Many claims have been made about the location of the first race in America for production cars, which came to be known as stock cars. The majority of these accounts…
Time was when I used to go to the Daytona 500 every year. For one thing, the Florida weather in February made a stimulating change from the white skies and…
Great Read
Making history, as NASCAR legend Buddy Baker can confirm, is often down to being in the right place at the right time. In Baker's case, the place was Talladega Superspeedway.…
Great Read
George Bignotti was a chief mechanic in Champ Car racing for 30 years. Correction: he was the chief mechanic. Eighty-five times he got the magic winning formula right. So this…
Great Read
90 years ago, on the eve of the inaugural 1911 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Howard C Marmon faced a dilemma. As president of the Indianapolis-based Nordyke & Marmon Company, he possessed…
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Amidst all the euphoria of Mansell and Senna and their transatlantic crossings, Rick Ravon Mears stepped from the spotlight last December. As ever, when he announced his intention to retire…
Great Read
Adrian Newey has achieved remarkable success during the past decade with Williams and McLaren. Indeed, it would not be wrong to say that in recent times the world championship has…
Great Read
In early June, between the CART race at Milwaukee and the Canadian Grand Prix, I went to Indianapolis for a few days, in pursuit of one of my little obsessions.…
Great Read
"I can't believe I'm in England," said Gary Bettenhausen at Goodwood, "driving this race car my dad used to drive 53 years ago..." Bettenhausen's father Tony, whom Denis Jenkinson described…
The impossible dream for any engine builder, team or driver is to substantially out-power the opposition and beat them on fuel economy too. In 1994 this chimera was briefly achieved…
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In 1978, Indycar racing was underpaid, undervalued and under the blundering leadership of the United States Auto Club. Purses were paltry, television money was a joke, sanction fees were laughable…
Great Read
If ever there was an example of the perfect tribute paid to a hero it was Vancouver's Champ Car round of 2000. Giant TV screens ran clips of the city's…
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The lights blinked yellow before the day-glo car hit the wall. The puff of dust as it dived into Turn 1 had told USAC chief observer Walt Myers all he…
I just want a picture of the boys.” Hazel Chapman, Colin’s widow, lifts her camera and ‘the boys’ stop talking. Boys. Their bus passes are dog-eared now, but they were…
Great Read
The day I first met David Pearson, I was enquiring at his motel room door if he was available for an interview. He said sure, walking into the parking lot…
Great Read
In 1993, Michael Andretti and Nigel Mansell exchanged addresses: Michael, then near the peak of his career in CART, crossed the salt pond for Europe and a season of rumbling…
