused the race's final caution flag when he hit the wall after losing a right front tire. Keselowski leads by nine points over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 15 over Johnson.
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Happy Hour: Coming to Denny?s defense
We're three for three so far with overriding themes and you can guess what the topic of discussion was this week. Given the reaction, you have to wonder how many new fans Denny Hamlin has picked up over the last seven days?
This is America. We Do have free speech. This is a new low for NASCAR. Long-time fans like me want to hear and see more of the driver's personality not just the prepared media version. Denny Hamlin has a right to be outraged and is afraid to say what he feels because the sanctioning body seems to be more powerful than the constitution of the United States! I guess this weekend I'll watch golf.
- Fred
After being a Nascar race fan for 40+ years,this Year is the most disappointing yet.After kicking out the nationwide driver Clements for saying something maybe out of line and to my understand of what was said !!WOW!! don?t turn on SHOWTIME - ?Inside Nascar? for the in car recordings of the drivers and crew chiefs...... Now NASCAR fining Denny Hamlin for expressing the truth about there so called new car.The racing this year has been boring to say the very least...... the cars play follow the leader. Gas mileage races are a big joke, drivers turning the engine on and off is just plain silly. Owners spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to go fast, so the fast car should win.Not the one that gets 20 mpg.....the moral to the story is maybe Nascar should do there job and keep the cars and parts out of the grandstands. Along with many other things they cannot do that either.Ask the 30 people that were injured at Daytona. I'm going to Bristol and Richmond only because we got the tickets LAST YEAR and I must enjoy been gouged by the motels as I have brought it to the attention of Bristol Motor Speedway and I see there has been no changes to the motel bookings for this year.
Sorry to SAY this is the end of this Nascar fan. ITS OVER
-Kibler's Garage
Just read the article re: Hamster's fine for his comments. Question; was (Kyle Busch) ever fined for his comments after he won Bristol with the COT/Gen-5 car? If not, then NASCAR is way out of bounds on this because if they're going to fine Denny, they should've fined Kyle then.
- Andy Z.
[Related: Denny Hamlin won't appeal $25K fine]
What is NASCAR thinking?? Denny?s comments were very forthright and factual. They didn?t seem to hate on the new car, just pointed out that it would take time for teams to figure it out which would be frustrating to any driver. But NASCAR fining him $25 Grand for on observation is chicken crap!! If you recall, when KB won the first race with the C.O.T. his comment after winning the race was that he hated the car and they pretty much sucked. The next year KB won 8 races in that car!!
- Kevin
First off, I'm not sure that we can say with any certainty that Busch wasn't fined for what he said about the COT. After all, we've just entered a new era of fine transparency in NASCAR. For all we know, Joe Nemechek could have a racked up a fine bill of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. (No, probably not. We love you, Joe.)
While NASCAR may realize that they've overreached in this instance, they're now in a position that they're likely not going to overreach again. Why? Because who the heck is going to speak truthfully about any negatives when it comes to the new car or the quality of racing in the future? This was essentially a pre-emptive strike to scare off anyone thinking of a threat. Will it work? I hope not. But I fear so.
_____________________
So I'm that rarest of creatures: The liberal NASCAR fan. Worse, it's not like I was raised in NASCAR country and later realized I was liberal. Nope, I live in LA, work in entertainment, and like NASCAR.
It's a lonely existence. After the 2011 championship race, I had no one at work to gush to. Worse, I've taken all kinds of abuse from co-workers, some of it outright venemous (and unprofessional), although most of it is just talking trash. But it's truly been a lesson in the culture wars in this country. Co-workers don't mock the Brit next to me who follows Formula 1, because that's "exotic." They do take cheap shots at me, though, because NASCAR because it's filled with rednecks. Nothing to do with racing itself, just pure dislike for the fly-over states.
So here I've been, explaining how NASCAR *isn't* just a bunch of redneck idiots, and then the NRA 500 comes along. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? I mean, I can't think of convincing argument to the charge "It's a bunch of gun-loving rednecks," at least not until there's a Planned Parenthood 500.
Then again, maybe NASCAR doesn't care. Maybe they are more concerned about the other thing lurking around the bend: The fact that I (and a bunch of other people) just cancelled cable. And, honestly, this NRA thing makes me feel a lot less guilty about it.
-Andy W.
Andy, I think there are a lot more of you than you realize. And I hate to break it to you, the race is on Fox.
_____________________
That was some of the "finest" racing I've seen all year.
-Darrell
I don't think I would put out the Warped Wednesday rush to judgment map out for real just yet when it comes to the racing. We've had three races at three distinctly different types of tracks. There was bound to be a feeling out process with this car, and for better or worse, we're right now in that phase. How long will it be? That's the question. For NASCAR's sake given all of the hype, the racing quality needs to be distinctly different pretty damn soon unless they want to deal with a lot of negative feedback... without the slightest hint of any potential driver instigation.
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Porsche 911 Carrera by SR Auto Group
SR Auto Group , known Canadian-born coach, just show us the official photos of its latest project, a work performed on the latest generation of Porsche 911 Carrera which has worked in perhaps too subtle improvements looking to offer a more dynamic and Sexy one of the few supercars that you can use in your [...]
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Red Bull claim new pit stop record of 2.05 seconds | 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix
Red Bull claim their mechanics set a new record for the fastest ever four-wheel tyre change in Formula One during the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/04/03/red-bull-claim-pit-stop-record-205-seconds/
Christian Danner Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies
Wednesday
Jeff Gordon?s test drive prank may be fake, but is nonetheless fantastic
If you were going to pick the NASCAR driver most likely to dive headfirst into 21st-century media, Jeff Gordon ? who won his first Sprint Cup championship while current champ Brad Keselowski was still in middle school ? might not even crack your top 10. But Gordon has thrown himself into new media, whether it's reality-show silliness or current Internet memes. (Gordon's "Harlem Shake" hit within days of the first one, while the fad was still new.)
But his latest, a viral video for Pepsi Max, might just top them all. Gordon plays a timid car buyer named "Mike" who visits a dealership and proceeds to take the car salesman on the drive of his life. Now, granted, this is as staged as it comes; apparently Gordon wasn't even the driver for most of the stunts. But oh, it's funny. Well done, all.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
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Reminder Of What It?s Like Being A Race Fan
When you spend your weekends pitting race cars all across the country, you end up talking to a lot of race fans. With the drivers so busy with appearances and the like, the crews have become the next best attraction. The conversations are often short and usually consist of the same basic questions. How do [...] 
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