Mayor’s Office Starts Releasing Weekly Murder Data. Why Not Traffic Deaths?

Still kills more New Yorkers than guns. Still no weekly update from the mayor's office. Photo: Post

Streetsblog readers are familiar with The Weekly Carnage, our tally of the week’s traffic injuries and fatalities. Without an official source providing updates on a weekly basis, we cobble together our information from media accounts and our own reporting in an attempt to help New Yorkers understand the magnitude of traffic violence on the city’s streets each week.

Over the course of a year — the period for which the city releases traffic death data – the fatalities add up. Last year, 274 New Yorkers died in traffic.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced that his office will send its own weekly update, using official NYPD data, of the number of shootings and murders in the city. The first update, issued yesterday afternoon, specifically calls out the number of murders committed with firearms, and the total number of shootings.

While it’s hard not to see this new press initiative from the mayor’s office in light of Bloomberg’s opposition to attempts to reform stop-and-frisk, there’s another lesson to take from yesterday’s announcement.

Bloomberg, like many of the candidates seeking to succeed him, has spoken forcefully and taken action to combat gun deaths and traffic violence, and has espoused the virtues of data-driven governance. But while the mayor has decided to start releasing weekly updates about gun violence,  more New Yorkers are killed in traffic than are murdered with guns, and traffic remains the top killer of the city’s children. The mayor’s weekly release of gun violence data makes it obvious, if it weren’t already, that the administration could also draw more attention to traffic violence.

Updates on the thousands of traffic deaths and injuries in the city each month are currently available in PDF releases from NYPD. Releasing this data weekly, straight from the mayor’s office, would elevate the profile of traffic violence and help frame it as a preventable threat to New York’s safety that must be confronted by public policy.

Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/08/28/mayors-office-starts-releasing-weekly-murder-data-why-not-traffic-deaths/

Geki Olivier Gendebien Marc Gené Elmer George

Jordan closes points gap with victory

Andrew Jordan signed off his British Touring Car Championship weekend at Knockhill with an accomplished victory to keep himself in the heart of the title fight.

The Eurotech man was drawn on pole position for the final reversed grid event and powered to a comfortable win, leading every lap to cross the line nearly four seconds clear.

The victory means he has zeroed in on points leader Matt Neal, who brought his works Honda home in second place. Jordan is six points adrift.

He had overcome an early disruption when the safety car had to be used to remove a stricken car.

“I was nervous when that happened, but the car was simply great,” said Jordan. “I needed that to maintain my title hopes.”

Neal had battled his way ahead of the hard-charging Rob Collard, who had taken his WSR-run BMW 1 Series into second place away from the startline. Neal had to work hard to force an opening and managed it with six laps remaining with a bold late-braking move.

Behind Collard, his BMW team-mate Colin Turkington, twice a winner earlier in the day, consolidated a strong weekend with a fourth place finish and he was hard on the heels of the fight for second.

NEWS UPDATE: Turkington excluded for boost infringement

Rob Austin ended a strong weekend for the Rob Austin Racing Audi with a fifth placed finish. He was ahead of works MG man Jason Plato, who was struggling with the handling of the Triple Eight-run MG6.

The major drama of the race was the retirement of Gordon Shedden, whose works Honda Civic burst into flames with a suspected engine problem as he was running in fifth place at the start of the 17th lap.

In the Jack Sears Trophy, Liam Griffin’s winning streak came to an end when he was bumped off the track by a backmarker. That allowed Lea Wood to collect his 10th class victory of the season.

Results - 26 laps:  Pos  Driver            Team/Car               Time/Gap  1.  Andrew Jordan     Eurotech Honda       24m04.003s  2.  Matt Neal         Honda                   +3.962s  3.  Rob Collard       WSR BMW                 +4.440s  4.  Colin Turkington  WSR BMW                 +5.359s  5.  Rob Austin        Austin Audi             +9.206s  6.  Jason Plato       MG                     +12.782s  7.  Daniel Welch      Welch Proton           +15.899s  8.  Mat Jackson       Motorbase Ford         +16.450s  9.  Nick Foster       WSR BMW                +16.646s 10.  Adam Morgan       Ciceley Toyota         +16.967s 11.  Will Bratt        Austin Audi            +27.162s 12.  Ollie Jackson     Speedworks Toyota      +27.969s 13.  Lea Wood          Wood Vauxhall            +1 lap 14.  Kieran Gallagher  Hard Vauxhall            +1 lap 15.  David Nye         Welch Ford               +1 lap 16.  Aron Smith        Motorbase Ford           +1 lap  Retirements:       Paul O'Neill      Hard Vauxhall           19 laps      Liam Griffin      Motorbase Ford          18 laps      Gordon Shedden    Honda                   16 laps      Tom Onslow-Cole   Hard VW                 12 laps      Mike Bushell      IP Chevrolet            12 laps      Dave Newsham      Speedworks Toyota       12 laps      Warren Scott      BMR VW                   2 laps      Frank Wrathall    Dynojet Toyota            1 lap      Aiden Moffat      Finesse Chevrolet        0 laps      Sam Tordoff       MG                       0 laps 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/btcc/jordan-closes-points-gap-with-victory

Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie

Review: 2014 Porsche Cayman S

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Porsche, New Car Reviews, Luxury

Second Fiddle Moves To First Chair



In the interest of full disclosure and a bit of bloodletting, allow me to admit that while I've always coveted the Porsche Boxster and its hard-hatted Cayman cousin, I've never really warmed to them visually. They've always had a certain push-me, pull-you, can't-decide-which-way-they're-going aesthetic that I've never really wrapped my head around. Porsche achieved the same thing with the original 550 Spyder's overturned bathtub bodyshell that would come to inspire the Boxster, but somehow that classic's even more symmetrical nature works for me. Fast-forward to this third generation, and at least for this enthusiast, Porsche's manchild has well and truly come of age as a design.

It's all there - a piercing stare thanks to squircle headlamps inspired by the 918 Spyder hypercar, newfound directional thrust afforded by a longer wheelbase and elongated greenhouse, and muscular rear haunches with a wider stance emphasized by larger side ductwork and snubbed overhangs. The body's teardrop shape terminates with an active spoiler that integrates into a gorgeous arc with the taillamps like a budding ducktail nod to 1973 911 Carrera RS. Despite casting a longer shadow than its predecessor, the 2014 Cayman still looks tidily proportioned, smooth and wieldy, the perfect skipping stone to ricochet down a canyon river road.

