I write this on my way to Houston, knowing that I am likely to do a with Jim Swintal this evening and thus making this blog somewhat moot since I wouldn't ask you to read my drivel and then listen to me spew it. :)
If you are reading this, its either sometime in the weekend and my week-day analogies can be thrown out the window since the cars have already been on track, or the podcast has been delayed for logistical issues but will be coming your way shortly.
First off, I hope you enjoyed the latest Overheard at the track on champcar.ws. Its occurred to me that I may be abusing that name, since its the title of this blog, the title of the podcast and the title of the videos on the internet. I need to be a little more creative and come up with a new name for the podcast. Maybe i'll let Jim take care of that one.
Its fun knowing that in a weekend where all the attention should be focused on Newman/Haas/Lanigan to see if they continue to dominate or on Team Australia to see how they respond and especially to see if Pagenaud can do what he does Friday/Saturday on Sunday, that most of the attention will be on Forsythe and Oriol Servia/Mario Dominguez. In the last week, Oriol, not Will Power, has brought this revived notion that the Beast that is Newman/Haas can be tamed. And its tamer is Oriol. That he is the biggest threat against Bourdais. That if anybody can topple Seabass, its going to be Servia. This time he has a full weekend with the car. He's got all weekend to chat with the engineers and the mechanics to get to know them. If he can finish second in a race barely 24 hours after joining the team, surely he can finish first with a full weekend with them? Everybody knows that this is an audition with Forsythe, that if Oriol wins this weekend there is no way they can let him go. Its an audition with them, but not any other team seeking a driver past Houston (someone like Conquest) because Oriol has already proven himself in the series time and time again. Oh, and I merely mention Conquest since Halliday has a three-race deal right now. Hopefully his sponsor will see the magnitude of Champ Car events and stick around a full season.
And what about Mario? Surely this has to be the biggest weekend of his Champ Car career, as everything is on the line. Had he not won the pole last year and blew the win on a silly mistake, would the stakes be as high this weekend? We know its a three race deal. So what happens if Mario wins on Sunday? Is that job security despite an accident in Long Beach and a so-so result on LV (to be honest with you, I am sitting at the airport right now and can't remember exactly where he finished in Vegas.)? Or is he finished no matter what happens this weekend? What about a podium finish, is that good enough for him to continue? What if Oriol finishes on the podium, or even a top 5? So many questions, so many decisions for Forsythe. This is going to be fun to watch on Sunday!
Speaking of Tracy, as I suspected he's going to try his hardest to be back by Portland. I fully expect him too, as his recovery process will be intense and well monitored. With Monster on board, he has a lot more on the line now. Monster hasn't said that personal sponsorship is the most they will commit too, so who knows.
A driver I am anxious to see perform well this weekend is Justin Wilson. I know he evidently got a raw deal with Carl having to pull out, the whole thing with Pettit happened, and suddenly found himself without a teammate and in a "partnership" with Rocketsports. I probably don't know more about the situation than you do. Only a certain few knows exactly what happened and what is going to happened. But I know that Tag has thus far exceeded expectations. He can genuinely say he's run with the leaders in both races (except for Bourdais in LB, but then nobody came close). Justin, his partner, had his worse weekend of his Champ Car career in Las Vegas and then had a decent weekend in Long Beach. Will that spring some life into his team and himself? Will that give him confidence in is ability under the circumstances? I personally just don't see how Tag can do well and Justin won't. Its an adjustment for both drivers and I want Justin back competing for wins like he was the last two seasons. Robin Miller wrote him off during his chat session with the fans on Wednesday on speedtv.com, I am not ready too just yet.
I can't help but wonder what Alex would bring to the table if he was still at Team Australia this year. Right now, its fairly easy for that team to determine that Will is their number one driver and Simon is onboard to fight for the rookie of the year and help in trying set ups, but that's it. If Alex was there, could Derek Walker and Craig Gore easily make that distinction? Its common sense for a team that calls itself Team Australia and has Aussie Vineyards as its primary sponsor to have their number one driver be Australian. Maybe its one of the reason Alex didn't return to the team. Maybe the underlying notion was that this team is built around Will and the second driver has to accept the role as just that. Simon would have no problems with that role, as no rookie would. But could the second longest standing driver in the series be willing to play second fiddle to a second year driver? Me thinks not.
You read the reaction that Doornbos had after Las Vegas, that he had a lot of fun and everything took some getting used too. that is it night and day with Formula One. Prior to the race in Long Beach, I was speaking with his engineer on that very topic and he himself told me basically the same thing, that the biggest adjustment for Doornbos is the fact that this isn't F1. In fact, during their final debriefing before Las Vegas, he told Doornbos words are that are so true, that I thought i'd share them with you. Simply put, he told Doornbos "nothing is out of the ordinary" in Champ Car. So simple, yet so true. He gave the example that if Doornbos finds himself 12th after the first lap, that by no stretch of the imagination is he going to necessarily finish 12th. Unlike F1 where everything is pretty much determined after lap 1, anything can and usually does happen in Champ Car. Nothing is out of the ordinary.
