auto racing news stories on Newser

After Fire, Rain, Matt Kenseth Wins Daytona 500

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:48:55 CST

Well, NASCAR certainly knows how to make a prime-time impression. Rain, fire, and Tide laundry detergent all factored into a Daytona 500 that will go down as the most bizarre in NASCAR history. And oh, yeah, Matt Kenseth picked up his second Daytona 500 title. The first Daytona 500 to...

Disney World's New Ride: Luxury Speedsters

Mark Russell — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:34:05 CST

From the Pirates of the Caribbean to the Ferraris of Florida—one ride at Disney World will get a lot more horsepower in January. The park plans to add "exotic driving" to its repertoire, reports the Orlando Sentinel . Along with two Ferraris (which go from zero to 60 in 3....

IndyCar CEO Had Promised More 'Carnage'

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:19:36 CDT

In a June interview that seems eerily prescient in light of Dan Wheldon’s death , IndyCar Chief Executive Randy Bernard promised more “carnage and wrecks” in the upcoming races. IndyCar, struggling to compete with the more popular NASCAR, was attempting to make its races more exciting by increasing the risks: more...

On Final Night, Wheldon, Wife Got His-and-Her Tattoos

Polly Davis Doig — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:06:05 CDT

Dan Wheldon spent the final evening of his life doing something you might expect in Las Vegas: getting his-and-her tattoos with wife Susie, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal . The couple had "DW" and "SW" tattooed on their wrists at Huntington Ink inside the Palms around 10pm last night, a source...

Wheldon Scored Big Deal Hours Before Death

Matt Cantor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:29:44 CDT

Hours before he was killed in a 15-car pileup , Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon had signed a major, multiyear racing team deal. Wheldon had scored the spot Danica Patrick is vacating, behind the wheel of Andretti Autosport's car No. 7, ESPN reports. He had been part of the team's "glory...

Deadly Crash Could Spell End of Off-Road Racing

Rob Quinn — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:07:51 CDT

Off-road racing fans and promoters fear that the accident that killed eight people in the California desert Saturday night may end up killing their sport as well. The spectators were crushed when a driver lost control of his truck and skidded into a crowd just a few feet away, a...

Legend Michael Schumacher Returns to F1 Full-Time

Will McCahill — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:30:00 CST

Legendary driver Michael Schumacher will return full-time next year to the Formula One circuit, where he won seven championships in the 1990s and this decade. The German, 40, retired after the 2006 season, and attempted a comeback for his former team, Ferrari, after one of its drivers was injured in...

At Aussie Auto Race, Fans Allowed Just 24 Beers a Day

Will McCahill — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:51:20 CDT

Fans headed to a four-day event that’s a highlight of the Australian auto-racing calendar will only be allowed one case of beer per day—or 36 cans if it’s light beer. “Wine lovers have not escaped the heavy hand of the law either,” the Guardian notes of those bound for...

Racing Legend Schumacher Will Return for Ferrari

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:55:31 CDT

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is making a comeback for Ferrari to replace injured driver Felipe Massa. Ferrari said today in a statement that the 40-year-old German had agreed to drive just until Massa's ready to return. "Though the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me," Shumacher...