Continue reading 2014 Porsche Cayman S

2014 Porsche Cayman S originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Aug 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/29/2014-porsche-cayman-s-review/

Peter Hirt David Hobbs Gary Hocking Ingo Hoffmann

Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Results¢

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/04/3083068/honda-indy-200-at-mid-ohio-results.html

Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh Rupert Keegan Eddie Keizan

Truex to race with wrist fracture

Martin Truex Jr will take part in this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta despite being diagnosed with a fractured wrist.

Truex sustained the damage to his right scaphoid when his Michael Waltrip Toyota was involved in a multi-car pile-up in the closing stage of the Bristol night race last Saturday.

A team statement said that Truex had been fitted with a special cast on his wrist to ensure the injury did not jeopardise his participation in the rest of the season.

With two races to go before the Chase field is set, Truex is 14th in the championship but holds a wildcard spot thanks to his Sonoma victory.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/truex-to-race-with-wrist-fracture

John James Jean Pierre Jarier Max Jean Stefan Johansson

Commemorating March on Washington, Foxx Links Transport to Civil Rights

Today marks 50 years since the landmark March on Washington, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. I was privileged to join tens of thousands of others on the National Mall this weekend to commemorate the anniversary.

In a blog post today, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx noted the role that transportation has played in the nation’s civil rights struggles:

In the mid-1950s, a young woman who sat down and refused to get up — she did it on a transit bus. And the boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus system resulted in changes that spread across the South.

Foxx notes that the nation’s highway-building boom contributed to racial divides. ”Rarely in the last century did an urban interstate highway plow through a neighborhood that wasn’t characterized as poor,” he writes. “In 2013, many communities are tearing down those divisions and building bridges.”

He doesn’t necessarily cite the clearest examples of how transportation and streets can heal divisions, however. He points to Columbus, Ohio, where a “once-vibrant community was cut off from the downtown area when I-71 was built, leading shops to close and families to relocate.” But the current project aiming to “reconnect the city’s communities” will actually widen I-71, as well as I-670. Not a good way to reconnect communities.

A better project that Foxx highlights is the highway teardown in New Haven, CT, where the state DOT “is helping the city reclaim a highway that has split the city in half, creating a barrier between New Haven’s downtown and the Medical District and Hill neighborhoods.”

Meanwhile, Foxx says, transit can bring communities together:

And when I was Mayor of Charlotte, I fought to bring a streetcar system to our city.  The whole community got behind it. That streetcar is the first effort in Charlotte’s recent history to connect a poor part of the city with modern transit.

“President Obama gets this,” Foxx writes. “He understands that when you isolate communities, it’s not just those who are affected who are hurt. We’re all hurt.”

Source: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/08/28/commemorating-march-on-washington-foxx-links-transport-to-civil-rights/

Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne

Belgium qualifying quotes: Marussia

Jules Bianchi – 15th: “Today is a fantastic result for the Team, who were so happy to be back in Q2. This was a nice feeling for everybody, including myself, as this was also the first Q2 of my F1 career. Things have been steadily improving for us over the weekend and I’m really happy that all the hard work paid off for us today. This result was not about luck because everyone was faced with the same dilemma at the end of the Q1 session; whether it might be too dry for the Intermediate tyre or too wet for slicks. On the first lap on the final run it was hard to make up my mind what to do; only the drivers could see what the track condition was really like and it was different from corner to corner. By the end of the lap I had decided just to go for it and stay on the Medium tyre and that gamble was exactly the right call. Tomorrow we line up on the seventh row, which will be a nice moment, but of course we don’t really know what the weather will bring. We have everything to gain and we will make the most of every opportunity.”

Max Chilton – 16th: “What a great day for everyone! Together with Jules I’m so pleased to help put the Team into Q2 again. It was such a tricky qualifying, and as we can see from the classification, it’s difficult to make the right calls at a track where the lap is so long that the conditions are so different from corner to corner. When we switched to the dry tyre for the final run I was worried we may have made the wrong call and might have to switch back to the Intermediate but I also knew the track was drying quickly and we could easily make another wrong call by changing back. The engineers put the decision in my hands and I was undecided until the final corner, when I just made a judgment call in an instant and opted to stay out. I’m happy to say it was the right call and we went on to enjoy a strong Q2, when my time was pretty pleasing given that on my final run I was fuelled for two timed laps. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race now, rain or shine.”

John Booth, team principal: “A fantastic result for the Team and it’s great to know that we have come so far operationally that we can now handle the scenario we saw today with such confidence. Although it is not the first time the Team has been in Q2, it is the first time that we achieved this with ‘both’ cars and in such challenging conditions. These were probably the most challenging wet conditions we have endured in Q1 in terms of the variation of water level through the lap and it really took mature heads on both of our drivers to take the necessary decisions guided by information provided from the garage. In general it has been a good day overall; we’ve seen a good balance on the car this morning, particularly for Jules, but during qualifying both drivers were the happiest they had been with the car all weekend, which should stand us in good stead for the race. We do however have both feet firmly on the ground and in what could be another wet scenario, remaining in our grid position will be tough. Nonetheless, it is a target every single member of the Team will be pushing for and we will make the most of every opportunity. Today’s result is a great reward for all the hard work the Team and Cosworth have carried out to come back from a challenging set of races recently to enable us to fare better at circuits which now play to the strength of our package.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/belgium-qualifying-quotes-marussia

David Hobbs Gary Hocking Ingo Hoffmann Bill Holland

Report: Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Lincoln, Design/Style, Luxury

Lincoln is "not true luxury," according to Ford's design boss, J Mays. His statements come from a story in The Detroit News that saw candid language on the issues facing Ford's troubled premium brand. Notably, there's a need for a strong character, with Mays saying, "Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, 'That's that particular brand.'"

With a range of rebadged Fords, it's not hard to see why that DNA is missing. Mays hinted that a full recovery for Lincoln will be a ten-year process, that's been kicked off with the MKZ sedan. While that car is still largely a Ford Fusion under its extremely pretty wrapper, it's the first Lincoln in some time to inject its own unique take both through the exterior styling and through interior features, such as the vertical, pushbutton gear selection.

Some analysts weren't so certain about Mays' 10-year estimate. Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics thinks it'll be more like 30 years before Lincoln can show a true return to form. The issue, as Hall explains it, is that, "luxury has a degree of exclusivity," that Lincoln just doesn't have. Michelle Krebs from Edmunds adds, "it's definitely a wanna-be luxury brand," comparing the troubled American brand with Infiniti and Acura, two other brands that have struggled to find their place in the luxury market.

From the language Mays is using, though, it seems that Ford is still rather committed to Lincoln. The MKZ, while plagued by production issues, has been a steady seller, although not enough to prevent an overall drop in 2013 sales for the brand. The eventual arrival of the Ford Escape-based MKC could be a boon to the brand, provided its as unique as the MKZ. Lincoln is also preparing to go on sale in China, a market that has traditionally loved brands unloved by Americans (see Buick), so while Ford's luxury brand might be down, it's probably nowhere close to out.

Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/28/lincoln-not-true-luxury-j-mays/

Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti

Yuengling Brewery to sponsor Ty Dillon's No. 3 in 2014 Nationwide Series

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2013/08/yuengling-brewery-to-sponsor-ty-dillons.html

Geki Olivier Gendebien Marc Gené Elmer George

Official: Cadillac CTS Vsport laps the Nürburgring in 8:14.10 [w/video]

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Videos, Cadillac

You don't have to be German to test your car at the Nürburging. You just have to be serious about beating the Germans on their own home turf. That's why Nissan tests its GT-R at the Nordschleife to challenge the Porsche 911, and why Cadillac - which is no less serious about putting up a fight to German performance sedans - has returned to the 'Ring once again with its latest.

This time it's the turn of the new CTS Vsport, the sportier version of Cadillac's new mid-range sedan that aims to bridge the gap until the arrival of the next CTS-V. So how'd it fare? At the end of what we're sure was an exhaustive test session, the new CTS Vsport clocked a time of 8:14.10.

To put that into context, General Motors points out that the time places the new sedan six seconds ahead of the first-gen CTS-V, whose 400-horsepower V8 engine was actually less potent than the Vsport's new 410hp 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. That's still a good fifteen seconds slower than the outgoing CTS-V that clocked a 7:59 in 2009 with its 556hp supercharged V8, but only a second behind the E60-generation BMW M5 with its high-revving 500hp V10.

That's mighty impressive indeed, and we can't wait to see what the next CTS-V can manage. The four-door crown currently belongs to the Porsche Panamera Turbo S that set a 7:52.20 in 2011. Just sayin'. Scope out the video clip and press release below.

Continue reading Cadillac CTS Vsport laps the Nürburgring in 8:14.10 [w/video]

Cadillac CTS Vsport laps the Nürburgring in 8:14.10 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/28/cadillac-cts-vsport-nurburgring-video/

Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori Paul Hawkins

Tatts Winning Streak Continues

Double vision. Down and Muggleton scored a second straight one-two finish for Tatts.com Racing at Barber Motorsports Park,

Round 3 of iRacing.com V8 Supercar Series headed back to Barber Motorsport Park. The last time the series came here it was a Tatts.com one-two, a domination the Tatts Ford Falcons continued so far in 2013 Season 2 by winning both online races this season.

Qualifying for Round 3 was led by Madison Down with Justin Ruggier slotting alongside on the first row with Shaun Kelly and Josh Muggleton on Row 2. Leigh Day and Wayne C Bourke started from the third row with James McKnight, Leigh Ellis, Scott U’Ren and Michael Fabian rounding out the top 10 starters.

Ruggier joined Down on the front row.

When the lights went green it was Down leading the field into Turn One.  In contrast, a poor start saw Ruggier fall from second to fourth by the first turn. At that he fared better than Leighton Fine and Mitchell Abrahall, who got together exiting Turn Two with everyone behind taking avoiding action. Exiting Turn Three Michael Schreyer got into the back of Jayson Black which sent them both into the wall and out of the race. Meanwhile, Ruggier regained one of his lost positions when he got a good run out of Turn Three and cleared Kelly before Turn Four.

Several sim-racers came to grief in an action-packed opening lap.

Another driver to suffer an early DNF would be Beau Cubis, who spun in the the last corner and was clipped by Matthew Nethercote breaking his rear suspension and forcing Cubis out of the race.

After that action-packed opening lap, the race started to settle down before Ruggier lost control out of Turn Three and make a great save, losing three positions in the process.  Ruggier’s already eventful race was destined to become a race to forget when he put a wheel onto the grass under braking for Turn Four, lost control and dropped still further down the order.

Ruggier’s “day to forget” included a visit to the Alabama beach.

Up front it was another tatts domination with Down and Muggleton skipping away with Kelly keeping it close but unable to challenge the leaders. Back in the pack Ruggier was coming through the field but into the final corner he went for a dive down the inside of Ellis on Lap 18.  By the time Ellis realized Ruggier was there it was all too late and contact ensued, spinning both drivers around.

Down and Muggleton would continue their personal domination — and that of Tatts racing — by sealing yet another victory and back-to-back one-twos at Barber Motorsport Park, with Kelly continuing his fantastic form and finishing on the podium just 2.7 seconds back of the winners.  Day and Bourke completed the top five with Ellis holding-off McKnight to finish in sixth.  Fabian managed to keep U’Ren in his mirrors to take P8 as Tobias Czerny rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Top Five Drivers – Championship Points – Overall
1. Josh Muggleton – 719
2. Madison Down – 709
3. Shaun Kelly – 687
4. Leigh Day – 645
5. Leigh Ellis – 600

Split Two Winner: Justin Strickland
Split Three Winner: Philip Johansson
Split Four Winner:  Benjamin Rigby

Broadcast done by the crew at www.v8sonline.com.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/iracing-news/tatts-winning-streak-continues

Howden Ganley Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner

Hamilton: title still not impossible

Lewis Hamilton believes beating Sebastian Vettel to the 2013 Formula 1 title is now tough but not impossible, following Red Bull’s Belgian Grand Prix win.

Vettel extended his championship lead with a surprisingly dominant victory at Spa, as Hamilton’s Mercedes team was left struggling to explain its loss of pace.

Hamilton is under no illusions about how strong Vettel and his Red Bull are right now – but reckons that, with Mercedes having beaten its rival several times already this campaign, he can do it again.

He now trails Vettel by 58 points with eight races left.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if he felt it was now Vettel’s title unless he hit trouble, Hamilton said: “It is going to be very, very tough undoubtedly.

“He has had a phenomenal car for such a long time, and it is still phenomenally quick. He does the job, so it is the perfect package.

“We have had some really strong races and been there or thereabouts competing, and finished ahead of him in the past.

“So that doesn’t mean we can’t do that going forwards, although it is getting closer and closer to the point where we need to finish ahead of him each and every time.”

LOW DOWNFORCE PACKAGE DIDN’T WORK

Hamilton’s lack of pace in the Belgian GP was not down to the tyre issues that Mercedes had suffered from earlier in the campaign, but simply because the team’s low downforce package had not worked.

“We are trying to understand where we missed out,” he said.

“The guys will work out where we were slower, but Eau Rouge was particularly slow for us – as it was down the straight.

“Maybe we will be able to unlock something before the next race, but if not I am hoping Singapore will be much stronger.”

