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9/9/00

Whiteford admits he is talking to new engine manufacturers  Hal Whiteford, CART President of Racing Operations,  had this to say about today's Mercedes announcement - "We are disappointed to see Mercedes- Benz leave the FedEx Championship Series following the close of this season because the engine manufacturer has been an outstanding partner. We recognize their years of support, dedication and performance and wish them the best in the future. In view of this announcement, we are currently in exploratory discussions with other engine manufacturers, who I wish not to want identify at this time due to the nature of the discussions." 

9/9/00

Saturday interviews from Laguna Seca

Kenny Brack qualifies 6th despite problems in qualifying (0:51 min). 

Max Papis didn't get a chance to improve in qualifying due to red flags (0:34 min). 

Max Papis talks about recent rash of qualifying accidents in fast group (0:29 min). 

We have added these to our Interviews page.

9/9/00

Friday interviews from Laguna Seca

Kenny Brack talks about his adjustment to road courses in first year (0:32 min). 

Max Papis talks about challenges of Friday qualifying at Laguna Seca (0:14 min). 

We have added these to our Interviews page.

On-site asphalt batching plant materials (left).  Vehicle tunnels (left center).  The Lime stabilization can be seen, surface ready for aggregate base (right center). In just 20 days the superstructure for 28 of the 32 pits is now complete (right).  Photos courtesy of Rockingham Motor Speedway

9/8/00

Rice 5th fastest at Laguna Seca -  After setting the third fastest time in this morning's practice session, DSTP Atlantic and driver Buddy Rice followed-up by posting the fifth fastest time (1:20.628) in provisional qualifying for tomorrow's CART Toyota Atlantic race, part of the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey CART FedEx Championship weekend at Laguna Seca. The 30-minute qualifying session was hampered by two red flag periods, which ended the session nearly five minutes early.  "We're real happy with the car," said Rice, who finished second in last year's Atlantic race at Laguna Seca. "We just got caught out by the red flags. Both times I had a clear track in front of me, the course went red. We made some changes during the session and had a great car by the end. Since we don't have a lot of track time this weekend, every minute is important. We'll be there tomorrow, when it counts the most."   Dan Wheldon took the provisional pole with a time of 1:19.704, followed by David Rutledge (1:20.094), Andrew Bordin (1:20.213), Rocky Moran, Jr. (1:20.263) and Rice. "This was just one of those sessions where things didn't go our way," said Dede Rogers, team owner. "But, we're not too concerned. We have a great car and the track should be better tomorrow. Laguna Seca is always a great race and it's such an honor just to be a part of this event." 

9/8/00

Herta's car carrying Rockingham Sponsorship - Bryan Herta's car is carrying advertisement for England's Rockingham Speedway at Laguna Seca.  Car owner Jerry Forsythe is part owner of Rockingham.  The car is dark blue with white lettering.  Herta did not have a chance to qualify today as his car had engine problems.

NASCAR to require restrictor plates at New Hampshire -NASCAR officials will announce Saturday that they will run 1-inch carburetor restrictor plates at next weekend's Duralube 300 Winston Cup race at the New Hampshire International Speedway.   Full Story

9/8/00

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9/7/00

Initial batch of interviews from Laguna Seca

Kenny Brack talks about the keys for the weekend's race at Laguna Seca (0:34 min). 

Kenny Brack talks about his approach to title (0:12 min). 

Max Papis talks about the Miller Lite car's history of success at Laguna Seca (0:11 min). 

We have added these to our Interviews page.

9/7/00

A lap around Laguna Seca with Indy Lights driver Dan Wheldon  - Take the green flag you have a quick look at your gauges and lap time before making the flat out left kink and concentrating for the second corner. Typically into this corner you trail brake in go down into second gear and concentrate on your two apex points as it's a double apex corner, coming out of this corner you have to feed in the power very gently because the track keeps turning left and you can find yourself running out of track quickly. Into the third corner you just have to be very smooth, it is a relatively simple but carrying good speed through and out is the key. Read more...

9/7/00

5.5 hours of CART coverage on ESPN this weekend  - More than five hours of Championship Auto Racing Teams programming - including the first live U.S. telecast in the 15-year history of the CART Dayton Indy Lights Championship - will be televised Sunday on ESPN networks.  In total, 5½ hours of CART-related programming will be telecast by ESPN and ESPN2 with the majority originating from the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca Raceway. That event features the Shell 300, Round 16 of the FedEx Championship Series (ESPN, live, 3-5 p.m. ET), and will be followed by Round Nine of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship (ESPN2, live, 6-7 p.m. ET).   "The timing for this full run of CART television on ESPN and ESPN2 couldn't be better," said CART Vice President of Broadcasting Keith Allo. "Last weekend signaled the end of summer which typically means our race fans and most television viewers in general settle into a schedule of increased sports television viewing. When they tune in this Sunday, they will find an abundance and variety of CART programming to consider and that availability is critical in both retaining and building our audience."  The Dayton Indy Lights race is the first time CART's top-level development series has been showcased to a live audience in the U.S. and the first live Indy Lights telecast of any kind since 1997. That year's finale, a championship showdown between current CART Champ Car winners Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves at California Speedway, was broadcast live in Brazil.  In addition to the Laguna Seca races, Sunday's lineup begins with the first of two telecasts of Saturday's Shell 300 qualifying on ESPN2 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. ET. An encore telecast of Shell 300 qualifying on ESPN2 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET will kick-off 3 ½ consecutive hours of FedEx Championship Series coverage from the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. The qualifying encore will lead straight into the "CART 2Day" race preview show after which viewers can switch to ESPN for the live Shell 300 race.   In addition to the full Sunday lineup, a reair of last Sunday's Dayton Indy Lights Championship race from Vancouver will be telecast on ESPN2 on Friday from 2-3 p.m. ET. The special telecast was scheduled after the original 
airing was preempted. 

9/7/00

Walker not selling CART stock  - Walker Racing owner Derrick Walker announced today that he is not selling any of his shares of CART stock. A report went out on the financial wire services today that Derrick had filed a form 144 with the SEC to sell a large amount of his CART shares. The announcement that the form 144 was filed is correct, but Walker's intentions, however, were not to sell the securities now, or in the near future but to simply register the restricted stock, which he does every 90 days. "The filing of the Securities and Exchange Committees form 144 was a requirement and doesn't reflect any intention to sell CART stock in the near future," said Walker. "I wish it would have been more clear in the filing that the registration was merely a formality, not an intention to sell." 

9/7/00

Who watched what last weekend (Source: Speedvision) 
• NASCAR Winston Cup (ESPN, 9/3, 1-5:00pm*) 2.80 rating / 6 share / 2.209m households
• NASCAR Winston Cup (espn2, 9/3, 6-7:30pm) 2.58 rating / 5 share / 1.843m hh
• NHRA U.S. Nationals (TNN, 9/4, 5-7:00pm) 0.9 rating / 2 share / 1.041m hh
• NASCAR Busch (ESPN, 9/2) 1.02 rating / 3 share / 0.804m hh
• CART (ABC, 9/4) 0.8 overnight rating / 2 share (same timeslot as ALMS race)
• ALMS (NBC, 9/4) 0.8 overnight rating / 2 share
• NHRA U.S. Nationals (TNN, 9/4, Noon-2:00pm) 0.7 rating / 2 share / 0.641m hh
• ASA (TNN, 9/4) 0.5 rating / 1 share / 0.563m hh
• NASCAR Qualifying (ESPN, 9/1) 0.65 rating / 2 share / 0.463m hh
• NHRA Bud Shootout (TNN, 9/3) 0.4 rating / 1 share / 0.343m hh
• CART Qualifying (espn2, 9/3**) 0.36 rating / 2 share / 0.255m hh
• NASCAR Happy Hour (espn2, 9/3**) 0.26 rating / 2 share / 0.184m hh

9/6/00

Teleconference with Paul Tracy  - This week's guest on the weekly CART teleconference was Paul Tracy, hot off his back-to-back wins at Road America and Vancouver.  Paul talks about what it's going to take to win the championship and what has made the difference in Team Green's success in recent weeks.  The transcript of the teleconference is available here.

9/5/00

Carpentier to finish out season with Players  - According to this article, Patrick Carpentier says don't believe the rumors (from other sources, not this publication) about his early departure from Players, as he will finish out the year with them.  He would not comment any further.

9/5/00

New US Formula 3 website  - For those of you who follow Formula 3 (Adam Andretti is one of the young drivers), US Formula 3 launched a new website today.  The new website will offer fans and the media a closer look inside the world of the USF3 championship. The new site will be updated regularly and offer the following: 
· The 2000 schedule of events 
· The current 2000 season results and standings 
· The latest U.S. Formula 3 news 
· A photo gallery containing pictures from recent events 
· A complete list of U.S. Formula 3 teams and drivers 
· Formula 3 manufactures 
· A description of the U.S. Formula 3 engine lease program 
· A classifieds section 
· Racing links 
· Links to U.S. Formula 3 Partners 
· Contact page 

9/4/00

CART drivers demand safety  - The CART Drivers Association chaired by Mauricio Gugelmin recently met with Hal Whiteford and Bobby Rahal to lay out what the drivers expect to see in the way of safety improvements over the next several years.  In general they are asking that CART follow FIA track safety standards and driver standards.  Others are asking that CART demand from its promoters that press facilities and 'victory lanes' be brought up to a 'standard'.

9/4/00

The most daunting turn in North America?  - Europe has Eau Rouge, North America has turn 5 at Vancouver.  What? Turn 5 at Vancouver?  But what about the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, or The Kink at Road America?  Yes, they are great corners, but to watch the overhead camera shots of the cars exiting turn 5 at Vancouver (see map to right) in four-wheel drifts at better than 150-mph is truly amazing.  This is dirt track racing on asphalt and just underscores how demanding Champ Car racing can be when even a street circuit can require that sort of skill level.  If you have not seen it, watch the tapes.  Great stuff!

9/3/00

Paul Tracy calls for three Canadian races  - As noted below, the three-day attendance figure for Vancouver was 155,937. In the 11 years of the Molson Indy Vancouver, 1,776,376 fans have watched the event.  By contrast, the Michigan 500 on July 23 drew little more than 35,000 fans to Michigan International Speedway.   "They should have a couple more up here," said race winner Paul Tracy, a native Canadian from Scarborough, Ontario. "They should get rid of some of the ones we have where people are sitting in the stands with a frown on their face.   "Our series is so strong up here and popular in Canada, we should have one race in the East, one in the Midwest like Edmonton or Saskatchewan and one in Vancouver. I think it would be good."  Tracy's teammate, Dario Franchitti, also is impressed with the tremendous support the Canadians give to CART.  "My mechanic turned to me before the start and he said, `Hey, this is like a carnival. We should race here every week,'" said Franchitti, a native of Scotland. "The atmosphere going around on the parade lap was incredible. The place was alive. People are jumping up and down and I'm not even from around here. When Paul Tracy came around, the place really erupted. It's fantastic."   "This is a wonderful place to race," Franchitti said. "It was a fitting tribute to Greg Moore because this was a party atmosphere. Let's face it, Greg was a party guy and he didn't walk around with a frown on his face. It's the crowd that makes the race. It's a spectacle."   After the success of both the Toronto and Vancouver races, and the tremendous crowd enthusiasm, is there any doubt left that CART should be racing in Montreal?  We certainly hope not.

9/3/00

Vancouver attendance over 155,000 - UPDATE The race drew 63,677 fans Sunday, about three thousand more than 1999, but well below the almost 71,000 who turned up in 1995. Three-day attendance was 155,937, better than 1999.  This continues CART's upward swing in attendance at all its road and street courses.  Earlier - Despite the inclement weather conditions on Friday, 42,684 fans were in attendance, just 55 shy of the 1999.  On Saturday 49,576 took advantage of pleasant temperatures, up by 324 from one year ago.  Over 60,000 are expected for Sunday's race, bringing the total for the 3-days to near 160,000......numbers most of CART's oval track promoters would die for.  Given the success of Toronto and Vancouver each year (Canadians love auto racing), there certainly is little doubt CART should add Montreal to the schedule in 2002.  The only question would be where to add it to an already crowded summer racing schedule.  Perhaps it will take the Detroit summer date should that race go away after 2001.

9/3/00

Lights: Scott Dixon wins to extend lead - PacWest Racing’s Scott Dixon won his fourth race of the season and extended his championship lead in the eighth round of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship at the Molson Indy of Vancouver in Canada today.  Dixon, a 20 year-old New Zealander, made a brilliant move on leader Felipe Giaffone on lap 36 of the 42-lap contest on the outside of turn six and raced away to the checkered. Dixon, driver of the #17 Invensys/Powerware PacWest Lights entry, now has 113 championship points and leads Dorricott Racing’s Townsend Bell by 21 points. “We sat in behind Felipe (Giaffone) for a lot of the race waiting for our chance,” said Dixon. “He finally made a mistake and we had enough momentum to get around him on the outside. To his credit he gave me enough room, if it had been anyone else maybe I could have been in the wall. I was prepared to sit in second and collect the championship points, but then Jeff Simmons was closing the gap and we had to make a decision to do something. The Invensys/Powerware team gave me a great car today. It was very fast in the mid-speed corners. We had a chance to show how fast the car really was in the last few laps.” 

Earthquake hits north of Sears Point -A 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit the heart of Northern California's wine country early Sunday, injuring more than 25 people, knocking out windows, breaking gas and water mains, and shutting down power to about half of the county, police said.  The quake hit at 1:36 a.m. about 6 miles northwest of Napa and 6 miles northeast of Sonoma, near the small town of Yountville, according to the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park. The shaking woke people as far south as San Francisco, some 50 miles away.  No reports of any damage to Sears Point have come in yet.

9/3/00

Franchitti wins first Greg Moore Pole Award - Dario Franchitti was a close friend of Greg Moore, so it is only fitting that he should win the very first Greg Moore Pole Award.  And he won it in style, dominating both qualifying session in Vancouver.  The award was presented to Dario by Greg Moore's mother.  In addition to this award, the Greg Moore Legacy Award was also announced this weekend.  When interviewed on TV Dario said I really wanted to win this pole and this award, I was going for it."

9/3/00

CART to announce engine changes - UPDATE On CART2Day Jon Beekhius stated that 37 inches of boost has been agreed to for 2001, and 34 inches for 2002.  He also stated that all four engine manufacturers have given their stamp of approval for an all-new engine package for 2003. We believe the 1.8 liter turbo formula with around 55 inches of boost (to start) will be the standard.  All this will be announced next week at Laguna Seca.  Earlier today - CART will announce new engine-specification rules for the 2001 season next week and also formally announce its first change in engine formula in 20 years. Interim president Bobby Rahal said no decision has been made on whether to switch from turbocharged motors to normally aspirated ones.

9/3/00

Meet Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian - Junqueira beat Minassian by just 3-points to win this year's F3000 title.  Both are rumored for possible Champ Car rides in 2001.  Meet them (both real player format) in these Eurosport interviews:
Junqueira during championship winning celebration (1:17 min.)
Minassian on disappointment of just missing title (2:02 min. French with English translation)

9/3/00

Kurosawa has back surgery - According to this article by Jeremy Shaw, Takuya Kurosawa underwent surgery on his lower back last Monday in Japan and that his prognosis is excellent. Doctors removed a metal plate that was inserted as a result of a previous injury, which had been aggravated when Kurosawa crashed heavily at Nazareth in May.  Kurosawa, 37, came through the procedure with flying colors and is already planning his return to the cockpit. After completing some rehabilitation, Kurosawa hopes to get back into the swing by turning some laps in a Formula 3 car in November, then, within a few more weeks, begin testing in preparation for the 2001 Champ Car season.

9/2/00

Champ Cars more powerful than F1 - In a pre-race weekend press conference in Vancouver, Dario Franchitti said the F1 cars and Champ cars are quite different, but said that the Champ cars are far more powerful than the F1 edition. The popular Scot said he enjoyed his Jaguar test, but is happy to stay in CART for at least another year.  If CART cuts HP too much, F1 will say Champ Cars are too easy drive.  If CART wants to make the claim they are the fastest race cars in the world, they had better not cut HP too much.  F1 cars are in the 830 HP range and gaining.

Lowe's seating changes -Lowe's Motor Speedway officials announced today the track's Family Grandstand, previously located in temporary bleachers outside turn three, has been moved to the Fourth Turn Terrace for the Oct. 8 UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup event.

No pre-season testing changes - According to this article on That's Racin',  There has been speculation in recent weeks on whether NASCAR would curtail or even eliminate testing before next season, but chief operating officer Mike Helton said he thinks the current system works well.  Before the start of the 1999 season, NASCAR changed the testing policy to limit teams to seven tests per season on Winston Cup tracks. Teams can test as many times as they wish on tracks not used in the series.   "We are keeping our ear to the ground … ," Helton said. "Whether or not we need to tweak it any more is yet to be determined, but there's nothing (in) short term thought that we would change anything." 

9/2/00

Seen at Vancouver - According to Jeremy Shaw in this article, former CART Champ Car driver Teo Fabi reports his 16-year old son Stefano is on the fast-track to becoming a professional race car driver.  He contests the 100cc go-kart championships in Portugal next weekend where he is an early favorite.

9/2/00

Monterrey, Mexico track 40% complete - According to Jeremy Shaw in this article, Ron Dickson reports, reports that excellent progress is being made at the new track currently under construction in Monterrey, Mexico, which is set to host the second round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series. According to Dickson, the track in Fundadora Park is now "40 percent" complete. The entire base of the track should be ready by Oct. 10, with all the concrete surface in place by Nov. 8.  Why concrete? "Because concrete is best," said Dickson. "Don't forget, you've got a big heat problem down there. Bitumen [asphalt] just wouldn't work. Besides, Cemex, the biggest concrete company in the world, is based right there in Monterrey, Mexico."   This will be, we believe, the first all-concrete track CART has ever raced on, and should pose a new challenge to Firestone engineers.

Another stuck throttle - Bobby Labonte hit the turn 3 wall at Darlington yesterday because his throttle stuck open.  He had not one, but two, kill switches in his car, however, he said he did not have time to hit either one of them.  Conclusion - soft walls are required as well.  Perhaps NASCAR should follow the lead of CART engine manufacturers.  When the throttle stays open for more than a specified amount of time while the brakes are applied, the computer kills the engine automatically.  Sometimes technology is really the better solution.  It's time NASCAR abandon antiquated carburetor's in favor of fuel injection and computer controlled ignition systems so some of this technology can be implemented.  You can't buy a new car today with a carburetor, they are all fuel injected.  So why then are NASCAR 'stock' cars still running 1920's technology (carburetor's)?  It is the 21st century folks. 

9/1/00

Scott Dixon wins provisional Lights pole - Dayton Indy Lights Championship points leader Scott Dixon (Invensys/Powerware/PacWest Lola) continued to cruise on top Friday when he won the provisional pole in first-round qualifying at the Molson Indy Vancouver. Dixon leads the Dayton Indy Lights Championship by 13 points over rookie Townsend Bell (DirecPC Lola), 93 - 80, and could earn another bonus point if he retains the pole in Saturday's final qualifying.  Dixon set a new track record of 93.332 mph (68.697 seconds) to win the provisional pole in Friday qualifying at the Molson Indy Vancouver.  "I'm pleased with my car at this stage of the weekend," Dixon said. "I have pretty good grip everywhere, but the track conditions change so frequently that it's making this a little tough. We did battle a slight understeer and can definitely tune it a bit more overnight. Because of the changing conditions, we didn't get a lot of track time so I'm looking forward to Saturday to fine tune my car for the race."  QUALIFYING TIMES: 1: Scott Dixon 1:08.697; 2: Jeff Simmons 1:08.762; 3: Mario Dominguez 1:09.535; 4: Tony Renna 1:10.030; 5: Townsend Bell 1:10.190; 6: Felipe Giaffone 1:10.260; 7: Derek Higgins 1:10.280; 8: Jason Bright 1:10.586; 9: Jonny Kane 1:10.761; 10: Casey Mears 1:10.765. 

9/1/00

CART creates Greg Moore Legacy Award - Championship Auto Racing Teams announced today that it has established the Greg Moore Legacy Award to honor the Canadian star and fan favorite who lost his life in the 1999 season finale.  The award will reflect the driver who best typifies Moore's legacy of outstanding talent on track as well as displaying a dynamic personality with fans, media and within the CART community. Candidates for the award will be judged equally on their competitive talent and their interaction among the CART community when not behind the wheel.  "Greg was an extremely skilled race-car driver and a consummate professional and this award is intended to continue the legacy of his outstanding traits and preserve his memory," CART interim President and CEO Bobby Rahal said. "He was a true role model for our sport."  The award will encompass candidates from the FedEx Championship Series as well as its two development series, the Dayton Indy Lights Championship and Toyota Atlantic Championship. Five candidates will be nominated following the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston on Oct. 1. There will be a minimum of one driver from each series represented for the award.  The winner will be announced annually at the CART Awards Banquet, with the inaugural winner being named at this season's banquet scheduled for Monday, Oct. 30 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.  "On behalf of the Moore family and all of our friends, we are greatly honored by the establishment of the Greg Moore Legacy Award," said Ric Moore, Greg's father. "We are proud that CART would choose to recognize Greg's contributions in this manner. Through this award, we know that a tribute to Greg's competitive spirit, fun-loving style and community involvement will live on for years to come."  The voting committee will consist of the three series presidents, Rahal, Roger Bailey of Dayton Indy Lights and Vicki O'Connor of Toyota Atlantic; Player's Forsythe Racing owner Gerald Forsythe; Bob Bexon, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada, Ltd.; Championship Drivers Association President Mauricio Gugelmin; former CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach and two annually rotating members of the media, one representing the print side and the other broadcast. This year's media representatives will be Robin Miller of the Indianapolis Star-News and Paul Page of ABC-TV.  A non-voting advisory panel consisting of Rena Shanaman, CART Vice President of Client Relations; Mike Zizzo, CART Vice President of Competition Public Relations; and Adam Saal, Indy Lights Public Relations Director, will assist the panel.

9/1/00

Rain tires needed for Vancouver - A chance of rain is forecast all three days this weekend for the Vancouver race.  The teams are gearing up as if it might be a wet race, just in case.  As you can see from the pictures on our front page, last years race was wet as well.  Wet races always add an interesting dimension and sometimes separate the good drivers from the really great ones...Senna and Schumacher come to mind.

9/1/00

Brands Hatch decision due today - The Department for the Environment was expected to decide today whether to give the green light to Brands Hatch’s £30million upgrade plans. For the work to go ahead, the circuit needs to cut down 15 hectares of ancient forest. Even though they have pledged to plant more trees elsewhere, the Woodland Trust has objected to the plans.