Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The Return of RPM 2Nite/ NST Reviews/ Will We Ever See the Glory Days of Indy Return?/ NASCAR Not as Big as Once Thought

The Return of RPM 2Nite
Columnist Pete Pistone reports on the RacingOne.com website what we have been speculating about for a while now, the return of RPM 2Nite. Pistone says this his sources say that the popular racing news program will return in 2007 after being absent for five seasons.

NST=Steve Kinser Charity Benefit Series?
Pistone also took a swipe at the new National Sprint Tour, calling it the "Steve Kinser Charity Benefit Series." Yes, Kinser may dominate the new tour but face it, he would probably dominate any winged sprint series out there. After all, he is the King.

Gerould’s Take on the NST
Bobby Gerould went to Tulare and wrote about it on HammerdownUSA.com. Gerould gives us a good rundown of what went on and what we can expect this season.

Glory Days
Associate editor of SPEEDtv.com, Cassio Cortes has an excellent take on CCWS and the IRL reunification talks. He compares Open Wheel fans to the folks in the Bruce Springsteen’s song, Glory Days. This is a Must Read.

Wind TunnelWind Tunnel this week will talk about racing in Mexico as well as interview Scott Speed.

NASCAR Not as Big as Once Thought
In his column, Charlotte Observer reporter David Poole reports at Charlotte.com that NASCAR may not have as man fans as once thought. Poole reports that seventy five million fans may be a farce and explains how the myth has been perpetuated.

BeFrank’s Trip to NASCARLand
BeFrank is my blogging idol. He is a photojournalist for the CBS affiliate in LA. He also writes a pretty stout blog at www.coolshots.blogspot.com. This week he got sent to California Speedway and received his first taste of racing up close. I think his observations are a pretty good sample of what first timers feel like on their first trip. Hopefully we can bottle that enthusiasm and bring it over to Open Wheel.

What Happens in Mexico
The Cup and Trucks Series take a week off but the Open Wheelers in the Busch Series are in Mexico this weekend.

Open Wheeler Busch Mexico Entries
4 Paul Tracy
9 Boris Said
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
14 Carlos Contreras* (driving for Tracy Hines)
15 Michel Jourdain, Jr.*
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Jason Leffler
34 Carlos Pardo*
38 AJ Foyt 4
43 Aaron Fike
57 Adrian Fernandez*
58 Eduardo Goeters*
60 Carl Edwards
66 Jorge Goeters*
67 Rogelio Lopez*
77 Burney Lamar
90 Marc Goosens

* From Mexico

Monday, February 27, 2006

Yeley/ Indy and Charlotte/ 33 Predictions/ Why Did the Olympics Fail on NBC?

Yeley Gets Pub
JJ Yeley is receiving a lot of attention after his first top ten finish of his young Cup career. The Open Wheeler is featured on the front page of NASCAR.com.

Indy and Charlotte in One Day
We will not see a driver run the Indy 500 and the Coke 600 this year because of the time constraints. Mathematically a fan could do it if they had the cash or could win the Jim Beam 1100. The adult beverage maker is giving a fan and three guests opportunity to win a trip to both races, transportation and suite passes. Here is the link to the website.

IRL Testing at Homestead
The Indy Racing League heads to Homestead this week for testing. Thursday, Rusty Wallace will take to the road course with other IRL teams to get a feel for what he will be commentating on later this year in the ABC TV booth. The IndyCar Series continues testing through Saturday when the Indy Pro Series takes to the road course. The ICS takes on the oval on Sunday followed by the IPS on Monday. Our friends over at TracksideOnline.com will have live updates of the testing.

33 Predictions
To some people he is a thorn in their side; to others he is a humorist. SPEED’s Robin Miller has posted his thirty-three predictions for 2006 on SPEED’s website. I will only list three. For the rest, you have to visit SPEED's website Speedtv.com.

2. Mario Andretti will be the 24th and final qualifier for the 90th Indianapolis 500. Tony George then announces qualifying will be reduced to four hours in 2007.
11. Miffed that Mario is back in an Indy car, A.J. Foyt comes out of retirement and qualifies for his 36th Indy 500. But he has to get one of his old roadsters out of the IMS museum because it's the only car he can fit in.
23. Helio Castroneves will win the IRL championship, Sam Hornish Jr. will capture the Indianapolis 500 and Danica Patrick will still get more magazine covers.

NBS 24/7: The Rookies
Open Wheelers will be well represented on the series NBS 24/7 tonight on SPEED. The series this year focuses on Busch teams with rookie drivers Joel Kauffman, Tracy Hines and A.J. Foyt. The program airs tonight at 7:30pm following Seven Days on SPEED.

Why Did the Olympics Fail on NBC?
NBC produced less than desirable ratings during the last two weeks of the Olympics. The athletes and sports have been fine and the technical end has seen great innovations but unfortunately, the programming side failed to innovate to today’s viewers. Unlike the Salt Lake Games, the Torino Games were played in a different time zone and four years later, American viewers could look up the results online as it was happening instead of waiting for prime time viewing. The NBC family of networks did a fine job of live or semi live coverage during morning hours but it was the evening where they crashed and burned. Viewers in prime time may have tuned in for figure skating and saw 5 minutes of their sport but were forced to watch 15 minutes of another sport before what they had tuned in to watch came on. Naturally the viewers probably flipped the channel to another popular program and never came back. I couldn’t stand NBC’s prime time coverage. I tuned in to watch curling or hockey and was forced to watch figure skating. Lets hope in 2010, NBC will let us watch a whole game in primetime and just not snippets before force feeding us something else. It may mean bad numbers for one of the four hours but I watch sports to see the game. Not to see commentary followed by another sport I would rather not see. If I can’t find a precise schedule of what I want to see and when the network switches to something I don’t care for I am going to switch to something else. We may see more programming on the internet in four years, the same old same old will have to change.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

NASCAR On FOX Takes Over, My Take/ Cup California Review

NASCAR on FOX
The broadcast started out strong with a better Prerace show than NBC. My take on the Prerace show a little later in the blog.

The NASCAR on FOX broadcast is a welcome sight after last weeks less than stellar NBC broadcast. Don’t get me wrong, NBC does a good job sans the 3-5 minute commercial breaks but they can’t measure up to FOX.

The broadcast team is the best in NASCAR even though Darrell Waltrip can be a little too much at times. FOX has been the innovators and are a welcome site to most race fans.

Gas N Go

Gas N Go was kind of like Pardon the Interruption but shorter. Very entertaining and topical.

10 Laps w/ Tony
One of FOX’s more entertaining moments on their Prerace was the “10 Laps.” This week Chris Meyers sat down with Tony Stewart. On a scale of 1-10, whether he likes something or not, Stewart says he gives his nickname “Smoke” a 10. When asked about marriage someday, he said it was a 9. So someday we could see Smoke walk the isle with the right lady.

Stewart also said AJ Foyt is the number one driver he would have liked to race against but hasn’t had the opportunity. Stewart, saying in the segment:
"We argue who has the better records he has won four indy 500s but I have two cup championships and a triple crown championships which I can hold over his head. He has won more big races but I would really have liked to race against him."

FOX’s Ride Along

I like FOX’s ride along. There is no scream like “Wally’s World” and they try to teach the fans something about each track.

Shoot Me Now

I can’t stand Jewel. FOX’s Prerace show was top notch. I could do with out the whiney lyrics of Jewel. I guess if I was depressed, on drugs or drunk, I might like her but since I am of sober mind and body, I can do without her.

Open Wheelers Take Four of Top Eight Spots at CA
Open Wheelers took third, fourth, seventh and eight at the Cup race at California Sunday. California meant redemption for Carl Edwards who finished third Saturday in the Busch race ant third today in the Cup race, rebounding from a last place finish last week at Daytona. His teammate Matt Kenseth won the race today. Tony Stewart was not so lucky. Easily one of the strongest cars in the field, Stewart blew an engine late in the race and wound up finishing last.

Cup California Open Wheeler Results
1. (Matt Kenseth)
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kasey Kahne
7. Casey Mears
8. JJ Yeley
13. Jeff Gordon
20. Ryan Newman
26. Robby Gordon
28. Ken Schrader
30. Dave Blaney
43. Tony Stewart

Different Series Same Results
Steve Kinser is no longer with the World of Outlaws Sprints but that doesn’t mean he has finished dominating races. The King swept both opening weekend races at Tulare, California, the inaugural weekend for the National Sprint Tour.

Why Did the Olympics Fail on NBC?
Why did the Olympics score crappy numbers on NBC? Two words: Rickey Martin. Martin was the headliner for the closing ceremony. I like RM like I like Jewel. More on how NBC fail later this week.

Images courtesy of FOX and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Busch CA Open Wheel Wrap/ Knotts Passes Away

Open Wheelers on the Podium
When the green flag fell on the Busch race at California today, we saw two Open Wheelers on the front row.

As the race neared its final laps, Carl Edwards who was leading, elected to make one final pitstop under caution.


He restarted the race 10th and moved through the field chasing teamate Greg Biffle and fellow Open Wheeler Ryan Newman.

Newman (left) and Edwards battled to the line but it was the Indiana native that finished second while Edwards was forced to third.

Greg Biffle pulled away from the field to win. Here is how the Open Wheelers finished.

Busch Series Lineup
1. (16 Greg Biffle)
2. 39 Ryan Newman
3. 60 Carl Edwards
7. 18 J.J. Yeley
17. 11 Paul Menard
19. 10 John Andretti
21. 77 Burney Lamar
22. 32 Jason Leffler
33. 14 Tracy Hines
36. 43 Aaron Fike
38. 38 AJ Foyt 4
40. 42 Casey Mears

NSCHoF Adds Members
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is making room for it’s 2006 class. Drivers, Johnny Hannon, Rickey Hood, Lee Kunzman, Francis Quinn, Jimmy Sills, Sammy Swindell, Granville “Buster” Warke; Owners-Mechanics-Builders-Manufacturers-Car Sponsors, Bob Pankratz, Jud Phillips, Taylor “Pappy” Weld and Promoters-Officials-Media Members-Event/Series Sponsors, Lanny Edwards, Newton “Buzz” Rose, Ted Wilson will be officially added at the induction banquet on Saturday, June 3. I have had the privilege of working around Lee Kunzman and Sammy Swindell and would like to congratulate them on their inductions.

Don Knotts Passes Away
Everybodies favorite deputy, Don Knotts, passed away Friday night in California according to an AP report. Don Knotts made me laugh with his humorus characters on “The Andy Griffith Show,” and “Three’s Company.” May he rest in peace.

Images courtesy of FX and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.

All Open Wheel Front Row/ Kinser Wins First NST Race


Open Wheelers on Front Row
For the second week in a row, it is an all Open Wheel front row for the Busch race at Fontana tonight. Carl Edwards took the pole with a time of 39.433 at 182.588mph. Ryan Newman will start outside the pole. Lets hope the OW’s have more luck this week than last week.

Busch Series Lineup
1. 60 Carl Edwards
2. 39 Ryan Newman
7. 42 Casey Mears
10. 10 John Andretti
16. 32 Jason Leffler
18. 18 J.J. Yeley
19. 14 Tracy Hines
27. 38 AJ Foyt 4
32. 77 Burney Lamar36. 11 Paul Menard40. 43 Aaron Fike
Check back here following the race for my take and Open Wheeler results.

Steve Kinser Wins First NST Race
The King won the first National Sprint Tour race last night at Tulare, California. Kinser finished second as a car owner as his new driver Tim Kaeding finished second in the 11k. The series
finished the doubleheader tonight at Tulare.

Friday, February 24, 2006

California Truck Race Recap

Mark Martin for the second week in a row won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. This week the venue was California but it wasn’t any better for the young Open Wheelers.

Erin Crocker spun early in the event when another truck drove by in turn one taking the air off of her spoiler and sending her spinning on the inside of the backstretch.
Luckily she did not hit anything and was able to continue.

Boston Reid did not was not as lucky.

For the second week in a row the Indiana native was caught up in an accident not of his own making. This time he went high to avoid the wreck but was forced into the wall.

The truck received a large amount of damage to its right side.

Reid was forced to pull the truck behind the wall.

Open Wheeler NCTS California Results
1 (Mark Martin)
7 Mike Bliss
16 Terry Cook
Kyle Krisiloff
27 Erin Crocker
31 Scott Lagasse Jr.
34 Boston Reid

Raceday Promo

The music was pumping and you gotta love the girls in the Raceday promo.

The program pulled great numbers last Sunday. It airs at 11am Sunday on SPEED.

Cup California Open Wheeler Lineup
1. (Kurt Busch)
4. JJ Yeley
9. Jeff Gordon
11. Ryan Newman
12. Tony Stewart
13. Kasey Kahne
22. Carl Edwards
24. Dave Blaney
34. Robby Gordon
41. Ken Schrader

Images courtesy of SPEED and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.

Shane Hmiel Fails Third Drug Test


Shane Hmiel Fails Third Drug Test
Former NASCAR driver, now USAC Silver Crown driver Shane Hmiel has been suspended by NASCAR indefinitely after failing a third substance abuse test. Charlotte Observer journalist Jim Utter reports in a story on the newspaper’s website that Hmiel has been given a lifetime ban by NASCAR. The young driver was initially suspended by NASCAR in 2003 after failing a substance-abuse test. NASCAR required Hmiel to complete a rehabilitation program before he could be reinstated. Shane Hmiel was also subject to numerous drug tests as part of that program. Unfortunately Hmiel was suspended a second time for violating NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy. The Charlotte Observer reports that Hmiel had been participating in a rehabilitation program directed by NASCAR when he failed a random drug test last month. Shane’s father, Steve Hmiel a technical director for Dale Earnhardt Inc. did not to comment to the Charlotte Observer Friday about the suspension.

I did not make any attempts to contact USAC or any other parties involved on this story late Friday evening.

Kraig Kinser to Miss the Truck Race
Kraig Kinser was the twentieth fastest truck Friday afternoon at California Speedway but with the new rules he wasn’t fast enough to make the field. Full time teams from 2005 bumped the rookie from the field, even though he was faster than them. Kinser’s team was not a full time organization last season.

"I am disappointed that our CENTRIX Silverado won't be in the race but we did qualify 20th out of the 38 trucks here,” said Kinser. “It's just the way the system works for getting into a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race. It is an extremely competitive series and there are so many good trucks, it just doesn't give any of us any room to be off even a little bit. We turned a few really good laps late in practice yesterday but when I went out to qualify today, we were just too tight and I couldn't get through the corners like I needed to. I feel bad for everyone at Morgan-Dollar Motorsports and MB2. They have worked hard to put this program together for me and have given me great equipment with Randy Goss as the crew chief. But I am a rookie and we knew going into to the season that we faced this challenge of having to qualify every week. The more laps I get under my belt in the truck, the better it will be for our No. 47 team."

We will update the website following the NCTS race with images and results from the Open Wheelers.

Tony, You’ve got to Quit Snowboarding/ USAC/ IRL/ Open Wheelers in California

Tony, You’ve got to Quit Snowboarding

According to today’s edition of the Indianapolis Star, Champ Car World Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven is urging Tony George to quit snowboarding and return to skiing. The two power broakers in Open Wheel racing vacationed together in Colorado in the off-season. Kalkhoven as we reported earlier this week also talked to George about reunification. If TG can give up the board for skis, why cant CCWS and the IRL get back together? It is not out of the question but there are a few minor barriers to hurdle. According to the Star, the IRL just signed four-year engine and TV deals. There are other business deals that both sides have individual commitments to. Like Kalkhoven stated earlier this week, George would like to see the media coverage of a potential merger die down and let the two sides deal with it. Maybe the two sides merge in the future. If Tony George can go back to the old way of sliding down a mountain, maybe we can one day see one major Open Wheel series again.

Rusty Gets Serious About Open Wheel
Today’s Indianapolis Star also reported that Rusty Wallace would drive a Penske Racing IRL car Thursday during the IRL open test at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The time in the car will help Wallace in the broadcast booth. The former Cup star is one of the commentators for ABC/ESPN broadcasts this season.

Thiago to Silver Crown

A Former IRL Indy Pro Series champ will join the ranks in the Silver Crown Series. Thiago Medeiros will drive in the remaining pavement races on the schedule for PDM Racing. Medeiros tested a week ago at Homestead. The addition would give PDM a three car team. The group also fields cars for Aaron Pierce and Pablo Donoso. Sponsors for Thiago Medeiros’ car include Brazilian cable sports network BAND as well as Image Marketing. The team has not announced a chassis for Medeiros.

USAC Sprints in VA
If you have never seen the USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car Series in action at Richmond International Raceway, then you need to block out vacation time this June. The series heads to RIR on June 23 but before they get there they will visit Southampton (Va.) Motor Speedway on June 21. The race originally scheduled for North Wilkesboro has been moved to Southampton by the race organizers.

