Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/14/2605755/from-twitter-to-tv-initiative.html
David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Detroit: 2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper
Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, BMW, Luxury
The redesigned BMW Z4 was rolled out onto the show floor at the Detroit Auto Show, with the example in question being an sDrive35is variant, with the just-less-than-screaming Hyper Orange Package. The exclusive colorway includes the metallic orange paintjob, as well as trim-specific seats, stitching and accents for the interior. More importantly, the 35is driveline means that you'll find a high-output version of the turbocharged 3.0-liter N54 engine, here outputting 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, and a 7-speed DCT gearbox.
Two slightly less ferociously powered versions of the Z4 will be available for the new model year, too (both familiar). The Z4 sDrive35i is good for 300 hp and 300 lb-ft, while the still-potent sDrive28i features a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder making 240 hp and 260 lb-ft.
You'll fine some more details about the 2014 BMW Z4 in our original news story about the model here, or by scrolling down to read the full BMW press release.
Continue reading 2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper
2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/14/2014-bmw-z4-detroit-2013/
Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot
Monday, January 14, 2013
Detroit: Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, Volkswagen
As part of its 2013 Detroit Auto Show debut package, Volkswagen has rolled out a sportier version of the Passat sedan, though it's strictly conceptual for now. A small dose of go-fast visuals have been added to the handsome Volkswagen, including 19-inch wheels, carbon-capped mirrors, an advanced front lighting system, LED taillamps and dual exhaust. Some carbon bits and upgraded leather are found inside the cabin, as well.
But the real performance chops come in the form of a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that sends 250 horsepower to the Passat's front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. That's a good boost in power over the 170 hp of the base 2.5-liter inline-five, but not quite as potent as the 3.6-liter VR6. A lowered sport suspension and revised electronic steering are also on hand, making things slightly more involving out on the road... we assume.
It's not quite the performance concept we were hoping for, but a more enthusiastic Passat isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scroll down for the press release.
Continue reading Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept
Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/14/volkswagen-passat-performance-concept-detroit-2013/
Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Day 2 Afternoon Crash Q&A with Toyota Racing Drivers
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything happening in front of me. Just saw the smoke and then a car sideways and I started trying to check up. I feel like I did a pretty good job checking up. The guy behind me got into me a little bit so I knew I couldn’t slow down more so I just had to try to find a lane to get through and I saw the 43 (Aric Almirola) come across the race track so I turned left to miss it and I shot the gap and when I did somebody was on my inside and just hit me in the left rear a little bit. That’s just the major damage right there on the left rear. Everything else is fine. It’s all cosmetic so I don’t think it’s that bad.”
Toyota Racing Logo
How was the drafting on the race track with a larger pack? “It’s okay. The first time we went out we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything. There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backwards and so everybody was working their way high and I think some guys just got checked up and that’s what caused the wreck.”
What are your impressions of the new car? “It’s just like anything else, there’s going to be an adapting period and having to get used to what the cars feel like and how they drive and what not. I’m good with it. I think our car’s pretty good. The M&M’s car was fast and felt stable and better than some other guys.”
What has it been like having Matt Kenseth as a teammate? “Matt’s (Kenseth) been good. He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of leadership and been around for a while and won a championship. So, it’s good to lean on a guy like that and talk to a guy like that and have somebody in your corner like that. We had it with (Tony) Stewart when he was at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and he was really, really good and then he moved on to his own deal. Now that Matt is there I think that kind of replaces Stewart a little bit. Matt’s a little bit more low key about his business than Stewart may be.”
MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I was very close to being in it. I was the first car back from (Dale Earnhardt) Junior when it all started out in the front of Junior’s car. It’s a Daytona thing. That’s Daytona. That doesn’t have nothing to do with the new cars or anything else. That’s just normal Daytona stuff.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “Carnage. I don’t know. The 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the 9 (Marcos Ambrose) kind of got together a little bit and the 9 got turned into the wall on the back stretch. I missed the 9 by about an eighth of an inch so I was pretty happy.”
Were you afraid to go back out on the race track after the big wreck? “Well, no, but our car is kind of bent up a little bit so they want to take it back up to the shop and fix it. It’s not bad (on the rear quarter panel), but we kind of got done with everything we wanted to and the car is in good shape. I was happy with it. It has great speed and it’s going to be our Shootout car, so they figured they would go home to fix it and I think everybody has pretty much had enough anyway.”
Did you expect to have an accident while drafting? “You never really expect it to happen, but you always know in the back of your mind that there’s potential for it. At Daytona and Talladega that’s just kind of the way that it is. But, I will tell you that I was really happy with the way the drafting was out there. I really enjoyed it. It took me back to when I was running Nationwide and the way those cars drafted and early in my Cup career when we had the older cars. I thought it was really good. It didn’t really help me to push a guy, but you could get right up to them, give them some momentum and you get runs on the leader. I passed the leader a few times, which has been difficult to do the past few years. I thought the drafting was great. Getting the bumpers lined up and figuring out how hard you can hit someone when you kind of get jammed up in the middle of the pack there, that’s all stuff that’s going to be learned and figured out as we go. But, I was really happy with the way the drafting went — the speeds and the way the cars drove. My car drove phenomenal. I had good speed, so I’m happy and ready to come back and do some racing.”
What was the biggest thing you learned from drafting in the big pack? “The biggest thing was just how the draft was working kind of more like it used to be. There were no two-car tandems. It was somewhat difficult to get on a guy’s bumper and push him, but again you get that little air bubble between you and you could get a guy rolling and get a guy moving in front of you and give him some good momentum and make some passes. It was cool being able to back up off the leader and get runs and take the lead and do things like you used to do. It was a little bit more strategy involved than just holding it wide open and hitting the guy in front of you as hard as you could, so I thought it was cool. It was a lot of fun and I think it’s going to put on a great show when we come back down here.”
Source: Toyota Racing, Press Release
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/CA1QW4XC4hU/
Oscar Alfredo G·lvez Fred Gamble Howden Ganley Frank Gardner
This Week: Bronx Ped Safety, Brooklyn Gateway, Transit Trivia
Last week, we covered the efforts of advocates to get the city and state to complete the missing link in the Bronx River Greenway by building phase two of Starlight Park. That isn’t the only action happening along the greenway: There are two community board meetings this week to improve safety at pedestrian crossings leading to Concrete Plant Park.
Also this week: talk transportation in the neighborhoods near Downtown Brooklyn, help improve the G train, and test your transit knowledge.
- Tuesday: Brooklyn Community Board 2 will discuss the Brooklyn Gateway Transportation Vision Plan. 6:00 p.m.
- Tuesday and Wednesday: DOT and the Bronx River Alliance are meeting with community board committees about safer pedestrian crossings near Concrete Plant Park. On Tuesday, Bronx CB 9 meets at 6:00 p.m., and on Wednesday, Bronx CB 2 meets at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday: Join the Riders Alliance at a strategy session to win better G train service, including more frequent service, better communication with riders, and more free transfers from the G to other lines. 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday: DOT is presenting its commercial bicycling and pedestrian wayfinding initiatives at Brooklyn Community Board 6, covering Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Red Hook. Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday: Tickets for the New York Transit Museum’s first trivia night — where teams test their knowledge of transit-themed movies, music, history and culture – are sold out. But the museum’s website indicates that additional tickets will be made available 30 minutes before the event. 7:00 p.m.
Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/01/14/this-week-bronx-ped-safety-brooklyn-gateway-transit-trivia/
Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman
Will Cy Vance and New York’s District Attorneys Push for Traffic Law Reform?
On Tuesday the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York released its agenda for cleaning up and toughening state and federal gun laws. Manhattan DA Cy Vance, named to a one-year term as DAASNY president last summer, announced that the organization had sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders with a host of proposals, ranging from restrictions on high capacity magazines to stiffer penalties for gun crimes and changes to mental health laws.
Cy Vance. Photo: Getty via Politicker
Said Vance in a statement:
Week after week, innocent victims are gunned down while trying to go about their daily lives. We in government must do more for ordinary citizens, in New York and around the country. New York has long been a leader in sound gun control policy while respecting the Second Amendment. The proposals we support would strengthen our ability to protect New Yorkers against senseless gun violence by keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals and emotionally disturbed individuals.
In New York City, where people in cars kill roughly as many victims as do people with guns, survivors and advocates have long called for legislative action to advance the cause of traffic justice. While it’s too early for specifics, vehicular crimes law is also on this year’s DAASNY agenda, according to Vance’s office.
“The DAASNY legislative affairs committee, which creates the legislative agenda with input and consensus of members, has a subcommittee on vehicular crime,” said Vance spokesperson Erin Duggan, in an email to Streetsblog. “The bipartisan, upstate/downstate DAASNY gun agreement shows that sensible fixes to the laws are possible. There are a number of areas DAASNY will weigh in on this year, as consensus is reached with the 62 members.”
There are plenty of fixes to be made.
Vehicular laws in New York State are weak and rife with loopholes. Criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony, the least severe of all felony categories, with a minimum sentence of probation. The state’s vulnerable user law has been interpreted by NYPD to exclude offenses that are not witnessed by a police officer. In the aftermath of a serious crash, motorists suspected of DWI can delay the collection of blood evidence at will. To get a hit-and-run conviction, prosecutors must practically convince a jury that they can read a defendant’s mind, giving rise to the highly successful “I didn’t see her” defense. Compounding the obstacles presented by labyrinthine statutes, the state’s highest court has repeatedly undermined prosecutions, betraying a bias against vehicular crimes cases.
Prosecutors concerned with conviction rates are reluctant to pursue charges in such an environment. When they do, outcomes can be maddeningly unpredictable. In court, victims are put on trial along with their drunken killers. Judges throw out guilty verdicts. Just yesterday the Post reported that a grand jury failed to indict a Queens motorist for attempted murder for an incident in which he allegedly dragged two police officers and struck a third with an SUV.
All of which points to a need for decisive leadership on the part of the state’s district attorneys. Maureen McCormick, a vehicular crimes specialist whose boss, Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, is nationally known for pursuing murder charges in DWI fatalities, has spoken often of efforts to reform the traffic code. While running for office in 2009, Vance pledged, among other measures, to push for heightened penalties for habitual reckless drivers, and for vehicular homicides and assaults that do not involve alcohol or drugs.
As the chief advocate for New York’s top prosecutors, Vance is in a unique position to help himself and his colleagues by making good on his traffic safety platform.
Says attorney Steve Vaccaro, who represents families that have lost loved ones to vehicular violence: “You can’t kill multiple people with a single shot of a gun. You can’t put down a gun and have it kill people while you aren’t operating it. How can we regulate guns so strictly in the city — and rightly so — without recognizing the need to regulate driving even more strictly?”
Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Stoner decided to retire after 2011 title
Honda has revealed that Casey Stoner decided 2012 would be his MotoGP farewell as soon he won the ’11 title.
HRC chief Shuhei Nakamoto said he spent several months trying to persuade the double world champion to reconsider before Stoner revealed in France last May that he would retire at the end of the year.
“Casey told us [in 2011] that he was thinking to retire at the end of 2012. It was after he won the Australian GP to secure the championship,” Nakamoto said.
“He still had one more year to run on his contract with us, so he said he would ride for Honda in 2012, but it was quite a shock to hear he wanted to retire.
“Ever since the season began, he kept saying he wanted to make his decision public. Naturally, we really wanted him to continue with us and repeatedly tried to persuade him to reconsider, but Casey’s mind was made up.
“It was at round four in France that he finally got his way and announced his plans during the Thursday press conference. I was OK with that, since I thought it would motivate him to win his final championship and retire in a blaze of glory.
“Unfortunately it didn’t turn out like that, but he still had a great final season.”
Nakamoto added that Honda would always be willing to have Stoner back if he wanted to return.
“We held a farewell party for him on the Monday night after the Valencia GP,” he said. “After the party was over, the two of us stayed on, chatting, and I found I couldn’t control my tears. I really felt so sad about him leaving MotoGP.
“The following day I was asked by a number of Casey’s friends what I said to him that night. When I asked why they wanted to know, they said that Casey, who had never wavered until then in his decision to retire, had said ‘maybe after all I should keep on racing…’
“Right from the first day Casey came to ride for Repsol Honda, pretty much every day he came up with something new that astonished us. I don’t know of any other rider that is such fun to work with.
“I hope he quickly recovers from his injury, and if he ever decides to come back he will find a warm welcome waiting. I told him that’s always on offer.”
Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried
FanVision absent from F1 in 2013
Formula 1 fans will no longer have access to the popular FanVision sets during 2013 after the company in charge of the devices could not agree terms with Formula One Management.
FanVision, which originally entered F1 under the Kangaroo TV banner, had provided spectators in the grandstands with the opportunity to hire handheld screen units that broadcast television coverage of the races, as well as on-board camera footage, full commentary and statistical data.
In a statement issued on Thursday, FanVision said that efforts to sort a new deal out with FOM had failed – which left it with no choice but to leave F1.
“As you know we have, for some months, been trying to find the basis of an agreement between FanVision and FOM in order to continue providing the service in F1 in 2013,” said a FanVision spokeswoman.
“Unfortunately it is now clear that we are not going to be able to agree terms with FOM and very reluctantly we have to confirm that we won’t be in F1 in 2013. It’s a big blow for us.”
FanVision will continue to provide its services in NASCAR, NFL and golf, and it is unclear yet whether or not FOM has plans for a replacement service in F1.
Deep Dive: Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Crossover, Lincoln, Design/Style, Luxury, Deep Dive
Ford's efforts to resuscitate its moribund Lincoln luxury brand began in earnest with the introduction of its 2014 MKZ sedan, a model many labeled as the marque's make-or-break offering. Of course, one model does not a comeback make, and with the MKZ just now starting to trickle into dealers, it will be some time before America's jury of consumers comes in with their judgment. More to the point, it's likely to take better than a decade's worth of products and sustained marketing effort to even begin to figure out whether Lincoln has a shot at redemption or if it will die of Mercury poisoning. After all, rival General Motors has been pouring resources into Cadillac since the late '90s, and if the sales charts are any guidance, it's still probably too early to declare its rebirth a success.
Certainly, a brand with Ford's resources, free of distractions (read: the now-defunct Premier Auto Group and various other side projects) should be able to successfully market a single luxury brand, particularly one with such a rich - if distant - history. Especially now with the Blue Oval enjoying more consumer goodwill than at any time in recent history. So let's all give Alan Mulally and friends a little room to work, eh?We can start by focusing on the compact crossover seen before you, the Lincoln MKC Concept. Riding atop the same global C-platform that underpins the Ford C-Max, Escape and Focus, the MKC showcar here presages a production small CUV that will stick its distinctive nose into one of the auto industry's fastest-growing segments.
Continue reading Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]
Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/13/lincoln-mkc-concept-shows-real-promise/
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Day 2 Afternoon Crash Q&A with Toyota Racing Drivers
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything happening in front of me. Just saw the smoke and then a car sideways and I started trying to check up. I feel like I did a pretty good job checking up. The guy behind me got into me a little bit so I knew I couldn’t slow down more so I just had to try to find a lane to get through and I saw the 43 (Aric Almirola) come across the race track so I turned left to miss it and I shot the gap and when I did somebody was on my inside and just hit me in the left rear a little bit. That’s just the major damage right there on the left rear. Everything else is fine. It’s all cosmetic so I don’t think it’s that bad.”Toyota Racing Logo
How was the drafting on the race track with a larger pack? “It’s okay. The first time we went out we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything. There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backwards and so everybody was working their way high and I think some guys just got checked up and that’s what caused the wreck.”
What are your impressions of the new car? “It’s just like anything else, there’s going to be an adapting period and having to get used to what the cars feel like and how they drive and what not. I’m good with it. I think our car’s pretty good. The M&M’s car was fast and felt stable and better than some other guys.”
What has it been like having Matt Kenseth as a teammate? “Matt’s (Kenseth) been good. He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of leadership and been around for a while and won a championship. So, it’s good to lean on a guy like that and talk to a guy like that and have somebody in your corner like that. We had it with (Tony) Stewart when he was at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and he was really, really good and then he moved on to his own deal. Now that Matt is there I think that kind of replaces Stewart a little bit. Matt’s a little bit more low key about his business than Stewart may be.”
MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I was very close to being in it. I was the first car back from (Dale Earnhardt) Junior when it all started out in the front of Junior’s car. It’s a Daytona thing. That’s Daytona. That doesn’t have nothing to do with the new cars or anything else. That’s just normal Daytona stuff.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “Carnage. I don’t know. The 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the 9 (Marcos Ambrose) kind of got together a little bit and the 9 got turned into the wall on the back stretch. I missed the 9 by about an eighth of an inch so I was pretty happy.”
Were you afraid to go back out on the race track after the big wreck? “Well, no, but our car is kind of bent up a little bit so they want to take it back up to the shop and fix it. It’s not bad (on the rear quarter panel), but we kind of got done with everything we wanted to and the car is in good shape. I was happy with it. It has great speed and it’s going to be our Shootout car, so they figured they would go home to fix it and I think everybody has pretty much had enough anyway.”
Did you expect to have an accident while drafting? “You never really expect it to happen, but you always know in the back of your mind that there’s potential for it. At Daytona and Talladega that’s just kind of the way that it is. But, I will tell you that I was really happy with the way the drafting was out there. I really enjoyed it. It took me back to when I was running Nationwide and the way those cars drafted and early in my Cup career when we had the older cars. I thought it was really good. It didn’t really help me to push a guy, but you could get right up to them, give them some momentum and you get runs on the leader. I passed the leader a few times, which has been difficult to do the past few years. I thought the drafting was great. Getting the bumpers lined up and figuring out how hard you can hit someone when you kind of get jammed up in the middle of the pack there, that’s all stuff that’s going to be learned and figured out as we go. But, I was really happy with the way the drafting went — the speeds and the way the cars drove. My car drove phenomenal. I had good speed, so I’m happy and ready to come back and do some racing.”
What was the biggest thing you learned from drafting in the big pack? “The biggest thing was just how the draft was working kind of more like it used to be. There were no two-car tandems. It was somewhat difficult to get on a guy’s bumper and push him, but again you get that little air bubble between you and you could get a guy rolling and get a guy moving in front of you and give him some good momentum and make some passes. It was cool being able to back up off the leader and get runs and take the lead and do things like you used to do. It was a little bit more strategy involved than just holding it wide open and hitting the guy in front of you as hard as you could, so I thought it was cool. It was a lot of fun and I think it’s going to put on a great show when we come back down here.”
Source: Toyota Racing, Press Release
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/CA1QW4XC4hU/
Brabham would welcome GT return
Sportscar veteran David Brabham says that a drive in GT racing this year is just as appealing as remaining in the prototype ranks.
The Le Mans 24 Hours winner raced a HPD for privateer team JRM in the World Endurance Championship last year with Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok.
Having yet to secure a deal for the 2013 season, the Australian said he was evaluating opportunities in the WEC and in North America, and that a top GT drive would also appeal to him.
“I have no plans at the moment, but I’m looking around for opportunities,” he said on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX at AUTOSPORT International on Thursday.
“Whether it’s in US or the WEC I don’t mind. From a driving point of view I have lots left in me and I know what I can do in terms of contributing to a team.
“It’s tough out there, especially in sportscars, and I’d be happy doing a GT programme. I’ll drive anything.”
When questioned about the possibility of driving new Bentley Continental GT3, which is being displayed on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX, Brabham said: “It’s a lovely-looking bit of kit.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for Bentley and had a nice time when I drove the LMP car for them at Le Mans in 2003.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/brabham-would-welcome-gt-return
Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte
Quaife-Hobbs close to GP2 deal
Auto GP champion Adrian Quaife-Hobbs says he is on the brink of securing a GP2 drive for 2013 and has no interest in racing anywhere else this season.
Speaking at AUTOSPORT International, Quaife-Hobbs said securing the final part of his budget was the only remaining hurdle.
“That’s what holding us back from signing a deal at the moment, but we’re working on it and we’re quite close,” he said on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX.
“There’s less than half the grid signed at the moment so there’s not really a rush. We’ve got another six or seven weeks until we have go to testing.”
Quaife-Hobbs ruled out defending his Auto GP crown if he falls short on finance for GP2.
“There’s not another plan because that’s where we’re aiming to be and it’s where I need to be this year,” he said.
“I definitely wouldn’t be doing Auto GP again because I’ve won it.
“GP2 is where I need to be to get to Formula 1.”
The 21-year-old dominated Auto GP last season, and argued that his pace in GP2 testing proved that his 2012 success was down to his speed, not a lack of opposition.
“It’s never easy. We might’ve had fantastic results when you look at the CV, but nothing’s ever easy,” Quaife-Hobbs said.
“I think that was proved when I went into GP2 testing in the winter.
“I was second at Barcelona with Addax and then I was third at Jerez with Arden, and I’ve never been to the circuit. Two completely different teams and the same result, against drivers that have been doing GP2 for a number of years.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/formula-cars/gp2/quaife-hobbs-close-to-gp2-deal
KX Akademy reveals driver line-up
The KX Akademy has revealed its driver line-up for 2013 on the opening day of this year’s AUTOSPORT International.
The scheme, led by two-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato, will support seven drivers: Stefan Hodgetts, Tom Ingram, Daniel Lloyd, Sam Tordoff, Rob Boston, Luke Herbert and Ant Whorton-Eales across a variety of championships on the British TOCA package.
Speaking on the AUTOSPORT stage with KX on Thursday morning, Plato said: “There’s a lot of schemes out there to help single seater guys but there isn’t anything really to help saloon or GT drivers.
“So we put together an academy, looking up and down the world of motorsport and club racing, and we’ve got seven very talented guys who we want to assist.”
Plato explained that the KX Akademy was not simply a funding scheme for drivers.
“The funding we put in is a budget top-up,” he said. “It’s an amount that will make the difference to their season.
“What we don’t want to be doing is paying for their whole drive. There’s thousands of people in motorsport with no money, and if you’ve got no backing it doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re not going to succeed.
“Not only do these guys have to be talented in the car but they have to be shrewd operators. You’ve got to be sharp, you’ve got to be a salesman.
“If you haven’t got any sponsors, you’re not going to make it, and we don’t want to back those people.”
Plato is the mentor for KX, and he said he is enjoying the opportunity to help young drivers.
“I’ve learned a lot along the way in my career and it’s important for me to give a bit back,” he added.
“This is a great opportunity to share some of those things to help these guys in their careers.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/kx-akademy-reveals-driver-line-up
Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski
Saturday, January 12, 2013
M-Sport reveals 2013 Fiesta WRC
M-Sport has revealed its 2013 Ford Fiesta for this year’s World Rally Championship at AUTOSPORT International.
The team’s WRC future was placed in doubt over the winter following the announcement that Ford would withdraw its factory support at the end of 2012.
However, M-Sport has managed to sign a major deal with Qatar to keep it in the series, and it revealed its 2013 Fiesta WRC on the AUTOSPORT stage with KX on Thursday morning.
Team boss Malcolm Wilson said: “The last three months of last year were the most difficult of my business life.
“The reduced investment from Ford obviously put a lot of pressure on the team to find added investment.
“With the Fiesta WRC we have a fantastically competitive car and the last thing we wanted was not to be able to fight at the highest level.
“We’ve got Qatar on board which has filled a big hole. We’ve got some way to go but I’m confident that we can challenge for some good results and that will bring more interest.”
Mads Ostberg, who will be joined by Evgeny Novikov and Thierry Neuville in the team this year, said he was happy with the performance of the 2013-spec car in testing.
“The car feels good,” he said. “I did two and a half days in December and the last test day before we go to Monte Carlo is tomorrow.
“This is a big opportunity, and we have been working very hard to get into this position.
“The first aim is to start winning rallies. During the season maybe we will need to focus on the championship but at the beginning we just want to get good results and start winning.”
Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman
Nine teams sign up for GT Sprint
Nine teams have committed to Stephane Ratel’s new GT Sprint Series, which replaces the GT1 World Championship this year.
Former world champion squad Vita4One will run BMW machinery while WRT, Phoenix and Novadriver will field Audis.
Sebastien Loeb Racing will run McLarens, with Reiter campaigning Lamborghinis and Heico Gravity Charouz bringing Mercedes.
ProSpeed and Rodrive/Lambda will run Porsche and Ford machinery respectively.
Ratel said that the success of the GT3 category, which will form the basis of the series, made the decision to push ahead with the series an easy one.
“It’s probably our biggest achievement,” said Ratel on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX at AUTOSPORT International on Thursday.
“You can look through the history books and you’ll never find an international category with 14 manufacturers – as it will be when the Bentley comes in – represented before.
“It’s going to be very exciting.”
Joining Ratel on stage was Cesar Campanico, team boss of the Novadriver squad.
He said that his outfit’s graduation to the series would not have been possible without the restructuring of the series.
“We’ve done the last four years in FIA GT3, which was a European championship, as it was the only series regulated by the FIA for the category.
“We did well last year and finished fourth, but even with that, it would be impossible to step up to GT1 World because of the budgets involved.
“In the sprint series, we can do well, I hope, in the Pro-Am category, and maybe get in the top 10 overall.
“And with the Balance of Performance working as it does, everything is even for everyone.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/nine-teams-sign-up-for-gt-sprint
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott
No Love Lost for the Lampelas at Bristol
Tennessee’s famous bullring provided lots of excitement for drivers and spectators alike in Week 6 of the iSCS 2012 Season 4.
Bristol Motor Speedway; infamously known as Thunder Valley. Drivers either love it or hate it. Fans generally adore the action, and crewmen always wince after the green flag drops. It’s an all-or-nothing track, feasting on those not fortunate enough to survive to the checkered flag. It’s because of this that drivers in the iRacing.com Sprint Car Series tend to think twice before entering the official events of the week. Only the bravest would come out to play on the 30-degree banks of the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” and only the strongest survived.
Attendance for Week 6 reached triple digits once again as 111 spots were filled in the official races of the week, with veterans and rookies alike looking for points payouts without losing pieces of their simulated machines in the process. The fastest qualifying time of the week would go once again to five-time iSCS champion Alan Binder, who recorded an impressive 13.633s fast lap and would start first in the events he entered. Following close behind by only one one-hundredth of a second was series veteran Fred Lampela, fresh from a career highlight week at Lanier. A total of eight races went official during the week’s run, and all of them seemed to be chock-full of carnage and surprise.
The lightning crashed down in Thunder Valley for the first time on Tuesday, with iSCS veteran PJ Stergios leading a 17-car field to the green flag. It wasn’t long until the first yellow flag was displayed, after the sprints of Randall Faulks and Nick Neben found contact with each other and then the SAFER barriers. On the restart, Stergios took off once again, leaving JR Ray and Kenny Humpe to duel for the runner-up position. Unfortunately, the two locked wheels, sending both cars into the wall and into traffic, with Ray’s sprint tumbling end over end and onto the roof of Steve Linder’s car. iSCS past champion Vinnie Sansone and Garry Loney also made contact trying to avoid the incident, but were able to continue on with minor damage. After two more cautions periods, only four drivers remained that hadn’t experienced an incident on-track. PJ Stergios was able to keep it clean, leading all 50 laps of the event and taking the checkered flag under yellow flag conditions. Loney and Sansone came back from their earlier excitement to finish second and third place respectively. Kevin Malone brought his car home safely with a fourth place result, and Leila Wilson also captured an incident-free run by finishing fifth, passing ten cars to get to her final position.
