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NASCAR schedule realignment, how big
a story is it?
KEN SCHRADER, Driver, #49 Schwan’s Home
Service Dodge:
“Who would have thought, say, 20 years ago that on the weekend of
Indianapolis 500 qualifying and a month before the Formula One cars
came to the United States that the biggest story in racing would be
what a bunch of stock car guys were going to do in Rockingham, North
Carolina? “Regardless of whether you think it was a good move or a
bad move, you gotta admit – nobody would have ever figured that day
would come. We’ve come a long way.”
KYLE PETTY, Driver, #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge:
“Racing is still our main thing but, as far as the fans are
concerned, we’ve almost transcended that. Everything is
entertainment, and there has always been a lot of hoopla that goes
around the entertainment industry. It’s not the same as Brad Pitt
wearing a skirt in a movie or Mel Gibson producing a movie on his
own, but there is a growing interest in what we do. People like what
they have seen and they want to be part of it. The story has been
about where we are going to do what we do. And as long as the
possibilities exist for changes in that area, there will continue to
be a good bit of public interest in it.”
DERRIKE COPE, Driver, #49 Advil Ford (Busch Series):
“I think the drivers probably paid less attention to it than
anybody. From our standpoint, they tell us where the races are going
to be and that’s where we show up to race. From a standpoint of the
sport as a whole, it was a different story. It affects the bottom
line for everybody, and can affect it negatively or positively. The
new travel expenses . . . how will they measure up against what
should be greater sponsor support because of more races in the
biggest markets? From that standpoint, everyone in the garage was
interested. People I know at home (Spanaway, Wash.) were interested
mainly because they wanted to know if they were going to be able to
see more races. They want a race in Seattle. So the interest level
there was high for this announcement, but it is staying high for
what they hope will be the next announcement.”
STANTON BARRETT, #91 AmericInn Chevrolet:
“The AmericInn people are located pretty well out of the NASCAR
areas (Chanhassen, Minn., just outside of Minneapolis) but they have
been very interested in what NASCAR was going to do with the Cup and
Busch schedules. Obviously, it plays a role in their sponsorship
support but they were getting calls from franchisees all over the
country. “I’ve heard ‘All politics is local,’ but that could easily
apply to racing too. You watch it on TV, you want to see it in
person too. That’s natural. “My buddies in California were excited
about getting the second race at Fontana this year, but they were
pretty pumped about the new race at Phoenix too. Adding in Las
Vegas, that gives them five races a year close to them where, not so
long ago, there weren’t any at all.”
5/17/04
Qualification order for Bump Day
Here is the qualification order for Bump Day, Sunday, May 23, 2004
assuming they all make attempts. Some are already qualified,
but are at risk of being bumped and may have to re-qualify.
1 - Tony Kanaan #11T
2 - 66T TBA
3 - #98 PJ Jones
4 - #27T Dario Franchitti
5 - #21 TBA
6 - #25 Marty Roth
7 - #23 TBA
8 - #13 Greg Ray
9 - #18 TBA
10 - #14T AJ Foyt, IV
11 - #26T Dan Wheldon
12 - #66 TBA
5/17/04
Monterrey native Gonzalez looking
forward to home race PKV Racing’s Rookie-of-the-Year
candidate Roberto Gonzalez (#21 Nextel
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) will be one of four drivers
competing in his native country of Mexico this weekend, but the
28-year-old will have hometown advantage and the crowd in his corner
when the bell rings Sunday afternoon for this 750hp prizefight at
Fundidora Park.
After running (Nextel’s parent company) NII Holdings, Inc. livery on
his eye-catching PKV Racing Lola in Long Beach, Gonzalez returns
home this weekend to take aim at the Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand
Prix with the Nextel brand proudly displayed on his sidepods.
Monterrey will mark the first of seven international races this
season where the Nextel logo will be displayed as a result of
sponsorship from the telecommunications giant.
“Monterrey is obviously a very important event for me and my sponsor,
Nextel International,” said Gonzalez. “We’ll have a number of people
at the race track including special guests and sponsors. The races
in Monterrey and Mexico City are the backbone of our program, and I
expect to perform at my highest level this weekend, for myself and
for Nextel. In years past I have attended the race here and
witnessed first hand the enthusiasm of the Mexican fans. They are
unlike any other fans in the world with the level of enthusiasm and
excitement they bring to the event. Thanks to Nextel, this year I
have a chance to make them cheer for me, and I will do everything I
can to get results.”
5/17/04
Formula Renault heads to Mont Tremblant
The North American Formula Renault 2000 Championship will return to
action for round two of the 2004 championship this weekend at the
beautiful Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Canada as part of the Grand
American ‘6 Hours of Mont Tremblant’ race weekend. North American
Formula Renault 2000 staged a successful inaugural race weekend at
Phoenix International Raceway in April, with fifteen drivers taking
part in the weekend as the Formula Renault category continued its
worldwide expansion into the North American market.
5/17/04
Roth refuses to give up ride
This Indy Star
article talks about Marty Roth and his refusal to give up on
his dream of making the Indy 500 despite being pathetically slow.
Let's just hope he doesn't kill himself, or worse yet, someone else.
It must be oval racing where age is not as critical as in road
racing. Oval racing, lazy racing as Niki Lauda calls it,
doesn't take fast reflexes, hence an old man like Roth can perhaps
get by if he gets lucky and hits the setup just right.
5/17/04
Montoya: "I don't need a Rubens like
Schumacher does" According to this F1Racing.net
article, most Formula One drivers would sign a 'number one'
contract. Germany's Nick Heidfeld does not agree with his countryman
Michael Schumacher's superior status at Ferrari but, given the
chance, he'd sign a similar deal. ''I don't think it's fair,'' said
the Jordan star. ''But if it's there and available, you have to take
every advantage.'' Renault's Jarno Trulli agrees, ''but on the
sporting side, I'd say no.''
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, meanwhile, claims he is talented enough
to not require a driver like Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello to
contractually support him. ''Don't need it,'' he snapped at
reporters. You can either do your job or you cannot. Simple. It must
mean you're scared, I think.'' In one swift stroke, then, the
28-year-old ruled-out the possibility of ever becoming a driver like
Barrichello, even if it meant steering the fastest car. He scoffed:
''I'd rather just race go-karts.''
5/17/04
Will Rice and Wheldon have at it again?
Two Toyota Atlantic veterans at the clean end of the stick at Indy.
They had the right engines. The IRL isn't really the best way to
determine if a driver is good or not, but neither of these guys have
any Champ Car experience and they're ahead of a lot of guys that do.
If anything, there are a bunch of other Honda engines that they are
ahead of. At Milwaukee in 2000 Buddy and Dan were running 1-2.
Buddy was on pole and was the early leader. Dan clearly had the
dominant car. Less than 1/2 way through the race Buddy's car started
to go away and Dan was making his way by. They ran side by side for
about a lap and then along the front straight Dan started to swerve
and bang wheels with Buddy. The idiot ended up taking them both out.
It was somewhat similar to what Dan tried to do to Hornish last year
at Indy...with similar results to him. Dan's a dirty racer...he
learned that in England, not here.
5/17/04 Karting
Keep your eye on this American
Ron White is a kart racer that has been exceptional over the past
couple years here in the States. He has won the SKUSA Pro-moto
Championship and many, many races. This weekend he went to
Sarno-Napoli, Italy to race in the first round of the CIK-FIA
European Championship. They run a series of qualifying races and 2
'main' races in the CIK European championship. Ron finished 2nd in
the first main and he won the 2nd main. Apparently, it was raining a
lot during the weekend, a condition that Americans can't drive well
in! I think this is the first time an American has won a European
kart race since Lake Speed in 1978. Not really sure on that one.
Here's the
link. The 'ICC' class that he was in is a 6-speed, 125cc,
watercooled purpose built kart engine.
5/17/04
Champ Car transporters meeting for
Mexican jaunt A
reader writes, I was leaving the grocery store this evening, and one
the the huge Newman/Haas Transporters was just turning onto one of
the feeder roads here in Austin, Texas. I jumped in my car and
followed it. It kept going south and finally got on I-35 southbound
toward San Antonio. I was hoping it was going to pull over and stop,
so I could find out what it was doing in Austin. I followed it for
quite a ways. They probably thought I was a stalker! Rae
Matthews, Austin, TX Dear Rae, The Champ Car Team
transporters are rendezvousing in Texas as they prepare to cross the
border into Mexico for this weekend's race in Monterrey.
5/17/04
Further evidence IRL has morphed into
the old CART [Editor's
Note: Recall all the bragging by the IRL camp about their
artificially created close racing (pack racing) that we vehemently
argued was sending drivers to the hospital at an alarming rate the
past 6 years. Now they are talking about cars that are harder
to drive and will string out like the Champ Cars do for the sake of
safety. Like we said, everything the IRL fans liked about the
original IRL is mophing into what CART once was, sending those fans
scurrying for the doors never to return.] According to this
Indy Star
article, Andretti Green Racing's Dan Wheldon, who qualified in
the middle of the front row between Rice and AGR teammate Dario
Franchitti, said Sunday that he can feel his car moving around more
on the racetrack. "Not in a bad way. Just a more challenging way,"
he said. Franchitti predicted difficulty in getting the cars
properly balanced so they'll perform consistently through the 30-lap
runs between pit stops. "The sweet spot for the car is
smaller," he said. "That's challenging, but that's what we want."
The drop in horsepower was evident in the qualifying speeds. The
drivers expect it to be just as noticeable in the race. The onus
will be on them to sustain momentum through the turns. "In the
corners, you're working on the mechanical nature of the car, just
like before," said Scott Sharp, who will start 20th. "But coming
out, it's about horsepower."
Two-time winner Castroneves, who qualified a disappointing eighth,
said even small mistakes are going to have large consequences.
"If you make a wrong judgment now, you're going to lose more than
you're used to," he said. "It might take a whole lap to get all the
way back up to speed again."
Rice agreed: "If you start to drop off, it's going to be bad," he
said. "You're going to go down a lot faster." That was
precisely the intent outlined by IRL vice president of operations
Brian Barnhart in discussing the changes last month. A field of cars
running at different speeds accomplishes two things: It breaks up
the dangerous packs and creates more passing.
"It's not really in the best interest of anybody to get cars stuck
side by side," Barnhart said. "I want to be able to race side by
side, and I want to be able to race nose to tail, but if you're
better than me or I'm better than you, you need to be able to pull
out and pass." Hornish, a two-time IRL champion who'll start
11th in his first Indy 500 at Team Penske, said fans enjoy pack
racing a lot more than the drivers do. "When you have the
whole field up there running together, it gets dangerous. There's no
room for error when you're that close," he said.
5/17/04
The movies comes to Monaco with Jaguar
Ocean's 12, the much anticipated sequel to the worldwide box office
success of Ocean's 11, will be launched at the Monaco Grand Prix
(22nd & 23rd May) exclusively by the Jaguar Racing team and key
members of the Ocean's 12 cast. For the first time in Formula One,
imagery from the movie will form a central part of Jaguar Racing's
presence at Monaco, with branding unique in its scale and scope
appearing across the entire team, from team shirts, driver &
mechanics overalls to the team's pit-lane garage, as well as the
cars themselves. It is the first time Hollywood has formed such a
deep partnership with a Formula One team to reach F1's worldwide TV
audience of over 400 million for the season's most glamorous race.
Jerry Weintraub, Producer of Ocean's 12, said; "The Monaco Grand
Prix is the highlight of the global racing calendar and Ocean's 12
will be one of the most exhilarating, thrilling and stylish films of
the year. This partnership reflects how Formula One is the perfect
audience for us and Jaguar Racing the preferred partner. The cast
can't wait to see their names hurtling round the streets of Monaco
at more than 250kph." The groundbreaking Monaco F1 launch stems from
a partnership between Ocean's 12 and Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston
Martin - all of which take starring roles in the film. Released this
December, Ocean's 12 stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon,
Catherine Zeta Jones, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and Julia
Roberts. Joe Greenwell, Chairman and CEO, Jaguar and Land Rover, and
Board Director Jaguar Racing, said: "Ocean's 12 oozes style,
sophistication and luxury - qualities integral with the cars in the
movie. We're bringing together Hollywood's biggest movie of the
year, the biggest race in the F1 calendar and some of our most
desirable cars - it's an incredibly exciting mix." Jaguar Racing
will be announcing a new sponsor at 13.15hrs on Wednesday 19th May
at Collection De Voitures Anciennes De S.A.S, Le Prince De Monaco
Terrasses De Fontvieille. (Royal Car Collection Museum).
5/17/04 German DTM
DTM to race in downtown Shanghai [Editor's
Note: Three years ago Champ Car could have done a deal to race
on the downtown streets of Shanghai, in the new Pudong District.
AutoRacing1.com had published the street circuit layout back then
(see article) as presented to
us by the promoter. Instead they let Bernie Ecclestone beat
them to the punch with a track built one hour outside of Shanghai.
All three of the DTM's manufacturers - Audi, Opel and Mercedes -
will take part in the one-off event, which means the series will
beat Formula 1 to holding a race in Shanghai. Instead of using the
nearby state-of-the-art track, the DTM will race on a temporary
street circuit layout in the Pudong district of the city, which has
17 million inhabitants. DTM boss Hans Werner Aufrecht said:
"The DTM is pleased to accept the offer to stage a city race in
Shanghai. This is a decisive step in the development of the DTM.
This is certainly the most significant race in the series outside
Germany. "Shanghai is a fascinating metropolis of the utmost
economic significance and personifies the rapidly growing Chinese
market. It is something quite special to be able to stage a DTM race
in this exciting place in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
The invitation underlines the increasing international significance
of the series as the blue-riband event of touring car racing."]
Touring car and Audi fans can look forward to a very special type of
event: on 17 and 18 July, the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) will
be competing in an away race right in the heart of boom town
Shanghai, China. Audi will be fielding their two works teams, Audi
Sport Team Abt Sportsline and Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest, in the
"East Race Festival". Though not part of the DTM series, in which
Audi just celebrated its first victory with the A4 DTM, the city
race in Shanghai is expected to attract worldwide attention. The
roughly 2.85-kilometre circuit is situated in the centre of the
Chinese metropolis in the immediate vicinity of Orient Pearl Tower,
one of Shanghai's landmarks. The "East Race Festival" is to be
established as the major sporting event of Shanghai. At the same
time, it will be the first large-scale international car race to be
staged in mainland China. "The fact that the city of Shanghai has
selected the DTM as its partner for this new motor racing highlight
proves the high prestige enjoyed by this series," says Head of Audi
Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. "For Audi, China has meanwhile
become one of the world's three major markets. Consequently, we
particularly welcome the opportunity of being able to present the
fascination of the DTM along with our technology," adds Erich
Schmitt, Member of the Board Purchasing, who is responsible for the
Chinese market at AUDI AG. "AUDI AG's DTM commitment also stands for
the performance of the brand." Since 1988, Audi have been the
leading manufacturer of premium cars in China. In addition to the
A6, the Audi A4 has been produced at the Changchun plant since April
2003. China imports the Audi A8, Audi A4 convertible, four-wheel
quattro and Audi TT. The new A8 was launched on the Chinese market
in mid-2003. After Germany and the United States, China has
meanwhile become the third-largest A8 market in the world.
Altogether, Audi's 2003 vehicle sales in China amounted to 63,531
units. In the first quarter of 2004, Audi posted a 44 per cent
increase over prior year sales. Neither is China new terrain for
Audi Sport: last year, Emanuele Pirro did a few laps around the
"Forbidden City" in Beijing in an Audi R8. In Shanghai, the car that
won the 24 Hours of Le Mans aroused attention as well. "The stints
with the R8 in China were a very special experience for me," says
Emanuele Pirro. "There was an incredible amount of enthusiasm and
interest. I'm sure that the DTM race at Shanghai will be a
resounding success and that we'll be autographing more pictures than
anywhere else before."
Junqueira runs 350 miles - last chance before
Indy
After successfully qualifying in fourth place yesterday for the 88th
Indianapolis 500, Junqueira spent the afternoon working on the race setup for
the May 30th race. The team decided to end the day at 5:15 p.m. CST and Bruno was
fourth fastest for the day at 217.839 mph (ran 137 laps in spare car). Bruno
said afterwards, "We worked on the race setup today to finish our preparation
since we won't be here next week. And we won't run much on Carburetion Day
because we don't want to put too many miles on the engine so we really needed to
finish everything today. We learned a few things today but we wanted to run in
traffic more. I wasn't able to run behind anyone because I was by myself on
the track a lot today. When I finally got behind the Andretti/Green drivers I did
one lap but then the yellow came out for Helio. This is another time that it
would have been good to have a teammate so we could work together to get a
good car in traffic which will be important on race day. I'll have to learn
about the car in traffic on Carb Day and hopefully the car will be good in the
race. Yesterday was a good day for us but today was not as good. The engineers
did a good job to get a good car for qualifying even though we didn't get to
run much in qualifying trim. I'm sure they can do the same for the race
setup."
5/16/04
Fernández Racing forums to be turned off again
Recall that Fernández Racing had to turn off their discussion forums when he
quit Champ Car in the 11th hour and went to the IRL because the Mexican fans
bombarded his forums calling him a traitor. Since they turned them back
on the attacks stopped, but 80% of the discussions are about Champ Car, not
about the IRL, which clearly is not what they hoped for. This time the
excuse is they are redesigning their website and the new one won't include
discussion forums, which is too bad for the Mexican race fans, most of
whom can read and speak some English, but can't write it. This will
be another nail in the IRL's coffin because the Mexican fans will resent the
IRL even more now. Jose Arrambide reporting from Mexico
5/16/04
PJ Jones to race for Beck
PJ Jones announced today in Indy that he has done a deal to attempt to qualify
for this year's Indy 500 driving for Greg Beck - Beck Motorsports. "The
deal was finalized yesterday morning," Beck said. "We worked hard on this all
week and Mike said earlier in the week he wanted to do something. This makes a
lot of sense. Mike Curb stepped up to help us out and to get this done
now instead of next week."
5/16/04 Moto GP
Sete wins 2nd straight at LeMans
MotoGP race results from the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, the third round
of the 2004 World Championship.
1. Sete Gibernau SPA Telefonica Movistar Honda 44min 22.75 secs
2. Carlos Checa SPA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 44min 24.421 secs
3. Max Biaggi ITA Camel Honda 44min 24.658 secs
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 44min 27.022 secs
5. Colin Edwards USA Telefonica Movistar Honda 44min 38.505 secs
6. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 44min 40.975 secs
7. Alex Barros BRA Repsol Honda 44min 50.406 secs
8. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Marlboro 44min 54.28 secs
9. Makoto Tamada JPN Camel Honda 44min 55.914 secs
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 45min 2.262 secs
11. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda 45min 10.375 secs
12. Kenny Roberts USA Team Suzuki 45min 34.89 secs
13. Jeremy McWilliams GBR MS Aprilia 45min 46.141 secs
14. Ruben Xaus SPA d'Antin Ducati 44min 23.773 secs
15. Kurtis Roberts USA Proton Team KR 44min 24.402 secs
16. Michel Fabrizio ITA Harris WCM 44min 24.563 secs
17. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Proton Team KR 44min 33.36 secs
5/16/04 German DTM
Audi A4 wins
In only its third race the new Audi A4 DTM has clinched its first victory.
In a hot battle at Adria International Speedway near Venice (Italy) Mattias
Ekström kept his cool: having started from pole, the DTM's 25-year-old
shooting star positioned himself at the front of the field, setting the pace
over 47 laps with a dominant lead, then making the Audi works team win its
first race in the DTM since 1992. For the other Audi drivers, the race turned
into a rather turbulent experience: after touching the car of team-mate Martin
Tomczyk, Tom Kristensen received a drive-through penalty, as did Christian Abt
for a clash with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Emanuele Pirro for speeding in the
pit lane. Frank Biela was forced to retire, because his left rear wheel had
not been properly fastened during the pit stop. Afterward Mattias Ekström
said, "The race seemed incredibly long to me, as it was very hot and the track
is so slow. If you lead the field far ahead of the competition, you count each
lap. We were absolutely bent on clinching this victory and have truly deserved
it. Audi was quickest in all of the practice sessions, I took pole and
controlled the pace during the race. For me it's been a perfect weekend with a
perfect car and a perfect team. I wouldn't mind, if things continued going
this way."
Adria (I), 16 May, DTM round 3
1 Mattias Ekström (Audi A4 DTM) 47 laps in 57m 52.607s
2 Christijan Albers (Mercedes) + 3.156s
3 Jean Alesi (Mercedes) + 10.198s
4 Gary Paffett (Mercedes) + 14.294 s
5 Timo Scheider (Opel) + 24.003s
Positions after 3 of 10 rounds: 1 Albers, 26 points; 2 Ekström, 24; 3 Paffett,
15; 4 Tomczyk, 11; 5 Kristensen, 10.
Next race: EuroSpeedway (D), 6 June
Photos courtesy of Audi
5/16/04
Corona starts TV ads
As of today Corona is showing TV ads on National TV in Mexico, but
especially on Monterrey local tv stations with Rodolfo Lavin driving his car.
There is an off camera voice saying, the speed is back and Corona is honored
to present the Corona Forsythe Racing team to Mexican fans, we will see you in
Monterrey. Corona is blitzing the media with all that they have, for this a
Tecate sponsored race. Too bad TECATE doesn't have a driver to strike back,
Adrian Fernandez having moved to the IRL. Tecate took the money they used to
give Fernandez and is now doing race sponsorship and track signage at Champ
Car races. Long Beach was a prime example. Jose Arrambide reporting
from Mexico
5/16/04
Lavin named Grand Marshal, Tecate afraid of
Corona
Sunday afternoon Rodolfo Lavin will be the Grand Marshal of the "Vochos
Series" (A series that runs with the popular Volkswagen Beetles) race in
Monterrey to be held at "Autodromo Monterrey". Lavin will be there with the
Corona Team Girls. (That's a match we would love to see TECATE Girls vs Corona
Girls). We hear that TECATE was afraid of a big Corona PR onslaught this year
for the Monterrey Grand Prix and pressured OCESA to keep "Copa Corona" out as
a support series. Jose Arrambide reporting from Mexico
5/16/04
El Norte starts countdown to Monterrey GP
Monterrey's most important newspaper, and a sister newspaper to Reforma
(both newspapers are owned by Monterrey group "Editora El Sol") today started
their official countdown to the Grand Prix. From today until Thursday the
paper will have the bios of the drivers, and special articles and reports of
the Grand Prix in the sports section. Friday, Saturday and Sunday they will
have a special section dedicated to the Grand Prix that will be free with the
newspaper. Today for example, there is the bio of Jourdain, and an article on
his family life with his new wife Nora Chedraui. There is also an article on
Ricardo Hernandez, a Monterrey fan that went from volunteer to pit captain.
Jose Arrambide reporting from Mexico
5/16/04
Corona attacks Tecate on home turf
Rodolfo Lavin became the first driver to arrive in Monterrey for the
Monterrey Grand Prix a week from today. He arrived Saturday morning. Corona
has a full schedule of public presentations of Lavin and a lot of PR from
Saturday through Tuesday. Monterrey is the hometown of Cerveceria Cuahtemoc
(The brewery that owns TECATE), and Corona (headquartered in Mexico City) has
decided to attack Mexican beer rival TECATE on its own turf, and on its own
Grand Prix. Corona has been preparing for this. Friday the city was full of
posters of Lavin`s car, and Lavín's helmet. The posters are all over the city,
especially on the roads that lead to Fundidora Park where the track is
located. Jose Arrambide reporting from Mexico
5/16/04
Indy Tidbits
This Indy Star
article says, The top two qualifiers at Indy Saturday, Buddy Rice and
Wheldon, were 1-2 in the 2000 Toyota Atlantics series championship [Note:
Once again, even Champ Cars minor leaguers excel in he IRL]. . . . Team
owner Greg Beck has a deal to field a car next week, but a formal announcement
is not expected until a day when he can get more extensive coverage. . . .
Greg Ray's IRL team still has not appeared on the track, and the 1999 league
champion has cited a financial problem as the reason. Robert Clarke, the vice
president and general manager of Honda Performance Development, said Saturday
that Access Motorsports owes an undisclosed amount of money on its engine
contract. . . . The Menards Infiniti Pro Series will have between 17 and 20
participants for next weekend's race, executive director Roger Bailey said.
The first practice is Thursday. . . . Al Unser Jr. said he wants his son, Al,
to eventually pass through the Pro Series. But the two-time Indy winner said
he won't start a team. "I don't write the checks, I take them," he said. The
younger Unser is racing this year in the Toyota Atlantics series [Note:
We can tell you the kid's mother, Shelly Unser, does not want Mini Al on
ovals]. . . . Scott Sharp's streak of six top-10 starting spots in as many
races ended Saturday when he qualified 20th.
5/16/04
No official minimum,
but... This Indy Star
article says, IRL rules do not list a minimum speed drivers must reach
to qualify for the 500. But Brian Barnhart, the league's senior vice
president of operations, said Saturday that he has told teams they must give a
legitimate effort in qualifying, a statement necessitated by the possibility
that there won't be a full field of 33 cars this year. "I want no one
taking advantage of a situation if we don't have the right number of
participants," Barnhart said. "I don't want someone to post a 140-mph average
just to put a car in the show. That's not what we're about."
5/16/04
Foyt blames Toyota for
lack of speed This Indy Star
article says, A.J. Foyt stood in his garage in Gasoline Alley 30
minutes after the end of qualifications Saturday and just shook his head in
disbelief. On the video display above his head were the grim results of
the day. His two drivers, son Larry Foyt and grandson A.J. Foyt IV,
occupied the final two spots among the 22 first-day qualifiers. Rookie
Larry Foyt brought up the rear with a four-lap average speed of 213.277 mph.
Foyt IV, who finished 18th in his first Indianapolis 500 last year, qualified
in the final 15 minutes of the session with a speed of 214.256. But A.J.
Foyt, the man who raced in 35 Indianapolis 500s and won the race four times,
wasn't upset with his drivers. He felt both did as well as could be expected
under the circumstances. Instead, Foyt's frustrations were directed at
the Toyota engine package. "We just don't have the horsepower with the
Toyota engine," Foyt said. "We're just down. I knew the first two races that
we were down, but I didn't think we'd be off this far. We're just short of
power. Honda is the one with all the power and the same is true for
Chevrolet. I'm not going to say Toyota won't win the race, but right now as
far as on the high speed stuff, they're hurting." [Editor's Note:
If we were Toyota we would tell AJ to take a walk and find another engine
supplier. AJ stated on live TV yesterday for everyone to hear that he was
keeping a lot of wing in both cars and not trimming them out for a pole run so
his drivers didn't crash. Then he turns around and blames Toyota because
both of his cars are dead last. Why doesn't AJ just admit his son and
grandson don't have the talent to be front-runners. They have been back
markers in Indy Cars and NASCAR from day one, and if they had talent AJ would
have been able to trim the cars out on Saturday and they would have been
faster. It's an insult to our intelligence, and we're sure Toyota's, to blame
their lack of speed on Toyota.]
5/16/04
Gordon unhappy with
Stewart Tony Stewart found himself defending his on-track
actions again Saturday night. This time, his target - #24-Jeff Gordon - is
willing to forgive and forget, at least for now. With 40 laps remaining in
Saturday night's Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International
Raceway, Stewart and Gordon were racing for position when Stewart nudged
Gordon's #24 Chevrolet up and out of the main racing groove. Gordon wobbled
and lost a position. He was running in the top five and eventually finished
sixth. Stewart finished fourth. After the race, Stewart made an unexpected
visit to Gordon's hauler and spoke privately with Gordon for several minutes.
"From where I was at, it seemed like he just body-slammed me for no reason but
he came up to me in the trailer and said he was sorry he got loose," Gordon
said. "I questioned it. He was like, "Hey, I'm telling you the truth, I got
loose.' I'll have to look. They say he got loose the time before that. Maybe
he did. If he did, then I'll accept his apology. If he didn't, then he
certainly needs to get his act together." Asked immediately after the race
about the incident, Stewart said he knew Gordon was "mad at him." "I just got
down into (Turn) 3 and I got loose and we made a change (on the last pit stop)
and that's probably what made it loose," Stewart said. Earlier Saturday,
during a visit to the Richmond's infield media center, Joe Gibbs, Stewart's
car owner and coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins, said he did not believe
Stewart's actions were a pattern of bad behavior. "Generally over the years,
Tony may have had some stuff happen on the race track, but rarely with another
driver. I think he has a great reputation with the other drivers," Gibbs said.
"Rusty (Wallace) said the other night he and Tony had talked. I know Tony
talked to Terry (Labonte) after that situation. I just kind of feel like it's
just one of those things that happen. It has been a series of things that have
happened here that haven't been good to him." see full story at
ThatsRacin.com
5/16/04
Mansell says Schumacher
will break his record
As Michael Schumacher closes on one of the few remaining records - he's only
six poles away from Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions, and he's about
to break a tie with Mansell by winning the first six races this year, Mansell
is not entirely impressed. He tells Richard Rae in the Sunday Times,
"I drove in a much tougher era with competition from drivers like Senna,
Gerhard Berger, Jean Alesi, my teammate Riccardo Patrese, a young chap called
Schumacher and myself. And there were a lot of cars then, 26, not
20," he adds "Most importantly, and people tend to forget this,
the cars were often unreliable. It was a big part of the driver's job to be
constantly listening to the car and making adjustments, because there was no
two-way telemetry then, no way the mechanics could make ongoing adjustments
with their computers while you were out there on the circuit. Put
it this way: if I'd been able to go 43 races without a mechanical failure like
Michael, well, I'd like to think I might have been world champion more than
once." As for being at
Monaco next weekend to see his record broken, Mansell says, "There just
doesn't seem much point," he admits, "because unless he makes a human error
he'll walk it. Ferrari have so much in reserve," he adds. "We saw in Barcelona
that they can operate at nine-tenths of maximum and still be easily good
enough. "What does strike me though is that the rules currently
seem to make life even easier for the leading team," he continues. "Take
overtaking. If today's rules had been applied in Monaco '92, Senna would have
been called in for a 'stop and go' penalty for some of those blocks he
pulled." "We were race
drivers," says Mansell, "getting past moving targets was our job. "In
Barcelona, Schumacher didn't have to overtake anyone on the circuit; he did it
in the pits. Again that's not his fault, but it shows there's something badly
wrong. A lot of it is down to the circuits, and the changes made to them as a
reaction to Senna's death in 1994. Basically a lot of them have been
sterilized; drivers can go off and not be penalized, or damage their cars on
big curbs. And it's hard to make driving errors because the electronics
control everything for you; things like traction control and launch control
take driver ability out of the equation. I understand why they've come
about," he adds, "but I have to say they've hurt the sport." "Things happen for a reason, and I'm pretty happy
with the way they've turned out. If Michael breaks my record, good luck to him
because make no mistake, he's a great driver."
5/16/04
F1
may be too late for Indian driver
Motor Sports Association of India president Nazir Hoosein has said promoting
Narain Karthikeyan would not only help the ace driver realize his dream of
driving a Formula One car but also quicken the arrival of Grand Prix racing in
the country.
Not expecting the F1 to come to India before 2010, Hoosein said funding Narain
would serve the twin purpose of helping him break through into elite racing
while also boosting the fans' interest in the sport back home. "Narain
may be too old by the time F1 arrives in India, which at a tentative estimate
would be six or seven years down the road. In fact, he should be promoted to
accelerate the interest in F1 to shorten the time," Hoosein told PTI in
an exclusive interview on Sunday.
The motor sports chief ranked the 27-year old Indian among the best of new
generation Formula racers. "He is very good and could be placed
alongside some of the newcomers in F1," said Hoosein. Asked if Narain's
dream of becoming the first Indian to drive in an F1 race was fast becoming a
mirage due to lack of sponsors, he said, "if the money comes in, it is still
possible."
More from Press Trust of India article [Editor's Note:
With the large Indian population in the USA, one would have thought that OWRS
would have gotten a ride for Narain by now. Indians in the USA need a
sports hero to cling onto because they really have not had one. Even if
Champ Car never races in India, he would be good for the Champ Car series.
Unfortunately this kid is still racing in F3000 class formulae. He did a
very respectable job when he tested a F1 car. Clearly the kid can
drive.]
5/16/04
NASCAR driver safety campaign U.S.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who was the Grand Marshal for the
400-lapper at RIR last night, has joined forces with NASCAR to launch a new
traffic safety program aimed at improving driving conditions on America's
highways.
5/16/04
NASCAR adds twist to
All-Star race NASCAR
officials have announced significant changes for the Nextel All-Star Challenge
at the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) on May 22. The event,
formerly known as The Winston, will keep its three-segment, 90-lap format, but
drivers will be subject to a random inversion after the first segment. In the
past, everyone was inverted after the second sprint. Another
change involves the eligibility of past all-star champions. Two former winners
who aren't already in the race each will receive a free pass into the
shootout, as long as they are still active in the sport. The move will allow
1986 Daytona 500 victor Geoffrey Bodine, the 1994 winner, and Mark Martin
(1998) to compete.
5/16/04
Aprilia:
Official bike of Rocketsports
While the quartet of Rocketsports Racing drivers may prefer four wheels when
it comes to on track competition, the racers immediately look for their
Aprilia two wheelers as soon as they climb out of the cockpit. With four
busy drivers needing to find their way around the paddock after the
Rocketsports Racing team expanded at the start of the 2004 season, Aprilia USA
brought its championship heritage in World Superbike and MotoGP racing to the
Champ Car team in the form of stylish and sporty scooters for use throughout
the season.
