You Tell Us the Motorsports Story of 2010

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Thanks to history-making performances and an abundance of audacious racing, motor racing provided the entire sports world with some of the most compelling stories of the year.

Perhaps we should have seen it coming. The surreal pothole misadventure in the season-opening Daytona 500 may have been a sign this would be a year like no other.

Whether a highlight reel of great efforts or one of great feuds grabbed your attention, FanHouse wants you, the fans, to pick the motorsports story of the year, and I have spotlighted a few of the plenty to chose from.

Jimmie Johnson's unprecedented fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title is Hall of Fame worthy and will likely never be equaled, nor will 60-year-old drag racing icon John Force's amazing 15th championship run in NHRA Funny Car drag racing, coming as it did three years after a death-defying crash.

Chip Ganassi became the first team owner in history to win the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in the same year and threw in victories in NASCAR's Brickyard 400 Indianapolis race, the IZOD IndyCar Series championship and the Grand-Am sports car title for good measure. NASCAR's favorite bad boy Kyle Busch good-naturedly endured the boos and jeers en route to victory circle after victory circle, racking up a record 24 wins in three national divisions.

Team Penske driver Will Power returned from a broken back in 2009 with a series-best five wins and eight poles in the IZOD IndyCar Series, only to have rival Dario Franchitti dramatically grab the championship in the final race -- the second straight year Franchitti trailed entering the last race and took the trophy home.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/30/you-tell-us-the-motorsports-story-of-2010/

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Di Resta and Hulkenberg fight for Force India seat

As the winter nights have shortened so too have the prospects of finding a Formula 1 drive for two of the sport's brightest prospects.

Nico Hulkenberg - rated as the best rookie of 2010 - and Paul di Resta - Britain's third driver in Formula 1 alongside Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button - find themselves fighting for a drive.

At the end of the season, Williams released Hulkenberg in favour of cash-rich GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado.

Hulkenberg's sudden unemployment has complicated matters for Di Resta as the German is now closing in on the Force India seat the Scot has been warming all season as the team's reserve.

To add to the dilemma, Force India's incumbent drivers, Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Luizzi, still have ties to the team with Italian Liuzzi contracted for 2011 and German Sutil sitting on a one-year option to continue.

Formula 1 insiders believe the hearts and minds of Force India are with Di Resta and the team want to give him one of the two seats that are listed as 'TBA' on the official entry list.

After joining the Silverstone-based team as a reserve for 2010, the Scot drove capably in eight first practice sessions on grand prix weekends.

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The auburn-haired Di Resta, a laidback and likeable addition to the paddock, quietly impressed the team with his technical feedback and commitment.

At the same time, the 24-year-old proved he was a winner by clinching the German Touring Car championship (DTM) for Mercedes on his weekends away from F1.

His manager Anthony Hamilton - father of McLaren driver Lewis - says: "There hasn't been one bit of negative information from the team about Paul.

"He has done a great job, the team love him. He's a champion and a leader. Nothing has changed; he is still a contender for a race seat. We are very positive."

Hulkenberg, however, is also an intriguing prospect for any F1 team.

The 23-year-old stole the headlines in the midst of the dramatic championship battle by snatching a blistering pole at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Yes, Hulkenberg had benefited from some tactical groundwork by team-mate Rubens Barrichello on his previous qualifying lap but the German's feat was still far beyond that of any of the other four F1 newcomers.

Humorous and straight-talking, Hulkenberg came into F1 on the back of a glittering junior career - where he won titles in karting, Formula BMW, Formula Three and the 2009 GP2 Series - and is now a highly-rated F1 prospect

Both Hulkenberg and Di Resta are gifted drivers - but in F1 money often talks louder than talent.

Despite being impressed by Hulkenberg's "exceptional" skills, Sir Frank Williams let him go in favour of Maldonado simply because he could bring in a reputed 10m euros - largely from Venezuela's state oil company - at a time when the Williams team had lost several key business partners.

When it comes to securing their own future, the problem for both Hulkenberg and Di Resta is that they don't bring any cash to the table.

