EMauk

Well, I found out my good friend Eric Mauk is leaving the series while surfing the web and I have to say I will miss him, I always respected him and he always seem to respect me. We had a very interesting relationship given his military background and my just-about-anything-but-conformist-background. But it always played well together, as was evident when we both were the guest speakers at last year’s fan forum dinner in Portland. It was the race where AJ had switched to Forsythe and I knew that Eric had inside information on how it happened and I was determined to get it out of him. What better place to do it then in front of some champ car fanatics with a microphone in our hands? I prodded and he spoke and eventually gave the fans some real good insight, not to mention funny, knowledge on how the whole deal came down. It ended up going splendidly well and although he gave me a hard time afterwards, I knew that we’d be back being guests together during future events because we had chemistry. Most telling of all was that he showed up in his Gray Champ Car shirt and black slacks, while I had a black t-shirt and jeans on. Pretty much paints the picture of our ying/yang relationship right there. Eric’s been around Champ Car at least as long as I have and I will miss him. I wish him and his family the very best of luck over at RLR. And I don’t know when he starts his gig there, but as of this writing (Saturday afternoon) he sure as hell has a lot of explaining to do given that the RLR cars were penalized and have to start at the back of the XMradiowhateveritscalledrace at Homestead.

As I am reading the forums on his leaving, it’s obvious some of you are unhappy with his move and have categorized him with the Fernandez/AJ’s of the world. I am not going to critize you for your opinion at all. You are a passionate champcar fan and don’t like when a member of the family leaves to, of all places, the IRL. I can and do respect that. It can feel like a slap in the face and many of you have made that quite clear. Good on you for having an opinion. Whether it’s the right or wrong one, well that question may never be answered. I know Eric is a proud family man and perhaps an even prouder Buckeye, so a move back to Ohio could not have been a very difficult decision for him and his family. What will be difficult for him will be watching Ohio State lose in the Tourney, maybe as early as by the time you have read this. But that is neither here nor there right now. Hee.
The point is, from a personal standpoint, the move had to make a lot of sense for him. Again, I wish him well and hope that he isn’t too heartbroken when Oden and his boys choke.

Here’s one thing I would like to point out, based on what many of you have written in the forums. You cannot put Champ Car employees on the same level as drivers and owners. It is simply not realistic to do so. CC and IRL employees are regular folk trying to make a living with absolutely no animosity amongst each other. Quite the contrary actually, as Indianapolis is a small city and the racing community is a small one, therefore many know each other. Eric is certainly not the first employee to leave CC for the IRL and vice versa. Eric is in the public spotlight, so that’s why we know about it. But I assure you there have been many leave CC for the IRL and many leave the IRL for CC. Both CC and IRL employees are just hard working individuals trying to do the best for their respective companies. But when they punch out, they can easily for a beer together and shoot the breeze. Remember, the split didn’t happen THAT long ago and a lot of the teams that you have today are the same teams you had back then, in one form or another. And, a lot of them have or were or still are based in Indy. On both sides. My point is, at the end of the day, it’s the head honchos who go to war and the soldiers who fight the fight. But there is little hatred or disrespect amongst soldiers on both sides. Quite the contrary actually.

On a lighter note, I did certainly enjoy the champcarfanatic discussion, where for a brief instant, somebody thought it was ME who was leaving and thus proceeded to call me every which name in the book. Luckily that was clarified quickly, but at least now I know what kind of reaction to expect should a similar situation happen to me. Somehow though, I doubt that TG or anybody else from the IRL wants a guy who has publicly made fun of them in his videos and blogs for 5 years now!! My dad always taught me never to burn bridges. I’m afraid I’ve already dropped the match on this one. but hey, who knows Dad, maybe they have a sense of humor! :)

I can't believe all the hoopla that is going into this Vegas race. Every day I seem to get another announcement in my inbox, whether its about the track or the parties surrounding the event. This race looks to be huge. We know its going to be a lot of fun, we know the cars are going to look great. I just hope they can perform. Don't get me wrong, I know they can and will and they've been tested for long distance runs. But like any proud father, you worry and are excited and look forward to it being over, simply to breath a sigh of relief. I recall the exact same feeling last season In Long Beach in preparation for the Atlantics race. Everybody was really excited about the new car, but deep down we all hoped that it would pass muster. I don't think I need to remind you how great that car looked. Of course, for them, everything was brand new. New chassis, new tires and new engines, so they had a little more to worry about. I am a worrier, so that's my nature. I know that several teams at Laguna practiced long runs, race-like runs and things were fine. I am so just so excited for this race. I love LB and I love Toronto, but I think this will be my new favorite event. I love Las Vegas and have a very interesting relationship with that city. I also heard that my old friend and yours, Mr. Patrick Carpentier will be in attendance on Sunday. I look forward to seeing him. If you happen to see him, please refrain from calling him Benedict Arnold. I think A.J. has taken over that title amongst Champ Car fans.

Speaking of A.J., if there is one thing we know about him is that he's not a patient guy. This must be the most difficult time of his career right now and you can't help but feel bad for him. I know, I know, but I can't help it. At the very least he can take solace in the fact that its a team issue right now and not just him, since his boss isn't qualifying either. But after making such noise as a rookie, as a Toyota driver, to come in the series and not qualify yet must be hard. It took a while for Toyota to dominate the Trucks, but once they did, it was all but over for the other manufacturers. I expect the same thing at the Cup level. Give them a year or two then watch how far they come. I only hope that A.J.'s patience can wait that long. And of course, their patience with him. Remember, A.J. wasn't the most technical guy out there. He's a driver and damnit that's what he does. But right now, with their attempts at bettering the car and product, a technically inclined driver would be quite beneficial to them. We'll see how that storyline plays out.