Author name: C-CAR

WASHINGTON — Accident investigators said Wednesday that the engineer driving an Amtrak train wasn’t using his cellphone in the moments before the train derailed in Philadelphia last month, deepening the mystery of what caused the accident.

Eight people were killed and about 200 more injured in the May 12 derailment.

In an updated report, the National Transportation Safety Board said its analysis of phone records “does not indicate that any calls, texts or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train.” The agency also said the engineer, Brandon Bostian, didn’t access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive.

Investigators have said previously that the train accelerated to 106 miles per hour in the last minute before entering a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. In the last few seconds the brakes were applied with maximum force, but the train was still traveling at over 100 mph when it left the tracks.

Congress has been pressing the safety board for answers to the key question of whether Bostian was using his phone. Bostian suffered a head injury in the crash, and his attorney has said the engineer doesn’t remember anything after the train pulled out of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, the last stop before the derailment.

Engineers aren’t allowed to use phones while operating trains or preparing them for movement, but determining whether Bostian was using the phone was a complicated process.

The phone was used to make calls and send text messages the day of the accident, but inconsistencies in phone records presented difficulties, NTSB Chairman Chris Hart told Congress last week. The voice and text messages were recorded in different time zones and may not have been calibrated to the exact time as other equipment on the train, such as a camera focused on the tracks and a recorder that registers how fast the train was moving and actions by the engineer, he said.

Accident investigators have said previously that they have not found any mechanical problems with the train. The track had been inspected not long before the crash.

Later Wednesday, NTSB officials are expected to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee about train safety. One focus of the hearing is positive train control, a technology that can prevent trains from derailing because of excessive speed.

Congress mandated in 2008 that Amtrak, commuter railroads and freight railroads install positive train control by the end of this year. Amtrak still has to do extensive testing of the system but will meet the deadline, officials have said.

WASHINGTON — Accident investigators said Wednesday that the engineer driving an Amtrak train wasn’t using his cellphone in the moments before the train derailed in Philadelphia last month, deepening the mystery of what caused the accident.

Eight people were killed and about 200 more injured in the May 12 derailment.

In an updated report, the National Transportation Safety Board said its analysis of phone records “does not indicate that any calls, texts or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train.” The agency also said the engineer, Brandon Bostian, didn’t access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive.

Investigators have said previously that the train accelerated to 106 miles per hour in the last minute before entering a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. In the last few seconds the brakes were applied with maximum force, but the train was still traveling at over 100 mph when it left the tracks.

Congress has been pressing the safety board for answers to the key question of whether Bostian was using his phone. Bostian suffered a head injury in the crash, and his attorney has said the engineer doesn’t remember anything after the train pulled out of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, the last stop before the derailment.

Engineers aren’t allowed to use phones while operating trains or preparing them for movement, but determining whether Bostian was using the phone was a complicated process.

The phone was used to make calls and send text messages the day of the accident, but inconsistencies in phone records presented difficulties, NTSB Chairman Chris Hart told Congress last week. The voice and text messages were recorded in different time zones and may not have been calibrated to the exact time as other equipment on the train, such as a camera focused on the tracks and a recorder that registers how fast the train was moving and actions by the engineer, he said.

Accident investigators have said previously that they have not found any mechanical problems with the train. The track had been inspected not long before the crash.

Later Wednesday, NTSB officials are expected to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee about train safety. One focus of the hearing is positive train control, a technology that can prevent trains from derailing because of excessive speed.

Congress mandated in 2008 that Amtrak, commuter railroads and freight railroads install positive train control by the end of this year. Amtrak still has to do extensive testing of the system but will meet the deadline, officials have said.

A Sun City truck driver was killed early Tuesday morning as he was making a delivery at the Big Lots Distribution Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Around 3:45 a.m., the unidentified 77-year-old truck driver had parked in the center median of Fourth Street and was trying to cross the street when he was struck by a passing vehicle, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

The driver that struck the man remained at the scene and tried to help the injured truck driver, officials said.

Ontario Fire Department personnel drove the man to Kaiser Hospital Fontana, where he was pronounced dead.

Members of the Rancho Cucamonga Major Accident Investigation Team are investigating the fatal crash. It does not appear speed or alcohol were contributing factors, according to a sheriff’s statement.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who might have additional information pertinent to the case is encouraged to contact investigators at 909-477-2800 or 909-477-2817.

A Sun City truck driver was killed early Tuesday morning as he was making a delivery at the Big Lots Distribution Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Around 3:45 a.m., the unidentified 77-year-old truck driver had parked in the center median of Fourth Street and was trying to cross the street when he was struck by a passing vehicle, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

The driver that struck the man remained at the scene and tried to help the injured truck driver, officials said.

Ontario Fire Department personnel drove the man to Kaiser Hospital Fontana, where he was pronounced dead.

Members of the Rancho Cucamonga Major Accident Investigation Team are investigating the fatal crash. It does not appear speed or alcohol were contributing factors, according to a sheriff’s statement.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who might have additional information pertinent to the case is encouraged to contact investigators at 909-477-2800 or 909-477-2817.

All but two lanes of the eastbound 210 Freeway near Carnelian Street were shut down Monday morning following a three-vehicle crash, according to the California Highway Patrol incident log.

The crash, which reportedly began with one vehicle crashing into the center divider, was reported just after 5 a.m.

Several other vehicle struck or had near misses with the spun-out sport utility vehicle.

All but two lanes of the eastbound 210 Freeway near Carnelian Street were shut down Monday morning following a three-vehicle crash, according to the California Highway Patrol incident log.

The crash, which reportedly began with one vehicle crashing into the center divider, was reported just after 5 a.m.

Several other vehicle struck or had near misses with the spun-out sport utility vehicle.

Scott Dixon had a dominating run at Texas Motor Speedway, winning by 7.8 seconds over teammate Tony Kanaan on Saturday night in the fastest IndyCar Series race ever at the track.

Dixon led 97 of the 248 laps in a race that had only two cautions. His second win of the season came with an average speed of 191.940 mph

After anxiety about how the cars would handle on the high-speed, high-banked Texas track with the new aero kits, especially after three Chevrolets went airborne during practice for the Indianapolis 500, there were no accidents.

Driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, Dixon got his 37th career win. The New Zealander also won in 2008 at Texas, which has now hosted 27 IndyCar races.

Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya finished third and fourth, respectively. Fifth-place Marco Andretti was the highest-finishing Honda.

After the start of the race was waved off because the field was not properly aligned, the first lap was counted as a caution before taking the green flag the next time at the line.

The only other caution came on lap 84 for debris on the frontstretch.

After the airborne cars at Indianapolis, IndyCar this week mandated the use of closure panels on the rear wheel guards. Those are designed to eliminate lift when an Indy car is traveling backward at a high rate of speed during an accident, and will also be required at California and Pocono.

Ryan Hunter-Reay had the only crash all weekend in Texas, in the first practice Friday when his No. 28 Honda spun and headed backward toward the outside wall. His left rear slammed hard before sliding down the track, but the car never went airborne.

Hunter-Reay finished 18th, seven laps behind Dixon.

Will Power started from the pole at Texas for the third year in a row, but finished 13th, four laps off the pace. His only win in Texas came in the second race of a doubleheader in 2011 when he started third.

Defending race champion Ed Carpenter was done after only 147 laps because of mechanical issues. He had already fallen a couple of laps off the pace in his No. 20 Honda when it parked it and finished 22nd in the 23-car field.

Formula One

Lewis Hamilton has earned the pole for the Canadian Grand Prix.

It’s the fourth time that the reigning Formula One champion will start at the pole on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton posted the fastest qualifying lap of 1:14.393 over the 2.71-mile course on Montreal’s Ile Notre-Dame. Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was second in qualifying, about one-third of a second behind.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third. Valtteri Bottas of Williams was fourth, with Romain Grosjean of Lotus fifth.

It’s the 44th pole of Hamilton’s career. He leads the championship standings by 10 points over Rosberg.

NHRA

Antron Brown raced to his third consecutive No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel in the Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

Brown pushed his dragster to the No. 1 spot with a 3.725-second run at 317.57 mph. The 2012 series champion has two victories this season.

