Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sprint To The End: Tough Run For Rowan Pennink Closes Once Promising Whelen Modified Tour Season
It was a run that few fans who were at Thompson International Speedway on Sunday won't soon forget.
Unfortunately for Rowan Pennink, it was a run that had nothing to do with sitting behind the wheel of a racecar.
On a day that saw wild storylines all over the place when it came to the season ending event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Pennink's sprint across the Thompson Speedway infield after getting wrecked will be remembered as one of the signature moments of Sunday's 2011 finale for the division.
Unfortunately for Rowan Pennink, it was a run that had nothing to do with sitting behind the wheel of a racecar.
On a day that saw wild storylines all over the place when it came to the season ending event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Pennink's sprint across the Thompson Speedway infield after getting wrecked will be remembered as one of the signature moments of Sunday's 2011 finale for the division.
Colbie Caillat to perform at NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 29, 2010) ? NASCAR has announced the addition of multi GRAMMY-Award winning singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat to the performance lineup for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony, set for Friday, Dec. 3 at Wynn Las Vegas. Broadcast live on SPEED at 9 p.m. ET, Caillat will join country music vocal group Rascal Flatts and comedic host Frank Caliendo to create a fully star-studded celebration of the 2010 NASCAR season.
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Webber Breaks thru the Sebastian Logjam
Poor ?Handlebarz! As Mark Webber?s win yesterday in the Brazilian Grand Prix seemed almost anti-climatic to Mwah... Although I was happy to see the True Grit ?Aussie score his first F1 victory of the season and first ?W? since last year?s Hunga-boring (Hungaroring) GP.
Yet, even Webber seemed less then thrilled with his victory - which surely was aided by Master ?Zebb?s (Vettel) apparent Gearbox problema, as the Australian seemed overly terse with his victory in-car radio transmission on the cool down lap. Hmm? Perhaps I?m reading too much into this? You Make the Call!
As surely ?JENSE, ?Fredrico? ?JAGUAR and the resta duh F1 Grid is wondering how in the HE-LL are they supposed to beat the young German, who simply cruises home runner-up with a maligned Gearbox - even wryly commenting during the race how it reminds him of ?I Airton! (Ayrton Senna) who won the Brazilian Grand Prix 20yrs ago with his McLaren ?Slushbox? missing three gears!
Yet you haveda wonder, Err marvel at Vettel?s seemingly limitless talents even further as I can understand Bruno Senna blowing up his Gearbox, but what gives with Lewis Hamilton?s? I mean how come the Brit?s box simply went ?KUHBLAMOE! Giving the Englishman a box full ?O neutral?s whilst Vettel serenely traipsed home P2 - with ?JENSE (Button) securing runner-up in the Drivers title-fight with a fine third place finish after once again re-passing la Scuderia?s (Ferrari) ?Fredrico Suave,? (Fernando Alonso) with Webber?s victory garnering him third in the Drivers fight - one point ahead of Alonso...
BRAZILIAN GP: Webber finally makes his mark with victory
Yet, even Webber seemed less then thrilled with his victory - which surely was aided by Master ?Zebb?s (Vettel) apparent Gearbox problema, as the Australian seemed overly terse with his victory in-car radio transmission on the cool down lap. Hmm? Perhaps I?m reading too much into this? You Make the Call!
As surely ?JENSE, ?Fredrico? ?JAGUAR and the resta duh F1 Grid is wondering how in the HE-LL are they supposed to beat the young German, who simply cruises home runner-up with a maligned Gearbox - even wryly commenting during the race how it reminds him of ?I Airton! (Ayrton Senna) who won the Brazilian Grand Prix 20yrs ago with his McLaren ?Slushbox? missing three gears!
Yet you haveda wonder, Err marvel at Vettel?s seemingly limitless talents even further as I can understand Bruno Senna blowing up his Gearbox, but what gives with Lewis Hamilton?s? I mean how come the Brit?s box simply went ?KUHBLAMOE! Giving the Englishman a box full ?O neutral?s whilst Vettel serenely traipsed home P2 - with ?JENSE (Button) securing runner-up in the Drivers title-fight with a fine third place finish after once again re-passing la Scuderia?s (Ferrari) ?Fredrico Suave,? (Fernando Alonso) with Webber?s victory garnering him third in the Drivers fight - one point ahead of Alonso...
BRAZILIAN GP: Webber finally makes his mark with victory
Tony Stewart is a Throwback to a Better NASCAR
There have been an incredible amount of changes over the past decade in NASCAR betting as the sport has abandoned its roots and much of what made it great and unique as it has instead sold its soul in the attempt to go ?mainstream.? But there is one element of NASCAR today that [...]
Hitting The Airwaves: Monday Appearance Scheduled For The Backstretch On Gary Danko's Speedway Line Report
The Hartford Courant sponsored Toyota Camry (we had a top-five car all day until we lost our tango partner) will be making the trek down Interstate 84 to Waterbury Monday evening to light up the WATR-AM 1320 studios.
The Backstretch will be in studio for an appearance on the final 2011 edition of Gary Danko's Speedway Line Report radio show from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Also tentatively scheduled to appear on the show are 1971 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Denny Zimmerman, Chris Pasteryak, who clinched his second Valenti Modified Racing Series championship Sunday, and Fran Lawlor from The Chrome Horn.
The Backstretch will be in studio for an appearance on the final 2011 edition of Gary Danko's Speedway Line Report radio show from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Also tentatively scheduled to appear on the show are 1971 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Denny Zimmerman, Chris Pasteryak, who clinched his second Valenti Modified Racing Series championship Sunday, and Fran Lawlor from The Chrome Horn.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Bulls Running Wild
Hopefully this is just another ruse by Deeter Majestik?s all conquering Red Bull Racing Organization - having decided to join la Scuderia (Ferrari) by bolting for the door towards the unseemly large chunks ?O Dinero from Uncle Bernaughty - by abandoning the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) in order to reap better rewards from the forthcoming Concorde Agreement extension in 2012. As its kinda funny how ?Ol Deeter has ?Juan foot in each camp with Red Bull?s ?lil ?Seester Toro Rosso remaining an FOTA member for the time being...
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
Bruton Smith on prize money in NASCAR, says Bristol probably not a sellout
Bruton Smith weighed in on how NASCAR is parsing out price money in a story from NASCAR.com:
"I would like to take half of the money from the points fund and give it to the winners of the races. I'd like to see a $300,000 to $400,000 difference between ...
"I would like to take half of the money from the points fund and give it to the winners of the races. I'd like to see a $300,000 to $400,000 difference between ...
Go Daddy - Make My Day!
Seein? that this is the MOST powerful Dallara in exsistance...As in the Dallara DW12...And if properly DrivenCan break the Flyin? Dutchman?sSpeed records at Indy!
Whales, you?ve gotta ask yourself (Mr. Bernard)Whale Dooze Yuh feel Lucky?Mikey?As I?ve gotta tells Yuh, in all of this excitementOver who?ll be drivin? your number sevenRacecarI?ve lost track of who?ll all of your drivers will be?Will it be three cars or four?Will it be BULLY BOY(Hunter-Reay) or ?Sommebody else???
Whale do you feel ?RUCKY Mikey?Dooze Yuh?Hmm? Just had the wild Hair notion of perhaps Go Daddy would like to see Kurt ?F-BOMBS R-US Busch as Danicker?s replacement, eh?Hee-hee-hee...
Whales, you?ve gotta ask yourself (Mr. Bernard)Whale Dooze Yuh feel Lucky?Mikey?As I?ve gotta tells Yuh, in all of this excitementOver who?ll be drivin? your number sevenRacecarI?ve lost track of who?ll all of your drivers will be?Will it be three cars or four?Will it be BULLY BOY(Hunter-Reay) or ?Sommebody else???
Whale do you feel ?RUCKY Mikey?Dooze Yuh?Hmm? Just had the wild Hair notion of perhaps Go Daddy would like to see Kurt ?F-BOMBS R-US Busch as Danicker?s replacement, eh?Hee-hee-hee...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
RETRO: Phoenix?s last Grand Prix - Two-decades ago almost slipped past (Con?t)
Can it really be 20+ years ago that Phoenix, Arizona held its third and final Formula 1 race around its Downtown Streets...
VIDEO: Onboard Martini?s Minardi-Ferrari
I seem to recall having been dropped off by Mi Madre to spend the day on my own on Friday, even being loaned her instamatic camera to record the day?s events, of which I don?t really remember these anymore...
As I seem to recall more the ?Fly-yellow Lamborghini Contach on display, being surrounded by some ?Floosies,? Err high fuhlootin? models... Not to mention having to run multiple Gauntlets ?O FREE cigarette hawkers... With Marlboro and Lucky Strike being overly pushed upon the crowd! As I know some Arizona Boyz who still fondly reminisce ?bout the plethora ?O FREE five ?Ciggee?s? mini-packs they acquired that weekend in The Valley of the Sun.
Although I do still recall that after a most enjoyable day in the SUN, having taken a bevy ?O masterful action packed photographs... As Mi Madre picked me up, she inquired: Didn?t you put film in the camera? SHEISA! OH F%%K!!!
As this year I was most enamored by the beautiful Benetton-Ford?s, as the B190-B Autopolis liveried chassis were my absolute favourite that March, even having had ?Juan drawn for Mwah by No Fenders Artiste Dave. As these were the Pre-Sckewmaaker (M. Schumacher) cars ?O Triple World Champion Nelson Piquet and future CART ?SuperSub? Roberto Moreno; as I even recall Dave climbing atop some ?Verboten electrical sub-stations in order to snap a few pics ?O these F1 Landsharks for Mwah!
Whilst I was also PREVIOUSLY smitten by ?Stevie Johnson?s? (Stefan Johansson) lovely Onyx ORE-1 and Ivan Capelli?s Leyton House March of the ?89 USGP. But the Benetton was my Numero Uno pic this year, followed by the Tyrrell 020 and the Gary Anderson penned Jordan 191.
And I also recall that the Gold Grandstand bleachers were practically EMPTY, and as soon as the race had started, the ticket ?Sentry?s? had disappeared and our posse ?O five Amigo?s sat in these OVERPRICED, high fulootin? seats for the remainder of the race, before later walking onto the racetrack?s city streets surface afterwards.
And I believe it was a fairly boring event? As ?ARROGANT? (Ayrton Senna) in his McLaren MP4/6-Honda V-12 simply ran away and HID from the resta duh field en route to another victory; YAWN! With his Arch-nemesis ?The Professor,? aka Alain Prost?s Ferrari runner-up, albeit never seriously challenging Ayrton. Whilst Piquet took the podium?s final step upon running a Non-stop race thanks to his Pirelli?s rubber. As ironically, Prost?s second-place finish would be the highest result for the 642 chassis that season...
Also flooding back into le Memory-banks is spending time with Miguel reviewing the Vintage Formula One Grid, most notably thee ?Wee Scot?s, aka Sir Jackie, nee Jackie Stewart - as I stood alongside JYS?s marvelous World Championship winning Tyrrell. While on the opposite spectrum of these petrol-mobiles was the miniscule GM solar powered winning entry of an Australian solar challenge...
And although he?d shocked the F1 Fraternity the year prior with his front-row start - Minardi?s Pierluigi Martini, who?d finished just outside the points in seventh-place the year prior, was classified P9, the first runner listed as Retired, with just eight finishers out of 26-starters...
- Yet, the Minardi M191 was powered by la Scuderia-motive power, nee Ferrari?s Tipo 037 3,499cc Normally Aspirated 65-degrees V-12 lump that the ?Works? team was utilizing in the evolutionary 642-model. As Giancarlo Minardi had miraculously managed to obtain a supply of customer engines that season.
Thus, Martini?s Scuderia powered racecar, along with its Pirelli tyres - enabled the Italian to outscore Bertrand Gachot; 4-points, (Jordan) JJ Lehto; 4-points, (Scuderia Italia) Michael Schumacher,; 2-points, (Jordan, Benetton) Mika Hakkinen; 2-points (Lotus) and the ?Brundell Brothers,? a.k.a. Martin ?BillyBob? Brundle (2-points) and Mark Blundell, (1-point) whilst being teammates at Brabham.
As Martini tallied six points - finishing Eleventh Overall - ahead of those ?B-I-G? Names in the point?s standings for Gran Primo Piloto?s... Which wasn?t too shabby for the continuously underfunded (?lowly?) Minardi Squadra! While I?m guessing that Moreno took little solace in scoring four-times MORE points that season then DER TERMINATOR (Michael Schumacher) en route to Tenth-place Overall, eh?
As its interesting to Mwah, how ironically 20yrs ago, Ayrton Senna not only won his third and final Formula 1 Drivers World Championship, but; it was also the final Championship won by a twelve-cylinders ?lump... Of which when you hear the word twelve-cylinders you usually think of Ferrari - which makes it even stranger that the feat was accomplished by the rival Japanese Auto Giant Honda instead.
As I guess it?s even more symbiotic that all of this also surrounds the release of the epic Asif Kapadia SENNA Documentary, eh? As your humble scribe saw it on the Big Screen two decades after his last live sighting of thee Brazilian Wonder!
