Attention foreigners:

The entry list for the 2009 24 Heures du Mans has been released.

That is all.

Go back to your ye olde pints and discussions about the happenings of the fortnight.

USF1 presser: The vids

We understand if you missed the launch q&a session for USF1 this afternoon. Noon on a Tuesday? Not in front of your TV? Huh. Interesting. Luckily, through the magic of the interwebs, you can see the highlights right here!







We like Mario's pleas to get Marco into a race seat. Nice set, Varsha.

'09 schedule fun dip- ALMS style II

Generac 500 at Road America

August 16th. Live coverage begins at 12PM EDT on Speed.



Mobil 1 presents Grand Prix of Mosport

August 30th. Live coverage begins at 3:00PM EDT on Speed.



Petit Le Mans

September 26th. Live coverage begins at 11:00AM EDT on Speed.



Monterey Sports Car Championships

October 10th. Live coverage begins at 4:00PM EDT on Speed.

Yasukama returns

Even the web editors at speedtv.com are susceptible to egregious spelling errors. In that regard, our two sites are pretty similar.

We will let Speedtv.com commentator "Mike Hickman" sum things up:

"Where's that SpeedTV.com spellchecker? His name in the article is Yasukawa not Yasukama. Is this a Freudian slip with F-1 Takuma Sato? Come on Speed, at least get the driver's name spelled right in the headline"

'09 schedule fun dip- ALMS style

The American Le Mans Series is perhaps the most entertaining big-deal racing series in the country. The hip kids acronym it down to 'ALMS' and the cleverness doesn't end there. The series' features interesting looking cars, manufacturer involvement (that's a novel concept), a tidy television deal, and a stellar on-track product. Add a reasonable schedule with some sexy dates (Sebring and Long Beach?! Really?) and you have the makings of a truly relevant motor racing series. Sure, the loss of Porsche and Audi involvement hurts, but the new Acura looks damn good in a skirt and the Dyson Mazda LMP2 reminds us of the Batmobile. Both are good traits to have.

So, now that you are sold on the ALMS schedule, you'd better be planning a trip to the event nearest your abode. (Or, setting your DVR really far in advance. Either way.) Here's a run down of what's what and what's where for '09.

Oh, with some on-boards. Naturally.

57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida

March 21th. Live coverage begins at 10AM EDT on SPEED.



Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg

April 4th. Live coverage begins at 1:30PM EDT on ABC.



Long Beach Grand Prix

April 19th. Tape delayed coverage begins at 12:30PM EDT on ABC. The actual race is contested on the 18th, for those interested in rocking the LBC in person.





Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels

May 17th. Live coverage begins at 3PM EDT on SPEED.



American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix

July 18th. Live coverage begins at 2PM EDT on SPEED.



Acura Sports Car Challenge

August 8th. Tape delayed coverage begins 2PM EDT on NBC.



The exciting conclusion coming soon. Featured tracks include Road America and Mosport. We can't wait either.

This guy has a cooler driverway than you

You can do some pretty crazy things with Google Maps. We usually use the street-view feature to lurk outside of strip clubs and rub-n-tugs trying to catch some poor sap freeze-framed in shame. Yeah, that's fun. Carlounge has used the tool for a less creepy purpose, finding this mini-racecourse that doubles as some guy's driveway.


View Larger Map

The curbing is a nice touch. Jealous.

Google Maps via carlounge via Jalopnik

Calling all Ridebuyers

Most guys who want to dip their toes into the pool of motorsports will buy a kart, go to an HPDE event or hit the local auto-x. The term 'most guys' does not apply to the blokes who are considering ridebuying themselves into a Top Fueler. Not. Hardly.

For an undisclosed amount of cash, you can team with Urs Erbacher and crew chief Wayne Dupuy at an NHRA national event. Yes, you will be piloting a Fueler teamed with the multi time FIA champ Erbacher. Christ, (if you qualify) you could find yourself lined up against a Tony Schumacher or Larry Dixon in round 1! Like, in a real race! Not licensed to run a 1/4 mile is 3.9 seconds? No problem, your new team can help get you approved before your big weekend. Wow!

Interested guys can call Dupuy at 570-709-7195.

**Yeah, we thought it was weird that speedtv.com listed his phone number in the article too. We're putting him on our "must drunk-dial" list.

NHRA: Rent a Top Fuel Ride - a Sign of the Times

Until the 500...

A smattering of notes on the eve of the Daytona 500:

Tony Stewart is the balls when it comes to plate stockcar racing. There is no equal. Exhibit 'A' would be his performance in this afternoon's N'Wide race. Watch the final two laps with him leading. Youtube it or something. It's bloody impressive. He is certainly the foremost pussy-and- racecar loving, plate-beast to date.

