Stephen Cox blogs about the growing four-cylinder trend in grassroots racing.
Once upon a time, entry level stock car divisions at local bullrings across the country were filled with the glorious growl of American V8 engines. They were called “Hobby Stocks,” “Pure Stocks” or “Street Stocks.” A few unimaginative promoters condemned them as “Bombers” or “Thundercars,” as if any fool would want to drive a car so named.
But regardless of the title, entry-level stock car fields at lo...
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Stephen Cox
MUSCLE CAR BRAND LOYALTY: OBSOLETE IDEA?
Stephen Cox blogs about being a Ford fan, racing a Chevy and not buying the popular concept of brand loyalty.
I am a Ford fan. There, I said it. But I have little comprehension of brand loyalty; at least not the sort of fanatical allegiance so frequently seen among muscle car enthusiasts. I don’t even understand it. It is therefore eternally amusing to run across those typical chest-thumping car commandos who claim that every automobile that is not manufactured by their favorite company is...
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WORLD RACING LEAGUE: PARITY ACHIEVED!
‘The WRL brings sanity back to motorsports,’ blogs Stephen Cox.
I’ve not yet seen a World Racing League event. I’ve not driven in one, either. But I know a good idea when I see it, and the World Racing League is a good idea. The new WRL has re-discovered the guiding principle that gave us the golden age of road racing in the 1950s-1960s. They've figured out that you don't need a thousand rules to run a race series. You just don't.
We live in the era of regulation. IMSA's United Sportscar r...
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’67 CORVETTE L88: AGAINST ALL ODDS!
The story of one man finding his moment of glory at the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona. This is an excerpt from the first chapter of Against All Odds by Stephen Cox.
The hands on both stopwatches were still in place after the final practice laps at Daytona International Speedway. Unexpectedly low temperatures had turned their stainless steel casings ice cold, but Jeri Gottlob had no gloves.
She wouldn't have worn them anyway over her freshly painted red fingernails.
Twenty-two years old, si...
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INDYCAR: STILL A VIABLE CAREER GOAL?
Stephen Cox presents ten random opinions from racers who speak their minds. Looks like it all boils down to, Show Me The Money!
“It's all about money nowadays. I don't think it matters about how much talent you've got. It seems like if you've got more money, you get the shot. People like Oriol Servia, he's out of a ride and a talented guy. You've got Alex Tagliani... me... people who could do it. It's really difficult to get funding.”
- Katherine Legge, two-time Indy 500 s...
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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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THE WAR ON DRIVING: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!
Stephen Cox blogs about black boxes that tell all.
To no one’s surprise, U.S. Deptartment of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced at a press conference this past week that in addition to surveillance cameras, traffic light cameras, license plates, roadside still photo speed traps and a national driver’s license database, American drivers would soon be subjected to yet another tracking system. This time the system will be embedded in your car. And there is no opt out. New car buyer...
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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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INDYCAR RACING: NEW MARKETS, NEW THINKING!
‘More than 90% of American racecar drivers are oval track specialists,’
says racer-blogger Stephen Cox.
A brief review of active racetracks indicates that in the United States, ovals outnumber road courses by a margin of a little more than nine to one. Of course, racetracks open and close frequently, car counts vary, and a few competitors race on both types of courses. But generally speaking, the numbers don’t lie. By an overwhelming margin of more than 90%, the average American race...
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CHEVY MID-AMERICAN STOCK CAR: STEPHEN COX!
Our resident blogger-racer Stephen Cox to drive the #22 ACR Team Chevy.
The championship-winning team from the 2012 Mid-American Stock Car Series has named Stephen Cox as their driver for the upcoming season. Acorn Cabinetry Racing of Somonauk,
IL has confirmed that Cox will take the wheel of the team’s #22 Acorn Cabinetry/Boschett Timepieces/Sopwith Motorsports Chevrolet as the teammate of former
MASCS champion, Jeremy Spoonmore.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to learn fro...
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