(Race Of Champions)
The draw for this weekend’s Race Of Champions inside Miami’s Marlins Park is promising some intriguing head-to-head encounters between some of the world’s greatest drivers. Saturday’s individual races will see NASCAR champion Kyle Busch take on Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, while Kurt Busch will face "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen. Juan Pablo Montoya will race World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg, while action sports star Travis Pastrana will take on four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, the reigning ROC Champion of Champions. Other drivers in action include Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Scott Speed, James Hinchcliffe, plus F1 stars Felipe Massa, David Coulthard and Pascal Wehrlein. The rivalries will heat up even more for Sunday’s ROC Nations Cup as the drivers pair up in teams, where it will be America vs. The World in a brand new Ryder Cup-style team competition. Tickets are still available at www.raceofchampions.com for this weekend’s action at Miami’s Marlins Park.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Editor-In-Chief's Note: Check out John Thawley's latest photo gallery, this time from the "Roar Before the Rolex 24" - the mandatory test before IMSA's upcoming Daytona 24 hour race (Rolex 24) qhich will rake place on Saturday, January 28th. The fact that IMSA requires all of its teams to come down to the "Roar" and pound around the Daytona International Speedway three weeks before the actual race weekend is a complete travesty, as it adds wear, tear, and additional budget expenditures for the teams, cars and drivers. So why does it happen? Because it means more revenue for IMSA, it's as simple as that. Could IMSA just add two days of testing in front of the race weekend itself to help cut costs and streamline racing team budgets? Yes, of course, but then again that isn't the NASCAR-ized IMSA "Way" now. Oh well, enjoy John's scintillating images from Daytona. -PMD
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
(newspressUSA)
Toyota unveiled a new Camry at the Detroit Auto Show, and also showed its new NASCAR bodywork as well.
(IndyCar)
INDYCAR is working toward a universal aerodynamic bodywork kit for all Verizon IndyCar Series cars in 2018. Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations, unveiled a series of initial concept drawings for how the car might look during a media roundtable at the Detroit Auto Show. The sketches are the first visual peek into the future without revealing specific details as to how the cars and their accompanying aerodynamic bodywork will look when they hit the track for the 2018 season. The goal is to have a car built for display at the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil in May, with on-track testing beginning in the summer.
(RRDC photo)
Neil Verhagen, a 15-year-old high school student from Mooresville, N.C., has been named the 46th recipient of the RRDC Mark Donohue Award. This unique award is presented annually by the Road Racing Drivers Club for outstanding performance, competitiveness and sportsmanship during the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. It is voted on by RRDC members attending the Runoffs and/or viewing them live on the Internet. Verhagen became the youngest SCCA National Champion in history, winning the Formula F class during the SCCA Runoffs at the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in September. Before this win, IndyCar racer Graham Rahal, a full year older than Verhagen, was the youngest when he captured the Formula Atlantic National Championship at Mid-Ohio in 2005. The teenager also claimed the SCCA Super Sweep Award, winning his U.S. Majors Tour Conference, the national points championship, a key regular season race, and, finally, the Runoffs. Driving in his first Runoffs in the No. 3 K-Hill Motorsports/Hoosier Mygale SJ11/Honda, Verhagen started from pole position and built a 15-second lead before a full-course caution brought the field back on his tail. He quickly moved ahead after the restart and took the checkered flag with a 5.51-second margin of victory. He covered the 21-lap race, which was shortened to a 40-minute time limit, at an average of 77.266 mph. His fast lap of 1:30.133 (90.187 mph) topped the field by nearly a second. Verhagen will be officially presented the award at the annual RRDC members’ dinner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 25th. RRDC president Bobby Rahal, a Runoffs champion (’74 B Sports Racing and ’75 F Atlantic) long before he won the 1986 Indianapolis 500, emphasized the RRDC Mark Donohue Award is “about personal spirit and performance behind the wheel. Those qualities are more important for this award than winning the race. The RRDC honors Neil not only for his outstanding drive to win, but for his natural ability and skill at such a young age to safely win a championship against other outstanding drivers and cars in the field.” UPDATE (1/18): It was announced today that Neil Verhagen was named to the 2017 Red Bull Junior Program and will drive in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series on the MP Motorsport team.