August 18, 2010

Marcos Ambrose, Ford. The Tasmanian driving star is joining Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the No. 9 Ford Fusion sponsored by Stanley Tools. Ambrose at one time was a star driver for Ford in Australia.

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley)

Despite being the longest circuit on the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón calendar, Road America - America's National Park of Speed - has produced some of the closest finishes in the last five years. The ALMS has visited the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit each year since 2002 and the legendary track has produced five of its 30 tightest endings. Last year, Patrón Highcroft Racing beat de Ferran Motorsports by just 0.461 seconds, with six cars finishing on the lead lap. In 2005, Olivier Beretta held off Johnny O’Connell by just 0.142 seconds in a battle of Corvettes in GT1, and in GT2 Patrick Long beat Romain Dumas up the hill to the checkered flag for Petersen/White Lightning. Speaking of Patron Highcroft, the team said in a press release that with the expected return of Porsche Spyder rival Klaus Graf at Road America, plus the straight line speed of the likes of Mid-Ohio winners Dyson Racing and the turbocharged power of Intersport Racing, they know the task at hand in Elkhart Lake will not be an easy one. David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud are expected to spend 75 per cent of the lap at Road America on full throttle.  The circuit also provides the highest amount of braking G forces - more than 3.3 Gs going in to Canada Corner - for any track on the schedule. Round 7 of the 2010 championship is the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar at 2:05 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 22 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. SPEED will air the race live at 3 p.m. ET with live radio coverage available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Americanlemans.com will stream Friday’s qualifying session starting at 3:10 p.m. CT. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

Baltimore IndyCar Fans. The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix will be held over Labor Day weekend 2011 (Sept. 2-4), Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore Racing Development announced. Alterations to the new 12-turn course have already begun, including moving pit lane from Russell Street on the west side of Oriole Park at Camden Yards to the east side of the complex in the shadows of the historic B&O Warehouse. With the new pit lane location, the racetrack will now circle Oriole Park. Two turns have been added on Conway Street to slow the cars as they approach pit lane. The new layout also features reconfigured Turns 10 and 11, as the previous tight turns become sweeping "S" turns back onto the long Pratt Street straight. The first four turns remain unchanged. The race weekend also will include Firestone Indy Lights.

IndyCar. Texas Motor Speedway will host twin IndyCar races on the same evening next year (June 11, 2011). "The Firestone Texas Two-Step" or officially the "Firestone Twin 275s" will consist of two full-field 275-kilometer races (171 miles/114 laps each) with two race winners being recognized by the sanctioning body. Half points will be awarded in both races. How the starting field for either or both races on the 1.5-mile oval - along with the time allotment between races - is still to be determined, according to IZOD IndyCar Series president of competition and racing operations Brian Barnhart. The Texas date will be the first race following the Indianapolis 500 on May 29 and return the off-week between the events that was scheduled from Texas Motor Speedway's inaugural 1997 season through 2005. The IZOD IndyCar Series has raced at the facility in Fort Worth, Texas, 21 times, including twice in the same season seven times.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

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.