http://www.racintoday.com Go With The Pros Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:33:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32679 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32679#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:37:38 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=32679
It’s been a tough week for old motorsports writers. Not only did we lose two of our longtime colleagues, Harold Pearson and Benny Phillips, but now comes word of the passing of Joseph “Doc’’ Mattioli. All three of these men played important roles in my auto racing education and all three became friends. Harold Pearson was part of the “in crowd’’ [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32679/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32059 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32059#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:00:32 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=32059
It was a few days ago when a short, unemotional press release popped up on my computer screen and brought my browsing to a jarring halt. It was hard for my brain to wrap itself around the news that Newman/Haas Racing, one of the long-time fixtures in American open-wheel racing, is closing its doors after [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/32059/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30861 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30861#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:18:31 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30861
Just when you think the worst is in the past, the sport rears up and shows you it’s never going to be truly safe. SAFER Barriers, head and neck restraints, crushable panels, Kevlar construction, none of that technology is enough to keep race drivers completely safe. Now the open-wheel division of the sport has claimed the [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30861/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30417 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30417#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:31:31 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30417
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, N.H. – The elite Hendricks Motorsports team was anything but on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon led the team’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with a fourth-place finish, but it was anything but satisfying considering the fact that he had the best car on the 1.058-mile oval [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30417/feed 2 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30387 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30387#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:07:51 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30387
LOUDON, N.H. _ Tony Stewart walked a fine line between jubilation and empathy Sunday after passing gas-starved Clint Bowyer with two laps to go on the way to a victory in the Sylvania 300. “I know exactly what that feels like,’’ said Stewart, whose second victory in a row vaulted him into the points lead in [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30387/feed 1 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30359 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30359#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:16:25 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30359
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, N.H. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t getting much respect these days, at least among the pundits of the sport. Those in the media who make predictions about who will contend for or win championships don’t give Earnhardt much of a chance to do either this season. Looking at the results of [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30359/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30327 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30327#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:00:17 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30327
LOUDON, N.H. – Ryan Newman has an engineering degree from Purdue University and a pretty darn good understanding of the way things work in a race engine. But, like everyone else, he struggles to figure out of the best way to conserve fuel during NASCAR Sprint Cup races. Asked what makes a difference in saving fuel, [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30327/feed 2 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30133 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30133#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:01:20 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=30133
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com For 26 races each season Jimmie Johnson does what he has to do to qualify for and get ready for NASCAR’s big finale, the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Heading into Sunday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway, the opener of the 10-race, 12-driver Chase, Johnson is ready to begin the quest [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/30133/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29443 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29443#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:40:09 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29443
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, N.H. – The first IndyCar race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 12 years could also be the last. Race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay hopes that is not the case. “This is a very challenging and fun racetrack and I hope we come back here for many years to come,’’ he said [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29443/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29436 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29436#comments Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:02:16 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29436
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, N.H. – Tempers flared and sparks flew Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as Ryan Hunter-Reay was declared the winner of a wild IZOD IndyCar Series race cut short by a wet track and a controversial restart. A misty rain, like the one which had caused a stretch of 33 [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29436/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29421 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29421#comments Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:58:46 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29421
LOUDON, N.H. – IZOD IndyCar Series boss Randy Bernard has confirmed the rampant rumor that aero kits for the new race car that will be introduced in 2012 have been delayed until 2013. “The ICONIC Committee 16 months ago made a commitment to have an aero kit as part of the new car for 2012 and [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29421/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29393 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29393#comments Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:59:16 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29393
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, NH –  Helio Castroneves qualified ninth Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and appeared to be thrilled by the performance. After jumping out of his Team Penske car, Castroneves, who is also ninth in the season points, pulled off his helmet, pointed to the scoreboard and smiled broadly. At that moment, [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29393/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29379 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29379#comments Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:16:18 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29379
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com LOUDON, NH – Dario Franchitti won his second pole of the season Saturday, taking the top qualifying spot for MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225, the first IZOD IndyCar Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1998. But the star of the show at Loudon so far this week as definitely been the [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29379/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29317 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29317#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:13:32 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=29317
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Tony Kanaan vividly recalls the excitement of fellow Brazilian and then-teammate Andre Ribeiro after he took the checkered flag in 1995 at the last CART race at what was then New Hampshire International Speedway. That was a year before Kanaan came to the U.S. to race, but he enjoyed the aftermath of what [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/29317/feed 0 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/28791 http://www.racintoday.com/archives/28791#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:41:21 +0000 Mike Harris http://www.racintoday.com/?p=28791
By Mike Harris | Senior Writer RacinToday.com A lot has been made of Kyle Busch’s 100th win, both pro and con. The number, by itself, is certainly impressive. But, yes, it is more than a little silly to start comparing KyBu, as he has become known in the media, to longtime NASCAR stars like Richard Petty or David [...]]]> http://www.racintoday.com/archives/28791/feed 1