Two of the closest rivals for the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship title recently
met at a press conference before the season finale race in Homestead-Miami Speedway. These two NASCAR drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are actually close friends and race under the same team - Hendrick Motorsports.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said during the press conference:
"Winning championships is what you work and plan for. You don't expect to accomplish it but you have to set your goals high. We have 95 people on the two teams and 70 of them work on the Gordon and Johnson cars. Everyone freely shares information, too. I want to stay abreast of things and I spend a lot of time with the crew chiefs. We try to look at the competition and identify where we may have shortcomings. Working with the people is easy for me to do."

Meanwhile, check out what the two title combatants said about the upcoming race and the battle for the championship title.

Jimmie Johnson:
"We will not do anything different for the race. Pushing the envelope would not be a smart move for us. In my heart, I believe we have a good shot at winning the race. I have studied them and learned a lot from them.  I have trained myself to watch and study my superiors, and it has helped me grow."

Jeff Gordon
"As bad as I want to win the championship, I will be thrilled if Jimmie (Johnson) wins it. I couldn't be more thrilled, and we won't hang our heads because of it. It has been a great year for us on and off the track, in reference to his becoming a first-time father. Winning the championship would not top becoming a first-time dad but a championship would put a cherry on top of an unbelievable year. Jimmie can flat-out drive, and I am now going to have to start learning from him. He's on top of his game, and he's the one that everyone aspires to be."

Well, just wait for the season finale race and see who will take home the 2007 NASCA Cup trophy! Make your bets. Johnson or Gordon?

Who wants to see Bernie Ecclestone resign? Say yes!

But before you can see the 77-year-old F1 ringmaster resign, you have to wish Lewis will be given the 2007 World Championship.

Do you think Kimi Raikkonen isn't fit to be the F1 Champ? Or better said, do you want a newbie like Hamilton to win the prestigious title?

On the first query, I think Raikkonen deserves the title. Though I'd like a McLaren driver to have it, still the Finn proved he has what it takes to be a Champ. On the second query, I'd say there's nothing wrong having a newbie win the title on his maiden season. It would only reflect how good he is on the track.

Ecclestone does not believe that Lewis Hamilton will be awarded the title at the FIA Court of Appeal meeting on Thursday. The 'cool fuel' saga will reach its conclusion in London after McLaren appealed the Interlagos Stewards' decision to clear Williams and BMW, reported Planet-F1.

Should the FIA Court rule in favor of the McLaren's Briton rookie, he could become this season's Champ.

Ecclestone is against such a decision since it would cause more harm to the sport's already tainted image. "I don't think that the Formula One fans would like a Championship to be won because the temperature of the fuel, which can't be measured anyway, is possibly 5C out," he explained.

He then joked that he would consider quitting if the Stewards' decision was reversed. "If anybody thinks that's the best thing for Formula One, then I'd have a very serious thought about me retiring."

In Brazil, he compared the fuel infringement to McLaren's tyre transgression. "I don't think anything's going to happen if it goes through," Ecclestone said. "In my opinion, they don't have to change the results of the race - it's an infringement of the regulations. On the same weekend, McLaren used an extra set of tyres, which they shouldn't have used - that was an infringement - so maybe if anything does happen at this Court of Appeal, maybe they'll treat it exactly the same as the tyres."

Jimmie Johnson is on the verge of clinching the 2007 NASCAR Cup Championship with his recent victory at Phoenix International Raceway for the Checker Auto Parts 500 race, the second to the last race of the 2007 NASCAR Cup season. Johnson was able to win the race as pole sitter Carl Edwards suffered from an engine problem and was forced to retire. Too bad for the Ford driver. Johnson now posted four straight wins son far. 

Johnson said after the race:
"I'm dumbfounded. I'm just as shocked as everyone [else] and couldn't be more proud of this race team. I'm just excited to do this for Rick for Hendrick Motorsports and all the hard work that goes into it. We're giving everybody something to cheer about and we're having a damn good time doing this. Everything just came together for us. We finally figured out what our car wanted, to roll the center a little bit better without sacrificing corner exit. So we were just coming into our groove, and circumstances on tires worked out and off we went."

Johnson is still on top of the championship standings with a total of 6572 and extended his lead over the other drivers.

Check out below for the result of the Checker Auto Parts 500 race.

1.     Jimmie Johnson      Chevrolet      
2.     Greg Biffle     Ford    
3.     Matt Kenseth     Ford    
4.     Tony Stewart     Chevrolet
5.     Ryan Newman     Dodge    
6.     Kevin Harvick     Chevrolet
7.     Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet    
8.     Kyle Busch     Chevrolet    
9.     Jeff Burton     Chevrolet    
10.     Jeff Gordon     Chevrolet    
11.     Clint Bowyer     Chevrolet    
12.     Kurt Busch     Dodge    
13.     Casey Mears     Chevrolet
14.     J.J. Yeley     Chevrolet
15.     Johnny Sauter     Chevrolet
16.     Denny Hamlin     Chevrolet
17.     Juan Montoya *     Dodge    
18.     Bobby Labonte     Dodge    
19.     Reed Sorenson     Dodge    
20.     David Stremme     Dodge    
21.     Brian Vickers     Toyota    
22.     Paul Menard *     Chevrolet
23.     Jamie McMurray     Ford    
24.     Robby Gordon     Ford    
25.     Sterling Marlin     Chevrolet    
26.     Aric Almirola     Chevrolet    
27.     Elliott Sadler     Dodge    
28.     David Gilliland     Ford    
29.     Kyle Petty     Dodge    
30.     Sam Hornish Jr.     Dodge    
31.     Dave Blaney     Toyota    
32.     David Ragan *     Ford    
33.     Patrick Carpentier     Dodge    
34.     Bill Elliott     Ford    
35.     Ricky Rudd     Ford    
36.     Johnny Benson     Toyota    
37.     Tony Raines     Chevrolet
DNF    Joe Nemechek     Chevrolet
DNF    Jeremy Mayfield     Chevrolet    
DNF    Kasey Kahne     Dodge    
DNF    Jacques Villeneuve     Toyota    
DNF    Carl Edwards     Ford    
DNF    Dale Earnhardt Jr.     Chevrolet    

Chase for the Championship standings:
 
1.      Jimmie Johnson      6572      
2.     Jeff Gordon     6486    
3.     Clint Bowyer     6331    
4.     Kyle Busch     6185    
5.     Tony Stewart     6169    
6.     Matt Kenseth     6103    
7.     Kevin Harvick     6093    
8.     Jeff Burton     6089    
9.     Carl Edwards     6067    
10.     Kurt Busch     6056    
11.     Martin Truex Jr.     6009    
12.     Denny Hamlin     5973    

After obtaining the NASCAR Busch Series championship last week, Ford driver Carl Edwards continued his success at the Phoenix International Raceway where he earned the Bud Pole for the upcoming Checker Auto Parts 500 race presented by Pennzoil. Edwards was followed by a bunch of Chevrolet driver including teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who won the previous race in Texas.

Edwards commented about his crew after the race:
"I told them after that lap, I said, 'That was a blast.' The guys did a great job with the car -- everybody. These cars of tomorrow have been a lot of work for everybody on our team, but they've stepped up and done a great job. Since we unloaded this thing has been fast, so I'm really proud of my guys."

Check out below for the starting lineup and the result of the qualifying race for the Checker Auto Parts 500 that will take place at the Phoenix International Raceway.

1.     99      Carl Edwards      Ford     
2.     1     Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet     
3.     24     Jeff Gordon     Chevrolet     
4.     18     J.J. Yeley     Chevrolet     
5.     70     Johnny Sauter     Chevrolet     
6.     48     Jimmie Johnson     Chevrolet
7.     16     Greg Biffle     Ford     
8.     96     Tony Raines     Chevrolet
9.     2     Kurt Busch     Dodge     
10.     9     Kasey Kahne     Dodge     
11.     25     Casey Mears     Chevrolet
12.     31     Jeff Burton     Chevrolet
13.     12     Ryan Newman     Dodge     
14.     42     Juan Montoya     Dodge     
15.     11     Denny Hamlin     Chevrolet
16.     19     Elliott Sadler     Dodge     
17.     22     Dave Blaney     Toyota     
18.     17     Matt Kenseth     Ford     
19.     15     Paul Menard     Chevrolet
20.     07     Clint Bowyer     Chevrolet
21.     20     Tony Stewart     Chevrolet
22.     83     Brian Vickers     Toyota     
23.     26     Jamie McMurray     Ford     
24.     10     Patrick Carpentier     Dodge     
25.     41     Reed Sorenson     Dodge     
26.     06     Sam Hornish Jr.     Dodge     
27.     127     Jacques Villeneuve     Toyota     
28.     01     Aric Almirola     Chevrolet
29.     109     Sterling Marlin     Chevrolet     
30.     36     Johnny Benson     Toyota     
31.     78     Joe Nemechek     Chevrolet
32.     43     Bobby Labonte     Dodge     
33.     88     Ricky Rudd     Ford     
34.     29     Kevin Harvick     Chevrolet     
35.     8     Dale Earnhardt Jr.     Chevrolet
36.     45     Kyle Petty     Dodge     
37.     40     David Stremme     Dodge     
38.     5     Kyle Busch     Chevrolet
39.     7     Robby Gordon     Ford     
40.     66     Jeremy Mayfield     Chevrolet     
41.     6     David Ragan+     Ford     
42.     38     David Gilliland     Ford     
43.     21     Bill Elliott     Ford                              
DNQ     55     Michael Waltrip     Toyota     
DNQ     84     A.J. Allmendinger     Toyota     
DNQ     4     Ward Burton     Chevrolet     
DNQ     49     John Andretti     Dodge     
DNQ     44     Dale Jarrett     Toyota     

Hendrick Motor sports driver Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrlet Monte Carlo/Impala SS) is poised to continue his winning streak at the upcoming Checker Auto Parts 500 race presented by Pennzoil that will take place at the Phoenix International Raceway this Sunday. The race will be the 9th of the 10 races for the 2007 "Chase for the Nextel Cup"

Jimmie Johnson commented on his winning spree:
 "I think that we've been on quite a roll here and going to victory lane does something for the crew and the shop that you couldn't do any other way. When you go to victory lane, there's just a buzz that goes through all of Hendrick Motorsports and really on the 48 team."

Johnson currently leads the Chase for the Championship standings with a total of 6382 points, a 30 point lead ahead of his teammate Jeff Gordon. Surprisingly, Gordon is his closest rival for the championship title.

Johnson added: "We have momentum going our direction right now but it's only 30 points and if you look at the last two weeks, I've been able to make up roughly 60 points. Jeff hasn't had bad races the last two events. He's had strong he finishes. So it's not like he's had bad nights. I can finish tenth, he can win, and I'm back in second. So we have a lot of work ahead of us and are happy to be in a position to race for the championship. With good racetracks coming up for us, good race cars in the lineup and momentum from the victories, and our guys are showing up hungry every week, we're trying to get as many points as we can."

Johnson also commented about his friendship with Gordon:
"Jeff is a great friend and great teammate, but he's also the most challenging guy out there for me to beat. And that's with all the respect in the world. But I don't feel bad for him and I know he wouldn't, either. If something happened where he had bad luck and we ended up winning the championship, that's where I would feel bad. But the fact that we are racing as hard as we are for it right now, it's racing."

What will be the future of Kyle Busch in racing?

Two more races for Hendrick Motorsports, and Kyle is outta there. Kyle is moving to Joe Gibbs Racing next year, and his seat at Hendrick will be filled by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This week, Kyle responded to  some questions about his final days with NASCAR's cream-of-the-crop team.

Here's an excerpt from Kansas City's interview with Kyle:

How would you characterize your relationship with Hendrick right now?

Everything went well. We had a couple bad races and guys have taken the blame and stuff like that, which has been good and they have apologized to me, and I accept that and that's cool. You know, there's no hard feelings going out on this deal. It's actually going to be pretty good. I have a lot of friends there.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he would like to go out by winning one of these last races for his current team. Do you feel that way as well?

Of course, I want to win every week. I've run up front in every single race these past few weeks, and I've had chances to win, but what are you going to do, go home and pout about it because you didn't get a win? No, you're going to try harder for the next week. We led a bunch of laps in Atlanta, a bad pit stop took it away from us. At Texas we led the most laps and were leading at the end of the race and took four tires instead of two tires, which got us back in traffic a little bit.

If the team change is not a distraction, you still have to handle the ups and downs on the track. Is there a best way to do that?

I mean, the best way to do it is just let stuff go and put it behind you. You've got three cars every week and you're running well and running up front and looking good and everybody is feeling good, so there's really not much more that you can ask for. There are frustrations that you can't win … and yet you see your teammates winning eight, nine, whatever races a year. It kind of makes you think like, well, what do I have to do to win one of these things? But it's not my time yet, I guess, and hopefully maybe one of these years it will be.

[credits: Kansas City]

The rumors about Nico Rosberg's inception in team McLaren Mercedes is finally over! Whew!

Right. Williams has recently announced that Kazuki Nakajima is signed to the team to race in the 2008 season of Formula 1 along with Nico Rosberg. So it is official that Williams team will have a Japanese-German driver lineup for 2008. Nakajima is very happy that he will be retained in Williams team after his first race in the Formula 1 season finale in Brazil where he finished in the 10th place.

A statement from Williams team quoted Nakajima as saying, "This is the crowning of a great year for me. It was an amazing experience to drive out of the garage as a Formula One driver at Albert Park last March, and now to be confirmed as a race driver for AT&T Williams is a dream come true."

He added; "I am very grateful to Toyota for the support I have had through the Toyota Driver's Programme and to Williams for the team's faith in me. There is plenty of work to be done before next season starts, but I am resolved to do whatever is necessary and to show Williams and Toyota that they have made a good investment."

Meanwhile, Team Principal Frank Williams also commented:
"I am delighted to confirm that Nico will be racing for the team for his third consecutive year after demonstrating impressive and widely applauded form in 2007. Nico will be ably partnered by Kazuki, who has impressed the team over the past year. He has pace and the right aptitude to develop into a competitive Formula One racer and over the course of the next season, we will provide him with all the necessary support and assistance to hone his talents."

I am looking forward with Williams' new lineup for 2008. In the other hand, there are still no confirmations about Alonso next team for 2008. Rumors said Renault is planning to sign Alonso back to the team. Well, let us just wait and see for the outcome of this issue… soon.

Yeah, Schumi's back on F1 track. But don't be too excited. He will only be testing Ferrari at Barcelona next week to help the Scuderia team adapt to the traction control ban.

Everybody's favorite F1 Champ has been called up by Scuderia. The team wants to tap Schumi's knowledge of driving F1 cars without the use of electronic driver aids such as traction control. Schumi will get behind the wheel of Ferrari F2007 as part of the team's preparations for the upcoming season.

The former F1 Champ has remained part of the Scuderia team since quitting competitive racing just over a year ago and he attended several grands prix this season in his role as 'special advisor' to the Italian team. While next week's test will be partly for pleasure, the German could also make a valuable technical contribution for the upcoming season, when traction control will be forbidden from F1 racing.

Schumi's spokesperson said the former Champ's test does not mean he intends returning to racing. "It's probably a one-off. Michael does not intend at all to go back to F1," his spokeswoman told BBC Sport. "He's testing just as part of his contract, which is to help Ferrari in whichever area he can. He is much more experienced than the other drivers in cars without electronic aids, this will be good input for Ferrari. There is nothing intended about coming back to racing."

Schumi, the seven-time World Champ, who hasn't taken part in a F1 test since retiring from the sport at the end of the 2006 season, will be in action on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Circuit de Catalunya.  He is expected to spend a couple of days at the said circuit in Spain, during the first multi-team test since last month's Brazilian GP, which saw Scuderia and Finn Kimi Raikkonen grab the constructors' and drivers' titles for this season.

"Michael has a big experience in driving cars with no traction control and no electronic aids, so it makes sense for him to give his input," Schumi's spokesperson told Reuters.

Schumi has driven the F2007 on one previous occasion when he put in a handful of demo laps for Fiat bosses at Ferrari's Fiorano circuit in Italy recently, said F1's Official Web site.

Lucas di Grassi finally showed off at the Oxford Children's Hospital. The Formula One star of the future and Brazilian racing driver Lucas di Grassi was seen at the hospital with patients. He is also the current racer of the Renault Driver Development programme which is based in Enstone.

He has also visited the terrace play area in the hospital which the team sponsors and he also saw some of the patients testing Formula One cars.

Andrew House, the Head of Major Gifts for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds, explains, "Renault F1 Team have been great supporters of our 0x00a315million fundraising campaign to build the Children's Hospital, by making a very significant donation and also giving us these fun toy cars, which the children love. It was great to be able to show Lucas and Donna what a difference their support has made. Donations like theirs have enabled us to create one of the best children's hospitals in the country."

Lucas di Grassi was noted commenting on the event: "It was wonderful to meet and talk to the children at the Oxford Children's Hospital. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to live out my dream by pursuing my racing career. But the determination and courage you have to show at the wheel, are nothing compared to what these children tackle and overcome every day. It has been a privilege and an inspiration to meet them, and I am proud to be part of a team that is committed to supporting the local community."

The Children's Hospital opened its doors in January this year and has already helped tens of thousands of patients. It is a bright, colourful space, designed to make children and their families feel as comfortable as possible.

You can visit www.oxfordradcliffe.nhs.uk/getinvolved or call 01865 743445 to know more about the Oxford Children's Hospital.