Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Scott Speed started strong in the #77 7UP Volkswagen Polo. |
Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Team Wins on Debut at Top Gear Festival
The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team made a strong start to its inaugural Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship campaign, with Scott Speed winning outright in the #77 7UP Volkswagen Polo. Although the California native suffered a mechanical failure during the heat rounds, he came through to win the final in the team’s first outing in the series. Tanner Foust, driver of the #34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Polo, won his first race, but was then involved in a red-flag incident in the second round of heats, which meant he missed out on a chance to race in the final.
The Red Bull Global Rallycross event from Top Gear Festival Barbados will be broadcast Saturday, May 24, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT) on NBC. The next round of the series will take place at X Games Austin, held at Circuit of the Americas, Saturday, June 7.
 Royal Purple returns to the Indianapolis 500 with its sponsored No. 6 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet entry driven by Townsend Bell. Photo Credit: Townsend Bell/KV Racing Technology |
Royal Purple Returns to the Indianapolis 500 With a Sponsored Car
Royal Purple has officially made its return to the Indianapolis 500. The Royal Purple-sponsored No. 6 Robert Graham – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Dallara/Firestone entry driven by Townsend Bell debuted May 10, and has taken to the track ahead of the 98th running of the race, Sunday, May 25.
Royal Purple has teamed up with primary and first-time Indy 500 sponsor, clothing designer Robert Graham. Bell will drive the No. 6 car that features a solid black paint scheme with color splash accents on the front wing, side pods and rear wing tips, as well as the inside of the cockpit. Fans can tune into ABC to watch qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, May 17, and the race the following week, May 25.
Maryland International Raceway Hosts Another Successful NMRA Ford Nationals Event
The 14th Annual SCT NMRA Ford Nationals in Budds Creek, Maryland, featured close racing on one of the best tracks in the country, a giant car show on both days and a manufacturers midway that included everything from nitrous and custom suspension to the local Pep Boys Speed Shop.
In ATF Street Outlaw, Dwayne Barbaree put down a 6.97 to break the six-second barrier and secure the top qualifying position in the class. John Urist was right behind him with a side-by-side six-second blast during qualifying. Barbaree was up in smoke and out in the second round with Urist and Phil Hines lining up for the final. Hines took the win with a 7.10 over Urist's 7.17. However, it was Barbaree and Urist who will be presented the first two leather jackets for the elite Street Outlaw 6-second club.
 Jaguar Heritage Racing fielded 10 of the marque’s most celebrated ’50s models in the 2014 Mille Miglia. |
Jaguar Crosses the Finish Line With a Stellar Line-Up of Cars and Drivers at the 2014 Mille Miglia
Jaguar Heritage Racing tackled the Mille Miglia classic car endurance event, May 15–18, with a line-up of top-name drivers, who traversed more than 1,000 miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in 10 of the most historic Jaguar cars ever produced. Household names from stage and screen, plus fashion, motorsport and music celebrities campaigned their assigned historic Jaguars through Northern and Central Italy for four days of hard driving. American TV talk show host, Jaguar collector and classic car enthusiast Jay Leno drove the famous ex-Sir James Scott-Douglas ’51 Jaguar XK 120 roadster, raced as part of the Ecurie Ecosse team in period.
Another well-known ’51 XK 120 roadster—the ex-Duncan Hamilton racer registered LXF 731—was shared by husband and wife team Elliot and Erin Gleave. Elliot is better known as successful British musician Example, with his wife Erin being the Australian TV presenter that he first met when she interviewed him for MTV.
Other significant Jaguar XK models on the Mille Miglia included the ex-Jim Swift racing XK120 roadster, which was driven by multiple award-winning British actor Jeremy Irons. Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross drove the ex-Stirling Moss Monthlery XK120 Coupé. Author David Blakeley and model-turned-TV presenter Jodie Kidd shared an example of the Jaguar XK120, which was driven by Oscar-winning actor Daniel-Day Lewis in the 2013 event.
Jaguar Heritage Racing also entered three famous C-type racing cars, driven by celebrities as diverse as Belgian singer-songwriter Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck), who drove with Jaguar Land Rover Regional Director for Europe Bernard Kuhnt, and AC/DC lead singer and car afficionado Brian Johnson. Ex-Jaguar Le Mans 24 Hours race winner Andy Wallace drove the Jaguar C-type, which won the 1952 Reims Grand Prix with Formula 1 legend Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel.
Two motor racing greats—ex-Jaguar Le Mans and World Sports Prototype Championshipwinner, Formula 1 driver and SKY F1 TV pundit Martin Brundle, plus ex-Formula 1 racer Bruno Senna—shared the ‘Long Nose’ Jaguar D-type, as this Jaguar model celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2014.
Axalta Racing's No. 24 Chevrolet SS Lights Up the Night
The return of Axalta's Brilliant Flames to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this past Saturday at Kansas Speedway resulted in the 89th career win for the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. This victory also marked the first win for Gordon with Axalta Coating Systems as a sponsor since the company became independent last year. Axalta's next race will be the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
 Joni Wiman and the Red Bull/Bluebeam OMSE Ford Fiesta ST lead the way. Photo credit: Olsbergs MSE |
Strong Start to 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross Season for Olsbergs MSE
Rookie Supercars driver Joni Wiman won two of his three heat races in the Red Bull/Bluebeam Ford Fiesta ST last weekend to advance directly to the main race. Patrik Sandell also advanced directly to the finals in his Kobalt Tools Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta. Although Wiman crossed the finish line in third place, officials issued a post-race penalty for the contact and he scored fifth-place points. Sandell scored eighth-place points after suffering a flat tire.
The Red Bull Global Rallycross season opener airs on NBC at 1:00 p.m. (EDT), May 24, 2014. Wiman and Sandell will return to Red Bull Global Rallycross competition with the Olsbergs MSE squad at X Games in Austin, Texas, June 7. The team will next appear with Olsbergs MSE World RX drivers Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitiss, alongside guest driver Andrew Jordan, in the World RX of Great Britain at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit, May 24–25. That race will also see the return of the Olsbergs MSE-built World RX Lites and the international motorsport debut of American Red Bull phenom Mitchell DeJong.