“Neal R. Taylor 1962-2009 - Warren Tribune Chronicle” plus 4 more |
- Neal R. Taylor 1962-2009 - Warren Tribune Chronicle
- Off to the races - Malay Mail
- 2010 Amateur Arenacross Changes - Motorcycle USA
- Fly Racing on Facebook® - ATV Rider Magazine
- Dixon, Force Hood - NHRA teleconference, part 1 - Motorsport.com
| Neal R. Taylor 1962-2009 - Warren Tribune Chronicle Posted: 21 Oct 2009 08:16 PM PDT Neal R. Taylor 1962-2009HOWLAND - Neal R. Taylor, 46, passed away Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, at his home. Neal was born Dec. 16, 1962, in Norfolk, Va. He was a 1981 graduate of Howland High School. He married the former Shara L. Woods, Nov. 9, 1991. Neal was a self-employed painter for more than 25 years, and enjoyed fishing, riding and racing motorcycles. In the past he had participated in pro Motocross. He is survived by his wife, Shara; and his two daughters, Tawny and Nicole Taylor at home; his mother, Carol Collier and her husband, Dennis of Niles; his father, Harry Taylor and his wife, Linda of Youngstown; and his sister, Tami Hazlett and her husband, Carl of Cortland. Private family funeral services will be held today at Lane Funeral Homes, Madasz Chapel in Brookfield. Family and friends can send condolences to www.lanefuneralhomes.com. (special notice) This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 21 Oct 2009 08:23 PM PDT SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT: Elly (left) and Muhammad Zulfahmi(fourth from left) sharing a light moment with Ella(second from left), Hujan and Jinbara
Besides the excitement of witnessing 33 riders from across the globe vying to be 'numero uno' at the 2009 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the race also promises other forms of entertainment. "This year, we have teamed up with some of the regions' most popular artistes to ensure fans are treated to a perpetual MotoGP high with a spectacular concert," said SIC chief executive officer Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali. Among the artistes lined up for the concert at the 5.542km circuit on Sunday, Oct 25 include rock queen Ella, top Indonesian band Nidji and Malaysian rockers Hujan and Jinbara. They are slated to perform at 4.30pm. Also scheduled to entertain the crowd is Rod Stewart! Well no, not really. It's actually Rob Caudill, known to some as the best Rod Stewart impersonator in the world. Listen to him croon Stewart's hits on Saturday, Oct 24 at 1.30pm and the following day at 2pm. Well, if you can't have the real thing ... It might, however, be interesting to see Caudill in action. Adding excitement to this year's Malaysian Moto GP are the promises of interaction for fans during this exciting event.
Besides the race, fans will be treated to a perpetual MotoGP high with a spectacular concert by top artistes
The half an hour autograph session will be from noon on Saturday at SIC's Welcome Centre. Dorna, the rights holders of MotoGP, has confirmed that 17 riders will be participating in the session. The event organisers are also opening doors for younger fans to enjoy the MotoGP. Under the 'Taking Motorsport to School Programme', SIC is providing students from schools, universities and institutes of higher learning nationwide to watch the race live. Lucky students and members of the public will also have the chance to go for a Pit Walkabout tomorrow from 10.30am to 11.30am, but there are also more off-the-track activities to look out for. The public will also have a chance to be part of a good cause. With every purchase of the MotoGP ticket, RM10 will be channelled to quake victims in Indonesia and the Philippines through charity bodies involved in humanitarian work in the countries. The 19th MotoGP will also introduce the Malaysian Wildcard, a collaboration between SIC, Motorsports Association of Malaysia, Automobile Association of Malaysia and Two Wheels Motor Racing. The new initiative is aimed at opening MotoGP to young Malaysian riders. After undergoing gruelling elimination rounds on the track, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin emerged as winners in the first ever Wildcard entry. Elly has been designated first rider using the 125cc Aprillia race bike prepared by Ongetta Team ISPA. MotoGP is the second most-watched motorsport event, after Formula One. It brings together top motorcycle manufacturers, skilled riders and thousands of enthusiastic fans from around the world. Malaysia's first hosting opportunity to world motorcycle champions started in 1991 at the Batu Tiga circuit in Shah Alam. This weekend's race at Sepang is the penultimate stop of a 17-round championships this year. Last weekend's race in Australia saw Spaniard Julian Simon of Team Banjaca Aspar being crowned the new world champion in the 125cc class. Holding a 38-point advantage over Yamaha Racing teammate Jorge Lorenzo of Spain, all eyes are on Valentino Rossi and Sepang this weekend as he vies for his seventh world title in the premier class. All eyes on Elly and Fahmi
WILDCARD WINNERS: Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (left) and Muhammad Zulfahmi
"This is my last chance to show my capabilities and I am confident that I will be able to get through the race," said Elly. The 25-year-old was crowned overall champion of the Malaysian Cub Prix Yamaha 135LC Challenge in 2006 and is currently Malaysia's top cub prix rider. He is joined by 18-year-old Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who will be riding a Yamaha GP machine formerly used by Indonesian Doni Tata Pradita when he raced in the GP 125cc. "I am very grateful for the opportunity to race this time around. I know it is not going to be easy but I will put 120 per cent into the race and hopefully I will be able to finish the race," said Fahmi. Both riders have been undergoing intensive preparation that includes physical, mental and emotional training to gear themselves into the right frame of mind for the race at Sepang. With the help of personal trainer Roman Engel, both believe their training sessions have opened up their minds and broadened their horizons. "So many things have changed since I started training under Roman five months ago. My stamina has improved, I am mentally stronger and have learned a whole lot about proper diet and nutrition," revealed Elly. "It was quite a task to not eat rice over the past few months, but you have to sacrifice something to achieve your dream and that is what I will do," added Fahmi. The duo were picked from a selection of 19 riders who competed in the current Petronas Sprinta Malaysian Cub Prix Championship and Malaysian Super Series Bikerz Mag 150cc Cup. The riders, all aged between 15 and 28, went through a three-day trial at SIC where they were evaluated on their riding skills and techniques on Yamaha 125cc machines. "With racing, there is no room for fear, but what is important is learning from mistakes and making sure you don't repeat them," said Elly. Both young men believe they are prepared for the race over the weekend and are thrilled to be sharing the stage with accomplished riders. They have set their eyes on finishing the 125cc race in Sepang and will be joined by another Wildcard winner from Australia, Blake Leigh-Smith. "The most important element is having a target and working towards achieving it," Elly concluded. Good luck, boys. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| 2010 Amateur Arenacross Changes - Motorcycle USA Posted: 21 Oct 2009 04:12 PM PDT
A new format to determine the country's top amateur Arenacross champions is just one of the enhancements planned for the 2010 AMA Racing Amateur National Arenacross Championships. The series will crown AMA Racing amateur champions in a number of age-, skill- and displacement-based classes at Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium on May 9. "We're excited about the developments in Arenacross for 2010," said AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. "The AMA Racing Amateur National Arenacross Championships will help provide a solid foundation for aspiring riders to develop their skills on a stadium track. For many riders, this series will become the route through which they achieve their ultimate goal of competing in the AMA Supercross Championship." The 2010 AMA Racing Amateur National Arenacross Championships will be held the day following the final round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship, giving the top amateurs the opportunity to ride on the same track as the world's best Supercross racers. Riders will qualify for a spot at the championship race based on their finishes in regional events. The top four riders from each of the rive regions -- North, South, Central, East and West -- will be invited to compete in the championship. Also new for 2010 will be the opportunity for the top eight finishing riders in the Expert class to receive an AMA Supercross Lites endorsement. The AMA Supercross Lites endorsement will allow these riders to compete in the 2011 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Lites Championship. "In addition to improvements to the series for our amateur competitors, we're excited that the country's top Arenacross racers will also be on track at the season finale in Las Vegas in the AX and AX Lites classes," Bromley said. "The competition for the AMA Racing National Arenacross Championship is always one of the most thrilling in motorcycle racing, with the title often coming down to the wire." The 2009 champions were decided at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas as part of the AMA-sanctioned Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open. Together with the AMA Racing national champions from all of the other racing disciplines, they will be honored at the season-ending banquet on Dec. 4 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. For more information and to obtain tickets, visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com/LetsRock. For ticket information for the 2010 AMA Racing Amateur National Arenacross Championships, see Arenacross.com. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Fly Racing on Facebook® - ATV Rider Magazine Posted: 21 Oct 2009 03:36 PM PDT Fly Racing now has an interactive Facebook® Fan page. Facebook users who become a Fan of Fly Racing can now stay up to date on the latest product info and news, along with post photos and videos of themselves riding or racing in their favorite Fly Racing products. To become a Fan of Fly Racing on Facebook, go to Flyracing.com and click on the "Find us on Facebook" icon. (Located in the upper right corner of the Fly Racing homepage.) Or, become a fan now by clicking on the image link below: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fly-Racing/152986173482 About Fly Racing This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Dixon, Force Hood - NHRA teleconference, part 1 - Motorsport.com Posted: 21 Oct 2009 02:32 PM PDT NHRA teleconference October 21, 2009 An Interview With: MICHAEL PADIAN: Two-time-NHRA champion Larry Dixon who drives the Al-Anabi dragster. It's been a crapshoot all year with yourself, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher winning five races each. What do you expect over these final two races and what do you think will be the difference? LARRY DIXON: Well, it has been kind of open, open season, as far as being able to get wins. Last week just saw Brandon (Bernstein) get his first win in almost two years, so that was -- it's just kind of how the season has been going. If one car kind of falls off, the other one steps up to the plate and gets it done. You know, legitimately, there's two or three, probably four cars that can still win the championship, and it's going to come down to, you know, you're still in charge of your own destiny. If you out there and you win out those two races, you've done as much as you can do and hope it's enough and try and get the Full Throttle Championship and obviously bring it home to the Al-Anabi team is what we are looking for. MICHAEL PADIAN: Larry trails Tony Schumacher by 47 points, Cory McClenathan is in third place 68 points back, and Antron Brown is in fourth place, 81 points back, effectively, that's four rounds with eight rounds of racing left for the two race, 20 points per round. Ashley Force Hood is the third-year driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. Ashley has won twice this season, been to seven final rounds and currently trails teammate Robert Hight by 13 points as she seeks to become the first female driver in NHRA history to win a championship in the Funny Car class. Can you share with us the mood of the team entering these final two championship-deciding races in Vegas and Pomona? ASHLEY FORCE HOOD: We are really pumped. We have had a really great season. We are right where we want to be up there in the top couple of spots, but a lot can change in these final two races and obviously we are aware of that. We know that we are second, Robert is first and we are only a few points behind him, yet there are a handful of guys that are right behind us. So we are just going to try to do the best we can and enjoy this. And it can get easy to get caught up in the stress of it all and getting nervous about it and anxious, but we are really trying to look at it from another point of view and say, our third year in, we are battling for the NHRA Championship. That's a pretty neat spot to be in, especially as a relatively newer team compared to a lot of the teams we compete with. So we are trying to enjoy this and not let the stress and nervousness of it take over the fun of it, which is getting to be in this competition and having the car that has the capability of winning a championship. Q: Larry, how satisfying is it for you being the first year with this team doing as well as you have done, because a lot of people thought, okay, new team, you have to have break-in time, learning time, seasoning among all members of the team. How are you feeling about your great performance so far this year? LARRY DIXON: I'm feeling great about it. You know, winning five races so far, you know, I mean, that's -- I had not won five races in three years. So to be able to do that in one season is good. But you know, the rest of the guys on the team, Alan and Jason and the rest of the Al-Anabi team, this is an off-year for them. Last year they won 15 races. So they are sorting things out and getting things going and just, you know, probably since maybe Brainard (ph) just before Indy, the cars really stepped up their performance. We have been -- if we have not been on pole, we have been close to pole just about every event. And I really think that, you know, we have contended for wins at every event we have gone to. So it's good. You know, I know some of the guys -- this season is not over with, but a lot of the guys on the team are looking forward to this winter. It's going to be a lot calmer. Last year they didn't even have a shop to work in at this point in the season. Everybody was still on their old jobs. So to be able to still have the opportunity to win a championship, you know, in the fashion that Alan and the guys have done in the past where they are not leading the points, and there's two races to go and we are certainly in the mix of it. You know, we are certainly going to do our best to try and bring it home to the Al-Anabi team. Q: Of course this is a top season for you, you seem to adapt to the Funny Car which is a very difficult car to drive as we all know; how have you accommodated adapting to the Funny Car so quickly and so well? ASHLEY FORCE HOOD: When I started in '07, I think I had five years of racing some type of a car or another under my belt. So I had the basics of the burnout and the staging and all those kind of things. And I also tested for about a year and a half before I jumped into the Funny Car, which I don't know if a lot of people realize that. We would stay, because I was racing my A/Fuel Dragster and other teams were racing the Funny Car and we would stay on Mondays and I would jump into dad's car or Robert's or Eric's and test. It wasn't that I was getting ten runs a day or anything, but a couple here or there every week after the national event, I think really helped me to kind of get a good baseline for once our 2007 season started and we went to testing and went all-out with that. But it's really a big advantage that I've had that when I look at a lot of other teams and a lot of other drivers, you know, people moving in the ranks and teams that have struggled, a big advantage that I have is that we have the financial backing; that they give me a really good new car, good new parts, and we have all of the great pieces together and it makes my learning curve... I think it lessens it a lot because I can really focus on my driving and learning those mistakes and you're not trying to learn how to drive a car while it's having motor problems and parts failure and that side sort of a thing. I think it's unfortunate for the teams that do have lower budgets that I think they get maybe picked on a little more because their car isn't performing, a lot of people want to look at the driver, but a lot of times it is just if you just don't have the right pieces together, your car is not going to be able to go down the track and make good runs. The car, the seat that I was able to move into in '07, and the same seat that I'm in now, they have always given me a really great -- all of the tools that I need. It really lessens I think the mistakes that I was making. As usual, I still made plenty of mistakes. That's not to say anything about that. But I think it would have been a lot harder if I didn't have the tools and just the right parts and pieces in this Funny Car. It made my learning curve easier. MICHAEL PADIAN: Footnote in the Funny Car race. Of the Top-10 drivers in Funny Car competing for the championship, only two have previously won championships, that's John Force and Tony Pedregon. And of course those names I mentioned, only Tony Pedregon is among the top six drivers. So five of the top six drivers who are within 86 points of the championship have not previously won a championship. So very good chance that we'll have a first-time champion in Funny Car. A note to follow up on Larry's reference to five wins this season, that gives him 48 wins in his career, that ties him with Jeg Coughlin for ninth place on the all-time NHRA wins list, and those two drivers are one victory behind Don "the Snake" Prudhomme, who is eighth on the all-time list. In the other classes in Pro Stock, Mike Edwards has not yet clinched the title but he was 128-point lead over Greg Anderson. If he leaves Las Vegas with 151-point lead or greater, he will have clinched in Las Vegas. Otherwise Pro Stock will come down to Pomona; and in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hector Arana leads Eddie Krawiec by 28 points, and the next closest rider is Michael Phillips with 165 points. Q: How about you racing your teammate for a possible title here in Funny Car? ASHLEY FORCE HOOD: It's the best spot that we could be in. At the beginning of the year when we have our big team meetings and we get ready to head off to the (50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA) Winternationals, that's always our goal if we can at the end of the year when we are back on Pomona for the world finals, if we can have our own teammates battling for the championship, there's no better scenario because we are going to win no matter how the day ends up. Obviously Robert and I are not the only ones, but we are the ones -- we are one and two. So they are going to have to catch up and go around us. So if we can just keep doing what we have been doing and not have anything go wrong, no mistakes, no mess-ups, just the tuners can get Vegas and Pomona figured out as far as the tuneup and how they want to set up the car, we just better our chances of getting the championship. It's fun and it's exciting for both Robert and I. He's been close so many years. This is my first time really being right in the mix of it being down to the last two races, so it's exciting for both of us and for our team. For my team, being a newer team to be in this; and for his team from the other angle of being out here a lot of years, and yet having such a tough season that they were able to kind of come around and do what they can do. All of the guys are pumped up and we are ready to head off to Vegas. We still have to wait another week but we are excited. Q: What kind of relationship, if any, do you have with Tony Schumacher? Is he a guy you enjoy racing against, or is he a guy that is just tired of being at the top of the game for so long? LARRY DIXON: I get along great with Tony. You know, we will trade texts during the week and the like and he definitely -- at the end of the day for the last five years, he's had the No. 1 on the car, everybody has been trying to take him out. So for me, it's the same thing. I mean, you can be buddies in the staging lanes but as soon as you throw the helmet on, light the car up, it's game on. We are going to go out there and do everything we can to bring the Al-Anabi team home a win. But he's got the same thing on me. I've read and heard him say, you know, he gets pumped up when he races us and a lot of the guys on that team is his old team. But for me, when I look over it's still the Army car and he's still got No. 1 on it. So I'm trying to do everything I can to help change that. Continued in part 2 This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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