Xmas and New Year - Looking Forward to 2011...

Looking Forward to 2011 - Hoping and Wishing…

HOPING

F1 - I…

• hope the new technical regulations (no F-duct, no twin diffusers, but new movable rear wings, the return of KERS, and an overtake button) aid overtaking and enable the cars to actually race closely together!
• hope the FIA has plugged the inevitable “holes” in the rule book, stopping the teams from gaining back any lost downforce!
• hope Ross Brawn can give Mercedes a good car! Three teams up front in 2010 was good, one more would be even bettter!
• hope the FIA rule makers have sorted the restart regulations!

NASCAR - I… 

• hope new fronts on the cars do not change quality of the racing!
• hope the Nationwide only teams can afford to develop their new cars enough to take the fight to the Cup Series interlopers! 
• hope Dale Jr. finally gets his act together, as it's what the sport needs to boost the ratings and attendances! 
• hope Richard Petty can sort his team out and give AJ and Marcos, both good drivers, a shot at the Chase! 
• hope Richard Childress Racing can carry the momentum, and form, into next year! 
• hope for some races to be shortened!
• hope for a new Sprint Cup Champion!!
• hope Chevy change their mind and race the Camaro in the Nationwide Series! 
• hope the American fans return to the tracks and TV coverage in 2011 as the product is worth it!
• hope NASCAR is on UK TV next year... and on a channel I can afford!! 
  

INDYCAR - I…

• hope somebody puts Hornish and Wheldon  together, and goes racing!
• hope the PR people can create enough interest in the 2011 season for people to actually care about the introduction of the new car in 2012!

BTCC - I...

• hope the championship and the racing will not suffer in the “cross-over- year” as the teams change from the old cars  and engines to the new NGTC spec cars, ready for the full 2012 introduction!

WISHING

• F1 bans wings 
• F1 re-introduces the gearlever!
• BTCC goes rear wheel drive!
• Indycar goes front engined!
• V8 Supercars goes back to H-pattern 'boxes!
• NASCAR brings in more short track races!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

SEE YOU IN 2011!!

52 days till the Shootout...


not that I'm counting...

Bored With No Racing? part 3

Some more racing clips to help you pass the time...

BTCC

 

 BTCC RS500 - TOP GEAR

 

V8 SUPERCARS - BATHURST

INDY 500 / IRL

IROC

Bored With No Racing? part 2

Eurocar V6 and V8 retrospective. Sorry for the abundance of crash clips, I wish I could find more race footage on the 'net...

EUROCAR V8

Crashes

Brand Hatch race footage

EUROCAR V6 

Crashes 

Mallory Park (in car) Race Footage

Part 3 coming soon...

Bored With No Racing? part 1

Are you are bored, with no racing to fill your Sundays?

Heres my contribution towards passing the time...

NASCAR

Red Bull Racing's Scott Speed plays taxi driver on the streets of Chicago - "TAXI!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFAEKDadC

Red Bull Racing and Brian Vickers, doing a pit stop in Times Square NY - "Fill 'er up!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZbnR7rKR6k

INDYCAR

World Famous 1959 Watson Indy Roadster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-93bwHynFAk

Indy Roadster Running

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_5HcO1qMzA

My new Indy god... and its for sale!!

http://www.babineaumetalworks.com/Built_By_Hand.html

V8 SUPERCARS

Top Gear Australia driving a V8 Supercar on the streets of Sydney - "which way to the shops?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XHHA2HqoHw

Great 1994 wet race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nflj21etu5E&feature=related

BTCC

Tim Harvey testing his old RS500 15 years after he last raced it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6fnrP92YOg

Part 2 coming soon...

Favourite Race Car - Updated Gallery

Following my "Favourite Race Car" blogs I thought I would update the galleries with several shots I have from old magazines articles and PR material.  Forgive me if the quality is not the best as I have scanned these in and have done my best, with very limited software, to clean them up. 

EUROCAR V6

As I mentioned before, I was a big EUROCAR fan in the 90's.

The first two shots were from the July 1994 issue of Car and Car Conversions.

The third is a poster produced by the first EUROCAR team, Dagenham Motors who ran Barry Lee (1) and Alf Boarer (2).

 





EUROCAR V8

In 1996 EUROCAR introduced the V8.

The first photo of the 77 and the black 3 car was from the March 1994 issue of Car and Car Conversions. 

The first car was Mike Jordans 77 Mac Tools sponsored car.

The 77 car shot was from a Marcus Pye penned Autosport article circa 6th July 1996.

The black 3 car photo was taken from a 1996 EUROCAR PR poster.

INDY ROADSTER

These pictures are all taken from American magazine, Vintage Motorsport, May/June 2009. The car is the 1959 Simoniz Special Watson-Offy Indy Roadster.

 


IROC
 

My favourite IROC race car has always been the 1994/1995 Dodge Avenger. The shots of the black and white cars were taken from the  March 1994 issue of Motor Trend, where they previewed the look of the upcoming Dodge coupe by track testing the IROC version, the red car and interior shots were found on the internet.

KURTIS KRAFT OFFY MIDGET

These shots of the 1947 Kurtis-Kraft Offy Midget came from the March/April 2006 issue of Vintage Motorsport.

Revamping IROC

The idea of taking the best drivers from different series and disciplines is not new; the International Race of Champions, IROC, series ran from 1973 to 2007. The series took up to 12 drivers put them in identically prepared cars, and let them battle it out! Unfortunately IROC went out of business in 2007, auctioning off all of its cars, equipment and memorabilia.

However I have always fancied the idea of the best drivers in identical cars racing for top honours! Here is my idea of IROC for 2011... AROC...

Firstly you need a name! IROC ceased to be "International" a long time ago. As the series would be based in America, and as there is very little chance of getting the F1 World Champion, or the WRC Champion to take part, (and there is the now annual ROC for that) we can assume the "I" should be replaced with an "A"... "American Race of Champions".

Next you need venues! A good balance of ovals, road courses, dirt tracks and drag strips should cover all American disciplines...

TRACKS

Ovals

  Daytona – NASCAR event (oval)

  Darlington – NASCAR event (oval)

  Richmond – IRL event (oval)

Road Courses
  Road America – IRL event (road course)

  Watkins Glen – NASCAR event (road course)

  Laguna Seca – IRL event (road course)

Drag Strips
  Sonoma (Infineon) – NASCAR event (drag strip)

  Pomona – NHRA event (drag strip)

  Gainsville – NHRA event (drag strip) 

Dirt Tracks
  Eldora - Prelude to the Dream event (dirt track)
  The Dirt Track at Charlotte- World of Outlaws / NASCAR event (dirt track)
  The Dirt Track at Las Vegas - World of Outlaws / NASCAR event (dirt track)

The races could be held at established events, adding a new element to the Saturday schedules?! The oval and road course races could be split between NASCAR and IndyCar events. The drag races could be held at two NHRA events, and at the Infineon (Sonoma) NASCAR race, but on the drag strip! The dirt track races could be held at either World of Outlaw events or at NASCAR events (in the evening), and as an addition to Tony Stewarts "Prelude to a Dream" event. This would guarantee a fan base and TV.

Then you need drivers! Fourteen of the best drivers in the country...

DRIVERS

NASCAR –
  Sprint Cup – 1^st in points
  Daytona 500 winner / 2^nd in points if same
IndyCar –
  1^st in points
  Indy 500 winner / 2^nd in points if same
Sports cars –

  Grand Am – 1^st in points

  Daytona 24hrs winner / 2^nd in points if same
World of Outlaws –

  1^st in points

  2^nd in points

USAC Silver Crown –

  1^st in points

  2^nd in points

SCCA Trans Am / World Challenge –

  1^st in points

  2^nd in points

NHRA –

  Top Fuel – 1^st in points

  Funny Car – 1^st in points
  
If any of the above accolades are achieved by multiple drivers, the drivers could share driving duties and add their points together.

Lastly you need a car! A production based car! The 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 or Boss 302 is as good a starting point as any! Install a roll cage, upgrade the clutch and ensure the engines can race on high banking for the oval and road courses races. Keep the cars as "stock" as possible, as the cars used in AROC must be close to a car you can buy from your local dealer, "stock car racing"! I have decided against using the Boss 302s (Ford built turn key road race car) or the Cobra Jet (Ford built turn key drag racer) for this reason.

My aim with AROC is to cover all major American motor racing disciplines; oval racing (stock cars and single-seaters), road racing, drag racing, sprint cars and midgets.

Maybe the field could be expanded to include off-road racing and rallying. F150 Raptor anybody?

Just an idea...

 





 

NASCAR Points Systems

Jayski (http://www.jayski.com/) have compiled a list of the NASCAR Cup Series (Winston / Nextel / Sprint) Champions from 1975 to 2003 and calculated the points using the "Chase points system" to see who would have won! Then they worked out who would have won the Championship in the Chase era (2004 onwards) using the "Classic points system".

It makes for interesting reading...

 

1975 - 2003 with Chase Points System

• Harry Gant would have been Champion in 1984, instead of Terry Labonte, and again in 1991, instead of Dale Earnhardt. Imagine Harry Gant being a two time Champ!
• Alan Kulwicki won his only title in 1992. With the Chase points system Kyle Petty would have taken the title!
• Bobby Labonte would be a two time Champ, 1999 and 2000.
• Sterling Marlin, not Jeff Gordon, would have won in 2001!
• Tony Stewart would only have won the Championship once between these years, not twice.
• Jeff Gordon would go down in the history books as a two time Champion, not four a timer.
• Darrell Waltrip would gain an extra title, while Dale Earnhardt would lose two!

2004 - 2010 "Chase Era" with Classic Points System

• Jimmie Johnson would have won two more Championships not five!
• Jeff Gordon would also have won two more Championships!
• Kevin Harvick would be the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion!

http://jayski.com/teams/chase2010.htm#classic

If NASCAR are looking at revamping the Chase points system I hope they do not make it too "gimmicky". The Cup Series takes place over the course of the whole year, not just the last ten or so races, and consistency should be rewarded, as are outright wins. However it is a balance as fans want the drivers to race  for outright wins now, while also expecting a close points race at the end of the year. I do not envy NASCAR.

Food for thought...

Favourite Drivers

Following my off season filling “Favourite Race Cars” list, I thought I might try “Favourite Drivers”. So as they say on the talent shows… in no particular order…

Mario Andretti

Mario won in F1, IndyCar, sportscars, NASCAR, midgets, sprint cars and drag racing. Four time IndyCar Champion. The only driver to win the Daytona 500 (1967), Indy 500 (1969), and the Formula 1 World Championship (1978). 'Nuff said!!

Dale Earnhardt 

"The Intimidator, 3, The Man In Black." Dale won seventy six NASCAR Cup series races, seven Winston Cup Championships and one Daytona 500. The day Earnhardt won the 500 was a great day! I watched the race from the comfort of a youth hostel in LA, and my over-riding memory was of not being able to sit or stand still for excitement! One of the greats! RIP.

Andy Rouse

BTCC Champion in 1975, '83, '84 and '85. Has sixty race wins. He also won BTCC Class A, driving his RS500, in 1988 and 1989. Watch this clip to see the master at work...

http://jameswright42.blogspot.com/2010/10/1989-birmingham-superprix-fantastic.html

Tony Stewart / Juan Pablo Montoya

My favourite active NASCAR drivers!

Tony Stewart, "Smoke"; won the Indy 500 in 1996, and the NASCAR Cup title in 2002 and again in 2005! One of the best in anything with a USAC sticker on it (sprint cars, midgets, Silver Crown), he now runs his own team (NASCAR and World of Outlaws among others) and owns or co-owns various tracks including Eldora dirt track. A racers racer!


JPM won the CART title in 1999, as a rookie! He has won the Indy 500 (2000), the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Monaco Grand Prix. He was NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 2007, and won NASCAR Cup series road races in 2007 at Sonoma and in 2010 at Watkins Glen! Good car number!

 
Al Unser Jr

"Little Al" was the youngest ever IROC Champion, winning in 1986, and again in 1988. He lost the 1985 CART title by 1 point, to his father. He was CART Champion in 1990 and won the 1992 Indy 500 by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish ever. He won the Indy 500, and the CART title again in 1994. Two time Daytona 24 hours winner. The only driver I have ever known to paint his helmet the same colour as his car! 

 

John Cleland

Cleland was the overall 1989 BTCC Champion in a Vauxhall Astra, beating the RS500's to the title! One of the early 2 litre era stars, winning the Championship again in '95 driving a Cavalier. I have never forgiven Steve Soper for the Silverstone crash in '92!!

  

Bill Elliott

"Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill" won the Winston Million in 1985 by winning the Daytona, Winston and Southern 500's , hence the nickname. He won The Winston in '86, and the Daytona 500 again in '87. In 1988 he finally won the Winston Cup. He set the NASCAR qualifying average speed record of 210.364mph at Daytona,  and 212.809mph at Talladega, with them NASCAR introduced the restrictor plate, ensuring the records stand to this day! He also won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award sixteen times; '84 to '88, '91 to 2000 and lastly in 2002, the year in which he won the Brickyard 400. The driver who taught me to understand the southern drawl!!

Favourite Race Cars Part 4 - Anything Else

With the motor racing off season upon us I found myself questioning... what does the author of a topical motorsport based blog write about when there is no racing??

The first answer I came up with is to talk about what I love about racing, starting with my favourite race cars, so here we go... last of all...  Part 4... Anything Else.. 

LE MANS

I am not the biggest Le Mans fan but the stand out cars for me are...

1964 Le Mans winning Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe - just gorgeous!

The 1989 Le Mans winning Sauber Mercedes was a good looking race car; they even cleaned the Mercedes badge on the front in the pit stops.







1991 Jaguar XJR1- even though it was purple.

1998 Panoz GTR1 - Not good looking... not very quick... but such character.







OTHERS - just 'cos I can...

1990-1992 Jaguar XJR-15 - The one make series was not around for long but in its day it was stunning.

1993 DTM Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI - came with matching brght red, and always immaculate, transporters.

I am not a rally fan but if I had to choose; the Ford RS200.







A list of my favourite race cars would not be finished without...

So, not the shortest list, and not in any way definitive (no GT40, Lotus Cortina, Mk1 (touring car) Mini Cooper, Ford Coupe bodied Legend, IROC Dodge Avenger, Lightning Rod Sierra, step away from the keyboard...), but a talking point nevertheless!!

I hope you enjoyed my favourite race car list, now what about yours...