#2022 daytona 500

[coimbrabertone]

NASCAR Numerology: How NASCAR's Current Teams Got Their Numbers: Part Five.

Alright guys, we've gotten to the last part of this little miniseries.

Today we're covering:

Front Row Motorsports, who run the #34 Ford for Michael McDowell and the #38 for Todd Gilliland in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series.

Legacy Motor Club, who run the #42 Toyota for John Hunter Nemechek and the historic #43 for Erik Jones.

and JTG Daugherty Racing, who run the #47 Chevrolet for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Fittingly, we get to end on representation for all three brands.

Front Row Motorsports debuted in 2004, running the #92 Ford on a partial schedule with drivers like Brad Teague, Tony Raines, and Stanton Barrett, but they would fail to qualify for any races. Furthermore, the Mach 1 Motorsports team ran the #98/#96 car that year, splitting time between Ford and Dodge, and running drivers such as Todd and Geoff Bodine, Larry Gunselman, Derrike Cope, Chad Chaffin, and Randy LaJoie.

This team did manage to make some races (keyword: some) and in 2005, Mach 1 would attempt the full schedule with a #34 Chevrolet while another slew of drivers (mainly LaJoie, Chaffin, and PJ Jones) but by the end of 2005, the team was up for sale. Front Row Motorsports would buy this #34 car, as well as Mach 1's shop, and build their team around it.

Often running as a start-and-park team with a revolving door of drivers, Front Row finally got some stability in 2009, with John Andretti driving the #34, and dragging it up to three top twenty finishes, at Daytona, Loudon, and Fontana.

Andretti left after the 2010 Daytona 500, but the top twenty streak remained, with Travis Kvapil scoring an 18th at Talladega and Kevin Conway a 14th at the summer Daytona race.

David Gilliland (Todd's father) ran the full 2011 season and scored a third place at the Daytona 500, building on the results of the last three years to make Front Row Motorsports a proper contender on the superspeedways.

For 2012, Gilliland was moved to the #38 (more on that later) while David Ragan took over the #34. This car would top off FRM's superspeedway streak by winning the 2013 Aaron's 499 at Talladega.

Ragan would leave FRM after the 2015 Daytona 500 to get the opportunity to fill in for the injured Kyle Busch, so that season was a bit of a revolving door for the #34 yet again. Yet, for 2016, they got a technical alliance with Roush Fenway Racing in exchange for running Roush development driver Chris Buescher.

And Chris Buescher would win the 2016 Pennsylvania 400 for them on a Monday after a rainy weekend followed by a foggy weekend led to a segmented and ultimately shortened race. It took a bit of luck, but it got FRM its second win, and the first that wasn't on a superspeedway.

Chris Buescher went to JTG Daugherty of all places for 2017 (more on that later), so FRM hired Landon Cassill, without much success, before signing Michael McDowell for 2018.

McDowell has seen FRM become a legitimate team, winning the 2021 Daytona 500 and the 2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the IMS Road Course. Furthermore, in 2024, now in alliance with Team Penske, Front Row Motorsports is no longer an ironic name, as McDowell has started first or second multiple times this season, including at Daytona, Atlanta, and even Gateway, the latter two being pole positions.

Michael McDowell, however, will be moving to the Spire Motorsports #71 for 2025.

FRM has built their numbering scheme off of the #34, running other cars such as the #35, #37, and most commonly the #36, but its second full time car has been the #38.

Driven by David Gilliland from 2012-2015 and son Todd Gilliand ever since 2022, the car has also seen drives from Landon Cassill, David Ragan (in a return to FRM), John-Hunter Nemechek, Anthony Alfredo, and Zane Smith. With four top tens and a further ten top twenties, 2024 has thus far been the most successful season to date for the #38.

FRM will run a third full time car in 2025, having bought a charter from SHR, and has signed SHR's Noah Gragson, but it is unknown was number he will run. FRM ran the #36 this season for Kaz Grala, but Bob Jenkins says he's not married to this numbering scheme. Still, even numbers in the mid-30s are as close to consistent numbering as FRM has ever gotten, so I hope they do decide to stick with the #36.

Onto Legacy Motor Club.

First things first, this team is a Frankenstein's Monster mess of forgotten NASCAR teams in hilarious fashion. Petty Enterprises, officially ran from 1949 to 2008, when sponsorship could not be found, leading to the team merging with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports for 2009. Gillett-Evernham Motorsports consisted of Evernham Motorsports, the former Dodge factory team that ran the #9 and the #19, MBV Motorsports (which was essentially the #10 car owned by Valvoline at this point), and money from George Gillett, who was at the time the controversial owner of the Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool FC.

So already, you had the Petty #43, Petty #45, Evernham #9, Evernham #19, and Valvoline #10 merging into one team, but for 2010, they also bought Yates Racing to take over Paul Menard and his #98 Ford. This allowed the entire team to switch from Dodge to Ford.

So come 2010, the team is running the #9, #19, #43, and #98 with relics from three different numbering schemes remaining in the team. It's freaking awesome.

The #19 and #98 went away after 2010, leaving the team with the #9 and the #43.

The #9 was initially their most successful car, with Kasey Kahne winning Sonoma 2009 and Fall Atlanta 2009 with the team, before Australian Marcos Ambrose won Watkins Glen for the team in 2011 and 2012.

The #43 would, to its credit, with the 2014 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona with Aric Almirola, and it would become the team's only car after 2016.

After the 2021 season, GMS Racing, a truck team, bought into Petty, becoming Petty GMS. Ahead of the 2023 season, the team became Legacy Motor Club, with Jimmie Johnson buying in, Richard Petty chasing out, and Maury Gallagher of GMS becoming majority owner. Petty remained involved a spokesman for the team, however.

So, finally, onto their numbers. They run the #43 and have since practically the beginning of time, because that was Richard Petty's number? Why, well, that actually takes us to their second car, the #42, which was Lee Petty's number.

Why did Lee Petty pick the #42? Legend has it was the first two numbers in his license plate.

So, Lee Petty ran the #42, his son Richard ran the #43, Richard's son Kyle would eventually run the #44, and Kyle's son Adam would run the #45. Each generation building on the last. When Adam died, Kyle took over the #45 in his memory.

Thad Moffitt in the Truck series is a grandson of Richard Petty through Petty's youngest daughter Rebecca, and he continues this trend by running the #46.

In any case, when Petty GMS bought a second car in 2022, they chose to run the #42 - recently vacated by Chip Ganassi - reuniting the original two Petty numbers.

This arrangement continued as Petty became Legacy and eventually switched to Toyota for 2024. Currently the #43 is driven by Erik Jones, who won Darlington in it in 2022, and the #42 by John Hunter Nemechek.

Also, fun fact, Kyle Petty drove the #42 at Team SABCO (which would eventually become Chip Ganassi Racing) from 1989 to 1996, so it was a Petty number even when it wasn't.

And now JTG Daugherty Racing. It started in 2007, running a second car (#47) in alliance with the Wood Brothers. I cannot find any specific reason for the #47, only that Tad Geschickter ran a #47 Busch car ever since 1996, so maybe it was an availability thing. In any case, they ran the #47 and made their Cup debut in 2007, with Ken Schrader and Jon Wood each trying and failing to qualify for a race.

The #47 managed a few starts in 2008 with Marcos Ambrose, finishing third at the Glen, which prompted JTG to split with the Wood Brothers to try and go full time for the 2009 season with Ambrose in a #47 Toyota. This lasted two years before Mabrose moved to the aforementioned Richard Petty Motorsports, with JTG instead drafting in Bobby Labonte.

They would sign AJ Allmendinger in 2013 as Labonte began scaling back his races, and with AJ full time in 2014, they'd win at Watkins Glen. Allmendinger would last until 2018, when Ryan Preece was hired for that car, but then Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was chosen for 2020. Ricky would win the 2023 Daytona 500 with the team.

JTG Daugherty also briefly has a second car, the #37 - ten less than #47, also apparently Tad used this number in college sports - the #37 ran with Chris Buescher for 2017, 2018, and 2019, before running with Ryan Preece for 2020 and 2021.

This brings up another interesting aspect of JTG Daugherty Racing - despite the fact that they're a Chevy team, they kinda have this unique relationship with RFK Racing. First of all, Chris Buescher was a Roush development driver. Second of all, that #37 car for Buescher was run on the charter for Roush's #16.

Third, was that when Roush took Chris Buescher back for the 2020 season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. then went the other way, going from the Roush #17 to the JTG Daugherty #47.

Oh, and as recently as 2023, JTG Daugherty's pit crew was on loan from Roush. Yeah, odd.

So yeah, that is all 36 chartered teams for the 2024 NASCAR Cup series and the story of a couple other numbers that are relevant to the story. I hope you guys enjoyed all that, but I think I'm gonna write about some other motorsports for a little while. The blog has been a bit NASCAR heavy lately and this week added a whole five extra blogposts to it.

I do enjoy blabbing on about NASCAR, but I also enjoy blabbing on about MotoGP and Indycar. Formula One is also a sport that exists.

[umseb]

Sebastian Vettel in the Porsche 963

Sebastian Vettel has prepared meticulously for his stint with the hybrid prototype. On 14 March, the 53-time Formula 1 race winner paid a visit to the FIA WEC team at the Porsche Penske Motorsport facility in Mannheim. One day later, the Heppenheim native completed an extensive simulator session at the Porsche Motorsport Centre in Flacht and familiarised himself with the special features and complex controls of the Le Mans race car. This was followed on 21 March by the first familiarisation kilometres with the Porsche 963 on the in-house test track at the Weissach Development Centre. In dry weather with tarmac temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius and 10 to 13 degrees cool air, the F1 champion completed almost two Grand Prix distances in Aragón without any problems. "Of course, I also keep an eye on other motorsport disciplines and know many drivers who are active in the WEC and Le Mans. At some point, my curiosity was so great that I had the idea of trying it out myself. Porsche gave me the opportunity to test a current hypercar with the 963," says Sebastian Vettel. "After the seat adjustment, the simulator session and the roll-out in Weissach, I already had a good feeling. Driving the Porsche 963 on the track here in Aragon - that was definitely fun. I first had to get used to everything and find my rhythm. The driving experience is different simply because of the roof over your head, as well as dealing with the higher weight and the tyres. The Porsche works drivers were very helpful and explained to me what was special and what I needed to get used to. That made it easy for me." The Porsche Penske Motorsport works team has won both the season opener of the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and this year's first race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Qatar with the approximately 500 kW (680 hp) Porsche 963. At the WEC highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, record holder Porsche is aiming for its 20th overall victory. There, as at the other rounds of the WEC, the entire starting field has relied on a biofuel since March 2022. "Aragon is one of the few places in Europe where we can run around the clock and gives us an opportunity to run 36 hours straight in preparation for Le Mans. The quite long back straight that gives us the top speed of more than 300 km/h we see on the Circuit des 24 Heures," explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. "Having Sebastian Vettel here is a unique opportunity for the team. He is a four time Formula 1 World Champion. He has massive experience with hybrid systems and high performance racing cars. Having his fresh unique perspective on where the car is and gives feedback on our systems and performances is a unique opportunity. We are happy to have him here. He came out of the car with a smile which is all good." In addition to Vettel, a total of seven Porsche works drivers will take part in the endurance test. Matt Campbell (Australia), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) will share the Porsche 963 with starting number 5 in the WEC, while Kévin Estre (France), André Lotterer (Germany) and Laurens Vanthoor will drive the sister car with the number 6. They will be joined in Aragon by reigning DTM champion Thomas Preining from Austria.

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Josef Nicolai Newgarden

His name was originally Joseph Edgar Newgarden but it was changed when he was 6

Birthdate: Dec. 22, 1990 Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Residence: Nashville, Tennessee Height/Weight: 6’0/177lbs

Rookie Year: 2012

Team: Penske

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter YouTube

Career Stats

2012: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing - 23rd Overall 2013: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing - 14th Overall 2014: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing - 13th Overall 2015: CFH Racing - 7th Overall 2016: Ed Carpenter Racing - 4th Overall 2017: Team Penske - 1st Overall 2018: Team Penske - 5th Overall 2019: Team Penske - 1st Overall 2020: Team Penske - 2nd Overall 2021: Team Penske - 2nd Overall 2022: Team Penske - 2nd Overall 2023: Team Penske - 5th Overall

Cohosted (as of 2024 on indefinite hiatus) fan-favorite behind-the-scenes video series Bus Bros with teammate Scott McLaughlin. Bus Bros Playlist

Behind-the-scenes race weekend videos. Admit1 playlist

SRX - 2022 Nashville, 2023 Motor Mile

IMSA 2023 - Tower Motorsports - Daytona 24 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Petite Le Mans 2024 - Porsche Penske Motorsport – Daytona 24 win

-a versatile athlete, who appeared on a 2016 episode of “American Ninja Warrior” with other NTT Indycar Series drivers and has participated in the NFL Combine and the Indiana Pacers Slam Dunk contest. He played baseball and basketball before turning to racing. -Listens to R&B and dance/EDM and is a fan of Twenty One Pilots, The Weekend, Skrillex, and Diplo -Avid gamer; is a brand ambassador for Forza Motorsport and is featured in voiceovers for multiple versions of the game, including Forza Motorsport 7 -Is an outstanding ping pong player and hosts an annual celebrity ping pong tournament around the Music City Grand Prix. It serves as a fundraiser for SeriousFun Children’s Network -Enjoys rock climbing and most outdoor activities; an avid Forza player

-cannot resist chocolate chip cookies or brownies

-doesn't like heights

Iconic/memorable moments

The rainbow cake deep throat at 15:00 "I may just put this in my crotch." 11:55 (keep watching for shirtless, sweaty Josef) Pullups with chains around his neck 0:15 (plus other drivers working out and highlights) The infamous Milk Gimp Indy 500 ad (viewer discretion advised) Drivers of the Corn - starring: Simon Pagenaud & Josef Newgarden BUS BROS Episode 12: We Got You My Favorite Summer Salad! (Because the world needs Josef Newgarden squeezing the life out food to make a salad.) starting at 0:50 Josef and Sage Karam at the 2015(?) NFL Combine 2022 INSIDE THE RACE // JOSEF NEWGARDEN Josef Newgarden shares BBQ Turkey Burger recipe LET THERE BE MILK. IndyCar off-season training hits different. Indy 500 Champ Josef Newgarden Shows Us His Workout | Train Like | Men's Health Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe Visit Space Camp 2023 Indy 500: Josef Newgarden Victory Celebration Speech Josef Newgarden relives 'the worst wreck I've ever had' at Texas | 'I Survived' | Motorsports on NBC Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin are teammates, friends, competitors | Motorsports on NBC PLAYING THE NEWLYWED GAME WITH THE BUS BROS: SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN & JOSEF NEWGARDEN!!!! Josef Newgarden: Defending a Championship Google Search - Josef Newgarden IndyCar Chronicles with Josef Newgarden INDYCAR 101: Driver Fitness with Josef Newgarden Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud | No. 1 Josef Newgarden III (Incognito 3) INDYCAR FANswers: Josef Newgarden INDYCAR Travels: Josef Newgarden in Milwaukee Josef Newgarden Undercover

The INDYCAR Off-Season with Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly IndyCar: Robin Miller with Josef Newgarden at Road America Driver Josef Newgarden Red Carpet Interview from the INDYCAR Championship Celebration Josef Newgarden | Christmas Movie Quotes Reddit Asks Josef Newgarden Anything! 2022 Edition Reddit Asks Me Anything! Part 1 Reddit Asks Me Anything! Part 2 Josef Newgarden goes INTO THE CROWD to celebrate his Indy 500 victory! James Hinchcliffe talks donuts, mac & cheese and chocolate with Josef Newgarden , Romain Grosjean Will Power and more. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin | Hot Seats with Hinch

2024 Cheating scandal Team Penske hit with penalties over Push to Pass use; O’Ward declared St. Petersburg winner How Team Penske took push-to-pass beyond the limit

Penske Perfect and Details Matter are two phrases often used in conjunction with the Penske organization. And when they can be used to dunk on Ferrucci, all the better.

Josef is a perfectionist. This is a combo of his highly competitive nature - which has been said about him from a young age - and the Penske Perfect motto which he has taken to heart. He is highly critical of himself - getting very down on himself if he makes a mistake and taking the blame for things not wholly under his control. But he tried to maintain a genial if slightly arrogant image in public. He slips sometimes - there have been a few angry Twitter interactions that he later apologized for and on occasion after a race, his temper will get the better of him and he'll say things he probably shouldn't.

He can be goofy as hell as seen on Bus Bros. Scott McLaughlin has brought this out of him since becoming teammates. Josef has said that Scott makes him feel more comfortable being his real self.

I would be remiss if I did not point out Josef's thighs. He is a specimen in general but those thighs should get special attention.

Fanfic Lore

Frequently paired with teammate Scott McLaughlin. As of 2024 there has been a cooling of their friendship as Josef pulls back to focus on racing/the championship.

Historically paired with Conor Daly. They raced together in karts and lower-series cars.

[gossipontheasphalt]

Weird Things That Have Happened During a NASCAR Race

Weird and unusual moments. Every professional sport has had a strange thing happen during a game, and NASCAR is no different. I’m going to be going over some unusual things that have happened during NASCAR races.

During the cup series race at Watkins Glen in 2007, while the race was under the red flag, a fan actually climbed over the fence and went onto the racetrack. He then went over to Matt Kenseth’s passenger side window and began to ask for his autograph. First, how the hell did this guy manage to get past security? I get that this was back in 2007, but seriously, security at a sporting event should not be this laughably bad in the twenty first century. I am also curious, did alcohol have anything to do with this? I am inclined to think that it must have, what ordinary person what do something this dumb?

Seven years later at Richmond raceway in 2014, the race had to be put under caution, because a fan began climbing the catchfence. It wasn’t shown on tv as it happened, because NASCAR didn’t want their viewing audience to attempt something like that. I’m beginning to think that these weirdos are related, or at least know each other in some way.

Now this next one happened in the garage area. During an Xfinity series race at Atlanta in 2022, a tractor trailer was about to leave the racetrack, and attempted to exit through a tunnel that was too short. This went about as well as you’d expect. I’ve heard stories of tractor trailers and tall busses getting stuck under tunnels on the interstate, but I haven’t heard of it happening during a sporting event.

That same year during a race at Road America, NASCAR Xfinity series driver Josh Bilicki accidentally went and hit a Sargento sign. He then drove back onto the racing surface, with the sign stuck to the front of his car. And then came the funny part. After the race, Sargento ended up becoming one of his sponsors. This is probably one of the weirdest ways an athlete has gotten a sponsor, in the history of professional sports.

I’m going to end this off, with a weird incident that happened during the 2010 Daytona 500. The race had to be red flagged, due to a hole in the racetrack. Now a NASCAR racetrack is much more different than a regular road. Due to the cars being so low to the ground, you need the surface to be as flat as possible. On a normal road, you would just fill the hole with cement and call it a day. But in NASCAR, after filling the hole, you really need to smooth it out, it has to be a perfectly even surface. Well, someone didn’t do their job properly because once the race resumed, it had to be stopped again, because the track came apart again and left another hole in the exact same location. After that they were able to go the rest of the race without the track coming apart. It’s ludicrous that the track workers had to fix the same thing twice.

Well, that’s it for today. If you have your own opinions about weird things that have happened during a race, let me know in the comments, and I might consider making a part 2. Bye.

[heelcody]

ooo give me a nascar guy

you get Austin Cindric!!! paging @femsabian local Cindric lover to add anything she wants to add in the replies

2022 rookie of the year AND 2022 Daytona 500 champion!!!! he won THEE 500 IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR!!!

he's a cool guy imo...very messy early on in his career and would dump the leaders to try and win but he's really chilled out and is a respectable and talented member of the garage. plus he's on Team Penske and they're like one of the funnest teams :3

[racecargraveyard]

2022 Ty Dillon #42 1959 Lee Petty Inaugural Daytona 500 Winner Throwback Custom. Such a shame it wasn't produced.

[shesholy]

𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖓𝖊     .     initial     .

full     name:   alabama     kara     levington     . nicknames,     aliases:

karawek     rattanakosin     .     (     name     at     birth     :     before     adoption    )

bama     .

big al     .

duchess     of     the     tracks     .     (         by     fans     /     nascar         )

the     alabama     slamma     .     (         by     fans     /     nascar     ,      early     in     her     career         )

age:   twenty     -     six     . date     of     birth:   june     nineteenth     . place     of     birth:   pattaya     city     ,     thailand     . hometown:     los     angeles     ,     california     . nationality:     american     . languages     spoken:     english     ,     some     thai     (          started     learning     recently          )     .

zodiac     sign:    gemini     . hogwarts     house:    slytherin     . myers     -    briggs:   esfp     -     t     .

occupation:    supermodel     and     race     car     driver     . notable     career     details:

race     car     driving     :     first     elite     tier     race  was     the     2016     indy     500     where     she     placed     20th     .

became     the     first     women     to     win     the     daytona     500     in     2020     .

became     the     first     women     to     earn     more     than     five     pole     positions     in     2021     ,     currently     has     seven  .

has     been     voted     the     most     popular     driver     in     a     single     race     eleven     times     .

currently     holds     the     most     wins     by     a     women     with     thirty     -    six     wins     to     date     .

currently     drives     #13     ford     mustang     gt     for     nascar    cup    series     and     #20     chevrolet     silverado    for    nascar    craftsman     truck     series     .  

most     recent     race     was     the     xfinity     500     in     october     of     2022     ,     where     she     placed     5th     .

modeling     :     did     her     first     vogue     cover     at     the     age     of     eighteen     ,     has     been     on     the     cover     of     sports     illustrated     three     times     since     2014     ,     became     a     victoria     secrets     angel     in     2016     ,     has     walked     for     ralph     lauren     ,     givency     ,     chanel     ,     balenciaga     ,     tom     ford     ,     prada     ,     and     more     ,     currently     the     face     of     chanel     n.     5     .

height:   five     foot     seven     . weight:   120     lbs     . tattoos,     piercings:   same     as     faceclaim     .

adoptive     father:   tba     levington     (         tba         )     ,     tba     .     relationship     :    she     is     her     father’s     daughter     ,     that     doesn’t     mean     she     agrees     with     everything     he’s     done     but     she     will     always     back     him     and     the     same     can     be     said     for     how     he     feels     about     her     .     she     considers     him     her     best     friend     even     if      they     don’t     talk     everyday     .   adoptive     mother:   tba     levington     -     tba    (         tba         )     ,     tba     .   relationship     :    they’ve     always     gotten     along     very     well     ,     they’ve     always     been     more     like     friends     than     mother     and     daughter     though     and     sometimes     alabama     feels     a     little     bit     of     resentment     for     that     . biological     parents:     fah     tanchanok     (          mother     ,      unknown          )     ,     mick     rattanakosin     (          father     ,     deceased          )     .     relationship     :     she     doesn’t     know     the     woman     who     gave     birth     to     her     and     neither     one     has     ever     reached     out     to     each     other     ;     she     did     meet     mick     toward     the     end     of     his     life     and     got     to     know     him     and     spent     his     last     days     with     him     but     that     was     all     .             siblings:       aracely     levington     (          21          )     relationship     :     tba     .      pets:     jill     (         rottweiler     ,     seven     years     old          )     ,     cersi     (         rottweiler     ,     six     years     old         )

gender:   cis     female     . pronouns:   she     /     her     . orientation:   heterosexual     . status:   single     . past     relationships:

tobias     forester     (          d.     2014     -     2018          )     

ford     anderson    (         d.     tbd         )

𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖔     .     background     .

inspo     :     maddy  perez ( euphoria )  ,  naomi  clark (  90210  )  ,  danica  patrick ( race  car  driver  )    .

alabama  ,  born  karawek  at  birth  ,  was  born  to  a  thai  politician  and  his  mistress  .  naturally  ,  the  last  thing  he  wanted  was  for  it  to  get  out  that  he’d  been  unfaithful  to  his  wife  and  so  when  his  mistress  turned  up  pregnant  he  sent  her  off  on  her  way  with  a  bundle  of  cash  (  expecting  she’d  end  the  pregnancy  )  and  the  issue  would  be  settled  .  she  did  no  such  thing  though  ,  wanting  to  capitalize  on  having  the  child  of  a  prominent  figure  .  her  plans  quickly  fell  by  the  wayside  though  when  she  realized  she  simply  was  not  cut  out  for  motherhood  ,  no  amount  of  money  could  make  her  even  slightly  decent  at  it  .  despite  that  she  wanted  the  best  for  her  daughter  ,  even  if  she  couldn’t  give  her  that  .  at  just  under  six  months  ,  she  put  her  daughter  up  for  closed  adoption  .  the  levington’s  ,  a  prominent  hollywood  couple  who  were  sure  they’d  never  be  able  to  have  children  of  their  own  at  the  time  ,  wanted  to  start  a  family  .  the  second  they  came  across  the  little  girl  ,  they  fell  absolutely  in  love  and  the  adoption  process  started  from  there  .  changing  her  name  to  the  name  at  the  top  of  mrs.  levington’s  dream  board  ,  they  made  a  point  to  include  a  part  of  her  given  name  at  birth  as  her  middle  name  though  ,  a  thanks  to  her  biological  parents  for  giving  them  their  baby  girl  in  a  way  .                       

the  eldest  of  what  would  become  known  as  the  levington  clan  ,  life  for  alabama  was  picture  perfect  .  a  close ( enough  )  bond  with  all  of  her  siblings  and  two  loving  parents  .  not  to  mention  the  money  and  fame  that  came  with  her  last  name  ,  there  wasn’t  much  for  the  young  girl  to  really  ask  for  but  that  didn’t  stop  her  from  doing  so  .  known  to  never  really  be  satisfied  ,  she’s  always  thought  there  was  something  bigger  and  better  around  the  corner  and  can’t  seem  to  stomach  the  idea  of  anyone  getting  such  a  thing  over  her  .  call  it  entitlement  ,  if  you’d  like  .  

growing  up  in  los  angeles  didn’t  do  her  any  favors  ,  submerged  in  a  world  were  who  you  are  and  what  you  look  like  was  all  that  really  mattered  .  her  mother  was  the  first  to  jump  on  any  chance  to  make  her  precious  little  girl  the  absolute  best  .  taught  at  a  young  age  to  always  step  out  of  the  house  like  you  were  walking  the  catwalk  .  you’d  catch  alabama  dead  before  you  ever  caught  her  out  and  about  in  sweatpants ( to  be  honest  ,  i  don’t  even  think  she  owns  a  pair  of  sweatpants  ) .  the  world  really  got  a  glimpse  into  how  image  obsessed  the  young  girl  was  when  she  got  a  nose  job  for  her  sixteenth  birthday  .  truthfully  it  was  like  some  sort  of  right  of  passage  among  her  highschool  friends  back  then  .  a  group  of  private  school  girls  who  were  more  cliquey  than  anyone  could  really  stomach  .  

for  as  long  as  anyone  could  remember  she  was  the  most  pristine  of  her  siblings  ,  the  one  who  always  put  her  best  foot  forward  .  that  all  changed  at  seventeen  though  after  a  more  public  break  up  took  place  ,  she  was  left  distraught  .  the  only  way  she  knew  to  numb  her  feelings  was  to  fall  into  the  party  scene  .  she  drank  more  than  her  body  could  handle  ,  sobered  up  with  lines  ,  and  didn’t  get  home  until  the  sun  was  coming  up  .  it  was  a  rather  dark  point  in  her  life  .  the  only  silver  lining  being  she  could  stop  when  she  wanted  to  (  no  ,  seriously  )  ,  she  just  didn’t  want  to  at  that  time  .  her  parents  only  taking  it  seriously  when  she  was  arrested  at  school  for  possession  of  drugs  (   truth  is  ,  the  drugs  weren’t  even  hers  she  was  just  taking  the  fall  for  a  friend  but  that’s  something  that’s  never  gone  public   )  .  once  they  bailed  her  out  ,  they  almost  immediately  shipped  her  off  to  some  rehab  facility  in  malibu  .  the  doctors  there  quickly  realizing  they  weren’t  dealing  with  an  addict  by  any  means  just  a  teenage  girl  who  was  upset  and  lashing  out  .  it’s  unfortunately  a  trait  no  one  has  been  able  to  help  her  unlearn  ,  to  this  day  she’s  known  to  be  rather  difficult  ,  especially  when  she  feels  she  has  been  done  wrong  .  she  will  lash  out  -  violently  ,  verbally  ,  you  never  really  know  if  venomous  words  or  a  shockingly  chin  rocking  hit  are  going  to  come  from  her  .  

after  her  stint  in  rehab  ,  she  switched  highschools ( due  to  being  expelled )  and  being  her  quickly  found  herself  a  new  group  of  friends  at  the  top  of  the  food  chain  ,  she’s  a  natural  social  climber  and  doesn’t  really  need  to  put  too  much  effort  into  doing  so  .  soon  enough  she  graduated  and  let’s  be  real  her  grades  were  good  enough  to  get  her  a  diploma  but  that’s  about  it  .  college  had  never  been  in  her  plans  and  thankfully  she  already  had  a  career  lined  up  for  herself  in  race  car  driving  which  she’d  picked  up  around  the  age  of  thirteen  when  she  started  kart  racing  .  it  started  off  as  her  chasing  an  adrenaline  rush  but  quickly  turned  into  so  much  more  ,  after  her  first  major  competition  as  a  teenager  people  around  her  began  making  claims  she  could  break  records  for  women  in  the  world  of  racing  .  she  has  gone  on  to  proving  them  all  right  with  her  career  breaking  barriers  and  winning  races  no  woman  before  her  ever  has  .  alabama  is  the  first  to  say  the  way  she  carries  herself  on  the  tracks  is  much  like  the  way  she  carries  herself  throughout  life  .  a  women  in  a  male  dominated  environment  who  refuses  to  take  on  the  spot  as  anything  less  than  just  as  dominating  as  her  male  counterparts  ,  unafraid  of  whether  that  makes  her  too  much  in  anyone’s  eyes  or  not  .  

