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Joey Logano shrugged off the news that his Penske Racing Team was put on probation for the remainder of the year and beat teammate, Brad Keselowski to win the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland.   

Logano who turned a lap of  28.509 seconds (189.414 mph) around the 1.5 mile oval was one of 14 drivers who broke Jimmie Johnson's eight year-old record of 188.147 mph. He beat Keselowski (189.248 mph) by .025 seconds for his second pole of the season and seventh in his career.

The first year Penske Racing driver said that, despite the controversy circulating around NASCAR and his team's predicament, he was able to put all that out of his mind and drive.

“No, it didn't impact my preparations at all” Logano said. “I felt like I did a good job being able to stay focused in here and focused on doing what we have to do.  There wasn't any worry in my mind that we weren't going to be in the Chase.”

Despite failing to qualify for NASCAR's playoffs Keselowski was in good spirits. “Absolutely, this is a track that has been good to us in the past,” said the 2012 champion.

“Certainly starting out front, with the way track position is, is very very helpful, pit stall selection, all those good things that come with it.  So I'm happy for that. But, obviously, we've still got to run a race, still got to work hard and find speed to be up at the front.

Columbia's Juan Pablo Montoya was third quickest at 189.062 mph. “Kind of disappointed we didn't get the pole,” said the IndyCar and Formula One veteran.

“Our car was really, really good in practice.  Looking at it, I was losing a little on one and two, and I nailed one and two in qualifying.  I went into three, thinking I know what I got to do, and I lifted and never turned.  I got back to the garage, and I was like, oh, oh great, you know?  I know that feeling. So, yeah, I was actually surprised we finished third. 

“But when it bogs down like that and you still got to make it to the start/finish line, normally that's not a good sign.  But it was okay. We ran pretty good the last few weeks.  Around Indy they decided to bring in new cars and better things, and we've been running a lot better so it makes it more fun.”

Kasey Kahne was fourth fastest at  188.785 mph and rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fifth fastest at  188.772 mph.

From press release

Sebastien Ogier proved unbeatable in Coates Hire Rally Australia today as he won all six speed tests to more than double his lead to 45.9sec with one day remaining in this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Frenchman won all four country stages in his Volkswagen Polo R before rounding the day off with victory in both arena tests in downtown Coffs Harbour. He has won 14 of the 16 stages to date.

Ogier started the day with a 20.0sec advantage over Mikko Hirvonen's Citroen DS3 but nobody got close to him on the roads south-west of Coffs Harbour, which included two passes over the monster 50km Nambucca test. 

Sébastien Ogier, Polo R WRC (Photo: volkswagen-motorsport.com)

A thick coating of gravel made conditions slippery during this morning's first pass of the stages. The roads were cleaner this afternoon and Hirvonen was untroubled as he widened the gap over third-placed Thierry Neuville to 25.5sec.

Neuville took no risks, checking his pace notes at rally pace this morning before upping his speed this afternoon to set top three times. Kris Meeke was on course to retain fourth until he crashed in the second pass through Nambucca, his Citroen DS3 rolling seven times.

The beneficiary was Jari-Matti Latvala, who came out on top of a three-car fight with Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg. He punctured the rear right tyre on his Polo R after hitting a bank this morning but the Finn was more settled than yesterday.

Mikkelsen lies fifth, 23.2sec behind his Volkswagen colleague, but was caught out by the same bend as Latvala. He ended the test with a tyre partly off the rim in his Polo R but held off Mads Ostberg by 2.5sec tonight.

Ostberg was only a second behind Latvala until a high-speed spin into a ditch in the final country stage cost the Fiesta RS driver 20 seconds.

Evgeny Novikov lies seventh in a similar car, despite losing more than two minutes with a left rear puncture. However, the Russian has a comfortable 2min 34sec advantage over Nathan Quinn's Mini John Cooper Works, Quinn delighting his home town fans on his World Rally Car debut.

Tomorrow's final leg leaves Coffs Harbour at 08.00 and heads north for two identical loops of three tests covering 125.14km before the afternoon finish back in the town.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded on September 14th, 1960, at the initiative of the Venezuelan Energy and Mines minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso and the Saudi Arabian Energy and Mines minister Abdullah al-Tariki. The initial goal was to increase the price of the crude oil barrel, which was worth a mere $5 USD back then.

OPEC was formed at a time when the international oil market was largely separate from centrally planned economies, and was dominated by multinational companies. OPEC's ‘Policy Statement' states that there is a right of all countries to exercise sovereignty over their natural resources.

However, since the crash of 1983, OPEC members no longer control prices.

