Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/10/time_running_out_for_alonso_in.html
Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy Colin Chapman
Saturday
Low downforce and softer tires could help racing in 2015? Who'd have thunk it?
One of the best possible racing packages for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars in 2015 isn't a surprising combination of factors at all.
As ideas have been tossed around to help improve the ability of drivers to pass and hinder the ability of a lead car to be unpassable up front, two ideas have been tossed out more than any others. One is softer tires. With the speeds and force that Cup cars currently generate, Goodyear has struggled to find a tire that wears quickly that's also durable.
The other is low downforce. The aerodynamic sensitivity of Cup cars is what makes it so hard to pass the leader. A car without turbulent air in front of it is automatically faster than a car that has turbulent air around it. It's like the NASCAR version of a Mario Kart magic mushroom.
On Monday, NASCAR held a test to try various possibilities for rule changes in 2015. And of all the things that NASCAR had the teams in attendance try, guess what two factors produced the best racing? Yup, it was the low downforce and softer tires.
I thought that test at Michigan was really interesting," Matt Kenseth said. "They went through all the high downforce stuff and less power and kind of the direction they went this year, but even greater and it was honestly really bad. It was really singled out ? you couldn't pass, you could draft a little more on the straightaway, but you're almost wide open in the corners. It was really bad and at the very end they took all the downforce off and gave us all our power back and did all that and it was pretty much unanimous from the drivers and if you watch the film with just two of us, it was awesome."
"It was like going back 15 years in time or something like that and know you could actually pass in the corners instead of worrying about drafting in the straightaway. You could get one guy on the bottom and one guy on the top, the air wasn't so turbulent that you couldn't get outside of people so the track got really wide.� It was like the track aged 10 years and it was awesome. Everybody got out with a smile on their face."
Kenseth's comments bring some optimism to your mind, don't they? Many clamor about how the racing was infinitely greater in the past, and while that may not be exactly true, we can all agree that there's room for improvement when it comes to Cup drivers' ability to pass. And many people�? see: Edwards, Carl�? have clamored for this combination for a while. If there's some tangible results to look at, the possibility needs to be seriously considered more than ever.
Jeff Burton was pragmatic about the possibility of any changes. But he was optimistic if Goodyear can find a tire with more grip.
?Every time we?ve taken downforce away and not put on a better tire on the car, it?s always been worse,? Burton told Popular Speed. ?The one thing we?ve never done is take downforce away and added extra grip with the tires and that?s what the drivers have been clamoring for.
?If Goodyear can build a softer tire ? one that will last and stay soft, then it is a viable option. My question is that I don?t know if they can. I feel like that?s something we need to look at if we can. If they don?t feel like they can, then that?s not going to work. If you?re going to take downforce away you have to find a way to get grip in them because history has told that story.?
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Philippe Alliot Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati
Friday
Thoughts at the airport
Regular readers will know that the life of a Formula 1 reporter is one that tends to leave a trail of destruction, with children in odd places and residences that once had a purpose. I even have a very dead car sitting in a barn somewhere, next to box loads of F1-related documentation and other […]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/thoughts-at-the-airport/
Thursday
2014 Singapore Grand Prix fans? video gallery | 2014 Singapore Grand Prix
At Singapore F1 fans can get much closer than usual to the action. How close? Take a look at these videos from the race weekend and find out.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/09/25/2014-singapore-grand-prix-fans-video-gallery/
George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Wednesday
Tuesday
Monday
Fernando Alonso: ?I gave back one position because I thought that was more or less fair??
Fernando Alonso dropped from second to fourth after the safety car in Singapore, and yet the Spaniard still pronounced himself happy with how the weekend unfolded for Ferrari. His race started with a trip across the first corner, after which … Continue reading 
George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Brad Keselowski earns pole for race at New Hampshire
Is Brad Keselowski setting up to go two-for-two at New Hampshire in 2014?
The 2012 Sprint Cup champion and winner of the first race of the 2014 Chase at Chicago on Sunday won the pole Friday at New Hampshire, site of the second race of the Chase.
In July, Keselowski led 138 laps and won at New Hampshire. Because of that win earlier in the year, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson called Keselowski's team the team to beat before Friday's qualifying session.
?Yeah, I would expect him to be in a similar position for two reasons," Johnson said. "One, he had so much more pace than the rest of the field here in the spring race that it?s hard to believe that everybody could cover that gap and get back to him. And then when we went to Richmond, which wasn?t too long ago as a short track and they had that form there, too. So, I?d definitely say those guys are tough to handle.?
Keselowski won at Richmond, the last race before the Chase. Johnson turned out to be prophetic for Friday. Will be prophetic for Sunday?
Jamie McMurray qualified second, three-hundredths of a second behind Keselowski. Kevin Harvick qualified third, while Denny Hamlin was fourth and Kyle Busch was fifth.
Here's how all 16 of the Chasers stack up for New Hampshire
1. Brad Keselowski
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kyle Busch
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Joey Logano
8. Carl Edwards
9. Ryan Newman
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Jeff Gordon
15. Kurt Busch
16. Matt Kenseth
17. Kasey Kahne
21. Aric Almirola
26. Greg Biffle
27. A.J. Allmendinger
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder
Sunday
Brad Keselowski takes lead with three-wide pass, wins at Chicago
Brad Keselowski saw Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson battling for the lead ahead of him and as Larson went high and Harvick went low heading into turn one, Keselowski took the middle.
It was the right option.
Keselowski stormed past both drivers and held on for the lead through a last restart to win the first race of the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday at Chicago.
Larson and Harvick were having a fantastic battle off a restart with 18 laps to go. Larson had the lead and Harvick, who restarted second, was able to hang with him. The two ran side by side for virtually the entirety of two laps, but the great racing came at a price.
Keselowski was hanging around in third and got an incredible draft of the huge hole in the air the two were creating with 16 laps to go. As Harvick headed to the white line and Larson went towards the wall, Keselowski cut the middle and was clear by the time he was on the backstretch.
"I'm not really sure," Keselowski responded when asked how he made the pass in victory lane. "I'll have to watch the ESPN replay to figure it out. But we obviously had a great car ... these Fords have really come together for a strong Chase run."
Last week, Keselowski won the last race before the Chase at Richmond for his fourth win, a victory that gave him solitary possession of first place for the Chase. With the win at Chicago, he keeps first place in the Chase and may put him in place for a repeat. Keselowski won at Chicago en route to the 2012 title. (Oh, and Keselowski is also guaranteed a spot through the first elimination round of the Chase.)
It was a win that came without the benefit of great track position too. Keselowski and his teammate Joey Logano have been the masters of qualifying this season but Friday's qualifying session was washed out. The lineup was set on practice speeds and both Penske cars started in the 20s. It ultimately didn't matter.
And neither did late pit stop trouble. Keselowski had to pit a second time under caution on lap 184 because of a potential loose wheel. He restarted 17th after starting at the back of the field but quickly sliced and diced his way up through the field. He was ninth within 25 laps and two more late cautions helped his ascent.
Jeff Gordon finished second and he's second in the points standings, seven behind Keselowski. Larson finished third while Joey Logano was fourth and Harvick was fifth.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Marco Apicella Mбrio de Araъjo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold
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