luzkislam: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

1 20 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet 2 16 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 3 4 16 Greg Biffle Ford40MPG.com Ford 4 7 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 5 3 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 6 27 17 Matt Kenseth Affliction Clothing Ford 7 26 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 8 [...]

Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet

NASCAR suspends crew member for substance abuse

Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki

Castroneves penalised for outburst

Helio Castroneves has been placed on probation for the remainder of the IndyCar season and fined $30,000 for his comments after the Motegi race. The Brazilian hit out at chief steward Brian Barnhart following the penalty he was given in the Japanese race for having overtaken under yellow.

Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya

Ottinger Dominates but Erlekotte Takes Point Lead

The iRacing.com Street Stock Series traveled to Thompson International Speedway for the second time this season with sim racers looking to capture the season points championship. Many new drivers were looking to dethrone reigning champion Nick Ottinger (Carolina) but he would once again show everyone why he is a two-time champion. Weekly High Strength of Field Week Eight’s highest Strength of Field (SoF) race was run on Wednesday night and had a rating of 3053. Ottinger once again dominated the highest points paying race of the week by leading all 40 laps in route to a 4.8 second win over Richard Dusett (New England). Dusett is no stranger to Ottinger as they are teammates at Gale Force Racing, which got its name from Camping World Truck Series/ARCA/Late Model driver Cale [...]

Mike Harris Cuth Harrison Brian Hart Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi

Charlotte Shuffle

The fifth week of the third season of the 2011 inRacingNews Challenge saw sim racers take-on the road course at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. With one third of the season in the books, the top championship contenders in both Pontiac Solstice and SpecRacer Ford have been well established, Once again, Michael Booth was the class of the Solstice field, scoring victories in both of his starts and pacing all drivers with 166 points. Chris Hughson, with nine wins in 11 starts, was second with 150, while third place went to Thomas van Bussel, who won one of his two starts to take home 133. Bryan J Miller led all Solstice drivers with 18 starts, of which he won seven. Hughson?s nine wins were the most of any driver, while he [...]

Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther

Chevrolet prepares Mustang Cobra Jet competitor

We’ve been watching the ping pong muscle car wars for years with either the Ford Mustang or the Chevrolet Camaro coming out on top every time. As true competitors, these two companies were able to stay abreast of the advances the other has made, resulting in similar lineups and no constant top dog.

In 2008, Ford muscled in an edge over Chevrolet with the release of the Mustang Cobra Jet, the only Ford model without a true Camaro competitor even in its limited production state. Now, in true competitive style, Chevrolet has announced plans for a high performance Camaro to compete with the Cobra Jet. The company is taking under consideration two options. The first is to strip down the portly showroom version of the Camaro and the second is to build a completely new car.

It is rumored that Chevrolet will unveil their new Camaro in November at the 2011 SEMA Show. Chances are the new Camaro will not be as light as the Cobra Jet so Chevrolet will have to come packing more heat under the hood to obtain the same performance numbers as the Ford model. Other elements should include upgraded drag-specific suspension, chassis, and brakes.

Ford may be winning the battle, but Chevrolet is now looking to win the war. Stay tuned for more details!

gallery: 2010 - 2012 Chevrolet Camaro

gallery: 2010 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet

Chevrolet prepares Mustang Cobra Jet competitor originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 29 September 2011 18:00 EST.

Jean Pierre Jabouille Jimmy Jackson Joe James John James Jean Pierre Jarier

Marussia Virgin Racing Launch Their 2011 Car

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Stoner tops first practice in Japan

Casey Stoner made another extremely strong start to a MotoGP weekend as he led a works Honda one-two in opening Motegi practice. Championship leader Stoner's 1m47.393s put him on top just beyond the halfway point of the session, after his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Gresini Honda's Marco Simoncelli had briefly had turns in front. Stoner then finished the morning by improving to a 1m47.289s to cement his advantage

Joe Kelly Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa

Hopkins rejoins Suzuki for Sepang

John Hopkins will rejoin the Suzuki team for next month's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. The Anglo-American rider has secured his second wild-card event of the season, despite having been unable to take part in the Czech Grand Prix after injuring his right hand in practice

James Hunt Jim Hurtubise Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx Yuji Ide

What did Tony Stewart Mean by getting rid of ?Dead Weight? after New Hampshire Win?

