2010 Team Reviews: Roush Fenway Racing Charts Upward Trend

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Roush Fenway Racing, coming off a 2009 season that started with a bang after Matt Kenseth's Daytona 500 win and ended with the thud of being largely uncompetitive, moved in the right direction again in 2010.

Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth all raced their way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup field this time around, a nice turnaround after the former champ Kenseth failed to secure a spot in last year's championship battle. David Ragan, however, continued down the same path of his dismal 2009 season.

The team reeled off three wins in the 2010 campaign, but most notably finished it on quite a high note with Edwards' end-of-the-season dominance as Jimmie Johnson strutted to the Sprint Cup title.

Outside of the stats, Edwards also made it an interesting year for the Roush-Fenway public relations department with his on-track actions, particularly with Brad Keselowski.

But no one was involved in more dramatics than team co-owner Jack Roush himself, who survived his second plane crash when he crash-landed his jet while trying to touch down at Oshkosh, Wis., in July. The crash cost Roush the sight in his left eye, among other non-permanent injuries.

4th - Carl Edwards [2 wins, 9 Top-5s, 19 Top-10s, 2 DNFs, 11.8 Avg. Finish]

The Carl Edwards roller coaster -- a ride that featured a loop around the 2007 Chase and a near-miss at dethroning Jimmie Johnson and then a steep drop into a mediocre 2009 season -- started back up the next hill in 2010, complete with some jaw-dropping bumps along the way.

The most obvious reflection on 2010 for Edwards was his late-season performance that netted him wins in the season's final two races. They were the culmination of the steady progress Edwards started to most noticeably show in mid-summer races. After his long drought, winning 2010's final two races had to leave Edwards and No. 99 team feeling good headed to Daytona Beach in February.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/01/03/2010-team-reviews-roush-fenway-racing-charts-upward-trend/

Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 ? First Drive Review

A race car for the private-jet set. With most of the world?s roadways growing ever more crowded, and with penalties for speeding becoming ever more draconian?a Swedish man faced a $1 million fine in Switzerland for doing 180 mph in a 75-mph zone in his Mercedes SLS AMG last year?it?s getting harder and harder to exercise [...] Related posts:
  1. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 – Auto Shows
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  3. 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – First Drive Review

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/5BeW4kWeEjc/

David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney

Next Toyota Highlander to form basis for new Subaru Tribeca?

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2010 Subaru Tribeca
2010 Subaru Tribeca - Click above for high-res image gallery

From the sound of things, Subaru and Toyota are getting cozier than ever. According to Motor Trend, the two companies are currently exploring ways to integrate platforms, and the fruit of that exploration may very well be the next Tribeca. MT is reporting that engineers are currently looking for ways to base the next-generation Subaru crossover on the bones of the Toyota Highlander. Both models are slated for replacement in 2014, and there's some indication that the two vehicles will share more than a few bolts when they debut.

According to MT, the project isn't without hiccups, however. As with the FT-86, both companies need to find a way to work around the Subaru 3.6-liter flat-six found in the nose of the current Tribeca. MT points out that the FT-86 avoided this issue by simply using the Subaru engine in the Toyota variant of the sports coupe, though at this point it's unclear how the Tribeca/Highlander will overcome that particular hurdle. In addition, the crossover platform will also need room for the Highlander hybrid model's battery packs, which may mean that Subaru will jump into the gas-electric game as well.



[Source: Motor Trend]

Next Toyota Highlander to form basis for new Subaru Tribeca? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/03/next-toyota-highlander-to-form-basis-for-new-subaru-tribeca/

David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney

Repaved Daytona Track Smooth and Bump-Free, Drivers Say

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The freshly repaved track at Daytona International Speedway is smooth, has plenty of grip and plenty of room for racing, said NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who participated in Wednesday's Goodyear tire tests at the track.

"They smoothed out all the bumps," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 2004 Daytona 500 champion. "The track is real smooth. It's got a lot of grip. The track reminds me a lot like Talladega was like when they first finished it.

"The racing during the drafting was exciting and I think it is going to be a good show, a more exciting show for the fans because the cars are going to stay real tight on each other throughout entire runs."

The speedway said 18 drivers took part in the tire test Wednesday -- the first day of a two-day Goodyear test to determine the proper tire compound for the 2.5-mile speedway's new racing surface before the 53rd annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Drivers turned laps on the speedway in both single car and drafting sessions.

It was the first time race cars have been on the track at speed since the repaving job was completed earlier this month. From July to December, the entire track was repaved for only the second time since it was built and opened in 1959.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/15/repaved-daytona-track-smooth-and-bump-free-drivers-say/

William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV

Cast Your Vote For the 2010 Streetsies

Even after 51 weeks of reporting on NYC’s sustainable transportation and street safety scene, it’s still somewhat stunning to sit back and pore over the sheer volume of news that happened in the past year. 2010 was an epically bad year for transit riders, leavened by some important flashes of innovation. New York also saw [...]

Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/12/22/cast-your-vote-for-the-2010-streetsies/

Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch

Tech 1 brings Arthur Pic into FR3.5

Tech 1 Racing will promote Frenchman Arthur Pic to its Formula Renault 3.5 team in 2011. The 19-year-old younger brother of GP2 driver Charles competed with the Toulouse-based squad in last year's Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. Pic finished third in the championship, demonstrating considerable speed with a run of seven consecutive pole positions in the early part of the season.

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/3rdparty/tech-1-brings-arthur-pic-into-fr3-5/

Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt