March 7 newsstand: Catching up

A little bit of news this week ...
Champ Car is bankrupt
Not a big surprise, but CC files Chapter 11
According to the AP: "The filing in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis states that Champ Car has spent tens of millions of dollars since 2004 to maintain the series and that its takeover by the IRL is in the best interest of the sport."

John Oreovicz has a little bit more
Forsythe and Kalkhoven are going to be on the IRL payroll for $2 million, which mostly involves promoting Long Beach and "commitment and support of the IRL." If that's true, GF's share could be withheld pretty quickly. They also signed a non-compete. The IRL also paid $6 million for CC's medical trailer.

Driver updates
Paul Tracy is still looking for a ride
He has talked to Gerry Forsythe and Tony George, but nothing has materialized yet. Monster Energy Drink could step up its sponsorship, but that takes time, says PT: "They have the capability ... but they're a public company that's not going to throw $5 million around willy nilly. They need to be presented a program with a marketing strategy, and then they'd have to take it to their board. That takes time."

Pablo Donoso is going to start in the IPS
According to Cavin's blog. He is hoping to run Indy and turn it into a full-year gig from Indy forward with A.J. Foyt's team.

Townsend Bell will share Milka Duno's ride in D&R's second car
Bell will drive seven races, while Milka Duno will try to stay out of everybody's way in the other 11.
Says Townsend: "It's going to be super-competitive and fun. For me, my first open-wheel race on the Champ Car side was with 28 cars. I think I was the 28^th guy starting dead last with zero points. I remember how competitive that was, and you're going to have the usual suspects at the front. But that mid-pack from eighth to 20^th is going to be just as fiercely competitive and hopefully we're going to keep working up the pecking order."

Beck is back, with Yasukawa
Roger Yasukawa is driving Beck Motorsports' car at Motegi.
Says Greg Beck: "When the opportunity presented itself to work with Roger, we jumped at the chance. Roger has proven himself to be a very capable driver and we look forward to giving him the best results possible."
No word on whether or not this will extend to Indianapolis, but one would expect a Beck car to be running at the Brickyard.

You have to scroll down to see it, but Max Papis will run with Rubicon at Indy

And, while this isn't about specific teams, IndyCar.com has a story about the transitional program to help the CC teams get up to speed.
Says Brian Barnhart: "I think the beauty of the whole thing is we don't get to fully optimize unification in 2008. It's a great foundation, but as Tony mentioned we don't have a lot of flexibility. You can start optimizing unification on a much cleaner sheet of paper in 2009."

Races that are migrating to the IRL
Edmonton appears on, and is OK with moving its date to July 27

Surfer's Paradise is on for 6 years
This year's race will be Oct. 26 in Australia, which is Oct. 25 here.

Gold Coast: De-tuned Indy a goer for Coast
This race apparently is going to be part of an "International Cup" that includes all of the non-U.S. races. Says race chair Terry Mackenroth: "There'll be plenty on the line We're working on this with the Indy officials and expect to have it resolved within a month."

Scott Goodyear is a fan of the Gold Coast event
Says Scott: "“For me, the highlight of the season would be returning to Surfers Paradise. Even though I had a couple of adventures there, this is a very cool track and a great event. Sure it's a long haul to get over there, but as the final event of the season everyone will want to take some time to hang out and enjoy one of the prettiest places on Earth."

Races that aren't migrating
Laguna Seca replaces CC race with IMSA historics
This race was supposed to be opposite Indy's Bump Day. Instead, Grand Am, Formula Atlantic, Formula BMW and IMSA historics will run.

Toronto GP officially canceled
Says GP CEO Charlie Johnstone: "Unfortunately, we ran out of options and time for 2008. That doesn't mean the future is bleak, but we'll need concrete actions from our partners to solidify the event's foundation and status as a marquee event in North American open-wheel racing." So now, the race is on to find sponsors.

Testing, testing
On the track: Ryan Briscoe led Days 3 & 4 at Sebring, after leading a Penske 1-2 on Day 3. TK was the quickest on Day 2, and also on Day 1.

Driver stuff
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Danica drawing the line with SI layout
Danica talks about racing and posing: "I've always looked at the swimsuit issue as being something that is so classy and so beautiful. If I wasn't comfortable doing that, then I would be susceptible to criticism and people not looking upon it as being a great thing. But I don't. I don't feel like that. I'm comfortable. I like what I did. I had a great time doing it."

The St. Pete Times catches up with Dan Wheldon
I don't recognize the guy in the picture, though. Maybe it's the smile.
Says Dan: "From a personal standpoint, I haven't had a lot of stability in my life. "It's like I was always bouncing from one place to the other, following the action. Now I have that, and it's helped me as far as fitness, as far as diet, as far as ... maturity level."

Easton Express-Times: Marco takes another big step
The youngest Andretti is going to follow in his predecessors' footsteps and run the 12 Hours of Sebring with Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi.

Tony Kanaan and Raphael Matos meet with the media
Says TK: "I think you're going to see a lot less guys trying to leave (for NASCAR) now, and especially where it was in the past and you know, we're probably still going to get a couple of people with the desire to go, but not just of the money or because the series is not competitive, it's just like some people are up for new challenges."

IndyCar.com: Jay Howard learning quickly
Says Howard: "Definitely it is a little quicker and things are happening a little faster than in the Pro car, but it was really good how much I could relay what I learned in the Pro car I could put into practice in the big car. That was beneficial to me. We're really happy with the times we race, and now it's forward, forward, forward for us."

Al Unser Jr. is now a driver coach, but he may still run Indy with PDR
Says Al: "To me, it was an opportunity to give back to the sport that has given me so much and it will keep me involved. It is a win-win situation for everybody and I just hope I'm able to help some drivers. Especially since unification, I can point out some things to drivers that haven't run the IRL cars on the ovals or two- three abreast."

Three's a crowd
The IRL is going to use top-3 podiums instead of Victory Lanes this year, with the exception of Indy. Eddie Gossage is also anti-podium, and Texas will have a Victory Lane, too.
Says Eddie: "It's perfectly fine for road-course racing or street-course racing, but you don't do that in oval-track racing ... It's like youth soccer where everybody gets a prize. What's next? Does everybody get a certificate of participation?"

Commentaries
The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz says unification is step 1

Says TG on Kravitz's radio show: "We've got a long, long list, and right now, we're trying to get some (CC) guys down here for some testing ... The good news is, we're finally all together and we're going to work together to get the best positive result."

Terre Haute Tribune-Star: Long road ahead for IndyCar
Says Indiana State professor Guy Faulkner: “This merger will create a series which is going to be more attractive to the industry, more attractive to the drivers and more attractive to the fans, and all of that leads to more money flowing into Indiana and increased numbers of jobs."

Robin Miller asks if TG is America's Bernie Ecclestone
Says Robin: "Being a car owner seems to have given him a new appreciation for the whole process. He was either smart enough or desperate enough to copy CART’s formula for diversity and that says something. Now he must figure out how to get American manufacturers and drivers back in the qualifying pictures at Indianapolis. He must get costs under control. He must do what is best for ALL of open wheel and for its future. "

Speed TV: Dave Despain tells us what he thinks
Says Dave: "America loves oval racing. The local short tracks. dirt or paved...the sprints and midgets, once the pathway to Indy Cars...and of course the 800-pound gorilla of NASCAR that now dominates American racing...all run in circles. No surprise, then, that for most of its nearly 100-year history, Indy Car racing meant oval racing."

Gordon Kirby offers his thoughts, with the help of some engineers
Says Toyota engineer Pete Spence: "We learned in the CART series that the horsepower and drag and downforce all need to stay in balance. Downforce changes the character of the racing. Early on when I was in the CART series, I thought the way forward was to take downforce away because that would bring skill back into it and then we would see more interesting racing. But the thing we learned is, that's not the case."

SI: After 12 years, Tony George makes tough decision

Mostly a recap of unification.

Mike Brundell in the Detroit Free Press says the IRL is revving up
The column turns into a Paul Newman love-fest.

San Diego Union-Tribune: IndyCar merger's ripple effect
It's mostly a laundry list of complaints about the CC races that have been lost and drivers that don't have rides yet.

If you're going to the Glen
Kids get in free for general admission, if they're 12 or under. Buy tickets early.

And finally
Former Indy 500 legend Jim McElreath is being inducted into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Arie Luyendyk (TMS Legends Award) and Sam Hornish Jr. (TMS Sportsmanship Award) are also being honored by Texas Motor Speedway.
Says McElreath: "It's a real good group and a real honor to be in that group. I've done a lot in my career and was hoping for it."