Source: AutoRacingDaily.com

It’s hard to look back at 2009 and not feel a little bit frustrated or just want to shrug your shoulders and wonder why or how things went the way they did for us this year.

That’s not to say that it was all bad.

I finished fifth in points, which is the best finish I’ve had in the points in my career.

So that’s a good thing and it’s not something you want to take lightly. But let’s face it – at the end of the day you want to be contending for wins every weekend and battling for the championship until the last lap of the season, and we just weren’t at that level this year.

There’s no question that our team knows what it’s like to be in that position. AGR has obviously won a lot of races and has three championships to show for its time in the IndyCar Series so far. We have talented drivers – all of us have won races and Tony Kanaan has a championship on his resume, so we all know how to get it done. But, in the last couple years, we’ve just not been doing that like we used to.

In general, I think one of the bright spots for me this year was having Michael Andretti call my races and run my pit. Mike has seen just about everything during his career as a driver and now as an owner, and having that insight is really a plus. He made some good strategy calls this year and helped us make up for some of whatever we missed in qualifying at some races. Long Beach comes to mind, specifically, and Toronto, too. The street circuits and road courses this year were particularly tough for us in qualifying, and we really made the best of those two specifically with strategy.

We finished third at Indy, which was my best career finish there and, of course, the best finish ever there for a woman. But the nice thing about it this year – as strange as this sounds – is that people didn’t make that big a deal of it. I kind of appreciated that because it made it clear to me that people expected me to be there and weren’t shocked by it. I certainly wasn’t satisfied with third; I go to Indy every year with the idea of winning it. That’s all I want to do. Third is a decent day in the biggest race of the year, but it’s not a win.

Indy was also part of a good stretch for us early in the season and that’s when we really put ourselves in a good position in the championship. We had four straight top fives between Long Beach and Milwaukee and had eight top 10s in nine races there. It’s by far the best stretch I’ve had in my career so far. But we needed a couple wins in there to stay with the Penske and Ganassi guys and we just didn’t have the pace to do it. That’s when we kind of lost touch with them for the title and had to focus on holding on to fifth.

All in all, I’m happy with the season. We’ve got a lot of good people on the team and have a lot of work to do. But I know everybody at AGR is ready to dig in and do what it takes.

The media continues its unabashed Danica Patrick hype in the face of no news whatsoever.

Two weeks ago, the story went, Danica – the race car driver/supermodel hailing from Beloit, Wisconsin – was this close to signing with a NASCAR team for the upcoming season.

Today, though:

Earnhardt Jr. says his NASCAR team is no sure thing for Danica

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. says a deal to put Danica Patrick in his Nationwide Series car isn’t imminent, and even if it were, JR Motorsports wouldn’t necessarily have the funding for the IndyCar Series’ most popular driver.

Multiple media outlets have reported in recent weeks that Patrick was on the verge of signing with JRM for a part-time Nationwide schedule next season while continuing to run the Indy Racing League. Patrick and JRM share a sponsor in GoDaddy.com, but Earnhardt says it doesn’t make the deal a cinch.

No news. Nothing new to report. Just another teaser article, dangling the idea of Danica driving NASCAR in front of…

…well, really, does anybody honestly care whether Danica goes into NASCAR or not? Or is the media just taking every single opportunity it can to use an attention-grabbing name (and, the implication goes, picture) in a story?

Note: this post in no way violates my previous decision to stop blogging about Danica’s potential jump to NASCAR because I’m not blogging about Danica’s potential jump to NASCAR. I’m blogging about the media’s continued fascination with Danica’s potential jump to NASCAR. So that doesn’t count.

A próxima época de F1 já vai mexendo com muitas novidades interessantes. Depois da notícia do regresso da Lotus e da Mercedes (os dois carregados de grande simbolismo, mas o segundo a criar muita água na boca), a notícia do possível regresso de Jacques Villeneuve à F1 agrada-me bastante, pois foi um dos pilotos que mais gostei de ver em pista. Não era talvez um prodígio no que toca aos aspectos mais técnicos da relação com a equipe, nomeadamente na comunicação com os engenheiros, mas o certo é que fiquei com a sensação de que a entrada na então BAR-Honda estragou um percurso que ainda poderia revelar muito mais do que aquela célebre ultrapassagem a Michael Schumacher na saudosa parabólica do Estoril…por fora. Não falo do facto de ser campeão do mundo, pois o título ainda foi conseguido na época dos super-Williams.
É bom o seu regresso, ainda que possivelmente numa equipe de segunda linha, mas que por vezes é o melhor sítio para se provar valor.
Agora, mais duas notícias seriam do meu mais profundo agrado:

• O ingresso de Danica Patrick na F1, porque acho que com o tempo ela poderia fazer realmente algo de interessante, atendendo ao seu currículo. Vamos ver se o interesse da USF1 em Wurz não estraga a esperança de ver uma cara bonita a fazer algo na F1 que não carregar chapéus…
• O ingresso da Virgin com uma equipe própria seria óptimo para a imagem da F1, como aliás já referi há uns tempos, dado o dinamismo ao nível de comunicação e imagem que normalmente arrasta consigo.

