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Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch
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FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 15, 2012) - Two-time Olympic silver medalist Darvis “Doc” Patton and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford will serve as Grand Marshals for the inaugural “No Limits” Half Marathon & 5k benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Texas Motor Speedway.
Texas Motor Speedway No Limits Wild Asphalt Circus
Rutherford, a 74-year-old Fort Worth resident who is considered among the best all-time Indy-car racers, has been chosen to give the command and wave the green flag to officially start the “No Limits” Half Marathon event that kicks off at 7:30 a.m. on Allison Ave. in the speedway’s infield. He is one of 10 drivers to win the prestigious Indianapolis 500 three or more times (1974, ’76 and ’80) and collected 27 victories and 23 pole positions in his Indy-car career. He also earned a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series championship in 1980.
Rutherford also dabbled in NASCAR with 35 career starts, including a win in his stock-car debut in a Daytona 500 qualifier race in 1963. Rutherford, dubbed “Lone Star JR” due to his Texas heritage, has been inducted into several motorsports hall of fames, including the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
“As the Official Pace Car driver for the IndyCar Series events and as a three-time Indy 500 winner, I am honored to have been chosen by the Speedway Children’s Charity, Texas Chapter, to act as the Grand Marshal and official starter for the inaugural “No Limits” Half Marathon & 5k Run and Expo,” Rutherford said. “I look forward to greeting all of the runners who will be attending the races. I do know the excitement you will feel as you take the green flag and then the later at the waving of the checkered flag. Actually, you and I are not very different … It’s just that I get my kicks while racing a slick car with wheels and a strong engine.”
Patton, a Texas Christian University graduate who was raised in Dallas, has been selected to wave the checkered flag for the half marathon winner as well as award the medals to the eight major category champions.
Patton, 34, is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 4x100m relay, the most recent coming at this summer’s Olympic Games in London. His other Olympic silver came at Athens in 2004. Patton also is a two-time 4x100m relay gold medalist and a 200-meter silver medalist in the prestigious World Championships and has represented the United States on six national teams. As a collegiate, Patten earned 12 All-American certificates in just two years at TCU.
“In most sports, running is a form of punishment,” Patton said. “If you don’t make a play – or if you miss too many free throws – you run laps. It’s hard work, and that’s something I understand. So, just knowing that so many people are coming out to the ‘No Limits’ Half Marathon to run – willingly – is amazing. And then, to do it for such a great cause is really selfless.
“It takes a lot of time, effort, and training to prepare for an event like this, so I know the folks that are participating are truly dedicated to the cause. How could I not feel honored to be among such good company? I’m really looking forward to it.”
The entry fee for the “No Limits” Half Marathon currently is $100 through Oct. 25 and $125 on race day. The 5k entry currently is $30 through Oct. 25 and $35 on race day. For more information or to sign up for the event, please visit www.nolimitsrun.com.
Source: Texas Motor Speedway, Press Release
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Brian Gubby André Guelfi Miguel Ángel Guerra Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin
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Less than a week after Queens Community Board 3 signed off on DOT’s PARK Smart pilot for Jackson Heights, New York’s neighborhood-level parking policy changes were given some national context on Wednesday at the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ “Designing Cities” conference.
A parking meter in San Francisco. Photo: Walter Parenteau/Flickr
Given the Department of City Planning’s halfhearted attempts to reduce off-street parking requirements, NYC DOT’s changes to on-street parking prices are the boldest parking reform happening in the city right now. But the panel made clear that nationally, other cities have a leg up on New York when it comes to putting the right price on parking.
New York is one of several cities across the country taking steps to reduce double-parking and wasteful cruising for scarce curbside spots by adjusting meter rates to align with demand. This type of curbside parking management can be a very effective tool to reduce congestion. In some New York neighborhoods, drivers cruising for parking constitute nearly half of all traffic.
On-street parking reform is “very much lodged in the broader effort in New York to change how the street is used,” said NYC DOT Deputy Commissioner for Traffic and Planning Bruce Schaller at the panel. By reducing the number of drivers double-parking or distracted by the search for a space, Schaller said, “it’s easier to bike down the street if you have a bike lane and it’s faster if you’re on the bus.”
While NYC DOT has achieved measurable progress with PARK Smart in Park Slope, two California cities are out in front on curbside parking reform. San Francisco’s SFpark program and Los Angeles’s LA Express Park are perhaps the nation’s most advanced on-street parking management programs.
Both cities, spurred by federal grants that help cover the cost of new parking technology, have incrementally adjusted prices as often as once a month in response to demand, installed sensors to measure real-time parking availability, launched pay-by-phone systems, and provided smartphone apps and on-street electronic signage with rate and availability information. (The apps, of course, cut both ways, since they can distract people behind the wheel if used while driving.)
Los Angeles also outfits enforcement agents with a tablet application that maps the location of every car occupying an unpaid parking space, allowing them to target enforcement. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, parking enforcement is performed by the transportation department; in New York it falls under the NYPD.
In San Francisco, the city government stopped offering free parking to its employees when SFpark went into effect and instead gave workers the option to either pay the same meter rates as the general public or buy a $1,000 permit for unlimited parking. “We wanted to put our own house in order and play by the same rules as everybody else,” said SFpark program manager Jay Primus. In New York, while City Hall has tried to cut the number of free parking placards issued to city employees, the total remains above 100,000. All those drivers with free parking perks can disrupt efforts like PARK Smart to put a more rational price on curbside spaces.
SFpark, covering 7,000 parking spots (a quarter of the city’s metered spaces), also includes city-owned parking garages, where rates were cut significantly in order to compete with curbside spaces. Now garage parking is often less expensive than on-street parking — the reverse of what drivers find in New York. As a result, garage occupancy has increased in San Francisco from 35 to 55 percent full during the day, which indicates that more drivers may be heading straight to garages instead of clogging the streets in search of a cheap spot. A full evaluation of the SFpark program is planned for summer 2013.
In many ways, New York, which is experimenting with sensors and is still planning a pay-by-phone pilot, is playing catch-up. ”We’ve learned a lot from LA and San Francisco,” Schaller told his colleagues, before lowering his voice. “I hope you’ve learned a few things from us.” The statement was received with smiles from the California representatives.
New York, with 80,000 metered spaces, is taking a slightly different approach to curbside parking reform than many other cities. Most significantly, New York is focusing its reforms on neighborhood commercial areas instead of the central business district.
In some cities, additional revenue from higher parking prices is dedicated to streetscape improvements in the neighborhoods where the revenue is generated, in an effort to make the changes more appealing to local retailers and residents. None of the three cities on the panel do this. In New York, Schaller said, changes are enacted solely “based on the benefits of pricing itself” — specifically, increased parking availability and reduced congestion.
Schaller also shed some light on the abandoned PARK Smart pilot on Madison Avenue and East 86th Street. In that neighborhood, “the off-street rates are so much higher than the on-street rates, that whenever a spot opens up, someone will grab it,” he said. “We may have changed some people’s behavior, but it doesn’t show up in the data because there’s someone waiting in line right behind them.”
DOT halted the Upper East Side PARK Smart pilot after Manhattan Community Board 8 voted against DOT’s request to expand the project area and raise parking rates in February 2011.
“In some ways we weren’t happy with that outcome,” Schaller said, but he added that it did have a silver lining. “It really helps your credibility” when working with community boards and merchants, he said. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it out, and we did it on the Upper East Side.”
DOT is in early talks to bring a PARK Smart pilot to the Atlantic Avenue business district in Brooklyn, and some residents and merchants near the Barclays Center have expressed support for bringing the program to their neighborhoods.
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/10/26/at-nacto-conference-la-and-sf-outpace-nyc-on-parking-reform/
Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried Lucas di Grassi Cecil Green
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Bill Holland Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt
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Formula 1 teams have played down the prospect of next season turning into a development arms race on exhaust layouts.
That comes despite Red Bull’s recent dominant streak, which is believed to derive from its efforts to perfect its exhaust layout and rear bodywork.
Although Red Bull’s leap forward has opened up the possibility of teams now getting locked into an expensive development push in this area – just as blown diffusers were so important in 2011 – rival outfits think that exhausts will only be a useful, not decisive, factor.
McLaren sporting director Sam Michael said: “I think they are starting to run out of puff now. There are gains to be had, but you are into the third order now – which is good in a way.
“The intention of the regulation change 12 months ago was for there to be some R&D with the regulation change, but then it was going to restrict you getting anywhere near the potential there was last year.
“It will be important to get it right over the winter, but across the teams all the solutions are quite similar now. They are all pretty close.”
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn believes that there is still room for those teams new to the current preferred Coanda-effect design to get more speed – while those outfits that have used it all season may find the returns are diminishing.
“Sauber and McLaren got into the technology first of all,” said Brawn.
“I remember even Adrian [Newey] had a few races where they had it on and had it off, because they were not sure. But now they would not give it up because they have obviously developed it well.
“We have seen in the short time that we have had it, that it is opening up new avenues. Perhaps that is where we slipped a little bit in the second half, because until you get involved in it you don’t know what the potential is.
“The more you get into it, the more it opens up new doors. So that is why it was important that we started on it this year.
“We are starting to see some new avenues that we wanted for next year’s car – things we can only do with a new car that we want to do for next season.”
He added: “I am not sure it is what was intended when we wrote the regulations, but that is the nature of F1. It is not quite as powerful as we had last year because the engine mapping is controlled, but it is still producing a benefit now.
“Hopefully we are on a steep learning curve.
“I think the development of a lot of cars over the last few months has been mainly relating to that area, which is why there has been such progress, so it has opened up.
“We are on our second iteration of the system now, and there are probably some further modifications before the end of the year and certainly a revamp of the system for next season.”
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Season Kicks-off Tonight at Homestead
The much-anticipated return of the popular iRacing 16th Street Racing League will kick off tonight at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with the 130-lap online race broadcast live on GlacierTV. The 16th Street Racing League burst onto the IndyCar sim racing scene in 2009 and featured participation from real-world IndyCar Series stars like Will Power, Justin Wilson and former Panther Racing driver Tomas Scheckter, amongst many others.
Click here to watch tonight’s GlacierTV broadcast from Homestead at 9 pm (ET).
After a year-long hiatus 16th Street has returned with much fanfare this year, with over 70 drivers applying for the league’s 35 reserved spots. Interest in the league was so great that officials created a “Transfer Race” that will be held each Tuesday at 8 pm, allowing any interested driver to run a short sprint race with the Top Five from each Transfer Race being allowed to advance to the 9 pm broadcasted Feature Race. The league’s 35 reserved spots will hold until the third race of the season, and then the locked-in positions will be allocated to the Top 35 drivers in overall points, allowing many drivers on the outside to race their way into a solid position in the league.
