Tags: Audi Quattro / Audi R8 / Audi R8 LMS / FIA GT3 / racing / Spa 24 hours

AUDI R8 LMS: BUY NOW & RACE!

- Rabu, 09 September 2015 No Comments

Production starts in September and customers can order Audi’s new GT3 sports car now with delivery starting before the end of the year. Production is limited; if you snooze, you lose!

Audi’s new GT3 racecar already proved its prowess in May on clinching overall victory in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and two podium places in the Spa 24 Hours in July.



“Due to races like these Audi Sport customer racing has developed the Audi R8 LMS in toughest conditions to the level of readiness for customer use. Concurrently, our engineers successfully completed all tests and trials and determined the final specification,” says Heinz Hollerweger, Managing Director of quattro GmbH.



At the Audi site Böllinger Höfe near the Neckarsulm location, the chassis of the production model and the racecars are manufactured at the same facilities. Audi has implemented an extensive concept for carryover parts for this purpose. About half of the parts for the road-going high-performance sports car and the racecar are identical.

Effective immediately, customers can order the racecar, which can deliver up to 585 horsepower depending on the regulations, at the price of 359,000 euros (plus VAT). In addition, Audi Sport customer racing offers the car including a starter and parts package for the total price of 398,000 euros (plus VAT).



“Since 2009, Audi has been producing GT3 racecars for customers around the world. In the new R8 LMS, we’re again offering our customers an absolutely competitive concept,” says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. The company built 135 cars of the predecessor models for the markets in Australia, Asia, Europe and America.



On September 21, production of the new Audi R8 LMS will be launched, with deliveries commencing on October 26. Until the end of March 2016, Audi has scheduled production capacities for 45 GT3 racecars for the coming motorsport season. With that, the brand with the four rings sets the pace: the R8 LMS, as one of the first new models, corresponds to the GT3 regulations that will be in effect from 2016 until at least 2018, and thus sets new standards in terms of safety.



For the latest luxury/performance products from Audi, please visit  http://audi2016.com/

Tags: Bill France / Dale Earnhardt / daytona 500 / Duke Nalon / Indy 500 / NASCAR / race safety / racing

LESSONS LEARNED: THE HISTORY OF DRIVER SAFETY IN NASCAR!

- Jumat, 04 September 2015 No Comments

When Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR in 1948, driver safety wasn’t exactly a primary concern. That first generation of drivers showed up on race day in the fastest cars their teams could build. There was a general understanding that auto racing was a dangerous endeavor, and that any measure to increase safety might decrease your chance of taking that checkered flag first.



But it didn’t take long for these ideas to change. In an http://www.dish.com/dig/sports/motorsports-hof-of-america-nalon-leads-detroits-last-class/, Alison Ingles Daly Sr. traces the events surrounding Duke Nalon’s historic crash in the 23rd lap of the 1949 Indianapolis 500 — just a year after the league’s inception. When Nalon’s car caught fire in the third turn, he had no flame-retardant suit to protect his body or quick-release seat belt to expedite his escape. He survived, but only after suffering severe burns and smoke inhalation-related lung damage.

That he was able to return to racing a mere two years later was a small miracle, but the league he returned to had already started to find ways to ensure the safety of its drivers. From that point forward, you can basically trace the history of accidents in NASCAR racing to the history of driver safety. Here is a brief timeline of some of racing’s most memorable crashes, and the safety upgrades born in their wake.

FIRE-RETARDANT UNIFORMS

When Nalon hit the wall in turn 3 at Indy, NASCAR had no standard uniform requirements for its drivers. Safety, in general, was considered a personal preference. A cautious driver might implement some foam padding into his car’s chassis to soften the blow in the event of an accident, or he might wear a DIY full-body mechanic’s suit to at least put a few millimeters of distance between his skin and the elements. But as races got faster and accidents started to occur with greater regularity, the need for a standard uniform became a necessity.



Enter DuPont, which introduced the first generation of http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/nascar-nation/nascar-edu/mobil1-technology-hub/nascar-mobil1-technology-fire-suit-fuel-cell.html in the late 1960s in response to the shocking deaths of Eddie Sachs and David Macdonald at the 1964 Indianapolis 500. By the end of the decade, the uniforms were no longer a preference. They were a league requirement.

