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Friday
Well Played Hendrick?
**I know I’m a couple of days late on this, but I wanted to weigh in with a little post-mortem on the deal. It was announced on Monday HendrickCars.com would provide various forms of sponsorship for three teams at the Daytona 500, one at the March race at Bristol and one for July’s Coke Zero [...]
Cone perishes during Kasey Kahne?s practice spin
The Daytona 500 is four days away and we've already had our first gruesome incident involving cone, as cone was violently run over when Kasey Kahne spun off the bumper of Juan Pablo Montoya.
The incident meant a backup car for Kahne in Thursday's Gatorade Duels, and, unfortunately, a backup cone too. Kahne even apologized to cone via Twitter after the crash.
Our best wishes go out to the cone family on this tragic accident. And Godspeed to you, replacement cone. What exceptional courage to step in after such a tragedy. Though being at the pit road entrance may require less courage than this.
Provisional for past champions unfair, Gordon says
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Robby Gordon finished the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season 38th in the owner standings, three spots and 160 points from 35th. It was a critical miss for Gordon's underfunded, self-owned effort, as the top 35 teams are given guaranteed starting spots for the first five races of 2012.
That meant Gordon wasn't a lock for the 54th Daytona 500 ? and could miss the race for the first time since the year he opened his own NASCAR team in 2005.
But Gordon avoided that in Thursday's Gatorade Duels at Daytona ? the qualifying races that set the grid for the 500 ? and raced his No. 7 in to the field thanks to a ninth-place finish in the first race. He picked up one of four spots open to previously unqualified drivers in the qualifying races, and then railed on how another driver ? Terry Labonte ? joined the field.
"Obviously I [have] a lot of respect for Terry," Gordon began. "This is not a Terry Labonte thing. There's only eight cars that make the Daytona 500. He takes one of those spots, now seven guys make the Daytona 500. Four make it on qualifying races, three make it on speed. We're a small team, too. I guess I should hire [past champion] Kurt Busch and I could put my other car in the show, too. It's just not right."
Labonte, the 1996 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, was locked in to the Daytona 500 by virtue of being the most recent series champion not already in. Despite having just the 31st-fastest speed in qualifying, Labonte was able to bank on a 16-year-old accomplishment to lock his way into the Daytona 500. The lock was so sure that Labonte, driving an underfunded Ford, was a start-and-park in Gordon's same qualifying race. Labonte completed just 12 of the 60 laps in the first Gatorade Duel, with the team announcing "vibration" as his reason for not continuing.
Of course, "vibration" couldn't be further from the truth. Labonte and his FAS Lane Racing team, used one of NASCAR's old-as-time rules that guarantees a spot in a race for the most recent past series champion not already qualified. Labonte, who won his second NASCAR Sprint Cup title in 1996, was that guy and made a decision knowing that the small team he drove for couldn't afford to wreck their Ford before Sunday's race.
Gordon understands that logic ? he played the start-and-park game in 2011 ? but that didn't change his ill will toward the champion's provisional rule.
"I think that should be based if you were with that team when you win the championship, not just because you win a championship, because that takes a spot from the teams that are working really hard to get in to the Daytona 500," Gordon said.
"Why take a free ride when the rest of us have to bust our butts to get in to the 500? It is what it is. It's the rules."
Thursday
Hot or Not: Daytona wrecks product of (a lack) of experience
NEUTRAL: NASCAR's opening weekend was a merciless one on the hard work of team fabricators in the sport's top division. In total, two days of track activity substantially damaged 15 separate Sprint Cup cars with many more requiring varying amounts of repair either before or during the Bud Shootout.
None, of course, felt the same damage as the thrashing Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet received after the gymnastic exhibition it put on exiting Daytona's Turn 4.
And so, naturally, the echo chamber of fear started even before Kyle Busch finished his sensational display of driving ability in Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout: Will Sunday's Daytona 500 be a farcical mess of caution flags and torn up race cars?
I say no.
The reasons for the wrecking exhibition in the season's first exhibition race vary widely, but they are real. But if we have learned anything about race car drivers over the century-plus of race car drivers being called race car drivers, it's that they very often learn how to avoid crashing in the same way over time. Typically, that stretch of time is pretty small.
Let's look at last season, for instance, to see how well the new idea of tandem drafting affected overall accidents in restrictor plate races. In the 2011 Daytona 500, a whopping 16 caution flags waved over the track ? the most ever recorded in the event's 53 editions; 13�of those cautions were for an incident on track and many were of a direct byproduct of drivers losing control while being pushed for laps on end.