Europe's second-largest two-wheel vehicle manufacturer, Aprilia is the only
brand to offer a full range of products from the 50cc scooters loaned to
Rocketsports Racing to the RSV 1000 Factory, the hottest sport bike on the
market. Aprilia is an industry leader in technology, design, and production
techniques, skills honed in years of racing success, including 22 World
Championships.
The retro version Mojito Scooters run by Trans-Am Champions Paul Gentilozzi
and Tommy Kendall have a classic Italian flair with full fenders and a wide
body that give the scooters a unique, low profile. With a 50cc air-cooled
two-stroke to optimize power to weight, the scooters ensure that both
Gentilozzi and Kendall always cruise the pits in style.
“Lots of character and classy,” said Gentilozzi about his new Mojito. “It’s
perfect for getting me where I need to be. I get stopped frequently as I move
through the paddock, so I need the breaking to be spot-on and good pick-up for
those times I need to jet.”
When they’re not racing their Jaguars in the Motorock Trans-Am series,
Gentilozzi and Kendall cover a lot of ground over a weekend. As series partner
and team owner, Gentilozzi fulfills a double-duty at every race and his
Aprilia gets him from the paddock to anywhere he needs to be during a busy
race weekend. With duties as a Champ Car broadcast analyst
demanding he get from the Trans-Am paddock to the broadcast booth, Kendall
feels his Aprilia is a necessity during a busy weekend.
“I love my Aprilia scooter! With my feet being in the state they’re in,
anytime I can ride rather than walk is a God-send for me,” said Kendall. “The
scooter is not just a luxury, but a necessity at the track.” Kendall
suffered serious injuries to his feet in a heavy crash more than a decade ago.
His Aprilia helps him get around pain-free and also ensures he can meet his
fans in the paddock, something made possible with the reliable ride.
“I’ve been an Aprilia fan for more than 20 years and when they came on board
as a Rocketsports partner I became a customer too,” he said. “From motorcycle
racing to auto racing it’s a nice melding of two worlds.”
Champ
Car drivers Alex Tagliani and Nelson Philippe ride SR 50 DiTech Scooters,
which reflect the racing heritage of the Aprilia brand. Inspired by MotoGP and
World Superbike racing designs, the SR 50s feature fuel-injected, water-cooled
motors that offer awesome performance while delivering more than 120 enjoyable
miles per gallon. Tagilani and wife Bronte, who hosts Spike TV’s
Dangerous Curves, are often seen touring the paddock together on his Aprilia
SR 50.
“Having my Aprilia scooter
handy has already helped me get around the paddock quickly,” said Tagliani.
“It’s attractive and easy to maneuver through crowds of race fans.”
Racing-inspired wheels and brakes make stopping as efficient as possible -
critical in the crowed pits at a race! “It’s super, easy to drive and
sporty. A very cool way to get around,” said Philippe.
For more information about Aprilia visit
www.apriliausa.com
5/16/04
Tony George now in the
parking lot business Did you know that quietly the Indy
Speedway has been buying up all the homes and businesses surrounding the Indy
Speedway in recent years? Why? Because they are now in the parking
lot business, making money from parking to offset some of the loss from a
downturn in attendance. As an example, the Speedway used to make millions
of dollars from pole day qualifying for the 500 when attendance was over
200,000. Now with perhaps 10,000 or so in attendance, that revenue
stream is all but gone.
5/16/04
Cars cutting grooves in
track The IRL teams are running soft springs in the back of
the cars at Indy to get the rear wing out of the air as much as possible.
As such the bottom of the cars are dragging the track and sending sparks
flying from the skid plates. As such, the cars are tearing grooves into
the track surface.
5/15/04
Indy feels like a morgue
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I went to the Indy qualifications today
like I have for the past 36 years, rain or shine. Never have I seen so
few spectators there on pole day. I remember when I used to go and they
would have over 200,000 on pole day. Today they were lucky if they had
12,000 in attendance. I felt like I was sitting in a morgue. It is
sad what Tony George has done to this race and to the sport of Indy Car
racing. This race and the sport is dead. I won't be going back.
It's NASCAR and Champ Car for me going forward. Scott Sanders,
Chicago, IL
5/15/04
Can the Southern 500 be
saved? Dear Autoracing1, I am the rare Champ Car and NASCAR
fan and I continue to love your site. With the NASCAR realignment, I am
hearing that this year will be the last Southern 500. Why? I am reading that
the new Mother's Day race will be a 500 miler instead of the 400 mile race
(once called the "Rebel 400" years ago) we now have in the spring. So why not
rename the 2005 May race the "CAROLINA DODGE DEALERS SOUTHERN 500"? This would
make this race the successor to the very prestigious race that exists today
AND might help sell tickets which Darlington has been having trouble with.
Besides, if they can move the Southern 500 from September to November, why
can't they move it to May? Renaming this race would keep the great
history of the Southern 500 intact - Elliot and the Winston Million, Ned
Jarrett winning by x laps back in the 50s, Jeff Gordon's multiple consecutive
wins in the 90s. Despite the new "NASCAR - Timeless" ads we see on TV, I fear
another piece of NASCAR history is going away. Is there anything fans
can do to save the Southern 500 and all it represents? Chris Silhavey,
Stratford, CT Dear Chris, You have a good idea and you have a right
to be concerned that NASCAR is abandoning a lot of its history, but who are we
to argue given their success? Try writing to NASCAR and make the
suggestion, but I suspect NASCAR is more focused on the future than the past.
Mark C.
5/15/04
Herta crashes hard at Indy
Qualifying came to a halt today at Indy when Bryan Herta spun in the first
turn and hit the wall. He was wheeled away on a stretcher, but was later
released from the track's infield hospital. The SAFER barrier sustained
extensive damage, forcing a delay while track workers repaired the wall.
Herta had just completed a warm-up lap and had taken the green starting flag
when he lost control in the middle of the corner and struck the outside wall
with the right rear of the car. He made another half-spin, and the car stopped
between the first and second turns with heavy damage to the right side and
rear. Herta flashed a thumbs-up sign as he was wheeled to an
ambulance for the ride to the hospital, where he was treated for abrasions to
his right leg and foot. He will be examined again Sunday before he is cleared
to drive.
Photos courtesy IMS
5/15/04
DHL to sponsor Michigan
race Michigan International Speedway (MIS) and DHL company
officials jointly announced today that DHL, the world’s leading express and
logistics company, will make its first venture into NASCAR by title sponsoring
the DHL 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at MIS on Sunday, June 20, 2004. In
a defining moment for the U.S. express delivery market, DHL completed its
acquisition of Airborne Express in August 2003, bringing much-needed
competition to the US market. Long a market leader in international express
delivery and logistics, the company is now focusing on expanding awareness of
its services in the United States through a comprehensive brand building and
awareness campaign. “Sponsoring the DHL 400 affords us the opportunity to
build brand awareness of our flexible, innovative and service-oriented
products here in the U.S.,” said Karen Jones, vice president of brand
management for DHL-Americas. “This partnership fits well within our overall
campaign to establish DHL as a strong, third competitor in the domestic
express and logistics market.”
5/15/04
Newman: "Breaking up open wheel racing was
unconscionable"UPDATE A reader responds, Hooray!! Paul
Newman is a man of principle. He had the guts to say what NO one will say; it
is ALL about cubic DOLLARS as to why Ganassi, Penske, Andretti & Rahal moved
to the IRL. They are all road racers and are only doing this because of the $$
given to them. If they had any GUTS they would have stayed in Champ Car and now the
IRL would be out of business!!!!!!!!!! My wife and I will NEVER support King
George and his loyal subjects and the CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES WILL BE HEALTHY.
They finally have some leadership that says "forget about the IRL, we don't
want to be like it, we don't want their ovals and they have nothing to offer
us. We will operate in the world-wide market and be successful. We rest our
case. We believe we speak for millions of fans throughout the US (George has
forgotten about us totally). Could you forward this to Paul Newman, please?
Harvey & Gail Pelovsky, Champ Car fanatics from Wells, Maine.
5/14/04 - Below
are select quotes from Thursday's Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on
SPEED Channel. Hollywood legend, accomplished racer and race team
owner Paul Newman sat down with Dave for a rare interview, talking
about everything from how he got interested in racing to the lengthy
battle between Champ Car and the IRL. More......
5/15/04
Pole Day at Indy lacks any
excitement There are only about 12,000 people total in the
grandstands, there is no buzz in the air here like there used to be, and
everyone will make the field, regardless if they have any driving talent or
not. AJ Foyt said on a live ESPN interview that he was going to keep a
lot of wing in the cars of his son Larry Foyt and grandson AJ Foyt IV so they
don't lose control of the car. "We are not worrying about speed," said
Foyt. Why worry about speed when there are not enough cars to fill the
field and everyone will qualify?
5/15/04
Reader berates Bruce
Martin Came across this Letter to the Editor in this week's
edition of National Speed Sports News addressed to IRL shill Bruce Martin who
writes for the paper - Bruce Martin, thanks for the usual interview with Tony
George. This is a man who has misled so many for so many years. What he told
the racing world about what his “dream” was has never been true. Why do you
and others let this man get away with the double-talk he has used for so long?
Also, have you noticed in your interview, and those of those of others, that
Mr. George can’t seem to put two words together to make an understandable
sentence? Why are race teams and their money following a man who can’t answer
a straight question with a straight answer? Why do people put up with this
hypocrite? Tom Johnson Nampa, Idaho
5/15/04
Portland race will go on
with or w/o sponsor A new and improved Champ Car World Series
will hit the road course at Portland International Raceway from June 18 to
June 20. Now, if promoter Mike Nealy can find a title sponsor, maybe the
open-wheel series won’t have to open its wallet too wide. “I wouldn’t
say we’re close to anything,” Nealy says of the hunt for a sponsor. “We’re
trying whatever opportunities are out there.” Champ Car’s new president, Dick
Eidswick, says the Portland race will go on even if no local backing is found.
“Our commitment here doesn’t require a sponsor,” he says. No sponsor is needed
this year, that is, because the series expects to pick up most of the costs
and is willing to spend an estimated $3 million on the Portland race, in hopes
of luring big sponsor bucks next year.
Portland Tribune
5/15/04
Toyota moves design of
Tundra trucks to USA Toyota Motor Corp. is moving more design
and engineering responsibility to the United States for cars and trucks sold
in the country, starting with a pickup intended to win sales in a vehicle
segment dominated by U.S.-based rivals. The chief engineer for the redesigned
Tundra pickup will be based in the United States., a first for Asia's largest
automaker, said Takeshi Uchiyamada, head of Toyota's research and development
programs, in an interview. Toyota also has hired designers from General Motors
Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group to work on its
North American models. "We need an American sense about our
designs that is tuned to American values," Kevin Hunter, vice president of
Toyota's Calty U.S. design effort, said at the opening of a new design center
Friday in Ann Arbor.
Detroit Free Press
5/15/04
OWRS must not overdo
street racesUPDATE
Another reader writes, I know that I am a little behind in responding to this.
I believe that CCWS should keep the classic formula for which tracks/street
courses they should use. I agree with the author of the article and with Paul
Newman that Road/Street/Oval make a better championship. I also agree with you
(Mark) that ovals are extremely dangerous. Why not use the flat ovals (rovals)
like Brazil or Phoenix. Also I would be disappointed if CCWS went to more
street courses. The courses that they are making are getting thinner. Why not
use the street course in Phoenix or Dallas that F1 used during the eighties. Or find cities that have wide streets like Market
Street in San
Francisco. Market Street is three to four lanes wide. Why not incorporate part
of a freeway for a street race. Peter Swanson Dear Peter, Champ
Car may choose to race the flat ovals at Milwaukee, EuroSpeedway and the roval
in Brazil as you suggest, but only if the attendance at those venues can
support a Champ Car race. The OWRS Business Plan does not include
going to venues that are money losers. Their goal is to build huge
events around the globe in markets that can support it. We can tell you
that they have had dialogue with EuroSpeedway and the roval in Rio, but again,
it must make economic and commercial sense. Transforming Champ Car from a
domestic series that occasionally dipped its toe in international waters, into
a true international caliber world championship series will take time and
careful planning. Mark C.5/14/04 - A reader, who
speaks for many, writes, Dear AutoRacing1, I am as staunch a Champ Car
supporter as you will find....BUT, frankly I'm getting physically ill hearing
about all these damn street races they're trying to secure. Do they want to be
a TRUE World Series Championship? Or do we want to spend the year racing
around on Mickey Mouse street circuits all for the "Urban draw"? There are a
zillion awesome ROAD COURSES out there in the world. Why isn't OWRS looking
at those? Racing in a parking lot in Manchester? C'mon!! Rockingham is just
sitting there. The Lausitzring is just sitting there! Could you possibly
imagine what the attendance would be if we secured multi-year deals and raced
there year in and year out? I am a true fan of what Champ Cars was built
on...DIVERSITY!! That includes ovals. Without a few ovals then we're just
another road/street series. Many, many drivers agree with this. They want
anywhere from 5-6 ovals on the schedule. But at this point in time it's not
economically viable to do this. But let's give us at least 2 or three. And NOT
in the U.S.! We do Milwaukee and then we're off to Germany and the Rock. Once
the last shovel of dirt is thrown on the IRHeLL and NASCRAP has peaked, which
I think it already has, then we come back and conquer this country like never
before. I know you don't agree with the "oval thing" but that's what built
this series and that's what will keep it the most challenging series in the
world. Okay..let's forget the oval thing for a minute....what about all these
"appropriate" road courses going unused throughout Europe? Why aren't we going
after them instead of these ridiculous street races? Frankly if OWRS
continues down this path my interest and support will fade. We need more
circuits like Mexico City. Real true road courses. Not racing around friggi'n
parking lots! James M. Shaw Dear James, We could not agree
more. Some of the street circuits Champ Car has attempted to run on in
the past have been absolutely horrible. They need to visit Adelaide, Australia
to see what a proper street circuit should be. We do agree, there are
many great road courses in the world just begging for a F1 or Champ Car race,
but we are not so sure Champ Car is popular enough right now to pull a decent
crowd at, say, Imola, which is a bit remote when compared to a downtown street
race. Manchester, England could be a great course, parking lot or not,
they just need someone to lay out a track that has common sense...or they
should not bother at all. Except Monaco, which is steeped in tradition,
you won't see Bernie Ecclestone agreeing to take F1 to a Mickey Mouse circuit.
As for the ovals, we agree they add diversity and some people hate to let them
go entirely, but we feel the IRL needs to stay focused on their niche (ovals)
and Champ Car on its niche (road and street circuits). This will help to
eliminate much of the fan confusion that now exists and is hurting both
series. Besides, can Champ Car teams afford to buy new cars every time
one smashes an oval track wall? The Europeans tried racing open wheel
cars on ovals decades ago. They declared it ludicrous and stuck to road
racing. Open wheel cars on ovals are strictly an American thing because
of the influence of Indy. If Indy had been a road course, ovals would
have died a century ago in America. They are perfect for NASCAR, but too
costly and too dangerous for open wheel cars. One needs to study the grim
statistics of the IRL, which we have published, to see how dangerous and
costly the ovals are for open wheel cars. Mark C.
5/15/04
Angry Champ Car fans
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1, Paul Newman was quoted as saying "I'll tell
you, I talked to a lot of fans in Long Beach and they are angry. They are
angry at the teams that have deserted Champ Car". I agree. I am more angry,
however, at the oval Champ Carel and T. George's attempts to kill Champ Car.
I have no problem with the IRL being an all oval series. I have no problem
with there being 2 competing series, if the fan base will support it. I
do, however, have a major problem with T. George's attempt to kill a series
which I love and to ruin road racing in America. Can you imagine how
ridiculous it would be to see the "crapwagons" lumber around Mid Ohio?
Ugly, Ugly, Ugly cars. Much like the 24 Hours of Daytona was emasculated by
the crappy Daytona Prototypes, the dumbest race cars ever seen, especially
when compared to the Audi R8. I know I am a bit of a zealot, but since
T. George and gang tried to kill Champ Car, many of my friends who are Champ
Car fans
and I have made it a point to boycott IRL sponsored companies, despite the
fact that I have three friends who drive in the IRL series!
I refuse to shop at Target (no great loss, as it ain't exactly Saks Fifth
Avenue, but I did shop there for household stuff to support the Champ Car
sponsorship--I still have the Vasser toothbrush!); I don't go into 7/11
anymore; I chose not to purchase a new Toyota Truck to haul my shifter kart
around in when my lease on the current Tundra expired. I will not
watch David Letterman's show any more, even though I have enjoyed it in the
past--I'll watch Leno; and finally, I will not attend the US Grand Prix,
choosing instead to fly to Imola so that none of my money supports T. George
or his "league." I would be interested in seeing some kind of poll
or petition from Champ Car supporters who would join a boycott of the IRL's
supporters. Ira Fierberg, Hermosa Beach, CA Dear Ira, Yes,
many Champ Car fans are angry at T. George as are many former IRL fans. As we
have written, the IRL not only alienated Champ Car fans, the also have alienated
the oval track fans that originally supported them because they morphed into
everything Champ Car once was. The IRL's future looks very bleak. They
will fail big time at the road racing venues they are eying, looking 3rd-rate
in the eyes of road racing fans. NASCAR is getting stronger and
stronger in the USA and the IRL's numbers are going down - TV, race attendance
and the size of their grids. The IRL races at many of the same markets
as NASCAR. If you are a sponsor, why would you care about the IRL in
those markets when you have Nextel Cup which gives them far better exposure?
Whether they realize it or not, NASCAR, not Champ Car, is the the IRL's #1
enemy, and eventually NASCAR will steamroll the IRL into oblivion. Come to
think of it, it almost already has, though T. George just hasn't realized it
yet. Mark C.
5/15/04
Cup cars make less HP than
passenger cars Did you know that at restrictor plate tracks
Nextel Cup cars only make 415 HP at the rear wheels? Yes, and that is
less than many passenger cars you can buy off the showroom floor these days.
In fact, in the next few years you will see many more cars having HP numbers
greater than a Nextel Cup car, some as high as 600 HP. Just add the
right tires and springs and these cars will go out and blow away a Nextel Cup
car at Daytona and Talladega and then drive down the street to Acme for some
grocery shopping.
5/15/04
Ex-F1 driver convicted
Former British Formula One driver Jonathan Palmer was found guilty of
negligent homicide for a 1996 car crash, but the seven-month jail sentence was
dropped, news reports said Friday. In the case described in court Thursday,
Palmer overtook another car but crashed head-on with an oncoming vehicle near
Sintra, about 25 kilometres outside Lisbon, the newspaper Publico reported.
The sentence was cancelled by a 1999 amnesty for sentences below 12 months.
AP report
5/15/04
De Ferran glad he walked
away A good interview with Gil de Ferran and his feelings now
that he has retired as an active driver and taken up TV Analyst as a part-time
profession.
More....
5/15/04
Humpy Wheeler comments on
NASCAR schedule Some
interesting quotes from SMI and Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler
in response to Friday’s live SPEED Channel coverage of the NASCAR press
conference. Wheeler was SPEED Channel’s studio guest following announcements
from NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France regarding the 2005 race schedule. He
thinks it's inevitable that NASCAR will race in Mexico, Canada and overseas.
More....
5/15/04
Changes to NASCAR schedule
to affect IRL schedule Changes are coming to the Indy Racing
League's 2005 schedule, some of which became necessary Friday when NASCAR
released its schedule earlier than normal. With NASCAR adding a second
Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway next season, the IRL faces the
potential loss of one of its major races -- the late-season date at TMS. The
new Cup race is Nov. 5.
Also problematic for the IRL is the new spring Cup race at Phoenix
International Raceway. The IRL has traditionally raced there in late March,
and most promoters prefer not to have top-level races that close to one
another. The IRL can't easily move its Phoenix race to the fall because
the track will host another Cup race Nov. 13. "The landscape has been
altered," conceded Ken Ungar, the IRL's senior vice president of business
affairs.
Events are being considered for 2005 at the California tracks of Laguna
Seca and Infineon Raceway (Sears Point). The IRL is interested in
landing a promoter for a street race in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Also new for 2005 will be the loss of Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway, which will
cease operations as a spectator venue at the end of the season, its owner, the
International Speedway Corp., said Friday.
IRL spokesman John Griffin said ISC has promised to retain its inventory of
events -- currently eight of the IRL's 16 races.
IRL officials visited ISC-owned Watkins Glen (N.Y.)
International Raceway, a permanent road course, on May 7 and found the circuit
closer to meeting race specifications than expected. ISC must approve the
improvements before the IRL can move forward with a race.
The IRL also has had discussions with the owners of the Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Complex in Lexington, the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and
Portland (Ore.) International Raceway [All rumored to possibly lose
their Champ Car date if OWRS moves the series more international].
League officials have track visits planned for early next week, although they
would not reveal the itinerary. The IRL's 2005 schedule is expected to be
released in July or August.
The league's goal is to expand the schedule to as many as 21 races in the next
couple of years. Ungar said the loss of the second Texas race is not
definite. He plans to meet with Eddie Gossage, the track's executive vice
president and general manager, when the IRL races there June 10-12. Gossage
said Friday the track and the IRL are going different directions, with the
former getting a second Cup race and the latter adding road course races, but
he didn't rule out a second date.
Indy Star
5/15/04
Patrick Racing announces
associate sponsor Patrick Racing announced today that STACKER
2 will be an associate sponsor for the team during the 2004 Indy Racing League
IndyCar season. STACKER 2, an Ephedra-free dietary supplement, will appear on
the #20 Patrick Racing Chevrolet/Dallara/Firestone car, the firesuit of driver
Al Unser Jr. and crew uniforms beginning with Pole Day qualifying for the 88th
running of the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, May 15, 2004.
“Patrick Racing is pleased that STACKER 2 has decided to expand its
involvement in motor sports by choosing to become an associate sponsor for our
team,” Pat Patrick said. “STACKER 2 is a quality company with experience in
racing sponsorship. We look forward to their involvement for the 2004 IRL
season and hopefully, for many years to come,” he concluded.
5/15/04
Today's Indy 500
qualifying order
Car Driver
52 Ed Carpenter
70 Robby Gordon
11T Tony Kanaan
36T Bruno Junqueira
16 Roger Yasukawa
6 Sam Hornish Jr.
70T Robby Gordon
3 Helio Castroneves
8T Scott Sharp
7 Bryan Herta
8 Scott Sharp
16T Roger Yasukawa
26 Dan Wheldon
10 Darren Manning
41 Larry Foyt
7T Bryan Herta
13 Greg Ray
4T Tomas Scheckter
15T Buddy Rice
6T Sam Hornish Jr.
27T Dario Franchitti
12 Tora Takagi
5 Adrian Fernandez
14 A.J. Foyt IV
20T Al Unser Jr.
25 Marty Roth
26T Dan Wheldon
51T Alex Barron
39T Sarah Fisher
14T A.J. Foyt IV
24 Felipe Giaffone
1 Scott Dixon
12T Tora Takagi
5T Adrian Fernandez
3T Helio Castroneves
51 Alex Barron
10T Darren Manning
27 Dario Franchitti
52T Ed Carpenter
36 Bruno Junqueira
1T Scott Dixon
2 Mark Taylor
15 Buddy Rice
20 Al Unser Jr.
4 Tomas Scheckter
55 Kosuke Matsuura
11 Tony Kanaan
39 Sarah Fisher
55T Kosuke Matsuura
17 Vitor Meira
2T Mark Taylor
24T Felipe Giaffone
5/15/04
Sato on top again
Takuma Sato resumed his place at the top of the timesheets on the final day
at Paul Ricard. For the second successive day the BAR driver held off
McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen who was just a tenth of a second slower than Sato.
Testing times from Paul Ricard
1 Sato BAR 1m10.472s
2 Raikkonen McLaren 1m10.537s
3 Montoya Williams 1m10.769s
4 Montagny Renault 1m11.085s
5 Coulthard McLaren 1m11.163s
6 Pizzonia Williams 1m11.272s
7 Panis Toyota 1m11.815s
8 da Matta Toyota 1m12.045s
9 Glock Jordan 1m13.768s
5/14/04
Homestead Again To Host
NASCAR Finale
For the fourth consecutive year, NASCAR's premier series, the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup, will conclude its season at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the running of
the Ford 400, on Sunday, November 20, 2005, NASCAR officials announced Friday.
This fall, Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the third annual Ford
Championship Weekend, the season-finales for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch and
Craftsman Truck Series, November 18-21, 2004. The 2004 Ford Championship
Weekend will feature the final event of the inaugural Chase for the NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP Championship on the Speedway's state-of-the-art, 20-degree variable
banking. The new championship structure virtually guarantees a multi-car
shootout for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship on an annual basis at
the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"In what is quickly becoming a tradition, we are thrilled that South Florida
will be host to the final race of the season for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
for the fourth consecutive year," said Curtis Gray, President, Homestead-Miami
Speedway. "With some of the world's best racing on the Speedway's 20-degree
variable banking, the location of South Florida in November, and the new Chase
for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship, Ford Championship Weekend continues to
emerge as one of the premier events in all of sports."
5/14/04
BAR Prepares For Monaco
At Paul Ricard
Following last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, in which B·A·R produced a solid
two-car points finish, the team today completed a four-day test at the Paul
Ricard circuit in France. All three drivers took part in the four-day, one-car
test, using chassis 006-02.
The first day's programme (Tuesday) was brought to an early conclusion when
third driver Anthony Davidson trapped a nerve in his back under heavy braking.
He was only 2 laps into the afternoon's running when his back problem arose,
and after being given the all-clear by the doctor at the trackside medical
centre, Anthony visited the local hospital for a precautionary check-up. He is
now receiving physiotherapy treatment and is expected to be fit and well for
his free practice duties next Thursday.
5/14/04
Toyota completes Ricard
tire test
According to this crash.net Article
The Toyota team has completed a four-day tire test at the Paul Ricard HTTT in
the south of France, despite being hampered by poor weather during the week.
Running at the track acknowledged as its 'home' in Europe, the Cologne-based
squad gave each of its three primary drivers - Olivier Panis, Cristiano da
Matta and Ricardo Zonta - the opportunity to evaluate the latest Michelin
offerings, while also preparing their cars for the next three or four races on
the schedule.
Panis ran at the start of the week, using the longer of two circuit options to
prepare his TF104 for the two races that follow next weekend's Monaco Grand
Prix, before switching to the shorter layout to fine-tune his settings for the
tricky principality circuit.
"We had a big Michelin tyre test for the next three races, which all take
place within the next month, so I put in a full four days," the French veteran
reported, "Early in the week, we ran on the long version of the circuit to
prepare for Canada and the Nürburgring but, on Wednesday and Thursday, the
weather hindered our progress, and the results weren't entirely clear.
"On Friday, we ran on the short circuit to prepare for Monaco, and that should
work out quite well. We have to be realistic, though, so I don't expect Monaco
will be our best race of the year."
da Matta joined the session mid-week, completing 177 laps on the short
circuit.
"I put in two days working in preparation for next week's Monaco Grand Prix,"
the Brazilian said, "On Thursday, I worked on suspension and tyre
constructions, but we had a few problems in the morning, before starting to
get some positive results. Then the weather took a turn for the worse later
on! On Friday, the weather was kinder and we had a successful day, completing
the programme successfully even earlier than we expected."
Zonta's programme ended on Wednesday, when he was replaced by da Matta, but
the official test driver still managed to complete a healthy amount of work in
preparation for Nurburgring and Canada.
"We had a very constructive first day, working on tyres, software and other
small parts," he revealed, "I put in nearly 100 laps of the long circuit - a
total of nearly 600km - before a rain shower ended our day early. On
Wednesday, the changeable track conditions caused by intermittent rain made it
impossible to complete our planned programme, but we still put in some mileage
on wet tyres and carried out some work on minor chassis details."
5/14/04
Rain washes out
Indy happenings Off and
on rain showers all day long washed out all practice for
the Indy 500. Today was a critical day for some teams who were
saving today to trim the car out for tomorrow's pole day qualifying.
5/14/04
Fontana race
moving up to 2nd on 2005 schedule
California Speedway’s Auto Club 500 will be the second race on the
2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule, following the season-opening
Daytona 500. The race, which has been the 10th race on the NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series schedule since 1998, will be held on Sunday,
February 27.
NASCAR released its 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule today at
Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.
The speedway’s second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race next year, the
“Finish Under the Lights” Pop Secret 500, will once again be held on
Labor Day Weekend, Sunday, September 4.
“Moving the Auto Club 500 to the second race on the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series schedule opens up tremendous marketing opportunities for
the speedway to build off the momentum of the season-opening Daytona
500,” California Speedway President Bill Miller said. “In addition,
it provides more distance between our two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
events, the largest single-day ticketed sporting events in the
state, providing us more opportunity to prepare for and position the
second race in this marketplace.
“We will build off the foundation established last year with our new
NASCAR-only ticket packages, when the second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series date was announced at California Speedway,” Miller continued.
“The fans in Southern California have shown their passion for NASCAR
racing at California Speedway with eight consecutive sellouts. Our
fans will be ready to welcome the Daytona 500 winner, and all the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stars, with great enthusiasm. The
excitement of the early season date at California Speedway will feed
off the energy created by the Daytona 500, and I look forward to one
of our most enthusiastic crowds ever.”
5/14/04
ALMS names Duncan
Scott Duncan, a veteran motorsports sales executive with a
successful track record, has joined the staff of the American Le
Mans Series in the position of Vice-President, Sales and Marketing.
He will assume his new duties May 19. Duncan, 35, will head
all sales activities for the American Le Mans Series, a professional
sports car racing series based on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In
addition to series sponsors, Duncan will also identify and negotiate
potential event, contingency and team sponsors, as well as
advertisers for television coverage of races, the American Le Mans
Series Radio Web and AmericanLeMans.com, the official website for
the series. Duncan will also work closely with the marketing
and promotional staff of the series to build the American Le Mans
Series brand. "We are very pleased to welcome an individual
with the experience and proven results of Scott Duncan to our team,"
said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American Le Mans
Series. "His contagious energy and enthusiasm will be part of an
entirely new approach to our sales and marketing efforts, and he's
ready to tackle this new challenge head-on."
"I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the American Le Mans Series,
which I feel is one of the best opportunities in motorsports," said
Duncan. "The entire organization is a fantastic 'one stop' marketing
opportunity, and I look forward to contributing to the continued
growth."
5/14/04
Dominguez lands Telcel
sponsorshipUPDATE
Correction: Telcel IS NOT competitor of Telmex but its sister mobile
telephone company. Telcel is Mexico's largest cell phone company.
5/13/04 - According to this Mexican newspaper
article, Mario Dominguez has landed Telcel as a sponsor.
Telcel is a leading phone company in Mexico and competes with Telmex, which is
co-sponsor of both Mexico Champ Car races.
5/14/04
Bristol Announces 2005
Schedule
Bristol Motor Speedway and NASCAR, today, officially announced the Speedway’s
2005 race dates. Bristol will host both of NASCAR’s top touring series the
first weekend in April and all three top NASCAR touring series the final
weekend in August. Because Easter falls on the final March weekend in 2005,
Bristol’s annual spring race weekend returns to the month of April for the
first time since 1999 when Rusty Wallace grabbed his 50th career victory.
The 2005 BMS season opens with Charter Pole Day on Friday, April 1, featuring
NASCAR Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series practice and qualifying for the weekend’s
races. On Saturday, April 2, fans can watch final NEXTEL Cup series practice,
as well as 250 laps of action in the Sharpie Professional 250 NASCAR Busch
Series event. The Food City 500 caps off the weekend on Sunday, April 3.
“NASCAR’S Most Popular Race,” the Sharpie 500 runs under the lights on
Saturday, August 27. The O’Reilly 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event will
run Wednesday, August 24, and the Food City 250 NASCAR Busch Series race will
run Friday, August 26.
“In a year of change on the NASCAR schedule, I know that fans are happy that
Bristol keeps its traditional dates,” said Jeff Byrd, president, Bristol Motor
Speedway. “These two weekends impact many events in Northeast Tennessee and
Southwest Virginia, and almost every resident. We thank NASCAR for releasing
its 2005 schedule this early so that our fans and our community can make plans
now for next year.”
5/14/04
Major ISC Announcements
International Speedway Corporation today announced the following: The Company
will acquire the assets of Martinsville Speedway, which hosts two NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series events annually, for $192 million. The acquisition will be
funded by $100.4 million in proceeds from the sale of the assets of North
Carolina Speedway (“North Carolina”), which currently hosts one NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup event annually, and $91.6 million in cash.
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (“SMI”) will purchase North Carolina for $100.4
million, as per the terms of a settlement agreement in the Ferko/Vaughn
litigation filed with the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas, Sherman Division. The Settlement Agreement releases ISC and
NASCAR from all claims related to the litigation. The released claims include,
but are not limited to, allegations or assertions with respect to the awarding
and/or sanctioning of races, the effect of the common control of NASCAR and
ISC residing in the France Family Group, and the market power either
individually or jointly of NASCAR and ISC.
Separately, the Company received NASCAR’s approval for the realignment of
several NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races within its portfolio beginning in 2005. The
net result is the addition of a second Cup event for Phoenix International
Raceway and the reduction of Darlington Raceway’s event schedule by one Cup
date. ISC also intends for Nazareth Speedway’s NASCAR Busch and IRL IndyCar
events to be realigned to other facilities within its portfolio and will cease
major motorsport event operations at the facility after completion of the
track’s 2004 events.
The acquisition of Martinsville and the sale of North Carolina will happen in
a series of transactions that will essentially occur simultaneously.
Martinsville is privately owned, and the France family, which controls in
excess of 60% of the combined voting interest of ISC, indirectly owns 50% of
Martinsville. The addition of an incremental NASCAR NEXTEL Cup date resulting
from the Transactions was integral to the Company’s decision to settle the
Ferko/Vaughn litigation through the sale of North Carolina. “Martinsville has
a long and rich tradition of world-class racing since its inception in 1947
and will be a prized addition to ISC,” stated Lesa France Kennedy, President
of ISC. “With Martinsville, we add two successful NEXTEL Cup events that have
sold out annually for over a decade, which is a testament to the commitment
and hard work of Clay Campbell and his team. We believe we can help build upon
their successes through our expertise and strong relationships with corporate
partners. The facility, which has made significant capital improvements over
the past several years, affords us expansion opportunities such as seat and
suite additions, as well as increased revenue opportunities from additional
corporate spending. Martinsville has a passionate and devoted fan base, and we
will continue to offer these customers a premium race experience. We are
pleased to welcome Martinsville to the ISC family and look forward to a
successful future with Clay and the rest of the outstanding employees at
Martinsville.”
Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, SMI will purchase North Carolina
for $100.4 million in cash. The sale of North Carolina is expected to close
following the satisfaction of conditions as provided in the North Carolina
Asset Purchase Agreement and the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement
Agreement is subject to Court approval, which the Company anticipates
receiving within the next 30 to 45 days. Ms. France Kennedy commented, “We
have always viewed Martinsville as a uniquely attractive asset, and, while it
is disappointing for us to part with North Carolina, the long-term strategic
and financial rationale for the Transactions is clear. We believe the lawsuit
is without merit, the likelihood of a material adverse outcome would have been
remote, and we would have ultimately prevailed in the litigation. However, the
Transactions created the opportunity for us to gain an incremental Cup date
for our portfolio and settle the lawsuit. Furthermore, the Transactions will
be immediately accretive and are consistent with our long-term strategy of
growing our portfolio of high-quality tracks and major race dates. We can now
focus all of our time and resources on enhancing value for our shareholders.”
The purchase prices for the assets of both facilities are subject to certain
non-material adjustments and prorations at closing, and both are expected to
close within the next 30 to 45 days in ISC’s third quarter. ISC expects to
record an approximate $36 million after-tax gain, or $0.68 per diluted share,
from the sale of North Carolina and will reflect the facility’s operations as
discontinued in the Company’s financial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
Significant Realignment Initiatives Announced for 2005
NASCAR has approved ISC’s proposal for the realignment of several NEXTEL Cup
dates, including races at Phoenix, Darlington and California Speedway. Phoenix
will host an additional NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event, Darlington will now conduct
one NEXTEL Cup race, and California’s Spring NEXTEL Cup weekend will move to
the week after the Daytona 500 in February. The race date realignment is
expected to result in a positive incremental impact to the Company’s revenue
and earnings beginning in 2005.
“The second Cup date in Phoenix strengthens our national presence and raises
our value to our marketing and broadcast partners, providing another
opportunity for them to access this key market,” commented John R. Saunders,
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ISC. “In addition,
race fans in the Southwest will have another opportunity to experience the
excitement of live NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing. We will install lighting at
Phoenix in order for the facility’s 2005 spring race to finish under the
lights during east coast prime time, typically a time of day with larger
television audiences.”
5/14/04
Fellows gasses up his
karting series According to this Slam Motorsports
Article Ron Fellows has signed a deal with Sunoco that will see his
karting championship series funded by the gasoline retailing giant through
2007. Fellows, a three-time defending champion in the American Le Mans Series
GTS class, said yesterday the grassroots program has succeeded beyond even his
own expectations.
"Karting lays the foundation for youngsters who hope to have a career in auto
racing," the Toronto driver said. "It has come a long way from the time I was
in a kart." Fellows said the fact that Canada produces world-class race
drivers way beyond the kinds of numbers in other nations proves that
programs such as the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship do work. "What it
provides is inexpensive, close competition, developing all aspects of what it
takes to be a race car driver," he said.
The Fellows series started in 2002 and has grown into one of the best venues
for grassroots racing in North America. "It makes me enormously proud to see
the change in the performance and presentation of teams and drivers who have
come through the series," Fellows said. The series runs from May through
September and involves six race weekends and six racetracks. In its first year
the series had just four classes of drivers. This season there will be 10
classes ranging from the seven horsepower Canada Junior class to the 40
horsepower Formula Senior class.
Fellows takes an active role in running the series. "It's great to be out
there seeing these kids develop," he said. "Each year we pick our top three
graduates and, with the help of Sunoco, fund them fully for a year in the
Bridgestone/Formula Car F2000 series."One of the Fellows graduates -- Alison
McLeod of Mississauga -- has been picked by the Ford Motor Company to follow a
path designed to bring young women into the NASCAR Nextel Cup series.
5/14/04
Toyota Atlantic PR
Manager resigns Effective today, Nate Siebens, PR Manager
for the Toyota Atlantic series, has resigned to take another PR
position in the motorsports industry, which we should be hearing
about soon. We hear he is moving to the Grand-Am series to
work with former Champ Car PR Director Adam Saal.
5/14/04
Nazareth Speedway to
Discontinue Operations in 2005
Earlier today our parent company, International Speedway Corporation,
announced that it intends to realign Nazareth Speedway's NASCAR Busch and IRL
IndyCar series events and will discontinue all spectator motorsports events at
the end of the 2004 season.
"As President of Nazareth Speedway since 2000, I have strong personal ties
with the surrounding communities. And, while we've been able to do some great
things at the speedway, we haven't been able to achieve the level of support
that is necessary to grow our business. I would like to recognize some local
companies that have been wonderful partners of Nazareth Speedway over the
years, including Air Products, Key Pontiac, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Martin
Guitar, Pepsi and Service Electric. We certainly appreciate their endless
support and for standing behind us over the years. Each of these companies is
truly a leader in the Lehigh Valley business community. In addition, I would
like to extend a special thank you to our other partners - Firestone, Goulds
Pumps ITT Industries and General Motors - for being a part of the Nazareth
Speedway family."
"Finally, I would like to thank the group of loyal fans that have stuck by
Nazareth Speedway through the years as events have come and gone, through the
snow and the sunshine. I hope that we will see you out at the Speedway for our
two events in 2004, which will continue as planned - the NASCAR Busch Series
Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200 on May 22-23 and the Firestone Indy 225 IRL
IndyCar Series weekend, August 27-29." Craig
Rust/Nazareth
5/14/04
LVMS NASCAR dates moving
to second weekend in March for 2005
Nevada’s largest annual sports weekend has a new date for 2005. Las Vegas
Motor Speedway’s NASCAR Weekend is scheduled for March 11-13, 2005, a week
later than in recent years. Again in 2005, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 is
scheduled to be the third stop on the NASCAR Nextel Cup tour. The 2005 event
will mark the eighth visit of NASCAR’s most elite series to Las Vegas’s
1.5-mile superspeedway. The Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series event will
precede the NASCAR Nextel Cup event on Saturday, March 12. Qualifying for both
races will be held Friday, March 11.
5/14/04
Texas Receives Two NASCAR
Nextel Cup Races For 2005
NASCAR today announced the NASCAR NEXTEL CUP Series schedule for 2005. Texas
Motor Speedway will host two events next season. In 2005, fans will be able to
see the stars of the Nextel Cup Series in the speedway’s traditional spring
race, the Samsung/RadioShack 500 on April 17, and at the new fall event, the
Lone Star 500 on November 6.
“This is a day our fans have dreamed about for eight years,” said speedway
president Eddie Gossage. “We appreciate the leadership of Brian France and are
excited about working with NASCAR in building this new race into another
marquee event on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule.” Gossage also
announced the addition of a NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series event to
the Texas schedule as part of the Lone Star 500 weekend. The Truck Series race
will be on Friday night, Nov. 4 with the Busch Series race on Saturday, Nov.
5.
“It’s going to be a tripleheader NASCAR weekend,” said Gossage. “This is
going to be a huge weekend for racing and we know the fans are going to love
it.” Gossage was also pleased the Samsung/RadioShack 500 was moving back two
weekends later in April. “Moving back two weeks takes us off the Final Four
weekend and also away from the switch to Daylight Savings Time,” said Gossage.
“This is another plus for our fans."
5/14/04
New Champ Car series
leader brings changes According
to this Statesman Journal article,
The Champ Car World Series has gone a different way with its newest leader.
Former presidents Andrew Craig and Bobby Rahal had racing backgrounds. Chris
Pook is a promoter by trade. New president Dick Eidswick is a venture
capitalist by trade with no racing background. He is a native of Ashland and a
1954 graduate of Ashland High School. Eidswick was at Portland International
Raceway on Wednesday as part of the promotion for the Champ Car Grand Prix of
Portland on June 18-20.
When the partners of Open Wheel Racing Series — fellow venture capitalist
Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi — were in negotiations to
buy the assets of Championship Auto Racing Teams, Eidswick was tapped to help
in the process. “The three owners wanted somebody to come in and run it who
had experience running a company and had experience with difficulty, with
trouble,” Eidswick said. “Unfortunately or fortunately in my life I’ve had a
lot of experience with both.”
His lack of racing background — Eidswick attended a few races in Southern
Oregon growing up, but wasn’t a fan — has been an asset for a series trying to
get on strong financial footing. “My business background has helped to resolve
a number of issues that were created during that difficult period and taking a
look forward at the financial controls that you need in an effort like this,”
Eidswick. “In a sense, it’s an exciting business, auto racing, but it is a
business and it has to be conducted like a business with forecasts and budgets
and plans that extend beyond just the near term.”
Already, the Champ Car World Series has put itself in a better financial
position. Last year, more than half of the races were promoted by Champ Car, the
series was paying for television coverage and heavily subsidizing all of its
teams. This year, only a few races — including the one at Portland — are being
promoted by the series, but that could change.
“We wanted to lay out certain venues that were important to Champ Car and in a
case where we couldn’t find an appropriate promoter in those markets, we
decided we have to promote it ourselves,” Eidswick said. “Where we have a
promoter that steps forward, we would certainly entertain that. It’s whatever
is in the best interest of the series in accordance with its long-term plan.”
The series has a full field of cars — 18 at the season-opening race at Long
Beach — though there is skepticism about the dreaded “Field Fillers.” Still,
on the business side, Champ Car is already on better footing than it has been
in the past.
5/14/04
TAG Heuer Partners With
Chip Ganassi TAG Heuer, the
fourth largest luxury watch brand worldwide and the leader in professional
sports watches and high-speed timekeeping, is further solidifying its
relationship with professional motor racing with the signing of the Chip
Ganassi Racing team for official timekeeping and public relations activities.
The agreement gives TAG Heuer exclusive status as Official Timekeeper,
Official Watch and Chronograph, and Official Partner of legendary Chip Ganassi
Racing for Indy League Racing/IndyCar (IRL), Grand-Am, and NASCAR racing
events.
“The addition of Chip Ganassi Racing to our roster of professional auto racing
partners is a tremendous plus for TAG Heuer,” says Jean-Christophe Babin, TAG
Heuer’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Chip Ganassi’s stellar track
record of picking winning drivers who are superb competitors has led his
organization to be one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of
sports. Ganassi is to IndyCar what Ferrari is to Formula 1. With Indianapolis
500, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nextel Cup, and other major wins on their tally
sheet, the team’s commitment to excellence and performance is a perfect match
for TAG Heuer’s parallel commitment to excellence and performance in precision
timekeeping. This partnership will allow our watchmakers to test our
timepieces in extreme conditions – in particular in terms of G-force, dictated
by the very high speed and unique kinetics of oval speedways.”
“Our new partnership with TAG Heuer comes at a very exciting time for the
team, as we gear up for what could well be our best season ever,” says Chip
Ganassi. “TAG Heuer’s contributions to the art of watch making and science of
timekeeping have raised the bar for the sport of motor racing, and to have our
team associated with that high level of quality and precision is a winning
combination.”
In addition to branding, advertising, and promotional opportunities, the
partnership between TAG Heuer and Chip Ganassi Racing will include
point-of-sale distribution of a special die-cast Target Ganassi IndyCar at TAG
Heuer retailers, and providing Chip Ganassi Racing drivers and staff with TAG
Heuer timepieces in all their racing activities. TAG Heuer ambassador and
IndyCar 2003 Champion, Scott Dixon, is driving in 2004 for Target Ganassi
Racing Team together with Darren Manning.
5/14/04
New IRL engines
lack torque
This ESPN
article talks about the lack of torque in the new smaller
rev limited IRL engines. If and when they try to go road
racing with this engine they will find them to be quite slow
compared to a Champ Car which generates more HP and more torque
thanks to its turbo.
5/14/04
Dangerous Curves
goes international
One of the highlights of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car
World Series Powered by Ford is in its international flavor and this
week’s edition of Spike TV’s Dangerous Curves will take fans south
of the border to Mexico. No Mexican driver to date has won a race in
Mexico, but after Mario Dominguez’ (#55 Herdez
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) drive resulted with a podium finish
last season on home soil in Mexico City he became an icon, and host
Bronte Tagliani will be visiting Dominguez as he shows Spike TV
viewers his lifestyle in one of the largest cities of the world.
Dangerous Curves will also feature a piece on the DAGs (Data
Acquisition Guys) of the individual teams, focusing on the
Rocketsports duo that service the cars of Alex Tagliani (#8 Johnson
Controls Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Nelson Philippe (#17
LeasePlan Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone). This episode, which will
air Sunday afternoon at 1:30 Eastern Time and is replayed at 12
a.m., also takes a moment to look back at last year’s race in
Monterrey, Mexico and will give a sneak preview to next week’s
Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix. Dangerous Curves will then step
into pit lane, with an inside look for Champ Car fans to understand
the anatomy of a pit stop. Drivers will be interviewed during this
segment as they discuss the importance of their crew doing this
critical work.
5/14/04
IRL tidbits
Team owner Morris Nunn said Thursday that unless somebody comes
forward with financing for a second car, Tora Takagi will be his
only Indy 500 entry. "We have the cars and we have the capability to
run another car, but it's expensive. We need some financial help,"
he said. "I don't want to put a car in there just for the sake of
putting it there." . . . Once he settled on his decision to start an
IRL team, Pat Patrick said picking the driver was easy. He wanted
42-year-old Al Unser Jr. "because I think he feels like he has to
prove himself again." . . . Former Team Green owner Barry Green, who
sold the operation to brother Kim and Michael Andretti in December
2002, paid a brief visit to the garage Thursday. He said he spent
the winter cruising the Caribbean on his boat and has been working
on his golf game. "I don't miss all the worrying that goes with
owning a race team," he said, "but I miss being a part of it." . . .
Owner Greg Beck said Thursday that he still doesn't have a deal with
former Indy winner Buddy Lazier. Indy Star
5/14/04
Many IRL drivers
can't deal with cars now [Editor's Note:
Spoiled by years of 100% throttle high down force cars, the IRL
drivers actually have to drive the car now with the new aero rules
in the IRL and they are finding themselves in the wall or spinning.
The less talented ones just simply drive slow. If race day is
a bit windy look for a lot of wrecked race cars.] From the
Indy Star: Scott Sharp wasn't the only one to hit the SAFER
barrier Thursday. Race rookie Darren Manning slapped it exiting the
same turn, producing a rubber stripe of about 10 feet. Manning, who
drives for Ganassi Racing, downplayed the significance of his
contact, but he also realized it was his second such touch in less
than a month. He brushed the wall during the Indy Racing League's
open test last month at the Speedway. Manning blamed the first
incident on the wind; this one was a result of going too fast on his
first full lap out of the pits, he said. Teammate Scott Dixon told
him the cars are more difficult to drive this year with the rule
changes, and Manning believes it. "They've taken the cars out of the
sweet spot," he said. "The first year (here) I would have liked a
little more of a break. This is harder than I expected."
5/14/04
Greg Ray reader feedback
Greg Ray’s plight highlights how far Tony G. the IRL and company have
departed from the founding principals of the IRL. This painful search for $
confirms how the IRL might as well be Champ Car 10 years ago. Racing is expensive
and big budget teams will always dominate and small budget teams will
struggle. Good try Tony, but your misleading of the fans based on an all
American, “lower budget” formula has proven you wrong once again. Your desire
for control and ultimate ego driven approach has ruined open wheel racing in
the US. Good luck Greg! Bruce Guthrie Santa Monica, CA
Another writes, I am not surprised that this team is in this position. They
have an organization that is put together of guys who want to race and only
worry about the business side of things when the time comes. I have dealt with
these guys before and they are just having their day. Greg Ray has to stop
worrying about suing people like Foyt and Trim Spa and work for his money just
like everyone else does in racing. I personally think the IRL and HONDA would
be much better off without this team. Please keep me unknown
Unser Sr. to be honored by
Coast Guard Four-time
Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Sr. will be presented with the Coast Guard
Meritorious Public Service Award on May 19 in Washington, D.C. The ceremony,
which will also honor five Congressmen, will take place at the Rayburn House
Office Building.
