Michael Schumacher needs "a miracle" to survive, doctors reportedly tell his family

Doctors treating Michael Schumacher and other medical experts have told his family that "only a miracle" can save him, sources have claimed. The seven-time Formula One world champion suffered serious brain injuries after hitting a rock during a skiing accident in the French Alpine ski resort of Meribel in late December. He is being treated in hospital in Grenoble where he has been in an artificially induced coma for a total of 69 days. Sources close to his family say the 45-year-old driver's wife Corinna and his brother, Ralf Schumacher, have been consulting brain specialists throughout Europe and have been told that his chances of recovery are minimal. The family is said to be concerned that the French doctors treating Schumacher have little hope that he will recover and now assume that he will remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Experts point out that most artificial comas last for an average of three weeks. Schumacher's management team has insisted that doctors are gradually reducing drug levels to bring the driver out of his artificial coma and that he is currently in a "wake up" phase. In a statement released on Friday, Schumacher's management team insisted there had been no change. "Michael is still in a wake up phase, the situation has not altered," said the driver's management team spokeswoman Sabine Kehm. At the management team's request, the Grenoble hospital treating Schumacher has kept news about his condition to a minimum. However sources close to his family say that the driver's prognosis is bleak. "The family has been told that only a miracle can bring him back now," a senior German journalist reporting on the Schumacher case said. " He is in a bad way but until the family issues a formal statement, we cannot publish anything," he added. Another source added: "Doctors have given it to them straight. Miracles sometimes happen but there is little hope that he will come out of this." A fortnight ago, Germany's Focus magazine reported that complications had obliged doctors to halt Schumacher's wake up process and that the driver had been put back into a coma. However Schumacher's management team denied the report. Coma experts have stressed that the past week should have been crucial for Schumacher's wake up process as doctors would have been hoping for a sign that he was gradually becoming aware of his surroundings. However last Sunday, the Schumacher family is reported to have spent Corinna Schumacher's 45th birthday gathered around the comatose driver's hospital bed praying in vain for him to acknowledge their presence. Doctors say that the greatest risk facing the driver while he remains in a coma and unable to swallow properly, is the possibility that he will contract pneumonia as a result of his lungs being filled with fluid. Should Schumacher manage to emerge from his coma, there appears to be little likelihood that he would be able to live a normal, active life. Gary Hartstein, a former Formula One doctor told the German media last week: "The majority of patients who come out of a coma alive after this amount of time suffer severe disabilities." (The Telegraph)

Vegas Weekend TV Schedule

Friday, March 7
11:00 AM 12:30 PM Kobalt Tools 400 PRACTICE (FS1)
12:40 PM-1:30 PM Boyd Gaming 300 PRACTICE (FS1)
2:00 PM 3:20 PM Boyd Gaming 300 FINAL PRACTICE (FS1)
3:40 PM Kobalt Tools 400 QUALIFYING (FS1)

Saturday, March 8
8:30 - 9:20 AM Kobalt Tools 400 PRACTICE  (FS2)
9:40 AM (12:40 PM/ET) Boyd Gaming 300 QUALIFYING  (FS2)
11:30 AM 12:30 PM Kobalt Tools 400 FINAL PRACTICE  (FS2)

1:15 PM 2014 Boyd Gaming 300 (ESPN2)

Sunday, March 9
12:00 PM 2014 Kobalt Tools 400 (FOX)

Teams Testing at Vegas Thursday

On-track action will start a day earlier than usual this week, with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series testing the 2014 rules package on the cars on Thursday. Testing will run from 3:00-7:00pm/et. Changes to the rules package include statically setting the race car ride height and eliminating the pre- and post-race front height rules and inspections. Additionally, the 2014 package includes a square leading edge on the splitter, side skirt and rear fascia adjustments and an eight-inch rear spoiler. Finally, a 43-inch by 13-inch radiator pan will round out changes for 2014. (NASCAR)

Kurt Busch to run Indy 500 with Andretti Autosport

It has been over a decade since it was last completed, but this May NASCAR Champion Kurt Busch will endeavor to become only the fourth driver in history to contest the "Double" - competing in IndyCar's historic Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's 600-mile race in the same day. Busch will make his first career Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt behind the wheel of an Andretti Autosport Indy car. His entry will complete a stable of five for Michael Andretti's championship winning IndyCar team. It is not the first pairing of Busch and Andretti Autosport, however, as in 2013 Busch completed a test day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the team and in the process passed the mandated Rookie Orientation program effectively setting the possibility of the "Double" into motion. What lies in front of Busch is a grueling challenge, not only on the race day itself - scheduled for Sunday, May 25th when Busch will race 1,100 miles in two races, in two cities, in two totally different cars, but in practicing and qualifying his Andretti Autosport Indy car in addition to competing in three NASCAR race weekends around Indianapolis 500 activities. The 35-year old American will start the two week Indy 500 stretch in Indianapolis May 11th, fresh from the NASCAR race in Kansas. After spending the week testing the Honda-powered Indy car, Busch will log some serious air miles traveling between Indianapolis and Charlotte so he can qualify for the 500-mile race and practice and qualify for the NASCAR All-Star race and that Series' 600-mile race. In total Busch will likely make more than ten trips between the cities - the most important and time sensitive being race day. Race day will place Busch in Indianapolis in the morning for the 12:00pm/et start time of the Indianapolis 500 before he makes the trip to Charlotte for the 6:00pm/et green flag.

New Chase Format Encourages Aggressive Racing

• Just two races into the Sprint Cup season, NASCAR's emphasis on winning has made an impact. #22-Joey Logano was more aggressive on a late-race restart, and Daytona 500 winner #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. was more comfortable with a fuel gamble during Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway. "It's all about the win, right?" Logano said after his daring restart backfired. Yes it is. It always has been that way but now there's more incentive for drivers and teams to take risks. "Third place really doesn't mean anything,'' Logano said. "Last year, you may have taken a third place and the points, but this year it's like, "hey, go for it.' "
  Harvick's dominance didn't keep others from trying different strategies. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was going to be short on fuel after his last pit stop before all the cautions but crew chief Steve Letarte told his driver not to worry about saving fuel. "We're here to try to win," Letarte told Earnhardt on the radio. "The gamble was not as nerve-racking and not as a big a gamble for us considering the circumstances," said Earnhardt, who finished second. "The new system definitely allowed us to be more carefree about that and not have to really think it over."
  Now Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers will have the opportunity to gamble over in the next 24 races since they have a victory. "It allows (Childers) to stretch fuel windows and do things and do a few things," Harvick said. "For the guys in the shop, it allows them to really broaden their horizons. You can really get aggressive on really everything."(Motors Racing Network)(3-3-2014)