NASCAR vs Open Wheel/ ISC Track DOA?/ Buddy Rice Crashes at Indy/ Merger Announcement, not Any Time Soon/ Driver News
NASCAR vs Open Wheel
Can Open Wheel racing once again return to dominance? The folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend hope so.
It would be nice to see 40 to 50 teams trying to make the 500 every year. But don’t think for a moment that the second greatest promoter in big time auto racing (only behind Eddie Gossage at Texas) is going to let that happen. For years, Humpy Wheeler, promoter at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, has busted his can to make his track and the Coke 600, the biggest racing event on Memorial Day Weekend. Years ago, he began to chip away at Indy’s luster by coming up with unique ways to promote his event. He has finally won and won big. The TV ratings are better.
Charlotte, not Daytona, is now the home of NASCAR. Do to time changes, key Open Wheelers who would run the 500 if they could have to choose and their careers keep them in Charlotte. Wheeler has constructed a two-week festival around the Coke 600 and the All-Star race. Now, Open Wheel is poised for a return to glory with possible reunification. Who stands to lose and are therefore probably working against it? NASCAR. For NASCAR, weaker competition means more fans for them. For the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing owners, the France family, it could be a two edged sword. International Speedway Corporation’s majority owners are the France family.
ISC hosts 6 of the 14 stops on the IRL tour this season (Homestead, Watkins Glen, Richmond, Kansas, Michigan and Chicagoland). If Open Wheel gets stronger and continues to run at those tracks then OW ticket sales go up. If Open Wheel is successful, then it may take viewers as well as ticket holders away from all of ISC’s 12 tracks. NASCAR is not a nationwide phenomenon like the spin-doctors would have you believe. Right now, they are working harder than they originally thought they would have to, to place a track in Washington state. Two weeks ago, the police were called to a public hearing over a track in New York City. There is room for Open Wheel’s success. It will take reunification to get it started. From there, it could get interesting.
ISC Track DOA?
Bob Pockrass of the Scene Daily at http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2006/05/08/scene_daily43.html is reporting that two Staten Island council members in a letter to ISC say that they “will use all of our powers and abilities as members of the City Council to fight this proposal and prevent it from becoming an ugly reality in our community.” So I guess we won’t see a race in New York anytime soon.
New Day, Same Results
Sam Hornish and Team Penske again took the top spot in practice times today. Dan Weldon was second quick. The only major incident of the day involved Buddy Rice. Rice spun in turn two and made impact with the wall during practice at Indy today. A strong wind was gusting at the time of the accident. Rice reportedly suffered contusions to both knees.
Thursday Practice Results:
1 Sam Hornish Jr (6) 226.789
2 Dan Wheldon (10) 226.088
3 Helio Castroneves(3T) 225.547
4 Scott Dixon (9) 225.309
5 Dario Franchitti (27) 224.742
6 Bryan Herta (7) 223.925
7 Tony Kanaan (11) 223.905
8 Marco Andretti (26) 223.606
9 Michael Andretti (1) 223.187
10 Tomas Scheckter (2) 222.241
11 Ed Carpenter (20) 221.848
12 Townsend Bell (90) 221.695
13 Tony Kanaan (1) 221.316
14 Danica Patrick (16) 221.069
15 Buddy Rice (15) 220.136
16 Jeff Simmons (17) 218.111
17 Felipe Giaffone (14) 217.777
18 Buddy Lazier (5) 216.897
19 Marty Roth (25) 208.447
Merger Announcement, not Any Time Soon
Indianapolis Star reporter, Steve Ballard reports in his column, Pit Pass http://www.indystar.com/ that talks are continuing between CCWS and the IRL but an announcement is not imminent, that according to Tony George.
Winged Sprint Car at Indy
A winged sprint car allong with a Funny Car and an IndyCar are all on display today as Ethanol Day.
Jason Leffler not in the 500
NASCAR Scene is also reporting that Jason Leffler will not be able to run the Indy 500 this season. The newspaper resports that Leffler talked with the PDM Racing team about running in the Indy 500 but said it was too late to do it this year.
Paul Tracy Stays, Will Return to the 500
Paul Tracy announced today a five-year extension of his contract at Forsythe Racing. He told Indy Star reporter Steve Ballard that he would like another shot at Indy. Tracy said he was cheated from a win in a controversial finish of the 2002 Indy 500 but would race there again if the merger happened and the best drivers in the world were there again.
