I haven’t been a Formula 1 fan for very long. I believe my first season of interest was when Jenson Button took Brawn GP to the championship in front of Vettel in 2009. In the short time that I’ve been a fan, however, I have done my best to be a proper one; learning about all the glory that was Senna and his rivalry with Prost, watching the “Killer Years” documentary just shy of a thousand times, and most importantly, picking favorites. In the world of sports, F1 is a very interesting animal in this regard compared to others. Like the rest, you can pick a favorite team, but each team only has 2 players. You have a real opportunity to be a fan of individual drivers and to understand their specific racing styles. Whether it’s Alonso’s adaptability, Perez’s all-or-nothing aggression, or Maldonado’s seemingly impossible feat of crashing more times in an hour and half than a pirated copy of Windows Vista, you really have the privilege of minimal selection. More…
The 2015 version of the autocross index you love to hate is now out. The PAX/RTP index is used to compare SCCA event results across classes. This year all street tire and stock classes now require a minimum tread wear rating of 200 on all tires. Also gone are the race tire ‘stock’ classes. More…
2014 marked the return of the RallyCross National Championships to Nebraska. The inaugural National Championships were held in Hastings, NE just a few short years ago. Since then the number of competitors has almost doubled to over 100 and continues to grow every year. The 2014 edition was held at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE on Oct. 4 & 5.
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Yup, it was already that time of year. College Football season has just kicked off, the final heat of the summer is leaving it’s burn on our skin, the first chill of fall teases us, the sun starts to set earlier and earlier and about 1200 people make the trek to the middle of the country. A journey to, what some have coined ‘The Autocross Mecca’, a large flat concrete paradise at an airport in Lincoln, NE. A journey to see just how they stack up against the best and greatest drivers in the country. A journey to the largest motorsports event in the world, the SCCA TireRack Solo National Championships in search of that coveted jacket with the words ‘National Champion’ embroidered on the back. More…
Autocross, event, featured, photo gallery, photos, SCCA, Solo National Championships
Just over 100 competitors showed up at the now famous autocross concrete mecca in Lincoln, NE. With flat empty concrete as far as the eye can see Lincoln Air Park plays home to the largest racing event in the world, SCCA Solo National Championships. With the next national championships just 2 short weeks away, the MiDiv Championships served as an excellent tune up for competitors. More…
One of the MidWest’s largest car shows/meets evolved from humble beginnings. Just a few years ago the Ice Cream Cruise, was literally that. A car cruise to Sonic for ice cream. It then spread out and took over the parking lot of neighboring businesses, like Harbor Freight across the street. More…
This weekend marked the debut of the latest Transformers movie, Transformers 4: The Age of Extinction. In between doing some car work and running errands I somehow found 3 hours to dedicate to viewing this action packed, overly complicated movie. More…
Jalopnik.com recently uncovered a 1980’s Autocross TV Special on YouTube. The special is over an hour of a local autocross event held in Evansville, IN entitled “Thunder on the Streets II”. The video includes RX-7s, Celicas, AE86s, Fox Mustangs, C4 Corvettes, and many other cars making their way through a sea of cones.
Since this video comes straight from the VHS tape it was recorded on it also includes all the 80stastic commercials, including one for a VCR for the low price of $299 (#aintnomoneylike80smoney).
We need something like this to happen again. Just think of the new eyes that would learn about grassroots racing and the options available to them. SCCA please make this happen! For now, please enjoy this video.
It was my first trip to Oregon and boy was it a good one! The Rally America Oregon Trail Rally started at Portland International Raceway with 4 stages that included some sections of the racetrack and some dirt/gravel sections. It is a great venue for spectators to see rally cars in action all around the stage and gave an interesting mix of surfaces that you don’t always get. Travis Pastrana took advantage of this format and jumped out to an early lead taking fastest times on 3 of the 4 stages.
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The 2014 running of the Rally America Rally in the 100 Acre Wood was a tough one for a lot of competitors. Nearly half of the field was forced to retire early from the rally, including last year’s winner David Higgins and Craig Drew in their Subaru Rally Team STi. Higgins suffered engine failure on the first stage of Saturday. The rough conditions also claimed Antoine L’Estage’s run. L’Estage ran into issues with his power steering half way through the day on Saturday.
With 2 of the top challengers out of the rally, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino had a clear run to the top of the podium and another victory in Missouri. Block jumped out to nearly a half a minute lead at the end of the first day ahead of Higgins. L’Estage was almost another 30 seconds back in third and Travis Pastrana; making his return to Rally America in a factory Subaru sat in fourth.
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100 Acre Wood, David Higgins, featured, Ford, Ken Block, rally, Rally America, Subaru
