NOVEMBER 4, 2015

(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/HHP for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS) celebrates his first victory of the 2015 season at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. It was his ninth win at the short track and the 93rd of his illustrious career. Even though he was gifted the win when Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar general Toyota Camry) crashed leader Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion) out of the race, Gordon will take it because it gets him into the Championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway - the last race of his career. Watch NASCAR videos here and here and read Peter's comments on the situation in "Fumes."

Editor-in-Chief's Note: NASCAR announced late Tuesday that Matt Kenseth has been suspended for two Sprint Cup races as a result of the incident with Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing is requesting an expedited appeal of the penalty, which NASCAR is allowing. -PMD

(Red Bull/Getty)
Nico Rosberg (No. 6 Mercedes W06) took his first victory in more than four months at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes W06) finished second and Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Williams FW37) was third. The German controlled the processional race from the start, with the new world champion only a couple of seconds behind but unable to get close enough to challenge. It was Rosberg's fourth win of the season and it moved him back into second in the championship ahead of Sebastian Vettel (No. 5 Ferrari), who crashed out.

(Porsche)
After taking its fifth victory in a row, Porsche is World Champion in the LMP1 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber (No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid) won the rainy six-hour race at the Shanghai International Circuit. Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb (No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid) finished second delivering the season’s fourth one-two victory for the Porsche team. Audi finished second and Toyota third in the LMP1 class standings. It is the thirteenth constructors’ World Championship title in endurance racing for Porsche but its first since 1986. The drivers’ world championship title will be decided at the season’s finale in Bahrain on November 21. Porsche drivers Bernhard/Hartley/Webber are currently leading with 155 points ahead of three Audi drivers who have scored 143 points.

(Porsche)
Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen (No. 91 Porsche Manthey Porsche 911 RSR) won the GTE-Pro class in the six-hour race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Vruni/Vilander Ferrari 458 Italia finished second and the No. 92 Makowiecki/Pilet Porsche Manthey 911 RSR finished third. With this result, Porsche has defended its manufacturers’ title in the fiercely contested GTE-Pro class in the WEC. While Richard Lietz has extended his lead in the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT drivers, as did the Porsche Manthey team in the team classification, Porsche managed to close the gap to Ferrari for the manufacturers' title to four points. A maximum of 44 manufacturers’ points are available at the final race of the season in Bahrain on November 21.

(Images courtesy of Lexus)
Lexus has announced a motorsports partnership with Paul Gentilozzi, and the newly formed F Performance Racing will field the Lexus RC F GT3 in a racing series yet to be named in 2016. The new racing machine is based upon the production Lexus RC F high-performance coupe that went on sale at the end of 2014. Scott Pruett will pilot the RC F GT3 in a limited schedule for 2016. The team’s primary focus in its first year will be to develop the racing organization, while gathering data and track experience to help further propel vehicle development. The plan calls for F Performance Racing and Pruett to participate in a full sports car racing schedule with a multi-vehicle effort in the 2017-2018 season.

(Global Rallycross)
Joni Wiman (No. 31 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST) took his first Supercar main event victory in Wednesday night’s Red Bull Global Rallycross season finale on the Las Vegas Strip. Wiman’s teammate Sebastian Eriksson (No. 93 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST) finished second, while Scott Speed (No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross ORAFOL Volkswagen Beetle GRC) placed third to complete the podium. “I feel great!” Wiman, last year’s Supercar champion, said after the victory. “I’ve been waiting for this for almost 20 races. It’s unbelievable—I had a completely clean race with almost no mistakes, and that’s how you win races.” Inclement weather caused the event to take place on a wet track, with drivers forced to run wet Yokohama tires for the single-day event. Steve Arpin won the pole in qualifying, but Wiman took the semifinal victory to earn lane choice for the 10-lap main event. 

(VW)
Scott Speed (No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross ORAFOL Volkswagen Beetle GRC) finished third in the 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross (GRC) championship finale in Las Vegas, but that was good enough for him to claim the series championship and the first championship for the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Team. Rain wreaked havoc on the track - and the racing - during the season-ending event. Tanner Foust (No. 34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle) earned a third-place finish in the championship standings. “I’m at a loss for words when it comes to describing how it feels to win the championship this season,” said Speed, soon after crossing the finish line in Vegas. “The whole Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team has worked so hard for this result; I’m incredibly proud of this team and am so happy to have been able to bring home the top spot for them.”

(Images courtesy of Shell)
Shell unveiled the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe (CSX2287) at the 2015 SEMA Show, the famous machine that set 23 individual records during a Goodyear tire test in 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The vehicle’s unveiling during the Shell ‘Pioneering Performance’ press conference commemorated the 50th anniversary of the famed record-setting day (Nov. 6, 1965) by reuniting driver Craig Breedlove, designer Peter Brock and the Cobra for the first time since the record attempts.

Craig Breedlove talks about the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and his record-setting run at the Shell Pioneering Performance Experience during the 2015 SEMA Show.

From left to right: Driver Craig Breedlove, designer Peter Brock, Dr. Frederick Simeone (Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum) and Mark Gessler (Historic Vehicle Association) pose with the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe at the Shell Pioneering Performance Experience during the 2015 SEMA Show.

Editor-In-Chief's Note: The 2016 Verizon IndyCar schedule is better in terms of quality and quantity.  It revolves, of course, around the 100th Running of Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 29th, but the addition of Phoenix, a new event on the streets of Boston and the return to Road America - "America's National Park of Speed" - in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, makes for a noteworthy improvement. The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule also expands by five weeks, starting earlier (St. Petersburg, March 13) and ending later (Sonoma, Sept. 18). -PMD

The complete schedule, with television networks and times (all ET):

March 13  Streets of St. Petersburg    ABC    12:30 p.m.
April 2       Phoenix International Raceway    NBCSN    8 p.m.
April 17     Streets of Long Beach    NBCSN    4 p.m.
April 24     Barber Motorsports Park    NBCSN    3 p.m.
May 14     Grand Prix of Indianapolis    ABC    3:30 p.m.
May 29      Indianapolis 500    ABC    11 a.m.
June 4       Raceway at Belle Isle Park    ABC    3:30 p.m.
June 5       Raceway at Belle Isle Park    ABC    3:30 p.m.
June 11     Texas Motor Speedway    NBCSN    8 p.m.
June 26     Road America    NBCSN    12:30 p.m.
July 10      Iowa Speedway    NBCSN    5 p.m.
July 17      Streets of Toronto    NBCSN    3 p.m.
July 31      Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course    NBCSN    2 p.m.
Aug. 21     Pocono Raceway    NBCSN    3 p.m.
Sept. 4      Streets of Boston    NBCSN    2 p.m.
Sept. 18    Sonoma Raceway    NBCSN    7 p.m.

2016 WORLD RX CALENDAR*

1.     PORTUGAL – MONTALEGRE/April 16-17
2.    GERMANY – HOCKENHEIM/May 7-8
3.     BELGIUM – METTET/May 14-15
4.    UK – LYDDEN HILL/May 28-29
5.    NORWAY – HELL/June 11-12
6.      SWEDEN – HOLJES/July 2-3
7.    CANADA – TROIS-RIVIERES/August 6-7
8.     FRANCE – LOHEAC/September/3-4
9.    SPAIN – BARCELONA/September/17-18
10.    LATVIA – RIGA/October/1-2
11.    GERMANY – ESTERING/October 15-16
12.    ARGENTINA – ROSARIO/November 26-27

* subject to confirmation by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in December

Editor's Note: Watch "Episode 4" of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG