Testing Resumes in Spain; Trulli Rejected Ferrari

Formula One cars took to the track in Spain again Tuesday after a week’s break, this time outside Barcelona. The Mercedes team arrived with its 2012 car, which it revealed to the world this morning before handing it over to Michael Schumacher to drive all day.

The talk of the day this time was not about the Lotus, which looked surprisingly good last week in Jerez, because Romain Grosjean was only able to run seven laps before the team had to send the new chassis back to the factory in England for an unspecified problem. On Wednesday, Grosjean will drive the same chassis used in Jerez, which is being sent from England to Barcelona.

The fastest man of the day Tuesday was the world champion, Sebastian Vettel, in the Red Bull. But his lap time was only marginally better than the second fastest driver, Nico Hulkenberg of the Force India team, who was 0.1 second behind. Schumacher managed only the sixth time, 0.8 seconds behind Vettel.

The most interesting news of the day came not from the race track, however, but from an article in an Italian magazine. Jarno Trulli, the Italian driver who has just been let go by the Caterham team, revealed for the first time that while he was racing for Toyota from 2004 to 2009 he received an offer to drive at Ferrari from Jean Todt, the former Ferrari director who is now president of the International Automobile Federation.

“Nobody knows this, but at this point I think I can publicly thank Jean Todt for having been one of the few top team managers to consider me during my career. No one knows this, but Todt offered me a seat at Ferrari,” Trulli told Autosprint magazine.

“I won’t tell you when exactly: I was racing for Toyota and I was doing very well. But I had signed a rather long contract with the Japanese, and in my career I’ve always honored my commitments. In 15 years of F1 I’ve never needed lawyers.”

That really attests to Trulli’s extraordinary character. For any driver, Ferrari is the holy grail of Formula One teams, the most coveted destination. For an Italian driver, it is even bigger than that, especially since Ferrari has for so long avoided using Italian drivers. The team did turn to an Italian, Giancarlo Fisichella, briefly in 2009 to replace Felipe Massa after he injured himself in a crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix — so come to think of it, it would be a good guess that Trulli was invited at that time. Unfortunately, Toyota suddenly pulled out of Formula One at the end of that season, and Trulli found himself without a drive, although he immediately signed with Team Lotus, which became Caterham.

Tuesday’s lap times in Spain:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.265s 79
2. Hulkenberg Force India 1m23.440s +0.175 97
3. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.590s +0.325 114
4. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.618s +0.353 76
5. Alonso Ferrari 1m24.100s +0.835 75
6. Schumacher Mercedes 1m24.150s +0.885 51
7. Perez Sauber 1m24.219s +0.954 66
8. Senna Williams 1m25.711s +2.446 97
9. Kovalainen Caterham 1m26.035s +2.770 31
10. Grosjean Lotus 1m26.809s +3.544 7
11. Pic Marussia 1m28.026s +4.761 121

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A Few Surprises, But No Conclusions in First Testing Session

The first four days of testing of the Formula One season, which ended Friday, created a few surprises. Best of all was a clear lack of domination by the usual suspects — the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari teams. The biggest surprise was probably the sudden appearance of the Lotus team with the fastest of the 2012 cars.

Nico Rosberg may have set the fastest time of the four days in his Mercedes, but that was last year’s car. Same goes for Michael Schumacher in the other Mercedes, who was fastest on his day and third fastest overall. So we can exclude them until they try the new car at the next session, not this week but the next.

So the bright moment came with Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest time on the first day in the Lotus, and then his teammate Romain Grosjean set the fastest time over all of the new cars. For a team that struggled last year after the loss of its star driver, Robert Kubica, to injury, this is exceptional news. Eric Boullier, the team director, said that Raikkonen had united and inspired the team.

The other surprise was the strength of the Toro Rosso team and its two young drivers, including the rookie Jean-Eric Vergne. They set nearly equal times, with Daniel Ricciardo coming out slightly ahead. But the relative times are difficult to compare since the drivers drove on different days. More interesting was how Vergne finished second fastest on Friday, behind Alonso, but ahead of the world champion, Sebastian Vettel, of Red Bull.

Still, there is very little that can be concluded from a first winter testing, and if the Ferrari looked a little sluggish at the hands of Felipe Massa, it looked better with Fernando Alonso driving, especially on the last day when he set the fastest lap of the day — no doubt helped by the support of his home fans on the Jerez circuit in Spain. Alonso said the Ferrari would perform better at the next test, in Barcelona.

The Autosport web site has published a valuable chart, below, of the combined lap times of the four days.

The next test session is in Barcelona from Feb. 21-24. (In the meantime, here is a podcast interview with me that was published on the F1 Weekly web site.)

COMBINED JEREZ TIMES

Pos Driver Team Best time Total laps
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.613s 174
2. Grosjean Lotus 1m18.419s +0.806 212
3. Schumacher Mercedes 1m18.561s +0.948 174
4. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s +1.264 106
5. Webber Red Bull 1m19.184s +1.571 151
6. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.297s +1.684 146
7. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.464s +1.851 166
8. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m19.587s +1.974 157
9. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +1.984 159
10. Raikkonen Lotus 1m19.670s +2.057 192
11. Perez Sauber 1m19.770s +2.157 116
12. Di Resta Force India 1m19.772s +2.159 170
13. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +2.221 182
14. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +2.364 90
15. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +2.519 250
16. Bianchi Force India 1m20.221s +2.608 46
17. Massa Ferrari 1m20.454s +2.841 164
18. Button McLaren 1m20.688s +3.075 147
19. Maldonado Williams 1m21.197s +3.584 122
20. Kovalainen Caterham 1m21.518s +3.905 167
21. De la Rosa HRT 1m22.128s +4.515 108
22. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +4.585 117
23. Van der Garde Caterham 1m23.324s +5.711 74

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George Diaz: Top 5 storylines for 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season

DAYTONA BEACH — The quiet calm of the short NASCAR off-season ends tonight with the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

Be prepared for a lot of noise.

As with any sport, there were some significant and interesting changes that evolved in the off-season, since Tony Stewart edged Carl Edwards to win the Sprint Cup title in Homestead last November.

A quick look at the top five storylines as everybody tweaks their restrictor plates to get ready for the Big One — The Daytona 500, on Feb. 26:

Danica-mania: Consider us guilty-as-charged in fueling the hype. But resistance is futile. No driver drew more interest during the Media Day scrum than Patrick, who will drive full-time in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, and 10 select races for the Stewart-Haas race team on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Is she nothing more than some Go Daddy eye-candy? We'll find out very quickly, as she prepares to rumble with 42 boys in the Daytona 500.

Sponsorship woes: NASCAR is not immune from feeling the economic pinch, as drivers and teams are still scrambling to find sponsors that can fill up the 36-race schedule. Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne has secured sponsorship for 18 races, but that's only half a season.

Other prominent drivers are having to piecemeal sponsors. Ryan Newman, for example, will have eight primary sponsors in 36 races.

Will Jimmie jam in 2012?: Johnson won five consecutive titles before losing the way last season. Johnson finished sixth in points, his lowest point since he began running full-time on the Cup circuit in 2002. That won't happen again, according to the media soothsayers. Members of NASCARMedia.com picked Johnson to win the Sprint Cup title. Johnson received 147 votes in the annual preseason poll, just two more than Carl Edwards, who finished second in last season's championship points.

"I'm just upset at the way we lost the championship last year," Johnson said. "At points within the chase, we had momentum and things going our way. When I look back on it, I find the way in which we lost it is the tough thing. If we get beat, we get beat and I just don't want to, we beat ourselves, and I just don't want to do that again."

Squish the love bugs: NASCAR officials are determined to curb the tandem, or 'love-bug' style of racing that the majority of fans considered boring. The plan is to return to the traditional cluster of cars on the restrictor-plate tracks at Daytona and Talladega. The changes in the car setups include a smaller rear spoiler, softer springs and a slightly larger restrictor plate.

It remains a work in progress. Several cars were involved a chain-reaction wreck during practice early Friday night. The wreck took out Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, among others. Busch, now driving for Phoenix Racing, will have to go to a backup car for tonight's shootout.

Who is where? NASCAR's "silly season" got a little sillier in the off-season, with a number of key driver changes. Kasey Kahne is now driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Mark Martin joins Michael Waltrip Racing. Clint Bowyer is there too, after leaving Richard Childress Racing. Kurt Busch is with Phoenix Racing after getting bounced from Penske Racing.

The changes will make for compelling stories that will evolve as the season progresses. Stay tuned.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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George Diaz: Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick: NASCAR's new power couple

DAYTONA BEACH — She is the perky princess of auto racing, a hot-bod casting herself in an extreme makeover involving stock cars and a whole new vocabulary, surrounded by a polarizing fan base still conflicted about her driving ability.

He is the sometimes-petulant prince of NASCAR, a guy who likes his fast-food fix, the occasional joust with the media, and has no worries about his driving ability. Check out the crown on his head.

Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart are NASCAR's new power couple, a perfect fit for a cyber-obsessive world. They've got it all: Looks, talent, charm and renegade appeal.

Patrick will making her official transition from open wheel to stock cars, driving full-time in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, and 10 select races for the Stewart-Hass race team on the Sprint Cup circuit. Stewart — a three-time Cup champion — is her mentor and confidant, sharing a wisdom etched over a span of 13 seasons and 133,675 Sprint Cup laps.

Don't be surprised if the Internet blows up.

Patrick was surrounded by one of the largest group of reporters in the history of NASCAR Media Day on Thursday morning, reflective of her star-power. That's how they will roll all season, as Stewart and Patrick lead the rumble of cars on the NASCAR Nationwide and Cup schedule.

The media appeal is obvious: Does Danica have the competitive mojo to run with the big boys in NASCAR? Does Tony has the competitive juice to repeat as NASCAR Sprint Cup champion?

They will have no issues dealing the media crush. Witness their first formal meet-and-greet of the season during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Tour in Charlotte last month, when they stepped on the stage accompanied by the booming pulse of the The Heavy's "How Do You Like Me Now?" (Think Kia commercial).

"I think we both enjoy the banter that comes in a setting like this," Patrick said Thursday.

They banter with each other, too. She laughs at his refusal to drink wine. Beer only for Tony, please. She is a wine connoisseur.

She works out to keep in shape for all those Go Daddy commercials. Tony doesn't do the gym.

She is 29 and married. He is a 40-year-old proverbial bachelor, committed only to a handful of pets.

"A dog, two cats," Stewart said, "and they don't care if I go race seven days a week as long as they get fed, they are happy. That's my deal. That's where my lifestyle is a little different. I look for every race that I can run during the off-season., It sounds like I would wear myself out doing it but that's my workout plan. I don't go to the gym. I go to the racetrack and race."

"I think we have the same sense of humor," Patrick said. "He's a little more. We were at the race shop and he decided he was going to take brake cleaner and a propane tank and light people on fire. He has a lot of fun with the things that he does. He's a little more aggressive with his fun."

Excuse the NASCAR pooh-bahs for jumping out of their fire suits in unbridled joy. The sport was able to recast itself somewhat last season, with a thrilling Chase that came down to the last race of the season, but it needs Tony and Danica's marketing juice to help connect with a broader audience.

Together, they can bridge those demographics. Stewart represents NASCAR's old-school. Patrick is still a newbie, still somewhat frustrated by the odd chatter she hears over her car radio. Now that she's figured out the difference between "loose" and "tight," it becomes a question of whether she can drive the thing.

"What's surprised me is how much I truly enjoy driving these cars," she said. "I know it sounds super-cheesy, I'm sure. You all probably think I am lying. But I never thought I would enjoy driving these cars as much as I do."

True dat, Danica.

May NASCAR hoist a glass of wine to welcome you. And a beer chaser for Tony.

diaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Look for Jimmie Johnson to get his NASCAR mojo back in 2012

Every driver is motivated. Every one each believes he has a shot. Everybody is excited.

That's all hunky-dory. The 2012 NASCAR season has yet to start and the optimistic rumble from the garages always precedes the realistic rumble on the track, when the usual suspects rise to the top and the pretenders finish 28th or worse every week.

It's not hard to predict which guys will be chasing NASCAR championships in 2012:

Defending champion Tony Stewart has huge momentum after a thunderous finish in 2011. Carl Edwards is due to bust out of his Buffalo Bills-esque two-time second-place finishes. And somebody somewhere will predict that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will finally break free from the shadow of daddy dearest and win a title.

But there's a guy who is motivated, has a shot and is excited, and he should rise above the rest.

Say hello to your 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson.

You should know the story. Johnson — accompanied by wing man/crew chief Chad Knaus — won five consecutive titles before losing their way last season. Johnson finished sixth, his lowest point since he began running full-time on the Cup circuit in 2002.

This year, expect him to find his way home: Back on the big stage in Vegas, celebrating another championship.

"Yeah, I mean, I've spent a lot of time through the off-eason thinking about the way I'm involved with the race team, the responsibilities I have, just the way I've gone about work for the last five years, and it's hard to argue with the last five years and what had happened," Johnson said during a testing session in Daytona Beach recently. "Last year was the sixth year and we didn't get the results that we wanted. But I really felt like we were competitive in a lot of areas. Chad and I made some mistakes in the Chase and took ourselves out of it."

Look for them to be back in it. In all sports, the most dangerous competitor is a talented one who is motivated to succeed and redeem himself.

Johnson fits all that criteria.

"It's been a very good off-season for me to internalize some things and to really evaluate what goes on from my standpoint and my involvement with the team and how good of a teammate and team member I can be for the 48 car, and I'm making changes," Johnson said. "I feel like even though I tried over the five-year run to not stall out and tried to continue to evolve and challenge myself and recreate myself, it's hard to do it. You have a roadmap that's working, and it's hard to get too far from it. This winter has been really good for me to really dive down and understand the areas where I feel like I can do a better job and be a better member of the 48 team.

"So I know I'm stronger and better today."

Yikes. Consider yourselves served, everybody else.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

Plenty of energy

Michael Waltrip will make a historic run in this year's Daytona 500.

He will make his 75th start on the fabled super-speedway — the most of any driver — on Feb. 26. He will drive the No. 40 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota for Aaron Racing.

"When I was a kid thinking about racing in Daytona, I never dreamed I would start more NASCAR races there than anyone," Waltrip said. "That's amazing."

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Dog Whisperer quiets rumble of NASCAR Speed Weeks

DAYTONA BEACH — NASCAR driver Greg Biffle admires Cesar Millan for his work training undisciplined dogs — and humans — from all over the world.

Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan admires Greg Biffle for his ability to drive a car at crazy speeds for three to four hours, all without a potty break and the chance to stretch.

So it was kinda cool to see their worlds collide — without the crash and bang of any restrictor plates — Friday morning.

Millan, probably the only man in the world who can calm the rowdy rumble of Speedweeks, stepped into Biffle's world as a collaborative effort. Millan was in Daytona Beach Friday to tape an upcoming episode his popular show on NatGeo. He met Biffle, and his wife, Nicole, at the Halifax Humane Society, taking a tour of the facility, and most importantly, working his mojo with a few problematic poochies.

He later went to Daytona International Speedway to help another Cup driver, Kevin Harvick, and his wife DeLana, who have issues with their Chihuahua, Little One (LO).

"Dogs are simple," Millan said. "Humans make it complicated."

Millan used his behavioral model — calm, assertive energy — to deal with an aggressive dog that barked any time someone approached his cage at the shelter. Millan re-directed that energy by approaching him with dog treats. "Sixty-percent of the brain is controlled by the nose," he said.

There remains a lot of work to do. The Halifax shelter is always at full occupancy — 350 animals and takes in a total of 15,000 animals a year. It's a nationwide problem of course — an estimated three to four million cats and dogs are euthanized at shelters every year.

"We have our own genocide, but it's hush-hush," Millan said. ""I'm not saying dogs should have the same value as a human, but life is life. Some people say. 'that's a dog, that's a cat who cares?' But we should because it's a living creature. If we don't want to kill, there is a prevention method called spay and neuter. Get on one of those."

Biffle is fully engaged to helping the cause. An owner of two boxers and another mixed-breed dog, Biffle runs a foundation that allots grants to animal shelters throughout the country and is planning on building an animal shelter in North Carolina. About half the funding is in place, he said.

He has a great ally in Millan, who now has a standing invitation to visit the Biffles in Mooresville, N.C., for some barbecue and fried pickles.

"Any awareness we can bring helps," Biffle said. "A lot of times it's educating the pet owner instead of trying to train the dog or the cat. What Cesar does is train the person as well as the pet."

Millan's work in Daytona isn't done. He will stick around for the Budweiser Shootout tonight, where he will serve as an honorary race official.

It's a new world for him. Although his show is now seen in 120 countries, Millan is a newbie when it comes to the NASCAR Nation.

"A lot of energy, rock-and-roll, testosterone, hard-core," it's really very American. It's almost like a hot dog and a hamburger and all of that."

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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NASCAR seizes part of Johnson's Daytona 500 car

Five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are back in the spotlight at one of racing's biggest stages — and not for the right reason.

NASCAR confiscated part of their Daytona 500 car Friday because of illegal modifications, a rocky start to Speedweeks for a team trying to bounce back from its worst season.

Sprint Cup Series officials determined the No. 48 Chevrolet had illegally modified C-posts, an area of sheet metal between the roof and the side windows. It could lead to penalties for Knaus and the team.

Officials cut off the C-posts and planned to ship them to NASCAR's research and development center in Concord, N.C., for further testing. In the meantime, the parts in question were put on display for other teams to examine, a routine procedure for the sanctioning body.

NASCAR allowed the Hendrick Motorsports team to fix that area of the car before practice begins for the Feb. 26 Daytona 500. Qualifying is scheduled for Sunday.

"Well, it's a hell of a way to start the 2012 season," said Ken Howes, vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports. "But the car obviously failed inspection and NASCAR has directed us how they want it fixed and we're busy doing that. We're waiting on some parts to arrive and we'll put it back together and run it through inspection again."

The No. 48 team could be fined, docked points or both following the series' premier event.

"There's always a potential, but we'll just wait until after Speedweeks is over with," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition.

Knaus has been caught cheating before.

Most notably, he was ejected before the 2006 Daytona 500 after NASCAR found illegal modifications following a qualifying session. Last season, Knaus was caught on camera telling Johnson that if he won at Talladega he needed to "crack the back of the car," apparently to build an explanation in case the car did not pass post-race inspection. Nothing came of that situation.

Knaus has been fined and penalized several other times, too.

This situation doesn't appear to be as serious as it was in 2006.

"Ejection? No, no, we're good," Pemberton said. "That was a little bit different because that was a post-event we'd already been in. That wasn't a pre-race inspection or pre-qualifying inspection."

Howes said modifying C-posts would provide an aerodynamic advantage.

"Yeah, any bodywork area, everybody's always looking," Howes said. "It's an area that you'll go as far as you can because, yes, it will affect the performance of the car. That's the nature of this kind of racing, especially at Daytona. That's an area that teams will work in. The 48 obviously went too far."

He said he hasn't asked Knaus for an explanation on how or why the modifications were made. He said it could be that the template didn't fit properly.

"You work within the templates the best way you think and you're trying to do a better job than the next guy," Howes said. "And I did not see the grid on the car, so I can't tell exactly where it missed, but NASCAR said it wasn't right, so it's not right. We don't have an argument with that."

Series director John Darby said he believed the other three Hendrick Motorsports cars — those driven by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne — passed inspection.

He added that the No. 48 team should be able to get things fixed.

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Tony Stewart team facing big changes in defense of title

Tony Stewart won't have any problems celebrating his third NASCAR Cup title when the party hits Las Vegas for "Champions Week."

The official schedule was changed because of Stewart's actions the last time he won the title in 2005. A breakfast honoring the champion and some of the other top drivers is now a lunch because Stewart couldn't gather himself out of bed for breakfast back then.

But once the party favors are put away, Stewart will be a busy man trying to gather momentum for the 2012 season.

The Stewart-Haas Racing team has yet to replace its competition director. Most importantly, Stewart and company will need to find a new crew chief to replace crew chief Darian Grubb. Confirming speculation that swirled in the week leading up to the finale in Homestead, Grubb revealed that he won't return. Grubb said he had been told before the Oct. 15 race in Charlotte that he wouldn't be back in 2012.

"It is [baffling] to me, honestly," Grubb said after the race. "..We just kept fighting. It did not change anything."

Grubb has been Stewart's crew chief for all 108 races since Stewart-Haas Racing was formed in 2009.

The decision becomes even more perplexing since Stewart won five of the 10 Chase races, and Grubb made a gutsy call to stay on the track toward the end of the race — a move that likely clinched the championship for Stewart.

Still, there will be no second-guessing, as Stewart-Haas Racing moves forward in the brief offseason.

"We're looking at all our options right now," Stewart said in a teleconference on Tuesday. "… we'll sit down as a group and try to come up with a decision."

Stewart will be scrambling for much of the offseason before testing starts at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 12. He flew to Connecticut early Monday morning, just hours after winning the title.

He made the appointed rounds at ESPN and then went to New York for more appearances. As of Tuesday, he still had 300 text messages he had not been able to return.

His only down time may be when this week when he returns home to Indiana for Thanksgiving.

"I'm looking forward being able to go home for Thanksgiving," he said. "..as much as I'd love to take a break I still have a lot of things on the to-do list. We'll find the time. I'm not really concerned about time off. I've enjoyed being in New York; I've enjoyed being on the ESPN campus Monday. I felt I was part of something that was really special."

Stewart is likely going to hurt from all the back-slapping over the next few weeks. Some of the historical context includes the fact that he became only the ninth driver to win at least three Cup titles, and the seventh driver to win a Cup title with two teams.

Earnhardt's number?

The iconic No. 3 may be back in the Sprint Cup starting lineup one day, a possibility that may send some NASCAR fans into an emotional tizzy.

That number belonged to the Dale Earnhardt, the late, great Intimidator on the NASCAR circuit. Would it be disrespectful for another driver to drive a car with that number? We may find out soon enough. Austin Dillon — the grandson of Richard Childress — is already set to drive a No. 3 Chevy in the Nationwide Series next season. The natural progression points to Dillon moving up to drive the car in the Sprint Cup Series.

Childress — Earnhardt's former team owner and best friend — reached out to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelly, asking for permission to use the No. 3 in the Nationwide Series.

Junior's answer: Thumbs up.

"I don't look at the numbers tied to drivers as much as just the history of the number," he said last week in South Florida "The number is more of a bank, you know, that you just deposit history into. It doesn't really belong to any individual. Austin's ran that number and you can't really deny him the opportunity to continue to run it. It just wouldn't be fair.

"Dad did great things. He was a great ambassador for the sport and we're still as a whole, reaping the benefits of all he accomplished and what he did that put us in front of a lot of people. But even before that, the number was Richard's. Richard drove it. And someone else drove it before then….

"But I think it would be fine by me for him [Dillon] to do that. I think that it's got to get back on the race track one of these days. It just can't be gone forever you know?"

