Auto Racing Digest articles from August 2002

Auto Racing Digest archives from August 2002

NASCAR should be "soft" on safety. (Pace Lap).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR Speedway's recent installation of energy-absorbing "soft" walls is a welcome safety innovation. This is the third attempt to erect such walls at the Brickyard, but unlike each of the past flawed efforts, early test...

The people's choice. (The Fans Speak Out).(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... I read your recent article about CART's woes with great interest ["Ten Ways to Fix CART," July 2002]. You managed to tick off quite a few problems and offer some solutions, but one thing that struck me as being absent from your article was...

Safety first at Indy. (The Fans Speak Out).(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... Three cheers for Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George for his racetrack's "soft" walls. The Brickyard has a long tradition of taking the lead when it comes to safety--even being the first track to mandate the rear-view mirror--and...

Rules aren't for breaking. (The Fans Speak Out).(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... Scott Plagenhoef, please stand up and take a bow. Few motor sports writers would have dared to point out that by artificially extending the length of a race NASCAR is actually detrimentally affecting the better drivers ["NASCAR's Fickle Ruling...

CART rolls the dice on co-promotion. (The Biz).(Championship Auto Racing Teams)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... HISTORICALLY, CART's business model called for the series to receive a large upfront sanctioning fee from event promoters, who in turn had control over a race's promotion and operation. Under this model, in exchange for its drivers and teams,...

Rising star: Aaron Fike.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... AARON FIKE'S FIRST USAC victory put him in the record books. When the 18-year-old won the USAC Silver Crown feature at Richmond International Raceway in June 2001, he became the youngest winner in the history of the division. That feat carries...

The enthusiasm and folly of youth. (Uncovering the Past).(Kevin Harvick)
August 1, 2002... IT SHOULD COME AS LITTLE surprise that Kevin Harvick is so often compared to the late Dale Earnhardt--after all, Harvick was forced to step directly into Earnhardt's ride after the legend's untimely death. In the short time since, the...

The stat sheet: John Force.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... (4.90) In 1996, John Force became the first drag racer to break this once mythical mark when he lowered his own national record to 4.889 seconds, in Topeka. In the time since, he lowered the funny car record to 4.73 seconds in Reading,...

Changing lanes: now settled at Team Motorola, CART's most famous driver is enjoying a personal resurgence and life in a stronger, more stable series. (Interview: Michael Andretti).(Championship Auto Racing Teams' driver Michael Andretti)(Interview)
August 1, 2002... AFTER STRUGGLING TO FIND his footing last year--his first season with Team Motorola--it only took two races for Michael Andretti to earn a win in 2002. Andretti's April triumph at Long Beach made this his 15th consecutive season with a CART...

Holding out hope: despite a Sisyphian career and an unofficial role as NASCAR's supersub, Kenny Wallace is maintaining his enthusiasm for racing.
August 1, 2002... KENNY WALLACE MAY BE 37, BUT the NASCAR driver is the picture of pep. Unfailingly spirited and enthusiastic, he is known around the track for his quick wit and abundance of humor--as well as for the hint of mischief dancing in his eyes. He is...

Road rage: after becoming the first NASCAR driver suspended for his aggressive antics, will the talented but troubled Kevin Harvick learn to curb his temper?
August 1, 2002... KEVIN HARVICK DIDN'T HAVE to run that Craftsman Trucks race at Martinsville Speedway any more than he needed to run the Busch race at Bristol Motor Speedway a couple of weeks earlier. But he's a driver and there was a race going on. It was as...

All for one: forget rugged individualism--Dale Earnhardt Jr. [No. 8] and Michael Waltrip have demonstrated the power of working together on the track.
August 1, 2002... ONE OF THE MORE INACCURATE CLICHES spouted by NASCAR drivers is that Winston Cup racing is a team sport. By strict definition, it obviously is not. Points are accumulated only for individual drivers and there are no prizes for the combined...

The single engine that could ...: in 2004, F1 will adopt the single-engine rule, which could increase competition, save the lives of smaller teams--and drastically limit the amount of race action for its rabid fans.
August 1, 2002... FORMULA ONE IS BY FAR THE most expensive motor sports series in the world. Top teams such as Ferrari, Williams BMW, and McLaren Mercedes have annual budgets between $250 and $300 million. British American Racing (BAR) comes at $235 million and...

A nation of racers: from the outskirts of the California desert to the heart of steel country, many of America's non-traditional racing regions are quietly offering quality competition to ravenous fans.
August 1, 2002... WHEN ONE THINKS OF THE most fabled U.S. motor sports locations, the first places that spring to mind are Mooresville, N.C.--which hosts nine Winston Cup shops and is known as "Race City"--and Indianapolis olis, the home of most CART and IRL...

Once more, from the bottom: after hitting a professional low, Al Unser Jr. is hoping that a new team and a renewed spirit will result in his long-awaited return to greatness. (Cover Story).
August 1, 2002... AL UNSER JR. FOUND HIMSELF in a unique position on New Year's Day 2002: unemployed. The open-wheel legend had suffered a series of ups and mostly downs since the mid-1990s--entering this season, he'd won only two races since 1995--but this was...

2002 race schedules. (Names and Numbers).
August 1, 2002... 2002 Race Schedules NASCAR WINSTON CUP Date Event Track TV June 2 MBNA Platinum 400 Dover Downs International FX ...

Quick quiz.
August 1, 2002... 1. Which Winston Cup star was named the Tennessee Professional Athlete of the year in 1995-96? 2. Which of the following drivers is not behind the wheel of a Pontiac in 2002: Tony Stewart Bobby Labonte, Stacy Compton, or Casey Atwood? ...