Archive for February, 2011
Looking in the Rearview Mirror: Daytona
February 27th, 2011 | 
Author: 
Im sure as the changes were announced for this year in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt and Jim Hunter debated the issue. As Speed Weeks arrived, the debate heated up.
Tandem racing grumbled Dale, … not what the fans want to see.
Hunter countered, NASCAR will adjust things so its not boring.
After the Duels they both agreed it wasnt as bad as they thought it would be.
Fridays truck race rolled around… the 10th anniversary of Dales death. Austin Dillion, driving a black 3 truck, sat on the pole. People started whispering, “Dales magic is here.”
Lo and behold, broken spoiler and all, Michael Waltrip wins the truck race on the 10th anniversary of his first Cup win.
Saturdays Nationwide race had a 3 on the pole also, but it was the 33, owned by none other than Dales replacement… well his replacement’s wife, anyway.
The racing was some better but Dale still grumbled about the tandem racing… and about that Stewart boy winning it again.
Jim said, Hes going to be like you and take forever to win the 500.
Sunday rolls around, a beautiful day in Daytona; first time in several years no chance of rain.
The cars are lined up on the grid. A proud papa is telling Jim, “My boy is going to win today.”
Jr. had to drop to the back during the parade laps giving the physical pole to Kurt Busch.
It didnt take long for the tandem pairs to form, but the catch was how long could the cars really stay this way without damaging the engine. We found out on lap 27 when Kevin Harvick lost his. The cars with ECR engines had to be wondering if they would last the rest of the race or not?
Favorites like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth all got damaged during the big one; and it was a different style big one. Those cars came back on the track and logged laps.
Emotions were running high with 5 laps to go. A single car team from Denver, Colorado was leading the race. Could they finally get their first win? No, they were shuffled back in the tandem dance with 3 laps to go and involved in a wreck, taking out other big names. But they found they had minimal damage and went back out for the green white checker, to find themselves with their teams first top ten Cup finish.
The young star of the week was about to win the biggest race of his life driving for the most respected team in the garage. Congrats to Trevor Bayne and Wood Brothers Racing, you are a class act.
Jim turned to Dale and said, I told you it would be a great show with an interesting outcome.
All three NASCAR divisions head to Phoenix this week.
2011 Kia Optima EX, Walkaround
Inside and outside the 2011 Kia Optima EX gas direct injection and panoramic sunroof.
Ecclestone “wouldn’t send F1 somewhere unsafe” – Horner | 2011 F1 season
Christian Horner said the decision about whether the teams will race in Bahrain is down to the the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.
Speaking to journalists in Barcelona the day after chairing a meeting of the Formula One Teams’ Association Horner said: “I think it’s a very difficult situation.
“It’s a great shame, it’s always been a fantastic place to visit. Everyone has been looking forward to going to Bahrain.
“Obviously there’s the issues that are going on at the moment. It’s not really down to the teams to decide.
“We rely on Bernie, he has more information than we do. I’m sure he wouldn’t send F1 somewhere that was unsafe, but the decision rests with Bernie and the FIA, we will trust his judgement.”
He added that the pre-race test at Bahrain could be moved to a different circuit, including potentially another test at the Circuit de Catalunya. “The teams are involved with making the decision,” he said, adding, “Barcelona is a great place to test”.
Discussing the new Drag Reduction System, Horner said it couldn’t be judged a success until it had run in a race situation:
“There are some challenges. We reserve judgement on the new rear wing until we see it in action.
“It’s the same for everybody and F1 is always coming up with rules. It’s down to the teams to react and to respond to them. For sure it’s an interesting challenge and for sure it’s a complicated one too, more for the driver to be controlling. It’s more for the teams to decide the dynamics of the race.”
He added that he expects the adjustable rear wing and change of tyre supplier will produce more exciting races in 2011:
“We will see more pit stops which is something we were pushing for last year anyway. I think this is better for the spectators.
“I think the racing was exciting last year but I think it will be even more exciting this year.”
Although Horner said that “we plan to support our drivers both equally”, he admitted that the relaxing of the rules on team orders means the team could change its approach this year:
“The regulations have now changed, the way the strategies have changed, you may see the drivers working together a bit more.
“Principally, our approach doesn’t change. It’s what they do on the track, which is how it should be.
He called managing the two drivers “A nice headache to have.”
“We have two great drivers, they push each other hard. We allow them to race on the circuit, we treat them both equally. It’s down to what they do on the track.
“Obviously we want to avoid situations like Istanbul last year, which we managed in the second half of the year. We’ll continue to give them the same support in 2011.”
Quotes and additional reporting by Leandra Graves
2011 F1 season
Posted in Racing | 
Tags: 2011, Ecclestone, Horner, season, send, somewhere, unsafe”, “wouldn’t | 
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