Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/reflections-on-opening-weekend/
Sunday
Reflections on Opening Weekend
What more could you want in central Indiana? We have got a week of gorgeous weather ahead of us and by the end of opening weekend we saw every team but the engine-less dragon crew put at least a few … Continue reading
Saturday
Danica Patrick?s first dance with the Lady in Black was a rocky one
Well, it's a start.
Danica Patrick has met the Lady in Black, and the first round goes to Darlington. In the first practice, Patrick recorded the slowest time of any driver, 167.997, nearly 10 mph slower than leader Kevin Harvick.
Now, before the freakouts begin: Patrick knows exactly where she belongs in the Sprint Cup pecking order. "I'm not coming in thinking I should be anywhere in particular based on my extreme lack of experience and knowledge of this place," she said after the practice. "Darlington was chosen as a track to come to in a Cup car because of how difficult it is and because of how much track time it takes to get comfortable."
Patrick earned her first Darlington stripe, hitting the wall once in the Nationwide car and four times in the Cup car. "I definitely think getting through the night with a respectable night is what I'm hoping for in the Nationwide car," she said. "And as far as the Cup car, I just want to finish.� I just want to finish, which is going to be a challenge I think."
[Jay Busbee: Danica Patrick deserved punishment for wrecking Hornish Jr.]
Other drivers have sympathy for Patrick in her initial run at Darlington, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. called "one of the toughest tracks that we run on.� I think it's great for her to come here and get that experience early for a full season next year ... Only a very few drivers come in here for their first time and really walk away with a successful weekend.� Most drivers that come here for the first time do struggle, so I wouldn't be too concerned if I was her if she didn't get the results that she was expecting.� This is a place that you have to learn the ropes and pay your dues or it will jump out and get you when you least expect it."
Patrick's lessons begin Friday night in the Nationwide race. Any bets on how long she'll last?
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Brazilians under the spotlight
Journalists in Formula 1 (both the real ones and those who like to imagine such status) love to think that racing drivers are “under pressure” when things do not go right. When you actually talk to drivers you find, more often than not, that they are pretty unfazed by pressure. They either do not read [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/brazilians-under-the-spotlight/
2012 Le Mans Moto3 Preview: Young Guns Ready for the French Grand Prix
The first three races in the history of the new Moto3 class have given three different winners and, with round four just around the corner at Le Mans, any one of Sandro Cortese, Maverick Viñales or Romano Fenati could get their second win of the season. Or perhaps Spaniard Luis Salom will find that tiny thing he still needs to become part of the exclusive club of new “quarter litre” category winners.
With an intelligent victory at the first race in Qatar, Viñales started 2012 season as he finished 2011, winning in a very consistent way and becoming the favourite among the fastest contenders for the first Moto3 world championship season. But just as life was not easy in the 125 class, neither is it in Moto3, so Viñales’s sixth place finish in round two at Jerez proved once more the old saying that a winner one week can be mid-pack the next. Back in the front again fighting for victory one week later in Portugal, Viñales and his FTR Honda suffered clear problems of top speed against Sandro Cortese’s KTM on Estoril's main straight. At the end, victory was decided when both riders touched each other while accelerating at the start of the third sector of the track, with advantage for Cortese on the inside line. Viñales was far from happy with the episode, and he even tapped Cortese’s arm after the checkered flag. Maybe Cortese’s move was not such fair play, but Viñales’ action should not have gone unnoticed by Race Direction, but it did. Back on the track Viñales got his first ever win last year at Le Mans, a track with such strong braking points that top speed does not seem to be a crucial issue.
Brazilians under the spotlight
Journalists in Formula 1 (both the real ones and those who like to imagine such status) love to think that racing drivers are “under pressure” when things do not go right. When you actually talk to drivers you find, more often than not, that they are pretty unfazed by pressure. They either do not read [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/brazilians-under-the-spotlight/
Friday
Happy Hour: Kurt Busch is out of chances
Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.
So I was running low on gas the other day and I tried the Jimmie Johnson solution: turn off the engine and coast, then turn it back on again. FYI: It doesn't work so well in traffic. Now, your letters, starting with the topic du jour:
Urt, Urt, Urt. A lot of us try, and I mean really try, to give you a chance to redeem yourself but it's getting about time to kick you to the curb. This latest deal, roaring through the 39 pits because you were angry, shows me the new attitude is superficial. Like a potential sponsor, I'm going to have to put my money somewhere else. You're an extremely talented driver; just look at how you mowed down the field at last week's Southern 500 with an underfunded team, but you are too much of a liability. I was really hoping to see some real change. How cool would it be to see some great storylines like Phoenix Racing getting a Chase berth? I'm sure writers like Busbee had the whole "phoenix-rising-from-the ashes" story ready in the back of their minds (sorry JayB, no Pulitzer there). What great stuff this would have been. Sorry, Urt, you're fired!
?Thomas
The Kurt Busch saga fascinates me for so many reasons. Have we ever had an athlete in the prime of his career detonating like this? I can't think of anyone; help me out. What Busch's increasingly unhinged rants have shown is that you just cannot trust the guy. He absolutely has a world of talent, but he needed to look at this year as a flat-out internship where anything above finishing half the races constituted a success. Instead, he probably scared away any sponsors or potential new owners with this rant; can you hear it and think there's any chance he changed? At some point, you run out of second chances.
___________________
I'm done, man. I'm done watching NASCAR. FOX has ruined it for me. From their five-laps-per-commercial-break average, to the inane and mind-numbing commentary spouting from the GoDaddy-[uh, let's say "cheering" - JB] mouths of DW and Mike Joy, FOX has made NASCAR unwatchable. Danica Patrick isn't compelling to me no matter how many times we're force-fed her story. Besides, how are we supposed to take her seriously as a driver when her main sponsor is carpet bombing the coverage with their terrible commercials and in-race ads (lest I forget her 'respectable' 31st place finish, six laps down).
I'll be at Bristol this fall; at least live racing will always be exciting and DW-free. Now I'll just have to figure out what to do with my free time on Sunday afternoons. Croquet anyone?
?Pat Lorentz
Knoxville, Tenn.
I'm a beast at croquet. You're on. But dude, don't give up yet! Fox only has a few more races! Then we're on to TNT and ESPN! I'm not going to weigh in on the relative merits of each broadcast team; everybody's got their own favorites (and some prefer simple silence). I will say that I can understand why people are sick of the Danica coverage ? to some extent, it's the NASCAR equivalent of ESPN slobbering all over everything Boston. Might I humbly suggest our raceday chat? It's not a Danica-free zone, but everybody takes shots at everyone. Except for the Orange Cone. That fella's sacred.
___________________
In the early days of NASCAR, the sport was just as much a race of endurance as it was speed. The rate of attrition was significantly higher. The technology for building engines and transmissions that could handle the rigors of 500 miles without self destructing on a semi-regular basis wasn't readily available. With better tech and testing, the endurance aspect of the sport is essentially a non-factor. Is it time for NASCAR to consider shortening these races? I'm thinking in the ballpark of 150-mile range for NCWTS, 200-mile range for NWS, and 300-mile range for NSCS. I may be in the minority but I truly believe that these 4+ hour races are as outdated as the carbureted engine or non-synchronous transmission.
?Darrell "Furiousd" Watts
North Cacalacky
I absolutely agree, and you've hit on a point that has some traction. Why do races have to be 500 miles? Sure, it's a nice round number, but you're right ? there's no mechanical or technological reason for the race to be that length any longer. Every car is almost certainly going to make it to the finish in one piece, even those driven by Sam Hornish Jr. and Steve Wallace. Plus, consider the fact that we're living in a much faster-paced world now; attention spans are completely ?�HEY, GET BACK HERE! I WASN'T DONE TALKING! Anyway, yeah, you can make races shorter for the TV audience while still preserving the hang-out-and-get-drunk-all-day-and-call-in-sick-till-Thursday joy that is attending a race in person.
____________________
Before the Nationwide race at Darlington on Friday, the ESPN announcers were talking to Denny Hamlin over the radio. They mentioned talking to the drivers during a green flag run. Apparently they got in trouble for doing that a couple of years ago. That reminded me of a video I found on youtube. This is Tim Richmond during a race in 1986 at North Wilkesboro. Enjoy.
Dude! I lost your name! Send it to me and I'll post it. Anyway, that clip is unbe-freaking-lievable. Richmond is chilling like that under a green flag? He could've given Kurt a few lessons. I bet Tim had his right arm slung over the passenger seat, too. And if he didn't have a passenger seat, he'd probably install one. And bring along a couple stewardesses for the ride.
We'll close with two good letters on the same topic of wrecks vs. clean racing:
___________________
I like wrecks during races. I admit it. There is nothing else in NASCAR or any other motor sport that provides the "OMG did you see that?" or "OMG you've got to see the replay of this" moments that wrecks do.
That said, I do not sit around during a race and hope and praying that a wreck will come along. Never will. What I do miss is the competitiveness during the race. The aggressive moves. The bump-and-run moves that do not cause wrecks but are a spike in the action. Passing down the backstretch. Those things, things fans really love, seem to be missing from NASCAR these days. They're rarely seen on the short tracks anymore. About the only races where such aggressive action occurs are the two road races and they only occur at one or two corners each lap.
Most fans do not want more wrecks. We do want aggressive, competitive racing throughout the race not just the final 5 percent of the laps. But, when they do occur, we do love wrecks.
?Ron Andersen
Eagan, Minn.
I never heard someone come into work on Monday and say "did you see Stewart pass Jr. on lap 22?" I'm not arguing that it makes us good or bad people...it just makes us people. We like the carnage, we like to share, and we like to share the carnage. Did you ever tell someone a story about your drive home that was exactly like every other drive home? No, but you will tell the story of the day you saw the SUV upside down wrapped around a tree. If you still don't believe me, record a race. Give yourself about 60 minutes to watch it. You'll fast forward through most of it with the intent of watching the last 20 laps. But I'm willing to bet that most people will hit play when the yellow caution light starts flashing just to see what happened. Why? Not because we're bad people, but because it's interesting, different, unpredictable. And that's what we like.
?Joel H.
Blandon, Pa.
Right on, gents. Here's a solution: award more points for leading at various checkpoints in the race. You award an extra point for leading every 100 miles, you're going to see a lot less backmarking. Artificial? Sure, but it's artifice in the service of good racing, not some manufactured drama like debris that may or may not actually exist.
Another idea: let the drivers race fans' cars. You like Tony Stewart? Prove it. Give him the keys to your minivan and see if he can outdrive Carl Edwards in your buddy's SUV. I'd pay money to see that, and you would too.
And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com. You can find Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR coverage on Facebook right here, and you can follow me on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook here.� Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/happy-hour-kurt-busch-chances-180654638.html
2012 Formula 1 season ? Time to get in the mood!
The 2012 Formula 1 season gets underway this month and here are some videos to get you in the mood. While you are here, why not check out which drivers are under pressure in 2012? Enjoy these videos! More to come! [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog [...]
Francois Cevert Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok
Jeremy Mayfield ordered to pay $1 million for dogs? attack
The carrier, Mary E. Bolton, charged Mayfield with negligence in permitting their dogs, pit bull/Labrador mixes, to roam freely on his property. According to court accounts, Bolton was delivering the mail on April 21, 2011, and had a package too large to fit into the mailbox. She drove onto the property (which had "No Trespassing" and "Beware of Dog" signs visible) but was attacked by the dogs.
Mayfield, who was home at the time, chased off the dogs, carried Bolton into his house, and called 911. Bolton was transported to a nearby hospital, and after several� months off work, now suffers from nerve damage and post-traumatic stress disorder. Animal control authorities confiscated and later euthanized the dogs.
[Jay Busbee: Danica Patrick deserved punishment for wrecking Sam Hornish Jr.]
Bolton indicated that she lost an estimated $14,000 in income because of the injuries. Mayfield has said he offered to pay for her medical costs, but did not show up in court or file an answer to Bolton's charges. While Mayfield expressed regret over the incident, he also noted the reality of the situation, that his house is nearly a mile from the street and that he moved to the country expressly to allow his dogs to run free on his own property.
"I'm far enough off the road to not get messed with," he said. "My dogs never left that property, yet I've got a $1 million judgment against me."
In this instance, Mayfield was not charged with a crime. But it is one more in a series of tragic and traumatic events piling up against Mayfield. His home was auctioned off because he owed roughly $3 million on the property. Mayfield also still faces charges of drug possession, larceny and possession of stolen goods. He has also been involved in lawsuits with his stepmother, whom he accused of (but later recanted) being involved in the death of his father.
He has not raced in NASCAR since 2009, when he was suspended for testing positive for methamphetamines. At the time, he protested his innocence, but Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon expressed concern about sharing a track with him.
Mayfield did not file a response to Bolton's charges because he says he cannot afford attorneys on this matter as well as his criminal ones.
"If I had $1 million to give away," he said, "I wouldn't be in this situation."
-For more, follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook.
Postal worker wins $1 million from former NASCAR driver [Winston-Salem Journal]
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Casey Stoner's Statement on His Retirement: "The Sport Has Changed, And I've Lost The Passion For It"
At the start of the pre-event press conference at Le Mans, Casey Stoner made the following statement:
"Afternoon everyone.
"Basically, this has come after a long time of thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife. This has been coming for a couple of years now, but at the end of this 2012 season, I will be not racing in the 2013 championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP and go forward with something different with my life.
"After so many years of doing the sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to and this point. This sport has changed a lot, and it's changed to the point that I'm not enjoying it, I don't have the passion for it. So at this time, it's better if I retire now. There's a lot of things that have disappointed me and also a lot of things that I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately, the balance has gone in the wrong direction, and so basically I won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I can stay that I will stay for just one more year, but then when does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now."
Thursday
BMW WSBK Press Release: Marco Melandri And Leon Haslam Talk About BMW's First 1-2 Finish in WSBK
BMW have been waiting for a win in World Superbikes for a long time. Ever since they entered the series in 2009, the German factory has been edging ever closer to podiums and a victory, but they have always proved elusive. At Donington, they finally got what they had been waiting for for so long, and more: Not only did Marco Melandri become the first ever rider to win a World Superbike race on a BMW, but his teammate Leon Haslam finished 2nd, making it a historic 1-2. The duo could even have repeated the feat in the second race at the British track, if not for some rather excessively enthusiastic riding on the part of the two leaders and Johnny Rea.
After the victory, BMW issued a press release containing an interview with Melandri and Haslam, talking about their historic result at Donington. It is reproduced below:
After the first one-two: Double-interview with Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam.
Ducati 750GT
 |
One of the biggest winners at the 2012 RM Auctions in Monaco was the Ducati 750GT.
First introduced to the market in 1971, the 750GT was the personification of a flash-bang Ducati. It was flashy, to say the least. The first examples of the 750GT came with silver painted frames with the tank and side covers finished in a colorful blend of metallic colors that included gold, lime green, bright blue, or red.
Colors notwithstanding, the true highlight of the 750GT was its 748 cc SOHC V-twin engine that was capable of hitting top speeds in excess of 120 mph. The surest sign that Ducati went and invested a whole lot in the 750GT was because of the laborious and painstaking detail they took just to build one.
The construction of the engine was so precise that it took up to eight hours to assemble one unit, making sure that all the bevel-drive gears and bearings were correctly set up. If it was a racing engine, Ducati would take two days to build one. Initially, the bike’s sales lagged until Paul Smart won at Imola in 1972 with the 750GT, beating some of the best manufacturers this side of the galaxy. As a result, the 750GT became a legend of sorts, with Taglioni even saying that its engine was the best he ever designed.
As for the Ducati 750GT that was offered at the RM Auctions, that one came in excellent overall condition with superior paint, chrome details, and even the early Amal carburetors. The 750GT sold for a staggering ?38,025 ($48,800), a price that’s miles north of what the estimated ?12,000 - ?15,000 ($15,400 - $19,000).
Ducati 750GT originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 19:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/ducati/1971-ducati-750gt-ar129545.html
Wednesday
Webber ?will threaten? Vettel in 2012
Bernie Ecclestone has stated his belief that Mark Webber could be Sebastian Vettel’s biggest rival for the title this year. Check out our review of Red Bull in 2011! Webber failed to win a race last year of course, but Ecclestone is convinced that the Australian will improve, threatening his Red Bull team-mate along the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/WvCtgq-iUMQ/webber-will-threaten-vettel-in-2012
Massa under pressure to raise his game
A seemingly routine story on Ferrari?s website has underlined the fact that Felipe Massa is coming under ever increasing pressure to perform. The Scuderia?s post-Barcelona report spoke of Massa?s ?drop-off? and said that the team is ?expecting a change of … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/05/14/massa-under-pressure-to-raise-his-game/
Mercedes Benz Is Pronounced Regarding Purchase Of Ducati
As the law of cause and effect, corporate acquisitions also have their consequences, and in this sense the purchase of Ducati by Audi is no exception. In this case the “collateral damage” is especially funny, because it means that the German giant now officially owns Mercedes Benz AMG few, or something like that. Before the [...]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/207-mercedes-benz-is-pronounced-regarding-purchase-of-ducati.html
Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy
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