Saturday

Austin F1 Race Saved, Texas MotoGP Round On For 2013

The Formula 1 race scheduled to be held in November 2012 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas appears to have been saved, and with it, the MotoGP race the season after. After a dispute over the sanctioning fee and the terms of the contract between Formula One World Championship Limited and the Circuit of the Americas, and a game of brinkmanship between F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and CotA founding partner Bobby Epstein, the Austin facility finally buckled, wiring an advance payment to Ecclestone's organizing firm just hours before the deadline - a meeting of the World Motor Sports Council in New Delhi - and securing the contract for the F1 race.

With confirmation of a signed contract from Ecclestone, work resumed at the circuit almost immediately. Construction had originally been halted on November 15th, when the dispute between Ecclestone and CotA first blew up. A series of press releases followed, and some hard bargaining ensued. But Ecclestone held the upper hand throughout the negotiations, throwing in an announcement of another F1 race to be held in the US, the New Jersey Grand Prix at a street circuit on the banks of the Hudson River looking across to New York City. In the end, the Austin circuit appears to have acquiesced to Ecclestone's demands.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/y5RAmC9-6fo/austin_f1_race_saved_texas_motogp_round_.html

Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade Alex Caffi

Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series Roadster

1.

Just like every other model in Mercedes’ line-up, the SLS AMG will also receive a Black Series version. The Coupe version is already set for release in 2014 and new rumors are suggesting that the Roadster version will be arriving a year later. This debut setup should come as no surprise considering Mercedes just dropped the SLS AMG Roadster at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Just like the coupe model, the Black Series SLS AMG Roadster will be powered by a revised, naturally aspirated 6.2 liter V8 engine that will deliver an extra 50 HP over the car’s standard 570 HP, meaning a power boost to at least 620 HP. Next to this, the SLS AMG Roadster will get a more aggressive exterior package that will include a V-shaped bonnet, a more powerful front apron, larger air intakes, an AMG rear apron with black diffuser insert, and dual twin chrome tailpipes.

Rendering is of the SLS AMG Black Series Coupe.

Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series Roadster originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 16 December 2011 17:00 EST.

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Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/mercedes/2015-mercedes-sls-amg-black-series-roadster-ar121624.html

Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder

Steve Addington named crew chief for Tony Stewart?s team

Steve Addington named crew chief for Tony Stewart?s teamIn a move that could legitimately qualify as NASCAR karma, Steve Addington, former crew chief for Kurt Busch, will take over the same position for reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Jo -- oh, wait, sorry, Tony Stewart. (Going to take a little getting used to, that.)

Anyway, in all seriousness, Addington has just been named the crew chief for Stewart's No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team, effective right now. Addington won 16 Sprint Cup-level races while crewing for both Kyle Busch (12 wins) and Kurt Busch (4 wins), and if you heard any of Kurt Busch's radio transmissions, you know that Addington must have either alligator-thick skin or selective deafness. In his career, Addington has also crewed for J.J. Yeley and Bobby Labonte.

Addington marks only the third crew chief Stewart has had in his championship career, after Greg Zipadelli and Darian Grubb, and to hear Stewart say it (at least in a press release), all will work out just fine: "I know Steve well and I know how he goes about setting up a racecar. My comfort level with him is already strong. He balances the technical part of our sport with the real-world experiences we get at the track, and that will allow for a smooth transition as we prepare to defend our title in 2012."

[Related: Power Rankings: Tony Stewart goes tops with exceptional Chase run

Of course, Grubb's status as fired-but-not-yet-gone crew chief was the most uncomfortable element of last week's championship celebrations. Stewart refused to give Grubb a vote of confidence even as the confetti was still flying.

"Darian was a very important part of the success we've had at Stewart-Haas Racing," Stewart said in a statement. "I'm very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He's a great person and I know he'll continue to be successful in this sport."

Just prior to the release of the announcement, Rick Hendrick confirmed that he has been in discussion with Grubb and has offered him an engineering position, since there are currently no open crew-chief jobs at HMS. But Hendrick added that Grubb has "a lot of offers."

You know, Grubb is a crew chief in search of a job. And we can now think of at least one driver who's in need of a crew chief, can't we?

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Better with age: Former NBA star Yao Ming launches own winery
? German footballers use rock-paper-scissors to decide who should kick
? Suprising omission in top-10 best NASCAR Sprint Cup tracks

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Steve-Addington-named-crew-chief-for-Tony-Stewar?urn=nascar-wp5439

Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain

Where do we go from here?

