Indy Car Info

Monday

Kevin Harvick says fatherhood hasn?t dulled his edge on the track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - You know the knock on NASCAR drivers who become fathers: they get soft, they lose their edge, they stop driving out on the wrecking edge. It's not a hard-and-fast rule; Jimmie Johnson won a Cup soon after the birth of his daughter, and if we're not mistaken, Dale Earnhardt also had kids while he was winning all seven of his championships. But there's enough of the could-be in the fatherhood-kills-your-drive theory to keep it alive.

On Thursday at Media Day, Kevin Harvick, a father since July, shared some of his perspective on how fatherhood has ? and, for racing purposes, hasn't ? changed him.

"I think having my son has really helped keep a new balance on life that you didn't really understand until you had a child," he said. "For me, I become so emotional and so attached to what happens on the racetrack, if it's going good, if it's going bad. Now you have this way of coming home and letting all those things go for two or three days, then you come back to the track and you hadn't thought about it all week and you're really focused at being at the racetrack."

[Also: Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch crash just minutes into Sprint Unlimited practice]

But when something new comes into an already-full life, something else has to go. For Harvick, the decision to shutter his truck team at the end of the 2011 season was a necessary move. "Couldn't be dad, team owner and driver on Sunday and be successful, probably at any of them," he said. "We had to eliminate one. That new balance adds to your life, lets you be more focused and hopefully more competitive on the weekends."

2012 was a disappointment for Harvick; while he made the Chase, he never got out of the lower-top-10 range, and his lone win came in the season's penultimate race in Phoenix. He's a lame duck this year at Richard Childress Racing as he prepares to move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

The odds on lame-duck drivers having success aren't good; everyone's got an eye on next year. But if Harvick does fall short this season, at least he won't be blaming his kid. That's good news.

Fantasy baseball video from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/kevin-harvick-says-fatherhood-hasn-t-dulled-edge-012102887--nascar.html

Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert

Sunday

Regan Smith and AJ Allmendinger likely to split full season for Phoenix Racing

Regan Smith will drive Phoenix Racing?s No. 51 for the Daytona 500 and will likely split the ride with AJ Allmendinger in 2013 according to Phoenix general manager Steve Barkdoll.

Both Smith and Allmendinger drove for the team at the end of 2012 after Kurt Busch left to start his sting with Furniture Row Racing before the end of the season. Smith was scheduled to finish out the season, but was called up to drive at Charlotte and Kansas for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Allmendinger was called in as his replacement and drove four races for the team while Smith drove two.

From the Sporting News:

?It will be more than likely AJ at Phoenix and the next handful of races,? Barkdoll said. ?Regan, with his concentration on the Nationwide deal, he?s going to pick and choose the ones that he wants. ? I talked to AJ yesterday and he doesn?t have anything going right now and he did us a really good job.

Allmendinger had said the same publicly over the weekend at the Roar Before the 24 Grand-Am test. It?s a great opportunity for the driver who was suspended before the July Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona after testing positive for amphetamine.

Smith is running full-time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports and will be unable to accumulate driver points in the Sprint Cup Series (though the team will still get owner?s points). Smith is the driver that Busch replaced at Furniture Row after last fall?s Talladega race.

The team is also looking to keep its association with Busch and wants to compete in the three Nationwide Series restrictor plate races with him, Barkdoll said. Busch won the July Daytona Nationwide Series race driving for Phoenix.

The team finished 27^th in the owner?s standings in 2012. It?s highest finish came at Sonoma with Busch behind the wheel. He finished third.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/regan-smith-aj-allmendinger-likely-split-full-season-220838689--nascar.html

Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb

Conway Signs With RLLR

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2013/01/conway-signs-with-rllr.html

Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco

2012 season in the rear view: Clint Bowyer

Vitals: 2nd in the points standings. 3 wins, 10 top 5s, 13 top 10s. 4 DNFs.

Moment to remember: Clint Bowyer's first season at Michael Waltrip Racing netted him his first road course victory and (surprisingly) his first victory at a 1.5 mile track in the Sprint Cup Series.

In June at Sonoma, Bowyer started sixth and was damn good, leading 71 of the race's 110 laps. He had Kurt Busch alongside him and Tony Stewart behind him when a caution to bring out a green, white, checkered restart flew, but easily pulled away from Stewart and Busch over the final two laps for the win.

