Thanks for visiting our Hot News page
Please visit our
Rumors page for all the scuttlebutt. If you have some
news, or can supply more information about one listed here,
e-mail us with as much supporting information as possible
and we may post it. User agreement & disclaimer. Newer rumors supercede older ones of the same topic. Go to our
forums to discuss any hot news.
Date for IRL race at Milwaukee Mile to
be announced On
August 6th IRL officials and Milwaukee Mile officials will announce
the date for the IRL's first race at the historic 1-mile oval track.
As reported previously, the race will take place in late July but will
not be under the lights because CART's contract with the track
precludes that.
7/31/03
ALMS TV ratingsUPDATE
The final ALMS TV rating dropped down to a 0.6 on NBC.
7/29/03 - The American LeMans Series race from Infineon Raceway on NBC turned in a 0.9
overnight rating on Saturday according to the Sports Business Daily.
The Busch Series race from Pikes Peak garnered a 1.7 overnight rating
on NBC on Saturday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
7/31/03
Pocono TV rating #1 on cableUPDATE The 4.6 final
rating for the Pocono 500 earned it the top spot in the basic
cable ratings last week, drawing 3,966,000 households and over
6 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
7/30/03 - Last Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway earned a 4.6 rating
on TNT and was the top program for the month among adults in the 25-54
age groups, according to Nielsen Media Research. The race was also the
highest-rated sports event on cable. Last year's race garnered a 5.0
rating, meaning that this year's race saw an 8% decline.
7/31/03
Ford unveils new NASCAR
vehicles Fans at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis
were treated to a "first" today as Ford Racing unveiled a
freshened exterior Taurus and all-new F-150 pickup truck that
will be competing next season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, respectively. Cisco
Codina, Vice President, Ford Customer Service Division, and
Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology, unveiled the
vehicles today as part of the annual Ford Racing Fan
Appreciation Day. Numerous Ford Racing drivers from the NASCAR
Winston Cup, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck series assisted
in the presentation. This marks the second time that
Taurus has received a styling and design change to its nose
and tail sections since becoming the first four-door entry in
NASCAR's top division in 1998. The F-150 is also undergoing
its second facelift, but it's the truck's first since 1996.
The new styling on the race vehicles reflects the styling
changes that will appear on the production 2004 Taurus and
2004 F-150 that will be on sale this fall. "We're
extremely happy with the way the Taurus and F-150 came out and
it's a credit to our Ford engineers who worked on them and the
Ford racing teams who built them," said Ford Racing Operations
Manager Greg Specht. "They really hit a home run because, from
the time both vehicles went from the drawing stage to the
final wind tunnel tests, we had no problems. The processes for
both vehicles really mirrored each other and we think they're
both going to be extremely competitive next season."
Taurus replaced Thunderbird as Ford's NASCAR Winston Cup
flagship model in 1998, and in five-plus seasons has won 73
races, one driver's championship and three manufacturer's
titles. The F-150s introduction to racing coincided with the
debut of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, posting 61 wins,
one driver's championship and two manufacturer's titles along
the way. Although being shown for the first time today,
the Taurus and F-150 race vehicles won't make their
competition debut until February 2004, at the start of Daytona Speedweeks. "The work we did with NASCAR went extremely
well," said Specht. "Having been through this process a couple
of times before, we've really gotten it down to a science. We
were able to deliver the car a month ahead of schedule and
there were no surprises on NASCAR's part or on our part, so
we're very satisfied. Hopefully, the car will
gain quick final approval so we can put the parts in the hands
of our teams and avoid them having to scramble around during
the Christmas holiday. Ideally, we'd like them to be able to
get started building cars for Daytona and the rest of the
season by early fall."
7/31/03
Thursday Press Conference from
Germany This Thursday's FIA
press conference was held with the following
drivers :
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
Juan-Pablo Montoya (Williams)
Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren)
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
Ralf Schumacher (Williams)
7/31/03
IRL MIS TV rating tanks UPDATE
The final TV rating for the Firestone Indy 400 IRL race at MIS
was a 1.0/3 share. This is down 16.7% from the previous
year's 1.2 rating. As can be seen from the list below, this
continues the downward spiral in IRL TV ratings. It was
beaten by the NASCAR Busch series race from Pikes Peak on NBC
that garnered a 1.7/5 share final rating. Such is the state of
open wheel racing in the USA as a result of the split. This
despite getting all the star players from CART.
7/29/03 - The IRL race from
Michigan on ABC garnered a 1.2 overnight rating, according to
Nielsen Media Research (Sports Business Daily). Last year's
race finished with a 1.2 final rating.
MotorsportsTV.com
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%)
Michigan (ABC) 1.0 (Down 16.7%)
7/31/03
Gordon to try for record tying
4th Indy win With a win in his 350th NASCAR
Winston Cup start, Gordon would become only the fourth driver
to notch four victories in Indianapolis Motor Speedway's
93-year history. Al Unser, Sr., Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt each
won the Indianapolis 500 four times. Gordon, the only
three-time Brickyard 400 winner, grew up in the shadows of The
Brickyard in nearby Pittsboro dreaming of racing on the
2.5-mile track. As with many kids who grew up in the area, he
knows all about the tradition of the famed speedway. He also
knows what the number 'four' represents in speedway lore. "A.J.
was the only four-time winner when I first understood the
magnitude of winning here," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24
DuPont Chevrolet. "Every May, we all wondered if anyone would
ever match that feat. It was great seeing Al Unser, Sr., and
Rick Mears tie the mark, especially Rick since I was a huge
fan of his and was lucky enough to get his autograph. It
seemed like we drove by the speedway every other day when I
was growing up. It's just a great racing facility with so much
history and tradition. Just to win here once is very special.
I'm excited that we have a chance to win a fourth Brickyard
400 and tie those guys, but I really don't think you can put
us in the same category if we win. It's difficult to compare
the two series and I think you need to keep their impressive
accomplishment separate."
7/31/03
Pressley to drive #4 at Indy
Robert Pressley will drive the No. 4 Kodak Pontiac this
weekend at Indianapolis. Pressley is a former Winston Cup
driver who has been competing in the truck series the last two
years.
7/31/03 Industry News
SAFER Barrier to be used in
Houston The 1.3-mile Houston Superspeedway,
under construction on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, and due
to open in 2005, will be the first track to have the SAFER
barrier incorporated into the original design.
7/31/03
Plenty of off-track action for
Mid-Ohio CART weekend Plenty of off-track
action adds to the weekend, beginning in Columbus, Ohio on
Thursday, August 7 with the Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio
Fan Fest. Taking place at Promowest Pavilion in the downtown
Arena District beginning at 5:00 p.m., the pre-race party will
be the last chance to purchase advance tickets at reduced
prices for the weekend’s race. Spectators will be able to
interact with Champ Car stars Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier,
Michel Jourdain, and Oriol Servia, among others. On Friday at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the popular Champ Car Fan Forum
returns at 4:50 p.m. in the Honda Pavilion. The Fan Forum is
an open forum providing an opportunity for fans to ask
questions of key players in the Champ Car series. Champ Car
owner Derrick Walker, SPEED and CBS pit reporter Calvin Fish
and CART Vice President of Joint Venture Operations Rena
Shanaman headline the forum. Also on Friday “A Taste of CART”
will take place. This charity event places Champ Cars chefs in
a cooking competition for all to enjoy. The Champ Car drivers
will make themselves available to the public for a formal
autograph session from 4:45-5:45 p.m. on Saturday, August 9
near the Pace Car Paddock. Once the track goes cold on
Saturday, fans are invited to attend Z-98 “Rock Stock” at the
old Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, setting of the movie
“Shawshank Redemption.” National recording artist Karma has
the show’s top billing.
7/31/03
Renault extends agreement with
Veritas software The Renault F1 Team is pleased
to announce the extension of its partnership with VERITAS
Software (NASDAQ: VRTS), the leading storage software
provider. The two companies have been in partnership for over
6 years. Under the new agreement, VERITAS disaster recovery
solutions will be deployed not only at the team's headquarters
in Enstone, UK where the racing car chassis are developed but
also at Viry-Châtillon, France, where the engine development
takes place. Graeme Hackland, IT Manager at Renault F1 Team
explains: “In Formula 1 the difference between winning and
losing is a mere fraction of a second. We needed a solution
that would protect our data right from producing over 10,000
drawings when designing the car, through to the live-feed of
data generated during a race. In years gone by, data collected
from the car during a race would fill up a floppy disk; now
this data fills a DVD. Our data is our competitive advantage,
and that is why we chose VERITAS Software to provide a
comprehensive disaster recovery solution that is the backbone
of our infrastructure.”
7/31/03
Pocono 2004 dates set
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule has yet to be released,
but the two races at Pocono International Raceway will be on
June 13th and August 1st, indicating that the Brickyard 400
will no longer be on the first Sunday in August.
NASCAR readies its international
assault
We here at AR1 have predicted that NASCAR is preparing for an
international assault at some point, and eventually there would be a
War of the Worlds.
They have been slowly adding foreign drivers to what was once an
American Caucasian sport. Here's another foreign addition - Alex
Mueller is poised to become the first German driver to compete in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Mueller, 24, from Rees, Germany will
drive the No. 23 RECARO Chevrolet Silverado at Indianapolis Raceway
Park. "Though this will be my first NASCAR event, I've followed it on
Eurosport TV since I was 14," said Mueller, who has tested with the
Williams team in Formula One. "Jeff Gordon became my favorite driver
to watch each week. As my career expanded in Formula One cars, I still
wanted to give NASCAR a try. I'm glad I've been given this opportunity
to run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series." Mueller will be
sponsored by a host of his loyal sponsors, including RECARO, a world
leading manufacturer of specialty automotive seats with its North
American production facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. RECARO was the
production seat on the 1998 General Motors Lumina police vehicles and
continues its success in sales and distribution programs with
Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth for drivers of medium and
heavy-duty trucks. RECARO currently holds 60 percent of the United
States commercial bus market. Mueller's other sponsors are Bruderer,
Turboservice.net and Energie Jeans. Mueller (pronounced Mu-l-er) has
been preparing for his debut, running at Hickory Motor Speedway and
Caraway Speedway the last two months in their late model truck
divisions. Mueller's racing background began at age eight when he
raced go-karts in Germany. He earned two karting championships in 1994
and competed in the International Formula 3000 Series in 1998 and
2002. "When I raced at Hickory, it was the first time I drove a race
car with a roof over my head," said Mueller, who passed his IRL
IndyCar Series driver's test at California Speedway in January. "You
can see better in the truck because you sit higher but I had to get
used to not seeing my tires and knowing where they were compared to
the wall."
7/31/03
Feedback on Making sense of CART
situation article
With regard to the Making sense of CART's
situation article, A reader writes, Dear Mark, Yes, you are
making sense! Point 1, my CART contacts tell me there has been a very
positive attitude and 'lots of smiles' by the CART people, with the
conclusion they know this is working out for the best. Point 2, you
are right, and Bernie and Chris Pook would not cross each other. Point
3, CART management must make forthright and candid statements now they
have involved a financial firm to sell the company. To paint an
unrealistic picture to keep the stock up would be a violation of the
law. I see what they are doing as complying with the law. Point 4. No
one can possibly be duped as you point out. Point 5. Yes, you have it
nailed. Point 6. The team owners that stayed, Newman/Haas, Patrick,
Coyne, deserve congratulations. When the IPO took place each of the
franchise shares (many teams had two franchises) were paid $4 million
for each franchise. There should have been a ten year payout to keep
the teams tied to the series. This is worth suing over as many team
owners took the money and ran instead of reinvesting it in the series.
The teams that bad-mouthed the series and left for the IRL are also in
a tenuous position. Point 7. The CART people have to ignore the
rumors. They cannot legally get entangled and cannot divulge
confidential plans. The fact they are renewing venues and making
forward commitments speaks for itself. I personally know one new team
that is getting ready to join the series, maybe even for the last few
races this season if possible, but for sure in 2004. CART has been
very helpful working with them. CART has excellent people, sponsors,
team owners and drivers...they deserve the success that will come to
them soon! Paul Jasper Another reader writes, Dear Mark, That
was a hell of an article. The lawsuit which I assume is from Vannini
could not come at a worse time however your excellent article makes a
wonderful point regarding someone not being aware of CART's directions
seems ludicrous. Given your earlier item, I guess you've been getting
shelled and that's a shame, AR1 is THE only web site I trust, period.
Adam Friedman Another reader writes, There have been many rumors about CART.
Will they survive to next year? What will be the format for the cars
if they do? Who will take ownership of the series? And many more. Here
is my 2 cents. 1. Will CART survive? I certainly hope so.
2. Who will take ownership of the series? I am not sure who will. As
long as a similar format for the team/drivers/races is kept I will be
happy. 3. What will be the format of the cars? As long as
it does not become a spec series I would be happy. I will
need to break this into 3 parts. Engine - I hope the series stays with
a V-8 format. Whether turbo or not would not matter as long as
there are 3 or more different manufacturers. I am happy with the
performance and reliability of the Fords but their marketing sucks. I
have seen absolutely no advertising whatsoever. They could have really
used CART to their advantage. They could have badged the cars Ford,
Jaguar, Volvo, etc. and had a intercompany rivalry. 60% of the fans
would not have
realized that they were all part of the same company. Chassis - They
are doing great. Keep it the way it is. Tires - Another tire
manufacturer would be great (I would like to see Yokohama step up to
the plate.) This is a great series. The tracks are great (keep
the road/city/oval format), the owners/drivers/personnel that I have
met have always been very nice and cordial. If it were to die I would
probably switch to endurance racing or just stop watching. The
Eco-Challenge would then be the greatest series to watch. Peter
Swanson
7/30/03
Did you know?
Did you know that this
weekend's Mario Andretti GP at Road America is going head-to-head with
the nearby Oshkosh
2003 air show? How smart was it to schedule this race on
the same weekend as the air show in the first place? Next year
the air show is again the same weekend.
7/30/03
MBNA signs with Dover through 2006
MBNA will once again be the title sponsor of this September's
NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch North Series races at Dover International
Speedway, thus re-establishing the Wilmington, Delaware-based credit
card bank as title sponsor of the two biggest NASCAR race weekends in
the mid-Atlantic states region. The September 21 Winston Cup race will
be the MBNA America 400, while the September 19 Busch North Series
race will be the MBNA America 150. The agreement between MBNA and
Dover International Speedway positions MBNA as title sponsor for the
September NASCAR Nextel Cup races at Dover through 2006. MBNA already
serves as title sponsor for the June Nextel Cup, Busch Series, and
Craftsman Truck Series races through 2005.
