Patrick gets new partner in Michael Andretti

Danica Patrick has a new partner on her race team, Michael Andretti.

As in Michael Andretti, strategist.

Patrick's team, which is co-owned by Andretti, announced the move Monday. The decision allows Kyle Moyer, who made the calls for Patrick's No. 7 car last season, to fill the same role for Andretti's son, Marco.

The 26-year-old driver has emerged as one of the biggest draws on the Indy Racing League circuit, especially after her historic win in Japan last April.

But after reaching Victory Lane, Patrick's season unraveled.

She was knocked out of the Indianapolis 500 in a pit road crash with Ryan Briscoe, then stomped through the pits to confront Briscoe before she was led over the wall by track officials.

She also was involved in a confrontation with driver Milka Duno at Mid-Ohio and crashed in Edmonton when Marco Andretti locked up his brakes. After Japan, Patrick didn't finish better than fifth.

So she's hoping the change to Andretti will produce more consistent results in 2009.

It also means two of the series biggest names will be working together on race day.

Andretti, son of former Indy winner Mario Andretti, was a longtime favorite in IndyCars. He won 42 races during his driving career and led more laps at Indianapolis than any other non-winner.

The Illinois native made headlines in 2005 when she became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500, finished fourth in the race and was the series' rookie of the year.

She left Bobby Rahal's team after the 2006 season, opting instead to run with Andretti.

And now she can use Andretti's experience and knowledge to her advantage, too, even though it will be a new endeavor for the former driver.

Andretti Green Racing has been one of the series' best teams, winning three points titles and two Indianapolis 500s in the past six seasons.

TRG Motorsports to debut at Daytona 500

TRG Motorsports announced today their entry in the 51st running of the Daytona 500. The team is taking its experience garnered at the top levels of professional sports car racing and in the Camping World Truck Series, where they posted their first win in 2008, to NASCAR's biggest stage. The team will have veteran driver Mike Wallace pilot the No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday, February 15 at the World Center of Speed.

"This is a huge opportunity for TRG Motorsports,With the group of partners we have and very competitive team and package we decided to put a program together and race at the 500. We have been on a very steep growth curve with our entries in the Truck Series and ARCA. With the economic situation, it is always nice to be able to look for opportunity wherever possible and that what we have done. This will be defining moment in our team's history. The plan we crafted two years ago is in place, objectives are being met and we are trying to reach our goals." said the team principal,Kevin Buckler

With more than 55 entries expected to compete for 43 starting positions in the 200-lap Daytona 500, the biggest goal for TRG Motorsports is to make it in the show. TRG has enlisted one of the most competent super speedway drivers in the world to pilot their entry in "The Great American Race". Mike Wallace, who has often been regarded as a restrictor plate specialist, will drive for TRG in their debut in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Wallace has three wins at Daytona and hopes to secure his first Spring Cup win in the legendary Daytona 500. Wallace has won in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Daytona and he took the inaugural Truck Series race win in 2000 after he qualified on the outside pole and led 59 laps. Wallace followed that up with a win in the Nationwide Series in July of 2004 after leading only one lap, the final one.

The next 30 days will be a busy for TRG. The company has five cars entered in this weekend's Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona and the finishing touches are going on the company's two Camping World Truck Series entries as well as their two ARCA cars for next month.

Ferrari F60 is "illegal"

Ferrari’s newly launched 2009 single seater, the F60, has been declared “illegal” by a specialist German motoring publication.

The F1 car had been revealed last week at the Mugello circuit in Italy, features rear exhaust outlets that contravene the sweeping new technical regulations.

The magazine said some of the Italian team’s rivals have noted that because of the new rules cracking down on bodywork appendages like aerodynamic winglets, exposing the exhausts in the way the F60 is designed is not allowed.

A glance at the other new cars revealed so far ,Renault, Williams, McLaren and Toyota -shows that their exhausts have all been mounted in-board.

It should not be too much of a problem for Ferrari to redesign the exhaust housing, but it may help to explain the team’s retreat from the Portimao group test this week to Mugello.

Officially, Ferrari decamped to Mugello because of adverse weather forecasts for this week, but the F60 also showed a significant problem with its front wing when tested last week.

It is suggested that, in light of these challenges, Ferrari concluded that it should be conducting the car’s first major test as close as possible to its Maranello base.

NASCAR Superstar join charity bids

NASCAR celebrities today give a little help when they took a charities at the 38th annual Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction over the past week at WestWorld in Scottsdale.

