NASCAR Tickets - Smoke Lights Fire Despite Pouring Rain in Charlotte

The Coca-Cola 600 was supposed to be the longest race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, but instead it was one of the shortest and least-eventful races of the year minus a hothead moment by Tony Stewart, of course. Smoke had a classic eruption in last week's Charlotte race, creating a media frenzy when he publicly denounced David Reutimann and his crew's decision to race hard throughout the whole Sprint Cup race even with a rainout in the cards at Charlotte. Stewart went so far as to call Reutimann's crew chief "Billy Bad Butt," sparking a humorous if not heated argument between the two racing teams.

It all started when Tony Stewart spoke his mind to David Reutimann about Reutimann's hard driving during the rainout, and during this confrontation a bald crew member of Reutimann's got into the quarrel and heated things up a bit more. Not long after, Stewart was prompted by a member of the media about his talk with Reutimann, to which Smoke retorted that Reutimann wasn't working together with the other drivers and was not driving smart during the Charlotte race, saying, "There are 43 of us out here and we all have to work together. He's having a hard time understanding that, I think. He says he gets that, but I'm not sure he does. Then he's got a bald crew guy down there who wants to jump up there and be Billy Bad Butt. Maybe he needs to ride in the car with him since they both seem to think they've got it all figured out."

This humorous interview was quickly plastered all over websites and YouTube following its broadcast, and the name Billy Bad Butt immediately stuck. Reutimann's crew member (whose real name is Dwayne) was instantly tagged as "Billy Bad Butt" the next time the television screen panned his image, and while this hilarious but obscure nickname came out of the argument, it now seems all in good fun, as Reutimann even said, "I think [Dwayne] likes that. I think there are definitely T-shirt possibilities for that at some point."

The Stewart-Reutimann altercation was over almost as quickly as it started, with Reutimann excusing Stewart's in-your-face manner as Stewart's fiery nature and saying that "In the end, it was no big deal. It made for great television, I guess, but it's not a problem, I don't think." Reutimann was ultimately declared the winner of the rained-out Coca-Cola 600 while Stewart placed 19th overall, and Smoke even smoothed out the ruffles of the day's big heated "Danica Patrick" moment of confrontation, calling Reutimann to congratulate him on the day's win.

After the race was called due to rain, Stewart said, "A good guy won the race. They won it because they made the right call at the end. They put themselves in that position and you can' take anything away from that. It won't win you races consistently, but you're going to get some that way. It's good for David to get his first win and congratulations to him and his guys." Including Billy Bad Butt.

While last weekend's "Billy Bad Butt" comment was more amusing than insulting, it most certainly wasn't the first explosion the racing realm has seen out of NASCAR's biggest hothead (hey, he didn't just earn the nickname 'Smoke' for nothing, after all). Stewart has a long record of altercations and choice words on the racetrack, from fighting race officials and arguing with other drivers to his most famous blowups, many of which have recently concerned Goodyear tires. For now, however, the damage is done and has created little more than a media heyday, though spectators with NASCAR tickets are sure to see more fire from Smoke as the Sprint Cup series trots onward. Racing tickets are available online, so don't miss a moment of the NASCAR excitement!

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Smoke Lights Fire Despite Pouring Rain in Charlotte

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/276934/nascar-tickets-smoke-lights-fire-despite-pouring-rain-in-charlotte

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Vettel wins the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel won his second consecutive race this year after another dominant performance on the Sepang International Circuit, making it two out of two for both him and his Red Bull Racing team in 2011.

Although the winning margin wasn?t as big as in Australia two weekends ago, the reigning world champion did not look in trouble at any time while in the lead, crossing the finish line a little over 3 seconds ahead of McLaren?s Jenson Button. And just as it happened at Albert Park, the last step of the podium was taken by a Lotus Renault driver, only this time it was Nick Heidfeld who got to enjoy that position.

Vettel kept 1st place from pole position early on and built a comfortable time margin ahead, while Heidfeld started off great and jumped from 6th to 2nd by the first corner, ahead of McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Renault enjoyed a great race start, as Vitaly Petrov also jumped a few positions to 5th place, ahead of Ferrari duo Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

Mark Webber?s nightmare was again the race start, as he lost no more than 5 positions and dropped to 8th overall.

