DARLINGTON, S.C.—Now the real work begins for team owner Gene Haas, who received word he has been granted a license to race in Formula 1 by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body of F1 racing.
“Obviously, we’re extremely pleased to have been granted a Formula One license by the FIA,” Haas said in a statement released Friday. “It’s an exciting time for me, Haas Automation and anyone who wanted to see an American team return to Formula One.
“Now, the really hard work begins. It’s a challenge we embrace as we work to put cars on the grid. I want to thank the FIA for this opportunity and the diligence everyone put forth to see our license application come to fruition.”
The FIA hasn’t licensed new teams for F1 competition since 2010. Haas’ F1 effort is independent of Stewart-Haas Racing, and SHR co-owner Tony Stewart has no involvement in the F1 project.
GOING GREEN AT DARLINGTON
On Friday morning at Darlington Raceway, David Ragan surprised fans in the infield while pursuing the efforts of his sponsor, CSX, to support green initiatives.
Ragan toured the infield distributing recycle bags, chatting with fans and encouraging them to plant trees.
“CSX already had an environmental program in place where they pledged to plant one tree for every mile of railroad track they had, and they actually surpassed their goal, which is impressive,” said Ragan, who is driving the CSX “Play it Safe” Ford for Front Row Motorsports this weekend.
“Now we’re encouraging fans to follow their lead and plant some trees, too, by donating dollars to plant trees at NASCAR.com/Green.
CSX’s “Trees for Tracks” program set a goal of 21,000 trees (corresponding to the number of miles of track) and exceeded that by 2,000 by the end of 2013.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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