The Vintage Racing League2024-03-29T09:30:11ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensingerhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2187355271?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://www.thevrl.com/group/vintageracecarmagazinegroup/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=38ouw9gunslkx&feed=yes&xn_auth=noSebring 12 Hours.....Historic/Vintage racingtag:www.thevrl.com,2017-02-17:1465153:Topic:3969162017-02-17T17:47:20.731ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
<p>Just got off the phone with Wayne Estes at Sebring Raceway about the lack of Historic/vintage racing at this years 12 Hours. He says he fought for it but IMSA shot it down with the explanation that HSR was more of a car club than vintage racing and had too many Mazda Miatas (WTF, I have NEVER seen a Miata at a HSR race) He hopes to get it back next year. If you are so inclined, call the track and give him more ammo to use in his fight against' IMSA. 800 626 RACE. Make this viral if you want…</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with Wayne Estes at Sebring Raceway about the lack of Historic/vintage racing at this years 12 Hours. He says he fought for it but IMSA shot it down with the explanation that HSR was more of a car club than vintage racing and had too many Mazda Miatas (WTF, I have NEVER seen a Miata at a HSR race) He hopes to get it back next year. If you are so inclined, call the track and give him more ammo to use in his fight against' IMSA. 800 626 RACE. Make this viral if you want to see Historic/Vintage back at the 12 Hours!</p>
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<p>I have raced the HSR/SVRA support races at the 12 Hours for years. It is the one race that I do just for fun. The past few years since the end of ALMS and Dr. Dons departure has seen this traditional event whittled away. There use to be a driver cocktail party downtown and the downtown circle faux tech for the fans. None of that will happen this year.</p> Can-Am Designer Peter Bryant Passes Awaytag:www.thevrl.com,2009-04-01:1465153:Topic:1036272009-04-01T17:03:42.762ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
It is with a great deal of sadness that I relay that racecar designer Peter Bryant died last night of a heart attack at his home in Las Vegas.<br />
<br />
Peter started out as a mechanic in Formula One, but eventually went on to design his own Can-Am car, the impressive Ti22 "Titanium" car that Jackie Oliver drove to great effect in 1970, finishing a stunning 2nd at Laguna Seca that year.<br />
<br />
I had the good fortune of spending some time with Peter, just this past weekend, at the Riverside Reunion, and as…
It is with a great deal of sadness that I relay that racecar designer Peter Bryant died last night of a heart attack at his home in Las Vegas.<br />
<br />
Peter started out as a mechanic in Formula One, but eventually went on to design his own Can-Am car, the impressive Ti22 "Titanium" car that Jackie Oliver drove to great effect in 1970, finishing a stunning 2nd at Laguna Seca that year.<br />
<br />
I had the good fortune of spending some time with Peter, just this past weekend, at the Riverside Reunion, and as always he was in great spirits—relishing telling tall tales of his days as a constructor. He will be sorely missed.<br />
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Look for a more thorough overview of his life in the upcoming Jun issue of Vintage Racecar, and on our web site <a href="http://www.vintageracecar.com">www.vintageracecar.com</a><br />
Casey Annis, Editor John Fitch Needs Our Helptag:www.thevrl.com,2009-03-17:1465153:Topic:877112009-03-17T19:46:08.701ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
Motor racing’s senior statesman, 92-year-old John Fitch, is being threatened with the loss of his home near Lime Rock where he has lived for more than 50 years. The house was built before the Revolution of 1776. The state now claims, however, that a pair of 1,000-gallon underground heating oil tanks on his property are leaking and releasing pollutants into the surrounding soil and the local water table.<br />
<br />
Ironically, it was Fitch himself who originally discovered and reported the leakage on his…
Motor racing’s senior statesman, 92-year-old John Fitch, is being threatened with the loss of his home near Lime Rock where he has lived for more than 50 years. The house was built before the Revolution of 1776. The state now claims, however, that a pair of 1,000-gallon underground heating oil tanks on his property are leaking and releasing pollutants into the surrounding soil and the local water table.<br />
<br />
Ironically, it was Fitch himself who originally discovered and reported the leakage on his property, which has been designated by the State of Connecticut as a historic site. John simply cannot afford the costs to correct the situation, which may run to more than half a million dollars. True to his nature, however, Fitch has begun work on creating a system of convection and evaporation for cleaning such soil that would be an improvement on current methods.<br />
<br />
As this situation seems to be dragging on with no resolution in sight, perhaps a campaign of public pressure from the racing community might be able to persuade the appropriate officials to grant Fitch some form of grandfathered variance that would expire when the property next changes hands. In this age of environmental awareness and activism, might it still be possible to find a humanistic solution to this very real problem?<br />
<br />
John is a decorated veteran of WWII who has been honored by the state on many occasions, including this April 21, which was declared as John Fitch Day. All this veneration doesn’t mesh, however, with the present attempts to harass him and conceivably drive him from his home of half a century, so we would encourage everyone to write a letter to the governor and the state legislators listed below so that John may continue to live in his home in peace.<br />
<br />
M. Jodi Rell, Governor<br />
State of Connecticut<br />
State Capitol<br />
210 Capitol Ave.<br />
Hartford, CT 06106<br />
Tel: 860-566-4840<br />
governor.rell@ct.gov<br />
<br />
Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney<br />
Looney@senatedems.ct.gov<br />
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney<br />
John.McKinney@cga.ct.gov<br />
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan<br />
Christopher.Donovan@cga.ct.gov<br />
House Majority Leader Denise W. Merrill<br />
Denise.Merrill@cga.ct.gov<br />
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. Lawrence.Cafero@housegop.ct.gov<br />
<br />
(Legislator’s name)<br />
Legislative Office Building<br />
Hartford, CT 06101-1591 GM RIP?tag:www.thevrl.com,2009-02-26:1465153:Topic:804442009-02-26T18:21:35.641ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
This may be slightly off-topic, but in light of its "historical" impact...maybe not.<br />
<br />
Am I alone in my thinking that GM should be allowed to quickly slip under the waves? Up until this morning I had grudgingly believed that all three US manufacturers needed to be saved...if for no other reason than the horrible, downstream ripple effects it would create if they were allowed to go under. However, this morning's news reported that GM posted a $9.6 billion(!) loss in the fourth quarter of last…
This may be slightly off-topic, but in light of its "historical" impact...maybe not.<br />
<br />
Am I alone in my thinking that GM should be allowed to quickly slip under the waves? Up until this morning I had grudgingly believed that all three US manufacturers needed to be saved...if for no other reason than the horrible, downstream ripple effects it would create if they were allowed to go under. However, this morning's news reported that GM posted a $9.6 billion(!) loss in the fourth quarter of last year alone and a total loss of $30.9 billion on the year!!!<br />
<br />
Just to put this into perspective, the government has already wrestled with, and ultimately given them a bailout of $13.4 billion, but essentially that was burned up just to cover the Q4 debt...poof! It's done nothing to get them on the road to recovery, it's just prolonged the misery. At what point does one say that this is just too big and out of control to salvage. It could easily take $100 billion to get the GM ship merely bouyant, nevertheless righted.<br />
<br />
I know this won't be a popular viewpoint (I don't even like it!), but maybe the best course of action is to excise the cancer now to save the patient. Ford seems like it is viable and going to pull through, maybe with out government intervention. Chrysler is in trouble, but it's planned lash-up with FIAT at least shows promise for the future and may provide some level of a helping hand, if worse comes to worse. This may be heresy, but maybe we don't need a "Big Three." Rather than sinking $100 billion into a bloated beast that produces products out of step with demand, maybe the $1 billion could be earmarked to provide focused support and retraining for those who would be displaced by GM's closure. Additionally, maybe a separate loan fund could be created to help displaced GM engineers, management and staff to break away and create new start-ups devoted to alternative energy vehicles, or at least smaller, nimbler car companies?<br />
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Sadly, I fear GM is like a supertanker maneuvering on the ocean, it has taken several decades on this particular course to get to the point it is on now, and due to its size and sheer inertia, there is not going to be a speedy change in course. Maybe we'd all be better off, in the end, if we just threw a really nice wake, remembered her for what she was, and then moved on with our lives.<br />
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I'm now open for your hate mail!<br />
<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis, Editor America's Return to F1??tag:www.thevrl.com,2009-02-24:1465153:Topic:797992009-02-24T19:20:40.692ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
It was announced today that a new US-based team is being formed to compete in Formula One. The new group, called USF1, is to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a European base in Spain. This new group is to be headed by former F1 team manager Peter Windsor and engineer Ken Anderson. Interestingly, there isn't much more detail to the announcement other than this.<br />
<br />
So those are the details as we now know them...the question is, does anyone believe that they can pull it off? It seems hard…
It was announced today that a new US-based team is being formed to compete in Formula One. The new group, called USF1, is to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a European base in Spain. This new group is to be headed by former F1 team manager Peter Windsor and engineer Ken Anderson. Interestingly, there isn't much more detail to the announcement other than this.<br />
<br />
So those are the details as we now know them...the question is, does anyone believe that they can pull it off? It seems hard to believe, in the current economic climate, that someone could raise the $60-$200 million that would be needed to field a formula one team from scratch. However, Anderson and Windsor, in today's press conference claim to have the funding in place already...though no specifics were given. One big piece of the puzzle that they do have is a full scale wind tunnel, which will certainly help.<br />
<br />
