Monday, July 30, 2012

So what really did Allmendinger take?

Having become fairly intrigued by this year’s Tour de Farce and whether any of the remaining competitors could overtake Bradley Wiggins in the Pyrenees; before Wiggins crushed all comers with his Stage-19 victory in the tour’s final individual time trial... I actually sat down and watched both days’ “Primetime” replays... As I’ve become intriguingly curious over how do you build the “Perfect” 9-rider team...

But what does all of this cycling talk have to do with the fallen NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger you say. Well perhaps you’ve read all about the never ending doping controversy’s surrounding the tour. As to date the sport has stripped two champions of their respective titles; the American Floyd Landis in 2006 and Spaniard Alberto Contador in 2010. While the USADA is currently on a Lance Armstrong witchunt - along with French cyclist Remy Di Gregorio  having been arrested for alleged doping while Luxemburg’s Frank Schleck, the older brother of eventual 2010 tour winner Andy Schleck has just seen his “B” sample come back positive...

Which leads us to Allmendinger, who is awaiting the results of his B-sample testing with his own Toxicologist and Lawyer present, as I find it hilarious, but not shocking at all that NOBODY will talk about the white elephant in the room...

Although it’s been hinted at - has anybody pondered if the “banned” stimulant that AJ’s been accused of using - perhaps, just perhaps came from his very own personal sponsor “Fuel-in-a-Can;” Err, DON’T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW! OOPSADAISY! I meant the Fuel in a Bottle Energy and Protein power shots Created by BYB Brands and distributed by Coca-Cola Consolidated. As even ESPN has now noted how easily these popular supplements are contaminated...

Hmm? Better watch out Mikey! As isn’t MWR running 5-hour Energy sponsorship?

Thus, while we await the outcome of Allmendinger’s B-sample - which I hope comes back negative and thus clears AJ of any wrong doing... Yet, if this happens and NOBODY speaks up on what the unapproved stimulant was, then is it some sort of cover-up? As in trying to protect the sponsors? As Coca-Cola’s not exactly a small company, right? While I don’t have a clue who this BYB Brands is; but C’mon AJ! You’re gonna willingly pitch some product endorsed by some WWF ‘RAW World Heavyweight ‘RASSLIN champ-PEE-on? YIKES! Then again may be its not that much worse than Red Bull, eh?


Meanwhile, on a side-note, and I’m NOT suggesting it had anythingy to do with le ‘Hanburgular’s (Sebastain Bourdais) Open Wheel Racing success... But how many people know that ‘SeaBass was elevated to 2002 F3000 International Champion after the title winner Tomas Enge was disqualified for failing a drug test. (Reputedly Marijuana according to ‘WICKEDpedia...)

Although ironically Enge utilized funding from Coca-Cola who was sponsoring his Nordic F3000 team to advance into Formula 1 where he contested three Grand Prix’s in the latter stages of 2001 for Prost Grand Prix before the F1 team folded.

After his F3000 career, Tomas subsequently went on to contest 17-races in the IRL for Panther Racing, including the 2005 Indy 500 with moderate success before moving to Sports Cars, as I recall him winning the GT1 category at Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans) for Prodrive in a Ferrari 550 Maranello and perhaps the subsequent Aston Martin DBR9.

Yet ironically, and I’d say very quietly - Enge has once again been placed upon suspension from racing for testing positive for a banned substance
At this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship Navarra round held in May, before the results were publicly announced on June 19th.

And while I sincerely hope Allmendinger’s ultimately cleared of the matter, I did find it a ‘Wee bit strange that reputedly ‘Ol SuperTex would like to have a word with him ‘bout piloting an IndyCar if thingys don’t work out in ‘RasscarLand...

Friday, July 27, 2012

Mt Tahoma calls...

Off to bask in the glory of Mt Tahoma, more commonly known as Mount Rainier and hence I’ll be forgoing the Hungarian Grand Prix which sees its television coverage switch back to its rightful home on SPEED, now that the FOX F1 4Pack race-fest is over...

Thus, I’ll be missing out on all of thee Formula 1 happenings, i.e.; Red Bull’s “Torque-gate,” Silly Willy Stupor Season, etc before Formula One takes its summer break, effectively taking the month of August off after having just crossed the mid-season threshold.

And hopefully I won’t be jinxing myself by harkening back to this cloud spotting thought bubble way back in ’09, when a patch ‘O wispy white clouds brought a momentary relief from the day’s summer heat...


 As somehow I’m guessing that most of Europe is wishing for a break from ALL of that WET stuff, whilst I’m guessing that most of the Midwest is thinking of doing some rain dances instead, as I’ve just read ‘bout how the great drought is set to reek havoc upon the world’s food supply with the lack of corn, which a major portion is used for producing the Indy Car’s Go-Go juice; Ethanol; YIKES! I mean HELL! Even Mother Speedway has announced a burning ban this weekend...


As I would have enjoyed checking out the inaugural Grand Am road race at Indy, while don’t forget that Moto GP is at Laguna Seca this weekend too...

Photo’s now available for Sauber F1 Cutaway Car...

