What Was Your Favorite CART/Champ Car Season and IndyCar Season??

This post will take you back to the day in the review of each of the CART/Champ Car seasons including the IndyRacing League when it first started in 1996. The basic information will be the schedule, champion, rookie of the year, and Indy 500 winner. Lets start with the 1979 CART Season the first season under the name Championship Auto Racing Teams aka CART.

1979 CART Season:

Champion: Rick Mears

Rookie of the Year:  Bill Alsup

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Rick Mears

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Atlanta
3. Atlanta
4. Indianapolis
5. Trenton
6. Trenton
7. Michigan
8. Michigan
9. Watkins Glen
10. Trenton
11. Ontario
12. Michigan
13. Atlanta

1980 CART Season

Champion: Johnny Rutherford

Rookie of the Year: Dennis Firestone

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Johnny Rutherford

Schedule:

1. Ontario
2. Indianapolis
3. Milwaukee
4. Pocono
5. Mid Ohio
6. Michigan
7. Watkins Glen
8. Milwaukee
9. Ontario
10. Michigan
11. Mexico City
12. Phoenix

1981 CART Season

Champion: Rick Mears

Rookie of the Year: Bob Laizer

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Milwukee
3. Atlanta
4. Atlanta
5. Michigan
6. Riverside
7. Milwaukee
8. Michigan
9. Watkins Glen
10. Mexico City
11. Phoenix

1982 CART Season

Champion: Rick Mears

Rookie of the Year: Bobby Rahal

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the schedule

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Atlanta
3. Milwaukee
4. Cleveland
5. Michigan
6. Milwaukee
7. Pocono
8. Riverside
9. Road America
10. Michigan
11. Phoenix

1983 CART Season

Champion: Al Unser

Rookie of the Year: Teo Fabi

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Tom Sneva

Schedule:

1. Atlanta
2. Indianapolis
3. Milwaukee
4. Cleveland
5. Michigan
6. Road America
7. Pocono
8. Riverside
9. Mid Ohio
10. Michigan
11. Caesars Palace
12. Laguna Seca
13. Phoenix

1984 CART Season

Champion: Mario Andretti

Rookie of the Year: Roberto Guerrero

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Rick Mears

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Phoenix
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Portland
6. Meadowlands
7. Cleveland
8. Michigan
9. Road America
10. Pocono
11. Mid Ohio
12. Sanair
13. Michigan
14. Phoenix
15. Laguna Seca
16. Caesars Palace

1985 CART Season

Champion: Al Unser

Rookie of the Year: Arie Luyendyk

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Danny Sullivan

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Indianapolis
3. Milwaukee
4. Portland
5. Meadowlands
6. Cleveland
7. Michigan
8. Road America
9. Pocono
10. Mid Ohio
11. Sanair
12. Michigan
13. Laguna Seca
14. Phoenix
15. Beatrice Challenge

1986 CART Season

Champion: Bobby Rahal

Rookie of the Year: Chip Robinson

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Bobby Rahal

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Long Beach
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Portland
6. Meadowlands
7. Cleveland
8. Toronto
9. Michigan
10. Pocono
11. Mid Ohio
12. Sanair
13. Michigan
14. Road America
15. Laguna Seca
16. Phoenix
17. Miami

1987 CART Season

Champion: Bobby Rahal

Rookie of the Year: Fabrizio Barbazza

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Al Unser

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Phoenix
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Portland
6. Meadowlands
7. Cleveland
8. Toronto
9. Michigan
10. Pocono
11. Road America
12. Mid Ohio
13. Nazareth
14. Miami

1988 CART Season

Champion: Danny Sullivan

Rookie of the Year: John Jones

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Rick Mears

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Long Beach
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Portland
6. Cleveland
7. Toronto
8. Meadowlands
9. Michigan
10. Pocono
11. Mid Ohio
12. Road America
13. Nazareth
14. Laguna Seca
15. Miami

1989 CART Season

Champion: Emerson Fittapaldi

Rookie of the Year: Bernard Jourdain

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Emerson Fittapaldi

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Long Beach
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Detroit
6. Portland
7. Cleveland
8. Meadowlands
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Pocono
12. Mid Ohio
13. Road America
14. Nazareth
15. Laguna Seca

1990 CART Season

Champion: Al Unser, Jr

Rookie of the Year: Eddie Cheever

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Arie Luyendyk

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Long Beach
3. Indianapolis
4. Milwaukee
5. Detroit
6. Portland
7. Cleveland
8. Meadowlands
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Denver
12. Vancouver
13. Mid Ohio
14. Road America
15. Nazareth
16. Laguna Seca

1991 CART Season

Champion: Michael Andretti

Rookie of the Year: Jeff Andretti

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Rick Mears

Schedule:

1. Surfers Paradise
2. Long Beach
3. Phoenix
4. Indianapolis
5. Milwaukee
6. Detroit
7. Portland
8. Cleveland
9. Meadowlands
10. Toronto
11. Michigan
12. Denver
13. Vancouver
14. Mid Ohio
15. Road America
16. Nazareth
17. Laguna Seca

1992 CART Season

Champion: Bobby Rahal

Rookie of the Year: Stefan Johansson

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Al Unser Jr

Schedule:

1. Surfers Paradise
2. Phoenix
3. Long Beach
4. Indianapolis
5. Detroit
6. Portland
7. Milwaukee
8. Loudon
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Cleveland
12. Road America
13. Vancouver
14. Mid Ohio
15. Nazareth
16. Laguna Seca

1993 CART Season

Champion: Nigel Mansell

Rookie of the Year: Nigel Mansell

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Emerson Fittapaldi

Schedule:

1. Surfers Paradise
2. Phoenix
3. Long Beach
4. Indianapolis
5. Milwaukee
6. Detroit
7. Portland
8. Cleveland
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Loudon
12. Road America
13. Vancouver
14. Mid Ohio
15. Nazareth
16. Laguna Seca

1994 CART Season

Champion: Al Unser Jr

Rookie of the Year: Jacques Villeneuve

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Al Unser Jr

Schedule:

1. Surfers Paradise
2. Phoenix
3. Long Beach
4. Indianapolis
5. Milwaukee
6. Detroit
7. Portland
8. Cleveland
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Mid Ohio
12. Loudon
13. Vancouver
14. Road America
15. Nazareth
16. Laguna Seca

1995 CART Season

Champion: Jacques Villeneuve

Rookie of the Year: Gil de Ferran

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Jacques Villeneuve

Schedule:

1. Miami
2. Surfers Paradise
3. Phoenix
4. Long Beach
5. Nazareth
6. Indianapolis
7. Milwaukee
8. Detroit
9. Portland
10. Road America
11. Toronto
12. Cleveland
13. Michigan
14. Mid Ohio
15. Loudon
16. Vancouver
17. Laguna Seca

1996 CART Season (IRL SPLITS)

Champion: Jimmy Vasser

Rookie of the Year: Alex Zanardi

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Rio de Janeiro
3. Surfers Paradise
4. Long Beach
5. Nazareth
6. Michigan
7. Milwaukee
8. Detroit
9. Portland
10. Cleveland
11. Toronto
12. Michigan
13. Mid Ohio
14. Road America
15. Vancouver
16. Laguna Seca

1997 CART Season

Champion: Alex Zanardi

Rookie of the Year Patrick Carpentier

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Surfers Paradise
3. Long Beach
4. Nazareth
5. Rio de Janeiro
6. Gateway
7. Milwaukee
8. Detroit
9. Portland
10. Cleveland
11. Toronto
12. Michigan
13. Mid Ohio
14. Road America
15. Vancouver
16. Laguna Seca
17. California

1998 CART Season

Champion: Alex Zanardi

Rookie of the Year: Tony Kanaan

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Motegi
3. Long Beach
4. Nazareth
5. Rio de Janeiro
6. Gateway
7. Milwaukee
8. Detroit
9. Portland
10. Cleveland
11. Toronto
12. Michigan
13. Mid OHio
14. Road America
15. Vancouver
16. Laguna Seca
17. Houston
18. Surfers Paradise
19. California

1999 CART Season

Champion: Juan Pablo Montoya

Rookie of the Year: Juan Pablo Montoya

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Motegi
3. Long Beach
4. Nazareth
5. Rio de Janeiro
6. Gateway
7. Milwaukee
8. Portland
9. Cleveland
10. Road America
11. Toronto
12. Michigan
13. Detroit
14. Mid Ohio
15. Chicago Motor
16. Vancouver
17. Laguna Seca
18. Houston
19. Surfers Paradise
20. California

2000 CART Season

Champion: Gil de Ferran

Rookie of the Year: Kenny Brack

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Long Beach
3. Rio de Janeiro
4. Motegi
5. Nazareth
6. Milwaukee
7. Detroit
8. Portland
9. Cleveland
10. Toronto
11. Michigan
12. Chicago Motor
13. Mid Ohio
14. Road America
15. Vancouver
16. Laguna Seca
17. Gateway
18. Houston
19. Surfers Paradise
20. California

2001 CART Season

Champion: Gil de Ferran

Rookie of the Year: Scott Dixon

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Mexico
2. Long Beach
3. Nazareth
4. Motegi
5. Milwaukee
6. Detroit
7. Portland
8. Cleveland
9. Toronto
10. Michigan
11. Chicago Motor
12. Mid Ohio
13. Road America
14. Vancouver
15. Euro Speedway
16. Rockingham (UK)
17. Houston
18. Laguna Seca
19. Surfers Paradise
20. California

2002 CART Season

Champion: Christano da Matta

Rookie of the Year: Mario Dominguez

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Mexico
2. Long Beach
3. Motegi
4. Milwaukee
5. Laguna Seca
6. Portland
7. Chicago Motor
8. Toronto
9. Cleveland
10. Vancouver
11. Mid Ohio
12. Road America
13. Montreal
14. Denver
15. Rockingham (UK)
16. Miami
17. Surfers Paradise
18. California
19. Mexico City

2003 CART Season:

Champion: Paul Tracy

Rookie of the Year: Sebastien Bourdais

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. St. Petersburg
2. Mexico
3. Long Beach
4. Brands Hatch
5. Euro Speedway
6. Milwaukee
7. Lgauna Seca
8. Portland
9. Cleveland
10. Toronto
11. Vancouver
12. Road America
13. Mid Ohio
14. Montreal
15. Denver
16. Miami
17. Mexico City
18. Surfers Paradise

2004 CCWS Season

Champion: Sebestian Bourdais

Rookie of the Year: A.J. Allmendinger

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Mexico
3. Milwaukee
4. Portland
5. Cleveland
6. Toronto
7. Vancouver
8. Road America
9. Denver
10. Montreal
11. Laguna Seca
12. Las Vegas
13. Surfers Paradise
14. Mexico City

2005 CCWS Season

Champion: Sebestien Bourdais

Rookie of the Year: Timo Glock

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Mexico
3. Milwaukee
4. Portland
5. Cleveland
6. Toronto
7. Edmonton
8. San Jose
9. Denver
10. Montreal
11. Las Vegas
12. Surfers Paradise
13. Mexico City

2006 CCWS Season

Champion: Sebestian Bourdais

Rookie of the Year: Will Power

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule:

1. Long Beach
2. Reliant Park
3. Mexico
4. Milwaukee
5. Portland
6. Cleveland
7. Toronto
8. Edmonton
9. San Jose
10. Denver
11. Montreal
12. Road America
13. Surfers Paradise
14. Mexico City

2007 CCWS Season

Champion: Sebestien Bourdais

Rookie of the Year: Robert Doornbos

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Wasn’t on the Schedule

Schedule

1. Las Vegas SC
2. Long Beach
3. Reliant Park
4. Portland
5. Cleveland
6. Mont Tremblant
7. Toronto
8. Edmonton
9. San Jose
10. Road America
11. Zolder
12. Assen
13. Surfers Paradise
14. Mexico City

That wraps up the CART/Champ Car section of the post now its time for the IndyCar Section.

1996 IndyCar Season

Champion: Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkin

Rookie of the Year: Not AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Buddy Laizer

Schedule:

1. Walt Disney
2. Phoenix
3. Indianapolis

1996-97 IndyCar Season

Champion: Tony Stewart

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Arie Luyendyk

Schedule

1. Loudon
2. Las Vegas
3. Walt Disney
4. Phoenix
5. Indianapolis
6. Texas
7. Pikes Peak
8. Charlotte
9. Loudon
10. Las Vegas

1998 IndyCar Season

Champion: Kenny Brack

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Eddie Cheever

Schedule:

1. Walt Disney
2. Phoenix
3. Indianapolis
4. Texas
5. Loudon
6. Dover
7. Charlotte
8. Pikes Peak
9. Atlanta
10. Texas
11. Las Vegas

1999 IndyCar Season

Champion: Greg Ray

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Kenny Brack

Schedule:

1. Walt Disney
2. Phoenix
3. Indianapolis
4. Texas
5. Pikes Peak
6. Atlanta
7. Dover
8. Pikes Peak
9. Las Vegas
10. Texas

2000 IndyCar Season

Champion: Buddy Laizer

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya

Schedule:

1. Walt Disney
2. Phoenix
3. Las Vegas
4. Indianapolis
5. Texas
6. Pikes Peak
7. Atlanta
8. Kentucky
9. Texas

2001 IndyCar Season

Champion: Sam Hornish Jr

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Helio Castroneves

Schedule:

1. Phoenix
2. Homestead
3. Atlanta
4. Indianapolis
5. Texas
6. Pikes Peak
7. Richmond
8. Kansas
9. Nashville
10. Kentucky
11. Gateway
12. Chicagoland
13. Texas

2002 IndyCar Season

Champion: Sam Hornish Jr

Rookie of the Year: NOT AWARDED

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Helio Castroneves

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Phoenix
3. California
4. Nazareth
5. Indianapolis
6. Texas
7. Pikes Peak
8. Richmond
9. Kansas
10. Nashville
11. Michigan
12. Kentucky
13. Gateway
14. Chicagoland
15. Texas

2003 IndyCar Season

Champion: Scott Dixon

Rookie of the Year: Dan Wheldon

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Gil de Ferran

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Phoenix
3. Motegi
4. Indianapolis
5. Texas
6. Pikes Peak
7. Richmond
8. Kansas
9. Nashville
10. Michigan
11. Gateway
12. Kentucky
13. Nazareth
14. Chicagoland
15. California
16. Texas

2004 IndyCar Season

Champion: Tony Kanaan

Rookie of the Year: Kouske Matsura

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Buddy Rice

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Phoenix
3. Motegi
4. Indianapolis
5. Texas
6. Richmond
7. Kansas
8. Nashville
9. Milwaukee
10. Michigan
11. Kentucky
12. Pikes Peak
13. Nazareth
14. Chicagoland
15. California
16. Texas

2005 IndyCar Season

Champion: Dan Wheldon

Rookie of the Year: Danica Patrick

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Dan Wheldon

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. Phoenix
3. St. Petersburg
4. Motegi
5. Indianapolis
6. Texas
7. Richmond
8. Kansas
9. Nashville
10. Milwaukee
11. Michigan
12. Kentucky
13. Pikes Peak
14. Infineon
15. Chicagoland
16. Watkins Glen
17. California

2006 IndyCar Season

Champion: Sam Hornish Jr

Rookie of the Year: Marco Andretti

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Sam Hornish Jr

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. St. Petersburg
3. Motegi
4. Indianapolis
5. Watkins Glen
6. Texas
7. Richmond
8. Kansas
9. Nashville
10. Milwaukee
11. Michigan
12. Kentucky
13. Infineon
14. Chicagoland

2007 IndyCar Season

Champion: Dario Franchitti

Rookie of the Year: Ryan Hunter Reay

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Dario Franchitti

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. St. Petersburg
3. Motegi
4. Kansas
5. Indianapolis
6. Milwaukee
7. Texas
8. Iowa
9. Richmond
10. Watkins Glen
11. Nashville
12. Mid Ohio
13. Michigan
14. Kentucky
15. Infineon
16. Belle Isle
17. Chicagoland

2008 IndyCar Season

Champion: Scott Dixon

Rookie of the Year: Hideki Mutoh

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Scott Dixon

Schedule:

1. Homestead
2. St. Petersburg
3. Motegi
4. Long Beach
5. Kansas
6. Indianapolis
7. Milwaukee
8. Texas
9. Iowa
10. Richmond
11. Watkins Glen
12. Nashville
13. Mid Ohio
14. Edmonton
15. Kentucky
16. Infineon
17. Belle Islc
18. Chicagoland
19. Surfers Paradise

2009 IndyCar Season

Champion: Dario Franchitti

Rookie of the Year: Raphael Matos

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Helio Castroneves

Schedule:

1. St. Petersburg
2. Long Beach
3. Kansas
4. Indianapolis
5. Milwaukee
6. Texas
7. Iowa
8. Richmond
9. Watkins Glen
10. Toronto
11. Edmonton
12. Kentucky
13. Mid Ohio
14. Infineon
15. Chicagoland
16. Motegi
17. Homestead

2010 IndyCar Season

Champion: Dario Franchitti

Rookie of the Year: Alex Lloyd

Indianapolis 500 Winner: Dario Franchitti

Schedule:

1. Sao Paulo
2. St. Petersburg
3. Barber
4. Long Beach
5. Kansas
6. Indianapolis
7. Texas
8. Iowa
9. Watkins Glen
10. Toronto
11. Edmonton
12. Mid Ohio
13. Infineon
14. Chicagoland
15. Kentucky
16. Motegi
17. Homestead

Okay so that wraps up this season in review history in open wheel racing. Have a good day fans and readers of Triple League Racing,

Thanks

Kent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I See Happening RE:2012 IndyCar Schedule

With the announcement for the 2012 IndyCar Schedule coming up in a few weeks, I am taking this opportunity to share with the readers what I think what tracks will be added/dropped.

Existing Contracts: The Indianapolis 500 has been signed already and will take place on May,27th on ABC. The city of Long Beach has a contract signed with IndyCar until 2015 with an option with the city to carry it through 2020.  Sao Paulo Indy 300 has a contract through 2019 with the city. St Petersburg has a contract through 2013 and the city of St. Petersburg is trying to extend it through 2017. Barber Motorsports Park is in its last year of its contract. The city of Baltimore signed there Labor Day Weekend race through 2014 w/ an option for through 2016.

Expired Contracts: The Iowa Speedway’s contract expired last Saturday night and CEO Randy Bernard has strong interest in returning possibly with a doubleheader format Saturday night/Sunday Afternoon. Mid Ohio Sports Car Course is in the last year of its contract this year, it is not likely that the series will return in 2012. Texas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Infineon Raceway (SMI) are the last year of there contracts. I expect all of these tracks to return because it is Bruton Smith and Eddie Gossage. Milwakee Mile had a 1 year contract with the league, Bernard has said he wants to return but there is not enough local support. He has expressed the idea of moving the race to right after Indy or during the Wisconsin State Fair. The egg shaped oval in Motegi will not return in 2012 this was announced in February, 2011. Kentucky Motor Speedway will return according to Randy Bernard and Bruton Smith. I see the Streets of Toronto returning in 2012. Edmonton City Centre Airport has a 3 year contract with IndyCar, but Bernard has said he needs to talk to the race promoter (Octane Motorsports Group). Also he said that it will be determined by how many people come to the Edmonton race in July.

ISC Tracks Returning:  Randy Bernard has expressed interest in going back to Chicagoland Speedway in Joilet,  Illinois and the new track president at Chicagoland wants to bring back IndyCar Racing. Phoenix International Raceway is a 50-50 in my opinion because IndyCar doesn’t get along with their track president. If this race happens it will be before the Daytona 500 and start the season. Discussions are still going on with the Michigan International Speedway, this would bring back the U.S. 500. If this race happens it will be during the 4th of July weekend or in late September, after the NASCAR Races (June and August). Rumor has said that the Auto Club Speedway (California) is in. Watkins Glen International Raceway should be returning, the track also has a new president and wants to bring back IndyCar Racing.

Champ Car Races Returning: The drivers have urged CEO  Randy Bernard to visit Road America and bring back as an endurance race. If this race happens it will replace Milwaukee according to Bernard, also it is likely it will be with ALMS during middle to late August.  Promoter Mike Lanigan has found a sponsor for his Houston street race at Reliant Park. The track is a 1.7 mile street course. Lanigan’s other race Cleveland, has been rumored in a doubleheader. The doubleheader would see a Friday night new 1.0 mile race and the traditional airport course on Sunday. The street circuit on the Belle Isle has been rumored in a revival and it is possible GM will have to cover all costs (Roger Penske). The street circuit in Surfers Paradise is rumored for a return possibly with the Australian V-8 Supercars in late October or November. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is rumored in return also, who would want to see Barnfart not allow a pass like Zanardi’s in the corkscrew (it won’t work!)

Others in the Mix: According to Curt Cavin’s Q&A Memphis Motorsports Park is a possibility. This track is owned by the Dover Motorsports Inc. (DMI) The track is just way to0 short. A road event then oval (Indy Style) in China is in the mix. According to Track Forum they were at the Milwaukee race but no contracts were signed.  According to IndyCar Garage a race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course could be a season finale. A street race/airport race is rumored for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is Ryan Hunter Reay’s hometown so go figure. During the broadcast of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on Versus, it was mentioned that a second race in Brazil will happen.  It will be in the fall and be a street course in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A Canadian oval owned and designed by Jeff Gordon is also in the mix

The Schedule:

1. Phoenix International Raceway March 4th, 2012 ??
2. Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida March 18th, 2012
3. Streets of Houston, Texas Marcfh 25th, 2012
4. Barber Motorsports Park April 8th, 2012
5. Streets of Long Beach, California April 15th, 2012
6. Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil April 29th, 2012
7. Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 27th, 2012
8. Milwaukee Mile June 2nd, 2012??
9. Texas Motor Speedway June 9th, 2012
10. Iowa Speedway June 16th, 2012
11. Iowa Speedway June 17th, 2012
12. Chicagoland Speedway June 30th, 2012 ??
13. Streets of Toronto, Canada July 8th, 2012
14. Edmonton City Centre Airport July 22nd, 2012
15. New Hampshire Motor Speedway August 5th, 2012
16. Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis August 19th, 2012 ??
17. Infineon Raceway August 26th, 2012
18. Streets of Baltimore, Maryland September 2nd, 2012
19. Streets of Porto Alegre, Brazil September 16th, 2o12
20. Kentucky Speedway October 6th, 2012
21. Auto Club Speedway October 14th, 2012 ??
22. Las Vegas Street Circuit October 20th, 2012 ??
23. Las Vegas Motor Speedway October 21st, 2012

So its about 15 confirmed races with 7 to 8 question marks.  Under the comments section please comment, make your own schedule with the information I have gave you. Have a good day Triple League Racing Readers and Fans

Thanks, Kent

Breaking News: The O2 Racing Technology Controversy

Things have gotten crazy in the Indycar world.  After qualifying in Milwaukee for the Indy Lights Race, the pole winning Sam Schmidt cars were stripped of their starting position and then re-instated a few minutes latter over an unspecified violation.   Allegedly this was not the first time that had happened and that certain teams may have violated the rules before and gotten off with simply a secret monetary fine.  Because of this the sponsors of O2 Racing Technology pulled out and the team, led by Mark Olson, withdrew, first from Milwaukee and then from the championship itself, saying they would re-enter when the integrity issues were solved.  That would have been the end of the story,except that yesterday Indycar announced that it had given the team and owner a 2 year suspension for “ to impede the conduct of the event by encouraging others to breach contracts with INDYCAR and withdraw from the David Hobbs 100.”  Mark Olson disputes the charge, saying that he and his team never attempted to get others to quit.   So in Indycar land, it’s OKAY to vote to delay the new car, it’s OKAY to vote to keep Firestone whatever the cost (and hurt Indycar’s negotiating position) and it’s OKAY for teams to veto aero kits, but if you question Indycar’s questionable officiating you get a two year ban?  Even NASCAR is not that draconian!

Davey Hamilton is leading the Indycar defenders against O2RT

Of course there are at least two sides to every story, and defending Indycar are Davey Hamilton, and surprisingly Robin Miller.  While they are defending Indycar it’s worth pointing out that Hamilton works for Indycar and owns a Lights team, and Miller is in love with Tony Cotman (race director of FIL and Randy Bernard, CEO of Indycar) so their objectivity is in serious doubt.  Hamilton critizied Mark Olson heavily during the Indycar radio broadcast on Friday.  Robin Miller mentioned it in his mailbag a couple weeks back and according to Cotman (as written by Robin) no cheating occurred at Indy, and at Milwaukee the camber was not illegal, simply not advised.  Of course if this is true, why did the Schmidt cars get sent to the back in the first place?

I side with Mark Olson and O2 Racing Tech for two main reasons.  Firstly, Indycar officiating is a complete joke and secondly other Indycar team owners have done a lot more damaging things and not gotten punished at all, so why the witch hunt against Olson?   It’s mostly rumor/insider information, but I’ve heard some pretty bad stories about FIL and cheating.  It feels like a fair number of people inside the paddock believe there’s some funny business going on in the FIL.  An especially interesting tidbit I heard on twitter is that one possible reason why Sam Schmidt FIL drivers don’t get good Indycar rides is that there is a belief by most that they win not due to talent, but illegal equipment.

Indycar officiating is pathetic. Dario is allowed to do things that would get almost any other driver a penalty

In Indycar it appears the rules are written in invisible ink.  If you hit something in someone else’s pit box, it’s a penalty, unless you happen to be the Scottish Douche (Dario) in which case, go right ahead and hit tires all you want.  Some drivers are allowed to jump the start as much as they want, while others can’t.  Barnhardt doesn’t want to wave off starts (although every now and then they do get waved off) because the teams asked him not to.  The “blocking/defending” rule along with contact penalties are enforced in a way that makes no sense and shows zero consistency.  These are just the first 4 examples that came to my mind.  We also know that Indycar hates to announce it’s penalties and almost never fines points or takes a win away.  Due to this, it would not surprise me at all if the allegations about cheating in Indy Lights were true.  Indycar officiating has no rhythm or reason, so why would it’s enforcement? If all you’re going to get is a little, private, slap on the wrist, what team owner is not going to cheat?

Secondly, I don’t get how Mark Olson damaged the integrity of the sport any more than about a every other team owner already has.   Randy Bernard has said that he doesn’t want to control what the drivers say and that he’s “never” fined someone for what they’ve said, so what the f— is up here?  Speaking of damaging the sport, let’s look at what the other Indycar team owners have done?  They have tried to block the 2012 car, and then the aero kits.  How is that not damaging to the sport?  And if we want to talk about damage to the sport, how about the split?  If Indycar want’s to go down the NASCAR dictatorship route, then isn’t all of the driver whining damaging to the sport?  Yet Dario hasn’t been given a two year suspension, and neither has any other driver.  Since Indycar is handing out two year penalties for trying to disrupt Indycar, I am just waiting for the ban on the team owners who have twice tried to lead an insurrection against  the 2012 car.  Shockingly, I won’t be holding my breath on that.

To get supspended as long as O2RT, most of the time you have to fix a race or do drugs on a race weekend

Speaking of two year bans, that’s a harsh, harsh penalty.  In recent NASCAR history, a suspension of that length (or greater)  has only come from failing a drug test.  In F1, a “lifetime” ban has been given to Pat Simmons and Flavio Briatori for convincing one of their driver to bring out a caution flag on purpose by crashing.  Those types of incidents sound slightly worse than pulling out of a race, don’t you think?

These issues don’t make me feel particularly confident Tony Cotman.  I know Robin Miller has convinced many people he’s a saint, and I know a lot of people love him from his Champ Car days as well as the well designed Sao Paolo track, but I don’t know if I feel that much love for him.  This is the same guy who came up with the defending rule and defends it to the hilt (pun intended).  This is the guy who doesn’t get why fans don’t like the fuel knob.  And this is the guy who’s the Firestone Indy Lights series head of Race Control with all of this stuff going on.  Oh, and this is the guy overseeing the 2012 Indycar development.  The same program where there is concern someone (Honda or Chevy in engines, Dallara in aero kit, and Herta, Penske, and Ganassi in teams) has a huge unfair advantage heading into the next season.  With that hanging over Indycar they need someone without a sniff of impropriety leading the program, not the race director of Firestone Indy Lights when this stuff is going on.

O2RT... a team we won't see again

The Firestone Indy Lights are already an irrelevant racing series.  It has about 12-16 cars depending on the week (and who’s been suspended, I guess) and that’s pretty sad for the “development” series.  Having these cheating scandals floating around it just makes things worse, and the 2 year suspension for Mark Olson and O2RT is just the icing on the cake in terms of making FIL even less relevant and ruin the last shreds of it’s integrity.  This is Indycar at it’s worst, in full fledged Indy Failure League mode.  Honestly, one of the things I like about Indycar is that it’s not run like the “Beachfront Mob” (credit Johnny and the Duke on the old Live Fast Racing Podcast for that one) like NASCAR or an evil empire like F1, but with some of the issues with penalties in Indycar, it might be worse.  If NASCAR is the Beachfront Mafia, what is Indycar?  I like the term Brickyard Mafia, myself, and that’s what I’m going to run with on these types of stories.  Indycar officiating is a mess as it is and this incident just makes it worse.  With 2012 and a new car coming up next year Indycar needs to be at the top of it’s game, not perfecting it’s “Brickyard Mob” act by banning people who point out there problems.  In unrelated news, now I know where my Indycar Nation blogger invite went, or rather, why it never arrived.

Can IndyCar steal from F1?

Formula 1 is at a crossroads, IndyCar is on an upswing, ALMS is always pushing forward and NASCAR is certainly trending down (while remaining most popular in the US I should add). We all know why sponsors and manufactures have been most involved in NASCAR. It IS the most popular and attracts attention like a viking playing a round a Pebble Beach. Which would be the next Capital One commercial if it were up to me.  The point of this isn’t NASCAR’s success however, we all know they have reached their pinnacle and are coming down faster than Lindsay Lohan entering rehab. This is about how IndyCar could be in position to gain ground in huge portions over the next few years if they play their cards right. Here’s how I see it.

 

The starting point of this potentially perfect storm are the problems F1 might be. Let’s be realistic, F1 and IndyCar are probably not going to see anything that looks like a merge anytime soon in my opinion. I could be wrong and, if I am that would be great, but I just don’t see it. What everyone really wants to see is if Bernie will back off on his rule changes. Personally, I think Bernie is far too stubborn to budge on this. He knows that the threat is nothing more than that. That’s fine because they have something that IndyCar wants worse than their tracks, car manufacturers.

 

I’m really not a fan of the whole eco-friendly, underpowered death trap revolution.  I don’t really want to drive around in a glorified toaster powered my a motor more adept to running a washing machine than a car.  To a point, this is what the automotive world is headed towards. It seems like F1 is taking this a bit too far with wanting to put little 4 bangers in the most sophisticated machines on four wheels. People DO NOT go to races to see what car gets the best fuel milage!! We want fast, loud and dangerous. None of makes a single bit of difference to any car companies if they aren’t selling cars and most car companies come from countries who are going to have more of a “sorry about ya” attitude than a “we’ll bail you out with tons of tax payer money” attitude.

 

Enter IndyCar and their turbo charged 6 cylinder platform. The best chance IndyCar has stealing support that F1 has right now. Companies like BMW, Lotus, Mercedes and Honda know that if they want to sell cars that are fun to drive and are realistic to an average person this, configuration is a great option. As much as I’d love for cruising around in Corvette ZR-1 or a Ferrari it isn’t realistic when it comes to price or practicality.  What is realistic is a mid-sized car with enough room for a family and enough juice to blow the doors off teenagers in their tricked out Civics.  The best place to test any new design ideas is LeMans. The problem is that it doesn’t get much recognition in the states which is where companies like Mercedes and BMW have their largest market.  LeMans is also very expensive when you have to compete against the likes of Audi and Peugeot.  They need to display their product on a stage where they know they won’t get trounced unless they spend half a billion dollars in R&D.  The second best and possibly cheapest option might be IndyCar.

F1/ IndyCar Merger???

Pit Pass is reporting that if Formula One goes to greener engines in 2013 that as many as 17 Formula One races could be transferred to the IZOD IndyCar Schedule. Now where does this put the schedule at I will explain in 2 steps how this could work and what tracks to add/drop from the Indy Car Schedule.

STEP 1: Drop all Hermann Tilke tracks. These tracks include: Bahrain, Malysia, China, Korea, Circuit of the Americas, Instanbul, Valencia Street, Singapore Street, India and many more. But why?? These tracks are just like the Trinity of Bordeom RE: Barber, Infineon, and Mid- Ohio. His (Tilke’s) tracks have only about one long straight and the rest is curvey shit. His best track is maybe Istanbul because it has multiple long straightaways. Take Tony Cotman’s new Edmonton City Centre Airport track, it is just like Sebring which is long straightaways and fast  turns. All Tilke’s are very very slow.  Tilke has designed the worst street race in history (Valencia) that played to our German douche bag (Seb Vettel) leading everylap during Sunday’s European GP on the Streets of Valencia.

 Add the good tracks: RE: Monaco, Albert Park, Circuit Gilles Villenueve, Interlagos, Catalunya, Hockenheim, Nurburgring, Suzuka, and Hungary. Lets start with Monaco. This is Formula One’s oldest race and is the best street circuit ever (in my opinion). Albert Park would be great as a doubleheader with Surfers Paradise as a Australian GP Part 1 (Spring). Circuit Gilles Villenueve, this could be ran as tripleheader with Grand-Am and NASCAR Nationwide Series the weekend before Labor Day. Interlagos could be a part of a doubleheader with the Streets of Sao Paulo on Saturday and the Interlagos on Sunday.  But with the others it might not fit in but we will see.

Step 2: IndyCar needs to cut down on street races, with the rumors of 9-12 street courses being added in the near future (Fort Lauderdale, Houston, China, Quebec City, and Porto Alegre) that is way too many cut down to 5-6 street races (Cleveland, Edmonton, Long Beach, St. Pete, Surfers Paradise, and Toronto)

To me the schedule would just turn into another road/street parade and lose its oval heritage.

Here is what the schedule format if those tracks listed above would be added.

8 Street Courses

1. Cleveland
2. Edmonton
3. Long Beach
4. Monaco
5. Montreal
6. St. Pete
7. Surfers Paradise
8. Toronto

8 Road Courses

1. Albert Park (Australia)
2. Interlagos
3. Miller
4. Portland
5. Road Atlanta
6. Road America
7. Sebring
8. VIR

16 Ovals

1. Chicagoland
2. Kansas
3. Las Vegas
4. Auto Club
5. Michigan
6. Kentucky
7. Texas
8. Charlotte
9. Richmond
10. Iowa
11. Loudon
12. Canadian
13. Cleveland
14. Phoenix
15. Milwaukee
16. Indianapolis

That gives us 32 races, in all now what would the teams/drivers look like.

REPRESENT IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN IN 2012

Andretti Autosport- Marco Andretti (26), Mike Conway (27) Ryan Hunter-Reay (28)

A.J. Foyt Racing- Vitor Meira (14)

AFS Racing- Raphael Matos (17)

Bryan Herta Autosport- Dan Wheldon (98)

Conquest Racing- Sebestiean Saavedra (34)

Dale Coyne Racing- James Jakes (18), Alex Lloyd (19)

Dragon Racing- Paul Tracy (8), Scott Speed and Hoping Tung (20)

Dreyer Reinbold- Justin Wilson (22), Ana Beatriz (24)

Force India- Adrian Sutil( 14A), Paul Di Resta (15A)

HRT- Narian Karthikeyan (22A), Viantonio Luizzi (23A)

HVM Racing- Simona de Silvestro (78)

KV Racing Tech.- Takuma Sato (5), EJ Viso (59), Tony Kanaan (82)

Lotus Renault GP- Robert Kubica or Nick Heidfield(9A), Vitaly Petrov (10A)

Mercedes GP- Nico Rosberg (7A), Michael Schumacher( 8A)

Newman Haas Racing- Oriol Servia(2), James Hinchcliffe (06)

Panther Racing- JR Hildebrand (4)

Penske Racing- Helio Castroneves (3), Ryan Briscoe (6), Will Power (12)

Red Bull Racing- Seb Vettel (1A), Mark Webber (2A)

Sam Schmidt Motorsports- Alex Tagliani (77)

Sarah Fisher Racing- Ed Carpenter (67)

Sauber Racing- Kamui Kobayshi (16), Sergio Perez (17)

Scuderia Ferrari- Fernando Alonso (5A), Felipe Massa (6A)

Scuderia Toro Rosso- Sebestien Buemi ( 18A), Jaime Alguersari 19A)

Target Chip Ganassi Racing- Scott Dixon(9), Dario Franchitti(10), Graham Rahal (38), Charlie Kimball (83)

Team Lotus- Heikki Kovalainen (20A), Jarno Trulli (21A)

Virgin Racing- Timo Glock (24A), Jerome D’Ambrosio (25A)

Voadafone McLaren Mercedes- Lewis Hamilton (3A), Jenson Button (4A)

Williams- Rubens Barichello (11), Pastor Maldanado (12)

 

As for TV deals: Speed/Fox F1 Team needs to stay, NBC/Comcast should do the 500 but it would be great for both companies.

I guess this wraps up my suggestion now I am going to email Randy Bernard about this (wish me luck).

 

 

 

 

 

Team Meeting Weekend in Review; Ben Spies Edition

MotoGP:  Ben Spies has won his first MotoGP race in the Assen TT, becoming the first American to win since 2006 (Nicky Hayden) and the first rider outside of the “Aliens” (Stoner, Pedrossa, Rossi, Lorenzo) to win a dry race since the 800cc era started.  Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli were strong all weekend and out qualified Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo.  In the wet practice sessions Rossi led, while in the dry he was off the pace.  Simoncelli started on pole, but quickly crashed out, taking Lorenzo with him.  This ruined a potentially great race between Simoncelli and Spies, and allowed Spies to lead every lap on his way to his first career win.  Considering how fast Stoner has been this year, that’s impressive.

Thank god Spies won, because otherwise, it would have been a pointless GP.  Assen is one of the better tracks on the schedule, yet this weekends racing was as processional as it get’s.  Had Simoncelli not wrecked he and Spies might have had an epic race, but Simoncelli did, and so Spies was able to win easily. Stoner just seemed off this weekend, he was fast, but not as fast as he has been.  Because of that, Lorenzo was even more angry with Simoncelli about their wreck, as he lost points to Stoner on a day he should have picked some up.

There are some interesting parallel’s between the MotoGP and Indycar race.  In both series the pole winner was a sophomore driver/rider known for both speed and crashing.  In both races, they lined up next to an American driver/rider who needed to turn their season around, and in both series, the pole winner crashed.  The two main differences were that there was passing in the Indycar race, and the American who won it wasn’t the 2nd place starter, but Marco Andretti, who came from 17th.  Still, just like Spies, he needed to turn a rough season around.

Valentino Rossi was given a 2012 Ducati MotoGP bike that was outfitted with a 2011 engine to try and find some speed before the Italian GP this week at Mugello where the pressure on them will be enormous.   The results were mixed.  Rossi still had problems and still wasn’t as fast as the top riders, but in the wet, he led both sessions.  The 2012 bike has already been tested by Rossi at Mugello, so he may be more competitive here.

Indycar:  For the first time since 2006, Marco Andretti won an Indycar race!  And unlike his teammate assisted win at Infineon, he won this race by moving up through the field and passing Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan on the track!  Sato started on pole with Danica beside him, but the Scottish Douche (new nickname for Dario) passed them for the lead early.  The Least Interesting Driver in the World then went on to lead a bunch of laps until Marco Andretti caught and passed him.  After another restart Kanaan, Marco, Hildebrand and Dixon passed Dario and relegated him to 5th.  Kanaan and Marco fought for the lead until the very end of the race, when Marco came out on top.  And it was nice to see a winner who didn’t whine in victory lane!

Sadly, concussions marred the weekend.  Simona De Silvestro was not cleared to race due to concussion like symptoms from her wreck at Milwaukee.  Will Power had an awful race where he first was hit by Charlie Kimball on pit road and then crashed, likely due to lingering damage from the first incident.  He suffered a mild concussion.  He needs to be healed by Toronto, because Indycar cannot afford the Scottish Douche lucking into another championship.  Seriously, if Dario wins this championship because Power has a concussion and misses races, he needs a MASSIVE asterisk by his name in the record books.  1 Indy 500 due to rain, 1 due to fuel, 2 championships by fuel, 1 by a wreck, and 1 by an injury.  That’s not a sign of a great driver, that’s the sign of someone with a massive golden horseshoe shoved up his….

As expected, Sato crashed.  It was unfortunate he didn’t pull the Full Simoncelli and take Dario out with him.  For Sato haters (and I proudly include myself in that group) it showed why we think he’s a waste of a good seat in Indycar.  Sure, he’s got speed, and he hasn’t wrecked as much this year as before, but he still tears cars up about half of the races he enters.  This was Danica’s best shot to win a race on speed in years (as her teammate proved) but she struggled in the race.  She fell back on the start and never was a factor (or led a single lap) and finished 10th, one spot ahead of Ed Carpenter.

According to Graham Rahal, he get’s the same equipment as Dixon and Dario.  If that’s the case, what’s wrong with him and Kimball?  Rahal’s had some good moments, but Kimball has sucked.  Yes, Kimball is very new and not very experienced, but with a Red Car, it doesn’t take much talent to run up front.  Also, Kimball’s raced in A1GP, where he drove a car with similar power to an Indycar.  Yet he has been a slightly faster James Jakes, crashing or making contact in almost every race.  Indycar desperately needs Americans, so I’m not advocating throwing him out like Viso, Sato, Saadevra and Jakes should be, but someone needs to give him some pointers so he doesn’t crash every race.  Hildebrand and Hinchcliffe are both rookies with worse equipment and yet have had much better results.  It looks like the relationship between “the Quitter” Sebastian Saadevra and Conquest Racing is starting to turn sour.  He didn’t make a lap in qualifying because he felt the car was so slow he would have started last anyways.  This is the same guy who left Herta’s team because he didn’t have equipment up to his standards.  Funny thing happened; Herta won the 500, will be the 2012 test team, and will likely run full time in 2012 and have a leg up on the competition.

In some disturbing news, a website called Pit Pass has this story.   The story basically says 17 F1 tracks will switch to Indycar if F1 goes through with the “green” engines.  Obviously, this story is posturing and BS mixed together but I still find it disturbing.  I can’t think of anything more boring than an Indycar race around Monaco, Valencia, Singapore, and 15 random Tilke tracks.  I understand this story is 99.999% likely to not come true, but if it did, I would have a “who gives a monkey’s” moment.  It would mean the end of oval racing in Indycar and I don’t think there are many people here who would enjoy watching Indycar turn into F1.  I certainly wouldn’t.  It would also kill the Indy 500. Again, I don’t believe this story, but it does make me a little uncomfortable.  I’d like to see a retraction from Pit Pass to put my mind fully at ease.

F1:  Formula One paraded around Valencia in a race even most diehard fans found dull.  Vettel won pole and the race again.  This is getting pretty boring.  For more thoughtful F1 analysis here, look to Triple League Racing blogger Eric Hall, who is an F1 fan and is putting out quality F1 material.

An observation.  For being the “biggest/greatest/largest racing series in the world” F1 is also one of the least stable.  Every year there is a threat of a “split” erupting, cheating scandals like crazy, track not being built in time, and other random disasters.  So far F1 has managed to avoid a complete meltdown, but how long until one occurs?

NASCAR:  NASCAR went road racing this weekend, with Cup at Infineon and Nationwide at Road America.  There are two views on NASCAR road racing, some love it, others (including me) feel that it’s a slow, drawn out crashfest.  The cars are too slow and not built for road racing, with the 4 speed gear box completely wrong for that type of racing!  Since many  NASCAR drivers have almost no road racing experience the amount of wrecks and cautions is so high, almost every race goes past the planned TV window.  Nationwide is even worse, the last cars in qualifying often are over 30 seconds slower than the pole winner!

At Infineon, Kurt Busch put on a Will Power style domination to win his first road race.   Maybe Power gave him and Keselowski pointers?  Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose all finished in the top 5.  For Gordon that’s not surprising, but Edwards and Bowyer don’t have much road racing experience, though Edwards has won Nationwide road races.  Juan Montoya managed to crash out about half the field and piss everyone off at him.   His reign of terror was ended by Brad Keselowski, who took Montoya out before Montoya could take him out, in one of the most entertaining moves of the race.

The fact that Kurt Busch won is a bit surprising until you think about this fact.  In 2004, he tested a Champcar for Derrick Walker at Sebring and laid down times faster than Walker’s Ride Buying driver.   It’s also worth noting how many drivers in the NASCAR field should be in Indycar, and how much better off Indycar would be with them.  Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmindinger, Marcos Ambrose, Juan Montoya, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Max Pappis and Micheal McDowell, not to mention Villenuve and Ranger, should all be in open wheel.  And if you had them, you’d truly have the “Best drivers in the world” instead of 15 of the best+ 10 ride buyers.  I guarantee Gordon, Stewart, Busch, and Kahne would bring in more interest in 1 race than Sato, Viso, Saadevra, and Jakes bring in in 10 years.

As for Nationwide at Road America… it was even more of a crash fest.  Villenuve was wrecking everyone (what is it with former F1 drivers this week?) and took out Max Pappis in a move that had “Mad Max” and his team owner Kevin Harvick fuming.  In the end the race finished under controversy as it ended under yellow.  Justin Allgier ran out of fuel under the caution while leading.  Ron Fellows then passed him and Reed Sorenson under yellow.  Obviously, that’s not allowed and Sorenson was declared the winner.

Top Gear:  Top Gear has returned, at least for British fans.   In this weeks episode, Clarkson reviewed a BMW and celebrated the E-Type Jaguar, as well as interviewed Alice Cooper.  May raced a skeleton luge champion with a Mini Countrymen Rally Car.  Hammond drove a massive SUV through the streets of South Africa and caused a fair amount of destruction, as expected.  From what I’ve heard, it’s been a fairly well received episode.   Hopefully BBC America shows them soon so I can see for myself.

IndyCar. More of a marriage than a sport

file:///Users/James/Documents/1991pass.webarchive

May 26th 1991…I was 8 years old at my first Indianapolis 500. As an 8 year old it was more like watching superheroes defy reality, to my underdeveloped mind, than simply watching a race. There, began a lifelong love affair with IndyCar racing.

I recently got married (very recently in fact). As far as marriage goes, I’ll be the first to admit, I’m damn close to clueless. I have been able to get some great, yet stereotypical, advice from most everyone from relatives to people on airplanes. “You’re going to disagree. You’re going to have fights. You’re going to want to suffocate each other with a pillow once or twice.” Honest? Probably. Helpful? Not really. Being an IndyCar fan seems an awful lot like being in a marriage. Things go wrong, the rules seem unclear and poorly executed and things are said that you don’t really mean. However, at the end of the day it’s love that keeps you coming back no matter how painful it is to watch at times.

We’ve had some painful, embarrassing and downright appalling scenes play out in the IndyCar world scenes I first saw Rick Mears battle Michael Andretti in 1991. We’ve also seen new beginnings, breathtaking finishes and the passion that leaves us wanting more.

I honestly believe we are in the midst of a rebirth for the sport we love. Open wheel racing may never regain the prominence it once held in the US, but that won’t keep us from fighting for it. With every new sponsor, every T-shirt sold and every drunk college student who’s only there for the party, we take one step closer to becoming what we were meant to be, the crown jewel of American auto sports.

Opinion: Iowa Doubleheader a Bad Idea

Iowa Doubleheader in 2012?

In Robin Miller’s latest article for Speedtv.com Randy Bernard floats the idea of doing a Saturday Night/Sunday Afternoon doubleheader at Iowa in 2012. While Randy is thinking outside the box again (which is good), in my opinion there are too many negatives attached to the idea and there is a better solution for having two races at Iowa Speedway.

Consider This:

Backup Cars- In 2012 this could especially be a problem with few chassis being available or affordable to the smaller teams.  With the amount of crashes we saw in this years race who knows how many backups will have to be used? This could also affect teams fighting for the championship who if they crash in Saturday Night’s race would have to use a lesser car to run a full race on Sunday.

Crowd- This past weekend’s crowd at Iowa was awesome, and very good sign for Indycar in Iowa and the midwest. If two races are held on back to back days there is a risk of one race being better attended than the next. Auto racing is a lot different from other sports in that fans usually have to travel a long way to attend races,and may not be able to stay an extra day for another race.

Starting Lineup for Second Race- After the controversy at Texas with the random draw, it will irk the drivers if another gimmick is used to set the field for a race. While the draw at Texas was entertaining to the fans at the track, it took over an hour and did not translate the greatest to television.

The Solution:

Keep the Current June night race Date and Run another race on Sunday afternoon earlier or later in the season.

Nascar has added second dates to popular tracks with good attendance to great success in the past. The Nationwide Series is holding two races at Iowa this year with different dates during the season and if the first race was any indication the upcoming race should have an awesome crowd as well.

By holding a second race at different time during the year Indycar can reduce the negatives that could come about holding a Saturday Night/Sunday afternoon doubleheader. The Sunday afternoon race would be able to be an ABC race and could showcase the spectacular side by side racing and great crowds that could market Indycar to the casual fan looking for something to watch on Sunday afternoon.

 

Versus Name Change Not To Occur Until January 2012

Per John Ourand and Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Journal:

NBC executives have not settled on the name they will call Versus, but sources say their goal is to rebrand the channel on-screen by Jan. 1. A new name, which almost certainly will carry the NBC Sports brand, will be announced in late summer or early fall.

With this news any big time noticeable changes will not occur for Indycar races until the 2012 season.   It will be interesting to see what changes NBC will make once the full re-branding takes place and if races will move to NBC in the future.  Another good thing for Indycar is that Versus may be in the running for a slate of Thursday Night NFL games starting in 2012. This will no doubt help Indycar going forward, and could soften the blow of having few or no races on ESPN/ABC in the future.

 

 

anotherf1blog… The European Grand Prix

This week, the Formula 1 circus descends on Valencia, Spain to contest the European Grand Prix on the streets of the harbor district. The European Grand Prix, as an event name, is steeped in history. It first appeared on the calendar in 1923 at the Monza Full Circuit. Since 1983, the European GP has been used to name a countries second event of the year. Starting in 2008, Spain has been the lucky country with two GP’s with Catalunya receiving the Spanish GP title, and Valencia receiving the European GP title. The street circuit is not in a particularly spectacular part of town, and it is not a track that produces entertaining races. So as a recap: ugly scenery and bad racing… sounds like a fantastic three hours I will never get back… oh well, let’s hope the insanity from the previous races continues.

Five Things to Watch:

Double DRS Zones – this week, as with last week in Canada, there will be two areas on the track where DRS is deployable. One problem, there is only one detection zone controlling both areas. Using Canada as an example, Mark Webber was trailing Michael Schumacher in the detection zone. Webber used DRS to complete the pass before entering the champion’s wall chicane. Web was able the use the wing, again, leaving Schumacher considerably farther back. Simple solution, use a detection zone entering each usage area. This would have allowed Michael an attempt at the re-pass.

Tires – This will be the first time the field will be able to run on the medium compound. Although the two softest specifications are brought to street circuits, Pirelli opted for the medium tire due to the Valencia street circuits high speed corners. Initially the super-soft compound was going to be the option tire, but with high temperatures forecast, soft will serve as the option tire due to its higher durability.

Engine Mapping – The FIA has opted to make the engine programming an impounded portion on the car. Teams are able to make certain, regulated changes to the car between qualifying and the race. In an attempt to slow Red Bull (Ed: supposedly…) the ECU is no longer allowed to be worked on between sessions. Teams were using aggressive fuel mapping software during qualifying to enhance the aerodynamic grip available to the driver as the expense of fuel efficacy. This would explain the dramatic difference in pace that Red Bull has shown between quals and having to dial the engine back for mileage in the race. This is the first step in the FIA’s attempt to limit blown diffuser development.

McLaren – With the ECU change, RBR may not be able to show as strong in qualifying as they have all year. Although Ferrari is making up ground to the front, McLaren is the only other team to have taken to top step of the podium. First Lewis Hamilton, then Jensen Button, team UK has a golden opportunity to cut even further into the massive points lead held by Sebastian Vettel. The main problem will be containing the breakaway speed that Vetter has used to his advantage at the start of the race. If McLaren can nudge ahead in turn one, their chances are very good to get a win.

Passing – the perennial hot button topic. Passing is a premium at Valencia, with four on track passes for position in its history since 2008. The double DRS zone should help with these issues, maybe even over simplifying the passing situation. Once again, the tires play a large factor in this issue as well, but the track is known to be dirty off line and any bonsai, tire adjusted attempt could prove dangerous in the confined walls at the harbor circuit.

Weekend Predictions:

Pole – Mark Webber – During qualifying this week, the cars will be, pace wise, what we have seen in the previous races. Holding four fastest laps of six this year, Web will be able to take the pole during this large multi-race mid-year rules change.

Winner – Jenson Button – He will carry his momentum forward another two weeks and snatch win number two. Known for being very easy on his tires and having a good understanding of the Pirelli tire, Button should have the advantage in dealing with the new medium construction.

Fastest Lap – Fernando Alonso – The Ferrari has shown signs of life about ¾ of the way through a race, and starts to click off fast laps. Although Ferrari will not have the pace to win this weekend, fastest lap is without a doubt within reach and we all know Alonso will be the one to show the pace, not Felipe Massa.

Etc…

At one point this week I was going to round up all the driver change rumors and opine on the possibilities. This year, however it seems that silly season has started exceptionally early and loud this year. F1 media is ridiculous and makes “news” out the smallest, meaningless conversations… Blown diffusers, which use exhaust gasses rerouted under the car to increase down force, will be banned before the British GP, decreasing rear grip available to the cars. How the teams fair in quals this week will start to give a picture on who is ready for the ban and who is not… See Red Bull leave Sprint Cup. See Red Bull sell junior team, Toro Rosso. See Red Bull take the number one spot in F1 expenditure by the end of next year. Just a guess, but I’m going to say; it you heard it here first.

Eric Hall

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