Paul Menard wins boring brickyard 400

Mike Shaner
July 31, 2011

Thank goodness this one is over. Paul Menard was able to stretch his fuel mileage to win a brickyard 400 that should be notable for lack of passing, fuel mileage, and empty seats.

7 ways to fix the Nascar Sprint Cup series

Nascar became America's sport by relating to Americans. The drivers were like us. They raced the same car's we drive. They talked, walked, and acted like us.

It is no coincidence that The radical decline in popularity happened at the same time Nascar went away from this formula.

I hope Nascar will change but it seems highly doubtful....maybe another series will use this formula to regain all of the stock-car fans Nascar has alienated.

Here is what needs to be done:

1. Lose the cookie cutter tracks. Nascar should race on short tracks, road courses, and super speedways. The 1 1/2 mile gas mileage races are as interesting as nothing. Lose them
2. Race Stock Cars! This will increase competition, lower cost, and give the fans something to identify with. Just mandate that every car on the track be a showroom style car and only factory aftermarket parts should be allowed. If someone wants to race a camry fine, but it must have a v-6 engine, or whatever engine the car comes with in stock condition. This will lead to the factories producing better street cars and fans buying them!
3. Let the racers race back to the caution flags.
4. By letting the racers race to the yellow flag we will have no more need for that stupid lucky dog award
5. Caution laps do not count with under 50 laps to go
6. Eliminate the pit road speed limit. Let the fastest crews and the fastest drivers win the races.
7. Stop granting drivers automatic qualifying spots based on points. Let the fastest 43 drivers race...period. Imagine how much more interest fans would show in qualifying if there was a chance Dale Jr. wouldn't make the race

Obviously there is a lot more that can be done but this is a start. Feel free to add to the list or tell m where I'm wrong

Ryan newman wins New Hampshire

1	1	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	48/2	301	Running
2	2	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot / Mobil 1	43/1	301	Running
3	14	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Freight	41/0	301	Running
4	16	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	41/1	301	Running
5	28	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	40/1	301	Running
6	10	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	Red Bull	39/1	301	Running
7	23	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	CapitalWindow / CapWinFund.com	37/0	301	Running
8	13	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	36/0	301	Running
9	22	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Dewalt	36/1	301	Running
10	4	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Shell / Pennzoil-AAA	35/1	301	Running
11	7	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	34/1	301	Running
12	17	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	Best Buy	32/0	301	Running
13	15	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Ortho Home Defense Max	32/1	301	Running
14	26	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS "We Love Logistics"	30/0	301	Running
15	27	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	National Guard / Amp Energy	29/0	301	Running
16	6	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	28/0	301	Running
17	12	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Good Sam Club / Cheerios	28/1	301	Running
18	20	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	27/1	301	Running
19	3	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	25/0	301	Running
20	30	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Affliction Clothing: Live Fast	24/0	301	Running

Pedrosa wins in Germany as Lorenzo cuts Stoner's MotoGP lead

Spanish motorcyclist Dani Pedrosa won the German Grand Prix on Sunday to leave the MotoGP championship battle finely poised going into the second half of the 2011 season.


Titleholder Jorge Lorenzo reduced Casey Stoner's overall lead to just 15 points after nine races, with the Spaniard overtaking Pedrosa's Repsol Honda teammate at the last corner to claim second place.

Pedrosa missed three races with a broken collarbone, but last year's championship runner-up has now climbed to fifth -- 74 points behind Stoner -- with his third victory at the Sachsenring circuit in motorcycling's elite class and fifth overall, having placed eighth on his return in Italy. Full story

David Reagan finally wins at Daytona!

"It's a good feeling to come back here — we got one back at Daytona," said Ragan, 25, in post race interviews. "It would have been tough to lose another one. I thought about that, actually, under that last caution [before the final restart]. I said, 'Man, if we don't win this thing, I'm not going to talk to anyone afterward.'

