THE LINE

January 20, 2010

  Chaparral Cars, The Petroleum Museum. One of the coolest things we know of in the car enthusiast world is the fact that Jim Hall's famed Chaparral racing cars - which are permanently housed in a special gallery in The Petroleum Museum, in Midland, Texas - are "exercised" on a regular basis as part of the routine maintenance program to keep the cars in top-notch running condition. Not only that, but when the cars are run the word is put out so enthusiasts in the area can gather and watch in person. On Wednesday, January 27th - weather permitting - the Chaparral 2D Coupe  will be driven at approximately 5:30PM for about 10-20 minutes on the front circle of the museum property. Fans are invited to enter through the Visitor Center, east of the museum entrance (which will be closed off) to watch the festivities. Fans who arrive early can even watch the 2D being prepped for the run back in the garage. Check out the museum here.

Dario Franchitti. Dario received one more award for his stellar 2009 season when he was named the recipient of the Jerry Titus Award during the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's All-America Team dinner in Brownsburg, Indiana, on January 16. The Titus award, given in remembrance of the late racer/journalist, signifies the top vote-getter among All-America Team members as the driver of the year. Franchitti also won the award following his 2007 series championship and Indianapolis 500 victory.

 Brian Stewart Racing. Firestone Indy Lights championship-winning team Brian Stewart Racing will field a team in all three series that make up the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy developmental ladder. The racing organization, which has fielded a Firestone Indy Lights team since 2002, announced it will add a team in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear to its previously announced plans to field a team in the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda. "In our 45-year history, we have consistently graduated drivers through the various levels of open-wheel racing. Since 2005 we have sponsored the Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship (BSRKC) and we recently added a USF2000 team to our Driver Development Program," said team owner Brian Stewart. "With the addition of our Star Mazda team, we now have a seamless series of stepping stones for a driver moving from karting right through to our Firestone Indy Lights team." BSR's Star Mazda Team will compete in 13 races in 2010.

(ALMS)
Porsche has announced that factory driver Wolf Henzler (above) will team with Bryan Sellers in the American Le Mans Series’ 2010 GT class. The German, who shared the 2008 GT2 title with Jörg Bergmeister, will drive Team Falken Tire’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with his new American teammate for all nine rounds of the championship. The 34-year-old Henzler is a five-time winner in the Series, with all of his 49 starts coming in Porsches. The season-opening 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida in March will be Henzler's first pairing in the Series with Sellers. Two other Porsche works pilots – Germany’s Bergmeister and American Patrick Long – will try to defend their GT2 championship with Flying Lizard Motorsports, which has won the last two class team titles. Long has two championships and Bergmeister four.

(ALMS)
Endurance racing champion Risi Competizione is reuniting 2007 Series champion Jaime Melo with 2008 FIA GT champion Gianmaria Bruni. The Brazilian/Italian partnership, which drove together to victory for Risi in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be formidable. Melo, 29, will be starting his fifth season with the team. The 28-year-old Bruni is well known to the American series, having competed for Risi in a number of 2007 races as well as at Sebring and Le Mans the following year. Both drivers are based in Rome, Italy, and will also be competing together in the European-based Le Mans Series. “This will be our fifth and final season with the F430 GT,"  Risi Competizione’s Team Principal, Giuseppe Risi, said. "And, while we are all very much looking forward to the introduction of the new Ferrari 458 in the future, we want to close this particular chapter of the 430 book with style - by winning.”

 Jim Russell Racing Drivers School. The racing organization confirmed details for its 2010 Championship Series with the news being that the champion will earn a fully funded drive in next year’s FIA Formula Two Championship.The racing series features eight weekends of two races each staged on consecutive days between April-November utilizing a variety of configurations at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. The FJR-50 single-seaters used are owned and prepared “in house” by the Jim Russell organization to equalize performance and place the emphasis on driver talent. The Lola-built Formula Three machines have a carbon/kevlar fiber composite monocoque, a sequential five-speed gearbox and a two-liter, turbocharged Mitsubishi engine producing 300bhp. The outright JRCS champion will compete in the 2011 FIA Formula Two series, a European-based series launched last year and featuring a Williams F1 developed single-seater. Inaugural 2009 FIA Formula Two Champion Andy Soucek was awarded a test with the Williams F1 team last month as his prize for winning the F2 title. The top-three F2 Championship finishers also qualify for an FIA Superlicence and are eligible to compete in Formula One.

