NASCAR Tickets - Stewart Makes History as Million Dollar Man

It was supposed to be Jeff Gordon's record-breaking race. He set himself up for the victory of a lifetime, attempting to break a tie with Dale Earnhardt as the first driver ever to win the Sprint Cup All-Star Race for the fourth time. In Saturday night's big event, Gordon was in first place after the third segment of the race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

All that was left was a 10-lap shootout to close out the $1 million deal, but just when it seemed that Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet was golden, attackers Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman came around both sides of the car, causing Gordon to spin out and crash nose-first into the outside wall, ending his first-place reign.

Instead of Gordon making history in Saturday night's All-Star Race, the NASCAR driver who put his name in the books was Tony Stewart, the near 38-year-old who won his very first All-Star Race and became the second driver in NASCAR history to win the race as a driver/owner, following suit of 1994's All-Star winner Geoff Bodine. Stewart zoomed into Victory Lane after passing Matt Kenseth in Turn 2 of Lap 99 (of 100) in the race, making a comment after the race about Kenseth letting him pass, saying, "I can't believe he gave me the bottom. I just cannot believe he gave me the bottom. But I'll take it. Matt is a guy you can trust. We got to second there, got by the No. 18 [Kyle Busch] and I thought, 'All right, we have a shot at this thing.'"

Stewart went on to elaborate about the state of his car, which got a last minute fix-up, saying, "We weren't that good until the last run. [Crew chief] Darien Grubb, I mean he made some awesome calls there at the end to get us where I could drive that thing the way I could. Man, it was fast."

The Sprint Cup All-Star Race ended with Stewart snagging first place honors, with Matt Kenseth in second, Kurt Busch in third, Denny Hamlin in fourth and Carl Edwards in fifth place. Stewart's big win was his first of the season, though he currently sits in second place in NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings (as of the Darlington race). Last weekend's All-Star race also marked the first win for No. 14 under his newly-minted and owned team Stewart-Haas Racing, which he helped jumpstart in 2009.

Stewart, who was born in Columbus, Indiana, grew up in the racing capital of the country, starting out on go karts and even winning a World Karting Association championship in 1987. The aspiring driver tried his hand with IndyCars in the early '90s and eventually made the switch to stock cars after burning rubber in the IRL and even earning the nickname 'Smoke,' joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1999 for Joe Gibbs Racing. In his first NASCAR season, Stewart took home Rookie of the Year honors, also finishing fourth in the series and winning races at Richmond, Phoenix and Homestead, becoming the first series rookie to take wins at three Sprint Cup races.

Since then, the name Tony Stewart has been ringing loud and true in the NASCAR circuit, and No. 14 has posted several big wins over the years, winning the Sprint Cup Championship in both 2002 and 2005. In 2009, Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing to start his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing, and has since been just as consistent as ever.

Now that he's won his first race of the season (albeit not one for points) Tony Stewart is raring and ready to go. Will he continue this hot streak and take first place standings points away from Jeff Gordon in the near future? Find out with NASCAR tickets, your chance to get in on the action. Tickets are available now online.

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Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous

NASCAR Tracks-The Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway, as a half-mile oval with the steepest banking on the NASCAR circuit, is sometimes referred to as "The Toilet Bowl". When the cars line up for the starting flag, they often stretch nearly halfway around the short track. As a result, Bristol is known for its "paint swapping," and races tend to include numerous accidents and caution flags. Bristol Speedway is the last circular track on the NASCAR circuit to install the barrier system. The installation was delayed at Bristol while engineers determined how to install the walls over the track's gates. Bristol Motor Speedway, aside from being an excellent track loaded with potentially wild twists, seems to ooze a sense of brotherhood and awe among the lucky ones with Bristol NASCAR tickets. This year's Nextel Cup and Busch (now the Sprint and the Nationwide) Series will have race fans rushing out to buy tickets, among others, all eager to see their favorite race to victory.

Bristol Motor Speedway has been an integral part of auto racing since 1961. The short track makes for slower speeds, but that is offset by the high banking of the turns at Bristol, a challenging aspect like no other track on the NASCAR circuit.

Race Week at Bristol (BMS) is not just a normal week not only for the people who work there but for the fans as well. When you attend a race at Bristol it's not just go check out the race and that's it. Racers love concrete because it provides a ton of grip and less tire wear than asphalt. Fans love Bristol because no matter which of the 160,000 seats you get, you can see the whole track. Race enthusiasts here did better than that, allowing the wave to continue nearly a half-dozen times after hearing they had set the record.

