The Dakar Rally will return to Argentina and Chile in 2010. A spokesman for the Chilean government said Tuesday that organizers confirmed the race will be held in South America for the second straight year. In 2009, the race was moved from Africa for the first time in 31 years due to terrorist threats in Mauritania. Presidential spokesman Francisco Vidal said dates and routes of the 2010 race will be announced later. Vidal added that Chile will get more than the five stages it had this year. Nine stages were held in Argentina. The January race through the Argentine pampas and the Chilean desert, including two crosses of the Andes mountains, was won by South African driver Giniel de Villiers.
Don't forget to check out the live Webcast on Wednesday:
The celebrate the launch of its newly redesigned web site, Texas Motor Speedway is inviting fans to check out its social networking enhancements and take part in a free live Webcast during the track's annual media day on Wednesday (Feb. 25). The Webcast is open to everyone; you do not have to have a TMS log-in to view it.
NASCAR stars Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Colin Braun will be at media event in person and IndyCar stars Danica Patrick, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti will join the festivities via satellite from Homestead, Fla. The Webcast is scheduled to begin at approximately noon (Central) and the 90-minute segment will feature a state of the sport address from TMS president Eddie Gossage and a question and answer session with the drivers.
Fans can post their question for any of the drivers within the discussion forum at the TMS website and TMS officials will select several of the best questions for Gossage to ask the guests during the webcast. For a question to be considered, fans must send in their full name and hometown and designate who the question is for. Only one question per user.
If that's not enough to get you to visit their new site, TMS is offering fans a $10 credit for their next race ticket purchase if they sign up at the site and provide their physical address on their personal profile.
By Michele Vincze Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer
Jeff Gordon has been through his share of nasty wrecks in his NASCAR career. But none in recent memory compares to the lick he and his No. 24 Chevy took one year ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gordon was fighting with Matt Kenseth for second place on a restart with five laps remaining in the Sprint Cup Series UAW-Dodge 400 when his car pushed up the racetrack into Kenseth exiting Turn 2. The contact sent Kenseth’s car spinning across the track and Gordon, in an effort to avoid Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford, also spun and the front of his car hit the inside retaining wall on the backstretch at just more than 100 mph. The impact nearly tore off the front portion of Gordon’s car and sent pieces, including his radiator, flying all over the track.
Gordon exited his car under his own power, but the crash reminded fans, media and track officials alike that violent crashes and safety measures in and outside the car can’t be taken for granted.
Gordon was lucky he wasn’t injured because where his car hit there was no SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, the “soft wall” that is designed to absorb energy released when a race car collides with the wall. For some reason, LVMS officials hadn’t thought to install SAFER barrier along the inside wall on the 1,700-foot backstretch.
“To be honest, I never noticed that area of the track before last year,” Gordon said in a release this week. “The first time I noticed it was when I was about to slam into it. But I’m not so concerned about it going back. ... I’m sure at some point during the weekend I’ll glance over at the new wall when I’m driving down the backstretch to see what they’ve done.”
With the roll Gordon’s been on lately, he doesn’t need to spend too much time thinking about the wall or last year’s accident. The four-time Sprint Cup champion still has a 43-race losing streak to snap, but if last week is any indication, he’ll find Victory Lane soon. Maybe in Sunday’s Shelby 427.
Well, that is if Kenseth will let someone else win this year.
Gordon, who won in Las Vegas in 2001 and has five top-five finishes in 11 starts at the track, finished second to Kenseth last weekend on the challenging 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
“I have so much respect for Matt,” Gordon told the media after the race. “ We’ve had our differences over time, but I’ve always had a ton of respect for what kind of race car driver he is. ... You can say that the pit crew won him the race (Sunday night), but Matt didn’t make one mistake.
“I put a lot of heat on him. I drove as hard as I’ve driven in a long time. He didn’t make any mistakes.”
Gordon leapt up 10 spots in the Cup standings to second after Sunday’s result. He’s been the class of Hendrick Motorsports so far and the class of the Chevy camp as well.
And he has some bad news for the rest of the competition. He’s feeling better mentally and physically than in past years.
“I’ve worked harder over this off-season getting myself in shape than I have in a long time,” said Gordon, who made the Chase last season, but finished seventh. “I’m refocused. I’m a little bit more used to being a dad now. I’m just ready.”
And you can be sure his daughter Ella will be in Victory Lane when he breaks that pesky streak.
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