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Top-12 Drivers Make a Pit Stop at New York City’s Hard Rock Café
To Kick Off NASCAR’s Championship Run on Thursday, September 17

WHAT: 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Day

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 from 12 to 4 p.m. ET

WHERE: Hard Rock Café New York in Times Square
43rd Street and Broadway (1501 Broadway)

WHO: All 12 drivers eligible to compete in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will attend. Tony
Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have clinched births. 142 points separate places 9
through 15 with 2 races remaining to decide the final spots of the Chase!

Tuesday at 8.19am (California time) Charles Burnett III successfully broke the land speed record for a steam powered car – which has stood for more than 100 years – achieving an average speed of 139.843mph on two runs over a measured mile.

Driver Charles Burnett III piloted the car for both runs reaching a peak speed of 136.103mph on the first run and 151.085mph on the second. The new international record, which is subject to official confirmation by the FIA, breaks the previous official FIA record of 127mph set in 1906 by American, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steamer at Daytona Beach.

As he was congratulated by his jubilant crew, principal driver, Charles Burnett III said:

“It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph. The car really did handle beautifully. The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance.”

Project Manager Matt Candy said:
“The first run took place at 7.27am when the air temperature was a cool 63 degrees Fahrenheit, the team turned around the car in 52minutes (with just 8 minutes spare) in preparation for its return run. The British Steam Car takes 2.5 miles to accelerate and after the measured mile, a further 2.5 miles to decelerate – so each run was over 6.5 miles. The FIA requires that the return run takes place within 60 minutes. The times of the two runs are then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed. Compared to the testing we did in Britain, the British Steam Car ran 12 times the distance and twice the maximum speed – all within one hour. It’s been a huge challenge for all.”

Pam Swanston wife of the late project manager Frank Swanston was overcome with emotion after seeing Charles power the supercar across the dry lake bed, she said:

“If only Frank was here today, it was his vision that made it a reality. He would be incredibly proud of the team’s achievements and always believed we would succeed. Today we celebrate this record for Frank.”

Ever wish you could watch all the high-speed action and events from the infamous Indiana Sprintweek from the comfort of your own home? Well, the folks @ USAC have heard you and now offer the 2009 Indiana Sprintweek on DVD!

The 22nd Annual Indiana Sprintweek was one for the ages… 7 days of hardcore racing at 7 different Hoosier State venues. Nearly 80 different USAC Sprint Car drivers battled it out night in and night out in the summer heat for the coveted Sprintweek title. After over 600 laps of competition, it all came down to the final circuit of the final event to determine the 2009 Indiana Sprintweek Champion. All of this unfolds right before your very eyes on this action-packed 2 disc set.

Buy it now at usacracing.com/store

GoRacingTV.com will broadcast a daily Web-video news show from the Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs this year. The SCCA Runoffs will be held at Wisconsin’s Road America, a 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course located in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The show will air each of the six days of the event, Sept. 22 to 27.

This will be another first for the Maryland-based production company. GoRacingTV.com recently went to the Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints and recorded all 10 races of the event which presently are being aired one by one on its Web site. “We were the first to bring the June Sprints to the club racing community via Web-video and now we plan to be the first to bring the Runoffs to everyone in a daily news format from the event,” said co-host Errol Tucker. “Our goal is to make information on Club Racing more accessible and help bring the sport to the forefront.”

The daily news show will bring viewers news and information on what is happening at the Runoffs; from informative interviews with competitors, to qualifying interviews and updates, to the championship race results and interviews with the winners. “It will be like looking at your local news report each evening. Most people go home and look at the nightly news to see what has gone on in the world today, in this case, with our news report, viewers will get info on what has happened in the world of SCCA and the Runoffs,” said Chip VanVurst, co-host of the show.
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USAC’s National Sprint Car stars will head west to join the USAC/CRA Sprint series for the September 5-6 “Louie Vermeil Classic” at the Calistoga (Calif.) Fairgrounds Speedway before returning to continue the battle for National points September 12 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.

Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. passed Chad Boat on lap six and led the rest of the way to win Saturday night’s 40-lap “Dick Gaines Classic” USAC Special Event Sprint race at the Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Coons piloted the Hoffman Auto Racing F5 Gaerte to the $10,000 win over Dave Darland, Brady Short, Boat and Bobby East. The Hoffman team owns the record for USAC National Sprint car feature wins at 73.

Coons continues to stand fourth in the National Sprint points behind Levi Jones, Darland and Cole Whitt. Tracy Hines rounds out the top-five in the latest National standings.

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brendan Gaughan will drive the No. 66 South Point Casino/TRG Porsche GT3 at this weekend’s Grand-Am Rolex Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Gaughan, from Las Vegas, will make his first Grand-Am Series start with co-driver and Rolex 24 at Daytona winner Andy Lally. Gaughan will also be competing in his regular ride, the No. 62 USfidelis Chevrolet, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race there on Sunday.

“Growing up in the off-road world if you had aspirations on going to the next level in racing you looked to sports cars or Indy cars,” Gaughan said. “As my career progressed and I was fortunate enough to get into the NASCAR side of things my passion for road racing has never diminished.

“I have been very familiar with Andy’s accomplishments and am both proud and honored to have the opportunity to be his co-driver. I can only hope to have lap times remotely close to his!

“Initially, I was just hoping to run the Grand-Am race to get some laps in to be better prepared for the Nationwide race in my No. 62 USfidelis Chevy. But after learning that I was going to be running with Andy and the car that’s fifth in the points, now I’m hoping to gain valuable track experience and try to help the team gain more points.”

TRG regular Lally is looking forward to sharing his ride with Gaughan, whom he has met before in the infancy of their racing careers.

Due to stricter Federal Desert Tortoise Regulations, SCORE regrets to inform the Primm 300 race participants that there will NOT be a pre-race Course Reconnaissance.

New regulations for desert racing were initiated earlier this year by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with enforcement being administered by the Bureau of Land Management. These regulations are extremely strict regarding potential danger to the desert tortoise and damage to desert vegetation. The BLM has established a number of rules that would be required during the Course Reconnaissance. SCORE would be required to disqualify entrants that fail to abide by these rules. These rules include a 30 MPH speed limit, absolutely no passing, and the entire group of vehicles would be required to follow eachother in a very close and tight caravan. The above rules are NOT the reason for the cancellation.

The BLM has informed SCORE that the race would be cancelled if the desert tortoise is adversely affected during the Course Reconnaissance. SCORE is not willing to accept the risk of race cancellation based on the outcome of a pre-race activity.

Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, Indy Racing League director of medical services: Penske Racing driver Will Power continues to be treated at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif.,following his practice accident on Saturday at Infineon Raceway. Power, who suffered a concussion and compression fractures of his second and fourth lumbar vertebrae in the incident, is in the process of being fitted for a custom back brace. Medical personnel expect Power to remain hospitalized for a few more days prior to being transported to Indianapolis, where he will undergo further examination by IndyCar Series orthopedic specialist, Dr. Terry Trammell, to determine the next course of treatment and recovery.

Conquest Racing driver Nelson Philippe suffered a concussion and an open fracture of his left foot. He underwent surgery to have the foot fracture washed out and repaired. After further examination, it was found that Philippe also suffered a hairline fracture of his right fibula and he will be fitted with a brace. Philippe is expected to remain hospitalized at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for another night.

Sports Car Club of America, Inc. announced today that every race from the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® will be broadcast live on the Internet this September from Road America.

Beginning Friday, Sept. 25 at 8:00 a.m. (CDT, GMT -6), all 24 races crowning the best amateur racing drivers in America will be broadcast with flag-to-flag coverage of the 14-turn, four-mile Road America circuit, featuring expert commentary and post-race interviews. Each of the three race days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) will feature eight Championship races from the 46th annual Runoffs, which culminates the 70-race SCCA Club Racing National Racing Season.

Speedcast Productions will exclusively carry the live action during race days through SpeedcastTV.com, as well as on demand versions of each of the 24 races with additional content after the event has concluded.

SACRAMENTO, California - The national talent search for the driver development program conducted by Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle launches today. Supporting sponsors, K&N Filters and Sunoco Racing Fuels will be awarding four free spots in the 2009 Talent Search Shoot-Out to young, talented drivers from various forms of youth motorsports.

Many successful car racers today, honed their driving skills driving something smaller. K&N Filters and Sunoco Racing Fuels have stepped up to award positions in the Shoot-Out to four young racers with successful backgrounds in any of the recognized youth series, such as: Kart Racing, Legends, Dwarf Cars, Quarter Midgets, Mini/Micro-Sprints and Dirt Karts. The Shoot-Out application process is open to all drivers 11 to 19 years of age, with race winning backgrounds.

RSWC has developed many young racers to successfully make the transition from youth racing to winning car races in the USAC Junior Focus Midget, Focus Midget, Western Midget and Sprint Cars series, including Daniel Adler, Jessica Brunelli, Beau DeBard, Bobby Grewohl, Brendan Langlois, Jace Meier, Ian Miille, Joel Miller, Benny Moon, Jimmy Moon, Brennan Newberry, Jeff Oleen, Nik Romano, Porter Smith, Keegan Walmer, Brandon White and more.

Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle (RSWC) is an established talent scout and development program, providing long term, comprehensive racing and career development for up and coming drivers focused on racing careers. RSWC drivers are raced, coached, groomed, trained and molded, within a professional racing environment, into what top teams look for when hiring drivers.
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