plus 4, Louisville Ford workers begin voting on contract Wednesday - Courier-Journal

Louisville Ford workers begin voting on contract Wednesday - Courier-Journal
This Week in Auto Racing October 9 - 11 - WXYZ
This Week in Auto Racing September 25 - 27 - WXYZ
Ford vehicles called 'world-class' - Courier-Journal
Obama administration to reconsider trucker rule - News 14

Louisville Ford workers begin voting on contract Wednesday - Courier-Journal

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 08:40 AM PDT

Workers at Ford's Louisville Assembly plant will begin voting on a new contract with the auto dealer Wednesday.

They will vote on Wednesday and Thursday, and workers at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant will vote Thursday and Friday.

The voting will end at 7 p.m. Friday and results are expected late Friday night.

The concessions have already been voted down at six Ford factories: a Mustang plant in Flat Rock, Mich.; a parts plant in Ypsilanti, Mich.; an axle factory in Sterling Heights, Mich., a Ford Escape factory near Kansas City, Mo.; a transmission plant in Livonia, Mich., and a parts factory in Plymouth, Mich.

Factories in Cleveland and Wayne, Mich., have approved the changes, union officials said.

Ford workers in Louisville are to begin voting on the contract Wednesday.

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This Week in Auto Racing October 9 - 11 - WXYZ

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 07:29 AM PDT

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads west to Southern California for the fourth race in the Chase, while the IndyCar Series wraps up their season in South Florida, as three drivers vie for the title.

NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series

Pepsi 500 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA

Last Sunday at Kansas, ten of the top-11 finishers were Chase drivers, as the points battle for the Sprint Cup Series championship tightened. Only 114 points separate leader Mark Martin from eighth-place Greg Biffle heading into the Pepsi 500 at California -- the fourth race in the playoffs.

"It shows how competitive the Chase is," said Kansas race winner Tony Stewart, who moved up to fourth in points (-67).

Stewart, in his first year as driver and owner, captured his fourth victory of the season. The two-time Cup Series champion finished 14th at New Hampshire and seventh at ninth at Dover before winning at Kansas.

In February, Stewart finished eighth at California in just his second race with his new Stewart-Haas Racing team.

"We were still just learning each other going into California in the spring," Stewart said. "So going around this time, we obviously know each other better. We've had time to make mistakes and make decisions that worked for me, and we've learned the feel that I like together, and that's something that will help us. I'm anticipating California a lot more this time than in the spring."

After finishing seventh at Kansas, Martin padded his lead to 18 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate and three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished ninth.

Johnson excels at the upcoming tracks on the schedule. The El Cajon, CA native returns to his hometrack this weekend as the winner of the last two fall races there. After California, the series runs at Charlotte and then Martinsville. Johnson has five victories at Charlotte and has won five of the last six races at Martinsville.

"They really are great tracks for us," Johnson said. "I think the season comes to us in a way. I know that we perform well in the Chase, but I think the schedule is helpful for the No.48 car. We have great results, and it gives us a lot of hope going into these tracks, but we still have to show up and get the job done."

Johnson has recorded five straight top-10 finishes at California. He dominated last year's fall race there, leading 228 of 250 laps.

Martin will compete in California's second date of the season for the first time since 2006. He has missed the event in the past two years due to his limited Cup schedule. Martin suffered engine failure and ended up with a 40th- place finish at California earlier this year.

Juan Pablo Montoya has been superb in the Chase so far. Montoya, in his first year in the playoffs, is the only driver who has scored top-five finishes in the first three Chase races. He's hoping his momentum will continue, but California has been one of his tougher tracks.

"I would rather have Atlanta to be honest," Montoya said. "I always run really well at Atlanta. At the same time we ran pretty good [at California] the last time we were there. It was very early in the season, and even then I think we had decent cars. Right now, we've got much more competitive cars."

Montoya is now third in points (-51). He has finished no better than 11th in his first five races at California. Montoya had a third-place run last month at Atlanta.

With California's second date of the season now moved to October , drivers and teams are expecting different track conditions, which should make for an interesting race.

"Conditions will be cooler," said Kurt Busch, who is currently fifth in points (-91). "The track most likely will be faster."

Forty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Pepsi 500.

Nationwide Series

Copart 300 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA

Kyle Busch is looking to widen his points lead over Carl Edwards this Saturday at California.

