THE LINE

September 15, 2010

 Racing. Fox Sports chairman David Hill recently told the Sports Business Journal that “the biggest problem facing NASCAR is that young males have left the sport.” Fox reports that ratings among men 18-34 have declined 29%. This isn't just NASCAR's problem, folks, this is racing's problem. If new life isn't injected into the sport in terms of technology and overall interest - and soon - before you know it there will be nothing left but vintage racing all across the country. For that Hill gets our AE Quote of the Week, Part II.

 The SCCA.  Plagued by nonexistent fields, nonexistent fan interest and the realization that they were presenting a joke masquerading as a professional racing series, the SCCA is finally waving the white flag of surrender and opening up its Trans-Am Series to multiple classes of race cars for the 2011 season. The top class will now be known simply as Trans-Am (TA) and will continue to include the current Trans-Am race cars based closely on those eligible for GT1 competition in SCCA Club Racing. The new Trans-Am 2 (TA2) class will be based on cars eligible for GT2 and GTA competition in SCCA Club Racing, while Trans-Am 3 (TA3) will be based on cars currently eligible for SCCA Club GT3 competition. Will it help? No. Will it be enough to generate any fan interest? No. Why are we even discussing this again? We have no idea.

 Ken Block. Monster World Rally Team driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block drives a custom-built 2011 Ford Fiesta in Gymkhana THREE Part 2; Ultimate Playground: L’Autodrome, the next chapter in the series of Gymkhana videos that have been named among the Top 10 viral videos by Advertising Age and have become an Internet phenomenon with more than 70 million views. Built by Olsbergs Motorsport Evolution (MSE), the 2,425-pound Gymkhana THREE Fiesta sports a purpose-built Olsbergs engine capable of up to 850 brake horsepower, but is restricted to 650 horsepower to give Block the torque band needed to control the car. Equipped with an Olsbergs MSE Maktrak (magnesium) six-speed paddle-shift sequential transmission, it is capable of 660 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm and needs a mere 1.9 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph. Check out the off-the-hook action here.

(MAZDAUSA)
Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato drove their No. 69 SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8 to the 2010 Rolex Grand-Am GT driver’s championship with a sixth place finish in the season ending Utah 250 at Miller Motorsports Park.  This completed a perfect sweep for Mazda as the No. 69 crew also won the team championship.  Mazda had clinched the manufacturers championship at the previous race in Montreal.

(Grand-Am)
Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb (No. 13 RumBum.com BMW M3) won Saturday's two-hour, 30-minute Salt Lake City 200 in the GS class, the final race of the 2010 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season.

(Grand-Am)
Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman took the Grand-Am Grand Sport (GS) championship with their fifth-place finish in the Salt Lake City 200 in the No. 48 Sparco/Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3.

(Grand-Am)
Lawson Aschenbach and David Thilenius (Compass360 Racing's No. 74 Skunk2/HPD Honda Civic Si, above) took the title in the Street Tuner (ST) class in Utah after finishing the campaign tied in the points (274 each) with Seth Thomas and Bill Heumann. Aschenbach fell back to fourth late in the race, but when Andrew Carbonell lost an engine in the No. 26 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5, the Compass360 Racing No. 74 Skunk2/HPD Honda Civic Si - started by David Thilenius - moved to third, good enough for a one-point lead. Thomas moved up one spot in the final two laps to 20th, giving the two driving pairs 274 points each, but Aschenbach's third-place finish proved to be the tiebreaker for the title. Both teams entered the race with two victories and two runner-up finishes apiece. "My team was on the radio with me every lap telling me what to do," Aschenbach said. "The clutch was making a knocking noise. But we pushed hard and continued to fight. Things needed to fall our way, and they did." Thilenius admitted he didn't come to Salt Lake City thinking of giving Compass360 its second consecutive title. "I came here and knew we were so far back in the points I didn't even think of the scenarios," Thilenius said. "It's a real shame for the BimmerWorld guys, because they've had a fantastic season, but the Compass360 team pushed and pushed all season."

(Grand-Am)
Ian Baas and Aaron Povoledo (No. 91 APR/BBS Volkswagen GTI) took the first ST class victory of the year for APR Motorsport in the Salt Lake 200. "APR nailed it today," said Povoledo, who earned the pole position Saturday morning. "We got the absolute maximum out of it. It was a perfect day and a perfect race."

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Nick Esayian (No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX), of San Diego, Calif., was declared the World Challenge GTS class winner for Round 10 at Virginia International Raceway after the No. 91 Fuchs/CDOC/Forgeline Porsche Cayman of Ernie Jakubowski was disqualified in post-race technical inspection. Jakubowski crossed the finish line first in Saturday’s race at VIRginia International Raceway, but in post-race inspection it was discovered that the No. 91 had an illegal ride height and an unsealed motor. Esayian was promoted one position and the subsequent win was the first in his 75-race World Challenge career.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60) started on the pole, pulled away from the field and captured his first World Challenge GT win of the season. Pilgrim led all 22 laps, turned the fastest race lap in a time of 1:58.410 (99.417 mph), and averaged 88.389 mph over the 71.94-mile race on his way to a 1.392-second margin of victory. Pilgrim's teammate Randy Pobst (No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60) earned his fourth-career World Challenge GT Drivers’ Championship with his second place finish. Pobst started third and then settled in several car lengths behind his teammate for the run to the checkered flag. The runner-up finish clinched the GT Drivers’ Championship for Pobst, who previously won the title in 2003, 2007 and 2008. The sweep of the top two positions by the K-PAX team also clinched the Manufacturers’ Championship for Volvo with one race remaining. James Sofronas (No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3), of Newport Beach, Calif., fnished third.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Peter Cunningham (No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX), of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led flag-to-flag in the World Challenge GTS class to extend his record for career wins to 40 on a weekend where he also extended the career pole position mark to 41. Cunningham turned the fastest GTS lap - 2:09.907 (91.187 mph) - on his way to clinching his sixth-career World Challenge Drivers’ Championship, another record for the most decorated driver in World Challenge history. Nick Esayian (No. 34 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX), of San Diego, Calif., needed a win and some help to keep his hopes alive entering the season finale at Miller Motorsports Park, instead, he finished second - his ninth podium in 11 races on the season - after his maiden win the day before. Third place went to Ernie Jakubowski, of Oakville, Ont., in the No. 91 Fuchs/CDOC/Forgeline Porsche Cayman S. Jakubowski started from the rear of the GTS field after making mechanical changes following qualifying, and worked his way into the podium position over the 22 laps.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
The World Challenge Touring Car race was a wheel-to-wheel battle between Todd Buras (No. 50 Irish Mike’s Racing/Krispy Kreme Volkswagen Jetta GLI) of Melbourne, Florida,  and Robert Stout (No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC). Buras won, but Stout won his first World Challenge Touring Car Drivers’ Championship. Stout, who at 18 years old, became the youngest World Challenge Champion in Series history. Scion also clinched the Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship on Saturday afternoon. Robb Holland, of Denver, Colo., finished third, his second podium finish of the season in the No. 22 3Zero3 Motorsports/Track Pro/Emich VW Volkswagen GTI.

(Al Merion/SCCA)
Nick Evans (No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5), of Powell, Ohio, represented the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Ladder well at Miller Motorsports Park, earning his first career-win in Round 10 of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship. He averaged 81.749 mph over the 21-lap, 64.008-mile race. Teammate Jeff Mosing (No. 30 Team MER/Frank’s Int./Race Now For Autism MX-5), of Powell, Ohio, and Lyonel Kent (No. 13 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5), of Knoxville, Tenn., completed the podium, the first of two for the series’ doubleheader finale, part of the Utah 250 race weekend.

(Al Merion/SCCA)
Lyonel Kent (No. 13 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5), of Knoxville, Tenn., captured his third-career SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup victory. Jesse Combs (No. 77 ALARA Racing/Coolgas.com MX-5), of Houston, Texas, and Justin Piscitell (No. 89 Team MER/DAMG/Worldwide Merchant Service MX-5), of Weston, Conn., completed the podium at Miller Motorsports Park. Finishing fourth, Brad Rampelberg (No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes MX-5), of San Jose, Calif., claimed the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship. “This feels great,” Rampelberg said. “The AMG guys won it last year in the same car, so winning it this year was really the only option. The pressure was on from the beginning. We didn’t have the best results in the middle, but we closed out the season with five wins, two second-place finishes and a couple of not-so-goods. AMG, Cobalt and Mazda gave me a great car. I feel like racing with this kids really makes me think. I have to think ahead every single lap, because these guys are awesome. I don’t know if people realize how good these guys are in Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, so hats off to them. Iron sharpens iron and I wouldn’t be as good if I wasn’t racing against these guys.” The final point tally (which allows each driver to drop their lowest scoring points race) shows Rampelberg with 559 points to Piscitell’s 536 points. Nick Evans was third and Rookie of the Year with 527 points, followed by Michael Cooper (519) and Lyonel Kent (501).

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Sean Rayhall (1st Action Services/Advanced Environmental), of Winston, Ga., won the 18-lap, 58.86-mile SCCA Pro Racing Formula Enterprises Championship finale at VIRginia International Raceway Sunday by 4.341 seconds. At 15, Rayhall became the youngest-ever SCCA Pro Racing series Champion. Scott Rettich (No. 17 HIPPI Racing/Springboro Car Wash), of Oxford, Ohio, finished second, and Brian Novak, of Dearborn, Mich., completed Saturday’s podium. What turned Rayhall’s accomplishment even more outstanding was the fact that he drove the entire weekend with a broken right foot after an incident on his bicycle in the paddock on Thursday. On crutches, Rayhall accepted his race win and 10-race Championship trophy looking obviously exhausted. “This by far was the most pain I’ve ever been put through in my life,” Rayhall said after the victory lane celebration. “The adrenaline helped, but it didn’t help enough. It was a lot of pain but we made it through it. Words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now. I just have to thank everyone for putting me in this position. I can do a lot on my own, but I wouldn’t be here without Kevin, Brandon, Andrew Davis and my father. As much as the Championship trophy is going to my house, it’s all owed to them.”

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Scott Rettich (No. 17 PDI Communication Systems/Springfield Car Wash SRF), of Oxford, Ohio, earned his first professional racing Championship Sunday in the 15-lap, 49.05-mile season-finale of the SCCA Pro Racing Spec Racer Ford Championship at VIRginia International Raceway.

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.

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