Jr. drives No.3!

WELCOME, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Through a joint effort between Richard Childress Racing, JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and Wrangler®, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will pay tribute to his father’s upcoming induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by driving the No. 3 Wrangler® Chevrolet Impala in the July 2 Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

The announcement and car unveiling was made today at JR Motorsports and to the fans at Dale Earnhardt Inc., both in Mooresville, N.C. In attendance were Richard Childress of Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kelley Earnhardt of JR Motorsports, Teresa Earnhardt of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated and Craig Errington, vice president of Wrangler® marketing. The No. 3 Wrangler® Chevrolet Impala is an RCR entry but built and prepared by JR Motorsports.

“This was an idea that came up as a way to pay tribute to my Dad, and it’s pretty cool that it’s a collaborative effort between JR Motorsports, RCR and DEI,” said Earnhardt Jr. “The Wrangler car is definitely in the top-10 of coolest cars that have ever been on the race track. A lot of people identify with it, and I can’t think of a better way to honor my dad and celebrate his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame than to bring the Wrangler colors back with the No. 3 on the side, similar to the ‘Wrangler Jean Machine’ scheme of the 80s. I think it will be worth seeing, and I’m looking forward to driving it at Daytona.”

The combination of Earnhardt Jr., DEI and RCR has a very brief yet shining history on the track together. In their one and only race together, Earnhardt drove the No. 3 Chevrolet to victory in the February 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway. That car, with just the one race to its credit, is on display at the RCR Museum in Welcome, N.C.

“Bringing this group of people and these organizations together is the best way I can think of to honor Dale Earnhardt’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” said Childress. “Dale means so much to all of us, as well as his fans across the country and throughout the world. We created a special piece of history together in 2002 and, with Wrangler back on board the No. 3 Chevrolet at Daytona, we look to make some more history in July. I know the fans will love it as much as we all will.”

In support of the program, an array of licensed product will be available to fans from die-cast cars to apparel and select novelty items. Merchandise will highlight both Dale Earnhardt original Wrangler® car and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s current paint scheme. Fans can find the products at www.nascar.com, trackside or through each of the represented team stores.

“Dale’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame is truly a special honor for the Earnhardt Family as well as for all of Dale’s fans,” said Teresa Earnhardt. “Dale was a competitor, but he was also a person who loved the fans and worked hard to connect with the people who supported him through his career. Wrangler was one of Dale’s first sponsors and it’s great to connect back with those early years, where it all started for Dale as he drove his way into the Hall of Fame.”

Wrangler® has a long history with all parties involved, and is the first apparel brand to have significant involvement in NASCAR, beginning in the 1980s when Dale Earnhardt was featured in the brand’s “One Tough Customer” marketing campaign. Wrangler® was the primary sponsor of Dale Earnhardt and the famed yellow-and-blue “Wrangler® Jean Machine” from 1981 to 1987. After a couple race team changes in the early 1980s including a brief 1981 stint with Richard Childress, Earnhardt moved back to Richard Childress Racing in 1984, bringing the brand with him as his primary sponsor. In 1998, the brand became one of the first corporate sponsors to sign up with Dale in his new role of team owner of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

The Wrangler®-Earnhardt legacy continued in 2004 with a relationship between a second generation Earnhardt and a “New Generation of Wrangler®” – Earnhardt Jr. signed on as the endorsee for the Wrangler Jeans Co.TM line of new fits and styles of jeans and apparel. This longstanding relationship continues today with Earnhardt Jr. starring in the current brand marketing campaign.

“For Wrangler, this yellow-and-blue paint scheme signifies a lot of our brand history, marketing and persona from the 1980s,” said Craig Errington, vice president of Wrangler® marketing. “It’s truly a piece of our history that will be on the track July 2 and it makes it that much more meaningful that it’s not only Dale Earnhardt’s son who will be driving it, but also the brand’s current partner and friend – Dale Jr.”

As part of Earnhardt Jr.’s tribute to his father, Wrangler® is also launching a consumer promotion offering racing fans a way to honor their own fathers with the chance to win a trip to Daytona Beach to meet Earnhardt Jr. and watch him drive the yellow-and-blue racecar. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 18, in time for Father’s Day. Fans can get more information, view the official rules and enter by visiting www.wranglersalutetodad.com beginning April 30.

AutoClassic Brasil

Please click on the photo to see the larger version of this photo. AutoClassic Brasil's event poster.

Grand Am Rolex-Lime Rock practice

LAKEVILLE, Conn. - The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototypes made their long-awaited first appearance at Lime Rock Park on Tuesday, taking part in an unofficial test in preparation for the Memorial Day classic.

A total of 19 cars - including 11 Daytona Prototypes - tackled changing weather conditions throughout the six-hour session. The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 will race here on Monday, May 31, at 2 p.m. ET (SPEED, live), featuring both the Daytona Prototypes and production-based GT cars.

Competitors gave favorable reviews to the new 1.5-mile layout, using the optional uphill with the classic West Bend.

Daytona Prototype teams participating included two cars from both Michael Shank Racing and Starworks Motorsports, along with single cars from TELMEX Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, Brumos Racing, Action Express Racing, SunTrust Racing, AIM Autosport and Krohn Racing.

GT teams included three Mazdas from SpeedSource plus the Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Mazda, Racers Edge Mazda, Magnus Porsche, Turner BMW and Whelen Corvette.

By the end of the day and on a dry track, Daytona Prototype drivers were turning laps in the 49-second range. Drivers in the GT class, which last visited Lime Rock in 2008 on the old course, clocked in at 53 seconds.

"A lap goes so quick here," said Rojas, testing the championship-leading TELMEX BMW Riley with Joey Hand. "The biggest thing I remember is that you have to stay on top of things the entire time. There isn't a lot of time to do things here."

David Donohue is happy to see the Daytona Prototypes becoming part of the Memorial Day Weekend habit.

"Lime Rock was one of the tracks I grew up on and a place my father (Mark Donohue) was really good at," said Donohue, sharing the No. 59 Brumos.com Porsche Riley with Darren Law. "I'm definitely looking forward to coming back on Memorial Day and being part of that tradition."

The only incident of the day occurred late in the session, when Nick Longhi spun the No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8 into the guardrail on the back straightaway. Longhi was uninjured. The team currently leads the GT team championship by three points (118-115).

The Memorial Day weekend will also feature a Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race on Saturday, May 29. The Rolex Series events will be compressed into a single day, with practice at 9 a.m. and qualifying at 11:55 a.m.

SCX Digital Demo at the Glen

A demo I did recently at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen during the opening weekend of the track.

New Sloting Plus wheels, bearings, and more

From Sloting Plus:

We are pleased to present you some news.

Ref 1003 Universal brass bearings compatible with all major slot brands ( for 2,38 mm axle ). Ref 1015 will be used only with the future Reynard car !


We provide also now steel ball bearings one flanged ( ref 1006 for 2,38 mm axle and ref 1007 for 3 mm axle ) and double flanged ( ref 1008 for 2,38 mm axle )

A new measure of allen screws M2 x 6 mm for front axles ( ref 9306 )

And finally, a new Aluminium-Magnesium wheel called Atlantis in five measures :
15 x 8 mm - 15,9 x 8,5 mm - 16,9 x 8,5 mm - 16,9 x 10 mm and 17,5 x 9 mm !

Kind regards
Jacques
Sloting Plus

Additional Yellow Dog Super Tires (R)

Slot Car Corner, the world's largest distributor of 1/32 Super Tires (R) and Yellow Dog Super Tires, now offers twelve (12) additional "Yellow Dog" (urethane) Super Tires. Until now, these tires were only available in the "Classic" (silicone) compound. For more information or to place an order, please visit our website.

Note: Slot Car Corner Canada will also carry these additional Yellow Dogs shortly (approx. 2 weeks).

Slot It website down.

From Maurizio Ferrari of Slot.It:

The process of transferring the slot.it domain to a different provider is going completely wrong, so we are currently left with no site and no email. The company can still be temporarily contacted as slotit.mferrari@gmail.com

I cannot give any dates for resuming of normal operations but should not take more than one week.

Regards
Maurizio

NSR 24Hour race recap

Video showing race highlights from the NSR 24 Hour World Edurance Race held recently in Italy.

Lap of the Glen!

Ok... I know, I know... I'm laughing in a slightly giddy and embarrassing manner. Trust me, if anyone was in my position during this video they'd be doing the SAME thing. I had the extremely good fortune to have a member of the Corvette Club from Rochester to offer me a shot gun seat in his C6 Corvette as he did 3 laps at the Glen today. The first lap we did (that you will see in this video) was "only" about 90 mph on a straight. But the second and third laps were over 100 mph. Which might not sound like a lot for a race track but HOLY CRAP it was amazing! I've done over 150mph on a straight on the Autobahn in a Porsche 911 but THIS was fantastic, over 100 on the uphill turn at the Glen was... well... a real "holy crap" moment!

We did 3 laps and this was the first, and slowest, of the laps I had the good fortune to do in a dream Vette. Wow, a yellow Vette at the Glen, does it get better than that?

Sooooo sick of spammers

Well because of spammers comments on Slot Car News have been turned off again. Sorry folks.

DaveK
SCNews Publisher

FIA GT1... race on!

Due to the Iceland volcanic disruption the European airspace crisis has caused disruption to businesses around the world, including the FIA GT1 World Championship. Following the opening round of the championship at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi flights to the majority of European destinations were canceled due to the volcanic ash cloud. The Championship promoter SRO has worked tirelessly to find a solution to the problem of getting teams and their equipment back to Europe. Today the second of two cargo planes with the race cars and equipment has arrived in Luxemburg as planned and two charter flights to Europe have been booked to fly the teams and the organizers to Vienna, which will be arriving in the Austrian capital on Thursday morning.

“This situation has been extremely difficult but we have managed to pull all the different elements together to get the cars and teams to where they need to be so our next event at Silverstone can go ahead,” said Patricia Kiefer, Chief Operating Officer for SRO. “The cars are now back in Europe and the teams will arrive tomorrow; they will be able to pick up their cars and equipment before the weekend. The FIA GT1 World Championship races at Silverstone on 1/2 May will now be able to go ahead barring any further problems caused by mother nature.”

The Silverstone Supercar Event is taking place at Silverstone on 1st and 2nd May, with Round 2 of the FIA GT1 World Championship racing for the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. The meeting also features the open rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship, the GT4 European Cup and the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series.

For more information on the FIA GT1 World Championship visit www.gt1world.com.

Slot MiniAuto 67

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

SLOT MINIAUTO 67 – MAYO

El protagonista de la portada de Slot MiniAuto del mes de mayo es el nuevo Matra Simca 670B de Le Mans Miniatures. Se destacan en la misma, las pruebas en pista del espectacular Koenigsegg CCX de AutoArt y un Muscle Car americano, el Chevrolet Chevelle de Carrera. En este número se presenta en primicia el nuevo “Transporter” de Pegaso, el Bacalao, realizado por Hobby Classic. Marlon Foakes de TRRC, es el invitado de este mes en la habitual sección de entrevistas.
La revista incluye también las pruebas del Citroën C4 WRC Lightning de Ninco, y de uno de sus predecesores, el Citroën DS 23 Proto realizado por Hobby Slot. Se ofrece también la colección completa de los Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 que compitieron en Le Mans.
Completan la revista las secciones habituales de Noticias, Novedades, Presentaciones y Competición.

Ahora Slot MiniAuto en Facebook
(Más información en www.revistasprofesionales.com)




PRESS RELEASE


SLOT MINIAUTO 67 – MAY

Slot MiniAuto cover of May highlights the new Matra Simca 670B of Le Mans Miniatures. It stands on it, the track test of the spectacular AutoArt Koenigsegg CCX and the American Muscle Car, Chevrolet Chevelle of Carrera. In this issue is presented in premiere the new Pegaso "Transporter", el Bacalao (the Cod), made by Hobby Classic. Marlon Foakes, of Tertre Rouge Racing Cars, answer our questions this month in the usual interview section.
The magazine also includes the track test of the Lightning Citroën C4 WRC of Ninco, and one of his predecessor, the Citroën DS 23 Proto by Hobby Slot. It also offers the complete collection of the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000, which competed at Le Mans 24 H.
This magazine is completed with the regular sections of News, Features, Novelties, Presentations and Slot Competition.

Now Slot MiniAuto in Facebook
(More information on www.revistasprofesionales.com)

LeMans Miniatures Porsche Turbo RSR's

A pair of new LeMans Miniatures Porsche RSR's are coming to the US very, very soon.

Lifelike 2010 August releases

Lifelike 2010 new releases scheduled release Aug 2010

New LeMans Miniatures Jaguar XJR 14

The new LeMans Miniatures XJR 14 newsletter. Click on images to see a larger format.