Sobre Mustangs e Sonhos

Olá leitores, tudo maisoumenos bem?

Hoje eu vou escrever sobre o Crème de la crème dos meus desejos, o mais bonito, brilhante e potente dos meus sonhos: o Mustang.

Algumas pessoas sonham com Ferraris, barcos, sobrados,filhos, casamentos, eu sonho com um Mustang.

E acho que a minha vida ficou mais colorida e alegre depois que me apaixonei (yes, i folling in love). A nossa história de amor é meio bizarra. Eu odeio novelas, mas segundo o regime totalitarista que impera lá em casa (e do qual minha mãe é a ditadora), eu sou obrigada a participar de sessões diarias de tortura, traduzindo: sou obrigada a assistir três novelas.Leitor, eu odeio novela. Acho que o única serventia da novela é emburrecer a massa.Novela não adiciona nada de bom, e a unica coisa que fica são os bordões (hare baba, num é brinquedo não, e afins). Mããããs, no longínquo ano de 2008, em mais uma sessão de tortura,eis que um vilãozinho de fala mansa e chicletinho nojento ( um tal de Dodi, numa tal de “a favorita”), aparece em cena. Qual o carro do malandro??Mustang. Foi paixão á primeira vista. Logo que terminou o capítulo, fui á mãe dos burro (a internet), e pesquisei, pesquisei até encontrá-lo.Desde então minha vida tem sido mais colorida e feliz.

Mãããs como vocês não estão interessados no meu testemunho, vamos ao que interessa: Mustang!

O Mustang, assim como o Dodge Viper, o Camarro, e uns tantos outros é um muscle car (carro musculoso).

Por que esse nome? Por que ele é grande,tem linhas arredondadas, um capô saltado pra guardar todo aquele motor incrível e uma frente agressiva.

Bom, como como eu tenho certeza que vocês não estão interessados num texto longo, vou tentar resumir o maximo possivel a história dessa maravilha do mundo moderno.

O mustang começou a ser produzido em Dearborn , Michigan no começo de 1964 e apresentado ao público em 17 de abril de 1964 durante a New York World’s Fair (feira do futuro, um lugar onde mostravam-se como seria o mundo dai 20 ou 30 anos, coisa de gringo).

Mas Vivien, Mustang não é uma raça de cavalo? Isso isso isso, mas o nome deriva de outra coisa… De um caça usado na segunda guerra mundial!! O Mustang P-51.

Mustang Carro, e Mustang Avião

O mustang é um carro lindo por que? Por que não tem a aparência clássica de um super esportivo, tem um design invoacado, agressivo, e as linhas arredondadas são harmoniosas.

Mas o que importa, pra mim e pra você, com certeza não esta a vista, e sim encoberto pelo capô: o motor.

O motor do Mustang é indescritivel. Eu tive a chance a algumas semanas atrás, de parar ao lado de uma lindeza dessas no farol, um fastback 72 laranja com faxias brancas.

Foi um desses que fez meu coração quase sair pela boca dias atrás ^^

Como você com certeza sabe, o nosso opala comodoro foi (descaradamente copiado) inspirado no Fastback.

Como o título já sugere, eu vou falar de uma edição do Mustang em especial, a que junto com a Fastback faz meu coração bater mais forte: O shelby GT 500. Ahh você não sabe o por que do Shelby do nome? Calma, eu te explico… Carrol Shelby tem 85 anos e é ex criador de galinhas. Tá eokiko? Eokiko que ele é o responspavel pelo mustang como nós conhecemos hoje. Ele trabalhou no aperfeiçoamento e nas melhorias de quase todos os muscle cars. No inicio ele era piloto de corridas, depois de uma cirurgia no coração, ele começou a trabalhar na parte de desenvolvimento dos carros. Sabe as listras do Mustang?Um dia o Carrol tinha uma corrida e não teve tempo de trocar seu uniforme da granja, então ele correu, ganhou e como ele disse que as litras deram sorte, colocou-as no carro também.

Se existir no mundo carro mais bonito que esse, me apresente por que eu ainda não vi

Mas então, os dados do Mustang Shelby GT 500 são os seguintes: Motor de ferro fundido V8 , que conta com um megalimentador do tipo parafuso pra dar conta da sede do beberrão, com trocador de calor intermediario e com trocador de ar e água que força o ar dos pistões dentro do cilindro cada um com quatro válvulas. Possui uma espetacular transmissão manual de seis marchas com espaço de marchas uniforme, com isso consegue aguentar sua força, pois ela é uma transmissão testada e comprovada em corridas, sendo assim, ela trabalha até com folga com este motor, já que nas ruas estragadas do Brasil, você não vai poder ir até o limite de potência dessa belezinha, que alcança inacreditáveis 356 km/h. Como forma de homenagem aos Mustangs mais antigos, ele tem aberturas (respiradouros) no capô, que retiram o calor do compartimento do motor e o aerofólio traseiro é uma referência aos primeiros Shelby. O carro possui duas saidas no escapamento, o que permite que o motor trabalhe melhor e faz com que esse V8 anuncie sua chegada ainda mais longe rsrs.

Danica Patrick tambem tem bom gosto para carros!Olha o shelby ai

Nosso carro conta com uma suspensão MacPherson independente, com braços de controle inferiores em L invertido, sustenta a extremidade dianteira, enquanto um eixo sólido de três articulações escora a traseira, auxiliado por uma barra Panhard, para impedir o movimento lateral. As barras estabilizadoras dianteira e traseira ajudam a minimizar a rolagem da carroceria. Os freios Brembo (na minha opinião só os brembo conseguem parar essa fera) melhoram a dirigibilidade, com discos de 356 mm e quatro pistões na dianteira e discos de 300 mm e pistão único na traseira, conectados ao sistema ABS do carro. As rodas de alumínio de 18 polegadas (457 mm) alojam pneus P255/45ZR e P285/40ZR de alto desempenho, e um sistema de direção hidráulica de cremalheira e pinhão fecha o pacote. Bom desculpem me por mais um texto gigante, mas o Mustang é disparado o meu carro favorito! Ele e os Lamborghini são o que há de melhor pra mim nesse mundão de carros e carroças! Até a próxima e desculpem-me o atraso.

P.S:Para compensar meu atraso, dois vídeos do Mustang!

Cheers to chaos, confusion and mayhem. Here’s to all the people that bring it to our doorstep. They are among the best at what they do and make it look effortless. Their moments of brilliance don’t always last very long, yet they can claim to have brought millions to their feet.  Below they stand, frozen, with everyone watching, in anticipation for a moment that is worth nothing less than the storm that follows.

Tiger Woods

Cristiano Ronaldo

Michael Jordan's 1998 Championship Winning Shot

Kimi Räikkönen - Belgian Grand Prix

Annika Sorenstam

Alexander Ovechkin

Roger Federer

New England Patriots

Lance Armstrong

Serena Williams

Santonio Holmes - Game Winner

Georges St-Pierre

Federica Pellegrini

Wayne Gretzky

Usain Bolt

Lebron James

David Ortiz

Danica Patrick

Alex Rodrigues

Is NASCAR the next destination for Danicamania?  Rumors have it that the 27 year old Indy Car driver will race a JR Motorsports Chevy running 12-13 races in the Nationwide Series.  JR Motorsports is owned by fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., and cars, engines, and tech support are provided by the Rick Hendricks organization.

Patrick has supposedly signed a 3 year extension to continue racing for AGR in the Indy Car series, but with only 17 Indy Car races spread over 8 months, she does have an opportunity to run NASCAR as well.  Drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya have warned against driving vastly different cars during the season, but Patrick appears set on attempting to do just that.

So, is it good for the sport?  Yes, with reservations. I don’t like the incredible amount of hype surrounding Danica, but I think any effort to diversify the sport is a plus. Danica has a huge fan base that would follow her to NASCAR. Go Daddy would be the likely sponsor of a Patrick NASCAR effort, so the effort would be well-funded, unlike other efforts made in the past by Patty Moise and Shawna Robinson.  

However, there is no way Patrick can live up to the hoopla, even running Hendrick equipment.  The learning curve from open wheel to stock cars is simply too great.  So, will the media and fans become discouraged if Danica doesn’t win?  Probably not. Patrick has only won one Indy Car race and remains a fan and media favorite,  so I don’t think not winning immediately in NASCAR will have terrible consequences. Some people question her talent, but anyone who can steer a race car around a track at speeds of over 200 mph has some talent.  How much talent Patrick possesses in relation to other drivers is a question that remains to be answered.

Despite its MANY failings, NASCAR is still the place to be in American motorsports, and should be a goal of Patrick’s.  I hope she reaches her goal.  I hope that other women drivers can benefit from her success.  Actually I hope that women drivers can be provided the resources they need to compete at all levels of racing, from NASCAR to sprint cars to modifieds to hobby stocks at Saturday night tracks.  And, I hope they don’t have to be a Sports Illustrated swim suit model like Danica Patrick to reach their racing goals. There are some women drivers with talent and they deserve a shot at achieving their racing goals too.

Thanks for stopping by.

The talk this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway was all about IRL-star Danica Patrick, who is arguably the most successful woman in auto racing. She is by far the most business-savvy/successful women, and most likely will be known as the best behind the wheel.

Should Danica Patrick make the switch from the IRL to the NASCAR series?

Rumors have it that she is running part-time in the Nationwide series next year while running a full-time schedule in the Indy Racing League (IRL). JR Motorsports has been reportedly talking with her, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to be her owner. The thing is, will she be successful?  She will be a GREAT marketing tool. That’s the understatement of the day. The amount of money she brings in the IRL for her GoDaddy.com commercials, etc. is outstanding. With a women in the NASCAR garage, the amount of revenue is something a team owner in the struggling economy will be looking for.

