Tony Kanaan Signs With DeFerran Dragon Racing for 2011 IndyCar Season

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In the second major IZOD IndyCar Series team announcement in the last week, de Ferran Dragon Racing named 2004 series champ Tony Kanaan to drive its No. 2 car for the 2011 season.

Kanaan, one of the most popular drivers in the series (shown above with his three-year-old son, Leonardo), parted ways with Andretti Autosport at the end of the season when his car's primary sponsor, 7-Eleven, withdrew its funding of the car.

The new job unites Kanaan, 35, with fellow Brazilian and longtime friend, team co-owner Gil de Ferran, a two-time former CART champion and the 2003 Indy 500 winner. Legendary owner Roger Penske's son, Jay Penske, and Steve Luczo are also owners of the three-year-old team, which is still looking for its first IndyCar victory.

"We are still young and developing and Tony is a big addition,'' said de Ferran, who joined Kanaan in their native Brazil for the announcement on Monday. "I have no doubt he will bring speed and determination but he'll also help us shortcut a lot of the development process.

"This news certainly clarifies that we are serious in our intention to become a major force in series.''

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/20/tony-kanaan-signs-with-deferran-dragon-racing-for-2011-indycar-s/

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WRC: Latvala feels ready for title fight

Latvala feels ready for title fight By David Evans Sunday, January 2nd 2011, 14:59 GMT Jari-Matti Latvala says he is ready to challenge for next year's World Rally Championship after spending this season as Ford's number two driver. The Finn, who consistently out-scored his senior team-mate Mikko Hirvonen, enjoyed his most successful season to date, finishing second in the end of year standings after scoring two victories. Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson declined to comment on the precise nature of the tactics he would deploy for his team in 2011, but it is reckoned Latvala and Hirvonen will share joint number one status Related posts:
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  3. WRC: Ford delighted with Latvala’s pace Ford delighted with Latvala's pace By David Evans Saturday, October...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/wrc-latvala-feels-ready-for-title-fight/

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NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Continues To Thrive

Whoever thought that the current economic turmoil would leave the grandstands empty at sporting events didn't consider NASCAR's dedicated fan base. Stock car racing is one of America's favorite pastimes, and enthusiasts of the racing league have recently been proving their dedication to the sport, as NASCAR tickets have been selling out even despite the hard times during this recession. The gigantic amount of support from NASCAR fans has been overwhelming, and it was proven once again last weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway, when a sold-out crowd came down to the grandstands to cheer on their favorite NASCAR drivers at the Food City 500.

Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee is one of stock car racing's most coveted racetracks, and last week's Food City 500 set a track record, but it wasn't the racecar drivers breaking precedents. For the 54th consecutive event in a row, the half-mile speedway sold out tickets to the track for a race, filling up all 160,000 seats in the stadium with racing enthusiasts set to cheer on their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors like Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. While the Bristol Motor Speedway has sold out tickets to the Food City 500 every year since 1982, this year the track and its employees had to work extra hard to turn out tickets to fans, as several corporate sponsors had handed their tickets back in during this economic recession. Bristol nonetheless accomplished this task, letting the tradition live on this year at the Tennessee track. The Food City 500 was also the second race of this NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to sell out, following in the footsteps of the season opener at the Daytona 500.

At last weekend's Food City 500 race, the sold-out crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway watched anxiously as Kyle Busch zoomed his way to another Cup Series victory, yanking his second win of the season (after Las Vegas earlier this month) and also his second career win at what is dubbed "the world's fastest half-mile." Busch held off Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (respectively) to whiz down Victory Lane in first place, using all the help he could get from his pit crew to propel him to the top of the NASCAR race. Busch almost lost his race-leading edge after a late pit stop in last week's Food City race, but after communicating with his pit crew, Busch said that, "I told the ladies to man up, and they got it done on the next stop. It is pretty awesome to win here. I should have won last fall here. We've had great cars, we just keep ruining it on pit road."