Although this is slightly old news, as you’ve probably heard already about the amazing Sauber F1 Cutaway Car... Nonetheless, it is an amazing thing that the Sauber Boyz have done - cutting an BMW F1.08 vertically down its centerline, which you can check out more in detail below...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Remembering Jeff Krosnoff -The Final Chapters...

Jeff Krosnoff and his famous "Superman" pose on the front wheel of his Arciero-Wells Reynard-Toyota for RACER Magazine in 1996. (Photo source: speed.com)
Its funny how life goes, as for reasons unknown, and as time marches on - with another year having slipped by; I can no longer recollect where I was on that fateful Bastille Day, as I can only surmise I was on holiday in the San Juan Islands? Since I do know that I didn’t watch the 1996 Toronto Molson Indy, nor can I say I really knew who Jeff Krosnoff was... After all he was just another back marker pummeling around in a recalcitrant Toy-yoter that summer at Portland International Raceway. Hell, I probably even made some sorta very stupid comments about the tail end Charlie Japanese powered racecar...

Thus, I suppose it is what it is - and may be I’m making too big a dealio outta the karma of having crossed paths with three racing drivers directly involved that very day the past two years at Indianapolis now, but I do find it very symbiotic that I’ve briefly met “Stevie Johnson,” aka Stefan Johansson and Yo Adrian! (Adrian Fernandez) whilst ‘CARPETS snagged MAD MAX’S (Massimiliano Papis) John Hancock for Mwah all at Mother Speedway the past two years, albeit I just haven’t found the time to poond away my reflections upon these meetings yet, as it felt overly ironic that I was reading the latest installment of the Marshall Pruett Krosnoff Chronicles exactly one year after I’d posted my initial thoughts upon the matter...


Messer Pruett then expounds upon what he calls The Missing Years,” chronicling Krosnoff’s sacrifices in far-away Japan along with some very positive recollections from other cast-away competitors with names like “IRV-THE-SWERVE” and “Mr. LeMans,” aka Eddie Irvine and Tom Kristensen respectively, not to mention another driver from the Japanese F3000 Rat Pack who’d lose his life racing named “Roland-the-Rat.” (Ratzenberger)


And this was followed up with the startling revelation that Krosnoff had faced-off against some Italian named ‘Zorro for a ride in thee ‘Cheepster’s machine...


Jeff Krosnoff piloted this beautiful Cal Well owned Reynard-Toyota during his far too short lived CART rookie campaign in 1996. (Source: Speed.com)
And I must admit that I found Marshall Pruett’s writing very powerful - as his written description of the events prior to and following Krosnoff’s and unheralded volunteer corner worker Gary Avrin’s deaths caused me to shed several tears... Although I wish that SPEED would have run the entire story last year, as I finally gave up waiting for Part-4 which Pruett teased us about at the end of Part-3.

Max Papis’s verve, flair and unbridled Italian passion towards life are undeniable - as his moxie, or charisma are what inevitably drew me to like him so much - as it seems even more ironic that Massimiliano has had to deal directly with two fallen comrades, as he still wears red gloves in honour of the late Greg Moore.

Thus I found Pruett’s insight’s towards Papis’s huge reservations regarding taking over Krosnoff’s seat not only terribly moving but typical Massimiliano.

And meeting Stefan Johansson, he seemed like an overly pleasurable person who Pruett notes simply saw a gap momentarily opened by ‘EMMO (Emerson Fittipaldi) and as any racing driver would naturally do - went for I-T! Unaware that the relentless Krosnoff in the underpowered Toyota also saw the same opportune gap and dove straight into it in hopes of overtaking Johansson...

While meeting Adrian Fernandez this May, he was the consummate Gentleman, standing to greet me personally and answering all of my questions most politely - as he totally strikes me like the type of person who wouldn’t have celebrated over-joyously for his debutant Open Wheel victory had he been cognizant of Krossnoff’s life threatening injuries...

Meanwhile there were two tidbits I wished Pruett had expounded upon further, as he mentions how the destroyed Reynard/Toyota sat impounded for seven years... Along with divulging the cold, harsh, callous world of Formula 1; where really Ferrari? You couldn’t have the decency to release Mr. Irvine from a FREAKIN’ test session in order to attend his fallen friend’s funeral; SHEISA! Talk ‘bout turning my stomach in knots towards la Scuderia!

And it was with further irony that thee original ‘TK, Tommy Kendall was co-hosting Wind Tunnel the weekend following this year’s Toronto IndyCar race and gave some great insights into his fallen friend - with the picture of the two teenagers  together during their Jim Russell driving school days being flashed upon screen.

As I’ve only gotten thru the first page of Part-6 which features some magnificent antidotes  about Krosnoff - as I especially enjoyed Dan Layton noting how Jeff pounding ‘round in an obsolete Ralt Atlantic car made him realize he wasn’t cut out to be a racer! Along with Adam Saal recalling him smiling whilst bundled up in a parka asking for some stickers for his niece during the snow-delayed U.S. 500 at Michigan... 

All six segments are broken into three-page stories - which surely Y’all can read way faster then ‘Lucy, my Screen-reader does, ever since being forced to purchase the new & NOT! Improved Zoomtext 10.0; URGH! But I highly recommend reading all six segments...



