These days, finding sponsorship is the key to every racing effort. Believe me, I’ve been at this for quite a while now, and it isn’t easy. In our latest video, we present an interesting case history – how Charlie Kimball turned the negativity of being diagnosed with Diabetes into a positive and earned sponsorship of his IndyCar program. There’s a lot to […]
Ten young drivers, ranging in age from 16 to 23, have been selected as candidates for this year’s Team USA Scholarship. Ultimately, two winners will follow in the footsteps of a long line of accomplished professional drivers – headed by Jimmy Vasser and Bryan Herta who claimed the first two scholarships in 1990 and ‘91, […]
Our two RRDC/Team USA/SiF young guns have really been delivering the goods this season and were totally dominant this past weekend. Oliver Askew won the Mazda Iowa 60 race at Iowa Speedway from the pole – his first USFF2000 oval race and first oval win. With six victories this season, Askew is leading in the […]
Newest IndyCar recruit and ex-F1 driver Esteban Gutiérrez is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. The 25-year-old driver in IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing having previously enjoyed stints with Sauber, Ferrari and Haas in F1. Gutiérrez has also competed in Formula E, racing for Techeetah during the 2016/17 season. After rising through the karting ranks […]
Today, overtaking in all forms of racing has become more difficult that ever – and that has made the ability to qualify well one of the real keys to winning. But how do the fast guys lay down a flyer when it really counts? To find out, we asked some of the fastest guys from […]
MotorSport Magazine’s 2017 Hall of Fame class includes a pair of RRDC members – Roger Penske and Brian Redman. Here are the accompanying citations: U.S. racing: Roger Penske The Captain’s eponymous racing team is an American institution with victories in every major four-wheel category, including F1. He and Mark Donohue formed a formidable partnership in the […]
The world’s eyes might be on Le Mans this week, but when it comes to endurance racing there’s no tougher test of man and machine than the Nurburgring 24 hour race, held each year at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. Here, well over 100 of the world’s fastest touring cars, driven by more than 400 drivers, battle for 24 hours around […]
THROTTLE CONTROL: LATEST VIDEO FROM SAFEisFAST Back in the “good old days of racing” if you wanted to go fast, there was only one way to apply the throttle – you simply stood on it. But in today’s ultrahigh-tech race cars, throttle control is a bit more complicated than that. To find out the latest […]
On May 20 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca held their La Gala Seca, a fundraising event that has been revitalized in this 60th anniversary year of the track on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula in Northern California. It’s been 15 years since a La Gala Seca has been held, and the RRDC is honored to have been […]
Members of the Racing Community: Last week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the RRDC announced the establishment of The Mark Donohue Foundation, Inc. – a 501(c)(3) organization that allows your contributions to the RRDC to be tax-deductible. Roger Penske has graciously agreed to be Honorary Chairman, and gave the Foundation a jump start with an extremely […]
DEVELOPING A WINNING STRATEGY With the Indy 500 coming up, there’s going to be a lot of talk about strategy – and how it can determine the outcome of a race. In our latest SAFEisFAST video, three of IndyCar’s best strategists – Penske’s Tim Cindric, Ganassi’s Mike Hull and Andretti’s Bryan Herta – explain race strategy […]
RRDC MARK DONOHUE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCEMENT TRANSCRIPT INDIANAPOLIS, IN, May 18, 2017 – 2017 Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil Press Conference transcript of the RRDC Mark Donohue Foundation Announcement with Roger Penske, Bobby Rahal and David Donohue [click here for the video]: MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, back with another press conference with RRDC, […]
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 18, 2017) – Bobby Rahal, President of the Road Racing Drivers Club, today announced the formation of The Mark Donohue Foundation, Inc., which will initially help raise funds for the continuation of the RRDC’s groundbreaking initiative, SAFEisFAST. Rahal made the announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, along with the Foundation’s Honorary Chairman Roger Penske, and Donohue’s son David. Mark […]
Three-time World Touring Car Champion José María López is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. The 34-year-old currently races in Formula E for DS Virgin Racing, and will later this year contest his first 24 Hours of Le Mans race with Toyota Gazoo Racing. López started racing at the age of eight in karting, winning various junior […]
In relating the passing of his father Mike, Bobby Rahal said simply: “RIP Dad. 3/23/24-5/10/17. What a life you led! Thanks for everything you did for us … especially giving us your love of cars & racing!” Mike’s progeny stand with him for a Rahal racing family portrait below: grandson Graham (l), Mike and son […]
SAFEisFAST EXAMINES QUESTION OF “MOVING UP” As we all know, the road to the top for a driver can often be a very slippery slope. How many times have we seen one small misstep end a very promising career? – just like that. How do you know when it’s the right time to move up? […]
Brendon Hartley, FIA World Endurance Championship winner and ex-F1 test driver, is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. The 27-year-old races in WEC for the Porsche LMP1 team, winning the series for the German marque in 2015. Hartley is a product of Red Bull’s young driver academy. After excelling in the junior ranks back home […]
FITTIPALDI, GURNEY AND FOYT SHARE SPOTLIGHT IN MEMORABLE EVENING The April 6 RRDC Evening with Emerson Fittipaldi Presented by Firestone boasted a capacity crowd of auto racing dignitaries, corporate executives and champion race-car drivers, as the two-time Formula 1 and Indy 500 champion was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club, prior to the running of the […]
Ford Performance will support the RRDC Evening with Emerson Fittipaldi Presented by Firestone on April 6. Ford will also commemorate its historic victory at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans by reuniting drivers A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney 50 years after Ford became the first and only all-American team to win the French endurance classic. […]
AMERICAN HONDA TO AGAIN SPONSOR “EVENING” COCKTAIL RECEPTION AT LONG BEACH American Honda Motor Co., Inc., will support the RRDC Evening with Emerson Fittipaldi Presented by Firestone by hosting the cocktail reception on April 6 at the Road Racing Drivers Club’s ninth annual West Coast banquet. Honda returns for the eighth consecutive year to support the legends dinner, which will […]
The incomparable Sir John Surtees – uniquely the only world champion ever on both two and four wheels – passed away Friday in London at age 83. According to his family, Surtees died after being treated for an existing respiratory ailment. The family’s statement continued: “We deeply mourn the loss of such an incredible, kind […]
Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who also won a pair of Indy 500s, will be honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club at the “RRDC Evening with Emerson Fittipaldi Presented by Firestone” in Long Beach, Calif., on Thursday, April 6. This is the RRDC’s ninth consecutive annual banquet honoring auto racing’s most influential leaders and […]
Concussions in sports are very much in the news today. And thanks to the work of fellow RRDC member and Neurocritical Care Physician Dr. Steve Olvey, racing leads the way in addressing the issue. In our latest video Dr. Olvey and his rather well-known patient – four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti – take you through […]
DAVID PHILLIPS’ NEW BOOK ON FORD’S RETURN TO LE MANS David Phillips spent the better part of 2016 embedded with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, chronicling Ford Motor Company’s return to Le Mans on the golden anniversary of their storied 1-2-3 finish in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Phillips covers the project in meticulous […]
Today, everyone agrees that karting is the place to begin a racing career. But it’s not quite so easy as just jumping into a kart – and suddenly you’re on your way to becoming the next Lewis Hamilton. Where should you start – and how early? What can you really learn from karting? How much […]
HURLEY HAYWOOD NAMED MITTY GRAND MARSHAL With Porsche the featured marque for Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty April 20-23 at Road Atlanta, it both natural and fitting that Hurley Haywood be named Grand Marshal. And so he was. Presented by Hagerty and sanctioned by Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), 2017 marks the 40th running of […]
On April 6 we’re going to celebrate something very special at the Ninth Annual RRDC Long Beach Legends Dinner when we honor Emerson Fittipaldi – and an amazing career that took him from being the youngest F1 World Champion to the third oldest Indy 500 winner. Emmo burst upon the international racing scene in the […]
MIKE SHANK RECIPIENT OF THE 2016 ROLEX BOB SNODGRASS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 28, 2016) – Michael Shank Racing owner Mike Shank, of Etna, Ohio, has been named the recipient of the 2016 Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence. The announcement was made during the traditional prelude to the Rolex 24 At Daytona – […]
CHIP GANASSI GARNERS THE RRDC’S 2017 PHIL AWARD DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2017) – Chip Ganassi, a former race-car driver who is now one of the most successful and innovative race team owners in the world, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club with the 2017 Phil Hill Award. RRDC president Bobby Rahal made the presentation at […]
MURRAY SMITH RECEIVES THE RRDC’S 2016 BOB AKIN AWARD DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2017) – Murray Smith, longtime event promoter and collector and driver of historic race cars, was named the 2016 recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award. He was presented the award at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club members’ dinner on Jan. 25, prior to the running […]
KNOWLES, KING LIFERS Don Knowles and Bill King were recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the North Carolina Region, SCCA, at their annual awards banquet, Jan. 14, in Graham, N.C. Knowles, the winningest driver in NCR history, was unable to attend the festivities as he was off in south Florida winning even more races. King […]
Breaking News: It was announced today that Neil Verhagen was named to the 2017 Red Bull Junior Program and will drive in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series on the MP Motorsport team. http://www.redbulljuniorteam.com/article/red-bull-junior-team-announcement-2017, http://www.redbulljuniorteam.com/athlete/neil-verhagen Neil Verhagen, a 15-year-old high school student from Mooresville, N.C., was named the 46th recipient of the RRDC Mark Donohue Award. This unique award […]
CARL JENSEN PASSES AWAY Carl Jensen, an RRDC member beloved among vintage and historic racers, passed away last week at age 74. “Everyone is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Carl Jensen, he was family to us, a member of a long-standing kinship amongst racers and promoters throughout the country,” said Road America […]
HILLIARD, Ohio (January 3, 2017) – Twenty-five race-car drivers and motorsports professionals were voted into the Road Racing Drivers Club in 2016. The group includes 17 Regular Members from the open-wheel and sports-car racing ranks, five Associate Members and three Honorary Members. The current roster of RRDC members now numbers 510. Voting was held among all current RRDC members. “The RRDC is […]
DAYTONA DINNER INVITATION FROM OUR PRESIDENT Thanks to the organizational skills of RRDC member Vicki O’Connor, the RRDC will hold its annual members’ dinner again at the Daytona 500 Club at Daytona International Speedway January 25 in advance of the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona. This dinner has grown tremendously in the last few years, attracting nearly […]
WOKING, SURREY, ENGLAND, Nov. 21, 2016 – Zak Brown is set to become the new executive director of the McLaren Technology Group next month, in the aftermath of the departure Nov. 15 of longtime McLaren Group chairman and CEO Ron Dennis. Brown, 45, will be in charge of both racing and marketing. A company statement […]
It’s time order those books for the motor heads on your Christmas shopping list, or just for you to expand your own motorsports library. We’re lucky to have so many RRDC members putting fingers to keyboard to recount their days of derring-do, plus all the splendid authors doing the same about our members – some […]
Here is the story of 2016 Team USA Scholarship teammates Oliver Askew and Kyle Kirkwood assault on the Walter Hayes Trophy at the mighty Silverstone Circuit. Click each link below for the blow-by-blow: Looking back: Oliver Askew, Hayes Fever Final thoughts: Kyle Kirkwood, Up and Down Askew second, Kirkwood fourth in wet Walter Hayes Final […]
Newly crowned IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. The French driver races for Team Penske and scored five victories and seven pole positions on his way to his first IndyCar title earlier this year. Pagenaud entered the series in 2011 and has raced for four teams, winning the Rookie […]
OLIVER ASKEW AND KYLE KIRKWOOD ON BRANDS HATCH AND BEYOND Kyle Kirkwood and Oliver Askew just completed their first week racing Formula Fords in England. Kirkwood called it “crazy fun”. Click here for Kyle’s impressions of this great adventure. Askew said it was “well worth it”. Read Oliver’s reflections on this opening competition. The journey […]
