Overheard in Surfers Sunday

UPDATE This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' for Champ Car standing starts in 2007. Per our latest article on the new rules for 2007, the 2007 Champ Car makes provisions for standing starts and Tony Cotman told AutoRacing1.com to look for them wherever they can be safely done. The Champ Car TV deal was announced at SEMA as rumored below and we expect Katherine Legge to be back in Champ Car as well.

10/21/06 We heard again there is a reasonable chance that Newman/Haas will run a 3-car team in 2007 for Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira and Graham Rahal.

We are still hearing that Champ Car is planning on doing some standing starts next year. Did you know that Cosworth turns up the turbo boost for a short period of time when the pit lane launch control button is pressed? The short stroke 2.65L engine does not have a lot of torque and can easily stall when the tires are hot and there is a full fuel load. Turning up the boost increases torque to help overcome the friction of the tires and reduce the chance of stalling. Next year there will be no pop-off valve so Cosworth is looking at increasing the boost a bit more to help reduce the chance of stalling.

Champ Car may release next year's TV schedule at the upcoming SEMA show, which is before the Mexico City race. Some things still have to fall into place but we hear it will be a better TV package than this year and it will be multi-year.

Kevin Kalkhoven said he was not sure where Katherine Legge will drive next year for PKV Racing or another team. But he did lead us to believe she will still be driving in Champ Car. We here at AutoRacing1.com are still of the opinion that should Polestar move up to Champ Car next year, that is where she will race.