Jay Penske's Dragon Racing Wins Big Down In O'le Mexico On Performance & Rulings

Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi (left) and Dragon Racing's Jerome D’Ambrosio (right) celebrate with the crowd on walkway in front of the ePrix podium at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Image Credit: Zak Mauger via FIA

Jay Penske's Dragon Racing Wins Big Down In O'le Mexico On Performance & Rulings

When does keeping all four wheels under your car and not allowing the muscle tactics of those around you, while playing by all of the rules, pay off?

When you are Dragon Racing's Jerome D’Ambrosio, who was able to qualify on the pole and run a clean race while personally maintaining rule on the course to win Round 5 of the FIA Formula E series race in Mexico City.

During the race, Jerome D’Ambrosio "fixed" the errant pass through a cutting of a chicane by a cutting of a chicane!

After the race, the FIA Formula E series Race Control "fixed" the winner of the race when it was found out in post-race technical, that the driver that crossed the finish line first did not win the race due to meeting the minimum race car weight as provided for by the rules.

In the beginning, the whole of the Formula E event infrastructure was flown in to Mexico City and set up at the unique layout of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - part traditional race track, part street circuit. When the Formula E visits a venue, the FIA organization brings in everything they need to be self-supporting and self-contained all of the way down to providing all of the requirements for electric power (special Aquafuel, zero emission, glycerine (glycerol) generators) for the FIA event management center, paddocks, and race cars throughout the entire time of the event.

Mexico City ePrix race start. Image Credit: Adam Warner via FIA

This excerpted and edited from FIA Formula E - 

Stunning pole for D’Ambrosio

Mexico City|12 Mar 16 - Dragon Racing’s Jerome D’Ambrosio produced a stunning qualifying effort to take his second pole position of the season in qualifying for the Mexico City ePrix.

The Belgian recorded a great time of 1:03.705s in the Julius Baer Super Pole to put his rivals under pressure. Lucas di Grassi and Nico Prost both fell three-tenths short, leaving championship leader Sebastien Buemi as the only man who could take the top spot.

But the Renault e.dams star made a mistake at Turn 4 and ran wide, leaving him the slowest of the five Super Pole runners and D’Ambrosio on pole.

“It’s unexpected, we knew we could try to be top five,” said D’Ambrosio. “I told the team I was going to go full on and take the risks and take the fight to these guys and I just went for it and it worked out. It’s another couple of points and I feel great for the team.”

Prost beat di Grassi by just one tenth to ensure there will be a Renault e.dams car on the front row, while di Grassi will have Abt Schaeffler team-mate Daniel Abt next to him after the German made Super Pole for the first time this season.

In the group stages there was a long red flag period in Q3 after defending champion Nelson Piquet Jr had a huge lock-up into T1 and slammed his NEXTEV car into the TechPros barrier.

“I’m fine,” said Piquet as he walked back towards the garage. “I was pushing to find the limits of the car and I think I found it!”

The was significant damage to the front of the car and with just three hours between qualifying and the race, the NEXTEV TCR mechanics face a race against time to repair the car.

Also starting at the back of the grid is Bruno Senna, who also had an incident at Turn 1, when he lost the rear of his Mahindra Racing car and spun lightly into the wall, causing a small amount of damage.

Jean-Eric Vergne narrowly missed out on Super Pole for DS Virgin Racing and lines up sixth, while Antonio Felix da Costa did a great job to put his Team Aguri car in seventh. Loic Duval was eighth fastest in the second Dragon car, while Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra) and Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) rounded out the top 10.

However, da Costa will start back in 17th due to a 10-place gearbox penalty, promoting Sam Bird in the second DS Virgin car into the top 10. Simona de Silvestro got the better of Andretti team-mate Robin Frijns for the first time in qualifying to set the 12th fastest time.

Mexico City ePrix first chicane corner ... clean start. Image Credit: Andrew Ferraro via FIA

The following is a blended excerpted and edited version of Mexico City ePrix details from FIA -

Fans power di Grassi to marvelous Mexico victory (Di Grassi stripped of Mexico win - post race)

Lucas di Grassi used fan power to take an emotional win in front of a large and passionate crowd that was treated to a fabulous inaugural Mexico City ePrix.

The unique layout of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - part traditional race track, part street circuit - made overtaking tricky, but not impossible. But with an additional 100kJ of energy that di Grassi received through FanBoost, he was able to slipstream Jerome D’Ambrosio and take the lead into the tight first corner.

For three laps di Grassi threw energy consumption to the wind and concentrated on building up a lead instead, which he did with aplomb at almost a second per lap. With D’Ambrosio having his mirrors full of Renault e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi, di Grassi was able to establish a comfortable advantage that he converted to not only his second win of the season, but the lead in the drivers’ championship.

“FanBoost really helped my race,” said di Grassi. “This track is difficult to overtake as you could see. I managed to overtake Nico (Prost) from third to second and then with the help of FanBoost I managed to overtake Jerome (D’Ambrosio) which was not so easy. It was really on the limit for braking for the chicane and the first laps we don’t have regen so the car was all over the place.”

[Di Grassi’s Abt Schaeffler car that he used for the first part of the race, was found to weigh 886.2kg, 1.8kg under the 888kg minimum. Abt has decided not to appeal the decision.]

The battle for second [actually ... the lead] was fierce. Erstwhile points leader Buemi was recovering from a mistake in qualifying, which left him fifth on the grid rather than the pole position his pace in practice had suggested. He passed di Grassi’s Abt Schaeffler team-mate Daniel Abt early on, and made up a further place in the pitstops when he leap-frogged his Renault e.dams team-mate Nico Prost.

On a number of occasions Buemi was able to get in the slipstream of the Dragon Racing car, but each time D’Ambrosio defended robustly. On one occasion there was even contact as Buemi tagged the back of the Belgian at 200kph as they disputed position. Finally, he did manage to get ahead, but had to cut the first chicane in the process.

Image Credit: Zak Mauger via FIA

As Buemi backed off to allow D’Ambrosio to re-pass, it allowed Prost, Abt and the second Dragon of Loic Duval to get into the fight. Eventually, the previous order was restored, but by now di Grassi was almost 10 seconds up the road. The fight for second went all the way to the flag and a photo-finish, with D’Ambrosio crossing the line just ahead!

D’Ambrosio said: “It was really a close call with Seb. We just spoke about it on the podium but I need to see a replay to see what really happened there. One moment we had contact in the first corner and everything went fine. Then he overtook me but cut the first chicane. When he let me by he always lifted in a place I was not going to try to overtake him. Therefore, it created a big mess all around. I think in the end everything played out correctly.”

D’Ambrosio joined di Grassi in performing some fantastic donuts in front of the 33,319-strong crowd, who then cheered their heroes on some more as they collected their trophy on the stage The Rolling Stones will be playing on in two days’ time.

Stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez race track. Image Credit: Zak Mauger via FIA

“I think today we weren’t quick enough to be honest,” said Buemi. “It’s a very strange track here. The altitude, the asphalt was very warm and we didn’t have much grip. Looking forward to going back to a normal type of circuit. Clearly what happened in qualifying is a bit annoying because it is hard to understand what happened, I kind of didn’t really understand. So at the moment we won’t try to analyse it because the car is good enough but in the race it was not really there.”
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FIA President Jean Todt, who was in Mexico to sign an agreement with Jose Abed, Vice President for Sport and President of OMDAI and the Mayor of Mexico City Miguel Angel Mancera implementing safety training courses for public transportation vehicle operators, was on hand to witness the successful first foray of all-electric racing to Mexico.

“Formula E - a young competition attracting fresh audiences - provides us with a platform to raise awareness on road safety to the thousands of spectators attending, altogether with our partners from the GRSP and the Red Cross,” he said. “Making significant progress to reduce the number of road crashes’ victims can only be achieved by bringing all stakeholders to take action together, and this weekend we will demonstrate that this is possible.”

What the weekend also demonstrated is that Formula E can produce unpredictable, exciting action that gets the crowd on its feet and shows that sustainable motorsport is the motor racing not just of the future but of the here and now.
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Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi celebrates with the crowd after coming in first across the finish line at the Mexico City ePrix - in this pose, he looks more as if he had just heard that his win was stripped and awarded to Dragon Racing's Jerome D’Ambrosio. Image Credit: Zak Mauger via FIA

Lucas di Grassi has been excluded from the result of the Mexico City ePrix, handing victory to Jerome D’Ambrosio.

The decision means di Grassi is now 22 points behind Sebastien Buemi, who is promoted to second place. Nico Prost moves up to third, and the Renault e.dams driver also gains two more points for setting the Visa Fastest Lap after D’Ambrosio’s best effort was removed for being set while cutting a chicane.

Loic Duval remains classified fourth but was handed a 15-second penalty for repeatedly cutting the chicane and then ignoring the black and white flag he was shown for this offence.

Robin Frijns is promoted to fifth, Sam Bird to sixth, Daniel Abt to seventh, Nick Heidfeld to eighth, Stephane Sarrazin to ninth, while Bruno Senna now collects the final point in 10th.

Post Round 5 Team Standings - Jay Penske's American team, Dragon Racing sits at P2

Adjusted -  2016 Mexico City ePrix (Rd 5) - Race results

1.     Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +5.416s (25)
2.     Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams, +5.522s (23)
3.     Loic Duval, Dragon Racing, +16.774s (15)
4.     Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, +30.953s (12)
5.     Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, +33.893s (10)
6.     Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, +34.344s (8)
7.     Daniel Abt, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, +35.467s (6)
8.     Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +41.789s (4)
9.     Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, +42.707s (2)
10.     Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, +43.019s (1)
11.     Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR, +44.014s
12.     Mike Conway, Venturi, +44.206s
13.     Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR, +47.767s
14.     Simona de Silvestro, Andretti Formula E, +49.387s
15.     Salvador Duran, Team Aguri, +1:08.498s
16.     Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Virgin Racing, +1 lap
17.     Antonio Felix da Costa, Team Aguri, DNF

Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - Stripped Of All Points
[ht: fiaformulae.com]

The next race - Formula E Long Beach ePrix - happens April 2, 2016 for Round 6 of the 2015-2016 season through the streets of Long Beach ... for a second time.

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: FIA, Formula E series, ePrix, Mexico City, Dragon Racing, Jay Penske, Jerome D’Ambrosio,under weight, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, The EDJE

NHRA 2016 Winternationals, Pomona, CA.

Robert Hight 2016 NHRA Winternationals. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

John Force 2016 NHRA Winternationals. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Ron Capps 2016 NHRA Winternationals TF/FC Champion. (Photo by Dicken Wear) 

Ron Capps NAPA TF/FC 2016 NHRA Winternationals winner. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

John Force at 2016 NHRA Winternationals. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

56^th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals

1^st of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series

Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

Pomona, Calif.
February 14, 2015

Final round results from Sunday’s 56^th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, first race in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

FUNNY CAR –Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., Napa Dodge Charger, 3.981, 324.28 mph, def. Del Worsham, Villa Park, Calif., DHL Toyota Camry, 3.962, 324.36 mph

TOP FUEL – Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Tex., CAPCO dragster, 3.735, 326.48 mph, vs. Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich.,  Mac Tools Toyota dragster, 3.753, 324.36 mph.

PRO STOCK – Greg Anderson, Mooresville, NC, Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro, 6.617, 207.85 mph def. Jason Line, Mooresville, NC, Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro , 6.609, 209.82 mph.

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J. FORCE, HIGHT RACE TO SEMIS AT WINTERNATIONALS

POMONA, CA ---- The 2016 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season started with some success for John Force Racing even though none of the drivers raced into the winner’s circle at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Led by strong performances from seven-time Winternationals winner John Force and three-time winner Robert Hight who each raced to semi-final finishes John Force Racing will leave California as No. 3 and No. 4 in Funny Cars and with quarter-finalist Courtney Force in the No. 6 position.

For the eleventh straight year JFR advanced at least one Funny Car to the semi-finals at the historic Circle K NHRA Winternationals. No. 3 qualifier Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car defeated Tommy Johnson Jr in the first round and took out teammate Courtney Force in a close second round battle.

