Missing in America Memorial
Madison Commencement
Bengals hold off season activites
Home > Blogs > Local Auto Racing > Archives > 2010 > January
January 2010
Lebanon team leads Daytona 24-Hour race
Twelve laps into the Rolex 24 at Daytona auto race, the Lebanon-based Doran Racing team found itself leading the entire 44-car field.
The team’s No. 77 Ford Dallara began the race at 3 p.m. this afternoon under cloudy skies in Daytona Beach, Fla. and started 11th overall. Drivers for the event are: Memo Gidley, who started the race; Brad Jaeger; Fabrizio Gollin; and Derek Johnston.
Gidley led laps 12 through 19 before giving up the lead to the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley entry, driven at the time by former Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon.
UPDATE: As of 5:45 p.m. Saturday, the Doran Team was running ninth just 11 seconds off Scott Dixon’s lead pace.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment |
Prelude to the Dream tickets on sale March 1st
Eldora Speedway announced Thursday Jan. 29 that tickets for the annual “Prelude to the Dream” charity auto race will go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on March 1.
Several of auto racing’s top NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, including track owner Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano among others, are likely to make another return to the field for this year’s event scheduled for Wednesday, June 9, the day prior to the annual Late Model Dream auto race.
Tickets will be sold on a first-come first-served basis with no renewals from last year. All reserved tickets will go for $25 with general admission tickets (for the Lawn, Hillside and Standing Room Only) selling for $23. No pit passes will be sold or available for this event.
Credit cards only (Visa or MasterCharge). Call (937) 338-3815 between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Eastern) or order tickets online at: www.eldoraspeedway.com . For those ordering 12 or more tickets, you must place your order by phone.
For more details, please visit the speedway’s Web site.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Auto racing
Series selling items for a cause
Through the years, such famous drivers as NASCAR’s Sam Hornish Jr. and Larry Foyt, Indycar’s Dan Wheldon and Greg Ray, and sports car racing’s Memo Gidley, David Emperingham and Brad Friselle and many others have been unceremoniously put through their paces in what is now known as the USF2000 National Championship open-wheel racing series.
The original series was founded and owned by Dan Anderson and Mike Foschi in what has been described as a “School of Hard Knocks” for aspiring racing drivers.
Now race fans can show their spirit by wearing “Foschi University” apparel, while helping a worthy cause at the same time. Nearly all of the proceeds from the hat, T-shirt and sweatshirt sales will be donated to the not-for-profit Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.
“I ain’t keepin’ crap,” Foschi said in a recent press release. “Every bit over the cost of the apparel and shipping goes to Sam’s foundation.”
Schmidt, a U.S. Formula 2000 alumnus himself who was later paralyzed in an Indycar racing accident, is now a team owner in the Indy Lights Series. His foundation works to find a cure for paralysis.
Prices range from $17.50 to $45. To check out the line of apparel, go online to: foschiu.com .
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Monster trucks invade Nutter Center
At 40-years old, Mark Hall still loves to play with trucks.
His truck, though, stands 10-feet tall and cranks out 2,000-plus horsepower. Hall’s truck — the Raminator — appears at the Thunder Nationals monster truck show at Wright State University’s Nutter Center on Friday and Saturday. Built for high-powered bursts of speed, the trucks can reach speeds of 100 mph, jump up to 130 feet and get as high as 35 feet in the air.
“To the kids the trucks are nothing but big toys,” Hall said. “Even if you’re not into trucks it’s still kind of fascinating to look at. It appeals to everybody.”
Hall, who also drives Rammunition, has won the Monster Truck Racing Association driver of the year six times. His brother Tim, who runs the business side and turns the wrenches, has won MTRA mechanic of the year twice. Raminator has won truck of the year six times.
Shows are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Nutter Center box office or at Ticketmaster (1-800- 745-3000; www.ticketmaster.com).
Here’s what Mark Hall had to say during a recent interview:
“We kind of grew up in it. Now with it being on SPEED, and all that kind of stuff, heck yeah it’s grown big time. Back in the old days we were running the county fairs, which we still do, but now we’re in the big arenas and stadiums.”
