Magnus does what only Magnus can do: Poke fun at Rob Ford in Toronto post-race release

By Jul 16, 2014, 11:10 AM EDT
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Magnus Racing has done it again.

No, not win, or podium, as they did at Watkins Glen with drivers Andy Lally, John Potter and there, Sebastian Asch in the team’s No. 44 Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT America.

They’ve now hit yet another press release out of the park.

This time, it packs some international punch. With the series’ most recent race having occurred at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park outside Toronto, there was only one target: embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

For instance, take a look at this lead-off quote from Potter and count the number of subtle digs at Ford:

“Since we were so close to Toronto, we wanted to race in a way the Toronto fans were familiar,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and co-driver John Potter. “If we scored podiums all the time, people would know what to expect so we wanted to have more erratic results for the folks out there. Much like mayor Rob Ford we want to be unpredictable, but also refuse to quit. When we looked at turn one, we also thought it would be a fitting tribute to cut over the white line in tribute.”

There are plenty more targets, jabs and riffs packed into the post-race press release.

Has a ninth place in class finish ever seen a funnier post-race press release? I highly doubt it. But maybe I was in a stupor and don’t remember clearly.

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

By May 30, 2023, 6:00 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.