GM recently detailed their intentions to officially bring the iconic Mustang to NASCAR. After this announcement, speculation began circulating that the Camaro too would be making its NASCAR debut.

Well it seems that speculation was wrong as Mark Kent, GM Racing head-honcho, recently commented on the car’s NASCAR involvement:

We’ve looked at racing the Camaro, and one thing we do not want to do is to force the car where it shouldn’t be, We looked at NASCAR, for example–took a very hard look at running the Camaro in the Nationwide series. That was a request made of us by NASCAR, and we have had a tremendous partnership with NASCAR, so we took a very hard look at it. At the end of the day, because of the quest for very close competition and the need to have templated bodies in that series, we felt that by forcing the Camaro into the Nationwide templates that we were compromising the body lines of an iconic car. So at the end of the day we just could not get the Camaro in the Nationwide series to satisfy our requirements.

Don’t lose all hope though as Kent then went on to say that the Camaro will most likely be making some sort of racing debut at some point in the near future. Unfortunately however, those looking for a Camaro NASCAR vehicle to transform into Bumblebee on the race track will have to wait until a later date.

via AutoWeek

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It seems that the 2010 Detroit Grand Prix will no longer happen as it was officially canceled today and isn’t scheduled to return until 2011 at the earliest.

I’m sure you can guess the reason for its cancellation if not, I’ll give you a hint: the economy.

Below Grand Prix Chairman, Bud Denker, comments on the cancellation:

“We had hoped that the economic environment would allow the Grand Prix to return to Belle Isle in 2010. Unfortunately, this continues to be a challenging time to secure sponsorship to produce a world-class sporting event… We remain committed to the future of the race and we are hopeful that the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will return in the summer of 2011.”

Here’s to hoping the economy recovers sooner rather than later so that Detroit can again give the Grand Prix a home.

via Autoweek

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Ford has signed a deal with M-Sport to dedicate two more years in the World Rally Championship. The automaker will stick with its old contracted racers, Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, and Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. They will be driving the Ford Focus RS in the 2010 campaign, then switch to the Ford Fiesta S2000 in the 2011 campaign.. The same sponsors, BP and Abu Dhabi, will be staying aboard for the ride. -Sport managing director and team director Malcolm Wilson had a few words to say about the deal:

“We have a young and dynamic driver lineup which continues to gain in experience and maturity,” Wilson said. “The Focus RS WRC has displayed its speed, strength and reliability time and again, while we have the infrastructure in place to develop the Fiesta S2000 into a car capable of taking the fight to our rivals in 2011.”

via AutoWeek

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BMW has announced today that they will no longer be participating in the Forumla One circuit after this year. This decision was reportedly made before the Concorde Agreement was signed that would have tied BMW to the circuit until 2012.

BMW’s decision to withdraw was apprantly made due to the increasing finances that the circuit required. However, Autoweek suggests that the BMW team may continue under private ownership but BMW has given no official word to confirm this.

This is a sad day for Formula One and raises the question of which automaker will withdraw from the circuit next.

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In a monumental decision, Ford has decided to introduce their Mustang to the NASCAR racing circuit. The car will make it’s debut as the 2010 Nationwide series and included above is a rendering of what the car wil look like.

Below is a quote from NASCAR President Mike Helton speaking on the Mustang’s NASCAR debut:

“We’re excited about the new car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and particularly the new body styles such as the Ford Mustang. It’s going to be one good-looking race car.”

And director of Ford North America Motorsports, Brian Wolfe, speaking of the same matter:

“We’re excited about Mustang coming to NASCAR. It’s the most successful product nameplate in racing history, and it seems only right that it should be coming to the most popular form of racing in North America.”

You can read more about the Mustang being introduced to the NASCAR circuit in the press release after the break.

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Mere days after Max Mosley announced that he wouldn’t be running for FIA president re-election we have Jean Todt announcing that he will run to take Mr. Mosley’s place:

“It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of president Mosley, who for 16 years has worked tirelessly to strengthen the FIA’s major motor sport championships.”

For those who don’t know, Jean Todt was the former CEO of luxury automaker Ferrari so he knows a thing or two about speed. Max Mosley even announced alongside that he won’t be running for re-election that Jean Todt is his candidate of choice for the next FIA president.

Here’s to hoping that Mr. Todt will utilize his automobile knowledge to bring great things to the FIA and Forumla 1 in general.

via WorldCarFans

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It seems that Max Mosley, current President of the FIA, is slated to step down from his position and not run for re-election this October.

This confirmation comes as an alternative announcement to the one he gave last month that said he is in fact considering the candidacy for the FIA Presidency.

Formula 1 and the FIA in general have faced some trouble over the last year but perhaps once Mr. Mosley is no longer in office that can all be put to rest. Or so we can only hope.

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Wimmer Porsche 911 GT2

The engineers at German tuning firm, Wimmer Racing Technology, have taken Porsche’s top-of-the-line 911 GT2 and taken it to an even further extreme. They puttered around with the electronics and replaced the twin turbochargers, camshafts, exhaust system and cylinder heads. Wimmer has brought the overall output up to an amazing 680 horsepower and 642 lb-ft of torque.

With all that power in the back, the Wimmer RS GT2 can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 221 miles per hour. Along with the carbon-fiber body kit, re-tuned suspension and 21″ wheels, the modifications tack on an extra $40,000 to the “stock” GT2’s $191,700 list price, for an on-the-street price tag of over $230k.

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Peter Bryant may not be familiar to most of us but he is in fact the person responsible for the Can-Am Titanium Car. The Cockney racing mechanic who designed and built two of the stiffest challengers to the mighty McLaren Can-Am cars, died of an apparent heart attack at his Las Vegas home on March 31, four days short of his 72nd birthday.

The London-born Bryant caught the racing fever early in life, took a welding course to make himself more marketable, and landed jobs with such teams as Lola and Lotus in Formula One before moving to the United States to work in Indy and Can-Am racing.

In 1969, he pulled together the backing necessary to construct his own car. Driven by Jackie Oliver, the Ti 22 “Titanium Car” proved competitive with the all-conquering McLarens, leading one race, setting one joint fastest lap and finishing a close second twice during 1970.

Bryant leaves a wife, daughter and a son from a previous marriage, as well as 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

(Source) AutoWeek

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The races are about to begin but the 2009 Formula One season will come with some important changes. It looks like FIA wants to improve the quality of driving as the future champion will be the driver with most wins. Will we see a change in points awarding? No, we aren’t! But wins will count more in the future. In 2008 Lewis Hamilton won the championship despite actually wining just 5 races. He scored great points in the other races while Felipe Massa won six races but did now win the title. How will the new system work? The racing will start soon which means we have a whole year to see ruthless drivers fighting to the death for victory.
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No matter if he wins the upcoming elections or not, Barack Obama will certainly be remembered for the way he campaigned. One of his most recent advertising campaign has been spotted in the virtual world. Billboard signs on the side of the road in an online racing video game are advising the players to vote for the change. The game is Burnout Paradise available for XBox 360 Live.

Here’s what Electronic Arts had to say about all this:

Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates. Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.

In the mean time John McCain won’t be remembered for displaying billboards inside video games.

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