Salo To Get First NASCAR Test

Risi Competizione’s Mika Salo will his long-awaited first taste of NASCAR in November, when the Finn will test a Michael Waltrip Racing Sprint Cup Series car on a Florida short track. Salo scaled back his sportscar program this year to pursue his stock car racing dreams.

Mika Salo has been trying to put together a NASCAR test all year and will finally get the opportunity in November. (LAT)

“I’ve been trying to have a go for a while and I finally got the chance from them,” Salo said. “I’ve never been on an oval and never tried a stock car before. All my efforts this year have been around getting a chance in NASCAR and it worked out. So now I have a chance in November to do it.”

Salo has watched Formula One star turned NASCAR ace Juan Pablo Montoya be a legitimate contender for this year’s title, but the Finn’s desire to go NASCAR racing hasn’t been swayed by any 'transition' drivers' success in the sport.

“It’s my own feeling,” he said. “I went to see a few races and really liked the show. I’ve done pretty much everything else. I’ve been in Champ Car, Formula One, sportscars and rallies. NASCAR was really the only thing missing. I want a new challenge. GT is getting boring [for me], as I’ve won everything there is with this program. I know it’s going to be a big thing for me, but it’s nice to try something new.”

On Saturday, Salo and co-drivers Jamie Melo and Pierre Kaffer capped off the endurance racing “triple” with the GT2 class win in the Petit Le Mans, adding to their streak of endurance wins dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008. While Salo may be bored with racing sportscars, he’s certainly one of the best there is.

Successful Run For Biobutanol Dyson Lola-Mazda

All season long, Chris Dyson and Guy Smith couldn’t find a break. From mechanical failures to accidents, the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda appeared to be jinxed, with only four finishes out of the nine races heading into Saturday.

Well, for once, their luck turned around with a seventh place overall finish and highest of all P2 cars. But neither were able to stand on the podium after the race to celebrate, although for a very good reason.

The No. 16 machine ran unclassified this weekend because of a revolutionary new alternative fuel the team was using. For the first time, IMSA allowed the use of biobutanol, but any team that ran it was unable to score points and not be scored.

“I’ve raced a lot of cars that are good and a lot of cars that are bad, but I’ve never raced any cars that were unclassified,” said Rob Dyson. “Those guys did an excellent job in finishing seventh overall. So it’s kind of a 1-1 finish for Dyson Racing, a first in the unclassified class and first in P2.”

Developed by BP, biobutanol could be the next alternative fuel trend for the automotive industry, as the biomass-based fuel generally requires no modifications to a car’s engine, or even the infrastructure used to store and deliver the fuel. Dyson Racing made no changes whatsoever to its Mazda MZR-R-powered Lola.

“We’re very appreciative of the organizers and ACO for allowing us to run on biobutanol from BP,” Dyson said. “It’s been an important research and development effort taken upon by BP to get a more sustainable source of motor fuels, and they’re leading the effort in this green sustainability sphere.

Biobutanol could become an approved fuel for ALMS competitors in 2010. (John Dagys)

“We have seen, so far in our R&D effort with BP, that there’s no degradation of the parts or any kind of decline in power. Arguably, it’s a little bit better than straight gasoline. In addition to that, it’s also greener. The tailpipe emissions have changed significantly, reducing some harmful pollutants.”

While Dyson and Mazda have yet to sit down and calculate its exact fuel mileage with biobutanol, early results look promising, with no drop off in speed and no significant decrease in fuel economy.

IMSA has allowed the fuel to be used for the remainder of the season and Dyson hopes it could be introduced as a fully classifiable, alternative fuel choice for 2010.

News & Notes

• Saturday's race was red flagged for the first time in the 108-race history of the American Le Mans Series. Not only that, but it was called short. While the checkered flag flew at the eight-hour and 44-minute mark, the clock kept ticking during the nearly four-hour rain delay. It marked the shortest Petit Le Mans in its 12-year history (467 miles, 184 laps), and the first ALMS race not to run to its full length or time limit.

The general consensus among drivers was that officials made the right call to red flag the race, especially considering the massive amounts of standing water. But with a steady amount of rain falling during the red flag, could IMSA have called the race a bit earlier knowing conditions wouldn't likely improve?

• Team Cytosport’s Klaus Graf set a new race lap record on Saturday, the only driver to do so. The German reeled off impressive lap times early in the wet race, putting all his LMP2 competitors a lap down by the first hour. However, Graf lost considerable time when almost getting stuck in wet grass after spinning the Porsche RS Spyder on his out lap on slicks. The team later battled fuel-related issues, relegating he, Porsche factory ace Sascha Maassen and team owner Greg Pickett to a third place finish in class.

• With the LMP2 victory by the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda of Marino Franchitti, Butch Leitzinger and Ben Devlin, the team secures an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Will Dyson Racing finally make its first trip to La Sarthe?

“We have been discussing doing Le Mans for a period of time,” Rob Dyson said. “Le Mans is a big bite for us, though. It’s not a small endeavor. However, I think everybody here has done Le Mans before. Clearly we have an invite. The question is what do our various stakeholders want to do? If they want us to do it, we’ll be there.”