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The first rear-engine dragster, really |
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By Joe VanHoose on
11/26/2007 9:57 AM
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Back in August I sat down with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and toured his museum. Inside his museum sits what is considered the “First Successful Rear-Engine Dragster,” the Swamp Rat built in 1971.
After running the story, I received an e-mail claiming that this car was not the first successful rear-engine dragster. The same man who wrote me the day after the story published just sent me a packet with the real first successful rear-engine dragster, the 1963 Israeli Rocket built by Leroy Goldstein.
This car was built from the ground up and ran on a gasoline-powered Oldsmobile engine. It had no rear wing but did incorporate rack and pinion steering, aircraft front wheels and spherical rod ends to make the car handle better. The car ran the quarter-mile in about eight seconds, topping out around 170 m.p.h.
Impressive, indeed, but it didn’t change the ...
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Wrapping up a long racing season |
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By Joe VanHoose on
11/21/2007 3:23 PM
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The NASCAR season is over, and I am tired. So are a lot of you, according to the e-mails and calls I received about why you aren't watching the races anymore. Here are some reasons:
• "My main complaint is on the number of ads shown, particularly during green flag racing. NASCAR is getting so greedy even their own ads are being displayed while active racing is underway." Dick Wolfe, Ocala
• "It's just gotten a little boring, and the TV coverage is horrible. It's gotten to the point now that I listen on the radio if I listen at all." Anne Hamilton, Ocala
• "There's just too much talking on TV. Everything one person says, another one repeats. I don't care if I ever watch it on TV again." Harold Frederick, Ocala
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The senior tour for stock car drivers |
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By Joe VanHoose on
11/8/2007 3:12 PM
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This is the coolest idea I've ever seen for a race series. I present to you the Old School Racing Champions Tour, which starts its 12-race schedule in May.
Gene and Norm Weaver's brainchild will put old-time stock car drivers in identically prepared cars, just like the defunct IROC series. They'll race at short tracks all over the Southeast, including a stop at New Smyrna Speedway in February 2009.
Check out some of the names that will race in this series: David Pearson, Jack Ingram, Harry Gant, Geoff Bodine, Dave Marcis, Phil Parsons, Derrike Cope and Andy Hillenburg. It's like a dream team of old NASCAR stars mixed in with a few who weren't worth too much to begin with.
As hyped as I am to see Pearson, who in my opinion is the best stock car driver of all time, I have some doubt as to whether this series will ever take a green flag. Fo ...
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The 12 Hours of Ocala: Coffee please |
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By Joe VanHoose on
10/18/2007 12:22 PM
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Endurance races today are reserved for the elite in motorsports. Englishmen and Germans wheel their Porsches, Audis and Ferraris around world-famous circuits like Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring and Road America.
These are races against the clock, races where teams of 20 or so plan out every little move and detail to stay competitive.
Then there's the 12 Hours of Ocala, a kind of race that you won't see anywhere else. European sports cars will be replaced by Camaros and Monte Carlos as some of Florida's most dedicated short track drivers take to the 3/8-mile Ocala Speedway for 12 hours of non-stop racing.
Yes, 12 hours of quick left turns on a small egg-shaped oval. Get out the coffee.
The race celebrates its second year Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. Upward of 30 cars are expected to compete in the event, ...
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North Wilkesboro Speedway revival plans back on track |
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By Joe VanHoose on
9/28/2007 7:42 AM
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This weekend 11 years ago, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series visited North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina for the last time. The then 50-year-old track was sold to other racetrack owners, who mothballed the facility after the 1996 racing season.
Time has stood still at North Wilkesboro Speedway since that chilly September day. Banners still hang and tables are still set, and the track office is still filled with old ticket stubs and brochures. It's like the world locked the door to the track behind them that evening, and tomorrow never came.
But rebirth for the speedway could be right around the corner if a land developer gets his way. Worth Mitchell, 33, says he's got a plan in place to buy the track within six months. After talking quietly for seven months with the track's realtor, Andy Stancil, Mitchell stands ready to revive the 61-year-old track.
"This isn't the biggest deal ...
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Your Florida Dream Track |
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By Joe VanHoose on
9/10/2007 9:26 AM
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The local racing season is just a few months from wrapping up, and track owners across the state already have their minds on 2008. Scheduling eight months of non-stop racing is no easy task, not to mention putting together rulebooks and figuring out what classes to run.
That being said, let's set up a little hypothetical situation. You, the race fan, are starting up a local racetrack for next year. What's it going to look like? Will it be dirt or asphalt? What classes will run there? How much will it cost to get in? Will you run qualifying sessions or heat races or just features? What kind of special events would you like to have?
Keep in mind that your budget for all this is modest, so you can't have a NASCAR race.
After spending a year talking to local race fans, I know you have opinions and think that you could put a winning program together if you h ...
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Remembering the Southern 500 |
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By Joe VanHoose on
8/30/2007 2:34 PM
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It's Labor Day weekend, and NASCAR is in California. The series is not in Darlington, S.C., and neither am I. It's been four years now since NASCAR and I rendezvoused at Darlington on this weekend, and it still hurts.
Once regarded as the most prestigious race in NASCAR, Darlington Raceway's Labor Day weekend Southern 500 vanished. NASCAR moved the race weekend with 54 years of tradition out west to California Speedway in 2003.
The organization hauled off the race that defined the sport in the South, taking some innocence and pride along with it.
Once upon a time when NASCAR was just beginning, a South Carolinian named Harold Brasington had a crazy idea and a tractor. In 1950, he opened his creation, the 1.366-mile egg-shaped Darlington Raceway, for the world to see. NASCAR raced on the track from the very beginning, and the two entities played off of each other for half ...
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NASCAR vs. Local Racing: The tide may be turning |
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By Joe VanHoose on
8/23/2007 2:24 PM
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NASCAR returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for a pair of night races Friday and Saturday. In other news, Ocala Speedway hosts a Gulfcoast Modified Series race tonight and Citrus County Speedway will run a full program tomorrow while the NASCAR race is going on.
While the night race at Bristol is the Holy Grail as far as getting a ticket is concerned, the fact that local tracks are running big races this weekend sends a message. These grassroots tracks aren't backing down.
"I could care less what NASCAR is doing," said John Sarppraicone, the promoter for Desoto Super Speedway in Bradenton, who has a full racing program scheduled for his track Saturday night. "Take a look at the crowd at a lot of NASCAR races and you'll see plenty of empty seats. We have a good night every time NASCAR races on Saturdays."
&nbs ...
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Gordon may be wrong, but NASCAR wasn't right |
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By Joe VanHoose on
8/10/2007 8:35 AM
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Funny story: I went to Citrus County Speedway Saturday night to see some good bumping and banging short track action. For the record, I was not disappointed.
Anyway, on my way to the track I was listening to the NASCAR Busch Series race from Canada on the radio. Marcos Ambrose was leading, Robby Gordon was second, and some 12 cars were crashing behind them with four laps to go.
As the caution came out, Gordon passed Ambrose only to be spun by Ambrose in the next turn. NASCAR said that this all happened under caution, and Gordon righted his spun car and rejoined the field in 13th place.
That’s when I arrived at the racetrack and left the broadcast. During the course of the night, I saw a few cars wreck each other and both were sent to the back of the pack. I saw one driver accidentally spin another one out, and the wrecked driver got his spot back.
This ...
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Goodyear Series brings new faces to Ocala Speedway |
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By Joe VanHoose on
7/20/2007 8:16 AM
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Ocala Speedway has proven to be a nightmare for rookies over the years, sending drivers in everything from late models to mini stocks home with beat-up racecars. The track's egg shape and differently-banked corners can throw surprises at even the most seasoned veteran, but first-timers never forget their first spin in turn 2 or crash in turn 4.
Tonight, the track with the tire-marked walls welcomes a new series and a host of drivers who have never taken a lap around the 3/8-mile oval. Bursting at the seems with young talent, the Goodyear Challenge Late Model Series will race for 100 laps, more than enough time for the unexpected to happen.
"This will definitely be a challenge for our drivers since most have never run here," said series director Scott Jackman. "We're very excited to be here."
Excitement turned in ...
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Let the Race to the Chase begin |
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By Joe VanHoose on
6/29/2007 4:34 AM
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Ten races from now, the top 12 drivers in the NASCAR Nextel Cup point standings will branch off from the rest of the pack and race for the championship. With ten races to go until the cutout, it’s time to take a look at who’s in, who’s out, and who’s in trouble.
Chase Locks
Jeff Gordon (1st) holds on to a 171-point lead over second place, even after he was docked 100 points this week for inspection infractions at Sonoma. He’s got the most wins, the most top fives and the most top tens.
Denny Hamlin (2nd) hasn’t won this year, but he’s been in contention nearly every week. His average finish of 9.9 is among the best in the sport.
Matt Kenseth (3rd) hardly gets any media time, but he’s been more effective than flashy this year. The California race winner also ...
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