While Vettel did his race undisturbed in the front, positions in the back changed after the first round of pit stops, where Heidfeld and Massa lost a huge amount of time and returned to the track in 6th and 7th respectively. The two McLarens and Fernando Alonso were easily the beneficiaries going into their 2nd stint, as the trio started putting in fast lap times and threaten Vettel?s leading position.

Alonso moved quickly to pass Jenson Button for 3rd place, before the second round of pit stops messed with the leading pack once more. The Spaniard lost plenty of time in the pits ? while staying more on the track and pitting last ? and returned to the track behind Hamilton and Button.

Again, while finally closing down on the two McLarens, the field began their 3rd pit stop entries, causing Alonso to further lose some positions to Petrov and Webber, while Button and Hamilton switched positions behind Vettel.

Once Petrov and Red Bull?s Webber pitted (the latter for the 4th time on Sunday), Alonso began closing down on Hamilton and, with some 10 laps to go, set up the stage for the most exciting duel of the afternoon. It didn?t last for too long however, as the Spaniard ? whose rear wing stopped working after his 3rd pit stop ? clipped the rear of Hamilton?s car when trying to overtake him and damaged his front wing.

As he was forced to pit for the 4th time, he returned to the track in 7th place, behind teammate Felipe Massa. Hamilton, however, also hit trouble late in the race and, after losing two positions to Heidfeld and Webber, decided to pit and take on a new set of tires.

While Vettel and Button ran undisturbed for 1st and 2nd, Heidfeld had to really struggle to keep his position ahead of Webber, despite having the advantage of using KERS (which neither of the two RBR drivers used on Sunday).

Felipe Massa finished in 5th place, ahead of his teammate Alonso, while Hamilton returned to the track in 7th place after his 4th stop. Sauber?s Kamui Kobayashi scored a great 8th place, at the end of a race that say him overtake Michael Schumacher a handful of times, while the German had to settle for 9th place.

Rookie Paul di Resta (Force India) managed his second point-scoring performance in F1 in 2 races and finished in 10th place, ahead of his much more experienced teammate Adrian Sutil.

-By Ovidiu Panzariu


The Race as it happened via f1livetweets




2011 Malaysian Grand Prix Race times

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Grid	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	56	Winner	1	25
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+3.2 secs	4	18
3	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	56	+25.0 secs	6	15
4	2	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	56	+26.3 secs	3	12
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+36.9 secs	7	10
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+37.2 secs	5	8
7	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+49.9 secs	2	6
8	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	56	+66.4 secs	10	4
9	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	56	+84.8 secs	11	2
10	15	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	56	+91.5 secs	14	1
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes		+ 1 Lap	17
12	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes		+1 Lap	9
13	18	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari		+1 Lap	12
14	19	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari		+1 Lap	13
15	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Renault		+1 Lap	19
16	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth		+2 Lap	21
17	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault		+4 Lap	8
Ret	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT-Cosworth		+10 Lap	23
Ret	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin-Cosworth		+14 Lap	22
Ret	21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Renault		+25 Laps	20
Ret	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari		+33 Laps	16
Ret	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth		+34 Laps	15
Ret	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth		+42 Laps	24
Ret	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Cosworth		+48 Laps	18

Fastest lap:
Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 40.571s lap 46

Championship points:

Drivers? championship				Constructors? championship
Pos	Driver	Points		Pos	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	50		1	Red Bull	72
2	Jenson Button	26		2	McLaren	50
3	Lewis Hamilton	24		3	Ferrari	36
4	Mark Webber	22		4	Renault	30
5	Fernando Alonso	20		5	Toro Rosso	4
6	Felipe Massa	16		6	Sauber	4
7	Nick Heidfeld	15		7	Force India	4
8	Vitaly Petrov	15		8	Mercedes	2
9	Sebastien Buemi	4		9	Lotus	0
10	Kamui Kobayashi	4		10	Virgin	0
11	Adrian Sutil	2		11	Williams	0
12	Michael Schumacher	2		12	HRT	0
13	Paul di Resta	2
14	Jaime Alguersuari	0
15	Nico Rosberg	0
16	Jarno Trulli	0
17	Jerome d?Ambrosio	0
18	Heikki Kovalainen	0
19	Timo Glock	0
20	Rubens Barrichello	0
21	Sergio Perez	0
22	Narain Karthikeyan	0
23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	0
24	Pastor Maldonado	0

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/FUAjwPrWw8E/vettel-wins-2011-malaysian-grand-prix.html

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Mercedes MGP W02 Launch pictures ( 1st of February)

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg revealed their 2011 challenger, the Mercedes MGP W02 on Tuesday 1st February 2011, shortly before the first test session of the year began in Valencia.

