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Fogarty takes pole for race #1
Despite having his share of mechanical challenges on the opening day of
practice and qualifying for this weekend's Argent Mortgage Toyota Atlantic
Championship of Portland Presented by Yokohama, Jon Fogarty (#96 Pacific
Coast Motorsports) was able to get the most out of his car when it mattered
most.
Fogarty, the 2002 Toyota Atlantic series champion, suffered through gearbox
problems in the morning practice session at the 1.969-mile Portland
International Raceway permanent road course, but he still wound up posting
the fastest time in practice. The mechanical gremlin came in a different
form during the afternoon qualifying, but the result was the same. Fogarty
bent his left rear push rod early in the 30-minute qualifying session for
the first of two Atlantic races held here this weekend, but not before he
carded a time of 1:08.404 (103.626 mph) that would not be touched during the
remainder of qualifying.
While Fogarty's crew rushed to repair the rod, it turned out they didn't
need to hurry. Aided by a late red flag that limited the opportunities to
top Fogarty's time, no driver was able to wrestle away the pole and Fogarty
never had to leave the pit lane again after earning the pole on his sixth
lap.
Fogarty's six career pole position enables him to start on the point for
Round 4 of the Toyota Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama (SPEED
Channel, Saturday, June 26 - 2 p.m. ET), which will take the green flag on
Saturday at 12:15 p.m. PT.
Danica Patrick (#24 Argent Mortgage Company), who entered the weekend second
in the championship hunt, looked to have the second spot in qualifying
secured before the late red flag that was caused by a Turn12 accident
involving Chris Festa (#25 SpacePak/CareCentric) and series points leader
Ronnie Bremer (#10 portacoolracing.com).
Less than two minutes remained in qualifying after the cleanup was complete
from the accident, but it proved to be just enough time for first-year pilot
Andrew Ranger (#27 Tide/Charmin/Mr. Clean/Snugabye). Ranger hustled around
the course to beat the checkered flag on qualifying and wound up posting the
second-fastest time of the session at 1:08.654 (103.248 mph). The
second-place qualifying effort was a career-best for the young Canadian.
Patrick equaled her best-ever qualifying position in third following
Ranger's late run. The Rahal-Letterman Racing driver owned a time of
1:08.686 (103.200 mph) and will start from the third spot for the second
time this season (Monterrey, Mexico).
Qualifying for Race 2 this weekend will take place at 8 a.m. PT at PIR on
Saturday and Round 5 of the championship - The Argent Mortgage Toyota
Atlantic Championship of Portland Presented by Yokohama (SPEED Channel,
Saturday, July 3 - 2 p.m. ET) will get under way Sunday at 10 a.m. PT.
6/18/04
Industry News
Man crashes new Ferrari within 4 min. of
delivery
It is every motor enthusiast's dream to drive a Ferrari. But for Simon Nimmo
it turned out to be the worst nightmare of his life. According to The Sun,
the managing director of city mortgage firm waited a year to collect his new
Ferrari. He splashed out 175,000 pounds on the rare 575 F1 supercar and then
wrecked it completely four minutes later. Simon drove the car into a giant
pothole less than four minutes after pulling off the forecourt of the
Maranello Garage in Egham, Surrey. The collision smashed one of the 2, 000
pound wheels and cracked the Ferrari's front suspension. "It was a total
nightmare for him. He had been looking forward to collecting the Ferrari for
months. He must hold the world record for the fastest Ferrari driver to
wreck his brand new super car," a company spokesman was quoted as saying.
6/18/04
Drissi wins provisional pole in Portland
Tomy Drissi earned his first Motorock Trans-Am pole Friday, in qualifying
for Saturday’s Albertsons Trans-Am 100. Drissi was elevated to the pole due
a technical infraction that placed Paul Gentilozzi, who timed first, at the
back of the field.
Gentilozzi was penalized in post-qualifying technical inspection for his car
violating Rule 9.12.4 “Maximum height rear wing” in the 2004 Trans-Am Rule
Book. The penalty moves Tommy Kendall (No. 11 Jaguar XKR) to second on the
grid, ahead of Jorge Diaz, Jr. (No. 8 Jaguar XKR), Greg Pickett (No. 6
Jaguar XKR) and Randy Ruhlman (No. 49 Chevrolet Corvette).
“To be on the front row, I’m happy,” said Drissi. “The guys had a problem
with the clutch at the last minute and in the less than an hour and 15
minutes, they changed the clutch and we went out not knowing if everything
was tight. The crew did a great job today.”
Kendall, who is driving a car equipped with Jaguar’s four-valve,
stock-block, overhead-cam, fuel-injected engine, said he was getting up to
speed with the new powerplant.
“At the end, we were pretty close,” said the Series’ only four-time
champion. “We have a few adjustments to make on the engine to be really
good. I feel really good about tomorrow’s race.”
6/18/04
Formula BMW
Montoya Jr. qualifies 2nd for both Indy races
As in Rounds 3 and 4 in Montreal last weekend, the starting grid for Rounds
5 and 6 of the 2004 Formula BMW USA Championship (sanctioned by Champ Car)
were determined in today's single 25-minute qualifying session. Each
driver's fastest lap set their starting order for tomorrow's Round 5 race.
Their second fastest laps set the order for Sunday's Round 6 contest. With
the pole undecided until the final seconds, Round 3 winner Jonathan
Summerton (HBR Motorsport) recorded his first pole of the season after
posting a time of 1:37.456 around the 2.6-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway
USGP circuit. He just took the top spot on his last lap from Federico
Montoya (Atlantic Racing Team). Montoya will start second (1:37.769) after
pacing the field for most of the session.
Round 4 winner Matt Jaskol (Team Autotecnica) will start third (1:37.909).
The trio's second fastest times were also the best of the field and they
will start at the front in Round 6. The quickest Rookies in the field were
Summerton, Montoya and Rookie points leader James Hinchcliffe (AIM
Autosport). "I think my last lap had a bit of luck attached to it," said
Summerton. "My dash indicator did not say I was that quick so I was quite
pleased to find out I had the pole. I might have had a bit of a draft going
into the last corner, but I think what really did it was simply setting the
goal of catching the car ahead of me." Montoya added, "In the beginning of
the session we had a little bit of a problem with cold tires and a track
that was not perfect. I kept pushing and pushing and we started to improve
as the track got better. I have seen in Formula BMW Germany that if you have
to start in the back it is very difficult to pass many cars in the short
amount of laps we have in our races. I am happy to have the advantage of
starting up front." "I was the first in line for qualifying," said Jaskol.
"We came from fifth to win in Montreal so we have proven that you don't have
to be on the pole to win the race." Round 5 is scheduled to start at 2:30
p.m. CT tomorrow and Sunday's Round 6 is scheduled to start at 2:15 p.m. CT.
Qualifying: Round 5
1. Jonathan Summerton (R) (HBR Motorsport) 1:37.456
2. Federico Montoya (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:37.769
3. Matt Jaskol (Team Autotecnica) 1:37.822
4. James Hinchcliffe (R) (AIM Autosport) 1:37.953
5. Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport) 1:37.992
6. Billy Johnson (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:38.452
7. Trevor Daley (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:38.628
8. Dominik Jackson (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:38.704
9. Brian Frisselle (Polevision Racing) 1:38.738
10. Graham Rahal (R) (Vitesse Farm Racing) 1:38.854
11. Kyle Herder (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:38.965
12. Tom Milner (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:38.969
13. Lawson Ashenbach (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:39.048
14. Tom Sutherland (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:40.347
15. Alexis Fenton (R) (Team Autotecnica) 1:41.291
16. Morgan Spurgas (Jensen Motorsport) 1:41.646
17. Derek Burseth (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:42.635 Qualifying: Round 6
1. Jonathan Summerton (R) (HBR Motorsport) 1:37.828
2. Federico Montoya (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:37.838
3. Matt Jaskol (Team Autotecnica) 1:37.909
4. Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport) 1:38.528
5. James Hinchcliffe (R) (AIM Autosport) 1:38.079
6. Billy Johnson (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:38.528
7. Dominik Jackson (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:38.717
8. Brian Frisselle (Polevision Racing) 1:38.770
9. Tom Milner (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:39.052
10. Trevor Daley (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:39.125
11. Lawson Ashenbach (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:39.263
12. Graham Rahal (R) (Vitesse Farm Racing) 1:39.284
13. Kyle Herder (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:39.341
14. Tom Sutherland (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 1:40.635
15. Alexis Fenton (R) (Team Autotecnica) 1:41.322
16. Morgan Spurgas (Jensen Motorsport) 1:42.290
17. Derek Burseth (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 1:43.056
6/18/04
Schumacher #2 behind Tiger Woods - 50 Highest
Paid athletes in world
Pos Driver # Engine/Chassis/Tire Lap Time Mph
km/h Leader Previous
1 M. Dominguez 55 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.419 117.321 188.809
2 P. Tracy 1 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.648 116.878 188.096 0.229
3 A. Tagliani 8 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.808 116.570 187.601
0.389 0.160
4 J. Wilson 34 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.981 116.239 187.068 0.562
0.173
5 R. Hunter-Reay 4 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.044 116.120 186.877
0.625 0.063
6 R. Lavin 3 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.155 115.909 186.537 0.736
0.111
7 M. Jourdain Jr. 9 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.322 115.593 186.028
0.903 0.167
8 M. Haberfeld 5 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone 1:01.578 115.113 185.256
1.159 0.256
9 A. Allmendinger 10 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.953 114.416 184.134
1.534 0.375
10 N. Philippe 17 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:02.550 113.324 182.377
2.131 0.597
11 G. Mazzacane 19 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:02.660 113.125 182.057
2.241 0.110
12 A. Sperafico 14 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridge 1:03.798 111.107 178.809
3.379 1.138 Combined Results (sessions 1 & 2) Pos Driver # Engine/Chassis/Tire Lap Time Mph km/h Leader Previous
1 B. Junqueira 6 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 59.807 118.521 190.741
2 S. Bourdais 2 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 59.936 118.266 190.330 0.129
3 J. Vasser 12 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.234 117.681 189.389 0.427
0.298
4 M. Dominguez 55 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.419 117.321 188.809
0.612 0.185
5 A. Allmendinger 10 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.481 117.200 188.615
0.674 0.062
6 R. Gonzalez 21 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.590 116.990 188.277
0.783 0.109
7 M. Jourdain Jr. 9 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.625 116.922 188.167
0.818 0.035
8 P. Tracy 1 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.648 116.878 188.096 0.841
0.023
9 R. Lavin 3 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.725 116.730 187.858 0.918
0.077
10 A. Tagliani 8 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.732 116.716 187.836
0.925 0.007
11 P. Carpentier 7 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.820 116.547 187.564
1.013 0.088
12 J. Wilson 34 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.824 116.540 187.552
1.017 0.004
13 R. Hunter-Reay 4 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.041 116.125 186.885
1.234 0.217
14 M. Haberfeld 5 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone 1:01.238 115.752 186.284
1.431 0.197
15 G. Mazzacane 19 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.421 115.407 185.729
1.614 0.183
16 A. Sperafico 14 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgest. 1:01.497 115.264 185.499
1.690 0.076
17 N. Philippe 17 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:02.550 113.324 182.377
2.743 1.053
6/18/04
Barrichello stays fastest with new
lap record Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello maintained
his place at the top of the timesheets after setting an very fast
lap in the second free practice session for the US Grand Prix. He
held off the challenge of BAR's Anthony Davidson by over 0.6 sec.
P. No Driver Team - Engine
Tires Times Ave/Gaps Laps
1. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'10"365 214.470 Km/h 24
2. 35 DAVIDSON BAR Honda M 1'10"967 + 0'00"602 42
3. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'10"982 + 0'00"617 29
4. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'11"036 + 0'00"671 28
5. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'11"230 + 0'00"865 19
6. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'11"530 + 0'01"165 30
7. 16 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'11"893 + 0'01"528 35
8. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1'11"994 + 0'01"629 30
9. 38 ZONTA Toyota M 1'12"019 + 0'01"654 42
10. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'12"197 + 0'01"832 20
11. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'12"438 + 0'02"073 33
12. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'12"441 + 0'02"076 28
13. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'12"537 + 0'02"172 27
14. 10 SATO BAR Honda M 1'12"601 + 0'02"236 3
15. 37 WIRDHEIM Jaguar Cosworth M 1'12"761 + 0'02"396 30
16. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'12"950 + 0'02"585 31
17. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'13"196 + 0'02"831 32
18. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'13"384 + 0'03"019 18
19. 39 GLOCK Jordan Ford B 1'13"446 + 0'03"081 33
20. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'13"732 + 0'03"367 3
21. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'13"961 + 0'03"596 18
22. 19 PANTANO Jordan Ford B 1'14"407 + 0'04"042 20
23. 40 LEINDERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'14"409 + 0'04"044 21
24. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'14"428 + 0'04"063 17
6/18/04
Gentilozzi confident Champ Car will
return to Portland Paul Gentilozzi said he's confident an
agreement can be worked out to bring Champ Car back to Portland in
2005 and beyond despite the overtures of the rival Indy Racing
League. "It is our plan to come back," he said. "This is a pretty
tough business deal, but we're pretty confident about how it's going
to turn out."
The Oregonian
6/18/04
Junqueira tops Friday AM practice at
Portland
Pos Driver # Engine/Chassis/Tire Lap
Time Mph km/h Leader Previous
1 B. Junqueira 6 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 59.807 118.521
190.741
2 S. Bourdais 2 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 59.936 118.266
190.330 0.129
3 J. Vasser 12 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.234 117.681
189.389 0.427 0.298
4 A. Allmendinger 10 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.481 117.200
188.615 0.674 0.247
5 R. Gonzalez 21 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.590 116.990
188.277 0.783 0.109
6 M. Jourdain Jr. 9 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.625 116.922
188.167 0.818 0.035
7 P. Tracy 1 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.680 116.816 187.997
0.873 0.055
8 R. Lavin 3 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.725 116.730 187.858
0.918 0.045
9 A. Tagliani 8 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.732 116.716
187.836 0.925 0.007
10 P. Carpentier 7 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.820 116.547
187.564 1.013 0.088
11 J. Wilson 34 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.824 116.540
187.552 1.017 0.004
12 M. Dominguez 55 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:00.943 116.312
187.186 1.136 0.119
13 R. Hunter-Reay 4 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.041 116.125
186.885 1.234 0.098
14 M. Haberfeld 5 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone 1:01.238 115.752
186.284 1.431 0.197
15 G. Mazzacane 19 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:01.421 115.407
185.729 1.614 0.183
16 A. Sperafico 14 Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgest. 1:01.497 115.264
185.499 1.690 0.076
17 N. Philippe 17 Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone 1:02.626 113.186
182.155 2.819 1.129
6/18/04
Herdez team wants both drivers back
While rumors abound that both of their drivers have an eye on F1 in
2005, Herdez Team Owner Keith Wiggins reveals that he wants to keep
both drivers next year. He told
ChampCarWorldSeries.com, "They’re just both good race drivers.
