Racing past 40: Part 1

  by Stephen Cox
I have wonderful news. Being twenty-one years old doesn't really make you good at anything. It just makes you twenty-one. Sprint car driver Steve Kinser is living proof. He remains a consistent front-runner in his late fifties, despite the fact that sprint cars are a young man's game. Steve Christmann is a winner in ARCA Trucks at age 62. Mario Andretti won his last IndyCar race at the age of 53.  And it's not just racing drivers.

What makes a race car driver 'professional'?

  by Stephen Cox
If I had to choose between sitting through a driver's meeting or having my tonsils removed with a shovel, I'd have to think about it. Yet here I was at the driver's meeting the night before the Silver State 300 off-road race in Alamo, Nevada. It was a little after 7 o'clock on Friday night, April 23, 2010 and the meeting had been droning on for nearly an hour. Several hundred team members were packed into the hotel's banquet room listening to series president Casey Folks threaten anyone who ran over various protected species of toads and tortoises, as if any of us could see a freaking frog while driving a hundred miles an hour across the open desert.

Scenes from DTM at Brands Hatch

  by Gary Parravani
Mike Rockenfeller took his first DTM win for two years - and the championship lead - with a dominant display at Brands Hatch. The Phoenix Audi driver beat Bruno Spengler and Robert Wickens.  Our Gary Parravani was on hand to snap these photos.

5-Minutes with Hoosier Hundred Promoter Bob Sargent

  by Stephen Cox
The 60th running of the most prestigious dirt track race in the world is slated for Thursday, May 23rd at the Indiana State Fairgrounds where the USAC Silver Crown cars will compete in the 2013 Hoosier Hundred. Yup, I am openly promoting this race and nope, they don't pay me. I grew up attending the Hoosier Hundred with the greatest man I ever knew – my Dad – in the 70's and 80's, back when it was a September event. It was among our favorite events each summer.

Thank Heavens, Bob Jenkins is Announcing Again

  by Stephen Cox
I had just ordered a Bison Burger with bacon and cheese and frankly, I was concerned. We were at Ted’s Montana Grill just outside of Colorado Springs. It was said to be the best burger joint within shouting distance of Pike’s Peak International Speedway. This was important to me because I take food seriously. It was late 1999. Our broadcast crew was in Colorado to televise the USAC midget race that would serve as the opening event for the brand new Pike’s Peak facility.

Grand-Am and IMSA announce DTM deal

  Organizations aligned toward common goal of American version of DTM
Exploring an opportunity that could additionally change the face, and the future, of road racing, GRAND-AM Road Racing and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) tonight announced a license and cooperation agreement with the Internationale Tourenwagen-Rennen (ITR e.V.), which administers DTM racing. The collective goal is a North American version of DTM, the popular German touring car series.

Why Won’t Anyone Examine My Helmet?

  by Stephen Cox
Have you ever had one of those enlightening moments when a truth really dawned on you? Call it an epiphany. Or maybe a revelation. Whatever it was, I just had one the other day. I was going through technical inspection at a racetrack and my safety gear was laying on the hood of the car for review. My helmet was still inside its soft cloth cover when the tech inspector picked it up. He glanced inside the helmet and approved it. He never removed the cover.

Part 1: 10 Great race tracks you've never seen

  by Stephen Cox
By 1976, the golden age of American road racing was behind us. Barely. Economic recession had burdened the sport from without while an unhealthy obsession with rules-making had doomed it from within. What would soon take its place was an unrecognizable mixture of economy cars draped in Euro cladding and handcuffed by rabid rules-makers who, over the next decade, would turn auto racing into the most over-regulated sport in the world.

Today's safe race tracks have lost their character

  by Stephen Cox
I liked the old Road Atlanta. You know. The “dangerous” one.  Someone told me they installed another chicane along the once-glorious, 200-mph backstretch since I last raced there. I don't like it. I didn't like the first one, either.  The constant effort to insulate drivers from danger has resulted in a bunch of lukewarm, sanitized race tracks that have lost their ability to reward risk that no longer exists. Their personality is gone. In many cases, their history is, too, because a race fan from the 1960's wouldn't even recognize the same facility today.

Scenes from the 24 Hrs of Dubai

  by Gary Parravani
Local hero Khalid Al Qubaisi kept his eyes on the prize - and fully wide awake - as he roared to victory in the 24 Hours of Dubai endurance race. Emirati Al Qubaisi crossed the line first yesterday afternoon to successfully defend his title after the ‘Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon’ driver powered through a grueling 24 hours in his Mercedes SLS AMG GT3. Our Gary Parravani was there to capture all the action in these 100+ captioned photos.

Black Falcon Leads Mercedes 1-2-3 In Dubai 24

  Wins 2nd straight
Last year, the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon claimed the maiden victory for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the Dunlop 24H DUBAI. This year, the team doubled up with their second consecutive win in the first international endurance race of the year for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials.  After 24 hours, Abu Dhabi based driver Khalid Al Qubaisi drove the team’s gullwing sportscar with starting number 1 across the finish line as the winner.

Scenes from Dakar Day 3

  Dakar
Action started from Pisco and shifted towards Nazca in Peru. The race stage started 4kms of transport section, from the Parc Ferme. 243kms of mostly sandy competitive section and another 96kms of road section to conclude the day's action. It was the top finishers who led the trailing group, again bikes and quads started first. Cars & trucks followed them later.