Congratulations to Doornbos and especially Dan Clarke for becoming the latest members of the champ car family. I guess we all expected Doornbos, who, if given a chance in terms of equipment will be interesting to watch and could potentially challenge for rookie of the year. That will be more of a testament to the team though, as we know he has the skills, but needs the car to back him up. I wish him the best of luck

I saw Speedy Dan at spring training at the concession stand. He was on his cell phone looking a little dejected. I tell you, at the time I never suspected he’d be in a seat at Las Vegas. I have nothing against Baumgartner, but I would rather see Clarke in the 2nd Minardi seat. It’s just my opinion, but I liked what I saw from Clarke last year. I’m not talking about the results necessarily. His were up and down. But his aggression and attitude on the track was worth the price of admission. He is just fun to watch. He pulled boneheaded moves and he pulled some brilliant moves. He gave Will Power a run for his money and he angered drivers. He really is like a junior Paul Tracy. Brash, confident with the skills to back him up. Again, if he has good equipment, he’ll compete for podiums, no question about it.

NHL racing is set to make their big announcement on March 29th after months of speculating by a lot of people. We assume it’s to officially welcome Graham Rahal to the team (which is fantastic) but the forums have speculated on some high tech company also joining along as primary sponsor. This surprises me. I hope it happens, but it surprises me because I heard otherwise at Spring Training. I heard he WAS going to have sponsorship, but it was going to be from a brand new company not at all involved in the technology sector. I quite frankly forget the name of the company, mainly since it’s brand new. I’ll put it this way, if it is a tech company I will be VERY surprised. Come to think of it, it will surprise everybody on the forums. But, maybe that company’s deal fell through. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Bottom line is that Rahal is looking to get that number 2 seat and he should compete right away for the Vanderbilt cup. That’s right; I am putting Rahal on par with his teammate, Tracy and Wilson. I mentioned in another blog that Tracy mentioned how difficult it is for rookies to compete given their lack of track experience. But most rookies aren’t Rahal’s driving for NewmanHaasLanigan Racing.

Getting back to Minardi for a moment. I have been a Keith Wiggins fan for a long time. The man tells it like it is and whenever he has been a guest at a fan forum in the past, he’s as entertaining as they come. Not to mention his storied career is fantastic. Today’s (March 28th) quote of his simply solidified my admiration for the man. I know this will likely ruffle a few feathers. Here’s the quote:

“I think there’s a lot of good drivers out there. But circumstances are never always the same,” said Minardi Team USA co-owner Keith Wiggins. “I believe some of the drivers that are out there that have finished high up in the championship have finished high up in the championship several years, but they have not won it, so that probably gives you my opinion; that it’s time to always look for the new people that are coming in who have the aggression and a fresh approach and are still hungry to win and haven’t forgotten how to win”

I happen to wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Wiggins.

And as I write this, I see that Forsythe is going to announce another driver tomorrow. This is great. Things are really coming along. I wonder who it’s going to be. Is it going to be Buddy Rice as rumored? Or someone we have all never heard of? Either way, this is good news as the driver count continues to grow. 18 at Las Vegas is what I hope for, naturally.