Autoweek Racing Weekend Wrap-up for June 17, 2012 — SPOILER ALERT

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Sunday, June 17, 2012                  Toyota driver Anthony Davidson was injured in the most dramatic crash of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.... Dramatic video shows Anthony Davidson's horrific crash at Le Mans Anthony Davidson's accident at Mulsanne Corner was one of the major talking points of a dramatic Le Mans 24 Hours. The Toyota driver took flight after being clipped by a Ferrari GTE car and was taken to hospital where a back injury was diagnosed – fortunately one that will only keep him out of action for a few weeks. Toyota has provided a Q&A with the former F1 driver, who confirms that...   Earnhardt Jr. snaps winless drought with dominating effort at Michigan The wait is over. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Junior Nation were partying at Michigan once again. After four long years and 143 races, Earnhardt found his way back to victory lane in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway--the place where he last won on June 15,...   Audi celebrates podium sweep at Le Mans André Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler notched up their second consecutive victory for Audi in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of the German manufacturer's new hybrid LMP1 coupe on Sunday in France. Last year's winners prevailed in their Audi R18 e-tron quattro after a close...   Schumacher snaps 32-race NHRA winless streak Seven-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher ended a 32-race winless streak with his win at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Sunday at Bristol Dragway on Sunday. His DSR teammate Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) were winners in the other top NHRA series. Schumacher's U....   IndyCar momentum derailed by yet another sideshow Once again, IndyCar put on a pretty good show. And once again, a sideshow threatens to upstage it. Ryan Hunter-Reay won Saturday's race at Milwaukee, bringing home a trophy for team owner Michael Andretti--the man who saved big-time racing at the historic but financially troubled...   Short-Track Roundup: Chris Buescher notches ARCA win at Michigan Chris Buescher played the tire conservation game better than anyone on a repaved race track, leading the final 14 laps to score his seventh ARCA Racing Series victory in the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Friday. Buescher made a pit stop on lap 74 of the...   Ambrose's 203.241 mph lap at Michigan is NASCAR's fastest in 25 years Marcos Ambrose was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' fastest driver on the fastest day the series has seen...   Hunter-Reay on top at Milwaukee An Andretti car drove to victory lane Saturday in an Andretti race at Wisconsin State Fair Park. The winner was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who also won at the Milwaukee Mile in 2004. This was his sixth career win. Tony Kanaan finished second with Hunter-Reay's Andretti Autosport teammate, James...   Brown, Tasca and Johnson still in front in NHRA qualifying Friday’s qualifying leaders, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car) and Tennessee native Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), secured the No. 1 qualifying spots Saturday at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway. Brown set both...   Austin Dillon sets qualifying record for Nationwide Series race at Michigan The first official track record of the weekend fell at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday when   Le Mans Update: Lotterer and Co. lead at one third mark Audi drivers Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler led the 24 Hours of Le Mans by a lap at one-third distance. The #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, which had led most of the race, went a lap clear in the eighth hour when Rinaldo Capello, who is teamed with Allan McNish and Tom...   LeMans Blog: Day 1 “It always rains at Le Mans.” Those are the words echoing through my head as we caravan to the 8.4-mile track in a fleet of Audi Q7s. The clouds look low, but there are blotches of blue, so maybe we can get there dry. Our first stop is the Audi Racing arena where we get the VIP...   Streaking Logano gives Toyota first Nationwide win at Michigan Joey Logano is coming of age. The 22-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver used three solid restarts over the final 18 laps as a springboard to the win at the Alliance...   IndyCar race director Barfield explains scoring blunder that cost Dixon IndyCar race director Beaux Barfield accepted responsibility after Saturday's Milwaukee IndyFest for penalizing Scott Dixon for jumping a restart. Barfield said a problem with the timing and scoring clock caused the officiating team to review the aborted restart rather than the one that went off ...   