 *Logo Courtesy of NAIAS “So you’re a journalist?” The question snaps me out of my hung-over trance. The landscape around Detroit Metro Airport isn’t terribly fascinating, but even the bleakest horizon is a welcome anchor for my primary senses while the parking shuttle trundles along as only domestic passenger vans are want to do.
I didn’t catch his name; my inquisitive chauffeur offered me a lift across DTW to the North terminal after passing me half a dozen times as I waited for the terminal-to-terminal shuttle—a brotherly gesture punctuating an otherwise inhospitable morning.
I don’t answer immediately. I prefer not to introduce myself as such, but I put the brakes on that particular train of thought before it blows a whistle that will further stoke the three-alarm Jack-and-Captain number that is still beating my nerve endings like bongo drums. Too deep. Too early.
“Nah, I’m a blogger,” I finally deliver in my most refined turn-that-freaking-sun-off-so-we-can-all-go-back-to-bed grunt. “I write for a Web site.”
“A blogger?” he responds as he pulls the shuttle into its stall and hops out to retrieve my bag. “What’s the difference?”
I hand him a fiver I’d plucked from my back pocket on my way to meet him behind the van.
“Journalists don’t tip. Thanks for the lift; I appreciate it.”
Continue reading Lord Byron — NAIAS 2010. What’s it to ya?
Christmas was just a few days ago and for some reason Santa missed the Krider Racing headquarters (rumor has it, they’re on the naughty list). However, most Speed Sport Life readers consider the real Santa Claus to come in the form of the FedEx man. And that was just who showed up in the nick of time with a box full of racing goodies for our preparations for the upcoming ChumpCar World Series race at Infineon January 9-10, 2010.
We scored a cool fabricated safety cage for our nitrogen tank to run our air tools from Capital City Motorsports, a pair of FIA rated Piloti driving shoes (great for heel toe downshifts), some Carbotech brake pads (for going super deep into the corners), some “FUEL” stickers for our pit crew to go on expired helmets (per ChumpCar rules) from Figstone Graphics and last, but not least, new nomex socks from I/O Port Racing Supplies.
So, what did you get under the “racing” tree this year?
 Drayson Lola It’s the height of presumption for a club-level racer such as myself to believe that I can effectively analyze a race like the 2009 Petit LeMans. To some degree, until the day comes that I put on my helmet and sit behind the wheel of an LMP1 in a major race, I’ll be doing nothing but vaguely educated guessing as regards what goes on beneath the surface in the ALMS — and that day will mostly likely never arrive. Still, after some conversations with the people who did put their helmets on for this one, and after reviewing the video at length, I think it’s safe to make some basic observations about what happened during this most unusual episode of America’s roadracing history.
Continue reading Truth in four and fifty-four.
Photos by Zerin Dube
When we hit the road for the 2009 Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6, we knew we were in for a special few days at the race track. With the weather reports predicting gloom and doom over the skies of Atlanta, we prepared for the worst and figured the weather would at least for some interesting racing. We weren’t disappointed in the least. Thankfully, the weather gave us a couple of days of fantastic weather with blue skies and sunshine before the heavens opened up on Saturday.
Now that we’re back home (with a few bumps, bruises and fire ant bites), we can get to work. Jack Baruth will be posting up his thoughts on the weekend in a new Avoidable Contact post that will be up soon, and Nick Salvatore is busy twittering away about the weekend. So, I guess that leaves me to produce something of value from the trip by way of these photo galleries. I’ve created several galleries from the various events throughout the weekend and inserted them all into this post. I probably have a few more photos to upload to each of the galleries throughout the day, but this should get you started.
View full 2009 Petit Le Mans Photo Galleries after the jump
Continue reading 2009 Petit Le Mans Mega Photo Gallery
Story by ALMS Communications
Photos by Zerin Dube
Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin gave Peugeot its first American Le Mans Series victory on Friday, winning a weather-shortened 12th annual Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6. Race officials, citing hazardous conditions due to torrential rains that fell at Road Atlanta just past the four-hour mark, called the race at eight hours, 44 minutes running.
Peugeot’s two diesel-powered factory prototype coupes finished 1-2 with the pole-sitting 908 HDi of Pedro Lamy and Nic Minassian in second. The first of Audi Sport Team Joest’s Audi R15 TDIs placed third, the car driven by Allan McNish and Dindo Capello. The Peugeot-Peugeot-Audi finish mirrored the end result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and it ended Audi’s nine-year unbeaten streak at Road Atlanta.
“We only did three races this year,” Montagny said. “We missed Sebring by only 22 seconds, and it was a win for the Peugeot team at Le Mans and a win here. I think if we had a full time we really would have battled it out with the Audis.”
Continue reading 2009 Petit Le Mans Wrap-Up
Photos by Zerin Dube
The S:S:L team of Jack Baruth, Nick Salvatore and Zerin Dube are hard at work in Atlanta for the cornerstone race of the American Le Mans series, Petit Le Mans. We arrived at Road Atlanta yesterday and spent the day meeting folks, getting some paperwork taken care of, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the race. Today, we get to work to bring you as much photographic coverage as we can, along with a couple of interviews with the Audi Sport team. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from Day 1. We’ll have MANY more throughout the weekend!
More photos after the jump!
Continue reading 2009 Petit Le Mans – Day 1 Gallery
You’ve read about it in all the car magazines and you’ve been to the 24 Hours of LeMons website a hundred times, obsessively pouring over the rules. It’s the endurance road racing series for $500 cars. You’ve commented on numerous forums that “someday, if you can get a team together, you want to do LeMons.” You even went as far as e-mailing the Chief Perpetrator of LeMons, Jay Lamm, and bothered him with some stupid question regarding the current market price of your Mom’s 2001 Camry (he told you to read the rules again, the car isn’t worth $500). Stop blowing bench racing smoke up everybody’s ass. Find a piece of crap car (that runs unlike a piece of crap), make four new friends (one with money, one who can weld, one who can fix motors and one who has a car trailer) and get yourself to the biggest thing happening in the world of motorsports. The 24 Hours of LeMons is absolutely the coolest thing you will ever do in an automobile (excluding, of course, things that happen in the backseats of automobiles).
Continue reading Racer Boy: 24 Hours of LeMons or Endurace Racing for the Financially and Mentally Challenged
 I suggested the #GMTech hash tag to a friend, and it snowballed. As the upfitted GMC TopKick blogger-hauler crossed through fortified gates into the forbidden General Motors Tech Center, I felt like a spy. A time traveler. A trusted friend, but a careful messenger. I was one of 100 “social media influencers” invited to the most holy automotive land to preview the General’s powertrain research and future design direction. My camera was taken, my cell phone was blinded by a serialized PicPatch, and photography was further prohibited by smiling security guards posted in every presentation room. However, at no point were my microblogging colleagues told not to reveal our observations through text.
Most program attendees’ passions lay in non-automotive areas. Therefore, most didn’t realize the deeper magnitude of many minuscule details revealed. @RaymondKing and I were an exception. One overexposing tweet could destroy my career. Thankfully, years of practice crafting oblique automotive prose helped to preserve my integrity while capturing followers’ interest. Until Automotive News and Autoblog pieced together most of what I was nervous about reporting, that is. Now that GM’s secrets have been told with varying degrees of accuracy, I’ve got a few blanks to fill in — while preserving a little mystery. And my career, of course.
Continue reading Behind Domed Doors: At GM, R&D means “Research and Design”.
Photos by Robert Story
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a relevant, engineering-driven, lightly commercialized race endangered by uncorralled fans’ lack of common sense, the commoditization of the car, waning manufacturer support, and the paving of the roadway.
If you didn’t go this year, you need to be there in 2010 — before inevitable filters change the event forever.
In wild western Colorado, both vehicles and footwear are earth-toned and traction-centric. For outdoorsy natives that may very well burst into a 20-mile hike or interstate whitewater trip at any moment, camping on the Peak is akin to a passport stamp. Camping is permitted only once a year, on the day before the race. It’s feasible, then, that a sizeable portion of the yearly attendees are drawn primarily by the prospect of personally taming the mountain, and stay for the race out of both casual curiosity and convenience. Staking a spot on the mountain entails a steep $100 charge per car. Proceeds benefit the US Forest Service, which cedes control of the mountain during practice sessions and on race day.
Continue reading S:S:L Event Coverage: 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
|
|
Social Follow