Full Throttle

You are browsing the archives of 2008 January.

The following video comes courtesy of the Axis of Oversteer.
Both take place at Mount Panorama a circuit I consider one of, if not the finest in the world. Sure Monaco has its “ambiance” and a harbor full of multi-million dollar yachts and Laguna Seca has the famous corkscrew turn. Sebring, Mosport and the N

For sale, one Cock & Bull story. Only one previous owner, Nigel Stepney, disgraced and former Ferrari engineer.
To wit: In Stepney’s first televised interview since Le’ Affair StepneyGate he claims to be completely innocent. “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling industrial espionage is going on in here!”
Or something like that.
Stepney’s claims his motive for [...]

Everyone from popcorn venders, to drivers & crewman, to various media scribes, to visa holders to NASCAR Nation are aware of NASCAR’s Mythical Rulebook.
To say it contains parts that, shall we say, are ambiguous is being kind. To be more to the point certain sections are unintelligible, tenebrous, uncertain, unclear, questionable and finally, vague. If [...]

Sam Hornish Jr., on whether former Team Penske IRL teammate Helio Castroneves would fit well in NASCAR.

The current health of the CCWS isn’t the best and recent news doesn’t say much for it’s continued existence.
For example, fans, what there are of them, learned this week 4 out of 14 races would be one-hour specials, that ONLY 5 of 14 races would be broadcast LIVE, and that the rest would be tape-delayed.
Not [...]

How often does this happen, not often I’m betting.
After missing out on the vacant Force India seat for 2008, Christian Klien has been summoned by the Austrian army to do six months of mandatory military service this year.
According to reports in the former Jaguar, Red Bull and Honda driver’s native country, the 24-year-old was on [...]

The ugliest side of NASCAR’s past, one that included the difficulties experienced by Wendell Scott, have mostly been just that, a thing of the past.
Or so I thought.
Then along come the story of young Jon Denning.
Denning competed in the Whelen All-American Series in 2007 and various Late Model series’.
Denning was born and raised in Springfield [...]

Take the following with a grain of salt:
According to Rowdy.com NASCAR is mulling the idea of limiting Sprint Cup participation to those 21 years of age and older. The Nationwide Series limit would remain at 18.
There is a couple reasons I’ve grabbed my salt shaker on this story.
The source for this rumor is the ever [...]

Even I, older than dirt and twice as gritty, don’t remember the 1941 John Ford directed picture How Green Was My Valley but something about recent racing related news stories brought the title bubbling to the surface.
For those that don’t know, and I had to reacquaint myself, the plot tells the story of a Welsh [...]

Michael Schumacher is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, F1 chauffeurs ever.
His mastery when the clouds opened up and pelted the tarmac with rain drops were legendary.
When the temperature drops below 0 Centigrade, well… not so much. (and Kimi is far worse)
The event was held in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy and [...]

With FIA proposals for the future of F1 such as a limit of eight hours’ use of wind tunnels per day, caps on the number of technical staff teams may employ, budget caps and engine development freezes (not to mention Standardized electronics and extended-life gearboxes) many feel F1’s position as the pinnacle of motorsports is [...]

Cayuga Speedway Park has hosted many current and past NASCAR stars through the years.
The Allison Brothers along with son Davey Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Canadian legends Junior Hanley, Don Biederman and Ron Fellows, Matt Kenseth, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle, Darrell Waltrip, and many more have all competed and [...]

He has at least a few good ideas why his move to NASCAR benefits him. (Beside large paychecks that is), Check number one on this list of things he’s most looking forward to after joining Sprint Cup series:

When I take the green flag from the comfort of my Mobil 1 Dodge, I won’t be able [...]

“A lot of these guys are really out of control right now,” said Ted Musgrave.
I can’t imagine why, Daytona is well known for multi-vehicle accidents “involving a half-dozen competitors.”
But then again, this supposed to be testing, as in getting ready for the 2008 season, not testing how fast the Fab Shop can make a lump [...]

This edition of trivial trivia is all encompassing because the subject manufacture has produced race cars in so many different forms of racing.
With 2008 being it’s anniversary year as Great Britain’s longest-serving manufacturer it has produced winning machines in the club classes to Formula One, endurance sports racers and Indy Cars.
The most famous version of [...]

I guess one could ask Ray Evernham where Erin Crocker is considering the two have been seen in public as an “item,” but I’m not sure if he would know.
Crocker in fact has been vacationing in Ireland her family

More than 200 print and electronic journalists from 23 states and as far away as Germany will make their annual pilgrimage to the heart of NASCAR racing later this month as LMS hosts the annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour.
(I’m thinkin’ that should read the first annual Sprint Media Tour? That followed 3 years of NEXTEL [...]

If your tired of my occasional rants over NASCAR TV ratings, look away, ’cause despite this horse being long dead I’m gonna beat it again.
If you’re one of those that lay all blame for declining NASCAR TV ratings, assuming that’s true, on PCNA and NASCAR as a whole, don’t even come this way. Keep your [...]

Which one is the “real” Greg Biffle, this one as quoted by The Dude (in ref to car adjustments):
I’ll be honest with you, what I’ve found in this race car is that whatever they do on the simulation models with engineering and the computers and the seven-post rigs, we’d show up at the race track [...]

Joe Gibbs resigned as coach and team president of the NFL’s Washington Redskins on Tuesday ending his second stint as Skins coach with a 31-36 record, including 1-2 in the playoffs.
“My family situation being what it is right now, I told him [Redskins owner Dan Snyder[ I couldn’t make the kind of commitment I needed [...]