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Ed Carpenter won the Firestone 600 Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway, scoring his first victory of 2014.

The race was a great battle between Ed Carpenter and Will Power following the final round of service stops in the Firestone 600.

Unfortunately, Power of Team Penske was penalised for a speeding violation with 35 laps left.

After gaining a 12-second lead over Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 242, Carpenter held on following a restart on lap 246 to win by 0.5247 of a second over Power.

Montoya, Power's teammate, finished a season-high third in the No. 2 car and Simon Pagenaud was fourth in the No. 77 dallara.

Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon placed fifth in the No. 9 Ganassi car, followed by teammate Tony Kanaan.

For Carpenter, it was his third Verizon IndyCar Series victory (his first since the 2012 season finale at Auto Club Speedway) and the second for Ed Carpenter Racing this season.

Ed Carpenter, winner in Texas. (Photo: IndyCar)

From GMM

Red Bull has come up with a cunning plan to keep Adrian Newey out of the clutches of its key rivals, according to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.

In the past weeks, there have been reports of audacious offers to woo F1's most highly rated designer.

Ferrari's offer reportedly topped $20 million per year, while it was also rumoured that Mercedes expressed interest.

"We made him no offer," team chairman Niki Lauda insists.

Nonetheless, Newey is understandably in high demand, given his astonishing title hit-rate.

But the 55-year-old is also unashamedly frustrated with the state of today's formula one, featuring ever-restrictive technical regulations.

"What you can do with the car to make the difference with good ideas is less and less," he said. "We're moving to more of a GP1 series."

Red Bull's factory at Milton-Keynes, UK. (Photo: Red Bull)

According to correspondent Michael Schmidt, Red Bull has come up with a clever plan to keep Newey inspired, and also firmly under contract, albeit on a long leash.

The team is apparently planning to build a new technology centre near its F1 factory in Milton-Keynes, where new and innovative technical projects will be born -- with none other than Newey in charge.

Reportedly, the projects will range from innovative road cars to aircraft, "with the secret hope that some day he will miss competition and crawl back to F1", said Schmidt.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing captured his maiden Formula 1 victory at the end of a wild, action packed Canadian Grand Prix Sunday.

From pole position, Nico Rosberg jumped into the lead. But moments later, both Marussias collided and were out of the race, bringing out the Safety Car. Every driver was asked to save fuel.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

Restart happened on lap 7. And Rosberg immediately started to pull away from Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. At the of lap 9, Hamilton used his DRS to pass Vettel.

Behind them, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were running a strong race.

Rosberg stopped for a set of soft tires on lap 18, long after most rivals did. His teammate Hamilton stopped one lap later.

Meanwhile, Sahara Force India drivers, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, stretched their stint and ran 3rd and 4th, respectively. Then, there was a great battle for 4th place between “Hulk” and Vettel.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

On lap 24, Rosberg and Hamilton ran together. At the end of lap 24, Rosberg locked up his right front wheel, missed the last chicane and came back in front of his teammate! This led the race stewards to investigate Rosberg's move. Eventually, Nico was just warned for doing so.

Perez stopped finally, having completed 35 laps on a set of super softs!!

On lap 36, both Mercedes started running slower, some two seconds slower than most other front runners! “Loss of power” was their problem.

Feipe Massa, Wiliams (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

On lap 40, Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) spun when exiting the hairpin, dropping him to 15th. Moments later Hulkenberg pitted from second place. The order was Rosberg, Hamilton, Massa, Fernando Alonso, Perez and Ricciardo.

Hamilton stopped for tires on lap 43. Hamilton pitted one lap later. He rejoined the track behind Massa and ahead of Rosberg!

Moments later, Hamilton's car began to smoke, having burned its rear brakes. He pitted and retired from the race. Rosberg was experiencing a similar problem.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

Lap 49, Massa pitted for new tires. Rosberg retook the lead ahead of Perez, Ricciardo and Vettel, just 2.8 seconds apart.

The top 8 cars were just 7.2 seconds apart!

With 10 laps to go, the flying Massa - running on newer tires - was catching up the four leaders at a great pace.

On lap 65, Ricciardo passed Perez and give a chase to the leading Rosberg.

At the end of lap 67, Ricciardo passed Rosberg for the lead!

One lap later, Massa tied to pass Perez on the start/finish straight but he hit the left rear wheel of the Sahara Force India. The two cars spun out of control and smashed hard against tire wall of the Senna corner. Massa's Williams came within inches from collecting Vettel's Red Bull.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo collected his first victory in F1. He finished first ahead of Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and his Red Bull Racing's teammate, Sebastian Vettel.

Amazingly, Jenson Button (McLaren) recovered well and finished fourth in front of Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button, McLaren (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

Race results*:
1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1h39m12.830
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +4.2s
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +5.2s
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +11.7s
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +12.8s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +14.8s
7. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +23.5s
8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault +28.0s
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes +29.2s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +53.6s
11. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes -1 lap
12. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes -1 lap
13. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari -1 lap
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari -6 laps

Retirements
Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 58 laps
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 47 laps
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 45 laps
Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 22 laps
Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 21 laps
Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 6 laps
Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 0 laps
Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 0 laps
*Unofficial

Presented by Continental Tire, the CTCC held two races at the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit this weekend as part of the prestigious Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix. A doubleheader that was filled with plenty of action and a few surprises gave everyone involved something to talk about.

Mathieu Audette won the first race in Super Class before getting dethroned by Roger Ledoux during the second round. Michel Sallenbach and Jocelyn Hébert split the Touring Class honours while Normand Boyer won both times in the Spec-B Class.

Qualifying in pole position, the 2013 Super Class champion, Ontarian Scott Nicol (Honda Civic Si) had two very eventful races. During the first, he was quickly passed by Mathieu Audette, before the car's engine forced his retirement just after mid-race. Starting 3rd behind his older brother, Rémy Audette had an even shorter race, DNF' in during the first lap of the race after experiencing accelerator problems. In the lead, Mathieu Audette (Acura RSX) did not have it easy either. He took the chequered flag after holding off Roger Ledoux, who brilliantly finished second in his Subaru. The Lombardi Honda Racing Team completed the podium with third place going to Benjamin Distaulo who debuted a brand new Honda Civic Si and finished in front of teammate and series rookie, Valérie Chiasson. For his inaugural race, the young female driver was constantly improving while maintaining a “Top 8” placing despite gearbox problems during both races.

Rui Teixeira, Honda and Michel Sallenbach, MINI. (Photo: Phillip Sutherland/TouringCar.ca)

In Touring Class, the battle between Jocelyn Hébert (Honda) and Michel Sallenbach (Mini) was fairly intense before Hébert was forced to slow down towards the end of the race to prevent running out of gas.  Sallenbach eventually won ahead of Stuart Clark and rookie Samuel Laquerre.

With the B-Spec Class, the spectators that filled the stands at the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit got their money's worth! The top of the leaderboard changed several times, with the win eventually going to Normand Boyer, ahead of Rui Teixeira and Manuel Boyer.

Presented at the end of Saturday afternoon (the first took place just before the Formula 1 qualifying session), the second race was reduced to an action packed eleven minutes under a blazing sun after Stefan Yasin's big crash in his Mini Cooper, resulting in a broken wrist for the Mississauga driver. Leading until the penultimate lap, Mathieu Audette missed a gear change and was then passed by Roger Ledoux. Completing the podium behind the battling duo was Scott Nicol, ahead of Benjamin Distaulo and Valérie Chiasson who fought off Rémy Audette's push.

Valérie Chiasson. (Photo: Phillip Sutherland/TouringCar.ca)

In Touring Class, Jocelyn Hébert won by only one tenth of a second over Michel Sallenbach! Samuel Laquerre, Hébert's young teammate, finished third.

Normand Boyer is the only double winner this weekend after two very eventful races. Rui Teixeira and Manuel Boyer finished once again behind the veteran driver.

The next round of the CTCC presented by Continental Tire will take place on June 21 and 22 in Ontario, at the Calabogie Motorsports Park, a 5.5 km road track located southwest of Ottawa.

From GMM

The FIA is looking into what happened in Graz, Austria, between the final Bahrain test and the season opening Australian grand prix.

A whistleblower last week circulated letters to the governing body and some rival teams about an alleged illegal six-day test on Austrian automotive company AVL's 'rolling road' facility.

Red Bull have denied conducting the test, but it is believed sister team Toro Rosso was indeed in Graz, along with Red Bull development driver Antonio Felix da Costa.

Engine supplier Renault's Remi Taffin is quoted by APA news agency: "We just had to work with our partner AVL, because our own facilities were at full capacity."

The French marque argues that the 'test' was in fact just perfectly legal engine bench testing, amid reports the Toro Rosso car was not fitted with front or rear wings.

Nonetheless, an FIA spokesperson said: "We will look into the matter carefully and then answer any questions."

Remi Taffin, Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Red Bull has confirmed reports Adrian Newey is staying with the team beyond 2014.

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that the reigning champion team had devised a cunning plan to keep the highly sought-after engineer out of the clutches of its big-paying key rivals.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Red Bull is building a new technology centre near its F1 factory in Milton-Keynes, where new and innovative technical projects will be born -- with none other than Newey in charge.

Reportedly, the projects will range from innovative road cars to aircraft, "with the secret hope that someday he will miss competition and crawl back to F1", said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

Shortly after those reports emerged, Red Bull announced in Montreal that it has inked a new "multi-year agreement" with the Briton.