The next time Sprint Cup drivers faced the tandem style of racing at Talladega in April 2011, just four of the race's six cautions were for crashes. The 400-miler at Daytona in July featured only six crashes, as did the restrictor plate season finale at Talladega in October. Many variables affect the rate of crashes in a race, but the level of experience drivers had with the push-or-be-pushed racing certainly aided in reducing the number of incidents.
Now, returned to Daytona, crashes have seemingly become much more common again. But let's not forget how different the rules package is this week ? compared even to the January winter testing many teams participated in. The most significant differences to affect handling this year are a smaller rear spoiler (along with it, reduced rear downforce and grip) and a restrictor plate that is aiding in faster speeds.
The result is a car designed to be a bit more unstable during tandem drafting while it goes faster through Daytona's corners ? turns narrower than Talladega's wide open grooves. Additionally, it's more unstable in the pack-racing scenario that NASCAR is looking for, creating more opportunities for trouble when bump-drafting techniques are carried out. Pack racing, in itself, is also somewhat of an unknown at Daytona due to the different car setup and lack of experience in those conditions on Daytona's new pavement in 2011.
Plug all these variables together ? plus the fact that many race teams are on edge about practicing full-race conditions ? and the recipe for what we saw Saturday night in Daytona seems about right. Fortunately, these drivers have light years more time of practice to get properly acclimated to the conditions ahead of the bright lights of Sunday's race.
They will practice Wednesday afternoon, have 150 miles of honest-to-goodness racing action during Thursday's Gatorade Duels qualifying races and more practice both Friday and Saturday.
There is a reason this group is paid to do what they do: pilot NASCAR Sprint Cup race cars. Sure, some mistakes and over aggressiveness will cause more wrecks this weekend, but don't expect to see a Daytona 500 produce torn sheet metal and broken dreams at the same rate�as the Budweiser Shootout.
Moving along, let's talk about a few other things of importance ahead of NASCAR's most exciting weekend.
HOT: I still can't get over Kyle Busch's saves during the Budweiser Shootout. I don't think any feat of driving can top it in 2012. That standard is very, very high.
NOT: It's a shame that ESPN couldn't find a single spot for Busch's on-track action in any of their "Top-10" best play countdowns this weekend. That's a thrilling sight for anyone who has ever driven an automobile, and NASCAR should rightfully expect a bit more help from an organization it calls a TV partner.
NOT: Staying on the TV topic, I've already had enough of Michael Waltrip and Danica Patrick on the Fox broadcast. Fortunately, Danica won't likely be a regular in-studio guest due to either her participation in the Sprint Cup event Fox is covering or her being long gone after her Nationwide duties are filled.
Waltrip, on the other hand, is already tiring me out. I like the guy and he's good for the sport, but overexposure is a very real thing and it's not helped by the blatant conflicts of interest he has in Sprint Cup that Fox seems to sweep under the rug.
NEUTRAL: Kurt Busch's new personality for television after his ouster from Penske Racing is hard to believe right now. It's interesting to watch, but you've got to think the bubble will burst at some point.
HOT: Do you realize Casey Mears will start on the outside of the front row for one of Thursday's Gatorade Duels? Mears, trying to string back together his NASCAR career, easily qualified for the Daytona 500 in startling fashion. Yet, he didn't get a whole lot of coverage from the Sunday qualifying broadcast.
That's unfortunate, because Mears' No. 13 may be the biggest underdog story so far at Daytona.
HOT: Give a call to the drivers in the ARCA race, won in thrilling fashion by Bobby Gerhart Saturday afternoon at Daytona. Normally a lesson in lump-in-your-throat wrecks due to inexperience, the event had mostly a green look to it until a big last-lap crash caused more by cars running out of fuel than bad driving. Kudos ? and if you get the chance to see one of their short-track races, consider me an endorser.
HOT: Finally, a call to NASCAR officials for their insistence ? even at the real cost of design criticism and probably lost enthusiasm from many fans ? for being so proactive in making race cars safe enough that Jeff Gordon can walk away unscathed from his big accident late in the going Saturday.
Nothing NASCAR does, short of making them race at 140 miles per hour, would have kept Gordon's car on the ground after the nasty front end lick on the Turn�4 fence. However, the car has been built with enough safety components to make sure that sudden stop and then violent tumble didn't hurt their star one bit.
That said, NASCAR is still toeing a line of safety that could easily be crossed if they lose interest in pressing for new and improved safety measures. Don't let crashes like Saturday's allow any guards to be laid down ? especially in the sport's major shift to directly accommodate fan demand.
See you in Daytona.