Busch gets bratty: It's a coin flip every week as to which one of the Busch Brothers is going to be a bigger jerk. Last weekend in Homestead, it was Kurt Busch. He ripped into ESPN pit road reporter Jerry Punch with a cluster of F-bombs after Busch had car troubles in the Ford 400.

"Penske Racing extends its apologies to Dr. Jerry Punch, our media partners and our sponsors and fans for Kurt Busch's inappropriate actions in Homestead on Sunday," Busch's team owner said in a statement released Tuesday. "These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company's standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism. This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time."

Too much security? A quick aside about the over-zealous security folks at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While it's understood that security needed to be beefed up because first lady Michelle Obama was visiting, some local police officers went overboard trying to keep working officials with NASCAR permanent credentials (hard cards) away from the pits shortly before the race.

Those people included Kate Edwards, the wife of Carl Edwards. "I'm the wife of one of the drivers," Edwards pleaded with one of the officers, who didn't budge. Finally, another person in the party indentified Edwards and they let her through. Common sense prevailed. Barely.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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At Jerez Testing Session, More Questions Than Answers

Red Bull RacingAn image of the new Red Bull Formula One car with its trendy, ugly nose.?

It may not have been a grand prix, but in a way, the Formula One season started on Tuesday in Jerez, Spain, with the first testing session of the year. It was the first time the new cars hit the track, and questions of finding this year’s strongest teams and best drivers were supposed to start being answered.

It seemed, however, as if the first session might have raised more questions than actual answers. Could it really be, for instance, that the Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen, who is returning after two seasons away from the series, are the strongest and fastest of them all? It’s doubtful that many people expected the Iceman, as Raikkonen is known, to set the fastest lap time of the first session. But that is exactly what he did, as the pack behind him looked strangely mixed up, and showing little of its strength from last season.

Second fastest, in a Force India, was Paul di Resta, while Nico Rosberg was third in a Mercedes. Rosberg only drove in the morning session, with his teammate Michael Schumacher taking over in the afternoon and finishing sixth best. But the Mercedes was last year’s car, not the new model, which is not yet finished.

So the dominating Red Bull car in all of this? Mark Webber finished fourth, eight seconds off Raikkonen. Jenson Button finished eighth in a McLaren-Mercedes, 1.8 seconds behind Raikkonen.

But what’s to be read into all of this? Probably not much, because it’s only the first day of testing.

“It was good,” Webber said. “I felt quite comfortable in the car quite quickly. It’s very early days, but so far, so good.”

Perhaps by the end of the week more issues about this season will come into better focus. There is also, of course, this thing about what to do with the ugly new car noses. My last post was a celebration of the beauty of the new McLaren car compared with the ugliness of the cars that people expected would be the norm this year with their platypus noses. Well, since that McLaren post, over the last few days, all the other cars that have been revealed to the world have had one variation or another on the ugly nose.

The one that stands out the most, of course, is the Ferrari. Who has ever heard of an ugly Ferrari, anyway, right?

But on Monday, the key to which way the aerodynamic wind might be blowing came with the presentation of the new Red Bull. This is the team that has won the last two championships, including last year with total domination. More important, it is the team for which the chief designer and head of the technical program, Adrian Newey, is also a master aerodynamicist. So what Newey might do with the nose would be watched closely. The answer? Ugly. Oh, not as bad as some, but ugly still.

So this first test. which runs until Friday, may begin to show who got it right. And yet, tests like these are not a real competition.

Also, it may take longer to find out the answer to the design question. Still, if the McLaren is immediately and indisputably faster than the others, there will no doubt be a little head scratching in the nose design department of the other teams. Somehow, it is hard to imagine that a majority of the teams got it wrong…..

Perhaps the most important words came from Sebastian Vettel, the Red Bull driver who won the title in the last two years and dominated last year:

‘‘Looking at the cars, there’s not much room left for the designers to play with, to find something extra,’’ Vettel said at the car’s introduction in Jerez on Monday. ‘‘The last two years we have had two big things taken away — the double diffusers, and for this year the system around the blown exhaust. We are missing that, and so it’s difficult to really create a difference. We’ll see.’’

He added, “I think it will be very, very tight this year, and anything else would be a surprise, to be honest.”

The lap times of Tuesday’s testing:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus-Renault, 1m19.670s, 73
2. Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes, 1m19.772s, + 0.102 101
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m20.219s, + 0.549 56
4. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault, 1m20.496s, + 0.826 53
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1m20.694s, + 1.024 57
6. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, 1m20.794s, + 1.124 41
7. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrar, 1m21.353s, + 1.683 106
8. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes, 1m21.530s, + 1.860 60
9. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1m22.815s, + 3.145 69
10. Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham-Renault, 1m23.178s, + 3.508 28
11. Pastor Maldonado, Williams-Renault, 1m23.371s, + 3.701 25
12. Pedro de la Rosa, HRT-Cosworth, 1m23.676s, + 4.006 44

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NASCAR moves into 2012 at 'a very good place'

5:04 p.m. CST, January 26, 2012

CHARLOTTE _ Reflecting on a healthy business model, Brian France delivered a state of the union address with very little substantive news Thursday afternoon.

As the season moves forward when the green flag drops on the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26th, the biggest changes involve efforts to curb the two-car drafting tandems, eliminating in-car communication among drivers, and a more formal policy of announcing fines involving drivers and team officials, which at times were not revealed to the media.

"The sport is at a very good place right now, no question about that," France, the CEO and chairman of NASCAR, said at the NASCAR Hall of Fame."Our style of racing continues to attract the best talent in the world…it will be exciting to see Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana compete against our best drivers."

Patrick will run full-time in the Nationwide Series and a 10-race schedule in the Sprint Cup. Pastrana, a motocross star, will run in the Nationwide series. They will add star power to a field of drivers that include a new defending Cup champion.

Tony Stewart edged Carl Edwards for the title at Homestead, ending Jimmie Johnson's five-year run. There were 18 different winners in the NASCAR Cup series, including five first-timers. They raced under a new Chase playoff format that delivered strong story lines and drama to the 2011 season. Hence, no changes in the Chase format for 2012.

"The way to top that," France said of 2012, "is to have three or four drivers going for the championship… We're very pleased with how all those changes played out. It put a premium on winning. We will continue on the same path."

In other NASCAR news, Bill Elliott announced a one-race deal with Walmart to compete in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July. Elliott, a former Cup champion, is 56.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Mark Martin chasing elusive Daytona win with new team

DAYTONA BEACH — The race track has teased him, tempted him to dream and mockingly taunted him to give it another try.

Mark Martin has made 53 career starts at Daytona International Speedway. He has yet to win a race here.

Martin has two top-10 finishes in his last seven Daytona starts, but the Big One still eludes him. It is about the only notch the Daytona region resident needs on a fabled career that dates to 1981.

After three days of testing last week, Martin will be back in February, ready for another run. At a just-turned -53 (Jan. 9), he is energized by new faces surrounding him. And some old ones, too.

Martin moves over from Hendrick Motorsports to Michael Waltrip Racing under a two-year deal announced in November. Martin replaces David Reutimann, who was released from MWR.

Signing one of NASCAR's storied graybeards is a huge get for Michael Waltrip's team. (So was signing Clint Bowyer, formerly with Richard Childress Racing.) Martin will run a limited schedule, terms of engagement that suit him perfectly.

"Do you see this big old smile on my face? Yeah, buddy, I'm tell you, I'm thrilled," Martin said after the first day of testing. "I'm back to the schedule that I ran in '07 and '08. I've had a great off?season, had the time of my life with Hendrick Motorsports and made friends for life there. But this is a new challenge from an organization standpoint, a lot of new faces, and then a lot of guys I've worked with before. I couldn't believe it when I walked through the shop the first time. You can't believe how many people I've worked with before who are at MWR now.

"And obviously I was in a position where I got to choose the races and how many. So it's just exactly where I want to be in life right now. I'm expecting to do a lot of smiling this year."

Martin's resume is packed with great stuff: 830 Cup starts in 29 years, 40 victories and 438 Top 10s. He has also finished second in the points standings five times, reflective of the same buzzard's luck he has had at Daytona.

What would finally winning the Harley J. Earl Trophy, presented to the Daytona 500 champ, mean to him, he was asked.

"Not sure what it would mean," Martin said. "You've got to check with my boss, Michael Waltrip. You know, when I think about that, I have different thoughts. One of the thoughts is if it happened this year, it might be a life changer for me, and then it might not, I don't know. Certainly it would be an incredible experience. I'm just proud to have an opportunity to be in it again."

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

Kenseth owes Junior

The best story from testing at Daytona involves a beard and a bet.

Matt Kenseth was among the invited guests for a New Year's Eve '70s party at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s house. In the heat of the festive moment, Junior bet Kenseth that he couldn't keep a beard he had grown — a Fu-Manchu thing, in honor of the party — when everybody reconvened at Daytona for testing.

Game on, Kenseth said.

The boys bet $2,500.

Only Kenseth came to Daytona with a lame three-day stubble and tried to pass that off as a "beard."

"Pay up," Junior said.

"It looked really stupid, but I hate losing any money and he kept upping the money and upping the money, so finally I said, 'OK,', but I checked first to make sure I didn't have any photos or anything," Kenseth said, " And then I got a call, oh, yeah, Monday. 'By the way, you've got to do a photo here and you've got to do this interview and do a photo shoot there.' So anyway, so I guess I lost. Although this technically should count. It's three days' old, two days."

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New McLaren: The Importance of Being Beautiful

Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated PressThe new McLaren Mercedes MP4-27 was revealed by the team in England to great sighs of relief from F1 fans, as it immediately killed what many feared would be a trend towards ugly cars.

When the newly named Caterham team presented its 2012 car last week, the first of the Formula One teams to do so, there was a sudden intake of breath as fans, drivers and F1 people in general said, “Gosh, that’s ugly!”

The fear was that the new rules that require the nose of the car to be higher than last year would create cars with noses as ugly as the one on the Caterham, which called to mind a platypus. Rules, or indeed the lack of rules, do that kind of thing sometimes — remember the six wheeled Tyrrell of the 70s, or all those winglet cars 15 years ago?

So on Wednesday, when the McLaren Mercedes team unveiled its 2012 car live on the Internet and in front of the media in England — and by the way, this was technically the best Internet unveiling I’ve ever seen, with a clear streaming image and sound — there was a sigh of relief and acknowledgment of the car’s beauty not only by journalists, but by the drivers themselves.

As Joe Saward said on his F1 blog in the headline minutes before the car was unveiled: “McLaren not ugly!”

When the McLaren drivers were interviewed during the event, both of them spoke of the importance of having a beautiful car.

“There are a few changes that are going to make a difference to the look of the car,” said Jenson Button. “As you can see this is a beautiful car, and many you will see will not be.”

Lewis Hamilton agreed with that and punctuated his comment with a point that rings true:

“Generally when the car looks good it is good,” said Hamilton.

All right, but it will be interesting to see which team ends up having to undergo a nose job this season as the best design reveals itself.

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Iceman Finishes Winter Preparation in Valencia

January 25, 2012, 7:32 am

By BRAD SPURGEON

Andrew Ferraro/Lotus F1 TeamKimi Raikkonen speaks to a Lotus team engineer at his first Formula One test in Valencia on his return to the series.

Kimi Raikkonen, the Formula One world champion of 2007, completed on Tuesday two days of driving in preparation for his return to the series after a two-year absence.

Although no real testing is allowed to Formula One teams until early February, the rules do allow for a team to run a two-year-old car. So Raikkonen has been testing a 2010 Renault with the team’s new colors and branding as Lotus. Technically the test does not help Raikkonen that much, except to get a feel of driving an F1 car again after two years sliding around in rally cars and doing a little Nascar. But as the Finnish driver pointed out Wednesday, it does help him get to know how to work with the team.

Raikkonen, nicknamed “Iceman” for his nerves of steel and his cool demeanor, left Formula One at the end of the 2009 season when he drove for Ferrari, the team with which he won the title in 2007.

“It went well today and overall the two days have been helped me a lot,” said Raikkonen. “Even though I was using a two year-old car and the Pirelli demonstration tires, I learned about working with the team and the engineers, which means I can focus on the new car once we get to Jerez for the first official test. It was great to be driving an F1 car again and from that respect I feel very positive.”

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Ticket Talk at the Circuit of the Americas

Circuit of the AmericasAn artist’s rendition of the main straight, grand stand and pit lane of the Circuit of the Americas at Austin, where the U.S. Grand Prix is scheduled to take place in November.

The Circuit of the Americas, the race track in Austin, Texas, where the U.S. Grand Prix is supposed to take place on Nov. 18, opened on Monday a “select seating” waiting list for tickets to the race on its Web site. Actual sales of tickets for the race will not begin until “early summer,” according to a circuit statement.

But starting Monday and running to Feb. 13, people may buy a “personal seat license,” which gives them priority on the waiting list. Still, not even these will be ready for sale until Mar. 1. The license ranges in price from $1,000 to $5,000. If that seems a little costly – considering it does not even cover the cost of the actual race ticket – it is not, in fact, only for the Grand Prix.

Circuit of the AmericasA recent photograph of the pit building at the Circuit of the Americas, where the U.S. Grand Prix is scheduled to take place in November.

“A personal seat license entitles its holder to purchase tickets for all racing events at Circuit of The Americas for the next 15 years,” the circuit statement said. “The license also gives its holder a priority position to purchase tickets for entertainment events held at Circuit of The Americas for the duration of the license.”

“Select seating” is mainly on the 9,000 seat main grandstand along the start/finish straight, with a view of the pit lane. Speaking of which, the circuit also distributed a new artist’s conception of that straight and the grandstand. But recent photographs showing where the actual construction work stands, may make a viewer – or potential seat buyer – feel a little less optimistic.

Still, it is now possible for anyone to inspect the ongoing construction of the circuit through a live camera brought to my attention by the Speed City Cam Web site.

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