The team confirmed that Newey, 55, will work on "new Red Bull Technology projects", as well as "advising and mentoring" the F1 team "as it develops its formula one cars over the next few seasons".

"The details of the new projects will be announced in due course," a media statement added.

Christian Horner and Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Carlos Sainz jr is well on the road to formula one.

After Daniil Kvyat made his impressive F1 debut in 2014, 19-year-old Spaniard Sainz, whose father is the world rallying legend, is now the cream of Red Bull's junior driver programme.

He is expected to step up to Toro Rosso next year.

But Sainz's father, who is in Montreal this weekend, told the Spanish sports daily AS: "There's no hurry -- the later the better.

"I have had no notice from Red Bull or anyone regarding anything other than the (Renault) World Series for Carlos," he added.

After four rounds of the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 series, Carlos Sainz jr is clearly leading the championship.

But his father Carlos Sainz continued: "We go step by step, with confidence, trying to do things right."

Carlos Sainz Jr, DAMS, Monaco. (Photo: WRi2)

However, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has acknowledged that Sainz does appear to have a future in F1 -- and logically one that starts with the Faenza team.

"Nothing is decided," he said, "but I think that sooner or later he will be on the track with us. I hope he drives with us on a Friday, but I cannot confirm this yet because we are still early in the season and trying to solve our reliability problems.

"Carlos will be in the car one Friday," Austrian Franz Tost then added.

From GMM

Ferrari sources have reacted swiftly to extinguish the latest big rumour as the 'silly season' steps up a gear in Montreal.

Swirling around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve paddock on Saturday were whispers that, having failed to match Fernando Alonso's pace in the first third of 2014, Kimi Raikkonen could be set to be axed by Ferrari.

However, that move would be an echo of Raikkonen's last Maranello exit, when the fabled Italian team had to pay the Finn millions to end his solid 2010 contract.

Likewise in 2014, Raikkonen is firmly under contract not only for this year, but also 2015, when he is expected to be paid some $30 million whether he races or not.

"Ferrari will not fire Kimi a second time," a Ferrari source told the German magazine Sport Bild.

Recalling the amount of money it cost Ferrari to oust Raikkonen in 2009, the source added: "Ferrari doesn't want to do that again."

A driver manager also told Sport Bild: "It would cost Ferrari up to $30 million because he has a contract until 2015 with an option for another year."

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

The future of the Canadian grand prix has been secured for the next ten years.

As expected, a new deal worth more than $200 million, including plans to renovate the ageing facility by 2017, was announced at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday.

"I think it (the news) is great," said world champion Sebastian Vettel on Saturday.

"I think it's one of the few places on the calendar where the whole city really parties all weekend long and really appreciates the grand prix being here."

"It's great," agreed championship leader Nico Rosberg, "because Montreal is one of the best races of the year.

"It's a great track, the fans are fantastic, so I'm very happy and I'm sure everybody is that we're going to be coming here a lot more often in the future."

Start of the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Plaintiffs' lawyers began scouring GM's report on its handling of faulty ignition switches that have been tied to 13 deaths and say they are finding details that could bolster their negligence cases.

There's a nice pricing advantage to be had for early entrants in new segments, says Ian Robertson, BMW Group board member in charge of BMW brand sales and marketing and group retail operations.

Ford and Kia have been intertwined with The Voice and American Idol through elaborate sponsorship deals that include vehicles given as prizes to the top performers.

After a yearslong campaign to stop drivers from backing their cars over children, U.S. auto-safety regulators changed federal standards to effectively mandate backup cameras in most new light vehicles, starting in 2018.

General Motors' hidebound culture is the subject of numerous books and business school case studies. The 325-page report penned by attorney Anton Valukas' investigative team might be among the most revealing.

BMW has begun rolling out the i8 plug-in hybrid supercar as Tesla shakes up the market for luxury cars with alternative powertrains.

From GMM

The FIA is looking into what happened in Graz, Austria, between the final Bahrain test and the season opening Australian grand prix.

A whistleblower last week circulated letters to the governing body and some rival teams about an alleged illegal six-day test on Austrian automotive company AVL's 'rolling road' facility.

Red Bull have denied conducting the test, but it is believed sister team Toro Rosso was indeed in Graz, along with Red Bull development driver Antonio Felix da Costa.

Engine supplier Renault's Remi Taffin is quoted by APA news agency: "We just had to work with our partner AVL, because our own facilities were at full capacity."

The French marque argues that the 'test' was in fact just perfectly legal engine bench testing, amid reports the Toro Rosso car was not fitted with front or rear wings.

Nonetheless, an FIA spokesperson said: "We will look into the matter carefully and then answer any questions."

Remi Taffin, Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

The door to formula one could be opening up for Danica Patrick.

In April, the sport's newest team owner, Gene Haas, said the world's most famous female racing driver will not be making the switch from NASCAR.

Patrick, 32, drives for Haas in America's premier tin-top series, but the 61-year-old Californian said in April that it would be "impossible" for any of his existing drivers to juggle NASCAR while also preparing for F1.

"It would be really impossible to accomplish that and survive," said Haas.

But perhaps the subsequent decision to delay Haas Formula's grand prix debut until 2016 has changed things.

Danica Patrick (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

Gunther Steiner, who in the past worked in upper management at Red Bull and Jaguar, confirmed to Speed Week on Friday that he will be Haas' F1 team boss.

"I will be the team boss," Steiner said in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve paddock.

He clarified that the F1 team will be completely separate to Haas' NASCAR operation, which is in collaboration with the driver Tony Stewart.

"Tony wants to make money with racing, Gene wants to spend it," Steiner smiled.

But what about Patrick, the diminutive American driver whose early pedigree was in open wheel racing, including her famous Indycar win in 2008?

"It's too early for this (driver question)," said Steiner.  "But, you know, everything is possible."

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton in Montreal sounded unlikely to be considering a return to McLaren.

Reporting from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Daily Mail correspondent Jonathan McEvoy claimed the Woking based team, having given the 2008 world champion his F1 debut seven years ago, has been in contact with Hamilton.

McLaren, and particularly its incoming works engine supplier Honda, is undoubtedly pushing for a top driver to head the charge in 2015, with rumours linking Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel already doing the rounds.

"For now the interest on both sides is tentative," said McEvoy, revealing the Hamilton-McLaren link.

On the face of it, a return to McLaren for Hamilton, 29, would seem unlikely. He only left the team that nurtured him from boyhood at the end of 2012, having reportedly fallen out with supremo Ron Dennis.

And now, believed to be the equal highest paid F1 driver alongside Alonso, he is at the wheel of the ultra-dominant Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton says he is happy at Mercedes (Photo: WRi2)

But Hamilton is also embroiled in a seismic teammate spat with Nico Rosberg as the pair tussle for the 2014 title.

"If Hamilton were to lose the title to Rosberg," said McEvoy, "imagine the trauma that would accompany that outcome."

Hamilton, however, hinted at the scene of Sunday's Canadian grand prix that while he is yet to ink a new deal, that is eventually the most likely outcome.

"At the moment no," he said when asked if he has signed a new contract, "but I have always said I feel happy in this team.

"I cannot imagine myself anywhere else in the future," the Briton is quoted by the Mirror.

From press release

53 year-old Michel Bonnet showed the young drivers the way around Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve today and will lead the field to the green for Round 3 of the Formula 1600 Super Series.

Bonnet posted a best lap of 1:54.218 and will share the front row with Olivier Bedard who put up a best time of 1:54.836 despite having to hit pit road to have a broken throttle cable repaired. Tristan DeGrand will start from the inside of the second row with a lap of 1:54.960. 58 year-old Duncan Murdoch will start fourth and Max Hanratty round out the top five.

The Masters Class drivers put on an impressive display in qualifying, grabbing not only the pole but four of the top ten spots.

Michel Bonnet (Photo: Dany Flageole)

The session saw lots of spins which may have had something to do with the late 6pm start time. The session was stopped a couple of minutes short due to an incident with Lew MacKenzie making contact with the outside wall on the entrance to the hairpin and damaging his right side suspension.

The first race of the Formula 1600 Super Series at the Grand Prix of Montreal will go green at 2:30 pm ET on Saturday, directly after Formula One qualifying.

From press release

Sports car racing legend John Bishop, the visionary co-founder of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), died Thursday in San Rafael, Calif. due to complications from a recent illness. He was 87.

Bishop co-founded IMSA in 1969 with his wife Peggy and Bill France Sr., after a surprise telephone “cold call” from France - also NASCAR's founder - that resulted in a quick trip from Connecticut to Daytona Beach to discuss assembling a new sports car sanctioning organization in North America.

“Bill said he thought there was a need for a new organization, and that he thought I might be the person to run it,” Bishop said recently. “So, very quickly, I got down to Daytona. Bill and I met, we talked a lot, drank a lot of Scotch, talked a lot more and planned it out. Peggy and I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.”

That wasn't exactly true. Bishop already had a solid resume as an experienced sports car official with the Sports Car Club of America. In ‘69, he decided he wanted to leave that organization.

“I offered my resignation and the SCCA surprised me - they accepted it,” Bishop said.

With France's financial assistance, the Bishops built IMSA into a premier sports car organization that peaked in the 1980s and ‘90s with the Camel-sponsored GT Series, featuring the fabulous GTP prototypes. Bishop sold IMSA in 1989, in part due to health issues. But he remained a vital part of sports car racing, with a lengthy tenure as commissioner of GRAND-AM Road Racing.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Bishop will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in August.