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While Rick Hendrick may have swapped crew chiefs at the end of 2010, New Hampshire Motor Speedway has gone one step farther.

The one-mile oval has moved the Sprint Cup garages to the virtual center stage starting with the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 weekend July 13-15th.

"With the garage switch to the middle, where the visibility will be so much greater from the main grandstands. I think it gets them a little closer to the action,” said Jerry Gappens the executive vice president and general manager of the track, adding “it's our sport's version of the locker room."

The line between white and dirt shows how high cold pit road had been. (Photo: NHMS)

Gappens credits John Zudell "our vice president of facilities and operations. He's been part of Bruton's development team. John pretty much rebuilt Bristol, Las Vegas and Sonoma. He made the move up from Charlotte with me in 2008. He's got a vision with the fan amenities from his experience the great SMI facilities. It starts with Bruton; he puts money back in the facilities for the fans."

Zudell explains "this is a culmination of about four years of planning. When we rearranged the south half of the infield in 2009, it started the conversation of putting the Sprint Cup Series in the center garage. This upcoming season, fans will be able to see Cup drivers in the center of the infield."

Construction of pit road area at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: NHMS)

The track announcement said "fans will now have a garage that's far more accessible than previous years, while still providing teams more maneuverability - which is crucial given pre-race pit pass distribution, has increased by nearly 300 percent."

"The increase brings a lot more fans close to the pit-road activities," added Zudell of the spike in pre-race pit passes. "We've added two more crossover gates on the front stretch that will give us more capacity to get people in and out in the rush just prior to the race."

Additionally the pit stalls at the pits #29-43 will be leveled with the pits south of the start finish line.

There's more than meets the eye at the "Magic Mile".

Construction worker at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: NHMS)

"This time we've done more to the infrastructure piping and drains," said Gappens adding "people wouldn't notice kit with the naked eye. We reconfigured the tunnel. Actually put a sidewalk in the tunnel. There never had been an actual sidewalk in the tunnel."

Instead of being just another aging track New Hampshire Motor Speedway has a comfort factor unknown to other ovals.

As Gappens noted "I'm really proud of it. It has a kind of a Fenway Park/Wrigley Field feel to it."

Wildfires threatening the Colorado Springs area have forced postponement of the 90th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which was scheduled for July 8.

Hendrick Automotive Group is renaming its eight Kansas City-area dealerships over the next 10 months. The dealerships' names will change from 'Superior' to 'Hendrick,' the company said in a statement Wednesday.

GM landed six of the top 10 vehicles in Total Car Score's Top 10 Best American Cars of 2012 list. Five of the GM vehicles ranked in the top six -- the Cadillac SRX was ranked ninth.

The U.S. auto industry is in full recovery mode and industry leaders are taking to the commencement circuit to tout the turnaround and recruit critical engineering and management talent.

Also in this episode: The SVT Raptor gets some upgrades for 2013, the Toyota Avalon goes hybrid and 12 cars from the Ruger collection go up for auction.

A group of Ford retirees is calling for rejection of the automaker's offer of a lump-sum payment instead of monthly pension checks, The Detroit News reported today.

2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 - Enter the Automatic

Is the automatic the solution to the problem of the undersized clutch and the 1.6-liter's turbo lag?

"Give this car a nice automatic or a DSG," suggested senior online editor Phil Floraday at the start of our Mini's penultimate month in our hands, "and it might be enough to get me to look past the car's styling and its weird interior." Your wish, Mr. Floraday, is granted -- at least in the sense that an automatic-equipped Mini Countryman arrived in the office just days later. Is the automatic the solution to the problem of the undersized clutch and the 1.6-liter's turbo lag, which combine to make driving around town "a real pain in the a**," to quote Phil once again?

Photo Gallery: 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 - Four Seasons Update - June 2012 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 - Four Seasons Update - June 2012 - Automobile Magazine

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General Motors India is to add the Chevrolet Sail, Enjoy and an updated Spark to its locally-built range by year-end, killing off the outdated Aveo, U-VA and Optra models at the same time.

The big news for the Limited trim option of the 2013

First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo

Higher power, higher expectations.

The standard, 138-hp Hyundai Veloster overpromises and underdelivers. Its tame, unexceptional dynamics contrast with the wild styling and the curious three-door package. Yet even as we abandoned our hope for a Korean revelation during our first drive of that car last October, we remained optimistic that Hyundai would take a mulligan with the upcoming turbocharged model.

Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo - Automobile Magazine

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Ford has added five companies to its group of preferred suppliers as part of its Aligned Business Framework.

While many in the Autoweek office are convinced that

For the first time since the 1980s, and let's face it, 1991 was the '80s, Ford will stash a four-cylinder engine in the Taurus sedan.

Full details and prices have been announced for the new Mercedes A-Class, which will start from £18,495

After spending Friday and Saturday at the 2012

Investors suing Porsche SE over its botched 2008 takeover of Volkswagen suffered a setback to claims for more than 4 billion euros ($4.99 billion) of damages as German court hearings exposed initial cases as sketchy.

McLaren will debut the revised MP4-12C alongside a Union Jack-liveried GT3 racing version

Four car makers are in the top 10 of best global green brands according to Interbrand's 2012 report.

Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) is to receive fresh investment from its largest shareholder, Renault Group chief operating officer Carlos Tavares has stated.