thanks Spencer. My new favorite Champ Car pic of all time.

Dario....

Is Dario running the rest of the way for Rusport? filling in that vacant number 10 spot starting at Road America? First off and most importantly, DaMatta is doing better, he’s still confused but is speaking Portuguese and English and is talking racing. Keep it up Cristiano, we want to see YOU drive that number 10 soon.

Dario is good for the series; this will be seen as poaching an IRL driver (married to Ashley Judd) and makes the series look damn good. There is no spinning that. Of the drivers to poach from that series, Dario is in the top 6. Hornish, Andretti or Shamica would be higher (because they are Americans). In terms of legitimate drivers, add Castroneves and Dixon and that’s it, maybe Kanaan. Anybody else from over there coming here does nothing for our series. I remember when Manning left Chip and was hanging around our paddocks. I liked Manning and all that, but knew he would merely be another driver; he would do nothing in the war between the IRL and Champ Car. Dario could potentially be seen as a coup, and that’s good news.

By the way, I like how the two owners of the series wine and dine and talk merger and running races together, while we minions continue to see each other as enemies.

But for Justin Wilson, this is great news. If this rumor pans out, he could hardly have asked for a better teammate as he continues to fight for a championship or, more realistically, race wins and a high finish in the standings. Dario knows the Lola and that track, so his data will be vital to the teams. Also, I see few drivers as being able to take one for the team. Dario is one of them. Whether its giving up a spot or getting in Bourdais’ way or whatever little means to help Jwil. Dario will be able to accomplish that goal and will do it without saying anything. Dario Franchitti is potentially the best driver that Rusport and Jwil could get.

Also, Franchitti is mature and a season veteran. He’s seen all the situations and adds a little class to the series. He’ll be fun during the autograph sessions and I’m sure the guys will welcome him back with open arms. Dario has always been one of the good guys. One of the guys that people liked and respected. This is good for the series, no question about it. At least good for the final 3 races. As for next year, well that’s another story…..

Well, following the Monday in Montreal (that’s kind of a cool name for the race) I am presently in Ottawa scouting potential locations and sponsors for the future Grand Prix of Ottawa. Steve Johnson asked me to come here for a few days for some research and basically see if this race is feasible as a replacement for Montreal. Of course, if you believe that, then I have a Panoz DP01 in my pocket that I can sell to you, cheap. My parents live in Ottawa and it is where I was born and raised, so every year following the Montreal GP I spend a few days here. I must admit that when I came home yesterday and my dad told me of a potential race here, it was the first I had heard of it and was, frankly, skeptical at best. I certainly hope it happens, as then I would, like AJ, have multiple home races in a season. That guy is now looking at 3 home races next year. Ottawa is a world-class city, but fairly conservative, so I would be pleasantly surprised if the city council approved such an enormous event like the Champ Car World Series invading their streets. But, if the discussions are ongoing and Champ Car needs a local representative to cheerlead the series, PLEASE call me. I grew up here!!

Anyway, to the Montreal event. What a moment it was when Paul Newman spoke briefly to the crowd during the podium ceremonies. Totally impromptu, totally spontaneous, totally encouraging. What amazed me the most is how one man can say so few words and have them be so powerful. Mr. Newman is truly an amazing individual. And the cheer of the crowd following his words was electrifying and quite honestly I had Goosebumps, as I’m sure many did.

It’s certainly no surprise to me that the Paul Tracy weekend ended on a very good note. I’m not talking about his on-track results; I’m talking about his interaction with the crowd. I am absolutely not surprised that the crowd cheered him when I called him up on the podium and I am absolutely not surprised that he said ‘merci beaucoup’ to them on his way to congratulating Bourdais and Nelson. Paul is not a dumb man. He may act like it sometimes (ducks), but he’s a smart guy and it was the perfect way to end his weekend. Like I said on the podium to the crowd, I don’t cheer for any particular pilot, but I was hoping Tracy would finish on the podium just to have the celebration that we did and to put a nice conclusion to his and the fans weekends. My absolute favorite aspect of the whole saga was the fact that Tracy was acknowledging the crowd. These days, you have athletes in all sports that are supposedly so focused on their task and ignore the attention they receive (especially when its bad). But Paul Tracy took a potentially bad situation and turned it into a good old fun time for himself and, more importantly, for the crowd. When the crowd was booing him throughout the weekend, it was mainly because he was responding to their boos. They saw that and had fun with it and vice versa. Do you think Michael Schumacher would do that? Doubt it.
Speaking of the fans, they were absolutely fantastic and everywhere throughout the weekend. I watched many news reports from my hotel room about the fact that it’s the last year for the Champ Car World Series and not surprisingly, the stories focused on the fan access and spoke with people who couldn’t believe the five year marriage is over. It would be a real shame if we didn’t come back to Montreal. I mean that more than ever. As much as I’d like an Ottawa race, the Montreal fans deserve to see these 800hp machines on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Following the event last year, in 2005, when Legault was running the weekend, I was happy to be leaving in 2007. I hated the way he was trying to kill us while literally putting on the event. I hated his whole organization frankly and the people who worked for him (I’ll never forget one of his jackass cronies calling me to ‘test’ out my French and then telling me at the end of our phone conversation that he hoped I would lose my ‘English’ accent before the Montreal race). Last year really felt like we weren’t welcomed. This year, with my hero Allan Labrosse running the show and his people around him, it was a totally different story. I hope we come back. Just so I can speak French with my English accent again to the great fans in Montreal. Boy that guy was a dumbass.
Hey, we know that Bourdais dominated this race. That really doesn’t surprise anyone. A real shame about AJ, as he would have been tough to pass and certainly a shame for Justin when it comes to the Vanderbilt Cup. Its safe to say that Bourdais has all but locked up his 3rd in a row. The event was somewhat sloppy with a lot of yellows. At the same time, we saw a lot of overtaking and certainly many surprised in the top 10 finishers. Now we know that CTEHVM racing is for real. We suspected it was, they gave us hints that they were, now its official and good for them. But, for me, it was all about the Atlantics on Monday.
I am still catching my breath. I, along with a few colleagues of mine, though that Rahal put his arm up in celebration a little too quickly and some though that Pagenaud actually passed him before they crossed the line. He didn’t, Rahal clearly won that race by 0.078 seconds. It was unbelievable. What a finish and what a race its going to be at Road America. I like it when the finishes get the better of me and I can’t help but yell in the microphone (and yell in French no less!). Pagenaud was ticked off. He was happy long-term, but he wanted that win. And this Rahal kid deserves to be in Champ Car next year. No question about it. By the way, Paul Newman was one of the first persons to congratulate Graham as he was getting out of the car. Is that a sign? Its not just a sign, it’s a freakin’ billboard! This kid WILL be in Champ Car next year. If its not with Newman/Haas racing, it will be with someone. Heck, I’ll start Gagnon racing just to have this kid in Champ Cars next year. Gagnon Racing, I like that. Especially if you know what Gagnon means in French. Very apropos.