Wheelies: The Charity Corvette Edition It was a big weekend for Rick Hendrick, the Nascar team owner; Corvettes; and charities at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. Hendrick spent $1.1 million to buy the first production 2014 Corvette Stingray. Think VIN ending in 0001. He won't actually get the car until production stars in late summer, but he will get to select colors and options before then. The proceeds of the auction benefit the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. But that wasn't the only Corvette that caught Mr. Hendrick's eye. He also bought the 1958 Corvette owned by Dan Akerson, the General Motors chairman and chief executive. That car raised $270,000 for Habitat for Humanity. The Los Angeles Times Can the world of motorsports teach anything to the National Football League? Bill Simpson, a former California drag racer and Indianapolis 500 driver, thinks so. Mr. Simpson has developed a football helmet, based on his experience with race-car helmets, that some people say could reduce concussions in football. Mr. Simpson has about 40 N.F.L. players experimenting were various versions of his helmet, which are lighter than standard football helmets. He said he's not looking to make a fortune with a redesigned helmet. Autoweek In an effort to cut pollutants by 2 percent this year, Beijing's acting mayor said the city would take 180,000 old vehicles off the road, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing the Xinhua News Agency. In addition, coal-burning heaters will be replaced in 44,000 homes. The acting mayor, Wang Anshun, said at the opening of the city's legislative session that Beijing would also promote clean-energy vehicles for government departments, the public, street cleaners and trash collectors. Beijing had ordered government vehicles off the roads earlier this month in an emergency response to record pollution.