June 23, 2008
NHRA funny car driver Scott Kalitta died after his car explodes an engine during qualifying for the Super Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. – On a day when winning is usually the only thing on the minds of teams and drivers in the NHRA, race day in Englishtown today was different, according to Bob Tasca III's publicist Alexis Kinch.
NHRA funny car driver Scott Kalitta in January.
Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, according to The Washington Post.
The NHRA said the 46-year-old Kalitta _ the 1994 and 1995 Top Fuel season champion who had 18 career victories, 17 in Top Fuel and one in Funny Car _ was taken to the Old Bridge division of Raritan Bay Medical Center, where he died a short time later.
Kalitta's Toyota Solara was traveling at about 300 mph when it burst into flames.
“It’s hard to be happy about racing when you’re sad,” said Tasca. “Not being out here as long as some of the other guys, I wasn’t fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with Scott. But, during the time that I did spend with him, he was always a gentleman. I’m just brokenhearted for him and his whole family. The unthinkable and the unspeakable happened yesterday. It’s just a very bad day in the NHRA world.”
Tasca competed at his hometown track for the first time in his professional career on Sunday. Tasca lost to point’s leader, Tim Wilkerson, in the first round of the NHRA Supernationals, but was able to hold on to his 10th position in the championship.
“We had a tune-up in the car to run a high 4.90,” said Tasca. “It probably would have run that, but I shut it off when I saw Tim go through the lights. That’s why our time was down a little bit.
“We qualified eighth, but we ran against the No. 1 guy in the points. That’s just the way the draw was. He’s No. 1 for a reason. Tim Wilkerson has run really, really well this season and you’ve got to give his team a lot of credit. They made an amazing run in the heat yesterday, which probably gave them some great data for today. Now, we just pick up and move on down the road, but it’s been a tough, tough weekend.”
The Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang team will leave right from Englishtown and head to Norwalk, Ohio for the 2nd annual NHRA Nationals June 26-29. The race marks the halfway point of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 10:59 AM | Permalink
June 20, 2008
With more than 130 members signing up with The Club at Lime Rock Park – most of them at $110,000 for a 50-year membership – the track at the famed park is undergoing a radical makeover.
Just how radical Journal photographer Steve Szydlowski and I discovered yesterday when we went to visit and talk with track owner and president Skip Barber and members of his team.
The site is a beehive of activity, with men and women and machines working all round the track. Excavators are carving out great swaths of earth while trucks move it from one end to the other.
Some of the track is being milled down for resurfacing; other parts are being dug up completely and relaid. Runoff areas are being widened and graded, and new barriers are being put in.
Hills are being regraded and three new, optional corners are being added in an effort to slow down one of the fastest tracks in the nation.
Most but not all of the work will be completed by July 11-12 when the track hosts the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Additional work will done next year.
Make no mistake, this is a $5 million makeover and the end result will be stunning – a flawlessly smooth track with additional features and safety margins that will be a treat to race and visit.
Read more about our visit in my article in this Saturday’s projoCars section.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:59 PM | Permalink
June 16, 2008
A misfiring economy and rising energy prices are choking off the racing done by the semi-pro drivers who grind gears each summer at Seekonk Speedway and other small tracks around the Northeast, according to The Providence Journal.
Record oil prices are pushing up the cost of many products associated with auto racing, including the fuels used to tow racecars to the tracks and to propel them once they arrive, the parts used in the racecars, and even the food sold in the stands.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:50 AM | Permalink
June 9, 2008
JOLIET, Ill. – Despite an exit in the first round at Route 66 Raceway, Bob Tasca III maintained his spot at 10th in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series points. Tasca shook the tires against Cruz Pedregon in the duo’s first meeting in the first round of eliminations on Sunday,according to his publicist Alexis Kinch.
“We were a little bit too aggressive,” said the driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang. “I felt it shake, and I pedaled it. I think I did a pretty good job trying to get it to recover. It recovered and it started to charge, and then it knocked the tires off again. When that happens, you’re looking out at the driver in the left lane and you’re hoping he smokes the tires. Unfortunately for us, Cruz went A to B, didn’t spin the tires, and we lost.
"I had a good reaction time [0.030], and I felt very comfortable in the car,” said Tasca. “I’m very pleased with how we performed through qualifying. We missed a couple of the night sessions because we had some set-up issues. But for us, it’s not about staying the same; it’s about getting better. And sometimes you have to take one step back to make a full step forward. We’re not just going to send this car down the track and not try to improve it. And in order to do that, you need to try things. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.”
Tasca was able to maintain his spot in the championship after Ashley Force defeated Gary Scelzi, who sits 11th in points, in the second round of eliminations.
“This championship deal will go to Indy,” said Tasca. “I truly believe that the top 10 won’t be decided on before that. That’s what keeps us going at all of these races, because we know that we have a racecar that can race solidly into the top 10. But even being sixth or seventh right now, you’re not safe. You’ve got to go rounds and you’ve got to qualify well to give yourself that chance. We’re looking forward to a weekend off, we’ve been running hard here for a month. Literally it’s been every weekend between building cars and racing, so we’ll recharge our batteries and come home ready to race in Englishtown.”
The series has next week off before heading to Englishtown, N.J. for the 39th annual Lucas Oil Supernationals June 19-22. The hometown race for the Rhode Island resident will be the 11th race of the 24-race Funny Car schedule.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:19 AM | Permalink
June 2, 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. – While Bob Tasca III’s holeshot loss in the second round of the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka was a tough one for the rookie driver, he was able to gather enough points on the day to move into the top 10 in championship points, according to Tasca's publicist Alexis Kinch.
“As a driver, losing on a holeshot is the worst thing that you can to for your team,” said Tasca. “The guys gave me a car that could win and I got beat. It happens. It wasn’t a terrible light, but it wasn’t good enough. With the margins of victory that we’re dealing with, there’s no room for error.”
Tasca’s second round loss came against Gary Scelzi, who had a .081-second reaction time to Tasca’s .100.
“We had a great qualifying weekend and moved into the top 10 in points, which is ultimately where you need to be to run for this championship,” said Tasca. “We continue to move on down the road. You can’t dwell on the loss. You can’t look back; you’ve got to look forward. You always wish that you could have it back. You just don’t want to lose on a holeshot. You don’t ever want to lose, but as a driver, that’s the worse way to lose.”
Tasca’s win the first round of eliminations came against his best friend, Tony Pedregon, where he posted a .017 reaction time off the line.
“We had a great run against Tony with a great reaction time,” said Tasca. “I think that kind of played into my head the second round because it was really good for me. I just didn’t want to red light, but I guess it’s probably worse to red light than to lose on a holeshot. That played in my mind a little bit more than it probably should have.
“But winning against Tony in the first round was really neat. He’s a champion in this sport, so any time that we get to race him and get the win, is just really great for us. He is one of my dearest friends. You know, you can count your best friends on one hand, and for me, Tony is the first one.”
Despite the earlier than expected exit from the race, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang team was able to achieve some team firsts for the weekend. They earned their first No. 2 qualifying position, and for the first time, won the Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Challenge for the weekend, which awards a payout to the team in each class with the top-performing pit crew for the weekend.
“I’m really proud of my guys and how hard they are working,” said Tasca. “It’s exciting for them that they were able to win the Full Throttle award for the weekend. They gave me a consistent car every time down the track this weekend, so it’s great for me to see them get rewarded.”
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series competes again next week with the running of the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals June 5-8, marking the 10th race of the season.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:47 AM | Permalink
May 22, 2008
AP Photo
NASCAR drivers Casey Mears, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers and David Ragan look ahead to Sunday's 600-mile race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Click here to see the AP Video.
In above photo, Kasey Kahne takes a victory lap after winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star auto race at the speedway on Saturday.
Posted by Pam Cotter at 8:08 AM | Permalink
May 19, 2008
BRISTOL, Tenn. – It just wasn’t Bob Tasca III’s day at Bristol Dragway on Sunday as the rookie driver fell to Ron Capps in the first round of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing eliminations, according to Tasca's publicist Alexis Kinch.
“Ron went out and made a solid pass,” said Tasca. “We just didn’t quite have enough for him today.”
The driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang's record against Capps drops to 0-2 after posting a 4.923-second, 313.88 mph run to Capps’ 4.827-second, 316.52 mph pass.
“We expected the car to run a high 4.70, Chris [Cunningham, crew chief] was pretty confident on that,” said Tasca. “It’s just disappointing that the car just didn't do what we expected it to. We also didn’t have that little bit of extra luck that you need in this sport. But, you can’t get down about it. The next race in Topeka is coming up, so now we focus on that.
"The team is going to pick up our new three-rail car this week in Indianapolis, which is the same style chassis that the Force teams are running with. Ford Motor Company has invested a lot of time into this new chassis to make it safer out here for us competitors, and we’re optimistic that it is going to show us a little something for our zero to 60 feet.”
The series takes the week off before heading to Topeka, Kansas for the 20th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals May 30-June 1. It will be Tasca’s first visit to the Kansas track, and the ninth race of the 24-race NHRA schedule.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:02 AM | Permalink
May 5, 2008
MADISON, Ill. – Following two days of career-best runs at Gateway International Raceway, Bob Tasca III was defeated by Del Worsham in the first round of the NHRA Midwest Nationals, according to his publicist Alexis Kinch.
“Del went out and knew that he had to put up a good number to race us, and he fired a shot off,” said the 12th place Tasca. “He took us seriously and knew that we were the real deal, and he went out and ran the low [ET] of the session. So you have to tip your hat to that team.”
Sunday was the first meeting between the driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang and Worsham, with Tasca missing the round win by just over one-tenth of a second.
“I had a great reaction time, which is what my job is as a driver,” said the rookie driver. “I got three hundredths off the starting line, which is big in this sport. I think there were two or three holeshot victories during the first round. As a driver I feel great, but obviously I know Chris [Cunningham, crew chief] is disappointed it didn’t have a little more tune-up in it.”
While disappointed about the first-round loss, Tasca continued to make strides during the weekend as he made his quickest career run down the quarter-mile with a 4.79 ET on Saturday.
“Chris has done just a tremendous job setting up this hot rod, the car just didn’t do what we expected it to today. I give all the credit for how far we’ve come since putting this team together in November to my crew chief and the guys on my team. We’re sneaking up on this thing. We’re only an eyelash out of the top 10 with a lot of racing to go, and certainly we’re working towards being in the top of the field come Indy.”
“When you’ve got a car running as good as this car is running, you just want to keep racing because you know your day is going to come. This sport requires consistency and it requires drivers to cut great reaction times that can put their team in a position to win. And then it just needs to be your time. It can go either way in rounds, and our day is coming. It isn’t that far around the corner the way this car is running.”
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series takes a week off before traveling to Bristol for the eighth annual O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q May 16-18. The event will be the first visit to the Tennessee track for Tasca.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:42 PM | Permalink
April 28, 2008
COMMERCE, Ga. – Bob Tasca III's day started and ended with racing friends Tony Pedregon and Joun Force at Atlanta the Dragway, according to his publicist Alexis Kinch.
The driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang earned himself a spot in his first semi-final of his nitro Funny Car career after facing best friend Tony Pedregon in the first round, Gary Densham in the second round, and mentor and hero, John Force, in the third.
“To run Tony Pedregon and John Force and make it into the semi-finals with this new team, is just really, really tremendous,” said Tasca. “But we come to every race wanting to win, so when you don’t, you’re disappointed. But when you look back at our program that we just started in November, and to move into the 11th position coming out of this race is just great for the team and my sponsors. After today, we believe now, more than ever, that we can win.”
Tasca’s semi-final round against Force was the closest round he ran all weekend, with both drivers having identical reaction times, but with Force having an edge on time by .003 of a second.
“It’s hard to describe the adrenaline that flows through you,” said Tasca after his loss to Force. “You get these tremendous highs of next round, next round and winning and winning, and then when you go out and lose, it just takes a lot of the wind out of your sails. But then you get an opportunity to reflect back and look at what we’ve accomplished, and I think that this weekend, we made it known worldwide, that when we pull into a race, we’re a contender.”
With a consistent car all weekend, Tasca accumulated enough NHRA POWERade points to put him one point outside of the top 10 heading into next week’s event in St. Louis.
“With what we did in Vegas, and now this weekend, we’ve got a lot of momentum heading into next week. Seat time is what I need; it’s just really valuable for me. I’m so proud of my team and Chris Cunningham. It’s just absolutely incredible what he’s done with this team. I can say this beyond a reasonable doubt, that God blessed me with that man. Because at the end of the day, as a driver, I will get better because of the confidence in the racecar, and it starts with Chris and it goes on down to every one of the guys on the team. I’m just so proud of my team and we’ll be ready for St. Louis.”
Tasca and the rest of the stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will head to Gateway International Raceway May 2-4 for the seventh stop on the 24-race schedule.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:13 AM | Permalink
April 24, 2008
COMMERCE, Ga. –This weekend’s NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event at Atlanta Dragway will mark, to the day on Saturday, five months since Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang team began putting together a program for the 2008 racing season, according to Tasca's publicist Alexis Kinch.
“It’s been five months of hard work and long hours for everyone on my team, but we’re really excited about the progress that we’re making with the program and the car out on the track,” said Tasca.
After the series’ most recent stop in Vegas, the rookie driver carries the momentum he gained there, along with a 12th place position in the standings, into the sixth race of the season this weekend.
“Las Vegas was another stepping stone for us and for building this program from scratch,” said Tasca. “We’re thrilled with how the car ran and in just about every session, we were in the top three or four every time down the race track.”
While this weekend will be the first for Tasca in a nitro Funny Car at Atlanta Dragway, it’s a familiar stop on the schedule for crew chief, Chris Cunningham.
“For Chris, Atlanta was his best showing last season. His team ran a 4.71/330 mph, which was the best for the car he tuned all last year. Atlanta can give you some great conditions, but obviously it’s weather permitting. Chris knows Atlanta and has a lot of data on that race track from the years he’s been racing, and that will hopefully play into our tune-up.”
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:27 AM | Permalink
April 14, 2008
LAS VEGAS – It was a weekend full of making progress for Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team in Las Vegas, according to his publicist Alexis Kinch in a prepared news statement.
The rookie driver made it to the second round of NHRA Funny Car competition before falling to Ron Capps; he is now ranked 12th in points.
“The right lane just wasn’t the place to be today,” said Tasca. “You go out in the second round and your adrenaline is pumping and you really want to get into the semi-finals. We lost lane choice by just a small amount to Ron Capps for the round, and unfortunately, only one dragster went down it and no Funny Cars.”
Sunday’s race marked the second time that Tasca advanced to the second round of competition, and the first time he competed alongside Capps.
“The car got real loose on me and came sideways,” said Tasca, following his second run of the day. “I stepped off it and I pedaled it once just in case Ron may have smoked the tires, but then I saw him out in front of me. The car came around towards the cone as I lifted, and when I lifted, I hit the cone.
"But that’s the difference between racing and qualifying. On Sunday, within reason you do whatever you can to get to the finish line and unfortunately for us we lost a little bit of traction and the car came around pretty hard. But Capps made a real good run down that left lane.”
To start the day, Tasca faced Melanie Troxel for the second time this year. The two first-year Funny Car drivers met in the first round in Pomona, where Tasca earned his first round win of his nitro Funny Car career.
“It was a great weekend for our team, and we’re certainly building on the future and gaining some momentum,” said Tasca. “We don’t necessarily compare ourselves to who had the quickest run for the whole weekend, but we compare ourselves on how quick we are compared to the competition for each of the sessions. Through qualifying we were extremely consistent, and then today, it was great to get out there and get a round win. We’ve gained some momentum here and we’re going to carry that into Atlanta.”
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will take a week off before heading to Georgia in two weeks for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:45 AM | Permalink
April 9, 2008
Las Vegas – Heading into the fifth race of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season this weekend in Las Vegas, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang team look to put together a solid performance at one of Tasca’s favorite racetracks, according to Tasca's spokesowoman Alexis Kinch in a news statement.
“Las Vegas is a race you circle on your calendar at the beginning of the season as one where you want to showcase your best performance,” said Tasca. “Being in the city that is the home base for Carroll Shelby’s company, certainly is another factor to help hype us up for the race.”
The rookie nitro driver is coming off a consistent event in Houston; one that saw his Shelby Mustang make four solid qualifying runs down the track. While Houston’s Sunday outcome wasn’t what the team had hoped for, Tasca is encouraged by the progress the car is showing.
“I think that the car performed terrific in Houston, except of course for the first round,” said Tasca. “We had a very consistent race car in qualifying and if we can build on that in Las Vegas, we should be successful. Our intention this season is to qualify well with four consistent runs and put ourselves in a position to win on Sunday.”
With bad weather plaguing most of the start to the season, this weekend is predicted to be hot and sunny, which will play a factor for everyone setting up the cars.
“It’s supposed to be hot, so the track conditions are going to be tricky,” said Tasca. “That is really an equalizer for a lot of teams, because you can’t throw all the power at the car. You’re going to have to really finesse the car down the racetrack. Las Vegas is a red carpet, it’s got a wide groove and it’s forgiving from a driver’s standpoint. The surface temperature will definitely be something that the crew chiefs are going to have to deal with come Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve got some confidence going into Las Vegas with the changes that we made from our Houston test. I’m really excited to get back to the track and put together a great weekend for all of the fans and our sponsors.”
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:42 PM | Permalink
April 8, 2008
Motor racing legends John Fitch and Sam Posey join Skip Barber, president of Lime Rock Park, on Thursday morning for a ground-breaking ceremony to improve conditions at the celebrated track, according to news statement from Lime Rock.
Improvements include track upgrades and repaving, “creating what will be ‘two Lime Rock Parks,’ the statement said.
John Fitch was the first track manager at Lime Rock Park a sports car racing champion; Sam Posey, was a Lime Rock Park racing legend and track architect.
Last July, Barber announced the creation of The Club at Lime Rock Park in an effort to raise money for track and facility improvements in order to ensure its future.
Membership in the club includes 60 guaranteed track dates a year for 50 years. It costs $100,000 and can be passed down in the family or resold through the club.
At the time, Barber said the club was designed to achieve two goal. The first was to raise money to invest in the track, particularly in resurfacing the track as well as upgrading such facilities as the press area and the entrance as well as planting trees in the unusually bucolic setting.
The second goal is to create a 50-year obligation for the track to accommodate the members of its club with time on the track.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 2:56 PM | Permalink
March 31, 2008
Hershey Company has debuted a series of collectible candy bars honoring racing legend Dale Earnhardt and given fans the opportunity to personally join a permanent tribute to “The Intimidator” while raising funds for the Dale Earnhardt Foundation.
By logging on to www.hersheys.com/dale, fans can upload a photo for inclusion in a picture mosaic – a replica of which will be unveiled on April 29, during Dale Earnhardt Day in Mooresville, N.C. Already, nearly 1,000 fans have posted their name, photo and/or message to the site. Fans also can make a donation to The Dale Earnhardt Foundation.
Dale Earnhardt fans have been joined by actress Carmen Electra and Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr., who recently posted their images and messages to the site
Available in four varieties, including two Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar designs, one Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds Bar design and one Kit Kat Wafer Bar design, the specially moulded Collector Edition Dale Earnhardt bars feature a distinctive on-bar design.
The designs include three individual portraits spanning Earnhardt’s distinguished career and one image of the Richard Childress Racing #3 GM Goodwrench car that is most synonymous with Earnhardt’s nickname, “The Intimidator.”
The Dale Earnhardt Foundation sponsors charitable programs that focus on education, children and environment/wildlife preservation.
For more information, go to: www.thedaleearnhardtfoundation.org.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:17 PM | Permalink
HOUSTON – Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team hadn’t smoked the tires in any of the four qualifying runs for the NHRA Spring Nationals, but that is exactly what happened on Sunday to knock them out in the first round of eliminations at Houston Raceway Park, according to his publicist Alexis Kinch
“We didn’t do that all weekend; there’s no reason to do it first round,” said a frustrated Tasca. “I just don’t know. The crew chiefs will go through the data and look at it and we’ll test here on Monday. This is very disappointing because we had a very good running racecar all weekend.”
Tasca faced Tony Bartone in the first round of competition, and Bartone had issues of his own with a loss of traction on the track. Tasca pedaled his Shelby Mustang, but his 7.767 ET, 191.87 mph run wasn’t good enough to beat Bartone’s 6.327 ET, 261.88 mph pass.
“I was pedaling it and trying to get it to recover, but it just kept smoking the tires,” said Tasca. “Once it gets that upset that early, it’s hard to recover it. That’s the frustrating part about this sport. It’s so competitive and so difficult and 1,000 things have to go right and only one needs to go wrong to end your day. If Bartone had ran a 4.84 ET, I probably wouldn’t feel so bad, but he had a six second run and unfortunately, we didn’t have enough to make it to the second round.”
Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team will next compete at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals April 10-13 in Las Vegas for the fifth race the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:29 AM | Permalink
March 26, 2008
HOUSTON – After bad weather cancelled Friday qualifying runs for the past two NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team head to Houston this weekend with the hope of not needing their rain gear, according to Tasca's spokesperson Alexis Kinch.
“As a new team, the one thing we cherish is run data, and to lose four qualifying runs in the first three races of the year has not helped us at all,” said Tasca. “One of the most important things for us this weekend in Houston is get all four runs in. If we can do that and do well in the race on Sunday, we’ll go and test on Monday and hopefully come out with a lot of runs and data to take with us into Las Vegas.”
After getting eliminated by Jim Head in the first round of competition in Gainesville two weeks ago, Tasca looks forward to getting his car down the track and earning a qualifying spot in the top half of the field.
“We’re excited to go to Houston because we’ve really started to get a baseline on this racecar,” said Tasca. “I’ve always felt that it was going to take us five or six races for us to do that. We’re going to stay and test on Monday after Houston regardless of how we do this weekend, which is a really important part of our program. Just being able to continue to practice and refine the combination on our car is really beneficial to our team.”
In a sport that is measured by fractions of seconds, fine-tuning and setting up the car exactly right for track conditions is the main focus for the team this weekend.
“It comes down to being able to control the car through the clutch and apply the proper amount of power to the race track,” said Tasca. “These cars overpower the track, which is really the issue that we face. We have plenty of horsepower to do the job, but we just have to do a better job of managing the power to get these cars to go from point A to point B.
“Our team has a lot of confidence going into this weekend. We’ve got a good team; we’ve got great sponsors and a lot of talent in our crew chiefs. Truthfully, for me as a driver, every time down the track I’m getting more and more comfortable in the car.”
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:51 AM | Permalink
February 14, 2008
To prepare the drivers for the “Car of Tomorrow” being introduced at the 50th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday — billed with characteristic stock car understatement as “the Most Anticipated Event in Racing History” — the racing teams’ engineers have spent the winter testing their versions of the new car in wind tunnels and running huge computer simulations called C.F.D.’s (for computational fluid dynamics).
To understand what is happening on the track and in the garage here at Daytona, you need either a crash course in aerodynamics or the guidance of Dr. Leslie-Pelecky and her new book, “The Physics of Nascar," according to The New York Times.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:43 AM | Permalink
February 11, 2008
POMONA, Calif., – It may not have been a race win for Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang team on Sunday, but qualifying for the race and advancing to the second round of the NHRA Winternationals was a victory for the entire team, according to a news statement from Tasca.
“It’s a huge win for us,” said Tasca of his first NHRA Nitro Funny Car weekend. “To qualify at the Winternationals and to win in the first round and go out there and make a strong pass in the second round is just awesome.”
Tasca faced Ashley Force in the second round of competition and put together a 4.955 second, 310.63 mph run, but reached the finish line just .082 of a second behind Force.
“Our second run was just a little bit too conservative for what we thought the race track would hold, but it was awesome to race against such a great competitor like Ashley Force.”
Tasca was the No. 14 qualifier for the race, which put him alongside fellow rookie, Melanie Troxel, in the first round. The 2008 Rookie-of-the-Year contender earned his spot in the second round after posting a 5.235 second, 225.97 mph winning run against Troxel.
“That was exciting,” said Tasca after his first round win. “To qualify for Pomona and to win the first round is just amazing. We spun the tires up at the top end and I didn’t see her, so I pedaled it and it we made it through. This is just so incredible for our team and for Motorcraft and Quick Lane.”
Tasca’s rise into the nitro ranks after running in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class has been a quick one, having earned his license just over a week ago.
“To come here after only starting this program in November and to struggle the way that we did in Phoenix, is just such a credit to my team. There were a lot of question marks on our team and I’m sure a lot of people probably didn’t give us too much of a chance.
"I’m just real proud of the whole program and my two crew chiefs Mike [Kloeber] and Chris [Cunningham] and all the guys that work 15 hours a day to get this thing to go up and down that track. It’s quite an accomplishment for our team.”
“It takes the top 10 drivers to run for the championship, and that’s our goal’ said Tasca. “With these guys behind me, anything is possible.”
Tasca returns to the site where he earned his nitro license as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series heads to Firebird International Raceway Feb. 22-24 for round two of the 2008 season.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:38 AM | Permalink
February 1, 2008
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Bob Tasca III and the Tasca Racing team completed the final step needed for entrance into the NHRA Nitro Funny Car class with a 4.96 second, 317 mph run during testing at Firebird International Raceway on Jan. 31, according to a news statement.
The run qualified Tasca’s NHRA license to be upgraded from Top Alcohol to Nitro Funny Car status.
“It has been a long test session,” said Tasca, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang. “A new car, new team and a tough track to deal with, but we did it. It was a big difference in acceleration compared to my Top Alcohol car. To run over 317 mph in under five seconds – it was incredible. We made great progress on our tune-up and the guys got up to speed on servicing the car. Pomona, here we come.”
Tasca will start his run for Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the Nitro Funny Car class next week with the NHRA season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:24 PM | Permalink
January 18, 2008
Bob Tasca III is moving up.
In a deal announced Friday, Ford Customer Service Distribution’s Motorcraft brand will be sponsoring Tasca’s Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car for the 2008 National Hot Rod Association season.
Motorcraft and Ford’s Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers will also have a major interactive presence at 14 NHRA events.
Tasca is Rhode Island’s most successful race car driver and a vice president of the Tasca dealerships. He is moving up to the nitro-powered Funny Car after two seasons driving Alcohol Funny Cars, where he currently holds the record for the fastest quarter mile – 5.541 seconds at 263 mph.
He will be running for Rookie-of-the-Year in the Nitro Funny Car and will make his first appearance in the new car during pre-season testing at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix on Jan. 24. The season opens with the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., on Feb. 7-to-10.
“I’m just really excited about taking a step up and racing a Nitro Funny Car in the 2008 season with Motorcraft and Quick Lane,” he said in a prepared statement.
“It’s going to be an exciting year for us and certainly we have big goals,” he said in a prepared Q&A. “We’re building a program, certainly we’re new, but my crew chiefs aren’t new, they are very experienced and veterans in the top fuel ranks.”
“The Fuel car [Nitro car] from 300 feet on is a much faster and much more aggressive vehicle to drive than an Alcohol car,” Tasca said. “It’s just accelerating so much harder from that point forward. From zero to 60 feet, they’re comparable. … Then from 300 feet to the finish line, there’s a huge difference. The car at half-track, the Fuel car is going faster than the Alcohol car is going at the finish line. There is a significant difference from that respect.”