This is a question I have been asking myself for about a week now. In the wake of Wheldon?s passing; the indycar world was, for good reason, in a holding pattern. The new car testing that was supposed to take … Continue reading

Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/where-do-we-go-from-here/

Mark Blundell Raul Boesel Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant

Jolly Green Sea Turtles...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/-n6dXelPkPo/jolly-green-sea-turtles.html

Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer

Friday

Austin F1 race is GO!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/nSRUymDew6M/austin-f1-race-is-go.html

Yannick Dalmas Derek Daly Christian Danner Jorge Daponte

KVRT Joins Chevy Lineup

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2011/11/kvrt-joins-chevy-lineup.html

Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier

Ed Carpenter Racing Full-time In 2012

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2011/11/fuzzys.html

Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine John Cordts

2011 Portimao WSBK Test Day 1 Results: Haslam Leads BMW Clean Sweep

Fresh off the back of three days testing at Jerez, the factory BMW team topped the timesheets of the first day of the combined Aprilia, BMW and Suzuki test at the Portimao test. Leon Haslam led his teammate Marco Melandri, the Englishman posting a time of 1'43.6, a tenth quicker than Melandri, but a long way off Max Biaggi's lap record, the track conditions far from ideal despite warm and sunny weather. The factory BMW team continued the work on the new generation of electronics to be used for the coming season - though the provenance of the electronics remains mysterious, with rumors of the team running both Magneti Marelli and Pi systems, while BMW insists that the systems are BMW electronics. The mechanics were also given plenty of work to do, Marco Melandri writing off his S1000RR in a massive crash at the end of the day.

Race Details
2011

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/nEvH6Z2MNzc/2011_portimao_wsbk_test_day_1_results_ha.html

Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi

INDYCAR: A Decade of Despair and Rebirth

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/yXx3a2phG88/indycar-decade-of-despair-and-rebirth.html

Piers Courage Chris Craft Jim Crawford Ray Crawford

Thursday

Kimi R�ikk�nen injured in a race. A snowmobile race.

Kimi R�ikk�nen injured in a race. A snowmobile race.Kimi R�ikk�nen is no longer an official member of NASCAR, but that doesn't mean we can't still have a little fun at his expense now and then.

The newly-minted Formula One star-to-be was in an accident in a snowmobile race in Austria, but apparently walked away with only a sore wrist. Lotus Renault, his F1 team, informed fans via Twitter that "he's absolutely fine." Good news: "We just spoke to Kimi. There's nothing to worry about, he only has a sore wrist. He might have it checked again on Monday, but that's all."

Well, that's a bit disappointing. Racing has a proud tradition of drivers injuring themselves doing insanely stupid off-track things (Jimmie Johnson surfing atop a golf cart, for one). Shame this one won't add much to that legend.

R�ikk�nen was the 2007 world champion but left the sport temporarily in 2009. He dabbled a bit in NASCAR but recently signed a two-year deal to drive for Lotus Renault.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Kimi-R-ikk-nen-injured-in-a-race-A-snowmobile-r?urn=nascar-wp5703

Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi

Happy Hour: We need some new postrace celebrations

Happy Hour: We need some new postrace celebrations

Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com (note new address) or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.

So on Tuesday, I got caught in a 90-minute dead-stop traffic jam caused by a 20-car pileup on a highway near Atlanta. (Here's a brief news account.) And as I drove past the Talladega-esque wreckage, cars twisted into unrecognizable shapes and people sitting on the ground, shaken by the experience (thankfully, no serious injuries), I only had one thought: this was probably Vickers' fault. Also, no word on who got the Lucky Dog.

Now, to your letters. Last week, your assignment was to devise some new victory celebrations in the vein of Carl Edwards' flip. And oh, did you respond. Away we go...

Matt Kenseth would just fold his arms and yawn after a victory.

? Oranje
Hancock, Mich.

___________________

After winning a race, Jimmie Johnson could eat some vanilla ice cream because he is Mr. Vanilla.

? Dave Blakely

Simple. Effective. This is the vanilla ice cream of jokes.

___________________

If Brian Vickers ever wins again, he can wreck the other 42 cars during his victory lap.

? Daniel Biggins

___________________

? Joey Logano - Wait in his car for his Dad to get there and tell him what to do.
? Juan Pablo Montoya - Overcook his drive into Victory Circle taking out all of the equipment onstage and tell everyone it wasn't his fault that the equipment pinched down on him and left him no room.
? Any MWR driver - Go straight to their garage, close all the doors/block all view of the car, pretending their is a fire to distract everyone. Make the car legal, then go to victory circle.
? Danica Patrick - Now, I'm sure their wouldn't be a lot of complaints if she decided to moon all of her competitors, but NASCAR is family-oriented. So she hands out pacifiers to all the whiners.

? Dan Boren
Bay City, Texas

___________________

? Jeff Gordon - Gotta break dance now... think of the head spin with a polished helmet on!
? Tony Stewart - Fires his crew chief
? Denny Hamlin - Fires his crew chief and claims he thought of it first
? Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Tells NASCAR thanks for the 87 lucky dogs that mysteriously took place in the race

? Tim Palmer

___________________

? Joey Logano - Cups his hands on his face a la Home Alone
? Danica Patrick - busts out the little guillotine to even further emasculate the other drivers.

? Kurt
Home of the #17
Cambridge, Wisc.

...and finally, this one wins for the sheer absurdity of several of these...

___________________

? Brad Keselowski - The Robot
? Denny Hamlin - Shrug it off, put a brick on the throttle and walk towards pit road
? Ryan Newman - Take a stray dog and throw it into the grandstands
? Kurt Busch - Give a bird to Kyle Busch fans
? Kyle Busch - Give a bird to Kurt Busch fans
? Kasey Kahne - The Worm
? Greg Biffle - Take a Pancake and start eating it
? Paul Menard - Jump out the car and mutter one simple word: "Dad." Then start crying
? Martin Truex Jr.- Run as hard as you can into the car, see how much damage that you can make
? David Ragan - MOON WALK
? Regan Smith - Start singing your favorite "Grease" number
? Jamie McMurray - Start bawling
? Bobby Labonte - Start painting your car green, with a red 18 on the side, then start praying for JGR
? David Gilliland - Faint because you can't believe it

? Liam Morast
Ann Arbor, Mich.

Yes, drivers slinging puppies into the crowd, eating pancakes and working out their daddy issues. Do you get this kind of angle on the sport on ESPN or NASCAR.com? Hell no, you don't.

All right, on to the next topic ... and hey, it's Kurt Busch! Imagine that!

___________________

Yes, there's an opening now at Penske for 'Urt's' seat. But instead of the usual suspects who lost rides this year, Penske had great success pulling Brad Keselowski out of another organization who was ready, but for whom there was no room at the inn at Hendrick Motorsports. My money's on one of the up and comers in Nationwide, or Elliot Sadler, who's marketable and arguably was unfairly shuffled out of Sprint a few years ago.

? Jeff "Sarge" Smith

Keselowski totally altered the Penske dynamic based on his success. I have to wonder if Penske would have been so quick to kick Kurt to the kurb if Keselowski had finished around 20th. Now, Penske can do exactly as you said, letting Keselowski be the top dog and bringing in a promising newcomer or perhaps a one-more-chance cat like Sadler. Of course, if the rumors are true, there might be another guy looking for a ride. "Kes and the Dinger" sounds like the worst morning radio show ever, but could make for a hell of a driver tandem.

___________________

I am not a Dale Jr. fan per se, but I like the guy based on what I perceive as absolute genuineness. One thing that irritates me is that there is a nation of people out there that constantly like to bring him down due his inability to compete for a championship. People need to chill out.

Junior has been in "the show" for 10 years and in those 10 years, 2 drivers have won 8 of the championships. That leaves a lot of other people in the same garage as Junior ... So take some time, breathe deeply and say "serenity now." Everyone that enjoys NASCAR needs to also enjoy the fact that Junior is still active and racing. There will come a time when his persona is no longer on the scene and people like him don't come along every day.

? Jeff Morehouse
South San Francisco, Calif.

I agree with all of the above, but I honestly have nothing new to say about Junior today. Do you? I didn't think so. Aside: anybody ever see the movie "Serenity" or the TV show it was based on, "Firefly"? Good stuff. Here's the trailer.

New assignment: YouTube clips. Find us some good ones. Things that we can embed on a public website like this one. We'll run one a week till the season starts. Funny, scary, ridiculous, dramatic, whatever. Does not need to be NASCAR-related. Go.

We close with this emphatic manifesto:

___________________

I'm old-fashioned; growing up in Talladega I have always been an avid fan. I had decided several years ago when they finally decided to allow a female to drive that I was done. Did I mention I am a female as well? It's a man's sport, let's leave it that way. I wanted to make a few suggestions.

? Bring back the girls in bikinis in the Winner's Circle. The fire suits have got to go, who wants to see a chick in a cover up? (And I am happily married to a man.) I'll do it if they will let me!
? Have a fan of the day. Go out into the crowd during the 10 hours of pre-race intro and talk to some of the fans. Get more involved with the people, the main reason that NASCAR is still running.
? Please, for the love of the series, take the stupid windows down in the pits so we can have more interaction. To push things to get signed through a bankers window is very demeaning. Who wants to pay for a pit pass to have their picture taken with glass? Not me.
? When the drivers are getting carted around the track to wave a their fans, why do they have to be interviewed at the same time that they are supposed to be acknowledging the very fans/humans that pay to go see them?
? If they are going to be drivers, why do they also have to be commentators after the race? (could I be talking about "pretty boy" Edwards?)
? If you are going to sit, bitch and complain about everything under the sun about what is wrong with your car, and never is it your fault, why do you still get praised? (umm ... Stewart?)
? Have a race where the driver gets an old body style car, gets it fixed up and races, something fun to spice the season up.
? And please, please, please, no chick drivers, it's a man's sport, leave it that way.
? Last but not least, take out the radio frequencies, except between the driver and his crew chief, it is no one's business what they say behind the scenes, that takes so much of the fun out of it.