7/30/03
Open Wheel converts head back to
Brickyard Five of the 50 drivers entered at the
Brickyard 400 have direct ties to the open-wheel racing world. Among
them, Robby Gordon (No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet) was the first
to convert to stock car racing. Gordon – a two-time CART winner who
was an owner/driver in 1999 – is also a nine-time Indy 500 starter.
Reigning NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Tony Stewart won IRL
Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 and won the title in 1997. Raybestos
Rookie of the Year candidates Larry Foyt (No. 14 Harrah’s Dodge) and
Casey Mears (No. 41 Target Dodge) both have strong open-wheel roots.
Foyt – whose father, A.J. Foyt, was a four-time Indy 500 winner –
competed in USAC Formula 2000 events in 1997-98 before turning to
stock cars. Mears – nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears –
competed in Indy Lights and had five starts in CART (2000-01) before
joining the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002. The latest defection from the
open-wheel ranks was Christian Fittipaldi (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge), a
two-time winner in eight seasons in CART. Fittipaldi – whose uncle
Emerson won championships in both Formula One and CART – also competed
in F-1 from 1992-94.
7/30/03
NASCAR mandates additional fire
extinguisher NASCAR officials announced today that all
vehicles in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will require an additional
fire-extinguishing cylinder solely dedicated to the fuel cell area,
effective Aug. 13 but recommended immediately. More....
7/30/03 FranAm
FranAm winter series to return in 2004
Fran Am Sport is pleased to announce that the Fran Am/Formula Renault
Winter World Series will return to Florida in 2004… again concluding
at the CART ChampCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 22,
2004. Fran Am and Formula Renault cars from around the world are
invited to participate. The competitors are amongst the world's best
up and coming race car drivers who will soon be the next Formula 1 and
CART Series' drivers. The Winter World Series is a collection of 5
races run in January and February featuring a $100,000 cash purse.
Sebring and Homestead were the sites for rounds 1-4 in 2003. The
venues for 2004 will be announced at a later date. The inaugural
Winter World Series in 2003 saw 36 drivers from 13 countries
contesting for the top prize. In 2004, additional cars from Europe and
more drivers from around the world are expected to compete.
7/30/03
NASCAR TV to anchor SPEED Channel
programming Book-ended by Inside Winston Cup on Monday
and Trackside on Friday, NASCAR TV will now anchor SPEED Channel’s new
prime time programming lineup, which debuts Aug. 4, 2003. The
announcement was made jointly by SPEED Channel President, Jim
Liberatore and Paul Brooks, vice president of broadcasting, NASCAR. As
part of the new programming schedule, NASCAR TV – including Inside
Winston Cup, Trackside, NASCAR Performance, NASCAR Past Champions,
Totally NASCAR, Inside NBS, NASCAR Fast Forward and, Men Behind the
Wrenches, as well as live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series and live qualifying coverage from the NASCAR Winston Cup and
NASCAR Busch Series – will air 6–8 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday,
most the viewing day on Friday, and continue to serve as the major
component of SPEED’s Monday through Thursday daytime lineup. “We have
refined the NASCAR TV schedule to make it easier for viewers to
tune-in,” said Liberatore. “The NASCAR audience is far and away our
largest group of viewers and this new schedule for NASCAR TV will make
it easier for us to promote this unique ‘channel within a channel’ and
easier for NASCAR fans to follow.” “We are excited about the new
schedule for NASCAR TV as it creates further destination programming
for our fans,” added Brooks. “NASCAR TV, the heart and soul of SPEED
Channel, offers a variety of entertaining and unique original
programming as well as our thrilling live race coverage creating added
exposure opportunities for our drivers, teams, tracks and sponsors.”
In 2003, SPEED Channel is the exclusive U.S. cable home for many of
the top motorsports series in the world, including Formula One, The
Champ Car World Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, USAC, World
Rally, ASA, IHRA, ALMS, Grand American Road Racing, F3000 and live
coverage of AMA and FIM motorcycle road racing events. Now available
in more the 62 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is the
fastest growing sports cable network in the country and the home to
NASCAR TV
7/30/03
Kangaroo TV a big hit with fans
Fans of the Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford who have tried the
unique handheld viewing device Kangaroo have seen the future of
trackside spectating, and are demanding more. Named the series’
“Official Interactive Viewing System” earlier this season, the new
wireless interactive entertainment medium made its debut at the Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach and offered race fans access to a broad range
of video and audio material, unavailable before, as well as live,
real-time content. Following a successful first run in Southern
California, the Kangaroo has been in high demand at Champ Car races
this season, and in order to facilitate trackside distribution of the
device and to insure that enough inventory is available to fans, World
Audio Visual Entertainment Systems (W.A.V.E.S.) is introducing an
on-line pre-rental service on its Kangaroo.tv website. The
service is designed to speed-up trackside distribution and guarantees
the availability of the product to registered fans. This online option
will enable fans to benefit from a 10% discount off the trackside
rental price for any Kangaroo package. More details on this service
are available by logging onto
www.kangaroo.tv/interface
and then selecting “Rental.” Because of the unique nature of the high
definition broadcast television setup provided by HD Net at Road
America this weekend the Kangaroo.tv service will not be available,
but will be available at all remaining Champ Car events this season.
However, fans keeping their ticket from Road America will get a 50%
discount on any Kangaroo rental at one of the remaining events on the
Champ Car schedule. This weekend’s Mario Andretti Grand Prix At Road
America Presented by Briggs & Stratton will be the biggest high
definition television project in motorsports history. For an extensive
list of HDNet establishments with locations and airings, please visit
www.cart.com. For more information
contact CART Public Relations at (317) 715-4100 or W.A.V.E.S. Vice
President of Corporate Development Alain Charette at
acharette@kangaroo.tv
7/30/03 Superbikes
Superbike champion Hislop dies in crash
British superbike champion
Steve Hislop has been killed in a helicopter crash in southern
Scotland, according to media reports. Police confirmed that one
person was killed in a helicopter crash near the town of Hawick, 30
miles south of Edinburgh, but declined to name the victim until
relatives had been informed. A spokesman for Scotland's
Lothian and Borders police said the wreckage of the helicopter was
found by a farmer on a hillside at Teviothead, close to Hawick, in the
afternoon. "There was only one person on board," the spokesman
said. "Although the debris was found in the afternoon the accident
could have happened earlier in the day." Hislop, who was born in
Hawick, is the reigning British superbike champion and was also a
champion in 1995. He was struggling in eighth position in this year's
championship and was axed by his Virgin Yamaha team earlier this
month. The 41-year-old, who has won 11 races at the Isle of Man
TT and was British 250cc champion in 1990, moved from Ducati to Yamaha
after winning last year's title. Reuters
7/30/03
No IRL at Las Vegas in 2004
Las Vegas Motor Speedway and
Indy Racing League officials announced Wednesday that Las Vegas will
not be on the 2004 Indy Racing League schedule. "We’ve been talking
regularly with our friends at the Indy Racing League,” said Chris
Powell, LVMS general manager. “We simply were unable to find a
suitable arrangement for both us and the IRL. We were attempting to
fit an event within the framework of our own schedule, the IRL’s
schedule and the proposed dates. We then agreed it would be best to
look beyond 2004. (IRL President) Tony George has expressed his
interest in returning to Las Vegas. The Indy Racing League is
one of the most exciting and fastest-growing forms of motorsports in
the world. We are appreciative of the efforts of the IRL and its
representatives, and we’re looking forward to continuing our dialogue
with the IRL in hopes of bringing the series back to Las Vegas in the
future.”
7/30/03
Champ Cars on display at RCA
Dome Thursday
The blue oval marque has a
longstanding reputation as a global force in motorsports
dating back to Henry Ford’s first open wheel racer
Sweepstakes, and this tradition of Ford Racing excellence will
be celebrated Thursday in Indianapolis at the RCA Dome with a
Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by Your Local Indiana Ford
Dealers. The Ford Racing Fan Appreciation Night will be
held from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. in the RCA Dome as part of a
lead-up to this weekend’s NASCAR race. In addition to a full
display of Ford stock cars, four CART Champ Car show cars will
be on display including the 750hp machines of CART points
leader Paul Tracy (#3 Player’s/Indeck
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) of Player's/Forsythe Racing,
Alex Tagliani (#33 Johnson Controls
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) of Rocketsports Racing,
Roberto Moreno (#4 Herdez Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) of
Herdez Competition and 1996 CART Champion Jimmy Vasser (#12
American Spirit Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) of American
Spirit Team Johansson. The Champ Car presence will also
include a 2003 specially prepared Ford F150 in full race
detail used by the Simple Green Champ Car Safety Team in the
Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by
Ford. Tickets are free of charge and available at Your Local
Indiana Ford Dealers.
7/30/03
Belgian government backs down
to save Spa Parliament voted to ease a ban on tobacco
advertising in an attempt to get the Belgian Grand Prix back
on the Formula One calendar next year. The Chamber of Deputies
approved the bill 103-32, with two abstentions, a day after it
passed the Senate. It becomes law after it is signed by King
Albert II, a formality. The race was dropped from the 2004
schedule by the sport's world governing body after the Belgian
government said it would introduce the advertising ban in
August, three years before a European Union ban takes effect.
But the biggest advocates of the ban, the Greens, were dropped
from the governing coalition after faring poorly in last
month's elections, clearing the way for a new vote. The race
has been an economic boon for the French-speaking eastern
region around Spa-Francorchamps track for more than five
decades. AP Story
7/30/03
Scott Maxwell to drive #43 for
Petty One of the world’s top sports car
drivers will be behind the wheel of the #43 Cheerios/Betty
Crocker Dodge at Watkins Glen, N.Y. next week. Scott Maxwell,
39, will drive the car in place of Christian Fittipaldi, who
will wheel the #44 New York Yankees Dodge in the Watkins Glen
event. Maxwell, a native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, won this
year’s Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona Beach, Fla., in the
Daytona Prototype class in February, picking up the trophy in
one of the most important road course races in the world. “I
met Scott at the 24-hour race at Daytona and through the
relationship we have with Multimatic Motorsports,” said Kyle
Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises. “I was impressed with Scott,
and we were looking to better our road course program. We
asked Scott to help us out and we then tested at Virginia
(International Raceway). He did a good job in testing, and
he’ll do a good job for us at Watkins Glen.” Maxwell may be a
stranger to NASCAR Winston Cup racing, but is no stranger to
victory lane at the world’s top road courses in all types of
sports cars. Maxwell, who has over 10 years of road racing
experience, has competed and won at Daytona, LeMans, and is
the 2002 Grand Am Cup series champion driving a Porsche
Supercup. He has over 10 professional sports car victories to
his credit since 1998 and holds track records at some of the
most challenging road courses in North America. In fact,
Maxwell is very familiar with the record books at Watkins
Glen. He set the track record in the Motorola Cup North
American Street Stock Championship series in 1999. Maxwell
currently works for Multimatic Motorsports, and drives in the
Grand Am Series and the American LeMans Series. “I’m thrilled,
excited, and very anxious to get to Watkins Glen,” said
Maxwell. “I’ve never even attended a NASCAR Winston Cup race
before, but to actually be competing in one is really
exciting. We tested with the car at the Virginia International
Raceway and the test went well. I know how the car works, and
now I just have to see how it handles at Watkins Glen. I want
to keep everything in perspective at Watkins Glen and do the
best I can for Kyle, the team, and General Mills.”
7/30/03
A reader wants AR1 to come
clean
A reader writes, First
let me preface my comments by saying that I am an AR1
subscriber and enjoy reading AR1 everyday. With that said, I
am also a member of the CART family and it is very
discouraging to read every piece of IRL crap that gets floated
out in cyber land everyday. Your own information and rumor
page is so contradictory that no one has a clue. How tough is
this on all of the team guys, their families, sponsors,
promoters, etc. to read crap everyday that CART is dead and
done and that the IRL is poised to cherry-pick many of CART's
crown jewels? We have just finished several hugely successful
events with tremendous attendance and energy. Were you not in
Toronto and Vancouver? There are a lot of unanswered questions
and CART needs damage control to counter the claims. We need a
page from the Whitehouse playbook on media spin control, or
better yet, let's call in Bill O'Reilly from the No Spin Zone.
This has been so typical. CART starts turning the corner
and starts gaining forward momentum, and BAM!!. We get hit
with a huge dose of negative press predicting CART's death.
This happened to us last year and by Australia we were dead
and done. If you have solid info, print it! If not, why
propagate the IRL's assault on CART? It almost appears you are
hedging your bet and posturing to be in good graces with the
IRL if CART does go down. There will be no winners in the
demise of CART. It will create a large number of fans
who will just walk away and say enough is enough. If the
IRL succeeds, they have done nothing but create a new CART.
Look at any sports page right now. There are sports
franchises from baseball to hockey that are in serious
trouble. Many sports have a serious image problem and
are losing fans by the droves. The stick and ball sports
have been "punkified" and I have a theory that this is helping
to fuel NASCAR's growth. CART is not alone in the turbulent
waters of the sports world. It is my hope that we will have a
clear plan for the future soon. Many of us that work in CART
would like to know where we are going and how we will get
there. If it is to celebrate or to mourn, we like many just
want this thing to move on. With that said, here is to
the future of Champ Car:, may the track stay green, the
racing wheel to wheel, and let the champagne flow in winners
circle!! PS. I hope this makes it to your news section.
William Kinsey, Kingman, Arizona Dear William, Let
me assure you that we share your pain. However, it is the boss
of CART, Chris Pook, who has brought on all the recent
negative press being aimed at CART with the very negative
financial guidance press releases (two in several weeks, which
is unheard of) without any plan or assurances about CART's
future. As we understand it, the shareholder lawsuit that will
be filed this week will claim that certain indivduals took
actions to drive CART's image and stock value down to almost
nothing so it can be purchased dirt cheap. That is not our
doing or our claims, but others, as you will learn once the
lawsuit is filed (we are told by Friday). While we were told
by some very key people in the CART paddock that Bernie was
part of the deal to take CART private and it would happen
soon, we also hear from our F1 connections and other CART
paddock connections that he isn't. It's hard for us to know
the truth, especially when reports come out from places like sportsbusiness.com today that say Bernie is not out to buy or
help CART, but instead is waiting for it to die so he can get
Long Beach back. Again, we did not tell sportsbusiness.com
what to write - they are UK based and are talking to people in
Bernie's close F1 circle of friends. You may be correct that
all the negative PR is coming out of the IRL camp, but because
Chris Pook or David Clare won't talk to any of the media about
what is really coming down and tell us the truth, or to defend
CART against the barrage of negative PR, we are stuck with
bits and pieces of information from various sources, some of
which is probably misinformation from people who have an
agenda. Many people like you are hoping that the August 7th
date for a big CART announcement is real. We stuck our
neck out by publishing that date, but we felt it was
newsworthy (or shall we say rumor-worthy) because we checked
with our source twice to verify what they heard. Will it
change, or is it real? While we can't be certain,
we did promise to update our readers should we learn more.