Read more: http://technorati.com/sports/article/david-regan-wins-coke-zero-400/#ixzz1R3yHzBmC

FIN	ST	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	PTS/BNS	LAPS	STATUS
1	5	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS "We Love Logistics"	47/4	170	Running
2	16	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Affliction Clothing: Live Fast	43/1	170	Running
3	37	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	41/0	170	Running
4	13	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	Red Bull	41/1	170	Running
5	38	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Interstate All Battery Center	40/1	170	Running
6	4	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	Pepsi Max	39/1	170	Running
7	31	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	Budweiser Folds of Honor	38/1	170	Running
8	10	27	Paul Menard	Chevy	Quaker State / Menards	37/1	170	Running
9	30	42	Juan Montoya	Chevy	Target	36/1	170	Running
10	9	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	U.S. Air Force	34/0	170	Running
11	19	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Burger King	34/1	170	Running
12	20	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	Red Bull	32/0	170	Running
13	36	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Express	32/1	170	Running
14	25	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Shell / Pennzoil	31/1	170	Running
15	26	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	30/1	170	Running
16	39	34	David Gilliland	Ford	Front Row Motorsports	28/0	170	Running
17	15	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Dewalt	27/0	170	Running
18	17	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	27/1	170	Running
19	6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	National Guard Heritage / Amp Energy	26/1	170	Running
20	8	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's Summer Salute	24/0	170	Running
21	12	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	24/1	170	Running
22	18	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	McDonald's	23/1	170	Running
23	11	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / NRA	23/2	170	Running
24	28	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Companies	21/1	170	Running
25	23	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	19/0	170	Running
26	21	51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit	0	169	Running
27	7	71	Andy Lally *	Ford	Interstate Moving Services	17/0	169	Running
28	41	32	Terry Labonte	Ford	C&J Energy	16/0	169	Running
29	27	38	Travis Kvapil	Ford	Long John Silver's	0	169	Running
30	43	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	AMFMEnergy.com - Pellet & Wood Stoves / Extenze	0	169	Running
31	24	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Kingsford	13/0	168	Running
32	32	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	GEICO	13/1	164	Running
33	1	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Carquest / Go Daddy.com	12/1	164	Running
34	38	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	Speed Energy	10/0	163	Running
35	34	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	10/1	162	Accident
36	3	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Wheaties Fuel	9/1	162	Accident
37	14	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Subway	8/1	144	Running
38	35	135	Geoff Bodine	Chevrolet	Luke & Associates	6/0	143	Wheel Bearings
39	40	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Golden Corral	5/0	47	Accident
40	29	60	Mike Skinner	Toyota	Big Red	0	5	Wheel Bearings
41	2	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center	0	4	Accident
42	33	66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	HP Racing LLC	2/0	2	Electrical
43	22	97	Kevin Conway	Toyota	Extenze	0	1	Rear Gear

Lorenzo Outlasts Stoner in MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix

YAMAHA'S defending champion Jorge Lorenzo held off a strong Honda challenge to win the Italian MotoGP last night, cutting into Casey Stoner's championship lead. 


Fresh from lowering the track record in qualifying at the Mugello circuit on Saturday, the Australian led for the opening 17 laps.

But with six laps to go, Lorenzo took the lead with a sublime inside pass on Stoner, pinching the inside lane through a steep, downhill chicane with pinpoint deftness.
Stoner was then ambushed by Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap and had to be happy with third place. Read Full Story Here




MotoGP Results:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
2. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
3. Casey Stoner (Honda)
4. Ben Spies (Yamaha)
5. Marco Simoncelli (Honda)
6. Valentino Rossi (Ducati)
7. Hector Barbera (Ducati)
8. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
9. Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati)

NBA Joins the NFL in Lockout

By Joey Kaufman/Special to LAist
With the NFL on hold, it appears as if pro basketball has followed suit.
The NBA imposed a lockout of its players at 9:01 p.m. PST Thursday following the expiration of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Both owners’ representatives and union leaders were unable to reach a new labor deal following a three-hour meeting in New York earlier in the day, putting the 2011-2012 season in jeopardy as a result... Now for the rest of the story