Oct. 25 newsstand

Being in offseason mode, we catch up when it's needed (or when I have time ... my winter pastime is coaching high school girls basketball, so I might be a bit busy until February).

Anyway, here's the lowdown on all the IRL news that's fit to print from the last week.

Musical drivers
OK, not the Champ Car version, where teams shift drivers on a weekly basis, but Curt Cavin has joined Robin Miller in anticipating Hideki Mutoh as "likely" to fill the 27 car, likely with Aguri Suzuki's money helping foot the bill.

Mutoh is a talented shoe who will do rather well in IndyCars, especially if he gets a plum ride like the 27 car. Unfortunately, that isn't good for Panther Racing, as Aguri has teamed with Panther to field the team's second car in the past year (and teamed with Fernandez Racing in prior years).

Cavin's SillySeason update is similar to ours:
Confirmed returnees: TK, Danica, Marco with AGR; Helio with Penske; Wheldon/Dixon with TCGR; Meira with Panther; Manning with Foyt; Sharp with RLR; Carpenter with Vision.
Confirmed newcomers: Lloyd part-time with TCGR.
"Expected/Likely": Mutoh in fourth AGR car, Briscoe in second Penske car, Rice with D&R, RHR with RLR, Roth driving his own car.
Expected but no driver yet: Vision 2nd car (Foyt or Scheckter), Roth 2nd car.
TBA: Panther 2nd car (has been funded with Super Aguri money, that appears to be going to AGR), D&R 2nd car, Vision 3rd car.
"Unlikely:" Foyt 2nd car (has been rumored).
That, if the "expected/TBA" cars are back, puts the FT grid at 19 cars, with nothing for Kingdom Racing or Anderson/Fernandez Racing, which have either stated their intentions or have been rumored to be considering running in 2008.

History stuff
While 220 and 230+ is now a fact of life at Indy, Speed TV looks at the quest for 200 mph at the storied racetrack in the 1960s and 1970s. While it's full of tech stuff, this is a great read.
Says Jim McGee: "A lot of times, during that era, we did things while not really understanding what was going on."
And says "Gas Man" Tom Sneva, the first man to go 200 mph at Indy, about the comparative lack of fascination with speed today: "There are so many other forms of sports entertainment competing for the fan’s attention. I think the other big thing is how popular NASCAR has become. The perception is all NASCAR, which is too bad, because the IRL, with their current rules, is more entertaining."

Danica's a stylish woman
And she's taking that side of her to market her personality a bit more.
Says Danica: "So many people know me as Danica Patrick, race car driver. Well, there's another side to me. A side I really enjoy as far as fashion."

Also, Danica takes on NASCAR: "The big bucks lure of NASCAR is always lurking. If I felt like I had a better chance to win races over there, I would do it. I could have made a truckload if I wanted to. But that's not where my heart is right now. I love to see the growth and expansion of IndyCar. People working hard. More people watching it." ... "I love driving the (Indy) car. The sensation that you get out of an open-wheel car vs. a NASCAR is going to be extremely different. It's going to be a lot more fun to drive an open-wheel car as far as what you get through your hands and through your butt and feet and everything. It's just a higher level of technology and driving."

Speaking of Danica, the IRL notes that it is becoming a more popular baby name, especially since Ms. Hospenthal burst onto the scene in 2005. The release of Winnie Cooper's book about hot girls being smart didn't have anything to do with it. (It probably didn't, because about only about 2% of us know Winnie Cooper's given name is Danica McKellar). You learn something new every day: Danica is a Slavic name meaning "morning star."

In the "I surely haven't heard this before" category
Mario Andretti is disappointed with the state of IndyCar racing. Mario is also one of a few lights out there who are begging TG to throw a lifeboat out to Champ Car, too.

Says Mario: "I think it's a wake-up call. I would like to hope that decision makers will wake up and see that they need to do something. They are allowing this to happen by maintaining status quo, not seeing the forest through the trees. That saddens me greatly."
The IRL's Terry Angstadt responds: "We've lost one driver. It's interesting that here is the `mass exodus,' clumping in Jacques Villeneuve, Scott Speed, and Sam Hornish who hasn't committed. It's far from gloom and doom." (The story notes that Angstadt pointed out that Speed has never competed in the IRL and Villeneuve hasn't run an IndyCar race in 12 years).

IRL guys running in the off-season
Apparently, being a new father isn't enough excitement for Tony Kanaan. Since the end of the IRL season, he became a dad and ran an Acura for AGR in the final two ALMS races of the year. Now, he's headed to Japan to run a Formula Nippon race at Suzuka, in cars that are very similar to IRL machines. TK finished 6th in the ALMS finale, just behind former IndyCar rival Adrian Fernandez.

Scott Dixon, meanwhile, is doing his share of globetrotting and racing during his vacation.

Former IRL guys running in the off-season
He's run a truck, now Dario Franchitti is headed to a soon-to-be-no-longer-called Busch Series event at Memphis. Dario finished 33rd in a truck race at Martinsville last week.
Says the Indy 500 winner: “It was a good experience - it was interesting, if you ignore the result. The result is pretty disappointing - like, very disappointing. But at the same time we’re here to learn right now and it’s a long way to go.”
The AP also catches up with Dario. So does USA Today.
Meanwhile, you have to scroll down in this David Poole story, but Dario gets a dig in at Paul Tracy.

The Miami Herald does its version of the "exodus" story.
Eddie Gossage called it a "monkey-see, monkey-do thing":''It may be a fad that burns out quickly or it may work out well, the question is, will the fans accept these drivers? NASCAR fans have been reluctant to accept Toyota, so will they accept foreign drivers? There was a period of time they were reluctant to accept a driver outside of North Carolina.''
Sam Hornish Jr. is also quoted, and has a pointed remark that might show how he's leaning: ''It's not that I believe the IRL cars aren't safe, but to envision yourself running there past 35 years of age is probably not that smart of a thing to do. They're looking for younger drivers. The longevity isn't the same.''

IRL guys dancing in the off-season
The Sacramento Bee's Debbie Arrington catches up with Helio Castroneves (who, BTW, survived on to next week in DWTS).
Says Helio: "I had no idea how big this thing was. I didn't understand how big its audience was each week. It's crazy. Usually, I'm just in my own little world (in racing). The last two weeks, people have been coming up to me in airports, in restaurants, on the sidewalk; people who saw me on the show. ... It really surprised me."

IndyCar.com discusses how Helio & Julianne are trying to reformulate things.

Kentucky back under the lights
While we knew that to be true when we saw the IRL schedule announced, it is notable that the official Kentucky Speedway announcement has the IPS race listed after the ICS event. That happened this year (ICS at 6:30, IPS at approximately 9 p.m.). I thought it worked very well, as it strung out the traffic leaving the Speedway and avoided the massive jams we experienced in 2005. (Then again, Crimson was not very appreciative of the circuitous route that we were forced to take coming out of the track, which made the drive home about 30 minutes longer, thanks to the "new traffic pattern" the local smokies forced on us).

Speaking of Kentucky, the Cincinnati Enquirer catches up with the track's PR guru. It's notable that the largest contingent of foreign media comes for the ICS race. Then again, every other event Kentucky has is a stock-car race, where there isn't exactly a market in Brazil and Japan. Yet.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the 27 car's sponsor
Read about Canadian Club's marketing strategy.

Congrats to Bobby Rahal
1986 Indy 500 winner (and 1994 winning car owner) Bobby Rahal has been enshrined as a Legend of Laguna Seca.

IPS news
Sam Schmidt Motorsports is looking for Alex Lloyd's replacement, and was impressed with drivers James Davison and Cole Morgan, who come from Star Mazda and F2000.

And finally
A sad note, as we mark the passing of former motorsports writer Shav Glick.