The first league of its kind to mix both ovals and road courses into a designated championship, the competition level for the 19-race season is certain to be one of the most intense in all of sim racing. The Championship purse includes cash payouts, iRacing credits and collectable merchandise donated by the National Guard. With eight of the series’ races being broadcast by GlacierTV, IndyCar fans will be able to fill the void of a long offseason from the real-world series with some of the most competitive sim-racing on the planet.
The 16th Street Racing League roars back into action tonight!
16th Street Racing League Pre-Season Notes:
Championship Front-Runners
While competition is stout up and down the lineup entering tonight’s race at Homestead, the championship crown in March is destined to go to a driver from a small collection of IndyCar’s elite: Yang Ou, the Fall. 2010 16th Street champion, is the first name that you’ll hear in almost any championship discussion. Inexplicably fast on both oval and road courses, Yang – the reining iRacing Indy 500 champion – has become the ‘Silent Assassin’ of the IndyCar sim racing world. Yang’s biggest competition for the crown could come from a short-list of drivers. Shaun Stroud; the self-assure Englishman is lightning quick on oval tracks and can carry his weight on the road courses as well. He’s always a factor. It’s Yang’s teammate, Tim Doyle, who may be the best pure racer lining up in the league this year, and many know Doyle will be in contention throughout the winter. Arguably one of the toughest oval racers in IndyCar, Doyle will have to stay consistent on the road courses to stay near the top of the standings for the duration of the season. And don’t dismiss longtime sim legend Niles Anders, as the feisty racer has flirted with retirement for the last year, but makes his return to 16th Street as the leader of Panther Racing Online, the official sim team of the real-world two-time IndyCar champions
Championship Dark Horses
Take a long look through the 16th Street lineup and there are several drivers that could make a surprise run into the championship chase. A trio of 16th Street alumni are the first that pop to mind: Tim Holgate, Pat Dotson and Vincent Sciuto have the speed and diversity of skill set to make themselves a factor by the time payday rolls around. All three will have to quickly shake off the rust of a long layoff, but Holgate’s recent technical alliance with an established team should prove hugely beneficial for the Ohio native. Dotson’s commitment through UltraForce Sim – a presenting sponsor of the league – will keep him devoted throughout the year and a potential factor for race victories. But keep an eye on Sciuto, known best for his stewardship of the popular BRR Fixed IndyCar league, as those that know him well have watched in-person as the popular iRacer has gone toe-to-toe with some of IndyCar’s best … and won.
It wouldn’t be the 16th Street League without some familiar faces . . .
Championship Outsiders
Considering the task of having to be quick and consistent on both oval and road courses, you have to consider four more names for the championship battle: Brian Simpson (16th Street Winter 2009 Champion), Courtney Terrell, Jonathan Goke and Joe Branch – all four combine the speed you need on both disciplines to stay consistently in the Top Five at any track. Terrell is particularly adept at road courses and has the speed on ovals. Branch is one of the more underrated drivers in the field, with both Premiere Series and Strength of Field oval victories on his resume, the Indiana racer has spent enough time turning laps on road courses to stay consistent when the schedule requires left-hand turns. Simpson, a 16th Street Racing League co-founder, already has a title. Like many, he’s coming off an extended iRacing layoff, but few doubt he’ll take long to regain his trademark speed. Banshee Autosport’s Goke is capable of winning races at any track on the schedule. They will all be factors at different points in the year.
Oval Aces
Competition on ovals in iRacing has always been intense, and while the influx of road courses to the 16th Street schedule will ultimately marginalize some of the better-known drivers in the long run, you can’t discount how entertaining the oval races will be this season. There is no shortage of drivers throughout the field who can win any given oval race on the schedule. Many have claimed Chris Cahoe, one of the best pure qualifiers in the field, is on the verge of a breakout. Mitch McCracken, whose late entry into the league nearly left him out of the Top 35 before Randy Freeman dropped out late last week, was the iRacing Indy 500 polesitter and has proven to be a top-level race winner in the iRacing Official Series. Slowpoke Racing’s Michael DuTemple is another name you’ll often find at the front of the IndyCar field on many of the ovals in the official series. Dave Judson has emerged in the last season as a driver who’s grown from a mid-pack contender to a front-running capable driver when he avoids what seems to be an inevitable string of bad luck. 16th Street veteran Mike Peters is a quick and aggressive driver who’s already proven he can win oval races with the field is packed with talent. The list continues with names like Randy Crossno, Al Nagy, Chris Manifold, Eric Vanek and James McClure, but one thing is assured: Oval racing in the 16th Racing League is going to be a passionate affair.
Like the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series, the 16th Street League will be returning to Pocono Raceway this season.
Road Warriors
Many league insiders are anticipating an influx of road course specialists to steal Feature Race wins by way of entering via the Transfer Race. And with a total of eight road courses on the schedule amongst an oval-heavy group of drivers, the overall championship could ultimately be decided on difficult road tracks like Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Sebring, Road America and others. Certainly, longtime road course ace David Sockrider will be a factor for the top step of the podium, and has the oval ability to elevate himself quickly in the standings. Keep names like Giorgio Ponti and Carlos Bolanos Jr. in mind on the twisty circuits, as both have the experience it takes to threaten for podium finishes throughout the year.
Transfer Race Heroes – Contenders Outside the Top 35
With over 70 entries for just 35 positions, the sideline is filled with talented potential 16th Street race-winning drivers. Many in the league were surprised when young upstart Brandon Traino, arguably the fastest driver in Season 3 of the Official Series, did not apply for entry into 16th Street. But the Broken Aero team’s ace submitted an entry today, on raceday morning, and if he enters tonight’s Transfer Race, many expect him to not only make the Homestead Feature, but to be a contender. The list of additional Transfer Race challengers is a long one, and may of these drivers could quickly find themselves solidly inside the Top 35 in less than a month: Terry Matthiensen, Chuck Eisenbarth, Mike Campanian, and another road-course ace, Carlos Passos. One of iRacing’s most popular duos, Bud Weissert and Michael Chinn, are expected to work their way into the fold as well, especially once the Indianapolis race rolls around.
The Old Guard
If you don’t remember the names Dean Moll, Kevin Cress, Mark Shutte and Gary Borkenhagen – do some homework. Some or all of them are going to shake off the rust of an extended layoff and run at the front. Matt Lambertson is as quick on any track as any driver in the field, but finishing races has proven a challenge. Insiders feel if Lambertson would occasionally exercise some patience, he would quickly escalate to the thick of the “Championship Frontrunners” conversation. Brothers Todd and Cary Bettenhausen come from a racing-royalty pedigree and have been stalwarts on the IndyCar sim-racing scene for years, and while consistency is an issue with the Bettenhausen brothers – speed is not. You’ll see them both qualify at or near the front of the grid on most nearly every oval track. With a break or influx of luck, either could live up to the family name as respected race winners.
The 16th Street Racing League schedule features a mix of ovals and road courses.
The New Kids
The iRacing Official Series has seen a flood of new young talent that has shown enough speed to unseat many of the long-time contenders in the league. Banshee Autosport teammates Jon Prozuc and Brad Sanford are fast and could potentially make a name for themselves over the course of the next 19 races. Another speedy newcomer, Slowpoke Racing’s Jeremy Poole expressed frustration over not being included in the Top 35; his pace was not an issue, his penchant for blocking … was. But many feel like Poole will quickly rise to the top of the Transfer Race field and become a front-running competitor in the Feature field. The same can be said for Poole’s teammate Erick Davis, whose poor decision-making on ovals left him on the outside looking in, but Davis is consistently fast on road courses and equally quick on ovals. Call them the Wild Cards, but they all could surprise some people before the season comes to a conclusion.
Where is P1?
While the 16th Street Racing League claims be the premiere iRacing sim league amongst IndyCar racers, there is one notable omission: P1 Racing. The undisputed Team Penske of sim-racing decided not to enter to kick off the season, otherwise nearly the entire lineup of sim legend John Paquin, Rhawn Black, Marty Sponsler and Danno Brookins would have immediately been penciled into the championship conversation alongside Yang Ou, Stroud and Doyle. Many insiders wonder – hope, even – that once the league gets rolling that many of the P1 elite will have a change of heart and come join the party. If that happens, the championship dynamic will take a dramatic turn.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/iracing-news/16th-street-racing-league-reborn
Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida
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Continue reading Nissan and Playstation preview second season of GT Academy
Nissan and Playstation preview second season of GT Academy originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jesús Iglesias Taki Inoue Innes Ireland Eddie Irvine Chris Irwin
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“The car was quick early as we moved up to 17th and were challenging for more,” explained Bowles. “As we were taking the wave around on the third caution I felt like I had a flat right rear. Pitting on the wave around got us a drive through penalty which really put us behind. Later in the race we had a vibration and I had to make another un-scheduled pit-stop. After that it was just about bringing the car home and getting the best possible finish we could.”
The 28th place finish was definitely a let-down for the MacDonald Motorsports team as they knew they had a quick race car following qualifying. The Thrush & Son/HI-Technologies No. 81 advanced towards the front early on before getting tight. A caution flag allowed crew chief John Monsam to make some changes to the car, which really helped getting the car to turn.
“We got the car pretty good there after the first pit-stop but we’ll never know how it would have turned out,” said Jason after the race. “I feel bad for the guys and everyone at Thrush & Son Complete Home Improvement but there’s always next week. I really want to thank Thrush & Son, HI-Technologies, Megabus.com, and Barbizon Modeling Agency for their support this weekend. On to Kansas next week.”
Despite the poor finish, Jason remained 13th in the 2012 Driver Standings. The No. 81 also remains 22nd in the owner’s points.
Next weekend the MacDonald Motorsports team makes their way to Kansas Speedway. The Kansas Lottery 300 can be seen live on ESPN at 3:00PM ET Saturday, October 20th.
Follow Jason Bowles on Social Media….. Keep up with everything that Jason is doing by following him on twitter @bowlesjason. Fans can also follow the race team on twitter @mms81_pr.
Follow Thrush & Son on Social Media….. Learn more about Thrush & Son and HI-Technologies on twitter @thrush_and_son, on facebook, and at their websites, www.thrushandson.com and www.hi-technologies.com.
About C.H.I.P.
CHIP is a 100% web based business software that saves time and money. CHIP tracks closing rates while also controlling commissions of a company’s sales force and contracted labor costs. This program organizes customers’ information and record keeping. It also configures mailing lists, creates material orders and generates all work orders for projects that are sold. CHIP also offers the capability to track profit and loss for each project that is entered into the program to let an owner or manager know where they stand on that job. All of this is done with a few simple clicks of a button and can be from accessed anywhere via internet explorer. No matter the size of a home improvement company, CHIP will allow for growth and enable a business to become more profitable. This is done by saving time and money on each job, controlling a work force and organizing a home improvement company’s day-to-day business operations! This business solution was created by a contractor with simplicity in mind for other contractors in the home improvement industry.
About Thrush & Son Complete Home Improvement
Thrush & Son: Complete Home Improvement Company has been a respected leader in the home improvement industry since 1960. W. Allen Thrush (Pres/CEO) purchased the company from his father in 1989 and that’s when the company began to grow and evolve into the industry leader that it is today. Thrush & Son has been recognized in numerous national publications. Thrush & Son takes pride in their quality craftsmanship and the fact that after 52 years in the industry, they are still truly a family owned and operated business. Whether your home has been damaged by a severe storm or you are interested in a new roof, windows, siding, patio covers, gutters, or insulation Thrush & Son has all the bases covered when it comes to transforming a house into a dream home.
MacDonald Motorsports
MacDonald Motorsports Owner Randy MacDonald has been around the NASCAR circles since 1985, when he began his own racing career with the loving support of his father “Doc” and his mother Pat MacDonald. As a NASCAR driver, Randy was successful in making it all the way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The MacDonald family became NASCAR team owners in 1986 and have fielded cars in all three of NASCAR’s elite series following faith based principles. MacDonald Motorsports focuses on assisting our sponsors with strategically increasing the overall awareness of corporate messaging or brand recognition by consistently articulating the message to be delivered through motorsports. MacDonald Motorsports offers drivers opportunities to gain experience from grass roots all the way through the elite series of NASCAR.
Source: MacDonald Motorsports Press Release
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Ernst Klodwig Kamui Kobayashi Helmuth Koinigg Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick
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NAPA VALLEY, Calif. (October 30, 2012) - The United States Air Force 25 Hours of 
Thunderhill race is just over a month away with plenty of high profile entries preparing for the twice around the clock plus one hour race to be run at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California on December 8-9. Two exciting entries are the Team Honda Research - West Acura ILX and the Rimicci Corse Fiat 500 Abarth.
ACURA ILX Team Honda Research - West, located in Los Angeles, is building a pair of Acura ILX cars for the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The build was completed in time for this week's Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas.
Calvin Liu, Team Honda Research - West project leader, created the build plan and schedule early in the year as the team not-so-patiently waited for the cars to arrive. Once the new chassis and donor cars arrived in late summer, the bodies were prepped and painted. Next, the roll cages were installed. Once the team received the donor cars from Acura Public Relations, the work began in earnest. Following the primal fun of tearing down the donor cars, the suspension, powertrain, interior and electronics were fitted to the two new white-body chassis.
"Team Honda Research - West, with support from American Honda and HPD, has entered two Acura ILX cars to highlight the performance credentials of the new entry level Acura," Liu said. "Team members from Honda R&D, American Honda Motor Company, Honda Access America and Honda Performance Development (HPD) have been contributing many after-work hours, including weekends, to build the two cars. The team has completed two shakedown tests of the first ILX at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and a third, more extensive test at Willow Springs International Raceway prior to delivering one of the cars for display at SEMA in Las Vegas."
Liu likes the challenge that running Thunderhill Raceway for 25 hours provides to car and driver.
"We are racing in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill because the track layout offers a great blend of speed, handling, and braking. It is a grueling event that taxes all parts of the car and team, like engine, transmission, suspension, and strategy. While we could go out and just run a test all by ourselves and get the mileage, Honda thrives on competition. It is one thing to say you did all this testing, but it is another to conquer the elements, show mechanical durability and speed, and to measure yourself against the competition."
Honda has a rich history at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. With entries ranging from individual Honda associate-run teams to full, HPD-supported efforts such as the Honda CRZ hybrid program of 2010, Honda-affiliated teams have been on the grid of every 25 Hours of Thunderhill since 2003.
Rimicci Fiat 500 Rimicci Corse, based in Northridge, Calif., has built a Fiat 500 Abarth to compete in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Anthony Rimicci, team principal, is utilizing the two-day event as a part of the development program for the car. Rimicci will partner with GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge driver and 25-hour veteran Johnny Kanavas, brother and Alfa Romeo racer Fabrizio Rimicci, and longtime vintage racing friend Efrain Olivares in hopes that the Abarth will somehow survive the longest endurance race in the world.
Rimicci Abarth
Anthony Rimicci with Rimicci Corse Fiat Abarth 500.
"One great thing about being Italian is that you have a huge family, which means you have a lot of people you can ask for help," said Rimicci. "Also, it means we'll have an espresso machine in our trailer to keep the guys going through the night. The 25 Hour will be a big challenge, but we also expect it to be a lot of fun. We can't think of a better scenario to test the Abarth under race conditions and really push its limits. There are a lot of parts that have been built specifically for the car and we really want to put them to the test to get ready for next season."
Jerry Kunzman, NASA Executive Director, likes the mix of privateer and "skunk work" factory teams that populate the diverse grid for the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill.
"There is a nice mix of top privateer, semi-factory and full factory backed entries for the 25 Hours," Kunzman said. "The teams with factory affiliation look forward to competing with the best privateer teams the sport has to offer. The Team Honda Research - West guys are no strangers to the 25 Hours. They have been with us since the first one in 2003. Rimicci has a very interesting Fiat 500. I am looking forward to seeing that great looking car on the track come December."
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/10/team_honda_research_-_wes.php
James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman
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Source: http://thefinallap.com/2012/10/24/33350/
José Froilán González Oscar González Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon
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Filed under: SEMA Show
We obsessively covered Day 1 of the 2012 SEMA Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/30/we-obsessively-covered-day-1-of-the-2012-sema-show/
Cecil Green Keith Greene Masten Gregory Cliff Griffith Georges Grignard
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In 1994, Toyota wrote a love letter to the AARP and called it Avalon. A stretched Camry, the Avalon replicated the classic American car with a vast rear seat, a column shifter, and a front bench seat. Even the name served up a warm bowl of nostalgia, simultaneously conjuring up the old movie house on Main Street, Hugh Downs, and a backrub from Jessica Tandy. Soft, comfortable, and spacious, the Avalon chased the Big Three right down the big-car rabbit hole. READ MORE››
Helm Glöckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort Christian Goethals Paul Goldsmith
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Jimmie Johnson jumped back up to the lead of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with his fourth win of the season and his seventh at Martinsville Speedway.
The victory puts Johnson two points ahead of Penske’s Brad Keselowski with just three races to go.
Johnson got maximum points after a gruelling 500 laps. He led more laps than any of his rivals while battling some tough opposition headed by Michael Waltrip Racing’s Clint Bowyer and his Hendrick team-mate Jeff Gordon.
Five-time champion Johnson overtook Keselowski with 14 laps remaining after the former Chase leader elected to stay on the track when the penultimate caution waved with 25 laps to go. Johnson, who led the field at the time, pitted for new left side tyres, a move that most behind him followed.
With more grip at his disposal and in a car often the class of the field on Sunday, Johnson was the first of a number of drivers to dispose of Keselowski’s #2 Dodge before the last caution waved for an incident involving Dale Earnhardt Jr and Carl Edwards.
Once the green waved for the last five laps, Johnson held off the charging Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch, who recovered from an early spin to be in contention but could not prevent Johnson from scoring his most valuable win of the year.
“We just had a great race car,” said Johnson. “And I think we’ve also learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late and that certainly came into play and we made the right decision there.
I’m so torn with emotion right now with winning here; and I’m so happy to be in the point lead.”
Keselowski fell back to sixth – still a good result from 32nd on the grid. With JGR’s Denny Hamlin all but out of title contention after succumbing to electrical glitches, a two-horse race is now brewing between Johnson and Keselowski.
Bowyer came out on top from a clash with Gordon in the closing laps and moved up to third in the Chase with his fifth place finish behind Kasey Kahne’s Hendrick Chevrolet and the impressive Aric Almirola in the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
After running among the top 10, Earnhardt’s late spin, caused by contact from Edwards, meant he finished as the last car on the lead lap on his return to Cup competition following a two-week absence with concussion.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/johnson-takes-chase-lead-with-win
Alan Jones Tom Jones Juan Jover Oswald Karch Narain Karthikeyan
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McLaren believes that different track characteristics could be enough to wipe out Red Bull’s advantage at the front of the field, as it targets ending its rival’s dominant streak.
Sebastian Vettel has won the last four grands prix, and the extent of the advantage he has enjoyed in recent races has prompted some to suggest that he could win all the remaining races this season.
But McLaren sporting director Sam Michael thinks that the competitive situation is more flexible than recent results suggest.
“The performance can swing from one track to another by a couple of tenths,” he explained.
“There are two or three tenths in terms of qualifying and, if you have that performance from [starting on] the front row, then you have a better chance.
“So if no one upgraded cars, there would still be a reasonable chance you can have a go at [Red Bull].
“But in terms of the overall championship it is quite different, because they need to have DNFs for people to take the title, and the chances of that happening are pretty slim.”
Michael believes that the fact the F1 field is so competitive means that no team can be confident about its chances on any track.
“There is a swing from one circuit to another, and it is not to do with the developments you put on the car,” he said.
“In days gone by, when you had a one second advantage over other cars, you could be confident you would not get those trends.
“But now there are no favourite tracks, so you don’t know if you are going to be competitive until you get there.”
William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray
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Mark Webber believes the Indian Grand Prix will be closer than qualifying was after his Red Bull team swept to its third consecutive front-row lockout.
The Australian will line up alongside pole position man Sebastian Vettel.
Webber, who admitted he was surprised to be second on the grid having not been able to put a clean flying lap together in Q3, said afterwards that while the team has a dominant advantage in qualifying trim he expects that to be trimmed back in the race.
“I think we are pretty good on Saturdays and we’ve shown that in the last few events now, and Sundays,” said Webber.
“But tomorrow could be a good race, I think it’s going to be tighter between all of us, but I still think that we should have enough.”
Webber made a mistake on his first flying lap, but that still proved to be good enough for second, while his next attempt was ruined when he got caught behind the two McLarens on his out-lap.
The two teams had different approaches to tyre preparation on their out-laps and Webber found that he was not able to get enough heat into his Pirellis in order to have enough grip for the start of his second flying lap.
“It wasn’t the smoothest session for me,” he said. “The lap wasn’t too bad, but I got on the Astroturf a bit on the last corner so for sure I didn’t have the cleanest run to the start finish line. That was disappointing, but I am driving car. I did my best, it was close.
“It was obviously a pretty tight run thing between Seb and I didn’t get to do my last attempt.
“Obviously the McLarens were doing very slow out-laps to get their tyres ready for the lap – which is different to us – and I had no grip in the first sector because of the build-up lap, so I didn’t get to do my second attempt which would have been nice. But anyway I was surprised to end up second and I will take that.”
Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet
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Though he was looking for a better result in Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch felt that he and the Denver-based team learned a lot about each other in a short period of time.
“As a competitive racer you always want to go out there and be a contender, but on the other hand when you’re starting something new you need to focus on the big picture and that big picture is to get primed and ready for the start of the 2013 season.
“Finishing 21st might not appear that we made progress, but the fact of the matter is that we did in our first three days together at the track. But we’re also realistic, knowing that there will be more kinks along the way to work out in the final five races of the season.”
Busch was encouraged about how the Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet charged to the front at the beginning of the race. After starting 21st in the 334-lap, 500-mile event, Busch quickly gained on the field, running in 11th place by Lap 23.
“It initially appeared that we had the No. 78 hooked up and all systems looked solid,” noted Busch. “But then we ran into a binding problem with the car and it started to slow down.
“We also had handling problems later in the race and never could get in the lucky dog position and back on the lead lap. We have some things to work on, and having two days of testing in Kansas next week will give us additional time to sort things out. It’s been an exciting week working with Todd (Berrier, crew chief) and all of the crew guys. I was pumped before our first practice session on Thursday and I am even more pumped as we move forward.”
And speaking of moving forward, the next race on the Sprint Cup Series tour will be Sunday (Oct. 21) at the newly-paved Kansas Speedway. Because of the new Kansas track surface, Sprint Cup teams will conduct test sessions at the 1.5-mile oval on Wednesday and Thursday. The first official practice session will be on Friday.
The Charlotte race winner was Clint Bowyer. Rounding out the top-10 in order were: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.
The race had 20 lead changes among eight drivers and there were five cautions for 23 laps.
Source: DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing, Press Release
The post Kurt Busch Offers Mixed Reviews in Furniture Row Racing Debut appeared first on Catchfence.
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Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle
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NHRA
GLENDORA, Calif. Jan. 4, 2012
Global iPrint, a premier printing and distribution company, has signed a three-year agreement to become the "Official Print Sponsor" of NHRA.
Based in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Global iPrint offers a number of printing services including offset printing, digital printing, large-format printing, mailing services, bindery, specialty finishing and distribution. As the preferred printer, Global iPrint will provide a wide array of services to the world's largest motorsports sanctioning body. "Given the enormous printing needs of NHRA throughout the year, Global iPrint will be able to provide professional and timely printing capabilities for all of our applications," said Tony Driscoll, vice president of sales and business development of NHRA.
As part of the multi-year agreement, Global iPrint will provide exclusive incentives and programs for NHRA sponsors, teams and members in hopes to fully integrate its capabilities into the NHRA Drag Racing community. Global iPrint will receive advertising in National DRAGSTER as well as introductions by NHRA to the entire racing community.
"We are excited to get involved with all aspects of NHRA's business," said Brian Rozansky, president of Global iPrint. "Our mission is to create an atmosphere to encourage teamwork and challenge our people to consistently meet and exceed the expectations of our clients. Our core team has been involved in all facets of the printing industry since the early 70s and we want to bring our expertise, technology and industry innovations and advances to bear on behalf of the NHRA community."
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 23 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/global_iprint_named_offic.php
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Heikki Kovalainen – 20th: “It’s been a pretty good weekend so far. The balance has been better than we had in Korea and on my first run in qualifying the car felt ok. There was more to come but I had a bit of traffic that held me up and then on my second run I caught up with a bunch of cars going into turn 10 and lost a bit of grip, enough to put me off. I wasn’t going in too hard and there weren’t any issues with the car, I just lost the front end and even with the spin I didn’t lose any positions so I think we can still have a good race tomorrow.”
Vitaly Petrov – 19th: “I’m really happy with where we finished up today. All weekend the team has done a good job and I’ve had a balance I’ve been happy with in every session. We made a couple of changes for quali and the way the car felt and my laptimes showed that we made some progress, so I’m pleased with that. Now we’re looking ahead to tomorrow and to be honest anything could happen. Nobody’s too sure what tyre strategies will be run, it could be one stop or two, so we’ll look at that tonight and I’m pretty sure that if we make the right choice we could have a decent result in the race.”
Mike Hawthorn Boy Hayje Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich
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On Tuesday, we posted an audio recording of a mystery car’s exhaust note. To hear it again, click play above. A good number of those who commented figured out that this week’s sound came from 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S. The car’s 400-hp, 3.8-liter flat-six makes wonderful music, and its ability to punt the coupe from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 188 mph ain’t bad, either.
Like that sound? Download the MP3 and quiz your friends, make your own ringtone, or just lull yourself to sleep with sweet, sweet vehicular ear candy.
2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S MP3 (Right-click to Save As…)
Read full story »Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/WTfgrSHisvA/
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Brad Keselowski is glad to have come out ‘alive’ in the championship from Sunday’s Chase round at Martinsville, despite losing the points lead to Jimmie Johnson.
The Penske driver overcame a poor qualifying in which he finished 32nd to eventually break into the top ten in the deciding stages, where he made a late gamble to stay on the track when most of the leaders pitted ahead of him for fresh rubber.
Although Johnson eventually made quick work of him to reclaim the lead, Keselowski managed to remain in the top-five until the last caution waved.
