Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/a-melange-in-canada/
Monday
A melange in Canada
Paul di Resta set the fastest lap in the first practice session in Montreal in drying conditions, which resulted in a rather odd time sheet. Jenson Button was second, ahead of Romain Grosjean, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel. Next up was Mark Webber, ahead of Felipe Massa, […]
LIVE CHAT: Join us for the Indianapolis 500
It's the greatest spectacle in racing and we're live-chatting it. Join us at 11:45 AM ET on Sunday for the 97th Indianapolis 500. There may even be a special appearance by one Jay Busbee, who is rumored to be in Indianapolis for the race. We'll see you then!
Mugello Meeting Helped 'Clear The Air' Between Crutchlow And Yamaha
The troubled waters through which Cal Crutchlow has found himself sailing with Yamaha have been calmed a little. The Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider and his manager Bob Moore held their first face-to-face meeting with Yamaha bosses Lin Jarvis and Masahiko Nakajima on the Sunday night after the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, to discuss the options for extending their relationship for next year.
Also present at the meeting was Monster Tech 3 Yamaha boss Hervé Poncharal, who has been very vocal in his desire to retain the British rider. Crutchlow's results have been a real boon for the French team, and his outspoken and impish personality have helped attract a large amount of media attention. Poncharal has been mediating between Yamaha and Crutchlow, and is trying to secure an extension of Crutchlow's contract with the team for 2014.
Sunday
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/
Boston Marathon runners finish their race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS - Just minutes before the start of the Indy 500, a few dozen racers hit the frontstretch at a considerably slower speed than the 33 cars that would follow. But they received at least as many cheers.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway reached out to the Boston Athletic Association, inviting people who were unable to finish the Boston Marathon because of the bombing last month. Non-finishers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois, 35 in all, came to IMS to run a ceremonial half-mile right before noon.
?We?re here having a lot of fun today. We were treated like dignitaries,? he said, ?but there were a lot of people who were hurt in the bombings. And people died. We ran for them today. They couldn?t be here and we could so we ran for them.?
?The tragedy last month in Boston still resonates with everyone, so we wanted to give runners the chance to finish the race in front of thousands of fans who will appreciate their persistence and determination,? said Doug Boles, the speedway?s chief operating officer.
The runners heard cheers unlike they'd ever heard before as they ran down the fabled straightaway. The crowd broke into chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" as the runners passed, and many in the crowd waved American flags.
Ron Kuczma, a 65-year-old runner from Hudson, Ohio kept the day in perspective. ?We?re here having a lot of fun today. We were treated like dignitaries,? he told the Indianapolis Star, ?but there were a lot of people who were hurt in the bombings. And people died. We ran for them today. They couldn?t be here and we could so we ran for them.?
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
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Saturday
Brad Keselowski docked six points for post-race Dover violation
Brad Keselowski was penalized six points and crew chief Paul Wolfe was fined $25,000 and put on probation until December 31 after the No. 2 car failed post-race inspection at Dover when the right front of the car was found to be too low.
:The No. 2 car was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.8.1B (the car failed to meet the minimum front car heights during post-race inspection) of the 2013 rule book," a NASCAR release said.
It was the same penalty that Martin Truex Jr. received after the right front of his car was found to be too low after Texas in April. Both penalties were attributed by the teams to parts failures and Penske Racing said in a statement that it would not appeal Keselowski's penalty.
The penalty, which also includes six owner's points as well, drops Keselowski from 8th to 10th in the standings. Earlier in the season, both Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano were penalized 25 points after NASCAR found unapproved alterations to the rear-ends of the cars before the Texas race. Sunday's race at Dover was the first race back for Wolfe and Todd Gordon, Logano's crew chief, after the two served suspensions from Texas.
Volkswagen Passat CC by FolienCenter-NRW
The Volkswagen Passat CC is quite the luxury car. It’s not quite in the level of a Mercedes or a BMW, but as far as receiving premium amenities are concerned, this German luxury sedan carries a lot of them.
But even with its good standing, you can’t deny that there’s still room for improvement.
That’s where FolienCenter-NRW enters the picture. The German tuner has made our pages before, most recently when they upgraded the Audi TT to impressive levels.
Well, the tuner’s follow up to that is no less impressive, even though the program was built specifically for a customer. We love the matte chocolate brown color that FolienCenter-NRW used on the Passat.
Plus, it’s got a pretty significant performance boost that’s impossible to just brush aside and ignore. Interior upgrades are also part of the program, which means that FolienCenter-NRW spared no expense in building a comprehensive program for the Passat CC.
Click past the jump to see what FolienCenter-NRW did to the Passat CC
Volkswagen Passat CC by FolienCenter-NRW originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 8 June 2013 12:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/volkswagen/2013-volkswagen-passat-cc-by-foliencenter-nrw-ar157288.html
Jeff Gordon?s Central Park condo is now on the market for a cool $30 million
Want to live like a NASCAR driver? You don't need to get grease under your fingernails or sip sweet tea while listenin' to country music. No, all you need is a mere $30 million, and you can live just like Jeff Gordon. Easy, right?
Gordon is selling his three-bedroom, 3,454-square-foot condo in New York City's ultra-exclusive 15 Central Park West address. Here, per the New York Times, are the specs:
The floors are Brazilian cherry; flamed black granite, a matte surface with intriguing variations, makes repeat appearances on portions of the floor, walls and countertops. Except for the glass doors that separate the dining area from the eat-in kitchen, the doors throughout are rift-cut oak; a hulking built-in that Mr. Gordon refers to as ?the sushi bar,? an oak bar with a blackened-steel countertop and a hidden refrigerator, is the showpiece of the living room...
The bedroom wing faces west onto the courtyard, and all three bedrooms have en-suite baths and ample closets; the opulent master bath combines limestone and crema marfil marble, and has a Boffi tub and a two-person glass shower...
Just inside the 3,454-square-foot residence, the floor in the foyer is inlaid with bronze, and off the cloakroom is a powder room with a limestone vanity. A custom-built floor-to-ceiling room divider with movable fins made of American walnut with brass inserts separates the foyer from the living and entertainment area. The ceiling in the media section is covered in the same hand-stretched ecru leather that appears on the closet doors and walls in the 743-square-foot master suite.
The kitchen has Italian ceramic floors, a Wolf double oven, a Sub-Zero refrigerator, a wine cooler, and an off-white backsplash of neo-Paris stone, a substance impermeable to stains. The counters and center unit are of matte black granite. The park can be seen through the glass doors to the dining area.
So, yes, there you go ... everything a four-time champion could need to scrape by in the big city. Who's going to be our first bidder? Agents are waiting to take your call.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
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2013 Canadian Grand Prix practice in pictures | F1 Pictures
Pictures from the first day of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/06/08/2013-canadian-grand-prix-practice-in-pictures/
Friday
Into the Crystal Ball? 500 Miles To Go Edition
A 500 mile race in indycar racing, and especially the Indy 500, is an endurance test packaged as a sprint race. There is literally no time to think during this race, only time to allow ones instincts to make the … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/1408/
Warped Wednesday: What?s the point of the All-Star Race?
Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely.
One of the selling points of NASCAR has been that it's the only sport that has its major stars face each other every week. Yet, despite that, it has an All-Star Race. Isn't every race an all-star race?
Yes, the All-Star Race provides a nice, low-pressure break for the drivers and teams that traverse the country for 34 races a year. Having a third race in their backyards is a nice reward. But would an off-week be a better idea?
The prospect of $2 million to the winning team is nice too, but this is a multi-billion dollar industry. And sorry David Ragan, but it would be an absolute miracle if you and Front Row Motorsports won the race. It'll likely go to a team that has more resources.
