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Wild on E! at Sebring 12 Hours The
E! Entertainment Television Network’s popular program “Wild On E!”
will visit Sebring International Raceway during the upcoming Mobil 1
Twelve Hours of Sebring to tape a segment for its “Wild On Spring
Break” episode. The 51st annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will
kick off the 2003 season for the American Le Mans Series Mar. 12-15 at
the famed Florida racing circuit. “Wild On E!” will visit six Florida
locations to tape segments for a Spring Break-oriented episode that
will air in June when the show’s new season begins. “Wild On E!,”
which has been a fixture on the cable network for several years,
visits and explores exotic locations, checking out the food, people,
nightlife and fun that the world has to offer. The Mobil 1 Twelve
Hours of Sebring has long been an attraction for college students on
Spring Break. Again this year, Sebring International Raceway will have
its popular Hawaiian Tropic Spring BRAKE Party Zone, featuring
attractions such as a Battle of the Bands, a bikini contest, beach
volleyball and more. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will start at
10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 15. Four classes of American Le
Mans Series cars will compete in the event, and some 60 cars are
expected to take the green flag. The race will be televised live from
flag-to-flag by the SPEED Channel, with live coverage by the American
Le Mans Series Radio Web online at
www.americanlemans.com
2/18/03
Toyota to launch Truck Ad campaign Toyota
won't wait until it's actually competing next year to begin supporting
NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, according to this week's issue of
Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal. Senior writer Bill King says
the company plans to begin advertising during the truck races on Speed
Channel this year. No details about the ad campaign were disclosed.
Related
story from Chicago auto show.
2/18/03
TWR for sale - cheap
Tom Walkinshaw's TWR Group is up for sale after being put into
administrative receivership last week. The financial services group
Price Waterhouse Coopers has been appointed as administrative
receivers of the company and is seeking a buyer. In fact PWC is
advertising the sale in the British Financial Times. The advert in the
Financial Times reads as follows: "The joint administrative
receivers offer for sale the business and assets of this
world-renowned vehicle engineering consultancy. Principally based in
the UK, the company has a strong reputation in engineering, design and
manufacture of vehicles, through to the building of specialist racing
vehicles and engines.
Principal features of the business include:
* supplier to the world's OEMs;
* technical centers based in Oxford and Sussex;
* state of the art virtual reality centre;
* OEM design, development and test capability;
* Europe's only commercially available 18 channel rig test facility;
* R&D function specializing in fuel cell application, telematics,
advanced materials and high-performance track replay;
* specialists in accelerated development programs;
* highly successful racing division, with eleven championship titles;
* leading edge application of digital development techniques;
* 470 dedicated, flexible and highly motivated employees.
Interested parties are urged to contact Price Waterhouse Coopers in
London
2/18/03
Foyt and Rice find the wall at
Homestead There were two incidents during the afternoon
session today at Homestead. Rookie A.J. Foyt IV was unhurt and
cleared to drive after hitting the outside retaining wall in Turn 2.
His No. 14 Conseco Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone suffered heavy
damage in the rear. “I was on my warm-up lap going into Turn 1,
not even up to speed, and the car wouldn’t turn; it slid up into the
gray,” 2002 IRL Infiniti Pro Series champion Foyt said. “It did a real
slow spin and hit with the left rear and then the left front. Looking
at it afterward, they think it bottomed out because there was a big
scrub on the skid plate.” A few minutes later, Buddy Rice also
was unhurt despite brushing the outside wall exiting Turn 2 in his No.
52 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone.
2/18/03
Andretti tops 207 mph at Homestead Michael
Andretti knows the fast lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway, regardless
of the type of car. Andretti, a two-time winner at the 1.5-mile
oval in CART, was the fastest driver at the two-day IRL IndyCar Series
Open Test at Homestead-Miami after turning a top lap of 26.0394
seconds, 207.378 mph Feb. 18 in the No. 7 7-Eleven
Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Andretti, who is joining the IndyCar Series
this season as a driver-owner, was the only driver to reach 207 mph in
the test. Story
2/18/03
Observations from Homestead testing Today's
Miami Herald Told everybody about the IRL testing and how it was open
to the public. We never saw more than 25 people in the stands......The
IRL race has dropped the "Miami grand Prix" Name. Curtis Gray said
that The name caused too much confusion and that he didn't want to
help publicize "that other race downtown'......The PDM racing team has
no sign of sponsorship whatsoever......Watching the cars practicing
this afternoon you can tell that The Toyota and Honda Cars, in
particular the Penske and Andretti cars, are in a league of their
own.....Helio said that they had been concentrating on qualifying
setup yesterday and this morning and this afternoon they would
concentrate on Race setup.
2/18/03 Industry News
High winds blow down tower at TMSUPDATE Construction has begun on
the new location for the scoring tower that recently fell in the
infield at the speedway. On Jan. 28, the scoring tower, originally in
Turn Three, fell during high winds near the speedway. Crews have dug
the new hole in the infield near Turn Four to anchor the new tower and
are busy building the new structure, which will be completed in time
for RPM Week-Texas, March 27-30 1/29/03 - High winds Tuesday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway caused the
110-foot scoring tower inside of Turn 3 to fall to the ground. No one
was injured when the electronic tower cracked at the base around 3
p.m. and fell parallel to the start of turn 4 on the north-end turn of
the 1.5-mile oval TMS track. “I was talking on the phone and looking
out the window of my office when it happened,’’ said TMS vice
president and general manager Eddie Gossage. “I couldn’t believe what
I was seeing.” The tower lists the numbers of 20 cars in descending
order of their position during the race. An identical tower stands on
the inside of Turn 1. “We will have structural engineers here looking
at the other tower before the end of day,’’ Gossage said. “We have
roped off the area around the standing tower with enough distance to
keep everyone safe. We may put guide wires on it if the engineers feel
it will help support the structure.’’
Dallas Morning News
(with photos)
2/18/03
Pruett and Miller to drive for
Gentilozzi
The reunion is set for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend
February 21-23. Two-time Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup
Champion Scott Pruett will get behind the wheel of the Rocketsports
Racing, Jaguar R Performance XKR. This will be the first time since
1994 Pruett has competed full-time in the Trans-Am Series.
Pruett will attempt to capture his third drivers' championship, a feat
accomplished by only three other drivers, including Trans-Am racing
legends Mark Donohue, Tom Kendall and Paul Gentilozzi. During the 2003
season, Pruett will be driving the Jaguar R Performance XKR for
Rocketsports Racing. Pruett is not new to the marque or the team. In
2002, he co-drove a Rocketsports Jaguar XKR to victory at the 2002
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona GTS class. In 2001, Pruett drove the XKR at
the Laguna Seca Trans-Am event. Pruett comes back to Trans-Am with
some impressive stats including 14 career wins, 20 poles and 44 "Fast
Five" efforts. Pruett has even scored the victory here in 1987 on the
old St. Petersburg street course. "Preparing for St. Petersburg will
be done mainly after I arrive," said Pruett, who will be pulling
double duty in St. Petersburg. In addition to his driving duties, he
will also be calling the action in the TV booth during the Champ Car
World Series race for SPEED Channel. "I've seen maps and pictures of
the course, but you have to walk the course with your engineers to
really see the bumps, learn the breaking zones, and get a feel for the
layout. "Scott is a good friend and great competitor," said
Rocketsports Racing team owner Paul Gentilozzi, who will be driving in
select races this season. "It will be great to get him out of the
booth and behind the wheel again." "Rocketsports has a proven track
record," said Pruett, who is a long time friend and past competitor of
Gentilozzi "They've won championships, and I have a great relationship
with Paul. We always said that when the time was right we wanted to do
something together. Well, the timing is perfect. "Our goal is simple -
to come back and win another championship, I wouldn't be here unless I
knew I had a shot at winning," explained Pruett. Trans-Am standout
Johnny Miller will mark the beginning of his eighth season in the
Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup during the Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg weekend on February 21-23. Miller, who previously raced
on the old circuit here in 1997 finishing 11th, will once again take
the wheel of the No. 64 Eaton Cutler-Hammer/AutomationDirect Jaguar
XKR. This will be Miller’s third season racing the XKR with
Rocketsports Racing. “Johnny is an outstanding driver and a good
friend,” said Rocketsports team owner Paul Gentilozzi, a three-time
Trans-Am Series champion. “He’s been a strong addition to our team.”
2/18/03
Newman's crash renews call for bigger
greenhouses After safety workers reached Newman's car
Sunday, he climbed from his window and waved to the cheering crowd.
Finding faster ways to get drivers out of their cars -- especially
taller, or bigger, drivers -- is high on NASCAR's agenda. "NASCAR has
been working for over a year on what we call bigger 'greenhouses,'
which translates to more room in the cockpit for the drivers,
especially bigger drivers such as Michael Waltrip," said Jim Hunter,
NASCAR's corporate vice president of communications. "One of the
possibilities is to have an exit section in the roof of the car where
they can extract a driver through a bigger opening in the top rather
than through the window." Hunter said NASCAR officials kept Newman's
car for "well over an hour" Sunday to analyze it for future research
and development. "The fact he walked away from this crash is a
testament to the way our guys build their cars," Hunter said. "Even
though Ryan's Dodge was demolished, the protective roll cage
surrounding him in the cockpit did what it was supposed to do."
Florida Today
2/18/03
Daytona 500 TV rating downUPDATE
Preliminary figures showed about 29.4 million viewers tuned in to some
part of the race. That was the fifth-largest TV audience in the race's
history. ``Given the fact that we had just over two hours of live
racing and never got the huge bump that is normal at the end of an
uninterrupted race, to have this be among the most watched Daytona
500s ever is remarkable, `` Fox Sports president Ed Goren said.
2/18/03 - The
overnight TV rating for this years Daytona 500 on FOX was a 9.8
compared to a 10.8 on NBC last year, down 10%. However, the
ratings were up 4% until the rain delay. Still the number is more
than double the Indy 500 TV rating of 4.8 (which plummeted after the
CART/IRL split in 1996) and shows that Tony George's idea of creating
the IRL has done nothing but severely damage the Indy 500, a race
owned by his family, and made it a distant 2nd to the Daytona 500.
Let's hope the family doesn't disown him. Many Indy Car racing fans
are disgusted with the split and refuse to support the IRL, which is
why the series saw lower attendance and lower TV ratings in 2002 vs.
2001 according to the Joyce Julius report. It's not gaining
strength like the IRL would like us to believe. See related story.
Many people, including AR1, lobbied hard for a CART and IRL merger,
but Tony George would have nothing of it. Now CART has sided
with F1 and Bernie Ecclestone instead, which will be a big story when
it all unfolds. In some respects CART is better aligned with F1,
which is also a road racing series, and the IRL is better aligned with
NASCAR, their oval racing brethren. It will now be the road
racing cartel vs. the oval track cartel for world
supremacy. The war has just really begun. Mark C.
2/18/03
Firman's first shunt
Jordan Ford continued its test session in Barcelona today, with
Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman together completing over 500km
of intensive testing. Fisichella set the third quickest lap time of
1:17.06 and continued the team’s program, which included chassis
balance work and Bridgestone tire testing in preparation for the first
races of the 2003 Championship next month. He completed 57 laps
interrupted only by a small radiator leak early in the day. Firman’s
schedule included race distance endurance runs and live pit stops as
part of the team’s preparation for fuelling and tire change
strategies. After 49 laps he suffered an off caused by a mechanical
fault, which the team quickly identified.
2/18/03
IRL tries to drum up interest in CART's
downtown Miami area IRL attempted a promotion in
downtown Miami during lunch to promote their upcoming race in
Homestead, Florida. They setup a stage by the water fountain
right where the CART Champ Cars race (Fountain is hidden behind the
stage). Judging by these photos, not a lot of people showed
interest in the product. Let's hope this isn't an indication of
ticket sales.
2/18/03
Panis Toyota on top in Barcelona
Pos Driver Chassis-engine Tires Time Laps
1 Olivier Panis Toyota M 1m15.508s 50
2 Fernando Alonso Renault M 1m15.943s 50
3 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford B 1m17.071s 56
4 Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW M 1m17.712s 56
5 Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m17.765s 42
6 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m18.377s 53
7 Jenson Button BAR-Honda B 1m18.889s 41
8 Cristiano da Matta Toyota M 1m19.170s 53*
9 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda B 1m19.718s 11
10 Jarno Trulli Renault M 1m20.348s 12
11 Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford B 1m20.593s 48
12 Allan McNish Renault M 1m21.860s 43
2/18/03
Schumacher tops Tuesday times at Imola
Pos Driver Chassis-engine Tires Time Laps
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari B 1m21.795s 57
2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B 1m22.739s 26
3 Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m23.022s 15
4 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas B 1m23.396s 81
5 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas B 1m23.414s 87
2/18/03
Live SPEED coverage kicks off CART
season
SPEED Channel opens its coverage of the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The
Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season this weekend from St.
Petersburg, Fla., as the cars take to the 1.806-mile street course for
the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. SPEED Channel,
which will cover 12 Champ Car events in 2003, also will offer live
final-day qualifying at 18 of 19 races this season. SPEED’s coverage
of Champ Car events in 2003 will begin with a 30-minute pre-race
program. More...
2/18/03
Three Ferrari's on track at Imola today
Second day of testing this week for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the
Imola circuit. Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer
were all driving today. Schumacher switched between the F2003-GA and
one of the two F2002 brought to the circuit. His program centered on a
continuation of the development of the new car and tyre testing aimed
at the opening few races of the season. Michael did a total of 57
laps: 34 with the F2003-GA (best time 1’21”980) and 23 with the F2002
(1’21”795.). Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer alternated their time
between the two F2002. The Brazilian completed 26 laps, the quickest
in 1’22”739, while the Scuderia’s official test driver did 15, with a
best time of 1’23”022. Testing continues tomorrow.
(L to R) Schumacher, Barrichello,
Badoer and Schumacher
2/18/03 F3000
More bad news for F3000 According
to Autosport Professional, The Belgian Astromega Racing team, which
has competed in the FIA F3000 series since 1995, is unlikely to take
part in 2003. According to team principal Mikke Van Hool, finding
drivers with the necessary €1m budget is "no longer realistic." The
team is likely to switch to the new Renault V6 ‘spec' single-seater
championship.
2/18/03
Newman gets right back in car With
just more than a day to shake off the cobwebs and stretch out of the
soreness from his wild front-stretch flips in Daytona on Sunday, Ryan
Newman is already looking ahead and ready to get back to racing.
Newman will test his No. 12 Alltel Dodge Tuesday and Wednesday at
Atlanta Motor Speedway in preparation for the March 9 Bass Pro Shops
MBNA 500. "It was a pretty hard hit, and when I saw the grass I
figured I was in more trouble than hitting the wall," said Newman,
whose car broke apart in huge pieces as he flipped down the infield
grass at Daytona. "I had a wad of sod about eight inches thick and two
feet long sitting in my lap. I couldn't get out of the car."
