Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/hamiltons_tough_decision.html
Saturday
2014 Brno Moto3 FP2 Result: Marquez Heads Honda Charge
Alex Marquez leads the field by a third of a second, the same gap he trails behind the lap record of 2'07.622 with. Alex Rins, Marquez's Estrella Galicia teammate, and Alexis Masbou round out the all-Honda, all-Alex provisional front row, with Jakub Kornfeil managing to depose this morning's sensation Enea Bastianini.
Results:
Friday
The No. 77 is 'retooling,' which means there are only 42 Cup cars entered at Kentucky
The No. 77 car owned by Randy Humphrey and driven by Dave Blaney has made four Sprint Cup Series starts this season. Its highest finish is 33rd in those four starts. No, the No. 77 has not been a barnburner in the Cup Series.
This week, Humphrey told NASCAR.com that the team was "retooling" and hoped to be back at Indianapolis. After entering the first 15 races of the season, the team skipped Sonoma and, as of now, will miss three more races.
Normally, the absence of a team struggling to make the field in the Cup Series isn't noticeable to most NASCAR fans. But it's notable this weekend. It means that as of Wednesday, the entry list for the Cup race at Kentucky on Saturday night has 42 cars on it. A full field is 43 cars. (Part-time teams like the Wood Brothers and Leavine Family Racing don't have Kentucky on the schedule.)
If the race starts with 42 cars, it'll break a streak that's gone on for more than 12 years. The last time a race was run without 43 cars was at New Hampshire in 2001, when the race was run in November instead of September because of the Sept. 11 attacks. (The race, run on the Friday after Thanksgiving, was set by owner's points at the time of the originally scheduled and the No. 27 team had folded since. Thus, no replacement was found.)
The last time a qualifying session was held with less than a full field in the Cup Series entered? You have to go all the way back to Dover in 1996, according to Jayski.
Is the lack of a 43rd car a big deal? That's up for you to decide, though if you think it is, don't go reaching for the megaphone to exclaim that the sky is falling. It does mean that each of NASCAR's top three series will have had a short field in 2014 and it's become obvious that there are significant barriers to entry for new and/or underfunded teams trying to make it in NASCAR.
But that's the case with or without one more car entered at Kentucky. NASCAR's national series, especially the Cup Series, are extremely close through speeds and scoring monitors. However, close doesn't always equal competitive; it's why wins like Front Row's at Talladega last year are so exciting. Smaller teams simply don't have a chance of winning most every weekend.
It would have been a victory for the No. 77 to finish above 30th at Kentucky, which is why, again, most fans wouldn't notice its absence on Saturday night. But because of it, there looks like there will be 21 full rows starting the race instead of 21.5. Will you notice that? Maybe. Is the absence of the half row indicative of issues facing teams in NASCAR? Definitely. Will it impact the race's outcome or how you view it? Not at all.
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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!
Thursday
Kyle Larson wins the pole at Pocono
Before the June race at Pocono, Kyle Larson's team owner, Chip Ganassi, got him a stick-shift Chevrolet Camaro to practice shifting in. With Pocono, a place where drivers shift, and the road course at Sonoma comng up, Ganassi wanted to make sure Larson knew what he was doing.
The lesson has paid off.
In his first race at the track, Larson absolutely dominated in ARCA and won. The next day, in the Pocono Sprint Cup Series race, he finished fifth. And on Friday, Larson qualified on the pole for Sunday's return trip to Pocono.
It's the second time Larson has started first this season, but it's his first official pole. At Richmond he started first by virtue of having the fastest practice speed as qualifying was rained out.
And guess who was right behind Larson? Yep, the Penske cars. Joey Logano qualified second while Brad Keselowski was third. Kurt Busch will start fourth while Jeff Gordon starts fifth.
There were 43 cars attempting to qualify so no one misses the race.
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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!
