#nascar racing 2003 season

[lobsterenthusiastt]

murder drones car murder drones car

[charliegearhart]

Welcome to Minnesota!

Bobby of the legendary Dwyer racing family has shown up to a home race of his, the FARC Bummin' Beaver Tornado Alley Tour at Cannon Falls, Minnesota! Bobby's own take on the Blue 72 is fielded by his parents, Darrin Craig and Becky Dwyer, the proprietors of a handful of Dwyer's Speedway Laundromat locations across Minnesota. How fitting of a presence, since Minnesota Motorsports Park looks like a superspeedway that shrank in the wash; one mile of high and wide banking that is expected to produce pack racing for the FARC late models.

Here are the points standings coming into this race:

I'm probably definitely not allowed up here. FARC Lowe Dollar Series regular and Minnesota native Samantha Mason couldn't resist entering tonight's race and returning to the cockpit of a late model. Mason brings her familiar Simplease colors aboard the No. 27 Tonare owned by Mike Buttke. Mason is seen here dueling in practice with Andy Anderson's No. 21 Grease Burger machine, fielded by AnderSend-It Racing. The son of car owner and former FARC competitor Jared Andersen is hoping to build momentum on his second top 10 of the season, a ninth place finish at the caution-free LaCrosse race, but he's been frustrated that he doesn't have more to show for his speed this season, thanks to multiple mechanical failures keeping the pole winner of the opening race in Ishpeming out of better finish.

Despite the tie being broken between championship co-leaders Gordon Tanner (No. 26) and Mindy Gunn (No. 35), the two veteran-aged rookies remain close, with Gunn trailing Tanner by only two points entering tonight. Gordon Tanner may be new to the FARC ranks but he brings with him an extensive background of racing around his home of Iowa, and it showed when he dominated the first two points races at Ishpeming and the Quincy qualifying race. However, he tripped in his point-collecting spree by crashing early in the Quincy feature and struggling in Grundy County, which allowed Mindy Gunn to close up to a tie by winning the latter race. Gunn has enjoyed unexpected breakout success in FARC racing alongside the Mint-Berry Berserkers, the roller derby team-turned-pit crew that she captains. Unlike her championship rival, she did not turn her first laps on a short track until after she was 30 with guidance from crew chief and fellow Berserker Nikki Brillon, but she has learned quickly and taken great advantage of the support from Lynxe this season.

[cynon777]

Got bored and threw this together last night to be a fake sponsor on a fake racecar. No fonts used, I based it all off of a 2 pixel wide line layer in photoshop.

The name "Evaldi" is just a bastardization of "Ivaldi". What kind of company is Evaldi? The kind that doesn't need to put anything other than it's name.

Also I wanted an excuse to put purple on this car.

[outsideline-yt]

NR2003 | R17: Pepsi 400, Daytona

As IMSA returns to Daytona this weekend (can't wait!) so do I for my second visit of the 2003 Winston Cup season in NR2003. I wish I could explain this, but I still can't...

[vro0m]

Midseason driver changes 2000's

(in red what's essentially due to bad performance)

2000

Irvine (illness) -> Burti (1 race)

2001

Mazzacane (poor performance) -> Burti (10 races, crash) -> Enge (to the end)

Burti (replaced Mazzacane) -> De la Rosa (to the end)

Frentzen (crash) -> Zonta (1 race) -> Frentzen (1 race, fired) -> Zonta (to the end)

Alesi (quit) -> Frentzen (to the end)

Marques (sponsorship issues) -> Yoong (to the end)

2002

Massa (had a penalty which was nullified by changing drivers) -> Frentzen (1 race)

Yoong (suspended by the team for poor performance) -> Davidson (2 races)

2003

Pizzonia (bad performance) -> Wilson (to the end)

Wilson (replaced Pizzonia) -> Kiesa (to the end)

Firman (crash) -> Baumgartner (2 races)

R. Schumacher (concussed) -> Gené (1 race)

Villeneuve (unhappy about performance) -> Sato (last race of the season)

2004

Pantano (sponsorship issues) -> Glock (1 race) -> Pantano (7 races, left) -> Glock (to the end)

R. Schumacher (crash) -> Gené (2 races) -> Pizzonia (4 races) -> R. Schumacher

Da Matta (trial for Zonta) -> Zonta (4 races, dropped) -> Trulli (to the end)

Panis (retired) -> Zonta (last race)

Trulli (conflict with team) -> Villeneuve (to the end)

2005

Sato (illness) -> Davidson (1 race)

Montoya (injury) -> de la Rosa (1 race) -> Wurz (1 race) -> Montoya

Klien -> Liuzzi (4 races) -> Liuzzi (had agreed to share the seat)

Friesacher (sponsorship issues) -> Doornbos (to the end)

Heidfeld (crash) -> Pizzonia (to the end)

2006

Montoya (was replaced after announcing he would leave the team for Nascar the next year) -> de la Rosa (to the end)

Klien (bad performance) -> Doornbos (to the end)

Villeneuve (crash) -> Kubica (to the end)

Ide (superlicense revoked) -> Montagny (7 races) -> Yamamoto (to the end)

