Senna signs F1 deal with Campos (PA SportsTicker)
October 31, 2009
RIO DE JANEIRO(AP) —Bruno Senna, nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, will drive next year for Formula One newcomer Campos, the team announced Saturday.
The 26-year-old is the first driver signed to one of the new F1 teams joining in 2010.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Bruno Senna in the team,” Campos chief executive Enrique Rodriguez de Castro said in a statement.
De Castro described Senna as “one of the most promising up-and-coming drivers of his generation.”
“For Campos Meta 1 it is an extraordinary honor to be returning the name Senna to Formula One.”
Senna was close to joining Brawn GP ahead of the 2009 season, but that seat was ultimately filled by Brazilian compatriot Rubens Barrichello.
“I’m absolutely delighted to fulfill a lifetime dream,” Senna said. “After many weeks of hard work and negotiations, me and my management finally made it.”
The deal brought the approval from F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
“It’s good for everybody – good for Campos, good for him and good for the sport,” Ecclestone said. “I hope the car is up to him, that’s important.”
Ecclestone also hinted at the Spain-based Campos signing Nelson Piquet Jr. to partner Senna next season, creating a union of two of the biggest family names in F1 history.
“It’d be good wouldn’t it, another good name,” Ecclestone said. “That’s what’s being talked about actually.”
Ayrton Senna won the F1 title in 1988, 1990 and 1991 before being killed in an accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Brazil’s Piquet, son of the former world champion of the same name, was fired by Renault this season and his subsequent revelations about deliberately crashing in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix rocked the sport and led to long bans for key Renault staff.
Campos had been linked with McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa to add experience and also a Spanish presence for the team.
However Campos said its links with South America were also part of the team identity.
“The deal with Senna confirms and reinforces our prime objective of being not only the first Spanish Formula 1 team, but rather the first Iberian-American F1 team,” Rodriguez de Castro said.
The Senna announcement answered the growing number of doubters questioning the ability of Campos and the other new 2010 teams – Manor, Lotus and USF1 – to make it to the grid next season.
“There is no reason to have any doubts,” Ecclestone said. “They’ve entered and presumably they know what they are doing.”
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Montoya not bothered by Griese’s remark
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—Juan Pablo Montoya was never upset by the “taco” remark that got ESPN announcer Bob Griese suspended.
The network this week suspended Griese from broadcasting a college football game on Saturday for the remark he made last week about Montoya. During a spot for NASCAR, the top five drivers in the standings were shown and Griese was asked where Montoya was in the promotion.
Griese replied Montoya was “out having a taco.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not my responsibility, it is not our sport, it is completely out of my hands,” Montoya said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “I never paid attention to the comment, and as I said, I didn’t really care. If they wanted to suspend him for what he did, it’s their problem, not NASCAR or myself.
“I was good with (the remark.)”
Montoya has poked fun at the comment several times over the past week, including Friday, when he said he almost brought trays of tacos for reporters during his weekly news conference.
Earlier in the week, Montoya posted on Twitter that he was going to have tacos for lunch.
“The wife, I told her I wanted Italian, and she said ‘No, I want Mexican,”’ he said. “So I said, ‘Lets go have some Mexican.’ The tacos were so good, too.”
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Allmendinger given breath test before practice
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger was required to take a breath test before Friday’s practice at Talladega Superspeedway following his arrest on a drunken driving charge.
Allmendinger was arrested by Mooresville (N.C.) police early Thursday morning. He was placed on probation by NASCAR through the end of the season and said he had no problem when series officials asked him to take the test.
“I know what I’ve done,” Allmendinger said. “I respect the punishment and everything that I have to do to gain the trust back of NASCAR and everybody that’s out there racing with me. It’s not the best feeling in the world, but at the same point I respect that I have to go do it.”
Mooresville police said Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports, failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over shortly after leaving a bar.
Allmendinger registered 0.08 on the breath test, the police report said. Under North Carolina law, that means his license will be automatically suspended for 30 days.
On Friday, RPM fined Allmendinger $10,000, which will be donated to charity. The team also put him on probation through the end of next season.
Allmendinger said he hasn’t spoken to Petty since the incident. The seven-time NASCAR champion—who shunned alcohol sponsorship during his career— released a statement on Thursday saying he was “disappointed” in Allmendinger’s actions.
Allmendinger enters Sunday’s race 25th in points and is considered part of RPM’s long-term plans. Team officials told The Associated Press that Allmendinger was going to be moved into Petty’s famed No. 43 next season. Best Buy is expected to sponsor the car. Allmendinger said he’s optimistic the incident won’t mar his future prospects.
“Hopefully, I can go out there and show people that I can learn from it and people do get second chances,” he said.
His teammates aren’t particularly concerned about Allmendinger’s mistake costing RPM. Neither is Budweiser, who is the primary sponsor for RPM star Kasey Kahne.
“Richard Petty Motorsports is a great partner in our efforts to promote responsible drinking, and they have communicated to us their own disappointment regarding this matter,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of corporate social responsibility for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “We are adamantly opposed to drunk driving and any incident of it is a serious issue. We hope this will serve as a reminder of the importance of making responsible choices.”
A couple of Allmendinger’s fellow drivers don’t believe NASCAR needs to set stricter sanctions for drivers who are charged with driving under the influence.
“This sport is dictated by our fan base and our sponsors, and if you’re actions off the track impact that enough, you’re going to get penalized and to me, that penalty is far going to outweigh anything the league or the series can do,” said four-time champion Jeff Gordon.
Brian Vickers added he as “no problem” with the current standards.
“It’s almost a self-policing system,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s not going to be team owner or NASCAR that’s going to be the harshest on the driver or the crew member, it’s going to be the sponsor. In this kind of corporate environment, it’s going to come down to the sponsor.”
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Busch crew chief Addington confused by firing
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—Steve Addington says he doesn’t know why he was fired as crew chief for Kyle Busch.
Joe Gibbs Racing officials told Addington earlier this week that Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway will be his last with Busch.
Addington says he is confused by the decision. He and Busch won 12 races together since their pairing at the start of last season.
Although they missed a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Busch has four wins this season. The firing also came after consecutive top-10 finishes.
Addington thinks the finishes of late weren’t consistent enough, so JGR officials made a change.
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Talladega holds promise of shuffling Chase contenders (NASCAR.com)
October 30, 2009
After two consecutive wins, Jimmie Johnson came up short and finished … second at Martinsville. Superman now leads the Chaseby 118 points heading into Talladega. Johnson is four races from his fourth consecutive championship. Here's the breakdown of the top 12:
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,098 points—Only a four-tire call at Kansas—when most of the other cars in the top 10 took two—has kept Johnson from having top-five finishes in each of the first six Chase races. Instead, that ninth-place day has dragged down his average finish in the Chase to 3.0. Horrors!
2. Mark Martin, 5,980—Martin finished eighth Sunday to get back on the top-10 train after his disappointing 17th-place finish the week before at Lowe's. To pass Johnson, Martin must average 29.5 points better than Johnson over the final four races.
3. Jeff Gordon, 5,948—Gordon finished fifth for his fourth straight top five. Now he needs to draw on his history at Talladega—six wins, second only to Dale Earnhardt's 10—to try to make a run at Johnson.
4. Tony Stewart, 5,906—Stewart wasn't a factor Sunday although he finished ninth for his 22nd top 10 of the season. If Stewart closes out the season with top 10s in the final four races, he'll set a personal season best.
5. Juan Montoya, 5,898—Montoya continues to shine and entertain. He finished third for his fifth top five of the Chase and traded enough paint and barbs with Jeff Gordon to justify the price of admission right there. I can't wait until 2010.
6. Kurt Busch, 5,858—Busch finished 17th, leaving him four races to attain personal highs in top fives and top 10s. Busch has eight top fives; his record is 12 in 2002. He has 18 top 10s; his record is 21, set in 2004, when he won his only Cup championship.
7. Ryan Newman, 5,786—Newman is still looking for his first win of the season, but his seventh-place finish lowered his average finish for the year to 13.7. His previous best is 13.9 in 2003, the best season of his career when he won eight races.
8. Greg Biffle, 5,748—Like Newman, Biffle is winless. Unlike Newman, he has a streak on the line. He has won at least one race in each of the past six seasons. He is winless at Talladega and Phoenix, but has one win at Texas and three at Homestead.
9. Denny Hamlin, 5,746—Any time Virginia-born Hamlin wins at Richmond or Martinsville, it's a big deal. His win Sunday gave him three for the season, including two in Virginia—he won at Richmond last month. If you are keeping score at home, Hamlin has three wins in the state of Virginia, three at Pocono and one at New Hampshire.
10. Carl Edwards, 5,685—Chase or no Chase, unless Edwards wins a race this year, 2009 will go down as the worst—and most frustrating—season of his career. Edwards failed to lead a lap for the 21st race this season. Last season he led laps in 21 races. How much of a nonfactor has Edwards become? Since leading a season-best 103 laps at Pocono on June 7, Edwards has led five laps.
11. Kasey Kahne, 5,659—Kahne's feast or famine Chase continued Sunday with a 32nd-place finish. That gave him three finishes of 32nd or worse to go with three finishes of eighth or better.
12. Brian Vickers, 5,568—Vickers finished 11th to match his previous best effort in the Chase at New Hampshire. Coming off finishes of 37th, 29th and 34th, the 11th-place run was a huge positive heading into Talladega, site of his first Cup victory in 2006.
TOP FIVE AND FIVE TO WATCH
A look at the top five drivers and five to watch in Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Talladega unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past nine races at the track.
Top five …
1. Jimmie Johnson, 84.1 Driver Rating—Johnson has one win and four top fives in 15 starts, but he also has six DNFs—three for crashes—including in the April race. Everyone should know what's at stake in the race. After all, it has been a topic of discussion since NASCAR released the 2009 Cup schedule last year. It's easy to say all Johnson needs to do is stay out of the Big One. But that's not entirely true. He needs to stay out of the early Big Ones. In April, Carl Edwards crashed a few hundred yards from the finish line and still finished 24th, which was worth 96 points. If that happens to Johnson on Sunday, he still would leave Talladega with the lead.
2. Mark Martin, 58.7—Martin is an example of when not to crash out of Talladega. In April, he was involved in a 14-car extravaganza on Lap 7 and he finished last. Johnson's Big One came on Lap 180 (of 188) and he finished 30th—44 points more than Martin. Neither will look for trouble at Talladega—trouble finds you. Martin has two wins at Talladega in 43 starts.
3. Jeff Gordon, 84.9—Only Dale Earnhardt's 10 Cup wins exceed Gordon's six. In 2007, Gordon swept both races. Since 2004, Gordon has four wins and four finishes 36th or worse. Such is life at Talladega.
4. Tony Stewart, 92.4—Stewart finished second six times before getting his first and only win last October. He has nine top fives in 21 starts.
5. Juan Montoya, 81.0—Montoya won the pole in April and finished 20th. He finished second in April 2008 for his lone top 10 in five starts. Montoya is racing well on all types of tracks and has top fives in five of the first six Chase races.
Five to watch …
6. Kurt Busch, 87.7—Busch is winless at Talladega but has 12 top 10s in 17 starts. His 12.1 average finish is best among active drivers with more than one start. He also is winless in 18 races at Daytona but has nine top fives there (10 top 10s). Busch understands the draft and knows how to compete at restrictor-plate tracks. It's just a matter of time before he finally seals the deal at an RP track.
9. Denny Hamlin, 94.8—Hamlin has the best driver rating among drivers with more than one start. He has led laps in all seven of his starts and has two top fives. In the other five races, he has one DNF and four finishes 21st or 22nd.
13. Kyle Busch, 74.8—This will be Busch's last start with Steve Addington as his crew chief. The two teamed up for Busch's only top 10 at Talladega in nine starts—a win in April 2008. Busch has led significant laps the past three races, following up his win with finishes of 15th and 25th. He led a race-high 42 laps in April. Busch also has four DNFs, three for crashes.
24. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 90.1—Junior has five wins at Talladega, including a record four in a row, something even his father could not accomplish. This year has been a disaster. If Junior can find some of his restrictor-plate mojo from years past, it would make for quite a story. He finished second in April. He has eight top fives and 11 top 10s in 19 starts.
40. Brad Keselowski, 98.9—Speaking of big stories, Keselowski's win in April remains one of the highlights of the season. Not only for his first victory in his fifth Cup start, but the way he and Edwards moved through the field glued to each other's bumper on the last lap and capped it with the wild crash that resulted with Edwards' car flying into the catch fence. Keselowski is back in James Finch's No. 09 Chevrolet. But if he is to pull off another shocker, he must first make the field. He needs to qualify on speed on Saturday.
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McGrew to stay with Earnhardt in 2010
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—Dale Earnhardt Jr. will keep his crew chief next season.
Hendrick Motorsports says Lance McGrew will stay with the No. 88 team in 2010.
McGrew took over the job on an interim basis in May when Tony Eury Jr. was fired after a horrendous start to the season.
Team owner Rick Hendrick says he has faith that McGrew can get the No. 88 team turned around. Earnhardt is 24th in the standings, and has two top 10 finishes since McGrew took over.
He’s lobbied lately to keep McGrew, but has admitted his confidence in himself has been shaken during this slump.
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Williams to reveal 2010 drivers on Monday (PA SportsTicker)
October 30, 2009
By CHRIS LINES AP Auto Racing Writer
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates(AP)—Williams will announce its 2010 Formula One driver lineup Monday, increasing the expectation that Rubens Barrichello will be lured from Brawn GP.
Team principal Frank Williams confirmed the near-term announcement hours after Barrichello spoke about the opportunity to join Williams, while stopping short of confirming his move.
“We will announce our drivers for next season on Monday,” Williams said.
Barrichello was widely expected to be joined at Williams by 22-year-old Nico Hulkenberg, a German who currently drives in GP2.
Barrichello’s likely departure means Brawn GP’s concentration will be on re-signing world champion Jenson Button. Team principal Ross Brawn said Friday that he was confident a deal will be done but warned it will be weeks rather than days before an agreement was reached.
“We agreed that nothing would happen for a few weeks after the championship, so the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy,” Brawn said. “I am confident, I want to keep Jenson in the team.”
Nico Rosberg confirmed Thursday that this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be his last with Williams, and he was thought to be destined for one of the Mercedes-powered teams next year, either McLaren or Brawn.
“Nico is German and Mercedes needs at least one German driver to sit before their engine,” Williams said.
The Williams team also confirmed it will use Cosworth engines next season, replacing Toyota power. Cosworth provided engines for Williams when it won its first championship in 1980.
The 2010 driver market was the main source of conversation around the Abu Dhabi paddock.
Kimi Raikkonen said he had narrowed down his F1 options for 2010 to his old team McLaren, while a switch to rallying or a year’s sabbatical also remained options.
Toyota had been chasing Raikkonen, but the Finn said he never considered a move there as he ponders his future following his ousting from Ferrari to accommodate Fernando Alonso.
“Toyota has not even been discussed,” Raikkonen told Finnish television station MTV3. “If I want to drive (F1) cars, then McLaren is the only option.”
Toyota’s driver options for next season were rapidly thinning out. Robert Kubica had also spurned the team’s advances and moved to Renault. Timo Glock said Friday he was likely to leave the team and Jarno Trulli is also expected to depart.
Glock, who is sitting out this weekend’s race due to a back injury, said Friday he is yet to sign a deal with a new team. There had been recent speculation linking Glock to Renault.
The German had a 2010 option with Toyota, but the team was yet to commit due to its pursuit of other drivers and uncertainty over next season’s budget, pending a decision by the parent company.
“Toyota can’t make a decision before Nov. 15, so that is the main reason why it doesn’t look like I can drive for Toyota again,” Glock said. “There are various teams I have good contacts through, and where we are in a good position for next year.”
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Waltrip parked for aggressive driving at Talladega
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—NASCAR has pulled Michael Waltrip off the track for aggressive driving at Talladega Superspeedway.
Waltrip was warned to give Jimmie Johnson some space during Friday’s final practice session as he bump-drafted behind Johnson’s car. When Waltrip didn’t let up, he was black-flagged for the final 30 minutes of practice.
NASCAR is keeping a close eye on bump-drafting this weekend, in large part because of the fallout over the harrowing accident on the final lap of April’s race at Talladega. Carl Edwards’ car was hit by winner Brad Keselowski, and the contact sent Edwards’ car airborne into the fence.
Several fans were hurt by flying debris.
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Can’t worry about wrecking (Yahoo! Sports)
October 30, 2009
Editor’s note: Each week of the 10-race Chase, Mark Martin will share his thoughts exclusively with Yahoo! Sports. Martin, 50, goes into Race No. 7 of the Chase second in the points standings.
Mark Martin got caught in a wreck just six laps into the April race at Talladega.Getty
I’ve had some highs and some lows at Talladega.
I think we led the most laps one year when they never even had a caution, so that’s gotta be a high. When we can have a whole 500-mile race and not have a caution at Talladega, that’s definitely a high.
I’m sure I’ve had tremendous lows. We were in the Chase hunt one of the years and wrecked there. That kinda took us out of the hunt. Wrecking on Lap 5 this year, was about as low as I want to be. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon started that one, which is very, very rare to see that happen. You know, started by two champions. So that was a crazy wreck to begin with.
I don’t normally have a different mindset for restrictor plate races, but this time is different. Usually I’m concerned about getting in a wreck, but I’m not concerned at all this time because it doesn’t matter. If we wreck, then we don’t have a chance at the championship. I’m not going to worry about it. I’m going to race like there’s no way a wreck could ever happen, you know?
We’re coming from Martinsville to Talladega, which are two different races and two different things. Restrictor plate racing is pretty tough on drivers. I’m going to go with the mindset that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice. It did last time, and I just don’t think it will this time. I’m due a great run and a great finish at that place. And we’ll see if our competition has the same.
After 32 races, and I’m ready for the points to be over, but I’m not burned out. I love racing. I’m ready to stop counting points. I look forward to that. We have four more races and we’re going to race every race with the intention of trying to win the championship. But I will enjoy being loose from those points.
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They were hard on us until the Chase started because we were struggling to make the cut. Since then it’s not been much pressure. When you have a season where you win as many races as we have, anything short of the ultimate seems like a disappointment. I’m going to do my best to keep my team in the frame of mind to remember what we have accomplished this year and what a tremendous year this has been.
This weekend, I just have to finish as high as I can to stay in this thing. That’s all. I pretty much just stay focused on our performance. It’s not time to look over our shoulder or worry about anything.
Mark Martin drives the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. Send Mark a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
RPM fines Allmendinger, puts him on probation
October 30, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP)—NASCAR Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger has been fined $10,000 and placed on probation through the 2010 season by Richard Petty Motorsports following his arrest on a charge of drunken driving.
Mooresville (N.C.) police said Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 Dodge for RPM, failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over early Thursday morning. Allmendinger said in a statement he had drinks with dinner and made a mistake by getting behind the wheel.
Allmendinger registered 0.08 on the breath test, the police report said.
NASCAR placed Allmendinger on probation through the end of the season for actions detrimental to stock car racing.
RPM is requiring Allmendinger to donate the fine to charity, adding in a statement that it was disappointed in his actions.
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