OWR: Keeping Company with Krosnoff - Unfortunately

And while I appreciate the ‘Mega amount of work Marshall Pruett put into his one year six-part odyssey paying homage to Jeff Krosnoff, he’s also written about the late Jovy Marcelo, who’s twentieth anniversary of his passing occurred this May...


Whilst your humble No Fenders scribe has previously pined about a few other fallen Open Wheel Racing Stars who seemed to be forgotten, albeit I didn’t delve into everyone, just the drivers left out last year during a Trackside radio show following Dan Wheldon’s death...


While I did pay my respects to the late Greg Moore, ironically the only ‘Juan ‘O these racing CART/IRL drivers I actually witnessed live via the camera eye’s view perish - making my debutant pilgrimage to the great Greg Moore Gallery in BC Place just days after the tenth anniversary of his untimely passing...

Monday, July 23, 2012

Quip of The Weekend

So I might not have this exactly word for word as I was  (LOL) laughing too hard, but here goes.

Bobby Rahal:
“Helio starts blocking as soon as he gets his Rental Car for the weekend!”

As this was in response to Kevin Lee trying to stir-the-pot with Meesh’s favourite IndyCar owner “BoobyRay-X” in response when Rahal’s driver ‘Taku-san (Takuma Sato) was  trying to run down ‘CastroNervous for the win while running an excellante second place just scant tenths of a second adrift of the elder Penske driver... 

Modern Day Villans?

Otay, if you listen to ‘R, thee ‘Ol Curmudgeon of Open Wheel Racing... Better known as Robin Miller, then you’ve probably heard his “HATE IS GOOD” more than once on either Speed Centre or Wind Tunnel... As for reasons unknown - probably due to human nature, your humble No Fenders scribe has been known to those willing to let him pontificate over the decades over just who exactly he HATES in Der Motorsporten ‘Vurld Ja-Ja! Primarily of Formula 1 and IndyCar...

Thus I spent the weekend consuming copious grains ‘O sand gorging thyself upon le Telescreen watching all three days of the German Grand Prix and Edmonton’s Indy Car race, along with listening to the ‘Qualie session via ze Internetz...

Thus I spent Saturday being chagrined - thinking I’d been smacked hard upside thee head by the Karmic Whip, as my current top two villain’s threw down upon me, as first it was thy smarmy ‘Juan Fredrico Suave, aka Fernando Alonso snatching pole ahead of local hero Master ‘Zebb in Der Fatherland... As I’ve previously noted Alonso will forever be known to Mwah as “Ferdi-duh-Putz,” as he was rightly christened by Blogmeister Miguel! Which is funny since he’s the only current F1 driver I have any great disdain towards these days.

And whilst I currently harbour angst towards ‘HULIO and “Dashley LePew - my numero uno target ‘O hate in IndyCarz is none other than “BULLY-RAY!” And NO! This angst surfaced prior to his becoming the point’s leader; basically when he first brake-checked Oriel Servia and then got into a heated push ‘N shove match on TV ironically in Edmonton one year ago...


Therefore I wasn’t overly surprised to learn that ‘BullyRay had been given a penalty for unsportsmanlike competition during Friday’s practice session when he ‘Turfed James Jakes off-track and then also apparently told the Englishman who fly’s the Boy Scouts flag he was number-one! Geez Ryan, that’s not very good behaviour upon your part, I mean talk ‘bout setting an example for all of ‘Dem aspiring Scouts, eh?

But Hunter-Reay showed me who’s boss by claiming the pole on Saturday afternoon; SHEISA! As I shut down thee Inter-woods prior to his post ‘Qualie interview - with the only silver lining being he’d need to take a 10-grid spot penalty for an unapproved engine change...

And I typically DON’T think of Grizzled ‘Journo Joe Saward as a villain, having seen him getting his 15 ‘My-nutes ‘O Fame on SPEED during the Jolly Good Hydrofest at Silverstone - when Joe not only made it on to thy ‘Telie, but became a pair of Bookends between another commercial break when Bob Varsha waxed-on about Joe hangin’ out in the Sauber F1 Team’s pits with its top brass, his various media platforms and winning a car. (A Toyota Prius I believe...)

Thus I found myself overly annoyed with Joe’s ‘Wingeing on about needing to be careful of who you trust for your media reports as he’s ‘Juan ‘O the Privileged to not only have Grand Prix Paddock access but actually report on the races live-in-person...

And speaking ‘O TV, typically FOX is my villain de rigour when it comes to F1 broadcasts... But I’d haveda say this year’s solution of hosting the Pre & Post-race segments on SPEED made this usually abysmal block of Grand Prix’s most palatable... Along with not only the Booth Boyz of FOX/SPEED but NBC Sports Network actually reading the entire starting grid line-ups which is most preferred by your visually impaired ‘Vurd Botcherer; Err Hack!

But back to the races, as you can probably guess my feelings of joy over that DAMN Fernando winning again... As CRAP! Alonso’s now won three races this season, as I was hoping ‘JENSE would pull off an upset; guess we all know why Ferrari’s reportedly paying Fredrico $32m per season; CRIKEYS!

And then there was BullyRay instantly causing me to croon WWHAAHHHH-WAAH-WAAH!!! At my television as RHR’s in-car radio was played for everybody’s amusement over him CRYING that Will Power should be given a drive-thru penalty...

