Today's race: Chicagoland's Peak Antifreeze Indy 300
Lineup: PDF HTML
Green flag: 4 p.m. (ABC/IMS Radio Network)
Defending champion: Dan Wheldon
Points battle: 1. Dario Franchitti 587, 2. Scott Dixon -3, 3. Tony Kanaan -39.
Dario's Southern fling?
Chicago Sun-Times: Franchitti bolting for NASCAR in '08
Quotes a "source close to the negotiations" saying the announcement will be made after the IRL season, which ends in a few hours.
Indianapolis Star: Franchitti won't deny he's jumping to NASCAR
The typical non-denials "we're focused on the championship" from Chip & Dario, plus a note on Ganassi. Next year, Dixon & Wheldon are back, plus efforts to get Alex Lloyd in a third car. Says Chip: "I'd like to get to that, but I don't know. It always depends (on sponsorship)."
Times of Northwest Indiana: Franchitti mum on defection rumors
ESPN.com's John Oreovicz writes about NASCAR's systematic raiding of IndyCar's assets
Says Oreo: "Once the road to Indy racing, USAC sprint and midget competition is now NASCAR's chief training ground. Free-spending manufacturer Toyota pulled out of open-wheel in favor of stock cars, and Honda surely can't be far behind." Actually, Robert Clarke has said on multiple occasions that Honda has no interest in developing 1960s-style carbeurated pushrod engines, but anyway ...
Indianapolis Star: Franchitti starts up front
Some Silly Season stuff
From Sam Hornish Jr.: "I can say 100 percent that I don't in any way believe this is going to be my final Indy-car race." He is planning to run the Indy 500 even if he does go south.
From Curt Cavin: "An Andretti Green Racing teammate said Saturday the Scotsman will not return to the team next season. Instead, he'll take his Canadian Club sponsorship to Ganassi Racing's NASCARNextel Cup program, replacing David Stremme in the No. 40 car."
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Report: Franchitti on move
Says TK: "I don't want to talk to him about that, because I don't want to hear what I probably don't want to hear. I will support him as a friend. As a teammate I will miss him a lot."
Says Helio: "People are looking for the best option out there. If that happens, Indianapolis is still going to be Indianapolis." Writer Dave Kallman also asks "what are they doing?" in his blog.
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Dario Franchitti on move
Says Chip Ganassi: "I am currently in Chicago with our IndyCar Series team and I am solely focused on Scott Dixon and Team Target bringing home another IndyCar Series championship and that is all."
Says an AGR rep ... no comment, as "everyone is focused on the race and the two drivers we have in contention for the championship."
Speed TV: Franchitti non-committal about NASCAR move
Writer Jeff Olson says "While rumors swirled and the reports remained unsubstantiated, the notion arose that the story could be a hoax to improve Franchitti’s bargaining power in future negotiations. Franchitti reportedly is not happy with AGR ... Some drivers doubted the story, saying it’s common for drivers to feign interest in other teams or types of racing to bargain up their asking price, a trick Franchitti has applied in the past. Ganassi, who has been occupied in a bitter championship battle with AGR, also has been known to enjoy such games." Sam Hornish Jr. chips in with an "I'll believe it when I see it."
ESPN.com: Hornish hopes to play spoilerFrom Sam Hornish Jr.: "I can say 100 percent that I don't in any way believe this is going to be my final Indy-car race." He is planning to run the Indy 500 even if he does go south.
From Curt Cavin: "An Andretti Green Racing teammate said Saturday the Scotsman will not return to the team next season. Instead, he'll take his Canadian Club sponsorship to Ganassi Racing's NASCARNextel Cup program, replacing David Stremme in the No. 40 car."
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Report: Franchitti on move
Says TK: "I don't want to talk to him about that, because I don't want to hear what I probably don't want to hear. I will support him as a friend. As a teammate I will miss him a lot."
Says Helio: "People are looking for the best option out there. If that happens, Indianapolis is still going to be Indianapolis." Writer Dave Kallman also asks "what are they doing?" in his blog.
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Dario Franchitti on move
Says Chip Ganassi: "I am currently in Chicago with our IndyCar Series team and I am solely focused on Scott Dixon and Team Target bringing home another IndyCar Series championship and that is all."
Says an AGR rep ... no comment, as "everyone is focused on the race and the two drivers we have in contention for the championship."
Speed TV: Franchitti non-committal about NASCAR move
Writer Jeff Olson says "While rumors swirled and the reports remained unsubstantiated, the notion arose that the story could be a hoax to improve Franchitti’s bargaining power in future negotiations. Franchitti reportedly is not happy with AGR ... Some drivers doubted the story, saying it’s common for drivers to feign interest in other teams or types of racing to bargain up their asking price, a trick Franchitti has applied in the past. Ganassi, who has been occupied in a bitter championship battle with AGR, also has been known to enjoy such games." Sam Hornish Jr. chips in with an "I'll believe it when I see it."
Quote from Sam on next year: "At some point I'm going to quit driving Indy cars, whether to go to something else, take a break, retire, whatever. ... There will be some point in time (when) I'll have to quit. I can say still, 100 percent without a doubt, I don't think there's any way it will be my last IndyCar race. If I knew what I was going to do next year it would be emotional, but as far as I'm concerned, we're going out there trying to win the race, to give everybody a lot of good things to think about in the offseason."
Some SillySeason stuff in this notebook from Sarah Fisher: "I can't thank Dennis (Reinbold) enough for the opportunity to be here, but we had some major communication problems. It just wasn't what I wanted to be, let's put it that way. ... I'd love to be back," she added. "I've got some opportunities to run some road courses in the offseason, so I need that. We'll go do that and learn some more."
Actual Chicagoland race coverage that makes no mention of NASCAR
Hornish/Kanaan/Franchitti press conference transcript
Saturday's Daily Trackside Report
IndyCar.com: Pressure-packed finale
Dave Lewandowski catches up with the three championship contenders.
Chicago Tribune: Franchitti wins pole, inside track for IRL title
IndyCar.com: Five degrees of separation: Franchitti 1st, Kanaan 4th, Dixon 6th
Says TK: "For you guys, it's going to be fun. For us, it's going to be breathtaking. But so far so good. I think it's going to be a long day."
Joliet Herald-News: Nothing wrong with Franchitti's run
Quals recap. Says Scott Dixon: "I think it's going to be a pretty good shootout between all of us. I think Dan, after the last few races, definitely wants to get back on the map and I'm sure he's going to be super aggressive so I'll (even) being looking out for him. Dario, you might want to."
AP: Franchitti set to battle Dixon for IRL title
Eurosport: Franchitti earns Chicago pole
Speed TV: Franchitti earns pole
Peoria Journal-Star: Anything can happen at Chicagoland
Says Dario: "I'm pretty relaxed about it, because with winning the (Indianapolis) 500 this year, I think it's taken some pressure off my shoulders. I think I was maybe more nervous three or four races ago than I am now."
IndyCar.com's Pit Boss lists Helio a 2-to-1 favorite
Joliet Herald-News: Raceway roars
The obligatory fan story.
Driver stories
Chicago Tribune: Danica winless, but still sitting pretty
This story spends a lot of time trying a forced comparison of Danica to Anna Kournikova, and is a long read. Interesting ... worth the time.
Says Danica: "If I was a guy from the beginning, I have no idea where I'd be now. I like to think I got here being who I am. I've gotten some negative stuff, but what makes us go is our sponsorship and I definitely have an edge as a female when it comes to marketing. There are still a lot of positives being a girl."
Chicago Sun-Times: Wheldon wonders why 2007 has been a speed bump
Chicago Sun-Times: Duno's learning curves
Says Milka: ''You have to compete with yourself. You have to be better every time, beat your own records every time. This is the way you improve.'' Of course, Milka hasn't exactly competed with anyone else this year, except trying to stay out long enough to avoid the black-flag.
Indianapolis Star: Will Helio drive 'em crazy on the dance floor?
Curt Cavin heads to the Dancing with the Stars beat.
IPS stuff
The Times of Northwest Indiana catches up with Crown Point, IN driver Logan Gomez.
Interesting quotes, first from author Hillary Smith: "He'll likely spend another year in the Indy Pro Series, hoping to work his way into IndyCar while taking over the racing space on the Schmidt team left vacant by Alex Lloyd."
Then, from Mr. Gomez himself: "I think overall, open-wheel and the Indy Racing League is a lot more prestigious (than NASCAR). There's probably a lot more money in sponsors in NASCAR, but I like the open-wheel crowd better. As opposed to being 43 drivers, everyone sort of knows everyone."
Gomez then went out and beat his teammate in the closest race in IPS history. 1.65 inches was his MOV.
Speed TV reports that Al Unser III is running the Playa Del Racing IPS car next year. PDR is non-committal on whether or not it will field an effort for the Indy 500.
And finally
A rare political story: The Gulfport (MS) Sun-Herald mentions tensions between the mayor & city council. One of the issues -- the mayor tried to push through the proposed non-points IRL street race through the area (which, of course, didn't happen).
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