She made her debut in the IRL in 2005, and that same year in the Indianapolis 500, she led 19 laps late in the race, and ultimately finished fourth, the best finish by a woman. Although she hasn’t had the success that the media expected of her, she finally nabbed her first win in 2008 at Motegi, Japan.

Will she be successful?  Let’s compare her with Juan Pablo Montoya, the most successful switch-over driver thus far. She has one win in 81 starts, a constant contender in the top-10 in the IRL points, and three poles. Montoya won the Indy 500 in his first start in 2000, has seven Formula 1 wins, a CART championship, and in his third year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, he has one win (the road course in Sonoma) and made the Chase for the first time this year. If Danica decides to go for it, she may take a couple of years to be a legit contender, like Montoya. Let’s just hope she fares better than fellow drivers Sam Hornish Jr, Dario Franchitti, A.J. Allmendinger, and Scott Speed, who have also made the switch, with little success.

Nevertheless, I, for one, would enjoy seeing her face in the NASCAR garage on race day, successful or not.

Here are some odds based on the news that danica Patrick will be joining Nascar.

Will Danica Patrick win a Nationwide Race?

Yes 8/5
No 5/11

Will Danica Patrick’s best finish come in

Nationwide series 2/1
IndyCar Series 1/3

Will Danica Patrick have more DNF in

Nationwide series 6/5
IndyCar Series 5/8

Will Danica Patrick be involved in an on track altercation in 2010

Yes 6/5
No 5/8

Will Danica Patrick race in the NASCAR Sprint Series in 2011

Yes 5/2
No 1/4

What will Danica Patrick’s highest Nationwide finish in 2010

Over 4½ 5/6
Under 4½ 5/6

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ha afirmado durante esta semana en Las Vegas que sigue existiendo la posibilidad de que Danica Patrick, piloto del equipo de Michael Andretti en las IndyCar Series, haga su debut en la NASCAR la temporada que viene.

En sus declaraciones, Dale Jr. confesaba que su equipo, JR Motorsports, continua negociando con la famosa piloto con el objetivo de que corra una parte de la temporada 2010 de la Nationwide Series, segunda categoría en importancia de la NASCAR.

Este no es el único equipo interesado en contar con los servicios de Danica, aunque es el pretendiente número uno para llevarse a la chica, ya que tanto JR Motorsport como Danica Patrick comparten el patrocinio de GoDaddy.com, quienes patrocinarán además, a Mark Martin la temporada que viene en la Sprint Cup Series.

- “Hemos estado hablando con ella” – decía Earnhardt Jr. – “Otros equipos están hablando con ella también. Está muy interesada en venir a la NASCAR, y lo hará con alguien. Estamos trabajando en los detalles e intentando ser parte de ese puzzle. Sabremos más en el futuro.”

Está previsto que Patrick dispute la temporada completa para el equipo Andretti Green Racing en la IndyCar Series, pero la piloto quiere probar también los aires de la NASCAR, por lo que podría disputar varias carreras con el equipo JR Motorsport.

Las últimas noticias indican que ambas partes están muy cerca de alcanzar un acuerdo, por lo que la firma podría ser inminente.

PD: Perdón por la foto, pero es que la tenía que poner…

It’s like the story that never dies. The Neverending Story. Which was kind of a stupid movie, really, if you like things like plot and character and writing, although if you went to see that movie looking for those things I kind of question your intelligence in the first place.

Oh, fine, let’s talk about this again:

Sources: Danica Near NASCAR Deal

IndyCar Series and crossover media star Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being “in the final phase.”

A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying “talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn’t happen.”

Hey, here’s an idea: let’s hold our breath this time!

Or, no, wait, maybe that’s not such a good idea. I think we’ve been talking about Danica jumping to NASCAR since…oh, sometime in 2005. Every couple months, every few weeks or so, the story pops right back up again.

And then a few weeks later, it pops back up again. And then again. And then again.

And we all dutifully write about it.

I’m starting to wonder just how much of this is PR on the Patrick camp’s part – keep teasing the media to keep her name in the news. And then, of course, the media bites at whatever bait they throw out because they figure people want to read it because Danica’s Danica and maybe people figure there’ll be a picture of her in the story.

Which, frequently, there is.

Well I’m drawing the line. I’ve written my last “Danica jumping to NASCAR” post unless (until) she actually signs with a NASCAR team. Until then, I stand on principle. Traffic be damned.

• Fort Hood

 A Internet inteira esta falando sobre esta base militar, a 92 km de Austin, no Texas. Segundo CNN, 11 pessoas mais um atirador do exército foram mortos e 31 pessoas estão feridas depois de um tiroteio na base militar em Fort Hood. As vítimas mortais eram todas militares, com a exceção de um agente da polícia que trabalhava na base. Clique aqui e veja uma reportagem de um soldado americano que esta atualmente no Iraque. Sua mulher mora em Fort Hood e ele descreveu sua conversa com ela pelo telefone.

•  Malik Nadal Hasan

Soldado morto na base militar no Texas. O major Hassan, disseram militares americanos sob condição de anonimato, era um especialista em saúde mental do Exército dos EUA, provavelmente um psiquiatra.