Bristol has purchased property and developed satellite parking lots on Hwy 11-E. Fees are charged for tent and motor home camping at the Bristol Dragway. Bristol Motor Speedway travel packages complete the experience at one of the favorite NASCAR tracks - the track they call Thunder Valley. Buy Bristol tickets and be part of the huge crowd of nearly 150,000 fans lucky enough to have NASCAR tickets to the Sharpie 500 in August.

The Speedway, aside from being an excellent track loaded with potentially wild twists, seems to ooze a sense of brotherhood and awe among the lucky ones with Bristol NASCAR tickets. This year's Nextel Cup and Busch (now the Sprint and the Nationwide) Series will have race fans rushing out to buy Bristol Motor Speedway tickets, among others, all eager to see their favorites race to victory.

Bristol Motor Speedway could very easily have opened in 1961 under a different name. The original plan was to build in Piney Flats which is 5 miles down the road from Bristol but the idea met local opposition. Otherwise we might have been visiting the Piney Flats Speedway. In the end the speedway was constructed in Bristol on land that was once a dairy farm.

For NASCAR Merchandise, Up to the minute News, and everything NASCAR including Nascar Hoodies or Nascar Grills and Nascar Clothing we have them at the best prices everyday!

Article Source: NASCAR Tracks-The Bristol Motor Speedway

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/272656/nascar-tracks-the-bristol-motor-speedway

Dollar General Toyota Michael Annett Germain com Toyota Brendan Gaughan

NASCAR Tracks-The Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway, as a half-mile oval with the steepest banking on the NASCAR circuit, is sometimes referred to as "The Toilet Bowl". When the cars line up for the starting flag, they often stretch nearly halfway around the short track. As a result, Bristol is known for its "paint swapping," and races tend to include numerous accidents and caution flags. Bristol Speedway is the last circular track on the NASCAR circuit to install the barrier system. The installation was delayed at Bristol while engineers determined how to install the walls over the track's gates. Bristol Motor Speedway, aside from being an excellent track loaded with potentially wild twists, seems to ooze a sense of brotherhood and awe among the lucky ones with Bristol NASCAR tickets. This year's Nextel Cup and Busch (now the Sprint and the Nationwide) Series will have race fans rushing out to buy tickets, among others, all eager to see their favorite race to victory.

Bristol Motor Speedway has been an integral part of auto racing since 1961. The short track makes for slower speeds, but that is offset by the high banking of the turns at Bristol, a challenging aspect like no other track on the NASCAR circuit.

Race Week at Bristol (BMS) is not just a normal week not only for the people who work there but for the fans as well. When you attend a race at Bristol it's not just go check out the race and that's it. Racers love concrete because it provides a ton of grip and less tire wear than asphalt. Fans love Bristol because no matter which of the 160,000 seats you get, you can see the whole track. Race enthusiasts here did better than that, allowing the wave to continue nearly a half-dozen times after hearing they had set the record.

Bristol has purchased property and developed satellite parking lots on Hwy 11-E. Fees are charged for tent and motor home camping at the Bristol Dragway. Bristol Motor Speedway travel packages complete the experience at one of the favorite NASCAR tracks - the track they call Thunder Valley. Buy Bristol tickets and be part of the huge crowd of nearly 150,000 fans lucky enough to have NASCAR tickets to the Sharpie 500 in August.

The Speedway, aside from being an excellent track loaded with potentially wild twists, seems to ooze a sense of brotherhood and awe among the lucky ones with Bristol NASCAR tickets. This year's Nextel Cup and Busch (now the Sprint and the Nationwide) Series will have race fans rushing out to buy Bristol Motor Speedway tickets, among others, all eager to see their favorites race to victory.

Bristol Motor Speedway could very easily have opened in 1961 under a different name. The original plan was to build in Piney Flats which is 5 miles down the road from Bristol but the idea met local opposition. Otherwise we might have been visiting the Piney Flats Speedway. In the end the speedway was constructed in Bristol on land that was once a dairy farm.

For NASCAR Merchandise, Up to the minute News, and everything NASCAR including Nascar Hoodies or Nascar Grills and Nascar Clothing we have them at the best prices everyday!

Article Source: NASCAR Tracks-The Bristol Motor Speedway

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/272656/nascar-tracks-the-bristol-motor-speedway

Dollar General Toyota Michael Annett Germain com Toyota Brendan Gaughan

Alonso gives Red Bull pause for thought

The 2011 Formula 1 season is not yet a quarter done but it is already difficult to see past Sebastian Vettel ending a second consecutive season as the world champion.

A third victory in four races has given the Red Bull driver a 34-point lead in the standings and the man in second place, Lewis Hamilton, could finish only fourth in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

There is no doubt that the German is now in total control of this season. The word "domination" is being bandied around and it is easy to see why but, in each of the four races so far, the performance gap between Vettel and his pursuers has not been as great as the stark results suggest.

Just as in his wins in Australia and Malaysia, Vettel's afternoon at Istanbul Park was made easier by delays suffered by his rivals.

This time, Nico Rosberg, who started third on the grid behind Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber, was the man responsible for allowing his fellow German to make a break. That ensured he could ease into cruise control as early as lap five, when Webber was finally able to pass the fast-starting Mercedes.

The key to all of Vettel's victories has been his searing pace in qualifying. Turkey was his fourth pole position in a row this season - his seventh in the last eight races if you count the end of last year - and it was one of his most impressive so far.

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Vettel had no dry running on Friday following a hefty crash caused by pushing too hard on intermediate tyres at Turn Eight in the wet conditions on Friday morning. Yet the following day he put his car on pole by nearly half a second from Webber.

Even in the wild and whacky races of 2011, pole position is proving a vital weapon for Vettel. It is allowing him to steer clear of the craziness behind him, and allowing him to run at his own pace, putting him in control of races from very early on.

Would Webber or Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who finished second and third, have been able to challenge him on Sunday had it not been for Rosberg? Neither man sounded very confident of that after the race.

Webber said it would have been "difficult to beat Sebastian today", while Alonso - the race's big surprise - described Vettel as a "99% favourite".

However, Alonso added that "this 1% (is what) we had lost in the first five laps with Nico because more or less the seven seconds distance to Sebastian was consistent all through the race. Without those five seconds, maybe we could have raced in the pit stop and forced something".

And that's the point. Vettel, as he said himself, is not unbeatable. But his life is being made easier by the frenetic battle behind him, which he is surveying from above for now.

Heading into the Turkey race, few would have predicted that it would be Alonso taking the fight to the Red Bulls - and certainly not the man himself.

The Spaniard arrived in Istanbul talking about Ferrari having taken a "small step". But new front and rear wings and brake ducts added up to a lot more than that.

Alonso has qualified fifth for all four races so far this season, but he and Ferrari reduced their deficit to Vettel from 1.4secs in China three weeks ago to 0.8secs in Turkey. And in the race he went toe-to-toe with Webber and very nearly came out on top.

Alonso drove a superb race, taking advantage of Hamilton's lap one error to slip into fourth place, following Webber past Rosberg and then slugging it out with the Red Bulls for the rest of the afternoon.

He was, then, the deserved winner of our new BBC F1 driver of the day vote, in which he took 18.5% of the support, just ahead of Vettel (17.9%) and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, who fought from the back of the grid to 10th place (17.2%).

It was a remarkable turnaround by Ferrari and there is more to come from them after some soul-searching and intense analysis at Maranello following their disappointing start to the season.

It immediately revived memories of last year. Leaving the British Grand Prix last July, nearly two clear wins off the championship lead on points, Alonso famously declared that he was more confident than ever that he could win the championship. And had it not been for some bungled Ferrari strategy in the final race of the season, he would have done.

Alonso might be 52 points - more than two wins - behind Vettel right now, but he has 15 races, or possibly 16 depending on what happens to Bahrain, to recover it and it would be a fool who wrote off now such a formidable fighter. After last year's experience, Red Bull certainly won't be making that mistake.

"Ferrari," said team principal Christian Horner, "they're back. They pushed us very hard today with Fernando."

Alonso felt confident enough after his third place in Turkey to talk about winning races. For now, though, the only person to do so this year apart from Vettel is Hamilton, for whose McLaren team Sunday was a chastening experience after their driver's breathtaking win in China.

That error on the first lap, running wide at Turn Four challenging Webber, put him on the back foot and a fumbled pit stop, caused by a sticking wheel nut, dropped him down still further. In typical style, Hamilton stuck with the task and he fought back to finish fourth.

Jenson Button was sixth after he and the team erroneously chose a three-stop strategy when four was the way to go.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh rightly described it as a "fairly average day at the office" but Hamilton talked about battling for second without his problems, and there is no reason to suppose McLaren have lost the ability they have showed in the first three races to keep pace with Red Bull.

The next phase of the season, then, promises to be fascinating, with Mercedes, too, in the mix - even if Rosberg's race pace did not match his superb qualifying performance.

For his team-mate, though, the future looks less bright. Sunday was another difficult day in Michael Schumacher's ill-starred comeback.

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Trounced by Rosberg in qualifying, when he was - just like for much of last year - guilty of over-driving, Schumacher had another poor race, wrecking any hopes of a recovery by completely misjudging his defence against Renault's Vitaly Petrov in the early laps and ripping off his own front wing.

"I don't know why he doesn't know when to give up," David Coulthard said in the commentary. "On the track or in his career?" replied Martin Brundle, sharp as ever.

BBC pundit Eddie Jordan's post-race analogy with an aging and punch-drunk Muhammad Ali when he fought Larry Holmes in 1980 was perhaps a touch harsh, but you could see where he was coming from.

Fascinatingly, Schumacher's mask slipped a little for the first time since making his comeback. He had always insisted that he was enjoying himself, and that the pace and touch would come back. On Sunday, though, he admitted "the big joy is not there right now".

I've known Schumacher for a long time, and he looked and sounded like a man beginning, as Coulthard put it, "to ask himself some questions".

Perhaps it was the immediate post-race emotion talking, perhaps not. But, not for the first time, many in F1 will be asking whether his second career will last the three years for which he signed up.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/05/the_2011_formula_1_season.html

Niki Lauda† Roger Laurent Giovanni Lavaggi Chris Lawrence

NASCAR Racing Teams

Every NASCAR racing team has earned the trust of racing fans all over the world because they are wiling to work hard each week during racing season to bring fans all of the thrilling moments of NASCAR that they richly deserve. The racing teams stand to lose out on a lot of sleep at times because they will be tasked with not only getting the race car ready for the next race, but they are willing to work harder still if the race car was in a wreck or pileup the previous week.

NASCAR fans know that racing teams are willing to do everything in their power to give the driver a fair chance of winning the next race. Every member of the racing team has a job to do and by performing that task to the best of their technical abilities, they hope that one day, their hard work will pay off. They do not seem to mind if the driver basks in the glory of the win in the winner's circle because if the driver has reached that point in the race, they know they have done their job superbly.

Every NASCAR racing team has one purpose in life. As a group, they are tasked with maintaining the racecar at top performance speeds that will allow the driver to be competitive each week. They want the driver on their team to win the race each week because they know that he must be able to tally up win points. Those points are a critical factor in determining which driver is the best and only the best driver in the country is going to be declared the winner of the Winston Cup.

To win the Winston Cup Racing Series, a NASCAR racing team must perfect their trade. They know that the road to the winner's circle is a long one and racing team members also know that they must do their best each week if they are going to experience the thrill of the win. The racing teams are not afraid of hard work and hard work is all they know during the racing season.

Every team member in NASCAR is willing to devote many hours to training. The pit crew will train on various tasks that are performed in the pit during every race. The training time is centered on one concept. It is their job to make split second tire changes and make repairs to the race car and anything else that needs to be done and get the NASCAR driver back on the track so that he can do the job he was hired to do. Seconds count in the pit and the training periods can be grueling.

For everything that they are tasked to complete each week, the NASCAR racing teams feel that it is all worth it. The fans have come to expect a certain amount of greatness from the things that they do and the racing teams will do everything in their power to make certain that they do not disappoint them. The racing team feels that it will be justly rewarded for all of its efforts when the racing team driver brings the Winston Cup trophy back to the racing team owner at the end of the season. Until NASCAR racing is over for the season, the racing team continues to stand at the ready and give the team the best of their abilities.

James Brown writes about Footlocker.com on-line coupons, NFLShop.com deals and Football Fanatics coupon codes

Article Source: NASCAR Racing Teams

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Mike Hailwood Mika Häkkinen Bruce Halford Jim Hall

Nascar Racing At Its Finest

Some people believe that the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing has organized its racing events to provide some of the best NASCAR racing excitement that any fan could ever possibly hope to have in a lifetime. Some of the racing events that are organized involve truck racing, but by far, the stock car races in the Winston Cup challenge are NASCAR racing choices that are truly fine.

