The Other Race You (Probably) Missed This Weekend: Video

This weekend was the 50th anniversary running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the race brought out an incredible assortment of talent to compete in both the Daytona Prototype and GT classes. It was a “who’s who” of international road racing, and Speed TV deserves credit for its non-stop coverage of the event. Read more

Ford’s New NASCAR Fusion May Even Make Us Watch Stock Car Racing

We love racing, in almost all of its forms. On any given Sunday from March through November, you’ll find us glued to our TV sets, watching F1 or IndyCar, and when that’s not on we’ll switch to Grand Am or American LeMans. When we can find it, we’ll watch WRC and DTM, too; in fact, we’ll watch just about everything except stock car racing. Read more

Peugeot Withdraws From Racing, And We Wonder Who’s Next

When Peugeot entered the Le Mans endurance racing series in 2007, Audi was the 800 pound gorilla. Audi’s R10 diesels were unstoppable, and it seemed like Peugeot would be relegated to the also-rans, at least for its first season. Then came Peugeot victories at the Nürburgring and Spa, followed by wins at Silverstone and Interlagos. In 2009, Peugeot took victory at Le Mans, and it followed this up by winning the series title in both 2010 and 2011. Read more

MINI Building B-Spec Racer, Too

If you want to race cars beyond the ChumpCar, LeMons and SCCA Improved Touring levels, B-Spec may be the most affordable way to turn a wheel in anger. Sanctioned by the SCCA, Grand Am, NASA, and World Challenge, B-Spec is essentially a showroom stock series that pits subcompact automobiles from Honda, Ford, Mazda, Kia (and now MINI) against one another in evenly-matched competition. Engines are left stock, but modified suspensions, brakes, wheels and tires are allowed. Read more

Aston Martin, Toyota CEOs Swap Rides On The ‘Ring

If you ask us, a good CEO should have more than a passing knowledge of his company’s products, and should be able to demonstrate them competently. In the early 1990’s, a television series called “TV Nation” put this to the test, and challenged CEOs of major corporations to demonstrate their products on live TV. The only one who agreed was Ford’s CEO, Alex Trotman, who changed the oil in a Ford Explorer on camera. Read more

GT Academy Debuts Tonight: Will You Watch?

The premise is simple: take the 16 fastest virtual drivers from Gran Turismo 5, then see if racing a car on a gaming system can translate into racing a car in real life. Along the way, there’s plenty of drama, including a military style obstacle course in the mud, and enough conflicting personalities to keep the show interesting.

Just by watching the 2:00 trailer below, I can tell you that these guys are in for a rude awakening, and not one of them seems to know what being a professional racer is all about. One contestant comments, “To be a professional race car driver, you never work another day in your life;” try telling that to guys like Dan Wheldon and Nick Heidfeld. When your doing promotional appearances in strange cities for days on end, or hustling a new sponsor so you can afford a ride next year, that looks suspiciously like work to me. Read more

Ken Block Shows Off His Latest Hybrid

If you’re an enthusiast, the word “hybrid” probably conjures up images of a Toyota Prius, being driven at one mile per hour below the speed limit, in the left lane, by some eco-fanatic attempting to squeeze the last tenth of a mile per gallon from the car’s anemic engine and motor. That’s what I think of at least, and I’ve never driven a hybrid with any kind of serious entertainment value. Not all hybrids are created alike, and the term “hybrid” doesn’t always apply to the powertrain alone. Read more

Is NASCAR’s Tony Stewart Headed To F1?

If you had to pick the two most diametrically opposed professional racing series in the world, chances are you’d go with NASCAR and F1. One series is the favorite of the blue collar, good ‘ol boy crowd, while the other is the darling of the uber-rich and beautiful. There’s no chance of finding caviar and foie gras in a NASCAR skybox, just as there’s no chance of finding pork rinds and corn dogs in Monaco. Even the style of racing is completely different, since NASCAR stockers are primitive, heavy beasts that require techniques like bump drafting to advance through the pack. Try bump drafting an F1 car, and your day will end in an expensive shower of carbon fiber. Read more

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