Formula One leader Jenson Button heads into the European Grand Prix wary of his car, while Ferrari’s Luca Badoer returns to the track after a decade for the injured Felipe Massa.
Button’s championship has been whittled from 26 points to 18.5 since winning six of the first seven races. Button has finished off the podium in the three since then, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber has moved up to second place in the standings.
“We can be strong again. This car is not bad, I just think we went slightly in the wrong direction,†the Brawn GP driver said Thursday. “We need to get back on top of it. I’ve got an 18.5 point lead, but that can disappear quite quickly.â€Â  … Details
Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson had the gas to get to the White House on Wednesday, where President Barack Obama honored the 2008 winner as well as auto racing.
“NASCAR is a uniquely American sport,†Obama said beneath the South Portico, flanked by nine of the 12 drivers who competed last year for NASCAR’s top prize. Three drivers had scheduling conflicts and could not attend.
Obama said NASCAR drivers work to support U.S. troops, local schools and environmental innovation. Obama said the sport certainly has grown since “moonshiners†raced in Daytona Beach, Fla., to become a service-oriented organization known around the world.
“One of the core values of the NASCAR community is … Details
Staff at a World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Austria have been questioned by police investigating the supply of banned drugs to athletes.
Officials say Thursday the lab near Vienna is one of 35 WADA-accredited labs worldwide.
Guenter Greiner, head of the lab, says “we are most interested in clearing up possible allegations against employees and former employees.â€Â … Details