WINDOW NETTING

By the time the '70s rolled around, a new series of high-speed accidents had shifted the focus away from the driver and onto the car itself. The http://bleacherreport.com/articles/202274-joe-weatherly-1964-and-nascars-not-so-good-good-old-daysin 1964 had certainly started the conversation. Weatherly died instantly when his car struck the outside wall at Riverside International Speedway. Ironically, he wasn’t wearing a safety harness because he was worried about becoming trapped in a burning car.



His death was caused by blunt force trauma to the guardrail — an accident that could’ve been easily prevented with window netting. After a horrifying rollover accident caused Richard Petty’s arms and head to hang outside the car during the 1970 Rebel 400, window netting became a mandatory feature of all cars.

SEAT BELTS

Seat belts have been evolving since the early days of racing and each new generation of car brings with it yet another advancement in seat belt technology. The original seatbelts were single straps of rope or leather with a single purpose: keep the driver from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of an accident. Yet as safety engineers gained a greater understanding of high-speed collisions and their effect on the human body, seat belt design became far more nuanced. By the late '60s, all drivers were wearing a two-strap harness that dispersed the shock of a sudden collision away from the body.



To assuage the fears of drivers like Weatherly, a single-release latch was also developed so that drivers could easily remove themselves from a burning car. Today, drivers wear a six-point harness that was developed after the http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=6116145during the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Tags: auto racing / Go-kart / Karting / race cars / racing / Roger Penske / Stephen Cox

KARTING: HOW TO SAVE AUTO RACING!

- Senin, 20 Juli 2015 No Comments

Every motorsports enthusiast is painfully aware that racing, in general, is experiencing tough times. Fewer fans are in the stands, and those fans are aging. The question is, what to do about it? 

Everyone has an opinion but the basics are pretty straightforward. People who don't care much about automobiles will care even less about watching them compete. Public interest in the automobile is waning, and the reasons are spelled out in my previous article on the topic.

Perhaps the most immediate and pragmatic idea for reviving American motorsports comes from AutoRacing1 journalist Mark Cipolloni who shared his amazing concept with me on the phone a few weeks ago:



“The problem is that we've lost the youth of this country. Racing is not in the high schools. The kids are not introduced to it. They can't experience it by competing at the high school and college level.”



“But in the old days, your father was working on the car and you'd go help him out. You'd get your hands dirty and you had more interest in cars. Nowadays, young people never touch a car. It just goes back to the dealer for service. Unless your parents expose you to racing, the chances are that you're never going to be exposed to it. ”

“So something has got to be done to engage the youth of this country in racing. What I've proposed is that we get together with the manufacturers and put together a proposal for the NCAA: 'Look, we want to make go kart racing a recognized sport in high schools and colleges.'”



Cipolloni's idea is based on a solid foundation that's already fully functional. High schools would organize teams of go kart drivers, just like they do in track and field or any other sport. Students would do more than simply drive the karts; they could learn about mechanics, engineering, aerodynamics, alternative fuels, safety gear, electronics, computer data acquisition and much more, all of which would directly contribute to their team's success in competition.



Go kart racing is inexpensive, safer than football, and the equipment is light and easy to transport. The racetracks necessary for competition already exist all around the country. Schools would also be free to build their own home tracks, just like they have for every other sport. Cipolloni continued:



“Make is so high schools compete against each other and kids can get scholarships so they can go to college, just like they do in football and baseball. And then the pros pick them up. So now the kids in school are following it, and they're following their classmates as they move up and now the kids are exposed to it.”

“A kid who's 5 foot 8 and not real big, he tries out for the go kart team. And he makes the team because he's faster than the big football player with all the muscles. Then people will start to realize that driving a car fast is a sport, and it's a skill. Not everybody can do it.”



“We've lost the youth of this country. And in order to get them back, they've got to be exposed to motorsports in school. Racing needs to be recognized by the NCAA as a sport. Once that happens, it'll take off. Once kids get engaged, there's a good chance that they'll stick with it into their adult years. That's my opinion on how to fix it.”



“The problem is... who has the wherewithal to bring together this kind of proposal with the sanctioning bodies and the manufacturers and bring it to the NCAA, then lay out all the rules and how it would work?”



Mr. Penske, are you listening?



Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by: http://boschett-timepieces.com/   http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/

Tags: Autoweek / Buddy Baker / Daytona / NASCAR / racing / Stephen Cox

BUDDY BAKER: THE MEASURE OF A MAN!

- Kamis, 16 Juli 2015 No Comments

NASCAR great Buddy baker has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and signs off his SiriusXM NASCAR radio show for the last time.

I don't know Buddy Baker. I met him only once.

We were introduced about ten years ago at Lingner Group Television Productions in downtown Indianapolis where I was filming an episode of Autoweek on Speedvision. Baker, a huge man who towered six inches over me, was there working on a NASCAR program. He graciously shook my hand and took the time to speak to me. He wasn't in a hurry. 




Baker explained his role in the NASCAR program he was hosting. He asked about my work with Autoweek and listened carefully to my response. A few minutes later we shook hands again and went to work on our separate jobs.

They say the measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do nothing for him. The last thing a NASCAR legend like Baker needed was help from a guy like me. I am a small-time racecar driver and TV host from Indianapolis. He didn't know me. I could do nothing for him. Yet he treated me well. He was kind, authentic and sincere.



In my opinion, that makes Buddy Baker a real man. I never spoke to him again after that conversation, yet my impression of him remains the same even today.



By now, every NASCAR fan knows that the former Daytona 500 champion and 19-time stock car winner has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. I won't revisit the story. But his reaction to the illness, as reported in Autoweek, is astonishing.



"For those who feel sorry, hey I'm 74 years old, have great friends, had a career. The toughest part for me is not being able to talk to some of our regulars that are almost like family.”



“There comes a time when you talk to the doctor and say what are my chances and there's dead silence. I went, ‘How long?' ‘Well, we don't own the hotel, we don't know when we check out. It's something that we cannot fix.'”



“Everything has a start and an ending and mine has been overwhelming. Do not shed a tear. Give a smile when you say my name. I'm not saying goodbye. Just... 'talk to you later.'”



I hope Baker can beat this. But either way, there is no need to write an epitaph. He did that himself, and his attitude says more about his character than anyone could ever write.



Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by: http://boschett-timepieces.com/  http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/



For more information about Buddy Baker’s racing career, please visit http://www.examiner.com/article/nascar-s-buddy-baker-diagnosed-with-inoperable-lung-cancer

Tags: ARCA / Grassroots racing / Indycars / NASCAR / oval track racing / racing / Racingin.com / Stephen Cox / World of Outlaws

DIRT VERSUS PAVEMENT: RACINGIN.COM'S SCOTT KOSAK!

- Selasa, 26 Mei 2015 No Comments

Paved ovals have been placed on a financial red alert. Times are tough for America's asphalt bullrings even while dirt tracks seem to be thriving, primarily due to the popularity of sprint car racing. Stephen Cox talks with Scott Kosak.

I was recently talking with the owner of a well-known asphalt late-model Touring Series who made a remarkable observation. Here is a guy who has been in auto racing his entire life, and when offered an opportunity to operate a racetrack he responded, “You've got to be insane to own a racetrack right now. This is the worst time in the world to own or operate a track. I don't know how these guys stay in business.”

Those are heavy words from a man who is in a position to know. Not only are paved tracks closing left and right, but many of the telecasts that once promoted asphalt bullrings are defunct. The major network telecasts featuring the old American Speed Association are long gone as are the former Hooters Pro Cup programs on SPEED. Even the recent regional telecasts from the ARCA Truck Series, Mid-American Stock Car Series and the Super Cup Stock Car Series are off the air now.



“Outside of NASCAR, local asphalt oval racing just doesn't get exposure on the national scene that the World of Outlaws does,” said Scott Kosak of RacingIn.com, a motorsports media hub that has a huge following among dirt track fans. “And its not just sprint racing. Its late model racing and even at the local level, its street stocks and enduros. Stock car racing on asphalt ovals is just dominated by NASCAR. You don't even see ARCA on TV very often unless it's one of the restrictor plate races.”

“Really, there have been a lot of dirt tracks that have launched in the last four or five years, but not a lot of asphalt ovals. There is a lot of what I call “heritage” ovals. I believe that asphalt oval racing is very heritage and loyalty based.”



“But you see the World of Outlaws (in the media) a lot and I think there are a lot of people out there that get excited about dirt track racing. The amount of news in the mass media about dirt track racing is a lot more than what you see about grass roots paved oval racing. So I think (the number of tracks closing right now) is more about cause than effect.”



Kosak cites a broad study recently conducted by RacingIn.com demonstrating a surprising growth in dirt track racing despite the tough economy that has wrought havoc on asphalt tracks. 40% of the survey's 2,200 respondents attended more local dirt track events in 2014 than the previous year, while an additional 38% reported their 2014 attendance as staying about the same. Only a handful reported attending fewer dirt track races last year.

“Cannibalism” is the term Kosak uses to describe the current situation at every level of paved oval racing. Indycar, for instance, has attempted to grow by enticing fans away from NASCAR, as evidenced by Kurt Busch's 2014 Indy 500 run and numerous NASCAR-related announcers occupying Indycar's TV booth in recent years.



Local tracks use the same methods, viewing other nearby tracks as competition. Kosak firmly believes that track promoters must expand the motorsports audience rather than merely attempting to capture a bigger share of the existing demographic.



“Too often, local tracks focus on the fans they have and they forget to reach out to engage the fans who don’t know about them yet. You would be absolutely amazed at how many people look at our track maps and say, 'Wow, I didn’t realize that there were that many tracks there!'”

“The more that promoters have their eyes opened to the throngs of people who could see racing as a family entertainment option over a movie, an amusement park, or the local miniature golf course, the more that fans could be introduced to grassroots tracks.”



“Those that are able to make the mental leap to thinking of it as a business first and a track second will be the most successful in the long run.“



Photos: Nelson Skinner/Sopwith Motorsports.




Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by: http://boschett-timepieces.com/  http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/

Tags: Adam Carolla / Jay Leno / Mario Andretti / Paul Newman / racing / WINNING

WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN!

- Jumat, 22 Mei 2015 No Comments

The feature film documentary about Paul Newman’s racing career is finally available on Video On Demand.

Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman has received fantastic reviews from the media and fans alike.  The documentary chronicles the 35-year racing career of Paul Newman and features interviews with Robert Redford, Robert Wagner, Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, and many more.  Produced and directed by Adam Carolla.  Produced and co-directed by Nate Adams; Executive producer, Matt D’Andria.

For more information, please visit http://www.newmanracingfilm.com/

Tags: Endurance Racing / Maxda MX-5 / racing / Rocksteady Racing / Stephen Cox / Texas World Speedway / WRL

ROCKSTEADY RACING: STEPHEN COX TO COMPETE IN WRL!

- Selasa, 12 Mei 2015 No Comments

After competing on oval tracks for the past three seasons, Stephen Cox returns to long distance endurance racing this year with Rocksteady Racing.

Rocksteady Racing will participate in World Racing League (WRL) events including the 16-hour enduro that will comprise the final race ever run at Texas World Speedway on May 30-31. Cox will join Rocksteady's four-driver team for the two-day race. The historic venue, which opened in 1969, closes permanently just days after the event.



Rocksteady Racing was founded by team principal Todd Carver of Tulsa, OK to compete in national amateur motorsports events including the WRL and SCCA Super Touring Lite. The team fields a race-prepped Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe outfitted with a Bilstein suspension, competition chassis bracing and six-speed gearbox.

The team is coming off a top ten finish at MSR Houston's 2.4-mile road course last month in WRL's highly competitive GP3 class. “The car is prepped and ready for the race,” Carver said on Monday night. “We've made some minor adjustments based on our experience at MSR Houston, so we're hopeful those changes will give us a shot at the podium in GP3.”



The World Racing League features some of the top drivers in the amateur ranks. Many of the finest sportscar marques are also featured in the series including Chevrolet's Corvette, the BMW M series, the Mazda MX-5 and Porsche's Boxster.



Stephen Cox joins Rocksteady Racing's WRL effort with support from McGunegill Engine Performance, Boschett Timepieces and Impact Race Products. Cox has spent much of the last three seasons on ovals with the ARCA Truck Series, Super Cup Stock Cars, and the Mid-American Stock Car Series where he logged one win, nine top fives and nine top ten finishes in 26 events. On road courses, Cox has stood on the podium after each of his last six races, including one win.



“Texas World Speedway has been such a landmark that everyone wants to compete in the last event,” Cox said. “We're losing yet another superspeedway, which is really sad for American racing. But it's an honor to be driving in the track's final race, especially with an experienced team like Rocksteady.”