•  Google Dashboard

 O Google anunciou em seu blog oficial, nesta quinta-feira, o lançamento do serviço Google Dashboard. Com ele, o usuário é capaz de reunir e organizar seus diferentes serviços e contas do Google em uma página única de acesso. O Dashboard abrange mais de 20 produtos e serviços, incluindo o Gmail, Calendar, Docs, o Histórico da web, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alertas, Latitude e muitos mais. 

•  Sesame Street

Sesame Street (para nós, Vila Sésamo) acaba de completar 40 anos. Compareceram no episódio de aniversário, a primeira dama Michelle Obama, Cameron Diaz e Lin-Manuel Miranda. Atentem para a celebração do Google:

• Guy Fawkes

Também conhecido como Guido Fawkes, foi um soldado inglês católico que teve participação na “Conspiração da pólvora” (Gunpowder Plot) na qual se pretendia assassinar o rei protestante Jaime I da Inglaterra e todos os membros do parlamento durante uma sessão em 1605, objetivando o início de um levante católico. Guy Fawkes era o responsável por guardar os barris de pólvora que seriam utilizados para explodir o parlamento inglês durante a sessão. Ele foi preso e torturado, revelando o nome dos outros conspiradores. No final foi condenado a morrer na forca por traição e tentativa de assassinato. Os outros participantes revelados por Fawkes acabaram também sendo executados.

Ainda nos dias de hoje o rei ou rainha vai até o parlamento apenas uma vez ao ano para uma sessão especial, sendo mantida a tradição de se revistar os subterrâneos do prédio, antes da sessão.

Do mesmo modo foi mantida a tradição de celebrar no dia 5 de novembro a Noite das Fogueiras. Nesta noite é tradição malhar e queimar em fogueiras, bonecos que representam Fawkes, e soltar fogos de artifício.

• Danica Patrick

A piloto de automobilismo norte-americana participará de corridas da NASCAR e tudo indica, não sairá da Indy. Ou seja, vai correr pelas duas categorias. Para saber mais, clique aqui

5 Vídeos mais populares de hoje (Brasil):

Claudia Leitte e jornalista:

Novo orkut e a Comunidade oficial do Skank:

Vida de Garoto na capa da CAPRICHO:

Invasão da policia ao citibank da Faria lima em são

Toyota Corolla 2010

I am waiting  for this official announcement –

“DANICA PATRICK JOINS NASCAR”

Reports that I am reading are saying that she is in final negotiations with Dale Jr.’s # 88  race team. I am super excited b/c Dale Jr.  has been slowed by engine trouble, crew chief drama, and a step-mother monopoly. He needs a partner that is not afraid to draft high off of turn two and slingshot down the straightaway in the high groove.

He has not raced well since leaving his namesake in Mooresville, NC — In fact he hasn’t been in contention in what seems like, forever. Losing a parent is very hard – especially when you are young and need their support and guidance. Imagine the burden he must have had to bear, #1 being the “intimidator” ’s son… and #2, having to watch – deal – and move on so publicly???

Danica’s presence will have its share of hater-ade sprinkled on the debut. No champagne showers — but she will have Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart and the backing of Rick Hendrick to get her up to speed (pun intended)

Her passion for racing will bring girls to stock car racing like Mia Hamm brought girls to soccer. I have waited for this for over a year and cannot wait to see her trade paint in Bristol with drivers like Kurt and Kyle Busch. She’s more man than the two of them combined.

This should be really interesting because she is going to race open wheel and NASCAR in the same season, I wouldn’t expect any meaningful production from her for the first couple of seasons. And that is if NASCAR lets her run in the series.

NASCAR is full of good ‘ol boys who are not going to put up with a bunch of crap from an open wheel media darling that has yet to prove herself in a stock car. I wish her the best of luck because I think she is a gifted athlete. she will have to get use to the weight difference between the cars and how they handle on the track.

Danica Patrick Close to Signing Deal with JR Motorsports for 2010 Season | Bleacher Report: “ESPN has reported that Danica Patrick is in the final phases of signing a two-year contract to drive for JR Motorsports, beginning in 2010 during the ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway.

Patrick already signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Green Racing to continue her career as an open wheel driver, and the move to NASCAR will not affect her current status with AGR.”

(Via Bleacher Report.)

Image from here

Danica Patrick, NASCAR's Sexy Star?

It’s been confirmed that Danica Patrick is near finalizing a 2 year deal with Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s Nationwide Team.

Pieces of two articles:

Patrick is expected to make her debut with the team at Daytona next February.

Patrick signed a three-year extension with Andretti Green Racing to continue driving for the team in the Indy Racing League, which made many believe she would not enter NASCAR any time soon.

The IRL has a 17-race schedule, meaning Patrick will probably not race a full-time schedule for JR Motorsports’ Nationwide team, ESPN reports.

“Danica Watch” has been a season-long source of headlines and garage gossip in IndyCar and NASCAR throughout the 2009 season, as the 27-year-old driver made repeated trips to North Carolina to chat with potential stock car suitors, including Tony Stewart’s Stewart-Haas Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. A decision to sign with JR Motorsports would establish a direct tie to Hendrick, which supplies engines, cars and technical assistance to Earnhardt’s operation — as well as Stewart’s.

A source close to the situation characterized team owner Rick Hendrick as an “important player” in the deal

…even those who have advised her to resist the temptation to double dip admit that the potential financial windfall might be worth the grind of logistics and the learning curve of stock car racing.

Notably, GoDaddy.com is a sponsor of both Patrick and the No. 88 Chevrolet that JR Motorsports runs in the Nationwide Series. Brad Keselowski currently pilots that car, but is leaving at the end of the season to drive for Penske Racing in Sprint Cup.

Read the report here from The Sporting News and ESPN.

I can’t really explain why it’s taken me this long already to have made a post about Ms. Rawson, the smokeshow golfer from down under.  The pictures below speak for themselves.  However, you have to wonder…Is Anna Rawson the Kournikova of golf?  Frankly I don’t care.  I’m just glad both of them have come in to my life, even if it is just from afar. 

To my knowledge she hasn’t won anything on the LPGA and her 2009 winnings amounted to a whopping $83,000.  But on the LPGA that could be in the top 10 on the money list!  I kid.  She must make assloads of money in endorsements though.  She’s also a ”Go Daddy” girl, along with race car hottie Danica Patrick.

Now here’s a question… as a red blooded male, would you mind if you went out for a round with her and she took you to school?  Without a doubt she would.  Me, I would not mind one bit.  I don’t think I could even concentrate on playing, and I have to imagine it would be pretty hard to play with a full on chubby for 18 holes.  She’s definitely made my “Dream 4some” team, which will be my next post.

So. IndyCar, NASCAR, Drag–what’s the difference? With so many types of cars, courses and events, the big bad-ass world of auto racing can be totally overwhelming. But just like every well-rounded girl should know a bit about football, baseball and soccer, the same is true for auto racing. (Believe it or not, it’s one of the most popular sports in the world.) And it doesn’t hurt that hotties like Danica Patrick and Dario Franchitti are killing it in the sport.

So here’s a quick primer on the three types of car racing to get us going:

First, weve got stock car racing, which is probably what you think of when you think race cars. Stock cars just regular cars that have been souped up a bit–sometimes the whole guts of the car are ripped out and replaced with bigger, better and faster parts. People race these modified cars on oval tracks with steeply banked turns (think Herbie, Fully Loaded).  NASCAR (The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) is the biggest stock car racing organization, but there are tons of smaller stock car associations that organize races on the local front.

With open-wheel racing, drivers race custom-built cars with –you guessed it–exposed wheels and an open cockpit. Some races are held on blocked-off public streets, some are held on oval race tracks. For more info on open-wheeled racing, check out the Indy Racing League.

You know the scene in Grease where Danny and Leo street race each other in the concrete LA River bottom? Well, that’s drag racing–two cars, two drivers, one quarter-mile long strip of pavement. People race their own cars–either tricked out versions of everyday rides, or cars the driver custom built themselves. And they drive fast–their cars with 7,000-horsepower engines reach can speeds of 330 miles per hour. The National Hot Rod Association and the International Hot Rod Association are the two major drag racing groups.

There are about 1,800 racing venues throughout the US. Check out your local track, get to know the hot shot drivers and be sure to pay attention to the amazingly fast pit crews when you’re there-they often change tires in 6 seconds or less.

]]> http://roccoupons.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/danica-patrick-calender/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:25:24 +0000 ROC Coupons http://roccoupons.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/danica-patrick-calender/

Get a free hot Indy car driver Danica Patrick 2010 calender from Peak Antifreeze HERE. Now if we can just convince her to go to NASCAR…

UPDATE 10/19: Unfortunately it seems this deal has now closed.

**Please forgive Grammar and Sentence structure

In some sports I don’t deny that kind of ridiculous negotiating takes place where one guy says 10 mil then the team comes back with a $1.00 and they go back and forth almost endlessly because usually that kind of ridiculous negotiating reflects the parties true interest. In other sports the team owners are thought of differently than NASCAR team owners drivers don’t see the need to fleece someone that’s going to help them win, drivers understand there are limited dollars, sponsors pay, x amount of money, if the driver gets to greedy the engine program may suffer and make him look bad running in the back or even worse not qualifying. Sponsor pay a fixed amount, it’s up to the team owner to spread it out in a way he can remain competitive.

I’ve been very fortunate over the last 3 years I’ve works with several teams and their sponsors activations and venue marketing so I got to see how things work. Usually the dollar amount isn’t what’s negotiated, the things that are negotiated are the perks (cars,motorcoaches,travel), public appearances, branding, and commercials. The times I’ve been privey to contracts (which isn’t that much) the dollar amount is what it is, sponsor pay a fixed amount the team owner spreads it around the program to be competitive. but that’s not to say a big sponsor won’t comes along and want a specific driver giving that driver a little more bargaining power. I guess I just don’t think Danicas there yet.