In the fall race at Charlotte, Bowyer took the lead on lap 310 from Greg Biffle and made it to the end on fuel for the win. The victory moved Bowyer to within 28 points of leader Brad Keselowski with five races to go.

Moment to forget: This is only here because of the impact it had on Bowyer's Chase chances, because this sure as hell isn't a forgettable moment.

After Bowyer and Jeff Gordon made contact racing for position, Gordon took matters into his own hands (car? fender?) and took out Bowyer. And then that led to one of the greatest garage sprints in NASCAR history.

Bowyer left Phoenix 52 points behind Brad Keselowski, mathematically out of championship contention.

The impact of Gordon's retaliation to Bowyer's championship hopes was an afterthought to the chaos that had occurred. But when Jimmie Johnson had his issue at Homestead, that allowed Bowyer to slip into second place behind Keselowski.

Bowyer was running in the top 10 at the time of his contact with Gordon, and by virtue of his 28th place finish, likely lost about 20 points. His chances going into Homestead would have been slim, and he wouldn't have caught Keselowski regardless, but Bowyer would have been at the championship press conference and in the discussion. Instead, while he was storyline 1A at Homestead thanks to the conflict, his championship hopes were an afterthought.

The wrap: Speaking of afterthoughts, when we look back on the 2012 season in five or 10 years, will people instinctively think that Johnson finished second to Keselowski? That's not discounting anything that Bowyer did -- what he accomplished with a new team and the improvement that Michael Waltrip Racing made is one of the best stories of the year.

It's just that the championship battle moments, the duel at Texas, the comeback at Kansas, the turning point at Phoenix, all involved Keselowski and Johnson. Yeah, even the most casual fans of NASCAR will remember Bowyer for what happened at Phoenix, but hopefully they'll remember that he finished second too.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/2012-season-rear-view-clint-bowyer-145909662--nascar.html

Stefan Bellof Paul Belmondo Tom Belso JeanPierre Beltoise

Foyt To Field Austin In '500'

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/08/foyt-to-field-austin-in-500.html

Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd David Brabham Gary Brabham

A brief respite

It may seem like an odd time to be doing this, but there is never much time off for the F1 journalists of the world. However there are also times in life when one needs to make time, so I am taking the next 10 days off in order to go on honeymoon. I will [...]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/a-brief-respite-2/

Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti

Saturday

Y?all might be a Redneck?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/lfgbhr2AAIg/yall-might-be-redneck.html

Geoff Crossley Chuck Daigh Yannick Dalmas Derek Daly

2013 Moto2 and Moto3 Valencia February Test Day 1 Press Releases

Press releases from some of the Moto2 and Moto3 teams after the first day of testing at Valencia:

Year:

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/0KSwLIe4bhs/2013_moto2_and_moto3_valencia_february_t.html

Ray Crawford Alberto Crespo Antonio Creus Larry Crockett

De Silvestro Signs With KVRT

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/10/de-silvestro-signs-with-kvrt.html

Allen Berg Georges Berger Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard

Reset

So, here we find ourselves again. Welcome back! Insert excuses galore, but the break was more due to soul searching than anything else. A few nights ago, I was navigating the crazy waters of youtube and stumbled across the much … Continue reading →

Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/reset/

Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra

2013 WSBK Private Phillip Island Test Day 2 Times: Camier Fastest Amidst Another Crashfest

The second day of the private test for the World Superbike teams at Phillip Island went very much as the first day did: with fast times, and a lot of crashes. The new surface was to blame for both: Leon Camier got half a second under the race lap record, but the on/off grip levels of the track saw him, and almost every one else, flung off their bikes at one point or another.

Camier ended the day fastest, the engine updates on his FIXI Crescent Suzuki improving the machine considerably, along with electronic updates for the bike. Sylvain Guintoli - the man Suzuki originally signed alongside Camier, but who jumped ship for the factory Aprilia ride - was 2nd, a tenth off the pace of Camier, proving that the Aprilia RSV4 still a potent weapon. Johnny Rea put the Pata Honda into 3rd, work continuing on ironing out the wrinkles with the HRC electronics, with both Rea and Haslam pleased with the progress made, though still aware of the task ahead. Marco Melandri was the fastest BMW man, though the Italian was wary of pushing too hard for fear of crashing, and adding further damage to his painful shoulder. Melandri did put in a long run on used tires, running a consistent string of laps around the 1'32 mark, a solid race pace.

Race Details

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/rX0-8YuD9sY/2013_wsbk_private_phillip_island_test_da.html

JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd

Friday

Smooth Button masters F1's greatest test

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/smooth_button_masters_f1_great.html

Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd David Brabham

The cars are going around the track, hurrah, hurrah

The sand in the offseason hour glass is accumulating more and more at the bottom.

Over the weekend, the Grand-Am Series completed its Roar Before the 24 test, the main test session in preparation for the Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona International Speedway on January 26-27. The Sprint Cup Series takes the track at Daytona for three days of testing on Thursday.

A few notes from the Grand-Am test:

Michael Valiante set the weekend's fastest time in Michael Shank Racing's No. 6 Daytona Prototype. Michael Shank Racing won last year's race in its No. 60 car, which was third on the board with AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel.

Speaking of Allmendinger, he said over the weekend that the Rolex 24 was the only race on his schedule at the moment and that he's looking for other options. Wouldn't you like to see him full-time in the Izod IndyCar Series?

Patrick Long had the fastest speed in the GT class.

Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip will be driving with Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner Rob Kauffman and Rui Aguas in the GT Class at the Rolex 24. Aguas set the team's fastest lap on Sunday, which was good for fifth in GT.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/cars-going-around-track-hurrah-hurrah-134254378--nascar.html

Red Amick Chris Amon Bob Anderson Conny Andersson

2013 WSBK Private Phillip Island Test Day 2 Times: Camier Fastest Amidst Another Crashfest

Race Details

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/rX0-8YuD9sY/2013_wsbk_private_phillip_island_test_da.html

Julian Bailey Mauro Baldi Bobby Ball Marcel Balsa

MRTI Test Day 1

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/10/mrti-test-day-1.html

Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra

Thursday

Warrior Alonso bides his time

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/10/post_4.html

Gerry Ashmore Bill Aston Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo

Holy Retirement Funds Batman!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/G48bn0qV6vo/holy-retirement-funds-batman.html

David Clapham Jim Clark† Kevin Cogan Peter Collins

Random Facts about the 2012 Camping World Truck Series

Needing some random and totally useless NASCAR facts about the 2012 season to tantalize your friends with at your New Year's Eve party? You've come to the right spot! Today, it's the Camping World Truck Series!

John King won the season opening race at Daytona for Red Horse Racing. Because of a lack of funding, he ran just four more races for Red Horse and six more overall. He finished 9th in the second race of the season at Martinsville, and that was that for his top 10 finishes.

Todd Bodine finished 14th in the standings. That?s his lowest finish since he started running full time in the series in 2005. In fact, that?s the first time he?s finished outside the top 10 in that span.

In that same stretch, Ron Hornaday never finished below 7th in the points standings. He was 13th this year. Hornaday was also winless in 2012, only the second time in his Truck Series career that he?s gone winless in a season. The other year was 2004, and he ran just one race that season.

17 drivers ran all 22 races in 2012. The only driver to do that and not finish in the top 10 all season was Bryan Silas, who was 18th in the points standings, or, if you prefer, two positions behind John Wes Townley.

There were 3372 laps completed in the Truck Series this year. Ty Dillon ran 3358 of those laps. Not coincidentally, he led the series in top 10 finishes with 17. Dillon was also running at the finish of every race.

Timothy Peters (8.3) and Joey Coulter (8.5) had higher average finishes than series champion James Buescher (8.6), but Peters won twice and Coulter won once. Buescher won four times.

Buescher led the most laps in the series at 505, but second was Kevin Harvick, who made just three starts. In those three starts, Harvick completed 597 laps and led 445 of them.

104 drivers made at least one start, and 76 of those drivers were eligible to collect Truck Series points.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/random-facts-2012-camping-world-truck-series-145133251--nascar.html

Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick Chris Amon

More Accolades for COTA?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/gKsdeDLb0-o/more-accolades-for-cota.html

Antonio Creus Larry Crockett Tony Crook Art Cross

Pirelli changes tyre choices for Australia and Bahrain | 2013 F1 season

Pirelli changes tyre choices for Australia and Bahrain is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Pirelli has confirmed the tyre options for the first four races of the 2013 season.

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/13/pirelli-tyre-choices-australia-bahrain/

Jose Dolhem Martin Donnelly Carlo Abate George Abecassis