Auto Racing Blog

Honda is pulling out of Formula One, blaming the world economic crisis for plans to sell its team.

The decision leaves Englishman Jenson Button and 2009 team-mate Rubens Barrichello without drives, with only a few mid-ranking seats still available.

Honda, which spent more than £300m a year on F1, said it would also no longer supply the sport with engines. Full Story

Source: BBC Sports

A long time advertiser on Freshrubber.com is running a great holiday contest. Please check out there website, and win some Free stuff!

AmericanMuscle.com ( http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?2WF0-2hDr-7UaRy6 ) has always been known for running its crazy contests on both its BLOG and also on the forums it sponsors! Their latest “All I Want For Christmas Wish List Contest” on AllFordMustangs.com required forum members to post up two wish lists, one list of what their Mustang wanted for Christmas, and one wish list of what they wanted personally for Christmas, for a chance to win one of three $100 AmericanMuscle Gift Certificates! Pretty sweet, but that is not where the real story is.

Here is where the story gets really good! At the end of the contest, American Muscle’s Forum Representative AMNick picked out nearly 20 items worth over $2000 from people’s personal wish lists, including a Digital Camera, Bowling Ball, a 204 Piece Craftsman Tool Kit, a Nintendo Wii, toys for a member’s 3 year old daughter, and even some retro 80’s tube socks, and actually sent them the items on their lists, all on the company dime!

When asked if he was afraid of getting fired for what seemed like an incredible act of lunacy, AMNick responded, “Absolutely not! I had the full support of American Muscle behind me on this one! The thing about American Muscle is we can fully relate to our customers because we are real Mustang people too. With the currently devastated economy, we just thought this would be a great way to help out our fellow Mustang enthusiasts in these financially difficult times.”

Needless to say there were some very surprised, and very happy people on AllFordMustangs.com that day!

The original contest threads and BLOG postings are available at: www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/americanmuscle/143310-300-prizes-am-wish-list.html (
http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?2WF0-2hDs-7UaRy7 )
www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/americanmuscle/145587-am-christmas-wish-list-contest.html
( http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?2WF0-2hDt-7UaRy8 )
blog.americanmuscle.com/american-muscle-filled-with-the-christmas-spirit-of-giving (
http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?2WF0-2hDu-7UaRy9 )

Long-time NASCAR/ARCA driver James Hylton hopes to become the oldest man to run a Sprint Cup race at next year’s Daytona 500. Hylton, who will be 74 by February, will team with owner John Carter for the 51st annual 500-miler around Daytona International Speedway. Jim Fitzgerald, at 65 years, 6 months and 20 days holds the record for oldest to start a Cup race, on June 6, 1987 at Riverside. — Auto Week

Next season is almost certain to have fewer teams, with the possibility of not having full 43-car fields at some races. “There’s no question in my mind it will come back, but (next) year is going to be a real tough year,” driver Jeff Burton said. “It definitely appears we’re going to have a net loss of full-time teams.” Ultimately, Burton believes NASCAR’s ability to weather the crisis isn’t a matter of how many cars are on the racetrack. “You can’t ignore that people are being laid off, unemployment rates are rising, inflation is rising, the stock market is doing what it’s doing,” he said. “We have to have corporate America. We can’t succeed if the corporations can’t send money and people can’t afford to come watch.” — Indy Star

2008 Ford 400 Exciting Finish Carl Edwards Wins, Jimmie Johnsons Wins 2008 Sprint Cup Championship. Johnson cruises to record-tying 3rd straight title.

Now it appears that Ganassi has only the $22 million Target sponsorship and a 12-to-15 race Wrigley’s sponsorship … and Juan Pablo Montoya, an ex-Formula One star. Putting Montoya in a Chevrolet would seem a big-game move by General Motors. But GM is in the midst of potential merger talks of its own with Chrysler, and that has everything about Dodge up in the air. Montoya said he’s not sure what’s going on: “No, I don’t. “I haven’t really talked to Chip the last few days. I haven’t even asked him. “I haven’t even asked him who’s driving the other car (in 2009). “Right now our focus is to try to run better.” — Winston-Salem Journal

Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows there’s too much money to be made in Sprint Cup racing for it to happen, but he believes a shorter schedule would actually help stock car racing. “What’s happened is we have saturated the market with race after race after race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The NFL does such a great job. …It gives you just enough to keep you wanting more. The season ends before you want it to. You just get just enough to get excited and then it’s all over and there’s such a long wait. The model works.” Earnhardt Jr. said NASCAR is more like other sports with longer seasons. — Charlotte Observer

The following is a Q&A with Carl Edwards, winner of this week’s NASCAR Nationwide Kroger On Track For The Cure 250 presented by the Southern Dodge Dealers at Memphis Motorsports Park in Tennessee.

With only seven drivers on the lead lap by the end of the race, Carl Edwards led the final 185 laps of the Kroger 250 to capture his fifth Nationwide Series win of the season at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The race was tight at the end, and Edwards was more than impressed with the sportsmanship and clean driving of second-place finisher David Reutimann.

Carl Edwards:
Oh yeah, the last two laps I’d drive down the corner and I just was painting the, you know, the bottom of the racetrack. I mean just running right down there by the grass, and one and two, and right down there on the rumble strips on three and four and just bracing for the hit, you know I knew he was going to run into me just a little bit and move me out of the way—and he didn’t. And for the win, for him not to touch me, I mean, I can’t see myself ever rationalizing laying a bumper on him in my career after this, so he earned a lot of respect from me.

Just can’t believe that last restart, Reutimann was all over me and all he had to do was, you know, bump me out of the way and that would’ve been a lot different race, so, if I ever wear another guy’s t-shirt, it’ll be a David Reutimann t-shirt. It was amazing how clean he raced me at the end.

Reutimann, last year’s winner, settled for second place—but admitted a definite temptation to go for the win.

David Reutimann:
Yeah there was. You know I mean, you know you’re sitting back there and you’re thinking well if Carl was in this situation, what would he do to me? I know what he would’ve done. But, I’ve got all the respect in the world for Carl Edwards, I think he’s a great guy and a phenomenal driver. But when it comes down to it, he’s a competitor just like we all are, and he will definitely move you out of the way. It’s just not my deal. Maybe someday it’ll pay off, today it hurt me, absolutely hurt me. And I had two opportunities to do it and I knew when I didn’t do it — I just can’t tell you why I didn’t do it. That’s not the way my father taught me to drive, that’s not the way he raced, that’s not the way my family raced, and that’s not the way I do it, so. But it cost me a win today so I don’t feel too good about that.

Source: nationwide.com

Few drivers can stand in front of Jamie McMurray in terms of misfortune. “It’s been pretty weird to think of the bad luck the team has experienced the last few weeks,” said McMurray, one of Jack Roush’s five drivers. “We were wrecked at Dover — in one of the best cars I’ve ever had. We were taken out at Talladega while running in the top five. And then this past weekend we had a mechanical failure in the rear-end gear. “It’s disappointing, but I know how strong and fast our cars have been over the last couple of months. We had a solid run in Charlotte ? which shows how good our team has been when we don’t have bad luck hit us.” And now the Sprint Cup series moves to Atlanta Motor Speedway. “It has to be the fastest place we race,” McMurray said. “The speeds we carry into Turn 1 are probably the fastest of any track.” — Winston-Salem Journal

NASCAR officials are saying they plan no significant changes to the current Sprint Cup cars next season, despite complaints from drivers and crews about ill-handling characteristics, which many say make it tough to pass. But drivers seem a bit taken aback by that stance. Jimmie Johnson, who struggled with this new car much of the season, particularly at the mid-sized tracks, says that NASCAR shouldn’t be so quick to say no. “A lot of us have ideas for changes we’d like to see them put in,” he said. “As the season has gone on, we’ve all gotten smarter and ‘helped’ the car. But there still are some things I feel should be looked at and considered.” Johnson says he is “hopeful that something would change, definitely.” Drivers are mindful of the chewing out they got in June from NASCAR president Mike Helton for their continued criticism of the new car. Nevertheless Johnson says that if NASCAR would make some changes the racing could be better. — Winston-Salem Journal