Ford Racing prepping new 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet

Ford's re-packaging of the Mustang into its 2010 model-year form factor has pleased the critics with a sleeker look, but now Ford Racing is getting ready to please the folks that live only to see quick ETs with the 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet (2008 model pictured).

The 2010 car will wear the FR500CJ model designation just like the car before it, but other specifications have yet to be nailed down. Ford Racing is expecting to put a 425hp 5.4L supercharged V8 straight out of the Ford Racing Parts (FRP) catalog in the standard model, with an optional upgrade to a 475hp aluminum-block engine.

Shifting gears yourself is one of the most rewarding parts of driving a car fast when done properly, but at the drag strip, it just slows you down, so Ford is offering a five-speed Liberty manual in addition to a race-prepped automatic on top of the standard six-speed tranny that was available on the 2008 car.

To keep the car from crumpling when the shiny side fails to stay up, all 2010 Cobra Jets get an 8.50et NHRA certified roll cage, too.

Final testing of components is still underway, but Ford says production will begin in Q4 2009 with first deliveris to start in early 2010. Pricing hasn't been set yet, but will start below $75,000, says Ford. Like last time, only 50 will be available.

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F1 reaches compromise; Mosley to step down

PARIS (AP) — A breakaway Formula One series was averted Wednesday when Max Mosley ceded to the rebel teams' demand that a planned budget cap be scrapped and the FIA president said he won't seek re-election.

Mosley will immediately take a back-seat role until his 16-year reign ends in October — a move that will help to end the acrimonious atmosphere that has blighted F1 in recent months.

STANDINGS: Formula One points

"There will be no split. There will be one F1 championship in 2010," Mosley said at FIA's Paris headquarters.

"They've got the rules they want and they've got the stability. We've got the new teams and we've got the cost reduction."

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Renault | McLaren | Bernie Ecclestone | Max Mosley | BMW Sauber | British Grand Prix | John Howett | Luca di Montezemolo | Team Toyota Europe

Mosley backed down on the voluntary $65 million budget cap at the World Motorsport Council. Instead, teams were given a watered-down order to reduce costs to early 1990s levels.

But the Formula One Teams Association, which instigated the breakaway, had already implemented a series of cost-cutting measures themselves this season amid the global economic downturn, restricting on-track testing and the use of wind tunnels for aerodynamic testing.

Further efforts to create savings on engines and gearboxes in the next three years had already been announced by FOTA in May to help attract new teams. Campos Meta, Manor and Team US F1 will make their debuts next season. Additional cuts are expected to be agreed to Thursday at a FOTA meeting in Bologna, Italy.

"I am pleased FOTA's proposals have been endorsed and approved by the WMSC today," said John Howett, FOTA's vice chairman and Toyota Motorsport president. "We look forward to working with the FIA Senate to achieve a prosperous and exciting future for Formula One and its millions of fans around the world."

FOTA's members — Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP — opposed the budget cap because it would have given those who signed up greater technical freedom than those who refused, creating a two-tier championship next season.

"We're very happy that common sense has prevailed as I always believed it would because the alternative was not good at all," said Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder. "Everything is in good shape."

The FIA also expects the teams to sign on to a new Concorde Agreement, the confidential commercial document governing the sport.

Last weekend's British Grand Prix had been overshadowed by the split between the FIA and FOTA members, some of whom were branded "loonies" by Mosley after their decision to form a rival series.

Mosley announced plans to sue FOTA on Friday, but backed down 48 hours later when he insisted that a deal was close.

What will help heal the rifts is the departure of the often divisive Mosley after four terms. His leadership style was criticized as too autocratic and was blamed by many of the teams for precipitating the split between FOTA and the FIA.

Even as the crisis intensified over the weekend, Mosley was still planning to run for a fifth term.

But he said Wednesday: "The teams were always ... going to get rid of me in October. Whether the person who succeeds me will be more to their taste than I am remains to be seen."

Mosley has been the president of the FIA, the international automobile federation that governs Formula One, since 1993. FIA Senate president Michel Boeri will effectively be in charge until the election.

"It is a great relief and that is going to enable me to take a step back for the summer," Mosley said. "I will be able to look at Formula One knowing it's peaceful and stable, and I will be able to stop — as was always my intention — in October of this year."

"This for me is an enormous relief," Mosley added, referring to "personal difficulties" he has faced.

His son, Alexander Mosley, was found dead at his luxury apartment May 5 after an accidental drug overdose.

