A From the Marbles first! We're attempting the chat triple this year, and first up is the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco Sunday at 7:45 AM ET. Grab your coffee and join us as we gaze in envy at the people sunbathing on the multi-million dollar yachts while watching the race.
Saturday
Gibbs Ultimately Owns This Penalty
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? If the answer’s yes, did you try telling the officer, ‘that wasn’t my intent’? Or maybe you were just a MPH or two over the limit, did you try telling him, ‘I wasn’t speeding that much’? When he got done laughing at you, did he still write you [...] 
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George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard Piers Courage
2013 Barcelona Post-Race MotoGP Test Press Releases
Press releases from some of the MotoGP teams after the test at Barcelona:
Year:
2013 
Friday
Audi A8
The third-generation Audi A8 has been around since 2009 and since then, we’ve seen numerous facelifts and upgrades attributed to the German automaker’s resident high-class luxury sedan.
For the 2014 model, the A8 has again been treated to a number of revisions, which include similar updates made to the rest of the Audi lineup, including subtle but still noticeable tweaks to the front bumper and front grille. Similarly, Audi’s famous LED lighting technology can still be found on the A8, albeit with its own set of minor modifications.
As far as the powertrain, the 2014 A8 still features the same pair of engine options found on the 2013 model: a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 that develops 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque and a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that produces 420 horsepower and 444 pound-feet of torque for the 4.0T.
These upgrades are expected to bolster the A8’s standing in the competitive luxury-class segment. They’re much needed, in our opinion, given that the BMW 7-Series is still pushing strong and Mercedes has just launched the next-generation S-Class.
Click past the jump to read about the 2014 Audi A8
Audi A8 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 21 June 2013 11:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/audi/2014-audi-a8-ar158145.html
James Hinchcliffe pays tribute to his friend Greg Moore at Indy 500
Racing is a dangerous business, and it can turn deadly. Canadian driver Greg Moore was an exceptional open-wheel driver who died far too soon, in 1999 at age 24. A friend and colleage of such notables as Dario Franchitti, Moore appeared headed for a career of racing stardom before dying in a wreck in the 1999 season finale. The new documentary "A Hero's Drive" recounts that story, and so much more, in heartbreaking detail.
A proud Canadian, Moore wore red gloves no matter what his sponsor's colors. James Hinchcliffe, also a Canadian, was just 12 years old at the time of Moore's death, and considered Moore his hero. Moore never got to race at Indianapolis, but Hinchcliffe offered some small measure of tribute by carrying a pair of Moore's gloves during qualifying. It was a powerful moment, and a perfect way to memorialize Moore.
Above is part 1 of "A Hero's Drive." Below are parts 2 and 3.
Part 2:
Part 3:
Thursday
Denny Hamlin wins Dover pole, continues his impressive return from injury
So it looks like Denny Hamlin's season might not be the toast we all assumed it was after he vacated the #11 for four races because of injury.
Hamlin secured his third pole of the season on Friday afternoon at Dover. That's fine work for a guy just weeks removed from a broken vertebra in his back.�What's even more impressive is that Dover is one of Hamlin's worst tracks. He has an average finish of 19.6 in Dover; only Daytona and Sonoma have been more inhospitable. Still, he got around the Monster Mile at 22.788 seconds, for a speed of 157.978 mph.
The trick for Hamlin now is winning a race or two. He appears near-certain to work his way back into the top 20; he's 53 points out of the top 20 with 14 races left to close that gap. In the two races he's finished since his return, he's come in second and fourth. We thought it'd take Hamlin until 2014 to get back into Chase competition; now it looks like he'll be there by Independence Day.
Hamlin will be joined at the front of the pack by three other Toyotas: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray round out the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 12th, and points leader Jimmie Johnson will start 24th.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Danica Patrick admits she was angry at boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over wreck
? Slideshow: Danica Patrick's looks outside of the track
? Should Indy adopt NASCAR rule?
Drag racin? yoga instructor takes car for a full spin, keeps right on rolling
Yoga teaches you to calm your mind, to let go of your worldly concerns and troubles and embrace the infinite. It also gives you some amazing reflexes behind the wheel, apparently.
Meet Amy Taub, a yoga instructor who drag races in her spare time for her family's team, T&F Racing. While at full throttle, Amy had quite the spin at Atco Dragway in New Jersey, but managed to wheel her way right out of the skid. Not a bad move at 140 miles per hour.
You can see the full video from the spin and her run right here. Best part of that video is the thumbs-up she shoots the ambulance that had come racing out onto the track, sirens flaring, to rescue her from what everyone assumed would be a vicious crack-up.
We'd tell you not to try this at home, but we don't think you could even get close to that.
[Via The Big Lead.]
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Hendrick pursuing new sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
? Daytona International Speedway plans major redesign
? Power Rankings: Johnson leads a familiar cast
The Nationwide Series Is Going To Be Awesome In 2013
Thanks to a strong mix of young drivers and veterans trying to fight their way back to the top, with help from the NASCAR rule limiting drivers to one series for points, we are about to see the re-emergence of the Nationwide Series in 2013. I mean, have you seen the driver lineup? Instead of [...] 
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Dennis: F1 Too Physical For Women
McLaren supremo Ron Dennis has played down talk that women could soon be racing in F1 on a regular basis. Williams test driver Susie Wolff is the closest female to a full seat, and is pushing to secure her superlicense. However, Dennis believes that F1 is too much physically for women, and doesn?t think that [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/Ogs2ivmFbSM/dennis-f1-too-physical-for-women
Wednesday
2013 Barcelona Post-Race Test Times, 2pm: Bradl Leads, As Suzuki Makes Debut
The Montmelo circuit just outside of Barcelona is a hive of activity, as all but the Repsol and Gresini Honda teams take to the track. As of 2pm, Stefan Bradl was the fastest man on track, just a fraction quicker than Nicky Hayden and late arrival Jorge Lorenzo, while Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi are all within three tenths of Bradl's time.
Much of the interest was around the Suzuki garage, where Randy de Puniet made his debut on the bike, after it had been given a shakedown by Nobu Aoki. So far, and some 15 laps in, De Puniet has lapped at 1:44.089, which is some 1.8 seconds off the time of Bradl. In comparison, De Puniet did a 1'43.186 during qualifying on the Aprilia ART machine he has been riding so far this year.
While Jorge Lorenzo was a late arrival, choosing to get some rest in the morning after a hard race yesterday, Bradley Smith left the track early. The Tech 3 man is scheduled to have surgery tonight to repair his little finger, and fix the scaphoid in his left wrist, damage from his crash at Mugello.
Times as of 2pm
Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh
Carl Edwards locks keys in car, still wins pole in Michigan
Carl Edwards has won his first pole via qualifying in more than a year, but not without a bit of nerve-wracking pre-qualifying drama.
Early Friday, a few hours before qualifying began, Edwards went for a run and locked his keys in his rental car. What to do? The rental car company was no help. After some scheming and plotting, Edwards and his PR agent found a local used-car dealership, coaxed out a mechanic who had a few coathangers and a crowbar, and broke into the car.
"It kept my mind off the stress of qualifying," Edwards laughed. "It was a little adventure. Jimmy (Fennig, crew chief) says I should go running more often. If he had known how close I was to not making it back I don?t think he would say that.?
So who was this mysterious savior-with-a-crowbar who helped one of NASCAR's finest drivers break into a car? "I don?t want to call the guy out," Edwards said. "I mean he did use a crowbar to break into the car. I didn?t ask him how he knew how to do that so well."
The irony of a NASCAR driver being unable to drive wasn't lost on Carl. "I am just furthering the belief that drivers can?t take care of themselves," he said with a wry grin. "I have people coming to help me all the time, so that isn?t good."
Once he actually drove his company car, Edwards turned a lap of 202.452 mph at Michigan International Speedway, taking his first pole on speed in 49 races and setting himself up as the man to beat in Sunday's Quicken Loans 400. Michigan is one of Edwards' best tracks; he's won twice and finished in the top 10 a career-best 13 times there.
"I'm happy with that lap," Edwards said after his qualifying. "I don?t think I could go any faster if I ran it again."
Fortunately, he doesn't need to. He'll start on the front row alongside Kurt Busch, who's had an impressive recent run of speed. Busch has started first or second in four of the last six races. Rounding out the top five are Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola. Other notables: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12th, Tony Stewart 14th, Jimmie Johnson 17th.
"To be second, that?s qualifying, now we?ve just got to step into the race and that?s where we?ve got to close the deal," Busch said. "We haven?t been as strong as we?ve needed to be in the last section of the race, like after the last pit stop or with two pit stops to go, that?s where we have to find a little bit more improvement. But otherwise, these Furniture Row guys are phenomenal, and we?re knocking on the door.?
Michigan repaved the track in time for the start of the 2012 season, and drivers indicated that the dreaded "new track feel" is starting to fade.
"It's just going to continue to get better," Martin Truex Jr. said. "Last year, there was times you just felt like you were along for the ride. It was hard to do anything with what you had. ... Hopefully, the groove will widen out. It's pretty narrow right now."
"The new track is super fun to race on," said Edwards, not missing a chance to ladle out the praise. "The pavement seems like it has aged more in a year than a lot of new track surfaces have and hopefully we can keep developing a Goodyear tire and keep making it softer and softer to where it becomes the old Michigan here in a year or two. I think that is going to be awesome.?
Edwards joked that even though he's started on the pole several times this season, this would be the first one to actually count for next year's Sprint Unlimited race. (Others were via rainout.)
"There are a few things I like about racing at Michigan," Edwards said. "The first is that it is the site of my first Sprint Cup start, a huge day for me personally. I will never forget when they said ?Gentlemen, start your engines.? That was one of the most emotional moments I?ve ever had in a race car."
And fortunately, you can't lock your keys in an NASCAR car.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Rick Hendrick slams Brad Keselowski after criticism
? Autopsy reveals Jason Leffler died of neck injury
? Happy Hour: The good and bad of TNT's race coverage
2013 Barcelona Post-Race Test Times, 2pm: Bradl Leads, As Suzuki Makes Debut
The Montmelo circuit just outside of Barcelona is a hive of activity, as all but the Repsol and Gresini Honda teams take to the track. As of 2pm, Stefan Bradl was the fastest man on track, just a fraction quicker than Nicky Hayden and late arrival Jorge Lorenzo, while Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi are all within three tenths of Bradl's time.
Much of the interest was around the Suzuki garage, where Randy de Puniet made his debut on the bike, after it had been given a shakedown by Nobu Aoki. So far, and some 15 laps in, De Puniet has lapped at 1:44.089, which is some 1.8 seconds off the time of Bradl. In comparison, De Puniet did a 1'43.186 during qualifying on the Aprilia ART machine he has been riding so far this year.
While Jorge Lorenzo was a late arrival, choosing to get some rest in the morning after a hard race yesterday, Bradley Smith left the track early. The Tech 3 man is scheduled to have surgery tonight to repair his little finger, and fix the scaphoid in his left wrist, damage from his crash at Mugello.
Times as of 2pm
Tuesday
Silverstone tickets
What is the purpose of a story suggesting that the crowd figures will be down at this year’s British Grand Prix? Apart from the author picking up a few quid from a newspaper that is dumb enough to run such a non-story. No doubt this story will now be picked up by the bottom feeders […]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/silverstone-tickets/
Bump Day Live Blog!!!
FINAL UPDATE As The Speedway sits quietly after two days of non-stop running, Michel Jourdain packs up to head home after a heartbreaking afternoon. The #17 crew called off a last minute bonsai run after an entire day of parts … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/bump-day-live-blog/
Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco
Monday
Cup Start-And-Parks Dwindling
The practice of starting-and-parking has been a much discussed topic over the last couple of years. If you aren’t aware, starting-and-parking refers to a system in which teams enter a race and pull into the garage after only a few laps with a perfectly good race car in order to collect prize money. Teams can [...] 
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Nationwide Craziest Moment: Parker Kligerman takes jack with him out of pits
No, that's not supposed to happen.
During Saturday's Nationwide Series 5 Hour Energy 200 at Dover, Parker Kligerman left his pit during the first pit stop of the day with the jack still underneath the bottom of his car. And, almost incredibly, the jack stayed underneath Kligerman's car for an entire lap before he made it back to his pit stall so his crew could remove it.
However, as Kligerman was exiting the pits, it hit front tire changer Mark Armstrong in the right lower leg. Armstrong couldn't continue and the team was forced to find a replacement.
Kligerman was also penalized for removing equipment from the pit box and was forced to start at the back of the field for the ensuing restart. He finished 11th.
More popular NASCAR content on Yahoo! Sports
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Sunday
$400,000 car, wrecked: This is not how you want your afternoon drive to go
Yeah, so, this is not how you want to treat your $400,000 Bugatti.
Meet Edmund Burgess, of Lavenham in the United Kingdom. As Autoblog relates, Mr. Burgess was driving his 1924 Bugatti Type 13 in the Prescott Speed Hill Climb in Gloucestershire. The brakes apparently failed, the car rolled, and, well, Mr. Burgess was quite literally lucky to escape with his skull intact.