sometime  in  2017  ,  she  was  reached  out  to  by  a  man  who  claimed  to  be  her  biological  father  .  a  shock  to  her  system  ,  not  because  she  didn’t  know  she  was  adopted  (  that  much  was  clear  to  her  ;  and  her  parents  had  been  rather  upfront  about  it  )  but  because  she  knew  it  was  a  closed  adoption  .  convinced  her  whole  life  they  wanted  nothing  to  do  with  her  and  by  that  point  in  her  life  she’d  come  to  terms  with  that  .  he  had  disclosed  that  he  only  had  so  much  longer  on  the  earth  (  he  was  very  sick  )  and  wanted  to  meet  the  daughter  that  he  never  got  to  know  .  initially  she  ignored  him  entirely  .  it  was  her  turn  to  shun  him  from  her  life  --  she  couldn’t  miss  someone  she  never  knew  and  she  refused  to  be  disloyal  to  her  parents  ,  the  two  people  in  the  world  who  chose  her  and  loved  her  .  after  a  few  months  though  her  dad  explained  to  her  that  he  thought  it’d  be  best  for  her  to  meet  her  biological  father  .  she  sat  on  the  idea  for  a  couple  weeks  before  deciding  to  reach  out  .  a  few  days  later  she  was  on  a  flight  to  thailand  .  what  was  only  supposed  to  be  a  weekend  trip  turned  out  to  be  a  month  and  a  half  long  .  she  connected  with  him  and  a  piece  of  her  wanted  to  be  there  for  him  in  his  last  days  .  soon  after  his  funeral  she  returned  back  to  the  states  .  going  back  to  life  as  she  knew  it  pretty  much  without  a  bat  of  her  eyes  .  given  a  sort  of  closure  she  never  realized  she  needed  in  her  time  in  thailand  (  even  though  her  biological  mother  has  never  reached  out  ,  although  before  he  passed  he  did  give  alabama  the  woman’s  name  )  .             

the  tabloids  often  have  alot  to  say  about  her  and  her  antics  but  one  that  can  never  be  said  about  this  nepotism  baby  is  that  she  doesn’t  hold  loyalty  and  honesty  in  the  highest  regard  .  a  true  rarity  in  the  world  she  lives  in  but  alabama  will  fall  on  a  sword  for  those  closest  to  her  (  i.e  her  arrest  back  in  highschool ) ,  she  may  have  a  cool  hard  shell  covering  her  at  all  times  but  she  cares  immensely  about  her  family  and  those  she  deems  her  friends  .  she’s  the  girl  who  is  still  close  with  most  of  her  childhood  friends  just  simply  because  you  never  turn  your  back  on  someone ( unless  they  give  you  reason  to  ) .  

known  for  having  a  terrible  track  record  when  it  comes  to  the  men  in  her  life  ,  leaving  her  to  be  deemed  a  scorn  women  by  many  tabloids  at  just  the  age  of  twenty  -  six  .  her  bad  luck  started  at  seventeen  and  has  recently  been  topped  off  with  her  rather  distasteful  split  with  ford  ,  in  which  the  whole  world  watched  him cheat  on  her  .  to  say  she  is  the  leading  champion  of  the  men  suck  club  would  be  an  understatement  .  she  doesn’t  trust  men  to  save  a  life  and  frankly  she  feels  she’s  entitled  to  those  feelings  .  

[morinleves]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: NWT NASCAR DAYTONA 500 2022 TSHIRT.

[motorsportverso]

Legacy Motor Club em parceria com Jimmie Jhonsson entra na Extreme E em 2024

A equipe Americana vinda da Nascar Cup Series , integrara o grid da Extreme E em 2024 que começa com sua primeira rodada dupla na Arabia Saudita no próximo final de semana.

O 7 vezes campeão da Nascar Cup Series e 2 vezes ganhador da Daytona 500 que fara sua estreia no Off road em uma dupla totalmente Americana , tendo como mais próxima de participação em corridas desse tipo as suas duas participações no ROC(Race of Champions) em 2001 e 2022.

O seu substituto na primeira rodada dupla

Travis Pastrana : que já competiu em varias modalidades de esporte, Motocross, de Bicicleta, rally, rallycross e na Nascar, que tem experiência em Off road em duas e quatro rodas ,  que é o promotor do Nitrocross (rallycross dos Estados Unidos) em que foi campeão no ano de estreia em 2021, na categoria Supercar  com Subaru, que bateu Colin Mcrae no X-Games no rally em 2007, que atualmente está no Grupo E do Nitrocross na 7ª posição

Gray Leadbetter : que competiu no ARX2 do Americas rallycross com a Dreyer & Reynold em 2019 terminando em 5º, que tem participado a temporada de 2023-24 do Nitrocross(rallycross dos Estados Unidos) no UTVs como melhor resultado um 3º lugar no Mid America Outdoor na 1ª etapa e na etapa 9 em Glen Helen que está em 3º no campeonato atualmente.

[coimbrabertone]

NASCAR Numerology: How NASCAR's Current Teams Got Their Numbers: Part Four.

Welcome everybody to the mission creep blog! We've done Trackhouse, Penske, Wood Brothers, RCR, SHR, Hendrick, RFK, and Spire, which means we've cleared the first ten numbers!

Today we're going to talk about:

Joe Gibbs Racing, who runs the #11, the #19, the #20, and the #54 this year.

Kaulig Racing, who runs the #13, the #16, and the #31.

Rick Ware Racing, who run the #15 and the #51,

and 23XI Racing, who run the #23, the #45, and sometimes the #50.

So, starting with Joe Gibbs Racing...and their story starts with none of their current numbers! Rather, it starts with the #18 in 1992.

Why the #18? Once again, it was a story of lowest available number, as 1-12 were taken, the #13 was being used by a part time time along with various superstitions around it, and #14, #15, #16, and #17 were taken as well. Thus, JGR debuted in 1992 with Dale Jarrett in the Interstate Batteries Chevrolet. This partnership won the Daytona 500 in 1993 and won at the fall Charlotte race in 1994, but for 1995, Dale Jarrett would leave. He moved to Yates Racing to take over the #28, subbing for the injured Ernie Irvan, and when Irvan returned to the #28 in 1996, Jarrett moved to a second Yates car, the #88.

Thus, JGR had to make their own story with Bobby Labonte, who impressed immediately by winning the 1995 Coke 600 and sweeping Charlotte.

1997 would bring only one win, at Atlanta, so for 1997, JGR switched to Pontiac. This era of JGR, with Bobby Labonte running the Interstate Batteries #18 Pontiac, is when the team really broke into the top of NASCAR.

Bobby would finish second to Dale Jarrett in 1999, but in 2000, Bobby Labonte would win the championship for JGR.

This was also the time that JGR became a two car team for the first time, but more on that in a moment.

For now, Labonte continued in JGR through the end of the 2005 season, with his last three years in a Chevrolet as GM began phasing out the Pontiac brand in NASCAR. Upon his retirement, he was replaced by JGR development driver JJ Yeley, but Yeley would only last two winless seasons.

He would be shuffled off to Hall of Fame Racing for 2008.

This is when JGR experienced its biggest change in history when, feeling like they were second or even third fiddle at Chevrolet, they switched to Toyota for the 2008 season. Toyota looked downright bad in 2007, but with a year of experience and JGR making the switch, there was hope.

Another reason to hope was that Kyle Busch, the hotheaded but fast kid from Hendrick Motorsports, made the switch, with JGR signing M&Ms as a sponsor over from Yates.

Thus, one of the most recognizable partnerships in modern NASCAR began, with Kyle Busch, Toyota, and M&Ms - they won the 2015 and 2019 championships together, took countless wins, and along with Kevin Harvick of SHR and Martin Truex Jr., Kyle formed part of the "Big Three" drivers that dominated the late Gen 6 era of NASCAR, particularly 2017-2019.

However, during the 2022 season, Mars Inc., parent company of M&Ms, announced that they were ending their NASCAR sponsorship. Kyle Busch was forced to move to the #8 car at RCR, while Joe Gibbs announced that his grandson, Ty Gibbs, would move up to the NASCAR Cup Series.

Rather than the #18, he would continue in his Xfinity number, driving the #54.

Ironically enough, the #54 originates with Kyle Busch, as Kyle Busch Motorsports has long run the #51 (a tribute to Days of Thunder antagonist Rowdy Burns, who Kyle has nicknamed himself after) and the #4 in trucks. When KBM moved up to the second-tier Nationwide series in 2012 neither number was available, so they ran the #54 instead.

Kyle and Kurt Busch split the season, with Kurt taking its only win at Richmond.

For 2013, KBM's Nationwide team was sold to Joe Gibbs Racing, where, in 2022, Ty Gibbs ran the #54 to the Xfinity series championship (for those who don't know, Busch, Nationwide, and Xfinity are all the second-tier NASCAR series, it just doesn't have a proper name so it has always been known by its title sponsor, which has changed a few times).

So, the #18 became the #54.

Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs' second number was the #20, introduced in 1999. Why the #20? Because the #19 was taken by a part-time team at the time, so the #20 was the next available number after #18. This number was initially ran by Tony Stewart with immediate success, winning the championship in 2002 with Pontiac and 2005 with Chevrolet. The Home Depot #20 was one of the iconic cars of NASCAR's boom era, and Tony Stewart was its superstar driver. In 2008, however, JGR switched to Toyota, while Tony was an all-American GM guy to his core.

The awkward partnership only lasted for one year before Tony left JGR to start his own team with Gene Haas, forming SHR.

Joey Logano replaced Tony in the #20, showing flashes of brilliance, but with only two wins in four seasons, Logano was replaced with Matt Kenseth for 2013. Logano would move to Penske, with much more success there than he had at JGR.

Matt Kenseth, meanwhile, saw the #20 switch from Home Depot sponsorship to running a Dollar General primary. Nevertheless, Kenseth showed immediate success, taking seven wins and falling just nineteen points off championship leader Jimmie Johnson.

Two years later in 2015, Kenseth was on for another championship contending season before being spun out from the lead at Kansas by none other than Joey Logano. Getting caught up in a wreck at the next race at Talladega saw Matt Kenseth get eliminated in the round of 12, while Logano won his third race in a row at Talladega to sweep the round of 12.

In retribution, at Martinsville two weeks later - the first race of the round of eight - Matt Kenseth wrecked Joey Logano as the crowd cheered. Kenseth was suspended for two races, but getting wrecked at Martinsville, a tyre problem at Texas, and failing to win Phoenix meant that Joey Logano didn't advance either.

A historic feud between drivers of the #20.

Kenseth would leave JGR after 2017, handing the #20 over to Erik Jones for three seasons, before it ended up in the hands of current driver Christopher Bell in 2021.

Bell has made the championship four in both 2022 and 2023, but finished fourth in the standings both years.

JGR's third car was the #11, co-owned by JD Gibbs and running the #11, which was the number JD used in college football at William & Mary. The #11 debuted in 2004, running various drivers such as JJ Yeley, Jason Leffler, Ricky Craven, and even Terry Labonte before settling on Denny Hamlin at the end of 2005. Hamlin went full time for 2006.

The team, with primary sponsorship from FedEx, has run ever since.

Denny Hamlin and the #11 team have won three Daytona 500s, fifty-four races, and have basically done everything in NASCAR besides winning a championship. Truly the Chicago Cubs of the stock car racing world.

Last on the list for JGR is the #19, which Joe Gibbs was finally able to secure in 2015. They had already poached Matt Kenseth from Roush for the #20, so Gibbs decided to do it again and nabbed Carl Edwards for the #19, a partnership that lasted two years before Carl abruptly retired at the end of the 2016 season for reasons NASCAR fans still speculate about to this day.

In the words of Carl Edwards himself...he had taken too many knocks to the head over the years and with him then starting a young family with a neurosurgeon wife, he decided to retire.

Daniel Suárez replaced Edwards for 2017 and 2018, before the other leading Toyota team in the form of Furniture Row Racing collapsed, giving JGR the chance to pick up 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. for the 2019 season. Truex brought sponsors Bass Pro Shops and Auto Owners Insurance over with him.

2024, however, will be Truex's last season. Chase Briscoe will take over the #19 for 2025.

One team down.

Kaulig Racing has two full time cars, the #16 and the #31, as well as a part-time #13. The #31 is driven by Daniel Hemric, the #16 by AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Josh Williams, Derek Kraus, and Ty Dillon, and the #13 has been used by Allmendinger in races where both he and SVG were running, such as COTA and Chicago.

Kaulig took #16 since it was available in 2021 (their usual Xfinity numbers, #10 and #11, were both taken), the #31 was chosen for their chartered entry for 2022 since RCR had vacated it after 2019, and the #13 because one: it was vacated, and two: it's the inverse of the #13. Yeah, not much story there, Kaulig is a new team and their numbers don't have much historic meaning behind them.

I mean, Roush ran the #16 for a long time, most successfully with Greg Biffle, but there's no link between that and Kaulig.

Kaulig does have two wins - Indianapolis Road Course 2021 and Charlotte Roval 2023 - with AJ Allmendinger, which is the most success the #16 has had since Biffle, for whatever that's worth.

Now onto Rick Ware Racing.

Rick Ware Racing has built up their history as a start-and-park team running the #51, and initially their numbering scheme was built on that, running numbers such as #52, #53, and the #54 as well. This is also the number that Rick Ware uses on its co-entries in other series, such as its alliance with Dale Coyne Racing in Indycar - where the #51 is currently run by a slew of drivers, of which Katherine Legge is expected to finish out the season - and IMSA LMP3 racing, where Rick Ware runs his son Cody.

Cody Ware was arrested in 2023 for assaulting and strangling his then girlfriend, so that's the first and only time I will mention him on this blog.

Anyway, more recently Rick Ware Racing has started professionalizing its NASCAR efforts, with Justin Haley showing promise in the #51 car that he runs in alliance with RFK Racing. Their other car, the #15, is still somewhat of a revolving door of drivers, but it does appear to be improving.

So, that's the #11, the #13, the #15, and the #16. Roush has the #17, the #18 is currently vacant, JGR has the #19 and the #20, Wood Brothers has the #21, Penske the #22...that means 23XI is next.

23Xi Racing, a joint venture by Michael Jordan (the 23 part) and Denny Hamlin (the 11 part, or XI in Roman numerals) is another new NASCAR team, having entered NASCAR in 2021 in alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.

The history of their numbers is quite simple, the #23 is Jordan's jersey number, and the #45 is the number he wore when he returned to the Chicago Bulls in 1995 after a brief sabbatical during which time he played for the White Sox's minor league affiliates.

Bubba Wallace has run the #23 since it was established in 2021, while Kurt Busch was the initial driver of the #45 before a career-ending crash at Pocono. Ty Gibbs was drafted in to replace Kurt, before 23Xi briefly switched Bubba into the #45 to compete for the owner points playoffs. Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek also had starts in 23XI cars in 2022.

For 2023 though, Tyler Reddick has been brought in to drive the #45, winning twice in 2023, and another two times so far in 2024.

Bubba, meanwhile, won Talladega 2021 in his #23, and Kansas 2022 while filling in in the #45.

23XI's third car was initially the #67 - get it, like 2,3,4,5,6,7? - but this year, in a promotion with sponsor Mobil 1, it has run as the #50 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Travis Pastrana, Kamui Kobayashi, and Corey Heim have all started in the #67/#50, while Juan Pablo Montoya is scheduled to run the #50 at the 2024 NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen.

So yeah, we started with a college football number in the #11, and we finish on a team named after basketball numbers with 23XI.

I believe tomorrow will be the end of this series, as Front Row Motorsports with the #34 and #38, Legacy Motor Club with the #42 and the #43, and JTG Daugherty with the #47 are the only remaining full-time teams.

Higher numbers are a bit sparse in NASCAR these days, huh?

[juanmecanico]

"Reseña de la temporada 2023 de Ryan Blaney" Oye, entusiastas de las carreras, echémosle un vistazo a la temporada pasada de Ryan Blaney en NASCAR. No fue un camino fácil, pero ciertamente explotó con velocidad y determinación. Ryan terminó el año 2022 como el décimo en la clasificación y probablemente no se sienta satisfecho con eso, ¿cierto? Pero vamos a desglosarlo... Primero, no podemos ignorar ese golpe de adrenalina con su victoria en Atlanta. ¡Vaya carrera! Esa adrenalina, ese caos en el pit lane, ese último minuto increíblemente estratégico que nos dejó a todos pegados a nuestros asientos. ¡Esos son los momentos que nos encantan en NASCAR! Fue una muestra impresionante de habilidades de carreras y estrategias en el pit lane. Como siempre digo, las carreras no son sólo sobre la velocidad, también se trata de tomar las decisiones correctas en el momento adecuado, y Blaney lo hizo brillantemente. En Daytona 500, por otro lado, las cosas no salieron como se esperaba. Al final del día, ese es el drama, la incertidumbre y la emoción de las carreras. Siempre existirán imprevistos, pero cuando estas en un auto de carreras de NASCAR, tienes que hacer frente a estos a gran velocidad. And still, hay mucho que aprender de estas situaciones y estoy seguro de que Ryan está utilizando esa experiencia para mejorar. Pasando a Bristol, ¿quién puede olvidar ese enfrentamiento intenso con Denny Hamlin? Las chispas estaban volando, las emociones a flor de piel y la veloz acción de NASCAR nunca estuvo mejor. Ese tipo de rivalidad, ese tipo de emoción, es lo que hace que la gente se siente y preste atención. Gives them that special "this". Y eso, amigos míos, es NASCAR en su máxima expresión. Luego, está su impresionante desempeño en las 10 carreras finales. Vaya, eso estuvo lleno de altibajos. Pero eso es lo que hace la diversión, ¿no? El drama, la emoción, las vueltas en U que suceden en un abrir y cerrar de ojos... ¡Eso es NASCAR! En resumen, puede que 2022 no haya sido el mejor año para Ryan, pero demostró ser un piloto resiliente, lleno de talento y, sobre todo, ¡con un amor verdadero por las carreras! Estoy emocionado de ver qué tiene bajo la manga para la próxima temporada. Como siempre, la diversión de esto es que cada temporada trae sus propios desafíos, sorpresas y victorias inesperadas. Así que, mantengamos nuestros ojos en la carretera, en los espejos retrovisores y en los autos que se aproximan por el carril de alta velocidad. Espero con ansias hablarles de más carreras, autos y todo lo relacionado con el mundo automotriz. ¡Nos vemos en la próxima curva! Que tengas un gran año de carreras. Y recuerda, esto es más que sólo girar a la izquierda. ¡Es una vida en el carril rápido! #NASCAR #Carreras #RyanBlaney

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Alexander Michael Rossi

Birthdate: Sept. 25, 1991 Hometown: Nevada City, California Residence: Indianapolis Height/Weight: 6’1”/154lbs

Rookie Year: 2016

Team: Arrow McLaren

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter

Career Stats

2016: Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian - 11th Overall 2017: Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian - 7th Overall 2018: Andretti Autosport - 2nd Overall 2019: Andretti Autosport - 3rd Overall 2020: Andretti Autosport - 9th Overall 2021: Andretti Autosport - 10th Overall 2022: Andretti Autosport - 9th Overall 2023: Arrow McLaren - 9th Overall

Podcast: Off Track with Hinch and Rossi

Ask Off Track Twitter

Off Track with Hinch and Rossi on YouTube

IMSA 2014 DeltaWing Racing Cars – Daytona 24 2019 Acura Team Penske – Daytona 24, Sebring 2020 Acura Team Penske – Daytona 24, Petite Le Mans, Sebring 2021 Konica Minolta Acura – won Daytona 24, Sebring, Watkin’s Glen, Petite Le Mans 2022 Konica Minolta Acura – Daytona 24 2024 Pfaff Motorsports – Daytona 24

2018 Baja 1000 2nd in class 2019 Baja 1000 mechanical problems 2021 Baja 1000 Class 7 victory 2019 Supercars Bathurst 1000 18th

-Co-Hosts a popular podcast with fellow driver James Hinchcliffe called “Off Track with Hinch & Rossi” -Competed in Season 30 of CBS’ “The Amazing Race” with fellow driver Conor Daly as his teammate. The duo appeared in every episode. -A music lover, he enjoys everything from alternative rock to country music. -Enjoys skiing, dirt bikes, wakeboarding, cooking, and cryptocurrency. Recently obtained his private pilot license. His favorite city is Lake Tahoe, California. -When unable to enjoy the great outdoors, you can find him fawning over his bourbon collection, hanging with his two dogs or binge-watching TV shows with his fiancée, Kelly. -doesn't eat breakfast -Makes good bacon -Mint choc ice cream -will only run when chased, prefers to swim -Obsessively researches things he is interested it (smoking meats, pool chemicals) -Has a pilot's licence (small aircraft) -Tattoos: heartbeat on inside left forearm near elbow. Unknown on ankle -Co-owns a plane with Ed Carpenter -Prefers to be called Alex -has a ‘candy closet’ in his basement, which is exactly what it sounds like. -lived with James Hinchcliffe when he first came to Indianapolis (as did Conor Daly at the same time)

