Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler
Saturday
Survey: Majority of New Yorkers Would Pay for a Parking Permit
If you own a car in New York City and need a place to park, leaving it on the street is a nice bargain. The only “cost” is alternate-side restrictions for street cleaning — otherwise, all that space is free. It’s such a good deal that in outer-borough neighborhoods, most car owners with an off-street [...]
Friday
Bring Your Own Brembo Is The Rule At Inaugural TUSCC's Rolex 24 At Daytona
After an incredible 2013 race season with championships in F1, IndyCar, Le Mans, the inaugural World Endurance Championship and both classes of the Grand-Am Rolex Series, Brembo will provide braking systems for more than half of the field this coming Saturday for the inaugural race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (TUSCC) - 52nd Annual Rolex 24 At Daytona..
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2014/01/bring_your_own_brembo_is.php
Thursday
AM General MV-1 is back in production [w/video]
Filed under: Minivan/Van, Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Specialty
AM General, the manufacturer best known as the maker of the US military's Humvee, has restarted production of the MV-1, the versatile van targeted specifically at the underserved market for the disabled.
Originally built by the Vehicle Production Group, production of the MV-1 didn't last long, as VPG went out of business just over a year ago. In September, though, AM General worked out a deal with the Department of Energy to acquire the assets to the handicap-accessible van. The MV-1 is unique, as it's the only vehicle to exceed the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, offering an integrated ramp and room for two wheelchairs.
AM General is aiming to build 5,600 MV-1s this year, with sales slated to begin on April 1. At $50,000 to $60,000, it's not cheap, but we should expect to see more MV-1's as livery vehicles in the near future. Scroll down for coverage of the relaunch from local CBS affiliate, WSBT.
Continue reading AM General MV-1 is back in production [w/video]
AM General MV-1 is back in production [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/13/am-general-mv-1-production-restart-video/
Power Rankings: The battle is for third as Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski separate themselves from the pack
Guess what's back, back, back again? Power rankings are back, tell a friend. Our weekly From the Marbles staple is back for 2014 and once again, it's far from a scientific formula as it's the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. Direct all your complaints to us at happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com.
And no, we're not expanding Power Rankings to 16 drivers.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 1): We touched on it in the Chrome Horn Debrief, but it's worth mentioning again that crediting the new Chase format for Junior's decision to gamble on fuel is unfair to NASCAR history, even if Junior says the decision was motivated by the format. This is not the first time in NASCAR that someone has gambled on fuel mileage to attempt to win a race, nor is it the last. And besides, it's not like the No. 88 was three laps short and threw a Hail Mary.
2. Brad Keselowski (LW: 2): When you've got two guys separated by a single point in the standings and they each have a win this early in the season, we're going to the lowest finish tiebreaker. Keselowski's is third, while Junior's is second. Sorry Brad, you stay in second. But we promise that you're even a closer second than you were last week. Have a Girl Scout cookie.
3. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 5): Speaking of Girl Scout cookies, what's with the reaction to this ad? Check out some of the tweets that Johnson responded to. Good grief. On the track Sunday, Johnson finished sixth, his third straight top-six finish to start the year. Yes, it's even possible that Johnson and the No. 48 crew is having an "underrated" start to the season. Part of it is the exceptional performances of the two drivers ahead of him and part of it is the fact that Johnson still thinks his team is a tick off. Scary.
4. Jeff Gordon (LW: 4): Three races and three top 10s for Gordon. If yo're tiering the points standings, he's right with Johnson in the second tier. And hey, the early returns are promising over these first three races about the disappearance of the Gordon restart, in which Gordon loses multiple positions immediately after the green flag waves. But don't ask us if that has anything to do with the new points system, because we don't want to see how deep the abyss is.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): Once again, Harvick was the strongest Stewart-Haas car, but this time he didn't get the highest finish. After a broken left-front hub, Harvick was relegated to a 40th place finish and was actually last amongst his SHR comrades. Yes, he finished below Tony Stewart, though it's not impossible to think that Stewart wasn't racing the final half of Sunday's race. That car just disappeared.
6. Joey Logano (LW: 6): After finishing fourth, having Logano sixth doesn't seem fair. We'll totally admit it. But at the same time, can you really vault him above Harvick? He's ahead of Gordon by one point in the standings, so there's a slight argument there. And he's of course ahead of Harvick too. But if we're going to take the strength of Harvick's races (outside of the hub) and stack them against Logano's, Cupcake gets the edge. And besides, we need some variety.
7. Carl Edwards (LW: 9): We also mentioned this too on the Chrome Horn Debrief, but don't be too quick to jump on Edwards' Vegas performance as an endorsement of Roush. He was far and away better than Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all weekend. As an endorsement that Jimmy Fennig and Edwards are the best team at the shop? Sure. But nothing more than that at the moment.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 8): This was not the most compelling of race-title defenses by Flatline. He wasn't bad by any means -- he did a good job working his way up from a starting position that was settled in the first round of qualifying -- but it wasn't what we became accustomed to last year from this team either. Oh, and we'll also point out here that Kenseth didn't take tires and made a track position gamble for the win with 41 laps to go last year at Vegas. On Sunday, the final restart was with 42 to go.
