THE LINE

March 3, 2010

(Timothy Williams/Rally America)
Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino drove their Ford Fiesta to victory in the 2010 Rally America 100 Acre Wood Rally on February 25-27, 2010, in Salem, Missouri. That makes five wins in a row at the race for Block and Gelsomino, but the first in a Ford.

(Timothy Williams/Rally America)

    That Pathetic Auto Publication That Used to Be Weekly but Now Comes Out Every Other Week. You got your facts wrong, boys. There are two manufacturers directly involved in talks with NASCAR and there's more to the story than you're being told. Much more. And we can assure you that you will be the very last to know when it comes to the who-what-when-where of it all too.  And just for the record, only you lame-asses could have taken a weekly automotive publication - the only print car mag premise that had even a whiff of a shot at survival in this Internet age - and turn it into an even more boring excuse for a car mag that now comes out every other week. Nicely done.

(Ford Racing)
The 2010 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge season kicks-off its third season of competition with a double-header this weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway as part of the GRAND-AM Grand Prix of Miami. The series utilizes the Ford Mustang FR500S - the first-ever Ford production-line built race car - and is sanctioned by GRAND-AM. The Mustang Challenge is also a support series to major professional road racing events across North America.

(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
A banner of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 ticket - measuring 91½ feet wide and 19½ feet tall - was unveiled Tuesday, March 2, over Gate 2 (Main Gate) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will remain there through the month of May. Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 30, will be mailed to ticketholders starting Wednesday, March 3. The 2010 ticket features popular IZOD IndyCar Series star Helio Castroneves, who earned an emotional third Indy 500 victory in May 2009 in a Team Penske entry. Castroneves will attempt this year to become just the fourth driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” four times. Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 are on sale now, with Race Day ticket prices starting at $20. Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

(Kayla Graham Racing)
Kayla Graham, a 17-year-old high school senior from Lighthouse Point, Florida, will make her professional racing debut this week at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kayla, who started racing go-karts at age 12, will compete in the Grand-Am-sanctioned Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge on Saturday, March 6th. Kayla will be driving the No. 85 Classic BMW Z4, sponsored by Bonefish Mac’s. Her co-drivers this weekend include her trusted mentor and coach, Andre Serra, and Continental Tire Challenge regular, Toby Grahovec.

 Racing. A sad press release came over the Internet today: "Due to the downturn in the global economy and the subsequent shortage of funded drivers, the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda will go on hiatus until global conditions improve. The Atlantic Championship has and always will be committed to providing the best driver development series available to the world’s next generation of top-tier driving talent. Unfortunately however this experience cannot be upheld through 2010. Series officials will continue working throughout the year to develop new ideas for the future that will add value to drivers and also lower costs associated with competing in a world-class racing series like the Atlantic Championship." Not Good.

 Sage Karam. Andretti Autosport has signed 15-year-old Sage Karam to drive for the team in the 2010 Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, the entry level series for the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy. Karam, a native of Nazareth, Pa., has spent the last few years competing in the Skip Barber National championship, a part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder program, as well as the World Karting Association (WKA). He was the only American driver to compete in both a national karting championship and an open-wheel professional series full time in 2009. Karam began competing in karts at the age of five. He has since established himself as a 35-time WKA and Indy Racing League (IRL) Stars of Karting national champion. Karam also stands as the only driver ever to win a WKA Triple Crown Championship and titles in the IRL Stars of Karting (East, West and National) all in the same year (2007). In 2008, Karam - then 13 -- established himself as the youngest winner in the history of the Skip Barber Shootout.

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:

Subscribe via iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=311421319

Subscribe via RSS:

http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/podcasts/feeds/afterhours-audio.xml