The 69-year-old FIA president, the son of former British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, was at the center of a media frenzy last year when a tabloid newspaper reported he took part in a sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes in London. A video of the incident was widely circulated on the Internet.

Mosley successfully sued the News of the World for invasion of privacy.

The episode brought calls for Mosley's ouster as FIA president, but he won an overwhelming vote of confidence to stay on.

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Team notes: Drivers on track for New Hampshire visit

NASCAR team reports as the Sprint Cup Series makes its first stop of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

This week: Stewart's points lead has increased to 84 as the Cup series heads to New Hampshire for the first of two races this season. Stewart has two wins, 10 top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 20 starts at the "Magic Mile." He was 13th last June and eighth in September.

Last week: Stewart finished second to Kasey Kahne in the season's first road-course race, the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Etc.: Stewart owes much of his Cup success to his father, Nelson, who raced late model stock cars across northern Indiana when he was in his 20s. At the age of 44, Nelson's focus changed. He sold his SCCA D-Production car in favor of a go-kart for his 7-year-old son. In addition to the go-kart, Nelson gave Tony all of the traits that separate a good driver from a good racer. "He never let me settle for second," said Tony Stewart, now in his 29th year of competitive racing. "He didn't like it when we ran second, and he knew that I didn't like it when we ran second. If he saw that I wasn't giving 100%, then he was on me pretty hard about it. He pushed me to be better. He never pressured me to be the best race-car driver in the world, but he did want me to be the best race-car driver that I could be. He never compared me to anybody else. He expected that what I could do was what I could do. He never said that because this guy over here could do something, that I should be able to do it, too. He pushed me hard, but he was fair about it. That's probably why you see so much fire in me today, because he always wanted me to be the best that I could be." ... As a 37-year-old, when Tony Stewart made the massive leap from being just a driver to taking on the dual role of driver/owner with his own team — Stewart-Haas Racing — Nelson has been there to see his son succeed once again. "At the time he won the first Brickyard, I thought, 'This has got to be the biggest thing we've been involved with or ever seen,' " said Nelson, who watched Tony win his first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in 2005 and his second in 2007. "But, knowing what it took to get to this point in this deal and seeing him win a race, I'm not going to say I'm putting it above the first Brickyard, but it's right up there with the first Brickyard. Tony is having fun. I guess it's a different side of him than everybody thought he had. It's been there all along. Right now, everything's just going really, really well and things are falling in place and he's got all good people and everybody's having fun. That's the most important thing is that everybody's having fun. With fun comes success."

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Ortigas Home Depot holds swap meet with Old Schooler Auto Club

There is always something very quaint about classic cars. This was probably why brothers Manny and Roger Martinez, together with friends Andrew Caballero and Raul Capistrano thought of forming an auto club to bring together car owners like them who are into old school and classic cars for fun, camaraderie, and exchange of ideas. Founded in November 2003, the Old Schooler Auto Club held its first assembly at the Greenhills Shopping Center parking lot, a haven and meeting place for racer boys during the 190s. Since then, the club has been meeting regularly in commercial parking lots and popular gas stations on weekends.

In the last three years, the club has held several events and club meets in the Ortigas Home Depot Complex, conveniently located in the central area of the metro since most of its owners come from parts of Quezon City, Marikina, Cainta, Mandaluyong, downtown Manila, and Paranaque. Its members own cars from the 1960s to 1980s, mostly Japanese and European compact and sub-compact sedans and coupes. Many of these cars were meticulously restored and in showroom condition, despite the scarce availability of spare parts and trims.

The club members recently took part in the "Swapmeet at Home Depot" jointly organized with Ortigas Home Depot. Some members brought their new old stock and used parts and auto accessories for trade or sale.

Wheels Gallery, brand owner of Concept One and the country's foremost authority in alloy whells, also showcased a special line of alloy wheels designed for classic cars. Aptl called "Old Skool" Wheels, these wheels also give the car a more muscular stance without sacrificing steering and ride comport.

Over a hundred car enthusiasts joined with their clubs including Cartistics, Classic Auto Club, club Oldschooler, Durateco, Ford Escort Club, Grupo Starlet, Grupo Toyota, Lipa Old Schooler, MitsuLancer PH, Musclecars Philippines, Old School Pasig Club, Old Schooler Pampanga, Rizal Automotive Federation, Phi, Old Schooler Federation, and the Vintage Car Club.

For more information about the club and future meets at the Ortigas Home Depot please contact Manny Martinez at 09195565047 or 9275739.

Click here to know more.

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