Category Archives: Uncategorized

Auto racing hearing Dirk Müller and Jorg Müller could be lead the BMW M3 GT2 effort? Rumor has it that Dirk Müller and Jorg Müller are most likely to drive the BMW M3 GT2 championship effort in the American Le Mans Series next year. Both drivers have driven for BMW in the past.

Auto racing Dario Franchitti is eager to return to the IRL Series following his absence from the championship this season.

The Scot left the IRL at the end of last season, after securing his first title, to move to stock car racing for 2008.

Franchitti did not manage to succeed in NASCAR, however, and decided to return to open-wheel racing with Chip Ganassi to partner current champion Scott Dixon in 2009.

Franchitti admitted that staying away from IndyCar Series made him realise how much he missed racing there.

"When I broke my ankle (in a Nationwide race in April), I kind of came up for air and that's right when Indianapolis was happening," he told the IndyCar Series website. "I came to the Speedway and watched rookie practice and that was my first kind of, 'I'm not going to at Indy this year.'

"Then I got back to focusing on the NASCAR Cup thing and our results were crap but we started to run really quite well. Then the team shuts down and I come back up for air again and that's right at that point they're doing some of the short tracks and the road and street tracks and I'm watching that.

"Then Chip started to make noises about, 'Would you come back to IRL?' and it got me thinking. It all culminated in Detroit. Chip and I went there to discuss the 41 Target car in Cup, coming here and driving this car. There was a bunch of stuff on the table.

"I could see Chip was really excited about the possibility of me coming to drive in IndyCar Series and I was really intrigued by it. I did the track walk, saw a bunch of my old friends -- I was walking around with (brother) Marino and spent some time going around with Danica. On Friday morning, I stood at Turn 1 and it was a done deal. 'That's what I want to do.'

"I knew going down the stretch last year I'd given it everything. I knew I wasn't going to be 100 percent for another year, so I wanted to go do something else and when I went away I realised how much I missed it."

And the former champion reckons the series will be much better than when he left following this year's unification.

"When unification happened, I thought, 'That was some good timing wasn't it?'" Franchitti added. "I arrive just after the series split and I leave just before they get back together. I looked at the schedule and it looks like a great schedule.

"I think the series is a lot different than 12 months ago. It's in a lot better shape so that's great. Having 28 cars in the field is awesome."

Auto racing IRL Danica Patrick one of most influential Patrick among BusinessWeek’s most influential: BusinessWeek magazine has cited Danica Patrick as one of the 100 most influential people in sports. Patrick ranks 50th in the list topped by golfer Tiger Woods. She is the highest-ranked woman on the list.

You might not have the money to buy a street racing car but there are some street car racing games that will have you driving in not time. One of the most famous street car racing games is Speed Devils. This street car racing game comes from the folks at Ubisoft. Aside from racing their cars on the streets of the city, players can also challenge their rivals to accomplish different feats while racing and thus creating a fictional league of racers. There is even some gambling going on in this street car racing game, because when a challenge is accepted all players can bet on or against the one trying to accomplish a feat. The money that you earn gambling and from the race can be used to buy a better car or upgrade the one you have with auto racing supplies. The race, however, is not entirely in your hands. Every once in a while the game throws obstacles on the street, like rolling boulders or, sometimes, unexpected dinosaurs. Try getting all of this action in real life street car racing. This game is perfect for people who don’t have the means to street race and for those who are veterans at it. This street car racing game is full of action and excitement to keep you challenging and driving for hours.

Auto racing for the first time, Audi Sport will offer a racing sports car specifically developed for customer use in the form of the powerful 500 hp plus GT3 version of the Audi R8 which will be available from autumn 2009. The logistics and factory space required for the AUDI AG customer sports car racing program will be created over the next few months in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm and Györ.

"The R8 is the first production Audi bearing the name and genes of a successful racing sportscar and is therefore an excellent base from which to build up our first big customer sport program," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. "Ever since the R8 was unveiled we’ve been inundated with enquiries about a race version. With the Audi R8 we will offer customers a racing sportscar equipped with high-caliber technology and the typical Audi qualities, but which is nevertheless easy to handle."

