Full Throttle

You are browsing the archives of 2009 November.

Ernie Gahan, the 1966 NASCAR Modified national champion, passed away Thursday night at his home in Cranberry Isles, Maine at the age of 83.

Motor racing’s governing body released the Formula One line-ups for next year, revealing that Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari’s position at Toro Rosso could be uncertain and new team Manor GP will drive as Virgin Racing.

Mat Sofi has edged out the most competitive Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship field of the season to take a thrilling pole position for tomorrow’s 22-lap Sandown F3 SuperPrix season-ending race at Sandown Raceway.

German car maker BMW has agreed to sell its Formula One team to previous owner Peter Sauber, provided the team gets a place on the grid next season. The company said Friday that a previous agreement to sell the team to Qadbak Investments has been annulled.

NASCAR fans are famously loyal to their drivers and their sport. Some fans will do anything to show their support for NASCAR. Others, not so much, they even go so far as to think NASCAR is spelled C.O.M.M.E.R.C.I.L.I.S.M.

He may have been on new tires when most of the field were on old, but there was no doubting the simple fact that Mitch Evans was the fastest person on his ‘official’ Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship debut in practice at Sandown Friday.

The celebratory champagne will once again flow on the race track in Montreal, as the city announced Friday that it had reached a deal to bring Formula One racing back to town.

Gold Star history will be made, regardless of the winner, during this weekends final round of the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at Sandown.



Mika Salo is on course to take part in next year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series after completing a successful first test in a stock car last week.

It’s safe to say with the speed and amount of motions, and counter motions being filed in the Mayfield vs NASCAR case Santa may need to place a few crates of legal pad under their respective Christmas trees.

Those who won four of anything in a row —John Wooden’s NCAA championships, Roger Federer’s Wimbledons, the great Yankee and Celtic dynasties, et. al. — are considered deities of their sport. Should not Jimmie Johnson now join the club?

Mercedes Grand Prix has announced Nico Rosberg as its new driver in its first signing since taking over the Brawn GP team. The 24-year-old German ended his four-year association with Williams to team up with the newly-branded team which last week saw world champion Jenson Button move to McLaren.

Jimmie Johnson claimed an unprecedented fourth consecutive title NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Championship by finishing fifth in the Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead.

Edoardo Mortara, driving for Signature, finally achieved the prize he’s been hankering for since this time last year, winning the Macau Grand Prix by a narrow margin from team-mate Jean-Karl Vernay.

After signing in and putting his car on the grid before Saturday’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch clinched the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. That was a mere formality. Two hundred laps later, he crossed the finish line .482 seconds ahead of charging Carl Edwards to win his ninth race of the season and the 30th of his career.

The final rounds of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place Sunday - at 12.05 and 13.25 local time. The two 9-lap races will decide the fights for both the Drivers’ and the Manufacturers’ World titles.

Macau Grand Prix qualification race winner Jean-Karl Vernay has admitted that even he has been surprised by his strong form at this weekend’s event. Vernay upstaged the pre-race favorites to grab a dominant victory in Saturday’s first race, and his strong form has left him confident about his chances of a repeat performance in Sunday’s event.

Jose Maria Lopez has revealed that he will race for US F1 next season if he can secure the rest of his sponsorship package. The Argentine driver visited US F1’s Charlotte headquarters this week to conclude a conditional deal with team founders Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson.

Australia’s NASCAR star Marcos Ambrose has been thwarted in his attempt for a shock return to the V8 Supercar series for the season-ending race in Sydney.

Early this week NASCAR filed documents with U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen requesting that case be dismissed based on pleadings already filed with the court.