Monday
Oct072013
THE LINE - OCTOBER 9, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013 at 10:54AM 
(Infiniti)
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1 Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault RB9) took his eighth Grand Prix win of the year at the Korean Grand Prix, his third consecutive victory at the Yeongam circuit. Kimi Raikkonen (No. 7 Lotus F1 Team - Renault) was second and Romain Grosjean (No. 8 Lotus F1 Team - Renault) was third. “It was a very strong performance from the whole team and I’m happy" Vettel said. "We’re just focusing on continuing to take one step at a time and trying to get the best out of the car at every single race.” It was Vettel's 34th Grand Prix victory and he now has 272 points in the Drivers’ Championship, 77 points clear of Fernando Alonso (No. 3 Ferrari) in second place. Raikkonen is third with 167 and Lewis Hamilton (No. 10 Mercedes) is fourth with 161. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing has 402 points, Ferrari is second with 284 and Mercedes is third with 283.
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1 Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault RB9) took his eighth Grand Prix win of the year at the Korean Grand Prix, his third consecutive victory at the Yeongam circuit. Kimi Raikkonen (No. 7 Lotus F1 Team - Renault) was second and Romain Grosjean (No. 8 Lotus F1 Team - Renault) was third. “It was a very strong performance from the whole team and I’m happy" Vettel said. "We’re just focusing on continuing to take one step at a time and trying to get the best out of the car at every single race.” It was Vettel's 34th Grand Prix victory and he now has 272 points in the Drivers’ Championship, 77 points clear of Fernando Alonso (No. 3 Ferrari) in second place. Raikkonen is third with 167 and Lewis Hamilton (No. 10 Mercedes) is fourth with 161. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing has 402 points, Ferrari is second with 284 and Mercedes is third with 283.
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) talks with A.J. Foyt during the podium celebration after winning Race 1 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston last Saturday. Dixon also finished second on Sunday to Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) to take the INDYCAR points lead, but the weekend's championship maneuverings took a backseat to Dario Franchitti's (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) devastating crash after colliding with Takuma Sato, which sent him into the catch fencing on the final lap of Sunday's race. It was frighteningly similar to Dan Wheldon's crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway two years ago. In the latest medical update, Franchitti was admitted awake and alert to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston for a concussion, two spinal fractures and a fracture to his right ankle. Dario had surgery Sunday night to temporarily stabilze the ankle. He will remain in Houston for a few days and then be transferred to indianapolis for further evalauation. Read more from Jeff Olson, Curt Cavin and Nate Ryan in USA Today here.
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) talks with A.J. Foyt during the podium celebration after winning Race 1 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston last Saturday. Dixon also finished second on Sunday to Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) to take the INDYCAR points lead, but the weekend's championship maneuverings took a backseat to Dario Franchitti's (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) devastating crash after colliding with Takuma Sato, which sent him into the catch fencing on the final lap of Sunday's race. It was frighteningly similar to Dan Wheldon's crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway two years ago. In the latest medical update, Franchitti was admitted awake and alert to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston for a concussion, two spinal fractures and a fracture to his right ankle. Dario had surgery Sunday night to temporarily stabilze the ankle. He will remain in Houston for a few days and then be transferred to indianapolis for further evalauation. Read more from Jeff Olson, Curt Cavin and Nate Ryan in USA Today here.
(Photo by John Cote/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet) had a disastrous weekend in the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at Reliant Park, finishing eighteenth on Saturday and suffering a DNF on Sunday with a broken gearbox housing on Lap 12. That cost him the championship points lead. Scott Dixon now takes a 25-point lead over Castroneves heading to the season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on October 19th. Even if Castroneves scores the maximum number of points in Fontana, Dixon will win the title by finishing sixth or better. Not only that, Dixon has the tiebreaker too.
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
The other big news on Saturday from Houston was that Simona De Silvestro (No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva KVRT Chevrolet) finished a career-high second. "Finally. We've been waiting for this for a long time. It seemed like a pretty good car the whole weekend. I qualified up there, and then the race went actually pretty good. I really have to thank everybody at KV Racing and also everybody from the Nuclear Clean Energy campaign for sticking with me. Finally we have our podium. Hopefully tomorrow we can even better it." (She finished tenth on Sunday.) Justin Wilson (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Boy Scouts of America Honda) earned his fourth podium finish of the season on Saturday by finishing third.
The other big news on Saturday from Houston was that Simona De Silvestro (No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva KVRT Chevrolet) finished a career-high second. "Finally. We've been waiting for this for a long time. It seemed like a pretty good car the whole weekend. I qualified up there, and then the race went actually pretty good. I really have to thank everybody at KV Racing and also everybody from the Nuclear Clean Energy campaign for sticking with me. Finally we have our podium. Hopefully tomorrow we can even better it." (She finished tenth on Sunday.) Justin Wilson (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Boy Scouts of America Honda) earned his fourth podium finish of the season on Saturday by finishing third.
