Gary Graves, Sportswriter, African American In Motorsports
05.17.09 - aaracers - Forty-eight year old Gary Graves has aspired to be a sportswriter since his High School days, and thanks to seemingly always being in the right place at the right time, he has reached one of the premiere positions in the world of sports journalism.
Graves is currently one of the motorsports writers, for the Nation’s largest newspaper, USA Today.
Since joining the paper in ’97, Graves typically writes three racing articles weekly for the
paper.
IMS Salutes Tuskegee Airmen, Raceday, May 24th
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 will salute the Tuskegee Airmen during this year's Indianapolis 500. A group of original Tuskegee Airmen will be among America's Servicemen Honore dat the pre-race festivities.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first all-black aviation unit in the United States military. Formed in July 1941, its members trained at a segregated base at Tuskegee, Ala., from whence they got their name. Despite great odds and outright prejudice, they helped America win World War II and end racial segregation in the military through courage, tenacity, perseverance and patriotism.
The Field is Set for the 93rd Running of the Indianapolis 500
05.17.09 - aaracers - John Andretti and Ryan Hunter Reay were the last two qualifiers on Bump Day for The Indy 500. Andretti found himself on his final attempt to bump his way back into the starting field after being in and out of the race no less than five times throughout the day.
With the current qualification format, drivers are allowed three attempts per qualification day to make the starting field. Even if a driver is already qualified, he may withdraw his time and re-qualify if they choose. This is the scenerio that found Andretti looking on the outside of the starting field for the race.
Stewart Wins the 2009 Monster Energy Championship
05.03.09 - A sold out, standing-room only crowd of 39,506 packed into Sam Boyd Stadium for the 2009 Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season finale in Las Vegas. While all eyes were on the heated rivalry between San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., and Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Chad Reed, of Tampa, Fla., rookie Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., stole the show with his second victory in the last three races.
In the annual, talent-filled Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Supercross Lites Shootout, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel, of Corona, Calif., took the win and earned a Toyota Tundra for his efforts.
Lewis Hamilton honored in Spain
05.08.09 - World champion Lewis Hamilton added his name to the list of famous drivers and riders celebrated at Champions’ Avenue during a ceremony held today in the Circuit de Catalunya paddock.
The event, which was presided over by the Circuit de Catalunya’s manager, Ramon Praderas, commemorated Lewis’s 2008 world championship victory and his past successes at the famous Spanish track with the unveiling of a special ceremonial plaque.
Austin's Truck Series Ride in Limbo After Funding Issues
4.22.09 - Eudora, KS-- When 19-year-old NASCAR driver Chase Austin threw out the first pitch at last Tuesday night’s Kansas City Royals home game against Cleveland, little did he realize that less than a week later he’d be facing an impossible-to-hit knuckle ball of his own. Austin was informed in a team meeting this past Tuesday that his Trail Motorsport team’s entry in this Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series “O’Reilly Auto Parts 250” will be withdrawn due to funding issues.
“We set a deadline of Monday for the Truck to be ready to ‘shake down’ at Rockingham, and that didn’t happen,” said a surprisingly upbeat Austin. “So I knew what we were going to hear in the meeting. I’m really more disappointed for the team than for myself. I really want to race, but the guys in the shop have families to feed, and they need steady work and a steady paycheck.”
MJ Motorsports Captures 1st Podium of the Season
FONTANA, CA (March 22, 2009) – Michael Jordan Motorsports riders Geoff May and Aaron Yates had a weekend of ups and downs at the AMA Pro Racing doubleheader at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. May, who rides for the #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki team, earned the team’s first podium finish of the season during Saturday’s Race 1.
Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki #54 May leaves Fontana in high spirits after putting in hard effort all weekend long. He earned his first Superbike podium finish in Race 1, finishing third during Saturday's race. On Sunday, May once again had a solid finish in fourth place in Race 2, just missing out on the final podium position by .2 seconds. May started both races from fourth position on the grid after qualifying his National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSXR-1000 on the front row during Friday's Superpole session.