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

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

RIP.

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

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

Monday before Mexico

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

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

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

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

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.