News for February 2010
Bowyer finds groove in Vegas
He says the car is “bad fast.”
”We finally did something to help him,” crew chief Shane Wilson quipped. Bowyer wasn’t nearly as happy after first practice Saturday or with his qualifying effort of 13th. But in final practice for Sunday’s Las Vegas Sprint Cup race, Bowyer topped the speed chart on his first lap with a circuit of 183.318 mph.
Edited: February 28th, 2010
Hinchcliffe Tops Charts in Barber Test
Firestone Indy Lights cars roared to life on Friday (February 26), with the lone official pre-season test taking place at Barber Motorsports Park. In difficult and tricky cool conditions, it was four returning race pilots who led the way when the final checkered flag waved, setting the stage for entertaining season-long battle for championship honors.
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Edited: February 28th, 2010
Birmingham expects to score as sports host
April is shaping up as a record month for Birmingham area tourism, thanks to three major sporting events. Convention officials expect them to generate a combined $62 million in tourism-related spending.
About $33 million of that will come from the IndyCar Series inaugural IRL Grand Prix of Alabama, set for April 9-11 at the Barber Motorsports road track near Leeds, said David Galbaugh, sports marketing director for the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Two events beginning April 24 — the Talladega Superspeedway Aaron’s 499 and the Federation Cup women’s tennis match between the United States and Russia — are expected to have an economic impact of $25 million and $3.9 million, respectively. (more…)
Edited: February 27th, 2010
Talladega Superspeedway Sprint Cup testing will be open to the public
Talladega Superspeedway Sprint Cup testing will be open to the public on March 16.
According to track officials, that will give fans their first glimpse of Sprint Cup cars on the track using the new spoiler while confirming restrictor plate size and gear ratio for the Aaron’s 499 on April 25. Fans will also have the chance to check out the renovated frontstretch grandstands.
The test is scheduled for 9 a.m. that day.
Talladega’s race schedule for April includes qualifying for the Nationwide Series and ARCA Series on April 23; qualifying for Sprint Cup and the Aaron’s 312 Nationwide race on April 24; and the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup race on Sunday.
Edited: February 27th, 2010
Drivers at Barber Motorsports talk about Day 2
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske): “It was a good day. We certainly found some good things. We went through a lot of things during the two days. Today, towards the end of the day, we focused on getting outright speed. You can see how tough the championship is going to be- There are so many good drivers and so many good cars and teams. I think it’s going to be a very exciting year. You’re going to have to really be on your game if you want to win.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske): ““It was a good test for Team Penske. We came here to get back in the groove and get our rhythm going again. We learned some things that will be useful for the race in St. Petersburg and for when we come back here to Barber. I am excited for the team, coming out on the top of the timing chart is great and I hope we do that all season.”
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske): “We had a real good couple of days testing. We found some set-up information that will be helpful in Brazil, St. Pete and for when we return here, to Barber. The test went very smooth. We were able to work through a long list of testing points. It is real nice to see the Team Penske cars 1-2-3 at the end of the test.” (more…)
Edited: February 26th, 2010
Teams working on their wings and spoilers at Talladega
Which team will win the Sprint Cup championship in the coming fall? It just might be the team that is best at multitasking during the current winter.
Teams right now today – the smart ones, at least – are not only working on conquering the challenges at hand, they are also grinding away on a challenge which will present itself early this spring. The challenge of making cars with blade spoilers go fast. (more…)
Edited: February 26th, 2010
Danica Patrick to Return to Indy Racing
Those hoping to see Danica Patrick driving a stock car better do it this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway or wait until late June.Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide Series race will end the first phase of Patrick’s NASCAR tutorial before she focuses on her day job as an Izod IndyCar Series driver with Andretti Autosport, with whom she spent testing Wednesday and Thursday at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
Edited: February 26th, 2010
It’s a Girl! For Carl Edwards
The long-awaited birth of baby Edwards finally has arrived. According to multiple posts on Facebook, Twitter and various NASCAR-related sites, Sprint Cup driver Carl and wife Kate Edwards are now the proud parents of their first baby, Annie.
The Edwards family anticipated Annie’s arrival as early as the week of the Daytona 500, in which Carl made preparations for another driver to take over should he be called to the hospital
Edited: February 26th, 2010
Power Fastest On Final Day Of Testing Barber Motorsports
Toe touches, squats and contortions that will be part of the Olympic women’s ice skating competition were part of the drill on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. There’s nothing unusual about that, really, except that it’s only been six months since Power suffered broken vertebrae during a multi-car incident in practice at Infineon Raceway.
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Edited: February 26th, 2010
Is Michael Waltrip Already Done?
When Michael Waltrip announced last fall that Martin Truex Jr. would take over for him behind the wheel of the Michael Waltrip Racing NAPA-sponsored full-time Sprint Cup Series entry, he also announced that he’d scale back his driving duties, opting to compete on a part-time basis as a driver in 2010. But has he already climbed out of the cockpit of a Cup car for good?
When Waltrip made the announcement to go part-time racing, the only races he specifically mentioned running were the Daytona 500 and the Budweiser Shootout, a non-points paying all-star-type event held at Daytona International Speedway a week prior to the 500. With those races now in the history books, Waltrip still doesn’t have definite plans to compete again in 2010. (more…)
Edited: February 26th, 2010