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Sunday
NASCAR Team Owner For Senate
In recent years, politics and NASCAR have played hand-in-hand. Presidents from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush (First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden were at Homestead last season) have come to races and candidates for the office have made it an obligatory stop – Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were at [...]
Hendrick puts four cars in the top 10, but not in the top spot
Most times when a team owner puts all four of his cars in the top 10, you'd expect it to be a cause for celebration. But then again, most times a team owner isn't going for his 200th career win.
The four cars owned by Rick Hendrick all finished in the top 10 of the speedy and drama-free Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas, but since not one of them snagged the top spot, Hendrick remains stuck on 199 wins.
Still, seeing Jimmie Johnson in second, Jeff Gordon in 5th, Kasey Kahne in 7th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10th, Hendrick had to be reasonably pleased. Yes, Greg Biffle won, but three of the four drivers saw significant jumps in the standings.
Johnson rose two positions to 8th place, Gordon jumped four spots to 17th, and Kasey Kahne rode an uncharacteristically high finish to improve four spots to 27th. The only driver not to improve his position was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who remains in second place behind Biffle, now tied with Matt Kenseth.
What does this mean for Hendrick as a whole? It's good news for an organization that's had precious little of that this year. Johnson, based on past performance, is a near-lock for the Chase, and Junior would have to go into a slide to give up his spot. But Gordon remains almost one full race's worth of position, 41 points, out of the 10th spot, and Kahne is far worse, 88 points behind the final Chase spot. That means both will need to win their way into the Chase. It's doable, but very tough. Still, nights like Saturday in Texas will give the team hope.
As for the 200th? We may be making more of it than the drivers: "To be honest, it hasn't played much on my mind because I just want to win and I know winning is what my job is about, winning is what Hendrick Motorsports is about, and if we win we'll take care of the 200th," Johnson said after Texas. "I think about it more after the fact, not leading up to or during the event ... Whenever it happens is going to be very special for the company."
Saturday
2012 WSBK Monza QP2 Result - Overnight rain hampers progress
After overnight rain, riders were not eager to get out on the drying track. Eventually, a few laps were put in to get settings and data, but nobody improved on their times from yesterday.
Results:
Video: Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. contend for a Sprint Cup title?
Video time! Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, kick around some burning questions this week. First among those: can Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually win a Cup this year? (Dude is second in the standings, you know.) Also: why no love for Greg Biffle, huh? Watch, enjoy, comment below.
Kimi Raikkonen: ?In the end we were not fast enough to win?
Kimi Raikkonen silenced the sceptics with a superb drive to second place in Bahrain, and at one stage looked like he might actually win. The Lotus driver started 11th and had the benefit of having two new sets of options … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/04/22/kimi-raikkonen-in-the-end-we-were-not-fast-enough-to-win/
Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis
Friday
Alonso confident in Ferrari progress
Fernando Alonso was in positive mood at the end of the Mugello test, despite his day being interrupted by a crash. Alonso damaged the front of the car in a low speed impact with the barrier, and lost some two … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/05/03/alonso-confident-in-ferrari-progress/
Into the Crystal Ball? It?s A Gorgeous Facility, Edition
INDYCAR makes is third trip to the rolling hills of Birmingham Alabama and Barber Motorsports Park this weekend. After an emotional yet ultimately anticlimactic weekend in St. Pete, the paddock will finally find a semblance of normalcy as they descend … Continue reading 
Thursday
The Factories Win a Reprieve: MotoGP Rev Limits Delayed Until 2014
Jerez saw another round in the game of bluff poker being played between Dorna and the manufacturers over the future of MotoGP's rules, and both sides took another step closer to an agreement. Reports emanating from the discussions suggest that Dorna has made a concession to the MSMA over the rev limits, while the factories are pushing through a single-bike rule, and an agreement should be ready by the middle of the year.
Ever since the MSMA lost their monopoly over the rules at the end of 2011, when the contract between the MSMA and Dorna lapsed, Dorna has had the stronger hand, and Carmelo Ezpeleta has been pushing the factories hard for changes. The pressure is starting to pay off Ezpeleta, as by a combination of cajoling, threats and promises, he has also reached an agreement over the future shape of the sport. MotoGP is to undergo a radical transformation from the pure technology exercise that the 800 era became to a sport focused on entertainment where costs are kept in check.
Video: Tony Stewart, Roush boys are good picks for Texas
Texas time, and that means it's Tony Time! Stewart has dominated at the last few intermediate tracks, and there's no reason to think he won't again this Saturday night. But the Roush boys have had a wee bit of success at this track as well, so could one of them give Tony trouble? Perhaps. Check out the Lone Star State takes from your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, right here.
Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert Eugene Chaboud
Denny Hamlin scores second victory of 2012 at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. ? Through the first eight races of 2011, Denny Hamlin's only top 10 was a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas. He had four finishes outside the top 20. If it wouldn't have been for his win at Michigan in June, he would have missed the Chase.
At Kansas Speedway during Sunday's STP 400, the eighth race of the 2012 season, Hamlin was a fixture in the top five all day and made his second trip to victory lane with new crew chief Darian Grubb, passing Martin Truex Jr. with 31 laps to go after the sun broke through the clouds.
"It felt like all day I was behind the 56, and his car looked so superior to the field," Hamlin said. "We just needed some kind of change, whether weather, adjustments or something, to be where he was at and we kind of got both of them."
Yeah, it's way too early to talk about points, but Hamlin and Tony Stewart are now the only two drivers with two wins this season. Because just one win was enough to get Hamlin into last year's Chase via the wild card, two at this point makes the postseason highly likely.
On Sunday, at least six cars had engine issues, including the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon, which dropped a cylinder during the race's final green-flag run, and pole-sitter AJ Allmendinger, who had engine problems after leading the race's first 44 laps. Temperatures hovered around 60 degrees all day and the race was run under cloud cover until the final stretch. Teams also were forced to run a different gear setting than they had in previous Kansas races.
"We lucked out in some ways, I feel like, by finishing 21st," Gordon said. "It could have been a lot worse. We struggled today; we missed the setup, and we were still going to finish seventh or 8th, so I think that says a lot about our race team.
[ Also: Ceremonial start to a repaving, reconfiguring Kansas Speedway begins moments after race ]
"But yeah, we obviously had a valve spring I believe, something in the valve train that broke. They gave us more gear here this time and I think that took a toll on not only us, but on a lot of guys out there. I felt like it was turning a lot of RPM. Even though we have a rev limiter to keep it from going over what we think it needs and it never did, but still, it caused a problem."
The most spectacular engine failure of the day was Bobby Labonte, who blew up under caution while entering pit road.
"It must have broke a rod or piston, or pistons and rods, or whatever," Labonte said. We had some terrible vibration there at one time and we had to pit because something was wrong and then went back out and it was loose. The car filled up with smoke, so I'm figuring the rear tires were full of oil, oil from the oil tank, and then the caution comes out and it blows up on pit road."
As for Hamlin, it's still difficult to grasp exactly where he is competitively. Is he closer to the championship form he showed in 2010 or the inconsistency from last year? The answer, right now, probably lies somewhere in between.
"I personally am comfortable with myself as a driver," Hamlin said after picking up career win No. 19. "I know what my abilities are. ...�I feel like I can race with anyone in this sport.
"It's just so much about how good your communication with your crew chief is, how good your cars are, how good your pit crew is. It's more of a team sport now than what it's ever been. It's not just about the driver. ... Crew chiefs have won races when they don't have the best car, but it's been a long time since the best driver took a 15th-place car and won with it based off of what he did inside the car. It's just so hard nowadays. The cars are running so fast that it's a lot of what happens in the shop that dictates how your weekend goes."
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Presenting the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees
Buck Baker: First driver to win consecutive NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series championships (1956-57)
Red Byron: First NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, in 1949
Richard Childress: 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series
Jerry Cook: Six-time NASCAR Modified champion
H. Clay Earles: Founder of Martinsville Speedway
Tim Flock: Two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
Rick Hendrick: 13-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series
Jack Ingram: Two-time NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series champion
Bobby Isaac: 1970 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
Fred Lorenzen: 26 wins and winner of the Daytona 500 and World 600
Cotton Owens: Driver-owner, won 1966 owner championship with David Pearson
Raymond Parks: NASCAR's first champion car owner
Benny Parsons: 1973 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series� champion
Les Richter: Former NASCAR executive; former president of Riverside International Raceway
Fireball Roberts: Won 33 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series races, including the 1962 Daytona 500
T. Wayne Robertson: Helped raise NASCAR popularity as R.J. Reynolds Senior VP
Herb Thomas: First two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, 1951, '53
Curtis Turner: Early personality, called the "Babe Ruth of stock car racing"
Joe Weatherly: Two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
Leonard Wood: Part-owner and former crew chief for Wood Brothers, revolutionized pit stops
Next up, the five newcomers:
Ray Fox, former NASCAR owner, engine builder and official
Anne B. France, first secretary and treasurer of NASCAR, wife of founder Bill France Sr.
Ralph Seagraves, former president of R.J. Reynolds who introduced corporate sponsorship to NASCAR's premier series
Wendell Scott, first African-American to win a NASCAR premier series event
Rusty Wallace, 1989 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, 55 wins, 36 poles
Notable exclusions include Bruton Smith, Janet Guthrie and Ray Evernham. My picks? I'm going with Red Byron, Rick Hendrick, Curtis Turner, Wendell Scott and Rusty Wallace. And you?
Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis
Wednesday
Christian Horner on Bahrain: Political if you race, political if you don?t
Christian Horner says that his Red Bull team focussed on the sport in Bahrain over the weekend despite the obvious distractions that surrounded the event. ?We?ve focussed on motor racing this weekend,? said Horner, who had a chat with the … Continue reading 
Marco Andretti goes airborne in crash at Long Beach
The scariest moment of Sunday's Izod IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix involved Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti and invoked some unnerving flashbacks to the last race of 2011.
As Andretti moved to overtake Rahal, he catapulted over Rahal's right rear tire and went airborne, thankfully landing right side up before spinning and slamming into the tire barriers. Andretti was unhurt, though he emerged from the car grabbing his left wrist.
It was the first time that an IndyCar has been airborne in a race since the fiery crash that took the life of Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October, and the first time that the new DW12 chassis -- named in honor of Wheldon -- had experienced that type of a real-world crash.
The DW12 chassis features rear wheel protectors behind the back wheels to hopefully prevent these type of incidents. Unfortunately, they seemed no deterrent, as Andretti's car appeared to easily vault over Rahal's. Both drivers placed the blame on the other, with Andretti offering this after the race:
"That was our stint to make hay and we were trying to do so," Andretti said. "It's one thing blocking but it's another thing chopping, and that was a chop. I'm lucky I didn't get upside down, I could have been killed."
Understandably, Andretti and others have been shaken by the loss of Wheldon. While we know all too well that the possibility of death still exists in auto racing, it's still jarring every time a driver references the notion after a crash, no matter the severity.
Thankfully, both drivers were OK. And hopefully we're not seeing any other cars airborne anytime soon.
Video: Is this the best three-week stretch of the season?
No more cookie-cutters! At least for a few weeks. We're entering what might just be the best three-week stretch of the season: Richmond, Talladega, Darlington. Hell yes, we say! Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, kick around the best of the upcoming weeks' racing. And you, friends? What's your favorite track of the next few weeks?
Colin Chapman Dave Charlton Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg
Video: Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. contend for a Sprint Cup title?
Video time! Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, kick around some burning questions this week. First among those: can Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually win a Cup this year? (Dude is second in the standings, you know.) Also: why no love for Greg Biffle, huh? Watch, enjoy, comment below.
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