They are:

• Saudi Arabia (1960);
• Iran (1960);
• Iraq (1960);
• Kuwait (1960);
• Venezuela (1960);
• Qatar (1961);
• Indonesia (1962-2008);
• Libya (1962);
• Abu Dhabi (1967, now United Arab Emirates);
• Algeria (1969);
• Nigeria (1971);
• Ecuador (1973-1992; 2007);
• Gabon (1975-2006);
• Angola (2007).

Source : wikipedia.org

Photo: Wikipedia

Jeff Gordon was named the 13th driver in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup and Penske Racing and Front Row Racing have been placed on probation, until the end of the year, after the sanctioning body reviewed radio transmissions of the Richmond race.

This culminated a week of controversy of the points fixing started by Michael Waltrip Racing. As a result of the MWR affair Martin Truex Jr. was taken out and Ryan Newman was put in the Chase.

"Due to the totality of the events that were outside of Jeff Gordon's issues, we're going to add a 13th position to the field and Jeff Gordon will qualify for the Sprint Cup championship this year," NASCAR CEO Brian France said at a press conference.

"I have the authority to do that," France further explained.

This is the first time in the ten-year history of NASCAR's playoffs, "The Chase"  that a driver was added to the field by a decision by the sanctioning body.

"It is an unprecedented and extraordinary thing, but also an unprecedented and extraordinary set of circumstances that unfolded multiple different ways on Saturday night," France said. "We believe this is the right outcome to protect the integrity, which is our no. 1 goal, of NASCAR."

Jeff Gordon (Photo: Facebook.com/jeffgordon)

Gordon, who didn't visit Victory Lane this year, finished 11th in the points and thus failed to qualify for the Chase or get in by a wild card. Logano finished 10th in the points but that's the start not the end.

Gordon, a four-time Champion said "Under normal circumstances I would say no, that's not right. But under these circumstances, I know ... we earned the right to be in (the Chase). "In some funny way this has given us the fire (of last year)."

Recorded radio transmissions from Front Row (David Gilliland's) team seem to indicate a deal was made to allow Logano to catch up and pass Gilliland for one position as “insurance,” because Logano had a victory and he would be in the Chase no matter what.

After Michael Waltrip Racing driver, Clint Bowyer spun, bringing out a caution with seven laps go, Logano passed Gilliland on the restart making the whole matter a moot point except for two teams allegedly conspiring to fix a points outcome. 

Joey Logano, Penske Racing (Photo: Joeylogano.com)

NASCAR came to this decision after a lengthy meeting with both teams, but did not address the issue that Penske Racing was already on probation until the end of  the year for a mechanical rules violation at the race in Texas in the Spring.

"Penske Racing acknowledges NASCAR's decision to place the organization on probation following the circumstances surrounding last weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Richmond,” said the team in a statement. “Penske Racing accepts NASCAR's decision and is now focused on a strong start to the Chase."

There will be a mandatory meeting of the teams and NASCAR officials where the sanctioning will lay out ethical and technical rules. Later on Saturday NASCAR will hold another press conference to publish its' approach going forward.

DTM champion Bruno Spengler has lost his pole position for Sunday's eighth season round at Oschersleben, Jamie Green (Audi) will start first on Sunday's race as a result.

Because the BMW driver had used a tyre that was only admitted for the fourth heat during the third qualifying heat already, the stewards of the meeting dropped him five places on the grid.

While Spengler will be starting from sixth place into the race on Sunday at 13.30 hrs, Audi driver Jamie Green moves up into first place. For the Brit, it is his first pole since his transfer to Audi at the start of the 2013 season and his seventh in the DTM. Points' leader Mike Rockenfeller also benefited from Spengler's grid penalty.

The Audi driver moved up from fourth to third place on the grid.

Bruno Spengler, BMW M3 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

Before his penalty, Bruno Spengler, fourth in the drivers' standings, showed a dominant performance in qualifying and claimed pole position. With his BMW M3 DTM, the reigning DTM champion completed his lap in the decisive fourth qualifying heat in 1:20.140 minutes.

Jamie Green ended up second fastest with his Audi RS 5 DTM. Brasilian Augusto Farfus (BMW) will be starting from third place into the 400th race in history of the DTM, just ahead of point' leader Mike Rockenfeller (Audi).

With second place on the grid, Audi driver Green claimed his best qualifying result of the season to date, which became later on his first pole position of the season, and also his first with Audi.

Jamie Green, Audi RS 5 (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

Rockenfeller, who is 35 points clear in the drivers' standings, made it into the final qualifying heat as the fastest driver, but then only ended up fourth, third after Spengler's penalty.

Mercedes-Benz drivers Christian Vietoris and Robert Wickens retired early and thus failed to claim better starting grid positions. Canadian Wickens will be starting from eleventh position as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver, Vietoris will be starting from 20th place into the race on Sunday.