Because of my marketing background I’m bias, I believe good marketing makes good drivers so I have to agree with Pauls comment she’s a star because of the marketing, she’s been fortunate her teams owners and sponsors are committed to the IRL so what ever driver they pay for they’ve got to get their moneys worth and to get their moneys worth they’ve got to market her. There have been other women IRL drivers in the same talent class as Danica but the difference is they wanted to be the one with the women driver to compliment their program instead the mindset with Danicas group which is the team and sponsors program compliment Danica which is good for the program at the end of the day. But because of my marketing background    I’m bias, I believe good marketing makes good drivers. Now that Danica’s got the opportunity she needs to raise the bar but is she committed?? Good drivers race on off weekends and in the off season. Look at Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards and actually many others they race whenever they can. Danica takes off to Cancun on off weeks which in IRL they’re are many off weeks.

Thanks Paul and Damon

Although we may disagree from time to time, I appreciate your opinion and comments because that’s why we’re here to voice them.

And so the IndyCar season reaches its climax, with three drivers going in neck-and-neck for the championship, and it all hinging on this one final event at Homestead, Miami. Two of them would go for a sheer speed approach, while the third would go for high strategy. Only 200 laps would prove who had the best pace and approach to take the race and the title.

Dario Franchitti had drawn early blood by taking a strong pole in the searingly hot conditions of Friday, but come race day and it was clearly Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe with much better pace and they dropped Franchitti in the opening laps of the race after overtaking him on lap 10. Gradually Dixon put his foot down and broke Briscoe as well – early signs were pointing to a second consecutive title for Dixon and celebrations down under in New Zealand.

The leaders were all in ahead of the rest of the runners: Briscoe was the first to come in for his pit stop on lap 45, coming in early to take care of some lose handling issues, while Dixon stayed out till lap 48 and Franchitti longer still, not pitting until lap 50. While staying out longer is a nominal advantage, all the pit stops were so fast and flawless that it made little difference to the on-track running order, but Briscoe’s form was now significantly better, with a blistering outlap, and by lap 54 he was all over the back of Dixon for the lead, with Franchitti over 4s adrift of them both.

He took the lead by running side-by-side with Dixon on lap 62, finally getting a slingshot out of turn 4 to take the lead in full the next time around. Dixon attempted to counter attack on lap 65, only to suddenly find that they were coming up fast on slow traffic and he had to pull out of the move in a hurry to stop himself sliding up the track and colliding with Briscoe on the high side, inadvertently giving Briscoe a full second as a result. And with the points so tight, the bonus points for most laps lead were seriously on everyone’s minds at this point, particularly for Briscoe to be able to beat Dixon should they finish 1-2.

Wth no yellows and the leaders setting such a blistering prace, by lap 80 only the three rivals were on the lead lap, with Danica Patrick and her Andretti-Green team mate Tony Kanaan in 4th and 5th a lap off the pace, ahead of Briscoe’s own team mate Helio Castroneves in 6th.

Briscoe and Dixon pitted together on lap 95, Briscoe getting the better stop of the two but Dixon compensating with the better outlap; and with still no yellows on the horizon the question started to loom whether both of them would require a late race splash-and-dash if they kept up that pace? Whereas Franchitti, getting better mileage and coming in on the nose on lap 100, might well be able to beat them by stretching the fuel to the chequered flag, to steal the win even if he was a good 7s behind them at mid distance.

The latest pit stops had enabled Dixon to fine tune the handling of the Ganassi to his liking and on lap 106 he took the lead through the inside line out of turn 4, and the two cars went wheel-to-wheel before Dixon broke away and quickly stretched out a big lead over the Penske car. But then, as the tyres started to wear, the pendulum once again swung back in Briscoe’s favour and he started to visible close the gap to Dixon at an impressive rate and on lap 125 he again reclaimed the lead, easing past Dixon on the high side and pulling out a big lead of his own.

Now we were hitting the critical point of the race: the final pit stop. Dixon had backed off his pace, leaning off the fuel to adopt Franchitti’s cautious fuel-aware strategy, leaving Briscoe ahead; but despite this, the two leaders were together coming into the pits on lap 144, once again neither car making 50 laps but now facing a 54 lap distance to the chequered flag – a 6-8 lap shortfall at the current pace if there was no caution. Franchitti took up the lead until his own stop – clearly the final one for him of the day – right on schedule on lap 150. No fuel problems for Dario, but would the strategy give him the race win – let alone the title?

Ironically the first (and ultimately only) collision of the day didn’t bring out a yellow flag at all – as it happened on pit lane on lap 153. Dan Wheldon was released right into the path of Danica Patrick who was turning into her own pit box right in front. The impact turned her around a hundred and eighty degrees and gave her car suspension damage, and Wheldon had also collected suspension damage and was out of the race, joining Marco Andretti (brake issues) and Jaques Lazier in the garage. That put Kanaan up to 4th ahead of Castroneves and Graham Rahal who was now 6th.

