Moto GP day 2 photos

A few of my favorites. See more at uspresswire.com

Moto GP - US Grand Prix - Laguna Seca photo update

Im spending the weekend in Monterey, CA at the awesme Lagun Seca racetrack covering the Moto GP bike race. Truly amazing athletes in person. A few of my favorite photos from today below. See more at uspresswire.com

Drivers Provide Spectacular Action at Lucas Oil Of Road Racing Series

This is Short Course: Drivers Provide Spectacular Action at Lucas Oil Of Road Racing Series - Lake Elsinore Rounds 5&6
Corona, California (July 1, 2009) - The inaugural season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series thundered full steam ahead as thousands braved triple digit heat and witnessed some of the most spectacular racing of the season as the short course off road racing season reaches the midway point. As the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park emerged as a premier venue in short course off road racing, racers and fans alike were treated to incredible action both on and off the track. Lake Elsinore, a city long known for motocross action, skydiving and water sports, has taken their philosophy of Dream Extreme to new heights by embracing the sport of short course off road racing. Amidst a pit party featuring the high profile Hart&Hauntington/Rockstar Premier Motorsports Group, The Metal Mulisha and rock bands Alien Ant Farm and MXPX, the true stars of the weekend were the men who put on an amazing show on the track.

And what a track it is! A nine tenths of a mile rutted minefield featuring sweeping turns and seemingly endless high flying table tops proved to be as challenging as it was technical. Starting in practice on Friday as Leroy Loerwald and Kyle LeDuc found themselves out of the Unlimited Lite weekend racing action with broken bones (Loerwald) and destroyed vehicles (LeDuc), the drivers and teams immediately took notice that this facility was going to require their "A" game.

Racing action was nothing short of compelling. Coming into the weekend Rob Naughton held the distinction of being the only undefeated driver in this short course off road racing season while dominating the Unlimited Lite class. Class Veterans Marty Hart, Kyle LeDuc and Rodrigo Ampudia all arrived at Lake Elsinore to line up against Naughton with recent up and comers such as Chris Brandt to take their stab at unseating the seemingly invincible Naughton. But on Saturday, the Metal Mulisha's Brian Deegan, now in his sophomore season, emerged victorious laying claim as this season's giant killer while establishing himself as a contender in what is arguably the most competitive class in the sport. Naughton, now having tasted defeat, returned Sunday to take the checkered flag while continuing his drive for a season championship.

As two wheel stars continue to develop into contenders in the short course off road racing arena, Multi-Time Motocross and SuperMoto Champion Jeff Ward piloted his Bully Dog/Speed Technologies Unlimited 2 to his first victory. Still in his rookie season, "Wardy" was the class of the field on a Sunday that saw the Unlimited 2 class leader Jerry Whelchel the victim of a violent crash. Ironically, Whelchel's incident occurred in the exact same spot while approaching turn one where the always aggressive Papas and Beer's Rodrigo Ampudia stunned the crowd as his truck crashed and flew end over end repeatedly the prior day.

While fans saw some new faces and names at the top spot on the podium, Lucas Oil's Carl Renezeder, while competing in both Unlimited 2 and Unlimited 4 classes found himself taking three wins in four races during the weekend event. Renezeder, while proving dominant in his U-4 machine, found a unique passing method. While continuously being able to carry momentum through the back table top section, from the grandstands the high flying Renezeder appeared to reel in his competition with his truck by literally flying by them over the huge table top sections. Sunday proved to be Renezeder's biggest challenge as Kent Brasho, Jerry Daugherty and Tim Herbst all challenged for the lead before Renezeder again proved to be too strong.
With record high temperatures keeping the crowd seeking shade throughout the day, the action on the track kept them on their feet cheering for their heroes. Lake Elsinore truly did "Dream Extreme" as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series continues to establishes new stars, impressive new venues and carrys the momentum of the sport of short course off road racing forward.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series returns to the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex for rounds 7&8 on July 25th and 26th.

Catch all of the exciting action from the Lake Elsinore Rounds 5&6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series on SPEED on Sunday July 12th - 2pm and 3pm EST.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, LOORRS brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit LucasOilOffRoad.com

Larry Job Doubles Victories in Menzies Motorsports Unlimited Buggy

Larry Job Doubles Victories in Menzies Motorsports Unlimited Buggy; Bryce Menzies Races to Front of Lucas Unlimited 2 Field before Engine Failure; Bryce Menzies Single Buggy Podium CAPS Blistering Weekend of Racing at Lucas Oil Off Road Series

Lucas Oil Off Road Series Rounds 7&8 to be held July 25-26 at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex in Southern California

Las Vegas, Nevada (July 1, 2009) America's hardcore off road racing fans braved triple digit temperatures that blistered the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex, cheering on the stars of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series. Racers battle in what some have described as the best short course racetrack designed in Southern California in many years. The wide open super fast race challenged drivers of all levels and featured massive jumps that tested the mettle of all the racers across the board.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series rounds 5 and 6 of the 2009 season was held before the Southern California two-day combined crowd of 13,400 screaming fans at 1.0 purpose-built dirt raceway hewn at the edge of Lake Elsinore. Menzies Motorsports' "Big Red Machine" rolled out the Super Clean Unlimited 2 and the Menzies Limited Buggy for racer, Bryce menzies. Larry Job readied for duty in his Unlimited Buggy and joining the Menzies Motorsports race lineup for the first time in 2009 was action-sports television commentator, Cameron Steele.



Bryce Menzies, 22, is the son of team owner Steve Menzies. Bryce captured the 2007 CORR Rookie of the Year in Single Buggy (and season point champ), before he moved up into the Pro 2 class in the shortened 2008 CORR season. In 2009, he continues his reign of terror on America's short course off road racing.

Larry Job, another veteran Southern Nevada desert racer in his second full short-course season, was the Menzies Motorsports winning superstar throughout the entire weekend as victories on both days cemented a solid standing amount the season point's race enroute to a possible championship.

The No. 907 MasterCraft AlumiCraft-Honda was a rocket ship all weekend long, the Las Vegas business owner explained, "Racing with Menzies Motorsports and working with Steve is simply a joy. He is a logistical wizard and I have to thank him for his continued organizing efforts in allowing all of us to be part of the 'Big Red Machine.' We have a great race team and many thanks go out to my crew chief, Ralph Chadwick, for his flawless efforts and, of course, to my spotters Billy Goerke and Kevin Kroyer. Steve continues to find key people in order to get the job done. It makes my job driving easier, which allows me to focus on winning races. Our marketing partners continue to support the 'Big Red Machine' and we wouldn't be here without them. Thanks goes out to Super Clean, Ahern Rentals, and Kroyer Racing. For the first time this season I was able to bounce some race strategy off my new racing partner, Cameron Steele. It's great to have Cameron and his crew on the team and I look forward to a successful season in our buggy class."

Bryce Menzies, the Las Vegas young gun ran with the Unlimited 2 leaders during both days of racing action. However in the end, it was not meant to be, as the Unlimited 2 team suffered terminal engine failure in each race.

Bryce qualified his No. 7 Super Clean FORD F150 race truck in the third position during Friday's qualifying session and early on in Saturday's race he challenged the champion for position at the front of the field. But that hard racing ended up being quality seat time for the 2nd year professional off road truck racer, after succumbing to every racer's nightmare of engine failure in the midst of a great performance.

Bryce explained, "We struggled today with a mechanical issue in the engine and you can be sure I will be spending as much time as I can finding out why we had two engines go bad in the same weekend," said Menzies. "On a positive note, the 'Big Red Machine' has such knowledgeable people and fantastic marketing partners that we'll take this disappointing weekend in stride and come out swinging in the next two rounds of racing."

Joining the race action this year for Menzies Motorsports in SCORE Trophy Truck driver, Cameron Steele. The veteran desert racer was slated to join the team in 2008 for the final four races, but the series folded just as he was about to slide his helmet on. The San Clemente, California resident finished in the top ten in Sunday's Unlimited Buggy race after a disappointing performance on Saturday.

The vivacious TV personality commented, "Wow, seventh place just plain sucks, but we had a good time and realized that we can run with the leaders in the class right out of the gate. It for sure made the trail by fire much easier having the 'Big Red Machine' and it's extended family behind us. Steve and Bryce are always right there and Larry, who won both days, is like a brother We truly worked together like a couple of old buggy dorks. We had a flat while running in podium position, but we know why and it won't happen next time. We plan on double podiums for the red terrors at rounds 7 and 8!"

Menzies Motorsports team owner, Steve Menzies, continues to forge ahead with his dream and plan to create something special from his 'Big Red Machine.'

Steve commented, "This was a long hot tough weekend of racing. We've had these before and we'll have them again, but I'm glad this one is over. We experienced something with our motors this weekend that we never had before and we began looking into solutions while we were still at the track. Larry Job carried the flag for us this weekend with his back-to-back victories and we were glad to have Cameron Steele in one of our cars as well. We'll have these engine issues solved before our next rounds of racing, as we plan on testing in a couple of weeks. I have to thank our corporate partners who contine to support our racing endeavors. We've put together a great bunch of marketing partners this season and we're looking forward to a solit second half of the season."

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series boasts a very strong TV package with SPEED, featuring 30 hours of original programming during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 2009. The final race of the year at Primm Motorsports Complex will be televised live on NBC Sports.

For ticket information and more information on the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, visit www.LucasOilOffroad.com

For more information on Menzies Motorsports, visit www.MenziesMotorsports.com

Menzies Motorsports: 2009 Lucas Oil Off Road Series Rounds 5&6, June 27-28 Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex, California
Round 5, Saturday - June 27, 2009

Unlimited 2: Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Nevada, 13th Place
Unlimited Buggy: Larry Job, Las Vegas, Nevada 1st Place
Cameron Steele, San Clemente, CA 16th Place
Limited Buggy: Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Nevada, 18th Place

Round 6, Sunday-June 28, 2009
Unlimited 2: Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Nevada 11th Place
Unlimited Buggy: Larry Job, Las Vegas, Nevada 1st Place
Cameron Steele, San Clemente, CA 7th Place
Limited Buggy: Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Nevada 3rd Place

Horsepower meets Firepower as Daniel Defense debutes the DDXV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Lake Elsinore, CA – With a heat index over 100 degrees, and some of the hottest off road action being presented by the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Daniel Defense debuted the newest model of their superior line of M4 Carbines at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex in Lake Elsinore, CA.

Attracting attendees by the thousands, Daniel Defense was able to successfully launch the DDXV Carbine into the consumer market. Choosing California as the launch point, Daniel Defense clearly communicated their dedication to facilitating small arms needs to their customers in the harshest of geographical and political climates.

Thousands of off road race fans were able to view and handle the expertly crafted DDM4 and the new DDXV. The DDXV is the Daniel Defense entry level carbine featuring “the same engine and transmission” of the DDM4, but with a more budget-minded “trim package” such as a standard issue buttstock and plastic hand guards.

Representatives from Rifle Gear, a local firearms dealer in Costa Mesa, CA (www.riflegear.com) were on hand to clearly explain and help California residents understand the particular accommodations that must be made in order to comply with state laws and regulations. Both Daniel Defense and Rifle Gear were assisted greatly by the Calguns Foundation (www.calguns.net). Calguns Foundation graciously contributed materials that educated adults and children alike about safe, responsible firearms ownership in California.

“This was a great event for Daniel Defense,” notes Brian Gilbert, US Sales Manager for Daniel Defense, “Race fans agreed that the DDXV was the perfect fit for all of their shooting and home defense need. While handling our rifles, many attendees told me that they were excited about going to the next level with the DDXV.”

Daniel Defense appreciates the attendees and race teams of the Lucas Oil Off R

LOORRS Rounds 5&6 by Durka Durka

A little preview of what's to come. More later.

Raikkonen to race in world rally

Full Story

Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen is to compete in the World Rally Championship in his native Finland at the end of the July.

Ferrari's Raikkonen has appeared in three non-championship rallies this season and will be behind the wheel of a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto.

His co-driver, Kaj Lindstrom, said: "The roads used for this rally are so fast but he's very talented."

The rally is staged three weeks before the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

A Chat With F1 World Champ Mika Häkkinen. Who Loves NASCAR.

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The door opens, and in walks Mika Häkkinen, twice Formula 1 world driving champion, winner of 20 Grands Prix during his ten-year career (1991-2001), and the racing foe seven-time champion Michael Schumacher says he admired and feared most. I’m in Stuttgart, Germany, to drive the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedan, and the maker has arranged for its now-retired superstar (Häkkinen won his championships driving Benz-powered McLarens) to sit down for a brief chat.


The Finnish-born Häkkinen, now 40, looks fit, tanned, and relaxed. As we make introductions, he says he’s already driven the E63 (I drive it tomorrow), and after his flat-out laps around the Nurburgring he found it “a brilliant car. Difficult to find the limit. The car was really well balanced.”