If you go drag racing at a NHRA sanctioned track, you’ll have the benefit of gravel traps, catch nets and even water barrels to stop you if something goes wrong. The problem with driving at a busy drag strip is that it’s nothing like street racing; there’s plenty of rubber (and traction compound) laid down on the drag strip asphalt, ensuring that you’ll get a good launch. While some see this as a plus, others see it as taking the challenge out of launching your car.

Enter King of the Concrete, a reverse drag race that more closely simulates street racing. Instead of launching from the christmas tree end of the track, racers launch from the shut-down end. That sounds cool until you consider the implications: a mechanical failure or driver error means you could hit the center guard rail head on, or run full-tilt into whatever is at the top of the track (usually the timing and scoring building). In other words, if something goes wrong, it isn’t going to end well.

I won’t spoil the video below, other than saying that Opel driver Troy Scott has got some mad skills (and some incredibly good luck behind the wheel). The video is NSFW due to language, but only after the run. You’ll understand why after seeing Scott’s run for yourself.

Source: Bangshift

The record setiing STI. Image: Subaru

The Isle of Man is home to what, arguably, is the most insane motorcycle race in the world. Each year, riders from around the globe converge on the tiny island, located directly between England and Ireland, to contest for top honors in the Isle of Man TT. Unlike motorcycle races in the rest of the world, the Isle of Man TT is held on closed village roads, with little thought to safety other than the occasional hay bales. Crash hard, and there’s a good chance of serious injury or death, as the island has see 231 rider fatalities since 1907.

Despite the risk, there’s no shortage of riders willing to give it a go, and the current motorcycle lap record stands at 17 minutes and 23 seconds to cover the 37.8 mile course. That’s an average speed of 131 miles per hour, a feat no four-wheeled conveyance has ever come close to matching. For over 20 years, the automobile lap record, set in 1990 by a Rover 827 Vitesse, stood at 21 minutes, at an average of 100 miles per hour. Subaru has just reset the benchmark, but most impressive of all is that they did so in a nearly-stock WRX STI.

For safety, the car received a roll cage, a six point harness and an onboard fire suppression system. The exhaust was swapped out for what Subaru bills as a “high- decibel exhaust” to “forewarn spectators of the oncoming car.” Doppler effect and the laws of physics aside, Subaru also adjusted the springs and dampers for the record attempt. From a flying start, the STI lapped the 37.8 mile course in 19 minutes and 56.7 seconds, at an average speed of 113 miles per hour. Top speed during the record run was an impressive 162 miles per hour.

Driver (and former British Rally Champion) Mark Higgins called the run, “the most exhilarating and the most frightening thing I have ever done,” and that speaks volumes about how puckering the record attempt really was. When a former rally champion tells you he’s about to lose bladder control, you know things are serious.

Source: Autoblog

Mazda brought a pair of sweet little Mazda2′s to SEMA this year. The duo, the Mazda2 Street, and its evil twin the Mazda2 Track, have been lowered over skateboard sized wheels and tires and given classy race-inspired livery. The Mazda2 Track is fitted with a full roll cage, and has had its guts ripped out in preparation for heavy duty track usage. The Mazda2 Street retains its refined interior, but hides it behind some seriously dark tinted windows. The two cars might just be the best-looking Mazda’s currently made, even if they are the size and shape of a big roller-skate.

The Mazda2 rocks a frugal, yet peppy 100-horse 1.5-liter four cylinder and tips the scales at a featherweight 2,300 pounds. This means that when set-up properly with some sticky rubber and a stiff suspension this little bugger should be an absolutely riot to drive fast.

Now I’ve seen it all. When I think of drag racing my brain conjures up images of high horsepower hot rods staging at the lights with smoke billowing off the rear tires. Street racing makes me have visions of imports spinning at high revs with some inexperienced kid behind the wheel whose trying to prove something. Street racing Donks though? Well, I suppose it was just a matter of time before it happened and the outcome was just as I would have expected. At around 2:30 am this morning in Cleveland, OH a police officer witnessed two cars street racing and turned to give pursuit. Apparently this spooked one of the drivers as he lost control and planted his mid-80′s Chevrolet Caprice on what looks to be 26 inch wheels directly into the Open Pit Barbecue Restaurant. No injuries were reported but all three people where arrested at the scene.

I would think that next time the driver would want to choose a different vehicle before he decides to play John Force behind the wheel.

Source: Newsnet5.com

For those of you that read the site regularly then you’ll know that we’ve posted about the Robin Hood Rally before. The rally is broken up into stages where amateur contestants compete for the win while driving flat out on sections of closed public road. In the past we’ve reported that there have been a few incidents on the rally and even one person being airlifted to the hospital due to a crash. Now that we’re viewing the Robin Hood Rallies new teaser trailer we can see why. I am sure that the organizers want to run the safest event possible, but when amateurs meet the open road in a full race setting, well… bad things are going to happen. I’ll be honest here, the footage of the crashes shown is pretty friggin’ hairy, so hairy in fact that I’m amazed that more of these guys weren’t seriously injured. At this point I just feel bad for the guys that totaled out their rides, because I’ve got news, insurance isn’t going to touch those things with a ten-foot pole. I just hope at the end of the day it was worth it for all the parties involved.

There is no doubt about it, the guys in this video are really moving over the 16,000 foot long Tampa Bay Bridge. Now far be it from me to yell foul when it comes to a little bit of automotive hoonage, but stunts like this do concern me. 80, 90, even 100 mph is really cooking and at those speeds bad things have been known to happen, sometimes though the drivers may get lucky and walk away. At 200 mph though, if something goes wrong, you’re looking at a 100% guarantee that you’ll wind up dead. The guys in this video, while no doubt going for that wild adrenaline run have no idea what kind of fire they’re playing with. Thankfully, nothing happened, but again at those speeds you’re truly flirting with disaster.

Source: Tampa Sports Car Examiner Via Cardomain.com

Well it looks like two of the biggest names in fast food are into ripping up the canyons of southern California hoonage style. It seems that “The King” and “Jack” were having a little too much fun in their Mazda Miata and fell victim to a properly place California CHP unit. Now I don’t know about you but it’s possible due to their celebrity status that they were let go. Who knows maybe the had some coupons on them or something. Either way though the law is the law and regardless of who you think you are you must obey all the rules of the road. Truth be told I think Ronald McDonald may have had something to do with setting these two jokers up.

Source: Streetfire.net

Believe it or not, it isn’t easy to comb through dozens of auto-related sites each day trying to find relevant and interesting news to report on. A lot of “leaked” information tends to be disinformation aimed at throwing journalists off the track. When I see a headline about the latest 800 horsepower, biodiesel powered, AWD, mid-engined Corvette I just chuckle and move along. Nothing to see here.

After a few years of doing this, your eyes tend to glaze over when you hit the same sites, with the same uninspired layouts, day after day. Every once in a while you stumble across a site, new or not, that makes you take a step back and say, “Wow, that’s how it should be done.” One of those sites is Hawaii Motorbeat, a labor of love written written by Paul Maddox, a vintage gearhead who remembers the days when “tuning” required hand tools and not laptops. His website / magazine is published monthly, and covers anything related to drag racing, street rodding or road racing in Hawaii.

Pay them a visit, but plan on spending some time. You won’t find breaking automotive news, but you will find stories about what it was like to be a hot rodder back in the day, as well as topics of interest to every gear head and even current SCCA race reporting from Hawaii. The magazine is interactive, so click on a title to read the full article, and don’t forget to check out the of back issues (you’ll find the link at the bottom of the page). For me, this was like finding two years worth of vintage Hot Rod magazines – there’s hours of gearhead entertainment there.

There is not one single thing that I don’t like about feeling the sensation of high-speed, and I’ll try just about anything to achieve it. I’ve jumped out of airplanes, raced motorcycles, tracked cars, snow-skied, water-skied, bungee jumped… you name it and I’ve probably done it. Skateboarding however is the one four-wheeled sport that for whatever the reason, I just never got into. Maybe it has to do with the complete lack of brakes, or the fact that generally when I go flying through the air bad things tend to happen, either way though I am in complete awe when I see it done by the best in the business. This video was done by Adam Kimmel and shows long-boarding being done by two of the best out there. Keep in mind that both riders are not strapped to their boards and their swapping out the camera as they ride.

And people say motorcycles are dangerous…. gheesh…

Airhead, shaft drive, twin discs, clip-ons. Perfect.

Source: Bubble Visor