ESPN's stockcar coverage remains dismal. The only highlight of this afternoon's telecast was when Dr. Jerry Punch misidentified the Stealers Wheel classic "Stuck in the Middle," saying the Scottish band's hit was by Bob Dylan. That is inexcusable. Gerry Rafferty will no doubt kick Dr. Punch in the liver should their paths ever cross.



The SCCA has created a 911 GT3 Cup "Shootout" for teams who contest the World Challenge GT series using stock versions of the turn-key racers. Reading this reminded me of how amazingly beautiful racing versions of the Porsche 911 are, and forever have been. Case in point:

And yes, I am aware this is not a Cup car. Relax.

Enjoy tomorrow's stockcar race. Pre-race coverage started an hour ago and the race ends on Tuesday. Here is an extraneous Indy 500 video. Cheers.

Daytona dumping post

Everything you need to get ready for the happenings at DIS this here weekend (oh, and what you missed while out on Friday trying to find a suitable Valentine's Day piece of ass in a vain attempt to hind your deep emotional trauma from a lifetime of being unloved...).:

Starting Line Up by Row Daytona International Speedway



Schedule of events:

Saturday February 14th
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – NSCS Final Practice for the Daytona 500
12:45 PM – NNS Driver Introductions for the Camping World 300
1:15 PM - NNS Camping World 300 (120 laps, 300 miles)

Sunday February 15th
2:30 PM – NSCS Driver Introductions for the Daytona 500
3:30 PM – NSCS Daytona 500(200 laps, 500 miles)

Bodine wins first Truck race of season

Harvick takes pole for Nationwide race

Source: StreetFire via Jalopnik

Danica Patrick Straddles A Cobra In New SI Swimsuit Issue

Yes, the above link title is pretty clear as to what can be found after the click...

Gordon Kirby may also hate the Easter Bunny.

"Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick need to grow up and start focusing on their jobs and acting like professionals if they're going to be taken seriously..."

The Way It Is/ Return of the turbo

Sprint car ace to offspring, “go be a lawyer.”

Joey Saldana’s profession may not be the route he envisions for the future generations of Saldanas. After Saturday’s World of Outlaws feature at Volusia, Saldana expressed his hope that the word ‘litigious’ plays a role in his son’s future.

“This is a very tough sport. I don’t think people realize how tough it is. Sometimes I wonder why I even do it, but when you get an opportunity like that, when you have a son and see what he might be going through, or the challenges he’s going to face in racing, sometimes it’s better to just go to school and try to be good at something, be a doctor, be a lawyer. $10,000 would definitely go a long way toward putting my son through school.”

I offer a motion to amend.

WoO: Joey Saldana, Randy Hall Race Into Alltel All-Star Contest

Better know your go-or-go homers

Another season of fender-laden America oval racing is upon us. That means it's time to give a refresher course on the rather nuanced (ahem, ridiculous, stupid, not fair, idiotic, ahem) system of qualifying for Cup racing. For now, we shall concentrate on Daytona 500 quals.

Deep breath, here goes:

Thirty-five drivers are locked in the field based on 2008 owner points. That's straight forward enough.

Tony Stewart (new team this year, remember?) gets locked in based on his past championship provisional.

That leaves 21 entered cars (57 total entries were received) to vie for the final seven starting positions.

You can either make the race on qualifying speed tomorrow (Sunday) or by racing into the show on Thursday during the 150-mile qualifying races.

Tomorrow's qualifying will only set the front row.

Two non-locked in drivers from each of the races Thursday get automatic starting spots.

-And-

The rest of the field will be determined by speed.

Oh, Stewart only gets the past champ freebie if he needs it, so should he make the field by other means, Terry Labonte would be next in line, followed by Bill Elliott, should both Smoke and Terry make the field.

Exhale.

Via SceneDaily, here is a list of the drivers vying for those last, none locked spots:

EM Motorsports’ Boris Said, Phoenix Racing’s Brad Keselowski, R3 Motorsports’ Mike Skinner, Kirk Shelmerdine Racing’s Kirk Shelmerdine, Yates Racing’s Travis Kvapil, Tommy Baldwin Racing’s Scott Riggs, Front Row Motorsports’ Tony Raines, Mayfield Motorsports’ Jeremy Mayfield, Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger, Carl Long Racing’s Carl Long, Blackjack Racing’s Kelly Bires, Norm Benning Racing’s Norm Benning, EM Motorsports’ James Hylton, Gunselman Motorsports' Geoff Bodine, TRG Motorsports’ Mike Wallace, H&S Motorsports’ Mike Garvey, Cope/Keller Racing’s Derrike Cope, Furniture Row Racing’s Regan Smith and Nemco Motorsports’ Joe Nemechek.

Good luck, guys. We're going to go sit down and decompress our brains.

Have a great race weekend.

The end of the world is (reportedly) near

INDYCAR: Milka Duno and Doornbos to Newman/Haas/Lanigan!

This is hot off the presses. Remember, if you read it on the interwebs it has to be true. Discuss.