As somehow I didn’t even find myself being overly annoyed by ‘HULIO winning Sunday; YIKES! Although I did spend the races latter laps chanting get ‘em ‘Taku! As I can still vividly recall being the ONLY person BOOING him in the grandstands on his thought-to-be victory cool-down lap at Edmonton in 2010... You know when he tried fixing Charles Burns shirt collar, right?

Since in the years past I’d actually mute ALL Castroneves and ‘Princess interviews - although that’s gotta be the most happy I’ve ever seen & listened to him... Although I still say he’s working overtime upon his future ‘RASSCAR Bomber Pilot career, I mean C’mon Helio, who’s your shoe sponsor, eh?

And there Y’all have I-T, a fairly typical Tomaso-rant - as I wonder what original Open Wheel Racing BAD Boy Mr. Chrome Horn thinks about all of this? As somehow I don’t think ‘BullyRay holds a candle compared to Thee Thrill from the West Hill...

‘Weeze miss Yuhs ‘PT!

Word Up!

This made me crack up when reading I-T Friday afternoon, as it was Trackside Online crack reporter teaching me some new fangled slang in regards to current No Fenders No. 1 BAD boy RHR...

Patrick Stefan:
"Digitus medius"

As according to Patrick, this is what BULLY-RAY! Displayed whilst giving James Jakes a gentle push into the weeds; Aye Karumba! And thanxs to IMS Radio Network’s Davey Hamilton for reminding me that apparently this isn’t the first time ‘BullyRay has displayed his "digitus medius" at Edmonton, as Davey & Mike “Yippee-Aye-Eh!” King reminisced over RHR saluting Takuma Sato Up North Eh! Hmm? Wonder if it was the same ‘Qualie session when RHR was an Ugly American to Servia...

But as Patrick later pointed out, may be, just may be? ‘BullyRay might wish to seek out Will Power for instructions upon how to properly give the Byrd; Hya! 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The Tomaso Files: ‘Gee-tar, Grills, a Growler or Two, Greens and Gondola’s ...

Ah, the life ‘O a Word Butcherer, or as Ralph Sheheen has labeled those of us on the sidelines: Keyboard Warriors; Hooah! Cymbol crash please...

I must confess a certain tranquility (now shattered from returning to le keyboardz) after a very pleasant 10-day Safari away from le Confuzer over a very relaxing fourth ‘OOH, AHH; NOT! July, albeit not quite as rewarding as grizzled ‘Journo Joe Saward’s when he’s handed the keys to a brand spankin’ new Infiniti FX35, or Meesh getting her hands upon a Honda CR-Z Hybrid to road trip to Indy and Belle Isle in...

As our mode of transportation was none other then the trusty ‘Ol ‘RattleLacc... The venerable ’92 Caddy that just keeps on taking a licking while  keepin’ on ticking; Err running ‘N running despite its obvious mechanical woes - hence its moniker; but I digress...

And where to begin; as although I’ve just been painfully reminded that this is supposed to be a “pure” racing site devoted to Formula 1 and Indy Cars... Nonetheless I feel compelled to wax-on eloquently ‘bout my recent travails, which after all did indeed encapsulate some aspects of thy PetrolHeadz existence...

’GEE-TARZ
Thus kicking off this zany trip was  the partaking of another Tommy emmanuel concert, our second in the past 17-months, as I’d initially seen this ‘GEE-TAR Virtuoso last February prior to going Down Under for the 2011 Australian Grand Prix... As I found it bemusing that that show was opened by a female guitar player from New Zealand followed by the ‘Aussie guitar legend - since I’d be touching down in both countries en route to Adelaide...

Grills
LeMay-America’s Car Museum
Tacoma, Washington

Not to be Cornfuzed with that hit Motley Crue song Girls-Girls-Girls; Hya! As I went with my G-laden title as I didn’t wish to reveal the original working title which I was told would make an excellante Children’s book title instead...

Afterwards, thanxs solely to Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary Ellen, I made not ‘Juan but Doce pilgrimages to this fabulous new Automobile museo in Tacoma, which is in the No Fenders pipeline of future stories; YIKES! Whenever mize fingerz ‘N knucel’s permitz, eh?

As I’d mentioned previously although I was definitely planning a trip down to Tacoma to visit said museum, I became overly stoked about visiting upon learning of the uniquely odd looking Smokey Yunick Hurst Floor Shift Special IndyCar being on display...


No. 61 Cummins Diesel Special Sister Car seen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Hall of Fame museum May, 2012. (Photo Courtesy of No Fenders ‘Offical Photographer ‘CARPETS)
IMS Hall of Fame museum ‘Loaner’s...
1) 1925 Miller Junior 8 Special, No. 1. (Single Seater)
2) 1930 Miller HiSpeed Special. (Two Seater/Riding Mechanic) 
3) 1931 Cummins Diesel Special, No. 8. (Two Seater/Riding Mechanic) 
4) 1940 Sampson 16 Special, No. 32.
5) 1938 Gulf-Miller Tucker Special, No. 12.
6) 1948 Kurtis Roadster, No. 98. (J.C. Agajanian)
7) 1959 Watson Roadster Leader Card Special, No. 5 (winner)
8) 1964 Hurst Floor Shift Special. (Smokey Yunick)
9) 1968 Lotus 56 Turbine, No. 70. (Graham Hill)

As these nine outstanding examples of Mother Speedway’s illustrious history were denoted as the Speed of Sound collection, just one tiny portion of the museum’s cavernous four floor’s and six-ramps exhibits... Of which although I got to view the Indy Cars (twice) and the Ferrari’s, plus the British Invasion, Alternative Technology and the Nicola Bulgari collection in two days of visiting... We’ve barely scratched thy surface of this wonderful new addition to Tacoma’s skyline. Having only explored the side ramps whilst the larger center sections still await us!

