Free Republic

The Indianapolis 500 celebrates 100 years of competition Sunday. From the first winner, American Ray Harroun in something called a Marmon "Wasp," to the latest, Englishman Dario Franchitti, the Indy 500 has become the most famous race in the world. This year, observers say it boasts the strongest 33-car field it has seen since the CART-Indy split in 1996. It’s a regular stop for the Izod IndyCar Series drivers, but the race also includes former champions and non-IndyCar regulars who are in a ride for one shot at glory at The Brickyard.

EXCLUSIVE Stig was SAS Hero  RACING driver Ben Collins, unmasked yesterday as Top Gear mystery man The Stig, is a former member of the SAS. Ben trained SAS heroes in daring "escape and evade" driving skills while serving with the regiment, The Sun can reveal.     No more mystery nice guy ... Ben Collins aka The Stig   Millions of viewers have seen the race ace coaching celebrities on how to achieve the fastest time around a TV circuit in Top Gear's reasonably-priced car. But sources close to the special forces unit - motto Who Dares Wins - last night...

It's just a wasteful, reckless, unnecessary, ozone-destroying exercise Last Sunday, they ran the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500. That's about 1,100 unnecessary miles of tire treads wearing thin. My friends, auto racing is a road to nowhere. Ten years into a new millennium, it's time to put the exhaust pipes into an antique shop. It's time we engage in a new age of enlightenment, recognize auto racing as obsolete and end the around-the-oval madness. At the risk of being tossed out of the sports fraternity -- Who am I kidding? I was tossed out years ago; why do you...

Danica Patrick on Friday rejected skeptics who say she is incapable of switching from driving lighter, aerodynamic Indy cars to the much bulkier and heavier stock cars used on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Patrick, 27, is in the last year of her contract with the IndyCar team Andretti Green Racing and is evaluating options for next season. Patrick last year became the first woman to win a major U.S.-sanctioned open-wheel race when she won the IndyCar race at Motegi, Japan. She already had become a major sports figure after nearly winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, her rookie year....

Air ApparentInspired by air-powered car concepts in Europe, Dalhousie mechanical engineering students David Alderson, Scott Allan, David Langille, Michael Roy and Dave Spencer decided to develop a compressed air engine of their own for a year-long research project. They recently unveiled their air-powered go-kart, with the vehicle performing comparatively to electric-powered cars. Dalhousie engineering student, David Alderson test drives an air-powered go cart Newswise — It’s Sunday afternoon. Thousands of fans cheer wildly as race cars fly by at speeds nearing 200 mph for 200 laps. They whiz down the pit road making pit stops, changing tires and refueling. Only,...

From rubble will spring renewal, and Richmond International Raceway is counting down the days. Construction has begun on a multimillion-dollar, 7,843-seat expansion project behind the Commonwealth Grandstand in Turn 1 of the three-quarter-mile track. The three-tiered grandstand, which is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2007, will include a 700-seat club level, 2,246 mezzanine seats and 4,897 seats in the Commonwealth Tower in the new 18-story structure. "It's going to be very exciting," RIR President Doug Fritz said. "We have some really neat things coming down the road in the next couple of years. It's only going to get...

Now, you might be asking yourself. What does Joe Posnanski has to do with Greg Gunderson? Well, Joe Posnanski wrote an article along with pictures (note: pictures in paper version only) called "Racing Reunites Deaf Men." It's a story about Jason Curry who is the president of sComm, Inc with his UbiDuo communication device; Jason's friend Greg Gunderson, a Gallaudet University alumnus, who is vying for a spot on the Racin for a Livin reality TV show...

Barcelona is a circuit that every Formula One team knows well as they complete thousands of kilometres there in testing throughout the season. The mix of high-speed corners, a very long straight and an abrasive track surface, makes the Circuit de Catalunya a uniquely ‘complete’ circuit. Finding the right set-up compromise is always a tricky business at the Spanish Grand Prix. World champion Fernando Alonso was the fastest race driver in Friday afternoon’s second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya. In front of a huge home crowd, the Spaniard finished third in his Renault, behind Honda’s and Red Bull’s...

Top fuel driver Cory McClenathan talks about how he cheated death and survived a fiery crash (May 2) Crash video

INDIANAPOLIS - Dan Wheldon overcame an electrifying run by Danica Patrick and ended 35 years of fabled Andretti bad luck to win the Indianapolis 500 Sunday. Patrick started fourth, the highest-ever start for a woman, in the most famous race in American sports. She finished in that spot, the highest ever for a woman. The 23-year-old rookie, the highest-starting female driver in Indianapolis 500 history, became the first woman to lead the race when the three drivers ahead of her made their second pit stops before she did. She led with as few as 5 laps remaining, but Wheldon pulled...

