Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison
Saturday
Vettel: Red Bull needs more pace to win
Inwood Cyclist Injured at Broadway and Riverside Last Evening
A cyclist was struck and injured by a driver at the intersection of Riverside and Broadway at Dyckman Street, in Inwood, Wednesday evening. The victim, a male in his 40s, was transported to Presbyterian Hospital in the Bronx, according to FDNY (the spokesperson was presumably referring to the Allen Pavilion on Broadway at [...]
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/04/19/inwood-cyclist-injured-at-broadway-and-riverside-last-evening/
Former opposition leader backs Bahrain
Create-a-caption, White House/NASCAR edition

The 2011 Chase drivers visited the White House this week, and oh, were there plenty of fine photos for captioning. Like, for instance, this one, where Tony Stewart is apparently having a go at the leader of the free world. Bravo, Smoke.
Caption this or one of the other ones posted below. Snarky comments not just requested, but required.


Friday
Join us for the latest Y! Sports NASCAR live chat, Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET
Time again for another Yahoo! Sports live NASCAR chat. Perhaps we'll go the full distance, perhaps we'll be cut off by rain. You never know, do you? Join us here at 1 ET for the festivities.
Andrй Guelfi Miguel Бngel Guerra Roberto Guerrero Maurнcio Gugelmin
Plato: Stewards right to punish move
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/btcc/plato-stewards-right-to-punish-move
Gallery: F1 grid girls will get your engines started
Report: Abu Dhabi poised to get out of Daimler
Filed under: Mercedes-Benz, Earnings/Financials, Middle East

Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments spent $2.7 billion buying 9.1 percent of Daimler in 2009. At the time, Aabar said it was "excited by the commercial potential of our partnership," both companies said it was a long-term investment and spoke of joint ventures, and Mercedes-Benz committed to building a training center in the emirate. Aabar then bought a share of Daimler's stake in Tesla, and later that year said it wanted to take its Daimler stake to 15 percent.
Turns out three years counts for long term these days, because a story first reported in Germany's Manager Magazin indicates the fund wants to cash out. There are conflicting accounts as to how big a stake Aabar still has - Reuters says 9.1 percent, Automotive News says three percent, but based on "sources familiar with the situation" various watchers seem sure that the stock sale is on the way.
Aabar won't comment on the situation, Daimler has said it isn't aware of Aabar's intention to sell. Automotive News suggests increased fiscal discipline of Abu Dhabi's deal making could be behind the move, other analysts say the position isn't unusual since the stock price has doubled since Aabar bought in. Still others say that with Aabar having made $113 million from selling its Tesla stake earlier this year, walking completely away from Daimler with money still on the table could indicate broader back-room disagreements.
Abu Dhabi poised to get out of Daimler originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/20/abu-dhabi-poised-to-get-out-of-daimler/
Carella's 2011 World Title Turns a New Page in F1 H2O Series!
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/carellas_2011_world_title.php
Thursday
Wreck of the week, featuring Kasey Kahne taking out everybody
Not much doubt about what the wreck of the week was this week, huh? Kasey Kahne caught Regan Smith by thiiiiis much, but in a place like Bristol, that's enough to cause multi-car carnage. Now, pretty much everybody involved in the accident got back out on the track, and Kevin Harvick even managed to stay on the lead lap. Still, this had a dramatic impact on the race, taking out at least four potential winners (Harvick, Kahne, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards) and putting Kahne in a must-run-well situation for the next few months.
For that reason, we give this wreck ... THREE Crazed Montoyas!
Agree? Disagree? Make your case below.
Toyota Kimmy Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne
Video: Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. contend for a Sprint Cup title?
Video time! Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, kick around some burning questions this week. First among those: can Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually win a Cup this year? (Dude is second in the standings, you know.) Also: why no love for Greg Biffle, huh? Watch, enjoy, comment below.
Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr
In defense of Anne B. France?s Hall of Fame nomination
When NASCAR announced its 2013 Hall of Fame nominations on Wednesday evening, a familiar surname was among the new nominees. Anne B. France, wife of Big Bill and mother of Bill Jr., was there among Rusty Wallace, Wendell Scott and others, and the reaction of many was along the lines of another France? Really? The family doesn't just have the sport to itself, it's got to turn the Hall into a shrine to self-love also? I received more than one email with some version of the disgusted subject line "A secretary?", and I have to admit, I wondered about the propriety of this myself.
Yeah, shows how much we know. In a column on ESPN.com, Ed Hinton gives us the real story on the woman who, in his estimation, is responsible for NASCAR as we know it:
I agree with many NASCAR pundits that Anne Bledsoe France shouldn't go into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the fourth group. I think she should have gone in before her husband, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., and her elder son, the second czar, Bill France Jr.
I think she should have gone into the Hall of Fame before there was a Hall of Fame. They should have laid a cornerstone with her name on it before they even started construction of that building in Charlotte, because she WAS the cornerstone of NASCAR.
The anecdotes he tells about Anne B. France, who worked the books through NASCAR's early days, are priceless (she knew "where every g------ dollar in this organization is," one publicist once told Hinton) and serve to tell a remarkable story. Like so many others at the forefront of small institutions that become huge, she was exactly the right person in the right place at the right time.
"The Frances now are all millionaires many, many times over," Hinton writes. "So are a lot of NASCAR's owners, drivers, even crew chiefs. Every one of them has that little lady to thank profoundly."
Check out the full article. It might just change a few Hall voters' minds.
Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears
Wednesday
Denny Hamlin teaches us all to Dougie
Some fun awkwardness from the Bristol driver intros: Denny Hamlin, showing us all how to Dougie. Work it, white boy, work it!
I'm thinking the dance portion of the intros should become a mandatory component of every race's pre-race extravaganza. Who'd be the best with the moves, you think?
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/denny-hamlin-teaches-us-dougie-011629859.html
Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski
NASCAR 2012 Printable Sprint Cup TV Broadcast Schedule
Click here to download your 2012 TV broadcast schedule with race times for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Sorry this is a little late. It’s been a crazy start to 2012 for us at On Pit Row. If you value things like the printable schedules, please click the [...]
Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney
Alonso expects Bahrain struggle
Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glцckler
Report: F1 race in New Jersey could be postponed
Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

After years of doing without a grand prix in the United States altogether, Formula One is gearing up to return to these shores in a big way. The United States Grand Prix is set to take place later this year at the newly constructed Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And next year, the Grand Prix of America is scheduled to join the calendar in New Jersey, just across the river from Manhattan. But will the Jersey race be ready in time?
According to the latest reports, that second grand prix in the U.S. could be pushed off until 2014. This according to a quote attributed to Bernie Ecclestone, the man who orchestrates the commercial aspects of the sport - including where the races are held.
While he was at it, Ecclestone also reportedly indicated that the French Grand Prix will be back on the calendar within the next couple of years. But rather than holding it at Magny-Cours where it was held from 1991 through 2008, the renewed French Grand Prix - absent from the calendar every year since - will go back to the Paul Ricard circuit where it was held in the 70s and 80s (a track which Ecclestone just happens to own himself).
The arrangement will, according to reports, alternate year-to-year with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
F1 race in New Jersey could be postponed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/17/f1-race-in-new-jersey-could-be-postponed/
Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V Kevin Michael Harvick Virgil Ernest Irvan III
Early Season Struggles Threaten Kahne?s Hendrick Debut
That’s what Kasey Kahne might be asking himself after a difficult start to the 2012 Sprint Cup season that sees him a mediocre 27th in points, worst among the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in his first year with the team. Last week’s 14th place [...]
Tuesday
Schumacher resurgence ?great for F1?
Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth
Cadillac Confirms Future Coupe, Wagon Variants?But Maybe Not for CTS
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/ZtATcbeDbzI/
Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin
Happy Hour: What would you say to an announcer-free race?
Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.
So I spent the off weekend at this little golf club in a backwater Georgia town. I'd love to tell you that what Augusta National could use is more campfire smoke and piped-in Zac Brown music, but I don't want to lose my badge for next year. I was sorely tempted to shout "Go Junior!" during one of Tiger Woods' drives, but alas ... journalistic responsibility and all that. Anyway, I'm back now, so let's get to your letters.
First, a couple that hit on the same theme: what if they ran races without announcers?
Went to the 1960 Daytona 500 in diapers and haven't missed one since. Let's enrich my TV viewing experience! How about when I push the SAP button on my remote all I hear is the damn race cars?� ... While I love Mike Joy and would tune in to hear him read the phone book,there comes a time where we just want to see the race. I'm not talking about Larry Mac's dream of a "race" off of pit road, either. Larry, honey, if I want to watch guys change some tires I'll go cheer on the guys at the local Goodyear dealer,okay? The NFL did a game with no announcers, how about NASCAR trying one?
Hugs and Kisses,
? Liz
After reading all of the complaints about the TV coverage of NASCAR races, I wanted to share a "zen" moment I had during the Gatorade qualifying races at Daytona. I was stuck at work but wanted to tune in so I fired up Race Buddy and did a ride-along with Kyle Busch. Now I put on my headphones thinking I might hear commentary, or radio chatter but all I heard was the sweet sound of the motor. It was like experiencing the most amazing white noise ever. My eyes are glued to the monitor as I watch from a roof-top camera angle. And my mind just totally zones out with the drone of RPMs. It was mesmerizing. No ads, no announcers, no interruptions, just me and Kyle racing up through the pack, then settling back into a 7th place finish in what turned out to be a caution-free event. When I took the headphones off, I felt like I was removing my helmet to unwind from the race. Somehow the time that had passed was a blur to me. It is difficult to explain, but it was a truly remarkable experience. I would recommend it to those who don't enjoy the traditional coverage. I wish we had Race Buddy every week.
? Ken Hall
Thanks for not offering hugs and kisses, Ken. Anyway, there's something incredibly relaxing about a race without announcing, particularly if you're at the track. It's like being back in the womb, only it's a womb with a lot of empty beer cans and cigarette butts. ( ...nah, I'll let that joke stand on its own.)
There's something off-putting about sports events without announcers, but that's not to say it's necessarily a bad idea. We're certainly headed in that direction; at some point you'll be able to go announcer-off and get all the info yourself on your iPad 7 or whatever. What about the rest of you? We all gripe about the announcing, but would it really be better if there wasn't anyone at all? Then we'd be griping because we didn't have the dulcet tones of Darrell Waltrip boogity-boogity'ing us to start the race. Really, we gripe about everything, don't we?
____________________
The age-old excuse of "serving the masses" is partly an excuse for the media to not be original or think outside the box, i.e. be lazy. If you wrote about the other drivers more often, fans would get to know those drivers better, maybe becoming a fan of that driver based on what they read/hear.
Man, it's easy to regurgitate the same ol' [censored] that the toads at ESPN, MRN, PRN, Speed, etc. etc. etc. are doing. Don't you realize that fans have more depth than just reading about "their guy"? Do you think we're all stereotypical NASCAR hicks, I mean Dale Jr. fans, I mean..?
Dude, grab some sack and take a chance on a series of articles on the smaller guys. We already know which 1 of 10 possible drivers is going to win on any given week, give us something that's not a given and write about those other 35 or so drivers.
? Zach Hall
Ft. Sill, Okla.
First off, let's be honest here, Zach: numbers-wise, Yahoo! Sports wallops everybody else on the planet, so really, they're regurgitating our [censored], right? At the very least, we've stumbled onto something that works. Here's the thing: we are in the business of telling the best stories to as many people as we possibly can. The dance between serving the reading public, serving the advertisers and serving the truth of a story is one that's ever-present (and beyond the scope of a smartass mailbag), but believe me when I say that we have no bias against any driver ... it's just that the stories which resonate with readers, which keep them coming back, are the ones that concern the biggest names.
We cover every driver who did something of significance each week in the Power Rankings, if nothing else. If Paul Menard or Dave Blaney does something spectacular on-track, they'll get more coverage. But writing a story just to write it about them? Those are the start-and-park stories of journalism. We try. Nine times out of 10, articles on lesser-known drivers are nonstarters. It's just the way it is. We can't make you love Joe Schmoe when you already align with Tony Stewart or Kyle Busch.
Put it this way: let's say that in this summer's Avengers movie, the Avengers stop fighting, look at the camera and lecture us to stop bullying and eat our vegetables. Then they bring on some indie actors and hipster musicians for the soundtrack that we "should" know in order to be more cultured. Kind of kills the flow of it all, right? Not exactly what you went there to see, right? There's a time and a place for all kinds of coverage, but doing something that's less interesting just to balance the scales leads to dull stories.
(And yes, I just compared Yahoo! Sports to "The Avengers." You can feel free to make whatever hero-writer connections you wish.)
Anyway, I get your point, and it's a valid one. But Danica Patrick is the most-searched athlete on Yahoo!, and despite what some curmudgeons would have you believe, it's not because the media forces her down our collective throats. Like I always tell people who scream about unbalanced coverage: just because you don't want to see more stories on the big names doesn't mean everyone else doesn't.
Wow, I need to shut up now. Back to your letters. This next one's a good one.
____________________
I've tried to imagine if this story about the car graveyard of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s would have garnered any interest at all if it had been a different driver keeping these cars. Were it Jimmy Johnson or Michael Waltrip keeping a graveyard of junked cars on their property would I (or anyone) have found this factoid remotely interesting or unusual? In my opinion, I doubt it.
The fact that the driver who has this 'graveyard' just happens to also be the son of a driver who was killed on the track, I believe, makes this story strangely fascinating. Most notably, the way that the cars here have their own resting places and aren't bunched up together like a typical junkyard feels sort of eerie. Each car is almost like its own unique tomb or shrine. I imagine Jr. riding around his property on an ATV and as he drives past these wrecks every day being constantly reminded of the ghost of his father.
Yet these wrecks all had drivers who walked away. In a way, it's touchingly sad.
There is also something oddly satisfying about Jr. being the final caretaker of these cars; Jr. just feels like the one driver who could give these cars a degree of solemn dignity. Yet being constantly reminded of wrecks that other drivers walked away from (most of which were a lot worse than his father's wreck) makes me sad for him too.
Granted, I'm just speculating and have no way of knowing what Jr. is actually thinking or what his true intentions are, but the whole idea of him having these cars just feels like he's hanging onto some sort of ghost or demon.
? Dan Harlow
This may be the most thoughtful letter we've ever received here. I disagree with the idea that another driver wouldn't garner any interest; the simple fact of all these cars in the woods is, in itself, a fascinating story. But, yes, you bring an entire philosophical component to the story that takes it to another level. Between the loss of his father and the role he's played in the post-Intimidator NASCAR world, it does seem fitting that he's the caretaker of these cars. Good job.
Now, let's get back to some smack talk.
____________________
You have got to be kidding [about Green-White-Checker protests]! Is it because the privileged few actually out-drove their talent, or is it because someone else besides the powerful Hendrick pair didn't win that we are actually talking about this? Finish under green, that's the best rule change NASCAR has implemented since I have been a fan. Years and years of watching races end under caution have come to a close. A fan wants to see racing action. Hey boys, if you can't make it to the finish ? suck it up!!
? Beachie
Crown Point, N.Y.
We received dozens of emails about the Green-White-Checker, and the bottom line was this: everyone wants it to stay. Some advocated adding a couple extra laps (my solution), some advocated bringing everyone in for fresh tires and fuel, but everyone agreed that finishing a race under caution is about as unsatisfying as it gets.
____________________
What happens if the #55 of MWR is in the top 10 in points come the Chase? Or has more wins and would get a wild card if it had a consistent driver? It's currently ranked 9th in owner points.
? Dustin Cox
Doesn't matter. It's driver-only, not owner-points-driven. I stumbled into one of those idiotic moments when I thought I was being so clever recently when I suggested that it would be possible for both Mark Martin and Brian Vickers to race their way into the wild card via wins, and then how the heck would they split the car? I was quickly reminded by about two dozen people on Twitter that neither would be in the top 20 in points, thus killing any chance of that wackiness and cementing the picture of me as a moron in many, many minds. Anyway, not gonna happen unless Martin goes on a winning-race tear.
And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com. You can find Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR coverage on Facebook right here, and you can follow me on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook here.� Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/happy-hour-announcer-free-race-134404283.html
Monday
Johanna Long To Attend Charlotte Auto Fair
Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot
Granny Grump: Texas, Kutie Kahn, Biffle Boy, Rockingham, Ricky Jr And Other Stuff
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott
Colin Monahan Named Marketing Coordinator at Infineon Raceway
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/colin_monahan_named_marke.php
Kamui Kobayashi Helmuth Koinigg Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick
Ferrari Patents a Mostly Conventional Hybrid System, Not KERS
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/n66OBQrTR7g/
Sunday
New A&E Series Mines Reckless NYC Driving for Ratings
Premiering this weekend, the A&E series promises to show viewers the [...]
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/04/11/new-ae-series-mines-reckless-nyc-driving-for-ratings/
Menu takes pole in Marrakech
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/wtcc/menu-takes-pole-in-marrakech
Join us for the latest Y! Sports NASCAR live chat, Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET
Time again for another Yahoo! Sports live NASCAR chat. Perhaps we'll go the full distance, perhaps we'll be cut off by rain. You never know, do you? Join us here at 1 ET for the festivities.
Charles Robert Hamilton V Kevin Michael Harvick Virgil Ernest Irvan III Kenny Dale Irwin Jr
Marinescu leads opening F2 session
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/marinescu-leads-opening-f2-session
Kyle Busch Toyota Kimmy Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman