IndyCar newsstand

June 10 newsstand: Wrapping up

2008-06-10T14:24:00.004-04:00

We're a bit behind due to personal stuff, but we have Texas wrapups & not much else, as the series takes its first break since before heading to Motegi/Long Beach.

Danica testing in F1?
Reports are that Danica Patrick is testing a Honda F1 car. And then, Honda denies it.

The next steps
Robin Miller starts lobbying for more road courses and street parades, and says Homestead and Nashville are goners. He also says New Hampshire is a 60% possibility to be reinstated.

Analysis & commentaries
After taking the yellow/checkered (the second straight time an IndyCar race has ended that way), Scott Dixon says one of NASCAR's crummiest rules should be considered, the green-white-checkered.
Says Scott: "The fans come first. That's why we're here."
This notebook also covers the Marco/RHR crash, driver penalties and Eddie Gossage again angling for date-after-Indy status.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Dave Kallman says "no" about "overtime."
The Dallas Morning News' Richard Durrett says "please."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Racing drowns out Eddie's whining
Says columnist Gil LeBreton: "There were 83,000 spectators in the grandstands at the speedway. For 106 laps, the heart of Saturday's race, they had watched accident-free, 210 mph-plus racing, sometimes by three cars, side by side by side. And Gossage was still mad about a race in Milwaukee?"

ESPN: Dominant Dixon not good for IndyCar
Says Terry Blount: "Dixon doesn't sell tickets. With all due respect to his lovely new bride, Dixon is missing a racing version of sex appeal.He's a little too quiet, a little too icy and little too, well, normal."

FW Star-Telegram: The buzz from TMS

Sports Network: Broadcast does disservice to IndyCars
Preach on. I was pretty groggy when the broadcast ended at 1 a.m., long after the race was actually over.

Texas recaps
Race stories from Dixon's win
From the Indianapolis Star, AP, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sportal.com (NZ), Denton Record-Chronicle, Speed, IndyCar.com
Dixon says Marco gave him plenty of room for the winning pass: "You could have put two or three cars through there."
And then RHR says Marco didn't give him any room when he tried to pass for 2nd, and then wiped them both out: "He gave me the bottom line on the backstretch, then he really turned early. He said that he gave me enough room. I didn't feel he did. Moving down to avoid contact, the car got unhinged."

The Star-Telegram also has a sidebar on the Marco-RHR crash, as does John Oreovicz of ESPN

Post-race press conference
Daily Trackside Report for raceday

Driver/team stuff
Mansfield (OH) News-Journal: Danica's foil picking up steam
Two weeks later, stories about Ryan Briscoe still mention Danica first.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram catches up with Tomas Scheckter and Dan Wheldon
Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News reports on Penske's Texas efforts
And IndyCar.com catches up with the malcontent & the rookie at Dale Coyne Racing

Jack Arute looks at John Barnes' shedding 140 pounds

IndyCar.com catches up with PCM's Tyler Tadevic

Expat news
The Orlando Sentinel says Sam needs to park it

June 7 newsstand: Texas race day

2008-06-07T08:47:00.003-04:00

News
Indy Star: Andretti offered full-time ride at Roth Racing
John Andretti might be a full-time IndyCar driver again. Marty Roth has offered him a seat. Where does this leave Jay Howard? We don't know ...

Indianapolis Business Journal: IRL enters talks for new TV deal
ESPN is wanting revenue sharing, instead of a rights fee. The IRL is wanting more promotional time. And NBC/Turner are reportedly interested.

Qualifying stories & race previews
Indy Star: Wheldon pained by hard flip
Dan Wheldon took a tumble last night and hurt his ankle. "That was probably the biggest hit I've ever had."

Dallas Morning News: Never a dull moment for Wheldon
We posted this last night, but it's updated

Dallas Morning News: Dixon wins pole

You have to skip down in this DMN notebook, but drivers don't like the 4-lap qualifying rules. (is there anything about ovals some of these guys like?)

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: The buzz
Five things to look for tonight.

Commentaries
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: All not smooth at TMS
Jennifer Ford Engel says Eddie Gossage isn't happy about a few things, and the IRL drivers' (err, Danica's) complaining isn't helping. Says Eddie about his placement on the schedule (or, more notably, Milwaukee's placement on the schedule): "Somebody that has been loyal to you and somebody that has been a place, when the really tough things came along, you could always point to Texas, bump your chest and be proud of it. I just do not understand. But if that is what the IRL wants to do..."

Driver features
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: John Andretti back at TMS
Racing nomad John Andretti is really enjoying himself this year. Says John: "You know, a Tony Stewart would do a bunch of things. I'm sure Jeff Gordon would, and I know Jeff Burton would. There are a variety of guys who would do more if they had the time and opportunity. If they had one, I'm sure they would get the other."

Crash.net: Franck Perera back in Indy Lights
He wants to be in the ICS, so he's running in Lights until an IndyCar ride opens up.

The Denton (TX) Record-Chronicle has a piece on RHR and his spotter

Expats
Philadelphia Daily News: Hornish's success in NASCAR modest
Edmonton Sun: Canada has been good to Bourdais. Seabass says Edmonton and Toronto need to be part of the IRL schedule, too.

Preach on, Eddie

2008-06-07T00:15:00.003-04:00

Texas week is always interesting for two things.

One is, of course, the race -- usually the most entertaining on the calendar.
The other is, what the heck is Eddie Gossage going to do?

Last year, he used an on-track feud between Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick to help sell the race, among other things.

This year, Eddie spoke words that many on the IRL side of the divide have been thinking, but might have been afraid to say.

Ever since February, we've heard calls from ex-CC people (and some of their cheerleaders in the media) that the IRL needs to adopt, well, everything that CC had. More road courses (Gordon Kirby wasn't the only one beating the drum for one-third roads, one-third streets, one-third ovals), podiums (never got to even fight that one), turbocharged engines (there's another pimpage of that in today's newsstand), push-to-pass, heck, even replacing the Dallara with some version of the Panoz DP01 chassis. Adding Cleveland, Mexico City, Portland, Toronto, Long Beach, Road America, Edmonton, Eur (and on and on and on) to the schedule. The series is already 1/4 of the way there, and it looks like Toronto is a lock, Mexico City is a possibility and Cleveland is at least on the radar screen.

Meanwhile, at least a couple of ovals appear to be casualties.

And so, as we watch the IndyCar Series accelerate its morphing into CART II -- the series that was committing a slow suicide a decade ago by going to too many road races -- Eddie Gossage comes in to say what we've all been feeling.

To be viable in the United States, IndyCar MUST be a predominately-oval series.

Gossage told ESPN.com's Terry Blount that to be successful, the IndyCar Series must have at least 80% ovals (that would be, say, 15 ovals and 3 road courses on an 18-race schedule).

The ratio might not need to be that high, but ovals should be the primary focus of the series.

Why?

Oval racing is the foundation of American racing.

NASCAR didn't get popular because it ran Riverside and Watkins Glen. Formula One has never had much of a presence in the United States, even when it ran Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit, Phoenix, Indy ... While writers wax poetic about CART's heyday in the mid-1990s, its best-attended races were on ovals -- Indianapolis and Michigan, and the series was (and still is) carried by the Indianapolis 500.

The two biggest races in the United States are the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 -- races on 2.5 mile ovals.

Eddie as much as said so, calling Champ Car's history "failed" and correctly pointing out that what popularity IndyCar racing has comes from ovals like Indy and Texas. He also correctly points out that the losers in a battle don't get to set the agenda.

Unfortunately, Tony George and the IRL have been more than willing to bend over backwards to almost let the ex-CC guys do that.

To be successful in the States, a sport requires three things -- close competition, something that translates well to television and heroes/villains. The close competition can even be manufactured -- see NASCAR with its famous "debris cautions" late in races, and idiotic rules like the lucky dog and green-white-checkered; the NFL with its salary cap; and the NBA with, well, the first 46 minutes of every game. But there has to be a close finish, a tight battle. Oval racing provides it, most of the time. Road racing doesn't. The second is television. Like it or not, oval racing translates well to TV -- it's fast, there are four corners, and you can tell by watching the broadcast where the cars are on the track. Road racing doesn't. Unless you're familiar with the course (or have a map of the track in front of you -- which is how I end up watching road races), it's difficult to envision a road course from a limited TV shot. The third thing is heroes -- something no type of course can provide. More TV coverage and more ratings can help provide heroes and villains, which is going to have to come with ovals.

The heroes will be easier to find if the sport if young American drivers are more attractive to teams. While U.S.-trained road racers are more prevalent than in the past (Danica, Rahal 2.0, Andretti 3.0, RHR), 20 of the 28 starters in the Texas race are from outside the U.S. A few (Helio, TK, Dixon, Wheldon) have garnered fan bases in the U.S., but a series that's chock full of foreign road racers is too easy to dismiss by the casual fan, especially when the guy running at their local short track is in a tintop.

Oval racing is like football -- easy to watch, easy to package for television, and while not technically-perfect all the time, usually rewards the best team unless it makes a mistake (fumbles a lot/crashes). Road racing is like soccer -- technically enjoyable, great to watch when you know what you're looking for, but difficult to watch on television, and therefore hard to translate the nuances of it to the masses.

IndyCars belong on ovals. They're the fastest cars in any form of closed-course racing -- and high-speed ovals allow them to stretch their muscles and display their speed (which blows tintops away). They also can work on road courses, but the technical brilliance can be as easily shown at Milwaukee or Phoenix as at Long Beach and Belle Isle.

And, to be popular, IndyCars need to be on ovals. There is room for road racing -- this series needs to be diverse. But a good mix of short ovals (Milwaukee, Phoenix, Loudon, Richmond, Iowa), high-banked medium-length ovals (Kentucky, Kansas, Nashville, Texas, Chicagoland) and longer ovals (Michigan, Indianapolis) can combine with a few good road courses -- Watkins Glen being one. Road America is another. You can even toss in a street parade or two -- St. Pete is a great race, Long Beach always draws a crowd.

Questions are asked -- drivers have complained a lot about the perceived danger of IndyCars on higher-banked, higher-speed ovals. But while the current spec Dallara has had its share of harrowing accidents -- including one tonight with Dan Wheldon flipping across the frontstretch at Texas -- it has seen very few serious injuries. Take, for example, for all of the chirping Flying Scotsman Dario Franchitti made about safety last year (and all the testing he did of the Dallara's safety), he survived both of his flights with barely a scratch. He hasn't been so fortunate in an allegedly-safer stock car.

IndyCar racing needs some diversity. But the foundation of the series must be ovals. While Eddie Gossage is speaking as the owner of an oval track, his statement about 80% is a bit high. But the number of ovals should never dip below 60% if the IndyCar Series expects to expand in the American consciousness.

To grow and become mainstream in the United States, ovals needs to be a major part of the schedule. And the highest-visibility races need to be on ovals.

Otherwise, the IndyCar Series can be content to be auto racing's verison of the NHL. A better product than its direct competitors, for sure. That battle has already been won. But it would be vastly-improved if it was a product that gained mainstream success. The only way to do that in the United States is to run a substantial number of races on ovals.

June 6 newsstand: Texas qualifying

2008-06-06T23:21:00.002-04:00

It's almost Texas race day.

We'll have a race-day installment with quals stories, but here is Friday's wrapup (of both AM and PM stories).

28 cars are set to take the green flag ... here is the lineup. The green flag drops at 9:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on radio and IndyCar.com. ESPN2's broadcast will be slightly tape-delayed.

Today's news
Eddie Gossage always has something to say. And this time, I almost agree with him. He says the IRL's schedule should be 80% oval. Meanwhile, guys from Champ Car are calling for it to be no more than 33% ovals, and it seems the IRL is headed toward 50%. Gossage says the American public will not accept Euro-style road racing and calls the increased amount of road courses "baggage" from the merger.

Anyway, Eddie always has a point to make, so let's let him make it: "IndyCar officials have to understand that it will take 80 percent ovals to truly succeed. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a niche sport. If they're comfortable with that, fine, but I don't think they are. The Indy 500 and high-speed ovals like TMS are why the IRL won this war."

Eddie blasts out at the minions from Champ Car that want the IRL to morph into CC: "They lost this fight. ... They need to look back and see that model is failed history. There's a littered battlefield left behind them from USAC to CART to Champ Car. You have to learn from that."

Of course, there is a reaction from the drivers, sought out by Speed's Jeff Olson.
Says TK: "If somebody who has such good vision and can organize a race as good as this thinks we should be racing on 80 percent ovals, he isn’t looking out for the series’ best interests."
Says Vitor Meira: (Ovals are) where we have been successful and NASCAR has been successful. We’ve proven that the American fan likes it, and that’s our fan base. It’s more entertaining. I’m talking only about the business side of it. I’m taking myself out of the equation, because, man, it’s dangerous."

Read down in today's Indy Star notebook for a glimpse into the future. IRL officials are planning to visit Houston, Mexico City and Cleveland. Hopefully, the former is just a favor to A.J. Foyt, because the last thing this series needs is more street races. Cleveland and Mid-Ohio will struggle to co-exist, but Cleveland is a fun race. Especially when Paul Tracy does his annual wipeout of half the field on the first corner.

IndyCar racing is brought up in a Q&A with the new president of Charlotte (er, sorry, Lowe's) Motor Speedway in the Greensboro News-Record. Says Marcus Smith: "I'll never say never, and we have a great relationship with the IRL with our events in Sonoma and Texas. We'll continue to be open to those discussions. We're excited about reunification. We think that's going to be a big plus for open-wheel racing and look forward to seeing them climb the charts on their popularity." The story also mentions SMI's attempt to bring a Sprint Cup race to Kentucky. Hopefully, that won't affect the IRL's date there, largely because the track is the most convenient non-Indy venue to get to from Indy on the schedule (and a really nice track to catch a race).

Arizona Republic: IndyCar to take a look at 2011 cars
Former CART PR guru Michael Knight pimps turbocharged engines, among other things.

Texas previews
Dallas Morning News: Danica doesn't like the limited practice time
Danica also wants Milwaukee to remain in its traditional date. Eddie Gossage wants the date after Indy status, and fires away: "If Danica and the league think running in front of 28,000 people in the 34th largest market in the country is more important than running in front of 90,000 in the fourth largest market in the country, they're definitely making the right decision."

Will Power: Texas is the toughest

Qualifying stories
AP: Dixon, Castroneves 1-2
Other quals stories: Speed TV, IndyCar.com
Says Scott: "Yesterday we were fast out of the box, but today we lost that. I didn’t think the car was capable of running a speed like that, and I didn’t think it was good enough to stay there. That’s a credit to the guys for getting the car back on top."

Wheldon crashes coming out of T4 in practice, flips, suffers a "sore" ankle, then goes out and qualifies his backup car: AP, Indy Star, Dallas Morning News, ESPN, IndyCar.com

Today's Daily Trackside Report (which has everything you need to know) from the track.

Driver features
St. Petersburg Times: John Andretti wants full-time ride somewhere
He also said he'd like to run the Brickyard in Indy. He's already become the first person to run the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year.

John qualified seventh for this race. He and Marco are making starts No. 1001 & 1002 for the Andretti family tonight.

IndyCar.com also has a feature on Andretti and his qualifying run.
Says JA: "There's a lot of experience on the team and it's gaining more experience, but as a group it's all still new - and especially with me."

Dallas Morning News: Never a dull moment for Wheldon
Says Dan: "I really like the track. It's a very close, intense race. It's fast. You can get to the front pretty quickly if you have a good car. It's under the lights, and there's always a very good energy here."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Milwaukee win has Briscoe moving forward
Ryan looks back at the win, the Indy pit-lane crash and being hired by the Captain.

Indy Star: Texas looms large for Meira
A great feature on the guy who's always in the mix, and always (seemingly) second. Says Vitor, who got his "pilot wings" from the Indiana National Guard after his flight at Milwaukee: "I think people follow me for things like that, but second, because I try to treat them right, the way I'd like to be treated as a fan. I think that's why they wish me more even though I'm not in the spotlight all of the time."

ESPN: Meira hunting for first win
Says Graham Rahal of Vitor: "If you want talk about an all-around good guy, that's him. He's been close so many times; I don't even know how many second-place finishes he's had. Eventually, some day, he's going to win and then all the wins will start pouring in."

Boston Herald: Return to TMS good for Kanaan
An update on TK's season as he heads into the home of 7-11.

New Zealand Herald: Dixon shows no signs of slowing
Not much here, but something from the Kiwi press.

AP: Castroneves wants to win a race, title
Says Helio: "Finishing top five every race seems to be the key for us. When the car gets right, we're going to go for the win."

Dallas Morning News: Fans fall in step with Castroneves
Ryan Briscoe is noticing a big turnout for his teammate: "I asked what made them come out, and they said they watched Helio on TV and wanted to see what his day job was like. What fans find out is, that personality and fun guy they saw on TV is the way he is all the time. That's not an act."

AP: Danica excited, disappointed about unified series
Danica asks for better marketing. "It's very exciting from the inside. There's more drivers, there's more fans, there's more media, there's more excitement. But when it hits mainstream America, I don't think that it's had enough of an impact yet."

FemmeFan.com: Rahal new face of IRL
OK, this is the first time FemmeFan.com has been on this site -- before or after hiatus.

Notebooks
Ottawa Sun: Danica wants more marketing
This mentions the same stuff as the AP story above, but it also mentions Kimi Raikkonen is considering retiring from F1.

And finally
Sam Hornish Jr. tells Helio (and anyone else) that no IRL driver should ever complain about the schedule being too long.

While we're on the subject of NASCAR, SI wonders why Ganassi's team hasn't been producing.

Texas preview

2008-06-05T13:25:00.004-04:00

A decade or so ago, I was a budding racing fan that had been pulled the direction of the dark side -- watching cars with fenders bang off of each other most weekends.

It was largely because I bought into the mantra that NASCAR was a "down-home 'Murican racing series whar da people arr nahs and not snawbs lak dem furrin pointy-car drahvers," rather than the monopolistic behemoth it was on the way to becoming.

Then, I sat down with a friend and watched the IRL's June Texas race.

It was 1999. All I remember is about 30 laps of a side-by-side battle for the lead between Scott Goodyear and Greg Ray, breathtaking three-wide passes where the leaders would split lapped cars and that kind of action all over the track. Goodyear ended up winning, barely.

Once I picked my jaw up off the floor, I realized something. This is everything NASCAR claims to be. Only this is the real thing. And it's a whole helluva lot better.

Growing up 6 miles north of the Indianapolis Motor SpeedwBlogger: IndyCar newsstand - Create Postay helped make an Indianapolis 500 follower. Watching Texas made me an IndyCar follower.

Texas Motor Speedway calls itself the second home of the Indy Racing League. It once ran two races a year there, both in front of huge crowds. It routinely draws the best non-Indy crowd of the year. And once you see what happens on the track, it's easy to understand why.

Some drivers love it -- Tomas Scheckter, for one. Many drivers hate it because of the bare-knuckle racing that takes place. The high speeds, high banks and tight turns make it likely to be the most dangerous track the IndyCar Series runs on.

Texas is the home of the second and third-closest 1-2-3 finishes in IndyCar history, a championship decided at the line and six of its races have been decided by less than a tenth of a second, and 13 have been decided by less than a second, including last year's duel between Sam Hornish Jr. and Tony Kanaan. Two races have featured 30+ lead changes.

It's also the site of the widest margin of victory in series history (Mark Dismore's only win came when he lapped the field at TMS in 1999). It's also the home of one of the worst accidents in series history -- Kenny Brack's flight into the fence, which he survived, at the 2003 finale.

The best moments at Texas:
*-9/15/2002. Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves are battling for the IndyCar title, and the race win. Whoever wins the race wins the championship. In a long side-by-side shootout, Hornish nudges out Helio to give himself (and Panther Racing) a second straight championship in a side-by-side finish. It was the third-closest finish in series history -- .0096 of a second.

The next year, five different drivers are in the championship hunt in the Texas II finale, but Scott Dixon clinches the title by virtue of a second-place finish. Brack's accident red-flags the race.

*-6/8/2002. Jeff Ward, Al Unser Jr. and Airton Dare take the final lap three-wide. Ward noses out Little Al on the high side and wins by 1 hundredth of a second. The three are separated by .0595 of a second. Helio Castroneves and Felipe Giaffone were on their tails. That wasn't the closest 1-2-3 finish at the track, however. Sam Hornish Jr.'s title-clinching win in 2001 over Scott Sharp and Robbie Buhl saw the three separated by .0468 of a second (Hornish's MOV over Sharp was .0188).

It's also been the site of some not-so-great moments:
*-6/7/1997. The first race at Texas. Billy Boat is convinced he's won the race. He is celebrating in victory lane with A.J. Foyt and his team. Suddenly, Arie Luyendyk comes into Victory Lane claiming that he is the legitimate winner and gets a legendary slap-down from A.J. -- probably the best-remembered moment of the early IRL. The next day, USAC admits a scoring error and Luyendyk is declared the winner. The IRL essentially fires USAC and decides to officiate and sanction its own races after the gaffe. A.J. never returns the trophy (a duplicate was made for Luyendyk) and the great legend of the early IRL is born. Eddie Gossage was none too pleased, but the IRL stayed at the track (and even ran two races there for a time) and the event grew. What was a huge gaffe has become a folk tale.

Boat and Foyt would be in Victory Lane the next year, too. That time, they'd get to keep the win. That race is as memorable for Tom Sneva on color commentary and making a mess of the broadcast with hideous puns ("Stewart needs a little bit more of that Glidden to catch up"), and, IIRC, newly-minted Indy winner Eddie Cheever joining the broadcast after wrecking on Lap 4 and doing a great job.

*-4/29/2001. CART's revenge. If the low point of split politics was the 1996 U.S. 500, this was probably No. 2. And, much like the U.S. 500, this started with CART attempting to upstage the IRL and ended with CART embarrassing itself.

In 2001, CART decided to go after the IRL by staging a race at its second-biggest track, which was TMS. If they could show the folks in Texas what real open-wheel racing looked like (after all, they were the real stars with the real cars, or so they said), that could drive a real stake into the IRL's heart. So, despite multiple warnings from Eddie Gossage about finding a way to lower speeds, CART brought in higher-horsepower cars and guys running 230+ mph around the track, with dizzying results. The G-forces were way too high, drivers' brains couldn't process what was going on, and a really unsafe event was about to unfold -- especially after Mauricio Gugelmin had a harrowing accident in practice. The race was cancelled shortly before it was supposed to start. Kenny Brack won the pole that day. A few current IRL regulars were in the field -- Oriol Servia qualified third, Tony Kanaan 14th, Dario Franchitti 16th, Helio Castroneves 19th, Scott Dixon 20th and Bruno Junqueira 21st.

What was the result? The race dropped off CART's calendar, and within a year and a half, most of CART's teams would migrate to the IRL. Two years later, CART would also be gone. Meanwhile, the race remained an IndyCar staple.

*-Last year, ESPN ran the race on a tape-delay, but spoiled the result by noting that Sam Hornish won the race on the bottom-screen ticker while he was still battling with Tony Kanaan on the track.

It will be the great IndyCar race outside of Indy again this weekend. Sit down, cover up the ticker on the bottom of your screen (it's on a slight delay again this year) and enjoy.

Who to pick?
The king of TMS is Sam Hornish Jr., who has won three races at the track, but he's racing tintops now. He also has led more laps than anyone else in the history of the track.

Guys who have been strong at TMS:
Helio Castroneves (winner, 2004 October, 2006). Two wins and a runner-up, plus a pole. He's also led 216 laps at the track, fourth-most among active drivers. The Penske team has won four of the last six races at TMS.
Tony Kanaan (winner 2004 June). A win, three runner-up runs and a third-place run in his history at TMS. He has AGR's only victory at the track, and his 266 laps led are third-most among active drivers. Horsepower is important at Texas, and AGR always seems to find some.
Tomas Scheckter (winner 2005). Always a hot shoe, Scheckter is really fast around Texas. His 371 laps led are most among active drivers and second-most to Hornish all-time. He's a part-timer this year, but was really impressive at Indy until his car gave out.
Scott Dixon. OK, he's never won here. But he's come close, finishing second twice. And he's going to be strong, because the two Target cars (especially the 9 car) is the fastest in the series. Ganassi has one win at TMS, Jeff Ward's victory by a nose in 2002. He probably would've won in 2006 if not for some bad luck late in the race.
Dan Wheldon. Again, never won here. Lost one to Castroneves in the pits in 2006 and stormed off at the end of the race. He's been third three times, including that 2006 run. He's led more laps (266) than any active driver except Scheckter (most of those were in the 2006 race, which he dominated).

Best of the rest
Ed Carpenter, Darren Manning, A.J. Foyt IV, Vitor Meira and Danica Patrick all have Top 10 finishes at Texas. Danica had a podium finish last year, if Texas had a podium. Vitor was third in 2002's June race. Oriol Servia is the most experienced of the ex-CC guys on ovals, and he did qualify third here in that ill-fated CART race seven years ago. Expect Carpenter and Meira to be strong, because they're oval drivers who have managed to find some speed recently.

June 5 newsstand: Texas previews

2008-06-05T11:59:00.003-04:00

Today's news, notes & views from the Indy Racing League.

First off, Helio's not going anywhere
Or at least that's what he told a Dallas Morning News chat
The NASCAR media likes to play up the "everyone's going to NASCAR" story about this time, but Helio says comments that he'd keep his options open shouldn't be read into any further.

Says Helio: "What you heard was out of context. I'm doing everything I can to clinch the championship and run here in open wheel. Right now we've merged and the series is in a good spot and I would say the opportunity, I don't think, is there to go to NASCAR. I would consider it in that you should always leave doors open."

Texas previews
Remember when CART attempted to run the fastest 1.5 mile in open-wheel racing, only to pull the plug before the race ever happened? The depths of the split brought on some bad decisions, like trying to run 240 around Texas to show up the IRL. Like the U.S. 500, it backfired on CART.
A couple of retrospectives of that ill-fated move from the Indianapolis Star and the Dallas Morning News
Says Oriol Servia: "Honestly, it was the first time in my career that I was, well, not scared, but I could tell constantly that things were happening faster than I could process."

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram rehashes Helio's play date with the Dallas Cowboys. So does IndyCar.com.
Says Helio to Terrell Owens: "Sign my shirt, because I'm the new player -- or mascot -- on the team." Replies TO: "You're more like a kicker."

The Kansas City Star spotlights Briscoe in its weekly racing preview

Commentaries
The Lafayette (IN) Journal & Courier's Tom Kubat says the media was wrong to call out Danica for her stomp down pit road.
Says Tom: "I find it interesting that, not all that long ago, A.J. Foyt was treated as a folk hero for the exact same behavior. And, even today, NASCAR fans love it when Tony Stewart throws a temper tantrum."

Mike King checks in with his weekly IndyCar.com column

Notebooks
Cincinnati Enquirer: Briscoe's win another feather in Penske's cap
Says the Captain on No. 300: "I think really it shows the amount of work that has been done by so many people on the team, so many good drivers, so many good pit crews, all the way back when we think about winning the first TransAm and Indianapolis and you just go on and think of the drivers that have been with us. It's pretty exciting."

Official IRL news & notes
Quotes from Vitor & Ana Beatriz, the Richmond & Nashville races are being moved from ESPN2 to ESPN, and an FIL preview.

Driver features
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a great piece on Buddy Rice
Says Buddy: "We need more testing, more wind-tunnel time. A sponsorship on the car would allow more time to do these."

USA Today: Cup commoner Ganassi rules elsewhere
A look at Chip Ganassi and his success at Indy.

AP: Penske still winning
Says Rick Mears: "Driving for Roger, or just working for him, is a privilege. He treats everybody the same and anybody who works for him knows he will give you the tools to win. And, as a driver, you know that you have a shot at winning just about every time you get on the track in a Team Penske car."

The Mansfield (OH) News-Journal notes some of the young racing stars of central Ohio, including Graham Rahal.

Interviews
Vitor Meira and Ana Beatriz were on the IRL's weekly teleconference. Read the transcript at IndyCar.com.

June 4 newsstand: We're back

2008-06-04T09:09:00.004-04:00

After an untimely two-month hiatus brought on by life events, the Newsstand is back.

Spread the word.

I'm going to tweak things a bit ... the daily newsstands might be a bit more bare-bones. I will also probably have more originally-generated stuff.

Anyway, Milwaukee is done and what is usually the second-best race of the year -- Texas -- is almost here. Here goes.

Officially, RIP Champ Car
The Champ Car assets were auctioned off yesterday
Though one thing caught my eye. A collector in Atlanta bought three DP01s (he now owns 20) to start another racing series with "green" motors. I guess the F-troop over at Champ Car Fanatics might have something to do now.

Texas previews
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: With win, Danica puts talk in rearview mirror
Says Danica: "The people on the inside, they know that I wasn't the worst driver in the field before I won in Japan. And I'm not better now, necessarily, just because I actually won."

Fort-Worth Star-Telegram: Guess who's back
Milka Duno getting some love.

Texas entry list: 28 cars including Tomas Scheckter
How they've fared at Texas

More Danica
Tampa Tribune: More on the Indy wreck
This notebook also has a quote from Danica about anti-Danica fans: "Unfortunately, as your popularity grows, so does your anti-fan base. ... There was this guy at Indy. He wore a 'Danica Who?' hat. I was thinking how funny it was, 'Danica Who?' He's got my name on the hat, so he obviously knows who it is."

Perspectives
Des Moines Register: Parnelli speaks
Parnelli laments open-wheel racing's spot as No. 2, calls Tony George a benevolent dictator and says reunification will help.

Gordon Kirby: Briscoe wins
Lots of looking back at why the Captain hired Ryan, and him vindicating himself with the win.

Speed TV: Robin Miller's Q&A
Always an interesting read.
Says RM about Milwaukee: "There are 38,000 permanent seats and my guess is that 30,000 had a butt in them. ... It was encouraging because Milwaukee has always been a bastion for IndyCars. It can stand alone, it doesn’t need NASCAR help."

Speed TV: David Phillips looks back at Milwaukee

News & other stuff
AP: Davey Evans' killer charged with murder
The assailant of the NHL crewman who lost his life in a barfight last month is being charged with murder.

IndyCar.com looks at the factors tied in with qualifying

IndyCar.com: Dixon's workout regimen

From A.J.'s perspective
A.J. talks about Darren Manning's Milwaukee performance, and the race itself
Says A.J.: "Danica and gentlemen, start your engines."
Sorry, I meant: "Congratulations to Briscoe on his first Indy car win. He probably thought he had it won only to think he was going to lose it when that crash happened with three laps to go. The way his luck had been running, he should have crashed but this time Lady Luck was on his side."

FIL news
Richard Antinucci will drive the Six Hours at the Glen this weekend

Expatriate news
1995 Indy winner Jacques Villeneuve is trying to find the $$ to run stock cars
Apparently, their eyes are on Chip Ganassi's team, which is collecting Indy 500 winners (on both sides of the divide).

And finally
This guy and his family are why the IndyCar Series could use a race in the Northeast. Like, the Pocono 500 (if the Mattolis would ever give up the track and allow someone to make it IndyCar friendly).

One more ... apparently, some folks down south aren't too thrilled with their TV coverage, either. Anyway, enjoy an entire summer of races on cable.

Where have we been?

2008-05-27T20:40:00.002-04:00

Suddenly, the season starts and the blog disappears.

What happened?

I feel I need to offer a bit of an explanation to a sudden disappearance and lack of updates.

First, my day job suddenly began consuming a tremendous amount of time for the month of April, and I didn't have the time to rummage through stories and post them -- heck, I didn't have time to *read* them.

Second, I spent the first two weeks of May in China adopting my son, and returned in time to get to Indy for second-weekend qualifying and the race. All blog sites were blocked in China, so I couldn't post if I had tried.

That, and other sites (most notably Is It May Yet?) basically began doing what this site was attempting to do, only better and updated more quickly, and the urgency to update was gone.

If there is sufficient response, I will get the daily news updates and occasional commentaries going again this summer. If there isn't, I'll toss out a commentary or two.

While you're at it, you might want to read this piece of race coverage from a writer I know pretty well. They didn't post the notebook I wrote online, so I might eventually post it here.

March 31 newsstand: Wrapping up

2008-03-31T10:38:00.003-04:00

Wrapping up the weekend and looking forward to St. Pete.

First, the news
What is Opes Prime's bankruptcy going to do to Conquest?
Opes Prime's $917 million debt possibly includes its two-year sponsorship deal with Eric Bachelart's team.

Iowa on through 2009
The Des Moines Register says the Iowa race is confirmed for next year
The track, which sold out last year, is looking to expand bleacher capacity to allow 40-50,000 fans to attend.

Homestead redux
Miami Herald: Andretti redeemed as Indy runner-up
Marco struggled on the ovals last year. He had a really good run on No. 1 this year, leading 85 laps and finishing in Scott Dixon's exhaust fumes.
''The goal at first was just to finish this darn thing. After my luck at this place the last couple of years, I'll take second place.''

Looking ahead
Tampa Bay is getting ready to welcome the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

March 30 newsstand: Homestead redux

2008-03-30T22:07:00.002-04:00

Scott Dixon is the winner of the first unified IndyCar Series race ... although it was almost Tony Kanaan (and likely would've been had Ernesto Viso not popped a tire). A great race, with only two real incidents -- one of which caused by a flat, the other involving Milka Duno -- and a few CC refugees to keep Marty Roth company. Oriol Servia was the best of those guys, finishing 12th.

It gives TCGR three consecutive wins at Homestead -- the last two by Dan Wheldon. Dixon has 11 career IndyCar wins, and now two at Homestead (2003, 2008).

I'll toss my thoughts out tomorrow. Tonight, let's look at the coverage from last night's event ...

First, however, the news
From Cavin's notebook
Carpenter & Foyt had to move to the back of the field. Also, Conquest Racing has some sponsor issues with Opes Prime declaring bankruptcy, there is an Indy Lights recap.

But the big news is at the bottom ... Pacific Coast Motorsports might be in after all. Mario Dominguez is the driver, starting with Indy. DirecTV has signed a "letter of intent" with the IRL about being a presenting sponsor. Tim Cindric says there is a 30 percent chance Penske will field a third car at Indy (last year, they did so with Luczo Dragon ... LDR has spun itself off and is now on its own, fielding a car for Tomas Scheckter for Kansas, Indy & Infineon). I wonder if that 30 percent is the chance Sam Hornish Jr. won't qualify for the Fizzy Pop 600 and will suddenly have Memorial Day weekend free?

Race stories
Indy Star: Dixon wins trouble-free opener
Most of this focuses on the amalgamation of the CC guys into the series.

AP: Dawn of OW's new era gets a strong start
It covers the CC angle, but also some of the race action, including the bizarre finish.
Says TK: "I've been around a long time and the race is not finished until the checkered flag. With 10 laps to go, I was looking around and I was thinking, `This looks too easy.' "
Says Dixon, who almost wiped out himself and Marco Andretti midway through the race: "For a bad day, we still came away with maximum points,. That's what we've got to do. We've got to hit the start hard and gain as many points as possible because I think, last year, that's how we lost it (with a slow start).''

Boston Globe: Dixon off to fast start
A little bit on the race, but this story extensively quotes TG, Joie Chitwood and Roger Penske about the first race.
Says Dixon: "It's good to go in the record books as being the first to win since reunification. But, to be honest, I don't think the other guys [from Champ Car] had a fair shot, because they had so little time to get ready. I think next year will be more of a true championship under reunification."

SpeedTV
Says Scott of TK's accident: "I didn’t even know he’d hit the guy. It would have been really close even if he hadn’t had the incident because we were catching him pretty quickly. It was a shame to see him have such a silly little incident take him out of the race.”

The local stories ...
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Dixon takes opener
Says Scott: "Well, we were catching (TK) quick, and it would have been close at the end. I think Tony and Marco probably had the better cars, but we came through with the win."
Palm Beach Post: Dixon starts season on top
Says Scott: "It was one of those races where we didn't exactly have the speed all the time, or things weren't really going our way, but we still came out on top."
Tampa Tribune
Fort Myers News-Press
St. Petersburg Times
The Sports Network
IndyCar.com
ESPN

Race notebooks & driver stories
Top 3 press conference transcript
Servia, Andretti & Wheldon join Scott Dixon at the press conference.

Race boxscore

Official IRL news & notes
Recaps of both races from last night, look ahead to St. Pete.

This won't be on the official notes ... A.J. Foyt complains about Firestone's tires in the Tampa Tribune. Says A.J.: "We've got junk for tires. They've got one heat cycle, and they screwed us up the other day for qualifying; they fall off two or three tenths." He also says the Japanese-made Bridgestones are better than domestically-made Firestones. Tony Stewart move over.

Bringing it home: IndyCar.com looks at the CC drivers
Says Oriol Servia: "It was a long day in the office, but that means we achieved our first goal, which was to finish the race with no damage to the car. But it was also long because we did not have the speed that we were hoping for. We knew we were going to struggle. It's just tough when you are in the middle of it."

Palm Beach Post: Restart passing infuriates RHR
Ryan Hunter-Reay complains that TK was allowed to lead the field to the last restart on three wheels, which caused everyone to bunch up, which caused RHR to lose momentum, which caused him to lose positions.

St. Pete Times: Rahal's ride could have helped
Penske says it would've helped NHL get parts to put Graham Rahal in the race this weekend.
Says Tim Cindric: "We would have liked to have been able to help with that but nobody asked." RLR, obviously, would have also helped, and Vision Racing had a backup car that could have been used. Also, Helio Castroneves is looking for a place to stay in St. Pete next week. Not only is the Grand Prix going on in St. Petersburg, the Women's Final Four is taking place across the bay in Tampa.

Boston Herald: Open wheel, open season
Dan Wheldon says he's staying: "I’ve been very fortunate in IndyCar to have won a lot of races (and) I hope to continue to win races."

Easton (PA) Express-Times: Andretti not perfect, but still good
A look at the runner-up's performance Saturday night. Says Marco: "We were really working all off-season to get a car that works on this track."

Sydney Morning Herald: Aussies crash out
Briscoe gets collected by Milka Duno. Power's suspension breaks on contact with Justin Wilson.

Commentaries
In his blog, Cavin lists 5 things to like and dislike

Miami Herald: IRL's new era 'smashing'
He describes TK's accident in some detail: "Just sit there and watch Viso's car butterfly-kiss the right front tire assembly, marring it just enough to make it unfit for proper use. Just over seven laps from victory on what counts as his home track, Kanaan became just another part of South Florida's agony parade."

ESPN: IndyCar newbies get schooled
Terry Blount looks at life from the CC refugees: "Welcome to hair-raising, high-speed ovals, boys. Get out of the way and we'll show you how it's done. ... The new guys were schooled from start to finish in the Gainsco Auto Insurance 300 Saturday night. They never had a chance. Don't blame the Champ Car drivers for their lack of success in this one. You might as well have asked them to land a 757 on South Beach."

Robin Miller: IRL's Big Three reign on
The more things change ... the more they stay the same. Robin says: "But, aside from the fact Saturday night’s IRL season opener looked more like Saturday afternoon’s Grand Am show between prototypes and GT cars, there were no major surprises other than the lack of caution flags." But he spends most of the time talking with the ex-CC guys.

SpeedTV: OW's Appomattox
Writer Thomas O'Keefe says: "From the details we have heard so far, Tony George has chosen to follow Lincoln and General Grant in allowing the owners and sponsors of Champ Car to save face and diminish the financial impact of closing down Champ Car."

Driver stories
The Miami Herald has a big piece on Helio and his house
Helio gives the secret to decorating: "The answer is trophies. If you have enough of them you don't need to come up with too much artwork or shiny things to decorate your house.''

Indy Lights
Battistini wins at Homestead

March 29 newsstand: It's opening day!

2008-03-29T10:44:00.004-04:00

Scott Dixon and Ed Carpenter will lead the newly-merged 25-car IndyCar Series field to the green flag in what is the most anticipated race in IRL history since that first event at the Mickyard, or the 2002 finale at Texas (save, of course, those held at 16th and Georgetown).

The green flag drops at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Here's the lineup

Before we get started, could Sam and/or Dario be back?
St. Petersburg Times: As Sam & Dario struggle, IRL begins anew
Read Roger Penske's quote below ...
TK says of Dario: "The way open wheel was going at the time, it was the right choice. If you ask him right now if he thinks he made the right choice, he's probably wondering. … I don't see Dario regrets anything. He's very committed about the decisions he makes and he always presents himself well in anything he did. So … I can make fun of him now."

Meanwhile, is there a chance Sam could come back if his struggles continue? Says Roger Penske: "There's no set plan on that front, but we operate with a lot of options. But I would be very surprised if the reason he came back (to the IRL) is because it didn't work out there. I know how determined he is. I'd be surprised, but you never know."

Also ... a title sponsor on the way?
DirecTV is all set to become the presenting sponsor of the IndyCar Series (possibly as soon as today), with Coca-Cola and Frank's Energy Drink likely to be announced as category sponsors soon. Scroll down in the Indianapolis Business Journal's blog to read about it.

Race previews
Indy Star: Historic IRL race one to remember
Says Scott Dixon: ""I definitely want to TiVo the first lap so I can watch it at home. And who knows what happens after that."

St. Petersburg Times: Danger lurks in first unified race
Says Tony Kanaan: "Running in traffic with three cars in front and two in cars in the back, they don't know what to expect. So they're washing up the track and you're right beside them. But they've never experienced that; so we can't expect them to anticipate something they haven't gone through. We were giving each other a lot of room, which I know is not going happen in the race."
Meanwhile, Danica Patrick tosses in this whopper: "Foreign drivers tend to have some interesting habits. Sometimes they block; on an oval they might feel like a road course and put up a bigger fight when you go by. These are things I experienced in England when I lived there."

AP: Mix of veterans, Champ Car drivers proves for interesting opener
Says TK: "The huge impression was when I came into the pits and I saw that the pit lane was full from the first box coming in to the last box coming out. I'm the third pit out, so I had to drive through all the teams and I was just smiling big-time inside my helmet."

Season previews
Boston Globe: Debut for reunited IRL
Says Tony George: "It has been about 30 days since we were last here to officially announce reunification and since that time it's been going pretty well, I think. Everybody's been working really hard to try and help manage the traffic and the logistics involved and trying to get the equipment to the Champ Car teams coming aboard."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: New talent brings fresh IndyCar expectations
This notebook also has some storylines, et al, plus quotes from Eddie Gossage, where he again lobbies for race-after-Indy status (but 2 weeks after Indy).
Says Dan Wheldon: "From a driving standpoint, I can't wait to get to Homestead and be racing against 25 other cars. And not just 25 (cars). There are some great names and it's going to be really fun to be racing against them. It's going to be good to hopefully get back to having household-name IndyCar drivers, and to be a part of that for me is very special."

Miami Herald: IndyCar Series begins anew
A good analysis of unification. Quoth Michael Andretti: "'The black cloud has been lifted and now we can start focusing on all the positives."

Kansas City Star: OW series gets back on track
Says Oriol Servia: "Now, when you have kids that have divorced parents and after 12 years of separation they get together. No matter how you look at it, it’s good news.”

TSN: TG looking forward to season opener
Says the czar of open-wheel racing: "Champ Car did a lot of things creative, out of the box and had an exciting product for their fans (but) we weren't giving everybody what they wanted, which was unification. There's going to be some blemishes this week but it won't take everyone long to get acclimated and get really competitive."

TG also addresses Paul Tracy: "I've had conversations with people that are close to Paul and I've had a conversation with Paul," said George. "He has a contract (with Forsythe Championship Racing) and he wants to honor that contract. I don't know where it's at today; it may be getting uglier, it may be becoming clearer. I'm sure he probably wants to race (but) I don't know if he'll race at all this year. We certainly would like to see him."

IndyCar.com: You can feel it

Commentary
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette: New IRL, but not new contenders
Columnist Ben Smith -- one of the best around -- looks at the Brave New World of the IRL.
Says Ben: "So this is what the Brave New World looks like. Or the Brave Reconstituted World. Or the Brave World Once Removed. Or the Brave World as it looks now that Tony George has finally reunited American open-wheel racing, in much the way Genghis Khan united Asia. Which is to say: Champ Car is dead at last, hammered to shards by the iron fist in the mild-mannered George’s velvet glove. Open-wheel has one address again. Who knows what happens next. "

ESPN.com's Terry Blount: It's time to recapture the good old days
Says Blount: "Home for IndyCar racing won't be the same as it was 13 years ago, but it sure is nice to finally start down that path and see what we've missed."

Joliet Herald-News: More cars, fewer stories
Dan Wheldon gets defensive when asked about defecting drivers: "If you're referring to Sam and Dario going to NASCAR, I think if you look at the teams where they have moved on from, it's not like Michael Andretti or Roger Penske is going to replace them with people that are not up to par."

Jeff Olson shares his unification mailbag
Says Jeff: "It won’t be pretty at first, and there will be growing pains, and it might take five to 10 years to see tangible results, but this is the foundation for taking the sport forward. Had the two series continued apart for another decade—if they could have lasted another decade—it would have destroyed open-wheel, single-seat, open-cockpit racing in the U.S."

Miami Herald: Cross your fingers, IRL has added risks

Qualifying stories
Florida Today: Dixon on pole at Homestead
Says Scott Dixon: "It's going to be a very interesting race for a lot of people. I'd like to think our cars were pretty decent and we were struggling a lot too. There's going to be a lot of cars out there with their hands full, probably my teammate especially starting from the back, so those two laps and watching Dan is going to be pretty exciting."

AP: Crash puts Wheldon's string of Homestead victories in jeopardy
Says Dan: "It's a long race. We'll just have to try to be real patient and try to stay out of trouble until we can get where we need to be.''

UPI: Dixon wins pole

Speed TV: Dixon wins Homestead pole
Says Scott: "What a crazy qualifying session. Two big crashes and a new format. It was pretty interesting.”

ESPN.com: Crashses on 1st day of qualifying

Autosport: Naturally, Vision is happy with its performance
Carpenter & AJIV are P2 & P3 tonight.
Says Carpenter: "As the run was going on, I was thinking that I couldn't remember exactly what Scott ran, but I know that we've got to be close or even ahead of him and I think we just missed it on the last lap."

Autosport: Wheldon confident he can recover
Things weren't as good for the 3-time defending Homestead champ.
Says Dan: "I simply got loose in Turns 3 and 4. It's unfortunate because the car was incredibly quick."

Easton (PA) Express-Times: Marco tries to turn his fortunes
A qualifying story that focuses on their local driver.

Driver stories
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Briscoe not second fiddle to Helio
Says Ryan: "For me, it's going to be real important to have good, solid races. Especially the first race out."

Palm Beach Post: Hunter-Reay's IRL dream begins in South Florida
Says RHR: "It's like a Christmas present in March. It's everything I've wanted for many years now."

Notebooks & other stuff
Indy Star: Sometimes, it's wise to skip race
Curt Cavin looks at Graham Rahal's decision to skip Homestead.
Also, a couple of other notes -- the fields will be fixed at 33 at Indy, 28 at all other races except Milwaukee, Iowa and Richmond, which will have 26 starters due to pit lane restrictions.

AP notebook: TG excited about results so far
Says TG: "I know it will be more popular and a happier time in many people's memories than 1994 or 1996. But, beyond those two reference points, I don't know."
The notebook also lists the rookies and has a piece on the weight rule.

Danica complains about the new weight rule
Read about it in Hollywood Today (with lots of runway photos) | South Bend Tribune |

It's officially over
CC-IRL merger completed
The bankruptcy hearing has been completed, CC will cease to exist after Long Beach, and we're all one happy family again. Well, all of us except these people.

If you're in Indy
Drop by IMS tonight and watch the race on the big screen

Lights news
Matos on the pole (IndyCar.com story)

Official season preview

And finally, Shorty's back (but not for an IRL ride)
This is great to see ... Cristiano da Matta was nearly fatally injured at Road America a couple of years ago. He was at Homestead yesterday.
Says da Matta: "I was worried that there would have to be another career for me. But the happy part was I got back in the car and 3-4 laps … it was like riding a bicycle. Once you do it, you never forget. … And there was relief. Big, big relief."

March 28 newsstand: We're back

2008-03-28T09:44:00.003-04:00

We had to take a self-imposed two-week break due to a simple lack of time on my part, thanks to some really busy stuff going on at work.

Now that the season is starting, we'll be back on a more regular basis.

First off, the stuff for Saturday's race:
Gainsco Insurance Indy 300 @ Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5 oval)
Time: 8 p.m. EDT
Broadcast: ESPN2/IMS Radio Network
Entry list | Schedule | Driver performance (all links from IndyCar.com)

Season previews & commentaries
Indy Star: TG eager for season to begin
A couple of notes: TG wants to use the Vanderbilt Cup as the series championship trophy (rather than the IRL's championship hardware, which I always thought was a pretty cool trophy itself). Also, the name "IRL" might be changed if there is ever a title sponsor.

SI: So happy together
Bruce Martin has a comprehensive must-read season preview. Races to watch, drivers to watch, intriguing storylines. Martin mentions Coca-Cola and DirecTV are both showing interest in series sponsorship.

Speed TV: Robin Miller's season preview
It's usually a good read, full of facts, opinions and analysis.
Says Robin: "While 24-26 cars figure to be the norm on the rest of the IRL’s 19-race schedule, another set of numbers isn’t likely to change for quite a while. Since 2005, three teams have won 45 of the 47 races. Andretti Green, Target-Ganassi and Penske Racing have also combined to claim the last five IRL titles and seven of the last eight Indy 500s."

AP: New teams, new equipment, same old names likely in title chase
Says Vitor Meira: "I think it will be very competitive but, realistically, we won't find out till Homestead, and not only in Homestead, because a lot of people will still be adjusting. I can only predict it will be very good and very hard for our teams, but fans will get the best of it. If I was a fan, I'd definitely be watching the first race."

ESPN: From Dan to Danica, 2008 campaign won't be lacking in drama
John Oreovicz picks eight drivers to watch.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Open wheels ready to roll
Five storylines, five drivers to watch for 2008.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Big changes in store
A primer on the changes in the IndyCar Series this year.

Detroit Free Press: New IndyCar Series debuts
The Freep's Mike Brundell previews the season, focusing mostly on unification.
"I'm extremely excited about having one series again. I've always been outspoken about that. One strong open-wheel series is going to be the best for everyone, not only the drivers, not only for the teams, not only for the press, but especially for all the fans."

ESPN: From contenders to pretenders, 2008 packed with drama
John Oreovicz handicaps the 2008 field.

ESPN: Q&A with Oreo: Could the ICS be on the verge of great things?
Says Oreo: "From a competition standpoint, it means there will be 26 cars on the grid for Saturday's season opener, the most since 2001 and a similar number to what many people consider IndyCar racing's most successful era, the mid-1980s to the mid-'90s. Several other teams have announced part-time programs that could occasionally swell the field to 28 or even 30 cars, and there should be enough meaningful bumping to restore drama to Indianapolis 500 qualifying."

Yahoo: Re-starting open-wheel's engines
Bob Margolis gives us the storylines for the 2008 season.

Grand Rapids Press: IRL season opener worth watching
Steve Kaminski predicts his Top 10 for 2008.

San Diego Union-Tribune: IndyCar restarts engines, but will fans notice?
A season preview with a capsule look at every team.

The AP has a capsule look at each team

Toronto Sun: IRL smoke clears
It's a look at the future of racing in Canada -- Edmonton is on the schedule for this year, while Toronto is a possibility for 2009.

CC defector stories
Indy Star: New faces of the IRL
A program will be necessary. Says TK: "Part of me makes me say, 'Who are these guys?' We definitely have to learn about each other if we're going to race this close together."

Indy Star: Ex-CC drivers search for speed
Marty Roth beat them all at the Homestead test. Yes, you read that right.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: CC drivers face uphill climb
One thing that will be interesting is how the CC guys handle the ovals.
Says Will Power: "It is evident after two days of testing here that we are lacking quite a bit of speed in comparison to the IRL guys."

CBS Sportsline: CC defectors hope to get up to speed
Says Will Power: "We've got to judge the competition when we get there, but it's going to be a tough road because we have no time in these cars, let alone the fact that most of us have very little experience on ovals. We've got to be realistic and these first few races are going to be very difficult."

St. Petersburg Times: NHL struggles to adjust
Says NHL GM Brian Lisles: "You reset your goals. We'll be happy if we finish on the lead lap at Homestead."

Fort Myers News-Press: Danica cautious about new IRL drivers
Says DP: "You're going to have to be really careful, especially until we get to know the tendencies of these drivers. I think it's going to be a tip-toe game at the beginning a little bit if you want to stay in the race."

PCM won't be there
Obviously, given they're not on the entry list. There have been rumblings about Pacific Coast Motorsports joining with RLR for some road course races later in the year.

Salinas Californian: A preview of Long Beach

Homestead preview
Palm Beach Post: Will IRL have a bang-up opener?
Says Oriol Servia: “Hopefully, we’ll finish the race and add more miles to our testing, because this is the way it is for all of us here - the first few races are actually testing, learning the cars."

ESPN: If it's Homestead, the favorite has to be Wheldon
John Oreovicz previews the season opener.
Says Wheldon: "It's one of those racetracks you race as little downforce as possible; we practice mostly in the daytime, the race is at night and that makes it exciting because it changes how the car handles and you have to judge it correctly. But for whatever reason, it just works for me and I'm not going to try and jinx that by saying anything different. I just love the place."

Driver stories
Miami Herald: Helio's star burns bright
The Herald catches up with Helio Castroneves in the wake of his DWTS victory.
Says Tim Cindric: "'In the past, he's always tried to figure out how can he become mainstream because he has a personality that is addictive. Now he has a connection as a winner on and off the track -- and when he does win, and people see his name go across the SportsCenter ticker, they will know him. Before, it was just another driver who won a race. It gives the IRL a celebrity who's a winner, which is something they haven't had.''

Easton (PA) Express-Times: Optimism abounds for Marco Andretti
Says Marco: "I was pretty beat up about last year. But I couldn't wait to get going again this year, basically to redeem myself. I know we can turn things around."

USA Today: Gifted Wheldon looks to extend Homestead streak
Says the newly-married Brit: "I have always been gifted with great race cars there. I certainly am not afraid to run wheel to wheel with anybody, and I have a good feel for what you need to be quick on that style of track, but you've got to have competitive equipment." Dan also has some advice for Dario Franchitti for when Chip "goes postal" on his Cup team's failures so far -- don't be around when it happens.

IndyCar.com: Unfinished business for Dixon
The 2007 runner-up has a little bit more to do.
Says Dixon of the final lap of 2007: "It was one of those surreal instances where you don't really want to believe it, though I was definitely angry for a few days after. A couple days later you're still thinking about it, but then you just tend to forget about it and understand what a great year you had. At least you were fighting at the end."

USA Today: Kanaan's family expands, as does IRL's, for 2008
Says TK: "I have four kids, three on the team and one at home."

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: RHR in right place at right time
Says RHR: "I know we've got a lot of work to do on the 1 1/2-mile ovals. We're a 12th-place car right now and we're better than that. We're better than that on the road courses. That said, I want to consistently finish in the top seven ... to be there in the end for a championship. I'd like to get a race win and a couple of podiums. And I believe we can."

Autosport: Viso confident in mid-season progress
Says HVM's Keith Wiggins: "Ernesto showed maturity and professionalism well beyond his years, and not only was he quick in the car, he was a very useful tool for the engineering staff."

Rahal out
One of the potential warts of unification has come to roost already: Graham Rahal will miss the Homestead race because he wadded his car up in testing and enough spare parts aren't yet available.
Says Rahal: "Our team wasn't in position to rush things, and it wasn't worth the risk. Our guys has been working very hard just to get to the point, and they need some rest. We'll focus on getting a good start on next week because we ought to have a good shot at finishing on the podium there."
Other notes from the story: The TEAM incentive is now $1.3 million, and there are lots of Brazilians in the ICS.

GR tells the Tampa Tribune that searching for someone else's backup was initially a possibility, but NHL was worried about not getting it up to their standards.

A cool perk
Not only are the races going to be in HD this year, you can have access to six HD views yourself.
Says IMS Productions' Charlie Morgan: "The clarity from those cameras is so amazing you can actually read the telemetry lights on the steering wheel. That sense of being in the cockpit has never been so real. And with the 360-degree capability, the (on-track) passes are even more dramatic. It's really cool in the pits. You can show all four corners of the car in a continuous sweep."

Other stuff
Palm Beach Post: Heavy IndyCar racers get even field
A piece on the cars being weighed with driver this year. Robby Gordon was not available for comment.

IndyCar.com rounds up the changes on ovals for 2008
Four-lap qualifying, back to multiple fuel mixture settings, paddle shifting are all on the docket for this year.

Official IRL news & notes
Press conference with Dan Wheldon, Donoso to IPS, stuff on TV.

Menards back in IRL with Vision Racing

Indy Lights stuff
The IPS is now Firestone Indy Lights

The Gary (IN) Post-Tribune has a piece on Logan Gomez
Says Gomez: "Teams like to say they want to win races, but they want championships with consistent top 5, top 10 finishes. Overall I want to be winning races by the end while in contention for a championship. ... With all the drivers coming over (in the merger), I see some seats opening up next year or maybe halfway through this year."

And finally ...
This isn't IRL related, but it is awesome to see Cristiano da Matta getting back into a racecar

March 14 newsstand: Sharp settles

2008-03-14T16:56:00.004-04:00

Scott Sharp & RLR have settled their lawsuit
They've come to a settlement, that, reading between the lines of Rahal's words, looks like Patron & Scott paid some cash to RLR.

Scott looks ahead to his new career ...
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: After years of turning left, things turning out right for Sharp
Scott talks about life in the ALMS.

The new Rahal
Graham Rahal has always been destined to be a racecar driver
Says Graham: "You get the bonuses but at the same time there is a lot of pressure to do well. It's the same for anybody – like Marco and A.J. Foyt IV -- that carries a name. Anybody inside the racing community realizes that everybody has to learn and grow, and obviously at my age especially a lot of people recognize that it's going to take a little time."

On Power
Australian Age: Power's switch creates challenge
Says KV's newest driver: "It makes me feel like a rookie again. It's going to be tough but I'm up for the challenge."

Assimilating
The CC teams are set to test at Sebring next week
The two-day test will be March 19-20. KV, NHL, Coyne & Conquest are expected to participate. HVM might participate if they can get the car put together.

John Oreovicz says the mad scramble is on to get ready
Says Jimmy Vasser: "As you can imagine, all the Champ Car teams are absolutely flat out. It's a huge undertaking, and we're working around the clock seven days a week just to get prepared for first the test at Sebring, which I think we'll make."

Oreo lists Nelson Phillippe and Paul Tracy as potential Conquest drivers.

Meanwhile, Robin Miller has an in-depth piece with HVM.
Keith Wiggins says they plan to run one car this year. Ernesto Viso is the likely driver.

And Paul Tracy unloads to David Phillips
Says PT: "I woke up the other morning and realized this could be how my career ends. I feel like the guy who bought a tuxedo, rented a limo and got his shoes polished for the prom . . . and then realized he doesn’t have a date."

Forsythe "consulting"
He won't own a team, but Gerry Forsythe's group is "helping" others

Looking like 25-26 full-timers

2008-03-12T22:40:00.003-04:00

Homestead is going to be fun ... there will be 25 to 26 full-time cars on the grid for the 2007 IndyCar season, from 14 different teams.

There hasn't been this much depth or variety in either of the now-unified series in a long, long time.

The count now: 17 returnees from the 2008 IRL season: 8 from the Big 3 (AGR-4, Penske-2, Ganassi-2), 9 from the rest of the league (D&R-2, Vision-2, Roth-2, Panther-1, Foyt-1, RLR-1).

It appears the CC refugee number will be either 8 or 9, depending on how many cars Dale Coyne enters. KV, Conquest & NHL are all entering two cars. HVM (ex-Minardi) is entering one car. Coyne is planning to enter two at this stage, which leads us to 25 or 26 cars, without tackling the confirmed partial-season (beyond Indy) programs -- Sarah Fisher's ride, Luczo Dragon Racing and possibly Pacific Coast Motorsports running some road courses. Not to mention, we don't yet know what Ganassi has planned for Alex Lloyd ... there was talk of him in a third Vision car, but he could run a partial schedule for TCGR or Vision in IndyCar and focus on Grand Am the rest of the time.

There will be bugs, but I'm as excited for Homestead as I've ever been.

Silly Season update: March 12

2008-03-12T22:28:00.005-04:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL FULL-TIME returnees (17-18 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (2): 15-Buddy Rice, 23-Milka Duno/Townsend Bell
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (3): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter, 22?-Alex Lloyd
Champ Car teams (7 confirmed cars, 9 likely cars)
*-Confirmed team
*Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
*KV (formerly PKV) (2): 32-Oriol Servia, 8-Will Power
*Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): 06-Justin Wilson, 02-Graham Rahal
*HVM (formerly Minardi) (1): TBA (Ernesto Viso?)
Coyne (2): Bruno Junqueira, Mario Moraes (likely)
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
*-Confirmed team
*-Fisher (1): 67-Sarah Fisher (Indy/Texas/Kentucky/Chicagoland)
*-Luczo Dragon (1): 12-Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
*-Rubicon (1): Max Papis (Indy-only)
*-Beck (1): Roger Yasukawa (Motegi, possibly Indy)
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III, Al Unser Jr. in 2nd car if it materializes
Pacific Coast (1): Alex Figge (road courses only)
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti or P.J. Chesson; Foyt (1)-41-Pablo Donoso
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 2)
A.J. Foyt (1): Pablo Donoso, could begin at Indy and continue
Ganassi (1): Paul Tracy (if Chip decides to have a third car, highly unlikely)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp). Cavin said that Rahal is still working diligently on trying to field this car.
Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
A preseason Grand Prix (possibly non-points) in the Caribbean islands of Turks & Caicos has been discussed.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009. We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves. However, TG said in the unification press conference that the IRL had exhausted all potential ovals, and insinuated that it would likely not be looking to add any more.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009 if sponsorship can be found.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Road America (a strong possibility for the future), Mont-Tremblant (unlikely), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Laguna Seca (could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Races confirmed for the future: Indianapolis (forever), Texas (through 2009), Iowa (through 2009), Milwaukee (through 2009), St. Petersburg (through 2009), Detroit (through 2011), Surfer's Paradise (through 2013)

Since we have a lot of teams coming over, here's a list of car numbers that are currently in use
1-Reserved for last year's series champion (AGR, could be used on 5th car at Indy)
2-Vision (A.J. Foyt IV)
3-Penske (Helio Castroneves)
4-Panther (Vitor Meira)
6-Penske (Ryan Briscoe)
7-AGR (Danica Patrick)
8-KV (Will Power)
9-Ganassi (Scott Dixon)
10-Ganassi (Dan Wheldon)
11-AGR (Tony Kanaan)
12-Luczo Dragon (Tomas Scheckter)
14-A.J. Foyt (Darren Manning)
15-D&R (Buddy Rice)
17-RLR (RHR)
18-PDM (Indy-only)
19-Racing Professionals (Jon Herb, Indy-only)
20-Vision (Ed Carpenter)
21-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
22-Vision (Alex Lloyd?)
23-D&R (Milka Duno)
24-Roth (Jay Howard)
25-Roth (Marty Roth)
26-AGR (Marco Andretti)
27-AGR (Hideki Mutoh)
31-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
32-KV (Oriol Servia)
39-AGR (5th Indy entry, if they don't use #1 this year)
41-A.J. Foyt (usually used additional Indy entries)
55-Panther (could be used for 2nd Indy entry?)
67-Fisher (Sarah Fisher)
77-Chastain Motorsports (Indy-only, used in 2007)
91-Hemelgarn (Indy-only, if they run)
98-Greg Beck (Indy-only)
99-Sam Schmidt (Indy-only, if they run)
Known vacant numbers: 5, 13, 16, 28, 29, 30, 33-38, 40, 42-54, 56-66, 68-76, 78-90, 92-97

An NHL statement listed Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson's car numbers as 02 and 06. We'll see if those hold.

March 12 newsstand: Power, Servia official

2008-03-12T22:18:00.003-04:00

Will Power & Oriol Servia are officially in as the drivers for KV Racing, adding two more confirmed cars to the grid.

Official press release and another, with quotes.
Servia's car number will be 32. Power's will be the 8 vacated by Scott Sharp & RLR.

The AP story and another focused on Power from the Melbourne Herald-Sun

Motorsport's Allan Brewer has a wrapup of today's press conference with NHL's Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson and KV co-owner Jimmy Vasser. The transcript.

Minardi in (with a new name)
AP: Former CC teams facing big obstacles
It appears Minardi is in, as they're getting their car today (from Walker Racing). Paul Stoddart is gone, and the team will probably change name (maybe to HVM). The driver is also TBA.
Says owner Keith Wiggins: "I won't deny that it's a struggle, but we're doing our best to get one car on the grid for the first race."

Also, from Wiggins: "We all know it's a tough deal, a lot of scrambling because of timing and the situation. But the bigger picture is where the significance of what happened is pretty dramatic. When you solve any war or situation like that, there's always fallout and some inconvenience. It's difficult in the timing, but it's for a common goal and for the common good after all the things that have happened. I'm sure, come the end of this year, it will almost be forgotten."

IndyCar.com says the team name will be HVM.

March 11 newsstand: Forsythe back ... sort of

2008-03-11T20:51:00.003-04:00

Forsythe Racing is kind of back in the IRL ... helping out Conquest Racing with a "technical partnership."

Read the story from Speed TV.

Franck Perera is slated to drive one of Conquest's cars. Could the other be driven by Paul Tracy?

More on Walker
Derrick Walker addresses his team's situation on its website
Walker is planning to keep the Atlantic program going in 2008, and he plans to be in IndyCar in 2009.
Says Walker: "The Atlantic program will definitely continue, and we are looking at A1GP to possibly help out some other race teams and take that time to work our way back to IndyCar in 2009. It's the best time to be in open wheel racing and we want to get back as soon as we can."

Season preview: Vision
IndyCar.com takes a look at Vision Racing's 2008 season, with Ed Carpenter and AJIV.

Catching up with
... Ryan Briscoe, who will be cheering for Nico Rosberg in the Aussie GP.
Says RB: "Well just have to wait and see, but I'm feeling pretty confident about it all. I will still be learning the ropes on the ovals so that's a bit of an unknown."
... Ryan Hunter-Reay, who threw out the first pitch at today's Twins-Marlins game.

Commentaries
Gordon Kirby tells us IndyCar needs continuity, stability and parrots the CCF line about the "difficulty" of finding "safe" ovals.

RIP
Former IndyCar car builder John Buttera passes away at age 68
Buttera built Dennis Firestone's Eagle in the 1982 Indy 500. He also entered Johnny Rutherford's 11th-place car at Indy in 1987, and won the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award at the 1987 500.

March 10 newsstand: Walker, PT & other stuff

2008-03-10T21:58:00.003-04:00

Mostly old news today, but ...

Silly season news
From Cavin's blog -- 7 to 10 entries from CC
Currently, 5 are at least semi-confirmed (KV-Servia & Power/NHL-Rahal & Wilson/Conquest-Perera). Cavin expects two entries from Dale Coyne for Brazilians Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes. Conquest had planned two cars, but a second car is still TBA. Minardi & PCM are still TBA, as well. PCM might team up with an existing IRL team (RLR, perhaps?) to run the road/street courses only (likely for Alex Figge). Minardi would likely bring Robert Doornbos.

More on Walker
He's gone, for now, but he is trying to keep his Atlantics team afloat and hopes to move it up to the IndyCar Series in 2009. He'll run Greg & Leo Mansell (yes, Nigel's kids) in the series.

Tagliani looking for a ride
KV is looking for a ride buyer with a bigger wad of cash than Tags can bring, so he's out right now. Translation: Craig Gore is bring Will Power over for Tags' ride.

What's going on with Atlantics?
AutoWeek tries to explore some of Formula Atlantic's questions

Official IRL news & notes
Today's release has a piece on ethanol, the Vision season preview, a piece on the college students' design project and a piece on Helio & DWTS.

Vitor looking ahead
He hopes Henri Durand will get him some Ws, according to IndyCar.com
Says Vitor: "We went to the first test and changed a lot of things on the car, which were all for the good, and it was the best test we had all year."

Houston gone ... completely
ALMS is gone, too, and the GP of Houston is completely kaput
Says promoter (and NHL co-owner) Mike Lanigan: “We are saddened and disappointed to have to make this decision, but we remain optimistic that we will have the opportunity to bring the American Le Mans Series and the Indy Racing League to Houston in 2009.”

Our boys down there
First, USA Today has a piece on how the new OW defectors -- Sam & Dario -- are struggling in stock cars. It's not just IRL headliners, either. Villeneuve is out of a ride, Carpentier isn't doing too hot, Allmendinger has DNQed himself into having Mike Skinner drive his car. Of course, they never mention Tony Stewart as a former IRL champion, either.

Speaking of Tony, he had some tire issues with Goodyear after yesterday's cab race.
Smoke gives a great comment for the IRL's official tire supplier: "I'm going home and taking everything that has Goodyears off and put Firestones on and feel a lot safer. It's a shame these teams that work so hard are being dictated by a company incapable of building tires fit for a street car."
This ESPN story quotes TS as saying "I guess that's why they got run out of Formula One, the IRL, CART and USAC, you name it. They couldn't keep up and provide a quality product."

Yikes. Goodyear, obviously, responds. "Goodyear decided to leave other racing series only because of the escalating costs of competition ... " (I'll let you provide your own translation).

And finally
If you've got a wad of cash, you can have a Dallara simulator

March 9 update: Walker out

2008-03-09T20:57:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Craig Gore & the Aussie Vineyards sponsorship jumping ship (presumably to KV), Derrick Walker will not field an IRL team in 2008.

Will Power is rumored to be taking KV's second ride. Simon Pagenaud is out of a ride.

Currently, 6 former CC cars are confirmed on the grid ... 2 from KV (Seriva, Power?), 2 from NHL (Wilson, Rahal) and 2 from Conquest (Perera, TBA). Expect that number to jump to 8 when Dale Coyne announces a two-car effort.

That leaves Minardi (1 car seems likely), Rocketsports & PCM (the latter two, I don't see putting any interest in) left ... so the field of CC refugees will be somewhere between 8 and 11 cars, with 9 likely.

March 8 newsstand: Saturday reading

2008-03-08T17:20:00.004-05:00

Nothing much, but a few interesting odds and ends on a Saturday ...

TG is spending some big $$ to make unification happen
According to the Indy Star, it's upwards of $20 milllion, in this story about CC's bankruptcy.

Bell is back
San Luis Obispo's newspaper has a piece on hometown driver Townsend Bell, who has a seven-race deal with D&R to share a car with Milka Duno.
Says Townsend: “Having raced at Indy once makes this even more exciting because I know what a great event it is. My excitement, however, is tempered by a high degree of focus to catch up, if you will. I’m jumping right back in the heat of the action, so there isn’t a lot of time to cherish the moment. I still have a lot of work to do to get ready for my first race.”

Race or Rays?
The St. Pete race could be in jeopardy, with a proposed new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays going through the middle of the IRL's street course
Says Brian Barnhart: "Yes, we're concerned. I think we all consider St. Pete one of the marquee events on the schedule. ... It's something we're going to keep our eye on."
The race is contracted through 2009.

This notebook also includes items on Milka Duno's movie, Speed Racer, which debuts May 9; Ryan Briscoe reading the owner's manual on the paddle shifters; and TK wanting to crash Dan Wheldon's wedding.

News from the south
You have to scroll down to get to it, but recently-temporarily-replaced NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger has no plans to leave taxicabs and return to IndyCars.
Says the other A.J.: "I want to be here ... I know if we are in the top 35, we are never going to fall out because I'm going to race a lot better than I qualify."
Mike Skinner has temporarily replaced 'Dinger so he can try to get the team in the Top 35 in points so it can get the qualifying mulligan.

Maybe Robby Gordon isn't going to have to follow through on his "threat" to leave NASCAR for the IRL. His 100-point penalty was rescinded (but a $100,000 fine was increased by $50K).

And finally ...
IndyCar.com has a piece on the art student project

Silly Season update: March 7

2008-03-07T16:57:00.005-05:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL FULL-TIME returnees (17-18 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (2): 15-Buddy Rice, 23-Milka Duno/Townsend Bell
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (3): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter, 22?-Alex Lloyd
Champ Car teams (6 confirmed cars, 9 likely cars, up to 11 total cars)
*-Confirmed team
*Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
*KV (2): Oriol Servia, TBA (Will Power?)
*Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): 06-Justin Wilson, 02-Graham Rahal
Coyne (2): Bruno Junqueira, TBA
Minardi USA (1): Robert Dornboos
Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez? (this is starting to look more unlikely)
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
*-Confirmed team
*-Fisher (1): 67-Sarah Fisher (Indy/Texas/Kentucky/Chicagoland)
*-Luczo Dragon (1): 12-Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
*-Rubicon (1): Max Papis (Indy-only)
*-Beck (1): Roger Yasukawa (Motegi, possibly Indy)
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III, Al Unser Jr. in 2nd car if it materializes
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti or P.J. Chesson; Foyt (1)-41-Pablo Donoso
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 2)
A.J. Foyt (1): Pablo Donoso, could begin at Indy and continue
Ganassi (1): Paul Tracy (if Chip decides to have a third car, highly unlikely)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp). Cavin said that Rahal is still working diligently on trying to field this car.
Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
A preseason Grand Prix (possibly non-points) in the Caribbean islands of Turks & Caicos has been discussed.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009. We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves. However, TG said in the unification press conference that the IRL had exhausted all potential ovals, and insinuated that it would likely not be looking to add any more.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009 if sponsorship can be found.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Road America (a strong possibility for the future), Mont-Tremblant (unlikely), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Laguna Seca (could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Races confirmed for the future: Indianapolis (forever), Texas (through 2009), Iowa (through 2009), Milwaukee (through 2009), St. Petersburg (through 2009), Detroit (through 2011), Surfer's Paradise (through 2013)

Since we have a lot of teams coming over, here's a list of car numbers that are currently in use
1-Reserved for last year's series champion (AGR, could be used on 5th car at Indy)
2-Vision (A.J. Foyt IV)
3-Penske (Helio Castroneves)
4-Panther (Vitor Meira)
6-Penske (Ryan Briscoe)
7-AGR (Danica Patrick)
8-RLR (currently not in use, unless RLR expands team, which is unlikely)
9-Ganassi (Scott Dixon)
10-Ganassi (Dan Wheldon)
11-AGR (Tony Kanaan)
12-Luczo Dragon (Tomas Scheckter)
14-A.J. Foyt (Darren Manning)
15-D&R (Buddy Rice)
17-RLR (RHR)
18-PDM (Indy-only)
19-Racing Professionals (Jon Herb, Indy-only)
20-Vision (Ed Carpenter)
21-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
22-Vision (Alex Lloyd?)
23-D&R (Milka Duno)
24-Roth (Jay Howard)
25-Roth (Marty Roth)
26-AGR (Marco Andretti)
27-AGR (Hideki Mutoh)
31-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
39-AGR (5th Indy entry, if they don't use #1 this year)
41-A.J. Foyt (usually used additional Indy entries)
55-Panther (could be used for 2nd Indy entry?)
67-Fisher (Sarah Fisher)
77-Chastain Motorsports (Indy-only, used in 2007)
91-Hemelgarn (Indy-only, if they run)
98-Greg Beck (Indy-only)
99-Sam Schmidt (Indy-only, if they run)
Known vacant numbers: 5, 13, 16, 28, 29, 30, 32-38, 40, 42-54, 56-66, 68-76, 78-90, 92-97

An NHL statement listed Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson's car numbers as 02 and 06. We'll see if those hold.

March 7 newsstand: Catching up

2008-03-07T16:07:00.004-05:00

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."

March 2 newsstand: Donoso in? & Unification commentary

2008-03-02T15:16:00.005-05:00

Sunday is the day for the columnists to show up, so we have a few commentaries on the unification.

But first, does A.J. have a new driver?
It appears Pablo Donoso has signed a $100,000 deal with A.J. Foyt Racing, according to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. A lot of this story is about the purses awarded in the IRL.
The Babelfish translation of the lead paragraph says: "The Chilean will receive 100 thousand dollars annual to run for A. J. Foyt."

Now, the commentaries
Toronto Star: Open-wheel facing bumpy road to recovery
Patrick Carpentier does a lot of whining: "They used their egos and destroyed the sport. Now they have a whole lot of nothing to try to put together ... When you look at those series, you see how little coverage they get and because of that it gets even harder to get sponsors. The kids from around the world who are filthy rich get the seats. The guy who brings the most money is the one who's going to drive."

Scott Goodyear: It's the beginning of a revival
No word on how "in lockstep" the teams are as they look ahead.
Says Scott: "The IndyCar Series of the future will bring all the best open-wheel drivers together in the same series, on the same tracks, driving the same cars, making it easy for fans to understand what they are watching. ... For the casual fan, now there is no confusion about what series they are watching. I believe this will make it easier to build their interest level. The next segment we need to continue to cultivate is the once-a-year fan, the Indy 500-only fan."

St. Pete Times: St. Pete mayor says merger is exciting
Says St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker: "The success of St. Pete's race is tied to the success of IndyCar Racing. This is a move we have been hoping for since IndyCar came to St. Petersburg."

Lorain County (OH) Chronicle-Telegram: Don't call it a merger
Writer Dan Coughlin waxes poetic about the Cleveland race and states his love for road racing: "Cleveland doesn’t fit the IRL format, which is going in circles and bouncing off walls. After all, the Indy Racing League’s name is derived from Indianapolis 500. ... Champ Car specialized in twisting road races, such as the Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport. Other races were held on city streets, much like Formula I, and ultimately the concept failed in this country."

From Richmond: Merger could affect series events at RIR
Says the IRL's John Griffin: "From that standpoint, Richmond is in a good position with us."
Says RIR's Aimee Turner: "We do not have a contract (for 2009). We go year-to-year with all of our contracts. By our race this year, we should know about next year."

Seabass' view from Europe
4-time CC champ Sebastien Bourdais complains about how CC waved the white flag.
Says Bourdais: "It is not a merger, it is the death of Champ Car and the IRL taking over, the schedules, cars, everything. ... It is a disaster for Champ Car teams."
Also, from Seabass: "Formula One was the right thing for me to do. I would not have been a contender in any way this year (in the IRL)." Of course, he probably won't be a contender in F1, either.
Stories: Melbourne Herald-Sun, Reuters, Speed TV

Kevin Harvick's view
Would he ever drive an IndyCar? Maybe if the Infineon date changes
Says Harvick: "I'd like to try."

And finally
This is semi-IRL related, but "Voice of the IRL" Mike King and driver Davey Hamilton are trying to revive the Terre Haute Action Track, one of the great dirt half-miles in America.

March 1 newsstand: Wrapping up, and Robby back?

2008-03-01T10:24:00.004-05:00

Today, we tie up some loose ends from one of the most eventful weeks in open-wheel racing history

Unification news
Tampa Tribune: Chitwood's centennial gift
The unification gives Joie Chitwood quite a series to market at the Indianapolis 500's centennial celebrations coming up
Says Chitwod, the leader of IMS: "What would happen is, every year this time of year there would be a unification story. When it didn't happen, there was a negative taint again, because they couldn't get it done. Now it's nice to have that great, positive momentum heading into the season."
Also has some perspectives from Michael Andretti: "CART as a product was good, but the way it was run was all wrong. You just cannot have it where the competitors are running the series, because everybody has their own interest at heart. With Tony, all he cares about is a successful series."
Boston Globe: Drive to unify was strong
Joliet Herald-News: Open-wheelers meet media in Miami
Edmonton Sun: He started the engine
A story about Terry Dierksen, who helped the Edmonton GP get off the ground and become what is, right now, the only Canadian event on the calendar.

PT's saga
You have to read down to the bottom to get to this, but PT was in Las Vegas yesterday to meet with Chip Ganassi about an IndyCar ride.

Oreo wraps up the PT/Forsythe fallout

Another NASCAR returnee?
We've already seen Brent Sherman leave the taxicabs to run an IPS car for Panther. Now, Robby Gordon is considering running the Indy 500 if he loses his appeal with NASCAR and isn't in Chase contention.
Gordon's appeal will be heard March 5. He was dinged 100 points and $100K for using an uncertified part in the Daytona 500. He isn't sure if he's going to run with his own team, or someone else.

The women
In Mark DeCotis' Florida Today column, Lyn St. James gives advice to the female drivers: "Be Authentic."

And finally
The Indianapolis Star editorial board lauds TG and the Hulman family for putting up the cash to make the sport work.

Feb. 29 update: New team?

2008-02-29T21:49:00.003-05:00

There have been rumors of A.J. Foyt Racing wanting a second car ... and also rumors from Homestead that Chile native Pablo Donoso was testing Darren Manning's #14 car today.

Now, we find this at www.pablodonoso.com
"Pablo Donoso se convierte en piloto oficial de A.J. Foyt para la temporada 2008."
Translated: Pablo Donoso becomes official pilot for A.J. Foyt during the 2008 season."
Also, on the site, it says Donoso has been confirmed to drive the 41 car.

The site has a photo of Donoso, A.J. and Eliseo Salazar, as well as today's practice report, in which it appears he ran 82 laps.

Silly season update: Feb. 29

2008-02-29T16:18:00.003-05:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL FULL-TIME returnees (19 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (2): 15-Buddy Rice, 23-Milka Duno/Townsend Bell
Foyt (2): 14-Darren Manning, 41-Pablo Donoso
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (3): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter, 22?-Alex Lloyd
Champ Car teams (7 confirmed cars, up to 13 total cars)
*-Confirmed team
*Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
*KV (2): Oriol Servia, TBA (Will Power?)
*Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): 06-Justin Wilson, 02-Graham Rahal (We'll see if the numbers change)
*Walker (1-2): Will Power (unless he goes to KV)
Coyne (2): Bruno Junqueira, TBA
Minardi USA (1): Robert Dornboos
Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
*-Confirmed team
*-Fisher (1): 67-Sarah Fisher (Indy/Texas/Kentucky/Chicagoland)
*-Luczo Dragon (1): 12-Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
*-Rubicon (1): Max Papis (Indy-only)
Beck (1): Roger Yasukawa (Indy-only)
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 7)
Ganassi (1): Paul Tracy (if Chip decides to have a third car, highly unlikely)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): Mario Dominguez?
Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009. We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves. However, TG said in the unification press conference that the IRL had exhausted all potential ovals, and insinuated that it would likely not be looking to add any more.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Road America (a strong possibility for the future), Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Since we have a lot of teams coming over, here's a list of car numbers that are currently in use
1-Reserved for last year's series champion (AGR, could be used on 5th car at Indy)
2-Vision (A.J. Foyt IV)
3-Penske (Helio Castroneves)
4-Panther (Vitor Meira)
6-Penske (Ryan Briscoe)
7-AGR (Danica Patrick)
8-RLR (currently not in use, unless RLR expands team, which is unlikely)
9-Ganassi (Scott Dixon)
10-Ganassi (Dan Wheldon)
11-AGR (Tony Kanaan)
12-Luczo Dragon (Tomas Scheckter)
14-A.J. Foyt (Darren Manning)
15-D&R (Buddy Rice)
17-RLR (RHR)
18-PDM (Indy-only)
19-Racing Professionals (Jon Herb, Indy-only)
20-Vision (Ed Carpenter)
21-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
22-Vision (Alex Lloyd?)
23-D&R (Milka Duno)
24-Roth (Jay Howard)
25-Roth (Marty Roth)
26-AGR (Marco Andretti)
27-AGR (Hideki Mutoh)
31-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
39-AGR (5th Indy entry, if they don't use #1 this year)
41-A.J. Foyt (usually used additional Indy entries)
55-Panther (could be used for 2nd Indy entry?)
67-Fisher (Sarah Fisher)
77-Chastain Motorsports (Indy-only, used in 2007)
91-Hemelgarn (Indy-only, if they run)
98-Greg Beck (Indy-only)
99-Sam Schmidt (Indy-only, if they run)
Known vacant numbers: 5, 13, 16, 28, 29, 30, 32-38, 40, 42-54, 56-66, 68-76, 78-90, 92-97

An NHL statement listed Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson's car numbers as 02 and 06. We'll see if those hold.

Feb. 29 newsstand: PT a free agent & other news

2008-02-29T15:42:00.003-05:00

The Forsythe Fallout tops today's news
PT wants to be with Penske or Ganassi
PT has asked Tony George to find him a ride (apparently, one is available at Vision, which PT hasn't wanted to go after). Chip would be more likely than Roger. Paul has also talked with Jimmy Vasser about joining his team, as a teammate to Oriol Servia: "Jimmy didn't say what he is doing with the other car, but it doesn't sound like he'll have one available."
Meanwhile, Michael Andretti tells PT to take the Vision offer.

The Toronto Star says PT has been left high and dry
Says PT: "I had a gut feeling the whole time through the merger talks. When I called the team and asked, `What's going on? When are we going to get the new cars?' nobody knew anything. The answer I'd get was, `We haven't been able to get a hold of Gerry. We have no answer; we're sitting and waiting. ... Now, at the end of the day, he's decided not to play ball. It's a shame because we've assembled such a great team this winter. I felt everyone was on the same page and geared up to go win races.''
Apparently, Forsythe was not completely happy with the terms of the agreement, and reluctantly signed (and then took his ball and went home).

Stories about Forsythe's shutdown: Canada.com, Indianapolis Star, Speed TV
Says PT: "I thought that with that same kind of spirit in the team, we could have challenged for victory at the Indy 500. I believe I'm one of the best oval drivers in the country, and with the strong crew that we had in place, we could have been contenders."

However, my favorite PT quote comes here (from Robin Miller's story): “Neil (Micklewright of FCR) said he’d been trying to get a hold of my manager but he was having a colonoscopy today. That’s ironic ‘cause that’s what I feel like I got.”

Michael Andretti saw Forsythe's exit coming
Says Michael: "I wasn't surprised. I assumed that was going to happen. It was just a gut feel. He's a proud man. There has to be a reason he was doing the things he was doing (in Champ Car), and I just didn't see him caving in to come over here."

Silly season stuff
There's lots of other info in the Indy Star's notebook
*-KV racing might swipe Will Power from Walker for its second car.
*-Chip Ganassi is talking to TG about taking Alex Lloyd for its third car.

Buddy Rice confirmed at D&R
Also, if you look at the Sebring participant list, Townsend Bell is sharing D&R's second car with Milka Duno

Testing, testing
Now healthy, Danica fastest at Homestead
The top five: Danica (213.182), Briscoe, Wheldon, AJIV, Dixon.
IndyCar.com's testing story
Official IRL notes & quotes from Day 2
After Homestead, the testing now heads to Sebring March 3-6
IndyCar.com: Countdown begins to opening weekend

Local markets
TMS' Eddie Gossage advises the new IRL to be humble
Says Eddie: "IndyCar racing needs to take a humble approach in reaching out to fans, to bring them back. Humbly ask them to come to the racetrack. Humbly ask them to tune in their TV sets to watch what is the most thrilling form of racing in America today. If IndyCar racing isn't humble, it won't matter. Humble is the key word."

Toronto Globe & Mail: Toronto remains a priority
Says the IRL's Terry Angstadt: "We want to return there in a big and strong way (even) if we have to take a year off."

Commentaries
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Dave Kallman reads into the company line
Says Dave: "What Kalkhoven said was: 'I don't think there was one specific thing (behind settling now). It was just a realization that, quite honestly, open-wheel sport, open-wheel motor racing in the United States, just wasn't going anywhere.' ... What he meant was, 'You were telling us, but we didn't listen until we'd spent too much money first.'"

Dallas Morning News: Merger gives hope for open-wheel revival
Kevin Harvick hopes OW racing can return to its former glory.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Back to future for OW
Says writer Holly Cain: "It's time to talk of the potential for Indy car racing, the brand of sexy machines, high speed and danger that made us embrace and celebrate drivers like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser and Bobby Rahal."

Anderson (IN) Herald-Bulletin: Reality leads to unification

IndyCar.com: Drivers see fans as big winners

Team stories
Edmonton Journal: NHL to test itself against the best
Says Justin Wilson: We are certainly not in the same situation, competition-wise, starting the IndyCar Series season ... but Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing are proven winners and we will all work hard to be as competitive as possible this season."

Inside Bay Area: Vitor hopes to break IRL's troika
Says Panther's driver: "The teams that are coming ... they are very competent. They have very good people and very good drivers. It's going to be tough from the first race on, and it's going to get tougher as they (gain more experience)."

Silly Season update: Feb. 28

2008-02-28T22:28:00.003-05:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL FULL-TIME returnees (18 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (2): 15-Buddy Rice, 23-Milka Duno/Townsend Bell
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (3): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter, 22?-Alex Lloyd
Champ Car teams (7 confirmed cars, up to 13 total cars)
*-Confirmed team
*Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
*KV (2): Alex Tagliani, Oriol Servia
*Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): 06-Justin Wilson, 02-Graham Rahal (We'll see if the numbers change)
*Walker (1-2): Will Power
Coyne (2): Bruno Junqueira
Minardi USA (1): Robert Doornboos
Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
*-Confirmed team
*-Fisher (1): 67-Sarah Fisher (Indy/Texas/Kentucky/Chicagoland)
*-Luczo Dragon (1): 12-Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
*-Rubicon (1): Max Papis (Indy-only)
Beck (1): Roger Yasukawa (Indy-only)
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 7)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): Mario Dominguez?
Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009. We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves. However, TG said in the unification press conference that the IRL had exhausted all potential ovals, and insinuated that it would likely not be looking to add any more.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Road America (a strong possibility for the future), Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Since we have a lot of teams coming over, here's a list of car numbers that are currently in use
1-Reserved for last year's series champion (AGR, could be used on 5th car at Indy)
2-Vision (A.J. Foyt IV)
3-Penske (Helio Castroneves)
4-Panther (Vitor Meira)
6-Penske (Ryan Briscoe)
7-AGR (Danica Patrick)
8-RLR (currently not in use, unless RLR expands team, which is unlikely)
9-Ganassi (Scott Dixon)
10-Ganassi (Dan Wheldon)
11-AGR (Tony Kanaan)
12-Luczo Dragon (Tomas Scheckter)
14-A.J. Foyt (Darren Manning)
15-D&R (Buddy Rice)
17-RLR (RHR)
18-PDM (Indy-only)
19-Racing Professionals (Jon Herb, Indy-only)
20-Vision (Ed Carpenter)
21-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
22-Vision (Alex Lloyd?)
23-D&R (Milka Duno)
24-Roth (Jay Howard)
25-Roth (Marty Roth)
26-AGR (Marco Andretti)
27-AGR (Hideki Mutoh)
31-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
39-AGR (5th Indy entry, if they don't use #1 this year)
41-A.J. Foyt (usually used additional Indy entries)
55-Panther (could be used for 2nd Indy entry?)
67-Fisher (Sarah Fisher)
77-Chastain Motorsports (Indy-only, used in 2007)
91-Hemelgarn (Indy-only, if they run)
98-Greg Beck (Indy-only)
99-Sam Schmidt (Indy-only, if they run)
Known vacant numbers: 5, 13, 16, 28, 29, 30, 32-38, 40, 42-54, 56-66, 68-76, 78-90, 92-97

An NHL statement listed Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson's car numbers as 02 and 06. We'll see if those hold.

Feb. 28 newsstand: No Forsythe in 2008

2008-02-28T21:48:00.002-05:00

The big news of the day ... Gerry Forsythe's team is closing its doors and will not run in the IRL this season.

Says Forsythe's Neil Micklewright: "After 13 years of competition in CART and the Champ Car World Series, the team has been unable to secure the necessary sponsorship to be able to compete in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2008."

Says driver Paul Tracy: "It kind of leaves me hung out. I just got the information, too. ... Now I have some legal issues to jump through with this. I need to step back with my management and sort through my contract, which has a buyout. ...I want to be part of the new series. I'm a race car driver and I love open-wheel racing. I want to be in a competitive situation, to be able to win races and run for the championship."

Also from PT: "I believe I'm one of the best oval drivers in the country and with the strong crew we had in place, we could have been contenders. I need to quickly regroup, regain my composure and start looking for another ride, and I mean in IndyCar. The team may be done, but I'm ready to go racing."

The stories
Sports Illustrated, Autosport, Indianapolis Star, Speed TV
Lots of stories from Canada. A couple: Vancouver Province, Toronto Star, Canadian Press

Other Silly Season stories
Sarah Fisher Racing was announced yesterday. Here is the press conference.
Justin Wilson has confirmed he's making the switch with NHL.

Potential IRL teams flood test session
Among the Silly Season info:
*-Alex Lloyd is soon to be confirmed at Vision.
*-Scheckter, Fisher (already confirmed), Max Papis at Rubicon and Roger Yasukawa with Beck (likely Indy-only or limited schedule for both) likely to be confirmed soon. NHL, Conquest, KV (already confirmed) and Coyne are CC teams planning two cars. Walker is entering one, but hopes for two.

Testing, testing
Wheldon is fast at Homestead
The five quickest: Wheldon, Dixon, Castroneves, TK, Briscoe. AJIV was sixth.

Jeff Olson's Day 1 notebook

Unification news stories
Indianapolis Star: Unification could be costly
Curt Cavin at Autoweek
AP: Unification not a magic bullet
Miami Herald: Much still to do after merger
Florida Today: OW merger a work in progress
Canoe: CC, IRL teams pair off

Unification commentaries
Florida Today: Castroneves knows changes will take time
Says Helio: "I feel in the future we are going to have new talents, new Sam Hornishes and new Darios, whatever. That's why it's very important for us to keep the way we're going."
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Unification can't happen fast enough
Says TMS promoter Eddie Gossage: "My bigger concern is how they go about conducting their business and what that business is going forward. To me, IndyCar racing is a cornerstone of our schedule. I would hope that IndyCar racing five years from now is 80-85 percent oval tracks, 80-85 percent American drivers. That was the vision we were told about and the teams and drivers and sponsors and TV networks bought into. At the end of the day, that's the (philosophy) that prevailed."
Bruce Martin at SI
TG tells us: "I felt like this was perhaps going to be the best year of my 48 to have a chance to do something that's very important to me and very close to me, and that is to help bring about the unification of open-wheel racing."
John Oreovicz at ESPN
Says Oreo: "(TG & KK) weren't the only ones smiling in Homestead's packed media room. In fact, it was difficult to find anyone on the grounds of the Florida oval who wasn't sporting an ear-to-ear grin."
ESPN: Unification FAQ
Oreo also has an FAQ, with the final question: "Did Tony George win the war?" Click to find out.
Sonoma News
Monterey Herald
Pete Pistone at CBS Sportsline
National Post: Indy racers realize deal was due
Gary (IN) Post-Tribune: Hallelujah
Hartford Courant: OW racing on a new track
Detroit Free Press: OW closes two-circuit era
San Diego Union-Tribune: OW merger may open door to changes

Local market stories
Surfer's Paradise bosses are off to Indianapolis
Says this Aussie story: "Negotiations will centre on whether the Surfers Paradise race is a championship round or non-championship round this year, because of contractual difficulties with Chicago."

Edmonton: GP organizers expect final date soon
And they expect that date to be July 27.

Long Beach: Merger elements revealed and No date change for LB
Including the LB-Motegi double-weekend on April 19-20.

Road America: Could be in IRL's plans
Says RA's George Bruggenthies: "Do I expect to have a race? No. I guess they've been so busy with those challenges that they haven't had time to worry about wrapping up their legal details. ... I'm waiting for confirmation about 2008, and I'd like to be on the schedule for '09."

Toronto: Toronto race highly unlikely
Says the IRL's Fred Nation: "A Toronto race is highly unlikely for this year. But Toronto is high on the list for next year."

Cleveland: Burke race officially gone
Says Cleveland GP GM Chuck Kosich: "We never had any official notification from anybody that Cleveland was off the schedule, from Champ Car or IRL, until today."

St. Pete: Grand Prix remains coveted course and a cornerstone
Says Brian Barnhart: "That's clearly one of the cornerstone events in the IndyCar series that's been on the IndyCar series since 2005. (It) was the very first non-oval event we ever ran and we have been extremely pleased. ... Clearly, it's one of the best events on the schedule, no doubt."

Utah: Miller Motorsports Park likes merger
MMP is not in line for a race, but they're happy with the merger. Says the track's Alan Wilson: "The emphasis on road-course racing is going to return. Because we're a road course, we view that as a very positive thing."

I like Eddie Gossage's comments better, but that's just me.

Silly Season update: Feb. 27

2008-02-27T16:49:00.004-05:00

The short version
Confirmed IRL FULL-TIME returnees (16 full-time cars)
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): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon.
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (2): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter
Champ Car teams (up to 14 full-time cars)
*-Confirmed team (currently 7 cars)
*Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
*KV (2): Alex Tagliani?, Oriol Servia
*Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): 06-Justin Wilson, 02-Graham Rahal (We'll see if the numbers change)
*Walker (1): Will Power?
Forsythe (2): Paul Tracy, TBA (Franck Montagny?)Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez?
Coyne (2): Bruno Junqueira?
Minardi USA (1): Robert Doornboos?
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 7)
Ganassi (1): Alex Lloyd (may be farmed out to another team, Vision perhaps? Could be full-season)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): Mario Dominguez?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
*-Confirmed team
*-Fisher (1): 67-Sarah Fisher (Indy/Texas/Kentucky/Chicagoland)
*-Luczo Dragon (1): 12-Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
*-Rubicon (1): Max Papis? (Indy-only)
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Greg Beck (1)
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)

Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009. We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves. However, TG said in the unification press conference that the IRL had exhausted all potential ovals, and insinuated that it would likely not be looking to add any more.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Road America (track rental, but they seem to be interested in having another event), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Since we have a lot of teams coming over, here's a list of car numbers that are currently in use
1-Reserved for last year's series champion (AGR, could be used on 5th car at Indy)
2-Vision (A.J. Foyt IV)
3-Penske (Helio Castroneves)
4-Panther (Vitor Meira)
6-Penske (Ryan Briscoe)
7-AGR (Danica Patrick)
8-RLR (currently not in use, unless RLR expands team, which is unlikely)
9-Ganassi (Scott Dixon)
10-Ganassi (Dan Wheldon)
11-AGR (Tony Kanaan)
12-Luczo Dragon (Tomas Scheckter)
14-A.J. Foyt (Darren Manning)
15-D&R (Buddy Rice)
17-RLR (RHR)
18-PDM (Indy-only)
19-Racing Professionals (Jon Herb, Indy-only)
20-Vision (Ed Carpenter)
21-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
22-Vision (Indy-only 3rd entry?)
23-D&R (Milka Duno)
24-Roth (Jay Howard)
25-Roth (Marty Roth)
26-AGR (Marco Andretti)
27-AGR (Hideki Mutoh)
31-Playa del Racing (Indy-only)
39-AGR (5th Indy entry)
41-A.J. Foyt (for additional Indy entries)
55-Panther (could be used for 2nd Indy entry?)
67-Fisher (Sarah Fisher)
77-Chastain Motorsports (Indy-only, used in 2007)
91-Hemelgarn (Indy-only, if they run)
98-Greg Beck (Indy-only, if they run)
99-Sam Schmidt (Indy-only, if they run)
Known vacant numbers: 5, 13, 16, 28, 29, 30, 32-38, 40, 42-54, 56-66, 68-76, 78-90, 92-97

An NHL statement listed Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson's car numbers as 02 and 06. We'll see if those hold.

Feb. 27 newsstand: The announcement

2008-02-27T15:56:00.004-05:00

Today's stuff centers on the announcement ... and some Silly Season news that came out of Homestead today.

First, announcement stuff
Things we've learned:
*-Dual weekend on April 19-20 -- IRL at Motegi, former CC teams running DP01s at Long Beach.
*-Edmonton & Surfer's are likely additions to the schedule.
*-Possible schedule changes from TG: "It’s important to me to have a variety of ovals on the schedule," George said. "But international opportunities are out there. We need to look at building a schedule that makes sense from every perspective."
*-The IRL has purchased CC's non-tangible assets, including the records, and has also purchased CC's medical transporter.
*-Conquest, Coyne, NHL and KV (formerly PKV) are all expected to bring two cars each. Walker is expected to bring one. Forsythe is also considering two cars, while Minardi was present and hopes to field one car. Rocketsports and PCM were also at Monday's orientation.
*-CC teams are getting two cars, a $1 million engine lease for one year and the $1.2 million TEAM benefit.
*-Preliminary discussions are underway with ABC/ESPN to televise the additional races.

Indy Star: After merger, IRL is crammed with competitors
If every team that is considering fielding a car for 2008 shows up, there could be *37* cars on the grid.
Says Brian Barnhart: "I just realized that myself. I think I’d be more comfortable with something more along the lines of 28 to 30.”

Autosport: IRL officially confirms unification

Says Tony George: "This is about looking forward. It really has been 30 years since the sport of open-wheel racing has been unified. There were periods of years where we worked closely together and better together, but by and large there were periods of years where we weren't so good at that."

IndyCar.com: One

Says TG: "I have received hundreds of congratulatory e-mails from fans, drivers, sponsors and others who love our sport. All agree that the future is bright for IndyCar racing and the time to unify our sport is now. Our whole racing community is excited and energized about unification and everybody is working hard toward the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway March 29."

IRL press release
Those present from the CC side: Owners Kevin Kalkhoven (KV), Eric Bachelart (Conquest), Dale Coyne (Coyne), Keith Wiggins & Paul Stoddart (Minardi), Derrick Walker (Walker). Drivers Franck Perera, Bruno Junqueira, Graham Rahal, Alex Tagliani, Oriol Servia, Nelson Phillippe, Robert Doornbos, Will Power. Justin Wilson was in Chicago getting fitted for a seat.

A couple of details: "IndyCar Series officials expect several teams from Champ Car to join the series this season, some as early as the first race, while others should join by the time practice starts for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 4."

Speed TV: George, Kalkhoven lay out unification plans

Motorsport.com: Collaboration spirit sets tone for unified season

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Unification details shared

AP: Much work for open-wheel series

Perspectives
Speed TV: Unification the focus as testing begins
Autosport: Drivers embrace unified series
Says Darren Manning: "Finally I might be in the right place at the right time. Now we have a single-seater series that's second only to Formula One. It's where a driver wants to be. There are only 18 spots on a Formula One grid, and they aren't giving any of them up. This is going to be another place where the best drivers in the world can compete."

Says RHR: "You've got to have some name continuity; it can't be musical chairs for drivers. You have to show personalities. That's the thing NASCAR does so well. I'm not saying we copy NASCAR, but people need to know what our drivers are like. I don't even watch NASCAR that much, but I know the personalities of their drivers."

Gordon Kirby: The first step
Says GK: "Will this desperate, eleventh-hour patchwork of a deal save Indy car racing and mark the beginning of a long road to a successful rebirth? Or will the damage done prove too difficult to repair?"

In their words
Press conference transcript
TG does not rule out more road courses, turbocharged engines or other major changes in the future.
NHL statement
Helio Castroneves press conference
Milwaukee Mile statement
Belle Isle GP statement

The effect on local markets
Press release: Toronto GP president on the loss of that race

Toronto Star: Toronto race officially lost

AP: Long Beach race will have familiar look
LB will be run with CC cars, but will pay IRL points.
Says TG: "I think the efforts of some very capable people and the scenario that allows Champ Car to showcase for one final time the (Panoz) DP-01s, the drivers and teams that are familiar with that equipment, to go out and put on a great show, really make Long Beach a great event."

L.A. Times: No date change for Long Beach race

Silly Season stuff
With the unification comes lots of announcements
Among them ...
Sarah Fisher Racing to run a part-time schedule
Indy, Texas, Chicago and Kentucky are likely on the docket for the new driver-owner's team. She will use car No. 67, which was her number in USAC Midgets.

Panther has a new sponsor
The National Guard joins Delphi as the primary sponsor of Vitor Meira's car.

Milka Duno is back running part-time for D&R. Buddy Rice was also spotted at the test today (on the front page of IndyCar.com).

Cavin's story lists other potential teams: Alex Lloyd in a possible third Vision car, Buddy Rice in D&R's primary car and the aforementioned CCWS teams moving over.

Development series
Cavin's blog and the press conference transcript both mention the Formula Atlantic Series will continue going, run 12 races this season, and needs a new sanctioning body to hook up with. The IPS is, obviously, the IRL's top developmental series.

Feb. 26 newsstand: Y'all come?

2008-02-26T20:35:00.004-05:00

As of 12:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, open-wheel racing will be unified and we'll know some of how the loose ends tied together.

The announcement will be televised at SpeedTV and IndyCar.com

Some updates ...
Indy Star: All 9 CC teams at IRL orientation

Says Brian Barnhart: "That's absolutely a good sign. This was just an information meeting, but the interest is clearly high."

IndyCar.com: The IRL will help the migrating CC teams
IndyCar teams are pairing with CC teams to help them with technical assistance (but not race strategy). Interestingly, NHL is being paired with RLR, so Graham & Bobby will be together again.

IndyCar.com: Test at Homestead begins busy period

AP: Open-wheel merger faces time crunch
Says Derrick Walker: "It'll be long and tedious and expensive and a lot of work. But everybody on both sides of the aisle are 100 percent behind the merger."

Driver/team news
3 new CC teams are official
Conquest, Newman-Haas-Lanigan and Walker Racing have officially filed paperwork to join the league. More are expected.

AJIV, Carpenter confirmed at Vision
Says AJIV: "Last season was really good for me in that I was able to prove to myself that I can be successful in these cars. After a taste of what the team and I can do together, I am excited about getting back out there this season and working together to be even better."

Panther to unveil new livery at 1:30

Possible others?
Cavin says in this story that D&R plans to field two cars (one is fielded by Milka Duno part-time), Alex Lloyd could drive a "proposed" third Vision car (although he wasn't part of today's Vision announcement) and Sarah Fisher & Tomas Scheckter are confirmed for part-time drives. Scheckter's has been announced (Kansas, Infineon & Indy for Luczo Dragon), while Fisher's has not yet been announced.

Perspectives & commentary
From Vitor Meira: IndyCar's edge won't last
Says Vitor: "As a driver, team and competitor, you want to have the best field, and the best quality of drivers around you … NASCAR has been growing and growing all the time, and with the unification it’s our turn (to grow). Everyone is looking at IndyCar now.”

Jeff Olson: Open-wheel fantasy
Says Olson: "What we have in 2008 is almost exactly what we had in 1995. The only differences are a new leader, naturally aspirated engines and more ovals. Oh, yeah, lest we forget: We also have a much smaller audience," before he goes into a history of the split.

David Phillips: At least one good answer
Says DP: "At a family gathering my niece introduced me to her new boyfriend, saying 'Uncle David writes about . . . which is it? I can never tell the difference between Indy Cars and Champ Cars.' I started to go into my well-practiced spiel about the split between Champ Car vs. IRL, then checked myself, broke into a grin and said, 'Hold on. There is no difference. Not anymore.'"

Florida Today: IRL debates difficult turns

Enid (OK) News: Ugliest feud in sports is over

Local markets
In Edmonton: Will IRL make a pit stop in Edmonton?
The Edmonton race will be addressed in the news conference.

Infineon: At 40, it's never looked better
Says ex-track publicist & NASCAR exec Ken Clapp: "It's a really good thing for track operators. This country needs to have a strong IndyCar presence, as it did years ago. NASCAR is very supportive of this move in that direction."

Merger goes Infineon's way
Says Infineon president Steve Page: "It can only be positive. We had a promotion (for the Aug. 22-24 weekend) when the news came out. We sent out an e-mail blast with a special offer, and our phones lit up."

Silly season update: Feb. 25

2008-02-25T20:48:00.002-05:00

Lots of movement today, so we update

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL returnees (16 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (1-2): 15-TBA, although Buddy Rice is the likely entry; 23-Milka Duno (she will be part-time. No word on whether the car is part-time or not).
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon.
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 24-Jay Howard, 25-Marty Roth
Vision (2): 2-A.J. Foyt IV, 20-Ed Carpenter
Champ Car teams (11 full-time cars)
Conquest (2): Franck Perera, TBA (Simon Pagenaud?)
Forsythe (2): Paul Tracy, TBA (Franck Montagny?)
Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal
Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez?
PKV (2): Alex Tagliani?, Oriol Servia
Walker (1): Will Power?
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 7)
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Mario Dominguez?
Coyne (1): Bruno Junqueira?
Minardi USA (1): Robert Doornboos?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together, but at this late date, appears likely to be Indy-only or part-time)
Ganassi (1): Alex Lloyd (may be farmed out to another team)
Luczo Dragon (1): Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
Rubicon (1): Max Papis?
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Greg Beck (1)
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)

Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009.
We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Road America (track rental, but they seem to be interested in having another event), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Feb. 25 newsstand: Looking forward

2008-02-25T20:13:00.002-05:00

The transition begins
AP: IndyCars begin transition with Champ Car
Says Derrick Walker: "It'll be long and tedious and expensive and a lot of work to put it all together."
Says Brian Barnhart: "We've assigned an existing IndyCar team as the point relation to a potential Champ Car team that is joining, and they're going to be the liaison with regards to chassis builds, to cornering loads, gear ratios, baseline setups, to try and help facilitate the transition of equipment as easily as possible."

Drivers expected to move:
*-NHL with Rahal & Wilson
*-PKV with Servia
*-Paul Tracy (Forsythe), Bruno Junqueira, Alex Tagliani, Robert Dornboos, Will Power (Walker), Simon Pagenaud.

Indy Star: IRL gets orientation process moving
A meeting today was held in Indy to orient CC teams to the IRL.
Expected teams: NHL (2), PKV (2), Forsythe (2), Conquest (2). Walker & Minardi (1 each). PCM has expressed interest, but wasn't at the meeting.
*-Tests for CC teams will be March 19-20 at Sebring and March 24-25 at Homestead.

USA Today: Merger likely to feel bumps
Says Tony George: "Really, everything may not come together until Indy. Once we start the season, I think we will be able to answer some questions. But it may not be until May before things start to feel right."

Indy Star: Merger is only 1st step forward
Curt Cavin also gives an update in AutoWeek
Honda welcomes unification

Cars & drivers
Today was a big day for car/driver combos to be confirmed
Conquest Racing plans to run Franck Perera and a TBA driver.
RHR is back at RLR. No mention made of a second RLR car to replace Sharp.
Derrick Walker: Costs could be a concern
Milka Duno will run a limited schedule for D&R. No word on who will be in the primary car.
Meanwhile, the returning IRL teams are running at Homestead this week. The entry list is here
The big news ... A.J. Foyt IV is in with Vision (he was dropped from the driver list on the team website) as Ed Carpenter's teammate.
15 cars will be there: AGR-4, Ganassi-2, Penske-2, Roth-2, Vision-2, Foyt-1, Panther-1, RLR-1. 2008 teams missing are Dreyer & Reinbold (which has at least one car competing in 2008) and Samax (who we haven't heard anything from).

A lot of this is also rounded up in the official IRL news & notes, as well as a course change at Infineon.

Local markets & races
Australia leaders headed to U.S.
We'll find out more about the Surfer's Paradise race.

Long Beach: Still some wrinkles in plan

Miller Motorsports Park in the future?
The Utah track was apparently talking to both the IRL & CC before the unification. It's at the end of a long story about potential NASCAR future dates (but it's a pretty good update on ISC's plans).

Commentaries
AutoWeek: Eleven things to watch for
Curt Cavin & Steven Cole Smith give a primer on the season.

Detroit Free Press: IRL must promote drivers to succeed
Mike Brundell is one of the top open-wheel writers in the country. Says Mike: "Drivers will be the key, however, and the new series must promote personalities and rivalries.With young Graham Rahal, son of Bobby, coming across from Champ Car, we will have another Rahal-Andretti showdown, with Marco Andretti. Helio Castroneves is now hotter than ever after his "Dancing with the Stars" victory, and Danica Patrick spiced things up with her Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue appearance. She will go up against another female driver, Katherine Legge of England, this season. (OK, maybe not). Champ Car's Paul Tracy, who lost a controversial finish to Castroneves in the 2002 Indy 500, will get another crack at the race and Helio. Australians Will Power and Ryan Briscoe are great talents."

ESPN: Celebrate, then get to work
John Oreovicz looks ahead at the long road to fixing this: "First, try to put aside any resentment that might still be lingering from the split and its aftermath. This is a time to celebrate. For the good of the sport, unification is something that needed to happen a long time ago. Then we roll up our sleeves. As difficult and protracted as the process to merge the sport was, the hard work is just beginning."

Autosport: A long road to success

Yahoo!: Open-wheel merger to rival NASCAR?
Says writer Bob Margolis: "As for whether anyone will care about the newly amalgamated series, I bet American race fans will be more interested at present about how Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart rebound from their disappointments in Sunday's Daytona 500."

Circle Track: Open wheel thoughts
Says the writer from America's favorite short-track magazine: "Funny, it took these guys almost a decade to wake up and smell the coffee. Hopefully they understand that it will take another decade to repair the damage they have done to Indy Car racing."

Dutch Mandel: Reunited
The AutoWeek writer is begging us to beg him back into the IndyCar fold, after a scathing column last week.

Edmonton: Race schedule one of many details
This race is likely to be on the schedule, but its planned date is already taken. This looks at the schedule that may come out, and what tracks might be dropped (from a Canadian perspective, of course)

Galveston County Daily News: Open-wheel racing gets back its heart & soul
One minor error that must be pointed out: "The other concession was, apparently, the furnishing of a free car to each team in Champ Car to move to the IRL, which will be called, the IRL-Champ Car series." Uh, no, it will be called the IRL IndyCar Series, like it always has.

This is laughable ... but Champ Car Fanatics lives at the Long Beach Press-Telegram
Says writer Bob Keisser: "The Terminator of Indy Cars found and disposed of Sarah and John Connor. The Milosevic of the ovals won the Balkans War. The Lord Moldevort of a once-thriving sport killed Harry Potter."

Silly Season update: Feb. 23

2008-02-23T10:15:00.002-05:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL returnees (16 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (1): 15-TBA, although Buddy Rice is the likely entry
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon.
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
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, 22-A.J. Foyt IV?
Champ Car teams (9 full-time cars)
Conquest (2): Franck Perera/Simon Pagenaud?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal
Pacific Coast (2): Alex Figge, David Martinez?
PKV (2): Alex Tagliani?, Oriol Servia?
Walker (1): Will Power?
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 7)
D&R (1): Second car
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Mario Dominguez?
Coyne (1): Bruno Junqueira?
Forsythe (2): Paul Tracy, Franck Montagny?
Minardi USA (1): Robert Doornboos?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together, but at this late date, appears likely to be Indy-only or part-time)
Ganassi (1): Alex Lloyd (may be farmed out to another team)
Luczo Dragon (1): Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
Rubicon (1): Max Papis?
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM Racing (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Greg Beck (1)
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)

Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
Michigan International Speedway has mentioned they'd be interested in a return for 2009.
We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves.
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street/airport events in Houston and Cleveland. Lanigan is hoping to get one or both races on the 2009 schedule.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday. With unification, it's unlikely to happen.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Road America (track rental, but they seem to be interested in having another event), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Feb. 23 newsstand: Reaction to the marriage

2008-02-23T08:16:00.004-05:00

Lots of reaction ... we try to get it all in one place.

Indianapolis Star: U.S. open-wheel racing will have one series
Says Tony George: "There are a lot of people trying to tie all the loose ends together."
Says Kevin Kalkhoven:"Look, neither side was succeeding and nobody was winning. It was a tough, emotional, gut-wrenching decision, but somebody had to put their ego aside and do this," he said. "I'm also proud of Tony for extending the olive branch to Gerry (Forsythe)."
Just Marketing's Zak Brown promises a title sponsor for 2009, from a "blue chip" company.
*-NHL is expected to bring its two cars.
*-PKV is expected to bring two cars, according to KK.
*-Forsythe is planning to race somewhere this year, but its team GM didn't say where.
*-Conquest is expected to bring two cars if Surfer's Paradise stays on the schedule.
*-Walker will run one car if it can find a sponsor.

Indy Star: Questions to be answered

The reaction was positive
... but Paul Tracy isn't sure what to do: "As of right now, I don't know if I'm competing. The team has given us no indication we're going to the IRL. It's a great thing and I hope I can be a part of it."
Says Mario Andretti: “I think we can finally begin to move forward. I'm no longer going to have to do interviews where the first question I get asked is, 'Why is this thing broken?' It's not going to be easy, but we finally have something to look forward to.”
Says Jimmy Vasser: "The guys on the IRL side went beyond fair. It would have been easy for either side to back out, but this time they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.“

The big sticking point was Long Beach, which might be run as the Champ Car swan song
Says LBGP's Jim Michaelian: "It came from very authoritative sources that we will be hosting the one and only, and in fact, the final Champ Car race for 2008, which we are prepared to do. And we are delighted that the series are now united."

IndyCar.com also has a story and reaction
*-None of the new teams are expected to be at the Homestead test, but several are expected to particpate at the Sebring test in two weeks.

Nothing about this is posted anywhere at Champ Car's website

Other stories
Speed TV: They've buried the hatchet
Says Tony George: “I’m happy for open-wheel racing, its fans, sponsors and teams. Everyone has wanted this for a long time and they deserve it. I had about 100 emails when I landed, so obviously a lot of people are excited. There’s no reason for anybody to gloat or to feel down because, in the end, we’ve all come together.”

Sports illustrated: Sunny forecast
Says Tony George: "We just made it to the starting line, we didn't cross the finish line. It is the beginning, now all the hard work starts. There is a lot of opportunity. We won't realize everything all at once by simply announcing this. But I know that everybody has been awaiting this day for a long time."

The Sacramento Bee has a lot of reaction from Californians involved in IndyCar, both past and present
Says Scott Pruett: "It was long, long, long overdue – by about 10 years. It's basically going to take us back to the mid-1990s when everybody stood together. There's going to be some growing pains, but it's a great way to start the new year."

St. Petersburg Times: Deal finalized
Says St. Pete resident Dan Wheldon: "It's great. As a competitor, you want to know that all of the best in the world are in one place."

Los Angeles Times
Says Chip Ganassi: "This is a very good day for American open-wheel racing. We have a lot of work to do, but I can tell you that I am thrilled to get working."

Orlando Sentinel
Says Bobby Rahal: "This is a great day for open-wheel racing, and one that I and my Rahal Letterman Racing team have looked forward to for a long time. I applaud all of those that made this possible but want to especially recognize all of those that made sacrifices and concessions to secure the future of open-wheel racing. I truly believe that this is the first step toward restoring open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500 to not only where it once was, but beyond."

New York Times
Says Chip Ganassi: "Praise the Lord if that’s the truth."

Local market reactions
Edmonton Sun: Deal done, work starts
Says the Edmonton GP's Jim Haskins: "We believe that Edmonton is an exceptional venue and believe that the IRL will want to be part of an event in Edmonton. We welcome the opportunity to partner with the unified circuit under the IRL, just as we did with Champ Car."

Milwaukee is likely on; Road America is off, but is hoping to return
Says Road America president George Bruggenthies: "I'm prepared for a little bit of pain this year to ultimately host the next generation of open-wheel racing that would be better than what we have today."
Says Milwaukee leader Craig Stoehr: "Already this week - this probably had to do with people keeping abreast of the discussions - we've had quite an uptick in calls about our IndyCar weekend. This adds a lot now with only one open-wheel series. It brings fans together and makes a more interesting event with a stronger group of teams and drivers."

Edmonton Sun: It's a done deal
Edmonton's date will likely have to move to July 27 or Aug. 3 to work. Columnist Terry Jones says this might be an issue: "The (July 20) race date allows fans to attend the final weekend of the Calgary Stampede, visit the Canadian Rockies, head to Edmonton for the event and for the Ex. It wouldn't be the end of the world to have it on the following weekend. But the other open date, the first weekend of August, would be brutal because it's a long weekend in Canada and is only days before the start of the Beijing Olympics."

Dropped tracks & future tracks
San Diego Union-Tribune
The author looks ahead to future races: "The combined series could also bid to add two oval races for 2009 – possibly at Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) in Fontana and Michigan International Speedway – to re-form the sport's once-popular Triple Crown with the Indianapolis 500."

Michigan open to IndyCar return
Says MIS' Roger Curtis: "Though we are focused on our NASCAR events for this season, we are always looking for viable business options for the future at Michigan International Speedway and the state of Michigan. We would certainly talk to any race sanctioning body that is interested in us hosting an event at our speedway if the date and racing series are viable business options for us."

Lots of stuff from Toronto
First, a main story, with quotes from Toronto GP leader Charlie Johnstone
Says Johnstone: "I've been told not to give up on 2008. We are looking at some flexibility to move our date up or back. We will hear from Exhibition Place early next week and try to see what's possible. But at the end of the day, this is great for open-wheel racing. Our marketing campaign will now have Andretti, Rahal, Tracy, Penske and other great names."

Meanwhile, the loss of its race could cost Toronto $50 million CDN
Says Toronto deputy mayor Steve Patalone: "It would be a hit if we lost the race, but not a fatal hit. It would mean less tourism and less international exposure for the city. People see the city's skyline and the CN Tower and the waterfront on TV and it makes Toronto look pretty good."

This commentary from the Toronto Star's Roger Woolsey says the unification "sideswipes" local race fans
Says Woolsey: "For the past two decades the race week was, in its way, the biggest and best annual sporting event on the Toronto calendar. Now it's gone, at least temporarily, at least for this season, the drive-by victim of warring millionaire racing moguls. That it should be so well supported by the public and so shoddily thrown aside by the screwed-up sport is a shame. Exactly who is to blame? Hard to say – bring in the clowns and the forensic accountants, someone check the oil."

Surfer's Paradise: Gold coast will return to Indy

Cleveland, Houston aiming for 2009
Mike Lanigan's two races aren't on the docket for 2008.
Says Lanigan, co-owner of the top migrating Champ Car team: "However, I had a very encouraging conversation with Tony George today and we are excited about the prospect of bringing this new series to Cleveland in 2009."

Cleveland: Indy cars won't race at Burke this year
My favorite CC race, too ...
Says Mike Lanigan: "I'm happy for the unification. The problem is when you have 30 races there are going to be some casualties. Unfortunately, we're part of the carnage."
Interesting quote from ML: "Tony told me a lot more than the (Champ Car owners) did. He called me to make sure I understood about the conflicts, and said we would be sure to talk in the near future."