Hamilton reiterated that he expected another tough time at the Italian GP, but was predicting stronger things at the end of season flyways.

“They [from Singapore] are more windy circuits, more high downforce,” he said. “Coming to these two circuits [Spa and Monza], you have the downforce package and you are kind of stuck with it. It either has or hasn’t worked.

“We may improve in the next race or be in the same position, but we won’t be any worse.

“After that we will have the high downforce package we had in previous races or improved again. Hopefully it will be improved again.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/hamilton-title-still-not-impossible

Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby

Video: Toyota releases its Le Mans recap, 'The Ultimate Endurance Race'

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Toyota, Racing

Two weeks ago, Audi released its short video about this years 24 Hours of Le Mans, and now Toyota has put the experience into its own words and pictures. Called The Ultimate Endurance Race, the clip and accompanying press release focus on how hybrid power helped Toyota claim second and fourth places with the TS030 Hybrid in just its second year competing at Le Mans.

There are some brief scenes of the battles had this year, like when Lucas di Grassi in the Toyota almost kissed Allan McNish in the Audi above, but the best part might be when Toyota promises it will be back. Next year, it's gonna be good. You'll find the relevant words and the images just below.

Continue reading Toyota releases its Le Mans recap, 'The Ultimate Endurance Race'

Toyota releases its Le Mans recap, 'The Ultimate Endurance Race' originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/28/toyota-le-mans-recap-video/

Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida

Resilient Mears Powers Back with 22nd-Place Finish at Pocono

Casey Mears, driver of the #13 GEICO Ford, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on June 1, 2013 in Dover, Delaware. - Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Long Pond, PA (June 9, 2013) – After a few tough weeks, Casey Mears and his Germain Racing counterparts rallied in Dover to right the course when they recorded a 16^th place finish at one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks.  While Dover saw them battle the Monster Mile, this week in Pocono would find them nose-to-nose with Mother Nature.

All track activities, including qualifying, were washed out on Friday, resulting in the starting field being set according to Owner Points.  Mears and his #13 GEICO Ford Fusion would roll off 27^th in Sunday’s Party in the Poconos 400.  On Saturday, Mears and crew chief Bootie Barker were featured on SPEED’s Trackside Live where laughter prevailed when they participated in a fun version of the ‘Newlywed Game’.  Barker triumphed, scoring three points to Mears’ two.

When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series arrived at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, the inclement weather had cleared and bright sunshine and blue skies overlooked a full house.  Mears started from the 27^th position, but quickly began having handling issues and dropped to 29^th.  He made a scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 28, but lap 30 heard Mears on the team’s radio frequency: “This thing won’t turn at all.  It’s really tight into turn one.”  Regardless, he still managed to navigate the GEICO Ford through the field and arrive in 18^th before making a second scheduled green flag stop on lap 56.  He received a minor scare when on lap 93 he began to experience a heavy vibration, but it seemed to dissipate.  The Germain pit crew made favorable changes during each visit to pit road, allowing Mears and his Gecko adorned racecar to keep making progress.

A debris caution on lap 126 would change the trajectory of Mears’ race.  Crew chief Bootie Barker ordered him to stay out rather than pitting and to take the wave-around in order to rejoin the lead lap.  He then informed Mears that he would need to pit immediately after taking the green, a daring call that could pay dividends if another yellow flag waved quickly.  Mears complied and restarted 29^th when the race went back to green on lap 129.  The next time around, the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion hit pit road for two right-side tires and fuel, leaving Mears at the tail end of the lead lap.  Now all they needed was a quick caution and Barker’s strategy would pay off.  Almost on cue, Juan Pablo Montoya got loose underneath Matt Kenseth in the tunnel turn on lap 134, sending them both into a spin that brought out a much needed caution flag for the Germain Racing team.  Barker’s bold move paid off and the GEICO team was now solidly on the lead lap and back in the hunt.

Mears was eyeing the top 20 when Barker radioed to him on lap 139, “Good job, man.  You get faster and faster every lap.”  Mears and his GEICO Ford continued to hustle and when the checkered flag brought a close to 160 laps and 400 miles of racing, he posted a 22^nd place finish.  Pocono is Germain Racing’s eighth top 25 finish of the 2013 season.

“We struggled a little bit today, but kept working hard and eventually got fast there at the end, when it mattered.  This is the first time we’ve raced Pocono together as a team because we’ve had to start and park it the last two years.” Mears said.  “This was a good day for us here and something to build on.  We’re thankful for GEICO’s support because we can now run all the races.  We’ve had two solid weeks and that’s what we needed to get things back on the right path.  I’m proud of everyone on this Germain team and look forward to Michigan next week.  Michigan International Speedway is just down the road from Ford’s corporate office, so we’re hoping to put on a good show for them.”

Mears and his GEICO team will next travel to the Irish Hills of Michigan for race number fifteen of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Casey Mears and the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion will hit the track at Michigan International Speedway for the opening practice session on Friday, June 14^th, at11:30 AM (EDT).  Qualifying will follow at 3:35 PM (EDT).

The Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, June 16^th, and it will be televised live on TNT beginning at 1:00 PM (EDT).  The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

Please visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing

Source: Player Management International, Inc., for GEICO Racing

The article Resilient Mears Powers Back with 22nd-Place Finish at Pocono is from Catchfence.

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2013/sprintcup/06/10/resilient-mears-powers-back-with-22nd-place-finish-at-pocono/

Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther

Furniture Row Racing Responds To Kurt Busch Leaving The Team

Source: http://thefinallap.com/2013/08/26/furniture-row-racing-responds-to-kurt-busch-leaving-the-team/

James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III

2014 Lexus GX460: Now Attractively Faced and Priced

Lexus has updated its GX460 SUV for 2014, and aside from a minor shuffling of standard and optional features—and the addition of a new Luxury trim level—the biggest change hits the GX’s face. It now incorporates Lexus’s signature spindle grille, a styling element whose proliferation to each of the brand’s models is finally complete. (Discounting, of course, the lame-duck IS C convertible that’s waiting around for its new-look IS coupe replacement, the RC.) The GX, which is badged as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in other markets, now bears at least a passing resemblance to Lexus’s other two SUVs, the RX and the LX. READ MORE ››

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/UHFvh1nIvc0/2014-lexus-gx460-photos-and-info-news

Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman

Vettel scores routine Belgian GP win

Sebastian Vettel took a routine victory for Red Bull in a totally dry Belgian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso was able to tiger through from ninth on the grid to second ahead of polesitter Lewis Hamilton, but fellow title contender Kimi Raikkonen’s long finishing streak ended with a brake problem.

