Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Safety, Videos, Racing

If you aren’t terrified on some primordial level of the funny car drag racing class, odds are it’s only a matter of time before natural selection comes a-callin’. Most funnies run a variation on the 500 cubic-inch, supercharged big-block formula while slurping down nitromethane/methanol fuel by the drum. No one’s exactly sure how much power these suckers dish out, but estimates in the 8,000 pony range are typically considered conservative. Yeah. Wrap your noggin around that one for half a second. The whole concoction is designed to hold together just long enough scoot down the eighth or quarter mile, so it should come as no surprise that accidents happen.

We don’t want to blow the surprise for you (you’ll have to watch the video for that), but according to the video’s YouTube comments, the son of the driver was beginning to check his dad’s car over one last time when the vehicle’s supercharger broke a stud. Hit the jump to see what happened next.

[Source: YouTube via CarDomain]

Continue reading Video: Sunday! Sunday!! Sunday!!! Witness the incredible ManEater funny car!

Video: Sunday! Sunday!! Sunday!!! Witness the incredible ManEater funny car! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Motorcycle, Electric, Racing

Off-road racing fans will no doubt be familiar with the name Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, winner of 17 Baja 500s and three Baja 1000s over his 37-year career. Apparently, even an iron man can only take so much pounding and Stewart has decided it’s time to ride off silently into the sunset.

Stewart has decided to auction virtually all of his off-road racing memorabilia, race truck building business and automobiles. Instead of pounding dirt, Stewart will be peddling electric bicycles out of a new shop in San Diego, California.

The Ivan Stewart Electric Bike Center will sell, service and rent battery-powered bicycles from an initial shop in downtown San Diego, followed by two additional stores in La Jolla and Del Mar to the north.

[Source: San Diego Union-Tribune via PickupTrucks.com]

Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart moving from off-road trucks to… electric bikes? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Budget, Sedan, Ford

Sure enough, the upcoming Sprint Cup Carfax 400 will be paced by none other than the Blue Oval’s tiny 2011 Fiesta Sedan. With less than a third of the displacement of the tube-frame beasts lapping Michigan International Speedway, we wouldn’t quite anticipate lightning-quick pace laps, but hey - safety first. While pace cars are typically some sort of performance product, manufacturers aren’t past parading less than muscular new hardware in front of the captive audiences of the raceway.

If Ford was looking for a way to bring its marketing for the Fiesta out of the social media realm and into a more mainstream American venue, they could have hardly done better than the Sprint Cup. On average, the series races net 7.9 million viewers. On Sunday, August 15, each and every one of those souls will get to watch a maroon four door fiesta lead the pack, complete with a big Blue Oval decal down the side. Talk about cheap advertising. Check out the gallery for a few shots from the car’s unveiling.

[Source: Ford Racing via Facebook]

Unlikely Pacer: Ford Fiesta to lead the field at CarFax 400 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Albert Einstein has commonly been quoted as saying that stupidity (or insanity, depending on your source) is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Which begs the question, with over 100 years of traffic enforcement behind us, why are we still relying on the same methods of catch and punish to alter driver behavior? If it hasn’t worked over… Continue reading

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As expected, the Porsche supervisory board has approved the development of the 918 Spyder concept into a series production model. The 918 debuted as a concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show with a plug-in hybrid powertrain claimed to provide 78 miles per gallon. The concept used a… Continue reading

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Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Safety, Videos, Celebrities

NASCAR titan Jack Roush appears to have survived his second plane crash. Roush was piloting his company’s Raytheon/Beechcraft Premier jet when something went wrong on the approach to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin last night. According to reports, Roush’s plane appeared to come in too low on landing approach, and a last-second correction caused the plane’s nose to dip and touch the ground. On impact, the plane spun around and the tale section separated from the rest of the aircraft. Both Roush and a female employee, Brenda K. Strickland, were able to walk away from the crash, though they did sustain injuries. There was no one else onboard.

Roush, 68, was taken to a local hospital for injuries he sustained during the incident and was first listed in serious condition. Since then, his status has been downgraded to critical. However, according to Roush Fenway Racing, Roush is expected to make a full recovery, although some surgery is expected as a result of his mishap.

This marks the second time in 10 years that Roush has run into trouble in the pilot’s seat. In 2002, he crash-landed a small craft into a pond in Alabama. Hit the jump to see an ESPN report on the incident. Thanks for the tip, Martin B!

[Sources: The Northwestern, ESPN]

Continue reading Report: Jack Roush in serious but stable condition after (second) plane crash [w/ video]

Report: Jack Roush in serious but stable condition after (second) plane crash [w/ video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports

Back in May, Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone announced that the racing organization had secured a deal with the city of Austin, Texas to bring the series to America for 10 years. All of that sounded great to American racing fans, but there have been lingering questions as to whether it was possible to get the city ready for F1 by 2012, which is when the contract is scheduled to go into effect.

At least one piece of the puzzle is now resolved as the location for the future track has been revealed at a press conference today in Austin. A total of 900 acres is said to be available at a site in southeastern Travis County, most of which had previously been set aside for a planned subdivision called Wandering Creek.

At this point, officials for the proposed track hope to have permits in hand and work beginning on the site in December. States Bobby Epstein, an investor in Wandering Creek, “I’m elated and hope this all comes to fruition… I’m highly optimistic that all the moving parts will come together.”

According to News 8 in Austin, Red McCombs, founder of the McCombs Automotive Group and former owner of the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Vikings, is backing the project, which he is reportedly calling “Speed City.” Want to see the proposed site for yourself? Click here for a Google Map of the location, which coincidentally enough (or not) is fortuitously close to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

[Source: Statesman, News 8]

Austin F1 track location revealed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Ferrari

If you followed yesterday’s 2010 German Grand Prix, you’ll remember that Felipe Massa mysteriously (not really) slowed late in the race, allowing his teammate Fernando Alonso to take the lead and the eventual win. Although this type of teamwork has been going on since the first two-chariot entry at the Circus Maximus, team orders are technically no longer granted in Formula 1. As if the on-track maneuver wasn’t obvious enough, the radio chatter between Rob Smedley and the drivers made it pretty clear what was going on. And that radio chatter is monitored, so it wasn’t surprising that soon after the race an inquiry began into Ferrari’s tactics.

Well, the official word has come that Ferrari has been fined $100,000 for breaking the Sporting Regulations during the German Grand Prix. The stewards have also referred the matter to the World Motor Sports Council, meaning the result of the race could be in jeopardy. But for now the results stand.

Massa, probably stung by the call to move aside, admitted after the race that he let Alonso past, but he stated he did it on his own accord. Ummmm… okay. Ultimately the driver has the final decision, but if he wants to return to the driver’s seat next season he’ll usually want to heed the advice of his team boss.

The official statement tells us that the stewards found Ferrari guilty of breaking article 39.1 of the Sporting Regulations, which forbids team orders that influence the outcome of the race. They also charged that Ferrari transgressed article 151c of the International Sporting Code, relating to bringing the sport into disrepute, the same section that McLaren was famously busted for back in 2007. Thanks to everyone for the tips.

Ferrari fined $100,000 for transgressions in German Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Kia, UK, Celebrities

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have been all over the world pushing their not-so-blockbuster movie Knight and Day, and while moviegoers haven’t exactly filled local theaters, enthusiasts should most definitely witness the Hollywood A-listers on the latest episode of Top Gear. The two stars appeared on our favorite BBC show to compete against other celebrities in “Star in a Reasonably Priced Automobile,” and their performance far outshines their recent box office receipts.

Hit the jump to watch as the two push hard around the Top Gear track in a KIA Cee’d. We won’t ruin the results for you, but we will reveal that Diaz shows that she can swear like a trucker while looking good with a helmet on, and Cruise proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s a very competitive guy. Seriously, the man literally finishes the race on two wheels, nearly giving Clarkson a heart attack in the process. Who got the better part of their co-star? You’ll have to watch to find out.

[Source: Top Gear via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz channel their inner Stig on Top Gear

Video: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz channel their inner Stig on Top Gear originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Vehicles, Sedan, BMW, Luxury