(Ford Racing)
The new 2011 Mustang GT - powered by the all-new 412-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 - will be the pace car for this year’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 14. It is the first time in 40 years that a Ford has served as the pace car for "The Great American Race." The last time a Ford paced the race was in 1970 when a Ford Torino GT convertible did the honors. This will be the Mustang’s first time as pace car for the Daytona 500. Fifty special pace car editions of the 2011 Mustang GT will be built and sold to the public, and the actual "Race Red" Mustang will be auctioned off at the 39th Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car Auction on Jan. 23, with the help of Richard Petty.

Publisher's Note: Tony George has resigned from the Board of Directors of Hulman & Company. Below is the full press release, but go here to read Robin Miller's excellent piece about the story behind the story. - PMD

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 – The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and affiliated companies, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has received the resignation of Anton H. “Tony” George from the board of directors effective immediately, according to Mari Hulman George, chairman. “As members of his family, we are sorry to see Tony leave,” said Mrs. George. “We are grateful for his service to our company as a board member and of course for formerly serving as CEO and president of our companies. I speak for our whole family in wishing him well. “All of us had hoped that Tony would continue to serve on the board, and we made that clear to him. We are disappointed with his decision to step down despite our wishes.” His resignation removes George from any remaining role in Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and other affiliated companies. His term as CEO of the family companies ended June 30, 2009. He continues to be involved in racing through his ownership of Vision Racing, a competitor in the IZOD IndyCar Series of the Indy Racing League. The board vacancy will be addressed at a later date. In addition to Mari Hulman George, board members include Nancy George, Josie George, Kathi George-Conforti and Jack Snyder. Mari Hulman George said she is very pleased with the direction of the company and the progress that has been made during the last six months. “Our company is healthy and is weathering the economic recession well,” she said. “Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Curt Brighton, president and CEO of Hulman & Company, are both doing excellent jobs in guiding our companies through this difficult time. Many hard decisions have been made, and now our companies are well positioned for the future.”

(Elan Motorsports Technologies)
Élan Motorsports Technologies (EMT) and Carl Haas Automobile Imports, Inc., announced today an agreement that will see the Haas group assume distribution responsibilities for products manufactured by Élan. The offerings – constructed by the Braselton, Ga.-based arm of Panoz Motor Sports Group – include a full line of race cars, parts, update kits and other components for motorsports teams across multiple competition platforms and sanctioning bodies. Élan will continue to exclusively build and manufacturer a wide range of world-class race cars and accessories for competition in the American Le Mans Series, IMSA, Superleague Formula, F2000 and SCCA, among others. Carl Haas Automobile Imports will handle inventory, trackside service and distribute EMT’s world-class racing products worldwide. Élan Motorsports Technologies is a multi-faceted race car and engine building entity comprised of Élan Composites, Élan Power Products, Élan Precision Engineering and Van Diemen. Its wares have claimed winners’ trophies at the most prestigious races in the world including the Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Most recently, the Van Diemen arm of Élan was named the primary constructor for the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda. It will be the sole constructor in the top-level Championship class with Van Diemen models from 2001 to the 2010-spec DP08 (above photo) able to compete. Van Diemen cars also are eligible for the National class, which is open to cars that conform to the current SCCA Formula Continental regulations.

(ALMS)
JaguarRSR has confirmed that Marc Goossens will return to the cockpit of its No. 33 Jaguar XKR GT for the full 2010 American Le Mans Series in the GT class. He will share the seat with team owner Paul Gentilozzi in the nine-round championship. Additional drivers for the endurance races are to be named later. The experienced sports car driver is a Belgium native but currently resides in North Carolina as he continues to pursue his racing career in North America. Beginning in 1985, Goossens developed his résumé in series such as Formula Ford, FIA F3000, FIA GT, Japanese Formula Nippon, Belcar Championship and others, as well as entering multiple endurance races with nine starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He holds a record with four wins (1997, 1998, 2005, 2007) in the Zolder 24 Hours along with Vincent Dupont and Anthony Kumpen.

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:

Subscribe via iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=311421319

Subscribe via RSS:

http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/podcasts/feeds/afterhours-audio.xml