Autoblog

New Columbus, Ohio racetrack attracting NASCAR hopes? [w/video]

Zach Bowman — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:01:00 EST

Michael Waltrip has announced that he and his race team will be investors in a new racetrack coming to Columbus, Ohio. The Sports Pavilion and Automotive Research Complex is currently being developed on the site of the city's Cooper Stadium and will include a half-mile track and seating for 8,500 spectators. A 50,000 square-foot office building will provide research space while an on-site hotel will serve up accommodations and a meeting center. The plan also calls for 1,900 parking spaces and several locations for restaurants. Of course, we're more excited to hear the SPARC facility will feature an outdoor karting track.

We're all for adding another paved oval to the world, but it seems unlikely the venue would attract any attention from NASCAR organizers. While the track itself could support a NASCAR event, Waltrip says the limited seating on hand would make it difficult to accommodate the sport's spectators. Instead, the SPARC track would possibly bring in smaller Nationwide Series races. More importantly, the track will offer NASCAR teams another viable testing facility since race rules prohibit testing on any track associated with a series race. You can check out the project's promotional video below.

Continue reading New Columbus, Ohio racetrack attracting NASCAR hopes? [w/video]

New Columbus, Ohio racetrack attracting NASCAR hopes? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Waltrip, Williams racing teams settle lawsuit out of court

Noah Joseph — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal

Racing fans on either side of the Atlantic may be familiar with the name Mike Coughlan. The controversial engineer was at the heart of the Spygate scandal between the McLaren and Ferrari teams a few years back and was subsequently ejected from Formula One. While he was waiting for his banishment to expire, he came over to the U.S. where he was working for Michael Waltrip Racing in NASCAR. But as soon as his sentence was up, he was back in F1 with the Williams team. Trouble is, his contract with Waltrip wasn't quite up yet.

As a result, MWR launched a lawsuit against Williams - oddly not against Coughlan, though - for poaching their employee. At the time, we said we doubted we'd heard the last of the case, but it seems we may have now as the parties have reportedly settled out of court.

The details of the ostensibly amicable settlement haven't been released, but whatever they arrived at has apparently left both teams happy to have closed the matter. In fact, Waltrip has even invited Williams to a NASCAR race as their guest, something the aging team leader is apparently excited to observe for the first time. All's well that ends well, then.

Waltrip, Williams racing teams settle lawsuit out of court originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR team sues F1 team over contract dispute

Noah Joseph — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

As far as racing disciplines go, Formula One and NASCAR are about as different as can be. They run entirely different kinds of cars, on different kinds of tracks, for different types of fans, from garages on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Recent years have seen a handful of F1 drivers trying their hand at stock car racing, but the latest clash of civilizations is set to play itself out not on the race track, but in the court room.

The issue, it seems, is over one Mike Coughlan. The British racing engineer is no stranger to controversy, having found himself at the center of the Spygate scandal of 2007 in which he was found to have stolen private documents from Ferrari while working for rival team McLaren.

The controversy saw Coughlan temporarily banned from F1, so like his former McLaren colleagues Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, he sailed for America and tried his hand at NASCAR. But after only six months into a two-year contract as vehicle designer director with Michael Waltrip Racing, the Williams Grand Prix team hired him to return to F1 in a senior management shake-up.

Now Waltrip is reportedly suing Coughlan and Williams for breach of contract, which they allege cost them prize money and sponsorship revenue. Williams, for its part, says it has yet to receive any documents related to the case. But something tells us this won't be the last we've heard on the subject....

NASCAR team sues F1 team over contract dispute originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR racer Michael Waltrip headed to Le Mans

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe

In NASCAR, they say that "rubbin' is racin'", or at least "they" do in Tom Cruise's vision of NASCAR. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, rubbing could lead to serious trouble when you are approaching warp speed on the Mulsanne Straight.

Still, over the years a handful of NASCAR drivers have ventured over to the Circuit de la Sarthe to test their mettle - in fact, back in 1976, NASCAR sent entire teams and cars across the ocean to help promote the sport - and now Michael Waltrip has become the latest to catch a plane heading to Le Mans, France.

Michael Waltrip won't be driving his Toyota Camry overseas, however, as he has joined an AF Corse team that's campaigning a Ferrari F430. There's no grandstand lighting to guide Waltrip as he navigates the nearly 8.5-mile course, so we at Autoblog wish him good luck and good headlights.

[Source: Sporting News | Image: Michael Waltrip Racing]

NASCAR racer Michael Waltrip headed to Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Travis Pastrana and Michael Waltrip join forces to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Team [w/video]

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Toyota, Celebrities, Racing

Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Team - Click above to watch video after the jump

Yesterday we learned Travis Pastrana had officially left Subaru and has teamed up with Michael Waltrip to run a Toyota in the 2011 NASCAR season. What we just found out, however, is that Pastrana is not simply a driver for the Waltrip team - the two have joined forces to create Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. Running in the NASCAR Nationwide series, Pastrana plans to compete in seven races during the 2011 season, followed by 20 more races in 2012.

Pastrana's appeal could give NASCAR a shot in the arm by attracting a raft of new fans to the sport. His racing background is varied, but he has done quite well behind the wheel of a wide assortment of cars, including multiple stints at the annual Race of Champions. Typically, those events involve left and right turns, and thus, Pastrana has pasted reminders on his car not to turn right (seriously).

Check out Travis Pastrana showing off his new Toyota racer in the video after the jump.

[Source: Pastrana-Waltrip Racing]

Continue reading Travis Pastrana and Michael Waltrip join forces to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Team [w/video]

Travis Pastrana and Michael Waltrip join forces to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Team [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR's greatest cheats detailed

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

It is only fitting that NASCAR has as history of cheating that's as cunning and varied as the methods of the original, moonshine-running racers skirting the law. Popular Mechanics has detailed 11 great moments in the bending and breaking of NASCAR rules, which include a cheating incident and ejection in the very first series race in 1949, an inflated basketball to circumvent gas tank capacity and frame rails loaded with BBs to get around weight restrictions.

And although a stricter rule book and the Car of Tomorrow might make "rules violations" harder ever year, it certainly hasn't stopped: a site that keeps track of NASCAR penalties shows the series has docked five teams five teams already this year. Perhaps that's because, as Darryl Waltrip said after getting busted in 1976, "If you don't cheat, you look like an idiot."

[Source: Popular Mechanics | Image: Jason Smith/Getty Images]

NASCAR's greatest cheats detailed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Michael Waltrip Racing innovates, NASCAR style

Zach Bowman — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:56:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Toyota, Racing

Michael Waltrip Racing Shop Tour - Click above for high-res image gallery

From most vantage points, the drivetrain in the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow seems to have its origins somewhere just after the discovery of fire. Under the hood is a pushrod V8 with 350 cubic inches of displacement, using the same architecture first outlined in the early 1950s. In its current form, ye olde mill is now delivering somewhere between 800 and 900 horsepower, and the small-block is still fed by the same Holley 4150 carburetor anyone can pick up from the local parts store. Behind the engine is a similarly crude four-speed manual transmission built to take repeated abuse. And little else. It sends power to a Ford nine-inch rear end - a design which, compared to the engine, is brand-spanking new. It was introduced in 1957.

If we're talking weaponry metaphors, the average NASCAR racer is a Louisville slugger wrapped in barbed wire compared to the Predator drone of your average Formula One or WRC beater. Or at least it looks that way from a cursory glance. But make no mistake, this is still big dollar racing, and the teams lapping Charlotte Motor Speedway or Talladega are still doing everything in their power to beat the rules at every turn and make their car faster than the rest of the pack. That means dabbling in advanced metallurgy, fiddling with fluid dynamics and finding out how to make their 3,450-pound behemoth faster than their competitors with the same kit.

It's an odd crossroads that fuses new and old tech, and a recent trip to Michael Waltrip Racing had us checking our NASCAR prejudices at the door.

Gallery: Michael Waltrip Racing Shop Tour

Continue reading Michael Waltrip Racing innovates, NASCAR style

Michael Waltrip Racing innovates, NASCAR style originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson wins pole, Earnhardt Jr. takes Bud Shootout

John Neff — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:32:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Regardless of whether or not you're a NASCAR fan, there's no denying that the motorsport is starting off its 2008 season in the best possible way. Early festivities for the season opener Daytona 500 began this past weekend and resulted in Jimmie Johnson, last season's champion, taking the pole position. Next to him on the grid will be a somewhat redeemed Michael Waltrip, who was embroiled in a scandal at last year's Daytona 500 that resulted in the largest ever fine handed down from NASCAR at the time.

