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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racing
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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DIRT VERSUS PAVEMENT: RACINGIN.COM’S SCOTT KOSAK!
Paved ovals have been placed on a financial red alert. Times are tough for America's asphalt bullrings even while dirt tracks seem to be thriving, primarily due to the popularity of sprint car racing. Stephen Cox talks with Scott Kosak.
I was recently talking with the owner of a well-known asphalt late-model Touring Series who made a remarkable observation. Here is a guy who has been in auto racing his entire life, and when offered an opportunity to operate a racetrack he responded, “You'v...
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WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN!
The feature film documentary about Paul Newman’s racing career is finally available on Video On Demand.
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman has received fantastic reviews from the media and fans alike. The documentary chronicles the 35-year racing career of Paul Newman and features interviews with Robert Redford, Robert Wagner, Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, and many more. Produced and directed by Adam Carolla. Produced and co-directed by Nate Adams; Executi...
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ROCKSTEADY RACING: STEPHEN COX TO COMPETE IN WRL!
After competing on oval tracks for the past three seasons, Stephen Cox returns to long distance endurance racing this year with Rocksteady Racing.
Rocksteady Racing will participate in World Racing League (WRL) events including the 16-hour enduro that will comprise the final race ever run at Texas World Speedway on May 30-31. Cox will join Rocksteady's four-driver team for the two-day race. The historic venue, which opened in 1969, closes permanently just days after the event.
Rocksteady Rac...
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E. J. VISO: NEW LIFE IN STADIUM TRUCKS!
Ex-Indycar racer keeps on truckin’, blogs Stephen Cox.
A few years ago the late Mike Stephens, then owner of the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma, helped me find a ride in an open-cockpit Toyota World Sports Racer. I had no experience in the type and missed the podium in consecutive races. A month later I switched to a sports car team and won the next event. After the race, Mike cruised by in his golf cart and shouted at me.
“Hey, Stephen! Now I know what's been wrong with you late...
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2015 CADILLAC ATS-V.R: TWIN-TURBO TERROR!
V-Series ATS coupe meets FIA GT3 specs and hits the track next year.
Cadillac’s new ATS-V.R is the racing extension of the upcoming 2016 ATS-V Coupe, which channels more than a decade of V-Series engineering experience into the brand’s first compact performance model. The ATS-V Coupe debuts next week, along with the ATS-V sedan, at the Los Angeles Auto Show and arrives track-capable from the factory next spring.
The new, up-to-600-horsepower ATS-V.R meets international FIA GT3 specificatio...
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JESSE ALEXANDER: CAR GUY OF THE YEAR!
The Car Guy Chronicles celebrates legendary photographer Jesse Alexander, named ‘Car Guy of the Year.’
International motorsports photographer and celebrated car culture veteran Jesse Alexander has been named the 2014 “Car Guy of the Year” by a select group of automotive professionals, motorsports and collector-car enthusiasts. The announcement was made as part of Alexander’s overall recognition as this year’s honoree during the annual Montecito Motor Classic Gala and charity dinner held at t...
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FORMULA E: THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW!
‘I’ll certainly be cheering for the series to succeed long term, but there are a few points to bear in mind along the way,' blogs Stephen Cox.
The new Formula E racing series for electric cars has done a lot of things right, as was evident by their first race in Beijing last weekend. The series already draws more entries than Formula One will have in 2015, and they've attracted known drivers including Nick Heidfeld, Takuma Sato, Jarno Trulli, Katherine Legge and others.
First of all, Form...
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SHORT TRACK EXCUSES: ME, DANICA AND BARNEY OLDFIELD!
‘The true essence of auto racing is making yourself look as good as possible under the circumstances no matter where you finish, even if your last race had all the success of the Titanic but with fewer survivors,” blogs Stephen Cox.
Before you consider that a joke, please reflect briefly on the career of Danica Patrick.
I will begin by pointing out the well documented fact that auto racing's first legendary driver, Barney Oldfield, set a world speed record at the Milwaukee Mile in 1905 an...
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