Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/m61cJw0iodU/retro-phoenixs-last-grand-prix-two.html
Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris
Monday
Sunday
IndyCar will not return to site of Dan Wheldon?s death in 2012
When Dan Wheldon died in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the hue and cry from many quarters focused on the track itself: too banked, too wide, too much room for open-wheeled cars to get into trouble. No less than Jimmie Johnson himself said that he didn't believe IndyCars belonged on certain ovals.
Now, it appears IndyCar is heeding those cries. The series has announced that it will buy out the 2012 race and review contract options for 2013. IndyCar is in the midst of an investigation into Wheldon's death, and a return to Vegas is, in part, contingent on those findings. So many questions still remain, with few answers in sight. (Of note: the series has already committed to returning to Texas, a similar track, for 2012.)
The 15-car wreck that claimed Wheldon's life 12 laps into the race could have been caused by the high banks of the track, and accordingly, the series has held off on releasing its 2012 schedule. However, other reasons for the catastrophic wreck could have been an overcrowded field or the high number of relatively inexperienced drivers.
Bruton Smith, owner of Speedway Motorsports Inc. and the Las Vegas track, has long demanded that IndyCar honor its three-year commitment to the track. However, he agreed to a buyout of 2012, with 2013 yet to be determined.
Brian Pattie named Clint Bowyer?s new crew chief
Hey, news that doesn't involve ugly separations! In a confirmation of long-running rumors, Brian Pattie, former crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya, will take over top-of-the-box duties for Clint Bowyer as both join Michael Waltrip Racing.
Bowyer will be driving the No. 15 Five-Hour Energy Toyota Camry. Pattie has won 18 times on the Nationwide circuit, and he guided Montoya to a Chase berth in 2009 and a Watkins Glen win in 2010. Plus, he was able to handle the radio presence of Montoya, hands-down one of the most critical drivers in Sprint Cup.
Bowyer, Pattie and Waltrip all had glowing words for each other in the press release announcing the hiring.
? Waltrip: "Brian is someone whose [sic] been on our radar for a very long time."
? Bowyer: "We both grew up working on dirt cars and have pretty similar backgrounds ... I think we speak the same language."
? Pattie: "I know how close [MWR] is to joining the upper echelon of the Sprint Cup series."
So nice to see team, driver and crew chief so happy together, isn't it?
Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich
Matt Kenseth will wreck you in absolutely anything, anywhere
Check out Matt Kenseth racing Green Machines at Travis Air Force Base as part of a Gatorade promotion. The lucky fellow who won the chance to race Kenseth could have taken a lesson from Brian Vickers: you never, ever wreck Flatline with time still left in the race.
Yep, it's the offseason. How long till Daytona, again?
Out goes Sutil
The Sahara Force India Formula One Team has confirmed that Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg will form its line-up for the 2012 season. This means that the star of the team’s 2011 World Championship challenge, Adrian Sutil,has been left in the lurch. The team did not name a reserve driver. “Our new line-up means [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/out-goes-sutil/
Ladies and gentlemen, Dale Earnhardt Jr.?s girlfriend
Yes, the rumors and legends are true: Dale Earnhardt Jr. does have a girlfriend. He revealed her to the world Friday night at the Sprint Cup Championship banquet. (We think this is the big reveal; we don't really keep up with such things.)
For years, everybody figured this was one of those "she lives in Canada, you don't know her" kind of things, but hey, here she is. Her name is Amy Reimann, and you may recall that she and Earnhardt were the subject of some ugly National Enquirer rumors a year or so back. But they were all smiles at the banquet, so we'll raise a glass to the happy couple and hope for more news that's actually about, you know, racing sometime soon.
Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert
Saturday
Sprint extends title sponsorship of Sprint Cup Series to 2016
During Friday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced that the mobile phone carrier has extended its title sponsorship of the Sprint Cup Series.
Hesse made the announcement while presenting a $5.8 million winner's check to 2011 champion Tony Stewart.
"So, I could not be more pleased than to announce and celebrate tonight, that Sprint and NASCAR have agreed to an extension of our relationship, ensuring that through at least the 2016 season, every champion crowned will be a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion," Hesse said.
Sprint became the official title sponsor of the Cup Series in 2008 after the Sprint-Nextel merger was complete. Nextel became the title sponsor of the Cup Series in 2004 after Winston left the sport. The Nextel contract was set to expire at the end of the 2013 season.
Stewart is the only driver to have won championships with Winston, Nextel and Sprint as the title sponsors.
While the Sprint announcement is good news for the series, especially in light of the sponsorship struggles throughout the industry, it's probably bad news for NASCAR fans who want official NASCAR content on their phones but are not Sprint customers. Currently, the only official NASCAR mobile application with audio and other features is exclusive to Sprint and will likely remain that way for obvious reasons.
Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell
Luca di Montezemolo: ?Winning depends on us, not on others?
Luca di Montezemolo used Ferrari?s Xmas lunch today to encourage the team to work harder in the build-up to 2012. Over 1000 team members and suppliers – including the drivers – were present to hear Montezemolo celebrate 20 years in … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/12/17/luca-di-montezemolo-winning-depends-on-us-not-on-others/
Michigan, Martinsville lay wager on Sugar Bowl
College sports are the paragon of amateur integrity (what? stop laughing!), but that doesn't mean we can't have a friendly wager now and then, right?
Take, for instance, next week's Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Michigan Wolverines do battle against the Virginia Tech Hokies, and as part of the festivities, the two NASCAR tracks most closely associated with those programs, Michigan and Martinsville, have placed a little bet of their own.
If the Hokies win, MIS track president Roger Curtis will travel to Martinsville in April to serve Martinsville hot dogs while wearing the Hokies' maroon and burnt orange. And if the Wolverines win, Martinsville head honcho Clay Campbell will do the reverse, heading to Michigan to serve MIS's Coney Dogs wearing blue and yellow. (Campbell, not the dogs.)
That's nice and all, but there ought to be something with interest for the rest of us. Like, the winning track gets the right to put in a ramp, or the right to keep one driver out of the lineup of the other track's race, or something cool like that. But this'll do, I suppose.
The Sugar Bowl is January 3. Keep your browser tuned to Yahoo! Sports for full coverage...but probably not in the NASCAR section.
Friday
Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon breakdances
NASCAR's Champion's Week festivities in Las Vegas have been a gold mine of hilarious moments so far, but Jeff Gordon stole the show during Thursday's "After the Lap" event.
The day after all 12 Chase drivers participated in the NASCAR version of "The Newlywed Game," they were back on stage for "After the Lap," which ended up turning into a group roast of sorts for the Chasers.
While there were many funny moments to be had ? 2011 Sprint Cup champion and noted Burger King connoisseur Tony Stewart joked about having to change clothes next to runner-up and fitness freak Carl Edwards�? Gordon had the best moment of them all when he showed off his breakdancing moves on stage.
Yes, seriously.
The California-raised Gordon has transformed himself from anti-NASCAR establishment young gun into one of the best drivers in the sport's history with 85 wins and four Sprint Cup titles over the course of his 20-year career.
[ Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Most Popular Driver award for ninth time ]
If a guy like Scott Speed�? a former Red Bull driver who came to NASCAR from Formula 1�? breakdances, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. But Jeff Freaking Gordon? One of the seemingly most unlikely NASCAR drivers to have any breakdancing skills? That's just awesome. It's like Tiger Woods deciding to get down after a round at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or if Peyton Manning boogied at the Pro Bowl.
It took some prodding for Gordon, 40, to finally show off his moves, but he reluctantly did for about 10 seconds to roars and applause from fans and his fellow competitors, even prompting Denny Hamlin to laughingly tell Gordon "don't bring that [garbage] into my club." (Hamlin owns a club in the Charlotte area.)
The four-time champion admitted that he was an avid breakdancer when he was younger and that the last time that he had breakdanced (publicly) was at five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's wedding.
And while there were quips about Gordon's ability to get a girl soon after he got down�? Gordon also once had an awesome mid-1990s mustache and a rainbow-colored firesuit ? they aren't exactly based in any truth. Gordon is married and has two children with model Ingrid Vandebosch.
For more motorsports news, follow us on Twitter at @FTMNASCAR.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Baseball's Hall of Fame debates are about to get a lot less fun
? No-no king Johnny Vander Meer was under the watchful eye of J. Edgar Hoover
? Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is considered a top Texas A&M target
Hyundai New Models
2013 Hyundai Genesis is Hyundai’s model is completely renewed in two years to make way for the sportier version of all. This model is a coupe that Hyundai for quite some time been attracting the attention of all car fans. Smetana already available photos of the model 2013, which was filtered through official Face book [...]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/116-hyundai-new-models.html
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/
Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth
Thursday
Photographer's Blog-G.P. Helmet Art
I spent more time on the grid in 2011 than ever before and one of the interesting benefits of this was the level of details I started noticing in some of the helmets. On TV, or even at trackside, it's difficult to see exactly what the helmet designers have done to make each rider's crash hat unique.
So I started grabbing a few close up shots of helmets as they popped out of the hustle and bustle that makes up a G.P. grid. This collection is arbitrary in that I made no effort to look at each helmet to find the best ones. There simply isn't time to do that, nor is it possible to look in a systematic way since the bikes arrive in an unpredictable order, and the grid itself is a fairly hectic space until right before the start when they kick us off.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/wqNvaLzB6gs/photographer_s_blog_gp_helmet_art.html
Hulkenberg and Di Resta confirmed at Force India
Sahara Force India has finally confirmed the not unexpected news that Nico Hulkenberg has been promoted from his third driver role to partner Paul Di Resta in 2012. Dr Vijay Mallya waited until the day after the team’s Xmas party … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/12/16/hulkenberg-and-di-resta-confirmed-at-force-india/
Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews
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