People can choose to visit the NASCAR Racing Museum and see the history of NASCAR in living color. The entire facility is designed to look like a NASCAR racetrack and fans are definitely thrilled beyond belief from the second they enter this prestigious facility. The fans see NASCAR racing memorabilia at its best and get to see the automobile that was driven by the Winston Cup leader.

Some fans think that a particular racetrack provides some of the finest NASCAR racing in the world. The entire complement of race cars are true exhibits of the quality and craftsmanship that go into making the NASCAR racing machine that circles the racetrack during racing season. As the rows of cars build with each lap, some fans agree that nothing in life could ever replace the thrill of all that excitement.

There is some NASCAR racing fans that are totally devoted to the colorful graphics on certain race cars. They think that when they see their favorite colors in the pole position, that they are experiencing some of the finest accomplishments that their NASCAR driver has shown to them thus far in his racing career. When that driver goes on to win the race, they will definitely think that they had a chance to see NASCAR racing at its very best.

The devotion that fans display week after week is evidence of their love for NASCAR racing. Even if a driver they admire has a bad week and fails to qualify for a race due to engine or mechanical failures, these fans still stand true and back their driver because they think that he is definitely the best driver in NASCAR history, just not that week.

Feel confident though that those fans will return the following week to see the finest racing done by their driver and they will look for them in the winners circle at the end of the race. If they fail to see them in the winner's circle, you can be sure that they will be able to find an image of the driver attached to some memorable Nascar souvenir that will serve to remind fans of the marvelous time that they had at one of the finest stock car races in the world.

James Brown writes about http://www.sportsteamfanheaven.com

Article Source: Nascar Racing At Its Finest

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/12041/nascar-racing-at-its-finest

Elmer George Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin

Fernando Alonso - classic F1 2011

It is the turn of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to pick his five favourite all-time grands prix in the latest edition of our classic Formula 1 series.

We have asked all the drivers to do the same, and are broadcasting their choices - and highlights of the relevant races - ahead of each grand prix this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and on the red button in the UK.

Alonso follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Buemi and Rubens Barrichello so far this season.

We have chosen Spain's double world champion this time because it is his home race this weekend, and among his choices is a grand prix from the Circuit de Catalunya that has hosted the event since 1991.

That choice is the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix, which Alonso won to become the first Spaniard to win his home race. Of his 26 career victories, and 162 grands prix, the 29-year-old says this one "may be for me still the most emotional race".

Alonso has picked only two races from his own career, the other being his remarkable victory in last year's maiden Korean Grand Prix.

Those who remember his manic cackle over the radio on the slow-down lap - part disbelief, part sheer joy, part cartoon villain - will not be surprised that he has chosen that race. You may, though, be as surprised as I was that he did not choose his superb victory in the Italian Grand Prix last year, in his first season at Ferrari, which he likened to his Spanish victory.

For Alonso, Korea last year marked the climax of a quite brilliant fightback in the world championship battle.

Leaving the British Grand Prix, the 10th of 19 races last year, Alonso was 47 points off the championship lead. His victory in Korea, seven races later, put him at the top of the standings. Of course, he went on to lose the championship by just four points to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel after a catastrophic strategic error by Ferrari in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

In Korea, Alonso was engaged in an intense race-long battle for the lead with Vettel and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton which was finally decided in the Ferrari driver's favour when Vettel suffered an engine failure in the closing stages.

But that was not the only reason Alonso remembers the race so fondly - in fact, he did not even mention that he won it.

He said: "I will always remember the first race in Korea because the conditions were so extreme in terms of light.

"It was completely dark and it was so wet. It was one hour delayed because of the wet. We could not follow the safety car because of the spray.

"There were so many things in one race that it remains quite shocking what we did in Korea."

Alonso's other three choices are ones that have already proved popular among the other drivers.

He has chosen the two notorious Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990, in both of which Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collided to decide the destiny of the world title. These were also chosen by Buemi.

And finally there is Belgium 2000, featuring Mika Hakkinen's famous pass of Schumacher, as the two went either side of the backmarker Ricardo Zonta. This race was also chosen by Schumacher.

Alonso says: "One of my favourite races was Senna-Prost fight in Suzuka when in Turn One they finished both in the gravel (1990), and the year before, when one of them (Prost) finished stopped in the chicane.

