Well, one week from today, the ontrack orientation takes place for all drivers. The 2006 season will officially begin in one week. If reading that line doesn’t give you mild goosebumps, well, why are you reading this blog??

DaMatta at Dale Coyne! That shocked a lot of people when that announcement came out. Like many, the most shocking part for me was that we didn’t have to wait until Friday’s practice session to see who is driving! You have to respect someone like Cristiano, willing to go to DCR after his stints in F1 and with Newman/Haas. He’s gone from the biggest to the smallest. But that’s what is going to make this season even better! Remember how Ronnie handled the #19 last year? Now add DaMatta’s experience to that and you have a car that can hover around the top 5 any given race weekend. Also, like most people, I want to see Dale win a race. His team is such a staple in the ChampCar World Series and, whether its obvious or not, Mr. Coyne has probably saved the series on a number of occasions over the last few years. He continues to field teams in the series, even when it was at its most struggling, around 2003, you could count on DCR having 2 cars, despite their tiny budget. Let’s just say that Coyne has earned his first win and I hope it happens this year.

The rest of the field is filling up nicely. Should be some good competition this year. Lots of attention will be given to Mrs. Legge, who I’m sure will handle herself fabulously. I suspect though, that in the end, we will see something similar to what we saw in the Atlantics in 2005. She’ll get all the attention, but I think Mr. Chuck Swolsman will win the ROY. I know his outfit is small, but he’s a very quick learner and has a virtue that few drivers have: patience. He’ll go under the radar until the end of the race and suddenly he’ll be top 5 or better. Qualifying will be his biggest hurdle. If he can qualify well, I look for him to be fighting for a podium. If he qualifies back of the pack or midpack, I look for him to pull a Jourdain and steadily climb the ladder as the race goes on and finish much higher than he probably should have.

Miss Legge is a lot more aggressive, a lot more of a run and gun. We saw it last year, so why should it be any different this year? Somehow I doubt she’s intimidated by the chromehorn. In fact, I bet she dishes out pretty good herself. Its what’s going to make her the most fun to watch, her daredevil-like instincts combined with her little experience. She’s likely going to take chances this year that shouldn’t be taken. For the most part, it worked last year(Long Beach, Edmonton). But sometimes, it certainly didn’t (Cleveland anyone?).

Dan Clarke is an interesting case, because he came out of nowhere (seemingly) to get that spot on CTE racing. Evidently he didn’t do particularly well during his test. The diehard fans will give him a hard time unless he earns his seat. A couple of good results early would silence the critics and show everybody he belongs. HVM is a good, quality seat. It’s a great opportunity for the young Brit. But he’s got to be cautious out of the gates. He can’t do a run and gun offence off the bat. Along with the fans, he’s also got to earn the other driver’s respect and bumping into everybody, making banzai moves lap 5 into the Grand Prix of Long Beach is not the way to do it. He needs to hang out with his crew, his teammate, his bosses, keep a low profile and do his job and go home happy.

As for Mr. Antonio Pizzonia, I’ll say this. That car (#8) has the potential. It’s a proven machine. However, the team is whom I question. I hope they got their act together in the off-season and will perform better as a unit. I hope Paul Gentilozzi laid down the law and the team can blossom together. If they do, watch out for Pizzonia!

one more thing: don't be surprised if Danica 'wins' on Sunday in St. Petes. the IRL needs any sort of good publicity right now and they are fully aware that Legge is starting the week after in ChampCar. They need to have the first woman win, so Danicamania can continue and not be ovwershadowed by Katherine's army. you heard it here first.

ChampCar baby! ChampCar for life!