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Years ago the American comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, made a career out of a tag line “I get no respect.”

Ironically, for many years in NASCAR, there was a perception that six-time Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson, didn't get the respect he deserved.

Was it because he was quiet, didn't brag, or because he certainly didn't make headlines away from the race track for inappropriate behavior?

It must have been maddening to the Johnson haters that, year-after-year, he continues to win races, and for a five year-stretch (2006-2010) he was the Sprint Car Champion a feat not likely to be matched.

Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet SS, Hendrick Motorsports. (Photo: NASCAR)

Quietly he endured the booing. At least that was until he won the Daytona 500 in 2006 after his crew chief, Chad Knaus, was caught in technical violation. "This was our chance to show the world all those headlines that said we're a cheater, they aren't true, there's nothing to it," Johnson said. "This is for the haters of the 48 team."

To insult to injury, on the verge of Johnson's sixth champion Donovan McNabb a NFL quarterback and Fox Sports Live analyst said on television, "Do I think he's an athlete? Absolutely not."

After celebrating his latest title Jimmie Johnson finally responded.

“Yes, I am an athlete...,” said Johnson in a matter of fact tone in his voice just after the final laps of the year had been had been run. “Even Tony Stewart, even though he's carrying a little,” he said with a laugh. “He's an athlete. That's just fuel (inferring his rival driver's paunchy belly) for his engine.”

Hendrick Motorsport founder Rick Hendrick was offended by those television remarks. And he responded. “I heard McNabb say he wasn't an athlete,” said Hendrick at Homestead Miami Speedway. “I'd like to see McNabb come run the Boston Marathon with him or swim the lake out here. Guys like that don't know what they're talking about. He wouldn't have been Athlete of the Year if people didn't know what kind of unbelievable athlete he is.”

Jimmie Johnson, six times Sprint Cup champion. (Photo: NASCAR)

And even at 38 years of age Johnson said the best is yet to come.

“I've worked so hard and long to get to this point, I'm finally on top of my game. I've worked a lifetime to get here. There's more motivation staying on top for those reasons than chasing stats and the historical things that are out there in front of me now, it's really something that comes from within.

“I'm humbled by the nice things that have been said by competitors and owners, my peers in this industry. I think their opinion is very important. I don't think my opinion matters. It's not for the athlete, the driver. It's bestowed upon you; it's passed down from others.”

That begs the question can Johnson follow that up with a seventh championship, tying him with NASCAR legends, Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt?

“If others are saying it, I'm not going to deny it, chase it away. Sure, I would love to be considered that. If you look at stats, there's still numbers out there that I need to achieve. That's why I say, until I hang my helmet up, it's not necessarily a fair conversation to have,” he said.

Maybe then he'll get the full respect he deserves.

From GMM

F1 legend Michael Schumacher has admitted he is worried about the sport's financial health.

As teams prepare for the even more expensive 2014 regulations, Lotus and Sauber have already been struggling to pay their drivers and bills this season.

And amid rumours of a possible Marussia-Sauber merger over the forthcoming winter, it is possible the grid could shrink to just ten teams and twenty cars for 2014.

Photo: WRi2

Schumacher, the most successful driver in grand prix history, admitted he is worriedly watching the situation from the sidelines.

"It is really alarming," the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver told Bild newspaper. "Financially it has become a very difficult situation, showing that even formula one is not immune."

44-year-old German Schumacher, however, has no such money worries, having sat atop the tree as F1's highest-earning driver for many years at Ferrari.

Indeed, now retired, he had been speaking about F1's financial troubles from Frankfurt, where he had travelled in his private jet to collect an original painting called 'Boxenstopp' for EUR 3,500.

Nine-time World Rally Champion, Sebastien Loeb will race motorcycles this weekend as he will compete in the Scorpion Masters at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France.

La Provence newspaper explains that the Scorpion Masters is a fun, but difficult competition destined to find the best overall motorcycle racer.

Forty racers who hold one international motorcycle title (road course and off-road) are invited to compete and join a few bike aficionados, such as Sebastien Loeb.

The competitors will compete in trial, enduro, supermotard and road racing events.

“I enjoy riding motorcycles,” said Loeb to the newspaper.

“It's so different from car racing. This will be my first race on two wheels since my very first race on a ‘mobylette' in 1990!”

Action starts Saturday morning.

Acura Canada is recalling 3,074 MDX crossovers from 2014 because some drive shaft bolts may have been insufficiently tightened during the assembly and could loosen over time.

This could cause the drive shaft to detach, which would result in excessive noise and possible damage to the MDX, increasing the risk of a crash.

Acura dealers will inspect the bolts and tighten them as necessary.

Source: Transport Canada

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Graham Hill, who won the Formula 1 championship in 1962 (BRM) and 1968 (Lotus), died on November 29th, 1975 when the aeroplane he was piloting crashed, killing all six people on board including young driver Tony Brise.

Hill took part in 176 races throughout his career, winning 14 of them and achieving 36 top-3 finishes -- a total of 289 points.

A crash at the 1969 U.S. Grand Prix broke both his legs and interrupted his career. He retired in 1975.

Trivia: Hill's son, Damon, is the only F1 champion to duplicate his father's success.

Source : Wikipedia

Photo: WRi2

Bahrain GP organizers have scheduled their race to start at sunset, as Formula 1 visits the track for the 10th time in 2014.

Bahrain therefore becomes F1's third "night" venue, with the Singapore and Abu Dhabi races also taking places under floodlights.

"I believe that there can be no better way for us to mark our 10th anniversary in F1," the Bahrain International Circuit's Chief Executive, Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa told Reuters about the idea of racing at dawn.

World Endurance Championship (WEC) competitors are inaugurating the new floodlights this weekend during the 6 Hours of Bahrain, ahead of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled on April 6th.

2013 Singapore Grand Prix (Photo: WRi2)

British motorsport publication Autosport Friday reveals that Formula 1 teams may be required to make two mandatory pit stops during the Grands Prix in 2014.

Well respected journalists Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken write that detailed tweaks to the F1 sporting regulations been tabled for discussion at next month's F1 Strategy Group meeting.

If accepted the new rules will then agreed by the F1 Commission and FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris.

Autosport says the rules will require that each driver must stop twice during the race to fit a new set of tires.

Additionally, drivers will not be allowed to use the 'prime' specification of tires for more than 50% of the race distance, while the 'option' compound will not be allowed to be used for more than 30% of the race distance.

“Should the rule changes be accepted, they will almost certainly reduce the importance of tire strategy in the races as there will no longer be an incentive to eke out a longer life from the tires”, Autosport writes.

With the introduction of the new V6 turbo hybrid engines next season, Pirelli wants to decrease the importance put on the performance of its tires.

After 50 hours, 20 minutes, and six seconds, Vintage Adventurer Rod Wade and co-driver Michael Flanders finished their journey from New York to California aboard a 1930 Ford Model A, in the process setting a new world record for driving a pre-war automobile across the U.S.

More precisely, the two men began the 4,800-km trek at Staten Island at 00:01 am on Friday, November 22nd. Despite horrendous weather conditions, including rain storms, extreme winds, and even snow through New Mexico, they reached Venice Beach just after 11:15 pm on Saturday, November 23rd.

Arrival at Venice Beach, California. (Photo: Rod Wade and Michael Flanders)

At one point, Wade and Flanders had to stop every five kilometres to clear the windscreen of ice because there is no heated windscreen on the Model A.

In an earlier attempt in October, their car suffered a broken crankshaft after 38 hours of driving.

The goal was to raise awareness and funds to support kidney disease sufferers all over the world. The Vintage Adventurer team will now take on the Ocean to Ocean Australia, driving from Queensland to Freemantle but also making the return journey. This is scheduled for June 2014.

Source: Poppyseed Media

One car I'm thankful I no longer own is the 1994 Volvo 850 sedan.

My family had two cars when I turned 16: a brown Ford Taurus and a 1987 Ford Escort Pony -- we were a Blue Oval family, after all.

My '75 El Camino was an underpowered, Malaise-choked slug. It also had swivel seats, which is reason enough to wish it was still around.

New gasoline direct injection (GDI) car petrol engines emit more cancer causing particles than modern diesel engines, a study by independent vehicle researchers TUV Nord claimed.

The car I'm thankful I no longer own is without question the Renault LeCar. Actually that should be CARS I'm thankful I no longer own. Yes, I actually owned two of them. Fell for it twice, I did. I can't remember what year(s) mine were.

News 28 Nov, 2013

Renault is working on a Clio-sized 141mpg plug-in hybrid for 2014 Geneva show

As we get ready to celebrate a

There appear to be differing views within General Motors hierarchy over the relationship in Europe between the Opel and Chevrolet brands.

The value of money is relative. If you don't have any, it's worth more. So when I was a wretched high school student working at Jack in the Box for what I seem to recall was $1.

News 28 Nov, 2013

BMW M Performance parts available for the new BMW 2 Series from launch next March

PSA will spend EUR 90m to produce a replacement for the current C segment Peugeot 5008 MPV/minivan at its Rennes plant.

It wasn't fair to the car to have it just sit in my garage. My 1981 Delorean DMC-12 had been turned into a storage shelf for various items and the large hood served perfectly as a place to set the shop manual for my