Red Bull Global Rallycross is coming to a track near you - Speedway Digest

Throughout the world, millions of crazed fans line the streets to try and get a glimpse of one of their favorite racers as cars zoom by at breakneck speed, only feet from where they are standing. In these world rally races, there is no barrier between the competitors and the spectators, and the lawsuit driver world of the United States makes racing like this all but impossible.

Now, however, the fastest and most exciting racing in motorsports is finally being brought to the United States in a more safety conscious way in Red Bull Global Rallycross. Currently in its fourth year, Red Bull Global Rallycross competes across the world with a 10-race schedule that also includes events in marquee locations like Barbados, New York, Seattle, and Las Vegas.

Among the rallying and action sports athletes that compete in Red Bull Global Rallycross are Ken Block, Brian Deegan, Scott Speed, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Tanner Foust. This series pits small production-based cars against each other in door-to-door racing featuring dirt, asphalt, and table-top jumps. With enhanced engineering and safety features, the cars produce 600 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in less than two seconds, and can also withstand 70-foot jumps and other vehicle contact.

In the first motorsports event to take place in the nation’s capital in over a decade, Patrik Sandell took a thrilling victory in Sunday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross event, Volkswagen Rallycross DC, held at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Sandell earned his first Red Bull GRC victory by beating Nelson Piquet Jr. and teammate Joni Wiman to the finish.

“It’s absolutely perfect,” Sandell said after the event. “I felt when we came here that if I could just be smart and not make any mistakes, I could fight for the top. And I knew that the start at the final was so important, so I just tried to focus on that as much as I could. I think I took the start directly on the light, and that made me come off the line so good. That was the key to everything.”

Piquet Jr. took the top seed on Saturday and won both of his heat races, as did Sandell and Wiman. Piquet Jr. and Steve Arpin won the two semifinals, while Tanner Foust earned the victory in the last chance qualifier to make it to his first final of the 2014 season despite an engine change that forced him to miss the first two heat races held on Saturday.

“Everybody gave each other enough space,” said Piquet. “Being teammates, obviously we’re going to respect each other. Obviously if I wasn’t a teammate I would have tried a little harder. But we have to work together, we have to help each other. Between races we all go into each other’s trailers and look at each other’s data, we look at videos, and we are a team. We have to act like that, and on the racetrack it shows.”

Due to a revised false start penalty, 11 cars ran in the main event of a Red Bull GRC event for the first time in series history. All 11 drivers made it through to the end of the event.

In GRC Lites, Mitchell DeJong earned his second consecutive victory over Kevin Eriksson and Nelson Piquet Jr. in an eight-car, 10-lap dash. DeJong held the advantage on Eriksson at the start and extended a lead on his OMSE teammate as Eriksson and Piquet Jr. fought for second place.

Fans of this amazing sort of racing will soon get to see how these amazing drivers and machines hold up to the rigors of the “World Center of Racing,” as the Daytona International Speedway will host the seventh round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season on Aug. 22-23.

“We’re excited to be a part of Red Bull Global Rallycross,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “On a challenging course located inside the Speedway, this new event to our calendar will showcase talented athletes battling side-by-side in a unique combination of horsepower, sliding and flight.”

On a track that will include portions of Daytona’s famed road course asphalt and a challenging dirt section including an 8’ jump, drivers will slide, bang and fly in manufacturer-backed entries from Ford, Hyundai, Subaru, and Volkswagen. Red Bull Global Rallycross Supercars produce 600 horsepower and accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds.

Red Bull Global Rallycross features an open paddock where fans are able to walk through the garages, engage the drivers and watch the mechanics wrench on the cars.

A detailed two-day event schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

Tickets for Red Bull Global Rallycross are on sale now by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or by visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. Race fans can purchase in advance to save 30 percent on a two-day admission, which are available for $35 for adults and $10 for ages 6-12. Daily admissions are available at the gate.

The feature race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 and will be broadcast live on NBC.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. Fans can follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.