Automotive

2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition: The 1994 RS2 Avant Comes Back!

2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition: The 1994 RS2 Avant Comes Back! One of the current “rules” of the automotive world is that the USA doesn’t get any of the cool European station wagons. Thankfully, Audi has decided to break that rule with the upcoming 2021 RS 6 Avant. And to make sure we’ve got the point, they are rolling out a limited version called an RS Tribute Edition.

You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out why we don’t have the cool wagons here in the U.S. of A. It’s a one-word reason: Minivans. At some point in the early 80s, suburban dwellers decided that wagons, although amazingly practical, were not cool. Lee Iacocca noticed the drop in sales, cooked up the minivan, and those that live in the suburbs have been happy ever since. They became even happier with the advent of SUVs, which, curiously, are just bigger, less efficient wagons that could go off-road, but that’s a whole other discussion.

A Welcome Addition

Not as happy are gearheads (like me) who find wagons kind of cool, especially the high-performance variants. Mercedes does offer an AMG E Class wagon, but the ones that have been sadly absent from our shores have been Audis. Audi calls their wagons Avants (for some reason) and finally decided to bring them into our market. And, here’s the great part: not just any old wagon, er, Avant, but full-blown fire-breathing RS versions. And, they really decided to drive the point home with an RS Tribute edition to remind us how all this happened in the first place.

Back in 1994, the Audi RS2 Avant set the benchmark for high-performance wagons. With its 315 PS five-cylinder engine, excessive interior design, and the blaring Nogaro blue paint job, the 1994 RS2 Avant made a clear statement that wagons can be cool. It’s still considered iconic today by wagon enthusiasts and aficionados.

Fast forward to 2021, and Audi has thrown down a tribute to the RS2 Avant to drum up some hype for the upcoming RS 6 Avant. Called the “RS Tribute edition,” it’s a limited production run of 25 units that feature unique design elements that harken back to the iconic RS2 Avant.

2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition. Photo: Audi of America, Inc.Exterior Design

The new RS Tribute Edition includes the Nogaro Blue paint with black optic accents on the grille, side blades, rear diffuser, and roof rails. The side mirrors are body color, rather than the usual brushed aluminum. Big, honking 22-inch trapezoid-design, cast-aluminum wheels with summer tires are standard. The brake calipers are a flashy red.

Interior Treatments

The inside features carbon twill structure inlays and Denim blue contrast stitching to accentuate the exclusive Valcona S Sport seats. The steering wheel has a perforated covering, while the RS floor mats and upper and lower dashboard receive leather elements. The front seats also include Denim blue contrast stitching.

The RS Tribute Edition also comes standard with Audi’s Driver Assistance Package. The standard Executive package includes heated rear seats, heads-up display, power soft-closing doors, and the Bang & Olufsen 3D Advanced Sound System.

But all this is just the icing – it’s the whole cake that’s really impressive.

2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition interior layout. Photo: Audi of America, Inc.Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition Engine

The RS 6 Avant is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 putting out 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft. of torque. As you’d imagine, muscle car numbers like that translate into serious acceleration: zero to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, for example. Each Tribute edition is equipped with a sport exhaust that is driver-adjustable using the Audi drive select system. This way, you can dial it in to sound just right.

Related Car NewsAudi RS 3 Nardo Edition: Quick, Cool & Available (But Limited!)

Pricing & Availability

It’s taken a while, but we can finally get Audi’s hot wagon over here in the New World. The 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition starts at $136,800. If you want one, the competition might be fierce. Like I said earlier, Audi is only making 25 of these Tribute Edition wagons.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.

Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition Gallery

Photos & Source: Audi of America, Inc.
Original article: 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition: The 1994 RS2 Avant Comes Back!

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Letter From The UK: End of Days?

