Jan Magnussen and Jörg Bergmeister captured pole positions Thursday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans as teams and drivers from the American Le Mans Series asserted themselves well in qualifying for the world’s greatest motor race. At the head of the field, Stephane Sarrazin’s late flying lap of 3:22.888 (150.266 mph) gave himself and Peugeot three straight overall pole positions over Audi in the battle of the two diesel powers.
Sarrazin was 0.762 seconds ahead of three-time American Le Mans Series LMP1 champion Allan McNish in the new Audi R15 TDI. McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen debuted the new diesel prototype with a victory at…Â Details
General Motors is cutting factory support for Chevrolet teams competing in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series as the automaker restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a story that will appear in Friday’s edition of SportsBusiness Journal.
According to SBJ’s Michael Smith, who wrote the story, the cost-cutting measures are likely to have the greatest affect on larger organizations, such as Kevin Harvick Inc., which fields teams in both series, and Rusty Wallace Inc. and JR Motorsports, which field teams in the Nationwide Series.
KHI has four victories in …Â Details
It’s no coincidence that Danica Patrick’s contract with Andretti Green Racing is due to expire at the end of this year and rumors are increasing about her moving from the IndyCar Series to NASCAR.
Let me throw a curve ball into the mix.
Given slipping TV ratings and at-track attendance, sponsorship issues and other maladies that the sport is trying to fight through, I’m betting Patrick is using the possibility of moving to NASCAR as a bargaining chip.
But not to return to Indy Cars. Thanks to a very well-placed motorsports source in Germany, what would you say if I told you Patrick may be trying to work both the IRL and NASCAR to leverage a high-profile ride in Formula One? …Â Details
From behind those trademark shades, Richard Petty has seen just about everything during a half-century in racing.
But even The King has been caught off guard by the severity of the recession that has caused NASCAR to tap its brakes: Automakers are entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, team sponsors are slashing budgets and fans are struggling to scrape up money for travel, tickets and trinkets.
“The economy, it’s hit us between the eyes,” Petty said in an interview with The Associated Press …Â Details