Freddie Ford worked the auto show circuit, entertaining crowds throughout the late 1960s. Apparently, National Robotics Week happens each April. So, E3 Spark Plugs decided to celebrate with a shiny, smiley, chatty blast from the futuristic past. If you were a kid or a car buff back in the 1960s, you may remember Freddie Ford. Standing nine feet tall and weighing in at 800 pounds, the original Freddie Ford was a talking quasi-robot made from Ford auto parts and designed to entertain crowds on the auto show circuit. A vintage press release notes “a heart made of switches, tapes and relays, skin made of sheet metal and aluminum” and an animated ability to answer a limited series of questions, doling out automotive advice and lobbing a few shameless plugs for the newest Ford...

Team E3 Racing's Jesse Grose races in the Florida Karting Championship series. At 18 years old, Jesse Grose is already a four-year veteran on the competitive kart racing scene. He first hit the tracks at age 14 and today competes in the Florida Karting Championship series with P.D.B. Racing Team America, a sister team to the famed European factory team based in the Netherlands. He’s also a new member of Team E3 Racing. Grose currently is 9th in points (out of 27) after a strong first-round finish the Florida Karting Championship. He’s got two wins, four top-five finishes and six top six-finishes over the past few years in the series. Team E3 Racing's Jesse Grose races for the PDB Racing Team America. Grose also is a regular in the Formula Kart Productions’ Florida...

Kid KJ made history two years ago as the world's youngest Monster Truck driver at just six years old. If you’ve made any of the stops on the Monster Truck Nationals Tour featuring the E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot, you might literally have seen the next generation of monster trucking. A few years ago, Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston, a.k.a. Kid KJ, made his historic debut as the world’s youngest Monster Truck Driver, driving his pint-sized Monster Bear truck and wowing the crowds with his seasoned moves despite being just six years old at the time. Today, at the ripe old age of eight, Olson-Weston leads his own team of drivers dubbed Lil’ Mighty Monsters and made of up of his brother Jake Royce Olson-Weston, 7, driving Sir Crush A Lot, and friend Cassie Berry, 14, driving...

Team E3 Racing just got bigger. Announcing our March winners! Congrats to these 18 up and coming racers. TIER 1 WINNERS (Win $500 cash, 25 E3 Spark Plugs and Official E3 Race Day Gear/Decals): Daniel Alvarez: Nineteen-year-old Daniel “The Hammer” Alvarez of Chappells, South Carolina is much more than a hobbyist when it comes to racing. He’s already got a solid start on a well-rounded racing career with a A.A.S. degree in Automotive Technology from Piedmont Technical College and a scholarship to veteran  racer Tony Blanchard’s RACE 1101 program, where he was so successful, the school created a new award in his honor. The X Factor Award will honor students who successfully recognize and brand a unique marketing image. Jacob Putman: Our littlest winner yet,...

Competitive tractor puller Tammie Huenink dedicates her efforts in her White Lightning tractor to breast cancer awareness. After six years serving as secretary for the Outlaw Hot Rod Tractor Pulling Association, Tammie Huenink decided to get out from behind the desk and climb up behind the wheel instead. It proved to be a smart move. In her very first season pulling modified hot rod tractors, she finished the season fourth in the Colorado Truck and Tractor Pullers Association (CTTPA) and fifth in the Outlaws. She enters her next season as a Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner. Her first pull was a bit nerve-wracking, says Huenink, who made her track debut in Mitchell, Nebraska driving her father-in-law’s tractor, dubbed Wild Fire. “I’m not sure who was more nervous him or...

Kyle LeDuc (center) swept the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series season opener this past weekend, with Adrian Cenni and brother Todd LeDuc taking second and third places. This past weekend marked the season opening of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at the Firebird International Speedway in Chandler, Arizona, sponsored in part by E3 Spark Plugs. When the dirt settled, it was Kyle Leduc who took the top podium position, opening the 2012 season in grand style. Driving for Team Associated, LeDuc came out of the gate throwing blows in Round 1 on Saturday, handily taking the checkered flag and nabbing the N-Fab Fastest Lap award. Adrian Cenni and brother Todd LeDuc took second and third place. LeDuc continued his merciless on-track rein the next day, snatching up the top qualifying...

Which would you rather buy: The sleek PAL-V One or the practical Terrafugia Transition? Terrafugia’s Transition, the world’s first flying plane available to the consumer market, is headed to the New York Auto Show looking to cash in on the as-yet non-pilot market. And another, Holland’s PAL-V One, has logged its first successful flight and is searching for investors. The PAL-V One took its maiden flight in March and all went smoothly, reports show. It’s a two-seat three-wheeler that’s one part car, one part gyrocopter with a rotor and propeller that can be deployed for flying, then folded away for driving. It typically flies below 4,000 feet, the airspace available for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic. That means pilots/drivers can operate...

At age 16, Alex Prunty started his own professional racing team. Nineteen-year-old Lomira, Washington resident Alex Prunty is a third-generation rice car driver revving up for his fourth competitive season behind the wheel – now as a member of Team E3 Racing. Of course, racing is in his blood. He’s the seventh member of his family to hop into the drivers’ seat since Grandfather Doug Prunty ran his one and only season in 1961. Grandpa Doug’s career might have been a short one, but it spawned a dynasty, as all five sons, Daniel, Dusty, David, Dennis and Dale eventually began racing careers of their own. Now, grandson Alex is burning up the tracks and making a name for himself with his own racing team, Alex Prunty Racing. It didn’t take long. Prunty raced...

Rachel Veitch in her beloved "chariot," a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente that just hit 576,000 miles. Copyright Rachel Veitch. They say the average lifespan of a daily-used car tops out at about 150,000 miles but can hit upwards of 200,000 if its owner really minds the maintenance. Judging by those figures, we here at E3 Spark Plugs think 93-year-old Rachel Veitch, whose 1964 Mercury recently hit 576,000 miles, just might be the best car owner ever. The last time Veitch bought a car, gas cost 39 cents a gallon, Lyndon B. Johnson was POTUS, My Fair Lady swept the Oscars and The Little Old Lady from Pasadena was tearing up the airwaves. It was 1964 when she fell for a cream colored Mercury Comet Caliente that she quickly dubbed her “chariot.” Apparently, Veitch was nothing...

E3 Spark Plugs is giving you the chance to see the tracks from behind the wheel of one of these. Enter to win a trip to the 2012 E3 Spark Plugs Utah Off Road Nationals Presented By Toyota at Miller Motorsports Park. Itching for a change of scenery? How about the wide open expanses of Utah? And how about seeing it from the behind the wheel of a Baja Challenge race car? Or a Ford Racing Mustang GT? Or Jerry Daugherty’s new Pro 4 #24 off-road racing truck? Or from the window of the Lucas Oil corporate helicopter. While all that may sound like a far-fetched dream, E3 Spark Plugs is making it a reality for one lucky winner and a guest of his or her choosing. Winning is easy. Just go to the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page and fill out the contest submission form on the Off Road...