THE LINE - JUNE 19, 2013

(© 2013, Brian Czobat for Autostock USA © 2013)
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing 3M Ford Fusion) with the checkered flag after winning the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday. It was Biffle's nineteenth Sprint Cup victory and the 1000th win for Ford in NASCAR (including all three series). Watch the videos here.

(Russell LaBounty for Autostock USA © 2013)
Greg Biffle, Jack Roush, Ford executives and the Roush Fenway team celebrate in Victory Lane after Ford's 1,000th win in NASCAR competition. Overall, 124 different drivers have won at least one race for Ford Motor Company in NASCAR’s top three divisions, including superstars Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon. “I’m sure if my great-grandfather was alive today he would be extremely proud of our racing program’s accomplishments,” said Edsel Ford.  “We’ve come a long way since 1901 and still have more to achieve, but winning 1,000 races at NASCAR’s highest level is something we can all take great pride in.”

Ford Motor Company Wins By Series (1,000):

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: 715 - Ford (615), Mercury (96), Lincoln (4)

NASCAR Nationwide Series: 200 - Ford (200)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: 85 - Ford (85)

All-Time Ford Motor Company Top-Five Winning Drivers (All Series Combined):

1. Mark Martin - 89 (35 NSCS-47 NNS-7 NCWTS)

2. David Pearson - 73 (73 NSCS)

3. Carl Edwards - 64 (20 NSCS-38 NNS-6 NCWTS)

4. Greg Biffle - 53 (19 NSCS-18 NNS- 16 NCWTS)

5. Ned Jarrett - 43 (43 NSCS)

All-Time Ford Motor Company Top-Five Winning Owners (All Series Combined)

1. Jack Roush - 313 (131 NSCS, 132 NNS, 50 NCWTS)

2. Wood Brothers - 98 (98 NSCS)

3. Holman-Moody - 92 (92 NSCS)

4. Robert Yates - 58 (57 NSCS, 1 NNS)

5. Bud Moore - 43 (43 NSCS)

(Photo by Brian Lawdermilk for Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Budweiser Chevrolet SS) finished second at Michigan International Speedway Sunday and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing NAPA Toyota) finished third.

(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 1 Andretti Autosport DHL Chevrolet) on the way to the win Saturday at The Milwaukee Mile IZOD INDYCAR race. The 32-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resident overtook race leader Takuma Sato (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda) on Lap 198 of 250 and went on to win by 4.809 seconds over Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske PPG Chevrolet). It was Hunter-Reay's second win of the season and eleventh of his INDYCAR career.

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske PPG Chevrolet) finished second. It is his second top-five finish at Milwaukee in 13 starts (he finished second in 1998) and his fourth podium finish this season (St. Pete, Barber, Texas, Milwaukee).

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
Third-place finisher Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) sprays Ryan Hunter-Reay with champagne in Victory Circle.

(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Sage Karam (No. 8 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports c/w Curb-Agajanian) overtook Zach Veach on Lap 57 of the Milwaukee 100 on Saturday and went on to become the third first-time winner and fourth in five Firestone Indy Lights races this season. Karam, 18, of Nazareth, Pa., led Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Daily-Ser/Andretti Autosport) across the start-finish line by 1.0808 seconds. Veach earned his first podium finish. Karam closed to 18 points of Munoz in the standings with the series heading to Iowa Speedway next week and then to Pocono Raceway on July 7.

(Photo by Brian Cleary for Chevy Racing)
Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa (No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype won the Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday in Lexington, Ohio. Barbosa gave Action Express Racing its first Daytona Prototype (DP) victory of the season, passing Spirit of Daytona driver Richard Westbrook with 29 minutes remaining. Co-driving the No. 5 Corvette DP with Fittipaldi, Barbosa made slight contact while making his pass on Westbrook in Turn 2 and went on to the lead the final 22 laps of the race.

(Grand-Am)
Contact between the GT leaders with two laps remaining resulted in a penalty that gave Bill Auberlen and co-driver Paul Dalla Lana their second consecutive race win at Mid-Ohio in the No. 94 BMW M3. Marsh Racing driver Eric Curran crossed the stripe first in the No. 31 Chevrolet Corvette, but was penalized one minute and 24 seconds for avoidable contact. Curran and co-driver Boris Said finished fourth after the penalty.

(Porsche Cars North America)
Andy Lally/John Potter (No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) finished second in the GT class at Mid-Ohio. The team leads the GRAND-AM GT standings by three points over the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458.

(Mazda Speed Motorsports)
Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long (No. 70 SpeedSource Engineering SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel Mazda6) took the win in the GX class at Mid-Ohio. 

(Red Bull Motorsports)
Nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb got his first chance to drive the famous Pikes Peak hill climb course in its entirety in his new Peugeot Sport 208 T16 Pikes Peak machine. “We’ve done two test sessions now and my feeling is that the car is ready,” said Loeb. “But one big question mark is the fact that many of our serious rivals have skipped the two test sessions held so far. So while I’m confident that we’ve done as much as we need to do, you never know what the others have up their sleeve.” Testing is limited to just three hours after sunrise so that the mountain can be opened up to the public during the day afterwards. “It’s not like a race with a warm-up lap, or a rally with a road section, before you start here. You just sit in the car and bang! You’re off at full speed straight away!" Full speed in the 208 T16 Pikes Peak monster is something in the region of 240kph, thanks to an 875-horsepower engine and a power to weight ratio of one horsepower per kilogram. “A car like this is actually never what you would call easy to drive, but that’s what makes it so thrilling,” said Loeb at the end of the test. After three days of hard work, the Peugeot Sport 208 T16 Pikes Peak will be stripped down and re-built completely before the final tests and qualifying for the 'Race to the Clouds" on Sunday June 30.

(Porsche Cars North America)
Your wife left you for her yoga instructor, your asshole co-worker just got promoted over you, and the notion of getting in your car and just driving until you feel like stopping has crossed your mind more than once. Instead, continuing to go against the grain like you always have, you decide you want a Porsche. Except your wife took the Audi, the kids are both under ten, and you're schlepping around town in a minivan. What to do? Buy your kids one of these and return to your life of quiet desperation. The Porsche "Go-Kart" (why it's not called a pedal cart right up front is beyond us) is about five feet long, and "thanks to its unique construction, based on Porsche Intelligence Performance, the children's pedal-powered vehicle weighs a mere 55 pounds," according to Porsche. It features composite wheel rims with simulated center locks that are fitted with low-profile, inflatable tires with inner tubes. Other equipment includes a sport seat, plus both a back-pedal brake and a handbrake which ensure optimal deceleration. With its tubular steel frame, the Porsche Driver's Selection Go-Kart is suitable for children weighing up to 110 pounds with a height of up to 5 feet. And typically Porsche, it stickers for a whopping $900. The Go-Kart and other products from the Porsche Driver's Selection are available exclusively from participating authorized Porsche dealers and on the Internet at www.porsche.com/shop.

(Suzuki)
Suzuki Motor Corporation has confirmed its return to MotoGP in 2015, following a two year sabbatical from the premier motorcycle racing world series. Announcing a new team to oversee the advanced development of the project, Suzuki Motor Corporation returns to practical testing of its 1000cc prototype MotoGP machine this week, participating in the official joint tests at the Catalunya race circuit in Spain. The Team Manager is Davide Brivio and the development rider will be Randy De Puniet.

(Ford Racing)
Sixty-four-year-old John Force, driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, won Fuel Funny Car at the 13th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee, on Sunday. Force ended a 31-event winless streak, beating Cruz Pedregon with a 4.148-second run at 305.29 mph in the final round. It was his record 135th career victory and fourth at Bristol Dragway. "If you can't compete you are just mentally out of it," Force said. "This is great to come back here and win. So many fans wanted me to win on Father's Day. It's just a great day for the Force family and to do it on Father's Day is just awesome."

(McLaren Automotive)
As teams and drivers prepare for this weekend’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, McLaren has confirmed that the 1995 Le Mans race-winning McLaren F1 GTR will take to the Goodwood Hill at this summer’s Festival of Speed. Chassis F1/01R will be joined by the one-off prototype of the McLaren F1 LM, famously built to honor the victory and five finishing cars at the French endurance event, and also the Gulf-liveried McLaren F1 GTR "Longtail" (above), which claimed second place at Le Mans in 1997.

(Aston Martin The Americas)
Aston Martin Racing and Gulf have unveiled the winner of their livery design competition. The design, inspired by the change in atmosphere as day gives way to night during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was created by Jonathan Wesley from Kettering in the UK and will adorn the No. 97 Vantage GTE throughout race week. Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (D) and Peter Dumbreck (GB), drivers of the No. 97 Vantage GTE, selected Jonathan’s design from the hundreds of entries received. He will now attend the race weekend as a VIP guest of Gulf to see his winning design compete in the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Editor-in Chief's Note: Want to live with Corvette Racing for the entire 24 Hours of Le Mans? Starting with the green flag at 9 a.m. ET/3 p.m. CET on Saturday, fans can watch the race online through the eyes of Corvette Racing at SPEED.com. In-car cameras will run for the full length of the race in both the Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars that will compete in the GTE Pro class. Additionally, SPEED.com will stream a garage cam for the entire 24 hours. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor will drive the No. 73 Compuware Corvette at Le Mans, with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook in the No. 74 Corvette Racing team car. Corvette Racing has seven class victories at Le Mans since 2001, making the team and Chevrolet among the most successful teams and manufacturers to compete at Le Mans in the modern era. - PMD

(Porsche)
The new Porsche 911 "Type 991" RSR race car makes its debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend. Powered by a rear-mounted, 4.0-liter, 470HP flat-six engine, the 911 RSR will be run by Team Manthey, the Porsche AG factory team. The 24 Hours of  Le Mans counts as round three of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC), with double points on the line, and Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Pilet (France) and Timo Bernhard (Germany) will be aiming for GTE-Pro class honors in the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR. Sharing the cockpit of the No. 92 911 RSR Manthey team car are drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Romain Dumas (France). In the GTE-Am class, customer teams compete with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR ("Type 997") from last year, including IMSA Performance Matmut, which finished second in 2012. Driving for this team is Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay, who as the winner of the 2012 Porsche International Cup Scholarship receives support from the factory in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) will be in the second IMSA Performance Matmut 911. Returning to the action in France is Hollywood star Patrick Dempsey along with American Porsche factory driver Patrick Long in the Dempsey Del Piero Proton team.