Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/10/never_forget_how_great_schumac.html
Monday
Hyundai Veloster Night Racer Concept by EGR Group
Last week, Hyundai unveiled the first details on the Genesis Coupe concept car specially developed for the 2013 SEMA show in cooperation with Bisimoto Engineering. Today it’s time to learn about another concept from the Korean automaker: a Veloster developed in cooperation with EGR Group.
As its name suggests, the Veloster Night Racer was specially developed for the night racing circuits. To achieve this, the concept received a vivid, yellow paint scheme, a Wurton roof-mounted, LED light bar and custom, ONEighty-branded headlights. The exterior was also updated with a specially developed body kit, hood deflector, window visors, a rear spoiler and bumper guard. The concept sits on special DPE three-piece, lightweight racing wheels.
As this was a concept developed for the circuit, Hyundai and EGR Group also equipped the Veloster with a roll cage and racing seats with Takata harnesses.
Bisimoto Engineering checked in to tune the Hyundai Veloster’s 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine and MagnaFlow added in an exhaust system. This helped push the final output to 250 horsepower — up from the stock 201 horsepower. Helping drag this hatchback to a stop are oversized Brembo brakes.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Hyundai Veloster.
Hyundai Veloster Night Racer Concept by EGR Group originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 5 October 2013 12:00 EST.
Sunday
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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Zsolt Baumgartner Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem
Saturday
Friday
Happy Hour: Tires, passing and more Cup drivers in Nationwide
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.
A lot was made about the "revolutionary" tire at Atlanta, so we might as well start with a question about tires, right?
I thought the Atlanta race was fantastic because of the tire fall off. Two questions:
1. Was it the track or the new tire that caused the falloff or both?
2. What other tracks promote tire fall off? Why?
Thanks. Love the blog.
-Drew
It was a good race -- but that was it. It wasn't great, nor did it come close to approaching some of the classics that we've seen at Atlanta in the past.
If we weren't told that a different tire was being used on Sunday night, would we have known a difference? I ask that question in all seriousness. The reason the tire had to be so revolutionary was because the tires that were originally used at the beginning of the Atlanta tire test weren't lasting very long.
That's not to say that the tire was a failure by any means -- though calling it a success right after the race was a bit of premature PR. The tire had fall-off and it had durability. But why should that be such of a big deal? It is only because we're used to races at tracks with fresh pavement and no tire fall-off.
And that's not Goodyear's exclusive fault. I'm of the thought that all parties involved should have been more proactive than reactive when it came to the newfound demands of the new car, but that's a different topic for a different day. As Geoffrey Miller wrote this week, we're all just listening to the hype machine spin all around us. Now, speaking of the new car...
_____________________
My question is: We know the teams and the manufacturers use wind tunnels to test these cars; do they not have a wind tunnel that can simulate air flow during a passing situation? Can they not do such testing, with scales under the tires in order to measure downforce and how it's affected by side-by-side racing?
It just seems to me that, when the Gen 6 car was introduced, a lot of teams were "surprised" at how one car coming up alongside another could make the first car loose. If the teams were doing their homework, wouldn't that have come up in either wind-tunnel testing, or computer simulations? And if this actually WAS a known problem, shouldn't teams--and NASCAR--have addressed such a problem? I have trouble believing that NASCAR or the major teams would WANT to have cars getting wrecked because another car took away the air on the side; but then, maybe they ARE catering to the fans who watch the races only for the wrecks, and who are more interested in the pit stops than the RACING, which to me has always been about passing other cars under the green flag.
At the most recent Bristol race, the most excitement I saw was when Kasey Kahne was trying to run down and then pass Matt Kenseth at the end. But then, maybe I'm an old fogey; to me, that stuff USED to be what racing was all about, two cars side-by-side, one going for the pass, the other trying to prevent it. Maybe the modern definition of racing IS about wrecks and gaining positions on pit road...but as far as I'm concerned, racing will always be about passing under green and tradin' paint if that's what it takes to make it happen.
And I'm beginning to miss that part of Cup racing.
- Buzz
There's only so much you can do when it comes to simulations. My armchair analysis wonders if it's because teams don't spend that much time running in packs or near each other during practice, and then the only time that the cars are very close to each other is during a race.
Now, I understand why teams play it the way they do -- you don't want to get a car crashed in practice. But I have to wonder if there's some data to be gathered.
_____________________
How big a points lead would Sam Hornish Jr. have at the moment if the Cup regulars didn't keep stealing his wins? I know he has finished 2nd to his team mates from Cup twice this year at least, and he once again was leading the Nationwide regulars at Atlanta. Only to have 3rd place behind Harvick and Busch. Here's a crazy idea, don't give Cup regulars who are driving in the 'minors' points. Sure Sam finished 3rd, but he was highest Nationwide driver so give him points for the win. That would give Kyle Larson a 2nd, not a 5th. Yes I realize that the Cup drivers coming 'down' to a Nationwide race may draw in a few more fans into the stands, but why should the full time Nationwide drivers be penalized for a more experienced, over qualified driver stealing a win? Wouldn't people cry foul if a professional baseball team such as St. Louis played a minor league team and acted like they did a major accomplishment when they stomped em? There wouldn't have been nearly as many drivers a lap down at the end of the Nationwide race if were there were no Cup drivers blowing the field away from the drop of the green. I am sorry Kyle, but the only wins that count in my book for Cup drivers are CUP WINS. You can pat yourself on the back all you want for your Truck and Nationwide wins and pad your win total to your hearts content...... but all you did was beat up the 'minors'. Good Job, you beat someone you SHOULD beat
Tell me the extra track time doesn't help, look at the line Harvick found during the Nationwide race and how he transferred that over to his Cup finish. Now sure, every other driver saw it and used it as well but still, he had the ON TRACK experience of implementing it.
And Cup drivers could still race for the Owner's Points Championship, that's all they get anyway when they run Nationwide. Deal out the owner point's as you would a normal race.
- Shawn
Oh man, Shawn, that's a lot of math. Sam has finished second five times this year and they've all been to Cup drivers. If you want to give him four more points (one for another position and then three for the win) for each race, he'd have 20 more points. But then we'd play the game with everyone else.
In case you were wondering, Austin Dillon has finished second once this year and that was to Trevor Bayne in the first Iowa race.
I'm also really not sure about the attendance impacts either. It sure seems that many fans are suffering Cup fatigue in the Nationwide Series. I wonder which outweighs the other?
I'm going to break this next one down line by line.
_____________________
1---Make it more of a drivers' race, less of a chassis tuners' race. Put chassis adjusters inside the car. Electric motors or other gizmos can replace the cranks in the back windows. Let the driver adjust their suspension during the running. We want to watch the drivers race at their best, not be hindered by a car that doesn't suit the track at that time.
What if we put navigators in the passenger side of the car similar to rally racing? And then if there needs to be an adjustment he/she climbs in the back of the car and makes it?
2---More of a drivers' race---more road courses. Fewer dull mile-and-a-half roundandroundandround races.
Let's race the whole F1 schedule? How fun would that be?
3---Pick up the quality of the low budget teams to make them more competitive. I don't know enough about it, but some smart people must have some good ideas for co-op chassis building of top quality cars or other ways to increase the size of the competitive field.
So the most competitive field in Sprint Cup history isn't competitive enough?
4--For the playoffs...err, Chase...drop the twelve-position Chase points driver out of the Chase each week and put the highest points non-Chase drive into the Chase. Those races would be fun to watch with the risk of being dropped from the playoffs!
I wouldn't be surprised if elimination implemented in the near future.
5---In Nationwide, put any Cup driver in the top half of the Cup points in the back to start. Who wants to see Kyle Bush win another Nationwide race, or Harvick, or Keselowski, etc.? Let them race, but make it tough on them in order to even out the competition.
Someone has converted to our cause!
6---More night races...it suits my schedule better.
Are the Gen 6 car bodies more fragile? They seem to get knocked apart from moderate impacts more than previous car generations.
- Ken
Carbon fiber, baby. Carbon fiber.
_____________________
I have a good question and suggestion for the cup race. I know the last race is at Homestead. Well why not let everyone race for points up till the homestead race. The top 10 drivers in points take that week off and have one final race at Daytona where those drivers race for the cup. No points, just whomever takes the checkered flag takes home the cup. That way those 10 drivers have 2 weeks to prepare and you can have a Daytona cup week party just like they do for the Daytona 500.
Because right now, I think it is unfair with what is going on with the 48, that Hendrick shows Johnson more attention and pours more money into his team then the other teams.
- Thomas
If you think that Hendrick focuses on the No. 48 more than the teams of Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Dale freaking Earnhardt Jr., you're out of your mind.
I don't know if NASCAR should end with a restrictor plate race. I like the idea of ending at Daytona, but the unpredictability of plate racing could lead to something really bizarre happening. Would that be a good thing or too Derrike Cope? I'm all for a plate race staying in the Chase. Just not sure about being at the end -- though I've waffled on this.
Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris
Thursday
Chrome Horn Episode 25: Richmond II
Join yours truly and Geoffrey Miller as we talk... well, we don't have to tell you what we talk about because it's pretty obvious, don't you think?
Got any questions for us to use in the mailbag or the podcast? Hit us at HappyHourMailbag@Yahoo.com.
Click here to download the podcast or here to listen to in your browser. And we're now on iTunes! Find us in the Podcast section right here and subscribe. Listen!
Wednesday
New Indianapolis road track ?better? than F1 version | IndyCar
The new Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course which IndyCar will race on next year is expected to be an improvement over the layout F1 used.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/10/02/new-indianapolis-road-track-better-than-f1-version/
Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari
Tuesday
Chrome Horn Episode 25: Richmond II
Join yours truly and Geoffrey Miller as we talk... well, we don't have to tell you what we talk about because it's pretty obvious, don't you think?
Got any questions for us to use in the mailbag or the podcast? Hit us at HappyHourMailbag@Yahoo.com.
Click here to download the podcast or here to listen to in your browser. And we're now on iTunes! Find us in the Podcast section right here and subscribe. Listen!
Monday
What Does The Future Hold For Button?
The admission of Jenson Button last week that his McLaren deal has been extended was no huge surprise ? but what is intriguing is the length of the deal. He ?couldn?t say? about anything beyond 2014, which suggests that the deal is only for a single year, with a possible option on it. Is it [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/mUDjFt1E_yI/what-does-the-future-hold-for-button
Sunday
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.
Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen
Saturday
5 Hour Energy returning to sponsor Clint Bowyer in 2014
Michael Waltrip Racing can breathe a public sigh of relief after 5 Hour Energy announced via its Facebook page Friday morning that it would return to the team to sponsor Clint Bowyer in 2014.
"This week the 5-hour ENERGY� team met after the New Hampshire race to discuss our future with Michael Waltrip Racing," the post said. "While our original plan was to announce the status of our sponsorship at the end of the year, this timeframe left many concerned about their future. There are scores of passionate fans, numerous charitable organizations, and hundreds of hard-working MWR employees and their families who are directly impacted by 5-hour ENERGY?s NASCAR sponsorship."
"After several internal discussions and meetings with MWR, we are prepared to announce our decision ahead of schedule. 5-hour ENERGY� will be back as a sponsor of MWR and Clint Bowyer for 2014. We look forward to another great year of competitive racing. Go 15!"
