October 12, 2011
Editor-in-Chief's Note: While celebrating its 100-year history, Chevrolet is also celebrating its long history in racing, dating back to co-founder Louis Chevrolet’s passion for racing automobiles. What's seemingly most important to Chevrolet PR operatives, judging by what they cover in the press release, is that the GM division has won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship 35 times, and is the most successful name in that series’ history. They also mention that Corvette Racing has taken seven class trophies at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that a Chevrolet-branded V-8 racing engine won the Indy 500 seven times between 1988 and 2002. What you won't read about in any detail? The barely-mentioned legacy of Jim Hall's famed Chaparrals, the battle between Corvette and the Shelby Cobra, the Grand Sport racers, the Penske-Donohue Trans-Am Camaros, and the resurgence of Corvette in SCCA and FIA racing in the late 60s and early 70s, which paved the way for the Corvette Racing of the modern era. But, you can watch this video at any rate. - PMD
(Ford)
Not to be outdone by Chevrolet's 100th anniversary, Edsel Ford II, Member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company, Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing, and William Clay Ford Jr., Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, prepare to cut Ford Racing's 110th anniversary celebration cake. Celebration or not, with Ford heavily invested in NASCAR and little else, racing insiders are anxious to see if Ford will expand its horizons in the motorsports world in the near future. We shall see.
(Copyright 2011, Nigel Kinrade - Autostock)
Carl Edwards (above) finished 5th in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford at Kansas Speedway last Sunday and now leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings by 1 point over Kevin Harvick. But the big news was Jimmie Johnson's dominating performance, leading 197 laps for the win in the Hollywood Casino 400. It was Johnson't 55th win in NASCAR and No. 199 for team owner Rick Hendrick. Johnson, the five-time defending champion, is now just four points back of the lead. Kasey Kahne finished second on Sunday, Brad Kesolowski finished third and Matt Kenseth was fourth.
The Project 56 DeltaWing assault has already brought together some of the biggest names in American motorsport. Now a major U.S. supplier has been selected to produce the transmission components for the unique car. The Chicago-based EMCO Gears will manufacture the unit that will transfer the 300 horsepower from the 1.6 liter turbocharged engine to the rear wheels. A 75-year-old family-owned business, EMCO originally specialized in commercial gears but entered the racing business in the 60s when it first made gears for A.J. Foyt. EMCO now makes a wide range of products including gears, shafts, complete transmissions, steering racks and axle systems. The DeltaWing transmission is a 5-speed (plus reverse) longitudinal design featuring electrically actuated sequential selection via steering wheel mounted shift paddles. The transmission's integral final drive differential features an innovative and highly efficient variable torque vectoring control of the driven rear wheels. Through the use of the same planetary gears for both the final drive reduction ratio and differential action the unique transmission package weighs only 70lbs (32kg). The DeltaWing's debut was announced in June when it won the selection for the 56th entry for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. “Garage 56” is reserved for a car featuring new automotive technology previously unseen in motorsport.
IndyCar pays tribute to the heritage of North American open-wheel racing by presenting the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship Trophy at the IndyCar Championship Celebration on Oct. 17 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The series champion will be determined in the Las Vegas Indy 300 - the marquee event in the IZOD Indycar World Championships Presented by Honda - at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. ABC will televise the event, including an expanded pre-race show, at 3 p.m. (ET). The trophy to be presented originally was commissioned by Vincent Astor, son of industrialist John Jacob Astor, to be awarded to the winner of the Astor Cup Challenge - a 350-mile race on a 2-mile board track at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. "We sought to blend heritage and tradition with our future," said Randy Bernard, CEO, IndyCar. "It was very important for us to find a trophy that was a piece of art that drivers would truly be honored to win. At the same time, I think it's very important for us to solidify the fact that INDYCAR is Indy car and we have placed every champion from 1909 on that trophy. We are recognizing every sanctioning body that has governed Indy car racing. It is a trophy that not only reminds us of our past but links our future."
BMW Motorsport completed another three-day test at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (DE) as part of its preparations for the 2012 DTM season. The three-day session included BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG as they put three newly developed BMW M3 DTM cars to the test. Alongside BMW works drivers August Farfus (BR), Andy Priaulx (GB), Jörg Müller (DE) and Dirk Werner (DE), René Rast (DE), Jean-Karl Vernay (FR) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) were also given the chance to test the BMW M3 DTM. The three BMW M3 DTM cars completed a total 388 laps of the 3.478-kilometre track on the first day, 380 on day two, and 334 laps on the third and final day.
(Image © 2011 - John Thawley Motorsports Photography - http://www.johnthawley.com)
Editor-in-Chief's Note: The American Le Mans Series "Petit Le Mans" was held at Road Atlanta last Saturday and the series delivered another sensational event. We will have full coverage up shortly with a report from A.J. Morning in "Fumes," but in the meantime you can check out John Thawley's scintillating images from the weekend here. This is John's last ALMS gallery of the 2011 season and we will have a "Best of" gallery of John's work up later in the year. - PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD
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