Button Avoids Mellee And Wins at Spa

FRANCOCHAMPS, BELGIUM – Starting from the pole, Jensen Button was able to avoid the race start melle (VIDEO) resulting from contact by Romain Grosjean with McLaren’s Lewis Hamiliton.  The incident resulted in a 5-car accident requiring 3 laps under yellow to clear.  Following the accident, Button was unchallenged for the rest of the race finishing 13.6 sec ahead of Sebastien Vettel.  Kimi Raikkonen placed his Lotus-Renault in 3^rd.

Besides Hamilton, Grosjean’s aggressive maneuver also affected points leader Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez.  Kobayashi was the only car involved able to continue the race, managing a 13^th place finish, 1 lap down from the leaders.  The race stewards handed down a one-race suspension to Grosjean.  "I honestly thought I was ahead of him and there was enough room for both cars;” commented Grosjean, “I didn’t deliberately try to squeeze him or anything like that.  This first corner situation obviously isn’t what anyone would want to happen and thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident.  I wish to apologise to the drivers who were involved and to their fans.  I can only say that today is part of a process that will make me a better driver."  Jerome D'Ambrosio will fill Grosjean’s seat at Monza.

Sebastien Vettel ran a superb race for Red Bull.  Following a disappointing qualifying round on Saturday, Vettel was able to pull off a great run on race day charging from 10^th the 2^nd.  “On Saturday I simply didn’t have the grip to go for the full speed.”  Vettel continued, “when I looked at the data on Saturday to see where I lost the most time and compare myself to Mark’s (Webber) lap it was clear that I didn’t have any chance but then in the race it suddenly clicked again. I have to say that I went into the race quite confident as the car worked pretty well on Saturday morning, so the hope was that there was a small glitch in qualifying but that that glitch would be eliminated during the course of the race. When I look at the start I have to confess that it was pretty bad. The clutch didn’t react at all so I lost a number of places - but I was able to regain them again into the first corner and into the first chicane. I would say that what made my race was the strategy.  The team has done a terrific job! This really got me back into the race again and finally onto the podium. 

GT40 Fetches $11 Million At Monterey Auction

MONTEREY, CA - Monterey weekend has come and gone, and with it, a few record breaking auctions.  At RM Auctions, a 1968 Ford GT40 sold for a whopping $11,000,000 dollars – yes, that’ six-zeroes!  Chassis P/1074 was a Gulf Livery car that had a strong racing history and was actually a camera car in Steve McQueen’s epic movie, Le Mans.  The GT40 broke the record for the highest price paid for an American car.  The highest priced car to sell at Monterey was at the auction house of Gooding & Co, where $11.1 million dollars bought a magnificent Mercedes 540K Special Roadster.  Gooding’s also sold a Ferrari California Spyder for $6 million dollars.  The total take at Gooding was $133 million and $94.5 million at RM.  Mecum also sold $33 million dollars worth of cars.  The number of cars sold was down, but the dollars were easily an all-time record.

Also at Monterey was a tribute to Carroll Shelby, Ford assembled a collection of Cobras at Laguna Seca.  There were 12 historically significant cars on display in a special tent at Laguna Seca.  Included in the collection was CSX2000, the very first Cobra built powered by a 289 small block.  CSX2196, the first big-block, 427-powered Cobra was also on display with its innovative “flip-top” body. 

One of our favorite cars of all-time, the Cobra Daytona Coupe was on display as well.  The car was the first Coupe ever-built, owned by the Simeone Automotive Museum, and the only one still in the US.  The elegant lines of the Coupe were penned by Peter Brock for the sole purpose of beating Ferrari.  “We went to Daytona in 1964 and just smoked the Ferraris,” said Brock.  “Unfortunately we had a fire in the pits and didn't finish the race.  The next race was the 12 Hours of Sebring, and we annihilated everybody there and won the race.  We then took the car to Le Mans and set the lap record there and then the same thing at Spa, but the car still had some teething problems, because it was so new, but it was fast right out of the box.” Shelby won the World Manufacturer’s Championship as well as consecutive wins at Sebring and Spa.

Ambrose Skates To Win At The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, NY – Put 3,500 pound cars, with drivers used to turning only left, on a road course and things are bound to get exciting.  The final lap of the Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen was about as exciting as it gets ( Video )!  As the white flag was dropped, Kyle Busch was running in first place with Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose in close pursuit.  Busch looked to be having some sort of problem and was taking a defensive line into turn 1 then lost control of the 18 car and went wide.  Trying to maintain his lead over Keselowski, Busch cut in front and was tapped by Keselowski causing Busch to spin into the infield at the esses.  The 2 car suffered some damage on the left front and the sheet metal looked to be rubbing the front tire. 

With two turns left, Ambrose saw his opportunity and reeled Keselowski in and went wide for the pass, barely clearing the 2 car’s front bumper.  Keselowski was not going down without a fight and tapped the 9-car a couple of times causing him to go wide in the second to the last corner.  Ambrose saved the car and maintained a slight lead.  The #2 and #9 entered the final corner side-by-side.  Ambrose exited first and Keselowski barely kept his car off the guardrail as he skated-around the oily track in a four-wheel drift on Marcos’ bumper.  Ambrose pulled ahead on the final straight away to take the checkered flag.  “It was absolute chaos at the end,” Ambrose said.  “All of a sudden, I’m starting to slide around on oil.  It was absolutely crazy at the end.”  But in the final estimation, “It feels so good to be back in victory lane,”

Not only was the race exciting, it has made the points race exciting, upsetting The Chase apple kart.  The biggest upset was with Kyle Busch who had a near lock on a Chase position, but now is a contender for a wild card spot.  The point spread in the top three spots is only three points with Jimmie Johnson, moving up three spots, leading Roush-Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.  Dale Jr dropped 3 places to 4^th and Keselowski’s exciting finish moved him up two places to 5^th.  Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are currently the wild cards. 

So did NASCAR make the right call?  Though the NASCAR corner workers did not see any evidence of oil, allegedly from Bobby Labonte’s blown engine, on the track, the drivers were surprised that the race stayed green.  “The oil was getting worse and worse,” commented Ambrose, “Oil was moving around the track.  You take your chances.  You have to commit at that point.  That’s the way racing should be, and we got the No. 9 to victory lane.”  Brad Keselowski said it was “one of them days where the world throws everything it can at you and you hope to make it through all of them.”  Jeff Gordon, who crashed in oil on the final turn and fell from seventh to 21st, said, “It’s just unfortunate that that gets taken away from you because NASCAR doesn’t want to end the race under yellow.”  Kyle Busch probably suffered the most as the seventh place finish drops him out of The Chase.  He left the track without comment.  Todd Parrott, Ambrose’s crew chief and a long-time traveler of NASCAR pit roads, said Sunday’s finish “probably ranks in the top two or three as far as excitement level.”

Should NASCAR have waved the yellow flag?  Well, in this case, I am certainly glad they didn’t because that was one heck of a great final lap!

Burns Stainless Contingency Winners

NMCA-West Street Car Nationals

Dan Bott II – N/A 10.5 Class

Stephen Porcho – Mustang Madness

Congratulations to Dan Bott II and Stephen Porcho for their wins at the Inaugural NMCA-West Street Car Nationals held at The Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield California.  Dan won the N/A 10.5 Pro-class event, formerly known as Hot-Street.  Stephen won in the in the Mustang Madness class. 

Dan and Steve run Burns products and are Burns Stainless Contingency winners.  The next NMCA West event will be at the Auto Club Raceway of Pomona August 17-19.  It will be an exciting race, and the winners will receive NHRA Wallys to memorialize their wins.

http://www.nmcadigital.com/2012_event_schedule/bakersfield_ca_wraps/

Jimmie Makes It Four!

INDIANAPOLIS, IND – Jimmie Johnson has entered the record books winning his fourth Brickyard 400. The only other driver to win 4 Brickyards is teammate Jeff Gordon giving Hendricks Motorsports 8 wins at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson finished 4.758 sec ahead of 2nd place Kurt Busch. Greg Biffle rounded off the podium with a third place finish whilst Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 4th and Jeff Gordon managed a 5th place finish. Johnson dominated the race. "Jimmie Johnson wasn't even in his own zip code Sunday; he was in his own country," Kurt Busch exclaimed. "The rest of the field has a whole lot of work to do, I can tell you that."

Kenseth’s misfortune provided Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a gift. The resultant 30-point swing in the series shot Earnhardt to the top with 731 points and a 14 point lead over Kenseth. "I'm proud of that because it says a lot about our body of work," Earnhardt said. "All season long, we've been working hard and finishing well. That is symbolic of how well we've done. I'm proud of that. I have felt that way about our position in points all season long."

Another unfortunate outcome from Sunday’s race was Carl Edwards. The Ford driver was fast all weekend and qualified on the front row. It was looking very promising, but only 11 laps into the race, Edwards says over the radio, “I think the engine is blowing up.” Dreams were shattered as he dropped to 12th place in the points standings, 61 points out of the Chase. “Now, that avenue appears almost certainly closed. "It makes decisions simpler. ... We just have to do what we can," Edwards said. "We have to plan to win these races. I don't think we can think about points anymore. I don't know what the spread is but it can't be good. That is what I am saying when I say it is simpler. We just have to go race for wins now." Is there any other way to race?

Looking back historically, three other drivers have won 4 times at Indy; Rick Mears, Al Unser and AJ Foyt. One driver has won 5 times. Michael Schumacher won the US Formula One race 5 times at the Indy track. The Hendricks 8 wins is very significant as the next best team, Joe Gibbs acing, has only managed 3.

In related news, Roger Penske will be meeting with AJ Allmendinger to discuss his future with Penske Racing. The suspended driver has failed two drug tests. It is unclear at this point what Penske will do. Stay yuned folks.

Hamlin Can't Quite Pull It Off

 LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Denny Hamlin was the dominant force Sunday at the Lenox 301.  Leading the race for much of the first half, Hamlin lapped the likes of Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard and at one point enjoyed a 5.5 sec lead on second place Kasey Kahne.  By lap 187, Kahne had closed up the gap to 2.6 seconds when the NASCAR caution flag waved due to debris on the track.  A blown engine for Reutemann on lap 232 brought the flag out again and Hamlin made a visit to the pits.  Unfortunately for Hamlin, a miscommunication between Denny and Crew Chief Darian Grubb led to taking on 4 tires instead of 2, resulting in a loss of 12 positions.  Undaunted by the sudden change in the race, Hamlin still had the fastest car and 4 fresh tires, so started a final fight to the front.  By Lap 253, Hamlin had climbed to sixth.  On Lap 257, he got by Biffle in Turn 1 for fifth.  He took Harvick by Lap 263, Earnhardt on Lap 272 and Bowyer on 277. 

Kahne commented, "I was definitely focused on the lapped cars I was going by and how I could clear them quick," Kahne said. "But I lost a ton of forward drive, and I was getting pretty loose, and Denny was coming on four [tires].”  Now running in 2^nd place behind Kahne, Denny made steady progress, but 24 laps was just not enough.  Denny seemed to take the missed victory in stride, “Just that small communication messed us up a little bit, but nothing's a given.  Even though it was pretty obvious that we had a win in the bag if we took two tires, you never know what could have happened.  Either way, we had a great day, and we're going to build on it."

 Matt Kenseth finishing  13^th maintained his championship lead by 16 points in front of second-place Earnhardt, with Biffle in third, 40 points back.  Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are in fourth and fifth places.  % places are fixed for the Chase.  Kahne’s win at New Hampshire places him as the top wildcard.

In other NASCAR news, AJ Allmendinger tested positive last week for a banned “stimulant” during a random drug test.  Allmendinger has asked to have the other half of the test sample tested to see if there was some test anomaly.  Penske has said that if the test is clean, AJ will be behind the wheel of the 22 car.  “We're just waiting to get the second test results,” he said. “The situation will take care of itself, so I'm more concerned about A.J. as an individual... if A.J.'s clean, he'll absolutely be in the car at the next race.” ( http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120715/nascar01/120719910#ixzz20oknk1oF ).  

Also, Jeff Gordon is enroute to Rwanda for an opening of The Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence with funding from the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.  He will be attending with former President Bill Clinton to raise funds and awareness of cancer on the continent.  "I'm excited," he said. "It's going to be a very short trip, but it's one that I'm really looking forward to getting back there. It's such a beautiful area." ( http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120715/nascar01/120719909#ixzz20oloj1Zg).

Enders Makes Pro Stock History!

CHICAGO, IL – It isn’t often that Greg Anderson gets beat in the final round of eliminations.  But it has never been the case to say that a woman did it!  Erica Enders, only the sixth woman to compete in NHRA ProStock, has become the first female driver to win an NHRA ProStock event.  One-by-one, Enders took out Kurt Johnson, Vincent Nobile and V. Gaines to be matched up against ProStock points leader Greg Anderson in the final round.  Erica ran a 6.627 sec, 207.40mph run against Andersons more-than-respectable 6.641 sec, 208.36 mph run and made history.  “It’s awesome,” said Enders, who becomes the 12th female to win an NHRA Pro category race.  “I think that if I could have planned it, I would have asked to run Greg in the final. You know that he made it very clear that he didn’t want to lose to me. He’s a very competitive guy, and I love him to death, but I couldn’t wait to beat him.  I’m glad [the win] came here in Chicago.  I had my first final in Pro Stock here in 2005, and so it was nice to circle back around and get it done here.  Pro Stock is tough.  It will humble you in an instant…  I can’t say enough about my guys [crew].  They’re amazing, and I love them.”  That also was not Erica’s only special moment of the weekend as her boyfriend and drag racer, Richie Stevens, proposed marriage to Erica.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown took top honors with a final round victory over Steve Torrance.  It was an easy victory as Torrance fouled at the start.  Browns’s team was also celebrating as it was announced that team-owner Don Schumacher will be installed in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.  “What he [Don] has done for the sport, and our teams, is amazing” said Brown.

Jeff Arend achieved his first Funny Car win of the season defeating Courtney Force in the final round.  Jeff clicked off a 4.131 sec, 309.20 mph blast against Courtney’s 4.454 sec, 272.67 mph, easily winning the match.  This was a real team effort this weekend,” Arend said.  “I didn’t do the best job as a driver, at least not with my lights, but we were able to get it done.

We hope that you all had a great 4^th of July celebration.  Though it sometimes feels that the world is out-of-control, and that politics sometimes gets in the way of progress, we can rest assured that we live in the finest country “on God’s green earth.”  236 years ago, 57 brave men signed the Declaration of Independence with a solemn promise, “In support of this Declaration we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”  This constituted a treasonous act and as such, these men were wanted men, sought by the Commander of the armed forces of the most powerful nation in the world.  What could possibly cause these men of wealth and stature to put everything on the line?  Just one simple word, Truth.  The Declaration begins with the words “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them …” It is a statement of absolute truth that we can find hope and solace.  These truths are not based on the whims of man, but on the solid foundation of the God of the universe.  We should also place all of our faith and trust on this Truth.