Unfortunately, if nothing happens on the 7th, everyone will be
out to shoot the messenger (us), but more importantly, the
people who make a living in CART, like yourself, will
experience a major letdown, and for that you have our
sympathy. We, like you, hope this time more than ever,
our sources are correct. If an announcement about CART's
future doesn't happen soon, I'm afraid it will be too late
because teams trying to nail down sponsorship for 2004 will
have lost their window of opportunity. Stay tuned.... Mark C.
7/30/03
A tribute celebration to Mario
Andretti
How do you thank
someone who changes history? That is exactly what the
community of Elkhart Lake will do on Saturday evening, August
2, when they pay tribute to racing legend Mario Andretti, with
a community celebration in his honor held on the grounds of
the Osthoff Resort. Mario Andretti was instrumental in
bringing the CART race back to Road America after an earlier
cancellation. Using his personal resources, Mario persevered
until an agreement was reached which was acceptable to both
Road America and CART. And this Wisconsin community will
express their appreciation with a “Grazie Mario” party
beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday night, August 2. Dignitaries
from Sheboygan County as well as the State of Wisconsin will
be on hand to officially thank Mario Andretti for personally
investing his time and energy to keep the CART race at Road
America. You will find representatives from the local chamber,
area lodging properties, state and local legislators, the
lieutenant governor, race fans, and Mario fans, all gathering
to let this racing giant know how much they appreciate what he
has done for their businesses, for their state, and for their
pleasure by bringing back the race. Awards will be presented,
words of praise exalted, and glasses raised in a toast to
Mario sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. Live entertainment,
dancing, food and, of course, wines from the Andretti vineyard
will add to the celebration of the evening. Andretti wine will
be available by the bottle or by the glass and who knows, you
may leave with an autographed bottle or two of Andretti Sangiovese. So if you want to join in this tribute to “the guy
that made it happen”, come to The Osthoff Resort and help
thank Mario for keeping this Elkhart Lake tradition at Road
America. For further information, call The Osthoff Resort at
1-800-876-3399 or visit
www.osthoff.com. Who: Mario Fans What: Grazie Mario! Party When: Saturday, August 2 Times: Celebration begins at 6 p.m.
Awards presentation between 7 and 8 p.m.
Music and dancing from 6 p.m. to ? Where: Tented on the grounds of The Osthoff Resort About The Osthoff Resort Nestled on the shores of
Elkhart Lake, The Osthoff Resort is located in Elkhart Lake,
Wisconsin. Opened in 1995, this AAA Four Diamond hotel is one
of the Midwest’s premier resort destinations, featuring
all-suite accommodations, four seasons of recreation, fine
American and continental cuisine, breathtaking scenery, and
Old World charm. Lola Roeh, General Manager of The Osthoff
Resort, recently became the recipient of the prestigious
Wisconsin Innkeepers Association’s 2002 Innkeeper of the Year
Award. The Osthoff Resort is located at 101 Osthoff Avenue in
the Village of Elkhart Lake, WI, an easy one hour drive north
of Milwaukee and two hours north of Chicago. To view other
upcoming special events and packages, visit www.osthoff.com or
call 800.876.3399/920.876.3366.
7/30/03 KARTING
Sad news in kartingUPDATE A reader writes, I
was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of the 9 year
old boy. As an avid karter, my friends and I have often
discussed how absurdly dangerous the design of karts are and
how easy it would be to make them much safer. Extended bumpers
to decrease wheel to wheel contact as well as a lightweight
roll bar may well have saved the boy's life. Kart manufacturers
ought to drop the macho b.s. and make these two simple
changes. The minor weight penalty would be well worth it.
Bill Pope, Bencia, CA7/29/03 - According
to this ekartingnews
article, The final round of the Nor-Cal IKF Regional
Racing Series ended in tragedy Saturday with the death of
Junior I Two-Cycle driver Caleb Maxwell of Merced, California.
Caleb, age nine, was participating in his afternoon main event
when his racing kart flipped and skidded upside down off the
track on the second lap of competition. On-site medical
personnel were on the scene moments after the incident to give aid
to the injured driver. A team of medical professionals,
including local fire and air rescue, worked to stabilize
Maxwell in preparation for transport. Caleb was evacuated by
helicopter to a local trauma center in Sacramento, California.
He was unable to overcome the internal injuries sustained in
the accident. In respect to the Maxwell family, the remaining
racing schedule was canceled for what was to have been a
two-day event. A Memorial Service for Caleb Maxwell will be
held tomorrow (Tuesday) morning in Merced. Everyone is welcome
to attend this service at 9AM Tuesday Morning. A funeral
service will be held in San Antonio, Texas on Friday of this
week. Memorial Service Location:
Gateway Church
353 Donna Street
Merced, CA 95340
Any cards, etc. should be sent to:
Maxwell Family
5918 Phoenician Court
Merced, CA 95340
7/30/03
Eddie Jordan impressed with
Shanghai track In this pitpass.com
article Eddie Jordan says this about the Shanghai
track that is under construction, "What I have seen here today
is a vision for how F1 and motorsport generally can play an
important part in many aspects of developing a country's
economic and cultural growth. I am most impressed by the plans
for the new circuit - a fantastic project which will set new
standards for Formula One and bring global awareness of the
high standards in Shanghai."
More . . .
7/30/03
Stewart offered contract
extension Winston Cup car owner Joe Gibbs has
offered Tony Stewart a long-term contract extension, but said
Tuesday he's not sure the Winston Cup champion will accept the
deal. "Obviously I don't have the answer,'' Gibbs said. ``The
most important thing for drivers is to have a place where they
think they can win races. Our number one job as a race team
is to make sure we're in the forefront of what's going on and
that any driver would think he has a chance to win in our
stuff.'' Stewart said Tuesday he received the extension
from Gibbs, but has not had time to look it over. ``It's not
been a real pressing issue because I still have another year
on my contract after this year,'' Stewart said. ``So, for some
reason, everybody else is putting a bigger press on that than
I have so far.''
7/30/03
What did they expect?
A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1.com, I find it very intriguing that many IRL owners are
mad at the IRL officials because they believe Hornish is getting help
from the IRL. Do they not realize what series they are racing in and
that it is common practice in the IRL? Do they not realize that this
is what they signed up for, even AFTER Tracy was stripped of his Indy
500 win last year? Do they not realize this after all the phantom or
NASCAR yellows are thrown? Do they not realize that much of the fans
dislike and hatred towards the IRL stems from this type of
manufactured, favoritism, and basically dishonest racing? Do they not
realize that, while CART doesn't hold favoritism towards certain teams
and in turn this may irritate some teams, that this lack of
favoritism, which leads to REAL RACING, is what appeals to us REAL
open-wheel fans who respect great drivers and teams, as opposed to a
managed outcome? Come on you guys, have all of you IRL owners really
been blinded that bad by their hype and fluff? Derek Hughes,
Florida Dear Derek, Say what you might, but an awful lot of
NASCAR fans seem to like managed racing, which goes to show you that
people are looking for good entertainment first, and true sport 2nd.
Many prefer the IRL's close racing to CART's follow-the-leader
parades, fabricated or not. Mark C.
7/30/03
Latest Road America HD Net viewing
locations
California
The Davis Graduate (530) 758-4723
805 Russell Blvd.
Davis
Missouri
Schneithorst's Restaurant (314) 993-4100
1600 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis
Syberg's Westport (314) 785-0481
2430 Old Dorsett Rd
St. Louis
Ohio
The Frog, Bear, & Wild Boar Bar (614) 621-9453
343 North Front Street
Columbus
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (440) 466-4638
SR534 & I-90
Geneva
Texas
Moose & Vinny's - (817) 461-2027
2301 North Collins (Hwy 157), located in the Landmark Village Shopping
Center
Arlington
Moose & Vinny's - (214) 342-BEER
9220 Skillman St., just North of I-635 in Dallas
Dallas
Wizards Sports Café - (972) 235-0371
747 N. Central Expressway
Dallas
7/30/03
British government doesn't want to line
Bernie's pockets According to reports in the UK Press,
the British government is not very likely to put forward the funds to
help the Silverstone circuit finance redevelopments to ensure it stays
on the F1 calendar in future years. According to a member of the
British Parliament, Clare Ward,. "I hope the government can provide
some help in the form of an investment to keep the British GP,” Clare
told the Guardian, “but I would be very concerned if millions were
ploughed into a sport where clearly somebody (read that Bernie
Ecclestone and his FOM organization) is creaming off a large profit."
7/30/03
Sauber confirms Friday testing in 2004 Sauber
Petronas have confirmed that they will become the fifth team to agree
to the new Heathrow agreement that will see them testing at each
circuit on GP Friday mornings and their in-season testing limited to
just twenty days. According to team boss Peter Sauber, one issue that
helped sway their decision is the new circuits added to the 2004
schedule. “We were thinking about this move last year,” Sauber told
Motorsport Aktuell. “After our experiences this year, and regarding
the fact that there will be two new circuits in next year's calendar,
we've decided to do without unlimited testing in 2004.”
Fittipaldi compares Indy 500 and
Brickyard 400
Christian Fittipaldi, runner-up for the 1995 Indianapolis 500 in his
rookie year on the CART circuit, speaks on the comparison of the Indy
500 versus the Brickyard 400: "My uncle's accomplishments are nearly
unmatched, and now I am trying to bring the winning tradition at
Indianapolis back to my family in a stock car. A trophy at
Indianapolis is admired by all no matter what you are driving. You
can't compare winning the Indianapolis 500 to winning the Brickyard
400, they are two different races in two different cars, but winning
at Indianapolis is a racer's dream. It's one of the greatest
accomplishments you can have. It's hard to say which is the bigger
event, the Indianapolis 500 or the Brickyard 400. I am focused on
doing the best I can do for Petty Enterprises, Cheerios, Dodge, and
all of my other supporters. Right now, the Brickyard 400 is the bigger
event to me. Maybe others will argue that the Indianapolis 500 is the
greatest event, or the Daytona 500 is, but for me right now it's the
Brickyard 400. I have chosen to race in stock cars, and I want to be a
winner in NASCAR, so that means winning the Brickyard 400. I also want
to be a winner at Indianapolis. This is my chance to make my dreams
come true. Other drivers may have different dreams, but this is my
weekend to chase mine. I have raced from Europe to Australia to
Canada to the United States. There is nothing like racing at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's the Mecca of automobile racing. It's
certainly the most impressive track that I have ever seen. There are
tracks that are also impressive, but Indy is for sure the top
infrastructure that I have ever seen."
7/29/03
Junqueira admits to losing it after
Vancouver penalty
In this crash.net
article, Bruno Junqueira admits that he lost concentration and
a chance to mount a challenge to eventual winner Paul Tracy after CART
officials ordered him to move over and let Tracy into the top spot."It is not bad to finish second," said Junqueira. "Unfortunately,
second again to Paul Tracy. In 11 races, we have been always very
fast, but didn't win yet. On the start, just after the last corner,
you have a cone that's supposed to be the start cone. At that point
you have to start to accelerate. Ninety-nine percent of the time the
drivers that are leading on the pole, everybody just accelerates a
little bit before the cone because if you accelerate on the cone, the
guy that's in second knows you're going to accelerate there, just
accelerate a little bit earlier. I felt that in Toronto Paul
accelerated earlier than I was expecting him to. Then he got a big
jump on me on the start. Today I thought that he's going to do pretty
much the same and accelerate a little bit before the cone, and he
didn't. Then pretty much I passed him. But I don't know, I have to see
on the replay because is difficult anywhere in the car. But when the
green flag flew, you pretty much side-by-side. But for sure when I was
on the start/finish line, I was in front. I don't know, like in
Portland, I wasn't on the front row, and they try to do a lot of
starts with Paul Tracy and Michel. It's difficult."
More . . .
7/29/03
IRL ready to pick up Toronto and LB
when CART dies
According to this TSN.ca
article, If the financially troubled CART series were to
disappear from the racing landscape in 2005, it's possible that the
Indy Racing League could fill the void in Toronto and Long Beach. The
all-oval IRL is making preliminary plans to add road courses to its
schedule, perhaps as early as 2005. IRL vice president of operations
Brian Barnhart met with representatives of its two chassis suppliers -
Panoz G Force and Dallara - and requested both to start planning an
update kit for the current IRL chassis by 2004. That kit will be
tested before one or two road course venues are added to the schedule.
Panther Racing co-owner John Barnes, who has been part of the IRL
since it started, supports the idea of adding road course into the
oval mix. "This series needs diversity, and two road course races a
year would be incredible, especially if they are great venues like
Toronto and Long Beach," says Barnes. "If CART dies, it's an
obligation of ours to help those race fans in those venues. Toronto
has been a happening for years and so is Long Beach. It would be an
honor to race there.".......A move to street racing will further
increase costs, according to Kelley Racing manager Steve Newey. "My
first thought is how that will increase our expenses," Newey said.
"There is obviously different suspension and brakes and it will be
harder on gearboxes. I think the cars will be more
maintenance-intensive and we will go through parts a lot faster. We
will need additional update kits from the manufacturer. My biggest
concern is how it will increase our costs. The $125,000 would be the
upfront cost for the update kit itself." John Biddlecombe, the
director of sales for chassis maker G Force, says in order to convert
the all-oval-designed IRL chassis to one that could also compete on
road courses, they would have to improve the brakes, the cooling
system, add a new fuel cell and slightly change the geometry of the
suspension. He indicated that would cost each team between $100,000 to
$125,000. Despite the increased costs, Biddlecombe is in favor of
adding road races. "I think it would be a very good idea to add
several road courses to our current schedule of 16 ovals. I think that
would make for a terrific series. In 2005, we will be going to one
or two road courses," Biddlecombe said. "That is my gut feeling."
"There has been some discussion about adding a couple road course
races in time and I think 2005 is probably the time you might see some
road races," Roger Penske said. "For us, it can't be bad. We don't
want to add a lot more races. We want to race in the best markets that
we can. One of the benefits we have right now is a solid series with
16 or 17 races. Penske driver Gil de Ferran would also welcome a
change to road racing. "From a very selfish standpoint, I miss road
racing. If we get to do that again, it would be great. I still love
road racing and I miss it. I think America has some of the best
permanent road courses out there, like Road America and Laguna Seca
and Mid-Ohio, along with street circuits like Long Beach."
7/29/03
NASCAR cuts off money to Jessie Jackson
This Chicago Tribune
article (requires registration) says Pressured by a
conservative group, NASCAR has cut off contributions to Jesse
Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, USA Today reported Tuesday. The
newspaper said a person familiar with NASCAR's internal decisions
confirmed that the racing organization has not paid Jackson's group
any money in 2003 and doesn't plan to. NASCAR is seeking more subtle
ways to back Rainbow/PUSH without appearing as though it directly
supports Jackson, the paper said. However, a NASCAR source, speaking
on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that NASCAR
hasn't ruled out making future contributions. NASCAR has given
Jackson's group $250,000 during the past three years in an effort to
increase minority participation in stock-car racing. We have not
officially heard that NASCAR has pulled funding," said Keiana
Peyton-Barrett, a spokeswoman for Rainbow/PUSH. NASCAR vice president
Jim Hunter told The AP he would not discuss specifics about donations
to Rainbow/PUSH because such contributions change from year to year.
"The only thing we can do is go back to Mike Helton's previous
statement that supporting Rainbow/PUSH is one of several initiatives
intended to increase minority participation," Hunter said, referring
to remarks from NASCAR's president. In April, Peter Flaherty,
president of the National Legal and Policy Center, made public a
letter he sent to NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. that asked him to
end NASCAR's support of Jackson. Flaherty said he believed the
backlash NASCAR received from its fans over the support of Jackson was
the reason no contributions were made so far this year. "I think the
protests of thousands of fans and four months of unrelenting attention
led to this," Flaherty said. "But we welcome their decision because we
are trying to show all of corporate America that there is a price to pay
for associating with Jesse Jackson." Charles Farrell, director of
Rainbow Sports, a division of Rainbow/PUSH, said the organization is
still expecting NASCAR funding. "We have had no contact with NASCAR
whatsoever that would indicate that they're pulling back support or
wavering in any way," he said. "We haven't asked them to reassure us.
We don't need reassurance. As far as we're concerned, the relationship
is the same."
7/29/03
Road America is all about reducing drag
Road America’s 14-turn, 4.048-mile permanent road course is a driver
favorite with long straights, fast and slow turns and plenty of
elevation changes. Fernandez Racing Race Engineer David Watson
estimates top speeds of 186 mph with minimum cornering speeds in the
57 mph range. Drivers will shift 40 times per lap throughout the
course of the 60-lap race, pulling a maximum G Force load of 3.8. The
maximum lap interval for pit stops is set at 13 laps, requiring a
minimum of four stops. Minimizing drag is key for this weekend as
Watson notes: “All cars will be run in their minimum drag
configuration – low drag sidepods and rear wing positions. In this
way, Road America is the only track of its type. The elevation changes
can make corner entry interesting and a solid rear end [to the car] is
important.” Fernández Racing
7/29/03
NASCAR is Plan B for Carpentier
A reader writes, Dear AR1, Patrick Carpentier was on CKAC Montreal
Radio's sports show today. In a nutshell he hopes CART survives and
Forsythe can get sponsorship for his ride. Otherwise he stated that
Plan B is to look at NASCAR. Particularly the Busch series for now.
When asked about the IRL he said although he likes the show they put
on, it seems every other week a driver ends up with broken legs, hips
or backs so his first pick would be NASCAR. After the interview the
motorsports reporter said that although Carpentier was being
politically correct he could tell that he was seriously leaning
towards NASCAR. He then went on a rant about CART calling it 3rd rate,
on life support and offering no viable future for the drivers
involved. He said he contacted the people running the Montreal CART
race and they told him that unlike when they organize the F1 race that
they got no help or input from CART at all and that CART was counting
on the local promoter to run with the ball. He said that you can see
what the successful races on the schedule are simply from who has the
best organization to promote and put on the event and that Norman
Legault was in no way impressed with their way of operating and has
distanced himself from CART when asked about it in public. The
reporter also mentioned that Craig Pollack hinted that Jacques
Villeneuve was looking at a few Winston Cup offers. The reporter
concluded that although NASCAR may not be viewed by the public with
the same passion as open wheel, that it was where a driver could make
plenty of cash and have an extended career. This interview speaks
volumes on so many levels. Canada and particularly Quebec has always
been open wheel country. When true open wheel drivers start looking at
NASCAR first rather then any open wheel alternatives that shows that
open wheel racing is really in dire straights in North America.
Furthermore, this is the first time I remember the motorsport press in
this area getting down on CART. These people have no affiliation or
ideological link to the IRL and are not your ball and stick reporters
masquerading as a motorsport reporter when the big race is in town.
They know their stuff and follow all of it religiously.
Natalie From Quebec, Canada Dear Natalie, thanks for the
report. CART is operating on a shoestring budget right now just
to survive, hence its staff has been trimmed and they simply do not
have enough people to do it all. CART's only hope is that some
new owners take over and do what it takes to make things right.
Do you think the team could be making room for a Villeneuve and Tracy
duo next year, making Carpentier the odd man out? With Labatts
rumored to be replacing Player's, one can't forget who sponsored
Villeneuve years ago. Mark C.
7/29/03
Martin fastest on final test day at The
Glen With one complete day of testing already under
their belts, 17 NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers went to work again
today at Watkins Glen International in their final preparation for the
SIRIUS at The Glen, August 7-10 and the lap times were fast. Mark
Martin ran the 2.45-mile road course in just 1:11.10 with the No. 6
Viagra Ford, while his teammate Greg Biffle had the second-fastest lap
of 1:11.30 in his No. 16 Grainger Ford. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8
Budweiser Chevrolet came across the line with a time of 1:11.70,
followed by Jeff Gordon's 1:11.72 in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet and
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet of Robby Gordon at 1:11.79. Ron
Fellows was the final driver to clock in under 1:12, with a time of
1:11.90 in his No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet. The No. 4 Kodak Film Pontiac
of PJ Jones had a best lap of 1:12.00, followed closely by Joe Varde's
1:12.01, the No. 04 Pontiac of Johnny Miller with 1:12.10 and Matt
Kenseth's 1:12.20 in the No. 17 DeWalt Ford. Road course ringer Boris
Said clocked in at 1:12.30 in his No. 01 US Army Pontiac, with
Christian Fittipaldi's No. 44 New York Yankees Dodge timing in at
1:12.34. Three drivers shared a best time of 1:12.50 - Scott Pruett in
the third Chip Ganassi entry, Bobby Labonte in the No. 18 Interstate
Batteries Chevrolet and the No. 41 Target Dodge of rookie Casey Mears.
Rounding out the field was the No. 33 Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet
with Paul Menard behind the wheel, timing in at 1:12.93 and Kyle
Petty's 1:13.10 in the No. 45 Georgia Pacific Dodge.
7/29/03
TV rating disaster for CART on
SPEED again CART was back on SPEED TV this
past weekend for its Vancouver race and as expected, the
overnight TV rating of 0.3 in prime time was another black eye
for the Champ Car Series. Mark C.
7/29/03
CART joins Hole-In-The-Wall
used cell phone drive
The CART Champ Car World Series and their Official Charity, the
Association of Hole in the Wall Camps has partnered with Charitable
Recycling to begin a drive to collect used cell phones at every race
for the remainder of the 2003 season. The camps will receive a
monetary donation for each phone collected during this drive. Monies
for each phone will be donated to the Champ Car Official Charity, The
Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, and will be presented at the
2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
season finale in Fontana, CA on November 2. “This Cellular
Contribution drive will help us continue to find unique and valuable
ways to support our partnership with the Association of Hole in the
Wall Camps, while also collecting and recycling some of the estimated
150 million idle cell phones in the U.S," said Kori Novak, Director, Special
Projects for Champ Car, “The cell phones will be refurbished
and sent to battered woman and family shelters and similar
organizations within the United States. Cell phones also
contain toxins and are very hazardous to our environment if
they go to landfills. It’s a win, win, win situation for
everyone involved.” Any and all cell phones will be accepted.
Those turning in cell phones are requested to turn in any
battery or charger that comes with the phone. All phones
should be deactivated before turning them in. “We’re very
excited about this program as an extension of our Champ Car
partnership”, said Stocky Clark, Executive Director for The
Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. “It not only benefits
our association, but assists in preserving the environment and
bringing communications to people who could not otherwise
afford it. Donations may be dropped off in the following
locations during race weekends: Registration/Credentialing,
the Champ Car Pace Car compound and the Champ Car Official
Merchandise trailer. The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps
serves the entire family of Hole in the Wall Camps, including
five fully operational camps, three camps in active
development, and several programs around the globe. To date,
our camps have provided a magical camp experience to nearly
67,000 children with serious illnesses or other
life-threatening conditions. Each camp is a recreational and
therapeutic place for these children to come and feel the
simple joy of being a child. Founder Paul Newman’s vision of
providing these camps free of charge is made possible through
the generous contributions of individuals, corporations,
foundations, and many other organizations. With continued
support, we hope to provide this life-changing camp experience
to as many children all over the world as possible. For more
information on The Association of Hole In The Wall Camps log
onto
www.holeinthewallcamps.org
7/29/03
CART explains International TV
disruption The
following statement was issued today by Tim Mayer, CART's
Director of International Operations and Development: "Viewers
of live broadcasts of the Champ Car race from Vancouver,
Canada, on the 27th of July, who may have been watching
outside of the United States and Canada, were aware that
the race broadcast was interrupted just after lap 40 of the
broadcast and live transmission was not re-established until
nearly lap 90 of the 100 lap event. While the exact cause of
the interruption is still being investigated, we do know that
there was a massive technical failure of the transmission
facilities in Indianapolis, in the United States, that we use
to beam the races around the world. These types of systems are
designed with full redundancy, but as with any system as
technical as this, faults, while extremely rare, can occur.
The scale of the issue made it very difficult to re-establish
video communications with our various broadcast partners
around the world, which caused the outage to last nearly an
hour. We were able to re-broadcast the majority of the race
action immediately following the event, which allowed some of
our partners to either re-air the broadcast, or if they were
delayed anyway, to broadcast the majority of the broadcast, as
planned. We are currently exploring additional backup measures
to ensure that we do not have a repeat of this experience. I
would like to emphasize to our disappointed fans, that this
fault was entirely out of the hands of the various
broadcasters around the world who were affected. Each
broadcaster was left in a very difficult position and the
world feed production team is extremely grateful for the
professional and cooperative efforts of all our partners
around the world. We sincerely apologize both to our fans and
to our broadcast partners whose programming schedules were
affected."
7/29/03
More on NASCAR eyeing NY market This
Seattle Times
article says, Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Winston
Cup Series champion, was asked by a reporter what it would
take for the New York area to embrace stock-car racing. His
answer came as fast as he drives. "A racetrack out at the
Meadowlands (in New Jersey)," Gordon said last month in
Manhattan's Times Square when NASCAR introduced Nextel as the
new title sponsor for its top series. Getting a track close to
New York — the nation's top media market — has become a prime
goal for NASCAR now that it has addressed two other top
concerns: replacing Winston as its title sponsor and shifting
some races to major markets from relatively small southern
towns. "If there's any market that they've wanted forever,
it's the New York market," said Tom Cotter, managing director
of CMI Group, which handles auto-racing marketing. "It's of
the utmost importance to them." The Winston Cup Series already
has races in each of the 10 biggest U.S. media markets except
for New York and San Francisco. Getting a track built and
staging a race near New York would expose millions of new fans
to the sport and might get the attention of the approximately
75 Fortune 500 companies in the area. "New York not only gives
us the notoriety of being in the largest city in the country,
but also gives us the positives of being in close proximity to
many of the big business leaders in the country," said Lee
Combs, who is heading International Speedway's attempts to
build a track in the New York area. "The Big Apple is the Big
Apple," Combs said. "Our sponsors would embrace going there.
It's a tough nut to crack, but we're excited about the
opportunity to bring a track to the area."
7/29/03
Proposal to set up Formula One
track at Gachibowli This Hindu
newspaper
article says, The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu,
has said that the State Government proposes to set up a
Formula One car racing track at Gachibowli, India on the city
outskirts. The plan for the track stems from the Government's
intention to have round-the-year sporting activity at
Gachibowli where a lot of infrastructure for sports was
created for the last National Games, Mr. Naidu said after
laying the foundation for a multistoried office complex of
the Ranga Reddy Zilla Parishad at Khairatabad on Monday. The
occasion coincided with the second anniversary celebrations of
the present general body of the Parishad. Listing the projects
on the anvil for the district, Mr. Naidu said apart from
setting up the racing track, the Government wanted to come up
with several tourism schemes from Hyderabad to the district
borders at Vikarabad. He allayed fears about shifting
Anantagiri TB sanitarian at Vikarabad for the purpose of
turning it into a tourism spot.
7/29/03
Eddie Jordan to ShanghaiEddie Jordan
becomes the first Formula One team owner to visit the new
Shanghai International Circuit today and tomorrow, July the
29th and 30th, after being invited by the Shanghai Municipal
Government, Shanghai International Circuit and the Chinese
national television broadcaster CCTV. Jordan will take the
opportunity to meet with representatives from the circuit,
which will host the inaugural Chinese round of the FIA Formula
One World Championship in 2004, along with key government
officials from Shanghai Sports Bureau and Shanghai Municipal
Government.
7/29/03
Skinner named to drive #01
Pontiac Mike Skinner
has been named to drive the No. 01 U.S. Army Pontiac for MB2
Motorsports beginning with this weekend’s Brickyard 400 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Skinner will take over driving
duties from Mike Wallace who has substituted for the injured
Jerry Nadeau since The Winston Open (May 17) at Lowe’s Motor
Speedway in Charlotte. Road racing specialist Boris Said, who
drove the No. 01 U.S. Army Pontiac to a sixth place finish at
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., will take the wheel again
at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for the Aug. 10 NASCAR
Winston Cup Series road race. “Mike (Skinner) has agreed to
drive for us at least through Darlington,” said Jay Frye,
CEO/General Manager of MB2 Motorsports. “The team seems to
have lost a little momentum since Sonoma, but hopefully Mike
will help get us back on the right track. His record of
success speaks for itself.” Skinner was the inaugural NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series Champion in 1995 and the 1997 NASCAR
Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He finished 10th in the
1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series point standings and 12th in
2000. Skinner also won one of the Gatorade 125 qualifying
events for the 2001 Daytona 500. “I’m very excited that the
team chose me to help them out,” said Skinner. “My goal, first
and foremost, is to help Jerry’s recovery. We want him back in
the U.S. Army Pontiac. Speaking from experience, though,
getting back in the car before you are 100 percent isn’t the
best thing to do for anyone. Hopefully, I can help take a
little pressure off of Jerry so he can recover at his own
pace. I want to get his team back on its feet, and maybe even
give them a win -- that would be an added bonus for all of
us.”