Laguna Seca loses race in merger
However, the Bay Area will still get the IndyCars at Infineon. Says Infineon leader Steve Page: "We're still waiting to learn all the details of the agreement, but certainly we're looking forward to a full grid of drivers and teams, with the chance to see all of the top stars like Paul Tracy, Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick squaring off on our road course."

Portland losing its Champ Car race
Of course, this almost happened the last couple of years, too.
Says the IRL's Fred Nation: "We haven't finalized the adjusted schedule for 2008 yet. It's highly unlikely that Portland will be on that schedule. But for 2009, our intention is to use a clean sheet of paper, evaluate all of the current Champ Car races and put the best schedule together we can. . . . We will consider geographical distribution, financial responsibility, sponsorship and fan interest."

Meanwhile, John Oreovicz takes a stab at a dream 2009 schedule
The summary of a 20-race schedule with 10 ovals and 10 roadies
2008 tracks dropped: Homestead, Watkins Glen, Iowa, Nashville, Infineon, Surfers' Paradise
Non-2008 tracks added: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Mexico City, Portland, Cleveland, Toronto, Road America

Who's coming
While it appeared Pacific Coast Motorsports was initially going to go to the sports car world, now it is talking about bringing its team to the IRL.
Alex Figge will be one of the drivers. Ryan Dalziel, David Martinez and Mario Dominguez have driven the other car, with Martinez recently testing it.
Says PCM's Tyler Tadevic: "We are thrilled to have a unified series, without a doubt this. provides the strongest platform for our partners going forward It is our intention for Pacific Coast Motorsports to continue its open-wheel endeavours. Our goal is to be on the IRL grid at the GAINSCO Grand Prix in Miami with two IndyCars. We are working diligently on this programme and welcome all opportunities."
Might want to tell Tadevic that the Homestead race is not a "grand prix," though.

Reaction & commentary
Crash.net has a summary of statements from teams & other personnel

Dallas Morning News: Deal good for all in open-wheel racing
Says Richard Durrett: "The leagues can work together as one, unified front to grow interest in open-wheel racing again. I know this: It will be fun to see one series racing at the Indy 500 in May and, a few weeks later, at Texas Motor Speedway."

Oreovicz: So, what now?
Says Oreo: "First, try to put aside any resentment that might still be lingering from the split and its aftermath. This is a time to celebrate. For the good of the sport, unification is something that needed to happen a long time ago. Then we roll up our sleeves. As difficult and protracted as the process to merge the sport was, the hard work is now just beginning."

ESPN: Did 12-year split cause irreparable damage?
Says writer Ryan McGee: "A decade ago, the idea of such a meeting would have created international headlines. The world's biggest race, the Indianapolis 500, would have been celebrated for finally shelving the egos, restoring the glory, and returning to its rightful place atop the racing world. America's best and brightest young stars would once again go to bed at night dreaming of their profile soldered to the side of the Borg-Warner Trophy. But on this night, the news was met with one stinging reaction. So what?"

Robin Miller: The only way forward
Says RM: "Get that nice mix of ovals, street circuits and road courses that made CART big in the ’90s and then promote the hell out of the young Americans. Maybe go back to Michigan and Fontana and have a Triple Crown, but get off the cookie-cutter NASCAR tracks because they don’t draw. Find a place for Cleveland and Elkhart Lake."

Racer's David Malsher: Starting over
Says the author: "Maybe the Indy car racing will never quite recover the glory in which it reveled in the mid-1990s. But maybe it will - and at least now it’s a possibility, and one worth striving for. As the saying goes, it’s never too late to do the right thing."

Aussie Craig Gore applauds the merger
Says Gore: "Not only will we get to see a couple of young Australians of the calibre of Will Power and Ryan Briscoe going head to head on the streets of Surfers Paradise, we also get the chance to win the Indy 500."
Says Will Power: "Having one series will put all the best open-wheel drivers in the United States in one series and it's going to be a really tough and exciting file."

Yahoo: On the right road
Says writer Jonathan Baum: "We all know NASCAR is king. We all know drag racing, sports cars, bikes, etc., have challenged and/or surpassed – deservedly or not – open wheel in terms of prominence in the American racing world. It would be naive to believe that a merger will erase all that. But it’s a start."

Quad City Times: Open-wheel boost? Too late
Says writer Nate Bloomquist: "Merger? Hardly. This was Tony George’s boat, the IndyCar Series, taking on less water than Champ Car. And the only reason the IRL was floating was because of the Indy 500. Unless Danica Patrick wins a race wearing only her swimsuit, the whole works will sink, too."

Canadian Press: IndyCar owners realize what everybody else knew
Says the author: "Indeed, IndyCar racing will essentially be starting from scratch. There are obvious technical and logistical hurdles to work out, but those will be minor compared to the big-picture barriers. IndyCar racing will have to win back its old fans and make new ones, groom new drivers, and prove to sponsors that a single open-wheel series can still be relevant in the age of NASCAR dominance."

The suburban Chicago Daily Herald says it's too late for this fan
Says writer Mike Spellman: "Name the top five drivers in the new combined series. I couldn't either, now that the open-wheel ranks are missing former Indy 500 champs such as Sam Hornish Jr., Dario Franchitti, Juan Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve, all of whom have jumped to NASCAR. That leaves the likes of Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy and Danica Patrick for open-wheel fans to root for. Woo frickin' hoo."

You have to scroll down, but former IndyCar driver John Andretti is pleased, and says NASCAR provides a model for the IRL to follow.
"You want to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, all of them go head-to-head every week. You don't want to see them once a year or at the end of the season. That's the difference."

Edmonton Sun: Finally, we all get back together
Says Crash Cameron: "Done deal? If it is, it's a great thing for open-wheel racing. Just what the doctor ordered. Just don't mistake it for a cure."

What about Frankie (or would that be Malcolm)?
... asks the Palm Beach Post about Atlantic driver Frankie Muniz

Other stuff
What kind of tires?
OK, we know who will supply them, and what they'll be like. But will they be badged Bridgestones or Firestones?

IPS news
Logan Gomez lost his ride with SSM, but will join Guthrie Motorsports
Gomez was replaced at SSM by 54-year-old Jim Brownson.

It's official

2008-02-22T16:16:00.011-05:00

IndyCar is announcing the unification on its website.

The 12-year war is over!

KK left Indy at 11:41 a.m. today, apparently headed for California. However, the deal still needed to be signed by Gerry Forsythe in Chicago. Once GF signed the agreement, the deal was done.

A news conference is forthcoming.

TG is now saying it is done
It's likely the announcement will be next week, possibly at the Homestead test.
Says TG: “We want to have as positive of a press conference as possible when we do have one. We don’t want to have questions without answers.”

IRL VP of Public Relations John Griffin tells Cavin to stay close to his phone, and then the call comes to tell him "we are unified."

Nothing yet listed on Champ Car's site.

This Associated Press story says TG flew to Chicago to get Forsythe's John Hancock on the deal.

A.J. Foyt is happy with unification

Feb. 22 newsstand: UPDATE -- It's imminent

2008-02-22T15:56:00.005-05:00

UPDATE: Cavin's blog says KK says an announcement is imminent, as of 3:55 p.m. EST Friday.

OK ... KK & TG met last night, and apparently, did so again this morning. No deal has been reached, no announcement has been made. In fact, the tentatively scheduled press conference for today has been pushed back.

The series have released a joint statement:
“The ongoing talks between the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series will continue into at least Friday in regards to the unification of open-wheel racing. Any confirmation of unification will be made once an agreement is in place. There are no plans for a news conference at this time. Much progress has been made toward unifying the sport”

(this may also be a case of good timing. Today, Indiana University is making a decision on Kelvin Sampson's future and presidential hopeful John McCain was in Indy. The IRL-CC unification would've been buried in the news. Announce it at Homestead next week, and it'll be front-page news on sports pages).

However, things are still on track, according to Curt Cavin's story

TG is quoted as being "anxious" that a deal isn't done.
Says TG: "We're still working just because he's not here."

TG tells the AP in this ESPN story that things are still moving forward.
"I see tremendous commitment being displayed by everyone involved in trying to put this together. It would be a mistake to asume that because we are not always all together that we are not still working hard to get this to the starting line."

Other stories
The Sports Network
Speed TV
Detroit Free Press
Associated Press

Commentaries
The Orlando Sentinel catches up with Sam & Smoke and get their opinion on the unification.
Says Sam: "It's a confusing thing for new fans. They don't understand what the differences are. ... It's not easy to follow. Having one series that you can turn on and see the same drivers, same teams without all the difference between Champ Car and IndyCar will boost them forward. But for al that went wrong over the last 10 years, it's going to take time. It's not going to be something that happens in a year or two years."

Eurosport: Why is this happening now?
Says the author: "Champ Car has become a questionably viable racing series that essentially no one in North America cares about. It features a field of drivers that may be quite talented in their own right, but no one in North America cares about them, either."

Danica: No dancing for me
One IndyCar driver who won't be following in Helio Castroneves' footsteps is Danica Patrick.

Feb. 21 update: Meeting tonight

2008-02-21T17:25:00.003-05:00

According to the Indy Star, Friday could be "unification day"
*-Potential press conference at 11:45 a.m. Friday.
*-Edmonton date could change to July 27 (opposite the Brickyard) or Aug. 3, both of which are open.
*-Surfer's Paradise is Oct. 26, although an exemption would have to come from Chicago or it would have to be a non-points race.
*-Possibly, LB & Motegi will be held the same weekend.
Says Danica: "I'm probably speaking for many people when we say it's about time. You know, it's been a tough process for everybody; it's been disappointing for a lot of people."

An update comes from the AP
Not much new, but an evening update with KK having arrived in town to meet with TG.

Driver news
Florida Today says Danica is hungry for a victory
Says Danica: "I just want to get it done ... I feel like there's times when I came close, there's times when I've been maybe more preoccupied being a team player and I think I really feel it's time (to win)."

It's possible Simon Pagenaud will go to the European LeMans Series
Pagenaud raced for Walker Racing last year.

Feb. 21 newsstand: News & reaction

2008-02-21T15:20:00.005-05:00

Signs, signs ...
IndyCar.com has slowly been adding CC drivers to the stats page. Will Power, Justin Wilson & Graham Rahal are listed in the IndyCar drivers A-to-Z page as of mid-afternoon Thursday.

First, the news
The AP says the deal is closer
Fred Nation says there are four issues to be hammered out.
Says CC's David Higdon: "We're closer than we've ever been. Many of us remain hopeful that it will be completed today and we will be talking about a unified open wheel series tomorrow."

Cavin's blog says KK is expected to arrive in town at 5 p.m. and hammer things out in an after-dinner meeting with TG.

Speed TV's Robin Miller notes some of the issues in the final settlement
One of the biggest is the potential of overlapping the Motegi/Long Beach weekend. The old IRL teams might run Motegi in Dallaras, while the old CC teams will run Long Beach in Panozes, with both paying IRL points. Motegi can't move due to FIA regulations (due to the Suzuka race), and the LBGP date is locked in.
Says Derrick Walker: "This is why it would be nice if the people in charge would have little discussions with the people who have to live with these decisions. I mean, it’s a nice way to say goodbye to the cars and to Champ Car, but I think somebody is going to have to place some big money on the table.”

USA Today echoes much of the same things, saying TG & KK are meeting this afternoon.

Indy Star: IRL, CCWS execs plan to meet
This came early in the day, but it catches up on the news to date.
Says TG: "It's just grinding out the details."

But Paul Tracy says things might be on hold
PT says his trip to Indy to be fitted for a Dallara seat has been canceled.
Says the 2002 Indy runner-up: "I don't know what the hell is going on. It seems to change from hour to hour. You hear from one person that a merger is done and the next person tells you it's not."

Local market perspectives
From Long Beach: Merger would get everybody revved up
Says the LBGP's Jim Michaelian: "No doubt a merger would bring to us clarity and an end to the confusion. I'm very supportive of it, and no doubt down the road we're all going to benefit from it."

From Edmonton: Merger would end confusion in the marketplace
Says Edmonton GP president Jim Haskins: "If there is a merger and you can combine those teams, because they're still around, Penske, the Ganassi, with the Newman-Haas-Lanigans of the world, and PKV and Forsythe ... and then you have the well-known Champ Car drivers and the IRL drivers ... you're now back in the position you were in 1993-94. You have a lot of star power, you have a 25-plus car grid and the more cars you have on the track, the more racing the fans are going to see, more passing, more bumping, more excitement."

From Toronto: GP faces fallout from merger
This story states Toronto & Mexico City are slated to be added to the schedule in 2009.
Says Toronto GP CEO Charlie Johnstone: "I have trouble understanding that if you want to rebuild a series, under whatever banner, you can't give up on the fifth largest market in North America. Especially one with a strong racing background."

Commentaries & remarks
Edmonton Journal: Unified race groups have a chance
Says writer John MacKinnon: "A unified IRL could better market the tradition embodied in young racers Marco Andretti and A.J. Foyt IV, and develop a coherent vision that was impossible with the two series duking it out for the same demographic."

Elmira Star-Gazette: Unification long overdue
Says columnist Ron Levanduski: "All of this will take time to build back up, if it ever does. It wasn't going to happen, however, without a unified series. The likely merger will be a step in the right direction. However, with the Indy Racing League assuming control of open-wheel racing, many Champ Car fans still won't be satisfied because they will view this as more of a takeover than a merger.

AutoWeek's Dutch Mandel asks what reunification means, and should we care?
Says Dutch: "What does it all mean? Fans now can cheer for one open-wheel series in America; they won't have to try to explain to their casual-observer friends the differences between the cars. Perhaps even the talent pool for drivers will get better, which happens with increased competition. But will it mean that I will drop everything I've been doing for the past decade-plus to rush back to a grandstand seat? Sadly, I don't think so."

The New York Times asks "Can two wrongs make a successful series?"

You have to scroll down, but former IndyCar Series champ Tony Stewart gives his take on unification
Says Smoke: "If it goes back to the way it was, where a driver has to bring a sponsor to get a ride, then it doesn’t do any good. It seems like the IRL is kind of getting to that stage anyway, and if that’s the case, that’s not what the IRL was designed for. What it does is make somebody like me lucky, like hitting the lottery-type lucky ... If it’s going to make the racing better, than it is what it is. For me, the first thing is young American drivers getting the opportunity to race in the Indy 500. And if that’s not going to happen, then it’ll at least add to the quality of the show."

Honda's plans
Check them out in this press release, outlining Honda's motorsports strategy for 2008

Driver news
The Terre Haute Trib-Star catches up with Danica

Feb. 21 newsstand: It's over ... officially, Friday

2008-02-20T22:05:00.003-05:00

A little bit of news today ... the 13-year war is over.

Announcement at 11 a.m. Friday, according to this story. It would be Thursday, but KK won't be in town yet.

The Associated Press says it's in the hands of the lawyers
Says Fred Nation: "It is still not done, but still moving. The lawyers are still lawyering and we are still trading drafts and whittling away at the issues. We're optimistic the issues can be resolved."

Says Conquest's Eric Bachelart, who is planning to enter two cars: "I believe it would be a stronger series again with a lot of solid events. What the IRL has is a good package, with the Indianapolis 500 and some other things that will help attract sponsors. There will be lots of cars, lots of teams. A good show."

*-The 2008 schedule will likely include LB, Edmonton and Surfer's.
*-The 2009 schedule will be a "clean sheet."
*-NHL, PKV, Forsythe, Coyne, Walker & Conquest are likely to make the jump. NHL, Forsythe and Conquest are expected to enter two cars each, which would bring at least 9 new cars to the IRL.

Bruce Martin notes the presser time and a few other details
Among the details is that the IRL will purchase CC's "intellectual property," including its record book. Martin also expects Mexico City's race to be melded into the IRL.

Of course, this means the Champ Car Panoz machines are reduced to show cars
Says Pacific Coast Motorsports' Tyler Tadevic: "You need a show car? Because if this does happen, mine is going to be nothing more than an expensive paper weight. I don't care how much money you have, that is a big hit to take."
Tadevic adds: "They are calling it a merger, but I don't call it that because the only ones getting anything out of he deal are the IRL teams."
The IRL is trying to get CC teams as much oval track time as possible before Homestead, according to John Griffin: "Being forward thinking, we've have contacted different tracks to reserve additional testing dates."

David Phillips takes a look at the teams who will have to adjust to a new car and a new series
Says TCGR's Mike Hull: “The Champ Car teams that are gonna be in the Indy Car Series are all quality, competent people. They know how to make things happen – away from the racetrack first, and then at the racetrack itself.

The Indy Star quotes Kevin Kalkhoven
Says KK: "We're (down to) just grinding out the details. You know what happens when you get attorneys involved."

Cavin also has a bunch of info on his daily blog
*-There is a date conflict between Edmonton & Mid-Ohio. Edmonton will likely be moving.
*-Cavin is guessing 7 CC cars make the migration. Paul Gentilozzi says the only two definites are Conquest Racing's two machines.
*-Long Beach & Motegi might be run the same weekend, as sort of a farewell for the CC teams.

The Long Beach Grand Prix is definitely on
Says LBGP president Jim Michelian: "I will say that we are excited about the prospects of any merger because it would bring clarity to open-wheel racing in America."

But the Portland and Cleveland races are likely off. Cleveland race officials will petition to keep the race on the 2008 circuit, but that is unlikely to happen.

Other news
Danica Patrick had a presser today. The transcript is here .
Says DP: "This is the most excited I've been going into a season, most comfortable I've felt. This year I feel like excitement is sort of maybe number one to nervousness. Where normally every other year I was more nervous than anything. So I'm really excited about it I feel confident as a driver. I feel like I've really come into my own and feel like I'm able to really push those limits to where I need to be. And I'm just really excited.”

Former driver news
One former driver is unemployed, but apparently not sniffing around a merged IndyCar Series. Instead, Jacques Villeneuve is going to look for another Sprint Cup ride, and has Barry Green helping him. JV does plan to race at LeMans this summer.

Sam Hornish Jr. is proud to play a part in Penske's 1-2 finish at Daytona
Says Sam: "As a kid I can remember waiting for two races every year: the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. I would've never imagined that I would be a driver in both of those prestigious events. ... To be part of Penske Racing's first Daytona 500 victory, no matter how small my role, meant so much to me."

Commentaries
A point-counterpoint in Michigan today.
Grand Rapids' Steve Kaminski says the Indy 500 is still a great draw
Says Steve: "It's going to take years to repair the damage, that's for sure. But at least the two parties have finally taken a step in the right direction. If there was going to be any hope for the sport, this step had to be taken. It is more than a public relations move. No longer will the already evaporating pool of drivers, sponsors and viewers be split. That's going to be the biggest thing. That will give open wheel racing at this level a chance grow again in the United States."

And, of course, someone from the brainwashed NASCAR masses has to tell the world that "nobody cares about open-wheel racing"
Of course, he spends most of his time blathering about how terrible Champ Car is (was) and translates that to all of open-wheel racing. And, to be honest, somebody cares. Approximately 250,000 nobodies buy tickets to a certain open-wheel race every May.

And finally
Our favorite CC syncophant reporter chimes in with some wishful thinking that the merger may be in the works for 2009
"We saw the health of Champ Car as viable or we would not have invested just one short year ago," said PCM's Tyler Tadevic. Tyler, dude, did you have blinders on?

Feb. 19 update: PM updates on unification

2008-02-19T21:24:00.002-05:00

A few updates in the PM
First, from the AP, discussions are heating up.
Fred Nation says the series principals are talking and IRL officials are optimistic a deal can be reached by Thursday. CCWS spokesperson David Higdon says talks are heating up.

SI's Bruce Martin says a resolution is close
*-TG is at the ACCUS meeting in Orlando today.
*-KK is at a family event in Britain and won't be back until Thursday.
Says IRL VP of Public Relations John Griffin: "Discussions are ongoing. There is still an agreement that needs to be completed."
*-Most of the new cars going to CC teams are from the Vision Racing stable. Larry Curry will help prepare them.
*-Curry says Vision Racing is planning to run two cars.
Says Larry Curry: "Once this announcement comes down, let's everyone focus on what needs to be done to make this series the best it could be. Let's make a single focus about where we need to take this thing for the future. That's the only way we are ultimately going to get to where we need to get."

Driver/personality/team news
Some IRL stuff in this interview with 2000 Indy winner Juan Montoya

AGR hires Paul Harcus as its team manager
Harcus has 30 years of experience in racing, and most recently worked with Kelley Racing and was CC's director of operations.

Danica Patrick is showing up at LaGuardia
Or at least cut-outs of her are.

Silly season update: Feb. 19

2008-02-19T16:08:00.004-05:00

The short version
Confirmed/likely IRL returnees (16 full-time cars)
AGR (4): 7-Danica Patrick, 11-Tony Kanaan, 26-Marco Andretti, 27-Hideki Mutoh
D&R (1): 15-TBA, although Buddy Rice is the likely entry
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2+1): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon.
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
Penske (2): 3-Helio Castroneves, 6-Ryan Briscoe
RLR (1): 17-Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roth (2): 25-Marty Roth, 76?-Jay Howard
Vision (1): 20-Ed Carpenter, 22-A.J. Foyt IV?
Champ Car teams (8-10 full-time cars)
Conquest (2): Franck Perera/Simon Pagenaud?
Forsythe (2): Paul Tracy, Franck Montagny?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2): Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal
PKV (1-2): Alex Tagliani?, Oriol Servia?
Walker (1): Will Power?
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 6)
D&R (1): Second car
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Mario Dominguez?
Sarah Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together, but at this late date, appears likely to be Indy-only)
Coyne (1): Bruno Junqueira?
Minardi USA (1): Robert Doornboos?
Part-time/Indy-only (listed in order of likelihood of happening)
Ganassi (1): Alex Lloyd (may be farmed out to another team)
Luczo Dragon (1): Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/Sonoma)
Rubicon (1): Max Papis?
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
PDM Racing (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year. Is attempting to secure sponsorship.
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Greg Beck (1)
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; Panther (1)-possibly John Andretti if no NASCAR conflicts.
Kingdom (1) (haven't heard anything from them)
D.B. Mann (1) (ditto)

Future teams
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.

Future races
The schedule will expand to 20+ races in 2009 most likely. Here are some candidates to be added to the docket.
We've had speculation on New Hampshire Motor Speedway returning to the IRL for 2009 if it loses a Cup date, coming from NHMS themselves.
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama hosted an IRL test in the fall and its owner expressed hope of hosting an IRL race someday.
The Detroit News has mentioned a potential return to Michigan International Speedway in 2009
Several reports out of Toronto have stated the city's street race at Exhibition Place is a potential go for 2009.
The Mexico City race has been mentioned as a possible addition for either 2008 or 2009
NHL co-owner Mike Lanigan promotes street events in Houston and Cleveland. The Houston event is too close to the Indy 500 (4/27), while Cleveland is too close to Mid-Ohio geographically. It's unlikely we'll ever see either race show up in the future. Too bad, too, because Cleveland was one of my favorite events every year.
Other North American CC races that are not in the proposed 2008 schedule, but were on the CC docket: Mont-Tremblant (a 50/50 shot for '09, perhaps), Portland (goner, almost didn't make it in '08), Road America (goner, track rental), Laguna Seca (track rental, could make a merged schedule if Infineon ever drops off the list).

Feb. 19 newsstand: It's imminent

2008-02-19T15:49:00.003-05:00

Unification is imminent ...

This broke late last night with this piece by Robin Miller on Speed.
Says TG: “While it is true that I continue to believe we at the threshold of something long-overdue, we have not yet stepped across it."
The details:
*-CC teams were told to expect delivery of their new Dallaras within a few days.
*-A presser could be tomorrow if KK returns from England by then.
*-Expect a minimum of 8 new cars on the grid: 2 from NHL (Rahal/Wilson), 2 from PKV, 2 from Forsythe, 1 each from Walker and Conquest -- both former IRL teams. Dale Coyne could put 1 car in the field, as could one of Minardi USA's partners. Rocketsports & Pacific Coast Motorsports are likely to look elsewhere -- PCM to ALMS.
*-LB, Edmonton and Australia would be the 3 races to carry over.

It was updated with this piece from Curt Cavin in the Indy Star
It heavily quotes Paul Gentilozzi saying not to expect too many cars from the CC series. His Rocketsports team won't be one making the transition.

Says PG: “I don’t know of a Champ Car team that is a go. (One owner) told me he’d run Indy, but he will not run the season.”
Details
*-CC owners have an agreement to vote on.
*-Brian Barnhart has been asked to find cars for CC teams. Ten Dallaras are owned by Vision Racing.
*-The IRL is arranging a second Homestead test for the CC teams that can't make next week's event.

But the Indianapolis Business Journal says the CC teams are trying to get ready to test next week.
*-This story says Mexico City is the third race -- along with LB and Australia -- that the IRL expects to incorporate into its schedule.

Other reports:
ESPN.com says the announcement is coming Thursday.
Melbourne (Australia) Herald-Sun. Quotes Will Power as saying "Whichever way you look at it, (the late start) is unfair for Champ Car drivers and teams but it must be done. It is better for everyone to merge."
Apparently, somebody is going to have to notify Laguna Seca that their date is off

Penske eyes Indy
Now that he's won Daytona, Roger Penske wants to do the Daytona-Indy double

Commentary: If it's over

2008-02-18T19:18:00.003-05:00

... some speculation on what I'd like to see happen for the long-term future of the sport.

As I noted recently, a lot of decisions on both sides of the OW war in the last 13 years have been made solely to gain the upper hand in the war -- e.g., the decision to shut Lola out from making a "common chassis" during the last cycle, the decision to allow engine leases in the IRL to bring Honda & Toyota over, the decision to boycott the initial Indy 500 to begin with.

If all of OW racing is going to be under one banner soon -- and if it doesn't happen in 2008, it will most certainly happen in 2009 -- the sport will need to be remade to cement its future.

A few things that absolutely have to happen:
*-With the new car coming in 2010, the price for a team to get in and field a team has to be lowered. The chassis can't be compromised at the expense of safety (which is causing it to be expensive in the first place), so lowering the price there will be difficult.

The one way to really lower a price to race? Get rid of engine leases. Allow teams to purchase, and then work on/rebuild, their own engines. This allows the smaller teams to have a fighting chance to stay in the game financially ... and, for example, an Indy-only team can enter several more races if they have miles left on the engine. In 1997, an engine cost in the neighborhood of $30,000. Even if you go through 10 in a year, the cost per season is still $300,000 (even adjusted for inflation, you're looking at maybe $500,000). A Honda engine lease is close to $900,000. Honda wants engine leases, we know ... and it's possible Cosworth might, as well. But there are several other engine builders out there who could bring diversity to the series and a lower cost to racing through selling engines. NASCAR has four manufacturers, none of which lease engines in any one of the three major series. IndyCar racing has gone from two, to three, to one manufacturer since the decision to allow engine leases, and has lost numerous teams (Kelley, Treadway, Hemelgarn, Menard ...).

*-Open things up to more chassis manufacturers. Invite Lola, Swift & Penske to design chassis within a basic framework, as well as Dallara & Panoz. Somebody might create another Riley & Scott, but having some diversity adds to the intrigue level.

*-With that, heavily regulate/limit dyno/wind tunnel testing by individual teams, to keep the wealthier teams (AGR/Penske/Ganassi/NHL) from being able to get an upper hand over the not-as-wealthy teams.

*-TV is vital. Understand that. Road racing translates *terribly* to TV. Street racing translates even worse to TV -- it's hard to get too excited about watching cars turn a corner at 30 mph in a concrete canyon. Get back to emphasizing ovals, with road races making up no more than one-third of the schedule. That, and American racing is oval racing. Leave road racing to IMSA/ALMS.

*-Eliminate ride-buyers. This is impossible (even NASCAR is getting them), but they're bad for the sport and keep legitimate drivers out of good rides.

*-Lengthen the schedule to 24 races -- starting in February (beginning with the Copper World Classic in Phoenix the week before the Daytona 500, perhaps?), and continuing through September (I understand the need to avoid the start of football, and also the NASCAR Chase for the Cup, but the weekend after Labor Day is way too early).

*-Get Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas & California back on the schedule.

*-Exposure is key. The doubleheaders with the NASCAR Trucks at Michigan & Texas have been good so far. Run a doubleheader with NASCAR at California -- with the IRL running a prime-time Saturday night race the night before the taxicabs run a prime-time Sunday night race. Encourage crossover drivers with a bonus to the highest combined finish in both races -- you think Stewart, Hornish, Allmendinger & Patreek wouldn't jump at the chance to try to run an IndyCar since they're already there ... it would also give a chance to guys like Wheldon to try their hand at the stock cars. This has been discussed, and the IRL has balked at it.

*-Two words: Triple Crown. (500s on Memorial Day, July 4 & Labor Day weekends).

*-The IRL has ties with the Stars of Karting series, which is great. Also, try to firm up the ladder by reestablishing formal ties with USAC -- the idea of giving the WoO champion an IPS test was a great idea, although WoO then imploded. A similar program for the Silver Crown champ, or for that matter, all 3 USAC champs, would rebuild some prestige in that series. USAC has long ties to 16th and Georgetown, and with it being a Midwest/West Coast-based open-wheel series, the ladder to the IRL that was first opened in 1996 needs to be reopened. Too many drivers have fled south from USAC, and too few Americans are competing full-time in the IndyCar Series. There are already concurrent events with the Silver Crown series -- Richmond & Milwaukee, for starters. Start there.

*-Refine the tire/aero package so passing/side-by-side racing is possible. The early-2000s Texas races were unbelievable. We haven't seen anything like that in a while.

*-Court sponsors/teams that have been priced out of NASCAR ... the IRL should be a lower-cost alternative.

Open-wheel racing is at a crossroads. Ensuring the long-term success and future of the sport is vital. It begins by having a better product than NASCAR -- which the IRL has always had, save for the low car counts of the last two years and now, too few competitive teams. It continues with having a marketable product to sell to the American people, and getting it out there for everyone to see. The IRL did a great job of this at one time -- having Tony Stewart do "demonstration laps" at Charlotte before a NASCAR race, for example. Unified, it will be at a point to do that again.

These are a few ideas ... toss out your own.

Maybe something is brewing?

2008-02-18T16:51:00.003-05:00

I don't know if this says anything, but ...

Recent attempts to visit Champ Car's website have turned up no connection or a timed-out connection.

EDIT: As of 10:30 p.m. EST, it is back up and running normally.

Feb. 18 newsstand: Unification updates & Daytona

2008-02-18T11:58:00.005-05:00

Unification updates
ESPN says talks are still ongoing
An anonymous source says "if something is going to happen, it will happen soon."
Says KK: "We continue to see advantages in a merger with the IRL. Equally, we are quite happy to go it alone. At the moment, we're going Champ Car racing."
Says TG: "Things are progressing, but it is delicate and complicated."
RP says he will provide an extra car or parts to CC teams moving over.

This story from the Nevada Appeal quotes two Champ Car sources
*-Everything is on hold on the CC side.
*-Quoting an Atlantic team boss: "Our team owners have put a stop to all expenditures, and we have four chassis in-house that are pretty much paperweights at this point."
*-Atlantic management is looking at trying to pair with ALMS.

Chip Ganassi is hoping it happens
Chip says he has been asked to provide a spare car for a Champ Car team if the unification happens, which Chip said he'd be glad to do.
Says Chip: "If they were to get back together, that's when the work would begin. It's probably like the 1994 baseball strike. The work really begins once you get all of the problems behind you."It would be nice to get all of the issues in one place."
Of course, JPM (who is in a race with Jacques Villeneuve as the least appreciative Indy winner ever) downplays it: "Is it too late? Don't know, don't care," Montoya said. "I raced there many years ago. Is it going to bring open-wheel back to greatness in America? I really doubt it."

Walker Racing has a few answers on its website
This was stealthily posted a couple of days ago. According to the release, "we believe discussions continue with the IRL and Champ Car. As long as they continue to talk it's always good news, because that means the possibility of closure is still there."

If Surfer's Paradise is dropped from the unified schedule, A1GP might take over
This race may become an A1GP race even if there is no unification ... or maybe, especially if there is no unification.
Says Aussie racing journalist Terry Murray, who joined the Surfer's chairman and Craig Gore at a "business lunch": "We're hearing that the (merger) deal between the IRL and the Champ Car series is a goer and that's certainly the best result for the Surfers Paradise race."

Turks & Caicos a go?
According to the Turks & Caicos Free Press, the IRL has signed a letter of intent to hold a race on the islands in 2009 on a yet-to-be built track ... AGR is the promoter.
The islands are located between the Bahamas & Haiti in the Caribbean. T&C is a British colony.

However, a few details seem a bit odd, as the "four-to-five-hour race" would be on ESPN, NBC and ABC. I like the enthusiasm, but not even the Indy 500 is 4 hours long, nor is it televised on three different networks.
Says TG: "This is a very exciting opportunity for us to come to the Turks and Caicos and have the opportunity to really use this as a springboard to launch our season every year. I think that the timing of a February event could be a great way to start off our season on an annual basis."

Curt Cavin has said this could potentially be some combination of "All-Star race" and preseason test, as the IRL wouldn't open its regular season that early.

Commentaries
You have to scroll down in this Long Beach Press-Telegram column, but the columnist airs a lot of old CC-centric dirty laundry.
Says writer Bob Keisser: "Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster will drop the ceremonial first concrete block of construction for this year's Long Beach Grand Prix on Tuesday morning. It would be really great if we could get IRL dictator Tony George in hand and make sure the good mayor drops it on his foot. "

This has nothing to do with unification, but CBS' Gregg Doyel says we shouldn't buy Danica Patrick's racing prowess. Of course, he makes the Kournikova connection ... get ready to see this more and more.

Daytona stuff: Congrats to Roger Penske
whose drivers, Ryan Newman & Kurt Busch, finished 1-2 in the Daytona 500 yesterday.
Says the Captain: "We've been open-wheel guys, and, coming down here, it's been tough. And this has got to go to the top of the charts here."

Sam Hornish Jr. ran in the Top 10 most of the day and finished 15th
Says the Captain: "Sam drove a masterful race. He's going to be a great team player. I would say that I was surprised a bit with his performance, but I was also confident when we brought Sam in to be in our third car."
Some perspectives:
Toledo Blade
The Indianapolis Star takes a look at both Sam and Dario. Says Dario, who finished 33rd: "We were conservative to start with and it went green for so long. When I got in a pack I was so loose I really couldn't hang on, so we've got to work on that. We finished, that's about all I can say. We're going to do better next time."
Florida Today also catches up with both IndyCar champs (they conveniently ignore Tony Stewart being an IndyCar Series champion).
Dario talks to Gordon Kirby about driving a stock car.

IPS news
South African Tchops Sipuka wowed many at his IPS test at Phoenix
Says Brian Stewart: "I think he did awesome. Tschops was very impressive for a guy who had never seen an oval before."

Feb. 15 newsstand: Unification updates & more

2008-02-15T22:36:00.002-05:00

Unification news
Indy Star: No news but many questions

Says Derrick Walker: "We know there has been and continues to be discussions on the possibility of a merger. We know very little else."
Walker also says NHL is the only other team that is "for sure" likely to come: "They might be the only no-brainer. Others have the resources to do it, but would they want to deal with the hassle? The rest of us are on the bubble financially."

Another interesting piece of news from this story ... the IRL may run a preseason exhibition non-points event in Turks and Caicos next year.

The L.A. Daily News says Walker is ahead of the game by switching.
"Part of the reason was because I really was unsure about where Champ Car was going. Obviously now it looks like I was absolutely brilliant in thinking that way, but I wasn't. But I was just concerned about our ability to keep raising money and keep motivating sponsors and fans to keep following Champ Car."

Another key piece from the story:
*-If there is unification, Pacific Coast Motorsports is likely to come over

Walker also tries to set the record straight in this TSN story
Says Walker: "We see open wheel racing as open wheel racing and we go where our business leads us. If it's in two series or if it's better for the business to be in one series then we will be where we can get the corporate support to be able to keep racing."

Scheckter to run Indy, Kansas, Sonoma
Luczo Dragon Racing enters Kansas, Indy and its sponsor's hometown race
John Cummiskey has also been hired as team manager for LDR.
Says Jay Penske: "Tomas is one of the top drivers on the IndyCar circuit. His presence and ability will give us a chance to win in each of our three races. Add in John's leadership and we feel very good about the direction of our team."

Reaction/commentary
Robin Miller, the guy who first reported this a week ago, says there's a lot of frustration trying to chase the story
He tosses out all kinds of bizarre scenarios, including Gerry Forsythe buying the remains of Champ Car and keeping the series going, KK and Team Australia investor Craig Gore joining forces on an IRL team.
Says Robin: "The lack of communication from Kalkhoven and Forsythe to the other owners and their employees is disengenous, unprofessional and Enron-like in its insulting silence."

Always armed with an opinion, A.J. Foyt speaks out
Says A.J.: "I don't know whether the merger would make much of a difference, although we might pick up a couple more races somewhere. I do know it would be better to have one circuit than two."
Also, if TG gives the CC teams incentives, A.J. says "I would throw a fit and pack my bags ... and others may do the same."

You have to scroll down to see it, but Tony Stewart only wants to see unification if the series goes back to its original principles and hires drivers based on their ability, rather than money.
Says the former IndyCar champ: "It sounds like the IRL is kind of getting to that stage (of hiring ride-buyers) anyway, and if that's the case, that's not what the IRL even was designed for to begin with. It makes the project a failure, almost, to a certain degree."

Event news
We've been getting a lot of event news from the Great White North
The Toronto Star says the Toronto race may still happen this year
Toronto GP president Charlie Johnstone said the race may happen if they pay a sanction fee to the IRL, and he thinks the series would choose the IRL over the Glen.
Also, KK debunks rumors that CC was planning to file bankruptcy.

Also, the Edmonton race was supposed to be one of the most well-supported and financially-stable on the CC calendar, but this Calgary Sun story says it is bleeding cash.
An anonymous source says: "I have been told that the original promoters in Edmonton lost more than $7 million. And they told Champ Car that without a huge infusion of cash from the provincial government, the race was doomed to be forever a money loser."

A new look at Danica
The Toledo Free Press takes a look at how the SI photo shoot adds a new dimension to Danica Patrick's career.
Says USA Today columnist Christine Brennan: “She's in danger of being Anna Kournikova. That is the kiss of death long term for a female athlete.”

IPS news
Another great name ... Tschops Sipuka, has passed his IPS rookie test.

And finally
Learn to drive with Tony Kanaan

Feb. 13 newsstand: LBGP, Sharp & Danica

2008-02-13T21:43:00.005-05:00

More updates, some driver features, and a Scott Sharp/RLR update.

More on Walker's move
Cavin has a piece on Walker's impending move, backing up the AP story that ran yesterday.

Says Walker: "I'm not there yet (with sponsorship), but I'm cautiously optimistic."

Long Beach is on
Even though CC might declare bankruptcy, Long Beach is on. I know, we all knew that, but here it is in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Long Beach's City Council did delay a proposed extension of the race's contract. The current deal is supposed to expire in 2010. The LBGP was asking for a 5-year extension, with an option for 5 more years.
Says LBGP chair Jim Michaelian: "We're going to run an event here on April the 20th. I can tell you that."

Judge: Sharp breached RLR contract
Judge Adalaberto Jordan has found Scott Sharp in breach of his contract with RLR for bailing and signing a deal with ALMS' Highcroft Racing. However, will be allowed to race for Highcroft this year.
Says Hon. Jordan in his ruling: "It seems to me that (Sharp) has knowingly breached one agreement in order to enter another. He may continue to race for Highcroft in the 2008 season, but this case shall go on, and he may pay for his choices in the end, quite literally, if a jury views the evidence as I do."

Graham Rahal: "I truly believe this is the last year of the split"
This may be. Graham and Bobby both talk to the Columbus Dispatch, their hometown paper. Says Bobby: "I think it eventually is going to happen, one way or the other. I mean, if I was a team owner in Champ Car, how could I depend on that series?"
And, adds in Graham with a ringing endorsement of his father's racing series: "I used to say specifically that I wanted Champ Car to live and I wanted the IRL to die off, but the truth is, the IRL isn't going to die off because they've got the Indy 500. Right now, the way I look at it we need to have one series, whatever way we can achieve that."

Lots o' Danica in SI
Danica Patrick strikes a (potentially suggestive) pose for SI's swimsuit issue. USA Today and Bleacher Report have stories.
Says Danica: "It was a lot of fun, actually. I expected it to be nerve-racking. I've posed (for many photos) in clothes, but I'd never posed in a swimming suit."

And finally
Speed's David Phillips waxes poetic about the CART/CC fan's best friend, Dan Gurney's "White Paper." Interestingly, at its 30-year anniversary, CART/CC appears to be dead and an Indianapolis Motor Speedway-led organization is set to reign as the sole sanctioning body of open-wheel racing. The split (which to many, began with this piece of paper) may finally be over!

Feb. 12 newsstand: CC bankrupt & Walker on his way

2008-02-12T17:22:00.000-05:00

This rumor started popping around the Internet last night, but Robin Miller had it this morning ... the Champ Car World Series may be filing bankruptcy.

Of course, that might be the reason why all of this merger stuff is happening so rapidly (at such a late date before the season starts). It also could be the easiest way for CC to get out of some race contracts, or allow the IRL to negotiate new deals with the races it is going to keep.

Steve Johnson, who begins to sound like Joe Isuzu after a while, plays the ignorant game, "I have not been informed and we have been hearing the bankruptcy rumor for 18 months." According to Robin, some CC employees have been told to stop working on 2008 projects.

PM UPDATE: Walker says CC done, making "preparations" to join IRL
An AP story says Derrick Walker has said CC has "run its last race" and he is planning to field an IRL team.
Says our DW: "It has all the makings of the end of Champ Car. How it's going to be done, I don't know. But I think Champ Car is going to shut down."
Walker also drops this bombshell: "The only thing I know for sure is that about a month ago there were several teams that had never been paid prize money. Whether that was resolved, I don't know."
And, he pretty much admits he's switching to the IRL: "We are working toward that 100 percent until someone can show me that Champ Car is really going. That's part of my frustration. My truck was on its way to the Sebring test and I turned it around and brought it back because we had not had anyone in Champ Car tell me what was going on. So we put it all in the corner, left it alone and put our energy in IRL 101."

PM UPDATE from Oreo: As talks continue, CC bankruptcy may be in store
John Oreovicz adds to a lot of the stuff from earlier reports, and looks back on the potential fallout from the 2004 bankruptcy, had Judge Otte ruled the other way, and says lawsuits would be in store this time, too.
*-Says "insiders believe Champ Car is considering an emergency liquidation" to pave the path for unification.
*-Also mentions the Toronto GP CEO says he expects that race to be on a merged series schedule, which makes this virtually the only report that says so.

An update on the talks
Cavin filed an update of his flash story from last night on TG's visit to Japan, with lots of stuff from Robert Clarke.
It appears Honda has accepted one of TG's offers regarding moving the Motegi race to accommodate Long Beach, the most notable sticking point in the way of unification.

Meanwhile ...
CC is pushing on, naming Indy 500 vet Johnny Unser as race director of the Atlantic series.

Individual market perspectives
Portland International Raceway is one track that will likely be left out in the unification (not that it wasn't almost left out last year anyway). This, BTW, is the track where one of the CC principals basically said he could understand why fans would be somewhere else to attempt to explain away poor attendance.
One thing that is key, from PIR: "We have an agreement in principle, but no signed contract."

PM UPDATE: Canadian race promoters are taking a wait-and-see approach
*-Forsythe (Tracy) and PKV (Tagliani) are "expected to continue even if there is not a merger"
*-The bankruptcy rumor is reiterated, with Speed TV getting the credit on the source.
Quote from Mont-Tremblant spokesperson Normand Prieur: "We're waiting for a clear signal on what's going to happen. We have a contract with Champ Car and we have a date for the race. We are not commenting on what's being written." (Mont-Tremblant is scheduled for June 29, the same weekend as Richmond).

Commentaries
Yahoo NASCAR writer Bob Margolis calls for peace in the open-wheel war
He keeps asking "why isn't this happening?," while it seems to be happening.

Speed's David Phillips cries a river for those who will be hurt by the impending disappearance of Champ Car
Given Phillips' history as a CART apologist, something tells me this column wouldn't be written if it were the IRL's suppliers and distributors that were hurting.

The IRL even gets some Left Coast student journalists involved, like this one from the University of Oregon

IRL driver news
We hadn't heard from RLR in a while, but Ryan Hunter-Reay recently tested the No. 17 car at Phoenix alongside Hideki Mutoh. RHR turned 150 laps.

Haven't seen enough of Danica? Get the SI swimsuit issue

Feb. 11 newsstand: More updates & Walker coming?

2008-02-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

EVENING UPDATE: Clarke, TG talk about the Motegi meeting
Curt Cavin catches up with Robert Clarke & Tony George, and notes that Clarke is optimistic unification talks will continue
Says Clarke: “Am I optimistic? I don’t see any reason why not."
TG, of course, plays it cool: "Nothing is going to happen quickly, if at all." (now, is he being realistic, is he simply requesting KK's wishes to not negotiate in the media)

The Motegi meeting was significant because the date must be moved to accommodate the Long Beach Grand Prix, which is the same weekend as the IRL's Motegi race. LB is one of the three CC races that would be absorbed into the IRL schedule. The race could be moved to August (where there is a 2-week break in the schedule left by the Michigan vacancy), September/October/November (post-season, possibly timed to go along with Surfer's) or could be skipped for one year to allow the unification to happen.

Stay tuned for more reaction.

Unification update
USA Today has a piece today that says the unification attempts are a race against time.

Walker Racing coming?
Derrick Walker was on WRTV-6 in Indianapolis last night, and stated he was considering a move to the IRL this year, unification or no. He says it's based on sponsorship. Earlier TV reports showed the Dallara chassis that P.J. Jones attempted to qualify for Indy last year (still in its Day-Glo Orange paint job) in Walker's shop.

That is corroborated by this story from Crash.net. He's negotiating separately with Will Power and Simon Pagenaud to bring them to the IRL.

In the aforementioned USA Today story, Walker says "We're just a small company who is trying to sell our wares, which for us is getting sponsors and going racing. That's our business. So we had to look at the IRL and look at the Indy 500, which we thought had a comeback year in 2007."

With a new grill, Dan looks ahead
Jeff Olson has a piece on Dan Wheldon where he looks back at last season as a failure, and looks ahead.
Says Dan: "Indianapolis is it for me. That’s all I care about. It frustrates me every year. I drive around that track very well, but I’ve only won there once."

Edmonton expects to stay on the schedule
We've had various stories on this before, but this is from the Edmonton Sun.
Says GP Edmonton president Jim Haskins: “Champ Car has always said that if ever any kind of alignment happened with Indy, Edmonton would stay. We’ve had major success over three years here and our attendance is among the top two or three races on the world circuit.”
(then again, Champ Car bosses have done a very good job of selling people a big-time bill of goods).

Commentaries
Leave it to ex-CART apologist Gordon Kirby to rain on the parade.
Among the nuggets: "The past few weeks' desperate attempts to bring to the two series together underlines the complete lack of any business plan and the utter incompetence of both groups." ... To achieve their goal they must not only resolve the many, many issues resulting from their thirteen-year civil war, but they must invent a technically interesting, 'green' formula which will attract multiple manufacturers and car builders and will also remake the Indy car as a spectacularly impressive racing machine, distinctly different from NASCAR, that will appeal to both race fans around the world as well as a broader audience." Then, he goes on to talk about NASCAR for the rest of the column.

What the defectors think
Sam Hornish, Patrick Carpentier & others consider unification a positive thing. (and, unlike the AP a few days ago, this story has no quotes from open-wheel expert Kyle Petty).

Commentary: If it happens?

2008-02-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

As last week ended, I was planning to put together some plans to write a commentary about the news (or lack thereof) coming out of Indianapolis regarding the 2008 IndyCar season.

The car count seems to be going the wrong direction -- RLR is in flux and suing the IRL's longest-tenured driver, D&R doesn't have a second car announced yet, Panther appears to be staying as a one-car operation, Vision is cutting a car. Planned teams announced in the off-season -- D.B. Mann, Sarah Fisher, Kingdom Racing -- appear to be struggling to get off the ground or becoming Indy-only programs due to lack of sponsorship. We knew a couple of big-name drivers were gone last year -- with Hornish & Franchitti defecting to NASCAR and Dan Wheldon openly indicating his desire to do so in 2009 -- but the loss of Scott Sharp to ALMS and Tomas Scheckter's inability to land a full-time ride were big blows.

I was going to write that, while this season would appear to be a difficult (at best) one, the light at the end of the tunnel is near -- that 2008 would be a transition year before a major change in 2009 -- with new tracks, the impending defection of Newman Haas Lanigan Racing from CCWS, and possibly some other teams to follow.

The future of open-wheel racing was bright, because 2008 would be the tumult before the storm that would transform the Indy Racing League into a new era.

But at about 10:45 Thursday night, everything changed. That's when Robin Miller's report that TG & KK had come to an agreement to merge the series for 2008 -- pending a few hurdles -- was posted online.

Now, it's time to possibly shift those predictions forward one year. This will still be a transition year -- a feeling-out process as new teams try to fit in with new equipment (and, in some cases, running ovals for the first time). But OW racing may not have to go through a tumultuous "transition" year with low car counts on both sides and dying races as it heads toward the eventual unification/surrender that was sure to happen in 2009 or 2010.

This might be out the window now.

There will still be a lot of things to iron out. But the biggest problems that have befallen open-wheel racing on both sides of the fence all come from decisions that have been made to either weaken the other series or make a desparate move to ensure the survival of your own.

That stems from the IRL's decision in 2003 to allow engine leases, which wooed Honda, Toyota and several ex-CART teams. Other that the defection by Penske & partial move by Ganassi in 2003, no one single event has been more influential in the IRL's move to a position of superiority in the split. It secured the demise of CART and relegated CART/Champ Car to the position of a weakened series that had to operate on life-support.

However, that decision led to a rapid increase in the price of engines, which led to many of the smaller IRL teams disappearing. Kelley, Cahill, Treadway, Hemelgarn, Schmidt, PDM, Beck, Menard -- they're all gone or have been relegated to Indy-only teams. Teams like Panther, Foyt & D&R have managed to hang on, but only Panther has managed to stay consistently competitive (and it barely survived a few years ago). With that, we've seen a significant drop in the car count, and a similarly-significant drop in the number of American racers in the series, as the former CART teams brought over a number of foreign road racers, and the old-line IRL teams followed suit. Eventually, we've also seen the loss of Chevy & Toyota as engine manufacturers, and the IRL turning into a spec series.

Meanwhile, CART/CC tried to survive -- turning its back on ovals and instead embracing "festivals of speed" in streets and parking lots across the country. When that didn't work, it came time to turn to an international schedule, which also didn't work. They turned to a lighter, racier, cheaper new car -- the Panoz DP01 -- which did nothing to gain CC any more fans. Their TV time dwindled. Musical-drivers games took place almost weekly as ride-buyers sought to stay in seats, and teams were quick to ditch the guys in the seats for those who had more cash. CC's continued foibles -- all the way to the recent announcement of TV time -- became an embarrassment to motorsports, but its problems became wrapped into the IRL's problems as "open-wheel racing."

Those warts are still going to be there -- the IRL still has issues with three really good teams, a couple of semi-competitive teams, and a couple more that struggle to be competitive. CC has one really good team, a couple of semi-competitive teams, and a bunch more that will struggle financially just to get onto the grid. The IRL is facing the loss of solid oval races -- California, Michigan & Phoenix are three tracks that MUST get back onto the schedule -- and needing to resort to street races to replace them, which don't play well on TV. CC can't bring anything to the table but more street parades.

There is still the problem of recognition and attendance -- other than second-generation driver Graham Rahal, many of the CC drivers aren't very well-known to American race fans. Many venues are still struggling to fill seats. TV ratings aren't going to shoot up overnight.

But there are a lot of "wins" from the impending unification ...
*-The new series will have a few cornerstones that it can build around -- the biggest oval race in the world (Indy) and the biggest road/street race in North America (Long Beach). Not only that, it can offer Kansas and Texas oval races that bring huge crowds annually. Edmonton, Iowa, Nashville and Surfer's Paradise are also healthy, strong events that will be on the schedule for some time.
*-At least two more competitive, well-funded teams coming over in NHL and Forsythe. NHL will be able to run with Penske/AGR/TCGR right away. Forsythe (and maybe PKV) is probably at the same level of Vision & Panther -- right below, but right in there enough to be able to steal a race every now and then.
*-To me, the biggest problem befalling both series was not necessarily the split, but the low car counts of the last few years. A strong series with 24+ cars on the grid will play better on TV, and bring some legitimacy and respectability. A casual fan will be more likely to turn the race off if they only see 18 cars on the grid. But 24-28 cars makes the series look like a viable, strong, professional racing series. The unification will bring the car counts up to that -- levels we haven't seen in IndyCar racing for several years.
*-No more of the talk from NASCARland that "I don't watch that stuff because they're not together." Well, they're together now. You have to find another excuse (which means we'll see them go back to the pre-1995 excuse that "there are too many foreigners").
*-On a related note, the generally CC-centric open-wheel media won't have the IRL to kick on anymore in an effort to pump up their preferred series.
*-Believe it or not, there was some talent in Champ Car. We will see Paul Tracy, Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson running with Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon ... it brings some depth to the field. But it also allows guys like PT, Rahal and JW to get some really good exposure and a shot at the Indy 500.
*-A unified series just wins the PR battle. It's not as unlikely that washed-up former F1 drivers will be as quick to look down their noses at this series, as they did the IRL, and might consider it (which might be more likely when/if the OW invasion flames out).
*-While I prefer to see about 75% ovals, a 50/50 road-oval split should draw some talented road racers.
*-The merger happened exactly in the way it needed to -- with control at 16th and Georgetown, and the CC teams that could afford to coming back, but KK & GF agreeing to "unify," rather than seeing a massive defection or another bankruptcy court hearing. That KK & GF seem to be in on this should create some healing from 12 years of DEEP wounds being created.
*-The likelihood of more engine manufacturers, and chassis manufacturers, being back in the sport. Panoz threw a lot of eggs in the CC basket, but now it can focus on developing its IRL chassis again. Cosworth can bring back its old NA IRL engines (the former Chevy engine) that disappeared a couple of years ago.
*-Sponsors should be more attracted by a unified series. So should potential manufacturers.
*-Business decisions that will be made for the good of the sport, not to win a battle or to ensure survival. Therefore, we should see stronger tracks/events on the schedule as the weaker ones that were added solely to add races to the schedule go away. It might be easier to bring a less expensive car/engine package, as well.
*-The IRL will get a "bump" in viewership and exposure from the additional press generated by the unification. It already has the most exciting, entertaining racing product in the world. As more eyeballs get to see it, it's likely new fans will be created.

And even if the IRL brass can't reach an agreement with Motegi and make this thing happen for 2008, there's no way it won't happen for 2009.

So, let's drop the bickering ... the "my series is better than yours because ..." talk ... the blind loyalty to a series because of factors that have nothing to do with racing.

It doesn't matter if you come to Indy wearing a Justin Wilson or Graham Rahal shirt or ones touting Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick. Let's just drop the green and enjoy the most entertaining racing on the planet.

Feb. 10 newsstand: Unification updates & commentary

2008-02-10T14:05:00.000-05:00

Individual markets
Surfer's Paradise
This story says this "will mean more teams at the iconic Gold Coast event, fiercer competition and a brighter future for the race." According to the story, Team Australia co-owner Craig Gore says "the unification of both series was clearly the best option for everyone in motorsport." Roger Penske is mentioned as joining TG in the talks on the IRL side.

Individual teams
Team Minardi USA gives its opinion
"as with any major business deal, however, the devil is in the detail, and we understand there are still a number of important matters that remain to be resolved, not least of which is negotiating a suitable 2008 schedule."

Commentaries
International Herald-Tribune: So what?
As far as this columnist is concerned, this is no big deal, other than restoring some luster to the Indy 500.

Defector news
Updates on Sam Hornish Jr. and the four open-wheel drivers who followed in JPM's footsteps.

And the good kind of defector news ... David Phillips responds to the fallout from his column criticizing Raphael Matos' move to the IPS.

Silly Season update; Feb. 9

2008-02-09T16:37:00.000-05:00

With all of the unification talk, I'm going to give the IRL version of the Silly Season update. If unification happens, this will expand

The short version
Confirmed entries (16 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-TBA, although Buddy Rice is the likely entry
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2+1): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon. ??-Alex Lloyd will be a part-time entry (might hook up with another team)
Panther (1): 4-Vitor Meira
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, 22-A.J. Foyt IV
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 8)
Luczo Dragon (1): Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/one other race?)
D&R (1): Second car
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Mario Dominguez?
Part-time/Indy-only
Greg Beck (1): Unlikely except for Indy
Sarah Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together ... possible Indy-only)
Kingdom (1): (not much has been heard from ... possible Indy-only)
D.B. Mann (1): (again, not much has been heard from recently)
PDM Racing (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year.
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Rubicon (1): Max Papis?
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; 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. Expect him to think about fenders, especially if he has a good showing at Indy.
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 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, although there are some rumblings that Vitor may be shopping around.
A second car was rumored, but Panther stated on its website that "it is safe to say" the team will be a one-car program for 2008, with two cars at Indy.

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, although this is still TBA.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is starting her own team. 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), but recent rumblings have indicated that D&R is planning to field two cars.

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008.
22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision). Confirmed for 2008.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars this 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)
23-TBA. Of course, this is Milka Duno's ride, but she will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. She is also reportedly shopping her Citgo $$ around. She spent the last half of the season on probation. There is also the possibility of Duno not coming back at all. Curt Cavin mentioned on Jan. 22 that Mario Dominguez might be the person for this ride.

**Potential new entries**
Luczo Dragon Racing (1) (Part-time)
Tomas Scheckter: Jay Penske has announced that Scheckter will run Indy, Kansas and at least one other race.

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. Fisher has confirmed she's trying to put something together, but nothing beyond that.

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**
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. On Jan. 21, Max Papis was listed as the likely driver.

More distant future entries?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing ... Champ Car's top team has hinted at joining the IRL in 2009, possibly taking drivers Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson with them. But that could be happening sooner if the unification happens.
Other Champ Car drivers & teams that could move: Forsythe Racing (Paul Tracy & Franck Montagny), Walker Racing, Conquest Racing (Franck Perara & Simon Pagenaud), Rocketsports Racing (Enrique Bernoldi), PKV Racing (Alex Tagliani & Oriol Servia), Pacific Coast Motorsports (Alex Figge & David Martinez), Dale Coyne Racing (Bruno Junqueira)

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.
*-Champ car races that will be added, pending unification: Long Beach GP (street race, March), Edmonton GP (airport race, mid-summer), Surfer's Paradise, Australia (street race, November). Possible races for 2009 include Toronto (street race).

As far as others, ranked in order of likelihood of happening
*-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.

*-Michigan International Speedway has already been mentioned as a possible re-addition to the schedule, in a Detroit News story.

*-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).

Feb. 9 newsstand: More unification talk

2008-02-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

The follow-ups to Friday's unification announcement are coming fast ...

First, the details:
Indianapolis Star: Tony George, Brian Barnhart, Terry Angstadt and Robert Clarke are headed to the mothership. The object? Talk Honda into moving the Motegi date to the fall so the unification can happen. KK says he and TG had a brief conversation Friday.

Among the quotes from KK: "There's no deal, and no deal's been offered" ... "I sent Tony a text (message) to find out what is going on." "Gerry and I are enthusiastic to get this done; the question is, can we get it done?"
Says TG: "It seems that every time we've been close some new obstacle gets thrown in the way."

But, Speed's Jeff Olson reports that Champ Car people have said the talks have stalled while TG and the gang head to Japan.
Says KK's statement: "Over the past three years, we have fielded and offered several proposals regarding unification of the two premier U.S.-based open-wheel racing series, but we have been unable to reach an acceptable solution. Discussions currently are at a standstill, and we therefore are proceeding with plans to continue as Champ Car.”
Good quote from Panther's John Barns: “Two things happen in Indianapolis every spring: the grass turns from brown to green, and there are talks of an open-wheel merger. I’ll get excited about this when I hear the news from Tony George.”

The hurdles
A Toronto Globe & Mail story says TG has offered free cars, free engines and the $1.2 million TEAM incentive to any CC teams that switch. But KK says there are "insurmountable obstacles."
The key source is an anonymous "IndyCar Series Insider": "We all want to make a deal and then all stand up together and stop losing money. We want to find some way to get together with Champ Car and keep their marketable assets."

While Toronto & the Mont Tremblant CC races would be gone (Edmonton, Long Beach & Surfer's Paradise would be incorporated into the ICS schedule), the anonymous source said the Toronto race would likely be back on the schedule in 2009.

Affecting individual races
The Canadian National Post says the Edmonton race is secure
Says an anonymous Edmonton source: "Edmonton is definitely on the map, whether Champ Car goes it alone or they merge with the IRL. This is just golden. It would be the show. The unfortunate part is, Edmonton might be the only Canadian race. Toronto could be wiped off the map. From a national point of view it's not great to have Toronto and (Mont-Tremblant) cancelled."

In this story from the Toronto Star (Toronto sees the possibility of its GP being gone), KK says "The likelihood of anything taking place for 2008, as a result of these leaks, is very low."

The Long Beach perspective

The story looks into extending the agreement with the city to run the race through at least 2015, with an option to extend five years beyond that. The city is offering a five-year agreement, instead of the traditional 10-year extension, because of development along the waterfront. Currently, the agreement to run the race runs through 2010.

The Fort Worth perspective
TMS is one of the key tracks on the IndyCar circuit. IRL spokesperson John Griffin confirms the same thing that the Toronto story's anonymous source confirmed: free cars, engines and the TEAM program.
Eddie Gossage says a merger would be the "best thing to happen to the sport."

Commentaries
AutoWeek: Is it real?
Chicken Little keeps repeating "unification is at hand" But, as writer Steven Cole Smith says, "Chicken Little might be right eventually. But is now truly the time?"

Panther Racing has its own commentary on its website
Says Vitor Meira: “Every year we hear of these merger talks. And every year I get excited about it. It’s good for the sport. It’s good for the teams, the sponsors, the tracks and especially the Indianapolis 500. I’ve got my fingers crossed all weekend.” Meanwhile, a few Panther team members are excited about the possibility of going to Surfer's Paradise.

And, of course
AP: Merger talk too little, too late for NASCAR defectors
Hey, somebody had to talk to them, right? Anyway, you can tell this is good when the most-quoted source is noted open-wheel defector Kyle Petty.
Says the IndyCar expert from North Carolina: "It's almost like watching things going in with diplomacy in foreign countries, where you think, 'OK, now we're going to have a break in this,' and you never have a break. It's getting to the point now where they've cried 'reunification' enough that no one really pays attention."

Non-unification news
Panther Racing announced on its website Q&A this week that it intends to be a one-car team this year. The quote: "It’s safe to say now that Panther will be a one-car team in 2008, at least until the Indy 500, where we would likely expand to a two-car operation." (thanks to MyNameIsIRL for the heads-up on this one)

Feb. 8 newsstand: Merger?

2008-02-08T15:32:00.000-05:00

The news came across late last night ... TG & KK had come to a tentative agreement to merge the IRL & CCWS.

What we know so far ...
*-A merger is possibly in the works
*-The CC races that would be a part of it are Long Beach, Edmonton & Surfer's Paradise
*-The holdup is the April 19 Motegi date. CC is scheduled to run Long Beach the next day. Motegi offered to move its date back a week, but that conflicts with the Kansas race (ISC refused to move that date because the race is a sellout).
*-TG and IRL brass are going to Motegi to find another suitable date.
*-Neither series' website has any mention of this, so nothing is close to official.
*-The IRL is absorbing CCWS, in essence ... it will be the Indy Racing League.

Robin Miller broke it with this story on Speed last night
Says TG: “It’s as close as it’s ever been to being together, but we don’t know if we can get across the goal line. But no one is giving up yet.”
Says KK: “Both sides want this to happen very much and we’re working on it.”

The most current story out there is the IndyStar story ...

KK changes his tune a bit in 24 hours: "Once again, as has happened previously in the past four years, somebody has leaked a story to the press, and the press has turned it into a tornado. Now it has everyone running around in a circle. It's almost malicious, and it disappoints and infuriates me."

John Oreovicz runs with the same quote, and says the leaks are making any kind of transaction difficult

The AP has the nuts & bolts

Says KK: "As long as Honda won't move Motegi, there won't be a merger. It's certainly a major hurdle, but not the only one."

Oreo wants CC to "meet the IRL halfway" ... although this is dated today and up fresh on ESPN.com, it appears to be a week or so old.

I'll weigh in more later, but I have to go coach a basketball tournament game now :).

Feb. 5 newsstand: Cotman & the past

2008-02-05T15:50:00.001-05:00

A few things ...
Tony Cotman to IRL made official
As we noted last week, Tony Cotman has joined the IRL's executive staff as VP of Competition. Cotman spent the last three years as Champ Car's version of Brian Barnhart, but has an IRL tenure shepherding the move of AGR from CART to the IRL.
Says TC, who many said was one of the real bright lights in Champ Car: "I'm a big dreamer, and you put the right group together and pull in a common direction we'll be fine. ... I believe like many others that we'll end up one dominant or unified series over the next few years. And I know where I want to be."

Tech & rules stuff
This has been discussed, but the IRL is going to weigh car and driver this year.
So, when does Robby Gordon come back, now that Danica doesn't have the huge unfair advantage that brought her wins in virtually every IRL race she's ever run?

The Dallara will have 10-pound, 7mm-thick side intrusion panels to add to safety. It will join paddle shifters on the cars for 2008. This IndyCar.com story also has a history of IRL safety measures.
It also appears the current spec Dallara has a remaining 3-year lifespan ... "I'm very confident we have a very durable chassis, and the addition of these side intrusion panels will certainly make this chassis serviceable up to the introduction of our new car in 2010."

Former driver news
Congrats to three-time IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. and wife Crystal on the birth of their daughter, Addison Faith Hornish.

Meanwhile, on the track, Dario Franchitti is getting used to stock cars with SpeedWeeks beginning.

Tune in
Thursday night, Danica Patrick and Tommy Kendall will co-host the SPEED Performance Awards. It will air at 10 p.m.

Interesting IndyCar exposure

2008-02-03T19:08:00.001-05:00

This might go down as the off-season the Indy Racing League has received the most (positive) off-track attention, turning drivers into celebrities (much like, ahem, that other series).

First, we have Helio fox-trotting his way to stardom on the highest rated TV show in the land, which, not coincidentally, was on the same network that airs IRL races.

Now, we have a lot of exposure that some of the IRL's young male audience would probably enjoy that has nothing to do with racing ... a censored Danica Patrick Super Bowl commercial, and a Super Bowl commercial pointing people to the censored one, which can be viewed here (note, includes "wardrobe malfunction", viewer discretion advised). In the one that actually aired on Fox, the words "is that Danica Patrick" are uttered, with everyone flocking to the computer to see all of DP.

Silly Season update: Feb. 2

2008-02-02T18:24:00.000-05:00

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-TBA, although Buddy Rice is the likely entry
Foyt (1): 14-Darren Manning
Ganassi (2+1): 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Dan Wheldon. ??-Alex Lloyd will be a part-time entry (might hook up with another team)
Panther (2): 4-Vitor Meira, ??-Driver TBA (P.J. Chesson?)
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, A.J. Foyt IV
Rumored/possible/potential entries (up to 8)
Greg Beck (1)
Sarah Fisher (1): Sarah Fisher (officially trying to put sponsorship together)
Kingdom (1)
Luczo Dragon (1): Tomas Scheckter (Indy/Kansas/one other race?)
D.B. Mann (1)
D&R (1): Second car
RLR (1): Second car (#8 car vacated by Scott Sharp)
Samax (1): 23-Mario Dominguez?
Part-time/Indy-only
PDM Racing (1): Usually fields a car for Jimmy Kite at the 500. Plans to field an Indy entry this year.
Playa Del Racing (1-2): Al Unser III?
Racing Professionals (1): Jon Herb
Rubicon (1): Max Papis?
Additional cars from major teams for Indy: AGR (1); Vision (1)-possibly Davey Hamilton or John Andretti; 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.

Panther Racing (2)
4-Vitor Meira (Delphi, 7th-year FT driver, 3rd with Panther). Confirmed for 2008, although there are some rumblings that Vitor may be shopping around.
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. Other names mentioned have been Dan Clarke and Nelson Philippe

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, although this is still TBA.
TBA-2nd car. Sarah Fisher drove this car in 2007, but she is starting her own team. 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), but recent rumblings have indicated that D&R is planning to field two cars.

Vision Racing (1-2)
20-Ed Carpenter (Hitachi Power Tools, 5th-year FT driver, 4th with Vision). Confirmed for 2008.
22-A.J. Foyt IV (Indy Vision, 5th-year FT driver, 2nd with Vision). Confirmed for 2008.

A.J. Foyt Racing (1-2)
14-Darren Manning (ABC Supply, 3rd-year FT driver). Contract extended through 2008.

Roth Racing (2)
25-Marty Roth: Plans to run 2 full-time cars this 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)
23-TBA. Of course, this is Milka Duno's ride, but she will be invited back only if she satisfactorily completes off-season testing. She is also reportedly shopping her Citgo $$ around. She spent the last half of the season on probation. There is also the possibility of Duno not coming back at all. Curt Cavin mentioned on Jan. 22 that Mario Dominguez might be the person for this ride.

**Potential new entries**
Luczo Dragon Racing (1) (Part-time)
Tomas Scheckter: Jay Penske has announced that Scheckter will run Indy, Kansas and at least one other race.

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.

More distant future entries?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing ... Champ Car's top team has hinted at joining the IRL in 2009, possibly taking drivers Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson with them. Of other Champ Car teams, Walker Racing once fielded an IRL team. Conquest Racing did, too, but cost might be an issue for them (it's why they switched to CC in the first place: the IRL was too expensive).
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).

Feb. 2 newsstand

2008-02-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Silly Season update to follow ...

Just a few nuggets of news over the last few days ...
Front office news: Cotman to IRL
Former Champ Car race steward Tony Cotman is now joining the IRL's staff as Brian Barnhart's sidekick. Many CC folks said Cotman was the best thing that the series had last year, but he recently resigned.
Says TC: “I’m just going where I think the future of open-wheel racing is going to be. It’s a good job. I’m going to oversee anything that has to do with competition, technical issues, tracks and assist Brian in race control.”

Tomas to Luczo Dragon
Patrick Long had been rumored for this seat, but Tomas Scheckter is likely to pilot the Luczo Dragon ride for the Indy 500. Jay Penske's team is also planning to run Kansas and one other race ... more if sponsorship materializes.
Says Roger's kid of Scheckter: ""He's certainly one of the best out there who doesn't have a ride."

Wheldon to NASCAR in '09?
Ganassi signed Alex Lloyd for a reason ... we noted this in the last newsstand, but Wheldon talks about the '08 season and the future with ESPN.com.
Says the soon-to-be-bachelor-no-more: "At the end of the day, people have always tagged me as the next driver to go to NASCAR, and I have said that I would like to try that. I'm not going to deny that. But going into this season, I want as little distractions as possible, and I have totally cast that stuff aside. I'm a firm believer in this saying: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

Split news
This is a few days old, but TG's offer for open-wheel unity didn't go very far, at least this year, as TG scrapped it as we got closer to the season. TG would've provided cars for CC teams, plus brought Long Beach and a couple of other races into the fold.
The big quote was this from Carl Haas in Robin Miller's story: “It hasn’t happened yet but we’ve certainly considered going. It may not happen this year, but it’s highly probable we’ll do it in 2009 because there needs to be one series.”
Says TG, in Cavin's story: "Teams started coming to me in December and January, and there's not much I can do at that point. I needed to know earlier so we could get the cars ordered."

While looking for pigs to fly as I read this, Robin Miller says the IRL will win the war, and blasts Champ Car for keeping it going. The big point in this story was RM's discussion of Carl Haas' comment from above: "Haas ... went to the IRL leader because he, (Paul) Newman and Mike Lanigan are troubled about the lack of professionalism, lack of communication and lack of anything resembling a future."

Meanwhile, although Justin Wilson has a home at NHLR, most of Champ Car's driver lineup is not set for the first race.

Catching up with the runner-up
Scott Dixon can't fly under the radar anymore.

From the tabloids & features
OK magazine interviews Helio Castroneves, while people show up to see him in Grand Rapids.
Tony Kanaan takes a spin around Belle Isle

Former drivers news
De Ferran to ALMS
Former Indy winner Gil de Ferran, one of the all-around good guys in motorsport, is leaving his F1 post with Honda to join the ALMS with Tom Anderson. He isn't ruling out an IndyCar effort in the future. Gil also talks with Crash.net.

Sam isn't ruling out Indy in the future
This story has finally made it to NASCARworld, so here goes.

IPS news
Doug Prendeville to Andersen Racing (which has a partnership with RLR)
Richard Antinucci to Sam Schmidt Motorsports, where James Davison will be his teammate
Bobby Wilson in Team E ride

Racing biz stuff
ESPN.com's Terry Blount discusses the difficulty of finding sponsorships in motorsports.

Joost Web TV is giving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a boost