TEAM USA’S KOTYK LIGHTS IT UP AT SILVERSTONE The buildup for Team USA Scholarship to the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone Circuit was a basket of delights for the young adventurers. After some fruitful testing at Donington Park, Jonathan Kotyk and Aaron Jeansonne grabbed a train to downtown London for a couple of days […]
BRIAN REDMAN ON NPR This weekend as part of it’s Only a Game series, National Public Radio aired an interview with Brian Redman with emphasis on the several serious crashes he’d survived in the course of his brilliant driving career. Here’s a link to the complete interview. The arrow at the top of the page […]
WEST KINGSDOWN, England (October 22, 2017) – Team USA Scholarship drivers Jonathan Kotyk and Aaron Jeansonne posted excellent performances during a hard-fought 20-lap Formula Ford Festival Final this afternoon at Brands Hatch. The pair finished just outside the top 10 but posted very competitive lap times as they worked their way forward from 16th and […]
Aaron Jeansonne, 19, from Sulphur, La., and Jonathan Kotyk, 23, from Atlantic Beach, Fla., have been in England for more than 10 days leading up to their overseas car racing debuts as the 2017 representatives of Team USA Scholarship. The pair are the latest in a long line of talented young American race car drivers […]
CORNER 1 – RISK VS. REWARD The old saying goes, “No one has ever won a race in the first turn – but a lot have been lost”. But is that really true? A lot of positions can be gained in corner one. In our latest video, a group of top international drivers discuss their […]
PAUL DI RESTA IS LATEST SiF ASK-A-PRO Williams F1 test driver and DTM ace Paul di Resta is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. The 31-year-old currently competes across two series, combining F1 testing duties for Williams Grand Prix Racing with a drive for Mercedes in DTM, a championship he won back […]
TEAM USA SCHOLARSHIP GUYS NAIL THREE 2017 TITLES When Josef Newgarden crossed the finish line in second place Sunday at Sonoma Raceway to clinch the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship in his first season with Team Penske, it capped an astonishingly successful two weeks for graduates of the Team USA Scholarship, which has been providing […]
The RRDC and the motorsports community as a whole lost one of its most interesting members last week with the passing of Bruce Leven. He was born in Chicago on June 12, 1938, and two years later moved with his family to Seattle. In 1964 the ambitious entrepreneur bought Bayside Disposal as a one-truck, one-employee […]
Fellow racers, Way back when I began racing, Formula Ford was the place for aspiring champions to launch their careers. Fellow RDDC members such as Jimmy Vasser, Michael Andretti and Danny Sullivan all got their starts in FF. Today, there is a new FIA-sanctioned class designed for young karting drivers to show their mettle […]
INDY 500 SIGNED PRINTS TO BENEFIT WILSON CHILREN’S FUND Continuing an effort that was initiated ahead of the 2016 IndyCar finale at Sonoma Raceway that featured an image of the start of the Watkins Glen IndyCar race, the Wilson Children’s Fund (http://wilsonchildrensfund.com/) will once again be offering a custom run of items to generate funding […]
CORNING, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2017) – International racing stars, captains of the motorsports industry, local dignitaries and race fans gathered to honor an American racing icon at the Corning (N.Y.) Museum of Glass on Thursday. Mario Andretti, motorsports’ greatest ambassador, was presented with the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports by the […]
The 2017 SCCA Hall of Fame class includes three current members of the RRDC – Peter Brock, Joe Huffaker, Sr. and Lyn St. James. In addition, Phil Hill is among the eight new inductees. Formal induction will take place at the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet Saturday, Jan. 21, 2018, the final day […]
One big challenge young drivers face as they move up the ranks is learning to work with a team. The further up you move, the bigger the team – and the more important communication skills become. In our latest video we take a look at one of the more diverse teams in racing – the Castrol […]
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 […]