7/29/03
With a possible CART death looming, IRL
to prepare for road racesUPDATE
This rpm.espn.com
article has more discussion on the IRL going road
racing. AJ Foyt had one interesting comment - "I'm
against it to be honest with you," said A.J. Foyt to RPM's
Marlo Klain. "The IRL was formed to run ovals, it's an
all-oval series. I know they want to go to so many more tracks
and it's just going to cost the guys more money. We probably
wouldn't file an entry on road course races. If we get run
off, we'd probably go to NASCAR." 7/28/03 - According to this Indy Star
article, Indy Racing League officials don't know if they will
have the league's first road course or street-circuit race in 2004 or
2005, but they will be prepared for '04, league president Tony George
said Sunday. The IRL told its engine and chassis manufacturers this
weekend to make the necessary adjustments to next year's equipment
just in case the schedule includes some events away from ovals. George
said league officials are not in discussions with any non-oval tracks
at this time. "But we have to be prepared for any opportunities," he
said. "We are not on a path to have such an event next year, but we
have to be ready just in case there is one." The options seem more
likely now given the financial trouble confirmed earlier this week by
the Championship Auto Racing Teams series. CART will stage 16 of its
19 races on road and street circuits this season, but series officials
aren't sure there will be a full season in 2004. There are added
benefits to the IRL having equipment for such venues, according to
Brian Barnhart, senior vice president of operations. He said
aerodynamic drag will increase and downforce will decrease because of
such things as larger suspension pieces. That will slow the cars 2-3
mph at the faster oval tracks like Michigan International Speedway.
Tomas Scheckter earned the pole for the Firestone Indy 400 at 222.458
mph. There are extra costs with the new configuration, but switching
in 2004 will allow teams to spread it over the final two seasons of
the league's equipment package. "We know we're going to road courses
at some point, so we might as well get the equipment ready now,"
Barnhart said. At present, the only new race expected next year is the
oval track at Milwaukee. League officials are also talking to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, also an oval.
7/29/03
Is Sam Hornish the new IRL
poster boy?
According
to this rpm.espn.com
article, The only negative (this weekend at MIS), from
the Chevy/Cosworth perspective, was the question of fuel
mileage. Hornish had to pit 3-4 laps earlier than everyone
else as, naturally, mileage was the great unknown. And when it
looked like Hornish was going to have to pit two more times
with some 50 laps to go while his competitors only needed one
more stop, a mysterious "debris yellow" [they call that a
"NASCAR yellow," a common practice in managed racing series to
ensure an exciting finish for the fans] came out to alleviate
that potential problem after an IRL official reportedly asked
over the radio how everybody was doing on fuel. "That was a
bunch of b......., and we also caught Sam speeding once on pit
lane and called it in but the IRL didn't do anything," said
one IRL owner afterwards. "He (Hornish) also jumped the start.
I guess this whole thing is about getting Hornish some wins."
7/29/03
McLaren Mercedes preview
Hockenheim raceThe Team McLaren
Mercedes team will be at Hockenheim this weekend for the
German Grand Prix, one of two home events for Mercedes-Benz
this season. The race, which is sponsored for the 13th
consecutive year by Team McLaren Mercedes Technology Partner
ExxonMobil, marks round 12 of the 2003 FIA Formula One World
Championship. Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard currently lie
in second and seventh in the Drivers standings, with 62 and 33
points respectively, with Team McLaren Mercedes in third
position in the Constructors' table with 95 points.. More.....
7/29/03
Toyota preview Hockenheim raceThe
2003 race will be the 27th German GP to be held at Hockenheim,
having been previously staged for 23 races by the Nürburgring.
Originally built in 1930's as a test facility, the
Hockenheimring had to wait until 1970 before being instated as
an F1 race venue. The track was drastically revised for last
year's event, reduced in length from 6.825km to 4.574km and
swapping ultra fast straights with a tighter, twistier layout.
In the last ten years, no driver has won the German Grand Prix
two years in a row. More.....
7/29/03
Wilson gets first drive in Jag British
Formula 1 rookie Justin Wilson drove for the Jaguar Racing
team for the first time at Silverstone's South circuit on
Monday. "My first day with Jaguar on the track went according
to plan," Wilson told Jaguar-Racing.com. "The team did a lot
of work over the weekend making adjustments to the cockpit
area, and in the end it paid off handsomely. I fitted in well
and the Jaguar R4 felt very good to drive. It was only a
handful of laps but enough to whet my appetite as we go into
the German Grand Prix this weekend. Roll on two-hour testing
on Friday – I cannot wait."
7/29/03
Truce needed with IRL, CART According
to this Knight-Ridder
article, If ever a little sanity is called for in racing, it
is in ending the ongoing scrap between the IRL and CART. Here's the
scoop, in case you're both too busy looking in the mirror or patting
yourselves on the back to notice: Open-wheel racing in America is in
trouble, you'd better believe it. There needs to be a single voice, a
single series......The bleeding hasn't stopped, while NASCAR seems to
be able to do no wrong. On Sunday at Pocono, state police estimated
the Winston Cup race crowd at around 100,000. The fans watched Ryan
Newman win the Pennsylvania 500, beating Kurt Busch. If it was a
better spectacle than the Firestone Indy 400, I'll eat my race hat.
Rumor is that CART may close shop soon. Stories doing the rounds in
cyberspace say the IRL may add road courses to its schedule next year,
while Hornish will be lured to a NASCAR Busch Grand National or
Winston Cup team for 2004. None or all may be true, but one thing is
certain: Open-wheel racing needs to make decisions about its future
now. If the major players in the sport are as smart as they are
self-serving, an IRL-CART truce would be called immediately. [Editor's
Note: CART and the IRL are like the Hatfields and the McCoys, a truce
isn't going to happen]
7/29/03
Overnight TV ratings The American
LeMans Series race from Infineon Raceway on NBC turned in a 0.9
overnight rating on Saturday according to the Sports Business Daily.
The Busch Series race from Pikes Peak garnered a 1.7 overnight rating
on NBC on Saturday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Message to Penske and Bobby Unser A
reader writes, Dear AutoRaciing1.com, I had to write this because I'm
sick of hearing people like Bobby Unser and Roger Penske saying "most
of CART's races are outside the U.S." This is as far from the truth as
it can be. Let's see we have a 19 round schedule this year. Okay we
have 10 races in the U.S. (more than half the schedule) and another 3
in Canada and 2 in Mexico. That's 15 of 19 races in North America! I'm
not great at math but that's over 75% of our races in North America!
How can they say we don't race here? Please pass this on to the people
who can't seem to count, Bobby Unser and Roger Penske! I don't
know why it took me so long to say this...but I have to thank you
people at autoracing1.com. This is THE BEST website ever created for
open wheel fans. Thank you. Everyday I can't wait to go to your site.
I actually get excited about it. You guys report from a non-bias point
of view. Something that's impossible to find these days. Keep up the
great work. You do an awesome job. James Shaw Dear James,
Thank you for the kind words. You are absolutely right, CART
does have over 75% of their races in North America. You must
understand that certain people have an agenda and must justify their
recent decisions. Certainly CART still being in business was not
on their agenda. Mark C.
7/29/03
The best attended race in years A
reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1, As I’ve said before in my e-mail to
this site, I’m a CART fan first and foremost. In fact, I wore a CART
shirt and hat to the IRL race this past weekend. I along with about 8
others I happen to ran into (must have been the shirt and hat) were
attending our first IRL event outside Indy. I wanted to compare the
great CART races of 1997-2000 to the IRL formula. The Hanford device
was greatly missed in my opinion, although I must admit the racing was
good, clean and fast. I believe in calling it the way I see it and
rather than print that the Michigan race only drew 30k fans compared
to the Vancouver CART event, you might want to also inform your
readers it was the best attended Michigan race I’ve been to since
1998. I’ve been to every one from 1990 through 2001 with the exception
of 1995. John Kelsh
7/29/03
A
lap around Trois-Rivieres [Editor's Note: The American
Le Mans Series will compete in Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on the
historic Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, street racing circuit this weekend
(Aug. 1-3). In this first-person narrative, Corvette Racing driver
Johnny O'Connell of Flowery Branch, Ga., describes how he drives a lap
of the 1.521-mile circuit.] There are some circuits that we go to with
the American Le Mans Series that stand out. Trois-Rivieres is
certainly one of these. Without a doubt some of the best fans in the
sport, and the town itself completely embraces the event, and makes it
a great experience for all the drivers. As far as the circuit goes,
well it is challenging, and too much fun to drive. Going past
start/finish to begin a lap you get into top gear, and really try and
brake late going into turn one. You change down to 3rd gear, and the
corner itself is a bit tricky as the road falls away from you as you
get to your apex, and then spits you out pretty quickly. A little bit
wide of your apex and you can find yourself in trouble real quick.
Turn two is tight left hand corner that is taken in second or third
gear, and a bit tricky in that as you go through it, the road starts
to fall away from you as you go downhill towards turn three…the very
tight and difficult arch corner where you go under the arch! It is
really only wide enough for one car, and you have to be very precise
with your line as even a foot wide and you can get in trouble so
quick. The road falls away from you as you turn in, but then comes
back to you on the exit. It's a very important corner as it leads onto
a long straight, where a lot of passing can be done. Turn six is the
left hander at the end of the straight, and is a second gear corner.
Ninety degrees, pretty flat, it is a fun corner but often you enter it
on the wrong line as it is one of the best places for overtaking on
the track. Lots of room both going in and coming out. Turn eight is
probably my favorite corner on the track, taken in either third or
fourth, it is a quick left hander, with a lot of road that can be used
at the exit. You can get through it surprisingly fast, but then it is
real hard on the brakes for turn nine, the slowest corner on the track
and pretty much a true hairpin. Very slow...second gear and then up
into 3rd gear for turn 10 which is a quick chicane type thing, but
very difficult to get exactly right. Then it's quickly through the
gearbox past start/finish to begin another lap. Without a doubt one of
the best street circuits to race on anywhere.
7/28/03
Big Gateway ticket giveaway A reader writes, Dear AR1, We
have had 2 (two) Season tickets to Gateway since it opened in 1997.
This year's tickets were for the NASCAR Busch Series, the NASCAR Truck
series and the IRL Weekend. In the mail this week we received 4(four)
free extra tickets from Dover Downs Entertainment to help promote the
IRL weekend. So now we are stuck with 6 tickets to get rid of since we
are going to Mid-Ohio for the CART race. Chad Funkhouser, St.
Louis, Mo. Dear Chad, Four free tickets if you bought two?
That is a sure sign of desperation to try and prop up attendance to
avoid a big PR nightmare. Ticket giveaways kill a market because fans
will always wait for freebees each year. Mark C.
7/28/03
Bigley to attempt Brickyard 400
Billy Bigley Jr will attempt to qualify for his first NASCAR Winston
Cup race at Indianapolis this weekend. Bigley Jr, racing the #79
Arnold Development Companies Dodge with Doug Howe as crew chief will
be just one of 52 teams vying for 43 spots at the Brickyard. Some of
the other non-regulars attempting to qualify for the Brickyard 400
include Jim Sauter, Jason Leffler, Hermie Sadler and northeast
modified star David Reutimann.
7/28/03
Negative information A
reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1, We are the fans that follow
real open wheel racing (CART). We are tired of hearing
and reading all this negative and bad publicity supported and
sponsored by the IRL/Tony George against CART and its
promoters. Every single day I read or hear the same line "CART
is dead." If it is dead why are so many people interested
in
it? 162,271 at the Vancouver race weekend and the IRL/Tony
George race at Michigan cannot even pass the 30,000 mark on a race
day? All the negative information people who call "CART dead"
need to look at the grandstands and TV ratings first, and they
will realize who is really dying. In particular now that
they know that Bernie Ecclestone will be in play very soon, I
am sure they are doing everything in their power to promote
all this negative information, but in fact they are probably
worried about their own future. Ivan Arias Dear Ivan,
Don't blame Tony George and others for all the negative
publicity about CART, they do plenty to draw it upon
themselves. Hopefully when this all shakes out, the IRL
can focus on their oval racing business and CART can focus on
their road racing business. While some animosity may
remain, the sooner it's clear what everyone's market niche is,
the sooner everyone can end this silly war and just get on
with their business, and that includes the fans who have taken
sides. Mark C. Another reader writes, First let
me point out: IRL a generous 30,000 for their race weekend,
CART 166,000 for their race weekend----what are the fans
saying about this? Why sponsors go to the IRL is a mystery to
me. Second, why aren't Toyota and Honda crying "FOUL!" when
the IRL CHANGES their rules, once again, to suit their needs?
Seems like a much worse crime than what happened in CART. I
hope Ford (hehe) kicks their butts for the rest of the season.
Welcome to the IRL Toyota and Honda. Third, please tell me all
this talk of the death and end of CART is just a ploy to get
the price down and Bernie is going to save the day! Please!
Please! It severely pisses me off to hear how the IRL is going
to road courses. If they do, I hope the cost drive them even
higher and out of business. I can't stand the lies and malice
that comes from that pathetic excuse for a "racing"
series....more like a manufactured managed racing series. NO,
just tell me it isn't so! If CART survives and the
rumors are true, we could have Franchitti and Villeneuve back
in the series next year.......and, if things continue the way
they are, we may just have our champion (PT) RETURN to defend
his title! Hence, CART will have a recognized name STAYING in
its series! Derek Hughes, Florida Dear Derek, We
can't say whether Bernie is going to swoop in and save the day
for CART. If he is, it had better happen within the next
couple of weeks. Mark C.
7/28/03 Industry News
Infineon Raceway to get
resurfaced The sound of roaring engines will go
silent at Infineon Raceway when the track closes for nearly
three weeks in August to repave the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road
course. Repaving will begin immediately following the NHRA
FRAM Autolite Nationals on Monday, Aug. 4 and is expected to
be completed by Aug. 20. The $1 million project will include
repairing and stabilizing the existing pavement, adding new
drainage to eliminate seepage problems and repaving those
portions of the road course that have not been resurfaced over
the last two years. The track will be resurfaced with
polymer-modified asphalt that is designed to withstand the
constant usage — Infineon Raceway features 340 days of
on-track activity each year. Segments of track already repaved
over the last two years — Turns 4-5, 9-10, 12-1 and the Chute
— will not be repaved. “At the core of everything we do is one
of the world’s most challenging racing circuits,” said Steve
Page, Infineon Raceway president and general manager. “With
the completion of this new track surface, we’ll offer a road
racing facility that is second to none.”
7/28/03
Interview with BMW's Mario
TheissenWith only a couple of days to go before the
start of the German Grand Prix weekend, BMW Motorsport
Director Mario Theissen took the time to answer a few
questions. Transcript
7/28/03
Still no standing starts? Another
race another botched start. Not only did Bruno Junqueira jump
the start, but the starting field for yesterday's Molson Indy
Vancouver was so strung out and disorderly when the green flag flew,
one has to ask why CART has to wait until next year to give standing
starts a try.
7/28/03
Maia secures Barber Dodge
championship Leo
Maia of Oakland, California, took his fifth win of the season today in
Vancouver to secure the Barber Dodge Pro Series Championship with a
patient drive that saw Maia capitalize when his rivals stumbled.
Barber-Champ Car Scholarship racer Scott Poirier of Deerfield Beach,
Florida, scored his best-ever Barber Dodge Pro Series result with his
runner up finish in the Michelin machine over Nelson Philippe of
Valence, France, who scored his first visit to the podium in Barber
Dodge competition with his third place finish. Dan Di Leo of Markham,
Ontario, finished a disappointed fourth after leading eighteen laps
before pitting for a penalty and losing several positions. Burt
Frisselle scored his third top-five finish of the season ahead of
Mexican German Quiroga in sixth. Ward Imrie finished seventh, matching
his impressive result at Toronto two weeks ago in just his second
Barber Dodge start. David Martinez finished eighth, with Memo Rojas in
ninth. Al Unser finished tenth for his third top-ten finish of the
season. The forty-minute event was a dramatic one, with three
different drivers holding on to the lead during the first Barber Dodge
street circuit race to go the distance under green flag conditions
since 1999, a testament to some heads-up driving by the young field.
FN PS/ST PS/CR#/DRIVER/HOMETOWN/PTS/PURSE/LP/STATUS/SPEED
1/1/6/Leonardo Maia/Oakland, Calif./21/$13,000/32/Running/85.860
2/6/67/Scott Poirier/Deerfield Beach,
Florida/16/$8,750/32/Running/85.264
3/5/26/Nelson Philippe/Valence, France/14/$6,500/32/Running/85.112
4/4/19/Dan Di Leo/Markham, Ontario, Canada/12/$4,500/32/Running/85.548
5/9/24/Burt Frisselle/Kihei, Hawaii/11/$2,500/32/Running/85.254
6/8/33/German Quiroga/Mexico City, Mexico/10/$1,500/32/Running/84.740
7/11/23/Ward Imrie/Winnipeg, Manitoba/9/$1,250/32/Running/84.931
8/2/47/David Martinez L./Monterrey, Mexico/10/$1,250/32/Running/85.965
9/7/15/Memo Rojas/Mexico City, Mexico/7/$1,250/32/Running/85.634
10/13/31/Al Unser/Corrales, New Mexico/6/$1,250/32/Running/84.320
11/15/18/Robbie Montinola/Laguna Niguel, Calif/5/$1,000/32/Running/84.586
12/12/49/Luis Pelayo/Mexico City, Mexico/4/$1,000/32/Running/84.801
13/16/11/Chris Baker/Houston, Texas/3/$1,000/31/Running/82.910
14/17/34/Mike Richardson/Kelowna, B.C.,
Canada/2/$1,000/19/Contact/82.171
15/3/28/Colin Fleming/North Hills, Calif./1/$1,000 /10/Contact/84.695
16/10/16/Antoine Bessette/St. Bruno, Quebec/$750/5/Contact/83.493
1714/82/Salvador Duran/Cuernavaca, Mexico/$750/0/Contact/0.000
LENGTH OF RACE 32 Laps of 1.781 Mile Circuit for 56.992 miles
TIME OF RACE 40 Minutes, 30.679 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED 84.409 mph NEW RECORD
MARGIN OF VICTORY 0 Minutes 9.026 Seconds
LAP LEADERS
David Martinez Lap 1 through 5 Dan DiLeo Lap 6 through 23 Leonardo
Maia Lap 24 through 32
FASTEST RACE LAP David Martinez 01:1.584 (85.965 mph) Lap 32 NEW
RECORD
FASTEST QUALIFIER Leonardo Maia 01:14.692 (85.841 mph) NEW RECORD
TOTAL PAYOUT $48,250
Cheever on the new Chevy "We're
still convinced - probably more so now than ever - that we're with the
right company," said team owner Eddie Cheever Jr. "What Chevy managed
to do in the middle of the season is very unique. What we saw today in
Michigan with the Gen IV Chevy was an exceptional accomplishment.
"Everybody forgets that GM is one of America's largest companies and
the world's largest auto manufacturer," Cheever continued. "When they
wrap their arms around something, you expect it to happen. I never
expected it to happen at the pace it did. It was a very gutsy move."
Of course, what Cheever didn't say was that Chevy was not good enough
to produce a winning engine on their own, so they went out to
arch-rival Ford and bought an engine from Ford's Cosworth division.
What's downright distasteful is that Chevy goes around making everyone
think it's their great engine design without giving Cosworth even one
iota of credit. We can see leaving the Ford name out of it, but
to not even credit Cosworth? "The Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 passed
its first test with flying colors," said Joe Negri, GM Racing IRL
program manager. "We hoped for a good run with the new engine, but
never imagined that it would be this strong. You have to credit the
Panther Racing team for preparing a great car and Sam Hornish for
driving it so well." Again, no credit to Cosworth, just Panther
Racing and Sam Hornish.
7/28/03
Is it really a Chevy?UPDATE
Another reader writes, Dear AR1, Why aren't Toyota and Honda crying
foul with the IRL's decision to allow Cosworth to be used by Chevy
with drastic advantage? I recall when all they did was cry constantly
about any decision CART made about racing advantages etc.... remember
the Detroit debacle of a few years ago when they threatened not to
race and the media was all over it. Where is the media in all this?
Why isn't Robin Miller trashing the IRL with its favoritism decision
making the way he did with CART the last few years. Things that make
you go hmmmmm! Why aren't Honda and Toyota threatening to leave
the IRL; I remember every week last year they complained about CART.
Do they not want to look like they made the wrong decision? Ray Jaber,
Florida7/27/03 - A
reader writes, Dear AR1, Did anyone notice Scheckter being interviewed
by Gary Gerould? When he was asked about racing against the new "Gen 4
Chevy," he replied with something like, "The Ford Cosworth....". I
just about laughed myself out of my chair. I think it's a shame that
Honda and Toyota are not getting the same chance to improve their
powerplants as well. Tony Dinelli, Tulsa, OK Dear Tony,
It sounds like the Toyota teams are a bit miffed that Chevy was
allowed to do an entire engine change mid-season and they are locked
into no changes. Hornish appeared to be able to lead at will
today, and was surprised he got beat at the line. Watching the
in-car camera he wasn't even running 100% throttle much of the time,
yet was still able to lead. Was he sandbagging with the
Chevy/Cosworth engine knowing if he won the first time out the IRL
would immediately allow Toyota and Honda to make engine changes to
even things out? This is exactly the way NASCAR operates and the
IRL is modeled directly after NASCAR's "Managed Racing" approach.
Who are we to argue though, we proposed that CART do that by having
Cosworth build engines for the entire field and sell the naming rights
to up to 5 manufacturers. We feel our proposal is a lower cost
one, and
avoids the constant haggling with manufacturers to even the playing
field when someone gains an advantage. Mark C.
7/27/03
30,000 at Michigan This
Indy Star
article, and our estimates, put today's Firestone Indy 400
crowd at Michigan International Speedway at 30,000. The place
seats 136,400 and with so many grandstands empty, an estimate of 20%
to 25% full overall was used. Still, the crowd was definitely
better than last year thanks to the intense marketing campaign
undertaken by the track, something they would never do when CART was
there.
7/27/03
CART Stewards busy on Sunday CART
stewards were very busy during Sunday’s race, handing down four
penalties during the event. Bruno Junqueira was penalized for jumping
the start while Rodolfo Lavin, Max Papis and Mario Haberfeld were all
tabbed for blocking incidents.
7/27/03
Another big attendance
day in VancouverUPDATE
Race day attendance was announced as 66,077, bringing the 3-day total
to 162,271. 7/27/03 - 51,171 people attended
Saturday's qualifying for the Molson Indy Vancouver bringing
the weekend total so far (just Friday & Saturday) to over
96,000. Race
day is expected to see another big crowd. Mark C.
7/27/03
European fans lose TV feed I
am a big CART fan, but after a blatant jump start from Junqueira and a
needless crash of Bourdais into a blameless Moreno, doubtless to go
ruthlessly unpunished, and the eventual repositioning of PT under
green, we lose the TV feed in mid-race and get shots of fans milling
around and helicopter views of Vancouver. British Eurosport, having
given us 38 minutes of highlights from Toronto last time around,
including adverts, honorably sets aside 2 hours for live coverage of
Vancouver, only to have the plug pulled at the track and then it
abandons the race. Ed McFarlane, Goadby, England
7/27/03
Jack Arute a true IRL shill A
reader writes, Dear AR1, I was watching the IRL race today
from Michigan and was dozing off with the 100% throttle boring
racing when I was awakened by IRL shill Jack Arute late in the race who shouted,
"They don't need seats here at Michigan because no one is
sitting down." The camera then panned the fans in the
grandstands and not a single person was standing, all
oblivious to what was happening on the track. I almost
fell off the sofa laughing. This is the same guy who
called Greg Ray the Tiger Woods of auto racing.
Mordichai Rosen, LA, Calif.
7/27/03 DTM
Jean Alesi wins Donington DTM
race
1. Jean Alesi (Mercedes) 36 laps
in 55.08,354 min.
2. Bernd Schneider (Mercedes) + 1.466 sec.
3. Mattias Ekström (Abt-Audi TT-R) + 1.841 sec.
4. Marcel Fässler (Mercedes) + 4.497 sec.
5. Christijan Albers (Mercedes) + 5.459 sec.
6. Peter Dumbreck (Opel) + 24.430 sec.
7. Thomas Jäger (Mercedes) + 41.669 sec.
8. Timo Scheider (Opel) + 49.075 sec.
7/27/03
Mark Taylor wins again in Pro Series
race Mark Taylor won the crash-filled Infiniti Pro Series
100 mile support race, leading 31 of 50 laps in his win. Two
crashes took out 7 of 16 entries, sending one driver to a
local hospital for further evaluation. On lap 7 Ross Fonferko
spun between turns 3 and 4, collecting 4 other drivers in a
fiery crash that split Brandon Erwin's car in two. Erwin was
later transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
The race continued, but on lap 24 rookie Paul Dana swerved on
the backstretch, making contact with Arie Luyendyk Jr. and
taking both into the backstretch wall, eliminating both from
the race. Luyendyk was the early leader, but a series of bad
racing moves put him in the back of the lead pack just prior
to the wreck. Taylor's win is the third in a row, and gives him
the all-time IPS laps-led as well as a commanding points lead.
Tim Wohlford.
1. (7) Mark Taylor,
Dallara-Infiniti, 50
2. (3) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
3. (5) Thiago Medeiros, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
4. (10) Aaron Fike, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
5. (13) Tom Wood, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
6. (14) Marty Roth, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
7. (2) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
8. (16) G.J. Mennen, Dallara-Infiniti, 50
9. (12) Gary Peterson, Dallara-Infiniti, 49
10. (9) Paul Dana, Dallara-Infiniti, 40, accident
11. (1) Arie Luyendyk Jr., Dallara-Infiniti, 40, accident
12. (11) Brandon Erwin, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, accident
13. (4) Ross Fonferko, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, accident
14. (8) Jonathan Urlin, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, accident
15. (6) Cory Witherill, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, accident
16. (15) Matt Beardsley, Dallara-Infiniti, 6, accident
Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 107.913 mph.
Time of race: 00:55:36.0133.
Margin of victory: 1.2202
Cautions: 2 for 20 laps.
Lead changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap leaders: Luyendyk 1-19, Taylor 20-50.
Point Standings: Taylor 323, Medeiros 210, Simmons 206,
Carpenter 201, Wood 185, Fike 184, Witherill 171, Erwin 171,
Urlin 166, Luyendyk 161.
7/27/03
CART can't survive another
year with just Ford A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com,
I am hearing that CART may extend the Ford Cosworth turbo engine
formula another year, through 2005. I thought they were going to
a V-10 platform in 2005? Roger Stanley, Newark DE.
Dear Roger, CART can't afford another year without major manufacturer
involvement in the series, let alone two years. As we see this year,
the loss of Honda and Toyota has resulted in massive red ink in the
series, and to think it can stay with just Ford, who spends such
little to help CART, in 2004 and 2005, is surely a death wish for the
series. If they do that, they may as well shut the doors now,
declare bankruptcy, and put everyone out of their misery.
The new owners of CART are going to
be forced to spend a lot of their own personal wealth to prop up the
series two more years if they just stay with Ford.
If CART is going to stick
with the 2.65 L Cosworth Turbo for two more years it must immediately
strike a deal with Cosworth that would allow them to sell rebadging/naming
rights to as many manufacturers as possible, a concept we presented
here previously. It's late in the ball game, but if a company
does not have to worry about the design, testing and rebuilding of an
engine, they could jump into the series quickly. This way the series
can maintain a low-cost engine formula but reap the benefit of
manufacturer support for two years. Then in 2006, when the
series is on better financial footing, it can switch to new V-10
engines, either staying with Cosworth supplying them to any
manufacturer, or opening it up to direct competition. Mark C.
7/27/03
Irvine says good riddance to Pizzonia
"Pizzonia has wrecked his chances forever," Irvine told The Sun.
"He made a fool of himself and paid the price. He has even dismissed
the chance of staying in the sport by refusing to accept the role of
Jaguar's reserve and test driver. A very big mistake. "Pizzonia
is a gonner," adds the four-time GP winner, "and his only chance of
continuing to race will be in the American CART or IRL series.
No doubt he will be telling everyone how he has been turned over and
was never given a fighting chance, but he was handed a golden
opportunity, and blew it," adds Irvine. "I said from the
beginning Pizzonia was a waste of space and should never have been
signed by Jaguar," he continues. The only thing which puzzles me
is why it took so long to ditch him. "The trouble with Jaguar is
there are so many politics within the team and they are so paranoid
about the press that they hesitate and jump around before making a
decision," says Irvine. "They are not good at making a decision in a
crisis and either underreact or overreact. First, they were going to
boot Pizzonia out before the Spanish Grand Prix and then they bottled
it by saying he needed more time. It was clear after the opening three
races Pizzonia was never going to make the grade as long as he had a
hole in his exhaust. They should have been ruthless and ditched
him there and then but, by signing Wilson for the final five races,
they can still salvage something from the season. Justin can now step
in and show he has the skills the Pizza-man lacked.. delivering the
goods. The great thing is they now have an English driver in one
of the most famous names in British motoring," says Irvine, referring
to the American owned company. "That is the way it should be, and
I have always felt Ferrari should have an Italian driver in the team
to make it an even more emotional brand," he adds, which in a way is
partly what Ferrari did at the end of the 1999 season they suddenly
dropped Irvine in favor of Rubens Barrichello who is of Italian
descent. "I knew little about Wilson when he made his Minardi
debut in Australia, but when I saw him making his opening qualifying
run in Melbourne, it was obvious he had a special talent. The in-car
footage of his skills behind the wheel were as impressive as Renault
new-boy Fernando Alonso. Now Wilson has the chance to go all the
way to the top by showing what he is really capable of, but he has to
be given time. No one should expect him to step straight into the
cockpit at Hockenheim next week and blow Webber into the weeds. If he
does, he will be a megastar but I cannot see it happening because he
needs time in the car and with the working of a much bigger team.
