Spotter's Stand: Wild Talladega Race Keeps NASCAR's Sensors Busy

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The fall edition of the twice-yearly trip to Talladega Superspeedway certainly put the sanctioning body's electronic timing and scoring system through its paces.

The sanctioning body placed scoring sensors at various checkpoints in regular intervals around the 2.66-mile track, as it does at every track, and they didn't get the day off.

Indeed, the system was tested to the limits as NASCAR had to fall back on the information to establish running orders at the point of caution flags, including a finishing order that established Clint Bowyer as the winner by a fender.

At the same time, the system tracked some interesting race-within-a-race statistics.

Take this, for example, involving a driver in just his second race with a team.

Aric Almirola, driving Kasey Kahne's old Budweiser digs for Richard Petty Motorsports, surpassed Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s April Talladega tally by completing 501 green flag passes. Almirola, though, needed about 20 more on the last lap of green, as he came home 20th.

Two drivers who finished in the top five made more than 400 passes Sunday, including second-place Kevin Harvick (400 passes) and fourth-place David Reutimann (458).

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/01/spotters-stand-wild-talladega-race-keeps-nascars-sensors-busy/

David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch

Juan Pablo Montoya Wins Talladega Pole

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Juan Pablo Montoya has captured the pole position for Sunday's AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 184.640 miles per hour.

It was Montoya's third pole of the year. He also won the top starting spots at New Hampshire and Indianapolis in July.

"We always run really good here," Montoya said afterwards. "We always have good race cars. Right now, (we'll) get ourselves a good pit stall for the race and then see what happens. We'll be ok. Talladega is more about how the car is going to be in the draft and everything. We came with the same thing we had here in the spring, we ran really well. Both (Earnhardt Ganassi) cars ran really well."

Clint Bowyer won the second starting spot with a lap of 184.498 mph. Kurt Busch was third, followed by the unlikely Joe Nemechek and Jeff Gordon.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified sixth, followed by some other lesser-ranked drivers, including Dave Blaney in seventh, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears and Sam Hornish Jr.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/10/30/juan-pablo-montoya-wins-talladega-pole/

William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV

Video: EVO drives the BMW 1 Series M Coupe prototype

EVO 1 Series M Coupe video
EVO drives the BMW 1 Series M Coupe prototype - Click above to watch the video after the jump

We're eagerly anticipating the official debut of the BMW 1 Series M Coupe at January's Detroit Auto Show, and moreover, we're lacing up our driving mocs in anticipation of some much-needed seat time. Before the car's official launch, however, the folks at EVO magazine were able to take the 1 Series M prototype for a quick spin, and might we say, we're jealous.

To recap, the 1M will be powered by the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six found in the Z4 sDrive35is with output rated at 340 horsepower. Combine that with a 3,300-pound curb weight, six-speed manual transmission and a seriously beefed up suspension and we have the makings for a truly impressive driving machine.

Follow the jump to watch EVO's Chris Harris take the 1 Series M out on the road, and stay tuned for the official smattering of images and details closer to the car's Detroit debut.



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Continue reading Video: EVO drives the BMW 1 Series M Coupe prototype

Video: EVO drives the BMW 1 Series M Coupe prototype originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/04/video-evo-drives-the-bmw-1-series-m-coupe-prototype/

Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr

FORCE, SCHUMACHER, ANDERSON AND TONGLET RACE TO VICTORY AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS

NHRA 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 22 of 23 Round 5 of 6 in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs 10th annual NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Oct. 31, 2010 John...

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2010/10/force_schumacher_anderson.php

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott

Tony Stewart Says Repaved Daytona Will Feature Even Closer Racing

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The repaved Daytona International Speedway might as well be a brand-new track, two-time Sprint Cup champ Tony Stewart said Thursday.

Although the project is still only about 75 percent complete, Stewart had a chance to run a production car through turns three and four before a ceremonial appearance at the 2.5-mile speedway Thursday to help paint the new start-finish line.

"I got to rip through three and four and it's not the same race track, I can promise you," Stewart said before taking a roller in hand and joining track president Joie Chitwood III to paint the first few black-and-white squares of the start-finish line. "This place is going to have a totally new look to the drivers and the teams. We're going to fill every square inch of the race track because the surface is so even now."

"tt's going to have a ton of grip," he said. "Before, you had to really work on your handling" because it was so bumpy. "Now, handling is not going to be as crucial. You're going to have more cars in a tighter pack, as wide as they can get, and literally you'll be able to use every inch of the track. And guys will be comfortable doing it, knowing how smooth this surface is now.

"It's going to allow us to go places we've not been able to go and run a lot closer width-wise."

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/10/28/tony-stewart-says-repaved-daytona-will-feature-even-closer-racin/

David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney

Mazda Celebrates the MX-5 Miata?s 20th Anniversary (Again) with the MX-5 Super20 at SEMA

It?s hard to believe twenty years have passed since the Mazda MX-5 Miata reinvented the affordable roadster. In that span, the little two-seater has moved through three generations with upwards of a million cars sold worldwide. There?s already a 20th-anniversary edition on sale in Europe, but Mazda is again celebrating its two-decade run with this [...] Related posts:
  1. 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata 20th Anniversary Edition – Car News
  2. Mazda Releases JDM 20th Anniversary Roadster
  3. 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata – Auto Shows

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/vlKuAvB9Cjs/

Charles Robert Hamilton V David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle

Today?s Headlines

Republican Tidal Wave Crushes House; Democrats Hang on in Senate (NYT, WaPo) Andrew Cuomo Wins NY Governor’s Race Without Breaking a Sweat (NYT, News) Schneiderman Wins AG, DiNapoli Squeaks Through For Comptroller (NYT 1, 2) State Senate Control Could Still End Up Either Way (NYT, Capital Tonight) Shelly Silver Likely, But Not Certain, to Keep Assembly Supermajority (Capital Tonight, [...]

Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/11/03/todays-headlines-1012/

Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss

Belardi Expands Into Firestone Indy Lights

INDIANAPOLIS ? Belardi Auto Racing will expand its efforts in two Road to Indy series in 2011, with plans to field a two-car effort in Firestone Indy Lights Series in addition to its two-car entry in the U.S. F2000 National Championship Series. The team, which previously competed as Liberty Motorsports, will be led by IndyCar veteran Larry Nash of Nash Performance Group, Inc., and will relocate from Rockford, Ill., to Indianapolis.

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/indycar-news/indycar/belardi-expands-into-firestone-indy-lights/

Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr