Posted in
NASCAR by Alan Porter on
December 12th, 2006
Earlier this year it was Champ Car star Paul Tracy and now it’s newly crowned NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion, Jimmy Johnson.
According to Autosport.com, Johnson has pulled out of this weekend;s Race of Champions Nations Cup at the Stade de France, after breaking his wrist in a golf cart accident.
The 2006 Nextel Cup champion was injured on Friday while at a celebrity tournament in Lecanto, Florida. According to reports, Johnson was lying on the cart’s roof when the driver turned sharply, sending Johnson in the air. “I was in a golf cart and the driver took a sharp turn,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t holding on tight enough, landed awkwardly on the ground and heard a little pop. ”
In other NASCAR news, season finale winner Greg Biffle was hurt during a crash while tire testing at the Las Vegas Speedway. The accident left him with a dislocated shoulder. According to reports Biffle hit the wall at Turn 1 and dislodged a fuel pump which started a fire in the car. Biffle was helped out of the burning by Kyle Busch who stopped to assist the injured driver.
Despite his earlier announcement that he had pretty much given up looking for a seat in Formula One, it looks as if three time Champ Car champion Sebastian Bourdais is getting his chance at a possible Grand Prix drive. Toro Rosso, the only team still with two open seats, has announced that Bourdais will take part in an upcoming test session. A Toro Rosso spokeswoman has denied, however, that the test in a precursor to a race driver for Bourdais in 2007. “For now there are no discussions about driving next year,” the spokeswoman told autosport.com. “It is just a test.”
Meanwhile Honda has announced that third generation IRL rookie sensation Marco Andretti is to get a run in one of its F1 cars as a reward for his performances this year. There are no talks of an immediate race seat for Marco, but it could be the first step in laying the foundations for a future relationship.
Happy Birthday to former F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg (born 12/6/48)

Posted in
Formula One by Alan Porter on
December 5th, 2006
The FIA has announced the first official entry list for the 2007 Formula One season. Given the recent announcments of Lewis Hamilton’s promotion to the second McLaren seat and Anthony Davison taking the second seat at Super-Aguri there are no real surprises so far. However a few seats still remain to be confirmed at the lowe end of the grid.
Here is the official list of teams and drivers as of 1st December, 2006.
1. Fernando Alonso Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren Mercedes
3. Giancarlo Fisichella ING Renault F1 Team Renault
4. Heikki Kovalainen ING Renault F1 Team Renault
5. Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari
6. Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari
7. Jenson Button Honda Racing F1 Team Honda
8. Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing F1 Team Honda
9. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW
10. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW
11. Ralf Schumacher Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota
12. Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota
14. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Renault
15. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Renault
16. Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams Williams-Toyota
17. Alexander Wurz AT&T Williams Williams-Toyota
18. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso STR-Ferrari
19. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso STR-Ferrari
20. Christijan Albers Spyker F1 Team Spyker-Ferrari
21. TBA Spyker F1 Team Spyker-Ferrari
22. Takuma Sato TBA Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri-Honda
23. Anthony Davidson TBA Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri-Honda
Happy Birthday to ex IRL racers Marco Greco (born 12/1/61),

Claude Bourbonnais (born 12/1/66),

Sprint Car racer Paul McMahan (born 12/1/70),

Champ Car star Mario Dominguez (born 12/1/75),

and Rolex Sports Car racer Luis Diaz (born 12/1/77)