2/18/03
Speed Weeks proved on thing, trucks
rule When is someone at NASCAR going to realize that,
year in and year out, the best race at Speed Weeks is the Truck race?
Rick Crawford lost and then regained the lead on the last lap, and the
top three trucks finished within .047 of second -- i.e. less than a
truck-length -- of one another. And what did the Cup race give us? One
green-flag pass.
More...
2/18/03
More woes for the Grand-Am seriesUPDATE
It appears that the Grand-Am is updating the Homestead
entry list on their website daily, as it now shows 15 cars.
2/18/03 - The
entry list for the Daytona 24 Hour race was the lowest we have seen in
years, with some 45 or so entries. The next race is the Nextel
250 to be held in Homestead in conjunction with the IRL race weekend.
In checking the
entry list on the Grand-Am website, it only shows 13 cars with
less than 2-weeks to go before the race. Perhaps it s not
up-to-date, but our Miami sources also tell us they hear less than 25.
13 or 25, both are low numbers for a sportscar race. Brock Yates
yesterday on the Speed site writes "word
has it that the France family has informed the leadership to start
making the Rolex series work, money-wise, or else. There was little
happiness in Daytona Beach over the 24 Hour debacle, and doom may lie
ahead for the series unless corrections are made. And fast."
2/18/03
Asiatech goods go for dirt cheap
According to this Grandprix.com article,
The auction of the assets of Asiatech in Versailles last week gave an
indication of the state of the Formula 1 economy at the moment with
available V10 engines being sold off at around $7500 apiece and the
company's dynos in Velizy fetching only the market rate. The company's
transient dyno was bought by Peugeot - which built in the first place
before Peugeot Sport's F1 operation was sold on to Asiatech - but
otherwise there was little money raised with only the office furniture
fetching decent prices.
2/18/03
Rules change if Chevy's continue to
dominate If the Chevrolets continue to have a lopsided
advantage after Rockingham and Las Vegas, I'd [Jeff Hammond] look for
the powers that be to make an adjustment. The change would have to be
in the front end because that's where Chevrolet seems to have a better
balance and a touch more front downforce than the other cars. Ford and
Dodge haven't told [Hammond] what they're working on, but [Hammond]
believes that both camps are already looking into a rule change in the
front headlight area to create just a little bit more downforce. Of
the 329 laps raced in the two 125-mile Winston Cup qualifying races,
the Busch race and the Daytona 500, Chevy led all but seven or two
percent of the laps. During Speedweeks, it was pretty clear that
Chevrolet was the class of the field.
FoxSports
2/18/03
Newman's car impounded Ryan
Newman's dramatic flip down the frontstretch was eye-catching,
particularly for NASCAR officials, who were not pleased to see all
those parts and pieces flying off the car. So NASCAR inspectors
impounded Newman's car for further inspection, to try to figure out
why the car appeared to simply shatter when it hit the ground.
Winston Salem Journal
2/18/03
CART Champs try to master art of F1
This Knoxville Tennessee News
article says, Many auto racing fans insist that Championship
Auto Racing Teams (CART) series is the most versatile racing series in
the world because it runs on oval, road and street courses. No other
series - not Formula One nor the Indy Racing League (IRL) - does that.
But it's difficult to say CART churns out the most versatile champions
as well. CART champions who have made the jump to Formula One have
found it tough going. Some argue that it's not really their fault,
that unreliable cars - except for drivers lucky enough to pilot a
Ferrari, of course - are to blame. But others say CART-trained drivers
are simply too aggressive for Formula One. That charge rankles.
"Absolutely not," said CART president Chris Pook. "All racing car
drivers have to be aggressive if they want to succeed. Ayrton Senna,
Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve are and were
aggressive. The key is to have the mental discipline to know when to
use aggression and when to use finesse."
More...
2/18/03
Tiago
Monteiro makes debut in Fittipaldi Dingman Racing
The first of the 19 races in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car
World Series Powered By Ford Championship, which will take place next
weekend in the city of S. Petersburg (Florida-USA), will be the stage
of Tiago Monteiro’s debut at the wheel of the only car in the team
recently formed by Emerson Fittipaldi and James Dingman. It will also
be the start of the most difficult season in the still short career of
the Porto driver, who has represented Portugal in numerous racetracks
around the world with great dignity. Tiago Monteiro is aware that he
will have quite a tough start to the year, but his recognized
professionalism and total dedication, together with the fact that he
finds it easy to adapt to new challenges as we have seen throughout
his career, are important aspects for overcoming his lack of practical
knowledge of these new races. Tiago Monteiro will officially begin
next weekend: “Just one day of tests next (today) in Road-Atlanta will
not be enough for me to adapt to the car, which will need the “Shake
down” to make sure everything is working correctly. I know that the
race will not be easy, and therefore we should be very happy if we can
finish. The first race will be a live test!” The Champ Car
Championship (previously called Indy or CART) is at the top of motor
racing and has a philosophy which brings out the drivers’ talent
through very balanced technical regulations as opposed to the F.1
where there are enormous differences between the teams: “I have great
expectations for this new stage in my career, which in spite of
knowing that it will be quite complicated given the fact that I will
not have many training sessions before the first race, it will, on the
other hand, be helped by Emerson Fittipaldi’s valuable experience. I
expect to get over the worst difficulties in as short a time as
possible, and I hope to tell Emerson exactly what my doubts are both
regarding technical aspects and about the driving. We are going to St.
Petersburg looking on the race as a session of development tests. We
know what to expect so for now we are putting our ambitions on hold.”
Said Tiago Monteiro that, in the short period of two months he was
invited to drive Renault’s F1 as a candidate for being a test driver
for the large French automobile manufacturer, and now to sign a
contract with the Twice World Champion in the Formula 1 and CART,
Emerson Fittipaldi.
2/18/03
Q&A with Bill France NASCAR
chairman Bill France Jr.'s advancing age and recent battle with cancer
have some wondering who would take the reins from stock-car racing's
most powerful person when it becomes necessary. But after a couple of
recent meetings with the press, nobody is left wondering who is firmly
in control right now. It is still France. This past week at Daytona
International Speedway, France talked with The Kansas City Star's Jim
Pedley and answered questions about issues affecting the sport his
father helped found.
Transcript
2/18/03
Ecclestone wants F1 superstar
The FIA may be trying to find different ways to ensure that the top
teams have less of an advantage, but Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he
would like to see Michael Schumacher win a sixth title. "Being totally
serious - and what I'm about to say will surprise a lot of people - I
hope Schumacher wins another world title because a super super
superstar can only be good for any sport," the 72-year-old told Kicker
magazine. "However, I don't want him to have it as easy as 2002.
Although I doubt whether anyone can beat Ferrari."
Where are all the cars? A reader
writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, the IRL's Brian Barnhart was boasting
recently that the IRL would have 30 or more cars this year. I
have been following all the IRL tests recently and I see no more than
19 or 20 cars at any given time. Will they have 30 cars for
Homestead? Mike from Ohio, Dear Mike, we would be
surprised to see anywhere near 30 cars on the grid at Homestead.
The IRL really is in no better shape than CART when it comes to car
count, but you can bet they will have 33 cars for the Indy 500. However,
it should be lost on no one that the IRL car count might be down from
last year whereas CART's appears like it will be up.
Mark C.
2/18/03
Johansson website now live
Stefan Johansson's American Spirit website
is now live. We have also added it to our Links
page.
2/17/03
Troubles for new Ferrari at Imola Ferrari
ran into more problems with their new car today when Michael
Schumacher was forced to abandon the opening day of testing at Imola.
Schumacher, who had to stop testing the new F2003-GA last week because
of teething problems with the car, completed only eight laps at the
Italian circuit. Ferrari's crew performed a "complete overhaul of the
car" after the world champion noticed a problem and eventually
concluded the day in last year's F2002.
2/17/03
Giaffone enjoys first IROC race Giaffone
enjoys first IROC experience: Felipe Giaffone, the 2001 IRL IndyCar
Series Bombardier Rookie of the Year, enjoyed another rookie
experience Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway, competing in his
first True Value IROC event. The True Value IROC series is racing’s
“all-star game.” Twelve of the best drivers from various series
compete in equally prepared stock cars in a four-race series. Giaffone
competed in the series for the first time at Daytona with fellow
IndyCar Series drivers Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr., who are
in their second season of IROC competition. NASCAR Winston Cup driver
Mark Martin won the event, while Giaffone finished 10th. Hornish and
Castroneves finished eighth and 11th, respectively. “I had a great
time there even though the result wasn’t great,” Giaffone said. “I had
a lot of fun. There’s a lot of bumps you have to get used to, and the
draft is a different type of draft. It’s not the same that we have
here.” Giaffone got some tips from NASCAR Winston Cup star Jimmie
Johnson, who finished third in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16. “Johnson
was very nice,” Giaffone said. “It was actually nice to see that all
of them (IROC drivers from NASCAR) did good in the (Daytona 500).”
Martin finished second in the Daytona 500 while Kurt Busch and Kevin
Harvick, who also competed in the IROC race, finished second and
fourth, respectively, in the rain-shortened event. “We’re running with
the best guys,” Giaffone said. “They’re all very nice, very
down-to-earth and no big egos.” The next IROC race is April 5 at
Talladega Superspeedway, but Giaffone is now focused full time on the
Toyota Indy 300 on March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Purex
Dial Indy 200 on March 23 at Phoenix International Raceway, the first
two IRL IndyCar Series events of the season. “At IROC, once I get to
the track, I’m fully dedicated to it,” Giaffone said. “But to be
honest, right now I’m not think about Talladega. I’m focused not just
on Homestead but all the races. IROC is a part-time job.”
2/17/03
Amazing save Castroneves
still hearing about IROC: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio
Castroneves is still hearing friends and fans talk about his amazing
save during the season-opening True Value IROC race Feb. 14 at Daytona
International Speedway. Castroneves was running second to NASCAR
Winston Cup star Jimmie Johnson. Another car touched Castroneves’ car,
sending Castroneves into a spin into the infield grass. Castroneves
returned to the track at the pit road exit entering Turn 1 at the tail
of the field, but he didn’t lose the all-important aerodynamic draft
from the pack of cars. The crowd went wild. And many of the veteran
stock-car drivers praised Castroneves – in only his second year of
IROC – for the save after the race. When the tape of race was
broadcast on ESPN on Feb. 16, Castroneves’ phone starting ringing.
“Everybody said: ‘I saw it. That was a hell of a job,’” Castroneves
said. “Even Roger (Penske) came up to me and said, ‘Hey, man, people
are still talking about IROC and that save you did.’ I saw it on the
TV yesterday and said, ‘Yeah, good job, Helio.’” Castroneves finished
11th in the race.
2/17/03
De Ferran, Castroneves, Andretti
fastest in Homestead Gil
de Ferran and Helio Castroneves of Marlboro Team Penske and Michael
Andretti of Andretti-Green Racing were fastest in day one of the IRL
IndyCar Series Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Thirteen of the
19 IndyCar Series drivers posted speeds in excess of 200
miles-per-hour Monday as they prepared for the Toyota Indy 300, the
IndyCar Series season-opener set for February 28 - March 2. Story, Speeds, & Quotes
2/17/03
Fan Forum Town Meeting in Portland
Building on a successful idea that began last year in Columbus, Ohio
and allowed fans of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World
Series Powered by Ford to discuss their sport with some of the most
influential and established personalities in open-wheel racing, Champ
Car announced today that it will host another "Town Meeting" in
Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, February 26th from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The
event, officially titled "2003 Champ Car Town Meeting: Portland" will
be held at The Doubletree Columbia River at Jantzen Beach, 1401 N.
Hayden Island Drive - Exit 307 off of Interstate 5. The featured panel
will include Champ Car President and CEO Christopher R. Pook, Champ
Car's Senior Manager of Safety Lon Bromley, Bill Hildick- a member of
the Portland team that brought the series to the Pacific Northwest in
1984 and a top Champ Car driver to be announced in the coming days.
Former driver and current CBS and SPEED Channel television analyst
Scott Pruett will serve as the moderator over the discussions. The
Town Meeting is free and open to all Champ Car fans who register in
advance. The evening's highlight will feature a question and answer
session moderated by Pruett from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., with all attendees
welcome to ask questions. The question and answer program will be
followed by a brief reception where guests will have the opportunity
to meet and socialize with the evening's panelists. Beginning this
evening, ticket reservations for the Town Meeting can be made through
Champ Car's official web site,
www.champcarworldseries.com. A limited number of tickets are
available for the event and will be reserved on a first-come,
first-served basis with priority status being given to members of the
Champ Car Winner's Circle Fan Club. Those in attendance at the Town
Meeting will also have the opportunity to win one of nine spots in the
Champ Car FANatics promotion, which gives fans a once-in-lifetime
opportunity to be immersed in the pre-race activities as teams prepare
for battle on race day at Portland International Raceway. Attendees
can also register to become one of two chosen to win a pace car ride
around Portland's 1.969-mile permanent road course that has hosted the
series since 1984.
2/17/03
Dr.
Panoz honored
Dr. Don Panoz, founder of the American Le Mans Series and owner of
three of North America’s most successful permanent road racing
facilities, was honored with a special tribute ceremony at the
Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. Dr. Panoz’
accomplishments in motorsports were lauded in the tribute, which
included many personalities from Canadian motorsports. The 30th annual
Canadian International Auto Show is the largest automotive show in
Canada and one of the largest in North America. Ron Fellows, one of
Canada’s most famous racing drivers, spoke to the crowd at the tribute
and thanked Dr. Panoz for providing the series in which he competes.
The driver for the factory Corvette team won seven races and the GTS
class driving championship in the American Le Mans Series last year.
During his remarks, Fellows added that racing fans have benefited as
much as drivers with the overall growth of sports car racing due to
the formation of the series. On behalf of SPEED Channel, Carl Tupper
praised Dr. Panoz for the rebirth of sports car racing with the
creation of the American Le Mans Series, and for his rejuvenation of
Mosport International Raceway, Road Atlanta and Sebring International
Raceway. Tupper presented Dr. Panoz with three bottles of the Ontario
Wine Region’s most sought-after wines. Myles Brandt, President and
General Manager of Mosport, presented Dr. Panoz with the original
artwork of the 2002 American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Mosport
event program cover. Created by artist Norbert Lisinski, the original
painting depicts several ALMS cars racing through corners 9 and 10,
the last two turns of Mosport International Raceway. The American Le
Mans Series has a large presence at the show, which runs through
February 23 at the Toronto Convention Centre and SkyDome. ALMS drivers
Scott Maxwell, Melanie Paterson and John Graham will be signing
autographs from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, at the ALMS paddock
display. The location is South Metro Convention Centre, 800 level -
Hall G.
2/17/03
Al Unser to make his debut at St.
Petersburg
Twenty-year-old Al Unser will make his professional racing debut with
the Barber Dodge Pro Series at St. Petersburg. The son of Al Unser Jr.
and the grandson of Al Unser - both two-time Champ Car title winners -
the youngest Unser continues his climb up the Champ Car Ladder System
after competing in the Formula Dodge National Championship (Official
National Amateur Championship of Champ Car) during the 2002
season...The Barber Dodge Pro Series, the "Official Entry Level
Professional Race Series of Champ Car" and a key step on the Champ Car
Driver Development Ladder, will open its 2003 racing season on the
streets of downtown St. Petersburg. The Pro Series race will be
featured as the Saturday race at 3:45 p.m., directly following final
Champ Car qualifying. A full field of 27 competitors will take the
green flag for the 40-minute timed race.
2/17/03
Renault tests 3 versions of engine The
Renault F1 team today began a new test session at the Barcelona
circuit, Spain. The team started the day with three cars. Jarno Trulli
and Fernando Alonso drove the R23s where as test driver Allan McNish
ran in the R202. Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director of the team,
commented: "A reasonable production first day testing at Barcelona,
although the cold and damp weather conditions made it a little
difficult for drivers and cars to run. Jarno Trulli carried out race
simulation in the old-spec R23, which he successfully completed. While
Fernando ran for the first time the new aero-package in the R23 and
managed fairly competitive times given the conditions. Allan worked on
suspension development on last year's car. Hopefully we will have some
warmer temperatures for the rest of the test." Tomorrow Fernando
Alonso will progress to tyre development work with Michelin in the
new-spec car and Jarno Trulli will continue further work on car
reliability.
2/17/03
2003
Barber Dodge Pro Series preview
The 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series will once again bring the best and
the brightest of the future of open wheel racing together to fight for
the Series Championship. The field of talented racers hopes to convert
success in the Pro Series into a step up the ladder, the same way Juan
Montoya, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and A.J. Allmendinger have done before
them. Driving identically prepared Dodge-engined Reynard 98E's
equipped with Michelins, the 2003 field, with its mix of returning
drivers and swift rookies, should spawn some exciting and close racing
in the intense quest for the $100,000 top-prize and the over $1
million total purse. More.....
2/17/03
Barcelona test times - Monday
Driver Team Fastest time of day
Alonso Renault (M) 1:15.98
Trulli Renault (M) 1:18.86
Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:19.13
Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:19.46
McNish Renault (M) 1:21.34
2/17/03
Cosworth gives Minardi a deadline Cosworth
have given Minardi a deadline to pay for their 2003 engines. Tony
Purnell, head of Ford’s Premier Performance Division - is anxious to
avoid a repeat of last year’s Arrows situation but says he is
optimistic that will not happen. He said: “Paul is struggling but to
be honest I think that he always has done. We are trying to support
him but we are also trying to be rational. But I think that it will
all be worked out. “When Paul went into Formula 1 he knew it was going
to be an uphill struggle. I don’t think that has changed. “There’s a
deadline for Minardi – it is not particularly mysterious. If you go
into a dress shop and you see a dress you really like you have got to
come up with the money you need to buy it. “The Arrows thing was tough
for Formula 1 and tough for Cosworth and all the parties involved will
be looking to avoid that sort of embarrassment again.” But Purnell
said there were no such worries surrounding Jordan’s supply of
Cosworth engines. He said: “Jordan has been put to bed and we are
starting the season with a positive outlook. The I’s have been dotted
and the T’s have been crossed so off we go racing.”
2/17/03
Minardi signs with Bridgestone The
Minardi Team today announced that it has concluded an agreement with
Bridgestone for the supply of tires in 2003. This renews an
association that dates back to the Japanese tire manufacturer’s entry
into Grand Prix racing, in 1997. “We’re very pleased to have brought
these negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion today,” comments
Minardi Team Principal, Paul Stoddart. “We now look forward to an
excellent working relationship with our new tire supplier,
Bridgestone, during the coming season.”
2/17/03
Ralf jealous of brother Ralf
Schumacher says on his website, “It will take some time before this
car becomes competitive. I was frustrated with that in Valencia, but
at the end of the day, when I'd watch TV, I'd see that my brother kept
breaking lap records in Fiorano. I'll have to admit I was annoyed with
that.” “For sure, Michael gets the result of all the work he's put in
over the years for the Scuderia, but sorry to put it this way: I am
disgusted that he's so lucky” (Ralf told his German website that this
makes him want to puke). When hearing this, Michael replied: “My
brother didn't know that the Fiorano track had been re-paved. If only
he'd took the time to call me, I would have told him. And, Ferrari
isn't the only one breaking lap records. If I remember well, his own
car has beaten the Valencia track record” which belonged to Juan Pablo
Montoya until Antonio Pizzonia bettered it on Friday.
2/17/03
New PR Director for Johansson team
Katie Brannan has signed on as PR Director for Stefan Johansson's
American Spirit team. She takes over for Rick Shaffer who recently
signed on with the team, but he and the team went their separate ways
we here. Mark C.
2/17/03
Minardi
re-signs Bobbi as test driver Minardi
has re-signed 24 year old Italian Matteo Bobbi as a test driver for a
third year running. Bobbi is the second test driver for the team for
this season, alongside Russian Sergey Zlobin. The team has said that
the Italian will take part in a number of the new Friday morning test
sessions at F1 races this year. "He is a talented individual, who has
worked with us now for the past two years," said team boss Paul
Stoddart. "In that time, he has built up an excellent rapport with the
team, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with him."
Bobbi said: "I am both pleased and honored that Minardi has once again
asked me to assist with the test program for its new chassis. I
believe from speaking with the engineers that the PS03 has great
potential, and I am looking forward to helping them achieve the
maximum from the car."
2/17/03 F3000
Derek Hill, Giorgio Pantano could drive
for Jordan Jr. team Today the Jordan Grand Prix Junior
Team has been formed following an agreement between Super Nova Racing
Ltd, the most successful Formula 3000 team in the history of the
category and the Silverstone based Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team.
David Sears who was Eddie Jordan’s first driver when he founded the
Eddie Jordan Racing Formula 3 team in 1981, comments: “It’s great to
be working with Eddie and his team after such a long time. However our
paths have run very parallel courses through the years, having both
been drivers and then having teams in Formula 3000 and also with
driver management." This new initiative will allow us to
cross-pollinate sponsors and drivers for each other. I see it as an
excellent working relationship from the start and hopefully a boost
for the image of Formula 3000 in a difficult economic time. Drivers at
the moment are to be announced in the near future but it is hopeful
that perhaps Giorgio Pantano who missed out on a Champ Car opportunity
recently could be a possibility as a test driver for Jordan Ford
Formula One and as a race driver with Jordan Grand Prix Junior Team.
Other drivers in the frame such as American Derek Hill (see rumors
page as the Den Bla team also has their eyes on Hill) could be
considered along with Italian Enrico Toccacelo and Frenchman Bruce
Jouanny. The team will benefit from technical support and the
relationship could create a platform for the development of human
resources and training personnel for the Formula One environment.”
Team Principal, Eddie Jordan commented: “David and I have been talking
for some time about the possibility of a collaboration between our
teams and today’s announcement marks the culmination of those
discussions. We will work together on a number of fronts, developing
driver programs, encouraging sponsorship into the sport and providing
technical assistance where relevant.” The Super Nova cars will be
painted in the familiar Jordan yellow and black as the base color with
the sponsors and drivers to be announced in due course.
2/17/03
Busch TV ratings up Saturday's
Busch race scored a 3.6 household overnight rating, the race's highest
overnight mark since 1998. That's 24 percent better than FOX's Busch
race here, in 2001, a 2.9. The 1998 Busch race here scored a 3.7
overnight on CBS. Overnights include 55 of the country's largest TV
markets. Comparative overnights for last year's Busch race on TNT are
not available, but the event pulled a 2.2 nationally. When the
complete national ratings are in, by Friday, Fox officials expect the
Busch ratings to be 50 percent higher than last year's, which would
make it the most watched Busch race ever from Daytona.
Winston Salem Journal
2/17/03
NASCAR salaries skyrocket In
the escalating battles among car owners to hire away crewmen from
rivals, Richard Childress says the bidding war in the NASCAR garage
for aerodynamicists, engineers, fabrication specialists and pit crew
men is getting way out of hand. Anyone is fair game in this struggle.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. just hired two key pit-road men from the Woods;
Doug Yates just hired away a key aerodynamicist from Childress; and
Childress just hired an excellent fabrication-shop guy away from DEI.
"Hey, this is a major-league sport," Greg Zipadelli, Tony Stewart's
crew chief, says. "You've got to take care of your players." "It's
bad, and we're our own worst enemies, because the salaries have been
pushed sky-high," Childress says. "Some salaries have skyrocketed,
because of someone trying to hire someone else. Everybody is after the
(fabrication) guys now. "When you lose somebody, you've got to replace
them, and it usually winds up costing you more. The price of this
sport keeps going up."
Winston Salem Journal
2/17/03
Getting the call
Some Winston Cup crew chiefs are critical of NASCAR's new system for
pre-race selection of the crucial carburetor restrictor plates. Ever
since NASCAR went to the air-choking plates to cut speeds at the
tour's two biggest tracks some 15 years ago, drivers and crews have at
times questioned just how fair that selection process might be, with
rumors frequently rampant about a particular driver getting just the
right plate. That issue is once again being raised in the garage, with
the lack of randomness of the selection at particular issue.
NASCAR has long been known to make The Call on any particular
day.
Winston Salem Journal
2/17/03
Ford & Chevy worried about Toyota
GM and Ford teams are both worried that when Toyota comes into Winston
Cup racing, it will raise the financial stakes considerably, and that
GM and Ford executives in turn will have to cut back on the support
they give their own teams if they have to start matching Toyota's
expected surge of TV ads. General Motors' dominance at Indianapolis is
about to end, according to first reports from the open-wheel camp. GM
has been in tight at Tony George's track since the Indy Racing
League's breakaway from CART seven years ago. But this year, Toyota
and Honda have decided to abandon CART and move to the IRL for its
Indy 500 marketing angle. Now GM's Chevy brand will have some serious
competition at the Brickyard, and IRL men say that Toyota's new Indy
500 engine is so far ahead of what Chevy has to offer than the 500
itself looks to be an all-Toyota affair. That can't be good news for
Detroit officials, who are looking nervously ahead at Toyota's big
step up the ladder in the stock-car world. "If another manufacturer
wants to come in and compete," GM's Doug Duchardt says, "you just have
to look at what they're bringing and how to address the new
competition. We know when Toyota comes into a series, they come in
with a well thought-out plan. And they are a patient company that will
take their time and grow this. I'm sure we'll be racing against them
in the future. "There are a lot of things in stock-car racing that you
have to learn and work around. I'm sure they'll have a proper plan to
address all those things before they step up to Cup. In Formula One
and IRL, they are properly funded, and I'm sure that will be the case
here. "Certainly there is a concern," Duchardt said of the possibility
of having to spend more money to compete with Toyota. "But until we
get into the middle of it and see what actually happens that's
premature."
Winston Salem Journal
Trans-Am Series announces new rules
The Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup has instituted
several significant rule changes for the 2003 season. The 2003 rules
give multi-valve engines a much-needed boost. Four-valve,
275-cubic-inch, fuel-injected engines will be allowed to run this year
with no weight penalty. More......
2/17/03
Gentilozzi working on return to Detroit
for CART and Trans-Am
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1...just wanted to pass along a tidbit
for your rumors or hot news page that I heard on AM1270 sports radio
here in Detroit Sunday evening. It was on a racing show with Larry
Henry (voice of Michigan speedway) and his guest was Paul Gentilozzi,
a Michigan native, and CART Champ Car team owner and soon-to-be-owner
of he Trans-Am series. They were discussing the upcoming CART
and Trans-Am seasons. At the end of the interview, the idea of CART
and Trans-Am returning to the Motor City was discussed and Paul
mentioned that he had discussions with local and state officials about
building a permanent road course of some kind AND a drag strip to get
the NHRA back in the Detroit area. While nothing appears imminent,
Paul did state that he was not going to let this die and would be
continuing to look into it. Considering the Big 3 and all, it makes
sense that Detroit should have these races back someday. Lets hope so.
Terry White, Belle River, Canada. Dear Terry, if there is
one thing CART isn't short on, that is venues. Finding an open date is
always going to be the problem.
2/16/03
Bernie the TaxmanUPDATE A reader writes, instead of
a weight penalty for the successful teams, now he (Bernie) wants a
financial penalty? Win on Sunday, pay on Monday? Ever since
motor racing began to be televised and sponsor financed, this problem
of the haves versus the have nots has been around and it isn't going
to go away. Successful cars are shown on TV more, meaning the sponsors
are happy with the extra air time; the less successful ones get TV
time when they're being passed or expire in an extraordinary fashion.
It's a vicious circle. Winners get more money for R&D to find
those extra tenths and make those 'go-faster' pieces; also-rans still
have to struggle with what they can get. The fast/best get
faster/better and the back-markers stay at the back. When I raced, we
used to call those 'go-faster' pieces that the well funded teams had
"unobtainable." I doubt that any of the teams are going to give their
ok to Bernie's latest proposal. Warren Davis2/16/03
- Bernie Ecclestone and the taxman have never been soul mates
but now it seems Bernie is planning to collect his own taxes
in Formula 1 in an effort to support the struggling small
teams in Formula 1. Ecclestone is proposing that a "TV tax" be
levied on the teams which get the most coverage. "If we want
to keep a high level of technology, we must find a means to
keep the less competitive teams alive," Ecclestone says. "The
ones which win the races are the ones who make the most money
and I am proposing to charge them for it. The money would be
handed back to the less competitive teams." The FIA says that
it is a matter for Ecclestone and the teams to sort out
between them as it has no jurisdiction in commercial issues
unless they threaten the long-term well-being of the sport.
The teams agreed in principle to find money to keep the small
teams in business but that agreement has since fallen apart
and it is this which has led to Ecclestone's new approach. It
is in the interest of the big teams to support Bernie's idea
because otherwise they will be in a very weak position as they
are contractually bound to supply a minimum of 20 cars at
every race.
Grandprix.com
2/16/03
Houston Superspeedway faces uphill
battle According to this Houston Chronicle article,
As a member of a group of investors planning to build a motor speedway
south of Houston, Tom Floyd wants to know what size track do the
drivers want. Floyd had the survey distributed to NASCAR and Indy
Racing League drivers. Some of the first respondents were four-time
Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon and veteran Rusty Wallace. "One of
the reasons we did the survey is to make sure what we are doing is on
their radar screen; that we are working down here," said Floyd,
chairman of Star State Investments, which is developing the facility.
"This, by no means, was to jump up and down for them to race in
Houston." Construction on the project, to be called Houston Super
Speedway, in Brazoria County is expected to begin in the next two
months. The track, which will be built to accommodate NASCAR and IRL
events, will be on 2,800 acres near Alvin along Texas 288 and FM 1462.
About 1,300 acres and $100 million will be devoted to completing the
1.2-mile oval track, which is scheduled to open in 2005. The complex
will include a 75,000-seat grandstand area and 50 to 60 luxury suites.
Feedback has been encouraging, Floyd said. Still, some drivers and
officials attending Speedweeks at Daytona are skeptical of building
such a facility with the uncertainty over whether racing leagues will
commit to a date. "The sport has grown a lot, but building a track and
not having a Winston Cup date is tough," Corpus Christi native Terry
Labonte said. "The IRL cars just don't draw the crowds that NASCAR
does. Busch doesn't draw the crowds. "If I were an investor, unless I
had plenty of money ... I would have to really think twice before I
built a facility like that. You're really stuck because they
aren't going to give you a date and they aren't going to commit until
you have a facility. And then there's no guarantee." Landing a Winston
Cup date is probably out of the question for several years, if at all,
with NASCAR studying a possible realignment of the current schedule.
NASCAR officials have said they would consider many factors, including
location, state of the facility and proximity to population centers,
when discussing putting a race in a new market. "It's absolutely
a risky venture," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of
corporate communications. "There is so much talk about the track
already in Texas, I'm not even aware of the track in Houston." Floyd
said it is premature to begin thinking about landing race dates, and
he realizes none of the major racing circuits will commit until the
track is completed. He said the track is being built with the idea
under the pretense there will not be a Winston Cup race. "We want to
build a track that makes sense, that even without a Winston Cup date
it's a financially viable deal," Floyd said. "We don't have to have a
Winston Cup race to make it work." Houston is intriguing to drivers
with Texas roots. "It's just exciting to know that big-time auto
racing might be coming to Houston," said Aldine High graduate David
Starr, who competes in the truck series. "It's already in Texas. Texas
Motor Speedway is such a beautiful facility and I'm glad to be a part
of it. I'm glad we go there and race. To have a track built in my
hometown would be exciting." "I'd love to have a race back in
Houston," said Winston Cup driver Larry Foyt, son of four-time Indy
500 champion A.J. Foyt. "It's a huge market. There are a lot of race
fans there. It's something I think there is definitely room for."
2/16/03
Rumors of CART's death greatly
exaggerated This Kansas City Star
article says, Rumored to be in its death throes three months
ago, CART appears to have rallied past the forecasts of skeptics -- if
not their own hopes. It looks as if CART will meet president and CEO
Chris Pook's guarantee of opening the 2003 season with 20 races and an
18-car lineup. And things look even better beyond that. Most in racing
say to credit Pook for CART not slipping beneath the waves for good
this year. "I think what Chris has done with the series since he came
aboard has obviously brought it a huge amount of momentum here, which
to a large part enabled people like myself to put together a deal to
run a team in the series," said team owner Stefan Johansson, a former
driver.
2/16/03
Fittipaldi still trying to bring CART
back to Brazil In
this ESPN.com article,
Emerson Fittipaldi, who is fielding a Champ Car team this year says,
"I just got back from England and everyone is talking about the CART
race at Brand's Hatch," he said. "My friends from Germany are excited
that CART is coming back and I am working on taking CART back to
Brazil next year. "Most of the races are still in North America but
fans all over the world like to watch CART races. I think there is a
space behind F1 and nobody is there. I think we can fill that space."
"There were so many bad rumors about CART last year but now we've got
19-20 cars, a new race at Brand's Hatch, we're going back to Germany
and maybe Estoril (Portugal) next year," Fittipaldi said. "I feel a
lot of enthusiasm in the CART paddock and I think people will be
surprised at how good the competition is." In CART's melting pot of
nationalities, Montiero will be its first driver from Portugal. But
he's got the same F3000 and Formula 3 education as France's Sebastian
Bourdais, England's Darren Manning, Switzerland's Joel Camathias and
Brazil's Haberfeld. "I've only been racing five years so every year is
a new challenge and even though I tested an F1 car (Renault) I was
always leaning more towards CART," said the 26-year-old. "I wasn't
even supposed to be in this business five years ago so I was never
expecting to go into F1. "I never thought I could come over here but I
don't think there's any place better than CART for me."
2/16/03
Schumacher now happy with HANS Device
World Champion Michael Schumacher has said that he is happy with the
new HANS (Head and Neck Support) protection drivers will have to use
in the 2003 season. "We have found a good solution for the HANS
system," Schumacher said. "It is much safer for the driver if we use
it, there's no doubt about that." "All we need now is to see if every
driver will be comfortable using it, if that's not the case then I
don't think it should be compulsory," he concluded.
2/16/03
Chance of rain at Daytona
The one streak that NASCAR officials want to see continue today is the
streak that the Daytona 500 has never been postponed because of rain.
The National Weather Service predicts a 70% chance of rain after
2:00pm/et today at Daytona International Speedway. Current plans have
a 1:28pm/et drop of the green flag, but that could be moved to closer
to 1:00pm/et if rain threatens (the race used to start at 12:15 pm.
We wonder who made the decision to move it back, leaving a smaller
window to get it in.). The rain could be heavy -- and lightning is
possible -- but the thunderstorms won't last all day, said Scott
Kelly, an NWS meteorologist in Melbourne. "It would come in the form
of a line of showers, but it wouldn't be a long-duration rain event,"
Kelly said. "There is a good chance it will be able to start on time.
There is a chance it will hold off until the race is over." The
Speedway has 10 jet dryers to dry the track in case of rain. Once the
rain stops, it normally takes between two and three hours for the
entire 2.5-mile oval to dry. The lead driver must complete 100 of the
scheduled 200 laps to have an official race. Fans should note -- they
cannot bring umbrellas into the grandstands.
Daytona Beach News Journal
2/16/03
Jackie Stewart says Rubens can
win title
In a Sunday Mirror newspaper
article, Jackie Stewart is backing Rubens Barrichello
to topple world champion Michael Schumacher this year - if
Ferrari give him the chance. Ferrari's claim that their new
car will show the biggest ever improvement in performance has
sent shock waves through Formula One. Schumacher deepened the
fears by setting a lap record at the team's Fiorano test track
on his first run in the F2003-GA. Yet Stewart is convinced
Barrichello has the ability and now the experience to oust his
team-mate and become the savior of F1. Stewart, Barrichello's
team boss for three seasons before the Brazilian joined
Ferrari in 2000, said: "I thought Rubens drove tremendously
last season - as well as, if not better than, Michael. And I
sense he has acquired the mental toughness any driver needs to
succeed at this level. "The problem, of course, is that while
Michael is there he is the No.1. It is very much down to
Ferrari." Ross Brawn, Ferrari's British technical director and
master tactician, said: "If Rubens gets into the position of
having a better chance of winning the title than Michael, we
would support him. It is not about favoritism, it's about
winning." That message was echoed by Ferrari president Luca di
Montezemolo as he declared: "Our No.1 driver is the one who is
the quicker." The Scot said: "I know Rubens well. He is a good
man as well as a very talented racing driver. I know you will
get the best out of him if he feels he is getting the support
and opportunity he needs. "Of course, Michael has to start
favorite and it would be very difficult for Rubens or anyone
else to buck the trend, but you never know. Stranger things
have happened." Barrichello, who was privately fuming over the
team orders in Austria, is determined to be quickest out of
the blocks this year. In his three years with the team he has
finished fourth, third and second. Now he says: "I want to win
the championship and I believe I can. "Michael is a fantastic
driver, but I have learnt a lot and I am confident my time
will come."
2/16/03
Phoenix looking for 2nd Cup
race via a PIR press release: "We have
informed ISC and NASCAR that Phoenix wants a second cup race,
and the entire state is behind the effort, including the
governor. - We plan to attack this challenge much like cities
go after the Olympics - show all the strength's of the area
and how the area continues to grow. - We have held Cup races
since 1988, and have sold out every one. Our tickets go on
sale next week and we expect another quick sell out. We will
be offering anyone who currently holds a season-ticket at PIR,
or purchases a 2003 two-day Cup ticket, first chance to buy
tickets for the new cup date. This offer will come shortly
after we make our intentions public. - A recent survey showed
that there were more than 1.9 million self-claimed NASCAR fans
in the Phoenix area alone. This new date will allow us to draw
more on that pool of fans. - When ISC purchased PIR, Phoenix
ranked as the 19th TV market. Phoenix is now 15th and moving
up fast since the Southwest is the fastest growing area in the
U.S. We will be asking the decision makers to award us a
second date not on where we are now, but on where we will be
in a few years. During this time, we will be adding lights and
seats, improving the media centers, opening a tunnel to the
infield, widening turn two to increase track speed and a
larger TV market. (This is basically the same thing
Jacksonville did when going for an NFL team) - We know of Cup
drivers who would love to see PIR get a second cup race over
California or Kansas. They will be supporting our cause when
asked the right questions.", also see a story at the Arizona
Republic:
PIR lobbies for 2nd NASCAR race by Mark Armijo.
2/16/03
More on Brooke Gordon subpoenas
Ray Evernham, Felix Sabates and Chip Ganassi did not have to
give depositions Friday in the Gordon divorce case. The three
Winston Cup team owners had received subpoenas -- Evernham got
his at Daytona International Speedway (Sabates and Ganassi on
a Yacht in a local harbor) -- from lawyers for Brooke Gordon.
They filed motions to quash the subpoenas in Palm Beach County
on Friday. Brooke Gordon lawyer Terry Young said only the
owners of the car driven by Johnny Benson were not served. The
owners have objected to the subpoenas because they do not want
to give information about how much they pay their drivers and
the value of their teams in general.
Daytona Beach News Journal
2/16/03
Toyota NASCAR effort in North
Carolina Toyota officials said yesterday that
they plan to build a major Southeastern racing center in the
Triad of North Carolina. Toyota announced plans to step up to
NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series next year, and there is
intense speculation that it will step up to the Winston Cup
tour by 2006.
Winston Salem Journal
2/16/03
NASCAR clarifies red-flag rule
NASCAR has implemented a new procedure to help guide its use
of the red flag to ensure green-flag finishes in its BGN and
Cup series. In Saturday's BGN race at Daytona, if a caution
had been with less than five laps remaining in the 120-lap
event, the race would not be restarted under green. NASCAR
spokesman Mike Zizzo said the procedure would also be used in
Sunday's Daytona 500, and likely with the same five-lap rule
in effect. "As with any new procedure, NASCAR will evaluate
its use and effectiveness and decide how best to implement it
in the future," Zizzo said. The new procedure was adapted to
attempt to remove the complaints about the random nature of
how the red flag is used to try to ensure green-flag finishes,
Zizzo said. NASCAR's Truck series requires a green-flag
finish. If there is a late-race caution races in that series
are extended in two-lap segments until a green-flag finish is
achieved.
ThatsRacin.com
2/16/03
An interview with Dave Richards
Following is the transcript of a telephone hook-up between BAR Formula
One team chief David Richards and Australian media on February 13,
arranged by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. Transcript
2/16/03 Announcement
Forums up again Our
discussion forums are up again after being down for
maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.
2/15/03
Todd Bodine
might be in big trouble for wrecking Vasser
This AP
article says, after finishing last season on probation, Todd
Bodine might be headed back there. Bodine triggered a three-car
accident with two laps to go in the Busch Series season opener
Saturday at Daytona, bumping Jimmy Vasser from behind as the cars
entered Turn 3. Vasser spun and pushed Jason Keller into the wall,
then Mike McLaughlin plowed into Vasser's car. Vasser and McLaughlin
weren't injured, and Keller was taken to a hospital for a CT scan to
check for a possible concussion. Keith Barnwell, Keller's team
manager, said the tests were simply precautionary. After the race,
Bodine was required to attend a meeting in the NASCAR truck. He left
visibly shaken. "I tried to be patient and run a clean race, and I run
right into him,'' said Bodine, his voice breaking with emotion. "I
don't blame anybody, but he let off. I did nothing wrong. I was just
in the wrong place at the wrong time. "The tape shows I ran into him,
and I did, but a lot of things had to happen for me to get into him.
It wasn't like I just ran right into the back of him. It really hurts
to have people think of me this way.'' Vasser, an open-wheel driver
making his first NASCAR start, had been running in the top five before
the incident. "It's the bad side of racing, wipeouts,'' Vasser said.
"We were racing. Nobody does anything on purpose. I feel bad, the guys
have a junker and they had a pretty good race car. I had fun up until
that last lap.''
2/15/03
Harvick to start from back
Kevin Harvick's team changed engines after Happy Hour and will have to
start at the rear of the field for the Daytona 500 along with Casey
Mears who crashed. Teams were allowed one engine change after the Twin
125 races.
2/15/03
Mears wrecks in Happy Hour
Rookie Casey Mears, scheduled to start 29th in the Daytona 500 and 4th
fastest in Happy Hour, wrecked in Happy hour, damaging the right front
corner of his car. Mears will have to go to a backup car for the
Daytona 500 and will start at the rear of the field.
2/15/03
Won't happen
Paul Cherry informed Chris Pook on Monday that his Force 10 team will
not participate in the 2003 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World
Series powered by Ford. Force 10 has been chosen to make a new
car for a new European series soon to be announced. When the new CART
rules are announced they will submit to CART to see if Force 10 can be
a chassis supplier starting in 2005.
2/15/03
Dominguez enthusiastic about new Ford
engine
By Ricardo Roura /El
Norte Mexico City, Mexico: - The engines that CART will use in the
2003 season will offer more reliability to the teams, said the Mexican
Mario Dominguez, driver for Herdez Competition, Friday. Dominguez
talked about the characteristics of the new power plant, provided by
Ford, designed with the main objective of reducing costs in the
series. “The old engines ran at high revs and didn’t last so long,
approximately 400 miles, whilst those we have now will last
approximately 1,200 miles, and have worked very well up to now.” Mario
explained that last year’s engine reached 16,000 rpm, while the new
model has a limit of 12,000 rpm, but has the advantage of offering
more torque at lower revs because of the higher turbo boost pressure.
“When you accelerate coming out of a slow corner, the engine has more
power compared to last year. [Translation by Ed McFarlane]
2/15/03
CART releases final Toyota Atlantic
ScheduleUPDATE
There was an error on the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Schedule at the
end of yesterday's press release. SPEED television coverage of the
Montreal event will be live at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 23 as
was stated in the body of the release, not on 9/6 as it was listed at
the end of the release. The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship regrets
this error. 2/14/03 - CART Toyota Atlantic Championship officials
announced today that the schedule for the 12-race, 30th Anniversary
season has been finalized and that SPEED Channel will offer live
television coverage for nearly half of the season’s events. More....
2/15/03 IROC
NASCAR drivers make open wheel drivers
look inferior A
reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I find it rather amusing that Sam
Hornish Jr. was moaning after yesterday's IROC race that no one would
draft with him. How come the NASCAR drivers win almost all the
IROC races. Are the IRL drivers inferior? Danny Bososki,
Athens, OH, Dear Danny, CART drivers were smart enough to get out
of the IROC series years ago because of the severe disadvantage they
were at vs. the NASCAR drivers. The races heavily favor the
NASCAR drivers because 1) they are run in "stock cars", 2) they run on
NASCAR tracks (ovals), 3) the NASCAR drivers stick together in the
draft and 9 times out of 10, leave the open wheel drivers out to dry.
We have long called for an open-wheel IROC series to be formed, with
half the races on ovals and half on road courses. Then the open
wheel drivers will win many if not all the races. The only thing
the current IROC series accomplishes is to make the open wheel drivers
look inferior (when in fact once they get to NASCAR full time they
dominate - Gordon, Stewart, etc.), which of course must make the
NASCAR front office rub their hands in delight as they continue to
grow their form of racing. IROC makes USA fans think NASCAR
drivers are the best in the world, exactly what NASCAR would want.
However, as long as the open wheel drivers continue to accept the
invitations to compete, IROC in its current form will continue and the
IRL drivers will continue to paint themselves as "inferior."
Mark C.
2/15/03 IROC
Mark Martin wins IROC openerUPDATE
We have added photos from Friday's race. 2/14/03 - Mark
Martin, representing the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, captured his 11th
career True Value International Race of Champions (IROC) victory
Friday in the series’ opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Martin, averaging 177. 253 mph, won by a mere .123 seconds over NASCAR
Winston Cup teammate Kurt Busch. Finishing third was World of Outlaws
representative, Danny Lasoski, fourth was NASCAR Winston Cup driver,
Jimmie Johnson and fifth went to NASCAR Busch champion, Greg Biffle.
Martin led the 40-lap, 100-mile event three times for a total of
21-laps, taking the five-point bonus for leading most laps. There were
six lead changes among four drivers; Johnson claimed three bonus
points for leading second most laps (14) and NASCAR Winston Cup
driver, Kevin Harvick, finishing seventh, posted two bonus points for
leading third most laps (4). World of Outlaws driver Steve Kinser,
finishing sixth, led for one lap. Winner, Mark Martin said, “It was
just one of those battles, right down to the end. Had I gotten a
little bit further out ahead, then they would the have caught me with
such a rate of speed that I wouldn’t have been able to hang onto it.
It’s a great race.” Of his second place finish Busch said, “Lasoski
and I were running the last lap and I was trying to get by him. Just
like any other person, I didn’t have much help from behind because
fourth and fifth were running side by side. So, Lasoski and I were
duking it out and maybe we should have helped one another to get by
Mark Martin. I have to talk with Mark on a daily basis, so I was just
trying to get second away from Lasoski.” Lasoski, the highest ranking
open-wheel driver said, “I tell you what, I had the time of my life.
It was an absolute learning experience. I was here last year and
didn’t have a clue what we were doing. Today, Kurt (Busch) and Mark
Martin were the pros out here. I tried to learn everything I could. I
was running second and Kurt was behind me. We were trying to stay with
Mark Martin. I got a good run and tried to go by him and Kurt went
left and I went right and Mark Martin won the race. It was a good race
and I had a great time out there doing it.” The Race-One Daytona
victory gives Martin his 11th career IROC win, tying him for most
series wins with Al Unser, Jr. and the late Dale Earnhardt; he also
ties Earnhardt
with four True Value IROC championships and holds a record three
consecutive titles. Eighth place ,Sam Hornish, Jr., who topped the IRL
IndyCar Series contingent said, “It was an exciting race, and I had a
lot of fun. I tried to make a pass with about five laps to go and
nobody went with me, but that is part of the deal. You have to find
somebody to work with. Nobody was helping anybody today. If I had
stayed in line where I was, I might have finished better, but you have
to try to make a move. It just didn't work out." (About why nobody
helped): "Everybody wants to win." [Editor's Note - no Sam, you are
not a NASCAR driver, hence no one is going to help you]. NASCAR
Truck champion, Mike Bliss finished ninth, Giaffone 10th, IndyCar
Series driver, Castroneves 11th and NASCAR Winston Cup driver Ryan
Newman 12th .
Villeneuve getting used to HANS Device
Jacques Villeneuve had this to say from Valencia - "We had a good test
today. Our work concentrated mainly on testing the tires which we will
use for the Australian Grand Prix. The car is quick and I was able to
get quite a few good laps in. I tested the new rear wing for the first
time today. We had it at our last test in Barcelona but I didn't have
the chance to try it then. It seems to be competitive.
Unfortunately we still have too many mechanical problems though. I
have also been working with the HANS device today, which is a little
bit difficult but we've got to get on with using it!"
2/14/03 Industry News
Honda can't keep up with demand in
China Who still thinks the car manufactures don't want
to race in China? With demand for cars in China exploding,
Japanese giant Honda Motor's components factory in Huizhou, Guangdong
province, cannot make parts fast enough. "Our job now is to catch up
with the surging production of Honda vehicles in China," Dongfeng
Honda Auto Parts president Takao Akimoto said. Sourcing parts locally
saves on costs and reduces currency risk. China's car market is the
fastest-growing in the world, with annual sales of passenger cars
growing 56 per cent last year to top the one-million mark for the
first time. Despite rising competition, global car giants are pouring
billions of dollars into the country to tap growing Chinese wealth
fuelled by rapid economic development. The car parts venture, 56 per
cent owned by Honda Motor, planned to boost output by 70 per cent this
year to 1.2 million units to mainly supply Honda's rapidly expanding
car venture in the nearby southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Mr
Akimoto said. "The Chinese car market is developing so fast that it
really startles me," Mr Akimoto said. Reuters
2/14/03
Pizzonia breaks lap record at Valencia
Jaguar Racing's Antonio Pizzonia today set a new Valencia lap record.
The Brazilian, whose priority today was to test the Jaguar's Michelin
tyres, broke the lap record set at the circuit earlier this week on
Monday by Montoya, albeit by only 0.07 seconds. "The car was getting
better at Barcelona last week, and we've now made a further step
forward," Pizzonia said. "The balance is a lot better now. Hopefully
next week we'll have two cars and we can do some long runs and race
simulations." Jaguar Racing spokesman Nav Sidhu agreed that the team
have made much progress over the pre-season period. “It’s been a very
productive three days for us and we used today as a continuation of
our set-up and balance on the car and also for tire work with
Melbourne in mind. We have made reasonably good progress but we still
have a considerable number of issues to address and fix before
qualifying begins on March 8.” Meanwhile, Juan-Pablo Montoya could
only manage a time of 1:11.18, some 1.1 seconds off. Jacques
Villeneuve had third best time of the day, and in keeping with the
pace of Montoya.
Position - Driver - Team - Time - Laps
1.) A. Pizzonia - Jaguar - 1:10.08 - 25
2.) J-P. Montoya - Williams - 1:11.18 - 97
3.) J. Villeneuve - BAR - 1:11.32 - 75
4.) M. Gene - Williams - 1:11.89 - 42
5.) R. Schumacher - Williams - 1:12.38 - 88
2/14/03
Jaguar switches to Friday test option
Jaguar have changed their minds and decided to test at grand prix
weekends in exchange for limited testing during the Formula One
season, the team said on Friday. "The management have done their sums
very carefully on this, weighed up every alternative and we are
convinced that this gives us considerably more bang for our buck,"
said spokesman Nav Sidhu on Friday. Renault, Jordan and Minardi were
previously the only teams to take up the so-called Friday option,
giving them two hours of testing with three cars on race Fridays but
limiting them to 10 days during the season.
2/14/03
Schumacher breaks Fiorano record again
The first development test of the F2003-GA ended today at Fiorano.
Michael Schumacher did 96 laps today, with a best time of 56''786,
breaking the lap record for the 3rd time this week. 'We are very
satisfied with the outcome of this week’s test with the new car,'
commented Schumacher at the end of the day. 'We did not encounter any
major problems and we were able to rack up a high mileage. The lap
record? I am not surprised, as the resurfacing has certainly made the
track quicker.' The Scuderia will resume testing next Monday, 17th
February at the 'Enzo e Dino Ferrari' circuit at Imola. Michael
Schumacher and Luca Badoer will be driving.
2/14/03
Wallace
penalized for illegal carb Rusty Wallace can thank his
lucky stars come Sunday morning when he suits up and buckles into his
#2 Miller Lite Dodge. Wallace, set to start eighth on Sunday morning,
will line up 38th after NASCAR officials discovered the team use an
illegal carburetor in the second Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying race on
Thursday. “The venturi did not meet the minimum one and nine
sixteenths measurement,” said John Darby, Winston Cup Series Director.
“Whether is was a performance enhancement is debatable. It might
increase horsepower or it might increase fuel mileage. We don’t know.”
In addition to be bumped to 38th on the starting grid, crew chief Bill
Wilburn was fined $10,000. The team will not lose any points scored
during the race. Stan Creekmore, Photo
NASCAR Photography/Sherryl Creekmore
2/14/03
Richard
Petty unveils new paint scheme Richard Petty
(right), helps unveil a Berry Burst Cheerios Dodge at the
2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The #43 will
run at Daytona in July's race with the Berry Burst colors.
2/14/03
Strong ABC lineup for IRL
broadcasts Featuring the strongest broadcast
lineup in televised motorsports, ABC Sports and its broadcast
partner ESPN again will provide live televised coverage of the
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series for the 2003 season.
Returning as host for IndyCar Series telecasts is veteran
motorsports broadcaster Bob Jenkins. He is joined in the booth
by longtime ABC announcer Paul Page calling the race action,
former IndyCar Series driver Scott Goodyear providing race
analysis, and Jack Arute and Gary Gerould reporting from the
pits. “The ABC Sports team that covers the IRL is second to
none,” ABC Sports President Howard Katz said. “Host Bob
Jenkins is the pre-eminent voice in auto racing. Paul Page
contributes unique insights after many years of experience.
Scott Goodyear has proven to be one of the top sports analysts
on television. Along with top pit reporters Jack Arute and
Gary Gerould, we have assembled one of the most talented and
experienced broadcast teams in the industry.” ABC Sports will
televise live, flag-to-flag coverage for 10 of the 16 IndyCar
Series events during the 2003 season, beginning with the
season-opening Toyota Indy 300 on March 2 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. ESPN will provide live telecasts of five IndyCar
Series events while ABC Sports will televise the Indy Japan
300 from Motegi, Japan, on a same-day delay basis.
Additionally, all 2003 IRL Infiniti Pro Series events will be
broadcast on ESPN2 and distributed worldwide through ESPN
International. Veteran motorsports commentator Dr. Jerry Punch
will call the action, while popular IndyCar Series driver
Davey Hamilton will provide color analysis, and Amy East will
serve as pit reporter. IRL
2/14/03
CART does it againUPDATE Another reader
responds, To: Mr. Dave McClosky c/o AR1.Com, Dear Dave, Noting
your comments regarding the difference in the two TV packages
permit me to ask a questions: Why is it ABC broadcasts IRL
events in the first place? Do you think ABC actually sought
out the privilege to broadcast IRL traffic jams? Did any other
major network, or cable channel for that matter, see enough
entertainment value in Crapwagon racing to even bother to bid
for the broadcast rights? Dave, I would guess, and I may be
wrong here but I don’t think so, that the ONLY reason ABC
broadcasts all the other “we can’t turn right” events is they
are forced to, as per the terms and conditions of their
contract to broadcast the 500! Kinda like hangin’ a steak
around the ugly kids neck so the dog will play with it (not
able to find a steak big enough the IRL had to hang Toyota,
Honda and a bunch of CART has-beens around this kids neck!). I
for one am VERY happy CART is aligned with Speedvision.
Speedvision will devote the time and attention to CART that
Disney/CapCity/ABC/ESPN/IRL never did, or would. If CBS is
smart they’ll watch carefully and be ready to air as many
events as possible, live! Speedvision subscription rates are
up DRAMATICALLY since CART and F1 events began airing there.
I’d rather see CART airing on a channel devoted to motorsports
than sandwiched between Australian Strong Man Competitions and
Professional Poker Mud Wrestling. Given ESPNs record they’d
run over their allotted time to get the final muddy bet
instead of throwing to the start of a CART race! My friend,
CART is poised to reclaim it’s rightful spot at the top of the
North American Motorsports ziggurat. I believe CART will be
around long after the France family takes control of IMS, the
IRL and The Grandson. Respectfully, J.N. Anderson, Chicago, IL
2/14/03 - A reader writes, well, CART finally released their 2003 USA TV
schedule just 1-week before the season is to begin. Talk
about waiting until the last minute, again! And once
again, it pales in comparison to the IRL's.
15 of 16 IRL races are broadcast
live, CART has 4 of 19 tape delayed
11 of 16 IRL races are on network
TV (69%). 7 of 19 CART races on Network TV (37%).
The IRL is adding races to network TV each year while CART is
reducing them. Network TV ratings dwarf cable ratings.
Does CART have a death wish?
When is CART going to learn that
if they buy TV inventory a year ahead of time, they might
actually be able to have a decent TV schedule for once?
Dave McClosky, Hunstville, AL Dear Dave, we have
to agree that the TV lineup for CART is getting worse, but
looking on the bright side, many predicted CART would not even
be around this year. Mark C.
2/14/03
Dominguez to visit Monterrey
By Enrique Guadarrama/El
Norte Monterrey, Mexico.- The Mexican driver Mario
Dominguez visits the Fundidora Park circuit next week before
the start of the 2003 CART Series. Dominguez, who this year
starts his sophomore season in the CART Championship, will be
in Monterrey next Tuesday (18th) to get a handle on the
changes at the circuit which hosts the American series next
March 23. ”We can confirm those who are new to CART. I want to
focus on the information that we give the engineers and
analyze the cars and the changes, because all that will help
us greatly in getting the necessary communication.” Dominguez
is the second CART driver to visit Monterrey before the March
event, two weeks ago Adrian Fernandez was in the city. After
visiting the Fundidora Park, the Herdez driver will go to St.
Petersburg, for the CART season opener on 23rd February.
[Translation by Ed McFarlane]
2/14/03
Gordon Divorce: Poetic Justice
On this day, she used to send him valentines. Now, she serves
him with court papers. Roses are red, Violets are blue, Give
me half, Then we're through. Jeff Gordon and the former
Jennifer Brooke Sealey were once NASCAR's most amorous
lovebirds. It was a decade ago, on another Valentine's week
here at Daytona International Speedway, when they first met.
