Car FYI

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field was set on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway. In a reformed ‘playoff’ format, 16 drivers qualified to compete for an all-new trophy through the final 10 races of the season. Announcing that the 2017 season will be his last full-time effort in the Cup series, Dale Earnhardt Jr would have been a fan favourite part of the playoff. While the #88 Chevrolet owned by Hendrick Motorsports has struggled through a large portion of the 2017 tour, there was still a longshot hope the driver could transfer with a win at the 400-mile Richmond race. Making a bold gamble in waiting for a caution to gain track position, the Hail Mary shot did not work. Out of the playoff fight in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr career will apparently not include an overall championship. Dale Earnhardt Sr’s record-tying seven Winston Cup titles remained a weight that many fans and critics used to assess his...

Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media By many people, by many respects, the 2016 year will be remembered in an oddly unpleasant way. As there have been so many bad events in history in previous years, we have found this recently completed one being a period of collective sadness, mourning and a time where unforseen occurrences were far too common. In auto racing, 2016 was not immune to perceived wackiest the year apparently brought. Ahead of a 2017 year of memorable and potentially shocking racing moments (a year that has already included the hiatus of Carl Edwards in NASCAR), there’s time to reflect on some most astoundingly wacky 2016 events. No Tea Party For IndyCar in Boston Photo Credit: Chris Nagy If you are a fan of IndyCar racing, you would be aware of the surrealistic sight of seeing everyday city streets or urban areas converted into high-speed thrill zones. For those who also pay attention to the frequency of new venues being added while ...

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images The Toyota Camrys prepared by Joe Gibbs Racing were the toast of Texas for much of the Duck Commander 500 on Saturday night. In a race where three of the four Joe Gibbs owned cars and the associated Furniture Row Racing #78 car led for all but 15 of 334 laps, the one who triumphed at the end only truly showed his hand late on the fast Fort Worth, Texas track. The 500-mile race at the Texas Motor Speedway started after a roughly two-hour delay. Leading the field to green, the Stanley-sponsored Toyota wheeled by Carl Edwards led 57 of the first 57 laps of the race. On lap 59, Edward’s main adversary for the night emerged in the form of the black #78 Toyota Camry. Martin Truex Jr started 3rd in the field and kept his Furniture Row Racing car in the top-5 for almost the entire race. Thanks to a long green flag running from lap 34 to 136 (totalling more than half the race’s scheduled distance), Truex Jr held the lead for an impre...

Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images The first 200 laps of competition for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2016 season took place at the crown jewel of stock car racing. A facility recently renovated under the Daytona Rising initiative focused on greater fan comfort (a plan also including the reduction of seating from the 2014 capacity of over 145,000 to approximately 101,000), the track configuration contributing to high-speeds and multi-car drafting remained the same. This year's Daytona 500 saw the race decided in a matter of less than half the distance of the 2.5-mile track on the final lap. Before the Green Flag Since 1982, the Daytona 500 has been the stage to start of the Cup Series season. Ahead of the green flag for the 58th annual 500 mile race at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway oval, several radical changes have been instituted for the new Sprint Cup Series season. A new charter team structure guarantees 36 teams will start every race this seas...