We’ve got two young guys out there, which is really good.” Adds
Wiggins: “Obviously, I’d like to keep both drivers for next year.”
With strong commercial and personal backing and a healthy marketing
department for his team, Wiggins is a big believer in the Champ Car
World Series. “I think it’s still the best series,”
Wiggins declares. “I’ve been in all the world’s open-wheel series,
except the IRL, but this series has got everything from the downtown
races to the road courses to ovals. We’ve got the costs under
control. We need to look at where we’re going to go to keep it
sensible and just build on what we have. “If we can get
a couple more good downtown events and a couple of good
international events in Europe and keep the costs sensible, I think
we’ll have manufacturers coming back at the right time with the
right structure of rules that controls them. I think the series has
the key elements. We have to just grow it and learn from our
mistakes. So stability is very important.”
6/18/04
NASCAR boys to visit F1 again
NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers and
possibly the sport's biggest name Dale Earnhardt Jr will be jetting
into Indianapolis on Saturday to watch Formula 1 qualifying. The
Nextel Cup is at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn,
Michigan this weekend and the NASCAR stars will take Jeff Gordon's
plane down to Indianapolis before returning to Michigan for the
final practice, known as Happy Hour, on Saturday afternoon. Such
activities can only help to raise the profile of F1 in the United
States where Gordon and Earnhardt are household names. Earnhardt's
visit will, if it happens, be on behalf of his sponsor Budweiser,
which is also a backer of the Williams F1 team. Gordon and Johnson
visited the Spanish GP recently and seem to be developing quite a
taste for Grand Prix racing.
Grandprix.com
6/18/04
Sugar Ray to headline Denver GP
concert Today, The CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of
Denver announced that Sugar Ray is the headlining band for the Rock
n Roar concert on Saturday, August 14 at the Universal Lending
Pavilion. Doors open at 5:00 pm and the concert starts at 6:30 pm.
Tickets are now on sale. Tickets for the concert only are $20 each.
A concert ticket with the purchase of a reserved ticket, available
on Friday and Saturday of race at box office is $10. The Rock and
Roar Combo is $35 and includes a Saturday general admission ticket
to the races and a concert ticket. Coors Race Pack is $79 and
includes two Saturday reserved tickets, two Coors beverages, two
Paddock Passes and two Rock n Roar concert tickets. Tickets can be
purchased at the Pepsi Center box office, at Ticket Master outlets,
or online at http://www.gpdenver.com or http://www.ticketmaster.com.
"When we talk of living life at full throttle, this is what we mean
-- three days of racing, food, music and entertainment on the
streets of Denver. Sugar Ray adds to the energy and excitement we
will have during this year's Grand Prix," said the General Manager
at the Grand Prix of Denver, John Frew. Two concert tickets, which
includes meeting Sugar Ray and two tickets to the Grand Prix of
Denver VIP party, will be given to the final winner of the Grand
Prix Lunch Races taken place once a week from now until August 12.
Sponsored by local restaurants, the races allow downtown lunch-goers
to race remote-controlled cars. Each weekly winner enters the
championship race happening on Thursday, August 12 at the Street
Party.
6/18/04
Paul Newman to race at ALMS event
Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning actor and Connecticut resident, has
competed in SCCA Club Racing events at Lime Rock Park this season
and he plans to be back at the Road Racing Center of the East on
July 4th weekend. Newman, 79, will pilot the No. 79 Chevrolet Camaro
in the American GT Challenge race on Saturday, July 3, which is part
of the four-day American Le Mans Series New England Grand Prix. The
New England Grand Prix, July 2-5, features the first ever appearance
in the Northeast for the ALMS. Three of the four class-winning teams
at the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be competing at Lime Rock along with
established sports car stars such as JJ Lehto, Ron Fellows, Butch
Leitzinger, James Weaver and all the ALMS series regulars. The Star
Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear, the
Formula SCCA Championship and the Spec Miata Challenge will also be
racing at Lime Rock. On Sunday, July 4, celebrate the holiday with
the whole family at a spectacular Corvette car corral and hear live
music, see live ALMS pit stop demonstrations, and take a tour of the
Petersen Motorsports ALMS team compound. Newman has won four SCCA
National championships in three different classes; D-Production
(1976), C-Production (1979) and GT-1 (1985-86). SCCA GT-1 is one of
the classes eligible to compete in the American GT Challenge, a
series for tube-framed chassis, V-8 or V-6 American muscle cars.
Newman won the 1986 Trans-Am Series race at Lime Rock and has
competed in other some of the biggest sports car races in America,
including the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Tickets for the American Le
Mans Series New England Grand Prix can be purchased online at
www.limerock.com
and are available at Lime Rock ticket outlets, including
participating AAA branch offices, throughout the tri-state area or
by calling 1-800-RACE-LRP.
6/18/04
New lawsuit filed against OWRS &
Motorock
This just in, a lawsuit was filed Thursday in Federal court in Los
Angeles by Lion Limited Partnership, a Nevada LP against Motorock
LLC, JR Properties, a New York LLC; James Rose; Paul Gentilozzi;
Trans-Am Racing LLC.; and Open Wheel Racing Series LLC on charges of
fraud. More details to follow....
6/18/04
Ferrari 1-2 in first USGP practice
session Rubens Barrichello set the pace in the first
practice session today at Indianapolis. The Ferrari driver lapped
over two-tenths faster than team-mate Michael Schumacher with a best
lap of 1:11.354s.
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tires
Times Ave/Gaps Laps
1. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'11"354 211.498 Km/h 11
2. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'11"619 + 0'00"265 11
3. 35 DAVIDSON BAR Honda M 1'11"693 + 0'00"339 18
4. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'12"553 + 0'01"199 10
5. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'12"575 + 0'01"221 5
6. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1'12"631 + 0'01"277 10
7. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'12"669 + 0'01"315 7
8. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'12"968 + 0'01"614 8
9. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'12"989 + 0'01"635 8
10. 38 ZONTA Toyota M 1'13"045 + 0'01"691 15
11. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'13"351 + 0'01"997 5
12. 10 SATO BAR Honda M 1'13"747 + 0'02"393 6
13. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'13"762 + 0'02"408 4
14. 16 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'13"868 + 0'02"514 7
15. 37 WIRDHEIM Jaguar Cosworth M 1'13"877 + 0'02"523 22
16. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'13"916 + 0'02"562 4
17. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'14"208 + 0'02"854 10
18. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'14"868 + 0'03"514 13
19. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'15"179 + 0'03"825 6
20. 39 GLOCK Jordan Ford B 1'15"242 + 0'03"888 17
21. 19 PANTANO Jordan Ford B 1'15"260 + 0'03"906 10
22. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'15"468 + 0'04"114 9
23. 40 LEINDERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'16"538 + 0'05"184 12
24. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'17"138 + 0'05"784 11
25. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 3'56"560 + 2'45"206 1
6/18/04
Jim Long back at Michigan
Jim Long, crew chief of the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet, is expected
back in the garage this weekend after sitting out the race at
Pocono. He remained home in Denver, N.C., last week for tests and
treatment of migraine headaches while chief engineer Alan Gustafson
served as interim crew chief.
6/18/04
Vickers getting road course ready
On Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Vickers and Jeff Gordon
spent the day polishing their road-course skills as the No. 24 and
No. 25 teams participated in a one-day test session at Virginia
International Raceway in preparation for the June 27 NEXTEL Cup
event at Infineon Raceway.
6/18/04
Happy Father's Day
The Chevrolets of Vickers, Labonte and Jimmie Johnson will sport
slightly different looks this weekend at Michigan. Along with nine
other NEXTEL Cup drivers, the Hendrick Motorsports trio will carry
special paint schemes honoring Father's Day. The highest-finishing
driver in the program will earn $25,000 toward their dad's favorite
charity. "There's a lot of satisfaction for me, maybe even more for
my dad though. My parents (Clyde and Ramona Vickers) sacrificed many
things to get me to the level I'm at. The special paint scheme is
the least I can do to show my appreciation to my dad -- I can't
thank him enough. I wouldn't be here today if it were not for him."
Vickers said.
6/18/04
Honda almost dropped out of F1
Just 24 hours before Jenson Button took third place at the Malaysian
GP in March, Honda was set to withdraw from their £100million-a-year
deal with BAR. But the 24-year-old's first podium in F1 managed to
change Honda’s plans. “Halfway through last year the board
were close to pulling out. They were disenchanted with the results
because they expected more,” revealed Honda chief Shoichi Tanaka.
"Things improved towards the end of last year but the turning point
was Jenson’s third place - his first podium finish - in Malaysia.
The day after the race the executive board had a meeting and,
because of the result, were persuaded to continue,” said Tanaka to
The Sun. Tanaka added: “What we are waiting for now is
our first win with BAR. Jenson is doing a great job.” Honda
are believed to have extended their contract with BAR until 2007.
6/18/04
F1 points system hurts Michael
At the start of the 2003 season the new format of awarding points to
the top eight finishers was introduced, replacing the previous scale
where only the top six earned points. This was done not only to
reward the lower order teams who often missed out on a top-six
finish by one or two places, but also to narrow the points deficit
between first and second in the hope that it would tighten up the
Championship, which it did.
This season with the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale Championship leader
Michael Schumacher has a 16 point lead over his nearest rival,
Rubens Barrichello. However, if the old 10-6-4-3-2-1 system were
still in place the gap would double to 32, and the Drivers'
Championship would be decided all too soon.
According to Webber "the problem is Michael. That's why it's like
that. It was set up really to keep it (the Championship) alive for
longer because he buried it quite early a few years ago. It's like
hanging him up slowly, slowly and every now and then someone gets to
have a nibble at him again."
But even though the Aussie can see the benefits of the new system he
admitted to Reuters he "liked it when it was only down to six
because that was how it was for the last 1,000 years and I don't
know why we should have changed it just to give other people more of
a chance. It was fine how it was but I've been with teams like
Minardi and the distribution of points is crucial as well. So it's a
difficult one."
He added: "To finish in the top eight now I'd say is actually quite
similar to finishing in the top six in years gone by, it's still
quite tough. But I'm just a bit old fashioned I suppose when it
comes to all that sort of stuff."
Planet-F1
6/18/04
Boring Michigan might help NASCAR
save face
Most times, NASCAR fans shudder when they see Michigan -- big, flat,
wide, fast, boring Michigan -- on the race schedule. But
perhaps big, flat, wide, fast, boring Michigan is just what NASCAR
needs to calm its suddenly stormy seas. An astounding
24.5 percent of the laps in NASCAR's two most recent races have been
run under caution --34.3 percent in the final half of the races --
due to NASCAR indecisiveness and the vagaries of racing. In
contrast, only 13.8 percent of the laps in Michigan's last 10 events
have been run under yellow. That's mostly due to the
track being parking-lot wide and having multiple racing grooves,
allowing the drivers to mash the accelerator and the cars to get
spread out. It all makes for less than dramatic theater but fast,
mostly safe racing. And after the caution-laden,
mistake-riddled shows at Dover and Pocono, with fans in an uproar
and the sport in turmoil, NASCAR needs Michigan like a wet horse
needs a dry blanket.
Florida Today
6/18/04
Trans-Am race to be broadcast on Spike TV
The Albertsons Trans-Am 100, Round 2 of the 2004 Motorock Trans-Am Series
championship, will be broadcast on Spike TV with expanded coverage on HDNet.
The race is part of Portland International Raceway’s Champ Car Grand Prix
weekend and is scheduled for Saturday, June 19 at 3:45 p.m. PDT.
Spike TV, which also broadcasts the Champ Car World Series, has
expanded its 2004 motorsports programming to include the Albertsons
Trans-Am 100 race on tape-delayed basis in the popular “Dangerous
Curves” timeslot. The event will air Sunday, June 27 at 1:30 p.m. on
both the East and West Coasts. In other areas, please check local
listings for availability and times. The race will also air in
next-day, tape-delayed format on Sunday, June 20 at 11:30 AM EDT, as
the lead into the Champ Car World Series broadcast on the rapidly
growing HDNet. HDNet is the first national television network
broadcasting all of its programming in 1080i HD, the highest-quality
format of high-definition television (HDTV). HDNet is available on
most major cable systems, as well as many satellite providers.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Benjamin and color analyst Jon Beekhuis will call the
action from the booth, while veteran announcer Chris McClure and Becky
Gordon will handle pit-reporting duties. Betelgeuse Productions, which also
is responsible for the Champ Car World Series broadcasts, will produce the
Trans-Am show.
6/18/04
Renault F1 and Boeing to collaborate
Renault F1 and aerospace technology leader Boeing will collaborate on
technology development for aerospace and motor racing projects, the French
squad announced on Thursday. Renault said they have signed a
memorandum of understanding to "investigate technology collaboration
projects of mutual interest." "Formula One is the ideal proving ground
for leading-edge technologies, and we believe that this relationship will
make a valuable contribution to meeting our performance objectives, as well
as theirs," said Renault's technical director Bob Bell. "Within the
team, we are excited at the prospect of collaborating on innovative research
programs with Boeing, and look forward to exploiting the natural synergies
between the aerospace industry and Formula One." Miller Adams, vice
president of Boeing Technology Ventures, added: "Boeing Phantom Works has
been entering into research relationships around the world as part of our
effort to find new technologies and processes for improving aerospace
products and services. "There are interesting similarities between the
technologies required to develop Formula One racing cars and aerospace
products. We are very pleased to commence this collaboration with the
Renault F1 Team, a world-class racing organization."
6/18/04
Barrichello and Brawn USGP press conference
Here are the first two, Rubens Barrichello and Ross Brawn. I think you
probably can tell the difference between the two of them. Greetings,
gentlemen. So it wasn't so long ago the Canadian Grand Prix. Ross, perhaps I
can start with you. In Canada, we saw the two Ferraris very much racing
against one another. I know they're not meant to not race one another, but
is it a slight change of philosophy that they're allowed to race one
another, given that the team is so far ahead of everybody else? Transcript
6/18/04
People
Magazine names Kahne
Who says a good man is hard to find? This week PEOPLE picks, for the fifth
year, “The 50 Hottest Bachelors” in a special double issue. From a pro
tennis player (Andy Roddick), to a NASCAR driver (Kasey Kahne) and an
astronaut (Benjamin Alvin Drew), there’s someone for everyone.
