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June 5, 2010
Hot Rod Power Tour 2010: Day 0
By Ryan Brutt
HemiPwr70
Today started like every other work day, except I wasn’t coming home. I left right from work and drove for 3 hours. I setup for the night in Le Claire, IA. I had spent the day here a few years ago and it was half way between Newton and Chicago. Also it is the home base for the American Pickers TV show.
As I pull off the highway, there is a large sign posted stating it was “American Pickers” weekend. There is an entire weekend of events that are centered around the show and characters. I would love to spend the day here and go to the Q&A sessions. But I drove past their headquarters, which was interesting.
Spent the evening at a local bar and grill, grabbed some good food and met some good people. Now back at the hotel relaxing and watching some TV before heading to Newton tomorrow morning to meet Chip Foose (hopefully).
More information on the end of the MoPower Tour tomorrow night.
Craig Goess Wins His First ARCA Race
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
An 80-lap ARCA race ran today at Pocono Raceway, and it was a great opportunity to ramble around the 2.5-mile track on a relatively un-crowded Saturday and scout out the best photo holes for tomorrow’s Sprint Cup run. Realistically, it might also be the only competitive laps that get to run here this weekend, if the approaching apocalyptic thunderstorm has anything to say about it. In any case, chalk one up for Goess–his first win in the ARCA series, though not his first at Pocono. Congrats! Chris snapped this photo of the victory burnout, and has a couple more for you below the jump.
NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.
Pocono Raceway: Way More Huge Than My Camera
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
I’ve been all over 3- and 4-mile road courses, but this is the first NASCAR venue that I’ve been on the infield of where I can’t see all or most of the track at once. At 2.5 miles around, it feels almost comically huge. I wish I had a fish-eye lens so I could give you a more inclusive sense of this monstrous triangle. In terms of length, it’s basically the same size as Daytona, but the three corners and the lack of steep banking keep it from being a superspeedway (or requiring restrictor plates). Each of the three straightaways is a different length, and each of the corners is both angled and and banked differently. Drivers describe it as behaving more like a left-turn road course than an oval. Follow the jump to see how handily Pocono fails to fit inside my Nikon!
NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.
Continue reading "Pocono Raceway: Way More Huge Than My Camera" »
TNT’s Cutaway Toyota
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
A couple weeks ago at Dover, I ran across Jeff Hammond filming Fox’s Ford cutaway car. The next six Sprint Cup races will be aired on TNT, and that Network’s cutaway Toyota will be on hand to demonstrate the literal guts of racing. Though I don’t know that there’s anyone on the TNT crew who can hold a candle to Hammond’s explanatory powers, I’ve always appreciated TNT’s trick mutli-layered cutaway, with the car stripped entirely down to its bare drivetrain and plenty of holes through which to view the moving parts. Take a closer look!
NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.
Finally, A Cool Pace Car
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
It seems like we’ve had a few weeks of rental-car sedans and hybrids as pace cars (no offense, Toyota Camry hybrid), so it’s cool to see that Pocono Raceway is going to be running the safety lights on this bright white Camaro SS here at this weekend. It seemed like there were Camaros at every race for awhile in there, but I guess they seem to have gotten more sparse now that the novelty has worn off. It’s going to be cool to see a Camaro out leading the pack once again!
NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.
June 4, 2010
Photo of the Day
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Today’s pic is from Skip’s Honda S2000 ride page. From his page:
I have done everything possible in this car: I’ve driven it, dragged it, showed it, autocrossed it, tracked it, JUMPED it, wrecked it, damaged a motor, and even… oops, can’t tell you about that! 
Now Skip is hoping to be invited to the 2010 Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge. Check out his ride page and if you like what you see, rate him up!
We’re Headed For Pocono
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Pennsylvania’s “tricky triangle” is one of the weirdest tracks in NASCAR, and the one where I saw my first Sprint Cup race, so it’s got a special place in my heart. And this weekend, I’m headed back there along with Chris to check out the ARCA and Sprint Cup races! It’s going to be a blast, and all weekend long we’re going to be filling an otherwise-empty weekend blog with pics and tales from the track. Hope to see you there.
NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.
Eric Hoenshell Shuts the Gate
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Neat little trick caught during the filming of Speed Channel’s Stealth Rider. Via Autoblog
Drunk Driver Launches Her Car in Dallas
By Brian Lohnes
BangShift.com
Well this may have sobered her up. A suspected drunk driver in Dallas, Texas, launched her car over a set of toll booths at the DFW Airport when she failed to slow down and pay the toll. We can only imagine what was going through the heads of the other drivers as the car entered low Earth orbit.
The launch video below is nuts, and it is truly amazing that the woman lived through the experience. You can click here to see the entire police report and details on the driver, Yasmine Villasana’s awful story as to what caused the accident. She ended up with a broken wrist. The Chevy Impala she was driving ended up as molten scrap.
Final Blogs From the 2010 Route 66 Rally
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
First of all I’d like to thank Scott Spielman for putting this rally together, and for getting CarDomain involved. It looked like everyone had a blast, and we certainly enjoyed the coverage! (You can read all the blogs from the rally here.) Secondly, I’d like to apoligize for not getting Melissa and Jeremiah’s final blogs up in the timely fashion. But you can read their posts after the jump! Thanks again guys, can’t wait to see what you do next year!
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