IndyCar: Sparks fly as thrilling Indy 300 closes season [SPOILERS]

Filed under: Motorsports, Honda, Racing

Indy 300
2010 Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Heading into the final race of the 2010 IRL IZOD IndyCar Series Championship, early championship leader Will Power clung to a 12-point lead over the fast-closing Dario Franchitti. The two drivers had each been strong on ovals or road courses, but not both. Franchitti was crowned the oval champ, earning the A.J. Foyt trophy, while Power had won the road race crown, picking up the Mario Andretti trophy. Power had shown a level of dominance through the mid-season road and street races that made his title lead look insurmountable. But Franchitti racked up more points in the latest oval races as Power struggled to get good results.

That brought the title fight down to the last race of the season at the Miami-Homestead oval: The Cafes do Brasil Indy 300. Follow the jump to see who took the 2010 IndyCar Championship and how it came to be.

Gallery: IndyCar: 2010 Cafes do Brasil Indy 300

[Images: Chris Graythen, Nick Laham/Getty | Alan Diaz, Terry Renna/AP]

Continue reading IndyCar: Sparks fly as thrilling Indy 300 closes season [SPOILERS]

IndyCar: Sparks fly as thrilling Indy 300 closes season [SPOILERS] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Jack Roush loses sight in left eye after plane crash, still aims to fly

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Celebrities

They say that statistically speaking, flying is safer than driving. Jack Roush might beg to differ with that assessment. After his second life-threatening plane crash in eight years, the NASCAR bigwig was back at the Michigan International Speedway this past weekend to watch his team in action.

Roush’s recovery from his injuries during the crash in Oshkosh, WI will be almost complete with one notable exception: Roush has lost the vision in his left eye. For now, Roush also has a back brace to support a fractured spine and piece of hardware in his cheek.

Despite the loss of vision on one eye, The Detroit News indicates that Roush has excellent sight in the right eye and fully intends to fly again once his physical recovery is complete. While there are tougher vision restrictions on commercial pilots, private aviators are evidently allowed to fly with only one eye.

Interestingly, based on a quote in the DetNews article, it sounds like Roush might be blaming the airport’s air traffic controller for the plane crash:

“I filed my NTSB report today, which is a matter of public record. It speaks for itself. The reality of it, on a trip arrival into Oshkosh, Wis., I was put in conflict with the flight plan of another airplane close to the ground, and I was unable to address the conflict and keep the airplane flying. I ground-looped the airplane. The airplane did a great job staying intact.”

No doubt we’ll hear more about this as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the incident further, but for now, Roush says he just feels extraordinarily lucky.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Jason Smith/Getty]

Report: Jack Roush loses sight in left eye after plane crash, still aims to fly originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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