2007

Kubica (crash) -> Vettel (1 race)

Wurz (retired) -> Nakajima (last race)

Speed (fought with Tost) -> Vettel (to the end)

Albers (sponsorship issues) -> Winkelhock (1 race) -> Yamamoto (to the end)

2008

None

2009

Massa (injury) -> Badoer (2 races)

Badoer (bad performance) -> Fisichella (to the end)

Fisichella (replaced Badoer) -> Liuzzi (to the end)

Piquet Jr (bad performance + crash gate rumours) -> Grosjean (to the end)

Glock (crash) -> Kobayashi (2 last races)

Bourdais (bad performance + 2.1 million litigation) -> Alguersuari (to the end)

[champagnepodiums]

Could you explain the merge of CART and IndyCar?

OKAY so reunification of CART and INDYCAR (I'm going to just be operating under the thought that we know why CART and IRL split in the first place). I'm going to keep it as straightforward as possible but it's messy lol

So after the Split, CART was in a better position -- it had the cars, the sponsorships, the big names etc. CART saw an increase in annual revenue from $38M in 1995 to $68M in 1999. But it was not even because oval attendance was tanking. Television ratings were terrible and the revenue from TV was abysmal (all season CART would make $5M which was less than what some singular NASCAR races made). They also did a public stock offering, selling 35% of the company, raising $100M.

In 1999, young star Greg Moore and emerging talent Gonzalo Rodriguez were killed in two separate racing incidents, two months apart from each other and that started raising safety questions.

In 2000, CEO Andrew Craig was forced by the car owners to resign. He was replaced with Bobby Rahal (yes, Graham's dad lol).

While oval attendance was declining, street course attendance was healthy and CART decided to focus on that as well as oversea ovals which angered some of the more traditional owners and sponsors.

In 2000, Chip Ganassi's team returned to the Indy 500 (and won).

In 2001, CART released a very ambitious schedule -- 22 races in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, the UK, Germany and Australia. One of the races added was the Texas oval which had put on an exciting IRL race the year further.

But the season went like this: Brazil was cancelled when promoters didn't pay, Texas had to be cancelled because the drivers were sustaining too many G-Forces and blacking out in the corners and it was a PR nightmare essentially.

The three manufactures of CART at the time were Honda, Ford and Toyota. Honda and Ford had developed a turbo pop off valve (I don't know what it is lol) and Toyota complained so when CART mandated a change to equalize things, Honda obtained an injunction allowing them to use it which pissed everrrrrybody off. Toyota announced it was going to IRL in 2003.

The German 500 happened the Saturday after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The teams were unable to leave because airspace was shut down so they decided to go ahead with the race and that pissed people off... including ESPN who refused to air the race live. Alex Zanardi lost both legs in an accident at the German 500 so like we're just shoveling the bad PR on at this point.

To make matters even worse for CART, ABC/ESPN which had been airing their races signed an exclusivity deal with IRL (to keep the Indy 500 rights) so CART went to the SPEED channel and they bought time on CBS but really, this is just the straw that breaks the camel's back because without the exposure from ABC/ESPN, sponsors don't stick around etc.

And remember how they put 35% of the company up for public offer? This comes back into play because they allowed teams to disinvest and sell their stocks which meant new voices were coming in and there was just instability and turmoil.

In 2002, Honda announced it was going to IRL so Ford would be the only manufacturer left which further tanked the stocks and at this point, most everybody has already or are going to jump ship to IRL.

CART declared bankruptcy in 2003 and rebranded to Champ Car and was able to keep themselves afloat. I want to leave Champ Car there for a hot second.

The Split killed a lot of interest in American Open-Wheel racing and allowed NASCAR to become the most popular motorsport series in the US. So even though IRL had the ABC/ESPN deal and had the top teams and manufacturers jumping ship to join them, interest is waning (and that is bad because sponsorship, attendance etc etc). And also, the die hard IRL fans are getting mad because they feel like their sport is getting overtaken by CART again -- it doesn't help when the 2005 IRL schedule includes 2 road course races, ending the 7 seasons of oval only.

Manufacturers withdrew support starting in 2006 and that caused major issues for IRL because teams were struggling financially and teams had to cut back or quit full time racing altogether.

By January 2008, both Champ and IRL were starting to worry that they wouldn't have enough cars on the grid to maintain their contract minimums so Tony George offered a merger deal with IRL buying all of Champ Car's assets basically. They kept racing under the IRL banner until 2011.

In 2012 it was rebranded as INDYCAR and that is when they dug out the Astor Cup from the depths of IMS and reunification was complete.

That turned into a much longer essay than I planned. Please, any clarification questions (or just general questions) are so welcome. I love talking about this stuff and no question is stupid, I want people to know and understand motorsport history so please feel free!! I cannot stress that enough lol

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

George Dario Marino Franchitti

Birthdate: May 19, 1973 Hometown: Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland Residence: Scotland Height/Weight: 5′ 9″/172lbs

Rookie Year: 1997 (CART)

Team: Ganassi (advisor)

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter

Career Stats

CART 1997 Hogan Racing - 22nd Overall 1998 Team Green - 3rd Overall 1999 Team Green - 2nd Overall (lost the title on a tiebreaker) 2000 Team Green - 13th Overall 2001 Team Green - 7th Overall 2002 Team Green - 4th Overall

Indycar 2002 Team Green (Indy 500 only) - 44th Overall 2003 3 races with Andretti Green Racing - 25th Overall 2004 Andretti Green Racing - 6th Overall 2005 Andretti Green Racing - 4th Overall 2006 Andretti Green Racing - 8th Overall 2007 Andretti Green Racing - 1st Overall 2008 Chip Ganassi Racing (Only competed in an exhibition race) 2009 Chip Ganassi Racing - 1st Overall 2010 Chip Ganassi Racing - 1st Overall 2011 Chip Ganassi Racing - 1st Overall 2012 Chip Ganassi Racing - 7th Overall 2013 Chip Ganassi Racing - 10th Overall

NASCAR

Sprint Cup 2008 Chip Ganassi Racing - 49th Overall (partial season)

Nationwide Series 2007 Chip Ganassi Racing - 95th Overall (partial season) 2008 Chip Ganassi Racing - 35th Overall (partial season)

appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2014

is lefthanded

currently serves as advisor/diver coach for Chip Ganassi Racing

started go-kart racing at age 10

won more than 100 races and 20 Scottish, British and World karting titles

raced in British F3 in 1994

made a cameo appearance as a racing driver in the 2001 film Driven

appeared on the US television shows Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson three times each in the late 2000s and early 2010s

voiced a Scottish news anchor and a male tourist in the 2013 animated film Turbo, for which he provided technical consultation

served as a television co-commentator and driver pundit on Formula E's world feed since its inaugural season in 2014

is a member of the "Brat Pack", an international group of CART drivers composed of Dario, Tony Kanaan, Greg Moore and Max Papis, who shared a desire for enjoyment, attending all-night parties, discussing life and staying in close contact with one another

Prior to the 2000 CART season, Franchitti was hospitalised after a crash during pre-season testing at Homestead–Miami Speedway; part of the car's suspension hit his head, and he sustained displaced fractures in his left hip and pelvis, and multiple minor brain contusions

sustained an anterior stable compression fracture of the lumbar vertebrae in an motorbike accident during a trip to West Lothian in April, 2003

requiring season-ending keyhole surgery to strengthen his back, missing the second half of the 2003 season

had a minor left-ankle fracture in 2008, after a crash in a NASCAR Nationwide race

Before the season-ending 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Franchitti led Will Power in the championship standings by 18 points. The race was abandoned following a 15-car accident on the 11th lap that involved Power and caused Wheldon's death, meaning Franchitti won his fourth championship win; his third in succession.

suffered a concussion and two spinal fractures, plus a fractured right ankle in the second to last race of the 2013 season

retired from competitive driving in 2013 after doctors advised him his most recent injuries and those from previous accidents put him at risk of permanent paralysis and brain damage in the event of another major crash

Iconic/memorable moments

Shopping at Target with Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon IndyCar: Scott Dixon, "We got hosed again" by Will Power IndyCar Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon Interview (part 2) RACER: Franchitti, Kanaan, Dixon Prank 20yr old Teammate Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, part 1 Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, part 2 3 motorsport legends compete at Goodwood Revival! | Goodwood Revival Special IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti robbed at Indy Taco Bell RACER: Dario Franchitti ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Thank You Dario Dario Franchitti: A hacksaw to Tony Kanaan’s bike Dario Franchitti: People think I have OCD Dario Franchitti: Royal Automobile Club Talk Show in association with Motor Sport Dario Franchitti: Regrets NASCAR move? Behind the Bricks: Dario Franchitti, Part 1 Behind the Bricks: Dario Franchitti Part 2 Dario Franchitti: Five weeks of my memory lost in crash Dario Franchitti: Devastated by Dan Wheldon's death Dan Wheldon Memorial Service, Part 3

Dario Franchitti Press Conference 11 in 11 with Dario Franchitti Dario Franchitti gets pied 2012 Indianapolis 500 Finish - Dario Franchitti Wins (Interviews Included) RACER: Robin Miller Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan IMS Tire Test 2013 Dario Franchitti Press Conference Drivers React to Wheldon's Death Road to the Championship: Close Competition 2011 Indycar Toronto - Will Power and Dario Franchitti controversial incident Dario Franchitti is 2010 Champion Dario Franchitti Indy Means Everything Concussions in Racing: A Case Study - Dario Franchitti & Dr. Stephen Olvey Dario Franchitti: Garage full of Ferraris, Porsches Dario Franchitti: Lack of recognition in Europe is disgraceful Dinner with Racers Episode 59: Dario Franchitti Greg Moore At 20, with Dario Franchitti, Paul Tracy, Max Papis, Mike Zizzo, and Marshall Pruett. Dario Franchitti - McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner 1992 Remembering Greg Moore: Champ Car’s Brat Pack having the time of their lives Dario and Greg Moore and Seibkins in Elkhart Lake

Dario Franchitti book Romance of Racing (out of print, can be found used, although not cheaply. Try your library)

The "Brat Pack" Max Papis, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Greg Moore

Dario is now a senior member of the paddock, an advisor for Ganassi and coach, often more like a father/uncle figure, to their new young drivers. But in his youth in the 1990’s he was a wild child, a member of Cart’s “Brat Pack”, prone to staying up all night partying yet still winning races. He almost won the championship in 1999 but lost in the finale only to be told after the race that his best friend, and fellow member of the “Brat Pack”, Greg Moore had died.