Yet if you’re in the Pacific Northwest and have the time to venture into Tacoma, I strongly recommend a visit to the LeMay-America’s Car Museum - as the Indy Cars are slated to be on hand another 11-months; more later...

‘Growlerz ‘N Greens
After this brief respite Mary Ellen, the ‘Hoonds and I piled into thee ‘RattleLacc for a trip Up North Eh! As we were on a mission, a mission from; Oh Never Mind! As the two hoonds Molly & Pixie are two of the most unique small dogs I’ve ever known, as Molly, a Tibetan-mix quite literally growls grrr-grrr-grrr... When either deciding to play chase with Pixie or whilst rubbing her belly... While Pixie, a Chihuahua-mix enjoys growling lowly at Molly whilst trying to eat its food in a leisurely fashion; and instead of gorging myself upon ze Tellie, we took the hoonds for several ‘Walkabouts instead, first at New-Brighton - down along the waterside and train tracks... Then the next day to Lord Stanley’s place, which was overflowing with pedestrians, tennis players, bicyclists, lawn bowlers, etc. As I listened to the unique sound of baby Herons - whilst having somebody describe how they’d just christened an unsuspecting parked Minivan; YIKES!

The next day I was introduced to my second ever Frisbee-golf course as we took a very circuitous route around the majority of Queen Elizabeth Park, which I’d never heard of and then Sunday it was off to Burard Park where a fellow dog owner played fetch the ball with Pixie for our amusement...

This was followed up by a fantastic dinner at Soffit’s who’s from India, and thus I couldn’t resist asking him if he’d ever heard of Vijay Malia and what he thought about him? Oh you mean Vijay Mallya - he’s not doing so good these days, very big trouble financially... Hmm? Interesting, as this seems to support Joe Saward’s latest article;


And later on when Soffit was explaining what a VJ was, which I believe is a visual jockey vs. disc jockey? As he’s trying to learn how to do three-dimensional projectry which apparently is quite popular in Poland, as Mary Ellen said I think it’s done in Crack-cow? Of which I couldn’t resist quipping ‘bout oh you mean Krakow where Robert Kubica is from, you know the Formula 1 driver I named The Krakow Kid! Hey, it’s rough working F1 and IndyCar into any conversation these days, right?

As sadly, I fear Kubica’s F1 career has come to a close... As he continues trying to heal from his multiple injuries; but at least he didn’t lose an eye like the very unfortunate Maria de Villota did - who perhaps can take an example from Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko, eh? Provided its NOT turfing off current Red Bull drivers... 

Have you noticed the 17-story Ferris wheel on the Seattle waterfront? (Source: mynorthwest.com)
Gondolas
It just so happens to be a somewhat long-running joke here at No Fenders between your humble scribe and ‘Offical NoFenderz Photographer ‘CARPETS over the proliferation of Ferris Wheels blossoming at the various IndyCar events - first noted at St. Pete and then warbled on ‘bout during Mikey Andretti’s Milwaukee Indy-fest, where I’d asked the questione if this inside the race track attraction would block the camera eyes view?

Naturally Carpets has since kept me apprised of any Ferris wheel spottings during other races, having even proclaimed to spot ‘Juan during the European GP at Valencia... HELL! I’ve even got ‘Juan on my wall - a great lithograph by Randy Owens which features a Porsche 962 at Le Mans with said Ferris wheel in background; but I digress...

Thus, it just so happened that Snowbyrd MJ had wanted to go ride Seattle’s newest waterfront attraction, a mammoth 175-foot 17-story-plus tall Ferris wheel which had just opened in late June. Thus on a postcard perfect day; WHAT? Sunshine in Seattle? Actual shorts weather; Aye Karumba! We made our way down to Pier 57 and waited in the modest line to take our ride upon thee SuperWheel... Which has 42-gondola cars, with number-42 being painted black and featuring a clear glass bottom... As this is the lone VIP car which only seats four in pivoting captain’s chairs, has  a TV and room for drinks, not to mention allowing you access to the front of the line - all for just double the cost of a regular ticket.

Yet our regular gondola car was very comfortable, featuring plush benches with seating for six occupants, air conditioning and tinted windows - which made our panoramic view of the Seattle waterfront view very enjoyable - NO squinting into the all too rare sunshine... As I chose to face towards the water, which the SuperWheel actually is partially suspended over. Looking straight out the state Ferryboats could be seen making their way to ‘N fro Bainbridge Island, the mountains in the distance, Cruise Ships, etc.

