1986 IMSA Camel Continental at Watkins Glen

The 1986 IMSA Camel Continental at Watkins Glen marked the third running of the "Continental" endurance race at Watkins Glen. The race would become a popular stop on the IMSA Camel GT tour. Here's a news item from the race.

Also, here's some history on the Camel Continental and the six-hour endurance races at Watkins Glen and an interesting series from later in the season previewing IMSA's visit to Road America.

Michael Schumacher plans on making return to Formula 1

Michael Schumacher is hoping to take Felipe Massa's place at Ferrari and returning (albeit temporarily) to F1. According to an article at The Mirror, "Motor racing legend Michael Schumacher is to make an astonishing return to F1 to replace injured Ferrari ace Felipe Massa. The seven-time world champion retired three years ago and is now 40. But if the German passes a fitness test he could start the European Grand Prix on August 23 and stand in until Massa is fit again."

Click here for more about Schumacher's return.

Massa is also making a fast recovery from injuries suffered during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. He is walking and speaking three languages. Click here for the latest about Felipe.

BMW to leave Formula 1, but Toyota and Mercedes to stay

With the news that the BMW is bowing out of Formula 1 at season's end because of the global financial crisis, according to Motorsport.com, "Both Toyota and Mercedes on Wednesday played down speculation they may follow in BMW's footsteps and withdraw from Formula One. "With the reductions of costs we are continuing our Formula One engagement," a spokeswoman for Toyota is quoted as saying by the German news agency SID.

"That has been communicated to us from Japan," she added.

However, the other carmaker mentioned as likely to emulate BMW and Honda's decisions to quit - Renault - has not made any comment so far.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said: "We regret the Formula One withdrawal of BMW. This decision does not have any influence on our Formula One engagement."

It was said at the end of last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix that the ratification of a new Concorde Agreement was imminent. Once this occurs, all signatories will be bound to the sport minimally until 2012.

Click here for more news about BMW's departure.

Indycar heading to Alabama, but return to historic venue in Milwaukee in doubt

As the 2010 Indycar schedule continues to come together, at least one new event is confirmed - Indycar is heading to Alabama in April.

Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham is a first-class facility and several hundred turned out for a test session prior to the 2009 season, proving there is fan interest. The track also draws a good crowd for the Rolex Grand-Am cars, as well as good racing.

But while Alabama celebrates, there is growing doubt that The Milwaukee Mile will return next year to host any kind of racing, let alone keep it's traditional post-Indy 500 date. Also in doubt is a possible return to New Hampshire. I have to applaud the efforts of this year's Milwaukee Mile promoter, Claude Napier through Wisconsin Motorsports, which brought large crowds to the Indycar race with great ticket prices and incentives (like a section of grandstand that offered ticket-holders all the beer and brauts they could stomach). But, unfortunately, what Wisconsin Motorsports couldn't produce was the revenue to cover the bills and now it would take a miracle to bring the race back.

New Hampshire is still waiting to see if it will get an Indycar race in 2010 - right now it's best "hope" to get a date is if Milwaukee drops off the schedule.

"With the doubt at Milwaukee, with the promoter being taken out of power there, and the uncertainty that surrounds the Milwaukee Fairgrounds, I made a call back and expressed interest in that date if that was an option as well," Jerry Gappens, New Hampshire International Speedway's vice president and general manager told the Concord Monitor. "They communicated back that they're working on it, and they appreciated our interest. So there's still dialogue going on, and there's still hope of trying to bring them to New Hampshire for 2010.

"I'd rather be there then, than not on the schedule at all."

Gappens said he didn't want to come across as "a buzzard circling Milwaukee," and he hopes the track finds a way out of its fiscal trouble. He also expects the IRL to exhaust all options before giving up on the place. But he does present himself a track that would make a logical replacement for the Wisconsin site if it can't get things straightened out.

Indycar is also looking to start its season in Brazil next year. One thing is for certain, when the final 2010 schedule is announced Aug. 1, expect it to look a lot like the Indycar season of the mid-90s with an almost even mix of ovals, road courses and street races. Sometimes all that is "old" is new again...

