People
Dave Beckley
Tue Feb 11 2014 15:08:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Richard Petty thinks the only way Danica Patrick will ever win a NASCAR race is if she's competing against herself.
The all-time winningest driver in NASCAR's top division with 200 victories, Petty made his comments while attending the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto. When asked about Patrick's chances to win a Sprint Cup race, Petty answered decisively according to Wheels.ca (via Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer).
"(Only) if everybody else stayed home," Petty said. Patrick, who is set to begin her second full year in Cup, struggled mightily during her rookie season. In 36 starts the former IndyCar driver posted an average finish of 26.1, failed to finish five races due to accidents, and ranked 27th in the standings. Her lone top-10 came in the season-opening Daytona 500, where she placed eighth after becoming the first woman to win a Cup pole.
Patrick's struggles didn't go unnoticed by Petty. The seven-time Cup champion feels Patrick landed a premium ride with Stewart-Haas Racing solely because she's female, which she's leveraged to attract sponsorship. Petty, however, did acknowledge that the additional attention Patrick has brought to the sport has benefited all involved.
"If she'd have been a male, nobody would ever know if she'd showed up at a race track," Petty said according to Wheels.ca. "This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport."
Prior to transitioning to NASCAR full-time, Patrick competed for seven years in the Izod IndyCar Series.
In 2005 as a rookie, Patrick became the highest-finishing woman in the history of the Indianapolis 500 placing fourth. Three years later she became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race when she was victorious at Twin Ring Motegi Superspeedway in Japan.
Dave Beckley
Tue Apr 30 2013 20:35:47 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
American Peter Revson, seen here during practice for the 1972 United States Grand Prix, seemed to have positioned himself for F1 stardom by the fall of that year. He had surprised everyone with his pole position and 2nd place finish at the Indianapolis 500 in 1971, and went on to also capture that year's Can-Am Championship, both times driving for McLaren.
It was Revson's bad fortune to be linked to a grand fortune...his family was related to the Revlon company, and although he didn't share directly in that wealth, he had to bear the label "playboy racer."
Instead, his rise to racing's highest level was managed with great heartache. He lost his best friend and racing partner, Timmy Mayer, while barnstorming Europe in Formula Junior, and his younger brother Doug, in a Formula 3 race in Denmark.
He had a victory in the 1965 Monaco F3 race in his pocket, but didn't get any offers for race seats until devoting his career to the United States Can-Am series in 1966. He was finally able to demonstrate his abilities and was signed by McLaren in 1971. He promptly won the championship.
He won the 1973 British and Canadian Grands Prix for McLaren, but was replaced in 1974 by former World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. He found a home with Shadow that season, but was killed in March during testing for the South African Grand Prix when his front suspension failed.
COPYRIGHT:Richard Kelley Photography
Dave Beckley
Tue Apr 30 2013 20:36:04 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Here, 1971 US Grand Prix winner, Francois Cevert listens intently to ELF Team Tyrrell-Ford designer Derek Gardner as they try to find the best compromise for the suspension set-up of the new ELF Team Tyrrell-Ford 005 during the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, NY.
Without sensors or telemetry that are the norm with Formula 1 racecraft today, testing to lower lap times of a Formula One car in 1972 was perilous hands-on trial and error.
To avoid catastrophe, there had to be clear communication, pure honesty and intense trust between driver and race engineer. The most successful drivers of that day needed a strong mechanical background, the ability to observe and report the cornering nuances of a car at speed, and the bravery to stand behind their beliefs.
COPYRIGHT:Richard Kelley Photography
Dave Beckley
Thu Apr 11 2013 17:56:45 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
A unique look inside the shops, hearts and minds of five of Japan's most talented classic car tuners, restorers and re-imaginers; Japan's Retro Car Kings. A 45 minute journey through some of Japan's most influential and trend setting automotive culture, an inspiration for preservation, restoration and restomodding classic Japanese automobiles like the influential S30 Z-cars and KGC10 Skylines.
Discovery Turbo (クルマ特集トップへ) presents a rare look inside five of Japan's most talented classic car tuners; Moon Auto, T.A. Auto, Rocky Auto, RAUH-WELT BEGRIEF, OFFICINA ISHIKAWA and the Nissan Heritage Collection. A journey through some of Japan's most influential and trend setting car culture, showcasing classic Japanese automobiles like the Skyline GT, Datsun S30 Z, and many more!
Produced by: Jesse Stern
Executive Producer: Dean Johnson
Director of Photography: Jiro Akiba
Special Consultant: Dino Dalle Carbonare
Visit http://www.downshiftmagazine.com for more videos, articles and features like this
Dave Beckley
Fri Mar 22 2013 18:36:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
When the owner of a 170-lb Great Dane wrote to us about the dog's infatuation with his MG Midget, we investigated...cautiously. Turns out, Timi is a sweetheart with excellent taste in drool-worthy cars.
See the rest of the story at mossmotoring.com/dogs-best-friend
Dave Beckley
Fri Mar 22 2013 18:39:27 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Django became obsessed by the infamous Indian Well of Death riders in Allahabad. So, naturally, they asked Noisey if we'd be up for travelling over to India and standing right in the middle of large lumps of precariously speeding metal for a day, to film a video for their track "Wor". We happily obliged, getting our shoes stolen in the process, but it was worth it to meet a bunch of guys with the most rock solid testicles we've ever come across.
Buy the Album: http://smarturl.it/DjangoDjango
Dave Beckley
Tue Mar 12 2013 07:01:45 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
His family lived next to the town dump when he was a kid in Nebraska. It's where they got their furniture, their flooring, and by selling items, their Christmas money. But it's also how Ernie Adams learned his craft, how to make things, especially how to put motors on things with wheels.
Now 72 years old, Ernie looks back at a life including patented inventions, the creation of a new class of stock car racing, and currently, the building – from scratch, by hand – of immaculate, scaled-down, street legal replicas of vintage American autos.
You can visit his workshop deep in the Arizona desert, but don't bother asking to buy one of his Dwarf Cars - he never sells anything he creates.
[Coming April 2013]
This project is a collaboration between:
Director/Producer Jeff Diehl (DocuPromos.com)
Cinematographer Garrett Caffacus (PowerageDVP.com)
Producer Scott Lyman (SPLPictures.com)
Aerial videographer Ziv Marom (ZMInteractive.com)
Dave Beckley
Tue Mar 12 2013 07:11:28 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
For the MAKERS series, Shwood Eyewear (shwoodshop.com) pays homage to some of Portland's most innovative artists, builders, writers, and designers that inspire the experimental creators in us all. Part 3 features Holiday Customs (holidaycustoms.blogspot.com); a one-man custom motorcycle shop in NE Portland, operated by Jared Johnson. Follow the full series at experimentwithnature.com