Cruz Pedregon topped the Funny Car field, Greg Anderson was the fastest in Pro Stock, and Chip Ellis led the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. Pedregon had a 3.967 at 306.53 in a Toyota Camry, Anderson finished in 6.479 at 214.76 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and Ellis had a 6.801 at 197.16 on a Buell.

Scott Dixon had a dominating run at Texas Motor Speedway, winning by 7.8 seconds over teammate Tony Kanaan on Saturday night in the fastest IndyCar Series race ever at the track.

Dixon led 97 of the 248 laps in a race that had only two cautions. His second win of the season came with an average speed of 191.940 mph

After anxiety about how the cars would handle on the high-speed, high-banked Texas track with the new aero kits, especially after three Chevrolets went airborne during practice for the Indianapolis 500, there were no accidents.

Driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, Dixon got his 37th career win. The New Zealander also won in 2008 at Texas, which has now hosted 27 IndyCar races.

Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya finished third and fourth, respectively. Fifth-place Marco Andretti was the highest-finishing Honda.

After the start of the race was waved off because the field was not properly aligned, the first lap was counted as a caution before taking the green flag the next time at the line.

The only other caution came on lap 84 for debris on the frontstretch.

After the airborne cars at Indianapolis, IndyCar this week mandated the use of closure panels on the rear wheel guards. Those are designed to eliminate lift when an Indy car is traveling backward at a high rate of speed during an accident, and will also be required at California and Pocono.

Ryan Hunter-Reay had the only crash all weekend in Texas, in the first practice Friday when his No. 28 Honda spun and headed backward toward the outside wall. His left rear slammed hard before sliding down the track, but the car never went airborne.

Hunter-Reay finished 18th, seven laps behind Dixon.

Will Power started from the pole at Texas for the third year in a row, but finished 13th, four laps off the pace. His only win in Texas came in the second race of a doubleheader in 2011 when he started third.

Defending race champion Ed Carpenter was done after only 147 laps because of mechanical issues. He had already fallen a couple of laps off the pace in his No. 20 Honda when it parked it and finished 22nd in the 23-car field.

Formula One

Lewis Hamilton has earned the pole for the Canadian Grand Prix.

It’s the fourth time that the reigning Formula One champion will start at the pole on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton posted the fastest qualifying lap of 1:14.393 over the 2.71-mile course on Montreal’s Ile Notre-Dame. Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was second in qualifying, about one-third of a second behind.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third. Valtteri Bottas of Williams was fourth, with Romain Grosjean of Lotus fifth.

It’s the 44th pole of Hamilton’s career. He leads the championship standings by 10 points over Rosberg.

NHRA

Antron Brown raced to his third consecutive No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel in the Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

Brown pushed his dragster to the No. 1 spot with a 3.725-second run at 317.57 mph. The 2012 series champion has two victories this season.

Cruz Pedregon topped the Funny Car field, Greg Anderson was the fastest in Pro Stock, and Chip Ellis led the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. Pedregon had a 3.967 at 306.53 in a Toyota Camry, Anderson finished in 6.479 at 214.76 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and Ellis had a 6.801 at 197.16 on a Buell.

It’s been feast or famine for NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car driver Jack Beckman.

The 2012 series champion, who won the title on the final day of the season at Auto Club Dragway at Fairplex by two points over Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, went 29 months and 54 national events without a victory. He snapped that streak in March at the Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C.

Nine weeks later, Beckman pushed his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger back into the winner’s circle at Heartland Park Topeka in the most successful day in class history. Beckman, who failed to qualify for the season-opening Winternationals at Fairplex, became the first Funny Car driver with four consecutive runs in the 3-second range, the last one against John Force in the finals.

In all, ‘Fast Jack’ had five such runs at the event. The Norco resident leads the class with 11 sub-4-second efforts.

“I never thought we would see four (3-second passes) in a row and five total,” Beckman said. “It was absolutely unbelievable. We had an outstanding weekend of racing. That’s a function of a (crew chief) Jimmy Prock tune-up. He’s a mad scientist. He can take a car that is really, really screwed up and break it down into segments going down the track. He figures it out quickly.

“I always feared pulling up to one of his race cars on race day (when Prock was crew chief for John Force Racing). Now I’m taking a lot of comfort in knowing that we might now be doing that to the car in the other lane.”

There was another reason Beckman relished the Topeka win.

“The win was a little bit cooler than Charlotte because Charlotte was almost surreal. It had been so long and you think you are still capable of doing it and we just couldn’t win a race,” Beckman said, long back at his drought. “Then all of a sudden we won, but it was only a three-round race. Topeka we won a four-round race.”

Not only did Beckman run consistently in the Midwest, he also set personal record. Beckman posted his quickest time ever (3.972 seconds over 1,000 feet) and his fastest run (322.04 mph). It’s become apparent Prock, who joined Beckman’s team this season, and assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham will be title contenders now that they’ve recovered from the Pomona misstep.

The Infinite Hero team, over the span of the last seven NHRA national events, has scored more points than any other Funny Car entries, thanks to the two wins and one runner-up finish. Beckman, who has taught more than 7,000 students at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School, left Pomona with five points. He trailed winner, and DSR teammates, Matt Hagen by 102 and Ron Capps by 89.

Capps is now the class leader, by five over Hagan and 49 over Beckman. The trio of DSR drivers have won six of the eight national events this season.

Irwindale Speedway

The SRL Spears Southwest Tour returns to the half-mile oval Saturday night, for a 100-lap race, with a very interesting twist.

In his 33-year racing career, M.K. Kanke has been very successful in the Southwest Tour and Irwindale. In addition to the usual competition, the 2009 series champion will be facing son Cale, who will be making his Tour debut.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be pretty cool to be out there with both Cale and I racing together,” said the Frazier Park resident. “Cale has run his legends car, then moved to the dirt modified, so this will be his next step. “

Long Beach driver Jeff Bischofberger leads the points race after three of the nine SRL races. It’s a tight race with five drivers — Greg Voigt, Tracy Bolin, Carlos Vieira and Ryan Cansdale– separated by 36 points.

In the accompanying spec SRL S2 Tours, Arcadia’s Johnny Butler leads by nine over Bakersfield’s Cory Elliott. Todd Cameron is third after four of the 10 races with Natasha Dodd in fourth.

Also on the card will be Legends, Chad Schug from Oak Hills is the points leader, ahead of North Hills’ Jordan Hyland. Also, the Irwindale Race Trucks will also compete with Lawndale’s Ken Michaelian in the lead.

IndyCar update

In direct response to Verizon IndyCar Series racers going airborne and flipping upside down last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body has modified its aero kits for Honda and Chevrolet

IndyCar will use closure panels to the rear wheel guards beginning with this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway and the June 27 MAV TV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

“This has been a collaborative effort with both manufacturers and they have been working on these since the Indianapolis 500 qualifications,” said Will Phillips, IndyCar vice president of technology. “These closure panels serve as a blocker so air cannot flow through the rear wheel guards. This will ultimately raise the point at which cars would experience lift when traveling backward.”

Pit stops

With his podium finish of the year for Chino-based Yoshimura Suzuki in the AMA Lucas Oil Pro Motorcross Championship, Grand Terrace’s Blake Baggett has vaulted to third in the overall standings. Baggett was fourth and third in the Lakewood, Colo., Nationals motos. “In the second moto, I was fortunate enough to get a little bit of a gift when the leader (Eli Tomac) went down and I able to finish third. I’m just plugging away and keep getting better and better … I’m just excited to keep improving.” Tomac hurt his shoulders and is out for the outdoor season. … Ken McWilliams is quite the competitor whenever Perris Auto Speedway holds a Night of Destruction. The third one of the season is set for Saturday night with McWilliams leading in three of the four championship points races (Figure 8 Class, Figure 8 Trailer Class and combined overall) and second in Democross. Fans can get autographs and pictures with drivers at 5:30 p.m. … The California Lightning Sprint Car Series is at Ventura Raceway Saturday night for the seventh stop in its 17-race series. Also on the card are the VRA Sprint Cars, Senior Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, Dwarf Cars, Hobby Stocks, Junior Midgets and Mini Dwarfs. Racing starts at 5:30 p.m.