Busch put on a dominating performance last week at Kansas, but after a late- race restart, Joey Logano passed Busch for the lead with four laps remaining. It was the fourth time this season that Logano has taken the lead away from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate with less than 10 laps to go and then go on to victory.

With his second-place finish, Busch stretched his points lead to 245 with six races to go.

Logano, a four-time Nationwide Series race winner so far this year, will compete at California. The 19-year-old driver has finished third and sixth in his first two races there.

Busch, meanwhile, has won the last two races at California. He was simply unstoppable in last year's fall event there, leading all but six of the 150 laps. Busch briefly gave up the lead on two separate green-flag pit stops. He easily held off Carl Edwards in the final laps for his seventh win of the season.

In February, Busch won the Nationwide race at California several hours after he took the checkered flag for the Camping World Truck Series race there. He became the first driver in NASCAR history to win two national touring races on the same day.

Greg Biffle is the only other driver to win back-to-back Nationwide races at California. Biffle won there twice in 2004.

Matt Kenseth has the most victories at California with four, while Biffle and Busch have won there three times each. Kenseth is not competing in this weekend's race.

"I love this place; I always have," Biffle said. "This weekend is my last Nationwide Series race of the season, and I really want to go out on top."

Fifty teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Copart 300.

INDYCAR SERIES

Firestone Indy 300 - Homestead-Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL

Eight points, three drivers and one race remaining.

That's the point separation among the top-three drivers -- Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe -- heading into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Last month, Dixon won in Motegi, Japan and moved atop the championship standings. He now holds a five-point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Franchitti and an eight-point advantage on Briscoe from Team Penske. The 1-3 margin is the second-closest in the IndyCar Series' 14-year history.

Should there be a tie for the points lead after the checkered flag waves at Homestead, the championship would then be determined by number of victories. Dixon has notched five wins, while Franchitti has four victories and Briscoe three.

The series restructured its bonus points system this year, and it's been a major factor in deciding the title. During the previous eight seasons, all three bonus points were awarded to the lap leader of each race. This year, the pole winner of each race receives one point, and the driver who leads the most laps picks up two points.

Of the 46 bonus points awarded so far this year, the three championship contenders combined have taken 35 of them. Dixon has received 13 bonus points, while Briscoe has earned 12 and Franchitti 10.

After hosting the season-opener for the past six years, Homestead now holds the season-finale. Chicagoland Speedway held the finale from 2006-08, with the championship decided on the final lap there each of those years.

Saturday's race at Homestead should be a heck of a shootout, with the title likely decided again on the final lap.

"Fun, isn't it," Franchitti said. "That's the way it should be. We'll just keep our heads down an do the best that we can."

In 2007, Franchitti, who drove for Andretti Green Racing at the time, led Dixon by just three points heading into the season-ending race at Chicagoland. The two battled all the way to the final lap, with Franchitti picking up the win and taking the championship.

Dixon held the lead on the last lap, but gave it up to Franchitti when he ran out of fuel on the backstretch. Dixon coasted across the finish line in second and lost the title by 13 points.

After a brief stint in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition, Franchitti joined Ganassi's IndyCar team and his return to America's most popular open-wheel racing circuit has been nothing short of success.

Dixon won the championship in 2003 and '08. If he wins it again this year, he will join Sam Hornish Jr. as the only drivers with three titles in the series.

"It's going to be a crazy race," said Dixon, who won last year's race at Homestead. "Obviously the three of us are going to be pushing to the maximum."

Briscoe, in his second full season with Penske, is looking to capture his first major championship in motorsports. The Aussie took over Hornish's seat at Penske when Hornish left IndyCar for NASCAR in 2008.

"It's really exciting," said Briscoe, who finished fifth in points last year. "At this point, it's a highlight in my career. It's going to be close, but the team's been doing an unbelievable job, and I feel as though I've stepped it up this year."

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This Week in Auto Racing September 25 - 27 - WXYZ

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 07:29 AM PDT

After kicking off the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship last Sunday at New Hampshire, round two of the playoffs moves to Dover, DE. Nationwide will join Sprint Cup at Dover, while Camping World Truck teams head to Las Vegas. Formula One gears up for the second nighttime running of the Singapore Grand Prix.

NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series

AAA 400 - Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE

Last Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire began the first of the 10-race "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship. Mark Martin, who entered the Chase as the top-seed, kept his points lead intact with the victory. Martin capitalized on a late-race pit strategy and then held off Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin in a three-lap shootout for his first win at New Hampshire in 26 starts there.