This year PEOPLE has chosen actor Orlando Bloom as Bachelor #1. Bloom’s is
the face that launched a thousand Internet searches. Troy’s younger lover
has been ranked higher on Yahoo!’s Buzz Index than Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.
Bloom says that he tries to treat women the way he’d want them treated if he
were their fathers. Other leading men on this year’s list include: Ben
Affleck, Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell and Jake Gyllenhaal.
“I’m going to wake up Nov. 3 and my stepdad is President,” says Bachelor
Chris Heinz of the looming fork in his life’s road, “or it’s back to your
regularly scheduled program.” His stepdad, John Kerry, married his mother,
Teresa, in 1995. For now Heinz accepts that the press IDs him as “rich and
single.” Says Heinz: “I’d be more upset if it weren’t true. I’m kidding. I
wish it were drop-dead gorgeous and rich.
We’ve seen them scheme, dream and kiss on camera. But these Reality TV hunks
are still single, sexy and ready for love. “It’s like guerilla warfare,”
says The Bachelorette’s Charlie Maher. “I can’t stop being a bachelor. It’s
very hard to find someone who’s quality.” Aggressive women need apply!
“Honest to God, I’m shy,” says Apprentice winner Bill Rancic. “Even now I
just can’t walk up to a girl in a bar.”
6/18/04
Schumacher reveals his secret
Michael Schumacher met the mainly American media, standing in the rain in
the paddock, but while storm clouds gathered, all was calm as far as the
reigning world champion was concerned. 'Last year the atmosphere here was
very special and I am looking forward to this year's event,' was his opening
remark. 'In 2003, I remember coming here in a pessimistic mood and leaving
Indy with much more than I had anticipated. We put on a good show and the
fans gave us a great reception.'
This is the first time in the five years
Indianapolis has hosted this race that it takes place in June rather than
September and temperatures and humidity are significantly higher. 'I don’t
think we have raced yet this year in such high temperatures,' commented the
Ferrari man. 'The weather could be a factor for the race, although I’ve
heard it is due to get a bit cooler over the weekend.'
The American media are fascinated by Schumacher’s relaxed demeanor and
thought it might have something to do with the fact he was in the United
States. Sadly, they were disappointed. 'I’m always relaxed,' replied the
German. 'Even when I’m in Europe,' he added, although he did admit to
enjoying the anonymity as to his identity here in North America.
It was a day for quick responses and when Michael was asked what made him
better than the rest, he replied: 'At the end of the day, I’m just better at
driving round in circles! For whatever reason, I am having a very good
year.'
The British media were keen to get Schumacher’s views on the two Ferrari
drivers' closest rival, Jenson Button. 'He is waiting for his first win and
I think it will come. Racing is like any sport in that you don’t know when
it will happen, but he is a very motivated driver.'
In three races time, at the British GP, the qualifying system changes again,
meaning that cars will once again qualify in 'classic' trim, with minimum
fuel loads, before being free to chose their fuel load for the race. With
suggestions that at times, Bridgestone’s rival tire has performed a bit
better over a single lap, was Michael not concerned over the change in
format? 'No, if you take all the eight races we have done so far this year,
I think there have only been two grands prix where we had a slight
disadvantage in qualifying and in the others we have been quite dominant, so
there is no need for concern. In any case, if our tires have not been the
best in qualifying, they have made up for it in the race.'
As the season enters its second half, the opposition is naturally hoping
that Ferrari's effort might have reached its top level, but this is not the
case according to Schumacher. “I am confident in the development of the car
for the rest of the year. Ferrari's strength has always been this ability to
develop a car over the whole season.'
New ALMS team and driver
A new race team and a young aspiring racing driver from Georgia will make
their first appearances in the American Le Mans Series when the professional
sports car racing series competes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in
Lexington, Ohio, June 25-27. The event will mark the debut of a new
Georgia-based racing team known as Race Car Company, formed by James Cooke
of England and Jason Dunken of Nicholson, Ga. The team will field a Lola
B2K/40-Millington Prototype in the LMP2 class of the ALMS. Driving will be
20-year-old Ryan Eversley of Winder, Ga. The drive at Mid-Ohio is a payback
of sorts from Cooke to Eversley, who as a mechanic helped prepare the cars
that Cooke and partner Dennis Marshall fielded in the full ALMS season in
2002 with Archangel Motorsports. Eversley has raced open-wheel cars in the
past and spent the 2003 driving a Nissan Sentra in the Grand-Am Cup Series
with Archangel Motorsports owner Mike Johnson. In addition, Eversley worked
as a mechanic for the former JML Team Panoz in the ALMS last season. He
tested the Lola recently at a South Carolina road racing track. "Ryan comes
highly recommended to me by Mike Johnson," said Cooke. "He has been around
the game long enough now to know we are looking for a mature, level-headed
driver who will not only be on the pace but will also look after the car."
Eversley's co-driver for the event at Mid-Ohio has not been announced. Cooke
said that Race Car Company has two Lola chassis and hopes to enter two cars
in selected ALMS races later this season.
6/17/04
Pit walkabout a big hit at USGP
Many of the thousands of fans at the 2004 United States Grand Prix pit
walkabout were as much of a spectacle as the Formula One cars and drivers
they were there to see. The festive event June 17 at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway provided a fitting kickoff to the United States Grand Prix
weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
While thousands of fans converged on IMS in "traditional" race fan wear -
team and driver T-shirts and hats - many die-hard fans showed their
allegiance to their favorite F1 teams with face paint, Jaguar-green and
Ferrari-red wigs, flags and other gear.
Sam Grasso, from Philadelphia, took devotion to Italian team Ferrari to new
heights with a Roman centurion costume, complete with helmet, plastic body
armor and a staff. Grasso adorned the body armor with select decals of the
Ferrari F1 car, the classic "Prancing Horse" logo and Shell Oil, one of the
Ferrari team's corporate sponsors. Being an American of Italian descent,
Grasso even had Italian music playing from small speakers on his belt.
"To be honest, I wore this because nobody else did last year," Grasso said.
"I walked around and I saw people's faces painted, I saw costumes I loved
and took as many pictures as I could."
Grasso attended the inaugural USGP pit walkabout in 2003 and praised the
track for improving the 2004 event. "Last year we were all kind of
sardines on pit road, but it was great, don't get me wrong," he said. "It is
10 times better this year. I don't know where you (the track) can go with
it, to be honest with you. I love what they do here."
In addition to walking along Indy's famous pit lane and viewing the cars and
team garages of Formula One, fans were treated to an expanded pit walkabout
entertainment lineup for the 2004 event. Past and present Formula One
drivers signed autographs in the plaza behind the Bombardier Pagoda control
tower, including American World Champions Phil Hill and Mario Andretti and
current F1 stars Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, Fernando Alonso,
Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli, among others. Photos
6/17/04
Ray-Ban and BAR announce deal
Ray-Ban, the world's leading sunglasses and optical eyewear brand, has
chosen to enter Formula One with Lucky Strike B·A·R Honda. Ray-Ban's Team
Partner status with B·A·R will be one of the key elements of its global
communications campaign and was born out of the synergy between Ray-Ban's
iconic brand and the young and successful B·A·R team. Ray-Ban operates in
more than 100 countries and is today the top-selling eyewear brand in the
world. Formula One with B·A·R, which relaunched its own brand in 2003 under
the pure racing theme, will be a powerful global promotional vehicle for
Ray-Ban. Ray-Ban has always been synonymous with style, design, quality and
coolness. The partnership kicks off this weekend at the U.S. Grand Prix with
the unmistakable Ray-Ban signature appearing for the first time on the
cockpit sides of the B·A·R Honda 006 race cars as they roll out of the
garage for the start of Friday's Free Practice. The brand will also feature
on the helmets of race drivers Jenson Button and Takuma Sato and third
driver Anthony Davidson.
6/17/04
Michael Schumacher will never race in Indy
500
Arguably the greatest driver of all-time, Michael Schumacher, was asked
today in a media conference, as a lead-in to the USGP, the following
question
Q: Would you like to compete in the Indy 500 one
year?
SCHUMACHER: No.
That is all he said, no! He was direct and
to the point. The Indy 500 used to mean something at one time.
F1 greats like Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell and
others came to Indy in the past because it was once the greatest race in the
world. No more. Tony George, with his vision called the IRL, has run
the Indy 500 into the ground to the point drivers like Schumacher have zero
interest. More of his interview.
6/17/04
IRL Texas TV ratings
More bad news for the IRL. Texas is the IRL's 2nd biggest event behind
the Indy 500. Last year's final rating for Texas on ESPN was a dismal
0.4/1.0 share, this in prime time when there are more viewers watching TV.
The league was hoping for an improvement this year with all the money Honda
and Toyota are pumping into the series. The overnight rating for 2004
was a 0.4/0.8 share (339,000 households) and since the IRL's finals are
99.9% of the time lower than the overnights, it looks like we will see a
drop in the dismal final rating from last year. Already we see the
share is down 20%. Last year's 0.4 rating was down from that in 2002
of 0.62, which represented a 35% drop in one year. There is no growth
in the IRL and in fact it continues to decline into oblivion as a result of
Tony George's vision.
6/17/04
London street event to be held rush hour
The Formula 1 demonstration run on the streets of London will be
held at rush hour on Tuesday July 6. The event, which is being run
by the Regent Street Association, the Crown Estates and Harvey
Goldsmith Productions will take place between 6pm and 8pm and will
run on a circuit which will start at Waterloo Place, at the bottom
of Lower Regent Street and will go up to Picadilly Circus and from
there into Regent Street itself. It will run up to the DH Evans
department store and then turn to the right through the pedestrian
precinct outside the London Palladium and then on to Marlborough
Street opposite the Liberty's department store and from there back
on to Regent Street for the run back down to Waterloo Place. The
cars will run one at a time and then for a grand finale will all run
together around the course. The event is likely to be watched by
anything between 100,000 and 250,000 people and we understand that
TV coverage is open to all stations.
Grandprix.com
6/17/04
Childress: NASCAR made a bad call
Below are select quotes from Wednesday's Wind Tunnel with Dave
Despain on SPEED Channel. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team owner
Richard Childress comments on the actions and NASCAR punishment of
his driver Kevin Harvick at Pocono. Wind Tunnel airs live Monday
through Thursday at 10 p.m. ET exclusively on SPEED Channel.
Childress: "(NASCAR) should have sent checks, but instead we got the
royal shaft. I can't really say on the air what I really think. It
was probably, in my years of racing, one of the most unfair -- and I
am not a whiner, hell, we're big boys and we take our licks when we
get 'em. And sure, Kevin has done some things in the past where we
know we've been wrong and we've known what's happened. But at the
end of the day, this one here was not Kevin's deal. I don't know
what happened to Matt when he spun, but our car did not have a
scratch on the nose and we told NASCAR to look at the black marks.
They agreed with the black marks that Matt had tried to brake check
Kevin and then he came back around and deliberately spun him -- I
mean he drilled him. That's what you've got to do to spin someone
out. You hit him in the back and turn right. I've been a race driver
myself.
"I'm pretty upset about it and terribly upset with NASCAR's
decision. I think it was ... if a guy robs a bank and he's been a
bank robber and he walks by, he's going to be accused of robbing the
bank. Kevin's past caught him up a little. We knew he'd probably get
a fine, but the equal penalties is what I am so upset about. All
you've got to do is watch your TV ... and I like Matt. Matt's a
great guy and a good champion, but at the end of the day, I think
NASCAR made a bad call."
6/17/04
Cola wars in NASCARUPDATE The Coca-Cola C2 cars
will be driven in the July 3 Nextel Cup race by members of The
Coca-Cola Racing Family, including Tony Stewart (#20), Bill Elliott
(#98), Ricky Rudd (#21), Kurt Busch (#97), Greg Biffle (#16), Jeff
Burton (#99), John Andretti (#1), and Kevin Harvick (#29). The
Coca-Cola C2 race cars each will feature a unique take on the
brand's signature red and black colors, and the drivers will wear
Coca-Cola C2 fire suits as well. Coca-Cola C2 is a new soft drink
created by The Coca-Cola Company that offers the great Coca-Cola
taste consumers want with fewer carbs and calories than regular
colas. For NASCAR fans who have yet to try new Coca-Cola C2, there
will be extensive sampling opportunities in and around the Daytona
area over Independence Day weekend. "We are revving up our engines
and rolling out Coca-Cola C2 all over the country right now, and
when eight Coca-Cola C2 cars take to the track on July 3, we'll be
at full speed," said Javier Benito, president, U.S. Retail Division
and chief marketing officer, Coca-Cola North America. "What better
way to introduce NASCAR fans to America's hottest new soft drink
than to field an 8-pack of the best drivers in NASCAR in
700-horsepower Coca-Cola C2 cars?" 6/17/04 - In the latest salvo in the sports marketing battle between Coca-Cola
and Pepsi, Coke will run one of its largest race promotions around
the July 3 Pepsi 400 in Daytona, as its new C2 brand will be the
primary sponsor for eight cars. While the two brands have gone back
and forth for years — who can forget Jeff Gordon drinking Pepsi in
Victory Lane at the Coca-Cola 600 — a Coke spokesperson downplayed
the notion that this is just an ambush marketing ploy, saying the
race's high profile and holiday weekend date make it an ideal
platform for the new brand. Sports Business Daily
6/17/04
Rain washes out 2nd day of Milwaukee
test
Steady rain showers canceled the final day of the IRL IndyCar®
Series Open Test at The Milwaukee Mile. Track drying delayed
the start of the test's second day, and a rain shower shortly before
2 p.m. (EDT) prompted IRL officials to end the test early.
"Being able to come and run here for a day has certainly been
beneficial, but we would have liked to run today and work a bit more
on the race setup," Marlboro Team Penske president Tim Cindric said.
Sam Hornish Jr. had the fastest combined practice speed at 164.868
mph in the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone.
Teammate Helio Castroneves was second quick at 164.582 mph, and
Scott Sharp was third at 163.707 mph in the No. 8 Delphi
Dallara/Toyota/Firestone. Reigning IndyCar Series champ
Scott Dixon said the one day of testing on June 16 was good enough
to develop a base setup. "I think we're not too bad," said
Dixon, who was fourth quick on the chart at 163.332 mph in the No. 1
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone. "We're
only a tenth-and-a-half (of a second) off of the top time, and I
think we found enough (speed). It will be a pinch having to find it
when we come back, but we're all right." The IndyCar Series
returns to Milwaukee for the Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 225 on July 25.
The IRL Menards Infiniti Pro SeriesT Milwaukee 100 also takes place
on July 25. [Editor's Note: Hornish's fast lap of
164.582 MPH not only would have put him dead last on the recent
Champ Car grid, Ryan Hunter-Reay was almost exactly 2 full seconds
per lap faster (20.509 sec vs. 22.578 sec.) meaning every 10 laps
Hunter-Reay's Champ Car would have lapped Hornish's IRL car.
In a 250 lap race the IRL car would be 25 laps down to the Champ
Car.]
6/17/04
NASCAR Pocono TV RatingUPDATE The final TV rating for
the Pocono race was a 5.2/14 share compared to last year's 5.3/14
share, a drop of just 2%. NASCAR definitely gets a strong bump
from the smaller markets underlying the fact it has become very
mainstream in America. 6/14/04 - The overnight rating for NASCAR's Nextel Cup race at Pocono Sunday on Fox
was a 4.7/11 share. This is down 7.8% for last year's overnight of
5.1/12 share. The final last year was a 5.3/14 share so it will be
interesting to see how this year's final compares, due out Thursday.
6/17/04
Alex Zanardi pre-Portland quotes Alex Zanardi on Portland: "Portland is a permanent
road course built in a beautiful State, which is for me a fantastic
area for many reasons. The downside is that the weather is so
unpredictable that it's not uncommon to start the race on the dry
and end with the rain as it happened to me in 1996 when I won my
first Champ Car race. Obviously my feelings for Portland are
quite special because that's where I obtained one of my greatest
career satisfactions; like the first love you never forget the first
win! It's not a long track, but it's quite difficult to
overtake unless you have the opportunity to draft someone on the
long straight because in turn one you have a great braking point
and you can complete the maneuver. The course it's pretty technical
and you have to set-up the car quite well because if you don't you
can end up with a lot of under steering during the race, but overall
I believe it's a good place to come and race." Alex Zanardi on his health: "My physical
condition is remarkably excellent because after what I've been
through it's a blessing that I could get back to a normal life. I
really feel great and I don't have to do any particular everyday
rehab, but just be concerned about the rehab when I decide on new
components I like to try, but life is great! My living is very
similar to what it used to be and that it's a great accomplishment.
I'm now at a point where I can make any decision like in the past
and as you know I now drive in the ETCC - European Touring Car
Championship with a BMW 320i of Team BMW Italy-Spain run by Ravaglia
Motorsport." Alex Zanardi on his racing: "It's not really a
comeback because from my point of view I never quit racing; I was
forced to stop because of the accident. After the rehab, which has
been my priority for many months, as soon as I had the possibility
to choose I spoke with my family and I decided to resume my racing
activity. I'm not afraid nor I feel I'm in any danger,
actually I have an advantage because if something happens I will
just need a tool in order to fix my leg!" Zanardi in the News: Alex Zanardi played a
fundamental role in convincing a young 36-year-old woman from Rome
to accept a second leg amputation after she had decided to give up
and die. Francesca, who is also a mother of a 12-year-old boy,
suffers from a rare disease and was determined not to live without
legs. The discrete meeting between Alex Zanardi and Francesca took
place a week ago, but was not been publicized until after the
surgery Professor Bollero delivered the news. Alex Zanardi spent
three hours from 8:45 pm to 11:45 pm convincing the woman to accept
the second amputation. Francesca's story touched many people
including Italian singer Claudio Baglioni and Rome's mayor.
According to Italian web site TGCOM.it the surgery went well and the
women may be home soon, maybe within 10 to 15 days.
6/17/04
British GP a sellout
The British Grand Prix has sold out for all three days of the meeting,
which will take place between July 9-11. The race will take place in
front of a capacity crowd of 100,000, which will be the highest
attendance since 1999 and the first sell-out in the same period.
Demand has been high, largely because of the new pricing structure,
which has offered enhanced value and a range of options for fans.
There are a limited number of hospitality packages still available
but general admission tickets are no longer being sold and
Silverstone has already started pumping out the message that people
should not just turn up hoping for a ticket. One of the innovations
at this year's event is Grand Prix Drivers Association support for
The Grand Prix Party which will take place in the centre of the
circuit after the event. This will guarantee the attendance of a
number of drivers along with music from the Beach Boys, Jenson
Button's fiancée Louise Griffiths and Atomic Kitten's Jenny Frost.
Grandprix.com
6/17/04
Indy expects big crowd for USGP
Although the Speedway doesn't release attendance figures, observers say the
race's turnout has decreased since its debut in 2000. Previously reported
estimates indicate the inaugural race drew about 200,000 fans, while the 2001
race drew about 175,000. The past two years, the crowd has been estimated near
120,000. Although the attendance is smaller than the 500-Mile Race in May and
NASCAR's Brickyard 400 event in August, the U.S. Grand Prix still remains one
of the top draws on the Formula One circuit. IMS spokesman Ron Green said
ticket sales are going well. In fact, the Speedway has built two temporary
terrace grandstands on the track's infield. The one on Turn 6 has sold out,
and sales for the other on Turn 10 have gone very well, Green said. "That's a
good indicator that not only the word is getting out about the date change but
about these new grandstands," Green said. "We're very pleased with fan
response, and we're optimistic Sunday will be a strong, strong day for us as
far as turnout goes." Any turnout of more than 100,000 people, many coming
from overseas, still has a tremendous impact on the local economy.
Indy Star
6/17/04
Daytona 500 wins TV ratings race
All the final television numbers were in from Memorial Day weekend, which
included the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR jewel Coca-Cola 600. The
Daytona 500 beat all comers. It wasn't even close. The 500, staged in
February, enjoyed a 10.6 rating with 18 million viewers on NBC. In contrast,
the Indy 500, shown by ABC, had a 4.1 rating and the 600, staged in
primetime by Fox, had a 5 rating. The Indy 500 was watched by six million
people while the 600 had eight million people tune in to watch. If you add
the ratings generated by the ABC and Fox broadcasts during Memorial Day, it
comes out to a 9.1, still less than the rating generated by the Daytona 500.
The 500 also beat both races combined on viewers as a total of 14 million
flipped the channel to watch both races. The Indy 500 still rules as far as
paid attendance, drawing some 350,000 race fans every year while over at
Lowe's Motor Speedway, there was the disturbing sight of empty seats in the
giant Turn 2 grandstand area. Anyway, based on TV numbers the argument can
be made that the Daytona 500 has become the premier racing event in the
country. Braig took it a step further. "The World Center of Racing continues
to rightfully claim its title not only in television audience but in
viewership worldwide as the most important race in motorsports," Braig said.
Daytona Beach News-Journal [Editor's Note: In the CART
years the Indy 500 had bigger TV ratings than the Daytona 500.
Now look where it is. History will show than Anton Hulman George (nee
Tony George) took a sport that was a huge success and totally destroyed it
with his harebrained concept that Indy Car racing should be some dumbed down
formula run on ovals. Now it's too late, NASCAR has become a monopoly
and you can take a fork and stick it in his IRL series, it's done. As
we have said on numerous occasions, if Anton George was the President of any
other company, he would have been fired ages ago.]
6/17/04
Montreal Champ Car race has new sponsor
The Montreal Molson Indy has a new sponsor and the Champ Car series race
scheduled for Aug. 27-29 will go ahead as planned, promoter Alan Labrosse
announced Wednesday. Labrosse, however, said he wasn't ready to identify
the new sponsor. The race at the Gilles Villeneuve track is expected to
equal last year's draw of 152,000 spectators over the weekend by stressing the
interactive nature of the event. ``We are accessible at all levels,''
Labrosse told a news conference. ``Spectators can approach drivers, talk to
them and even touch their cars.'' Labrosse appeared to be making a
comparison with the more exclusive Canadian Grand Prix, which was recently run
on the same track. Molson Indy tickets will cost between $75 and $249
for three days. Parents can also bring two children 13 years and under for
free. The first three Champ Car races this season have attracted large
crowds in Long Beach, Calif., Monterrey, Mexico and Milwaukee, giving it ``a
good potential,'' said Canadian driver Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., who
attended the news conference with Andrew Ranger, a rising Quebec star who will
race in the Toyota Atlantic series. ``Last year I got the pole and
finished fourth,'' Tagliani said. ``This year, I'm not coming here to finish
second.'' Tagliani has had a difficult start to his season, which he
attributed to bizarre incidents. Labrosse hopes for good races from
Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., who finished second to
Toronto native Paul Tracy in the championship standings last year.
TSN.ca
6/17/04 Industry News
Luxury cars target China's rich
Luxury car makers from the United States, Europe and Japan are targeting
China's new rich. Two models of DaimlerChrysler's luxury sedan
Maybach were spotlighted at the German auto giant's 3,400-square-meter
pavilion at China's biggest auto show , running from June 9 to 16.
Peter Honegg, president of Mercedes-Benz's China division, was quoted by
Beijing Daily Messenger as saying that the company expects to sell 1,000
Maybachs annually in China. The sedan is sold so far at 5.38
million to 6.18 million yuan. According to
Mercedes-Benz and Audi reports issued last month, 130,000 Chinese are driving
Mercedes-Benz while 63,000 have Audi sedans. In China's economic
hub Shanghai, British Bingley has sold 15 sedans since the beginning of this
year and it said the sales are very much likely to end as 20 this year, double
from last year. "The growth of China's luxury market was
impressive in recent years," said Honegg, "I was surprised to learn that many
rich Chinese know Maybach well." Two days before the auto show's
opening, Ford said it would start dealerships of Aston Martin, its sports car
series, in China next year. And General Motors will begin to
produce its Cadillac sedans in its Shanghai joint venture factory this year.
Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. announced Tuesday last week in Tokyo
that it will open six exclusive Lexus dealerships in Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and Shenzhen this year and plans to increase the number to 14 by the
middle of 2005. So far only Volkswagen's Audi and BMW were
produced in China. BMW has produced five models in China and Audi will soon
put two new models on the Chinese market. According to the
National Bureau of Statistics of China, each urban Chinese had 8,472 yuan
(1,042 US dollars) of disposable annual income in average in 2003. The
rich, accounting for 10 percent of the country's population, owned 45 percent
of the wealth in cities. In 2003, Chinese owned 4.89 million
private cars, 42.56 percent more than the previous year. However,
China's car sales dropped in April by 3 percent from March though still higher
than April 2003 and insiders worried about a continuous drop in May.
English Eastday
Feedback on Autosport engine article
Dear AutoRacing1.Com, I'm sorry but I simply can't let the latest addition to
the IRL Media Shills list, Autosport, get by with the utter garbage they have
spouted and you were kind enough to bring to our attention (see rumor on
Toyota renewing with the IRL). " . . . cementing the championship's dominant position in US open-wheel
racing." What in God's name are these alleged journalists talking
about? Their reading must be limited to IRL propaganda kits and press
releases. What "facts" do they have to back up such an outlandish, absurd and
illegitimate assertion?! Tony's vision has managed to put the 500 on life support.
TMS tried to give away all their IRL tickets before they were forced to knock
it off. Penske and Mikey suddenly want unification? The IRL talks about going
road racing next year but none of the existing equipment works on a road
course without expensive upgrades and only the superteams can afford dual chassis.
"Dominant Position!?" To what? SCCA club
racing?! "Our continued involvement beyond that (2006) has far more to do with
how many people are in the seats in the grandstands or watching on television
than it does any of our NASCAR activities." Ya think! Get ready to
pack your Anvil cases guys 'cause it isn't gonna get any better than it is
right now! There isn't enough Yen or Hulman-George Trust Fund greenbacks to
change the fact that the fans Tony needs ( THEY AINT COMIN' BACK!) to survive
either will not support his series or they're now stock car fans and could
care less about them there open wheel cars a Shaker Heights High School
cheerleader could drive at full tilt! That was TILT! I can't believe both
Toyota and Honda bought into this nonsense! Renew for what?! More empty
grandstands? More massive ticket giveaways (like this year's 500)? More boring
racing? More non-existent TV ratings? What the hell were these guys thinking? "We see signs of strengthening in the teams attending the races, but the
television figures are still an issue." Strengthening? Is Honda
suddenly putting up more YEN for Andretti-Green to run a fifth car? Why not
let Tony out-source the entire grid to Andretti-Green-ARAMARK! This is
competition? They should change the name to the Penske/Andretti-Green/Ganassi
Racing League. How many other teams besides Greg Ray's are on the verge of
going bust? How many will throw in the towel in disgust at the end of the 2004
season? Strengthening? The only thing that's "strengthening" around the IRL is
the stench of death that's been hanging over the league since Penske's call
for unification appeared in the New York Times and a big orange "DNR" sticker
was added to the 500's medical chart! "We see the move to road courses next year as a positive thing."
So do Champ Car fans. Real Men Turn Right and there are no real men driving in
the IRL. Just cash grubbing ingrates. As Scott Dixon learned, an IRL driver's
career has nowhere to go . . . but DOWN the you-know-what! "The confirmation of the engine deals is also an indirect blow to the
Champ Car World Series. It had stood to gain if either of the engine
suppliers, which pump money into the IRL, had pulled out." CCWS
is unaffected by any of this for 2.6 million reasons: the 2.6 MILLION fans
that bought a ticket (they didn't hang out in front of a 7-11 waiting for a
Philip Morris rep to press a thick stack of freebies into their hands) with
their own money and went to see the best open wheel racing in North America:
"Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford." It may be a
mouthful, but it sure beats the pile of dung known as the IRL. J.N.
Anderson, Chicago, Illinois
6/16/04
Menards
to sponsor Milwaukee IRL race
A.J. Foyt assisted Molly Menard, Director
of Motorsports Marketing for Menards Home Improvement Stores in unveiling the
event logo for the inaugural “Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 225” IRL IndyCar Series
race, set for Sunday afternoon, July 25, 2004 at the historic speedway.
This is the first time an event has been named in honor of the Houston native,
affectionately called “Super Tex”. "We can’t think of a better way to
honor a gentleman who is synonymous with racing itself,” stated Mark Perrone,
Vice President & General Manager of The Milwaukee Mile. In total, Foyt
has captured 10 wins on The Milwaukee Mile as a driver, four in Indy Cars and
six in Stock Cars. “I’m glad to be back here at Milwaukee,” Foyt said.
“I’ve had a lot of good days and a lot of bad days here. I had some good days
in the hospital here, too, believe me! This is one of the best places I’ve
ever raced at, and I’m glad to see us (Indy Cars) back here.”
Foyt
shared one of his favorite memories of a Milwaukee race weekend in August
1965, where he qualified pole position in his mud-covered front-engine dirt
champ car against a field of sleeker, better handling rear-engine cars. Had it
not been for a needed pit stop for tires and fuel, Foyt would have amazingly
won the race. He had to settle for second to Gordon Johncock that afternoon.
Foyt will compete as an IndyCar Series owner on July 25 at The ‘Mile, as
owner/team engineer for his grandson, A.J. Foyt IV, a sophomore driver in the
IRL IndyCar Series. Long-time team owner John Menard and his successful
lumber and home improvement store business has been involved in the Indy
Racing League since its inception in 1995, but the Eau Claire, WI-based
businessman had never sponsored an IRL IndyCar race event to this point. “To
be associated with The Milwaukee Mile and the IRL will forge a mutually
beneficial relationship, and will provide Menards a great and innovative
marketing tool,” commented Molly Menard, Director of Motorsports Marketing for
Menards, and John’s daughter. “Some of the best race fans are here in
Wisconsin. It’s going to be a great race, and for us, this is a natural fit.”
6/16/04
Tobacco Ad bans could put racing in the pits
This Christian Science
article talks about what the banning of tobacco ads, and hence
sponsors, could do to the sport of F1.
6/16/04 Industry News
Honda extends deal with Mid-Ohio
American Honda Motor Company, Inc., and TrueSports, Inc., announced today an
agreement that will extend a current ten-year partnership through the 2006
racing season. Through this relationship, Honda will remain the "Official
Vehicle of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School". As part of the
agreement, The Mid-Ohio School will continue to use the Acura RSX Type-S and
Honda Civic EX Coupes in eight different driving courses offered at The
Mid-Ohio School. Honda also continues a long relationship with Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course. Included is the continued use of the Honda S2000 as the official
pace car for all events at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and significant signage
throughout the facility, including the landmark Honda walk-over bridge near
the "esses". Honda remains the title sponsor of the AMA Pro Racing Superbike
Series stop at Mid-Ohio, the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop
Tire. "American Honda Motor Company has been an integral part of the growth of
both Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School over the past 10
years," said Michelle Trueman Gajoch, President of TrueSports, Inc. "The
relationship we have built has directly enabled us to grow the Honda Super
Cycle Weekend, along with a number of other events and activities at the
facility. "We appreciate the loyalty and support that Tom Elliot and the
entire motorsports team at Honda have provided us in this partnership; one
that we are truly proud to be a part of." Honda also retains the naming rights
of three different driving programs offered by The Mid-Ohio School for its
Honda and Acura brands, including the Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program,
the Acura High Performance Course and the Acura Advanced High Performance
Course. "The Honda/Mid-Ohio relationship has been mutually productive for many
years," said Tom Elliot, Executive Vice-President of Auto Operations for
American Honda. "For the past two decades, Mid-Ohio has set the standard for
road courses in the U.S., and we are pleased to extend this agreement, which
ensures that Honda will be an important part of the Mid-Ohio experience for
the foreseeable future." [Editor's Note: If the IRL races
at Mid-Ohio in 2005 don't be surprised if Honda sponsors the race since they
have a plant in nearby Marysville, Ohio. Perhaps they will give all
their employees a ticket to the race to artificially bolster the gate and save
face for the IRL, which was otherwise sure to draw a lot less people than when
the Champ Cars raced there.]
6/16/04
Computers chase the checkered flag
As a lead-in to Sunday's USGP, this NY Times
article talks about all the technology associated with a modern F1
car. Technology, of course, is reshaping the preparation and tactics for
many sports. But in Formula One racing, it is at the center of the sport, a
test of the ability to perfect the synergy between man and machine. And the
result has been to create a cyborg - a blend of man and machine in every sense
of the word.
The emphasis on technology in Formula One racing is a striking contrast to the
Indy-car circuit, which has less powerful cars and more strictly limits
computerized technologies.
Even so, the high-tech push has created tensions in the Formula One world -
particularly over the remarkable spending war among the 10 teams that compete
each year for the championship.
The numbers are not public, but according to Paul Stoddart, owner of the
Minardi racing team, the teams will spend $2.8 billion during this year's
circuit, which continues over the coming weekend with the sole American event
on the tour, the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
"You can run a small country on $2.8 billion and still get change," he said.
He said the Ferrari, Toyota, McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMW teams had spent
more than $400 million this year, while Minardi, which has yet to notch any
points this season, has a budget of $40 million. [Editor's Note:
If the escalation in cost continues unabated in F1, it is safe to assume Champ
Car will be able to go into the world market at a fraction of the cost and
erode F1's market share significantly. Of course a Champ Car will have
to look and sound much like a F1 car and that's all they need.]
6/16/04
Champ Car makes progress on next-gen car
Champ Car racing has proven to be one of the fastest racing series in the
world. With these amazing stalwart machines housing the top drivers of the
Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, safety is on
top of all priorities.
With all the hype and glamour of high speed racing, the potential danger that
accompanies driving a Champ Car is often overlooked, but not in The Champ Car
World Series where improving safety is a continual process. On June 2, Champ
Car teamed up with IMMI, one of the industry leaders in the science of safety
technology, to conduct a crash test designed to gather further information to
provide useful safety-related data in the design of Champ Car’s next
generation chassis, a project spearheaded by Champ Car Director of Technology,
Lee Dykstra and the Champ Car Technical Staff. More.....
6/16/04
Hornish goes dead last on Champ Car grid
Sam Hornish Jr. had the fastest practice speed of the 22 car-driver
combinations that turned laps on the first day of a two-day Open Test at The
Milwaukee Mile. Hornish's best speed was 164.868 mph in the No. 6
Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone. His teammate, Helio
Castroneves, was second quick at 164.582 mph. Scott Sharp, who turned a
field-high 217 laps, was third on the speed chart at 163.707 mph. "We've
been real good on the handling tracks so far this year," Hornish said. "That's
a positive for us." Drivers recorded 3,021 laps on the asphalt surface
without incident. FASTEST SPEEDS OF THE DAY
Pos. Car Name C/E/T Speed
1 6 Sam Hornish Jr. D/T/F 164.868 mph
2 3 Helio Castroneves D/T/F 164.582 mph
3 8 Scott Sharp D/T/F 163.707 mph
4 1 Scott Dixon D/T/F 163.332 mph
5 5 Adrian Fernandez G/H/F 162.025 mph THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):
9 a.m. to noon: IndyCar Series Practice
Noon to 1 p.m.: Lunch break
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: IndyCar Series Practice
[Editor's Note: Let's hope the speeds pick
up some tomorrow because Hornish's fast speed of 164.868 MPH would have put
him dead last on the grid for the recent Champ Car race and way off the Champ
Car pole speed of 181.150 set by Ryan Hunter-Reay. This establishes the
IRL as a trainer series for the top open wheel series in North America - Champ
Cars. It will be interesting to see if the IRL cars are even as fast as
a Toyota Atlantic car on a road course.]
6/16/04
Da Matta vows to fight for F1 seat
Cristiano da Matta wants to stay in Formula 1, even though he has been
linked with a return to Champ Cars with Newman/Haas Racing.
The Brazilian is under pressure to lift his game and convince Toyota
top brass that he should partner Ralf Schumacher in the team next
year. “I just want to have one season in a competitive car, to
be able to fight for race wins, because I feel like I can do the
job,” said da Matta. “I think I have a good chance to stay and,
until I have a proper chance to get some good results like I had in
mind when I came here, I don’t want to leave.”
6/16/04
Airport panel against NASCAR track
In a sense, an important line was drawn in the sand with the
Arlington Airport Commission's (near Seattle) recent adoption of a
resolution opposing the proposed site for a NASCAR track.
The commission is the first public body to formally oppose location
of a track just south of the airport.
"This is a beginning," said Guy Kennedy, the commission's chairman.
"It's a statement. It needs to be highlighted." The
resolution, adopted by a 6-1 vote, lays out a number of reasons for
the action but fundamentally says the track could threaten
operations of the airport, which has been a key part of Arlington's
culture since World War II.
"There's probably not a group that's done more work regarding the
track than the Airport Commission," Kennedy said.
The commission resolution comes to several conclusions.
One is that the commission is convinced that locating the track near
the airport "would change the recreational-sport, general-aviation
role of the airport." A second is that the airport
master plan calls for a restriction on "large concentrations of
people" near the flight line. On race days, thousands of racing fans
would flock to the track.
The commission's action came as a letdown for track supporters, who
questioned the background of the resolution. "I'm
disappointed," said Gigi Burke, a founder of Fans United for NASCAR
(FUN) and co-owner of Crown Distributing, an airport-area beverage
business. "I don't think that they're getting all the information
correctly," Burke said. She said the opposition fails to fully
recognize the benefits the track would bring with a minimum of
drawbacks.
Seattle Times
6/16/04
Cleveland GP cash grab
One lucky race fan will get an opportunity to watch this summer's U.S.
Bank Presents the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland with a few extra
bucks in their pocket. The Grand Prix is teaming with its presenting
sponsor to create a unique fan promotion - the U.S. Bank Champ Car
Cash Grab - which will allow one fan to walk away from the 23rd
annual Roar by the Shore (July 1-3 at Burke Lakefront Airport) with
up to $1,000 in cash. Through the promotion, fans can log on to the
official web site of the Grand Prix,
www.grandprixofcleveland.com, and register to become one of the
five finalists for the Cash Grab. Entries in the contest may be
submitted online through midnight on Sunday, June 27. Five winners
will be selected at random from the entries received and all five
lucky fans will be notified by June 29. Those five winners will each
receive two 3-day reserved grandstand tickets along with pit and
paddock passes to the U.S. Bank Presents the Champ Car Grand Prix of
Cleveland, as well as two U.S. Bank hats. Prior to the start of the
featured race of the weekend with the turbo-charged Champ Cars on
Saturday, July 3, the winners will all be given keys to the
specially-designed U.S. Bank Cash Machine. Only one of the keys will
open the doors to the machine, placed on the victory podium adjacent
to the race track. The lucky fan that holds the right key will then
get 60 seconds inside the machine to grab as much cash as they can,
with up to $1,000 floating around inside the machine. The selected
finalists must be present on race day to have a chance at winning
the grand prize and all contestants must be 18 years old to enter.
Complete contest details are available online and fans can register
for the contest as many times as they like by completing the
registration form at
www.grandprixofcleveland.comBusiness Wire
6/16/04
Waltrip comments on Wind TunnelUPDATE A reader writes, I
know there's a long standing tradition and perfectly valid reasons
for why the leader of a race often times has to restart essentially
in 15th or so place, even though they are the correct leader of the
race. Seems to me that the cars on the tail end of the lead lap
should be allowed to proceed at caution speed on around the track so
as to close up on the actual tail end of the lead lap, thus leaving
the leader just coming out of the pits to restart in first position
and keep their advantage of track position and being in clean air.
I've seen several races where the leader was messed up while
battling with those tail-end of lead lap cars that were struggling,
of course, to stay on the lead lap. This would also benefit the
tail-end of lead lap cars as they could close in on the main field
of cars. Dave Borton6/16/04 - Below are select quotes from Monday's Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED
Channel. Three-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion and FOX/SPEED Channel
analyst Darrell Waltrip was Despain's guest, talking about some of the
recent issues with NASCAR officiating.
Waltrip on changes he would make in NASCAR: "A number of
things come to mind. One of the things that appears to me is happening --
it's almost like a race team going to the race track and doing (research and
development) work every week. They're falling out of races, they are not a
contender because they keep doing this R&D stuff. ... That's kinda how I
feel it is happening with NASCAR right now. The timing and scoring thing is
electronic, and you have lines around the race track, you have loops around
the race track that tell you where the cars are every so often -- not near
enough of those in the track right now to make the system work flawlessly. I
would put that on the shelf. I would do something that everybody could
understand. The start-finish line is king. Whatever happens there has always
been gospel. It's in front of me, it's in front of you, it's in front of
everybody. If I win the race by an inch, it shows up right there. If I get a
lap back by an inch, it shows up right there. If it happens the way it's
happening now, I can't see it. I can't tell you what happened. If I'm a fan,
I can't see what happened, so I am frustrated. How do I know that so-and-so
was in front of so-and-so where they said it was. I would go back -- and
this is an old-school thought and way of doing it -- I'd go back to the last
green flag lap. Now a lot of people say, 'Oh, you can't do that,' but we
know that works. It's foolproof. We know that works. In the meantime, be
doing your R&D work, be working on your computerized system. And when you
have it worked out and you know it's bulletproof and you know it is
flawless, then you put it in service.
"That's the first thing I'd do and there are a lot of other things. You
know, the freezin' the field was a great idea, but we knew it was going to
cause a lot of problems that we couldn't envision. There are a lot of things
that can be done, but you can't just keep saying you are working on it. You
need to go back to things that have worked in the past -- races finishing
under caution, they've been finishing under caution for years, and that's
just a product of racing. Every time somebody complains, every time there is
an e-mail or every time there is a bad letter in a racing magazine or some
guy gets on TV and says he doesn't like something, we can't fix everything
that goes wrong every Sunday."
"One more thing -- I would open the pits up, pace car goes on the track and
you go in the pits when you want to, not when somebody tells you you want
to. If you go in too early and screw up -- bad luck. If you time it right
and come out ahead -- good luck. It's the way we always did it. If the pace
car went out on the track, if you could get in the pit and get out before
the pace car came around and lapped you, then more power to you.
"Another thing I would do, every re-start, the inside cars would be the odd
numbers, the outside cars would be the even number and if there were cars at
the tail end of the lead lap, they would go around and start at the back of
the field. There are just so many simple things that could be done."
Waltrip on Harvick-Kenseth wrecking each other under caution:
"First of all, you cannot use race cars to get even with somebody. You want
to go in the pit and break a guy's face, that's you and him and his face.
Don't use somebody's race car when you get upset with somebody. It's
dangerous and sends the wrong message. We are professionals that are
supposed to be able to control our emotions. You could say 'no harm, no foul
because it happened under caution,' but there are always repercussions to
things like that happening. (NASCAR) has to be strong when it comes to
things of that nature. You cannot allow people to throw things on the race
track. These are fundamental things that our sport cannot survive if you let
people throw things on the track, drivers start retaliating against each
other -- all these things that have been happening the last few weeks,
people are upset."
6/16/04
SAFER
Barrier goes up at Daytona
The SAFER wall is currently being installed at Daytona International
Speedway. It will run continuously for 3,240 feet from the
entrance to Turn 1 through the exit of Turn 2 and 3,184 feet from
the entrance to Turn 3 through the exit of turn 4. Additional SAFER
barrier with a length of 1,140 feet will run along the inside
Superstretch wall and another 944 feet of SAFER barrier will run
along the inside wall of the skid pad in Turn 4. In the tri-oval,
there will be 1,280 feet of safer barrier. The SAFER walls
extend 30" from the old wall. It took 35 truck loads to
deliver the SAFER Barrier materials to Daytona International
Speedway. Elrod Corporation is completing the installation of
the SAFER Barriers at Daytona International Speedway with a 20-man
crew working from dawn until dusk.