"I also like, and have seen many times on TV, the race at Spa with Mika and Michael, when they overtook Ricardo Zonta at the end of the straight. That was a super race - from both of them."

An interesting footnote about that weekend in Belgium in 2000 is that it was also crucial in Alonso's career.

He was racing in Formula 3000, the forerunner of today's GP2 feeder series, driving for the Astromega team, who were not one of the better outfits.

In terms of bald statistics, it was not a great season. At Spa, though, on one of the world's great driver circuits, Alonso was in a league of his own, taking pole position, a dominant victory and fastest lap.

His performance impressed many of those watching the race in the F1 paddock, among them a certain Flavio Briatore, who pretty much immediately signed Alonso up for his driver management business.

The next year, Alonso was driving for Minardi in F1, the year after that he was test driver for Briatore's Renault team, in 2003 he was promoted to a race drive and the rest is history.

In Hungary that year, Alonso's became the sport's youngest ever race winner and two years later its youngest world champion, and a year after that the youngest double champion.

Now, back to classic F1.

In these blogs, we pick one of the driver's choices to highlight. Logically, this time it would be Spain 2006, this being not only Alonso's favourite race but also the one that is most directly related to the forthcoming event.

The victory hinged on a blistering opening stint from Alonso - he was making a first stop much earlier than Schumacher's Ferrari and for a while there some tension about whether he was doing a three-stop strategy to Schumacher's two, and whether he would pull out enough of a gap to make it work.

As it turned out, Alonso did only two stops, with a long middle stint, and while it was a powerful and impressive drive, the race was pretty uneventful. So we have decided instead to showcase last year's Korean Grand Prix, which was completely the opposite.

So, long highlights of that race are embedded below. A link to the short highlights is underneath, along with long and short highlights of Mark Webber impressive victory for Red Bull in last year's Spanish Grand Prix. Highlights of the other races Alonso picked are linked out of the relevant point in this blog.

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

On digital satellite and cable television on the BBC red button in the UK, we will be showing short highlights from Japan 1989, Belgium 2000 and Spain 2006 as well as extended highlights of Korea 2010 and Spain 2010 from 1500 BST on Wednesday 18 May until 1200 BST Sunday 22 May.

On Freeview we will be showing short highlights from Japan 1989, Belgium 2000 and Spain 2006 as well as extended highlights of Korea 2010 from 1040 BST until 1250 BST on Friday 20 May.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/05/fernando_alonso_picks_his_five.html

Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glöckler Paco Godia

The Vintage Mercury-Lincoln Cougar - A Nascar Legend

Many have thought of the Mercury Cougar a simply nothing more than a luxo-bloated version of a Ford Thunderbird. It may well surprise many Ford, Mercury as well as Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar enthusiasts that 35 years ago that the Cougar “Pony” Car was kicking butt on the Trans-Am circuit.

In its origins, the Cougar was an idea that Lincoln-Mercury had been tossing around, for some time, with the idea of a smaller sporty car. As early as February 1963 this idea of a smaller as well as sporty Lincoln-Mercury vehicle, to be introduced to the North American market, came to emerge within the corporate head office, marketing and design staff.

The success of the Ford Mustang was all that was needed to put the wheels in motion. Indeed the famous marketing reference in regards to the product market popularity and sales of the Ford Mustang ‘Pony” Car was a sign in a donut shop that “Or donuts sell as fast as Mustangs”. Nothing drives the automobile industry more than the potential and promise of fast car sales figures. It is noteworthy that even the name of the vehicle product “Cougar” can be said to be family line generated. After the name Cougar is not only six letters but is another member of a line of fast creatures. Both the names of Mustang and Cougar evoke an image of sleekness and fast speed as well as agility.

Built on a 111 inch wheelbase, the Cougar was three inches and half inches shorter than its cousin – the Thunderbird. Underneath the elegant sheetmetal of the Cougar was a Mustang, so to speak. In actuality the Cougar shared with its cousins – the sporty Mustang, and the more dour family vehicle - the Ford Falcon (which was also known in the Canadian market as the Ford Frontenac product. The Ford Mustang had the greatest fortune of being born from the Ford Falcon product line. Mustang enthusiasts owe a great debt of gratitude to a so called compact “Family” car. The Ford Falcon allowed both the Mustang car project as well as the Cougar car product a quick to develop, cheap to produce as well as a proven and durable base platform. Even the dash of the early Mustangs was a direct copy of the Falcons.

Underneath all of the glitter of its elegant sheet metal the Cougar car was all Mustang, using the exact same Falcon front suspension and a solid rear axle with four-leaf springs. A base 289 cubic inch V-8 made 200 bhp (gross), but the real action came in the guise of a 390 cubic inch V-8 that made 320 bhp. A GT option included a performance handling package and power disc brakes that replaced more standard front brake drums. Finally special GT wheels rounded out the package.

It has been said that Lincoln Mercury’s chief designer had envisioned the Cougar as an elegant European sports car, along the lines of the Jaguar Mark 2. How was it that the Cougar went racing?

In 1967 Lincoln Mercury turned to Bud Moore to be the point man for a shot at the SCCA Trans-Am Championship. Team Cougar made up of drivers, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Formula 1 driver Peter Revson and NASCAR driver Dave Pearson came in second in Ford Mustang’s team. In 1968 then under the aegis of Moore, driver DeWayne “Tiny” Lund went on to capture the NASCAR Grand Touring Championship.

So where and how did the Cougar go wrong. It seemed that Lincoln-Mercury was never quite sure on how to market the Cougar. This lack of market focus, as well as not knowing and perceiving the needs and desires of the potential Cougar customer market proved to be the Cougar’s undoing. By the 1969 product introduction the Cougar was a little longer and a little wider. From then on it was only a short decent into landau roofs as well as the opera window type styling and options of the day. Once started this downward trend and spiral of the Cougar was inevitable. The halcyon years of the early Cougar - specifically the early Cougar model years of 1967 – 70 remain a time when the Cougar’s roar boomed out of dual exhausts and the sign of a car that had some bite to it.

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Article Source: The Vintage Mercury-Lincoln Cougar - A Nascar Legend

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/129872/the-vintage-mercury-lincoln-cougar-a-nascar-legend

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The NASCAR Championships-Craftsman, Nationwide and Sprint

NASCAR is a competition and has its own set of championship series just as the World Series in Major League Baseball or the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the National Hockey League. Probably the most famous NASCAR championship series is the Sprint Cup Series. Note that the Cup Series will become the Sprint Cup Series because of the merger of the Sprint Corporation and NEXTEL Communications.

The history of the Sprint Cup Series began as the Strictly Stock Series in 1949, the Grand National Series between 1950 and 1971, and the Winston Cup Series between 1972 and 2003. Innovators of the Sprint Cup Series have made it so that drivers can score more points and even get 5 bonus points any time they take the lead for even one lap. And the lowest spot in the race result gets at least 34 points.

This model results in much more competition to the very end plus makes NASCAR more competitive with the National Football League in numbers of television viewers watching the racing sport. The series has also consists of a competitive series in the last 10 races known as The Chase. This is where the top drivers are selected based on accumulated points (those tied for a position too) after 26 races. There are many winners in this series. The champion gets 5 million and the others finishing in the top 10 positions each get 1 million. There is even something for the 11th place driver a 250,000 bonus. All this is designed to keep competition and excitement at a high level throughout the season.

Craftsman Truck Series is another one of the NASCAR championships with racing trucks designed from modified pickup trucks. The season runs from February through November. The beginning race is the Chevy Silverado HD 250 run at the Daytona International Speedway. The trucks run without restrictor plates to limit max speed like the NASCAR Sprint and Nationwide Series however because trucks are not as aerodynamic, they cannot reach the speeds the cars do.

The Busch Series is another of the championships and it is equivalent to the minor leagues of NASCAR racing. However, unless you are an expert, you cannot easily spot the differences between Nationwide Series competition and Sprint competition. The difference is in the cars. The cars of the Nationwide Series have a shorter wheel base 105 inches as opposed to 100 inches and the spoiler is larger too. At the end of the 2007 season, Busch has announced that it will no longer sponsor the Busch Series and now other sponsors like Wal Mart and Subway Sandwiches were trying to win a spot as the events primary promoter. Nationwide is what it will officially be called.

And then there is the championship among the auto makers known as the NASCAR Manufacturers Championship. This championship has been held ever since 1949 and it works by points being awarded to the different automobile manufacturers represented in each race. The auto manufacturer at the end of the season with the most points wins. Chevrolet won this NASCAR championship in 2006.

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Article Source: The NASCAR Championships-Craftsman, Nationwide and Sprint

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/102925/the-nascar-championships-craftsman-nationwide-and-sprint

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