Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2013/05/day-3-photos.html
Saturday
Dario Franchitti involved in vicious wreck at end of IndyCar race
In the final moments of Sunday's Shell-Penzoil Grand Prix of Houston, four-time IndyCar series champion Dario Franchitti was involved in a wreck that ripped his car to pieces. Wreckage flew into the stands nearby, and the postrace celebration was muted as all waited for word on Franchitti's condition.
On the final lap of the race, Franchitti and Takuma Sato got tangled up, with Franchitti running up on Sato's back and spinning into the catch fence. EJ Viso, trailing, was able to avoid the wreckage of Franchitti's car but hit Sato.
For a long time, the television cameras only carried distant shots of Franchitti's wreckage, leading to obvious concerns. But Franchitti's team owner, Chip Ganassi, brought good news after visiting with Franchitti. "He's got a sore ankle and back," Ganassi said, "but he's OK."
Local news reports indicated there were 15 injuries in the stands from flying debris, none serious.
Friday
Richard Petty Motorsports still searching for consistency
As Richard Petty strolled through the concourse of Kansas City's Memorial Hall, fans streamed towards him with pens an memorabilia for the seven-time Sprint Cup champion to sign.
Others stood and watched, wondering who in the heck that man in the black cowboy hat could be that was causing such a commotion for a few people.
In a way, the varying reactions from fans served as a metaphor for Petty's team's season. At times, both Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose have been noticeable. Other times, their performances have been, well, anonymous.
"Up and down. It started way down," Petty said about his race team's progression over the past two seasons. "If you look at the overall deal it?s been better, better and better. Where we?re hurting a little bit is not consistent. We?ve been really super good one week and not so good. That?s our main deal and we know it?s going to take time to do that."
Proof of that consistency issue? Ambrose's ninth place finish and Almirola's 10th place finish at Kansas marked the first time all season that both Richard Petty Motorsports drivers had finished in the top 10 in the same race. Afterwards, both were thrilled, especially Ambrose. He spun to bring out one of Sunday's 15 cautions. But that spin ended up putting him on a strategy that had him fourth for the final restart.
[Power Rankings: And then there were two]
"It felt like a win as far because I thought our day was done," Ambrose said.
"We got a top 10 and I would have never told you that was possible (Saturday) in practice," Almirola said.
Almirola is 18th in the points standings and Ambrose is 20th. That's the reverse of where they finished last year.
"This year we started out really strong and we were up in the top 12 in points and looked like we were going to have a shot to make the Chase and throughout the summer months we just didn?t keep that mojo that we had at the beginning of the year," Almirola said.
Through the first 13 races, the No. 43 was in the top 12. But those Chase chances were over after Daytona where a crash dropped them to 19th.
For Ambrose, it's been a trying season -- "a wash" as he termed it before the weekend began -- and is encapsulated perfectly by Watkins Glen in August. After leading 51 laps in a bid to win a third straight race at the road course, he had a flat tire and was caught up in a crash in the esses. After three top fives a year ago, none have been on the docket this season.
Though perhaps Sunday was a sign of the optimism that Petty shared Thursday. For a team without title aspirations, a good Chase performance can still
"When we started (with the new car at the beginning of the season), nobody knew what was going on so we were as good as anybody," Petty said. "We trucked along there and everything went pretty good and we just didn?t expand quick enough. We got behind the curve and are just now getting back to where we should have been three or four months ago."
Thursday
Russian F1 engines
There is one reason why people do not build their own F1 engines. Money. It takes horse-choking wedges of wonga to invest in facilities, machinery, people and research and development projects. Gone are the days when a couple of chaps in cloth caps draw an engine on the back of an envelope and find the […]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/russian-f1-engines/
Wednesday
Tuesday
What?s old is new again: Matt Kenseth beats Kyle Busch at New Hampshire
Two weeks, two Chase wins for Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth won Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, much like he won the first Chase race at Chicagoland a week earlier, pulling away from teammate Kyle Busch on the final restart and beating him to the finish line.
Busch got close to Kenseth's bumper over the last few laps but didn't get close enough to come close to making a pass.
An emotional Kenseth called Loudon one of his worst performing tracks in victory lane, but he was not poor on Sunday. After staying near the front, he took the lead for good with 93 laps to go and wasn't passed on the track since.
It was Kenseth's first win at New Hampshire after finishing ninth in the spring. Before Joining Joe Gibbs Racing at the beginning of the season, he had one top 10 finish in the past five seasons at the flat one-mile track.
With the win, Kenseth joins Tony Stewart in 2011 and Greg Biffle in 2008 as the only drivers to win the first two races of the Chase. In 2011, Stewart went on to win the championship, winning three other races.
It's Kenseth's seventh win of the season, and he now leads Busch by 18 points in the Chase standings., despite his teammate finishing second to him in both of those Chase races. Perhaps most strikingly, Kenseth leads fourth place Carl Edwards by 36 points, which is 36 positions on the track, minus a lap led or two. Jimmie Johnson is third, four points behind Busch. Is it already a three person race to the Chase?
While it may be a bit premature to officially declare that, if it was, it wouldn't be the most surprising development in the world. Kenseth, Busch and Johnson have been the strongest drivers in the series this season and have combined for 14 wins in 28 races. Though if Kenseth keeps this pace, even Johnson and Busch won't have a chance.
Monday
2013 Magny-Cours World Supersport Race Results: Close Racing Throughout
Sam Lowes started the 22 lap race, again declared a dry race, needing just two points to win the title. Kenan Sofuoglu, the only man with a chance of delying him the title, started from pole position.
Sunday
Sponsored Video ? The Jenson Button lifestyle in 90 seconds
Think Formula 1 ? think Jenson Button! It?s difficult to imagine that the life of a Formula 1 driver is much more than driving round circuits, albeit circuits all over the globe, competing to be the fastest there is. When it comes to knowing the ins and outs of each of these tracks though, there [...]
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