Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/11/somehow_you_suspected_that_aft.html
Saturday
A sad story from Finland
Finnish former F1 driver and double Le Mans winner JJ Lehto has been sentenced to two years and four months in jail for his involvement in a boating accident which killed a friend. The prosecution argued that Lehto was drunk at the time of the accident, which occurred in June 2010, when Lehto’s boat hit [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/a-sad-story-from-finland/
Power Rankings: The best feuds of 2011
Welcome to Power Rankings! During the season, we rank your favorite drivers based on who's up, who's down, who's grooving and who's sliding. But now? Now, we dig into the vaults and the memory banks. Today, we offer up the best feuds of 2011. And oh, do we have a bumper crop from which to choose ...
1. Kyle Busch-Richard Childress. One of the most legendary throwdowns in NASCAR history, this Kansas scuffle began when Childress had all he could stand and couldn't stand no more. Busch apparently (and wisely) didn't fight back as the old man threw a punch or two. And "taking off your watch" became an instant NASCAR euphemism for when things are about to get real.
2. Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick. The perpetually simmering Busch-Harvick feud boiled over at Darlington, as the two traded paint on the track. When Harvick confronted Busch on pit road following the race, Busch shoved Harvick's car forward to get out of the way of the Flying Fists of Happy. This one resonated for months.
3. Kurt Busch-The Penske team. Busch feuded with his team, his owner, his car and himself for most of the year, and ended up the loser when he finally got the boot from the 22.
4. Greg Biffle-Boris Said. The best soundbite of the year, as Said called Biffle an "unprofessional scaredy-cat" and a "chump" after a dustup at Watkins Glen. No word on whether Said ever found his way to Biffle's house to deliver his message in person.
5. Matt Kenseth-Brian Vickers. This feud stretched over several races, as the drivers retaliated back and forth so many times that nobody can quite remember how the whole thing started. Kenseth got the last laugh, though; when asked at Champions Week if he'd spin Vickers to win a race, Kenseth replied, "He wouldn't be leading a race."
6. Ryan Newman-Juan Pablo Montoya. An early battle that's all but forgotten now because Montoya dropped off the radar. Newman allegedly threw some punches in the NASCAR hauler, and apparently got one of those secret fines for it. But nobody who's talking about it knows anything, and nobody who knows anything is talking about it.
7. Kurt Busch-Jimmie Johnson. Busch tried hard to convince everyone that he was "in Jimmie's head," but after getting spun by the 48 at Richmond and self-destructing in the Chase, Busch convinced everyone that he couldn't get out of his own head long enough to find his way into anyone else's.
8. Tony Stewart-Brian Vickers. The Sonoma battle between Vickers and Stewart very nearly cost the eventual champion a berth in the Chase. Stewart decided to play NASCAR sheriff and dump Vickers for blocking; Vickers responded by putting Stewart tail-up onto a tire pile. Stewart's poor finish there almost cost him his Chase spot. Which, as it turned out, would have changed matters dramatically.
9. Kevin Conway-Robby Gordon. If these two were bigger names, this would've been the fight of the year, hands down. As it is, it's the undercard, but a contract battle and alleged garage fisticuffs are nothing to laugh off. Laugh at, yes, but not laugh off.
10. Kasey Kahne-Juan Pablo Montoya. Notable because Montoya managed to get under the skin of the usually low-key Kahne at Pocono. Watching drivers try to sort out who did what to whom is like listening to middle-school girls try to figure out who backstabbed whom.
Honorable mentions: Kyle Busch-Ron Hornaday Jr. (the move that got Kyle benched), Kyle Busch-Elliott Sadler (a case of mistaken identity, as Kyle crashed Sadler apparently thinking he drove for Harvick), Kurt Busch-the NASCAR media (transcripts and facts have no chance against an angry driver), Tony Stewart-the NASCAR media (you'd better ask a good question or else), Clint Bowyer-Juan Pablo Montoya (trouble on the track at Atlanta pretty much iced Bowyer's Chase chances), Jimmie Johnson-Juan Pablo Montoya (no shower is safe from the Montoya Apology Tour), Tony Stewart-Darian Grubb (not a feud per se, but a disagreement that ended, strangely enough, in both a championship and a firing).
All right, your turn. What was your favorite disagreement of the 2011 season? Have your say below.
Friday
MotoGP Silly Season 2013 Starts Early - Yamaha Keen To Hang On To Lorenzo
With all the debate and discussion over the changes coming to MotoGP for 2012 - 1000cc machines, the appearance of the Claiming Rule Team machines, arguments over exactly what the Aprilia bike is, and the ongoing talks over the imposition of a rev limit and spec ECU for 2013, it is easy to overlook the fact that it is not just the bikes which are changing. All four of MotoGP's so-called Aliens are out of contract at the end of next season, as well as just about every other rider on the MotoGP grid. With the last five years utterly dominated by the Fantastic Four - Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner winning all but four races in 5 season - the key for any factory to securing a MotoGP title has been having at least one Alien on its books.
Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais
Raikkonen plans to start testing in January | 2012 F1 season
Kimi Raikkonen intends to drive an F1 car next month before official testing for the 2012 season begins.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/12/21/raikkonen-plans-start-testing-january/
The Off Season as it Stands Today
After a tough week, I am back in action and what a week to be injured. We have had the best of best news all the way down to the worst of the worst. After a few weeks of not-necessarily-on-topic … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/the-off-season-as-it-stands-today/
Alonso shines as Ferrari falter in 2011 | 2011 F1 season review
The 150� Italia was not a car with which Fernando Alonso could avenge his 2010 defeat.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/12/20/2011-f1-season-review-ferrari/
Thursday
Tesla Model S
 |
The long-awaited Tesla Model S is finally itching and itching closer to production as the California-based electric car maker has released the latest batch of photos for their electric sedan.
Looking more or less the same as the concept version, the newly-designed Model S features a restyled front bumper and new rear lights that resemble that of the Jaguar XF. Despite the minimal changes, the "new-look" Model S figures to be as close to what the production version of this model is going to look like.
If and when this model does see the light of the production block, Tesla has announced that the first 1,000 models of the Model S will be given a unique special edition badging - the North American Model S Signature Series - which will come with some added aesthetic treatments, a bevy of optional upgrades, and a powertrain that features the model’s top-of-the-line lithium-ion battery pack with a 300-mile range.
UPDATE 08/04/11: Tesla has released a track video of the Model S undergoing some serious testing to see how it candle the rigors of a race track. Take a look at the video after the jump.
UPDATE 12/22/11: Tesla has officially announced prices for the new Model S hybrid sedan. The model will hit the streets in 2012 and will be priced from $49,900 for the base version and will go up to $79,900 for the Performance version. Hit the jump for the full pricing list.
Details on the Tesla Model S after the jump.
Tesla Model S originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 22 December 2011 10:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/tesla/2012-tesla-model-s-ar110767.html
Presentations made by Mercedes
In�the presentation made by�Mercedes�to show their�brand new�Class�B�had the opportunity to�chat with a�brand�engineer�told me�a couple�of interesting details.�On one side the�platform using�this model will be�shared by four�brand vehicles�and�all�wheel drive will have�…�although�at least�one�drive�that�can also�be integrated,�for from what�I gathered, did not say so�openly, one of the�Mercedes�cars that�the market will�launch�an SUV that�will compete,�for example, with�the imminent�Audi�Q3. Maintaining the same�base�also�find�substitute�Class A, [...]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/95-presentations-made-by-mercedes.html
Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen
All he does is win: Tony Stewart wins Indy Karting Classic
Before Sunday's Indy Karting Classic, Tony Stewart declared that he wouldn't have an advantage because he'd be the heaviest driver in the field.
He didn't need any advantage.
Smoke won the Indy Karting Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse, beating fellow IndyCar and NASCAR drivers to the checkered flag. IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani was second and John Andretti was third. Stewart made his eventual race-winning pass on Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon.
??"We had a slow start to the day, but we got better as the day went on and the track got better for us," Stewart said. "Austin (Dillon) had some trouble with his brother (Ty Dillon) and someone else and got choked down and we got a big run. The inside didn't look so good and I thought the outside looked good, but then it didn't look good at all. I thought I was going to go down the tunnel, out the parking lot and downtown. It was a little bit sketchy, but we had a fast kart at the end."
The visual of Stewart motoring around downtown Indianapolis in his go-kart is almost too funny to envision. Heck, given the Colts' season this year, it'd be by far the most entertaining sports-related event in the city since the Indianapolis 500. But, alas, it wasn't a reality.
Maybe he should save some of this winning mojo and bottle it up for the Daytona 500. In 13 attempts at the 500, Stewart has never won despite notching wins in the Budweiser Shootout, Gatorade Duels, both Nationwide races and the Coke Zero 400.
Wednesday
Massacre at Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso will have a completely new driver line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season, made up of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. It will be the first time since the team?s 2006 debut that it will begin the year with an all new line-up. Both drivers have come through the Red Bull Junior [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/massacre-at-toro-rosso/
Your 2012 Budweiser Shootout field
The criteria to qualify for the 2012 Budweiser Shootout was released on Wednesday and once again it's different than it was the previous year.
The 2012 field for the Daytona exhibition race will include the top 25 drivers in driver points and past Daytona winners (any driver who has won a Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 or Budweiser Shootout).
The result? Well, the odds are that your favorite driver is eligible, because a whopping 33 drivers can run the race. The field is listed below, though it'd take less time to tell you who's not eligible to run the race.
Tony Stewart
Carl Edwards
Kevin Harvick
Matt Kenseth
Brad Keselowski
Jimmie Johnson
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Jeff Gordon
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Newman
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
Clint Bowyer
Kasey Kahne
A.J. Allmendinger
Greg Biffle
Paul Menard
Martin Truex Jr.
Marcos Ambrose
Jeff Burton
Juan Pablo Montoya
Mark Martin
David Ragan
Joey Logano
Brian Vickers
Bill Elliott (previous Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout winner)
Geoff Bodine (previous Daytona 500 and Budweiser Shootout winner)
Derrike Cope (previous Daytona 500 winner)
Michael Waltrip (previous Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 winner)
Jamie McMurray (previous Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 winner)
Trevor Bayne (previous Daytona 500 winner)
Terry Labonte (previous Budweiser Shootout winner)
Ken Schrader (previous Budweiser Shootout winner)
Will all 33 drivers attempt the race? At this point it's impossible to say yes. Kurt Busch Ragan, Vickers, Elliott, Bodine, Cope, Bayne, Labonte and Schrader all do not have Sprint Cup rides lined up for 2012 and Martin and Waltrip are slated to share the No. 00 for Waltrip's team. Busch won last year's event.
Perhaps the large field is the precursor to NASCAR banning radio communication between different teams in another effort to break up the tandem drafting. A large pack would be the best possible way to find out if any potential rules changes could break up the 2x2 racing.
Last year's Budweiser Shootout field was the 2010 Chase field, past Sprint Cup champions, past Daytona winners and the rookie of the year winners from 2001-2010.
This year's Shootout is Saturday, February 18, and will be a two-segment 75 lap race.
The Off Season as it Stands Today
After a tough week, I am back in action and what a week to be injured. We have had the best of best news all the way down to the worst of the worst. After a few weeks of not-necessarily-on-topic … Continue reading
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/the-off-season-as-it-stands-today/
Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia
They Make It ?Cause We Buy It: NASCAR chocolate cars
No sport offers up a more bewildering array of souvenir crap memorabilia than NASCAR, and "They Make It" digs deep into the corners of the Internet to bring all that strangeness to light. Today: horror beyond horror.
The item: NASCAR chocolate cars! So delicious, and filled with sweet goodness, just like the real thing! Only 19 cents each from this particular outlet, which sadly appears to be out of stock at the moment. But you could probably create your own edible race team at your local dollar store.
The deal: Never have car crashes been so tasty! This seems like a real missed opportunity for NASCAR; these candies ought to be everywhere in NASCAR Nation. You remember how, when you were a kid, you'd torture animal crackers or gummi bears by pulling off their limbs and devouring them in front of their eyes? (Come on, it wasn't just me.) What kind of a lift you think it would give a team to bite right into the hood of their hated rival (or, if you're a member of Kurt Busch's crew, your own car) and devour the innards? Although we'd recommend you remove the foil first. That doesn't digest well.
The call to action: Thanks to longtime Marblehead Carol Fitzgerald for this find. Got some bizarre NASCARiana for us to check out? Email me at jay.busbee@yahoo.com with the details. Get to it!
Tuesday
Tony Stewart wins the NASCAR ?Newlywed? Game, of course
Champions Week has begun in Las Vegas, and for a few days your favorite NASCAR drivers plunge into a world where they're both the bringers and the butts of jokes ? you know, pretty much like every day around these parts.
The festivities kicked off with a version of "The Newlywed Game," hosted by none other than Bob Eubanks himself. Teammates (and occasional rivals) paired up to answer questions about the other, in often sick and twisted fashion. The teams were:
? Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman
? Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth
? Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
? Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch
? Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch
? Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The Stewart-Haas boys won the day by correctly picking what the other would say about them (follow that?). A few of the key one-liners:
? Kenseth said Edwards' most annoying habit was being late. "You're also late crossing the finish line," Eubanks added. Twist that knife!
? Who would Stewart bump out of the way on the last lap to win a race? Stewart said Brian Vickers, while Newman said ... Ryan Newman. (Kenseth added that he wouldn't bump Vickers to win a race, because "he probably wouldn't be leading.")
? What driver would the other drivers not let their daughters date? Gordon answered Hamlin, Newman answered Stewart, Kenseth killed with "Danica."
? Gordon and Johnson shot back and forth at each other, with Johnson mocking Gordon's onetime "cheesy mustache" and Gordon reminding everyone that Johnson shaved his legs in high school for swim meets.
? For the record, Ryan Newman can fart the alphabet. Just thought you'd like to know that.
? Kyle said Hamlin's haircut was straight from "Dumb and Dumber," while Hamlin shot back that you could get a really good laugh by watching Kyle "attempt to play any other sport."
? Whose wife or girlfriend would win a wet t-shirt contest? While Keselowski tried to answer with grace, Hamlin said, "just pick one of my girlfriends." ("I don't know their names," Keselowski said. "I don't either!" Hamlin replied.) Earnhardt offered up a nice one: "Do ex-wives count?"
Oh yeah, we're rolling now. More out of Vegas as it hits, including the Thursday burnouts on the Strip.
Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis
German MotoGP Round To Remain At Sachsenring For 2012
One more question mark can be removed from the provisional MotoGP calendar for 2012. The ADAC - the German automobile association which organizes the German round of MotoGP and owns the Sachsenring - have invited the press to a press event to be held in pit lane at the Sachsenring on Friday, December 2nd, to be attended by the Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony and the President of the ADAC's sport section. The subject of the event is the future of the German round of MotoGP, and though the invitation says nothing about what is to be announced at the event, the guests and the location point to just one conclusion: The Sachsenring is to continue to host the German MotoGP race for 2012, and, according to leading German-language magazine Speedweek, well beyond.
Source:
Ask The Insiders Wednesday #152
The end is near. �All three series will close out their 2011 seasons this weekend at Homestead. �The Truck and Nationwide battles are all but sewed up, but we’ve got one hell of fight for the Cup title. �As we wait to find out who will be crowned, we’ve got the 152nd round of reader [...]
TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/ZZh23Z9gx8s/
Monday
Create-a-caption: Get a spatula for this Stewart fan
Hey! Fella! Wake up! Your boy won! Somebody caption this fine Getty Images photo of a Tony Stewart fan at Homestead. Before? After? Who knows?
After the jump, Stewart tries to get into Carl Edwards' head ... and we all know how that turned out, don't we?
Dick Smothers:
Carl: "I know it's you that keeps tapping me on the shoulder, Tony."
Joshua:
Even the media room showed how serious the owners were about putting progressive banking everywhere at Phoenix International Raceway.
What Was Your NASCAR Best and Worst from 2011?
It was a wild season that began with 20-year-old Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500 and ended with a wild race that made series veteran Tony Stewart the first Cup Series Champion not named Jimmie Johnson since 2005. In the mean time: we saw 19 different winners, including five different first time winners; Kyle Busch [...]
TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/jfWowQPeArw/
Luis Sala is HRT team principal
The news that Luis Sala has been named Team Principal of HRT amused me. It is a long story – nearly 30 years long – but back when I started out my professional motorsport career, I inhabited the world of European Formula 3. I had no idea – nor did any of us – that [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/luis-sala-is-hrt-team-principal/
Sunday
2011 F1 driver rankings no.1: Sebastian Vettel | 2011 F1 season review
The double-champion raised his game in almost every area in 2011.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/12/16/2011-f1-driver-rankings-no1-sebastian-vettel/
Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen
RVM?2011 Season Review Part the Final
So here we are finally at the final installment of the 2011 season in review. I think by now I have gotten 2011 out of my system and we can begin to look towards 2012 with a more focused eye. … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/rvm-2011-season-review-part-the-final/
Silverstone gets planning permission
Both Aylesbury Vale District Council and South Northamptonshire Council have effectively approved Silverstone Circuit?s outline planning application, which supports the venue?s 20-year Masterplan – the next big step towards securing the long-term future of the international venue. The circuit is owned by the British Racing Drivers? Club (BRDC), although there are advanced negotiations going on [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/silverstone-gets-planning-permission/
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)