Letter From The UK: End of Days? Are We Witnessing The Automotive End Of Days?
As someone whose youth, fancy-free love life, musical taste, and motoring education is steeped in the bygone days of the 20th Century, I feel totally confident in my assertion, made not for the first time, that the Golden Age of Motoring is long gone. We shall not see its like again. It has also made me rethink my vehicle road-testing for the future.
Rules & Exceptions
It is not one single thing that has brought me to this pass, no; it is my recent experience of the latest cars and automotive advertising that I have had to endure. Most of the cars I have driven of late here in the blighted, benighted British Isles, have been perfectly fine in terms of build quality and the like but otherwise just so dull, dull, dull. To be balanced, I am currently driving the Peugeot 5008 which is attractive, versatile, and a decent drive (sorry, you can’t have it. The French brand is not returning to American shores for some time yet, if at all) and I like it a lot, but it is the exception that proves the rule.
Cars have become boring. Fact.
Peugeot 5008. Photo: DriveWrite Automotive.
Autonomous Cars. Not.
Like a lusty salmon determined to spawn up-river, I realise I am hardly going with the flow here but, as yet, there are no such things as autonomous cars. The general media always get a bit carried away in a sort of “The future is now!!” manner, but the plain fact is that the current technology is simply super-glorified cruise control. Ask the British public if they are looking forward to ‘driverless’ cars and they will tell you “meh.”
Ask the European motor industry or the government however, for whom any bandwagon is the ideal way to hide all the bad news, and anyone would think that these do-it-all cars are just around the corner; they are not. Certainly all the technologies will work side by side for now but the real deal is many years away. Yet such is the furore being whipped up that it is my contention that car makers have misread the public’s collective mind.
A recent study from CARiD uncovered some confusion as to what an autonomous car actually is. Less than half of the respondents correctly identified it as something controlled entirely by automated technology. A recent AAA study found that 73 percent of American drivers say they would be too afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle, up from 63 percent in late 2017. Photo: Hyundai Motor America.
Youth of Today
With millennials and younger generations more interested in the latest technology rather than transportation, the future of the car industry, to me, looks to be built on shifting sands. As someone who has driven spectacular cars on open roads and race circuits, I find the latest trend for cosying up to the youth of today is not thought through. The latest crop of TV advertising is looking increasingly silly and juvenile and tells viewers absolutely nothing at all about the cars.
Of course, car bosses aren’t stupid. Those brands that are quick thinking and not afraid to reinvent themselves will survive but I contend that many will not. Start-ups like Tesla are exploiting buyers’ imaginations. Clever companies like Uber and ride-sharing operators like Lyft and HyreCar are demonstrating that car ownership is no longer a necessity if a ride is just an app click away.
Uber passengers share a ride in India. Photo: Uber
Somber & Gray
The reason so many cars are boring now is because they are about the lifestyle technology stuffed into them and not about engineering. Essentially they’re all the same under the skin. For grizzled old veteran curmudgeons like me it is the dawn of the beginning of the demise of motor cars as we know them. Thus I feel I will be testing fewer and fewer cars in the coming short term. I’m going to be picky and choose only those vehicles I believe have that extra something but I won’t be holding my breath.
Automotive end of days indeed.
Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

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2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Gets New Suspension & Upgraded Tech

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Gets New Suspension & Upgraded Tech It is foolish to mess with a proven formula. When Ford bolted on a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 to the second-generation Raptor, hardcore off-roaders were dismayed.
But when critics found out the motor churns out 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft. of torque, the new Raptor was welcomed with open arms. The new power plant produced 40 more horsepower and more torque than the heavier 6.2-liter V8.
Change is inevitable. In this case, the changes were for the better.
For 2019, Ford is upping the ante once again by giving the 2019 F-150 Raptor an all-new adaptive suspension along with a host of comfort features and clever tech.
Shock & Awe
Further cementing its status as the ultimate high-performance off-road truck, the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor is equipped with electronically-controlled Fox 3.0 Internal Bypass shocks with LIVE Valve Technology. The 2019 Raptor also comes with a new Trail Control System, which is cruise control designed for low-speed and rugged terrain.
“Raptor’s success is rooted in its incredible suspension, superb vehicle control, and the confidence the truck instills in its owners,” said Hermann Salenbauch, Global Director, Ford Performance Vehicle Programs. “Upgrades to the 2019 F-150 Raptor have improved all three to new levels that the competition will have to benchmark – again.”
Ford worked closely with Fox to further hone the existing internal bypass shock absorbers. The result is an electronically-controlled Live Valve Technology that continuously adjusts damping in real-time. The system utilizes sensors in the suspension and body to maximize comfort, all-terrain handling, and bottom-out resistance.
“By automatically varying compression rates, Raptor can now make the most of its suspension travel of 13 inches at the front and 13.9 inches at the rear,” Salenbauch said.
2019 Ford F-150 Raptor with Fox 3.0 Internal Bypass shocks with Live Valve technology. Photo: Ford Motor Company.
Hang Time
Have you ever heard of a suspension that automatically adjusts the damper settings when the vehicle is in midair?
“The 2019 Raptor is not just more capable off-road. It’s smarter,” Salenbauch continued. “Not many trucks need sensors to detect when you are midair. Raptor sets the dampers to full stiffness to help smooth shock performance as the truck lands.”
This may sound a bit silly, but the current F-150 Raptor is one of the most refined vehicles you can buy today. The upgraded Fox Live Valve suspension enables the Raptor to achieve new heights in all-terrain versatility and performance. When paired with the Raptor’s Terrain Management System, the Live Valve Suspension Technology will confidently traverse even the most unforgiving terrain at high-speed, while still retaining a smooth on-road performance.
Photo: Ford Motor Company.
Off-Road Cruise Control
The 2019 F-150 Raptor is also equipped with a new Trail Control system. It can automatically adjust and send power and braking force to each individual wheel. The system can be activated at speeds from 1 mph up to 20 mph depending on the driveline position.
Trail Control can feed engine torque to the driving wheels so you can easily climb over steep obstacles. The system can also brake each wheel individually, so the Raptor comes down smoothly on the other side of whatever you are climbing. It is a fool-proof system that allows you to focus on steering over rugged terrain.
Photo: Ford Motor Company.
Hold Me Tight
Also new for the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor are Recaro sport seats. The seats are designed to offer aggressive support and substantial bolstering to smoothen those nasty kidney shots over rugged, uneven terrain. Available seat designs include blue Alcantara inserts and accent stitching inspired by the interior of the bonkers Ford GT supercar.
Pricing & Availability
The 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor is all yours by late 2018, and comes in three new colors: Ford Performance Blue, Velocity Blue, and Agate Black.
The upgraded 2019 F-150 Raptor will be built at the Dearborn Truck Plant. Ford has not disclosed pricing at this time.
Alvin Reyes is the Associate Editor of Automoblog. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.
2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Gallery

