Overheard at the Track

2008-03-15T08:42:00.000-04:00

From David Wood:

This is to announce that there will be an Inner Circle dinner in Long Beach on Saturday night of the Long Beach event. The announcement of the event along with dinner reservations will take place Thursday night three weeks before the race weekend as in the past. Announcements will be posted on the forums as in the past and the registration will be the same as in the past (please look for most everything to look the same as you have experienced in the past). Look also to www.wood-eye.blogspot.com

We are also working on other activities and will make announcements as soon as each activity is in place and approved.

We are very excited about this opportunity to have fans get together at this dinner and in Long Beach....see you there.

Dave Wood
Ambassador
Inner Circle

one last thought

2008-03-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

I have kept quiet during this time because I was waiting to see what the developments would be with this “merger’ before I spoke out. Much like you I heard the rumors, read the speculations and listened to Robin Miller. I waited anxiously as the proceedings were taking place. And, frankly, was heartbroken when I heard that Tony George took everything from Champ Car. I have been in ‘mourning’ with apologies to anybody who has lost a loved one, but its how I have genuinely felt over the last few weeks. Never mind the fact that I was about to assume the opportunity of a life time, career-wise. This news has affected me much deeper than simply professional, as now I have to realize that I have lost so many friends, so many ‘family’ members and not to mention some of the most beautiful sounding automobiles in the world.

Perhaps the part that has angered me the most is the massive layoffs that took place at Champ Car headquarters. These were my friends and colleagues who worked so hard for so many years only to have their careers end abruptly. I would have at least hoped that this ‘merger’ meant that many Champ Car jobs would be saved. But it was clearly not this way. The IndyCar racing league has their own staff with no wiggle room. As much as Tony George and the gang have put a positive spin on this take-over, the bottom line is that it’s extremely negative for so many people.

While in my heart of hearts I truly hope this is the best thing for the sport that I fell in love with, I am truly angry at the way it took place. This was not the best way to get the series together. Heck it wasn’t the 4th or 5th best way. I want to be happy for these events, but I can’t. I am angry and will remain angry for some time. And again, it’s not because it cost me an opportunity of a lifetime. This upcoming champ car season was going to be a landmark season for me professionally, but instead it’s nothing. And, like so many people at CC, I am nothing to the folks at IndyCar racing who appear at this point to care less about anybody who was associated with Champ Car unless they bring cars to their series.

It’s been very interesting up here in Toronto. The merger announcement made news, the cancellation of the Toronto race made news. But the reality is that Champ Car is dead and won’t return. People up here know this sport much more than just peripherally. They never paid attention to the IRL, have complained about the cars and at the end of the day, oval racing is foreign to them. It’s a darn shame the Toronto GP was lost and while it could return next year, a lot of people are bitter about the cancellation and feel ripped off. It’s going to be tough for them to recoup next year.

I want to thank all of you for the emails you sent me during this difficult period. Racing has been wonderfully kind to me over the years, as have all of you. Its time for me to leave my love and try and find a new one. The fact that I was able to spend my 20’s traveling, meeting great people and working in an incredibly satisfying environment is something I will always cherish. Open-wheel fans taught me what passion for something is all about. I thank you for that.

RIP Champ Car

2008-02-22T16:59:00.001-05:00

RIP.

2007-11-19T09:32:00.000-05:00

First Of all, a big thank you to all the readers of this blog throughout the season. It got quite hectic at times and I apologize if I wasn’t able to always update it as much as I wanted too. Nonetheless, I always enjoyed writing these and I always appreciate it when you stopped me to tell me you like the blogs at a race.

Now its officially over. The banquet has passed, the awards have been handed out. Now its time to think about testing, to think about 2008 and to get that season started. In the meantime, the usual silly-season issues will ensue, who is going where? Which team will produce how many cars. All interesting stuff. All answers that will hopefully be answered well before Spring Training, which, by the way, is in February. That’s coming up real soon!

new podcast

2007-11-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

Jim and I come to you from the track on Saturday afternoon in Mexico City!

Monday before Mexico

2007-11-05T09:42:00.000-05:00

As the series heads for the season finale this weekend, its going to be a bitter sweet event for most people. On the one hand, the end of racing season has come and that’s never easy. Although the off-season is relatively short, its still a long ways away on paper. Its going to be a good event, we know that. The track and the extra boost for the champ cars will provide great entertainment. I was actually surprised at the P2P boost because it seems like an incredible amount in my eyes. 100 extra horses will make a HUGE difference and should be interesting to watch the drivers go at it on Sunday. I suspect the first time they press the button they may get a little jolt in their system. With the championship already decided, I suspect drivers will feel they have very little to lose.

The schedule is, well scheduled to be released this afternoon at 3pm. As I write this, there are a few different examples of it floating around the internet. I like the 14 race schedule that includes two trips to Europe. I like starting the season in Long Beach (put your best foot forward). Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

You just know Sebastien Bourdais is going to be faster than ever this upcoming race. You know he won’t rest for one second or hold anything back for his final champcar race. With some drivers in his situation, it wouldn’t surprise you if they held a little back, opting to play it safe. But not Bourdais. Not this guy. No way in hell!

Sunday warm up

2007-10-20T19:58:00.001-04:00

Warm up just finished, the next time the champ cars are on track will be for real. I love this race because it is the least predictable on the circuit. The fact that there are no repeat winners here is quite telling. You have to be very lucky to win here, no question about it. I think we’ll see another first time winner today, I suspect it’ll be someone you don’t expect like Dan Clarke. Did I just pick Dan Clarke to win? I’ll let you know after the race is over.

I am slowly getting my Australian lingo down working with my buddies in the booth. Although when someone asks me “how you going?” I still say “by foot”.

It’s a little shocking that I have to leave tomorrow. It seems so soon. Often after a race weekend you look forward to going home on account of being tired and looking forward to sleeping in your own bed. But in this case, I feel like I haven’t been here long enough. I have enjoyed myself tremendously on this trip and now I can hope for two things: a safe race and a smooth flight home.

Haven’t quite gotten used to flying for 13 hours over the ocean, but I have little choice in the matter. I can only hope for a window seat so I might be able to catch an hour or two of zzz’s. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First we enjoy the race!

by the way, I very much enjoy the fact that the Overheard at the track thread on champcarfanatics has descended into a beer drinking thread. :)

Australian Podcast, and other news

2007-10-19T17:37:00.000-04:00

Click on the title link to hear what Jimmy had to say about the P2P penalties that Tony handed out or simply to hear a noticeably tired ME ramble on and make little sense. Okay, maybe its not that bad, but I was definitely tired and couldn't seem to put a thought together. I blame the time change and while you'd think I'd be used to it by now, I am still going to bed at 8pm every night. If you want to hear stories about the wild parties in Oz, don't come to me unfortunately. While I assure you they are there, I am just not the one to provide you with some great anecdotes about all night parties.

But, I can tell you some ontrack stuff going on, as I am wide awake for those. :)
The qualifying session on Friday was messy, no question about it. But it also did provide a little bit of everything. some crashes, some drama and some last minute excitment. It was a lot of fun to watch. Servia is very popular in these parts and could be the driver everybody is cheering for, other than Will of course. I am lobbying hard on the mic to get Bruno some supporters. Maybe I was able to convert one or two 'blokes'.

I have often said that the best way to cure any doom and gloom is to stage a champ car race and this weekend is perfect evidence of that. The teams, the workers, the drivers, everybody thrives during a race weekend. Its a chance to put the politics aside and do what they do best. but I will say this, the mood is a lot more positive than it was in Europe. There is definitely this positive vibe which is heavily overshadowing the doom and gloom.

The good thing about Friday's ontrack action was that everybody seemed happy with their cars. With the red flags during qualifying, it made it difficult for the session to have any real flow. Naturally the drivers pointed that out as the reasons they couldn't do any better, but they will usually tell you if there is something that isn't working on the car and you didn't get that sense on Friday. Only Tagliani had real troubles with his day. Others, like Martinez, were more victims of their circumstances. I want to see David get out there today and throw some flyers. There is pressure on him, especially since he looks over his shoulders and sees Oriol, the driver he replaced, capture the provisional pole.

I spoke of this on the podcast, but the most interesting aspect is the fact that some of the media felt they put too much pressure on Will Power last year and that it wasn't fair. You don't hear that kind of remorse very often from the media. Having said that, he is still bracing every cover of every newspaper and magazines in the gold coast, as he should. He's the man around here and if he's on the track and look up at the stands and the Condo balconies that hover over the track, he'll see thousands of "Power on" green and yellow signs. Its very very cool. I know Tracy gets in Canada, Doornbos in Holland. But (and maybe its because there is more people here) it seems that his supporters outnumber Tracy's or Bobby D's supporters.

Speaking of Bobby D I finally went public yesterday and announced that I coined the term Bobby D. The announcers were talking about the term and how Rick and Jon created it. I was going to bite my tongue, but couldn't and the truth had to come out. I told them, as well as the rest of the listeners, that it was I who created it. I have a knack with nicknames. :)

friday morning, OZfest

2007-10-18T18:15:00.001-04:00

If there is one thing that will cure all doom and gloom is having an event here at Surfer’s paradise, that’s for sure. Nothing puts a broader smile on a champ car fan then knowing that this event is up next and in a few hours from now they will be qualifying. It’s definitely a 4-day festival of speed and party. But now that all the extra curricular activities have passed, we can now focus on what brings us all together as champ car fans, and that is the racing.

On my way up to the announce booth I have to say that Tony Cotman will do what it takes to make this series as enjoyable for the fans as possible and most importantly, isn’t afraid to try new things. For this race, on Friday the drivers will have 40 minutes at the start of practice to run as many laps as possible. The number of laps they run in the first 40 minutes is the number of laps they will have to qualify. All this is based on the fact that at a race like this, which has been around for many years, a lot of teams don’t go out very much Friday morning and thus don’t give the fans in the stands the maximum enjoyment. So, all that changes today. I know they tried something in Europe and will try something in Mexico City. All for the fans. Good on them.

The media has made a big deal here about the fact that there has never been a repeat winner and if you think about it, it is quite remarkable. This year could change, as 5 winners are racing. But the race is so unpredictable that anything can happen, as you well know. On Sunday I foresee another San Jose or Cleveland, where early troubles will give a driver the advantage ultimately. We shall see.

Jim and I are doing a podcast this evening and it will be posted sometime tomorrow, since we have no Internet in our hotel. Strikes me as weird these days that a hotel can go without the Internet, but what do I know?

new podcast

2007-10-03T08:15:00.000-04:00

Jimmy and I have a new show up! following our little sabbatical, we are back to discuss all things champ car!
click on the title, as always.

my new gig

2007-09-27T08:22:00.001-04:00

hey, if you are wondering what I am doing these days and maybe happen to be a hockey fan, then I encourage you to click on the title "my new gig"

enjoy!

Eric

2007-09-23T13:01:00.001-04:00

I’m doing Raceline radio tomorrow with Erik Thomas. He wants me on to sort of do a “state of Champ Car” interview and boy Mr. Thomas has chosen a good time to do this, because if you read anything these days with regards to Champ Car, its very negative and the entire “state of the series” seems to be in question these days. I admit that the latest sting with Dominguez replacing Dalziel left me a little baffled as to what exactly was happening. I thought if there was any outfit in the Champ Car series that had a solid line up it was PCM. Figge and Dalziel have been together for some time now, as has the entire team, dating back to their Grand Am days. I understand that its good for the series to have Dominguez driving in Mexico City, but how it ended up costing Dalziel’s seat is baffling to me.

Looks like the date for Laguna Seca has been slated for a May date. Again, not 100 percent sure how I feel about that one, but that said, I’m just glad Laguna Seca is back on the calendar. I still think that teams should be running the Indy 500 to be honest with you. Mainly as a way of attracting sponsors. There is no denying that the Indy 500 is the principle reason why a business would sponsor an open-wheel car, as evidenced by a lot of the sponsors on the IRL cars. I think that if a Champ Car team approaches a sponsor with a proposition of racing our calendar AND the Indy 500 it would be very attractive to them. Since its available, you might as well utilize their only real asset to your advantage. Of course, this is not factoring in all the additional costs and whatnot. Still, seems like an attractive offer. Long Beach and the Indy 500? Not too shabby.

In my personal opinion, it’s absurd that some pundits and people think that the series isn’t closing shop or taking a year off. That is not going to happen. There will be a 2008 and, with the help of Tony Cotman, will hopefully start it’s stabilizing stage and thus grow. ESPN will help, simply because its one series-one station, whether its bought time or not. I think the rumored more European races will help too. Add some secure dates, provide some good racing for the North American audience and hopefully encourage people to attend the races. More presence on television, even from all the way in Europe is better than no presence at all.

On a personal note, I have started a new, very business gig. I will continue to write blogs on a regular basis

2007-09-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-10T11:00:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-09-07T13:36:00.001-04:00

I can’t believe I haven’t written an entry since last Wednesday. I was convinced I had written a post-Europe blog, but I guess I did it in my head or something. My apologies.

Well, I am back from Europe as you might have guessed. It was a really good trip for me, mainly because I felt like we did some very good work and I get a lot of satisfaction from that. I also met a lot of Champ Car fans in Europe and that’s always a joy. The people are the races were passionate about it. Europe seems to love Champ Car and if the series heads there more often in the near future, they will be received with open arms. At least that’s the indication following this trip.

The Assen track is a thing of beauty, there is no question about it. The facilities are pretty much state of the art. The Grand Stands are interesting because the worse seat in the house is without a doubt on the front straightaway at the start finish line. The reason is that you only see that part of the track and the garages/media center/Timing and Scoring building blocks the rest of your view. It was interesting to see the rest of the area completely packed and yet what would normally be the most coveted seating fairly bare.

The Assen race is exactly what the series needed after the mid-week announcement on Phoenix getting cancelled. The staff in Europe was very down after that news and that race is exactly what was needed to lift everybody’s spirits and remind us that it’s the best form of racing. The podium was a great one too, maybe the most fun of the year given its participant. Each had a great story coming into the race, each deserved to be there.

Now we have a bit of a lull in the schedule. Yours truly probably has to find a job on account of Phoenix getting cancelled. I need to bring home the bacon!

2007-08-29T04:38:00.000-04:00

Well, this is a strange time in the series. Here I am, sitting outside on a beautiful day in Holland, coming off a successful inaugural Zolder race and about to embark on a very successful Assen race this weekend. Coming off Bruno Junquiera giving Dale Coyne a podium in what of the great drives he’s had. I have spent a lot of time with my colleagues and have gotten to know a lot of them more than ever. Not to mention the bunch of emails with regards to the “Foreign Champ Car race contest” I received, most of them with complimentary words on my work*. Also in the last couple of days, I have heard more than a few potentially very good things for the series. I could honestly feel a lot of momentum within the series. And then we hear about the Phoenix situation. I know nothing more than you do, except that a lot of people here are, naturally, very upset with the situation. I don’t know who’s to blame, I don’t know the nitty gritty of the situation, except that it just became very difficult to cheerlead for the series. Very difficult.

There is no sugar coating this. While it doesn’t signal the end of the series or anything dramatic like that, it certainly doesn’t look good. Things just got a lot harder for anybody who works for the series or who is constantly defending it. If Phoenix is canceled, it’s a darn shame for Champ Car. Especially after all the legal battles with NASCAR that Champ Car won. It beat the 800-pound guerilla and now it doesn’t appear the event will take place.

There is little you and I can do about the situation except continue to enjoy the racing. The racing is good. Best in the world. Assen is going to be great. It’s a fast track and with the Power to Pass button, should make for some exciting racing. We now have (it appears) three races left to watch the master at work. Three races left to watch Bourdais do things in a Champ Car that shouldn’t be. And while I haven’t done the math at this time, I suppose he can win his 4th Vanderbilt Cup this weekend. One of the great accomplishments in motorsports and in sports in general, something that should not be overshadowed by any politics. We are watching the future in Graham Rahal. 3 podiums in the last 4 races since the kid and his MediZone team refocused.

After Zolder, two things happened. First, they gave Katherine Legge Bruno’s engineer and that relationship appeared to work instantly, as she was able to keep pace with Bruno. The second is that it appears Tom Brown was able to help Forsythe dramatically and Tracy would have likely been on the podium if he hadn’t broken the differential early in the race. Very positive signs for Assen, as the racing should be even better if you include Forsythe as a threat.

And this is all we can do for now. We can get up early on Sunday and watch another exciting Champ Car race. We can argue and debate as to how good Bourdais actually is. We can debate and argue as to who will get that number 1 seat next year. We can argue and debate as to which car was the best ever or the nicest looking. These are things we can do and let the chips fall where they may. I’m going to continue to make silly, irreverent videos for champcar.ws and hope that they make you smile.

Post Race: Zolder

2007-08-26T11:52:00.000-04:00

I wish I had a teammate to help me out at the front – Robert Doornbos. Post-race press conference quote.

He was talking about how Rahal and Pagenaud helped their respective teammates by either letting them go or getting in the way of Bobby D. He didn’t entirely blame his result on that, but it sure made him sour.

Bourdais aside, the story of the day was definitely Bruno Junquiera, who had one of the most up and down weekends of his career. He’s running well, and then suffers a mishap in the pits and suddenly it looks pretty bleak for the Brazilian. But the team decides to gamble and with some incredible driving Bruno comes home with a 2nd place. Bruno told me in his post race interview that it was so gratifying for the team, a team that has 4 or 5 guys while everybody has 10 or more. I bet they are partying tonight!

It was nice to see Graham Rahal up there too, his 3rd podium since Edmonton when the team went into that event re-focused. Things are obviously working for the 18 year old and its nice to see his talented engineer Todd Malloy have some success, as he deserves it. Graham is learning with every lap he turns. If you are NHL racing, do you give him the number 1 seat? Or do you let him develop with the number 2? Either way, the post-Bourdais future looks good for NHL.

Jan Heylen lost his 7th gear early and on a track when you are on it 3 times, you just can’t possibly do well. Not to mention the miscue he had with his team, who told him he needed to be in the pits as he was crossing the start-finish line. When I spoke to him afterwards, he was happy with the Zolder event in general. You can tell that this race means so much to him, as a proud Belgian. He did everything he could to promote it and it’s near and dear to his heart. I think he’s happy with the overall event. He was also very happy for Dale Coyne, his former employer.

The set up of the track was very cool in the sense of where the spectators chose to park themselves for the race. The grandstands were packed, no question about it, but it was all the people standing for 2 hours along the front straight and around the first corner. It was very neat to see.

Dan Clarke

2007-08-24T11:11:00.001-04:00

Well, he’s taking it like a man. Despite a stupid mistake on the outlap of the first session of the weekend, Dan Clarke isn’t running from the consequences of his actions. He’s addressing the media, he’s addressing Jan and the drivers and as I write this, he’s signing autograph at the (very packed) autographed session. Yes, despite being suspended for the race on Sunday, Dan Clarke is already looking to Assen and beyond. He respects Tony Cotman’s decision and is sorry for what he did. He told me you learn from your mistakes. Hopefully he did. I know this decision wasn’t easy for Tony Cotman because Dan is a nice guy who means well. He makes bonehead moves on occasion, but has also displayed speed on tracks where speed counts (Cleveland, Road America to name a couple). Cotman has (maybe had at this point) faith in Dan Clarke, as did his team Minardi USA. But, alas, punishment needed to be handed out and I suspect Dan Clarke knew immediately following the incident that he’d be parked. Its part of Tony’s job to make tough decisions and props to him for not being persuaded by any outside factors. During the press conference Tony Cotman shot from the hip and didn’t mince words. Dan had been on probation since San Jose. Tony had even thought of suspending Dan after San Jose, but decided that probation would suffice. It appears that Dan Clarke didn’t learn his lesson and now will watch the race on Sunday from the grandstands. Tony stated that after the race he will re-evaluate the situation to see if further action is needed. Like he said, he likes to sit back and take his time on those types of long term decisions. Let data and logic help your decision, not raw emotion. Today was tough for everybody because he took out Jan Heylen. There is no question that emotions from Champ Car were hotter because of who it was. I’m not suggesting Tony’s decision would have been different if it had been another driver. But let’s face it, Jan is a huge part of this weekend. He’s Belgian, drives for a Belgian Team and has a Belgian sponsor. End of story.

Question is who replaces Dan on Sunday. Mario Dominguez is floating around, as his Zsolt. But, there is also Frank Perrera hanging around. It would be a hell of a jump for the young Frenchman, but he is close to home and given the popularity of Seabass, Simon and Tristan, the series could do a lot worse than put Perrera in the car. Its how a lot of careers are born, right place right time. As of this writing, they haven’t announced who the second driver is going to be.

early on in Belgium

2007-08-23T13:16:00.000-04:00

Well, just got back from the press conference in Brussels at the automotive museum with all of the Champ Car drivers. The media turnout was impressive and there were a few fans on hand. Bourdais was by far the most popular, but I have to say I am surprised that the fans were cognizant of all champ car drivers, not just the stars. David Higdon was the MC for the presser and they had a French translator and it worked real well.

Spoke with Alex Tagliani who seems to be having a marvelous time in Belgium with his wife, really taking advantage of the scenery and making the most of his short free time. I also took advantage of the scenery today, but it was mostly because I got lost several times in Brussels and what should have been an hour ride back home turned out to be 3 and a half. Nice city and countryside, I assure you.

When speaking with Tags, he mentioned how he drove on the track on Wednesday in a rental and thought the set up was going to be difficult, as there are “street corner” turns as he put it, as well as long sweeping, fast turns, thus the right balanced set up will be key. It should make for an interesting race.

Meanwhile, the city we are staying in, Hasselt is just beautiful and everybody at champ car is having a great time, taking advantage of the many cafes in the neighborhood. And the shops too. And all the folks have been real friendly. And the food. Oh boy! I’ll probably gain a few pounds on cheese alone in the next two weeks.

And check out the podcast Jim and I just completed. Click on the title of this blog to be redirected to our podcast.

monday post RA

2007-08-13T10:25:00.001-04:00

well my boy did it. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn this blog entry into a Bourdais lovefest. Even though I could. you know I could. my favorite part is how many articles and he himself talked about "finally" winning at Road America, even though it was just is 4th time on the track. Ask Paul Tracy how he feels hopes to "finally" win at Portland. Or the Cubs for that matter. :)
All in all though, the NHL weekend was incredible, keeping in mind that young Rahal topped some practice sessions and finished in 3rd. As Power and Doornbos said after qualifying on Saturday, we may have another points battle on our hands, a battle for second place that is.

It's funny, one of my duties at work is to interview the top 3 drivers after every session and obviously after the race its always a fun thing to do, as everybody is excited and things are hectic. The drivers are usually tired but obviously responsive. For some reason yesterday, both NHL drivers gave me ridiculously short answers to the questions. It was very abnormal. they were both happy naturally, but I guess because for Seabass it was pretty uneventful and for Graham, maybe he was secretly disappointed by not getting 2nd place, I'm not sure. But it got to the point where I asked Graham if he was tired, to which he answered "no, not at all" on-camera. I'm guessing Seabass has just run out of things to say and Graham, normally very talkative, also didn't have much to say other than to thank his sponsors and the team. Now Dan Clarke on the other hand, we couldn't get him to shut up! The general rule is to basically just ask the drivers about their race and let them answer, to which they talk a little about it, thank the sponsors, yada yada yada, its a nice little dance between reporter and driver. With DC (and I love him for it, don't get me wrong) he'll basically give you a lap by lap analysis of what happened on the track. Its fantastic and very genuine. Yesterday he mentioned that on his third stint he needed his team manager (Vince Kremer) to keep him awake on the radio. Funny stuff. And the kid drove the wheels off that car, no question.

But I would love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting between Doornbos, Clarke and Wiggins. No question its the worse case scenario for an owner. Your driver in contention for the championship is out of the race as a result of a hit with his teammate AND that teammate goes on to finish a career high 2nd. Wiggins was ticked when Beisner talked to him during the race. really ticked. I was in the press room with my fellow employees when the incident happened. Immediately the room blames Dan Clarke. Overwhelmingly. Then, because our monitor was a few seconds ahead of ABC's, I watch the incident and hear Jan Beekhuis blame DC on his braking. I couldn't believe the Doornbos-bandwagon-lovin' that I was hearing. DC didn't do anything wrong in that incident. he hit the brakes to take the turn and Doornbos ran into him. So, from this day on, as a result of my lifelong determination to go against the grain and go up when everybody goes down and go left when everybody goes right, I am hereby renouncing... well I don't know exactly what it is I am renouncing, but I am not going to jump on the "Doornbos can do no wrong because he's fast and personable" bandwagon. :)

Overheard at the track Road America Podcast

2007-08-10T09:30:00.001-04:00

hey guys, we have a new podcast posted at the link above.

enjoy

bourdais

2007-08-08T14:02:00.001-04:00

Well, if Bourdais is announced as the driver for Torro Rosso in 2008 in Formula One (it might be official by the time you read this) then its time that Champ Car do something to commemorate and honor the biggest start to have driven for the series in quite a few years. This has nothing to do with the Tracy’s, the DaMatta’s or anybody else that has been a formidable champion in the last decade. This is about honoring a driver who came into the series and dominated from the get-go. He has been that good at every occasion, on any type of circuit. At this point in the series, the championship is far from being a foregone conclusion. Quite the contrary. But, whatever happens this season, Bourdais remains the most dominate driver in the series that we have seen in a long long time. Winning three championships in a row is an incredible accomplishment, no matter what the sport. Forget about the argument that he’s had the best seat, because be that as it may, winning is a total team effort and at the center of it all is the driver. You can be given the best car in the world, but if you don’t have the skills, you won’t win. Bourdais has had to face a lot of different challenges, whether its conquering oval racing AND street racing, whether its stepping up despite the challenges from the likes of Paul Tracy or Justin Wilson, or whether is adjusting to a new car this season, he has done it. He has done it with focus and poise seldom seen in the sport. Most telling is that whenever he’s been down, he’s risen to the challenge. That is the sign of a true champion. Whenever another driver in the series talks about the luxury of driving that #1 McDonald’s car, it’s done for psychological purposes. They know how good he is.

He’s also been highly criticized at times for his outspoken nature. He’s been called everything in the book, from a whiner to a spoil brat. But he has never let the critics bring him down and continues to plow on despite all of those things. He’s been emotional at times, whether it’s in Denver last year or in Tremblant this year. This guy speaks his mind. You have to respect that. And like anybody who speaks their mind publicly these days, sometimes they put their foot in their mouth. But trust me, I’d rather have someone speak his thoughts then someone who just toes the line. From a personal perspective, he’s fantastic because you know when you talk to him he’ll tell you EXACTLY how he feels. That’s refreshing, even if it’s not always popular. Say what you want, it takes a lot of guts to go on the PA in Tremblant and calls out the winner moments after it happened. Was it popular? Heck no. But in the coming days, more and more people starting agreeing with him. I found that telling.

I have had this conversation with people I work with, from newbies like myself to people who have been around for decades and the conclusion is usually the same: he’s the best we’ve seen. When Mario Andretti tells us he’s a special driver, it rings true. When Paul Newman talks about the joys of watching Bourdais on the track, you know he’s speaking from the heart.

He’s also the consummate professional. When he has an interview to do, he’ll do it with the utmost professionalism, no matter what kind of day he’s having. Sure, he might bitch and whine (watch the This or that from this year.) but he’ll do it and will be honest about it.

I’ve talked with Jim on the podcast about this in the past, the question: what would Bourdais be like if he drove for Conquest, for example, or a mid-pack team and I truly believe he’d still win races. Sure, not at the level he is now, but he’d find a way.

I’ll tell you this much, if I am a casual fan deciding on whether to attend Road America, Mexico City, or any of the remaining Champ Car races, that decision has been made, cause I would NOT want to miss the last chance to see Bourdais race on the historic Road America or anywhere else in Champ Car.

Finally, let’s remember one thing: Bourdais is the first driver to thank the fans of CC. whether its in post race interviews or prior to an event, he is VERY appreciative of us fans and that tells me something about the man.

August 2nd

2007-08-02T10:41:00.000-04:00

That victory in San Jose for Bobby D might have very well been a turning point in the series. It was one of those moments where you scratch your head and wonder what just happened. It was one of that win that have people talking and that’s always a good thing. This victory by Robert Doornbos signifies what the series wants: good cars, great drivers and ultimately equal opportunity. We sometimes hear people gloating about the equality of champ cars and that every team has a legit shot at a podium, as opposed to the other series. Well, as much as that rings true, its nice to see it once in a while. Granted, this was Bobby D winning and not Alex Figge, but the fact that he was in last place and that it was total strategy on his team’s part demonstrates that Champ Car is the way to go not only if you are a fast driver, but also if you are a thinker. A planner. A strategiser (is that even a word?). And that’s exactly what will entice new teams and drivers to the series. Its one thing to say “everybody has a chance to win”, it’s another to prove it and Sunday really proved it.

I’m very happy that PKV is starting to flex its muscles a little. While still a young team, they underperformed last year. And while this year started slow, they are coming around and Jani appears to be a threat for a podium at most events now. They are a good group of guys and they deserve success.

On the flip side…. what can you say about Justin Wilson? If he didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all. Punted on a yellow? As I watched the incident, I thought to myself “I wonder if Race Director will simply park Dan”. Then it occurred both were in the pits at the same time and I wondered if we’d have another fight, this time being two British drivers instead of Canadians. I sympathize with Dan Clarke. I really do. It seemed he had turned a corner after Edmonton. Like he had an epiphany. But alas, he falls right back to his old habits the very next race. He’s such a nice guy, one of the guys that you want to see improve. This has been a forgettable season for him, no doubt. And does anybody else think Wilson would fit in nicely in that #1’s seat should Bourdais exit the series?

I apologize for the lack of podcast this past race. As some of you may know, Mr. Kalkhoven was generous enough to throw a party at his (estate) house for all of the CC employees. Jim Swintal was an obvious invited guest while yours truly was also there, but I was working the video camera. J
Anyway, I flirted with the idea of doing the podcast on location, but unfortunately things didn’t work out. Thursday was the only day we were available. We’ll get back at it before Road America

Congrats to Raphael Matos on winning the Atlantics championship. He had an incredible season, no question about that. I look forward to watching his career progress next year in the champ car world series. I also look forward to watching the Atlantics in 2008, as this year’s crop were very good, but very young also. A full year under their belts and the racing should be awesome in 2008.

this AND that

2007-07-24T21:56:00.000-04:00

My favorite part of the weekend had to be seeing Paul Newman get a ride from Mario Andretti. I can’t believe the old man could do it! I could barely do it! Paul Newman is without a doubt my favorite human on the planet. He epitomizes cool. He was quite popular in the Gagnon household growing up and now I get to see him every race weekend. Though I admit I am still quite nervous in his presence and haven’t mustered the courage to actually just chat with him. I could and I know I should, but dang it he’s Paul Newman! Oh well, one day…

I have a bit of an issue with the Edmonton track. In my opinion it’s just too fast. I know that sounds weird, but it makes passing so hard because you are running flat out almost the whole time. You need some slower corners to make passing a reality. These drivers are so close, just looking at qualifying, where usually the top 10 are separated by less than 1 second. It’s an unusual problem to have. Although I will admit, after back to back rain races, it was nice to be able to see these champ cars and the drivers really show their muster and I can’t say I’m surprised that Bourdais prevailed under those conditions.

One of the most interesting aspects of the weekend was the start of the race and the positioning of the Pole sitter. Bourdais talked about it when he got provisional pole on Friday. There is a painted 2 on the tarmac right in front of the inside pole line. He wondered, should he get the pole, which line he’d chosen. You want to use the inside line traditionally speaking, but seem genuinely concerned about that painted 2. When Will Power got the pole, we were doing our radio show and I asked him after he won it which line he’d chose given the circumstances. He was surprised and unaware of the possible issue with it. I felt good that I broke the story to him. J But when I found out the next day that he nonetheless chose that line, I figured it was Bourdais being his usual technical self, making a mountain out of a molehill. But wouldn’t you know it, it turned into reality when Bourdais got that great start and Will didn’t.

The buzz around the paddock (with help from Scott Speed’s comments) was that it was all but a done deal for Bourdais over at Toro Rosso. I want to see him over there and I want to see him do as well as possible. He deserves it. I saw him in the hotel lobby on Monday morning and he said an enthusiastic ‘Bonjour Mr. Gagnon” and for the first time, I realized that I will miss him in the Champ Car family if he leaves. But he has to do what needs to be done.

Who will get that coveted seat? That is the big question now and rumors are rampant. Personally, I think that it should go to Justin Wilson. I am basing my argument on the fact that first and foremost, it should be a driver from the series. Its like F1 or NASCAR, where coveted seat are sought by drivers who have paid their dues. This has nothing do to with Rsports or any other team. It’s just that Champ Car drivers want to win and to win it helps being in the best seat. To me, Justin Wilson would be the logical choice if I was Newman/Haas/Lanigan and Justin was available. There are other deserving drivers in the series too, no question. But my choice would be Justin. Then someone else gets that good number 9 seat and so on. Do I want Marco or Speed in the series? Sure, providing they want to be there too. But I do think we should promote within. Although, I did mention this weekend that Matos would look good in that Macdonald’s car too, but NHL racing don’t need another two million dollars to help their cause. J

Oh, and I hope that Ryan Dalziel recovers quickly. You hate to see that happen to a driver who is just starting to find his stride with his new (Champ Car) team.

Friday post qualifying

2007-07-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

For some reason I was concerned with the attendance in Edmonton this year. I don't know why, but boy was I wrong. They had a great crowd here on Friday and they were really enthusiastic. In fact, very early this morning I knew I was wrong, as the paddock was nice and packed early.

The qualifying session was actually pretty exciting, as many drivers took over the top spot, at least momentarily. Then the red/checkered flag dropped and that's when the confusion began. Nobody knew why. Not the teams, not the drivers, not us sitting in the radio booth. We saw the red flag earlier and saw the ambulance go on the track and speculated that it might have had something to do with Tristan but frankly nobody knew for sure. He was on his first lap, it seemed several minutes after he actually had an incident. But I guess when it happened, Jimmy went on the radio and asked him if he was okay and Tristan said no. Anyway, Tony Cotman decided that by the time they would extract him and all that, the session would be over anyway and since the 20 minutes of green had elapsed, he made that decision. it was kind of funny though to see everybody's reactions. The good news is that he was cleared from the hospital and will be checked by doctors at the track in the morning. I suspect he'll be okay to drive.
All that was good news for Seabass, as I think Will is the fastest this weekend, but Bourdais isn't certainly aren't far behind.

Speaking of fast, I was thrilled to see Alan Sciuto be the fastest in the Atlantics session today. I know he spun, caused a red and lost his fast time, but he knows who was quickest and that should give him confidence for tomorrow's race. I suspect he'll be aggressive for both Atlantic races and hoefully he'll take the checkered. The kid came in two years ago with a lot of promise and while it hasn't been easy, he's still very young.

Edmonton Podcast

2007-07-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

New OHATT podcast. Jim and I discuss the Toronto race, Tony Cotman's new position, who should replace him and tee-up the Edmonton Grand Prix.

as always, just click on the title above. enjoy.

Edmonton Podcast

2007-07-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

New OHATT podcast. Jim and I discuss the Toronto race, Tony Cotman's new position, who should replace him and tee-up the Edmonton Grand Prix.

as always, just click on the title above. enjoy.

2007-07-14T16:12:00.001-04:00

Well, now that Tony Cotman is Executive Vice President I guess I had better be careful in my podcasts with Jim Swintal since TC is likely my boss now too. J Nah, I don’t think I’ll change. If there is a questionable call, I will still challenge Jim during our show. Its what I like about Tony Cotman and shows what type of integrity he has, that he isn’t afraid to talk about his decisions, he isn’t afraid to look at the situations from different angles. He knows what the fans want and what they talk about and he knows it comes with the territory. I wish him the very best of luck in his new gig and I know he’ll be very efficient at it, just like he is over at race control. I do hope he finishes out the season as race director, as the series has had difficulty in that area. It’s the hardest job in all of Motorsports and the Tony Cotman’s are a rare breed. Hopefully bring him or her in to learn under the tutelage of TC and then go solo in 2008.

I was very surprised to see the press release issued by Derek Walker in response to some comments he made to Robin Miller about the executives at Champ Car in private. It was the right thing to do in my opinion, as its important that the team owners show solidarity with the front office. It’s the only way this business can succeed. Nonetheless, it was surprising and shows you the kind of pull that Robin Miller still has in the racing community. Like him or hate him, Robin is a big fish in the world of open-wheel racing. Now, how will this affect him? Trust has definitely been broken between these two gentlemen, so it’ll be interesting to see if other owners align themselves with Derek or if this is much ado about nothing. One thing we know for sure, the vendetta that Robin has towards CC management is stronger than ever and a few months of racing has cooled nothing.

On to fun stuff…. let me tell you about my two seater ride. First of all, I am very happy I did it in Toronto, because I wanted to get the Champ Car feel for it, i.e. between the concrete walls where 110 degree turns are common. But I must admit, the experience isn’t at all what I expected it to be. When they strapped me in and asked if I was okay, I responded that it was a little tight, to which they said “it’s supposed to be”. Fair enough. When you enter pitlane and jump to 60 miles an hour, you expect a roller coaster ride. But it’s not at all like that. The realization came at turn one coming out of the pits. You don’t even get up to much speed between pit-out and the first corner, but the breaking is unbelievable. It’s actually an unpleasant feeling, as your whole body is (seemingly) jerked around while you absorb the G’s. Going down Lakeshore was obviously the most thrilling part, but again, heading to turn 3 you brake so late and go from 200 to 40 in so little time that its unpleasant. Then you accelerate just as quickly as you decelerated, giving you the same sensation. I was fortunate that my knowledge of that track is excellent because I could brace myself for the braking. If one didn’t know the track and didn’t know when to expect a hard brake could end up with serious neck pains the following day. You end up working muscles you didn’t know you had, in your legs and stomach in particular. I was physically tired after 3 laps. I can’t imagine how these guys do it for 2 hours at a time. The back part of the track off lakeshore was very video-gameish, with its twists and turns. One thing I never felt was scared. Those cars are so glued to the ground, it never occurs to you to be afraid of anything. I also remember the smell of burning rubber. That was kind of cool. Also, the sound is nil. For such loud cars, when you are in the cockpit the sound is minimal. I naturally have always had a lot of respect for racecar drivers, but this experience took it to the next level. I imagine that a street course must be harder on the body than a road course, as the turns are so rigid. I would like to take a ride in the two-seater on a road course, with its long sweeping turns. That would be a whole new sensation of its own! I guess I shouldn’t be greedy. J

Toronto Post race

2007-07-08T18:15:00.001-04:00

Well, what an event. What an absolutely crazy event. From that opening lap to the checkered flag, this was one of the most absurd race I have ever been part of. I was a pit reporter for XM radio (as well as across Canada) and let me tell you, if I thought Tremblant was challenging, this was an entirely different story. Todd Lewis, the other pit reporter and I split the pits in half prior to the start of the race and wouldn't you know it, all 4 drivers involved were on my side! I was a little overwhelmed and figured at least it would make the rest of the day a little easier. Boy was I wrong. It was pandemonium from the start to the end.

Its not often that one feels sorry for Sebastien Bourdais, but its tough not too after today. No less then 3 times was he punted, none of them his fault. At the end of the race, Doornbos apologized in person to Bourdais, an apology that Bourdais did accept, as he told me shortly after that he was really just dejected about falling out of the points lead. I have seldom seen him that demoralized. Then again, when was the last time he didn't lead the championship this late into the season?

And today, its safe to say Justin Wilson was the villain out there. If you disagree, just ask Ryan Dalziel. He was mad as heck and I don't blame him one bit. It was to the point where Ryan said that he thought Justin was his friend. It was clear that Justin was on some sort of mission and I asked him if he thought of making a move on Jani at the end. He said 'not really' as he figured since he passed Jani last week in Tremblant, that Jani wouldn't let it happen again.

Speaking of Jani, that little guy has one potty mouth! This is twice now that I have interviewed him following his podium finishes and he has cursed. The only difference was that this time it was on live, coast to coast radio. That boy needs to stop learning English from his crew guys. :)

I made sure, during the end of our broadcast to give props to Bruno Junquiera. The team gave him a great car, he was saying he loved it during the race and went home with a 5th place finish. You would have liked to see him finish a little bit higher, but a top 5 is nonetheless a very good result for that team.

Will Power was absolutely fantastic today. After such a difficult weekend, with the penalty on Friday and the poor qualifying, to see him win today was truly special. Like he said, this win was way more special than Vegas and after a couple of so so results a few race backs, he leaps to second place in the chase for the Cup as a result of back to back podiums. We'll see how he'll do in Edmonton.

oh, and I took a ride in the two seater this weekend. I'll make sure to write about that soon.

Toronto PODCAST HERE

2007-07-05T21:09:00.001-04:00

well, it was quite a Tremblant race and what better co-host than a man on the inside like Jim Swintal. He knows everything that goes on at race control, so I asked him about Bourdais' start and Doornbos' blocking.

Also, before you listen to this, you might want to check out my interview with Justin Wilson on champcar.ws. The man makes interesting points on Doornbos' driving.

2007-07-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well, we have ourselves some fun, new rivalries developing in the Champ Car World Series, don’t we? And just how much pressure is Bourdais feeling these days? The man has to test with Toro pretty soon and suddenly; he isn’t leading the standings anymore. Well, its tied and technically he would win should the season end today. But the perception, if you just read the news is that Doornbos has all the momentum and that he’s taken this series by storm…kind of like Bourdais did a couple of years ago. This will not bode well for his bid at a Formula One ride. He needs to obliterate the competition like he has done in the past if he wants to impress them. Especially this year, with the likes of Doornbos and Jani, guys he’d be competing for jobs with overseas. I suspect it may have had something to do with his recent complaint of Doornbos.

But did Doornbos drive dangerously and run drivers off the road? The overwhelming response is NO. It was wet, it was slippery, everybody was going off, and it was every man for himself. Nothing will come of this, except the fact that a lot of people probably lost respect for Bourdais as a result of his public complaint, the fact that he wouldn’t shake hands with Robert and his obvious unhappiness on the podium. Personally, I don’t get this guy. He makes it difficult to cheer for him. He’s such a joy to watch in the car and then to get a 2nd place finish and then complain over the loud speaker in Tremblant about Doornbos is just low class. The boos were so loud, it was something I had never heard or seen before. And he didn’t care, he just kept going as the boos were getting louder and louder. His relationship with the fans (that day anyway) really didn’t matter to him. He was pissed and was hell-bent on telling everybody about it. I liked the way Doornbos and Stoddart just shrugged him off. They were not going to let his whining ruin the fact that they got their first win of 2007.

With apologies to Michael Vick, the Toronto GP is going to be one heck of a dogfight. I have mentioned this in the past that Toronto always brings out a little extra aggressiveness in the drivers. Is it the heat? The layout of the track? Tough to tell, but for the last several years, this has been arguably the craziest race on the calendar. Now, add the fact that it’s the 3rd in a row. And the newly developed rivalry between Minardi and Newman/Haas/Lanigan. This is going to be one heck of a race!

Tremblant Podcast

2007-06-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

The Tremblant podcast is up and running. Jim and I review the Cleveland race, including the controversial penalty on Doornbos and we tee-up this weekend's race. Click on the link above

Also, for you XM listeners, make sure to tune in on Saturday from 2pm to 4pm EST on XM205 for a Champ Car qualifying show and on Sunday from 1pm to 5pm Eastern for the race broadcast where yours truly will be a pit reporter. Like last year, XM is broadcasting all the Canadian races with Eric Thomas and Lee Bentham in the booth and I will be joined by Todd Lewis in Toronto and Edmonton.

post cleveland

2007-06-24T17:57:00.000-04:00

What a race! what a spectacular race. Maybe the most fun I have had at a track for quite some time. It may not have been the prettiest, but it goes to show you that nothing in Champ Car is EVER predictable. That is a lesson that Doornbos already learnt a while ago, but that Neel Jani found out for the first time in his Champ Cat career. I was happy to see him up there with a 3rd place finish and I guarantee that Doornbos is having the time of his life driving a in the Champ Car series. You can tell by his expressions, you can tell by the way he speaks. This is the most fun he has ever had in a race car and I can't say I blame him. I am betting Stoddart is having a pretty darn good time too.

I feel bad for Graham because this was a podium he should have had. It seems odd to me that he didn't and that he pit 5 laps earlier than Tracy on his final stint. You got the feeling it would come back to bite him and at one point they told him that he would have to stop unless they got a yellow. It was at that point that Ronnie Bremer turned and said "we heard that, but so did all the other teams, so you never know if they are telling the truth". Its there I wished they were in fact lying because while I don't think he could have passed him because Tracy knows this track so darn well, but would have at least finished 2nd. Can't help but feel for the kid.

I turned to whomever I was next too as Seabass had his engine failure and said "a lot of people at home just cheered!". Shows that this number 1 team is human after all But what a waste for Power to make up any ground. Frankly I still don't know what happen with his punctured tire, but all I know is that he has to be very upset right now. When Power punctured his Power, Bremer mentioned something about Bourdais having a horseshoe up his... come to think of it, I quite enjoyed watching the race with Ronnie.

This was a great event. There was so many people here today, I actually got annoyed walking through in the morning because it was jammed. I guess that's a good thing and I shouldn't be so selfish. Once again the standing starts provided a thrill for the crowd and for the series. There is a buzz, an energy as the drivers do their parade lap and then set up in their box. I know I have said this before, but I am fully converted and a big fan of standing starts now. At least in person I am. And there will be no better place this year (maybe Edmonton) to have a standing start, what with the the view from these grandstands.

another race, hopefully another lesson for Dan Clarke. He's got the speed, he just needs to channel it the right way.

Cleveland Podcast

2007-06-21T22:52:00.000-04:00

Jim and I recap Portland, talk about Lewis Hamilton and tee-up this weekend's Cleveland GP.

click on the title above to listen to it.

where in the world have I been???

2007-06-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

I’m sorry about not writing more this past week. Admittedly it’s been very busy around these parts, both professionally and personally, but its no excuse. I will try to do better. :)

First of all, a big thank you to those who emailed me with comments about the latest videos on Champcar.ws. I really do appreciate them. We’re all in this together, fighting the good fight!

Jim and I will have our usual pre-race podcast on Thursday night, so look for it Friday morning right here or on Itunes.

I am still amazed that Sebastien won that race in Portland. I haven’t come to terms with it yet because it should not have happened. In my opinion anyway, there is no way he should have come back from an 18 second lead and eventually win by some 15 seconds himself. Not with no yellows. I know NHL has their stuff together and they short-filled to give him a slight edge. But there were NO yellows to bunch them up! I look forward to getting Jim’s take on his drive and I absolutely loved David Phillips article on the race. He was spot on. It was a very enjoyable race, a purists dream.

And those standing starts!

But now it’s on to Cleveland this weekend where the Bourdais dominance is showing no end in sight. The guy goes to Le Mans and gets himself a podium, then flies to Road America and ends up being the fastest CC tester. I know I sometimes sound like a broken record when it comes to Bourdais, but I can’t help it. He’s the story. He’s the best. He’s one of the best of all time. He would win the F1 championship AND the Nextel Cup if all things were created equal.

So, the IRL and Champ Car go head to head this weekend. I have to say, I don’t often pay attention to television ratings these days, but I will be curious to see the outcome of this one. I know it’s not the first time they go head to head, but both on network, both on at the same time. Whether we want to believe it or not, there be something significant at stake. Initially its bragging rights, but it could develop into something further. Now, I know the IRL has been getting all sorts of promotion on ESPN and whatever else ABC owns, so right off the bat its advantage IRL. But, Champ Car has a more exciting product this weekend. Iowa versus Cleveland isn’t much of a contest, especially with standing starts and turn one. It’ll be up to the broadcast crew to captivate the viewers and keep them on CBS. As Larry Sanders used to say, “no flipping”. Are they still playing this Dan versus Danica feud? I haven’t heard much about it after Texas, although I know they did have a ‘run-in’ together that race.

Speaking of her, the growing consensus is not ‘if’ she wins a race, but ‘when’. You’ve heard it from the pundits and with her 3rd place finish at Texas and her fine Indy drive, she’s making a believer out of a lot of people. Unfortunately, I am just not convinced that she will. Yet anyway. Sure she finished 3rd in Texas, but a large chunk of the field was taken out with that crash, including some very prominent drivers. If they were all running at the end, I think she finishes in her usual spot. Just inside the top 10. I do hope for her she does it because I can imagine the pressure she has. I am just not convinced yet she can do it.

2007-06-11T15:27:00.001-04:00

It was my first Green flag race, since I started with Champ car in 2001 and the last was in 2000. It was weird because initially I really liked the pace and was amazed that these guys could go green for so long. Then, near the 1:30 mark, I was thinking that these guys must be exhausted and yellow would help (and bunch them up) and at the 1:40 mark, I no longer want a yellow, as I want the race to end so that everybody goes home safe. I doubt a yellow would have changed much, since Bourdais ultimately had a better car then Justin. Toe to toe he did, though maybe not initially. But this is why Newman/Haas is the best team in open-wheel racing, because when the chips are down, they find a way to get it done. Bourdais' win was a total team effort, based on his strategy to short fill and make up time. In Hindsight it was an even bigger gamble since there ended up being no yellows, but when he did pass Wilson, there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to win. He's just that good and the team is that good and they deserve their 100th win. In my 6 years working at Champ Car, I have NEVER a more focused outfit then Newman/Haas. Amazingly, as I learned this weekend, a lot of their team personnel have been there since 1983. There is no question that their chemistry is second to none and that I expect them to win another 100 years if they stay together.

The standing starts were a lot of fun to watch and everybody was relieved that they went off without a hitch. I admit, seeing them live was a trip, but I didn't see them on television, so I don't know how they looked there. I hope the tv guys were able to capture some of the quickness and the smoke. it looked good and dang it, it smelt good as they went by.

Aside from that, ultimately it was a pretty uneventful weekend. I am trying to figure out what is wrong with Neel Jani. This guy should be better than where he is right now. And, I suppose technically he shouldn't be beating his teammate. I think that Tristan is turning into a very pleasant surprise for PKV and ultimately Neel has to be a disappointment. I thought on a road course he'd fare better. I was wrong. At least for now. He's got a real good group of guys (and girls) behind him, and Tristan's good results proves that the team is capable. Like I said, I still have faith in him, but he needs to get better quick.

Oh great, I am going to be late for my flight. Let me just say this before I board, anybody who doubts David Higdon (the new vice president of communications) simply has to meet him. Your opinion will change after a few minutes, I promise.

Portland GP Podcast

2007-06-08T01:37:00.000-04:00

Jim Swintal is back in his chair as we discuss Standing Starts, the improvements on the DP01 and the possibility of a power struggle over at NHL racing all leading up to Sunday's Portland GP.

click the title to be redirected to the show.

2007-06-06T13:22:00.000-04:00

Stay tune for the latest Podcast between myself and Jim Swintal. Should be up by Friday morning. Jim and I will preview Portland, talk about standing starts and make our picks for this weekend.

May 28th Podcast

2007-05-28T15:39:00.000-04:00

Click on the date above to hear the latest podcast between myself and Hinch. This time we talk of the races that took place on Sunday and touch on Champ Car at Tremblant and Bourdais' deal with Toro Rosso
Also, if you want to subscribe to this podcast through Itunes, just search for either motorsports or Overheard at the track

top 10

2007-05-23T12:18:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-21T15:39:00.001-04:00

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!

2007-05-20T14:27:00.001-04:00

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.

Podcast with Hinch

2007-05-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

Click the title above to listen to the next installment of the overheard at the track podcast, this time with James Hinchcliffe as co-host.

also, you can subscribe to it at Itunes. Just do a podcast search for overheardatthetrack.

enjoy

2007-05-09T19:53:00.001-04:00

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog between myself and guest host James Hinchliffe. It should air on Friday afternoon.
Details to follow.

Tony Stewart

2007-05-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

Well, our old friend and Indy Champion Tony Stewart got in trouble last week when he claimed on his radio show that NASCAR was implying professional wrestling rules and calling Phantom yellows in order to give the fans a photo-finish. He then had a meeting with officials and more or less retracted saying he's still learning to keep his 'dumb' comments to himself, said he doesn't think that NASCAR calls phantom yellows. He then got fined for 10 grand for missing the post race press-conference (can you imagine what he would have said then??!!). He takes it all back, probably disappoints a few fans and we move on. Except that we can't because his comments open a can. His comments on his radio show will live on forever and no amount of retraction will cease that. Now the debate is open...does NASCAR put out artificial caution flags to make it a great finish?

Let me tell you a quick anecdote before I continue. As some of you know I was a producer/host at XM radio last year on the NHL network. During a particular's night debate, the question was brought up: does the nhl referees call late penalties just to make the end of the game more exciting? If its a 4-3 three game for the home team, then the home team will get called for a penalty with 60 seconds left to play, for example. Well, during this debate, yours truly, brought up NASCAR and what is commonly called a "NASCAR-yellow" and I compared the NHL to NASCAR. My co-hosts had a good laugh and weren't that surprised that I brought up motorsports. The point is, like I am sure some of you have already noticed, is that the NASCAR-yellow is something race fans have known for years. Stewart was the first driver to address it, but we fans have known for some years now. His statement made headlines on all the sports radio/tv shows in America. But its old news to us fans. We know this. the question is, do we like it?

I've always been a very strong advocator of safety and the idea of the NASCAR officials putting their drivers on the line is ridiculous to me. it would never knowingly happen. So, if the NASCAR officials deemed that there is debris on the track, then you have to take their word for it, Unlike the NHL example, nobody's life is on the line in hockey. I am probably a person that is overly cautious, so I can't overlook a safety issue. So if the NASCAR officials are adamant about their caution flags, then I am hardly one to argue.

on the other hand, they are convenient aren't they?
so the question returns to the one up top, do you have a problem with them?

NASCAR built an empire that is worthy of history books. Put them with great empires in the history of the world, because of what they have done. This is a very regional sport that has grown to become the 2nd most viewed sport in America, second only to the nfl. And it didn't take them very long. Yes, they have been around since the 20's but their rise to mainstream really jumped from the early 90's to the present (ironically near the breakdown of CART). Its obvious that NASCAR knows how to produce a great product. They cater more to their fans then perhaps only, as mentioned, the WWE. So what's wrong with them tossing the occasional "debris" yellow? Its not, as Stewart mentioned, as if they actually control the outcome. What it comes down too, its a battle, mano a mano, with a handful of guys who, for 200 laps or so have made sure that they are right there at the end. What's wrong with that?

Let's not forget that this is the league, that in 2004 completely changed their scoring system in order to prevent what happened in 2003. Remember when Kenseth won the championship that year? How many wins did he finish with? I believe it was ONE. consistency wins championships, as evident by that year. So, they go ahead and issue the Chase to make sure their fans are content. Point is, that have manipulated the system before to make things more exciting for the fans. And really, is there anything wrong with that?

Bottom line is this: I have heard on radio communications Champ Car drivers question the legitimacy of a late yellow. And if you have 80 thousand fans and Bourdais is leading by 15 seconds, wouldn't you at least think about calling a yellow? The legitimacy of a late yellow is a time honored tradition in motorsports, one that NASCAR appears to have perfected in the last few years. And obviously to successful results. But, one hundred years from now, we'll still be having this debate.

2007-04-30T11:20:00.000-04:00

Well, it must be May because the talk of merger is in the air. Or non-talk, in this case. But of course, non-talk still gives us plenty of things to talk about and this year its about a phone call made by Kalkhoven to George offering up the services of a few Champ Car pilots for the Indy 500 in exchange for some chassis, which George clearly has plenty of anyway, since he’s funding just about half the entries for the 500 anyway, so a spare tub here and there would be quite easy. Not to mention the obvious: this would make his field much more legitimate than what we will see on the grid. Heck, you and I could enter; all we need is the money.
Even Forsythe said he spoke with George, which is probably the greatest revelation in all these articles about merger. Forsythe and George spending time together is a step towards unification, no question about it. But alas, George acknowledged he received the call, but, obviously heard things a little differently and, bottom line: no Champ Car drivers at the Indy 500 and all talks of reunification are done. For now.
Personally I would love to see Champ Car drivers mix it up with their best and I would absolutely be thrilled if one of our guys won the race. But, would it change anything? I think this is what George fears, that if a CC driver won the race it would undermine his league. Since the Indy 500 is 95 percent of what the IRL, the broadcasters, the officials, the fans talk about, then they would be stuck talking about Champ Car for the rest of the year, at least until next season’s Indy 500.
But the reality is that, as we have said many times before, George doesn’t want reunification. It’s the only explanation because how many CC owners since 1996 have tossed him an olive branch and every time he rejects them. This last one is merely the latest one in a long line of offers made by CC. It’s not going to happen as long as he’s running the show. It’s a shame frankly, because under one banner you’d see better competition. That’s just a fact: if you take Forsythe, Ganassi, Penske and NHL and throw them all on the track, its going to make for some good racing. But, if Tony doesn’t want it, then CC has to continue doing their own thing and build a strong foundation and continue to prosper on their own.
I tell you this much, last Sunday was the closest we will come to reunification in a while. That is, seeing and hearing Rick Benjamin advertise the Kansas 300 or whatever it was, that was it, that was reunification right there. Congratulations boys, you have done it!

Which, of course, leads us to Bourdais and his comment about not caring which series folds, as long as there is only one open-wheel racing series in North America. Ouch, tough one there. The guy is a phenomenal, but already a bit of a villain with his occasional (and his team’s) whining. And to add those recent comments he made, well that just upset people, plain and simple. I guess Seabass wants to race against the best. This is a guy that has been shunned by F1 because they think that CC and the IRL aren’t serious leagues. They are depleted leagues and therefore the competition isn’t worthy and thus Seabass winning the championship 3 times in a row is not a great accomplishment. Nor is Weldon for that matter. Seabass just wants the respect he thinks he deserves from his European mates. Now, to say that he doesn’t care which one folds is a little harsh, considering his boss is the strongest champ car advocator around. But maybe its because Bourdais doesn’t know the history of the factions, he doesn’t understand the significance of it. He is a young European driver after all, so he probably wasn’t truly aware of CART in the early 90’s and its demise in the late 90’s. He also probably doesn’t see the politics in the whole thing. He’s just a driver. He’s not an owner; he’s not an employee of Champ Car or the IRL. He’s one of the few very well paid drivers in both series who also happens to be a three champ. I am by no means defending his comments; I just think they shouldn’t be held in high relevance, given his status. If those comments came from a Jimmy Vasser or a Paul Newman, then they would have weight attached to them. From Bourdais? Despite all his success and accolades, not really.

after Houston

2007-04-22T19:19:00.000-04:00

whoa! What a crazy race! I didn't think it was going to be that exciting to be honest with you, as for a while (after Bourdais took the lead from Justin) I figured we'd have a parade. But it didn't turn out that way at all. Sure, up front it was Bourdais' to lose, but I have a feeling this is something we are going to have to look forward too all year: battles for 2 to 17, because Bourdais is locked in. In my humble opinion, he's better than he's ever been. He shouldn't be, logically he should be complacent, but its as if he's more focused than ever. Is it to prove a point to the F1 crowd? To the Champ Car crowd that figured with the DP01 things would be more even? To impress his newborn? Whatever it is, the man is on a mission. And I think he's going to be even quicker on the natural road courses. The street courses are often the great equalizer, the races where the smaller teams can hope that incidents and attrition leads to their success. Its a whole different ballgame on a permanent road course. This kid is good.

Graham Rahal, who skipped his prom for the Houston Grand Prix (he evidently flew in his girlfriend) drove like a veteran, there is no other way to put it. He waited for others to make mistakes while making some nice passes along the way. He kind of flew under the radar which is always a good thing and crept up to his 2nd place finish. The kid has to be ecstatic about his result. He didn't have anything for Bourdais, but nobody did. Either way, Newman/Haas/Lanigan goes into Portland with a lot of momentum, and Graham is going to be more confident then ever and knows he can steal a race here and there. Although, amazingly enough, Pagenaud finished 5th. If you watched Pagenaud today you would have thought he'd finished 15th. But somehow (and I don't claim to know how), he finished 5th. Although right now, Doornbos is the rookie we have to talk about. he's the man of the hour.

Robert Doornbos is fun. there's no other way around it. He's a fun guy who's having a great time on the track. His is a special story so far and who knows what will happen when he hits the types of circuit he's used too.

It was unfortunate for Servia, as he looked like his pit strategy might pay off, thanks to the late yellows. Unfortunately, that bizarre incident with Mario occurred. Now, being the eternal optimist, I look at the incident and say "that could have been much worse". Was it the end of Mario Dominguez? I don't think that was his fault nor should it be the defining factor. But did you catch Forsythe's reaction as the incident happen? It was a split second on the corner of the screen. But he did not look happy, understandably.

I'll leave it at that for now. Thanks for listening to our podcast. We're going to try and put one together before Portland.

Our first Podcast

2007-04-19T23:03:00.000-04:00

Click on the title above and it will take you to our very first podcast. This is myself and Jim Swintal shooting the breeze on all things champ car. In this podcast we cover:

Vegas as an inaugural event
Tracy out for a while and how much of a blow this is to the series
Is Servia better when he's not secured in a ride?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan back to dominance after LB. How good are they, why and how would Bourdais fare as a driver of Conquest?
and much more!

enjoy.

Houston

2007-04-19T22:49:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-04-15T19:27:00.001-04:00

well, the race just ended and I must say I was happy with the late yellows because it made for a better finish, although I certainly didn't like to see Figge (or anybody else for that matter) crash their cars. But, it did allow the gap to narrow and also for Will Power to make that pass on Tag. It was a great pass and with the help of the Power to pass button and it allowed him to get valuable points and also maintain his championship lead. He's definitely going to be competing for the Vanderbilt Cup. But my friends, right now its looking like the Sebastian Bourdais show. Like one of the broadcast crew member said during the race, they were almost trying too hard in Vegas and in the off-season. Instead of making sure the car was fundamentally sound, they tweaked it for speed and it backfired. This race here in Long Beach was a great example of what Newman/Haas/Lanigan is all about. They dominated the race. absolutely dominated. I know this is not a spec series by any stretch of the imagination, but how can one driver get up to a 10 second lead on his competition? Bourdais is THAT good and the team is that capable. Things looked bad for NHL Racing after Vegas, but you'd be silly not to think that they are the favorites for a 4th championship right now.

I was happy to see Justin Wilson finish 4th, as things looked awful following Long Beach and this finish should give his team and himself some confidence. This partnership with Tag was questioned by a lot of people and most see it as a huge disadvantage for Wilson. I don't know about that, I don't know any of the politics behind the creation of Rsports. All I know is that Wilson is in very good hands with people like Jeremy Dale and obviously Tagliani is most comfortable at Rocketsports. Why couldn't it worked with them together? Today's results were positive and hopefully they can carry the momentum to Houston and beyond.

I feel bad for Pagenaud who continues to drive well all weekend and run into bad luck on Sunday. he's definitely going through some rookie-tough times, making mistakes he won't be making for too much longer in his career. I'm happy for Rahal, who can't expect to be fastest all the time, but needs to finish first and get good results secondly. He now has his first champ car race under his belt.
Nice to see Jani be competitive and while he won't be fighting for the Vanderbilt Cup, there is no reason to believe that himself and his boss Jimmy won't be fighting for the Rookie of the year.

I think the big winner in todays race was the DP01. Only Halliday suffered a mechanical breakdown and of course you can expect one or two mechanical breakdowns a race. I spoke with Minardi engineer prior to the race and he basically told me he expected his car to hold up amidst all the fuel cell issues and as far as he had heard, expected the same from most teams. He also talked about Tracy just being involved in the "perfect" hit. It was just one of those rare hits where the nose hit the wall head on at the perfect spot causing the car to do what it did. that was his prognosis anyway.

So, Oriol jumps in the number 3 car on an emergency-fill basis. in 2005 he jumped in the Newman/Haas seat on an emergency basis. In 2005, the decision to have Oriol was done less than 3 days before he went qualifying. both today and at the Mile he finished on the podium. They then decided to keep him for the next couple of races. Right now he's scheduled to race in Houston. in 2005 he finished second because he kept getting great results and Newman/Haas couldn't let him go. Servia gets a podium his first race with Forsythe. What happens when he gets another in Houston??? In 2008, will a really powerful team please sign this guy in the off-season so the guy can compete for the Vanderbilt Cup with every race of the season under his belt!

Expect the first Overheard at the track of the season to hit the champcar.ws website this week. It was fun getting back into the groove of shooting it. Also, I am hoping that on Thursday I will be able to do a podcast with the Clerk of the course Jim Swintal. I have to be honest, it took me several hours this weekend trying to figure out how to do a podcast. I think I figured it out. I am also hoping to make this a regular gig prior to every race we attend and hopefully bring in guests and whanot. Jim and I have a very dynamic relationship and I think this will be quite entertaining. The goal is to eventually have it on champcar.ws, but for the time being its going to be on this blog site and his. Champcar.ws will have a highly entertaining podcast with Bill Stevens and Rick Benjamin.

Tracy/Oriol

2007-04-14T19:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m sure you have heard by now that Paul Tracy will be out of the number 3 seat for a while after injuring his back in the morning practice. The hit was hard and looked bad, but he did take the steering wheel off before complaining of a sore back. They took him to the medical unit and nothing dramatic was diagnosed but they nonetheless took him to the hospital where they diagnosed him with fractured vertebrae. Now, the initial diagnose has him out three months, but I am willing to bet that he will suit up for Portland. He’s going to rehab like crazy and the ‘three month’ period will likely be shorten considerably. Like Paul said in the pits this afternoon, he’d be willing to drive, but its really for precautionary reasons. You don’t want to risk aggravating the injury should he suffer another collision. It’s a shame, he’s certainly going to be missed, but there is no point in risking further injuries. I give him full credit for not only returning to the track this afternoon, but also to the pits to address the media. Under the circumstances he had no obligation to address the media, let alone walk to pit lane and address them there. He’s certainly shown a lot of class today.

As for Oriol, well he has to make the most of the opportunity. This is very similar to 2005 when his other friend Bruno Junquiera injured his back and Oriol made the most of that seat time. If you consider 7 podiums, 1 pole and 1 win making the most of seat time. I tell you what, this, in my humble opinion put Mario Dominguez in the hot seat because he knows that Paul is guaranteed the #3 seat, but that #7 seat is wide open after Houston. If Oriol throws down the kind of performances he did back in 2005 and Mario is mediocre, then what is stopping Gerry Forsythe from putting Oriol in that seat? I suppose his sponsors could make Gerry an offer he can’t refuse, but that’s speculative at this point. There seems to be a few drivers with 3 race deals, so this could bode well for Oriol. Like he said, he came to Long Beach looking for a ride. He found one and now it’s time to show what he can do. He was fast at Sebring with the new car and he’s got one of the top teams in racing. He’s got an uphill battle, starting in 15th, but he’s also got a long race and plenty of experience to back him up.

Friday post qualifying

2007-04-13T18:58:00.000-04:00

So this morning during practise there were all these cameras around Team Australia and then, wouldn't you know it the team delivers in Qualifying. I was speaking with their lovely PR rep Elizabeth and was joking about how busy it gets when you reach the top. She joked with me, but I think the team is a little overwhelmed with the attention, not that anybody is complaining. In fact, she had a good response for me after I was being a smartass. she said "at least they are both fast, so they both have to go to the press conference with me"
ah the life of a racecar driver PR.

