The Smoking Tire enters the Ralliart Sportback in the newest form of dirt competition: Formula Rally Cross. Will Dan the Intern, Matt, or Tom be fastest around the 1.5 mile dirt track? Watch and see….
Formula RallyCross in the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Mattel’s Hot Wheels Custom Motor’s YouTube Adventure
Saturday, March 6th, 2010I don’t know how many Hot Wheels cars I had as a kid, but it was a lot. Countless hours were spent sliding them around the house and driving them up walls, and my parents were still finding mini monster trucks in the yard when I was graduating college.
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
The Smoking Tire goes to Las Vegas for our first NASCAR race. While there, we find out that many of the people in the infield don’t actually go to watch the race, they go to drink.
CRS Rally School and Mistubishi Lancer Comparison Test
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010The Smoking Tire attends the California Rally Series’ School in Ridgecrest, CA, to learn how to compete in Rally America and California Rally Series Events (hint, hint). While there, we take the opportunity to find out if the Lancer Ralliart is worth the extra money over the Lancer GTS by flogging them in the dirt.
Bullrun Season 3: Exclusive, Behind-the-Scenes Video from TST
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Some of you may have noticed that Tom and I were fully missing in action the entire month of September, 2009. Well there was damn good reason for that, it was because we were on the set of Bullrun, the reality game show loosely based on the Bullrun Live Rally, which we participate in every year (including this one!). Think of it as The Amazing Race, except you bring your own car. The Smoking Tire spent 4 weeks shooting exclusive, behind-the-scenes video with the producers, crew, and special effects guys, and now that the show is airing (Thursday nights @ 10 EST on SPEED), we are running a new video every week!
Supercar Showdown: Lamborghini Balboni vs. TT Ford GT vs. Supercharged Audi R8
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010The Smoking Tire heads out to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in a 370Z Roadster to find out which car can attain the highest speed on Spring Mountain’s 2.7 mile road course. Can Matt Farah, driving a Lamborghini LP550-2, outgun a Twin Turbo Ford GT and a Supercharged Audi R8? We will see.
Bonus Video: 2011 Mustang GT Prototype on Spring Mountain Raceway
Saturday, February 13th, 2010While filming at the track for the newest episode of The Smoking Tire, we couldn’t help but notice the mustang with the spray-can paintjob, green mirrors, and wires and holes all over the interior. A check with the driver revealed that this was a prototype for the new 2011 Mustang GT, and he would be doing some testing throughout the day. We were too busy with our shoot to go for a ride, but here are a few shots of it on the track, with pretty good audio so you can hear the 5.0 “Coyote” engine scream. And if you think I’m crazy for passing up a ride in this car, wait till you see what I was driving instead.
Video: Matt Interviews Owner of Baer Brakes on FLD!
Thursday, February 11th, 2010I guest hosted Fast Lane Daily today, interviewing Todd Gartshore, one of the owners of Baer Brakes, who make some of the best big brake kits around. We discussed the different types of brakes available on the market today and what brakes you’d like to use for different applications.
Finished: The World’s First Twin-turbo Audi R8
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
The R8. I haven’t known too many cars that induce drooling and heart palpitations, from so many people, as this car. It’s not just the gear-heads and auto-knowledge ninjas either. I know business women that love them, young kids that have chased them, and retirees that give an informed nod when I mention it. I will skip listing the numerous awards, accolades, press and 849568 posts online-that simply say, “I want one”-we all love it. It is an incredibly brilliant piece of automotive engineering.
Road Race Engineering Tuned Mitsubishi Evo X Track Test
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010The Smoking Tire heads out to Willow Springs International Raceway to test a friend’s Mitsubishi Evo X, tuned by Road Race Engineering. Is the Evo quick enough to keep up with a Porsche 996 Cup Car? We’ll see…