Photos & Source: Ford Motor Company.

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2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan: Fast Saloon Gets Mild Hybrid Technology

2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan: Fast Saloon Gets Mild Hybrid Technology The mere mention of the word “hybrid” is enough to ruin the day of a true-blue petrol head. But the 2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan begs to differ. Yes, this fast German saloon is equipped with an electrified, AMG-enhanced motor called EQ Boost. If this sounds like the cushioning technology of a popular sneaker brand, you’re not very far off.
But instead of protecting your feet, the EQ Boost starter-alternator-generator is designed to create power for the 48-volt on-board electrical system. It all sounds very complex, but the result is 429 horsepower (6,100 rpm) and 384 lb-ft. of torque (1,800-5,800 rpm).
This is the same 48-volt hybrid assist system that powers the coupe and convertible versions of the E 53, including the Mercedes-AMG CLS 53, which both debuted at the 2018 North American International Auto Show.
2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 4MATIC+ Cabriolet. Photo: MBUSA.
Luxurious Performance
Unless you’re living under a rock somewhere in New Mexico, you are probably familiar with the acceleration and performance characteristics of electric cars. Adding the EQ Boost system to an AMG-tuned and turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six sounds like a recipe for a good time, don’t you agree?
The Mercedes E-class is the epitome of a midsize luxury sedan. But the performance wizards at AMG were able to transform the 2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan into an electrified performance monster without penalizing ride quality and comfort.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but when was the last time Mercedes fitted an inline-six into the E-class? The magic starts with a proper 3.0-liter inline-six fitted with a conventional exhaust-driven turbocharger, which is pointing head-on into BMW territory. But apparently, this wasn’t enough.
Intelligent Electrification
Mercedes-AMG developed the EQ Boost starter-generator to provide “intelligent electrification.” The EQ Boost combines a starter and alternator in a powerful electric motor. The system is fitted between the engine and transmission.
I guess we’ve seen this before, in the former Honda Insight hybrid vehicle, but EQ Boost can do so much more than basic hybrid functions: energy recovery, gliding mode, shifting of the load point – it can even restart the gasoline motor with the start/stop function.
The system can supply an immediate burst of power to turn an electric auxiliary compressor. What this means is an instant rush of torque similar to a diesel motor, along with the famed smoothness and refinement of an inline-six.
48-Volt Electrical System
The EQ Boost system in the 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Sedan generates power for the 48-volt on-board electrical system. It also supplies 12-volt juice courtesy of a DC/DC converter. The 12-volt system will still supply power to the cockpit, infotainment system, and lights. On the other hand, the 48-volt system can supply power to the electric compressor to boost horsepower and torque.
The system can immediately provide 21 horsepower and 184 lb-ft. of torque with a drop of your right foot. When added to the existing power output, the result is a seamless and mesmerizing driving experience.
2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan. Photo: MBUSA.
Transmission & Traction
Harnessing the power of the turbocharged inline-six and EQ Boost electric compressor is the AMG SPEEDSHIFT TCT 9G Transmission. This unit provides short shift times, multiple downshifts, and a double-declutching function. It also delivers faster responses to shift paddle commands so you can drive like Lewis Hamilton.
Power is routed to the 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system that can transition from rear-wheel to all-wheel drive and vice versa. The result is better handling and optimal traction on dry, wet, or snowy roads.
Drive Modes
The 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 comes with five Dynamic Select drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual. The latter allows you to tailor the characteristics of the Mercedes-AMG E53. Want firmer steering with a more compliant ride? Done. You can basically go from mild to extra spicy with a press of a button.
Ride & Handling
The damping forces at each wheel are adjusted accordingly to suit any type of driving situation. The 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Sedan is fitted with an AMG-tuned, multi-chamber air suspension with ADS+ (the automakers “Adaptive Damping System”). The system is based on the Air Body Control technology developed in Affalterbach, Southern Germany. The result is neutral cornering with less body roll, better traction, and greater levels of ride comfort.
2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan interior. Photo: MBUSA.
Modern Interior
The new AMG E 53 Sedan is equipped with a standard widescreen cockpit with virtual instrument panels. The 12.3-inch display is located above the central console so you can fiddle with the infotainment system, which can also be operated via the touchpad controller or by voice control. The voice command feature has been recalibrated so you can control things like the air conditioning, seat heating and cooling, and even the interior lights.
The AMG performance steering wheel in black Nappa leather, with red 12 o’clock markings, is standard.
Pricing & Availability
With an electronically-limited top speed of 130 mph and a zero to 60 time of 4.4 seconds, the 2019 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Sedan is more than a valid replacement for the previous AMG E 43 Sedan. You can expect the E 53 Sedan in the United States by late 2018. Pricing has not been disclosed yet.
Alvin Reyes is the Associate Editor of Automoblog. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.
Photos & Source: MBUSA.

