Pop Off Valve: FanPosts

What I will remember of Dan Wheldon

2011-10-22T14:44:45Z

Dan Wheldon became a full time Indy car driver in 2003 at age 25. I was 10 about to turn 11. Wheldon had just signed to run for what is now Andretti Autosport and was running for rookie of the year replacing his car owner Michael Andretti.

I remember seeing a young British man who was brash, yet had a smile and seemed like an all around nice guy. I wasn't a fan nonetheless. He was a pretty boy Kyle Busch to me.

Wheldon won rookie of the year despite not even having a podium finish. I didn't know what to think of him.

But after 2003 he showed not just myself but the world what kind of special driver he really was.

In 2004 he won three races, his worst finish was 18th and finished second in points behind teammate Tony Kanaan.

In 2005 Wheldon won a then record six races including the Indy 500 and won the series championship.

After all this success with Andretti Autosport, Wheldon decided to go to Chip Ganassi racing. A move that I questioned. How could you be so successful with a team and leave them? Wheldon wanted more, he wanted to be with the best.

Wheldon won two races a season the three seasons that he was with Ganassi Never finishing lower than fourth in points. His first season with them his worst finish was 13th when he tied with Sam Hornish Jr for the championship. Hornish won the tiebreaker based on wins.

Wheldon was yet being out performed by his teammate Scott Dixon, especially on road and street courses. When he found out Ganassi was trying to bring his former teammate Tony Kanaan to the team to possibly replace him, hurt Whedlon left for the team that he raced for during his first two starts. Panther Racing.

Wheldon and panther Racing finish second in the Indy 500 two years in a row and finished tenth and ninth in points. But for a young champion that was hardly enough for him. And the team expected more. Panther Racing unfortunately let Wheldon go at the end of the season for rookie JR Hildebrand..

Here was a champion, an Indy 500 winner too, who had never finihsed worst than 11th in points and had 15 career wins, was out of a ride. Wheldon than decided to do whatever he could for a ride. And put something together for the Indy 500 with Bryan Herta.

What happened after shocked us all.

The team went out and had speed instantly. They were contenders all day in the race. Last lap rookie Hildebrand was leading in Wheldon's former car when trying to pass a lapped car slammed the turn four wall. Wheldon in second (no one really knew he had made it to second) passed Hildebrand and won his second Indy 500 and his 16th win in the Indy racing league.

Wheldon was in tears in victory lane. A young man with a full time ride had just joined the list of multiple Indy 500 winners.

Wheldon than went into the TV booth. Everyone was impressed by the job he did commentating. It was almost certain that when his driving days were officially over that he would be a full time play by play commentator.

But his driving days were not over.

Wheldon allowed by a rule change to compete for $5 million that would be spilt by him, and a fan if he won at Las Vegas. He would team up with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

Wheldon raced at Kentucky and finished 14th. He went on to Las Vegas where he started 34th. But he didn't care. He was in race car and racing against his buddies. He was having fun.

Wheldon by lap 11 was up to 24th when what everyone saw happening had happened. A big one. Wheldon was in it. Intitally everyone thought it was just going to stall the race and everyone was okay. But Paul Tracy made us this otherwise when he revealed that there were two doctors around Wheldon and that we should pray for him.

We all started praying worrying. And after hours we got what we all had feared. Dan Wheldon was announced dead. It was later revealed that it was due to head trauma.

The 19 drivers that were left ran a five lap tribute to the young british man who gave his life to racing.

Drivers from Dario Francittii, Tony Kanaan (who were former teammates and more than likely the closest to Wheldon), to Danica Patrick who didnt always get along with Wheldon, but ultimately became friends with him were tears that one of the best open wheel drivers of the last twenty years was dead.

Wheldon was going to replace a departing Patrick in the 7 car and be Godaddy's new guy in the Indycar racing league. He was going to win more races and championships with no doubt.

But within one lap things changed forever.

The whole racing community mourned the loss of Wheldon. From NASCAR, Formula One, road racing, V8 cars and etc.

I watched Wheldon race since I was ten. I watched him growing up. I already stated I wasn't a fan. But when he went to Panther and I saw how he wans't as competitive and still had a great attitude I was impressed. I saw him get married and have kids I saw the maturity. He had changed from that brash British 25 year old kid, to a 33 year old man with a family. I was impressed with how he handled himself when he had no ride. He didn't cry or whine, he waited. I was impressed with how he handled himself after beating the team who dumped with having nothing bad to say about them.

He was a class act.

It was hard to see Dale Earnhardt a man I watched growing up in the 90s too die. It was just as hard to see Dan Wheldon die. I never met him, but it felt like I knew him. And I will miss him

Everyone will. Rest in Peace Dan.

Risk and Reward: Whose Risk and Whose Reward?

2011-10-18T19:53:20Z

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On Sunday, October 16, 2011 Dan Wheldon died in Las Vegas while entertaining us. The concepts of death and entertainment appear mutually exclusive, but they seem to intersect in this tragedy.

The grisly scene at Las Vegas Motor Speedway sickened us. We stared. We hoped. And lastly, we cried. But we watched. And that gnaws at me.

I have loved open wheel racing as long as I can remember. Memorial Day meant listening to Sid Collins call the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on the radio. My father, born on Memorial Day in 1913, told stories of the races he attended and the drivers he remembered. My brother, 17 years my senior, regaled me with stories of his races and took me to my first 500 where, at 10 years old, I spent the night before the race on 16th Street and saw Graham Hill win the 500. Nothing has ever compared to it in pageantry, color, and excitement. Tom Carnegie’s voice is part of the sound track of my life. Racing flowed through my veins and made my heart pound. It still does. But I am troubled.

The citizens packed the coliseums in Rome to watch gladiators fight to the death. I can only assume they liked the pageantry, color, and excitement. I am sure their hearts pounded as the gladiators stepped forth to do battle.

I am not going to compare modern race fans to the blood lusted citizens of Rome. None of us want to see the shadow of death drape over a race. I will, however, point to the fact that these drivers, these steely-eyed missile men, risk their lives for our entertainment, risk their lives to make our hearts pound, and sometimes die in the process. But unlike the Roman gladiators, they choose to do it.

Men and women will continue to risk their lives to go the fastest, to compete with others in contests of speed, stamina, and courage. I think some people are programmed that way. We will continue to be thrilled and entertained by their attempts. But are we culpable? Do we not clamor for more speed, more side-by-side racing. Do we not demand excitement? Are we willing to give up the short, high banked ovals? Are we willing to accept less risk? Are we willing to be less entertained?

After surveying the Fredericksburg battlefield in 1862, Robert E. Lee said, “It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.” Are we still learning this lesson?

A Word on the Passing of Dan Wheldon

2011-10-17T08:11:07Z

“A good day is any day that you’re alive” - Paul Westerberg

It started raining just as I began the 30-minute trek home from my buddy Dan’s house. Nothing too heavy, mind you, just a sprinkling, certainly nothing like the rain that had dropped on me a few days ago. In fact, it was absolutely perfect, given the circumstances that dictated I even have to walk home - witnessing the passing of racing champion Dan Wheldon, only 33 years old, on national television earlier today, and just how heavily that hit home for me.

About an hour after IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard made the worst announcement that anybody ever has to make, we saluted Wheldon the most fitting way we knew how to as Bostonians - with his drink (Jim Beam, as a former sponsor, was the drink of choice) and with the Dropkick Murphys. “Fields of Athenry” was the choice of song.

But as I walked home, fiddling with my music and perusing the sad, introspective output of Westerberg, something convinced me that “Good Day” was the song to go with. Written to celebrate the life of Westerberg’s former Replacements bandmate Bob Stinson, I had actually skipped it a few days before, thinking “It’s a very rare mood that gets me into this song.” Commence that mood.

Westerberg and Wheldon is an odd pairing, like a mismatched wine and seafood, or poor color coordination. Westerberg is a glum, tired Minnesotan singer-songwriter with an affinity for baseball; Wheldon a dapper, cheery British gentleman with the need for speed. They couldn’t be any more different… and yet, alone with my thoughts in the Boston drizzle, watching the massive city shut down for the night, the song choice just seemed so perfect.

In fact, that upbeat attitude is the first thing you would ever notice about Wheldon if you met him. He was always (well, almost always) smiling, more than happy to meet you, take a moment out of his day to chat with you. Everybody that ever met him loved Dan, loved being around him, and loved watching him on the track.

That performance on the track is why we all knew him. Wheldon was one of the top open-wheel drivers of the modern era, winning the Indianapolis 500 twice, including this year. He was the 2005 IndyCar champion, finishing in the top five in points from 2004-2008 inclusive. This was the first season since 2002 in which he wasn’t slated to complete a full schedule; but by virtue of his Indy win in a one-off deal, was offered a $5 million challenge to win from the final starting position at Las Vegas today.

Dan had tight-knit connections with most of the open-wheel community. He’d driven for everybody from Bryan Herta to Chip Ganassi. Series champion Dario Franchitti inherited his ride from Wheldon; series media darling Danica Patrick was about to vacate her ride to him for the 2012 season as she moved on to NASCAR. When he won at Indy this year, he did it by passing the wrecked leading car of J.R. Hildebrand, a car which he drove last year.

As a racing fan (it was my first sport), I had always liked Wheldon. He drove with all of the zeal and speed that his exciting personality and quick wit would suggest. He was incredibly popular for a reason - the perfect mix of gab and gall, a throwback to the days of mouthy racers as opposed to the clean-cut sponsor-manufactured drivers of today. And while Wheldon could pull that angle off too, nobody could ever stifle that personality.

But on a more personal level, I knew Dan from my past gig as an IndyCar blogger/journalist. I’d met him twice, both times at Watkins Glen - in 2009 as a fan, before I began writing, and in 2010 as a new writer on the block trying to establish my footing. Both times Dan made me feel like I’d known him for years. In fact, dealing with people may have been the only thing he did better than driving a racecar.

In fact, I have Dan to thank for my first contact in IndyCar. In 2010, he released a self-edited book of pictures chronicling his life and career entitled “Lionheart,” and staged a signing in the IndyCar merchandise tent for fans purchasing Wheldon gear. When he got to me, holding my die-cast to be autographed to my site (which, by the way, I failed to realize is a major no-no as a media guy), I mentioned that I was struggling to find footing as a writer, and would he have the time to do an interview eventually. He directed me to Panther Racing PR czar Mike Kitchel, whose business card I have to this day.

That interview, unfortunately, never happened. These guys are busy folks, you know, and Dan was an unwavering supporter of his sponsor, the National Guard. In fact, his nationality did nothing to belie that; the commercials of Wheldon as a drill sergeant created to promote the IndyCar Nation fan program were marvelous, and he frequently appeared at Guard events. So it goes. I wasn’t mad. There was an autographed model with my website name and Dan’s autograph on it. That was still pretty cool.

Today’s race “ended” with a five-lap salute to Wheldon. In a private drivers’ meeting, Franchitti and former teammate/close friend Tony Kanaan broke the news to the rest of the field, before Bernard made his announcement. Officially, the race was abandoned, a sickening step that unfortunately sets no precedent in IndyCar history; when spectators passed in a loose wheel incident at Charlotte in 1999, that race was dumped and has never returned.

It’s worthless to keep speculating about what could have been done differently. The entire point of Wheldon’s challenge was to start from last; by lap 12, when the crash occurred, he had already passed 10 cars. But why there were 34 cars going 225 miles per hour on a banked 1.5-mile oval, when the sport’s biggest race features only 33 cars going the same speed on a flat 2.5-mile oval, is beyond me.

Sports are supposed to be events that remove us from the harsh inevitabilities of everyday life, unifying forces between hundreds of thousands of very different people who all share one love in a particular form of recreation. We don’t go to sports to witness those things. We don’t go to sports to witness death or put life in perspective. But there’s a reason why Ernest Hemingway once called auto racing one of the only “real” sports - because this bitter reality hangs over every driver, every fan, at every race. It’s bitten us many times, but in the many years of safe cars, SAFER barriers, and no tragedies, it’s safest to say that we might have begun to take this reality for granted.

Life will go on for most of us. Many of you will be unaffected. But racing is a big family, and an entire sport has lost a family member. And for Dan’s wife, Susie Wheldon, and their two sons, two-year-old Sebastian and seven-month-old Oliver, life will never be the same. A mother will raise two children alone; two children will never get to know their father. Looking back on the photos of Dan, showing his children the yard of bricks and holding them while celebrating his greatest triumph, are unbearably difficult to look at right now.

And unfortunately, sports put life into perspective once again. I can only encourage you to go out and tell your family members that you love them before it’s too late. Say something to your mother; Dan’s is suffering from Alzheimer’s right now, and his emotion over that diagnosis was palpable in Indy victory lane interviews. Say something to your father; Dan’s has always been one of his biggest supporters. Say something to your friends; Dan had many. I know you’re reading; I love you mom, I love you dad, I love you friends.

Right now, I’ll go back to playing my Westerberg and trying to cope with the first great racing tragedy of my adulthood. Many of us lost a hero; I lost a man who always made me feel like a friend. Letting it all out seems to be the best way. I left my post writing about IndyCar in August after deciding that the series didn’t have the drivers’ well-being in mind; I’m saddened and sickened that the most devastating of incidents of my lifetime has brought those grim thoughts to light once again. I wanted to be wrong.

A good day is any day that you’re alive. We’ll miss you, Dan.

This post originally appeared on GahdenGremlins.com. I used to write for Open Wheel America.

October 16, 2011

2011-10-17T00:26:07Z

Being a race fan has never been the easiest thing in the world. On one side you have those who don’t understand why you could watch cars go around in circles for hours upon hours and on the other you have the race fanatics who give you a bad name. Coming from a Dale Earnhardt, Jr fan this is especially true. Then there are days like today that you wish you were never introduced to the sport of auto racing.

Death. The one subject nobody, let alone those involved in racing want to talk about. It gets shoved so far into the background with all the talk of safer barriers and hans devices, and all the other safety improvements that have been made that when it happens it seems as though the world stops spinning. And today in a fiery 15 car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the world stopped spinning.

I have always liked Dan Wheldon. I can’t say I watched Indy cars religiously but living in Indianapolis it’s all you hear about in the month of May. Even without having a full time ride this year Dan seemed happy just to be in the Indianapolis 500. In fact I am certain I have never seen him without a smile on his face or an upbeat attitude.

There is one thing I know for certain. Everything in this world happens for a reason sometimes we never know why something happens, but the last lap of the Indy 500 was explained fully for us today.

We as fans will always remember the wins and the heartbreaking finishes. Only in very extreme circumstances do we remember the exact date something happened, but only in these situations do we come together as race fans to honor those who have passed doing what they love to do.

February 18, 2001.

March 27, 2006.

October 16, 2011.

With three more races left in IRL career Danica Patrick could shine

2011-09-14T18:50:56Z

Danica Patrick officially announced a few weeks ago that she will be racing in NASCAR full time next year. Full time in the nationwide series that is for JR Motorsports and 8-10 races for Stewart Haas racing with intentions of running full time in 2013.

But Patrick still has to finish out the 2011 IRLseason. Her season hasn't been what she wanted. She has just one top fives, but eight top tens. Yet she is stuck in 11thin points. She has yet to really contend for a race win this season too.

The three tracks left are three races that it isn'tout of the question she could win. She won her first and so far her only win at Twin Ring Motegiin 2008. But because of damage to the oval they will be racing on the road course. Patrick despite a road acing background is stronger on ovals. She will be a top ten car but winning will be harder without strategy.

Kentucky has been fair to her. And she seems to like the 1.5 mile tracks. Which is a great thing because right after Kentucky is the last race of the season: Las Vegas. She should have a shot at the win at bothof those tracks with the equipment that Andertti Autosportfields. She is the only car that hasn't won this season.

It would be quite something if Danica could leave the Indy racing league withanother career win. Possible? Indeed. But as late as it is in the year it is going to be hard to go against the Dario Francittisand Will Powers of the world. And with Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan and Helio Catsroneves win lessdrivers with far better resumes then her it seems likely she will end her career with just one win.

IMS veteran Ron McQueeney retires after 40 years

2011-09-09T22:07:33Z

(Courtesy of IMS PR)

INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 - Ron McQueeney stood adjacent to Turn 4 on Opening Day for the 1972 Indianapolis 500, snapping pictures of cars with a sleek, new 35-millimeter motorized Minolta and a boxy, traditional 3 x 5 Speed Graphic camera.

He was on top of his world on his first day as an Indianapolis Motor Speedway track photographer, seemingly at the peak of his creative abilities as a racing photographer.

Then he was assigned to shoot the Garage Area on Race Day, away from the action on track. McQueeney, who took up photography as a U.S. Army motorcycle policeman in Okinawa in the 1960s, was mad.

"First of all, I thought I was better than that," McQueeney said. "Secondly, I thought it was not a very good assignment because not much goes on after the race in the garage area other than people being not too happy."

Veteran IMS photographers Chuck Duffy and Bob Scott told McQueeney that he needed to improve his technique and buy better equipment if he wanted to stay on the job for the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

"It turned out that I look back on the photography that I did earlier in my career, and it wasn't quite as good as I thought it was," McQueeney said. "They obviously saw that. But they also saw potential."

So McQueeney got to work. He bought expensive, top-of-the-line Nikon equipment and traveled extensively through the summer and fall of 1972, shooting races featuring USAC Champ Cars, Can-Am, Formula 5000 and more.

McQueeney returned to the track in 1973 with better gear and improved skills, and he was hired in 1974 as a full-time IMS photographer.

That driven, focused work ethic during 1972 and 1973 paid off. And it hasn't stopped for McQueeney at the Speedway - until now.

McQueeney, 66, retired Sept. 9 after a legendary, 40-year career behind the lens at IMS, including serving as director of photography since 1977. He will continue to shoot races and selected other events, and participate in various historical photography projects at IMS.

He has been seemingly omnipresent and tireless during his Speedway career. Look high above Turn 1 in the crow's nest above the grandstands at the start of the Indianapolis 500 - you'd see McQueeney. Look at the starter's stand during the Brickyard 400 - you'd see McQueeney. Look at a guy with four cameras slung over his back, scurrying around Gasoline Alley to shoot drivers and teams or climbing the grandstands at sunset to capture a perfect shot after a test session at the track - you'd see McQueeney. Look into the photo shop or photo office in the Media Center from sunrise to often after sunset - you'd see McQueeney.

It has added up to what he estimates are more than a million presses of the shutter button at IMS. He has photographed Indy cars. NASCAR. IROC. Formula One. MotoGP. Sports car tests. Celebrity visits to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum. Various scenes and landmark Speedway structures.

"I would say almost every event that I've been to here at the Speedway, I've enjoyed one way or the other," McQueeney said. "For me, this has just been a labor of love."

It's an apt description. McQueeney will be the first to admit that there's nothing like the thrill and inside access of shooting pictures of racing vehicles at speed or shooting legends of the sport at the most iconic track in the world.

But there's also been an endless amount of work that doesn't involve lenses, camera bodies and flash bulbs. McQueeney has organized and led teams of photographers for IMS events since the mid-1970s and all INDYCAR events from 1996-2010. He also has spent hours with his staff placing slides and negatives into a detailed organization system and also has led an ongoing project to convert approximately 5 million negatives in the IMS photo archives into digital images.

"These are things people don't see," McQueeney said. "It's behind-the-scenes work."

But McQueeney and his staff have stayed on top of every major project during his tenure. And they've also adapted to the ever-evolving technology of photography.

McQueeney created a huge technological leap in his photography career when he upgraded from his $300 motorized Minolta - still a very pricey camera in 1972 - to professional-grade Nikon gear early in 1973. That risky investment helped him flourish in May 1973 during the Indianapolis 500 and led to full-time employment at the Speedway.

But perhaps the biggest overall technological change during his 40 years at IMS came in the transition from film to digital photography from the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

McQueeney first shot digital images at IMS in 1998, with a Canon camera that cost $20,000. It shot 1-megapixel images, lower quality than photos from a typical cell phone today.

From 1998-2002, McQueeney carried three or four different kinds of cameras in a juggling act as the tectonic plates of photo technology collided. He shot slide film for magazines, negative film for photos to sell to the public from the IMS Photo Shop and digital images for the rapidly emerging World Wide Web.

IMS abandoned film photography and shot all-digital starting in 2003. That eliminated the camera shuffle for McQueeney and his staff, but it created other challenges.

"Always before we had a delay of a day or two between when we turned our film in and we got to see the images," McQueeney said. "Now you could see the images not only in the back of the camera, but you could work with those images and send them to the magazines and people who needed them around the campus here almost instantly.

"So it came to where they expected that instant gratification. We were out shooting, we'd have to come in more often, download them to the computer and upload them to the media sites and the websites where people could see them."

While technology is an important marker to frame the eras of McQueeney's career at IMS, he savors the personal relationships he has made as much as any discussion of ISO speed, depth of field or color saturation.

He has been a part of the fabric of the Speedway since the days when winged Indy cars were still considered a new trend. He is a familiar face to everyone around the grounds and in Gasoline Alley, even if his desire to get that next great picture caused him to never stand still in one place for very long.

"These people are my co-workers," McQueeney said of race drivers and team members. "They're my friends. I don't know many people in my neighborhood, but I know all of these people. At least if they don't know me real well, they know me by name. That's always a thrill to me, that I have this relationship with not only the drivers but the team members and the people involved in the sport.

"I cherish all of that and the 40 years of memories I have from that, too."

McQueeney has shot 40 Indianapolis 500s, 18 Brickyard 400s, eight United States Grands Prix and four Red Bull Indianapolis Grands Prix at IMS. He has photographed hundreds of the world's most famous motorsports competitors. He also has shot CART, INDYCAR and USAC races, and drag racing, motorcycle racing and boat racing - more than 1,000 events overall.

Yet he is coy about choosing any favorite races or drivers. But his pride as a longtime Hoosier eventually seeps through.

"I would say that my favorite race of all time would be any Indy 500 that I've been involved in," McQueeney said. "That's where I shine, and that's what I feel I do best. I've been fortunate that I've been to a lot of events around different parts of the world and seen a lot of things, and I still come back here and you can't express what the enjoyment is and how I feel about this place.

"There is no other place like Indy."

And anyone who knows Ron McQueeney understands there's no way he will get Indy out of his blood or his camera lens any time soon, even in retirement. He's only traveled on three vacations during his 40 years at IMS, the last in 1987.

There's been too much work, too much sweat, too many pairs of worn shoes and too much joy at the Brickyard to simply put the place into the rear-view mirror of his life.

"I have no hobbies," McQueeney said. "This was my hobby before it became my career. One of the reasons I think I stayed around long enough was that I was afraid of what the heck I was going to do after I retired because I have no hobbies."

He plans on visiting a few car shows with his wife, Marsha. He might even enter his beloved 1998 Chevrolet Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car into a few shows.

But IMS still will fill the shutter of his life's eye as large as ever. Not just every day.

"I couldn't think of anything I'd rather been doing with my life," McQueeney said. "It's been wonderful for me. The people. I've been blessed with good health and blessed with a place to come every day where it doesn't feel like a job."

Twin 275's give us somthing different and a new bad guy/team.

2011-06-12T16:16:36Z

Where to start...

Dario made a strong point after qualifying on Friday that he thought they should just invert the field for race two. His reason was pretty good. If you have championship contenders that finished close to each other they would both have the same traffic issues in the second race. Instead, IICSwent with a blind draw for the fans which resulted in exactly what Dario was afraid of. Will Power draw the third starting spot and Dario drew 28. If Dario would have quickly made his point and moved on we would all understand, but he refused to let it go.

Let me move back a bit before I get back to my new "favorite" person/team. First, I like the idea of running the Twin 275's. I think they should have inverted the field for the second race but they didn't so we move on, hey TCG did you see how I did that, I made a point and moved on. Dan Wheldon had a great idea. First race full points. Second race, blind draw, which I thought was pulled off quiet well albeit a little gimmicky, no points just a big prize i.e. $500,000.

I was very impressed that only one caution fell and that was relatively harmless, 2 rookies with no Texas experience. That being said I thought the lack of cautions actually hurt the races as the leaders had fairly large advantages over the competitors. The first race had a good ending which was aided by the lone caution. The second had a great start and was very fun to watch until the first pit stops and then everything fanned out. There was still good action in the middle but Will Power took advantage of a lucky starting draw and Dario's unlucky draw. That is all I really have to say about the race.

For me the major story was the non stop whining and crying, actually it was bitching and moaning, by Target Chip Ganassi. The entire night seemed to take on a "Everyone is against us" feel. You had Chip constantly crying about having to pass traffic, which I can understand because lapping other cars has NEVER EVER BEEN AN ISSUE BEFORE/SARCASM. Dario and Scott both had the same complaint after race one. Then the ultimate in irony. Dario spent so much time voice his displeasure over the "blind draw" that karma bit him in the ass and he drew the 28th starting spot for the second race. Now, let me preface by saying I agree with what he said on Friday. Inverting the field is a bettert idea. That being said, they didn't move on. He still managed to come through to finish second, Will Power added to his worst case scenario by winning the second race and adding to his points lead. The problem I have is Dario's, and the whole TCG teams, inability to move on. The post race comments did a lot to give the IICS some villains, which I don't think is a bad thing. I can understand if you are a small team and you are not in a winning position very often. But for TCG to complain at all is like some one getting a million dollars in nickels and complaining about having to roll the change before they can take it to the bank. I am a firm believer that sometimes shit happens. I want to see how you deal with it, do you dwell on it or do you say alright this is the hand we were dealt lets make the best of it.

I am very excited to see Milwaukee next week, although I will have to wacth on DVR as I will be in Disneyland with the family. The last 3-4 weeks have been some of the most interesting in recent IICS history and a return to a tight track like Milwaukee followed 6 days later by another Saturday night race, this time at Iowa, should make for a very fun month of June.

Anyway, maybe I am reading too much into the actions of TCG it's just what my thoughts are..

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge: V.I.R. Not-Quite Liveblog

2011-05-22T20:06:22Z

Aaaaand we are back again with more multi-make, multi-class racing from Virginia International Raceway as everything from BMW M3s and Mustang Boss 302Rs to GTIs, MINIs and the first ever Kias to turn a wheel in anger return to our televisions on the SPEED channel.

The Conti' series is the opening act for Grand-Am as that series crosses the country, but often times puts on a better show than big brother. 61 cars make up the field at V.I.R. today in the Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes at what is thankfully a fairly large course that will no doubt see some bumps and shunts before the day is over.

Start at 0:40 and see what happened last year at Barber to see a little of what I mean:

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Barber Motorsports Park (via GrandAmVids)

The top qualifiers to start the race in GS are Al Carter in the #45 M3, Joe Foster in the #15 Boss 302R, the #79 M3 of James Clay, the #35 WRX STi of Bret Spaude, and Jack Roush Jr. driving his #61 Boss 302R.

Getting a rolling start behind the larger displacement cars are the ST leaders headed by David Murry and Sam Schutlz in the #73 and 09 Porsche Boxsters, a pair of Volkwagen GTIs driven by teammates Chris Gleason (#181) and Ryan Ellis (171) and Adam Burrows in the #12 Kia Forte Koup - one of the only two Kia race cars in the world.

Eggs/bacon = eaten. Cold one = cracked. Let's get to the racin'...

The new Mustang Boss 302R was made specifically to beat the BMW M3 is sports car competition. None would have been built and sold to customers if the prototype hadn't been able to edge an M3 out at Laguna Seca in testing, which is how this edition got its name. That wasn't enough at the start here, though, as the #45 and 79 M3s are both ahead of the top qualifying Mustang by turn one.

The ST start got a little more dramatic as Mike Galati imagined his Kia came equipped with the rare cow catcher option and used the fictional iron plow to shove aside a pair of MazdaSPEED 3s as he made his way up through the field. Hey Mike: people tend to notice when you regularly punt your competitors off the field. Either race control is going to handle the situation or the other drivers are.

BOOM! and it was door number two - a BMW spun the wheel of karma and gave the aggressively-driven Kia an introduction to the tire barrier before the lap was even over. "Om mani padme hum," Mike.

In the time it took for the next commercial break, the following things happened:

- Alec Baldwin (I can't not hear it as "Areck Barrrrdwin") tried to sell me a credit card

- Joe Foster skipped two M3s and an ST car to put his Mustang in the race lead while the #29 Mustang GT in its gorgeous Shell-esque livery decided the tire wall looked snackable and attempted to eat it. The #90 Civic Si exploded on track, leaving an oil slick that sent a Camaro and another Civic into graceful slides across the grass next to the offending Honda which, unlike the grass under it, was not currently on fire.

Race time left 1:55:13.

It didn't take long for two of the better-looking cars in the field to find one another as the A.M. Performance 370Z NISMO shoveled the Stevenson Camaro into the ARMCO.

Another commercial break, another series of events which will impact the outcome of the race:

- the #91 Audi S4 and #19 BMW M3 got into a spat with the Audi playing the Ernie Terrell to the BMW's Muhamad Ali. No word on what caused it.

- the pole-sitting #45 M3 is out of the race, dying at some point on the track and requiring a tow back to the pits.

The race leaders went from BMW, 'stang, 'stang, BMW to now Porsche, Camaro, and two new BMWs. There isn't a Lotus out here, but fans of most makes have somebody to root for in this series.

Race time left 1:28:55

The two GTIs are first and third in ST, split by a 328i and hounded by the #196 MINI Cooper S which has moved from 13th to 4th place in the field despite having new restrictions placed on its rev range.

The #13 Rum Bum M3 took the #83 Boxtser and the #64 328i passed that GTI, so Bimmers lead both classes now with 1:19 left in the race. The Rum Bum car will scorch the retinas, but you can't argue with that name.

via bmwcca.org

The cameras were focused on a foul up in the pits of the #171 GTI and thus missed a Civic slamming into a MazdaSPEED 3 at maybe 70mph before sandwiching the Mazda into the wall and ricocheting back onto the crowded track. Everyone looks to be OK, but I'm pretty sure I can see cartoon birds circling Pierre Kleinubing's helmet. Everyone will be looking to pit-in during this full course caution.

The top six cars at the ensuing restart go: BMW, Camaro, Camaro, BMW, Mustang, Mustang, the V-8s singing in chorus.

The pole-sitting ST leader #73 Boxster wasn't getting enough attention, so it decided to pull a triple barrel roll despite the wishes of driver Rick DeMan, who emerged from a cloud of radiator steam seemingly unscathed.

2011-continental-tire-series-VIR-rick-deman-flip.avi (via imoon001)

That impact necessitated a bit of a rebuild to the barrier, so an extended full course caution period left 33 minutes in the race by the time the next green flag dropped. The top three go BMW, Mustang, BMW, with the Stevenson Camaro having clawed its way back up to 7th place. The Camaro was breathing down the neck of the leaders three wide before the Rum Bum car next to it was completely drop kicked at his braking point by the #15 Mustang and took a sleigh ride across 30 yards of turf and into the tire wall - hard. I'd say things are heating up as the race draws closer to the end of its 200 miles, but banging like that has been the story of the entire race so far.

Race time left 17:42

Billy Johnson has muscled his Roush car up into first place as rain is now imminent. Sports car stalwart Bill Auberlen is now in second in his Turner Motorsport M3, chasing the Mustang and making Roush work hard. The cars' windshield wipers are starting to come on.

Nico Rondet has drawn his 328i up from 10th place to take the ST lead away from Ryan Eversly in his Civic Si as we go into the last commercial break.

Race time left 9:40

Eversly and Rondet are changing positions back and forth now as two MX-5s have ganged up on the third place Kia to now run 4th and 5th. The quick shower has passed, and the track is quickly drying out for the finish.The second Kia has now run up to come to the aid of his teammate against the two Mazdas.

The Turner and Roush cars are somehow managing to run a clean race as they turn and burn through the final laps. Their cars are jumping and drifting through corners as Auberlen kicks it wide the penultimate time around the old oak tree and is passed by another M3 to fall to third place. He may have been nudged heading into the turn, but it's the Roush car that just roared through a white flag.

Final Lap

Auberlen rubbed an ST car as he claws desperately at Terry Borcheller in the M3 in front of him, and Johnson is floating through turns in four wheel drifts. The two M3s are after it tooth and nail as Auberlen manages the pass before the checkered flag. Eversly looks to have a comfortable lead in his Si over the 328i aaaand holds him off across the line by maybe .3 second. That's two very close finishes in both classes/

"Did you like what you saw? Well guess what: every single round of the Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge series is just like that," said broadcaster Calving Fish at the end of the race, and he's right. Fields this large mean there will inevitably be some bumping, but this is no demolition derby. There is some exceptional driver skill on display is this series with front and mid-engined cars in front-, rear- and all-wheel drive configurations at many different horsepower levels battling it out on the same track at the same time.

That's it for us today, but maybe I'll see you around the track for the next Conti' race at Lime Rock Park this Saturday the 28th of May.

Grand-Am Puts $25,000 Bounty on Ganassi

2011-05-11T15:09:55Z

GRAND-AM, the sanctioning body that controls the Rolex Sports Car Series (Ever seen the 24 hour race at Daytona? That's them.) has placed a $25,000 bounty on the Ganassi Racing TELMEX BMW/Riley which has won six races in a row stretching back to the 2010 season. Tactics like "rewards" weight and engineering restrictions were apparently deemed too subtle for GRAND-AM Director of Competition Mark Raffauf. Drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas now face an entire field of Daytona Protoype Boba Fetts.

Again: the sanctioning body of a sport offered $25Gs to anyone who can beat one of its competitors. That's unheard of, and there's an official "wanted" poster below the jump.

via www.grand-am.com

Here's more on the Why of all this:

Pruett and Rojas, co-drivers of the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley, wrapped up the 2010 Daytona Prototype championship by winning at Watkins Glen International, Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Miller Motorsports Park - giving them nine victories in 12 events. To open the current season, the Ganassi Gang won the Rolex 24 At Daytona, then followed up with victories at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Barber Motorsports Park [in Alabama].

Can you imagine if IndyCar did this to Team Penske, or the NFL said "The first team to beat the Patriots gets a cash prize"?

How would you react to the overseers of your organization singling you out by painting a target on your back and stapling a cashier's check payable to anyone but you on the bull's eye?

Ganassi's teams, whatever the racing series, have money, dedicated ownership and high-level talent. It's likely Pruett and Rojas will be able to channel any resentment into pure, angry focus as they thrash their wailing V-8s around one of America's most challenging road racing courses. What about the teams struggling to field a car every race, though? I'd be willing to bet that 25 large would pay for a team's tires and fluids for the entire weekend. How about drivers not named Pruett or Rojas who stand a real chance of washing out of racing entirely if they don't put up some big results? Will they push too hard while trying to have their own Robert Ford moment?

The separation in auto racing between setting the fastest lap and hitting a tire wall is already thin as a hundred dollar bill. I have to think a few somebodies are going to lose control reaching for the green. The Ganassi team has to be hoping they're not in the way when that happens, and that has to weigh on a racer's mind.

As it says in the poster's faded sepia tones, the first race where the Ganassi Gang will be on the run from the GRAND-AM Pinkertons is this Saturday at V.I.R.

David Uhl's "In The Beginning" to grace 500 program cover

2011-04-12T19:19:14Z

Likened to Norman Rockwell on CBS Sunday Morning, artist David Uhl is honored to be selected Program Cover Artist for the historic running of the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500.

David Uhl has devoted much of his career to creating masterpieces reflecting his passion for the romance of eras past. His understanding of light and color has allowed him to provide beautiful windows into historically intriguing subjects which were originally recorded in black and white. Because of the timeless nature of his works, David's pieces are sought after by a diverse range of collectors around the world.

In David's words, "After viewing hundreds of archival photographs, a singular image did not present itself as suitable for the occasion. Instead I chose to combine several elements to recreate this dramatic moment from the inaugural race. I especially was attracted to the elegance of the Victorian-clad spectators contrasted against the fierce, dusty drama unfolding on the track. It was not only an honor to be selected for this, but it was a really fun piece to dream up. I was elated to be invited to the museum to view the old glass plate negatives from the earliest of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's archives. Many great stories were told me by Mr. Donald Davidson, the historian at the museum, so I put some to paint. This particular image is a never before seen version of the inaugural race in 1911."

The original oil painting measures 36" x 48". To celebrate this historic event, David has agreed to offer an edition of signed, numbered canvas giclee prints. Each Fine Art print will come beautifully framed with a Certificate of Authenticity and Commemorative plaque. He is also packaging a limited number of "Glorious Failure" prints with "In the Beginning" for those who want both pieces.

Courtesy of David Uhl Studios. For more information, visit http://www.uhlstudios.com

Zoom-Zoom: Mazda sponsors Road to Indy development ladder

2010-12-09T17:04:21Z

(Courtesy of IndyCar PR)

One of the biggest supporters of grassroots racing in America has joined forces with INDYCAR's Road to Indy as Mazda announced a multi-year partnership with the INDYCAR developmental ladder.

As the title partner of the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda will provide scholarships to the 2011 champions of the three affiliated series - the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Firestone Indy Lights - to graduate to the next level of the sport.

"We want to strengthen our ladder system to further develop, reward and advance the best-of-the-best," said Randy Bernard, CEO of INDYCAR. "The Road to Indy was designed to cultivate young talent for the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. In Mazda, we've found a partner that not only has a history of nurturing such drivers, but also shares our desire to groom the future stars of INDYCAR racing through its commitment of providing driver scholarships. The addition of Mazda to the Road to Indy rounds out the formula car side of our ladder system in addition to our recently announced sprint car program."

Two new scholarships have been added to the Mazda Road to Indy program, which provides a defined path for career-minded drivers seeking to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 both on and off track.
The Star Mazda Champion will receive a scholarship to compete in Firestone Indy Lights, while the Firestone Indy Lights champion will receive a scholarship to race in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

"We are currently the only governing body in motorsports that provides a clearly defined path and financial reward to elevate competitive drivers looking to reach its top level," said Tony George Jr, manager of business development, Road to Indy. "By having a partner like Mazda step up to provide scholarships, we are strengthening our ladder by allowing the opportunity for successful drivers to move to the next level based on talent, not financials."

Mazda will continue to offer a scholarship to the USF2000 National Champion to race in Star Mazda. In 2011, Sage Karam will drive a Star Mazda car for Andretti Autosport. Karam won the 2010 USF2000 National Championship as a Mazda-supported scholarship driver. This is in addition to the support Mazda provides to the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, and the karting shootout that rewards a pair of Skip Barber National scholarships each year.

"Mazda is pleased to partner with INDYCAR to help develop young talent. While we are most recognized for sports cars, Mazda's heritage in open-wheel racing dates back to 1984. Mazda has been a partner in the Star Mazda Championship since 1990 so this is a great fit for our company, our series partners as well as the drivers and teams." noted Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality for Mazda North American Operations, and the man responsible for the company's North American motorsport programs under the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development banner.

In addition, Mazda will become a key partner with an increased involvement with the Mazda Road to Indy Summit held on Indianapolis 500 weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mazda's brand will be featured prominently in several other promotional opportunities at INDYCAR events and in recaps featuring the Mazda Road to Indy series during IZOD IndyCar Series events.

"When we launched the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Ladder in 2006, we did so with the goal of helping drivers move up the ranks. Success in motorsports is dependent upon teaming up with like-minded people," said John Doonan, MAZDASPEED team business development manager. "By blending the open-wheel side of our ladder with the Road to Indy we are making it much more straightforward for drivers to move up in a logical manner. Just this past weekend at Mazda Raceway, we hosted the Skip Barber karting shootout and have rewarded Danilo Estrela and Trent Hindman with rides in the 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda. It is easy to see how Danilo and Trent can now imagine a clear path from karts through Skip Barber, USF2000, Star Mazda, Firestone Indy Lights, and finally the IZOD IndyCar Series. That will be quite the journey."

About Mazda
On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. At the track, you'll see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the world is Spec Miata, with more than 2,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up America's racetracks, making it the most-raced production car in the world. Mazda's involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with INDYCAR, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world's premier road-racing circuits, and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.

About Mazda Road to Indy
The Mazda Road to Indy is INDYCAR's official developmental system consisting of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda. Launched in December 2009, it is a defined path for career-minded race drivers who want to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500.

ROAD TO INDY: Clauson claims Firestone Indy Lights scholarship

2010-11-29T21:34:57Z

From IZOD IndyCar Series PR:

Bryan Clauson says he might need a few days to fully grasp the accomplishments of the 2010 USAC season. On Thanksgiving night at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Calif., he was truly thankful for the bounty.

The 21-year-old from Noblesville, Ind., wrapped up the inaugural USAC National Drivers Championship, which includes the $300,000 Firestone Indy Light scholarship to compete in the six oval races on the 2011 schedule.

INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard and Firestone Indy Lights team owner Sam Schmidt were among the spectators at the one-third-mile racetrack as Clauson charged to the overall national championship and the Mopar National Midget title by winning the 70th Turkey Night Grand Prix. Clauson overtook Cole Whitt on Lap 9 of the 98-lap feature and went on to take the checkered flag in a national Midget race for the sixth time this season.

In the process, Clauson became the first back-to-back winner of the USAC Mopar National/Western Midget race since Billy Boat (1995-97) and will be associated with the likes of A.J Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Stan Fox, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Mel Kenyon, Ron Shuman, Rich Vogler, and Robby Flock.

"To be mentioned in the same sentence with a lot of great drivers who have won this race is pretty special," said Clauson, who accepted the "Road to Indy" scholarship check from Bernard.

The Firestone Indy Lights program begins with the Firestone Freedom 100 on Carb Day (May 27) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I'm really excited about it," Clauson said. "It's been a long time since that door has been open for the short track racer. A lot of us grew up at Indianapolis watching the Month of May and knowing how special a time that is and dreaming to be a part of it. Now to have that opportunity is pretty unbelievable and I don't think that will fully set in until get to the track.

"Everyone at INDYCAR has put me in a situation to go out and have some success. It will be a completely new venue for me with the rear-engine open-wheel car, but I tell people all the time when they ask how we're going to adapt I don't think there's anything tougher than running USAC. You have to run a mile dirt track in Illinois on Friday with the Silver Crown car and come back on Saturday and run a quarter-mile paved track in a Midget. I think we'll be able to adapt to the Firestone Indy Lights car pretty quickly."

The National Drivers Championship is based on the best 25 races of each driver in one of the three national divisions (Silver Crown, Sprints, Midgets). Clauson outpointed Levi Jones of Olney, Ill., 1,108-1,094 in the standings. Jerry Coons Jr. (1,044), Tracy Hines (1,030) and Damion Gardner (1,001) followed. Overall, Clauson posted 10 feature victories, two runner-up finishes and seven thirds.

"I've been chasing the national championship for a couple of years and it's really something I wanted to accomplish as I moved up the racing ladder," said Clauson, who is a first-time nominee for the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's All-America Team. "Growing up in USAC, it was the pinnacle of racing and it meant a lot to me and my family. To win it is special, and to do it with our Midget team that we kind of hand-built over the last couple of years is a lot of fun.

"To win the drivers championship - being the best overall in all three series - was pretty cool, too."

The USAC season, which kicked off Feb. 19 in Arizona, was another learning experience for Clauson, who made his USAC National Sprint Series debut two days after his 16th birthday on June 17, 2005, at Limaland Motorsports Park (Ohio) with a third-place finish. Four months later, he won the Open Wheel Oktoberfest Midget race at Columbus Motor Speedway (Ohio) to become the youngest driver in USAC history to win a National feature event.

Clauson pointed to a weekend in August as a turning point in the national drivers champion race with Jones, the Silver Crown and Sprint Car champion who joined Clauson on the Short Track AARWBA ballot.

"In the scheme of the championship, the night I really made a statement that he would have to do some work to beat us was at Eldora Speedway," Clauson said. "It really wasn't a place that I had a lot of success in the past, but I ran second in the Midget and second in the Sprint Car (races) and won in the Silver Crown car. That was pretty big because it was a place nobody expected us to go and make up ground in the championship and especially have the win in a Silver Crown car."

Clauson, who joined Tony Stewart Racing in the off-season, said being associated with the 1996-97 Indy Racing League and multi-NASCAR series champion has been a big plus in his development.

"I've learned so much from him over the years - not only on the racing side of things but also off the track," Clauson said. "He's a huge guy to have in your corner when it comes to racing. I could go to him tomorrow and ask him about IndyCars, and though it's been a while he's been there and could probably help me out a little bit.

"To have somebody like that who is so well-versed in so many forms of motorsports is a big advantage to a young guy like myself."

Picture this!