“We’re all big kids. The thing I always think about is what person hasn’t when they’re stuck in a traffic jam kinda thought, ‘It’d be cool to have a monster truck right now.’”
“I’ll be real honest, I’m not much of a motor guy. I’m a welder and I can build the frame and chassis, but if it doesn’t start I’ve got a problem.”
“Usually they’ll start the event off doing a wheelie contest, which is kind of exciting. Then we’ll do some donut contests. My favorite part is racing. We’ll get to do some racing then at the end of the night we come back and finish it off with everyone’s favorite, freestyling. You get to kind of let your hair down a little bit and show off.”
“I’ve had some pretty nasty crashes over the years and stuff, but I can say that I’ve never been hurt other than my pride. The safety is one thing that the monster truck circuit takes a lot of pride in.”
“It’s a Dodge Ram so that’s how we came up with Raminator. Actually the folks at Dodge years ago had a contest with all the Chrysler employees to come up with the name of the truck. Rammunition, some guys were standing around talking and that name kind of popped out.”
“Heck yeah, we get (people wanting to drive the truck) all the time. If I wanted to quit I wouldn’t have a hard time finding someone to fill the seat.”
“Everybody is always amazed by the tire (5.5 feet tall, 43 inches wide). Let’s face it, that’s what makes a monster truck is the tire. The big motors and all that is cool, but everybody is fascinated by the tire. ‘Look at the size of the tire!’ Everybody wants to get their picture with the tire.”
“The tires hold up pretty good for what we do. You’d think they’d rip up pretty bad but they hold up. There’s a lot of you can do to it before you throw it away. A tire costs about $2,700 apiece so you want to fix them the best you can.”
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Auto racing
Speedway hosting auction for Haiti earthquake victims
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, American Red Cross and Brickyard Authentics are teaming together to raise money for the Haitian earthquake victims and their families. An eBay auction of autographed racing memorabilia will begin today, Friday,Jan. 15, with all proceeds being donated to American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. Items will be designated as part of the Haiti relief program. Please visit http://shop.ebay.com/imsonline/m.html?nkw=&armrs=1&from=&_ipg=25 to see items that have been placed for auction so far. Early items include signed items by three-time winners Helio Castroneves and Johnny Rutherford and four-time winner A.J. Foyt and 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti.
Fans also can contribute directly to American Red Cross International Response Fund at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. Donors also can text “Haiti” to 90999 on their cell phone to send a $10 donation to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
HVM Racing announces fan contest
I got this from an e-mailed press release courtesy of the Indianapolis-based Indycar team of HVM Racing. Do you have an idea of what the future of Indycar racing will (or should) look like? Well, here’s your chance to show your ideas and possibly win TWO tickets to the May 30th Indianapolis 500 auto race!
Best of Luck (And if you win, don’t forget who told you about this contest! If you take me, I’ll be your designated driver even!)
John Bombatch
Oh yeah, enjoy the article and good luck…..
What Should the Next-Generation Open-Wheel Race Car Look Like?
Indianapolis, Ind. - What does the perfect open-wheel racing car of the future look like in the minds of the fans? HVM Racing would like to find out. The team is opening an online forum to tap into the creativity and passion of race fans, inviting suggestions and ideas for a new chassis design. Fans are encouraged to submit their concepts to www.hvmracing.com/hvmblog. All sketches, designs, opinions and criticisms are welcome. Images of designs can be uploaded directly to www.hvmracing.com/hvmblog, and all submissions will be displayed on the site. “It’s a fun exercise to engage the fans,” said Keith Wiggins, team principal and owner. “If you read any online forum or blog about open-wheel racing, you can see that most fans have very specific ideas about the sport, its participants and the car itself. The car is a current topic and important to our future. This will give them a chance to show off their ideas, regardless of whether they’re realistic or just fantasy.” One submission, selected by a random drawing from all submissions, will win the opportunity for two people to be VIP guests of HVM Racing at the 2010 Indianapolis 500.
