Full Throttle

You are browsing the archives of 2008 November.

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be the centerpiece of this week’s annual Champions Week celebration in New York City – a busy and joyful five days that marks the traditional end of each season.

Former Asian Karting Queen Michele Bumgarner scored another breakthrough achievement for Philippine Motorsports that puts her just steps away from her dream of making it in the international formula racing scene.

The motorsports industry is not immune to the current economic downturn. Nearly all race teams in the industry have made some level of cutbacks. It is estimated that upwards of 700 jobs have been lost in recent weeks and its possible the lay-offs will continue into 2009.

Former world champion Fernando Alonso is sure he will not retire until he adds a third title to the two won while competing for Mclaren.

He has been voted the most overrated driver in V8 Supercars and only has one race win to his name, but James Courtney will next year become one of the sport’s richest drivers after signing a mind-boggling $1 million-a-year deal.

Consider this Full Throttle’s ThanksGiving gift to all you motorheads. Feel free to add links to what you mistakenly think is a better TV spot in the comment section.

It was announced in July 2008 that Donington Park has been awarded the contract to host the British Grand Prix for 10 years from 2010. It will be the first time the BGP will be held away from Silverstone 21 years.

HMS Holdings which operates the the Hendrick Motor Engine shop is suing DEI over termination fee stemming from a contract to supply Hendrick engines to Ginn Racing.

Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz has reassumed total ownership of Toro Rosso after buying back a 50% share in the Formula One outfit from team boss Gerhard Berger.

Say what you will, but this off-season is unlike most others. Normally the three days proceeding Turkey Day are a race fans No MansLand and devoid of much news- not this year - it’s all business.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and Team Mopar team owner/driver Kasey Kahne will return to his roots on Thursday for the 68th annual “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Toyota Speedway/Irwindale.

Today’s NASCAR quote of the day comes from Marcos Ambrose who jetted straight home from Homestead to attend the V8 Supercar Series event at Symmons Plains Tasmania.

EM Motorsports has announced that it has teamed up with NASCAR veteran James Hylton for the 2009 running of the Daytona 500.

Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR) today announced the first annual “12 Days of Christmas Food Drive” with Indianapolis’ St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry to serve as the beneficiary.

Rick Hendrick, the new Ganassi/DEI alliance (assuming they go the Chevy route), RCR and any other NASCAR teams dependent on General Motors support better watch their bottomlines even more closely than previously.

In pre-race practice, teams realized that the tires provided for the race wore down quickly, due to the abrasive course at Indianapolis and the Car of Tomorrow, as this was the first race for the car at Indianapolis. Because of this concern, NASCAR announced that they would have a competition yellow after ten laps to check tire wear.

 

 Was 2008 Allstate 400 Worst Cup Event of the Season?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jacques Villeneuve sets fastest lap at Speedcar Series test session.

Women in motor sport. They’re usually found in public relations, marketing or clad in bikinis on the starting grid.

After warming up in a private drive at Silverstone Sebastien Loeb hiked down to Barcelona, Spain, to join real F1 team testing. A one-day deal and lo and behold if he didn’t stick a Red Bull RB4 eighth-best on time charts. Eighth among 17 drivers testing for nine teams.

Championship leader Jamie Whincup kept his nose clean to pull off the win for race two at Symmons Plains this weekend. And teammate Craig Lowndes put in an 11th hour move on Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Todd Kelly for a TeamVodafone one-two finish.