2010-11-21T23:16:18Z

Hi, I'm mike and this is my first post on this site and I just decided that i will no longer be watching nascar and i will only Watch Indy Car Racing from now on. I considered making this jump last year but i decided to give nascar one more year to prove that its isn't fixed but of coarse jimmie johnson won the championship again. so they lost me as a fan. i just learned about Chevy and Lotus joining Indy Racing in 2012, and I'm really excited.These moves will bring Indy to yet another level above nascar, and i came up with this idea, Picture this, Indy holds a race at either Darlington, Daytona, or Talladega. Having a race at any one of these tracks will further prove that Indy Car Racing is a better watch than nascar. and i would love to see how fast Indy cars can go at tracks like these.

Power Rankings: Motegi

2010-09-08T13:44:59Z

Slightly early posting of Power Rankings because of the big announcement Friday that two mystery tracks named Milwaukee and Vegas (or Cali) will be on the schedule. OOPS! Have I said too much???

*Sigh* Yep. Another Red Car. Fuel strategy this time. I thought the ovals were supposed to be EXCITING, not ANTICLIMACTIC.

The one thing not anticlimactic is the title fight heating up. Wait, that involves a Penske car and a Ganassi car. Okay, maybe that too.

So perhaps who's up and down in Power Rankings should suffice....right?

THE GRID

1. Dario Franchitti

Previous ranking: #1 (no change)

STILL no Ashley Judd sightings as of late....and we were in Kentucky for crying out loud.

2. Will Power

Previous ranking: #2 (no change)

That feeling he's got now seeing his lead shrink further and further.....powerless. *rimshot*

3. Scott Dixon

Previous ranking: #3 (no change)

I think I've had him at P3 for the entire time I've done Power Rankings. Even HERE he's boring.

4. Helio Castroneves

Previous ranking: #5 (+1)

Forget the IRS, he owes even more to Tim Cindric. Like his WHOLE CAREER.

5. Ryan Hunter-Reay

Previous ranking: #4 (-1)

You gotta think he wired his resume to Panther after the news Wheldon is gone. Let's see....a full time seat on the grid, a full time sponsor, best oval package that isn't a Red Car, no Princess or Boss' Kid to babysit....

6. Tony Kanaan

Previous ranking: #7 (+1)

Like I keep saying, qualifying doesn't MATTER to him. New IndyCar rule: TK must start dead last on the grid at oval races and gets bonus points for each car he passes on lap 1. Versus must have in-car cam on for said lap.

7. Ryan Briscoe

Previous ranking: #6 (-1)

Although not his fault (this time), he keeps wading up Penske Dallaras. Combine the fact Penske is looking for sponsorship for next year and nobody is tripping over themselves to answer him tells you he needs to bring his A game for two races.

8. Dan Wheldon

Previous ranking: #9 (+1)

Congratulations on yet another great run. Here's the door....

9. Marco Andretti

Previous ranking: #9 (no change)

No wins? For how many years? You sure his name is Andretti?

10. Justin Wilson

Previous ranking: #10 (no change)

I'm afraid I'm not going to see him again until Brazil.

11. Alex Tagliani

Previous ranking: #11 (no change)

Of course PT comes back and he goes into virtual hiding. Gotta save those precious Dallaras this time of year.

12. Danica Patrick

Previous ranking: #12 (no change)

*phone rings*

Danica: Nobody's here....I guess I'll get it for once. Hello?

Hi, this is HVM Racing and we would like to speak to Michael about if he's got a spare Dalla....

*CLICK*

13. Bertrand Baguette

Previous ranking: #15 (+2)

Who are you and what have you done with our Breadman?

14. Alex Lloyd

Previous ranking: unranked

With Romancini out, Breadman missing the beginning of the year and now Simona's season now in semi-doubt it looks like the ROTY title is his by default. Doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment, but remember who his teammate is and who he's driving for....

15. Raphael Matos

Previous ranking: unranked

Come on, De Ferran....everybody knew you guys weren't gonna make it.

DNQ (Bumped from the field)

Simona De Silvestro

Previous ranking: #14 (no longer ranked)

Her Twitter account is still active and she still tweets....which must mean she's not dead and AJ did NOT kill her. Amazing.

Vitor Meira

Previous ranking: #13 (no longer ranked)

Nope. He's not dead either. AJ must be getting soft in his old age....just kidding (I only typed the kidding part because I DON'T want to deal with the consequences....)

Graham Rahal

The SFR #66 car: The 210 MPH off-week vacation. No, Honda....the IZOD two-seater spare engine does NOT go there.....

Friday Pre-Race: Kentucky

2010-09-03T13:06:59Z

I wanted to like what happened at Chicagoland. I really do. The danger, side-by-side action, SARAH LEADING, KV Racing's friendly-fire pit incident, it all seemed great. Two obvious things kept me from getting too happy about the race: yet another Ganassi victory and ISC. Those two are IndyCar's greatest threats today. Forget attendance and forget the TV ratings. Hell, forget the economy itself and lack of sponsorship. With the same teams winning each week and ~~NASCAR~~ ISC kicking us (but mostly racing fans) out to the curb it's hard to share any euphoria with some fans.

That takes us back to one year ago….Richmond. The Parade. The death of the Tony George era. The rule changes. Push to Pass. Aero options.

Then we went to Kentucky….AWESOMENESS ENSUED.

Will we see that again? Oh I think so. Will Ed get his revenge? Will we see another Red Car win YET AGAIN? Will Ashley Judd come out of hiding (where has SHE been?) looking like THAT?

THE FAVORITE (BEST RED CAR): Ryan "@NotNicoleMB 's husband" Briscoe

For somebody (allegedly) who is in danger of losing their ride he just has a knack for stepping up when it matters on ovals. He does have a tendency to blow it, however. Perhaps "Checkers or Wreckers" really is his nickname. Accept it Ryan, unless you want Nicole and not me to give you a better one. If that Versus pre-race special was any indication, it won't be. Never let your "old-lady" make personal nicknames or phrases public. Graham Rahal must've laughed his ass off watching that on his TiVo.

THE BEST OF THE REST (BEST NON-RED CAR): Ed "George" Carpenter

Who knew that our best hope (and was last year) to break the Red Car's winning streak is Tony George's stepson. Robin Miller's head would explode if this guy wins. His weekly Speed.com mailbag inbox will be full of viruses, spam, and the s ame kind of porn scientists force pandas to watch in order for them to actually mate ….in other words nothing would actually change a whole lot.

THE MARTY "SLOTH" ROTH BACKMARKER (NOT NAMED MILKA): (Insert KV Racing driver name here….AGAIN)

At least they're taking each other out again and not others. Better yet they're doing it in the pits and away from the crew rather than at 200 MPH….for now.

.....ALMOST FORGOT. Drivers beware: THE MAN has returned.