More Daytona 500 news
Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari Philippe Alliot
Wednesday
The Daytona 500 fireball animation video is a letdown
So, so much more that could have been done here. Next Media Animation of Hong Kong and Taiwan, which specializes in quickie animations of breaking news events, whipped up a little something to explain just what the hell went wrong in the Daytona 500. Alas, it's a pretty routine crash recreation; no dancing devils or thrash-metal guitarists to be found. A disappointment, but hey, at least NASCAR is playing big in the Far East.
The FOTA Fans Forum needs to ask the questions that matter | Comment
The FOTA Fans Forum needs to ask the questions that matter is an original article from F1 Fanatic If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
The point of Wednesday's FOTA Fans Forum is for fans to demonstrate what they want from the sport to those who can influence it.
The FOTA Fans Forum needs to ask the questions that matter 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/2012/02/27/fota-fans-forum-questions-matter/
Bob Anderson Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti
Automotive Journalist crashes Camaro ZL1 at Virginia International Speedway
 |
In the midst of celebrating their title as America’s Favorite Performance Brand, Chevrolet invited a number of journalists over to the Virginia International Speedway to test drive their new Camaro ZL1. Lucky journalists signed right up to take advantage, but one got a little more than he bargained for.
Aaron Gold from About.com took his turn on the track after a rain cloud made its way through the area and tried to play it safe during his turn. Unfortunately, he may have played it too safe. Gold says that he was "way off the proper line" and had the car in second gear when it should have probably been in third. He "gave it a bit too much juice, broke the rear tires loose, and that was it." The Camaro ended up going off the track, sliding forward and sideways onto the wet grass, and went nose-first into the tire wall.
Gold didn’t suffer any injuries and GM has assured him that the damages on the Camaro ZL1 are cosmetic, which is all good news. Another plus is that Gold was able to test out the OnStar system, which automatically sent out an SOS call, before a live operator came on to see if Gold was okay.
As a refresher the ZL1 is powered by LSA 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine that delivers a total of 550 horsepower and 550 lb/ft of torque. The muscle car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 184 mph. So we guess these numbers are just too much even for a professional driver.
Automotive Journalist crashes Camaro ZL1 at Virginia International Speedway originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 28 February 2012 12:00 EST.
Tuesday
2012 Philip Island WSS Warm Up - Parkes On Top Again
Broc Parkes was again the fastest man on track in Sunday morning's Supersport warm up session. The pole man finished more than a half-second quicker than Fabien Foret, who was followed home by Sam Lowes, Vladimir Leonov, and Kenan Sofuoglu.
Join the Yahoo! Sports/Marbles fantasy league!
All right, here's the deal: Fantasy NASCAR is coming up soon, and we at Yahoo! Sports want to fantasize with you. (Wait, that sounded really wrong.) Anyway, you need to get in on this action. Go to the Fantasy NASCAR homepage and sign up for a team. Then make sure you jump in on our special private league:
Fans of From The Marbles
Group ID: 31
Password: marbles
(sneaky password, yes?)
Anyway, the whole deal begins in a month or so with the Daytona 500. There'll be acclaim and love for the weekly winners, and you'll get the satisfaction of knowing that you're a better race analyst than [insert announcer name here]. Win-win all the way around. Get on it!
Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco
Under Pressure: The driver?s who need to deliver in 2012
Whilst Sebastian Vettel had the year of his life, for some of the other frontrunners, 2011 proved to be an unhappy hunting ground. Matthew Roulstone assesses the drivers who need to find form fast in 2012. Three wins and three podiums would be considered by some drivers as an incredible feat but for Lewis Hamilton [...]
Monday
Kate Upton isn?t a highway speed demon
And besides, given the current ? ahem ? track of 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model's modeling career, it's doubtful she'll ever have to consider any other gig anyway.
Upton, the co-grand marshal of the Daytona 500 along with "Glee" star Jane Lynch, was asked Sunday morning in the media center how fast she's ever driven on the street.
"I only go five miles an hour over the speed limit," Upton said.
"Probably 80 [is the fastest]. It's faster here in Florida. They let us drive faster. No snow."
She's no Ryan Lochte or Kyle Busch.
Olympian swimmer Lochte, the grand marshal for the first Gatorade Duel on Thursday, said he's driven 175 mph on the highway. Kyle Busch was cited in May driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Upton and Lynch are promoting their new movie "The Three Stooges" which premieres April 13.
Follow Nick Bromberg on Twitter.
JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore
The FOTA Fans Forum needs to ask the questions that matter | Comment
This is an original article from F1 Fanatic - The Formula 1 Blog If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic - The Formula 1 Blog it is an infringement of copyright.
The point of Wednesday's FOTA Fans Forum is for fans to demonstrate what they want from the sport to those who can influence it.
This 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/2012/02/27/fota-fans-forum-questions-matter/
Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia
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