Iconic/memorable moments

INSIDE THE RACE: Alexander Rossi // Road America INDYCAR 101 // ALEXANDER ROSSI Alexander Rossi shares his "Rossi's Risotto" recipe | IndyCar | Motorsports on NBC A Winning Strategy: Inside Alexander Rossi's Indy 500 Win! - Motor Trend Presents Alexander Rossi explains his Indycar journey and transition from Formula One Outside the Line: Alexander Rossi 7 Things with Alexander Rossi NAPA KNOW HOW Blooper Reel with Alexander Rossi Alexander Rossi + Avalanche HONDA PACE CAR // COLTON HERTA AND ALEXANDER ROSSI Alexander Rossi and Juan Pablo Montoya messing around with Tony Kanaan | 2022 Indy 500 Group Photo Breakout Room Highlights with Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and Alexander Rossi Andretti IndyCar Drivers Test Their Pit Stop Skills | #AllAndretti | Indy 500 IndyCar's Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly on their The Amazing Race experience Conor Daly's epic reaction to Alexander Rossi vs Santino Ferrucci! Conor Daly & Alexander Rossi Visit Space Camp Doug and Drivers: Alexander Rossi Doug and Drivers, season 2: Alexander Rossi Alex's Aliens Butt Chugging Sunlight Guess the song Tiny Cars with James – Alexander Rossi Giving milk to Alexander Rossi James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi: sharing a car at Daytona 24 Don’t touch the cones!!! How tall are McLaren drivers? Arrow McLaren: Red Flag Green Flag

Arrow McLaren: Red Flag Green Flag Again Measuring noses Alex making faces Which driver smells the best??? Wakeboarding Alex and Felix put up a tent Nashville Cowboy hat shopping Indianapolis Motor Speedway Fair Imitate Famous Landmarks Phone Flip - Drivers in the Paddock Part 1 Part 2 Driver Superlatives Part 1 Part 2 Trying Different candy part 1 part 2 Holiday Tree Blindfolded Challenge Holiday Family phototshoot Behind the Scenes Baking Challenge: Part 1 Baking Challenge: Part 2

Alex’s Creed obsession Rainy day activities Spill your guts game Intro Part 1 Part 2 Off Track with Hinch and Rossi – The Papaya One Area Codes Our cinnamon rolls Alex has a Pickleball court Go-to Karaoke song

Long Beach Runoff

Alex is known as the grumpy one, rarely smiling (so rare that it became a meme of sorts on social media of to comment when he did in 2022). This may be changing in 2023 with a change to McLaren after six years at Andretti. New season, new team, new Alex? Time will tell. He still isn't the most social of people, preferring people people (friends and family) over people (everyone else). He has a soft spot for child fans, often going out of his way to interact with them.

His conservative upbringing shows on occasion, particularly on his podcast where he and good friend James Hinchcliffe discuss the latest racing news and whatever else comes into their heads. The number of times James has said "No, Alex. We've talked about this." when Alex says something that could be considered concerning for a rational person to say (often related to those conservative views he was raised with) is numerous. Much credit to Mr. Hinchcliffe for having the patience to educate his friend.

Alex extensively researches (perhaps obsessively) what catches his interest, be it smoking meats, the PH of his pool, or weird flavored soda cocktails. He is generous to his closest friends, recently planning a "not Bachelor party" weekend for a friend. He is something of perfectionist and a (self-admitted) clean freak. He enjoys betting on sporting events, although now must do his betting through friends as he allowed James to parental lock the betting app on his phone.

Fanfic Lore

Good friends with James Hinchcliffe, James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti. The four could be considered a 'band of brothers'

Often paired with one of the others of the band.

Paired with teammate Pato O'Ward

[countjason]

Jason’s 13th Annual Post/Pre-Year Review/Goals

Each year. I reflect on the previous year and set new goals for myself for the next year. 2023 was a very hard year for me. I got divorced and my dad died were the two hardest things that happened to me. It really started around the end of 2022 which is why there is no 12th addition of this. I was in damage control almost immediately so reflection and goal setting wasn't top of mind. So what I plan to do instead is explain for historical purpose reasons and then set goals for 2024.

22 NOVEMBER 2022

For starters, the downfall of 2023 started 22 November 2022. On that day, my wife found out I had talked to girls on Onlyfans. At first, I thought we could work through it and agreed to give up a lot of control in my life and seek help to prove I made a mistake and would never do it again, after all, my intentions were never to hookup and have sex with anyone so how was this cheating? I had already canceled the subscription before I was caught and tried to figure out how to stop getting emails. I started researching adultery with several self-help books and agreed to get mental health diagnosis and treatment. This was when I learned about emotional cheating and what I did. I own this definition of cheating but to my wife, cheating is cheating, it doesn't matter if it was emotional, physical, or anything, it was cheating.

I also played along begrudgingly to the "new rules" that my wife established which were extreme but felt I had to try. Rules like "I couldn't be on a computer unsupervised, I had to give up my phone after work, I couldn't go into my mancave with my stuff without being supervised, I couldn't play video games without being supervised and only for 1 hour on select days, I had to get rid of my bar and I had to quit drinking, I couldn't watch porn, etc. Not all bad things mind you but just the amount the leash was put on my throat was very tight. Furthermore, all intimacy of any kind was cut off indefinitely. I was only allowed to work and not work. I continued to try to do my default which is invest energy into building out the house to show I was investing in us. I tried to focus more energy on my son and going to the gym since that was the only thing I was allowed to do more or less. I started going to individual counseling and work on my mental health to resolve the underline problem of why I did what I did and work towards improvement as a person to be a better person 1st and husband/father second. I desperately wanted to regain my wife's trust, but I had shattered it to what seemed like damaged but not completely unrepairable.

However, in this time frame fights did happen. One such instance involved her packing up all here stuff in February 2023 to basically take down everything and put it in boxes as if she was planning on moving out. I had hoped over time me doing my part would allow here to put things back up to show alittle good faith that I was working on us, but that never happened. I was growing frustrated with the rules, the fights, and just the lack of intimacy. I couldn't touch my wife. No hugs, kisses, let alone anything else. It started to really weigh on me and breaking me that maybe between the fights in the past, all the things I did wrong in the past, and now here we are, maybe this isn't going to get fixed. The fights on and off continued through mid-2023. I made mistakes along the way like got caught sneaking drinking a beer during the Daytona 500 which resulted in a fight. It didn't help at all that my side of the family was involved to some degree in that she didn't like my family and there were problems there. My father died in his sleep in April 2023 spinning my world into further depressionary limbo.

I tried so hard that even for her birthday, I took her to St. Augustine for what would end up the last time and hoped to mend the marriage right there but I was so scared of being rejected and the rules being constantly reinforced, I never attempted to kiss/hug her as she made it clear to me so many times that was off limits. To this day, I have nightmares about when I was meeting back up with her at the central park as she went to go write her book and I was coming back from the hotel on Anistasia Island, I saw her, and I walked towards her and just stopped in front of her and said "ok let's go" - I should have just kissed her there. If I got slapped, it would have been at least a nail sooner in the coffin, but I should have tried.

Anyway, so after some fight around July 2023, we both said, enough is enough and we agreed to divorce as separation was out of the question for her - it was either we're together or we're divorced - no middle. I refused to put what I did on the same level as physical cheating, and she wanted me to admit I cheated as cheating in any form is cheating and is equal. I constantly used the analogy that the difference between manslaughter and murder has significant differences, but the outcome was someone still died. I own what I did as emotional cheating and apologized profusely, but I did not feel what I did was the same level of intent as "hooking up with my secretary and let's keep that a secret from my wife" type of cheating and talking online to someone on the other side of the planet with the convo primary consisting of "so what do you do for fun in XXX besides this crap?" She's allowed her feelings, and I am allowed mine - this was a mountain we both would die on, and we did. Plus, with no intimacy, no show of goodwill things was getting better as things were still in boxes, and our son always seeing us fight - the final straw occurred.

We put the "forever home" I wanted on the market for sale, and we both agreed that for the sake of Dante to not see his parents always fighting and never happy, this was the best for him. We tried living together for a period that even the lawyer thought was strange but that didn't work after some fight, so she moved out early to live with her mom's and took my son with her. The rest of 2023 has been pretty much the same - I live in the house still up for sale. The house sale has been slow because part of the divorce agreement was instead of alimony, she gets the net proceeds from the sale of the house, so she put the house on the market far beyond the value of it and has slowly been coming down. It's getting so bad; I may actually end up refinancing the house and keeping it albeit at a higher interest rate and payments just so she can be paid off.

Meanwhile, my son has been slowly getting used to it. He's too young to understand why mommy and daddy aren't together but he's happy because he sees Nonna and Papa daily and I've effectively gave Luis fathering duties in my absence. I have 30% custody of my son which hurts a lot but that's mostly because my job doesn't easily afford differently.

So 2023 was a shit show. I lost my true love and my dad, which I didn't speak too here but at least that was somewhat planned or knew it was going to happen soon. I think I will always love her. Yeah, near the end there were problems and we both changed but she lives rent free in my head for the good times we did have. I'm glad I had my son with her. The only good thing that came out of 2023 has been work has been good but even that has moments. So as far as goals for 2023, I never set them up here but if I was to judge myself, I would say I failed in some areas and did okay in others, nothing overly great.

GOALS FOR 2024

Be a good dad - this is easy and hard at the same time. It's easy when I can just focus on my son which is every other weekend I have him and I don't work. It's hard when I have him and I have to work the other weekend, or I travel and miss my time that I rarely have made up. While I get the luxury of working from home, being tied to a computer with a 3-year-old running around is very hard. I thank God I don't have to work in an office and be forced to give up further custody since my ex-wife won't let me use my family, hirer a babysitter, or take him to a work-space that watches children as you work. I try to just remind myself I am luck I do get to see him make a mess 10 feet from me as I'm on a call than not knowing what's happening if he was in daycare.

Get back into shape - this has been slow progress but always seems to be on my list. I go to the gym semi-regularly these days and even as I write this, I'm planning on going to the gym when I'm done. I lost a lot of weight in 2023 and I don't want to gain it back.

Live Life - I'm not going to dwell on what could have been. I need to just move forward despite unplanned setbacks. What that means is if I lost my partner in crime, then I move on without. This was her choice not to forgive me. It was my choice not to put what I did on the same level as physical adultery cheating. I always liked going out and having fun. I liked meeting new people and getting new friends that I sorta stopped doing or retracted from when I was in my marriage so when I don't have my son, I am going to live my life by my rules. It's weird still but again, I don't have to ask permission to go out; the compromising I made now goes away.

Sell the house - this isn't so much of goal as it is a reality. However, with the market the way it is and needing to obtain a set dollar amount, I need to get out of this house so I can move closer to my son. I don't like driving 45 mins to get him or drive that far to get to Tampa where things are happening. New Port Richey is nice if you want to settle down and raise a family but that that opportunity has passed so now, I need to get back closer to Tampa.