The semi-final race against eventual winner Ron Capps was an even closer race pitting two of the 2016 championship contenders against each other. It was a rematch of last year’s semi-final race with Capps once again getting the win against Hight. The race saw Hight’s 3.949 second run at 313.44 mph just miss getting around Capps’ 3.938 seconds at 321.35 mph. At about 700 feet Hight lost a blower belt and his Auto Club Chevy Camaro went silent as Capps zoomed past the 2009 Funny Car champion at the finish line.

“This Auto Club Camaro is running really good whether it is cool or hot. This car is right there at the top. I am bummed this race car quit quit a bit before the finish line. We lost a blower belt. I think we let one get away there. Those guys are a tough team to race and they definitely threw on at it today. We are going on to Phoenix with some confidence and momentum,” said Hight, who won twice in 2015.

On the other side of the Funny Car ladder 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS started from the No. 9 qualified position for just the third time at the Winternationals. In 1984 Force raced to the semi-finals from the No. 9 spot but today he was not able to get to his first final from the bottom half of the field.

In the opening round Force had to outrun veteran Tim Wilkerson and then in the second round Force won a monster match-up against Jack Beckman. Last season Beckman had JFR’s number winning every match-up against team JFR. Today it was Force and his Jon Schaffer tuned Funny Car coming out on top 4.01 seconds to 4.131 seconds.

In the semi-finals Force had to race the defending NHRA Funny Car champion Del Worsham and it was a great race but the results were not what Force was looking for. Force had a starting line advantage but at the finish line Worsham tripped the finish line scoring system with a 3.978 to Force’s 4.033 seconds.

“I feel all the work that we did as a team to get these cars into the 3.8s and to be able to run 3.90s in the heat. We have accomplished a lot. Now we have to polish it. We have a lot of work to do but as a team I think we will be fine,” said Force. “We have Alan Johnson and Brian Husen over on that Monster Energy dragster and I think the alliance with CAPCO is going to be great. I think we have put the team together right. Let Mike Neff focus on the Funny Cars with Danny Hood, Ronnie Thompson and Jon Schaffer. We are going to get a lot better.”

Courtney Force and the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS team showed the competition this weekend that they’re here to make an impact on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello series season. Force qualified with a stout 3.945 second pass at 322.88 mph on Friday and showed consistency throughout qualifying. After three impressive passes, Force found herself in the No. 6 position going into race day. She was set to have lane choice over veteran driver Gary Densham in the opening round. Unfortunately, Densham couldn’t make the call Sunday morning and Force had a bye run.

The Traxxas team took advantage of the opportunity to push the car in round one and see how the Traxxas Chevy would respond, knowing they were set to make an appearance in the second round of eliminations. The Traxxas machine lived up to The Fastest Name in Radio Control when Force posted her career-best ET and speed on the single run. Her 3.925 ET at 329.34 mph was low ET and quickest of race day.

“For this Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro team, the Fastest Name in Radio Control, it was awesome to get this car down the track here at Pomona for the Winternationals; my home track. It’s unfortunate Gary Densham wasn’t able to match up against me. Winning a race like that – no one wants to win a race like that. I just want to say I’m glad he’s okay after that crazy crash he had yesterday when he went into the sand,” said Force.

The round win bought her a tough match-up alongside teammate and John Force Racing President Robert Hight in the second round. Hight was 9-5 against Force in prior events going into second round, but Force had a 5-3 edge in previous second round matchups.

The 27-year-old had lane choice by .003 of a second and took the right lane. Both Camaros launched hard together, Force’s .068 light to Hight’s .067. Both were on good runs until Force’s Traxxas machine got loose and Hight sailed across the finish line, 3.955 ET at 324.67 mph to Force’s 4.101 ET at 258.62 mph.

“In the second round my Traxxas Chevy dropped a hole down track. I stayed in it. I tried to drive that thing all the way to the finish line, hoping for a win, but at that point being down a cylinder, we just lacked the power we needed to get past Robert,” said Force.

“We had a good car all weekend so that has me excited for the season and the upcoming race at Phoenix. I’m really happy with how Dan Hood and Ronnie Thompson have been tuning this race car and it’s making me feel more confident as a driver every time I get in it,” said Force.

The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster and Brittany Force made a solid run in the first round but did not advance. Force was edged off the starting line by J.R. Todd and her quicker elapsed time of 3.756 seconds, which was third quickest of the session, was bested by the combination of Todd’s reaction time and his 3.766 second pass for a margin of defeat of .019 seconds.

Over the course of the weekend the Monster Top Fuel dragster was one of the most consistent dragsters on the property posting times of 3.794, 3.753, 3.800, and 3.744 in qualifying. Her average elapsed time of 3.769 seconds easily puts her near the top of the category for the weekend.

“Even though we went out in the first round I still feel confident leaving the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Every run our Monster Energy dragster went down the track. We ran great numbers all weekend. We came out this morning and ran 3.75 and you can’t be down on that kind of performance,” said Force, a six-time Top Fuel finalist. “I am always proud of my whole team. They have been working their butts off all off-season. We made a lot of changes and a lot of them had to do with getting me comfortable in the dragster. I know we are going to have a good year and we are just getting started. This is the first race and we will let it go and move on to Phoenix.”

(Reprinted from Elon Werner: JFR Public Relations).

NHRA TF Test at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Chandler, AZ.

Brittany Force Crew at WHPMP 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Tim Wilkerson Test at WHPMP 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Robert Hight Test at WHPMP 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Courtney Force Burnout at WHPMP NHRA Test 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

John Force and Fox TV Crew at WHPMP Test 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Ron Capps and Fox TV Crew at WHPMP Test 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Fast Jack, Jimmy Prock and Fox TV Crew at WHPMP Test 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Brittany Force Test at WHPMP 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

Robert Hight Burnout at WHPMP Test 2-2016. (Photo by Dicken Wear)

JOHN FORCE RACING WRAPS UP SUCCESSFUL TEST SESSION IN PHOENIX

PHOENIX (February 6, 2016) ---- The quartet of John Force Racing race cars wrapped up a successful four days of NHRA pre-season testing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park today. John Force Racing cars claimed seven of the 10 quickest runs of the day. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster team led all Top Fuel dragsters today with a 3.721 second pass at 319.07 mph.

“I am definitely glad we are here in Phoenix testing. We were here for four days and I needed every single run that we made to make me feel more comfortable. Teaming up with Alan Johnson and Brian Husen as my crew chief has been great,” said Force, who finished the 2015 season in 7^th place. “They have made a lot of changes to this Monster Energy dragster. They run a whole different system that what we used to run. It takes some time to adjust to that and I am learning the car. It is starting to feel like home. We ran a couple of 3.72s and I am ready to get to Pomona.”

Force posted the 5^th and 6^th quickest runs of the four day test session.

The John Force Racing Funny Cars started slowly but finished the pre-season test session with strong runs led by Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team.

“We had a ton of things to come in here to test and it took us seven runs to get the application right to go down the track. We didn’t get to test everything that we wanted to but once it went it was fast. We figured out some of the good things that we wanted to test but not everything,” said Hight. “I also believe with how we finished the end of the year at Pomona what we learned here is going to make us so much better when we get back to Pomona. I am so excited to get to the Winternationals. We made career best runs here and we are in the ballgame.”

Hight posted a career best 3.885 second run at 329.34 mph on Saturday which was good enough for third quickest of the spring training event. Over the course of the test session Hight also ran the 9^th quickest run of the weekend 3.913 second.

Right behind Hight was teammate Courtney Force driving the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car who ran her career best ET 3.890 at 323.89 mph. The first two days of testing were uneventful for Force who struggled to get her Funny Car down the track. The team began to hit their stride on Friday.

 “We struggled a little the first couple of passes but then we got it figured out. That is why you go to testing. I am really excited to be working with Ronnie Thompson and Danny Hood as my crew chiefs. This whole Traxxas Chevrolet Funny Car team did a great job here in Phoenix. We made my quickest run ever and I feel really comfortable heading to Pomona,” said Courtney Force.