He made the switch to IRL which became Indycar, in 2003, although injuries and recovering from those injuries kept him out of the car most of that year. He recovered and then began the epic prank era at Andretti Green races with his teammates on the way to his first Indy 500 win and his first Indycar championship in 2007. He decided to give NASCAR a try in 2008.

(We don’t talk about the NASCAR year)

He came back at Ganassi in 2009 and proceeded to win three championships in a row (and two more Indy 500s) while becoming the elder statesman of the series. But all of this success was not without sorrow and near disaster. The loss of Dan Wheldon hit him hard. He and his former teammate were still close friends. Another crash and the subsequent injures forced him into retirement in late 2013

He is a prime example of why we don't leave decisions on their fitness to race up to the drivers anymore, suffering more than his fair share of injuries in his career (see list above) and continuing to race when he definitely should not have.. One might call it a lack of survival instinct, which to be honest, most drivers lack, but Dario lacks it to an alarming degree. He is at risk of permanent paralysis and brain damage in the event of another major crash, yet still races vintage/historic cars on occasion, particularly at Goodwood.

I would be remiss not to mention his Scottish accent, thick dark hair that is silvering at the temples and still fit physique. He’s lost none of the charm of his youth and perhaps gained more now at the age of 50.

Fanfic Lore

Paired/grouped with the “Brat Pack” Originally comprised of Dario, Tony Kanaan, Greg Moore and Max Papis. Various later iterations included Scott Dixon, Bryan Herta, Dan Wheldon and sometimes Marco Andretti.

paired with Will Power during the height of their rivalry though they’ve became very good friends since Dario was forced to retire

sometimes used as supportive dad figure for younger drivers (sometimes as more of a “Daddy”)

Dario and TK

More Dario and TK

Even more Dario and TK

Brat Pack

Dario and Dixon

[crystalracing]

Video ideas

-How Brawn's 2009 title win created the blueprint for Mercedes

-Was Kimi Raikkonen the best driver in the world between 2003-2007?

-Fernando Alonso's championship losses in 2007, 10 & 12

-Why Adrian Newey is the GOAT designer

-What is the point of Haas?

-Charles Leclerc future

-The legacy of Alain Prost

-Would Michael Schumacher have become 2007 & 2008 F1 World champion?

-Would Ronnie Peterson become a triple Swedish F1 world champion if he survived? (1978, 82 & 84)

-Would Max Verstappen win a F1 World championship with Ferrari?

-Would Rubens Barrichello have won 1996 & 97 F1 World championships with Williams?

-Jaguar F1 rejected him. He became a triple Indy 500 champion (Dario Franchitti)

-How Audi helped Tom Kristensen become the best driver to never race in F1

-Why Scott Dixon is New Zealand's greatest driver DESPITE never racing in F1

-How Valentino Rossi conquered motorsport DESPITE not racing in F1

-How Sebastien Loeb & Ogier became French motorsport icons DESPITE never racing in F1

-How leaving F1 enabled Team Penske to conquer Indycar

-Why Mercedes have fewer F1 wins than Ferrari (1955 Le Mans disaster)

-Why Spa-Francorchamps & Suzuka are F1's undroppble races

-How the new Senna won Indycar, but nearly got killed by a deer (Cristiano da Matta)

-How this man became F1's Deadpool (Alex Zanardi)

-How Renault's turbo revolutionised F1

-Revisiting Fernando Alonso's F1 debut

-Revisiting Toyota's F1 debut

-Revisiting Nico Rosberg's F1 debut

-Revisiting Lewis Hamilton's F1 debut

-Revisiting Sebastian Vettel's F1 debut

-Remembering Lewis Hamilton's maiden F1 victory

-Remembering Fernando Alonso's maiden F1 victory

-Remembering Kimi Raikkonen's maiden F1 victory

-Remembering Sebastian Vettel's maiden F1 victory

-Revisiting Toyota's bottle job at 2009 Bahrain

-Remembering Mercedes' first F1 win with Nico Rosberg

-Revisiting Sauber's & Sergio Perez's bottle job at 2012 Malaysia

-Revisiting Nico Hulkenberg's bottle job at 2012 Brazil

-Remembering Michael Schumacher's maiden F1 victory

-Revisiting Daniel Ricciardo's F1 debut (HRT, Alonso, 2011 Britain)

-Remembering Daniel Ricciardo's maiden F1 victory

-Remembering Jenson Button's maiden F1 victory

-Revisiting Michael Schumacher's F1 debut

-Revisiting Rubens Barrichello's maiden F1 victory

-How Damon Hill did F1 backwards

-Revisiting Mika Hakkinen's early F1 career

-How Jacques Villeneuve did F1 backwards

-Revisiting 1994 F1 Season finale at Adelaide

-Revisiting 1997 F1 Season finale at Jerez

-How Robert Kubica became the Polish F1 Deadpool

-Revisiting Subaru's failed F1 journey (Coloni 1990)

-Revisiting Porsche's F1 journey

-How the first ever safety car in F1 caused mayhem (1973 Canada)

-Why 2003 Brazil was the craziest F1 race ever

-Revisiting Kimi Raikkonen's comeback at 2007 Japan

-Revisiting Nigel Mansell's 1989 Hungary win

-Revisiting Alain Prost's 1982 South African triumph

-Remembering the Italian who battled Prost for 1985 F1 title

-Revisiting Montoya's McLaren nightmare

-How Sato went from F1 crash kid to Indy 500 legend

-Revisiting McLaren-Honda hybrid debacle (GP2 engine)

-Why hasn't there been an Italian F1 champion since Ascari?

-He should've been France's first F1 champion until this happened...

-Revisiting Kimi Raikkonen's 2013 Australia masterclass

-Revisiting the day Michael Schumacher became a 7 times F1 champion

-Revisiting the day Michael Schumacher announced his first F1 retirement

-Revisiting the weekend of Ayrton Senna's death

-Schumacher & Hakkinen's first fight at 1990 Macau GP

-Revisiting Coulthard's brain fade at 1995 Australia

-Michael Schumacher's first win for Ferrari

-Multi 87! McLaren team orders at 1998 Australia

-When Sebastian Vettel became F1 world champion

-How Sam Hornish beat Penske... and joined them anyway! (If you CAN beat them...)

-How Alan Kulwicki upset NASCAR royalty

-The craziest NASCAR season (2003 Curse of the leader in Busch series)

[benjaminftw]

Journeyman Appreciation: Bryan Reffner

Much like my previous entry in these journeyman appreciation posts, Bryan Reffner is a guy who owes much of his name recognition to the creation of the Truck series in the mid-90s and the opportunities it created for many drivers outside the Mid-Atlantic developmental norm. After years of doing short track racing, including a number of part-time seasons with solid results in the legendary upper midwestern ARTGO Series, Bryan finally got a chance at the midwestern big time by running ASA full-time in ‘94 and ‘95 when he was already into his early 30s, finishing 11th in points with 7 top 10s his first season before finishing 13 out of 16 races in the top 10 the next season, with 9 top 5s, two wins and the ASA National Tour title. 

Bryan’s Truck career started off pretty damn well for Mark Simo, earning 3 top 5s and 9 top 10s en route to becoming the first ever Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year and finishing solidly in 9th spot in points. Then the roller coaster began. In 1997 he switched over sports car racer Dale Phelon’s team which through a high number of crashes and engine failures, matched with an apparent just lack of speed, resulted in just a couple top 10s and a pretty dismal 19th place finish in points. Despite the rough season, he returned with Phelon the next year and considerably improved his performance but was still released before the season ended and had to piece together the rest of the season by running for 5 different truck owners over the course of just 9 races and despite running a good chunk of the season in the top 10 in points ultimately didn’t even finish in the top 20s with much of these final races resulting in DNFs though he was just one top 5 short of his first season. 

1999 would see Bryan Reffner reduced to racing part-time for lower budget owner John Conely, running just 13 of the races and finishing nearly half of them solidly in the top 20 despite their limitations, which helped convince Indycar owner John Menard to hire the fellow midwesterner for his new Truck series team in 2000 which proved to be the highlight season of Bryan’s whole career. He scored a victory at Texas and finished inside the top 10 a full 16 times to return to 9th in series points. He looked like he could be a force to contend with the next season and he had a couple top 10s before Menard suspended the team’s operation after just 4 races amidst the Dotcom bust recession in full force at that time. And just like that, sadly, his NASCAR career was effectively over. From that point, he’d make just 9 more Truck series starts through 2003 with his last top 10 coming at Phoenix in the fall of ‘01, 3 Busch series starts through 2005, one Cup DNQ in ‘05. Outside of some sporadic events in other series, he would effectively end his full-time driving career back in ASA as an owner-driver where he was very competitive, finishing 6th his first year back and winning a race while finishing runner up in the final year of the National Tour in 2004.

Unlike fellow ASA champions of his era who made it to NASCAR like Johnny Benson or Tony Raines, Bryan Reffner never got the gift of steady employment over multiple years with a team let alone the chance to race seriously in Busch or Cup, but he was a driver who showed a lot of speed when you could give him a competent truck and a huge “What If” for me is what would have happened had he and the Menard team been allowed to grow longer than just a year a change. He was the type of solid journeyman the Truck series desperately needed in its early years but likely deserved to be more.

[aiautos]

Top row: Magazine article and poster from the Splash Grand Prix Middle row: Magazine cover and poster from the California Amphibious Racing Circuit Bottom row: Posters for the Japan Amphibious Endurance Tournament

With the rising popularity in amphibious cars, it only made natural sense to try and push them to their limits, to see just how fast they could go over both land and sea. As a result, several amphibious racing circuits arose all around the world. We've got some advertising material here, as well as some details and descriptions about some vehicles from three of those circuits.

The Splash Grand Prix was started in 1947 by a group of New England amphibious automobile enthusiasts who wanted to see just how fast their boat-cars could go. The result was the Splash Grand Prix, a 5-lap race around a course that takes place on equal amounts land and sea. While not as fast as some of the other circuits, it's been described as more high intensity, shorter-range event, with the winding spaghetti-like roads of the New England area being the perfect challenge for drivers to navigate. The event is a very friendly and humble affair, with people bringing their tents, grills, and coolers in a huge picnic/cookoff style event that culminates into watching the big race. Cars are usually modified or custom-built roadsters, though there have been a few modern-style entries (but nothing too flashy, as there are strict component and weight requirements). The red car in the article to the left is the Hammnicar III, built by John M. Hammond the Fourth in 1982, as a tribute to the then-lost Hammnicar I, and the seldom-seen Hammnicar II. It was used in the Splash Grand Prix in the 1982, 1983, and 1984 seasons, winning the first two, but by 1984, it was out of date. The Hammnicar II was based off of a VW Superbeetle, not unlike the Catfish, but was designed as a tandem-control vehicle, powered by a Chevrolet Corvair Turbo 180 hp turbo motor, rather than the original Volkswagen flat 4. It competed in the super-modified 200 hp class, and was able to achieve speeds on the water of up to 40 knots, while able to do 120 mph on land.

On the other side of the country, we'll find the California Amphibious Racing Circuit. Founded in 1954, you'll find that this event is the polar opposite of the Splash Grand Prix. Loud, bombastic cars with sleek designs and souped-up engines are the stars of the show, and sponsorships litter the sides of the cars like a NASCAR vehicle. Everyone and their grandmother is trying to sell you something at the CARC, and the atmosphere is intoxicatingly overwhelming. The race is televised across the country, with millions tuning in to see these amphibious beasts rip across the sand and surf at speeds that can reach over 130 mph! In 2003, Thompson Hydrosports, a well-known homologation manufacturer, finally decided to dip it's toes into building it's own entry into the 2004 California Circuit season, building the Thompson Tornado (the vehicle on the magazine to the left), powered by the homologation 350 Chevrolet, machined to produce 500 horsepower. The vehicle itself was built from fiberglass and aluminum, and had a top speed on the water of 90 knots, while on land it could achieve 160 mph. The Tornado would become infamous once it entered production in the next year, for being super fast, agile, but most importantly, dangerous. of the 52 built, including the 2 prototypes, 31 of them were damaged beyond repair, or lost in accidents, with a total of 8 fatal accidents killing one or both of the crew. The most notable of the accidents being of the 41st production vehicle, driven by Robert Hall, and James Williams as Navigator, was lost in an 87 knot roll, the vehicle disintegrating around the crew, with nothing of the wreck being recovered, other than two of the wheels.

Crossing the pond, you'll find the Japan Amphibious Endurance Tournament, an affair squarely in the middle of the SGP and the CARC in terms of flashiness. While a little late to the party in 1970, it is nonetheless a beloved event enjoyed by racing enthusiasts across the globe, with events being televised across the world. While CARC vehicles are built for speed, JAET vehicles are built for endurance, boasting innovative designs meant to be efficient and comfortable while still being powerful. Being an endurance tournament, the track usually spans the entire length of Japan in both land and sea, meaning the races can sometimes take over 2 days to fully complete. Pit stops are placed at key points in the race (usually in the transitions between ground and water), but some legs of the race can result in the drivers going for over 8 hours straight! The car featured in the leftmost advertisement is the 1999 ALIAH, developed by the Japanese Hydronautics Committee in 1998. A non-government entity, like the FIA, the JHC built the ALIAH as a successor to Project Kikka, an unbuilt prototype for a 200 mph on road racer, and a 100 knot superboat. ALIAH was built to succeed in nearly as many areas, using a folding wheel mechanism, to allow all 6 wheels to be hidden away to allow for higher speeds on the water. The actual ALIAH travelled up to 185 mph on land, and 83 knots on the water. During testing, however, the vehicle had an engine fire, from it's twin Toyota 1GZ-FE V12 engines, that produced 800 hp each, to the rear 4 wheels, or the hydrojets at the back. Posthumously, the gearbox was found to be at fault, though the EFS (Engine Fire Suppressants) were used, and saved the boat. This Magazine cover shows the post-fire repairs, missing aerodynamic panels, and allowing the internals to be seen. The ALIAH was used to demonstrate the CLASS VI racing series, and CLASS VI is still ongoing, though the current dominant force as of the 2023 season are turbine-electric hybrids, allowing for intense acceleration on land, and intense acceleration on ground. The ALIAH is on display in Karuizawa, at the JHC's headquarters/museum for hydro-racing. It is on display in situ post testing, with the fire damage still visible in places, though repairs had been made after the fire, which are also visible.

[charliegearhart]

2021 FARC Bummin' Beaver Tornado Alley Tour - Round 5 - Minnesota

I have returned from Minnesota Motorsports Park with highlights of an absolute nail-biter which saw, as predicted, high speed pack racing for the lightweight FARC late models!

Cody Lewis of Fortune Racing continued his qualifying streak by taking his third consecutive pole.

After 72 laps, Mindy Gunn edged out Kodi Richards in a photo finish to claim her second late model win, returning Lynxe to victory lane at Minnesota.

Unfortunately, Gunn's path to victory was not without controversy, as there was contact between her and Cody Lewis on lap 47 that shot both the pole sitter and Bobby Dwyer violently into the turn 2 wall.

Lewis easily had one of the dominant cars and led 21 laps before the wreck. Dwyer, in his home race, was enjoying the best performance of a career that has been overshadowed by the success of his relatives in the higher ranks (and with closer relations to the late great family patriarch Benny).

Gunn was penalized with a trip to the rear for the restart, but charged back through the field like she hadn't quite learned her lesson, putting herself three and four wide multiple times. However, she avoided causing further pain and took advantage of Kodi Richards sliding up in the final corner to poke her nose ahead at the line.

"I need to apologize to the 52 and 72." Gunn said in her frontstretch interview. "Those guys were fast and raced me clean, they didn't deserve that. I hope they're alright. I was way out of my league tonight. I gotta thank Lynxe and Nikki [Brillon, crew chief], they built a rocketship, they won this race, the driver was an idiot."

Bobby Dwyer and Cody Lewis were later transported to the hospital for observation and are both expected to be discharged in the morning.

Dwyer's father and car owner Darrin Craig was predictably upset by his son's wreck. "This is our home. They're [Lynxe] not gonna get away with this disrespect. They're not gonna kill my boy."

No further penalties are expected for Mindy Gunn and the Mint-Berry Berserkers, who now lead by 35 points over Gordon Tanner. Tanner was involved in the lap 22 wreck that eliminated Preston Orchard-Park and could only salvage 12th.

[cynon777]

S A F E T Y

Gravis City: Industrial Zone 7′s notoriously deadly turn 8 will have tec-pro foam blocks on it, to make it “safer” by making cars fly back into traffic even more spectacularly.

[outsideline-yt]

NR2003 | R16: Dodge/Save Mart 350

Our NR2003 season reaches its first road course, the undulating and fun Sonoma Raceway. Naturally being one of those fancy European drivers* I am determined to perform well...

*citation needed

[ididntmean2hauntyou]

ok f1 safety device ramble under the cut (with images)

f1 has introduced SO many safety devices over the years. for obvious reasons. a lot of deadly crashes have been prevented. awesome.

halo

one of the most recent ones is the halo! the halo is a piece on top of the car that often protects the driver in crashes, especially when it comes to flipping over. that piece on the top right near in front of the driver’s head, almost like a window? thats the halo. it was recently instated in around 2018, and is made of titanium. this baby can survive sliding across the ground at high speeds without missing much other than some paint! albeit controversial for its lack of aesthetics and also its weight and impact on driver visibility, many now praise it for saving people. one of the most prominent is romain grosjean’s crash, in which his car was split in half, but the halo prevented his head from hitting the barrier that had damaged his car. his injures were only minor burns.

hans device

this car seat looking thing was instated in around 2003, after several deaths from basilar skull fracture, caused by blunt force trauma. specifically, its trauma to one of the bones at the base of the skull. in the event of a crash, it keeps the neck and head aligned enough to prevent head and neck injuries. originally made in the 80s but unable to be implemented due to the thinness of the cars, it was only made required when a nascar racer died in 2001. now, most motorsports requires it, and it has knocked down the rates of death from head injuries a lot!

monocoque/survival cell

made of carbon fiber, instated really in the 1980s, but similar composites have existed since the 60s. its light, yet virtually indestructible, and can withstand crashes, which is extremely important since...yknow...the drivers sit there. in the case of crashes, it protects the driver from injury.

fireproof suits

suits! every f1 driver wears them. not only because its the uniform for f1 drivers, duh, but because theyre fireproof. alongside the underwear, gloves, socks, and balaclava. yep. all of it. the body is the biggest protected part- going back to grosjean, his hands were burned, since the gloves only have one layer. theyre also light enough so when it gets hot, the driver isnt dying from heat. its a surefire way to make sure that they dont get seriously injured thanks to heat.

helmets

these bad boys are incredibly cool, and also safe. helmets arent that rare in sports, not at all- football, hockey, even baseball (a batters helmet is often used). f1 helmets are made with carbon fibre, starting in 2001, with foam lining. heavier, but distributes the impact of crashes. theyre also easier to tailor for comfort! and undergo serious tests, like heat tests and even ballistics tests.

safety car

ah, the safety car. it even has safety in the name! they have that thing at the top, which flashes if theres debris on the track. drivers cant overtake it. also leads drivers in their parade lap (lap before the race, they go around at a slow speed) to make sure there are no problems. i believe the 2021-22 season had two. more safety.

[sortanonymous]

🎵 Why does the Truck Series have a Chase? 🎵

I think the racing gods crafted this abomination of a race entirely to vent their disgust at what Phelps said. Undoubtedly a top 2 worst championship finish in Truck Series history, and the only reason it's even close is because 2003 happened (that's a whole other rabbit hole). I could go on about how badly Grant Enfinger and GMS got robbed (I have all the respect in the world now for him), Hocevar and especially Heim throwing their incredible talents out the window and letting their behavior ruin the title (although at least Carson owned up to his goof afterward), how hilariously Rhodes almost choked just when the title looked completely secured, and how NASCAR's asinine playoff format, their loose overtime rules, and the quickly decaying culture of the Truck Series (which DEMANDS intervention from NASCAR themselves) combined for this trainwreck of a finale, but far smarter people than me have already given this disaster the ripping it deserves.

So instead I'll deposit this idea. If NASCAR does ever miraculously think about bringing back a season-long points format (which considering how even the ratings have been hurt by the playoffs, I think it's safe to say they have no real good reason not to at this point), maybe they should test the waters by eliminating the Truck Series playoffs for a few years (much like how Trucks and Xfinity went over a decade with no Chase from 2004-15), and if it all works out, then axe it in Xfinity and Cup and we can finally move on from this mess of a system. I know it's kind of a pipe dream, but we gotta start somewhere.

*sigh* Well, congrats to Ben Rhodes. It's honestly super impressive how he not only scrapped in at Homestead through a tiebreaker and a gutsy pit call, but also survived all the chaos of the ending and his decaying truck to claim his second Truck Series title in two years, even if his own mistake involving Zane nearly ruined it all in the end. He and especially Grant were the two most respectable performers last night and he got into the right spot to survive the system. A ring is a ring, so I hope he enjoys it. Don't hate the players, hate the dumb stupid game they play.

At least we got another drunk Rhodes interview out of this. So i guess that's something.

[prestonplourdprojects]

Review of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season - You can't outrun the thunder

I know that plenty of other people have already said something along these lines, but I have the urge to say it here — Saying that this is a bad game is like saying that NASCAR isn’t a real sport…A ludicrous amount of people are misinformed enough to think these things. You simply cannot claim that driving these 3,400-pound stock cars at 200+ MPH is as easy as driving to the gas station for a twelve-pack of Pepsi, unless you want me to question what’s in your morning coffee. But we’re not here to talk about me spending the majority of my life as the weird guy who likes NASCAR; We’re here to reminisce about a PC racing sim that recently turned 20 years old…And the game in question is the mega-influential masterpiece known as NASCAR Racing 2003 Season.

Published by Sierra in February of 2003, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season was the final hurrah for the highly-respected Papyrus Racing Games. They knew their run as a sim-racing developer was approaching the proverbial finish line, and they wanted to go out on top, which they successfully did.

If you’re looking for NASCAR software with hardcore simulation physics and you don’t mind the lack of a career mode and a live-broadcast presentation style, you’ve come to the right place. To say that this is a pick-up-and-player racer is to say that avoiding a 20-car pileup at Talladega is easy as those point-and-click games in your 1st-grade computer lab. The Arcade mode is definitely on the forgiving side of things, but if you decide to use Simulation mode, you’ll need to know how stock car racing works like the back of your hand.

Along with the default #86 Papyrus Racing Chevrolet, there are 42 licensed drivers and 33 fantasy drivers to race as or against. Some drivers run with 2002 liveries despite this game being based on the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the Chip Ganassi Racing trio isn’t present, but the patch that unlocks the game’s modding capabilities will take care of that for you. You also get all 23 tracks (Some of which have daytime and nighttime versions) that the series visited in 2003, as well as the fictional three-mile oval Coca-Cola Superspeedway, which has ultra-steep banking and doesn’t require a restrictor plate, thus allowing for pack-racing at 250+ MPH.

Alongside the realistic driving feel, rulebook, and crash physics, the audio/video department screams NASCAR. The radio chatter, the throaty roar of the American V8 engines, the tire squeals, the track scenery, the whole nine fuel cans. If you race this sim in the cockpit view and with stereo headphones on, you’ll feel like you’re in the car.

It’s not just the aforementioned features and the 43-player online multiplayer that has kept this sim’s popularity up since 2003, but also the sheer amount of mods that users have created. Car mods are locked to one of four physics models, but there are still an absolute butt-ton of cars and tracks to find, both realistic and wacky. You can even download different soundpacks for the cars, your crew, and even the grand marshal. If you want to download a new look for the HUD, you can do that too. If you couldn’t already tell, this game is one of the most iconic and influential in the sim-racing genre when it comes to third-party content, which the previous Papyrus games were no strangers to.

Was it a bummer to see the NASCAR Racing series end? Absolutely. Did it ride off into the sunset on the highest of notes? You bet your buttons it did. Even if NASCAR isn’t a motorsport you’re very accustomed to, this sim is a no-brainer if you’re an adamant sim-racing fan and you want to delve deeper into oval racing. It may look very antiquated these days to the average racing-game player, but NASCAR Racing 2003 Season will always hold a special place in the hearts of many sim racers around the globe. Reach up and pull those belts tight!