The total of 14 vehicles up for auction had the proceeds desginated for various charities from the American Heart Association to EEA Young Eagles, a group chaired by actor Harrison Ford and dedicated to boosting interest in aviation among youths.

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick ask a helps from collector car fans to register as bone marrow donors as driver Jeff Gordon’s 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo No. 24 racer crossed the block. The car brought in $500,000 with proceeds going to the Hendrick Marrow Program.Rick Hendrick is also a leukemia survivor.

The Darrel Gwynn Foundation, named for the famed drag racer and dedicated to helping people with spinal chord injuries, was another beneficiary Saturday.

Gwynn, himself confined to a wheelchair after spinal injuries, introduced 14-year-old Randy Rimone, who the foundation helped after he was denied insurance coverage for a power wheelchair. Meanwhile, racing legend Richard Petty roared in with a baby blue 1970 Plymouth Superbird custom coupe boasting more than 750 horsepower. Before the gavel fell AT $501,000, auction goers chipped in $175,000 in separate donations.

Jack Roush, another NASCAR owner, was on hand Sunday to sell a 2008 Roush Mustang GT. The 510-horsepower ‘Stang brought in $100,000 for Speedway Children’s Charities. The national nonprofit’s goal is to provide educational, financial, medical and social support for children in need.

The auction ran Sunday through Sunday with much of the event telecast on Speed TV.

Yates Racing and HoFR sign agreement

Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing (HOF) today announced an agreement for both of their two teams. Under the new agreement, Yates Racing will operate the No. 96 NASCAR Sprint Cup entry of Hall of Fame Racing for the full 2009 Sprint Cup schedule. In that race,Doug Yates and Max Jones will continue as co-owners of Yates Racing, while Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad will continue as co-owners of Hall of Fame Racing.

"This partnership with Hall of Fame is a great stepping stone for the Yates organization,Through this partnership, we are able to continue the expansion of our shop and field another Sprint Cup entry. We, along with Ford Racing, welcome Hall of Fame Racing and look forward to a very successful season." said Max Jones, co-owner and General Manager of Yates Racing.

"Jeff Moorad and I knew it would take time to construct the right model to improve our competitive position in the sport and we think we've come a long way to achieving that through our association with Yates Racing,We're proud to be associated with Doug and Max and Ford Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series." add Tom Garfinkel, co-owner of Hall of Fame Racing.

The Hall of Fame Racing entry will make its competitive debut at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 12 during the Gatorade 150 qualifying races.

Ferrari Technical Spec for new F1 Season

The F60 is the fifty fifth single-seater built by Ferrari specifically to compete in the Formula 1 World Championship. The name of the car was chosen to celebrate the Scuderia's participation in all 60 editions of the Formula 1 World Championship since 1950 to date.

The project, which goes by the internal code name of 660, represents the Scuderia's interpretation of the regulations that come into force this year, which include very many new elements. As far as the aerodynamics are concerned, these modifications are the result of the work carried out by the OWG (Overtaking Working Group,) set up by the FIA in collaboration with the teams to produce a set of rules aimed at encouraging more overtaking on track.Here are the technical spec for the new F60

Technical specifications

Chassis

Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Ferrari longitudinal garbo Limited-slip differential
Semiautomatic sequential electronically controlled garbo - quick shift
Number of gears 7 + Reverse
Brembo ventilated carbon-fibre disc brakes
Independent suspension, push-rod activated torsion springs front and rear
Weight (with water, lubricant and driver) 605 kg
BBS Wheels (front and rear) 13"
Kinetic energy recovery system by Ferrari in cooperation with Magneti Marelli

Engine

Type 056
Number of cylinders 8
Cilinder block in cast aluminium V 90°
Number of valves 32
Pneumatic distribution
Total displacement 2398 cm3
Piston bore 98 mm
Weight > 95 kg
Magneti Marelli digital electronic injection
Magneti Marelli static electronic ignition
Fuel Shell V-Power ULG-66L/2
Lubricant Shell

-credit: ferrari

Buemi to Race for Scuderia Toro Rosso

Formula 1 team,Scuderia Toro Rosso announce that new driver for his team,Sebastien Buemi will drive for the team in the 2009 Formula 1 season.

Sebastien Buemi,20 years old are from Aigle,Switzerland.Last year he was competed in GP2,and by that time he was also the reserve driver for our sister team, Red Bull Racing. For most of his racing career, he has been supported by Red Bull as part of its Junior Driver programme.

"We are delighted to welcome Sebastien, who was already part of the Red Bull family, to our team. Our engineers have been impressed with his speed in the car and his ability to learn and progress during the testing he has carried out for us last year. That, along with some impressive performances in GP2 was enough to convince us to give him the drive. His appointment also fulfils the aims of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme and meets Dietrich Mateschitz's intention to use Scuderia Toro Rosso as a showcase for young drivers the company has supported in the lower formulae." Said the Scuderia Toro Rosso team Principal, Franz Tost.

Meanwhile Sebastien Buemi commented:"I am naturally very happy to be driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso this year,Being a Formula 1 driver has always been my target, since I first started racing. This year, I will do all I can to bring home the best possible results and to show Red Bull that the confidence it has shown in me is justified. I want to thank Red Bull for this opportunity and for all the help they have given me in my career, dating back to 2005."

Sebastien's first track outing as an official Scuderia Toro Rosso driver will be at the test session held at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal later this month. An announcement about who will be Buemi's team-mate will be made at some point before the Australian Grand Prix!

Go Daddy extend partnership

The worlds leading registrar of Internet domain,GoDaddy.com will extended its partnerships with JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports, which will give them a significant presence in NASCAR's top two series in 2009.

This season,They will be the primary sponsor for 20 Nationwide Series. The company also will be an associate sponsor of Hendrick's No. 5 Sprint Cup Chevrolets with driver Mark Martin.

In addition, GoDaddy.com will get back the No. 88 Chevrolets of JR Motorsports and 24 years old driver, Brad Keselowski in 18 Nationwide Series races. Besides that,Keselowski also will attempt a seven-event Sprint Cup schedule in the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolets of Hendrick Motorsports.

GoDaddy.com's first attemp in motorsport in December 2006 with the Indy Racing League's Danica Patrick.They only moved into NASCAR last season as a primary sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series.

Michael Schumacher Could Be Hero For Honda F1 Team

There has been reports circulating the internet suggesting,a former world champion, Michael Schumacher could be interested in putting some of his money to rescue the Honda Racing F1 Team facing the economic crisis.

Though the press has played down reports the retired seven time world champion might get involved with the Honda team, it was suggested the 40-year-old could have been in talks with his former Ferrari colleague Ross Brawn, now the Brackley based team’s boss, about investing some of his own money to avoid Honda to withdraw from the sport.

“Ross and Michael are still friends, that’s true,” say the Schumacher spokesperson.

“But Michael’s involvement with Honda is limited to the IDM”

Alonso Join Ferrari on 2009???

Fernando Alonso maybe turned down an opportunity to switch immediately to the famous Formula 1 team Ferrari out of loyalty to his current F1 employer Renault.

Spanish newspaper claimed that, following authoritative reports from Italy that the former double world champion has now penned a deal to race with the famous Maranello based team in 2010 or 2011.

Diario AS said Ferrari were prepared to put Alonso, 27, into the 2009 race seat of Kimi Raikkonen, who despite winning the title in 2007 had a disappointing season last year.

Hottie Erica Enders: Popular Pro Stocker To Compete In Full Throttle

Erica Enders, the popular Pro Stock racer, will reportedly compete full time in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series behind the wheel of Jim and Gloria Cunningham's Mastercam Ford Mustang.
With technical support from Ford Racing, Enders will begin the season in the same car she drove when she filled in for Cunningham earlier this year at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

"After personally seeing Erica's incredible fan base and how she conducted herself with the fans and in the car at Indy, we asked her to drive for Jim next year, and she agreed to race with us,She did an outstanding job driving our car and produced four outstanding runs. We are pleased to have her driving the car and marketing Cunningham Motorsports and Ford." said Cunningham Motorsports crew chief Marcus Bowen.

The 25-year-old Enders already is the most successful female racer in class history with the most races entered, most final-round showings, most low-qualifier awards, and most round-wins. No female racer has ever won a Pro Stock race.

Enders is perhaps best known for the Disney Channel movie Right on Track, which chronicles her and sister Courtney's time in the Jr. Dragster ranks. It remains one of the most viewed movies in Disney Channel history.

The first public appearances of Enders and the Cunningham Motorsports/Mastercam Ford Mustang GT Pro Stock will be at the Ford Racing booth throughout the PRI Show Dec. 11-13 in Orlando, Fla.