Wednesday
Hungarian Grand Prix ? The Top FIVE
Situated just outside of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, the Hungaroring has played host to a race every year since 1986 when it became the first race to take place behind the Iron Curtain. Tight and twisty, the track has never been renowned as an overtaking haven, often heavily favouring drivers who start on the front [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/w7Jcsv58_6k/hungarian-grand-prix-the-top-five-2
Tuesday
2014 Indianapolis MotoGP Post-Race Press Releases
Press releases from the MotoGP teams, Bridgestone and Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix:
Round Number:
10 Year:
2014 Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris
Monday
In his quest for a fifth title, Jeff Gordon wins a fifth Brickyard 400
INDIANAPOLIS ? Jeff Gordon was a confident man on Friday. The confidence was rewarded on Sunday.
A man who admits he isn't the best on restarts "had the restart of my life" with 17 laps to go in the Brickyard 400 and powered past teammate Kasey Kahne for the lead and the eventual win in the first turn.
Kahne was the leader on the restart and chose the inside lane, typically the preferred lane throughout Indianapolis Motor Speedway's four treacherous 90-degree turns. But after the green flag waved, Gordon stayed even with Kahne entering turn one and pinched the No. 5 down as far as he could to the inside. Gordon's car wobbled a bit as he picked up the throttle, but the momentum he gained was more than enough to clear Kahne.
"(Kahne) was loose," Gordon said. "So I knew that if I could get alongside of him that he was going to have a hard time using the throttle up off the corner. I didn't know if that meant we were just going to bump, wreck, be sitting ducks for (Kyle Busch) to go by, what that really meant. But I thought that was our only shot at winning."
And given the monumental impact that clean air had throughout Sunday's race, there was no chance Gordon was going to get caught unless there was another caution to bunch up the field.
There was not.
Friday, Gordon called Sunday's race "by far the best chance we?ve had at winning in a long time." A four-time winner at Indianapolis, Gordon's last win was 10 years ago. And earlier on Friday, thanks to Gordon's win in the first Brickyard 400 and other efforts, Sunday was declared by Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to be Jeff Gordon day and Gordon received the No. 24 placard from the old scoring tower at the track.
His performance showed his optimism wasn't simply buoyed by the goodwill of the festivities. After qualifying second, Gordon swept past polesitter Kevin Harvick on lap two. And then, despite a vast array of pit strategies that were the sole impetus for lead changes throughout the race, Gordon clearly had the best car throughout the day.
However, until the final caution, Gordon might have been a victim of the clean air that so benefitted him while he was leading. As he was following Kahne before the final caution, Gordon was unable to get near Kahne for a sustained amount of time to set up a pass thanks to the turbulence from Kahne's car. (Kahne ran out of gas coming off turn four on the final lap and finished sixth.)
The win extends Gordon's points lead atop the standings now and also puts him in line to start the Chase near the top too. In 1998 and 2001 Gordon also won the Brickyard 400 as the points leader. In those two seasons, he won the championship.
Of course, the Chase wasn't around back then. There was no reset of points with 10 races to go. But with the way that Gordon is running, the points format may not matter in the quest for title number five.
"I do think we were (the best team) today," Gordon said. "And I think the reason why we're leading the points is because I believe we're the best team. I don't think that always means we have the best race car We've had a lot of great race cars this year and there's been times when I feel like we've needed a little bit more but this weekend we had the best car and the best team, no doubt about it. And that tells me that if you can do it here, you can do anywhere."
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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!
Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella Mбrio de Araъjo Cabral
Sunday
NASCAR World Cup 2014 Week 2: The JGR cars are in trouble
Matt Kenseth, you're Spain. Denny Hamlin, you could be England. Kyle Busch you could be Italy.
Like the European soccer teams above, the Joe Gibbs Racing trio is are in World Cup trouble. Kenseth is already out, while Hamlin and Busch are longshots to make it in.
It hasn't been a pretty stretch for JGR. Busch lost to Kevin Harvick by five spots at Sonoma, Kenseth lost by 23 to Tony Stewart and Hamlin lost by 18 to Marcos Ambrose.
All three drivers are 0-2, but Busch could sneak in by beating Jamie McMurray by more than 21 spots at Kentucky and with a Kevin Harvick win over Casey Mears. It's not impossible, but it's not likely. Same goes for Hamlin. He'd have to beat Marcos Ambrose by 33 spots at Kentucky while Greg Biffle beats Cole Whitt.
The drivers through two rounds guaranteed to make the knockout round are Jimmie Johnson (Group A), Kevin Harvick (Group B), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Group C), Tony Stewart (Group D), Joey Logano (Group D), Greg Biffle (Group F), Jeff Gordon (Group H) and Kyle Larson.
The drivers already eliminated are Aric Almirola (Group A), Busch (Group B), Kenseth (Group D), Justin Allgaier (Group D), A.J. Allmendinger (Group H) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Group H).
The group in the biggest state of flux? That's our now-official Group of Death Group E, which has all drivers at 1-1 and within 15 positions of each other on finish differential.
Here are the final round matchups. The standings are embedded in the post below
Group A: Jimmie Johnson vs. Aric Almirola, Brian Vickers vs. Danica Patrick
Group B: Kyle Busch vs. Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick vs. Casey Mears
Group C: Dale Earnhardt Jr. vis Michael Annett, Austin Dillon vs. Martin Truex Jr.
Group D: Matt Kenseth vs. Justin Allgaier, Joey Logano vs. Tony Stewart
Group E: Brad Keselowski vs. Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard vs. Kurt Busch
Group F: Denny Hamlin vs. Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle vs. Cole Whitt
Group G: Carl Edwards vs. Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman vs. David Gilliland
Group H: Jeff Gordon vs. Kyle Larson, A.J. Allmendinger vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
*Earlier, we said Hamlin was eliminated from the competition. We were incorrect. Chalk that up to FIFA corruption.
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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!
Saturday
Lewis Hamilton: ?I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that??
Lewis Hamilton has made it clear that he was surprised that Mercedes asked him to move over for Nico Rosberg in Hungary. The pair came together on track while running different strategies, with the German on soft tyres and planning … Continue reading 
Friday
Thursday
NASCAR Closes Fueling Loophole
NASCAR issued a technical bulletin to teams this week with some new language regarding where fuel filler cans could be filled at the track. The new rule basically states that fuel cans can only be filled at the designated Sunoco fueling stations in the infield. This move by NASCAR closes a loophole that some teams […] 
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Colin Chapman Dave Charlton Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg
Wednesday
Carl Edwards leaving Roush at the end of 2014 while Greg Biffle is staying
INDIANAPOLIS ? Roush Fenway Racing will be a three-car team in 2015 and one of those cars will not be driven by Carl Edwards.
The long-rumored possibility of Edwards leaving the team following the 2014 season became a reality on Sunday morning when Roush announced that Greg Biffle had signed a contract extension with the team while Edwards would not return.
?I will always be thankful for Carl?s contribution and the role he played in many Roush Fenway wins and championships,? team owner Jack Roush said in a statement. ?We wish him well for the future. �In the meantime, we are excited about continuing our quest for a championship with Carl and the No. 99 team in 2014.?
When asked if Edwards gave him a reason for leaving the only Sprint Cup team he's driven for, Roush said Edwards didn't provide specifics. He also said that Edwards' decision to not return has been made for over a month.
"(Edwards) didn't give me his reason, you'll have to ask him about that," Roush said while adding that he didn't ask Edwards for it.
In the garage, Edwards once again declined to provide specifics about his future destination saying there were "a lot of moving parts" and added it was unfortunate that the announcement of his departure happened on the morning before a race.
Joe Gibbs Racing is seen as the likely landing spot for Edwards. With three cars currently�? Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth�? the team can expand to a fourth car without changing its current driver lineup.
Wherever Edwards goes, he'll need a new primary sponsor. As part of its announcement Sunday, the team said that Fastenal would move over to the No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. next season. Biffle, Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne will be the team's three full-time drivers in 2015. Bayne will be driving the No. 6 next year and Roush President Steve Newmark said that barring any unexpected developments, the No. 99 won't be in use full-time by Roush next season.
Edwards, who is sixth in the points standings, has Roush's only two wins in 2014. Once considered the standard bearer for intermediate-length race tracks, the team hasn't had the outright speed of the Hendrick-powered and Team Penske cars this season.
He got his first break at Roush in the Sprint Cup Series in 2004, jumping in the No. 99 for Jeff Burton, who left the team during the season. In nine full seasons and parts of two others, Edwards has 23 race wins, including nine in 2008. In 2011, he tied with Tony Stewart atop the points standings but lost the title via tiebreaker because Stewart had more wins.
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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!
2014 NASCAR World Cup: Is it Jimmie Johnson's Group A to lose?
Throughout the summer we're running our second NASCAR World Cup. Will Carl Edwards repeat? Or will someone else take the title? Click here for a NASCAR World Cup explanation and a list of all the groups.
Group A: Jimmie Johnson (4th in points, 2 wins), Brian Vickers (13th, 0), Aric Almirola (19th, 0), Danica Patrick (28th, 0)
Michigan Matchups: Johnson vs. Vickers, Almirola vs. Patrick
Sonoma Matchups: Johnson vs. Patrick, Vickers vs. Almirola
Kentucky Matchups: Johnson vs. Almirola, Vickers vs. Patrick
While Johnson is the clear favorite in the group, two of the three group stage tracks are of the four current Sprint Cup tracks he's never won at. Does that mean he's in danger? Probably not. Johnson is winless at Michigan and Kentucky, but sample size delegitimizes the track in the Bluegrass State. There have only been three Cup races there and he's finished in the top 10 all three times. Michigan is one of Johnson's worst tracks in terms of average finish, but he was in the running in the August 2012 race until a blown engine on lap 195 secured the win for Greg Biffle.
Outside of Johnson, the winner of the Vickers and Almirola matchup at Sonoma could decide who advances out of the group. And if that's the case, we give a slight edge to Vickers. He's got just one top 10 in eight Sonoma starts but has run in the top 20 four other times. Almirola has just three Sonoma starts but he's finished 28th, 28th and 20th. Don't discount Danica Patrick, either. She ran well at Michigan last year though any road course advantage she has is muted by facing Johnson at Sonoma. That matchup could be what prevents her from getting out of the group:
Projected standings: Johnson 2-1, Vickers 2-1, Almirola 1-2, Patrick 1-2
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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
Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia
Tuesday
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.
Monday
Joe Gibbs Racing plane hits Stewart-Haas plane on ground after Sunday's race
There were as many incidents at Concord (N.C.) Regional Airport after Sunday's race than there were during the race itself.
The team plane of Joe Gibbs Racing collided with the Stewart-Haas plane on the ground on Sunday. The left wing of the JGR plane made contact with the back end of the SHR plane.
An SHR spokesperson told the Charlotte Observer that the JGR plane was parking and clipped the SHR plane, which was empty. Both planes had returned from Indianapolis following the Brickyard 400.
The Stewart-Haas plane is valued at $11 million according to Sports Business Journal.
The only crash in Sunday's Cup race involved Trevor Bayne, who hit the inside wall after a tire went down on his car.
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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!
Sunday
Gibbs Ultimately Owns This Penalty
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? If the answer’s yes, did you try telling the officer, ‘that wasn’t my intent’? Or maybe you were just a MPH or two over the limit, did you try telling him, ‘I wasn’t speeding that much’? When he got done laughing at you, did he still write you […] 
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Saturday
BMW Announces i DC Fast Chargers And ChargeNow DC Fast Programs
BMW is continuing its plan to make the transition to electric vehicles as simple as possible. The i3 is already a huge step in the right direction, as it introduces a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic chassis, aluminum sub frames and a small gasoline range extender all at a relatively low price. The main goal is to get people into electric vehicles by taking as much of the compromise out of the equation as possible. Well, BMW is now going one step further with the introduction of the i DC Fast Chargers and the ChargeNow DC Fast Program. BMW developed the i DC Fast Charger with the help of Bosch Automotive Service Solutions. The i DC Fast Charger is a small (31-by-19-by-12 inches), 100-pound box that owners can mount to a wall that will charge the battery up to 80 percent in 30 minutes. The i3?s Fast Charger will set you back to the tune of $6,548, which is cheap in comparison to most DC Fast Chargers. A standard charger will ?fill up the tank? in about 6 to 8 hours. With that in mind the Fast Charger seems worth the premium, especially considering it?s a slick-looking, smallish unit that will fit nicely in most garages.
ChargeNow DC Fast is a program BMW has developed with the help of NRG eVgo, and will offer unlimited, no cost, 30-minute charging for i3 drivers in California until December 2015. This will help reduce range anxiety considerably on long trips through The Golden State. To access the ChargeNow DC Fast program, i3 owners must equip the DC Fast charger option, and sign up for a ChargeNow Card. Doing so will give owners access to all eVgo DC Fast chargers across California. Even at a price though, the ChargeNow program will help dramatically in the implementation of electric vehicles as primary cars for households. It still takes a bit longer than stopping at a gas station, but if placed properly, these ChargeNow stations can provide some resting time or even some sightseeing on long trips. This in tandem with the i DC Fast Charger in the home and the i3 becomes a very useful and eco-friendly option.
Click past the jump to read more about BMW’s new i DC Fast Chargers And ChargeNow DC Fast Programs.
BMW Announces i DC Fast Chargers And ChargeNow DC Fast Programs originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 1 August 2014 09:00 EST.
Friday
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!
Dirty debris: Keselowski tries to clean off grille and is passed by Earnhardt Jr. for win at Pocono
Brad Keselowski's engine was getting hotter with every single lap. If he didn't try to get the debris that was clogging his grille off the front of his car, he didn't think his engine wasn't going to make it to the end of the race.
But he was leading late in Sunday's race at Pocono. He had no one in front of him and Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind him. There weren't going to be many, if any, opportunites to get behind another car to get the airflow off the front of his car and the piece of trash to fall off.
Danica Patrick's lapped car was his only hope. With five laps to go, Keselowski caught Patrick off turn one. He tried to get the nose of his car up near the back of Patrick's slower car, which was wounded by a flat tire incident earlier in the day. But as he tried to get behind Patrick, he lost too much speed off the corner ? and didn't even get the debris off. Junior capitalized and passed Keselowski to lead the last four laps for his second win of the season.
It's Earnhardt Jr.'s first multiple-win season since 2004, when he was with his father's team, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and won six races. That season, Junior was in the hunt for the championship until a 25-point penalty for a swear word and a crash at Atlanta derailed his season. This year, you're a fool for thinking Junior's not a legitimate threat for the title.
"The car was real hot, we had a real fast Red's Apple Ford and just got a big piece of debris on the grille and had to do something," Keselowski said. "It was blowing up. Tried to make a move to get in behind (Patrick) and use the air to pull the debris off and when she went into the corner she got loose and I just chased her up there and lost too much momentum."
"I should have just passed her but I had to do some kind of move. The car wasn't going to make it. It was already starting to blow up and it was all I could do."
Earnhardt Jr. knew that was his only opportunity to get past Keselowski. After Keselowski outraced Junior to the lead on the race's final restart, Junior hung with him, but never got close enough to make a pass. And heck, he had trash on his grille too. But it wasn't as large as the piece on the front of Keselowski's car.
"He didn't want to let me by but I didn't know if his motor was going to make it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's unfortunate for him. He had me beat, I couldn't get to him ? just real hard to pass here. But I've lost some in some strange ways so it feels good to win one like that."
Earlier in the season, Junior and Keselowski were battling for the win at Las Vegas. Junior and team were trying to stretch the fuel as much as possible and wound up just a bit short, allowing Keselowski to drive past in the final corner for the win.
And because of Keselowski's Vegas win (and Junior's win in the Daytona 500), both drivers were able to play the race smartly. If Keselowski was winless, the race may have played out differently, but in this case, the win and assurance that he'll be in the Chase with the new win-and-in format favored the pragmatic route. Yes, his car ultimately made it to the finish line, but with his water temps skyrocketing as the race ticked down, it was a true risk/reward scenario.
Heck, Keselowski still had a chance for the win after he was passed by Junior. But because the clean air provided to the leader of the race throughout Sunday made such a difference, Keselowski wasn't able to catch up to the back bumper of Junior or even get the trash off his grille.
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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
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