After the light-hearted fun and games on Twitter yesterday, with Jonathan Rea and Eugene Laverty poking fun at Tom Sykes and his stated dislike of the hills at Portimão, the serious business of qualifying settled all the disputes.
Friday
Volkswagen Scirocco By ABT Sportsline
There’s a reason why ABT Sportsline is one of our favorite auto tuners in the world. The German company knows how to make programs that improve the cars they work on without going overboard with the modifications. It takes a specific set of skills to do that and ABT has it down path. Its new program for the Volkswagen Scirocco is living proof of that.
The two-fold modification is made up of an extensive aero kit and an impressive performance bump that breathes new life to the Scirocco. That’s not an easy thing to pull off and yet ABT Sportsline does with the ease of a tuner that knows what it’s doing.
Other tuners may promise the same things and yet fail to live up to all the expectations they set. That’s never been the case with ABT Sportsline. Over the years, it’s produced one impressive program after another. And as long as it can build kits like this for the Volkswagen Scirocco, there’s no reason for us to start doubting their tuning capabilities.
Not that we ever did because if we haven’t said it enough, we’ll say it again.
We’re big fans of ABT Sportsline and our fandom has never wavered.
Click past the jump to read more about Volkswagen Scirocco By ABT Sportsline.
Volkswagen Scirocco By ABT Sportsline originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 4 July 2014 12:00 EST.
Thursday
Wednesday
Clint Bowyer is chasing a win, but knows that points matter too
Finding the right balance of weighting wins and points in the Sprint Cup Series has been hard at times. While ultimately, wins do matter when it comes to Chase qualification, points are pretty important too. Through 15 races, 10 drivers have a race win. That means six drivers are currently going to qualify for the Chase based off their points position.
Could more drivers win? Sure. At the current rate, it's possible that more than 16 drivers could have wins. But given the pattern of repeat winners in the Cup Series ? the last four races have been won by drivers already with a win�? it's unlikely to happen.
Clint Bowyer knows the importance of points. He also knows the importance of wins. He wants a win to get into the Chase, but wins certainly aren't everything.
?I wasn?t one of the ones that was saying, ?It?s all about winning, it?s all about winning,?" Bowyer said Friday at Kentucky. "Common sense tells you to look at the past history and the math shows you that points are always going to prevail. He who has the most points is always going to win the championship. You?ve always been able to race your way into the Chase and I think it still will today, but right now we need a win.� We?re at the point in our program with our 5-Hour Energy Toyota that we?re desperately in need of a win and we need to throw it all out there and go for it and try to get ourselves a win somewhere. We were definitely in the hunt and after one in Sonoma.� We had a lot of confidence going in out there and we had a fast race car and by all means we were chasing a win big time.?
Right now, Bowyer is in the Chase. He's one of the six winless drivers who would make the Chase at this point, but he's not in comfortably. He's fifth of those six and 23 points ahead of Kasey Kahne and 25 points ahead of Tony Stewart. If he was in the top 10 in points, a win may not be as big of a priority. But Bowyer is 14th.
Both Stewart and Kahne are powered by Hendrick equipment, engines that Bowyer also acknowledged have been far superior to the rest of the Sprint Cup Series field. For non-Hendrick cars to currently catch up, it's all about finding the right balance.
(And no, there aren't 37 Hendrick-powered cars, Bowyer was having some fun. There are 11, and five of them are ahead of him in the standings.)
?Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick split me going down the front straightaway at Michigan and cleared me and raced each other�? had a heck of a race getting into (turn) one afterwards. I guess that?s my best way to explain superior. Once I got in the corner I could join the battle again and it was a lot of fun.� You have to enjoy that because it always comes full circle and in all fairness to the sport and everything that we do�? the engines are something that we all get to enjoy from time to time and right now that Hendrick camp, which there is like 37 of them anymore seem like they are enjoying it quite a bit.?
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Tuesday
Monday
Unfiltered Race notes: Houston Race 2 2014
Welcome to the always off-the-cuff unfiltered race notes for race two of the Grand Prix of Houston. This is just my internal monologue that runs throughout the race. Sit back and enjoy! –Prerace– Hot Hot Hot today. IMSP package of … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/unfiltered-race-notes-houston-race-2-2014/
Sunday
On The Grounds: Grand Prix of Indianapolis Edition
Saturday was the day that changed it all for one mid-twenties place fan. I had convinced my younger brother to attend the inaugural GP of Indianapolis with me and I was determined to show him the intricate nuances of road … Continue reading 
Saturday
Happy Hour: Kyle Busch, road courses, rain, dancing and more
Throughout the week you can send us your best questions, jokes, rants and just plain miscellaneous thoughts to happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com or @NickBromberg.We'll post them here, have a good time and everyone's happy.
A little non-NASCAR for a second. Looks like F1 wants to do standing restarts in 2015. Yeah, I realize that restarts don't happen all that often in Formula 1, but what the heck?
Standing starts are great for the beginning of the race, and they're going to be incredibly enjoyable for restarts. I'm not complaining about the potential entertainment, it just looks like a blantant attempt for more excitement.
Onto the fun.
Assuming Kyle Busch never wins a championship, who do you think would go down as the best driver to never win a title? Kyle Busch or Mark Martin? - Paul
You have to say Kyle Busch, simply because of all of the wins, right? He already has Mark Martin's record for Nationwide Series victories and on his current pace if his NASCAR career spans 25 years, he'll have over 260 wins in each of NASCAR's three series. Sure, his 200+ wins may not be the same as Richard Petty's 200 wins, but if Busch gets to 300, that's in a class by itself.
But that being said, if Busch gets to 300, he has a Sprint Cup title, right? The highest he's ever finished in the Cup Series standings is fourth while Martin has finished second five times. Do those five second place finish override Busch's hundreds of wins if he doesn't have five second-place finishes and never wins a title? Because of the Chase format (especially the new one), I don't think so. But it'd be an interesting debate.
Ultimately, Busch is going to win one. I'll be utterly stunned if he doesn't.
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@NickBromberg Do you think NASCAR will ever have a road course in the Chase or will "politics" always get in the way?
? Chris Nulty (@RealChrisNulty) June 26, 2014 Yes, I think NASCAR does, because I think the schedule eventually gets overhauled. I don't think that overhaul will be next year or maybe even the year after, but after messing with the Chase so many times, the schedule has to be fiddled with as well. Especially if interest continues to stagnate or trend downward.
What road course will it be? That's an incredibly intriguing question. How would a race at the Circuit of the Americas sound? Great, right? Yeah, but politics may get in the way of that one. Texas Motor Speedway would be none too happy with having a Cup race within 500 miles of its radius and there's the whole "F1 at COTA on the same weekend as Cup at TMS in 2014" thing.
And you know what I think would be an incredibly fun idea? What about adding a roval to the Cup schedule? Many cup ovals have infield road courses and you could race at a track with an existing date without having to do any date-swapping. Would that make things logistically tough for the normal infield operations? Yes. Would it be a worthy experiment? In my eyes, definitely.
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.@NickBromberg 42 Cup cars, big deal or no? Rainy results, enough to let Cup Series try it? Teams u want to see do Colombian goal dances.
? Brian Cullather (@Briancullather) June 26, 2014 By itself, the lack of a full field doesn't really change anything for me as I wrote yesterday. It's a symptom of a problem in NASCAR's top three series for sure, but that problem is there whether or not there's 43 cars entered at Kentucky. However, is the symptom a big enough problem for outrage? It's certainly not impacting the racing that people are going to see Saturday night.
For the second question, I don't think so. It'd be a pretty radical departure for NASCAR to strap on rain tires to the Cup cars after the strong reluctance to do so at this point.
And as far as the dancing goes? This is easy. If you haven't seen the Colombian goal dances, you can click here and here for them. And I'm picking Stewart-Haas Racing. Tony Stewart getting his groove on would be hilarious, Kevin Harvick would have to smile, the intrigue of Kurt Busch's rhythym would be tantalizing and there's Danica Patrick, who'd be liable to bring her puppy out to dance with her. Let's make this happen, SHR.
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Can you tell me if there are 43 drivers on the track or just 1 I believe all drivers should be given some air time - I get tired of hearing about the one and only Jimmy and I believe a lot of others feel the same. It is getting to where the MUTE button is used quite often ? wish they would change their broadcast and give more time to the other drivers. - Judy
While I get how fans of teams who don't win races or run at the front regularly can get frustrated at the attention paid to drivers at the front of the field, asking for equitable time is a pipe dream. It's basically the NASCAR version of primetime games on national television in all other sports. There's a reason that the bigger-market teams and most successful teams are put in those games. They attract the most eyeballs. Are you good and/or popular? You're going to get covered more than everyone else It's that simple.
Friday
Top FIVE Drivers ? Austrian Grand Prix
Following an 11-year hiatus from Formula One, the Austrian Grand Prix made a triumphant comeback last weekend, providing fans with more competitive action. In addition to the circuit?s long-awaited return, Williams locked out their first front row of the grid in more than a decade. That provided a different complexion to a race in a [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/d-Tym4lIKCc/top-five-drivers-austrian-grant-prix-2
Thursday
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to pump gas to pay off his first speeding ticket
Dale Earnhardt made Dale Earnhardt Jr. work off his first speeding ticket.
Junior said Tuesday on the Dan Patrick Show that he got it while driving home. He and his dad had left separately, so he was ahead of the elder Earnhardt when it happened. His dad then drove past him pulled over and stopped at a gas station to wait for Junior, who pulled in behind him.
"He says 'Did he write you a ticket?' I said 'Yeah' he says 'Looks like you need to get a job.' So I went down to a gas station up the road from the house and applied for a job there. Pumped gas for several months to pay for that ticket."
Junior also said his first truck was a 1988 Chevrolet S10 pickup. And he just had a replica of that truck restored.
It's a fantastic interview and worth the listen the entire way through. Junior talks about his relationship with road course racing (hint: he's not in love with it) and that he stayed up until 5:00 a.m. Monday morning celebrating his win at Pocono.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
Wednesday
Tuesday
2014 Misano World Superbike FP4 Results: Melandri Continues Italian Dominance
Marco Melandri took the quickest time from Loris Baz, making this the fourth session with an Italian rider on an Italian bike going quickest. Sylvain Guintoli and Tom Sykes were quicker than Davide Giugliano in this untimed session.
Results:
Monday
Tony Stewart speeds on pit road while leading at Pocono, finishes 13th
Tony Stewart set the stage for the late lap drama between Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sure, a lot of things could have happened throughout the last 40 laps of Sunday's race at Pocono, but one thing was for certain throughout those first 120 laps: Tony Stewart had a fast car.
But after a pit road speeding penalty on lap 120, Stewart's fast car didn't get the result it deserved, leaving the lead to be fought for in the final laps by Junior and Keselowski.
"100 percent driver error. I just ? I don't know how I got through the (dashboard) lights like I did, but I got to where I blew through all the lights and didn't have any on the tach so I had no clue that I was over it. Just 100 percent driver error. I gave my guys grief last week with a sixth place run, thought we should run in the top three and I throw it away this week."
When Stewart sped, he was in the lead, a place where he had spent 24 laps. He had gotten there a bit on strategy, but mostly on speed. After starting 12th, Stewart picked off places one-by-one since the drop of the green flag. Out front he looked like a beast, capable of challenging Keselowski, who led a race-high 95 laps.
Instead, he was 31st after having to restart at the back of the pack. He never got close to the front of the field again, finishing 13th.
Stewart is winless this season, and while it's easy to say it's because of his recovery from the broken leg he sustained in a sprint car crash in August, his 2014 season doesn't look much different than his 2013 season did at this point. Through 14 races last year, he had a win, two top-fives and four top 10s. This year at that same point, he doesn't have a pit strategy (and race circumstance) win like he did at Dover last year, but he's got two top-fives and five top 10s.
While Kevin Harvick has certainly had speed ? but not necessarily complete races ? in his first season at Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart is proving that capitalizing on inconsistently fast cars is hard.
Despite the pit road flub, Stewart moved up three spots to 18th in the standings. Plus, he's got some of his best tracks coming up this summer in Michigan, Sonoma, Daytona and New Hampshire. While it may not be likely, a win certainly doesn't look too unlikely either. After his 2011 campaign, in which he famously said his team wasn't Chase-worthy at Michigan in August en route to the championship, it may not be a good idea to doubt Stewart's hopes of a title until he's officially not in the Chase.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella
Sunday
2014 Misano World Superbike Saturday Roundup: Farewell To Yakhnich
Misano, or Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to give it its full name, was missed off last year's calendar, but its inclusion in the 2024 season was a welcome one. The first four qualifying sessions in World Superbike were led by an Italian on an Italian bike, with Davide Giugliano and Marco Melandri sharing the spoils, giving local fans plenty to cheer about.
Saturday
2014 Misano World Superbike FP1 Results: Melandri And Guintoli Lead Charge
Marco Menaldri leads his teammate Sylvain Guintoli in the first session. Chaz Davies was third quickest.
Results:
Friday
Stewards confirm review of Perez-Massa collision | 2014 Canadian Grand Prix
Sergio Perez could have his five-place grid penalty for colliding with Felipe Massa in Canada lifted after the stewards agreed to review the incident.
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/06/20/stewards-confirm-review-perez-massa-collision/
Thursday
800-Horsepower Shelby Cobra Crashes During 2014 Gumball 3000
The Gumball 3000 is an exciting thing to be a part of, but when you get hundreds of nice cars together to go on a 3,000-mile road trip, there is bound to be some carnage and general mayhem. Sadly that often means that one of the cool and valuable cars entered in the rally will not be going home in one piece. That story rings true for this modified Shelby Cobra.
The car is said to be good for 800 horsepower, and it looked downright menacing with its matte-black vinyl wrap. At some point during what looks like the UK leg of the trip, the Cobra was involved in an accident that ripped most of the car’s front end clean off. Most of the suspension, wheels and body work are completely missing in the photos gathered by GT Spirit. There is no information on the cause of the crash, but thankfully it appears that all those involved are safe.
The car itself was a 1966 model and as entry number 113, it was the official car from Battery Energy Drink, one of the main sponsors of this year’s rally.
Epic road trips are lots of fun, I love them, but it is important to remember to keep it safe out there. Especially when piloting an 800-horsepower hot rod with no roof.
Click past the jump to read more about the Shelby Cobra.
800-Horsepower Shelby Cobra Crashes During 2014 Gumball 3000 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 19 June 2014 09:00 EST.
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