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10/22/00

Ford wins Manufacturer's Championship again  Dale Jarrett’s victory gave Ford the manufacturer’s championship for the second consecutive season, scoring championship points with eight different drivers. The title was the fifth of the modern Winston Cup era, with all of those wins coming in the last 10 seasons.

10/22/00

Jaguar news from Malaysia  The final race of the 2000 season demonstrated the highs and lows of F1 to the Jaguar racing team. While Eddie Irvine brought home a World Championship point, Johnny Herbert, in his last Formula One race, went off the track at high speed eight laps before finish. Johnny was slightly injured in the accident. He was taken to the circuit Medical Center where a precautionary x-ray revealed severe bruising to his left knee. He had been running as high as fourth place before his first and only pit stop. An engine cut in the pit lane meant that he had to crawl to the pit stop and he was relegated to 12th place as a result. At the time of the accident he was running in 10th position. It was a sad end to an illustrious career. Eddie Irvine  "I'm glad Johnny is ok. It's a shame his career had to end with an accident. Unfortunately that seems to be the story of his life. I wish him the best, he deserves it. He's provided a load of laughs in the short time we were team-mates. Formula One will miss him. It's pleasing to end the season with a point - a very hard-earned point at that. Whenever the top four finish, the battle for the crumbs is tight so we can be proud of our efforts today. Everything clicked. We didn't make one change to the car and our strategy was spot on. In the latter part of the season we have begun to understand the problems with the car. If those theories prove correct, we can look to make a big step forward in 2001." Johnny Herbert  "I guess it was inevitable that because I began my career being carried to the car, I would end it being carried out of it. I'm pretty disappointed to have a good race ruined by a failure such as that. I was running well early on until the problem at the pit stop. I braked for the line in the pit lane and the engine cut so I had to coast into the box. I'm ok. I have a bit of pain from the left knee but nothing too serious. There's nothing like ending your career with a bang. When the car pitched, I was trying to work out which way I was going in so I could position my legs for the impact but I lost my sense of direction." Gary Anderson - Technical Director, Jaguar Racing   "We started the race with Eddie on a two-stop strategy and Johnny on a one-stop. Johnny drove very well, doing exactly what we wanted him to do but unfortunately locked the rears going in for his stop which caused the engine to stall. We lost time restarting his car and that undid all his hard work. His accident toward the end of the race was caused by a broken suspension link on the rear right. This shouldn't happen and we will be looking at the cause. Eddie's first and third stints were fine but the car was unbalanced during the middle stint. We've certainly realized the potential of the car and this will give us a good starting point for next year."

10/22/00

Sunday Trivia  What was the last championship that Gil de Ferran won?  Answer: 1992 British F3 Championship.

10/21/00

Pizzonia will not test for Mo Nunn Racing  (Source: Speedvision) Saying that there is no truth to an article published by the Autosport web site, Mo Nunn Racing said Saturday that the team has not offered, nor scheduled a Champ Car test for British F3 champion Antonio Pizzonia for the upcoming offseason.  The report, which quoted a Pizzonia spokesperson, said that Pizzonia had withdrawn from the high-profile F3 event at Macau at the end of the season in order to run the test with Mo Nunn.

10/21/00

Did you know?  That CART's Juan Montoya, in a single race (Indy 500) was the IRL's big money winner in 2000 with $1.237 million.  IRL champion Buddy Lazier was a close second with $1.168 million.  By comparison, Michael Andretti was paid $6 million in CART this year and is reported to be getting $8 million next year.  Recently when NASCAR's John Andretti was asked which American series pays best, he didn't hesitate to say CART!  All this pales in comparison to World Champion Michael Schumacher's $30+ million per year.

10/21/00

Saturday Trivia  What famous border lived with Mauricio and Stella Gugelmin in Snetterton , England in 1982?  Answer: The late great Ayrton Senna!  On his way up to F1, Senna raced extensively in Europe, and Mo and his wife were kind enough to take the young lad in.

10/21/00

Did you know?  that BMW employs 200 people in its Munich plant to design and build their F1 engines for a single 2-car team.

10/20/00

Hakkinen's personal pilot killed McLaren driver, Mika Hakkinen's personal pilot was one of the people killed on Tuesday in Hatfield when a train derailed at 100 mph.  Robert Alcorn, 37, only started his work with the McLaren team and Mika Hakkinen two weeks ago and was on his way to do a freelance job when tragedy struck.

10/20/00

F1 farewells to Johnny Herbert  - Jackie Stewart admitted that he's got a lot of respect for departing Jaguar driver Johnny Herbert, who'll be competing in his final race in the Formula One arena this weekend in Malaysia.  He was quoted as saying: "Johnny is the most-liked driver in the pit lane because he had that sort of English charm that that is a little scarce in the paddock. He was always projecting a happy disposition, and I think people liked that. He came back from a horrendous crash that most people would never have been able to overcome. So my respect for Johnny is very high. He is a good driver and certainly good enough for F1 because he won three races".  Ron Dennis "Johnny's return to F1 after suffering such bad injuries from his F3000 accident was extremely brave. He had a personality that a lot of people will miss and F1 will be the poorer for his not being involved."  Eddie Jordan  "He's a great character who will be sorely missed in F1. I've always rated him highly, although I'm not sure he has ever been quite the driver he was before his accident. Having said that, I think it's probably the right time for him to move on; he's got another whole career waiting for him in America."  Jonathan Browning "We have been proud to have had Johnny in the Jaguar team. He very soon became a valued and very popular member of the  Jaguar family and proved a great asset, never giving up his effort in what has proved a difficult year."  Jacques Villeneuve  "I knew Johnny a little bit in Japan. He's a nice guy and I like him a lot; we sometimes bump into each other in Monaco. He's quick, so I think he'll be good in Champ Cars."  Mika Salo "Johnny's one of the good guys on the grid - always good fun. He's quick too and still has great car control. I'll never forget when we were racing at Fuji in Formula Nippon in the wet, and the cars were all over the place. Johnny was the only guy to go flat out, which was impressive. I think he'll be really competitive in the US because he's so quick."  Michael Schumacher  "Johnny was my Benetton team-mate in 1995, which was when we won the constructors' title. He won two races which proves that he must be a good driver."  Rubens Barrichello  "Johnny is a great guy, a good friend, so I'll be sad to see him go. He's a good driver and we had good fun together as team-mates last year at Stewart. Obviously, I was disappointed not to win Stewart GP's only race win at the Nurburgring, but if I couldn't do it, then I am pleased Johnny did."  Peter Sauber  "I will be sorry to see him leave F1, because he was always good to have around in F1. When he drove for us, we enjoyed a very successful period, and he became part of the family. He was popular with everyone in the team and I thought he was very quick."  Flavio Briatore "I respect Johnny for what he had achieved in Formula 1. He did a very good job in my team, winning two races for us. He now has a lot of experience and I think he will do well in America if he goes there."  Eddie Irvine "Johnny's a good guy and we've had some fun times this year in what have been some difficult circumstances. He's quick and he is very good on circuits with long straights. If he goes to America I think he'll do well and has a good chance of winning, although those Super Speedways aren't for me!"

10/20/00

CART pit crew competition set for Fontana  Five teams in the CART FedEx Championship Series have qualified for the Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge season-ending shootout at California Speedway in Fontana. They will meet in a head-to-head competition to determine the Craftsman Pit Crew championship on Friday, Oct. 27, prior to the Marlboro 500. The finalists are: 
Patrick Racing No. 40 (driver Adrian Fernandez) 
Player's Forsythe Racing Team No. 32 (driver Patrick Carpentier) 
Patrick Racing No. 20 (driver Roberto Moreno) 
PPI Motorsports No. 97 (driver Cristiano da Matta) 
Team KOOL Green No. 26 (driver Paul Tracy) 

10/20/00

Johnny Herbert will be a Fontana  Johnny Herbert said today "I will talk to some people on Tuesday about CART when I get back to England.  I will probably go out to Fontana as well. I will only do Champ Cars if I get a good seat. But I am 95 per cent certain that I will go, though, because the vibes are good.”  Obviously things change, often quite quickly, but [the negotiations] in the States [are] still going very well. It is looking very positive".

10/20/00

Football's John Madden to announce Daytona 500  Look for John Madden to be part of the Fox Daytona 500 telecast in February. Madden, Fox's lead NFL analyst, said that as soon as Fox was awarded half of the Winston Cup package starting next year, he was asked by network officials to be involved in the telecast. Fox is expected to announce after the World Series that Mike Joy will anchor its NASCAR telecasts. Joy has called the last several Daytona 500s for CBS. Joining Joy on the Fox telecasts will be retiring driver Darrell Waltrip and crew chiefs Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond ( Source- Philadelphia Daily News)

10/20/00

Friday Jaguar Quotes  
Johnny Herbert "We made a change between the two sessions today which calmed the car down a lot. Before that we had a fair bit of rear end instability which seems to be the problem here, compared to the understeer we had last year. It seems to be a problem for a lot of people as there were a fair few spins and slides out there today. All we need to do now is work on calming the car down even more which should stand us in good stead for qualifying." Eddie Irvine  We were on the pace straight away this morning but we didn't progress at the same rate from the first session to the second as some other teams. There's nothing untoward happening with the car and we know it is suited to this circuit. We have the set-up just about right. I think we are in pretty good shape for qualifying."  Gary Anderson - Technical Director, Jaguar Racing  "We concentrated on finding a good balance in race trim. We stuck with the one set of tires on both cars. Looking at the time sheets there seems to be a significant gain from new tires, so we should be able to make a leap forward tomorrow. I'm reasonably content with our day's work - we laid some solid foundations for qualifying and the race."

10/19/00

Big Barber Dodge Scholarship invitees announced  Every year, Skip Barber, Inc. awards aspiring and deserving young drivers over $1 million in scholarships as an aid in their quest to reach the top levels of motor sport. One of the largest scholarships is the $175,000 Barber Dodge Pro Series "Big Scholarship." This year, seven young racers will vie for the scholarship of which the winner will receive a fully funded year in the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series. The invitees will compete in a shoot out comprised of on and off track activities before a panel of judges. The invitees for the 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series Big Scholarship are: Curt Andrews, Plymouth, Wis; Chip Bryant, New Braunfels, Tx.; Ryan Howe, Murrieta, Calif.; Patrick Long, Agoura, Calif.; Jon Morley, Lewis Center, Ohio;  Anthony Simone, Aurora, Ont., Canada; and  Rafael Sperafico, Toledo Parana, Brazil.  The Big Scholarship shoot out will take place Nov. 6-8 at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. Drivers will spend the first day having their physical fitness assessed by with the world-renowned Human Performance Institute accessing their physical fitness. The subsequent two days will be spent at the racetrack where drivers will participate in at least five timed lapping sessions in the Dodge Reynard 98E. In one of the lapping sessions, the drivers will be asked to diagnose and correct a car set-up problem dialed into the racecars by the Barber Dodge engineering staff. Drivers will be evaluated on the expediency and effectiveness of their feedback. Additionally, the invitees will participate in interviews with the panel of judges as well as in a mock press conference to assess their abilities to perform outside of the racecars as well as in it.

10/19/00

Texas selling NASCAR/IRL/CART ticket package  2001 Tickets are on sale for Texas Motor Speedway and leave it to them to leverage the demand for NASCAR Winston Cup to help the IRL and CART attendance (Michigan are you listening?).  To get a yearly ticket renewal you must either buy a PSL or a season ticket.  Both require you to buy tickets for two IRL races, two truck races, and the CART race.......in addition to the Winston Cup and Busch races.  The only way to buy single race tickets is on a first-come-first served basis.  All this might seem unfair to the Winston Cup ticket holder, but consider this, the packages start as low as $170.  Not bad when you consider the ticket would be good for seven (7) races and on top of that, it includes free pit passes!  Even if a buyer can't make all seven races, they may have friends, family, or business acquaintances that would love to get tickets as a birthday or Christmas present.

10/19/00

New CART logo in works  According to his interview on CART.com, Pat Leahy stated that there is a new logo that has been designed and it is currently in CART's legal department. "It is in registration right now and hopefully you will see that in the next month and a half, or so." 

10/19/00

Ilmor rebuilding IRL Olds engines  Ironically, most of the work currently going on at the Ilmor facility in Plymouth, Michigan is not rebuilding CART Champ car engines, but Olds Aurora IRL engines. With the CART season down to one race to go, and with the Ilmor Mercedes engines essentially done in CART, their work on CART engines, at least for the time being, is done.  To keep staff employed, they are leaving no stone unturned.

10/19/00

Haas buys da Matta's contract for $2 million  According to this TSN article, A Brazilian newspaper report (in Spanish) says the long-rumored move by Christiano da Matta from PPI to Newman-Haas will be announced at the final CART race of the year in Fontana. The report claims Newman-Haas owner Carl Haas and PPI owner Cal Wells finalized the deal last weekend in Australia, which will see Haas pay $2-million to assume da Matta's contract for 2001. Da Matta has reportedly agreed to a two year deal with an option for a third. 

10/19/00

Neiman Marcus Fall Catalog offers tour of Andretti Winery The September Neiman Marcus catalog "The Book" offers a private tour of Andretti Winery to Neiman Marcus customers. On page 121, you'll see that Andretti Winery is now part of the Neiman Marcus customer recognition program. The program allows customers to earn one point for every dollar spent on their NM credit card. When you have 5,000 points, you may redeem them for one of the gifts from Level A. Earn more points for even greater rewards. The Andretti Winery is a Level J reward, which means customers with 100,000 points can redeem them for a private tour of the Andretti Winery. One NM customer already took advantage of this offer August 9th and had a private tour and tasting with Bob Pepi. Neiman Marcus is limiting this to just three InCircle customers. That means there are two remaining. To obtain information on the NM InCircle program, call toll free 1-888-462-4725. 

10/19/00

Team Penske to test at Indy on Sunday & Monday  In preparation for next year's Indy 500, Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves will test a Dallara for Team Penske Sunday and Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  So far, only 2 CART teams will be at Indy in 2001, Ganassi & Penske.

10/19/00

Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, Quote from Malaysia  "It's been a long hard season with little to show for all the effort the whole team has put in, at the circuits and the factory, so it would be good to get a reasonable result in this the final race. Last year, I had the best possible result, winning the first Malaysian Grand Prix, so I have pleasant memories of the track, although the awful humidity makes life far from pleasant. The track itself is very interesting, wider than most, with a good variety of corners and that very long straight, so overtaking is on the cards. Let's hope Johnny has a good one, as it's his last grand prix."

10/19/00

Jaguar's Johnny Herbert, Quote from Malaysia  "I had a great race in Malaysia last year so hope I will have the same this time around. It's a tough race to compete in as the track is physical and the weather is extremely humid. I hope I have a good race so I can go out on a high. It's going to be a bit emotional getting out of the car for the last time and out of Formula One but I'm really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead of me."

10/19/00

Jaguar's Gary Anderson, Quote from Malaysia  "We've got to the end of a tough season and, even though it's only October, we're looking forward to next year. We're starting afresh and are keen to get on with the job. We've got one more race to go though. Sepang is a very good facility and a nice place to go at the end of the year. We had a good run last year and would hope for more of the same as it would be good to end the season on a strong note so we can carry the momentum through to next year. This is our last chance for points and with Johnny leaving Formula One after this race it would be nice for him to get those points, for himself and the team. We'll certainly be giving him all the support he needs to do just that."

10/19/00

Tom Kristensen predicts Michelin will challenge Bridgestone  Tom Kristensen concluded his testing duties for Michelin this past weekend at the Valencia circuit and admitted that he is sad to say farewell to the regular testing sessions. The final testing session at Valencia was conducted in rainy conditions and according to Kristensen the tyres proved to be surprisingly stable in the wet conditions.  He commented with: "As time went by, I got to know the Stewart racer better than my own Audi A8, back home. The testing has been incredibly exciting for me, and with over 10,000 testing km's behind me, I'm the driver who knows most about the upcoming Michelin challenge". He added that he'll have to take some credit if the teams running on Michelin in 2001 does well, in turn saying that he is confident that a team such as Williams would be able to run with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari in more than one race in 2001. (Source)

10/19/00

Thursday Trivia  How many drivers who started the 1952 Indy 500 lost their lives in racing accidents?  Answer: Fifteen!! 1. Jimmy Bryan (Langhorne '60), 2. Jimmy Reece (Trenton '58), 3. Jack McGrath (Phoenix '55); 4. Jim Rigsby Dayton Aug.'52); 5. Joe James (San Jose Nov '52); 6. Bill Schindler Allentown '52; 7. Bill Vukovich (3 time Indy winner INDY '55); 8. Manuel Ayulo (Indy Practice '55); 9. Johnny McDowell (the next weekend at Milwaukee Mile); 10. Tony Bettenhausen (Indy '61); 11. Bob Sweikert (1955 Indy 500 winner was killed at Salem, Indiana, June '56); 12. Bob Scott (Darlington '54); 13. Chet Miller (Indy practice '53); 14. Alberto Ascari (Monza testing '55); 15. Bobby Ball (died in '54 after lingering for a year from a '53 accident).

10/19/00

CART Stars of Tomorrow  Champ Car talent Bryan Herta and 30-year karting veteran Hollis Brown today announced a prestigious program to bridge the gap between karting and CART. The inaugural "Championship Auto Racing Teams Stars of Tomorrow" will identify and showcase future stars of the FedEx Championship Series. Team Rahal, Skip Barber Racing School and Firestone Racing have joined with CART to provide top, young drivers from around the country with the most exciting opportunities in karting today, including a chance to test drive a Champ Car for one of the best teams in the series. The kart racing challenge will be held the weekend following the CART FedEx Championship Series season-finale, November 3, 4 and 5, at the Las Vegas Karting Center. Full Press Release

10/19/00

American Derick Hill to compete in International F3000  Italia F3000 driver Derek Hill was due to start a two-day test with Kid Jensen Racing at Jerez yesterday (Tuesday). The American plans to drive in International F3000 next year and will participate in a total of eight test days in October and November. He will rejoin Kid Jensen Racing for a second test at Estoril on October 24th. Hill said on his website: "We have put together a program of tests, with several of the leading teams in the FIA 3000 Championship. This will give them a chance to have a look at what I can do and also for me to see how they work and try to identify the best position for the 2001 Championship. Formula 3000 is so competitive and all the teams are very good. So we have to find the best one that will be as competitive as possible in 2001. We are starting the tests with Kid Jensen Racing at Jerez, they are a race winning team and we will do three of the eight days with them. I am really looking forward to actually testing a car that I will race next year, just over five months before the start of the season. In recent years my programs have always started late and we have been playing catch up all year. I will have done more miles of testing before the first race in Brazil in 2001, than I have done all season in Italy." Hill explained how the deal came about: "I met the team last year and was impressed with the set-up and their performance in 1999 when they won at Silverstone with Nicolas Minassian. We stayed in contact and now that I have decided to compete in the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship, it is a good opportunity to see how they work at the track. I acquired a lot of experience in 2000 when I raced in the Italian Formula 3000 Championship and I am looking forward to driving a Lola T50/99." (Source)

10/18/00

New book - NASCAR Generations  Petty, Earnhardt, Allison, Baker, Jarrett: The names read like a starting grid of NASCAR's rich history. From its early dirt-track days to the swift speedway battles of the present, NASCAR has continued a tradition of excellence and competition passed down from father to son, and from older brother to younger. The desire of adoring kids to follow the path to family success--all to the delight of fans across America--remains at the core of NASCAR Winston Cup Series action and forms the thrilling landscape of NASCAR Generations: The Legacy of Family in NASCAR.  Told through the eyes of the successful fathers, sons, and brothers who have made up the fraternity of racing during NASCAR's fifty-plus years, NASCAR Generations celebrates the winningest personal and professional moments, as well as the most poignant ones, experienced by the sport's beloved families. Purchase for $19.96

10/18/00

Casey Mears gets Champ Car opportunity  Three-time Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) champion and Team Rahal owner Bobby Rahal announced today that Indy Lights driver Casey Mears will have the opportunity to drive a third Team Rahal entry for the 2000 CART finale, the Marlboro 500 at the California Speedway. Mears will have the opportunity to pilot the Team Rahal test car with financial backing from longtime Champ Car supporter WorldCom which has been a supporter of Mears' Indy Lights career.  Full Story

Casey Mears - on making his Champ Car debut with Team Rahal (0:13 min.)

Casey Mears - on his comfort in driving the 900 hp Champ Car of Team Rahal vs. his normal 650 hp Indy Lights car  (0:35 min.)

Casey Mears - Mears on his mode of attack for the Champ Car race at Fontana  (0:31 min.)

10/18/00

TV Ratings from last weekend (Source: Speedvision)

• NASCAR Winston Cup (ESPN, 10/15) 3.86 rating / 9 share / 3.066m households
• IRL (ABC, 10/15*) 1.1 rating/ 2 share overnight
• CART (ESPN, 10/15) 0.72 rating / 2 share / 0.576m hh
• NASCAR Cup Qualifying (espn2, 10/13) 0.77 rating / 2 share / 0.557m hh
• NASCAR Happy Hour (espn2, 10/14) 0.53 rating / 1 share / 0.384m hh
• NASCAR Trucks (ESPN, 10/13) 0.47 rating / 1 share / 0.372m hh
• IRL Qualifying (espn2, 10/14) 0.42 rating / 1 share / 0.302m hh
• IHRA (TNN, 10/15*) 0.28 rating / 0.5 share / 0.216m hh
• ASA (TNN, 10/14) 0.25 rating / 0.4 share / 0.192m hh
• ARCA (espn2, 10/15*) 0.25 rating / 0 share / 0.179 m hh

10/18/00

Paul Rodgers to perform at Fontana  California Speedway announced that Paul Rodgers, former lead singer of the group Bad Company, will perform Saturday, Oct. 28, after the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race during the CART/NASCAR Weekend, which features the CART FedEx Championship Series The 500 Presented by Toyota on October 29.  After an entire day of fun-filled action-packed racing excitement, California Speedway guests will be treated to a free musical performance in the infield with their Saturday admission ticket for the speedway. Tickets for all of Saturday's on-track activities, highlighted by CART qualifying and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Motorola 200, and off-track fun, including the CART driver's autograph session, are just $35 and $45.  With a career spanning four decades, legendary singer and composer Paul Rodgers is well known for numerous hit singles and albums with such bands as Free, The Firm and Bad Company. His 1970 classic "All Right Now" is one of the most-played classic rock songs of all time. He formed the group Bad Company in 1973, garnering six multiplatinum albums. Bad Company's greatest hits album, "10 From 6," remains one of the biggest selling "hits" collection ever. Since 1983, Rodgers has performed solo and co-composed with such great names as Buddy Guy, Bryan Adams, Steve Miller and Jimmy Page. In 1997, he released a major blues and soul album titled "Paul Rodgers - Now," which is a spectacular fusion of all his musical accomplishments throughout his amazing career.  Opening for Paul Rodgers on Saturday night is one of Southern California's favorite bands, Sunchild. This Orange County-based group is known for their '60s and '70s style of music. They recorded their first album, "Barefoot and Live," in 1997 and are now a popular band playing at several different local nightclubs. 

10/18/00

Wednesday Trivia  Did 5-time World Driving Champion Juan Fangio ever attempt to qualify for the Indy 500?  Answer: In 1958, he went to Indy, after having done some testing at Trenton.  He got up to 142 mph, which would have been good enough to make the race in the Dayton Steel Foundry Special (owned by Geo. Walther..."Salt's Walther's rich father), but he did not attempt to qualify.  Then he went to the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, qualified 3rd and did two laps, pulled the car in, and retired.  That was June 29th.  He then went to Reims (over July 4th weekend) and retired for good.  It sounds like he already knew at Indy that he had enough.

10/17/00

Reader feedback for CART   A reader writes - how come the USA newspaper coverage of this weekends race from Australia was essentially non-existent.  If not for the internet, no one would even know there was a CART race.  How come AP didn't cover the races extensively?  How come CART didn't ensure that this race got proper coverage in the USA?  Does CART have a PR and Communications Department?  If so, you wouldn't know it by this race.  Editors Note: Although this readers opinion may be a little extreme, it is representative of other e-mails.

10/17/00

Adrian Fernandez Teleconference Transcript   Sunday's victory moved Adrian Fernandez, driver of the Number 40 Patrick Racing Ford Reynard from fifth to second place in the FedEx Championship Series. He trails championship leader Gil de Ferran of Marlboro Team Penske by only five points, 153 to 148, heading into the season-ending 500 presented by Toyota, October 29 at California Speedway in Fontana, California, where Adrian is the defending champion.  Adrian and Gil are only two of five drivers who remain in contention for the championship, with just one of 20 events remaining in the FedEx Championship Series. Third place Paul Tracy of Team KOOL Green and fourth place Kenny Brack of Team Rahal with 134 points each and fifth place, Roberto Moreno, teammate at Patrick Racing, 131, are all within reach of the title heading into next weekend's season finale.  Full Transcript

10/17/00

Fernandez announcement date set  Adrian Fernandez will announce his plans for next year on Saturday October 28, 2000 in Fontana.  He still is giving serious consideration to staying with Patrick Racing vs. owning his own team.  Those negotiations are ongoing.  Everyone expects him to announce he is starting his own team, but we'll just have to wait until October 28th to see.

10/17/00

Winston 500 Post-Race interview with Jeff Gordon and Robbie Loomis  Read what driver Jeff Gordon and his crew chief, Robbie Loomis, have to say about last weekends race at Talladega and next weekends race at Rockingham. 

10/17/00

CART plans special test at Texas  UPDATE AutoRacing1.com has learned that yes, this test will take place, but the dates of Nov. 28-29 are not correct.  The exact dates have yet to be determined. 10/15/00 - According to David Phillips in this Speedvision article, CART is planning an open test at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 28-29 in preparation for its first race at the Ft. Worth superspeedway next year. The race has been the cause of some concern on the part of drivers, chassis manufacturers and – perhaps most significantly – Firestone, in light of the potential for high g-loads, g-load spikes and blistering lap speeds at the high-banked (24-deg) 1.5-mile quad-oval.  Some are predicting over 240 mph.  Did anyone tell CART to make the Handford Device Flap bigger than at Michigan and Fontana?  That should help to slow the cars even more.  That combined with the boost reduction, should do the trick.  Imagine the big hole in the air that wing will make (read that slingshotting galore) and with the ability to run 3 to 4 grooves in the corners at that track, we might be in for a Texas shootout.

10/17/00

Telefonica pulls out of F1, is CART next?  Telefonica, Spanish telecommunications company, announced on Tuesday that they are ending their sponsorship of the Minardi team at the end of the 2000 season.  In turn Telefonica confirmed their commitment to their involvement in rallying and motorcycling and a media release by the company stated: "Telefonica have decided not to renew their sponsorship agreements with Formula 1 next season after considering that the various options available do not meet the aims of the company".  Telefonica was also talking to Prost about sponsorship as well.  Obviously that is out the window as well.

10/17/00

Tuesday Trivia  What close friend of Mario Andretti in his early Sprint Car days had his career cut short?  Answer: Jim Maguire from Dunellen, New  Jersey. He lost an arm at New Bremen in May 1964, and his career was over!

10/16/00

Talladega Post-Race Quotes  Now that all the weekend commotion has died down, we were able to compile all the post-race quotes from this weekends fabulous Winston 500 at Talladega. 

10/16/00

Monday Trivia  What AAA/USAC car owner lost two drivers in 1952, and who were the drivers?  Answer: 1) Jim Rigsby was killed at the Dayton Speedway Sprint Car race.  2) On August 31st Joe James was killed at the San Jose Mile (Champ Dirt) race.  Bob Estes was the owner.

10/16/00

O'Brien named GP Association of LB Director of Sales & Marketing  Jim Michaelian, Chief Operating Officer for the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach (GPALB), announced today that Kevin O'Brien has been named to the position of Director of Sales and Marketing Services for the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.  O'Brien replaces Mike Clark, who has resigned to accept a position with Panoz Motorsports of Braselton, Georgia.  The 47-year-old O'Brien will be responsible for corporate sponsorship sales and client liaison for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He will continue his current duties managing GPALB's marketing services, public relations / communications departments.  "The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and our parent company, Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc., are grateful for Mike Clark's 12 years of dedicated service," said Michaelian. "His efforts on behalf of the Grand Prix were a major contributor to the success of the event, and we wish him well in his new position.

10/16/00

Paul Newman to be featured on Inside CART  Movie star, race driver, and Newman/Haas Racing co-owner Paul Newman headlines this week's "Inside CART," airing Tuesday, October 17 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.   This week's program also features a special feature on several driver's first victories, highlights from the weekend's Champ Car activity from last weekend's penultimate round of the 2000 FedEx Championship Series campaign at Surfers Paradise in Australia, and this week's "Tech Tip" centers on the pop-off valve. There will also be special tours of the Patrick Racing and PacWest Racing Group shops in Indianapolis, the "one-on-one" segment features Team Green owners Barry and Kim Green, and we get one last look at the 2000 Toyota Atlantic Championship with a season review. 

10/16/00

McLaren announces sponsorship deal with Cannon  The McLaren Team has announced  a sponsorship deal Canon, that will see the Japanese imaging giant re-enter Formula One next year as "the Official Imaging Solutions Partner" of the successful Formula One team. Canon used to sponsor Williams until seven years ago.  "We are pleased to see Canon making a return to Formula One and are proud to welcome them as a partner to the McLaren-Mercedes team, declared Ron Dennis on Friday, upon signing the deal. "We look forward to working with their advanced technology in the new millennium."   "This new Partnership within a sport that is so technologically dependent, represents a great platform for us to show the products and services we can offer today, but more importantly those of tomorrow," explained Jon Phelps, Head of Sponsorship at Canon Europa.

10/16/00

Rockingham Update

(Left to right) 1. Wall is complete and soil is sprayed with bitumen in preparation for the asphalt.  2. Looking into turn 1 gives you a sense of track width.  3. Grandstand steel is being erected.  4. Garage cladding is in place.  Photos courtesy of Rockingham Motor Speedway

10/16/00

New Lola Partnership  Lola Cars International Ltd has sealed a new partnership deal that will enable it to enter the world of mainstream automotive manufacturing, it is announced today (Monday, 16th October).  In an exciting move, Lola has joined forces with Mayflower Vehicle Systems (MVS) to concentrate on specialist niche vehicle projects.  The two companies will pool their vast experience and expertise in two very different markets. This will involve sharing technologies and resources including Lola's state-of-the-art wind tunnel.  The partnership's aim is to develop special body programs, using either technique or mixed material technology, as well as work on complete special vehicle projects involving power train, suspension and trim in addition to bodywork.  Lola's Managing Director David Bowes says: "This is a very exciting partnership. Both companies will gain a lot through this link and will be able to grow. Lola's expertise in working with lightweight carbon fiber structures is second to none as is Mayflower's knowledge of the body-in-white industry.  "This is a move that will benefit both Lola and Mayflower in the long-term and we are very much looking forward to starting on a whole host of ground-breaking, innovative projects."

10/16/00

2001 Testing Opportunities, drivers wanted  Are you interesting in trying out for a CART Toyota or Indy Lights ride?  See our Classified Ad section to find out more.

10/16/00

Did you know?  Texas Motor Speedway has added seats raising the grandstand capacity to 154,861. Toss in the 53,000 in the infield and the 13,192 in the suites and you have more than 220,000 people who can attend a race at the track.  With all those seats, the IRL race yesterday looked rather poorly attended.  It will be interesting to see if CART will have that same image-destroying experience next April.

10/16/00

AOL, NASCAR announce marketing agreement  NASCAR and America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced an extensive marketing and promotional agreement under which NASCAR's motorsports content will be extensively promoted across several AOL brands and AOL will receive significant offline promotion from NASCAR during its popular racing events nationwide. 

10/16/00

NASCAR Aero changes a success at Talladega  By all accounts, the changes NASCAR made to the Winston Cup cars for this weekends Winston 500 at Talladega were a resounding success.  Here is what the roof flap looks like. A Gurney Flap was added to the rear spoiler too.  They are NASCAR's version of the Handford Device.

10/16/00

How CART points battle shapes up going into Fontana  There are five drivers that are mathematically within reach of the title, but Vasser and Moreno are out of it, because the best they can do is tie, and they would lose out on a tie-breaker as they both have fewer wins than deFerran (2) Fernandez (2) and Tracy (3). Tracy would win the $1 million if he won the race and deFerran finished the weekend scoreless, and Fernandez finished 9th or lower (even when counting pole and LL points). Fernandez will win of course if he finishes at least three places ahead of deFerran (even with Pole and LL points). Theoretically, we could end up with a three way tie, if none of the top three get pole or LL points, and Tracy wins, Fernandez finishes 7th and deFerran finishes twelfth. Tracy would then win the championship because he has three wins and deFerran and Fernandez's two. 

10/16/00

Monday Trivia  How many 'cheap' wins did AJ Foyt get during the first USAC/CART war?  Answer: 1979 - Ontario, CA , Texas World Speedway (2), Milwaukee, Pocono 500. 
1981 - Pocono 500.  A total of 6.

10/16/00

RPM2Night at Fontana  RPM2Night will be hosted live from Fontana all next weekend as the CART FedEx series takes a heated point battle to its 20th and final race. 

10/15/00

Sunday Trivia  Before this years USGP, when was the last time a Ferrari raced at Indy and who was driving?  Answer: 1952 Indy 500.  The great Alberto Ascari was the driver. 

Audio Interviews from Australia

Kenny Brack (Sunday) - On his 2nd place finish at Surfers Paradise (0:49 min.)

Max Papis (Saturday) - On disruption in qualifying session (0:26 min.)

Max Papis (Saturday) - On race strategy for Sunday (0:17 min.)

Max Papis (Friday) - Talks about a good first day on track (0:15 min.)

10/15/00

Honda of Australia re-ups for two more years  Honda of Australia, race sponsor for CART's Australia race signed on for an additional two years. The state of Queensland government utilizes the Champ Car race as a selling tool to potential visitors.  "The Honda Indy is one of the world's great sporting events and a giant carnival of fun in the sun for the 250,000 people who are trackside for the four-day event," stated Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. "Perhaps more importantly, it is also a giant marketing tool that generates thousands of jobs and ultimately has a positive economic effect right through Queensland." 

10/15/00

Almost 270,000 attendance announced for Surfers weekend  Sunday's race-day attendance of 107,785 pushed the four-day total for the Honda Indy 300 to 269,890. The number was up nearly 20,000 from last year despite inclement weather throughout the weekend.  And people question why CART should have more international races.

10/15/00

CART announces testing blackout & allowed engine testing dates for 2001  CART announced the following testing blackout dates and allowed engine manufacturer testing dates for the 2001 season effective immediately after Fontana. Note - Now that the season opener is pushed back, the Spring Training Date listed will probably change we are told.

10/15/00

ASCAR to be support race for both 2001 European CART races  ASCAR, Europe's version of NASCAR, will be a support race for CART when the series travels to the Eurospeedway in Germany and Rockingham Speedway in England.  2001 will be the inaugural year for the series, which will 3 times at  both Rockingham and Eurospeedway, and once at Knockhill.  Once more ovals are built in Europe, the series will branch out.

10/15/00

Tim Allen wish for Andretti  Michael Andretti received many supportive wishes from back home, but none could beat the one sent by Home Improvement star Tim Allen. "Mike, there’s nothing I’d like better than seeing you win another championship, unless of course it’s seeing you in fishnet stockings and a strapless sundress". Perhaps a future script for a cameo for Andretti in Home Improvement? (Contributed by Ed Krause)

10/15/00

More filming for DRIVEN done at Surfers  Hollywood director Renny Harlin will have cameras trackside today in the search for real life footage to splice into the new Sylvester Stallone movie Champs. Harlin, who directed Cliffhanger and Die Hard II, has already shot footage from rounds in the US, Canada, Brazil and Japan.  ‘The Australian race plays a very important part in the movie’ said Harlin. ‘We’ve shot scenes in Canada that will be planted in what we’ve shot here to get the lifestyle and the feel of the place. With computer technology you’ll see the actors in Australia’. The $80 million dollar Champs movie is due to be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in April and features Stallone, Indy drivers and their girlfriends. (Contributed by Ed Krause)

10/15/00

Rahal debuts new paint scheme  Team Rahal debuted the new Miller Lite paint scheme and logo at today’s Honda Indy 300. The familiar blue and white scheme that gave Bobby Rahal his ‘Last Ride’ in 1998 and which Max Papis has used on the Ford Reynard has been updated to incorporate the 2001 Miller Lite theme with white paint on the cockpit and engine cowling and blue paint on the car’s sidepods and rear wing. The new paint integrates the Miller Lite 3-D logo into the design displayed on the side and nose portions of the car. Team Rahal will run the new paint scheme for the final two races of 2000 - Australia and California - in preparation for the 2001 Miller Lite promotional campaign. (Contributed by Ed Krause)

10/15/00

Montoya lets loose against de Ferran  Defending Champ Car champion Juan Montoya wasted no time in slamming current series leader Gil de Ferran after a first corner incident which left both of them out of the race.  In the run to the first corner Montoya was just in front of de Ferran as they ran side by side. But de Ferran made contact with the Columbian, turning him around into the wall, ripping off a front wheel from Toyota Lola. Montoya rebounded off the wall straight into de Ferran, damaging the Penske Marlboro Honda Reynard’s right front wheel.  De Ferran made it back to the pits and the Penske team attacked the car in a bid to repair the damage.  When Montoya made it back to the pits, accompanied by Dario Franchitti who was also caught up in the melee, he was scathing about de Ferran.  "All I knew is that someone bumped me. I saw the replay and I’m sure it was Gil. The only good thing is that he bumped into me and I spun and hit the tires and bounced back into him, so that was good. I thought it was pretty stupid of him actually." (Contributed by Ed Krause)

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