After Tony Stewart climbed from his #14 Chevy in Victory Lane at New Hamphire, he said “We got rid of some dead weight earlier this week, so it’s made it a lot easier,” Stewart said of his team’s sudden turnaround. “It’s been a big weight lifted off our shoulders. Sometimes you’ve got to make adjustments [...]

Howden Ganley Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner Tony Gaze

Presenting the First Car and Driver/Car Town Design Contest Winner

As the Facebook fiends among you are already aware, we recently announced a partnership with the game Car Town. Our first in a series of monthly contests has now concluded, and here are the results! September’s challenge was to wrap a Honda Accord in a ?Back to School? design. Last week, our editors chose their [...]

Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glцckler Paco Godia

F1: Formula One Must Accept Move From Europe - De La Rosa

Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa is willing to accept that Formula One races are increasingly being held outside of Europe...

Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis

Keselowski comes a long way since Hamlin feud

The feud between Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin hit its breaking point two years ago at Dover, where an on-track altercation led to an off-track confrontation.

Cecil Green Keith Greene Masten Gregory Cliff Griffith Georges Grignard

JustinAllgaier.com / RACERSITES to Adorn the No.31 Chevy This Weekend At Dover International Speedway

“Justin Allgaier launches interactive website redesign and special paint scheme at the ‘Monster Mile’” Justin Allgaier (Photo Credit: NASCAR)Mooresville, N.C (September 28, 2011) - Justin Allgaier will have a different look on his No. 31 Chevrolet this weekend for the OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway. Turner Motorsports web design partner, RACERSITES, will be...more»

Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie

To America, Hamilton is the new Beckham

Oscar Gonzбlez Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Official: Ford SVT Raptor gets new Torsen diff and interior package among 2012 changes

Filed under: Truck, Technology, Ford, Design/Style, Off-Road

It's no secret that we're big fans of the Ford Raptor pickup. After all, there aren't many vehicles you can drive straight off the showroom floor, over and through harsh desert terrain at high speed and then back again. But Ford decided its off-road-ready truck needed a few updates for the 2012 model year.

While the 2011 Raptor was quite adept at handling varied terrain, from rutted washboard surfaces to the occasional jump (within reason...), it's four-wheel-drive system wasn't really designed with hardcore rock climbing in mind. For the new model year, though, Ford's extreme pickup gets a new Torsen front differential that features a helical gearset that promises to send torque to whichever front wheel has the most traction.

Another intriguing update for '12 is a front-mounted camera that can be ordered alongside the navigation system. This feature ought to help the driver figure out where best to steer the truck's front wheels so as to avoid otherwise unseen obstacles. The eight-inch screen in the center of the dash will be used to display what the camera sees at speeds of 15 miles per hour or less. Oh, and there's a dedicated washer for the camera to help keep it clean.

Besides those functional upgrades, the 2012 Raptor also gets a new optional side graphic that sports two diagonal stripes and is accented in matte, gloss and textured black. On the inside, a matte anodized blue treatment is now available on every color but Race Red (also new for '12). Rounding out the notable changes are optional cooled seats and new Euroflange wheels that keep their weights on the inside for better protection from off-road hazards.

Check out our high-res image gallery to see it all for yourself, and feel free to read the complete press release after the break.

Continue reading Ford SVT Raptor gets new Torsen diff and interior package among 2012 changes

Ford SVT Raptor gets new Torsen diff and interior package among 2012 changes originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Billy Garrett Jo Gartner Tony Gaze Geki Olivier Gendebien

Stewart Goes Two for Two with Sylvania 300 Victory

Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther

Dr Dre isn't the only chap to have his own branded headphones...

David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton

City Council Singles Out Bike Lanes in Bills to Codify DOT Outreach

Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca. Image: CBS 2
The City Council Transportation Committee held hearings on three bills today, each of which would add more requirements to the Department of Transportation’s review process for street redesigns, especially bike lanes.
For the most part, the bills codify what DOT already does: present bike projects to community boards, coordinate [...]

Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glцckler

Your F1 questions answered - part III

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has headed off for his summer holidays with a healthy championship lead but the world champion is still being criticised because he has only won once in four races.

Is Vettel cracking or is it just a blip; can his rivals at McLaren and Ferrari catch him and is Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone unfairly treated?

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the video here.

Murray gives his thoughts on the new UK television rights deal here.

Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glцckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort

BIKES: California Superbike School At Miller Motorsports Park

Neale Bayly visits the California Superbike School.

Paul Hawkins Mike Hawthorn Boy Hayje Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld

Jani puts Rebellion on Estoril pole

Rebellion driver Neel Jani took pole position for tomorrow's Le Mans Series decider at Estoril. The Swiss left his run late and jumped straight to the top of the times aboard Rebellion's lead Lola-Toyota coupe. His 1m30.118s lap around the former home of the Portuguese Grand Prix put him two tenths clear of Julien Jousse's Pescarolo-Judd

Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried Lucas di Grassi

Toyota Pixis Space unveiled for Japan

Essentially a rebadged Daihatsu Move Conte, Pixis Space is a mini-vehicle which has boxy styling and a 660cc engine.

Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge Carl Edwards

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Rendering: 2013 Porsche 911/991 Cabriolet

The Porsche 911/991 was already revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, but nothing is more appealing than checking it out in drop top form. The Porsche 911 Cabriolet will be virtually identical to the Coupe model, but will feature either a soft canvas top or a hardtop built using lightweight panels covered in a soft fabric.

Like with the coupe version, the 911/991 Cabriolet will receive an updated exterior featuring an even more muscular stance, a new headlamp design, remodeled exterior mirrors, and new wheels. The interior will be more driver-focused and will offer better technology.

Powering the standard Carrera will be a 3.4 liter direct-injected flat-six engine delivering a total of 350 HP. The Carrera S model will feature a 3.8-liter flat-six with direct injection engine delivering a raised output of 400 HP. Performance times will obviously suffer just a tad with the added weight of the soft top, but shouldn?t be too far off of the 0-62 mph time of 4.6 seconds for the Carrera and 4.3 seconds for the Carrera S.

Stay tuned as the 2013 Porsche 911/991 Cabriolet should debut at a major auto show within the next few months!

gallery: 2013 Porsche 911 Convertible

Rendering: 2013 Porsche 911/991 Cabriolet originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 13:00 EST.

Mike Harris Cuth Harrison Brian Hart Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi

Dave Blaney's Paint Scheme for Sylvania 300 to Honor Richie Evans

Jo Gartner Tony Gaze Geki Olivier Gendebien Marc Genй

BMW Performance Kits for 335i and 135i Priced From $599, Add 20 hp

This past summer, BMW released a dealer-installed $550 Performance Edition package for new 135i and 335i models, and now the company has announced pricing and details for the retrofit version of that package. Interestingly, the retrofit Performance Power kits are dealer installed just like the Performance Edition package, but are intended for existing single-turbo N55-powered [...]

Josй Froilбn Gonzбlez Oscar Gonzбlez Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon

Bernie calls a meeting

Bernie Ecclestone is the master political player in Formula 1 – and he has been for the last 40 years, although Max Mosley and Luca di Montezemolo have both had their moments as well. As the end of the current Concorde Agreement approaches in December 2012, the search for a new solution is just beginning [...]

Chris Irwin Jean Pierre Jabouille Jimmy Jackson Joe James John James

?Grand Slam? Puts Luis in Reach of iNGPS Title

In a dominant online racing performance, Hugo Luis powered his way to the chequered flag at the Okayama International Circuit to make it four wins in a row, and further extend his lead in the iRacing.com NVIDIA Grand Prix Series with just two races remaining. Coupled with his success at Sebring earlier in the season, the My3id pilot has now secured five victories in the World Championship and is just a few steps away from taking the accolades of being the globe’s top online road racer and the accompanying cash prize of $10,500. Luis, who started the 83 lap race in second position, got away from the line ahead of pole-sitter Klaus Kivek䳠to pull alongside his team-mate at the opening corner, and subsequently take the lead as the pair [...]

Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby Andrй Guelfi Miguel Бngel Guerra

F1: Button Has No Plans To Console Under-Fire Hamilton

While Jenson Button has been on a roll, teammate Lewis Hamilton has been under scrutiny in recent weeks...

Duncan Hamilton Lewis Hamilton David Hampshire Sam Hanks Walt Hansgen

2012 Jaguar XKR-S: Top Cat Driven

Jaguar?s new top cat. The ?S? stands for ?sweet.? Jaguar calls the XKR-S the company?s ?most responsive, powerful, agile, and driver-focused production car.? It?s also the quickest ever. Yes, it?s quicker and more potent than even the 1992?94 ?XJ220 supercar. Keep Reading: 2012 Jaguar XKR-S – First Drive Review

Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt Nico Hьlkenberg

Red Bull RB7 launch pictures (1st of February)

Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner Tony Gaze Geki

Monday, September 26, 2011

Jaguar Execs Discuss Crossover ?Every Day?

If you comb through sales stats for any luxury automaker, you’ll see that the volume is usually driven by two vehicles: an entry-level sedan and a crossover. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus have built their U.S. product lines around this business model. With a revitalized Jaguar trying to take a larger slice of the luxury [...]

Robert Allen Labonte Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr

Five ways to improve F1

Emerson Fittipaldi in his heyday © Sutton Images

In an interview in the Times, former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi?s outlined his five-point plan to enhance Formula One. Cut costs ?They spend a fortune in wind-tunnel testing alone. Reduce costs and the slowest teams would catch up and make it more even.? Limit downforce ?They need to reduce enormously the downforce in the cars, the only way to bring back overtaking. We need more mechanical grip so that you have longer braking areas, can set up the car coming out of a corner, get in the slipstream and then overtake.? Close the pitlane ?When the safety car goes out they should close the pitlane. Now it?s just a lottery.? Lift ban on team orders ?It is a very stupid rule. It?s why they are called teams, it?s why they have two cars. If a driver is leading in the championship, everything has to go in his favour. What is wrong with that? It?s so easy for teams to camouflage their orders anyway. All they need to do is tell one guy on the radio he has a problem with his brakes. They can bend the rules very easily. In the old days they would even swap cars, so why do we have this ban now?? Retain traditional grands prix ?These places are the soul of racing. The Americas are under-represented. We have Canada back, but there is no USA, no Argentina, no Mexico. We need to stay in the heartlands.?

Howden Ganley Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner Tony Gaze

Race day observations

John James Jean Pierre Jarier Max Jean Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson

First Camaro ZL1 auctioned for $250,000

Chevrolet has announced the first Camaro ZL1 has been sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas.

Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss

So You wanna build a Street course?

Georges Grignard Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby

Wanting To Use

Airbrushed car with Model Master Lacquer decanted paint. So the question is that the paint has some orange peel and i wanted to lay some Model Master No#2017 Gloss Clear Lacquer over it. Does this lacquer turn yellow over time? If not should i wet sand before clearing ? and if so what grit sandpaper should I use ? And what ratio should i use to thin the lacquer ? 50 to 50 ratio? This is my first airbrushed car .

I know buy Donn's DVD but funds are low right now.

Seth

Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr

Dramatic Day for Yamaha ParkinGO Team at Imola

Yamaha Racing 2011 World Supersport Italy Imola, Italy, Sunday 25 September 2011 Yamaha ParkinGO team riders Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa will not have fond memories of the historical Italian circuit at Imola following today's disappointing race day. Both riders...