It took less than half a lap for Vettel to claim control of the race.

Hamilton’s Mercedes had stayed ahead through an uneventful start, but Vettel attacked immediately and overtook on the run to Les Combes.

That was the last Vettel’s rivals saw of him, as the world champion alternated between cruising to protect his machinery and chucking in crushing fastest laps to prove how much he had in hand.

Alonso’s confidence in Ferrari’s race pace proved well-founded as a muscular first lap took him straight up to fifth place.

Jenson Button’s McLaren and Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes were overtaken soon afterwards.

A later first pitstop brought Alonso right up behind Hamilton, who he then passed as the Mercedes slipped a touch wide at La Source.

Hamilton retaliated with DRS on the Kemmel Straight, yet Alonso was able to fend him off despite a vicious twitch under braking.

Button looked like he might have a say in the podium fight as he ran long and hinted at a one-stop strategy.

In the end he had to follow the two-stop trend, dropping him behind Hamilton, Rosberg and the slow-starting Mark Webber.

The Australian’s Red Bull showed great late pace having used hard tyres in the middle stint and softs at the end, the opposite strategy to most rivals, but ran out of steam when he came up behind the Mercedes.

Raikkonen looked set to finish adrift of this group even before a front brake issue forced him to retire his Lotus.

Felipe Massa resisted Romain Grosjean, the only successful one-stopper in the points, for seventh place.

Grosjean had an early brush with Sergio Perez in which the stewards judged that the Lotus had been forced off the road at Les Combes.

That earned Perez a drive-through penalty, and that plus late tyre wear on a one-stop left him 11th at the flag.

Qualifying sensation Paul di Resta faded from the start and was in a four-car battle outside the points when he was taken out at the Bus Stop by Pastor Maldonado.

Force India still scored thanks to Adrian Sutil’s ninth place.

Daniel Ricciardo overcame Toro Rosso’s qualifying miscue to come from 17th to 10th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS  The Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium; 44 laps; 308.052km; Weather: Dry.  Classified:  Pos  Driver        Team                         1.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault             2.  Alonso         Ferrari                              3.  Hamilton       Mercedes                             4.  Rosberg        Mercedes                             5.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault                     6.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes                     7.  Massa          Ferrari                              8.  Grosjean       Lotus-Renault                        9.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes                10.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari                  11.  Perez          McLaren-Mercedes                    12.  Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari                  13.  Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari                      14.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari                      15.  Bottas         Williams-Renault                    16.  van der Garde  Caterham-Renault                    17.  Maldonado      Williams-Renault                    18.  Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth                   19.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth                    Fastest lap:   Not classified/retirements:                 Driver        Team                          Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes                Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault                       Pic           Caterham-Renault    World Championship standings, round 11:                  Drivers:                    Constructors:               1.  Vettel        197        1.  Red Bull-Renault          312  2.  Alonso        151        2.  Mercedes                  235  3.  Hamilton      139        3.  Ferrari                   218  4.  Raikkonen     134        4.  Lotus-Renault             187  5.  Webber        115        5.  McLaren-Mercedes           65  6.  Rosberg        96        6.  Force India-Mercedes       61  7.  Massa          67        7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         25  8.  Grosjean       53        8.  Sauber-Ferrari              7  9.  Button         47        9.  Williams-Renault            1 10.  Di Resta       36        11.  Sutil          25        12.  Perez          18        13.  Vergne         13        14.  Ricciardo      12        15.  Hulkenberg      7        16.  Maldonado       1                All timing unofficial 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/vettel-scores-routine-belgian-gp-win

José Froilán González Oscar González Aldo Gordini Horace Gould

Belgium qualifying quotes: Marussia

Jules Bianchi – 15th: “Today is a fantastic result for the Team, who were so happy to be back in Q2. This was a nice feeling for everybody, including myself, as this was also the first Q2 of my F1 career. Things have been steadily improving for us over the weekend and I’m really happy that all the hard work paid off for us today. This result was not about luck because everyone was faced with the same dilemma at the end of the Q1 session; whether it might be too dry for the Intermediate tyre or too wet for slicks. On the first lap on the final run it was hard to make up my mind what to do; only the drivers could see what the track condition was really like and it was different from corner to corner. By the end of the lap I had decided just to go for it and stay on the Medium tyre and that gamble was exactly the right call. Tomorrow we line up on the seventh row, which will be a nice moment, but of course we don’t really know what the weather will bring. We have everything to gain and we will make the most of every opportunity.”

Max Chilton – 16th: “What a great day for everyone! Together with Jules I’m so pleased to help put the Team into Q2 again. It was such a tricky qualifying, and as we can see from the classification, it’s difficult to make the right calls at a track where the lap is so long that the conditions are so different from corner to corner. When we switched to the dry tyre for the final run I was worried we may have made the wrong call and might have to switch back to the Intermediate but I also knew the track was drying quickly and we could easily make another wrong call by changing back. The engineers put the decision in my hands and I was undecided until the final corner, when I just made a judgment call in an instant and opted to stay out. I’m happy to say it was the right call and we went on to enjoy a strong Q2, when my time was pretty pleasing given that on my final run I was fuelled for two timed laps. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race now, rain or shine.”

John Booth, team principal: “A fantastic result for the Team and it’s great to know that we have come so far operationally that we can now handle the scenario we saw today with such confidence. Although it is not the first time the Team has been in Q2, it is the first time that we achieved this with ‘both’ cars and in such challenging conditions. These were probably the most challenging wet conditions we have endured in Q1 in terms of the variation of water level through the lap and it really took mature heads on both of our drivers to take the necessary decisions guided by information provided from the garage. In general it has been a good day overall; we’ve seen a good balance on the car this morning, particularly for Jules, but during qualifying both drivers were the happiest they had been with the car all weekend, which should stand us in good stead for the race. We do however have both feet firmly on the ground and in what could be another wet scenario, remaining in our grid position will be tough. Nonetheless, it is a target every single member of the Team will be pushing for and we will make the most of every opportunity. Today’s result is a great reward for all the hard work the Team and Cosworth have carried out to come back from a challenging set of races recently to enable us to fare better at circuits which now play to the strength of our package.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/belgium-qualifying-quotes-marussia

Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV

Turkington dominates opening race

Colin Turkington dominated the opening British Touring Car Championship round at Knockhill to bring his WSR-run BMW 1 Series home more than three seconds clear of the field.

The Northern Irishman assumed the lead during an audacious three-wide overtaking move into the hairpin at the end of the second lap and he did not look back.

He held firm despite a mid-race safety car period to claim his fourth win of the season and his first ever at the Fife circuit.

With the BMW clear, attention centred around the fight for second position as Gordon Shedden’s works Honda battled with the soft-tyred Audi A4 of polesitter Rob Austin.

The Honda pulled clear initially but Austin’s car came on strong again over the closing stages to finish on the bootlid of the Civic.

Further back, Ciceley Racing Toyota Avensis driver Adam Morgan had one of his strongest races of the season. He unseated both the works Honda of Matt Neal and the MG of Jason Plato to secure fourth place. He was closing in on the battle for second position at the flag.

Plato came home in fifth despite two nudges – the first involving Neal and the second with Morgan – ahead of Rob Collard’s WSR BMW.

Neal was seventh from Andrew Jordan’s Eurotech Honda Civic.

The mid-race safety car period, which lasted for five laps, was caused when Paul O’Neill hit the barriers on the exit of the hairpin on lap nine after a clash with Nick Foster’s WSR BMW.

In the Jack Sears Trophy, Liam Griffin lifted the spoils in his Ford Focus after fending off Lea Wood’s Vauxhall Vectra to the flag.

Results - 27 laps:  Pos  Driver            Team/Car               Time/Gap  1.  Colin Turkington  WSR BMW              26m41.180s  2.  Gordon Shedden    Honda                   +3.452s  3.  Rob Austin        Austin Audi             +4.229s  4.  Adam Morgan       Ciceley Toyota          +4.864s  5.  Jason Plato       MG                      +6.867s  6.  Rob Collard       WSR BMW                 +7.939s  7.  Matt Neal         Honda                  +11.386s  8.  Andrew Jordan     Eurotech Honda         +11.510s  9.  Sam Tordoff       MG                     +15.183s 10.  Aron Smith        Motorbase Ford         +17.975s 11.  Dave Newsham      Speedworks Toyota      +18.300s 12.  Mat Jackson       Motorbase Ford         +20.125s 13.  Tom Onslow-Cole   Hard VW                +20.631s 14.  Frank Wrathall    Dynojet Toyota         +23.044s 15.  Ollie Jackson     Speedworks Toyota      +24.715s 16.  Nick Foster       WSR BMW                +25.233s 17.  Liam Griffin      Motorbase Ford         +36.607s 18.  Mike Bushell      IP Chevrolet           +36.846s 19.  Lea Wood          Wood Vauxhall          +37.428s 20.  Will Bratt        Austin Audi              +1 lap 21.  Aiden Moffat      Finesse Chevrolet        +1 lap 22.  Kieran Gallagher  Hard Vauxhall           +2 laps  Retirements:       David Nye         Motorbase Ford          26 laps      Daniel Welch      Welch Proton            25 laps      Paul O'Neill      Hard Vauxhall            7 laps      Warren Scott      BMR VW                   0 laps 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/btcc/turkington-dominates-opening-race

Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota

McLaren: rivals ganging up on Perez

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes Sergio Perez’s Belgian Grand Prix penalty was the result of senior drivers ‘ganging up’ on the Mexican.

Perez was hit with a drive-through penalty for forcing Romain Grosjean off the track at Les Combes after stewards decided he pushed the Lotus driver onto the rumble strip on entry, meaning he missed the corner.

The resulting penalty cost Perez points and Whitmarsh believes stewards have been swayed by Perez being victimised in drivers’ briefings.

“The reality is that you get a young charger coming into the field and the older guys will try to gang up and make a scene in driver briefings,” Whitmarsh told AUTOSPORT.

“They have done a bit of that [with Perez]. It shouldn’t, but it clearly does make a difference.

“Ironically, later in the race there were two other worse examples that got no penalty – [Nico] Hulkenberg and [Jean-Eric] Vergne.

“It was a very hard penalty and disappointing.”

PEREZ ‘SHOULDN’T CHANGE’

Whitmarsh accepts that Perez might need to be cautious in battle in the coming races given he is under such scrutiny.

But he emphasised that he does not believe his driver was in the wrong and is keen for Perez to continue to race hard.

“When you are in his position you have got to be careful,” said Whitmarsh.

“Even if you are doing what you think is OK, when you know you are under a bit of scrutiny you’ve got to watch it.

“If I thought that he was wrong I would go and box him over the head but he’s got to go out there and race.

“He has to have the confidence and the belief that the team is supporting him and he’s out there racing so we will be supporting him.”

Grosjean insisted that Perez’s actions had ultimately meant Felipe Massa beat him to seventh.

“I lost a position so it’s never the best, it cost me maybe three or four seconds, something like that,” said Grosjean.

“It would probably have been enough to keep Massa behind.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/mclaren-rivals-ganging-up-on-perez

Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson Leslie Johnson Bruce Johnstone

Travel Tips: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2013

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2013/08/travel-tips-atlanta-motor-speedway-aug.html

Hans Heyer Damon Hill Graham Hill Phil Hill

Travel Tips: Bristol Motor Speedway – Aug. 21-24, 2013

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2013/08/travel-tips-bristol-motor-speedway-aug.html

Oswald Karch Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh

Raikkonen: Lotus unlucky to miss out

Kimi Raikkonen reckons he was simply ‘unlucky’ not to have made it across the line at the end of qualifying for a final lap when the track was at its best.

The Finn was pretty upbeat about the performance of his Lotus, but could manage no better than eighth after many of his rivals got a final lap in when conditions were drying up.

Raikkonen dropped down to eighth at the end – and he was in no doubt that his car could have done much better than that.

“Obviously we seem to have pretty good speed in the dry, and we are not too bad in the wet in Q1, but we were maybe unlucky with the timing,” said Raikkonen.

“If we could have done one more lap we should have been a bit higher up.”

When asked by AUTOSPORT about how close it was to making it across the line, Raikkonen said: “Not far.

“When I came out of the last corner I saw the lights went red – so it was maybe five seconds maximum.

“When it starts raining, you cannot plan those things. You either get it or not, and this time we didn’t. It was a shame as we had pretty good speed.”

Despite starting on the fourth row, Raikkonen thinks that Lotus can set its sights on a strong performance in the race – and he does not believe that Mercedes and Red Bull are out of reach.

“If we look purely in the dry, and even Q2, we were fastest in second qualifying, so we could be up there,” he said.

“In the wet we were not as fast, but in the first qualifying when the timing was right it wasn’t too bad.

“We improved for today quite a bit the car, since yesterday.”

He added: “We have been in much worse starting positions and had good results, and here usually you are able to overtake if you have the speed. So everything is possible.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/raikkonen-lotus-unlucky-to-miss-out

Howden Ganley Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner

Going For Sixth, Busch Brothers Pile Up Wins In ‘Thunder Valley’

Source: http://thefinallap.com/2013/08/23/going-for-sixth-busch-brothers-pile-up-wins-in-thunder-valley/

James Hunt Jim Hurtubise Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx

NHRA Northwest Nationals Results¢

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/04/3083264/nhra-northwest-nationals-results.html

Paul Goldsmith José Froilán González Oscar González Aldo Gordini

Chevrolet SS Driver Jimmie Johnson Dominates at Pocono

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 9, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Team Chevy Grabs Four of Top-Five Positions

LONG POND, PA. (June 9, 2013) – Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS, scored his third win of the season and third win at Pocono Raceway in dominating fashion today.   Johnson closed the deal by leading 128 of the 160 laps in the race, and was untouchable while cruising to his 63^rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory.   He extended his overall lead in the series to 51 points over second place with his ninth top-10 finish of the season.

Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS, finished third in today’s event and moved up two spots in the standings to fourth.   This was Earnhardt’s fourth top-five finish of the season and his 10^th career top-10 finish at Pocono.

Last week’s race winner, Tony Stewart, posted a solid fourth-place finish in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS and moved up another three spots in the standings to 13^th.  His Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Ryan Newman, also had a good run in today’s event and came away with his second top-five finish in fifth in the No. 39 HAAS Automation Chevrolet SS.

Kurt Busch started 20^th, but drove to the front and stayed in the hunt all day long before finishing seventh in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet SS.  Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, scored his sixth top-10 finish of the season with a ninth-place finish, putting six Team Chevy drivers in the Top-10.  Busch moved up two positions to 15^th in the standings while Harvick maintained his fifth-place point position.

Greg Biffle (Ford) was second to round out the top-five finishing order.

Next stop on the circuit will be Round 15 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday, June 17^th at 1:00 pm ET on TNT, Sirius/XM Channel 90, MRN Radio and www.nascar.com

JIMMIE JOHNSON AND CHAD KNAUS, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNERS

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR:  We’ll get started with our post‑race press conference for today’s Party in the Poconos 400 here at Pocono Raceway.  We’ll get started with Chad Knaus, crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.  Talk about that exciting race out there today.

CHAD KNAUS:  That was a lot of fun.  I really love this racetrack.  It’s always been one of my favorites.  When you come up here you have to have so many elements to have a successful race.  You’ve got to have a race car that’ll handle, you’ve got to have a race car that’s good aerodynamically, great horsepower, great drive train, so many cool things have to come into play, good fuel mileage, good pit stops.  When we showed up here on Friday we realized we had a very fast race car and that was nice.  When you have a fast car that obviously makes the rest of the race a little bit easier.  It was a great race.  Everybody has been working really hard at Hendrick Motorsports, and I really couldn’t really be prouder.  Jimmie did a fantastic job today.  His car control today was second to none.

THE MODERATOR:  You guys led 128 laps which is a career high for you here at Pocono.  This is your third win here, first since 2004.  Talk about your strategy today.

CHAD KNAUS:  Yeah, we really wanted to try to maintain track position.  I think we saw that a lot.  The 39 car played that a little bit.  The 2 car was attempting to get some of that going, as well, and in traffic you could run about a second slower than what you do with the leaders, so we wanted to try to stay up towards the front.  We had to work that pretty heavily with the tire strategy and the fuel strategy, but that’s pretty consistent is what we’ve had up here.  Everybody understands that game, and it was a lot of fun.  Actually there was some solid racing, some good passing and a lot of fun.

Q.  Steve Letarte said you came here with a similar concept.  How alike were the 48 and the 88 today?

CHAD KNAUS:  As the weekend progressed they definitely merged closer to one another.  When we got here there was some differences, but then as practice went and the evolution of looking at all of our teammates’ notes we were able to kind of pull some good from everybody and apply that to the 48 and I know the 88 did the same.  That’s another thing I want to say is from the 48 and 88 shop we’ve been working really hard to try to get our race cars better, and I think this is a good venue to try to show how good your race cars are, and for everybody at the 48 and 88 shop I think they did a fantastic job prepping these cars coming into this weekend.

Q.  Chad, your sense of how Jimmie’s mindset was this week, it was a disappointed ‑‑ sometimes when a guy has something he feels should have went to him, taken away from him, there’s an extra sense of motivation.  Did you see a different demeanor, different intensity level from him this week?

CHAD KNAUS:  I don’t really think so.  It would have been very easy to come in here with a chip on your shoulder or a grudge, and Jimmie is not that kind of guy.  For any of you who know Jimmie, he doesn’t carry a grudge.  He is a very laid back ‑‑ the pinnacle Californian, and he just lets it go and come and go as it pleases.  We knew what we needed to do and that’s what we focus on.  The one thing I feel we do really good as a team is we don’t focus too much on what happened yesterday or last week.  We always try to keep eyes forward, and I think that gives us always a little bit clearer view.  Sometimes it’s pretty easy to get clouded.

My allergies are killing me up here from all that rain.  I don’t know if you guys are having the same problem.

Q.  Chad, you said this is a good venue to show how good your race cars are.  Last year the 48 and 88 did really well here.  Are you bringing this car to Indianapolis, as well?

CHAD KNAUS:  Oh, geez, I don’t know.  This is actually the race car that we won with at Indianapolis last year, I think.  I’m pretty sure it is.  So I don’t know exactly ‑‑ I don’t know yet.  I’ve got to get home and look at it.  We’ve had such a busy season trying to get cars built, trying to get our inventory up to where we can kind of begin to pick and choose where we want to take race cars.  For the first third of the season, we really haven’t had the luxury of saying, oh, this is a good race car, we want to take it here, and I don’t think anybody in the garage has.  I think everybody in the garage is trying to get the Gen‑6 cars produced and manufactured.  You just kind of take to the race track what you have, and that’s kind of the way that we’ve been.  We’ve been very fortunate that a lot of our race cars have been very, very solid, so when I get home, I won’t be home this week, when I get home next week I’ll be able to sit back, relax and kind of see what we’ve got for inventory.

The article Chevrolet SS Driver Jimmie Johnson Dominates at Pocono is from Catchfence.

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2013/sprintcup/06/09/chevrolet-ss-driver-jimmie-johnson-dominates-at-pocono/

Mike Hailwood Mika Häkkinen Bruce Halford Jim Hall

Going For Sixth, Busch Brothers Pile Up Wins In ‘Thunder Valley’

Source: http://thefinallap.com/2013/08/23/going-for-sixth-busch-brothers-pile-up-wins-in-thunder-valley/

Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glöckler Paco Godia

Johnson's dominant run derailed by blown tire

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/04/3083166/johnsons-dominant-run-derailed.html

Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton

2013 NASCAR CUP RACE #24 RESULTS, BRISTOL – MATT KENSETH WINS

Source: http://thefinallap.com/2013/08/25/2013-nascar-cup-race-24-results-bristol-matt-kenseth-wins/

Paul Goldsmith José Froilán González Oscar González Aldo Gordini

Yamaha and PETRONAS Conclude MotoGP Partnership

Yamaha Racing
Sunday, 01 Jan 2012

As 2011 draws to a close it marks the end of a successful partnership between Yamaha's Factory MotoGP Team and PETRONAS.

The integrated Malaysian oil and gas corporation came onboard with Yamaha in 2009 and has enjoyed a hugely successful three year relationship.

Yamaha and PETRONAS have been privileged to share in two consecutive Triple Crown MotoGP victories, in 2009 and 2010.

Lin Jarvis,
Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing:

"The relationship between Yamaha and PETRONAS has been a great success, we have enjoyed some major achievements together in the MotoGP class. Now that the partnership has reached its natural conclusion I would like to thank our friends at PETRONAS for the support during their time with us and wish them well for the future".

Mohammad Medan Abdullah,
Senior General Manager of PETRONAS Group Corporate Affairs Division:

"We are happy to have had this opportunity to work with the Yamaha Factory Racing team over the past three years. In that time, we have enjoyed the benefits of strong brand exposure through the privilege of being associated with a team that shares our values and passion. The team has achieved many successes through a high level of competitiveness and stretched performance standards and we wish the team continued success in the future".

Jointly issued by Yamaha Factory Racing and PETRONAS Motorsports

www.yamaha-racing.com

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/yamaha_and_petronas_concl.php

Kyle Busch Toyota Kimmy Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman

2014 Toyota Corolla First Drive: Cranked Up to 11—Generations, Anyway

News that quickens the pulses of actuaries everywhere: A new Corolla is shipping to dealerships from Toyota factories in Mississippi and Canada. We’ve finally driven the 11th-generation 2014 model and, well, it’s a Corolla. A quieter, bigger one with better seats, a smoother ride, crisper steering, a “seven-speed” CVT function that’s actually preferable to a traditional automatic, and a special fuel-sipper model rated at 42 mpg. It’s all wrapped in styling that merits the use of the word, and it’s packed with the infotainment features modern marketing demands. READ MORE ››

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/C22NSwnWz_g/2014-toyota-corolla-first-drive-review

Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa

Major Road Builder Argues for Road-Pricing, Against More Asphalt

The primary theme of U.S. transportation policy since the mid-20th century hasn’t been accessibility, public health, equality, or even efficiency. Primarily we’ve spent billions of dollars trying fruitlessly to eliminate congestion by building more roads.

Empty roads at off-peak hours are one inefficiency caused by transportation policies that seek to eliminate congestion with more asphalt. Image: Michigan Land Use Institute

It has become clear that there are all kinds of problems with having motorist throughput as the highest priority of your transportation system. James Bruckbauer at Michigan Land Use Institute says even big road builders are acknowledging the futility. Check out this passage he found in a publication by HNTB, one of the nation’s largest road builders:

Here’s an excerpt from their latest newsletter (page 23):

“Conventional wisdom suggests that we simply need to build more capacity. Adding lanes, however, will never fully solve the congestion problem. When new general-purpose lanes are built, they immediately fill up. They may help compress rush hours slightly, but the congestion problem remains.”

The author also argues that, rather than build new roads, planners should focus on commuters traveling at peak times:

“Further, because most cities experience gridlock during rush hours, rather than all day, priced managed lanes address specific congestion problems without saddling the city with overbuilt infrastructure that gets limited use most of the day.”

The company argues for congestion pricing and price-managed lanes. Those are fees charged to motorists for roadway use, like a toll road.

Still, his point is clear: We can’t build our way out of congestion. In fact, every 10 percent increase in road space generates a 10 percent increase in traffic within several years.

Source: http://streetsblog.net/2013/08/23/major-road-builder-argues-for-road-pricing-against-more-asphalt/

Carl Edwards Copart Ford Denny Hamlin Z Line Toyota

Di Grassi to test Audi DTM car

Audi will give ex-Formula 1 driver Lucas di Grassi and Formula Renault 3.5 race winner Nico Muller DTM tests at Spielberg this week.

Brazilian di Grassi, 29, has been a member of the German manufacturer’s World Endurance Championship line-up since late last year and finished third at the Le Mans 24 Hours sharing an R18 e-tron quattro with Marc Gene and Oliver Jarvis.

He made 19 grand prix starts for Virgin in 2010 with a best finish of 14th in Malaysia.

Muller, meanwhile, lies seventh in the FR3.5 standings, having taken his maiden series victory in the Monaco Grand Prix support race this year.

He has also been a race winner in GP3 and a podium finisher in the Formula Renault Eurocup.

“We are intrigued to see just how Nico and Lucas get to grips with our RS 5 DTM,” said Audi DTM chief Dieter Gass.

“Nico is a promising young driver whose career we have followed with great interest for some years now.

“Lucas, meanwhile, has impressed our sportscar team with his speed and knowledgeable technical feedback, which is why he is regarded as excellent test driver.”

Both will drive current-specification RS5s at the Austrian circuit.

Muller tested an old-generation A4 as part of a young-driver evaluation by Audi at Monteblanco last year alongside Red Bull Juniors Carlos Sainz Jr, Tom Blomqvist, Superstars champion Johan Kristoffersson and others.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/miscellaneous/dtm/di-grassi-to-test-audi-dtm-car

Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray

Report: Next Subaru WRX and STI to go sedan only; reveal headed for LA

Filed under: LA Auto Show, New York Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Subaru, Rumormill, Off-Road

After a serious bit of teasing at the 2013 New York Auto Show, Subaru might be finally preparing to pull the sheets off of the production versions of the new WRX and STI. The venue, according to Automotive News, will be the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Besides that tasty bit of info, AN has a number of other interesting ideas about the 2015 WRX.

If you've been a fan of the five-door bodystyle, don't read this - the next WRX and STI will reportedly go four-door only. We've already seen the latter's whopping great wing, a tradition we're happy to see soldering on for next-gen car. According to the AN report, power figures to be around 265 horsepower from a 2.5-liter, turbocharged, flat-four engine.

Los Angeles is still quite far off, so expect to hear more rumblings about a production WRX or STI in the coming weeks. Take a look above for our most recent batch of spy photos, and then hop down below for some images of the stunning WRX Concept that was shown at New York.

Next Subaru WRX and STI to go sedan only; reveal headed for LA originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/26/subaru-wrx-sti-going-sedan-only-for-la-reveal/

Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty