Being a new transplant to the state of California I’m trying hard not to piss people off until after they get to know me, however it’s proving more difficult then I anticipated. Yesterday was just another sunny day here in CA, so I decided to take my ’68 Charger out for a spin. I cruised around for little bit, hit the highway and some back roads and finally came to rest at a little coffee shop where I figured I treat myself to a nice cup-o-joe to round out my day. I parked out front, walked in and proceeded to order. As I was in line a gentleman began to inquire about my car and mentioned that he too had an old Charger of the 1970 vintage. He asked me about the engine, suspension modifications and what wheel and tire size I was running, all of which I answered honestly.

I then asked him similar questions about his car at which point he became very evasive. He said he was running a 440 big block, but when it came time for particulars he wouldn’t give out any information. I then asked about his suspension and any brake modifications and received the same BS-style answers. I’m not very good at one-sided conversations and because of this I bid him good day and walked out. My question is, what reason would someone have to be so secretive that they wouldn’t share information between like-minded enthusiasts, I mean isn’t this what the hobby is all about?

Hey, that's not David Coulthard...

It’s said that money buys opportunity, and no one illustrates that better than Tom Cruise. Not only has acting made him filthy stinking rich, it’s also given him the ability to train behind the wheel of both sports cars and race cars at tracks around the world. In his first time driving a Formula One car, he improved his lap time by a staggering 11 seconds in the course of a single session, and came within four miles per hour of David Coulthard’s maximum top speed. Even Coulthard was amazed, and admitted that Cruise had potential as an open-wheel driver.

Just in case that isn’t enough to have you hating Tom Cruise in a big way, the actor capped off his day at Willow Springs by taking the Red Bull aerobatic helicopter for a few rolls and loops. I’m sure he cured cancer and rescued orphans from a burning farmhouse on his way home, but I’m still not buying into the hype. When he fixes the U.S. economy and gets ten million people back to work, then I’ll be impressed.

If you’re married then you know that trust is one of the main components in making a relationship work. You need to be able to count on that person both in good times and in bad, and if you can’t, well then, you’ve got to kick em’ to the curb. For average couples a good day consists of doing a couple of errands, hanging with your kids and maybe having a good meal. The Ledermann’s though are not most couples, you see these guys race sidecars together and well, that’s about as far from average as you can get. Now I know plenty of couples that would love to hang their significant other off the side of a motorcycle doing 100 mph, but with them, there’s usually some kind of ulterior motive involved. The Ledermann’s though, these guys do it for straight-out fun. Now, remember that “trust” thing I was talking about earlier? Well, this is exactly what I’m talking about. Click though for the video.

Source: RalfBecker.com

Patrick wins at Motegi, Japan, in 2008. Image: Morio

In a move that will surprise absolutely no one, underachieving IndyCar driver Danica Patrick will switch to a full time ride in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2012. Patrick will race a full schedule for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his JR Motorsports team next year, although she’s expressed interest in competing in the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. Preparation for the 500 race generally takes the entire month of May, which would conflict with three scheduled NASCAR Nationwide events. JR Motorsports is eager enough to sign Patrick that they’re willing to work out a solution agreeable to all.

Racing at Indy next year may prove more difficult than it seems, as IndyCar will adopt a new chassis, new aero packages, new engines (from multiple suppliers) and even new fuel. In short, a 2012 IndyCar wont be anything like the current version. If Patrick struggled the entire month of May to find speed in a car she’s driven for seven years, it’s unlikely she’ll be able to step into the new IndyCar and find enough speed to make the field.

Patrick should do better in the Nationwide Series than she’s done in IndyCar, simply because there are fewer variables to stock car setup than to winged, open-wheel racecar setup. Patrick has been a big draw for the IndyCar series, but she’s won just one race (on pit strategy), despite running with some of the strongest teams in the league. She’ll draw fans to the Nationwide Series as well, and I suspect that’s more important than how Patrick qualifies or finishes.

Source: Autoblog

This just in: freestyle motocross is a dangerous sport, and it’s best not to participate when you’ve got your NASCAR Nationwide debut coming up in a few days. That’s advice that adrenaline junkie Travis Pastrana didn’t heed, and the result is a broken right ankle and foot, and torn ligaments in his hand. The damage occurred in an opening-night crash at this year’s X-Games 17. Pastrana was attempting to stick the landing on a corked 720 when the bike came down on his foot; the ligament damage in his hand occurred in practice for the stunt.

Pastrana was set to make his NASCAR Nationwide debut on Saturday, driving for car co-owner Michael Waltrip. That’s now on indefinite hold, as are any plans for Pastrana to test an IndyCar and participate in the series’ season-ending $5,000,000 challenge. Pastrana was a heavy favorite to be approved by IndyCar, thanks to his varied racing background and legions of fans that IndyCar would love to add to their base.

We wish Pastrana a speedy recovery, but at the same time want to ask him, “Dude, what the hell were you thinking?”

Source: Autoblog

Apparently the rumors are true as it seems that Top Gear’s Richard Hammond is all set to get his own automotive related TV show right here in the U.S.. The show, titled “Hard Drive with Richard Hammond” will air on BBC America and feature the hamster criss-crossing the U.S. in search of some of America’s most extraordinary vehicles. According to the site, tvbythenumbers.com;

Top Gear has consistently rated as one of BBC AMERICA’s most successful shows. Now Top Gear host Richard Hammond will star in a brand new original series called Hard Drive with Richard Hammond (wt) (6 x 60). Produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and based on the BBC format, World’s Toughest Driving Tests, it features Hammond traveling the U.S. and competing with local experts driving some of America’s toughest and most extraordinary vehicles. The executive producers for BBC Worldwide Productions are Rob Fox, Elli Hakami and Jane Tranter.

Now, we’re not sure how Hammond’s new show will impact shows like Top Gear U.S. and The Car Show, but I’ll you one thing, we’re eager to find out!

Ken Block schools Hans Stuck on donuts.

Hans Stuck is a German race car driver best known for his association with Porsche, Audi, BMW and now Volkswagen, where he helped to tune the suspension settings of the Mark VI GTI. He’s won the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring three times, and he’s even won the 24 Hours of LeMans driving a Porsche 962. The son of a racing superstar (also named Hans Stuck), he learned to drive on the ‘Ring and his proficiency with race cars in wet weather earned him the nickname of “The Rainmaster”.

The video below is priceless, as Ken Block tries to explain what “hooning” is to Hans Stuck. Stuck is driving a 1939 Auto Union Type D Compressor, identical to the one campaigned by his father in 1939. When Block suggests that Stuck use the car to turn some donuts, his reply is classic: “If I do a donut… they will chop my balls off.”

Source: Caswell Motorsport You Tube Channel

Dan Wheldon at Indy in 2007. Image: Chuck Carroll

Dan Wheldon won his second Indianapolis 500 in May, and took the IndyCar series championship back in 2005. Since 2005, he’s gone from Target Chip Ganassi Racing to Panther Racing to the unemployment line, an odd place for a driver who never finished outside of the top ten in series points (top five with well-funded teams). Even after winning this year’s Indy 500, Wheldon couldn’t put a deal together to run additional races for the 2011 season, so he’s transitioned into a new role as commentator for Versus television. He’s good at it, but he’s still got too much talent to call races from a booth.

At Iowa, during an interview with Dario Franchitti, Wheldon commented, “This is my job now.” Without missing a beat, Franchitti countered, “No it isn’t. You know what your job is,” nodding at the open cockpit of an Indy Car.

Wheldon will soon be back on the job, as he’s been named by the IndyCar series as the official development driver for the new Dallara chassis. That means he’ll get seat time in the new platform, presumably with different engines and aero packages, before any other team or driver. Was this IndyCar throwing Wheldon a lifeline to land another seat in the series? Possibly, but the move makes good sense for both parties. Wheldon is more than qualified as a development driver, and he’s high-profile enough that the IndyCar series can use him in marketing efforts for the upcoming changes. Call it a win-win, and bank on this: Wheldon will be back, probably with a well-funded team, in 2012.

Source: Autoblog

Maybe we’ve been unduly harsh on Smart through the years. Sure, Mike and I would rather stuff a live weasel down out pants than drive a Smart, but that doesn’t mean their cars are wrong for everyone, or in every situation. Take this ad, filmed for Smart in China, which shows how useful a Brabus edition Smart Fortwo can be if you’re a pro basketball player trying to track down an art thief. There’s no way Bryant could have hunted the guy down in a Bentley or Maybach, which goes to show that Smart Fortwos do have value for urban dwelling, crime fighting, basketball superstars. Video below.

Is it just me, or would the ad have been more believable if the Smart were rolling on 22” wheels, with a subwoofer cranking out threshold-of-pain level bass? I’d like to know how much they had to pay Bryant for this sub-minute ad, but more than that I’d like to know how they got the six foot, six inch star to fit in a Smart Fortwo.

Source: Autoblog Green

As years go, 2011 hasn’t started off on the best note for me. Compared to Ken Block, however, I can’t complain: he hasn’t fared well in any single WRC event run to date, and had a massive crash in Portugal that destroyed the Monster World Rally Ford Fiesta in the pre-race shakedown stage. He’s got some downtime in April since his wife is due to “pop out (their) 3rd kid”, but he’s back to his usual balls out schedule in May. His next WRC event is the Rally of Argentina on May 26, but don’t expect Block to be idle until then, since there’s plenty of testing and tuning to do. He’d tell you what his schedule is himself, but it’s still not finalized for the remainder of 2011. Despite suffering a 16 g crash just days before the interview below, Block seems none the worse for wear and we wish him all the best for the rest of the season.

Source: YouTube Rally America Series