Full Throttle

You are browsing the archives of 2005 October.

What used to be Kansas is now called “Roushville” and Mark Martin led a three car Roush sweep of the top spots and four of the top five in the Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Martin bounced back from a costly crash last week in Talladega with a dominating victory Sunday - at a record-speed of [...]

Nicolas Lapierre driving for Team France duplicated Brazils double victory of two weeks ago by dominating the second A1 Grand Prix event around the EuroSpeedway in Germany. Lapierre replaced Alex Premat who had a strong second place finish at the inagural event at Brands Hatch.
The start of the 18 lap sprint race saw the front [...]

Mark Skaife and co-driver Todd Kelly outlasted the field and the punishing 1000k (620 miles) over the Mount Panorama circuit to win the Bathurst Super Cheap 1000. It was Skaife’s fifth win at the track and Kelly’s first that was on his 26th birthday.
Under this years points scoreing system, each competitor must drop his worst [...]

As I write this it’s a couple hours from the start of the Kansas NEXTEL Cup event. But it is just the desert to a full day of racing that has lasted 15 hours at this point. Glutton - or is it sucker - that I am the day started with a replay of last [...]

Brian France has issued a statement saying NASCAR is in the first stages of addressing the multi-car team issue, and he has a plan.
“We’re going to make some adjustments in policy to balance the playing field a little better and really go after new ownership in the industry, really benefit and help the teams like [...]

I don’t have the official qualy times as yet but France’s Nicholas Lapierre has taken the pole at Eurospeedway in Lausitzring, Germany. Team USA with Scott Speed at the wheel sits in second and Nelson Piquet Jr, winner of the first event at Brands Hatch is third.
It was quite a turn around for Speed after [...]

From the look of the weather for Saturday’s F1 Grand Prix qualifiying and the grid as a result of the ever increasing rain one might believe Mother Nature was born wearing a Kimono. One may also assume that Byron Young writing for the U.K.’s Daily Mirror has a bit of The Amazing Kreskin in his [...]

Official Practice Session 1 (13.00

As part of this years silly season in NASCAR the name A.J. Foyt IV has popped up from time to time. There have been various teams connected to Foyt the elder’s grandson, the most prominent being Ray Evernham’s Dodge outfit.
The first part of Foyt IV’s move to the “door slammers” is complete. Effective with the [...]

Brian France has been interviewed by CBS’s Lesley Stahl for this Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes. “Old School” fans won’t be happy with this quote from the interview:
France can

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)
NASCAR on Thursday suspended crew chief Glenn Darrow indefinitely for violating its substance abuse policy.
Darrow, crew chief for Tony Raines’ Nextel Cup car, was tested for banned substances last Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. The results were positive, leading to an automatic suspension.
NASCAR did not identify the substance and several series officials did not [...]

I’ve been thinking alot about money lately, more specifically Formula One money. What sent me down this road of fantasy was Jenson Button’s recent buyout of his valid contract with the Williams team. Although as recently as a year ago Button was all but begging to join Williams he ponied up a mound of cash [...]

Back in 2001 the Nevada Legislature passed a law granting tax exemptions for professional auto racing teams and sanctioning bodies. This falls under the heading of, “just what were they thinking.” Some of the same people are “thinking” again and want to extend the law. A quick look at where the top four sanctioning bodies [...]

Now driving the #12 Alltel Dodge, Joe DiCorte. Think not? Better check whose name is stenciled on the roof at Charlotte.
TAMPA - Joe DiCorte was dumbstruck. He just gazed wide-mouthed after turning to see Ryan Newman tapping him on his shoulder. First the Hillsborough County firefighter stuck out a quivering hand, then reached out for [...]

NASCAR’s “Car of the Future” (COT) received it’s first on track test Tuesday but before I get into the article it may be instructive to look at a few of the speeds attained at Talladega in the past.
The current “plate” lap record is held by Ricky Rudd set last April at 191.180. After some off [...]

(GMM)
The world’s most famous soft-drink company, Coca-Cola, is planning to drive onto the F1 grid.
The British ‘Daily Telegraph’ newspaper even claimed that Coke, like fizzy rival Red Bull, could buy a grand prix team — but the more likely option is a title sponsorship.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone ‘confirmed’ that Coca-Cola had shown some interest in [...]

No not the party game, although Michael Waltrip and Scott Riggs may have thought they were all tangled up stretching for a “red or blue dot.”
I’m thinking more along the lines of the movie Twister. Run these two scenes through your mind for a minute. First picture Jeff Burtons in-car camera view of Scott Riggs [...]

Kraig Kinser overcame an early mistake Saturday and won the Food World 300 in only his second start in the ARCA stock car series. Kinser, part of a driver development program for MB2 Motorsports, dominated for much of the weekend, earning the Pork Pole award on Thursday and posting the quickest speed during final practice [...]

The black flag has been thrown over Pikes Peak International Raceway.
In a news conference at the Fountain track, officials with Rocky Mountain Speedway Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of International Speedway Corp., said it has has entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of PPIR and will dismantle the track.
The demise means Colorado will [...]

Kevin Harvick qualified second for Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. He clocked a speed of 189.032, but was sent to the back of the 43-car field after his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet failed inspection. Sanctioning body spokesman Jim Hunter said a post-qualifying inspection found “several violations in the trunk area of the car.”
Damn, could’a [...]