When Mary Jane sat opposite Mwah, she said she could see the venerable Viaduct freeway slated for demolition and replaced by a tunnel - the largest in the nation? With a circumference of 54-feet I believe... Noting she could see all of downtown plus the tops of the tiny automobiles on traversing the Viaduct from her elevated vantage point... As our ride lasted approximately 30-minutes with a total of five revolutions, including the one each to load & unload the other passengers - before we decided to dine at the adjoining restaurante, which I’m not sure if this was the one that its owner had dreamt of said Ferris wheel for some 30-years...


And now your humble scribe is back to the daily grind ‘O poondin’ out stories for Yuhs - whilst busy planning his next escape from Suburbia! Hmm? If only there was an IndyCar race to attend in Portland, eh?   

Monday, July 16, 2012

’Oz SuperStarz race taking shape...

And speakin’ of V8 Supercars... The yearly International Super Stars Surfers Paradise Gold Coast race is shaping up nicely for this year’s event, with full Penske & Ganassi driver participation - plus a bounty ‘O other B-I-G names...

‘Kroc Hunters

Its funny how much your noggin can be bumping around - even on what you’ve told yourself will be a quiet Sunday away from le Confuzer... As I sat down to watch the day’s coverage of the Moto GP Boyz from Italy’s Mugello circuit, which featured an all Spanish front-row... Yet with two of my favourite riders languishing towards the tail end of the grid, including reigning ‘Aussie world champion Casey Stoner adrift in P9 - I found my attention span wavering and decided to see if the Tour de Farce was on the Tellie?

I managed to switch over during the last moments of the Stage-14’s final kilometers - with the announcers babbling on ‘bout how Caddel Evans was suffering a horrible race, having to stop for three tyre changes... As apparently some Hooligans had thrown tacks onto the road, causing multiple riders to suffer tyre punctures... A scene surreptitiously reminiscent of ‘RASSCAR Junior Nation Yeahoo’s throwing bottles on-track at Jeffery “Pretty-boy Floyd” Gordon; CRIKEYS!



Thus Evans, who like Stoner is the defending champion - both seemingly see their title defenses slipping away, whilst fortunately another ‘Oz talent sees his 2012 campaign headed right-side up, albeit just nearing the halfway portion of the F1 calendar, with Australia’s IndyCar title favourite finding himself suddenly trailing an unpredicted ‘Yank contender.

Then after the Moto GP race I was surprised to hear them talking about ‘Ol JV, you know the dude who recently punted Princess off track during the Double-wide; Err Nationwide race at Road America... As I was surprised to see Jacques Villeneuve racing Down Under at Townsville, although SPEED’s Australian V8 Supercars coverage is tape delayed by one week... As my mind wandered off course after hearing that Jacques had pulled off a disco move a la ‘TK Follow-your-Schnoz Kanaan by passing five cars on the first lap of Race-1; as Villeneuve was filling in for the injured Greg Murphy who’s recovering from a back injury currently...

And although I did indeed watch the entire three hours of the British Grand Prix replay last Tuesday without letting my mind wander... I didn’t scribble ‘bout it for several reasons, most notably I found it a fairly processional event as I didn’t look forward to that smarmy Spaniard winning Wire-to-Wire; Aye Karumba!

Therefore I shouted out in glee a great amount of relief after chanting Get ‘Em Webber at the Tellie! As by now Y’all know that ‘Aussie Mark ‘Handlebarz Webber passed Fred Alonso for the lead at Silverstone with 4-laps remaining and went onto win his second race of the year. As Webber now trails Alonso by 13-points in the title fight with eleven rounds remaining.

And since I was on ‘KanaDuh’s opposite coast during the Toronto weekend, and even if I did have television access - I’m certain it woulda been Bloody Hard to find the TV coverage which I’m told is abysmal Up North Eh! Therefore I missed the race and was subsequently lambasted for not even caring to find out the winner for 24hrs prior to another riveting Trackside with Kevin & Cavin radio show...

NOTE
For a brutally honest assessment of this year’s Toronto Indy Car Series race see; Meesh’s  very forthright and excellent opinion towards her home race in: Ok Toronto, Time to Step It Up

Therefore I don’t really know what happened to previous points leader Will Power other than apparently he played bumpercarz with Joseph Newgarden, who may have had assistance from an uncharacteristically blocking “Symone Pagenoe.” (Simon Pagenaud) As apparently this coming together caused Power’s front wing to crumple and eventually sent him rollerskating into the Kitty litter...

Thus Power now finds himself chasing an unexpected three in-a-row winner from Andretti Autosport named ‘BULLY-RAY! (Ryan Hunter-Reay) By 34-points with five rounds remaining, as hopefully Power will return to his winning ways - which he first did so Up North Eh! Way back when at Edmonton in a yellow & blue Penske Truck Rentals liveried machine three years ago - as Edmonton’s up next in what I believe is its final year of its current contract... 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Drawing a Blanc over Blancpain Endurance series...

Netherland’s Race Art BMW Z4 Blancpain GT3 Challenger. (Image courtesy of Robert Nearn)
Unless I’d been alerted to a certain driver’s latest gig by London ‘Lass Tricia, I’d never have known about the fairly new Blancpain Endurance series which is in its sophomore season...

