NEWS // PASTRANA LEAVES SUBARU RALLY TEAM FOR NASCAR?

Earlier today, four time Rally America champion Travis Pastrana announced that he will no longer race for Subaru's US based rally team and will instead take an open seat at Michael Waltrip Racing. Pastrana, who collected 22 race victories, 40 podium finishes and more than 150 stage wins during his tenure with Subaru Rally Team USA, said in a radio interview with Speed Freaks this week that he will likely race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Follow the link for the official press release... [read more]

Subaru Bids Farewell to Travis Pastrana
-- Driver departs after 5 seasons --

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Nov. 10 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. today bid farewell to Travis Pastrana as the company's lead driver. Travis began his relationship Subaru in 2004 from the world of supercross and freestyle motorcross and officially joined Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) in 2006 having run abbreviated development seasons with Subaru in 2004-2005. During his career as an SRT USA driver, Travis piloted his Subaru Impreza WRX STI to 150+ stage wins, 40 podiums, and 22 event victories en route to earning four consecutive Rally America National Championship titles (2006-2009) and becoming the youngest-ever U.S. Rally champion in history. Within the ESPN X Games Rally Car Racing format, Travis went on to win two gold, one silver and one bronze medal with Subaru Rally Team USA.

Tim Mahoney, CMO of Subaru of America said, "Travis brought Rally to a whole new audience through the rally championship and of course through his spectacular appearances at X Games. We wholeheartedly thank him for his outstanding performances with Subaru Rally Team USA and wish him well in his future endeavors."

Subaru recently celebrated breaking its all-time sales record for the brand in the US. The company surpassed its previous record set in 2009 with two months of 2010 remaining and expects to top 250,000 sales for the year.

Image and Info: Autoblog via Subaru
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

NEWS // DTM RACING IN U.S. CONFIRMED FOR 2013

It's official, Grand-Am and NASCAR will partner to bring a 12 race, U.S. based Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series to the states starting in 2013. The decision to pair the DTM series with Grand-Am and NASCAR makes more sense than you might think. NASCAR events draw huge crowds and the potential overlap would mean additional promotion for both the DTM series and NASCAR.

Now the real question: where will the new series find its drivers? Well, according to our sources, the U.S. based DTM series (which will consist of all three major German automakers: Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW) will be made up of 'satellite' teams supported by the German operations. That said, there are possibilities however for American drivers to get into DTM cars, with both NASCAR and Grand-Am racers being taken into consideration. #TedAnthonyJr. #JoeyAtterbury #AdamChristodoulou

Click here for additional information via SpeedTV // [comment]

NEWS // DTM COMING TO THE STATES IN 2013?

According to Autoblog, NASCAR is looking to bring the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series to the United States in 2013. The German touring car promoter ITM is hoping to run a 12-race calendar in the U.S. in 2013, with six races alongside Grand-Am events and another six alongside NASCAR events. Additionally, it appears the DTM series is looking to expand their entry list, with BMW coming aboard in 2012 and negotiations taking place that might allow the GT500 class of the Japanese AUTOBACS Super GT Series to run according to DTM technical regulations come 2013 // [comment]

NASCAR // COKE ZERO 400 @ DAYTONA

Following a brief rain delay, Kevin Harvick started up front and finished up front in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway. A series of late-race accidents made for a wild ride for many of the Sprint Cup drivers. Roughly 20 cars where eliminated by spectacular accidents late in the race. There was a record 18 leaders and 47 lead changes for Saturday nights main event.

Follow the link for additional images and complete results... [read more]

































2010 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola // Race Results:

1 1 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 195/10 166 Running 344,751
2 20 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser Armed Forces Tribute 170/0 166 Running 239,440
3 5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 170/5 166 Running 212,176
4 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard Amp Energy 160/0 166 Running 144,100
5 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 160/5 166 Running 159,340
6 12 99 Carl Edwards Ford Subway 150/0 166 Running 153,673
7 6 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite / Vortex 151/5 166 Running 161,123
8 24 83 Reed Sorenson Toyota Red Bull 142/0 166 Running 145,573
9 35 71 Mike Bliss Chevrolet TRG MtrsprtsTaxSlayer.com 138/0 166 Running 110,925
10 27 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 134/0 166 Running 121,573
11 19 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 130/0 166 Running 132,556
12 32 7 Robby Gordon Toyota SpeedFactory.tv 132/5 166 Running 120,398
13 39 36 Steve Park Chevrolet Richie Evans Fan Tribute 129/5 166 Running 100,400
14 33 34 Kevin Conway * Ford Extenze 121/0 166 Running 101,500
15 7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Jeremiah Weed Southern Style Sweet Tea Vodka 118/0 166 Running 143,251
16 37 09 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Coke Zero 115/0 166 Running 97,275
17 15 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 117/5 166 Running 104,075
18 23 98 Paul Menard Ford Quaker State / Menards 109/0 165 Running 103,250
19 41 46 J.J. Yeley Dodge Cash America 106/0 164 Running 91,100
20 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M Scotch-Brite 108/5 163 Running 103,750
21 30 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 105/5 159 Accident 100,800
22 29 19 Elliott Sadler Ford U.S. Air Force 102/5 159 Accident 100,075
23 34 37 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors 94/0 159 Running 106,823
24 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Office 96/5 158 Running 107,475
25 9 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Burger King 93/5 158 Running 127,448
26 14 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Tornados 85/0 148 Accident 124,004
27 22 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 87/5 148 Accident 124,131
28 11 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet Carquest / GoDaddy.com 84/5 148 Accident 105,100
29 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 76/0 148 Accident 123,615
30 26 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing 78/5 147 Accident 112,460
31 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 75/5 147 Accident 139,578
32 28 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kingsford / Bush's Beans 67/0 147 Accident 105,473
33 31 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 64/0 147 Accident 92,275
34 38 38 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver's 61/0 145 Accident 103,860
35 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 58/0 141 Running 83,975
36 21 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Paralyzed Veterans of America 55/0 136 Running 121,176
37 36 26 David Stremme Ford Air National Guard 57/5 135 Accident 91,650
38 25 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 49/0 116 Accident 91,500
39 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 46/0 116 Accident 121,004
40 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 48/5 103 Accident 131,281
41 42 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota HostGator.com 40/0 38 Electrical 83,050
42 40 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO 37/0 6 Vibration 82,950
43 43 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 34/0 4 Transmission 83,313

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

PREVIEW // COKE ZERO 400 @ DAYTONA

Last weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visited the Daytona International Speedway for the second time this season. Amongst those in attendance was ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, who was lucky enough to gain media access to the Coke Zero 400, the 18th race of the 2010 season. The photo featured above was taken by Mr.Creager during the rain delay. Stay tuned for additional images! // [comment]

NASCAR // SUBWAY JALAPENO 250 @ DAYTONA

I find myself back at Daytona for the third time this year. The biggest difference this time was that the weather would finally be typical Florida weather, well into the high 80’s with equal or higher humidity and just enough rain to keep things sticky!  

This weekend was full of action, Friday night the Nationwide cars would race in the Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by Coca-Cola, Saturday the Rolex cars would race in the Brumos Porsche 250 and on Saturday night the Sprint Cup cars raced in the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola... [read more]

Unlike most other forms of racing (read: F1), NASCAR has always been about the fans and giving them access to drivers and pre-race activities, and to this day that still holds true.  



Thirty minutes prior to the start of the Nationwide race, fans gathered at what looked like a holding pen. Once the gates were opened and the herd of fans released from the holding pens, the massive crush of fans crowded onto the most hollowed grass in all of racing, the inside of Daytona’s tri-oval. I have to say, this being my first time at a NASCAR weekend at Daytona, I too was a bit excited to take a walk on this same grass and sign the checkered start finish line.

Myself and a few thousand fans had twenty minutes of free time to cross the track, sign the start/finish line and hang around for driver introductions.  Once all the drivers were given their five second intros and paraded passed us in the backs of trucks, it was nearing the time to here the most fabled words in auto racing. During our free time I meet a couple all the way from Portland, Oregon (above) it was their first time to Daytona.



During qualifying I had an opportunity to meet one of the Pacific Northwest young guns, Tayler Malsam, driver of the #10 Toyota.  We had a nice chat with each other before he was to qualify.  Tayler also races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series in the number 56 Toyota.  You can check out Tayler's blog here.





This race would see the new Nationwide Series car debuted this weekend, the Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang and Toyota Camry usher in a new era in the series.  It was getting closer to hearing the most fabled words in motorsports “gentlemen start your engines” so I had to get in place for the start of the race.  I positioned myself in the grandstands above the track to see 43 cars take the green flag, what an amazing sight I must to say. The cars looked great and the sound of 43 cars ripping beneath me was exciting.













The race would end with Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking the checker flag. In an interview with Dale: "I worked hard to try to win, not only for daddy-I'm proud of him going to the Hall of Fame, and he would be proud of this, I'm sure - but just all these fans. I hope they enjoyed this. This is it - no more '3' for me. That's it."



I remember watching Dale Earnhardt race the Wrangler car in the Winston Cup Series back in the 70’s at Ontario International Speedway and had always liked that car. What a fitting end to a great race for Dale Jr. We all know that his father would have been very proud of him!

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

NASCAR // MUSTANG TO MAKE NATIONWIDE DEBUT ON FRIDAY

The Ford Mustang will make it's NASCAR debut this Friday at the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway. To promote the Mustang's entrance into NASCAR's Nationwide Series, Ford has just announced that it will offer a brand new 2011 Mustang GT to the winner of Friday's race, provided they do so in a Ford branded vehicle of course. Additionally, Dodge will unveil their NASCAR ready Challenger on Friday night, and with ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, live at Daytona all weekend, we're excited to see how the two stack up. Stay tuned // [comment]

NASCAR // SCENES FROM THE SAVE MART 350 @ INFINEON

Friday afternoon was the first practice session for the Sprint Cup cars. I have to say that the sound of raw American V8 power is quite enjoyable. After practice was qualifying where each driver gets just one hot lap to put in their best time. If they make a mistake, there is no chance for a re-do... [read more]

Watching the drivers hustle these heavy powerful cars around the road course is quite exciting. The cars slide around a lot getting sideways under acceleration out the corners. Greg Biffle, a native of my hometown of Vancouver, WA is seen here leaping over the curbing on the outside of turn 4. The drivers come over the hill through turn 3 and then a steep hard braking zone before they smash the cars over the inside curbing and get up on two wheels. Then they run wide and jump over the outside curbing and use as much of the paved runoff area as possible.

The fans were out in force throughout the weekend. Here is a serious Kevin Harvick fan all decked out in the appropriate uniform. As a photographer, colors like these are what I live for.

I don’t quite understand how they get the trucks so tightly packed but somehow they do.

Fences, fences, fences…and more fences. This is what I was constantly having to work around, or most of the time having to work through for the whole weekend. It was a constant challenge trying to find locations with the least fencing in the way.

When I arrived at the track I couldn’t really believe how many people there was. The amount of motor-homes was astonishing as well. It would be great if the other American sports car and open wheel series could draw this many fans.

When the race started, polesitter Kasey Kahne led into the first corner, however by the end of the first lap Jimmy Johnson had already taken the lead. Kahne continued to fade down the field while Johnson started to pull away from the pack. Not to far was the Australian Marcos Ambrose who had been fastest in all of the practice sessions.

Farther down in the pack Montoya was having a steady run, working his way slowly up the field. Battling with Jeff Gordon for a while and then later Scott Speed, the Columbian had a solid run as could be expected on a road course from the former F1 driver.

Watching the cars from across the track, you could really get a feel for how much speed these guys were carrying through the esses on the backside of the course. These cars fly!

RedBull DTM driver Mattias Ekstrom flew out to have a taste of NASCAR and is the first Swede to ever start a race in the series. Having only driven a cup car once before in a test, this was quite a big challenge and was not in contention for a win. Here he is seen diving to the inside of Scott Speed in the second RedBull Toyota.

There was no doubt going to be some accidents, which led to yellow flags, which then led to double file restarts. These add to the excitement of the race by bunching the pack together for the restart. Here a number of cars are pictured through the NASCAR “chute” which connects turn 4 to turn 7.

Another angle of the same area of track on a different restart. It’s quite a site to see this many cars running so close together.

During the caution periods the teams took the time to pit the cars for fuel and new tires. At first the pits look calm as the crews waits for their cars to arrive…

…but then it turns into a complete jungle of color, motion, and noise. Although different pit strategies saw the leading cars get shuffled to the back at different times during the race, it was really just the two car fight between Ambrose and Johnson.

Ambrose was able to take the lead from Johnson and was on course to his first ever Sprint Cup win since moving over from the Australian V8 Supercar series a few years ago. The Aussie was able to hold off Johnson for a couple of the late race restarts and he looked sure to take the victory. However, trying to save fuel, he slowed down too much on one of the yellow flag pace laps. For this NASCAR gave him a penalty for not maintaining reasonable speed and was dropped down six places. This gave way for the double J of Jimmy Johnson to take his first road course win and his 51st career win.

Another brilliant California sunset signaled the end of the day which had brought heartbreak for some and joy for others.

Photo/Editorial: Camden Thrasher