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Guy martin sets a new speed record in a gravity Racer.
He looks like "Wolverine" from x-men, but congratulations on getting the record.
Gotta see the last few minutes.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhj58mGyGQ0

At 3:40 is the previous record holder Doug Anderson 84.4 MPH.

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[h=2]271 MPH on a motorcycle Guy Martin sets a record[/h]

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Formula One F1 Rosemary Smith 79 years old at Paul Ricard

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World's Fastest female motorcycle racer Valerie Thompson

Valerie Thompson becomes the world’s fastest female motorcycle racer at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials with a 300.263 MPH average in the timed mile and a top speed of 304 MPH.

This is one of many cracks Valerie has made in the glass ceiling and she has only just begun. Thrilling to see her perspective from the cockpit of the “7” Motorcycle Streamliner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMrECzNR2BU

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Blind speed record holder: Dan Parker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDwtYhvXlIE

"I'm not a blind man trying to race. I'm a racer who went blind." ~Dan Parker

As many of you know, March 31, 2012 I was in an accident that forever changed my life. So much has happened since then and I've exceeded specialists expectations in my recovery. I want to start by thanking everyone that have helped me through my healing, and to all who have contributed to my dream of being the first blind man to race the Bonneville Salt Flats……It’s always been a dream of mine to race on the Salt. After the accident, I thought that dream was over. Then it came to me one night in bed that I could do this. Losing my eyesight did not have to stop my goals and dreams.
My land-speed trike is a specially constructed configuration using an Aprilia 50cc motor and a 20mm Lectron carburetor. I've designed the frame and bent the tubes myself using bump dots on my tubing bender and friends have helped with the welding.

My journey is not over. I plan to return to the Salt and have many plans in the works. All of you know someone who is disabled whether it be a disability from birth, progressing through the years, or a tragic accident. We don't want to be seen as disabled but an individual who has talents and has to use a little ingenuity.

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Acknowledging the contributions of Robin Miller to Tampa Racing and to
the Indianapolis Racing History.

One day you will not be with us, but your words will live forever.
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...s-history.html

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Robin Miller paid surprise tribute by colleagues

Monday, 31 July 2017


RACER Staff


Robin Miller's 'Legend Series' T-shirts have gained iconic status among those who are lucky enough to receive one at the Indy 500 every year, and also among fans who frequently spot him wearing them in RACER.com videos.
But at Mid-Ohio last weekend, the tables were turned when Miller arrived for an NBCSN production meeting to find all of his colleagues wearing a specially-commissioned shirt paying tribute to Miller himself.
"For the past few years, Steve Shunck and I have commissioned artist Roger Warrick to draw a caricature of various Indy legends – AJ, Mario, Parnelli, Gurney, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford and the three four-time winners," Miller said.
"We make a couple hundred t-shirts and sweatshirts and give them to our friends – we're not real smart, because we could sell them for good money. The person who coordinates everything for us is Linda Rosenberg, who has been involved in IndyCar merchandising since the early 90s and also serves as a pit spotter for NBCSN at IndyCar races.
"Linda had Roger draw up a T-shirt of me and ambushed me at Mid-Ohio, which is obviously flattering and funny because I'm anything but a legend. She had the entire NBC crew wearing one for our production meeting (ABOVE). Pretty damn cool.
"Anyway, the trick now is to get AJ to wear his and pose for a photo that I can make a Xmas card out of for 2017."
Although not usually available to the public, RACER.com readers will have a chance to score one of a very limited number of the Parnelli Jones 'Legend Series' T-shirts that Miller and Shunck produced for this year's Indy 500.

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Mario Andretti receives IMRRC's Argetsinger Award Friday, 01 September 2017


By RACER Staff / Image by Angelo Lisuzzo



















Mario Andretti receives the International Motor Racing Research Center's Cameron R. Argetsinger Award on Aug. 31, 2017, from Peter Argetsinger and Bobby Rahal, chairman of the IMRRC Governing Council.
A star-studded group of giants in the motorsports industry gathered on Thursday as Mario Andretti was presented with the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports by the International Motor Racing Research Center at the Corning Museum of Glass.
This was the fourth year the glass trophy has been presented; previous honorees were Chip Ganassi, Richard Petty and Roger Penske.
"This is the most amazing evening that I've ever spent. I've never ever experienced anything like this, ever," Andretti said after being presented the Argetsinger Award by IMRRC Governing Council chairman Bobby Rahal and Peter Argetsinger, one of nine children of the late Cameron and Jean Argetsinger.
Ganassi recalled being an 11-year-old asking Andretti for his autograph when he saw him having lunch at the Glen Motor Inn in Watkins Glen.
"Any success I've ever attained in the sport, you can draw a direct line back to your mentorship," Ganassi said.
"Mario was the man," Bobby Rahal said. "He's not just a great driver. He's a great gentleman. He's the greatest ambassador for the sport we love."
In a question and answer session, Andretti told the crowd about his childhood plan to race motorcycles – a plan he thought was dashed when his family moved to Nazareth, Pennsylvania as refugees from Italy. But one week after moving to the States in 1959, he and his brother, Aldo, discovered a racetrack nearby. His competition career began four years later, racing underage at 19.
"I just wanted to drive and drive and drive," he told the audience.
Andretti's Formula 1 debut happened at Watkins Glen, when he claimed the pole in the 1968 United States Grand Prix. Ten years later he was on the pole again and World Champion.
"I felt so good in the car," Andretti said about that 1968 start. "It was an amazing day for me."
Since then, he said, he has raced in four different series at The Glen.
"There is no other track like it," said Andretti, 77, who's back at The Glen Sunday to drive the Honda two-seater.
When asked how he wants to be remembered, Andretti answered simply: "I'm just a racer."
"I feel so blessed. I've gotten so much out of the sport. You're living the dream, and I'm still living it," Andretti said.
Andretti has supported the work of the Racing Research Center since its opening in 1999. He serves on the Center's Drivers Council and twice has been chairman of the annual membership campaign.
The Racing Research Center, located in Watkins Glen, is an archival library dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the history of motorsports, all series and all venues, through its collections of books, periodicals, films, photographs, fine art and other materials. The IMRRC is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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Passing of the torch

Tuesday, 19 September 2017


By Robin Miller / Images by IMS Photo & LAT archive


2.4k Shares
Late Sunday afternoon they were separated by about 50 yards in the pits at Sonoma Raceway as one was celebrating a championship and the other seemed to be reflecting on the reality that his amazing career as a full-time IndyCar driver for Roger Penske was over after 18 years.
Josef Newgarden, the new face of IndyCar racing, alternated between the euphoria of the moment and emotional recounting of the people who helped him reach the top step of his profession in only 26 years.
Helio Castroneves, the most recognizable face of IndyCar for the past two decades, sat on the pit wall and looked back on all of his good fortune and accomplishments, while more or less looking forward to a new chapter in his remarkable story.
It was the passing of the IndyCar torch inside the most successful team in American open-wheel history.
"I can't compare Newgarden to anyone else really, but he's an American, which is special in this sport because many of the other drivers have come from all over the world," said Roger Penske, who now owns 15 IndyCar titles to go with his 16 Indy 500 triumphs and 197 victories since 1969. "I've had so many great drivers and you know I don't have a favorite. But to see Josef get to the top this fast is pretty exciting. He's quite a talent."
Castroneves was walking to meet Morris Nunn in the early evening of Oct. 31, 1999 to sign with Nunn's team when his life changed. Greg Moore, already set to join Team Penske in 2000, had lost his life earlier that day at Fontana and The Captain beckoned the 24-year-old Brazilian to his motor coach.
"I don't want to sound cocky but I had always dreamed of driving the Marlboro car, which of course was Roger's, and when I got the opportunity it obviously changed my life," he reflected after finishing fifth at Sonoma and fourth in the Verizon point standings. "I was so excited and humbled and thankful all at the same time and it took me about 10 seconds to say yes. Obviously, I worked hard to try and get to that point but it's hard to describe how fortunate I felt."
Had it not been for Sarah Fisher, Wink Hartman and Ed Carpenter, there's a damn good chance Newgarden would have been one of the many talented Mazda ladder kids to get one test or one year in an IndyCar before being banished to sports cars.
Those three gave Josef a chance to drive through his mistakes and grow up – something kids seldom get the chance to do anymore – and show the paddock he possessed all the right stuff. Along with engineer Jeremy Milles, he went from potential to the real deal. And Tim Cindric, who hadn't been a big fan a couple years earlier, saw the progress along with R.P.
"After he broke his hand last year [at Texas] and then didn't miss a race and dominated at Iowa, I was really impressed," said the 80-year-old dynamo, who still seldom takes a day off. "You could see he was talented, but that kind of grit and determination is what told me we had to have this kid."
The fact Castroneves never won a championship is hard to believe when you look at his body of work, but he's always been adamant he'd never trade one of his Borg-Warner Trophies for No. 1. Maybe the most amazing thing is that as good as he's always been at Indianapolis, he's never driven better or smarter everywhere than the past two seasons as he passed into his 42nd year last May.
"I can't drive any harder or any better than I did this year and I finished fourth in the championship, which just tells me how tough the competition has become in this series during the past few years," said the veteran who captured three poles, the Iowa race, and only missed one Fast Six all season.
Newgarden, the first American champ since Ryan-Hunter Reay in 2012, was overwhelmed at the team in Team Penske.
"They all made me feel welcome, immediately, and it makes you want to work even harder when you see Helio still so competitive and in such great shape. He's an inspiration."
Following his 2015 Indy win for R.P., Juan Pablo Montoya certainly didn't want to become a full-time sports car driver and Indy 500 only participant in 2017 but understood the timing was perfect for R.P. to snatch Newgarden. So now he'll have a teammate in the Acura program who also has zero desire to leave IndyCar but understands his loyalty to Penske is foremost.
"I love everything about IndyCar," said Castroneves, who was scheduled to test the Acura on Monday at Sebring. "I love the speed, the competition, my team and this has been my life and my family.
"Like I've been telling you for several months, I know I have a job with Roger next year and I'll do whatever is best for him and this team. But I can still win the Indy 500 one or two more times."
Tony Kanaan (pictured above with Castroneves at driver introductions before the Sonoma race) said it was a shame there was no going-away tour for his longtime pal and rival and there was an atmosphere of hoping he could go out with the championship last weekend. Fans and even other drivers seemed somewhat nostalgic when his name was mentioned.
"Behind all the sparkly teeth and hair gel is a hell of a competitor and hell of a driver and he's still up front all the time," said Dario Franchitti, another three-time Indy king.
"Helio is an inspiration and it's been an honor racing with him," said Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy winner whose duel for the win with Castroneves was one of the best ever. "His hunger has always stayed there."
After Sunday's finale, teammate Will Power got out of his car and gave Castroneves a hug, as if to say, 'Helluva run mate,' and that pretty much sums it up. He's been a great ambassador for IndyCar and one of its most popular and successful drivers.
Newgarden is the future of IndyCar and Castroneves is slowly being phased out. But we'll still see a lot of him in May and that just seems kind of fitting.

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Team USA Scholarship
Dakota Dickerson: Sports Cars and F4

Thursday, 21 September 2017

Hello all! After our most recent visits to Circuit of The Americas in the GTS class in Pirelli World Challenge and rounds 15, 16, and 17 of the F4 United States Championship powered by Honda, I thought it would be appropriate to write a blog about everything I experienced. Firstly, I want to thank Jonatan Jorge of JJRD, Jeremy Shaw from the Team USA Scholarship and ANSA Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to race in the Pirelli World Challenge.
Now, getting to the racing, the PWC weekend started for us with two practice sessions. I spent the first session getting acclimated to the car and track, both of which I had yet to experience. There were a lot of new driving techniques that I needed to get accustomed to. To give you an idea, the Audi-powered KTM XBOW GT4 car that I was driving for the weekend had nearly twice as much power (330hp) than anything I had yet driven – the next closest car was the Mazda MZR powered Tatuus USF-17 car which puts out 170 hp. With my background mainly in formula cars, this was also my first experience with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and TC (Traction Control). It was a weird feeling being able to push the brakes as hard as you can and not see a hint of tire smoke.
Nevertheless, it was fun to experiment with and test the brake zones. It was also a bit of a weird feeling to be wheeling a car around that almost weighs almost 3,000 lbs compared to our nimble formula cars that weigh 1,300 lbs. Lastly, the other main function of this car that I needed to get used to was the fact that it uses an "Auto Shift" system for the upshifts, meaning the car will upshift for you, without any input from the driver. That has its positives and negatives but, again, another great learning experience.
After the practice sessions on Friday I felt very acclimated to the main functions of the car and had some very good pace. I also noticed a big difference in the mentality and goals in comparison to my formula car experience thus far. Although we, of course, wanted to show strong in every session, it was not important to put down quick laps, but rather conserve the car for the race and work on a sector by sector format instead of a full lap-based format. We finished off both days within the top 10 and felt confident for the following day's qualifying and race.