My favorite moment of post qualifying today was as the team was taking the car back, Pagenaud made sure to go shake every one of his teammates hands and thank them. I'm by no means surprised he did this, it was just nice to see. He's a great kid, no doubt and fast.
I was as surprised as anybody when Will took the fast lap, as I was certain that Bourdais had it. He was almost half a second faster in practise on Friday and for the most part, about half a second faster in qual before Pagenaud made it closer. I actually watched the end of the qualifying from the Bourdais pit and some of them were handing out high fives until Mr. Power got the lap. I didn't see Bourdais after (as I ran towards Team Australia) and he's in the press conference right now so I don't know how he feels about the day.
For the second weekend in a row, differential problems cost Tracy track time, but he was quick, he knows it and his 5th place finish certainly wasn't indicative of his car. His teammates' 6th place was impressive too, although he wasn't the happiest, given that he was quite quick in the morning.
I have to tell you, maybe I haven't noticed in the past, maybe I was too busy in my announcing tent and didn't get to roam around a lot, but the crowd was incredible today. I may be par for the course, but I really noticed it today and it literally gave me shivers. Saturday should be even better.
(I didn't get a chance to check the spelling of this blog, i'm writing it right on the site. I appologize for any grammatical errors.)
:)

the Score

2007-04-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

I am happy to say that the Score will be broadcasting 10 races in Canada this year. We know that Canada has the biggest Champ Car fans and they finally have a home broadcast. The Score is legit my friends, they are buying up content after content, including the NCAA and the EPL (two items formally owned by Sportsnet and trust me, they took a lot of flack for losing those!). They are a smaller company, but their passion for sports is evident and, to be honest (and at the risk of ever being hired by Sportsnet again) have better personalities than other canadian broadcasters. I am excited about this because they are a young, edgy network. This is a good day for Canadian fans.
I hope to be doing reports for them again like we did back in the Players days, so as of Houston (worse case Portland) get your CHamp Car news from the Score and watch yours truly deliver the reports.

go canada go!

2007-04-11T12:56:00.000-04:00

This is for Christine, who in the comments section of a couple of blogs back asked what the mood of the teams were in Vegas with regards to the car and the race. To be frank Christine, the mood wasn’t all that rosy. It is one thing to paint the picture of a fantastically fast DP01 that breaks records at historic tracks, which the car is/was. But it’s also another thing to see it on the track at high speeds in heavy traffic for an hour and a half. I ‘m sure you all heard about the potential fueling problems that the cars had (some of them) where they couldn’t get that much methanol in the system. And of course there is Seabass’ weird problem of the coils that kept burning up all weekend. Bottom line is that the crews were worried somewhat and knew that they would be working long hours throughout the weekend because this was it. Testing was over, Spring training was over and a screw up now or a malfunction would cost them valuable points on Sunday. Some were more cautiously optimistic, others were rather pessimistic. I think the bottom line was that the teams would have liked more testing. But then again, what team doesn’t want more testing?
Also, the fact that there are 3 street races in a row was cause for some apprehension, given how little time between events there would be to fix any tub or whatnot. On road courses, if you get off the track, you most likely go on the grass. There is no such luxury on a street course. Evidently a whole bunch of spare parts arrived on Saturday (though I can’t confirm that, I just heard it did) which I’m sure eased some pressure.
Also, because the streets of Vegas had to be opened at certain times, this was a race where track time was held to a minimum. Where they usually have an hour and a half (at least) on Friday morning, this time they barely had an hour and then it was right to qualifying. So, I think that had something to do with it.
All in all, I am happy that the first race (as I’m sure they are) is done and now everybody knows exactly (more or less) how the car performs under those circumstances. What I like about it right now is that Dale Coyne seems to have figured out the DP01, while Newman/Haas/Lanigan haven’t. Not that I cheer for one or the other, but it’s interesting how things are turning out. Although I do expect NHL racing to be back in fine form this weekend.

I think everybody will breathe a little easier now that the car has been put to the test so to speak. Scott Elkins, the director of technology especially. The poor guy (he had a major part in the development of the DP01) was stressed all weekend. Understandably for sure. I think the focus will change this weekend, it’s going to be “how can we push it to the limit” compared too “will it get through a race”.

I want to see Graham on the track. I want to see what he can do in a Champ Car. I hope he’s able to last longer than a lap cause the kid is for real.

For the record I didn’t do any track announcing at Las Vegas. It was hard sometimes cause I wanted to run to the booth and start yapping away like I used too. But I held back. I let the new guys have their day.

With regards to my videos, we have decided that it makes more sense to add some fresh videos during the 6 week break then packing it all in during a race weekend. So, except the “This or That” and “me or my teammate” to rise during the 6 week break. With three races in a row, I think the video content right now will be specifically race related, while during the break it’ll be more timeless stuff. My producer Tom McGovern is a smart man.

race just ended

2007-04-08T19:54:00.001-04:00

Well the race just ended and I am sitting in the television compound with a few minutes to reflect on what we just witnessed. It certainly was an interesting race. A race of attrition, definitely. But probably not for the reason that many people thought it was going to be. Going into the race, the worries came from the DP01 and its lack of race experience. Throughout the weekend some teams grumbled about this or that and, just like the new car last year in the Atlantics, you naturally worry during the first race. And yes, while there were a lot of cars that didn’t make it until the end, those were mostly the results of contact. That was certainly the case for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, as they just want to forget this weekend even ever happened. On the other hand, Dale Coyne ran very well and had it not been for a fuel mishap, Junquiera could have very well found himself on the podium, while Katherine Legge had some very positive results.

Right after the race, I ran into Robin Miller and I ask him his thoughts on the race, to which he says “Disaster. Complete disaster”. I didn’t stay for the explanation.

I’m very happy for Will Power. If you read this blog, you know I have been a fan of his last year when somewhere in the middle of the season he caught my attention and I knew he had the speed and just needed everything to fall into place. This weekend it did. And on Derek Walker’s birthday no less. His pass on Paul Tracy had me on the edge of my seat and my heart probably stopped beating until after the corner when he made the pass. Tracy did everything he could to hold him off, but he realized that Will had him and gave it to him. I don’t know what would have happened if it was Bourdais on his tail. Regardless, Power had a faster car and it was his right. After the race during Robin Miller’s interview with Will Power, Paul went over and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. That was a great moment of respect between two great drivers.

Robert Doornbos also drove one heck of a race, considering it was his first Champ Car race. He was very excited about it afterwards and talked about how much fun he had at work today. His smile is a mile wide and his enthusiasm is phenomenal. That kind of attitude is great for the series!

I felt bad for Graham Rahal and frankly at this point of the blog I still haven’t really seen what happened. I know he made contact and it looks like it was of his own doing which is unfortunate. It would have been fun to see what he could do. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to find out. Bourdais was fun to watch too, as he was climbing the grid on his way back. It looked real nice, but alas, another Bourdais mistake? How many times did he hit the wall this weekend? Very Un-Bourdais like.

Saturday morning-Vegas

2007-04-07T10:48:00.001-04:00

It is Saturday morning, some time after 7 and it is about to be a beautiful day here at the track. Frankly, not to cheerlead too much but the entire weekend has been spectacular thus far. It started on Thursday at the charity gala and while I wasn’t actually invited inside the thousand dollar a plate dinner, I was working the red carpet, dawning my best Entertainment Tonight cap and asking drivers who they were wearing and how much they looked forward to, well whatever I don’t know what else I did. I did talk to Tiffany Thiessien, aka Kelly Kapowski, and aka my schoolboy crush growing up. That was quite a thrill? Actually it wasn’t a particularly big thrill in the sense that she’s no longer sweet Kelly but grown up Thiessien. We talked about racing and…I forget what else. I never got around to asking her about Kelly, but I did manage to say something to the effect of “you look even prettier in person”, failing to mention that I haven’t actually seen her on television since that shot lived Fox series about stealing cars many years back. I couldn’t remember the name of the series.

On Friday night it was the big street party and boy, what an event. The concerts, the shows, the people, it was quite spectacular. I didn’t stay too long of course, this is a business trip after all, but it was really well put together.

Its very difficult not to sound like a cheerleader when it comes to this event because the track is fantastic. We walked the track on Thursday and took a golf cart yesterday and its spectacular. The elevation is amazing, great passing areas as they made it wide enough in many places and going under the tracks is just a great great sight. This is one of the tracks that will look very very good on television and if my job was to place the cameras around the track, then I would be like a kid in a candy store. So many fun possibilities.

Great for Paul Tracy to have captured the provisional pole and his quote is very funny (watch the video). He did go on the reds though, but good on him to capture a front row start and thus he’ll be able to dictate his own pace on Sunday. One interesting thing was the lack of track time the drivers actually had. I believe its because they wanted to allow the streets to be open as much as possible to the public. Today both series are given more track time and that will help guys like Mario to learn the track and the DP01. Also, the track was very slick yesterday and it should be grippier today, thus making for even greater speeds.

The talk though is of Team Australia. Pagenaud finished in second and Will was on his way to a top 3 had it not been for brief contact on his final lap. I spoke with Pagenaud afterwards and as happy as he was, one of his first questions was “did Bourdais use the reds?” which shows me that this guy doesn’t want to compete, he wants to win. That is confidence my friends. That is the sign of a winner.

6 days left

2007-04-02T13:56:00.000-04:00

Well, I will admit that I was just as surprised as anyone when I read that Mario Dominguez was joining Forsythe for the first three races of the year and hopefully the full campaign. Initially I questioned the move on Forsythe’s part, mainly because of what happened last year. But If Gerry Forsythe can bring him back, then Mario should be very happy to come back. With the new car, it’s going to be difficult for Mario to want to resort to his old style anyway. Therefore he’ll be able to help Paul in the set up and vice versa. I think Mario should be in Champ Cars anyway. He’s been around for a long time, is a race winner and without a doubt one of the more popular racers in the series. I don’t know a young woman who doesn’t love Mario. I’d actually like to see Mario contend for the Championship. There is no reason why he couldn’t at this stage of his career. He certainly has plenty of experience, plenty of knowledge of the tracks he visits and a keen sense of the car. If he can race clean and get some good results for the first three races, hopefully he can continue on to Portland and build some momentum heading to his home race in Mexico City.

Paul Tracy makes some valid points in his recent article when he states that guys like Oriol and Bruno should be in the series since they have stuck with Champ Cars for so many years when they could have very well gone to the IRL. Frankly, I never thought of it that way. In my previous blog I posted what Wiggins wrote about needing new blood and I agreed with him, as you know. But then I read what Tracy said and it really does make a lot of sense. Especially with those two (and Dominguez). I hope we see Oriol and Bruno on the grid in Vegas and beyond.

Speaking of the article isn’t it great how Tracy plays mind games ALL the time. He’s a lot smarter than some give him credit. Questioning Bourdais’ prowess by making note that Graham was pretty darn fast too is brilliant. It’s no big secret that this might be true. I recall a lot of drivers saying something similar when Oriol jumped in that number 2 spot. It’s a great way for Paul to start the season, but initiating doubt on Bourdais. But, with all due respect to Paul, you don’t win 3 championships in a row without being the clear-cut best driver in the series.

So I counted 17 cars for Vegas (with Dale Coyne having two cars and Conquest 1). I am still holding out hope that we will have 18, but I don’t know where that 18th car would come from. You never know though and we still have a couple of days left. But it looks like 17 will be the number. Bottom line, it’s going to be a heck of a race. It’s too much of a big event not to be.

By the way, congratulations to my Raptors for making the playoffs. This team is special and could make it fairly deep into the playoffs. I’ll be there all the way.
And my Senators are easily making the playoffs again. Best team in the 2nd half of the season. Yeah, this is going to be a fun playoff season for me!

2007-03-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

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.

EMauk

2007-03-24T15:02:00.000-04:00

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! :)

2007-03-22T10:26:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-03-12T12:07:00.001-04:00

Well I just got back from Spring Training and I am not here to talk politics for this particular entry. I am not here to spread any sort of propaganda in any direction. I simply want to share with you my weekend experience in Monterey. There is enough press and forums talking about the politics of this game that I realized that it’s not my business to get involved in all of that. I have no control over this series. All I am is very happy to be part of it.

First of all, in 2003 we stayed at a Beach Front Best Western and this was my first time back and its such a beautiful resort, right on the ocean, it made me wish I had someone special to share it with. But alas, this ain’t a ‘woe is me’ blog entry. The hotel was great and if you ever get a chance to stay there get the beach front room. I think it costs something like 12000$ more a night, but it’s worth every penny. For the record I didn’t have a beach view room this time, but I did back in 2002 and you literally are awoken up by the waves crashing in the morning. Spectacular!

I got to the track on Thursday morning and was told that my interview with Mr. Kalkhoven was to be that morning. Luckily I was prepared, though taken aback, as I expected it to be on Friday. Nonetheless, we went ahead and sat down with the boss. To his credit, he was candid and pulled no punches. I was a little apprehensive with some of my questioning, just naturally nervous being next to the big boss. But all in all, I think it went fairly well and watch for it sometime next week. I believe it’ll be delivered in a two or three part segments.

I did spend a lot of time with Robin Miller this weekend, as he was there covering the event for Speed and we shared the same ‘office’. To his credit, Miller was professional, if not a tad negative, as I’m sure you have read in his most recent speed article. I can tell you this much though, this is the most time I have spent with Robin over the course of a race event and say what you want about him, at the end of the day he loves Champ Car. It may look like he wants it to fail, but he really doesn’t. He just has an idea of how things should be and wishes they were run that way. He also didn’t harbor any ill feelings towards anybody but a certain few Champ Car employees (I’m sure you can guess who). Robin wishes the series to get back to where it once was in the late 80’s and early 90’s and unfortunately can’t get passed the fact that it likely never will again. The series is what it is and for my money, it’s the best open-wheel racing series in the world even if it’s not the most popular. And nobody gets more out of a driver interview than Robin Miller.

I spent the rest of Thursday shooting (and helping shoot) a variety of promotional videos for a variety of outlets, both Champ Car and the Atlantics. Thursday was media day for the Champ Car drivers and we basically chronicled what they were going through for our post day wrap up. You might remember those post session wrap ups last year and they will continue again this year.

On Friday, it was time for the Champ Cars to hit the track and it was time for yours truly to remember why he loves what he does. Just hearing those engines, seeing the lovely DP01 on the beautiful Mazda raceway Laguna Seca was pure joy. But we also had some work to do. For example, we did a new feature called “Me or my Teammate” and the first victims were the boys at PCM. It was fun, those two are absolute hoots and I’ve a feeling its going to become a regular feature.

What I look forward to this year is the spontaneous videos we are going to be able to accomplish and case in point was this thing we did with the Atlantics. It’s a silly little skit, but I think its going to be really funny and will be good exposure for the kids. By the way, the Atlantic field (which were on track Wednesday and Thursday) is going to be as awesome this year as it was last year.

Congrats to Seabass for breaking the track record (unofficially) and despite him downplaying his accomplishment, it’s still a heck of a feat and a great showing for the DP01. Now we’ll see how she handles the race conditions.
Graham Rahal was fast, as was Paul Tracy on Thursday, but Neel Jani impressed me the most. He’s been at or near the top all pre-season testing. Paul Tracy said it best: it’s very tough for rookies since they have such a steep learning track when they arrive to a new venue on Fridays, but watch for this guy to get up to speed real quick. Also Pagenaud. Team Australia is for real and I see no reason why Will won’t compete for the Vanderbilt Cup and Pagenaud the Roshfrans rookie of the year.

I’ll write more this week.

2007-03-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you to anyone who submitted a question they’d like to ask Mr. Kalkhoven. I got a bunched a them and I was very impressed with them. It’s fairly obvious that our series might have the most passionate fans (and workers) out there. One thing that surprised me (maybe it shouldn’t have) was the amount of you guys that wished to remain anonymous, which naturally I will respect. I don’t mind cause they were great questions and it’ll only make me look smarter. Hee. Like a lot of interviews, I like to have topics ready on hand and then just have a conversation with the interviewee. I expect this one to be the same thing and hopefully I won’t be too intimidated by the man who ultimately has control on my career these days. Thank you once again for all the submission, I really appreciate it.

Well, I am certainly looking forward to California and returning to the Laguna Seca track, perhaps still my favorite in North America. There is nothing quite like it and they are celebrating 50 years this year. It’s a shame Champ Car can’t race there anymore, but realistically a better market has been found in San Jose. But at the very least they have their Spring Training there. I hope this can become a tradition. I hope the series can always have Spring Training at Laguna. If they can’t have a race, this is the next best option. I look forward to seeing many friends out there!

I am cautiously optimistic with regards to all these expected announcements at Laguna, but at the same time I am keeping my feet on the ground. There is no better way to get burned then when you expect something and it doesn’t happen. God love the Internet, but it is home to widespread fraudulent information. Don’t get me wrong, I understand there are many announcements to be made and I am certain that everybody will leave Spring Training with a good feeling. But some of the possible announcements I have read are a little ambitious.
The series is making good progress and maybe most importantly have acknowledged their mistakes in the PR department this off-season. Gotta love a company that can admit mistakes.

Say what you want, you gots to love Montoya! Any other driver on the planet does not intimidate the man. He thinks he’s faster and he’s out to prove it. I know it was a street course and he had an unfair advantage, but the way he took that checkered was impressive and risqué. On the other hand, he appeared to take out his teammate, an absolutely no-no in the world of motorsports. How will the good old boys react to that? Right now it doesn’t seem like they are very happy with him. We’ll see what happens in Vegas. Should be a good show.

2007-02-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know and I have alluded to this, the video content page on Champ Car’s website will take a dramatically expanded role. As it should. Right now we’re looking to have a huge influx of content, varying from interviews, daily reports, tech features, lighter-side skits, night-on-the-town kind of stuff, whatever we can think of we can try. We have a budget this year and it should be great.

Not too long ago I proposed that we launch our efforts with a splash and suggested that a sit down with Kevin Kalkhoven would be a good idea, at Spring Training. Not a cheerleading sit-down, not a rah rah, everything is rosy sit-down, but an actual interview. Go to the source on some issues. I figured we could have fun with him too, ask him silly questions that a man of his stature has no business answering, but business-talk first. And in lieu of Robin’s article and things being the way they currently are, this potential interview couldn’t come at a better time.

Well, it looks like this idea might come to fruition. Still ironing out some details in terms of availability and scheduling, but it looks very promising.
This is where you come in. I’d very much like to have your suggestions on what to ask Mr. Kevin Kalkhoven. Obviously we have some questions in mind and there are obvious one’s to ask. Nonetheless, I would like to hear some of your suggestions and if one of your questions were to be asked, then proper credit would be given (with your permission, of course).

So, please send me some suggestions. My email is emgagnon@yahoo.com

2007-02-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

Is it me or did Robin Miller’s recent rant (http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/35621/) seem particularly vicious? Robin has always been negative, a distinct journalist characteristic. Most journalists prefer reporting bad news then good news, given that bad news spews more reaction out of people, precisely what journalists want. So, I was absolutely not surprised to read that Miller thinks everything is wrong with Champ Car (or IRL for that matter). He’s done it before and he’ll do it again. He does it for everything he encounters, any form of racing. Oh sure, he’ll throw a feel-good story on occasion, but those are in the minority. Generally speaking his job appears to be to point out what is wrong with racing and to offer his ideas of solutions. The fact that he is absolutely clueless as to what the American public wants doesn’t matter. Like most journalist he’s brash and opinionated and has all the right answer. But this particular article was a lot more mean-spirited, a lot more personal than most of his earlier work. His cheap shot attack on Steve Johnson was malicious and, I’m sure quite fraudulent. His suggestion that CC sell off its assets to Tony George was downright shocking.

Now, do these articles get people talking? Hell yes. Even Steve Johnson entered the Champ Car forums to throw his two cents on the article. Its one of the reasons I love champ car frankly, the interaction that the bosses have with the fans. I don’t know of another major sport where the president logs on to a forum and actually responds under his own name. Not through an alias, not just as a lurker. You have to respect that and you have to respect the fans for being honest with their feelings. And heck, I’m writing about the article, therefore I’m as guilty as anyone of acknowledging his article and responding to it. Therefore, the purpose of his article was served. He’s getting a reaction out of me, out of all of us, including the president of the company.

But I am not here to address the specific details of his article, as I will not pretend to know what is going on with the series. I know there will be Spring Training, I know I will be there and I know it’s going to be a heck of a season. That’s all I need to know right now. Naturally, being an employer of the series, his articles evoke a certain fear out of me, a financial fear, given that this is my passion, but also my livelihood and I do need to eat and pay my rent. But, nonetheless, it’s going to take a lot more than a negative article from him to get me to break out the old resume. Most of his articles I read are somewhat disconcerting. But this particular address and the point of this blog entry was that it was so damn personal; I have to wonder what is going on with his job status? Robin strikes me as a vengeful person. As a person who will shake your hand with a razor blade in his palm. Perhaps CC isn’t giving him what he wants. No, I’m not talking about the prominent, American fielded series he so constantly talks about. I’m talking about a free lunch he so craves. The buffet tables that keeps him coming back. Basically the free meal ticket. I wonder out loud if his days with the series are numbered. I’m probably way off base and reading too much into this. He could very well have gotten up on the wrong side of his bed and spilt coffee on his shirt right before sitting down and writing this very much op-ed piece. I hope things work out for Mr. Miller, whatever his future might be. The man can be very funny and witty in his writing. He just needs to be a happier fella.

By the way, I sure hope AJ has a guaranteed contract and not a performance-based contract.

The Daytona 500

2007-02-19T11:35:00.001-05:00

Well, another Great American Race has come and gone and who wasn’t cheering for Mark Martin at the end!!! I can’t believe they didn’t throw the yellow flag. I am completely torn by the result. On the one hand, would I want anything else then a battle to the finish? Of course not, it’s what racing is all about and lord knows that Mark wouldn’t want a gimme and any time of the year. On the other hand, boy it would have been nice if the old man captured a Daytona 500. But you have to give Harvick a lot of credit for making that move at the end. During the red flag and the ensuing green, the commentators barely mentioned Harvick as a threat. I don’t even think they had him on their radar. But there he goes, on the outside charging hard and barely finishing ahead of Martin at the checker. A spectacular finish to an event that, aside from the last 50 laps, was relatively quiet and some time mundane. But boy did those last 50 laps make up for it. That last lap crash was nothing short of spectacular. They wanted the Big One, they got it. I think a car crossing the finishing line upside down and on fire constitutes as a ‘big one’. Amazing that nobody got hurt and I will give NASCAR a lot of credit on the safety side of things. Whenever one of these crashes takes place, the driver seems to be all right just about every time they happen. To watch Clint Bowyer take the steering wheel off and climb out of the car after that wreck is remarkable. Once you saw that he’s all right, watching that flip again is spectacular. It was right out of Ricky Bobby. He may not have won, but what a way to finish! How is he going to top that? (Let’s not find out).

After all the cheating and the scandals, the post-race stories should be focused on the race, given all the story lines that happened. That’s good news for NASCAR, having suffered one of their biggest scandals in years. But, like a commentator said (I forget who), NASCAR is all about headlines and it doesn’t matter how they get it, if there are NASCAR headlines, then it’s good for the series. And boy, in the last couple of weeks we’ve had our fix.

It was neat watching the Toyota NASCAR team prior to the race. I don’t know if you saw it, but it was basically a paid –advertisement for the Toyotas in the field. And it was very up to date, cheating scandal and all. Tough to see A.J. not making the grid. If you consider that 4 of the 8 Toyotas made it, that’s not bad, even though 2 of them were guaranteed spots. We probably over-hype the arrival of a ‘foreign’ manufacturer in the sport. It’s not that big of a deal. Fans won’t care if Jarrett or Waltrip win in a Toyota or an American made manufacturer. Both of those drivers have their fan base and they will be happy, nobody what they are driving. That’s just my opinion, of course. I liked during the pre-race show how they tried to justify Toyota being there by stating that they are the only car out of the 4 that is actually made in America. The others are made in Canada and Mexico. Interesting point I thought.

I’ll say this, with that Toyota special and with Juan Pablo Montoya in the race, I don’t think I have watched a NASCAR broadcast which mentioned open-wheel racing more. It was kind of fun to hear Champ Car and CART being mentioned.

It’ll be interesting to see next week, when they get rid of those restrictor plates.

Another day

2007-02-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

As I was watching the Bud shoot out on a high definition television at work, I was amazed at how nice the cars looked under the lights and it occurred to me that many of my best Champ Car memories were from night races. I absolutely love night racing and the main reason is how the cars look under the lights. If a stockcar looks nice at night, then you know a champ car under the light is fantastic. There is something about the lights glistening off the car that is so damn sexy. My first night race was Milwaukee and while the cars look good on ovals, is there anything better than a night race in Cleveland or on a city track? I know it’s not convenient for many people and logistically it’s a nightmare, what with all the lights. But man, if I were running things I’d have 90% of my races at night. It’s a genuine party atmosphere. Houston was great last year. But you do lose at the gate, no question.

Well, you know its that time of year: the time when the papers read ‘Jos the Boss is driving in Champ Car in 2007’. Every year it’s the same thing. Nothing against the guy, he’d be a good addition to the series, but enough already. I can’t stand people who just talk, make assumptions and then nothing happens. Again, I hope it happens and it makes sense this year, what with the Holland race and all. But man, wait until you signed the paper with whichever team before you announce it to the world. It sure would be nice if Forsythe went back to a two-car team, that’s for sure. The DP01 is going to be difficult to figure out and having two cars is definitely better than one this year. The last few years of the Lola, maybe not so much, as the teams had mastered that chassis and got everything they could out of it. But this year, it would seem to me that having a two-car team would be a HUGE benefit.

Anybody else really excited to see Graham drive in that Newman/Haas car? There hasn’t been a driver that has come into the series that’s excited me as much as he has. Maybe it is the fact that he jumps in a heck of a car, or maybe it’s the fact that he’s a Rahal. Whatever it is, I have a feeling he’s going to get himself into a lot of ‘adventures’ this year. He’s a hungry, brash and confident rookie. A recipe for success…and disaster. Which basically just means he’s going to be extremely fun to watch and to root for, or against. I’m sure he’ll rub a few other drivers the wrong way as he makes his way to the podium. He isn’t afraid to go for broke. Complete opposite of Pagenaud. How is he going to fare this season?
I really like the new schedule. This is by far the best we’ve had in years. Finally, we can stop pretending to be happy to be on Spike tv. As I was reading the press release, my jaw dropped when I saw ESPN Classic. Suddenly, I had this sinking feeling and thought that all our races would be on Classic. That would have been shocking. But fortunately it’s only the one race and it makes sense, given the location of that race. The rest of the schedule is great and I can’t wait to show up on the Deuce or ABC and give ‘em a show they’ll never forget. 2008 will be even better, but 2007 is pretty darn satisfying. Remember, the NHL is the worse rated sports in North America because it didn’t go with ESPN, who now barely treat it like it exists. ESPN is a hugely powerful machine, one that you want to be riding with, not against. I mean, if they can get ‘excited’ about Indy cars, imagine how can get when a real racing series hits ‘em. (And I’m not talking about NASCAR)

2007-02-04T18:47:00.000-05:00

I was sorry to hear the Denver event taken off the schedule (and not because I get paid per race) but because it really is a very sports oriented city and they very much took to the race. But, I am not that surprised. Not because of the title sponsor situation, but because that’s the way with street races. We cannot under estimate the magnitude of a Long Beach or a Toronto, races that have 20 plus years on the schedule. The logistic, the expenditures, everything is so big, so beyond our understanding that it’s very difficult to sustain. Denver will be missed because of the track improvements over the years made it a racey track. Oh well, such is life. I hate to cheerlead, but 16 events is still the most on the sked in the last couple of years and it’s the direction the series needs to be heading in.

Every year, we worry about sponsors, about car count, about venues and every year we find ourselves at Long Beach and we’re fine. Maybe the car count isn’t always ideal; maybe the series needs more sponsors and whatnot. But we’re always at Long Beach and there is always a huge crowd and a very exciting race. Things work out. Sure, it helps to have the amigos in control, men who aren’t afraid to take chances and spend money if they have too. They didn’t buy the series to put it to rest. This is going to be a fun year with good drivers, great venues and, as happens every year, the unexpected. Who knows what it will be this year? A new venue blowing everybody’s expectation? Another Tracy-(insert driver here) feud? Seabass contained? We don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it exciting. The off-season is a terrible time for the series, since nobody has anything to talk about, so they start rumors or spread things that aren’t true or even pertinent. The Internet is to blame for much of this, but with the good comes the bad. With every race control and forum groups comes some blogger with a twisted view or opinion spreading vicious things.

Forget about Ford leaving. They meant (in my opinion) little to the series and I even heard their contribution was more in simple lending us the name “Ford” than anything actual significantly financial. The series will certainly survive without Ford and right now, given their fiduciary position, Ford should NOT be sponsoring any series. I know they are involved with NASCAR, but that’s another story. Speaking of NASCAR, I cannot wait to see the “car of tomorrow”. Why? Because the drivers don’t like it, the teams don’t seem too think too highly of it and the fans, from what I have read, aren’t remotely interested. Not to mention that the car doesn’t look that hot anyway. But, I am going to withhold judgment until Dover when they field the 41 cars in their sponsor’s colors. Maybe then the car will look good. I hope so.

By the way, Bachelart coming back, even if its only with one car, is a huge deal. I never said anything obviously, but I had them written off for financial reason. I am very happy for him since we are going to Europe and I am happy for that crew. I am holding out hope for a second car. But I will be happy with a one-car team.

Life is good:

2007-01-23T20:17:00.001-05:00

You know life is good when you get champ car motorsports reports in your email inbox. There’s a form of normalcy for me when that happens. It automatically puts a smile on my face and I love reading the reports from the team’s PR.

Things are coming along nicely for the series. Maybe not as fast as everyone would like it, but its becoming the norm in the series, so we might as well get used to it. Every off season we have the same discussions about car-count and potential drivers, sponsors and such and usually by Long beach (or in this case Vegas) things work out. They inevitably will again this year as they always do.

My congratulations to the series for getting the European races on the schedule. I think this is a big accomplishment for the series. I liked the press release saying that the series is in fact a World Series and that a balance of American and foreign races is on the agenda. I forget which race it was last year where I overheard the President Steve Johnson telling Eric Bachelart about the potential of going to Belgium and I honestly said to myself “this could be Johnson’s legacy within the series. If, and it’s a big if, but if he makes it happen, this will be huge for him and the series”. The man got it done. My congratulations.

I haven’t updated that much in the last couple of weeks because I don’t like writing simply for the sake of writing. If there is something worthy of discussing, then I will write. But when writing simply to fulfill a quota or deadline, that’s when rumors are started and spread. Paging Robin Miller….
But now that testing is underway and that driver announcements are coming along, then its time to keep the ball rolling!

Some of you may be wondering about my situation with the series and for the most part I am too. But things are progressing and it’s looking good for me next year. I can tell you that what the series is planning on doing in terms of new media is potentially very exciting. It’s all I know right now, but stay tuned (and maybe get yourself broadband or whatever fast internet is these days. ;) )

Bend it like Schumacher?

2007-01-11T20:03:00.001-05:00

If Michael Schumacher came and drove in Champ Car, what would that do to our series? I say this following today’s announcement that the one and only, Sir David Beckham just signed a 5 year 250 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the Major League Soccer. Now, I don’t know much about soccer, I don’t know much about Beckham. I am told that he used to be good and now he’s average. Nonetheless, he is still the most recognizable name in Soccer and it’s a genuine coup for the MLS to snatch him up. But what is this going to do for Soccer in the US? I, for one, would now probably go see a Toronto FC game if they played Los Angeles out of curiosity. But I wouldn’t go to the game before that or the game after and, frankly, wouldn’t think much of it after the game. Nonetheless, I would go for the same reason most people will go: to see a real international celebrity and, in this case, hope to catch a glimpse of Posh. I am certain MLS ratings will increase and you can bet that Los Angeles will be playing an awful lot of games on television. It’s a pricey acquisition, but likely to pay off. Would the same thing happen to Champ Car if Schumacher came over?
I avoid asking this question using a popular NASCAR driver a la Dale Jr. Because the answer is too obvious. But a European star, with name recognition, what would that do?
I don’t have an obvious answer. The immediate media exposure would be great. I’m sure ticket sales would go up (although at most races they can’t really go up MUCH higher) and television ratings would probably go up, at least the first few races. But, much like Beckham, is this short-sighted plan on the part of MLS? Will Americans ever truly love soccer like they love their football? Will Americans ever love Champ Car like they love their NASCAR? I really wonder what a name like Schumacher would do to Champ Car. Short term resolve, but in the long run, nothing? Or would this signing put Champ Car back on the map in North America?

Forsythe

2007-01-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

I feel bad for Gerry Forsythe these days. The man can’t seem to catch a break, no matter how hard he appears to be trying. The man who literally saved the series, and then had the prominent part of rising it from the ashes now seems to be on everybody’s naughty list for conceiving that Forsythe may in fact, simply run a one-car operation in 2007. Due mainly to the fact (as reported by David Philips and a variety of other news sources) that he doesn’t want to fork over more of his own cash for a second car. Should a sponsor arise and pony up 5 million dollars, then Forsythe would return to a two-car team. Many have voiced their ‘shock’ that the traditional blue and white, the team that has always had two drivers could take the green flag in Vegas with simply Paul Tracy behind the wheel. Poor Mr. Forsythe seems to be in the ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ position. I, for one, don’t blame Gerry for wanting to run only one car. And this is coming from a person who knows the Forsythe employees very well, given that I have spent 3 years at Players. I would hate to see that operation cut down and have friends lose their jobs. It’s a wonderful organization filled with wonderful, hard-working people. But, the reality is the reality and Gerry is tired of spending his own money.

One doesn’t become a millionaire or billionaire by spending all their money on toys. And, let’s face it, this is a toy. Like the owner of a baseball franchise, a racecar owner has already made their money and is spending some of it on a hobby they adore. Gerry loves racing. It’s in his blood. He does everything out of love for the sport. Heck, he saved the series so he could continue his team. But, the time has come for a sponsor to help out Gerry. When Players left in 2003, Gerry took the brunt of the load and has since been spending a lot of money to keep this operation not simply afloat, but competitive. He gives his drivers the genuine opportunity to win every race. And let’s not forget the 4 drivers he sponsored this season in the Atlantics, one of which has already raced a couple of Champ Car races. But the bottom line is that for the last 3 years he has spent all of his own money on Forsythe Championship Racing and is understandably tired of it. Hoping and seeking to find a sponsor, he’s maintained a top, competitive outfit. Not to mention keeping the entire series afloat too.

The good news in all of this is that I can’t see Gerry not running two cars if the series was in trouble of fielding a full field (fielding a full field, yeah that’s not awkward to say). If there was any question on car-count, then we wouldn’t be hearing all of this from Forsythe Championship Racing. At least, it’s what I, maybe naively, believe. That the series is in solid shape, so much so, that Forsythe can actually stop spending his own money and the series is still on solid foundation. Of course, ideally, a company steps up (whether it’s Ranger with Wall-Mart or Philippe with, well Philippe Money). But the fact is, right now, it looks like Forsythe Championship Racing will be a one-car team with Tracy behind the wheel. At least Tracy won’t have a teammate to take him out in 2007. As of now anyway. Is Dominguez signed yet? ;)

2007-01-04T12:26:00.000-05:00

I recieved this in my inbox, thought it was nice and i'd share.

back

2007-01-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

I know, it’s been a while since I have posted a blog. Too long, perhaps. I use the excuse that everybody else uses, the holidays, etc, etc. But I am back…sort of.

I won’t go on and on because right now things are happening internally that we don’t know about in preparation for the 2007 campaign. The wheels are in motion, the teams are preparing, the hosts are setting up and the Champ Car World Series is working out the kinks before starting the season. This off-season is very short, especially from a logistic standpoint and this is definitely the time when the Champ Car employees, the people behind the scenes work the hardest. I like to give them their props, as they are the hardest working people with very little exterior recognition. Those glorious events that we go too and see on television each year don’t just appear out of mid-air, as we all know. Thanks to countless hours, meetings, emails, phone-calls, Champ Car manages to put on these seamless events that regularly take over a city, involve tons and tons of equipment and accommodates upwards of 150 thousand spectators in 3 days.
Yes, we love our drivers, we love our broadcasters, and we love our team owners. But without the people in the background, away from the spotlight, we have nothing. For every person in the spotlight, it takes a spotlight operator. ;)
So yes folks, I welcome the New Year by giving thanks, as a fan of the series, to all the hard working people who’s busiest time of the year isn’t in April with three races in a row, or mid-July with the season in full swing. Their busiest time is right now. The dredging planning stage. And I am not just talking actual Champ Car employees, but also event employees who work 362 days a year to make a three-day festival of speed happen. I have been in a fortunate position in the past (and hopefully future) to meet a lot of these people and their dedication is always the first thing that astounds me the most. I thank them; I salute them and look forward to seeing their wonderful work in 2007.

2006-12-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

Scott Kostohryz said...

I think this will be great for the series. It will separate Champ Car from IRL. I love the timed races becuse you will never know who will win. It will keep fans into the action the whole race. The best team might not always win because it could come down to how you manage your fuel.The standing starts will be something to see. I can't wait to see it in cleveland. It will be one for the record book. It will be intersting in 2007 & I CAN'T WAIT

tough to argue with that, isn't it? If you have a problem with the rules and what is expected of the series in 2007, take a step back and read what Scott wrote. It may be the best comment I have ever recieved.
Scott made a quick, but very valid point on timed races. It kind of does throw out the old guard out the window and gives a lot more teams an opportunity to compete for top spot. A driver can dominate the race, but if it comes down to a few minutes and he/she has to make a pitstop, then that potentially screws them up. Anyway, so many different scenarios will be played out, its going to be great to see.
A lot of people over at the forums are mad about the mininum weight requirement that has been announced. Frankly, i'm baffled by the complaints. I mean, yes, the car was introduced as being lighter in its initial unveiling. Now, after multiple tests, they have concluded the safest and best minimun weight for the car/driver/team. So what if its the same as last year?? I really don't see what the big deal is? its not going to affect ANYTHING in terms of viewing the sport. you won't see one shred of difference. The new chassis is still faster and slicker and safer than anything this sport has seen. So what if it weighs the same thing? As long as there IS a weight minimum, then I am happy. I'd be ticked off if there wasn't.

That Stoddart sure knows how to play the game. Team Minardi USA. Does Nelson really want to leave that outfit now? I mean, this team just got better right away. this team just got a lot better right away. Welcome to the party Mr. Stoddart. You'll find things a little different around here.

If I don't write before, happy holidays everybody and thanks for your continued support!!!!

eg

2006-12-12T22:03:00.000-05:00

One quick opine of mine on the dramatic rule changes for 2007. At first, one has to be somewhat surprised by the amount of changes. These are dramatic rule changes, literally changing the face of our favorite racing series. We are leaving familiarity behind and heading into a whole new direction. You can easily justify the timing of these changes, given that the series is going to feel new in 2007 with the multiple new events, teams and of course, first and foremost, the car. The time for change is now and you have to give Champ Car credit for not being afraid of change. They could have fallen back on the old safeguard, but they opted to try something bold and new. Like ‘em or hate ‘em, they will dramatically change the nature of the sport as we know it.

I’m going to tell you why, generally speaking, I like these changes as a whole. Its quite simple actually. It separates Champ Car from the IRL. It gives Champ Car its own identity in America. Right now, with the IRL adding more and more street/road courses to their schedule, it must be almost impossible for the average American to tell them apart. I’m talking about the average American, not the diehard race fans. Timed races will give Champ Car its own identity. Standing Starts will be unique to Champ Cars in America. With unification seemingly less and less likely, it’s important for Champ Car to get its own identity. These are big steps towards achieving that goal. I commend Champ Car for taking that step.

We’ll talk some more about these changes. Let me know what YOU think.

2006-12-12T15:46:00.000-05:00

Read 'em over. We'll dissect them over the next week.
eg

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES ANNOUNCES RULE CHANGES FOR 2007 SEASON

INDIANAPOLIS (December 12, 2006) – The 2007 racing season will be a landmark one for the Champ Car World Series with the genesis of the new Panoz DP01 Champ Car, a number of new race venues including an historic event in China, and the introduction of new teams and drivers to the nation’s top open-wheel racing series.

The changes will not affect the basic tenets of Champ Car racing, which include providing fair and equal competition for all teams as well as putting on a consistent and exciting event for the fans both at the track and those watching from home. In producing the 2007 Champ Car Rule Book, Champ Car Race Operations made a number of rule changes to ensure that those basic principles would be followed, while also setting the stage for some new and exciting advances for the series.

“This is a very important year for Champ Car, and these rule changes will provide a competitive atmosphere that will allow our world-class teams and drivers to put on a great show for our fans around the world,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “We are always looking for new ways to bring excitement to the series and these rule changes are another positive step toward that goal.”

The series will introduce standing starts for the Champ Car World Series at venues where the starting procedure can be accommodated in a safe manner. For a standing start, the field will line up in their grid positions where the drivers will see a 15-second board once all cars are in position. A series of red lights will illuminate one-by-one until all the lights are lit, and the race will start once the red lights go out. The standing start is expected to be used in the season-opening Vegas Grand Prix Fueled by Visa.

“This should provide a very exciting start to our races,” said Champ Car Vice-President of Operations Tony Cotman. “Unlike Formula 1 where they have traction or launch control, the success of the standing starts in Champ Car will be up to the skill of the individual drivers. We will do the standing starts wherever the configuration of the track allows us to do so in a safe manner.”

In an effort to promote more on-track action in practice and qualifying sessions, the rules on tire usage during a weekend has been changed. Previously a team could only use four sets of tires during any qualifying session. Now the teams have unlimited use of their weekend allotment during a session, although the rules concerning the mandatory use of one set of alternate Bridgestone Potenzas during a race in still in effect.

The use of spare cars by the teams has been changed as well. Teams now have the sole discretion to use their backup cars, but can only use one car in any practice or qualifying session. In addition, going to a spare car after the primary car has been qualified will result in the forfeiture of the qualifying time for that entry, meaning that a change after warmup on race day will result in that entry starting from the rear of the field.

In 2007, all Champ Car races will be timed races. The event will begin and will run to a set time limit. As the elapsed time of the race approaches, a signal indicating one lap to go will be displayed to the field, with the race ending upon the next time the leader crosses the start/finish line. The white flag will not be shown from the starter’s stand and will be used more in line with international FIA guidelines around the course.

“As Champ Car grows into more of an international series and with the majority of our driver lineup coming from international road-course backgrounds, we want to update our flagging procedures in kind,” Cotman said. “Not only will it be easier for our drivers to understand, but it will keep us from having to re-educate our course marshals when we conduct international events.”

2006-12-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

So I’m having a good time with this particular poll currently being held over at champcarfanatics.com, http://www.champcarfanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40830 (no idea if that link works or not). It certainly a hotly contested debate, who should be part of the broadcast in 2007 and while its unscientific, champcarfanatics has always represented the average champcar fan well. Therefore you have to at least take the results into some consideration (and no, I am not simply saying that because I happen to be currently ranked third behind Beekhuis and Kendall). There are some good battles going on.

I like the three females being neck in neck with one another and you can’t ignore the fact that Michelle Beisner didn’t make the first cut. I guess the audience doesn’t relate to her. Such is life. We’ll also forgive Sarah for attempting to campaign votes her way by going public with a request for votes. :) I look forward to seeing the outcome in this one.

What I like about this poll is that it sort of puts all the candidates on one page and lets us use our imagination and picture the best team. For example, I personally don’t think that Kendall and Beekhuis would be good together in the booth. While booth are masters at their craft, their approach is so different from one another that I don’t think they would compliment each other. Having said that, maybe what they need between them is, oh, I don’t know, yours truly to be the referee.

Its certainly telling that Derek Daly is low on the list and frankly, that can’t surprise anybody who regularly goes to champ car forums. In fact, I understand (and saw myself) that Derek has joined speedtv forums and asked the fans for help. This is certainly a modern approach and I hope that he listens, cause 99% of the time, the fans are NOT wrong. It may seem odd that he’s doing this, but if it helps, then all the better. If he is back next season, hopefully he can appeal to more people.

Hinch continues to be a popular choice and I wish I had had the opportunity to hear him this season on the international broadcast. Of course, I don’t think Hinch is quite ready to give up racing just yet for a career in broadcasting. But it’s certainly going to be something he’ll be able to fall back on somewhere down the road. But, it’s safe to say, at 20, he’s got another 15 years of racing in him. At least.

Gary Gerould. Gotta love him. No matter who he’s collected a paycheck from in the past.

I don’t want to say I am surprised that Calvin Fish is garnering that many votes, because that is unfair to him. I’m actually happy that he’s doing well. I always liked him in the pits, thought he got the right people to talk too and most important, asked the right questions. That’s key. Asking the right questions. You are more or less trying to prod the interviewee into revealing a secret, such as their strategy, or how much fuel they have, etc. but you need to do it in a diplomatic way or else you’ll be refused access the next time you try. It’s a fine dance and Fish always did it well.

Parker. Gotta love Parker too.

Thank you for all that voted for me. I appreciate it and who knows where it will lead. All I know is I am going to keep checking for the next few days and hope that my 3rd place remains intact. I have no illusions of beating Kendall or Beekhuis. But the rest of the group? Bring it! ;)

2006-11-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Mr. Pettit, you are now the proud father of a racing outfit. Not just a racing outfit, but one of the quickest teams to rise to prominence in a long time. I hope you take care of your new baby, as she’s been fragile lately. Naturally you’re number one priority is re-signing Justin Wilson. That goes without saying. He’s a star and his ‘star’ has never been higher. He’s a driver in demand. Good for him actually. If you think back of how Justin Wilson got involved in the top echelon of racing, how he basically sold ‘himself’ to the world it’s nice to see him finally be able to sit back during the off-season and wait for the phone to ring with a variety of offers.

The movie “Bobby” has little or nothing to do with Bobby Kennedy. Just a bunch of characters going through their daily lives that happen to be at the same hotel as the one where Kennedy got shot. A-list cast, C- storyline. What a shame.

I figured I would post a bunch of old videos on youtube to help make the off-season go by a little faster. It’s been fun going through the old footage and finding out a gem here and there.

Anybody really doubt that Cristiano won’t be back racing sometime in oh I don’t know, maybe April!!

Is Champ Car going to Europe? I can’t figure out whether that’s been confirmed or not. That certainly would be great if it did. That would also be Mr. Steve Johnson’s puppy and his biggest accomplishment yet as president of the series.

The good news so far in my opinion is that I haven’t heard of any teams NOT coming back to Champ Car next season. I worried (and still could I suppose) about some smaller outfits, given that it’s a brand new car. But so far at least, it appears everybody is poised to come back.

Is Gelles Racing entering Champ Cars next year???? I hope so.

2006-11-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

I am having WAY too much fun with this.

Hope this works

2006-11-27T15:36:00.000-05:00

most of you know I am a little technologically challenged. In my many attempts at conquering the web, I have mostly failed. But here I try again. The thought of video blogging has recently occured to me, mainly to give my fingers a rest. but I needed a test video. so I put this one, for our friend Cristiano who continues to recover. notice who is the server?

2006-11-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

Ahh the problems of working a regular gig. No time to write about my favorite sport, champ car. But, I am sneaking in work-time to write this. Its just too much of a good silly season to not be a part of.

First off, don’t look for champ car to be on TSN in Canada next year. I don’t know at this point where the races will be broadcast in Canada, but don’t look for it on the Sports Network. I don’t think we’d have been all that well received on that network anyway. TSN takes everything it can get its hands on, and then worries about the schedule later. Its one way of becoming the biggest sports network in a country. The problem is that there are just not that many outlets in Canada to broadcast the race. I mean, it’s a small country with only 3 sports networks and two of them are booked. Sportsnet has Blue Jays baseball and they are not giving that up. The Jays provide them with big numbers. What I suspect will happen is be some sort of On-Demand thing with your cable or satellite provider. Either way, this could be good or bad. If you got a race On-Demand you could watch it at your leisure. But I think you’d have to pay for it. But if it’s only a couple of bucks to watch a race at your convenience, then why the heck not?

Robin’s new article on the TV deal appears somewhat discomforting, but if you break it down, it’s not as bad as he makes it appear. Production costs are production costs, whether they are paid millions in Advertising or not. Motor sports is an expensive sport to produce, always has, always will be. But to think that Champ Car is indirectly paying for the IRL is a crock. But I know what he means; it’s just a wrong observation. Using the same logic, you can say that when we’re on NBC, we are helping pay for My Name is Earl. What I did like to read was one poster somewhere saying something to the effect that if we get the same ratings then the IRL on ESPN and yet we pay them to be on their network as opposed to them paying the IRL, what is the incentive to keep the I? But that’s all for not anyway, since ESPN is intent on becoming an umbrella for motorsports fan across America.

Are we closer to a merger as a result of this deal? No, not a chance. This doesn’t make the situation better or worse. It’s exactly where it was before the deal was announced.

Oreovicz was on the Fan 590 here on the Bob McCowan radio show not too long ago and when he was talking about AJ leaving, the other host pointed out that John seemed actually upset about it and to take it personally and John, to my surprise (or maybe not) said he did take it personally, cause he’s tired of guys saying one thing and turning around and doing something else. Doing a complete about-face without hesitation He then brought up Andretti as the ultimate example, to which he is absolutely correct. Wouldn’t it be nice if athletes meant what they say to the press and the fans, instead of just looking out for their best interest? I bring this up because recently on the forums some people made comments on how it was nice to hear Bruno and Oriol show their loyalty to the series. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am certain they are loyal and love Champ Car. But if Chip Ganassi (I say him cause he’s notorious for poaching Champ Car drivers) offers Oriol a big salary to run in the IRL, do you think he would take it or not? It’s a business and they need to be looking out for number one.

the house the mouse built!

2006-11-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

What a busy couple of days in the world of Champ car, but I guess that’s what silly season is all about. How refreshing is it to be a champ car fan these days. I’ll admit I was as surprised as anyone about the deal that Champ Car signed with ABC/ESPN. I can’t think of anything negative on this deal. I mean, ESPN is king, let’s not kid ourselves and for us to be back on that network just goes to show you how intelligent and diligent the three amigos are at making this series as successful as possible. Getting back on ESPN is huge. Now the series needs to work on eventually getting at the top of their priority list. Naturally, it will be lower at the beginning. Races on ESPN 2 are to be expected, and we cannot expect to be the lead story on Sportscenter, just because we’re on their network. There is still a lot of work to do in terms of growth, but arguably this is as good as it can possibly get right now. My favorite part of this deal is the fact that they are showing or going to show some Atlantic races. To me, this shows commitment on their part in this deal. I always liked the Atlantics on Speed, I think it’s the perfect home for them, so if the Atlantics find themselves on both channels, all the better for them. But, bottom line for the champ cars is that being on ONE channel consistently is very important for reaching casual viewers. Of course, now we are also going to battle the IRL In the ratings game and in advertising dollars because we are literally sharing a spot. I know not too many races go literally head to head, but we’re on the same network now, part of the (yikes) same family. What a move though, almost blindsiding everybody with this huge announcement! Hopefully the series can be featured in the Mag and everywhere else in the many ABC outlets.

Alex Tagliani is out of a ride at Team Australia according to reports, but he appears to be the front runner to return to Rocket Sports and has had discussions with PKV. This is what silly season is all about. While I feel bad for Alex for being dropped by Team Australia, you can’t blame them for wanting two Aussie drivers. Of course, what happens with Pagenaud now? I’m going to make a prediction that is totally based on nothing. This theory I am about to lie out for you has no professional basis, but I am going to say it anyway (isn’t that what Robin usually does anyway?). I think you’ll have Nelson Philippe, Simon Pagenaud team up with Legge at PKV racing in 2007. I suspect that Newman/Haas will stick with Bourdais and Rahal and that Forsythe will go with Tracy and Buddy. Pagenaud holds a lot of cards with that 2 mil and therefore I think a three car PKV team will be in existence. Or is it just KV racing now? As for Alex? He’ll land back at Rocketsports.

I am not worried for Oriol Servia. Why? Because this seems to happen to the poor guy every year!! 7 years and 7 different teams. I feel bad for the guy because he’s never really had job security. On the other hand, he’s managed to stick around for 7 years. He’ll be somewhere in 2007. The other big name is Bruno Junquiera and, frankly, I am more worried for his future than Oriol’s despite the difference in their professional record. Unless Newman/Haas goes to a three-car team or Stoddart signs him in what is this supposed 4-car team with HVM, then I don’t think we’ll see Junky on the grid in 2007. I hope I’m wrong. He should be in the series, that’s a no-brainer.

After Mexico

2006-11-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

While I missed a little of the race yesterday, mainly in the middle because of work, I was able to watch the start and the ending, and gathered enough of a perspective to share them with you. First of, I thought the broadcast was top notch. Again, I didn’t see or hear the entire thing, but I thought Derek and Rick were on their game, I thought TV azteca or whoever did the broadcast did a great job at following the action on the track. I don’t mind watching an 8th place car if they are in a close battle for seventh. Heck, I’ll take any battles on the field. If the car in first is more than 2 or 3 seconds ahead, don’t constantly show me that car. Go back to it every once in a while to talk about the car’s development in terms of when they will pit, tire ware and such, but then go back to the battles and yesterday was great. I also really enjoyed them going back to the pits during the great last few lap battles. Watching the emotions of Bourdais’ dad, the tension at both camps was riveting. It was compelling. It was great television plain and simple. I’ve only seen three broadcasts this year, but this was by far my favorite. From a person who has been involved in Champ Car his whole professional life and a graduate of broadcasting school with an eye on television production, this was almost as good as it gets. Sure, the graphics are still way too busy and eat up most of the screen, but that was the only flaw I saw yesterday.

If you read my blog a few post back, you read how good Newman/Haas are, and how fun they are to root against. Well, yesterday was one of the finest examples of the best team doing what they do best and frustrating the fans along the way. The fuel stop was brilliant and worthy of a ‘strategy of the year’ candidate. Seabass drove the heck out of that car during the last few laps to catch up to J-Wil, and then bump him on the pass. How much fun was that to watch! And yes, Bourdais does have a rabbit’s ear hidden in that car somewhere because every time he bumps another car, his car is fine. Either he’s VERY lucky or has figured out how to bump with minimal damage to his. And, the topper of all was Hampson’s interview with 5 laps left. I’m paraphrasing; “we’ll probably settle for 2nd, give Justin a lot of credit”. How wonderful was that??? Not showing your cards by false modesty. It was a great Champ Car moment. You wonder why you love to hate Newman/Haas. You got your answer yesterday.

Yesterday was a great finale, plain and simple. The whole season was great and I’ll continue to write about it throughout the off-season. It’s going to be fun and next year will be great. The Lola has been fantastic and it was sent off in a great way yesterday. Now all I have to do is try and stay with Champ Car in some capacity next season. My desire to be with the series is higher than ever.

driver quotes

2006-11-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

Gran Premio Telmex Presentado por Banamex

Race Quotes

Sebastien Bourdais #1 McDonald’s Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “it wasn't a matter of leading the most laps; it was a matter of leading the last one. No, it was just an incredible race, a great battle with Justin the whole time. We both drove the wheels off these cars. That was pretty exciting, I think, at the very end when we decided to stay on the same set of tires, Bridgestone wet tires, it made the whole difference. I was pretty sure the tires were worn out and the track was only damp. I was pretty sure that was the right call. Then kept pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing. I didn't know if Justin had changed the tires or not, but I guess that makes the difference. Now I understand why. If it had been only three or four laps to go, new tires would have been a big help. But with that amount of amount of water, just completely deteriorated too quickly. It was just a great opportunity for us. I really want to thank all the McDonald's team. They've done awesome the last three years, and even before that. You know, I really wanted this win real bad for them because I think they deserve it. Two pit crew guys who were throwing up before the race. That was the least I could do. I think it's just a great way to finish that era of Champ Car with the last victory.”

Justin Wilson #9 CDW Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “It was quite an eventful race, a lot happening. I managed to get a good start initially. On the restart, I just was a sitting duck, once you get onto the long straight. Fortunately, about six or seven laps later, I managed to repay the compliment to Sebastien, get the lead back. The car and the CDW team has done a fantastic job all weekend. I'm very grateful for their efforts. You know, just working towards next season now. We finished third last year, second this year. We want to continue that trend.”

Will Power #5 Aussie Vineyards Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “Wow what can I say what an incredible end and a way to end the season on a high. We struggled in the first stint and lost some time, but in the wet we really came on strong. The last 14 laps were really relaxing and I was able to have fun. I have to say thanks to all of Team Australia . This was an awesome result for them and they all deserve it.”

Bruno Junqueira #2 Hole in the Wall Ford-Cosworth/Bridgestone/Lola/Bridgestone – “It wasn’t the race I was expecting after having been fast all weekend and setting the fastest time this morning. Since the second lap my car was understeering really bad. I had some big moments. Since the beginning of the race I knew I couldn’t keep up with Sebastien and Justin and I knew I couldn’t hold Will Power off for third. I’m very happy to finish the season fifth overall after such a bad start to the season. We started off qualifying well but we taken out of some races early on and it was a struggle so a fifth place standing is good. I’m frustrated not to win this year especially since I have won all the other years I have been in Champ Car. I’m already looking forward to next season when I can be in a position to fight for the championship again. Experience is going to be valuable when developing the new race car and I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Alex Tagliani #15 Aussie Vineyards Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “I just want to start by thanking Team Australia . We hit some rough spots and had a bit of misfortune during the season, but we came out on a positive note. The Aussie Vineyards car was great this weekend. We definitely had a competitive car and it’s fantastic that the team was able to finish in the top five.”

Oriol Servia #6 Gulfstream Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “Today’s race went pretty much the way the whole season has gone for the Gulfstream – PKV Racing team. We had a lot of things go against us. I don’t want to call it bad luck, but things just seemed to happen to us. At the start of the race I had a good tow behind Ryan Briscoe. Just as I was pulling out to go along side to pass the yellow flag came out. He went off the throttle right away and I touched my front wing with his right rear tire damaging my wing. We had to stop to change the wing, which dropped us to 15th. I think we had a podium car today, but still we managed to finish sixth, thanks in part to a good strategy.”

Nelson Philippe #4 CTE Racing HVM Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “Obviously, I have mixed emotions today. On one hand, I’m a bit disappointed with seventh place, but that’s an improvement from our tenth place start. The car was really difficult to drive in the rain. The weather really affected our performance today. On the other hand, I’m very happy with fourth place in the driver’s championship. It’s been a long, hard season, and it’s a bit disappointing that it has to end now. But I’m happy with fourth in the championship. I’d like to thank every single member of my CTE Racing HVM team. The crew of the No. 4 car, the No. 14 car crew, the crew at the shop, and everyone involved with this team. These guys are the bomb, and without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

Andrew Ranger #27 Wal-Mart/Tide Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “We finished tenth in the standings but we lost ninth by one point so it’s a little frustrating right now. If I hadn’t been blocked by Andreas Wirth I might have gained an extra position but overall I’m happy with the outcome of the race. We had a hard time coming into the weekend but finishing eighth is pretty satisfying considering we started 16th. I want to thank the team and especially Eric Bachelart for putting me in the car this season. I was only suppose to do four races and I did them all.”

Charles Zwolsman #34 Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “We were a bit unlucky at the start of the race. We had a good start and I think I had moved up to tenth but then somehow I picked up a puncture. These things happen sometimes and it’s a very unlucky end to the season. That put us in the back of the field but we were able to move up and finish eleventh. That’s the good thing we can take away from this race. Most importantly though, I want to thank the team for working hard this season. We done a lot with the car and we improved it a lot. It was a good year, especially the second part of the season.”

Antonio Pizzonia #18 Lexington Energy Services Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “It was a tough race. We struggled all weekend with balance on the #18 Lexington Energy Services car, but then when we started the race, the balance was completely opposite from before. It was very strange, because we did not make many changes on the car for it to be that different. This whole weekend was a disappointment. The Rocketsports team expected to finish this season on a good note, but that just did not happen for us, and it is a shame because they and our sponsor Lexington Energy Services deserved better.”

Jan Heylen #11 The Meurmans Car Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “We had our set up worked out for the dry, but when it rained it was really hard to keep up with everyone. We made up some ground in the beginning on the red tires. We were fairly quick when we first put the wet tires on, but then the car went away from me. It was a bit of a gamble with the weather and we did the best we could with the circumstance.”

Andreas Wirth #19 Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “It was a very tough and challenging race. On the first pit stop I was leaving the pits as the Team Australia car was coming in, we touched and after that my shoulder bothered me for the rest of the race. It is not where I wanted to finish, but hopefully I will have a chance to return to the Champ Car series next year.”

Katherine Legge #20 Bell Micro Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “My race came down the opening lap incident with Mario Dominguez. I cannot exactly be sure what happened until I have a chance to review the video tape, but from where I was sitting I moved ahead of him at the start of the race. Then I got hit from behind, which drove my car into the barrier shredding the front wing. That, of course, forced us to pit for repairs and ended any chance of a decent finish. I feel especially bad for the Bell Micro – PKV Racing crew because they worked very had and gave me a very good race car. It was especially good in the rain. It is an unfortunate way to end the season, but overall, other then the middle part of the schedule I think I had a pretty good year. I certainly learned a lot this year and I am really looking forward to competing next year in Champ Cars and building on that foundation.”

Mario Dominguez #8 Pemex/GICSA/Del Valle Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone – “It is very unfortunate what happened today to us. We worked very hard all weekend to have a good race, and it was a shame that all that effort was lost at the start of the race. All I know is that Katherine Legge went on the outside, then I felt a hit, and my suspension was damaged. At first I thought my race was over, but my Rocketsports crew did a great job repairing the damage so that I could get back out there and run for my fans and my sponsors. It really is disappointing, but maybe it was just my destiny this season. I put a lot of heart and money into this, with the hopes to run well in Mexico . I am just sad that I couldn’t have had a better result for Mexico , Pemex, GICSA, Del Valle, Banca Mitel, and my personal sponsors Telmex and Bridgestone.”

Dan Clarke #14 CTE Racing HVM Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone - “Thanks to the hard work we put in for the races in Denver, Montreal and Road America, we were breaking records trying to gain points on Will Power, and at Road America, we really put some pressure on him. But, if someone had told me at that point that we wouldn’t even finish the next two races, I wouldn’t have believed it. But that’s what happened. Will ended his season in the best way possible, and I ended my season in the worst way possible. It would be easy to fall into the dark side and question what went wrong, and say that car failures that were outside my control cost me races. But I won’t do that. I think we have a great team, and this isn’t just a loss for me…it’s a loss for the crew, as well. They do a professional job, and you can’t knock them. Sometimes, bad stuff just happens and you have to deal with it. I want to work positively toward next year with this team, who have helped me out more times than I can count. I want to thank the entire CTE Racing HVM team. I also want to thank my sponsors, Ticketmaster, The Australian Pink Floyd Show and the Imagine charity, as well as my Chas Cole, my manager, who has stuck with me since 2002.”

the end is near

2006-11-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the season comes to a close on Sunday and without a doubt, it’s been the most bizarre season the Champ Car series has seen in many years. A season filled with twists, switches, drama, fights, comedy, you name it, it happened in 2006. And to think, this was supposed to be our throw away year, a pass-through season before the introduction of the Panoz in 2007. Even the title race this year got somewhat interesting after the three-way swap took place. While it wasn’t the most exciting Championship race ever, the Champ Car series nonetheless made more headlines than in any of the year’s past. It might have been for the ‘wrong’ reasons that we showed up on Sportscenter, in SI or on PTI. But does that really matter? Heck no! We showed up and that’s what counts. Better to be in the news than out of it. Better to be talked about, then to be ignored. All in all, 2006 has been one of the best champ car seasons ever, on and off the track. There are a couple of reasons why it can be classified as that:

1) The Lola and the astuteness of the engineers. We talk about the Drivers being some of the best in the world, but we tend to forget about the players behind the scenes. We talk of ‘paid-drivers’ who may not have earned their stripes yet, but there is no such thing as a paid-engineer. These guys are the best in the business and combine that with the wealth of knowledge of the Lola developed by years of usage, and you have situations like Cleveland, where a qualifying track record held by Jimmy Vasser back in 1998 when the HP was practically unlimited is broken in 2006. This shouldn’t even be possible, but it happened in 2006. The crews are some of the best in the business and they definitely showed it off this season. It’ll be a lot of fun watching them start from scratch next year.

2) The rookies. Along with the usual veteran talented Champ Car drivers, this year’s rookie crop has been the best in the last 6 years in my opinion. Naturally Katherine garnered most the attention, but a young, brash Brit and a methodical Aussie stole the show and as of this writing, the ROY award is still undetermined. Both have been brilliant at times and knuckleheaded at others. They are following the path of great drivers. To go with these two, you can’t forget Charles Swolzman, who after initial struggles, put a very impressive string of top ten results and even battled the best on a couple of occasion. Consistency wins championship and Charles is building his resume. I don’t want to leave out Jan Heylen because I firmly believe that he’s a quality driver who did the best he could in that car. Sure, there were times when he drove like a rookie, but in all in, he did a good job and one needs simply to look at Cleveland to see where his potential lies. The rookie crop has been top notched this season and you can expect it to be the same next year with the likes of Rahal and Pagenaud. Gone are the days of the Marshalls and the Lemarie.

3) Paul Tracy. Yes, the man had a below average year on the track. The man made some boneheaded moves at times and in a lot of ways resorted back to his younger days. It seemed that the mature, patient Paul Tracy of 2003 was gone and in came the kid. Paul Tracy didn’t win a race (yet) and didn’t come close to the Championship title, yet was easily the most talked about and entertaining driver we have seen since, well a mid-90’s Paul Tracy. While Paul Tracy has always been a staunch supporter of the Champ Car Series and he, with Jimmy Vasser became ambassadors for the series while most jumped to the IRL, and have been outspoken about their love of the series, he made more headline this year than any other years before that. His actions in Montreal alone are worthy of him being a member of the Champ Car family for the rest of his life. I saw what happened in Montreal and it was pure brilliance. It could not have been better scripted. To have that story book ending was classic and I am very happy to have been part of that moment. Love him or hate him, you can’t stop talking about him. And this year, more newspapers, TV shows and radio shows talked about the series thanks solely to Paul Tracy.

4) The fans. Simply amazing. Year after year, the series continues to pack them in to capacity. If you think about it, one season in the Champ Car series garners more at the gate then most if not all NFL teams at home, NHL, NBA and some Major League Baseball clubs. Sure, NASCAR tops the list, but NASCAR is a different beast, a different game. Apple and oranges. The great fans in places like Toronto or San Jose are incredible. Put away all the hoopla about street festivals and all that, and think about Sunday right before the race with the stands full. You can feel the buzz, you can hear it. They cheer loudly after the US anthem, go crazy for the fly over. It’s just such a phenomenal atmosphere during the pre-race ceremonies. It’s something unique to big time Motorsports events. And the Champ Car fans make it one of the best ceremonies all around because of their love and enthusiasm. I know its been said before, but through the ups and downs of the Champ Car World Series, the fans never left. How loyal is that??? Did I mention we once had Lamerie as a driver? (Cheap shot, I know)

5) The Atlantics. I am not going to go on for too long about the Atlantics, because if you read this blog, you know I am their number one fan. You know about the extended field, you know about the beautiful new car and all the excitement that took place this year. The future is now for that series. They deserve a STRONG A+ for 2006.

6) Sebastien Bourdais and Newman/Haas Racing. They have become the evil empire, the team to root against, the bad guys. Why? Because they are soooo good at what they do. They are simply the best outfit in maybe all of racing. Bourdais is special; there is no question about it. But it goes much deeper than that. They are a disciplined bunch; they put the car first, ahead of everything. They are methodical. They want to win at all costs. It’s why you see them complain on television when things don’t go their way, because if they aren’t number One, they might as well be last. That’s the mentality a championship team must take. Not to mention Paul Newman, but he’s a category of his own.

I can name a number of other things naturally, but we’ll leave it at that for now and enjoy the season finale on Sunday. And then look forward to a silly season that will me more exciting then we have seen in the past. It’s going to be fun!

Oh Paul, you devil.