For Gary Paffett and Daniel Juncadella (both Mercedes-Benz), there had already been bad news before qualifying. After they had used unmarked tyres in free practice, they were dropped five places on the grid by the stewards. Paffett, who had been fastest driver of a DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé on the track, will therefore start from twelfth place, Juncadella will start from 22nd position.

Prior to the race on Sunday, Rockenfeller is leading in the drivers' standings with 106 points from Vietoris with 71 and Wickens with 70 points. In fourth place, defending champion Spengler has 67 points, Farfus has 66.

The spectacular crash that brought Kris Meeke's Rally Australia to an end didn't help his chances of signing a deal to extend his stay at Citroën in the Word Rally Championship (WRC).

Meeke, who was only entering his second event with Citroën on a one-off basis, rolled his DS3 during the Nambucca stage.

"I went into a second gear corner and I arrived five or ten kph too fast," he recalls in a interview with WRC.com. "I thought I'd got away with it, but the car just slipped off the road.

Kris Meeke, Citroën DS3 (Photo: Citroën Racing)

"It nearly stopped, but unfortunately there was a very steep bank down into a field and it just kept tumbling."

British magazine Autosport revealed Meeke's Citroën rolled over a total of six times.

When asked what were Meeke's chances of staying at Citroën, team principal Yves Matton replied the crash "will not help". Although he expressed his wish to talk with Meeke before jumping to conclusion, Matton added: "For sure it was not what I ask him to do."

According to what Auto123.com has learned, Juan Pablo Montoya won't be joining the Andretti Autosport squad or any other IndyCar team for that matter as the Colombian is expected to continue on driving in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Even though, Andretti Autosport officials had made important progress in securing financial backing in order for Montoya to return to open wheel racing in 2014, the 1999 CART champion informed the team that he will not be part of the team after all.

Juan Pablo Montoya, CART series (Photo: jpmontoya.com)

As we had reported earlier, this means that Andretti will more than likely open the door for Montoya's country man Carlos Munoz who has been on the team's wish list for quite some time now. 

With the Ganassi Racing expected to fill its fourth seat with a current IndyCar driver -believed to be Canadian James Hinchcliffe - and with no real interest showed by other teams for the former Formula One driver, NASCAR would appear to be his best option. 

It is expected that an announcement could be made as early as this week-end, confirming that Montoya could join the Furniture Row Racing Sprint Cup team to replace departing Kurt Busch.

2014 BMW 4 Series

Although it's now called 4 Series, this is still the coupe (and, soon, the convertible) version of the BMW 3 Series.

New For 2014

The 4 Series is all new for 2014. BMW fans refer to this new-generation coupe by its code name: F40. The new coupe is longer, lower, and wider than its predecessor. It's also lower and wider than the sedan, and its styling is more differentiated from its four-door sibling than it was in previous generations. Unlike the sedan, the coupe's rear wheels are spaced farther apart than the front wheels. This wider rear track helps the 4 Series corner even more aggressively than the already-impressive 3 Series.

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2014 BMW 4 Series

Although it's now called 4 Series, this is still the coupe (and, soon, the convertible) version of the BMW 3 Series.

New For 2014

The 4 Series is all new for 2014. BMW fans refer to this new-generation coupe by its code name: F40. The new coupe is longer, lower, and wider than its predecessor. It's also lower and wider than the sedan, and its styling is more differentiated from its four-door sibling than it was in previous generations. Unlike the sedan, the coupe's rear wheels are spaced farther apart than the front wheels. This wider rear track helps the 4 Series corner even more aggressively than the already-impressive 3 Series.

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2014 Chrysler 300

Chrysler has further simplified the 300 lineup for 2014, but there are still six different trim levels to choose from.

New For 2014

Chrysler has simplified the 300 lineup a bit for 2014. The top-end performance model is now just called the 300 SRT, and the sedan is offered in five other trims: 300, 300S, 300C, 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, and 300C John Varvatos Limited Edition. The Glacier and Motown special editions and the Luxury Series have all been dropped.

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2014 Fiat 500

Fiat offers a slew of different 500 variants. Buyers first need to choose between the 500 hatchback and the 500C droptop, the latter of which has a rollback cloth roof that leaves the pillars intact and is reminiscent of the original cloth-top 500.

New For 2014

Minor updates abound for the 2014 Fiat 500. There is a new Avorio (ivory) accented interior; revised five-spoke, sixteen-inch wheels on the 500 Sport; and Hyper Nero (black) sixteen-inch aluminum wheels on the Turbo. The passenger seat also now sits one inch lower to increase front headroom.

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2014 Fiat 500L

With the 2014 500L, Fiat is looking to capitalize on its chic and cheeky 500 microcar and appeal to folks who were shut out from the Italian hatchback due to its small size.

New For 2014

The Fiat 500L is all-new for 2014 and is the first generation of the model. Fans of the brand, however, will recognize that the 1.4-liter turbo four-cylinder engine comes straight from the Fiat 500 Abarth hot hatch.

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2014 Chrysler Town & Country

Minivans were put on this planet for one primary purpose: to haul people. Lots of people, in fact, given that Chrysler has sold more than thirteen million minivans since 1983.

New For 2014

In honor of Chrysler-built minivans' anniversary, there is a new 30th Anniversary package with an upgraded interior and a smattering of special-edition badges inside and out. (However, it's worth noting that the Chrysler Town & Country didn't actually debut as a minivan until the 1990 model year, which is six years after its Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager siblings debuted, meaning the Chrysler van isn't thirty years old quite yet.) The Town & Country S -- which was new last year -- has been updated with new black chrome trim, blacked-out headlight surrounds, seventeen-inch aluminum wheels, and a monotone black interior.

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2014 Chrysler 200

If the 200 isn’t the best example of how a Fiat-backed Chrysler can breathe life into dying models, we don’t know what is.

New For 2014

Chrysler has expanded the availability of the sportier S model on the sedan by offering it as a package on the 200 Touring (with both the I-4 and the V-6) and 200 Limited trims, rather than as a standalone model.

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2014 BMW 4 Series

Although it's now called 4 Series, this is still the coupe (and, soon, the convertible) version of the BMW 3 Series.

New For 2014

The 4 Series is all new for 2014. BMW fans refer to this new-generation coupe by its code name: F40. The new coupe is longer, lower, and wider than its predecessor. It's also lower and wider than the sedan, and its styling is more differentiated from its four-door sibling than it was in previous generations. Unlike the sedan, the coupe's rear wheels are spaced farther apart than the front wheels. This wider rear track helps the 4 Series corner even more aggressively than the already-impressive 3 Series.

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2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Diary

Featuring RWD Alfas, tiny BMWs and Benzes, and Ferdinand Piech.

Monday, September 9
The 2014 BMW i3 is not yet allowed to roam the public streets of Frankfurt, but it shuttles journalists between the 2013 Frankfurt motor show's eleven distant halls. First impression: It's quite spacious, but the organic surfaces are as premium as Formica tables in a no-star restaurant, the fit and finish is rather naff, and you can´t exit from row two unless someone opens the front door for you. More than 1800 i3s were sold in the first two days in Germany alone, almost all of them without the optional range-extending engine. Early adopters are a courageous bunch. The biggest market for the i3 is North America where the BEV parking garage is expected to grow to 90,000 units this year. In Germany, we hold at 4000 vehicles. So how does BMW expect this scenario to evolve?

Photo Gallery: 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Diary - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Diary - Automobile Magazine

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2014 Chrysler 300

Chrysler has further simplified the 300 lineup for 2014, but there are still six different trim levels to choose from.

New For 2014

Chrysler has simplified the 300 lineup a bit for 2014. The top-end performance model is now just called the 300 SRT, and the sedan is offered in five other trims: 300, 300S, 300C, 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, and 300C John Varvatos Limited Edition. The Glacier and Motown special editions and the Luxury Series have all been dropped.

2014 Chrysler 300 | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

2014 Fiat 500

Fiat offers a slew of different 500 variants. Buyers first need to choose between the 500 hatchback and the 500C droptop, the latter of which has a rollback cloth roof that leaves the pillars intact and is reminiscent of the original cloth-top 500.

New For 2014

Minor updates abound for the 2014 Fiat 500. There is a new Avorio (ivory) accented interior; revised five-spoke, sixteen-inch wheels on the 500 Sport; and Hyper Nero (black) sixteen-inch aluminum wheels on the Turbo. The passenger seat also now sits one inch lower to increase front headroom.

2014 Fiat 500 | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

2014 BMW 4 Series

Although it's now called 4 Series, this is still the coupe (and, soon, the convertible) version of the BMW 3 Series.

New For 2014

The 4 Series is all new for 2014. BMW fans refer to this new-generation coupe by its code name: F40. The new coupe is longer, lower, and wider than its predecessor. It's also lower and wider than the sedan, and its styling is more differentiated from its four-door sibling than it was in previous generations. Unlike the sedan, the coupe's rear wheels are spaced farther apart than the front wheels. This wider rear track helps the 4 Series corner even more aggressively than the already-impressive 3 Series.

2014 BMW 4 Series | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

2014 Chrysler 200

If the 200 isn’t the best example of how a Fiat-backed Chrysler can breathe life into dying models, we don’t know what is.

New For 2014

Chrysler has expanded the availability of the sportier S model on the sedan by offering it as a package on the 200 Touring (with both the I-4 and the V-6) and 200 Limited trims, rather than as a standalone model.

2014 Chrysler 200 | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us