Have Y’all heard of it? As apparently Blancpain is an exquisitely high end (luxury) Swiss watch maker that was originally founded in 1735; Aye Karumba! Yet apparently the company went into bankruptcy followed by a long production break before being saved and is now owned by the Swatch Group...

Reputedly the company produces fewer than 10,000 wrist watches per year, although their chronographs have been selected by the US Navy and Jacques Cousteau... Whilst the company also sponsors the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo - which serves as a support series to the top flight endurance series, along with sponsoring GT1 and GT3 racecars. While apparently there’s also a Blancpain Revival series as well...

Yet apparently the Blancpain Endurance Series is fashioned to become Europe’s leading Grand Tourmiso racing series utilizing production based chassis for its various GT3 & GT4 classes, having kicked-off in 2011, albeit a bit like the ALMS and ACO with its multi-class structure of Professional and Amateur drivers

As the Pro ranks include the likes of Karl Wendlinger, David Brabham, Duncan Taffy, Marc Goosens’ and a cast of others...

While such awesome cars as the McLaren MP4-12C, Audi R8, Mercedes SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Italia, BMW Z4 and Porsche 997 are the types of cool cars that can be seen pounding around selected European venues; with the season’s six races having begun at Monza, followed by Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Spa-Francorchamps, (24-hours) the Murburgring and finishing at Spain’s Circuito de Navarra.

Thus I wasn’t too sure of what to make over the fact when hearing that Robert Nearn had won his respective class in the Abu Dhabi 24hrs race earlier this year, since I had NO idea of what type of race it was, albeit I think it’s the same race that Mikey “Aw Shucks” Waltrip contested previously and obviously I was happy for Robert’s success...

Yet thanxs to Tricia, I was informed Robert would once again be competing at the Silverstone round of the Blancpain series with the same team and thus inquiring with said competitor I discovered that he was co-driving the No. 70 Race Art BMW Z4 which ran as high as tenth before sliding backwards to finish 18th in class. As Robert next plans to contest the Spa 24hrs round with the same team, as this is the only 24-hour event in the series with the rest all being three hours in duration.

For some more pictures of the fabulous looking BMW Z4 “Art Car” you may wish to check out; click here.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Two Italian Marques Perish, NASCAR Driver on Hot Seat and Female F1 driver improving...

It’s amazing what happens when you’re away from thy Confuzer - as the Vurld der Motorsporten never sleeps, Ja-Ja! As I had NO clue to any of the following “B-I-G” Ticket items that occurred during my 10-day Safari, with obviously the most shocking being Maria de Villota’s frighteningly horrific accident!

Marussia Test Driver improving...
By now I’m sure Y’all have heard of the freakish testing accident female F1 hopeful Maria de Villota suffered when performing a straight-line aerodynamic test for the Marussia F1 team.

De Villota’s Marussia MR-01 chassis apparently had a case of unintended acceleration causing the 32-year old Spaniard to crash into the back of a parked support vehicle...

As I first learned the chilling news whilst watching my taped British GP Qualifying show this Monday afternoon; where SPEED’s Bob Varsha announced that De Villota had undergone 12-hours of surgery after striking the lift gate of a team support truck - which she struck with her helmet! And although Maria lost her right eye, was now in serious-but-stable condition...


GOOD LUCK MARIA!

What Happened to Allmendinger?
Returning home from Vancouver and sitting down to hopefully watch my taped coverage of the Silverstone F1 Qualifying - whilst rewinding duh tape I was greeted to the ‘RASSCAR HUB Talking Head exclaiming how’d they’d delve into Sam “I AM” Hornish getting the call that changed his life forever; HUH? So I actually waited to see what that was all about? As I was still cornfuzed over why Hornish was pressed into service to drive The Captain’s No. 22 Sprint Cup Challenger... Oh Whale, I’d rather watch the RAINED OUT Formula 1 ‘Qualie coverage instead...

Thus imagine my surprise when Indiana Bureau Chief Danny B clued me into A.J. Allmendinger’s failed drug test; Aye Karumba! As after all he reminded me of Allmendinger’s past DUI; OOPSADAISY!

As for AJ’s career - as I did enjoy him in Champ Car, I sincerely hope the matter is quickly resolved and that Allmendinger is cleared! As it’d be a tad too bit ironic for Roger Penske to first haveda fire Kurt “GFYS!” Busch and then have Allmendinger further blemish his copybook, eh? As hopefully this is just a really BAD mistake by NASCAR?


Renowned Automobili Marques Suffer Blows
Perhaps Y’all have heard that Sergio Pininfarina has died at the age of 85. As Sergio was the Italian design company’s chief and styling maestro for some five decades as overseer of la Scuderia’s supple bodywork... Including the magnificent Ferrari 250 GTO...

Meanwhile, according to Joe Saward, another revered Italian coachwork builder is set to bite the dust - with the sad news of De Tomaso’s impending failure which you can read more about in;

Delta Wing to race on...

The Nissan DeltaWing. (Source: tech.mikeshouts.com)
Originally I was an adamant detractor towards the original Delta Wing IndyCar concept and took to calling it the Delta Wang! As I just found it too outlandishly radical to suit my dyed in the wool Open Wheel Racing cars signature look... As I cannot say I’m totally enamoured by this year’s Dallara DW12, albeit it certainly seemed more palatable when finally getting to view ‘Hulio’s showcar up close ‘N personal inside  the Indianapolis airport’s concourse; although I still think the word Open Wheel means NO rear wheel spats, Batmobile Spats or rearward facing bumpers!


Nevertheless, I haveda say my curiosity was PEAK’ed - Oh where Art Thou Princess? Hya! As to what this new fangled version of the DeltaWing Sports Car looked like? But alas, due to my CRAPY vision I wasn’t able to discern any prevalent views of the radical DeltaWing racecar upon SPEED’s nonstop coverage of this year’s 24 Heurs du Mans, where apparently the car was quite the hit...

Thus I once again took to the all knowing gOOgleMunster to hopefully find a somewhat decent image of said racing car to which all I can say is it still looks  like the bulbous Flying ‘V wang-mobile to Mwah, as it appears to be better suited towards Bonneville instead of the Circuit de la Sarthe...

Yet that being said, kudos to all involved in making this a reality, along with Nissan having the gumption to provide its motive power as apparently this “Flyweight” racecar was indeed capable of competing comfortably in the LMP2 category... As now according to Gordon Kirby’s latest article, Don Panoz claims the car will go into customer production and race at this year’s Petit Lemans.


Yet it seems that its biggest setback now is that it appears to be an open top cockpit design? Which the ACO has outlawed beginning in 2014 for the LMP1 category whilst I’m unaware of the LMP2 regulations, albeit it seems that the Lola’s are coupes? Thus what do Y’all think about the DeltaWing Sports Car and should the ACO let it compete as a fully fledged LMP2 contender next year? You Make the Call...  

Monday, July 9, 2012

Red, white ‘N bleu - why can’t Indy host an Eco-500?

As us ‘Yanks bask in the afterglow ‘O another fourth ‘O July... Isn’t it funny how we’re constantly being bamboozled ‘bout having to GO GREEN - but have you noticed how much garbage is littering your streets, neighborhood, community, etc after the fourth? I mean talk ‘bout pollution, as how much garbage was created in the detonating ‘O zillions of fireworks big ‘N small? Not to mention what does the discharging of cubic tons of gunpowder do to the environment?

Now, don’t fret, I’m not trying to go all tree huggin, granola chewin, Birkenstocks Oregonian on Yuhs - just seemed like the opportune time to get this festerin’ story off ‘O my chest and release it into the Internetz wylds, eh?

As the following F3 racecar project was  initially brought to my attention by Austin Bureau Chief Clyde back in late March - as I find it despicable of how much our Mainstream media shields us from... After finding said F3 racecar I was shocked to discover that the vehicle had actually been built in 2009 - as in like three FREAKIN’ years ago... Yet I’d never heard of I-T!

Uhm, so just what is the vehicle in question I’m talking about? ‘Whale I’ve dubbed it thee Chocolate-mobile...  As this F3 racecar is the type of GREEN vehicle dynamics we need to see more of, as I personally have mixed emotions over the mainstream push for hybrid power... As don’t get me wrong, I like the technology; BUTT! Why doesn’t ANYBODY talk about the humongous destruction caused to nature over the mining of lithium?

But back to our Choc-oe Mobile which I’m struggling to find any current info upon - as this ‘Uber innovative racing car utilizes such novel items  as a steering wheel formed out of carrot pulp waste, potato wings, recycled plastic bottle sidepods and le piece de la resistance... A two-liter BMW diesel motor capable of running on either chocolate or vegetable oil waste - as the “shocko-latte waste comes from the esteemed firm Cadbury. Uhm-uhm GOOD!


And although the unique F3 racer did indeed finally take to the track, unfortunately it wasn’t able to compete in its Brands Hatch event due to some sorta paperwork miscue, whilst the vehicle isn’t eligible for regular Formula 3 competition since they don’t allow the usage of alternative fuels; SHEISA! As reportedly the car was just 0.2-seconds off of pole time and perhaps said racing series are afraid of being dusted off by a 160mph chocolate-mobile?


And I’m not the first to come up with the idea, nor will I be the last, as ‘Ol TK; NOT ‘TK Follow-your-Schnoz” Kanaan, but Tommy Kendall broached the subject recently whilst on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain - about requiring everybody to run the Indy 500 on five gallons of fuel whilst discussing the merits of the radical Delta Wing at Le Mans...

To which I say why not make Mother Speedway the bastion of innovation once again by letting anybody run-watchya-brung, albeit being based upon future technology in the form of hyper-mileage vehicles, including bio-fuels, deep-fryer waste, Butanol, (which is currently run in the ALMS) hydrogen fuel cells, etc - as all vehicles entered must use alternative energy sources not including ethanol, gasoline or diesel as the primary fuel source. (Although they could be blended with the various cellulosic fuels...)

As after all Indianapolis was originally envisioned as an automobile proving ground and what better way to return the race to its former glory of true innovation... And if this is too detrimental to thee Brickyard’s prestige then how ‘bout running the Eco-500 at Fontana instead, as after all California is noted for having the toughest vehicle emission standards on the planet...