FIA GT1 World Championship-Race 1 recap

Used with written permission from the FIA GT1 World Championship:
The first championship race of the FIA GT1 World Championship was won by Thomas Mutsch and Romain Grosjean in the nr5 Matech Competition Ford GT. Mutsch had to battle hard in the early part of the race to hold a slender lead over Andrea Bertolini in the Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 but Grosjean, who celebrates his 24th birthday today, pulled away from the rest of the field to take the chequered flag over 20 seconds ahead of Qualifying Race winner Marc Hennerici in the nr13 Phoenix Racing / Carsport Corvette Z06. It was a double celebration for the Corvette team when Andrea Piccini took the final podium position after his partner Mike Hezemans started from the back of the grid.

From pole position Thomas Mutsch had to defend his position from the 2009 FIA GT Champion Andrea Bertolini while behind them Andreas Zuber was already moving up the grid finishing the opening 7 places higher than his 11th grid spot. There were a few collisions in the midfield, with cars spinning and the nr8 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DB9 of Christopher Nygaard pulled off the track into retirement. The nr 4 Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R returned to the pits to also retire.

Meanwhile back at the front Mutsch and Bertolini were fighting for the lead with the Ford GT holding back the Maserati at almost every turn with the nr 25 Reiter Lamborghini of Ricardo Zonta coming under pressure from Zuber's Corvette, the Austrian sweeping into 3rd on lap 3.

The leading two cars soon became three as Zuber latched onto the battle for the top spot and fo r the next five laps the top 3 were nose to tail at almost every turn.

The pit window opened on lap 12 and Mutsch was the first car in to hand over the car to Romain Grosjean just after Zuber had found a way around the nr1 Maserati to take the lead. Bertolini pulled into the pits on the next lap to hand over to Michael Bartels while Zuber continued to circulate around the Yas Marina circuit. The lead Corvette pitted on lap 14, handing over to Marc Hennerici, and emerged from the pit lane tunnel to see Romain Grosjean in the nr5 Matech Ford GT sweep past into the lead.

Meanwhile the Nr14 Corvette of Mike Hezemans was also moving up the order and after handing over to Andrea Piccini, the second yellow Corvette was in 4th place and closing rapidly on Bartels in the nr1 Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12. On lap 23 Piccini put the nose of the Corvette down the inside of the Maserati and moved into 3rd place under braking for Turn 8. At the front of the field Grosjean's Ford was pulling away from Hennerici's Corvette and in teh closing stages was a very comfortable 20 seconds in front while Piccini was closing the gap to his teammate.

However the chequered flag came out to end the first Championship Race in the FIA GT1 World Championship with Romain Grosjean celebrating his birthday in style.
Race results:

New HO Autoworld NHRA John Force drag sets

Click on both images to see a larger version of these newsletters (sent to SCNews via REH Distributors) for the new NHRA Autoworld drag racing sets.

NSR 24Hour World Endurance Race!

From Giacomo of Amazingslot.com:

The event will be broadcast live on www.italiaslot.com from Friday afternoon until Sunday, through selectable webcams, directly from the home page.

A great effort which will, for the first time ever, a live broadcast of a Slot Race on a web portal. Nothing professional, certainly, but a new way to follow the race from home step by step.

The web cam will not be only steady. A mobile cam will show you how are going practice sessions, technical testing, the box, the components of the various teams, hear their impressions and all it will happen.

As in all Reality, can not miss the "confessional" like in Big Brother. At any time drivers or attendants, may enter in it and tell how its going the Race, greet friends at home or vent in direct criticism or praise.

Throughout the event, there will be continual updates on standings and other information about the race.

I really hope that you like the idea and actively participating in the show. This "Slot Reality Show" will be followed worldwide.

Tracks (click to view large version):


The race field is formed by 4 (four) 8 lanes Ninco Tracks. The first will run clockwise, the third counterclockwise; the second and the fourth will mirror the first and the third, but with reversed directions.

Practically, a 32-lane track, all different.

The teams entered:

Ranch-Design sidewinder chassis for 1/43

From Steve of Ranch-Design.com:
The spur gear is included in the Adjustable Chassis Kit.The choices are 34T and 36T for the spur gear. The pinions that will work are 10T and 12T. The motors that can be used are Radio Shack, Carrera Go!, and SCX. The axle size is 3/32". It is available via www.ranch-design.com

The smallest Ranch wheel that can be used is the .395" diameter wheel due to the diameter of the spur gears. The width between the axle bushings is 1.185" so the track width can be an issue with some 1/43 cars. These chassis, as with the inline chassis, can be used for the smaller 1/32 cars as well. The wheel base adjustment goes from 2-1/4" to 3-1/4" using the front most axle hole.

