VLN – Nurburgring 24: One of the most thrilling races on the planet lived up to its nickname, the Green Hell, over the weekend as rain drenched the Nurburgring 24 and caused massive delays before the No. 9 Mercedes-Benz of Black Falcon finally took the checkered flag after brutal competition. Black Falcon also won the 24 Hours of Dubai back in January, but faced stiff fighting from both other teams and the weather to pull of an improbable victory. The win is the first ever for Mercedes in the famed event, ahead of the No. 25 BMW Z4 GT3 and the No. 22 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 of ROWE’s Racing. More...

World Endurance Championship – Spa 6 Hours: There are more famous and “important” racetracks than Spa, but none more scenic for the latest round of the epic duel between Audi and Toyota in their quest for endurance racing glory. Toyota looked poised for a strong day with their updated TS030, but Audi countered with the longtail version of their Le Mans winning R18 e-tron quattro and dominated right off the bat with a 1-2-3 finish. The standard No. 1 R18 took first while the No. 2 of legends Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish took second, and the No. 3 longtail R18 finished third before its Le Mans debut next month. Toyota had trouble and finished in fourth, while another car had to retire in the fourth hour.

Elsewhere, twin Lola/Toyota B12 cars from Rebellion Racing took fifth and six for a 1-2 finish in the LMP1 Privateer class, and AF Corse scored a coup with their Ferrari 458 Italias finishing first and third place in the GTE-Pro class. Aston Martin took second after leading most of the race 1-2. Such is the unforgiving nature of Eau Rouge – or rather, a stop-and-go penalty after a safety car infraction. AF Corse also scored wins in LMP2 and GTE-Amateur, so keep an eye on them headed into Le Mans. Until then, bask in this video of Spa and dream of watching from the grass in 2014. More...

IndyCar – Grand Prix of Long Beach: One of America’s premier racing events took place over the weekend, and I was on hand to cover it for the eighth consecutive year (if you count the first time when I couldn’t get press passes so I snuck in – which I do). Downtown Long Beach is literally in my backyard, so it’s a particular pleasure to have something I’m so passionate about invade my city streets. The race is always a spectacle, and even when the action has been boring the weekend itself is just a giant party and who could complain about that? In recent years, though, the racing has actually measured up to the hype and this year was no exception. More...

IndyCar – Grand Prix of Alabama: Ryan Hunter-Reay looked in top form at Barber Motorsports Park, winning from pole position as the defending IndyCar champion starts 2013 off on the right foot. Hunter-Reay looked in control from the beginning, but fell back a few spots due to spirited runs from Helio Castroneves and Will Power. When the opportunity to retake the lead returned, Hunter-Reay locked up his brakes heading into a hairpin and dove inside Castroneves for a lead he wouldn't relinquish. More...

Formula One – Grand Prix of Malaysia: No surprises on the podium in Malaysia, as Sebastian Vettel won to lead a 1-2 finish for Red Bull while Lewis Hamilton took his first podium as a Mercedes driver and teammate Nico Rosberg gave the team a 3-4. But oh, the turmoil beneath the surface. There’s no love lost between Webber and Vettel, as the former is a little less talented and the latter keeps acting like a little shit. Vettel complained all day that Webber was slow, and repeatedly tried to snatch the lead from his teammate in a high-speed tête-à-tête that ended in near disaster as Red Bull officials pulled their hair out in anger. Webber pushed Vettel down to the pit lane but couldn't hold him off, and looked visibly furious as they stood next to each other on the podium. More...

As the checkered flag begins to fall, it’s time to look back on one of the most exciting years in racing history with the ten biggest motorsports stories of 2012. More...