top 10

let's take a quick look at the Champ Car top 10 standings after three races:

1. Bourdais 73
2. Power 70
3. Doornbos 61
4. Tag 57
5. Junky 53
6. Servia 51
7. Rahal 46
8. Wilson 41
9. Gommendy 39
10. Pagenaud 38


What are the surprises?
I suppose it's not surprise that Bourdais finds himself at the top of the grid, given his 2 wins.. But, despite two dominant performances, he remains just 3 points ahead of Will Power. The pressure is on Will Power to remain consistent, because unless Bourdais is taken out of the race, you know he's going to be fast, no matter what. I was a little surprised that it was only 3 points separating the two, which means that a lot of credit needs to be given to Will and Team Australia for their ability to match wits with Newman/Haas/Lanigan.
Doornbos is the driver of the year thus far, but he too suffered a finish outside a top 10, otherwise he could very well be the points leader (he finished 13th in LB). Is Doornbos the real deal? is Minardi USA? You likely just read Stoddarts article, saying he got the drivers he wanted (http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~3~id~148262.htm) and while Clarke has been a disappointment thus far (15, 12, 17), Doornbos has picked up where CTE left off in 2006. Hopefully for the series, he can continue to drive strong consistent races and challenge for both the Vanderbilt and ROY. It remains to be seen how the Minardi cars will go on natural courses, but they have figured our the street courses very quickly.
Alex Tagliani is a product of consistent driving. He's a product of a veteran skills, the ability to stay out of trouble. He told Norris Macdonald in a recent pod-cast that he is exactly where he wanted to be at this point. That the team had reached its goals for the first three races. I wager to bet that they have exceeded their goals and Mr. Tagliani has to be very happy with being in 4th place(two top 5 and a 9th thus far).
I think a lot of people didn't expect Junquiera to be in the top 5 in the standings after three races, but that is a credit to him and especially Dale Coyne, who seem to have figured out this car a lot faster than other teams. As I noticed his place in the standings, it occurred to me that Dale Coyne might have finally reached the respect of other teams as a team. Not the man naturally, as we all know how dedicated he and his wife are to Champ Car. But as a team and its competitiveness. In the past couple of years, he has seen the likes of DaMatta, Junquiera, Dominguez and Servia drive for him. Those are very good drivers who brought solid results to the team. The excuse of driving for Dale Coyne no longer applies, as the drivers I just mentioned got the results. They weren't wins, but consistent results, which is exactly what Junky is doing right now(three top 10's for him thus far).
Oriol Servia being 6th in the standings does demonstrate that it is very early in the season, since he missed a race and nonetheless is in 6th. His 2nd place finish in LB was huge for him (lead to him signing with Forsythe) and had it not been for a mistake in the pits in Houston, he would have likely bumped Doornbos from that final spot on the podium. Servia is a driver that seems to excel under pressure, seems to strive when things are on the line. He is driving a very very good car, so you expect him to have similar results. Servia is the prototypical driver that every kid should model themselves after, in my opinion. He's a big picture guy and those are often the championship contenders.
I like Graham Rahal in 7th and iI like his podium in Houston. He's showing that, despite the tender age of 18, he's the real deal and ready to compete for wins right off the bat. While he did look a little lost in Vegas, its safe to say the entire team did. He's been fast in the number 2 car and NHL's 1-2 in Houston is pretty good momentum going into Portland. he loves the road courses, so he may fair even better on them.

I suppose to every race fan, the biggest disappointment thus far comes from Justin Wilson. From the press and the forums, he hasn't found his speed, his team is a disaster and the merge with Rocketsports has been nothing but detrimental to his career. I suppose the results do speak for themselves. A 14th in Vegas, a 4th in LB and a 10th in Houston. But I think those are a little deceptive, because aside from Vegas (and I think NHL proved that the first race with a new car will give a lot of teams trouble), his 4th place in LB was solid and if not for a bad pit strategy in Houston, he could have finished top 5. Sure, these aren't championship results and we may never know the real situation behind Rusport and the defection of Carl Russo, but the bottom line is that if Alex Tagliani can produce consistent results, then so should Wilson. And since Wilson has the skills, he should soon be able to compete (like he did in Houston) with NHL and Team Australia. He is too good of a driver not too.

In 9th thus far is...Tristan Gommendy???? And he's lead two out of the three Champ Car races he's competed in? And he's outpacing his teammate who has vast F1 experience? And he recently declared his love of Champ Car and his hope to stick around for many years? I hope that PKV has found the right set up with the new car, cause this team has been supposed to compete for a long time now and it hasn't happened. Aside from their one win (in Portland by the way) this team has underachieved. Maybe it takes an unknown like Gommendy to kick this team into high gear. A young, eager driver who lets the engineer do the work while he learns the tracks. It could work.

And, rounding out the top 10 is Simon Pagenaud. You know who Simon reminds me of? Will Power from 2006. Fast. very fast. Yet rookie mistakes are costing him podium finishes. So far Simon has qualified very well for a rookie and by all accounts should be higher in the standings. But rookie mistakes and rookie misfortunes have cost him thus far. Unlike Will Power last year, it appears the rookie crop this season is stronger and thus a RYO is anything but guaranteed for the 2006 Atlantic champion.

there you have a it, a quick look at the current top 10 in the Champ Car World series. By the way, they hired my good friend and very talented Tom Michael's to be this year's track announcing. To those who have gone to Cleveland for many years and Houston the last two will be familiar with his work. He also used to work for CART radio, so he has vast CC experience. He's a great person and a great announcer. I congratulate him and look forward to sneaking up in the booth with him and chatting away.

senators

I forgot to give a shout out to my Senators who on Saturday beat the Buffalo Sabres to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since they returned to the nhl in 1992. The city of Ottawa is going crazy and I am convinced that this team of fine players will bring the cup back to Canada and keep it in Otttawa for a while.

Go Sens Go!

Well I watched the All-Star shootout last night and chuckled since it was more or less exactly like Tony Stewart described the sport a month ago (and a topic we covered in our latest podcast). As in, 20 laps, then bunch 'em up. 20 laps, then bunch 'em up. Of course, this was the all-star challenge and its intent and purposes varied greatly from the usual Nextel Cup race, but nonetheless, the rules of the All-Star challenge mirror what Stewart thinks (or thought) of NASCAR. Get some laps and if you are in a good position, just hold it because they are going to bunch 'em up soon enough anyway and if you are way off the pace, just stay on the lead lap and you'll have another chance and if you are leading....well that sucks for you, but them the rules. Of course, as mentioned, the All-Star challenge is designed that way and everybody knows it. over 1 million dollars went to Harvick (who promised to share it with his teammates. you mean to tell me some drivers have opted to keep it all to themselves in the past?) who basically never started a segment further than 4th or 5th and was there when it counted. Ironically, I don't think I heard his name mentioned once in the broadcast until that final segment when he lead. I like a driver who sneaks under the radar and finishes well.
I also liked Carl Edwards as a special pit reporter. Naturally that wasn't planned, but kudos to him for doing a decent job. He was nervous, naturally, but I thought he presented himself quite professionally and, given all his recent television appearances that he's prepping for a broadcast career post NASCAR. I think he'll have a lot of success at it too.

I have also tried watching the Indy 500 qualifying the past couple of weeks and to be honest with you, I am downright confused with the new format. As far as I can tell, the top 3 teams occupy the top spots (except for Briscoe who is running with Penske Jr. team)and the rest are qualifying for grid position amongst themselves. I see Moreno is currently somewhere in the 30's, so there goes any speculation as to whether Champ Car would be at Indy. The answer is YES!!! That clearly means that the next step is a full-fledged merger! I have to admit that it would be pretty neat if there was only one series and we were all there qualifying for a race that was once so meaningful. I just wish I was there as an employee of Champ Car (or whatever one series would be called) instead of being there as one employee or another. Its a shame and the month of May is always harder than the rest. Of course, it doesn't help that there is a gap in the Champ car schedule, but that would only offer temporary relief, as May will always be known as Indy month. Once this time passes and we get back to Portland, then Cleveland, then the real busy stretch, we'll have forgotten all about this break and we'll be able to focus on what's important.

Well it looks as if we will know the fate of the Champ Car's three time champion in July, when he expects the Torro Rosso gang to make their decision on his future. I really hope he's able to land a ride with them, as I am sure it would crush him if the opportunity passed him by once again. He has tested with this team, they have showed interest in him, he knows Bernie really wants a French driver in the series, Bourdais has won the Vanderbilt Cup 3 times in a row and he's also 28 now, so there aren't going to be many more opportunities. At this moment, this is the best chance he'll ever get. He can't possibly accomplish anymore in CC than he already has and there is no other series for him to go show his worth. he's tested very well thus far with the F1 team and hopefully they will make the right decision (i.e. hire him). This would be an interesting marketing opportunity for Champ Car too, as well as ESPN in the 2008 season. If, big if, but if Bourdais wins the cup again this year and vacates for F1, what a glorious storyline for next season when the series moves full time to the ABC family. A new champion will be crowned no matter what. There will be more at stake then ever!

But, that is definitely getting ahead of ourselves. But at this point, given his track record, Bourdais is the favorite to win his 4th in a row. period. Yes, Power can challenge him and hopefully Oriol (if he gets the seat) and Tracy and even Wilson can put a few dent in his accomplishments in order to give Power the chance. But, right now, as we speak, Newman/Haas/Lanigan's number 1 car is the best car in North America and has been for quite some time.

Speaking of French people, how great is it to hear Gommendy's comments about loving Champ Car and wanting to be here for the next several years? Its the type of passion that motivates a driver to excel and, in my opinion, just became PKV's number one driver. It's no secret that people nodded in disbelief when they signed this unknown frenchman. But to his credit (both on and off the track), he has proven his worth and will soon rival Nelson Philip in popularity (of french born drivers that is). I am sorry that Nelson isn't in the series, but for the time being I am content with his unofficial replacement.
Actually, I am very content with his official replacement, that of Robert Doornbos. He's fantastic and hopefully will be even better on the natural road course that the team is embarking on very shortly. Although that will present some unique challenges for himself because while he's used to the road courses, he's never driven a Champ Car on a road course, so the braking, the acceleration will all be quite new to him. Braking is one adjustment that European drivers have to make. Hopefully he'll be able to carry the momentum he has into Portland and find himself on the podium.

I read that Jan Heylen is signed with Conquest for the European leg of the series and is looking to go full time. I hope it happens, he quickly became a fan favorite (especially with the ladies) and with a little more experience, he can compete. last year he seemed fast when he was out there alone, but a little tentative in traffic. That comes with experience. He'll get there if given the chance.