Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/hamiltons_tough_decision.html
Saturday
Friday
Tony Stewart debuts his newest ride, a scooter, at Richmond International Raceway
RICHMOND - It's an ironic punishment worthy of an old Greek myth: the toughest, meanest, most competitive driver in the country, maybe the world, reduced to piloting a freaking scooter.
Tony Stewart wrecked his leg in early August during a sprint car crash, and Friday marked his first reappearance at a NASCAR track in nearly a month. He's a month out from the last time he wheeled a car, and another five months before he straps into another. But his new ride is ... well, it's classic Smoke, that's what it is.
Earlier this week, Stewart indicated that he'd only missed one sponsor engagement because of injury. But a controlled sponsor environment is one thing; being at the race track, with the sound of engines and the smell of oil and tires in the air, is a different experience altogether.
Stewart was in his element, smiling and laughing as a steady stream of colleagues and admirers ran past the scooter, stopping for a fist-bump or a handshake or an awkward hug. Stewart's receiving line ranged from Sharpie-wielding fans to crew members of all stripes to NASCAR's most notable. Ray Evernham and Stewart fiddled with a cell phone. Carl Edwards, one of the most talkative men in NASCAR, found himself a bit performer in the Stewart show, watching as Stewart waved his hands in performance and traced the line of his injury down his leg.
A driver remaining still in the garage area is like someone making noise in a zombie movie ? sooner or later, they attract the attention of the relentless hordes, and from there it's all over. Stewart couldn't remain in any one place very long without drawing a crowd. Though he posed for plenty of selfies and signed plenty of autographs, he finally had to draw the line shortly after 4 p.m. As the long day ended, Stewart hoisted himself from the scooter onto a golf cart, grimacing all the way.
It'll be rough, being at the track and unable to race, but for Stewart, anything has to be an improvement over a hospital bed.
Thursday
Haug: Mercedes Can Beat Red Bull In 2014
Former Mercedes boss Norbert Haug believes that the Silver Arrows will be able to compete for the Constructors? and Drivers? championships in 2014. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have looked impressive this term, taking the squad into the upper echelons of the standings. Haug, who was replaced by Toto Wolff, believes that battling Red Bull [...]
Dave Charlton Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg Eddie Cheever
NASCAR penalizes Michael Waltrip Racing for Richmond actions; Ryan Newman now in the Chase, Martin Truex Jr. out
NASCAR moved Ryan Newman into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and Martin Truex Jr. out after investigating the final laps of Saturday night's race at Richmond.
Truex and teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers received 50 point penalties. The penalties are as follows:
MWR was found to have violated Section 12-4 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing). As a result, MWR?s three teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (No. 15, 55, 56) have been penalized with the loss of 50 championship driver and 50 championship owner points, respectively.
These point penalties are assessed following the season?s 26th regular season race and not after the seeding for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Therefore, the point total for the No. 56 car driven by Martin Truex Jr. is reduced to 691, putting him in 17th position and eliminating him from the second Wild Card berth for the Chase field. Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 car, now moves up into the Chase as the second Wild Card participant.
[Related: NAPA launching review of Michael Waltrip Racing sponsorship]
During the final laps at Richmond, Bowyer spun and caused a late caution while Ryan Newman was leading. If Newman had won, he would have gotten a Wild Card seed over Bowyer's teammate Martin Truex Jr. After pitting, Newman re-entered the track in fifth during the caution and finished third. Truex got the second Wild Card on a tiebreaker with Newman.
"Based upon our review of Saturday night?s race at Richmond, it is our determination that the MWR organization attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said in the release. "As the sport?s sanctioning body, it is our responsibility to ensure there is a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors and this action today reflects our commitment to that."
The Chase is NASCAR's 10 race playoff amongst 12 drivers. Until Monday, NASCAR has never issued penalties that have affected the composition of the Chase field since the Chase's inception in 2004.
It's also important to note that Bowyer's 50 point deduction does not affect his Chase total -- so in essence, it's an empty points penalty. He will still start the Chase in 7th place with 2000 points. Matt Kenseth is the top seed with 2015 points.
[Watch: One-on-one with Dale Earnhardt Jr.]
Jeff Gordon was also affected by the MWR maneuver, as Bowyer and Brian Vickers, who was in the No. 55, slowed down over the last few laps to ensure that Joey Logano got ahead of them. That moved Gordon from 10th place and a guaranteed spot in the Chase to 11th place. Gordon was ineligible for a Wild Card because he didn't have a win while Logano would have gotten a Wild Card over Truex by virtue of his win at Michigan. However, Gordon is still out of the Chase.
Michael Waltrip Racing was also fined $300,000 and director of competition Ty Norris was also suspended indefinitely. Crew chiefs Chad Johnston (Truex), Brian Pattie (Bowyer) and Scott Miller (Vickers) were placed on probation until the end of the year.
Wednesday
Happy Hour: Helmet throws, passion, and going in the other direction. Literally.
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.
Recovering from Wednesday night's Truck race? If that's not an endorsement for more weeknight races, then nothing is. I think mid-week races could be used two-fold. First, in the summertime, there's no competition outside of baseball and reruns, so a summer weeknight race would do well I believe. Second, in the fall, it could be positioned as a way to avoid football. Let's try it with the Nationwide Series first.
Let's get to the topics, shall we?
What I find interesting is that in a NASCAR commercial they show a driver throwing his helmet at another car?.BUT, in real life they would be fined for it.
BUT, it?s okay for a commercial to promote NASCAR.
- Wayne
I'm intrigued that Wayne is under the impression that NASCAR fined Tony Stewart for his helmet throw last year. Do some NASCAR fans automatically expect fines for something deemed out of line no matter what now? If so, that's not the fault of the fans.
We continue on with the same theme...
I've watched NASCAR since 1997. I remember the good ole days when drivers actually had a personality about everything, whether it be about the tracks, drivers, or the race itself. With NASCAR fining everybody for their opinions is actually hurting the sport more than helping it, especially when they fined Hamlin this year for his opinion on the Gen 6 car. My wife and I were discussing about retaliations in the sport. Granted we don't condone what Kyle did to Hornaday at Texas two or three years ago, but drivers should be allowed to bump someone out of the way and be the "BULLY" without being penalized anymore. On to the points system, NASCAR needs to scrap this chase. Drivers are coasting every week, especially those that are in danger of missing the chase, i.e. Gordon, Kahne, Newman. Drivers are no longer going for wins and being aggressive anymore and that is hurting the sport cause drivers need to push the issue. Keselowski not racing Kyle harder at Watkins Glen is not how the sport should be. What happened to the time where you had Labonte and Earnhardt racing tough to the line at Atlanta or Gordon and Harvick at Atlanta in 01 or Craven and Kurt grinding on each other at Darlington for the closest finish in NASCAR history? If NASCAR fixes the sport where drivers can be vocal and do what they do without penalization except in real dangerous situations, then the sport would be popular again. Not this 3 man race for the wins this year that Johnson, Kenseth, and Kyle are doing. I wanna see the chase scraped and the old points system back in place where its from Daytona to Homestead with the 43 point system. You would have better racing than you would today.
- Matthew
While Keselowski did what he did for his Chase chances, wouldn't his finish last year with Busch and Ambrose at Watkins Glen go into the category of the three races you mentioned above, Matthew?
I'm not sure how the Chase can be lumped into the same issue as feeling that drivers can't speak their minds. Given the points situation this year and the Jimmie-fatigue that many in the fanbase have, a significant majority of NASCAR fans would want a Chase this season.
And I also don't think for an instant that other drivers are laying back knowing that the Chase is coming. Does it affect decision making when gambling -- see Kes the last two weeks -- yes, it does. But that's a different animal.
_____________________
I grew up riding my go-cart in the back yard dreaming I was racing against Petty and Pearson, yes I am old now. I lost interest in NASCAR for many years, the straw that broke me was when Rusty Wallace and the 2 went from Ford to I believe Pontiac and kept the same cars. How could a Ford morph into a Pontiac? What alchemy! Anyway I enjoy a race now and again, but generally find them a bit boring. I seem to remember the days when the cars more reasonably represented American automobiles, when the 426 Hemi competed against the 427 Side-Oiler and you had to be able to buy that car with that engine. Dealerships with Superbirds and Daytonas and Torino Talladegas were cool places! Alas those days are forever history!
While in the Charlotte infield prior to the fall race recently I was struck by an epiphany as I watched a courtesy car make laps around the track at a decent pace, tires squealing, but going clockwise. Yes, right hand turns.
These days the engines of most of the top tier cars appear to be fairly identical. In fact the differences between the Chevy, Ford, and Toyota engines seems to be a well guarded secret, if these differences exist at all. It occurs to me that chassis setup on these oval cars has become so finely tuned that the real secret to racing today is matching the chassis to the driver and to the specific conditions of that particular day. Clearly some teams are better at that than others, but we now discuss tracks as being 'suited' to certain teams and drivers.
Road course races have become much more entertaining, particularly since the 'regular' drivers now embrace a right hander every now and again as evidence of their skill. Imagine, if you will, a mile-and-a-half oval where the field reversed direction at halftime. The dynamic of the chassis stagger would require that the car no longer go left on its own, but rather that it run straight. Imagine how different the racing would be turning left in a car that would later be required to turn right! What if we varied the number of clockwise verses counter clockwise turns, announcing only at the last minute the actual number of each. Speeds would reduce dramatically I think, but the racing and the passing would be fabulous! I also think the need for restrictor plates vanishes. I think the racing improves, and the abilities of these talented people are better demonstrated.
I know it sounds crazy, but think about it. The more I have the more I like the idea!
- Doug
An out of the box idea! I like it, Doug. It could be a new twist on the old Truck Series halftime format and a track version of inverting the field. There'd be some new strategy too -- do you set your car up to be good both directions or not as good in the first half and really good to turn right in the second half? I like it a lot, though it won't happen.
After watching the Grand-Am race in-person this weekend, I'm even more on board with the idea of adding a roval to a track's second Cup date of the season. It'd be a good compromise between a road course and oval, and wouldn't take a date away from an existing track that has the infrastructure to host a road course race.
_____________________
Could you enlighten me on how race winnings are determined and divided? For instance, how did Jeff Gordon in 36th win the same amount as AJ Allmendinger in 10th at Watkins Glen? There must be a formula ? just curious
- Pete
It's a complicated answer, Pete, but it depends on the number of contingency programs a team is in, sponsor money and where a team finishes. It's a complicated formula that's different for every team, and is definitely not indicative of a team's performance, especially at the Cup level. I'm completely in favor of removing prize money from the box score altogether -- or explaining why it's the number it is -- because of how varied it can be.
_____________________
I really like the Nationwide series without the Cup Drivers. It seems like Cup guys, they just take off and take the lead and keep it. Its exciting when the Nationwide Series Drivers can run against each other. Better racing. I don't think Cup Drivers should be allowed in Nationwide Series at all.
-Deb
Another idea I can get behind, but it's not going to happen. Does something need to be tweaked to make sure Nationwide drivers have more of a chance at making it to victory lane? Absolutely. I stick by what I said last week.
Tuesday
Third place at Michigan puts Kurt Busch in the top 10
At this rate, Kurt Busch isn't going to need a win to get into the Chase.
After falling outside of the top 10 because of a slow pit stop, Busch charged back through the field to finish third during Sunday's race at Michigan and is now 9th in the points standings.
"We stuck with our game plan," Busch said, about the team's pit strategy. "At one point we were buried deep, 14th on one of the restarts. I was a little frustrated at that point, knowing we had a much better car. But our weaknesses were restarts today, trying to maneuver in traffic."
"But lo and behold, got fired up, sometimes I get lucky, and opening opened up on the outside. I think I came on that restart from 14th to sixth. It was a game?changer. That one moment was our race."
Since Busch doesn't have a win this season, being in the top 10 is vital, especially after Joey Logano's win Sunday, which added another driver to the now-cavalcade of drivers with wins below Busch.
8. Brad Keselowski (667 points): Keselowski wanted to try to stretch his fuel to the end, but crew chief Paul Wolfe and owner Roger Penske wanted him to pit. Keselowski pitted under caution and finished 12th. Had he run out of gas, he would have ended up in Mark Martin territory. (27th)
9. Busch (-2 points to Keselowski): One of the favorites at Bristol?
10. Greg Biffle (-4 points): The name of the game for Biffle is to now stay ahead of all of the one-win drivers below him. Barring a second win by any of them, that gets him in. Biffle finished ninth.
11. Kasey Kahne (-8 points): Right now, the four point difference between Kahne and Biffle is a six point difference in the Chase. Kahne was seventh.
12. Martin Truex Jr. (-14 points): That Logano win has him looking over his shoulder at a different driver following his 16th place finish.
13. Joey Logano (-21 points): I apologize for writing you off, Joey.
14. Jeff Gordon (-30 points): After a 17th place finish, things are really, really dicey for Gordon.
15. Ryan Newman (-31 points): It's 17 points to Truex and 10 to Logano. That's simple math an engineer can understand, right? Newman was 13th.
16. Jamie McMurray (-45 points): At almost a race's worth of points outside of the top 10 and without a win, this may be McMurray's last appearance here.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Joey Logano grabs critical win from Michigan pole
? Watch: Crew member hit by tire on pit road
? Brian Vickers blocking out distractions
? Time is running out for Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski
Philippe Alliot Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati
Monday
Iowa Rain Out Causes Pit Crew Problems
On a normal NASCAR weekend when the Truck Series and/or Nationwide Series run companion to the Cup cars, there are a lot of pit crew members who double or triple dip. Crew members make some extra cash and get more reps, and the teams get top talent pitting their cars. But this last weekend presented [...] 
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Sunday
Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe
Featuring a set of small upgrades and continuing to offer the same high class performances as the previous generations , the 2014 Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe has all it needs to remain the segment leader.
In terms of style, the 2014 Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe comes with high impact Paint and graphics, 9 spoke cast wheels, and stretched fenders.
At the heart of the motorcycle stays Harley?s legendary Twin Cam 110 engine which delivers a generous torque rated at 110 ft.lbs. at 3750 rpm. The engine sends its power to the ground through a six speeds cruise drive transmission that offers a combined city consumption of 43 mpg.
You also get Brembo Brakes, Anti Lock Brakes and LED lights.
The 2014 Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe is offered with a base price of $28,999.
Hit the jump for more information on the 2014 Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe.
Harley Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 8 September 2013 13:21 EST.
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