DP Corvettes 1,2, 3 and 4 at the Rolex 24!

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – The Rolex 24 started Saturday in much cooler weather than normal with 67 cars on the grid.  Following a chilly night that dropped into the 40s, the DP Corvettes dominated the with the top 4 positions at the end of the race.  The Action Express DP Corvette piloted by Joao Barbosa finished first with the Wayne Taylor DP Corvette with Max Angelelli coming in second by a mere 1-1/2 seconds!  The third place podium finish went to the second Action Express team at the hands of Brian Frisselle, only 20 seconds behind Barbosa.  The Spirit of Daytona DP Corvette claimed 4^th place.

“This is one of the big races you want on your resume,” Action Express co-driver Bourdais said. “I chased the win at Le Mans for a Rolex but that didn't work out, so I came here. I've finished second so many times that I thought they would pity me and give me a watch anyway, but now I have one.” (http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140126/unitedsportscar/140129835#ixzz2rd0NzJ5L ).  Team owner Wayne Taylor driving with his two sons said “it was a heck of a race!... But those guys (Action Express) did a great job… They beat us fair and square.”

In GTLM, The factory #911 Porsche RSR of Tandy/Lietz/Pilet narrowly finished ahead of the BMW Z4 of Auberlein/Priaulx/Hand/Martin.  Surprisingly, the GTLM duo finished ahead of the “quicker” PC-class cars.  Though the SRT Vipers led much of the race, they could only manage third place with the SRT Viper at the hands of Rob Bell.  The debut of the Corvette Racing C7.R cars went less than anticipated though they were fast and competitive.  One car dropped out due to an overheating problem while the second car earned a respectable 16^th place finish after suffered a transmission failure requiring a transmission swap.

The Mazda Skyctiv-D powered prototype debut was a disappointment for Mazda with one care making it to within an hour of the finish before suffering an oil-pump belt failure.  The second car retired due to over-heating caused by a clogged radiator.  The innovative Deltawing car also suffered a series of setbacks including gearbox issues, wrecks and finally a turbo failure.

The most horrifying accident of the race occurred in turn 3 when the pole-sitting Gainsco DP Corvette in the hands of Memo Gidley slammed into the rear of the stalled Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 driven by Matteo Malucelli.  Gidley tried passing another car not realizing that the Ferrari was moving slowly.  Gidley’s car remained on the track and burst into flames briefly while the Ferrari was strewn in pieces along the grass.  Gidley was airlifted to the hospital with a broken back and underwent emergency surgery.  Malucelli suffered a concussion.

Michael Schumacher in Coma, Andy Granatelli Dies

GRENOBLE, FRANCE - There is some sad news at the end of 2013 in the world of motorsports. Over the weekend, Formula 1 great Michael Schumacher was involved in a serious skiing accident in France and is in a coma following brain surgery. The doctors report that he is in critical condition. Let’s keep Michael and his family in our prayers. 

Also, legend Andy Granatelli died Sunday in Santa Barbara CA. Mr. Indy (Mr. STP, as I remember him) was best known for his involvement in the Indianapolis 500 running innovative cars like the Novi-turbine cars in the late 60’s. He was also a midget car promoter in the 40s and sponsored Richard Petty’s cars for many years. In fact, at the PRI show this year, Richard Petty recounted the story of how his NASCAR paint scheme came into being. They argued over the color of the car, with the compromise being half Petty blue, half STP red, and the sponsorship became the longest in NASCAR history.

Read More on Michael Schumacher

at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/30/us-motor-racing-schumacher-idUSBRE9BT01520131230

Read more on Andy Granatelli at: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131229/indycar/131229909#ixzz2ozCY92vJ 

Other Motorsports icons who passed in 2013

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131227/NASCAR01/131229924?utm_source=Racing20131229&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=article5&utm_content=20131227-Autoweek-remembers-the-motorsports-icons-who-died-in-2013&utm_campaign=awRacing

NHRA Comp Eliminator Champions - Congratulations Alan Ellis and Jeff Lane!

POMONA, CA – Congratulations to Alan Ellis for clinching his first Lucas Oil Comp Eliminator Championship last weekend at the Pomona World Finals.  Ellis, who lives in Mapleton UT, runs a 23 roadster with motor built by the Professor, Warren Johnson.  After a steady set of wins in elimination, Ellis faced Donald Thomas in the final round.  Ellis clocked a respectable 6.887 sec at 160.90 mph run, but Thomas had some problems at the start and had to get out of the throttle.  This is Ellis’ 4^th win this year.  Check out the Burns merge collectors with signature reverse cone megaphones!

We also want to congratulate Jeff Lane for winning the Division 6 Championship in Comp Eliminator.  Jeff, together with his partner Jerry Hancock, have won a combined 8 divisional championships in a racing career of over 30 years.  Jeff and Jerry built a new set of headers this year for their Comp Eliminator car utilizing Burns components and design.  It has apparently worked well for the duo!

Gordon Wins Martinsville - 3rd In Chase!

MARTINSVILLE, VA – Will we see another amazing comeback in 2013?  Team Oracle USA had a fairytale comeback story successfully defending the America’s Cup from Team Emirates New Zealand from a 0-6 deficit.  With his win at Martinsville Sunday, Jeff Gordon may very well be the next fairy tale in this NASCAR season.  Barely making the cut in the Chase in 13th place, Gordon, crew chief Alan Gustafson and his team, put their heads down and showed that they still have it.  Gordon now sits in 3rd place behind Matt Kenseth and teammate Jimmie Johnson.  "I'm just so proud of my team for never giving up. We've shown it all year long and we've been through a lot. But this is making it all worth it, to get this huge win at Martinsville," Gordon said in Victory Lane. "Man, what a great race car." 

Gordon led 78 laps, including the final 21 laps following a crucial pass in turn one clenching the lead from Kenseth.  Martinsville has proved to be a tough one for Kenseth, who has yet to win one here after 28 starts.  "Jeff's experience got me. I just don't have that much experience running up front here," Kenseth said. "I had something that was working, but I was hurting the rear tires and ended up hurting the front tires, too."  His tire issue was also evident at the end when he could barely hold off Clint Boyer for the 2nd spot.

The race proved to be a wild ride with some aggressive driving.   With a total of 17 caution periods and 111 laps run under yellow there were a few tempers flying.  The most notable of the race was a duel between Chase points leader Jimmie Johnson and Roush-Fenway’s Greg Biffle.  Biffle accused Johnson that he was driving way to aggressively and that he caused the Ford’s bumper to be almost ripped off requiring an extra pit stop to fix it.  Following the race, Biffle confronted Johnson (Video).  “We finally have a good car at Martinsville, and we worked our way all the way up to sixth or seventh -- and then we just got a rear bumper tore off. It takes a lot to get a rear bumper tore off,” Biffle said. “I've got to look back and see what happened. He claims he was inside of me; it sure felt like he hit me from behind and rubbed across [the back of the car].

With only three races left, the Championship is up in the air with Kenseth and Johnson tied in first place.  Jeff Gordon is in third place, 27 points behind the leader and Kevin Harvick only one point behind in fourth.  Looks like it will be an exciting end to 2013.

Matt Kenseth Holding On!

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS –Matt Kenseth’s slim, eight point lead in the Chase just got slimmer as he was only able to manage an 11th place finish in a race marred with trouble.  Most, if not all the drivers struggled this weekend with the race-spec Goodyears.  But nobody, just nobody struggled as much as Kyle Busch.  The man has never won a race at this track.  And when he crashed his No 18 M&M Toyota during Saturday morning practice, I am sure he got that feeling again.  He made a valiant effort starting from the back of the pack, but when he contacted Carl Edwards on lap 200, it was the end of his race.  "I have no idea what happened on the last one," Busch said. "All I know is we're in Kansas, right?"  And to add insult to injury, Busch wrecked Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide race.

At the top of the heap, lame duck driver Kevin Harvick won his third race this season from the pole moving him up into third place, 25 points out.  "To sit on the pole and win the race, obviously, is a great weekend," Harvick said. "Controlling our own destiny by doing that, putting ourselves closer to where we need to be with the championship race ... so we’ll just keep having fun and doing what we’re doing." 

Second place went to Kurt Busch and the ever consistent Jeff Gordon placed third, placing them 5th and 4th in the Chase respectively.

