R0ckStar you have some nice images there, i remember how much of a change it was to go from a P&S to a dSLR. I'm very impressed with your panning shots, I've never gotten them to work, not even 10% as nicely as yours.
I have only one suggestion. Try shooting with higher ISO, blast off some shots at 200, 400, 800 and 1600. I each new camera I see it seems I have to mentally adjust what is acceptable in my mind.
Also I find that high ISO in bright light (to boost shutter speed) looks better than the same ISO in poor light, 1600 in a dark bar may be poor, but outside it looks much better. I think it depends on how much black is in the image.
All I can say is good luck. And try catch-in-focus. The only good race images I have came from using a manual lens and and doing this. There are some good thread here about that. Give it a try.
Oh and best of luck with your new toy. I envy you.