Do we really need these contrived formats too? The running order leading into the mandatory pit stop before the final 10 lap sequence will be determined by average finishing position in the first three segments. Math can be hard for some folks; it will be fun to see people try to determine on their own who is going to line up where.
Why is it like that? Well, because Jimmie Johnson and company played last year's rules perfectly, winning the first segment and then laying back, carefully prepping the car for the final sprint to the finish. It was incredibly played, and well within the rules -- rules that were changed for this year.
But before I reminded you that Johnson won last year's race, could you have recalled his name immediately if I had asked you who won? Because of the glut of intermediate track races and night races (and intermediate track races at night!), the bright lights of the All-Star Race don't stand out as much. Well, maybe the driver introductions do, but that's because they're interminably long and not because they're enjoyable.
Maybe Saturday night will be epic. Maybe it will have a four-wide finish. Maybe we'll have a moment that takes our collective breath away and dominates the racing discussion leading up to Memorial Day weekend. Or maybe we'll have another race that's indistinguishable from the rest and becomes a distant memory as the summer rolls on. After all, these drivers will be facing each other (for points) 25 more times this season.
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Thursday
2013 Mugello Moto2 And Moto3 Round Up: Redding Stokes Up A War of Words, And Why KTM Is Killing It In Moto3
In many ways, the Moto2 race at Mugello resembled the MotoGP race. One rider seized the initiative, sized up the competition, and when he saw that they were no match for him, pressed home his advantage. While Scott Redding's victory at Mugello was not quite as dominant as Jorge Lorenzo's in MotoGP - after watching it again at leisure, it is clear just how totally Lorenzo controlled every aspect of that race, from his tough pass on Dani Pedrosa in the first corner to the devastating pace increase he forced when he sensed the Repsol Honda man weaken - it is still one of the most commanding Moto2 wins for some time.
Redding did not quite lead from the start, but he disposed of Takaaki Nakagami without too much difficulty. He then pulled a gap, with only Nico Terol and Johann Zarco able to follow his pace. Terol passed Redding just before the halfway mark, exploiting the slipstream provided by the oversized Englishman, but that was all Terol could do. Redding was puzzled when Terol failed to pull a gap after passing. "I couldn't understand how he caught me, because when he passed me, I was expecting to be fighting to hold on to him, but I was really comfortable behind," Redding said afterwards. He got past four laps later, and turned up the pressure, and while Terol and Zarco could hang on along the front straight, once Redding broke the slipstream he was gone. It was the first back-to-back victory by a British rider in 42 years.
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Power Rankings: All-Star dream destinations
It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. But this week, it's different! The All-Star Race wasn't for points, so there's no point (pun!) in ranking the Sprint Cup field again. Besides we'd just put Jimmie Johnson back at the top.
Instead, let's stick with the All-Star theme. There's been some fantastic fodder for Happy Hour in the email inbox this week; people are incredibly passionate about the All-Star Race. So what if the All-Star Race was going to go to another track? Where would it go? Let's answer that question.
P.S. -- We're inverting the field this week. Why? Because we can. And we're dreaming big, too.
12. Rockingham: Let's start off with a fan favorite. Rockingham has produced some great racing since the Truck Series has returned to it, and given the multiple grooves through the corners and the tire wear, there would be no shortage of side-by-side racing. Of course, the size of the grandstands and the accessibility to the track would be a drawback, but this is a dream list, right? Let's not worry about stuff like that.
11. Texas World Speedway: The last NASCAR race at TWS was in 1981, but the two-mile track has been a testing site for some teams. It's got steeper banking than Michigan and older pavement, plus a road course if the oval (where Greg Biffle hit 218 in 2009) is too fast.
10. Daytona Road Course: If you're looking for a great test of both driver and car, you can't go wrong with the Daytona Road Course. Drivers would have to be able to navigate the road course turns in the Daytona infield with aplomb, hit the chicane on the backstretch perfectly, and then hope they have enough horsepower to pull away from the field through turns three and four and the tri-oval. Sounds fun, don't you think?
9. O'Reilly Raceway Park: The Nationwide Series should never have left this short track for the Brickyard, so the Cup Series should come back, if only for an exhibition race. How cool would it be to see half the field in the preferred high groove and half the field diving down as low as possible to attempt a slide job at the beginning of the final 10 lap sprint?
8. Talladega: Yes, anything can happen at Talladega, and it usually does. And yes, Talladega is on here because of its popularity amongst the NASCAR fanbase. Can you imagine the infield All-Star parties? That being said, is a restrictor plate track really the best venue?
7. Circuit of the Americas: Catch any of the V-8 Supercars race on Sunday at Austin? The Circuit of the Americas would be a fine host and the mad dash into the tight left-hand turn one after the field storms up the hill on a restart would be a hold-your-breath moment.
6. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve: The track that's produced some of the most compelling Nationwide Series races in recent memory is unfortunately not on the schedule any longer. And given how awesome those races were, can you imagine watching a Cup race there? If this were to happen, there'd have to be a way to guarantee Robby Gordon's inclusion.
5. Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond: The current Cup Series short tracks are all here because each of them would make fine venues for an All-Star Race. But like Talladega, do we really want to see three races a year at each track? Because there's no way we should take away a points race from any of the three.
4. Laguna Seca: Cup cars in the Corkscrew. Need I say more? If you haven't seen it before, take a moment and watch Alex Zanardi's pass of Bryan Herta in 1996.
3. Eldora: Yeah, we've had a version of this with Tony Stewart's annual Prelude to the Dream dirt late-model race, but let's divide the field up into heats and run Cup cars minus the front splitters. Would anyone complain about that?
2. Monaco: Of all the farfetched ideas in this week's edition of Power Rankings, this is the one that's the most out there. Hell no, it ain't happening, but it's fun to dream about, right? Instead of luxury suites, team and series VIPs could be stationed on yachts and everyone would have a great time at the Monte Carlo Casino. This is also a great time to let you know that we're having a live chat for Sunday's F1 race at Monaco. The chat triple!
1. Iowa Speedway: You've likely noticed that most of the tracks on this list don't currently host a Cup Series race. That's by design. If the race is going to change venues, the ideal place is a new track. Iowa gets rave reviews from drivers, has multiple grooves and provides a unique short track to the schedule. Plus, of all of these possibilities on the list, it could be the one that has the best chance of happening, don't you think?
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2013 Mugello MotoGP Round Up, Part 1: Lorenzo's Persistence, Cruchlow's Fierceness, And Honda's Hidden Weakness.
Qualifying doesn't tell you the whole story. Which is a good thing, as otherwise they could just hand out the trophies after qualifying and be done with it. A lot of things change in the 24 hours between qualifying and the race - weather, temperature, set up - but most of all, qualifying is just a couple of laps, while the race means spending a long time on the track.
Mugello turned out to be a perfect example. Dani Pedrosa had been getting faster every session, especially as the temperatures rose and the grip of the track improved. The Repsol Honda man blasted to pole, just pipping Jorge Lorenzo at the end of qualifying and setting a new lap record in the process. With race day looking warmer, and the track cleaning up every session, Pedrosa looked the hot favorite to dominate at the Italian track.
It turned out Pedrosa had been bluffing. He and his team had worked out early on that the new tires Bridgestone had brought did not quite work for them. "We have a modified shoulder on the rear, so at this track with this tire, we couldn't really get the grip. You are a long time on the edge on this track, so I couldn't really open well, and get drive out of corners," Pedrosa told the press conference after finishing second to Jorge Lorenzo.
The Chrome Horn Episode 12: Darlington
New Chrome Horn, new intro! Join yours truly and Geoffrey Miller as we were slated to talk Darlington but ended up talking a lot about the All-Star Race.
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!
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