NASCAR champ donates almost $1 million to schools
November 30, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has awarded nearly $1 million in education grants to school districts in California, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
The four-time series champion received more than 80 applications from schools in districts both he and his wife, Chandra, attended, as well as the greater Charlotte area, where they currently reside.
The grants totaling $922,000 include $347,000 toward science and technology needs, $357,000 for outdoor classrooms, playgrounds and athletic facilities and $27,000 for accelerated reading programs.
The Johnsons awarded the California grants at a special ceremony Monday at Crest Elementary, in El Cajon, Calif., a school the driver attended.
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Patrick staying on with Andretti Autosport (PA SportsTicker)
November 30, 2009
By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer
Danica Patrick has signed a three-year extension with Andretti Autosport.
Her NASCAR future? Still unclear.
Patrick and Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti announced the deal Monday on “Good Morning America.”
Patrick signed with the team before the 2007 season and became the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race at the 2008 Japan Indy 30.
Andretti Autosport recently underwent a restructuring, changing the company name from Andretti Racing Green after Michael Andretti bought the team from Kim Green.
Patrick is reportedly working on a deal that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, the team owned by both Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., but no announcement was made.
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Report: Schumacher not ruling out F1 comeback (PA SportsTicker)
November 29, 2009
SAO PAULO(AP) —Michael Schumacher says he has fully healed from his neck injury and indicated that he has not ruled out a return to Formula One next season.
Schumacher made the comments in Brazil, where he competed in a charity karting race hosted by former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.
When asked by local reporters whether he would be back in F1 in 2010, the German told the Terra Web site and other media: “Who knows?”
Schumacher said Sunday he has recovered from the neck injury that kept him from attempting a temporary comeback with Ferrari earlier this year.
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Massa beats Schumacher in charity karting race
November 29, 2009
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (AP)—Formula One driver Felipe Massa has beaten MichaelSchumacher in a charity karting race in his return to competition four monthsafter a life-threatening accident.
The Brazilian edged his former Ferrari teammate Sunday in the final race ofthe “International Challenge of the Stars” in southern Brazil, an event hostedby Massa for the fifth straight year to aid local charities.
Schumacher won the first race on Saturday and clinched the overall titleafter points from both races were added. Massa finished third Saturday in hisfirst competitive race since seriously crashing his Ferrari in qualifying forthe Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25.
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Massa returns to racing in charity karting event
November 28, 2009
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (AP)—Formula One driver Felipe Massa returned tocompetition for the first time since his life-threatening accident four monthsago, finishing third in a charity karting event won by Michael Schumacher onSaturday.
Massa was competing in the International Challenge of the Stars race insouthern Brazil, an event he was hosting for the fifth straight year to aidlocal charities.
“It was a great return to racing,” said Massa, who started in 11th place.“I felt 100 percent and I’m ready for the next one. I wish I could’ve won therace, but it was a victory to come from the back and finish where I finished.”
It was the first time Massa had raced since sustaining multiple skullfractures in a crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25.The Ferrari driver missed the rest of the season but will be back in F1 nextyear.
Schumacher, Massa’s former teammate at Ferrari, started from sixth place andwas running third until the final laps of the 30-minute race. But Indy RacingLeague driver Vitor Meira and F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi touched their kartswhile fighting for the lead, allowing Schumacher to easily move past them andwin.
Schumacher, the event winner in 2007, also clocked the best lap at the newtrack designed by Massa and Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi, who finishedfourth. Liuzzi was second and Meira fifth.
Nelson Piquet Jr., involved in an F1 scandal after crashing on purpose inlast year’s Singapore GP to help former Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win therace, started from the pole. He led most of the race before an engine problemleft him ninth in the 25-driver event.
F1 driver Rubens Barrichello finished sixth and IRL’s Tony Kanaan wasseventh.
Another race will be held at the same track Sunday, and an overall winnerwill be crowned with points added after both races.
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Massa returns to action in charity karting event
November 28, 2009
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (AP)—Formula One driver Felipe Massa returned tocompetition for the first time since his life-threatening accident four monthsago, finishing third in a charity karting event won by Michael Schumacher onSaturday.
Massa started 11th at the “International Challenge of the Stars” race insouthern Brazil, which he is hosting for the fifth straight year to aid localcharities.
“It was a great return to racing,” Massa said. “I felt 100 percent andI’m ready for the next one. I wish I could’ve won the race, but it was a victoryto come from the back and finish where I finished.”
It was the first time Massa had raced competitively since sustainingmultiple skull fractures in a crash with his Ferrari in qualifying for theHungarian Grand Prix on July 25. The Brazilian driver missed the rest of theseason because of the accident but will be back in F1 next year.
Schumacher, Massa’s former teammate at Ferrari, started from sixth place andwas running third until the final laps of the 30-minute race on Saturday, butIndy Racing League driver Vitor Meira and F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi touchedtheir karts while fighting for the lead, allowing Schumacher to easily move pastthem and secure the victory.
Schumacher, the event winner in 2007, also clocked the best lap at the brandnew track designed by Massa and Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi, whofinished fourth. Liuzzi was second and Meira fifth.
Nelson Piquet Jr., involved in an F1 scandal after crashing on purpose inlast year’s Singapore GP to help former Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win therace, started from the pole and led most of the race before getting into a crashand falling to ninth in the 25-driver event.
Veteran F1 driver Rubens Barrichello finished sixth, while IRL’s Tony Kanaanwas seventh.
Another race will be held at the same track on Sunday, and an overall winnerwill be crowned with points added after both races.
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Montreal back on the F1 schedule for next 5 years (PA SportsTicker)
November 27, 2009
MONTREAL(AP) —Montreal is back on the Formula One schedule for five years – thanks to more than $70 million in public money.
Mayor Gerald Tremblay and federal and provincial politicians said at a news conference Friday an agreement is in place for the race to be held in city from 2010 to 2014.
The race had been held at Montreal’s Gilles-Villeneuve track every year since 1978 before being dropped in 2009. It was scrapped after a financial dispute between local authorities and racing impresario Bernie Ecclestone. Ecclestone had wanted $165 million to keep the race in Montreal.
The decision was a blow to civic pride, coming after Montreal lost its major league baseball team and its status as Canada’s business capital.
The federal government and Montreal’s tourism bureau will each contribute in $24 million over five years, while the province will spend $19 million and the municipal government nearly $5 million.
“We’re in pole position for June 13, 2010,” Tremblay said, announcing the date of the next race.
The Formula One event draws wealthy tourists from all over the world and has provided an annual boost to businesses. Quebec says that of the 300,000 spectators at the race, 25 percent are from outside the province. The province says the event is responsible for $84 million in economic benefits and Quebec will collect more than $9 million in additional tax revenues every year because of the race.
“I am certainly delighted by this news,” Quebec Tourism Minister Nicole Menard said.
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BMW sells Formula One team to Peter Sauber (PA SportsTicker)
November 27, 2009
FRANKFURT(AP) —German car maker BMW has agreed to sell its Formula One team to previous owner Peter Sauber, provided the team gets a place on the grid next season.
BMW announced in July that it would pull out of Formula One at the end of the season, citing the global economic downturn. The company said Friday that a previous agreement to sell the team to Qadbak Investments has been annulled.
“I’m the sole investor right now,” Sauber told reporters at the team’s base in Hinwil, Switzerland.
The 66-year-old owner said he planned to lead the team for just one season then find a successor.
Sauber said he was “very confident” that the FIA governing body would find a place on the grid for the team, which would use Ferrari engines.
The number of team employees will be cut from 388 to about 250, BMW said.
“That is not an enjoyable solution, but the best one available,” Mario Theissen, BMW motor sports director, said.
BMW acquired a majority stake in Sauber in 2005.
“Our relationship with Peter Sauber has always been excellent and marked by absolute respect. We would like to express our thanks to Peter Sauber and the whole team for the excellent cooperation during the recent four years,” BMW’s development chief, Klaus Draeger, said.
BMW finished sixth in the constructors’ championship last season. Its drivers were Nick Heidfeld of Germany and Robert Kubica of Poland.
Kubica has gone to Renault, while Heidfeld is without a team.
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Johnson 4-peat shadows challenging NASCAR season
November 25, 2009
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP)—It’s too soon for Jimmie Johnson to contemplate his place in NASCAR history. He’ll save those conversations for a time long after the champagne has stopped flowing on his record fourth consecutive championship.
But after charging his way into the elite club of drivers with more than three titles—Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon—Johnson can’t escape the debates over where he stands among the all-time greats.
“It’s tough for me to really reflect on it when I’m still competing,” he said. “Toward the end of my career, I’m sure I’ll focus a lot more on it. But right now we’re just kind of in a rhythm of things, and I hope to keep it going.
“There’s no guarantees it will continue. But I’m just trying to keep the same mindset, same work ethic, same focus and just see how long we can keep this thing moving.”
Another long year over, and Johnson heads into another offseason still plotting how to keep his spot atop the Sprint Cup Series.
But it’s hardly a case of groundhog day. The 2009 season was unlike any year in recent memory.
It will, of course, be remembered for Johnson’s historic march. And the late-season emergence of Brad Keselowski as NASCAR’s newest polarizing figure is certainly fresh in everyone’s mind.
But NASCAR faced a lot of challenges between the February opener at Daytona and last weekend’s conclusion at Homestead. Many remain unresolved.
There’s the ongoing saga of driver Jeremy Mayfield, who has refused to quietly go away after becoming the first driver suspended under NASCAR’s toughened drug policy. The drama consumed NASCAR all summer, and just when the controversy finally seemed to simmer, Mayfield hired high-profile lawyer Mark Geragos and ramped up his fight another notch.
Now it will drag on through the offseason, as Geragos attempts to introduce aspects of NASCAR chairman Brian France’s personal life to the case. Just this week, NASCAR asked a federal court to prevent Geragos from collecting information and documents from France’s ex-wife.
NASCAR also is still feeling the pinch from the economic crisis. Teams still struggling to find sponsorship continue to fight for their survival, with mixed results. The organization known as Gillett-Evernham Motorsports this time last year is now a shell of its former self, currently existing as Richard Petty Motorsports but with a third of its former employees.
The name might be the same two months from now, but most everything else could look much different as RPM moves slowly toward a merger with Yates Racing. The agreement has led to a loss of jobs and at least one race team as the NASCAR work force and number of competitive entries in the field continues to dwindle.
Attendance at tracks all over the circuit has been down this year, as have television ratings. Unlike previous years, NASCAR is taking a pro-active approach to its problems.
NASCAR listened to its fan council when it implemented midseason double-file restarts and worked with its television partners on establishing universal start times in 2010. The sport leadership also held at least two unprecedented town-hall meetings with competitors to discuss what’s ailing the sport.
Although there has yet to be any major tweaks to come out of those sessions, NASCAR is considering changes to the current car, which many consider the catalyst for many of the current problems. Drivers complain the car is too difficult to drive, while fans insist it has dulled the action. All the talk had seemingly fallen on deaf ears until recently, which if nothing else is a sign of NASCAR softening its stubbornness.
There’s still work to be done at Daytona and Talladega, which were marked by three violent last-lap accidents. NASCAR made a reactionary decision before last month’s race at Talladega to ban bump-drafting, and the end result was a dulled version of what had typically been one of the most exciting races of the year. And, by the way, two cars still went airborne.
The problems of 2009 weren’t limited to the governing body.
Most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a horrendous season, and many can point to the decline in overall NASCAR interest to his fall. Fans love Earnhardt, and when he’s not running well, many simply don’t want to watch.
In the most trying season of his career, he went winless and finished 25th in the standings while his Hendrick Motorsports teammates went 1-2-3 as Johnson gave the organization its record 12th championship. Team owner Rick Hendrick this week vowed to make turning Earnhardt’s team around his top priority and promised to get Earnhardt back on pace by next season.
Kyle Busch is trying to do the same after a quick fall from the top that saw him miss the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, but he’s been recently pushed aside as the star of Joe Gibbs Racing by teammate Denny Hamlin, who found a strong voice this year and asserted himself as one to watch in 2010.
Everyone will be watching 50-year-old Mark Martin next season to see if he can stay on top after a resurgent season that proved he can keep up with his younger rivals. He won five races and finished second in the standings for a fifth time, and was persuaded by Hendrick to sign on for another two years.
Juan Pablo Montoya found his groove in his third season since leaving Formula One, briefly mounting a championship challenge. As did Tony Stewart, who proved critics wrong by not only finding success in his first season as team owner, but also by putting together a bid to become the first driver/owner since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a championship.
Then there’s Keselowski, who has asserted himself as NASCAR’s newest star. He’s aggressive enough on track that he’s aggravated several competitors, and that doesn’t bother him.
Keselowski has vowed not to back down to anyone, and that hard-nosed style has everyone looking forward to what 2010 may bring.
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Former Mayfield attorneys sue to recover fees
November 25, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Jeremy Mayfield’s former attorneys have filed a civil suit against the suspended NASCAR driver seeking nearly $400,000 in unpaid fees.
The firm James, McElroy and Diehl filed the complaint Wednesday in North Carolina Superior Court. They claim Mayfield and Mayfield Motorsports owes the firm $371,973.66, plus attorney fees, late charges and interest since Oct. 22.
The firm represented Mayfield following his May 9 suspension for failing a random drug test. He hired high-profile attorney Mark Geragos in early October.
Bill Diehl said earlier this month that he was owed a substantial amount of money for representing Mayfield, but Mayfield said last week he’s paid Diehl.
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