The Audi R8 conforms to the production-based GT3 regulations allowing the car to be fielded in numerous national and international race series.

Because the GT3 regulations prohibit the use of four-wheel drive the Audi R8 comes with the typical GT rear-wheel drive. The power is transmitted via a newly developed six-speed sequential sports gearbox. The suspension uses almost exclusively components from the production line. A comprehensive list of safety equipment guarantees the highest-level of passive safety. A modified front end and a large rear-wing generate the required downforce for the race track.

The Audi R8, which bears the project name "R16" within Audi Sport, was developed under the direction of Audi Sport. Mid August, the first prototype successfully completed a roll-out in the hands of Audi factory driver Frank Biela.

The first test races in various European racing series are scheduled for the 2009 season. Delivery to the customers is planned from the autumn of this coming year.

The customer cars are manufactured together by Audi Sport and the Quattro GmbH, which is also responsible for production of the Audi R8 street version, and Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. (Györ).

If you are still heading down to the local place to grab up the auto racing supplies that you need, think again my friends. There are easier and far cheaper ways to get your hands on the auto racing supplies that you need. Certainly the local auto racing supplies may have plenty of selection. However, you will never find more auto racing supplies selection than you will online. And, when you shop online you can compare merchants all to find the best deals on the auto racing supplies that you want. No more paying too much for the parts you want. And no more settling for the parts that the local place has in stock when you can easily find plenty of great auto racing supplies online and for less. Most of the time you will not have to pay any sales tax and you can generally get free shipping from most online vendors. So before you run out to that local place and open up your wallet, spend a few minutes shopping around online, you may be surprised at how good the deals are.

Auto racing the volume of frequency of BMW/Rahal Letterman Racing employees at ALMS races has been growing since the Series got back underway after Le Mans this year, and the amount of speculation over their 2009 driver lineup is growing at an equally impressive rate. Rumors of Jamie Melo signing for RLR continue to grow, just as rumors that former factory pilot Joey Hand is in the running for a return the German marque are picking up.

As a fan, I’d pay good money to see the pairing of Melo and Hand take the fight to Porsche and Ferrari’s finest. Hand continues to be the best kept secret in sportscar racing—getting out from under Bill Auberlen’s shadow would surely assert the Californian would do wonders for his career. Auberlen would be a good choice for BMW NA to consider, but their desire to step up and pay Bill's hefty retainer is an altogether different matter.

Down here in Phoenix we have nothing better to do than race our cars. Our spaces are so pointlessly wide and spread out, that racing is the only seemingly possible way to make it from one destination to another.

But in all seriousness, thought, street car racing is a big thing down here and often people will take their suped up cars down to the race track and engage in some official racing free of any potential fines, photo radar and all of the other nuissances associated with street car racing in the city.

A while back, I went with my dad to watch some street car racing at Firebird raceway. My dad is a really good mechanic and really into racing, so he took me down there to watch some locals fire up their cars against each other. It wasn't traditional racing, but more like gauging speed on a quarter mile. We saw some really neat suped up cars - everything from trucks to two doors and historic vehicles. Some were impressive and some were average. Overall, my street car racing experience was pretty good, and the bonus was seeing a real life rocket car do 4.6 seconds on the quarter mile.

Nuts!

 There is no doubt that racing on a closed circuit is one of the most exciting and sought after things to do. Go to an indoor kart racing track and you will find droves of people who have dreams of taking their need for speed to a real race course. Well for young people and some older people, street car racing is the next best thing. I understand the thrill of street car racing but on the same coin see the danger in it. You just have to type in “street car racing” into Google News and a list of fatalities and recent accidents will pop up because of the illegal past time.

Toronto created new street car racing legislation that places those pulled over going 31 MPH over the speed limit or in their case 50 KPH with up to 10,000 dollars in fines. Along with a huge speeding ticket comes the risk of vehicle impound and a suspended drivers license. It seems pretty harsh if you ask me but Toronto reports say there has been a 40 percent drop in fatal crashes as compared to this time last year according to network.nationalpost.com.

Auto racing Childress-Howard Motorsports Debut at Watkins Glen The No. 4 AT&T Daytona Prototype Pontiac Crawford fielded by Childress-Howard Motorsports will make its 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series debut Aug. 8 in the Crown Royal 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Sports Car racing legend Andy Wallace and multi-time Rolex Series champion Andy Lally will be the co-drivers. It will be the third time the duo has co-driven an entry after competing in two races in another series last year.

CHM is a joint effort between Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, and Rick Howard, president of Howard Motorsports. The announcement of the team’s formation was made Jan. 21 during the NASCAR Media Tour stop at RCR. Current plans are to compete in at least one other race this season and then the full season in 2009.

Wallace began his very successful professional racing career in the 1980s. The Oxford, England native has earned three overall Rolex 24 at Daytona titles (1990, ’98, ’99), one 24 Hours of LeMans (1988), and two 12 Hours of Sebring (1992, ’93).

“We had a fantastic two-day test last month at Virginia International Raceway with a brand new car,” said Wallace. “Andy and I use exactly the same seat so there will be no extra time needed when we make the driver change to add a seat insert. We like the same car setup so there won’t be any issues there, either. I can’t wait to get at it.”

Lally is a three-time Rolex Series class champion (2001, ’04, ’06) and won a season-high five races last year in the Rolex Series GT class. He also earned a class win in the 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Northport, N.Y., native has a great deal of experience and success in many other forms of auto racing, including the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Truck Series, and open wheel competition.

“Andy is one of my racing heroes so I’m looking forward to driving with him again,” said Lally. “I grew up in New York and have had a lot of success at Watkins Glen so I love racing there. I only got to make one day of the test last month because of a scheduling conflict but everything seemed to go very well.”

Auto racing Former Honda F1 and Super Aguri test driver James Rossiter will make his American Le Mans Series debut at Road America this weekend.

The 24-year-old Briton will join fellow former Super Aguri driver Franck Montagny in Andretti Green Racing's Acura for least two events, with Mosport following Road America later this month.

"I'm really looking forward to the new challenge, and to racing with Franck," said Rossiter. "I really just want to enter into this with the goal of learning as much as possible."

Rossiter was picked up by the Honda driver development programme while racing in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005. Although he tested for Super Aguri in the last two seasons, he hasn't raced regularly since his World Series by Renault campaign in 2006.

AGR co-owner Michael Andretti added: "We feel very good about adding James to our line-up for the next two events. He's a promising young talent and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do here.

"During the last couple of events we've shown the speed to contend for the podium, now we just need a couple of breaks to go our way."

AGR only signed Montagny in June after parting company with Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi and the Frenchman has partnered Marco Andretti in the last two ALMS rounds.

Andretti's IndyCar schedule clashed with the ALMS for the next two races, before both series appear in Detroit on the August 30/31 weekend. Andretti will then be available for the final two rounds of the year, although Rossiter would be able to join the team again for Petit Le Mans on October 4.

Auto racing - Darren Law expected to be excited following his third-place finish in Friday's Grand-Am Montreal 200. It marked the fourth podium finish for himself and David Donohue in the No. 58 Brumos DP Porsche Riley. Out of the top 20 in points only a few weeks ago, the result also moved the pair to a tie for fifth in the Daytona Prototype championship standings.

If one saw the finish, though, they would realize Law's disenchantment with the results from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"Honestly, that was the most disappointing podium I ever had," Law said. "We had run so hard. David did an excellent job on his stint, and we earned our way to the front. Then, we led the last 30 minutes or so.

"Heck, I could see the finish line," Law added. "I just missed it. It was so close. To lead it all the way to the last 50 feet is just the worst feeling."

Only feet from the finish, Law's Porsche stumbled from fuel starvation. Antonio Garcia, who was running second in Eddie Cheever's No. 16 Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Pontiac Coyote, swerved to the right. Seeing the lane blocked, Garcia passed Law to the left. Mark Wilkins, who had taken the white flag in fourth, made his move to the right and passed both Garcia and Law, winning the closest finish in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Cask No. 16 history. Wilkins edged Garcia by .064 seconds. Law was third, .654 seconds behind in the closest 1-2-3 finish in series' history.

"Everything went right," Law said. "We had a great car. With two laps to go, they told me on the radio that Joey Hand was starting to run out, so I switched my engine mapping.

"On the last lap, it died in the horseshoe, but I got it going again," he continued. "It started sputtering on and off on the whole back straight. I was hoping to hold on, but I knew it would be close. It was barely running when I crossed the line.

"If we ran out with five laps remaining, you could say we screwed up," he added. "But we were so, so close."

While Law held on for third, Hand failed to finish in Alex Job's No. 23 Ruby Tuesday DP Porsche Riley. GT also saw Porsche lose a 1-2 lead on the last lap, when both Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3s ran out of fuel.

"Porsche could have been 1-2 in both Daytona Prototype and GT," Law said. "Instead, the best we could do was third."

Sunday, Law was back home in Phoenix, spending time with the family and beginning preparations for his upcoming trip to Watkins Glen, N.Y. The Daytona Prototypes will be back in action Friday night in the Crown Royal 200, part of Watkins Glen International's monster weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

"We would love to get it at The Glen," Law said. "That's where Bob Snodgrass grew up, and he was always excited to go back there. The Glen would be a great place to do it.

After a slow start, the Brumos team finished fifth in the fifth race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. They followed that with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen and at Mid-Ohio. A fifth-place finish was followed by another runner-up finish at Barber Motorsports Park, where Law charged and nearly caught Scott Pruett in what was - at the time - the fourth-closest finish in Rolex Series history.

The Montreal finish would be even closer.

"The first four races this season, we almost didn't finish any of them," Law said. "Since then, though, we've dug ourselves out of the hole and are back into contention. Heck, we're only 18 points out of second (in the team standings). With a little luck, we might even catch the GAINSCO guys."

Joining Law and Donohue in the Daytona Prototype top 10 in the driver standings are Brumos teammates JC France and Joao Barbosa, who are tied for ninth on the strength of six straight top-10 finishes.

"We've got two cars in the top five in the team points," Law said. ‘We're knocking on the door. The Glen would be a great place to win."

Yes, I am a biased BMW nut! I will admit it, and really I'm not afraid to. I love the American Le Mans Series, as well, and I miss the days of the E46 M3 GTR. Now, as I posted a while back, BMW has the new E92 M3 GTR that will come racing into GT2 starting in 2009. I can't wait, personally. Thanks to my buddy Horatiu at BMW Blog, I have a nice video of the M3 GTR doing its test thing for the camera.

Watch the headlights. BMW kept the Angel Eyes on the damn race car. Talk about menacing.



Josh from RawAutos.com

It seems that everyone wants in on the Ethanol craze these days. Ferrari has brought an F-430 out that uses Ethanol, Lotus has an Ethanol Exige and the C6.R Corvette in ALMS is fed only Ethanol to survive. That' just off the top of my head. I'm sure if I did more research I could find a whole host of new sports cars and race cars that come in Ethanol form. I won't get started on what I think about it, though.

Now, Volvo wants in on the game. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the pretty sweet little three-door hatch that they brought out in late 2007 called the C30. Volvo is taking the sales success of the C30 and trying to turn it into some racing success, as well. Why not? It's a nice FWD platform that is quick, fun to drive and right in line with what Seat, BMW, Honda and Chevrolet are racing.

Volvo has already been racing in Swedish Touring Car Championship, and took two titles in 1996 and 1997. Volvo hopes the C30 can help do that again.

The Volvo C30 Ethanol racer will see action at the World Touring Car Challenge race in Brands Hatch, UK the 26-27 of this month. It is simply a test race and won't count for any points for the Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing Team.

Robert Dahlgren will pilot the one and only Volvo C30 around the track. It will be quite interesting to see how Volvo can keep up with the Diesels and Gas powered cars already running around so well.

Here is the official Press Release:

Volvo enters the World Touring Car Championship race at legendary Brands Hatch

Robert Dahlgren returns to his old training ground, driving Volvos new C30 Green Racer

Volvo Car Corporation has decided to enter its new ethanolpowered Volvo C30 racer in the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) atBrands Hatch on the 26 - 27:th of July.

The car, which is in its first year on track, races in theSwedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) as the only ethanol E85 poweredcar in that series. In STCC, the car has so far secured three out ofseven pole positions and has lead close to half of all laps driven.

Now Volvo wants to evaluate the car against the strongest ofcompetition on the circuit at legendary Brands Hatch, Kent, England.

"We are naturally excited to come to Brands Hatch. This race wason the "to-do-list" in our plan for the C30 from start. We wanted thisas a check point to see how far we have come against the best," saysDerek Crabb, Motorsport Director at Volvo Car Corporation. We areclimbing up the development curve of this car and we strongly believethe Volvo C30 may become a very competitive car in any FIA Super 2000championship. However, it important to stay pragmatic and do things inthe right order.

Equally thrilled is the driver, Robert Dahlgren:

"It will be fantastic to race at Brands Hatch again. I spentmost of my youth in Britain and have driven all the tracks in differentformula series. I also won the Formula Ford Championship there in 2001and was the first privateer to do so in 18 years. It will be exiting tocome back, but this time as a works driver for Volvo and in the exitingnew C30."

The car will be operated by Volvo official motorsport partnerPolestar Racing AB, who is also both developing and running the samecar in STCC. Volvo will race with Ethanol E85 in the tank and will notbe eligible to race for points.

Josh from RawAutos.com

[Source: Autoblog via Volvo]

There are times when I have to do a lot of driving as part of my work, and I've found that the driving shoes you get from auto racing supplies web sites help keep my right foot from getting all cramped up when I'm doing a lot of city driving, with tons of starting and stopping. I don't know what it is about that kind of driving that occasionally sends my foot and lower leg into spasms, but I do know that professional driving shoes really help. You can get these shoes at auto racing supplies stores or web sites. If you drive a lot, consider buying a pair to help with the occasional foot pain or muscle spasm that is so uncomfortable, and even dangerous, as you go down the road. These shoes are not so expensive-less than $100, typically, which is not much to spend when you know that they will keep your feet from overuse injuries. There are not all that many auto racing supplies in sticks and bricks retail stores, so if your foot is vulnerable to driving injuries, think about driving shoes.

There hasn't been any news on an IS F racecar since we heard rumors that the sedan, unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon, was really a reskinned 2004 Opel Vectra DTM. While Lexus might not be supporting a factory-backed motorsports program for the IS-F, that doesn't mean that privateer teams can't develop a car on their own. DRC Motorsports has done just that and has built two IS-F racecars that will compete in the GT class of the SPEED World Challenge. Dubbed the IS GTF, it will be sporting a 4.7-liter V8 putting out 510 horsepower and attached to six-speed sequential transmission. The first car will make its debut this weekend at Mid Ohio with Jeff Altenburg, last year's SWC Touring Car champion, behind the wheel, and the second car, driven by Robb Holland, is scheduled to make its maiden run the following race at Road America. Both cars are scheduled to run the remainder of the race season. If you want to watch the new IS GTF in action, SPEED will be airing the race on Thursday, July 24 at 1:00pm (EDT) following the Touring Car race.

AnInterview with Terry Borcheller

“I had a guy walk up to me at Le Mans this year; he walks up to me and hands me a picture of the very first car that I ever drove in my very first pro race in 1991.(for an autograph)”

Terry Borcheller is a great driver and man. He is married and a father of four. He lives his life in a very Christian way. God found him in 1987 and has worked with him ever sense. I still find it baffling how a busy family man is able to juggle being a great husband, father, and still travel the world racing. When we talked he had just gotten back from a meeting in Daytona and was tired. You could hear some of the exhaustion in his voice, but no worries to him, as he seems very used to it. He was very great to talk to and is obviously very comfortable with where he is in his life.

Terry, like many professional racing drivers, has had a long career leading up to where he is now. His father was a budding racer in the 50’s and wanted to race sports cars,up until he had started a family and had to give it up to open up his own business to support his family. It is very apparent that the racer/hard working man gene was transferred to Terry. He started racing motorcycles when he was five, but was forced to give it up by his mother who wasn’t very keen with the idea of him racing bikes. His father agreed and at age 12 bought him his first go-kart.

He started racing in karts in 1979 in the junior division and from there progressed up. It was expensive at $10,000-$12,000 a year. This back in the late 70’s was a lot of money. So he and his dad used to work together in their shed at home to fix the go-kart back up, “Instead of rebuilding our engine after every race, we would go through and do our own rings and bearings to try and save money. We drove the rig ourselves.” This all paid off in 1983 when Terry won the National Karting Championship. 1983 was his first season in the senior division. He was doing something right.

Following a three and a half month Christian Mission to Ecuador, helping to build churches and minister to the local people, Terry Borcheller came back to America with no money. He had left racing by this time, around 1989-1990, and was sure that God was calling him to a life in the ministry service “When I got back I legitimately figured I was going to go into ministry full time. I was gonna start doing something regarding ministry work.” Talking to his college and career pastor and confidant, he came to the realization that there were no doors being opened for him in the ministry field, but it was bizarre that there was one opportunity that was being dangled right in front of him, an instructor spot with the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

Terry, a few yearsearlier, went to the school to receive some extra driving instructions. This wasthe only formal training that Mr. Borcheller ever had, and he had a great time.He worked up a great relationship with his instructor Chris Cook. At the timethat Terry was looking for a job, Chris had become the chief instructor forBondurant. Terry recalls the phone call “Chris said, man your timing is prettygood, because we’re moving from northern California to Phoenix, and half theguys don’t want to go. I remember your talent, and I’ll put you through everycourse that we offer, that’s how we train our guys, and let you see the systeminside and out and then let you start to instruct.” “I was like, you gotta bekidding me? I packed up everything that I owned, at the time in my dieselRabbit, and drove to Phoenix from Florida.” He started instructing in early1990. That is where it started all over again for him.

While instructing,Terry was listening to some of the great drivers that were also instructing alongsidehim talk about their trials and tribulations over finding a ride. He waslistening to them and taking notes on what to do and what not to do. Hebelieved in his heart that God was going to help him no matter what. The otherguys just laughed it off, since he was talking like every other racer outthere, except he was depending on God to open doors.

Terry believes thatwith the help of God and through his own personal motivation he was able toobtain a good level of success racing in Skip Barber Fords in 1990-91. He wasthe championship runner-up. He was progressing well and was having a great timeteaching. He has helped coach the likes of Mario and Michael Andretti, TimAllen, Donnie Osmond, Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott and Danica Patrick, just toname a few. He helped to train Danica Patrick for a possible seat in a sportscar. He said that she was so talented and was incredibly humble. She took to itquick, he said.

Terry Borcheller’s bigbreak finally came in 1997, and in 1998 in the IMSA Speedvision Cup with the GSClass, he won his first championship with a BMW M3. He also won that same yearin the SCCA SPEED World challenge in the T-1 class with a Saleen Mustang. Itdidn’t stop either. Terry has six total professional championships in, 2000Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with a Saleen Mustang in the GTO class, 2001ALMS GTS class with the Saleen S7R, 2002 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car with a LolaB2K-Nissan in the SRP II class and in 2003 in the Daytona Prototype class ofGrand-Am Rolex Sports Car series with a Chevrolet-Doran. He was also runner upin 2003 in the GS class of the championship with another BMW M3 and in 2004 inthe GS class, again, with a Cadillac CTS-V/Porsche 997. That is a prettyremarkable record.

Terry is only the 26th racing driver, ever, to win two championships in the same year, and in 1998 had 11 different race wins in 4 different racing series’. He has also won two races on the same weekend 8 times! He is a specialist in endurance racing, having two wins at the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona, a class win at the 12 hours of Sebring,a podium finish in 2001 at Le Mans, his first LMS race, and a 6th overall, 3rd in GT1 finish at Petit Le Mans, beating the factory Aston Martin’s and Corvette’s.

All of this success and Terry has not once paid for a ride in a race car. If you don’t believe me just ask him yourself. “I never paid for one ride!” Me- “Never paid for one ride?” “Not one ride.” That is something that not many, if any, professional race car drivers can say. The only thing he ever paid for was when his parents paid for his Karting as a kid.

Terry has been racing in ALMS with the 008 Aston Martin DBR9 for Bell Motorsports in GT1. He races against the factory Aston’s and the factory Corvette’s. He says that he loves the racing and that the car is great! He said that it’s hard to compete with the Corvette’s years of factory funding and development, but the DBR9 is still able to compete well and win races. He feels confident that the effort that Prodrive has been making with the factory DBR9 will allow his car to be a success as well.

As an enthusiast I had to ask what his favorite race car and street car he’s ever driven. He replied, easily, with the Lola Prototype SR2 as his favorite track car and the Ferrari Enzo and Enzo FXX as his favorite street car/track car. He drove the Enzo in New Mexico and drove the Enzo FXX at Infineon. He was giving instruction to the FXX owner. He said that the technology and ability of the Enzo is just so amazing. His favorite race car driver just happens to be my favorite as well, “I’ve been asked that question a lot, and it seems that my answer always comes back to Mario Andretti. Mainly because he seemed to be able to drive anything fast,it didn’t matter if it was Indy cars, Stock cars, Sports cars, he’s won in everything. And also he was one of the guys that went through that era when a lot of guys were getting killed and he managed to stay in one piece… And win races. He went through that era and into the current one and won races too.”Terry had the great pleasure of sitting next to Mario signing autographs to fans with him. What that was like, I only wish I could know that feeling.

Terry Borcheller has raced with so many great racing drivers as teammates. To list them all here would be too difficult “I’ve had a lot of good ones, you know what I mean?” He has drawn so many things from every person he has raced with and against. He lists every driver that he has raced with and against as an influence. He also says that the guys he worked with at Bondurant were some great guys to watch and learn from.

I asked Terry whether he liked racing in America or Europe better, “Racing in the states, in my mind,when you look at it compared to Europe, okay; Don’t get me wrong, I think sports car racing in the United States is fantastic; I love where we’re going based on where we’ve been. Every year it’s getting better and better… as far as Europe goes, racing over there is like NASCAR here. There was almost 300,000people at Le Mans this year, again.” He continued by telling me a highlight of his life, “I had a guy walk up to me at Le Mans this year, I haven’t been to Le Mans since 06, he walks up to me and hands me a picture of the very first car that I ever drove in my very first pro race in 1991. I’ve never even seen a picture of that car in my life. It’s amazing. You can’t move ten feet without people stopping you for an autograph. In the states I rarely get asked for my autograph, unless it’s during the autograph session.” The picture that he was handed was of his car in the Skip Barber Saab Pro Series. Amazing!  When asked whether he likes ALMS or Grand-Am better he says that there is nothing like the racing in Grand-Am nor the show that ALMS puts on, “They just have tremendous cars!”

Terry’s favorite track is Le Mans, a track that he has been to five times. He loves the people that are in attendance, the racing and the overall air of the race. He lists some great North American tracks as tied for second; Laguna Seca, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Mosport and VIR, “There is a long list of tracks for second” he says. His all time greatest memory is at Road Atlanta “In 1983 I raced endurancekarts out there, and I had to basically win the race and the guy leading the points had to DNF. About half way through the race I saw him on the side of thetrack on the back straight and I was battling with four other karts and endedup winning the championship.” Wait, it gets better, “And then in 2001 in theAmerican Le Mans Series, I believe I was 3rd in the championship,and Ron Fellows basically had the championship locked up, and on the pace laptheir car broke down, and something happened that they got disqualified. We went on to finish 3rd and won the championship ahead of the factory.” Those are two great stories at the same track.

I talked to Terry a little more about his teaching of young kids who are battling drug and alcohol addictions, regular teenagers and people trying to get into racing. He loves it a lot. You can hear in his voice that everything he does with young people brings him joy. He believes in helping them through his faith and faith ministry. He is still pondering writing a book about his teachings and racing as well. His quote on racing is, “I compare racing to life, or a chess game; it has its ups and downs, unexpected challenges, strategic moves, and moments of excitement and disappointment.” His message speaks true.

There is no doubt that Terry Borcheller is one of the finest and most faith filled men I’ve ever talked to. His message is one of hard work and true accomplishment. God has truly been there to help him along and has been there in every car that he has ever driven. How else would he have gotten this far without having to pay for one ride in a car? I say you chalk it up to a God given talent and a little help from the big man upstairs.

Along with teaching andcoaching for the past 18 years, Terry is currently racing in the Grand-Am Rolexseries in a Pontiac G6 GXP.R. He hopes to be in another Daytona Prototype fornext season. He drives a silver E36 M3 Sedan on the regular roads. A BMW man,you gotta love that.

Thanks to TerryBorcheller for taking the time out to speak with me. You can follow Terry’sseasons and news by checking out TerryBorcheller.com.

Josh from RawAutos.com

Ferrari FXX photo taken from: Motor Authority

ALMS racing Frank Biela's future with Audi's sportscar team is in doubt following the German manufacturer's decision to replace him with Dindo Capello in their American Le Mans Series line-up.

Capello, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen two weeks ago, will share the No.1 Audi R10 TDi with Emanuele Pirro for at least the next two races, at Lime Rock Park in a fortnight and Mid-Ohio a week later.

The switch casts a shadow over Biela's future as Audi revealed he was only contracted to contest races prior to Le Mans.

It leaves the five-time Le Mans winner without a race programme for the rest of the season and with no deal in place to remain with Audi beyond this year.

Biela is also a two-time ALMS champion, while Capello is already the most successful driver in ALMS history with 26 race wins and also has two titles to his name, having won the LMP1 championship with McNish for the last two seasons.

Yesterday Auto Sport Blog was one of the first to notify you guys of the unfortunate and tragic accident that took Funny Car Driver Scott Kalitta's life in a qualifying race.

Here is the video of the incident. I must warn you though, it isn't for the faint of heart.



R.I.P. Scott Kalitta

Josh from RawAutos.com

I watched the Emco Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio today. I was just posting the article about Scott Kalitta passing away, when out of nowhere I hear "Whoa! Darren Law!" I look at the television and watch Darren charging up the pack from 9th all the way up to 2nd place. The race ended under yellow flag conditions due to two Porsche's and an RX-8 getting mixed up down field. There is no doubt that if the race were still green Darren would have crushed the #99 Gainsco that Alex Gurney was currently piloting. Darren said in his end of the race interview that he "Definitely had something for him."

David Donohue, the driving mate of Darren Law, obliterated the track record in qualifying with a new Porsche engine because of troubles with the other one. With the 58 Brumos Porsche taking the pole, it was bound to be a great race. There were a few issues in the rain, but David and Darren were able to get back up there and seal the deal.

Congratulations to Darren and David for having such a fantastic race. David raced through the rain to try and get up the pack and Darren took over to finish the race by absolutely showing up the Prototype field.

The Emco Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio was plagued with crazy rain and wet condition all the way through the race. Tons of cars got stuck in the sand and dirt off of the track. Lots of yellow flags were popping up all over the place. The race would go green, and then boom! Someone was stuck and or having issues and the yellow caution flag would come back out again.

All in all, though, the race was fantastic. Alex Gurney in the #99 Gainsco Pontiac had some right front body damage, but drove through it to beat Matt Plumb of the #7 Rum Bum Racing Dinan BMW. Plumb had lead a lot of the race, but as the track started to dry out his softer suspension settings were no match for the Gainsco Pontiac. This is the first win of the season for Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney of the #99 Gainsco Pontiac.

Here you can watch David Donohue talk about his amazing qualifying lap.

Stay tuned for more racing coverage of the Emco Gears Classic.

Josh from RawAutos.com