June 2011

A quiet milestone: electric Indy-style car sets first class record at Indianapolis

Submitted by Bill Tybur on June 29, 2011 - 10:53am
  On Saturday, May 7, 2011, three weeks before the Centennial Indy 500, history was made and a new era in racing at Indianapolis begun.  The significance of the event was not only electrifyingly (pun intended) significant but eerily silent too -- both as it occurred and as covered by the motorsports media. As part of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's inaugural Emerging Tech Day event, driver Billy Roe drove a battery powered electric open wheel race car around the famous two and half mile oval at an average speed of 106.897 miles per hour.

Sports Car Racing in America is at a Crossroads. The Directions are in French.

Submitted by Bill Tybur on June 23, 2011 - 2:31pm
A few months ago the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) announced a partnership that would turn the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup sports car racing series into the FIA World Endurance Championship, beginning in 2012. This is a definite upgrade.  The FIA runs Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, the World Touring Car Championship and many other series.  It has decades upon decades of history and milestones, experience, partnerships and power. 

Oval Track Racing vs. Road Racing... Is One Better Than the Other?

Submitted by Bill Tybur on June 17, 2011 - 10:41am
"Road racing is a participant's folly; oval racing is spectator's delight." Those were the words that Clint Brawner wanted me to put on a bumper sticker almost 30 years ago.  But my, oh, my how times have changed -- as evidenced by this past weekend's Le Mans, NASCAR, F1 and IndyCar races.

DELTA WING IS COMING TO LIFE

Submitted by Anonymous on June 10, 2011 - 10:13am
By John Oreovicz Ben Bowlby’s DeltaWing concept car created a lot of controversy and conversation when it was pitched as a potential “Indy car of tomorrow” in early 2010. Now, with the help of Dan Gurney’s All American Racers and defending American Le Mans Series champions Highcroft Racing, a revised version of the DeltaWing is becoming a reality. Bowlby’s design has already been accepted as a special category “56th entry” for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

Rubbin', Racin' and Fisticuffs. What's New?

Submitted by Bill Tybur on June 9, 2011 - 11:10am
This past weekend of racing was a full one, featuring the Rolex Sports Car series at The Glen, NHRA drag racing at Englishtown and all three NASCAR series; Sprint Cup and Camping World Trucks at Kansas Speedway and the Nationwide Series at Chicagoland.

Mecum, Vintage Indy Racing Group Look to Preserve Heritage of Indy Racing Cars

Submitted by Anonymous on June 2, 2011 - 3:34pm
By Larry Edsall INDIANAPOLIS -- Notice the dateline is INDIANAPOLIS, not SPEEDWAY, Ind. That’s because I wasn’t at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from which the western Indy suburb where the 500 is contested takes its name. Instead, I was north of downtown, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.