Not to mention it being the debut of some plucky Irishman named ?EJ?s debut as a Grand Prix Constructor. As those beautiful Jordan 191?s in bright green 7Uplivery were piloted by some F1 BADBOYZ known as DE CRASHERIS ?N PEPPER SPRAY! As in Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, who?d eventually make way for somebody named Michael Schumacher!
Whilst its even sadder to think that JJ Letho, whose BMS Scuderia Italia (Dallara/Judd V-10) I managed to snap a picture of as it sat abandoned inside the cacophony ?O Jersey-barriers after having retired... Was just sentenced to two-plus years in Jail for the death of a friend during a late-night boating accident in Jyrki Juhani J�rvilehto?s Homeland...
Lehto sentenced after Speedboat Death
With another ?Finn making his Grand Prix debut named Mika Hakkinen in the revitalized Lotus T-102 Ford/Cosworth - who?d ultimately notch up the most Drivers crowns for Finnish drivers to date, with two to his credit; 1998-99 at McLaren. While Kimi Raikkonen and Keke Rosberg each secured the Drivers title once apiece...
As the only two drivers still on the F1 Grid - remarkably two decades later were DER TERMINATOR ?n ?RUBINO; as ?Herr Schumacher?s legacy is already well known, whilst his ex-Wingman Rubens Barrichelllo spent a most discontent 19th Formula One season puttering ?round the back end of the grid for Team Willy, aboard the much maligned Williams FW32/Cosworth V-8 - whose radical super-steep driveshafts not only caused a myriad of reliability issues, but also saw the team?s Technical Director Sam Michael leave his post in dismay...
VIDEO: Onboard Martini?s Minardi-Ferrari
I seem to recall having been dropped off by Mi Madre to spend the day on my own on Friday, even being loaned her instamatic camera to record the day?s events, of which I don?t really remember these anymore...
As I seem to recall more the ?Fly-yellow Lamborghini Contach on display, being surrounded by some ?Floosies,? Err high fuhlootin? models... Not to mention having to run multiple Gauntlets ?O FREE cigarette hawkers... With Marlboro and Lucky Strike being overly pushed upon the crowd! As I know some Arizona Boyz who still fondly reminisce ?bout the plethora ?O FREE five ?Ciggee?s? mini-packs they acquired that weekend in The Valley of the Sun.
Although I do still recall that after a most enjoyable day in the SUN, having taken a bevy ?O masterful action packed photographs... As Mi Madre picked me up, she inquired: Didn?t you put film in the camera? SHEISA! OH F%%K!!!
As this year I was most enamored by the beautiful Benetton-Ford?s, as the B190-B Autopolis liveried chassis were my absolute favourite that March, even having had ?Juan drawn for Mwah by No Fenders Artiste Dave. As these were the Pre-Sckewmaaker (M. Schumacher) cars ?O Triple World Champion Nelson Piquet and future CART ?SuperSub? Roberto Moreno; as I even recall Dave climbing atop some ?Verboten electrical sub-stations in order to snap a few pics ?O these F1 Landsharks for Mwah!
Whilst I was also PREVIOUSLY smitten by ?Stevie Johnson?s? (Stefan Johansson) lovely Onyx ORE-1 and Ivan Capelli?s Leyton House March of the ?89 USGP. But the Benetton was my Numero Uno pic this year, followed by the Tyrrell 020 and the Gary Anderson penned Jordan 191.
And I also recall that the Gold Grandstand bleachers were practically EMPTY, and as soon as the race had started, the ticket ?Sentry?s? had disappeared and our posse ?O five Amigo?s sat in these OVERPRICED, high fulootin? seats for the remainder of the race, before later walking onto the racetrack?s city streets surface afterwards.
And I believe it was a fairly boring event? As ?ARROGANT? (Ayrton Senna) in his McLaren MP4/6-Honda V-12 simply ran away and HID from the resta duh field en route to another victory; YAWN! With his Arch-nemesis ?The Professor,? aka Alain Prost?s Ferrari runner-up, albeit never seriously challenging Ayrton. Whilst Piquet took the podium?s final step upon running a Non-stop race thanks to his Pirelli?s rubber. As ironically, Prost?s second-place finish would be the highest result for the 642 chassis that season...
Also flooding back into le Memory-banks is spending time with Miguel reviewing the Vintage Formula One Grid, most notably thee ?Wee Scot?s, aka Sir Jackie, nee Jackie Stewart - as I stood alongside JYS?s marvelous World Championship winning Tyrrell. While on the opposite spectrum of these petrol-mobiles was the miniscule GM solar powered winning entry of an Australian solar challenge...
And although he?d shocked the F1 Fraternity the year prior with his front-row start - Minardi?s Pierluigi Martini, who?d finished just outside the points in seventh-place the year prior, was classified P9, the first runner listed as Retired, with just eight finishers out of 26-starters...
- Yet, the Minardi M191 was powered by la Scuderia-motive power, nee Ferrari?s Tipo 037 3,499cc Normally Aspirated 65-degrees V-12 lump that the ?Works? team was utilizing in the evolutionary 642-model. As Giancarlo Minardi had miraculously managed to obtain a supply of customer engines that season.
Thus, Martini?s Scuderia powered racecar, along with its Pirelli tyres - enabled the Italian to outscore Bertrand Gachot; 4-points, (Jordan) JJ Lehto; 4-points, (Scuderia Italia) Michael Schumacher,; 2-points, (Jordan, Benetton) Mika Hakkinen; 2-points (Lotus) and the ?Brundell Brothers,? a.k.a. Martin ?BillyBob? Brundle (2-points) and Mark Blundell, (1-point) whilst being teammates at Brabham.
As Martini tallied six points - finishing Eleventh Overall - ahead of those ?B-I-G? Names in the point?s standings for Gran Primo Piloto?s... Which wasn?t too shabby for the continuously underfunded (?lowly?) Minardi Squadra! While I?m guessing that Moreno took little solace in scoring four-times MORE points that season then DER TERMINATOR (Michael Schumacher) en route to Tenth-place Overall, eh?
As its interesting to Mwah, how ironically 20yrs ago, Ayrton Senna not only won his third and final Formula 1 Drivers World Championship, but; it was also the final Championship won by a twelve-cylinders ?lump... Of which when you hear the word twelve-cylinders you usually think of Ferrari - which makes it even stranger that the feat was accomplished by the rival Japanese Auto Giant Honda instead.
As I guess it?s even more symbiotic that all of this also surrounds the release of the epic Asif Kapadia SENNA Documentary, eh? As your humble scribe saw it on the Big Screen two decades after his last live sighting of thee Brazilian Wonder!
Not to mention it being the debut of some plucky Irishman named ?EJ?s debut as a Grand Prix Constructor. As those beautiful Jordan 191?s in bright green 7Uplivery were piloted by some F1 BADBOYZ known as DE CRASHERIS ?N PEPPER SPRAY! As in Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, who?d eventually make way for somebody named Michael Schumacher!
Whilst its even sadder to think that JJ Letho, whose BMS Scuderia Italia (Dallara/Judd V-10) I managed to snap a picture of as it sat abandoned inside the cacophony ?O Jersey-barriers after having retired... Was just sentenced to two-plus years in Jail for the death of a friend during a late-night boating accident in Jyrki Juhani J�rvilehto?s Homeland...
Lehto sentenced after Speedboat Death
With another ?Finn making his Grand Prix debut named Mika Hakkinen in the revitalized Lotus T-102 Ford/Cosworth - who?d ultimately notch up the most Drivers crowns for Finnish drivers to date, with two to his credit; 1998-99 at McLaren. While Kimi Raikkonen and Keke Rosberg each secured the Drivers title once apiece...
As the only two drivers still on the F1 Grid - remarkably two decades later were DER TERMINATOR ?n ?RUBINO; as ?Herr Schumacher?s legacy is already well known, whilst his ex-Wingman Rubens Barrichelllo spent a most discontent 19th Formula One season puttering ?round the back end of the grid for Team Willy, aboard the much maligned Williams FW32/Cosworth V-8 - whose radical super-steep driveshafts not only caused a myriad of reliability issues, but also saw the team?s Technical Director Sam Michael leave his post in dismay...
Victory takes a gallop on the beach
The winner of the Sprint Cup at the conclusion of Sunday's Ford 400 in Homestead may or may not have the best car. What really counts -- in that race, and for the very survival of Racin' -- is what comes from the other side of the tracks of the mind: A dark woman's lucky smile. It's a Stone Agel truth which science getting to from the futurel side of the brain. Or so 'tis said at Ovalscreams today.
Another legendary Race Team turns OUT the Lights
Unfortunately this occurred just days prior to Thanksgiving... And I didn?t actually discover it until after returning from Hawaii. As I was wunderin? what duh Speed Freaks were talking to The Bud King ?bout - which I discovered upon their Turkey Lurkey weekend rebroadcast. (Which I didn?t bother listening too...)
Thus, upon fishing for the Kenny Bernstein interview; it was kinda sad to think that another legendary NHRA Team is closing its doors - following on the heels of Don ?The Snake? Prudhomme?s shuttering back in 2010.
Kenny Bernstein was always a BAD HOMBRE to Mwah - becoming the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) ?Flopper (Funnycar) pilot to successfully cross-over and win the Top Fuel Dragster category; a feat he did twice, (1996, 2001) to go along with his four consecutive Top Fuel Funnycar titles. (1985-88) As Bernstein was also the first ?Rail-driver to record an official NHRA pass breaking the 300mph barrier in 1992 and eclipsing this with the first 310mph blast in ?94!
Yet for me, I tend to remember Kenny B more as the frustrated(?) Back marker Championship auto Racing Teams (CART) Team Owner of King Motorsports, of which I thought their crowning achievement was Jimmy Crawford?s finishing 8th in 1991 at the Speedway, right? Although I?d forgotten that Roberto Guerrero captured the Pole at Indianapolis in 1992. Or that Scott ?What Pace Car?? Goodyear won a race at Michigan in 1994; the team?s lone IndyCar victory.
As I remember Bernstein?s CART Operation running in the colour scheme of green & white with primary sponsorship from Quaker State - with ?The King of Speed?s? cars being predominantly powered by those OVER-boosted ?Stock block? turbocharged Buick V-6?s. ..
And after King Motorsports teammates Jim Crawford and Roberto Guererro had spent the whole Month of May flirting with ?A NEW TRACK RECORD!? Indy 500 Pole-sitter Guerrero managed to ?Flick-his-bic,? Err spool-up his rocketship Lola/Buick and break traction, sending the Hapless Columbian spinning into the wall on the Pace-lap and NOT even take the 76th running?s Green-flag; OOPS! Thus opening the door for ?lil Al and Scott Goodyear to battle over that most memorable race victory...
As your humble scribe had been SUCKERED once again in the annual B-Squared I500 Pool; magik-IL-lee having drawn the very LAST starting spot (No. 33) which ironically, just so happened to be Scott Goodyear in the Walker Racing Mackenzie Financial Lola/Chevrolet - in which I, riding on the Coat-tails of thee ?Kuhnadiun Goodyear almost pulled off the most unpredicted upset!
Meanwhile Bernstein?s NHRA Budweiser sponsorship of 30yrs was the longest ever association in Motorsports with a solitary sponsor - while whenever I think of Kenny B?s BUTTWIPER ?Flopper, I immediately think of revered Crew Chief Dale Armstrong. (Along with Lee Beard...)
And I was totally unawares that ?The Bud King? is the ONLY Team Owner to ever WIN a race in the three disciplines of NHRA, NASCAR and Indy Car, as Bernstein?s King Racing won three times in NUTCAR with Brett Bodine and Ricky Rudd in Quaker State livery in the early 1990?s...
SPEED FREAKS: Kenny Bernstein interview
Thus, upon fishing for the Kenny Bernstein interview; it was kinda sad to think that another legendary NHRA Team is closing its doors - following on the heels of Don ?The Snake? Prudhomme?s shuttering back in 2010.
Kenny Bernstein was always a BAD HOMBRE to Mwah - becoming the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) ?Flopper (Funnycar) pilot to successfully cross-over and win the Top Fuel Dragster category; a feat he did twice, (1996, 2001) to go along with his four consecutive Top Fuel Funnycar titles. (1985-88) As Bernstein was also the first ?Rail-driver to record an official NHRA pass breaking the 300mph barrier in 1992 and eclipsing this with the first 310mph blast in ?94!
Yet for me, I tend to remember Kenny B more as the frustrated(?) Back marker Championship auto Racing Teams (CART) Team Owner of King Motorsports, of which I thought their crowning achievement was Jimmy Crawford?s finishing 8th in 1991 at the Speedway, right? Although I?d forgotten that Roberto Guerrero captured the Pole at Indianapolis in 1992. Or that Scott ?What Pace Car?? Goodyear won a race at Michigan in 1994; the team?s lone IndyCar victory.
As I remember Bernstein?s CART Operation running in the colour scheme of green & white with primary sponsorship from Quaker State - with ?The King of Speed?s? cars being predominantly powered by those OVER-boosted ?Stock block? turbocharged Buick V-6?s. ..
