Auto Racing

Are you looking for facts and specific data on street racing dangers? This article provides honest information on the dangers of street racing. Beware...

Street racers and street racing fans typically conduct their activities in an underground fashion to avoid attracting the attention of authorities. The Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services -- a division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) -- lists the following problems most frequently associated with street racing:

• "Vehicle crashes (deaths and injuries to drivers, passengers, onlookers, or innocent bystanders; and property damage);
• Noise (from racing vehicles and crowds);
• Vandalism and litter at racing locations (including businesses where racers commonly gather);
• Loss of commercial revenue (if racing crowds obstruct or intimidate potential customers);
• Excess wear and tear on public streets (painted street markings commonly are damaged by the burning rubber of vehicle tires)."

The 2010 Formula One season is underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix being completed this weekend. It was supposed to be the start of a glorious season with some big teams all looking competitive and no less than four world champions on the starting grid. As is often the case, the race did not even closely live up to the hype.

The FIA has played around with different regulations in an attempt to make Formula One more exciting with more passing. One idea that was focused on for the 2010 season was to eliminate passing in the pits. This would occur when one car would run longer than the other and then "pass it" when it needed less time to take on fuel and get back on track.

To eliminate such passes, the FIA announced there would be no refueling this year. Cars would have to pit once for tires, but that was it. The basic idea was this would force the drivers to be aggressive and make passes on the track. Bahrain showed just how misguided this idea was. There was a lot of passing in the first lap, but then almost none except for back markers. The only passing late in the race occurred when leader Sebastian Vettel lost power with an engine problem and was passed repeatedly.

There are two problems with F1. The first is the tracks. Bahrain is a perfect example. The track only has one or two places were passing can occur. The new section added was bumpy and included something like nine sweeping turns in the new mile long section. It is impossible to pass in these turns as there is simply not a wide enough grove and no where to go. The tracks need to be designed with more areas for passing automatically built in.

The second problem is the aerodynamics on the car. The regulations have not dealt with this issue. The problem is the cars are still so aero sensitive that they can't pull up behind each other. If they do at any speed at all, the car in front disturbs the air and the car behind loses grip. This creates the proverbial train around the track with slower cars holding up fast cars. This is exactly what we saw with Lewis Hamilton spending half the race behind the obviously slower Nico Rosberg.

The Formula One season is now well under way with the running of the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 14, 2010. The first race of the season is always a tell tale sign for what the season will look like. Let's take a look at what we learned.

There are two top teams once again. Whereas it was Brawn and Red Bull last year, it looks to be Ferrari and Red Bull in 2010. The Scuderia came up with a 1-2 finish, but only after the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel started having engine problems. Before this, however, it was clear that both teams were well ahead of the others on the track and were simply marking time while trying to save the tires. The fact Fernando Alonso said he had more speed after the race means there fight between Red Bull and Ferrari should be a good one. That being said, the flimsy Red Bull has to stay together from a reliability stand point or Vettel's championship hopes will be ruined.

What of McLaren? Well, we learned the car performs much better of a race distance then it does on the one lap qualifying. While that is generally good news, it also does not provide much hope for the season. This appears to be another season where passing is going to be difficult. If Hamilton is qualifying in the fourth through sixth position each race, it is asking a lot for him to somehow catch and pass the Red Bull and Ferrari cars. His teammate, Jenson Button, appears to still be enjoying the 2009 championship and does not look like much of a threat to anyone.

And what of the king? Michael Schumacher returns to Formula One after a three year retirement. He had an uneventful race. He didn't make a charge, but he also didn't fall back into the field. It could be a frustrating year for him as the Mercedes just doesn't look very fast. Of the four big teams, it currently seems to rank a distant fourth. Things should improve since it is only the first race, but Red Bull and Ferrari appear to be well in front which makes it a large hill to climb.

This was also the first race where we saw the prodigy of Max Mosley. He pushed hard to get rid of the manufacturer dominance so privateers could join the field. As expected, they were terrible. Of the six cars from the three new teams, only two made it to the finish line - the Lotus cars. This is a good development for Formula One? I think not.

New Device for Motor Vehicles Saves Gas, Money & the Environment

Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day by Saving Gas Money While Going Green

CALABASAS, CA - March 15, 2010 - A famous frog once said "It's not easy being green," well it actually is rather easy - and inexpensive - to be green, Kermit just never met the Fuel Doctor USA. The revolutionary Fuel Doctor USA's FD-47 allows eco-conscious consumers to save gas and money while helping the environment by reducing the pollutants emitted into the air.