Kyle Busch now sits in fourth place overall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, loosening the grip Jeff Gordon has over the league in points and climbing three spots from the last race. Gordon is still in first place in standings after finishing fourth at Bristol, sitting pretty with 794 total points while Kurt Busch has 718, Clint Bowyer has 715, Kyle Busch has 709 and Carl Edwards has 665. It's still anyone's game, however, so get tickets to a NASCAR race online and come out to the track to watch these phenomenal drivers speed circles around their competitors during the rest of the 2009 racing season!

This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Continues To Thrive

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/251701/nascar-tickets-nascar-continues-to-thrive

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F1 gurus lead a revolution in car design

Formula 1 is undergoing a quiet revolution.

In two years' time, the cars that line up on the grid for the start of the 2013 season will be vastly different from those that raced in 2010.

Governing body the FIA has already announced that the current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8 engines will be replaced by 1.6-litre turbocharged versions with integrated energy recovery systems.

Now, BBC Sport can reveal that, driven by this big change to the engine regulations, the cars will also undergo their own huge revisions.

To the casual observer, they will still look like F1 cars and, importantly, will still go like them. But within the limitations of an open-cockpit, single-seater racing car with exposed wheels, they will be very different from current machines.

Gone will be the huge, snowplough front wings that have been required since the last major change of rules. Gone will be the high, chunky rear wings. Gone, too, will be the high-revving shriek of the engines.

In their place will be a car with much smaller front and rear wings and the much flatter, lower-pitched sound of a lower-revving turbo.

And critically - although largely invisible - there will be a shaped underfloor, replacing the flat bottoms that have been on F1 cars since 1983.

The 1982 Ferrari - a 126C2 - also possessed a small front wing

The 1982 Ferrari - a 126C2 - also possessed a small front wing

These external changes reflect a major change in the philosophy behind the cars and, as with the turbo engines, it is a case of back to the future. As the 1980s dominate the latest High Street fashions, so F1 is borrowing from technologies last seen then and updating them for the 21st century.

F1 last saw turbo engines in 1988. The last time cars had shaped underbodies was 1982. Those were the days of 'ground effect', when designers created huge amounts of aerodynamic downforce - and high cornering speeds - by accelerating the air under the car through the use of curved underfloors to create a 'venturi effect'. This was enhanced by the use of 'skirts', which sealed the underbody and prevented air leaking out of the sides.

We are not talking about a return to those days but the general principle is the same. Just as the cars in the 1979-82 period had small front and rear wings, so will the cars of 2013 and beyond.

The difference now is that whereas in the late 1970s and early '80s aerodynamics in F1 cars were still relatively in their infancy and designers were simply chasing as much as they could, now they are highly refined. And the men behind the proposed new rules are using the underfloor of the car to create efficient - but strictly limited - downforce.

The FIA recognised that if it was to make such a major change to the cars, it needed to be done as effectively and credibly as possible. So to help draw up the new rules they asked two of the most respected and experienced designers they could find - Patrick Head and Rory Byrne.

Between them, Head, the engineering director of Williams, and Byrne, now retired but formerly of Benetton and Ferrari, have won a total of 17 constructors' titles and 15 drivers' titles. They were first approached by FIA president Jean Todt in March 2010.

Among the provisos Head and Byrne were given were: a) at the very least, make sure the changes did not make overtaking any harder than it already is; and b) make the cars a bit harder to drive - the target being for a driver to be able to be on full throttle for only about 50% of the lap, as opposed to the current average of 70%.

The new regulations are being fine-tuned by FIA race director Charlie Whiting this week before being sent to the 12 F1 teams for analysis. In the new year, they will be critiqued at the sport's Technical Working Group, a group of leading engineers who effectively define the technical rules.

Head says "sure as hell there'll be some small changes" there. The basic philosophy, though, is expected to stay the same, while Head says the shaped underfloor is "inevitable".