The most consistent Funny Car on Saturday was John Force’s PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS which ran three quick runs including a stellar 3.914 second run. His other passes of the day 3.927 seconds and 3.930 seconds easily had him near the top of the field.

“We got done what we needed to here in Phoenix. I am really proud of these young kids led by Jon Schaffer. We got after it every day and we got some good runs out of this PEAK hot rod. We are running right up at the top with all the other Funny Cars and that Monster dragster ran really well too. We have had a lot of change over the past couple of years but now I am focused on winning and getting the most out of all these race teams,” said John Force.

(Reprinted from Elon Werner: JFR Public Relations).

Dean Batchelor Awards Banquet - 2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

16 DEC 2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

Posted at 09:09h in Dean Batchelor Award, Events, News by MPG 0 Comments 

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The 2015 MPG Awards were held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA last night and winners were recognized in each category for Excellence in Automotive Journalism. Top honors were awarded to Micah Muzio & COTU Productions, winners of the 2015 Dean Batchelor Award, for their "2015 Polaris Slingshot Review" on KBB.com.

2015 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - DOUG STOKES

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Doug Stokes with Harold Osmer

Doug Stokes was recognized for his exceptional behind-the-scenes public relations contributions to motor sports and the racing industry. A member of the Motor Press Guild since it was renamed from IMPA-West in the mid-1980's, Doug has supported motor sports for more than 25 years, representing such notable and iconic clients as Mickey and Trudy Thompson, Gale Banks, Stuart Rowlands, and Steve Ford, and supporting racing efforts for Honda, Suzuki, the Kazarian Brothers, and Lucas Oil. Doug has served as Vice President of Communications at Irwindale Event Center since 2013, and has previously been honored with the Chapman Award for PR by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association.

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THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 MPG AWARDS ARE:

ARTICLES

2015 Best Feature Article of the Year: Larry P. Vellequette and Luca Ciferri
"The Coming Squeeze" [view pdf] - Automotive News

2015 Best News Article of the Year: Hans Greimel
"Confessions of a Price Fixer" - Automotive News

2015 Best Vehicle Review of the Year: Basem Wasef
"Review: The Ferocious New Corvette Z06 is an $80K Ferrari-Killer" - Wired

Basem Wasef & wife, Anna

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AUDIO

2015 Best Audio Program of the Year: Charlie Vogelheim and Shawn Meyers
"#35: The Best and Worst 'Cars and Coffee' Ever" [click to find podcast on iTunes] - Motor Trend Audio
L-R: John Clinard, Charlie Vogelheim, Ed Kim (head judge - audio)

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BOOKS

2015 Best Book of the Year: Sam Posey
Where the Writer Meets the Road - David Bull Publishing
Sam Posey and Eric Dahlquist, Sr. (head judge - books)

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VIDEOS

2015 Best Feature Video of the Year: Adam Carolla (Director/Producer), Nate Adams (Producer/Additional Direction), Mike August (Producer), Matt D'Andria (Executive Producer), Norm Pattiz (Executive Producer)Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman - Sontalia, Mollette

L-R: Nate Adams, Peter Starr (head judge - video), Matt D'Andria

2015 Best Video Vehicle Review of the Year: Micah Muzio and COTU Productions

"2015 Polaris Slingshot Review" - KBB.com

Micah Muzio

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BOB D'OLIVO AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

2015 Best Photo of the Year: Dale Kistemaker
"24+30" - Porsche Panorama [view pdf]
 [ht: Motor Press Guild]



TAGS: Motor Press Guild, Dean Batchelor Award, 2015 MPG Awards, Doug Stokes, Adam Carolla, Nate Adams, Mike August, Matt D'Andria, Norm Pattiz, Sam Posey, Charlie Vogelheim, Shawn Meyers, Micah Muzio, COTU Productions, Hans Greimel, Larry P. Vellequette, Luca Ciferri, Basem Wasef, Bob D'Olivo Award, Dale Kistemaker, The EDJE, Porsche Panomara, Wired, Automotive News, Sontalia, Molette, David Bull Publishing, KBB.com, Motor Trend Audio, 

Naughty Or Nice For 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Placed Under The Tree

Scott Dixon on 'pit-out' at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach ... a race he finally won for the first time in his IndyCar career. This race win helped Dixon to achieve his fourth American Open-Wheel Racing championship secured on lap 51 by never giving up the lead for the win of the final race, GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma held at Sonoma Raceway. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

Naughty Or Nice For 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Placed Under The Tree

To many who have followed professional American open-wheel automobile racing over these last fifty plus years, in terms of talent in the paddocks on both teams and drivers, the 2015 season would easily rank in the top five all-time seasons.

The 2015 season was the first season that featured the new rules governing aerodynamic body panels manufactured by Dallara but utilizing input and designs dictated/negotiated by the manufacturer of the engines used by each team - Chevrolet or Honda. Once each team was given the solution of body and wing parts to use on the racing platform, within limits, the teams could decide upon the configurations and settings allowed.

One million possible adjustment combinations with the Honda/Dallara aero-package. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

Early in the season, the cars that ran Honda seemed to be a bit behind Chevrolet on in and out cornering speed ... to wit Honda put forth, (paraphrased) our wing and body panels can be configured in about a million different ways given all of the options available. The problem with this potential breadth of choice options, once a proper engineering set up has become competitive with the more simple approach settled on by Chevrolet, about 999,000 options for adjustment become useless or irrelevant.

So on this issue ... who's Nice or Naughty?

The manufacturer, the engineering staff who figured out the best set-ups?, or the overall rules package crafted by the Verizon IndyCar Management?

In an effort to place the gifts of this season under the tree, Josh Farmer's Championship Racing Radio in show #4, with Edmund Jenks, seeks to discuss the Best (Nice) and Worst (Naughty) of this 2015 breakout season that began with an out of country race cancellation in Brazil without having a make-up race be run at any time for the balance of the season.

The discussion in show #4, however, will not focus on Verizon IndyCar Management but, rather, the races run, teams, and drivers.

Management, for the most part, may qualify for a lump of coal beginning with their policy of "Race Control By Committee" which had the person who was in charge of this policy - Derrick Walker - resign from the position after 2/3ds of the season had been put to bed ... with cookies and milk.

Championship Racing Radio 4: Naughty or Nice?

Time of show: (45 minutes at the maximum)
Intro: (Less than 5 minutes) introduce ourselves.
Rest of show: Best/worst of the 2015 IndyCar season in the theme of Naughty or Nice list. We both talk about who we think is the best driver


●    Nice List

○    Best Driver – Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon - The driver from Auckland, New Zealand kept his cool and capitalized on an unbelievable mistake by Team Penske midway through the race. That allowed Dixon to win his fourth Verizon IndyCar Series championship with a victory in season finale's Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma race (ht: Bruce Martin)

○    Best Race – Farmer - MAVTv500, Auto Club Speedway | Jenks - Honda Indy Grand Prix Of Alabama, Barber Motorsports Park (road/street course) - MAVTv500, Auto Club Speedway (superspeedway, oval course)

○    Best Rookie – Farmer - Bryan Herta Autosport's Gabby Chaves | Jenks - Bryan Herta Autosport's Gabby Chaves – Total Laps was 2nd best after Ryan Hunter Reay (2211 – RHR 2218) - Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Sage Karam - Honorable Mention 12 races – 2 Top 5 / 2 top 10 – excitement generated – No ride this season with 3 seats open – SPM / KV Racing / Dale Coyne

○    Best Move –  Penske Racing's Will Power – Sonoma for the Verizon P1 Pole Award - Will Power saw the performance CFH Racing's Josef Newgarden was able to do by placing Black sidewall tires on his Dallara so Will ordered up a set be placed on his Chevy and with the last seconds of qualifications winding down, snatched the Verizon P1 Pole Award away from Newgarden.

○    Most Improved driver – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal – He improved so much as a driver, it made him marriageable – Courtney Force and Graham got married Nov. 21, 2015 and are honeymooning in Fiji and New Zealand.

Ryan Briscoe before he took to the track at the MAVTv500, Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2015)

○    Best underdog – Farmer - Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' Conor Daly (points for Detroit) - Dale Coyne Racing's Tristan Vautier (showed great promise behind substitution runs) | Jenks - Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' Ryan Briscoe – 8 Races – ½ season – 1 Top 5 / 4 Top 10 / 2 DNF … one DNF at ACS on last lap caused by Ryan Hunter Reay


●    Naughty List

○    Worst Driver – Farmer - Dale Coyne Racing's Francesco Dracone (never finished in the Top 20) | Jenks - KV Racing Technology's Stefano Colitti – 16 Races with 5 DNF / Dale Coyne Racing's Francesco Dracone – 5 Races with 2 DNF - Josh Farmer compared Francesco Dracone as being "as slow as Milka Duno." Edmund Jenks asked Josh, "So you believe that Dracone is Milka Duno without the mascara? ... as far as we know, right?

○    Worst Race – Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana "NOLA"

Penske Racing's Simon Pagenaud leaves the track after contesting space with Ryan Hunter-Reay and take a mud ride. This image, with Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti in the foreground, was taken at the beginning of an accident that colored the late stages of the shortened race at NOLA. Image Credit: Bret Kelley - VICS (2015)

○    Worst Move - Farmer - Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay (2015 P6) - The final full course YELLOW Flag came from a massive incident between Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay (RHR), and Simon Pageneud (on the outside) as the drivers attempted to go three-wide in turn 3. RHR ended up pushing Pagenaud off of the track | Jenks - Penske Racing's Will Power - Diving move in Turn 10 at St. Petersburg on teammate Juan Pablo Montoya with many laps remaining in the race. It turns out that these two drivers got together during the final race of the season at Sonoma Raceway. Given that both drivers were in the hunt for the championship, one wonders if these points were able to be retained, would Scott Dixon have his 4th IndyCar crown.

Pageneud slid off the track into the mud, and then back on the track in the next right-hand corner 4, collecting Hunter-Reay and Bourdais sending all three cars across the grass.

Bourdais slides to the tire wall and hits broadsides cracking the hull of his No. 11 Dallara (all preceding crash images by Bret Kelley for IndyCar)

Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves in the pits at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Qualified well at many 2015 venues but just could not make the performances stick. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

○    Most disappointing driver - Farmer - Penske Racing's Simon Pagenaud (high hopes not realized - 2015 P11) - CFH Racing's Ed Carpenter (better set up with Conway last year - 2015 P27) | Jenks - Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves (2015 P5) - What was more surprising: Helio going without a win for only the second time in the past 16 IndyCar seasons, or his comparative disappearance at Indianapolis, where he's always expected to vie for the win? It's probably his not visiting Victory Lane, especially considering it was one of Helio's best-ever seasons in terms of qualifying. His four poles were complemented by the fact he never started worse than fifth through the first 11 races and his average starting spot was a dazzling fourth for 16 races. He lost Long Beach only because of a long pit stop to avoid contact. As for Indianapolis, other than his thrilling duel with RHR in 2014, the three-time winner has not been a factor at IMS the past few Mays but this year was more puzzling because of Chevy's obvious advantage. Finishing seventh and leading only two laps is not what three-time Indy kings are made of and it was the only oval he never really looked like a factor (ht: Racer, Robin Miller)

●    Anything else that we might want to cover - If anyone finds themselves in the Los Angeles area over the holidays, make a special trip to the newly renovated and re-opened Petersen Automotive Museum which resumed operations December 7, 2015.

Named 10 best automotive museums in the world by CNN.

Precious Metal display room at the Petersen Museum. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

The Petersen Automotive Museum

EVERYDAY 10AM - 6PM

6060 WILSHIRE BLVD
LOS ANGELES, CA 90036

(323) 930-CARS (2277)

Here's hoping that all who happen to follow Verizon IndyCar Series never see a lump of coal and are always thought of by Santa Claus as ... Nice!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.


... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Verizon IndyCar Series, Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Stefano Colitti, Francesco Dracone, Will Power, Verizon P1 Pole Award, Barber Motorsports Park, Auto Club Speedway, Derrick Walker, Josh Farmer, Championship Racing Radio, Edmund Jenks, Petersen Automotive Museum,