Race Car

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was the last lap. Ernie Irvan and Kenny Schrader came out of the fourth turn dead-even. Then Schrader nosed ahead as the two barreled toward the finish line.But with yards to go, Irvan pulled an old auto-racing trick. His Ford bumped Schrader's Chevrolet hard to regain the advantage and he burst across the finish line -- nine-hundredths of a second ahead of his rival.Irvan, the man who almost died in a racing accident two years ago, is back, driving like he has never been away.

As the dust settles and rain washes away the last vestiges of this year's Baltimore Grand Prix, I hope everyone reflects on the past few days in a way that allows them to see the potential and excitement of this event, rather than spend time complaining about what went wrong ("After Grand Prix, crews hustle to clear streets," Sept. 4). I moved to Baltimore from Paris, France, in 1998, and I'm originally from Montreal, Canada, a city that hosts its own Grand Prix (albeit of the Formula 1 kind)

I know nothing about open-wheel, IndyCar racing, but I do recognize what happens to squabbling families - and how they self-destruct. Until the Baltimore Grand Prix came to our city for a second time, I never bothered to study the sport, and I'm trying to learn. It's amazing there are so many "moving parts" to putting on a road race, and the skill and technology involved boggle the mind. If the people of Baltimore were smart (a questionable assumption), they would support the Baltimore Grand Prix in the same way they coddle the Ravens.

Ed Carpenter, the only driver who had finished the previous 13 events on this year's IndyCar Series circuit, did not make it to the end Sunday in the Grand Prix of Baltimore. The same chicane where Carpenter's car went airborne Saturday turned out to be even more problematic on Sunday. Instead of coming down unscathed, Carpenter's car skidded into the wall on Lap 9 of the 75-lap race. “I was trying to gain time through the chicane and I just pushed too hard and hit the wall,” said Carpenter, 31, the only owner-driver on the circuit.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt was in the ambulance and about to be driven to the Daytona International Speedway's infield care center yesterday, when he looked back at his crumpled race car."I saw the wheels were still on it," he said after the crushing accident that had seen his car roll over and off the speedway and land in a heap on the backstretch grass with 10 laps to go in the Daytona 500."I jumped out and told the guy in the car to fire it up," he said. "And when it started, I said, 'Get out!

The ultimate dream of many race fans is to drive a race car on one of the local ovals. Until recently, the only way to realize such a dream was to spend a lot of your own money and invest in your own team.Finksburg's Greg O'Neill is trying to change that in the form of a racing school, called Speed Quest Motorsports. Although there is much to be learned, the primary intent of the school is to provide the experience of driving a sprint or late-model race car to local racers and fans.For as little as $200, the racing fan can get into a $50,000 race car and run up to speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Everyone knows there are major differences between 17-year-old race car drivers and 30-something race car drivers. But it couldn't be better illustrated than the activity of Star Mazda driver Zach Veach Wednesday and IndyCar drivers Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who are in the midst of a championship fight during this Grand Prix of Baltimore weekend. Wednesday afternoon, Power, 31, spent his time doing media interviews at a luncheon in downtown Baltimore, while Hunter-Reay, who will be 32 in December, also took the opportunity to take a nap before getting ready for a sponsor activity Wednesday evening.

Two Baltimore-based contractors -- including a former race car driver-- have proposed taking over the Baltimore Grand Prix and repaying some of the debts accumulated by the race's former promoters. Sharon R. Grinnell, president of sGrinnell Enterprises LLC of Owings Mills, and Gregory K. O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction Specialists of Curtis Bay, approached city officials early last month about organizing the city's Indycar race. The Baltimore Sun obtained a copy of the proposal that their group, Baltimore Motorsports Group, LLC, submitted to the city.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacques Villeneuve doesn't play golf, which instantly sets him apart from nearly every other driver in the Indianapolis 500."I'm too competitive," said the rookie. "To go golfing would not be relaxing. Everything I do, I want to win. It would be just too frustrating."Villeneuve demonstrated this resolve the first day drivers were allowed to qualify for the 78th Indianapolis 500. He put his Player's International Reynard/Ford on the inside of Row 2 by compiling a four-lap average of 226.259 mph. It was a performance that made him the fastest of nine rookies in Sunday's race.

