By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

It was hard not to feel terrible for Jack Roush on Sunday, as his shot at the Sprint Cup championship with any of his teams literally went up in smoke. I was glad at least that Matt Kenseth got to finish the race, even if in 30th, his crippled No 17 car leaving a wake of oily smoke as the motor started coming apart in the final laps. Even so, he ultimately fared a lot better than both Greg Biffle (finished 41st), whose engine blew up early on, and Carl Edwards (34th), who was mired hopelessly laps-down after having to go to the garage during the race with distributor problems. That’s it: the Roush Fords are completely out of the running for this year’s Sprint Cup. At least in the case of the two expired motors–one of which let go suddenly and punched a hole through the oil pan, while the other languished gradually following a late-race restart–the temperamental new FR9 engine platform, which has dealt out more than its fair share of black eyes, seems an obvious culprit. Still, it’s a bit baffling to see such an advanced and well-funded organization still struggling so greatly with their technology. It’d be great to have the Fords truly competitive again at the Cup level, so I hope they’re able to exorcise their demons in time for the 2011 season.

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Performing for the family get together, this 2010 Camaro was pulled over by police after performing a massive burnout. He get’s lucky though, according to the video description no ticket was issued. That is one cool cop! See more 2010 Camaro hoonage at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

This weekend I went to check out the Pepsi Max 400 at Fontana. Having been marooned in the NASCAR-devoid Pacific Northwest, I’m always keen on the idea of Sprint Cup-level tracks anywhere on the West Coast. And after visiting Auto Club Speedway, about a 45-minute straight shot from LA over to San Bernadino county, I think I’m finally actually jealous of SoCal residents: they get to call this place their hometown track.

The eye-appeal of Fontana is addictive–think of race cars against a desert backdrop of mountains and palm trees–and the two-mile D-oval, banked 14 degrees in the turns, is majestic in its scope. Despite its massiveness, Auto Club isn’t a restrictor-plate track, and with its breadth and its ultra-slick surface it lends itself to the kind of changeable, five-wide, thrills-a-minute racing that we saw on Sunday. The track is run as a pretty tight ship, with ample security and good crowd control–important when you’re dealing with a facility of this magnitude, though it can feel at times like you’re being herded just a little. Next year, in place of its twice-yearly NASCAR events, Auto Club will host only one Sprint Cup race in March. If you’re in the SoCal area, don’t miss it–it’ll be the only chance you’ll get for some local NASCAR action, and this gorgeous track is well worth the price of admission.

Head on over to the Events section to see a ton of photos from Sunday’s race!

By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

First they did it in FWD and now they did in in AWD!

World Racing AWD Scion tC Build

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

For Photo of the Day we generally give preference to members’ own photos rather than professional shots, but these images from Barry’s Mustang’s ride page were just too tasty to not share. Check out the rest.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Jen and I got the chance to drive the new Chevy Volt on Saturday. Rolling into the office today we were greeted by a mounting Volt backlash in the automotive press. It appears that GM is now saying (admitting?) that the gasoline engine will directly power the wheels in charge-sustaining mode at speeds over 70 mph. This contradicts previous statements that the gasoline engine was only there to recharge the battery. GM also downgraded the electric range in recent weeks from a 40 mile range to a 25 to 50 range.

So what does this all mean? To me it means that the Volt is an electric car when you use it for short trips around town, but then it morphs into more of a hybrid-type vehicle when you use it for longer trips. It doesn’t mean that it’s a bad car. But GM definitely has a marketing problem, and they’re gonna need to figure it out pronto.

We’ll get our Volt reviews up shortly, but here are the cliff notes: it’s a very cool car. You can read more about the Volt drivetrain at Motor Trend, with commentary on the recent findings by Jalopnik, Autoblog and Edmunds

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

In a sea of drift S-chassis Nissans it’s not only uncommon to find a drag-prepped 240SX but one that runs 9-seconds and drives on the street is all but non-existent. Truth be told, this car may not actually see the streets anymore since its feature in Modified Mag in 2007. But to this day it still stands out as one of the wildest drag-setup street cars I have ever encountered.

Lighting up the massive 28×11.5 15-inch Hoosier slicks is done with relative ease with the TSI automatic race transmission and PTC high stall racing torque converter. That’s right this car runs a custom race built automatic transmission which helps it lay down consistent low 9-sec passes at over 157mph. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Peter Tarach

By David Belau

dartslantsix

I left off last time with a conundrum. There was a piece missing off my windshield pillar trim–how could I fix that? I have to give credit to my wife–she came up with a way to mold a new piece. Plaster of paris to the rescue!

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Custom Gauge Pods and Plastic Restoration, Part 2" »

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

It’s sad to see a classic burn, especially a priceless 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. A legendary vehicle built for royalty and presidential caravans somehow ended up on the side of Atlanta’s I-285 burning to a crisp. What could have caused this fire? See more vehicle fires at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Just when I thought I was probably all done with NASCAR travel for the season, I got a surprise invite from our Streetfire crew in LA to come check out the race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Sweet! Our office maven Michelle and our marketing guru Butch are here, and I’ll be all over the track and garage during the race today in the hopes of snagging you guys some half decent photos.

I’ve never attended a Chase race before, and already, the vibe around the garage seems single-mindedly focused and pretty intense. Kyle Busch won the Nationwide race last night, the Roush Fords were fast in practice, and Jimmie is back on the march in the Drive For Five. I’m frankly kind of at a loss to pick a Champion winner at this point, because it still seems like it could be anyone’s game. Who is your pick for this year’s champ?

Dale Jr. of course didn’t make the Chase, though he’s celebrating his birthday today and there’s clearly at least some fans who feel a Sprint Cup win for Junebug would beat the hell out of a whole cakeful of candles–see this tribute car not-so-happy-birthday message after the jump.

Continue reading "Howdy From Fontana!" »