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Bricks And Bones: Chapter 12: A Slight Return: An Epilogue

Bricks And Bones: Chapter 12: A Slight Return: An Epilogue Tony Borroz attended the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 28th, 2017. This series, Bricks And Bones, explores the cultural significance, endearing legacy, and the nitty-gritty phenomenon of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The prologue of this series here.
Chapter 1: Real Wrong here.
Chapter 2: St. Elmo’s Fire here.
Chapter 3: The Quiet Racer here.
Chapter 4: Hang Ten here.
Chapter 5: Female Perspective here.
Chapter 6: The Fearless Spaniard here.
Chapter 7: Speedway Legends here.
Chapter 8: Barrel Roll here.
Chapter 9: A Wide Face here.
Chapter 10: Among The Fans here.
Chapter 11: After The Storm here.

It is Tuesday and the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 is now two days gone. Healey and I return to our car after taking in The Speedway’s museum and a quick, impromptu chat with Donald Davidson, the “professor emeritus” of Speedway history. We get in and amble slowly through the infield roads. The vast track complex is largely empty. All cars gone. All huge shiny team transporters long on the road to Detroit for the next race. Track vehicles neatly parked. Motorhomes, the private sanctuaries of drivers, mostly gone except for a half dozen or so.
Chance Encounter
We wander back toward Gasoline Alley, Bill’s car idling along at a slightly-better-than-walking pace. A weary, strung out security guard half-heartedly waves us through a check point. The complex of garages are all shuttered behind steel roll-up doors . . . except for one. By who knows what reasoning, the remnants of Dale Coyne’s team are still there, doing a final load-out and catching up with spares for the race. We park and get out to say hello, and there, to my absolute and honest wonder is Sebastien Bourdais. He’s sitting/leaning on the back of a golf cart, talking with various team members as they walk by carrying the bits and pieces that make up a modern day racing team.
Sebastien seems none the worse for wear, despite sitting at an odd angle and orientation – no doubt due to the fact that ten days ago, he slammed into a wall in excess of 225 mph at an impact of 100 Gs, breaking his hip and fracturing his pelvis in seven places.
He’s actually rather chatty, although he seems slightly restless and agitated. When asked how he’s feeling he answers in a bit of a world-weary way, partially due to this being the 2,459th time he’s answered these same questions, but such questions are reminders he will not be racing for quite some time; weeks, months, who knows. Although talkative as is his usual self, he’s also a bit slow to answer. He is no doubt on enough painkillers to knock even Keith Richards on his ass.
Sebastien Bourdais looks on during qualifying at the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. Photo: Joe Skibinski.
Quiet Reflection
We chat a bit more then take off, winding our way out through the track. We leave via the north entrance, slowly tooling by the lined up jet-driers and safety cars, and the garages and storage sheds necessary for putting on The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
We return home, to the leafy, tree-lined street of suburban middle America and I pause and look down the street as Bill goes inside. I think of Sebastien Bourdais, a man who shouldn’t even be here. A man of uncommon talent and bravery and skill. I think of concepts like “luck” and “risk” and “mortality.” But mainly I think of the racers. I think of Sebastien Bourdais.
I think of Sebastien Bourdais. I think of Sebastien Bourdais. I think of my friend/acquaintance/guy I met. I think of a man who should be dead. I think of a man who, but for the grace of God or Fate or Luck is still alive. I think of Sebastien Bourdais.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
This series, Bricks And Bones, in its entirety can be found here.
Cover Photo: David Yowe.

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Bricks And Bones: Chapter 11: After The Storm

Bricks And Bones: Chapter 11: After The Storm Tony Borroz attended the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 28th, 2017. This series, Bricks And Bones, explores the cultural significance, endearing legacy, and the nitty-gritty phenomenon of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The prologue of this series here.
Chapter 1: Real Wrong here.
Chapter 2: St. Elmo’s Fire here.
Chapter 3: The Quiet Racer here.
Chapter 4: Hang Ten here.
Chapter 5: Female Perspective here.
Chapter 6: The Fearless Spaniard here.
Chapter 7: Speedway Legends here.
Chapter 8: Barrel Roll here.
Chapter 9: A Wide Face here.
Chapter 10: Among The Fans here.

It’s mid-morning in Speedway, Indiana and I walk outside into the bright Memorial Day sunshine. It is as perfect and sunny as a small town Midwest spring day can get. Leafy green trees line the block. White clapboard houses. White picket fences. Carefully maintained yards and house-proud dwellings line the block, stretching out as far as one can see. Birds tweeting and chirping. All that’s missing is a toe-headed paperboy with a crewcut.
This would be postcard middle America to a tee. Pleasantville in 3D Technicolor.
Nothing that would make it remarkable in the least, but if I were to walk ten yards to my left, there it would be. A half-mile to the east is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A low, glowering eminence grise whose presence can be felt, night and day. It glows through your consciousness, like a power source just into the infrared. But here, right now, there is nothing but a quiet holiday morning. Yesterday, and I mean less than 24 hours ago, the scene was utterly different.
Cordiality & Chow
The streets, even these residential streets nominally on the periphery of The Scene, were swarmed with people. Walking ten yards to my left, which is north, would have given a better picture. A mass of humanity all moving in one direction: towards the Speedway. And 98 percent of them are dragging coolers, hauling backpacks, carrying this and that, and all of them, all 100 percent, are jabbering and jibbering and talking and screaming and chatting and debating and conferring. And the closer you got to the track, the more intense it was. The place was awash in soda and beer and hotdogs and corndogs and deep fried turkey legs the size of a Cro-Magnon’s club.
Burgers, fries, nachos, greasy pizza slices the size of a snow shovel blade, chow-mien(?!), more burgers, more corndogs; food enough to feed an army. And everywhere you looked, the mass of humanity was dressed in shorts and t-shirts and tank tops, blaring nationalist slogans or team allegiances or declarations of wanton consumption of drink and substances. And all of them talking and burping and babbling and farting and guffawing and snorting and prattling and sweet Buddha there’s a lot of them.
Normally the attendance of the Indy 500 is around three to five hundred thousand. That is roughly the number of kids that showed up at friggin’ Woodstock and this happens every year, year in, year out. And these people, these bright, perennially cheerful, down home Midwest salt of the Earth folk welcome them in. It is a stunning display of hospitality right out of some old testament parable. “Need to park your car? Why, here’s a spot on our lawn. That’ll be $20.00.” The streets are lined with cars, the yards are packed with them too. The front yards and delightful screened in porches are full of people talking and eating and drinking. And the roads, always the roads are packed with a moving mass of humanity, going onward, ever onward toward The Track.
Fans gather in droves inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo: Walter Kuhn.
Picturesque Arrays
But that was yesterday. Short hours ago. Not even a full day. And now, not a speck of lawn is taken up by a vehicle. There is no trash to be seen anywhere, and I mean that: no trash. Later Healey and I do a bit of a driving tour, and the scene can only be described as stunning, and only in the context of what it was like the day before.
There was a huge parking lot the size of a shopping mall. Now it is a green, grassy field. Scores of port-a-potties are now neatly stacked on trailers, all patiently idling in line, waiting to merge with traffic. All souvenir booths are shuttered. Food stands of the most common and mass-produced eats imaginable are locked down and boarded up. The garbage cans, packed to overflowing yesterday are gone, completely gone. All refuse vanished as if on the whim of an invisible wind-god.
And the track, good Lord the track itself: a scattering of people here and there on the outside, but no signs of the throng of humanity that once was. The inside is eerie in its striking lack of people and its neatness. Here and there, maybe a total of 150 people where there were once hundreds of thousands. They walk and sweep and pick up the bits of leftover trash that has so far gone unaccounted for.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway the morning of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. Photo: Chris Owens.

Tranquil Territory
And the trash! It has all been collected up, piece by piece, and stuffed into rust-colored garbage bags, and the bags, tens of thousands of them, all neatly lined up at the end of each row of seats. The aluminum white horizontal stands against the strong rust of the vertically arranged garbage bags is like a Christo installation piece.
The contrast between what The Speedway brings, invites; desires even, with what the town is now shocks in the extreme.
Yes, this is Speedway, both in name and deed, but the vast majority of the year it is just a simple, small Midwestern town almost drowning in its own unpretentious charm. And now, not even a day after such noise and speed and riotous behavior, Speedway, Indiana is nothing but silence and slowness and subdued conduct. It is back to as it was. Again it is Pleasantville. It is deepest, whitest American. The heart of paleness close by the banks of the Wabash.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
*To be continued. Bricks And Bones is an Automoblog original series with forthcoming installments during the days leading up to, and following the Indianapolis 500.
Cover Photo: Shawn Gritzmacher.

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Bricks And Bones: Chapter 10: Among The Fans

Bricks And Bones: Chapter 10: Among The Fans Tony Borroz attended the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 28th, 2017. This series, Bricks And Bones, explores the cultural significance, endearing legacy, and the nitty-gritty phenomenon of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The prologue of this series here.
Chapter 1: Real Wrong here.
Chapter 2: St. Elmo’s Fire here.
Chapter 3: The Quiet Racer here.
Chapter 4: Hang Ten here.
Chapter 5: Female Perspective here.
Chapter 6: The Fearless Spaniard here.
Chapter 7: Speedway Legends here.
Chapter 8: Barrel Roll here.
Chapter 9: A Wide Face here.

Journalists are, as a group, pretty jaded and jaundiced about the world around them. Whatever their specialty, whatever little slice of the world they cover, it’s usually done so with barely concealed condescension and detachment. This is actually something you are more or less taught in college newswriting classes. Maintaining a sense of detachment is how a journalist stays objective.
American journalists have this fetish about being objective. But this fetishized objectiveness is the beginning of being jaded in progressively darker shades of green; jaundiced in ever-yellowing hues.
By The Book
Sportswriters, although they can and are encouraged to be fans of the sports they cover, are particularly focused on being objective. Just the facts ma’am. Hits. Runs. Strikes. Passes. Touchdowns. Scores. Statistics. Always tons and tons and tons of statistics. Especially for American sportswriters.
So there we all were, some 150 or so journalists in various shades of jaded experience about two-thirds of the way through the 2017 Indy 500. Assiduously watching, taking notes, scribbling passages, hammering on keys. We were covering the event. Get it all down, stitch it together, write a lead-in graph or two, a nice summation and, bada-boom, bada-bing, you’ve met your deadline, kept your Managing Editor happy, and lived to write another day.
Sixpence Suspense
A few times during the race this professional detachment fell away. Most notably during Dixon’s colossal accident, but most of the time the press area was quiet mumbles and typing, with the occasional four sentence conversations. It was in this setting, on a late race restart, all professionalism fell away from every one of us in that room in an instant. A pack of cars, indeed the second pack of cars behind the lead group, were all blasting down the back straight on the first green flag lap after a protracted caution period. All of a sudden, for reasons that were never clear, this pack of cars, the entire pack, all saw a passing opportunity. Someone checked up, or slowed or something, then the pack, and I mean the entire pack fanned out two – no three – no four – no SIX-wide.
Everyone, and I mean literally every one of us in the top level of the pressroom switched in that instant from being jaded, jaundiced reporters, and reverted back to what got us into this business in the first place: Race fans. Collectively we had been around racing long enough to know what was up, what was down, and what happens when things go sideways. And what we were now looking at was directly on the edge of going very, very sideways.
From the outside wall to the infield grass, six cars were now running side by side at 230 miles an hour. The biggest gap between any two cars was maybe the width of your palm. The slightest was the thickness of your hand. As the cars fanned out, we, the assembled press, all started screaming, and I mean screaming the exact same thing: “NO! No, no, NO, no, no, no, nononoNONONOOOOO!!!!”
Race fans watch the action at the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. Photo: Chris Owens.

Instant Fans
We knew what we were going to see next. This was bad. This was toddler wandering into a running machine shop bad. This was bad to the point of taking us out of journalism entirely. There were too many cars, too much speed, and a quickly diminishing amount of space . . . and then, cooler heads prevailed. It was as if all six drivers realized what they were doing and, in a snap, sorted it out.
Marco backed out of the throttle. Another car dropped left and back. Alonso (you knew Alonso was going to be in the middle of this) somehow found more speed, gained a car length, and moved right. It was over in a second, maybe a second and a half, maybe two. But in that brief span of time, we journalists were reduced to being just fans at the track, watching the race, having a blast.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
*To be continued. Bricks And Bones is an Automoblog original series with forthcoming installments during the days leading up to, and following the Indianapolis 500.
Cover Photo: Chris Owens.

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2018 Indy 500 Notebook: Part 2: Hey Hinchcliffe, Wanna Race? Then Go Faster!

2018 Indy 500 Notebook: Part 2: Hey Hinchcliffe, Wanna Race? Then Go Faster! Tony Borroz opens up what has been dubbed “The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook” for an unedited look at The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. This new series will span the days leading up to and after the 102nd Indianapolis 500, set for Sunday, May 27th. The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook is not exactly live coverage, more like raw coverage. It’s an unfiltered look and what makes the Indy 500 so alluring in the first place.
The prologue can be found here. Part three is forthcoming as the action in Indianapolis continues.
So I’m watching the first day of qualifying for the 2018 Indy 500. And, for the first time in a long time, there’s actual bumping going on. The starting field at Indy is limited to 33 cars, 11 rows of three. So, if you’ve got, say 38 people wanting to race, some of them are going to get left out, or bumped, in the parlance of The Speedway.
I am one of those people that are happy to see bumping return. It’s a healthy sign of interest, from drivers, teams, sponsors. The more of that, the better.
Bump & Grind
What I like about Bump Day (as it used to be called) is that it adds a ton of drama. If you’re sitting at 33rd in qualifying, “on the bubble” as they say around The Brickyard, every half-bright, crazy-brave driver gunning to make it in means you are going to get bumped out. Those poor racers in spots 30, 31, 32, and 33 . . . they’re like ducks in a shooting gallery. Bump Day is drowning in a sea of emotion; hope, fear, dread, elation, resignation, confidence, terror, anxiety, ecstasy, acceptance. You can see all of those cross a driver’s face in a matter of minutes while they watch another competitor try to knock them out of the race before it’s even begun.
Bump Day has the expected cruelty meted out to the lower, shoe-string teams. Outfits with 29 percent of the sponsorship cash they need, crewed by a handful of overworked mechanics going up against teams with scores more wrench turners and driven by drivers . . . desperate drivers; desperate because they are on their way up and have something to prove or, even more alarming to see, desperate because the driver is on their way out, and they want, no, need, one more chance; just gimme one more chance and I can show you I still got it, please!?
But there is the other side of Bump Day when, due to circumstances, one of the expected front runners, a series regular, is hanging out at the back of the grid. Dangerously so. And this time around, it happens to be James Hinchcliffe.
James Hinchcliffe. Photo: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
Reality Sets In
Hinchcliffe, all around affable Canadian guy and last year’s pole sitter, just got his butt bumped off of this year’s grid? The entire team – owner Sam Schmidt, the engineers, mechanics, and most especially Hinchy himself – are literally apoplectic as the nasty fact sinks in: We will not be competing in this year’s 500. There are lolling heads, literal wringing of hands, confused grimaces, shaking of heads. Hinchcliffe seems to be walking around in a small circle repeatedly. I literally see one mechanic mouth the words ” … be happening,” as in ‘this can’t be happening.‘
While all this is happening, while the clock is ticking down and Hinchy’s team realizes they’re too far back in line to make another run, the ABC/ESPN announcers go into full-blown panic and recrimination mode. The two color commentators, Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear, start to rail about how there needs to be guaranteed spots for series regulars, or drivers with enough points, or a driver who . . . who . . . who . . . they’re grasping at straws faster than Rumpelstiltskin and, as usual, showing themselves to be the irritating hacks that have no business in a broadcast booth.
James Hinchcliffe’s statement on missing the 2018 Indy 500.
No Exceptions, No Excuses
Both Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear are former race car drivers, and they both were, largely, mediocre at best. Yes, I do know that Eddie Cheever won the 500, but he did that back in the dark days of the Tony George era, claiming victory over the likes of such racing titans as Billy Boat, Marco Greco, John Paul, Jr. I’m joking of course, those guys were even worse than Cheever, but that was the level of competition he faced back in 1998, and I, for one, am not going to let him forget about it. Goodyear? He’s primarily famous for two things: Losing to Al Unser Jr. in 1992 and getting beat like a drum by Jacques Villeneuve in 1995 and whining about it after the checker.
So of course these two make-up-the-numbers boys are whining about how Hinchcliffe got robbed and that getting bumped is unfair. But you know what? It was completely fair. Hinchcliffe’s team was running under the same rules as everybody else. They were qualifying under the same conditions as everybody else. You want to race in The Indy 500, James? Then you’ve got to go fast.
This is not “Everybody Gets A Trophy Day” at the kids go-kart track. This is not “most popular driver gets a spot.” Hinch is really well-loved, and I personally like the guy, but this is not “can we make an exception?”
This is Indy baby. Put up or shut up.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. His forthcoming new book The Future In Front of Me, The Past Behind Me will be available soon. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.

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2018 Indy 500 Notebook: Part 1: Prologue

2018 Indy 500 Notebook: Part 1: Prologue Tony Borroz opens up what has been dubbed “The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook” for an unedited look at The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. This new series will span the days leading up to and after the 102nd Indianapolis 500, set for Sunday, May 27th. The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook is not exactly live coverage, more like raw coverage. It’s an unfiltered look and what makes the Indy 500 so alluring in the first place.
I’m sitting here, plopped in front of my TV watching a replay of the 1973 Indy 500. ESPN Classic has been replaying all this old ABC coverage wall-to-wall, 24 hours a day, for about a week now, and it’s fascinating on so many levels.
Safety First?
Jackie Stewart, who is working as a color commentator between racing in Grand Prix, is praising the safety orientation of things happening at The 500. Given that Jackie was the original safety Nazi, and also given that I’m watching this from the perspective of forty-five years of experience, I shake my head at how frightening the lack of safety really is. Consider these observations:
Pit lane speed limit? There is none! Drive as fast as you want. Pit crew safety? Next to non-existent. Fire suites? Nope, matching slacks and polo shirts. Pacer lights? Not for a couple of years. Infield hospital? That’s not built yet either.
And yeah, I love this old school stuff. There is so much from past eras of racing that I miss, but when I watch this old stuff, I’m surprised my heroes weren’t dying in higher numbers.
Anyway, Johncock is out front and cruising, A.J. just pushed it back to pit lane, Donohue is having a terrible day, and Parnelli’s new team is doing okay. The cars are big Offy four-bangers with turbos the size of a toilet hanging out in the breeze. The plant puts out around 900 horsepower and the wings are the size of a dinner table. Amazing.
Mark Donohue racing at Pocono Raceway in 1971. Photo: Ted Van Pelt.
Backup Plans
The other thing to factor in is that I am not going to Indy this year. I will have to cover it from afar. There was a mix up with housing (I got ousted by a girls soccer team, no, seriously) that I found out about yesterday. Given that hotels, motels, and camping sites are booked up years in advance, that was practically out. And I don’t even want to get into the money aspects of this. So onto plan B.
Plan B, at this point, means driving four hours south to hang out with my brother John and watch The 500. If anything, Johnny is a bigger 500 fan than I am, and he’s a very articulate guy, so getting his perspective folded into my coverage (such as it is) might actually work out well. But we’ll see, because I have yet to hear back from him, or my sister-in-law, if I can drop in on their hospitality out of the blue.
Anyway, here we go again!
Part 2: “Hey Hinchcliffe, Wanna Race? Then Go Faster!” here.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. His forthcoming new book The Future In Front of Me, The Past Behind Me will be available soon. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.
Mark Donohue photo by Ted Van Pelt is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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