That would probably be enough for a great kick off to the season, but the newly minted NASCAR Sprint Cup is swimming in merchandise sales after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Bud Shootout on Saturday in his first race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Driving his new No. 88 Chevy, Earnhardt Jr. came out swinging in this exhibition that nets no points for the winner, but is a good omen for winning the 500 next weekend.

[Source: ESPN, Photo by John Harrelson/Getty]

Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson wins pole, Earnhardt Jr. takes Bud Shootout originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Michael Waltrip rolls SUV, is charged with leaving scene of accident

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:04:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, SUV, Government/Legal, First Drives

Embattled NASCAR star Michael Waltrip has some new problems on his plate. According to Yahoo Sports, he has been charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident. The charges resulted from an incident over the weekend where Waltrip's Toyota Land Cruiser hit a telephone pole and rolled over about a mile from his house. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel, crashed and then walked home early Saturday morning.

Police discovered the wrecked SUV and then tracked down the two-time Daytona 500 winner at his home, where he was quoted as saying he was embarrassed but glad he was unhurt in the incident. Police reported finding blood at the scene, but Waltrip apparently suffered only minor cuts and abrasions. Accordint to the authorities, they saw the SUV on its side, traced the plates and realized it was Waltrip's vehicle.

Waltrip's first season as a car owner running Toyotas in NASCAR has been a difficult one, to say the least. Illegal fuel additives found in his engine during the Daytona 500 led to a record fine of $100,000 and 100 drivers points in the championship standings. He hasn't even managed to qualify for any of the other five races since the 500. Driver Dale Jarrett has only made the field on provisionals for 5 of those 6 races and is currently 37th in the points. Teammate David Reutimann failed to make two races and is 43rd in the standings. And now, Waltrip has this matter to contend with. It simply hasn't been his year so far.

Thanks for the tip, TGM3!

[Source: Yahoo! Sports]

Michael Waltrip rolls SUV, is charged with leaving scene of accident originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Scandal! Toyota, Waltrip in shame, fined big time

John Neff — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:25:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Toyota

For those who haven't heard, NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 race this weekend has been marred by controversy from the rookie Toyota camp. On Sunday, Michael Waltrip had his No. 55 Toyota confiscated by NASCAR officials after inspectors found an odorless, Vaseline-like substance in the car's engine. Later in the week, NASCAR handed down punishment to Michael Waltrip Racing, which included the ejection of team vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy and Crew Chief David Hyder from the garage at Daytona. Hyder was also fined $100,000, the largest fine ever handed down by NASCAR. Waltrip himself was penalized with a loss of 100 drivers points and his qualifying time from pole day on Feb. 11th was thrown out. Elizabeth Waltrip, Michael's wife and the official owner of his car, was also docked 100 owners points.

Thanks for the tip, John!

[Source: ESPN.com]

Continue reading NASCAR Scandal! Toyota, Waltrip in shame, fined big time

NASCAR Scandal! Toyota, Waltrip in shame, fined big time originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's NASCAR presence has other teams sweating

Eric Bryant — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:35:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Toyota

Toyota, currently running roughshod over other automakers in the showrooms, will be hitting NASCAR next year with the goal of doing the same thing to its competition on the track. Word around the pits is that this is causing sleepless nights for other teams, but not for reasons one would think. The concern here isn't the lap times, but simple economics - if Toyota subsidizes its Nextel Cup teams as it does for its teams in the Craftsman Truck series, the support that a big-ticket sponsor has to offer up could be cut in half from the current yearly value of $16M or so. Yanking several million dollars out from under the currently-established teams would be a catastrophic event with the potential of completing shaking up the pecking order. The first bit of evidence in support of this theory is the recent decision by UPS to defect to Michael Waltrip's Toyota team; a decision that certainly could have been fueled by the promise of a greatly-reduced sponsorship bill.

If indeed Toyota offers significant financial support to its teams - which it currently claims is not in the budget - it is unlikely that other manufacturers will step up and start cutting their own checks (as it is, rumors are already flying that one of the Big 3 is already looking to pull out of the Nextel Cup).

[Source: USA Today]

Toyota's NASCAR presence has other teams sweating originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 May 2006 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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