On the final restart with five laps remaining, he initially dropped to seventh but then managed to overtake Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon to claim sixth, his best career result at Martinsville.
“It just feels like you live another day,” said Keselowski about his top-ten finish. “It’s like being in a war and surviving a battle. It’s not necessarily a win, you’re just happy to still be living.”
Keselowski now trails Johnson by two points in the Cup standing but remains confident of challenging the Hendrick driver for this year’s title.
He believes the championship will go down to the wire and is particularly optimistic about his potential for two of the three tracks remaining in the Chase schedule.
“This championship is going to come down to Homestead,” said Keselowski. “You just have to be in position where you’ve got a shot at it and we’re doing the things it’s going to take to be in contention at Homestead. We’ve got Texas coming up, very similar to Chicago. I’m sure it’s going to be a duel.
“I feel really confident going into Texas and Homestead. I feel like those are two races that we can race [Johnson] heads-up in speed and maybe even a little bit better than them. I’m not quite so sure about Phoenix but you know the execution we have in this team right now is second to none.
“If we’d have had just a little bit more speed this week and last week, I think we could have been in victory lane. Like I say we’ve got a couple races coming up where I know we’re going to have speed and I’m feeling great.”
The former Nationwide Series champion is hoping to give Roger Penske its maiden Sprint Cup series in his team’s final season with Dodge before it switches to Ford for 2013.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/keselowski-glad-to-survive-race
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Fiat’s range of bantam 500s is set to grow even larger this November, with the company debuting an electric 500 and a convertible version of the Abarth at the 2012 L.A. auto show. Chrysler and Fiat didn’t make the announcement, but the L.A. auto show’s official newsletter, sent out this week, talks about the pair’s debut. 
Both vehicles will take the forms you’d expect. The 500 Abarth cabrio is an Abarth with the 500c‘s giant fabric sunroof, carrying over the hatchback’s 170-hp turbo four and five-speed stick. Marking the Chrysler Group’s first commercially available EV in the U.S., the 500E will carry a 100-hp electric motor—that’s only 1 hp down on the gasoline engine in a normal 500. Fiat and Chrysler aren’t terribly enthusiastic about the 500E, and pushed back its launch from 2012 to 2013. The plan is to sell or lease it in very limited numbers, and mainly just to satisfy California and federal regulators. (We just heard similar sentiments from a number of major suppliers and car company execs.)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/1kcjDk_q63o/
Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien
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Denny Hamlin admits he will have to wait another year in order to fight for his maiden Sprint Cup title after electrical issues hampered his progress in an eventful race at Martinsville.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver endured a tough afternoon. He weathered two pit-speeding penalties to get back in contention at the front of the field only to succumb to an apparent issue with the master power switch 107 laps from the end.
“It ended in disappointment, but we overcame the pit road penalties and things like that and just had a great car,” said Hamlin. “Just when these things happen you’ve just got to suck it up and move on.
“There’s nothing I could do about it. So, one of these days it’s going to be our time, it’s just not going to be right now.”
Hamlin’s recoveries from his two speeding penalties, which forced him to restart from the tail-end of the lead-lap cars, showed he had the speed to contend for a victory that would have boosted his title hopes.
Instead, his 33rd-place finish means he now trails Chase leader Jimmie Johnson by 49 points in the drivers’ standing.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who led at the start of the playoff thanks to his four victories during the regular season, claims he will now relax and enjoy the rest of the year.
“Just have fun – that’s all I can do,” said Hamlin. “Just go out there and be relaxed and enjoy this championship battle that’s shaping up. It’s a shame we can’t be a part of it, but we’re going to try to work our way as far up in the points as we possibly can and just keep digging.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/hamlin-concedes-title-hopes-are-gone
Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle
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Raikkonen: Qualifying improvement needed in 2013 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Kimi Raikkonen says qualifying will be a key area for improvement in his second season with Lotus next year.
In a Q&A released by the team Raikkonen said: “This season has shown that you have to be on first two rows to be able to win every time.
“It’s important to improve our grid positions for 2013. That’s one of main targets for me.”
Raikkonen believes he has defied the doubters on his return to Formula One this year: “I think there were a few people who had doubts about how I would perform after being away for a while.
“Personally, I didn’t feel I stopped racing at all. I may have been doing something different with rallying, but after coming back to Formula One I immediately felt fit enough – and fast enough – to start racing again.
“My hunger for winning is exactly the same as always and I think I’ve shown that I’m capable of fighting for victories. Obviously there have been none so far this year, but we have come close a few times and for sure we’ll keep on trying for as long as it takes to start winning again.”
Earlier today Lotus confirmed Raikkonen will see out the second year of his contract with them in 2013. Raikkonen is third in the championship at present and believes he can do better next year:
“I have been very happy with the team; how they work, how they approach the races and how they invest in developing the car. I think with the progress behind the scenes at Enstone we could be fighting for the podium even more often next year and also be able to make a stronger challenge for the championship.”
“This season has shown me that I still love racing as much as I ever did,” he added. “Obviously, I would have not come back to the sport if I did not feel like this. Driving a Formula 1 car still gives me the same inspiration and I feel the same passion for it.”
Image © Lotus F1 Team/LAT
Raikkonen: Qualifying improvement needed in 2013 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/QN4hhO_R9EA/
John Anderson Kent Andersson George Andrews Luigi Anelli Marcel Ankone
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