2006-11-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

Well, it appears as if Paul Tracy’s tumultuous season continues as, I am sure you have heard by now, our friend had a couple of bevy’s in Las Vegas and then thought it would be a good idea to test out a golf cart’s aerial abilities. And, as a result, hurt his shoulder and may miss (though we’ll see) the race in Mexico this weekend. The story came out not too long ago and its been all over the place, including on speedtv and my network, Sportsnet, where our anchor asked the viewers to raise their hand if they had ever acted like a jackass and then proceeding to add PT to that list as a result of his accident. It was an attempt at humor because when it’s all said and done, this story is funny. There is no other way around it. No matter that its PT or the President, it’s a funny story. A relatable story no less, since we’ve all done stupid things in our lives. I think the fact that he included alcohol in his statement was a mistake, because it leads you to think that they wouldn’t act this way sober. That is naïve. Boys will be boys and boys with their toys will act stupidly, with or without the aid of alcohol. Granted you are MORE likely to act stupid with a few bevy’s in your system, but it’s certainly not the only determining factor in your behavior. PT or any other rich, celebrity athlete have most material things at their disposal and know how to have a good time. When they add alcohol things can get out of hand. But things often get out of hand without alcohol anyway.
I say good for him to admitting it right away, not sugarcoating anything and admitting it was a mistake and a dumb thing to do. Like most of what PT does, this is a refreshing statement in this day of political correctness. Still, it would be a shame if he missed the final race of the season. A shame for the fans really. But, he could have had an accident any other way or we’d be sympathizing with him had he told us he was ‘playing tennis’ when he hurt his shoulder.

Stoddart buying RuSport is a pretty big news story, if in fact true. I have heard nothing that you have or haven’t, except that exact statement above. Honestly, if there is a team to purchase in Champ Car, wouldn’t RuSport be in the top 3? How could Paul say no to such an opportunity. Having said that, it would be a shame if Carl Russo left the series because of his passion, which has been displayed in public and in private. The man is an innovator and he’s nothing but an asset to the Champ Car World Series. Definitely the type of person you say ‘I’m glad he’s on our side’. We’ll see how this rumor plays out. I wouldn’t hold my breath. But, if, as rumored that Carl has some new business venture in Europe and he is forced to sell it, then Stoddart is getting a pretty good deal.

2006-11-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

If you are a reader of this blog, you know I am a fan of consistency. I know its not exciting, its not a run and gun offence, but its necessary and its what wins championships. Which is why I am very happy for David Martinez. I think it’s a golden opportunity and he is ready for it. seldom has a driver methodically climbed the ladder like he has, never causing a splash but always turning some heads. He’s been patience and in Mexico City his patience will have paid off. Hopefully he can turn some heads there and end up with a ride in 2007.

i'm always going to cheer for my Atlantic grads!!

This bud’s for you:

2006-10-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

Buddy, welcome to the team! I hope things work out for you and frankly, I hope you get the ride next year. I have always admired your Atlantic work and figured, like a lot of drivers, you were wasting your talents in the IRL. This is not a dig at the IRL, it’s the fact that you are a road racer and now have an opportunity to show off your skills. You had a great run in the Atlantics and now are back where you belong, even if it took a while for you to get there. You are jumping in the most coveted seat in all of American open-wheel racing. You are also about to drive for a man that clearly doesn’t tolerate mediocrity, so the pressure is on. This is a one race tryout, albeit under the best circumstances for you. The championship is clinched and it’s the last race of the season. You, along with at least 12 other drivers will be driving for jobs in 2008. That means that it will be every driver for himself out there, mano a mano. The pressure of jumping into a car that has won 5 times this year must be incredible, but you can handle it.

I loved your Indy 500 win and hope that you are fully recovered from your accident that prevented you in participating a year later. I don’t mean physically recovered, but mentally. I believe that you are and that it was Rahal-Letterman racing that was the problem and not you. I hope I am correct, because I am a fan of yours.

This is great for the Champ Car World Series. This will allow the fans, media and personnel to forget about AJ and his timely departure to NASCAR. It will allow us bloggers to focus on you and the other potential new and existing drivers in Mexico. You are American made, in the Jimmy Vasser mold and this is what the series needs.

Should you get a second teammate in the form of Michel Jourdain, don’t be surprised if he races the race of his life. Because, frankly, as big as this is for you Buddy, it may even be bigger for Michel. Things haven’t really worked out for him in NASCAR. Though he has been quick at times, things haven’t gone the way he would have liked too. We know he doesn’t need the money. He needs the respect and this is his opportunity to get it back. He will never forget (and most of us won’t either) when he lead some laps in Mexico City some years back and the crowd response he received. Of course, he was out of sequence and was only a matter of laps before he had to pit, but that didn’t matter to the hundred thousand Mexican fans. He wants that feeling again, because it’s been, well since that day that he’s received it. Jourdain, should he get that ride, will be a man on a mission. Forsythe will definitely be the team to beat in Mexico.

Oh champ car, PLEASE take me there. This race is going to be unbelievable!!!!

Bye bye A.J.

2006-10-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s a shame, isn’t it? I mean for Champ Car fans it’s a shame. AJ was special. He was special not just as a driver because, let’s face it, those come and go. Aside from a select few, be they Bourdais or Schumacher, good drivers with potential come along every year. They don’t always pan out, but they are out there. Every year there is the next American super star; there is the next European superstar or South American superstar. Although AJ finally fulfilled his potential this year, it’s not his on-track prowess that will be missed. Whomever takes that number 7 seat next year will have huge shoes to fill, but will still have Michael Cannon and Neil Micklewright, will still have Tracy and the majority of Forsythe’s current outfit. Who ever gets it has a golden opportunity to have a huge impact in 2007. Just like AJ did this season when he jumped in. but where AJ is going to be missed is off the track. What made AJ unique (and the reason he will succeed in NASCAR) is because he’s the everyman’s driver. Every time he speaks about the car he keeps it simple. And he usually says it with a smile or a smirk. Forget the technical jargon that a few of us can appreciate, he keeps it simple. “The car ain’t going fast enough. It needs to go faster”. Maybe that could be frustrating to an engineer, but to the media and the general public, it’s exactly what needs to be heard. When he was happy, he was thrilled. When he was mad, he was pissed. There was no in-between with him. Not to mention that he was clever and genuinely funny, therefore likeable. He was also approachable, a key thing for a sponsor and a team owner. And he happens to be a pretty good driver to boot.

The reason I am pointing out his positive attributes in this otherwise dark day for Champ Car fans is to answer the reason why Toyota chose him over countless of other American drivers in the US with a heck of a lot more oval and stock car experience. Toyota knows full well what it is getting itself into next year. It knows it’s going in as the immediate villain, the Japanese manufacturer invading an all-American series. The foreigners in an era where foreigners aren’t necessarily welcomed in Middle America. It is not going to be an easy sell for these guys, so they need to hire drivers with mass American appeal. AJ more than fills that role. He’s personable, he’s marketable, and he’s good-looking but not pretty. He’s young, so he appeals to the important young male demographic. He’s really the typical American-made success story, that of a kid with a dream accomplishing it through determination and perseverance. He’s a sponsor’s dream. I wish him the best of luck and he will be missed in Champ Car. Like I said above, his skills off the track are going to be missed more then his skills on the track.

So who gets that coveted seat? If you look at the current situation right now, a lot of good seats appear to be opening up next year. If DaMatta can’t return, the number 10 spot is a good opportunity for a driver to enter the series or to move up. Obviously the number 7 is prime. Is Oriol coming back at PKV? I ask, cause I really don’t know, but that could be a nice seat to have too. Is Mario set with Rocketsports next season? After the Australian race, I certainly hope so, because Mario needs a permanent home where he his happy and can perform. He may never be a champion, but can bring back some respect at Rocketsports.

In my opinion, the Atlantics were great this year, but I think most of the really talented kids are still at least a year away from being ready for Champ Car. I’m thinking about Scuito, Hinch and that crowd that have more or less gone through the ranks competing against one another. If there are this many open seats next silly season, then you can bank on many more Atlantic grads making the jump. For the time being, I imagine Rahal, Pagenaud and Wirth will make the jump. But will Gelles take one or two drivers from this year’s crop?

2006-10-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the kid. He deserves whatever success he comes across because, first and foremost, he’s a good person. He hasn’t let a lavish upbringing spoil him and I am sure his parents are the reason for that. He continues to be humble and appreciative of his environment. He was quick to thank his teammates following his win and continued to do so during different interviews. Not many people thought he would be a race winner when he became the youngest driver to ever start a champ car race. Now nobody is going to doubt that he has many more wins to come. I know it was a pretty crazy race and unpredictable to say the least, but those are often the races where you can separate the men from the boys and your skills come into play even more. Good for Nelson. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes next year. I hope he stay with HVM, that team deserves to have him at least one more year where they can continue to grow as an outfit and pull out even more wins next year when everybody is on the same playing field.

Of course, the big story was Sebastian Bourdais capturing his 3rd consecutive Vanderbilt Cup. It must be awkward winning a championship but not winning a race. He was clearly frustrated at the end of the race and therefore could hardly enjoy the significance of his accomplishments on television. Nonetheless, what he has done is incredible. You cannot say enough about his skills as a driver and while many will wonder ‘what if A.J. had started the year at Forsythe?’, the fact remains that Bourdais answered the call when challenged and when A.J was winning all those races, Bourdais was right there on the podium with him. Bourdais will be remembered as one of the best champ car drivers ever. And he’s instantly (if he wasn’t already) put in the same category as all the great, legendary drivers that have come and gone in this great sport of ours.

I feel bad for Will Power. As much credit as we gave to Philippe after that race, as much credit needs to go to Will. He demonstrated calm and composure despite constantly being rundown by the better drivers in the series. It could have very well been a Will Power weekend, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’ll have his moment in the sun.

I sat back on Sunday and got ready to watch the broadcast. Prior to the start of the show, the F1 race was wrapping up with a very nice tribute to Schumacher. It wasn’t until I saw it that I realized that I am going to miss that guy a lot. He’s a phenomenal driver and miles ahead of anybody in that field, despite the fact that he didn’t win the championship. I am sure Alonso is a good driver, but F1 has been the Michael Schumacher show for the last 9 years. I will certainly miss him.

Now, on to the broadcast at hand. I had been looking forward to this because I read your critiques and criticisms on the web and looked forward to seeing (and hearing) it myself. I wanted to be fair in my assessment since I consider Rick Benjamin a friend and, like him or hate him; Derek is a pro in the world of racing. I also understand the difficulties of calling a race from 3000 miles away. This is actually, my first complaint. Throughout the broadcast I kept saying “just fly them there”. Their throws to Jon were awkward and the whole pre-show wasn’t very good because it was all Jon all the time. I also reminded myself that “they must be exhausted cause its 2 in the morning and they are probably stuck in a dark booth”, because at one time Derek yelled twice what I think was “AWK” and Rick was shocked that a driver had attempted a pass. Truly shocked! How could he?
So I gave them the benefit of the doubt going in. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy race to call. Here are some thoughts of mine.

Derek calling Tracy a moron or idiot was uncalled for. If he has called the move idiotic, that would have been fine. You can have a colorful, opinioned color-commentator, but Derek just seems to genuinely hate PT and is airing out his laundry during the broadcast. Not professional. Then I felt that HE genuinely felt bad for Tracy when he had to give up that spot at the end, which was quite a contrast from his earlier rant. But it still didn’t make up the fact that his vendetta against Tracy was obvious. I don’t like when color commentators are too friendly with drivers, but it certainly goes the other way too.

There is no traction control in Champ Car. Its one of my favorite aspects of our series, the fact that its man DRIVING machine with little help from an onboard computer. It’s what separates us from Formula One. If I am a new viewer watching that race, I am now under the impression that Champ Cars have traction control. They do not. BIG mistake in my opinion.

I like Derek’s enthusiasm, I will admit that. The guy does seem to genuinely love Champ Car and while he does make some mistakes, I think his passion over rides it. Granted, I still have problems understanding him at times, but again, he seems to really like being there. As for Rick, well, again, I blame the fact that it was 3am in their booth and he was probably tired. But I have nothing particularly bad to say about Rick. I can understand some complaints that he may be a little dry. It’s his way. It’s his demeanor. You take it or leave it.

My main concern and it has been with every broadcast I have seen (which may not count, since I tend to watch the races away from Canada and the States) is that there always looks like there is a filter on the screen. The screen looks a little dirty, it’s never clear. Now, I understand this was all the way in Australia, but I watch Formula One races from all over and they seem clear. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s like a small, light filter put in front of the camera that makes the screen look dirty. And despite my television background, I have no idea what causes that. I guess that’s why I failed that part of school.

I certainly appreciate the suggestions that some of you are making on Champ Car Fanatics that yours truly be part of the broadcast booth next season. I am not sure where the future lies right now, but if there WAS an opening next year in the booth, I would LOVE to be considered for that spot. Que sera, sera.

IRL SCHEDULE

2006-10-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

When I talk about the IRL, I try to see if from a driver’s standpoint because the drivers are not the one’s who cause the split, they are not the one’s who determine where they race or who sponsors them. They are the pawns in the open-wheel war. It’s the only way to look at the IRL in my opinion. I know I have blown off some steam in the past with regards to the IRL and their management. I have been critical at times, but I like to think I have been fair in my criticism and not unabashedly negative like other reporters, simply for the sake of reaching a deadline. But after looking at the schedule for 2007, I am baffled. Truly baffled. I cannot understand the thought process in going to Mid-Ohio and Belle Isle. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time at those tracks, but come on. There is a reason that CART left those places and there is absolutely no reason that the IRL will make these events a success. The drivers can’t be happy about going to those tracks, Mid-Ohio for safety concerns and Belle Isle because it never really worked as a big time racing event. They are already going to Michigan. They way I see this schedule frankly, is an attempt, a last ditch effort if you will at making it work. They have now literally transformed into CART 2 and they are even talking like they have.

“The 2007 schedule is clearly the most diverse schedule in IndyCar Series history and one of the most diverse in motorsports today,” said Brian Barnhart.

In 2008, they lose Sam Hornish to NASCAR. He’s their biggest asset, an American Indy 500 winner and Indy Champion driving Penske. That’s just one driver. We already know that RAHAL has dramatically shrunk their program and that’s just one. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure the drivers are excited about doing more than turn left. But in my opinion, the IRL will pull all the stops in 2007 before finally realizing that it’s not working. When the fans aren’t there, you can’t do anything about it. No amounts of Danica or freebies will change that. Its not Belle Isle or Mid-Ohio that will bring those fans in.
By the way, I made a bet with a co-worker here that Danica wins the 500. The person I made the bet with is a big time motorsports fan, so naturally he took the bet, knowing full well that she is not capable of winning. She isn’t. But, again, I think the IRL is pulling out all the stops in 2007 and that might be one of them.

The reason I am baffled isn’t because they continue to go back on their oath, we’ve all grown to know they do on a regular basis. But it’s the amount of money they are sent to spend to go to all these tracks. I think this pretty much throws a merger out the window. But man oh man, they are going to blow a lot of money in 2007.

Saturday October 14th

2006-10-14T13:05:00.000-04:00

I gotta be honest with you folks, but I have seldom seen a weirdo time in the world of the Champ Car World Series than what we are experiencing right now. I guess ultimately its just silly season, but man is this season silly. First of, Andreas Wirth gets his wish and will pilot the number 19 in Oz. Good for him and his family. I want to see the top three Atlantic drivers from this year in Champ Car next season. Andreas Wirth is a winner, that’s the bottom line. He may not have had the kind of season this year that he did in 2005, but if you look at his overall Atlantic record, nobody deserves to be in Champ Car more than he does. He’s an aggressive driver whose only downfall right now is how hard he is on himself. I don’t know if it’s a German trait, but he strives perfection and isn’t happy unless he reaches. He’s going to learn, sooner or later, that (quote the Stones) “You can’t always get what you want” and that’s okay. But better to want perfection than settle for anything less. His biggest shortcoming could very well end up being his biggest asset. We’ll see how he pilots in Australia, going from a powerhouse Atlantic team to a small Champ Car team. I wish him the best of luck and hope he lands something full time next year.

The biggest issue, of course, is whether A.J. is leaving Champ Car for good. This story has gotten out of hand. Quotes are coming in everywhere on the forums, “he’s gone” “he’s staying” “he’s blond”. Losing A.J. would be a blow to the series, no doubt about it. He’s proven to be a great driver when given equipment and a team that suits his needs. But, if Red Bull and Toyota throw him a bunch of money, more money than he’s ever dreamed of, what is he going to say? Not just money, but going to NASCAR is pretty lucrative in many ways these days. Not to mention Toyota’s dominance in the Truck Series. If you take all that into consideration and add the fact that he’s 24, where do you think he’ll end up? My concern isn’t with the survival of the series or “losing another American”. We’ll be fine in both of those areas. We basically have two on board already for next season. And more likely to come. No, what concerns me the most is his vocalization about ovals and how much he loathes them. Or so he has stated MANY times in the past. Now he’s potentially going running on them full time. Granted, I believe his sentiment was leaned towards an open-wheel car on an oval, because that’s just plain nuts and dangerous a lot of the time. Driving those big cabs and those lower speeds certainly reduces the fear. I just hope he doesn’t get bored quickly and then question his decision later. Still, I would hate to see A.J. go because he’s a hell of a kid, a really funny guy who seems to have a genuine lust for life. The series will be fine with or without him, but as a person, the series would lose much. The whole story on how he has an agent and has rejected Forsythe’s offer is mind numbing frankly. We can only wait and see what the future holds for this kid. I hope he stays, as I am sure most of you do. One thing for sure, I certainly will not bet on him leaving until I hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. As of right now, I still think he stays in Champ Car for a while.

I want to quickly address David Philips’ recent article because I know it has drawn a lot of irk from a lot of you. I can certainly see why. A journalist paid to attend Champ Car races and write articles about the series is a dream job. A person complaining about his work area appears to be petty. If you don’t know what I am talking about, check this out: http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/33247/ and then come back to this. Was David blowing off some steam? Was he trying to get Champ Car’s attention by doing it publicly instead of privately? We don’t know the answer to those important questions. What I personally think is that David has a deadline, a quota and wrote something for the sake of writing something. Now, why chose that subject? I don’t know. I really don’t. Did he think the public would sympathize? I hope not. I can tell you from personal experience that the facilities vary from race to race, but at the end of the day, it’s a freakin’ champ car race! In Cleveland, where one can see 90 percent of the track with their ticket, my booth happened to be in the in-field, inside a truck with no windows and two television set. Was it ideal? Of course not. Was I at a champ car race? You damn right! Now, in MY case, I had a lot more restraints than David Philips and it was evident when it took TV about 5 minutes to get a replay of the Tracy-Bourdais incident while my broadcast partner Tom Michaels and I only saw the beginning of the first turn incident and we figured it was the only reason for the yellow. You can imagine our surprise when we see on the monitor a car flip over somebody else’s car 5 minutes after everybody were talking too has already seen it. But you know, you make it work. You make it fun and most importantly you deal with it. Sure, it must have sound awkward to the people in the grandstands hearing myself and Tom’s initial reaction of “oh my god, that was HUGE” five minutes after the fact. It was probably comical actually. But it’s the way it is and we dealt with it. My point here is that David’s article was pointless. Completely pointless. It was not worth writing, it was not worth printing. He didn’t even have a good anecdote (like mine. Hee) to make his point worthwhile. I like David Philips and I think he’s been good to the series. But he definitely ruffled some feathers with that article.

Alright, that’s it for now, but rest assured with OZ this week and the silly season continuing along, except MUCH more news coming out of the paddock in the coming days.

tuesday the 11th of October

2006-10-10T12:38:00.000-04:00

Ryan Briscoe is set to join the number 10 car for the last two races of the Champ Car season. I, for one, applaud this move. You may remember some blog back I championed his cause for, what I think was at the time, the seat available at PKV. This kid is the real deal and unfortunately for him, he hasn’t had the chance to showcase his full potential recently, as he, unfortunately for him again, wasted some time in the IRL as per Toyota’s request. The only thing that came out of that stint was his familiarity with the SAFER barrier. Heck, he could become a spokesperson for it. The move at Rusport makes all the sense in the world, what with the Australian race coming up. Sure, it’s a little convenient, but it’s also smart and it’s only going to make the Australian crowd all the more enthusiastic (if that’s possible). And Mexico City will remind him of the traditional racing circuit. I tell you this; he’s in for a shell shock when his first race takes place in his native country. He’s not going to believe the atmosphere and the demand for him. I reckon (is that how the Aussies use that word) he’ll want to go nowhere after racing at home and will fight hard for a Champ Car seat next season. Which is why I think this is a good move on Rusport. My understanding (I think it was Robin who said it on windtunnel) that Dario wanted a commitment for next season and that Rusport wasn’t prepared to give him that. Great move on Rusport. Who is Dario to demand a ride next season? Granted you can’t blame him for wanting security, but its still an unusual request to make and a bit demanding if you ask me. Now, Briscoe will ride out the season and hope that he impresses enough for next year, something Dario could have done but evidently opted not too.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the 2006 Atlantic champion doesn’t get a ride in Mexico City, correct? I mean, a ride sanctioned by Champ Car, as per years past. That’s interesting, because while nothing will ever take the 2 million dollar prize money away, participating in a Champ Car event is pretty good incentive too. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Simon and Graham both raced in the season finale to hone their skills for next season. I also read that Wirth might join the squad too. Certainly those are the choice drivers to join the series next season. Pagenaud is the Champion; Rahal has the name, so it will be up to Wirth to come up with the funding on his own to make the deal happen. I hope it does. I’m sure our Face of Champ Car hopes so too (oh no you didn’t!). hee.

I look forward to watching the broadcast on television because I really want to study the broadcast and analyzing it afterward. I have heard so many things from different people that I am curious to see if for myself. My understanding is that Beekhuis can do no wrong, but that the other guys are hit and miss with a lot of you.
I’m hoping to watch the race with a couple of diehard champ car fans (they know who they are), so we can all cheer. Actually, come to think of it, I’ll be able to be partial to a driver for the first time since Monterrey. Hmm, whom will I cheer for? I’ve got a couple of weeks to think about it….

2006-10-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Well, the Major League Baseball Playoffs are under way, and more excited I couldn’t be! I had Tuesday and Wednesday off this week and literally sat on my couch and watched baseball all day, both days. I finally decided to get up on Wednesday night and decided I should go on the treadmill for a bit. Why did I decide to get off the couch after a day and a half on it? Was it brains, was it motivation? No, it was the fact that the Yankee game was rained out and I found myself nothing to do. So, away I went. Of course, I hated every second of it and cursed the weather profusely. In fact, I wondered how it could be a gorgeous day at Shea Stadium and pouring rain at Yankee Stadium, with just over 9 miles separating the two. Oh well, the made up for it yesterday with the Tigers tying up the series. If you are not a baseball fan, you at least have to recognize how exciting the playoffs are. No other sport does it the same way.

It’s tough to believe what of Robin Miller writes these days, but supposedly AJ was offered a 5 year contract by Forsythe?? Wow, 5 years! That seems like a very young time and I could see why AJ wouldn’t necessarily jump at the offer. It’s an age thing, of course. When you’re 24, committing for 5 years seems like a long time. You may meet the greatest woman (or man) ever at 24, but ask to commit to her for 5 years and you may not be so quick to jump on board. Especially if your someone with AJ’s talent and potential. I suspect he’ll take A deal, I suspect Champ Car will not lose AJ as Robin and the gang continually elude too. For one thing, as a 24 year old, you’re ego might still be inflated and big a big fish in a small pond has to feel good for AJ. Should he be thrown into NASCAR, then he’s a tiny fish in a HUGE pond, something that might bruise your young ego. Someone wrote on the forums the other day that Champ Car needed AJ more than AJ needed Champ Car. That’s a very interesting theory and one that certainly posits some questions.

Let me ask you this: Would all of Champ Car’s problems be solved if the series had mostly American drivers? Robin Miller and certainly a lot of people tend to think so. What do you think? Try and think of it from a business stand point. Attendance is very strong. The product itself appears to be on solid footing. The only problem, as acknowledged by Garrett Mudd during the fan club dinner at Road America is the lack of television rating. Would more American drivers help?

I ask this question to go along with my earlier rant from my last post. My point isn’t that I don’t want a merger, it’s that the IRL has been cavalier for the last several years and with all the help from the media that they have been given and tried to take the ball and run, alone. We’ve thrown several olive branches over the last few years and they have been determined to do it on their own. Knowing full well they have the backing of a huge television network as well as (at the time) two solid manufacturer, the IRL has acted unilaterally. Would I prefer only one series? Yes. Would it solve all of open-wheels problems? No. What my last post suggested was ABC, USA Today, ESPN MAG and everybody else who has been in bed with the IRL, should give Champ Car a whirl and see if they get a return on their investment. Cause right now, they aren’t getting squat.

2007 schedule and some unexpected rant.

2006-09-30T18:10:00.000-04:00

Champ Car 2007 schedule. From champcar.ws

April 8 Las Vegas, Nevada - Street Course
April 15 Long Beach, California - Street Course
April 22 Houston, Texas - Reliant Park
May 20 Zhuhai, China - Road Course
June 10 Portland, Oregon - Portland International Raceway
June 24 Cleveland, Ohio - Burke Lakefront Airport
July 1 St. Jovite, Canada - Circuit Mont Tremblant
July 8 Toronto, Canada - Exhibition Place
July 22 Edmonton, Canada - City Centre Airport
July 29 San Jose, California - Street Course
Aug. 12 Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin - Road America
Aug. 19 Denver, Colorado - Pepsi Center
Oct. 21 Surfers Paradise, Australia - Street Course
Nov. 11 Mexico City, Mexico - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Dec. 2 Phoenix, Arizona - Street Course

I’m very happy with this schedule, as I think the series is firmly planted for the first time in years and now will continue to grow and prosper, as opposed to the other direction. They started to grow the moment the three amigos bought the company, but now the series is definitely growing exponentially and the difference is going to be very evident in Los Vegas. Three races in a row is cool. It’s going to keep the series in the news and that’s great momentum right off the bat. It’s not going to be easy for the people involved, but its going to be fun. But I’m sure that by Sunday in Houston, Champ Car employees will look forward to going home and then….China! What a great idea to host a race there, what an experience it’s going to be for everybody that’s going. Staging a race in a communist country is quite a feat. Good for the series. The series will have a lot of momentum going to the Canada triple header. St Jovite on Canada Day is great and I love the irony (though you probably have to be French Canadian to get it). I’m sooo happy the series is going back to Road America, as I had heard over the weekend some grumbling that they might not be. The series needs Road America and the double-header with ALMS is perfect.
Technically, I like ending the season in December. I don’t mind that. The lull between I could do without, but then again it’s better than having some 10 races all within a three month period. As race fans, we’d be happy with a race every weekend all year. That’s not going to happen, so next season’s schedule is as close to having a season all year long. I mean, we’re talking only 3 months between the end of the 2007 season and the start of the 2008 one.

The new car, new teams and the whole series gets together in Las Vegas. It should be one heck of a season opener.

The IRL announced they would be going to Belle Isle. Pathetic. Nothing ticks me off more than when the IRL announce more road races. It just downright ticks me right off. Why do they bother? Why don’t they stick to their all-oval racing? Their attempts at usurping Champ Car are sad and have failed miserably. In fact, I don’t want to get into a whole ‘thing’ here, but I feel that it’s Champ Car’s turn to get the ball. Here’s what I mean: Over the last few years, we have seen many big, traditional race teams leave Champ Car for the IRL (and engine manufacturers). They have (had) a sweet deal with a HUGE network, not to mention the network that owns the number 1 sport station in the nation. From a media stand point, the IRL has been given EVERYTHING to help promote the series. When I read my ESPN magazine and they promote what’s on ESPN this month and I see an ad for an IRL race, I wonder how many groans were ushered when they realized they had to print that. ABC has ads all over USA Today promoting their upcoming races. They have, arguably the second most recognizable race in America (sorry, but the Daytona 500 has passed the Indy 500 in popularity. Maybe if not for the split, that wouldn’t have happened) that, yes ABC pumps and pumps and pumps to whatever outlet they possibly can. And, the cherry is that female driver they got 2 years ago who has demonstrated an aggressive style at appearing on the cover of magazines wearing next to nothing. They were given the greatest possible gift. Literally it was handed to them. I wonder if Graham was a little older if we wouldn’t see Danica in Champ Cars right now. Danicamania swept the nation and she was everywhere. Literally, everywhere. Despite her non-results, there she was, on the cover of some magazine or on the View pushing her IndyCar career as if her looks and marketability is all she had (has). And yet, the IRL can’t become more than a blip on the radar, if that. They brought in Gene Simmons, have an American Champion and their biggest race had three Americans finish in the top 3. And still, they get nothing. Zilch. It’s why a ‘merger’ won’t do anything for Champ Car. Why? Because you want to know what one series would look like, just look at the IRL. The IRL has been getting the full ABC royal treatment and they still can’t do anything. What more can the IRL and ABC do to promote the IRL that hasn’t already been done? Nothing. They have done as much promotion as NASCAR for crying out loud. Take Champ Cars away and you won’t see anything different from the IRL because they already do everything possible. The IRL has acted as if they are the only open-wheel series in America and they have shrunk in popularity (overall).

What I’d like to know is what would happen if Champ Cars were given what the IRL gets. And by this, I am talking about the Indy 500, a fat contract with the ‘world wide leader in sports’, the Penskes and the Chips of the racing world. I don’t know for sure what would happen, because a lot of ideas are internal. But I know Champ Car has some good people. But what I do know is that the IRL has been given everything in the world to succeed and have failed to do so. Now let’s see what Champ Car could do with all of that.

New Orleans

2006-09-26T09:14:00.000-04:00

What a special night in New Orleans last night. I watched the broadcast on ESPN and couldn’t help but tear up at the beginning and throughout most of the pre-game race as they did a remarkable job of balancing the reality of the situation on New Orleans as well as the positives of having the New Orleans Saints back at home for the first time in 13 months. My man Tony Kornheiser has to receiving top honors for staying focused on the tragedy at hand throughout the game and doing such a wonderful job of explaining the importance and the symbolism of this game. It was a lot more than just a football game last night, it was a lot more than just a Monday Nighter. And kudos for Spike Lee for joining the broadcast team for a bit last night and keeping it focused and not losing yourself in a rant, or as he said it “I’m not pulling a Kayne West”. Great job all around last night by that production. Not to mention the Saints winning the game in fashion, by blocking punts, field goals, trick plays, everything! This game had it all and all of America went to bed last night with a little glimmer of hope, but also with a sense of reality of the situation. I expect good things to come out from this broadcast, and I’m not just talking about ratings.

It got me thinking that if I was a billionaire philanthropist, I would totally stage a race there and foot for the bill. I know the cost are ridiculously high and I know that a real businessman doesn’t spend his own money if he doesn’t have too (hence why I am not a billionaire philanthropist), but what a great way to help the city and what a great way to gain some much needed exposure and of course, some economic relief that the race would generate. If one football game can generate so much attention, I’d like to see what a ‘three day festival of speed’ could do. I know that the city needs more than that, naturally. But I venture to say that the economic benefit and the exposure to the reality of the situation would do wonders for both the city and the investors. It’s not a realistic dream I suppose, but then again, dreams that pertain to a person being a billionaire philanthropist usually aren’t.

Speaking of races, I am amazed at the information on the forums pertaining to the new schedule. How do you guys know so much?? The schedule hasn’t been released yet, heck it was revised (as far as I know) as late as this weekend and some of you are spot on! I go back the fan club dinner on Saturday night too, because once again, it amazes me the knowledge that the fanatics have on this series. You guys know more about the series and everything surrounding it then 60 percent of the Champ Car employees! It’s the strongest and most loyal fan base in the world I would venture to say. The schedule officially comes out on Wednesday, so ALL questions will be answered by then. But, most of you seem to already know everything already!

September 26

2006-09-25T18:17:00.000-04:00

The Atlantics season has come and gone and, in my estimation, will be remembered as one of the best seasons of all time. I am truly blessed to have had the privileged to announce these drivers, to speak to them on the podium and to have gotten to know them better. You know, I make it a point to keep a certain distance from drivers for professional reasons, I don’t want to be buddy-buddy with any particular driver so that it causes some sort of bias in my job; but I can tell you there are a few of these Atlantic drivers that I am proud to know and would be happy to call friends. It really was a quality group of kids this season, one that will leave a lasting impression on the world of open-wheel racing.

The Atlantics banquet was wonderful, as it’s been in the past. The speeches were genuine and the emotions were true. The top 3 finishers gave a speech and each left their own special mark on the crowd. Yokohama representatives were VERY emotional in their farewell speech and it’s obvious that the person who made the decision (Yokohama is leaving after 18 years in the series) was someone ‘upstairs’, unfamiliar with the series and all its value. The Yokohama reps that I have gotten to know over the last two seasons are as passionate about racing as anybody out there and I’m sorry to see them go because, like I mentioned, its obvious it was a decision from the big bosses and if it were up to them, they would be back next year (kind of like the situation of yours truly, come to think of it).

Perhaps the funniest moment of the night was when Simon Pagenaud, to ease his nervousness a little, simply said ‘Ricky Bobby’ in all his French accent, which I must admit was pretty much identical to the French driver-Character in Talladega Nights. The crowd had a good laugh with that one. He went on to thank many people; amongst others was Claire and Sebastian Bourdais who have really helped him out.

I got the impression last night that next year we will see Graham Rahal and Simon Pagenaud in Champ Cars and possibly other drivers. I know it seems like old news, but last night it seemed like it was all but a done deal for those two drivers next season. We’ll see. I suspect Andreas Wirth will also find his way on the grid in 2007 and maybe even one or two more. I think Bomarito’s win at Road America will do wonders for him as now he’s not just a good driver with good results, but has proven he can ‘get er done’ and sustain all the pressure that comes with it. If I was an owner, I would definitely take a closer look at him. Not to mention Matos, Martinez, Maia (who has the advantage or disadvantage of being in his mid-twenties) and frankly, anybody who finished in the top 10.

Oh, and Kalkoven assured us that the 2-million dollar prize wasn’t a one-time thing to attract attention to the series, and that prize money is back for next season also. You know a lot of drivers and teams in the room were VERY happy to hear that news.

Speaking of news, the 2007 schedule comes out on Wednesday, but I got a sneak peak at it and here it is…ahh I can’t do that! Then that would really seal the deal on my future with the series. I’ll just wait until Wednesday, but I will admit that one particular event made me go “really!?” in a good way! Next year will be fun!

And finally, I just want to thank everybody at the Atlantics this season who have helped me out for the last two years. We’ve had a lot of fun together and I have learned so much from you. The Atlantics personnel are truly a family and truly have a passion for what they do and better people you’ll never find in any type of organization. I’ve been blessed to have had the privilege of working and getting to know all of you. Thank you for accepting me into your Atlantics family.

September 25th

2006-09-24T17:58:00.000-04:00

Post race wrap up. Literally. The drivers are still going through inspection, but with the magic of the internet and having an internet connection at my disposal, I am able to write a little quick recap of Sunday’s event.

First of all, if there ever was a reason to be thankful of all the safety elements that go in the cars, its today. Katherine Legge had one of the biggest crashes you’ll ever see, but like a lot of these crashes these days, the cars are meant to be destroyed on impact, save for the tub and that’s exactly what happened and Katherine is completely fine, amazingly enough. She favored her knee a little bit, but it’s all it is, just a little sore at the moment. Amazing what she went through today, you hate seeing it happen, but you love the fact that she suffered no real injury. It was a tense moment, but it worked out just fine. She was running a strong race too. That hardly matters at this point, since her safety is what we care about, but the fact is she was running a very very good race.

Now, on to the winner. First and foremost, I don’t know how this happened, I don’t know who was in charge or who made the decision, but thank you for extending the 2 hour window. Thank you for letting us has the thrilling finish that we witness here this afternoon. Yes, it was a long delay and yes nothing changed in terms of the top three, but I promise that it’s a finish we’ll remember for a long time. Congratulations to AJ for winning his 5th race of the season and for extending the chase for the Vanderbilt Cup. I know some people wanted the trophy to be won in America, but personally I would rather see the chase go as deep into the season as possible. So what if its handed out in Australia? It’s not as if the media who’s been covering the series all year won’t pick up the story. If it really was a big issue then they would move the Australia race from its current date to a date much earlier in the season. Australia is a nice part of the Champ Car World Series and helps establish the WORLD in the title, so why not have the Vanderbilt Cup winner in Australia? Not that it’s a guarantee anyway, as AJ just continues to put pressure on Bourdais.

Once again, the Newman/Haas drivers were none too happy on the podium. Bourdais was downright pissed off and Bruno, who should have been ecstatic considering he started 10th and got, hit on the first lap, complained of a late race situation that didn’t allow him to stay at the top. Oh well, that’s the mentality of a winner, it’s the top step of the podium or bust! AJ was all smiles naturally, which he would have been anywhere on that podium. It was definitely a thrilling event here at Road America.

And what an Atlantic race!!! Talk about craziness! First off, congrats to Jonathan Bomarito and that PR1 motor sports team for capturing their first win of the season. You’d be hard press to find a nicer, more genuine and humble driver than Bomarito and while I make it a habit not to cheer for any particular driver, I was very very happy that he held off the competition to capture his first win of the season. With regards to the Championship, holy cow!!! Rahal suffers a mechanical breakdown, and then the next lap Pagenaud is punted and is out of the race, Rahal scored at 20th and Pagenaud at 17th?? As Rahal said, he was one lap away from winning the championship and that ever so dependable ride of his let up. It really just wasn’t meant to be for Graham who nonetheless put on a fine campaign. And of course, a huge congratulations to Simon Pagenaud. I have always been a big fan of consistent driver. I know they aren’t always the most exciting drivers out there and I know that some series have literally changed their whole scoring process to make sure that consistent drivers aren’t necessarily rewarded, but I am a big fan and therefore, I am a big fan of Simon Pagenaud!

By the way, I can hear the press conference behind me and it appears that Bourdais has loosened up a little and, as usual, AJ has the whole room cracking up. Boy Champ Car is lucky to have both of those drivers! Oh, I think Paul Newman grabbed my butt too at the end on the podium. I could be wrong.

Off to the Atlantic banquet!

September 19th

2006-09-19T20:59:00.000-04:00

So Mario Dominguez has signed on to replace Nicky Pastorelli for the remainder of the year. Dominguez apparently (and this is all hearsay) some discouraging remarks about his ride at Dale Coyne and wanted to be in a more competitive environment when he would face his hometown crowd in Mexico. That was the early reports anyway. In a statement, he thanked Dale Coyne, mentioned how hard they work together. Bottom line is that according to Mario, it just wasn’t a good fit together. Sometimes team don’t mesh, don’t gel and let’s face it, Mario was more or less ‘dumped’ at DCR after being let do by Forsythe. Still, he’s been competitive in that car. Since joining DCR racing he’s got 4 top ten’s, which is pretty decent. Perhaps his gripe with the team was qualifying, where he didn’t fair as consistent and found himself playing catch up come race time. Whatever the reasons behind it, it’s done and now he is with Rocketsports. Paul Gentilozzi had a good idea in bringing him now and giving him time to mature and gel with the team so they are tight come Mexico City. I feel bad for Pastorelli, but let’s not mince words, he struggled this year. He was not putting up the kind of numbers that that car is capable of producing. Whether HE didn’t gel with the team or just never got completely comfortable behind a champcar is anybody’s guess. Hopefully he’ll land on his feet. He’s a good kid. Now, for Mario, the pressure is on. He’s got the backing (as I understand it) of some Mexican sponsors for that race and he’s running with his third team this season. Many factors could determine Mario’s future and the next three races can make or break his future champcar career. Although he has produced decently with DCR, his exit will not sit well with everybody and if somebody steps in that #19 and out performs him (kind of like AJ with that number 7), it’s not going to look good at all! More importantly, if he produces poorly with his third team of the season, does he stand a chance of having a job next season? What this moves does is it continues to put Mario in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. I say continues because he’s been the focus on many topics of discussion this season, little having to do with on-track performance. His run-in with PT, his blown race in Houston, his dismissal from Forsythe, and now his apparent discontent with DCR and his sudden move to Rocketsports. I hope that Mario produces phenomenal results in the final three races and we can get back to talking about SuperMario and not some other adjective that has sometimes preceded his Mario moniker.

Now, who fills the number 19 seat? This whole thing was sort of sudden, but we know there are ample available drivers out there and that seat is no longer a last result seat (in my opinion). Someone can come in, take that seat for the final 3 races and impress owners for employment next season. This is a GOLDEN opportunity for someone, one that wasn’t supposed to be there at all. I have no idea on who it’s going to be. But I know they will be smiling ear to ear at Road America.

Happy birthday Cristiano.

September 18th

2006-09-18T11:04:00.000-04:00

Well, first off I suppose I should address the little misunderstanding that occurred with my last post. First off all, I am overwhelmed and touched by all you guys and the kind things you said about me. You guys are the best; there is no question about it. And I’ve always said I’m just a fan like you guys who happens to have a microphone in front of him. With regards to my last post, yes Road America is my last race this season. But, at this point there is no guarantee about next season. I want to come back, I love the series more and more each day, I love the fact that I am part of it and I love the fact that things look really awesome next season. But reality and desire are two different things. There are things that are out of my hands, beyond my control. What’s meant to be is meant to be. Things will work out the way they are destined too.

Now, on to this weekend. Frankly, I just hope I make it through security because my level of excitement has to be at Red. Or at least Orange! Frankly, the Atlantics race is what is getting my mojo going these days! (I even went out and bought a new shirt and tie for the banquet on Sunday). It comes down to the brash American or the cerebral Frenchman. You almost couldn’t have scripted this better. Except in a script, the Frenchman would probably be evil, whereas Simon Pagenaud is a very pleasant and charming young man. This is the real life Ricky Bobby story! On a fast track like Road America, one small minor mistake can cost you big time! One slight run off and you lose precious seconds. Pagenaud is still in command here. The momentum is definitely with Rahal thanks to the wins, but Pagenaud still needs to be dethroned. He’s 12 points ahead, which means he can be conservative, but at the same time he can’t be too conservative. If Graham wins (putting all other points, like qualifying, aside for a moment), Pagenaud has to finish 5th or better. So there is no way he can coast this weekend. A tiebreaker goes to Rahal with all those wins this season. But with a large supporting cast this weekend, with the fact that it’s the last chance for many of these drivers to show off to potential future bosses, it’s the last race of the season, how will they affect the outcome? Every driver has something they want to accomplish this weekend, but only two are battling for 2 million dollars. It’s going to be awesome!

Well things didn’t work out with Franchitti over at RuSport and now they are holding a shootout after the race to see who gets the number 10 car for the remaining two races following Road America?? Well, that is going to be interesting. Hmm, who do you pick? Justin is likely out of contention for the Vanderbilt Cup, so it’s going to be every driver for himself, more or less. Briscoe (as rumored on a variety of website) would certainly help in Australia and he was fast during his test. RHR adds another American to the mix of things and everybody loves Ryan. Ryan also has good experience in Australia. Personally, I would like to see one of the Atlantics grad, someone like Bomarito fill that seat. Its not the way you want to land a ride (a la Servia last year filling in for his friend in that number 2 car), but nonetheless it’s a great opportunity and maybe a chance for an unproven young driver to jump in the bigs and impress enough eyes to land something concrete in 2007. We shall see….

Thanks again for all the kind things and I apologize if my last post brought some confusion. Come to think of it, this post didn’t really clear that much up, but now you are in the same boat as I am.

September 12th

2006-09-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

On the eve of Road America, Cristiano Da Matta is set to celebrate his birthday this week on September 19th. The race is going to be difficult for a lot of people. Even though the series has raced twice since the accident, they are now going back to the scene. And while nobody expects another freak accident like that to happen, just being at the same track will make people’s heart heavier. We continue to pray for his complete recovery and wish him the very best of luck. And a happy birthday of course!

Now, I haven’t been in the loop lately as to what the happenings are in the world of Champ Car. I have taken another gig (must start thinking beyond Champ Car, as Road America is my last race) that is consuming a lot of my time and it pains me to only have a few minutes a day to read on the happenings. I did catch Robin Miller’s article on the DP01 Leasing program and the fact that you can lease the package for about a million dollars and run competitively at around 4 million. Like Mr. Kalkoven mentioned, this should encourage new teams to the series. While I certainly look forward to PCM and Gelles, I also really hope that HVM, Coyne and MiJack stick around next season. I have yet to hear anything on their situation. However, this could be a case of no news being good news as perhaps their intentions on coming back are just assumed at this point.

Congratulations to Sam Hornish on capturing the IRL crown and the Indy 500. Winning those two in the same year is pretty much the perfect season for any driver. He mentioned he’s coming back next year and the broadcast mentioned something about the team simply being called Team Penske next year and moving locations. Does anybody have any additional info on this?

Don’t look now, but a quiet yet very significant announcement has been made in Canada. Canadian Tire becoming the primary sponsor of the CASCAR series is a very big announcement and affects all forms of racing in Canada. When was the last time a Canadian company stepped up to sponsor an entire series? You can bet now that Carpentier, Ranger and possibly Tracy will be running some CASCAR races next year. Tracy, of course, is signed on to do some BUCSH races and we expect BUSCH to race in Montreal next season. NASCAR owns CASCAR. This is part of their expansion plans. This has already affected Champ Car with the Montreal saga. Will this announcement affect open-wheel racing in Canada? Now that CASCAR suddenly has more legitimacy, will young kids chose stock cars over open-wheel cars? Time will tell. I for one believe that any announcement like this is positive for motor sports in general, as we all share the same umbrella. Of course, I would prefer if Canadian Tire announced their intentions to create Champ Car team or to take over for Molson for the Canadian events. Nonetheless, the very fact that they demonstrated a renewed interest in motor sports is a positive and as Champ Car continues to grow (read above about new teams), then hopefully other companies will be interested in motor sports in the first place and then look towards open-wheel. Remember when Canadian Tire sponsored Jacques Villeneuve in the 70’s?