Photos: Tim Turner.



Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by: http://boschett-timepieces.com/  http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/

Tags: E.J. Viso / IndyCar / racing / Robby Gordon / Stadium Super trucks Series / Stadium Trucks / Stephen Cox

E. J. VISO: NEW LIFE IN STADIUM TRUCKS!

- Sabtu, 11 April 2015 No Comments

Ex-Indycar racer keeps on truckin’, blogs Stephen Cox.

A few years ago the late Mike Stephens, then owner of the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma, helped me find a ride in an open-cockpit Toyota World Sports Racer. I had no experience in the type and missed the podium in consecutive races. A month later I switched to a sports car team and won the next event. After the race, Mike cruised by in his golf cart and shouted at me.

“Hey, Stephen! Now I know what's been wrong with you lately.”



“Oh, what's that?”



“You just needed a car with a roof on it.”



Yup, I was lousy in the Toyota. Something just didn't fit. Mike was an old hand, and he knew that sometimes a driver just doesn't match up with a certain type of car. Likewise, Ernesto Jose Viso just didn't seem to get along in Indycars. From 2008 through 2013 the Venezuela-born driver struggled with three major open-wheel teams, yet posted only a single podium

finish in a six-year career.

Viso, like Marco Andretti, was a perpetual victim of his own aggression. He was certainly fast. Perhaps too fast! But he just didn't appear to have the patience and discipline necessary to succeed in Indycars. After leaving Andretti Autosport following the 2013 season, I fully expected Viso to disappear from the American racing scene entirely. Instead, he turned up in the most unlikely place - in Robby Gordon's Stadium Super Truck Series.



Oddly enough, Stadium Super Trucks usually don't race in stadiums. Even more ironic is the fact that they've been running as a support series at Indycar street races, where Viso has had abundant opportunity to prove to his former critics that he can really drive. It's an opportunity he hasn't wasted. Barring one DNF, Viso has finished in the top five at every Stadium Super Truck race in 2015. He won in only his second truck outing and posted another win early this year. He is the only foreign driver in a sport dominated by California and Wisconsin off-road specialists, yet he has firmly established himself as the man to beat in the series.



Stadium truck races are shorter. The trucks regularly make contact and are built to absorb punishment. They drive like a sprint car and reward extreme aggressiveness. In retrospect, maybe this is where Viso belonged all along. This is the type of competition at which he excels.

If you want to see E. J. Viso drive – that is, really drive, in a vehicle that seems tailor made for his skill set – watch an upcoming Stadium Super Truck race. The Series will follow Indycar to Long Beach and Detroit this spring, along with dates at Las Vegas and Toronto. It's an entertaining form of racing that harkens back to the great events held by the Mickey Thompson stadium races of the 1980s.



It's hard to tell what the future holds for Viso. I don't see a return to Indycar for him in the near future. Indycar is built on money and few seats are available. Viso doesn't appear to be interested in NASCAR. No one is really sure where a career in Super Trucks leads anyway.



But it sure is nice to see E. J. Viso validate his skills in a new and completely different racing environment. Maybe it was never Viso, and maybe it was never Indycar. Maybe it was just a bad combination. Perhaps Viso just needed “a car with a roof on it!”



Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by: http://boschett-timepieces.com/   http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/

Tags: 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport / Andy Pilgrim / ATS-V.R Twin Turbo / Cadillac ATS Coupe / Cadillac ATS-V coupe / FIA GT3 / Johnny O'Connell / racing

2015 CADILLAC ATS-V.R: TWIN-TURBO TERROR!

- Jumat, 14 November 2014 No Comments

V-Series ATS coupe meets FIA GT3 specs and hits the track next year.

Cadillac’s new ATS-V.R is the racing extension of the upcoming 2016 ATS-V Coupe, which channels more than a decade of V-Series engineering experience into the brand’s first compact performance model. The ATS-V Coupe debuts next week, along with the ATS-V sedan, at the Los Angeles Auto Show and arrives track-capable from the factory next spring.

The new, up-to-600-horsepower ATS-V.R meets international FIA GT3 specifications, a highly coveted pedigree that allows it to potentially run in more than 30 different GT series around the world. Other marques in this ultra-competitive racing class include Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche.



