AUGUST 19, 2015

(Photos by Larry Chen/Louis Yio/Global RallyCross Championship/newspressUSA)
Nelson Piquet Jr. (07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST) finally topped the Supercar podium for the first time in the Red Bull Global RallyCross Washington DC, presented by Volkswagen. It was his 21st GRC start. Piquet held off defending Washington DC race winner Patrik Sandell (No. 18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST) and points leader Ken Block (No. 43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST) to take the victory.

(Laguna Seca/Mazda Raceway)
"I love it when I see my former cars racing here," said three-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart, at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion over the weekend. "They may not go as fast as we did in the day (he mentioned he holds the lap record at Goodwood from 1965, and it still has not been beaten), but it is wonderful to see them." When fans tell Stewart they were inspired by him during his racing years, he wonders if it was more about the times than his driving. "It was a glamorous time but a dangerous time, and that may have attracted a lot of attention from a lot of people. I lived through it, but I don't understand why I am still recognizable."

(Photo by John M. Galloway for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
General Motors EVP of Product Development Mark Reuss with NASCAR legend Junior Johnson and Jeff Gordon before the start of the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. More on the race below.

Matt Kenseth. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar General Toyota Camry won the Pure Michigan 400 at the Michigan International Raceway on Sunday. The race, conducted with NASCAR's "high-downforce" setup, was a relentless snooze-fest as NASCAR and its apologists tried to put the best spin on it, saying they should be given credit for trying things to make the racing better. A giant "whatever" at this point. Get more info here.

(Volkswagen)
Scott Speed has signed a two-year extension of his contract with Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross to continue to drive the No. 41 Volkswagen Beetle GRC in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship. Speed is a three-time X Games Gold Medalist and five-time GRC race winner.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
The IMSA GT cars take center stage this weekend at the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway. Michelin and its technical partner teams from BMW Team RLL, Corvette Racing, Porsche North America and Risi Competizione Ferrari will do battle in the GTLM class, which is hands-down the most competitive road racing series in the world. Early forecasts predict ambient temperatures in the low 90s and Michelin engineers expect track surface temperatures on the shorter 3.27 mile, 17 turn VIR circuit, which was repaved in 2014, to reach the 105-115 degree range, 10 to 15 degrees higher than at Road America. “Our teams will be prepared for the higher track temperatures,” said Ken Payne, motorsports technical director for Michelin North America. “A fresh track surface absorbs more heat from direct sunshine and the materials used in the paving process provide microscopic edges for tires to grip,” said Payne. “That can accelerate tire wear and if the track surface gets really hot, it can make the track increasingly slick.” Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R) hold a slim four point lead in the TUDOR Championship GTLM driver and team standings over BMW Team RLL’s Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner (No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE) with Porsche’s Patrick Pilet, winner of the last two races with co-driver Nick Tandy, only a single point further back in the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR. Porsche leads the Manufacturers’ championship by three points over BMW with Chevrolet just four points further back. The Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 at 1:00 p.m. (ET), Sunday, August 23. Continuing coverage, notes and photos will be available throughout the race weekend at www.michelinalley.com and @michelinalley.

(BMW images/newspressUSA)
In an attempt at making up for showing its BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage in that hideous green when it was first unveiled, the German company unveiled the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach – "a car that celebrates both the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America and the heady racing success of the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975," according to the manufacturer. We'll save you the rest of the blah-blah-blah in the press release, which said exactly nothing in case you're wondering, but at least the paint job makes it much nicer to look at.

(Formula-e Championship/newspressUSA)
Daniel Abt (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport) set a new Formula E lap record as series testing resumed at Donington Park. The Abt Schaeffler driver used the full 200kw qualifying mode on Day 3 of series testing to record a lap of 1:30.250, comfortably quicker than Sebastien Buemi’s previous best of 1:31.050s, set on the final day of last week’s test. The top five were: 1. Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, 1:30.250s; 2. Nicolas Prost, Renault e.dams, +0.771s; 3. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, +0.773s; 4. Loic Duval, DRAGON RACING, +0.894s and 5. Jacques Villeneuve, Venturi, +0.943s.

(Formula E)
Brazilian Lucas di Grassi (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport) became the first driver to record a time in the 1:29s on the fourth day of Formula E pre-season testing at Donington Park, in the United Kingdom. di Grassi used the 200kw qualifying mode to post a lap of 1:29.920s to break the lap record set by his teammate Daniel Abt yesterday.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
BMW Team RLL is girding for battle in round eight of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday. BMW arrives at VIR just three points behind Porsche in the GTLM class manufacturer points standings. “This year continues to be one of the most competitive I can remember," said Bill Auberlen. "Early in the season it seemed to be the Corvettes that posed our biggest challenge. Now Porsche has won the last three rounds. I think the championship will come down to the last race and this weekend’s GT-only event will be a very good indicator of who will be the favorite for the title.”