Unser has volunteered his time and services to assist the United States Coast
Guard in its national boating safety program and its objective of increasing
public awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning hazards.
Unser, who now serves as a driver coach and consultant for the Indy Racing
League, nearly fell victim to carbon monoxide poisoning while boating on
Arizona's Lake Powell in 1995.
After a windstorm, the anchor line got wrapped around the propeller of the
right engine of Unser's boat. Unser left the light plant running while he dove
underneath the water to try and free the line from the propeller.
"There's an airspace, and I would come up and get a breath of air and go back
down to get the prop loose, but I was breathing actually 100 percent carbon
monoxide," Unser said. "It was in a pocket in back of the boat, and the air
can't escape. Instead of just a little bit that you could take, I was
breathing 100 percent.
"I never lost consciousness, but I couldn't walk. I couldn't get up. They had
to pull me back up. I should have died. It was that bad."
After being hospitalized and given oxygen for several hours, Unser recovered.
"There are so many people that die every year from it," Unser said. "They're
trying to prevent that from happening, and keep kids and people from the back
of the boat, diving and playing when the engines are running. They don't even
know that there's carbon monoxide gas back there. They have no idea. Pretty
soon you lose your senses, your equilibrium, and you drown."
Recreational boaters can be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning both inside
and outside of the boat due to gasses produced by engines and generators.
Unser's partnership with the Coast Guard has helped educate more than 20
million people about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning while boating.
In addition to his work with the Coast Guard, Unser remains active in
autoracing as a driver coach and consultant with the Indy Racing League.
5/13/04
Audi builds new R9
prototype for LeMans Audi will build the successor to its
all-conquering R8 prototype in readiness for a factory return to the Le Mans
24 Hour. Work on the new car being designed to the new-for-2004 prototype
regulations was put on ice during the second half of last year when Audi
pushed the green light on its DTM program. Now, the German manufacturer’s
sports boss, Wolfgang Ullrich, has revealed the car will definitely be built
and, most likely, raced. “We decided more than one year ago to design this
car, and we will build it,” Ullrich said. “The only question is when we will
run it.” Audi has not revealed the stage at which work on the car, codenamed
R9, has reached. A mockup of the monocoque is finished, suggesting the design
is more or less complete. Ullrich has not put a timeframe on the project. He
said it was Audi’s intention to have a continuous presence at Le Mans and in
sports car racing.
Autoweek
5/13/04
New ALMS team formed
The GT class of the American Le Mans Series has grown with the formation of
SpeedQuest Racing, a new team that will make its debut in American Le Mans at
Mid-Ohio, the next round of the professional sports car racing series June
25-27 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The team, co-owned by
Eric Burch and Romeo Kapudija, will campaign a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 RS
machines in the Mid-Ohio event, with tentative plans to run all of the
remaining eight races on the 2004 ALMS schedule. Kapudija, from Lincolnwood,
Ill., and veteran ALMS driver Shane Lewis of Jupiter, Fla., will co-drive one
of the cars at Mid-Ohio, while the other will be shared by open-wheel racer
and ALMS newcomer Chris Green of Montreal, Canada, and a second driver to be
named. Burch said that Green, 20, "in our estimation is certain to be one of
the future stars of this sport. He has accomplished a great deal in his young
career and is looking forward to his rookie season in the ALMS." The team will
carry the logos of Hazardous Sports, a line of motorsports-related sportswear,
and Hazardous will market its products through the race team at ALMS events.
Burch, who is serving as Team Director, and Kapudija have acquired many of the
assets of Zip Racing, a team that competed in the American Le Mans Series in
2003. In addition to the two race cars, the new team also acquired pit and
shop equipment and will use the Zip Racing transporter. SpeedQuest Racing will
operate out of a state-of-the-art shop in Chicago that was formerly used by a
Champ Car team.
5/13/04
Greg Ray statement
Comments from GREG RAY, driver/owner #13, pertaining to Access Motorsports and
its participation in this year’s Indy 500, as well as the remainder of the IRL
IndyCar Series season:
More.....
5/13/04
Scott Sharp hits wall hard
at Indy Right at the end of practice (5:53 p.m.) #8 Sharp did
a quarter-spin and made hard contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1 with the
rear of the car. Sharp climbed from the car without assistance from the Delphi
IRL Safety Team.
5/13/04
Notes from Indy
Not much that's exciting to report here from Indy. It's deader than we
have ever seen it. Absolutely no buzz in town at all about the race.
As we reported Greg Ray hasn't shown up. We are beginning to think he won't
have the money to make the trip. Word here is he hasn't paid his engine bill
to Ilmor (rumor -- not a known fact -- but sounds logical). We're
hearing he owes between $350,000 - 400,000 for the engines used to date.
He didn't run at the IRL Spring Training but he came to the track and watched
from pit lane. We talked to him there at the end of Jan. He told us he was
getting a late start and would be OK for the first race. He raced at
Homestead, Phoenix and Japan. If you consider Toyota is offering a two race
engine package for someone trying to get in the 500 in an abbreviated program
for $150,000, including technical support, that bill Greg owes sounds about
right. The Toyota deal was for practice, qualifying and the second engine for
carb day and the race. That's about 1000 miles total for both engines so it
probably won't be asked for until the second weekend when the last minute
deals are done. There wasn't a rebuild in that program so 1000 miles would be
the total which could be done easily since it's not like a driver has to worry
about being bumped out of the field here.......Yesterday Ed Carpenter did the
most laps in one day with 287 laps......We don't expect to see Tony George
digging in his pockets to help anyone but we could be wrong. There could be
some last minute deals but Tony isn't giving out the money like he used
to......We think Greg Ray filed suit against AJ Foyt to get the money, perhaps
from a settlement, to run the team. He's an optimist if he thinks he'd
get it that fast. Maybe he thought Tony would step in and be the peacemaker
with funding. We could see AJ asking Tony to make the situation go
away.....We hear Honda won't be supplying any additional drivers with engines.
They've done their part with 11. When we asked about the situation with Greg
Ray, and if there was a chance if he won't be competing could the engines be
made available to another driver, we were told it is possible those engines
will be reassigned but our source didn't know for sure. Guess Greg still has
next week to show up. Greg put out a press release that says all the right
things but said he's trying to run the whole season, not just Indy.......Memo
Gidley is walking around hoping to get a ride. Not too many teams with extra
cars to run. Max Papis is here and we could see Ganassi running a third car
with him since Max drives for him in Grand-Am. Haven't seen Luis Diaz
but we think he has a Grand Am race at Mont Le Blanc the second weekend which
would mean he has to qualify the first weekend. Since he hasn't shown up yet,
count him out........Also here is Jimmy Kite, Buddy and Jaques Lazier, PJ
Jones (don't know if he is actually looking for a ride but maybe that is why
he is here)......Patrick Racing cancelled their press conference scheduled for
Friday morning. We asked why but it seems they didn't give a reason.
Their driver Al Jr. finished 23rd in practice on Wed., which was actually 21st
when you take out the T cars. He ranked 20th today in the short 3 hrs or so
they ran interrupted by a couple of long, long yellows for debris. It rained
this morning and they ran from 3 - 6 pm in cooler temps.....Oh, and now Team
Penske is having a 10 AM press conference on Friday. Maybe it wasn't Patrick's
idea to cancel the conference, but at Roger's request. We've seen Pat
Patrick here but not Carl Haas during practice.
5/13/04
Castroneves fastest on
rain abbreviated day
Helio Castroneves became the first driver to top the speed chart for the
second time as he led the fifth day of practice for the Indianapolis 500.
Castroneves turned a lap of 221.156 mph in his No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske
Dallara/Toyota/Firestone late in Happy Hour to take the top spot from
Rahal-Letterman Racing's Roger Yasukawa. "Unfortunately, I did have a draft,"
Castroneves said. "Today it seems the speeds came down slightly because of the
rain. The track was cooler. That means we have more drag, so we were slower
down the straight. It might be easier going through the corners, but on the
straights, we were just a little bit slower. It was important to test today to
have a little bit of an understanding of going from the hot weather to not so
hot." Yasukawa posted a fast lap of 221.093 in his No. 16 Rahal-Letterman
Sammy Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone. Castroneves' teammate, Sam Hornish Jr.,
was third-fastest at 220.956 mph in his No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske
Dallara/Toyota/Firestone entry. Practice was delayed more than four hours by
rain, then ended early when Scott Sharp spun and hit the SAFER Barrier in the
short chute between Turns 1 and 2. Sharp was uninjured in the incident. Pos Driver Diff Time Speed Lap C/E/T Status
1 Helio Castroneves (3) 40.6952 221.156 39 D/T/F Pit
2 Roger Yasukawa (16) 0.0116 40.7068 221.093 27 G/H/F Pit
3 Sam Hornish Jr. (6) 0.0368 40.7320 220.956 45 D/T/F Pit
4 Buddy Rice (15) 0.0697 40.7649 220.778 11 G/H/F Pit
5 Tony Kanaan (11) 0.0780 40.7732 220.733 17 D/H/F Pit
6 Vitor Meira (17) 0.0905 40.7857 220.666 28 G/H/F Pit
7 Kosuke Matsuura (55T) 0.0941 40.7893 220.646 39 G/H/F Pit
8 Adrian Fernandez (5T) 0.0973 40.7925 220.629 12 G/H/F Pit
9 Tomas Scheckter (4T) 0.1527 40.8479 220.330 17 D/C/F Pit
10 Adrian Fernandez (5) 0.1694 40.8646 220.240 11 G/H/F Pit
11 Dario Franchitti (27) 0.2140 40.9092 219.999 23 D/H/F Pit
12 Bryan Herta (7) 0.2357 40.9309 219.883 30 D/H/F Pit
13 Mark Taylor (2T) 0.2949 40.9901 219.565 12 D/C/F Pit
14 Darren Manning (1T) 0.3036 40.9988 219.519 22 G/T/F Pit
15 Alex Barron (51) 0.4058 41.1010 218.973 14 D/C/F Pit
16 Alex Barron (51T) 0.4149 41.1101 218.924 12 D/C/F Pit
17 Felipe Giaffone (24) 0.4806 41.1758 218.575 23 D/C/F Pit
18 Ed Carpenter (52T) 0.5375 41.2327 218.273 19 D/C/F Pit
19 Al Unser Jr. (20) 0.5969 41.2921 217.959 41 D/C/F Pit
20 Bruno Junqueira (36) 0.6010 41.2962 217.938 22 G/H/F Pit
21 Scott Sharp (8) 0.7445 41.4397 217.183 35 D/T/F Pit
22 Dario Franchitti (27T) 0.8423 41.5375 216.672 7 D/H/F Pit
23 Tora Takagi (12) 0.8471 41.5423 216.647 17 D/T/F Pit
24 A.J. Foyt IV (14) 0.9689 41.6641 216.013 43 D/T/F Pit
25 Larry Foyt (41) 1.2247 41.9199 214.695 30 G/T/F Pit
26 Tora Takagi (12T) 1.3523 42.0475 214.044 26 D/T/F Pit
27 Marty Roth (25) 2.0737 42.7689 210.433 23 D/T/F Pit
28 Sarah Fisher (39) 2.4357 43.1309 208.667 6 D/T/F Pit
29 Dan Wheldon (26T) 3.4192 44.1144 204.015 1 D/H/F Pit
30 Kosuke Matsuura (55) 29.5502 70.2454 128.122 1 G/H/F Pit
5/13/04
Special Qualifying Format To Be Used For Tecate/Telmex Monterrey
GrandPrix In the ongoing
quest to provide the best racing for its millions of fans around the world,
the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford is
implementing a new qualifying procedure for next week’s Tecate/Telmex
Monterrey Grand Prix, a format that guarantees that fans watching both at
Fundidora Park and on television will have non-stop action every time that the
Champ Cars are on track.
The special format will continue to feature sessions on Friday and Saturday,
with championship points up for grabs on each of the two days. The idea behind
the new format is to avoid periods of inactivity during Champ Car qualifying
sessions and provide more action for the fans.
Drivers will be split into two groups determined by a random draw for Friday’s
session with each group running for 15 minutes with a guaranteed 10 minutes of
green flag action with no lap limitations on the drivers. After the two
15-minute sessions, the fastest five drivers in each session will move on to a
final 15-minute segment to battle for the day’s championship point.
All previous times will be erased, with the times in the final session setting
the top-10 grid positions for first-day qualifying. The rest of the field
would be set provisionally by using the first-session times. The leader of the
final Friday session would receive a championship point, but would not be
guaranteed a front-row starting spot as was the case last season. The driver
will however, be guaranteed a spot in the final Pole Shootout session on
Saturday.
Saturday will see a different format again, with all 18 drivers participating
in a 30-minute session with 20 minutes of guaranteed green flag time. There
will again be no limit on the number of laps that a driver may run during the
30-minute session. The top nine drivers plus the fastest driver from Friday –
or the fastest 10 from the first session if the Friday leader is among them –
will then participate in a Pole Shootout, in which each driver will get seven
laps to attempt to earn the pole. As is the case on Friday, all drivers in the
Pole Shootout will have their times erased and will have their final
qualifying positions determined by those seven laps.
Final grid positions 11-18 will be set using the times from the first Saturday
session, with the top 10 coming from the second session times. The penalties
for causing a red flag will be slightly modified, as the driver that causes a
red flag in qualifying will still lose his fastest lap but will not have to
serve an additional time penalty.
“We are constantly looking for ways to make our racing more exciting for the
many fans that show up at Champ Car races,” said Senior Vice-President of
Operations John Lopes. “We believe that this new format will provide intense,
hard-fought action for our fans and create drama during both of the two days
of qualifying. We are especially excited to try this new format for the
benefit of our Mexican fans that come out and support Champ Car so strongly.”
5/13/04
No IRL road course
tests yetUPDATE Mr. Nation is
correct, as far as I know, in stating that the IRL did not give away
any tickets to the race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. What he
left out was the fact that Marlboro and the Homestead-Miami Speedway
both gave out large number of tickets. I still have tickets that
were given to me by both Marlboro and HMS that I couldn't even give
away! Marlboro even sent tickets to my wife and she is
not even a smoker. My contacts at the Speedway tell me that Marlboro
purchased (at a discount rate) 25,000 tickets from the Speedway for
the IRL race and HMS gave out about 5,000 themselves around town.
Also each Toyota dealer in south Florida received a large amount of
tickets. They ran a promotion in which anyone who test drove a
Toyota would receive a pair of tickets. This promotion ran for about
2 weeks before the IRL race at HMS. Name Withheld by
Request5/13/04 - IRL spokesman Fred Nation disputes two items in recent stories: Nation
said a contention that IRL attendance Feb. 29 at Homestead, Fla.,
was "fewer than 20,000 with perhaps 4,000 paid" was false. "It was
closer to 30,000, and we didn't give any tickets away," Nation said.
Nation also said driver Paul Tracy's comment that the IRL has tested
at Mid-Ohio and was "four seconds slower than an Atlantic car" was
false. Nation said the IRL has not yet conducted road course
testing. Source: Portland Oregonian
article
5/13/04
New Honda engine
propels Sato to top at Paul Ricard
BAR's Takuma Sato has told autosport.com that he's delighted with
the power from Honda's new Canada-spec powerplant after topping the
third day of testing at Paul Ricard in southern France on Thursday. Pos Driver Chassis-engine Tires Time Laps
1 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda M 1m10.830s 107
2 Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m11.130s 39
3 Franck Montagny Renault M 1m11.437s 93
4 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 1m11.446s 64
5 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m11.632s 63
6 Cristiano da Matta Toyota M 1m11.843s 74
7 Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m12.628s 89
8 Olivier Panis Toyota M 1m13.391s 52
9 Giorgio Pantano Jordan B 1m13.500 75
5/13/04
Champ Car owners
are not sure of Portland's future This Portland
Oregonian
article says, The Champ Car World Series is spending between
$2 million and $3 million to put on a successful race here June 20.
But it doesn't know what Portland's response will be. It could
see a collective yawn and thousands of empty seats at Portland
International Raceway. Or perhaps a solid crowd of 70,000 or 80,000
fans will buy tickets to watch the likes of Paul Tracy, Bruno
Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais race on the West Delta Park road
course?
With 39 days to go and still no major sponsorship announcements,
Champ Car might have reason to re-evaluate its position in Portland,
where attendance has fallen at least 20 percent and the city's
interest -- once white-hot -- has cooled. But after two days of
meetings with various business leaders and city commissioner Jim
Francesconi, Champ Car president Dick Eidswick talked in positive
terms Wednesday. "The good news is that business leaders
are in strong support of our race and what we're trying to do here,"
Eidswick said Wednesday. "Portland was so important to us we were
willing to promote the race ourselves. We wanted to be in this
marketplace."
However, Champ Car needs some indication the Portland market -- a
popular venue since 1984 -- remains economically viable. That is why
Champ Car will not sign an extension with the city until it sees the
public and corporate response at the race June 18-20.
"We've made the commitment. We're coming to Portland. We're bringing
the drivers. We're bringing 18 cars here to make a good show,"
Eidswick said. "We're going to do our part. What we're asking
Portland to do is have the businesses do their part by supporting
this race, by coming to this race, by sponsoring it and doing
whatever it takes to make this a successful, marquee event."
Eidswick said he knows the rival Indy Racing League has indicated
interest in running at PIR in 2005, but he doesn't see the IRL as a
threat. He wondered if the IRL was simply stirring the pot here to
aggravate Champ Car.
"I don't really include them in our thinking at all," he said of the
IRL. "I know they're thinking about having some road races next
year. I don't know that Portland is on their short list. According
to what I've heard, they've been here, they've talked. But Portland
is our race if we do a good job and we're going to approach it that
way.
"We have to come to an agreement with the city in order to negotiate
an extension," Eidswick said. "We want very badly to put together
our 2005 schedule by the end of the summer so we need to get these
races pinned down. . . . "We've been here 21 years. This is a
natural for us to include in 2005 and beyond."
Tim Ramsberger, Champ Car's vice president of race promotions, works
directly with the three venues that Champ Car is self-promoting --
Portland, Cleveland and Denver. He was in town to discuss marketing,
promotion and sponsorship sales with local promoter Mike Nealy of
Global Events Group.
"I think the market is responding to us now," Ramsberger said. "We
have a credible presence now that we've come out of Long Beach (the
season opener). Ticket sales are going well, we've got potential
sponsors coming on board. I think it's all just a matter of time.
"It has been 'wait and see' up to this point. But now we're starting
to emerge out there. I think (business) people see that we're back.
I think our death was highly exaggerated in the market. We have less
than 40 days. I wish we had more. But I think the Portland business
community is going to respond."
Notes: At some point, Nealy will announce a
title sponsor for the Champ Car race and a sponsor for the June 19
Trans-Am race. He remains hopeful that longtime sponsor G.I. Joe's
will be involved in some fashion. . . . Representatives of U.S.
Bank, Lufthansa Airlines, Albina Community Bank and Key Bank were
among those scheduled to meet with Champ Car on Tuesday and
Wednesday. . . .
Ramsberger said Champ Car "is taking the entire financial risk" for
Portland, so revenue generated by ticket and sponsorship sales will
go to pay Champ Car's expenses. . . . The July 3 race in Cleveland
has U.S. Bank as its major sponsor. . . . Champ Car is in
partnership with Centrix Financial to stage the Denver race Aug. 15.
5/13/04
2-seat car visits PortlandUPDATE Here's John's
article (in the Portland Oregonian about his ride yesterday.
Very good read written by a "dyed-in-the-wool" stick and ball
writer. This is why Champ Car needs to do this everywhere it races,
year after year. 5/12/04 - Sebastien Bourdais was at the wheel of the 2 seater, driving media members
around at PIR today. There will be a column in tomorrow's Oregonian by Sports
Columnist John Canzano about his experience. He was interviewed on a local
sports show this afternoon. While talking about it on the sports radio
station here KFXX 1080 the fan, the host of the talk show who also got a ride,
was astounded. His name is Mark Amazon and he said he had no idea that it was
that athletic and that he changed his mind about drivers being athletes.
Before today, he didn't think it could be that hard. After 3 laps with
Sebastien, he said he was exhausted. 3 laps. Champ Car needs to do more of
this, much more. They can start by building two more and getting them on
the road and also to the overseas venues. Here's some photos of him
prepping for the ride. Reader Patrick Harte, San Francisco CA
suggests that Champ Car should have a drawing...a lucky
spectator gets a ride in the two seater, after qualifying perhaps? They could
use it to promote races. Buy a 3 day ticket and you can enter into the
drawing. After reading about some of the journalists' experiences, who
wouldn't want to buy a ticket in hopes of landing 3 laps at speed? “It’s not
that far off the real car. The balance is good and it handles pretty nicely,”
Bourdais said. “I really like it when the guy behind me starts freaking out.”
Selected writers, television broadcasters and radio announcers all took the
opportunity to experience the sensations that they had only come close to
describing when the Champ Cars come to Portland. KATU TV sports reporter Katy
Brown took one of the first high-speed rides Wednesday and came away with a
whole new appreciation. “It gives you a whole new respect for what Champ Car
drivers do,” Brown said. “Now I know what it is really like to go through the
Festival Curves! It is a lot more physical than I expected. I don’t know how
these guys do it for 92 laps.” John Canzono, columnist for The Oregonian,
agreed with his television counterpart. “It is beyond as fast as you thought
it could possibly go,” Canzono said. “It’s exhausting. It’s unbelievable how
quick it is.” The car will make stops at a number of Champ Car venues this
year and has already run in Long Beach as well as in Times Square in downtown
New York City.
5/13/04
Team
Rahal announces name change to IRL program
Team Rahal announced today it is changing the operating name of the
team's IRL IndyCar Series program to Rahal Letterman Racing. Rahal
Letterman Racing is a LLC, which operates under the corporate entity
of Team Rahal. The IRL IndyCar Series program will be the only
program to carry the Rahal Letterman Racing moniker. "In
1996 I had the good fortune to enter into a business partnership
with my longtime friend David Letterman in what has been known as
Team Rahal," said founder Bobby Rahal. "I have always felt that the
name Team Rahal didn't truly reflect the partnership or Dave's
involvement in the business. He has been an integral part of the
team's success over the past eight seasons, and I can't think of a
better place to announce this name change and to honor his
involvement than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway." "I'm very
proud, it's a great day in my life," said Letterman. "This is
something I've dreamed of since I was a kid. I'll try not to
embarrass the team."
5/13/04
New Dalziel
website Following his success in the opening round
of the 2004 Toyota Atlantic Championship at Long Beach last month,
Ryan Dalziel has now re-launched his official website,
www.ryandalziel.com, with a bold new retro-look mirroring the
22-year-old Scot’s distinctive personal styling!
The Sierra Sierra Enterprises racer commissioned British-based
MSO.net to design and develop the makeover of his website. The site
boasts a unique design concept while still clearly delivering to
Ryan’s fans and casual observers all the information required on the
Scottish charger’s latest exploits as he continues to make a name
for himself in North American racing circles.
In addition to the site content, press and fans can register online
to receive Ryan’s newsletter direct to their mail boxes, allowing
everyone to get the latest on the #28 ProWorks Toyota Atlantic title
charge.
“I fancied something that would reflect part of my personality,”
remarked Dalziel when commenting on his latest online presence. “I
gave MSO.net a 70’s retro brief as I love the designs and artwork
from that period and I think they captured my request extremely well
with the strong visuals, bold colours and Flash introduction. It’s
not all about the looks though as it’s easy to manage content and
will allow me to keep the media, fans and potential sponsors updated
with my progress throughout the 2004 Toyota Atlantic season and
beyond.”
Dalziel, currently spending some time back in Scotland, heads back
to America next week before flying south to Mexico for his next
Toyota Atlantic race, Round 2, hosted at Fundidora Park, Monterrey
21-23rd May.
5/13/04
Monterrey GP
announces Grand Marshal
The Grand Marshal has just been selected for the Monterrey Grand
Prix. This year the position will be filled by the
priest Roberto Infante, “Padre Infante” as he is called is well
known in the city because he manages, and is the founder of, the
Poor´s Kitchen. Founded in 1961 the Poor´s Kitchen feeds 2000
people daily (mainly kids). In related news, while
staying in Monterrey for an event with his sponsor, Michel Jourdain
Jr visited the biggest public hospital in Monterrey. Upon
arrival he went directly to the pediatric wing, he talked with the
kids, signed autographs, posed for some pictures, but mainly cheered
all the kids. Jose Arrambide
5/13/04
Patrick Racing
struggling at Indy
This Indy Star
article talks about the struggles of Patrick Racing this
year at Indy. The team came together late and is struggling
to find the speed to get up to the top of the speed charts.
5/13/04
Ford evaluates
four women drivers
Last week in Indianapolis, four young women race-car drivers were
evaluated over two days as part of Ford Racing's new initiative to
identify a young female driver with the potential to develop into a
race-winning NASCAR driver. Although a number of qualified
candidates were considered, Erin Crocker (Age 23; Buffalo, N.Y.),
Alison MacLeod (Age 14; Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), Michelle
Theriault (Age 18; Atlanta, Ga.) and Lynsey Tilton (Age 17; San
Diego, Calif.), were selected based on their racing accomplishments,
background and recommendations from renowned USAC Midget team owner
Bob East and female racing legend Lyn St. James, and subjected to a
comprehensive program that evaluated their skills both on and off
the track. The first part of the evaluation included an on-track
session at Anderson Speedway (Anderson, Ind.) in a Ford-powered
midget car owned by East, who has discovered and developed several
current NASCAR stars. East's son, Bobby, who currently leads the
USAC National Midget Car standings, shook the car down before each
session to establish a baseline around the quarter-mile circuit, and
all four drivers spent time in the car being observed and receiving
instructions and advice from East. The second part of the evaluation
took place at the National Institute of Fitness and Sport, located
on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis,
where the drivers were put through a physical and mental readiness
assessment administered by Human Performance International designed
to evaluate their physical and mental fitness. After undergoing a
battery of physical tests that measured muscular strength and
endurance, each candidate underwent a number of mental tests
designed to evaluate their concentration, information processing and
visual tracking skills. As a third part of the test, the drivers
also underwent a media training and evaluation session where they
were introduced to some basic concepts and recommendations on how to
best interact with the media.
Ford Racing
5/13/04
A letter from Mario
Theissen In his
column on the team’s official website, www.bmw.williamsf1.com, BMW Motorsport
Director Mario Theissen provided his point of view with regard to proposed
cost reductions in F1…..Dear motor racing enthusiasts,
Prior to the Spanish Grand Prix, many of the well-known faces of Formula One
met in Monaco for a highly constructive discussion, at the FIA meeting on 4th
May. The goals listed in the FIA proposal are aimed at significantly reducing
the costs while improving the show. Quite obviously, BMW is supporting these
goals.
But in spite of all these discussions you must never forget that Formula One
is the pinnacle of motor racing and should keep this position, concerning
sport, business and technology in equal measure. For BMW, this position
represents the main reason for its Formula One involvement.
When it comes to the cost reduction measures, BMW is mainly dealing with those
measures concerning the engine. In Monaco, everybody agreed that the costs in
this area must be dramatically reduced. All engine manufacturers have agreed
to jointly frame the proposition for engine regulations in order to achieve
this goal.
We are supporting many of the technology recommendations of the FIA proposal
and we will bring in further proposals at the forthcoming meetings of the task
force. The key factor to reduce engine costs - particularly for the
independent teams who have to pay for their engines - is the number of engines
that are required over the course of a season. We are prepared to extend the
mileage of an engine to three race weekends. Should this measure be combined
with a limited testing program, a 50-percent reduction of the engine
production costs will be viable.
The technological concept of the engine, however, is far less important when
it comes to reducing the costs. Bearing in mind the stability of the
regulations and to avoid a further increase of costs, we are proposing a
perpetuation of the current 3-litre V10 concept. The increased mileage and
technical limitations would reduce the horsepower output of the engines by
some 100 bhp, thus increasing the lap times and reducing the top-speeds
without losing the fascination of the 10-cylinder engine. Sincerely,
Mario Theissen
Driver physical training
workshop While physical training is always an important
element in an IndyCar driver’s race preparation, it is especially significant
leading up to the Indianapolis 500. That’s why drivers such as past IRL
champions Scott Dixon and Sam Hornish Jr. as well as rookie Kosuke Matsuura
call on PitFit Training to help them prepare physically and mentally for the
month-long festivities leading up to the legendary Memorial Day weekend race.
“We start distance training events to build up the driver’s ability to handle
race length stress on the body during the first part of April,” explains
PitFit Training president Jim Leo. “Specifically, we’ll have our drivers do a
couple of three-hour plus bicycle rides which simulates the race distance.
This prepares the driver not only physically, but helps with mental
preparation as well. The exercise also conditions the aerobic system to
basically become efficient at burning fat as a fuel source just like a
marathon runner.
“The guys who are in good shape use fat the whole race, and when they get to
the last 25, 30 laps they can rely on their physical preparation to be a
little more sharp and a little more alert. Drivers basically race like they
train. It’s our goal at PitFit Training to ensure they can achieve their peak
performance, especially for such an important event.”
PitFit Training will offer racers at all levels the same physical training
knowledge and equipment utilized by the company’s top-level clientele thru an
Improved Driver Performance Workshop on Sunday, June 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00
a.m. at Fastimes Indoor Karting Center on Indianapolis’ northeast side.
“Physical training is key to the success and safety of drivers at all levels
of the sport, but not everyone can afford the intensive services that are
available to professional drivers,” Leo says. “PitFit Training’s Improved
Driver Performance Workshop is designed to give racers of all ages, at all
levels of the sport the knowledge and tools they need to start an effective
training program to meet the individual’s needs.” Registration is available at
www.pitifittraining.com.
5/12/04
What about Germany?
A reader writes, Dear Autoracing1.com, The last few weeks we heard a lot of
rumors about 20 or more drivers on the Champ Car starting grid. It seems they
will stay with 18 cars. Do you know whether there is any hope for German fans
to watch the races on TV? Not every fan has internet access. I think a
lot of German fans are disappointed with the lack of available TV in Germany.
Thanks for your very good information, Friendly regards, Alex Bresserer,
Germany Dear Alex, Champ Car could have done a deal with Eurosport
and been done with it for all of Europe. Instead they have chosen to do
individual deals in each country, which is extremely time consuming for their
skeleton staff. We suspect they will be unsuccessful in doing TV deals
in most countries for 2004 because most of the available inventory is taken by
now with other TV programs. If Champ Car wants to become a true
international world championship series, they had better get the international
TV right. Sponsors will have little interest in the series because both
the domestic and international TV packages are pathetically weak and draw far
too few viewers. We said they had to put all their races on CBS in the
USA so ratings would be high enough for teams to attract sponsors and the
series to attract sponsors. Because that did not happen, OWRS will have
to write big checks for a much longer period of time to keep the series and
teams afloat. Blank sidepods give the series a bad image and the minimal
TV ad revenue that comes because of their low ratings on Spike and Moteurs TV
(UK) will keep the series in the red for a long time. They desperately
need engine manufacturers who are willing to spend money in the series, and
they need them now. Mark C.
5/12/04 Formula BMW
Frisselle & Jensen
Motorsport tops Mid-Ohio test At the 3rd official Formula BMW
USA series test held at Mid-Ohio, young hot shoe Brian Frisselle from Hawaii,
driving for Jensen Motorsport, finished the day with a 1:25:7 good for the
fast time. A bit of drama though, as he stuffed the car at 4 PM, so they
had to quickly change his nose to get him back on track at 4:45 in time to put
on a new set of tires. Full report later. Mark C.
5/12/04
Champ Car signs licensing
agreement with Kangaroo TV For fans of the Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, one of the main
attractions of the series is in the opportunity to see the latest technology
on display in the 750hp turbocharged race cars of the Champ Car World Series.
At Champ Car races, the latest technology doesn’t stop at the end of pit lane.
With the help of W.A.V.E.S. and its new Kangaroo.TV system, fans in the stands
can use the latest hand-held technology to keep up with all of the on-track
action. The ground-breaking system that allows fans to follow on-track action
through video, timing and scoring and audio feeds will be available at most
stops along the Champ Car schedule in 2004 as Champ Car World Series LLC
signed a new licensing agreement with W.A.V.E.S., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Kangaroo Capital Inc.
“In marketing we want to express the same leading edge technology that is
deployed in Champ Car racing,” said Champ Car President Dick Eidswick. “Our
association with Kangaroo.TV allows us to achieve this while adding value to
our Consumer experience on site. Our fans have responded enthusiastically to
the new technology provided by W.A.V.E.S. and we are pleased to have
Kangaroo.TV with us again in 2004.”
Kangaroo. TV will be designated as the “Official and exclusive on-site
audio/visual supplier”. The service was successfully introduced in 2003 and
received rave reviews from race fans, teams and drivers. The 2004 Long Beach
Grand Prix kicked off the second year of offering this highly innovative
product.
“W.A.V.E.S. is proud to be part of the Open Wheel racing tradition in North
America” said Alain Charette, the vice-president of Corporate Development.
“Last year’s debut with Champ Car was very exciting and enabled W.A.V.E.S. to
make very interesting inroads in others sports series. Our key objective with
Champ Car will be to create cross marketing initiatives that will be mutually
beneficial to the fans and event partners.” Champ Car
5/12/04
Tickets flying out the
door for Denver GP Three days, 18 open-wheel racecars and
drivers from around the world, a 1.65-mile track, nine hairpin turns and more
than 100,000 attendees. The CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver is set for
August 13th through August 15th, and with ticket pre-sales to past attendees
trending the 2003 pace, Denver looks ready to host the largest crowd in the
race's history. The Grand Prix kicks off ticket sales to the general public
through Ticketmaster on this Friday, May 14th. Race-goers can purchase tickets
online or find local ticket outlets at
www.ticketmaster.com.
"Tickets are flying out the door to last year's attendees. This is truly an
affirmation that Denver embraces the Grand Prix and agrees it's a great way to
spend a summer weekend seeing the best that Denver has to offer," said John
Frew, general manager of the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver. "The
Grand Prix offers Coloradoans and residents of neighboring states a way to
enjoy Denver's restaurants, culture and a world-class sporting event. We are
thrilled with the community's early response to this event." Reserved seating
starts at $35, and club-level tickets begin at $180. General admission,
unreserved seating tickets start at $20. Parking passes are available. Call
303-830-TIXS, 719-520-9090 or visit
www.ticketmaster.com
to purchase tickets or to receive more information. PRN/Newswire
5/12/04
Kanaan tops 222 at Indy
Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon race hard. On May 12, the Andretti Green Racing
teammates practiced hard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kanaan set the
standard in practice for the 88th Indianapolis 500 with a fast lap of 222.668
mph (40.4189 seconds) just before 1 p.m. (EDT) in the No.11 Team 7-Eleven
Dallara/Honda/Firestone on a humid and breezy day. Wheldon, who started from
the pole in the past two IRL IndyCar® Series races, was second quick with a
lap of 221.953 mph (40.5491 seconds) near the end of "Happy Hour" at the
historic 2.5-mile oval. They combined for 84 laps. Nine of the 29 car-driver
combinations topped 220 mph in the session, and Kanaan was the fourth speed
king in as many practice days. There were no incidents as drivers totaled
1,567 laps. Rookie Marty Roth, looking for speed in his No. 25 Roth Racing
Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, recorded the most laps with 128 - the high for the
month. Kanaan's fast lap, however, was compliments of a tow from Bruno
Junqueira, but overall he's content with his package. "I wish I could have
done that by myself, but it's not the reality," said Kanaan, who has one
victory and a two other top-10 finishes in the three IndyCar Series races.
"I'm just happy because I'm starting to like the way the Team 7-Eleven car
feels. But today is not the important day. I can love my car today and hate it
tomorrow. That is what this place can do to you. We'll get back to it (May
13), be patient and just think about what changes we want to make as we get
closer to (Pole Qualifying Day) Saturday." Both Foyts were behind closed
doors all day and Greg Ray still has not made an appearance. Top 10 drivers" Pos Driver Diff Time Speed Lap C/E/T Status
1 Tony Kanaan (11) 40.4189 222.668 20 D/H/F Pit
2 Dan Wheldon (26) 0.1302 40.5491 221.953 53 D/H/F Pit
3 Roger Yasukawa (16) 0.2594 40.6783 221.248 47 G/H/F Pit
4 Adrian Fernandez (5) 0.2692 40.6881 221.195 39 G/H/F Pit
5 Scott Dixon (1) 0.3159 40.7348 220.941 57 G/T/F Pit
6 Kosuke Matsuura (55) 0.3780 40.7969 220.605 5 G/H/F Pit
7 Buddy Rice (15) 0.3918 40.8107 220.530 39 G/H/F Pit
8 Tomas Scheckter (4T) 0.4096 40.8285 220.434 20 D/C/F Pit
9 Sam Hornish Jr. (6) 0.4479 40.8668 220.228 20 D/T/F Pit
10 Helio Castroneves (3) 0.5042 40.9231 219.925 19 D/T/F Pit
5/12/04
Wet Ferrari
testing at Fiorano Second day of testing this week
for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the Fiorano circuit. Michael
Schumacher was once again at the wheel of an F2004, continuing with
work on tire development for the forthcoming Monaco GP. Today
Michael completed a total of 57 laps, seven of them on the short
version of the track. The best time on the day was 56”466.
Schumacher continues testing at Fiorano tomorrow.
5/12/04
Paul Newman on
Wind Tunnel Hollywood legend Paul Newman will be
SPEED Channel's guest Thursday night on Wind Tunnel with Dave
Despain (10 p.m. ET). Newman currently owns Champ Cars driven by
Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira. In addition to running the
full Champ Car schedule in 2004, Newman/Haas will be racing the
Indianapolis 500 this year for the first time since 1995. The
interview will be recorded in the afternoon, so Newman will not be
available to take Wind Tunnel viewer calls, but fans can submit
e-mail questions to
windtunnel@speedtv.com.
5/12/04
Paul Ricard Day 2:
Button fast before rain hits Jenson Button set the
fastest time on the second day of testing this week at Paul Ricard
in southern France before rain fell. The BAR Honda driver clocked a
best time of 1m32.954s in the morning before the rain fell. BMW
WilliamsF1 test driver Antonio Pizzonia was second fastest.
1. J. Button – BAR - 1:33.954 – 72 laps
2. A. Pizzonia – Williams - 1:34.130 – 87 laps
3. A. Wurz – McLaren - 1:34.511 – 69 laps
4. O. Panis – Toyota - 1:35.132 – 34 laps
5. F. Montagny - Renault - 1:35.583 – 36 laps
6. P. de la Rosa – McLaren - 1:35.657 – 90 laps
7. M. Gene – Williams - 1:35.850 – 85 laps
8. R. Zonta – Toyota - 1:37.033 – 51 laps
9. N. Heidfeld – Jordan - 1:37.383 – 48 laps
5/12/04
PPI to add 2nd Cup
Car for Lowe's
PPI Motorsports plans to field a second car for the UAW-GM Quality 500
at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. PPI Motorsports, who also
fields the #32 Tide Chevrolet for driver Ricky Craven, was testing
the #96 this past week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with Johnny Benson
behind the wheel. An official with PPI Motorsports told
Autoracing1.com that Johnny Benson would drive the car for the team
and that so far the team will only attempt to do the fall race at
Lowe’s, but could add more races later. The team is also working on
securing sponsorship for the team. Pete McCole
reporting from Charlotte
5/12/04
Some inside info
on Brazil and Argentina Remember when, earlier this year,
the Brazilian GP was said to be in jeopardy due to a judge's ruling
that the race was a waste of public money? São Paulo's city
hall ordered a study of the 2003 race's economic impact to the city,
in order to determine whether it was beneficial or not. The
results on the 56-page final report are quite interesting (the study
was conducted by the Institute of Economic Researches, an
independent, private entity):
Race day attendance
was of 60 thousand paying customers. Of those, 36 thousand came from
outside the city of 16 million, 7 thousand of those from foreign
countries;
The Mayor's Office
contributed with about a third of the money demanded to promote the
race. Total amount of public money invested reached US$ 8 million;
The 36 thousand
visitors generated an income of US$ 13 million in hotel expenses
alone;
Total revenues for
the city's various business thanks to the F1 GP was estimated at US$
25.6 million, meaning that, for every dollar invested by the City,
there was a return of $3.2 million in revenue;
The report does not
consider the amount of "free" advertising the city receives during
the race's broadcast, which had an estimate worldwide audience of
270 million viewers;
The hundreds of
temporary jobs and other business opportunities created by the event
are also not considered;
All in all, some
eye-opening information for cities still in doubt about promoting a
major F1 or Champ Car race...It's a shame that, thanks to its
short-sighted mayor, a tourism-dependant city like Rio lost the
great worldwide exposure Champ Car provided when it raced there.
Regarding the rumored Champ Car race in Buenos Aires - the Buenos
Aires' raceway is in relatively good shape, compared to the other
Argentinean tracks...Both the TC and TC 2000 (oddly, Argentina's
stock cars have also suffered a "split" and have two rival series,
one racing old Ford Falcons and Chevy Novas and the other new Honda
Civics, Toyota Corollas, Ford Focus, Chevy Astras and Peugeot 307s)
still race at the Oscar Gálvez...Total of four races per year.
The track's old F1 layout is a little Mickey Mouse for Champ Cars,
though....it resembles Hungaroring, almost karting-like...But the
TCs race in an alternative longer layout that I think would make for
some great Champ Car racing.
Argentina's economy is recovering, and if someone could land
Mazzacane or other name driver (former F1 driver Esteban Tuero and
American exiles Norberto Fontana and Martín Basso all currently race
in the TC 2000) the race would be a certain hit....Argentineans love
racing even more than Brazilians (who are sort of F1-minded only)
and really miss not having a big race or driver to cheer for
anymore. Cássio S. Côrtes reporting from Brazil
5/12/04
Slight changes
planned for Monterrey track Turns 3 and 4, also called the
first chicane will be slightly different for this year's Monterrey
race. Octavio Flores told AutoRacing1 that in the past drivers
used to cut that part of the track, this year they are changing the
curves so the cars can't cut back those corners. Also he assured
everything will be ready this weekend, the only major work left is
the suites. Jose Arrambide
5/12/04
Villeneuve visits
Williams, but wait..UPDATE
Reports emerged on Tuesday about Villeneuve being spotted in the
Williams garage, talking with the team as they prepared for this
week's French test. "F1 is really great!" Pollock told
JV-World. "I was extremely surprised to receive calls
from a few top British journalists informing me that Jacques was
seen at the Paul Ricard circuit. They asked me for confirmation and
I told them that if Jacques was there, he had not informed me so,
knowing Jacques very well, I would say that they had been
misinformed by their informants. One journalist even accused me of
covering up as his informant was a close friend and knew Jacques
very well!" "Jacques was, in actual fact, training in Monaco
with his personal trainer and was even more surprised than me to
hear that he was apparently in Paul Ricard. We did have a good laugh
together and had a good discussion about the good old F1 rumor
mill!" 5/11/04 - Jacques Villeneuve paid a visit to the
Williams team last night as they prepared for a test at Paul Ricard.
Williams are running with test drivers Marc Gene and Antonio Pizzonia
in the cockpit today and Wednesday with Juan Pablo Montoya joining in
on Thursday and Friday. Villeneuve was there yesterday evening and
British newspaper The Mirror reports a team source as saying that he
has already held talks with Frank Williams and is expected to have a
seat fitting later this year before testing the FW26. Paul Ricard
owner Ecclestone is keen to see Villeneuve back in F1. "It's great
that Villeneuve is having talks with Williams," Ecclestone is reported
in British newspaper The Sun as saying. "I've been trying to get him
to do that for a long time." "Jacques is not at Paul Ricard at
our invitation," a spokesperson told pitpass this morning. "And to
deny circulating rumors, he is not being seat fitted at the track for
us this week, or indeed testing for us in France. In respect of
our driver selections for 2005 and beyond, the team's immediate
priority is to improve the performance of the FW26 as this will be the
biggest single incentive to securing a competitive driver line up for
next season and beyond. As regards specific candidates, we are
actively considering a wide range of potential candidates as would be
reasonably expected," the spokesperson continued, "and to this end, we
have had discussions with many drivers whose names have been the
subject of recent press speculation. However, given that many
initial discussions are intended to establish mutual interest and the
contractual status of possible candidates, a discussion does not mean
necessarily that a driver is under active consideration for any number
of reasons. It is anticipated that the team may be in a position
to confirm driver appointments by August."
5/12/04
Gateway would like
Cup race, not likely
Though track officials say the St. Louis-area Gateway International
Raceway in Illinois has a shot a hosting a Nextel Cup race, insiders
consider that shot a long one. Over the years, the 1.25-mile oval,
infield road course and quarter-mile drag strip has lured CART, the
Indy Racing League, the Craftsman Truck series, the Busch series and
NHRA drag racing. Matt Strelo, vice president and general manager of
Gateway in Madison, Ill., points to the track's assets. The numbers
show St. Louis fans watch the races on television and about 50,000
showed up for last Saturday's Busch race, which seems to indicate
Gateway would be able to sell its existing 70,000 or so seats for a
Nextel Cup race. "We've got a pretty decent story to tell here," he
said of the track. "We think '06 is the time to tell it." But the
track has its detractors. Hampered by limited parking, outdated
infrastructure and the construction of newer facilities, Gateway has
lost the top open-wheel series and has been left with the trucks,
NHRA and Busch series as its top acts.
Kenny Wallace, a veteran NASCAR driver, said he would like nothing
better than to see the track host a Nextel Cup race. But the St.
Louis native said the track -- limited in expansion possibilities by
the Mississippi River to the west -- would need a drastic makeover
to draw serious attention. "My opinion is that first, the track is
too big," said Wallace, whose brothers Rusty and Mike also race in
NASCAR. "They should cut it in half. Make it like Richmond
[International Raceway in Virginia]. You need more room and use all
of that [the area north of the track] as parking. You can't expect
to shuttle people in for a Nextel Cup race. They landlocked
themselves in." But Strelo said the track could solve the parking
problem by using shuttle service to the parking lots used for Busch
Stadium and the Edward Jones Dome, just across the river in downtown
St. Louis.
AP Article
5/12/04
Arden team
doubtful for 2005
Autosport Magazine reports hopes that reigning FIA Formula 3000
International Championship team Arden International will be given
the green light to press ahead with plans to graduate to grand prix
racing as soon as next year are fading because team bosses are
reluctant to changes the rules to open the way for customer teams.
F1’s 10 teams must unanimously agree to remove the $48 million
(£27m) deposit and free up the supply of customer cars and engines
to encourage Arden, or any other team that is interested, to enter
F1 in the short term.
Despite agreeing in principle to the concept at the recent Monaco
Summit, several F1 bosses have come out and expressed reservations
about the situation. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said:
“You need to think about the consequences five or 10 years down the
road. Where will we have evolved? What concerns me is that we would
very quickly have a full grid, and teams that follow that path will
change dramatically. They will have no real internal manufacturing
resource. They will be engineering led as opposed to the designer.
The character of the team will change. They will have minimal
design, research or aerodynamic capabilities. We need to consider
long term, not short term. I’m not violently opposed, but people
need to think about the consequences.”
Some of the sport’s smaller teams will also refuse to free up
restrictions on entry unless prize money is paid to every competing
outfit, rather than definite divisions in F1. “Those teams are
never going to win a world championship using somebody else’s car,
but they stand more chance of winning it if they stay."
Minardi boss Paul Stoddart said: “Jordan, Minardi and Sauber will
not vote for this unless all teams receive prize money.”
[Editor's Note: Rumors have surfaced that Arden could instead
move up to the "new" Champ Car series which is slated to become a
true International World Championship Series with new overseas
venues, new cars and new engines. Cost to Arden: 10% that of
F1]
5/12/04
Comment on Champ Car in
South America A reader writes
regarding the rumored Champ Car races in South America (Argentina and Brazil). Dear
AutoRacing1,
Just a comment to Ron Dickson and David Clare on your rumor about the two
South American races. I know the oval track in Rio was successful for CART in
the past there, but if they want the Brazilian fans to differentiate between
IRL (Oval Racing) and Champ Cars (Road Racing) they need to pick a site for
either a street race or a road race. If they race on an oval the Brazilian
fans will think they are watching an Indy race. If they race on a street or
road course, they will be compared with Formula 1, which would be better for
Champ Cars future fan base which will grow noticeably. Brazilians love Formula
1 not only because of our National hero (Ayrton Senna) who made us fall in love
with F1, but because we know real racing is done on street and road courses.
Rod De Almeida, Brazil
5/12/04
Industry News
USA
signs anti-tobacco treaty In the biggest blow yet for the tobacco
industry, the United States Health Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has signed the
World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, giving
the global anti-tobacco treaty a major boost. The signature commits the United
States to stamp out tobacco sponsorship as quickly as it possibly can although
the current anti-smoking deal has already done much to drive the tobacco
industry out of automobile racing. In a further blow to the tobacco
industry Pakistan has decided that it will also be signing the treaty shortly.
Pakistan is one of the largest countries in the world (in terms of population)
not to have signed up to the deal. Tobacco companies and racing teams
may continue to argue that they will go on with sponsorships but it is fast
becoming clear that such a move is probably going to be detrimental to the
image of the sport. The FIA advised all teams to aim to get tobacco out of the
sport by 2006 but the federation cannot insist that there is no tobacco money.
Non-tobacco teams are already complaining that the sport's links with tobacco
work against them when they try to do new deals because some companies do not
want to be seen to have anything to do with an activity which allows tobacco
promotion. The WHO treaty has now been signed by 109 countries.
Grandprix.com
5/12/04
Industry News
Toyota profits up 55%
It looks like Toyota will have a lot of money to spend on motorsports.
The Japanese giant reported a net profit for the year ended March 31st of
$10 billion. The profit is a 55% increase over the previous year and was achieved
thanks to increased sales around the world and cost reductions. Toyota's aim
is to get 15% of the global car market within the next 10 years. In the
individual markets Toyota's growth is biggest in Europe where operating
profits were up 772%; in other markets (Asia, the Middle East and Oceania)
where they rose 112%; in America where the growth was 39.6% and in Japan where
it was a more modest 17.4%.
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