Not every race fan or driver is able to attend the races every week. Some can attend only when time and finances permit. But they still love drag racing as much as the weekly competitor.Stanley Nusbaum is an avid race fan. He loves drag racing and attends as often as time allows. And he competes when he can.Some day, when he has the time and finances, he plans on pursuing drag racing on a weekly basis. Now, he gets his kicks racing at least once a year at 75-80 Dragway on Fall Ford Spectacular Day.Nusbaum fell in love with drag racing while in high school.

James Hinchcliffe has slipped comfortably into Danica Patrick's former race car, if not specifically into her driving shoes. IndyCar's 2011 rookie of the year has taken the Michael Andretti Autosports car driven by Patrick to a 10 t h -place finish in the points last year, and become a regular top five finisher and legitimate contender for the series title. In the process, he has displayed a sense of humor, going so far as to don a woman's black wig at introductions for the opening race of the season.

Everyone knows there are major differences between 17-year-old race car drivers and 30-something race car drivers. But it couldn't be better illustrated than the activity of Star Mazda driver Zach Veach Wednesday and IndyCar drivers Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who are in the midst of a championship fight during this Grand Prix of Baltimore weekend. Wednesday afternoon, Power, 31, spent his time doing media interviews at a luncheon in downtown Baltimore, while Hunter-Reay, who will be 32 in December, also took the opportunity to take a nap before getting ready for a sponsor activity Wednesday evening.

Dyslexia slowed driver Justin Wilson in his pursuit of an education and his auto racing career, but it also was part of the reason he initially spent as much time as he could with the sport and it prepared him for his future. Auto racing provided Wilson a place where his athleticism and coordination took precedence over his ability to make out the meaning of words. "I found out at 13 I had dyslexia," Wilson said between practices for a recent race. "To that point I had struggled at school.

I know nothing about open-wheel, IndyCar racing, but I do recognize what happens to squabbling families - and how they self-destruct. Until the Baltimore Grand Prix came to our city for a second time, I never bothered to study the sport, and I'm trying to learn. It's amazing there are so many "moving parts" to putting on a road race, and the skill and technology involved boggle the mind. If the people of Baltimore were smart (a questionable assumption), they would support the Baltimore Grand Prix in the same way they coddle the Ravens.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakewould like to see the grand prix bring Baltimore to world's attention. However, last year the Ravens brought Baltimore to the world's attention when it was in the AFC championship game. I hope we stay with a winner! Jim Holechek, Baltimore

Simona de Silvestro walked through the lobby of an Inner Harbor hotel Thursday looking comfortable in her white shirt and black jeans. "I feel like I'm back home," the IndyCar driver said. "It was one of the best races we had last year, and I'm really looking forward to getting back on the race track here. " De Silvestro was one of the first drivers to come here to promote last year's inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. Thursday, one day after officials confirmed the race will return Labor Day weekend, she was back with her newly designed HVM Nuclear Clean Entergy race car with a new Lotus engine that has proven powerful in practice.

Most people would consider themselves lucky just to survive a life-threatening crash. NASCAR driver Neil Bonnett was in such a crash at Darlington in 1990, one that affected his memory and equilibrium, but he is having no second thoughts about getting back behind the wheel."

FORT WORTH, Texas — The question people were asking Brian Vickers was, "Will you be able to race again?" The question Vickers was asking himself was, "Do I want to race again?" That might seem like a silly question, Vickers said this week, for a then-26-year-old who began racing karts at age 8 and missed his high school prom to compete at one of NASCAR's most distinctive tracks — Bristol Motor Speedway — in the Busch Grand National Series, and placed 14th. "But when you've gone through all that," Vickers said, "you start looking at your life from a different perspective.

Two Baltimore-based contractors -- including a former race car driver-- have proposed taking over the Baltimore Grand Prix and repaying some of the debts accumulated by the race's former promoters. Sharon R. Grinnell, president of sGrinnell Enterprises LLC of Owings Mills, and Gregory K. O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction Specialists of Curtis Bay, approached city officials early last month about organizing the city's Indycar race. The Baltimore Sun obtained a copy of the proposal that their group, Baltimore Motorsports Group, LLC, submitted to the city.