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda T-Mobile Honda) had a terrible day on Sunday, escaping more serious injuries than first feared by the looks of his last lap crash. He will miss the final race of the season in Fontana.
Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda T-Mobile Honda) had a terrible day on Sunday, escaping more serious injuries than first feared by the looks of his last lap crash. He will miss the final race of the season in Fontana.
(Photo by John Cote/INDYCAR)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) won Race 2 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at Reliant Park on Sunday. He held off Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) for the win, but it was a sober post-race celebration as the details of Dario Franchitti's condition had not yet been released.
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) won Race 2 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at Reliant Park on Sunday. He held off Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) for the win, but it was a sober post-race celebration as the details of Dario Franchitti's condition had not yet been released.
(Photo by John Cote/INDYCAR)
Sage Karam (No. 8 Schmidt Peterson with Curb Agajanian) leads Gabby Chaves (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian) through the Turn 2 chicane in the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Houston on Saturday. Karam held off Chaves for the win, leading every lap in the timed race on the 1.683-mile, 10-turn course. It was his first road/street circuit victory. Three of the four Indy Lights title contenders faltered in Houston, setting up a winner-take-all scenario between Karam and Chaves at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 19. Karam leads by 16 points.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
After battling Dyson Racing throughout the opening two hours, Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf (No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c) dominated the final 45 minutes on of VIR’s 3.27-mile layout to score the team's eighth consecutive American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón victory in Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway. It was Luhr's 49th career ALMS victory. Ryan Briscoe (No. 551 Level 5 Motorsports Siemens/Alpina Watches/Ohiya Casino Resort HPD ARX-03b with Scott Tucker) beat Scott Sharp (No. 01 Extreme Speed Motorsports Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b with Anthony Lazzaro) to the checkered flag in P2 by 15.317 seconds for his fourth victory of the season. Kyle Marcelli and Chris Cumming (No. 8 BAR1 Motorsports Evident Capital/MBRP Performance Exhaust Merchant Services ORECA FLM09) delivered their second consecutive Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire victory finishing 11.590 seconds clear of championship contender Jon Bennett and Tom Kimber-Smith (No. 05 CORE autosport Composite Resources ORECA. Matteo Malucelli (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia) pulled away over the closing laps of Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway to give Risi Competizione its first ALMS victory since Road America in 2011. It was Malucelli’s first career victory in ALMS competition, while co-driver Olivier Beretta picked up his 43rd career victory in the series. Patrick Long (No. 06 CORE autosport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Colin Braun) finished second ahead of GT points co-leaders Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.R for Corvette Racing. Magnussen and Garcia extended their lead in the championship to 16 points, 125-109, over Dirk Muller (No. 56 BMW North America/Crowne Plaza BMW Z4 GTE with co-driver Joey Hand) who finished fourth. Magnussen and Garcia clinched the ALMS GT team championship for Corvette Racing and the manufacturer’s championship for Chevrolet. In the GT Challenge (GTC) category, Damien Faulkner and Ben Keating (No. 66 Port Lavaca Group/Viper Exchange/Adobe Road Winery Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) raced from the pole to their second consecutive victory. The championships in both the P2 and Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire will be decided at the season-ending Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 19. HPD won the P1 manufacturer championship on Saturday, while Level 5 Motorsports wrapped up the P2 team title. See John Thawley's breathtaking images from VIR here.
After battling Dyson Racing throughout the opening two hours, Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf (No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c) dominated the final 45 minutes on of VIR’s 3.27-mile layout to score the team's eighth consecutive American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón victory in Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway. It was Luhr's 49th career ALMS victory. Ryan Briscoe (No. 551 Level 5 Motorsports Siemens/Alpina Watches/Ohiya Casino Resort HPD ARX-03b with Scott Tucker) beat Scott Sharp (No. 01 Extreme Speed Motorsports Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b with Anthony Lazzaro) to the checkered flag in P2 by 15.317 seconds for his fourth victory of the season. Kyle Marcelli and Chris Cumming (No. 8 BAR1 Motorsports Evident Capital/MBRP Performance Exhaust Merchant Services ORECA FLM09) delivered their second consecutive Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire victory finishing 11.590 seconds clear of championship contender Jon Bennett and Tom Kimber-Smith (No. 05 CORE autosport Composite Resources ORECA. Matteo Malucelli (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia) pulled away over the closing laps of Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway to give Risi Competizione its first ALMS victory since Road America in 2011. It was Malucelli’s first career victory in ALMS competition, while co-driver Olivier Beretta picked up his 43rd career victory in the series. Patrick Long (No. 06 CORE autosport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Colin Braun) finished second ahead of GT points co-leaders Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.R for Corvette Racing. Magnussen and Garcia extended their lead in the championship to 16 points, 125-109, over Dirk Muller (No. 56 BMW North America/Crowne Plaza BMW Z4 GTE with co-driver Joey Hand) who finished fourth. Magnussen and Garcia clinched the ALMS GT team championship for Corvette Racing and the manufacturer’s championship for Chevrolet. In the GT Challenge (GTC) category, Damien Faulkner and Ben Keating (No. 66 Port Lavaca Group/Viper Exchange/Adobe Road Winery Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) raced from the pole to their second consecutive victory. The championships in both the P2 and Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire will be decided at the season-ending Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 19. HPD won the P1 manufacturer championship on Saturday, while Level 5 Motorsports wrapped up the P2 team title. See John Thawley's breathtaking images from VIR here.
(HHP/Harold Hinson for Chevrolet/GM Racing)
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Budweiser Chevrolet SS) won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday, a crash-fest masquerading as a NASCAR race. Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Denver Mattress Chevrolet SS)) finished second and Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Axalta Chevrolet SS) came in third. It was Harvick’s third win of the season, the 22nd of his career and his first at Kansas. Harvick moved up to third place in the standings, 25 points behind Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar general Toyota Camry) . Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) ran sixth and is now only three points behind Kenseth.
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Budweiser Chevrolet SS) won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday, a crash-fest masquerading as a NASCAR race. Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Denver Mattress Chevrolet SS)) finished second and Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Axalta Chevrolet SS) came in third. It was Harvick’s third win of the season, the 22nd of his career and his first at Kansas. Harvick moved up to third place in the standings, 25 points behind Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar general Toyota Camry) . Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) ran sixth and is now only three points behind Kenseth.
(Photo by Matthew T. Thacker, LAT Photo USA, ©2013 courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's Toyota Camry) runs next to his brother Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Denver Mattress Chevrolet SS) in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday. Kyle, who entered the race third in the Chase and 12 points behind Matt Kenseth, scored his third straight DNF at Kansas after crashing out in 34th place which dropped him to fifth in points, 35 out of the lead. Watch NASCAR videos here.
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's Toyota Camry) runs next to his brother Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Denver Mattress Chevrolet SS) in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday. Kyle, who entered the race third in the Chase and 12 points behind Matt Kenseth, scored his third straight DNF at Kansas after crashing out in 34th place which dropped him to fifth in points, 35 out of the lead. Watch NASCAR videos here.
(Photo by Nigel Kinrade ©2013 LAT Photo USA, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Matt Kenseth (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Resers Toyota Camry) won Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway, but the real action was between Kyle Busch (No. 54 J.D. Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota Camry) and Brad Keselowski (No. 22 Penske Racing Discount Tire Ford Mustang) in a race that had 11 cautions in 200 laps. Paul Menard (No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro) finished second and Regan Smith (No. 7 Kelley Earnhardt-Miller Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet Camaro) was third. Busch ended up fourth. It was Kenseth’s second win of the season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, his first at the 1.5-mile speedway and the 28th of his career. Watch video here.
Matt Kenseth (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Resers Toyota Camry) won Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway, but the real action was between Kyle Busch (No. 54 J.D. Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota Camry) and Brad Keselowski (No. 22 Penske Racing Discount Tire Ford Mustang) in a race that had 11 cautions in 200 laps. Paul Menard (No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro) finished second and Regan Smith (No. 7 Kelley Earnhardt-Miller Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet Camaro) was third. Busch ended up fourth. It was Kenseth’s second win of the season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, his first at the 1.5-mile speedway and the 28th of his career. Watch video here.
(Image courtesy of Ford Racing)
Twenty-year-old Colin Braun drove a Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype powered by the new 3.5-liter, V-6 Ford EcoBoost racing engine, to a new Daytona single lap speed record of 222.971 mph during a special record run attempt on Wednesday, October 9th, which topped the 26-year-old speed record of 210.364 mph set by Bill Elliott in a Ford Thunderbird during qualifying for the 1987 Daytona 500. Braun and the Michael Shank Racing team also set new world speed records for 10 miles from a standing start (210.018 mph average), and 10 kilometers from a standing start (202.438 mph average). All times from today’s session are subject to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
(Image courtesy of Ford Racing)“This is an engine project we started probably two years ago,” said John Maddox, road racing program manager, Roush Yates Engines. “There has been a lot of hard work by a lot of people to get it to where it is today, but this EcoBoost engine is relevant, state-of-the-art production technology in racing, and it brings with it power and high efficiency in the same package."“It’s a very proud day for all of us at Ford,” said Jamie Allison, chief of Ford Racing. “To take a Ford EcoBoost race engine that is basically production technology, and to beat speed records that have been on the books for decades really says something for our new engine and the program we launched last week. It’s a great way to kick off a new era of EcoBoost and sports car racing for Ford in the 2014 United SportsCar Championship, and we couldn’t have done it without Shank and his team, and the team at Roush Yates.”
(Image courtesy of Ford Racing)Continental Tires did a special tire for the run that was lighter and had less rolling resistance than the standard race tire, along with a harder compound than the tire used for a typical road course race. Preparation for the 2014 USCC season began almost immediately after the record run. After switching the car over from the oval configuration, the MSR team took to the Daytona road course for the first test of the new car and EcoBoost engine on the track where it will debut in the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship that kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.