FIA GT1 World Championship

Well now... a cool new series for GT racing fans. http://gt1world.com/

Link to a video... frustratingly... NOT embedding code with this Youtube video... "Viral101" folks... ALWAYS allow embedding when trying to spread the word about something using a social media!

http://gt1world.com/media/gt1tv

Slot It Chaparral 2E newsletter

The official newsletter for the new Slot It Chaparral 2E.

SCX Nascar Nationals-Video

For complete coverage of the SCX Nascar Nationals please visit this link on SCXWorldwide.com.

Fall-Line BMW's proving themselves

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Fall-Line Motorsports has become one of the top contenders during this season's GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, which will compete in its third race of 2010 at 4 p.m. CT Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

The Chicago-based team has gone from competing with a pair of BMW M3s in the Grand Sport (GS) class that competed for top five finishes to a three-car team that is contesting for victories. Heading into Saturday's two-and-a-half hour Barber 200, the team is first and second in the standings, with points co-leaders Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman in the No. 48 Sparco/Battery Tender BMW M3 holding the advantage by a single point (58-57) over teammates Terry Borcheller and Andrew Hendricks in the No. 45 Stable One Racing BMW M3.

The team's third car, the No. 46 Trim Tex BMW M3 this weekend driven by team owner Mark Boden and Joe Koenig, is seventh with 42 points.

Boden entered the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in 2006, and his team has steadily improved. The team earned its first podium finish in 2007 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and it took more than two seasons for Fall-Line to return to the podium. That instance came in last season's finale at Virginia International Raceway, when Borcheller and Hendricks finished second.

Now, the team is on a three-race podium streak, with Espenlaub and Putman taking second at Daytona International Speedway, and Borcheller and Hendricks finishing second at Homestead-Miami. The team also built and delivered the Daytona-winning car, the No. 13 RumBum.com BMW M3 driven by Matt Plumb and Gian Bacardi.

While Fall-Line searches for its first victory, the team will have to keep at bay a fleet of Mustangs - both the GT and new Boss 302R models. Mustangs finished first and second in 2008 and swept the podium last season. Among the top challengers with Mustangs is Rehagen Racing, which fields the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Products Ford Mustang GT for defending series champion Ken Wilden and rookie Ryan Winchester; JBS Motorsports, which fields the No. 37 Trumansburg ShurSave Ford Mustang Boss 302R for defending race winners James Gue and Bret Seafuse; Multimatic Motorsports, which fields two Mustangs, one for 2008 Barber winners Joe Foster and Scott Maxwell; and Homestead-Miami race winners Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. in the No. 61 Roush Performance Products Ford Mustang GT.

Porsche has a record four series victories at Barber. Six Porsches are entered - three from BGB Motorsports, two from Ranger Sports Racing and one from Magnus Racing.

The Street Tuner (ST) class, featuring top compact models such as Honda Civics, Mazda MX-5s, BMW 328 and 330 models and Volkswagen GTIs, will also compete. Leading the charge in ST are Lawson Aschenbach and David Thilenius, who have finishes of first and second to begin the season in the No. 74 Skunk2/OMP Honda Civic Si, one of four cars entered by Compass360 Racing. Compass360 has yet to win at Barber, though its 10 victories ranks fifth most all-time in ST.

Freedom Autosport won the most recent race, at Homestead-Miami, and has victories in three of the last five races. Derek Whitis, who teamed with Tom Long in the No. 25 Aventura Technologies/PFC Mazda MX-5 to win at Homestead-Miami, is third, while teammates Andrew Carbonell and Rhett O'Doski are fifth in the No. 26 Aventura Technologies/PFC Mazda MX-5.


The only Alabama-based team, APR Motorsport, from Auburn, is the defending race-winning team in ST and brings three Volkswagen GTIs and an Audi S4, which competes in GS. Josh Hurley teams with rookie Dr. Kevin Stadtlander to go for two consecutive victories at the track in the No. 181 APR/BBS Volkswagen GTI.

Rookie team BimmerWorld/GearWrench is also entered with two BMW 328s, including the No. 81 Performance Friction/RAYS Engineering BMW 328 for Bill Heumann and Seth Thomas, second in the standings.

Practice for the Barber 200 begins at 1 p.m. CT Thursday, with two 15-minute qualifying sessions beginning at 9:50 a.m. CT Friday. The Barber 200 begins at 4 p.m. CT Saturday.

News and photos used with permission from Grand Am.