WRC Co-Driver Michael Park Killed in Wales Rally GB
September 19, 2005
Dabbling in some rally co-driving myself here in the US, it chills me double to report that Markko Martin’s co-driver Michael Park was killed on Sunday in the WRC Wales Rally GB. Works Peugeot Rally driver Martin was not injured in the crash.
Alex Zanardi: Past And Present Champion
September 13, 2005
Well done Mr. Pineapple! The Grandprix.com article headline says it all!
The Biggest Day In Racing
May 28, 2005
It’s just after 9pm eastern on the Saturday night before, what I think, is the biggest day of the auto racing season. It feels like Christmas Eve does to a 6-year-old. What other day can you wake up with F1 in Germany at 7am (if you are living in the Eastern time zone that is), have lunch at Indy for the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” and then close the day down with a nice long NASCAR race from stock car heaven - Charlotte, North Carolina? Then, the cherry on top of it all, if you are really dedicated, you can catch the NHRA final eliminations from Topeka!
Try a Hooters ProCup Race for a Change
April 25, 2005
Well, that had to be one of the best races this writer has ever seen! No, not San Marino, not Phoenix, but Concord Motorsport Park. Saturday night short track racing at its best.
NASCAR’s Penalties Rooted in Tradition, Equity
April 2, 2005
Richard Childress, one of NASCAR’s most successful modern era team owners, stated recently that a driver should not be penalized for the team’s misdeeds. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet out of Childress’ stable, was penalized 25 driver points after his crew chief, Todd Berrier, installed an illegal fuel cell prior to qualifying for the Las Vegas race. Berrier was fined $25,000 and suspended for four races. Childress lost 25 team owner points.
NASCAR’s Penalties Rooted in Tradition, Equity
April 2, 2005
Richard Childress, one of NASCAR’s most successful modern era team owners, stated recently that a driver should not be penalized for the team’s misdeeds. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet out of Childress’ stable, was penalized 25 driver points after his crew chief, Todd Berrier, installed an illegal fuel cell prior to qualifying for the Las Vegas race. Berrier was fined $25,000 and suspended for four races. Childress lost 25 team owner points.
Money Talks - GPWC Walks?
January 22, 2005
That seems to be the general opinon of the GPWC’s current status after Ferrari had signed a bilateral extension of the concorde agreement. $100 million dollars is a huge incentive to stab your GPWC partners in the back.
Why Schumacher And Ferrari Will Continue Domination
January 4, 2005
They flat out will out hustle every other team on the grid. Hustle as in work, and hustle in the way they continue to con and out think everyone else.
Can WRC Rally Be Saved?
November 29, 2004
Around Thanksgiving, in my house, the pheromones that men emit while bonding flow thickly and freely. In the haze of their L-tryptophan enhanced post-prandial stupors, men move slowly, so as not to alarm their pack-mates. Belts are loosened. Talk of politics is avoided. Attention focuses, inevitably, on whatever sport is on TV. Often, this ends up being football, naturally, but every so often I’ll walk into the room only to find all eyes focused in rapt attention on a golf match.
I have great respect for the skill required to be a competitive golfer. It is a subtle game. It requires more stamina and strength than you’d think, if you’ve never tried it. Put on a replay of an amazing putt and I’ll be able to appreciate it, as long as I don’t have to watch for more than about 30 seconds or so. But I can’t understand the point of watching an entire golf match, or even a hole. As a spectator sport, it is composed entirely of interstitial pauses. Watching golf because you “like sports” is like listening to John Cage’s 4′33″ because you “like music.” When a golfer is taking a shot, the game is interesting. At all other times, the sport is of merely academic interest.
Realize, then, the pain it causes me to admit that WRC Rally racing, which I love, is the golf of the motorsports world.
Now THAT’S A Sponsorship Program!
October 11, 2004
For a single entity running a motorsports sponsorship program, days like yesterday don’t come along often. The US ARMY has been sponsoring race cars and using motorsports as a recruitment tool for several years, but no single race day, to my recollection anyways, has been so kind to a single sponsor’s motorsports PR and marketing programs as yesterday was the US ARMY.