Webber has 11 races with the team under his belt," adds Irvine. "He
knows the car and engineers so it would be unrealistic to expect
Wilson to come straight in and blitz him. But all Wilson needs to do
is sit on Webber's tail for the remaining races, hopefully pick up a
few points and he will be set for next season. If he then spends
2004 kicking Webber's ass, which I feel he is capable of, he will be
destined for greater things. The one thing Wilson will have to
cope with for the first time in F1 is pressure. When you are driving a
Minardi, there are no great expectations but, with the ever-improving
Jaguar, there is an urgency to deliver. The only person who can stop
Wilson climbing up the ladder is himself. But I am convinced he has
the confidence and skills to cope with his new environment and give
British fans a new hero to cheer. Jaguar should be higher up the grid
but, for the past couple of years, they have been a one-car team.
Last season they finished seventh in the Constructors' World
Championship thanks to the eight points I scored while Pedro de la
Rosa failed to make the scoreboard," he adds referring to Pedro de la
Rosa who along with Irvine was dropped by Jaguar at the end of last
season, and who was subsequently hired by McLaren as test driver.
This season they are currently in sixth solely due to Webber's points.
Jaguar are now a team capable of running in the top 10 at every race
and consistently mopping up some of the lesser points. All Wilson
needs to do is add a couple of scores to Webber's tally and ensure the
team finishes higher than last season and his future is secure.
Justin's move to Jaguar will not only give him a chance to shine but
finally prove if Mark Webber truly is the real deal. There is no
doubt Aussie Webber is a hard-working, extremely focused racer but so
far he has never had a teammate who could give him a tough time. In
fact, both the partners he has had should never have been in Formula
One in the first place. He blew Alex Yoong away at Minardi last season
and this year has been head and shoulders above Pizzonia."
7/27/03
Blocking in CART A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1.com, I'm getting tired of hearing driver's whine about
being blocked. They all wait until the last 10 minutes and then there
is a traffic jam. Cristiano went out early in the session last
year on his way to a championship...so he had a clear track. Why can't
Bruno, Alex and Michel do the same and stop acting like a bunch of
school girls. Then they go running to the "teacher" that they're being
cheated and the "Big Bully" (P.T.) is blocking them. I'm sick of it
week in and week out. To me this is a CLEAR MESSAGE to CART to
implement single-lap, single-car qualifying. If these guys can't get
it right then CART should step in and handle it! More power to
Paul Tracy!! Except he shouldn't have said that stuff about Penske and
the others that left. That's not going to help the situation. but I
guess he was pissed and I don't blame him. If Bruno thinks he so much
better than Paul then why doesn't he go up to him before qualifying
and tell him he'll kick his ass if he blocks him. Because Bruno is
SOFT like Michel and Alex!! James Shaw Dear James,
You are correct, if the CART drivers can't handle the current
qualifying format, then CART should move to single-car, single-lap
qualifying ASAP at all tracks. Of course then some will complain if it
rains on their lap and is dry for another's...but that's what mixes
the starting grid up, which is the intention of the rule.
And while they are at it, because the Champ Car drivers can't stay
aligned for the race starts, resulting in numerous false starts and
fields strung out sometimes 1/4 of a lap behind, CART should implement
standing starts too. If CART is going to become the American
Grand Prix Series, and be a little brother to F1, it had better start
playing the part. Mark C.
7/26/03
Bobby Unser predicts CART won't
make it In our Michigan Saturday Notebook article by Tim
Wohlford, Bobby Unser's press conference was covered.
Bobby Unser was honored this weekend by MIS, with the pole award being
named after him. He hosted a breakfast for members of the media promoting
his new book, "Winners are Driven," and of course some of his comments
went beyond the scope of the book.
He started by answering questions about the state of open-wheeled racing,
saying, "I don't think that CART's gonna make it... one has to fail, we
don't need two organizations." He continued, commenting that CART has most
of their races outside the USA and then mostly on road courses that "CART
doesn't bother IRL, and doesn't compete with them anymore... If CART
doesn't make it we'll lose races like Long Beach, which would be a shame,
because those races are really good. Unfortunately, most of CART's races
are outside of the USA, but races like the Mexican races and the Europe
races are really good."
[Editor's Note: It's clear Mr. Unser has many of his facts
wrong] . Mark C.
7/26/03
Ford and V-10 for CART
A reader writes, Dear AR1, Given the "good" 4th place starting spot of
the new "Chevy AKA Ford" engine in the IRL, could Ford be thinking of
pulling the plug on CART if they don't stay with the V-8 format in the
future and just put their eggs in the IRL basket? I don't know the
legal details of the Chevy-Ford deal or CART-Ford deal, so Ford might
not be able to jump into the IRL next year, but if they show very
well on race day the temptation might be strong. I just went to the
NASCAR race in Loudon with a friend that I only see twice a year and
he said he just bought a F250 with a V-10 engine, so I don't see how
Ford can be complaining about them being the next CART engine. I know
there is a huge difference between a truck engine and a race engine,
but they have already joined the V-10 engine race started by Dodge so
it shouldn't be a big surprise for them. In the consumer market it
seems that since the "energy crisis" of the early 1970s bigger (more
cylinders, more displacement) is always better, even if the smaller
engine has better performance characteristics. Somehow the thinking
has to be changed back to usable performance, otherwise we might be
having 16 cylinder engines with pinky sized cylinders instead of
turbo-charged 4 cylinder engines. It has become a status symbol to
have the big cylinder engine...it must be changed by advertising by
the auto companies because they can't keep adding cylinders. But on
the good side for CART, going to the 10 cylinder engine will make all
the "big engine" guys happy. But is that the true CART fan? Regards,
Bob Lowe, Woburn, MA. Dear Bob, I don't know if Ford will
stay in CART. When I asked Ford motorsport boss Dan Davis in
Milwaukee this year if they would do a V-10 engine for CART he said
emphatically, no. I spoke to Ian Bisco from Cosworth and they
truly believe that most Americans like a V-8 powerplant. It's
very American. However, I can see CART's point of wanting to
create something unique in America and carve out its own niche. If
CART is going to stick with a V-8, then it should go with the 1.8 L
turbo platform, but if it wants to go normally aspirated, I feel the
3.5 or 3.0 L V-10 will serve it well and be accepted by the F1
fraternity. If they go the V-10 route would they lose Ford?
Perhaps, but if Bernie Ecclestone is indeed buying into the series as
rumors suggest, somehow we suspect they will find a way to stay.
A screaming V-10, standing starts, and a lighter more nimble chassis
will enable CART to carve out its niche in North American motorsports.
CART needs to completely separate itself from the IRL and NASCAR image
of managed, dumbed down racing with heavy lumbering cars. Urban
Monte Carlo-like venues that Chris Pook is bringing CART to are more
glamorous and attract more of a jet-set crowd....i.e. a F1-type of
crowd. While CART's V-10 won't turn as many RPM as an F1 engine,
you have to love the scream it will potentially make, even if only
13,000 RPM. I have yet to hear anyone say a F1 engine isn't a
beautiful thing. CART, er, I mean the American Grand Prix Series,
would do well if it became recognized as North America's version of
F1. Let NASCAR and the IRL do their oval gig, and let CART focus on
their road racing/street racing niche, and hopefully everyone can live
in harmony. Mark C.
7/26/03
How mad was Paul Tracy? How mad was Paul Tracy for being stripped
of provisional pole Friday in Vancouver for blocking? That
evening at a CART function Chris Pook stuck out his hand to greet
Tracy and Paul refused to shake it. This follows Chris Pook
storming out onto pit lane in Cleveland and verbally chastising Tracy
because he gave another driver the finger, for the way he dresses at
public functions and for charges by the other drivers for blocking.
That was followed by a terse press release put out by Players
basically telling Chris Pook to butt out and mind his own business,
that he was out of line to verbally attacking Tracy on pit lane and
said that was the duty of the Chief Steward. Mark C.
7/26/03
Scheckter leads Happy Hour Tomas
Scheckter led the final IndyCar Series practice session.
Scheckter turned a lap at 32.4822 seconds, 221.660 mph. Scott
Sharp was second fastest in his No. 8 Delphi Dallara/Toyota/Firestone
at 32.5256, 221.364. Alex Barron, driver of the No. 21
Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone, was
third fastest at 32.5471, 221.218.
7/26/03
Where you can watch
Mario Andretti GP on HDNet throughout the weekend at Road
America, including extensive coverage on both qualifying days
on August 1-2, in addition to all of the action on race day,
August 3. The broadcasts will be available through HDNet's
cable and satellite distributors, including DIRECTV, DISH
network, Charter Communications and other cable affiliates.
While HDNet offered Champ Car coverage last season for the
Cleveland and Denver events, using a combination of four high
definition cameras and conventional cameras to supplement the
high definition pictures, the Road America event will be the
first time that an entire race broadcast will be done using
high definition cameras. Play-by-play and commentary will be
provided by the CART Champ Car International Broadcast team of
Jeremy Shaw and Stephen Cox, with additional on-camera
appearances by Mario Andretti during the race. Local market
media that wish to cover the viewing parties at the regional
establishments are invited to attend and should contact the
local venue in advance that will show the race. Any fans that
live in areas that are not serviced by those already
committed, should contact their local sports-themed
establishments. The following establishments have committed to
air the 2-1/2 hour race on Sunday, August 3rd. California
The Davis Graduate (530) 758-4723
805 Russell Blvd.
Davis
Legends Sports Bar (562) 433-5743
5236 E. Second St. Belmont Shore
Long Beach
Danny K's (714) 771-9706
1096 Main St.
Orange
Ricky's Sports Theatre and Grill (510) 352-0200
15028 Hesperian Blvd.
San Leandro
Colorado
Legends of Aurora Sports Grill (303) 671-0560
13690 E Iliff Ave
Aurora
Brooklyn's (303) 607-0002
901 Auraria Pkwy
Denver
Legends Denver (303) 320-4710
201 Milaukee St.
Denver
Cuckoo's Chicken House & Waterin' Hole (970) 259-6322
128 E. College Drive
Durango
Florida
Legends Bar & Grill (813) 964-5371
15211 North Dale Mabry
Tampa
Indiana
City Grill 812-336-6869
216 S. College
Bloomington
Yogi's Grill & Bar (812) 323-9644
519 E. 10th St.
Bloomington
Ale Emporium (317) 842-1333
8617 Allisonville Rd
Indianapolis
Missouri
Schneithorst's Restaurant (314) 993-4100
1600 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis
Syberg's Westport (314) 785-0481
2430 Old Dorsett Rd
St. Louis
Ohio
The Frog, Bear, & Wild Boar Bar (614) 621-9453
343 North Front Street
Columbus
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (440) 466-4638
SR534 & I-90
Geneva
7/26/03
Paul Tracy slams CART
officials Paul Tracy slammed CART's
officiating on today's SPEED Channel qualifying broadcast.
Penalized yesterday and stripped of provisional pole position,
Paul Tracy was clearly irritated. Today he vented his
frustration on live TV and he cut the heart right out of CART
and stabbed it with a knife. Tracy accused CART of
inconsistent officiating, and said, "I'm sure Tony George
experienced it, Toyota experienced it, Honda experienced it,
Penske and Marlboro experienced it, Dario Franchitti and Michael Andretti
experienced it and I'm sure that is what drove all those great names out
of the series." I supported CART when no one else would and
I feel betrayed now. While he didn't say it, he sent a
warning shot across CART's bow that he too could leave the
series. [Editor's note: Paul get a grip on reality. It was
the IRL who you believe cheated you out of an Indy 500 win,
and who have allowed Chevy to make a mid-year complete engine
change while Toyota and Honda can't touch their engines.
You called it Formula Crapwagon, now you want to drive one?].
Steve Levinson.
7/26/03 ARCA
Mears doubles up at Pocono
Casey Mears won his second ARCA/REMAX race in as many days as he won
the Pennsylvania 200 at Pocono Raceway. In sweeping both ARCA/REMAX
races, Mears also won the GIANT $25,000 challenge. Mears and The
Children's Miracle Network will each receive a check for $12,500 from
GIANT food stores. After racing 400 miles and winning two races, Mears
was looking forward to Sunday's race. "It was awesome, the track was
great, the fans are great, I love racing here. I hope we can win
tomorrow too." Frank Ryan
7/26/03
Bruno stays fast The Paul Tracy vs. Bruno Junqueira battle
continued in Saturday morning's practice, with Junqueira coming out
fastest by two tenths of a second, and Tracy ending his session in the
tires at Turn 7. Sebastien Bourdais was third fastest
ahead of Michel Jourdain and Oriol Servia. Qualifying is
up next.
7/26/03
CART's Simple Green Safety Team
to be featured on NASCAR broadcast Heralded across the
motorsports landscape as the standard to which at-the-track safety
services should be held, the CART Champ Car Simple Green Safety Team
will be featured in a video piece to be aired as part of TNT’s NASCAR
pre-race show leading up to this weekend’s Pennsylvania 500 event at
Pocono Raceway. The network’s color analyst and racer Wally Dallenbach
Jr. (son of former Champ Car star and Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach
Sr.) accompanied a film crew to the Molson Indy Toronto two weeks ago
to find out what makes the Safety Team one of the best quick-response
outfits anywhere in motorsports. The piece contains interviews with
series Director of Medical Affairs Dr. Steve Olvey and series Chief
Orthopedic Consultant Dr. Terry Trammell as well as with Director of
Safety Lon Bromley and Champ Car World Series drivers Jimmy Vasser and
Adrian Fernandez. The feature will air at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on
Sunday afternoon. The piece is another in the recent spate of
television broadcast features that shine the spotlight on the CART
Champ Car Simple Green Safety Team, including a video segment on HBO
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on Alex Zanardi, which included footage
of the team aiding in the 2001 accident at EuroSpeedway in which the
Safety Team saved Zanardi’s life immediately after a devastating
crash. The CART Champ Car Simple Green Safety Team is in its 19th year
in existence and carries 40 professionals along with their
specially-prepared response vehicles to each race along the
Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
schedule. The response vehicles are just one component of the safety
team, which also includes a state-of-the-art mobile medical unit that
allows CART physicians to administer immediate aid to
potentially-injured drivers.
