The Paddock Pulse: June 16 Edition

I don't know what you were doing this past weekend, but I was busy doing all sorts of important stuff. Honestly. Why would I lie about something like that?

Okay, I admit it. I watched not only World Cup soccer (don't worry, British goalie, you didn't look at all bad scrambling back towards the line trying to reaBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!), but also the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Michigan. That latter bit led to the most entertaining part of my weekend - a Twitter chat with USA Today's Nate Ryan on Denny Hamlin's post-race comments about phantom debris cautions. Considering that the next-most-exciting thing to happen to me was getting burned by hamburger grease from my outdoor grill, is it any wonder that I'm excited for the upcoming Iowa Corn Indy 250?

This week's links after the jump...

• An Appreciation for Ganassi (and Penske) [Drive Hard, Turn Left]
  That's no misprint. BP is, in fact, appreciative of the ass-kicking that Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske have been delivering to the IZOD IndyCar Series world for the better part of the past decade. HOW DARE HE? I mean, perspective? Really? Using perspective is like Jack Arute NOT wearing an earring. Sure, it's more tasteful and makes more sense, but dude, it's just not as entertaining.

• New IRL engine specifications mean Honda should remain a player. Who else will join in? [ESPN/Oreovicz]
  There's a suggestion in this article that hints that maybe the IZOD IndyCar Series will need to distribute engines from various suppliers equitable to teams to ensure competitive parity. I do not see how this could possibly go wrong. At all. I have total and complete faith in the competition committee, and so long as Brian Barnhart isn't the guy running the show, I - what? Really? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh boy.

• The Changing Face Of Sports [Oilpressure]
  You know, at first I thought George was going to be writing about face transplants, and I wanted nothing to do with it. No offense, but the actual face transplants that have happened thus far look nothing like they did in the movie Face/Off - I mean, seriously, it was so SEAMLESS in the movie!! But then I realized George was talking about sports business and I felt better.

• Why We Should All Thank DeltaWing [pressdog.com]
  Some cynical wags out there might question why we should shake the hands of guys who designed a race car to look like an enormous man part (do we KNOW where those guys' hands have been?). But I agree with the Schwervinator on this one. We haven't heard this volume of shouting from IndyCar fans since, I dunno, A.J. Foyt beat up on Arie Luyendyk. And there's no such thing as bad press, right?

• Is it July yet?? [So… here’s what I’m thinking…]
  I keep saying that Meesh is my favorite Canadian racing blogger (although Stephanie over at P-IRL is making up serious ground lately, and someday soon I hope to get both Karina and Pat to join the Word Butcher community in a much less-respectable role than they currently have). But I must admit it's hard not to be jealous when she lavishes so much attention on Paul Tracy. Seriously, Meesh? What am I? Chopped liver? Rancid poutine? Ketchup Chips without the seasonings??

• Friday Free For All: Have a Drink On Me! [Versus]
  News flash: ROY HOBBSON DOESN'T ACTUALLY DRINK! He's only like this because he has a chemical imbalance only slightly treatable by prescription medications! Ha ha, just kidding, we can all smell the alcohol through the Twitter stream, which is amazing considering that the new TweetStink functionality hasn't been implemented yet.

Final Thoughts

I lied above about being bored this weekend. After all, there was the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which gave me new reasons to really not like Anthony Davidson, and the F1 Grand Prix of Canada from Montreal. Right there was enough concentrated French to make me think about wearing a beret (though not seriously) and grow a pencil mustache to twirl ironically.

All joking aside, it sure would be nice if the IndyCar boys decide to race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2012 when the new engine and car debut. Great spot for racing and plenty of fans to pack the grandstands.