This bud’s for you:

Buddy, welcome to the team! I hope things work out for you and frankly, I hope you get the ride next year. I have always admired your Atlantic work and figured, like a lot of drivers, you were wasting your talents in the IRL. This is not a dig at the IRL, it’s the fact that you are a road racer and now have an opportunity to show off your skills. You had a great run in the Atlantics and now are back where you belong, even if it took a while for you to get there. You are jumping in the most coveted seat in all of American open-wheel racing. You are also about to drive for a man that clearly doesn’t tolerate mediocrity, so the pressure is on. This is a one race tryout, albeit under the best circumstances for you. The championship is clinched and it’s the last race of the season. You, along with at least 12 other drivers will be driving for jobs in 2008. That means that it will be every driver for himself out there, mano a mano. The pressure of jumping into a car that has won 5 times this year must be incredible, but you can handle it.

I loved your Indy 500 win and hope that you are fully recovered from your accident that prevented you in participating a year later. I don’t mean physically recovered, but mentally. I believe that you are and that it was Rahal-Letterman racing that was the problem and not you. I hope I am correct, because I am a fan of yours.

This is great for the Champ Car World Series. This will allow the fans, media and personnel to forget about AJ and his timely departure to NASCAR. It will allow us bloggers to focus on you and the other potential new and existing drivers in Mexico. You are American made, in the Jimmy Vasser mold and this is what the series needs.

Should you get a second teammate in the form of Michel Jourdain, don’t be surprised if he races the race of his life. Because, frankly, as big as this is for you Buddy, it may even be bigger for Michel. Things haven’t really worked out for him in NASCAR. Though he has been quick at times, things haven’t gone the way he would have liked too. We know he doesn’t need the money. He needs the respect and this is his opportunity to get it back. He will never forget (and most of us won’t either) when he lead some laps in Mexico City some years back and the crowd response he received. Of course, he was out of sequence and was only a matter of laps before he had to pit, but that didn’t matter to the hundred thousand Mexican fans. He wants that feeling again, because it’s been, well since that day that he’s received it. Jourdain, should he get that ride, will be a man on a mission. Forsythe will definitely be the team to beat in Mexico.

Oh champ car, PLEASE take me there. This race is going to be unbelievable!!!!

Bye bye A.J.

Well, it’s a shame, isn’t it? I mean for Champ Car fans it’s a shame. AJ was special. He was special not just as a driver because, let’s face it, those come and go. Aside from a select few, be they Bourdais or Schumacher, good drivers with potential come along every year. They don’t always pan out, but they are out there. Every year there is the next American super star; there is the next European superstar or South American superstar. Although AJ finally fulfilled his potential this year, it’s not his on-track prowess that will be missed. Whomever takes that number 7 seat next year will have huge shoes to fill, but will still have Michael Cannon and Neil Micklewright, will still have Tracy and the majority of Forsythe’s current outfit. Who ever gets it has a golden opportunity to have a huge impact in 2007. Just like AJ did this season when he jumped in. but where AJ is going to be missed is off the track. What made AJ unique (and the reason he will succeed in NASCAR) is because he’s the everyman’s driver. Every time he speaks about the car he keeps it simple. And he usually says it with a smile or a smirk. Forget the technical jargon that a few of us can appreciate, he keeps it simple. “The car ain’t going fast enough. It needs to go faster”. Maybe that could be frustrating to an engineer, but to the media and the general public, it’s exactly what needs to be heard. When he was happy, he was thrilled. When he was mad, he was pissed. There was no in-between with him. Not to mention that he was clever and genuinely funny, therefore likeable. He was also approachable, a key thing for a sponsor and a team owner. And he happens to be a pretty good driver to boot.

The reason I am pointing out his positive attributes in this otherwise dark day for Champ Car fans is to answer the reason why Toyota chose him over countless of other American drivers in the US with a heck of a lot more oval and stock car experience. Toyota knows full well what it is getting itself into next year. It knows it’s going in as the immediate villain, the Japanese manufacturer invading an all-American series. The foreigners in an era where foreigners aren’t necessarily welcomed in Middle America. It is not going to be an easy sell for these guys, so they need to hire drivers with mass American appeal. AJ more than fills that role. He’s personable, he’s marketable, and he’s good-looking but not pretty. He’s young, so he appeals to the important young male demographic. He’s really the typical American-made success story, that of a kid with a dream accomplishing it through determination and perseverance. He’s a sponsor’s dream. I wish him the best of luck and he will be missed in Champ Car. Like I said above, his skills off the track are going to be missed more then his skills on the track.

So who gets that coveted seat? If you look at the current situation right now, a lot of good seats appear to be opening up next year. If DaMatta can’t return, the number 10 spot is a good opportunity for a driver to enter the series or to move up. Obviously the number 7 is prime. Is Oriol coming back at PKV? I ask, cause I really don’t know, but that could be a nice seat to have too. Is Mario set with Rocketsports next season? After the Australian race, I certainly hope so, because Mario needs a permanent home where he his happy and can perform. He may never be a champion, but can bring back some respect at Rocketsports.

In my opinion, the Atlantics were great this year, but I think most of the really talented kids are still at least a year away from being ready for Champ Car. I’m thinking about Scuito, Hinch and that crowd that have more or less gone through the ranks competing against one another. If there are this many open seats next silly season, then you can bank on many more Atlantic grads making the jump. For the time being, I imagine Rahal, Pagenaud and Wirth will make the jump. But will Gelles take one or two drivers from this year’s crop?

Congratulations to the kid. He deserves whatever success he comes across because, first and foremost, he’s a good person. He hasn’t let a lavish upbringing spoil him and I am sure his parents are the reason for that. He continues to be humble and appreciative of his environment. He was quick to thank his teammates following his win and continued to do so during different interviews. Not many people thought he would be a race winner when he became the youngest driver to ever start a champ car race. Now nobody is going to doubt that he has many more wins to come. I know it was a pretty crazy race and unpredictable to say the least, but those are often the races where you can separate the men from the boys and your skills come into play even more. Good for Nelson. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes next year. I hope he stay with HVM, that team deserves to have him at least one more year where they can continue to grow as an outfit and pull out even more wins next year when everybody is on the same playing field.

Of course, the big story was Sebastian Bourdais capturing his 3rd consecutive Vanderbilt Cup. It must be awkward winning a championship but not winning a race. He was clearly frustrated at the end of the race and therefore could hardly enjoy the significance of his accomplishments on television. Nonetheless, what he has done is incredible. You cannot say enough about his skills as a driver and while many will wonder ‘what if A.J. had started the year at Forsythe?’, the fact remains that Bourdais answered the call when challenged and when A.J was winning all those races, Bourdais was right there on the podium with him. Bourdais will be remembered as one of the best champ car drivers ever. And he’s instantly (if he wasn’t already) put in the same category as all the great, legendary drivers that have come and gone in this great sport of ours.

I feel bad for Will Power. As much credit as we gave to Philippe after that race, as much credit needs to go to Will. He demonstrated calm and composure despite constantly being rundown by the better drivers in the series. It could have very well been a Will Power weekend, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’ll have his moment in the sun.

I sat back on Sunday and got ready to watch the broadcast. Prior to the start of the show, the F1 race was wrapping up with a very nice tribute to Schumacher. It wasn’t until I saw it that I realized that I am going to miss that guy a lot. He’s a phenomenal driver and miles ahead of anybody in that field, despite the fact that he didn’t win the championship. I am sure Alonso is a good driver, but F1 has been the Michael Schumacher show for the last 9 years. I will certainly miss him.

Now, on to the broadcast at hand. I had been looking forward to this because I read your critiques and criticisms on the web and looked forward to seeing (and hearing) it myself. I wanted to be fair in my assessment since I consider Rick Benjamin a friend and, like him or hate him; Derek is a pro in the world of racing. I also understand the difficulties of calling a race from 3000 miles away. This is actually, my first complaint. Throughout the broadcast I kept saying “just fly them there”. Their throws to Jon were awkward and the whole pre-show wasn’t very good because it was all Jon all the time. I also reminded myself that “they must be exhausted cause its 2 in the morning and they are probably stuck in a dark booth”, because at one time Derek yelled twice what I think was “AWK” and Rick was shocked that a driver had attempted a pass. Truly shocked! How could he?
So I gave them the benefit of the doubt going in. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy race to call. Here are some thoughts of mine.

Derek calling Tracy a moron or idiot was uncalled for. If he has called the move idiotic, that would have been fine. You can have a colorful, opinioned color-commentator, but Derek just seems to genuinely hate PT and is airing out his laundry during the broadcast. Not professional. Then I felt that HE genuinely felt bad for Tracy when he had to give up that spot at the end, which was quite a contrast from his earlier rant. But it still didn’t make up the fact that his vendetta against Tracy was obvious. I don’t like when color commentators are too friendly with drivers, but it certainly goes the other way too.

There is no traction control in Champ Car. Its one of my favorite aspects of our series, the fact that its man DRIVING machine with little help from an onboard computer. It’s what separates us from Formula One. If I am a new viewer watching that race, I am now under the impression that Champ Cars have traction control. They do not. BIG mistake in my opinion.

I like Derek’s enthusiasm, I will admit that. The guy does seem to genuinely love Champ Car and while he does make some mistakes, I think his passion over rides it. Granted, I still have problems understanding him at times, but again, he seems to really like being there. As for Rick, well, again, I blame the fact that it was 3am in their booth and he was probably tired. But I have nothing particularly bad to say about Rick. I can understand some complaints that he may be a little dry. It’s his way. It’s his demeanor. You take it or leave it.

My main concern and it has been with every broadcast I have seen (which may not count, since I tend to watch the races away from Canada and the States) is that there always looks like there is a filter on the screen. The screen looks a little dirty, it’s never clear. Now, I understand this was all the way in Australia, but I watch Formula One races from all over and they seem clear. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s like a small, light filter put in front of the camera that makes the screen look dirty. And despite my television background, I have no idea what causes that. I guess that’s why I failed that part of school.

I certainly appreciate the suggestions that some of you are making on Champ Car Fanatics that yours truly be part of the broadcast booth next season. I am not sure where the future lies right now, but if there WAS an opening next year in the booth, I would LOVE to be considered for that spot. Que sera, sera.