We went out for qualifying ready to push and put in a good lap time to get us near the front of the 23-car field. Up until this point, the nerves and butterflies hadn't really set in yet, but lining up next to so many drivers that I have watched over the years was very exciting. We ended up qualifying fourth for Race 1, and only a tenth away from the second-place car. All of us at ANSA Motorsports were very happy because we were within striking distance for the opening race, which began with a rolling start. We lined up on the outside of row two but didn't have a car in front of us because the second-fastest car had been disqualified for a technical infraction.
I pushed hard on the first lap and made a move for second around the outside of Turn 6 and then a move for first on the inside of Turn 10 before we went down the back straight. I even surprised myself; I was not expecting to move up to the lead that quickly but I knew the job was far from over. We maintained a solid three-to-four second lead for the first 30 minutes of the 50-minute race until we had some major tire degradation. I slipped back into third position with about five minutes to go, but my engineer for the weekend, Tom Brown, was still giving me words of encouragement and I was pushing as hard as I could.
With two laps remaining, I entered the back straight and launched off a large curb on the exit of the hairpin and felt like I had an issue with the engine. The car wouldn't pull over 4,000 rpms so I pulled over and ended our race in hopes of saving the car. After further data review I discovered that when I went over the curbing, I had unwittingly activated the pit lane speed limiter button which is why the car would not go any faster than what was essentially pit speed! It was disappointing but we got some great data for the car and I gained some very valuable experience.
I really wish there was a lot for me to write about for Race 2 but unfortunately our race was quite short. Just 16 turns to be exact. We lined up eighth for what this time would be a standing start and then, after losing a few positions, I was fighting hard to regain the lost ground. Going into Turn 16, which is a long sweeping right-hand corner, I was on the outside of two cars. Unfortunately, they made contact with each other and then caromed into our right side, ending our race due to major damage to our right front corner and deranged right rear suspension. It was really just one of those "racing incidents" where not much could have been done by any party involved. Nevertheless, I felt gutted for all of the ANSA Motorsports guys who had worked so hard to get us to the front.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and can't thank everyone who was involved enough. I learned a tremendous amount about the sport that I was not aware of, both on and off the track. If an opportunity comes up again, I will certainly be back in the seat. A review of the action is here.
Two weeks later I was back at COTA for the F4 championship races with Kiwi Motorsport, so I felt very comfortable and confident with some valuable knowledge of the track. We had good pace for the first two practice sessions and then gained a very good draft in qualifying to post the second fastest lap, which put us on the front row for Race 1.

I again used the draft to my advantage in the first race to overtake the leader on the back straight. This turned out to be a very valuable move as we had two full-course caution periods that would bring us to last eight minutes of our 30-minute race. We had a good, hard battle at the restart but I had to make do with fourth at the finish. Because of that, I never put a good lap together which meant we had to line up 10th for Race 2. This would be our worst starting position this year but I was confident we could make our way back up through the field. We were doing just that, making a few good passes to get us up to seventh when a school bus drove onto the track – during the race! The officials immediately red-flagged the race and brought us back the pits, leaving enough time for a restart with about 10 minutes remaining.
I was able to make up one more position before the checkered flag to finish sixth. More importantly, my best lap ensured a starting position on the front row for the final race and led to a great battle among the top four drivers. Fellow Team USA Scholarship driver Kyle Kirkwood also was among the mix. We would again finish fourth, just outside the podium, so it wasn't the weekend we had hoped for but we are still sixth in the points table – despite contesting only nine of the 18 races held so far – and less than 10 points away from third, so the team and I are working hard to have a great showing at the final rounds of the F4 Championship next month.
If you want to see how the F4 United States Championship is helping young drivers transition to cars, SAFEisFAST.com recently published an excellent short video that features me, Kyle and some other F4 drivers and personnel.
Again, I can't thank the Team USA Scholarship and all those involved for continuing to play a tremendous role in my career.
All the best,
Dakota