Q: Love him or hate him, A.J. Foyt was probably the best race driver. Agree? – J. Bourn via Facebook A: This a perennial question made better by the simple fact that the answer is completely inconsequential: Who is the best racecar driver of all time? The ridiculous task of comparing, say, Finnish rally legend Tommi Mäkinen to drag racing superstar Don Garlits…
Niki Lauda was a champion Formula 1 race car driver known for his long-standing rivalry with fellow driver James Hunt. Synopsis Niki Lauda was born into a wealthy Austrian family in 1949. Always interested in cars, Lauda began racing in his early 20s, joining Ferrari in 1974. He took his first world championship a year later, but his career took a nasty turn…
The winner of four NASCAR Cup Series championships in a seven-year span, Jeff Gordon helped transform auto racing into a mainstream American sport. Synopsis Born on August 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California, Jeff Gordon began competitive auto racing at age five. He notched four Series Cup championships after joining NASCAR s top circuit in 1992, his popularity helping…
There s petrol power, there s turbo power and there s girl power. The following ten women taught the most lessons to all the men clogging up the racetracks. 10.) Denise McCluggage Seen in this photo with Fangio and Stirling Moss, Denise McCluggage was not only a great journalist but an established racer with the following accomplishments: Winner of the Nassau…
Two of every three deaths in U.S. auto racing over the past three years occurred at short tracks, which have been slow to embrace changes that are saving lives in racing’s major leagues. The most recent tragedy happened last weekend in New York when auto racing star Tony Stewart hit and killed 20-year-old sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., who was standing on…
Be a safe driver. Driving safely is the first step to keeping insurance rates low. This means driving defensively, maintaining speeds within stated limits, never driving under the influence, and obeying all traffic laws. Below are a few other considerations to improve driving habits: Stay focused. Don’t text and drive, don’t be on the phone with friends. If your…
The 2015 BMW i8 hybrid sports car is a wild exercise in road car technology, combining a carbon fiber passenger cell and aluminum frame construction with a gasoline-electric hybrid system that comprises a turbocharged three-cylinder engine in the back and an electric motor up front. Zero-to-60 mph comes in 4.2 seconds and the i8 is EPA rated to drive up to 15…
Danica Patrick is a female race car driver and has set several records for women drivers, including becoming the first woman to lead the Indy 500 and the first woman to win the pole position at the Daytona 500. Synopsis Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin. She dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a race car driver, and…
Standard UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 4-5 business days. Next Day Delivery and Processing We can arrange for next day delivery to most destinations within the contiguous 48 states, for an extra charge of $17.50 per address. If we receive your order by 6pm PT Monday through Friday, you ll receive your order the next business day; orders placed on…
The Verizon IndyCar Series technically reached its halfway point of the 2017 season halfway through last Saturday night’s Rainguard Water Sealers 600. At the half-distance point of the ninth race in a 17-race season, that marked half the races down and half to go. By the end of the ninth race of the year though, the repair bills and the question marks about this…
Paul Newman, who died Friday from cancer at the age of 83, was best-known as one of the most famous actors in the world and founder of the popular Newman s Own brand of organic food products, which has donated more than $250 million of after-tax profits to charity since 1982. But readers of this Web site likely paid more attention to his second career in auto…
Today (October 9, 2014) I update this article because of Jules Bianchi terrible accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Although Jules has not died of his injuries (he is in very serious condition with severe brain injury), like the injuries of many others drivers discussed here, his accident was avoidable and preventable. The mechanism of Jules injury is discussed…
Monte Carlo, May 1966: A smiling Jackie Stewart at the Monaco Grand Prix. He took his sole victory of the season at the wheel of the BRM P261. Just three other cars finished the race. © Schlegelmilch © No reproduction without permission. Spa, June 1966: BRM’s Jackie Stewart in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. He was one of seven drivers to retire on the race’s…
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! But not your sewing machines. Even the tiniest trick-or-treaters will wow the competition when they show up on Halloween with their own transportation. What kid wouldn t like to be a race car driver? And you can rest assured that no mechanic s background is required to construct this kids Halloween costume. What You…
Also see: While luxury cars tend to offer more comfortable front seats than non-premium cars do—not to mention all kinds of power adjustments—they don’t necessarily offer more room. In fact, with sleek styling that’s meant to woo well-to-do customers, headroom is often more limiting in luxo vehicles. That’s ironic, since numerous studies have shown that tall…
Alain Prost Alain Prost is a famous French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers’ Champion, only Michael Schumacher (seven-time championship) has equalled or surpassed his number of titles. From 1987 until 2001, Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories. In 1, Prost received the World Sports Awards of the Century in the motor sport category…
Milton Chu was driving to the grocery store when his passenger asked him, “Doesn’t that noise bother you?” “What noise?” he said, listening for a rattle or knock he hadn’t noticed before. “The engine. It’s so loud.” Chu was accustomed to the stirring V-8 aria because the Ferrari California was his daily driver. By the time he traded it in, he’d accumulated 77…
Ferrari will have two crowned champions at the helm when it wheels its cars to the grid for the 2014 Australian Grand Prix – a first in world championship terms since Italy 1953, when Alberto Ascari and Nino Farina formed part of a six-strong line-up at Monza. The team has hired many illustrious names before and since, but which 20 most capture the essence of…
Former professional auto-racing driver Danny Watts has been struggling with how and when to come out for a while. We at Outsports first heard from him about five weeks ago as he was trying to blaze a trail out of the closet now that he’s retired. Watts sent this letter to Outsports over the weekend, explaining his struggle as a gay auto racer and staying in the…
Formula One, or F1, is the pinnacle of racing sanctioned by the FIA. F1 drivers are supremely talented individuals, who drive the fastest road course racing cars in the world, reaching speeds of up to 220 mph (360 km/h) and sometimes being subjected to in excess of 5 g in corners. However, these skills are richly rewarded, and at the top end of the sport, drivers…
“Cover yourself in a blanket and sit on a 100-degree beach and see how you feel, ” says Andy Lally. “Then factor in the adrenaline and the heart-rate, and because you’re flying around corners, you need a strong core, strong neck, good shoulders, and arms. You don’t have to be jacked, but you’re holding yourself in position for two to four hours. You’re constantly…
For many celebrities, the pull of auto racing is irresistible. The adrenalin rush and allure of taking the checkered flag make it one of the most exciting sports in the world. Many actors and athletes are known for their love of fast cars, or have tried their hand at one of the many amateur celebrity racing events, but only a few have risen above the level of…
We have to be honest, we think all race cars are kind of funny looking. And when we say funny, we mean totally awesome. But really, why is there a particular class of drag cars called funny cars? (They re not the long ones with bicycle wheels in the front, but the ones that look like oversized stock cars.) To find out, we asked most everyone we know in the motorsports…
BMW puts the finishing touches on the 5 Series We spend a lot of time covering big, exciting launches here at New Atlas, but there s more to the automotive world than glitzy concept cars and fire-breathing supercars. This year has seen plenty of production cars launched that, although not always staggeringly beautiful or scarily fast, represent huge steps forward…
