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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

The hits just keep on coming for Marcos Ambrose in his bid to take checkered flags when NASCAR has a road course event.

Ambrose, NASCAR's resident Aussie and a road racing phenom, once again saw a better-than-good shot at winning Sunday's Nationwide Series race in Montreal slip away -- just, of course, as he was preparing to drive away from the competition.

A faulty battery and a miserable attempt at trying to change it in the pits dropped Ambrose from the lead to two laps down quicker than a spectator making a trip to the concession stand.

The sad part of all of this is that you could have almost seen it coming. Even as he made a wild save with his car completely sideways in the grass while charging for the lead or when he stalked Carl Edwards and passed the No. 99 for the race's top spot.

Marcos Ambrose Extends Record of Road Racing Bad Luck originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: Formula One

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) -- Lewis Hamilton overcame a late scare to win the Belgian Grand Prix and regain the overall lead of the Formula One championship Sunday.

Hamilton ran off the track with nine laps to race but recovered to keep the lead and edge second-place Mark Webber of Red Bull.

"I locked my wheel and went wide," Hamilton said. "I just clipped (the wall). But I was able to get away with it."

Webber dropped to second in the overall standings after failing to defend his pole position after a clutch problem gave him a poor start off the line.

Jenson Button's championship hopes took a hit after the defending F1 champion was knocked out of the race when Sebastian Vettel crashed into him during a failed overtaking maneuver.

Hamilton's 14th career win gave the Briton 182 points - three more than Webber - as the top two opened up a gap over the other title favorites.

Lewis Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by FanHouse NewswireINDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The death of a 13-year-old motorcycle rider at Indianapolis Motor Speedway cast a shadow over Sunday's races at the historic track and prompted mourning competitors to defend the development system for the dangerous circuit.

Peter Lenz of Vancouver, Wash., fell off his bike during the warmup lap for the day's first race at Indianapolis and was run over by another motorcycle, driven by a 12-year-old.

Medical workers immediately placed Lenz in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and began chest compressions while taking him to a hospital.

Several hours later, he was pronounced dead.

Lenz's father reported his son's death on his Facebook page as the county coroner confirmed the fatality.

"Peter passed away early this morning when he was apparently struck by another rider," read a posting on Lenz's Facebook page, which was signed "Dad."

"He passed doing what he loved and had his go-fast face on as he pulled onto the track," Lenz's father wrote."The world lost one of its brightest lights today. God Bless Peter and the other rider involved. #45 is on another road we can only hope to reach. Miss you kiddo."

Peter Lenz, 13-Year-Old Rider, Killed at Indianapolis MotoGP originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

After starting his career sweeping floors at Hendrick Motorsports during a college internship 14 years ago, Marshall Carlson moved up the ranks to become president and chief operating officer (COO) of the 13-time NASCAR championship Hendrick organization, which fields cars for Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Carlson, 37, was promoted Tuesday during the organization's quarterly employee meeting. The position has remained open for the past six years. It was previously held by the late John Hendrick, brother of team owner Rick Hendrick (pictured at right). John Hendrick was killed along with nine other people -- including John's twin daughters, Rick Hendrick's son Ricky, and other Hendrick Motorsports executives -- in an airplane crash near Martinsville, Va., on October 24, 2004.

"Hendrick Motorsports is a family and it's been one of the great privileges of my life to work with these amazing people,'' said Carlson, who has helped guide the company to four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships since he assumed the role of executive vice president and general manager in January, 2005.

After his college internship in the chassis department, Carlson worked as an engineer on the team's Camping World Truck Series team that won a title in 1997. He's worked in the company's marketing and sponsorship department and oversaw more than $200 million in real estate projects working with Hendrick Automotive Group, one of the largest auto dealership conglomerates in the country before taking his most recent position.

Marshall Carlson, From Floor Sweeper to New Hendrick Motorsports President originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Soaked in champagne and still grinning from ear to ear, NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi was walking over to a Corvette convertible for his second victory lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the last two months when Tony Stewart stopped him in his tracks.

They shook hands, shared a laugh and Stewart, NASCAR's only owner-driver, patted Ganassi on the back, offering his congratulations.

"That was a moment between car owners,'' Sunday's fifth-place finisher Stewart said with a smile and a nod. "Can I appreciate what he's done here? Oh yeah.''

What he's done is make history as the first team owner in auto racing history to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Brickyard 400 at Indy in the same season. But it came with a twist.

One of Ganassi's drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya, dominated practice, qualifying and most of the early race until crashing with 15 laps to go Sunday while his other driver, Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray beat Kevin Harvick on the ensuing re-start, held off the field for 11 laps and ultimately delivered the triumph to Ganassi instead.

In all, Ganassi drivers led a race-best 102 of the event's 160 laps, but McMurray's 16 laps out front (including five earlier in the day) is the second fewest ever for a winner. Not that it matters.

"To win all those (races) in one year is remarkable,'' Harvick said of Ganassi's organization. "It will probably never happen again.''

Chip Ganassi Makes More Racing History at Indianapolis originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR

Tony Stewart grew up an hour's drive from America's most revered race track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway home of the world's most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. And he absolutely remembers his initial reaction -- nearly two decades ago -- to the earth-shaking news that NASCAR might be crashing the party.

"I'll be honest, when I first heard about the test that was going to happen there, I was against it,'' said Stewart, a two-time Brickyard 400 winner and former IndyCar champion.

"But on that day, I was a guy that had grown up in Indiana. ...I was against it because I thought the Indy 500 was the only thing that deserved to be at the Brickyard.

Veteran Mark Martin called the idea of racing there, "ridiculous.''

"I didn't think we belonged there, I didn't think the race track would be conducive to stock car racing,'' Martin said. "All of which was really wrong.''

As with Stewart and Martin, the idea has won over the toughest of converts. And when 43 cars take the green flag in Sunday's Brickyard 400, it will be more than just another race or just another victory. It's a once-a-season emotional indulgence.

NASCAR Stars All Revved Up for Indy originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, NASCAR

Consider this an interruption to the quick judgments, harsh opinions and commentary overload about Danica Patrick's NASCAR debut.

As IndyCar's most famous face prepares to make her fifth NASCAR start this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway -- near her hometown of Roscoe, Ill. -- it's time to step back from all the emotion and hype.

Forget her $1,000 gold-stilettos, police escorts and the unapologetic adulation of NASCAR executives and track promoters. Let's look at her statistics driving a NASCAR race car.

Patrick's four-race average of a 33rd place finish in the Nationwide Series may be an easy target for those told-you-so doubters, but it's absolutely respectable compared to other recent open-wheel NASCAR converts. And even some NASCAR champions.

Her NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., for example, either crashed or had mechanical problems in three of his first four Nationwide races during the 1996-97 seasons, including a string of 39th, 39th and 38th place showings after his 14th place debut. That's an average finish of 32.5, or less than one position better than Patrick.

Danica Patrick's NASCAR Debut on Par With Dale Earnhardt Jr., Other Stars originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In a test of survival as much as pure horsepower or tactical brilliance, Kevin Harvick held off Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon to win NASCAR's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Almost two-thirds of the field were eliminated from contention in a 19-car pile-up with 12 laps remaining that red-flagged the race for 19 minutes and 34 seconds just after the clock struck midnight on the East Coast.

And just as the few survivors from that "Big One" were coming to the white flag to settle it among themselves on the final lap, Penske Racing teammates Sam Hornish and Kurt Busch collided with Elliot Sadler to force extra time -- a green-white-checkered finish.

Harvick, the Sprint Cup points leader, took the lead from Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer on the ensuing restart, and held off a furious charge by Kahne and Gordon, who was looking for his first win in over a year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton rounded out the top five. And even after Harvick took the checkered flag, cars were wrecking behind him.

"Every time I looked up it seemed like a crash was going on,'' said Kahne, whose runner-up finish was a career best here.

"I'm starting to get used to the fact that every race we go to is basically bumper cars at 190 mph,'' added Gordon, who moved into second place in the points standings.

Kevin Harvick Wins Crash-Filled Coke Zero 400 at Daytona originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

After two straight wins, Denny Hamlin has struggled through a pair of rough outings in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson has clicked off consecutive wins.

So much for Hendrick Motorsports and the four-time reigning champion Johnson falling off their competitive rocker, huh?

Hamlin was caught up in a few incidents last weekend on the Infineon Raceway road course, and an "experiment" on the New Hampshire setup left him with a 14th-place run.

Spotter's Stand: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson Seesaw At Top originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Bob Zeller

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Nationwide Series, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR

Carl Edwards will hit the track at Kentucky Speedway this Saturday night in the No. 60 FanHouse Ford with a paint scheme selected by you, the readers and fans.

Casting more than 33,000 votes, FanHouse readers ruled decisively that the best and most attractive design of three choices was pattern number two, which features swooping stripes that stretch the length of the side panels. This design received almost 16,000 votes and captured 47 percent of the tally.

Members of the No. 60 Roush Fenway Nationwide team told me that they all voted on the design, too, and that everyone favored the second design -- the winner.

Not long after the vote, a design specialist at Motorsports Designs in High Point, N.C., hit some keystrokes on his computer, and a machine cranked out the massive decals used to create the design on the car. They were rolled up, stuffed in a box and shipped to the Roush Fenway shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, the car, one of dozens in the Roush Fenway Nationwide series stable, was being refurbished after its latest outing at Darlington Raceway in April, where Edwards drove it to a sixth-place finish.

"Basically, as soon as we get the cars back from the race track, we tear them all down," said Eric Peterson, Roush Fenway operations manager. "How much gets torn down depends on how much is damaged on the car or how many miles are on certain components. But for the most part, all the suspension comes off, the motor comes out, the transmission, the entire drive train and the rear end gear.

Photo Essay: Roush Fenway No. 60 FanHouse Ford Comes Together originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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