In Tuesday’s second split, Larry Landry came from a tenth place starting position to victory lane after leading only three laps, beating pole-sitter Michael Linder to the finish line. Chet Wheeler Jr. brought the famous Grave Digger sprint to a podium finish with his third place result. In the 16-car field, only the top four completed the race on the lead lap, with Mark Hephner taking the fourth place spot after gridding in the last place position. Brian Williams was able to his sprint home to a top five, one lap down with zero incident points scored against him.
One more race was held on Tuesday, this time with Alan Binder taking point on a 15-car field. In his signature form, Binder was untouched through the event, leading all 50 laps to the checkered flag, taking his first win of the week. Nick Neben overcame his bad luck from the evening’s earlier race by placing runner-up to Binder. Steve Linder completed the podium with his third place finish. Matt Anderson and Glenn Cray rounded out the top five respectively.
The storms rolled back into Bristol on Thursday, as Fred Lampela roared away from a 16-car field, making up the highest SOF rated event of the week (3261). However, on entry to Turn 1 on the opening lap, Steve Linder lost grip and slid into Nick Neben’s machine, which turned Linder into the wall. With nowhere to go and no time to react, Kyle Odaynik plowed headfirst into Linder’s sprint, causing it to tumble violently down the banking and onto the backstretch. Neben also found himself upside down on the backstretch after what was arguably the worst looking crash of the season to date. After a long caution, the cars got back to racing. Two more cautions were displayed for Brandon Buchberger and Michael Lampela respectively, and after the cleanup for Michael’s incident, the race went green for the remaining laps. Fred Lampela was able to hold off a collection of sprint veterans to cash in on his first win of the week. PJ Stergios finished just .5s behind Lampela for second place, just inches ahead of Kenny Humpe in third. Sansone achieved another solid performance with his fourth place result, while Loney completed the top five.
Thunder Valley devoured many rides from gladiators brave enough to come out and tame the famous 30-degree banked turns.
In the second split feature, the green flag was taken by Randall Faulks, looking to capitalize on another successful week after Lanier. However, Faulks’ run was overtaken by connectivity issues, and he failed to finish the race. After an event painted yellow just twice, it was Brett Waldrep who took the trip to victory lane after a successful pass on the outside lane for the lead position. Larry Landry finished two seconds behind in the runner-up spot, and Paul Mepyans, nursing a bruised race car, enjoyed a podium finish in third. James Lamb and Eddie Walczyk respectively rounded out the top five.
In the final event on Thursday, Fred Lampela enjoyed an encore performance as he took his sprint back to victory lane for the second time after leading all 50 laps. Kevin Malone finished in second, and Donald FitzGerald completed the podium by placing third. Matt Berndt and Glenn Cray completed the top five respectively.
Sunday would wrap up Week 6 with two feature races. In the first race of the day, after three caution flags were displayed, it was a different Lampela taking the checkered flag. Michael bested the Fast Finns and many other sprint veterans to earn his way back to victory lane. Aleksi Elomaa scored the runner-up position, and Steve Linder, after rebounding after his wild crash on Thursday, finished in third. Joni Hagner enjoyed his fourth place placement, and Sansone finished in fifth. The entire top five finished less than one second behind Lampela.
To cap off his busy yet profitable week, Fred scored a hat trick by earning his third win in Thunder Valley. Scott Green scored one of his best finishes of the season with his second place result, and Michael Lampela found himself on the podium once more after his third place finish. Todd Taylor2 and Eric Nordhoff completed the top five respectively.
Fred Lampela reigned over Bristol in Week 6, finding himself in victory lane three times during the week.
After the smoke dissipated from Week 6, Alan Binder still leads the iSCS points standings. However, it’s now a slimmer margin, as Fred Lampela has inched closer to the top position. With the Milwaukee Mile right around the corner, will Lampela start knocking on Binder’s door? Find out next time on inRacingNews!
iRacing.com Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
1. Alan Binder (1004)
2. Fred Lampela (-62)
3. PJ Stergios (-105)
4. Steve Linder (-346)
5. Vinnie Sansone (-347)
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/iracing-news/no-love-lost-for-lampelas-at-bristol
Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot Patrick Gaillard Divina Galica
Two killed in Dakar accident
Two people have been killed during the Dakar Rally after an accident involving a taxi and a support vehicle in Peru on Wednesday night.
The accident, which took place 21:30 local time, seven miles from the Chilean border, involved two taxis and a support vehicle with three people on board.
The taxis were carrying six and four people respectively.
Organisers said one of the taxis collided head-on with the support vehicle, while the second one rolled several times in an attempt to avoid the accident.
Two of people in the first taxi were killed as a result of the crash, while seven others were injured and are being examined in hospital.
The Peruvian authorities have begun an inquiry into the accident.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/two-killed-in-dakar-accident
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Day 2 Afternoon Test Speeds
Trevor Bayne - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Second quickest was Joey Logano with a drafting lap speed of 199.309 mph, and was followed by Martin Truex Jr. (199.212 mph) who was third quickest, Mark Martin (199.186) fourth and Carl Edwards (199.168) was fifth quickest.
Rounding out the top-ten quickest during the session were Aric Almarola (199.084 mph) who was sixth quickest, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (199.001) seventh, Greg Biffle (198.957) eighth, Kyle Busch (198.957) ninth and Casey Mears (198.943) posting the tenth quickest lap speed.
The teams will return to the track Saturday for their final two test sessions, and then will test next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed 1 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Bros Racing Ford 45.079 199.650 2 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 45.156 199.309 3 56 Martin Truex Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.178 199.212 4 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.184 199.186 5 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.188 199.168 6 43 Aric Almarola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.207 199.084 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.226 199.001 8 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.236 198.957 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.236 198.957 10 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 45.239 198.943 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 45.243 198.926 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.299 198.680 13 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.306 198.649 14 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45.326 198.562 15 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.336 198.518 16 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 45.347 198.470 17 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 45.358 198.421 18 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.372 198.360 19 14 Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 45.605 197.347 20 33 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.606 197.342 21 51 Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 45.746 196.739 22 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.804 196.489 23 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.596 193.150 24 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.606 193.108 25 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.626 193.025 26 10 Danica Patrick Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.650 192.926 27 39 Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.772 192.423 28 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.779 192.394 29 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.910 191.857 30 38 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.205 190.658 31 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 47.862 188.041 32 83 T. Kvapil / D. Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 48.754 184.600
Source: Timing and Scoring Provided by NASCARMedia
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/xlr7hpeyj48/
Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock
Sainz demoted by Dakar officials
Carlos Sainz has been demoted to 10th in the Dakar Rally standings after organisers reversed their decision to give him time back on Sunday’s stage.
Sainz had lost 21 minutes to the leaders on stage two when he went off course and had to double back.
But when his Red Bull team argued that the incident was caused by problems with the rally’s own satellites rather than the GPS in Sainz’s Buggy, his 21m26s delay was cancelled and he was put back in the rally lead.
On Monday night that decision was reversed when further investigations revealed that the Buggy’s secondary GPS was functional and should have picked up the problem.
“The race management took its decision on 6th January 2013 further to a claim from competitor #303 on the basis of partial technical analysis proving that the main GPS experienced malfunctions,” said a statement from the organisers.
“Comprehensive and more detailed analysis, based on the final report made by ERTF, in fact revealed that the second GPS was functioning correctly.”
With Sainz having also lost 20 minutes to electrical problems on Monday’s stage, he is now down to 10th overall.
Last year’s winner Stephane Peterhansel leads for the X-raid team.
Follow AUTOSPORT’s Dakar Rally blogs:
Sam Tremayne joins the X-raid crew Race2Recovery tackles the Dakar
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/sainz-demoted-by-dakar-officials
Webber ‘struggles with title pressure’
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko doubts Mark Webber has what it takes to cope with the intense pressures of a Formula 1 title fight.
In a revealing interview with Red Bull’s in-house magazine the Red Bulletin, Marko has suggested that Webber is good enough to win a few races a year, but struggles to achieve a champion’s consistency.
“It seems to me that Webber has on average two races per year where he is unbeatable, but he can’t maintain this form throughout the year,” said Marko.
“And as soon as his prospects start to look good in the world championship, he has a little trouble with the pressure that this creates.
“In comparison with Seb [Vettel's] rising form, it seems to me that Mark’s form somehow flattens out.
“Then, if some technical mishap occurs, like with the alternator for example, he falls relatively easily into a downward spiral.
“No driver remains unaffected by this, because the tension is palpable.
“In 2010, it was particularly extreme. Webber headed into the final race with better chances than Vettel, and he probably carried the disappointment of his defeat into the 2011 season, which is so easy to understand.”
Marko believes that Webber has struggled to cope with the psychological challenge of Vettel arriving just as Red Bull delivered the Australian his first title-worthy F1 car.
“Something that I think is also very important is that for much of his career, Mark was never in a top team, but he was always regarded as a high flyer if he only could get into the right team,” added Marko.
“Then Red Bull puts him in a car – a possible winner – and suddenly along comes this young kid and he snatches the booty from under Mark’s nose.
“Psychologically it’s not easy, of course; this would gnaw away at anyone’s confidence. It’s more than understandable.”
Webber won two races in 2012 – in Monaco and Britain – and finished sixth overall in the championship, having been Fernando Alonso closest rival at half-season.
William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V
Friday, January 11, 2013
2013 Paint Scheme Added - #55 Aaron's
added more 2013 paint schemes to Jayski's Paint Scheme Gallery, this time the #55 Aaron's Dream Machine scheme............
Source: http://jayski.com/news/schemes/2013/story/_/page/2013-NASCAR-Sprint-Cup-55-Team-Schemes#15
Breaking: Corvette C7 leaked on cover of Automobile
Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, GM
We're just days away from finally (finally!) being able to drop the full, steaming load of C7 Corvette information, images and video into your collective lap. And yet, the official reveal day is not quite here yet...Thank the good lord, then, for poorly hidden magazine covers, and more sneaky shots of the new car. A car that is, we read, "The best Corvette design in 50 years" if the front page of Automobile is to be believed. At least from the smoke-engulfed posterior shot that we see here, the C7 does appear to have some very striking design work going on. Bold LED taillamps live in blacked-out surrounds, a crisply angled spoiler accents the high-belted rear end, and the expected quad-tailpipes look to mean serious business. The quarterlight behind the side windows is a bit surprising though, as it seems to be louvered or otherwise obscured in some way.
Look for glossy images of the C7 Chevrolet Corvette of your dreams very soon. In the meantime, tell us what you think of this latest image, in comments.
Corvette C7 leaked on cover of Automobile originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/11/corvette-c7-leaked-on-cover-of-automobile/
Following New York’s Lead, London Plans Protected Bike Lanes
When it comes to urban transportation policy, Americans often look longingly across the Atlantic. Paris pioneered big-city bike-sharing, London showed New York that congestion pricing works, and Sweden set the goal of eliminating traffic deaths. But here’s a case where New York is leading a peer city overseas.
London is changing its "cycle superhighways" to incorporate protected bike lane designs. Above: A plan for an East London bus stop. Image via BBC
In 2009, London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a plan to install 12 “cycle superhighways” criss-crossing the capital. But Londoners found the new bikeways wanting: narrow painted bike lanes on high-traffic streets, without any protection from passing drivers. One of the cycle superhighways runs across a busy roundabout in East London that’s been the site of two cyclist fatalities since the route was installed.
Not surprisingly, the lanes have a poor reputation, and the number of people riding bikes in London last year fell for the first time in a decade.
Transport for London recently announced that it would install a protected bike lane on the East London roundabout approach. Though advocates want additional tweaks, the plan is a shift in policy. “You can expect to see more of these designs across the capital,” explained BBC reporter Tom Edwards, though a TfL official cautioned that the protected lanes will not be everywhere, particularly in central London.
While Dutch and Danish cities are still way ahead of London and NYC, it seems like NYC DOT’s protected bike lane designs are now the object of some international envy. The proposal is “the first time I’ve seen anything even vaguely close to catching up on what’s already common-place in New York,” wrote Danny Williams at Cyclists in the City, a London bike blog.
The protected bike lane proposed in London will include an element we haven’t seen yet in New York: a bikeway that runs between the sidewalk and a “floating” bus stop. On streets with major bus routes and protected bike lanes, NYC DOT has opted to put bikes and transit on opposite sides of the street. First Avenue has this configuration even though it leads to more conflicts between cyclists and turning traffic (there are more drivers turning left, across the bike lane, than turning right). It will be interesting to see how the floating bus stop works out for London, and whether it becomes a treatment in the New York City toolbox too.
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/01/10/following-new-yorks-lead-london-plans-protected-bike-lanes/
Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines
Marussia sure ’14 costs not impossible
Marussia believes Formula 1′s major regulation changes for 2014 need not price smaller teams out of the market if decisions are made wisely.
F1 will switch to V6 turbos next year. The cost of producing the new engines has led to fears of unsustainable budget increases for the world championship’s smallest teams.
But Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon told AUTOSPORT he was certain that costs could still be contained.
Click here for Dieter Rencken’s latest insight into F1′s 2014 rules situation
“There are plenty of tools available to be able to do that. It’s important,” he said.
“What the fans want is close competition, not a spending competition.
“It’s certainly a potential challenge to everyone in ‘pitlane PLC’, if you like, because we want to ensure the fans still get a show and that is the most important thing.
“That can only happen if a number of boxes are ticked, one of which is that the economics have got to make sense for all the teams, not just some of the teams.”
With the demise of HRT, Marussia is now Cosworth’s last remaining customer in F1. Lowdon said it was too soon to say what his team might do for a 2014 engine supply.
“I think we’re talking to all the same engine manufacturers that everyone else is,” he said.
“The regulations aren’t finalised yet and therefore that makes it quite tricky to go beyond initial discussions.
“We’re eagerly awaiting some indication of what the commercial and technical proposal for the new powertrain is going to look like.”
He played down the chances of an equalisation formula allowing the current V8s to be retained.
“I guess theoretically that could be done. It’s safe to say our team’s not pushing the long term agenda of engines in Formula 1,” said Lowdon.
“As far as we’re concerned, it’s got to be a highly-technical device, it’s got to be loud, it’s got to be powerful and above all it’s got to be affordable.”
Virgil Ernest Irvan III Kenny Dale Irwin Jr Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Q&A with Toyota Racing Driver Denny Hamlin
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing 
Denny Hamlin drives the #11 Toyota during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 10, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
How is testing this new car different? “It was different than what we’re used to. This body style — we’re just trying to figure out where is the happy spot. Does it want to be straight behind the other car? Do you want to be offset a little bit? Really it seems like the back car gets a lot of air to it. It essentially makes it hard to suck up to the front car, which I think will bode well for our competition at other race tracks going forward where the front car doesn’t have such a huge advantage. That part of it is pretty optimistic. It definitely will lend more to pack racing versus two-car tandem.”
How will the new spring package affect the handling? “That will make it a little harder to drive, but the down force numbers on these cars are very similar to what we had before so really until we get into a full pack where we’ve essentially got people running 45 (second) flats rather than 46.30 (seconds) or whatever we were running. That’s when you really get a true feel for what the handling is.”
How is the vision in the new cars while drafting? “It’s tough — they’re wide. The back of them are wide and tall. The visibility is tough, but what I do like is that you can see out of the back with the spoiler height being a little lower you can see out of the back car a lot better. There’s a lot of things about this car that I definitely like.”
Why were you and Matt Kenseth faster with space between your cars versus the tandem runs? “We just were not able to keep together for one solid lap. I think it’s just the way these bodies are with the aero platform and everything. It’s just going to lend itself more to the pack racing. Like I said, it seems like the second car is getting just as much air thrown on the nose as what the front car is so it’s harder to suck up to the front car, which in turn will make for better pack racing versus two-car tandem.”
Source: Toyota Racing, Press Release
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/wT2S2-KS2nU/
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