Lucky for Kenseth that second place Jimmie Johnson could do no better than 6^th, leaving him in the lead for now by a mere 3 points.  "All in all, it was just a crazy day," said Johnson, "there were weird restarts, wacky restarts, a lot of chaos there. Then caution after caution for who knows what ...”

The problems with the Goodyear tires that many teams struggled with has been blamed on the newly resurfaced track.  Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon called the racing surfaces on newly paved tracks "too smooth.”  “We don't want bumps," Gordon said. "I'm not talking about bumps. I'm talking about the abrasiveness of the race track. It doesn't dissipate heat, doesn't wear the tires … all it does is cause friction and heat and failures and then Goodyear has to build a very hard, durable tire."  The Kansas surface was repaved last year, between the facility's two Cup dates.  Gordon said he "applauded" Goodyear's efforts, saying the supplier is "doing the best they can." 

Jimmie Johnson Bests Petty-Allison Record!

DOVER, DE – Well, he did it again. Jimmie Johnson won his record-setting eighth win at Dover International Speedway with a 0.5 sec margin over pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. This was also Johnson’s fifth win of the season and 65th Sprint Car career win. The record that Johnson broke was not low-lying fruit as the record for the most wins at the monster mile was held by NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. "It's incredible," Johnson said. "To do anything Bobby or Richard has done is quite an accomplishment. We've had a few sneak away from us here, too, over the years. I'm just happy to get that done and be the sole leader of race wins here. It's a very special day."

Though Johnson led the most laps by far, 243 to Earnhardt’s 80, the win seemed dubious when Earnhardt’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, decided to put Dale Jr on four fresh tires versus Chad Knaus who went with only two for the final 25 lap stint. Money was that Earnhadt’s rubber would give hi the edge needed to catch and pass Johnson. But the strategy failed as Dale could manage only closing the gap to 0.5 sec. “I felt as we got through traffic, Jimmie was struggling the last couple of laps,” Earnhardt said. “My car got better and drove better the longer I ran. It did what I needed it to do in the corners and was starting to come around. The difference in the tires was about to show, but the race is 400 laps and that’s the way it is. If I could have gotten to him, I think I would be been able to get by him. If I had, we were going to have a helluva party.” 

Earnhardt has been winless for 48 straight races. Winning the pole at Dover has energized his fan base. Some might say too-little, too-late, but this may prove to be a turning point for the struggling team. Also, snafus like the one on lap 119 missing the pit entrance on the previous lap cost him the race lead, need to stop if Little E expects to be in the winner’s circle again.

The win also moves Johnson into second place in the Chase and only 8 points behind points leader Matt Kenseth who only managed a 7th place finish at Dover. Earnhardt moved up 1 place to 10th. The biggest move in the standings was made by Jeff Gordon, who’s 4th place Dover finish moved him up 3 places, tied with Kevin Harvick in 4th.

"..the most exciting day of all of our lives..."

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  - Sorry for another sail boat story, but the America’s Cup races in San Francisco have made history with the regatta going longer than any Cup race ever.  It looked dim for the American Team Oracle when after being penalized 2 points for a cheating incident in the AC World Series and being spanked by Team Emirates New Zealand in the first few races.  When Team Oracle found themselves losing 8-1, they had to make some major changes.  First was replacing tactician John Kostecki, one of the most successful and experienced tacticians in the world with Sir Ben Ainsley, a 4-time Olympic Gold medalist helmsman.  Then the engineering design team made some impressive adjustments to the boat and essentially found a way to “supercharge” the boat.

Now the boats being essentially even the races have come down to sailsmanship with Jimmy Spitell, the Team Oracle skipper making some brilliant starts getting the jump and staying ahead of New Zealand in several races.  Also, team New Zealand found some bad luck having two races in which they had a dominant lead postponed due to weather conditions, and one due to the race taking more than the allotted 40 minutes.

Race 18 looked like it would finally break for the Kiwis with Dean Baker making an aggressive move at the star and in the lead rounding the first mark.  But Team Oracle now appeared to have twin-turbochargers blazing past the Kiwis on the upwind leg and decisively winning the race with a 54 second margin.  After yesterday’s two wins for Team Oracle, the score is tied up 8-8, with the Cup going to the winner of this one race.  In Oracle’s Jimmy Spitell’s words, “this will be the most exciting day of all of our lives, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!”  Stay tuned and go USA!