He was the hottest, youngest, cutest driver in the sport and
had just won one of the Twin-125 qualifying races leading up
to the Daytona 500. She was then the gorgeous Miss Winston,
whose job it was to stand in Victory Lane, smile, pose, look
pretty and present Jeff with the trophy. They winked at each
other in Victory Lane that day in February, 1993. Then they
began seeing each other on the sly because it was against the
rules for Miss Winston to date any of the drivers. A year
later, they were married and Jeff cooed euphorically, "I'm not
out searching anymore. Brooke has brought so much joy into my
life." And now this: Love me tender, love me sweet, but that
was long ago, II get the Caddy Escalade; you can keep the
Chevy Astro. Since she filed for divorce 11 months ago, Brooke
has become NASCAR's version of Erika Kane. It used to be the
biggest story of Daytona 500 week was Ford bickering about
Chevy. Now, it's Jeff bickering about Brooke's lawyers. "It's
ridiculous," Jeff snapped about this very nasty and very
public divorce that has spilled over into Speedweeks. "I don't
understand it." Around the track, Brooke isn't looked upon as
a beauty queen anymore; she's portrayed as the ice princess.
The former Miss Winston is now about as welcome around here as
a nicotine patch. When her name is mentioned, these good ol'
boys scrunch up their nose as if you just offered them a
six-pack of O'Doul's. "She's trying to make a circus of the
Daytona 500," fumed Ray Evernham, Gordon's former crew chief
and the best man at the wedding. How do I love thee? Let me
count the ways.
1. A $10 million Palm Beach mansion
2. A $70,000-a-year private chef.
3. Regular use of the yacht and Lear Jet.
And to think, Brooke used to leave
little love verses on the dashboard of Jeff's car. Now this:
Oh my former sweetheart,
Whose yacht is in the marina,
I don't want you to be my valentine,
Just answer my subpoena.
Orlando Sun-Sentinel
2/14/03
Foyt fails to qualify for
Daytona 500 Larry Foyt ran out of gas. Former
Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope hardly had a chance. They
were among seven drivers who failed to make the Daytona 500
Thursday, finishing outside the top 15 in their 125-mile
qualifying races. Foyt is the only full-time driver not in the
field, and Brett Bodine, David Green, Kirk Shelmerdine, Hermie
Sadler and Mike Harmon also failed to qualify. "This isn't the
way we wanted the season to start,' Foyt said. After starting
17th in the first 50- lap race, Foyt raced into the top 10. He
drifted back a bit before pit stops but still was within sight
of the leaders. Just as he was coming into the pits, though,
his Dodge ran out of fuel. "When these things run out of gas,
they don't just start right back up,' Foyt said. "By the time
we got it going again, we'd lost a lot of time.'
2/14/03
Hornish in IROC crashUPDATE There will be two
more International Race of Champions (IROC) practice sessions
before tomorrow’s 40-lap, 100-mile race, but Sam Hornish won’t
take part in either. That’s because many of his body parts
hurt to the point he can’t even sit comfortably. He has to
either stand or lie down. "I don't really know what happened,"
Hornish said of his crash. He will soon learn what
oval racing and hitting concrete walls is all about.
2/13/03 - IRL driver Sam Hornish Jr. crashed during practice yesterday for
Friday's IROC race at Daytona. Hornish will not practice again
before the race, as he was sore due to the heavy impact with the
outside retaining wall. “I don’t really know what happened,” Hornish
said. “I can’t point any fingers and say I got bumped or whatever. The
car started to come around, and I tried to correct it. Then I pretty
much headed straight up into the outside wall and wrote off one of the
cars for them (IROC). It was kind of a scary experience. “I’m glad I
was wearing the HANS Device and all of the safety aspects that the
IROC officials go through to make sure I got out and walked out of
that car. I’m just a little bit sore, but I’m glad I have the
opportunity to go out there and race Friday. I’m cleared to do that,
so everything is OK. I don’t know if the purple car has ever won
before, but hopefully we will take it to victory lane.”
2/14/03
Penske must be losing clout in
NASCAR His plans to celebrate a Rusty Wallace
victory in the Daytona 500 by handing out coupons for free
six-packs of Miller beer have been foiled at every point so
far by Daytona officials. First, Penske's sponsor was told it
wouldn't be allowed to hand out anything inside the track.
Then it was told it couldn't hand out anything on any speedway
grounds. And then Miller officials got a letter from the
Daytona Beach police warning them not to do anything to impede
pedestrian traffic.
Winston Salem Journal
2/14/03
Exxon/Mobil kicks off new
NASCAR branding Mobil, the official lubricants
of NASCAR, is revving its marketing engine, including
unveiling new NASCAR-themed packaging for Mobil-branded
automotive lubricants, in celebration of the 2003 NASCAR
Winston Cup Series season. Beginning with the Daytona 500 in
Daytona Beach, Fla., on February 16, ExxonMobil will leverage
its new NASCAR licensing agreement through a variety of
marketing initiatives designed to reinforce the company's link
to automotive performance across the Mobil brand. "We're
thrilled to launch our new association with NASCAR around the
Daytona 500 by reaching out to race fans who value automotive
performance," said James F. Marcogliese, executive vice
president, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties. "Race fans
know that with Mobil-branded products they realize some of the
same performance benefits as the world's top racing teams."
The Mobil family of products, including high performance motor
oils, transmission fluids, gear lubricants and greases, will
carry NASCAR-themed packaging that is set to hit the shelves
this spring. In addition, ExxonMobil is supporting its
official status by tagging television, print and radio
advertising, and will be creating consumer and
business-to-business promotional extensions this year for the
Mobil Drive Clean Plus and Mobil 1 product lines. At the
track, ExxonMobil will conduct grass roots marketing
initiatives, including having its Mobil 1 traveling
motorsports exhibit available to consumers in a number of race
markets. In addition, ExxonMobil is rewarding NASCAR's top
competitors by participating in NASCAR's contingency awards
program that recognizes the top finishers who display the
Mobil 1 decal on their car in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series,
Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series, and regional and
touring divisions.
2/14/03
NASCAR still White
This Orlando Sentinel
article says, In NASCAR, color is everywhere -- except
on the faces in the stands and behind the steering wheels. A
walk through the crowd of more than 100,000 fans at the
speedway Thursday found only nine black fans. Maybe there were
more, but there surely weren't many more. NASCAR, in its
ever-expanding search for new markets, wants to change that.
Black fans buy the same products as white fans, and their
money is the same shade of green. Tiger Woods changed the
complexion of golf crowds, just as Venus and Serena Williams
did with tennis fans. NASCAR is missing a similar black star,
with only one black driver, Bill Lester, in any of its top
three series. "It's unfortunate for NASCAR," spokesman Jim
Hunter said of having only one black driver among its top 100.
"But that's up to individuals. If they have the desire and the
talent, the opportunity is there." There is one black car
owner, Sam Belnavis, and more blacks working in the garages.
NASCAR has greatly expanded its diversity programs, and Lester
and others occasionally speak at historically black colleges
to tout the opportunities available to minorities. NASCAR is
pushing hard into America's top 20 media markets this year, an
effort not only to boost its reach in general, but to broaden
exposure to young blacks. "We want to humanize it," Hunter
said. "We want to show them this is something that's
attainable and doable."
2/14/03
Official pizza for NASCAR
Domino's Pizza was named the 'official pizza' of NASCAR. The
multi-year partnership will initially see the pizza chain work
with driver Michael Waltrip on select media opportunities,
including a TV advertising campaign starting in April. In the
months to come, Domino's will promote the partnership via
national media including advertising on the major television
networks during NASCAR event broadcasts, at-track in race
souvenir programs as well as in print and other media.
2/14/03
F1 rules changes becoming
clearer This Grandprix.com article
says, the Formula 1 teams have been given further details
about how the FIA intends to police its regulations with
regard to parc ferme - and the result is that teams will have
to rethink many of their race strategies. The FIA technical
delegate Charlie Whiting faxed the teams on Wednesday giving
details of the procedures which will take effect this year -
and the result will be much more interesting races for the
Formula 1. In addition to the two days of single qualifying
runs, there will be major changes for the racing as well.
After the second qualifying session the cars will enter parc
ferme. Team members will then be allowed to check the tire
pressures, remove bodywork to prevent heat soak and fit
cooling devices if necessary. They will also be allowed to
connect jump batteries and fit water heaters but thereafter
they must leave the cars in parc ferme until preliminary
checks have been completed. The cars will then be released to
the teams although they will remain under the supervision of
one scrutineer per car until 6pm in the evening. During this
time the teams will be permitted to carry out safety checks
but no other work will be allowed unless agreed by the FIA
technical delegate. The cars will then spend the night in parc
ferme until they are released at 0800 on Sunday morning. The
most important point is that cars will have to start the races
on the same tires on which they finished qualifying or if the
tires are damaged on tires which have completed more laps than
those they are replacing. More importantly, however, it has
emerged that cars will not be allowed to have any fuel added
between qualifying and the race. This has been justified on
the grounds of safety but will have a huge effect on the race
strategies as teams will now have to decide whether to run
with light tanks in qualifying and then have to pit early or
whether to qualify on full tanks and run further in the race.
This will completely change the shape of the races. The FIA
has underlined that it will only scrutineer two cars per team
unless a car is damaged beyond repair at which point a third
car will be allowed. There will be a warm-up session for 15
minutes but this will be held between 13.30 and 13.45 on
Saturday - before final qualifying.
2/14/03
America's lone hope lies with
American Spirit team
This St. Petersburg Times
article says, The way Stefan Johansson tells it,
former CART champion Jimmy Vasser was his first choice in his
search for a veteran driver to anchor his first-year team.
Vasser happens to be American. What a coincidence. Vasser and
rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay, the only Americans CART drivers this
season, are teammates at American Spirit Team Johansson. In
addition to winning, they hope to promote Champ Car racing to
a somewhat reluctant American audience. "Hopefully, fans will
latch onto the whole concept because Jimmy and I are carrying
the flag and we'll need that support," said Hunter-Reay, 22,
from Boca Raton. "Our whole color scheme, our whole motto is
based on American spirit." Vasser, 37, a native Californian,
has name recognition. Entering his 12th CART season, the 1996
series champion has 10 wins, eight poles and will extend his
series record for consecutive starts to 164 with the
season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. "With Jimmy, we
know we have a driver capable of winning the championship,"
said Johansson, a former CART and Formula One driver who also
won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997. "And his experience will
be an asset to our team. I know that Ryan possesses
considerable talent and I am looking forward to watching him
develop." Hunter-Reay is a poster boy for CART's ladder
system. He was the Barber Dodge Pro Series rookie of the year
in 2000 and won three races last year in the Toyota Atlantic
series. "To drive in the Champ Car World Series is truly a
dream come true," Hunter-Reay said. "I've been working for
this since the first day of karting and finally everything is
happening. I just have to be a sponge this season, and I'm
going to be going 110 percent from the first turn."
More....
2/14/03
NASCAR's global TV expansion is
first step toward global domination
As the NASCAR season gets underway, the series has announced
that its international broadcast strategy is gathering pace.
In only its third year of distributing its programming
overseas, NASCAR begins the 2003 season with an expanded
global reach that includes television broadcasts in more than
100 countries in 21 languages each week. This year, NASCAR’s
international broadcast partners will air more than 4,000
hours of NASCAR-related programming outside the US. The
increased participation of international drivers such as
Mexico’s Carlos Contreras, Brazil’s Christian Fittipaldi,
Japan’s Hideo Fukuyama and Canada’s Ron Fellows in the NASCAR
Winston Cup, NASCAR Busch and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
competitions is the primary reason behind the flux of
international racing fans tuning in to the sport. NASCAR has
24 broadcast partners outside the US including TSN, Sportsnet,
The Score, Bell ExpressVu, SPEED Channel, SporTV, TV Globo,
Fox Sports Latin America, Fox Middle East, Fox Sports
Australia, Eurosport, Channel 5, NASN, AB Moteurs, Motors TV,
Viasat, StarHub, Gaora, Indosair, Cineplex, Dubai Sports
Channel, SNTV, Reuters and TWI. Explains Paul Brooks, vice
president, broadcasting at NASCAR. “We are working hard to
drive more worldwide exposure and attention to NASCAR and we
are pleased with the early results our international
television partners are seeing in their local markets. "For
teams, drivers, and track sponsors with global interests, and
the auto manufacturers in our sport, NASCAR’s worldwide
television distribution is providing significant increases in
the exposure and value they receive and we think that is
terrific.” This is of course more proof that
NASCAR and its oval track cartel brethren, the IRL, has its
sights set on a global motorsports reach, which must have the
road racing cartel worried. We touched on this subject
in Why CART and
F1 must, and will, share a common V-10 engine platform.
If it's not clear to the road racing cartel (CART and F1) that
they must band together, lower costs, and standardize their
equipment to make the racing better and their teams
financially healthy, then their ultimate fate is certainly at
risk. However, with the recent changes proposed by the FIA for
F1, we suspect Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, both
extremely intelligent individuals, understand what is
coming down, and what must be done. Mark C.
2/14/03
F1 in tobacco U-Turn Formula
One may make a U-turn on its plans to outlaw tobacco advertising in
2006, the sport's boss Max Mosley has admitted for the first time.
Mosley - the president of the sport's governing body, the FIA - blamed
the European Union's move to bring forward its ban on tobacco
advertising by a year to October 2005. And he said that the decision
could result in there being only a handful of F1 Grands Prix in Europe
in future. Mosley has for some years promised that motorsport would
introduce its own tobacco advertising ban at the end of 2006. He was
backing the World Health Organization's move for a worldwide ban to be
introduced in international law for that time. But he said the EU's
decision to bring forward its ban had undermined the plans and thrown
F1 back into the arms of the tobacco companies. Mosley said
introducing the earlier ban was counter-productive and an "incredible
piece of stupidity by the European Commission". He added: "Instead of
having a worldwide ban in 2006, which everyone had accepted was going
to happen, we're now virtually certain to see tobacco sponsorship in
F1 going on until all of us have lost interest. "Talk about shooting
yourself in the foot. They've blown their legs off." Mosley said the
EU ban could lead to pressure from teams for the FIA to continue with
tobacco because the teams' contracts run to the end of 2006. The
Austrian GP will be dropped after 2003 "We've now got the teams with
contracts to 2006 and an EU ban from July 2005. "... The only way they
(the teams) can observe those contracts in 2006 is to reduce the
number of Grands Prix in the EU to a point where the tobacco companies
don't object." Mosley said the EU ban was a waste of time, because
tobacco advertising would be beamed into Europe on television from the
races where tobacco advertising is allowed. BBC
2/14/03
Penske team caught cheating?
NASCAR inspectors said late Thursday afternoon there was a "potential
problem" with the carburetor on the #2 Miller Lite Dodge that Rusty
Wallace drove to a fourth-place finish in Thursday's second Gatorade
125. NASCAR said inspections would continue through the evening and
into Friday before any potential sanction against Wallace's team would
be announced. It also said the outcome would not change which 43 cars
will be in the starting lineup for Sunday's Daytona 500.
ThatsRacin.com
2/14/03 Announcement
Mickey Thompson murder case update [Editor's
Note: This release is actually old news brought around by
Goodwin. Nothing has changed from the last item we posted
(mid-Jan), but the date for the appellate court hearing was
moved up to next Wednesday, Feb 19 rather than Feb 21 as
previously reported here by AR1] An
appeals court ordered Orange County prosecutors to show why the case
against a man accused of ordering the 1988 execution-style killings of
auto-racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife should not be
dismissed.
A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday after lawyers for Michael
Goodwin, Thompson's former business partner who is charged in the
murders, filed motions challenging Orange County's jurisdiction.
Though the slayings occurred in Los Angeles County, prosecutors in
Orange County asserted jurisdiction because the murder plot allegedly
was hatched by Goodwin, who lives there. Goodwin, 57, has pleaded
innocent to two counts of murder and three special circumstance
allegations of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and multiple
murders. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole.
"Having considered the responses of the parties, we agree that this
court is without authority to order the Superior Court to transfer the
matter,'' the appellate court said in an order issued Feb. 6 and
obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Goodwin's attorney, Jeffrey
Friedman, said the court's order gives strength to his argument that
there was no basis for prosecuting his client in Orange County. But
District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas said the case would continue to
move forward. "We think the jurisdiction should be here in Orange
County and failing that we will consider our options,'' he said.
AP Story
2/14/03
NASCAR IMAX film in the works
An IMAX film crew was at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday
filming in the garage area early in the day and on the start/finish
line during the Twin 125's. NASCAR and IMAX Corporation today
announced that production on NASCAR: The IMAX Experience 3D will begin
tomorrow to coincide with the 45th Daytona 500. The groundbreaking
IMAX® 3D film, set against America’s most popular spectator sport,
will be distributed exclusively to IMAX® theatres by Warner Bros.
Pictures and IMAX in Spring 2004 and marks Warner Bros.’ first foray
into the IMAX arena. Created under the auspices of NASCAR, NASCAR
Digital Entertainment (NDE), and IMAX Corporation, NASCAR: The IMAX
Experience 3D, will have IMAX moviegoers and NASCAR fans on the edges
of their seats as they experience speeds of over 200 mph. The
heart-pounding thrills of NASCAR will be captured through IMAX 3D
technology and brought to life on screens up to eight stories tall,
with 12,000 watts of pure digital surround sound. “The name of this
film, NASCAR: The IMAX Experience 3D, says it all,” said Paul Brooks,
vice president of broadcasting, NASCAR. “People start to understand
the magic of our sport when they attend their first NASCAR race in
person where the intense drama, sound, emotion, thrills and excitement
of NASCAR can be experienced firsthand on our incredible real-life
stage. This film will allow us to immerse an audience in the NASCAR
experience at IMAX theatres worldwide and attract new fans to the
sport, while bringing tremendous exposure and value to our drivers,
teams, tracks, sponsors and other partners.” "We are very excited to
be working with Warner Bros. and NASCAR in their first venture with
IMAX. Through the magic of IMAX 3D, this unique film will expand the
movie-goers experience, knowledge and understanding of the high-speed
world of NASCAR racing like never before," said Greg Foster, president
of filmed entertainment, IMAX Corporation. "We are confident that this
event 3D film, powered by three world-class entertainment brands, will
bring a whole new audience to the worldwide IMAX theatre network."
“This is Warner Bros.’ first involvement with an IMAX film,” said Dan
Fellman, president, domestic distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. “We
are very pleased to be able to bring The IMAX Experience® to NASCAR
fans and, conversely, the excitement of a NASCAR movie to IMAX
theatres and audiences across the country.” “We are extremely pleased
to be telling the story of this thrilling sport, which has more than
75 million fans,” said Brad Ball, executive vice president, domestic
corporate marketing, Warner Bros. “We feel that NASCAR racing is a
sport that not only translates beautifully to the scale and intensity
of IMAX, but that our involvement with this project enables us to work
with many of our AOL-TW affiliated companies in bringing NASCAR
excitement to an ever-growing audience.”
2/14/03
More NASCAR TV for Canada
It's becoming clearer by the day that NASCAR is poised to spread its
wings outside the USA. They are increasingly exposing all
aspects of their sport through TV first, and some think they will
eventually buy out CASCAR (Canada) and ASCAR (Europe) and expand the
NASCAR name eventually global. The prospect of this has to have
Bernie Ecclestone a bit worried, and may be behind his interest in
shoring up road racing in North America, i.e. CART. The Score
Television Network Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Headline Media
Group, has entered into a broadcast agreement with NASCAR for the
upcoming 2003 season. Coverage begins Saturday, Feb. 22, with the
Rockingham 200 from North Carolina. "The Busch Series has become
equally as exciting as the Winston Series, particularly when you
consider the practice of driver crossover," said Anthony Cicione,
vice-president, programming and production, the Score Television
Network. "With drivers of the caliber of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin
Harvick having come up through the ranks of Busch, fans can expect
adrenaline-pumping speed in the upcoming season." In 2002, NASCAR
represented the largest audience of all auto racing in Canada.
Forums down again Our
discussion forums will be down again until mid-day on Friday for
maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.
2/13/03
F1 teams crying again According
to this Autosport article,
Renault, Jordan and Minardi's decision to opt for Friday morning
testing has given them an unfair advantage with regards tire compound
choice, according to their rivals, reports Autosport this week. The
three teams benefit from being able to choose their tire type
immediately after the two-hour Friday testing session which has been
introduced this season, while the other teams will have to make a
decision not knowing the track conditions and latest tire
developments. The FIA, the sport's governing body, is standing by its
decision to force teams not participating in the Friday session to
pick their compound before scrutineering on Thursday, claiming that
the benefit was a trade-off for being limited to just 10 test days
during the season. "The testing on Friday was supposed to be a
cost-cutting device," said one team boss, "not a means for Renault to
work its way through a lot of different tire constructions before
making its choice mid-morning." Renault's team boss Flavion Briatore
meanwhile is unrepentant pointing out that all the teams had the
choice to select the Friday testing option: "We have two hour's
testing at the place you race, so for tire choice it is much better,"
he said. "A lot of people did not think about doing this because they
thought it was for the low budget teams."
2/13/03
Patrick Racing wraps up pre-season
testing
Visteon/Patrick Racing concluded it preseason testing last Friday on
the road course at Homestead Speedway in Homestead, Florida and
pronounced itself ready to contest the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The
Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season. Driver Oriol Servia, in
the #20 Visteon/Patrick Racing entry, which is powered by
Ford-Cosworth with a Lola chassis and Bridgestone tires, focused on
long runs and simulated race conditions during the one-day test. “The
Visteon/Patrick Racing Team got a lot of work done during our test in
Homestead, “ Servia said. “The test went very well. We did a lot of
long runs and the car ran flawlessly. The team spent some time working
on race conditions and we did some additional work with the brakes,”
he noted. Servia went on to say, “I am very pleased to have been able
to get in all the testing we did during the preseason. It gave me an
opportunity to work with the new car and engineer Steve Challis. I
have been very impressed with the level of communication Steve and I
have developed. In fact, the whole Visteon/Patrick Racing Engineering
department has been fantastic and I want to thank the crew for doing
such a great job preparing the car. I am very confident heading into
the start of the season and I am confident that the Visteon/Patrick
Racing Team will have good results and contend for the championship.”
2/13/03
Ganassi lands sponsorship from
Microsoft, others
Chip Ganassi Racing is proud to announce an innovative new sponsorship
program that includes several of the world’s top technology companies.
Through their long-standing partnership with Target Corporation, Chip
Ganassi Racing has finalized sponsorship agreements with Microsoft,
Dell, EMC, Syntel and Avaya. The technology consortium will become the
official technology partners to Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the Indy
Racing League with drivers Tomas Scheckter and Scott Dixon, and for
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the NASCAR Winston Cup
Series with drivers Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, and Sterling Marlin,
and will benefit the programs of team primary sponsors Target,
ChevronTexaco, and Coors Brewing Company. Owner Chip Ganassi is
excited to announce the new technology partnership. “We are thrilled
to add Microsoft, Dell, EMC, Syntel and Avaya as partners to our
team,” Ganassi explained. “Target has been a valued partner to us for
over 12 years and these companies are excellent partners to Target. It
just makes sense to bring it all together to benefit everyone
involved.” The ground-breaking alliance marks the first time that
major IT companies have united to work together with a racing team in
the U.S. In addition to dedicated intellectual capital, as part of the
sponsorship Microsoft will provide consulting services and software
solutions based on their .Net platform, Dell Corporation will provide
computer hardware, EMC will provide data storage solutions, Syntel
will provide customized software development and Avaya will power
TCGR’s converged communications network and wireless infrastructure.
The partnership will provide innovative solutions to assist both the
race engineers at the track and create a scalable and efficient
infrastructure for the team’s business operations. Ganassi is
confident that the new partnership will keep the team ahead of the
competition both on and off the track: “Ours is a business where a
thousandth of a second can be the difference between wins and losses,”
said Ganassi. “We operate in a high-stress environment where rapid
access to the right information is mission critical to success. We're
very fortunate to have these industry-leaders as partners to provide
us with innovative solutions that will have a direct positive impact
on our ability to win races, manage our growth, and operate our
business more efficiently.” Brian Scott, General Manager for
Microsoft’s Retail & Hospitality Industry Solutions Group feels that
the partnership will add value to everyone involved. “Microsoft has a
long, successful relationship with Target in providing
state-of-the-art business solutions. We’re excited to be joining them,
Dell, EMC, Syntel and Avaya as partners of TCGR,” Scott said. “Target
Chip Ganassi Racing are proven winners on the race track and the
association offers us a unique platform to further demonstrate the
power of fully integrated .Net-connected solutions.”
2/13/03
Walkinshaw's entire empire may collapse Tom
Walkinshaw, the former head of the Arrows team, was last night facing
the collapse of his £140 million motorsport empire after his TWR Group
was put into receivership. The 56-year-old Scot's Grand Prix team had
already gone into receivership last December after the sport's
governing body, the FIA, refused to grant them the right to race. But,
according to the administrator, that has now plunged the rest of his
related businesses into difficulty. The TWR Group employs around 500
people at two British bases, in Leafield, Oxfordshire, and Worthing,
Sussex, and had a year-end turnover of more than £140 million last
year.
2/13/03
Octagon to invest more in Silverstone Octagon
Motorsports are to invest some £4million prior to this year's British
GP race in July. This cash injection follows considerable improvements
to access routes in 2002, which included major modifications to the
'A'-road leading to the Northamptonshire track in order to prevent the
traffic congestion which has marred Britain's biggest outdoor sporting
event in recent years. "We're doing everything we have to do in order
to retain the Grand Prix," said Murray Smith, Vice-Chairman of Octagon
Motorsports. "There are outside influences which effect our tenure.
Other great circuits are losing their grands prix, but everybody knows
we're doing what we've been asked so it would surprise me a great deal
if we lost it." Octagon have already said that much attention will be
placed on replacing trackside fencing, refurbishing outdated spectator
facilities such as toilet blocks and improving the signage around the
circuit which was memorably criticized by Formula One™ supermo Bernie
Ecclestone last year.
2/13/03
Panoz Group becomes co-promoter in
Washington DC
The Panoz Motor Sports Group, promoter of some of the world's most
successful professional sports car racing events, has joined with the
event organizers that presented last year's successful auto racing
event in Washington, D.C. The event, featuring the American Le Mans
Series, will be held June 27-29 on a purpose-built racing circuit
constructed in the north parking lots adjacent to RFK Stadium. The
event will be televised by CBS Sports (live) and Eurosport.
"This move will help grow this event for the City of Washington,
D.C.," said Chris Lencheski, Co-Founder and Chairman of National Grand
Prix Holdings. "Our organization successfully returned racing to one
of the most international and dynamic markets in the world, bringing
some 70,000 spectators and national television audiences on CBS-TV and
NBC-TV. The race proved to be the signature event and platform for the
American Le Mans Series that we had hoped it would be." "The
Washington, D.C., event set the standard for other events to follow in
its inaugural year," said Panoz. "We look forward to working with the
Commission and others in the District to add to the success and take
the event to even higher levels."
2/13/03
LVMS to ad seats for NASCAR
Wednesday’s announcement of a sold-out grandstand for the March 2 UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400 has convinced officials of Speedway Motorsports, the parent
company of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, to add more seats before next
year’s race. “This is evidence of the enormous confidence that Bruton
(Smith, SMI chairman) has in the Las Vegas community,” said Chris
Powell, LVMS president and general manager. “He’s been talking about
seat expansion here for some time, and the ticket sales for this
year’s NASCAR Weekend helped make the decision.” Speedway officials
announced Thursday that 10,000 seats would be built above the front
straightaway. The new seats will tower over the existing grandstand
that sits adjacent to the beginning of the frontstretch. Construction
will begin in the weeks following the March 1-2 Sam’s Town 300 and UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400. “These will be the best seats in the house,” Powell said. “The
sightlines will be some of the best in motorsports. And the
construction will include restrooms and concessions on a mezzanine
level.” Powell said the new seats will further add to the speedway’s
effect on the state of Nevada and the Las Vegas community. “The
additional seats will positively affect the tremendous impact that the
speedway has on the local economy,” Powell said. “It will impact
everything from hotel rooms, restaurants, airlines, car rentals and,
of course, gaming. The list goes on and on.”
2/13/03
Super Bowl Champs for St. Pete
Race
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg officials announced today that
several of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will
serve as collective Grand Marshal of the race day events,
including announcing the infamous line, "Gentlemen, start your
engines." Buccaneers participating in the race day festivities
are Mike Alstott, Jeff Christy, and Shaun King. Grand Marshal
duties are honorary and Grand Marshal's are chosen based on
their interest in racing and promoting community pride and
spirit. "These gentlemen add an air of fun and enthusiasm to
our race day events. Not every race can have the Super Bowl
champs at the start line," said Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
General Manager Tom Begley. "These players not only share an
interest in racing, but they have bonded our community in a
way that has given all of us something to smile about. We are
delighted to have them on board."
More . . .
2/13/03
Champions
on wheels
Four-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong (left) gives
2002 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart (right) tips to
“shave” a few seconds off his lap times during Coca-Cola’s
newest “Real” campaign television commercial set to debut
nationally during the Daytona 500 on February 16. During the
spot, entitled “Shaved Legs,” Stewart is the victim of an
elaborate practical joke played by Armstrong and NASCAR star
Bobby Labonte. The on-screen prank proves that NASCAR and
cycling have more in common than just speed – a good sense of
humor is present in both sports as well.
2/13/03
Vasser starts 5th in NASCAR
debut
1996 CART Champion Jimmy Vasser and his #30 Dodge, sponsored
by Aventis Bio-Services, Inc., one of the world’s largest
plasma collection companies, will be starting from the 5th
spot for the Koolerz 300 on February 15, 2003 in Daytona
Beach, Florida. Vasser, in his NASCAR debut, quickly made his
presence felt by turning a lap of 48.575 at a speed of 185.281
MPH to secure a spot in the Top 5. “I was real happy to be in
the Top 5 for my first NASCAR Busch race, but, more
importantly, it is an indication that the Aventis Bio-Services
#30 Dodge is a fast car and will keep me up front on
Saturday,” Vasser said. “This is my first NASCAR Busch race
and it is also Aventis Bio-Services first Busch race, so I
would have to say that we are off to a great start.” Vasser is
driving the same car that he topped the speed charts with
during the Daytona testing. “The guys back at the shop have
worked hard in making this a top notch car for Daytona,” said
Vasser. “Braun Racing has given me a car that is capable of
running up front all day and now it is up to me once the race
comes around.”
2/13/03
Max is at it again Max
Mosley is telling teams that they're going to start races with
whatever fuel was left in the tank after qualifying.
Won't that make things interesting?
2/13/03
Octagon cuts British GP ticket
prices Octagon Motorsports UK, the promoter of
the British Grand Prix, has confirmed that this year’s ticket
prices will represent better value than before. In addition, a
number of new prices and changes have been introduced to
provide more options for race goers. The new pricing for this
year’s event, being held 18-20 July, includes a 12.5%
reduction on admission prices and grandstand seating for the
Friday practice and qualifying day. In addition, child charges
have been abolished and centre transfers will be free. In
keeping with the new regulations introduced by FIA Formula One
Commission late last year the Friday of the British Grand Prix
will now feature more F1 track action than any previous F1
event with the new qualifying session as well as two hours of
testing by the teams. Octagon Motorsports has re-introduced
single day tickets for the weekend. Saturday also represents
good value and entertainment due to the introduction of the
new qualifying session. A three-day fan ticket is still
available for those who wish to attend the entire event.
Andrew Waller, Group Sales and Marketing Director, Octagon
Motorsports UK, said, “We want to offer our customers the best
value for the biggest event in the motorsports calendar. The
new pricing ensures that they will get to see the best action
over the three days.”
2/13/03
New paint scheme for #43
Petty Enterprises and sponsor Cheerios joined forces Thursday
morning, Feb. 13, prior to the "Great American Race" to unveil
a special paint scheme for the legendary #43. The paint scheme
celebrates Berry Burst Cheerios, the first-ever pairing of
wholesome Cheerios with great tasting real berries right in
the box. Petty Enterprises, the most successful organization
in motorsports history, and sponsor Cheerios, America's
leading cereal, will race the new paint scheme in July, when
the NASCAR Winston Cup teams come back to the 2.5-mile Daytona
International Speedway. "Whether it's February or July or any
other month, Berry Burst Cheerios cereal makes a great
breakfast," said Richard Petty, the winningest driver in
Daytona history. “I've tried them and I'm pretty impressed
with what the Cheerios folks have been able to do. We felt we
needed to do something to help them celebrate," he said
2/13/03
Mosley/FIA letter to F1 teams This
document
(PDF format) is the full text of a letter sent by the FIA
President to the FIA Formula One World Championship Team
Principals on Friday, February 7th, 2003.
2/13/03
Unofficial Barber Dodge Pro test times from Spring
Training Feb 10-11
Leonardo Maia 1:03.52
Colin Fleming 1:03.53
Josh Beaulieu 1:03.63
Victor Gonzales 1:03.69
Burt Frisselle 1:03.73
Dan Di Leo 1:03.91
Antoine Bessette 1:03.92
Memo Rojas 1:03.95
Guy Cosmo 1:03.98
Scott Poirier 1:04.01
Al Unser 1:04.03
German Quiroga 1:04.04
Alex Sperafico 1:04.13
Chris Baker 1:04.26
Craig Duerson 1:04.28
Matt Franc 1:04.34
Nelson Philippe 1:04.41
Chris Green 1:04.42
Robbie Montinola 1:04.53
Luis Pelayo 1:04.55
Shinji Kashima 1:04.78
Atticus Missner 1:04.79
Mike Richardson 1:04.82
Roland Isra 1:04.92
Hima Maher 1:05.50
Bud Risser 1:05.65
2/13/03
More on Waltrip trashing VasserUPDATE A reader writes,
I'm not a fan of NASCAR and I must say I agree with most of
what Paul said below with one notable exception. Does Paul
REALLY think "practically anybody can drive those hunks of
tin"? If so he needs to get himself to any of the NASCAR
ride-along program and take ride for three laps in one of the
cars. It will be painfully obvious that it takes a lot more
than the average Joe thinks to drive one of these cars.
Granted they are much easier to drive than any open wheel car
but to marginalize the required skills, as Paul did,
diminishes the rest of his argument. Gary Shell 2/13/03
- Dear AR1, Those good ol' boys don't like any open-wheel drivers in
their series period. They didn't like it when Mario Andretti won the
Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon's recent domination, Tony Stewart the current
Champion (all open wheelers) and they just don't want to admit that
practically anybody can drive those hunks of tin. Just imagine what's
going to happen in 4-7 years once Honda and Toyota start throwing
their weight (money) around. Fuel injection, Japanese drivers, and a
slew of angry hillbillies. I can smell an IRL/CART-type split coming.
Gone are the days of 40+ year old drivers... NASCAR, make room for
change. It will happen, whether you like it or not! Paul Richards,
Des Moines, Iowa
2/13/03
More on Road America Here
is an
article from the local media in Wisconsin regarding
CART and Road America. Pretty much says the same thing
previously reported by AR1 yesterday. AR1's report also
included a statement from the IRL denying any rumors they
might race at Road America.
2/13/03
F3 race added to German 500 weekendUPDATE
Official release - The Formula 3-Cup will take place as a
support race with the German 500 event on 9th to 11th of May.
This was announced by the Formula 3-federation and the
EuroSpeedway Lausitz today. With the Formula 3-Cup now three
support races can be seen besides the popular touring car
series of the V8STAR and the spectacular FIA Sportscar World
Championship. "This is a great deal for our Cup and the young
drivers", Cup-organizer Bertram Schäfer says enthusiastically,
" already last year the Formula 3 should have been involved
with the Champ-Car events. Awesome that it becomes reality
this time." Also Champ-Car President Christopher Pook
confirms: "We know Formula 3 in Germany already for quite a
while. With our involvement even a first Formula 3 test on the
Speedway oval took place last year." Altogether the Formula
3-Cup will start for two races on the German 500, on Saturday
and Sunday. Hans-Jörg Fischer, Manager of Eurospeedway
Lausitz, is pleased about the attractive addition to the
event: "The cooperation with the Formula 3-Federation has
always been very constructive and cooperative, therefore we
are very pleased to present this spectacular stage to Formula
3. With the Champ Car World Series and the three support races
we offer a motorsports-package and fan-friendly prices far
beyond competition." Tickets for the German 500 are
valid for three day and available in three different
categories: Gold (149 EUR), Silver (99 EUR) und Bronze (49 EUR).
The Paddock tickets are limited to 5,000 at 50 EUR each and
are exclusively available in advance sale. Fans can request
their tickets under (+49)(0)1805/880 288 or at
www.eurospeedway.de2/13/03 - A
German F3 race has been added to the German 500 weekend, joining CART
Champ Cars, FIA sports cars, and V8 Star races. That is four
races to keep fans entertained. We believe all are running on the road
course, except CART. We would have loved to see CART on the road
course too just to see how well it would be received. We think
better than the EuroSpeedway thinks. They are selling the German
500 as an "American" race, hence prefer the oval. We can
understand that philosophy, but the road course inside the
EuroSpeedway is the best infield road course we have seen by far.
We think CART would put on a good show on that track.
2/13/03
Artificial dissemination
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I read with interest
Mark Cipolloni's latest article
called artificial dissemination. I was shocked/appalled
to learn that it seems the IRL is the one that is dying, not
CART. All indicators for the IRL were down, while
CART's attendance was up significantly in 2002. Are the
majority of the motorsports journalists clueless?
David Peterson, Langhorne, PA. Dear David, The
perception is that CART is dying because so many teams and
Honda and Toyota jumped ship to the IRL. We shall see
how much positive affect they have on the IRL's attendance and
TV ratings. We are of the opinion that open wheel oval
track racing will struggle to prosper because the oval track
well has been run dry by the NASCAR onslaught. Mark
C.
2/13/03
No-Fly zone over Daytona
The
buzz of airplanes, blimps and helicopters over Daytona
International Speedway will be silenced starting Thursday. In
the name of security, federal agencies Monday banned aircraft
including blimps, banner planes and news helicopters from
flying lower than 3,000 feet within three nautical miles of
the Speedway.
2/13/03
Daytona 500 name not for sale
In a sport where everything is for sale for the right price,
the Daytona 500 remains one of the last notable exceptions.
And if officials at Daytona International Speedway - and
NASCAR - have their way, it always will be. "The Daytona 500
just isn't a name you'd want to give up," said Jim France, son
of the track's founder and president of its parent company,
International Speedway Corporation. "The name for the event,
we think, is pretty universally accepted. It's a significant
brand in and of itself." There are 36 official races and two
all-star events on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule.
Twenty-six of the 38 have title sponsors, a decrease of five
from last season. The value of those title sponsorships varies
greatly depending on the race and the facility, ranging from
six to seven figures. However, all of the remaining events
other than the Daytona 500 have their title sponsorships on
the market. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway had been the only
other holdout until it put the title sponsorship for the
Brickyard 400 on the market last fall. The asking price is $6
million for three years, according to the sales presentation
being offered by the track to potential buyers. For that
price, Indianapolis is promising tickets, pit passes, a
floating billboard on the lake along the backstretch that's
bound to be captured by network cameras, track signs, logo
flags, hospitality areas, Internet banner ads, program ads,
and radio ads among other benefits. The price does not include
television exposure. Networks aren't obligated to refer to the
title sponsor, since they're competing for the same
advertising dollars. If the Brickyard 400, a 9-year-old event,
is able to seek a $6 million asking price, what would title
sponsorship to the Daytona 500 - NASCAR's premier event - be
worth? "Probably in the $75 million for 10 years range," said
a representative for one of the 500's presenting sponsors, who
insisted on anonymity because of his relationship with the
race. The lure to sell the title to the highest bidder has
been tempting, France said, but not worth the ramifications.
As presenting sponsors, company names don't appear in the name
of the race. However, they are allowed to use the Daytona 500
and its logos in their advertising and promotions. Presenting
sponsors also receive signs in Victory Lane and along pit
road, as well as tickets and suites for the race and other
luxury accommodations.
Augusta Chronicle
2/13/03
RJR in more trouble
RJR tobacco was the lead story on the CBS news show 60 minuets
II last night. The crux of the story was that RJR openly
violated the Iraq trade embargo for years. The violation could
mean multimillion dollar fines, possible prison time for a
number executives, diminished public image as an American firm
in RJR's domestic market.
2/13/03
IRL trio prepares for IROC
IRL IndyCar Series stars Sam Hornish Jr., Felipe Giaffone and Helio
Castroneves will start third, fifth and 10th, respectively, in the
first True Value International Race of Champions race of the season
Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway. Starting positions for the
100-mile race on the 2.5-mile, high-banked were selected in a draw
Feb. 12. The True Value IROC series puts 12 top drivers from different
North American series in equally prepared stock cars in a four-race
series. The first race starts at 11 a.m. (EST) Friday, Feb. 14 at
Daytona. It will be televised at 10:30 p.m. (EST) Sunday, Feb. 16 on
ESPN2. The season finale is Aug. 2 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2/13/03
Provisional F1 weekend schedule
Friday
8:30-10:30 AM Free testing for Jordan, Renault and Minardi
11:00-12:00 PM Free practice
2:00-3:00 PM First qualifying Saturday
9:00-9:45 AM Free practice
10:15-11:00 AM Free practice
1:30-1:45 PM Pre-qualifying warm-up
2:00-3:00 PM Second qualifying Sunday
9:45-10:00 AM Warm-up (TBD)
2:00 PM Race
Barber
Dodge Pro Series kicks off 2003 The 2003 CART Barber
Dodge Pro Series season got underway this week at Sebring
International Raceway as drivers began preparations for the ten-round
championship with two days of intensive testing on the same 1.64- mile
test track that the Champ Car World Series drivers used for their
Spring Training last week. Story
2/13/03
Pook remembered for F1 contributions
Dear AR1.com, I think it is interesting that according to the February
2003 issue of F1 Racing Magazine, Chris Pook received votes toward
being listed in The 99 most important people in Formula 1 history
(because of Long Beach). He did not receive enough votes to actually
be in the top 99 in the end, but what an accomplishment to be included
for consideration. The leader of CART is known and respected around
the world! Rick Flaute, Dayton, Ohio
Much
More...click on 2002 archives button below
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2003
Barber Dodge Pro Series preview
The 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series will once again bring the best and
the brightest of the future of open wheel racing together to fight for
the Series Championship. The field of talented racers hopes to convert
success in the Pro Series into a step up the ladder, the same way Juan
Montoya, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and A.J. Allmendinger have done before
them. Driving identically prepared Dodge-engined Reynard 98E's
equipped with Michelins, the 2003 field, with its mix of returning
drivers and swift rookies, should spawn some exciting and close racing
in the intense quest for the $100,000 top-prize and the over $1
million total purse.
Minardi
re-signs Bobbi as test driver Minardi
has re-signed 24 year old Italian Matteo Bobbi as a test driver for a
third year running. Bobbi is the second test driver for the team for
this season, alongside Russian Sergey Zlobin. The team has said that
the Italian will take part in a number of the new Friday morning test
sessions at F1 races this year. "He is a talented individual, who has
worked with us now for the past two years," said team boss Paul
Stoddart. "In that time, he has built up an excellent rapport with the
team, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with him."
Bobbi said: "I am both pleased and honored that Minardi has once again
asked me to assist with the test program for its new chassis. I
believe from speaking with the engineers that the PS03 has great
potential, and I am looking forward to helping them achieve the
maximum from the car."
Barber
Dodge Pro Series kicks off 2003 The 2003 CART Barber
Dodge Pro Series season got underway this week at Sebring
International Raceway as drivers began preparations for the ten-round
championship with two days of intensive testing on the same 1.64- mile
test track that the Champ Car World Series drivers used for their
Spring Training last week.
Much
More...click on 2002 archives button below
