THE LINE

April 25, 2012

(Russel Labounty - Autostock 2012)
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Ground Toyota Camry) eclipsed the field in the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday, concealing his hand until late in the race. Hamlin blew past Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry) for the lead and then held off Truex with two laps to go for his second win of this season. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's "Mountain Green" Chevrolet Impala) finished third, Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford EcoBoost Fusion, above) was fourth and Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing 3M Ford Fusion) rounded out the top five. ''It felt a lot like Phoenix in the sense of we kind of hung around the top five all day,'' said Hamlin. ''At the end we just kind of make our charge, make our run, and there were some things that had to happen the last run really for us to work out, and those things happened.''

    Lotus. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The wildly bombastic car company full of bullshit that over-promises while under-delivering at every turn is at it again. Totally over its head in IndyCar racing Lotus is now cutting two IndyCar teams off at the knees - Bryan Herta Motorsport and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - by yanking their engines. Lotus is in such financial disarray that it can't afford to carry the five IndyCar teams that it once committed to, so instead they will cut back to just three. Most racing industry observers winced when they heard that Lotus was going to jump into the IndyCar fray - me included - because the company has been on shaky financial ground for years and despite their auto show posturing it never gets any better. This is a really bad deal for the teams in question and a potentially disastrous deal for IndyCar. Unless Honda and Chevrolet step up with additional one-race engine rentals for Indy, the likelihood for 33 starters at the Indianapolis 500 is slim. Not Good. - PMD

(Highcroft Racing)
The Nissan DeltaWing prototype sportscar kicked off its European testing program in England at Snetterton, in Norfolk, yesterday (April 17) with Scotsman Marino Franchitti and German Michael Krumm getting the opportunity to sample the car in wet conditions. Steady rain throughout the morning enabled the team to undertake wet weather development with tire partner, Michelin, with the innovative 1.6-litre Nissan DIG-T turbo-powered car. As racing enthusiasts know, the Nissan DeltaWing features half the weight, half the horsepower and half the aerodynamic drag of a traditional Le Mans sports racer – with front tires that are only four inches wide.
 
With the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans just two months away, the Nissan DeltaWing team gained valuable information about the ground-breaking car's performance in typical European track conditions, having conducted all of its development work so far in America. Darren Cox, General Manager Nissan in Europe, said: “The whole Nissan DeltaWing team is still on a massive learning curve. Testing in the States was a stable, predictable way of doing the initial groundwork but this exciting car is going to be racing in the French countryside. Today, the whole team got a taste of the conditions they may well face on June 16/17, so it may not have been much fun in the Norfolk rain, but it's about the best thing that could have happened for a project and a car that will face an enormous challenge just to make the end of the race.”
 
Franchitti conducted most of the morning running in conditions that ranged from damp to fully wet weather, gathering valuable data as to how the car performs. Having only previously conducted some brief wet track running on an artificially damp track at Sebring with the help of a water truck, today’s on-track action was an important step in the development of the wet tires for the car. Michael Krumm climbed aboard for much of the afternoon running – enjoying drier conditions as the team worked on suspension adjustments, braking and gearbox improvements.
 
The Nissan DeltaWing will make its official racing debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nissan’s involvement in the program was announced in March, with the manufacturer not only providing the engine, but additional technical resources for the car’s debut.
 
Designed by Ben Bowlby, the DeltaWing partnership brings together some of the biggest names in North American motorsport, including project managing partner and American Le Mans Series founder, Don Panoz; racing legend and Nissan DeltaWing constructor, Dan Gurney’s All American Racers organization along with Duncan Dayton’s Highcroft Racing.
 
The Nissan DeltaWing will continue its testing program next week with a two-day test scheduled.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

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