“Auto Racing Headlines - Rotoworld.com” plus 4 more

Auto Racing Headlines - Rotoworld.com
Brett Rowe makes the cut for the Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 ... - Rotoworld.com
Auto Racing Notebook: No off weekend for Kyle Busch - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturn Provides 2009 Black Aura Hybrid for U.S. Rep. David Price’s ... - PR.com
GM to form China venture, invest $293 million - Reuters

Auto Racing Headlines - Rotoworld.com

Posted: 29 Aug 2009 05:08 PM PDT

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Brett Rowe makes the cut for the Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 ... - Rotoworld.com

Posted: 29 Aug 2009 11:13 PM PDT

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Auto Racing Notebook: No off weekend for Kyle Busch - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted: 29 Aug 2009 10:09 PM PDT

It is an off weekend for many of NASCAR's top drivers, but Kyle Busch isn't getting much rest.

After winning the Camping World Trucks series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Friday night, Busch was rushing to board a plane for Montreal to begin preparations for today's Nationwide race on the city's road course.

Busch joked that he probably shouldn't have guzzled an energy drink so late at night.

"I'll be all right," Busch said. "It shouldn't be too bad."

Busch went truck racing on an off weekend for the Sprint Cup series, holding off Todd Bodine on a restart with seven laps to go and cruising to a victory.

It was the second Trucks series victory in as many weeks for Busch, who also won at Bristol Motor Speedway last week. With Friday's win, the Sprint Cup series regular has four Trucks series victories this season and 13 in his career.

Busch previously won at Chicagoland in NASCAR's top two series, sweeping the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series races there last season.

Bodine finished second, giving Toyota the top two spots.

It was a disappointing night for the series' top two championship contenders, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Matt Crafton. Both drivers spent much of the race a lap behind the leaders, with Hornaday making up his lap in the late stages of the race to finish 11th and Crafton finishing a lap down in 14th.

Hornaday leaves Chicagoland with a solid 220-point lead over Crafton in the standings.

After the race, Bodine complained that passing was too difficult and made a plea for NASCAR officials to take a look at the aerodynamic characteristics of its race cars across the board.

"They need to work on it -- all three divisions," Bodine said.

Bodine said when he wasn't stuck in traffic, his truck was the fastest in the field. "Out in clean air, that thing was a rocket," he said.

"I could just about run wide open, lap after lap. We were consistently two tenths [of a second] faster than the rest of the pack. But when you get behind somebody, you just can't do anything with it."

Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle teamed to win the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. It was the 14th career victory for Angelelli and the team's second win of the season. Angelelli led the final 12 laps of the 67-lap race in the No. 10 Ford Dallara and won by more than a minute in a race which featured rain throughout.

Giancarlo Fisichella gave Force India its first Formula One pole in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. He earned the Indian team its maiden pole with a lap of 1 minute, 46.308 seconds around the high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Entering its 30th race, Force India has yet to win a point by finishing among the top eight.

Toyota driver Jarno Trulli will start second ahead of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld following a qualifying session that produced many surprises. Overall F1 leader Jenson Button will start a season's worst 14th after failing to reach the last qualifying session for the first time.

A mechanic is in an induced coma after a pit lane accident before the start of the GP2 race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Vasco Rossi was airlifted to a hospital following the accident before the start of the Formula One feeder series race.

The 57-year-old mechanic for the Trident Racing team was injured when Ricardo Teixeira's car snagged on a cable going through the pit lane and it caught a wheel gun, which hit Rossi's head.

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Saturn Provides 2009 Black Aura Hybrid for U.S. Rep. David Price’s ... - PR.com

Posted: 29 Aug 2009 11:56 PM PDT

Raleigh, NC, August 30, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Bill Shotwell, general manager and owner of Saturn of Raleigh (www.saturnofraleigh.com) and Saturn of Cary (www.saturnofcary.com), has announced that the dealerships provided a 2009 black Aura Hybrid to Wake Tech Community College on Aug. 27 for U.S. Rep. David Price's tour of the college's automotive systems program. Wake Tech's Automotive Systems Technology program, as well as its Simulation and Game Development program, is slated to receive $200,000 in the proposed 2010 federal budget. Rep. Price, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, was a sponsor of the request for the appropriations, and his visit to Wake Tech allowed him to see how the federal funds will be utilized to enhance the programs. With the goal of establishing a Green Automotive degree program, Wake Tech's Automotive Technologies program will use federal funding to develop coursework in alternative fuels, hybrids and electric car technologies.

The four-wheel drive, five-passenger Saturn Aura Hybrid is an environmentally friendly sedan. Its electric motor assists the combustion engine during acceleration and allows the engine to shut off at a stop to save fuel. The vehicle is powered by a 164-horsepower 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine in conjunction with a regenerative nickel metal hydride battery pack mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It is available in only eight states, including North Carolina.

"We were happy to provide Wake Tech with a hybrid Aura to show during their Automotive Technologies program tour," said Shotwell. "Their goal of establishing a green automotive degree program is admirable and in line with Saturn's mission of providing fuel-efficient vehicles."

About Saturn of Raleigh:
Saturn of Raleigh is a full-service car dealership that has been serving the Raleigh, N.C., area, including Wake Forest and Rocky Mount, since 1992. Located at 5501 Capital Blvd., Saturn of Raleigh offers a complete line of new and pre-owned cars and trucks, and the staff is committed to serving all automotive needs, from sales and finance to service and parts. Factory-trained technicians ensure that care and maintenance of vehicles remains a priority and Saturn of Raleigh has a state-of-the-art diagnostic and repair facility stocked with a large inventory of manufacturer certified part to serve all customer needs. For more information about Saturn of Raleigh, visit www.saturnofraleigh.com or call (877) 221-5402.

About Saturn of Cary:
Saturn of Cary is a full-service car dealership that has been serving the residents of Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs and other surrounding communities since 1997. Located at 91 Mackenan Drive in Cary, Saturn of Cary offers a complete line of new and pre-owned inventory of cars and trucks. The dealership also has a parts department to ensure that Saturn drivers can easily order new parts or get their vehicles repaired. From sales and finance to service and parts, the staff at Saturn of Cary is committed to helping drivers with all of their automotive needs. For more information about Saturn of Cary, visit www.saturnofcary.com or call (866) 569-5673.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

###

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GM to form China venture, invest $293 million - Reuters

Posted: 30 Aug 2009 04:28 AM PDT

By Fang Yan and Edmund Klamann

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Motors said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

The 50-50 joint venture, based in the northeast China city of Changchun in Jilin province, will make light-duty trucks and vans, GM said in a statement.

"For us in China, this is an important complement to the rest of our portfolio," Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations, told reporters in a conference call.

"We are well established in passenger vehicles and mini commercial vehicles and we haven't had a presence in the truck segment. Adding a truck portfolio rounds that out."

The venture will use two existing FAW plants in Changchun and the city of Harbin, also in the northeast, with combined annual capacity of roughly 90,000 vehicles, Wale said.

A greenfield plant, currently under construction in Harbin, will add 100,000 units of capacity by the end of next year, he said.

Vehicles made at the venture will carry the FAW brand and will focus on supplying the China market, but they could be exported under a GM brand through the Detroit automaker's global network in the future, Wale said.

GM is making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models at its flagship China venture with SAIC Motor Corp. It also makes minivans, pickup trucks and the Spark compact car in a three-way tie-up with SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile.

SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 87,925 vehicles in July, up 90.7 percent from a year earlier, helped by Beijing's stimulus initiatives to support the industry, including subsidies for buyers in rural areas.

GM, which now holds 34 percent of SAIC-GM-Wuling, has been seeking to raise its stake in the venture.

Domestic media reported earlier this month that GM had secured an initial deal to take over Liuzhou Wuling Auto's 15.9 percent stake for roughly 300 million yuan ($43.9 million).

Wale reiterated the U.S. automaker's interest in raising its stake in the venture but made no further comment on the issue.

($1=6.830 Yuan)