Full Throttle

You are browsing the archives of 2008 March.

When last seen Jacques “International Man of Mystery” Villeneuve was getting summarily booted out of the Bill Davis Racing Toyota Camry for lack of greenbacks. Greenbacks, it should be added, the organization was promised would flow like water down a flushing toilet. (metaphorically speaking of course. I think. -ed)
The cash never materialized and neither did [...]

A track I once called the Turkey in Tulare looks to be on track for completion with gates opening Spring of 2009.
According to Circle Track Racing News Tulare Motor Sports Park is working its way through California’s strict development requirements and the final plan and environmental impact report, EIR, could be presented to the Tulare [...]

It’s almost too good to be true.
The very thought of Mad Max goose-stepping in his nazi father’s footsteps with a bevy of hookers is just too rich.
Even more interesting is how the major F1 sites are handling it. Some note the story with very little meat to it, others flesh it out but don’t link [...]

What! …You say you’ve missed the ruminations and discombobulated non-sense usually posted here from the Half-Vast Staff?
Well, don’t blame me, blame a.) a web host that operates in and uses technical expertise pulled from a time zone near One Million Years B.C. (minus the Rachel Welch bikini pics) or b.) if you must, the less [...]

As happens with most breaking stories as time passes they gain more detail and consequently more credibility. When Roush-Fenways owner first hit the wires with charges of theft of a proprietary part I was skeptical.
My original conclusion was based on the venue Jack in the Hat aired his charges (ESPN the Magazine that has a [...]

While working on a much larger post here are a few things spotted ’round the web.
Things that make you say… WHAT!!!
Formula Drift has competition. But you have to ask how do you compete against max-horsepower when all you’ve got is one hay burning “engine.” And somehow I don’t think Miss Amish Drift will be a [...]

For the 2008 IndyCar season several rule changes have been introduced. The one to raise the most comment is the minimum weight required for IRL cars. (and the change gives Robby Gordon one less reason to Whine! - ed)
The minimum weight has yet to be disclosed but the rule is intended to minimize the difference [...]

As you will recall part of Robby Gordon’s specially aged Whine during the L’Affaire Nosepiece was RGM had come under threat of going insolvent partially due to the 4.5 million dollars he lost as a result of the Dakar Rally being canceled.
Well his chickens, dressed as lawyers, have come home to roost.
Vanguard Integrity Professionals [...]

Former F1 owner Eddie Jordan has been gone from the F1 Circus since selling his Jordan team in early 2005 to wealthy Canadian businessman Alex Schnaider.
That team is now co-owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya that competes as Force India. The team still operates out of Jordan’s old premises at Silverstone. But the dream of [...]

Jim Bickerstaff, ARCA late model race winner and Ohio short track sensation, died Friday, March 21, at St. Elizabeth Medical Center near his hometown of Mineral Ridge, Ohio.
Memories of Jim Bickerstaff go back to my earliest days of following the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC), later to become ARCA, and entire weekends shuffled between [...]

Lets cut the speculation, Fernando Alonzo has. F1’s two-time world champion has let the Felis silvestris catus (more commonly known as a house cat) out of the bag about his future intentions at Renault:
“I’m at Renault because we won in 2005 and 2006 and I want to get back to that, if not this year [...]

When first reading of the New Hampshire race driver convicted of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon I had visions of some of NASCAR’s “bad boys” being frog marched in leg irons to the local Iron Bar Hotel.
Thankfully that hasn’t happened. Yet.
The AP report of the incident contains little in the way of details, just [...]

The number one reason you can tell NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series has been on hiatus for the last week: (Subtitled; “It’s Been Far Too Long Since the Edward’s L’Affaire Oil Tank.”)
1. Jack in the Hat is blowing his stack! (Courtesy Dave Moody) “ESPN the Magazine has an interesting and potentially explosive quote from Roush Fenway [...]

The IndyCar Series is launching a new advertising campaign, highlighting its freshly reunified status.
The familiar “i am INDY” marketing theme will have a fresh look in 2008 as it is being expanded to reflect the unification of open-wheel racing under the IndyCar Series banner: “One series. All the stars.”
Why keep i am Indy, why give [...]

In answer to the question posed, I haven’t a clue, but it’s a sure bet 15 year old Jessica Brunelli is close.
Very close.
Saturday evening she competed in the USAC California Ford Focus Pavement Midget Car Series event at the Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Qualifying fourth she was eligible for the Trophy Dash [...]

The lone paved short track in New Jersey, Wall Stadium, is no more and has been closed ending over 5 decades of racing history.
Then owners Thomas and Jennie J. Nicol opened the gates of 1/3-mile asphalt Wall Stadium in May 1950. Since then some of Stock Car and Modifieds biggest stars have competed at the [...]

Defending drivers’ world champion Kimi Raikkonen bounced back to form and back into the scrap for this year’s title when he won the Malaysian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday.
Starting second on the grid, the Finn assumed control of the race following the first set of pit stops and eventually took the checkered flag some [...]

Scott Wimmer becomes Nashville Superspeedway’s live action Guitar Man, as opposed to the video game of the same name.
It took another stroke of Kyle Busch bad luck, this time self inflicted, but the #20’s lawn cutting escapade led to Scott Wimmer’s first series win since 2003.
Wimmer edged RCR teammate Clint Bowyer by 0.578 seconds. [...]

(NOTE, this is part of the Good Old Days series of posts. When applicable they will highlight various points of interest from that weeks Sprint Cup or Nationwide venue or geographic area.)
The Tennessee geographic area has a long and storied history that predates the current Track in Nashville by several dacades.
Nashville Speedway in it’s original [...]

Jean Alesi won a spectacular Speedcar Series race at Sepang International Circuit on Saturday morning as the championship supported a Grand Prix for the first time. Many big names from the F1 world paid close attention to the action as Alesi won a race-long battle with his old friend and sometime Sauber team mate Johnny [...]