As you can see in the video above, Burgess only wore a helmet, goggles and jacket; the Bugatti's cockpit is wide open to the elements. The car, worth an estimated �250,000, suffered heavy damage. But Burgess says he'll be running it again later this summer, to which we say: keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up, friend.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Hot/Not: 'Clarity' for Jimmie Johnson could turn ugly for the competition
? Power Rankings: Jimmie Johnson stands alone
? Dale Earnhardt Jr. gearing up for another win at Michigan
Happy Hour: Remembering Jason Leffler, plus we talk TNT and standing starts
Throughout the week you can send us your best questions, jokes, rants and just plain miscellaneous thoughts to happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com or @NickBromberg. We'll post them here, have a good time and everyone's happy. Right? Oh who are we kidding, this is NASCAR. No one is ever happy.
This week's Happy Hour isn't so happy as we kick it off on a somber note given the news of Jason Leffler's fatal accident Wednesday evening. As Jay said earlier Thursday, it's a reminder how far NASCAR has come, but also how dangerous racing can be. NASCAR and its tracks have the benefit of being able to spend millions of dollars on research and development for car safety and SAFER barriers. Exponentially more tracks don't have that luxury.
What's your favorite Jason Leffler memory? The moment that immediately pops into my mind is the 2004 July Nationwide Series race at Daytona (above), when he tried to do almost anything to win the race. He was second on the final lap to Michael Waltrip and made contact with Waltrip's back bumper as he went to the outside... a bump that sent Waltrip into the inside wall. As the field barreled into turn three, Leffler was pursued by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mike Wallace. Junior went high and so did Leffler, who was not going to let him by. But by moving up to prevent Junior from passing, Mike Wallace snuck by on the inside.
Leffler crossed the line second, but was scored 13th after a NASCAR penalty. Yeah, he may not have made many new fans out of those who cheer for Waltrip and Junior that night, but you can't discount how much he wanted to win that race.
Let's get to it.
Clearly the 48 along with the rest of the HMS camp as a whole has figured out the GEN6 car. Yet, HMS hasn't used any of the 4 NASCAR tests yet. They're not bringing new updated GEN6 versions each week to the track. In fact the 88 camp is returning the same car he won with at Michigan last spring. So, are they cheating or is it that the cars aren't that different after all?
- Ricky Bobby
The transition from the COT to the new car was not as stark as it was from the "Gen-4" car to the COT. Many teams, as exemplified by Junior and the No. 88 camp at Michigan this week, have taken trusted chassis and put new car bodies on them.
Stewart-Haas is a prime example that what worked with the COT doesn't always work with this year's car, but Hendrick Motorsports has enough access to things like seven-rig shaker posts and the ability to gather a ton of data with their four cars that it's not surprising at all that they're where they are. Oh, and Chad Knaus is still Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson is still Jimmie Johnson.
On a related note, the Toyotas are going to dial back in some horsepower this week. Joe Gibbs Racing has been better than Hendrick this year -- they just haven't had the results to show for it. Will they be the fastest team in town at Michigan? And will they be the most reliable?
Now we get a couple of contrasting opinions. I like when that happens.
_____________________
Hi Nick,
I?ve got to give credit where credit is due. I am NOT a fan of the TNT Broadcasting group when they take over NASCAR for the summer. However, they did very well this year. Good job! I hope they keep it up for the next five races.
- Dayna
Knowing that we would be moving from FOX to TNT after Dover, and remembering how much everyone complained about TNT's broadcasts of the races last year, I figured I would throw some fuel (was I supposed to say Sunoco race fuel?) on the fire.
Fox's broadcast of Dover from green flag to checkered flag lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes and had 116 commercials total. This includes the side by side, and does not include pre race or post race.
TNT's broadcast from Pocono lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes and had 101 commercials total from green to checkered.
So yes TNT does bombard us with many more commercials on average, but they should be more ashamed of the bad commentary of the race. Pre race show we were told that the front straight away was 32 feet long. Announcers forgot to explain why the first caution was out. And worst of all, the roller on top of the screen taking up way to much space because they need to have an ad plastered in your face the entire time. TNT truly needs to get their act together or get out of the business of showing races.
- Tim
It was the first race of the season for the TNT gang and it always takes a bit of time for an announcing crew to get a feel for one another again. Plus, TNT only has six races, so Adam Alexander, Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach only call 1/6th of the NASCAR schedule together before going back to their other duties.
I did appreciate Kyle Petty's candor after the first caution flag when he admitted that the broadcast hadn't told viewers why it had been displayed. But the worst part of the broadcast -- it's not even close -- was the banner ads at the top of the tracker.
I totally understand that advertising pays the bills. Hell, readers see that every week on the blog. But there should be no way that advertising on a standard race broadcast should take up so much room during the broadcast itself. Ad included, it's not an exaggeration to say that the ticker took up more than 15 percent of the screen. It crossed the line from "noticeable" to "frustrating."
_____________________
Here?s a crazy shake-up for you: With the TV Rope falling on the track and the 15 minute fix-it timeout came this idea: Sometime during the third quarter segment of the race a computer would spit out a random red flag. All cars on the track are required to make it to their pit stall and allowed 10 minutes to fix whatever they choose; as long as it is done in the pit stall. At 10 minutes all cars are given the signal to leave their pit stall in the same exact order when the flag was thrown. Any car not able to leave would lose their spot in line. But no racing to the line. And a 10 minute 'half-time' for the TV folks to get in 15 minutes of commercials!
And to solve the restart question: All restarts should be from a standing start, dragster style. The first 4 cars all across the track staged at the start-finish line and so on all the way back. A single green light positioned where all can see it flashes ON, and they?re off! What fun! Almost as good as the figure-8 race suggestion Tony Stewart had for Talladega.
- Robert
Bring back the Truck Series halftime! I didn't mind halftime in the Truck Series, but I can't see how standard field manipulations in points races in the Sprint Cup Series could be a serious idea. There are already enough complaints about debris cautions, so imagine the first time the arbitrary red flag comes out with Danica Patrick or Dale Earnhardt Jr. about to be lapped? If you thought the Jimmie Johnson tinfoil hat stuff was big-time, you ain't seen nothing yet.
As far as the standing starts go, I would love to see them at the All-Star Race for the beginning of the segments, if not at the very least the beginning of the race. (In a perfect, danger-free world I'd love to see a rally start, but yeah, that's not happening.) Let's paint some temporary F1-style start boxes on the dogleg at CMS and make it happen!
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
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? Jason Leffler's death a reminder how far NASCAR has come
? Chase concerns linger for Tony Stewart
Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen
Track Position Could Be Key At Daytona
While you are taking a breather from the non-stop Danica coverage, consider this: this year’s Sprint Unlimited had 17 less lead changes than last year’s Bud Shootout. Granted the 2012 Shootout was seven laps longer, but it also wasn’t broken up into segments which kept the field together. Combine the number of lead changes with [...] 
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Dick Trickle, former NASCAR driver, dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound
Former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Lincoln County (N.C.) police.
At about noon on Thursday, the Lincoln County Communications Center received a call indicating that there would be a dead body at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, and it would be the speaker's. Return calls to the number went unanswered. Crews arriving at the scene found Trickle's body lying near his pickup truck.
Trickle ran in 303 races in the Sprint Cup series over the course of 24 years, finally retiring in 2002. His best year was 1989, where he notched six top-5s, including three third-place finishes, driving the #84 Miller High Life Buick. He ended that year ranked 15th, ahead of Michael Waltrip, Brett Bodine and Richard Petty, among others.
Look, we all know where the conversation about Mr. Trickle is headed. The guy's name was a punch line his entire career. But he was a hard-nosed racer in his day, and this is how we prefer to remember him best:
The racing world took to Twitter almost immediately to mourn Trickle's passing. Here are a few of the reactions:
I just read about Dick Trickle, met him during my season doing IROC series. He was a true Racer and will be missed. #RIP
? JJ Yeley (@jjyeley1) May 16, 2013
RIP Dick Trickle. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
? Brian Scott (@bscottracing) May 16, 2013
Just want to say its a sad day. Dick trickle is a legend. RIP.
? David Stremme (@DavidStremme) May 16, 2013
Thoughts and prayers to the Dick Trickle family.
? Max Gresham (@MaxGresham) May 16, 2013
So sad to hear.RT @bobpockrass: Dick Trickle, 71, has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
? Kelley Earnhardt (@EarnhardtKelley) May 16, 2013
wow...I am , I don't know what, I just heard Dick Trickle died today...He was a good friend and mentor
? ray evernham (@RayEvernham) May 16, 2013
I remember when Dick Trickle finally won a #NASCAR Busch race, Hickory '97. In Victory Lane he says "I get free beer, right?"
? Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) May 16, 2013
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