High speeds causing Goodyear to switch tires for Michigan race Concerns of blistering and excessive tire wear at lightning-fast Michigan International Speedway has led   Davidson flips out at Le Mans The Toyota driven by Anthony Davidson has flipped out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Davidson's TS030 HYBRID was running in third place when he was tagged by the AF Corse Ferrari driven by Piergiuseppe Perazzini at Mulsanne Corner five hours into the race. The Toyota snapped sideways, became...   Tasca, Brown and Johnson lead NHRA qualifying Bob Tasca raced to the Funny Car qualifying lead Friday at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway. Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Tennessee native Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag...   Andretti says IndyCar returning to Milwaukee in 2013 Even before all the fans had made their way to the seats for Saturday's rain-delayed IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile, race promoter Michael Andretti had an announcement to make about the event's future. Speaking on the track's public address system, Andretti told the crowd that IndyCar...   Latvala helps set several speed records Jari-Matti Latvala set four world speed records during a successful visit to France recently. Latvala, who drives for the factory Ford squad in the WRC, was part of a 12-man team that set 16 speed world records over distances ranging from one kilometer to 4104.7 kilometers, using a Ford Focus...   Circuit of the Americas to release more tickets Circuit of The Americas officials today announced that due to overwhelming demand for reserved seats to the 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix that they would consider adding new grandstand sections to accommodate customer requests for three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats. ...   Tumbler makes its presence felt at Michigan International Speedway Not every car at Michigan International Speedway was flirting with speeds in excess of 200 mph. The Tumbler, introduced in Batman Begins as the latest generation of the legendary Batmobile used by the Caped Crusader, Batman, made a stop at MIS on Thursday. as the special guest of Hendrick ...   Will Michigan's high speeds help Danica Patrick? Elliott Sadler says that the high speeds at Michigan International Speedway might just play into the hands of Danica Patrick for Saturday's Alliance Truck Parts 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Patrick, who has just one top-five finish and is still winless in the Nationwide Series in 37...   Video shows what 200 mph at Michigan looks like to Sprint Cup driver Want to know what a driver sees when he's traveling 200 mph? Take a ride inside the No. 31 Chevrolet with NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeff Burton in this video released by Richard Childress Racing. The car touched 215 mph going into turn one at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn,...   Earnhardt Jr. still looking for next win Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated the four-year anniversary of his last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race by...   Franchitti dominates Wisconsin qualifying In qualifying today at the Milwaukee Mile, Dario Franchitti proved that his two IndyCar wins at this historic track, in 2004 and last year, weren’t flukes. Justin Wilson proved the same regarding last week’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway. But they won’t start together on the...   Biffle goes 204.708 mph in Sprint Cup practice at Michigan Move over, Ryan Newman. Newman, who has owned the NASCAR Sprint Cup track record at Michigan International of 194.232 mph since 2005, is likely to see that record get blown away on Saturday. Greg Biffle continued a two-day long assault on the record with an incredible lap of 204.708 mph in the...   FIA wants to reduce costs; turbo engines still causing dissent The FIA World Motor Sport Council has confirmed that new spending restrictions are in the pipeline for Formula One teams, but made no reference to the cost of the new, turbocharged V6 powertrains that are scheduled to be mandatory in 2014....   Texas won't replace China on IndyCar schedule As the IndyCar Series searches for a race to replace its recently canceled event in China, Texas Motor Speedway has taken itself out of the running. In a statement, track president Eddie Gossage said there were too many issues and obstacles to add a second IndyCar event in August or beyond...   World Rally schedule in question Next year’s World Rally Championship calendar has been thrown into disarray after the event organizers last week rejected a contract issued by the FIA for 2013. The rallies being offered a place in next season’s WRC were contacted by...   DeltaWing to start 29th in 24 Hours of Le Mans after qualifying The Nissan-powered DeltaWing will start this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans from 29th on the grid following qualifying on Thursday for the 80th running of the endurance classic. According to the Highcroft Racing team which campaigns the car, it dedicated Thursday night's pair of two-hour... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the Autoweek Weekend Racing E-mails or to sign up for other Autoweek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add Autoweek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.