And after King Motorsports teammates Jim Crawford and Roberto Guererro had spent the whole Month of May flirting with ?A NEW TRACK RECORD!? Indy 500 Pole-sitter Guerrero managed to ?Flick-his-bic,? Err spool-up his rocketship Lola/Buick and break traction, sending the Hapless Columbian spinning into the wall on the Pace-lap and NOT even take the 76th running?s Green-flag; OOPS! Thus opening the door for ?lil Al and Scott Goodyear to battle over that most memorable race victory...
As your humble scribe had been SUCKERED once again in the annual B-Squared I500 Pool; magik-IL-lee having drawn the very LAST starting spot (No. 33) which ironically, just so happened to be Scott Goodyear in the Walker Racing Mackenzie Financial Lola/Chevrolet - in which I, riding on the Coat-tails of thee ?Kuhnadiun Goodyear almost pulled off the most unpredicted upset!
Meanwhile Bernstein?s NHRA Budweiser sponsorship of 30yrs was the longest ever association in Motorsports with a solitary sponsor - while whenever I think of Kenny B?s BUTTWIPER ?Flopper, I immediately think of revered Crew Chief Dale Armstrong. (Along with Lee Beard...)
And I was totally unawares that ?The Bud King? is the ONLY Team Owner to ever WIN a race in the three disciplines of NHRA, NASCAR and Indy Car, as Bernstein?s King Racing won three times in NUTCAR with Brett Bodine and Ricky Rudd in Quaker State livery in the early 1990?s...
SPEED FREAKS: Kenny Bernstein interview
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Maybe it?s a matter of winning, not losing
It’s a simple case of the Cinderella story versus the truth of who has the best damn car on the track.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – This Chase race is a bouncing ball. Each week. Back and forth.
Intangibles run rampant. Let’s see.
On Friday, Denny Hamlin was in breakout mode. His crew chief, Mike Ford, has supposedly gotten under the skin of Jimmie Johnson’s crew, which, by the way, wasn’t the same as it had been a week earlier.
On Monday, Johnson still trailed by 15 points, but it seemed as if it was time to get the cases of champagne ordered. Hamlin had played it a bit too safe by pitting near the end of the Kobalt Tools 500, apparently not realizing that most everyone else was going to try to conserve fuel and make it to the end, and more importantly, that most were going to succeed.
At Phoenix International Raceway, Hamlin snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, leaving him to wander aimlessly out of the track’s media center, muttering that he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
Meanwhile, there was Kevin Harvick lurking, eyeing the two in front of him with the stare of a vulture waiting to snatch up the pieces.
But what if we stopped putting so much weight into the tangibles? What if the tangibles are really going to decide who wins this heated contest?
What if what happens just … happens?
If Johnson emerges next week as the champion, the prevailing view is going to be that Hamlin’s crew chief, Ford, spat on Superman’s (Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus) cape and got what was coming to him. If Hamlin wins it all, it’s going be because he kept a level head and didn’t let anyone get to him.
If Harvick wins, well, it’s going to require some alleged choking or bad luck by not one, but two. Thus will emerge the Cinderella story.
But maybe, just maybe, this championship is to be decided simply by which driver has the fastest car. Maybe no one’s going to choke. Maybe the attention should be justly slanted toward a tale of winning, not losing.
If so, few will notice. What’s between the ears trumps what’s under the hood.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Chris Perley Continues Thompson ISMA SuperModified Domination; Russ Stoehr Wins NEMA Midget Event
THOMPSON - The master of a SuperModified at Thompson International Speedway continued his domination at the track Sunday.
Chris Perley of Rowley, Mass. drove away from Jeff Locke over the closing laps to easily win the 50-lap ISMA SuperModified feature Sunday at Thompson.
It was the fifth consecutive victory at Thompson for Perley and his ninth victory at the track in the last 12 visits to the facility by the SuperModifieds.
"I don't think it has a lot to do with me," Perley said of his success at the track. "Everytime we unload here I just can't believe it. I don't really know what to say. We don't break down. The crew gives me an awesome car. Thompson has been great to come to every year. I kind of wish we came here more often."
Chris Perley of Rowley, Mass. drove away from Jeff Locke over the closing laps to easily win the 50-lap ISMA SuperModified feature Sunday at Thompson.
It was the fifth consecutive victory at Thompson for Perley and his ninth victory at the track in the last 12 visits to the facility by the SuperModifieds.
"I don't think it has a lot to do with me," Perley said of his success at the track. "Everytime we unload here I just can't believe it. I don't really know what to say. We don't break down. The crew gives me an awesome car. Thompson has been great to come to every year. I kind of wish we came here more often."
Small Chinese: confident win all remaining games under McLaren on track
Hamilton, the British genius Xinxinbaopeng in an interview today. He believes that even now their in the drivers’ standings 88 points behind the German driver Vettel, but as long as they win the rest of the season all eight Grand Prix, and then won the championship is not an impossible task. NEW YORK, August 15 [...]
Sunday, December 25, 2011
RETRO: Phoenix?s last Grand Prix - Two-decades ago almost slipped past (Con?t)
Can it really be 20+ years ago that Phoenix, Arizona held its third and final Formula 1 race around its Downtown Streets...
VIDEO: Onboard Martini?s Minardi-Ferrari
I seem to recall having been dropped off by Mi Madre to spend the day on my own on Friday, even being loaned her instamatic camera to record the day?s events, of which I don?t really remember these anymore...
As I seem to recall more the ?Fly-yellow Lamborghini Contach on display, being surrounded by some ?Floosies,? Err high fuhlootin? models... Not to mention having to run multiple Gauntlets ?O FREE cigarette hawkers... With Marlboro and Lucky Strike being overly pushed upon the crowd! As I know some Arizona Boyz who still fondly reminisce ?bout the plethora ?O FREE five ?Ciggee?s? mini-packs they acquired that weekend in The Valley of the Sun.
Although I do still recall that after a most enjoyable day in the SUN, having taken a bevy ?O masterful action packed photographs... As Mi Madre picked me up, she inquired: Didn?t you put film in the camera? SHEISA! OH F%%K!!!
As this year I was most enamored by the beautiful Benetton-Ford?s, as the B190-B Autopolis liveried chassis were my absolute favourite that March, even having had ?Juan drawn for Mwah by No Fenders Artiste Dave. As these were the Pre-Sckewmaaker (M. Schumacher) cars ?O Triple World Champion Nelson Piquet and future CART ?SuperSub? Roberto Moreno; as I even recall Dave climbing atop some ?Verboten electrical sub-stations in order to snap a few pics ?O these F1 Landsharks for Mwah!
Whilst I was also PREVIOUSLY smitten by ?Stevie Johnson?s? (Stefan Johansson) lovely Onyx ORE-1 and Ivan Capelli?s Leyton House March of the ?89 USGP. But the Benetton was my Numero Uno pic this year, followed by the Tyrrell 020 and the Gary Anderson penned Jordan 191.
And I also recall that the Gold Grandstand bleachers were practically EMPTY, and as soon as the race had started, the ticket ?Sentry?s? had disappeared and our posse ?O five Amigo?s sat in these OVERPRICED, high fulootin? seats for the remainder of the race, before later walking onto the racetrack?s city streets surface afterwards.
And I believe it was a fairly boring event? As ?ARROGANT? (Ayrton Senna) in his McLaren MP4/6-Honda V-12 simply ran away and HID from the resta duh field en route to another victory; YAWN! With his Arch-nemesis ?The Professor,? aka Alain Prost?s Ferrari runner-up, albeit never seriously challenging Ayrton. Whilst Piquet took the podium?s final step upon running a Non-stop race thanks to his Pirelli?s rubber. As ironically, Prost?s second-place finish would be the highest result for the 642 chassis that season...
Also flooding back into le Memory-banks is spending time with Miguel reviewing the Vintage Formula One Grid, most notably thee ?Wee Scot?s, aka Sir Jackie, nee Jackie Stewart - as I stood alongside JYS?s marvelous World Championship winning Tyrrell. While on the opposite spectrum of these petrol-mobiles was the miniscule GM solar powered winning entry of an Australian solar challenge...
And although he?d shocked the F1 Fraternity the year prior with his front-row start - Minardi?s Pierluigi Martini, who?d finished just outside the points in seventh-place the year prior, was classified P9, the first runner listed as Retired, with just eight finishers out of 26-starters...
- Yet, the Minardi M191 was powered by la Scuderia-motive power, nee Ferrari?s Tipo 037 3,499cc Normally Aspirated 65-degrees V-12 lump that the ?Works? team was utilizing in the evolutionary 642-model. As Giancarlo Minardi had miraculously managed to obtain a supply of customer engines that season.
Thus, Martini?s Scuderia powered racecar, along with its Pirelli tyres - enabled the Italian to outscore Bertrand Gachot; 4-points, (Jordan) JJ Lehto; 4-points, (Scuderia Italia) Michael Schumacher,; 2-points, (Jordan, Benetton) Mika Hakkinen; 2-points (Lotus) and the ?Brundell Brothers,? a.k.a. Martin ?BillyBob? Brundle (2-points) and Mark Blundell, (1-point) whilst being teammates at Brabham.
As Martini tallied six points - finishing Eleventh Overall - ahead of those ?B-I-G? Names in the point?s standings for Gran Primo Piloto?s... Which wasn?t too shabby for the continuously underfunded (?lowly?) Minardi Squadra! While I?m guessing that Moreno took little solace in scoring four-times MORE points that season then DER TERMINATOR (Michael Schumacher) en route to Tenth-place Overall, eh?
As its interesting to Mwah, how ironically 20yrs ago, Ayrton Senna not only won his third and final Formula 1 Drivers World Championship, but; it was also the final Championship won by a twelve-cylinders ?lump... Of which when you hear the word twelve-cylinders you usually think of Ferrari - which makes it even stranger that the feat was accomplished by the rival Japanese Auto Giant Honda instead.
As I guess it?s even more symbiotic that all of this also surrounds the release of the epic Asif Kapadia SENNA Documentary, eh? As your humble scribe saw it on the Big Screen two decades after his last live sighting of thee Brazilian Wonder!
Not to mention it being the debut of some plucky Irishman named ?EJ?s debut as a Grand Prix Constructor. As those beautiful Jordan 191?s in bright green 7Uplivery were piloted by some F1 BADBOYZ known as DE CRASHERIS ?N PEPPER SPRAY! As in Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, who?d eventually make way for somebody named Michael Schumacher!
Whilst its even sadder to think that JJ Letho, whose BMS Scuderia Italia (Dallara/Judd V-10) I managed to snap a picture of as it sat abandoned inside the cacophony ?O Jersey-barriers after having retired... Was just sentenced to two-plus years in Jail for the death of a friend during a late-night boating accident in Jyrki Juhani J�rvilehto?s Homeland...
Lehto sentenced after Speedboat Death
With another ?Finn making his Grand Prix debut named Mika Hakkinen in the revitalized Lotus T-102 Ford/Cosworth - who?d ultimately notch up the most Drivers crowns for Finnish drivers to date, with two to his credit; 1998-99 at McLaren. While Kimi Raikkonen and Keke Rosberg each secured the Drivers title once apiece...
As the only two drivers still on the F1 Grid - remarkably two decades later were DER TERMINATOR ?n ?RUBINO; as ?Herr Schumacher?s legacy is already well known, whilst his ex-Wingman Rubens Barrichelllo spent a most discontent 19th Formula One season puttering ?round the back end of the grid for Team Willy, aboard the much maligned Williams FW32/Cosworth V-8 - whose radical super-steep driveshafts not only caused a myriad of reliability issues, but also saw the team?s Technical Director Sam Michael leave his post in dismay...
VIDEO: Onboard Martini?s Minardi-Ferrari
I seem to recall having been dropped off by Mi Madre to spend the day on my own on Friday, even being loaned her instamatic camera to record the day?s events, of which I don?t really remember these anymore...
As I seem to recall more the ?Fly-yellow Lamborghini Contach on display, being surrounded by some ?Floosies,? Err high fuhlootin? models... Not to mention having to run multiple Gauntlets ?O FREE cigarette hawkers... With Marlboro and Lucky Strike being overly pushed upon the crowd! As I know some Arizona Boyz who still fondly reminisce ?bout the plethora ?O FREE five ?Ciggee?s? mini-packs they acquired that weekend in The Valley of the Sun.
Although I do still recall that after a most enjoyable day in the SUN, having taken a bevy ?O masterful action packed photographs... As Mi Madre picked me up, she inquired: Didn?t you put film in the camera? SHEISA! OH F%%K!!!
As this year I was most enamored by the beautiful Benetton-Ford?s, as the B190-B Autopolis liveried chassis were my absolute favourite that March, even having had ?Juan drawn for Mwah by No Fenders Artiste Dave. As these were the Pre-Sckewmaaker (M. Schumacher) cars ?O Triple World Champion Nelson Piquet and future CART ?SuperSub? Roberto Moreno; as I even recall Dave climbing atop some ?Verboten electrical sub-stations in order to snap a few pics ?O these F1 Landsharks for Mwah!
Whilst I was also PREVIOUSLY smitten by ?Stevie Johnson?s? (Stefan Johansson) lovely Onyx ORE-1 and Ivan Capelli?s Leyton House March of the ?89 USGP. But the Benetton was my Numero Uno pic this year, followed by the Tyrrell 020 and the Gary Anderson penned Jordan 191.
And I also recall that the Gold Grandstand bleachers were practically EMPTY, and as soon as the race had started, the ticket ?Sentry?s? had disappeared and our posse ?O five Amigo?s sat in these OVERPRICED, high fulootin? seats for the remainder of the race, before later walking onto the racetrack?s city streets surface afterwards.
And I believe it was a fairly boring event? As ?ARROGANT? (Ayrton Senna) in his McLaren MP4/6-Honda V-12 simply ran away and HID from the resta duh field en route to another victory; YAWN! With his Arch-nemesis ?The Professor,? aka Alain Prost?s Ferrari runner-up, albeit never seriously challenging Ayrton. Whilst Piquet took the podium?s final step upon running a Non-stop race thanks to his Pirelli?s rubber. As ironically, Prost?s second-place finish would be the highest result for the 642 chassis that season...
Also flooding back into le Memory-banks is spending time with Miguel reviewing the Vintage Formula One Grid, most notably thee ?Wee Scot?s, aka Sir Jackie, nee Jackie Stewart - as I stood alongside JYS?s marvelous World Championship winning Tyrrell. While on the opposite spectrum of these petrol-mobiles was the miniscule GM solar powered winning entry of an Australian solar challenge...
And although he?d shocked the F1 Fraternity the year prior with his front-row start - Minardi?s Pierluigi Martini, who?d finished just outside the points in seventh-place the year prior, was classified P9, the first runner listed as Retired, with just eight finishers out of 26-starters...
- Yet, the Minardi M191 was powered by la Scuderia-motive power, nee Ferrari?s Tipo 037 3,499cc Normally Aspirated 65-degrees V-12 lump that the ?Works? team was utilizing in the evolutionary 642-model. As Giancarlo Minardi had miraculously managed to obtain a supply of customer engines that season.
Thus, Martini?s Scuderia powered racecar, along with its Pirelli tyres - enabled the Italian to outscore Bertrand Gachot; 4-points, (Jordan) JJ Lehto; 4-points, (Scuderia Italia) Michael Schumacher,; 2-points, (Jordan, Benetton) Mika Hakkinen; 2-points (Lotus) and the ?Brundell Brothers,? a.k.a. Martin ?BillyBob? Brundle (2-points) and Mark Blundell, (1-point) whilst being teammates at Brabham.
As Martini tallied six points - finishing Eleventh Overall - ahead of those ?B-I-G? Names in the point?s standings for Gran Primo Piloto?s... Which wasn?t too shabby for the continuously underfunded (?lowly?) Minardi Squadra! While I?m guessing that Moreno took little solace in scoring four-times MORE points that season then DER TERMINATOR (Michael Schumacher) en route to Tenth-place Overall, eh?
As its interesting to Mwah, how ironically 20yrs ago, Ayrton Senna not only won his third and final Formula 1 Drivers World Championship, but; it was also the final Championship won by a twelve-cylinders ?lump... Of which when you hear the word twelve-cylinders you usually think of Ferrari - which makes it even stranger that the feat was accomplished by the rival Japanese Auto Giant Honda instead.
As I guess it?s even more symbiotic that all of this also surrounds the release of the epic Asif Kapadia SENNA Documentary, eh? As your humble scribe saw it on the Big Screen two decades after his last live sighting of thee Brazilian Wonder!
Not to mention it being the debut of some plucky Irishman named ?EJ?s debut as a Grand Prix Constructor. As those beautiful Jordan 191?s in bright green 7Uplivery were piloted by some F1 BADBOYZ known as DE CRASHERIS ?N PEPPER SPRAY! As in Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, who?d eventually make way for somebody named Michael Schumacher!
Whilst its even sadder to think that JJ Letho, whose BMS Scuderia Italia (Dallara/Judd V-10) I managed to snap a picture of as it sat abandoned inside the cacophony ?O Jersey-barriers after having retired... Was just sentenced to two-plus years in Jail for the death of a friend during a late-night boating accident in Jyrki Juhani J�rvilehto?s Homeland...
Lehto sentenced after Speedboat Death
With another ?Finn making his Grand Prix debut named Mika Hakkinen in the revitalized Lotus T-102 Ford/Cosworth - who?d ultimately notch up the most Drivers crowns for Finnish drivers to date, with two to his credit; 1998-99 at McLaren. While Kimi Raikkonen and Keke Rosberg each secured the Drivers title once apiece...
As the only two drivers still on the F1 Grid - remarkably two decades later were DER TERMINATOR ?n ?RUBINO; as ?Herr Schumacher?s legacy is already well known, whilst his ex-Wingman Rubens Barrichelllo spent a most discontent 19th Formula One season puttering ?round the back end of the grid for Team Willy, aboard the much maligned Williams FW32/Cosworth V-8 - whose radical super-steep driveshafts not only caused a myriad of reliability issues, but also saw the team?s Technical Director Sam Michael leave his post in dismay...
Ogier said the King of Kings Challenge, only F1 driver Schumacher into the first 4
NEW YORK, Dec. 5 report: The annual King of Kings Challenge race in Dusseldorf, Germany came to an end, in the personal group areas, WRC driver Ogier beatChrisTeng Sen kings. King of Kings this year’s Challenge race held in Germany in Saturday’s team event, the pair Schumacher and Vettel once again the defending champion, came [...]
Saturday, December 24, 2011
NASCAR Notebook: Johnson ?qualified? to win
Four-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has cameras follow his every move in the garage during practice Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. for Sunday's Ford 400. Johnson qualified sixth, well ahead of Kevin Harvick (28th) and Denny Hamlin (37th). (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – For the two contenders seeking to deprive Jimmie Johnson of a fifth straight Sprint Cup championship, qualifying was no cause for celebration.
Johnson qualified sixth at176.482 mph. It was a nice solid run, leaving him well situated for the start of Sunday’s Ford 400.
Kevin Harvick qualified 28th, which wasn’t that unusual. Denny Hamlin qualified 37th, which was. Hamlin’s previous low in qualifying was 34th at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 8. On the positive side, Hamlin did manage to salvage top-10 finishes in each of his previous qualifying performances that were 30th or worse, and he won after starting 30th just two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway.
A poor qualifying performance is also a poor predictor of race-day success, but starting deep in the field adds a certain amount of pressure to an already overheated championship battle.
Johnson held a press conference before qualifying, but what he said seemed pertinent: “I slept great. I don’t know if Denny (Hamlin) did, but I know I did.”
Hamlin’s response? “I feel the same as I do every week. No, I’m never uptight.”
* * *
SPEECHLESS--If Foster Gillett meant to quiet rumors regarding the future of Richard Petty Motorsports, this wasn’t the way to do it.
Gillett, whose father George is the official owner of the team that carries the seven-time champion’s name, was at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday. His presence spread quickly, but he refused to responded to any questions posed by media members.
Rumors have the team going out of business, going out of business temporarily while other investors are acquired and being sunk by the reputed mountain of indebtedness faced by the Gillett family.
Foster Gillett’s presence reportedly did nothing to allay fears among team members that their jobs are endangered.
* * *
STEWART’S TAKE-- Tony Stewart is the only driver who has won championships under both the “season-long” and current “Chase” format. Long relegated to the nether regions of the Chase field, Stewart offered his analysis of the three-way battle for the title.
“I think they’re all playing mind games with each other,” he said. “You don’t get this far in the season and be in this position by racing guys dirty. I don’t see it coming down to the last race with guys racing each other dirty.”
* * *
TITLE MAY GO THROUGH HIM--As expected, Carl Edwards established himself as a contender to win the race. He ended a 70-race winless streak last week at Phoenix and qualified second. Edwards won this race in 2008 and has finished eighth or better in five straight races at Homestead.
Referring to Hamlin, Johnson and Harvick, Edwards said, “They’re all going to be aggressive. That’s the way it’s going to be, no matter what they say. That’s how they got in the position they’re in, and now it’s going to be a great race for everyone to watch.
“I hope I’m watching the whole thing in my rear-view mirror, though.”
IndyCar Series Driver Dan Wheldon Killed Sunday In Event At Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed following a crash Sunday during an IndyCar Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Wheldon was 33-years old.
Wheldon's car was involved in a fiery 15-car crash on the 11th lap of the event Sunday on the 1.5-mile oval. IndyCar Series officials made the decision not to restart the event.
Drivers participated in a five-lap salute to honor Wheldon hours after the fatal crash.
"IndyCar is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away from unsurvivable injuries," read a statement from IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family. INDYCAR, its drivers and teams have decided to end the race."
Wheldon was 33-years old.
Wheldon's car was involved in a fiery 15-car crash on the 11th lap of the event Sunday on the 1.5-mile oval. IndyCar Series officials made the decision not to restart the event.
Drivers participated in a five-lap salute to honor Wheldon hours after the fatal crash.
"IndyCar is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away from unsurvivable injuries," read a statement from IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family. INDYCAR, its drivers and teams have decided to end the race."
Quotations of the Year
“We’ve got a lot of racing left, but when we’re winning at places we’re not supposed to, you better watch out.” – Jimmie Johnson, after winning the Food City 500 at Bristol.
“I like Jimmie as good as anybody, but for the sake of the sport, one of the two of us (Harvick, Hamlin) needs to make something happen.” – Kevin Harvick, during the Chase.
“Two tires won the race, but when you’ve got two tires in dirty air, it’s no good.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr., after finishing eighth in the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas.
“The ‘48’ (Johnson) is testing my patience. I’m hard to get mad, and I’m (ticked) off.” – Jeff Gordon, after the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega.
“If we’d have kept those guys a lap down, that would’ve been selfish.” – Dave Rogers, winning crew chief, on allowing a mass ‘wave-around” during an early caution period in the Heath Calhoun 400 at Richmond.
“When you play at home, that’s when you want to win the most.” – Tony Stewart, from Columbus, Ind., at Indianapolis.
“He's real aggressive. That's cool, but when he starts affecting me with his aggressiveness … I just will not put up with it. I've been around here long enough. I just will not tolerate it.” – Jeff Burton, referring to Kyle Busch, after Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
“There’s just a pit that develops in your stomach and doesn’t go away. It’s the championship pit, and it’s there.” – Jimmie Johnson.
“Points? I chipped away, but I didn’t chip away much.” – Kyle Busch, after a fourth at Martinsville.
“In the World Series, when a pitcher’s not doing his job, they put another one in that can.” – Johnson, referring to pit-crew swap at Texas.
“I wonder if anyone else will ever win five of these things in a row, but next year we’re going for six, so away we go.” – owner Rick Hendrick, after Johnson extended his consecutive championships.
“I won't turn on the television, watch any racing. Remove myself from it. I know what I need to do, what my team has to do. I don't want to hear what anybody else has to say.” – Johnson, before the final race.
“I don’t know if part of that is coincidence, or just that those guys who win championships are really good. I don’t know, but it isa difficult race track. You have to do everything right.” – Matt Kenseth, noting the overlap of Indy winners and Cup champions.
“Bristol is a lot like Watkins Glen. You never know what’s going to happen.” – Harvick, naming one thing the two have in common.
“We have a way of forgetting the way history really was. … I think we tend to forget that even the great race teams go through struggles.” – Jeff Burton.
“If I sat down and planned it, we would win every Chase race and I would win the championship. But plans don’t quite work like that.” – Kyle Busch, whose Chase struggles continued.
“Mathematically, it’s possible. Realistically, I don’t think so.” – Jeff Gordon, asked about the possibility of a driver winning the Chase without winning any races.
“There’s a lot of psychology that goes into racing, but all of that goes out the window once the race starts.” – Carl Edwards
“If you get in a problem (at Martinsville), it’s normally because you are a root of it.” –Stewart
“It’s amazing what the Chase format does to the nerves and to the teams and the drivers.” – Kurt Busch
“If the roles were reversed, I would be saying the same thing. As a competitor, you’re tired of the same guy winning. I guess I understand where they’re coming from and what they’re saying … I don’t necessarily agree with it. I think it would be great for someone to win five straight.” – Johnson, who did.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Agendas differ as season hits halfway mark
The 2010 Sprint Cup Series season has reached the halfway point, and there are eight races remaining until the cutoff prior to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, including Saturday night’s Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
With the Chase approaching, drivers have differing goals in mind for the eight races remaining in what [...]
With the Chase approaching, drivers have differing goals in mind for the eight races remaining in what [...]
Auto Racing News Revenue to Benefit Racing For Cancer
Pager item text:
ARN and Racing For Cancer
Slide text:
<p>
Auto Racing News announced today that all advertising revenue generated by the website in 2011 will be donated to Racing For Cancer.</p>
Los Angeles, CA, May 24, 2011: Autoracingnews.org announced today that all advertising revenue generated by the website in 2011 will be donated to Racing For Cancer, a non-profit organization, whose global ambassador is IZOD IndyCar Series/Andretti Autosport driver, and recently appointed LIVESTRONG Global Envoy, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
read more
ARN and Racing For Cancer
Slide text:
<p>
Auto Racing News announced today that all advertising revenue generated by the website in 2011 will be donated to Racing For Cancer.</p>
Los Angeles, CA, May 24, 2011: Autoracingnews.org announced today that all advertising revenue generated by the website in 2011 will be donated to Racing For Cancer, a non-profit organization, whose global ambassador is IZOD IndyCar Series/Andretti Autosport driver, and recently appointed LIVESTRONG Global Envoy, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
read more
Jolly Green Sea Turtles...
The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, or Honu, is listed as an Endangered Species - and thus should NOT be touched...
So it?s been awhile since I?ve scribbled any Fuzzy Wuzzy, Err isn?t that FAST EDDIES new primary sponsor? Or Furry, LUV-able critter stories... Of which No Fenders ?Offical Photographer ?CARPETS is an H-U-G-E Fan of; Hoohah! Hur-hur-hur...
Thus, with your Humble Scribe having just returned from ?Juan of the most enjoyable 17-day?s Holiday on the B-I-G island of Hawaii... Having had to frolic ?round in the surf nearly everyday amongst the throngs ?O swimmers, boogie-boarders, snorkeler?s, etc - which I?m feeling a Snorkel Bob story coming on over his MoFlo II ?Mega snorkel... It was extremely rough sleddin? having to swim with the multiple green Sea Turtles who enjoyed buzzing the crowds at White Sands beach on a daily routine! As I even had ?Juan of these larger creatures swim directly towards Mwah before suddenly being tapped on my thigh three times in rapid succession by its flipper! Hey Dude, you?re supposed to pet me...
Thus having just returned to the infinitely cooler climes of the Pacific Northwest on Turkey Lurkey evening - where the High temperature was nearly 40-degrees COLDER; SHEISA!!! As the Shuttle service had even turned on its heated benches and the pleasant female ?Desk Jockey? even inquired if I wanted a ?blankey? for my legs...
Thus, having not looked at ANY motor racing websites in two and-a-half weeks; obviously I?m completely outta duh loop of Der ?Vurld de Motorsporten Ja-Ja! Although I was pleasantly surprised to see that this past weekend?s Brazilian GP was at a most enjoyable 8AM Pacific Time; which CARPETS has informed me is three hours behind Indy/New York/Eastern Time... While Seattle?s only 2hrs behind Hawaiian time currently; but I digress...
I only heard the barest of news ?bout the Austin F1 Quagmire on November 20th when Ricky G told me the news upon his arrival in Kona... Of which I?ve now read the majority of blog reports on the Mesopotamia occurring at COTA over the dispute of who?s on first, who?s paying the bills and Uncle Bernaughty as always simply sayin?: SHOW ME THE MONEY! (Mrs. Combs) As Bernie was his ever ?Cheeky self when asked upon the Brazilian GP grid over the Austin situation, quipping to SPEED?s ?Willy Buxom? that Austin needs two things: ?A pen and money!?
Now having read back to November 18th, I?d haveda say the most surprising Formula 1 news I?ve read is Pedro de la Rosa?s hiring at Hispania F1 next year, as the 40yr old Spaniard will take a page outta DER TERMINATOR?s playbook next year. As Pedro has done a dealio for two years to race for HRT and thus with Michael Schumacher apparently set to fulfill his three year contract with Mercedes GP - thus we?ll have two 40 ?Somme-thungs on the grid next season; CRIKEYS! As NO disrespect to Pedro, but I fail to see the logic in this... As it seems he had a less than stellar outing for Sauber this season as Sergio Perez?s substitute, eh? (So perhaps? He?s bringing a large cheque to the equation?)
Thus ?bout the only three motorsports related things I caught whilst on the B-I-G island were thinking ?bout Tony Renna and Sergio Scaletti?s death - along with obviously the Flying Hawaiian, aka Danny Ongais, which led me to a very brief discussion upon notable Hawaiian athletes... leading me to the name of Eddie Aikau - who I?ve obviously never heard of... While my Pops also threw out Duke ?Kuhmaya-maya? Kahanamoku as a ?Mega Surfer Dude too... Who apparently has the longest name on the island: Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku, which I gleamed from WICKEDpedia...
Eddie Aikau was an interesting Dude, becoming Hawaii?s very first-ever hired Lifeguard who never lost a single life during his tenure before sadly being lost at sea when paddling his surfboard to get help for his stricken shipmates, having reputedly ditched his life jacket which hindered his paddling and sadly was lost at sea in 1978 at the tender age of 31...
And before I left, I wandered into ?Juan ?O SPEED?s countless 1hr Barrett-Jackson specials, this one focusing upon the Clive Cussler Car Collection in Colorado... As it had been years since I?d read any of Messer Cussler?s epic action-suspense ?Mystery? novels... Thus heading to the library, I decided to see if any Cussler Books-on-Tape (CD) were available? And was happy to snag two current novels to listen to during the brief lulls between incoming waves on the beach; Hmm? Now the only thingy missing is some of those adult beverages with tiny umbrellas in the glasses, right? CRIKEYS MATES! What?s ?Dat Tagline ?bout it doesn?t get any better than this; Oh Never Mind!
As the fictional Dirk Pitt of NUMA in Mr. Cussler?s numerous novels owns a bevy of antique Automobiles which are always featured frequently in his books, not to mention the 1929 Ford Tri-motor Aeroplane that Pitt uses to fly underneath the Brooklyn Bridge before flying at a precariously low level along Downtown streets whilst trying to evade being shot down by a renegade World War I German Tri-wing Fokker doing its best Red Barron impersonation! As you get the idea...
Thus it seemed a tad bit Karmic that the first of these two novels I read included the ultimate discovery of Kublah Khan?s burial chamber found via a massive underwater lava tube passage to a long hidden cavern on the Southwest end of the B-I-G island of Hawaii whilst your humble scribe withered away in the chaise lounge chair poolside; Hmm? ?Somme-thun to do with those funny ?lil umbrella drinkies, eh?
And I?ve haveda say my most melancholy day was on Tony Renna?s birthday, my final full day in Kona, when we traveled north to the Waikoloa Hilton Resort for a leisurely ?Walkabout... Where the Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Museum resides, which after a quick stop in the Crazy T-Shirts store where I picked up an awesome long sleeved Ski Hawaii T-Shirt for the upcoming FRIDGID Northwest winter fast approaching... Hey, it?s supposed to be 33deg-f here this week! We meandered over to the ?House of Parrots? where I had NO idea that I?d soon be holding a Parrot on my arm before it liked me so much that it?s ?Handler? asked if she could place it on my shoulder? And the bird totally got into the action as it began trying to pepper me with love-kisses and even said ?WOW!? (Your breath really stinks Dude; Hya!)
Then we had a pleasurable lunch at the Hang 10 Bar and listened to the nearby Dolphins ceaselessly chattering while two family?s went swimming with them before taking a ride on one of the three remaining ?Boats? that go around the entire complex on hidden tracks in a man-made channel. Then a drive back home thru a ?Mega Monsoon tropical rainstorm before catching ?Juan final glorious sunset whilst bobbing in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean with the yellow-red orangish hues glistening a path a la the yellow brick road atop the mild waves shimmering all the way from Mwah to that small ball called the SUN! Before totally disappearing over the horizon; as we continued bobbing up ?N down in the waves long past sunset...
Off to Tacoma for a few Dazes to regale countless tales ?O high stakes adventure on the BIG Island of Hawaii, as I?ll try to rap my head ?round Der ?Vurld de Motorsporten beginning next week; Honest...
So it?s been awhile since I?ve scribbled any Fuzzy Wuzzy, Err isn?t that FAST EDDIES new primary sponsor? Or Furry, LUV-able critter stories... Of which No Fenders ?Offical Photographer ?CARPETS is an H-U-G-E Fan of; Hoohah! Hur-hur-hur...
Thus, with your Humble Scribe having just returned from ?Juan of the most enjoyable 17-day?s Holiday on the B-I-G island of Hawaii... Having had to frolic ?round in the surf nearly everyday amongst the throngs ?O swimmers, boogie-boarders, snorkeler?s, etc - which I?m feeling a Snorkel Bob story coming on over his MoFlo II ?Mega snorkel... It was extremely rough sleddin? having to swim with the multiple green Sea Turtles who enjoyed buzzing the crowds at White Sands beach on a daily routine! As I even had ?Juan of these larger creatures swim directly towards Mwah before suddenly being tapped on my thigh three times in rapid succession by its flipper! Hey Dude, you?re supposed to pet me...
Thus having just returned to the infinitely cooler climes of the Pacific Northwest on Turkey Lurkey evening - where the High temperature was nearly 40-degrees COLDER; SHEISA!!! As the Shuttle service had even turned on its heated benches and the pleasant female ?Desk Jockey? even inquired if I wanted a ?blankey? for my legs...
Thus, having not looked at ANY motor racing websites in two and-a-half weeks; obviously I?m completely outta duh loop of Der ?Vurld de Motorsporten Ja-Ja! Although I was pleasantly surprised to see that this past weekend?s Brazilian GP was at a most enjoyable 8AM Pacific Time; which CARPETS has informed me is three hours behind Indy/New York/Eastern Time... While Seattle?s only 2hrs behind Hawaiian time currently; but I digress...
I only heard the barest of news ?bout the Austin F1 Quagmire on November 20th when Ricky G told me the news upon his arrival in Kona... Of which I?ve now read the majority of blog reports on the Mesopotamia occurring at COTA over the dispute of who?s on first, who?s paying the bills and Uncle Bernaughty as always simply sayin?: SHOW ME THE MONEY! (Mrs. Combs) As Bernie was his ever ?Cheeky self when asked upon the Brazilian GP grid over the Austin situation, quipping to SPEED?s ?Willy Buxom? that Austin needs two things: ?A pen and money!?
Now having read back to November 18th, I?d haveda say the most surprising Formula 1 news I?ve read is Pedro de la Rosa?s hiring at Hispania F1 next year, as the 40yr old Spaniard will take a page outta DER TERMINATOR?s playbook next year. As Pedro has done a dealio for two years to race for HRT and thus with Michael Schumacher apparently set to fulfill his three year contract with Mercedes GP - thus we?ll have two 40 ?Somme-thungs on the grid next season; CRIKEYS! As NO disrespect to Pedro, but I fail to see the logic in this... As it seems he had a less than stellar outing for Sauber this season as Sergio Perez?s substitute, eh? (So perhaps? He?s bringing a large cheque to the equation?)
Thus ?bout the only three motorsports related things I caught whilst on the B-I-G island were thinking ?bout Tony Renna and Sergio Scaletti?s death - along with obviously the Flying Hawaiian, aka Danny Ongais, which led me to a very brief discussion upon notable Hawaiian athletes... leading me to the name of Eddie Aikau - who I?ve obviously never heard of... While my Pops also threw out Duke ?Kuhmaya-maya? Kahanamoku as a ?Mega Surfer Dude too... Who apparently has the longest name on the island: Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku, which I gleamed from WICKEDpedia...
Eddie Aikau was an interesting Dude, becoming Hawaii?s very first-ever hired Lifeguard who never lost a single life during his tenure before sadly being lost at sea when paddling his surfboard to get help for his stricken shipmates, having reputedly ditched his life jacket which hindered his paddling and sadly was lost at sea in 1978 at the tender age of 31...
And before I left, I wandered into ?Juan ?O SPEED?s countless 1hr Barrett-Jackson specials, this one focusing upon the Clive Cussler Car Collection in Colorado... As it had been years since I?d read any of Messer Cussler?s epic action-suspense ?Mystery? novels... Thus heading to the library, I decided to see if any Cussler Books-on-Tape (CD) were available? And was happy to snag two current novels to listen to during the brief lulls between incoming waves on the beach; Hmm? Now the only thingy missing is some of those adult beverages with tiny umbrellas in the glasses, right? CRIKEYS MATES! What?s ?Dat Tagline ?bout it doesn?t get any better than this; Oh Never Mind!
As the fictional Dirk Pitt of NUMA in Mr. Cussler?s numerous novels owns a bevy of antique Automobiles which are always featured frequently in his books, not to mention the 1929 Ford Tri-motor Aeroplane that Pitt uses to fly underneath the Brooklyn Bridge before flying at a precariously low level along Downtown streets whilst trying to evade being shot down by a renegade World War I German Tri-wing Fokker doing its best Red Barron impersonation! As you get the idea...
Thus it seemed a tad bit Karmic that the first of these two novels I read included the ultimate discovery of Kublah Khan?s burial chamber found via a massive underwater lava tube passage to a long hidden cavern on the Southwest end of the B-I-G island of Hawaii whilst your humble scribe withered away in the chaise lounge chair poolside; Hmm? ?Somme-thun to do with those funny ?lil umbrella drinkies, eh?
And I?ve haveda say my most melancholy day was on Tony Renna?s birthday, my final full day in Kona, when we traveled north to the Waikoloa Hilton Resort for a leisurely ?Walkabout... Where the Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Museum resides, which after a quick stop in the Crazy T-Shirts store where I picked up an awesome long sleeved Ski Hawaii T-Shirt for the upcoming FRIDGID Northwest winter fast approaching... Hey, it?s supposed to be 33deg-f here this week! We meandered over to the ?House of Parrots? where I had NO idea that I?d soon be holding a Parrot on my arm before it liked me so much that it?s ?Handler? asked if she could place it on my shoulder? And the bird totally got into the action as it began trying to pepper me with love-kisses and even said ?WOW!? (Your breath really stinks Dude; Hya!)
Then we had a pleasurable lunch at the Hang 10 Bar and listened to the nearby Dolphins ceaselessly chattering while two family?s went swimming with them before taking a ride on one of the three remaining ?Boats? that go around the entire complex on hidden tracks in a man-made channel. Then a drive back home thru a ?Mega Monsoon tropical rainstorm before catching ?Juan final glorious sunset whilst bobbing in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean with the yellow-red orangish hues glistening a path a la the yellow brick road atop the mild waves shimmering all the way from Mwah to that small ball called the SUN! Before totally disappearing over the horizon; as we continued bobbing up ?N down in the waves long past sunset...
Off to Tacoma for a few Dazes to regale countless tales ?O high stakes adventure on the BIG Island of Hawaii, as I?ll try to rap my head ?round Der ?Vurld de Motorsporten beginning next week; Honest...
A look back at 2010: Hendrick Motorsports
The 2010 Sprint Cup Series season was both good and bad for Hendrick Motorsports, with varying degrees of good and bad depending on the Hendrick Motorsports team in question. Overall, the organization claimed $22,023,180 in winnings with six wins, 38 top-fives and 59 top-10 finishes across its four teams.
It was the best season possible for [...]
It was the best season possible for [...]
This week's Stockcartoon from Mike Smith
Stockcartoons are created by Mike Smith, editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun, and syndicated through King Features Syndicate. Mike generously shares them with us here.
Mike is also the primary contributor to the Las Vegas Sun's NASCAR blog,"Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity."
Thursday, December 22, 2011
NASCAR Notebook: Johnson ?qualified? to win
Four-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has cameras follow his every move in the garage during practice Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. for Sunday's Ford 400. Johnson qualified sixth, well ahead of Kevin Harvick (28th) and Denny Hamlin (37th). (Photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – For the two contenders seeking to deprive Jimmie Johnson of a fifth straight Sprint Cup championship, qualifying was no cause for celebration.
Johnson qualified sixth at176.482 mph. It was a nice solid run, leaving him well situated for the start of Sunday’s Ford 400.
Kevin Harvick qualified 28th, which wasn’t that unusual. Denny Hamlin qualified 37th, which was. Hamlin’s previous low in qualifying was 34th at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 8. On the positive side, Hamlin did manage to salvage top-10 finishes in each of his previous qualifying performances that were 30th or worse, and he won after starting 30th just two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway.
A poor qualifying performance is also a poor predictor of race-day success, but starting deep in the field adds a certain amount of pressure to an already overheated championship battle.
Johnson held a press conference before qualifying, but what he said seemed pertinent: “I slept great. I don’t know if Denny (Hamlin) did, but I know I did.”
Hamlin’s response? “I feel the same as I do every week. No, I’m never uptight.”
* * *
SPEECHLESS--If Foster Gillett meant to quiet rumors regarding the future of Richard Petty Motorsports, this wasn’t the way to do it.
Gillett, whose father George is the official owner of the team that carries the seven-time champion’s name, was at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday. His presence spread quickly, but he refused to responded to any questions posed by media members.
Rumors have the team going out of business, going out of business temporarily while other investors are acquired and being sunk by the reputed mountain of indebtedness faced by the Gillett family.
Foster Gillett’s presence reportedly did nothing to allay fears among team members that their jobs are endangered.
* * *
STEWART’S TAKE-- Tony Stewart is the only driver who has won championships under both the “season-long” and current “Chase” format. Long relegated to the nether regions of the Chase field, Stewart offered his analysis of the three-way battle for the title.
“I think they’re all playing mind games with each other,” he said. “You don’t get this far in the season and be in this position by racing guys dirty. I don’t see it coming down to the last race with guys racing each other dirty.”
* * *
TITLE MAY GO THROUGH HIM--As expected, Carl Edwards established himself as a contender to win the race. He ended a 70-race winless streak last week at Phoenix and qualified second. Edwards won this race in 2008 and has finished eighth or better in five straight races at Homestead.
Referring to Hamlin, Johnson and Harvick, Edwards said, “They’re all going to be aggressive. That’s the way it’s going to be, no matter what they say. That’s how they got in the position they’re in, and now it’s going to be a great race for everyone to watch.
“I hope I’m watching the whole thing in my rear-view mirror, though.”
What if they tried stability?
Jimmie Johnson – Underdog? What might that do for the popularity of NASCAR?
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Just what does Brian France want to change?
The NASCAR monarch – after all, stock car racing has a clearly defined royal family and order of succession: Bill I, Bill II, Brian I – thinks if times are bad, the only possible solution is change.
The Internet hasn’t changed as much in the last decade as NASCAR.
Why not wait on the fans for once, instead of asking them to adapt?
The Chase, which made finishing 12th as important as first (for 26 races), is in its best shape since 2004, when it debuted. Somehow, by the strangest quirk of fate, one race remains and Jimmie Johnson actually doesn’t have it sewn up.
Johnson, unbeatable and unloved, thinks winning it this year might actually decrease the number of fans who dislike him. He’s going into the final race without the lead. Could the specter of Johnson the … underdog … be raised?
“It would probably be received better than the ones in the past, with the runaway show we’ve had in a couple of them,” he said.
It’s worth a shot, yes?
Lead changes and exciting finishes are up. The flip side, of course, is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is down.
NASCAR changed its grading system and put everyone on a curve – or maybe all the courses are strictly pass-or-fail – for 26 races. It made all the cars so close to identical that Johnson himself might not be able to tell a Ford from a Chevy without those handy headlight decals. It revved up the action with rules that make the old “racing back to the caution flag” seem safe. The number of laps aren’t even reliable anymore.
Some fans are ticked off. Some are just tired.
Maybe change has been transacted at so dizzying a pace that people just can’t keep up. And contradictions flourish.
With cars that look just alike, inexplicably, one manufacturer, Chevy, dominates as never before.
Exciting races are perceived widely as just the opposite. “Boring” is just a strange word to be used in relation to what has taken place on the tracks this year, but fans say it every day.
Every change is sold as cost-cutting, but none of the teams ever actually save any money because, before they get a chance to do so, more changes emerge from that godforsaken Research and Development Center.
Even change gets old when it never stops.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Just what does Brian France want to change?
The NASCAR monarch – after all, stock car racing has a clearly defined royal family and order of succession: Bill I, Bill II, Brian I – thinks if times are bad, the only possible solution is change.
The Internet hasn’t changed as much in the last decade as NASCAR.
Why not wait on the fans for once, instead of asking them to adapt?
The Chase, which made finishing 12th as important as first (for 26 races), is in its best shape since 2004, when it debuted. Somehow, by the strangest quirk of fate, one race remains and Jimmie Johnson actually doesn’t have it sewn up.
Johnson, unbeatable and unloved, thinks winning it this year might actually decrease the number of fans who dislike him. He’s going into the final race without the lead. Could the specter of Johnson the … underdog … be raised?
“It would probably be received better than the ones in the past, with the runaway show we’ve had in a couple of them,” he said.
It’s worth a shot, yes?
Lead changes and exciting finishes are up. The flip side, of course, is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is down.
NASCAR changed its grading system and put everyone on a curve – or maybe all the courses are strictly pass-or-fail – for 26 races. It made all the cars so close to identical that Johnson himself might not be able to tell a Ford from a Chevy without those handy headlight decals. It revved up the action with rules that make the old “racing back to the caution flag” seem safe. The number of laps aren’t even reliable anymore.
Some fans are ticked off. Some are just tired.
Maybe change has been transacted at so dizzying a pace that people just can’t keep up. And contradictions flourish.
With cars that look just alike, inexplicably, one manufacturer, Chevy, dominates as never before.
Exciting races are perceived widely as just the opposite. “Boring” is just a strange word to be used in relation to what has taken place on the tracks this year, but fans say it every day.
Every change is sold as cost-cutting, but none of the teams ever actually save any money because, before they get a chance to do so, more changes emerge from that godforsaken Research and Development Center.
Even change gets old when it never stops.
A Sad Day indeed, NHR announces it?s ceasing of Operations...
By now you?ve probably heard the overly sad news that Newman Haas Racing (NHR) has decided to pull-the-plug and cease its racing operations effective immediately, although the 33-staff members will receive paychecks thru December 31, 2011 - with NHR closing shop and therefore not contesting the 2012 Indy Car Series season after a memorable 29-seasons of competition.
This is very-very sad news, as Newman/Haas has always been a perennial powerhouse team since its inception, albeit the Post-Champ Car unification years have been rather difficult for NHR. Although their first year as a CCWS ?Transition? team saw them capture two victories; one apiece for THE GRAMINATOR, nee Graham Rahal at St Pete, with Justin ?BIG UNIT Wilson being victorious at Detroit?s Belle Isle; the Lincolnshire, IL squad?s final victory before the passing of the legendary Paul Newman.
Paul Newman
As ironically, the team?s final victory overall; but NHR then struggled to keep their ship afloat, even having taken on Honda?s Japanese Hideki-san, aka Hideki Mutoh And his Honda Formula Dream money to campaign a single car effort for 2010 originally; having dumped Graham Rahal for lack of funds - before the Son ?O Stash found savior?s Quick Trim and the Kardashian ?Seesters to enable Graham?s return to the Newman Haas Lanigan fold for the remainder of the season from Toronto onwards.
Yet for Mwah, I?ve always had mixed emotions towards Carl Haas and NHR, even though I?ve enjoyed their being a thorn in the side of The Captain, (Roger Penske) Pat Patrick and later-on Thee ?Cheepster. (Chip Ganassi) As Newman/Haas was often the team to beat - especially when CART reputedly hit its zenith when ?Ol BLOODY ?NIGE (Mansell) jumped ship from Formula 1 and won the CART title in his rookie season of 1993...
As the story has been told numerous times of how Mario Andretti brokered the alliance between Can Am competitors Carl Haas and Paul Newman, with the latter running a team in conjunction with Bill Freman. As although Newman-Freman Racing never won the Can Am title which invariably fell to Carl Haas who was the Lola Cars Distributor, nonetheless Newman & Co ran a competitive ship with the likes of talented drivers such as: Elliot Forbes Robinson, (EFR) Keke Rosberg, Teo Fabi, Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal. As it was Newman?s Budweiser sponsorship plus Haas?s factory Lola that Mario drove in the team?s inaugural CART campaign in 1983, where he?d remain until retiring at the end of ?94...
Yet Newman/Haas was a thorn in my side for many seasons - as I was truly never a fan of Mario or Michael Andretti; who were the ?ENEMY!? As for reasons now long forgotten, I was an Unser fan instead; primarily a ?lil Al (Unser Jr.) fan... Although I?ve long since given up on him - prior to this year?s latest DWI incident, which seemingly tarnishes his driving achievements to Mwah; but I digress...
And although I didn?t personally become acquainted with Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) until the late 1980?s and hence missed out on the beginning of Newman/Haas Racing and its star driver Mario Andretti in the Budweiser Lola... Nevertheless I remember NHR perennially running all black liveried Kmart and Texaco/Havoline racecars during the early 1990?s, in which ?Mikey won his lone CART Championship in, although I recall Christian Fittipaldi being his teammate... Which was after the Super Mario Arrivaderchi Tour in ?94; while I found it funny that Paul Tracy?s name was left outta the Newman Haas lore, as the Krazy ?KuhNuck did a short spell for Newman Haas circa 1995, a one-year sabbatical from Penske Racing where he upstaged ?Mikey?s lone victory with two ?W?s to his credit that year, nonetheless in a ?BUTTWIPER? sponsored chassis I believe...
And speakin? of Mario, who once tried running over one of our Portland Int?l Raceway Boyz Posse in the Paddock, I seem to believe that I can still envision an all red Hannah Car Wash Lola/Chevrolet letting down Mario during the ?87 Indy 500 after thoroughly dominating the races first 179-laps!
While your humble scribe once observed Carl Haas chewing his signature ?mile-long? cigar on an all black Kmart scooter in the Portland Paddock from a relatively safe distance away...
And then there was ?SHORTY, aka Cristiano da Matta who stopped the Gil de Ferran Penske/Honda Freightrain with his title in ?02, before NHR became the scourge of Champ Car to Mwah... As le Hamburgular, nee Sebastain Bourdais was the driver to beat with his four consecutive CCWS titles (2004-07) as I was a ?BIG UNIT (Justin Wilson) Fan all of those years and relished anytime ?J-Dub defeated ?SeaBass...
Thus its hard to see this CART mainstay bite-the-dust, as they?ve just come off of an extremely productive season with Oriel Servia finishing fourth in the Drivers title fight, with thee Mayor ?O Hinchtown, aka James Hinchcliffe winning R.O.Y. (Rookie Of the Year) honours over JR Hildebrand and Charlie Kimball amongst others... As I?d really like to see both of these drivers continue their Indy Car career?s in ?12. As I hope Hinch will land a ride at RLLR alongside ?Taku-san (Takuma Sato) or perhaps either partner ?Symone Pagenoe? (Simon Pagenaud) at SSM. Or better yet, see Servia & Hinchcliffe and the NHR nucleus form a two-car operation at Dragon Racing - as after all it?s the staff members, not drivers who?ll potentially suffer the most from this storied team going Out-of-Business...
MILLER: Newman/Haas memories
STATSOwners: Paul Newman and Carl HaasFirst Race: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1983First Win: Mario Andretti; Road America, 1983Last Race: Las Vegas, 2011Last Win: Justin Wilson; Belle Isle, 2008Total Wins: 107Total Poles: 109Championship Titles (8)Mario Andretti; 1984, Michael Andretti; 1991, Nigel Mansell; 1993, Cristiano da Matta; 2002, Sebastian Bourdais; 2004-07.
This is very-very sad news, as Newman/Haas has always been a perennial powerhouse team since its inception, albeit the Post-Champ Car unification years have been rather difficult for NHR. Although their first year as a CCWS ?Transition? team saw them capture two victories; one apiece for THE GRAMINATOR, nee Graham Rahal at St Pete, with Justin ?BIG UNIT Wilson being victorious at Detroit?s Belle Isle; the Lincolnshire, IL squad?s final victory before the passing of the legendary Paul Newman.
Paul Newman
As ironically, the team?s final victory overall; but NHR then struggled to keep their ship afloat, even having taken on Honda?s Japanese Hideki-san, aka Hideki Mutoh And his Honda Formula Dream money to campaign a single car effort for 2010 originally; having dumped Graham Rahal for lack of funds - before the Son ?O Stash found savior?s Quick Trim and the Kardashian ?Seesters to enable Graham?s return to the Newman Haas Lanigan fold for the remainder of the season from Toronto onwards.
Yet for Mwah, I?ve always had mixed emotions towards Carl Haas and NHR, even though I?ve enjoyed their being a thorn in the side of The Captain, (Roger Penske) Pat Patrick and later-on Thee ?Cheepster. (Chip Ganassi) As Newman/Haas was often the team to beat - especially when CART reputedly hit its zenith when ?Ol BLOODY ?NIGE (Mansell) jumped ship from Formula 1 and won the CART title in his rookie season of 1993...
As the story has been told numerous times of how Mario Andretti brokered the alliance between Can Am competitors Carl Haas and Paul Newman, with the latter running a team in conjunction with Bill Freman. As although Newman-Freman Racing never won the Can Am title which invariably fell to Carl Haas who was the Lola Cars Distributor, nonetheless Newman & Co ran a competitive ship with the likes of talented drivers such as: Elliot Forbes Robinson, (EFR) Keke Rosberg, Teo Fabi, Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal. As it was Newman?s Budweiser sponsorship plus Haas?s factory Lola that Mario drove in the team?s inaugural CART campaign in 1983, where he?d remain until retiring at the end of ?94...
Yet Newman/Haas was a thorn in my side for many seasons - as I was truly never a fan of Mario or Michael Andretti; who were the ?ENEMY!? As for reasons now long forgotten, I was an Unser fan instead; primarily a ?lil Al (Unser Jr.) fan... Although I?ve long since given up on him - prior to this year?s latest DWI incident, which seemingly tarnishes his driving achievements to Mwah; but I digress...
And although I didn?t personally become acquainted with Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) until the late 1980?s and hence missed out on the beginning of Newman/Haas Racing and its star driver Mario Andretti in the Budweiser Lola... Nevertheless I remember NHR perennially running all black liveried Kmart and Texaco/Havoline racecars during the early 1990?s, in which ?Mikey won his lone CART Championship in, although I recall Christian Fittipaldi being his teammate... Which was after the Super Mario Arrivaderchi Tour in ?94; while I found it funny that Paul Tracy?s name was left outta the Newman Haas lore, as the Krazy ?KuhNuck did a short spell for Newman Haas circa 1995, a one-year sabbatical from Penske Racing where he upstaged ?Mikey?s lone victory with two ?W?s to his credit that year, nonetheless in a ?BUTTWIPER? sponsored chassis I believe...
And speakin? of Mario, who once tried running over one of our Portland Int?l Raceway Boyz Posse in the Paddock, I seem to believe that I can still envision an all red Hannah Car Wash Lola/Chevrolet letting down Mario during the ?87 Indy 500 after thoroughly dominating the races first 179-laps!
While your humble scribe once observed Carl Haas chewing his signature ?mile-long? cigar on an all black Kmart scooter in the Portland Paddock from a relatively safe distance away...
And then there was ?SHORTY, aka Cristiano da Matta who stopped the Gil de Ferran Penske/Honda Freightrain with his title in ?02, before NHR became the scourge of Champ Car to Mwah... As le Hamburgular, nee Sebastain Bourdais was the driver to beat with his four consecutive CCWS titles (2004-07) as I was a ?BIG UNIT (Justin Wilson) Fan all of those years and relished anytime ?J-Dub defeated ?SeaBass...
Thus its hard to see this CART mainstay bite-the-dust, as they?ve just come off of an extremely productive season with Oriel Servia finishing fourth in the Drivers title fight, with thee Mayor ?O Hinchtown, aka James Hinchcliffe winning R.O.Y. (Rookie Of the Year) honours over JR Hildebrand and Charlie Kimball amongst others... As I?d really like to see both of these drivers continue their Indy Car career?s in ?12. As I hope Hinch will land a ride at RLLR alongside ?Taku-san (Takuma Sato) or perhaps either partner ?Symone Pagenoe? (Simon Pagenaud) at SSM. Or better yet, see Servia & Hinchcliffe and the NHR nucleus form a two-car operation at Dragon Racing - as after all it?s the staff members, not drivers who?ll potentially suffer the most from this storied team going Out-of-Business...
MILLER: Newman/Haas memories
STATSOwners: Paul Newman and Carl HaasFirst Race: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1983First Win: Mario Andretti; Road America, 1983Last Race: Las Vegas, 2011Last Win: Justin Wilson; Belle Isle, 2008Total Wins: 107Total Poles: 109Championship Titles (8)Mario Andretti; 1984, Michael Andretti; 1991, Nigel Mansell; 1993, Cristiano da Matta; 2002, Sebastian Bourdais; 2004-07.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
F1: With Little Drama, Vettel Easily Won Title
Sebastian Vettel wrapped up the 2011 World Championship with four races to spare...
This week's Stockcartoon from Mike Smith
Stockcartoons are created by Mike Smith, editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun, and syndicated through King Features Syndicate. Mike generously shares them with us here.
Mike is also the primary contributor to the Las Vegas Sun's NASCAR blog,"Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity."
Bruton Smith on prize money in NASCAR, says Bristol probably not a sellout
Bruton Smith weighed in on how NASCAR is parsing out price money in a story from NASCAR.com:
"I would like to take half of the money from the points fund and give it to the winners of the races. I'd like to see a $300,000 to $400,000 difference between ...
"I would like to take half of the money from the points fund and give it to the winners of the races. I'd like to see a $300,000 to $400,000 difference between ...
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Bulls Running Wild
Hopefully this is just another ruse by Deeter Majestik?s all conquering Red Bull Racing Organization - having decided to join la Scuderia (Ferrari) by bolting for the door towards the unseemly large chunks ?O Dinero from Uncle Bernaughty - by abandoning the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) in order to reap better rewards from the forthcoming Concorde Agreement extension in 2012. As its kinda funny how ?Ol Deeter has ?Juan foot in each camp with Red Bull?s ?lil ?Seester Toro Rosso remaining an FOTA member for the time being...
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
NASCAR This Week ends operations today
It's been a hoot, but we gotta scoot.
NASCAR This Week is ending operations on Monday, December 6, and will go offline on Dec. 17.
While traffic to the site has continued to grow since April 2008 when we came online, NASCAR This Week failed to meet its financial expectations.
We’d like to thank Monte for his generous permission to feed all his stories to this site. We still believe he’s the best NASCAR journalist out there, and wonder if the NASCAR heat we got last summer was due more to Monte’s voice than the few bucks we were making off advertising.
Keep giving ‘em hell, Monte!
Monte will continue to cover NASCAR. You can find his stories on the NASCAR page at the Gaston Gazette where he works, as well as his blog, also located on the Gaston Gazette website. Monte also posts blogs on his personal MySpace page, and he also maintains a music MySpace page where you can hear his songs and find out where he’s performing next. He also has a page on Facebook.
We also want to thank all of you for stopping by over the past few years to catch Monte’s latest, join in the comment conversation or just enjoying some NASCAR octane.
Please leave us a message of farewell if you care to in the comments section below.
For the next couple of weeks we’ll leave up some of Monte’s best stories from the season. We think they offer ample evidence of why you should continue to follow Monte where you can. As we said, we think he’s the best around.
Here’s to great racin’ in the years to come!
-- Ovalscream
What if they tried stability?
Jimmie Johnson – Underdog? What might that do for the popularity of NASCAR?
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Just what does Brian France want to change?
The NASCAR monarch – after all, stock car racing has a clearly defined royal family and order of succession: Bill I, Bill II, Brian I – thinks if times are bad, the only possible solution is change.
The Internet hasn’t changed as much in the last decade as NASCAR.
Why not wait on the fans for once, instead of asking them to adapt?
The Chase, which made finishing 12th as important as first (for 26 races), is in its best shape since 2004, when it debuted. Somehow, by the strangest quirk of fate, one race remains and Jimmie Johnson actually doesn’t have it sewn up.
Johnson, unbeatable and unloved, thinks winning it this year might actually decrease the number of fans who dislike him. He’s going into the final race without the lead. Could the specter of Johnson the … underdog … be raised?
“It would probably be received better than the ones in the past, with the runaway show we’ve had in a couple of them,” he said.
It’s worth a shot, yes?
Lead changes and exciting finishes are up. The flip side, of course, is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is down.
NASCAR changed its grading system and put everyone on a curve – or maybe all the courses are strictly pass-or-fail – for 26 races. It made all the cars so close to identical that Johnson himself might not be able to tell a Ford from a Chevy without those handy headlight decals. It revved up the action with rules that make the old “racing back to the caution flag” seem safe. The number of laps aren’t even reliable anymore.
Some fans are ticked off. Some are just tired.
Maybe change has been transacted at so dizzying a pace that people just can’t keep up. And contradictions flourish.
With cars that look just alike, inexplicably, one manufacturer, Chevy, dominates as never before.
Exciting races are perceived widely as just the opposite. “Boring” is just a strange word to be used in relation to what has taken place on the tracks this year, but fans say it every day.
Every change is sold as cost-cutting, but none of the teams ever actually save any money because, before they get a chance to do so, more changes emerge from that godforsaken Research and Development Center.
Even change gets old when it never stops.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Just what does Brian France want to change?
The NASCAR monarch – after all, stock car racing has a clearly defined royal family and order of succession: Bill I, Bill II, Brian I – thinks if times are bad, the only possible solution is change.
The Internet hasn’t changed as much in the last decade as NASCAR.
Why not wait on the fans for once, instead of asking them to adapt?
The Chase, which made finishing 12th as important as first (for 26 races), is in its best shape since 2004, when it debuted. Somehow, by the strangest quirk of fate, one race remains and Jimmie Johnson actually doesn’t have it sewn up.
Johnson, unbeatable and unloved, thinks winning it this year might actually decrease the number of fans who dislike him. He’s going into the final race without the lead. Could the specter of Johnson the … underdog … be raised?
“It would probably be received better than the ones in the past, with the runaway show we’ve had in a couple of them,” he said.
It’s worth a shot, yes?
Lead changes and exciting finishes are up. The flip side, of course, is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is down.
NASCAR changed its grading system and put everyone on a curve – or maybe all the courses are strictly pass-or-fail – for 26 races. It made all the cars so close to identical that Johnson himself might not be able to tell a Ford from a Chevy without those handy headlight decals. It revved up the action with rules that make the old “racing back to the caution flag” seem safe. The number of laps aren’t even reliable anymore.
Some fans are ticked off. Some are just tired.
Maybe change has been transacted at so dizzying a pace that people just can’t keep up. And contradictions flourish.
With cars that look just alike, inexplicably, one manufacturer, Chevy, dominates as never before.
Exciting races are perceived widely as just the opposite. “Boring” is just a strange word to be used in relation to what has taken place on the tracks this year, but fans say it every day.
Every change is sold as cost-cutting, but none of the teams ever actually save any money because, before they get a chance to do so, more changes emerge from that godforsaken Research and Development Center.
Even change gets old when it never stops.
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Best Seats in the House
The best seats in the house at IMS are well known when it comes to the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400. When it comes to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP and the IMS road course, it?s a different story. We took the time to scope out the best three places to watch tomorrow?s race. [...]
My First Brickyard 400
Earlier in the summer I attended the Indianapolis 500.� On Sunday, July 31st, 2011 the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) hosted the 18th Annual Brickyard 400, which was the first Brickyard 400 I had ever attended. I didn?t know what to expect. I had never been to a NASCAR Race before. I wondered how the NASCAR [...]
The state of the art is messy
Jeff Burton wrecked at ‘Dega, and he wrecked again at Texas … (photo: Getty Images)
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Have at it, boys. Those words, spoken back in January by NASCAR’s Robin Pemberton, might as well have been the slogan of the season.
Oh, by the way, remember the Maine, the Alamo and Joe Hill, too.
Once, when I was in high school, our team paid a visit to a conference rival we’d beaten 62-0 the year before. That school normally wore orange, but when we trotted out on the field for warm-up, we immediately noticed the other team was wearing red and white T-shirts, matching our school colors. The T-shirts read:
WE REMEMBER! 62-0!
We remembered, too. We won, 34-6, and there weren’t any T-shirts the next year.
While pro football implements rules that limit the capacity of overgrown physical specimens to, uh, play football, NASCAR tumbles into old-fashioned laissez-faire.
If a driver doesn’t like the way another driver is racing him, he can just duke it out, by gosh. Unlike a beanball in baseball, NASCAR doesn’t eject or issue warnings, anything like that.
Have at it, boys. The three R’s are rubbin’, retaliatin’, and wreckin’.
The august ruling body must, of course, prevent an outbreak of anarchy. It can’t have these cocky, rich whippersnappers just rioting in the streets (uh, tracks). They can be scrapping among themselves all they want, but don’t be “sassing” a NASCAR official. Kyle Busch didn’t need words to “sass,” but he would have been no better off had he launched into a profanity-laced diatribe.
One reason modern racers can “have at it” is that they have few limitations.
In the old days, when a driver wrecked a car, he had to fix it, and if he didn’t fix it, he paid to have it fixed. Nowadays that’s the domain of millionaire owners with accompanying millions from sponsors. Now a dozen cars, just like the wrecked one used to be, sit back at the shop. They’ll send a transporter to pick another one up, if need be.
More than 20 years ago, Darrell Waltrip was kidding when he suggested that a car owner’s advice to a driver was, “If you can’t win the race, at least tear up the car.”
That’s no longer a joke. That’s the state of the art now.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Shanghai F1 Circuit F1 Chinese station introduced
“On”-shaped track of the car starting grid position region is the main grandstand at the Shanghai International Circuit, the diamond areas and between regions fleet maintenance, after participating in the car waiting at the starting line before the top set of lights track lights emitted language five red lights went out in the light language [...]
Glen Reen Clears The Chaos To Score First NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Victory Sunday At Thompson
THOMPSON - Glen Reen walked into the Thompson International Speedway press box and immediately relayed a message to the media on hand.
"Don't pinch me because I don't want to wake up," Reen said.
In one of the wildest events of the season, Reen pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in winning the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour World Series of Speedway Racing 150 Sunday at Thompson Speedway.
It was the first career victory in the series for Reen, of Wilbraham, Mass., who was making his fifth start of the season.
"Don't pinch me because I don't want to wake up," Reen said.
In one of the wildest events of the season, Reen pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in winning the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour World Series of Speedway Racing 150 Sunday at Thompson Speedway.
It was the first career victory in the series for Reen, of Wilbraham, Mass., who was making his fifth start of the season.
Shanghai F1 Circuit F1 Chinese station introduced
“On”-shaped track of the car starting grid position region is the main grandstand at the Shanghai International Circuit, the diamond areas and between regions fleet maintenance, after participating in the car waiting at the starting line before the top set of lights track lights emitted language five red lights went out in the light language [...]
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Sprint To The End: Tough Run For Rowan Pennink Closes Once Promising Whelen Modified Tour Season
It was a run that few fans who were at Thompson International Speedway on Sunday won't soon forget.
Unfortunately for Rowan Pennink, it was a run that had nothing to do with sitting behind the wheel of a racecar.
On a day that saw wild storylines all over the place when it came to the season ending event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Pennink's sprint across the Thompson Speedway infield after getting wrecked will be remembered as one of the signature moments of Sunday's 2011 finale for the division.
Unfortunately for Rowan Pennink, it was a run that had nothing to do with sitting behind the wheel of a racecar.
On a day that saw wild storylines all over the place when it came to the season ending event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Pennink's sprint across the Thompson Speedway infield after getting wrecked will be remembered as one of the signature moments of Sunday's 2011 finale for the division.
Strike the Pose!
Davey Hamilton proudly sporting his No Fenders limited 1st edition T-shirt at Indianapolis - July, 2007
CUP: Zipadelli Is Danica Patrick?s Crew Chief, For Now
Greg Zipadelli will be on top of the pit box for Danica Patrick in the Daytona 500...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Zanardi wins NY Marathon
Heard it first on SpeedCentre - when Leigh Diffey busted out the news in the waning moments that ?Zorro had done the unthinkable... And WON the Handbike division of this year?s New York Marathon; Aye Karumba!
Way to GO Alex!
Zanardi wins class at New York marathon
Way to GO Alex!
Zanardi wins class at New York marathon
Ryan Truex plans first Nationwide start at Gateway
Defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion and current points leader in that series, Ryan Truex, will make his Nationwide Series debut this month when he climbs behind the wheel of a Michael Waltrip Racing entry on July 17 at Gateway International Raceway. He will pilot a NAPA-sponored No. 00 entry and will be a [...]
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Ryan Truex plans first Nationwide start at Gateway
Defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion and current points leader in that series, Ryan Truex, will make his Nationwide Series debut this month when he climbs behind the wheel of a Michael Waltrip Racing entry on July 17 at Gateway International Raceway. He will pilot a NAPA-sponored No. 00 entry and will be a [...]
NASCAR Sprint Cup Ends with a Duel
As the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday offered excitement from start to finish, ending with Tony Stewart taking the checkered flag and the championship title. Having won the NASCAR season championships in 2002 and 2005, this was Stewart's third championship victory ? a victory for which he had to battle against very strong competition. The last 40 laps of the 267-lap event proved to be a duel between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards that kept fans in suspense right to the finish line.
Related posts:Kurt Busch Takes Victory at AAA400Carl Edwards Wins Carfax 250Edwards Wins Race But Johnson Still In Championship Lead
Related posts:Kurt Busch Takes Victory at AAA400Carl Edwards Wins Carfax 250Edwards Wins Race But Johnson Still In Championship Lead
India Shines as F1 Host
A festive atmosphere prevailed at India's new Buddh International Circuit for the inaugural Formula One race held there on Sunday. Drivers were lavish in in their praise for the smooth and fast new course, and random interviews among the crowd confirmed the day to be a total success. With a crowd of more than 90,000 spectators giving the track their undivided attention, Sebastian Vettel of Team Red Bull took the checkered flag ? once again.
Related posts:India Prepares for Inaugural F1 Grand PrixVettel is New F1 World ChampionButton Celebrates Success in Hungary
Related posts:India Prepares for Inaugural F1 Grand PrixVettel is New F1 World ChampionButton Celebrates Success in Hungary
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Bulls Running Wild
Hopefully this is just another ruse by Deeter Majestik?s all conquering Red Bull Racing Organization - having decided to join la Scuderia (Ferrari) by bolting for the door towards the unseemly large chunks ?O Dinero from Uncle Bernaughty - by abandoning the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) in order to reap better rewards from the forthcoming Concorde Agreement extension in 2012. As its kinda funny how ?Ol Deeter has ?Juan foot in each camp with Red Bull?s ?lil ?Seester Toro Rosso remaining an FOTA member for the time being...
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
Red Bull Quits FOTA
Bulls Set to Trample Milton Keynes StreetsMeanwhile, on a happier note, Red Bull Racing will celebrate its second consecutive Double World Championships (Drivers + Constructors) with Master ?Zebb (Vettel) and Mark ?Handlebarz Webber running a pair of Red bull F1 Show Cars on the streets of the team?s adopted Hometown - Milton Keynes on December 10th...
Red Bull Celebrates 2011 Championships
F1: Vergne, Ricciardo Land 2012 Toro Rosso Seats
Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne will replace Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari at Toro Rosso next season...
NASCAR grows presence on iTunes
For awhile now, NASCAR has been offering recaps of Sprint Cup races on iTunes. Now, NASCAR fans can also download, via iTunes, what it is calling “NASCAR Classics, Volume I.” The volume honors the careers of three of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees — Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, and Richard Petty. Full Story
Justin Bonsignore Wants No Part Of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Silly Season Carousel
THOMPSON - The 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season comes to an end today with the running of the World Series of Speedway Racing 150 at Thompson International Speedway.
And while the cars may be heading back to the shop for the offseason, it doesn't mean the jockeying for positions has ended.
The silly season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is in full swing, with rumors continuing to sprout seemingly weekly about driver changes and team changes for next season.
One of the big dominoes fell last week when seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion walked away from his ride with Flamingo Motorsports.
But when it comes to the silliness of it all, Justin Bonsignore doesn't want to be part of it.
And while the cars may be heading back to the shop for the offseason, it doesn't mean the jockeying for positions has ended.
The silly season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is in full swing, with rumors continuing to sprout seemingly weekly about driver changes and team changes for next season.
One of the big dominoes fell last week when seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion walked away from his ride with Flamingo Motorsports.
But when it comes to the silliness of it all, Justin Bonsignore doesn't want to be part of it.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Chris Pasteryak Wins Second Valenti Modified Racing Series Championship; Rowan Pennink Wins Season Finale
Chris Pasteryak used a ninth place finish in Sunday's Oktoberfest 100 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. to capture his second Valenti Modified Racing Series championship.
Pasteryak, of Lisbon, came into the event holding a 28-point lead over Les Hinckely III of Windsor Locks and finished the season 14 points of Hinckley to win the title.
Hinckley finished second to Rowan Pennink of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. in Sunday's Valenti Modified Racing Series season finale.
Pasteryak also won the Valenti Modified Racing Series title in 2008. He finished the 2011 season with three victories and nine top-five finishes and never finished outside the top-10 in 15 races.
Pasteryak, of Lisbon, came into the event holding a 28-point lead over Les Hinckely III of Windsor Locks and finished the season 14 points of Hinckley to win the title.
Hinckley finished second to Rowan Pennink of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. in Sunday's Valenti Modified Racing Series season finale.
Pasteryak also won the Valenti Modified Racing Series title in 2008. He finished the 2011 season with three victories and nine top-five finishes and never finished outside the top-10 in 15 races.
Justin Bonsignore Wants No Part Of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Silly Season Carousel
THOMPSON - The 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season comes to an end today with the running of the World Series of Speedway Racing 150 at Thompson International Speedway.
And while the cars may be heading back to the shop for the offseason, it doesn't mean the jockeying for positions has ended.
The silly season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is in full swing, with rumors continuing to sprout seemingly weekly about driver changes and team changes for next season.
One of the big dominoes fell last week when seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion walked away from his ride with Flamingo Motorsports.
But when it comes to the silliness of it all, Justin Bonsignore doesn't want to be part of it.
And while the cars may be heading back to the shop for the offseason, it doesn't mean the jockeying for positions has ended.
The silly season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is in full swing, with rumors continuing to sprout seemingly weekly about driver changes and team changes for next season.
One of the big dominoes fell last week when seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion walked away from his ride with Flamingo Motorsports.
But when it comes to the silliness of it all, Justin Bonsignore doesn't want to be part of it.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tony Stewart wins race and Sprint Cup championship
Tony Stewart wins race and Sprint Cup championship
Sunday, December 11, 2011
INDYCAR: Angstadt Out, Barnhart Emasculated!
Otay, perhaps that?s not a Politically Correct Headline, eh? BUTT! Amen Mr. CandyMann! (Randy Bernard) Who?s apparently still hiding in duress over his botched Las Vegas SuperCaluhDrocius Season Finale Indy car weekend...
Yet, I found it most appealing to read that Terry ?where?s duh Beef?? Angstadt has been dismissed from the IRL, Err IndyCar and the BESTEST news of all! Is that the bumbling, baboonish head ?O competition, i.e.; Chief Steward & Head of Race Control ?Billybob Brazenheartz, aka Brian Barnhart has been officially stripped of all control, albeit given the option of remaining on as President of Operations, as I can hear ?Ol ?R?s (Robin Miller) happy tap dance all the way here in Seattle...
INDYCAR: Barnhart Removed From Race Control; Angstadt Departs
Yet, I found it most appealing to read that Terry ?where?s duh Beef?? Angstadt has been dismissed from the IRL, Err IndyCar and the BESTEST news of all! Is that the bumbling, baboonish head ?O competition, i.e.; Chief Steward & Head of Race Control ?Billybob Brazenheartz, aka Brian Barnhart has been officially stripped of all control, albeit given the option of remaining on as President of Operations, as I can hear ?Ol ?R?s (Robin Miller) happy tap dance all the way here in Seattle...
INDYCAR: Barnhart Removed From Race Control; Angstadt Departs
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