Silly Season update: Dec. 29

Lots of new meat in this Silly Season update.

The short version
Confirmed entries (17 full-time cars + 1 part-time car)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (1): 15-Buddy Rice
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2+1): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon. ??-Alex Lloyd will be a part-time entry
Panther (2): 4-Vitor Meira, ??-Driver TBA
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 25-Marty Roth, 76?-Jay Howard
Vision (2): 20-Ed Carpenter, Second car driver TBA
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 8)
Greg Beck (1)
Sarah Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together)
Foyt (1): Rumored second car they're trying to squirrel together
Kingdom (1)
Luczo Dragon (1): Patrick Long (part-time?)
D.B. Mann (1)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Milka Duno
Part-time/Indy-only
PDM Racing (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500.
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Rubicon (1)
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1), Vision (1)-likely Davey Hamilton, Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.

2008 lineup
Andretti Green Racing (4)
7-Danica Patrick (Motorola, 4th-year FT driver, 2nd year with AGR). Under contract through 2009.
11-Tony Kanaan (7-11, 6th year FT driver, all with AGR, 2004 champ). Under contract through 2008.
26-Marco Andretti (NYSE Group, 3rd-year FT driver, all with AGR). Staying with AGR.
27-Hideki Mutoh (Panasonic, 1st-year FT driver). Signed to replace Dario Franchitti.

Team Penske (2)
3-Helio Castroneves (Team Penske, 7th-year FT driver, all with Penske, 2-time I500 champ). Under contract to Penske through 2008.
6-Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske, 2nd-year FT driver, 1st with Penske). Has recently signed with Penske to replace Sam Hornish Jr.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (2.5)
9-Scott Dixon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, all with TCGR, 2003 champ). Under contract for 2008.
10-Dan Wheldon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, 3rd with TCGR, 2005 IRL & Indy champ). Under contract through 2008.
Part-time entry: Alex Lloyd: Has signed a "development deal" with Ganassi that includes IRL & GrandAm races. Lloyd could be farmed out to another team or run in a third Ganassi car. Expect to see him in a full-time ride for TCGR in 2009.

Rahal Letterman Racing (1-2)
17-Ryan Hunter-Reay (Ethanol, 2nd-year FT driver). Likely to return for 2008. Ethanol sponsorship requires an American driver. Just about everyone has tied RHR to this car, and reports in the last week indicate that RHR has tested this car.
8-TBA. A couple of things are TBA about this car. First of all, will it even be there? Scott Sharp is likely taking his sponsor & team to ALMS. Second, if it does exist (and Robin Miller insists that Ethanol requires a two-car team), who will be the driver?

Panther Racing (2)
4-Vitor Meira (Delphi, 7th-year FT driver, 3rd with Panther). Confirmed for 2008.
TBA-Driver TBA: This ride was slotted for Hideki Mutoh, but Aguri Suzuki took his driver & his support of the second Panther car to AGR. P.J. Chesson is emerging as the frontrunner for this ride. Cavin has also mentioned Tomas Scheckter as a possibility, but Chesson seems to be the frontrunner.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1-2)
15-Buddy Rice (RollCoater, 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with D&R). Rice has recently said that things are close to him returning to D&R for 2008.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is very unlikely to return. Whether or not D&R keeps the second car is unknown (Fisher made comments in 2007 that indicated D&R may go back to one car).

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008. The only confirmed Vision car for 2008.
The other two cars are unconfirmed ...
TBA: 22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, would be a 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TBA: 2-Tomas Scheckter (Joost, would be a 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TG has turned both Scheckter and Foyt loose for 2008. It appears Vision will be a 2-car team in 2008, possibly fielding Davey Hamilton in an Indy 500 one-off in a third car. It looks like Foyt will stay and Scheckter will probably become the free agent.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.
TBA: Second car. Foyt is exploring the option of adding a second car, pending funding. Curt Cavin has said the funding appears to be not there at this point, although some MyNameIsIRL speculation says A.J. is selling $6 million worth of land.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars next year. He'll be driving one of them.
76-Jay Howard (rookie). Howard was announced Nov. 26 as the driver of this car, the second car with Roth Racing.

SAMAX Racing (1)
Unconfirmed for 2008: 23-Milka Duno (Citgo - rookie). Duno will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. Spent the last half of the season on probation. There is also the possibility of Duno not coming back at all.

**Potential new entries**
D.B. Mann Motorsports (1?)
This team fielded cars for John Paul Jr., Steve Chassey, Gary Bettenhausen & Mark Dismore between 1989 & 1992, but hasn't been heard from since. But Cavin said on Dec. 21 that they are planning an IRL entry for 2008, and they do have a website.

Kingdom Racing (1)
The team announced its plans to field a team for 2008 on Aug. 16. Led by Houston businessman George Del Canto, the team plans to be based on a Christian philosophy, with several pastors and Christian leaders on the board of directors. They've been announcing new partnerships as recent as Sept. 28, when evangelical leader Patrick Morley came on board. But we haven't heard anything out of them since.

Sarah Fisher Racing (1)
TBA: Sarah Fisher. Has sponsorships from AAMCO and AAA. Curt Cavin said on Nov. 25 that Fisher has hired a staff and this possibility appears more likely. Another Indy Star story in late December quoted father-in-law John O'Gara saying they're putting something together, and hoping to get enough sponsorship to run the full season, not just Indy.

Beck Racing (1)
TBA: Although Beck ran some early-season events, the Beck machine hasn't been seen since Indy. Beck has said he'd like to be back in the series, and his comments at the TEAM announcement seemed to indicate that is possible. Beck does have a Dallara, which he used in a couple of races last year and leased to Panther at the end of the season (Panther has returned it to Beck).

**Possible part-time entries**
Luczo Dragon Racing (1)
Patrick Long: Long is committed to running for Penske in ALMS next year, but there are rumors he could be the Luczo Dragon driver. Will he be running more races than Indy? That is to be seen.

Racing Professionals (1)
Jon Herb: As for the future, it's probably part-time at best, with the Indy 500 one-off and maybe the Chicago race.

Playa Del Racing (1-2)
Indy-only entry. Will probably field 1 or 2 cars for the Indianapolis 500.

PDM Racing would like to run a partial season of ovals in 2008 and become full-time in 2009. It would be more than good to see this longtime program back in the ICS full-time.

Rubicon Race Team (1)
This will be an Indy one-off owned by Jim Freudenberg and Jason Priestley.

Unlikely for next year, but for the more distant future?
Cheever Racing ... the Aug. 28 IRL press release quotes Eddie's nephew Richard Antinucci as looking to get into the ICS (and get the team back into the ICS) long-term, if, of course, the $$ comes together.

2009 schedule news
The 2009 schedule may expand to 20 races, according to IRL brass.
As far as new tracks:
*-Michigan International Speedway has already been mentioned as a possible re-addition to the schedule, in a Detroit News story.
*-Expect Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to get a look, given positive comments after the IRL's test Oct. 12, and owner George Barber saying he'd like to have an IRL race there in the future.
*-New Hampshire Motor Speedway has re-entered the picture for 2009, according to stories in the Boston Herald & Concord (NH) Monitor. It is likely to lose a NASCAR date, and the IRL might be looked upon to be an addition to the track's racing menu.

More unlikely, but possible entries: Rockingham, which was recently purchased by former Indy 500 starter and Hoosier native Andy Hillenburg, who has scheduled ARCA and Pro Cup races at the 1-mile track next season.

Confirmed for 2009: Indianapolis (signed forever), Texas (signed through 2009), Iowa (signed through 2009), Milwaukee (signed through 2009), Detroit (signed through 2011).

Dec. 30 newsstand: Couple of items & a new car?

First off, a couple of notes from Curt Cavin's blog today ...
*-Just about everybody in IRL fandom has kvetched about the lousy promotion of IndyCar events by ISC tracks (especially vis a vis their promotion of NASCAR races). Watkins Glen's PR director chips in with his two cents. While I see his premise, it is notable that the IRL & open-wheel racing in general have had MUCH bigger problems at ISC tracks *after* the tracks were sold to the France family. Michigan, California & Phoenix all suffered huge attendance drops and are all off the schedule. Read it and come up to your own conclusions.

*-There have been some rumblings about American road racer Patrick Long running some races for Luczo Dragon Racing next year. Long is taking Ryan Briscoe's spot with Penske Racing in ALMS. Given past history (well, at least 2007), one could reasonably expect Long to drive the 2008 Indy 500 for Jay Penske's team. However, it is reasonably possible that Long could run a partial schedule. I'll toss it in the SSU as a "potential" entry.

Sarah Fisher Racing update
Sarah Fisher Racing is officially past the rumor stage. Father-in-law John O'Gara tells the Indy Star's Al Stilley that the team is looking to "put enough (sponsorship) together for the full season, not just the 500."

Dario is moving series
... but he can't move into his new Scottish palace

And, finally
We never get an opportunity to reference Pravda, the former Soviet house propaganda organ. But they name-drop the ICS in a story about David Letterman.

Dec. 29 newsstand: Corvette again at Indy

Today's top hit: Adeste Fedele-is
First off, head over to MyNameIsIRL (which you should be doing anyway), where Jeff catches up with Anthony Fedele, the "other guy" in the Kanaan-Hornish fracas at the Glen this year.

A great interview that gives some inside info on what happened, at least from his point of view. Oh, and his hard card has been restored.

Now, to racing
Or ... at least, pacing ...
The 2008 Indy 500 pace car will be ... two Chevy Corvettes.

One is a lime-green car that will be driven by two-time Indy champ Emerson Fittipaldi. The other is a black-and-silver car that is a replica paint scheme of the 1978 Indy pace car. Emmo's car will run on E85.

Catching up with Wade Cunningham
Who reflects on his 2007 IPS season in a New Zealand publication.
Wade says: "The Pro Series is just getting to the point now where it is a credible stepping stone to IndyCars, but there are very limited opportunities. Steve Horne and I are working on 2008, but I think the best strategy for myself long term is to stay involved with a team of AGR's caliber."

Former IRL driver news
Alex Barron is headed to the Grand Am series, where he will drive a Porsche. In his way-too-short tenure in the IRL, Alex always managed to get the most out of his equipment, and he deserved more shots than he got.

Just for kicks (or rolled eyes)
A San Diego columnist piles on with the "split is killing open-wheel" talk. Dude, it's a lot of things -- inopportune marketing, the 12-year-long effort of people like the Gang of Four to make sure the mainstream racing media (and by extension, the public) considers the IRL crap, the NASCAR hype machine sucking the air out of the room and leaving little room for anyone else, lousy promotion by the "partner, self-serving team owners, stubbed toes ... but whether or not the IRL has anything to do with Kevin Kalkhoven's club series doesn't really have much to do with it.

Dec. 23 newsstand: Mario spouting off (again) & Dixon ranked

A couple of interesting weekend items tops this update ...

Scott's No. 8
Scott Dixon was one of six current or former IRL drivers in the Autosport Magazine Top 50 drivers in the world.

The top 10 (based on 2007 performance): 1. Kimi Raikkonen (F1), 2. Lewis Hamilton (F1), 3. Fernando Alonso (F1), 4. Marcus Gronholm (WRC), 5. Sebastien Loeb (WRC), 6. Jenson Button (F1), 7. Dario Franchitti (IRL), 8. Scott Dixon (IRL), 9. Mark Webber (F1), 10. Nick Heidfeld (F1).

Other IRL drivers on the list: 16. Tony Kanaan; 30. Helio Castroneves; 42. Sam Hornish Jr.; 50. Alex Lloyd.

The entire list is here

Other drivers from American series:
NASCAR: 20. Jimmie Johnson; 25. Jeff Gordon; 36. Matt Kenseth
Champ Car: 23. Sebastien Bourdais; 43. Justin Wilson
ALMS: 24. Romain Dumas; 26. Allan McNish

Former ICS drivers: 33. Nic Minassian (one-time Indy 500 starter, now in European LeMans Series); 37. Giorgio Pantano (drove a couple of road races for TCGR in 2005, now in GP2).

Sam would like to drive IndyCars again
... in selected races, including the Indy 500 if the time thing can be ironed out
One question that is never asked ... there is a lot of complaining about ABC & IMS changing the Indy starting time from noon EDT to 1 p.m. EDT, but why doesn't NASCAR change the start time of the Fizzy Pop 600 if having guys do the "double" is such a big deal to them?

Says Sam: "I hope they move the schedule so somebody could do (the double). That's my goal. If I never ran in the Indy 500 again or an Indy Car Series race, I would probably say I would be disappointed."

Mario talks ...
Mario Andretti catches up with AutoWeek
Among the items ...
*-Mario talks about his last time in a "real" racecar, which ended in his airplane spin at Indy. He refers to the Dallara's design as "stupid," too.
*-He never even mentions Indy when asked about his biggest racing accomplishment.
*-On the split: He actually criticizes someone from CC ... "They're all in denial. I've tried so hard to get some sense in them. They just don't seem to realize they keep losing ground. More and more, that's the thing Kevin Kalkoven doesn't really realize. He's in Dubai, cultivating those foreign markets, and it just doesn't work."
*-On Marco: "He really needs to be in F1." (ugh ... this again).

Vitor's a truck driver
At least for one day, as Vitor Meira tested a race truck in Brazil. Don't tell the NASCAR media, or the "exodus" stories will begin again.

Looking ahead
Honda's Robert Clarke discusses tech specs for 2008
Among the highlights:
*-Multiple fuel settings is a possibility f0r 2008 (instead of the one fuel setting as happened in 2007)
*-1,400 miles on an engine between rebuilds
*-Trying to change the "sound" of the engines
*-ECUs will have to be modified to accommodate paddle shifting

Dario redux
The Herald catches up with Dario Franchitti and looks back on his 2007 season.
Says Dario: "I must have gone through about 20 different emotions during the Indy 500, but to finish in the lead when the weather intervened summed up how things went in my favor as the summer progressed ... it was the same when Scott Dixon's car ground to a halt on the last corner in the final race, I surged past him and knew I had the championship in my pocket."

And finally
... make sure you buy some IndyCar trading cards for your kid's stocking

Silly season update: Dec. 21

Lots of new meat in this Silly Season update.

2008 lineup
Andretti Green Racing (4)
7-Danica Patrick (Motorola, 4th-year FT driver, 2nd year with AGR). Under contract through 2009.
11-Tony Kanaan (7-11, 6th year FT driver, all with AGR, 2004 champ). Under contract through 2008.
26-Marco Andretti (NYSE Group, 3rd-year FT driver, all with AGR). Staying with AGR.
27-Hideki Mutoh (Panasonic, 1st-year FT driver). Signed to replace Dario Franchitti.

Team Penske (2)
3-Helio Castroneves (Team Penske, 7th-year FT driver, all with Penske, 2-time I500 champ). Under contract to Penske through 2008.
6-Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske, 2nd-year FT driver, 1st with Penske). Has recently signed with Penske to replace Sam Hornish Jr.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (2.5)
9-Scott Dixon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, all with TCGR, 2003 champ). Under contract for 2008.
10-Dan Wheldon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, 3rd with TCGR, 2005 IRL & Indy champ). Under contract through 2008.
Part-time entry: Alex Lloyd: Has signed a "development deal" with Ganassi that includes IRL & GrandAm races. Lloyd could be farmed out to another team or run in a third Ganassi car. Expect to see him in a full-time ride for TCGR in 2009.

Rahal Letterman Racing (1-2)
17-Ryan Hunter-Reay (Ethanol, 2nd-year FT driver). Likely to return for 2008. Ethanol sponsorship requires an American driver. Just about everyone has tied RHR to this car, and reports in the last week indicate that RHR has tested this car.
8-TBA. A couple of things are TBA about this car. First of all, will it even be there? Scott Sharp is likely taking his sponsor & team to ALMS. Second, if it does exist (and Robin Miller insists that Ethanol requires a two-car team), who will be the driver?

Panther Racing (2)
4-Vitor Meira (Delphi, 7th-year FT driver, 3rd with Panther). Confirmed for 2008.
TBA-Driver TBA: This ride was slotted for Hideki Mutoh, but Aguri Suzuki took his driver & his support of the second Panther car to AGR. P.J. Chesson is emerging as the frontrunner for this ride. Cavin has also mentioned Tomas Scheckter as a possibility, but Chesson seems to be the frontrunner.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1-2)
15-Buddy Rice (RollCoater, 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with D&R). Rice has recently said that things are close to him returning to D&R for 2008.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is very unlikely to return. Whether or not D&R keeps the second car is unknown (Fisher made comments in 2007 that indicated D&R may go back to one car).

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008. The only confirmed Vision car for 2008.
The other two cars are unconfirmed ...
TBA: 22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, would be a 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TBA: 2-Tomas Scheckter (Joost, would be a 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TG has turned both Scheckter and Foyt loose for 2008. It appears Vision will be a 2-car team in 2008, possibly fielding Davey Hamilton in an Indy 500 one-off in a third car. It looks like Foyt will stay and Scheckter will probably become the free agent.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.
TBA: Second car. Foyt is exploring the option of adding a second car, pending funding. Curt Cavin has said the funding appears to be not there at this point, although some MyNameIsIRL speculation says A.J. is selling $6 million worth of land.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars next year. He'll be driving one of them.
76-Jay Howard (rookie). Howard was announced Nov. 26 as the driver of this car, the second car with Roth Racing.

