Articles - World

Esteemed team owner, Indy Funny Car winner Don Schumacher passes away NHRA team owner and Funny Car pioneer Don Schumacher passed away Dec. 20. Schumacher had spent the past several months privately battling lung cancer before succumbing to illness-related complications. Schumacher, who was 79 at the time of his passing, leaves a lasting legacy on not only the NHRA community, where he etched his name as one of the sport’s most successful team owners and a champion for the advancement of safety innovation, but on the motorsports community as a whole. Schumacher’s contributions to the auto racing industry reach far beyond drag racing and have been widely recognized. In November 2022, Schumacher was honored at the NHRA Awards Ceremony where he was presented with the NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach,Fla.,, and in May 2013, he was enshrined into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala. He also joined a prestigious list of straight-line racing legends when he was invited into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. A fierce Funny Car match racer in the 1960s and ‘70s who fielded multiple entries with top-notch drivers to fulfill the demand for bookings of his Stardust Funny Cars, Schumacher took a departure from motorsports in the early 70’s to grow the family business, Schumacher Electric. While operating Schumacher Electric, he grew the family business into a global corporation. Schumacher increased the company value more than ten-fold and employed thousands of people around the globe. He was known as a fierce and compassionate leader to all who worked with him. In 1998, he returned to NHRA Drag Racing to build a team with son Tony Schumacher. Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) made its competition debut at the 1998 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and by the time the 1999 season had wrapped, DSR had clinched its first of many championship titles. Soon after, the single-car team exploded into a multi-car powerhouse. As the patriarch of DSR, Schumacher was a force to be reckoned with. More than 25 drivers have raced for the legendary team owner. He created champions, introduced new personalities to the sport, and was responsible for the resurgence of several careers. Schumacher is the only team owner to have wins from each of NHRA’s four professional categories. He was also successful in the Factory Stock Showdown Series, winning the 2018 title in only his second year of campaigning cars in the category. His teams have amassed 19 NHRA world championship titles and 367 Wally trophies, including the five he won while behind the wheel of a Funny Car. During his driving career, he contributed cutting-edge safety innovations for the new Funny Car category including a roof-mounted escape hatch that allowed drivers to quickly exit when all-too-frequent fires occurred. He was also the first to mount the lever that activated a fire suppression system on his Funny Car’s brake handle so the driver could apply both while keeping one hand on the steering wheel. As a team owner, he funded and spearheaded a project to develop a protective, enclosed canopy for Top Fuel dragsters, which has since been adopted by multiple NHRA teams.Schumacher was also intent on utilizing his team’s fleet of race cars to raise money and awareness for various charities. Each year ahead of the U.S. Nationals, DSR hosts a pre-race event at its Brownsburg, Ind. headquarters to benefit Riley Hospital for Children, and for seven seasons, Schumacher, along with Terry and Doug Chandler, campaigned ‘giving cars.’ The program enabled non-profits, such as the Infinite Hero Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and MD Anderson Cancer Center to be recognized through a dedicated tribute livery at no cost to the organization. The impact Schumacher had both on and off the race track is undeniable. In more recent years, Schumacher turned his focus to growing Don Schumacher Motorsports, more commonly known as DSM Precision Manufacturing and DSR Performance. DSR Performance is considered one of the sport’s leading race engineering and aftermarket parts brands. DSM Precision Manufacturing is a successful precision manufacturing supplier for the motorsports, defense, and aerospace industries. These entities will continue to honor the business legacy of Schumacher. When not at a race track or leading his teams of employees, Schumacher enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren, fishing, and golfing. Arrangements, including a celebration of life ceremony, will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Christopher Judge’s Call of Duty campaign joke didn’t land with some developers “Tough to hear given all the circumstances of development.” God of War actor Christopher Judge made another memorable appearance at last week’s The Game Awards, this time to present an award rather than receive one – and to make a joke at Modern Warfare 3’s expense. (Or perhaps he never really left the stage, and simply continued last year’s infamously-long acceptance speech?) This year, Judge raised eyebrows and prompted sounds of shock from the audience when he compared the length of his 2022 speech to this year’s short Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign. “My speech was actually longer,” he joked. The quip did not land well with some on social media, however, including members of the Modern Warfare 3 development staff. Modern Warfare 3’s development at studio Infinity Ward was reportedly far shorter than normal, in a bid to ensure the expansion-turned-full release was ready for Activision to launch this year. “Funny,” said ex-Infinity Ward staff member Ajinkya Limaye, in a social media post that has now been deleted. “But yeah, the metrics that Call of Duty absolutely destroys all of the God of War games (probably combined to be honest) is also equally laughable (if not more).” Limaye later followed up with a further message: “Deleted the tweet as it was causing unnecessary attention and was meant as backhanded response to a joke that felt quite tough to hear given all the circumstances of development. Not conveyed well and so apologies for that! Obviously no hate towards GoW! Peace ✌️” “Honestly, as Call of Duty developers, we’ve heard way worse,” wrote another Call of Duty developer, who later also removed their initial social post after stating they had subsequent received abuse and death threats. “But I stand by this completely,” they continued. “The chronic overworking, brutal deadlines and ruthless layoffs that is absolutely rampant in our industry, in the name of making profit, regardless of the human cost, is an absolute fucking disgrace.” “This has been a labour of love to lead the first ever back-to-back sequel in Call of Duty,” Sledgehammer Games boss Aaron Halon said in response to reports about the game’s shortened development. “We have worked hard to deliver on this vision which has been years in the making. Anything said to the contrary is simply not true.” Eurogamer’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign review noted that the game had been “clearly rushed to market”.

Mesut Ozil pokes fun at Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating history after the award-winning actor asked ‘what’s Arsenal?’ as the former Gunners star jokingly points out the club is ‘older than 25’ Mesut Ozil made a joke at Leonardo DiCaprio’s expense on social media DiCaprio had jokingly asked ‘what’s Arsenal’ during a recent awards screening ‘There’s no bigger waste of time!’ What is the point of the Club World Cup? It’s All Kicking Off Mesut Ozil has taken to social media to have a joke at Leonardo DiCaprio’s expense after the actor admitted he knows nothing about football. DiCaprio was at an event in London’s Leicester Square when he and his Killers of the Flower Moon co-star Lily Gladstone got onto the subject of the beautiful game. After a suggestion that elite-level footballers are a higher calibre of athlete than top NBA stars DiCaprio remarked: ‘Better than Michael Jordan? The greatest basketball player ever!’ The Academy Award-winner then playfully asked, ‘what’s Arsenal?’, a question that has since been widely circulated on social media. DiCaprio’s remark was almost certainly delivered in jest, given that he had previously announced he had become a convert to the sport after his godson convinced him to attend the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and has since been pictured at Champions League fixtures. Mesut Ozil joined in with the fun online after Leonardo DiCaprio jokingly asked ‘what’s Arsenal’ during an awards screening The former Gunners star took to social media to poke fun at the DiCaprio’s relationship history Despite his comments DiCaprio has often been spotted attending football games, here at PSG vs Liverpool in 2018 The comment caught the attention of former Gunners star Ozil who couldn’t help but join in with the banter online. ‘Arsenal Football Club is older than 25 years … so why should he know?’ Ozil wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The joke emanates from a theory shared online that the Titanic star’s relationships throughout the years have historically ended before his girlfriends have turned 25 years old. Ozil made over 250 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners during an eight year spell at the club after joining from Real Madrid for £42,5m in the summer of 2013. IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season. It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify The 35-year-old won four FA Cups during his time in North London and notched 19 assists for the Gunners in the 2015-16 Premier League season, which remains a club record. After falling out of favour at the Emirates Ozil spent two years at Fenerbache followed by a short spell at Istanbul Basaksehir before announcing his retirement from professional football in March. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Former UCI president Brian Cookson has called on cycling’s governing body to crack down on the “crazy trend” of riding head down in time trials, after Swiss specialist Stefan Küng rode straight into the barriers in a spectacular and somewhat unnecessary crash during today’s men’s European time trial championships in Emmen.

Küng, a two-time European time trial champion, had been in contention for another medal in the discipline after passing the second intermediate time check in third place, less than a second off Wout Van Aert’s time, though almost half a minute down on the flying young British rider Josh Tarling.

However, towards the end of his ride, Küng – riding in the extreme, head-down aero position favoured by most modern time triallists – misjudged the slight change in direction on the road and failed to spot the row of encroaching barriers in front of him.

The Groupama-FDJ rider, continuing to ride in a straight line, then clipped the legs of the barriers, sending him sprawling across the road.

Kung não viu as grades #EuroRoad23 pic.twitter.com/gCU2QRzUUZ

— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) September 20, 2023

Despite being bloodied and battered in the horrific crash, and sporting a bashed-up helmet, the 29-year-old continued on to the finish, placing 11th on the day. After crossing the line, he was also seen undergoing a concussion check with members of Switzerland’s medical team, with many on social media questioning why he was allowed to ride to the finish at all.

Küng’s bizarre spill – a time trialling version of Djamolodine Abdoujaparov’s infamous crash into the barriers on the Champs-Élysées at the 1991 Tour de France – has prompted a debate on social media concerning the factors that led to the crash, and who was at fault for it.

“What on earth was Küng’s team car doing?! He needed to be told to have his head up,” wrote cycling journalist Tim Bonville-Ginn on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, Jacek Kapela, the father of Polish junior time trial champion Marek Kapela, said: “In a properly organised race, he should be getting directions from the team car behind him over the radio.

“If the team car is not allowed, there should be a marshal there with a whistle. Team car’s mistake or organiser’s mistake, not the rider’s.”

Another Twitter user added: “Why the hell is that fence on the road? Hope he’s okay. Looks like a case of poor race route management.”

The crazy trend for head down riding in time trials strikes again – ⁦@UCI_cycling⁩ really must look at the technical rules to stop this. pic.twitter.com/fSv12xxVC0

— Brian Cookson OBE (@BrianCooksonOBE) September 20, 2023

However, former UCI and British Cycling president Cookson argued that the crash was a result of Küng’s head-down riding style, which he claims should be banned by the sport’s world governing body.

While the UCI changed its rules concerning time trial positions earlier this year, enabling taller riders to take advantage of greater reach and more height difference between the forearm support and the extension tips of their bars, there are currently no regulations pertaining to the angle of a rider’s head placement while riding against the clock.

“The crazy trend for head down riding in time trials strikes again. The UCI really must look at the technical rules to stop this,” Cookson said.

“Top three riders in all UK time trial championships would have to be DQ’d if they applied that rule,” replied Andy Critchlow.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Speaking of British time trialists, it was a good day for those raised on their local club 10, as Josh Tarling built upon the bronze medal he secured behind Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna at the world championships in Stirling by storming to the biggest win of his fledgling career this afternoon in Emmen.

The 19-year-old Ineos Grenadiers ride – who has enjoyed a staggeringly successful debut season in the pro ranks, following up his worlds medal with a first WorldTour win in the Renewi Tour time trial last month – led at every time check, covering the 29.8km course in 31:30, beating Küng’s Swiss teammate Stefan Bissegger by 42 seconds and Wout van Aert by 43, for a convincing win that no doubt lays an ominous marker for next season’s races against the clock.

Not that the Welsh rider found the third pro win of his career easy going, however.

“It was hard,” Tarling said at the finish. “I felt weaker today than I did in the worlds. And the wind was really hard. Originally, it was a lot of over and under with the crosswind, but it changed to a more steady crosswind both ways and no headwind or tailwind. It was just about holding a high power all day.”

Tarling’s win capped a great day for for the Brits, as Anna Henderson secured a silver medal behind the rampant, redemptive Swiss Marlen Reusser in the women’s elite time trial, while Zoe Bäckstedt won gold in the U23 women’s TT, beating German Antonia Niedermaier by a whopping 58 seconds.