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Hulkenberg himself says: "It has become much, much harder to open doors if your application does not come with a serious sponsor package and you really only rely on your talent as the sole 'sales argument'."

The complex situation at Force India means the team need to find the cash to buy Liuzzi out of his existing contract - so contributions from a replacement would be welcome.

And of all those in the frame only Sutil, who is understood to have bought around 2m euros to the team in 2010, has the immediate funds to strike that deal.

Force India's engine partner Mercedes-Benz could also influence the team's decision.

What if its own-brand Mercedes Grand Prix team wanted to scout out potential replacements for Michael Schumacher or Nico Rosberg by paying to place a driver in another team?

Di Resta is already well-connected and well-liked by Mercedes, especially after his DTM win, but Hulkenberg, as a rising German star, could be a perfect future fit for the Silver Arrows.

For now, Di Resta and Hulkenberg are playing the waiting game.

Hulkenberg's management company, whose founder Willi Weber also plotted Schumacher's career, opened talks at the final race in Abu Dhabi and said they had expected Force India to have made their decision by now.

Di Resta is sitting down with the team this week to discuss his future role.

Although nine cockpits are still to be filled on the 2011 grid, options elsewhere remain squeezed.

Hulkenberg's team have already approached Toro Rosso and Renault but found no room at the inn.

Toro Rosso will stick with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, with newly-signed third driver Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. The renamed Lotus Renault team are widely expected to retain Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov alongside star driver Robert Kubica.

Timo Glock has confirmed he is staying at Marussia Virgin, with Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and Belgian Jerome D'Ambrosio - both of whom come with sponsorship - the favourites to join him. Back-of-the-grid Hispania first need to find someone to build their 2011 car before confirming drivers.

Di Resta already has a contract to continue as Force India's third driver in 2011, while Hulkenberg has been linked to the same role at Mercedes and Ferrari.

In the fickle world of Formula 1, it is never a bad idea to have a Plan B.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2010/12/as_the_winter_nights_have.html

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NASCAR Tracks - The Martinsville Speedway

The Martinsville Speedway is celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007.

The Martinsville Speedway track was sold to International Speedway Corporation in 2004 and has been defined as the "biggest deal in NASCAR" to date. Recently, International Speedway Corporation has been purchasing race tracks in an effort to gain a majority in the number of races on the circuit. The Martinsville Speedway ticket office is open daily 9 a.m. The ticket office will be open this Saturday, March 24, from 9 a.m. The Martinsville speedway in Virginia has been home to NASCAR races for the entire time it was constructed except the very first year. Martinsville Speedway was formed in 1947 and hosted various races for the entire year and in 1948 NASCAR was formed and begun racing at the Martinsville Speedway.

Martinsville Speedway is located just miles out of the city of Martinsville, Virginia. This facility is proud to be recognized as the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still hosting Nextel Cup competitions. Martinsville Speedway is one of the oldest venues on the NASCAR schedule; the paper clip shaped track is famous for close, intense action as Nextel Cup stock cars beat and bang on each other for 500 laps.

Martinsville Speedway tickets are worth the expense for any event because of the electrifying atmosphere. Martinsville Speedway opened in 1947 with 750 seats and has grown continuously over the years. But other than being paved in 1955, the track configuration has not changed since Red Byron won the inaugural event. Martinsville Speedway is one of the oldest venues on the NASCAR schedule; the paper clip shaped track is famous for close, intense action as Nextel Cup stock cars beat and bang on each other for 500 laps.

The Martinsville speedway in Virginia has been home to NASCAR races for the entire time it was constructed except the very first year. Martinsville Speedway was formed in 1947 and hosted various races for the entire year and in 1948 NASCAR was formed and begun racing at the Martinsville Speedway. The Martinsville Speedway ticket office is open daily 9 a.m. The ticket office will be open this Saturday, March 24, from 9 a.m.

Martinsville Speedway ran the first NASCAR race there on July 4, 1948. When Martinsville Speedway opened in 1947 it only had 750 seats. Today the track holds over 70,000 race fans and is continually improving the facilities.

The paper clip shaped track is famous for close, intense action as Nextel Cup stock cars beat and bang on each other for 500 laps. Martinsville Speedway is located just miles out of the city of Martinsville, Virginia. This facility is proud to be recognized as the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still hosting Nextel Cup competitions.

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Article Source: NASCAR Tracks - The Martinsville Speedway

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/189624/nascar-tracks-the-martinsville-speedway

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Why is Safety in NASCAR Still Lagging?

NASCAR racing is all about speed, adrenaline, checkered flags, and, unfortunatley, accidents and injuries. Its in the news almost on a daily basis nowadays. "Dale Earnhardt Jr. briefly lost consciousness and he hid a significant head injury from his team and NASCAR last year", "Winston Cup driver Jerry Nadeau, critically injured during a crash during practice at Richmond International Raceway", etc... We will discuss what causes these crashes and injuries and what is currently being done to prevent them and why more needs to be done.

The worst injuries result in death and lately their have been numerous basal skull fractures received by drivers like Dale Earnhardt and Adam Petty. Doctors have determined that a helmet harness is a good protective measure to stop some of these injuries. A basal skull fracture can result fro a severe whipping forward motion and/or a sudden abrupt stop - as in Dale Earnhardt's case. A basal skull fracture almost always results in immediate death. Another highly effective measure is shock or crash absorbing walls instead of steel reinforced concrete walls that have zero give - These could have spared Jerry Nadeau from his severe injuries or at least limited them. These walls are now being introduced and installed at several tracks.

NASCAR is over 50 years old. Why does it take a famous death or several to begin safety measures or to take them more seriously? Why is it that our own automobiles have air bags, side airbags, crumple zones, etc... Can't these same devices be reconfigured for NASCAR specs. Air bags have been proven in tests to be highly effective at speeds well over 100 mph. NASCAR drivers deserve more protection than we are currently giving them. The problem is that more attention has been given to advertising, advertisers, and speed. Placement of advertisers stickers on the car were and still are more important than the driver. More money is spent to make sure the different advertisers have their brands clearly displayed on the driver and car than on any safety measures. Some safety measures are thought of as increasing too much weight and are therefor discarded (thicker firewalls, absorbant

Take any other sport - Football, Baseball, basketball - the athletes don't have stickers, or patches with 50 different sponsors all over them. They are actually more concerned about athlete safety over advertising revenue in these sports, not in NASCAR, though. Yes, NASCAR is experiencing a huge winfall in earnings lately, but that cannot bring back the great legends like Dale Earnhardt. There is no problem with sport profits, but lets focus a little more on safety of our athletes. With all the money NASCAR has they should already be installing safety walls at all tracks, not just a few. Lets focus on safety rather than just on advertising dollars. That way we won't be left praying for our drivers outcome after a crash anymore.

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Article Source: Why is Safety in NASCAR Still Lagging?

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/44000/why-is-safety-in-nascar-still-lagging

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Why America Loves NASCAR Racing

NASCAR Racing has become one of the most popular sports in America and its popularity is increasing every year. For those of us who are NASCAR fans we completely understand why it has increased in popularity, but many others don't understand why. To those non-NASCAR fans, they ask, "What is there to love about a sport with just left turns?".

So why is NASCAR racing so popular? It is hard to say, but I think that there are several reasons that come up over and over. This article will explore why NASCAR fans love the sport so much..

The first reason that NASCAR racing is so popular is that it is easy to follow. My wife has watched football all of her life, but to this day she does not truly understand the rules. However, the rules of NASCAR racing are fairly easy. As with any race, the NASCAR driver that finishes first wins. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Over 100,000 NASCAR fans show up at the racetrack every week to watch their favorite NASCAR drivers race toward the Sprint Cup. But many million more fans have a Sunday ritual of watching television on raceday. This doesn't even count the many more who gain access to BUSCH races, qualifying sessions, and practice sessions. There are also many race fans who make big weekend events out of races with tailgating and barbeque grilling.

