This Saturday 21 April is the final of the six round 2012 Jetpro jet sprint championship season.

It is being held at the Tauherinikau race course J&S Aquatrack, 4.5km north of Featherston in the Wairarapa.

The championship is contested across three classes: Suzuki Superboat (unlimited engine capacity/configuration), Whitepointer Boats Group A (up to 6.7litre 600horsepower) and Jetpro Lites (up to 6.7litre, cast iron engine block with standard carburettor producing 500horsepower).

Each aluminium hull boat is propelled by a water jet unit. The boats often exceed 100km/h on the narrow short course consisting of turns and brief straights. Acceleration from 0-100km/h is typically under 3.5sec with a G-force of 2-4 (depending on size and power of the boat). Lateral cornering forces exceed 4 in either direction, with the frequent shifting amounting to a total of 8 under full race conditions.

The multi-configuration course is contested from memory by the driver with the navigator to affirm they are heading in the right direction. there are no navigational markers.

Each crew gets four qualifying runs before entering elimination heats, starting with top-12. that gets cut to the eight fastest, then down to five and the three fastest then run off for the podium positions.

Each run takes on average 50seconds.

Winning the last five rounds and setting fastest time outright, Wanganui’s husband and wife team of Leighton and Kellie Minnell lead the Suzuki Superboat category by a nearly insurmountable 20 points over fellow local Rob Coley.

Taupo’s Reg and Julie Smith have a one point lead in the Whitepointer Boats Group A over Hamilton’s Sam Newdick. Smith has three round wins to Newdick’s two.

Whangarei’s Denis and Steve Crene have ten point lead over Piopio’s Brett Thompson and Megan Brodie after Thompson dropped from title grasp at the last round held under lights near Wanganui.

Popular with spectators due to the high action and adrenaline nature of the racing, there are frequent highlights when the boat and crew don’t quite get things right.

Family friendly: Enjoyed by the whole family, it is often used as an excuse for a day out with groups packing a picnic using the boat racing as entertainment in the foreground.

Gates for public access open at 11am. Adults are $20, children 5-15years $10 and family groups $50.

Jetpro jet sprint series final round this Saturday

Two new iPhone 4S television commercials have started to air. the commercials, which star Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel, feature the stars using Siri to clear calendars, find out about the weather, play music, perform unit conversions, find nearby shops, and find nearby restaurants. While the commercials are shot in a style similar—albeit somewhat slower— to that of prior Siri-focused iPhone 4S commercials, they are notable for being the first Apple commercials in some time to conspicuously feature celebrities. interestingly, it is the second time Deschanel has been featured in an iPhone commercial, as her band She & Him was featured prominently in an ad for the iPhone 3GS. both commercials are available for viewing on YouTube or in embedded form below.

iPhone 4S ads starring Sam Jackson, Zooey Deschanel air

Nokia doesn’t need an iPhone killer to shake up the smartphone market. instead it should focus on finishing off Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, Forrester Sarah Rottman Epps wrote in a blog post Thursday.

The Nokia Lumia 900, which hits AT&T stores April 8, has been dinged by some critics — most notably the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg — who compared the phone unfavorably to Apple’s iPhone 4S.

While Epps is a fan of Nokia’s phone — and the Microsoft Windows Phone software powering it — she argues Nokia doesn’t need to beat Apple to succeed.

Instead Rottman suggests that Nokia target RIM users — and try to convert “every BlackBerry user to Windows Phone within two years,” she says. “BlackBerry users already pay for data, and they’ve consciously or unconsciously optednot to buy into Apple or Google’s ecosystem thus far,” she argues.

Epps sees an opportunity for Microsoft to gobble up RIM’s slice of the smartphone market — 8.2% worldwide according to IDC — and convert ‘some portion’ of those users who still rely on Nokia phones powered by Symbian, which the Finnish handset maker ditched in favor of Windows.

“The smartphone market is ripe for disruption — Palm is dead, Symbian is sunsetting, RIM is faltering, and every player in the ecosystem (other than Google and Apple) wants a third player to wedge between Google and Apple.”

Forget The iPhone, Nokia Needs To Finish Off BlackBerry, Analyst Says

Defending King of the West Series Champion: Tim Kaeding

Season-opener at Antioch Speedway-

Antioch, California – Saturday April 7

What:

Coming off a banner 2011 season the Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear will kick off the 2012 campaign on Saturday night April 7 at the Antioch Speedway. A fully loaded traveling roster of 410 Sprint Cars will hit the action packed one-third mile oval in hopes of getting the season started off on the right foot.

When:

On Saturday April 7 the front grandstand gate will be open at 5pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 6pm, with qualifying at 6:30 and racing anticipated to start around 7.

Where:

Antioch Speedway is located on the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at the corner of 10 th and L Streets in Antioch, California. Take SR-4 East (Highway 4) to the Somersville Road North Exit. Follow Somersville Road to 10thStreet. Turn Right on 10th Street. The address for the track is 1201 W. 10th Street Antioch, CA 94509.

Tickets:  

Tickets will be available the day of the race with adults being $20, children 6-12 $10, seniors 65 & older $10 and children 5 & under free. A family pack with two adults & two children will also be available for $50.

On the Internet:

Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear- Official Website- http://www.kwssprints.comFacebook- http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/KWSSprintRacing Antioch Speedway-http://ovalmotorsports.com/  

About the track:

The Antioch Speedway was lengthened and re-configured prior to the 2009 season and is now a one-third mile semi-banked dirt oval. This past July saw the KWS track record fall when Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs blistered the speedway in 11.770 seconds.  

=====================================================Last season with the Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear:

San Jose’s Tim Kaeding captured six main event wins and claimed the KWS title by 65-markers over Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs. It was the second state 410 championship for Kaeding and the first for Roth Motorsports. A vast increase in series regulars were seen and made for one of the best seasons in recent memory for 410 Sprint Car racing in Northern California.

Main event winners in 2011 (number of wins in parentheses):

Tim Kaeding (6), Jonathan Allard (4), Tommy Tarlton (2), Evan Suggs (1), Andy Gregg (1), Willie Croft (1) and Peter Murphy (1).

Final top-10 in driver standings for 2011:

1. Tim Kaeding; 2. Evan Suggs; 3. Brent Kaeding; 4. Jonathan Allard; 5. Jason Statler; 6. Willie Croft; 7. Andy Gregg; 8. Bobby McMahan; 9. Kenny Allen; 10. Brad Furr.  

Upcoming events after season opener in Antioch on April 7:

Saturday April 14- “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial” Tulare Thunderbowl Saturday April 21- Marysville Raceway ParkSaturday April 28- Placerville SpeedwaySaturday may 5- “Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial” Silver Dollar Speedway

» Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear Season Opener Notes/Info! A New Dose of Dirt!

Apple has quietly updated their warranty coverage in the European Union, extending it to two years as required by EU law.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that Apple’s new EU warranty has a loophole large enough through which to drive a Scheuerle EuroCombi.

As might be guessed, Apple is not expanding its warranty coverage out of the goodness of its expansive heart. an Italian court fined Cook & Co. €900,000 ($1.2m) late last year for offering a two-year warranty as an extra-cost option when EU law mandates a two-year warranty for free. Apple appealed the fine, but lost the appeal last week.

The EU being the EU, many member countries have their own warranty policies. UK consumers, for example, have expanded protection due to the Sale of Goods Act of 1979. Apple suggests that its EU customers contact their local European Consumer Centre for details.

Longtime Apple fanbois (and fangirlz) will remember when Apple’s US warranty was a mere 90 days in the US. Today, however, it sits at one-half the length of the EU coverage:

Apple warrants the Apple-branded hardware product and accessories contained in the original packaging (“Apple Product”) against defects in materials and workmanship when used normally in accordance with Apple’s published guidelines for a period of ONE (1) YEAR from the date of original retail purchase by the end-user purchaser.

We may have fewer consumer protections here in the U.S. of a., but we can say with pride that at least we’re not mollycoddled “European Socialists“. ®

Apple relents, doubles EU warranty (sort of) • Channel Register

By Tiernan Ray

Ittai Kidron with Oppenheimer & Co. this morning lays out in a note to clients “the bull and the bear case” as regards Apple (AAPL).

With Apple up almost 48% this year, what’s the risk-reward in continuing to follow the stock at these levels, asks Kidron.

Kidron constructed a model with a “Base” case — Apple reaches his $700 price target in 12 to 18 months; his bear case, in which it drops to $420, and his Bull Case in which it soars to $900.

There’s a 50-50 chance the stock will exceed expectations dramatically and go to $900 in the next year, while there’s a 30% chance it will go to $420, he reckons.

“Considering that our bear case assumes almost a complete halt to Apple’s growth in FY13/14, a scenario likely only in a severe economic downturn, we believe the risk/reward is very compelling,” writes Kidron. “The key swing factor remains the iPhone and we see opportunities to expand carrier/customer reach and move further into the mid-tier as key drivers.”

In Kidron’s Base Case, the company sells 140 million iPhones this year, and 170 million next year. in the Bear Case, it sells just, 132 million this year and 154 million next year. in the Bull case, the company sells 146 million iPhones this year and 204 million next year. And so, and so on with the rest of the product line.

In the Bear Case, Kidron has Apple shares trading in the 8 to 10 P/E range, versus 11 to 13 for his Base Case.

Of his Bear Case thesis, it would take a Perfect Storm of economic and company woes:

While any of these negative factors could happen, we believe it would take a “perfect storm” with failures at multiple levels to create a scenario where Apple’s bottom line delivers well below our bear case. if a bear-case EPS scenario came into play we could also see P/E multiple compression, compounding the negative impact on share valuation.

Factors helping the Bull Case for Apple over time are that as its volume of product sales expands, the company may be able to wring further efficiencies out of the supply chain and the cost of goods, further lowering prices, writes Kidron, and thus, pushing more units.

Note Kidron does not factor in the rumored Apple television set nor any other product categories.

By way of comparison, see Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty’s note a week ago, in which she raised her price target to $720, but also offered what she called a Bull Case scenario, in which the stock could reach $960.

Apple shares today are down $1.38 at $597.96.

Apple: Oppenheimer Ponders the Downside; Risk Favorable

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U.S. stocks edged higher Monday, hovering near 4-year highs, as shares of Apple rose after it said it will begin paying a dividend and buy back stock.

Apple Inc, which accounts for about 19 percent of the Nasdaq 100, was up 1.3 percent to $593.35, while the S&P technology index added 0.2 percent. Apple briefly topped the $600 mark for the first time last week.

With a heavy weighting on several indexes, Apple has often dictated market direction. the stock has a 50-day correlation of 0.95 with the S&P, which many analysts say was a big reason for the benchmark’s run-up.

“Although we had seen (Apple) coming, when reality hits there’s still some confusion out there among traders,” which was reflected in the early volatility, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, new York.

“We’ve had this uninterrupted rally since mid-December, but still we have a lot of money sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a correction.”

Ipad maker Apple will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 and buy back up to $10 billion of its stock. Speculation heated up in recent weeks over how the world’s most valuable publicly traded company might use its $98 billion cash stockpile.

On Friday, the S&P 500 had its fifth straight weekly gain and its best week in three months. the index has risen in seven of the past eight sessions, climbing 4.5 percent.

Investors, buoyant over the economic outlook, have pushed the S&P above 1,400 to its highest level since May 2008.

United Parcel Service Inc rose 2.6 percent to $80.42 after hitting a new high as it clinched a deal to buy Dutch peer TNT Express, making UPS the market leader in Europe.

On the economic front, U.S. homebuilder sentiment was unchanged in March, holding at its highest level since June 2007, while sentiment in February was revised lower. Market reaction was muted.

Broadcom Corp gained 2 percent to $38.55 after the chipmaker said it won a preliminary injunction against Emulex Corp in a patent infringement lawsuit.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Stocks edge up after Apple begins dividend

GAFFNEY, S.C. (February 28, 2012) – Mike Wallace and the No. 01 G&K Services Chevrolet team of JD Motorsports aren’t letting their early-ending race knockout at Daytona International Speedway last week deter their spirits heading to Phoenix International Speedway this weekend.

Wallace and crew chief Newt Moore know they had a great car, which was proved by their top-five and top-10 runs throughout the day, and are bringing that same determination and focus out West for their NASCAR Nationwide Series race at PIR on Saturday.

The one-mile oval is a far cry from the high banks of Daytona, but it still rewards the same amount of points. With the positive “can do” attitude this JD Motorsports team has going on right now, they’ll be looking for every one of those rewarding points they can earn.

Mike Wallace Notes for Phoenix

This will be his 418th NNS start and second of the season. The St. Louis native heads to PIR 17th in the Driver’s Standings In his 16 previous starts at PIR, the four-time NNS race winner has earned one top-10 and eight top-20 finishes He’s finished 3,117 of 3,201 laps for a 97.4% completion rate leading three circuits Wallace has an average finish of 21.5 at the one-mile oval The last time the NNS visited PIR in November of last year, Wallace left with a 16th place finish to his credit

Tune in for the Win: there will be two practice sessions on Friday. The first is 1 p.m. ET and second is 4 p.m.; both air on SPEED TV as they happen. Qualifying takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, also on SPEED, before ESPN2 picks up all 200 laps of the racing action at 4 p.m. The race can also be heard on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90

Mike Wallace Quotes: “Well, the good news is this team’s enthusiasm hasn’t been dampened or slowed one bit because of how we ended up finishing last Saturday at Daytona. they put a lot of work into that car, and did just as much work on this one for Phoenix.

“Phoenix is one of those tracks where you have to be really good coming off the corners to get all the straightway speed you can get because it’s so flat. they did a great job when they redid the track and the improvements really made for better racing.

“Our success is going to come through remaining on the lead lap and getting good pit stops throughout the race. if we can do better than we did last we were here, then we’re heading in the right direction.”

The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All comments other than website related problems need to be directed to the author. ©SpeedwayMedia.com.

Mike Wallace and team stay focused heading to Phoenix

BOSTON (CBS) — The Patriots placed the franchise tag on Wes Welker on Monday, but that’s just the first of many decisions the team will have to make at wide receiver this offseason.

On their own roster, Deion Branch is a free agent who will be 33 this summer, and they have an overpaid 34-year-old Chad Ochocinco, with whom they’ll either try to negotiate a restructured contract or cut from the roster. really, the receiving corps next September could look completely different than the one that suited up for the Super Bowl in February.

Felger & Mazz Discuss Free Agent Targets 

A big factor in that potential change is the deep class of available free-agent wide receivers.The Patriots’ interest level in each receiver might vary from zero to 100 percent, but here’s a rundown of the bigger-name options the Patriots have. And because it’s early March and we’re all desperate for fun, the scale will be based on mr. Belichick’s famous hoodie.

Marques ColstonThe former seventh-round pick who took the league by surprise with a 1,000-yard, eight-touchdown rookie season has been as steady as it gets for New Orleans in his six NFL seasons. He’s averaged 75 catches for 1,040 yards and eight touchdowns per season, despite missing five games in 2008, and he’s coming off a season in which he set a career high in yards (1,143) in just 14 games, while scoring eight touchdowns. He also put on a show right in front of Bill Belichick’s eyes in 2009, burning the Pats for 121 yards and a touchdown back in ’09.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound weapon would fit in just about any offense, which means he’ll likely require a big-time contract. That’s not necessarily the Patriots’ MO, particularly at the wideout position.

Marques Colston LikeliHOOD: 2 out of 10

Pierre GarconGarcon is an interesting free agent in that he might be the least accomplished player on this list but has serious potential to blossom. Just 25 years old, Garcon incredibly put up career highs in receptions (70) and yards (947) while tying his career high of six touchdowns, despite the absence of Peyton Manning and the presence of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky.

Garcon’s availability depends on a lot of factors, with the biggest being the team’s decision on mr. Manning. After that, chips will start to fall. if they move on from Manning and on to Andrew Luck, he’ll need someone to throw to, and the Colts could use their leftover Manning money to sign players like Garcon. this situation is certainly still very much up in the air.

Pierre Garcon LikeliHOOD: 3 out of 10

Vincent JacksonThe buzz around Vincent Jackson is considerably quieter than it was during the 2010 season, when the receiver didn’t play until Nov. 28 after a lengthy holdout. That year, he wasn’t able to do much, but in 2011, he hauled in 60 passes for 1,106 yards (18.4 YPC) and nine touchdowns. now 29, Jackson could very well be the most explosive receiver available this offseason.

The Chargers, though, reportedly want to keep him, despite not franchising him this week. That will be no easy task, with probably at least a dozen teams getting in on the Jackson sweepstakes. again, it’s not like the Patriots to be the highest bidder in a situation like this, but if any receiver might be worth it, it’d be Jackson.

The fact that the Patriots were reportedly trying to trade for Jackson in 2010 bumps this likeliHOOD up a few points, even if it’s still a bit of a long shot.

Vincent Jackson LikeliHOOD: 5 out of 10

Brandon LloydIn a way, Brandon Lloyd might be the unlikeliest candidate to join the Patriots. That’s because by all accounts, he seems the most likely to join the Patriots. Whenever you feel like you have a Belichick move figured out ahead of time, you’re usually wrong.

Still, the receiver has said publicly he wants to work with Josh McDaniels again, under whom he’s had success. He’ll be 31 in July, so he’s certainly got life left in his legs. all signs point to him being the right fit in New England, so we’ll rank this one high. But again — don’t go thinking you’ve ever got Belichick figured out.

Brandon Lloyd LikeliHOOD: 8 out of 10

Mario ManninghamThe thought of the man who essentially beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl swapping sides and joining Tom Brady’s offense is hard to imagine, so we won’t spend too much time thinking about it. The 25-year-old hopes to return to the Giants, but cap concerns might get in the way of that. what he’s worth on the open market will be a point of contention. Is he a potential No. 1 guy? Or is he more suited to be a second or third option?

For the Patriots, he might not be any option.

Mario Manningham LikeliHOOD: 1 out of 10

Randy MossThis is never going to happen. Don’t waste your time thinking about it.

Randy Moss LikeliHOOD: 0 out of 10

Reggie WayneThe veteran option, Reggie Wayne has lived the charmed NFL life of lining up in Peyton Manning’s offense for his entire career … until last year. Prior to the 2011 season, Wayne had experienced seasons of 10 or more wins in nine of his 10 seasons, the only losing season coming in his rookie year of 2001. Wayne tasted losing in a big way last year as the Colts went 2-14 as the worst team in the league.

Wayne has said he wants to stay in Indianapolis, but again, the Colts’ situation remains up in the air. if the Colts decide to move on — or if their offer is too low — the 33-year-old Wayne has one last chance to cash in with a big-money deal.

And after a decade working with Manning, the idea of catching passes from Tom Brady can’t sound all that bad for Wayne. It’s just a matter of whether the Patriots spend big money on a veteran wideout. they did that last year with Ochocinco, and that failure may curb their eagerness to do it again.

Reggie Wayne LikeliHOOD: 6 out of 10

Mike WallaceMike Wallace is not completely a free agent, as his restricted status means a team would have to sacrifice a first-round pick if the Steelers choose to not match that other team’s offer. But for teams like the Patriots, who own the 31st pick, Wallace is almost guaranteed to make more of an impact than any late-first-round rookie could.

He’ll be 26 in August, and he’s on a rapid rise to being one of the NFL’s most explosive receivers. He’s improved his reception totals in all three of his seasons, going from 39, to 60, to 72, and he averaged 1,225 yards over the past two years. He’s the type of big-play receiver who can change how defenses prepare for an offense, and with the Steelers already up against the cap, he’s almost certain to play somewhere other than Pittsburgh next year.

Will it be the Patriots? It’s hard to say exactly … but, when you take the obvious factor of Wallace being a top-flight wide receiver, and add in the benefit of potentially weakening a powerhouse conference opponent … and this just might make sense for Bill. However, Belichick loves his draft picks perhaps as much as his children, and the idea of ever “giving” one away without receiving a pair of future fifth-rounders will likely be too much for him.

Mike Wallace LikeliHOOD: 6 out of 10.

Regarding the players currently on the roster, you have to imagine the team and Branch will be able to work out a low-paying deal that will keep Branch a part of the team, though his role will certainly be diminished if any other receiver is acquired or drafted. We’ll put Branch’s return at 8 out of 10 on the LikeliHOOD scale.

And Ochocinco? He’s gone. That experiment failed. if he didn’t make much money, he might be invited back, but given that he’s due a ton of money, he’s as good as gone.

Who do you think the Patriots will sign or keep at receiver this offseason?

Randy Moss, Mike Wallace Among Many Free-Agent Receivers Available To Patriots