Getting to know Bill Caswell

By now just about everyone has heard of Bill Caswell, the guy who entered the E30 318is he bought on Craigslist for $500 into some rally and did really well. His claim to the automotive fame was, to say, fast and furious, but as with any public-ish figure rumors start flying around fairly quickly. I personally don’t know much at all about Bill, but I did hear a lot of things, many of which were not so good. Brian Driggs, of gearboxmagazine.com, felt the same but he went right to the source.

Brian conducted a very nice interview with of Bill Caswell. He asked all the questions that everyone else did not. His interview shines a lot of light on Bill and who he really is, a true hoon. Have a read. Some of Brian’s sample questions:

Source: gearboxmagazine.com

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A McLaren F1 and an F1 McLaren

If there is one car that is more coveted than the Lamborghini Countach, it’s this, the McLaren F1.  This was the world’s “Bugatti Veyron” 13 years before the first Bugatti Veyron rolled out of the factory.  Simply put, this is the greatest car.  Ever.  

McLaren’s Palo Alto, California, showroom is a simple affair.  It has two MP4-12Cs (a gray one that is curiously not for sale and a used white one that is), a rolling chassis (probably the same one displayed at last year’s Marin-Sonoma Concours), a Cardinal red McLaren F1 (also not for sale), and David Coulthard’s MP4-16.  The new McLaren has been written about to death, so let’s focus on the McLaren F1 and the F1 McLaren. … Continue Reading

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Chasing Rubens Barrichello (at Infineon for IndyCar Testing) [w/video]

Rubens Barrichello had the longest career in Formula One history.  Over 18 years, he won eleven races, clinched 68 podium finishes, and had 14 pole positions and 17 fastest laps.  He was in a dog of a car last season (a Williams), and couldn’t come up with the trunk-full-of-sponsorship-cash needed to race in F1 again in 2012.

Now, Rubens is trying to get a seat in IndyCar.  Unfortunately, he still needs to come up with a smaller-trunk-full-of-sponsorship-cash.  He was at Infineon last weekend to test drive along with a handful of IndyCar teams and drivers.  As a big F1 fan, I had to check it out. … Continue Reading

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Grand-Am Continental Tire Challenge: The BMW Performance 200

Rain and gloom overshadowed the start of the race, but quickly blew away.

As this event was not broadcast live, and will be shown next weekend on Speed channel, I don’t want to give away the ending, but I can tell you this, it was a good one.  In a 2 hour race that began with drizzles and a gamble between wets and drys, with the sun coming out and the breeze picking up, soon turning to a completely dry course, made for an eventful…er…event.

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Daytona 24: The Friday Night Garage Walk

You never can tell who you are going to run into on a walk through the garages during a bit of down time.  From legendary rockers to legendary racing drivers, there are characters of all kinds to be found in the Daytona paddock, even on the Friday before the race.  Brian Johnson, crazy jump-around lead of Aussie rocker band AC/DC, is likely the most popular driver in the race this year (perhaps even more than Dr. McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey).

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Hooniverse Motorsport News For The Weekend Of January 16th, 2012

Welcome to the Hooniverse Motorsport News Off-Season report. The “off-season” is nearly off, as this particular round even has some event results. I continue to look forward to the 2012 season, as it is nearly guaranteed to be a good one. Enjoy the offseason; it’s over in about two weeks. This particular round of Motorsport News will include massively reworked, redesigned, and improved design spoilers, so beware of that.

This week:

• Dakar cruises into Lima with a clear winner, and an unhappy american.

• The 24 hours of Dubai has cranked up the competition for 2012

• Felipe Massa’s future in F1

• We preview Joey Hand’s busy 2012 season with BMW

• A few for the road…

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Dakar 2012: The Madness Begins with Hooniverse Exclusive Pictures!

It’s been a New Years day tradition since as long as I can remember. The Dakar Rally, now taking place complete oceans away from Dakar proper, left Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday. The end game will be on the 15th in Lima, Peru, where we will see who has survived the struggles of Dakar 2012. Expect a full report of the race once everyone has safely arrived at the finish line.

This year, Volkswagen (who have won the previous three Dakar rally), and Mitsubishi (who won the preceding five before that), are nowhere to be found. BMW group has also changed up their running by switching from the venerable and perennially close-but-no-cigar X5 racer for the new MINI Cooper Countryman CUV.

Bonus Hooniverse Contest after the jump!!

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Hooniverse Motorsport News For The Weekend Of December 26th, 2011

HVM take delivery of their first new Dallara Chassis

Welcome to the Hooniverse Motorsport News Mid Off-Season report.  Still very little happening, but if you dig, it’s out there! I am already looking forward to the 2012 season, and from the looks of things, so are the competitors. Enjoy the offseason; it’ll be over before you know it.  No spoilers this week, so don’t worry.  (Unless you still haven’t watched your pile of DVR events. In which case, you are SOL.. Sebastian Vettel wins the championship!)

This week:

• IndyCar announces their 2012 Calendar

• Riley debut’s a new Grand-Am chassis

• F1 driver/team pairings announced

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The Killer ZomBee – A Season Ender to One HELL of a Season.

It’s 10am, Saturday morning at Buttonwillow Raceway in central California, and the sun is finally starting to take the bone-aching cold out of our toes. Around one hundred thirty crappy old hoopties and ultimate driving machines circle the track in a motorized spectacle that can only be described as part Burning Man, part mid-20^th century NASCAR, waaaay back when they actually raced street-based cars. Teams gather along the pit walls to watch the start of the race – chatting nervously, giggling and pointing out various goofy themes and creations as they cruise by.

Suddenly the green flag drops, the din grows to a screaming roar, smoke billows and cheers fill the air. The 24 Hours of Lemons “Arse-Freeze-Apalooza 2011” has just begun; a 2-day battle of endurance, perseverance, absurdity, a little strategy and a big steaming pile of plain old dumb luck. … Continue Reading

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Autocross in a 2011 BMW M3

My friend Bill recently picked up a new BMW M3: sedan, competition package, DCT, and just about everything else. He even opted the famous European Delivery program and, as per my suggestion, drove it at the Nurburgring. Lucky SOB. Luckily for me, Bill isn’t your stereotypical BMW owner. Since he picked up the car he has done a number of track events and autocrosses with it. He also took the M3 badge off it and usually keeps it dirty. Last week Bill asked if I was interested in doing an autocross in his car. Uhmm, sure…

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