SAMAX Racing (1)
Unconfirmed for 2008: 23-Milka Duno (Citgo - rookie). Duno will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. Spent the last half of the season on probation. There is also the possibility of Duno not coming back at all.

**Potential new entries**
D.B. Mann Motorsports (1?)
This team fielded cars for John Paul Jr., Steve Chassey, Gary Bettenhausen & Mark Dismore between 1989 & 1992, but hasn't been heard from since. But Cavin said on Dec. 21 that they are planning an IRL entry for 2008, and they do have a website.

Kingdom Racing (1)
The team announced its plans to field a team for 2008 on Aug. 16. Led by Houston businessman George Del Canto, the team plans to be based on a Christian philosophy, with several pastors and Christian leaders on the board of directors. They've been announcing new partnerships as recent as Sept. 28, when evangelical leader Patrick Morley came on board. But we haven't heard anything out of them since.

Sarah Fisher Racing (1)
TBA: Sarah Fisher. Has sponsorships from AAMCO and AAA. Curt Cavin said on Nov. 25 that Fisher has hired a staff and this possibility appears more likely. She'd likely be the only IRL driver married to her crew chief, too.

**Likely part-time entries**
Racing Professionals (1)
Jon Herb: As for the future, it's probably part-time at best, with the Indy 500 one-off and maybe the Chicago race.

Playa Del Racing (1-2)
Indy-only entry. Will probably field 1 or 2 cars for the Indianapolis 500.

PDM Racing would like to run a partial season of ovals in 2008 and become full-time in 2009. It would be more than good to see this longtime program back in the ICS full-time.

Beck Racing (1)
TBA: Although Beck ran some early-season events, the Beck machine hasn't been seen since Indy. Beck has said he'd like to be back in the series, and his comments at the TEAM announcement seemed to indicate that is possible. Beck does have a Dallara, which he used in a couple of races last year and leased to Panther at the end of the season (Panther has returned it to Beck).

Rubicon Race Team (1)
This will be an Indy one-off owned by Jim Freudenberg and Jason Priestley.

Unlikely for next year, but for the more distant future?
Cheever Racing ... the Aug. 28 IRL press release quotes Eddie's nephew Richard Antinucci as looking to get into the ICS (and get the team back into the ICS) long-term, if, of course, the $$ comes together.

2009 schedule news
The 2009 schedule may expand to 20 races, according to IRL brass.
As far as new tracks:
*-Michigan International Speedway has already been mentioned as a possible re-addition to the schedule, in a Detroit News story.
*-Expect Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to get a look, given positive comments after the IRL's test Oct. 12, and owner George Barber saying he'd like to have an IRL race there in the future.
*-New Hampshire Motor Speedway has re-entered the picture for 2009, according to stories in the Boston Herald & Concord (NH) Monitor. It is likely to lose a NASCAR date, and the IRL might be looked upon to be an addition to the track's racing menu.

More unlikely, but possible entries: Rockingham, which was recently purchased by former Indy 500 starter and Hoosier native Andy Hillenburg, who has scheduled ARCA and Pro Cup races at the 1-mile track next season.

Confirmed for 2009: Indianapolis (signed forever), Texas (signed through 2009), Iowa (signed through 2009), Milwaukee (signed through 2009), Detroit (signed through 2011).

Dec. 21 newsstand: A new team? + other developments

2008 drivers & teams updates
Darren Manning/A.J. Foyt
While this had been specuated for some time, it is now confirmed that Darren Manning will be back in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Motorsports car next year.

On a sad note, the sponsor of the car, ABC Supply president Ken Hendricks, passed away after a fall from his roof. Our prayers to his family.

Buddy Rice "close" to being back with D&R
The 2004 Indy 500 winner is likely to be back with D&R next year. He says things aren't 100% finalized yet, but they're close.

Buddy tells writer Arizona Republic Michael Knight: "He said the team has made crew changes to improve pit-stop performance and has spent time in a wind tunnel and on a chassis shaker rig developing its Dallara-Honda."

Buddy is also planning to drive in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with David Donohue, the son of 1972 Indy winner Mark Donohue.

New team: D.B. Mann Motorsports
Mentioned today in Curt Cavin's blog, D.B. Mann Motorsports is planning a one-car team for the full 2008 season. D.B. Mann fielded cars for John Paul Jr., Gary Bettenhausen, Mark Dismore and Steve Chassey between 1989-1992. They finished in the Top 10 at Indy in 1992 with JPJ. It's also announced in a press release here. No driver or sponsor has been announced. Their website is up, and can be found here.

Says partner Tom Azbell: “We are very close to completing our sponsorship arrangements and we have spoken to several top-notch IndyCar drivers. We hope to be able to announce our sponsor/driver package soon and to have our team operational and ready for pre-season testing.

Scheckter the odd man out?
From Cavin's blog: Tomas Scheckter doesn't have any concrete plans for 2008, but Cavin says he basically has two options: stay at Vision or go to Panther. With P.J. Chesson apparently slotted for Panther's second car and Vision apparently cutting back to two cars (and the second car likely being for AJIV), it appears Scheckter may be the odd man out, unless something opens up at RLR or D&R or with one of the upstart teams.

If Chesson goes to Panther, Tomas Enge might join them to coach the new drivers.

RLR update
Bobby Rahal seems thrilled even though there has been a big shakeup and things look in complete disarray at RLR. Ryan Hunter-Reay had a good test at Infineon and the car looked good: ""Ryan did a really good job and we didn't know if the car was good, bad or indifferent. What we found out is, it's pretty darn good, in fact. That's why I'm excited. It's been a while since I had that kind of fun."

Meanwhile, in the old news department, it's largely expected that Scott Sharp will take his car & sponsor and go to ALMS next year. However, Robin Miller claims Ethanol demands a 2-car team, so that might mean a second car at RLR.

Paul Tracy???
A couple of weeks ago, PT debunked the rumor that he was looking at the IRL, but it's looking possible, at least. It's at least the hot rumor in motorsports right now, mentioned in Oreo's latest ESPN.com column, and also in a few other places, like Robin Miller's latest chat and Curt Cavin's blog.

Catching up with Brian Barnhart
IndyCar.com catches up with BB and talks about the TEAM matrix, safety and Project 2011.

Ryan Briscoe thrilled to be in the 6
The Kansas City Star catches up with Penske's newest driver, Ryan Briscoe, and even reprises Briscoe's last non-Indy ICS moment -- the fireball at Chicago.
Says Roger: “He did a terrific job at Indianapolis this year, and delivered for us in our (American Le Mans) program. Obviously he has big shoes to fill with Sam moving over to our NASCAR team, but he has shown us that he has the talent to win in the IndyCar Series.”
Meanwhile, American Patrick Long is taking Briscoe's ride in ALMS. Is it possible that Long could be the Luczo Dragon entry in the future?

IRL news & notes
The official IRL news & notes notes that P.J. Chesson (ICS) and Leilani Munter (IPS) tested Panther cars at Homestead.

That tends to lead us to believe those two will be in the Panther cars next year ... Chesson would be a teammate to Vitor Meira, and possibly in an orange-and-black car painted like Meira's 2006 machine.

Other potpourri: Homestead-Miami Speedway brings in lots of cash to South Florida

Adam Andretti, son of Aldo, brother to John, cousin of Michael, tested an IPS car last week and is planning to run the 2008 IPS season.

Wade Cunningham tested an IndyCar with AGR this week. While AGR's stable is currently VERY full with four cars, it was a nice opportunity for the 23-year-old to run the big cars for the first time.

Dario Franchitti is fully committed to his NASCAR effort despite wadding up at least five cars so far. No word on whether or not any of them have gotten airborne.

Whining from the south
The invasion of open-wheelers is causing some serious gnashing of teeth in the South now that it's realized that some "good NASCAR drivers" aren't getting rides.

A couple of solutions if they want to stay in the limelight: They could either try their hand at open-wheel cars, or possibly we could have Sam & Tony back so David Stremme, Tony Raines and Scott Wimmer can get a ride somewhere.

From the commentaries
Jeff Olson says "racers are good guys," in contrast to NBA players in gunfights and steroid-addled baseball players. He mentions the good stuff Vitor & TK are doing.

Meanwhile, David Phillips takes on the spec-vs-innovation debate, and takes a predictable shot at the IRL in the process.

Robin Miller, meanwhile, checks in with his semi-regular Speed chat. Among the items: "A couple of IRL teams are serious about Paul Tracy and he's serious about them" (Icicles are forming in Hades as we speak) ... however, PT wants to be on "the big 3," none of which currently have rides available.

And finally
This appeals to the roadgeek in me, but Speed unearthed an old story about Chip Ganassi Racing using the abandoned Laurel Hill Tunnel off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The abandoned Turnpike tunnels have long been a curiosity to roadfans, and this is interesting speculation.

Silly Season update: Dec. 16

The Scott Sharp fiasco and some news at Panther leads off this SSU.

2008 lineup
Andretti Green Racing (4)
7-Danica Patrick (Motorola, 4th-year FT driver, 2nd year with AGR). Under contract through 2009.
11-Tony Kanaan (7-11, 6th year FT driver, all with AGR, 2004 champ). Under contract through 2008.
26-Marco Andretti (NYSE Group, 3rd-year FT driver, all with AGR). Staying with AGR.
27-Hideki Mutoh (Panasonic, 1st-year FT driver). Signed to replace Dario Franchitti.

Team Penske (2)
3-Helio Castroneves (Team Penske, 7th-year FT driver, all with Penske, 2-time I500 champ). Under contract to Penske through 2008.
6-Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske, 2nd-year FT driver, 1st with Penske). Has recently signed with Penske to replace Sam Hornish Jr.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (2.5)
9-Scott Dixon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, all with TCGR, 2003 champ). Under contract for 2008.
10-Dan Wheldon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, 3rd with TCGR, 2005 IRL & Indy champ). Under contract through 2008.
Part-time entry: Alex Lloyd: Has signed a "development deal" with Ganassi that includes IRL & GrandAm races. Lloyd could be farmed out to another team or run in a third Ganassi car. Expect to see him in a full-time ride for TCGR in 2009.

Rahal Letterman Racing (1-2)
17-Ryan Hunter-Reay (Ethanol, 2nd-year FT driver). Likely to return for 2008. Ethanol sponsorship requires an American driver. Just about everyone has tied RHR to this car, and reports in the last week indicate that RHR has tested this car. However, the craziness with the Scott Sharp situation will put this in the air, and makes the second RLR car "unlikely."

Panther Racing (2)
4-Vitor Meira (Delphi, 7th-year FT driver, 3rd with Panther). Confirmed for 2008.
?4-Driver TBA: This ride was slotted for Hideki Mutoh, but Aguri Suzuki took his driver & his support of the second Panther car to AGR. P.J. Chesson is emerging as the frontrunner for this ride. Panther officials have also said the car number will change and incorporate the number 4.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1-2)
15-Buddy Rice (RollCoater, 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with D&R). Not confirmed yet, but this arrangement is likely to continue unless Buddy gets a ride with a top-tier team.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is very unlikely to return. Whether or not D&R keeps the second car is unknown (Fisher made comments in 2007 that indicated D&R may go back to one car).

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008. The only confirmed Vision car for 2008.
The other two cars are unconfirmed ...
TBA: 22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, would be a 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TBA: 2-Tomas Scheckter (Joost, would be a 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TG has turned both Scheckter and Foyt loose for 2008. It appears Vision will be a 2-car team in 2008, possibly fielding Davey Hamilton in an Indy 500 one-off in a third car. It looks like Foyt will stay and Scheckter will probably become the free agent.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.
TBA: Second car. Foyt is exploring the option of adding a second car, pending funding. Curt Cavin has said the funding appears to be not there at this point, although some MyNameIsIRL speculation says A.J. is selling $6 million worth of land.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars next year. He'll be driving one of them.
76-Jay Howard (rookie). Howard was announced Nov. 26 as the driver of this car, the second car with Roth Racing.

SAMAX Racing (1)
Unconfirmed for 2008: 23-Milka Duno (Citgo - rookie). Duno will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. Spent the last half of the season on probation.There is the possibility of SAMAX fielding a second car for Tomas Enge (or someone else) or not coming back.

**Potential new entries**
Kingdom Racing (1)
The team announced its plans to field a team for 2008 on Aug. 16. Led by Houston businessman George Del Canto, the team plans to be based on a Christian philosophy, with several pastors and Christian leaders on the board of directors. They've been announcing new partnerships as recent as Sept. 28, when evangelical leader Patrick Morley came on board. But we haven't heard anything out of them since.

Sarah Fisher Racing (1)
TBA: Sarah Fisher. Has sponsorships from AAMCO and AAA. Curt Cavin said on Nov. 25 that Fisher has hired a staff and this possibility appears more likely. She'd likely be the only IRL driver married to her crew chief, too.

**Likely part-time entries**
Racing Professionals (1)
Jon Herb: As for the future, it's probably part-time at best, with the Indy 500 one-off and maybe the Chicago race.

Playa Del Racing (1-2)
Indy-only entry. Will probably field 1 or 2 cars for the Indianapolis 500.

PDM Racing would like to run a partial season of ovals in 2008 and become full-time in 2009. It would be more than good to see this longtime program back in the ICS full-time.

Beck Racing (1)
TBA: Although Beck ran some early-season events, the Beck machine hasn't been seen since Indy. Beck has said he'd like to be back in the IndyCar game, and his comments at the TEAM announcement seemed to indicate that is possible. Probably not a full-season entry for 2008, unless some $$ materializes. I moved this into the likely part-time camp.

Rubicon Race Team (1)
This will be an Indy one-off owned by Jim Freudenberg and Jason Priestley.

Unlikely for next year, but for the more distant future?
Cheever Racing ... the Aug. 28 IRL press release quotes Eddie's nephew Richard Antinucci as looking to get into the ICS (and get the team back into the ICS) long-term, if, of course, the $$ comes together.

2009 schedule news
The 2009 schedule may expand to 20 races, according to IRL brass.
As far as new tracks:
*-Michigan International Speedway has already been mentioned as a possible re-addition to the schedule, in a Detroit News story.
*-Expect Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to get a look, given positive comments after the IRL's test Oct. 12, and owner George Barber saying he'd like to have an IRL race there in the future.
*-New Hampshire Motor Speedway has re-entered the picture for 2009, according to stories in the Boston Herald & Concord (NH) Monitor. It is likely to lose a NASCAR date, and the IRL might be looked upon to be an addition to the track's racing menu.

More unlikely, but possible entries: Rockingham, which was recently purchased by former Indy 500 starter and Hoosier native Andy Hillenburg, who has scheduled ARCA and Pro Cup races at the 1-mile track next season.

Confirmed for 2009: Indianapolis (signed forever), Texas (signed through 2009), Iowa (signed through 2009), Milwaukee (signed through 2009), Detroit (signed through 2011).

Dec. 16 newsstand: Sharp to ALMS and other items

Thanks to my extremely crazy work schedule (I am a high school teacher AND basketball coach, so things are a bit busy now), updates have been sparse/nonexistent recently.

But, there is some big news out there ...

Scott Sharp is gone to ALMS
The mess that began a few weeks back when Scott Sharp and RLR sued each other has concluded with Sharp announcing a full-time ALMS program for 2008.

That Sharp, who is nearing 40 -- ancient for an open-wheel driver -- is leaving the series as a driver isn't a huge surprise. But I anticipated Sharp sticking with the IRL in some form -- likely as a part-owner of a team. That doesn't appear in the near term now. That Patron is leaving with him to take their sponsorship to a series with substantially less visibility is possibly the biggest blow.

Meanwhile, RLR is moving on with Ryan Hunter-Reay, and, my guess is, will be a one-car effort for 2008.

New driver news?
Curt Cavin has tied Panther Racing and P.J. Chesson together more than once in his blog. But now, even Panther officials are peeping a little bit.
Says their Q&A: "Keep in mind this is just a test. But, yes, everybody realizes how much somebody like PJ will be a positive addition to the IndyCar Series ... if he gets the ride."

New Indy one-off team?
Former Kelley Racing boss Jim Freudenberg and ex-actor/IPS driver Jason Priestley have formed the Rubicon Race Team along with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. They've signed up LifeLock as a sponsor, as well as Money Mailer. Their plan is to field an Indy one-off.

The week's other big news
The schedule is out.
ABC/ESPN remains the partner, with 7 races on ABC, 7 on ESPN2 and 2 on ESPN.

The full schedule is at IndyCar.com, and is also in the rail on the right side of this page.

Catching up with the Captain
Roger Penske talks with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Says RP about the IRL: The Indy 500, in my opinion, can anchor a series that it supports,” he said. “(The IRL) is getting better crowds each year and the competition is much better than most people give us credit for."
About Sam: "Sam and I had always had an agreement that when he won Indy and a championship, he could go. It’s a bigger risk for him to move than it would have been to stay where he was. The same could be said for Dario."

Catching up with Dan Wheldon
... who is engaged, and planning on staying in the IRL. At least for now
Says Dan: "I really want to be a multiple-time Indianapolis 500 winner, and anything that would distract from that I'm not really interested in." (didn't Sam Hornish say something like this last year?)
Dan goes on, about Helio: "Now the IRL has to use this leverage, and they have no excuses. They have Danica, Helio and, in a lot of ways, Marco Andretti. They got to get off their butts and utilize it."

New drivers update
The 2007 IPS champ is testing at Sebring Monday with TCGR.
Says Lloyd: “We're still working hard on finding funding and trying to figure out how the year is going to work."

Meanwhile, Hideki Mutoh and Ryan Briscoe got some work in at Homestead. You can also note Mutoh's new color scheme (which looks much like the 55 car that Kosuke Matsuura drove for Panther/Fernandez). That test also included some Champ Car machines, the first time since Champ Car was formed four years ago that the two series have appeared on the same track at the same time. No media were allowed, though.

While Helio was dancing
Everybody else was trying to figure out what to do with the downtime, including getting ready for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Looking back
Remember 2007 with TSN's Year in Review

Expatriate news
Since we started this update with the newest expatriate, we'll continue with another one. Sam Hornish Jr. is swapping points with Kurt Busch, and has a guaranteed spot for five races next year in Sprint Cab.

Another driver we probably won't get
David Coulthard says he'd try NASCAR when his F1 days are done, and says he wouldn't consider the IRL.

And finally, Part I
Robin Miller thinks the IRL should try to snag Paul Tracy, who is in contract issues with Gerry Forsythe, and rumors to that ilk prompted a response from Paul Tracy's mom to the website Champ Car Fanatics.com.

And finally, Part II
SpeedTV's Marshall Pruett laments the lack of innovation in modern racing.

And finally, Part III
John Oreovicz reviews the best quotes of the 2007 open-wheel season. He also says Helio's dance title has changed everything.

Dec. 3 newsstand: A quick update and some cab news

First, a couple of updates.

AutoWeek recaps the off-season moves, and mentions Giebler & Herb as, at a minimum, part-timers.

The official IRL news & notes has updates on a really, really cool gift some Panther fans have received, Tony Kanaan teaming with Rubens Barrichello and former IndyCar driver Felipe Giaffone to win a big Brazilian kart race, TK winning a Brazilian racing award (beating Helio) and Dario Franchitti being honored.

Autosport has a couple of updates on Dario, one on his being named an Autosport Award winner and another just catching up with the defector.

Non-IRL news
A late-breaking story tonight: Craftsman will no longer sponsor the NASCAR truck series after 2008. That means that, within one year, all 3 major NASCAR series will change names. Nextel Cup is becoming the Sprint Cup and the Busch Series is going to be the Nationwide Series next year.

Silly Season update: Dec. 2

A few changes in the SSU, mostly dealing with the RLR fiasco.

2008 lineup
Andretti Green Racing (4)
7-Danica Patrick (Motorola, 4th-year FT driver, 2nd year with AGR). Under contract through 2009.
11-Tony Kanaan (7-11, 6th year FT driver, all with AGR, 2004 champ). Under contract through 2008.
26-Marco Andretti (NYSE Group, 3rd-year FT driver, all with AGR). Staying with AGR.
27-Hideki Mutoh (Panasonic, 1st-year FT driver). Signed to replace Dario Franchitti.

Team Penske (2)
3-Helio Castroneves (Team Penske, 7th-year FT driver, all with Penske, 2-time I500 champ). Under contract to Penske through 2008.
6-Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske, 2nd-year FT driver, 1st with Penske). Has recently signed with Penske to replace Sam Hornish Jr.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (2.5)
9-Scott Dixon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, all with TCGR, 2003 champ). Under contract for 2008.
10-Dan Wheldon (Target, 6th-year FT driver, 3rd with TCGR, 2005 IRL & Indy champ). Under contract through 2008.
Part-time entry: Alex Lloyd: Has signed a "development deal" with Ganassi that includes IRL & GrandAm races. Lloyd could be farmed out to another team or run in a third Ganassi car. Expect to see him in a full-time ride for TCGR in 2009.

Rahal Letterman Racing (1-2)
17-Ryan Hunter-Reay (Ethanol, 2nd-year FT driver). Likely to return for 2008. Ethanol sponsorship requires an American driver. Just about everyone has tied RHR to this car, and reports in the last week indicate that RHR has tested this car. However, the craziness with the Scott Sharp situation will put this in the air, and makes the second RLR car "unlikely."
2nd car: See Scott Sharp in "free agents" below

Panther Racing (2)
4-Vitor Meira (Delphi, 7th-year FT driver, 3rd with Panther). Confirmed for 2008.
55-Driver TBA: This ride was slotted for Hideki Mutoh, but Aguri Suzuki took his driver & his support of the second Panther car to AGR. Possible drivers: P.J. Chesson (ref: Curt Cavin's blog), A.J. Foyt IV or Alex Lloyd (farmed out from Ganassi). Chesson seems to be most likely, according to Cavin, but he floated out the Foyt idea, as well.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1-2)
15-Buddy Rice (RollCoater, 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with D&R). Not confirmed yet, but this arrangement is likely to continue unless Buddy gets a ride with a top-tier team. Rice was running A1GP in the off-season, but a teammate has been taking that car.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is very unlikely to return. Whether or not D&R keeps the second car is unknown (Fisher made comments in 2007 that indicated D&R may go back to one car).

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008. The only confirmed Vision car for 2008.
The other two cars are unconfirmed ...
TBA: 22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, would be a 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TBA: 2-Tomas Scheckter (Joost, would be a 7th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision).
TG has turned both Scheckter and Foyt loose for 2008. It appears Vision will be a 2-car team in 2008, possibly fielding Davey Hamilton in an Indy 500 one-off in a third car. It looks like Foyt will stay and Scheckter will probably become the free agent.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.
TBA: Second car. Foyt is exploring the option of adding a second car, pending funding. Curt Cavin has said the funding appears to be not there at this point, although some MyNameIsIRL speculation says A.J. is selling $6 million worth of land.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars next year. He'll be driving one of them.
76-Jay Howard (rookie). Howard was announced Nov. 26 as the driver of this car, the second car with Roth Racing.

SAMAX Racing (1)
Unconfirmed for 2008: 23-Milka Duno (Citgo - rookie). Duno will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. Spent the last half of the season on probation.There is the possibility of SAMAX fielding a second car for Tomas Enge (or someone else) or not coming back.

Free agents
8??-Scott Sharp (Patron, 12th-year FT driver, 1st with RLR, 1996 champ). Announced during the week of Oct. 7 that he is confirmed to return to RLR for 2008, "at least." However, new developments on Nov. 29 note that Sharp has sued to get out of the contract and RLR is suing to keep Sharp in the car for the 2008 season (with Patron sponsorship). Scott's attorney says he won't drive for RLR again. Scott could end up driving a taxicab or an ALMS machine.

**Potential new entries**
Fernandez Racing (1-2?)
From Curt Cavin's blog (8/8/2007), Adrian Fernandez's team still has its IndyCar equipment and Tom Anderson is apparently interested in a return to the IRL, but things "haven't been worked out." Sept. 8: Cavin said funding isn't there yet for this team, but it would like to get back in. Cavin says on Aug. 13 that he knows of two individuals to keep an eye on for new 2008 teams, but hasn't seen any sign of $$ backing them. An Indy 500 one-off is likely, at the very least, if not the full season. We haven't heard much from Fernandez in recent weeks. I'm putting this in the 50/50 category.

Kingdom Racing (1)
The team announced its plans to field a team for 2008 on Aug. 16. Led by Houston businessman George Del Canto, the team plans to be based on a Christian philosophy, with several pastors and Christian leaders on the board of directors. They've been announcing new partnerships as recent as Sept. 28, when evangelical leader Patrick Morley came on board. But we haven't heard anything out of them other than that.

Sarah Fisher Racing (1)
TBA: Sarah Fisher (AAMCO, 6th FT season, 2nd with D&R). Has sponsorships from AAMCO and AAA. Curt Cavin said on Nov. 25 that Fisher has hired a staff and this possibility appears more likely. She'd likely be the only IRL driver married to her crew chief, too.

**Likely part-time entries**
Racing Professionals (1)
Jon Herb: As for the future, it's probably part-time at best, with the Indy 500 one-off and maybe the Chicago race.

Playa Del Racing (1-2)
Indy-only entry. Will probably field 1 or 2 cars for the Indianapolis 500.

PDM Racing would like to run a partial season of ovals in 2008 and become full-time in 2009. It would be more than good to see this longtime program back in the ICS full-time.

Beck Racing (1)
TBA: Although Beck ran some early-season events, the Beck machine hasn't been seen since Indy. Beck has said he'd like to be back in the IndyCar game, and his comments at the TEAM announcement seemed to indicate that is possible. Probably not a full-season entry for 2008, unless some $$ materializes. I moved this into the likely part-time camp.

Unlikely for next year, but for the more distant future?
Cheever Racing ... the Aug. 28 IRL press release quotes Eddie's nephew Richard Antinucci as looking to get into the ICS (and get the team back into the ICS) long-term, if, of course, the $$ comes together.

2009 schedule news
The 2009 schedule may expand to 20 races, according to IRL brass.
As far as new tracks:
*-Michigan International Speedway has already been mentioned as a possible re-addition to the schedule, in a Detroit News story.
*-Expect Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to get a look, given positive comments after the IRL's test Oct. 12, and owner George Barber saying he'd like to have an IRL race there in the future.
*-New Hampshire Motor Speedway has re-entered the picture for 2009, according to stories in the Boston Herald & Concord (NH) Monitor. It is likely to lose a NASCAR date, and the IRL might be looked upon to be an addition to the track's racing menu.

More unlikely, but possible entries: Rockingham, which was recently purchased by former Indy 500 starter and Hoosier native Andy Hillenburg, who has scheduled ARCA and Pro Cup races at the 1-mile track next season.

Confirmed for 2009: Indianapolis (signed forever), Texas (signed through 2009), Iowa (signed through 2009), Milwaukee (signed through 2009), Detroit (signed through 2011).

Nov. 30 newsstand: More on the week's stories

First, the Silly Season's most bizarre story ... the suit/countersuit between Scott Sharp & RLR

Sharp's point of view: RLR isn't committed to IndyCar racing anymore because it canned Ray Leto and several other key people, and used Patron/No. 8 money to fix the No. 17 car last year (which got wadded up more than its share of times).
Says Scott's lawyer: "The contract requires them to give their best effort, and gutting the team and not doing anything in terms of testing or development isn't staying with the best teams. We're far behind giving the best effort."

Meanwhile, Ryan Hunter-Reay is testing RLR's No. 17 Ethanol car next week. RHR might become RLR's only driver if this all shakes out.

DWTS fallout
According to the Indy Star, the IRL is ready to go market its new dancing megastar
Says the two-time Indy champ: "I don't think I'll be doing a TV show; I don't want to let go of my racing career. I'm still pursuing Indy, you know."

Helio is giving the IRL a crossover boost, at least according to the IRL.
Says Helio: "It's a win-win for everybody. When people see the name or hear the name, 'Oh, that's the guy. Let's see how he is doing.' If it's 20 million people, then hopefully 500,000 of those people watch (the races)."

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would like to learn to dance, but not necessarily do what Helio did.

Congrats
To AGR, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary Monday. In those five years, AGR has won two Indy 500s (Dan Wheldon-2005 & Dario Franchitti-2007) and three IndyCar titles (Tony Kanaan-2004, Dan Wheldon-2005 & Dario Franchitti-2007). An AGR car has been in the top three at Indy every year it as run the race. AGR drivers have 32 wins in 80 races.

More on Howard
Eurosport finally gets around to the Jay Howard-to-Roth story

You have to scroll down
But Adrian Fernandez doesn't sound bullish on the IRL or Champ Car
We might want to scratch Fernandez Racing from the "possible future entries" list of the next Silly Season Update.

On the other side
David Phillips tries oh so hard to tell us how rosy things are in CC-world, even with 16 cars on the "grid" next year.