Well, the time has come to get back to racing. Its not going to be an easy weekend for the champ car community, but with Cristiano continuing to progress, the series continues to plow through the 2006 season, with the 10th stop of the year this weekend on the streets of Denver. Let me start off by saying that I love Denver. Not just from having been to the race since the inaugural event in 2002, but from doing an episode of our beer show there earlier this year. Whether it’s the Bull and Bush bar or the Falling Rock Tavern or the Winkoop tavern, Denver is a great place to find good beer. And if you are looking for a fine place to go that’s hip and trendy, try the Vesta dipping grill, you won’t regret it. I look forward myself to going to these places and saying hello to friends I met back in…whenever we filmed the show. Sometime in the spring. I don’t remember, I was drinking a lot of beer!

It’s hard to bet against Newman/Haas racing this weekend considering there record in Denver. Bourdais is on his usual tare this season as he’s coming off his 5th win of the season in San Jose and 8th podium in 9 races. Not to mention the fact that he hasn’t started any race this season outside the top 5 to go with his 5 pole positions. How can you conceivably bet against him this weekend? Well, he’ll be the first person to say it’s not such a bad idea. Not because he doubts his own abilities, but because he knows the competition is fierce. He was quoted as saying “..Are we going to be able to win for the 3rd time there? I can’t be sure. It’s about as good as it gets in racing; you can always try but you’ll never be sure of the result.”

I had forgotten that Bruno had won this race twice, has two poles and three podiums in the event’s four year history. This is a great opportunity for him to get back to his winning ways and return to form. A lot of people are speculating on whether Bruno will be out of a job at Newman/Haas when the season ends. I know he’s been a victim of bad luck at times this season, but he also hasn’t shown the speed on a regular basis. These next five races are crucial for him if he wants to continue to race in Champ Car. I hope his rise to prominence starts this weekend in Denver.

Justin Wilson will no doubt be racing with a heavy heart this weekend, but so will most of the drivers. Rusport traditionally excels and celebrates the streets of Denver, given that their headquarters are in the area. But this weekend it’s going to be a different story and, as they mentioned, they just want to get through this weekend with a good result. Racing will be far from their minds. Nonetheless, I expect Justin Wilson to be competitive, as he has been his whole career. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other night and we were talking about Justin’s prowess as a driver. He’s so unbelievably consistent and just doesn’t make mistakes. He’s a rare talent, there is no question about it. But, like I told my friend “there’s only one thing preventing Justin from being a phenom and that’s the driver of the number 1 car”.

As I was doing reading my notes about this upcoming race, I came across an interesting factoid. That is, that Mr. JWil leads the Bridgestone Passion for Excellence Award after nine races. This award is in its 4th year and is determined by adding each Champ Car driver’s fastest lap times at each race together. The driver with the quickest total lap time at the end of the season wins. Not surprisingly, Sebastian Bourdais has won the award every year. Now, yes it is interesting that Wilson is leading, but it’s the fact that he’s currently ahead of Will Power by 2.936 seconds that astounds me. Will Power? If this doesn’t confirm what I have been writing about this kid over the last few weeks, then perhaps only the rookie of the year can. Wouldn’t it be something if a Rookie won this award? I mean, this award is ALL about speed and consistency. If there’s another award that demonstrates this, it might only be the Vanderbilt Cup itself. I tell you, I am going to keep hyping this kid until he proves me wrong and I have a feeling that isn’t happening any time soon. His teammate Tagliani will also be another driver to watch this weekend. Following his San Jose incident, look for Tags to bounce back and get that podium he so desperately wants for his teammates more than anything. Tags has tasted the champagne before and so has his co-workers at TA. But I have a feeling that none of the past podiums would taste as sweet as one from this weekend.

Speaking of the incident, Paul Tracy is the only other driver besides Bourdais and Junquiera to have his name in the record books as he captured last year’s pole position and track record. Prior to that, Junky and Bourdais had all the wins and poles between them. It’s difficult to figure out what continues to motivate a driver of his caliber at this point in the season, given the kind of frustrating season he’s having. However, he’s been to battle so many times and for some years now has been to battle Cristiano Da Matta. Tracy said a win this weekend would be a win “for Da Matta”. What more motivation do you need?

A.J. is another interesting story this weekend. Coming off a disappointing and frustrating weekend in San Jose, he now enters the second leg of his homecoming tour, as he was born outside of San Jose and has resided in Colorado for some years now. Naturally, he also mentioned how difficult it’s been for the Champ Car community this week and looks forward to getting back in the car under race conditions. He needs to close the gap on Bourdais if he will make a legitimate run at the Vanderbilt Cup. By the way, do you think AJ will win the most improved driver of the year? Bet on it. We know he has always had the talent and some podiums to show for it. But three wins a season is phenomenal and we aren’t done yet. He went from a fast potential star to a legitimate superstar. I don’t see anybody else winning it.

Except for Nelson Philippe, but he won it last year and I don’t think you can give it to anybody else but AJ anyway. But Philippe has earned himself a ride in the Champ Car World Series for many years to come. That’s the key with this kid as he continues to mature and grow as a driver. He started so young that he was always fighting for respect. Once he earned that respect (arguably last year after winning the most improved driver) then he had to start fighting for legitimacy. I believe he has earned it. He’s now a driver who will be taken seriously for a while to come. Owners know he’s only 20. They know the experience that he’s already garnered. They know that he’s a leader on a team that is surprising a lot of people this year by their performance. I’m in no way suggesting that CTEHVM is letting him go. I don’t know the details of their contract. All I am saying is that he has earned the right to be driving Champ Cars for many years.
It’s inevitable that some drivers won’t be returning next season. That goes with the business and is especially true these days. But I must admit that there are very few drivers that I would like to be replaced at the end of the year. Thinking about the rookie crop we have this season, I truly believe that they are exceptionally talented and deserve to continue to progress as sophomores in 2007. Naturally, Speedy Dan comes to mind. But looking at Charles Swolsman who has 4 top ten finishes this season or Jan Heylen who has done more with that number 11 car then all of the drivers prior to him over the last couple of years, it would be a shame if they didn’t get the opportunity to prove themselves next year. Again, I am in no way suggesting that either driver isn’t coming back. But, we all know the reality of racing. I just hope it works out for them.
Before the test at Road America, Denver looked to be the most highly anticipated event of the season. Fresh of the Tagliani/Tracy fight, the series was experiencing a surge in popularity that it hadn’t seen in a while. A buzz was going through the world of motor sports as we anxiously waited for the fall out, the penalties, the fines, the apologies, the explanations. They all came and went and we had a pretty good time dissecting the decisions made and the excuses given. But, since the Road America incident, it hardly seems to matter now. And while the race must go on and the competition will be fierce as usual, things are a little different this weekend. A lot of the drivers talked about the difficult times in the “Champ Car Community”, not just amongst the drivers themselves. We truly are a family, a traveling road show. We see each other more then we see our own families. We get on each other’s nerves and we take each other out to dinner. We look forward to Mondays when the race is over, but then look forward to the next race on Tuesday. When one of the members of the community gets hurt, it affects us all. It reminds us of the dangers of this sport, but it also reminds us that we truly are a family, and we should never take anything for granted. It’s not going to be an easy weekend for any member of the Champ Car Community, but we’ll get through it together with Cristiano deep in our thoughts.