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Record crowd turns out in Vancouver A stellar Friday (a workday) crowd of
45,023 turned out to watch the Champ Cars qualify in Vancouver under
bright beautiful skys and perfect low-70-degree F temperatures.
It was the best Friday attendance in the race's 14-year history.
Some think CART's dying, yet some series would die for a Friday crowd
that large.
7/25/03
Martinez takes provisional pole
David Martinez of Monterrey, Mexico, took the pole position in
first-round qualifying for Sunday's Barber Dodge Pro Series race in
Vancouver with a fast lap time of 1:15.265 on the 1.781-mile temporary
street circuit. Memo Rojas finished the session in second place on the
provisional grid, with Dan Di Leo taking third. Leo Maia of Oakland,
California scored fourth position, with German Quiroga of Mexico City,
Mexico taking fifth ahead of Antoine Bessette. Barber-Champ Car
Scholarship driver Colin Fleming qualified seventh, with fellow
Barber-Champ Car Scholarship racer Burt Frisselle of Kihei, Hawaii,
taking eighth. Nelson Philippe of Valence, France qualified ninth,
with Barber-Champ Car Scholarship driver Scott Poirier taking his
Michelin-liveried machine to tenth.
7/25/03
Walker Racing and Valiante
ride-search details
Michael Valiante and Walker Racing team owner Derrick Walker
are joining forces in a sponsorship-seeking effort aimed at
producing a 2004 Champ Car World Series ride for the Vancouver
driver, who is currently a championship contender with Lynx
Racing in the CART Toyota Atlantic series. More....
7/25/03
Junqueira tops 2nd practice at
Vancouver The track's getting faster at Vancouver,
and just 0.003sec separates the top two at the end of the
second practice session. Those two are the same two that lead
the Champ Car World Series. Bruno Junqueira was fastest with a
1:02.330 (102.865mph), just ahead of Paul Tracy on 1:02.333
(102.860mph). Alex Tagliani was third quickest on 1:02.751
(102.175mph).
7/25/03
CART stock watchUPDATE
In NYSE trading today MPH closed at $1.60 DOWN $0.25 p/shr. or
13.51% on Volume of 251,800 shares.
$0.95 Bid - $1.93 Asked on close.
Session High/Low: $1.93/$1.52 (a new 52 week Low)
Dow Jones Up 172.06 or 1.89% on Volume of 1.64 billion shares.
NASDAQ Up 29.28 or 1.72%
S&P 500 Up 17.08 or 1.74%
7/25/03 - In
NYSE trading as of 12:45PM MPH is DOWN $0.25 p/shr. or 13.51%
on Volume of 86,400 shares.
Last Trade: $1.58 (a new l52 week low) $1.58 Bid - $1.59
Asked.
Session High/Low: $1.93/$1.58
8,200 shares traded at 11:49AM
courtesy of C3I.AndersonGroupe – Chicago www.andersongroupe.com
7/25/03
Hornish fastest of the day at
MIS Two time IRL IndyCar TM Series
champion Sam Hornish Jr. posted the fastest lap of the day
today at Michigan International Speedway with a lap of 32.1977
seconds, 223.618 mph in his No. 4 Pennzoil Panther
Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone. The lap came during the morning
practice. Kenny Brack, the 1998 IRL IndyCar Series champion
and 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner, was second fastest at
32.2894, 222.983 in his No. 15 Pioneer/Miller Lite
Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Scott Dixon was third fastest in his
No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G
Force/Toyota/Firestone with a lap of 32.3616, 222.486.
More later.....
7/25/03
Puerto
Rico GP track map The circuit map for the Puerto
Rico Grand Prix, the 2003 season finale for the Trans-Am
Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup, has been released. The
race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26 at Isla Grande Airport
in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The circuit map is available in the
“Paddock” section of
trans-amseries.com, and
prgrandprix.com. The
1.6-mile, 10-turn temporary airport course was designed with
assistance from renowned race track designer Martyn C. Thake.
Thake, whose most recent projects include the Monterrey,
Mexico and Mexico City Champ Car World Series circuits, and
the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Champ Car and Trans-Am Series
street course, is assisting with the construction of the
course, which is currently under way. Eagle West, which has
built many temporary street courses in North America,
including the Molson Indy Toronto and the Molson Indy
Vancouver Champ Car World Series tracks, has been tapped to
build the track. The picturesque circuit, which uses San Juan
Harbor as its backdrop, boasts a wide racing surface and
180-degree track visibility for fans. The circuit will have at
least 10,000 grandstand seats and 20 custom-made,
air-conditioned hospitality suites. “The venue is reminiscent
of the Cleveland Grand Prix circuit, which has long been an
exciting event for both our fans and our competitors,” said
Trans-Am Series Executive Director John Clagett. “The Puerto
Rico circuit will offer fans an up-close experience with our
race cars on an extremely competitive circuit that is sure to
pose unique challenges for our competitors. “The Caribbean and
Latin America are parts of the world well known for having
enthusiastic auto racing fans,” he added. “I guarantee those
fans will witness an historic event at Puerto Rico.” Tickets
for the Puerto Rico Grand Prix are now on sale through
TicketPop. Tickets can be purchased by calling TicketPop at
787-294-0001 or by visiting ticketpop.com. The Puerto Rico
Grand Prix will be aired on a tape-delayed basis on SPEED
Channel Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. The Trans-Am Series for the
BFGoodrich® Tires Cup features closed-fendered,
production-based, V-8-powered sports cars. The Trans-Am Series
is America’s oldest continuously running sports car racing
series and celebrates its 38th anniversary in 2003.
7/25/03
Practice notes from Pocono - II
Christian Fittipaldi quote on the garage assignments next to
John Andretti. "No, it was just a coincidence. Points, it was
points. It was just a huge coincidence. John (Andretti) talks
to me and I talk to John. John talks to Kyle (Petty). There
was no tension. Professionally they had their differences.
Professionally they had a slight difference on how they
thought. Now they sorted it out and turned to the next page."
Frank Ryan
7/25/03
Practice notes from Pocono - I
Practice is over at Pocono with Ryan Newman posting the
fastest time in his Alltel Dodge. Newman posted a quick lap of
169.097 mph coming on the 13th of his 14 practice laps. Of the
other 43 drivers, last week's winner Jimmie Johnson was second
fast in practice, while Derek Cope and Morgan Shepherd were at
the bottom of the speed charts. John Andretti makes his second
start in the NetZero Hi Speed Pontiac and turned in the 8th
fastest practice time. Ironically, Andretti's garage bay is
located right next to the Petty Enterprises #43. The current
driver of the #43, Christian Fittipaldi, will run in tomorrow's
ARCA/REMAX Pennsylvania 200, and was 36th fastest with a
practice speed nearly a second and a half behind Newman.
Frank Ryan
7/25/03
Road America offers discounts
to boost ticket sales Road America is offering
discounts and incentives to boost ticket sales for the Mario
Andretti Grand Prix at Road America Presented by Briggs and
Stratton, according to George Bruggenthies, president and
general manager. The discount coupons are in area newspapers
and through the AAA Automobile Club. Other fan incentives
include Friday's group photo with Mario Andretti on the race
track at Turn 5 and a fan autograph session with the CART
drivers. Saturday kids can meet Cartoon Network's Johnny Bravo
in the Aurora Family Fun Zone, and for fans of all ages, a Fan
Forum with Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Newman
and the CART Inner Circle Fan Club meeting. Tickets are
available online,
www.roadamerica.com or by calling 1.800.365.7223. Parking and
children 12 and under are free. "We're working to create an awareness
about the CART race and really emphasize how much fan interaction
there is with the drivers," said Bruggenthies. "Tickets include
entrance to the paddock, where the teams set up, so it's possible to
be very close to the drivers. It's a great racing atmosphere," he
said. "This year is very special because of world champion driver
Mario Andretti's involvement," Bruggenthies continued. "He negotiated
on behalf of the fans and Road America and he's the reason that we're
going to see CART racing here next weekend. Without Mario
there would be no Champ Cars at Road America this year, and we
want to do our part to encourage fans to come to the race and
to thank Mario. We're still hearing that fans don't know that
the race is Aug. 3, and more important, that the race is back
on," he said. "We need all race fans to join with us and make
an extra effort to turn this event into a rousing success."
Tickets for the four-day weekend are $115; daily tickets are
Thursday, $10 (test day), Friday $25, Saturday $40 and Sunday
$60. Road America has placed $5 coupons in the Chicago Tribune
and in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal and the Gannet
newspapers in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Marshfield,
Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. In
Northeast Wisconsin, coupons will appear in The Entertainer and the
Auto Gazette, free newspapers distributed in convenience stores, among
other locations. AAA Automobile Club members also will receive $5 off, as
well as CART's Inner Circle Fan Club members. Area hotels
report rooms available, and the Elkhart Lake Chamber of
Commerce, 920.876.2922, has homes and rooms in homes
available. The Chamber's rooms were originally booked by Fox
Network, but when CART canceled the race, the network canceled
the rooms. Road America also offers camping at the race track
in the Carousel Campground for tents and pop-ups and along the
race track. To reserve space, call 1.800.365.7223, or order
online,
www.roadamerica.com Gates open at 7 a.m. Thursday through
Sunday, and sessions begin between 8 and 8:30 a.m. each day.
The Champ Car race begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday and will be
carried live on HDNet, available through Dish and Direct TV
and on some cable television systems.
7/25/03
Tracy fastest in first
Vancouver practice Paul Tracy was fastest in the first practice
session at Vancouver, but we expect to see the times drop as the Champ
Cars put down more rubber throughout the next free practice at 2:40pm
ET, and first qualifying which starts at 6pm ET. Tracy, series leader,
set a time of 1:03.196 (101.456mph) three tenths of a second faster
than Oriol Servia at 1:03.589 (100.829mph), and the second
Canadian in the top three, Patrick Carpentier with 1:04.084
(100.050mph).
7/25/03
Junqueira wants to stay in CART This
Denver Post
article and the Rocky Mountain News
article talks about Bruno Junqueira's desire to stay
in CART, including his views on the series and why he stayed
in CART rather than going to the IRL.
7/25/03
Cosworth Chevy shocker at MIS
Oh what Ford can do for Chevy. Two time IRL IndyCar
Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. posted the fastest lap of the
first Firestone Indy 400 practice session. Using a new Chevy
engine designed and built by Ford Cosworth, Hornish turned a
lap of 32.1977 seconds, 223.618 mph in his No. 4 Pennzoil
Panther Dallara/Cosworth Chevrolet/Firestone. Kenny Brack was
2nd and Scott Dixon 3rd. The next IRL IndyCar Series
practice session is set for 1:30 p.m. (EDT).
7/25/03
Franchitti released from
hospital after surgery Dario Franchitti, the
popular IndyCar driver for Andretti Green Racing in the Indy
Racing League, was released from Methodist Hospital in
Indianapolis today after recovering from back surgery last
weekend. The Scotsman was allowed to leave with his family and
friends less than a week after the operation to repair a
compression fracture in his L-5 vertebra. “I’m happy the
procedure went well and glad it’s finally behind me,“ said
Franchitti. “Dr. Trammell and his team did a fantastic job
with a minimal amount of pain and disruption, and I can’t
thank the medical staff at Methodist Hospital enough. They
were great. Thanks to everyone for all their support and the
get-well wishes I’ve been receiving this week. I’m resting and
doing very well.” Renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Terry
Trammell and his partner Dr. Larry Stevens, performed the
video assisted thorascopic anterior vertebraectonomy and they
expect Franchitti to make a speedy recovery. “Dario’s surgery
went very well and he has recovered very rapidly,” said Dr.
Trammell. “He was able to get up and walk only a few days
following the procedure and that was a great sign. We’ve got
him in a custom fitted carbon fiber brace that he’ll have to
wear for a while, but it will allow him to move around freely
and participate in fitness training down the road.”
7/25/03 ARCA
Busch wins Pocono pole
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet, earned
the Pennsylvania 200 pole position during ARCA Series
qualifying at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Thursday. With a lap of
170.849 mph (52.678 seconds), the 18-year-old shattered Casey
Mears' month-old ARCA track record of 169.802 mph (53.003
seconds). The pole at Pocono is the second for Busch in ARCA
competition this season. The Las Vegas native won from the
inside of Row 1 in his first-ever start with Hendrick
Motorsports at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on April 11 --
also a track record. Busch's qualifying competition included
NASCAR Winston Cup Series regulars Mears and Christian
Fittipaldi (third), NASCAR Busch Series driver David Reutimann
(fourth) and four-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel (fifth).
Frank Ryan
7/25/03
Ticket sales down for Brickyard
400UPDATE A "search" of
Brickyard 400 tickets on Ebay has resulted in
700+ matches of two or more tickets. IMS and the local
scalpers (although they may be selling on eBay) aren't the only ones
with tickets and no buyers. A little research will show that "bid on"
tickets on eBay are getting less than face value if they're even getting bid on. There will be empty seats
for the Brickyard just as there was for the Indy 500 and will be
for the USGP. 7/25/03 - According to
this Wish TV
article, For the first time in the Brickyard’s
ten-year history there have never been so many reserved seats
still available. Still, officials and fans aren't concerned.
Since it came here ten years ago, the Brickyard 400 has
emerged as the best-selling race here at the Speedway. But
this year if sales don't pick up soon, many of the seats could
be empty when the green flag is dropped. There were no lines
and no waiting at the Speedway ticket office Thursday where
thousands of tickets are still available. “There are more
tickets available this year than have been in years past this
far out. But we're not overly concerned about it. It seems to
be the trend right now in motor sports. It's just because of
the economy and so many other reasons,” said Ron Green,
Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson. Ticket brokers have
already staked out their spots along 16th and Georgetown,
where one vendor says he's sold just six tickets in the past
week. “Maybe it's the economy. I don't know if things are not
as well as they were. The fans are the fans and racing is
racing,” said Jay Garner. NASCAR fans say it doesn't matter
how many tickets haven't sold. They believe the Brickyard will
eventually sell out.
7/25/03
Even NASCAR not immune to
sponsor woes Even NASCAR, as successful as it is, is
not immune to sponsorship woes in this weak economy and in the
USA saturated motorsports market. Another example -
Ultra Motorsports is looking for a new Winston Cup sponsor on
the No. 7 Dodge driven by Jimmy Spencer. Sirius Satellite
Radio won't return in 2004.
7/25/03
Pollock says CART needs complete
overhaulUPDATE
A reader responds to Pollock's comments, Dear AR1, If you
don’t mind, I am sick to death of reading “Pollock says this .
. . “ or “Pollock says that . . . “ or “Pollock thinks whatever Pollock thinks (none of which has yet to impress me in
the least).“ Craig Pollock is one of those rare breed of men
who has a gift for the obvious. He is the ONLY thing that
concerns me about CART’s future. Well, a stockholder lawsuit kind of has me concerned too but at least that guy is one of us
not some F1 namby-pamby! May I suggest Mr. Pollock redirect
whatever investment he had planned to make in CART into the
flailing career of his meal-ticket
thinks-he’s-still-a-superstar-driver client and leave CART
alone! To even suggest CART should be (nothing more) than a
domestic F1 feeder system demeans what is, in many people’s
opinion, the superior form of open wheel motorsport that is
CART. He does not see (does not want) Europe or Asia in the
cards because that could create some healthy competition for
F1, and precious F1 resources, like big paycheck under
performing possibly washed-up but can’t admit it, or win races,
F1 talent. Mr. Pollock’s intentions are transparent to say the
least and demeaning to the U.S. fan base. But that’s just my
opinion . . . I may be wrong. J.N. Anderson, Chicago,
Illinois Dear J.N., We believe Pollock is suggesting
CART drop Europe for the time being because CART can't afford
to keep losing money on self-promoted or subsidized races.
He's probably thinking CART needs to retreat back to North
America and regroup, before making another assault into the
shark infested waters of Europe and Asia in better financial
shape and with some manufacturers in their back pocket.
Mark C.7/25/03 - Craig Pollock, rumored to be involved
with CART's rumored buyout, says the series needs a major overhaul -
1) A new name, American Grand prix Series, 2) Standing starts, 3)
Single-lap qualifying, 4) a reduced schedule to just 14 races, all in
North America and one in Australia. He does not see Europe or
Asia in the cards. 5) CART should be an official feeder series to F1.
We here at AR1 are of the opinion that CART needs to completely
reinvent itself to completely separate it from the IRL. The
creation of the IRL and the split of the sport in two has killed the
sport of Indy Car racing in the USA. NASCAR now monopolizes
everything in this country because the split has crippled open wheel
racing, driving a stake right through its heart, which will likely
prove to be fatal. Open wheel racing's best chance for success in
the USA, and for CART, is to reinvent itself as something new,
something refreshing, but most importantly, something special, and
something elite....and that is to be as much like F1 as possible.
Open wheel racing has always succeeded in America when it was viewed
as something special, cars that represented state-of-the-art creations
from America's best and brightest. When it tried to deviate from
that market niche, and it tried to tread in stock car racing territory
as a dumbed-down el-cheapo form of motorsports, it represented the
beginning of the end. As we wrote, CART, like the Phoenix, is
about to rise from the ashes. If and when it does, it will need
to be something that really catches the fans attention.
7/25/03
Nothing minor league about CART This
Vancouver The Province
article says, For a supposed 'minor league' circuit, the CART
Champ Car World Series is packing the fans in at its Vancouver event
and other races across the continent. Maybe Vancouver, at a time when
losing both the NBA and the PGA Tour still smarts, and with the Winter
Olympics still seven years away, is simply keen to cling to anything
with a "big league" label. In that case, the next big question should
be whether or not the CART Champ Car World Series still fits that
billing. When it comes to entertaining racing and strong
personalities, it's hard to argue Champ Car -- even after
much-publicized losses of high-profile drivers to the Indy Racing
League -- is anything but big league. Unfortunately, when it comes to
sports status in the new millennium, the bottom line is the bottom
line and Champ Cars appear to be heading south faster than Paul Tracy
down the Quebec Street straightaway. The article then goes on to
discuss everything wrong with CART but, then ends with - In the end,
however, comparisons between CART and other racing series may be
meaningless. For Vancouver race fans the concept of "big league," much
like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
7/25/03
China launches race team with eye
toward F1 A Chinese racing team that hopes to compete on the
Formula One circuit has been launched, state press reported Friday.
The Shangsai FRD Grandtour Tire team aims to become China's first ever
to join the lucrative Formula One event and plans to encourage Chinese
drivers to get race starts, the China Daily said. They would be well
advised to try CART first, because to compete in F1 would be next to
impossible for a start-up team that has no motorsports history.
“The team's start-up marks the first step in our efforts to more
closely link Chinese racing sports to the international racing
community behind F1", said Yu Zhifei, deputy general manager of
Shanghai International Circuit Co (SIC). SIC, set up last year to
oversee the construction of a Formula One circuit in Shanghai, has
teamed up with Guangdong-based Formula Racing Development Ltd (FRD)
and Singapore-based Grandtour Tire to jointly operate the racing team.
The three companies signed an agreement on Thursday, the newspaper
said. Grandtour Tire will provide nine million dollars in sponsorship
over the next three years, according to Peter Wu, chairman of the
company's China division. SIC will be responsible for marketing the
team and FRD, an established auto-racing team, will cultivate
promising Chinese drivers. The aim is to develop the technology and
capability to compete "in the coming years" with the likes of Ferrari
and Williams.
7/25/03
Drivers favor standing starts, one-lap
qualifying According to this Vancouver Sun article,
and as AR1 has been saying for years, CART needs standing starts and
single-lap qualifying. Formula One's move to one-lap qualifying
from the one-hour, 12-lap window used previously is being watched
closely by CART. The switch has helped shake up starting grids at F1
and stopped some of the whining from drivers who felt cars on warm-up
or cool-down laps had spoiled their fliers. Observers speculate CART
might adopt it too, along with F1-style standing starts, to bring the
two series closer together. "I'm all for it," said series leader Paul
Tracy of Toronto. "It's no problem with me. We did single-car
qualifying in Brands Hatch (England). I qualified on the pole, so
whatever they want to bring on is good for me." Spain's Oriol Servia
likes the idea, too. He complained about blocking during qualifying at
Toronto two weeks ago. "Well, it would definitely solve the problems
because then, you know, it's just yourself and the racetrack," he
said. "We did it in Brands Hatch and I thought it was a great show for
the fans and for the rest of us because you actually get to see the
other guys qualifying. I think it adds a little bit of emotion to the
whole process."
A poor country? Bentley doing
surprisingly well in China
Luxury carmaker Bentley said yesterday that it sold 32 models in China
in the first half of this year, including one that cost 11.28 million
Yuan ($1.36 million), complete with flat-screen television, stereo and
DVD player. The British manufacturer, which sells only
handmade cars, entered the Chinese market last year, with showrooms
and repair centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It sold 50
units last year, with prices ranging from two million to more than 10
million Yuan, ranking first among Bentley sales in Asia.
"Our target for this year is 60 and that is conservative," said a
spokesman for the Shanghai showroom. "We sold 32 in the
first half of this year, mostly to the heads of private businesses
aged between 35 and 55, from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The most
expensive was the Mulliner 728 for 11.28 million Yuan. It is longer
than the normal Bentley. This comes with an interior that you
can turn into a private cinema, with a 22-inch flat screen color
television, 360-degree stereo sound and DVD player.
Whatever you can imagine, we have in this car," he said.
Asked who bought this top-of-the-line model, he declined to say.
"That is a commercial secret. Our clients do not want the public to
know who they are." The spokesman said maintenance costs for a
Bentley were similar to those of a Mercedes Benz and BMW, the choice
of most rich Chinese, at several thousand Yuan per 10,000 kilometers.
But repairs were more expensive because the parts and components were
handmade, he said. The average Shanghai citizen earns
about 1,500 Yuan ($181) a month which means he would have to work for
618 years before he could buy the Mulliner.
7/24/03
Cosworth Chevy to debut Sunday
Following the Indy Racing League's approval of the new Gen IV Chevy
Indy V8 on July 19, driver Sam Hornish Jr. and Pennzoil Panther
Racing, the leading Chevrolet team in the entrant points standings,
will test the new powerplant in Sunday's Firestone Indy 400 at
Michigan International Speedway. In accordance with the guidelines
announced by Brian Barnhart, senior vice president of racing
operations for the IRL, the second highest Chevrolet team in the
entrant points standings at the conclusion of the Michigan race will
test the Gen IV engine in the Emerson Indy 250 on Aug. 10 at Gateway
International Raceway near St. Louis. The Panther Racing team will
revert to the previous Gen III version at GIR. "The Firestone Indy 400
will be the first test of the Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 under actual race
conditions," said Joe Negri, GM Racing IRL program manager. "This
program has come together very quickly, and the Gen IV Chevy Indy V8
is still in the early stages of development. While we have great
confidence in the engine and we look forward to a performance
improvement in the future, we will be in a testing mode at MIS. We
have realistic expectations about the first race with a brand-new
design. Our primary goals are to accumulate racing miles and to gain
experience with the new engine package. If the Panther Racing entry
performs well and produces a good result, that would be a bonus. "The
Gen IV engine has less than 1,000 miles of track testing to date, so
we are still learning about its performance and durability," Negri
continued. "The IRL's decision to allow us to test the engine at two
tracks will give us an opportunity to work through any reliability
issues before converting all of the Chevrolet teams to Gen IV engines
for the race at Kentucky Speedway on Aug. 17. "The 2-mile Michigan
oval is one of the most punishing tracks on the IRL circuit in terms
of the engine's duty cycle," Negri noted. "While we can simulate
the loads in a dyno cell, there is no substitute for running an engine
flat-out on a high-banked oval. The test at MIS will give us the
real-world experience that we need to continue the engine's
development."
7/24/03
CART stock analysis A reader
writes, I couldn't help but notice "Shares are under heavy
accumulation by financial institutions" (see related
article). Institutional purchases don't happen on this
kind of stock unless something is going on. Like profit taking. There
was a magic number that triggered the purchases by institutional
investors where they could profit from future sales or during the
privatization buy back. Wednesday was a huge trading for CART stock.
So somewhere on the street an estimated price for the privatization is
floating around, that is somewhere near or above $2.36 and the less
confident are selling while the confident are buying. Strictly
an opinion. Niles Anders Dear Niles, We rumored the
August 7th date for the announcement of a bid and a plan to take CART
private and secure its future (see Rumors page). We grilled our
source twice to ensure ourselves that there was some merit to their
information. Because we do not yet know if anything is going to
really happen on August 7th, it remains a rumor. We have no way
of knowing if the rumor is true (yet), but there are an awful lot of
signs that point to something about to happen soon. Your news may be
another sign. If the rumored August 7th announcement turns out
to be false, or if it is delayed, it could be curtains for CART
because once a bid is made, the SEC has strict rules as to how the
shareholders have to be notified of the bid, and the shareholder
voting process can take a month or more. That puts CART into
September, and budgets from most sponsors are completed in August,
September, at the very latest. This announcement, if there is one, is
cutting it dangerously close. Mark C.
7/24/03
What was the Nashville TV
Rating?UPDATE We
finally were able to get the IRL rating, it was a 0.3 on ESPN2, down
40% in one year from last year's race, also broadcast on ESPN2.
So much for the claims by the IRL principals that the series is
growing (See TV ratings trend below). One has to wonder what the
motorsports marketing folks at Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, Marlboro,
7-11, Pioneer, Miller, Delphi, Pennzoil, etc. are thinking. The
spilt in Indy Car racing has caused it to fade into oblivion, and even
the once great Indy 500 no longer gets even the average rating a
NASCAR race gets, including those NASCAR races on cable TV.
7/24/03 - Dear AutoRacing1.com, I saw the rating for last weekend's
NASCAR Winston Cup race, but I have not seen a rating for the
IRL race from Nashville on ESPN2. What gives?
Steve South, San Antonio, Texas. Dear Steve, We only
have access to the top 20 sports rated programs on network TV
from Nielsen Media Research, and for the Top 20 rated cable
shows. The IRL race did not make the top 20 on either
list, unless they overlooked the IRL race. The 20th
rated show had a 0.1/0 share rating in 138,000 households.
We will try to find out what the rating was, but we don't
expect it to be very high since it was on ESPN2. Mark
C.
IRL TV Ratings Trend
2002:
Homestead (ABC) 1.5
Phoenix (ABC) 1.2
California (ESPN) 0.5
Nazareth (ABC) 1.3
Indy (ABC) 4.8
Texas (ESPN) 0.6
Pike's Peak (ABC) 1.0
Richmond (ESPN) 0.6
Kansas (ABC) 1.3
Nashville (ESPN2) 0.5
Michigan (ABC) 1.2
Kentucky (ABC) 0.9
Gateway (ESPN) 0.8
Chicagoland (ABC) 1.1
Texas (ABC) 0.9 2003:
Homestead (ABC) 1.8 (Up 20%)
Phoenix (ABC) 0.9 (Down 25%)
Japan (ABC) 0.9 (First Time Event, but down from a 1.0 for CART on ABC
in 2001)
Indy (ABC) 4.6 (Down 4.1%)
Texas (ESPN) 0.4 (Down 33%)
Pike's Peak (ABC) 0.7 (Down 30%)
Richmond (ESPN) 0.48 (Down 20%)
Kansas (ABC) 1.2 (Down 7.7%)
Nashville (ESPN2) 0.3 (Down 40%)
7/24/03
Is Gordon the hometown favorite at
Pocono? Despite
the fact that four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon was
born in California and planted his racing roots in Indiana, it
is Pennsylvania that boasts more Gordon fans than any other
state. As of February, the state that hosts this weekend's
event at Pocono Raceway holds the most memberships to the Jeff
Gordon Fan Club (JGFC). Gordon, the driver of the No. 24
DuPont Chevrolet, acknowledges this by hosting a fan club
event each year near the Long Pond track. Gordon shows his
appreciation to these dedicated Keystone State fans by
spending a few hours with them signing autographs, posing for
photographs and answering questions. "It is truly
an honor for me to meet race fans, especially these die-hard
fans in Pennsylvania," Gordon said. "The fans out here not
only enjoy NASCAR Winston Cup racing, but you can find a lot
of them at the local short tracks on a Saturday night. Some
of my most exciting racing memories are right here in
Pennsylvania. The first year I raced Sprint cars (1985), I had
a lot of fun racing Doug Wolfgang at Tri-City Speedway. We
also had a lot of fun racing at places like Selinsgrove and
Silver Springs Speedway in the late 80's. Then when I started
racing stock cars in the Busch Series, we'd race at Nazareth
(where his best finish was a fifth in two starts). Now, of
course, we come here a couple times a year to Pocono where
this DuPont team has had a lot of success. No matter which
series I've raced in, the fans have always been nothing but
supportive. They're some of the greatest race fans in the
world. When I first started racing, I tried to learn as
much as I could from guys like Steve Kinser and Rick Mears,"
Gordon said. "To see young people using me as an example now
only makes my position as a role model more important. It's
hard to explain how good it makes you feel when you see people
wearing shirts in support of your team. Seeing that makes what
you're doing that much more important because you're not only
doing it for your team but for your fans." Gordon returns to
Pocono for the Pennsylvania 500 with three wins (1996, 1997
and 1998), two poles (1996 and 1998), 10 top-fives and with 15
top-10's in 21 starts (71 percent).
7/24/03
CART stock continues to plummet2nd
UPDATE In NYSE trading today MPH closed at $1.85
DOWN $0.32 p/shr. or 14.75% on Volume of 172,300 shares.
$1.29 Bid - $2.25 Asked on close.
Session High/Low: $2.17/$1.85 (a new 52 week Low)
Dow Jones Down 81.73 or 0.89% on Volume of 1.9B shares.
NASDAQ Down 17.76 or 1.03%
S&P 500 Down 7.01 or 0.71%
courtesy of C3I.AndersonGroupe – Chicago www.andersongroupe.com7/24/03 -
It's now down $0.27 p/shr. on volume of 117,600. MPH has
traded as low as $1.90 per share.....and headed downward
toward a penny stock. 7/24/03 - In
NYSE trading as of 10:20AM today, MPH is DOWN $0.10 p/shr. or
4.16% on Volume of 44,500 shares. This fall in stock price
must be making potential buyers giddy with the thought they
can take the company private for less money. However,
all the bad news about CART is sending potential sponsors
scurrying for the doors, meaning by the time they buy it, the
product's image will be so damaged it will cost them more to
repair that damage, or it will be beyond repair, and they will
have wasted their money. As we said, it's now or never for
CART. Any further delay in announcing a buyer,
if there is one, could mean curtains. Courtesy of
C3I.AndersonGroupe – Chicago
www.andersongroupe.com
7/24/03
Walker Racing to hold press
conference Walker Racing will hold a
press conference this Friday at 1:00 PM PST in Vancouver to
formally announce a significant collaborative association with
Canadian driver Michael Valiante. There was a press
release announcing this already. This press conference
will provide more details.
7/24/03
Porsche rules out F1, delays
return to racing
Porsche has decided to delay its planned return to motor
racing for financial reasons, chairman Wendelin Wiedeking said
in an interview published in today's Financial Times
Deutschland. "We've set back this step for cost reasons,"
Wiedeking told the newspaper while it Italy. The group's
development division had already drawn up concrete plans for a
prototype that could have started racing next year. "We would
have entered an attractive racing series (read that ALMS?) and
other makers would have followed us," Wiedeking said. He
nevertheless ruled out participating in the prestigious
Formula One series.
7/24/03
Unser Grand Marshal for
Michigan race
Al Unser had many special moments during his 33-year driving
career. Additionally, he’s one of only three drivers to win
the Indianapolis 500 four times. One of those special moments
occurred in September of 1974 at Michigan International
Speedway. That day, Unser was a part of history as he was the
last driver to win on Firestone tires before its initial exit
from racing at the end of the 1974 season and Unser’s only
open-wheel win at MIS. Since its return to open-wheel racing
in 1995, Firestone has won every open-wheel race at MIS.
Firestone is also the only tire to compete in all 80 IRL
IndyCar Series races since the series’ inception in 1995.
Unser will return to the site of the historical win this
weekend, as he will serve as the Grand Marshal for the
Firestone Indy 400 on July 27 at MIS. Phil Pacsi, Executive
Director of Firestone Brand Marketing, will serve as the
Firestone Indy 400 Honorary Starter and drop the green flag to
start the 400-mile race. “Since we are celebrating our 35th
anniversary in 2003, it’s only appropriate that one of open
wheel racing’s legendary drivers will give the command to
start engines,” said MIS President Brett Shelton. “Al Unser
has given MIS race fans so many great memories over the years,
we’re excited that he could be a part of our July event
weekend.”
7/24/03
Tommy Kendall on Wind Tunnel This
Friday, Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain welcomes 4-time Trans-Am
Champion and current CART Speed Channel broadcaster Tommy Kendall. T.K.
will join Dave live from Vancouver where he'll be calling the CART
action as he's done all season long. Send your e-mail questions to
windtunnel@speedtv.com now
or call 1-866-W-TUNNEL from 11:00pm ET - 12:00pm ET on Friday night to
be a part of the live call-in portions of the show.
Bernie promises return to Spa in 2005,
maybe sooner Bernie Ecclestone has
promised to take his Formula One circus back to the popular and
demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit. That's
the insistence of Serge Kubla, economics minister for the southern
French-speaking region of Wallonia where Belgium used to host the
Grand Prix. He said: 'Mr Ecclestone
told me that he would do everything he can to bring back the grand
prix to Spa-Francorchamps and even for next year.'
Ecclestone, the F1 impresario, cancelled Spa's F1 contract when it
moved to accelerate a ban on tobacco advertising from 2005 to next
month. But Kubla reckons Bernie has
now assured Belgium that he'll either substitute the date of another
race or 'reach agreement with the teams to find a new date.'
'He assured me that he was 100 percent behind a return of the grand
prix to Spa,' he continued. 'In my
eyes, the worst thing that could happen now would be that the GP comes
back in 2005 and not 2004.' Belgian
news agencies are also reporting that the country's Senate Commission
for Social Affairs has voted 9-4 to approve the so-called
'Francorchamps bill'. The bill would
delay the tobacco advertising ban from next month to July 31 2005, in
accordance with the European Union's directive.
7/24/03
EuroSpeedway 2nd most popular German
track EuroSpeedway Lausitz is the most popular
German race track after the well known Nürburgring. That results from
a survey by racing1.de, one of the most popular German motorsports
portals. "Which German race track do you like most?" Within the
"racing1.de trendcheck" from 4th July until 15th July 2003 this
question has been answered by 1,067 users in total. With 20.99 % of
all votes Germany's youngest race track could successfully stand up to
Norisring (15,75%), Motopark Oschersleben (10.78%) and also
Hockenheimring and Sachsenring (10.31% each). As expected Germany's 76
years old and most famous race track finished first with 31.87% of the
votes. Marc-Thorsten Lenze, Director Media and Public Relations at
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, is happy about the result: "We are satisfied
that doing just our 3rd season we already could achieve such a good
result. Especially we are glad that this fantastic reference was given
to us by our main target group, the German motor sport fans. As a
multi-functional racing facility we offer motor sports in a big
mixture of oval and Grand Prix track racing to motor sport fans which
can't be offered in this variety by any other race tracks."
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, that just opened in August 2000, is the only
circuit in Europe that includes a 2-miles-superspeedway (tri-oval).
As a oval race track EuroSpeedway Lausitz is the home of both the
Champ Car World Series and the British Stock-Car-Series ASCAR, the
European equivalent to the American NASCAR-Winston-Cup. V8STAR is
going to be the first German touring car series that is competing two
times in the oval this year. In season 2003 the European touring car
series number one, DTM, chose the Lausitz race track as its only host
in East Germany. The Superfund World Series by Nissan, that is after
Formula One the second powerful series in Europe, had its debut in
Germany on the Grand Prix race track. Thrilling motorcycle racing
action is offered by the International German Motorcycle championship
(IDM). With Porsche GTP series and Beru Top 10 popular sports has a
home at EuroSpeedway Lausitz as well. The complete result of the
survey "www.racing1.de Trendcheck": Question: "Which German race track
do you like most?" Total Votes: 1067 (4th-15th July)
1st Nürburgring 340 votes (31,87%)
2nd EuroSpeedway Lausitz 224 votes (20,99%)
3rd Norisring 168 votes (15,75%)
4th Motopark Oschersleben 115 votes (10,78%)
5th Hockenheimring 110 votes (10,31%)
Tie Sachsenring 110 votes (10,31%)
7/24/03
CART's German 500 draws over 26.45
million viewers Total TV audiences of the "German
500" were 26.45 million. The number was actually higher, but we
have yet to find the data for Mexico and Brazil, traditionally big TV
markets for CART. We are trying to track them down. Germany 21.95 million viewers 5:27 hours on (RBB, ARD,
ZDF, MDR 3, RTL, n-tv, DSF, Bayern 3, Hessen 3, EuroNews, NDR) USA 1.63 million viewers 2:45 hours on (CBS, Speed
Channel) Pan-Europe 1.32 million viewers 0:53 hours on
(Eurosport) Canada 0.70 million viewers 7:40 hours on (RDS, TSN) France 0.59 million viewers 22:06 hours on (AB Moteurs) Australia 0.16 million viewers 1:49 hours on (Channel
10) Japan 0.09 million viewers 1:58 hours on (G+) Switzerland Unknown 0:48 hours (TSI2) Mexico unknown Brazil unknown
7/23/03
Fittipaldi to meet Brazilian soccer
team Motor racing and soccer have long been a
staple of Brazil’s sporting pastime, producing great names over the
years like Senna, Pele, Fittipaldi, and most recently the world’s
finest footman, Ronaldo. Among the great figures in Brazilian
motorsport, Emerson Fittipaldi made a name for himself through the
years as a wheelman in some of the most demanding racing machines in
the
world. The former Formula One and CART champion still represents his
native country as team owner for Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing in the
Champ Car World Series, but tonight the racing legend will switch
gears when he steps on the pitch and meets with members of Brazil’s
Men’s National Team. In tonight’s pre-game festivities for the
semifinals of the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Fittipaldi will meet the
Brazilian National soccer team before their battle with the U.S.
National Team tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET in the monstrous Orange Bowl in
Miami. The 1989 CART champion will be back in the Miami spotlight
again September 26-28 with his Fittipaldi-Dingman Champ Car squad for
the second annual Grand Prix Americas presented by Sportsbook.com,
Round 16 of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series
Powered by Ford. Tickets for the Grand Prix Americas presented by
Sportsbook.com can be purchased at
www.miamirace.com, or catch it on CBS Sports September 28th (check
local listings for air times).
7/23/03 Industry News
Kodak to cut 6,000 jobs Eastman
Kodak Co. on Wednesday said it would cut up to 6,000 jobs this year,
reflecting a need to cut costs at its flagging photographic film
business, even as it reported a 60 percent decline in second-quarter
profits.
7/23/03 Industry News
Snap-On woes continue Southeastern
Wisconsin got another dose of economic woe this week when Snap-on Inc.
said it would close its Kenosha factory, putting up to 290 people out
of work. Some will lose their jobs within a couple of months and the
prospects for transferring to other Snap-on factories will be limited
at best. The company, which has lopped off almost ten percent of its
worldwide workforce in the past two years, will also close a plant at
Mount Carmel, Ill., which will put another 270 workers there out of
work.
7/23/03
CART stock tanks In
NYSE trading today MPH closed DOWN $0.40 p/shr. on massive Volume of
483,200 shares. Volume Highlights:
The morning session lumbered along at normal for MPH volume per trade
levels until 1:00PM.
01:00PM 9,700 traded
02:16PM 8,000 traded
02:50PM 27,900 traded
02:54PM 75,000 traded
03:00PM 100,000 traded
03:29PM 32,500 traded
03:35PM 91,600 traded
MPH Value Change DOWN 15.56% for the day.
Courtesy of C3I.AndersonGroupe – Chicago www.andersongroupe.com
7/23/03
Mosley says Silverstone issues
can be resolved FIA President Max Mosley told
AUTOSPORT that the sticking point is the amount of rent that
the BRDC charges for the use of the circuit on British GP
weekend. "My understanding is that they refused a specific
proposal," said Mosley. "Jackie [Stewart, BRDC president] and
Martin [Brundle, BRDC chairman] kept questioning how much
money FOM received, but there's a certain price for a grand
prix and we can't have every other grand prix running to one
price and Britain running for less. What's been put to the BRDC is that they take a great deal less rent and do not
monopolize facilities at the circuit. In return for that,
Bernie and Octagon [now Brands Hatch Circuits] would finance
the building and all the work. So is there anything holding
the thing up? Everyone seems to be agreeing. This is a
blinding deal from their [the BRDC's] point of view. It's open
and shut. No rational person could argue against it." Mosley
hinted that the money the BRDC has been charging for rent has
been generous to say the least: "£5million is a lot for a
disused airfield that has been given to you anyway."
7/23/03
Vancouver Fan Forum set This
coming Friday in Vancouver, the Science World Stage will host
a Champ Car Fan Forum with Champ Car Vice President of Racing
Operations John Lopes, PK Racing team owner Craig Pollock,
SPEED Channel commentator Derek Daly and Team Player’s Vice
President of Operations Neil Micklewright. The forum
will run from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
7/23/03
Salles back in Coyne car Gualter
Salles (#19 Alpina Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) returns to
drive for Dale Coyne Racing in Vancouver after he missed
the last race to run in a Brazil Touring Car championship race.
7/23/03
GP of Americas pageant The
Grand Prix Americas presented by Sportsbook.com held its first
heat of the Miss Grand Prix Americas Pageant at Club Radius in
Boca Raton. Among the judges were CART Champ Car Driver Ryan
Hunter-Reay and American Le Mans Series Driver Terry
Borcheller along with his wife Tracy. The winners were: Nanci
Mazzella
Jessica Canizales
Tami Donaldson
Kristen Sheffield
Nina Silvestro
The 2003 Miss GPA Pageant is South Florida's ultimate sports
model search, where beautiful contestants compete to represent
the Grand Prix Americas. Heats will be held throughout South
Florida in July, August and September and the finals will be
held on Wednesday of race week during the Grand Prix Americas
Fan Fest at Bayside Marketplace. All semi-finalists will be a
part of the glamour and excitement of this world-famous event.
In addition, the top five finalists will be a part of the
opening ceremonies and join the winning drivers on the podium
for the trophy presentation.
7/23/03
BMW engine ahead of schedule
for 2004 Although the 2003 season still has five
races left to run, BMW are already preparing for next year and
have been doing so for some time now. Mario Theissen has
confirmed that the new engine, the P84, should be on the test
rig before the end of the month and will be tested in the car
before the year is out. “Our new engine is on schedule. We
started the development work of the P84 earlier because the
engine has to deliver a different performance. We started to
work on it at the end of 2002," Theissen explained. “Our plan
is that of 2002. We intend to test the engine in the car for
the first time before the end of the season." But, one thing
Theissen is not too enthusiastic about is the proposal to
switch back from the V10 to an eight cylinder engine in the
future as the costs would skyrocket. "To switch to eight
cylinder engines now would increase the costs drastically,
since we not only have to develop the current engine, but we
also have to push the research concerning the new engine,” he
explained on the BMW website. “It's not enough to remove two
cylinders. We would face lots of new problems."
7/23/03
Ticket sales down for
Hungarian GP Organizers of the Hungarian Grand Prix,
scheduled for the 17th of August, have said sales are down 35%
from this time last year when they saw 180,000 spectators come
through the gates over the course of the three-day event.
7/23/03
BRDC rejects Bernie's demands,
is Silverstone dead? The BRDC, Bernie Ecclestone's
Formula One Management, and members of the Government's
Department of Trade and Industry, and the East Midlands
Development Agency met yesterday to discuss the future of the
Silverstone circuit. During the meeting a deal was put forward
to the BRDC, but this was rejected by the organization. A
statement put out by FOM said, "A proposal was put forward to
secure the British Grand Prix until the end of 2015. The
proposal did not involve the BRDC raising money or taking any
financial risk. Unfortunately no progress was made with the
BRDC representatives."
Grandprix.com The news that the British Racing
Drivers' Club has rejected a deal put to it by all parties
involved in the Silverstone negotiations is disastrous news
for the short-term future of the British Grand Prix. It is not
altogether surprising given that the deal proposed was agreed
by all parties involved except the BRDC at an informal meeting
on Sunday at Silverstone. Our sources say this meeting was
attended by representatives of the Department of Trade and
Industry, the regional development agency, Formula One
Management and Octagon and that a solution to the problem was
agreed which would allow the race to continue without the BRDC
having to borrow money to fund the rebuilding work necessary.
The problem, it seems, was that the BRDC had to accept a lower
rent and the club was not willing to do that. The BRDC now has
30 days to ensure that the race goes ahead next year without
problems. If not (and it is very unlikely to happen) Britain
may be left off the World Championship calendar in 2004. There
is no doubt that the way this has been done has not pleased
the BRDC but one has to ask why this route was adopted rather
than allowing for open negotiations between all parties. The
only obvious conclusion is that the other parties did not
think that the BRDC had anything valid to contribute to
finding a solution and that raises other questions about why
this would be the case. If the race is lost it is expected
that there will be ructions within the BRDC.
Grandprix.com
7/23/03
What about other TV numbers? A
reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1, How much attention does CART (and
its sponsors) pay to the ratings on Fox Sports Espanol? It seems to
me that these numbers should be included in rating totals. I speak
very little Spanish, but I have watched two races this season (Brands
Hatch live, and Cleveland live) on Fox Sports Espanol. I also plan to
watch Road America on the same channel. I just turn down the sound and
turn on CART's internet audio. It seems that with CART's targeted
marketing at the Hispanic community, they would want to include ALL
viewers in their ratings reporting. Another thing that I have noticed
on Fox Sports Espanol is that Tecate, Quaker State, Ford, and other
sponsors buy a lot more commercial time. Tim Hubbel, Turlock, CA
Dear Tim, certainly you raise a good point. When CART had a good
international TV package through ESPN International, they used to
claim 1 billion viewers worldwide per year. However, they never
commissioned an independent study to verify those claims with real
data. It's very hard to compile from all the countries. F1
claims 2.5 billion worldwide per year. The bottom line is that
the Nielsen ratings are only a partial picture of the total viewers.
Mark C.
7/23/03
Two millionth Australia CART fan to
collect prize When Nives Ceccato from Mermaid
Waters, Australia walked through the turnstiles in Surfers Paradise,
she became the series’ two millionth fan to attend a Champ Car event
last season, winning a trip for two to a round of her choice on the
2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
schedule. "I was stoked....actually in shock when informed of the
prize. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe this had happened to me,”
Ceccato said. With 18 other Champ Car races to choose from on the 2003
schedule, Ceccato had the difficult decision of picking from a number
of outstanding events. Because of CART’s diversity and international
appeal, Ceccato had the unique opportunity to select from street
circuits, road courses, ovals or superspeedways, in exotic race
markets such as Montreal, Mexico City, Miami and London. Ultimately,
Ceccato and her husband Lucciano selected this weekend’s Molson Indy
Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada as their prize and will make the
once in a lifetime journey across the globe to see their very first
Molson Indy event. The couple will watch the Vancouver race from the
Champ Car Suite, go on two Fast Lap pace car rides, as well as stay at
the official hotel of the event. “I have attended every Lexmark Indy
300 since the first year in 1991,” Ceccato said. “My family loves it
and never misses it. Now we get to see one overseas and we can’t
wait.” CART Champ Car President and CEO Christopher R. Pook said he
was delighted to provide the opportunity for a Gold Coast family who
has supported Champ Car racing for so long with a trip of a lifetime
to an international race. “It is a testament to the natural splendor
and the great racing that we have in Vancouver that our two millionth
fan from a year ago chose to attend the Molson Indy Vancouver when
given a choice of any of our events to attend this year,” Pook said.
"As excited as we are about reaching an attendance milestone like
this, we are equally excited to provide a trip like this for a lucky
fan.” Tickets for the October 26th Lexmark Indy 300 in Australia are
on sale at www.ticketek.com, and
this weekend’s Molson Indy Vancouver will air Sunday on SPEED Channel
starting with pre-race coverage at 9:00 p.m. ET
7/23/03
Spencer responds to Andretti's comments
Andretti, making his first start for Haas CNC Racing, was involved in
a crash on the eighth lap of the New England race with Jimmy Spencer.
The Pontiac sustained severe damage to the rear and left side. "It
drives me nuts to think that another guy would do that. He hit me
three or four times down here [in Turn 3 and 4] and I thought, 'well,
he just got in deep.' I made a mistake trying to get around Dale
Jarrett and got sideways, so he got a run on me. But I was still on
the outside of him. When we went down into Turn 1, he hit me once and
then a second time and got me all the way around. The last time he hit
me, it was like it was to get me out of the way. It's really
disappointing. He's got a full-time job. He's not making life any
easier for me, I'll tell you that. I'm really, really disappointed for
the team, disappointed for me, disappointed on the day. We had a good
car and we got taken out for no reason. It's not right. When you're on
the outside, you're the helpless guy, and it's going to happen more
today. The way I feel, I think it was real intentional." Spencer's
retort: "I think John is just reaching for straws. It was just a
racing deal. He passed me earlier in the race and he slipped going up
into the corner and I got back underneath him and we went down the
back straightaway and I passed him. Then when we went up into turns
one and two my car just got a little free on me, and he kept pinching
me down and pinching me down. My thought was it was just a racing
thing, but on the other side of it, I feel like John should have used
a little more common sense. He should have said, 'This is my first
ride in this car and I have to get a good feel for it' and he didn't.
Instead, he was all aggressive and kept pinching me down and I had no
alternative left. I just got a little free and we bumped and he ended
up spinning out. I didn't mean anything by it. But desperate people do
desperate things I guess. We haven't talked. When he was fixing the
car after the race they threw some stuff on my hauler for my driver
and crew to get rid of. That was very unprofessional. It's not the
crew members that cause these problems. It is usually the drivers, so
the drivers should discuss this afterwards and he was nowhere around
to discuss this with."
7/23/03
Craven & Nemechek in Akron for Soap Box
Derby
Ricky Craven (No. 32 Tide Pontiac) and Joe Nemechek (No. 25 UAW-Delphi
Chevrolet) are scheduled to be on hand Saturday in Akron, Ohio as
NASCAR ambassadors for the 66th All-American Soap Box Derby, an
official NASCAR youth initiative. Craven, a former Soap Box racer,
attended the event last year and raced in a gravity-powered car at the
famed 989-foot Derby Downs track. The two drivers are scheduled to
face each other in an exhibition race on Saturday. Over 400 youngsters
in three divisions who hail from 42 states, Washington, D.C., Germany,
Japan and New Zealand will compete for more than $50,000 in
scholarship awards.
7/23/03
Most bonus money ever at stake
A victory at Pocono by Matt Kenseth would not only add to his lead in
the NASCAR Winston Cup championship standings, but would add
handsomely to his pocket as well. Kenseth has the only opportunity to
take home the NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus, which now stands at a
record $200,000. The former mark was established by Bobby Labonte (No.
18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet) in 2000 when he collected $190,000
with his win at Indianapolis. The last driver to claim the bonus was
Sterling Marlin (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge) following his win at
Darlington in March 2002, 50 races ago.
7/23/03
700th start for Rudd
Rudd (No. 21 Motorcraft Ford) has started a NASCAR Winston
Cup-record 699 consecutive races, and has his sights set on
No. 700 at Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500. The start at Pocono
Raceway would be Rudd’s 49th at the track, more than any other
NASCAR Winston Cup driver. The highlight of the 49 starts came
in the Pocono 500 of June 2001 when he recorded his lone
victory at the 2.5-mile track. During a streak that has
entered its 22nd season, Rudd has registered 23 NASCAR Winston
Cup wins, 28 Bud Poles, 186 top-five finishes and 322 top-10
efforts. He has been ranked in the NASCAR Top 10 at season’s
end a total of 18 times during the streak, with a top finish
of second coming in the 1991 season. He has earned over $30
million in winnings and was voted one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest
Drivers during that span. Plenty to be proud of, plenty to
relish. But one aspect of his streak – quality finishes –
stands out most for Rudd, a 46-year-old native of Chesapeake,
Va. “I guess something I’m a little prouder of – and I’m not
sure of the average – but in nearly 50% of those races
(actually 46% during the streak – 322 of 358), we finished in
the top 10,” Rudd said. “So it is not just being there, it is
kind of the quality of the finishes you got when you were
there. I get asked a lot how the sport has changed,” he said.
“I’ve been around since 1975, and I’m coming close to 700
starts. But the first seven, eight years of my career were
spent working hard trying to get my foot in the door. That was
the hard part. There were a lot of successful guys and very
talented drivers that just never made it. Now you’ve got 43
cars on any given weekend that if everything gets tuned up
just right any of those 43 could win. There are favorites, but
it’s not impossible for one of these guys to win that you’re
not expecting to because of the quality of the teams and the
quality of the drivers. There’s a lot more depth of
competition than there used to be.”
7/23/03
New England 300 TV Rating up
3% Sunday’s New
England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway had a
final rating of 4.7 on TNT. Over 4 million households tuned
in, up 3% from last year’s broadcast. The race also produced
the largest audience for a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on
cable this season and was the weekend’s most-watched sporting
event on cable.
7/23/03
What does it all mean?
A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, In light of CART'S poor financial
guidance for 2003 yesterday, what do you make of the large
number of shares traded yesterday and the price jumping up
$.21? I would have thought the bottom would have fallen out as
a result of yesterday's news. Rick Flaute, Dayton, Ohio
Dear Rick, The group who are going to bid on CART are fully
aware of the financial situation with CART. The revised
guidance likely caused some of the remaining investors to
sell, while those looking to buy the company and take it
private probably decided to grab even more shares at today's
low price. The group will have to offer at least $3 per
share (we think) to buy the company, so every share they can
buy for less than that is money saved. Mark C.
A scathing attack on the IRL?
While not directly saying negative things about the IRL, this article
by Gordon Kirby is an absolutely scathing attack on the IRL, its
basic premise, indeed its fundamental flaws. One interesting excerpt,
Tim Coffeen makes the point that road racing is a different spectacle
than oval racing, and that many oval fans don’t appreciate the
physical requirements of road racing. “Road racing will never be like
oval racing where you go around the track side-by-side all day long,”
Coffeen observed. “It’s a different art form. Another thing many
people don’t realize about road racing is how physical it is, how
physically demanding it is on the drivers. You don’t see any fat guys
in road racing.”....which is really more of a refection on NASCAR,
where overweight drivers are more common.
7/23/03
Did you know? A
brain child of former CART Champ Car President and CEO, John Frasco,
the Molson Indy Vancouver was established in 1989 with the collective
assistance from the City of Vancouver, Concord Pacific Place, Molson
Breweries, B.C. Pavilion Corporation and Tourism Vancouver. The
original course was built around B.C. Place Stadium on the former Expo
'86 lands on the north side of False Creek in downtown Vancouver. The
first CART race event was held on Labor Day Weekend in 1990…Molson
Breweries purchased the race from John Frasco in 1995 and has executed
the event every year since under the management of their sports and
entertainment division, now known as Molson Sports &
Entertainment…Over the years, the continued development of the False
Creek lands on the Concord Pacific Place site has resulted in numerous
changes to the race track and event site. In 1997, the race announced
that a major change to the race track route would take place prior to
the 1998 event. Residential development of the False Creek area had
boomed and the land required for grandstands and event amenities had
become a sea of high end condominiums and a beautiful waterfront
community…From the 1998 race through to 2004, the race track has and
will run around the end of False Creek utilizing portions of downtown
streets including Pacific Boulevard, Abbott Street, Expo Boulevard,
Quebec Street and the Science World parking lot in Creekside Park. In
addition, the facility is made up of lands owned and controlled by
Concord Pacific Place, the Plaza of Nations, GM Place, the City of
Vancouver, Vancouver Park Board, Translink and Science World. The
annual race attracts over 160,000 people during its three event days.
7/23/03
Andretti Foundation to host "Breakfast
with the Fans" program The Michael Andretti
Foundation is introducing “Breakfast with the Fans,” an opportunity
for fans to be a VIP for the morning and get an inside look at the
activities that take place at Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
events. This thrilling opportunity is being offered to fans at three
different locations: in Nazareth, Pa., on Aug. 22, Fontana, Calif., on
Sept. 19 and Fort Worth, Texas on Oct. 10. The activities will be held
on Friday mornings in all locations with times varying from track to
track. All participants will be issued a special VIP pass for that
morning, which will get them access into the tour areas. Only those
who purchase the appropriate tickets/credentials from the speedways
will be permitted to stay past the conclusion of the tour. Cost for
each event is $ 75 per person and space is limited to 60 fans in each
market on a first-come, first-served basis. As part of the “Breakfast
with the Fans” program, the participants will be able to start the day
off with a full-service breakfast served at the Team 7-Eleven
hospitality area by the Andretti Green Racing chefs. Then, the
activities will continue with a “question & answer” session with AGR
owner Michael Andretti, followed by an autograph for each guest.
Guests will then be able to sit back and relax while they get the
inside information on both the track and the IndyCar Series, including
an up close look at an AGR team car. All proceeds from the fundraisers
will be donated to the Michael Andretti Foundation. Fans can secure a
spot at the events by sending an e-mail to:
foundation@andretti.com.
For additional information, fans should contact the office at
1-800-324-1321. Checks must be made out to: The Michael Andretti
Foundation. Specific schedules & information pertaining to each event
will be communicated with the participants closer to the event date.
Please note that all inclusions are subject to change based on event
schedule changes made by the speedway or the IRL.
7/23/03
Vancouver track talk
The 12-turn temporary street course in downtown Vancouver is centered
around the scenic False Creek waterway. Fernandez Racing Race Engineer
David Watson estimates top speeds of 183 mph down the long back
straight, and minimum cornering speeds of 55 mph. Drivers will shift
20 times per lap throughout the course of the 100-lap race, pulling a
maximum G force load of 2.4. The complex track provides many
challenges as Watson notes: “Curbing can be a problem here, and the
car needs to be solid through the right-hander onto the back straight.
The circuit is bumpy so shocks are important. Traffic during
qualifying can be an issue so you need to get up to speed quickly.
After four races in a row where rain has threatened the show, I hope
the weather will be boring and remain dry!” Fernández
Racing
7/23/03 Industry News
Toyota will push on in China Senior
executives from Japan's top carmaker Toyota say tight regulations will
not slow its drive into China's booming market, although they hope for
some relaxation of the rules. "There is a view that this way of
thinking could contradict international rules as China is in the WTO,"
Toyota president Fujio Cho said yesterday when asked about the
reported Chinese policy of giving a bigger market share to Chinese
carmakers. "If it is true ... we have to develop new strategies" to
deal with Beijing's plan, he said. However, he did not know about a
reported "draft" of China's new car policy. China joined the World
Trade Organization in December 2001. Mr. Cho said: "There is no
question we will combine all our resources [to expand Toyota's
business in China]." Toyota vice president Yoshio Ishizaka said
Beijing was banning joint ventures between Chinese and foreign
companies from selling imported cars through their sales channels.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Tokyo
7/23/03
Chevy, Cosworth, IRL and CART A
reader writes, Dear AR1, One interesting side effect of the
Cosworth/Chevy IRL engine deal... if Ford's biggest rival, GM, can
take a Cosworth engine and badge it as a Chevy, then it really shows
the potential for a spec engine, badged by different companies, in
CART. And Cosworth has shown that they can handle the load. They're
handling the entire field in CART, and will carry Chevy's portion of
the IRL field, along with their normal F1, BTCC, WRC, & other
commitments. David Laufer Dear David, You are absolutely
correct. Our proposal for CART to have Cosworth supply the
entire CART field with spec V10 or V8 Turbo engines was based on 1)
They have proven they have the capacity to do it and do it well, 2)
The badging concept is the fairest, most economical way to go racing
for all involved. In fact, CART should work with Cosworth to do
it ASAP, even 2004. For the first year, the Ford name can be on,
say, 1/3 of the engines, and the other 2/3 badged by say, two other
car companies that might want to buy into a major racing series.
I don't see them landing more than three companies this late in the
game for 2004, but the beauty of this concept is that any company can
come onboard even in the 11th hour because the engines are ready.
There really is no reason to wait on this concept. It will sell
itself once car manufacturers hear about the option and realize the
economics of the concept. In year #2 and year #3 more companies
will see how well it is working and scramble to get in before the
maximum is met. We proposed a maximum of five companies, each
taking three two-car teams, for a total of six cars per manufacturer
and 30 maximum cars on the starting grid. A return to a 30-car
grid should be CART's goal. The more cars on the grid the more
fans in the grandstands and the more people watching on TV because
each driver has his/her fan following. 3) The badging concept
immediately enables a company like Chevy, Cadillac, Hyundai,
etc, who don't have the wherewithal to build race engines at that
level, to come into the series in a big way, winning races the very
first year, and instead of wasting untold sums of money trying to
build an engine to be competitive over a period of 3 to 5 years, can
instead invest that money in their "factory" teams, in series
advertising, in marketing, in special fan promotions, etc., all the
important areas that grow the series/sport. In our mind, and in
many people in the CART paddock that we have bounced this concept off
of, this is a concept in racing whose time has come. For CART to
continue with just the Ford name in 2004 serves no purpose whatsoever.
It's not like Ford is pumping huge amounts of money into the series to
help CART grow. Just the opposite, they have been largely
invisible, and even their hospitality tent has disappeared from the
CART paddock. If we were running CART, we would contact every
single car manufacturer in the world immediately and offer the badging
concept to them for 2004. We're willing to bet they would get
more takers than just Ford, and that's a good thing for all the
obvious reasons. Mark C.
7/23/03
What is CART's Business Plan?
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, You’ve done an excellent job of
evaluating CART’s issues and proposing solutions. Given CART’s pace of
spending and the need for a cash infusion from the buying group as it
goes private, I’m wondering about their business plan. No one will buy
CART without a business plan that will show how they plan to make it
profitable in a relatively short period… say within two years. How do
you see the business plan coming together in terms of revenues versus
spending? Perhaps a new article is in order. The business plan needs
to address all sources of revenues as well as anticipated operating
expenses and capital expenses (if any). Questions: 1) How much longer
before teams will have the necessary sponsors to operate independently
of CART funding?, 2) What big companies could potentially replace the
tobacco companies, particularly Players in this case?, 3) Can CART
raise sanction fees to track operators without losing them to the IRL?
4) How much is needed from the primary series sponsor (nee PPG and
FedEx) and perhaps associate series sponsors to support the series? 5)
What will it take in terms of advertising dollars per race to cover
the costs of producing CART races for TV? 6) Can CART or the teams
plan for and expect any financial help from the eventual return of
competing engine manufacturers? Maury Williams, Cincinnati OH
Dear Maury, Clearly the new team that is going to take CART private
already have a plan in place. To answer your questions directly,
1) The new CART TV package and the trust in the new CART owners will
help the teams land sponsorship deals. 2004 will be soft, but by
2005 things should look a lot better if the economy picks up; 2) We
have heard and it is rumored that Canadian Labatts Beer could possibly
replace Player's, but we're not certain. 3) Not at this time,
and not before 2006 as we see it. 4) NASCAR is rumored to be
getting $80 million per year from Nextel. Using a ratio of TV
ratings, where CART's are about 1/5 of NASCAR's ratings, you can do
the math and see a sponsor should pay about $16 million per year to
CART to be the series sponsor. A lot will depend on who the new owners
of CART are. If Bernie Ecclestone is involved and everyone knows
it, then CART is golden. If he's not involved, CART won't
command anywhere near that amount. 5) As we understand it, about $1
million per race, in round numbers. 6) Absolutely. And if CART
doesn't get more manufacturers involved in the series in 2004, it's
chances of survival will be greatly diminished. The engine
badging concept allows this to happen. CART has the solution
staring them in the face, but will they use it only they know. Mark
C.
7/23/03
Joel Camathias reflects on his CART
experience Joel Camathias reflects on his recent experience
driving for Dale Coyne and his desire to remain in the Champ Car
series on his website.
7/23/03
CART stock watch
In NYSE trading Tuesday MPH closed at $2.57 UP $0.21 p/shr. on Volume
of 179,000 shares.
Session High: $2.58. Session Low: $2.36
52 Week High: $8.65. 52 Week Low: $2.22
Courtesy of C3I.AndersonGroupe – Chicago www.andersongroupe.com
7/22/03
HBO to air Zanardi special tonight The
inspirational story of Alex Zanardi’s emotional return to the cockpit
of a 750hp CART Champ Car thrilled racing fans across the globe when
he turned laps around the two-mile EuroSpeedway Lausitz at an average
speed of 194 mph. Now for fans that want to relive the moment as well
as view much of the behind-the-scenes action of the landmark event,
HBO’s sports magazine show, Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel will air a
segment on Zanardi and his remarkable story in tonight’s edition of
the award-winning show, which debuts at 10:00 p.m. ET on HBO. A
two-time former CART Champ Car title winner, Zanardi turned 13 laps in
a specially-prepared hand-control race car in his first time in a
Champ Car since his horrific 2001 accident that resulted in the
traumatic amputation of his lower legs. Television’s most honored
sports magazine show visited EuroSpeedway in May to capture the
moments leading up the exhibition laps and caught Zanardi in private
moments before and after his run. Gumbel spoke not only with Zanardi,
but also fellow Champ Car drivers Jimmy Vasser and Alex Tagliani along
with CART Champ Car physicians Dr. Terry Trammell and Dr. Steve Olvey,
who helped save Zanardi’s life in the moments after the accident.
Gumbel and the Real Sports production team also traveled back to
Zanardi’s home in Monte Carlo last month to further document the
amazing tale of the popular Italian driver. The show will re-air
nearly 60 times in the next month across all of HBO’s family of cable
networks.
7/22/03
CART issues revised financial guidance
for 2003
Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (CART) (NYSE:MPH) today
updated its financial guidance for 2003 and the outlook for
2004 and it's all bad news!!! 2003 Financial Guidance The company is updating its financial
guidance for 2003 following the conclusion of the first half of its
race season. With ten of its scheduled nineteen races in the record
books, four of six self-promoted events and six of its seven scheduled
network races for the 2003 season completed, the company has revised
its expectations based on the trends seen in several key areas. Sanction Fees and Self-Promoted Races The company currently
expects to receive sanction fees of $24.0 to $25.0 million, down from
its previous expectation of $25.0 to $26.0 million. The reduction is
due to a reduced outlook for revenue sharing at its races where the
sanction fee is determined by the commercial success of the race,
based on race experience so far this year. We have conducted four
CART-promoted events so far in 2003: Brands Hatch, England,
Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany, Portland, Oregon and Cleveland, Ohio.
Based on its experience to date and the forecast for the two remaining
CART-promoted events, the company believes the losses from all its
self-promoted events will be in the upper range of its previous
guidance of $4.8 to $7.8 million for 2003. Sponsorship Sales Sponsorship sales so far this year are
trending behind our previous guidance. With a soft advertising market
and an economy that is struggling to recover, sponsorship sales
continue to be a challenge for the company. The company is lowering
its previous expectation for 2003 sponsorship sales of $7.0 to $8.0
million to $6.0 to $7.0 million. Television Advertising Sales We have completed six of the
seven scheduled CBS network races for this year, where the rates we
can charge are higher than those we can charge for cable advertising.
Based on our recent experience in selling our television advertising
and the fact that all but one of our remaining races will be on cable,
we are reducing our previous forecasts down to $2.0 million to $3.0
million for 2003. Operating Costs Administrative and indirect expenses are
expected to be approximately $1.0 million greater than previously
anticipated due to higher than expected legal expenses and the
settlement of a lawsuit. We now expect administrative and indirect
expenses to be between $22.0 and $23.0 million for 2003. Outlook for 2004 and Beyond Due to the continuing
downward trend in several of its critical revenue streams, as
discussed above, and a lowering of its expectations regarding the 2004
year, management now expects that it will need to raise additional
capital to complete the 2004 season. Projections beyond 2004 are, in
management's view, very speculative. Currently, however, management
does not expect the company to have positive cash flow from operations
or earnings any earlier than 2006. As announced previously in light of
the near term financial challenges facing the company we have retained
the investing banking firm of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. to assist us in
exploring financing and other strategic alternatives that may be
available to CART. There cannot be any assurance that this process
will result in any transaction or as to the terms and conditions of
any transaction that may be proposed to or pursued by the company.
7/22/03 F-3000
Will Langhorne talks about England race
I want to thank BCN Competition for the opportunity to race with them
at Silverstone. As a team, we continue to make gains and as I get more
comfortable with the car we are starting to show the true potential of
the car and the team. This past weekend we made good progress in the
overall pace of the car, but unfortunately I made a mistake in an
attempted pass that hurt our result. However, I still need to continue
to be aggressive in my driving and yet make fewer mistakes. I was very
glad to have Mark Hynes as a teammate. He is a true champion and is an
excellent asset to the team with his experience. I am totally
impressed with the BCN Competition F3000 team's commitment and desire
to win and they are constantly working hard to improve the car. At the
start of the race, I got too much wheelspin but was pleasantly
surprised at the pace of the car and the opportunity to make some
competitive passes. As for my off, Baumgartner got sideways out of a
corner and I looked for the opportunity to pass. Unfortunately, I had
one side of the car on the marbles and lost it under braking and just
went through the gravel trap. I continued at speed through the gravel
trap to ensure that I did not get stuck. After expending some time
cleaning my tires up, I was on a relative pace with the leaders for
the remainder of the race. I think we made some gains this weekend and
are in a good position for Hockenheim. I have won twice at Hockenheim
in the Porsche Cup and look forward to being very competitive with the
BCN Competition F3000 team at the new circuit. I want to thank
everyone for their support to allow me to compete in International
F3000 and I especially appreciate the hard work of the team and the
lengths they have gone to make sure that all the available resources
are utilized in this effort in furthering the development of the car.
7/22/03
Claude Bourbonnais to
drive for Gentilozzi
French Canadian driver Claude Bourbonnais will make his
Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup debut during the
Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières July 31-Aug. 2. Bourbonnais, a
veteran open-wheel and sports car racer, will drive the No. 3
Rocketsports Racing Jaguar XKR at North America’s oldest
temporary street course. Bourbonnais will compete in the car
normally driven by three-time Trans-Am Series champion Paul
Gentilozzi. Gentilozzi, who ended his record streak of 183
consecutive starts by surrendering his ride to Brian Simo at
Lime Rock earlier this year, is competing on a part-time basis
this year. “My goal this season is to seek out
championship-caliber drivers to compete in the No. 3 Jaguar
XKR,” said Gentilozzi, who will be in Road America during the
Trois-Rivières weekend with his Champ Car World Series team.
“Claude more than fits that description. He’s been competitive
in every series in which he’s raced, and has demonstrated
himself as a true racer. He’ll be a potent force to deal with
in front of a hometown crowd, at his home track.” Bourbonnais
will receive backing from longtime sponsor Player’s for the
Trois-Rivières event. Player’s is a former title sponsor of
the Trois-Rivières race. “We hope that this sponsorship will
enable Claude to do well at Trois-Rivières,” said Michael
Bonelli, Sponsorship Associate for Player’s. “There are
several reasons for our decision to provide this support. We
are a sponsor of the Rocketsports team in the Champ Car World
Series and we were aware the team was looking for an
experienced driver to compete at Trois-Rivières. As a former
title sponsor of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, we wanted
to find some way to be associated with this extremely popular
event by providing a ride to an accomplished Quebec driver,”
added Bonelli. “We selected Claude because he is a former
member of the Player’s driver development program who has
considerable racing experience. We wish him well in
Trois-Rivières.”
7/22/03
Mario Andretti sounds off
In this Lima News
article, Mario Andretti addresses some issues - So
with the Aug. 10 race at Mid-Ohio, one of CART's oldest races,
rumored to be off the schedule in 2004, would Andretti the
ex-board member try to step in and save the day? "Well, let's
put it this way, it takes two to tango. If Mid-Ohio wants
CART, I don't think CART really is in the business of axing
events that have been on the schedule for a long time,"
Andretti said. "I think the situation in Mid-Ohio is quite
different than what it was at Elkhart Lake. I think this is
something that there is still time to work out potential
issues that could stand in the way of a renewal. Both sides
have to want to be there. It's got to make sense for everyone.
So if Mid-Ohio really wants CART, I don't think CART's going
to go away." Andretti has also been outspoken in his support
of a single, unified open-wheel series in North America,
something that hasn't been since Tony George formed the IRL in
1995. Is a unified series even possible now? "We know that
between the two series there are some fundamental philosophies
that differ. But, again, I think you've got to look at the big
picture. I keep saying, I think the overall well being of
open-wheel racing is what is at stake here," Andretti said.
"That's the way we should be reasoning today; how do we find
common ground? How do we find a way to pull in the same
direction? I would like to think we'd be a lot stronger
pulling together than going separate ways. I fully believe
that there would be winners on all sides if the two factions
would come together with a common agreement." If anyone could
pull it off, Andretti would have to be on the list of
finalists.
7/22/03
Pocono is a gold mine for fans
and sponsors The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny
Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Pocono: "We run a
500-mile race there in the middle of June and they pack the
place. We come back, what, five or six weeks later, and they
pack it all over again. I bet if we ran a third one in another
five weeks, they'd pack that one too. I guess Doc and Rose (Mattioli)
had a pretty good read on the fans in this area when they and
some friends built the place back 20-something years ago. They
have always said there is a hunger up here for good racing,
and that shows in the grandstands. These fans are intense.
From what I've seen, all of our fans are pretty intense, but
the ones around Pocono seem to give it that little something
extra. If they are cheering for you, they don't just applaud
politely. Man, they are up on their feet, stomping and
screaming and yelling your name. If they are booing you, they
don't just give you a dirty look - they get on their feet, and
stomp and scream and yell your name. Yeah, I know. You just
have to be there to tell the difference. You have to ride
through the infield to get to the garage, and it gives you a
chance to see them up close. They are ready. They love this
stuff. These are what the real supporters of racing are like.
These are the people that don't just buy our sponsors'
products, they go out of their way to buy them. I'd bet you a
Coca-Cola that you could go into that infield and find
nothing but Brawny paper towels. No self-respecting Pocono
race fan would dare come into that infield with anything else.
Then again, why would anybody buy anything else? It's the best
out there. But it goes to show you what kind of people they are. They
know the sport. They know the players. They know what is
involved. They get to the track early in the week and early
each day, and they stay until the last engine cuts off. They
don't want to miss anything. Hopefully you won't be able to do
it this weekend but watch sometime when it rains. Half of them
go under the grandstands to stay dry, the other half stay up
there under ponchos and umbrellas just to make sure they don't
miss anything. They'll cheer the jet dryer when it goes by."
7/22/03
Winning a race may cost less
than a buck A roll of tape costs a race team less
than a dollar, but the changes it produces in a race vehicle
often mean several positions in the finishing order - and
several thousand dollars. Two Ford Racing NASCAR truck teams
took to the 1.54-mile track at Atlanta Motor Speedway on
Monday to see just how much difference the tape configuration
on the front air dam and grille made to the trucks' cooling
system and downforce. "If you add more tape, your truck gets
faster because you loosen it up and give it more downforce,"
said Rick Crawford, driver of the No. 14 Circle Bar Motel/RV
Park Ford. "But if there's too much tape, then you're not
giving the engine a chance to cool and it hurts you in the
end. We're trying to find the balance." Crawford tested 29
different tape setups on the grille of his truck Monday, and
his team compared those telemetry numbers against the numbers
set by Carl Edwards in his No. 99 Roush Racing Ford Monday.
"What we're doing is going to help Ford Racing in the Truck
Series as a whole," Edwards said. "I think the other teams
have done this, but I'm not sure Ford had until this point,
but hopefully we'll learn something that will help the whole
Ford program."
7/22/03
Sauber reconsidering Friday
option for 2004 Sauber-Petronas F1 team principal
Peter Sauber regrets that he did not join rivals who signed up
to the 'Heathrow Agreement', allowing them to test for two
hours on the Friday of each GP weekend, reports Motorsport
Aktuell. "Looking back, I have to admit that it would have
been the better way," said Sauber. "We're currently
investigating if it's worth changing our testing strategy for
2004."
7/22/03 Industry News
Rupert Murdoch a dad again
Reuters
reports that News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch has become a
father for the sixth time. Wendi Deng, the third wife of the
72-year-old chairman, gave birth to the couple's second child -- a
girl named Chloe -- in New York on Thursday. Murdoch and Deng, 35,
already have a one-year-old daughter, Grace.
7/22/03
ALMS set with NBC team
Rick Benjamin will be the lead announcer for NBC Sports live television
coverage of three upcoming races for the American Le Mans Series,
joined by a veteran team of announcers and producers. The July
27 running of the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma from California's
Infineon Raceway will be the first NBC Sports telecast of an American
Le Mans Series event in 2003 and continues a relationship that has
existed between the series and the network since the ALMS was formed
in 1999. The broadcast begins at 4 p.m. (EDT). Also appearing on
NBC Sports will be American Le Mans Series events from Mosport
International Raceway near Toronto on August 17 and from Mazda Raceway
Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., on Sept. 7. Benjamin, a veteran
and diversified auto racing announcer, will be anchoring NBC Sports
telecasts of American Le Mans Series races for the third consecutive
year. He has appeared on many American TV networks covering many forms
of racing and continues as a mainstay on SPEED Channel, including
hosting the weekend "SPEED News" program. "I'm very happy to be
back with NBC Sports for the American Le Mans Series," said Benjamin.
"We have a great team assembled and we look forward to bringing the
excitement of the events to our viewers." On the three NBC
telecasts, Benjamin will be joined in the booth by former sports car
racing standout Bill Adam, who will provide race analysis. Reporting
from the pits will be Martin Haven and Jon Beekhuis. Tracy Wolfson
will be a feature reporter on the telecast from Infineon Raceway.
Bill Herbstman will serve as Production Coordinator for NBC Sports,
while the race telecasts will be produced by Wheeler Television of
Charlotte, N.C. Billy McCoy will be the Director and Jim Roller will
be Producer.
7/22/03
Mugen Honda boss put in slammer2nd UPDATE Hirotoshi Honda has
been formally charged with $8.4 million in tax evasion. He faces
up to 4 years in jail, making him 65 before he gets out.
7/2/03 - Hirotoshi Honda has stepped
down as president of Mugen after being arrested yesterday on suspicion
of a massive tax evasion. He is accused of dodging $8.3 million in
corporate taxes by hiding $25m of income in a separate company and
creating false accounts to cover the money. Honda and Mugen's auditor,
Norio Hirokawa, allegedly doctored the books for three years between
1997 and 2000. Hirokawa was also arrested. The Honda Motor Company,
which was founded by Hirotoshi's father Soichiro, did hold a 40% stake
in Mugen until 1999 when the shares were returned to Hirotoshi Honda.
Honda Motor said that the company was "very surprised" at the arrests
but said in a statement that it had been aware that Mugen was under
investigation. In a separate case on Monday in Tokyo Hirotoshi Honda
was ordered to pay $14.8 million to an automotive parts supplier.
7/1/02 - It's reported in France that Hirotoshi
Honda, president of the former F1 engine supplier Mugen Honda,
and the son of Honda Motors founder has been arrested in
connection with an investigation into tax evasion. "Our lawyer
was informed by prosecutors about the arrest of our president
today," said a spokesman for Mugen, according to French news
agency AFP. "We believe he is innocent as there is no evidence
proving his involvement. Facts will become clear after
investigators probe the case carefully." The same news agency
reported that the company's auditor was also arrested.
Earnings at GM fall 30%
Second-quarter earnings tumbled 30 percent at General Motors
Corp. as the world's largest automaker made almost nothing
selling cars and trucks, either here or in Europe. Virtually
all of its profits came from loaning money for home and
commercial mortgages. Despite the mixed message in GM's
numbers, chief financial officer John Devine said Thursday
that the automaker is optimistic about the rest of the year
and should make more in the second half of 2003 than it
expected a few months ago. GM's upbeat attitude -- it sees
incentives moderating and sales picking up -- contrasts with
Ford Motor Co. which was cynical about the next few months and
its ability to make a profit in the third quarter in a
Wednesday call with Wall Street.
7/21/03 Industry News
Visteon losses mount
Visteon Corp., the world's fourth-largest maker of auto parts,
had a $167-million net loss in the second quarter because of
costs to close a business and lower production at Ford Motor
Co., its largest customer. The $1.33 a share loss compared
with net income of $72 million, or 56 cents, in the 2002
period, the Dearborn-based company said Friday. Sales fell 8.5
percent, from $5.04 billion to $4.61 billion. Visteon relies
on Ford for four-fifths of sales. The automaker reduced North
American production 15 percent in the quarter as U.S. sales
fell in the first half. Visteon, which is getting rid of
unprofitable businesses or those whose earnings it considers
insufficient, had $139 million in costs for transferring its
seating unit to Johnson Controls Inc. The company continues
"to chip away at their business," said Credit Lyonnais
Securities Inc. analyst Chuck Brady. "They still have a
considerable amount of lower-margin businesses that aren't
core for them." Brady rates Visteon "reduce" and said he
doesn't own the shares.
7/21/03
GP
of the Americas signs another sponsor
Grand Prix Americas has secured Sportsbook.com as the
presenting sponsor for the 2003 race, announced Chuck M.
Martinez, president and general manager, Grand Prix Americas.
The event will now be called the Grand Prix Americas presented
by Sportsbook.com. This sponsorship marks the rare partnership
of an on-line gaming company with a major motor-racing event.
“We are elated to have an international publicly traded
company such as Sportsbook.com become involved in our race,”
said Martinez. “This is an exciting time for us as race week
nears. This partnership puts us one step closer to our goal of
making the Grand Prix Americas one of the elite sporting
events in the country.” “Sportsbook.com is excited to
begin a long term relationship with CART and the Grand Prix
Americas,” said Jeff Gilroy, spokesperson, Sportsbook.com.
“This is a key element of our auto racing program and I
believe you will see more pro sports leagues and organizations
working with Sportsbook.com in the near future.”
Sportsbook.com, a progressive online gaming company, was
founded in 1997 from a base in the Caribbean and has since
grown to become the industry leader. Sportsbook.com, now based
in London, is publicly traded as part of the Sportingbet
PLC Group, the largest online gaming company in the world.
7/21/03
Giaffone returns to Brazil for
rehab Felipe Giaffone has been released from
the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana in Indianapolis and is
in his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to Dr. Henry
Bock, medical services director for the Indy Racing League.
Giaffone, the 2001 Bombardier IRL Rookie of the Year, is
continuing to recover from fractures to his right leg and
pelvis suffered in an accident with Dan Wheldon on Lap 56 of
the Kansas Indy 300 on July 6 at Kansas Speedway. “Felipe is
returning home to Brazil to continue his rehabilitation,” Bock
said. “His rehabilitation is going well.” While in Brazil,
Giaffone is under the care of Dr. Moises Cohen, a renowned
Brazilian surgeon who specializes in sports injuries and
operates a physical therapy facility. Giaffone, 28, plans to
undergo his rehabilitation five hours a day, seven days a
week. “I’m feeling great,” Giaffone said. “The trip to Brazil
was not as bad as I thought it would be. I think this will be
the best thing for me, to be back home in my native country
for a while with my family and work out with Dr. Cohen and his
staff everyday. He’s worked with all the big drivers and
athletes in Brazil, and I plan to work harder than I ever have
in my life so I can get back into the Hollywood car for the
last three races of the season. That’s my plan, anyway. This
is a great facility, and I’ve heard great things about it.
“Again, I want to say thanks to everyone in the racing
community. They’ve been so great with their phone calls and
e-mails and cards and letters and everything.” Giaffone said
he plans to return to the United States to watch both the
Belterra Casino Indy 300 Aug. 17 at Kentucky Speedway and the
Firestone Indy 225 Aug. 24 at Nazareth Speedway. He scored his
first IndyCar Series victory last season at Kentucky Speedway.
Further updates about Giaffone’s condition will be provided
when available.
7/21/03
Watch out for da Matta in 2004UPDATE A reader responds,
a couple of "light fuel load" out of sequence laps, makes da
Matta (and many other CART drivers) as good as, or even better
than any in F1? Project that theory on Bourdais too, and
F3000 is by FAR THE BEST OW series in the world .....dream on!
Mike Baretta, Miami, FL 7/21/03 - A reader writes, Dear AR1, In yesterday's British Grand Prix
Cristiano proved what he has said before: CART has drivers who
are as good as (if not better) than any driver in F1. Although
he found himself in P1 because of the circumstances (he was
out of sequence when all sorts of crazy things started
happening); he was able to set the pace of the race (something
that only the best drivers can do). He not only showed
everyone how to properly restart a race when the green flag
came out; but once he found his rhythm he pulled away.
Raikkonen, in his far superior McLaren, was working hard to
keep his pace; that's outstanding if you consider that Kimi is
a serious contender for the Championship. If Toyota gives him
a competitive car, watch Cristiano in 2004. Robert
Reyes Dear Robert, Next
year da Matta will have learned all the tracks and Toyota will
only be stronger. Mark C.
7/21/03
BRDC can't borrow to save
Silverstone
Sir Jackie Stewart ridiculed a suggestion by F1 supremo Bernie
Ecclestone that the BRDC should borrow $80 million to spice up
Silverstone. "The BRDC's overdraft right now is £3.26m and to
say we should borrow the £50-60m is just ridiculous," he said.
"We are prepared to sit down and do what we can. But we can't
do it all ourselves. We should sit down with everyone who
benefits from the British Grand Prix and sort something out
reflecting what each gets out of the race." 72-year-old
Ecclestone, however, dismissed Stewart's refusal to get a bank
loan to complete renovations that'll secure the Silverstone F1
race until 2015. "He can't say he can't afford to borrow
money," said Ecclestone. "They get £8 million in rent on the
track and don't spend a cent. I've never seen any money come
out of the BRDC. If he can't afford the grand prix, he should
go without. There are people who CAN afford it." We
suspect that at the end of the day, Bernie will come in and
either take control of the race by buying the rights from BRDC,
or become a partial owner of the race with them.
7/21/03
Tempers flare after Nashville
According to this Autosport.com
article, The art of passing became an act of
controversy in Saturday night's IRL IndyCar Series race at
Nashville Superspeedway. Pinched by a narrow racing groove,
one another and officials, IRL drivers complained about all of
the above following the Firestone Indy 200 on the 1.33-mile
concrete oval. Scott Sharp was black-flagged and served a
drive-through penalty for allegedly blocking Sam Hornish Jr.
Tomas Scheckter was sent to the tail for speeding on pit lane.
At one point, IRL officials warned A.J. Foyt IV to get out of
the way and speed up. In all, it was not an aesthetically
pleasing performance. Buddy Lazier wrecked twice in the late
laps while trying to go all out, leaving Scheckter angry at
Lazier and Tora Takagi and the IRL for a 10th-place finish.
"Sometimes the rules have been a little lenient," Scheckter
said of the pit violation. "When there's a whole bunch of cars
in front of you and then say there's a backmarker that doesn't
come in to the pits, you try to catch the leaders in the
little bit of space you have before pit speed comes on.
Sometimes you push it, but you're not really over speed."
Sharp also disagreed with his penalty, which assisted his
slide from the lead to a 13th-place finish. "All in all, it's
a real shame about the penalty," Sharp said. "I don't think it
was deserved."
7/21/03
Emmo to present Latin Grammy
Award nominations
Former CART Champ Car World Series champion and current team
co-owner Emerson Fittipaldi has been one of the biggest
celebrities in the nation of Brazil for many years, dating
back to his championship-winning days as a Formula 1 driver in
the 1970s and ‘80s. Now, one of the country’s most
recognizable stars will present nominations for the next
generation of Brazilian talent as Fittipaldi will participate
in the Fourth Annual Latin Grammy award nominations on Tuesday
in Miami. Fittipaldi will reveal the nominations for a
to-be-named Brazilian category in a ceremony in the main
ballroom of Miami’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. He will be joined
by many of the stars of the Latin music world for the
ceremony, which celebrates the achievements of Latin artists
in the past year. The actual award ceremony will take place
September 3 at Miami’s American Airlines Arena. The Latin
Grammy Awards structure includes 41 award categories,
including four general categories: Record Of The Year, Album
Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist. Latin
Grammy fields include: Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Tropical,
Regional Mexican, Traditional, Jazz, Brazilian, Children's,
Classical, Production and Music Video.
7/21/03
400th win for Chevy
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo, won
the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway
and gave Chevrolet its 400th victory of the modern era
(1972-present) in NASCAR Winston Cup racing. "This win is very
special because of all the opportunities Chevrolet has given
me in the many forms of racing I've been in. To win a landmark
event like this for them really means a lot to me."
7/21/03
Chevy takes full credit for
Ford Cosworth engine A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1.com, How did an
article like this about the new Chevy IRL engine get
into a national paper like USA Today without a mention of
Cosworth? I couldn't believe the writer didn't mention it,
COSWORTH is the story! Dan Kellione Dear
Dan, Chevy is trying to keep it as quiet as possible the fact
that all three engine builders from CART (HPD, TRD and
Cosworth) blew them right out of the water. It's a major
embarrassment to a company like Chevy, so there was no mention
of Ford or Cosworth in their press release. They bought
the rights to the engine and probably paid Ford and Cosworth
plenty to keep quiet about it. Officially it is a new
"Chevy" engine, but those in racing who know better, are all
snickering. Welcome to the world of marketing slant.
Could you imagine GM trying to compete in F1? Not!
Mark C.
7/21/03 Dallara Nissan
Superfund Series
Lausitzring Results
The Gabord Competicion team continued its domination of the
Dallara Nissan World Series with a pair of 1-2 victories at
the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany, with drivers Frank
Montagny and Heikki Kovalainen taking a win apiece.
Race 1
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Franck Montagny Gabord Competicion 26m45.199s
2 Heikki Kovalainen Gabord Competicion +4.976s
3 Staphane Sarrazin Racing Engineering +7.665s
4 Bas Leinders Racing Engineering +8.423s
5 Ander Vilarino Epsilon Euskadi +14.103s
6 Narain Karthikeyan Carlin +15.085s Race 2
1 Heikki Kovalainen Gabord Competicion 40m02.821s
2 Franck Montagny Gabord Competicion +2.776s
3 Jean-Christophe Ravier Epsilon Euskadi +3.101s
4 Narain Karthikeyan Carlin +13.399s
5 Bas Leinders Racing Engineering +13.946s
6 Enrique Bernoldi GD Racing +24.673s
7/21/03
More tidbits from CART
Shareholders meeting1) CART will move away
from self-promoted races in 2004. 2) Based on
input from the manufacturers, 2005 may be too soon for the new
engine formula. Perhaps Ford and a couple of others from the
"Marketing Side" who could then join in 2006 with an engine
program (No mention of "badging," but that's what it sounded
like). CART will control the ECU. 3) Reiterated
focus towards urban markets (sponsor driven). Specifically
referred to natural terrain tracks in the middle of nowhere
that, while fun for our drivers, may no longer fit CART's
marketing model. Said it would be a "sad day" when they have
to make that decision. (Goodbye Mid-Ohio!) 4)
They want to develop drivers, particularly Americans. Looking
to reduce cost in feeder system and change cars to better
train drivers for the ChampCars. Phyllis Dorricott indicated
that costs must be reduced and, while admitting she didn't
really understand what they do, specifically challenged the
special heads used by the driver that Pook had previously
praised as an up and comer who had what it takes (AJ
Allmendinger) and questioned whether he would be doing as well
if everybody else had the same equipment. Pook indicated that
they were well aware of that particular situation and were
considering using one builder for the series where all
components would then be the same. 5) They have
candidates (but no agreement) for corporate sponsorship to
fund scholarships for their ladder series champions to compete
at the next level. 6) They are trying to utilize
their PR to "build personalities". 7) A lot of
talk about the ship going in the right direction, light at the
end of the tunnel, etc. 8) Russ Breeden from
Bettenhausen Motorsports was there last year questioning stock
values and doing away with the poison pill, etc. was there
again this year once again questioning stock values.
7/21/03
Kiesa replaces Wilson at
Minardi With Justin Wilson jumping to Jaguar (see
Rumors page) Minardi has revealed Danish Formula 3000 racer
Nicolas Kiesa as his replacement. Kiesa won this year's
F3000 race at Monaco when leader Bjorn Wirdheim pulled over
too early to wave to his crew.
7/21/03 F-3000
Wirdheim
wins Arden home race
Björn Wirdheim produced a dominating display at Round 7 of the
FIA F3000 Championship at Silverstone on Saturday claiming
Pole Position on Friday by 0.43 seconds. The young Swedish
Driver led from start to finish building a lead of 9 seconds
by the end of the race over Championship rival Giorgio
Pantano. Townsend Bell completed a great day for the Arden
Team by finishing 7th, 3.3 seconds behind 3rd placed Liuzzi,
with Ricardo Sperafico, Patrick Friesacher and Enrico
Toccacelo sandwiched between! The Californian Driver had
acquitted himself well by qualifying 6th on yet another new
circuit. Losing a place at the start Townsend spent the race
glued to Toccacelo's gearbox at the back of a high speed train
which
unfortunately did not provide any overtaking opportunities.
Björn Wirdheim commented: "I'm delighted to have
won this race, especially as it is the team's home Race and
it's been too long since my last win a Imola. The car was
fantastic throughout the weekend and I'm pleased to have
beaten Tomas's qualifying time from last year". Townsend
Bell commented: "This circuit provides quite a
challenge, especially with the high speed corners
but
I've really enjoyed my first visit. I didn't quite extract the
maximum out of my last set of tires in qualifying but was
satisfied with 6th on the grid. Starting on the dirty side of
the track I lost a place at the start and soon found that I
could run quicker than the cars ahead but it was just
impossible to get close enough to overtake".
Christian Horner commented: "After Björn's mistake in
Monaco I said that I would only forgive him if he won at
Silverstone!
His drive this weekend was outstanding and virtually mirrored
Tomas Enge's performance last year by achieving Pole Position,
fastest lap time and a comfortable race win. I'm also pleased
with Townsend's performance on his first visit to Silverstone;
he clearly had the pace to finish higher but with a lack of
overtaking opportunities, he drove a controlled race to record
his 3rd points finish of the season".
7/21/03
NASCAR Nextel deal has some worried
NASCAR's Nextel dealings continue to have repercussions throughout the
Winston Cup garage, and some car owners are increasingly worried about
what appears to be NASCAR's new aggressive stance in defining
sponsorship categories, such as telecommunications. At the start of
the season every driver and car owner must sign a contract with NASCAR
agreeing to abide by a number of rules, including limits on
sponsorships and marketing. No sign, no drive. With the Nextel-AT&T
furor, some car owners fear that NASCAR may expand those limits.
Winston Salem Journal
7/21/03
NASCAR tidbits Chad Blount,
who is under contract with Roger Penske for uncertain duties, will
test at Kentucky next week for Penske and Rusty Wallace, fueling
rumors that Blount, 23, has a bigger future, perhaps as the next Ryan
Newman. And Wallace's proposed Busch team, according to sources, is a
possible Winston Cup team. But crew chief Bill Wilburn dismisses
rumors about a shakeup looming in the Penske camp, though he
recognizes pressure from sponsor Miller's new owner, South African
Breweries, the second-largest beer company in the world. 'As far as I
know, Chad Blount is testing for us, and that's it,' Wilburn says. 'He
has no commitments to race anything. He has no commitments to drive a
Busch car for Penske Racing, other than we might provide an engine or
build a car. He's not going to be racing any Penske-owned car. He is
not driving any Miller car. Rusty has his own Busch team going, and
he's going to lease engines from Penske Engines, and he's got a couple
guys he's looking at as drivers for 15 races.'
Winston Salem Journal
China's love affair with cars shows no
letup
China's car love affair shows no
sign of abating with newly rich consumers buying 120 per cent more
BMWs in the first half of this year than the whole of last year.
Despite talk of looming industry overcapacity the German car giant is
betting on continued mainland sales growth to buttress weak buying
power in international markets. While still a minnow compared with
more entrenched rivals such as Volkswagen, the firm's Greater China
managing director Guenther Seemann argues the 5,970 BMWs sold on the
mainland in the first six months of the year is only a start. That
compared with 6,677 BMWs sold during the whole of last year, but
represented less than 1 per cent of the total 842,780 vehicles sold in
the period - an 82 per cent increase in the same period a year ago.
China's new urban rich have been riding a wave of rising incomes and
booming property prices that combined with previously unavailable easy
financing have made luxury car ownership readily available. BMW expects
to sell 12,000 imported vehicles this year, and next year hopes to
increase that to 15,000 while rolling out a planned 30,000 units from
its 450 million euro (HK$3.93 billion) joint venture plant in Shenyang,
Liaoning province with locally listed Brilliance China Automotive
Holdings.
7/20/03
Gascoyne calls Schu unprofessional
Renault technical director Mike
Gascoyne accused Michael Schumacher of being unprofessional after he
put Fernando Alonso onto the grass at the end of Hangar Straight on
the opening lap of the British Grand Prix. "I thought there was some
great racing and some very professional driving," he said. "The only
unprofessional bit was Michael putting Fernando on the grass on the
first lap, which I thought was disgraceful. Fernando was alongside him
but Michael just kept going, didn't give him any room and put him on
the grass at 185mph, which is probably a little dangerous... "If the
guy is alongside, you've got to give him a car's width, and Michael
didn't. But Fernando's not too unhappy about it, he can look after
himself and he's confident about the future…"
7/20/03
IRL testing at Gateway this week
Tony Kanaan (Andretti-Green Racing), the current points leader, and
No. 3 Scott Dixon (Target-Chip Ganassi Racing) will be at Gateway
International Raceway Monday for testing. Also on hand will be Tomas
Scheckter (Target-Chip Ganassi) and Bryan Herta (Andretti-Green). The
Andretti-Green team will only be there Monday, while the Ganassi team
will be there on Tuesday.
7/20/03
The other race is on in F1
This New York Times
article talks about the fight to find sponsorship in F1.
F1Business magazine said in its July issue that team sponsorships in
NASCAR amounted to about $500 million per season, while in Formula One
it was $1.8 billion. Tobacco advertising, which will be outlawed in
most European countries in 2005, provides a large percentage of the
Formula One total. The Budweiser deal is typical of how teams are not
only seeking different kinds of sponsors, but how the circuit has
started entering new markets and expanded its sponsor base. Malaysia
joined the circuit in 1999, the United States in 2000, and next year
there will be races in Bahrain and in China. India may soon follow.
"China is our single greatest focus for our commercial activities at
the moment, with the race coming in 2004 in Shanghai," said Hugh
Chambers, the marketing director at the BAR team, which is owned by
the British American Tobacco company. "There will be products and
services that come out of these colossal markets with a billion
people, that have very developed businesses and are very profitable
and that then want to seek worldwide markets." BAR announced a
long-term sponsorship on Thursday with a Chinese Web site, Sina.com,
and the Jordan team this year signed a partnership with China Central
Television, the national broadcaster, to cover the team. Jordan is one
of two teams fighting for survival, and it took another team's
sponsor, Vodafone, to court in London last month. Jordan is seeking
$150 million in damages, saying Vodafone had agreed to sponsor the
team, then dropped it in favor of Ferrari. Paul Stoddart, the owner of
Minardi, the sport's poorest team, said stealing sponsors was
commonplace. "If you get a good quality sponsor, with naming rights, a
title sponsor, a major partner," Stoddart said, "the minute that name
appears in the paddock, the bigger teams have armies of people trying
to take that sponsorship away from small teams." He said that after he
signed Gazprom, the Russian gas company, at the Hungarian Grand Prix
last August, the company became the target of the McLaren team. "It's
business and I don't begrudge them for doing it," Stoddart said. "But
there are no ethics, and the lack of ethics means that there is this
continual drive for the rich to get richer — and the by-product of that
is that the poor go out of business." Stoddart, after exposing the
behind-the-scenes battles between team owners last month, won a battle
this week to enforce a "fighting fund" into which rich teams pay money
to help poor teams survive. "After intense negotiations over the last
10 days," Stoddart said Wednesday, "I'm pleased to say that all the
talking will be now done on the track for the remainder of the Formula
One season."
7/20/03
Historic race driver killed
Reuters
reports that A 56-year-old driver has died after he crashed
his historic sportscar during a support race for the Grand Prix,
organizers say. They said in a statement that David Heynes crashed his
1958 Lotus 15 into the tire wall at Becketts Corner during the final
event on the program after the Formula One race. "He received
intensive medical treatment at the scene and in the circuit's Grand
Prix medical centre where he was pronounced dead," the statement said.
7/20/03
Finally, go-karting to solidify in
blockbuster deal
In what can only be termed as a
blockbuster announcement, top level karting organizations Champ Car
Stars of Tomorrow and Superkarts! USA have agreed in principle to
merge operations. The agreement was made between SKUSA president and
CEO Jim Murley and Stars principal Bobby Rahal. “Mr. Murley and I both
recognized that for professional kart racing to fulfill its potential
a coming together of both our organizations was necessary,” said
Rahal. “SKUSA has had a strong role in the rising professionalism and
entertainment value of kart racing and Stars has quickly made inroads
in key areas vital to the success of the sport. Combining these
efforts presents all of karting with great promise and we look forward
to what lies ahead.” Discussions between the two organizations, who
have oftentimes clashed on scheduling and philosophy, have been
ongoing for many months. Talks intensified this weekend at the SKUSA
ProMoto event here in Oregon, with an agreement coming late last
night. “We respect and recognize the contribution Jim and the SKUSA
team have made to karting,“ said Rahal.. “We are eager and excited to
work together to take the sport to that elusive next level.” The first
event for the new organization will be the 2003 Supernationals, held
at the California Speedway in conjunction with the Champ Car event,
October 31 and November 1-2, 2003. More information on the merger and
details of the series will be forthcoming as it is made available.
[Editor's Note: This was a long time coming and it is exactly what was
needed to remove any confusion a youngster may have with regard to his
career direction. This announcement solidifies CART's entry rung on
its growth ladder. CART has the best ladder system in the USA
when it comes to training drivers for any type of circuit, and this
announcement, along with another announcement to be made soon
regarding the Toyota Atlantic Series, will only strengthen the ladder
system. This improved farm system is necessary to develop
drivers to someday be world driving champions. It was good, but
soon it will be better. Once CART's privatization is complete,
and its future secured, drivers, sponsors, teams and fans will have a
clear understanding of the path one must take in North America to
reach the pinnacle of motorsports, F1].
CART needs to switch to one-lap,
single-car qualifying
A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1.com, After watching today's British GP I have come to the
conclusion that F1's single-car, single-lap qualifying is the best
thing that ever happened to the sport in a long time. Why
doesn't CART adopt it for all its road races? Michael Peters,
Cleveland, Ohio Dear Michael, I agree wholeheartedly.
The starting grid for today's British GP was mixed up with some of the
fast runners interspersed with some mid-packers. This led to a
very interesting race today, with more passing than I can ever
remember in a F1 race. It certainly helps to have some of the
fast guys starting behind the others from time to time. Giving
the driver just a single lap means he has one chance to be perfect,
for one small mistake can drop you back into the pack on the grid.
CART must implement the push-to-pass button in 2004 along with
single-car, single-lap qualifying. As it does in F1, this will
mix the grid up, but at the same time give the fast drivers a tool to
help them work their way to the front if they mess up in qualifying.
The fans will be the ones who benefit the most because races will
feature a lot more passing. Some find the single-lap qualifying
boring on the road and street circuits and prefer today's format.
CART will have to add in some extra practice on Saturday so the fans
can enjoy the cars on track as much as they do today. Mark C.
7/20/03
Stoddart resists engine
downsizing
Formula One can forget
about reducing engine capacity from 3.0 L to 2.5L before at
least 2008, according to ailing Minardi boss Paul Stoddart. He
said stability is guaranteed in the Concorde Agreement, which
expires at the end of 2007, and needs a unanimous vote from
team bosses for rules changes. 'They'd never get unanimity for
a capacity change,' insisted Stoddart. 'Myself, Eddie Jordan
and probably Sauber would just sit there with our arms
folded.' Stoddart says the privateer bosses are not out to
cause trouble; it's just they can't afford the mammoth cost
implications of a radical engine change. 'They can forget it
unless something is done for the smaller teams,' he added 'If
they want to do something constructive, help us out with our
customer engines. That's the biggest handicap there is. Then
we'll talk.' We expect an announcement will be made soon that
guarantees customer engines for privateer team at a reasonable
price.
7/20/03
Protestor runs onto track in
British GP
A man, believed to be a
protestor, darted onto the track during today's British GP and
ran down Hangar Straight. The man wandered down the middle of
the track on lap 12 as cars roared past at about 120 mph on
the entrance to Hangar Straight, the fastest part of the
circuit. Police arrested the 56-year-old man and
charged him with "aggravated trespass." He will be interviewed
by police later on Sunday in Northampton, central England.
The Safety Car was deployed and yellow flags waved until the
man, wearing what looked like a red and green kilt and green
underpants, running up the track, arms outstretched, could be
removed. In a frightening sight, the man did not only
run up the track but towards the race cars as they drove by.
The man was pushed to the ground and drug off the track
by a track marshal. One has to wonder what
ramifications for the British Grand Prix this may have as it
raises questions as to the security of the track and how this
this dangerous situation was allowed to happen. At a time when
the future of the race is on shaky ground from Bernie
Ecclestone criticism, this is the last thing the British Grand
Prix organizers and BRDC need. In 1977 British driver
Tom Pryce was killed at the South African Grand Prix when he
collided with a marshal who was running across the track with
a fire extinguisher. The marshal also died. Both Max
Mosley, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA),
and Bernie Ecclestone have been critical of the circuit, with
Ecclestone last year calling the British GP "a country fair
masquerading as a world event."
7/20/03
Weather looks good for race
At eight o'clock local time this
morning a southwesterly breeze is making it necessary to wear
jackets, but the skies are blue interspersed with cloud and the chance
of rain has diminished to 10 percent. At one stage the
skies towards nearby Banbury were black, but that has now cleared up
and the forecast indicates that the race will be held in the dry.
A temperature high of 22 degrees Celsius is expected, and if the race
is anywhere near as hot as qualifying was yesterday, tire degradation
will again play a crucial role this afternoon.
Quick Word in the Silverstone Paddock -
1
RON DENNIS reckons his team has
struggled for balance this weekend because it concentrated the
pre-British GP testing schedule at Barcelona. McLaren
Struggle 'It made some of the initial set-up work more
difficult,' said the McLaren CEO. 'David [Coulthard]'s lack of balance
[12th] made life difficult for him.' JARNO TRULLI is looking to
win the British Grand Prix after securing a front-row qualifying
berth. 'Yeah, it's certainly possible,' he said. Renault
Eye Win Team technical director Mike Gascoyne agrees:
'He drove a fantastic lap even though he struggled for balance most of
the weekend. 'We are looking to win the race on Sunday.'
Williams Drop Back After immensely competitive
races in France and Germany, BMW-Williams dropped back a few places on
the British Grand Prix grid. BMW director MARIO THEISSEN says
fourth and seventh reflects the fact that 'both Ralf and Juan weren't
happy with their cars.'
7/20/03
Quick Word in the Silverstone Paddock -
2
Bridgestone's new tire came up
trumps at Silverstone, according to Ferrari chief ROSS BRAWN,
demonstrated with Rubens Barrichello's eighth career pole.
Bridgestone Bounce Back 'They brought new tires for us,
both in terms of their compound and their construction,' he said.
'We're competing for the win again now.' Despite rumors that
he's about to drop Jacques Villeneuve, BAR boss DAVID RICHARDS lauded
the Canadian's 'excellent' qualifying lap in Britain. BAR
Laud Jacques 'Both he and his team have worked hard all
weekend to extract the maximum from the car, and P9 bodes well for the
race,' he said. Brackley tech boss GEOFF WILLIS, on the other
hand, was surprised that Jenson Button's [20th] hard ride over
Beckett's managed to break the push-rod arm. Willis
Surprised 'We bring specially-reinforced components
here,' he said, 'so we're surprised that we've exceeded even the
enormous loads that these parts are tested to.'
7/20/03 Industry News
More on Homestead-Miami Construction
Along with the new corners at the Homestead-Miami Speedway they will
also be building a new, permanent karting facility there. Besides the
track, they will also build storage/warehouse facilities for the
karting teams. Mark C.
7/20/03
Hornish Jr. Power? A
reader writes, I watched the IRL broadcast tonight. Seemed like more
yellow than green laps covered by ESPN2. My question is, how the
heck is Hornish Jr getting as high as 3rd or 4th with a Chevy
powerplant that is supposedly some 30 HP down to Honda and Toyota?
While he's breezing his way through the field, the rest of the Chevys
(and AJ's Toyota) are, race after race, back markers. I just don't get
it that he is that much better than the rest of the Chevys on the
track. Tony Dinelli, Tulsa, OK Dear Tony, Nashville and
Richmond are more handling tracks than HP tracks. The Panther
Racing team is the best in the business when it comes to chassis setup
(their IPS car wins all the time too) and young Hornish is a pretty
good oval track driver. The IRL 100% throttle racing (did you
notice his in-car telemetry, it read 100% throttle as if it was
permanently stuck there) is all about keeping your momentum up and he
seems to be very good at picking his way through traffic without
having to lift. I also believe the others were on a more conservative
fuel strategy that Hornish last night, enabling him to pass relatively
easy. However, it cost him big time when his Chevy had to pit
early under a green-flag, whereas the others pitted under caution
later. Mark C.
7/20/03
Hornish confident he can win with new
Ford Cosworth, oops, Chevy engine
Sam Hornish will debut the new Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 in the upcoming
Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on July 27. The
Panther team has conducted three track tests with the new powerplant.
"From what we've seen in testing, I think the new Chevy engine will
put us real close," Hornish predicted. "We've been very happy with the
way everything is going, and real proud that Chevrolet did what they
had to do to put us in a position to be competitive and win races."
Hornish displayed the driving form that has made him the talk of the
IndyCar Series, passing cars on inside and outside lines. Starting
from the 20th spot on the grid, he was 10th on Lap 60, fifth on Lap
66, and third on Lap 90. On Lap 97, he passed Tora Takagi for second
in Turn 2 and Tony Kanaan in Turn 3 to take the lead. "I knew it was a
pass for the lead, but I didn't really think about it," Hornish
recalled. "I'm glad that we had an opportunity to get up there. We've
worked real hard this year making sure that we had good handling cars
because we knew that when Chevrolet got us the horsepower we had to
have the car to be able to win races. We know what it takes to make
this car fast, and hopefully we'll prove that next week in Michigan.
QUOTES FROM TODAY’S CHEVY GEN IV ANNOUNCEMENT: BRIAN BARNHART: (Is
reliability the reason only one team will use the engine at Michigan
and Gateway?): “That has a little bit to do with it. Part of the
issue, as well as that you are introducing new parts in here. You have
to give the ability to test, without mandating mass production, simply
because if they have made a mistake in the production then you have
mass production, made 20 of 40 bits, if it is a cylinder head, 40
cylinder heads that are all junk, then you’ve cost the manufacturer a
lot of money. You want a contract to last for the introduction of new
bits once or twice before it is made available to all participants so
they can test them. If there are reliability issues, they can make
adjustments before they have to mass-produce them for everybody.”
(NASCAR is criticized about making changes throughout the season. What
is the atmosphere that makes it different for the IRL?): “It is unprecedented
in Indy Racing League history. What we are doing … this is a major
change, than anything we have had to do before. It is in
the best interest of everybody that the best competition is
maintained, the side-by-side competitive quality that we have on the
track now. The Chevrolet teams are happy that Panther gets to run it
at the Michigan event. Whoever gets it for the St. Louis event is yet
to be determined. It is going to be the next highest car in the points
total.” (What if the engine is unreliable?): “That will be hard to
speculate. They have been tested three times, in Chicago, Kansas and
Michigan, and if there wasn’t a lot of faith in that fact that it is
going to help in the end, then they wouldn’t have made the exceptional
request for us to make the change without the faith that it is going
to improve the situation. One of the most difficult things would be,
and again that is why we test in one-on-one situations, if in Michigan and
St. Louis if it would have proven to be highly unreliable, then I
would assume at that point in time there may be issues as to whether
this was the right time for everybody to make the change from the
league standpoint keeping them (Toyota and Honda) informed, as well.
Toyota and Honda want the competition to improve, as well as everybody
else. All this is going to do is to keep them working harder, and they
welcome the competition, as well, I’m sure.”
7/20/03
Montoya vs. Schumacher
A reader writes, In response to the
article (Montoya Could Learn From
Schu) about JP Montoya and how Sir Frank and Patrick Head are
frequently pointing out Michael Schumacher as an example of what to
aspire to...they are all correct - even Juan. Mark Twain once
wrote that "the most skilled swordsman doesn't fear another
experienced swordsman, rather, he fears an opponent who has never held
a sword before, because that opponent will do the unexpected and fight
in an unorthodox manner". JPM can learn a lesson (and I'm sure he has
already) from Michael, but to beat him he has to do the unexpected -
the unorthodox. It fits Juan to a T. Mark McConkey, Chicago,
IL
7/19/03 F3000
Wirdheim wins, Bell 7th in
England
Townsend Bell enjoyed a good run to seventh place at
Silverstone, while a victory for Arden teammate Bjorn
Wirdheim put the FIA F3000 Championship almost within the
grasp of the Swedish driver. He now has an 18-point lead with
30 up for grabs. Wirdheim took the lead at the start, and
after initial pursuer and main title rival Giorgio Pantano
faded, he had an unchallenged run to victory. He finished nine
seconds ahead of the Italian who in turn opened a large
advantage over a group of five cars which included Townsend
Bell. It was lead by Vitantonio Liuzzi, who couldn’t match the
leaders’ pace and thus held up Ricardo Sperafico, Patrick
Friesacher, Enrico Toccacelo and Townsend. This group ran
virtually nose to tail for the whole race, but with
overtaking proving impossible Townsend was unable to make any
progress up the order. However Bell did at least enjoy a
trouble free run, and put a valuable race distance under his
belt. The only frustration was that he lost a spot at the
start of the race to Enrico Toccacelo: “I dropped back a
position at the start, by the time I shifted to second
Toccacelo was already ahead of me. So I just kind of slotted in
and settled into a nice pace, and started to learn the track
on old tires, because you have to drive it a little bit
differently. That’s part of the learning process. But there
was really not a whole lot to do during the race. We were just
as quick as the cars in front of us, if not a little quicker,
but every time I got within a few car lengths I lost downforce.
It’s a little like oval racing! I’d sit back in clean air and
let the tires calm down. Nobody was trying anything so I’d
push a little harder and get back close, then the tires would
come off a little bit because I was working the fronts too
hard, and so on. Nobody really seemed to make any moves, so at
that point you’re hoping someone would fall off the road in
front of you, but they didn’t.” Townsend has been a victim of
several incidents this year, but this time there were no such
dramas. “It was good to finish. Qualifying with the top five
or six you’re with the smarter drivers anyway, and I feel like
I can count on those guys to be a bit more predictable.
Qualifying is everything in this deal. I'm finally adjusting
to the fact that there are no full course cautions or pit
stops to change your setup a little bit. It’s such an uphill
battle for me with all the new tracks. To find the last 2% of
the lap time in half an hour is impossible.” Results (30 laps)
1. B Wirdheim…50m25.858s
2. G Pantano…50m34.793s
3. V Liuzzi…50m46.508s
4. R Sperafico…50m46.939s
5. P Friesacher…50m47.466s
6. E Toccacelo…50m49.105s
7. T Bell…50m49.773s
8. N Kiesa…50m58.386s
9. Y Schroeder…51m07.267s
10. J Janis…51m07.782s
7/19/03
IRL approves new Chevy engine
The Indy Racing League announced July 19 that it has approved a new
engine design for Chevrolet for competition in the IndyCar™ Series.
The change was approved after IRL officials received a formal request
from GM Racing, the technical arm of GM’s motorsports program. The
newly designed engine, which has been designated by GM Racing as the
Gen IV Chevy Indy V-8, was approved under terms and conditions set
forth by the Indy Racing League. According to Brian Barnhart, senior
vice president of racing operations for the IRL, the league has
approved the use of the newly designed engine for two consecutive
races, beginning with the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International
Speedway on July 27 in order to test the engine under race conditions
pursuant to the Indy Racing League Engine Manufacturer Agreement. GM
Racing will make the engine (including spares and spare parts)
available to all full-time IRL entrants at the Belterra Casino Indy
300 on Aug. 17 at Kentucky Speedway. The IRL and GM Racing have agreed
that Panther Racing, the current season points leader among Chevrolet
teams, will test the engine in the Michigan race in the No. 4 Pennzoil
Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone driven by reigning IndyCar Series
champion Sam Hornish Jr. To create as much opportunity as possible
among Chevrolet teams prior to full introduction of the Gen IV Chevy
Indy V-8, the next-highest placed Chevrolet team – other than Panther
car No. 4 – in the season entrant point standings after Michigan will
be selected to test the engine at the Emerson Indy 250 on Aug. 10 at
Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. “In making our decision,
the IRL had to consider the overall effect on competition anticipated
by the introduction of the new engine, including the availability of
the engine to all entrants, as well as ensuring that the cost of the
design change is not passed on to the teams,” Barnhart said. “With
that in mind, we have found the newly designed engine and castings to
be in conformance with the rules.” Additionally, Barnhart has
requested that GM Racing provide sufficient personnel to IRL entrants
if needed to install the engines on a timely basis. Barnhart approved
this process via the Indy Racing League Engine Manufacturer Agreement
that allows a manufacturer to provide updates to an engine. The
agreement calls for the manufacturer to obtain the IRL’s approval
prior to any use and further states that the updated part be made
available to all teams after a specified number of uses. “The request
by GM Racing was based on performance deficiency demonstrated during
the current season and the reliability problems created by efforts to
address the performance deficiency,” Barnhart said. “While continuity
and consistency are an important consideration for the IRL, it is
equally important that the league’s hallmark of competitive,
side-by-side racing be available for our fans and competitors.”
General Motors has been an engine supplier in the IndyCar Series since
the series introduced its naturally aspirated engine formula in 1997.
Representing GM, Chevy made its return to Indy-style racing in 2002.
7/19/03
Road America: Mario's Intervention
This Sheboygan Press
article talks about what Mario Andretti did to save the Road
America race for CART. Because of his efforts, the CART race at
Road America, which died and returned to life in a span of eight weeks
during the spring, will bear his name on Aug. 3, the Mario Andretti
Grand Prix. “I made a lot of noise about it and got so many e-mails
from fans,” said Andretti. “I went to (CART President and CEO) Chris
Pook and said, ‘You’ve got to hear what the fans are saying. Is there
any way we can start some dialogue?’” So began Andretti’s intervention
to save the race at a track he loves dearly and competed at so
successfully (three victories). “We just thought, ‘hurray,’” said Road
America communications director Cheryl Barnes of Andretti getting
involved. “Who could be a better ambassador to Road America than Mario
Andretti?” The negotiations weren’t always smooth. During one
especially tense time, Andretti asked himself, “What the hell did I
get myself into?”
7/19/03
GP
of Americas race poster unveiled UPDATE
A reader writes, Dear AR1, Nice poster. Too bad the car in the drawing
is an IRL car! Brad Cowell Dear Brad, perhaps
secretly the promoter, CART, is hoping the race will someday become an
IRL event. The devils in the details as they say. Mark C.
7/18/03
- Romero Britto, a neo-Pop style
artist and South Florida icon and Chuck Martinez, president and
general manager of Grand Prix Americas, unveiled Britto’s design of
the official Grand Prix Americas poster for 2003 at a V.I.P. party at
Britto Central yesterday. Some local drivers including Emerson
Fittipaldi, helped celebrate the unveiling. The original painting, as
well as limited edition prints, will be auctioned to help raise funds
for the Grand Prix Americas Foundation, which benefits Camillus House,
Children’s Home Society of Florida, Cody Unser’s First Step
Foundation, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Miami-Dade College
Scholarship Foundation. The label 'neo-pop cubism,' indicates Romero
Britto's links with certain artists and antecedent styles. To date,
Britto's art is shown in over 140 galleries nationwide. He has been
profiled in numerous national publications including People en Español,
Art News, Forbes, and The Robb Report. His studio in Miami Beach,
Florida is open to the public and has become a meeting place for
school children, collectors and art enthusiasts. Britto's art is
indeed, reaching the world. Grand Prix Americas is a week-long
festival featuring various social events such as the FanFest at
Bayside, Grand Prix Americas Street Festival in Coconut Grove and the
Grand Prix Americas Foundation Magic in Miami Charity Ball and
culminates with two of North America’s premier racing series. On
September 26-28, 2003 Bridgestone presents the Champ Car World Series
Powered by Ford will join the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) promoting
a “dual-headline” that makes the Grand Prix Americas one of the
foremost motorsports weekends of the year. This Blast by the Bay will
be held in Downtown Miami at Bayfront Park in agreement with the City
of Miami, the Bayfront Park Management Trust and the Miami Sports and
Exhibition.
7/19/03
Why Atlantics needs an overhaul
We here at AR1 have made our feelings known that the CART Toyota
Atlantics Series should run to F3000 specs. However, as we
understand it, Toyota does not have an engine in the 450 HP range, and
were proposing something in the 350 HP range. Others claim costs
must be kept down. One reason why costs are so high is because
the series allows each team to have mods made to their engines.
In a spec series, geared to focus on driver talent, this is of course
absurd. This Monterey Herald
article says, Another area of concern in Toyota Atlantic
apparently centers around RuSPORT, the team for which Hollister's A.J.
Allmendinger drives. The indication is that RuSPORT is using a
different head on its engines than the others. While it is not
illegal, it is expensive and, thus, takes it out of the realm of all
the teams using it and, again, contributes to the disparity between
teams. As far as we are concerned, all the engines should be
supplied and rebuilt by one company. The Nissan Superfund World
Series costs far less to run each year than the Toyota Atlantic
series. One way they are able to do it is by allowing no engine
mods. One rumor suggests that CART will make a deal with the Nissan
Series and move it under the CART umbrella lock, stock and barrel, as
a replacement for the Toyota Atlantic series. That certainly
would give CART a F-3000 car and series for less money than today.
However, while the FIA F3000 series cars today have Zytec 470 HP V8's,
the Nissan Series has 550 HP V6 Nissan engines. We hear the proposed
new F2 series will have 550 HP engines, which would position the CART
support series right where it should be in the international grand
scheme of things....or, perhaps this F2 series that Max Mosley has
hinted about will somehow include or replace CART's
soon-to-be-overhauled Toyota Atlantic series. Rumor has it (if
you can believe rumors right?) that the big August 7th announcement
regarding CART's future will include an announcement of a "new type of
support series." Hmm... Mark C.
7/19/03
NASCAR and Simpson settle out
of courtUPDATE Attorneys representing
NASCAR and safety equipment manufacturer Bill Simpson confirmed Friday
there was no financial settlement to the deal they announced Tuesday.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Simpson, of Avon,
Ind., had insisted on receiving an apology from the sanctioning body
before he filed an $8.5 million defamation lawsuit in federal court in
Indianapolis. NASCAR linked the seat belt of Simpson's former company
to the death of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt in the
2001 Daytona 500. Simpson insisted that Earnhardt had the belt
installed at an angle unapproved by the manufacturer.
Indianapolis Star7/15/03 - The following joint statement is issued by Bill Simpson and
NASCAR in connection with Mr. Simpson's voluntary dismissal of
his defamation and false light invasion of privacy lawsuit
against NASCAR pending in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Indiana. "Simpson and NASCAR are happy to
announce that they agree that it is in the best interest of
racing that they direct their time, energy and resources away
from litigation and toward their joint goal of improving
safety for professional racing drivers. Any misunderstanding
between the parties, and the public, which gave rise to this
litigation, can now be put to rest." NASCAR said it is pleased
that Simpson dismissed his lawsuit. NASCAR President Mike
Helton said, "We recognize that Bill has contributed
significantly to the safety of motorsports for over 43 years,
and we are glad the issue has been resolved." Simpson intends
to supply teams and drivers with safety products from his new
company. "I'm looking forward to doing what I do best,"
Simpson said, "and that's helping drivers and teams be as safe
as they can at the track." This statement is the only
consideration for the dismissal and the parties do not intend
to discuss this matter further.
British GP: Kimi jumps to top in
Saturday morning practice
Position/Driver Team Fastest Lap
1 Kimi Raikkonen McLaren 1m22.263s
2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1m22.397s
3 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1m22.659s
4 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1m23.141s
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1m23.316s
6 Jacques Villeneuve BAR 1m23.591s
7 Ralf Schumacher Williams 1m23.596s
8 Jarno Trulli Renault 1m23.609s
9 David Coulthard McLaren 1m23.888s
10 Mark Webber Jaguar 1m23.902s
11 Jenson Button BAR 1m23.925s
12 Nick Heidfeld Sauber 1m23.939s
13 Olivier Panis Toyota 1m24.484s
14 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1m24.532s
15 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber 1m24.573s
16 Antonio Pizzonia Jaguar 1m24.942s
17 Ralph Firman Jordan 1m25.044s
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan 1m25.114s
19 Justin Wilson Minardi 1m25.808s
20 Jos Verstappen Minardi 1m26.262s
7/19/03
New Taurus to be unveiled
From the Team Ford Racing site: You've supported your favorite Ford
Racing drivers and teams all season long, and now it's time for us to
say 'Thank You' to you, the fans. Join Ford Racing and Your Indiana
Ford Stores at the RCA Dome, in downtown Indianapolis, on July 31 from
4:00-8:00pm/ct for Ford Racing Fan Appreciation Day, where the
excitement of racing is brought to you. Fans will have the
opportunities to participate in Q&A and autograph sessions with NASCAR
drivers Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Brett
Bodine, Kasey Kahne, Rick Crawford, Jon Wood, Carl Edwards and Terry
Cook. Attendees will also be able to see the unveiling of the 2004
Ford Taurus stock car and 2004 Ford F-150 truck during a special
presentation with Edsel B. Ford II, member of the Ford Motor Company
board of directors and chairman of Team Ford Racing. There will also
be show car, car club, USAC and Ford production vehicle displays, as
well as the Ford Racing merchandise trailer, pit crew demonstrations
and interactive displays for adults and children. Tickets are free of
charge and available at Your Local Indiana Ford Dealers. Each
autograph session is limited to 350 autographs per driver. Entry is on
a first-come, first-serve basis. Schedules for driver Q&A and
autograph times will be available when the event begins. All Q&A and
autograph sessions are subject to change.
Ford Racing
7/19/03
Andretti lands DEI ride for Indy
John Andretti, who accepted a two-race deal this week to drive Haas
CNC Racing's #0 Pontiacs for the next two races, has also agreed to
drive a Dale Earnhardt, Inc. entry in the Aug. 3 Brickyard 400 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andretti tested a DEI car at Indy last
week with good results. The Indy race replaces one originally
scheduled for Chicagoland, in which Busch driver Jason Keller failed
to qualify. "We are really confident he can qualify in the top 10 or
15 and run competitively all day," said Ty Norris, DEI's executive
vice president for motorsports. "John wanted to be sure we were
committed because he thinks he can go up there and be a factor in that
race with that car. That gave us a lot of confidence."
ThatsRacin.com
7/19/03
Road racer Mark Taylor smokes IPS field
again, leads every lap Results Friday of the Cleanevent 100
IRL Infiniti Pro Series event at Nashville Superspeedway, with order
of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine,
laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Mark Taylor, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
2. (4) Tom Wood, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
3. (6) Ross Fonferko, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
4. (3) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
5. (9) Thiago Medeiros, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
6. (8) Cory Witherill, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
7. (10) Paul Dana, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
8. (12) Matt Beardsley, Dallara-Infiniti, 77
9. (13) Arie Luyendyk Jr., Dallara-Infiniti, 77
10. (2) Brandon Erwin, Dallara-Infiniti, 76
11. (11) Dave Steele, Dallara-Infiniti, 74
12. (14) Jonathan Urlin, Dallara-Infiniti, 70
13. (5) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Infiniti, 20, accident
14. (7) Aaron Fike, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, oil leak Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 142.306 mph.
Time of race: 00:42:12.2945.
Margin of victory: .3361
Cautions: 2 for 10 laps.
Lead changes: None.
Lap leaders: Taylor 1-77.
Point Standings: Taylor 271, Carpenter 175, Medeiros 175, Simmons 166,
Witherill 156, Wood 155, Erwin 153, Fike 152, Urlin 150, Luyendyk 142.
7/19/03
Barron leads final practice in
Nashville Defending Firestone Indy 200 winner Alex Barron,
who is substituting for the injured Felipe Giaffone in the No. 21
Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone, led the final
practice session. Barron turned a lap of 22.9691 seconds, 203.572 mph.
Kansas Indy 300 winner Bryan Herta was second fastest in the No. 27
Archipelago/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone at 23.0068, 203.418.
Rookie Roger Yasukawa was third fastest at 23.0359, 203.161 in the No.
55 Panasonic ARTA Dallara/Honda/Firestone.
7/19/03
Chevys dead last again
Qualifying at Nashville shows all the Chevys at the very back of the
grid again. The lone exception is AJ Foyt IV, once again the
slowest of the Toyota cars and buried right at the back of the grid in
the Chevy class. Luckily Toyota has some good drivers in their
fold, for if they all possessed the talent (or lack thereof) of Foyt,
Toyota's engineers would be scratching their head trying to figure out
where they went wrong. A young Juan Montoya stepped into an IRL car for
the first time at Indy in 2000 and smoked the field. That is talent.
If Foyt was a star in the making, he would have shown at least a flash
of talent here or there. It's clear the kid needs to move back
down to the Infiniti Pro Series or, better yet, to the CART Toyota
Atlantic Series where he will get proper driving experience to perhaps
someday handle the big cars. It's hard not to feel sorry for him
at this stage. His lack of speed and numerous crashes surely has
sapped any confidence he may have had.
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