Autoblog

As far as we know, NASCAR has no plans to expand into the aquatic arena, but the current situation at Daytona International Speedway might lead one to a different conclusion. Over the past few days, massive storms have drenched the Florida coast leaving behind over 17 inches of rain in Daytona Beach.

The bowl-shaped race track has become a vessel of sorts, trapping water up to the midway point of the SAFER barriers in some sections. Reports indicate that the transporter tunnel alone is filled up to about 10 feet. Track officials aren't expecting to face too much damage once things dry up though. With just over a month to go, they believe the course should be operative for the July 4th Sprint Cup event. However, if the weather doesn't let up soon, NASCAR teams might want to get started on building some speedboats.



[Source: ESPN.com; Image: Kaye Fairer]

Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay has learned that when you are the owner of a famous automobile collection, you best be careful about who you offend since they will know how to hit you where it hurts.

During a recent hotel stay, the Top Gear regular said something to rile up the joint's pastry chef while they were downing some drinks at the bar. Normally, such a quarrel would not amount to much attention, but if reality television has taught us anything, it is that English chefs have hot tempers and they like to hurl things in a fit of rage. In this instance, the young chef decided to release his anger by chucking stones at the singer's black Ferrari Enzo. The target practice amounted to about $40,000 worth of damage to the car's front windshield and driver's side window. While the repairs get underway, it looks like Jay Kay might have to make due by driving around in his Aston Martin DB5, Lamborghini Miura SV or even his Mercedes 300SL Roadster instead. Oh, the humanity. Thanks for the tips, everyone!

[Source: The Sun]

By now, racing fans should be aware that when David Donohue grabbed the checkered flag at the 2009 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona his win came on the 40th anniversary of his father's 1969 victory. The Daytona outcome won't be the last tribute to Mark Donohue in 2009, either. Watkins Glen International is planning a weekend of Donohue festivities for their season-opener in April. The event will be a celebration to compliment the official release of a new Mark Donohue biography, which is something that fans of the The Unfair Advantage will surely want to add to their reading lists. The book's author and Watkins Glen founder's son, Michael Argetsinger, will be on hand for autographs and conversation. The ultimate American racing history lesson will also take place as the track opens for tribute laps by many vintage race cars once piloted by Mark Donohue. If you happen to be in the upstate New York area, mark the calendars for April 25th and 26th. Thanks for the tip Jon!

[Source: RacingArchives.org]

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The unique curves of a supercar tend to attract a lot of attention. But these days, some people are likely to turn away from a sleek and powerful automobile once they learn it guzzles more gasoline than a Hummer. Thankfully, those people are usually the type that can't afford them in the first place. In any case, the real spotlight getters now come with fuel saving efficient power plants. The guys from Silicon Valley kicked off a new trend with the creation of Tesla. Following in the Roadster's footsteps we first saw Ronn Motor Company announce their hydrogen supplemented 40 miles-per-gallon Scorpion HX, and now Shelby Supercars has thrown their hat into the ring. We were first teased with a few specs on an Ultimate EV last July, and now a few more details of the system have been put into words.

The Ultimate Aero EV will feature SSC's newly developed package called the All-Electric Scalable Powertrain (AESP). The system utilizes a lithium battery pack with the ability to charge via a 110-volt outlet in only 10 minutes. The pack, SSC maintains, provides a 150-200 mile range. The Ultimate Aero EV will combine this juice storage with a pair of 500 horsepower electric motors to achieve these claims. It all certainly comes off as a hard pill to swallow, especially since the current necessary to charge a large battery pack at 110-volt in 10 minutes would be massive, to say nothng of dealing with the high heat generated as a result. Perhaps though, the 200 mile range claim comes when the power output is kept at a continually scaled down value. In any case, while the claims sound fantastical, we've had our doubts about SSC before, only to be proven wrong. So here's hoping. View the full press release after the jump.

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For the past few years, the IRL has kept things simple, using just one engine supplier. Toyota, Chevrolet and Nissan (under the Infiniti moniker) bowed out of the engine game to give Honda its exclusivity in 2006. The single powerplant was supposed to make the series more of a driver's competition, and one could argue that the engine limitations did even playing field somewhat. At the same time, however, they also made the series significantly more boring.

Now with the defection of Champ Car and stubborn leadership in F1, IRL is looking to increase its relevance in open wheel racing. IRL's contract with Honda ends after 2010, and rumors indicate that the party most interested in getting a foot in the door for 2011 is the Volkswagen Group. The draw for them is the rumored return to the use of turbochargers, as well as heads-up competition between a variety of cylinder configurations. The Volkswagen group is looking to use the series to market high performance low-displacement forced induction engines that are currently under development. Since Audi gets its racing due at LeMans, perhaps any deal with the IRL will look towards increasing VW's performance stock.

[Source: Epoch Times]

Since automotive sales are in the toilet and the sour taste of high gas prices still lingers, the unfortunate timing of General Motors' long-awaited Chevy Camaro has the armchair quarterbacks fervently debating its long-term viability. This, despite the fact that upon its release the Camaro will offer a little something for almost everyone throughout its various trim levels, a courageous attempt by GM to boost the iconic car's sales. However, many devoted Camaro enthusiasts will still be left out in the cold. This in part due to the vehicle's starting price as well as the many additional luxuries that drag down the Camaro's power-to-weight ratio. No one wants to pay MSRP for a vehicle they intend to strip. That's why GM Performance Parts will be offering a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro body in white. As a result, budget Camaro racers won't have to wait 10 years for a discounted used chassis and large race teams won't necessarily break the bank building a replacement when the driver inevitably stuffs the wall.

The Camaro BIW package will be a full body assembly structure available through GM Peformance Parts for $7,000 beginning in the first quarter of 2009. The chassis will not contain a VIN number, so there will be no means for street registration, as the body in white is reserved for race teams only. An application must be submitted to GM Performance Parts for approval before any transaction occurs. Follow the jump to see the press release in full.

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Many Formula 1 drivers maintain their endurance and competitive spirit in the off season through the sport of cycling. Australian F1 driver Mark Webber is one of those individuals and he lends his name to the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, a five-day multidisciplinary event held annually on the island. Unfortunately, news has just come out that Webber has been seriously injured on the cycling portion of this year's event. Current details state that he has been airlifted to the hospital and a broken leg appears to be the worst of his injuries.

Mark Webber's injuries were sustained in a head on collision with a Nissan X-Trail SUV. The race runs on public roads, and there were apparently no provisions to separate the racers from traffic on this particular stage. The course also consisted of narrow, winding roads, which potentially caused interference with the extended vision of both parties involved. We wish him the best of luck in his recovery and hope he can work back to racing shape, for both open wheel and mountain bike events in the near future. Thanks for the tip Jack and Sammy.

[Source: ABC News Au | Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty]

On display at this year's LA Auto Show is a Nissan Altima Hybrid racecar aimed at pleasing the eco-radicals of California, and the folks over at Autoblog Green. The car was first released at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, but the LA crowd is really more up its alley. This Altima is a direct result of the team at Braille Battery pairing up with Nissan North America and Universal Technical Institute. The "Hot Rod Hybrid," as it's called, is a construction aimed at competing in the new hybrid/electric class of the Redline Time Attack series. There are also plans to give it a run in the 2009 Cannonball Run/One Lap of America event. We know the car will be in good hands, too. Driver Blake Fuller is experienced with both front- and rear-wheel-drive vehicles, as exemplified by his finishes in the Pike's Peak hill climb and Formula D drifting events.

The Braille Battery Nissan Altima Hybrid is constructed with great attention to detail. The green eco-friendly DuPont paint initially catches your eye, but the best part can be found once the car passes by you. The exhaust outlets are formed out of leaf silhouettes. No environmentally conscious element on this vehicle is left unturned, even the race seats are a new product from Sparco containing recycled materials. The roof is also topped with battery recharging solar cells. To help the car be competitive on the racetrack, the internal combustion engine is tuned to run on E85 ethanol while being boosted by a Vortech electric supercharger. All in all, it is an intriguing experiment. We look forward to seeing how the car fairs under the wear and tear of many Time Attack battles. More details can be found in the press release after the jump. Also be sure to take a gander at the gallery below for SEMA shots provided by Braille Battery, along with those we captured in LA.

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Rhys Millen Racing's Hyundai Genesis Coupe enjoyed some time in the spotlight at SEMA, but it's hard to see the potential of the new coupe sitting stationary on the show stand. So RMR brought out the Genesis Coupe to take up space in their pit during the Red Bull Drifting World Championship and the crew at Streetfire.net captured some video of the Genesis running around, posing or pics. In the clip, the pilot of the coupe never put his boot down, but it still sounded mean with a deep gurgle and the Turbonetics turbocharger whirring at low rpms. In person, the build also came across as very well constructed with a lot of attention to detail. Regardless of the advertised build time, it was carefully pieced together by a knowledgeable bunch.

Be sure and check out the galleries below for the whole collection of RMR Genesis Coupe images and hit the jump to check out the video.

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As a rain of ash fell on most of Southern California the crew from Inside Line set out to introduce enthusiasts to Nissan's new sports coupe, the 2009 Nissan 370Z. The gathering took place at the advertising offices of Chiat/Day, which supplied a striking background for the next generation Z model. First impressions of the 370Z in person were no different than those formed after viewing the initial images. The design intentions, to blend between the outgoing 350Z and stylings pulled from the Z cars of yesteryear, was especially apparent. However, it was certainly strengthened when the new model was parked in close proximity to examples of both the Z33 and its forebears vehicles. Getting a real life view of the new Z was nice, but a vehicle is best defined by the ease of human/machine interaction. The 370Z meet and greet offered the first opportunity to poke around in the coupe. Unfortunately, this blogger did not get a chance to peek inside the vehicle before the Inside Line crew put her on the spot for an opinion. The end result of the interrogation can now be seen on Inside Line's preview video.

After breaking away from the Inside Line crew I eventually secured a spot behind the steering wheel of the Z34. I was most curious about the side view offered by the larger rear fender and C-pillar combination, and as I suspected, the view was non-existent. The rear hatch also angled more sharply than the 350Z, which combined with the 370Z's smaller physical dimensions, meant less space for piling up junk in the trunk. The trunk held other surprise: an on-off switch for a rear differential cooler pump was hiding underneath the mat. The cooler addition is a typical Japanese trick for protecting sporty vehicles from abusive drivers, also known as members of the press. A shiny anodized fitting for an oil cooler was also spotted in the Z's front fender well. The extra hardware prompted rumors and questions about NISMO upgrades, but currently there are no answers on that front. One question that did receive attention was aimed at hashing out more details on the downshift rev-match option. According to those on hand, it will be a feature available on sport models and will operate through feedback on clutch engagement, brake pedal position, rpm, throttle position and gear selection.

Check the galleries below for everything we've amassed in the lead-up to the new 2009 Nissan 370Z's introduction, which should tied you over until the official unveiling at next week's LA Auto Show.



[Source: Inside Line]

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