Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today, we have reports from Racer, Forbes, and The New York Times.
The Top Secret Ilmor-Penske Engine that Shocked the Racing World at the Indy 500 — Racer
In this excerpt from Beast, we learn about the pushrod engine that embarrassed the field at Indy in 1994. Truly one of the last years of innovation at the Speedway.
Most mornings, Guy Oder was the first to hit the road in his 1984 Honda Civic station wagon, a vehicle named the "Fish Bowl GT" because of its many large windows. From the Penske Racing shop in Reading, PA, Oder would take U.S. Highway 222 north toward Allentown. It was a two-lane highway frequently slowed in the early morning darkness by Amish horses and buggies or a farmer driving his tractor. What slowed Oder most often in 1994 were massive amounts of snow.
Inside Tesla's Two-State Bake Off For The Gigafactory — Forbes
Former Jalopnik contributor Micki Maynard explores more of what's going on with Tesla's gigafactory. Here analysis is always worthwhile.
Tesla's plan to break ground in at least two of the states competing for its $5 billion gigafactory is setting up the equivalent of a manufacturing bake off.
Ayrton Senna's Legend, Then and Now — The New York Times
Senna. A thoughtful take from the NY Times.
Twenty years ago last week, on May 1, 1994,Formula One's biggest star at the time, the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, was killed in a racing accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy.