Blog & Press

The excitement of going to a new race track with your car can also bring about a flock of butterflies in your stomach. After all, you don’t want to be known as “the driver who totaled their car first time out.” Below are five quick tips to get up to speed quickly and safely so that you can be better prepared for when it’s your turn to turn laps.…

Pato O’Ward came into last year’s 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with an outside chance to clinch the championship. After contact early that ultimately led to his car’s retirement; that put a sour note on the ending of an otherwise strong, two-race winning season. In fact, his race wins earned him a McLaren Formula One Team test during the off-season.  Leading into this year’s race, O’Ward had…

Christian Lundgaard made a very positive impression in the NTT IndyCar Series when he was hired to pilot the Rahal Letterman Lannigan entry at the Indianapolis road course in August 2021 by qualifying fourth quick in his series debut. That drive made a strong enough impression that he was brought on full-time by the RLL team for 2022. At the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, he endured a…

There are many famous names associated with the Indianapolis 500 – Foyt, Unser, Mears, Andretti and now Castroneves as the latest driver to join the four-time winner’s club. However, one name stands above the rest and that is Penske. Roger Penske and his Penske Racing teams over the years have amassed 18 (as of March 2022) Indy 500 wins. Many of those coming from Unser, Mears and Castroneves. The…

The best way to describe this edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is that it was like a rollercoaster – lots of ups and downs when it came to the weather, racing and emotions. Friday’s temperatures were near 100 degrees with track temps about 130 degrees and while everyone anticipated that the weather would slow everything down, the exact opposite happened. The street circuit rubbered in…

The 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach returns to its normal springtime calendar date (after being last year’s season finale in September) on April 8-10. In this week’s blog we’ll preview the main event – the NTT IndyCar Series. After being last year’s season finale, where Alex Palou was crowned season champion and Colton Herta blitzed through the field from his 14th place starting position to win, there…

The 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach returns to its normal springtime calendar date (after being last year’s season finale in September) on April 8-10. In this week’s blog we’ll take a look at the support races during the weekend. Highlighting the Saturday action will be the stars and cars of the IMSA WeatherTech Series. After two races and 36 hours of endurance competition, it’s all about the…

On a recent road trip, Larry Mason happened to meet Spencer Bayston, a young driver in the super challenging World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series (WoO). Bayston was gracious enough to give us time for a quick interview that sheds light on his type of racing. This interview was done on March 21, 2022. He’ll be racing in Bakersfield, CA on Friday the 25th and in…

A fan favorite at the Grand Prix of Long Beach over the years was the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Fast Lane was the official school to get all of the celebrities up to speed for their first time racing. In 2012 Adam Carolla won the event as a celebrity. He returned the following year as a Pro and won the event back-to-back! After his second race win I had a…

In our previous installment, we looked at Lane Departure Warning Systems.  Today we’ll take a look at Blind Spot Warning (BSW) and Intervention (BSI) systems. Keep in mind that if your mirrors are adjusted properly, you would rarely need the electronic nanny. The fact is that the vast majority of drivers have their side-view mirrors improperly adjusted (you can see your door handles) so therefore, the electronic version plays…

With technology in today’s street cars expanding at an ever more rapid clip, it’s no wonder that the supply chain chip shortage has slowed production and availability of new cars at your local dealership. However, once you get behind the wheel of a new car, you’ll be seeing, hearing and feeling multiple bits of sensory feedback based on the sensors, lights, speakers and electronic bits throughout. Today we’ll take…

Cara Adams is the chief engineer for Bridgestone Americas Motorsports. She and her team play a key role in the reliability and performance of the cars in the NTT IndyCar Series. In Part 1, Adams gives you her background and intro into racing and delves into some of the details about race tire construction including the mechanical and chemical aspects and how that changes depending upon tracks and car…