Martin won his fifth race of the season, which tied Harry Gant's 1991 Cup Series record for most single-season victories by a driver 50 years of age or older. He now holds a 35-point lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, as the series heads to the one-mile, concrete-surface Dover International Speedway.

Seven of the 12 drivers competing in the Chase have won at Dover. Martin, Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead all active, full-time drivers with four wins each there. Ryan Newman has won at Dover three times, compared to two for Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart. Carl Edwards has one victory there.

"Dover is one of my very favorite racetracks on the whole circuit," Martin said. "I really have been blessed with a lot of great race cars there. The cars seem to run really good there. [Crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and our team are really excited about getting back there. I look forward to getting there."

Johnson is looking for a season-sweep at Dover after winning the spring race there. He swept Dover in 2002, becoming the first rookie to win both races at the same track in the same season. Johnson also took the fall event there in 2005.

Newman is the last driver to sweep Dover, doing it 2003.

Newman, in his first year with Stewart-Haas Racing, holds the seventh spot in points (-76). He is just five markers behind his teammate and owner Stewart. Newman's last win in the series came in the 2008 Daytona 500 when he drove for Penske Racing.

After winning at Richmond and finishing second at New Hampshire, Hamlin carries a lot of momentum into Dover. But Hamlin considers "The Monster Mile" as one of his most challenging tracks.

"It's a racetrack that is almost like Talladega, you never know what can happen there," Hamlin said. "You can get caught up in a wreck pretty easily. It's a long, grueling race for us, and it's very physically demanding."

Hamlin's best finish at Dover is fourth, which came in June 2007. Since then, he has finished 36th or worse there.

With his third-place finish at New Hampshire, Montoya made the biggest gain in the championship standings, moving from 11th to fourth. He trails Martin by 55 points. Montoya, in his first career Chase race, started on the pole and led an event-high 105 laps.

"The first race of the Chase, of course, you're going to jump one way to another depending how you run," Montoya said. "We had a very good day, and we gained a lot of grounds. At the same time, I think the leader is the only person that really counts right now."

Montoya is hoping to improve his track performance at Dover, where he has finished 30th and 39th in the last two races.

Biffle, currently ninth in points (-92), won last year's fall race at Dover. Biffle grabbed the lead from his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth with eight laps to go and then held it for his second victory of the season. Kenseth, who led a race-high 136 laps, finished second. Edwards came in third to give Roush a 1-2-3 finish at Dover. Biffle also won the week prior at New Hampshire.

A Roush driver has won a Sprint Cup race at Dover in each of the last five years -- Martin (2004), Biffle (2005 and '08), Kenseth (2006) and Edwards (2007).

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's AAA 400.

During the off-season, Dover underwent a pit-road renovation. The new 1,592- foot concrete wall extends from turn four down the frontstretch and into turn one. The construction allowed track officials to widen and improve pit road, which is now four feet wider. All 43 stalls are four feet longer than the previous length.

Nationwide Series

Dover 200 - Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE

After taking a week off, the Nationwide Series returns to action on Saturday at Dover.

Second-place Carl Edwards is currently 201 points behind leader Kyle Busch, but Edwards might be staging another late-season rally based on his most recent performance.

Driving with a broken right foot at Richmond, Edwards qualified 39th but had to start from the rear of the field since his team changed the spark plugs prior to the start of the race. The Roush Fenway Racing driver beat Kevin Harvick out of the pits and took the lead for the first time during a caution with 24 laps to go. He held off Harvick at the finish for his fourth Nationwide victory of the season.

Edwards has faced a triple-digit deficit in the series before. With eight races remaining in the 2008 season, he was 207 points behind Clint Bowyer before ending the year just 21 markers short of taking the title from Bowyer.

"The Nationwide battle is still alive," Edwards said. "We've got enough races left that a lot can happen. I feel like right now, in a way, that's more important than what's going on the Cup side."

Edwards has excelled on concrete-surfaced tracks, with five of his 24 career Nationwide wins coming on those tracks. He has finished sixth or better in the last five races at Dover, including a victory in the spring 2007 event.

Bristol, Dover and Nashville are the concrete-surfaced tracks on the Nationwide circuit.

Busch won at Dover for the first time one year ago. He appeared to be on his way to another victory there in May, but a late-race tangle with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano cost him the win. Brad Keselowski went to Victory Lane, while Busch ended up with a 17th-place finish after cutting a tire during the incident.

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Dover 200.

Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. are among the 10 Sprint Cup regulars competing in the event.

Hamlin, Kenseth and Truex have two Nationwide victories each at Dover compared to one for Newman. Hamlin has won two of the last four races there.

Camping World Truck Series

Las Vegas 350 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV

Ron Hornaday Jr.'s quest for a record-fourth Camping World Truck Series championship got a boost last Saturday at New Hampshire. Hornaday finished second to Kyle Busch and padded his lead to 217 points over Matt Crafton with six races remaining in the season. Crafton finished fourth.

While Busch went to Victory Lane, Hornaday and his team owner Kevin Harvick quarreled on pit road when Harvick felt poor team communication cost them a possible victory.

During the final 50 laps, Harvick made numerous attempts to pass Hornaday for position, but Hornaday would not allow him to get around -- which apparently upset Harvick.

Hornaday felt he didn't make any mistakes while racing his boss.

Now that the dust has settled at Kevin Harvick Inc., Hornaday is looking forward to Saturday's race at Las Vegas. Hornaday holds the series record for career victories with 45, but has yet to win at 1.5-mile oval in the desert.

"I have come really close to winning at Vegas," Hornaday said. "This year, we have a really good shot at it. We have run pretty well at the 1.5-mile tracks. I'm really excited to get back there. This has sort of been the year of marking tracks off my list. I was finally able to win at Kentucky and Nashville earlier this year."

Three of the remaining six races this season are on intermediate (1.5-mile) tracks -- Las Vegas, Texas and Homestead.

Hornaday has scored six top-10 finishes in eight races at Las Vegas, with a best finish of second coming there in 1998, the year he won his second series title. He finished fifth in last year's race.

Mike Skinner is the defending race winner. Skinner, with three victories to his credit this year, is third in the championship standings, 246 points behind Hornaday, but only 26 in back of Crafton.

Thirty-two teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Las Vegas 350, four short of a full field.

Aric Almirola is scheduled to drive the No.51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota this week. Busch has driven the No.51 truck into Victory Lane five times so far this year. Almirola finished a career-best second earlier this month at Iowa.

FORMULA ONE

Singapore Grand Prix - Marina Bay Street Circuit - Singapore

This weekend in Singapore, Renault returns to the scene that nearly cost the French team permanent expulsion from Formula One competition.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) handed Renault a two-year suspended ban on Monday after the team admitted to intentionally causing a crash in last year's inaugural Singapore Grand Prix.

Investigations by the Council and Renault found that team principal Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds, both of whom have now left the team, planned the crash with driver Nelson Piquet Jr. in order to benefit the race strategy of Fernando Alonso, who went on to win. Neither Alonso nor any other Renault personnel were aware of the conspiracy.

The FIA accused Renault of conspiring Piquet to cause a deliberate crash early in the race. The wreck forced the deployment of the safety car. Alonso started on a light fuel load and made his first pit stop prior to Piquet's accident. The safety car period helped Alonso move to the front of the field after starting 15th on the grid.

Briatore has been banned indefinitely from any involvement in FIA-sanctioned motorsports, while Symonds received a five-year suspension. Piquet, who was fired by Renault in July, was granted immunity from sanction for volunteering his evidence in the investigation.

Alonso also won the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks after Singapore, but has not recorded a victory since then. The Spaniard's best finish this year is fifth, which came three times, most recently at Monza, Italy earlier this month. He has accumulated 20 world championship points so far this season.

"The car is working well at most circuits, so I believe we are competitive enough to get close to the podium, which has to be my target this weekend," Alonso said. "Last year, I decided it was better to remain on a European schedule rather than adjusting to local time, so I will do the same this year, as it's the best way to manage my energy levels."

After winning the Italian Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello gained ground in the championship battle with four races remaining in the season. Barrichello moved to within 14 points of current leader and Brawn GP teammate Jenson Button, who finished second at Monza.

Button and Barrichello, as well as Red Bull Racing teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are the only drivers who remain eligible in this year's title hunt. Vettel is 26 points behind Button, while Webber trails by 28.5.

Lewis Hamilton won't repeat as the world champion this year, but the McLaren driver is hopeful for more victories before this season concludes.

"I remember my race in Singapore last year was all about damage limitation," Hamilton said. "I was driving with one eye on the world championship and wasn't going to take too many risks. I was happy to finish on the podium. This year, it's very different. I know I'm out of the title hunt, and I want to attack these last four races, pushing for as many victories as I can."

Hamilton finished third in last year's first-ever F1 nighttime grand prix.

For the 2009 grand prix at Singapore, track officials have made modifications to the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The pit exit is one of the most significant changes. The exit has been realigned to join the track after the first corner. The entry to the pits has also been altered, with cars now leaving the track before turn 22. After drivers complained of bumps in last year's event, the circuit underwent a resurfacing between turns five and seven. The apexes of turns 13 and 14 have been tightened slightly, while the second and third apexes of turn 10 have been moved left and right respectively to make the chicane slower.

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Ford vehicles called 'world-class' - Courier-Journal

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 08:12 AM PDT

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With Asian automakers performing so well again in this year's survey, Paul also defended the magazine from charges that its results are biased toward Asian manufacturers.

He noted that the magazine's reliability findings were based on 1.4 million survey responses from readers as well as the magazine's own performance testing.

"We are asking for objective data here" on the surveys, Paul said. "We are asking for specific problems that people had with their cars."

Ford solidifies quality reputation

Ford, meanwhile, had many reasons to celebrate this year's survey.

The company's Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan midsize sedans ranked higher than the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, which are top-selling cars in the United States.

And, of the 51 Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars and trucks surveyed, 90% were ranked average or better.

"A lot of their mainstream products are right up there with the top of the Japanese, and that's very significant," said Jake Fisher, senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports.

Bennie Fowler, group vice president of global quality for Ford, said the Consumer Reports survey is validating.

"When we first started talking abut this, nobody would believe us," Fowler said. "As time has gone on, I think the story becomes more believable."

GM's mixed results

Consumer Reports said its survey revealed inconsistent results for General Motors. Of 48 models evaluated, 20 were found to have average reliability while just one, the Chevrolet Malibu V6, was above average.

The magazine now recommends eight of GM's models, including the Buick Enclave all-wheel drive crossover.

"I was pleased to see the positive reliability feedback on our newer models such as Chevy Malibu, Silverado and Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Sierra," Jamie Hresko, GM's vice president of global quality, said in a statement.

Chrysler's struggles

Consumer Reports' Fisher praised Chrysler for its redesigned Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, but said the Auburn Hills automaker faces numerous problems with its other cars and trucks.

"The Dodge Ram really impressed us," Fisher said. "That is really good news for them."

However, the Dodge Ram pickup was the only model Consumer Reports is recommending to consumers and Fisher said it would likely take Chrysler a long time to improve in its survey, which looks at data over a three-year period.

"They really need to start looking at big changes," Fisher said.

Chrysler said it has observed a 30% improvement in warranty claims over the past 18 months, and said its quality improvements should eventually show up in the Consumer Reports survey.

"We understand that there is still much work to do," Doug Betts, Chrysler's senior vice president of quality, said in a statement.

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Obama administration to reconsider trucker rule - News 14

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 07:29 AM PDT

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has agreed to reconsider a rule that allows long-haul truckers to drive for up to 11 hours straight, bowing to safety advocates who say longer hours could lead to greater fatigue and more accidents.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration signed an agreement late Monday with safety and labor groups pledging to revise the rule that became final in the waning days of the Bush administration.

"We believe that starting over and developing a rule that can help save lives is the smart thing to do," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

For 60 years, truckers were allowed to drive a maximum of 10 hours at a time. The Bush administration and the trucking industry wanted to let truckers have an extra hour of driving time. The rule also cut rest and recovery time at the end of a work week from 50 or more hours off duty to as little as 34 hours off-duty.

The transportation agency isn't saying exactly what it will do, but opponents of expanded hours are hopeful a new rule will be closer to the original limits.

"We are pleased that the government has decided to take seriously its responsibility to protect truck drivers and the public from unsafe driving conditions instead of bending to the interests of the trucking industry," said Greg Beck, an attorney for the consumer group Public Citizen.

The FMCSA says it will propose a new rule within the next nine months.

A federal appeals court struck the rule down twice, saying the government did not adequately explain its reasoning for adding the extra hour. But the Bush administration reinstated the rule each time.

Public Citizen, Parents Against Tired Truckers, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters sued to get the rule thrown out.

"We will continue to push for a rule that protects trucks drivers, instead of the greed of the trucking industry," said Teamsters president Jim Hoffa. "Longer hours behind the wheel are dangerous for our members and the driving public."

Clayton Boyce, spokesman for American Trucking Associations, said the number of truck-involved fatalities and injuries on highways has decreased since the new rules took effect.

"It's been shown during that time that the rules as they are constructed are safe," Boyce said.

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