Fuel Doctor USA's FD-47 is the fuel efficiency booster. The FD-47 increases a vehicles miles per gallon (MPG) through power conditioning of the vehicles electrical systems. Conditioned and clean power allows the vehicles electronic control unit (ECU), fuel injection and engine timing equipment to operate more efficiently. When the vehicles engine runs more efficiently it will require less fuel, produce more power and have reduced exhaust emissions (reduced CO2). As a vehicle matures, the power systems tend to generate and experience more electrical noise or electrical interference. This noise can have many detrimental effects on the vehicles systems and decrease their efficiency. The FD-47 simply plugs into the cigarette/power outlet and the power conditioning qualities of the FD-47 help to reduce and remove this noise and to restore your vehicles efficiency.

Fuel Doctor USA's FD-47 was tested by The Automobile Club of Southern California's Automotive Research Center. This U.S. EPA and CARB recognized independent test laboratory states, "The majority of the Carbon (99%) coming out of an engine is in the form of CO2. This means that improvements in fuel economy result in reduced CO2 emissions". Other tests were conducted on the FD-47 by superior automotive and engineering authorities including BOSCH (Ledico), TestCar, and Kett Engineering. These testing results found that the FD-47 increases fuel economy (up to 25%), which results in fewer CO2 emissions.

Each year, by using the FD-47, under normal driving conditions consumers will reduce the CO2 pollutants their vehicles emit into the air by thousands of pounds. It's a truly effortless yet rewarding act, "JUST PLUG IN and keep it in" states Fuel Doctor USA CEO, Mark Soffa, "it's really that simple, and maintenance free."

Best Buy, the nation's largest electronic retailer, officially launched Fuel Doctor USA's FD-47 in their stores last month.

Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day this year, all year with Fuel Doctor USA and reduce your carbon footprint.

About The Fuel Doctor USA: The Fuel Doctor USA's FD-47 will significantly change the rate of fuel consumption for consumers, saving them money and the environment one car at a time. FD-47's cutting-edge technology increases fuel economy which results in decreased CO2 emissions. Fuel Doctor USA has officially joined the ranks of new companies using science and technology to effectively lessen environmental damage. To learn more about Fuel Doctor USA please go to www.fueldoctorusa.com.

###

Media Contact: Megan Palmer AMG PRWorks 305.856.8004 x304 megan@amgwagency.com

Buddy Baker had a legendary career in NASCAR and is honored and respected by all who know the sport. Buddy retired in nineteen ninety four at age 52 after thirty six years at the wheel in a career that began in 1959. Buddy can be proud of his career statistics. Baker had nineteen career first places in a total of 699 starts . Add to this 43 runner-up finishes and 58 third-place finishes. His good friend Richard Petty was very sure that with any luck Buddy would have won 50 races. Baker's career winnings exceeded $ three,500,000 in an era when the purses were small by today's standards. Baker ended his career at age 52 and then said "there comes a point when you simply got to say 'Hey it's been fun'".

Buddy Baker, son of the legendary Buck Baker didn't have a single win in stock- automobile until his ninth season. It was at Charlotte in 1967 that he had his first win in a Dodge prepaired by Ray Fox. there was a point after eight seasons where Baker questioned if he would ever have a win. He would race more than 200 times before winning his first race.

nineteen victories may not seem like much to some yet if you consider where those victories occurred then the exploit is quite impressive; four at Charlotte, four at Talladega, two each at Daytona, Darlington and Atlanta and wins at Michigan, Texas and Ontario.

Baker's favorite season was 1980. He won the Daytona 500 driving an impressive Olds prepared by Waddell Wilson that year. That black and gray impressive Olds was driven so fast by Baker that it came to be known as the "Grey Ghost" because it seemed to blend into the asphalt. Baker had averaged nearly 178 mph in winning that 500 and that is still the record today for this great event. That year, with the help of Waddell Wilson and the owner Harry Rainer he finished in the top ten ten times in only nineteen races.

As for his most memorable race, Baker would probable choose his win of the Winston 500 again in 1980 were he made up a 19 second shortfall to Dale Earnhardt whom he passed with just two laps to go. He earned the esteem of all other drivers at that Winston 500. They were all amazed at his skills at drafting behind leading cars passing them all to gain a victory that had seemed elusive. Baker was modest in victory. He was certain that Dale Earnhardt could have beaten him if he had a little more experience at the time. Years later Baker estimated that in his eyes Earnhardt was the best that ever was behind the wheel.

Baker was badly hurt at the Charlotte Coca-Cola 600 in 1989. He suffered a serious blow to the head that caused a huge clot which was removed in surgery. Somehow he never fully recovered his driving skills after that. Baker recovered from this accident and started 17 more races, retiring after a final crash in Atlanta during a qualifying lap. He had realized that he no longer had the stuff of champions.

Baker still maintains ties to the sport as a consultant to Penske South Racing.

I believe this view can only be held by those who are ill advised of the workings of NASCAR. I contend that the NASCAR has the following qualities that most definitely qualify it as a sport:

1 - It requires physical conditioning on the part of the driver and pit crew in order to succeed.

2 - It requires an intelligent coach, the crew chief, to make critical decisions at the appropriate times in order for the team to win.

3 - It requires domain specific mental toughness and intelligence on the part of the driver and the pit crew. Just because drivers are riding in cars does not mean that they are riding in the same comfort that you do when you take a long road trip.

NASCAR vehicles are built for weight, speed and safety, not comfort. Racing seats are small, thinly padded containers for the drivers not the same luxury seats with multiple comfort adjustments that you find in all cars sold in the production environment.

NASCAR suspensions are also built for maximum grip, not maximum rider comfort. Both of these things mean that the ride you get in a NASCAR vehicle is much more similar to the ride you would get on a piece of aged construction equipment than it is to your passenger car.

Sitting in these vehicles for hours is downright uncomfortable and for the average person would cause days of back pain and exhaustion. NASCAR driver must train in order to make it through the hundreds of miles they train and race each week. NASCAR teams have coaches just like more traditional sports.

These coaches are called Crew Chiefs, they call all of the shots during the race. They decide when a car will pit, how many tires, will be changes, how much fuel will be added, and what adjustments will be made to the tire pressure and suspension. Any one of these decisions could win, or lose, a race for a team. Much like any other sport the success of the team depends on the quality of the coach. Drivers and pit crews have to be mentally equipped to deal with the situations that arise during the race in the same ways that players have to deals with situations that arise during games. In football, it is important that a player not focus too much on their previous mistakes.

For example, if a receiver fumbles a ball on one play, it is important that he forget about and be ready to play well for the next set of downs. The same is true with drivers and pit crews. If a driver gets a bad restart or a crewman takes too long to change a tire, it is important that each of them have the mental toughness to not give up on their jobs for the remainder of the race. If even one person on the race team gives up, no matter how small their responsibilities, the team can fail and the race can be lost.

After taking these facts into consideration and learning more about NASCAR it should be fairly easy to classify it as a sport. While the physical side is less pronounced than most other major sports, NASCAR still has all of the components of a sporting event.

Since the start of the competition, Kurt managed to maintain himself in the front for 232 of the 325 laps set with full control of his vehicle (a Miller Lite Dodge Penske), demonstrating his amazing skills to lead and thus surpassed the yellow flags that were shown during the first twelve laps. During this period, the leading position was occupied for four different drivers in a given moment, but in the midst of a successful maneuver, Busch was able to take the control of the race, getting ahead and moving away from Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon, who were chasing him at a very close range.

As the competition progressed, the emotions were growing strong as well as the hard fight to achieve and maintain the leading position. In the middle of this battle, Mark Martin had some problems with his car again, similar to the last week, causing the yellow flags to appear once again. Because of this, Kurt Busch lost the lead, which was occupied during that moment by Jeff Gordon, while Kurt followed him very concentrated to never lose his sight because Jimmy Johnson was making pressure behind him.

Brian Vickers also managed to join to this battle for the first position, but he saw how his efforts dropped down after getting another yellow flag due to Robby Gordon's punched tire. This incident was the reason why most drivers had to enter the pits area and as they were going out of it, a new contest to get the best position in front of the race was restarted.

Carl Edwards was the one who took the lead and was placed at the top, where he stayed for a short time since Kurt made a display of his great talent, the same one that he shown when he achieved the NASCAR Sprint Cup2004 title. The efforts to reach Busch seemed worthless at this point of the race, as he increased his performance and controlled to perfection his car # 2, while maintaining his leading position until the end of the race.

In this worthy victory, Kurt Busch was able to lead a greater number of laps in a single competition that what he did throughout the entire last season, when he marked 164 laps overall. After this exciting competition in Atlanta, Kurt is placed in the third position at the overall standings with 588 points behind Clint Bowyer, who is ranked second with 591 points and both drivers remain a long way from Jeff Gordon, who owns the privileged position with 634 points. by Stephen Lars