IRL Moving Closer to 2007 Race in San Antonio

Tom Orsborn writer for the San Antonio Express-News Staff reports in an article in Thursday that HollyHills Development and the Indy Racing League are moving closer to hosting a race in San Antonio, Texas in 2007. The promoters are expected to make a trip to the IRL race in St. Petersburg, Florida this spring.

In other IRL news, Vonage will sponsor the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Abbott at Homestead
Mishael Abbott will drive for Michael Crawford Motorsports in the Indy Pro Series event at Homestead.

Equal Time
Thursday we mentioned that Danica Patrick was up for ESPN’s Hottest Female Athlete. Well the IRL’s Dan Weldon is up for Hottest Male Athlete. Here is the link to vote.

Iowa to See the IRL in 2007?
Tracksideonline is speculating that we could see an IRL race at Iowa Speedway as soon as 2007. The speedway opens up for racing this September with the Hooters Pro Cup and a USAC weekend.

Fike Likes California

Open Wheeler Aaron Fike heads to California this weekend for the first time since he finished runner-up for the second year in a row at the Turkey Night USAC Midget Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway. The famous Southern California race was founded by the late father of Fikes car co-owner Cary Agajanian. Aaron Fike scored a career-best NBS qualifying effort of second at Daytona last weekend. Last week, Fike moved his full-time residence to Cornelius, N.C., to be closer to the team’s shop in Mooresville.

“I think we come to Fontana feeling pretty pumped up as a team after that great qualifying run at Daytona,” stated Fike. “Even though we got wrecked out of the race, we definitely put ourselves on the map for this year as one of the surprise teams in the Busch garage. Our move to Evernham power really paid off, and we’ll just hope to build on that as we go.”

Lamar on NBS
Open Wheeler Burney Lamar will be featured on the SPEED reality series, NBS 24/7.

Kinser Adjusting to the Trucks

Kraig Kinser is adjusting to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series after driving for several years with the World of Outlaws. The son of the King, is taking his time adjusting to the difference in the cars and pavement racing.

“The main deal today was to get laps,” said Kinser following the first day of practice at California Speedway. “A lot of the rookies are limited on track time here. I was real limited; I had never seen the place until I got out of the car in the infield this morning. There is no safety net up there. The first thing you have is a wall. I know there is nothing there so I didn't know where that edge was. I didn't want to step over that edge the first lap or two and wreck the truck. I got a lot closer to where I need to be."

Kinser and the rest of the competitors in the NCTS race tonight at 9pm eastern on SPEED.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

New Series/ This One’s For the Girls/ TV News

The NST Takes Flight
The National Sprint Tour becomes a reality to the fans this weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. While the future of 410 winged sprint car racing in the US is yet to be determined, this weekend will mark a change in the landscape. NST drivers like Paul McMahan are excited to get the series going.

“This weekend’s race will be a neat transition; it will be the start of something new. The National Sprint Tour Series is on the ground floor, and if it takes off, we’ll have been here from the beginning.”

In addition to the National Sprint Tour regulars, we will also see some drivers who will run select races in both the NST and the World of Outlaws Sprints.

New Champ Car Series
I am hearing that the new series that will run the old pavement Silver Crown™ cars will feature NASCAR drivers among its participants. Expect an announcement from the new series as early as next week.

Hottest Female Athlete
Is Danica Patrick one of the hottest female athletes? ESPN thinks so and now the public will decide. You can vote now on ESPN’s diary, Crocker talks about the shoot, her sister ratting on her and her experiences at Daytona.

The Impressive Kim Crosby
Too many times in racing, I have seen people given things and them never appreciate the gift. I see people begging for a chance or sponsorship and then not caring about the sponsor, team or the giver. That is not the case with one driver. While she is not from an Open Wheel background, Kim Crosby is the opposite of what was mentioned above. Crosby came to the Memphis Busch race last season but her ride did not pan out. Did she mope or leave? No, she did the opposite and fulfilled her commitments to her sponsor. The former middle school principal volunteered her time to raise money for charity. She did all the right things but alas, she was ride less for the weekend. Her hard work may pay off. Ron Levanduski reports in the Elmira Star-Gazette that the Louisiana native could be behind the wheel of a Frank Cicci Motorsports Busch Series car as soon as sponsorship contracts are finalized. Paul Tracy drove one of the team’s cars at Daytona Saturday. The former CCWS Champ will drive the car again at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Crosby crewed Tracy’s car at Daytona, working as the rear tire carrier. Prior to oval racing, Crosby was a drag racer for fifteen years. With all the energy and effort she puts into her dream, she will definitely be successful.

RaceDay Success
SPEED’s PR department is reporting that the network’s new program, NASCAR RaceDay, received good ratings from its Daytona broadcast. The network reported a rating of 1.72 (1,118,000 households) and peak rating of 2.34 (1.5 million households) for the live, 2.5-hour program. The 2005 SPEED pre-race show averaged a .68.

Top 10 SPEED Shows from Daytona Speedweeks by Nielsen Rating average (households in parenthesis):
1. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 12, afternoon) -- 2.00 (1,300,000 HH)
2. NASCAR RaceDay (Feb. 19) - 1.72 (1,118,000 HH)
3. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (Feb. 17) - 1.69 (1,101,000 HH)
4. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 12, evening) - 1.36 (885,000 HH)
5. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series practice (Feb. 11) - 1.16 (755,000 HH)
6. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 11, evening) - 1.12 (731,000 HH)
7. Crown Royal IROC Series race (Feb. 17) - 1.09 (708,000 HH)
8. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 11, afternoon) - 1.05 (686,000 HH)
9. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 18) - 1.02 (664,000 HH)
10. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series final practice (Feb. 18) -- .99 (647,000 HH)
SOURCE: SPEED News Release

Don’t forget that Carl Edwards is scheduled to appear on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight.

Anchorman Meets Redneck Racers
I am not sure this is the image NASCAR wants but by looking at the trailer, Talladega Nights will hit every stereotype in NASCAR. Here is the link to the preview.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Just Leave Us Alone/ Penske and Ganassi Notes/ PR Award/ TV Notes/ Cheney’s Got a Gun Part 2

Just Leave Us Alone

In an article in today’s Indianapolis Star Curt Cavin reports that the reunification of Open Wheel racing in North America is inching along quietly. In the article, Calvin reports that Champ Car World Series majority owner Kevin Kalkhoven says the best way for the Indy Racing League and CCWS to come together is for people outside the two organizations, mainly the media, to leave them alone. Kalkhoven told the Star that negotiating a deal in the media is not the thing to do. Kevin Kalkhoven told Calvin that he and Tony George have met several times including an unscheduled meeting at the Race of Champions event in Paris in December. The Indianapolis Star reports that the two have even skied together and discussed the future of Open Wheel racing.

"We're not negotiating, and there's no deal," he told the Indianapolis Star. "We're talking about what we have in common, not what we have different."

A reunified schedule will not happen until at least 2007 as the 2006 race dates are set in stone for both series.

SPEED’s David Phillips agrees with Kalkhoven in his column at SPEEDTV.com

Lazier with D&R

The Indianapolis Star also reported today that Buddy Lazier will run the full 2006 IRL season driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Chip Ganassi Racing Unveils New Website

Chip Ganassi Racing has launched its redesigned website http://www.chipganassiracing.com/. The site will allow fans tan inside look at t team’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series, IRL IndyCar Series and Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series programs.

Penske Takes a Larger Role

Ryan Newman appearing on SPEED's NASCAR Raceday, said that Roger Penske will have a greater involvement with the No. 12 and No. 2 Cup teams this season. Newman said that Mr. Penske will take a larger role because this year the team is totally owned by RP. Penske moved his IRL and other racing operations from Redding , Pennsylvania to a larger Cup shop in the Charlotte area.

PR goddess wins Major Award

(Photo courtesy of GM Racing Media)
A woman who has helped countless Open Wheelers in the PR realm has won the biggest honor for PR folks in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Judy Kouba-Dominick was presented with NASCAR’s PR Rep of the Year Award last week in Daytona. Kouba-Dominick is a trackside communications manager working for General Motors. JKD’s father raced midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars in the West and Midwest regions. Her brother still races in the WISSOTA Sprint Series. Her career includes over 20 years of experience in journalism, public relations and marketing across a spectrum of racing series including AMA Motorcycle road racing, USAC midget racing, NHRA, IRL and all three of NASCAR’s premier series. I had the pleasure of meeting JKD in 2003 while she was working with Donny Schatz. There are few people out there that are as good as her in the business. Congratulation Judy on your well deserved honor!

TV Notes
Carl Edwards on Late Late Show
Open Wheeler Carl Edwards is scheduled to appear on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Thursday, Feb. 23rd.

Daytona Numbers Up
NBC scored their highest Dayton 500 rating ever Sunday. The broadcast turned in a rating of 11.3. That is up from FOX’s 10.9 from 2005.

TV Listings (all times eastern)Feb 24
1:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fontana (LIVE) SPEED
5:30pm Driver of the Year SPEED
6:30pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Fontana (LIVE) SPEED
9:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fontana (LIVE) SPEED
Feb 25
4:00pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Fontana (SDD) SPEED
5:00pm Nextel Cup Happy Hour Practice - Fontana FX
6:00pm Busch Series at Fontana - Pre-race FX
6:30pm Busch Series race at Fontana FX
7:30pm Speed News SPEED
Feb 26
3:30pm Pre-Race Nextel Cup at Fontana FOX
4:00pm Auto Club 500 at California Speedway FOX
7:00pm Speed News SPEED
8:00pm NASCAR Victory Lane Fontana (SDD) SPEED
9:00pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED

Cheney’s Got a Gun Part 2
Give folks some time and you never know what they will come up with. Here is the link.
http://www.toonedin.com/cheney.html

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

High Flying Schatz/ Cheever to Run the 500/ Lamar the Star

Don’t Forget Your Barf Bag

A week from Wednesday, Donny Schatz will get to do something few people ever have the opportunity to do. Schatz will fly with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels aboard an F/A - 18B Hornet. Schatz will ride along with Lt. Kevin Davis as they do most of the maneuvers that the Blue Angels perform in a normal air show demonstration. The flight will include nearly 40 minutes of maneuvering that will sometimes reach 7.5 times the force of gravity. Donny Schatz’s ground based flying machine, the ParkerStore sponsored No.15 J&J sprint car will also be on hand. The F/A-18 that Schatz will ride in has more than 25 systems that use Parker components, including the fuel system, cockpit display, landing gear, anti-icing and nose wheel steering. The Blue Angles and U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Eric Malies helped make the flight a reality. Malies is the son of Art and Carol Malies who have traveled the country operating Work’n Woody, the official push truck and safety vehicle of the World of Outlaws series, for the past 19 years. Donny Schatz is a private pilot and often flies from race to race in his twin-engine aircraft. The Outdoor Channel will also be on hand to document the event for an upcoming World of Outlaws telecast.

IRL Marketing Chief Featured in SBJ
The IRL’s new marketing chief, Mike Ringham, is featured in this week’s edition of the Sports Business Journal.In the article written by Scott Warfield, the former head of Coca-cola says to expect more marketing of the drivers instead of the technology this season. Ringham tells SBJ that Danica Patrick is important to the IRL’s marketing plan but don’t expect her to be promoted over all of the other drivers. The only other driver that will receive more pop over the others will be Dan Weldon.

Cheever in the 500

1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever says he will drive in the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Cheever will pilot the No. 51 Cheever Racing Dallara. It will be his first IndyCar® Series start since the season finale in September 2002 at Texas.

Tracy Returns to a More Comfortable Setting
Paul Tracy will not race this weekend in California; instead he will take time off before heading to Mexico City to compete in the Busch race at the Audtodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 2.518-mile road course. The 2003 Champ Car Series Champion won at that track in 2003 and finished third in 2005. The always-colorful Tracy won the Champ Car race in Monterrey, Mexico in 2003. In other PT news, Tracy and Mario Dominguez will return to Forysthe Championship Racing's Champ Car World Series team this season.

AJ Fike to go Hooters
USAC driver AJ Fike will race in the USAR Hooter Pro Cup Series this season driving for the Agajanian Performance Group. Fike will pilot the No. 69 RFMS/CAPG Ford Taurus in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series.