”The V-Series is the highest expression of Cadillac’s rising product substance,” said Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac president. “Elevating and expanding the V-Series is the next logical step in Cadillac’s growth, including this new race car developed in GT3-specification, enabling us to pursue racing on a more global scale.”



At the heart of the ATS-V.R is the LF4.R, the racing version of the Twin Turbo 3.6L V-6 in the Cadillac CTS Vsport. Specific technical upgrades for the GT3-spec racecar include larger, twin BorgWarner turbochargers, increased capacity intercoolers, competition engine management and a direct, side-exiting exhaust. Its lightweight aluminum block and heads are counterbalanced by a rear transaxle unique to the racecar, giving the ATS-V.R a weight distribution of 49 percent front, 51 percent rear.



“It sounds wicked and screams like it's ripping holes in the air. I love it,” said Andy Pilgrim, Cadillac Racing driver. “We have paddle gear shifters for the first time, and I'm enjoying the new tools. The engine torque is remarkable, as always, pulling strongly out of the corners.”



Among the many modifications performed to meet FIA GT3 specs, the fenders of the ATS-V.R were redesigned to contain FIA-mandated tire sizes. Other modifications include an aero kit that gives the ATS-V.R a strong stance, and a carbon fiber front splitter – complemented by corner-mounted dive planes – that provides frontal aerodynamics. A full under tray directs air beneath the car to the rear diffuser, which helps create a downforce-producing effect.



Since its inception in 2004, Cadillac Racing has amassed 26 wins, 91 podium finishes (including wins) and 22 pole positions with the CTS-V sedan and CTS-V Coupe race cars. Cadillac is a five-time winner of the Pirelli World Challenge Manufacturer Championship, including the series’ past three seasons, as well as 2005 and 2007. Team Cadillac drivers won the Pirelli World Challenge Driver’s Championship in 2005 with Pilgrim and in 2014, 2013 and 2012

with driver Johnny O’Connell.



“The Cadillac ATS-V.R is a 170-mph billboard for the next generation of Cadillac’s V-Series,” said O’Connell. “On top of its power, its aerodynamic package should pay off in the fast corners and I’m looking forward to unleashing it.”



For more information about the latest from Cadillac, please visit http://www.cadillac.com/

Tags: Armand Hammer / Car Guy Of The Year / Jesse Alexander / Le Mans / Mille Miglia / Montecito / motorsports / racing / Targa Florio

JESSE ALEXANDER: CAR GUY OF THE YEAR!

- Kamis, 25 September 2014 No Comments

The Car Guy Chronicles celebrates legendary photographer Jesse Alexander, named ‘Car Guy of the Year.’

International motorsports photographer and celebrated car culture veteran Jesse Alexander has been named the 2014 “Car Guy of the Year” by a select group of automotive professionals, motorsports and collector-car enthusiasts. The announcement was made as part of Alexander’s overall recognition as this year’s honoree during the annual Montecito Motor Classic Gala and charity dinner held at the Montecito Country Club.

“Photographer Jesse Alexander’s talents and remarkable career as an artist have been unsurpassed for more than half a century,” said Roy Miller, collector-car and restoration expert as well as co-founder of the Car Guy of the Year award, along with Steve Ford.



Miller noted that the plaque presented to Alexander highlights the pinnacle criteria that prior recipients have been celebrated for exhibiting:  genuine passion for cars; respect and admiration from peers; active participation in the car enthusiast arena; noteworthy contribution to the automotive community and proven knowledge of both the auto industry and car culture with an equal level of understanding about the technical aspects of automobiles.

“In past years we have presented the award for either a contemporary leadership contribution to car culture, or for lifetime achievement,” said Ford, who presented the surprise award to Alexander. “The idea and title originated out of on-air discussions with Roy Miller when we first presented the award to auto executive Bob Sinclair on The Car Guy Show in 1996.”



“Today, Jesse’s cumulative photography brilliance and seminal work, especially with his latest book Monaco, as well as his tribute as honoree at the Montecito Motor Classic Gala, converged to prompt this collective decision,” Ford added.



Joining to endorse and salute in the tribute were past award committee members, including Mario Andretti, Bob Bondurant and Dick Guldstrand, along with the 2014 Montecito Motor Classic Committee. Past Car Guy of the Year title recipients have included among others automotive industry leader Bob Lutz, racecar driver Dick Guldstrand and land speed racer and car builder Don Vesco.

Jesse Alexander has been involved in photography and especially motorsports photography since the early 1950s when he covered the original Mexican Road Race. He then spent many years in Europe covering Formula One, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio. During that period he also photographed theater and music personalities for The New York Times. Alexander’s work is prized among exclusive private collections and has been exhibited in leading museums around the world. His recently published book, Monaco – The Golden Age of the Grand Prix is a celebration of the sport, people and setting of this esteemed race venue.



The 2014 Montecito Motor Classic Gala and car show and non-profit charity with supporters including presenting sponsor Michael Hammer, of the Armand Hammer Foundation, along with more than 100 other generous sponsors to benefit the Santa Barbara PAL (Police Activities League, a mentoring program for at-risk youths) and The Santa Barbara Police Foundation (to assist police officers and families of officers killed or injured in the line of duty).



For more information, please visit:



http://www.santabarbarapolicefoundation.org/

http://www.santabarbarapal.org/

Tags: Beijing / Formula E / Formula One / racing / Stephen Cox

FORMULA E: THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW!

- Rabu, 17 September 2014 No Comments

‘I’ll certainly be cheering for the series to succeed long term, but there are a few points to bear in mind along the way,' blogs Stephen Cox.

The new Formula E racing series for electric cars has done a lot of things right, as was evident by their first race in Beijing last weekend. The series already draws more entries than Formula One will have in 2015, and they've attracted known drivers including Nick Heidfeld, Takuma Sato, Jarno Trulli, Katherine Legge and others.

First of all, Formula E is not a great advancement in technology. On the contrary, current battery technology stinks. The lithium-ion batteries used in most automobiles today are heavy, bulky and short-lived. Even the Williams Advanced Engineering batteries used by Formula E machines suffer a drastic power loss after only 15 minutes of driving. They are so slow to re-charge that drivers must actually switch to another car during pit stops rather than attempt to service the batteries in the car they're already driving.

It is difficult to sell tickets to a 30-minute event. Race fans do not want to spend more time driving to the event than they do watching it, so multiple support series will be necessary to put on a full show for paying customers. This natural barrier will remain until battery technology advances sufficiently to support longer events.



Which brings us to our second point. The ability to store energy in batteries really isn't much better today than it was when the first electric cars were invented in the late-1880s. Electric cars are not the cars of the future. In reality, they are the cars of the past!



The fact that Formula E exists at all is a testament to the antiquated nature of electric cars. If electric cars were truly a quantum leap forward, why would they need their own race series? Why did the FIA not simply allow them to be used in Formula One, where they could whip the competition and prove their worth on an even playing field?

 Electric cars aren't in Formula One because they can't compete in Formula One. They are not faster, more durable, more advanced, more reliable or more powerful. Three of them couldn't even make it off the starting grid in Beijing. Electric power is not viable in open competition,

let alone superior. The very fact that a Formula E series exists at all proves that electric cars are not more advanced.



And thirdly, we must remember that interest in electric cars is attributable entirely to government subsidies. The general public doesn't want electric cars and they never have.

China is the world's premier emerging market for automobiles. Yet despite a subsidy of nearly 10,000 US-dollars-per-car, China's 1.4 billion people purchased only 8,000 electric cars in 2011. This pattern is repeated around the world, with government efforts to promote electric cars in the U.S. being a perennial epic failure. At least 27 other governments around the world are subsidizing electric cars with mostly dismal results.



Eventually, people will tire of having their earnings taken against their will to prop up a failed technology that cannot compete in a fair, open market. When that day comes the carpet will be quickly yanked out from under the Formula E series. Once the government's magical money fountain dries up, the foundation of the series goes with it.

So while I enjoyed this weekend's opening Formula E round in Beijing and eagerly anticipate the next race, I try to remain realistic about the future of the series. Unless some nerd invents a battery the size of a Snickers bar that can produce 500 horsepower for 3 hours, the future of the series may be as limited as the future of the electric car itself.





Stephen Cox is a racer and co-host of TV coverage of Mecum Auctions (NBCSN), sponsored by:  http://boschett-timepieces.com/

http://www.mcgunegillengines.com/