BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Rivalries are important ... they're a big part of the reason people watch sports so religiously.
They're also something that seems to be lacking in today's NASCAR. There really hasn't been anything on the level of Petty vs Pearson or Gordon vs. Earnhardt for a long time. On the contrary it seems like most of the top Cup guys go fishing with each other each weekend, which is cool on one hand but also kind of makes Sunday a bit less engaging.
That may be changing though.
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Roush Fenway Racing has a long history of success at Michigan International Speedway, including 13 Cup wins, and a total of 23 wins, 89 top 5s, 148 top 10s in a total of 281 starts across the major NASCAR touring series.
As they return to MIS for this weekend's races, they hope to add to those accolades. In June, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. managed a top-10 finish, and is looking to improve on that this time around.
"After scoring a top-10 finish last time at Michigan, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Every year we look at Michigan as a track that we want to do well at given Roush Fenway, Jack and Ford's success there in the past. We have been working really hard on our intermediate program, since it makes up a majority of the races in the playoffs. This weekend will give us the chance to evaluate our improvements."
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- As the drivers take to the track at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, there's a bit of drama behind that scenes on the minds of many in the sport.
As is often the case, it involves Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- the biggest name in the sport.
What's unique this time is that it involves a fellow driver being particularly critical of the perennial Most Popular Driver, who is retiring after this season.
It all starts with Kevin Harvick, who said on his radio show this week that since Dale Jr. is most popular driver but not running up front each week or winning regularly, it has limited the growth of the sport:
"I believe that Dale Jr. has had a big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR because he's got these legions of fans and this huge outreach of being able to reach different places that none of us have the possibility to reach, but he's won nine races in 10 years at Hendrick Motorsports and hasn't been able to reach outside of that," Harvick said.
As you can imagine, that didn't go over well among Jr. Nation, who were quick to call Harvick disrepectful (among other colorful terms) and also remind Harvick that he got his start in Cup after the tragedy that befell Earnhardt Sr. at Daytona in 2001.
Earnhardt has responded to the comments, expressing that he was hurt by them, also but staying positive and saying that he still respects Harvick:
"I found some of those comments hurtful," Earnhardt said. "I still respect him as a champion and ambassador for the sport. That's just the way it is, I guess. I hate that's how he feels."
In its inaugural year, the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica led all minivans. The Dodge Charger won its segment for the third time in four years while the Dodge Durango led its segment for the fourth time in five years.
Jeep Wrangler 4-door was previously named the best Entry SUV three consecutive years (2014 – 2016), but this year the Wrangler 4-door’s two-door sibling (Wrangler) led the segment.
"Customers increasingly measure 'Quality' by the 'Total' experience. Yes, counting problems factors in, but getting things right and presenting innovative experiences that people love has great impact,” said Christopher Chaney, Senior Vice President – Strategic Vision. “FCA has done all of this with segment winners Dodge Charger and Durango, Jeep Wrangler and now the Chrysler Pacifica, which redefines its segment."
Audi of America reported a July sales increase of 2.5 percent to 18,824 vehicles, led by the Q7, the Q3 and the new A5 Sportback.
July was the 79th straight month of record sales for Audi of America. The previous July record was set last year with 18,364 deliveries. Through July, Audi has sold 121,795 vehicles in the U.S., outpacing the premium market.
Audi SUV sales were 9,338, led by 3,334 deliveries of the Q7, the model’s best month ever. The Q7 has now risen 18 percent this year through July. Sales of the Q3 rose 3.8 percent to 1,888. Through the first half of the year, Audi SUV sales have risen 4.1 percent. Deliveries of the new Q5 are down because of inventory constraints. For the year, Q5 sales have risen 11 percent to 29,863.
The new A5, including the coupe, Sportback and Cabriolet, more than tripled to 2,255 vehicles, led by the Sportback, with 1,164 deliveries. The A4 sedan posted sales of 2,652, a 1.5 percent increase for the month and 14 percent year-to-date, as Audi sedans continue to outperform a challenging market for sedans.
“Audi is showing that you can win in a challenging segment with design and technology, based on the positive customer response,” said Cian O’Brien, chief operating officer, Audi of America.
-- Press release courtesy of Audi
|
AUDI US SNAPSHOT |
--MTD-- |
--YTD-- |
||||
|
Model Line |
July '17 Actual |
July '16 Actual |
Yr/Yr % change |
July '17 YTD Actual |
July '16 YTD Actual |
Yr/Yr % change |
|
A3 |
2,300 |
3,038 |
-24% |
14,837 |
19,622 |
-24% |
|
A3 e-tron |
218 |
349 |
-38% |
2,338 |
2,291 |
2.1% |
|
A4 |
2,652 |
2,612 |
1.5% |
19,921 |
17,531 |
14% |
|
A5 |
2,255 |
744 |
203% |
8,994 |
5,078 |
77% |
|
A6 |
1,218 |
1,822 |
-33% |
9,187 |
10,150 |
-9.5% |
|
A7 |
266 |
417 |
-36% |
2,556 |
3,473 |
-26% |
|
A8 |
270 |
327 |
-17% |
1,871 |
2,268 |
-18% |
|
allroad |
271 |
131 |
107% |
1,654 |
968 |
71% |
|
Q3 |
1,888 |
1,819 |
3.8% |
10,974 |
10,287 |
6.7% |
|
Q5 |
4,116 |
4,833 |
-15% |
29,863 |
26,819 |
11% |
|
Q7 |
3,334 |
2,322 |
44% |
20,066 |
17,063 |
18% |
|
R8 |
73 |
88 |
-17% |
554 |
350 |
58% |
|
TT |
181 |
211 |
-14% |
1,318 |
1,689 |
-22% |
|
Total Audi Sales |
18,824 |
18,364 |
2.5% |
121,795 |
115,298 |
5.6% |
|
Total CPO Sales |
4,594 |
4,066 |
13% |
26,831 |
27,130 |
-1.1% |
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