Let's bring back the racing we used to love, when it was fun!

? BamaRebel

Sweet mother of mercy, I think I'm in love. And I'm probably not the only one.

And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com. You can find Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR coverage on Facebook right here, and you can follow me on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook here.� Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Happy-Hour-We-need-some-new-postrace-celebratio?urn=nascar-wp5737

Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli Piero Carini Duane Carter

A Twisted Holiday - Veteran?s Day...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/BjkzoihA9fg/twisted-holiday-veterans-day.html

Jose Dolhem Martin Donnelly Carlo Abate George Abecassis

The Paddock Pulse: December 14 Edition

Source: http://www.popoffvalve.com/2011/12/14/2635518/indycar-the-paddock-pulse-december-14-edition

Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari

Kimi R�ikk�nen injured in a race. A snowmobile race.

Kimi R�ikk�nen injured in a race. A snowmobile race.Kimi R�ikk�nen is no longer an official member of NASCAR, but that doesn't mean we can't still have a little fun at his expense now and then.

The newly-minted Formula One star-to-be was in an accident in a snowmobile race in Austria, but apparently walked away with only a sore wrist. Lotus Renault, his F1 team, informed fans via Twitter that "he's absolutely fine." Good news: "We just spoke to Kimi. There's nothing to worry about, he only has a sore wrist. He might have it checked again on Monday, but that's all."

Well, that's a bit disappointing. Racing has a proud tradition of drivers injuring themselves doing insanely stupid off-track things (Jimmie Johnson surfing atop a golf cart, for one). Shame this one won't add much to that legend.

R�ikk�nen was the 2007 world champion but left the sport temporarily in 2009. He dabbled a bit in NASCAR but recently signed a two-year deal to drive for Lotus Renault.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Kimi-R-ikk-nen-injured-in-a-race-A-snowmobile-r?urn=nascar-wp5703

Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow Peter Broeker

Wednesday

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Edition Merveilleux


Improbable as it may sound, Bugatti has somehow upstaged the already limited run Bugatti Veyron Super Sport with a special edition version of the very supercar. A special edition of a special edition, you ask?

That appears to be the case with the unveiling of the latest special edition Veyron Super Sport called the "Edition Merveilleux." The car, it turns out, was commissioned specifically for a 40-year old dude in China that goes by the name of "Simon." Details behind the Veyron Super Sport Edition Merveilleux were not disclosed, although there’s a video of the car with all of Bugatti’s top brass, including CEO Wolfgang Durheimer, rolling out the one-off Veyron Super Sport. From the looks of things, Simon’s new ride features an un-painted carbon fiber exterior with matching blacked-out alloy wheels and a bright blue interior finish.

The video features some of the Bugatti execs being given some mic time to wish Simon a happy 40th birthday and if you can put two and two together, this one-off Veyron Super Sport appears to be a birthday present that the birthday boy bought for himself.

Hey, if we had that kind of money, we’d probably splurge it on a one-off model of a supercar that produces 1,200 horsepower and can hit a top speed of 268 mph. Unfortunately, it’s going to take us a couple of lifetimes to be able to sniff a Veyron, much less a one-off model of the Super Sport.

Guess we’ll just have to settle for gift certificates to Red Lobster then.

Hit the jump to watch the video!

Image Courtesy of Motorionline.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Edition Merveilleux originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 18:00 EST.

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Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/bugatti/2011-bugatti-veyron-super-sport-edition-merveilleux-ar121489.html

Kevin Cogan Peter Collins Bernard Collomb Alberto Colombo

2013 SRT Viper will drop Dodge name

1.

Dodge has announced that the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit has been reopened in preparation for the production of the new generation Viper. In addition to that tidbit of news, the company has also announced that the new generation Viper will drop its usual Dodge name and will be simply called SRT Viper.

"The next generation Viper will make its return to the product lineup in late 2012 as a 2013 model," said Ralph Gilles, President and Chief Executive Officer - SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC."We’re extremely excited that our ultimate American sports car will continue to live on and be produced exclusively here in the Motor City."

Conner Avenue will begin building the new Viper in late 2012, but employees began reporting for training and orientation this fall. The plants have the capacity of building about 12 Vipers per day. The 2013 SRT Viper will be revealed at the New York Auto Show in April 2012.

2013 SRT Viper will drop Dodge name originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 10:00 EST.

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Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/2013-srt-viper-will-drop-dodge-name-ar121459.html

Don Branson Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow