First Quadriplegic Driver Will Compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Colorado Springs, February 24, 2009—-Pikes Peak International Hill Climb veterans Steve Bennett of Sedalia, Colorado, and Travis Tollett of Walters, Oklahoma, will team up to compete in the 2009 Race To The Clouds…….and make history together.
That’s because Tollett will become the first quadriplegic competitor in the event’s long and storied history.
Bennett and co-driver Tollett will be charging up the mountain in the Pikes Peak Open Division in a Mazda RX-7 TurboII, built by Don Walker of Horsepower Research and Development LLC of Commerce City, Colorado. …Â More info
[ad#cor1]
We all could use a break right about now, so let’s go to the races. But you might not recognize racing in its 2009 version.
Motor racing of all types became a huge draw during the First Great Depression, from 1929 until the start of WWII.
Today, though, in this Second Great Depression, motor racing is being hit hard, not just in the US, but worldwide.
Every major racing series, from the quintessentially American series like NHRA drag racing, IndyCar and NASCAR to world events like Formula 1, the exciting and interesting new A1 Grand Prix series to World Rally, European Touring Cars and all the motorcycle sports, too, are trying…Â More info
[ad#cor1]
Championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham hosted a “fireside chat” on Wednesday that addressed a myriad of on- and off-track subjects. He’s a minority owner at Richard Petty Motorsports, the company created when Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports merged last month. In reality, he doesn’t have a definitive role or any hands-on contact with the company that fields Dodges for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, A. J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson.
“They’re good people and I wish them well,” he said, “but there are some other things I want to do. And after the sale [of Evernham Motorsports to George Gillett], we weren’t always on the same page. We weren’t in agreement on how things should be done. After a while, the job [of team owner] became a grind. It was seven days a week with 12- to 16-hour days. I didn’t have anything left when I walked away [last June]. I didn’t have that killer instinct, so it was time to get out.”…Â More info
What makes for the best racing? What do people prefer? A Sunday afternoon or Saturday night watching the big boys of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or a Saturday night at your favorite local paved or dirt 1/4-mile bullring?
Just to keep this from blooming into a wide open discussion, I am going to limit this to stock car, sprint cars and midgets for the most part. Obviously there are many out there that prefer NHRA, Formula One, Indy Car Racing etc.. All good choices, but this is more of a comparison between local weekly shows and the top series in America, NASCAR. …Â More info
[ad#cor1]