1998 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey from Laguna Seca

A new one from the archives - the 1998 CART Fed-Ex Series race from Laguna Seca. This race marked Bryan Herta's first open-wheel race win, and the chance to get revenge on Alex Zanardi, whose daring pass through the Corkscrew two year's prior denied Herta the opportunity to score his first victory.

Here's also some news from qualifying.

Here's some more on the 1998 season.

Renault banned from European Grand Prix

The Associated Press is reporting that Renault has been suspended from the next Formula One race, the Grand Prix of Europe, after the latest in a string of safety mishaps for the sport.

Renault was disciplined Sunday after Fernando Alonso’s right-front wheel came off his car and bounced wildly down the track as he rounded turn No. 9 during the 13th lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The sport’s international governing body, the F.I.A., said it issued the suspension because Renault had failed to advise Alonso, a two-time Formula One series champion, that a wheel nut was not properly secured.

Click here for more coverage.

Felipe Massa awake and moving his limbs

From the Associated Press: BUDAPEST, Hungary — Formula One driver Felipe Massa is awake and talking to family members, making significant improvement after his high-speed crash.

The chief surgeon at AEK hospital says Massa is now breathing unassisted and moving his limbs. In addition, a drain from his skull wound was removed.

Chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros said Monday the 28-year-old Brazilian is groggy but able to adequately answer questions. He says further improvement can be expected.

Massa crashed Saturday during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix and was near death for two days.

Will Power dominates Edmonton Indy

From the Edmonton Sun: If you were scoring, Team Penske got the win and the save.

Will Power won the Rexall Edmonton Indy. And the pit crews of the three Penske teams saved Tony Kanaan when his car caught fire leaving his pit area and the Penske crews came over the wall to extinguish the fire and pull Kanaan out of his car before suffering more than minor burns to his hands and chin.

“I tried to pull out of the pit and looked down and unfortunately what had happened, happened,” said Kanaan.

“I need to thank Penske and all of the guys who pulled me out of the car.

“I do have second degree burns on both of my thumbs and a little bit on my face.

“It is what it is. I think the fans for supporting me when I got out of the

car. It was a tough day for us.”

With Roger Penske cars qualifying 1-2-3, the race was a Penske parade from start to end and came within one lap of becoming the first ever IndyCar race to go green from start to finish.

Check here for more Edmonton Indy news.

Here's a video from the Indy Lights race.

Jimmie Johnson wins Allstate 400 at The Brickyard

From Speed TV: Jimmie Johnson might not have had the fastest car Sunday for most of the race. Nonetheless, his car was fastest when it counted the most-- the last 25 laps of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.

Johnson ran behind race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin until Montoya received a pass-through speeding penalty during a late race pit stop.

That put Montoya back in the pack and another caution a few laps after a restart compounded things for the man who led 118 of the 160-lap distance. Starting from 12th, Montoya improved his position by one spot to finish 11th.

The race was left for Martin, who took the lead shortly after the final restart with 25 laps to go. Johnson, however, had other ideas and zipped past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate a lap later and held Martin off to the end. It made it back-to-back wins for Johnson and his No. 48 Lowe's team, a first for this race.

NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader and two-time champion Tony Stewart finished third with Greg Biffle fourth. Brian Vickers was fifth in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota and Kevin Harvick was sixth. Kasey Kahne was seventh, David Reutimann was eighth, four-time champion Jeff Gordon finished ninth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10. Montoya was 11th and rookie Joey Logano was 12th.

Check out a video here.

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton produced a faultless display in Hungary to claim his and McLaren's first grand prix victory of the season, ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Mark Webber, according to an article from The Guardian.

The reigning formula one world champion began the race in fourth place on the grid, but made a superb passing move on Webber to take second place after five laps, before the leader Fernando Alonso went into the pits after claiming pole position with a light fuel load.

Alonso was forced out of the race shortly after his pit stop, when a problem with his right front tyre saw it fly off the Renault and bounce down the track. It was a worrying moment in the race, thoughts of Henry Surtees' tragic death and Felipe Massa's accident on Saturday inevitably coming to mind.

But Hamilton, who assumed the race lead when Alonso pitted, maintained his composure to produce the kind of race that have made him one of the most respected drivers on the grid.

There were few threats from other competitors, and he crossed the finish line 70 laps later with Raikkonen and Webber taking second and third positions.

A naturally delighted Hamilton said: "It's an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and given the struggles for my team. But I'm so proud of them. They've never given up, which is so rare to see in a large group of people."

Click here for more news from the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Will Power leads Penske and Ganassi drivers going into Sunday's Edmonton Indy

From the National Post: EDMONTON -- The 23-car field is dotted with far more pretenders than contenders, and we can all curse the domination of Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi for that sad statistic.

The veteran Indy Racing League teams have won nine of the 10 races this year and are just so smart, skilled, experienced and well-funded that they rarely give away anything to anybody but one another. So it comes as no surprise that Penske's Will Power sits on the pole for Sunday's Edmonton Indy. He won that prized position during three rounds of gruelling elimination-format qualifying Saturday that whittled the field down to the fastest six.

Three of them are Penske drivers, two are Ganassi boys and Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Graham Rahal is the only interloper in the first three rows.

"I think every driver agrees, man that is exhausting, getting to those final laps when you're going for pole, it's tough," Power said after the 65 minutes of qualifying in scorching hot temperatures and a pressure-packed atmosphere that produced a couple of spinouts - by Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Paul Tracy - and some decent entertainment.

Click here for more news from Edmonton Indy.

Here's highlights from qualifying:

Mark Martin on pole for Brickyard's Allstate 400

From USA Today: INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway is celebrating its centennial this year, so it's fitting the pole-sitter for its NASCAR race Sunday is a man who can appreciate getting better with age. "I like making history," Mark Martin said with a smile. "That's cool."

Martin, 50, did just that Saturday, capturing the pole position for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with a 182.054-mph lap that punctuated a Sprint Cup time trials session offering a bevy of storylines saturated with historical significance.

Click here for more from the Brickyard.

Outcome of Felipe Massa's surgery 'positive' doctors say

From the Associated Press:
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa underwent surgery on life-threatening skull injuries Saturday from a high-speed crash during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying in Budapest. He was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a military hospital.

The accident happened when a loose steel spring from Rubens Barrichello's car hit Massa in the helmet, causing him to veer into a tire-lined barrier at about 120 mph. The front of his car was shredded, with both tires gone and the front nose open. The impact of the part damaged the left side of Massa's helmet, ripping out the visor and leaving a long dent on its side. Blood was seen above Massa's left brow.

Massa underwent surgery about an hour after arriving at the hospital. Hospital doctors said his condition was "serious, life threatening but stable" at a news conference, but ultimately ruled the Formula One driver was in "stable, satisfactory condition."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/25/SPNA18UCNE.DTL#ixzz0MKezPoRd

Also, here is a video clip of Felipe's final lap during the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix and his celebration in Parc Ferme afterward. Let's hope we see more of the happy Brazilian for many years to come.

Felipe Massa in life-threatening condition following surgery

From the Associated Press:

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hospital officials say Formula One driver Felipe Massa is in "life-threatening" condition after surgery for a fractured skull from a high-speed crash at Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Officials at the AEK military hospital said Saturday that Massa will be kept sedated on a respirator in an intensive care unit.

Medical director Peter Bazso said at a news conference that "Massa's condition is serious, life-threatening but stable."

Bazso and chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros say they expect Massa to be awoken Sunday.

The 28-year-old Brazilian had surgery one hour after arriving at the hospital, the doctors said.

Massa was struck in the helmet by a loose part from another car and his car slammed straight into a tire barrier.

Edmonton Friday practice highlights

Here's a short highlights reel from Friday's Indycar action in Edmonton: