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dino crescentini

Vintage Racer Killed In High-Speed Crash At Mosport Raceway

This weekend weekend of bad motorsports keeps getting worse. Yesterday, Scott Kalitta. Today, Dino Crescentini, a ten-year veteran of vintage racing, died at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, when the Wolf Dallara Can-Am car he was driving — a car once owned by Canadian industrialist and Formula One team owner Walter Wolf and driven in the 1977 Can-Am Series by the legendary Canadian Gilles Villeneuve — apparently went sideways at very high speed. Crescentini was participating in a race as part of the 29th International Vintage Racing Festival at the track. Inspector Paul Hamilton of the Durham Regional Police tells us
"...[the driver] was heading northbound from corner six at Mosport. After this corner is a long straightaway and at some point his vehicle became airborne at an extremely high rate of speed and rolled end-over-end. The driver was transported to Bowmanville hospital where he succumbed to his injuries."
An at-the-scene account from tipster John below the jump:

UPDATE: This is NOT the same Dino Crescentini who does SCCA racing. Different guy. More »

9:50 PM on Sun Jun 22 2008
By Ray Wert
10,202 views, 40 comments

Latest by n/a: @944turb0: C'mon man! Yes the car was a piece of racing history but damn have heart for the family! more »

scott kalitta

The Horrifying Scott Kalitta Funny Car Crash Video, As Shown By ESPN2

We initially hesitated from showing you video of the 300 MPH crash and death of NHRA champ Scott Kalitta after we received a tip that a video from the stands had made its way to YouTube. We decided the death of a drag racer was a rather gruesome thing to show you. Although we knew the race was being broadcast by ESPN2, we figured they'd cover it with the dignity and respect it deserved. We hadn't realized it'd been replayed by "the deuce" immediately after it happened and then again, and again, and...yeah. So we figure — hey, if a mainstream sports media outlet like ESPN feels comfortable replaying it, then it must be alright. Right? Yeah, we're still not sure. But we deserve to give you the right to make that decision on your own. If you're one of those people who wants to see something like this — click the play button to see the Scott Kalitta crash. [via ESPN2]

3:51 PM on Sun Jun 22 2008
By Ray Wert
172,907 views, 76 comments

Latest by n/a: Right decision to post with a caveat. Censorship is in the choices we make ourselves not in the choices made for us. more »

jalopnik goes drag

Jalopnik How-To: Drag Racing

We know the thought of heading out to a drag strip for the first time can be both daunting and intimidating. This past weekend we did just that when we were invited to the second annual Ford Racing Invitational to try our hand at the straight-line game of drag racing. Having always focused more on the curves and less on the straights, this was your author's first time in front of a Christmas tree. As such, we figured it might be the perfect time to show you the ins and outs of running a car down the quarter-mile. Hey, we came in third place, so we guess we can't be too shabby at it. More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Wed Jun 18 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
10,172 views, 64 comments

Latest by Turbo Driver: I credit the GN's and 5.0 'Stangs with getting the current era of racing back into vogue in the '80's. Back then, GN's were notoriously easy to race, and for less than 1200 bucks, you were in the 12's. more »

24 hours of le mans

Hideki Noda's LMP2 Car Flips The Fuck Out In Le Mans Practice Session

Ouch. About two hours ago, the LMP2 Lola Mazda driven by Hideki Noda flipped near the end of a qualifying practice session for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. And when we say "flipped" we mean like what happens when a kid drops a matchbox car down a flight of stairs — except with more broken pieces. Luckily, Noda was unhurt. Unluckily, the Mazda was pretty much totaled. Talk about a crap way to end your weekend before it even starts. (Hat tip to Manny!) [via YouTube]

8:13 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
By Ray Wert
7,454 views, 48 comments

Latest by leighzbohns: and if the ACO/ALMS/ETC could come up with a way to allow venturis without 300MPH cars and exploding tires, they should do something to eliminate the flat bottoms on those cars. It seems like every year there's video more »

nascrash

Introducing: Monday Morning NASCrash!

We know despite our own usual disinterest with America's favorite racing series, there's at least a few of you NASCAR fans out there. Even for those of us who aren't fans of the always-turning-one-way-action there's one thing we can all come together on for entertainment value: the crashes. It may be the dirty little secret of NASCAR fans, which is why we're so ready to pounce on this idea with such reckless abandon. Thanks to the folks at SpeedTV, we've been able to create a mashup of all of the fantastic crashes from the past weekend of circular racing action — we're calling it "Monday Morning NASCrash". It'll be all the big bang-ups from all three NASCAR series of the past weekend: Sprint Cup, Craftsman Trucks, and the Junior Varsity Nationwide Series. Yes, whether you call 'em wrecks, bang-ups, or fender-benders, we can all enjoy a good, clean racing accident at the expense of someone else. [via The SPEED Report]

10:00 AM on Mon Jun 9 2008
By Mark Arnold
3,323 views, 40 comments

Latest by BLS: @smokyburnout: I agree. I don't care for NASCAR or Indy but I would rather not drive (which I don't) and have something fun, entertaining, etc. done with some of the fuel I save. Like racing or gocarts. The one thing that more »

Ferrari Boss Flip-Flops on Mosley One day after calling on Max Mosley, president of the F.I.A., to resign, Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari's president, changed his tune.

hamilton porsche carrera gt crash

F1 Star Lewis Hamilton's Dad Crashes Porsche Carrera GT, Shows He's Like Son

Yes, perhaps the old adage of "like father, like son" is actually true. We all know how much Lewis Hamilton loves the Porsches, right? We also know how much he loves diving head first into the walls too. Enter Anthony Hamilton, his father and manager. He was just out having some fun with his wife in a loaned silver Porsche Carrera GT yesterday in jolly good England, when he
"lost control of the 205mph £330,000 ($643,600) supercar just after he left home with wife Linda yesterday."
The Sun continues the story after the jump. More »

7:26 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Ray Wert
13,835 views, 49 comments

Latest by n/a: People who crash supercars in clearly stupid ways should be forced to drive Citroen 2CVs for the rest of their natural lives. Although at these petrol prices, I'd probably still be angry they are getting better fuel economy than me...... more »

prelude to the dream

Tony Stewart Wins Prelude To The Dream At Eldora Speedway

Despite a late-minute surge from folks like drag racing champion Cruz Pedregon, who proved quite adept at turning circles at Wednesday night's fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream charity race at Eldora Speedway, the winner ended up being the man that brought the racers there — Tony Stewart. We're assuming we'll have more in the morning — including hopefully some pictures. But at the moment, we're too busy rioting in downtown Royal Oak over the Red Wings Stanley Cup victory. Full list of finishes below the jump. More »

12:51 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Ray Wert
1,716 views, 15 comments

Latest by browndawgdude: I watched the race on PPV and it was damn good! Tony had the best car for sure and drove his a$$ off! I love Eldora and dirt track racing. It's good to see those Cup guys learn how to more »

prelude to the dream

Eldora Speedway's Only Three Hours Away...

...and the Prelude To The Dream race starts at 7:00 PM tonight. We could totally make it down to the Tony Stewart-owned track. And believe us, we seriously thought about taking a run down to the track from Detroit. But frankly after covering it last year, the thought of spending the next week wiping down the dirt from our laptop again is making us reconsider the idea — even if it's a blast watching Nascar drivers getting schooled on the dirt-track by the local soil-grinders. But — maybe we'll snag it on Pay-Per-View this year instead. Hey, the money goes to a good cause, right? At the very least we'll try to get some updates tonight — in between watching Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals. Jeez, why am I feeling like we're going all Deadspin over here? Whatevs — check out the sweet on-dirt action from last year below.

[HBO]

3:50 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By Ray Wert
990 views, 16 comments

Latest by thatguy01: Needs more Horgh. "Your stagger is weak." more »

motorsports

Brian Williams Launches Into Bizarre Racing Tangent After Obama's Speech

After Obama's victory speech last night you'd expect the pundits to discuss meaning, rhetoric and intent. Instead, NBC's Brian Williams launched into a discussion of short track racing in rural Montana. Ignore, if you can, that Brian Williams is apparently an aficionado of a form of racing that makes NASCAR look like the symphony, and try and focus on the fact that Brian Williams would "give anything" to have a focus group of those people to see how they would vote. Although we'd hoped to leave the term "NASCAR Dads" behind after last cycle, are dirt trackers this year's Evangelicals? If that's the case, how come none (neither?) of the candidates are hitting up tonight's NASCAR Prelude to the Dream race? [MSNBC]

1:20 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,685 views, 60 comments

Latest by tenbeers: @jconli1: man you didn't escape DC for Maryland, did ya? /shudder more »

novelties

Formula 1 Steering Wheel Interfaces

Just when you thought the cruise control and media buttons on your current steering wheel were too overwhelming, take a look at some of the wheel configurations for Formula 1 cars. These steering wheels are loaded to the gills with dials, switches, buttons, screens, toggles and more to confuse, baffle and distract those of us who haven't driven anything more complicated than an Isuzu Impulse. Check out a few of the crazier ones in the gallery below and follow the link for all of the wackiest F1 wheel interface configurations you will ever see.
[Oobject]

5:00 PM on Wed May 21 2008
By Travis Hudson
4,163 views, 39 comments

Latest by logikgr: @htrodblder: It's probably the one that says "pump". more »

max mosley

Max Mosley Prostitute Linked To British Intelligence Agency, Uberraschung!

We joked last week about how the only reason we're following the Max Mosley story anymore was because it "keeps getting crazier and crazier." Little did we know that it would be revealed by The Times that one of Max's prisoner/gaurd prostitutes (Mistress Abi), in a twist even Graham Greene couldn't have imagined, was the wife of an MI5 agent. For those who don't know, Mi5 is the domestic spying agency pledged to "Defend the Realm" of the UK. In this case "Defend The Realm" meant spanking and sexing the head of the FIA in a sadomasochistic orgy. Remember when Mosley said the sting was setup "by a group specialising in such things for reasons and clients as yet unknown" after getting busted? We now live in a world where that may be true. Understandably, MI5 isn't happy with the implication that instead of tracking down terrorists they're tracking down old man boners. More »

7:00 AM on Mon May 19 2008
By Matt Hardigree
4,621 views, 31 comments

Latest by DoctorNineTenths: @layabout: "..And very proud to find something that we can't be beaten at..." Wait a minute... more »

racing news

Lewis Hamilton And Heikki Kovalainen Receive Iced-Out Racing Helmets From Steinmetz

The Swiss-based diamond company Steinmetz just gave two Mercedes-McLaren drivers — Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen — two very special helmets. The helmets have a "Forevermark diamond-encrusted Steinmetz logo" and — here comes the best part — the driver's signature on top of the helmet lined with hundreds of handcrafted diamonds. That's at least more safe than the 2004 Jaguar Formula 1 cars racing with a diamond-encrusted nosecone from Steinmetz. Although we'd hate to be on the receiving end of a diamond-encrusted head-butt from either Hamilton or Kovalainen. Ow, the pain of thousands of tiny micro-cuts!

[McLaren via World Car Fans]

9:20 AM on Fri May 16 2008
By Ray Wert
777 views, 11 comments

Latest by NovaloadMissesPolar: The only real Diamond Head is in Hawaii. more »

novelties

BMW Publishes Nürburgring Driving Guide

Maybe Tochio Suzuki doesn't need a guide to the Nürburgring to pilot a Nissan GT-R to a 7:29 lap around the Nordschleife, but we do. How convenient for us BMW decided to publish a handy-dandy corner-to-corner guide to the legendary track. Available as an inconvenient PDF file, the guide provides apexing tips, dangerous corners to watch for, gear selection recommendations and where to brake for greatest effect. Next time we find ourselves in Germany with something delightful and powerful at hand, now we'll be well equipped to turn in lightning fast times. [Bimmerfile]

3:20 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,939 views, 25 comments

Latest by n/a: @_T_: But you do love your Wacom don't you? I know I do. more »

retro

Pictures of Entire 1952 Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid Found

As much as we like open wheel racing and modern car designs, there's something far more awesome about vintage racing cars. This is undoubtedly the opinion of one Jim Rogacki, an engineer from Buffalo, who, while digging around for vintage car parts, managed to run into an amateur Indianapolis 500 historian. After shooting the breeze for a while, Jim convinced the man to let him scan his fantastic collection of photos for all 33 cars in the 1952 starting grid. We swiped a couple, but go take a look at the very neat complete collection and the story behind it over at Jalopy Journal.

10:40 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,985 views, 23 comments

Latest by joneez: @SundaySundayFnC: Indy roadsters were featured at Laguna Seca last year. To hear one run much less see a bunch under power is fantastic! They weren't run hard and they weren't meant to turn right but still very, very cool.+ Watch more »

racing news

Wife Busts Tony Kanaan's Balls After Qualifying Behind Danica Patrick

She's everywhere these days - Danica Patrick is the Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova of open wheel racing and everyone wants a piece of the moment. Well, maybe except teammate Tony Kanaan and his wife. A quick item at Automobile relays a phone call from Kanaan's pregnant wife after he qualified third and behind Patrick at the last Mid-Ohio IRL race. When she heard about the result, she had a question for him: More »

4:40 PM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
5,708 views, 28 comments

racing news

The Newish Nose On The Ferrari F1 Car Got Rhinoplasty

We hear the "breathing hole" on the nose of the new Ferrari F1 car will, in addition to providing a more efficient Ferrari front wing with less drag for increased top speed, also help with those annoying bouts of severe sleep apnea. Also, all the other kids at school would still be laughing at Ferrari's little bubbaleh if they hadn't gotten it done for her. And for those of you who can't-a speak-a the Italian-a, we've got a helpful translation of the gist of the animation above after the jump thanks to the F1 fan-boys over at Axis Of Oversteer More »

8:30 AM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Ray Wert
2,790 views, 25 comments

Latest by boofighter: i hate it when i drive into a blue arrow storm. it always messes up my car. more »

beijing motor show

Geely To Make Chinese Rip-Off Of Ferrari F1 Car?

First it was those wily Italian Ferrari forgers, now the masters of intellectual property reuse seem to be getting into the game of copying the prancing pony boys. By the looks of this illustration, Chinese automaker Geely seems to be flattering Maranello's F1 squad by way of imitation. We're not exactly sure just how official this is, but the mere possibility of Geely building such a car has our heads spinning. Do they really intend on competing in Formula One? Would the car be constructed from carbon-fiber or fiberglass? Would it have a high-revving V8 or a loosely-assembled pig-iron four-banger? Will the paint be lead-based? If we flip it over, will it have one of those golden stickers on its underside?
More »

6:00 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Mark Arnold
3,149 views, 30 comments

Latest by swifty949: bah, it won't pass the crash tests... As for the rumors, Photoshop doesn't exist and everything on the Internet is true. more »

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