TRAINING WHEELS: FORMULA ONE, INDYCAR & WRC!

Almost half of drivers on the current F1 grid have been coached in  standard Vauxhall road cars. Rob Wilson is possibly one of the most important players in Formula One racing that you’ve never heard of. Based at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in South Leicestershire, UK, Rob is instrumental in carving split seconds from the lap times of at least 12 drivers on the current grid. His key training weapon is a standard Vauxhall Astra! As improbable as it seems, Rob’s Astra Sports Tourer –...
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WRL: BEST PART OF AMATEUR ROAD RACING!

I don't do much amateur road racing these days. But I really should. The ending alone makes it worthwhile and no matter how many times you see it,  it never gets old, blogs Stephen Cox.  The World Racing League held its 16-hour amateur endurance race recently at Texas World Speedway and league president Joey Todd was kind enough to hook me up with an amazing team called Rocksteady Racing.  Not only did a thrilling turn of events take us to the podium with only 40 minutes remai...
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BARN FIND: SHELBY GROUP 2 SCCA MUSTANG!

Stephen Cox blogs about the sixteenth ’66 Mustang A/Sedan racer built by Shelby,  but never raced. Originally painted in Ford's familiar Wimbledon White, the car was loaded with go-fast equipment during a lengthy process when it was converted from assembly line stock into a professional racing machine. Like the fifteen cars that preceded it, a K-Code 289/271 small-block powered this Shelby Mustang. In reality, it probably had far more power than that since Shelby's small block Fords ...
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BMW: SPEEDFEST AT THE MITTY!

Legendary BMW racer Boris Said will be honored as Grand Marshal at the Classic Motorsports Mitty at Road Atlanta this weekend. BMW USA Classic will be well represented at this weekend’s Classic Motorsports Mitty Speedfest, at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA, April 24-26, 2015. Charismatic BMW racer and retailer, Boris Said, will be honored as this year’s Grand Marshal for the vintage races featuring over 300 cars. Said was an integral part of the BMW Team PTG years, co-driving to many victorie...
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PENSKE’S L&M 917 PORSCHE: UNTOLD STORY OF CAN- AM’S MOST FAMOUS CAR!

Stephen Cox blogs about the most iconic of the thundering Turbo Porsche 917s.   Part 1, The Beginning. “I loved those days. I loved those times. I loved the people. It wasn’t like now where everybody goes and hides in their motor homes. Everyone was there for each other.” – Marilyn Motschenbacher Halder Mosport International Raceway had an innocent charm that’s long been missing from today’s clinical, overly sanitized racecourses. The grass was too high. There were no sand traps. The ...
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FERRARI CELEBRATES MILLE MIGLIA: 65 PRANCING HORSES!

A tribute to ‘the world’s most beautiful road race.’ The streets of Desenzano provided the venue for the start of both the Mille Miglia and Ferrari’s tribute to “the world’s most beautiful road race,” as Enzo Ferrari liked to call it. A total of 20 historic Ferraris lined out for the former with 45 contemporary Ferraris fielded for the latter. Two rare LaFerraris competing also attracted the many enthusiasts gathering for the historic event. After parading through the center of Brescia o...
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FORD TWIN-TURBO EcoBoost V-6: SEBRING PODIUM!

Chip Ganassi Racing’s EcoBoost-engined Riley Prototype takes overall win at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Piloted by Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Marino Franchitti, the Roush Yates-prepped twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 propelled the Riley prototype to victory lane in the premier class. Ford’s EcoBoost engine powered Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to victory at the legendary Sebring enduro. Sebring is one of the most storied and demanding racetracks in the country. It was Fr...
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ENDURO RACING: CAN ROAD RACERS ONCE AGAIN DOMINATE AMERICAN MOTORSPORTS?

Auto racing in the United States is a mess, blogs Stephen Cox. NASCAR has peaked. Their response to dwindling attendance has been new cars and fuel injection. In Indycar, the barriers to entry eliminate all but the uber-wealthy from competition. Tony George was the only guy willing to take a risk and try to solve open wheel's problems. He had the right idea at the wrong time. Now it's road racing's turn to try and recapture lost glory. And I wonder if they're the ones who will get it right. ...
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CARROLL SHELBY’S V8: THE GREAT STOLEN ENGINE CAPER!

Stephen Cox blogs about stolen Shelby engines and the one in Brad Brooker’s GT350 Mustang racer that almost led to an arrest! A good Shelby-built 289 engine was a coveted item in the mid-1960s. Many were stolen out of the legendary Hertz Shelby GT350-H “Rent-a-racers.” They left the rental lot on Friday with a High-Performance 271-horsepower 289-cubic-inch V8 and returned on Monday with a garden variety 289 that appeared nearly identical. Rumors also abound of Shelby engines that were ordere...
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ROAD RACING AT INDY: GRAND PRIX?

‘It’s a Band-Aid for a broken arm,’ blogs Stephen Cox about road racing at IMS. I love the idea of adding a road race for Indycars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What worries me are the reasons for doing it. In this afternoon's press conference at IMS introducing the new Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles asked, “What if we could jump start May? Ignite May in a way that brings more people here?” “That was the premise. We did a lot of work on it, and we conclude...
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