Vacation my way - I think the last 10 years, most vacations have been to please my ex-wife. The only one I recall that was something I wanted to do was Las Vegas but even then that was during the pandemic, so I haven't gone since to see shows and stuff. I also would like to go on maybe a themed cruise as I've been eye-balling the 2024 Gothic Cruise.

Yeah, going by myself will suck but I've managed going to things by myself in the past all the time and at least I don't have to worry about someone else's happiness the whole time, I can focus on mine.

Dance - God I missed dancing. At least now, I can go out and just dance and not care. Yeah, I'm turning into that old dude that looks 10 years too old trying too hard but you know what? I don't care. I enjoy it. Besides, at The Castle, the Senator proved to me early on, if you love something do it and F&$k what others think. I also, if I want to, can go into VRChat and dance. It's nice to be able to do what you like, without judgement over your head of things you're NOT doing, and focusing on what you ARE doing.

Succeed at work - work is harder these days being the equivalent of a Project Director but it's rewarding. The biggest issue I have right now is the future of the contract and if the company has a strategic change in future contract types that result in me traveling or living outside Florida. Some of this is in my control while other aspects aren't. However, the best I can do is do my best and continue to work hard, share my knowledge, give back to the team, and work on improving myself everyday.

Jason's Mojo Dojo Casa House - When I do sell the house, make the house mine. I can't tell if I want a house or a condo.

Current Possible Living Situations

I've eyeballed both. I know location matters as I want to be closer to my son first and foremost. I also want to be closer to things that are going on so if that means moving to downtown Tampa, that's an option. When I do move, I want to work around what I was trying to do with the mancave and make it my home. I don't foresee myself buying anything with the expressed plan to have anyone move in with me; so, I want to make sure it fits my new life. A nice 2B/1B is the most I need. I can see my bedroom being gothic designed like Nadja's bar was with the living room being an 80's style arcade. We'll see. I've seen plenty of houses I've wanted come and go because the sale of the house is extremely slow.

Tattoos - I decided that I wanted to finish my sleeve, so I got my right arm updated with the zombie candy corn apocalypse.

I want to refresh (re-tattoo) the older candy corn to freshen them up and maybe make the Las Vegas girl on my shoulder that's REALLY old a zombie pin-up refresh. I recently got Lydia and Beetlejuice on my forearms which represent "something that made me happy when I was a kid" and "love" whereby Lydia loved Beetlejuice no matter how horrible a person he could be (and goth girl...I mean, come on!), and Beetlejuice loved Lydia for being his only/best friend cared about her despite being selfish, gross, and cruel. It reminds me love of that kind does exist out there. Maybe I had it, but it's gone so having it at least reminds me it exists. I have a blank spot on my left arm that I think I want to reserve for drawing done by my son. Not sure so I'll pause there until I figure it out. Tattoos to me never had too much meaning so I can get away with it. Plus, speaking of getting away with it, the position I'm in at work and the acceptance of tattoos in the workplace make things a lot easier than it was 10 years ago.

Teach my son - This goes into maybe being a good dad, but I specifically want to teach my son things. I already am not able to teach him to fish since Luis beat me to it. So I'll probably find something like teach him to play video games, play the drums, play the guitar or other things. I want to pass something to him since there was so much I respected and loved my dad for but I didn't get any skills from him.

Ok - Hopefully 2024 is good - it's definitely a new beginning.

[blogueericdescarries]

Le si luxueux Jeep Grand Wagoneer L

Le 7 décembre 2023

Je crois qu’il n’y a pas de marché plus mêlant que celui de l’automobile. Il y a environ 20 ans, un certain public agressif défenseur de l’environnement a tellement bien réussi à faire passer son message (c’étaient surtout des environnementalistes qui voulaient faire disparaître les «gros VUS» comme les Ford Excursion, Hummer H2 et autres géants de la route du même genre) que les constructeurs automobile s’y sont pliés en éliminant certains «gros VUS» de leur production. Curieusement, vingt ans plus tard, ces «gros VUS» sont de retour et leurs ventes vont très bien, merci! Les «gros VUS» d’aujourd’hui, ce sont surtout les Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon XL, Ford Expedition L, Lincoln Navigator, Range Rover LWB et quelques autres. Pour le moment, il n’en existe qu’un seul qui peut-être tout électrique, soit le tout dernier Escalade. Voyant qu’une partie du marché lui échappait, le plus récent consortium de voitures Stellantis décidait qu’il voulait, lui aussi, sa part du gâteau. Ainsi est né le Jeep Grand Wagoneer L !

Curieusement, Stellantis a plutôt choisi la marque Jeep pour concurrencer les autres grands VUS, surtout des véhicules de luxe. On aurait pensé qu’il aurait choisi la marque Chrysler (dont le seul grand VUS de luxe fut le défunt Chrysler Aspen basé sur le Dodge Durango)…pourtant. Donc, Stellantis a lancé le Grand Wagoneer en 2022 mais pour les mordus de la marque Jeep, il n’y avait aucune ressemblance avec son ancêtre, le Grand Wagoneer des années antérieures. En effet, le «nouveau» Grand Wagoneer est plus un «monstre» qu’un VUS. Si l’on pouvait aller hors route avec l’ancien Grand Wagoneer, il faudra y penser à deux fois avec la nouvelle version. En effet, dans son empressement de vouloir raviver ce modèle presque légendaire, Stellantis a plutôt décidé d’en concevoir un sur un châssis rigide déjà existant, en l’occurrence le pick-up Ram. Sauf que si le Ram possède un essieu arrière rigide, le nouveau Grand Wagoneer a, lui, un pont arrière à suspension indépendante (mais cela ne veut pas nécessairement dire qu’un jour, le Ram aura un élément mécanique semblable!).

Le grand VUS de luxe de Stellantis, le Jeep Grand Wagoneer L ! (Photo Éric Descarries)

Bien, voilà, la table est mise! Ce que vous voyez ici, c’est le tout récemment Grand Wagoneer L capable d’accueillir sept personnes à son bord avec, fort probablement, tous leurs bagages. Notez qu’il en existe une version plus «modeste», le Wagoneer qui est moins ostentatoire et un peu plus court. Cependant, notez que dans le cas de mon véhicule d’essai de cette semaine, il n’y a pas de V8 Hemi sous le capot. Au cas où vous n’auriez pas suivi les actualités automobile récemment, ce vénérable moteur verra sa production prendre fin au cours des prochains mois. Il sera remplacé par un six cylindres en ligne à double turbo de 3,0 litres qui commence à nous apparaître sous le capot du Grand Wagoneer dès cette année. C’est de celui-ci dont il est question ici !

Ce tout nouveau Grand Wagoneer est de version allongée L et il est mû par un six cylindres en ligne! (Photo Éric Descarries)

Quoi? Un six à la place du V8 Hemi? C’est la décision que Stellantis a prise. Ne vous inquiétez pas, ce six appelé Hurricane ne manque pas de puissance : 510 chevaux et 500 li-pi de couple, plus que le 6,4 litres Hemi avec la moitié de la cylindrée! On le verra bientôt sous le capot des pick-up Ram 2025 (incluant le remplaçant du TRX) et fort possiblement sous celui de la berline/coupé qui remplacera les Dodge Daytona et/ou Challenger (Stellantis a bien annoncé qu’il y aurait des moteurs à combustion interne offerts dans ces autos qui, au départ, ne devaient être qu’électriques). Si vous suivez l’actualité automobile, vous avez certainement entendu en visionnant You Tube le son de ce moteur dans un prototype de camionnette Ram de performance! Encourageant!

Donc, de retour au Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Vous aurez compris ici qu’il s’agit d’un très grand VUS offrant beaucoup de luxe et d’accessoires! Question style, rien de bien étonnant sauf que sa (très) grande caisse à quatre portes (en version L allongée de l’arrière)a été conçue pour accueillir ses sept passagers avec beaucoup de confort. On reconnaîtra la calandre de Jeep avec ses sept orifices mais c’est là que toute ressemblance avec quel Jeep que ce soit!

Malgré un design modéré, le tableau de bord de ce Grand Wagoneer déborde de commandes électroniques incluant un écran télé possible du côté du passager! (Photo Éric Descarries)

En ouvrant la porte du conducteur (alors que le marchepied se déploie), on constate immédiatement toute l’opulence que présente l’intérieur du Grand Wagoneer dans sa finition Series III . Le tableau de bord est imposant. Divisé en trois parties, il contient d’abord toutes les informations nécessaires au conducteur (incluant l’affichage par réflexion de la vitesse dans le pare-brise) alors que dans le centre, on retrouve un grand écran pour la radio, la navigation et autres informations. Juste sous cet écran se trouve toute une panoplie de commandes qu’il faille bien étudier avant de prendre la route…Évidemment, le volant possède lui-même toute une série de commandes (plusieurs étant des dédoublements de celle au tableau de bord). Notez la commande rotative qui remplace le levier de vitesse au centre de la console. Tout autour de celle-ci, le conducteur pourra utiliser les diverses commandes et autres accessoires pour ses excursions hors-route (s’il est assez brave pour s’y aventurer avec un tel bahut!). Enfin, sur commande, le passager de droite pourra voir dans un plus petit écran devant lui son propre centre d’information vidéo! Et il y a la radio avec sonorisation McIntosh et ses multiples hauts parleurs dans l’habitacle (mais pas de fonction AM !). De plus, il y a un toit vitré ouvrant tout simplement imposant au plafond!

Les passagers du centre sont également bien traités surtout qu’ils peuvent profiter d’une télévision privée si le propriétaire du VUS est abonné à Amazon Fire! (Photo Éric Descarries)

Mais ce n’est pas tout! Sous la superbe sellerie des sièges avant se cachent des accessoires supplémentaires qui sont commandés par des touches digitales à la console. Évidemment, ils sont chauffés, ventilés et ils incluent de multiples ajustements avec …le massage! Et si vous pensez que les passagers du centre ne peuvent profiter de tels avantages, regardez-y à deux fois. Ceux-ci auront leur propre centre de commandes tactiles à leur console du centre en plus de leur télévision (une de chaque côté) pour visionner ce qu’ils veulent via la commande Amazon Fire! Évidemment, il y a une troisième banquette dans cette grande limousine et, grâce au très long empattement du véhicule, il est relativement facile d’atteindre cette banquette à trois personnes (qui est repliable à plat grâce à des commandes électriques).