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:08 PM | Permalink
December 19, 2007
Lakeville, CT – Skip Barber, President of Lime Rock Park, has announced the Club at Lime Rock Park has signed up 100 members and officially commenced operations, according to a news release.
At a member meeting and holiday party held this past weekend, Barber announced the 2008 schedule of 60 member track dates, with more than 40 dates scheduled for May, June, July, August, and September.
Barber also announced Lime Rock Park has hired a general contractor, Mohawk Construction out of New Britain, Conn., and expects to announce the selection of a paving contractor soon. Site preparation to upgrade the track will begin this winter.
“We are very pleased to have more than one hundred member commitments and ... to begin major renovations on our historic, fifty-year-old track," Barber said. "Earthwork will begin soon and we will complete many of the track upgrades by the end of 2008.”
Construction is being funded by revenue raised through the sale of Club memberships. When Barber unveiled The Club last summer, he stated that 300 memberships would be sold to raise funds for track and facility improvements.
Memberships to the The Club carry a one-time fee of $110,000 which includes applicable Connecticut Dues Tax of $10,000. The length of membership is fifty years, and can be passed down in the immediate family or resold through The Club.
Barber said a topographical survey of the track has been completed and preliminary engineering work is underway.
“We will not change the original footprint or character of the track, but I believe we can make it a little slower and safer, as well as wider and smoother.” After the paving company is selected, Barber will announce the paving schedule.
The improved Lime Rock Park will feature a member clubhouse, renovated press facility, exclusive members pit lane, renovated bathrooms, and new water/drainage systems.
For more information, visit www.limerockclub.com.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:47 AM | Permalink
October 4, 2007
Wally Parks, who pioneered the transformation of drag racing from a dead-of-night outlaw adventure into a nationally televised sport with millions in annual prize money, died Friday in Burbank, Calif. Parks was 94 and lived in Glendale, Calif., according to the New York Times.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Anthony Vestal, a spokesman for the National Hot Rod Association, which Parks founded in 1951.
As a racing administrator and an automotive-magazine editor, Parks became a central figure in a pursuit once associated mainly with thrill seekers on the edge of juvenile delinquency.
“Wally took a bunch of black leather jacket hoodlums and made one of the greatest motorsports in the world,” Don Garlits, the former pro drag racer known as Big Daddy, said in a statement upon Parks’s death.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:50 AM | Permalink
Nationwide Insurance has signed a seven-year deal to become the title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series beginning in 2008. Nationwide replaces Anheuser-Busch, which has sponsored the second-tier Busch Series for 26 seasons, according to the Associated Press.
The series will be called the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
NASCAR chairman Brian France, who made the announcement Wednesday, said the decision to go with Nationwide came after "a very thorough process of trying to find the right partner, adding up what we think is important for the series and all the things that you would expect us to be thinking about. We know this is going to propel the series even further."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:16 AM | Permalink
September 4, 2007
Joe Gibbs Racing has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday amid several published reports that the team will announce it has signed a deal to field Toyotas in the Nextel Cup series, according to USA Today.
The reports, citing unidentified sources, said JGR will end its 16-year relationship with General Motors and give Toyota its first big-name team in Cup.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:08 AM | Permalink
August 14, 2007
Two years ago, a group of Ohio State University students asked Ford Motor Co. if it was interested in building a hydrogen-fueled race car. On Sunday, the result of that proposal made history, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Ford Fusion 999, a hydrogen- and electric-powered car designed to whip across the salty white desert during Bonneville Speed Week, zoomed across the infinite horizon at 161 m.p.h. It was the first time a hydrogen-powered car had ever competed at the salt flats, where all manner of modified, souped-up vehicles come every August to break land-speed records.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:21 AM | Permalink
July 13, 2007
In an effort to ensure the future of Lime Rock Park, President Skip Barber has created The Club at Lime Rock Park, which offers 60 guaranteed track dates a year for 50 years.
Membership in the club costs $100,000 and can be passed down in the family or resold through the club.
Barber said the club is designed to achieve two goals. One is to raise money to invest in the track, particularly in resurfacing the track as well as upgrading such facilities as the press area and the entrance as well as planting trees in the unusually bucolic setting.
The second goal is to create a 50-year obligation for the track to service accommodate the members of its club with time on the track.
Rising land values in the area combined with the modest profit the track makes each year are at the heart of the initiative.
“It’s a gorgeous piece of property that used to be a gravel pit,” Barber said in an interview from the track, adding, “The value of land in the area has gone nuts.”
He said the property includes the hills surrounding the track, which are ideal for condo development, adding that developers are constantly inquiring about a possible sale.
In a prepared news statement, Barber said: “My biggest fear is that, if the business and finances of Lime Rock Park are not sufficiently strong, the value of this beautiful piece of property could exceed its value as a racetrack and that when I am no longer around, a future owner will be tempted to convert it to a golf course … like what happened at Bridgehampton."
“The membership dollars will be used to improve the entire park,” he said in his statement. “This is a way to guarantee that all improvements on the ‘wish list’ will happen - — everything from repaving the track to new bathrooms, an updated Media Center/Clubhouse and a larger and more efficient entrance, to name a few.”
“The economics of a road racing track by itself won’t pay for this magnitude of improvements,” Barber said. He said the club, which already has 10 members, will create viability for the track by paying for its upgrade and an obligation to remain open as a track for at least 50 years.
The club’s first full season will be 2008. However, there are four dates reserved this fall for qualified applicants to sample the facilities.
Lime Rock Park, near Lakeville in the northwest corner of Connecticut, is an historic road race track. It is host to such draws as the American Le Mans series, Vintage Labor Day Weekend and the famed Skip Barber Racing School (which Barber no longer owns) as well as numerous sport-car and amateur races.
- Peter C. T. Elsworth
Posted by at 3:34 PM | Permalink
June 25, 2007
Rhode Island's Bob Tasca III now ranks No.5 nationally in the Top Alcohol Funny Car points standings following a spectacular series of runs in his Ford Mustang at last weekend's National Hot Rod Association SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J.
"It was a storybook weekend," Tasca said on Monday. "We were told that what we did was the greatest turnaround in the history of the NHRA."
After struggling at the two previous meets in Chicago and Atco, N.J., Tasca's team has a further setback during qualifiying heats on Friday when the car crashed into a bank of sand and gravel after its parachutes failed. "One of the chutes failed to blossom," he said.
He said the car was not too badly damaged, although it picked up about 25 pounds of gravel which had to be cleaned out.
So when the team started competing on Saturday, Tasca said that "Maybe 5 people out of the crowd of 100,000 thought we could win."
Instead, he went on to win all this heats, even beating his nemesis and the current No.2 in the rankings, Frank Manzo of New Jersey. Times for the run were close, with Manzo clocking 5.573 seconds at 248.29 mph against Tasca's 5.585 seconds at 263.92 mph. However, Tasca was quick off the start, with 0.030 seconds compared with Manzo's 0.055 seconds.
That was Round 2. Tasca went on to beat Mickey Ferro (currently No.6) in Round 3 and Bob Newberry (No.4) in Round 4. In Round 1, he beat Fred Tigges (No. 44).
Tasca said short of his wife and three children, the weekend was "the greatest accomplishment of my life." He said the win was also special because so many of his family and sponsors were on hand to see it, including his grandfather, 82-year old Bob Tasca Sr., the patriarch of the Tasca family.
And with six races left, Tasca and his team have plenty of time to make further progress up the standings.
"We're withing striking distance of the championship," he said, but added, "I am very humble, a very, very green driver."
At the same time, he said he was delighted by the way his engine performed. "We didn't hurt a sparkplug," he said. "The motor is happy and if it can run that fast and be happy, look out baby, we can start pulling the string in."
Posted by at 1:53 PM | Permalink
Someone told me that there is no sleep better than the sleep after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But 23 hours into the race, which took place last weekend on 8.4 miles of public roads about an hour and a half southwest of Paris, no one on the Corvette Racing team was close to dozing, according to Nick Kurczewski of the New York Times.
Months before, I had politely turned down an offer from Chevrolet’s Corvette Racing team to watch the 75th running of the race from the comfort of the V.I.P. lounges. I really wanted to experience the race as a member of the pit crew, no frills attached.
The team said yes, and it was agreed that from 3 p.m. (9 a.m. E.S.T.) June 16 to 3 p.m. June 17, I would trade my pen and notepad for a fireproof suit and a pair of work gloves.
Posted by at 12:14 PM | Permalink
June 18, 2007
Carl Edwards snapped a 52-race Nextel Cup winless streak Sunday by holding off Martin Truex Jr. at Michigan International Speedway, according to NASCAR.com
Edwards handily beat Truex to the line to grab his first win since Nov. 11, 2005, at Texas. He celebrated his fifth career Nextel Cup win with his trademark backflip off the window ledge of his car.
Posted by at 10:44 AM | Permalink
Audi tightened their recent stranglehold on the Le Mans 24 Hours in France yesterday with another victory on the 75th anniversary of the event, thanks to the efforts of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, the Guardian reports.
Their diesel-powered Audi R10 completed the rain-soaked event ahead of the new Peugeot 908 HDi of Sébastien Bourdais, Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin.
Posted by at 10:41 AM | Permalink
British rookie Lewis Hamilton won the US Grand Prix overnight to take his second victory in a row and forge 10 points clear of McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso in the Formula One championship, ABC News reports.
Hamilton crossed the line 1.518 seconds ahead of the double world champion for his seventh podium finish in seven extraordinary starts.
Posted by at 10:36 AM | Permalink
June 15, 2007
It's a big weekend for race fans with a number of key races, including the Le Mans 24-hour race in France, the USA Formula 1 Grand Prix in Indianapolis, NASCAR's Citizens Bank 400 at the Michigan International Speedway and the NHRA's Franklin Trailers Lucas Oil Division 1 Points Race at Atco Raceway in Atco, NJ.
Rhode Island's own Bob Tasca III is competing at Atco after already building up quite a record in Top Alcohol Funny Cars this season. Last month, he won at the Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond and came second at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA.
But perhaps his most impressive performance was at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL, in March where he set the record for Top Alcohol Funny Cars with a pass at 263 mph. That's 263 mph - a speed that few of us can even imagine let alone ever experience.
Tasca is one of the brightest stars on the Top Alcohol Funny Car circuit - where he he currently ranks No.8 nationally - and I look forward to writing an indepth piece about him later in the season as he keeps up this blistering pace. I mean, what is it really like to drive at 263 mph?
Speaking of No.8, all eyes will be on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Michigan this weekend following his signing with Hendrick Motorsports, the most dominant team in the Nextel Cup. Earnhardt, son of legend Dale Earnhardt, is the most popular driver in the sport and the move - he will start driving with Hendrick next year - is expected to generate increased interest and revenues for the sport.
Meanwhile, much speculation surrounds the possibility that Chevrolet might break out of a winless pattern at Michigan and come in with a win with current Nextel Cup leader Jeff Gordon. Chevrolet has been dominating the circuit this year, but last won at Michigan with Gordon in 2001.
By the by New England race fans, NASCAR is coming to Loudon, NH, on July 1 for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. That's just two weeks away, and I plan to go.
But let's get back to superstars. The Formula I Grand Prix in Indianapolis this weekend features a major new star in the form of Lewis Hamilton of the McLaren team who won the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend in Montreal.
Hamilton, a Brit, is being hailed as the next Tiger Woods - he is young (22), black, handsome and extremely media/sponsor savvy. Already, there is talk of him being lured to the Ferrari team, which is suffering this season, for sums beyond the dreams of avarice, as Dr. Johnson would say.
Then we have the Le Mans 24-hour race in France, starting Saturday afternoon. There really is no race like it in the world - the cars run through the night for 24 hours with teams of three drivers changing places every three hours or so - and the car that has completed the most number of circuits at the end of the race wins. So it's really a matter of endurance and traditionally a great testing platform for engine and performance technology.
Certainly one of the most dramatic leaps in engine technology was highlighted last year with the win by Audi's R10 TDI diesel racer. One of the R10s was down at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance earlier this month and they are impressive just to look at - wide and low slung in silver and white with red and black flashes.
The TDI (Turbo Direct Injection) engine, with its massive torque, is incredibly powerful and romped to victory last year and is the favorite again this year. It's success follows the numerous victories of Audi's R8 gasoline Le Mans racer which retired last year after a final tour of the Le Mans American Series, including a run at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.
The only drawback of the R10 is the noise: there isn't any. For any race fan used to the breastbone-breaking thunder of a sqad of NASCARs or the madding whine of a flow of Formula I racers, the discrete hum of the R10 is something of a letdown to say the least.
But with the TDI technology due to hit the American roads next year as the VW group starts importing its clean diesels, the comparative quiet of their engines will be more than welcome. Just not at the racetrack!
Posted by at 3:45 PM | Permalink
Dale Earnhardt Jr. flashed a broad smile as he stood next to the race-team owner Rick Hendrick with cameras clicking away, capturing the moment that marked the beginning of a new era in Nascar, according to The New York Times
Earnhardt, the most popular driver in the sport, announced Wednesday at his JR Motorsports headquarters that he would join Hendrick Motorsports, the most dominant team in the Nextel Cup. Earnhardt has agreed to a five-year contract starting in 2008. His addition will create an all-star lineup at Hendrick next year with the four-time Cup winner Jeff Gordon and the defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.
Posted by at 1:25 PM | Permalink
June 4, 2007
Bill France Jr., who steered NASCAR for 31 years through its strongest growth era, died Monday, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was 74.
France, the second czar in NASCAR's owning dynasty, took over as president from his father, founder "Big Bill" France, in 1972. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, but the cancer was in remission when he handed control of NASCAR to his son, Brian Z. France, in 2003.
Posted by at 4:04 PM | Permalink
May 10, 2007
The New York Times has put together a list of national and international car-related activities now that summer is here. Whether it’s a concours or a swap meet, or some of the world’s most prestigious races, spring brings more than enough activities to keep an auto enthusiast happy — and busy.
Posted by at 1:23 PM | Permalink
April 6, 2007
With seventeen brand-new Champ Cars set to take the grid on one of six new venues to grace the 2007 schedule, the Champ Car World Series finds itself on the brink of a future that may be even brighter than the glitz and glamour that surrounds the season-opening Vegas Grand Prix on Sunda, according to champcarworldseries.com.
Posted by at 10:21 AM | Permalink
Kimi Raikkonen added fuel to Ferrari’s fire today when, despite setting the fourth-fastest time (1m 36.160s) within four-tenths of a second of team mate Felipe Massa (1m 35.780s) in the second practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, he revealed that he was not happy with his F2007’s performance, according to Formula1.com.“The car feels reasonably okay but I’m not 100 percent happy,” he said. “We learned things but there is still work to do. The car felt different to the way it did here last week, the set-up was not as good as it was. The grip’s slightly different.”
Most felt the same as the high track and ambient temperatures hurt grip significantly.
Posted by at 10:12 AM | Permalink
April 3, 2007
Hey, NASCAR fans, check out Rand McNally's new Ultimate NASCAR Road Trip Guide.
The guide blends 160 pages of maps with 200 pages of in-depth travel information and visitor tips for each of the 31 NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Available now at RandMcNally.com, the 8.5 x 11-inch guide
has a suggested retail price of $14.95.
Posted by at 10:18 AM | Permalink
April 2, 2007
Teammates Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon duked it out over the final 18 laps of the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway yesterday afternoon, with Johnson holding on for a .065-second win, according to the speedway's Web site.
The final lap was entertaining as Gordon slammed Johnson's rear bumper in the third and fourth turns and pulled halfway alongside his teammate before the two slammed together. Both kept their Chevrolets under control and Johnson edged ahead for the win.
Posted by at 10:59 AM | Permalink
March 30, 2007
Good seats remain for the Goody's Cool Orange 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, according the the speedway's official Web site.
About this time every year the Speedway ticket office gets calls questioning if the event is sold out, the speedway says. Although the Goody's Cool Orange 500 is normally sold out before the green flag flies, there are good seats remaining for Sunday's event.
Posted by at 10:12 AM | Permalink
Nascar has gone from water to wind in search of tools to understand aerodynamics and build faster, safer cars. Wind tunnels, designed to direct air at high speed toward a stationary object while measuring the impact of the forces, have played a crucial role in developing what is known as the Car of Tomorrow, which will make its Nextel Cup series debut Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, according to the New York Times.
Posted by at 9:49 AM | Permalink