By lap 160, Franchitti’s fuel strategy had left him 16s adrift of the leader Ryan Briscoe, who had now passed Dixon’s total of laps thus far today to go on to claim those all-important bonus points for most laps led. Things were getting very, very tight for all three with no one in a position to know if they were on track to win the race and title or about to crash and burn at the last. By lap 170 there still no caution, and no sign that either Briscoe or Dixon were slacking off and trying to stretch their fuel – that point of no return had long since been passed. Instead they were trying to catch up to and lap Franchitti to minimise the damage the extra fuel stop would inflict, but if the whole race was run caution-free then it was looking like Franchitti would almost certainly be the champion – but it was one helluva ‘if’. No IRL race in its 14 season history had ever gone caution-free before, and that’s precisely what Dario was banking on now. Some odds!

Time and laps were running out for the trio: and on lap 191 with nine to go, the storm broke: Dixon dipped below the white line to come in for his splash-and-dash, his title hopes effectively blown – you could tell from the body language of the pit crew that they knew their campaign was over.

And two laps later … Briscoe followed suit. Franchitti took the lead, but such had been the gap that Briscoe and Dixon had pulled out over him in that final stint that Dario was still only 6s ahead of Ryan and 7s ahead of Scott once they were both back on track with 6 laps to go. And it wasn’t plain sailing just yet – Dario was told to go “full bore on mix four” which meant “as fast as you can in fuel saving mode”. Would that prove too slow and leave him open to attack? Or would the fuel not stretch?

The white came out and Dario was still ahead; and the yards ticked down. Briscoe and Dixon didn’t have enough speed to catch Franchitti; and the car just had the fuel to cough its way over the finish line, even if it gasped its last seconds later. Dario Franchitti had made it, his 5th victory of the season: he’d celebrated his return from the ill-starred NASCAR efforts in the best possible style, joining Dixon and Sam Hornish Jr as IRL’s only multiple-time champions.

It might have lacked any eye-catching on-track accidents, but this had been a breathless, thrilling shoot-out between three of the best drivers in the world in any motorsport series, and they had all acquitted themselves in fine style. And in beating the others, Dario Franchitti had just made himself the best of the best once again.

And that wraps up the 2009 season for IRL!

Race result

Pos  Driver             Team                 Gap
 1.  Dario Franchitti   Ganassi              200 laps
 2.  Ryan Briscoe       Penske               + 4.7888s
 3.  Scott Dixon        Ganassi              + 6.0206s
 4.  Tony Kanaan        Andretti Green       + 1 lap
 5.  Helio Castroneves  Penske               + 1 lap
 6.  Hideki Mutoh       Andretti Green       + 2 laps
 7.  Mario Moraes       KV                   + 2 laps
 8.  Alex Lloyd         Newman/Haas/Lanigan  + 2 laps
 9.  Tomas Scheckter    Dreyer & Reinbold    + 3 laps
10.  Justin Wilson      Coyne                + 3 laps
11.  Graham Rahal       Newman/Haas/Lanigan  + 3 laps
12.  Ed Carpenter       Vision               + 3 laps
13.  Ryan Hunter-Reay   Foyt                 + 4 laps
14.  Raphael Matos      Luczo Dragon         + 4 laps
15.  Mike Conway        Dreyer & Reinbold    + 5 laps
16.  EJ Viso            HVM                  + 6 laps
17.  Milka Duno         Dreyer & Reinbold    + 6 laps
18.  Sarah Fisher       Fisher               + 13 laps
19.  Danica Patrick     Andretti Green       + 15 laps

Retirements:

     Robert Doornbos    HVM                  166 laps
     Dan Wheldon        Panther              150 laps
     Marco Andretti     Andretti Green       58 laps
     Jaques Lazier      3G                   23 laps

IndyCar Championship

Dario’s win means he finishes just 11pts ahead of his team mate and previous champion Scott Dixon, who edges Ryan Briscoe to 2nd place by just a solitary point.

In other business, Raphael Matos clinched the rookie of the year title as expected, despite only finishing 13th; his rival Robert Doornbos retired in the closing stages with mehcanical problems having run near the tail of the field.

Pos Driver  Points
1   Dario Franchitti    616
2   Scott Dixon         605   -11
3   Ryan Briscoe        604   -12
4   Helio Castroneves   433   -183
5   Danica Patrick      393   -223
6   Tony Kanaan         386   -230
7   Graham Rahal        385   -231
8   Marco Andretti      380   -236
9   Justin Wilson       354   -262
10  Dan Wheldon         354   -262
11  Hideki Mutoh        353   -263
12  Ed Carpenter        321   -295
13  Raphael Matos       312   -304
15  Mario Moraes        304   -312
14  Ryan Hunter-Reay    298   -318
16  Robert Doornbos     283   -333
17  Mike Conway         261   -355
18  Ernesto Viso        248   -368
19  Will Power          215   -401
20  Tomas Scheckter     195   -421
21  Oriol Servia        115   -501
22  Alex Tagliani       114   -502
23  Paul Tracy          113   -503
24  Milka Duno          113   -503
25  Sarah Fisher         89   -527