The car?s livery is an evolution from its predecessor with a striking high-gloss airbrush effect highlighting the shape of the car. The interaction between the Silver Arrows heritage and the green shading representing the team?s title partner PETRONAS evokes memories of the first Silver Arrow car of 1934 with a modern touch added by 3D partner logos.

The car hasn?t only had an attractive re-spray, it is more of a revolutionary car which has little in common with its predecessor, the Mercedes W01.

Mercedes GP had switched focus on the development of their new car ever since midway last season, when team boss Ross Brawn realized the W01 challenger was not going to make any championship statements in 2010.

?The new Silver Arrow for the 2011 season has little in common with its immediate predecessor. Our chassis engineers have taken a fairly ruthless approach and were determined to shave off every superfluous gram and millimetre. What emerged from this process is a compact and exquisitely shaped vehicle that introduces a host of sophisticated solutions and truly reflects the enormous dedication of its constructors.?

- Norbert Haug

Link
Confident Mercedes set ambitious targets for MGP W02 ( The Official F1)
"A confident-looking Mercedes GP launched their 2011 car in the Valencia pit lane on Tuesday. After their championship-winning success as Brawn in 2009, the team endured a hit and miss 2010 season and are now targeting a return to their winning ways with the new MGP W02, which will once again be driven by Nico Rosberg and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher."


Mercedes MGP W02 Launch pictures

Photos � Mercedes GP/LAT

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/IhmQi_dp4Cg/mercedes-mgp-w02-launch-pictures-1st-of.html

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Alonso and Massa's Ferrari F150 shakedown at Fiorano

Fernando Alonso got the opportunity to drive the new Ferrari F150 following its launch on Friday (28th Jan'11), while Felipe Massa took over duties on the second day yesterday, around Fiorano circuit in Maranello.

On this second day of acquiring footage of the car?s new livery for advertising purposes, the Fiorano Track opened its gates to a section of the fifteen thousand Scuderia Ferrari Club members. ?I would like to thank all of you for having coming all the way here to give us your passionate support,? said Stefano Domenicali as he got the day underway by addressing the crowd.

?Last year, on the day we won at Monza, feeling this wave of affection from all of you was a great motivating force as we fought our way back and we hope to give you something back this year with a championship title, something that we missed out on in Abu Dhabi by the smallest of margins. This car is dedicated to celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification because it is part of our makeup to feel pride in representing our country all over the world. Even if we have team-members who come from many different countries, starting with a Spaniard like Fernando and a Brazilian, albeit with Italian origins, like Felipe, we have a strong desire to hold high the national flag which is now seen in all its glory on our car.?

-Stefano Domenicali


A day of red hot enthusiasm at Fiorano

"Over a thousand people braved the cold and damp this morning to see the Ferrari F150 and the Scuderia?s full complement of drivers from Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa to Bianchi, Fisichella, Bertolini and all the youngsters from the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The weather was definitely not at its best, with a bit of sleet in the early hours of the morning making the track damp and temperatures were even lower than yesterday, so that Felipe Massa only did just over sixty kilometres at the wheel of the F150."

- Ferrari.com

Fernando Alonso's first laps in the Ferrari F150 (Day 1)

Felipe Massa drives the Ferrari F150 (Day 2)

Ferrari's movable rear wing in action

F1 websites across the web are pointing out the adjustable rear wing in action in the Ferrari F150 shakedown pictures. Have you noticed the rear wing in 'normal' and 'deployed' positions in the above pictures yet?!

The development testing will get underway in Valencia on Feb 1st. For launch and test schedules, go to this post (2011 Winter launch and Test schedule).



Images � Ferrari

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/W3Ic1-nvTgM/alonso-and-massas-ferrari-f150.html

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