Pour une fois que les passagers de la troisième banquette tout à l’arrière peuvent jouir d’un peu de place pour les jambes! (Photo Éric Descarries)

Enfin, tout à l’arrière la version L propose un espace de chargement qui pourrait être plus utile que la caisse d’un pick-up vu que l’habitacle fermé permettra de charger un peu plus haut tout en étant protégé. Sous le plancher arrière se trouve un casier de rangement pour plusieurs autres accessoires du Grand Wagoneer. Oh oui! Le hayon d’arrière peut s’ouvrir en passant le pied sous le parechocs (si vous avez la télécommande en poche). En passant, si vous êtes un amateur de caravaning et que piaffez d’impatience pour connaître la capacité de remorquage de ce palais roulant, sachez qu’avec le six en ligne, le Grand Wagoneer est capable de tirer 9860 livres!

L’espace de chargement est caverneux ce qui est attirant pour ceux qui veulent faire de longs voyages. (Photo Éric Descarries)

Un petit retour du côté mécanique nous rappelle que derrière le nouveau six cylindres, il y a une boîte automatique à huit rapports et la traction intégrale Quadra Drive II en plus d’une suspension pneumatique avec commandes multiples qui peut même permettre de soulever celle-ci de deux pouces (encore une fois si vous tenez à faire du hors-route avec ce palais roulant!). Les pneus d’origine, des 285-45 R22 avaient été remplacés par des Continental Ice Contact qui me sont venus en aide le dernier jour de mon essai.

Sur la route

Au départ, il faut se rappeler que l’on conduit, ici, d’un véhicule de près de 6500 livres! Ce qui m’intéressait le plus, c’était de savoir comment le moteur à six cylindres allait se comporter. Il faut avouer que j’avais déjà mis la main sur une des premières versions de cette camionnette au concours de Voiture de l’année de l’AJAC au Canadian Tire Motorsport Park en Ontario en octobre 2022 et que j’avais été impressionné. Toutefois, conduire un véhicule moins d’une heure et vivre avec pendant une pleine semaine, ce sont deux choses.

Non, pas de Hemi sous le capot mais plutôt le nouveau moteur à six cylindres en ligne Hurricane de 3,0 litres (moins de la moitié de la cylindrée du Hemi de 6,4 litres) qui est difficile à voir vu qu’il est «enterré» sous des décorations de plastique. (Photo Éric Descarries)

D’autre part, comment un six cylindres pourrait-il remplacer un V8, surtout un Hemi qui est, en soi, une véritable légende et qui a deux fois la cylindrée du six? Puis, il y manquait le son du V8. Cependant, dès que l’on fait démarrer le six cylindres Hurricane, on est surpris par la douceur du moteur. Mais, en pressant quelques fois l’accélérateur, on reconnaît alors le son mélodieux d’un six à l’européenne. En effet, il ressemble à celui d’un BMW ou d’un Jaguar.

On met en vitesse (en tournant la commande rotative) puis on part. Déjà, on sent que le six Hurricane n’émet aucun son d’effort. Faut dire que la boîte automatique à huit rapports aide à la cause. Il y a longtemps que plusieurs reportages ne font pas mention des temps d’accélération de 0 à 100 km/h. Moi, j’aime toujours les mesurer ne serait-ce qu’approximativement en consultant ma montre. Mais de passer du point mort à cette vitesse avec ce très lourd véhicule ne peut que surprendre avec un temps de moins de six secondes! Et les reprises sont tout aussi étonnantes. De plus, ne vous trompez pas, le son du moteur est vraiment excitant, même si ce n’est pas un V8!

Question tenue de route, encore une fois, il faut se rappeler que la base de ce Jeep demeure un châssis de Ram. Mais, c’est fou ce que la nouvelle suspension arrière indépendante change tout! En vitesse de croisière, le Grand Wagoneer est à la fois silencieux et stable. Ce n’est pas une voiture de sport sur une route sinueuse (surtout qu’il prend un peu de place dans les courbes) mais son comportement est prévisible. J’imagine qu’avec une remorque de quelque six à huit mille livres, le moteur doit travailler un peu mais le châssis rigide donne plus de rigidité à la grande caisse.

Même si la visibilité y est très bonne, encore une fois, on doit composer avec le gabarit du grand Jeep. Je n’ai jamais trouvé la fonction d’une caméra à l’avant (ce qui m’aurait été pratique dans les stationnements de centres commerciaux) mais j’ai pu profiter d’une forme de radar visuel en vue d’oiseau à l’écran. Évidemment, il y a une vraie caméra pour la marche arrière. Néanmoins, le Grand Wagoneer n’est pas un véhicule d’utilisation urbaine, un peu comme le serait un grand pick-up.

Malgré le fait que cette camionnette on ne peut plus américaine soit merveilleusement bien équipée pour la conduite hors-route, vous comprendrez que je n’ai pas osé attaquer quelque sentier que ce soit de crainte d’endommager le véhicule. De plus, pour ce faire, il faut être accompagné d’au moins un autre véhicule. Donc, il m’aurait fallu un compagnon avec une camionnette au moins du même calibre juste au cas où…même s’il y a diverses fonctions hors-route que l’on retrouverait dans un Grand Cherokee ou autre VUS destiné aux excursions hors-route. Par contre, j’ai conduit le Grand Wagoneer dans la «grosse» neige et grâce à sa traction intégrale et les pneus Continental Ice Contact, je n’y ai connu aucun problème.

Le Grand Wagoneer est bien à l’aise dans la neige. (Photo Éric Descarries)

J’ai bien l’impression que Jeep (Chrysler de Stellantis) a adopté le six Hurricane pour gagner un peu en économie de carburant. Toutefois, même si cet Hurricane est moins gourmand que le V8 Hemi (3,0 litres contre 6,4 litres), il demeure assoiffé de carburant une fois à la pompe (du super de préférence!). Durant ma semaine d’essai, plutôt axée sur de l’autoroute, j’ai obtenu une moyenne de 14,4 l./100 km (alors que l’ordinateur de bord m’indiquait 14,7 !). La fiche technique canadienne d’Energuide signale une moyenne générale de 15,0 l./100 km. C’est donc dire que j’ai réussi à extrapoler le meilleur de la consommation du Grand Wagoneer et ce, malgré une température relativement froide!  

Mais alors, combien coûte un tel véhicule en détail? De base, un Jeep Grand Wagoneer L Series III 4X4 débute à 130 495 $ au Canada. Le véhicule que je conduisais avait des options comme une peinture avec couche nacrée Rocky Mountain de 695 $ et surtout un ensemble de divertissement pour les passagers d’arrière (télés avec Amazon Fire) de 2695 $, des roues en aluminium peint de 22 par 9 pouces de 1995 $ et des garnitures intérieures métalliques de 995 $. En plus, il faut calculer un «écoprélèvement» fédéral de 1000 $ et la toujours aussi ridicule taxe fédérale de 100 $ pour le climatiseur. Les frais d’expédition sont de 2695 $ pour un tel véhicule ce qui donne un prix total de 140 670 $ plus une taxe de luxe (au Québec) de quelque 2358 $ sur l’immatriculation. Enfin, il ne faudrait pas oublier les taxes de ventes (environ 23 600 $, si mes calculs sont bons) ce qui devrait se terminer autour des 166 600 $ ( ce qui place le Grand Wagoneer dans le même créneau que les Escalade et Navigator mais moins qu’un Range Rover qui commence à quelque 178 000 $...). Vaut mieux savoir «barguiner» avec le concessionnaire!  

N’empêche que j’ai de beaucoup apprécié ma semaine au volant de ce «monstre» à l’américaine. Sachez qu’il se mesure aussi à quelques bêtes européennes, voire même asiatiques (comme le Lexus QX 600 ou, par extension, Infiniti QX 80 à moindre prix…). Ironiquement, lorsqu’on conduit un tel Jeep, c’est fou le nombre de grand VUS du même genre que l’on voit sur la route, même ici au Québec. Étonnant!  

C’est le temps de revenir aux modèles!

En effet, avec le temps froid et l’hiver, il est grand temps de revenir à l’intérieur, «s’encabaner» comme on dit au Québec. C’est alors que l’intérêt pour les modèles réduits nous revient et j’en ai eu la preuve samedi dernier alors qu’avec le Jeep, je suis allé au tout premier «Bazar» du groupe Plastimania de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ! C’était tout comme une rencontre de mordus de l’automobile mais à l’échelle! Tiens! Des idées de cadeaux de Noël?

(Photo Éric Descarries)  

[wagerhome-blog]

NASCAR Cup Series Championship

It began nine months ago with “The Great American Race” - the Daytona 500. The NASCAR Cup Series concludes this coming Sunday with the most important race of year, the Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. At least it’s the most important race of the year for four of the drivers. But you do not need to be one of the four drivers racing for the championship to win this race. But it has worked out that way in each of the last three years that this has been the final and deciding race. In 2020 Chase Elliott won this race, and the Championship. In 2021 Kyle Larson did the double. Last year it was Joey Logano.

Odds to Win Cup Series Championship

- Kyle Larson (+150) - William Byron (+250) - Ryan Blaney (+250) - Christopher Bell (+300) The last three weeks for Ryan Blaney has been on quite the ride. He was disqualified three races ago in Las Vegas, dropping him well below the cutoff line for the Championship 4. But then the qualification was overturned, he finished as the runner-up at Miami two races ago, and he won at Martinsville in this race to punch his ticket to the final. Blaney finished last season in eight place, and has a Cup Series-high finish of seventh in 2021. William Byron was the other new qualifier at Martinsville, advancing as the highest ranked non-winner. He was the Cup Series sixth place finisher in 2022, his personal best finish. Denny Hamlin led for 156 laps, but his third place finish left him six points behind Byron, and out of the Championship 4. When Hamlin won here in 2019 it was not yet the final race of the season, and he did not win the Championship. Kyle Larson is the favorite to emerge from next Sunday. He qualified for the Championship 4 with a win at Las Vegas in the Round of 8 opener. In the last three seasons, beginning with his championship-winning run in 2021, Larson has won 17 races and he has 57 top-five finishes. He finished fourth at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season.

Christopher Bell won at Homestead, putting him into the Championship 4. He finished the season in third place last year with three race wins. This season he has just two wins, but he’s been in the top-10 a total of 19 times, including the race at Phoenix in March.

Pay Per Head Software

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