Of course the history of American teams in Formula One is rather hit and miss. The Scarab effort kicked it off in the late ’50s, followed by the star-crossed Scirocco effort in the early ’60s and then Gurney and the AAR effort. Gurney managed a famous win at Spa, but sadly the potential was never fully realized. The ’70s proved a golden age for US F1 efforts, if you can call it that, with teams being fielded by the likes of Penske, Vels-Parnelli and Shadow. But again none were ever really able to capitalize on their promise. So, in light of the historical record, will we being seeing a USF1 car on the grid in 2010? And if so, how long before it becomes relegated to "historic" racing?<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis<br />
Editor Teddy Mayer Passes Awaytag:www.thevrl.com,2009-02-03:1465153:Topic:706562009-02-03T17:43:48.212ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
I'm saddened to report that influential American racing impressario Teddy Mayer has passed away from complications relating to Parkinson's Disease. He was 73.<br />
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Mayer worked side-by-side with Bruce McLaren to help make the McLaren team a dominant force in the late ’60s. After Bruce's tragic death in a testing accident at Goodwood in 1970, Mayer stepped up and took over management of the team until it was taken over by Ron Dennis in 1982.<br />
<br />
Mayer went on to enter his own CHAMP car team and in more…
I'm saddened to report that influential American racing impressario Teddy Mayer has passed away from complications relating to Parkinson's Disease. He was 73.<br />
<br />
Mayer worked side-by-side with Bruce McLaren to help make the McLaren team a dominant force in the late ’60s. After Bruce's tragic death in a testing accident at Goodwood in 1970, Mayer stepped up and took over management of the team until it was taken over by Ron Dennis in 1982.<br />
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Mayer went on to enter his own CHAMP car team and in more recent years had served as a consultant to Team Penske.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the changes in modern, professional motorsport have made the rise of enthusiasts like Mayer something of a lost dream.<br />
<br />
We'll have a more detailed examination of Mayer's life and contributions to motorsport in the upcoming April issue of Vintage Racecar.<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis, Editor Market Madnesstag:www.thevrl.com,2009-01-26:1465153:Topic:667572009-01-26T17:31:51.745ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
Seems like everyone I speak with these days is asking what we see happening with the market for classic cars. Is it imploding like the general financial markets or holding firm?<br />
<br />
I think many of us were reserving judgement until after last week's Scottsdale sales, but if that is any indication, the classic car market seems to be holding up pretty well. The Gooding auction sold over $30 million in cars(!) with the high water marks being a Ferrari California Spider for $4.5 million and a…
Seems like everyone I speak with these days is asking what we see happening with the market for classic cars. Is it imploding like the general financial markets or holding firm?<br />
<br />
I think many of us were reserving judgement until after last week's Scottsdale sales, but if that is any indication, the classic car market seems to be holding up pretty well. The Gooding auction sold over $30 million in cars(!) with the high water marks being a Ferrari California Spider for $4.5 million and a Tear-Drop Talbot-Lago for $3.52 million. Likewise Barrett Jackson sold over $60 million, over the course of the week, with their new "all no reserve" sales format.<br />
<br />
On the flip side of this, I've polled several private brokers I know and get mixed answers from them. One says that there are a number of quiet private sales being done on high-end racecars, while another says that things are very quiet right now, i.e. a lot of interesting cars on offer, but few players willing to commit to purchase.<br />
<br />
If I boil it all down, I'd have to say that the classic car/racecar market is doing pretty well right now, all things considered. While the rest of the financial world is doom and gloom, the more active enthusiasts seem to still be active prepping cars, racing and taking advantage of all the interesting cars and deals that this downturn has brought to the market. Hopefully this will continue to chug along...<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis, Editor HANS Requirements Coming in 09-10tag:www.thevrl.com,2009-01-14:1465153:Topic:583702009-01-14T22:55:16.348ZDaniel Mensingerhttps://www.thevrl.com/profile/DanielMensinger
We just put out our annual Safety Gear issue that takes a fresh look at the SFI-certified HANS devices on the market. I was interested to learn that a number of US clubs are going to start requiring some form of SFI-certified HANS device. HSR/SVRA, VSCDA and HSR-West, will start requiring them towards the end of 09, and fully requiring them in 2010.<br />
<br />
What do people generally think about this?<br />
<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis<br />
Publisher/Editor<br />
Vintage Racecar<br />
Alfa Owner<br />
The Oily Rag
We just put out our annual Safety Gear issue that takes a fresh look at the SFI-certified HANS devices on the market. I was interested to learn that a number of US clubs are going to start requiring some form of SFI-certified HANS device. HSR/SVRA, VSCDA and HSR-West, will start requiring them towards the end of 09, and fully requiring them in 2010.<br />
<br />
What do people generally think about this?<br />
<br />
All the best,<br />
Casey Annis<br />
Publisher/Editor<br />
Vintage Racecar<br />
Alfa Owner<br />
The Oily Rag