9. Ryan Newman (LW: 12): It's two straight seventh-place finishes for Newman. We asked in last week's power rankings if he'd quasi-assume the role of Kevin Harvick in being far ahead of his two teammates. Well, after Sunday's race, there's been a different Richard Childress Racing car toting the bucket. If there's parity at RCR and it's not because one team came down to the level of the other two, it's great news for the organization.
10. Denny Hamlin (LW: 6): After the second-place finish at Daytona, Hamlin's finished outside the top 10 the last two weeks. But is it really that big of a concern? He's got two good tracks coming up in the next three weeks as well as one that he was a few football fields from winning at last year. On that note, how many times are we going to relive the Logano-Hamlin Bristol/California dustup over the next two weeks. 100?
11. Kyle Busch (LW: 11): Busch's car was super-fast over the first 100 laps of Sunday's race. From then on, yeah, not so much. After one restart late in the race, Busch's aggression made him some quick gains and you wondered if the car was back to where it was at the beginning of the race. But as soon as Busch made those passes, he started sliding backwards.
12. Paul Menard (LW: NR): PFM's first top-three finish since 2012 is worthy of an appearance in Power Rankings. Menard was an early-2013 Power Rankings staple before sliding out as the summer hit. Will he be able to repeat the effort in 2014? All it'll take is a few more top 10 finishes
�
The Lucky Dog: Martin Truex Jr. finished 14th after a not-so-stellar first two weeks of the season.
The DNF: He finished the race, but Stewart gets it this week.
Dropped Out: Greg Biffle
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
Wednesday
The Continental: Porsche?s Recently Uncovered, 116-Year-Old ?First Car? Could be Fake
Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental. There’s plenty of news coming out of Europe this week on the heels of the 2014 […]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/X7nSmc4m5v0/
Tuesday
Happy Hour: Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 500 and Austin Dillon
Throughout the week you can send us your best questions, jokes, rants and just plain miscellaneous thoughts to happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com or @NickBromberg. We'll post them here, have a good time and everyone's happy.
We're back! And we have some great material for our first in-season Happy Hour. The Madison Rising edition didn't count, we just had some emails that were too good to share. Let's get to it. This is going to be good.
I think they did an awesome rendition of the National Anthem! It showed lots of emotion, and pride . I enjoy country and old music for my favorite music, but I thought this was great! It even sent a chill down my spine. I believe all the soldiers who fought, and those that gave their lives would be proud of Madison Risings rendition of the National Anthem. Thank you! - Nan
Sorry, I had to publish one more. No more Madison Rising forever and ever and ever. And no. Just, no, Nan. No.
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Is the NASCAR glass half empty or half full coming out of Daytona? Junior wins, Junior tweets, etc. great for sport, ( As was Trevor Bayne, Wood Bros. win if i recall), or very low ratings,low secondary market resale ticket prices etc. bad for sport. And as a side question, how much did NASCAR luck out by the veto of the Arizona law and the questions that would have brought this weekend. Thanks, keep the good work going. - Brian
This was the best possible PR outcome for NASCAR that didn't involve a certain female driver in a lime green car. The No. 3 on the pole and then Earnhardt Jr. winning? That's a nice lift. But the million-dollar question is how long it will last. Are more people going to tune in at Phoenix because Junior won? And if they do, are they going to be bored to tears with what we're all expecting to be a one-groove racetrack?
TV ratings were down for the 500, but that's some overrated talk. The race had an over six-hour rain delay. How many people have the ability to put their Sunday afternoon and evening into a NASCAR race, even if it's the Daytona 500?
NASCAR is just like the NFL when it comes to the Arizona bill that was vetoed by Gov. Brewer Wednesday. It allows the focus to be on the racing and not the inevitable "What do you think about this?" questions that would have followed had it been passed. The NFL was in a tougher spot though. Threatening to move the Super Bowl can't be empty talk.
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Brian France mentioned that it could be a possibility if Fox and the track agreed to it. I could see it happening if NASCAR wanted to move it back to President's Day weekend. With a holiday that a lot of people have off on the following day, it'd be a way, a la the Coca-Cola 600 and the Atlanta race, to have a Sunday night race.
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Well, it certainly can't be extremely beneficial from a "getting prepared for Phoenix" perspective, but from an "attention for the sport" one, it is. And I think everyone who wins the Daytona 500 realizes that and it's a worthy tradeoff.
That said, I don't think we're going to be wondering if the media obligations affected Junior and team's performance at Phoenix at all.
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So excited about Jr?s win but it has nothing to do with that sissy punk Dillon and the 3 car. Him and his granddaddy are LIARS and trash. Shut up about them nobody gives a (blank) about them. That had nothing to do with Jr. Dillon caused 2 wrecks that night and he was at the back where he belongs. He will always be there!! He an RC are (blank). Trying to ride now on Jr?s win. Quit trying to shove him down everybody?s throat. Congrats DALE EARNHARDT JR.!!!!! - Marilyn�
Which leads us to this...
I saw a video{taken right after the 500} of one of the drivers talking angrily about Dillon causing wrecks and his path to Sprint Cup competition. Being spoon fed I believe. Who was that driver and where is that video? I haven?t seen or heard about it since that early clip. - Kent
Which leads us to this...
Can you explain the animosity for Austin Dillon? I know many people think he got his ride because of his grandfather. Okay, maybe he did. No doubt NASCAR's most popular driver no doubt started by sweeping his dady's garage for $2 an hour and had to buy his first race car and pay for all his racing expenes on his own, and being the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr. was of no help to him. Nor did Paul Menard get a ride because of his relationship to the car owner, and being the son of Richard Petty did nothing for Kyle Petty. Nope, no one else in the history of NASCAR ever benefited by being born into the right racing family. I now understand: Austin Dillon is evil because he got his ride because he's Richard Childress' grandson. Got it. - Paul
There's going to be a minority of folks who will be so pro-Earnhardt forever that they'll feel no one else can drive the No. 3. But it's Richard Childress's car and Dillon has been using the number since he entered the Camping World Truck Series. It was inevitable, and the inevitability is here.
Paul, the clip was of Kevin Harvick, when he delivered his parting shot to the Dillons and Richard Childress Racing at Martinsville before his departure at the end of the season.
Dillon has legitimate racing talent, and anyone who thinks differently is crazy. You don't win a Nationwide Series title simply because you have fast cars. So what if he didn't win a race. With the way that the Nationwide Series is currently set up, it's hard for a Nationwide regular to take the checkered flag. Plus, he's also got a Truck Series title too. He's the odds-on favorite to become the first driver to win all three NASCAR national series championships. Yes, even over Greg Biffle at this point.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
Toyota Kimmy Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne
Monday
2014 Season Preview: No. 10 Carl Edwards
Welcome to From the Marbles' 2014 season previews. Here's how we think the Chase will shake out in this first year of 16 drivers and eliminations. Will we be right? Unlikely, but it's fun to think about our soothsaying possibilities until the green flag waves for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 23.
Driver: Carl Edwards
2013 Finish: 13th
2013 Highlight: Edwards gets to be an answer to a pretty good NASCAR trivia question in a few years. "Who won the Richmond race that was plagued by Michael Waltrip Racing's race manipulation scandal?"
After winning the second race of the season at Phoenix, Edwards didn't win a race again until that night in Richmond, which set him up nicely for the Chase. After running inside the top three for most of the season, he was fourth entering the Chase. It was setting up nicely for a run similar to the one he had in 2011.
2013 Lowlight: Well, that optimism lasted a week into the Chase. And here's where Edwards gets to be the answer to another trivia question. "Before NASCAR expanded the Chase to 16 drivers for the 2014 season, who is the only Chase-qualified driver to finish 13th in the points standings?"
Yup, it's Edwards. He finished 9th at Chicago, but was then 35th at New Hampshire. A blown engine at Texas dropped him to 11th, and after a poor Phoenix race, he was destined to finish unlucky 13 in the points.
Why is Edwards here? It's easy to think of Edwards as a sleeper championship contender. His consistency kicked up a notch last year, and while Roush Fenway Racing wasn't at the level that Hendrick and Joe Gibbs Racing were at, it's not hard to envision the organization taking a step forward.
Edwards also seems like one of those drivers who is destined to win a championship at some point in his career. But in this era of Jimmie Johnson, the list of drivers like that keeps getting longer and longer. Someone isn't going to win one.
How could Edwards not be here? If the chance at the title doesn't come this year for Edwards, could it be his last at Roush? But where would he go? There aren't too many spots available, unless Joe Gibbs Racing wants to add a fourth car. (And can you imagine that driver lineup? Holy smokes. At least Brad Keselowski would have a true "rival" team.)
After finishing fourth and second in the points standings, Edwards has been 15th and 13th the last two years. He should make the Chase, but we also picked him to win the title in 2012 and he missed it altogether.
Best Winter Olympic event: Oh, this one is easy. Halfpipe, or anything where Edwards can utilize his backflip. He could even do figure skating and be the male version of Surya Bonaly. (10,000 bonus points for you if you get that reference. And no, I didn't have to look that one up.)
Worst Winter Olympic event: As one of the most athletic drivers in our lineup, we're pretty comfortable saying that Edwards could do most Olympic events. Would he be a good cross country skier? At least at the end of that marathon, he wouldn't have to worry about being tied with Tony Stewart. Heck, he may lap him.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Sunday
Colin Monahan Named Marketing Coordinator at Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway SONOMA, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2012) Colin Monahan has been named Marketing Coordinator at Infineon Raceway, raceway officials announced....
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/colin_monahan_named_marke.php
Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton
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