The president of 5 Hour, Brian Henderson, was at New Hampshire and according to the AP said "There's a lot of talk about integrity,'' he said. ''When the guy who's in charge can say, 'I can do whatever I want and I'm going to do it and I just did,' I wonder about integrity. I want to make sure we can win in this sport, OK?'' He then walked off.
Those comments looked to be in reference to NASCAR president Brian France, who in the wake of the MWR race manipulation allegations at Richmond, added Jeff Gordon to the Chase as a 13th car.
MWR was accused of having Bowyer and Brian Vickers slow down to ensure Joey Logano finished ahead of them at Richmond after Bowyer spun late in the race. That got Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase before he was penalized by NASCAR the following Monday. Last week, NAPA made the decision to leave Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the season.
NAPA was a full season sponsor for Truex. With the return of 5 Hour, the team now has two of its three cars funded, but is still looking for sponsorship for Truex.
Pole Day Live Blog!!!
Wow, what a first run through the field! Will Power has the current fast speed of 229.808, nearly an entire mile an hour faster than Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. That elusive 230 mile per hour lap looks like it … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/pole-day-live-blog-2/
Friday
Suzuki Press Release: Randy De Puniet Completes Misano Testing
Suzuki stayed on for two extra days of testing at Misano after the official MotoGP test had finished, and though they lost the second day to rain, the third day of testing proved productive. Randy De Puniet posted a lap of 1'34.882, under a second off the fastest lap set in Sunday's race at the Italian circuit. The Japanese factory now moves on to Mugello for further testing next week. Suzuki issued the following press release after testing at Misano was completed:
POSITIVE TEST FOR SUZUKI MOTOGP AT MISANO
Team Suzuki Press Office - September 18.
The Suzuki MotoGP Test Team has completed three-days of extensive testing at the Misano circuit in Italy on a positive note today after evaluating several new factory parts that included a new chassis, new engine-specifications and revised electronics, plus a new-styled cowling.
Test riders Randy De Puniet and Nobuatsu Aoki put in more-than 200 laps of the 4,064km circuit in the Provence of Rimini, trying-out improved settings and finding new direction to move-on to the next test at Mugello next week.
Year:
2013 
Thursday
Joey Logano to start the first race of the Chase on the pole
Just minutes after his team was (apparently) part of the reason that Jeff Gordon was added as a 13th driver to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Joey Logano was in the headlines again. However this time, it didn't have any NASCAR probation involved.
Logano won the pole for Sunday's Geico 400 at Chicagoland, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's Logano's second pole of the season -- the first came at Michigan, where he recorded his first win of 2013.
A win on Sunday would set Logano on the course his teammate Brad Keselowski followed to the championship last season. In 2012, Keselowski won the first race of the Chase en route to the title. This year, Keselowski missed out on the Chase -- no, (we think) he won't be added in before Sunday's race, but on Sunday, he'll start second behind Logano.
Logano and team were embroiled in som mid-week controversy when radio communications from David Gilliland's scanner were revealed to have a discussion that involved Gilliland moving over for Logano in the late laps to ensure that Logano made the Chase. Logano executed that pass with three laps left, and finished a position ahead of Gilliland and one point ahead of Jeff Gordon for the final top 10 Chase spot. Though, as we've noted before and will undoubtedly note again, had Logano not passed Gilliland, he would have gotten 10th over Gordon by virtue of tiebreaker.
Want to read a good takedown of the situation? Check out Jay Busbee's post if you're not sick of what's happened in NASCAR over the past week. It's enough to make your head spin more times than watching a Bristol race in fast-forward.
Anyway, back to qualifying, because that's what this post is supposed to be about. The other Chase drivers qualified as follows: Matt Kenseth 10th, Kyle Busch 12th, Jimmie Johnson 9th, Kevin Harvick 17th, Carl Edwards 8th, Greg Biffle 7th, Clint Bowyer 24th, Ryan Newman 20th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 18th, Kurt Busch 16th, Kasey Kahne 4th and BONUS DRIVER Jeff Gordon was 6th.
Wednesday
Volkswagen Beetle by ABT
With the new generation of the Beetle from Volkswagen have tried to convince the male gender of the legendary Beetle was a car not only women, perhaps because of this and to “lend a hand” to the German company ABT preparation we trying to precisely this, put a little more muscle so delicate a vehicle […]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/549-volkswagen-beetle-by-abt.html
Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca
Tuesday
Will anything come out of the investigation into Saturday night?s finish?
NASCAR took the step of issuing a statement that it was investigating the finish of Saturday night's race at Richmond which saw Ryan Newman lose the lead on pit road after a Clint Bowyer spin.
Investigating the finish of a race is a step that's nothing new for NASCAR. Though issuing a statement about it is. That's probably because since the conclusion of Saturday night's race, the NASCAR world has become convinced that there were shenanigans going on during the final few laps.
Newman was leading when Bowyer spun. A win for Newman would have put him in the Chase, knocking out Bowyer's teammate Martin Truex Jr. After the caution, Newman came out of the pits fifth. He finished third and behind Truex for the final Wild Card. Oh, and to make that possible, Joey Logano gained enough spots to end the first 26 races in the top 10.
This isn't your typical Jimmie Johnson conspiracy theory either. While many black helicopter folks feel that Johnson somehow gets special treatment by Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR, those are unfounded accusations. This? Well, there are a lot of things fishy with this.
It starts with the radio communication before the spin, and then the spin itself. It spreads over to communication to Brian Vickers, and his subsequent pit stop. And it doesn't stop as both Vickers and Bowyer drove like cautious 85-year-olds over the final few laps, a final few laps that saw Logano pass both of them on the track.
Logano was in the Chase and so was Truex. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman weren't.
It's not the first time that accusations have been flung about a late race spin at Richmond. In 2011, Paul Menard spun late and his teammate Kevin Harvick won the race. While Harvick got three extra points for the Chase from the win, the spin didn't affect the Chase field. This one is a little different.
But what can NASCAR do? Expecting the sanctioning body to redo the Chase field is unrealistic -- it's not going to happen. But if NASCAR finds that there's wrongdoing, something that while isn't certain, seems likely, there's going to be significant points penalties. While there may be no actual "proof" that Bowyer spun purposely to set off the events of the final laps, the public perception is so strong against what happened that NASCAR may have to take action simply for fan credibility's sake.
And if there are penalties, they should be crippling ones. 50 points for both Bowyer and Truex would be enough to eliminate them from championship contention before the Chase starts, and if NASCAR also wants to bring the boom against MWR, it could really hit where it hurts. Accompany those points penalties with a hefty, hefty fine or prohibition of winnings during the Chase. Or heck, make the financial penalties the only ones. Why? Well, look at what Waltrip said earlier this season.
?Our business model doesn?t work without us making the Chase,? Waltrip told Fox Sports in July. ?We invest in our cars and our team and we tell our sponsors that with the way we built our team, we?re going to make the Chase, we?re going to win races.?
MWR has won two races this season. They have two cars in the Chase. But given what happened Saturday night, we're soon going to find out what the costs of seemingly doing whatever it takes to make the playoffs are.
Monday
Welcome to May!
Welcome to May Welcome to the official opening day Social Media Garage live blog on a chilly day at the Greatest Race Course in the World. We?re starting a bit late due to the ridiculously chilly weather today but … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/welcome-to-may/
Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk
Sunday
Jay Leno Tests the Porsche 918 Spyder Production
Undoubtedly Jay Leno is one lucky guy, a man who has managed to provide entertainment and make your show is imitated in many countries. How could it be otherwise, especially in the United States, this translates to multimillion-dollar contracts, and bad checks that have helped him to be what it is today, a billionaire lover […]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/543-jay-leno-tests-the-porsche-918-spyder-production.html
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