(Photo by Matthew T. Thacker/NKP, ©2014, courtesy of Ford Racing)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing AFLAC Ford Fusion) took advantage of a late caution and held off Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Panasonic Chevrolet SS) to win the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. It was Edwards' second win this season. It was also the 23rd win of his career, and first Sprint Cup win on a road course. “That’s a moment I’ll never forget, to be standing in victory lane and to have held off Jeff Gordon with all of the success he’s had here and in our sport. It’s just really, really special," Edwards said after the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS) finished a very racy third. Watch a NASCAR video from Sonoma here.
(Photo by Christa L. Thomas/HHP courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jeff Gordon (No 24 Hendrick Motorsports Panasonic Chevrolet SS) worked hard and ran aggressively all day, finishing close behind Carl Edwards on Sunday.
(Photo by Harold Hinson/HHP courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (88 Hendrick Motorsports Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS) drove a very impressive race on Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. has struggled mightily to get a handle on road courses in the past, but he has improved his game considerably.
(Audi Motorsport/newspressUSA)
Mike Skeen (No. 2 CRP Racing Hawk Performance Brakes Audi R8 LMS Ultra), of Charlotte, N.C., completed a weekend sweep in the GT class at Road America in the Pirelli World Challenge series. Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R), of Boca Raton, Fla., finished second, and Johnny O'Connell (No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R), of Flowery Branch, Ga., finished third on Saturday. O'Connell held off Butch Leitzinger, in the No. 08 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Bentley Continental GT3 for Dyson Racing Team Bentley, for the final podium position. "I was thinking points this weekend, but that was cool," O'Connell said of his race. "Butch and I have never really raced against each other, because when I was GT, he was prototype or vice versa. It's awesome that Dyson Racing and Bentley have chosen to be here, and bodes well for the future of this series."
(Ford)
Formula Ford will adopt the FIA Formula 4 Regulations and guidelines in Great Britain from 2015 onwards. With the signing of a contract with Britain’s motorsport governing body, the MSA, Ford will create and develop a new race series to fulfill the FIA’s vision for a clearer path for young drivers looking to progress to Formula 1. The move will see the adoption of a new carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, which meets FIA F3 safety standards. The cars will be powered by the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine, which has been successfully race-proven in Formula Ford during the last three seasons of competition. The new Formula Ford championship will continue to feature on the live-televised supporting bill for UK motorsport’s biggest spectator draw, the British Touring Car Championship.
(Red Bull Global RallyCross Championship)
Patrik Sandell (No. 18 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST) won Sunday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross event, Volkswagen Rallycross DC, held at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Sandell earned his first Red Bull GRC victory by beating Nelson Piquet Jr. (No. 75 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST) and teammate Joni Wiman (No. 31 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST) to the finish. “It’s absolutely perfect,” Sandell said after the event. “I felt when we came here that if I could just be smart and not make any mistakes, I could fight for the top. And I knew that the start at the final was so important, so I just tried to focus on that as much as I could. I think I took the start directly on the light, and that made me come off the line so good. That was the key to everything.”
(Alfa Romeo)
Alfa Romeo plans on making a big splash at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend by bringing five cars from the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo, including a GTA 1300 Junior (above) and the gorgeous 1951 Tipo 159 Alfetta Grand Prix car, with which Juan Manuel Fangio won the first of his five F1 World Championship titles. An evolution of the 158, which Giuseppe “Nino” Farina used to claim the first F1 World Championship in 1950, the 159 adopted a more sophisticated De Dion rear axle, improved aerodynamics and an upgraded, straight-eight 1.5-litre engine with dual-stage supercharger, which could produce a peak output of up to 450hp.
