Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Aug. 29 newsstand

Typical Wednesday ... everyone's gearing down from the weekend and gearing up for Belle Isle.

Driver news & other stories
AP: Once-dour Dixon relaxed, smiling and surging
Scott Dixon is in a better mood. Is it the companionship of fiancee Emma, or is it the fact that Dario Franchitti is running into every obstacle imaginable (literally) in the points chase.

Detroit News: Faith keeps pace: Andretti's season does a 180
Marco suddenly isn't scared anymore. And, as long as he doesn't get in his teammate's way, he seems to be doing rather well.

A.J. Foyt checks in with his USA Today column
A.J. discusses Darren Manning's tough day at Sonoma, and then talks about Sammy Hagar and Cabo Wabo.

Anderson (IN) Herald-Bulletin: AGR feeling the pain
Local race nut Ken De La Bastide -- who can usually be found at a short track near you -- checks in.

At IndyCar.com, Scott Goodyear rehashes the Dario-Marco incident, and puts the blame on AGR.

Looking ahead to Belle Isle
Detroit Grand Prix preview
The weekly installment of "Everything you ever wanted to know about ..."

USA Today: Castroneves eager to return to revamped Belle Isle
Helio returns to the place where first gave Tony Stewart the idea to invent climbing the fence. Um, sorry, I've been watching too much NASCAR on TV (we need more ICS races to watch). Anyway, Helio is back at the track where he became "Spiderman," and is impressed with the Roger Penske-promoted event. "When Roger wants to do something, you know it's going to be done right. The island is much nicer. It's become a first-class operation."

IndyCar.com: It's been a long time since contenders raced at Belle Isle

Allan Brewer of Motorsport.com tells us Helio is reveling in his return to the Isle

Crain's Detroit Business: Penske puts passion into improvements at Belle Isle
Curt Cavin's byline shows up everywhere. Says Roger Penske: “This should really be terrific. I can’t wait.”

Detroit News: With Penske driving, Grand Prix will be a first-class operation
Columnist Daniel Howes tells us, "Racing won't fix what ails Detroit, but it won't hurt."

Detroit Free Press: Grand Prix is show-off time
The DGP is a good B2B opportunity for some Detroit businesses.

SportsTicker: Let's get physical
Bruce Martin rehashes the no-power steering story, especially with another roadie coming up.

DGP official press release

And, for a good laugh, we knew the NIMBYs would check in. Here's one writing in the Detroit Free Press. That said, I do agree with her that the IRL should be at the Brooklyn racetrack. But, not to copy IUPUI's old lame marketing slogan, "Why not both?" But, I guess we'd instead have to lock the Frances & TG in a room to get a solution with those tracks.

Schedule stuff
TMS 2008 schedule has familiar feel
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us about the 2008 Texas Motor Speedway schedule, which includes the IndyCar race two weeks after Indy.

Says Eddie Gossage: "I definitely hope and expect they'll [IRL] be back in 2010 and beyond. Obviously, there are some things we have to iron out and that's why we timed the contract the way we did."

I'm trying not to, but ... put on them dancing shoes
Helio Castroneves is going to be on Dancing with the Stars
Among the stories: Indianapolis Star, IMS, Detroit News

Non-IRL news
Champ Car cancels the Phoenix GP, initially scheduled to be the season finale. The Arizona Republic tells us that the title sponsor pulled out and other corporate sponsors were difficult to find. The 1,000 ticketholders will be refunded. For those keeping score at home, that is now 3 races Champ Car has had to cancel this season.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the NIMBY article. Especially the "fossil-fuel" burning part. That's highly researched journalism right there. The cancel the contract part was choice too. It's called a "contract" for a reason. Someone had a deadline and no article written so trash the race you know nothing about on an island you've haven't be to in years...deadline met...editor happy.