Well, as I write this it’s raining in Daytona and we won’t have a start until Monday at noon�7pm�- the first time in the 54 year history of the race. As veteran motorsports writer Ed Hinton wrote: “What we long called Big Bill France’s deal with God expired Sunday.” Not exactly what I was looking [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
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Saturday, March 31, 2012
Richard Petty 50th Anniversary
This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Richard Petty's first race, which occurred on July 12, 1958. In celebration of his half-century of involvement in NASCAR, here is a reproduction of a Petty Enterprises race report...
From Racedriven ? Win a $25 BP Gas card photography Contest.
I?m sure most of us have seen the every changing gas prices daily over the past several months including hitting $4 for a gallon for gasoline at one point this year, so thanks to M80 on behalf of BP, I am running an automotive photography contest with each winner receiving one $25 BP Gift Cards. [...]
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Goings on at Amy?s Bad Groove
Here are a couple of excerpts from Amy’s Bad Groove this week: In I Have Stupid (NASCAR) Questions, I laments over the fact that she has questions about NASCAR she is afraid to ask…for fear of looking stupid: Anyway I have been a NASCAR fan for years (as in since childhood)?and I have a couple [...]
Should Bristol Be Changed?
In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Bruton Smith said he is considering $1,000,000 worth of renovations to Bristol Motor Speedway that would return it to it’s pre-2007 configuration. Smith said the lower than normal attendance at Sunday’s Cup race isn’t the reason why he is considering changes, but that he wanted the [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Allingham?s Hunt for Championship Victory Number Three
Reigning Hankook MSA Welsh National Rally Champion Alex Allingham started the defence of his title last weekend on the Bulldog National Rally which is a support event to the MSA British Rally championship. Alex from Stalybridge partnered by Wilshire co-driver Mark Glennerster took part on the International Rally of Wales in the national event which [...]
Miller to Unveil Revolutionary TIG Welder at 2008 SEMA Show
Get hands-on experience and expert demonstrations of MIG welding, TIG welding and plasma cutting. Test Miller TIG and MIG welders that make it easier to learn to weldperfect for enthusiast-level motorsports applications.
Tejas Miatas ? Jester King Brewery & Salt Lick BBQ Run
� This past weekend my wife, Isa, & I enjoyed a brisk, pre-spring, sun-filled drive around the southern environs of Austin, TX.� What prompted this was an announcement from the Tejas Miatas, one week prior: Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 Subject: [tejasmiata] Jester King Brewery-Salt Lick BBQ run Sat Feb 25th I have been talking [...]
The Porcupine, Semi-Hemi, Mystery Rat Motor
The big block Chevrolet V8 is known by a variety of names, but for most Chevrolet racers and hot rodders, it will always be simply the rat motor. How did such a popular engine come to be labeled as a rat?
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Video: A Look at the 2012 AMBR Winner
Freiburger and our video crew headed to So-Cal Speed shop to speak with Pete Chapouris and Jimmy Shine and take a look at some of the details that helped the Indy roadster win one of the automotive world’s most prestigious awards.
HRML: NE Rod & Custom Car Show ? Elite Six
The judges have tallied their scores and this morning the NE Rod & Custom Car Show�named�their “Elite Six” winners that will compete for�tomorrows “Best of Show”. The cars picked were of the best quality and craftsmanship that you would�expect�from the show car class. In no�particular�order, there was Ronson Burtons 1963 Chevrolet Nova… …and�Gregg Blackfords 1933 [...]
Monday, March 26, 2012
Understanding About Charging And Discharging of Car Batteries
There are two standards set for the measurement of the power of the car battery. The more popular of these two is the cold cranking power. This standard is very well known for measuring the amount of current which is being delivered by a battery in 30 seconds time in certain conditions. These conditions include: [...]
Rolex Series on the rise, Austin F1 race sinking fast.
On Tuesday I watched, with great interest and enthusiasm, the Grand-Am press conference introducing the new Corvette-ish bodywork for all the 2012 Chevy-Powered Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex Series.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
Why Believe The Penalty PR Game?
Next week in a room at NASCAR’s R&D facility in Concord, N.C., retired General Motors executive John Middlebrook will hear the final appeal of Hendrick Motorsports. The crime of course being “c-posts” that, according to NASCAR, did not meet specifications. Soon after, we’ll learn what Middlebrook’s decision is. Given his past, there is a chance [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Humbled by SASCA 2012 Autocross #2
For me, 6 opportunities was not enough to get a good run from today’s autocross course.� In fact, I’ll say I did lousy, with my first 3 runs resulting in succeedingly slower runs each time.� To say I was frustrated (& humbled) is an understatement, especially after really enjoying my perceived success during last month’s [...]
This Week in the NASCAR Blogosphere
By the end of the race at Lowe’s Motorspeedway the Chase will be half over. When the heck did that happen? I don’t know. Last weekend’s race at Talladega provided Tony Stewart with his first win of the season, his first win there in a sprint cup car and ended his 43 race winless streak. [...]
Mothers Big Rig Schedule
The Mothers crew has outfitted their massive big rig and trailer to tackle just about every auto detailing job you can come up with. You can catch them in action at shows across the country to get product demos and samples so you can keep your car looking its best this show season. Check out [...]
Reversal of (Fine) Fortunes
In a very surprising move on Wednesday, the NFL announced harsh penalties against the New Orleans Saints over the now infamous bounty scandal. Coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the upcoming season, GM Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight games of the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Danica Patrick Crash At Daytona; 2012 DRIVE4COPD 300
Danica patrick gets hit by the #88 and crashes, causing the second cautiion of the day! Technorati Tags: 2012, crash, Danica, daytona, Drive4COPD, Patrick
Dave Zackary?s Cadillac Eldorado Funny Car
Dave Zackary's experiment with a steel body, flip-top Cadillac funny car was great match-race draw, but ended in tragedy.
NR2003 ? Robert Quiroga Flip at Coca-Cola ? OSW SNSL Class B&C
Robert Quiroga’s lap 5 flip at Coca-Cola SS in the Openspeedway Saturday Night Super Speedway League, with Elliott Sadler’s 2003 flip commentary. Technorati Tags: Class, CocaCola, Flip, nr2003, Quiroga, Robert, SNSL
Friday, March 23, 2012
Need a Holiday Gift for the Motorsport Enthusiast? Here's Some Book Suggestions
Need to do some last-minute shopping for the motorsports fan on your list? Or perhaps you?re the motorsports fan and want to drop some last-minute hints to your friends and relatives and co-workers.
Here is a list of recently published books about auto racing that I?ve enjoyed reviewing and that I think you?ll enjoy reading:
Fast Lines: Memorable Moments in Motorsports
By Pete Lyons
$24.95 from www.octanepress.com or www.petelyons.com
Pete Lyons? father, Ozzie, was an acclaimed motorsports photographer, and so is Pete, who also writes about racing for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. This book is a compilation of 55 of the columns he?s written in the past 15 years for Vintage Racecar magazine.
From Lime Rock to Le Mans and Brazil to Barcelona, you?ll enjoy reconnecting through Lyons? insight with some old faces and places. You?ll feel as though you?re walking alongside he and his wife as they explore like auto racing anthropologists what remains of Riverside Raceway. Feel privileged to peak into his notebooks and to see photos from his personal and family collection.
Be prepared to laugh with Lyons at some of the funny stories and also to cry with him at the too-frequent loss of life.
These ?lines? may be fast, but you?ll want to savor them slowly.
Living on the Edge: A History of Auto Racing in Michigan
By Rick Sigsby
$14.95 from www.rsigsby.com
I?m only a third of the way through this one, but am enjoying getting reacquainted with the motorsports history of the state where I lived most of my life and where I covered a lot of racers and racing events as a newspaper sports editor and later as motorsports editor at AutoWeek magazine.
Rick Sigsby also was a Michigan newspaper sports editor, and his book includes a series of interviews he?s done with many of the state?s racing greats -- or in one case -- inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun, with Ray?s 97-year-old son, Dick. The book also has feature stories about Michigan racers who no longer are around to be interviewed.
I thought I knew a lot about Michigan?s motorsports history, but I? learning something new on seemingly every page.
Real Racers: Formula 1 Racing in the 1950s and 1960s: A Driver?s Perspective
By Stuart Codling
Photography from The Klemantaski Collection
$40 from www.motorbooks.com
Ever wonder what's different about Formula One racing today compared the glory years of the 1950s and 1960s? Buy this book, turn to pages 59 and 1,118, 120 and 123 and so many others and it becomes obvious. See it? It's the drivers' eyes.
No, they didn't have better vision than today's drivers. And they certainly didn't have the technologically advanced equipment used by today's drivers.
So what's the difference? It's the drivers' eyes. Back in the heyday, you could see them, especially in photographs taken by Louis Klemantaski and his camera-carrying contemporaries.
Today, the driver's eyes are hidden behind full-face helmets that provide a slit through which the driver can see out but we cannot see in. But back in the day, helmets barely covered the driver's hair, and the goggles they wore didn't hide their eyes but drew our attention to them.
Put a driver in a protective and fire-proof suit and cover his (or her) head with what could be a Star Warriors helmet and you might think it was a robot driving the racecar. But in the Klemantaski era, you not only saw the drivers' eyes, but even the set of the jaw, the tightness of the lips and, above all, the eyes, those mirrors of the very soul.
While the book is dominated by Kelmantaski?s amazing images, the book's value is enhanced by Codling's captions and especially by the words of the drivers themselves.
The Crew Chief?s Son: A Trackside Memoir of Early NASCAR
By Michael L. Clements
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
From 1957 through 1965, Michael Clements? father, Louie, and uncle Clements were NASCAR crew chiefs, so skillful at their trade that in 1960, Louis and his driver, Rex White, won the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) championship.
The Crew Chief?s Son is Michael Clements? account of tho years when his family traveled the NASCAR circuit, which at the time meant living in a station wagon as the circus made three or four stops a week at tracks throughout the southeastern United States.
His well-illustrated book is dominated by often detailed accounts of the various races, each with its successes and frustrations, and sometimes with tragedies. But where the book is at its best comes when Michael takes us beyond the race results and into the his dad?s garage and onto pit road, and when he shares stories about family life, from his adventures with his cousin Gary to the times when racers shared family dinners.
Although it wasn?t a dinner, Michael speculates that Cotton Owens may have won one race because he ate so much of prune cake baked by Louie?s wife that he drove faster than usual because he really needed to use a bathroom. In fact, Michael writes, after the race Owens even bypassed the winner?s circle and drove straight to an infield outhouse.
The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
By Michael Cannell
$25.99 from www.twelvebooks.com (or $12.99 as an e-book)
In the summer and early autumn of 1961, American sports fans were engrossed with a race, a race between New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they battled to see which might break the previously unassailable single-season home run record set three decades earlier by the famed Babe Ruth.
But it was another race involving teammates that occupied the attention of European sports fans that season. This was the race was between Wolfgang von Trips, a German count whose family estate had been reduced during World War II to little more than a family farm, and Phil Hill, an American who had found within the insane pace of racing cars the sanity lacking in his parents? home.
Like Mantle and Maris, von Trips and Hill were teammates on the most famous of the teams in their sport -- Ferrari.
Their friendship and rivalry, played out against the backdrop of a period in which driver faced death at every turn, is chronicled in this book by a former New York Times staffer who expertly crafts a tale that unfolds much like a race itself -- from the pre-race driver introductions, though the laps behind the pace car, the early jockeying for position, the pressure of the pit stops and the drama of the late-race passing and the chase for the checkered flag.
But Cannell also takes the reader into the closed garages and even inside the cockpit, into the driver?s thoughts and emotions, and reveals that too often, even in victory there is loss.
They Started in MGs: Profiles of Sports Car Racers of the 1950s
By Carl Goodwin
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
Goodwin profiles 79 men and women, including Carroll Shelby and Steve McQueen, who were among the American sports car racing pioneers who began their competitive careers in MGs. Goodwin, himself one of those pioneers who became an automotive writer and historian, either interviewed those people or those who knew them.
?The MG was a great car for the early racing driver,? Goodwin writes. ?It was affordable, durable and easy to drive... in an era when few trailered their cars to races... you could drive it from Columbus, Ohio, to McDill Air Force Base at Tampa, Florida... drive it [and win your class] in the 6-hour race... and drive it back to Columbus.
?These great little cars opened the door to a rewarding life in amateur racing for thousands of people.?
Goodwin?s book reopens that door to today?s readers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Edsall is an accomplished author himself, and you can read more from him daily at www.izoom.com. Larry didn't want to plug his own latest book, but that doesn't mean we can't. Take a peek at Larry's new book: "Ferrari,' at the following link.
http://www.qbookshop.com/products/193278/9780760340585/Ferrari.html
Here is a list of recently published books about auto racing that I?ve enjoyed reviewing and that I think you?ll enjoy reading:
Fast Lines: Memorable Moments in Motorsports
By Pete Lyons
$24.95 from www.octanepress.com or www.petelyons.com
Pete Lyons? father, Ozzie, was an acclaimed motorsports photographer, and so is Pete, who also writes about racing for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. This book is a compilation of 55 of the columns he?s written in the past 15 years for Vintage Racecar magazine.
From Lime Rock to Le Mans and Brazil to Barcelona, you?ll enjoy reconnecting through Lyons? insight with some old faces and places. You?ll feel as though you?re walking alongside he and his wife as they explore like auto racing anthropologists what remains of Riverside Raceway. Feel privileged to peak into his notebooks and to see photos from his personal and family collection.
Be prepared to laugh with Lyons at some of the funny stories and also to cry with him at the too-frequent loss of life.
These ?lines? may be fast, but you?ll want to savor them slowly.
Living on the Edge: A History of Auto Racing in Michigan
By Rick Sigsby
$14.95 from www.rsigsby.com
I?m only a third of the way through this one, but am enjoying getting reacquainted with the motorsports history of the state where I lived most of my life and where I covered a lot of racers and racing events as a newspaper sports editor and later as motorsports editor at AutoWeek magazine.
Rick Sigsby also was a Michigan newspaper sports editor, and his book includes a series of interviews he?s done with many of the state?s racing greats -- or in one case -- inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun, with Ray?s 97-year-old son, Dick. The book also has feature stories about Michigan racers who no longer are around to be interviewed.
I thought I knew a lot about Michigan?s motorsports history, but I? learning something new on seemingly every page.
Real Racers: Formula 1 Racing in the 1950s and 1960s: A Driver?s Perspective
By Stuart Codling
Photography from The Klemantaski Collection
$40 from www.motorbooks.com
Ever wonder what's different about Formula One racing today compared the glory years of the 1950s and 1960s? Buy this book, turn to pages 59 and 1,118, 120 and 123 and so many others and it becomes obvious. See it? It's the drivers' eyes.
No, they didn't have better vision than today's drivers. And they certainly didn't have the technologically advanced equipment used by today's drivers.
So what's the difference? It's the drivers' eyes. Back in the heyday, you could see them, especially in photographs taken by Louis Klemantaski and his camera-carrying contemporaries.
Today, the driver's eyes are hidden behind full-face helmets that provide a slit through which the driver can see out but we cannot see in. But back in the day, helmets barely covered the driver's hair, and the goggles they wore didn't hide their eyes but drew our attention to them.
Put a driver in a protective and fire-proof suit and cover his (or her) head with what could be a Star Warriors helmet and you might think it was a robot driving the racecar. But in the Klemantaski era, you not only saw the drivers' eyes, but even the set of the jaw, the tightness of the lips and, above all, the eyes, those mirrors of the very soul.
While the book is dominated by Kelmantaski?s amazing images, the book's value is enhanced by Codling's captions and especially by the words of the drivers themselves.
The Crew Chief?s Son: A Trackside Memoir of Early NASCAR
By Michael L. Clements
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
From 1957 through 1965, Michael Clements? father, Louie, and uncle Clements were NASCAR crew chiefs, so skillful at their trade that in 1960, Louis and his driver, Rex White, won the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) championship.
The Crew Chief?s Son is Michael Clements? account of tho years when his family traveled the NASCAR circuit, which at the time meant living in a station wagon as the circus made three or four stops a week at tracks throughout the southeastern United States.
His well-illustrated book is dominated by often detailed accounts of the various races, each with its successes and frustrations, and sometimes with tragedies. But where the book is at its best comes when Michael takes us beyond the race results and into the his dad?s garage and onto pit road, and when he shares stories about family life, from his adventures with his cousin Gary to the times when racers shared family dinners.
Although it wasn?t a dinner, Michael speculates that Cotton Owens may have won one race because he ate so much of prune cake baked by Louie?s wife that he drove faster than usual because he really needed to use a bathroom. In fact, Michael writes, after the race Owens even bypassed the winner?s circle and drove straight to an infield outhouse.
The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
By Michael Cannell
$25.99 from www.twelvebooks.com (or $12.99 as an e-book)
In the summer and early autumn of 1961, American sports fans were engrossed with a race, a race between New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they battled to see which might break the previously unassailable single-season home run record set three decades earlier by the famed Babe Ruth.
But it was another race involving teammates that occupied the attention of European sports fans that season. This was the race was between Wolfgang von Trips, a German count whose family estate had been reduced during World War II to little more than a family farm, and Phil Hill, an American who had found within the insane pace of racing cars the sanity lacking in his parents? home.
Like Mantle and Maris, von Trips and Hill were teammates on the most famous of the teams in their sport -- Ferrari.
Their friendship and rivalry, played out against the backdrop of a period in which driver faced death at every turn, is chronicled in this book by a former New York Times staffer who expertly crafts a tale that unfolds much like a race itself -- from the pre-race driver introductions, though the laps behind the pace car, the early jockeying for position, the pressure of the pit stops and the drama of the late-race passing and the chase for the checkered flag.
But Cannell also takes the reader into the closed garages and even inside the cockpit, into the driver?s thoughts and emotions, and reveals that too often, even in victory there is loss.
They Started in MGs: Profiles of Sports Car Racers of the 1950s
By Carl Goodwin
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
Goodwin profiles 79 men and women, including Carroll Shelby and Steve McQueen, who were among the American sports car racing pioneers who began their competitive careers in MGs. Goodwin, himself one of those pioneers who became an automotive writer and historian, either interviewed those people or those who knew them.
