RaceJunk Blog http://blog.racejunk.com A Racer's Opinion on everything racing related. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:12:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 en RaceJunk.com http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/07/30/racejunkcom/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/07/30/racejunkcom/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:12:39 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/07/30/racejunkcom/ We apologize to anyone who had difficulty getting onto the site this morning. Paul, the webmaster here is recovering from major eye surgery for a detached retina and can not use a computer. More proof that racing is a dangerous sport.

This site has always been supported by vounteers and we are here for anything anyone requires assistance with. Feel free to use the Livehelp (if available) or any contact form and someone will get back to you as soon as we can. This morning it took us time to figure out how to repair the issue as we normally do not handle server related issues.

RaceJunk.com is and has always been for Racers and Car Enthusiasts. There is no “paid help” and this is not a business. It is a service for the Racer and auto community. We you can understand. Thanks for your support!

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/07/30/racejunkcom/feed/ Scott Kalitta - February 19, 1962 - June 21, 2008 http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/06/22/scott-kalitta-february-19-1962-june-21-2008/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/06/22/scott-kalitta-february-19-1962-june-21-2008/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:21:00 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/06/22/scott-kalitta-february-19-1962-june-21-2008/   This weekend the entire racing world mourns the death of Scott Kalitta during an accident at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey in the final round of qualifying. Scott Kalitta was a champion drag racer. The Kalitta family name is one of the biggest in the world of drag racing and of motorsports in general.
 Scott was born February 1962. Starting with funny car (1981) he went into top fuel dragsters and earned two championships in that division in 1994 and 1995. In 2006 Scott returned to Funny cars. Scott was a true Racer. Although he had several retirements from racing he always returned to the sport he loved. Scott was the third person in NHRA history to qualify a Funny Car as well as a Top Fuel dragster for the same event.
 The Kalitta name in racing goes back to the 1950’s. Scott’s father drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta started racing then. The first driver to hit 200 & 290 MPH. Connie also was known for his relationship with Shirley Muldowney and having helped her career which was made into the movie “Heart like a wheel.” Connie was also an IHRA champion in 1979 and 1982. In 1994, Connie won the Gatornationals by defeating Scott in the first of its kind father & son Top Fuel final in NHRA history. Connie is also an uncle to drag racer Doug Kalitta who also won a USAC sprint car championship in 1994 sponsored by Kalitta Flying Service.
  Scott leaves behind a wife, Kathy and sons Corey (14) and Colin (8). He was loved by the entire racing community. Scott’s teamates Doug Kalitta, Dave Grubnic and Hillary Will not race in Sunday’s final eliminations.
 

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/06/22/scott-kalitta-february-19-1962-june-21-2008/feed/ Formula 1 is Back! http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/03/16/formula-1-is-back/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/03/16/formula-1-is-back/#comments Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:31:52 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/03/16/formula-1-is-back/ I just finished watching a race on television. Do not want to give any details away for those that watch it taped. (It is 2 AM so only die-hard fans watch live) Half the field failed to finish. Several yellow flags. Some serious Rubbin’. (Rubbin’ is racin’)  A former champion in American Open-Wheel debuting in the series. Top teams from last year failing to finish. Weak teams from last year showing great improvement. Various pit strategies. A former series champion watching the finish from the pits. Sounds like maybe NASCAR’s Daytona 500? Nope. The first race of the season in Formula 1 from Melbourne, Australia.

If you did not stay up to watch it, don’t miss the replay later this afternoon on Speed. And if you have never watched an F1 race before give it a try. Can be real exciting.

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/03/16/formula-1-is-back/feed/ IndyCar and Champ Car to Merge http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/23/indycar-and-champ-car-to-merge/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/23/indycar-and-champ-car-to-merge/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:12:22 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/23/indycar-and-champ-car-to-merge/  It has been 12 years since American Open Wheel Racing split into two series. Today it was revealed that Champ Car has already ceased operations and operations will fall under the Indy Racing League.
 The cars are very much different. Champ Car has used a Panoz chassis and will need to switch to a Dallara chassis. Reportedly as part of the deal Champ Car teams will be offered free Dallara chassis and Honda V8 engine lease programs. Also the teams will be offered the Team Enhancement and Allocation Matrix (TEAM) which pays teams at least $1.2 million for full-season participation.
Testing was to begin at Homstead but no Champ Car teams are expected to be ready. An extra test session possibly at another track may be offered to those teams to help with the entry with the Indy cars and into Oval Track racing. 
Several teams have already discussed making the move including: Newman/Haas/Lanigan, Walker Racing, PKV Racing and Conquest Racing.
While exact details are unclear, reports are, there will still be a race at Long Beach for the Toyota Grand Prix. This was considered a major issue with reaching the agreement. That weekend conflicts with the IndyCar race at Motegi, Japan. Expect the Regular IndyCars in Japan and the former Champ Car teams at Long Beach.
Each series since 1996 has had its share of good and bad points. But for open-wheel racing in general it was all bad. Poor car counts, confusion for the fans and a lack of direction for many in driver development series has led to poor television viewership and even poorer ricket sales. From my math we could see from 25 to 30 cars enter some races. I also look to this year’s Indianapolis 500 with a full field without resorting to tricks or cars that should not have even made qualifying attempts. Bump day may even involve actual bumping this year!
There are some people that believe that the CART/Indy split is what is responsible for the big expansion for NASCAR. It also has been a factor in the movement of drivers from Open-wheel to NASCAR. That and the $$$$! Now will any of those drivers want to move back to Open-Wheel?
This will probably (hey I am no fortune teller!) be the biggest story in motorsports this year. I personally look forward to this year and some exciting racing.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/23/indycar-and-champ-car-to-merge/feed/ Man Dies on Daytona International Speedway http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/05/man-dies-on-daytona-international-speedway/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/05/man-dies-on-daytona-international-speedway/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:42:15 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/05/man-dies-on-daytona-international-speedway/  Robert Boswell, of Apopka, Florida died on the track at Daytona International Speedway Sunday. The 60 year old was participating in the Richard Petty Driving Experience. He was on his fourth lap of his session when he crashed into an inside retaining wall in turn 2.  There are no SAFER barriers on that part of the track. While there is no official statement from authorities it has been reported the Volusia County medical examiner’s office will state that Boswell died from a “medical condition.” Autopsy results are still to be completed.  Robert had received the driving experience package as a birthday present. The Petty Experience has reported they will resume at the Speedway with their next scheduled class on February 11.

  The Driving Schools and Racing Experiences all seem to value safety first. I can not speak for all of them but from my own personal experience and friends comments, the cars are usually very well inspected and proper usage of safety equipment is paramount.

Robert Boswell  Robert Boswell

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/02/05/man-dies-on-daytona-international-speedway/feed/ Daytona 500 Tickets http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/31/daytona-500-tickets/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/31/daytona-500-tickets/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:53:24 +0000 admin http://blog.racejunk.com/?p=5 For the past month I have had friends ask me if I could help them get Daytona 500 tickets. Yeah, like I have some magic connection. In the past few years if you wanted decent tickets to the 500 weeks before the race you could go on ebay. You of course needed to be careful as their were counterfeit tickets out there. Probably still are. But you could find them at only a small markup.

 This year all the best tickets are sold out. But things have changed. The Florida State Legislature changed that. They repealed a law which made it illegal to sell a ticket for more than $1 over face value. The result is now instead of buying tickets on the grey market (ebay or the parking lot) you can purchase from ticket brokers. When Governor Jeb Bush signed the bill, he stated it would keep ticket prices reasonable. Instead the large ticket brokers are purchasing large quantities of tickets to events and selling them at extremely high prices. Recently there were complaints because Hannah Montana tickets were sold out in minutes but all were sold to brokers. And the brokers were asking up to $3000 for tickets originally priced $50. And I do not even know who Hannah Montana is! 

 So this leaves us with the Daytona 500 and many brokers are more than doubling the original price of the tickets. I do not wish to advertise these rip-off companies but if you look for yourself you will find some tickets that originally were under $100 the brokers are selling for almost $2000. And even on Ebay the people just looking to sell their “extra tickets” have raised their asking prices. While it is now legal it gives me the same feeling as when I look at a gas pump. 

 Now the real kicker. My friends have told me that when they call the Speedway for tickets they are refferred to one of the ticket brokers. Is ISC involed with the brokers? When a lot of money gets thrown around it does make you wonder.

 So what is going to the Daytona 500 worth to you?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/31/daytona-500-tickets/feed/ The Rolex 24 - Is 24 Hours too long for a car race? http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/27/the-rolex-24-is-24-hours-too-long-for-a-car-race/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/27/the-rolex-24-is-24-hours-too-long-for-a-car-race/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:27:24 +0000 admin http://www.racejunk.com/blog/?p=3  Today’s running of the Rolex 24 lasted 24 Hours. Coverage of the race started on your local Fox affiliate channel and the rest was on Speed. Only 16 hours of the race was actually broadcast. Some people consider a 4 hour NASCAR race as being way too long. So when endurance races such as these take place do you watch the entire broadcast? Do you lose interest after part of the race? Do you only watch the end of the race?
 I watched the beginning of the Rolex 24. The first few hours. Then I had to work on this web site. Eat Dinner. Caught another section of the race. Then watched a movie. (Batman Begins, which was just okay) Then dessert. (Strawberry ice cream) then work on the web site some more. Then I checked on the race but it was not on. At that point you know the cars are racing around Daytona. You know pit stops are taking place. And you know cars are breaking. But you can not see it on the ole’ trusty television set. Since I had enough of the computer I did not check online although I could have. Just read a magazine and then went to bed. Many teams are just going easy to make it through the night without breaking down.
 Up at 6:00am I was able to catch up on the action at Daytona. Normally I get up at 9 or 10 but for a race…well.. Hey I get up at 2:00am for a F1 race. The cars are still going thnrough the banking. Pit stops take place. And cars are breaking, while some are coming back on the track after repairs. So did I miss anything really in the overnight hours? At 1:30pm the white flag came out and Scott Pruitt & the Ganassi team could have pulled in and still won. But i watched that last lap as if there was still 23 hours remaining.
 For me the race seemed too short. Although I was not able to watch all 24 hours. But still short, Especially for an endurance race. If they broadcast all 24 hours, then does it become an endurance race for the viewers? Is watching a 4 hour NASCAR race an endurance race for you? I think it seemed short because it is the first real live racing event of the season. Something to take care of the withdrawl symptoms from this winter. There was some great taped racing events to get through the off season. Especially the Australian V8 Supercars. Unfortunatly there is some fantastic racing from other countries that is not broadcast here. For me I have my sister in England record some of it and send it over. Now that the Rolex 24 or is it the “Rolex 16″ being 8 hours were not broadcast?, I am waiting on the NHRA Winternationals and the start of Daytona speedweeks.
 For the next couple of hours I will enjoy the Summer Shootout Series from Lowes Motor Speedway being broadcast now. The racing action is sometimes better than a NASCAR race. Most of their races are limited to 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe the racing action is better because the races are short. Too bad. Would love to see the racers in the Bandolers go for 12 hours. But as agressive as they are, they might not last the first hour! Some are so talented they will be the next NASCAR stars and maybe racing in the Rolex 24. And help all of us recover from a winter of no live racing.

]]> http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/27/the-rolex-24-is-24-hours-too-long-for-a-car-race/feed/ Hello world! http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/25/hello-world/ http://blog.racejunk.com/2008/01/25/hello-world/#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:04:08 +0000 admin http://www.racejunk.com/blog/?p=1 Welcome to the RaceJunk Blog. A place for me to tell you what I think about what is going on in Racing.

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