The Oregon Trail Rally is known as one of the toughest on the Rally America calendar, and as the fourth round of the national championship series, it’s the moment when the race for the national championship title is at its most intense.
Oregon Trail is tough for a number of reasons, not the least of which are the traditional punishing roads of Oregon’s coast range with their extreme crown to drain the coast’s prodigious rainfall. The organizers lost access to those roads this year, and moved the rally to the equally challenging slopes of Mount Hood. The roads in the Cascades aren’t as crowned as the coast range, but they are substantially rougher, with embedded boulders that can launch a rally car.
This year’s Oregon Trail Rally took place over 100 miles of competition on a course that includes …Â Details
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 The attorney for Jeremy Mayfield hinted Thursday he’ll take legal action to have Mayfield’s NASCAR suspension lifted.
Mayfield and attorney Bill Diehl met for more than an hour with NASCAR officials. Although Diehl said the meeting was cordial, it did not get them any closer to resolving the issue. Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test.
“Jeremy doesn’t believe that he’s done anything that supports his suspension for the use of drugs,” Diehl said.
NASCAR has not revealed what banned substance Mayfield used, and …Â Details
Nico Rosberg continued his impressive form in practice by setting the fastest lap in preparation for Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton showed his McLaren just might be finding its pace again.
Rosberg navigated the tiny principality’s narrow streets the fastest in his Williams with a best time Thursday of 1 minute, 15.243 seconds across both sessions.
Although the German driver has led nine of the 16 practice sessions this season, his best finish through five races is sixth.
“I think we’re going to … Details
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Profiles of the 33 drivers in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, in starting order with car number in parentheses, age, hometown, chassis, race team, four-lap qualification average and biographical information (w-former winner; r-rookie; all chassis Dallara, all engines Honda):< ^ROW 1=
1. (3) w-Helio Castroneves, 34, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Team Penske; 224.864 mph. Two-time Indy 500 winner missed season-opener during his tax evasion trial, in which he was acquitted of most charges. Seventh at Long Beach and runner-up at Kansas, he’s 10th in season points. Has won 14 IndyCar races, at least one each season since 2001 when he came to IRL. Won Indy in 2001 and 2002, the first to repeat since Al Unser Sr. in 1970-71. Fourth at Indy last year. Won TV’s “Dancing with the Stars†in 2007.
2. (6) Ryan Briscoe, 27, Sydney, Australia; Team Penske, 224.083 mph. Won season-opener at St. Petersburg, his third career win, and is second in series points after three races …Â Details