?The MG was a great car for the early racing driver,? Goodwin writes. ?It was affordable, durable and easy to drive... in an era when few trailered their cars to races... you could drive it from Columbus, Ohio, to McDill Air Force Base at Tampa, Florida... drive it [and win your class] in the 6-hour race... and drive it back to Columbus.
?These great little cars opened the door to a rewarding life in amateur racing for thousands of people.?
Goodwin?s book reopens that door to today?s readers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Edsall is an accomplished author himself, and you can read more from him daily at www.izoom.com. Larry didn't want to plug his own latest book, but that doesn't mean we can't. Take a peek at Larry's new book: "Ferrari,' at the following link.
http://www.qbookshop.com/products/193278/9780760340585/Ferrari.html
Need a Holiday Gift for the Motorsport Enthusiast? Here's Some Book Suggestions
Need to do some last-minute shopping for the motorsports fan on your list? Or perhaps you?re the motorsports fan and want to drop some last-minute hints to your friends and relatives and co-workers.
Here is a list of recently published books about auto racing that I?ve enjoyed reviewing and that I think you?ll enjoy reading:
Fast Lines: Memorable Moments in Motorsports
By Pete Lyons
$24.95 from www.octanepress.com or www.petelyons.com
Pete Lyons? father, Ozzie, was an acclaimed motorsports photographer, and so is Pete, who also writes about racing for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. This book is a compilation of 55 of the columns he?s written in the past 15 years for Vintage Racecar magazine.
From Lime Rock to Le Mans and Brazil to Barcelona, you?ll enjoy reconnecting through Lyons? insight with some old faces and places. You?ll feel as though you?re walking alongside he and his wife as they explore like auto racing anthropologists what remains of Riverside Raceway. Feel privileged to peak into his notebooks and to see photos from his personal and family collection.
Be prepared to laugh with Lyons at some of the funny stories and also to cry with him at the too-frequent loss of life.
These ?lines? may be fast, but you?ll want to savor them slowly.
Living on the Edge: A History of Auto Racing in Michigan
By Rick Sigsby
$14.95 from www.rsigsby.com
I?m only a third of the way through this one, but am enjoying getting reacquainted with the motorsports history of the state where I lived most of my life and where I covered a lot of racers and racing events as a newspaper sports editor and later as motorsports editor at AutoWeek magazine.
Rick Sigsby also was a Michigan newspaper sports editor, and his book includes a series of interviews he?s done with many of the state?s racing greats -- or in one case -- inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun, with Ray?s 97-year-old son, Dick. The book also has feature stories about Michigan racers who no longer are around to be interviewed.
I thought I knew a lot about Michigan?s motorsports history, but I? learning something new on seemingly every page.
Real Racers: Formula 1 Racing in the 1950s and 1960s: A Driver?s Perspective
By Stuart Codling
Photography from The Klemantaski Collection
$40 from www.motorbooks.com
Ever wonder what's different about Formula One racing today compared the glory years of the 1950s and 1960s? Buy this book, turn to pages 59 and 1,118, 120 and 123 and so many others and it becomes obvious. See it? It's the drivers' eyes.
No, they didn't have better vision than today's drivers. And they certainly didn't have the technologically advanced equipment used by today's drivers.
So what's the difference? It's the drivers' eyes. Back in the heyday, you could see them, especially in photographs taken by Louis Klemantaski and his camera-carrying contemporaries.
Today, the driver's eyes are hidden behind full-face helmets that provide a slit through which the driver can see out but we cannot see in. But back in the day, helmets barely covered the driver's hair, and the goggles they wore didn't hide their eyes but drew our attention to them.
Put a driver in a protective and fire-proof suit and cover his (or her) head with what could be a Star Warriors helmet and you might think it was a robot driving the racecar. But in the Klemantaski era, you not only saw the drivers' eyes, but even the set of the jaw, the tightness of the lips and, above all, the eyes, those mirrors of the very soul.
While the book is dominated by Kelmantaski?s amazing images, the book's value is enhanced by Codling's captions and especially by the words of the drivers themselves.
The Crew Chief?s Son: A Trackside Memoir of Early NASCAR
By Michael L. Clements
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
From 1957 through 1965, Michael Clements? father, Louie, and uncle Clements were NASCAR crew chiefs, so skillful at their trade that in 1960, Louis and his driver, Rex White, won the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) championship.
The Crew Chief?s Son is Michael Clements? account of tho years when his family traveled the NASCAR circuit, which at the time meant living in a station wagon as the circus made three or four stops a week at tracks throughout the southeastern United States.
His well-illustrated book is dominated by often detailed accounts of the various races, each with its successes and frustrations, and sometimes with tragedies. But where the book is at its best comes when Michael takes us beyond the race results and into the his dad?s garage and onto pit road, and when he shares stories about family life, from his adventures with his cousin Gary to the times when racers shared family dinners.
Although it wasn?t a dinner, Michael speculates that Cotton Owens may have won one race because he ate so much of prune cake baked by Louie?s wife that he drove faster than usual because he really needed to use a bathroom. In fact, Michael writes, after the race Owens even bypassed the winner?s circle and drove straight to an infield outhouse.
The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
By Michael Cannell
$25.99 from www.twelvebooks.com (or $12.99 as an e-book)
In the summer and early autumn of 1961, American sports fans were engrossed with a race, a race between New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they battled to see which might break the previously unassailable single-season home run record set three decades earlier by the famed Babe Ruth.
But it was another race involving teammates that occupied the attention of European sports fans that season. This was the race was between Wolfgang von Trips, a German count whose family estate had been reduced during World War II to little more than a family farm, and Phil Hill, an American who had found within the insane pace of racing cars the sanity lacking in his parents? home.
Like Mantle and Maris, von Trips and Hill were teammates on the most famous of the teams in their sport -- Ferrari.
Their friendship and rivalry, played out against the backdrop of a period in which driver faced death at every turn, is chronicled in this book by a former New York Times staffer who expertly crafts a tale that unfolds much like a race itself -- from the pre-race driver introductions, though the laps behind the pace car, the early jockeying for position, the pressure of the pit stops and the drama of the late-race passing and the chase for the checkered flag.
But Cannell also takes the reader into the closed garages and even inside the cockpit, into the driver?s thoughts and emotions, and reveals that too often, even in victory there is loss.
They Started in MGs: Profiles of Sports Car Racers of the 1950s
By Carl Goodwin
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
Goodwin profiles 79 men and women, including Carroll Shelby and Steve McQueen, who were among the American sports car racing pioneers who began their competitive careers in MGs. Goodwin, himself one of those pioneers who became an automotive writer and historian, either interviewed those people or those who knew them.
?The MG was a great car for the early racing driver,? Goodwin writes. ?It was affordable, durable and easy to drive... in an era when few trailered their cars to races... you could drive it from Columbus, Ohio, to McDill Air Force Base at Tampa, Florida... drive it [and win your class] in the 6-hour race... and drive it back to Columbus.
?These great little cars opened the door to a rewarding life in amateur racing for thousands of people.?
Goodwin?s book reopens that door to today?s readers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Edsall is an accomplished author himself, and you can read more from him daily at www.izoom.com. Larry didn't want to plug his own latest book, but that doesn't mean we can't. Take a peek at Larry's new book: "Ferrari,' at the following link.
http://www.qbookshop.com/products/193278/9780760340585/Ferrari.html
Here is a list of recently published books about auto racing that I?ve enjoyed reviewing and that I think you?ll enjoy reading:
Fast Lines: Memorable Moments in Motorsports
By Pete Lyons
$24.95 from www.octanepress.com or www.petelyons.com
Pete Lyons? father, Ozzie, was an acclaimed motorsports photographer, and so is Pete, who also writes about racing for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. This book is a compilation of 55 of the columns he?s written in the past 15 years for Vintage Racecar magazine.
From Lime Rock to Le Mans and Brazil to Barcelona, you?ll enjoy reconnecting through Lyons? insight with some old faces and places. You?ll feel as though you?re walking alongside he and his wife as they explore like auto racing anthropologists what remains of Riverside Raceway. Feel privileged to peak into his notebooks and to see photos from his personal and family collection.
Be prepared to laugh with Lyons at some of the funny stories and also to cry with him at the too-frequent loss of life.
These ?lines? may be fast, but you?ll want to savor them slowly.
Living on the Edge: A History of Auto Racing in Michigan
By Rick Sigsby
$14.95 from www.rsigsby.com
I?m only a third of the way through this one, but am enjoying getting reacquainted with the motorsports history of the state where I lived most of my life and where I covered a lot of racers and racing events as a newspaper sports editor and later as motorsports editor at AutoWeek magazine.
Rick Sigsby also was a Michigan newspaper sports editor, and his book includes a series of interviews he?s done with many of the state?s racing greats -- or in one case -- inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun, with Ray?s 97-year-old son, Dick. The book also has feature stories about Michigan racers who no longer are around to be interviewed.
I thought I knew a lot about Michigan?s motorsports history, but I? learning something new on seemingly every page.
Real Racers: Formula 1 Racing in the 1950s and 1960s: A Driver?s Perspective
By Stuart Codling
Photography from The Klemantaski Collection
$40 from www.motorbooks.com
Ever wonder what's different about Formula One racing today compared the glory years of the 1950s and 1960s? Buy this book, turn to pages 59 and 1,118, 120 and 123 and so many others and it becomes obvious. See it? It's the drivers' eyes.
No, they didn't have better vision than today's drivers. And they certainly didn't have the technologically advanced equipment used by today's drivers.
So what's the difference? It's the drivers' eyes. Back in the heyday, you could see them, especially in photographs taken by Louis Klemantaski and his camera-carrying contemporaries.
Today, the driver's eyes are hidden behind full-face helmets that provide a slit through which the driver can see out but we cannot see in. But back in the day, helmets barely covered the driver's hair, and the goggles they wore didn't hide their eyes but drew our attention to them.
Put a driver in a protective and fire-proof suit and cover his (or her) head with what could be a Star Warriors helmet and you might think it was a robot driving the racecar. But in the Klemantaski era, you not only saw the drivers' eyes, but even the set of the jaw, the tightness of the lips and, above all, the eyes, those mirrors of the very soul.
While the book is dominated by Kelmantaski?s amazing images, the book's value is enhanced by Codling's captions and especially by the words of the drivers themselves.
The Crew Chief?s Son: A Trackside Memoir of Early NASCAR
By Michael L. Clements
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
From 1957 through 1965, Michael Clements? father, Louie, and uncle Clements were NASCAR crew chiefs, so skillful at their trade that in 1960, Louis and his driver, Rex White, won the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) championship.
The Crew Chief?s Son is Michael Clements? account of tho years when his family traveled the NASCAR circuit, which at the time meant living in a station wagon as the circus made three or four stops a week at tracks throughout the southeastern United States.
His well-illustrated book is dominated by often detailed accounts of the various races, each with its successes and frustrations, and sometimes with tragedies. But where the book is at its best comes when Michael takes us beyond the race results and into the his dad?s garage and onto pit road, and when he shares stories about family life, from his adventures with his cousin Gary to the times when racers shared family dinners.
Although it wasn?t a dinner, Michael speculates that Cotton Owens may have won one race because he ate so much of prune cake baked by Louie?s wife that he drove faster than usual because he really needed to use a bathroom. In fact, Michael writes, after the race Owens even bypassed the winner?s circle and drove straight to an infield outhouse.
The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
By Michael Cannell
$25.99 from www.twelvebooks.com (or $12.99 as an e-book)
In the summer and early autumn of 1961, American sports fans were engrossed with a race, a race between New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they battled to see which might break the previously unassailable single-season home run record set three decades earlier by the famed Babe Ruth.
But it was another race involving teammates that occupied the attention of European sports fans that season. This was the race was between Wolfgang von Trips, a German count whose family estate had been reduced during World War II to little more than a family farm, and Phil Hill, an American who had found within the insane pace of racing cars the sanity lacking in his parents? home.
Like Mantle and Maris, von Trips and Hill were teammates on the most famous of the teams in their sport -- Ferrari.
Their friendship and rivalry, played out against the backdrop of a period in which driver faced death at every turn, is chronicled in this book by a former New York Times staffer who expertly crafts a tale that unfolds much like a race itself -- from the pre-race driver introductions, though the laps behind the pace car, the early jockeying for position, the pressure of the pit stops and the drama of the late-race passing and the chase for the checkered flag.
But Cannell also takes the reader into the closed garages and even inside the cockpit, into the driver?s thoughts and emotions, and reveals that too often, even in victory there is loss.
They Started in MGs: Profiles of Sports Car Racers of the 1950s
By Carl Goodwin
$35 from www.mcfarlandpub.com
Goodwin profiles 79 men and women, including Carroll Shelby and Steve McQueen, who were among the American sports car racing pioneers who began their competitive careers in MGs. Goodwin, himself one of those pioneers who became an automotive writer and historian, either interviewed those people or those who knew them.
?The MG was a great car for the early racing driver,? Goodwin writes. ?It was affordable, durable and easy to drive... in an era when few trailered their cars to races... you could drive it from Columbus, Ohio, to McDill Air Force Base at Tampa, Florida... drive it [and win your class] in the 6-hour race... and drive it back to Columbus.
?These great little cars opened the door to a rewarding life in amateur racing for thousands of people.?
Goodwin?s book reopens that door to today?s readers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Edsall is an accomplished author himself, and you can read more from him daily at www.izoom.com. Larry didn't want to plug his own latest book, but that doesn't mean we can't. Take a peek at Larry's new book: "Ferrari,' at the following link.
http://www.qbookshop.com/products/193278/9780760340585/Ferrari.html
Video: SportsTalk: Franchitti excited for Indy season
SportsTalk: Defending Indy Car champ Dario Franchitti talks about his expectations and his car heading into the new season.�(NBC Sports) View full post on NBCSports.com: NASCAR / Motors Technorati Tags: excited, Franchitti, indy, Season, SportsTalk, video
Russian Mustang Driver Skipped His Drifting Lesson
Rear-wheel drive and lots of torque in a lightweight package is a recipe for fun, provided you know what you’re doing. Heck, even if you don’t know what you’re doing it can be fun as long as there’s nothing for you to smash your shiny, red Mustang GT into. Well, it looks like this guy’s [...]
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Video: Freiburger and Finnegan?s Roadkill Ranchero
You’re gonna want to see the latest Roadkill as Freiburger and Finnegan head out for an epic road trip in a clone of HOT ROD’s former Baja 1000-winning ’68 Ranchero. The entire staff of the magazine, plus a lot of help from editors of Car Craft and Super Chevy, got the car up and running [...]
Allmendinger Off To Slow Start With Penske
The opening three races of the 2012 season have not exactly been what A.J. Allmendinger and his new Penske team were hoping for. Coming into the year, expectations were certainly higher for the sixth year driver after his off season move to the #22 Dodge. In December, Allmendinger asked for and was granted his release [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Porcupine, Semi-Hemi, Mystery Rat Motor
The big block Chevrolet V8 is known by a variety of names, but for most Chevrolet racers and hot rodders, it will always be simply the rat motor. How did such a popular engine come to be labeled as a rat?
If You Think Biffle Didn?t Want To Win The 500, You Are Crazy
Following the way the Daytona 500 finished, with Matt Kenseth holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle for the win, I’ve seen there has been some discussion about whether or not Biffle was trying to win or just blocking for his teammate. It seems some think the latter is the case, and were lighting [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Mothers Big Rig Schedule
The Mothers crew has outfitted their massive big rig and trailer to tackle just about every auto detailing job you can come up with. You can catch them in action at shows across the country to get product demos and samples so you can keep your car looking its best this show season. Check out [...]
How to Crash in a NASCAR Race
When you’re racing at 200 miles per hour surrounded by other NASCAR drivers, you need to know how to handle a major mishap. Learn the safest way to wreck with this crash course. Technorati Tags: crash, nascar, race
Monday, March 19, 2012
Palm Beach FD 2011
What a great crowd this year in Palm Beach!
This was the first time Formula Drift has ever come to Florida, and it was a great event.
We’re looking forward to many more seasons of FD at PBIR!
Great coverage again by Kayla Montgomery
more of her pictures can be seen here: Palm Beach FD
This was the first time Formula Drift has ever come to Florida, and it was a great event.
We’re looking forward to many more seasons of FD at PBIR!
Great coverage again by Kayla Montgomery
more of her pictures can be seen here: Palm Beach FD
Whoa, Dodge Has Style
A new day is dawning in the aesthetics of the sport’s highest series. Or at least it looked that way on Sunday. Dodge unveiled it’s new Charger Cup car on Sunday and it looks great (sorry I didn’t include a photo, but check out the unveil video here). A car with bodylines and a distinctive [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Tony Stewart wins Gatorade Duel #1 and Danica Patrick Wrecks HARD!!!!
The second to last caution of today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duel #1 when Michael Waltrip Wrecks.Also, the final lap as defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart holds off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win. Technorati Tags: Danica, duel, Gatorade, Hard, Patrick, stewart, tony, wins, wrecks
New IndyCar Spec Chassis is Making Progress
by John Oreovicz
After some challenging early testing, the new Dallara DW12 Indy car chassis is finally showing signs of progress.
Through INDYCAR Series development and initial manufacturer testing last autumn with Chevrolet and Honda, the DW12 was considerably slower than expected on high-speed ovals, and reportedly very difficult to drive.
But a series of modifications, including lighter components and alternate suspension geometry designed to reduce the weight at the back of the car, have transformed Dallara?s first new Indy car design since 2003 into a basic platform that teams are confident they can whip into shape prior to the season opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 25.
The late Dan Wheldon handled the initial shakedown work for the car that would eventually be named after him. But other top Indy car drivers were far from impressed with the new machine in its initial oval configuration during manufacturer testing in October and November.
Under the direction of INDYCAR Vice-President of Technology Will Phillips, Dallara enacted a series of fixes, including the modified suspension along with altered rear view mirrors and rear wheel fairings introduced in an effort to cut drag.
In the most recent round of oval testing at Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in California, drivers were much happier with the feel of the DW12.
Following his run at Fontana, Rahal tweeted: ?I?ve got good news for IndyCar fans out there, the car is good on an oval! We made huge improvements today, lots of fun in the end? Everything ran perfect ? Honda Racing did an awesome job, and I expect things to only get better!?
