The Viper. Editor-in-Chief's Note: First it was the news that the production of the Viper was being put on hold due to lackluster sales. (Okay, sales have more accurately ground to a halt.) Now the news, as first reported by Steven Cole Smith, is that the SRT Viper GTLM racing team will not be making the trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even though they were officially invited by the organizers (which is a big deal if you know anything about how the ACO comes up with its list of invitees to the French endurance classic). None of this bodes well for the SRT Viper program, to say the least. But none of this is really a surprise, either. Whether it's the fact that the "new" Viper turned out to be too much of a rehash of the previous generation car to begin with, or the fact that the new Corvette is so damn good that it just hammered any chance the Viper had of succeeding, the reality is that the Viper - as a program - is on the ropes. - PMD
(Jennifer Coleman - LAT Photo USA © 2014, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Kyle Busch celebrates with his crew after winning the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at California Speedway on Sunday. Tire issues plagued the race as the abrasive California Speedway track surface took its toll on competitors throughout the race, leading to a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the fifth Sprint Cup event of the year six laps past its scheduled distance. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry) passed Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart Haas Racing Haas Automation Chevrolet SS) and Tony Stewart (No. 14 Stewart Haas Racing Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS) on the next-to-last lap, bringing red-hot rookie Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet SS) with him. Busch held Larson at bay, crossing the finish line .214 seconds ahead of the 21-year-old, who had won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the two-mile track one day earlier. It was the 29th career win for Kyle Busch in NASCAR's top series. Watch a video of the final laps here.
(Harold Hinson/HHP courtesy of GM Racing/Chevrolet )
Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart Haas Racing Haas Automation Chevrolet SS) finished third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
(Rusty Jarrett/HHP courtesy of GM Racing/Chevrolet)
Tony Stewart (No. 42 Stewart Haas Racing Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS) finished fifth in California on Sunday and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports National Guard Chevrolet SS) came in twelfth place.
(Images courtesy of BMW)
Techno Classica bills itself as "the world’s largest and most important gathering on the vintage, classic and recent classic calendar" according to BMW, with more than 1,250 exhibitors from 30 countries presenting their vehicles and products in the 20 halls and open-air space at the Essen show grounds. (The week-long classic/vintage car extravaganza on the Monterey Peninsula may have something to say about that, but, whatever.) BMW Group Classic welcomes visitors to the show days from March 26-30, 2014, as Hall 12 is again set aside exclusively for a retrospective of the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. BMW Group Classic will present vehicles of historical significance from its own collection and rarities on loan from members of numerous BMW clubs.
(Photo courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will drive a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 to pace the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25. Franchitti won the Indy 500 in 2007, 2010 and 2012, and he is only the third driver ever to win at least three consecutive IndyCar titles - among four championships overall. Franchitti's appearance in the Camaro Z/28 pace car signals a new start in his career as he embarks on a driver development role with Chip Ganassi Racing, which will use Chevrolet power in the 2014 IndyCar season. It's the eighth time a Camaro has served as the pace car, starting in 1967 - and the 25th time a Chevrolet has paced the race. "It is a tremendous honor for me to be asked to drive the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500," said Franchitti. "As a historian of motorsport and as a three-time winner of this great race, I will appreciate every minute of getting to pace the field in the new 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Although I won't be competing in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, this will be as close as one person can get to the action. I can't wait until May in Indianapolis."
(Photos courtesy of Audi Motorsport)
Audi officially debuted its R-18 racer to the public in Le Mans, France, this week. Drivers and Audi Motorsport executives signed autographs and greeted the public in downtown Le Mans, before taking the new racer to the track for photography.
(Images courtesy of Porsche)
With the factory's return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen is presenting a comprehensive special exhibition - “24 Hours for Eternity” - focusing on the world's most important endurance event from March 26 to July 13, 2014. Porsche is not only taking a look back at its multiple previous successes at the French endurance classic, it is presenting its 2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid to the public for the first time. The exhibition at the Porsche Museum has been transformed to look like Le Mans, with the 1951 race marking the beginning of the special exhibition. Reenactments of racing situations from the victorious racing years on life-sized wall art and track sections, such as the Hunaudières straight, will guide the museum visitor through the special exhibition. More than 20 different racing machines tell the unique and exciting history of Porsche at the legendary 24-hour race. Alongside the 919 Hybrid, the 1969 Porsche 908/2 Spyder long tail, the 1971 Porsche 911 T/R, the 1974 Porsche 911 3.0 RSR and the 1981 Porsche 936/81 Spyder will be on display. The Porsche 936, which won in 1976 and 1977 and reached a top speed of 223 mph, will also be there. On the weekend of the race, the Porsche Museum will be open for the first time for more than 24 hours straight, from Saturday, June 14, starting at 9:00 a.m., until Sunday, June 15, 6:00 p.m. Visitors and fans of the endurance race can follow the race live as part of a public viewing program on several monitors inside and around the museum building. Entrance is free of charge on this racing weekend.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Longtime SCCA racer Road America board member Jim Jeffords has passed away. Following is a press release from Road America. - PMD
"Jim Jeffords was the definitive example of a gentlemen racer with a heart of gold," commented President and General Manager, George Bruggenthies. "He loved racing for the thrill of competition, not for the money. Jim will be best remembered for how his passion for racing carried over into many successful years behind the wheel and many more beyond that serving the fans, volunteers, shareholders and employees here at Road America. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim's family and friends."
Jeffords appeared in the very first Road America race at Elkhart Lake in 1955 racing in the SCCA C production class driving a Jaguar XK-140. His skills of piloting the Jaguar were quickly noticed and earned him a ride in a Chevrolet Corvette at the June Sprints in 1956 at Road America. Over the next five years, Jim maintained a close association with Chevrolet and the Corvette engineers competing first in the World Championship race in Caracas, Venezuela, and then at Nassau Speed Weeks in 1957. He then went on to compete in Sebring, Florida, as a driver on the Chevrolet Corvette Racing Team. After a very successful season driving both factory modified and production Corvettes, Jim was invited to help form a Corvette race team for Chicago-based Nickey Chevrolet in 1958 and he joined the Road America Board of Directors shortly thereafter as Vice President. Jeffords was virtually unbeatable as he easily took the early SCCA "B" Production Class National Titles in 1958 and 1959, including the '59 June Sprints in the Nickey Chevrolet "Purple People Eater" Corvette. Recalling the '58 and '59 seasons, many track announcers and historians said that Jeffords was practically unstoppable in the Purple People Eater and if something didn't go wrong with the car everyone else was running for second place. Jeffords was also heralded for piloting many Chevrolet powered specials throughout his career like Harley Earl's SR-2, the Scarab and the Maserati Birdcage.
In February of 1960, Jeffords' driving skill and reputation landed him behind the wheel in the first race ever for the Camoradi Corvette in the USAC Road Racing Championship where he battled against famed racers Carroll Shelby and Sterling Moss to win the Road America Grad Prix. Jeffords also drove it to a first-place finish in the Grand Premio de la Habana in February of 1960. This would be the only sports car race open to other nations ever allowed in Cuba under Castro's rule and ranked as one of Jeffords' favorite victories. Jeffords' racing career spanned nearly half a century and due to his many victories in Chevrolet Corvettes he was inducted to the Corvette Hall of Fame in 2002.