Another day

As I was watching the Bud shoot out on a high definition television at work, I was amazed at how nice the cars looked under the lights and it occurred to me that many of my best Champ Car memories were from night races. I absolutely love night racing and the main reason is how the cars look under the lights. If a stockcar looks nice at night, then you know a champ car under the light is fantastic. There is something about the lights glistening off the car that is so damn sexy. My first night race was Milwaukee and while the cars look good on ovals, is there anything better than a night race in Cleveland or on a city track? I know it’s not convenient for many people and logistically it’s a nightmare, what with all the lights. But man, if I were running things I’d have 90% of my races at night. It’s a genuine party atmosphere. Houston was great last year. But you do lose at the gate, no question.

Well, you know its that time of year: the time when the papers read ‘Jos the Boss is driving in Champ Car in 2007’. Every year it’s the same thing. Nothing against the guy, he’d be a good addition to the series, but enough already. I can’t stand people who just talk, make assumptions and then nothing happens. Again, I hope it happens and it makes sense this year, what with the Holland race and all. But man, wait until you signed the paper with whichever team before you announce it to the world. It sure would be nice if Forsythe went back to a two-car team, that’s for sure. The DP01 is going to be difficult to figure out and having two cars is definitely better than one this year. The last few years of the Lola, maybe not so much, as the teams had mastered that chassis and got everything they could out of it. But this year, it would seem to me that having a two-car team would be a HUGE benefit.

Anybody else really excited to see Graham drive in that Newman/Haas car? There hasn’t been a driver that has come into the series that’s excited me as much as he has. Maybe it is the fact that he jumps in a heck of a car, or maybe it’s the fact that he’s a Rahal. Whatever it is, I have a feeling he’s going to get himself into a lot of ‘adventures’ this year. He’s a hungry, brash and confident rookie. A recipe for success…and disaster. Which basically just means he’s going to be extremely fun to watch and to root for, or against. I’m sure he’ll rub a few other drivers the wrong way as he makes his way to the podium. He isn’t afraid to go for broke. Complete opposite of Pagenaud. How is he going to fare this season?
I really like the new schedule. This is by far the best we’ve had in years. Finally, we can stop pretending to be happy to be on Spike tv. As I was reading the press release, my jaw dropped when I saw ESPN Classic. Suddenly, I had this sinking feeling and thought that all our races would be on Classic. That would have been shocking. But fortunately it’s only the one race and it makes sense, given the location of that race. The rest of the schedule is great and I can’t wait to show up on the Deuce or ABC and give ‘em a show they’ll never forget. 2008 will be even better, but 2007 is pretty darn satisfying. Remember, the NHL is the worse rated sports in North America because it didn’t go with ESPN, who now barely treat it like it exists. ESPN is a hugely powerful machine, one that you want to be riding with, not against. I mean, if they can get ‘excited’ about Indy cars, imagine how can get when a real racing series hits ‘em. (And I’m not talking about NASCAR)