VINTAGE RACING: Driving a 1969 Corvette

Have you ever wondered what it was like to drive a production-based sportscar in the golden era of American road racing?

Well, so did I. And now I know. READ MORE

INDY 500: Is The Dream Still Alive?

Dave Darland represents American racing's lost generation
(Photo: Nelson Skinner/Sopwith Motorsports) 

There was a day when the greatest race in the world - the Indianapolis 500 - was within reach of the average local racecar driver. Sure, it was a long shot for anyone, but it was within reach.

Larry Cannon was a barber from a small town in Illinois. He raced Indy in 1971. Long Beach hippie Jan Opperman ran Indy in 1976 after making a name in sprint cars. The dream was alive.

Roger Rager bought his first racecar at age 14. He paid $35 for it. I watched Rager drive - brilliantly - on Paragon Speedway's 3/8th's mile dirt oval in the 1970's. In 1980 he started in row 4 at Indy alongside A. J. Foyt. The dream was alive.

INDYCAR: Sao Paulo Review

Rain, rain, go away... 

The Super Cup Performance Fiberglass 100 at Columbus Motor Speedway was rained out last weekend, so I have no story to share with you about my own race.

Once the event was officially called, I stopped at a nearby gas station to grab a bag of Munchos and six Lindor truffles (kryptonite for Stephen), slipped REO Speedwagon’s Greatest Hits into the CD player, cranked up the oddly appropriate “Roll With the Changes” and bolted home in the rain to watch the Indycar race on Sunday.

PREVIEW: Performance Fiberglass 100

Hey... there are worse gigs. 

Here we are, just days before the season opener for the Super Cup Stock Car Series in Columbus, Ohio on April 28. I've been writing about everyone else's events all year long, and finally it's time to write about mine.

Super Cup is a short track series that races throughout the mid-east from Ohio to Virginia. For many of these cars, their last full-time job was in the Nationwide series.

Since NASCAR's top series abandoned short track racing years ago, Super Cup is the biggest stock car show that the average guy can see at his local race track. The series has a very nice national television package and pays a decent purse.

Many people forget that a few years back, you could go to your local bullring and watch NASCAR's best duke it out. Well, Super Cup is what NASCAR was.

There are plenty of short track series around the country, but when it comes to genuine, 3400-lb, steel-bodied, high horsepower racing, Super Cup is the show to see.

INDYCAR: Long Beach Grand Prix Review

Okay, let's cut through the official press releases and other bovine excrement and talk about the real stories from Indycar's Long Beach Grand Prix.

Ready... set...

• Chevy scored four of the top five quickest times in qualifying at Long Beach. If you think Chevy is dominant now, wait til the Indy 500. You ain't seen nothing yet. Chevy's long-time affiliation with Ilmor Engineering (the real brains behind the Chevy Indycar engine) and their early signing with Penske Racing virtually guaranteed success. See? I told you so.
  

LIVE: Mecum Classic Car Auction from Houston

L-R: John Kraman, Scott Hoke, Bill Stephens, Stephen Cox 

The first-ever Mecum auto auction in Houston kicked off in style this weekend with a packed house and buckets of money flowing like the Rio Grande.

I've hosted the Mecum auction for nearly 5 years on Velocity channel but I don't know that I've ever seen cars sell like they did at this show. About 80% of the cars that crossed the block found new owners. That has to be some kind of record for a reserve auction.

INDYCAR: Barber Motorsports Park Review

Indycar's visit to Barber Motorsports Park was chock full of revealing incidents. Here are a few of them:

Half the field complained of severe understeer, with many teams switching to used “red” tires to compensate. That tells us a lot of things.

First, these tires aren't wearing out. I can tell you from experience that racing tires generally last much longer than fans think. Tire changes are as much about advertising and selling tires to race teams as they are gaining speed on the track.