6/16/04
California Speedway bids for IRL closer
With speculation mounting that the IRL IndyCar Series finale will have
to be moved from SMI’s Texas Motor Speedway next year due to
scheduling conflicts with that track’s new NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
date, California Speedway – owned by rival racetrack conglomerate
ISC, has been in discussion with the league to take over the season
closer. "As soon as California [Speedway] officials heard about TMS
getting the fall NASCAR date, they were on the phone with us," IRL
executive vice president Ken Ungar told the Dallas Morning News.
"They are very serious about taking over the final race." TMS’
long-sought second Nextel Cup race is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2005. If
the IRL schedule stayed the same for next year, the season finale at
TMS would fall only three weeks before the NASCAR weekend. TMS
president Eddie Gossage has said he wants at least a six-week gap
between the race weekends. That, however, would require ending the
IRL season on the final weekend of September, and with the league
looking to expand its calendar to include road races net year, such
a move is not likely to fly. "We love TMS, but this situation gives
us an opportunity to build a new venue for our final event," said
Fred Nation, IRL vice president of communications. "And we also
think it could enhance the June race here."
SPEED TV
6/16/04
Drivers penalized
Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick were penalized for bumping each other
at the end of the Pocono 500. With Sunday's race about to end under
caution, Harvick spun Kenseth into the infield in Turn 3 on Lap 197.
Kenseth then did the same to Harvick on the backstretch on the next
lap. Both Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, and Harvick were
interviewed after the race by NASCAR officials, who then dropped
them to 20th and 21st. Harvick originally finished 11th, and Kenseth
had finished 10th. More penalties could be coming later this week,
NASCAR president Mike Helton said. "It boils down to a frustration
level between the 17 (Kenseth) and the 29 (Harvick) that got played
out on the racetrack, under caution, and that's something we frown
on ... greatly," Helton said.
6/16/04
Another example of NASCAR officiating
at its worse
NASCAR has many strange and some secret rules, but among the strangest
are its "Unwritten Rules." That may sound like the "Double-Secret
Probation," gag of the comedy Animal House. But for Larry Woody, a
veteran reporter for the Nashville Tennessean, it was no joke.
Woody, who has been covering NASCAR for more than 30 years, ran
afoul of one of NASCAR's apparently new and secret Unwritten Rules
on Saturday night while covering the Busch race at Nashville
Speedway. NASCAR officials threatened to eject him from the track.
Woody, who writes for the biggest newspaper in Tennessee, was
"grabbed" and "yanked," Woody said, by a NASCAR pit-road official
for the offense of trying to interview race leader Martin Truex Jr.
on deadline during a long rain delay. Woody waited patiently as
first television reporters, then radio reporters interviewed Truex.
Then when he tried to interview Truex, NASCAR officials surrounded
him, grabbed him, and threatened to pull his credentials, Woody
said. When Woody protested, he said, the officials were unclear
about the rules they were enforcing and were at times contradictory.
Woody was then summoned to the NASCAR trailer by race director Brian
DeHart, who said that it was "NASCAR policy" that only Fox TV and
Motor Racing Network radio reporters are allowed to do pit-road
interviews during red flags. That's a rule that none of the sport's
regular journalists has ever heard of. Woody persisted and demanded
more details of NASCAR's supposed pit-road interview policy. Woody
said that DeHart told him it's not written down. Mike Zizzo, a
NASCAR spokesman, confirmed the incident but said that NASCAR
public-relations people are willing to get drivers for interviews
when requested.
Winston-Salem Journal [Editor's Note: When we
were covering the Pocono race this past weekend it appeared to us
that less media were covering the event. Perhaps the media are
getting tired of NASCAR shenanigans, i.e. favoring TV and radio and
making the print and internet media feel like 2nd class citizens.]
6/16/04
A sign of how bad things are in Champ Car
In a Toronto Star interview Champ Car World Series champ Paul Tracy noted, “At
tracks it’s a lot quieter now after hours than it used to be. There’s a lot
less money around in the series now, and I am the only driver who can afford
to own and run his own motorhome.”
6/16/04
Blaney replaces Sauter at Childress
Dave Blaney will replace rookie Johnny Sauter in Richard Childress Racing's
No. 30 in NASCAR's Nextel Cup series. Blaney finished 29th at Sunday's
Nextel Cup Pocono 500 while filling in for Sauter, who raced in Saturday
night's Busch series event in Nashville, Tenn. Sauter, who will remain under
contract with RCR and could still drive some races for the team this year,
had been racing full-time in the Busch series, for Brewco Motorsports, and
Nextel Cup. ``This sport has gotten so tough and complicated, sometimes
tough decisions have to be made,'' team owner Richard Childress said
Tuesday. ``Our sport is driven by business decisions and that is what this
driver change is, a business decision. ``Blaney has a strong, consistent
driving style that will fit well with the No. 30 team.''
6/16/04
MotoGP
Rossi
denies Spaniard hometown win
Hometown hero Sete Gibernau may have set the fastest lap ever at the
Catalunyan circuit with his pole position time of 1 minute 42.596 seconds, but
it was Italian Valentino Rossi (right) who won the 25-lap race for glory last
Sunday. Rossi made his final pass of an enthralling duel with Gibernau with
just two laps to go and squeezed out a slight advantage to take the checkered
flag by just 0.159 seconds.
In a display which must strike fear into Honda’s heart, Rossi edged out
Gibernau for the second straight race, with Yamaha taking three of the top
four places. "To win at Mugello and Catalunya is like a dream because we
knew they would be two difficult tracks for us with the long straights and the
extra top speed of the Honda," Rossi said.
Gibernau was the highest-placed Honda rider by over 20 seconds and still holds
a slim five-point championship lead over Rossi, but the Spaniard recognizes
the challenge ahead. "I will have a chat with Honda about how we can
improve the situation and do everything I can to make them understand that we
have to face up to Valentino and Yamaha," Gibernau said.
The championship after five of 16 rounds: Gibernau leads Rossi 106 to 101;
Biaggi is still third despite finishing eighth in Barcelona, now on 80 points;
Checa is on 49 and Barros 48. Next race - the Dutch TT in Assen, Holland
on June 26.
6/16/04
Coors extends Denver sponsorship deal
Beer brand Coors has extended its sponsorship of Champ Car race the Centrix
Financial Grand Prix of Denver. The renewed deal will see it
continue as the event’s official ‘malt beverage’ sponsor. Said Coors Brewing
Company's event marketing director, Steve Saunders: "We want to give back to
our home town and this event is the perfect summer festival to support.”
Michael Andretti calls for unificationUPDATE A reader writes, After Michael
bolted and bashed CART for the IRL/Honda money, one has to wonder how much he
is getting for this latest bit of shilling. Does ANY serious race fan give him
ANY credibility? Michael, Roger, Chip, et al, and all tried to torpedo CART just
for the money and now that the CART/Champ Car "ship" won't sink, indeed it
looks like it's making headway, this group of turncoats and their cronies have
gone into damage control mode. Could it be that they are starting to realize
that they made a huge mistake and by taking the short-term money and bashing
CART they have alienated their huge (former) fan base and have in reality
torpedoed their own ship and now have nowhere to go now that it (IRL) is
sinking. I hope they all enjoy NASCAR because if Champ Car were to fold, I for
one, would never support anything involving Tony George, Chip Ganassi, Roger
Penske, Bobby Rahal, Adrian Fernandez or their sponsors. Especially Tony
George. Tony Traugott, Santa Monica, CA6/14/04 - Michael Andretti says in this Charlotte Observer
article, "When the split happened, it was music to NASCAR's
ears and they took advantage of it," Andretti said. "Without the
split, open-wheel racing was ready to shoot up just like NASCAR. I
believe we would have had two series that were both bigger but more
equal. Both would have grown, but NASCAR wouldn't have been this thing
it has become.
"The first thing we have to do is get open-wheel racing together so
people don't turn on the TV and see a race at Milwaukee and wonder
where everybody was. The casual fan doesn't understand. We need to
bring it back to where all of the best teams and the best drivers are
in one place."
The Milwaukee race Andretti speaks of was the Champ Car race there on
June 5. The rest of the world's best open-wheel drivers were there
instead of here, and anybody who really gives serious consideration to
the hare-brained idea of splitting NASCAR into East and West divisions
would do well to look at what splitting the drivers and teams into two
groups has done to - and that's to and not for - open-wheel racing.
You don't have to do much poking around to find out how deep the
resentment runs between open-wheel racing's factions. The folks who
run the IRL and the people who own the Open Wheel Racing Series, who
bought the vestiges of CART and now run the Champ Car series, all
apparently have more money than sense and clearly have more interest
in protecting their respective fiefdoms than acting to the overall
benefit of American open-wheel racing.
"I think we can show sponsors we're a heck of a bargain because we're
a lot cheaper than NASCAR right now," Andretti says. "Wouldn't you
want to be a big fish in a small pond as opposed to getting kind of
lost over there? That's where I think this series has a future,
where we can start to sell it that way and eventually grow it. Maybe
we'd start being a little bit of a thorn in NASCAR's side."
6/16/04
NASCAR is turning into sorry operation
If NASCAR officials continue to be mistake-prone, the most famous phrase in
stock-car racing won't be "Gentlemen, start your engines," but "We're
sorry." Sunday, NASCAR President Mike Helton addressed the
sanctioning body's third officiating mistake in the past month. One of those
mistakes changed a race's outcome. Another might have if Jimmie Johnson
hadn't rallied to win Sunday at Pocono Raceway. "It would be
nice if we could go a few weeks without stuff like that [Sunday's error]
happening," Helton said after the race. While NASCAR should be
commended for admitting mistakes, its credibility sinks. NASCAR has 12 races
to fix its problems before the start of the 10-race championship chase. Any
officiating mistake then could cost someone the title and $3 million, the
approximate difference between first- and second-place money.
"We've got to get our act together," NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter said
Monday. "Not just for those last 10 races. We're a professional group. Mike,
I think he's tired of apologizing." Hunter called Sunday's
mishap an "honest mistake" when an official near pit road waved a green
flag, signifying pit road was open when it shouldn't have been.
Roanoke.com
6/16/04
Hot Topics
The Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland (HDNet, 4 p.m. Eastern Time, June 20;
Spike TV, 4 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time, June 20), is Round 4 of the 2004
Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. Following
is a current round-up of the latest Champ Car and Toyota Atlantic news,
trends to follow, names to watch and a few statistics to track as Champ Car
racing heads to the 1.969-mile permanent road course at Portland
International Raceway. Champ Car |
Toyota Atlantic
6/15/04
What Todt really said
It has been widely reported that Ferrari boss has said that he does not want
to replace Max Mosley as president of the FIA but this is not at all what Todt
said. Todt said that Mosley is doing "an outstanding job" but said that he
was not sure if he really wants to do the same thing as Mosley. This does
not mean that Todt does not want to be put in charge of the sporting side of
the FIA nor does it mean that he will not take the job in a year from now.
At the moment he is busy in his new role as managing-director of
Ferrari-Maserati but that does not mean that the Frenchman will want to go
on doing the same thing for ever. "Now is now," said Todt, "and
the future is the future.'' In other words, anything is possible.
Grandprix.com
6/15/04
Medeiros fastest in IPS open test
Thiago Medeiros continues to be the driver to catch in the Menards Infiniti
Pro Series. The Brazilian, who has won the last two races, posted
fastest laps in each session during Open Testing at the Milwaukee Mile on June
15. Medeiros' top speed was 144.629 mph, 25.6747 seconds. "We were
trying to find a good quality lap for the qualifying, and for the car for the
race," Medeiros said. "We made a couple of changes to improve the car. We'll
see what's going to happen." Jesse Mason was second fastest at 142.260
mph, while Arie Luyendyk Jr. posted a lap at 142.069 mph just before he hit
the wall in Turn 4 with 15 minutes left in the session. Newcomers Ross
Fonferko and Al Unser were fourth and fifth at 141.494 mph and 141.328,
respectively. In addition to Luyendyk, two other drivers found the Turn
4 wall on the tricky 1-mile concrete oval. P.J. Chesson's debut test ended
when he made contact with the rear of the car, while Brad Pollard suffered
light damage when he spun just before the lunch break. Pollard's team repaired
his car and he returned later in the day. None of the drivers was injured.
FASTEST SPEEDS OF COMBINED SESSIONS
Pos. Car Name C/E/T Speed
1 11 Thiago Medeiros D/I/F 144.629 mph
2 3 Jesse Mason D/I/F 142.260 mph
3 5 Arie Luyendyk Jr. D/I/F 142.069 mph
4 2 Al Unser D/I/F 141.394 mph
5 22 Ross Fonferko D/I/F 141.328 mph
6/15/04
Montreal organizers to hold press conference
The organizers of the Molson Indy Montreal will announce their 2004 plans
for the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
weekend Wednesday in Montreal. The Championnat automobile de Montréal (CAM)
organization, led by President Alan Labrosse, will hold its first public
press conference in advance of the August 27-29 Molson Indy Montreal,
entertaining dignitaries and press from around the region. Champ Car
World Series co-owner Paul Gentilozzi and his Rocketsports Racing driver
Alex Tagliani will speak at the press conference along with Vice-President
and General Manager, Molson Sports and Entertainment Bob Singleton, Toyota
Atlantic driver Andrew Ranger and Canadian-born AMA Superbike legend Miguel DuHamel. The Molson Indy Montreal will take place at the Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve, site of last week’s Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada, and will
mark the third visit by the Champ Cars.
6/15/04
Michigan is Ford territory
The Nextel Cup series moves to Michigan this weekend. Ever since
Michigan International Speedway opened in 1969, Ford Motor Company has
enjoyed a great deal of success in NASCAR's top division.
Ford has won the most NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
races at Michigan.
10 different Ford drivers have posted 26
victories in 69 all-time series races at MIS.
When the Mercury brand is included the win total
jumps to 38.
Ford has won three out of the last four MIS
races with Matt Kenseth, Dale Jarrett and Kurt Busch each posting one win
apiece in that stretch.
Bill Elliott posted seven MIS wins with Ford,
including consecutive sweeps in 1985 and '86.
The Wood Brothers won the first race at MIS when
Cale Yarborough piloted a Mercury to victory in the Motor State 500 on June
15, 1969.
Kurt Busch became the youngest driver to win a
Cup race at MIS when he captured last year's Sirius 400 at the age of 24
years, 10 months and 11 days.
Three of the top four all-time winning car
owners at MIS currently run Fords, including the Wood Brothers (11), Jack
Roush (6), and Robert Yates (6). Harry Melling won all seven of his MIS
races with Bill Elliott in a Ford from 1984-89.
Kurt Busch says, "Michigan is big for Ford
Motor Company and for Roush Racing. All of our teams put a big emphasis on
that race because that's where Roush Racing is based, so there's a lot of hype
around it every year. It was cool that we got a chance to go to victory lane,
but it is a difficult track to race on. It's similar to California in many
ways, but it has its own latitude and the track changes so violently with
temperature that it's hard to find the right setup. We had a setup last year
that would go on the short run and that's what propelled us to victory lane
because we had a lot of yellows at the end of the race. This year, you never
know what's gonna happen, but you have to have a car that will run on the low
side or the high side so you can maneuver in traffic."
6/15/04
Hunter-Reay thinks Push-To-Pass genius
Ryan Hunter-Reay, when asked what he thought about the push-to-pass button,
had this to say, "I think it's an excellent idea and Cosworth has done a
great job. First of all the motors are bulletproof. They are so reliable and
everybody is extremely equal. I'm totally surprised they came into it in the
first season. At first I had my doubts how equal each motor was going to be.
It's unbelievable how equal they are. Now that we have the push-to-pass it's
a genius idea and it's something we needed. We race on these street circuits
and road courses where everybody's so equal that you're just waiting for a
mistake. Now you can go ahead and make a pass when everything is right. It
makes a better show that way. It throws in another area of strategy. Maybe
you want to save it till the end, use it in the beginning. It throws another
wrench into the whole thing and it's a great idea. I would actually like
another 50 horsepower, but I love it the way it is."
6/15/04
No sponsor for Portland race
Race team owners Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe
rescued what once was Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) out of
bankruptcy court, much to the chagrin of Tony George's rival Indy Racing
League. Portland seems to be caught in the open-wheel crossfire -- will
Champ Car be back here in 2005 for a 22nd consecutive race, or will the IRL
take over? Local promoter Mike Nealy has found it difficult to find a major
sponsor in the tradition of Budweiser, G.I. Joe's or Freightliner, but Nealy
said he doesn't think that will affect Champ Car's decision on an extension.
The business community hasn't completely turned its back on an event that
started in 1984: Nealy said Albertson's, the Port of Portland, Mexicana
Airlines and Comcast are involved in various capacities. But unless there is
a last-minute change, the Portland race will keep its generic name. Almost
all of the financial burden falls on Champ Car, perhaps more than $2.5
million, because the series is promoting the race (the IRL has a sponsor
already lined up and the IRL hopes to take over Portland after this year) .
"There is a financial impact (in not having a title sponsor) and we're
disappointed we haven't been able to find one," Nealy said. "Considering the
time we had, I think Champ Car understands the difficulty we faced. . . .
You can't start something in March and do what you did when you have 10
months (to sell) the year before." Nealy said ticket sales for the three-day
Champ Car weekend are meeting projections, based on the shortened timetable.
He said it would be unrealistic to expect the 70,000-plus Sunday crowds that
packed into PIR during the event's peak days in the 1990s. Although no one
says it, organizers would be happy with a Sunday crowd of 40,000.
The Oregonian
6/15/04
Switzerland to vote on racing
On Wednesday the House of Representatives is set to consider a motion put
forward by Ulrich Giezendanner, a rightwing Swiss People’s Party
parliamentarian. He wants legal clauses prohibiting Formula One racing in
Switzerland removed from the statute books. Giezendanner says the return of
Formula One would bring many economic benefits: construction of a grand prix
circuit would create initial investment worth several hundred million Swiss
francs; it would provide jobs for at least 300 people; and television
coverage would generate publicity for the whole country. However, the big
question is where a new racetrack would be built. A disused military
airfield near the resort of Interlaken has been suggested, but the local
authorities have already scotched the idea. They are concerned about noise
and pollution from a circuit that would need to be used on at least 100 days
a year, including weekends, to be profitable. “There is a place for
everything: putting on Formula One in Interlaken would be like staging the
America’s Cup on Lake Brienz,” said Andreas Gross, a centre-left Social
Democrat parliamentarian.
6/15/04
Massa shunt sends tire into grandstands, him
to hospital2nd UPDATE
A flying wheel from Felipe Massa's crashed Sauber cleared a
safety fence and struck a full-to-capacity grandstand during the
Canadian Grand Prix.
His left rear had bounced off the tire barrier but no-one was injured.
Early crash analysis hints at a rear suspension failure on Massa's C23
car. 6/13/04 - Massa was taken to hospital for
precautionary checks after complaining of pain from his arm. "I have no idea
what happened - I was just a passenger," the Brazilian said, "I'm okay and
am fortunate that the car is strong. I'm only going to the hospital for a
precautionary check-up on my left elbow. Before the accident, I was having a
strong race, after catching and passing Sato, Glock, Klien and da Matta. I
lost a lot of time in my first pit-stop because of a problem with the left
rear wheel and, later, I also had some trouble with the steering wheel. Then
I had the accident." 6/13/04 - Towards the end of today's Canadian GP
race Felipe Massa had a huge accident in the hairpin. He walked away but a
tire got into the grandstand but we don't know the outcome of it or if
anyone was hurt. We did see several people ducking and moving to avoid it.
Hopefully everyone is ok.
6/15/04
Cleveland GP radio ads
We overheard an ad on 97.1 WKRK FM Talk Radio Station this morning
in Detroit for the upcoming Cleveland Grand Prix. Detroit is about a
2.5 hour drive from Cleveland. It seems Champ Car is making a strong
push to promote its events in the local markets to maximize
attendance, but on a nationwide basis the series has remained
relatively invisible.
6/15/04
Drivers face wrath of unhappy
officials
The NASCAR trailer was a post-race penalty box for Matt Kenseth,
Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon, and NASCAR's Mike Helton and John
Darby spent more than an hour chewing those drivers out for their
antics in Sunday's Pocono 500. Penalties could be coming this week.
"I don't know what his deal is," Harvick said of Kenseth. "I raced
him clean, cleared him, and he got up underneath me and tore my back
bumper. Then under caution he brake-checked me. "I don't know why he
decided to wreck me. He needs to check his ego because it's getting
too big." Kenseth jumped in his car and left the track, ignoring
questions. The two were battling for 10th. Kenseth then pitted,
falling to 21st, and NASCAR penalized Harvick by moving him to 20th.
Ryan Newman's day ended when Gordon knocked him out of the groove
and into the wall. "I guess Robby Gordon just ran out of talent,"
Newman complained. Gordon drew a reprimand from NASCAR and faces a
possible penalty, though NASCAR officials were unclear on that.
Winston-Salem Journal
6/15/04
Johnson saves day for floundering
Nextel Cup
Jimmie Johnson's victory saves NASCAR's bacon. Another Sunday,
another NASCAR fiasco. At Pocono, NASCAR trumpeted its new rules,
intended to avoid another disastrous day like Dover, and then fell
on its face -- again. Its incompetence, miscommunication or just
plain dumb luck -- your choice -- during a caution period resulted
in Johnson losing the lead and led to more confusion,
second-guessing and ill will. But worst of all, it was another blow
to the credibility of the sanctioning body running the nation's
second-most popular sport. Fortunately, Johnson and his superb team
-- led by the best crew chief in the business in Chad Knaus --
rallied for the victory, leading to huge sighs of relief in race
control. But all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't
save NASCAR president Mike Helton from having to apologize. "If a
driver makes a mistake, it affects that race team," Helton said
after the race. "We make a mistake, it affects the entire sport. We
recognize that and understand it. "I can't explain why days like
today happened. I know how much effort we put into training
officials, analyzing rules, regulations and procedures to be ready
for what happens on race day. It will be nice if we can go a few
weeks without stuff like this, and we'll keep working on it." We
sure hope so.
Florida Today
6/15/04
NASCAR bubbas continue to throw stuff
Nextel Cup flagman Jimmy Howell wasn't hurt after being hit in the back of
the head by a cooler thrown by a fan [a NASCAR bubba] on the final lap. A
Pocono spokesman said the fan was escorted away but wasn't arrested because
Howell didn't want to press charges. Bobby Labonte's #18 Chevrolet also was
dinged by a beer can as other fans rained debris on the track during
yesterday's final caution. Since Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet was pelted by trash
after winning at Talladega, Cup races have been plagued by a rash of
incidents involving fans [bubbas] littering the track.
Richmond Times Dispatch
6/15/04
Honda already testing 2005 engine
Honda has already tested its 2005 V10 engine on the dynos at the company's
Research & Development headquarters in Tochigi, Japan. The new engine will be
used to power next year's BAR. The V10 will be lower, lighter and more
powerful than the existing unit which is now widely regarded as being the best
engine in F1 at the moment, even if it is still fairly unreliable.
Grandprix.com
6/15/04
IRL continues to get hammered by fansUPDATE A reader writes, I'm responding to
why Champ Car fans continue to ridicule the IRL. DID YOU WATCH
THE RACE SAT. NIGHT? Well there’s one answer, what a BORING RACE. What was the
1st caution for? They never did tell us. I do not like the IRL but I tape the
races so I can see how Helio does in the races. I feel so bad for him because
his talent is being wasted in the IRL going in circles risking getting hurt.
Notice the camera angle by ESPN to make it look like there was a better crowd
but when there was a shot from the pits there was a lot of empty seats.
Who are they kidding 90,000 people. The main grandstand holds 120,000
and there were massive areas of aluminum exposed. The Busch Race that I
watched was much more exciting even with a rain delay. Race of the weekend was
F1. NASCAR has to get their act together. When Jeff Gordon starts whining maybe
they will listen and he whined Sunday. In fact you would of thought some of
the IRL drivers must of thought they were driving in NASCAR Saturday night.
Name withheld by request6/13/05 - The Indy Racing League continues to get ridiculed by resentful fans for its
100% throttle, no talent required, expensive form of motorsports. One of them
as gone so far to create a website
containing playing cards highlighting each of the drivers and their strengths
and weaknesses. As we have said, even if Champ Car eventually dies,
Champ Car fans will never embrace the IRL, there is just too much resentment
that has been created by Anton George's new league. It's unfortunate
really, and all so unnecessary.
6/15/04 Formula BMW
Formula BMW USA heads to USGP
The Formula BMW USA Championship will follow the Formula One World
Championship to the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, Indiana for
Rounds 5 and 6 on June 18-20. Two new winners emerged from an exciting two
rounds in support of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Jonathan Summerton
(HBR Motorsport) won Round 3 and Matt Jaskol (Team Autotecnica) took the
Round 4 checkered flag. As a result of close competition in the first four
races, only 13 points now separate the top-three drivers. Winner of Rounds 1
and 2 at Lime Rock Park, Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport) leads James
Hinchcliffe (AIM Autosport) by only seven points. Canadian Hinchcliffe
scored two second-place finishes in Montreal and also sits on top of the
Rookie points list. Matt Jaskol is third, only six points behind
Hinchcliffe. Jonathan Summerton is fourth and Billy Johnson (Team PTG
Motorsport) stands fifth after a season-best fourth-place finish in Round 4.
"To be racing at the Speedway - to cross the yard of bricks - will be
unbelievable." said Jaskol. "It is the most important race of the year for
me. I think I will be able to sleep easier after the next weekend." Jaskol
sports a helmet design that is very representative of his Las Vegas
hometown. Circling the top is a roulette wheel in which Jaskol has the car
numbers of his Formula BMW USA competitors. "It was something my neighbor
and I came up with," he said. "And after my win in Montreal we will place a
checkered flag ball right above the number 5." Kissimmee, Florida's
Summerton stands fourth overall and second in the Rookie points, "Formula
One has always been a dream of mine," he said. "It has been great to race in
support of the Canadian Grand Prix so the US Grand Prix is taking on a
greater significance for me. My confidence is growing with each race so,
yes, I am very excited, but it is an excited confidence." Hinchcliffe, of
Markham, Ontario, Canada, added, "Racing in support of the two North
American Grands Prix is wonderful. Of course, the fans at the Canadian Grand
Prix made me feel very much at home, but I look forward to every time behind
the wheel. I try and look at every race as the most important." Graham Rahal's father, Bobby, has a significant history at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway having won the 500 as both a driver and a team-owner. When asked if
racing at Indy has been a dream of his, Graham answered, "At 15 I am
dreaming about everything, but Indy is special to everyone. I never really
thought I would be there this early, but, fortunately, this year I get the
chance." Practice and qualifying for both Rounds 5 and 6 will be held on
Friday, June 18th. The Round 5 race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday
and the Round 6 race is scheduled after the United States Grand Prix at 2:15
p.m. ET.
6/15/04 Formula BMW
Lawson
Aschenbach to Contest Remainder of Formula BMW USA
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan based management and marketing firm Sports
Management Network, Inc. (“SMN”) announced today that the firm has reached
an agreement with Prototype Technology Group, Inc. (“PTG”) for client Lawson
Aschenbach to contest the remainder of the inaugural Formula BMW USA season
for the team.
Aschenbach, a twenty-year old native of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is the 2002
US Formula 2000 Zetec Series Road to Indy Oval Champion and multiple race
winner in the Zetec series. Having also scored championships in karting and
Formula Ford, Lawson recently completed his sophomore year at Vanderbilt
University’s prestigious School of Engineering.
“This is a great opportunity for me that SMN worked hard to put together
with Tom Milner’s PTG team,” said Aschenbach. “I know BMW is placing a lot
of resources and effort behind this series and to be competing for a team
with the track record of success that PTG has achieved confirms that this is
a good place for me to be at this point of my driving career.”
Although open-wheel racing is a departure for Team PTG it is a homecoming of
sorts for owner Milner. The 30-year sportscar racing veteran began his
career managing teams that included a partnership with Bill Scott Racing
that produced 10 Formula Vee, Super Vee and Formula Ford championships from
1967 to 1984. PTG has been BMW’s primary United States motorsports research
and development team for the past nine years. Since 1995, PTG has won four
sportscar manufacturer championships, four team titles, and three driver
championships. Drivers who have raced for Tom Milner and PTG include Bobby
Rahal, Paul Newman, Rick Mears, Pete Halsmer, Scott Goodyear, Arie Luyendyk
and Scott Sharp.
2004 marks the inaugural season of the Formula BMW USA series. Already
established in Germany and Asia and recently announced in the UK, Formula
BMW has become a very successful proving ground for young aspiring
open-wheel drivers. Formula BMW USA's 14-race, seven-weekend championship
becomes the premier North American open-wheel foundation series with races
at the most visible venues including the Canadian Grand Prix, the United
States Grand Prix and four Champ Car events.
NASCAR Pocono overnight TV Rating
The overnight rating for NASCAR's Nextel Cup race at Pocono Sunday on Fox
was a 4.7/11 share. This is down 7.8% for last year's overnight of
5.1/12 share. The final last year was a 5.3/14 share so it will be
interesting to see how this year's final compares, due out Thursday.
6/14/04
NASCAR announces formation of NASCAR Canada
NASCAR announced the formation of NASCAR Canada, in partnership with
TSN, that establishes a Canadian base of operation with a new office
and dedicated staff in Toronto and further extends the marketing of
the sport in NASCAR’s largest market outside of the U.S. The
business venture with TSN, a division of Bell Globemedia, one of
Canada’s leading media companies, supports the continued growth of
the fan base of NASCAR in Canada and brings a range of sponsorship
and licensing opportunities to all businesses involved in the sport.
Under the agreement, TSN Events, TSN’s marketing division, retains
exclusive rights through NASCAR Canada to NASCAR’s marketing assets
over a multi-year period and will operate NASCAR Canada, providing
partners with numerous opportunities in a sport known to have the
most brand-conscious and brand-loyal fans. NASCAR Canada will
provide Canadian businesses with marketing rights to the NASCAR
mark; a multi-platform TV, print and radio media program; grassroots
initiatives through the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series which has events
at Delaware Speedway in Ontario and St. Eustache Speedway in Quebec;
event marketing; and a licensed goods program. The bond between
NASCAR sponsors and fans is unmatched in professional sports. NASCAR
fans are three times more likely to purchase the products of NASCAR
sponsors versus non-sponsors. NASCAR fans also purchase more than $2
billion in NASCAR licensed merchandise each year. Canadian fans
already exude a strong passion for NASCAR. With TSN televising
NASCAR since the network’s inception in 1984, NASCAR is the
top-rated motorsport on Canadian television. Additionally, a
significant number of Canadian NASCAR fans regularly travel to
NASCAR events across the United States. NASCAR, the second-highest
rated television sport in the United States, is also seen in 150
countries in 23 languages through relationships with 30
international broadcast partners. TSN recently signed a three-year
agreement for 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races annually through the
2006 season. Additional NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races are broadcast in
Canada by Rogers Sportsnet, Craig Media and SPEED Channel. NASCAR
Canada will be based at TSN headquarters in Toronto and will liaise
directly with NASCAR’s International Division in Los Angeles. The
Canadian operation will work closely with NASCAR’s New York and
Charlotte offices to assist sponsors and licensees, respectively,
with their activation plans to extend their reach into Canada. TSN's
programming and news content is also available online at TSN.ca.
NASCAR PR
6/14/04
Scott Dixon finishes 14th in Mexico!?UPDATE A reader responds, Another way to
look at this is that the Kiwis are no more interested in the IRL than are US
fans, even though they have a native son as incumbent series champ.
James C. Allen6/14/04 - According to this New Zealand newspaper
article, Scott Dixon finished 14th in Mexico Saturday night in
an IRL race. With all the rumors of the IRL going to Mexico and
Canada, they have the world believing they already race there.
6/14/04
Brazilians tuning in for Champ Car
[Editor's Note: Some credit must go to Emerson Fittipaldi, he
negotiated the TV deal and has owned the rights since 86.] Brazilian
Champ Car fans are taking the opportunity to follow the exploits of their
racing countrymen live on RedeTV and are doing it in increased numbers over
last year as the over-the-air network reports a 20 percent overall improvement
in ratings from a year ago for broadcasts of the Bridgestone Presents The
Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. RedeTV provides the only live
terrestrial network broadcast of American open-wheel racing in Brazil, and
fans are using that broadcast to follow the trio of Bruno Junqueira (#6
PacifiCare Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), Mario Haberfeld (#5 Cummins
Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) and Alex Sperafico (#14 Mi-Jack
Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) as they chase the Champ Car World Series
title. The first three races of the 2004 season have been viewed in an average
of over 1.5 million households in Brazil, led by the most recent event in
Milwaukee, which earned a rating of 1.7 and a share of 2.9, which equated to a
household viewership of 2,142,000. Peak viewing statistics are even more
impressive as the Long Beach event topped off at a 3.5 while Milwaukee’s peak
reached a ratings number of 2.5. “We have worked very hard on our
international television package as we realize that there are millions of
Champ Car fans around the world that want to watch their heroes in action,”
said Champ Car President Dick Eidswick. “The people at RedeTV have done a
great job in helping promote Champ Car in Brazil and we look forward to great
things for the rest of the year.” The peak ratings for Champ Car broadcasts in
Brazil are up 37 percent from a year ago while share numbers have climbed 11
percent.
6/14/04
Added attractions for USGP
The schedule for the second annual United States Grand Prix pit walkabout is
set, and IMS officials are eager to welcome fans for one of the most popular,
fan-friendly events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The pit
walkabout is open to all 2004 USGP Race Day ticket holders and will take place
from 8 a.m.-noon (EST, local time) on Thursday, June 17. This is one of the
few fan pit walkabouts available on the 18-event, global F1 schedule in 2004.
More....
6/14/04
NASCAR spinning out of control This
PhillyBurbs.com
article says, Nothin' like a little road rage to spice up a
NASCAR Nextel Cup event. Add to the temporary insanity some typical
incompetence by NASCAR officials, who change rules almost weekly like John
Kerry alters his stance, and Sunday's Pocono 500 was a pathetic example by a
southern-fried sport that promotes itself as a positive mainstream
attraction. Trying to remove much of the human element after many recent
mistakes, NASCAR showed again that at its base elements, it remains a lot of
runaway rednecks overwhelmed by their own technology and egos - and not long
removed from their back-road forefathers who ran moonshine......And seeing
the red flag made the most bloody-eyed in NASCAR Nation see red. Somebody
actually hit the flagman, Jimmy Howell, in the back of the head with a beer
cooler as the race ended, fortunately not injuring him. NASCAR officials
pointed out that a good many decent fans pointed out the culprit (Howell
didn't press charges). OK, so it's a small percentage of idiots, kind of
like Eagles fans.
6/14/04
Lucky Race Fan Awarded 2004 Daytona
500 Pace Car Debra McCann got a phone call from Daytona
International Speedway President Robin Braig on Friday morning
that every race fan dreams about. Braig informed McCann, who resides
in nearby Wilbur By The Sea, Fla., that she was randomly selected as
the winner of the 2004 Daytona 500 Pace Car - a Chevrolet Corvette.
In a visit to
www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com McCann, a
45-year-old retail manager and Daytona 500 attendee since 2000, chose
the online option to renew her Speedweeks tickets for 2005, which
entered her in the "Win a Daytona 500 Pace Car Contest."
"I remember the contest but I couldn't remember what the prize was,"
an excited McCann said. "I think it's incredible. I've never won a
thing ever." On Monday afternoon, Braig presented McCann with the
2004 Daytona 500 pace car in Gatorade Victory Lane. "We're glad to
offer the convenience of purchasing and renewing tickets online to
our thousands of race fans," Braig said. "We look forward to similar
promotions in the future." When asked about her plans for the
one-of-a-kind racing memorabilia, McCann said she will drive the
Corvette from time to time in the neighborhood. "I'll definitely
drive it," McCann said. "I've got a normal vehicle I drive. I'll
probably use (the pace car) on special occasions."
6/14/04
Wallace, Waltrip trade words after late crash
According to this Tennessean
article, Michael Waltrip was heading toward a respectable finish
until he was hit from behind by Rusty Wallace. Both were knocked out of the
Pocono 500 and Waltrip was irate that his No. 15 Chevrolet was damaged in an
accident he felt could have been avoided.
''I am just amazed that somebody could do something that stupid,'' Waltrip
said. ''I mean, if I put other people in jeopardy and ran over somebody like
that, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I just can't imagine what
could have led to a mistake like that that put me in such a compromising
position.'' Wallace blamed the brakes on his No. 2 Dodge. ''It looks like
it's only got a quarter inch of brakes left on the right front wheel,''
Wallace said. ''I popped them and got the brakes back right now. When I went
in there and hit them, there was nothing there.''
The accident happened on lap 168 — 32 laps shy of the finish. The accident
brought out the yellow, one of 11 in the race. Wallace apologized and said
he didn't blame Waltrip for being upset.
More...
6/14/04
IRL finale could head west
According to this Dallas News article,
The IRL would love to keep its season finale next year at Texas Motor
Speedway, schedule permitting. TMS wants it to stay, under the right
conditions. Sometimes, the best option is to move on. And the California
Speedway, sensing a rare opportunity, already has put in its bid to replace
TMS as the host of the season-ending event.
"As soon as California officials heard about TMS getting the fall NASCAR date,
they were on the phone with us," IRL executive vice president Ken Ungar said.
"They are very serious about taking over the final race." The IRL and TMS have
helped each other grow. That relationship will continue for the June event,
but staying at TMS for the final race next year doesn't work for the league or
the speedway.
Ungar says figuring out the 2005 IRL schedule is similar to running through a
maze blindfolded. Fred Nation, IRL vice president of communications, sees it
as a "three-dimensional chess game." The long-awaited second Nextel Cup race
for TMS comes Nov. 6, 2005. If the IRL schedule stayed the same for next year,
the season finale at TMS would fall only three weeks before the NASCAR
weekend.
TMS president Eddie Gossage has 200,000 tickets to sell for the Cup race,
along with Busch and Craftsman Truck Series events that weekend. He isn't
going to schedule an IRL race three weekends earlier. Gossage wants at least a
six-week gap between the race weekends. That would end the IRL season on the
final weekend of September.
Which can't happen. The NHRA event at the Texas Motorplex falls on that
weekend, a wise move that eliminated the conflict of the IRL race and the
Ennis event falling on the same weekend in 2003. "There's no way I'm going
down that road again," Gossage said. "We would not schedule on the NHRA
weekend."
That leaves Sept. 18, 2005, as the first available option at TMS for the IRL.
The league has ended its season that early a few times in the past, but the
IRL is adding road racing events next year – probably at Sonoma, Calif., and
Watkins Glen, N.Y. Adding races and ending the season earlier don't add up.
More...
6/14/04
BAR losing patience with Sato
BAR boss Dave Richards is finally becoming exasperated with his race
performances and his inability to coax his Honda engine to last an
entire race distance. While Jenson Button claimed his sixth
podium finish of the season in Montreal on Sunday, Sato once again
retired, and did so due to another Honda engine failure. Sato's woes,
though, didn't start on Sunday, but on Saturday when he made a costly
mistake in qualifying that left him 17th on the grid. "I am very
disappointed with his (Sato's) performance as he had the speed to
deliver at the same level as Jenson. Having made a couple of errors in
the second sector he should have consolidated the lap into what would
have been a row two grid slot," Richards said. However, he added that
he still "fully supports his brave and ambitious spirit; we just need
to channel it in the right direction." According to teammate
Button, "There has been a difference in our driving style which could
have caused some of the problems," he told ITV. "I know he was trying
to change that but I'm not sure if he managed that in the race here."
6/14/04
NASCAR losing reputation
Yesterday's problems at Pocono were yet another chapter in one of
the biggest stories of the season - NASCAR's dwindling credibility
and numerous faux pas. One team owner, who declined to be named,
shook his head and said: "I've been in this sport 30 years, and
NASCAR's credibility in the garage is at an all-time low. Nobody
believes them anymore." Among questions raised here: Was Kasey
Kahne's car too low after winning Friday's pole and did NASCAR
ignore it, as several rivals complained? Was Michael Waltrip's
Talladega car too low and did NASCAR ignore that, as rivals too
complain? The lower the nose, the faster the car. Car owner Ray
Evernham denied that Kahne's car was too low: "Nothing was brought
to my attention about our car being low, so I would say that's
probably fake".
Winston Salem Journal
6/14/04
IRL and Champ Car fight over Portland
This Columbian newspaper
article gives the latest details over the fight between Champ Car and
the IRL over Portland. A must read. Bottom line - if the IRL gets
the race in 2005, it's a dead event for sure as the Champ Car fans in Portland
will not support it. However, that hasn't stopped the IRL from trying to
follow Champ Car into a market only to find they fall flat on their face.
Merging the two series "would be a start, but I don't think it's the big,
magic answer," Speed Channel president Jim Liberatore told Sports Business
Journal. "Open-wheel racing in this country has been down for a long time.
There are things they have to look at that are more drastic. This isn't a
cycle. It's not like for no good reason somebody is going to start loving
open-wheel racing. One quote in the article says it all. "Nobody
is doing anything different. They (IRL and Champ Car) see crowds at their
better events, surround themselves with people who love the sport, and they
don't understand that they've gotten to where, in mainstream America, there's
hardly anybody who cares any more." Everyone in open wheel
racing can thank Anton George for killing an entire sport.
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Cola wars in NASCAR
UPDATE The Coca-Cola C2 cars
will be driven in the July 3 Nextel Cup race by members of The
Coca-Cola Racing Family, including Tony Stewart (#20), Bill Elliott
(#98), Ricky Rudd (#21), Kurt Busch (#97), Greg Biffle (#16), Jeff
Burton (#99), John Andretti (#1), and Kevin Harvick (#29). The
Coca-Cola C2 race cars each will feature a unique take on the
brand's signature red and black colors, and the drivers will wear
Coca-Cola C2 fire suits as well. Coca-Cola C2 is a new soft drink
created by The Coca-Cola Company that offers the great Coca-Cola
taste consumers want with fewer carbs and calories than regular
colas. For NASCAR fans who have yet to try new Coca-Cola C2, there
will be extensive sampling opportunities in and around the Daytona
area over Independence Day weekend. "We are revving up our engines
and rolling out Coca-Cola C2 all over the country right now, and
when eight Coca-Cola C2 cars take to the track on July 3, we'll be
at full speed," said Javier Benito, president, U.S. Retail Division
and chief marketing officer, Coca-Cola North America. "What better
way to introduce NASCAR fans to America's hottest new soft drink
than to field an 8-pack of the best drivers in NASCAR in
700-horsepower Coca-Cola C2 cars?" 6/17/04 - In the latest salvo in the sports marketing battle between Coca-Cola
and Pepsi, Coke will run one of its largest race promotions around
the July 3 Pepsi 400 in Daytona, as its new C2 brand will be the
primary sponsor for eight cars. While the two brands have gone back
and forth for years — who can forget Jeff Gordon drinking Pepsi in
Victory Lane at the Coca-Cola 600 — a Coke spokesperson downplayed
the notion that this is just an ambush marketing ploy, saying the
race's high profile and holiday weekend date make it an ideal
platform for the new brand. Sports Business Daily
Much
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