Does anyone have a link to the NASCAR rules regarding pit stops and how it affects a race cars' position during a race? It seems like some guys pick up places during a pit stop and others lose spots. Why would some drivers elect to pit by themselves? Why would some drivers elect to pit during a caution? I need a research link.

[SNIP]Racing promoters have held preliminary discussions with economic officials in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration about constructing a NASCAR track on Staten Island, The New York Times reported Friday. NASCAR has looked at various locations in the region since plans to build a speedway at the Meadowlands in New Jersey foundered, said David Talley, a spokesman for the International Speedway Corporation, which owns 13 tracks nationwide. [SNIP]

[snip]This might be the last year [Robby Gordon or anyone for that matter] can attempt the Memorial Day weekend double. Officials at ABC have discussed the possibility of pushing the starting time of the Indy 500 back by a couple of hours to help with TV ratings. If that happens, the chance of anyone competing in both races is diminished. "It would mess it up, but it is what it is," Gordon said. "I think that would be a mistake on the IRL's side because then Tony Stewart or myself would never be able to come over and compete. "It...

INDIANAPOLIS, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV, the first network for men, is the new cable television home for the Champ Car World Series for the 2004 season, it was announced today jointly by Champ Car President Dick Eidswick and Kevin Kay, Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, Spike TV. The network will telecast the entire 16-race schedule of one of the most popular racing circuits from venues all over the world, from Long Beach, CA. to Seoul, South Korea.

Change is good for NASCAR Commentary by CARY ESTES BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD Dale Jarrett calls himself "a traditionalist" in explaining why he dislikes the changes NASCAR has made this year to the circuit's points system. Funny, I think that is the same reason some auto-racing snobs gave for not wanting NASCAR to invade the hallowed ground of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. According to tradition, the home of the Indy 500 was a place for open-wheel cars only. Why should anybody want things to change? Of course, that argument seems silly now, considering the huge success of NASCAR's annual Brickyard 400 at the...

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!!! (Hi, DW hope Ya don't mind if We use Your words here) It's NASCAR Time Again Everybody Dedicated to Our Troops around the World This Weekend: THE SUBWAY 400 at the ROCK! Nascar visits the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, NC Green Flag at 1PM EST/10AM PST on FOX! Track Facts: Banking Straits/Turns 22 Degrees/25 Degrees 1.017 mile Oval Race Weather Starting Order FR Canteen Crosslink You Know You are Addicted to NASCAR if: What's this all about?

WELCOME RACE FANS!!! to the 2004 NASCAR Daytona Twin 125 Qualifing Races Live on TNT Thursday 02/12/04 1 p.m. ET Other upcoming Races this week: Daytona 500 NBC Sun. Noon on NBC Hershey's Kisses 300 NBC Sat. Noon on NBC Florida Dodge Dealers 250 Fri. 8 p.m on SPEED Race Schedule for the 2004 NASCAR SEASONRace 1 lineupRace 2 lineupRace Weather from the Dayton Beach Airport (the runway runs next to the back strech, so I figured that was about as close as I could get Us)FR Canteen linkDedicated to Our Troops around the GlobeWe Thank You ALL for everything...

Tread carefully says Stewart In regard to taking F1 out of the EU [14/12/02 - 01:33] Max Mosley has warned that more Formula One races could be shifted away from their European heartland as a consequence of the ongoing battle over tobacco sponsorship. The FIA President said that the decision by the European Union to bring forward the date for a ban on tobacco advertising by 18 months endangers the agreement they had been working towards on October 1, 2006 and not July 31, 2005. While it is highly doubtful that the FIA will take F1 events out of the...

<p>When people talk about racing and politics, it's usually related to a track official's interpretation of an on-track incident. DFL gubernatorial candidate Roger Moe, however, has added another dimension to racing and politics.</p> <p>The Moe campaign leased a stock car and hauler from LaFavre Racing and will appear with it in some 75 parades around the state in the next couple of months. The car will be a part of Moe's State Fair booth, and there is a possibility the Moe campaign will field a team for the ASA Labor Day race at the Fair.</p>

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Jeff Gordon hopes his first pole of the season might temporarily silence his critics. Gordon took the top qualifying spot Friday, setting a track record by running a lap at 127.216 mph at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was the 40th pole of his career, first since August, and showed he could be back to his old form. Gordon, who won his fourth Winston Cup championship last season, is off to a slow start this year by his standards, with a seventh at Rockingham being his highest finish. He's sixth in the points standings and has been dogged...