Season Rewind: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

CHAMPION: Jimmie Johnson It wasn't easy, but somehow Jimmie Johnson claimed his fifth-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title in 2010. (HHP/Harold Hinson Photo) Jimmie Johnson rallied from 33 points behind with two races remaining and won his fifth-consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. While Johnson secured the title with a second-place finish in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the season was not the typical one of domination by the Hendrick Motorsports No

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/nascar-news/nascar/season-rewind-nascar-sprint-cup-series/

Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V David Carl Allison

Ford's Big Goal in 2011: Get out of junk status, lower loan rates

Filed under: ,

Ford grille closeup

2010 was a banner year for Ford Motor Company. Market share and profits were as good as they've been in years, and there is genuine buzz surrounding the Blue Oval's cars and trucks. Heck, even Ford's stock has been a monumental success. But not all that glitters is gold, as Ford is still mired in junk bond status, which in turn makes it more expensive to borrow money. That makes it more pricey for Ford to offer incentives to customers, and lease terms are less attractive than they would otherwise be.

K.R. Kent, Ford's new executive director of investor relations, is charged with getting Ford out of Junk status. Automotive News reports that Ford has been in junk status since 2005 and is currently four grades below junk status after being upgraded by two levels back in August. Ford CFO Lewis Booth admits that the company still has "a lot of steps to go before we get to investment grade." Making the matter more urgent for Ford is the fact that Ally Financial, the finance arm for General Motors and Chrysler, became a bank holding company in the second quarter of 2009. Since that time, AN says that it has been cheaper for Ally to secure loans than Ford Credit.

We're thinking that Ford has a big job in the year ahead, and getting out of junk status will likely take improved auto sales and continued quarterly profits. Booth says Ford will reach its junk-free goal by showing the investment community "authoritative and highly credible insight into our automotive business and Ford Credit."

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]


Ford's Big Goal in 2011: Get out of junk status, lower loan rates originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/31/fords-big-goal-in-2011-get-out-of-junk-status-lower-loan-rate/

Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton

Infineon Raceway, NASCAR Combine to Plant 74 Trees in Vallejo

Infineon RacewaySONOMA, Calif. (Dec. 17, 2010) ? City Park in Vallejo is a little more ?green? these days, thanks to both Infineon Raceway and NASCAR. The city of Vallejo received a donation of 74 trees through ?NASCAR Green Clean Air” ? an initiative that neutralizes all the carbon produced by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events....more»

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2010/sprintcup/12/17/infineon-raceway-nascar-combine-to-plant-74-trees-in-vallejo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=infineon-raceway-nascar-combine-to-plant-74-trees-in-vallejo

Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven

Kansas Speedway Donating to Harvesters BackSnack Program

Money will help feed school children in Wyandotte County Kansas SpeedwayKANSAS CITY, Kan. (Dec. 16, 2010) ?Each year, thousands of children across the country receive free and reduced-price school meals during the week, but are at risk of going hungry on the weekends. That includes Wyandotte County where approximately 1,540 children are enrolled in Harvesters...more»

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2010/sprintcup/12/16/kansas-speedway-donating-to-harvesters-backsnack-program/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kansas-speedway-donating-to-harvesters-backsnack-program

William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV

Stewart: Current F1 field is best ever

Triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart says he rates the current Formula 1 pack as the 'best ever', and believes the likes of Sebastian Vettel can be compared to legends such as Jim Clark, Jack Brabham and Graham Hill. The 2010 season saw one of the most spectacular title battles in F1 history, as Vettel narrowly overcame Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in a season-long, five-way fight

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/stewart-current-f1-field-is-best-ever-2/

Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton

New Book Tackles NASCAR's Greatest Debates

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

EDITORS NOTE: When you start talking about Richard Petty's rightful place in NASCAR history vs. Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon, you're going to get in an argument.

In his first book, Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates, recently published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski tackles these questions and provides his unique viewpoint. Prior to joining FanHouse over a year ago as an editor, Jerry Bonkowski was National NASCAR Columnist for Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com and wrote for USA Today.

Here are several excerpts from Bonkowski's book, which is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other book stores, as well as online at Amazon.com.

WHO'S THE GREATEST NASCAR DRIVER EVER?

This debate always gets passionate fans going, with typically mild-mannered individuals turning into raving, obsessed fanatics if someone dares to challenge the superiority of the guy they so proudly call "their" driver. Think of a 140-pound, Woody Allen-looking dweeb who lives and breathes Kasey Kahne suddenly getting a surge of testosterone, puffing out his chest while forgetting common sense, and stupidly trying to take on a hulking, 300-pound redneck who takes great offense if you say anything bad about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Then watch the punched-out Woody Allen-esque fan suddenly wind up doing a frightening, almost cartoonlike barrel roll through the air like the great Rusty Wallace did more than a few times during his career at places like Talladega Superspeedway.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/06/new-book-tackles-nascars-greatest-debates/

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III

Video: Toyota Prius Cozy is a total stitch

Filed under: , , , , ,

Toyota Prius Cozy
Toyota warms up the Prius with a cozy - Click above to watch video after the jump

No matter what part of the country you live in, temperatures are probably a bit colder than you might like. Whether that's 65 degrees in Arizona or negative numbers in the Midwest, it's the time of year for extra layers. You know what else gets cold? Your car. To remedy this, Toyota decided to get a bunch of crochet pros together and have them knit a cozy... for a Prius.

We really can't add anything else here... grab some cocoa, put on the holiday sweater your grandmother bought for you and hop the jump to view the clip.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Toyota Prius Cozy is a total stitch

Video: Toyota Prius Cozy is a total stitch originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/30/video-toyota-prius-cozy-is-a-total-stitch/

Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt

Sam Hornish Jr. May Return to Indy 500

Filed under: , , ,

LAS VEGAS -- Three-time IndyCar champ and 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr.'s NASCAR future remains in limbo, but his team owner, Roger Penske, said Thursday that he will likely field Hornish in the Daytona 500 and possibly in the Indianapolis 500, too.

Penske confirmed the news during a sponsorship announcement at his Ferrari dealership in the Wynn Las Vegas Thursday, where the team unveiled Kurt Busch's new No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series and a similar design for the iconic No. 3 Penske car that three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will drive at Indy next May.

For all his success in open-wheel racing, Hornish has never managed to make a big splash in NASCAR's big leagues, with only a pair of top-five finishes and eight top-10 efforts in 108 starts over three full seasons. And with no primary sponsor signed for his No. 77 Dodge, Penske said Hornish still doesn't have a full schedule set for 2011. Penske said both a limited Cup and Nationwide Series slate were possibilities.

"I told him that, at the end of the day, I'd much rather do a program where we can support you 100 percent than have some pick-up program with not enough sponsors,'' Penske said. "We need to have the continuity. We have a number of opportunities, but we just couldn't get them closed at this point.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/03/sam-hornish-jr-may-return-to-indy-500/

Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch

Formula BMW Talent Cup winner to line up in ATS Formula 3 Cup.

BMW Motorsport Formula BMW Talent Cup Munich, 22nd December 2010. The attractive prize for the winner of the 2011 Formula BMW Talent Cup has been announced: The most successful graduate of the new BMW junior programme will receive full financing...

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2010/12/formula_bmw_talent_cup_wi.php

Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr