SAFETY: THE REAL RISKS OF AUTO RACING!

If we actually did eliminate all danger from auto racing, would we really like what was left, blogs Stephen Cox?                                                   Ed Carpenter, 2015, IMS I began driving racecars in 1985. In the thirty years since, I've had a total of one serious neck injury while racing. It was...
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MAZDA MIATA: TWO-SEAT ROADSTER FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY!

Stephen Cox blogs about enjoying top-down motoring without spending a lot of money. You shouldn't spend your life wondering what it's like to own a small, fun sports car. With some careful shopping and a little homework you can get a fantastic pre-owned roadster for virtually nothing. No, it won't be a Ferrari. It won't even be a Porsche. But if you want the joy of true motoring, you can have it easily and at a ridiculously low cost. There are a number of cars that fit the bill nicely. We'l...
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SHAKY DOG/SOPWITH: SWEEP WRL WITH BACK-TO-BACK WINS!

The most successful season in the 31-history of Sopwith Motorsports came to an end last weekend with two first-place trophies at Tulsa's  Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.   In a joint effort with Shaky Dog Racing on Saturday and Sunday, the team participated in the GP2 division of the World Racing League's October Rush sports car endurance races. The McGunegill Engines/Boschett Timepieces/Impact Racing Mustang started midway back in the 29-car field in Saturday's nine-hour enduran...
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COLLECTOR CARS: REBUILDING MY TOTALLY-NOT-COLLECTIBLE MUSTANG!

The next step in resto-modding my ‘80 Ford Mustang is underway, and I am positively giddy, blogs Stephen Cox.  At this point any rational person is thinking, “And why would someone be positively giddy about what many may think is the most worthless, undesirable Mustang ever built?” I'm glad you asked. Every car guy has a story about the car he drove as a kid. And every one of those stories ends the same way. They look at something on the far away horizon and mutter, “I sold it a few ...
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SAVING AUTO RACING: ‘SIMPLIFY, THEN ADD LIGHTNESS!’

Colin Chapman had it right when he gave us that famous quote. Especially the simplify part, blogs Stephen Cox. I was contacted by a motorsports complex executive recently regarding building a facility around the development of racing cars and performance passenger cars running on alternative “fuels”. It was a grand concept. The land was purchased, a big ground breaking ceremony took place, and there was lots of talk about bringing in a major racing series and television coverage (hence my i...
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ASSOCIATED PRESS’ PAUL NEWBURY: BAN INDYCAR FOREVER!

‘After the latest tragedy in Indycar... it's time to shut down this ridiculously dangerous form of racing,’ says Paul Newberry in the wake of the tragic death of Indycar driver Justin Wilson. In making his demand, Newberry is typical of the paternalistic, safety-at-gunpoint class of pundits who seem to have taken over the Land of the Formerly Free. Newberry's rant, which appeared on ABC News on August 28th, goes on to say, “It's time to end a sport that has destroyed too many lives.” Note th...
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BIRMINGHAM: AMERICA’S GREATEST SUPER SPEEDWAY THAT WAS NEVER BUILT!

In the summer of 1912, it seemed that anything was possible. Land was cheap and plentiful. Gold was money. The motorcar was the wonder of the world and Alabama could’ve become the epicenter of racing in the U.S., blogs Stephen Cox.  Two investors from Alabama were convinced that an affluent suburb could be built just five miles south of downtown in what is now the village of Homewood. The new development would attract homebuyers and businesses by tapping into the public's enthusiasm fo...
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KARTING: HOW TO SAVE AUTO RACING!

Every motorsports enthusiast is painfully aware that racing, in general, is experiencing tough times. Fewer fans are in the stands, and those fans are aging. The question is, what to do about it?  Everyone has an opinion but the basics are pretty straightforward. People who don't care much about automobiles will care even less about watching them compete. Public interest in the automobile is waning, and the reasons are spelled out in my previous article on the topic. Perhaps the mos...
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BUDDY BAKER: THE MEASURE OF A MAN!

NASCAR great Buddy baker has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and signs off his SiriusXM NASCAR radio show for the last time. I don't know Buddy Baker. I met him only once. We were introduced about ten years ago at Lingner Group Television Productions in downtown Indianapolis where I was filming an episode of Autoweek on Speedvision. Baker, a huge man who towered six inches over me, was there working on a NASCAR program. He graciously shook my hand and took the time to speak to ...
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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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