Auto Racing
Britain Ecclestone

Ecclestone accused of fabricating need for 'bribe'

LONDONCopyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
51.5085-0.12574

LONDON (AP) — Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Wednesday disputed paying a bribe to ensure he stayed in control of the glamorous motorsport series, and then fabricating the reason to pay a banker.

Under cross-examination at the High Court in London, Ecclestone said he was blackmailed by the banker tasked with selling a significant stake in F1, and paid him off to avoid being reported to the authorities over his tax affairs.

"I made up my mind he needed to be kept quiet," Ecclestone said after claiming he was "shaken down" by BayernLB's Gerhard Gribkowsky.

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Standings: NASCAR Sprint Cup

As of: AAA Texas 500
RankDriverPointsPV Rank
1Jimmie Johnson23422
2Matt Kenseth23351
3Kevin Harvick23024
4Kyle Busch22905
5Dale Earnhardt Jr.22807
6Jeff Gordon22733
7Clint Bowyer22736
8Greg Biffle22698
9Joey Logano225111
10Kurt Busch22469

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NHRA News

64-year-old John Force wins 16th NHRA title

LAS VEGASCopyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
36.175-115.137

LAS VEGAS (AP) — John Force won his record 16th Funny Car title Sunday, beating daughter Courtney Force in the final round in the NHRA Toyota Nationals.

The 64-year-old Force has won three straight events and four overall this season to push his record career total to 138.

"I read an article this morning about being humble, but right now I'd like to scream and shout," Force said. "If there is anything I've ever done right in my life, it's been a team effort."

He won the final with a 4.062-second run at 310.63 mph.

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IndyCar News

Ganassi moves sports car program to Ford

LAS VEGASCopyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
36.175-115.137

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chip Ganassi is making another manufacturer switch, taking his sports car program to Ford to run the new EcoBoost engine package next year.

The move announced Tuesday at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association show comes on the heels of Ganassi's switch last month from Honda to Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series.

Chip Ganassi Racing is the most successful team in Daytona Prototype history and won its seventh DP team championship this season. It has used BMW engines the last four seasons, but will make the switch to Ford in time for the start of the unified TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series.

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Formula One News

Britain Ecclestone

Ecclestone accused of fabricating need for 'bribe'

LONDONCopyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
51.5085-0.12574

LONDON (AP) — Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone disputed paying a bribe to ensure he stayed in control of the glamorous motorsport series, and then fabricating the reason to pay a banker.

Under cross-examination at the High Court in London on Wednesday, Ecclestone said he was blackmailed by the banker tasked with selling a significant stake in F1, and paid him off to avoid being reported to the authorities over his tax affairs.

View More