THE LINE - SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

(Infiniti)
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1 Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault RB9) flat dominated the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Fernando Alonso (No. 3 Scuderia Ferrari F138) finished second and Mark Webber (No. 2 Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault RB9) was third. It was Vettel's sixth win of the 2013 season and the 32nd win of his Formula 1 career. Vettel’s win leaves him with 222 points, 53 clear of Alonso in the Drivers’ Championship battle. Infiniti Red Bull Racing now has 352 Constructors’ Championship points, followed by Ferrari (248) and Mercedes (245). Next up? Singapore.

(Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images, courtesy of Ford Racing)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Kellogg's/Cheez-It Ford) celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night. He's in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, but the race itself was a kaleidoscope of controversy. Read more about it in Fumes, and watch the NASCAR videos here.

(Photo by Alan Marler, courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Beautyrest Chevrolet SS) races to a second-place finish on Saturday night in Richmond during the Federated Auto Parts 400. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet SS) finished out of the running but will be one of the favorites in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch topped-off a tremendous season by finishing second at Richmond and qualifiying for the Chase by finishing solidly in the top-ten in points.

(Photo by Alan Marler, courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS) captured the pole with a track record qualifying lap of 20.674 seconds and fastest speed of 130.599 mph in qualifying for Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Gordon finished in eighth place in the race, but the MWR shenanigans cost him a place in the Chase.

(Photo courtesy of Ford Racing)
Brad Keselowski (No. 22 Penske Racing Hertz Ford Mustang) won the Nationwide Race Friday night in Richmond, but the fact that he didn't make the Chase was a bitter disappointment to him and his Penske Racing team.

(Photo by Brian Cleary, courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli (No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Toshiba/Velocity Worldwide Corvette Daytona Prototype) held off Scott Pruett (No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Telcel/TELMEX BMW/Riley, co-driven by Memo Rojas) to win the Rolex GRAND-AM race at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on Sunday afternoon. Taylor and Angelelli lead in the driver's point standings going into the season finale at Lime Rock Park. Scott Dixon and fellow IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti finished third in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Cessna BMW/Riley.

(Grand-Am)
In the other race within a race in Sunday’s Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Festival powered by Mazda, at Laguna Seca, Andy Lally led the final 26 laps in the No. 44 Magnus Racing/Flex-Box Porsche GT3 started by John Potter, giving the team its first victory of the year and the lead in the class standings. Lally held off Billy Johnson (No. 93 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 started by Michael Marcel) by .0940 seconds. Eric Curran and Boris Said were third in the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette.

(Grand-Am)
Tom Long and Sylvain Tremblay (No. 70 Mazdaspeed/SpeedSource Mazda 6) took their third GX victory while Jim Norman scored his eighth consecutive second-place finish, co-driving with Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman.

(Grand-Am)
Spencer Pumpelly (No. 38 BGB Motorsports/Calcium Pro Porsche Carrera) drove away after a late-race restart to win Sunday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, scoring his first victory of the season (with Jim Norman). Bill Auberlen (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3, started by Paul Dalla Lana) battled Pumpelly down the stretch, going side-by-side for the lead in the Corkscrew turn with three laps remaining, but Auberlen's BMW then suffered a broken differential giving Pumpelly – whose car started last in the 21-car GS field – a clear path to victory. “We didn’t want to see that last caution,” Pumpelly said after scoring his fourth career victory in the series. “Billy (Auberlen) was really strong. I raced him clean and gave him as much room as I could. We were running side-by-side. Then I saw him pull over in my mirror, and it was clear from there.” Matt Bell (No. 9 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro GS.R, with John Edwards) finished 4.446 seconds behind Pumpelly, keeping their title hopes alive heading to the Sept. 28 finale at Lime Rock Park. Charles Espenlaub and Trent Hindman (No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3) finished third.

(Grand-Am)
In the ST class in Sunday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Andrew Carbonell (No. 26 SemperfiFund.org Mazda MX-5 started by Rhett O’Doski) passed Freedom Autosport teammate Tom Long on the backstretch in the final lap to win the first race of the season for the duo. Long co-drove with pole winner Derek Whitis in the team’s No. 25 entry to finish second. Terry Borcheller and Mike LaMarra finished third in the No. 23 Burton Racing BMW 128i.

(IMSA)
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) announced on Thursday, September 12, that TUDOR has been named entitlement partner for the next five years of what now will be known as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The IMSA announcement preceded TUDOR’s official U.S. launch during New York Fashion Week. The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship extends ties of the prestigious Swiss watchmaking market to premier U.S. sports car racing dating back to 1959, when NASCAR Founder and IMSA Co-Founder Bill France Sr. and Rolex formed their initial relationship. Rolex will continue to serve as Title Sponsor of the annual Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. Rolex will also continue as Official Timepiece at Sebring International Raceway. In 1926, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf registered “The Tudor” brand and established Montres Tudor SA in 1946. From 2009 to 2011, TUDOR had a partnership with Porsche Motorsports as Timing Partner, and two years later, it began its collaboration with Ducati as global Timing Partner. Its affiliation with the FIA World Endurance Championship — which includes a race in Austin, Texas, alongside the American Le Mans Series race later this month — commenced this year. The inaugural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship will debut next January with the 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona. The complete 2014 schedule will be announced at a later date.

(Aston Martin The Americas)
Aston Martin continues its year-long centennial celebration at The Goodwood Revival this weekend. The luxury British sports car maker is a main sponsor of this year’s meeting at the famous old English race circuit where examples of some of Aston Martin’s rarest and most highly-prized sports cars of the revival period – 1948-1966 – will be on show, and in action. Among the cars set to do battle on the West Sussex track include a brace of DBR1s, numerous DB3, DB3S and DB2/4 Mk IIIs, plus the 1961 Aston Martin Project 212.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: INDYCAR has just announced (9/13) that it will not be returning to Baltimore next year. Expect the same decision from the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship series - Baltimore will not be on their 2014 schedule. - PMD