The second reason why NASCAR racing is so popular is because NASCAR has done a great job making it a family sport. Husbands, wives and children all love to watch the races together as a family. A husband may like Tony Stewart, a wife Dale Jr and the kids liking Jeff Gordon. This is one of the biggest reason why NASCAR racing has seen an increase in popularity. It is a family sport. Both kids and adults like racing.

Another one of the many reasons why NASCAR racing has seen an increase in popularity is because of the drivers. Most racers seem like your average guys. They don't come off as primadonnas like in baseball and basketball. Many NASCAR drivers started racing around dirt tracks and come from normal upbringings just like the fans of the sport..

NASCAR is popular for many different number of reasons. One article can't describe in totality why millions of Americans tune into watch a NASCAR race. However, the results speak for themselves. NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in terms of popularity in the United States. It is showing no signs of leveling out in its grow of fans.

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Article Source: Why America Loves NASCAR Racing

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/62260/why-america-loves-nascar-racing

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Training To Work Among NASCAR Motorsports Finest

A garage technician might have big dreams of working around NASCAR racecars but will keep those dreams in check because they know they are not trained to work on that equipment or any other high performance engines for that matter. The typical garage mechanic might be able to repair a street model automobile, but it takes a lot of training to work among motorsports finest.

The automobiles that are part of the NASCAR motorsports realm are not the everyday automobile. They might fall under automobile manufacturing names that are well known throughout the automobile industry but they are not the kind that are easy to care for in a local garage. The engines used are tooled to be precision instruments that are capable of achieving over 200 miles per hour in the stretch. To enable the engines to maintain those speeds requires the care and expertise of a graduate of the NASCAR automotive schools.

Automotive engineers and the whim's of the car's owner, might have the NASCAR racing machines in the garage for inspections at any time. They might craftily mold the body parts to exact specifications and match sure that all emblematic decals are perfectly matched. It will be the responsibility of these motorsports technicians to ensure that they car can race every weekend and if parts need to be order and installed by race day, it is there job to do it.

Since there are many automobile manufacturers included in the mix that lines up at the starting line of NASCAR races week to week, there is a dire need for qualified technicians that have been thoroughly trained to meet the racing engine needs. A simple class in automotive mechanics will just not be sufficient enough to make repairs on vehicles that run at such high speeds more than 40 weekends out of the year. This type of need requires someone that is fast and a fan of racing.

Many automotive mechanics would jump at the chance to earn a career opportunity that allows them to work on NASCAR engines. There is a wide range of courses available that can be taken online with significant discounts on tuition to those that qualify. The training will be very thorough and all applicants can look forward to learning all about engines and how to be a member of a professional pit crew. The training courses move at a brisk speed which fits in well with the world of racing.

To achieve training to work among NASCAR motorsports finest requires training time in the classroom and on the racetrack too. The typical automotive mechanic might learn a thing or two about performance engines when they delve into those engines in a class filled with their peers. The people that graduate from the NASCAR automotive schools are well-rounded people who have dug in and learned things that they never knew were possible. NASCAR will expect high performance out of the graduates of the schools because they have a lot of money riding on the equipment and the driver that sits in the front seat.

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Article Source: Training To Work Among NASCAR Motorsports Finest

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/66565/training-to-work-among-nascar-motorsports-finest

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F1 teams battle over cost-cutting

The first race of the 2011 season is still two months away, but the fight for a competitive advantage in Formula 1 is still raging away behind the scenes.

As their engineers put the finishing touches to their new cars in time for the start of pre-season testing next month, team bosses are trying to thrash out a new cost-saving agreement. And it's getting a bit nasty.

Rivals - almost without exception, I'm told - believe Red Bull exceeded en route to winning the world title last year the limitations laid out in the document that defines how teams commit their budgets. They also claim that Red Bull are blocking a new version of the so-called Resource Restriction Agreement to take the sport through to 2017, where the current one runs only to 2012.

One insider at a rival team said Red Bull had been "flouting" the RRA. This is quite a serious accusation, as it effectively claims Red Bull either spent longer developing the aerodynamics of their car, employed more staff, or spent more money - or all three - than they were allowed to. In other words, they had an unfair advantage.

Red Bull deny outright that they overspent in 2010, and insist they are objecting to the revised agreement only because it is flawed in its current form and they want to ensure it is "fair and equitable". More of which in a moment.

"We've worked in accordance with the RRA limits since they were introduced," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told BBC Sport. "With tremendous hard work and internal efficiencies, we believe we've absolutely adhered to it.

"Red Bull has committed its budgets wisely and it's obviously surprising that people will feel that way, but it's inevitable, I guess, when you're at the front and winning races."

No one will go on the record to confirm their suspicions about Red Bull, but Virgin Racing chief executive officer Graeme Lowdon, while making it clear he does not know about Red Bull's budget, says: "On something as fundamental as this, on something that's there to make the whole business you're in sustainable, if someone was to even breach the spirit of that, then that's extremely disappointing.

"I cannot see how anyone can level a criticism at an RRA. If it made a worse show, or watered it down, then there would be a case to answer. But it doesn't so it's very disappointing if teams ignore something as fundamental as this."

In many ways, this financial dispute echoes the technical rows that enveloped Red Bull in 2010.

Unable to explain or understand how the RB6 car was so fast, rivals first accused Red Bull of having an illegal ride-height control system, and then of an overly flexible front wing. Red Bull insisted the car was completely legal, and the FIA, F1's governing body, never found otherwise.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner

Horner finds Red Bull in the middle of another controversy about 2010. Photo: Getty

"We expect other teams to potentially challenge [whether we have over-spent]," Horner says, "as they have done on front wings and ride heights and everything else in the course of last year. But we don't have any issue.

"Red Bull probably has the third or fourth biggest budget in F1. We spent prudently and have achieved great efficiency within the factory, and we have to top that in 2011."

This row has come up in the context of negotiations over revising ways of controlling F1's costs. Keeping a lid on budgets is, along with ensuring the racing remains as good as possible, one of the central themes for F1 stake-holders at the moment, as the sport's bosses seek to ensure it remains both compelling for its audience and affordable for its competitors in a difficult economic climate.

The RRA is the document the teams drew up in 2009 to control costs in F1. It defines a series of limitations on resources, getting stricter through 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the penalties for exceeding them. But it was always meant as a stepping-stone to a longer agreement.

In the current agreement, there is a sliding scale of penalties covering the following main areas of resource commitment:

  • Aerodynamic development, measured in wind-tunnel hours or computational fluid dynamics data, with the more you do of one, up to a given limit, meaning the less you can do of the other;
  • Total staff numbers, from 350 in 2010 down to 280 in 2011, and total external spend, from 40m Euros in 2010, down to 20m Euros in 2011, with the more you commit to one, the less you can spend on the other.

The penalties were based on a sliding scale. For example, a breach of up to 5% is punished by having that same amount taken off your resource allocation for the next year; a breach of 5-10% means having 1.1 times that amount taken off; and so on.

The new document - the fundamentals of which were largely agreed at a meeting at the Singapore Grand Prix last September - changes that.

One team principal, who did not wish to be identified, said that the new RRA relaxes the restrictions on resources - teams can spend a bit more money and employ a few more staff - and in return the policing is stricter, both in terms of how teams' spending is analysed and the penalties for exceeding the limits.

But the detail is proving problematic, with Red Bull in particular unhappy about the new document as it stands.

Horner says his objections are rooted in ensuring the new RRA, which would run until 2017, does what it is intended to do.

"The RRA is a positive thing for F1," he says. "I think a solution can be found for the outstanding issues, it just needs some sensible discussion between the teams, because the thought of an unrestricted spend in F1 is unpalatable for all the teams.

"So it is a matter of achieving transparency and a fair and equitable system between all independent and manufacturer-owned teams so that no party is at an advantage or disadvantage."

"The resource restriction needs to be sorted quite quickly because at the moment it is unclear what rules we are working to in 2011 in many respects, so it's important a solution is found and I think one will be found."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/01/f1_teams_battle_over_cost-cutt.html

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