7/26/03
Dixon not happy with "managed" racingUPDATE
A reader responds, Dear AR1, I couldn't help noticing the qualifying
lineup for the MIS IRL race tomorrow. Sam Hornish posted a 4th
quickest qualifying time in his Ford-Cosworth (oops, I meant
"Chevrolet"), all while the other Chevrolets are backmarkers and make
AJ IV's qualifying position look respectable. Surely, Chevy is hanging
their head in embarrassment at their complete and utter failure of
producing a contender. Surely, the other Chevy teams are not happy
with the preferential treatment given to Panther, and surely, the
Honda and Toyota operations are going to raise a stink about the IRL's
NASCAR-esque administration of engine development mid-season.
Dennis Szot, Dallas, TX Dear Dennis, The Honda and Toyota
teams will be even more miffed if Hornish was sandbagging in
qualifying like some people in the IRL paddock suspect, and Sam blows
them into the weeds on Sunday. Time will tell....As for the
other Chevy teams being miffed, Hornish will lose the Ford Cosworth
engine for the next race and revert back to the old engine. The
2nd best Chevy team will get the engine at the next event, and so on,
until Cosworth can build enough for everyone. Mark C. 7/26/03
-
The IRL, like NASCAR, is a "managed" racing series. In managed
racing, the sanctioning body does its best to make everyone equal.
If someone falls behind, they give them a rules break, which boost
them back up. Apparently some of the Honda and Toyota drivers
are not happy that the Chevy teams are being allowed to implement a
totally new engine mid-season while they can't. Scott Dixon had
this to say about it in this SPEED TV article, "The way they did it
wasn't too fair," Dixon said. "I don't really know how the rules work,
but I think it's kind of shady. It doesn't (allow other manufacturers
to introduce new parts), but it should. Otherwise it's not fair. If
they whitewash this, I'm sure there's going to be some stirring in the
camps, that's for sure. But it's not our problem." The
unintentional consequence that you have with managed racing on ovals
is that it artificially bunches the field up for close side-by-side
racing....sometimes. Unlike full-bodied Winston Cup cars, where
rubbing fenders isn't a big deal, rubbing wheels in the IRL almost
certainly leads to a big, and very costly crash.
7/26/03
Why no tire warmers? A
reader writes, Dear AR1, How come the IRL now allows tire warmers, as
does F1, and CART does not? Mark Nance, Seattle , WA.
Dear Mark, Don't get us started. We have called for CART to
implement Tire Warmers since 1999, but it just fell on deaf ears.
Now all the drivers are saying CART should implement Tire Warmers so
drivers can come out of the pits during qualifying and go fast right
away, which means it's less likely they will block someone on a fast
lap. Drivers coming out of the pits on cold tires leads to a lot
of unintentional blocking and heated tempers. They finally figured
that out? Cost is not even an issue in our book. One
avoided crash on cold tires pays for tire warmers for the entire
field. They have been paid for at least 10 times now and they
still don't have them. Mark C.
7/26/03
If not for NASCAR, the IRL might be
dead This Indianapolis Business Journal article
says, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George's open-wheel
racing enterprise has gotten a boost from its fendered brethren that
few outside racing circles are aware of. So powerful is the connection
between NASCAR and the Indy Racing League that a growing number of
motorsports insiders believe the 8-year-old open-wheel series that has
all but toppled CART could not have made it without the good ole' boys
of the stock car circuit. With the 10th annual Brickyard 400
approaching Aug. 3, the IMS should get another nice bump in its
revenue stream. Annual revenue from the NASCAR event is estimated by
various industry sources to be more than $35 million. With far less
overhead than hosting either the Indianapolis 500 or the U.S. Grand
Prix Formula One event, much of that money falls straight to the
bottom line. "The Brickyard 400 is the epitome of utilizing a
fixed-cost asset," said Tim Frost, president of Chicago-based Frost
Motorsports, a consulting firm specializing in motorsports business
operations. "For the single-day event, it has to be very near in terms
of revenue generation to the Indianapolis 500." "Obviously, you have a
facility there that has been paid for for a number of years. You add a
second event, and suddenly you have a near replica of the largest
motorsports event in the world," said Bill Donaldson, chairman and CEO
of Indianapolis-based Interactive Motorsports and Entertainment Corp.,
which operates NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, a chain of licensed
interactive entertainment stores. "The stadium was just sitting there,
so the additional costs were minimal." Part of the Brickyard 400
proceeds, acknowledged IMS spokesman Fred Nation, have been funneled
to IRL costs. "We didn't bank on the success of the Brickyard 400 in
starting the Indy Racing League, but [the Brickyard 400] is a very
profitable event for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and that money
has been reinvested into the IMS and other projects such as the Indy
Racing League. "The success of the Brickyard 400 has been good for the
company and for the Indy Racing League. But the Indy Racing League
probably would have survived without the Brickyard 400," he said.
Others aren't so sure. The IRL, Nation admitted, still isn't
profitable. "Eight years is a long time to run an operation at a
deficit without alternative funding, no matter how deep your pockets,"
Frost said. More
(recommended).....
7/26/03
Berger urges Williams to keep drivers
"For the BMW WilliamsF1 Team the driver lineup of Ralf Schumacher and
Juan Pablo Montoya is ideal," Berger told the BMW Motorsport website.
"So we would like to keep their services over 2004. They are
complementing one another perfectly and are pushing each other to the
very limit." Should Ralf and Montoya succeed in extending their
contracts, Berger says, it will be solely down to their on-track
performances and nothing else. "Our highest priority is: who is able
to deliver the best performance. Should a driver be a nice chap as
well, this would be a welcomed bonus but nothing else," he added.
7/26/03
Pocono notes - Saturday
Newman Tops Happy Hour Charts Happy Hour is over and
Ryan Newman continues to set the pace at Pocono. Newman backed up his
fifth pole of the year with the quickest time in practice. The Bud
Pole is Newman’s 12th in 64 Winston Cup starts, with his most recent
pole coming at Chicagoland two weeks ago. Newman is the 14th different
Bud Pole winner in the past 15 races at Pocono. Casey
Mears to run 900 miles at Pocono Casey Mears plans to run both
ARCA/REMAX races this weekend at Pocono and will also compete in the
Winston Cup event on Sunday, a total of 900 miles of racing . Mears
started out on the right foot by winning the ARCA/REMAX Giant 200
Friday and looks to repeat that feat today in the Pennsylvania 200.
Foyt's Follies Determined to make the field in the
Brickyard 400, AJ Foyt's Harrahs Dodge showed up in Pocono with the
#50 painted on the side. Foyt owns three different numbers in the
Winston Cup series, each having its own set of provisional starting
positions to be used if needed. With Larry Foyt out of provisionals in
the #14, a quick change to #50 gave the team a fresh start. But it
appears the switch in numbers didn't do much for a change in luck as
Larry Foyt missed qualifying for the Pennsylvania 500 on time, and
once again had to use a provisional to make the race. Frank Ryan
7/26/03
Hornish Qualifies New Cosworth Chevy
Fourth at MIS It seemed like old times for Sam
Hornish Jr. today as he qualified the new Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 (built
by Ford Cosworth) fourth on the starting grid for the Firestone Indy
400 at Michigan International Speedway. Hornish, the fastest driver in
Friday's combined practice sessions, will start the Pennzoil Panther
Racing Chevrolet Dallara on the outside of the second row after his
221.837 mph qualifying lap on the 2-mile oval. Tomas Scheckter won the
pole with a 222.458 mph lap in Ganassi Racing's Toyota G Force. "We're
excited about qualifying in the top five on a superspeedway, which is
something we haven't done this year," said Hornish, the only driver
testing the new Chevy powerplant under race conditions this weekend.
"Everything is going very smooth so far. We'll put our race motor in
for the final practice this afternoon and then see what it does
tomorrow in the race." While Hornish set the pace under calm and sunny
skies in practice yesterday, qualifying today was conducted in windy,
overcast conditions. "Yesterday in practice we had a very good
handling race car," Hornish reported. "That's something we've worked
on a lot this year to make sure that when we got the power we needed
we'd have a car that could make the most of it. The wind picked up a
little bit today. We didn't do many qualifying runs, so we didn't know
exactly how the car would run, but we're happy with it."
7/26/03
Pennzoil terminates sponsorship with
DEI
Pennzoil Products will end a six-season primary sponsorship agreement
with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and the #1 Chevrolet team at the end of the
2003 season. Pennzoil, a Houston, Texas-based petroleum products
corporation, became Dale Earnhardt, Inc.’s first full-time NASCAR
Winston Cup sponsor in 1998, backing driver Steve Park in the #1
Chevrolet. Pennzoil, a Winston Cup primary since 1991, claimed its
only victories in NASCAR’s elite division with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.,
winning at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in 2000 and Rockingham, N.C. in 2001.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc., the company founded by the seven-time NASCAR
Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, is optimistic that it can produce
more victories for Pennzoil and attract a primary replacement before
the end of the 2003 season. “Like Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Pennzoil has
been through a lot of changes since we first signed our agreement in
the fall of 1997,” said Ty Norris, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.’s Executive
Vice President of Motorsports. “We promised to win races for Pennzoil,
and we did. They promised to support Dale Earnhardt, Inc. through the
growing pains of a new operation, and they did. Pennzoil will always
have a place in the history of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. We want to win
before the end of the year and finish our great relationship on a high
note.”
7/26/03
How real is the August 7th date?
A reader writes, Dear AR1, I am hearing that deals are falling through
and other deals are being put on the back burner because CART's future
looks so insecure. I could see the whole series folding like a
deck of cards if something does not happen soon. Please tell me
that the August 7th announcement date is real. Jeff Simmons,
Kansas City Mo. Dear Jeff, We are not sure if the August 7th
date is real, that is why it's on our Rumors page and not our Hot News
page. However, we think our sources are either spot-on or very
close (on the date). Something has to happen soon or the series
will fold like a deck of cards. Everyone in the CART paddock
knows time is of the essence and the August 7th date is all we have to
go on right now. We will keep you up to date if we hear of a
date change, or that the date is in fact not real at all. Our
greatest fear is that Bernie Ecclestone has told CART to burn off all
their cash so the series can be taken private at a low price, then at
the last minute decides to change his mind, for whatever reason, and
leaves Chris Pook and CART standing there with nothing. If that
were to happen, the final nail in CART's coffin will have been driven,
not by Tony George, but by Bernie Ecclestone. With that said, we
don't think Bernie conducts business in that manner, and people like
Craig Pollock and David Clare would not be in CART if they didn't
think Bernie was on his way to the rescue. The entire CART
community is waiting for Chris Pook to pull off this deal to save
CART. If he succeeds in bringing Bernie into the fold, he will
be a hero to many. However, if he fails, and Bernie does pull
the rug out from under the deal at the last minute, he will have to live with
that defeat, and the entire CART community will blame him for burning
through all of CART's cash and not getting in writing from Bernie that
he was definitely buying. The next
several weeks should be interesting, both for CART, and for Chris Pook's reputation. Mark C.
7/26/03
Max Papis fighting his way to
the top Since joining PK Racing at mid-season, Max
Papis is helping the team claw their way to the top. On Friday
in Vancouver, Papis qualified 12th, just 1.29 sec back from the
leader. That's the closest the team has been to the front half of
the grid all year, and it is clear that getting rid of Lemarie and
hiring the more experienced Papis has helped. "I know that at 33
years of age I have more fire and determination and definitely I'm a
lot smarter than when I was 24," he said. I always say when you start,
you have big balls and a small brain. And slowly the brain becomes a
little bit bigger and the balls shrink a little bit. So you need to
find a compromise within the two. I think at the moment we're on the
even side, and I'm looking forward to keeping that relationship the
same - not to have the brain too big and the balls too small." This Vancouver Sun
article talks about their struggle to reach the top.
7/26/03
Biela sets fast time at Infineon On a day that saw unofficial track records
set in two classes, Frank Biela set the fast time Friday as American
Le Mans Series teams had their first day of testing for Sunday's
Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway. Biela, driving an
Audi R8 Prototype from the Infineon Team Joest stable, turned the
2.53-mile circuit at 1:24.319, fastest of the cars that participated
in the two-hour, 30-minute testing session. Official practice begins
Saturday morning with qualifying for Sunday's race to be held Saturday
afternoon. Unofficial track records were set in both the LMP 675 and
GT classes. With the fastest time overall and in the LMP 900 class,
Biela and fellow German Marco Werner will co-drive the Audi as they
seek their second American Le Mans Series win of 2003. They started
the season by winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, then
finished second in the event last month at Road Atlanta.
7/26/03
Walker confident CART will
survive This Canoe.ca article
says, CART team owner Derrick Walker isn't fazed by some of the
doomsday talk surrounding the series. It flared up again this week
when CART, which trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange,
issued cautious guidance to investors about lower-than-expected
revenues and the need for a capital infusion if it's to complete the
2004 season. Nothing to worry about, Walker said Friday. "My
interpretation of what has been released recently is (that it's) a
normal process of reporting of a public company," he said. The
information was already available, he said, but CART felt it had to
speak openly to investors who've been spooked by the practices of
other companies. Up to now, media speculation has centered on whether
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was preparing a takeover of CART.
Nothing's changed, said Walker. "The challenge to CART was there
before; it still is there," he said. "But obviously what we're not
able to do is talk about some of the stuff that's in the works that is
going to fix that problem." Walker said he wouldn't have announced
plans to add a possible third car to his team -- driven by Canadian
Michael Valiante -- if he didn't think the series had a future.
7/26/03
New
Sponsor for Fittipaldi Dingman The Fittipaldi Dingman Racing team, with
driver Tiago Monteiro, sported a new sponsor in Vancouver on Friday. O2Diesel
has come onboard (see photo to right - back wing). Their website describes what they
are all about.
7/26/03
Sauber makes progress in wind tunnel
This Pitpass.com article
says that work on the new Sauber wind tunnel continues to progress as
scheduled: The facility's core element, the so-called "Rolling Road",
fitted with a steel belt simulating the relative motion between the
road and the vehicle, has been installed. It is the largest of its
kind ever built. Moreover, Sauber are planning to continuously expand
their aerodynamics department, and thus create the basis for future
two-shift operations in the new facility. More . . .
7/26/03
IRL
continues to struggle with empty grandstands
While CART continues to draw huge crowds for all three days of its
street and road course races (witness the record 45, 023 in
Vancouver Friday), the IRL continues to have near-empty grandstands except
for Sunday. In photo to the right, Tony Kanaan peers out as if
to say, where is everybody? The IRL would be wise to reduce
their events to Sunday only - practice, qualifying and the race all on
one day. It's pointless to run laps if
there's no one there to watch and no TV coverage. Plus those
extra laps cost money and the drivers risk having a big crash.
USAC used to run 1-day events many times when they ran open wheel
racing. Photo by Chris
Stanford /Getty Images
AutoRacing1 is an independent internet online publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CART Inc., NASCAR, FIA, FedEx, Winston, or any other series sponsor. This material may not be published, broadcast, or redistributed without permission. User agreement & disclaimer
Much
More...click on 2002 archives button below
