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The San Jose Grand Prix gives back to the fans. Fast Friday, July 27th the San Jose Grand Prix is free - to the Public all day Friday
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SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW TO CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 24, 2007) - The Bay Area's largest auto exposition will celebrate its 50th anniversary when the San Francisco Chronicle|SFGate.com 50th Annual International Auto Show, presented by AutoTrader.com, opens its doors on Thanksgiving 2007 at the Moscone Convention Center. The San Francisco International Auto Show, which is supported by the California Motor Car Dealers Association, is the premier, largest and most spectacular auto exposition in northern California and the only auto show held regionally that lures the dazzling high-tech displays from the world's major manufacturers. This year's show will run for 11 days beginning Thursday, November 22, 2007 and concluding Sunday, December 2, 2007. The 50th Annual San Francisco International Auto Show will feature more than 800 cars, SUV's, trucks and vans representing the work of over 40 manufacturers for the year 2008 and beyond. The Auto Show will offer Bay Area auto buyers and enthusiasts their first opportunity to see the new 2008 model vehicles all in one place. The 2008 San Francisco International Auto Show is expected to draw over 400,000 spectators to the 1.2 million sq. ft. Moscone Center making it the largest exhibition of any kind in the greater Bay Area and the second largest auto show in the western United States. This year's shows will offer something for every member of the family. In addition to the 2008 model vehicles, the Auto Show will feature hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, The Extreme Autofest, classic cars, racecars and provide a glimpse into the future with prototypes and concept vehicles. The Show will also have an extensive auto accessory booth area with aftermarket products, interactive exhibits and much more. Show hours are: Thursday, November 22 - Sunday, November 25: 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Monday, November 26 - Thursday, November 29: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1: 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Sunday, December 2: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults with children 12-years and under free when accompanied by an adult. Tickets can be purchased at the door. For more information visit www.sfautoshow.com
It was fun while it lasted SAN JOSE, CA - - SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 - - After three years as one of Bay Area's largest sporting events, organizers of the San Jose Grand Prix announced today they are ceasing operations, citing the ongoing development taking place in the downtown area. We have not found a way to replace the loss of one of our primary revenue sources, the Gold Grandstands on Almaden Boulevard," stated Jantzen. "Boston Properties is set to undertake some major developments in the area and that means the San Jose Grand Prix is no longer viable in its current location and will not operate in 2008 or beyond."
Scott Dixon takes series points lead at Infineon Photo's by Eric Taylor
Scott Dixon got some help during the Motorola Indy 300. He started fifth and along with everybody else was chasing Dario Franchitti, the pole sitter, and a hard charging Marco Andretti until things started to go his way. Dario started from the pole and he led the whole race until a great pit stop put Marco on the track just ahead of Franchitti and in first place as Andretti came out of the pits when disaster happen on lap 69 of the 80-lap race. Dario clipped Marco in the back, knocking Marco out of the race in turn two. The contact damaged Dario's front wing, slowing his car down. Both drivers race for Andretti Green Racing and it was not what Marco's dad and team owner wanted to have happen. Who knows if Marco jumped up into the racing line not quite up to speed and cut Franchitti off, or did Dario simply not hit the brakes and run into Marco?. It is all water under the bridge now. "Marco was out there trying to win the race, and we were trying to win a championship. He had his priorities and I had mine," said Franchitti, who is seeking his first-ever IndyCar title. "I'd really like to take a look at the accident and talk to him before talking about it. Right now I only have my side and he has his side, I guess." said Dario after the race. Dario would get passed Helio Castroneves as well, finishing third. Dixon (560) now leads Franchitti (556) by four points in the standings with two races left in the season. The victory at Infineon was business as usual for Dixon who captured his third road course victory of the season. The IRL heads to Detroit and another road course at Belle Island Labor Day weekend.
Stoner dominates at Laguna Seca The Moto GP made their annual trip to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula to try their hand at the corkscrew, a famed twist of a curve that has a sever down hill drop in the middle of it.
Aussie Casey Stoner was up to it and them some. He was fastest in practice. Fastest in qualifying, even though he did not claim the pole until the final five minutes of the hour long session, and you guessed it, fastest in the race. He led wire to wire in the 32-lap main event that was witnessed by over 143,000 fans over the three day event. Worst to first, just like they planned it It looked like a lost weekend for the Minardi Team and their lead driver Robert Doornbos. A poor qualifying session found Doombos starting 15th. Once the race got underway, Robert's day almost ended before it began. A bottle neck heading into the first turn of the race forced Doombos to slam into the back of Jan Heylen's car, breaking the nose of the car and forcing Doombos to make a pit stop on the first lap of the race. His pit crew put a new nose on his car and got him back out on the track before the pace car could bring the field around. This allowed Doombos to stay on the lead lap, but he was in last place. Robert had the rest of the field right where he wanted them. He used a series of mishaps to other drivers to his advantage by switching up his pit strategy and his crew did the rest. Doombos had worked his way up to third by the time a yellow flag came out on lap 76. Robert's pit crew got him out of the pits in first in front of Neel Jani and Oriol Servia. Something happened that had not happened in the short, but exciting history of the San Jose Grand Prix. Well two things happened, one there was some passing by the leaders, late in the race. Jani was able to get by Doombos on the restart. Jani's crew chose to come out on soft tires for speed late in the race. Their gamble did not pay, as the soft tires wore out and by lap 90 Doombos was back in front for good after making his move in turn one. Jani held on for second while Servia was third. Points leader Sebastien Bourdais was fifth as he watched Doombos pull to within ten points of him in the points standings. The second thing that happened was that Sebastien Bourdais did not win the race. It was the first time in the history of the San Jose GP that Bourdais did not win. Sebastian, the two time defending series champion, leads the the series once again, but he sits just ten points clear of the hard charging Doombos who is just a rookie.
Montoya gets the win at Infineon Montoya joined Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney as the only drivers to win in the three huge series. Pit stragedy came into play almost from the beginning in this one. Tony Stewart spin out early in the race to fall to the back of the pack.
Stewart would finish sixth. Jeff Gordan fought back from starting in 41st position to come home in seventh place. It was a great race for Gordon, who, along with teammate Jimmie Johnson, were pushed to the back of the grid at the start of the race for not passing inspection after qualifying Friday. Johnson did not such a great ride as Gordon finishing 17th. Gordon stands in first place in the Cup standings, 271 points clear of second place Denny Hamlin and 366 point clear of Johnson. Montoya started the race in 32nd place after a disappointing qualifying session Friday. He became the first person to win this race after starting worse then 13th place. Montoya made his big move on lap 67 of the 110 lap race when Reed Sorenson spun out, producing the last yellow flag of the day. Montoya pitted, while the other contenders stayed out to hit there fuel mark of 72 or 73 lap pit stop. Each car was getting about 40 laps out of a full tank of gas and Montoya's pit crew guess right that he could make it the rest of the way if he conserved fuel when he could. The plan worked to perfection. When the leaders pitted under green Montoya moved up to third by lap 78. The top three drivers, Montoya, Kevin Harvick and Jaime McMurry were all con severing fuel over the last twenty laps of the race.
McMurry ran out of gas right after he passed the pit entrance meaning he ran as long as he could before running out of gas half way around the track. He would finish 37th. That's how it went Sunday in Sonoma. Jimmie Johnson would actually lead the race for a lap after starting 40th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. started strong, running second for most of the first half of the race. He would finish 13th. Jeff Burton, Clint Boywer and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five.
The Next tiger Woods? Auto racing is his game and he is taking the Formula One series by storm. Lewis Hamilton became the first African to win a race in the Formula One series. Hamilton, from England, won the Canadian Grand Prix from his pole position start. It kept alive his streak of finishing the same or better then his starting spot on the grid. It also gave him an eight point lead in the race for the driver’s championship. Lewis races for McLaren and he is trying to become the first true rookie to capture a Formula One driver’s championship. Giuseppe Farina was the only other driver to win as a rookie, but that was in 1950, Formula One’s first year and everybody was a rookie that year. Lewis has started six races and he has stood on the podium after each start. That kind of performance will win you more then a few championships. The series heads to the US this weekend for their stop at Indy. There are eleven more races to go in 2007 and Hamilton knows that there is still a lot of racing left before he can be crowned champion. His victory in a race that had numerous crashes shows that he can handle the pressure of a big race and come out on top. Polish driver Robert Kubica car shattered apart after he hit the wall at over 150 mph during the race. He was not badly hurt after stopping by the hospital after the crash.
Sebastien Bourdais takes control of the Champ Car series in Portland It looks like Sebastien back in the swing of things after notching his third straight win in the 2007 Champ car series. This time Portland was the scene as Bourdais finished ahead of Justin Wilson and rookie Robert Doombos.
He started third and did not take the lead for good until lap 56. Sebastien led 48 of the 103 laps of the race. It was his 15th victory in his last 25 races and his 26th win overall. Bourdais also claimed the 100th victory for the Newman/Hass Racing Team. Newman/Hass was started in 1982 by actor Paul Newman and business man Carl Haas. Champ Car tried to shake things up a little bit by going to a standing start for the race. Almost scrapped because of a threat of rain, the skies stayed dry Sunday and the standing start went off without a hitch. Sebastien now has 74pts. Will Power, the only other winner on the series this year is sitting in second place with 69pts and the rookie Doombos is third with 61pts. The Champ car series will make its annual, exciting stop in San Jose for the San Jose Grand Prix July 27th -29th.
Nascar as wild as it gets to start the 2007 season It has been quite a ride so far in the NasCar season. Starting with the Daytona 500 when a last lap crash right behind the winner Jimmy Johnson put Clint Bowyer upside down on his hood as he crossed the finish line on fire. The car came to a stop, flipped back up on it's wheels and Bowyer popped out of the window un-hurt. It was quite a show. Even the Busch series has made a splash. Juan Montoya ruthlessly spinning his team mate out of first place late in the race was not pretty. It got Montoya the win in front of a pack crowd in Mexico. Montoya was the fastest car on the track at the time and he cold have waited for a better time to pass. The team owner was not happy at all watching one of his cars knock the other out of contention. The big boys got back into the action on a new track in Las Vegas The action started off on lap nine when a spin sent two cars to the garage. Their were nine cautions in the race and just about every driver complained about the tires taking to long to warm up and give them the control they needed. The sounds dangerous to the drivers. Three wrecks in the first 17 laps showed how hard it was to race at Vegas. It was all good for Jimmie Johnson who won at Vegas for the third year in a row. He beat out team mate Jeff Gordan. Johnson did some of the best driving of his life to win the race. He was giving a back of the pack penalty after his pit crew let one of his tires roll outside their pit area during a pit stop on lap 111. Mark Martin finished fifth, retaining his overall points lead in a season he was planning to run part time. Could a part time driver win the Nextel Cup championship?. That would be a wild ending to what has already been a very interesting ride.
Start your engines Don't look now, but the auto racing season is here. Once again the bay area will be a hotbed of racing action as tracks all over the bay are putting the final touches on their tracks for the 2007 season. Both Laguna Seca had Infineon Raceway have dusted off their tracks opening them up for open public testing sessions. March brought out the Champ Car series to Monterey to run a couple of laps around Laguna Seca. A couple of the best drivers in Champ Car came out to test their skill through the famed Corkscrew. Infineon Raceway welcomed the pro's from the AMA Motorcycle league April 6th and 7th for some testing. The teams were testing in advance of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts, May 18-20. That will be the first race of the 2007 Big O Tire racing season at Infineon. The Wine Country Classic June 2nd and 3rd will once again put some of the prettiest vintage cars in the world will be on hand racing around the track. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 returns to the north bay June 22nd through the 24th. Jeff Gordan, Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the gang will be on hand to try and tackle on the of few road courses on the circuit. The US Sports Car Invitational May 18th through the 20th will get Laguna Seca's season underway. The track down in Monterey will play host to five series this year. After the Sports Cars July will bring back the Moto GP will once again bring the international stars of the motorcycles back to Laguna Seca for the Red Bull US Grand Prix World Championships July 20th through the 22nd.
U.S. Sports Car Invitational July 21-23 Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races Monterey Sports Car Championships
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2007 season schedules
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Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-07 |
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He pitted almost immediately to put try and put himself on a different schedule as the other drivers and take advantage of the cautions that were sure to come out during the race. 
Sebastien has won the last two Champ Car championships and it looks like he is one his way to a third.
