Here is an email exchange I recently had with a friend in Lieu of all the recent news surrounding the Champ Car series. All names have been withheld. Well, except mine, but then how could I be...whatever you get it.



E,

How about Oriol getting cut loose and David Martinez coming back for the
last 2 races? Oriol has done fairly well since Long Beach, why now,
what's up with that? It's good to have a Mexican in the lineup for a
Mexico race, but I kinda feel for Oriol.

Looks like CCWS is racing at Laguna Seca next year. That's cool. That
track is pretty sweet.

How about Vasser trying to get Zanardi to test with PKV? I really enjoyed
watching Alex drive back before his accident.

That's all for now, back to you.






I had heard about David getting Oriol's ride at the Toronto GP this year, so this doesn't surprise me at all. Oriol is a good sub and whatnot, but hopefully Martinez and Forsythe can build a permanent relationship together for 2008, as is the word. Martinez is an owner's dream because he's consistent and doesn't make too many mistakes and usually brings the car home in one piece. So to have him compensate for PT makes sense. ;)

Racing at Laguna is going to be very cool, but expectations should remain minimal in terms of attendance. That's a tough track to draw a crowd at given its isolated location. Nonethless I personally would take that track over downtown San Jose anytime for its racing. But staying so close to the track in SJ was pretty sweet too. It just goes to show you the magnitude of putting on street courses and thus makes you appreciate a Long Beach or a Toronto, events that have been around for some 20 years. Its becoming evident that urban airport tracks seem to be the way to go as shutting down major streets for some 5 days isn't very realistic.

I was there for his horrific accident (Zanardi) and I was there for his triumph return and his return might have been my best racing memory (especially since I got to interview him too, which was sweet). If this thing with PKV was at all possible, Champ Car should do whatever it takes to get him in there on a permanent basis. I don't know the logistics obviously, but i would assume with the paddle shifting it would make things a lot easier. What a story that would be for the series. Instantly you'd have your main storyline for 2008.

Speaking of which, I am really looking forward to 2008. Mainly because Bourdais won't be there and thus we'll have a competitive championship. If Bourdais wasn't there this year, you'd have a great 4 or 5 man battle between Will, Robert, Justin Graham (who would have won a couple by now) and whoever drove that number 1 car. If Forsythe can get their acts together next year and PKV can become a legitimate threat then the racing should be excellent. I hope I am with the series next year. we'll see.

Franchitti wins IRL title

Well, say what you want about the Indy Racing League, they know drama and there was plenty of it yesterday in Chicago. You must have a lucky charm somewhere if your two drivers fighting for the championship, separated by only a couple of points are 1-2 neck and neck going into the final lap of the season. As we waited for the green flag to drop on the final couple of laps, I was fairly certain that Dixon was going to win it and thus the mismanagement at AGR could have been the talk of the off-season. But they got lucky and now Dario Franchitti is the champion and likely retires from the IRL as champion. Who knows, maybe he’ll take that seat at NHL racing. I just don’t see him doing 36 Cup races a year. But then again, why not? he's in shape and they would quickly be one of the most powerful couple of the paddock. Sportscars make the most sense though for a man of his stature (re: age).

And you have to love Ashley Judd, don’t you? Her husband takes the checker and the championship and after giving him his props, goes on a tirade on Milka Duno (re: IRL) for having these slow drivers compete with the likes of her husband. Say what you want about her timing, I just hope that the Indy Racing league will listen to her and the many drivers and journalists who have complained that a few drivers out there have no business being out there. As she was ranting, it was right about that time that I noticed Marty Roth was in the race! Regardless, a great win for Dario and a valiant effort by the series to have a great finish to a season that was rather tumultuous and at times right down embarrassing. The Embarrassing part coming from all the off-track excursions by the likes of Patrick, Hornish Sr or whoever happen to crash on a given weekend. Fighting and shouting only gets you so much media attention. After a while it gets tiring and predictable and thus people tune out. Keep the focus on the racing and don’t lose sight of that.

The other big race this weekend was the NASCAR Saturday night race, which saw Dale Jr. not win. That’s about all I can tell you from that race. Jr. didn’t win. Who did? Not sure. It was tough to tell from my living room, as all I saw and heard was Dale not making the Chase. I felt for him. That post-race interview had him just about in tears. You can tell this meant a lot to him. And now he’ll ride out the season hoping to get a win (or two) for his soon to be former teammates. What? Oh, I’ve just been told that Jimmie Johnson won the race.