Culture|Garage

First, big thanks to reader, Brian (b dash rian) for cobbiling together this write up. Always appreciated!

Sebastian Loeb and his Citroen wins. After being led by Jari-Matti Latvala’s Abu Dhabi/BP Ford day 1 and part of 2. Jari suffers a broken IC pipe, looses time on last mountain stage of day 2. Chris Atkinson takes 2nd in his soon-to-be-retired Subaru, for a personal best in WRC, second podium of the year also. Latvala ends up in 3rd, after his boost leak issues on day 2. Petter Solberg and his Subaru have had a hard time all weekend, with a spin on day 1, then a transmission problem leaving him with an un-driven front left wheel, forcing him to drop out of the rally on stage 10. Petter’s 4th place is taken by Mikko Hirvonen, who suffers 3 punctures on day 2, two of which are caused by the same rock, on the same stage. Losing 2 minutes to change the front right, he then struggles as the right rear deflates also. Hirvonen’s tire problems allow Petter’s brother Henning Solberg up to 4th in his Munchi’s Ford. A battle of Fords and Fourth ensues for day 3, while 1, 2, and 3 are firmly set where they are. Mikko takes it after Henning suffers more car issues on the final Super Special Stage.

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Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.- The ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals is coming up, March 13-16. This is the East Coast season opener and the first runnings of Pro Stock bikes. Pro Stock bike is perhaps the last true “stock engine” category, with different makes actually running engines associated with their respective brands. See it on ESPN2, with qualifying being shown from 1-3AM Eastern on March 16, eliminations being shown 6-PM Eastern on March 16, and a repeat of eliminations being shown2-4 AM Eastern on March 19. Read the rest of this entry »

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Silver Dollar Raceway, Reynolds, Ga.- In the mood for a little racing? The Datsun-Nissan-Infiniti shootout is where it’s at. Go on down for some test+tune, competitive index racing and some exhibition passes for those who have the machinery to run fast and strong. The event is open to ALL makes and models of cars, but will focus primarily on anything made by the headline marques. To attend, visit the DNI Shootout page for directions, times and reservation information. Be sure to hurry, this event begins March 16, 2008.

Thanks to W. Discon for the tip!

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The period of the A/FX car is a time that will never be seen again on such a scale as it existed during the early to mid-60’s. It was a time when the cars were based off of production models, used factory parts (for the most part) and when safety was a secondary consideration. As exciting as it is to see a modern Pro-Stocker light ‘em up and make a flawless pass down the ’strip, the drama of the old days is sadly, gone. There are no wheelstands, no diving front ends as drivers reached for another gear on the four-speed, no nuthin’. However, this period is not forgotten, nor is it dormant. It lives on with guys like Mr. Rich “The Performance King” Lefebvre and those like him. Read the rest of this entry »

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Phoenix, Ariz.- Jack Beckman is the Funny Car winner this weekend at Firebird International raceway, beating out Robert Hight who shut his car down early in his final run. Beckman’s winning ET was a 4.86-second pass. Larry Dixon beat out championship leader Tony Schumacher in the final round in Top Fuel, with a 4.534 run in the final to Schumacher’s 4.529, owing his victory to a quick reaction time. V. Gaines 6.70 ET was enough to net him the Pro Stock win, holding off Jason Line, who had to get out of the accelerator early in the final run.

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Subaru Rally Team’s Ken Block took his third consecutive first place overall finish in Rally America’s 100 Acre Wood Rally.  His teammate, Travis Pastrana, rounded up second place overall.  Third place, went to Matthew Johnson–marking his second national podium finish.  Comrie-Picard’s Mitsubishi had suffered damage in day one and a second crash in day two, tied with tranny problems left them finishing fourth overall.

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I want this job.   Autocar tested the new GT-R vs the E92 M3 vs the Porsche GT3.  The test is pretty unbiased.  The GT-R and GT3 trounce the M3.  The Nissan pulls quicker track times, got to 60mph and 100mph a full second ahead of the Porsche.  But some good points were brought up.  The GT3 is just more visceral, it’s a challenge, whereas with the GT-R it’s consistent reliable performance that any old person could get into and make fast.

My favorite quote was: “What we are saying is that a car that is made by a company that used to be called Datsun is as good as the best 911 Porsche ever made.” 

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Day one of the 100 Acre Wood Rally has come to a close. Ken Block is leading over Pastrana by 30 seconds. Block has proved his mettle in these woods before, taking first place overall the last two years in a row.

Late winter storms made for an interesting event, snow and ice blanketed the stages, which left many competitors sliding off course. The Mitsu team, ACP Racing, took a dive off of the last stage and punctured the radiator. That put Comrie-Picard in 6th place overall. Rockstar Energy Drink’s Tanner Foust took his Subie into a fence post, leaving him with significant damage to the left front of the car–netting him at 5th place overall.

Comrie-Picard and Foust are expected to return Saturday and still be in contention for the top spots.

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