#RodMillen

Two of Pikes Peak’s most seasoned veterans will have a showdown at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb when Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima and Rod Millen face off in the Electric Auto Division.

What better way to spend more time on the trace track than to build one in your own back yard. Or better still, your front yard, as your driveway, tempting you to set a new record lap every time you return home.

That’s exactly what former Pikes Peak record holder Rod Millen has done at his New Zealand ranch.

The track itself is over a mile long, although definitely not up to FIA regulations when it comes to the width. It took several years to complete, and incorporates several traits from other Hillclimb events, including the treacherous Pikes Peak and the Goodwood Festival of Speed – where he reportedly came up with the idea in 2002.

Recently completed, Millen invited friends and fellow racers to his “Leadfoot Ranch,” where he hosted the first ever running up his driveway (the Leadfoot Festival) in celebration of his 60th birthday.

Wish you could have been there? We do too. So it’s a good thing Millen videotaped his run in his 800-hp Toyota Celica race car.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Watch the video after the jump:

Before there was Rhys Millen tearing up Pikes Peak, there was Rod Millen claiming records capturing the Unlimited crown fives times in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. But now that he has successfully handed the motorsports torch to his son Rhys Millen, Rod has taken more of a backseat approach since 2000 from Pikes Peak. Sure he followed in his son’s footsteps trying his hand at drifting a Mazda RX-8 briefly, but it’s been over a decade since we’ve seen Rod Millen at the infamous Hill Climb.

By now, no doubt you’ve heard that Rhys Millen’s attempt to set a sub 10-minute time and reclaim the world record for his family at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb was less than successful. Not only did Millen fail to break the 10-second time, but he managed just third place with a distant 11:06.208 run after his purpose built 650-hp Hyundai race car suffered mechanical problems. Worse still, he was bested by Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima and his race-prepped Suzuki. This was Tajima’s fifth consecutive win, but wasn’t his fastest, with his best attempt back in 2007 at 10:01.41 – which bested Rhys’ father, Rod Millen’s, previous world record of 10:04.06, set back in 1994.

And while it’s no record-setting run, the team at Red Bull Racing made an incredible video out of the event which is sure to get plenty of eyeballs thanks to high production quality and the sheer awesomeness of both the event and the car.

The video documents the attempt and the challenges any team faces trying to conquer the mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Millen himself put it best in a post race interview, commenting that, “Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong today.”

Check out the video after the jump:

Lincoln has just launched a new website called 6versus8.com, aimed at promoting the new MKS sedan. The website profiles, in high production quality video, a shootout between the MKS and four of its European rivals. The challenge, says Lincoln, was to see if the Lincoln V6 could hold its own against the V8s from the U.K. (Jaguar XF), Germany (BMW 550i and Mercedes E550) and Italy (Maserati Quattroporte). The location was Loveland Pass in Colorado.