plus 4, Dixon leads Top Fuel qualifying at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals - Everett Herald

Dixon leads Top Fuel qualifying at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals - Everett Herald
Dixon leads Top Fuel qualifying - USA Today
Kawi Slaps Honda with Lucha Libre Mask - Motorcycle USA
Earnings Preview: BMW 3Q results - Yahoo Finance
2010 NHRA schedule (Revised) - Motorsport.com

Dixon leads Top Fuel qualifying at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals - Everett Herald

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 08:55 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS -- Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 23rd of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.805 seconds, 318.24 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.831, 314.17; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.839, 313.07; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.855, 313.29; 5. Thomas Nataas, 3.859, 307.65; 6. Cory McClenathan, 3.860, 315.86; 7. Antron Brown, 3.860, 314.09; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.863, 315.27; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.863, 311.34; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.881, 304.60; 11. Spencer Massey, 3.884, 309.84; 12. Urs Erbacher, 3.927, 301.33. Not Qualified: 13. Lex Joon, 3.933, 270.16; 14. David Grubnic, 3.978, 301.74; 15. Mike Strasburg, 3.996, 305.91; 16. Steven Chrisman, 3.998, 291.95; 17. Del Cox Jr, 4.032, 252.61; 18. Troy Buff, 4.043, 262.23; 19. Terry McMillen, 4.097, 276.52; 20. Morgan Lucas, 4.389, 276.29; 21. Scott Palmer, 4.998, 147.02; 22. Stig Neergaard, 5.494, 121.56; 23. Rob Passey, 6.132, 109.10; 24. Tim Cullinan, 6.582, 100.10; 25. Chris Karamesines, 11.805, 44.72; 26. Ron August, 15.323, 49.30.

Funny Car -- 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.030, 313.88; 2. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.041, 310.55; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.065, 308.71; 4. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.098, 309.20; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.107, 307.02; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.114, 305.98; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.116, 297.22; 8. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.118, 305.01; 9. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.128, 302.62; 10. Jim Head, Solara, 4.132, 305.84; 11. John Force, Mustang, 4.144, 302.28; 12. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.155, 306.12.

Not Qualified: 13. Ashley Force Hood, 4.163, 303.23; 14. Gary Densham, 4.167, 290.76; 15. Jerry Toliver, 4.241, 279.15; 16. Grant Downing, 4.323, 245.32; 17. Jeff Diehl, 4.439, 221.13; 18. Bob Bode, 5.621, 126.74; 19. Jeff Arend, 7.608, 87.49.

Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.623, 207.75; 2. Vinnie Deceglie, Dodge Stratus, 6.660, 206.23; 3. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cobalt, 6.668, 206.92; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.670, 207.56; 5. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.677, 206.20; 6. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.679, 206.61; 7. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.680, 206.10; 8. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.681, 205.72; 9. Jason Line, GXP, 6.683, 206.86; 10. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.685, 206.23; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.688, 206.35; 12. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.693, 206.07.

Not Qualified: 13. Kurt Johnson, 6.695, 206.45; 14. Matt Hartford, 6.699, 205.54; 15. Ronnie Humphrey, 6.708, 206.54; 16. Rickie Jones, 6.720, 204.98; 17. Ryan Ondrejko, 6.726, 204.29; 18. Steve Spiess, 6.729, 204.35; 19. V. Gaines, 6.750, 203.68; 20. Danny Gruninger, 6.815, 203.06; 21. Gordie Rivera, 6.824, 202.39.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.979, 192.03; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.990, 192.25; 3. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.000, 190.48; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.029, 190.97; 5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.035, 190.43; 6. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.043, 187.96; 7. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.051, 189.47; 8. David Hope, Buell, 7.061, 189.76; 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.075, 190.06; 10. Douglas Horne, Buell, 7.075, 188.86; 11. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.076, 188.33; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.106, 186.38.

Not Qualified: 13. Freddie Camarena, 7.111, 190.30; 14. Larry Cook, 7.127, 186.36; 15. Jim Underdahl, 7.132, 188.75; 16. Mike Berry, 7.165, 186.05; 17. GT Tonglet, 7.239, 184.12; 18. Bailey Whitaker, 7.252, 182.26; 19. Redell Harris, 7.286, 182.77; 20. Joe DeSantis, 7.291, 184.57; 21. Katie Sullivan, 7.452, 176.74; 22. James Surber, 7.457, 180.55.

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Dixon leads Top Fuel qualifying - USA Today

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 09:24 PM PDT

Dixon, second in the championship standings, powered his dragster to a performance of 3.805 seconds at a track-record speed of 318.24 mph at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If his time holds through Saturday's two qualifying sessions, it will be his ninth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 40th of his career.

Series leader Tony Schumacher, who holds a 45-point lead over Dixon, was third overall with a 3.893 at 313.07.

Matt Hagan, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also led their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, the fifth of six races in the Countdown to 1, NHRA's championship playoffs.

Rookie driver Hagan paced the Funny Car order with his track-record performance of 4.030 seconds at 313.88 mph in a Dodge Charger. Series leader Robert Hight was third with a 4.065 at 308.71 in a Ford Mustang, while second-place Ashley Force Hood was 13th in her Mustang, clocking a 4.163 at 303.23.

In Pro Stock, Edwards moved into position to earn his 15th No. 1 qualifying effort of the season and trimmed his magic number for clinching his first world championship title to 19 points, or less than one round over three-time champ Greg Anderson. Edwards had a track-record run of 6.623 at 207.75 in a Pontiac GXP.

Series leader Arana was first in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.979 at 192.03. Second-place rider Eddie Krawiec, the defending series champion, was fourth after two rounds, posting a 7.029 at 190.97 on a Buell.

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Kawi Slaps Honda with Lucha Libre Mask - Motorcycle USA

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 06:53 PM PDT

Kawaski has assembled the Baja 1000 Dream Team - Team Blue C Wahoo's Monster Energy Kawasaki. It's a big mouthful of a team, but that's exactly what they'll be serving anyone who follows them in Baja, a mouthful of roost! For all intents and purposes, Kawasaki has been MIA from Baja on the factory level since Danny Hamel died tragically in 1995. This year we may once again see a big-bore Kawasaki dirt bike top the Baja 1000 results.

Bruce Penhall has put together a team of go-fast desert rats. Young veteran and reigning Baja 1000 champion, Robby Bell, made a big career move away from factory Honda this year to sign with Team Green and race a Northland Motorsports/Precision Concepts Kawasaki. Bell is at the heart of this team. What other current racer could Penhall find to make the effort stronger? How about five-time 1000 champ Steve Hengeveld, who also left Honda (and whose father owns Northand Motorsports in Flagstaff, Arizona, are you putting it together yet?). And while they're at it, they went ahead and invited fellow off-roader and factory Monster Energy Kawasaki Hare and Hound champion, Destry Abbott.

Are you serious!!?

Those three alone would be enough, but Penhall's sons, Ryan and Conner, will also don their desert racing gear and straddle a KX450F. Racers alone don't make a successful Baja effort. It takes a lot of support before, during and after the race. Funding and pit support during the 673-mile loop will be critical. Pay attention and watch these guys. Could this spark the return of Kawasaki to Baja racing again? Is it a flash in the pan or will the tide once again start to turn green for another decade of Mexican dominance. If so then how will mighty Honda respond – return Kawi the favor by withering away - or throw on a Lucha Libre mask and fight back?

The 2009 Baja 1000 takes place Nov. 20 and will be televised on NBC Sports December 19, 2009 from 2-3p.m. ET.

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Earnings Preview: BMW 3Q results - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:35 PM PDT

FRANKFURT (AP) -- German carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG reports earnings for its third quarter Nov. 3. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: BMW, based in Munich, is the world's biggest luxury carmaker by revenue, and one of the worlds leading motorcycle brands. Besides its namesake cars and motorcycles, the company builds Mini and Rolls Royce brand cars.

The company is expected to report lower net income and revenue for the July-September period as car companies have seen sales slip in the downturn.

Car sales in September began to show signs of recovery. BMW said earlier this month it sold almost 1,000 more cars in September than it had for the month in 2008. Provided there are no economic setbacks, BMW said it should continue to make sales gains for the rest of the year.

BY THE NUMBERS: Three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect BMW to report net income of euro146 million ($216.1 million) for the quarter. Meanwhile, nine analysts expect the company to report revenue of nearly euro12 billion in the July-September period.

In the third quarter of 2008, BMW reported a net income of euro298 million on revenue of euro12.6 billion.

ANALYST TAKE: Autos analyst Tim Urquhart at IHS Global Insight in London said he thinks the company is on top of things and has done a good job at "cutting their cloth" and reacting to the lower demand of recent months.

He said the company's strategy of developing environmentally friendly power trains while keeping with luxury and sporty traditions is also smart. Quitting the Formula One racing circuit should also save the company around euro200 million a year, he said. BMW said in late July it would leave the sport and that the team's funding would be routed to sustainability projects.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Observers will continue to look at the severity and duration of the economic downturn which has cut sharply into nearly all product sales in Germany -- the world's largest exporter.

Also, observers will be looking forward to the group's new models including a Mini coupe and a new Rolls Royce model called the Ghost.

The company has said the order book on the new Ghost -- which is a step below the top of the line Phantom -- is developing well. It hopes to start selling the new car next year.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of BMW were trading at euro33.55 Oct. 30, 8 percent below their 52-week high of euro36.45 earlier in the month.

The stock's 52-week low of euro17.29 was set in the first quarter 2009.

http://www.bmw.com

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