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Husky Liners has entered into a partnership agreement with Richard Childress Racing.
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Husky Liners, a supplier of automotive accessories for light trucks, SUVs, vans and cars, has entered into a partnership agreement with Richard Childress Racing. The Winfield, Kansas-based company will be the primary sponsor of RCR's No. 22 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team driven by Joey Coulter for two races during the 2012 season.
The Husky Liners brand will serve as the primary sponsor of Coulter’s No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado at Kansas Speedway (April 21) and Talladega Superspeedway (October 6). Coulter, currently in his second year of competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2011.
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Team Falken Tire finished sixth in the GT class in the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach last weekend.
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Team Falken Faces Adversity to Finish Sixth at Long Beach
After starting in eighth position, Team Falken Tire finished sixth in the GT class in the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach last weekend. The team entered the weekend hoping for a second straight street course win on the 1.968-mile track, with the previous win being on the streets of Baltimore last season. With their unbeatable rain tire setup, the team conquered the charts in the rain-filled practice session and qualifying session last Friday. However, the weather conditions resulted in an abandonment of the qualifying session, forcing the team to give up the pole position and start the race based on their position in the championship point standings. American Bryan Sellers started the race in eighth, but was passed before the green flag flew, interrupting his run out of the hairpin and losing two positions. Undeterred, Sellers worked his way through the field, but again faced adversity when he came behind a slower LMPC car that would not let him pass.
Watching the lap times of Sellers get better with each lap, German Wolf Henzler rejoined the race in fifth position in the GT class, optimistic the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR could continue to climb the charts. As the session progressed, Henzler felt issues with oversteer; a problem that got worse with each lap. In the final minutes of the race, Henzler held off the Aston Martin of Adrian Fernandez as they raced nose to end for several laps. With seven minutes to go, Henzler lost the position, bringing the car across the finish line in sixth.
Team Falken Tire and the American Le Mans Series next races at the American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patron May 10–12.
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| The Don Garlits “Rat Roast” DVD will begin shipping April 20, 2012. |
Don Garlits “Rat Roast” DVD Now Available
The Don Garlits “Rat Roast” DVD will begin shipping April 20, 2012. The DVD video, recorded February 11, 2012, at the Sheraton Fairplex in Pomona, California, captures the evening when seven of Don Garlits’ pals from his 62-year racing career roasted and toasted “Big Daddy” to celebrate his 80th birthday before a sell-out crowd.
Produced by the Quarter Mile Foundation, the DVD covers more than 120 minutes of the event, which opens with Linda Vaughn (as Marilyn Monroe) singing a sultry “Happy Birthday” to Don, followed by opening remarks from NHRA President Tom Compton. Master of Ceremonies Bob Frey played “Ring Master” over Jerry (The King) Ruth, Ed (The Master) Pink, Tommy (TV Tommy) Ivo, Dave (Big Mac) McClelland, Ed (The Camfather) Iskenderian, Sid Waterman and Don (The Snake) Prudhomme, plus Garlits.
The “Rat Roast” DVD is available for $20 (USD), plus shipping and handling from the Quarter Mile Foundation website. The DVD can also be purchased at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and its website.
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| In the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V, Andy Pilgrim earned his first Pirelli World
Challenge Championships victory in the GT class at last Sunday's Pirelli World Challenge Long
Beach Grand Prix. |
Pilgrim and Baldwin Score Pirelli World Challenge Victories at Long Beach
Andy Pilgrim of Marina Del Rey, Florida, earned his first Pirelli World Challenge Championships victory since 2009 in the GT class and Jack Baldwin of Marietta, Georgia, earned his first World Challenge victory ever in the GTS class at last Sunday's Pirelli World Challenge Long Beach Grand Prix presented by StopTech.
Pilgrim started second in the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V and, as he had predicted after qualifying, was no match for polesitter Randy Pobst of Gainesville, Georgia, on the race's standing start as Pobst used the all-wheel drive on his No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60 to full advantage. However, Pilgrim managed to slot into second place heading into Turn 1 and spent the next several laps searching for an opportunity to make a move. The opportunity presented itself in Turn 1 on Lap 9 of the 31-lap event and Pilgrim made the most of it. In fact, it turned out to be the Cadillac CTS-V Move of the Race. Once he got around the Volvo, Pilgrim was never challenged for the remainder of the race. He beat Pobst by 6.337 seconds to score his first World Challenge victory since 2009 at Road America, which came in a K-Pax Volvo.
After a difficult weekend at the season-opening doubleheader in St. Petersburg three weeks ago that produced a 12th- and a ninth-place result, Pobst rebounded nicely in Long Beach. The four-time World Challenge GT champion started from the pole position and led the first eight laps in the race before finishing second.
Johnny O'Connell, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, claimed the final spot on the GT podium with a third-place run in his No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V. O'Connell, who started third, leaves Long Beach atop the GT point standings by 13 points, 374–361, over Pilgrim thanks to three straight podium results. Fourth place in GT went to James Sofronas of Newport Beach, California, in the No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3. Lawson Aschenbach of Darnestown, Maryland, followed up with a fifth-place ride at Long Beach in the No. 1 Privacy Star/Entrust Porsche 911 GT3.
Baldwin held the GTS lead throughout the race but his mirrors were full of the No. 50 eBay Motors Ford Mustang Boss 302S driven by Justin Bell of Los Angeles, as the laps wound down. Baldwin stretched his advantage slightly over the closing laps to come out on top, finishing ahead of runner-up Bell and third-place Colin Braun of Charlotte, North Carolina. It was Baldwin's first career World Challenge victory and came in just his third series start.
The second-place run for Bell was enough for him to maintain his spot atop the GTS driver standings with three of 13 races in the books. Braun finished in third place in the No. 38 Infinity Audio/Kia Motors America Kia Optima. Fourth place in GTS went to Nick Esayian of San Diego, in the No. 34 RealTime Racing/Acura/HPD Acura TSX. Roger Miller of Salt Lake City, finished fifth in the No. 23 Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302S and earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for improving 13 places from start to finish.
The Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award went to Tony Gaples of Lincolnshire, Illinois, in the No. 11 Kleinschmidt Chevrolet Corvette. Cadillac holds a five-point advantage over Porsche, 25–20, in GT manufacturer points, while Ford is six points ahead of Acura, 25–19, in the GTS manufacturer battle.
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| Vito Ippolito, FIM president (left), and Hervé Amelot,
Motul's managing director (right), officially signed the contract for Motul to
become FIM’s official lubricant partner and official partner with the FIM Endurance World Championship.
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Motul Named Official Lubricant Partner for the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
Motul, a brand of motorcycle lubricants, has entered into a three-year partnership agreement with the motorcycle governing body Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).
On Saturday, April 14, 2012, Vito Ippolito, FIM president, and Hervé Amelot,
Motul's managing director, officially signed the contract for Motul to
become FIM’s official lubricant partner and official partner with the FIM Endurance World Championship.
The contract was signed just prior to the start of the opening round of
the EWC—the 24-hour Bol d’Or at the Magny-Cours International Circuit
located in Nevers, France.
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| Beccy Gordon |
Off-Road Racer Beccy Gordon to Pilot 2012 Mitsubishi i in this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Professional SCORE International off-road series race-winning driver Beccy Gordon will pilot the 100% electric-powered ’12 Mitsubishi i race car in this year's annual running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), July 8.
Gordon comes from a family with a rich history in auto racing—brother Robby had a distinguished career in Indy, NASCAR and off-road racing; sister Robyn is the first woman to score an overall win in the Baja 1000; father Bob was a longtime combatant in off-road racing; and great-grandfather Huntley was an Indy car driver in the early 1900s. Gordon's husband, Ryan Hunter-Reay, is currently a driver for Andretti Autosport in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
Mitsubishi Motors will enter a pair of ’12 Mitsubishi i racing cars in this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb event—an essentially stock version of the electric-powered ’12 Mitsubishi i (to be driven by Gordon) along with an advanced race-spec version of the electric vehicle (EV), the Mitsubishi i-MiEV Prototype (to be driven by two-time Paris-Dakar Rally champion Hiroshi Masuoka).
Braille Battery Named Official Battery of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series
Braille Battery will be the official battery supplier to the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series. After a year of testing with IndyCar officials, Cosworth and Dallara, the new Braille MICRO-LiTE ML7Ti lithium battery will power every IndyCar in the field. The international patent-pending design was inspired by a similar battery Braille produces for the top teams in Formula 1 competition. The ML7Ti is also a RoHS-compliant battery that is part of Braille Battery’s “Green Start” program. This program is dedicated to finding more efficient ways to increase performance and make an eco-minded battery.