You know, it really does seem like NASCAR fans aren't happy unless they're griping about something. And unfortunately for NASCAR, Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 gave us plenty to gripe about, from spread-out flat-track racing to endless commercial breaks. Still, Kasey Kahne is very happy with how everything worked out, and Denny Hamlin won't ever be unclear on the radio ever again. Enjoy this quick recap as we head into the off week.
Tuesday
Bill Milliken 1911 ? 2012
Bill Milliken has died at the age of 101. He was known in racing circles as the father of vehicle dynamics. William F Milliken was born in Maine in the Spring of 1911. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1934 and went to work for Boeing, working with wind tunnels, flight [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/bill-milliken-1911-2012/
Just what he needed? Carl Edwards wins Watkins Glen Nationwide race
Is this the catalyst for a charge to the Chase for Carl Edwards?
Edwards, making his first start of the season in the Nationwide Series, seized the lead from one-time nemesis Brad Keselowski after a restart with nine laps to go and then held off Keselowski on a furious two-lap dash for the win at Watkins Glen.
[Related: Danica crashes on first turn of first lap at The Glen]
After finishing second to Tony Stewart via wins at the end of last year's Sprint Cup season, Edwards decided not to run any Nationwide races this season to focus on the Sprint Cup Series. Last season, Edwards won eight races in 33 Nationwide Series starts.
"This is huge for us. ... It's nice to be in victory lane," Edwards said, as he rattled off his multitude of sponsors.
Through 21 races in the Cup Series, Edwards is 12th in the points standings, 60 points out of 10th. Plus, he's winless, so that means his likeliest way to the Chase is through victory lane, a place he hadn't been in since the October Charlotte Nationwide race. Yeah, his victory backflip, albeit successful, was admittedly a little ugly. But that's A-OK for Edwards, and it could be the boost he's looking for to go for the Cup championship again.
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Marcos Ambrose victorious in a slip-n-slide Watkins Glen finish
As the laps ticked down in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, Marcos Ambrose chances for victory looked to be diminishing too. After passing Brad Keselowski for second, he wasn't able to close in on leader Kyle Busch, and the 2 second gap between the two stayed steady.
Then, with just over two laps to go, Keselowski got by Ambrose. It was definitely over for Ambrose ? both for his hopes of winning the race and sneaking in the Chase. But then it all got crazy.
Right around the time Ambrose and Keselowski were fighting for second place, Bobby Labonte's engine let go, spewing oil onto the racing surface. However, that oil was largely invisible to the naked eye, and it turned the last lap into something that resembled a banana peel filled Mario Kart race at Sherbet Land.
As Busch rounded the last two corners of the penultimate lap, his gap over Keselowski and Ambrose shrunk from seconds to car lengths. It kept shrinking as the trio dove down the hill towards turn one on the race's final lap, and disappeared as they all slid through the fluid residing the racing groove.
Busch and Ambrose slid wide off one but rejoined the track as the three headed to the esses. Keselowski didn't, and that meant he was stuck to the far right side of the track as they headed up the hill. Busch, still in the lead, albeit barely, needed to get over to that preferred side of the track too, both to be in the groove and in front of Keselowski. But Keselowski didn't let off the gas, and Busch's right rear fender made contact with Keselowski's left front, sending Busch into the guardrail.
So the race for the lead was down to two, with Ambrose in hot pursuit of Keselowski. They went off roading in the bus stop, and then they both slipped in the slickness of turn five, first Ambrose, then Keselowski.
That might have been the break that Ambrose needed, as he had already collected the car as Keselowski was sliding, and got around him for the lead as the duo headed towards turn 6. But Keselowski, smoke coming from his car as the left front fender was rubbing the tire, got behind Ambrose and gave him a nudge into the turn. That sent Ambrose wide again, but when he rejoined the track, he had the inside line into the final corner as they were side-by-side, and he out drag-raced Keselowski to the checkered flag.
"I was the first one to slip in the oil and it was just getting worse and worse," Ambrose said. "You could tell the car was staying out there because the oil was moving around the race track and you just take your chances.� You've got to commit at that point in the race and it was great racing with Kyle and Brad.� They're the two best guys to race.� It's just awesome fun and that's the way racing should be and we got the No. 9 Stanley Ford in Victory Lane."
Now Ambrose, who is 16th in the points standings, is amongst five drivers with one win apiece from 11th-20th in the points standings vying for the final wild card spot. One of those other four is Busch, who declined to comment after the race, saying that he had nothing good to say.
It was, no doubt, the wildest NASCAR finish in recent memory, even if it overshadows the debate that will certainly ensue about NASCAR's decision to not throw a caution for the oil on the track; something that was evident after driver after driver talked about the track conditions after the race.
NASCAR said that they didn't have a confirmed report of oil on the track, and that none of their spotters saw oil on the track.
NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said that NASCAR would have thrown the yellow if it thought there was a safety issue.
"If we thought it would put people in harm's way, we would have had to address that," Pemberton said. "We didn't get a confirmed report that there was oil on the track."
When Pemberton was asked by The Sporting News' Bob Pockrass about the oil, he said that "They also said that their tires were wore out and their brakes were wore out and all that other stuff that goes on."
It's entirely improbable that the track lost grip on it's own on the final laps for the entire field. But that lack of grip equaled a lot of craziness.
"Those last two laps were just out of control with the oil down," third place finisher Jimmie Johnson said. "You are studying the road trying to see if you can see an oil trail and there really wasn't a large visible one to dodge. But you could feel the oil on your tires and slipping and sliding and then guys are spinning all over. "
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Monday
VIDEO: Austin Dillon clips tire on pit road in Indy Nationwide race
Some tire backspin saved a potentially hazardous situation in the pits during Saturday's Nationwide race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A tire got away from Johanna Long's pit stall, and Austin Dillon, who was driving past, slid and swerved to try to avoid it on Indy's narrow pit road. He just nicked it, but that sent the tire off of the outside pit lane retaining wall.
At a lot of other bigger tracks, the tire would have harmlessly bounced towards the infield, but since the Indianapolis pit lane is sandwiched between two concrete walls, the tire ricocheted back towards crews making pit stops. But just like a PGA pro's wedge shot, the tire thankfully checked up as soon as it landed back in the middle of pit lane and came to a stop.
Saturday
Fans? videos from the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix | F1 video
Fans’ videos from the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Fans' videos from the Hungarian Grand Prix including a great close-up from the grid, Michael Schumacher facing questions from local Hungarian children, and more.
Fans’ videos from the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/08/08/fans-videos-2012-hungarian-grand-prix/
Jack Brabham† Bill Brack Ernesto Brambilla Vittorio Brambilla
Battle underway to save historic Nazareth Speedway
All over the United States, you can find historic but shuttered tracks, locales which once hosted all-out assaults of speed and sound but now sit abandoned, often gone to seed. Each of these tracks has its own hardy band of defenders and advocates who hope they can entice racing to return.
Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania never hosted a Sprint Cup-level race, but did host lower series races (and IndyCar races) until 2004. Familiar names like Matt Kenseth, Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves and Greg Biffle ran there; Martin Truex Jr. won the last Nationwide race there in May 2004. The track is owned by ISC, but its role in the Northeast has been usurped by fellow ISC track Watkins Glen. Shoot, even the grandstands were ripped up from Nazareth and shipped over to Watkins Glen. The indignity!
You can see the track in full flower above ... and in full overgrown shrub below. For more about the speedway preservation effort, visit their Facebook page.
Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella Mбrio de Araъjo Cabral Frank Armi
Video: AJ Allmendinger questions, retiring numbers
There are several big questions orbiting NASCAR this week, none bigger than the fate of AJ Allmendinger. Though the story is still in progress, we kick around the key components of the issue right here. And on a less solemn note: should numbers be retired from NASCAR? Busbee says yes, Hart says no. Listen to our arguments and have your say right here. Enjoy, friends.
Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich
Friday
2012 Silverstone World Supersport FP2: Cluzel Fastest In Quiet Session
Jules Cluzel sat out most of the free practice session, opting only to go out in the last few minutes on slicks while everyone else was chasing settings on wet tyres.
With so few riders doing more than a handful of laps, it's difficult to judge anything from this session.
Results:
Chevrolet to debut Camaro in 2013 Nationwide series
Here's a pleasant surprise: Chevrolet will roll out the Camaro for competition in the Nationwide Series, starting in 2013. It makes sense; not only is the Camaro the top-selling sports car in America (per Chevy), it's also a strong competitor to the Ford Mustang in the Nationwide Series.
And now, some corporatespeak: "Chevrolet is proud to bring the Camaro to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013," said Jim Campbell, vice president, Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "The Camaro Nationwide race car incorporates many of the distinctive styling elements of the production Camaro, including the unique power-bulge hood and deep recessed grille. In addition, the design incorporates the distinctive halo light rings and dual-port grille appearances, and the gold bowtie." ("Power-bulge" is my new favorite adjective.)
As Chevy PR notes, Chevy leads the Nationwide series in wins, manufacturer standings and driver points standings. And now it's going to look even better in 2013.
Thursday
Woman watched NASCAR with deceased man for over a year
Follow Nick Bromberg on Twitter.
Many of us like watching races in the company of other NASCAR fans, but Linda Chase of Jackson, Mich., might have taken that just a bit too far.
For the past 10 years, she lived together with Charles Zigler. And when Zigler passed away, they continued to live and watch NASCAR together for approximately 18 months until authorities found Zigler's body on Friday.
We'll let the Jackson Citizen Patriot take it from here:
Zigler, known as Charlie, died naturally, Linda Chase said. "He just fell asleep." She kept him in his chair after he died, keeping him dressed and cleaned. His body did not stink, she said. She would talk to him and watch NASCAR races on television with him.
Jackson officials believe that Zigler, who would have been 67 or 68, died around Christmas of 2010. That was 18 months ago. When Zigler's family members went to check on him after not hearing from him for a while, they went to the police, who found Zigler's body in his chair.
[Also: Kasey Kahne completes major turnaround with win at Loudon]
Chase kept Zigler's body around for more than NASCAR races, however. She's admitted to cashing his social security checks, saying "I'm probably going to prison." She's currently being investigated. When family members, with whom Zigler did not have a close relationship, tried to contact him, Chase would tell them that he was gone. She told the paper that "It's not that I'm heartless. It's just that after so many bad things happen to you, I don't know.
"I didn't want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me."
So, next time you have friends over for a race, check on them every once in a while. Yeah, they could be just taking a nap because it's Pocono, but you never know.
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2012 Silverstone World Supersport Race: Long Duel Flag To Flag
Like the first Superbike race, the race was red-flagged after the first lap and restarted as a wet race.
Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris
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