"It all starts with the fact that we are only going to have roughly 65% of the amount of fuel, and a (limited) fuel flow rate," he explains. "When you're very limited on fuel, it's very clear you've got to reduce drag enormously. OK, the tyres are a very high proportion of the drag but we decided not to put tiny skinny tyres on it because it's still required to go around corners quickly.

"So the next thing you turn to is the massive rear wing we're running at the moment and as soon as you replace that with a much smaller one, it's 'Oh, we've lost all our downforce, so what can we do?' So inevitably you end up with a shaped underside."

This idea has been around for a long time - as long ago as 1998, when another working group, led by the late Dr Harvey Postlethwaite, also suggested reducing the sizes of front and rear wings and re-introducing shaped underfloors. The idea was canned by then FIA president Max Mosley.

Back then, the motivating factor was to improve the racing. In theory, cars designed this way can follow each other more closely than modern F1 cars.

Currently, drivers experience a severe lack of grip when they get to within about a second of a car in front because the airflow to their cars, particularly over the critical front wing, is badly disturbed.

In theory, with smaller wings and a greater proportion of the total downforce coming from under the car, there is less disturbance in the wake of the car in front, so a following car loses less aerodynamic downforce. It therefore retains more grip, allowing drivers to get closer to the car they want to overtake, making passing easier.

Under these new rules, any benefit to the racing will be secondary. The first goal is improving the cars' efficiency.

But it's just possible that, in chasing a goal that is all about keeping F1 in step with a world of diminishing fossil fuels, the effect will be to make overtaking easier.

Chastened by years of rule changes aimed at making cars more raceable that made no discernible difference, those involved are cagey about that for now. But one senior figure will at least admit the thought is on their minds.

"One of the fundamental parts of this," he said, "was that it wouldn't make it worse. But we do believe that if you can ensure there's less disturbance in the wake, that's good."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/12/formula_1_is_undergoing_a_quie.html

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British GP: "Number Two" driver, Webber takes perfect win

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TDoZtx-GvoI/AAAAAAAAGeo/YDiUctgxgWg/s1600/Webber+takes+perfect+win.jpg

July 11 '10

Mark Webber won his first British Grand Prix in style. ?Not bad for a number two driver? radioed Webber to his race engineer after the end of the race.

Lewis Hamilton finished second for Mclaren in front of his home crowd, while Mercedes' Nico Rosberg bagged third.

The Race in brief
Webber overtook his teammate Sebastian Vettel at the start, with the latter experiencing a tyre puncture only seconds later. While the German had to make a short trip to the pits for a new set of tyres, Webber increased his lead from Lewis Hamilton in front of the pack.

Ferrari?s Fernando Alonso had another start to forget, losing 2 spots and dropping to 5th place after the first few corners. He slightly touched his teammate Felipe Massa?s car while trying to defend his position, causing the Brazilian's right rear tyre to burst. Massa then visited the pits and returned to the track in 23rd place.

Although only a couple of seconds separated Webber and Hamilton in front, the trailing group, headed by Renault?s Robert Kubica, dropped no less than 20 seconds to the leading duo until the first round of pit stops. After each driver went to the pits to get new tyres, Webber emerged once again in front of the field, ahead of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (who passed Kubica thanks to a great team work in the pit lane).

Alonso tried to pass the Pole himself in order not to lose contact with the Top 3 positions, but shortcut a chicane while pushed by Kubica out of bounds ? and passing the Renault driver ? which later got him a drive-through penalty from the stewards. Just when he was about to make his drive-though run, the safety car was deployed due to debris coming out of Pedro de la Rosa?s car. His rear wing practically disintegrated in the start/finish straight, as there was a slight contact between him and Adrian Sutil on the pit straight.

The Spaniard was forced to make his pit lane run when the SC went in, which dropped him to 16 overall.

In front of the field, Webber had no problem maintaining his 1st place in front of Hamilton, while Rosberg did the same in front of the second McLaren driver Jenson Button. The reigning world champion had a wonderful start and climbed all the way to 7th place (from 14th on the grid) after a few laps, which he later turned into 4th place after a good pit stop strategy (added Alonso?s penalty).

Webber the ?Number Two? Driver
Prior to the Saturday qualifying, the Austrian team decided to take the front wing of Webber?s RB6 and hand it to Vettel, resulting in the German driving to pole position in Q3. While obviously furious with the decision, Webber kept his cool and decided to deliver the response on track, winning his first British GP in career and becoming the winningest F1 driver this season (to date).

?Not bad for a number two driver,? Webber told his race engineer via radio at the end of the race, hinting that what happened in Silverstone will still haunt him from now on.

At the press conference after the race, Webber continued to voice his frustrations, insisting that he would have never signed a one-year extension with Red Bull had he known he will be treated the way he was in the UK.

?Yesterday was really a unique situation, and it was the first time we had one bit. I would never have signed a contract for next year if I believed that was the way going forward. I was disappointed. We will see how it goes in the future, I will keep doing what I am doing and I hope it is enough.?

?I have had a few hurdles in my career, sometimes privately as well, so I think you can judge a person's character by how they come back from adversity. Some drivers have that, I've had a bit more than others. It can work but obviously it is not how long is a piece of string - you have to make sure it is not constantly happening because it can test you too much but if the balance is right it can put some fuel on the fire,? added Webber.

The Race as it happened via James Allen
Heading to Hockenheim in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers championship with 145 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 133 points and Mark Webber climbs to third with 128 points.

British Grand Prix Race times

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 52 laps 1hr 24m 38.200s
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +1.3s
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +21.3s
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +21.9s
5. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +31.4s
6. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +32.1s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +36.7s
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +40.9s
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +41.5s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +42.0s

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +42.4s
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +47.6s
13. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +59.3s
14. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +62.3s
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +67.4s
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
20. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 laps

Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 44 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 29 laps completed
Rtd. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 19 laps completed
Rtd. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 9 laps completed


Fastest lap:
Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.874s lap 52



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New Daytona Will Have Tighter Action, More Chance for Mayhem, Drivers Say

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As defending Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray made his first laps on the repaved Daytona International Speedway Wednesday, the newness of it all was mildly overwhelming at first.

"Honestly, from my first 15-lap run in the draft, it took awhile to take it all in and kinda understand what was happening," McMurray said of the first of two days of Goodyear tire tests on the 2.5-mile speedway's new pavement. "When we unloaded, the cars seemed really wide and the track seemed narrow. But, really, after running 20 or 30 laps, it was not scary and was not that big of a deal.

"Today (Thursday), when I got out there, it felt way more comfortable and you kinda learn little tricks and stuff."

What they also learned, McMurray and other drivers said Thursday at a press conference at the speedway, is that because the new surface is so smooth and fast and so much easier to drive, big packs of cars will stay together longer, and that means the chances of big crashes are greater.

"It's gonna be different racing than what we've had in the past," McMurray said. "The cars are going to stay bunched up more. When you're really close together, it increases those chances" of a big crash, McMurray said. "You just gotta hope that you can make it to the end, because the odds [of a crash] are going to be really good, I'd say."

Barring a huge mistake or problem, "you're not going to the lose the draft," said Jeff Burton. "It's going to be big packs all the time. Three-wide is work. Four-wide is a wreck. Because of the mentality of superspeedway racing. there's going to be efforts to go four-wide to pick up positions, and when that starts happening, it's going to be get hairy."

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/16/new-daytona-will-have-tighter-action-more-chance-for-mayhem-dr/

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Canadian Grand Prix 2010 Qualifying gallery


Lewis Hamilton qualified on pole for the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. Mark Webber claimed second and his team mate Sebastian Vettel took third. Michael Schumacher had a disappointing exit from Q2.

Here are a few pictures from today's qualifying sessionhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU2pSETAWI/AAAAAAAAGU0/TikVOL6oQ7E/s1600/Canadian+Grand+Prix+2010+Qualifying+gallery.jpg


Credit : Daylife, F1Fanatic

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