Bobby Unser died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Albuquerque, N.M., his wife Lisa reported. He was 87. RRDC President Bobby Rahal commented on Unser’s passing: “We at the RRDC are saddened by the death of a national hero and icon, and one of our longtime members. Bobby Unser was a champion race-car […]
VIC ELFORD NEEDS OUR HELP RRDC members Marshall Pruett and Brian Redman are asking for our help: Our longtime member Vic Elford is in need of support “from the legions of friends and fans who’ve marveled at his exceptional talent and grace for more than half a century. “With the return of an aggressive form […]
Robert W. “Kas” Kastner, a giant in American motorsports, passed away Saturday at age 92. Kastner came up through the ranks from mechanic all the way to head of NPTI, Nissan’s dominant IMSA GTP program in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. An organizational wizard, Kastner headed up both racing teams and manufacturer programs, winning […]
LE MANS: TOM KRISTENSEN, by Tom Kirstensen with Dan Philipsen, is now available in the U.S. with foreword by Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Between 1997 and 2014, Tom Kristensen won the world’s toughest automobile race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, a record nine times and finished on the podium on five more occasions. Every time his car […]
WILLIAM JEANES’ THE ROAD TO PICKLETOWN The Road to Pickletown – A Southerner Confronts Cowbells, Clowns, Cuba, Christmas, and Mississippi; written by longtime automotive and auto racing journalist William Jeanes, is not what one would expect to come from the pen of a car guy. Yet, here it is – a selection of the many […]
LYN ST. JAMES IS 2021 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS HONOREE For the first time in 26 years, The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will celebrate a female honoree, the inspiring Lyn St. James, at the 26th Annual meeting, May 20-23, 2021. An accomplished race driver, St. James has used her celebrity to help advance the careers of […]
JUDY STROPUS TO BE ON “RACE TALK WITH TRISH” Our recently selected Motorsports Hall of Fame of America honoree Judy Stropus will be featured on “RaceTalk With Trish” on the Racing History Project Podcast Channel Wednesday, March 3rd at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Call-in number – 425-436-6385 Access code – 5762616# (enter when prompted) Or […]
Simon Gregg has announced the formation of the Peter Gregg Foundation and Peter Gregg Gallery, paying tribute to his legendary father. The Foundation will foster the careers of aspiring engineers by providing mentorship plus roles with current contending race teams. “The Foundation will have an annual contest that will award five scholarships to deserving young […]
[From the NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekly newsletter] RRDC President Bobby Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) racing team will celebrate its milestone 30th anniversary with the start of the 2021 season. The team, which began competing in 1992, will field two cars each in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and GTLM-class of the International Motor Sports Association’s […]
Janet Guthrie and Judy Stropus were announced as members of the 2021 class to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America this September at the Festival of Speed in Pontiac, Mich. The virtual announcement was held Saturday at Daytona International Speedway before the start of the Rolex 24. Stropus, representing the new […]
ROB DYSON TO CHAIR INDIA, NAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY MUSEUM Rob Dyson has been named chairman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, having served on the Museum board for 10 years. He succeeds Tony George who had been board chair for 35 years. George will remain involved as Chairman Emeritus. [motorsport.com front page image] Dyson’s personal […]
Howie Liebengood, Jr., a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police, died Saturday in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrectionist attack on the Capitol building. He was off duty Saturday. Officer Liebengood was a member of the 2018 RRDC membership class. He raced extensively prior to joining the USCP in 2005, winning the 2000 […]
OSCAR KOVOLESKI 1932-2020 On Dec 28, we lost one of the great characters in motor racing – Oscar Kovoleski. An RRDC member for 50 years, Oscar had been in an assisted living facility in Scranton, PA, for a couple of years. He was 88. “Oscar Koveleski was a treasure,” said RRDC President Bobby Rahal. “His […]
STRONG SHOWING FOR RRDC MEMBERS AT THE SCCA RUNOFFS Despite a truncated 2020 SCCA National racing program, a herd of Club Racers answered the call for the National Championship Runoffs at Road America, Oct. 5-11 – 577 in all. Andrew Aquilante led a Phoenix Racing assault on the podium scoring a hard fought victory from […]
“RACING GOES SAFER” WEBINAR SET FOR MONDAY, NOV. 30 The “Racing Goes Safer” motorsport safety foundation, EPARTRADE and Racer Magazine are teaming up to present a safety webinar during the Online Race Industry Week, November 30 – December 4. “A Crash Course in the History of IndyCar Racing Safety” is the title of the webinar […]
JIM PACE (1961-2020) remembered by his friend and business partner Byron DeFoor On July 25, 2020, I stood on the front straight at Road America in Wisconsin and witnessed the most terrifying crash that I had seen in many years. Jim Pace flipped over driving a historic Shadow Can-Am race car, and thousands of people […]
TEAM USA SCHOLARSHIP AT BRANDS HATCH FOR 49TH FORMULA FORD FESTIVAL BRANDS HATCH, DAY 1: Podium for Lee, Fourth and Fastest Race Lap for Aron WEST KINGSDOWN, England, Oct. 24 – Team USA Scholarship drivers Jackson Lee (below) and Bryce Aron were faced with some changeable conditions on the opening day of the 49th Formula […]
TEAM USA SCHOLARSHIP GETS FEET WET AT SILVERSTONE SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND, Oct. 10 – After two weeks of mandatory COVID-19 quarantine, Team USA Scholarship drivers Bryce Aron and Jackson Lee gained some valuable experience today in both wet and dry conditions during the final two rounds of the BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford 1600 Championship […]
THREE TEAM USA SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FOR 30TH YEAR The Team USA Scholarship reaches an important milestone in 2020, celebrating 30 years since Jimmy Vasser was confirmed as the inaugural scholarship recipient in 1990. Despite the global pandemic, three young American racers nonetheless have been chosen to compete in England later this Fall – Bryce Aron, […]
TATIANA CALDERóN IS LATEST SiF ASK A PRO Tatiana Calderón, Test and Reserve driver for Alfa RoNEWmeo F1 team and driver for Richard Mille Racing Team, is the latest driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Calderón was part of the first all-female LMP2 driver lineup to compete in Le Mans this year with Richard Mille Racing Team, […]
BRIAN TILL Oct. 11 – “Hard to believe it’s been a year. One year ago, I experienced my last radiation treatment at the Taussig Cancer Center at the Cleveland Clinic (I pray!). The folks there gave me a diagnosis, a plan, hope and ultimately my life back. And while I know that I will always […]
Sunday, August 23, was an historic day in motorsports – the 104th Indianapolis 500 was run without spectators. New IMS owner Roger Penske had to dig deep to pull this off with no gate. The television and sponsorship revenue were the only real income. But then, that’s Roger. Even though he’s all about the fan […]
SiF – ROSS BENTLEY’S SPEED SECRETS – PART 3 We conclude our very well-received Ross Bentley “Speed Secrets” series with some obvious tips that often elude us all. BEING COMFORTABLE WITH FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE If the car feels really comfortable to drive, it’s probably not fast DRIVE THE CAR, NOT THE TRACK Chasing that perfect line […]
KATHERINE LEGGE INJURED IN TESTING CRASH Katherine Legge was injured Wednesday in a high-speed testing crash in the Signes corner at Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France, breaking her lower left leg and damaging her right wrist. Legge was driving an LMP2 ORECA 07-Gibson which she shared with Richard Mille Racing co-drivers Tatiana Calderón and […]
Fellow Racers, The response to Part One of Ross Bentley’s Speed Secrets has been fantastic – check out the comments on our YouTube Channel. Now we present Part Two. In this video, Ross explains the advanced skills that separate the very best from the rest. He also covers visualization and learning to manage your change […]
ROSS BENTLEY REVEALS HIS SPEED SECRETS FOR SAFEisFAST – PART 1 What sort of secret tips do Driving Coaches really whisper into drivers’ ears to help them go faster? To find out we turned to Ross Bentley, one of the most sought-after Driving Coaches in North America. Ross has coached many of today’s top drivers […]
SHELBY COBRA DAYTONA COUPE RETROSPECTIVE With the launch of Rinsey Mills’ new book Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe–The autobiography of CSX2300, UK publisher Porter Press has released a filmed retrospective of the iconic car – America’s first International GT champion. The car’s justifiably proud designer Peter Brock says, “It’s still pretty cool looking after 55 years!” […]
GoFundMe FOR DOC BUNDY RECOVERING FROM OPEN HEART SURGERY Doc Bundy is recovering from open heart surgery from Covid-19 complications. Doc had stents installed a number of years ago, so he was/is in a tough situation. The May 15 surgery was successful, and he is home having been booted out of the ICU because of […]
SAFEisFAST – ENGINEER THE RACECAR We all know the feeling, your car’s handling like a piece of s***, and you have no idea why. That’s where the race engineer comes in. In the fifth installment of our Race Ready series we are focusing on how a driver and engineer can best work together to find […]
NEW FROM SAFEisFAST – GEORGE RUSSELL AND LATEST RACE READY INSTALLMENT Williams F1 Driver George Russell is Latest Ask a Pro. George Russell, driver for the Williams F1 team and 2018 FIA F2 champion, is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Russell’s debut F1 season in 2019 saw him out-qualify experienced teammate Robert Kubica at […]
SAFEisFAST: REFRESHER COURSES ON CHASSIS SET-UP Fellow racers, Basic chassis set-up is required knowledge in every form of racing. And you can’t fake it. In this third installment of our Race Ready series we are focusing on the technical side of racing with IndyCar engineer Jay O’Connell. This three-part series focuses on the basics of […]
“It is with great regret that the RRDC has once again lost an important member of the racing community with the passing of Dave Ammen. “A Board Director for the SCCA at critical times, a former RRDC president, and for many years a successful SCCA racer in his own right, Dave exemplified the term ‘gentleman […]
Sadly, we lost fellow member Bob Lazier this past week due to complications from Coronavirus. Bob’s energy on and off the track was dynamic, first as one of the key developers of Vail, Colo., and then on race tracks throughout North America. Successful in Formula B in the early ’70s, culminating with Rookie of the […]
Author Gordon Kirby on his latest book: “In these trying times it is my pleasure to announce the publication of my latest Racemaker Press book. ‘Chris Pook and the History of the Long Beach GP’ is a handsome 320-page book with more than 180 photos and illustrations. It retails for $80 plus shipping and handling […]
We at the Road Racing Drivers Club are saddened by the passing of one of the most dynamic and iconic race-car drivers that have ever competed on race tracks around the world, Sir Stirling Moss. He was an honorary member of the RRDC since the 1960s and a good friend. Stirling was legendary in the […]
While the world was still in the early stages of making decisions as to how to contain the coronavirus outbreak, and despite concerns about losing attendees to these concerns, the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance successfully took place on March 6-8 at the Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton hotel and its surrounds. Thanks to the forward thinking […]
The RRDC Evening with Rick Mears Presented by Firestone will be rescheduled, as will the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, both called due to the coronavirus outbreak. The decision was made in response to a directive from the City of Long Beach prohibiting all gatherings of more than 250 people in the city until […]
We recently learned of the passing of Don Sesslar on May 19, 2019, at age 91. As a young man, Don fell in love with cars through his father. Following WWII, he began stock car racing which led to his meeting entrepreneur Cyrus Fulton who asked Don to be his sports car driver. Over the […]
Bill Warner’s iconic Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance celebrates its 25th Anniversary this weekend on the Georgia barrier island. Casual elegance marks this storied event celebrating the automobile and those who have dedicated large portions of their lives and fortunes to the motoring experience. This year’s honoree is The Captain – Roger S. Penske – who […]
Why is it that some drivers always seem to get all the good luck – and others always get the bad? Is there really something called “Racing Luck” or do you make your own luck? To answer that question we’ve turned to an elite group of champion racers who have experienced both: IndyCar Team Owner Chip Ganassi, Team Penske […]