Lamar the New Star
Newcomer and Open Wheeler Burney Lamar finished second at Daytona Saturday, thus opening the floodgates of attention. Amanda Brahler of BGNRacing.com reports that Kevin Harvick knew what he was doing when he picked Lamar.
Open Wheeler Busch California Entries
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
14 Tracy Hines
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Jason Leffler
38 AJ Foyt 4
39 Ryan Newman
42 Casey Mears
43 Aaron Fike
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar

UPS Races to the NHRA
The SBJ also reports that United Parcel Service Inc. will become the official express delivery company of the NHRA. Brown will also become the primary sponsor of Vandergriff Motorsports in the NHRA’s Top Fuel Series.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Miller's OW Take/ My Daytona Take/ Cheney's Got a Gun

Robin Miller's Daytona Take
The always colorful Robin Miller let it fly with his take on the 2006 Open Wheel season Sunday night on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. Miller said that Champ Car's Katherine Legge is racing this year only because of the success of Danica Patrick last year. The great Miller says running her this year is one year too soon and she needs another year to develop into a good driver.

Robin Miller also said the IRL did the right thing by going with one engine for 2006.

He said the only thing the IRL could do better was reunite with CCWS but that likely will not happen any time soon.


My Daytona Take

The green flag dropped on a strange Daytona 500 that saw fog and misty weather but not the "BigOne."

Carl Edwards made a rare mistake hitting Kyle Petty and taking himself out of the race. Edwards finished last.

Tony Stewart took a lot of heat for bumping Matt Kenseth. We will see where that feud leads down the road.

Jimmy Johnson took the win under caution. I know they only get one chance of a green, white checkered. Maybe they should have more than one "OT." I felt a little cheated when I watched hours of coverage and racing, only to see a multi car rush for the lead and a late pack wreck end the race.

Cheney's Got a Gun
It was only a matter of time before someone created a video game about the VP's mistake.

Still all in all it isn't as bad as "Itty Bitsa Kitty." (warning graphic game)

Images courtesy of SPEED, NBC and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.

Open Wheel TV/ Media Coverage/ New SPEED Programming

Outdoor Channel to Televise USAC CRA Race from Perris

USAC’s Dick Jordon reports that the March 4 USAC CRA Sprint Car race at Perris Auto Speedway will be televised on a tape delay basis on the Outdoor Channel. The event is part of USAC’s and the Outdoor Channel’s partnership to televise USAC midget, sprint and Silver Crown races this season. The race is scheduled to be aired at 5 pm April 1.

Indy Media
I have always found it interesting that the Indy media rarely ever covers grass roots Open Wheel racing. Indy is the heart of the sport. It seems that when USAC goes somewhere else, they get plenty of press but not in their hometown. Indianapolis Star writer Curt Calvin explains why in his Q&A section on the Indy Star’s website.

“It's difficult to find time to write about everyone, and my boss will tell you that readers care mostly about Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dan Wheldon. After that (and maybe Wheldon doesn't even make the aforementioned list), it thins out in terms of interest. Generally, I try to highlight some of the other top drivers, including J.J. Yeley, Dave Steele, Jay Drake, Dave Darland and Bobby East, but it's tough to get to everyone,” wrote Calvin.

Before I pick up my wooden stick and wail away, I must defend Curt Calvin and the Star. They give the readers what they want. If you want to see more grass roots Open Wheel coverage, then write the sports editor and ask for it. Calvin likes Open Wheel racing and is probably one of the top writers in the country that cover the sport. Can the Indianapolis Star do better? Yes, but it is the readers that must contact the Star and in a positive way, let them know how they feel.

Open Wheeler Featured in SBJ
Open Wheeler icon Cary Agajanian was featured in last week’s edition of the
Overall it was a pretty good day for Open Wheelers at Daytona. OW’s took six of the top thirteen spots. More on Daytona will be posted later today including what Robin Miller had to say on Wind Tunnel. Now, here are the OW results.

Daytona 500 Open Wheelers Results
1. (Jimmie Johnson)
2. Casey Mears
3. Ryan Newman
5. Tony Stewart
9. Ken Schrader
11. Kasey Kahne
13. Robby Gordon
24. Dave Blaney
28. Jeff Gordon
41. J.J. Yeley
43. Carl Edwards

Seven Days Begins Tonight on SPEED

Speed Channel new weekly series, 7 Days debuts tonight at 8:00pm eastern. The series will follow a different person as they prepare for the race weekend. The program will show viewers how drivers, crewmembers, team owners, track officials and fans prepare for race week. Tonight, the program will follow around Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs.

Wind Tunnel Recap
Coming later tonight to the blog, I will have a summary of what Robin Miller had to say on Sunday night’s Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. In the meantime you can watch select Open Wheelers appearances on the program on SPEED’s website in their Media section.
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