Anthony Davidson turns down Newman/Haas ride

UPDATE A reader asks, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Is there any possible connection between the fact that Honda is IRL and BAR in terms of Davidson not going to Newman-Haas? Just a simple connect the dots exercise in my opinion. Werner Fritz, Trevor, Wisconsin Dear Werner, Anything is possible, but if Honda is truly involved with trying to get the IRL and Champ Car back together, why would they do that? Mark C. 06/02/05 BAR-Honda test driver Anthony Davidson has turned down a prime drive in the Champ Car World Series to keep himself in line for a BAR-Honda race drive. The Briton was approached to replace Bruno Junqueira in the multiple championship-winning Newman-Haas squad in the US-based series, after the Brazilian broke his back in the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday. Davidson is believed to have discussed the offer with BAR management before deciding against an opportunity that would have given him access to race-winning machinery. Sources indicate that he was given assurances by BAR-Honda that he is in line for a race drive should a vacancy become available. "I got approached by Newman-Haas to replace Bruno Junqueira," Davidson confirmed to ITV-F1's website. "But I decided not to go forward with it because my main objective is race with BAR-Honda in Formula 1 next year." [Editor's Note: The Newman/Haas ride was for this year whereas the BAR Honda ride for Davidson would be for next year, so who are they trying to BS? There is more to this story than is being told.]