march 4, 2015

(Photo by Garry Eller/HHP for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. It was his 71st win in NASCAR's premier series. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet SS) was second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No, 88 Hendrick Motorsports Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS) finished third. Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion) finished fourth the week after he won the Daytona 500. Watch a NASCAR video here.

(Photo by Chris Clark)
Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Company Chevrolet Corvette) won the FOAMETIX Trans Am 100 - and the TA class - at Sebring International Raceway. Doug Peterson (No. 87 Tony Ave Racing 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Corvette) finished second, while teammate Paul Fix (No. 4 Tony Ave Racing Stopflex.com/TheCarCoach.com Chevrolet Corvette) finished third. Cameron Lawrence (No. 1 MOPAR Dodge Challenger) won TA2.

(Audi)
Audi is presenting the Audi R8 LMS, a racing machine that already meets the requirements of the revised GT3 regulations coming in 2016. Lighter, safer, with improved aerodynamics and even more race car technology, the new R8 LMS has already been committed to race in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring (May 16-17) and at Spa (July 25-26). quattro GmbH - the company that develops and assembles the race cars - will begin taking customer orders in the second half of the year and is planning to deliver the first models of the second generation by the end of 2015.

(Audi USA)
Audi will field its 560HP Audi R8 LMS GT3 machines in the Pirelli World Challenge this season, one of the best pure GT racing series in North America.  Six of the special Audi R8 LMS machines will compete this weekend in the season opener in Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas. Audi Sport customer racing North America supports Audi customer racing teams in terms of spare parts supply and technical advice. Audi Sport will accompany the races with support vehicles and personnel under the direction of Brad Kettler. After having finished the series as the runners-up twice in succession, the Audi customer teams are aiming for overall victory in 2015 – led by James Sofronas (No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS), the 2013 runner-up, and Mike Skeen (No. 2 CRP Racing Audi R8 LMS), the 2014 runner-up.

2015 Pirelli World Challenge Schedule:

March 8 - Austin, Texas (USA)
March 29 - St. Petersburg, Florida (USA)
April 19 - Long Beach, California (USA)
April 26 - Birmingham, Alabama (USA)
May 17 - Bowmanville, Ontario (CDN)
May 31 - Detroit, Michigan (USA)
June 28 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (USA)
August 2 - Lexington, Ohio (USA)
August 23 - Tooele, Utah (USA)
August 30 - Sonoma, California (USA)
September 13 - Monterey, California (USA)

(Images courtesy of Mercedes-Benz)
Mercedes-AMG will introduce the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Geneva Motor Show. Designed and developed to comply with the FIA's GT3 race rules, the new GT3 is based on the production Mercedes-AMG GT sports car. Following an intensive test program, the new AMG racing car will be shipped to the first customer teams at the end of 2015.