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Ferrari Finali Mondiali Opens Four-Day Showcase at Daytona International Speedway

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DAYTONA BEACH: Ferrari's Finali Mondiali returns to Daytona International Speedway Dec. 1-4, 2016. Photo courtesy of Ferrari.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Ferrari’s long-running history at Daytona International Speedway is being renewed in spectacular fashion this week, with the Ferrari Finali Mondiali showcasing an array of racing machinery on the 3.56-mile road course.

 

On Thursday, Formula 1 cars turned laps at DIS for the first time with a historic practice session for F1 Clienti, a special Ferrari program that allows enthusiasts of the Prancing Horse marque to driver the same exotic cars driven by champions such as Michael Schumacher.

On Sunday, the F1 experience will be heightened when current Scuderia Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel take to the track in respective F60s to wrap up the weekend. The exhibition format will have them turning full-speed laps with tire changes and simulated pit stops. The exhibition will conclude with the F60s crossing the finish line side-by-side, in a nod to the legendary 1967 finish of the Rolex 24 At Daytona when Ferraris finished 1-2-3.. That year marked one of five Ferrari overall victories in the Rolex 24.

Appropriately, the Ferrari Finali Mondiali involves much more than on-track activity. Spectators visiting the Fanzone are able to see both new and classic Ferraris. Sunday, the display will have a significant addition: the new Ferrari 488 Challenge, which will be unveiled on Saturday night during a special gala dinner.

Also Saturday, at 6:15 p.m., there will be the greatest Ferrari parade on a North American track. The goal is to have 1,000 Ferraris completing a parade lap.

Rusty Wallace, the 1989 champion of NASCAR’s premier series, is competing on the DIS road course for the first time, driving for the Risi Competizione/Ferrari of Houston team in the North America series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, considered the most competitive class of the weekend. Wallace had an encouraging practice session on Thursday, topping one of the practice sessions on the top speed chart, hitting 189.456 mph. The Trofeo Pirelli will qualify and race Friday and Saturday.

Tickets for the Finali Mondiali can be purchased at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com, by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or by visiting the Daytona International Speedway Ticket Office. Daily adult general admission tickets start at $15; children 12 and under are FREE throughout the event. A four-day general admission pass is also available for $60, a savings of $35, and includes access to the garage area. Parking and camping packages are also available.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat (username: DISupdates), and by downloading the new version of Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.

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Monster Jam World Finals® Returns to Orlando This Weekend, Celebrates Monster Jam’s 30th Anniversary

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Monster Jam World Finals is premiering a first-ever figure-eight over-under track that allows trucks to simultaneously jump over each other while racing. Image: Feld Entertainment.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The prestigious Monster Jam World Finals® returns to Orlando May 21 and 22, 2022. This two-day championship is the biggest event of the season and showcases the best trucks and drivers in Racing, Freestyle, High Jump and Skills competitions. This year’s World Finals XXI celebrates Monster Jam’s 30th Anniversary and Grave Digger’s 40th Anniversary. It offers the largest Pit Party of the year, where fans can meet the drivers, see the trucks up close and enjoy many other family-friendly activities–all included in the ticket price. Fans can purchase tickets for both days through Ticketmaster.com.

Fans get to watch jaw-dropping stunts from the drivers’ 1,500 horsepower, 12-feet tall, 12,000-pound monster trucks, including 12-time world champion Tom Meents, driver of the Max-D truck. World record holder Bari Musawwir, driver of the Zombie truck, also returns to compete in the Skills Competition.

In just in 7.5 days, Camping World Stadium’s gridiron field transformed into the World Finals dirt track with 7,500 yards and 22.5 million pounds of dirt. This year’s track includes a first-ever figure-eight over-under track that allows trucks to simultaneously jump over each other while racing. Fans not only get to enjoy over-the-top stunts, and thrilling fireworks, but they’ll be the very ones choosing the winner.

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

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Representative Duran’s HB 91 Passes in Tourism, Infrastructure, and Energy Subcommittee

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State Representative Nicholas X. Duran. Photo via Florida Politics.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Source: Florida House of Representatives // Earlier today, HB 91 passed with unanimous bipartisan support in the Tourism, Infrastructure, and Energy Subcommittee. HB 91 provides DHSMV authority relating to the display & use of digital license plates and specifies requirements for digital license plates, digital license plate providers, & digital license plate consumers.

“Bringing digital license plates to Florida helps to pave the way into a more connected future. Florida has always been on the cutting-edge of technology and allowing the use of this technology can bring large-scale efficiency and savings to the over 17 million registered vehicles in our state. I am happy this bill was able to make it out of committee and is on its way to becoming law,” said Representative Nicholas X. Duran (D- Miami).

Having passed favorably, the bill has been referred to the Commerce Committee.

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Tesla on Part-Automated Drive System Slams into Police Car

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FILE - This Feb. 9, 2019, file photo shows a sign bearing the company logo outside a Tesla store in Cherry Creek Mall in Denver. A Tesla using its partially automated driving system slammed into a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 on an interstate near downtown Orlando and narrowly missed its driver, who had pulled over to assist a disabled vehicle. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — A Tesla using its partially automated driving system slammed into a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday on an interstate near downtown Orlando and narrowly missed its driver, who had pulled over to assist a disabled vehicle.

Earlier this month, the U.S. government opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driving system after a series of similar collisions with parked emergency vehicles.

The trooper whose cruiser was hit shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday had activated his emergency lights and was on the way to the disabled vehicle when the Tesla hit the cruiser’s left side and then collided with the other vehicle, highway patrol spokeswoman Lt. Kim Montes told The Orlando Sentinel.

The report said the 27-year-old man in the Tesla and the driver of the disabled vehicle suffered minor injuries and the trooper was unhurt.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an email sent to its press address.

Autopilot has frequently been misused by Tesla drivers, who have been caught driving drunk or even riding in the back seat while a car rolled down a California highway.

The electric vehicle maker uses a camera-based system, a lot of computing power, and sometimes radar to spot obstacles, determine what they are, and then decide what the vehicles should do. But researchers say it has had trouble with parked emergency vehicles and perpendicular trucks in its path.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the Tesla probe after tallying 11 crashes since 2018 in which Teslas on autopilot or cruise control have hit vehicles where first responders have used flashing lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board or cones warning of hazards.

In those crashes, 17 people were injured and one was killed, the NHTSA said. An investigation could lead to a recall or other enforcement action.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which also has investigated Tesla crashes, has recommended that NHTSA and Tesla limit the autopilot’s use to areas where it can safely operate. It also recommended that Tesla be required to improve its system to ensure drivers pay attention.

Last year the NTSB blamed Tesla, drivers and lax regulation by NHTSA for two collisions in which Teslas crashed beneath crossing tractor-trailers.

The crashes into emergency vehicles cited by NHTSA began on Jan. 22, 2018, in Culver City, California, near Los Angeles when a Tesla using autopilot struck a parked firetruck with flashing lights. No one was injured in that accident.

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