Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Indy 500

New Zealand's Scott Dixon led the field at this year's 92nd Indianapolis 500 going into turn 1 of Lap 1 and, after surviving 200 laps of open wheel mayhem at the Brickyard, crossed the finish line first, 1.75 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Vitor Meira. Unfortunately, no one on the Autoblog team witnessed the win, the allure of barbecues and time spent with family this past Memorial Day weekend being too strong to resist. Perhaps that says something about the popularity of open-wheel racing in the U.S., though we suspect the 250,000 in attendance and larger television audience of the Indy 500 this year would disagree.

While Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing took the win, all eyes were still on Danica Patrick to see if she could pull out the first win for a woman at the Brickyard coming off her victory in Japan last month. Unfortunately, a win for Danica was not meant to be, as her left-rear tire was tagged by Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe coming out of the pits. The contact spun out Patrick and did mortal damage to her rear axle. She was more than a bit miffed (wouldn't you?) and began a determined walk down pit row towards Briscoe's pit box, but a track security officer stopped her and prevented what could've been the race's biggest spectacle.

So the IndyCar Series' most famous race is in the bag, and it was the first since the IRL and Champ Car series reunited. Things are looking up for open-wheel racing in the U.S. despite our own disinterest, and the 92nd running of this year's Indianapolis 500 sounds like it was enjoyable to watch. Maybe we'll sit down for it next year.

If like us you didn't catch the race on TV, check out SpeedTV's recap video after the jump.


[Source: IndyStar.com]

Follow the jump for video if the incident

We are soooo glad Danica Patrick hearts Autoblog, because during practice at Indy yesterday, she struck a pit crew member of a competing team. Dale Coyne Racing's Charles Buckman, the chief mechanic for Mario Moraes, suffered a concussion as well as scalp and facial cuts after being hit and then sailing over Danica's car in pit row.

According to several trackside eyewitnesses, the incident was completely not Danica's fault. Apparently, Indy's pit area was busier and more congested than usual due to a weather delay, and Buckman took one step too many to the right just as Danica was pitting. He was taken to Methodist Hospital and is expected to recover fully from his injuries. For his part, Buckman says he doesn't remember many details about the incident.

People at the track said Danica and her teammates were visibly shaken by the accident. Marco Andretti saw the accident happen, and told Sports Illustrated, "It's a dangerous situation; a crowded pit lane, a lot going on. You don't like to see that kind of thing but it's not Danica's fault. Stuff happens. Racing is dangerous. We're very concerned and hopefully it will turn out good." Thanks for the tip, Joe!

[Source: Sports Illustrated]

click above image for more pics of this year's Indy 500

Usually we have little trouble covering the big auto events of the year. Bloggers line up to go to auto shows and even for those events we don't attend in person, which are often motorsport events, there's always one or two of us who care enough to watch on TV and whip up a quick recap post.

Then there's the Indy 500, which took place at the famous Brickyard last Sunday. Not one of us watch CART Champ Car IRL, instead favoring the American LeMans Series as our motorsport of choice, with NASCAR's Nextel Cup coming in a distant second perhaps. Knowing this about Team Autoblog, I set aside some time on Sunday to watch the Indianapolis 500.

Read more after the jump.

[Source: Indy500.com]

NOTE: I know jack about the IRL and CART, so excuse my egregious errors above, but in my adult lifetime this form of racing in the U.S. has never been interesting enough to watch. I'll catch the Indy 500 out of respect for an historic race with a lot of history, and it's holds my attention because most of the racers are readily identifiable, unless it rains, in which case I'll obviously tune out.

Linux is pretty good at harnessing processor speed, and Chastain Motorsports is hoping to snare some of that effect to propel their Panoz/Honda to victory. The distinctive Penguin logo, "Tux," has been affixed to the nose of the 200+ MPH car in anticipation of meeting a donation goal. The famously open-source OS is applying that philosophy to sponsorship. The Tux 500 is an effort to raise $350,000 in exchange for those high-speed chilled fowl on the race car. There are perks for large donation amounts, but there is no shame in collecting lots of $1 gifts, either. It is an interesting concept, and we will be looking for the distinctive blue car when the checkered flag drops at the Indy 500. As long as the effort secures $25,000, the decals will stay on the car. Currently, donations total $7,600, and the organizers are confident that they'll at least make it to that $25K figure.

[Source: Wired]

click image above or images below to view new live shots of these exclusive Corvettes

General Motors unveiled a pair of special edition Corvettes at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday, both of which commemorate the Vette's involvement in motorsports. The Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06 and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car edition are both only trim packages with stock mechanicals, yet the visual impact of any Vette in Atomic Orange or the ultra exclusive Arctic White is breathtaking.

The Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06 was developed to celebrate the first man to win an ALMS race in the C5.R back in 2000. The Fellows Z06 is even more exclusive than the Indy 500 Pace Car replica, with only 399 cars being built. In our eyes, it's the better looking of the two (that's why we took more pics of it), with an exclusive coating of Arctic White paint accented by subtle red and silver fender badging. The Z06 wheels are coated in chrome and the windshield's adorned with a full-width Corvette banner, just like the C5.R.

The Indy 500 Pace Car edition is a capable vehicle already by virtue of being a Corvette Convertible with the Z51 performance package. As such, the car will need hardly any modfications to pace the Indy 500 in May. Chevy will be offering 500 of these replica cars to the public, which, along with the radioactive color, includes many Indy 500 logos on the car's exterior and interior, new aluminum split-spoke wheels, and a rear spoiler from the Z06. To be honest, we'd be way more into this car without all the Indy 500 badging, but we're sure Chevy will find 500 people (collectors?) who won't mind it.

GM hasn't made a big deal about these cars at the show, and it's true they're just trim packages for a car we're already very familiar with. Nevertheless, there always seems to be a crowd of journalists hanging around these jewels.

click above image to view an additional 21 high-resolution images

Nine times. No, we're not referring to how many times Ferris Bueller's been absent this quarter, we're referring to how many times the Chevrolet Corvette has handled the official pace duties of the Indianapolis 500. Actually, the ninth time will occur on May 27th of this year for the 91st running of the most historic motorsport event in America. It also marks the fourth time in a row a Corvette has led the pack at Indy.

General Motors will be producing 500 replica Indy Pace Car editions of the car to be offered to the general public. They'll be Corvette Convertibles in Atomic Orange with Indianapolis 500 exterior graphics, Indy 500 fender badges, a rear spoiler cribbed from the Z06, new aluminum split-spoke wheels in Sterling Siver finish, seats with embroidered Indy 500 logos, interior trim pieces painted Atomic Orange to match the exterior and Atomic Orange engine covers. Of course, the 400-hp LS2 is standard and the cars come with the Z51 performance package and a standard six-speed. Each car will have a base price of $66,995, although if one goes for the only option, a paddle-shifting six-speed automatic, the price rises a bit to $68,245.

You can read the official press release after the jump and don't let the Atomic Orange paint burn your retinas when you check out all the photos in our high-resolution gallery.

[Source: GM]

GM revealed today that it's "considering strategic options" for one of its more well known subsidiaries, Allison Transmission, which produces automatic trannies for both commerical and military sale. In boardroom-speak, that means they want to sell it off. GM's turnaround has been aided so far by its strategy of selling non-essentials like the stakeS it held in both Subaru and Suzuki, so we're not particularly surprised to see a For Sale sign on Allison.

While doing a bit of research for this post we stumbled on an entry in Wikipedia for Allison Transmission and learned some pretty interesting stuff about the company's history. It's founder, James Allison, was one of the four original businessmen who financed the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and started up the Indy 500 in 1911. The company also got into aviation engines and was the only U.S. manufacturer to develop and produce a V12 liquid-cooled engine during WWII. Finally, Allison Transmission was one of the driving forces in developing GM's two-mode hybrid drivetrain that first saw use in commercial buses before being adapted for passenger car use.

Allison Transmission is clearly a storied old American company, so it will be very interesting to see who, if anyone, steps up to buy it.

[Source: GM]

Despite reports that Danica Patrick's father/manager was in exploratory talks with various NASCAR teams to turn his daughter into a dedicated left-turner, word is coming out that the Queen of Open-Wheel Racing has signed with Andretti Green Racing for the 2007 season of the Indy Racing League. This means Danica will be leaving her current IRL team, Rahal Letterman, at the end of this season when her contract expires. Danica will join Tony Kannan and Marco Andretti on the Andretti Green Racing roster for 2007 and get another shot at reaching her goal of winning the Indianapolis 500.

[Source: Fox Sports]

Did you watch it? We didn't, but after reading about the outcome we're regretting not being in front of the television for the thrilling finale of the Indianapolis 500. Sam Hornish Jr. edged out 19-year-old Marco Andretti, son of Michael Andretti, by a mere .0635 seconds for the checkered flag. Marco actually passed his father to take the lead in the waning laps and was left to fend off Hornish, who was charging the young driver after losing a lap late in the race on a penalty incurred when he left the pits with his fuel hose still connected. Undeterred by a failed passing attempt on the second last lap, Hornish kept the pressure on and made his move on the last corner to pull beside the young Andretti and beat him by less than a nose. Though papa Andretti was proud of his son, Marco was reportedly disappointed in continuing his father's winless streak at Indianapolis.

For those who care, Danica Patrick held her own and ran as high as fifth before finishing eighth overall.

[Source: Indy500.com]

Chevrolet announced Tuesday that seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will drive the 2006 Corvette Z06 pace car at this year's running of the Indianapolis 500.

The striking red, white and blue 'Vette will be the eighth to pace the Indy field in the race's history, marking the 17th time a Chevy has had the honor.

The stars and stripes color scheme is intended to tie in with Chevy's "An American Revolution" marketing campaign, and looks to be a vast improvement over the purple and yellow extravaganza that graced Jay Leno's Corvette pace car at this year's Daytona 500.

[Source: GM]