Gene Haas reveals more F1 details to NBCSN; offers Kurt Busch an incentive for winning the Chase - MotorSportsTalk

In an exclusive interview with NBCSN, Gene Haas has revealed more details about the progress he is making with Haas F1 Team ahead of its entry into Formula 1 in 2016.

Back in April, the FIA confirmed that it had granted a berth to Haas for next season, only for the NASCAR team co-owner to postpone entry for an extra year to give the team more time to prepare for its debut.

This week, it was confirmed that the team had struck a deal with Ferrari for an engine supply, but Haas explained to NBCSN’s Will Buxton that the partnership will go beyond that.

“We’re going to try to get as many parts as allowed by the FIA,” he said. “It’s going to be suspension, it’s going to be I think wheels and chassis parts and transmission, engine. Everything down to even the steering modes.

“One of the prior concorde agreements was that the big teams could help the smaller teams, so we hope to get a lot of help from Ferrari to tell us what direction to go in.

“Then we’re gonna have a lot of other people to help us build those parts. Dallara will probably [be] one of the sub-contractors. Our goal at least initially is to try to rent, buy whatever we can to go racing because that’s what we’re here for.”

Haas also confirmed that he would be looking to set up a European base in England that would work with the team’s home in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

“Now the next step is that we have to get our base together,” Haas explained. “Obviously Ferrari is based in Italy, we have our facilities in Kannapolis.

“We’re probably going to need to have some kind of facility in the UK, in the southern part where all the other Formula 1 racers are. So, just the logistics of putting all of that together is the next challenge.”

One of the biggest mysteries about Haas F1 Team is who will be driving the car in 2016. American racer Alexander Rossi confirmed to MotorSportsTalk back in June that he had held some talks with the team, but Haas remained coy.

However, he did reveal that he has told NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, who races for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, that he can test the car if he wins the championship this year.

“Everybody I talk to is interested,” Haas said. “I was talking to Kurt Busch last week. He was interested. He said if he wins the NASCAR championship, if could he have a ride in one. I said “for sure!” if he wins the championship.”

Busch has expressed his excitement for Haas’ project in the past, and although his chances of winning the championship do look slim, he could enjoy a brief test in the car at some point.

“I said he can get in the car!” Haas said, laughing. “I tell you, an American driver in a Formula 1 car in Europe, that would just knock it out of the ball park.

“I’ll give it to you: Kurt Busch could drive one of these cars.”

For Haas, there are definite similarities between NASCAR and the F1 community, but he is excited to be taking on a new challenge.

“You know racers are racers,” he said. “I don’t think they’re really that much different to what we have in NASCAR, except everyone speaks different languages here.

“I could go racing next year. Unfortunately from what I’ve heard from other teams, that’s a real thrashing to get done that fast.

“This extra year, we’re gonna spend it just basically putting the nuts and bolts together and getting things organized.”

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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