Meanwhile, after running an exploratory test at Texas along with Tony Kanaan and Alex Tagliani, Team Penske?s Ryan Briscoe was also pleased. ?Things felt really good,? he told SpeedTV.com. ?We tried the offset suspension configuration, and in terms of car balance, everything felt normal, which is sort of what we were looking for all along.?
The car is still not producing the expected speeds, though that could be because the engine manufacturers are not pushing the envelope. The deadline for submitting final specifications for engine homologation is February 24.
Although the Lotus engine did not hit the track until January (five months behind Honda and three months after Chevrolet), the powerplant has proven reliable so far in testing. Lotus is supplying BHA Barracuda (formerly Bryan Heta Autosport), Dragon Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and HVM Racing.
Meanwhile Honda has expanded to supply twelve cars while Chevrolet could add more to its projected ten. Sarah Fisher Racing, Michael Shank Racing and Conquest Racing have still not secured an engine supply.
Phillips projects there will be 28 cars on the grid for the season opener and he is confident the DW12 will be race ready.
?We expect the car to achieve 225 mph at Indianapolis with a projected power of 550 horsepower,? said Phillips. ?With approximately 700 horsepower for road and street courses, we expect lap times 1-2 second quicker.?
That has been borne out so far in testing, where the drivers have been very positive about the DW12.
Rahal paced the latest round of road course testing at Barber Motorsports Park with a lap almost two seconds faster than Will Power?s 2011 pole time.
?The car is impressive,? Rahal said. ?It has a lot of grip and there?s still a long way to go.?
?You can feel everything is continually improving with the car and especially with the engine,? added defending Barber race winner Will Power. ?I still wish we had more power like the old Champ Car days, but it?s been good to work on the development of the engines and I?m very impressed with the job Chevrolet has done.?
Given the troublesome early development of the DW12 in speedway applications, the IndyCar Series is perhaps fortunate that the 2012 schedule features only five ovals. An open test at Texas on March is the last opportunity the series will have to tweak the basic oval specification prior to the month of May at Indianapolis.
The Dallara DW12 generated a lot of grumbling about its appearance, and even though it is now appearing in painted liveries rather than carbon black, the design still polarizes Indy car fans. But the positive reaction the car is now generating from drivers is nothing but good news for the season ahead.
John Oreovicz is a veteran motorsport writer and columnist whose work appears in various places, including ESPN.com.
After some challenging early testing, the new Dallara DW12 Indy car chassis is finally showing signs of progress.
Through INDYCAR Series development and initial manufacturer testing last autumn with Chevrolet and Honda, the DW12 was considerably slower than expected on high-speed ovals, and reportedly very difficult to drive.
But a series of modifications, including lighter components and alternate suspension geometry designed to reduce the weight at the back of the car, have transformed Dallara?s first new Indy car design since 2003 into a basic platform that teams are confident they can whip into shape prior to the season opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 25.
The late Dan Wheldon handled the initial shakedown work for the car that would eventually be named after him. But other top Indy car drivers were far from impressed with the new machine in its initial oval configuration during manufacturer testing in October and November.
Under the direction of INDYCAR Vice-President of Technology Will Phillips, Dallara enacted a series of fixes, including the modified suspension along with altered rear view mirrors and rear wheel fairings introduced in an effort to cut drag.
In the most recent round of oval testing at Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in California, drivers were much happier with the feel of the DW12.
Following his run at Fontana, Rahal tweeted: ?I?ve got good news for IndyCar fans out there, the car is good on an oval! We made huge improvements today, lots of fun in the end? Everything ran perfect ? Honda Racing did an awesome job, and I expect things to only get better!?
Meanwhile, after running an exploratory test at Texas along with Tony Kanaan and Alex Tagliani, Team Penske?s Ryan Briscoe was also pleased. ?Things felt really good,? he told SpeedTV.com. ?We tried the offset suspension configuration, and in terms of car balance, everything felt normal, which is sort of what we were looking for all along.?
The car is still not producing the expected speeds, though that could be because the engine manufacturers are not pushing the envelope. The deadline for submitting final specifications for engine homologation is February 24.
Although the Lotus engine did not hit the track until January (five months behind Honda and three months after Chevrolet), the powerplant has proven reliable so far in testing. Lotus is supplying BHA Barracuda (formerly Bryan Heta Autosport), Dragon Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and HVM Racing.
Meanwhile Honda has expanded to supply twelve cars while Chevrolet could add more to its projected ten. Sarah Fisher Racing, Michael Shank Racing and Conquest Racing have still not secured an engine supply.
Phillips projects there will be 28 cars on the grid for the season opener and he is confident the DW12 will be race ready.
?We expect the car to achieve 225 mph at Indianapolis with a projected power of 550 horsepower,? said Phillips. ?With approximately 700 horsepower for road and street courses, we expect lap times 1-2 second quicker.?
That has been borne out so far in testing, where the drivers have been very positive about the DW12.
Rahal paced the latest round of road course testing at Barber Motorsports Park with a lap almost two seconds faster than Will Power?s 2011 pole time.
?The car is impressive,? Rahal said. ?It has a lot of grip and there?s still a long way to go.?
?You can feel everything is continually improving with the car and especially with the engine,? added defending Barber race winner Will Power. ?I still wish we had more power like the old Champ Car days, but it?s been good to work on the development of the engines and I?m very impressed with the job Chevrolet has done.?
Given the troublesome early development of the DW12 in speedway applications, the IndyCar Series is perhaps fortunate that the 2012 schedule features only five ovals. An open test at Texas on March is the last opportunity the series will have to tweak the basic oval specification prior to the month of May at Indianapolis.
The Dallara DW12 generated a lot of grumbling about its appearance, and even though it is now appearing in painted liveries rather than carbon black, the design still polarizes Indy car fans. But the positive reaction the car is now generating from drivers is nothing but good news for the season ahead.
John Oreovicz is a veteran motorsport writer and columnist whose work appears in various places, including ESPN.com.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Understanding About Charging And Discharging of Car Batteries
There are two standards set for the measurement of the power of the car battery. The more popular of these two is the cold cranking power. This standard is very well known for measuring the amount of current which is being delivered by a battery in 30 seconds time in certain conditions. These conditions include: [...]
HRML: Chipping away at the G10 to-do list.
Set-backs are always part of any project vehicle and this is especially so when your on a very-very low�budget. I’ve ran into everything from my parts guy being hit by semi trucks to busting 38 year old bolts covered in grit and grime of the same vintage. There was progress this week and after I [...]
New Hampshire Weekend Review
There is never any way, in the US at least, Formula One is going to steal NASCAR’s thunder. The racing world was amazed as 21 year old Sebastion Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win a points Grand Prix race in the history of that series. He did it at Monza in Italy, driving [...]
Biffle wins pole at Bristol
Greg Biffle, the Sprint Cup points leader, continued his strong start to the season Friday by winning the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway. View full post on NBCSports.com: NASCAR / Motors Technorati Tags: Biffle, bristol, pole, wins
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Dick Jesse?s Extreme Slant-Roof GTO Funny Car
Mr. Unswitchable was a Pontiac GTO funny car with the roof slammed so low that driver Dick Jesse had to drive with his head punched through the top. Car Craft magazine quickly dubbed the car the Slant Roof GTO in 1967.
Video: Corvette Blows Out Candles for its 60th Birthday
Chevrolet didn’t need many words for this commercial celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Corvette, so we won’t bore you with many either. Enjoy.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Ford Announces Pricing of 2013 Shelby GT500
News of Ford’s 650hp super-Mustang spread through the automotive industry like wildfire, leaving benchracers clamoring for info on when they could buy the world’s most powerful V8, and how much it would cost them. The price for the GT500 coupe has been set at $54,995, while the drop top will set you back an additional [...]
DeltaWing Racer Two Steps Closer to Reality
By John Oreovicz
Tech-savvy racing fans have been eagerly following the progress of the DeltaWing project, which is set to make its competition debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June as the 56th entry reserved for new and unique automotive technologies.
Ben Bowlby?s radical design has the support of Highcroft Racing and the first car is under construction at Dan Gurney?s All American Racers in Santa Ana, California. Two more elements to the attack were unveiled recently: the tire manufacturer and the first driver.
Both are entering uncharted territory.
Marino Franchitti will quite literally be the Delta Wing?s ?test pilot? when the car rolls under its own power for the first time as the calendar turns to Spring. The DeltaWing is so different to accepted race car design that when Franchitti hits the track, he really will be reprising the role of aviation pioneers like Chuck Yeager.
The million dollar question: Can the DeltaWing, with its narrow front track and 4-inch-wide front tires, actually negotiate corners?
?I am so excited about getting the opportunity to drive the car,? said Franchitti, who is the younger brother of 4-time IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti. ?I have no doubt in my mind that it is going to turn, but I am really looking forward to finding out how it is going to feel and how it will work as a package.
?I have nothing to compare this against,? he added. ?Like the car itself, I will be going in with a clean sheet of paper and will start exploring the limits.?
DeltaWing has teamed with Michelin to develop the unusual 4-inch wide front tires that are so critical to the car?s small frontal area and low drag. The car will be able to utilize standard size rear tires.
?Michelin races to learn and races to win,? said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports manager and project leader for the Michelin DeltaWing.?? ?There is tremendous focus in the auto industry worldwide on making vehicles lighter without sacrificing performance, and we hope to learn a great deal from our collaboration with the DeltaWing program.?
Photo courtesy of Michelin
In February the car, on the new Michelin tires, will run in a full-scale wind tunnel to validate computer data.
?The time has come to bring the real car to life and the first step is to run the car at Windshear at full size on a moving ground plane wind tunnel,? said chief designer Bowlby. ?We?ll have the real Michelin tires, the real suspension, the real bodywork and cooling systems ? everything that you will see on the car at the race track.?? The plan is to ensure the simulations we have done meet reality.?
Of course, the crucial missing part of the DeltaWing package is the engine. Bowlby envisions a turbocharged, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 300 horsepower will be enough to propel the car to competitive speeds.
DeltaWing is also hoping to gain financial support from the engine manufacturer it partners with. But until they see how the car operates in the real world, manufacturers have been hesitant to commit a seven-figure budget to such an experimental effort.
?They?re going to have to run the car on a track to prove to the doubters that it actually works,? said one source affiliated with a manufacturer that has been courted by DeltaWing. ?It?s too big of a risk to devote that kind of money to something that is completely unproven, no matter how confident they are in their computer simulations.?
For his part, Franchitti is eager to begin his participation in the development of a machine that could prove to shake up race car design as we know it.
?It kind of feels like when the first rear engine Formula 1 car hit the track, or the first car with a wing, or the first ground-effects car,? Franchitti said. ?In recent times, we really haven?t seen major advances like this. Technological steps have been quite small and now it is very exciting to be a part of something this huge. I am really honored to be given this opportunity.
?Being somebody who loves the history of the sport, I am really looking forward to experiencing something that my heroes experienced,? he added. ?Those opportunities don?t come along every day. I?m looking forward to being that guy who can say, ?Yes, I turned the wheel and ?round the corner it went!??
John Oreovicz is a long-time motorsport writer who writes for a varity of publications, including ESPN.com.
Tech-savvy racing fans have been eagerly following the progress of the DeltaWing project, which is set to make its competition debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June as the 56th entry reserved for new and unique automotive technologies.
Ben Bowlby?s radical design has the support of Highcroft Racing and the first car is under construction at Dan Gurney?s All American Racers in Santa Ana, California. Two more elements to the attack were unveiled recently: the tire manufacturer and the first driver.
Both are entering uncharted territory.
Marino Franchitti will quite literally be the Delta Wing?s ?test pilot? when the car rolls under its own power for the first time as the calendar turns to Spring. The DeltaWing is so different to accepted race car design that when Franchitti hits the track, he really will be reprising the role of aviation pioneers like Chuck Yeager.
The million dollar question: Can the DeltaWing, with its narrow front track and 4-inch-wide front tires, actually negotiate corners?
?I am so excited about getting the opportunity to drive the car,? said Franchitti, who is the younger brother of 4-time IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti. ?I have no doubt in my mind that it is going to turn, but I am really looking forward to finding out how it is going to feel and how it will work as a package.
?I have nothing to compare this against,? he added. ?Like the car itself, I will be going in with a clean sheet of paper and will start exploring the limits.?
DeltaWing has teamed with Michelin to develop the unusual 4-inch wide front tires that are so critical to the car?s small frontal area and low drag. The car will be able to utilize standard size rear tires.
?Michelin races to learn and races to win,? said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports manager and project leader for the Michelin DeltaWing.?? ?There is tremendous focus in the auto industry worldwide on making vehicles lighter without sacrificing performance, and we hope to learn a great deal from our collaboration with the DeltaWing program.?
Photo courtesy of Michelin
In February the car, on the new Michelin tires, will run in a full-scale wind tunnel to validate computer data.
?The time has come to bring the real car to life and the first step is to run the car at Windshear at full size on a moving ground plane wind tunnel,? said chief designer Bowlby. ?We?ll have the real Michelin tires, the real suspension, the real bodywork and cooling systems ? everything that you will see on the car at the race track.?? The plan is to ensure the simulations we have done meet reality.?
Of course, the crucial missing part of the DeltaWing package is the engine. Bowlby envisions a turbocharged, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 300 horsepower will be enough to propel the car to competitive speeds.
DeltaWing is also hoping to gain financial support from the engine manufacturer it partners with. But until they see how the car operates in the real world, manufacturers have been hesitant to commit a seven-figure budget to such an experimental effort.
?They?re going to have to run the car on a track to prove to the doubters that it actually works,? said one source affiliated with a manufacturer that has been courted by DeltaWing. ?It?s too big of a risk to devote that kind of money to something that is completely unproven, no matter how confident they are in their computer simulations.?
For his part, Franchitti is eager to begin his participation in the development of a machine that could prove to shake up race car design as we know it.
?It kind of feels like when the first rear engine Formula 1 car hit the track, or the first car with a wing, or the first ground-effects car,? Franchitti said. ?In recent times, we really haven?t seen major advances like this. Technological steps have been quite small and now it is very exciting to be a part of something this huge. I am really honored to be given this opportunity.
?Being somebody who loves the history of the sport, I am really looking forward to experiencing something that my heroes experienced,? he added. ?Those opportunities don?t come along every day. I?m looking forward to being that guy who can say, ?Yes, I turned the wheel and ?round the corner it went!??
John Oreovicz is a long-time motorsport writer who writes for a varity of publications, including ESPN.com.
Complete Throttle Magazine Now Available
Few gearhead magazines can boast that they predate HOT ROD. But even before Robert E Petersen began publishing HOT ROD in 1948, there was Throttle. Jack Peters began publishing Throttle in 1941 and covered the early dry lakes racers as well as the Indy 500. After one year of monthly issues, Throttle ceased publication as [...]
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Dodge Unveils their NASCAR Charger
If you’ve seen the latest issue of HOT ROD, you’ve no doubt read Freiburger’s editorial as well as the article entitled, “When NASCAR Mattered”. It’s no secret that we’ve drifted from the sport, but it seems that changes have been underway that might help fans reconnect by returning to body shells that are unique to [...]
Summit Rally Team raising eyebrows in the USA
Australia?s Summit Innovations Rally Team are raising eyebrows in the United States of America ahead of their four-event program with a two-car Nissan Silvia team. Drivers Will Orders and Ross Allan have just shipped their Nissans to the USA for their first foray into the American rally scene, and the locals are taking notice. Orders [...]
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Nurburgring Clone Coming to Vegas?
According to a report by Autoguide, talks are underway to build a clone of German’s famous Nurburgring about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. CLICK HERE for the story. The report notes that it would be used as a test track for automakers and for private individuals, implying that it would not be [...]
Hobart Brothers Welding Tips Poster
Hobart Brothers offers the cure to common stick welding troubles. The poster illustrates common weld defects, their causes and solutions and is available free of charge in Spanish and English.
Nostalgia: The CKLW All-Time Top 300 from 1967
In 1967, CKLW Radio asked it's listeners to vote for their favorite all-time records, Here is the complete list of the top 300:
Jimmie Johnson gaining ground quickly
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jimmie Johnson knew he had to make up ground quickly after a disastrous trip to Daytona. View full post on NBCSports.com: NASCAR / Motors Technorati Tags: gaining, ground, jimmie, johnson, Quickly
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Dick Jesse?s Extreme Slant-Roof GTO Funny Car
Mr. Unswitchable was a Pontiac GTO funny car with the roof slammed so low that driver Dick Jesse had to drive with his head punched through the top. Car Craft magazine quickly dubbed the car the Slant Roof GTO in 1967.
Understanding About Charging And Discharging of Car Batteries
There are two standards set for the measurement of the power of the car battery. The more popular of these two is the cold cranking power. This standard is very well known for measuring the amount of current which is being delivered by a battery in 30 seconds time in certain conditions. These conditions include: [...]
Merry Christmas To All
Cross Posted from Rev’Jim’s RantsnRaves Santa didn’t forget We almost let Christmas slip by without offering a wish list for some of our favorite drivers, teams, and NASCAR personalities. I’m not going to let that happen. Silly season never really ended. Bobby Labonte was released from Petty Enterprises even after avowing his loyalty to that [...]
Monday, March 12, 2012
HOT ROD Math, No Slide Rule Necessary
This lead illustration from a January 1961 article in HOT ROD shows an intrepid hot-rodder driving his slide rule, no doubt headed to race his pocket-protector-piloting opponent. I can’t speak for the rest of the HOT ROD staff, but I’ve never even seen a slide rule in person, much less now how to use one. [...]
Vintage Pic of the Day: Tommy Ivo?s Buick-Powered Model T
Ivo is well-know for his extravagant drag cars, but this Buick-powered Model T was no slouch either. Eric Rickman shot this photo in 1957 at the Santa Ana drags. According to Gray Baskerville, “Ivo’s 119-mph bucket was unbeaten in class, and it trophied at car shows as well.” For more on Ivo, check out this [...]
Lunati Cam Giveaway
Lunati is giving away 30 camshafts over three months and plans to give away six in just the first week. To enter to win the camshaft of your choice, visit Lunati’s Facebook Page, click “Like”, and then post on the page and tell everyone which cam you’d like and why. Be specific, and give a [...]
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Win a Power Tour Entry from Royal Purple
Royal Purple is offering one lucky fan the opportunity to participate in the 2012 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour�, free of charge. The winner of the Royal Purple High Performance Experience contest will be a guest of Royal Purple and get a free registration to Power Tour along with a Visa gift card to help [...]
NASCAR Weekend Bizarre So Far
Well, as I write this it’s raining in Daytona and we won’t have a start until Monday at noon�7pm�- the first time in the 54 year history of the race. As veteran motorsports writer Ed Hinton wrote: “What we long called Big Bill France’s deal with God expired Sunday.” Not exactly what I was looking [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
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Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Well Played Hendrick?
**I know I’m a couple of days late on this, but I wanted to weigh in with a little post-mortem on the deal. It was announced on Monday HendrickCars.com would provide various forms of sponsorship for three teams at the Daytona 500, one at the March race at Bristol and one for July’s Coke Zero [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
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Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
A Brief About ECU
The electrical system is collection of different subsystems that help you automobile run more smoothly and efficiently. This system is also controlled by excellent device in your automobile, which also takes care of other systems in automobiles, known as engine control unit, or ECU. An ECU is a device that finds out amount of fuel, [...]
Nurburgring Clone Coming to Vegas?
According to a report by Autoguide, talks are underway to build a clone of German’s famous Nurburgring about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. CLICK HERE for the story. The report notes that it would be used as a test track for automakers and for private individuals, implying that it would not be [...]
Waiting For The Truck Race
Today’s Gatorade Duels set the field for the Daytona 500 and count me among those who are excited for the season to kickoff. What I’m more excited about though is the start of the Truck season. Last year marked the end of two of the series’ storied organizations, Kevin Harvick Inc., and Randy Moss Motorsports. [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
A Brief About ECU
The electrical system is collection of different subsystems that help you automobile run more smoothly and efficiently. This system is also controlled by excellent device in your automobile, which also takes care of other systems in automobiles, known as engine control unit, or ECU. An ECU is a device that finds out amount of fuel, [...]
Friday, March 9, 2012
Rain, Rain Go Away, Dick Harrell?s Camaro has Come to Play
Rain cancelled the spring funny car show at Detroit Dragway before
Dick Harrell had a chance to show Detroit fans how well his flip-top Camaro could run.
Dick Harrell had a chance to show Detroit fans how well his flip-top Camaro could run.
Respecting What a NASCAR Driver Has To Do, Via Kart Racing
Thanks to a kart racing experience, at high speed (60+MPH is fast on a ProKart with your butt 1″ above the ground), on a banked circle track last year, I can appreciate what a NASCAR driver has to do to be competitive & win.� I felt it appropriate to discuss my revelation now, since NASCAR’s [...]
The Banshee Firebird at the 1968 Autorama
Could this be the first Firebird funny car? With a roll bar extending through the roof, the Banshee Firebird was a last minute entry for the 1968 Autorama in Detroit.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Rolex Series on the rise, Austin F1 race sinking fast.
On Tuesday I watched, with great interest and enthusiasm, the Grand-Am press conference introducing the new Corvette-ish bodywork for all the 2012 Chevy-Powered Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex Series.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
Danica Patrick and Emmitt Smith Commercial Outtakes
Check out these hilarious outtakes from our most recent commercial featuring Danica Patrick and Emmitt Smith. Technorati Tags: commercial, Danica, Emmitt, Outtakes, Patrick, Smith
Stenhouse wants to learn
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Nationwide title last season, but he says he’s not ready to leap to NASCAR’s highest level on a regular basis. View full post on NBCSports.com: NASCAR / Motors Technorati Tags: Learn, Stenhouse, wants
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
New Backpack Cooler Keeps Cold-Ones Close By
An innovative backpack cooler from TrackPack chills and dispenses 20 beverage cans with the flick of a wrist, complies with most public venues and tracks and is easy for one person to carry. Drink up!
The Buckpasser: B/G Willys Coupe
The Buckpasser Willys coupe was campaigned by Tinney and Tignanelli and competed in the B/Gas Coupe and Sedan class
Vintage Pic of the Day: Tommy Ivo?s Buick-Powered Model T
Ivo is well-know for his extravagant drag cars, but this Buick-powered Model T was no slouch either. Eric Rickman shot this photo in 1957 at the Santa Ana drags. According to Gray Baskerville, “Ivo’s 119-mph bucket was unbeaten in class, and it trophied at car shows as well.” For more on Ivo, check out this [...]
SASCA 2012 Autocross #1 ? Starting Over?
After 5 months of my autocross inactivity & a set of new street Falken (M+S) tires for Karlino, it was good to get back into SASCA autocross competition at Retama Park, last Sunday, January 29th!. There were quite a number of new faces, which was good to see.� In my CS class, I had 4 [...]
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Rolex Series on the rise, Austin F1 race sinking fast.
On Tuesday I watched, with great interest and enthusiasm, the Grand-Am press conference introducing the new Corvette-ish bodywork for all the 2012 Chevy-Powered Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex Series.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
I take back every doubt or slam ever uttered about sports car racing owned and operated by NASCAR. This car looks great. The manufacturer ?specific visual concept is going to work, just like it does in Cup, NNS and trucks to built interest and expand the fan base. I can?t wait to see what Ford reveals to clearly reference ? what? The Mustang? The Focus? (Naaah.) The Fusion? What will Ganassi or BMW come up with for their cars? Are there any Porsche-powered cars left now that Action has become a bow tie team?
That was Tuesday. It was the best of times.
On Wednesday I felt like the Dickens when I scanned the latest F1 headlines on SPEED: Ecclestone ? Austin Race Set To Be Called Off and US GP Now In Doubt, (Texas State Comptroller) Combs Letter Promised Advanced Payment for Austin Race.
For F1 fans, this is the worst of times.
I?ve been worried about the Austin F1 race at the new Circuit of the Americas ever since it was announced because I didn?t believe Uncle Sam?s international reputation, to say nothing of what we see when we look in the mirror, couldn?t take another hit after the USF1 Team fiasco.
Yet here we are again.
As I understand this, Tevo Helmund negotiated the deal as the race promoter which involved a money group headed by billionaire Rex McComb to help develop the property . The whole project was based on a $25 million dollar per year commitment from the Lone Star state, with the first payment promised by July 31 of this year.
The check didn?t arrive, payment deadlines were missed, the race date was bumped four months and suddenly there were reports of rancor between Helmund and the developers even as construction of the very expensive but clearly first class Herman Tilke ?designed track and facility complex had begun.
This threesome gone bad apparently still has a couple of weeks to get their act together before F1 officially toe tags the race. I don?t know what kind of arrangement misunderstandings have caused the rift between the promoter and the track developers but I?ll bet the fact that the $25 million, which was promised in writing, is now being withheld until after next year's hanging-by-a-thread race has a lot to do with it.
The race contract between Helmund?s Full Throttle Productions and Formula 1 has been cancelled and the track wants to renegotiate with Ecclestone, good luck with that, rather than accept a simple transfer of the agreement.
You?d think their existing investment in the new Circuit of the Americas track would be so great they really have no choice other than to make this work.
But I don't have a lot of optimism. So I will look forward to the first Grand-Am test session featuring the new DPs in January and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 a few weeks later and just wait and see what happens with the Austin deal.
Wait. And hope.
Get Rid Of Owners Points Swaps? Not So Fast?
Remember that time Bobby Ginn was part of the Childress ownership group? And Chip Ganassi was a partner in that back marker Nationwide Team? Or how about when Jim Harris become a partial owner up at the now-defunct Randy Moss Motorsports? Yeah, not too memorable, right? Every year around this time the screaming begins about [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Kevin Neal?s Scary Crash From SGMP
Here’s to strong tubing and good welders! Kevin Neal was unhurt after this shocking wheel-standing crash in his Fox-body at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Neal was competing in the Outlaw 275 class but his Mustang is obviously quite capable of putting the power to the track through the skinny tires. Luckily, Kevin’s crash involved a [...]
This Weekends Race?
I just got this email through NASCAR.com Due to inclement weather from Tropical Storm Hanna, tomorrow?s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway has been postponed until 1 p.m. Sunday. The Nationwide event will now be run at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Ford Armada Invades Daytona
I happen to be a Ford guy, simply because the first car I remember was the old blue Ford my dad bought brand spankin' new in Memphis, TN to move our family out to Phoenix, AZ in the summer of 1956. It was a six-cylinder, impossible to stop tank that doubled as a solar-powered, all-metal, mobile convection oven from May through September.
That was one great car.
My interest in racing started about the time Jimmy Clark and his Lotus Fords were changing the face of Indy car racing and when Don Prudhomme, Connie Kalitta and Sneaky Pete Robinson were running SOHC Ford top fuel dragsters; when Carroll Shelby created his Cobras and when Mario won the Daytona 500 and when Dan Gurney showed everyone the real way to celebrate with champagne.
We had a Ford. Fords were winning races. So I became a Ford racing fan.
Today, almost fifty years later I remain a staunch supporter of Ford Motor Company and I certainly follow Ford's racing endeavors with great interest.
Like this Saturday's 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Big Blue will be competing in all four Grand-Am Road Racing Series divisons.
I'm both hoping and expecting the Roush-Yates Ford-powered Daytona Prototypes do well, and not just because I started a bunch in my fantasy league. Yes, I'd like to see bodywork that says Mustang or Fusion or Focus the way the new Corvette sheetmetal screams Chevrolet's performance brand but I'll take a win anyway, from either the Doran, Krohn, Michael Shank or Starworks teams.
I like the fact that Rick Ware, former NASCAR stalwart who runs "The Biggest Little Team in Motorsports" has entered a Mustang in the Rolex GT class to compete against the best from BMW, Ferrari, GM, Porsche and Mazda. It may not contend for the win but it'll definitely get some press as the only Mustang in the field with Jeffrey Earnhadt, grandson of the Intimidator, as one of the drivers.
Ford Racing's best chance at an overall victory this weekend might be in the Continental Tire Series 200 on Friday, when more than a dozen Grand Sport Mustangs, either Boss 302Rs or GTs, will take the green flag for 200 miles of close-to-what-we-actually-drive racing action on Friday. After the first practice session two Roush Performance entries are at the top of the speed charts, one of them driven by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr., last year's runnersup in the Grand Sport championship. I'm picking them too.
The ST class, which runs with the GS cars the same way the GT's race with the Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex Series, has a newcomer this year -- the Multimatic Motorsports Ford Focus ST-R driven by James Gue and Gunnar Jeannette. A win would definitely be an upset but how cool that the series finally has an American 'Street Tuner' entry to compete against the (so far) all dominant riceburners and European cars.
Ford is the only manufacturer that's entered in each class in both Daytona races this weekend.
I like that. I want them to do well. Just like I want the new Fusions and Mustangs to win in NASCAR; like I want a Mustang to win another Funny Car championship and a Wally for a Pro Stock Mustang. And I especially want to see John Force Racing's new Ford-powered Top Fuel car start making runs in competition. Almost as much as I want to see Ford back in IndyCar.
Like I said. I'm a Ford guy.
That was one great car.
My interest in racing started about the time Jimmy Clark and his Lotus Fords were changing the face of Indy car racing and when Don Prudhomme, Connie Kalitta and Sneaky Pete Robinson were running SOHC Ford top fuel dragsters; when Carroll Shelby created his Cobras and when Mario won the Daytona 500 and when Dan Gurney showed everyone the real way to celebrate with champagne.
We had a Ford. Fords were winning races. So I became a Ford racing fan.
Today, almost fifty years later I remain a staunch supporter of Ford Motor Company and I certainly follow Ford's racing endeavors with great interest.
Like this Saturday's 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Big Blue will be competing in all four Grand-Am Road Racing Series divisons.
I'm both hoping and expecting the Roush-Yates Ford-powered Daytona Prototypes do well, and not just because I started a bunch in my fantasy league. Yes, I'd like to see bodywork that says Mustang or Fusion or Focus the way the new Corvette sheetmetal screams Chevrolet's performance brand but I'll take a win anyway, from either the Doran, Krohn, Michael Shank or Starworks teams.
I like the fact that Rick Ware, former NASCAR stalwart who runs "The Biggest Little Team in Motorsports" has entered a Mustang in the Rolex GT class to compete against the best from BMW, Ferrari, GM, Porsche and Mazda. It may not contend for the win but it'll definitely get some press as the only Mustang in the field with Jeffrey Earnhadt, grandson of the Intimidator, as one of the drivers.
Ford Racing's best chance at an overall victory this weekend might be in the Continental Tire Series 200 on Friday, when more than a dozen Grand Sport Mustangs, either Boss 302Rs or GTs, will take the green flag for 200 miles of close-to-what-we-actually-drive racing action on Friday. After the first practice session two Roush Performance entries are at the top of the speed charts, one of them driven by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr., last year's runnersup in the Grand Sport championship. I'm picking them too.
The ST class, which runs with the GS cars the same way the GT's race with the Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex Series, has a newcomer this year -- the Multimatic Motorsports Ford Focus ST-R driven by James Gue and Gunnar Jeannette. A win would definitely be an upset but how cool that the series finally has an American 'Street Tuner' entry to compete against the (so far) all dominant riceburners and European cars.
Ford is the only manufacturer that's entered in each class in both Daytona races this weekend.
I like that. I want them to do well. Just like I want the new Fusions and Mustangs to win in NASCAR; like I want a Mustang to win another Funny Car championship and a Wally for a Pro Stock Mustang. And I especially want to see John Force Racing's new Ford-powered Top Fuel car start making runs in competition. Almost as much as I want to see Ford back in IndyCar.
Like I said. I'm a Ford guy.
Imperial Speedster Takes Home The Big Prize in Tulsa
Murray Pfaff of Royal Oak, Michigan, won the $20,000 “Go For the Gold” award at Darryl Starbird?s National Rod & Custom Car Show in Tulsa, OK on February 17-19th, 2012. His 1959 Imperial Speedster, that HOT ROD featured in July of 2011, took home the award with its combination of creativity, workmanship, execution, and individual [...]
Mopar Muscle Head Flow Testing
Mopar Muscle magazine did flow bench testing for several big-block Mopar cylinder heads, both out of the box and mildly ported. Cylinder head flow numbers aren’t exactly dyno numbers, but we still love to see the data and find out how much port work is worth. CLICK HERE for the article and more results, and [...]
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Rain, Rain Go Away, Dick Harrell?s Camaro has Come to Play
Rain cancelled the spring funny car show at Detroit Dragway before
Dick Harrell had a chance to show Detroit fans how well his flip-top Camaro could run.
Dick Harrell had a chance to show Detroit fans how well his flip-top Camaro could run.
Replacing Powertrain Control Module
Many different works and functions of a vehicle are performed by ?the power train control module?. Information is acknowledged by the module from different engine sensors and then module calculates the fuel flow rate necessary for protection of right quantity of air or fuel ratio during operational range. PCM, on the basis of information received [...]
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Kevin Neal?s Scary Crash From SGMP
Here’s to strong tubing and good welders! Kevin Neal was unhurt after this shocking wheel-standing crash in his Fox-body at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Neal was competing in the Outlaw 275 class but his Mustang is obviously quite capable of putting the power to the track through the skinny tires. Luckily, Kevin’s crash involved a [...]
NASCAR Weekend Bizarre So Far
Well, as I write this it’s raining in Daytona and we won’t have a start until Monday at noon�7pm�- the first time in the 54 year history of the race. As veteran motorsports writer Ed Hinton wrote: “What we long called Big Bill France’s deal with God expired Sunday.” Not exactly what I was looking [...]TheNASCARInsiders.com
Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
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Can't Compare Johnson's Three to Cale Yarborough's Three
So Jimmy Johnson won his third championship in a row yesterday. Good for him. But it can't be considered the same as when Yarborough did it in the '70s. Keep with me after the jump for more...
Cover of the Week: July 1997
Tony Christian swapped the body on his unique ’57 Chevy for a more aerodynamic Camaro shell shortly after the July 1997 cover shoot to better compete in Pro Street. Despite missing the final race, Tony, along with partners Jim and Randy Chappel, Richard Rainwater, and Darla Moore, took come the Pro Street championship. The car [...]
Friday, March 2, 2012
You Too Can Be Fast And Fabulous!
Hey race fans- just wanted to let you know that you can win a $25.00 BP gas card from TheFastandTheFabulous.com. Just fill out the form located here. And while you are there poke around- it’s a great racing blog!
Busch can't do no wrong
Busch again was in the right place at the right time to claim victory in the pepsi 400
PEARCEY TAKES UP SOL RALLY BARBADOS PRIZE DRIVE
Chairman presents positive report at Rally Club AGM Tim Pearcey and Neil Shanks, who finished second in last December?s Roger Albert Clark Rally, will enjoy an all expenses-paid trip to Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (June 9/10), the Caribbean?s biggest annual motor sport international. The prize includes free entry and shipping for the rally car, return [...]
A Solution to California?s Gasoline Prices
For those of you who don’t know, California has the third highest fuel taxes in the nation, after only Connecticut and New York. Consequently, every gasoline heat map looks like the one you see above that we got at gasbuddy.com. In our quest for cheap fuel, we’ve stolen an idea from the drug smuggler’s playbook [...]
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Imperial Speedster Takes Home The Big Prize in Tulsa
Murray Pfaff of Royal Oak, Michigan, won the $20,000 “Go For the Gold” award at Darryl Starbird?s National Rod & Custom Car Show in Tulsa, OK on February 17-19th, 2012. His 1959 Imperial Speedster, that HOT ROD featured in July of 2011, took home the award with its combination of creativity, workmanship, execution, and individual [...]
Imperial Speedster Takes Home The Big Prize in Tulsa
Murray Pfaff of Royal Oak, Michigan, won the $20,000 “Go For the Gold” award at Darryl Starbird?s National Rod & Custom Car Show in Tulsa, OK on February 17-19th, 2012. His 1959 Imperial Speedster, that HOT ROD featured in July of 2011, took home the award with its combination of creativity, workmanship, execution, and individual [...]
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