Big Deal? VW racing chief, F1 drivers visit Homestead for NASCAR season-closer

Noah Joseph — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:00 EST

This year's Sprint Cup was awarded this past weekend at Homestead, where Jimmie Johnson scored his record fourth consecutive championship with a fifth-place finish behind race winner Denny Hamlin. (Oh yeah, "spoiler alert".) Anyway, on to the interesting part: the oval speedway had some unlikely German visitors for the series finale, leading the motorsport press and the fans to begin asking questions.

The Volkswagen Group's head of motorsports Hans-Joachim Stuck was reportedly among the spectators at Homestead this past weekend, and took a few visible meetings with NASCAR officials. But Stuck was quick to dispel any rumors. Although he kvelled over the purity of the spectacle that NASCAR offers, Stuck said that convincing the bean counters back in Wolfsburg that stock car racing made sense for them would be a tough sell.

If you think it would be an even tougher sell to fans, consider that VW's new plant in Chatanooga, Tennessee, could be only the first step in an increasing American presence for the German automaker, and that Toyota may have already prepared the ground for foreign makes to enter the series.

Meanwhile Stuck did confirm ongoing negotiations over the German auto group's potential participation in the Grand Am sportscar series, also owned by NASCAR's France family. According to Stuck, the Audi/Lamborghini V10 could be a perfect fit for the prototype racers, though they'd have to make it work with the spec ECU. Stuck also revealed that his company was discussing a possible entry into the IndyCar series.

The VW racing chief wasn't the only notable German at Homestead this past weekend, though, as Red Bull flew out its star driver Sebastian Vettel to witness the spectacle as well. After watching the race and chatting with former colleague Juan Pablo Montoya, Vettel said that F1 could stand to learn a lot from NASCAR, and that while he's committed to F1, he'd like to try out a stock car on an oval. This after his professed fascination with rallying as well. It's worth noting that Heikki Kovalainen, now looking for a new drive since leaving McLaren, was also at the race as a guest of Penske Racing, leading to speculation over the Finnish driver's prospects for next season.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Jason Smith/Getty]

Big Deal? VW racing chief, F1 drivers visit Homestead for NASCAR season-closer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AUCTION ACTION: The most expensive car ever? Hitler's Auto Union on the auction block

Dan Roth — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:16:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Classics, Trends, Auctions

One of two remaining Auto Union D-Types is scheduled to be sold in Paris by Christie's this coming February. The shiny silver streamliners were commisioned by Adolf Hitler to showcase the technological superiority of the Reich. Even now, they're impressive and cleverly engineered using a mid-engine layout with fully independent suspensions and supercharged engines. Considering that these cars were designed and built in the 1930s, they're absolutely insane. Uber designer Ferdinand Porsche developed the Auto Union racers and they showcase some common Porsche touches, like swing axle rear suspensions and torsion bars. Piloted by drivers like Hans Stuck and Tazio Nuvolari, the big streamliners racked up many victories in various hill-climb and Grand Prix competitions. Nearly all D-Types were casualties of World War II. This 1939 racer was discovered disassembled in Russia, where it had been taken for reverse-engineering. It was reassembled and is expected to top the current most expensive car record-holder, an 1$11 million Bugatti.

[Source: Ananova.com]

AUCTION ACTION: The most expensive car ever? Hitler's Auto Union on the auction block originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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