Carl Edwards Copart Ford Denny Hamlin Z Line Toyota Kyle Busch

Dodge Charger Pursuit achieves record time at Michigan Evaluation Test

During a recent test drive, the Dodge Charger Pursuit established a new record time at Michigan State Police?s (MSP) annual Police Vehicle Evaluation tests. The car ran the Grattan Raceway in an impressive time of 1:33.70.

That wasn’t the only feat either. The new Charger Pursuit also scored impressive sprint times during its evaluation: 0-to-60 mph in 5.83 seconds, 0-to-70 mph in 7.38 seconds, 0-to-80 mph in 9.18 seconds, 0-to-90 mph in 11.43 seconds, and 0-to-100 mph in 13.65 seconds.

"Achieving the fastest-ever lap time at the Michigan State Police?s annual Police Vehicle Evaluation test reflects the mission of the Dodge Charger Pursuit Team to equip our law enforcement officials with the absolute best combination of vehicle performance and tactical equipment," said Peter Grady, Vice President of Network Development and Fleet, Chrysler Group LLC. "Even more impressive is that all four Michigan State Police Vehicle Test Team drivers averaged their fastest times in the Charger Pursuit ? reinforcing the driver confidence provided when world-class acceleration, braking, handling and dynamics are combined."

gallery: 2011 Dodge Charger

Dodge Charger Pursuit achieves record time at Michigan Evaluation Test originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 25 September 2011 06:00 EST.

Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Felipe Massa: ?He could have caused a big accident?

Felipe Massa was furious after the Singapore GP after once again his race was compromised by a clash with Lewis Hamilton. Massa picked up a puncture in the incident, but was able to recover to ninth place. The two had … Continue reading →

Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt Nico Hьlkenberg

Vettel wins F1 Singapore GP, no title yet

Danny Kladis Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling

Just plain weird Toyota Prius ad [video]

Advertisement shows an unusual creature which is made out of human beings - a people person.

Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge Carl Edwards

Race day observations

Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien

Mercedes, Virgin also get curfew back

Mercedes GP and Virgin Racing have also won back one of their four allowed curfew exemptions, after the FIA decided that the staff who entered the track early on Saturday were not involved directly with the car. Marketing staff from the two teams, plus Red Bull Racing, were found to have entered the track before the 4pm cut-off point - which is a breach of the new-for-2011 curfew restrictions.

Hans Herrmann Franзois Hesnault Hans Heyer Damon Hill Graham Hill

STR: Grid positions flatter car

Toro Rosso technical chief Giorgio Ascanelli was pleased to see both his cars reach Q2 in Singapore - but reckons they were assisted by other teams' problems and are slower than the result suggested. Sebastien Buemi took 14th on the grid, two places ahead of team-mate Jaime Alguersuari. Both had lost track time after incidents on Friday.

Kevin Michael Harvick Virgil Ernest Irvan III Kenny Dale Irwin Jr Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson

Fact: Places With High Numbers of Cyclists Are Safer for Pedestrians

The United States has fallen far behind countries with high cycling rates, like the Netherlands, when it comes to overall street safety and preventing pedestrian deaths. Graphic: Streetsblog; Data: PPS
I’ve got a question for the purported defenders of pedestrian safety who sit on the editorial boards at the Daily News and the Post. I know [...]

Bruce Halford Jim Hall Duncan Hamilton Lewis Hamilton David Hampshire

Study: New Yorkers have longest commutes, also use public transport most

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

According to the American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau, "The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area had the longest average
commute, at 34.6 minutes."

We think that maybe more New Yorkers filled in the survey than anyone else. We can't help but think there are thousands of people in the Los Angeles metro area who would laugh at a 34.6-minute commute. Los Angeles, in fact, didn't even make the top five, even though it's a city so impervious to normal driving that distances are measured in time, not miles. But if that's what the Census Bureau says, then we believe it, the 405 be damned...

Other revelations are that average commute time has only gone up a few minutes since 1980, the foreign-born are more likely to use public transportation than native citizens, and that it takes an average of 14.2 minutes to get to work in Great Falls, Montana. Click here for the full survey. If you're in New York, you can read it on the subway.

New Yorkers have longest commutes, also use public transport most originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison