plus 3, Race on for four-wide racing at full throttle - USA Today

Race on for four-wide racing at full throttle - USA Today
Local group seeks tents for Haiti - Courier-Journal
Israel is more than religious pilgrimages - Vancouver Sun
Can Steven Holcomb and 'Night Train' reach victory lane? - USA Today

Race on for four-wide racing at full throttle - USA Today

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:36 PM PST

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He's been that way since October, when zMax Dragway outside Charlotte included him in an exhibition race to demonstrate that four lanes trump two. The overwhelming reaction from fans and drivers soon raised the question of whether drag racing would configure points-paying competition for the sport's only four-lane venue.

The inaugural Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway on March 25-28 answers that query, and Force is curious to see how it becomes reality.

"I think the four-lane race is going to be unbelievable," he said. "(But) how are we going to run that race? I ain't figured that out yet, and that ain't my job. My job is to go up there as a driver, whether there's 10 cars next to me or one, and do what I do.

"But I know when I ran that (exhibition) race, we started the car, I heard the crowd and my adrenaline went crazy. I went into the press room and embarrassed myself. I was like Tom Cruise (jumping on the couch) on Oprah. You're talking 32,000 (combined) horsepower (and) 1,200 miles an hour. This is going to take a lot of focus."

Competitors had better find it in a hurry, because those two extra lanes have also left less room for error in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series' four professional classes (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Qualifying will still provide 16-car elimination fields, but the final day drops from four rounds to three as the top two from four first-round races advance to the second round, which whittles it down to the final four. The format for the Lucas Oil Series will remain the same with two-wide racing.

While the event's compacted schedule would seem to be a step toward the NHRA being broadcast live on ESPN2, the cable network plans to stick with its same-day tape format for the time being.

"We're not against it, but (four-wide) wouldn't change our philosophy, at least not at this point," said ESPN program manager Dan Ochs, whose programming and acquisitions division handles its relationship with the NHRA.

"The way the event is laid out, it makes it a challenge to do it live. We're still dealing with big downtime between rounds. We're excited about what (Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman O.) Bruton (Smith) is doing, but live or not, it's a big win for us."

Expectations have been high since the $60 million, 30,000-seat facility opened in September 2008. Although Smith built zMax Dragway mainly to distinguish itself from other strips (even those he owns in Bristol, Tenn., and Sonoma, Calif.), he boldly billed it as "the Bellagio" of its industry and has worked hard to raise its profile.

As the track played to near-capacity crowds for its fall event the last two years (which will remain a two-lane event), it began pushing for a second date, which happened after Virginia Motorsports Park was dropped after last year. NHRA President Tom Compton said there were no plans for other facilities to expand, ensuring this event's uniqueness.

"When I first saw the (artist's) renderings of the facility and took a tour when it was under construction, it was fun to imagine four cars running side-by-side," three-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. said. "Now we will get to see it and live it. I am sure it will be some of the most exciting drag racing we have ever experienced. This is exactly why Bruton built it."

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Local group seeks tents for Haiti - Courier-Journal

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:26 PM PST

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They began just days after the earthquake, putting an outboard engine on a 22-foot rowboat to bring $3,000 worth medicine to the cut-off Haitian coastal town of Jacmel.

Since then, Louisville-based G.O. Ministries, a longtime presence in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has coordinated delivery of 430,000 pounds of medicine, food, water and tents to remote Haitians towns hard-hit by the quake, using donated small planes, some landing on country roads and gravel landing strips.

Now, the group is launching an effort to collect 1,000 tents in Louisville to provide badly-needed shelter in Haiti, where 1.1 million people are homeless, many living in stick-and-bed sheet tents with little prospect of returning to a home anytime soon.

"All the organizations on the ground are asking for tents," said Vicki Rogers, G.O. team director. "The shelters they're living in now won't hold up once the rainy season comes, and it's not far off."

The Courier-Journal plans to help by promoting the effort and by reporting how the donated tents are helping in Haiti, which lost more than 212,000 residents in 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit on Jan. 12.

Aid agencies have distributed 22,398 tents so far, and more are in the pipeline, according to the International Organization for Migration, which is coordinating shelter efforts. But there are still 500,000 people in 315 makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince alone. And while there's also a push for more permanent shelters using lumber, tents for shorter-term relief are still badly needed.

Groups are racing against time. The rainy season in Haiti begins as early as the end of the month, leaving officials worried about landslides, flooding and waterborne disease.

"We are going to have a big problem when the rainy season starts," Haiti's Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime told the Associated Press recently. "We don't have $60 million to buy 100,000 tents."

The need for shelter is acute in smaller, more remote towns outside of the capital, such as Leogane, Jacmel, Les Cayes, Jeremie, Pignon, Port-de-Paix, which aren't getting as much aid.

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Israel is more than religious pilgrimages - Vancouver Sun

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:40 PM PST

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When you think of visiting Israel, you think more of pilgrimages to the Wailing Wall and Mount Sinai than boutique hotels and off-road motorcycle racing. But with the country, now 60 years old, breaking tourism records and shattering the stained-glass ceiling of religious pilgrimage, it is attracting pleasure seekers from all over the world.

"Israel is changing, and for the first time in our history, Israel has even become trendy," said Oren Drori, head of marketing administration for the Ministry of Tourism Israel, during a recent visit to Toronto. "It's a regular, normal destination, and tourism only continues to grow."

Attracting more than three million visitors each year, with 75,000 tourists going from Canada for an average of 10 days, Israel is positioning itself as a cultural destination to rival Italy and France.

In other words, these days, Israel is feeling more like a holiday and less like a religion class.

With this in mind, we asked Oded Grofman, the consulate director for Canada and former resident of Tel Aviv, to offer suggestions for five trips that would appeal to different types of travellers. Herewith, his recommendations:

THE FAMILY VACATION

Eilat, on the southernmost tip of the Red Sea and a 45-minute flight from Tel Aviv, is known for its scuba diving, King City amusement park and the underwater observatory at Dolphin Reef. Children will enjoy What's Up Observatory (972-54-4389037), an astral tour of the constellations high up over the desert, while their parents take in the Turkish bath and indoor mall at the Dan Eilat Hotel (972-8-6362222). There are many activities, such as off-road Segway riding and jeep safaris, that can be arranged through the resort, but no trip to Eilat is complete without diving in its crystal-clear waters. With more than 20 dive sites and 10 dive centres, Eilat attracts people from all over the world who want to swim through the caves 500 metres north of the Egyptian border or splash with the dolphins at the legendary Dolphin Beach (972-800-203039).

THE FIVE-STAR TRIP

Whenever Tel Aviv plays host to presidents and dignitaries, VIPs check in at the David Intercontinental (972-3-7951111), a 555-room mega-hotel with Italian marble in the bathroom and a panoramic view of the Mediterranean. Boasting many art galleries (including Chelouch Contemporary, hosting Gideon Gechtman's edgy "Launching Apparatus" through Nov. 1), three-star Michelin restaurants and boutique shopping at Gucci and Chanel, Tel Aviv is a destination for those who want luxury. The newest stars on this scene are Montefure (972-2-6221111), a boutique hotel more South Beach than synagogue, and Rafael (972-3-5226464), the restaurant in the Dan Hotel (which recently finished a US$20-million renovation). Rafi Cohen is the city's most famous celebrity chef, which might explain why things are most humming after 10 p. m.

WINE-LOVERS TOUR

In 2006, a vintner published The Wine Route of Israel in an effort to draw attention to the 25 large wineries and 100 smaller boutiques situated between the Upper Galilee in the north and the Mitzpeh Ramon in the south. Odem Mountain Winery (972-04-6871122) is a family business located 1,000 metres above sea level in an oak forest that produces 30,000 bottles of merlot, cabernet and organic blends every year. Carmel's Zichron Ya'acov Wine Cellars (972-04-6290977) is the largest in Israel, with 115-year-old cellars situated on the slopes of Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The winery, founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild in 1887, is famous throughout the Middle East for its cabernet sauvignon. But no true oenophile can leave Israel without swilling the kosher wine at Meron Vineyards (972-4-6868740), the country's first boutique winery in the city of Sefad. Producing 60,000 bottles annually, this vineyard in the Upper Galilee routinely scores the country's highest marks for a fruity, tea-tinged merlot that has been favourably compared with French Bordeaux. For more oenophile investigations, see www.finewinesofisrael.com.

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Can Steven Holcomb and 'Night Train' reach victory lane? - USA Today

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 08:10 PM PST

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Named "The Night Train," the sled that has carried Team Holcomb to a historic world title and high hopes for the 2010 Olympics already is well known on the bobsled circuit. Competitors eyeball it at the finish line and take pictures, looking for secrets to the speed beneath its unusual, flat-black finish.

"It's getting a lot of notoriety as we lead up to the Games, and it's well deserved," U.S. men's bobsled coach Brian Shimer says.

The Night Train's driver also is getting a lot of attention.

Two years ago, Holcomb, 29, was on the verge of retirement from the sport because of rapidly degenerating eyesight. Now, thanks to experimental surgery and an experimental sled, Olympic gold is clearly within his grasp.

"It's definitely something we want," says Holcomb, who last year won a four-man World Cup silver medal on the blazing-fast 2010 Olympic track.

Holcomb was sixth in the four-man race and 14th in two-man in the 2006 Olympics. Because he had an eye disorder called keratoconus, the Park City, Utah, native was almost certain it was his first and last Games.

Vision correction needed

Keratoconus distorts vision because it changes the shape of the cornea. Holcomb's condition was so severe that doctors told him they would no longer be able to prescribe contact lenses strong enough to correct it. He could not wear eyeglasses while driving a bobsled, and his other option, a cornea transplant, would make his eyes too fragile for sliding.

In the summer of 2007, Holcomb disclosed to Shimer the extent of his vision problems and told him he probably would not be able to continue through the 2010 Games.

Shimer contacted former bobsledder-turned-doctor Scott Stoll, who knew of a procedure, not yet FDA-approved, in which corrective lenses are implanted behind the irises. Holcomb had the surgery in March 2008.

"It took my vision from about 20-500 to 20-20 in about 10 minutes," Holcomb says.

Says Shimer: "That was everything that needed to be done for him to take all the tools that have been given to him over the years, to actually start focusing on them, and not worry about if he's going to be able to get to Vancouver and even see the track."

Months later, Holcomb was in Park City for races that would determine the U.S. World Cup team for the 2008-09 season. Bob Cuneo, a race-car designer who builds sleds, sent a test sled for Holcomb to try.

"It was our idea for the Olympic four-man," Cuneo says. "We had no intention of racing it last year."

But for Holcomb, it was love at first ride. He wanted it on the World Cup tour the following week, even though it had just a coat of dull, black primer on it.

"That thing's as fast as they come," Holcomb says.

Cuneo had the sled for a day at his Oxford, Conn., headquarters to get it ready to race. That left no time for body work, including the glossy paint that adorns most World Cup bobsleds.

"I'm saying, 'God, how can this thing go to Europe looking like that? What can I do to this thing in 24 hours to make it presentable?' " Cuneo says.

Over dinner, Cuneo got an idea — based on a primarily chrome-less Harley-Davidson motorcycle model called Night Train — and sketched it on a napkin. He drew a sled with wheels, going down railroad tracks.

He enlisted the help of a friend who designs race-car lettering to make decals, and the next day they attached them to the sled. They were patting down loose edges as the sled was loaded into a crate bound for Germany.

Team Holcomb won a bronze in its first World Cup race in the Night Train, a silver in the third race. The results, as well as the sled's unique look, started a buzz.

"It developed a mystique because everybody thought we were doing something tricky," Cuneo says. "We spread a rumor that we had this special coating from NASA. I don't know how many people believed that, but that was our story.

"The sled became (Holcomb's) ride to the world championship."

Breakthrough in Lake Placid

Last year's world championships were held in Lake Placid. U.S. athletes had home-track advantage, which usually is significant because the more trips drivers take down a track the more familiar they are with the idiosyncrasies of each twist and turn.

Yet in the 50 years since a U.S. team had won a bobsled world title, also in four-man, worlds had been held in Lake Placid six times and no U.S. athletes had claimed a championship.

Holcomb came into the 2009 worlds with momentum, having won silver on the 2010 Olympic track and gold in Park City.

The consecutive podium appearances showed Holcomb had fully adjusted to his new view from the driver's seat. For some time after his eye surgery, he was seeing too much on the track.

"I learned to drive with less-than-perfect vision, so it forced me to drive by feel and by not using visual cues, so I was able to feel the sled more. I was able to do things that other people are distracted with because of their eyes," Holcomb says.

With his eyesight corrected, he found himself distracted as well. He now has learned to "almost turn my eyes off a little bit" and keeps the visor on his helmet scuffed and dirty.

It was with that less-than-clear vision — and with a world-class push from teammates Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz — that he piloted the Night Train to the 2009 four-man world title in Lake Placid.

The title gave Cuneo, who has built NASCAR championship-winning cars, "the greatest sense of accomplishment I've ever had." Cuneo co-founded the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project with Geoff Bodine after Bodine learned U.S. athletes had to use foreign-made sleds in the 1992 Games.

"You can't underestimate how important it is to have the Bo-Dyn sleds," says Darrin Steele, CEO of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "The technology is now on par with the rest of the world."

U.S. bobsledders have piloted Bo-Dyn sleds to many firsts, including the first gold medal awarded in women's bobsled, in the 2002 Olympics, as well as silver and bronze in the 2002 four-man race. Cuneo, who is retiring after this season, calls four-man Olympic gold "the plum."

Holcomb's biggest rival for gold is Germany's two-time defending Olympic four-man champion Andre Lange, who won the last four World Cup races. Holcomb compiled three victories and two second-place finishes this season to finish No. 1 in the World Cup standings.

"He's not going to let me get away with winning," Holcomb says of Lange, "and I'm definitely not going to let him get away with winning."

Holcomb and Cuneo also are not giving any hints as to what makes the Night Train so fast.

Cuneo got more time with the Night Train in the offseason, putting it through wind-tunnel testing to fine-tune its aerodynamics and finally giving it a proper paint job. Holcomb insisted it remain flat black.

USA Bobsled also had to clear the Night Train decals with the International Olympic Committee, which does not allow anything resembling sponsorship logos in the Olympics. Because of the restrictions, the words "Night Train" will not be on Holcomb's sled in Vancouver but the sled-on-wheels decals will remain.

And if Team Holcomb rides the Night Train to an Olympic gold medal — the USA's first in men's bobsled since Francis Tyler's four-man team won in 1948 — everybody will know its name.

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