Scott Speed is down with that

Another week, another first time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as Scott Speed took victory last night in Dover. Speed in only sixth start took held off Kevin Harvick Inc. teammates Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday for the victory.

"We had a good strategy and an awesome truck, and we got everything we could out of it," Speed said of his No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. "The learning curve I've had has been amazing. Every time I go out on the track, I feel I come away with a lot of knowledge.

"I'm just having an awesome time trying to learn this sport."

Speed and his Bill Davis team used some strategy to get his truck towards the front by taking to two tires on their final stop on lap 133 and with about 50 to go Speed grabbed the lead from Todd Bodine and never looked back, but sealing the deal wasn't easy as Ron Hornaday was on his tail end the majority of those final laps. Speed's chance for victory went into serious jeopardy when Bodine smacked the wall with 30 to go, putting Hornaday, the "king of restarts", on his back bumper. But by then Hornaday had devloped a problem with his motor and Speed pulled away for the victory with ease.

The Craftsman Truck Series now heads off to the high banks and high speeds of Texas Motor Speedway, next Friday night. Rick Crawford is now your points leader with a 20 point lead over Matt Crafton.

Speed out runs Sprague, Hornaday for first victory (NASCAR.com)

BMW 3 Series Facelift - Best Shots yet

Up until now the camoflaged BMW 3-series prototypes have hidden the small details that have been revisited by the Bavarian designers on the current generation series. But now these latest spy shots coming out from Germany reveal some of these features for the first time...
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Lewis Does LA... in TechArt Style

Lewis who? He drives a race car? Oh, in NASCAR? ... and you know how the rest of the conversation goes. Somehow, Formula One has yet to penetrate the American bubble despite increasing popularity in recent years, thanks to Speed Channel. So, if you're an F1 star, what better place to escape the hounding press and paparazzi, especially after just winning the Monaco GP, than a place where you're an unknown, yet still able to tool around in a TechArt 997 without anyone noticing - welcome to Los Angeles.

As Lewis' newest cheerleader, as seen at the awards ceremony in Monaco, perhaps it was Pee Diddy's influence for the trip to the states, but most likely a pit stop (no pun intended) on the way to the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Nonetheless, Lewis got himself a sweet ride during his visit thanks to U.S. TechArt importer Claus Ettensberger Corp. (aka CEC).
via Jalopnik.com


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AG Excaliber from Lithuania with 30-inch Wheels!

Lithuanian body man, Audronis Gestautas, has created a vehicle like no other. Under his own brand name, the AG Excalibur uses the body and underpinnings of a Mercedes-Benz CL-Class. Audronis sent us initial images of the finished product today but he was quite shy with the details. After a little due diligence, we found more photos which chronicle the build process. Surely, Excalibur is not to the taste of everyone, but there is much to be appreciated with all of the hard work and craftsmanship Audronis has put in.

Besides the bucket loads of PU foam and the insanely massive 24-inch chrome wheels up front and 30-inch in the rear, the interior is littered with Swarovski crystals. Audronis states, �one button is one big crystal, not like others who use plastic button glue with small crystals. � Also, the gearshift lever is a huge 25cm crystal.

We will have to wait until the summer to get the full look. We'll be ready with sunglasses in hand.

[05/30/2008 CORRECTION: wheels were incorrectly reported as 30-inch front and 40-inch rear]via:WorldCarFans

Inside the F1 cockpit

Every bit of a Formula One cockpit not occupied by the driver is crammed tight with technology.

• Buttons: The carbon fibre steering wheel houses controls for the communication radio, the setting of the differential (to change handling characteristics), the fuel mapping (to change the power/economy compromise), the pit lane speed limiter, and the traction and launch control.
• Controls: Behind the steering wheel are controls for the clutch � needed only to get the car moving when launch control isn�t being used � and the gear change. The driver uses a flipper switch on one side of the wheel to make downchanges and one on the other side of the wheel to make upchanges. Normally the gear changes are made automatically � making these controls redundant � but in some situations, a driver may prefer to change gears manually or may be forced to because of technical glitches.
• Instruments: In terms of instrumentation, the cockpit display is quite bare. Small digital read-outs tell the driver engine revs, engine temperatures, minimum corner speeds, and instant lap times.
• Pedals: The cars have only two pedals: a throttle on the right and brake on the left. Most Formula One drivers brake with their left foot.
• Seat: The driver�s seat is moulded to his own particular shape.

Slick tyres: Why they aren�t used in Formula One

Between 1971 and 1997, Formula One cars used to race on slick tyres � that is, tyres with no tread at all. This lack of tread gave the maximum surface area of rubber on the road, thereby maximising dry weather grip. Most other racing categories still use slick tyres but, since 1998, they�ve been outlawed in Formula One and replaced by the regulatory grooved tyre. The governing body made this change purely to limit the performance of the cars, for reasons of safety. Tyre engineers estimate that slick tyres would make Formula One cars around 3 seconds per lap faster than they currently are.

Understanding F1 tyres

As the cars� only contact area with the track surface, tyres obviously play an enormously important role in the performance of the machines. So critical, in fact, that the sport�s governing body invariably uses limitations on the specification of the tyres as the key way of controlling the performance of the cars. The limits for dry-weather tyres are currently those of width and tread groove.

• Width: The front tyres must be between 12 and 15 inches (305�381mm) and the rear tyres between 14 and 15 inches (356�381mm). The back tyres can be wider than the front because the back has more work to do. The weight distribution of the car is rearward-biased, because that�s where most of the mechanical components are. Furthermore, the rear tyres are transferring the engine�s power to the road.
• Tread groove: Four grooves must run through the circumference of the tyre. The shape and depth of these grooves is also specified by the regulations. The regulations for a wet tyre specify contact area rather than tread pattern or shape.

Formula One tyres grip the track far better than those of any road car could, but this performance comes at the expense of durability. However, a set of tyres on a Formula One car does not need to last any more than the length of a race and more often than not, even less.
Both grip and durability are largely determined by a tyre�s compound, the complex mix of the constituent chemical parts that comprise the material the tyre�s made from. The softer the compound, the better gripping but less durable the tyre. Different circuits place different demands on a tyre, according to the nature of the track surface and the design of the course. Tyre manufacturers come up with compounds tailor-made to each track. The other critical aspect of a tyre�s design is its construction, the way in which its carcass is designed. The stiffer the construction, the greater the load the tyre can withstand and, therefore, the softer the compound can be. A Formula One tyre is very temperature-sensitive. It has virtually no grip at all below its designed operating temperature and would therefore be lethally dangerous if used on the road. Getting the tyre up to temperature requires braking and cornering hard enough that only an accomplished racing driver is able to do it.