Whatever Happeded to Sarah Fisher?
Back before Danica Patrick, there was Sarah Fisher who was the stand alone female in the Indy 500 lineup. So, where is she now? According to her website, SarahFisher.com, she is not doing anything. There is no schedule for her nor any active team links. The webiste does say she is engaged to be married. It also provides a link to a NASCAR.com Janruary article that says the former IRL driver will drive for a developmental team on the east coast but there is no information on when she will race. Two sources tell me that she is looking for funding for an ARCA ride. She did have an opportunity to drive in this season’s 500 but these same sources say that those two rides required funding and Fisher elected to save her funding for an ARCA ride.
Neither Hines nor Foyt to Run this Weekend
NASCAR Scene is reporting that FitzBradshaw Racing will field only one car in the Busch race at Darlington. Joel Kauffman will drive the No. 12 car while the No. 14 will stay home at the shop.
That means Tracy Hines and A.J. Foyt IV will have to sit out another weekend of Busch racing.
Dave Blaney Gets Busch Ride
While Hines and Foyt will have to sit this weekend out, Dave Blaney announced that he will drive the No. 32 Braun Racing Chevy in eight races beginning at Charlotte.
Bad Boys Bad Boys, What Ya Gonna Do?
Mike Bliss will drive the No. 30 Smith & Wesson Chevrolet this weekend at Darlington. The car will feature a unique “black-and-white” law enforcement paint scheme with FOP logo displayed on the deck lid.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NBC, FOX, NASCAR Images, Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IMS Productions, ABC and SPEED.
Can Open Wheel racing once again return to dominance? The folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend hope so.
It would be nice to see 40 to 50 teams trying to make the 500 every year. But don’t think for a moment that the second greatest promoter in big time auto racing (only behind Eddie Gossage at Texas) is going to let that happen. For years, Humpy Wheeler, promoter at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, has busted his can to make his track and the Coke 600, the biggest racing event on Memorial Day Weekend. Years ago, he began to chip away at Indy’s luster by coming up with unique ways to promote his event. He has finally won and won big. The TV ratings are better.
Charlotte, not Daytona, is now the home of NASCAR. Do to time changes, key Open Wheelers who would run the 500 if they could have to choose and their careers keep them in Charlotte. Wheeler has constructed a two-week festival around the Coke 600 and the All-Star race. Now, Open Wheel is poised for a return to glory with possible reunification. Who stands to lose and are therefore probably working against it? NASCAR. For NASCAR, weaker competition means more fans for them. For the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing owners, the France family, it could be a two edged sword. International Speedway Corporation’s majority owners are the France family.
ISC hosts 6 of the 14 stops on the IRL tour this season (Homestead, Watkins Glen, Richmond, Kansas, Michigan and Chicagoland). If Open Wheel gets stronger and continues to run at those tracks then OW ticket sales go up. If Open Wheel is successful, then it may take viewers as well as ticket holders away from all of ISC’s 12 tracks. NASCAR is not a nationwide phenomenon like the spin-doctors would have you believe. Right now, they are working harder than they originally thought they would have to, to place a track in Washington state. Two weeks ago, the police were called to a public hearing over a track in New York City. There is room for Open Wheel’s success. It will take reunification to get it started. From there, it could get interesting.
ISC Track DOA?
Bob Pockrass of the Scene Daily at http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2006/05/08/scene_daily43.html is reporting that two Staten Island council members in a letter to ISC say that they “will use all of our powers and abilities as members of the City Council to fight this proposal and prevent it from becoming an ugly reality in our community.” So I guess we won’t see a race in New York anytime soon.
New Day, Same Results
Sam Hornish and Team Penske again took the top spot in practice times today. Dan Weldon was second quick. The only major incident of the day involved Buddy Rice. Rice spun in turn two and made impact with the wall during practice at Indy today. A strong wind was gusting at the time of the accident. Rice reportedly suffered contusions to both knees.
Thursday Practice Results:
1 Sam Hornish Jr (6) 226.789
2 Dan Wheldon (10) 226.088
3 Helio Castroneves(3T) 225.547
4 Scott Dixon (9) 225.309
5 Dario Franchitti (27) 224.742
6 Bryan Herta (7) 223.925
7 Tony Kanaan (11) 223.905
8 Marco Andretti (26) 223.606
9 Michael Andretti (1) 223.187
10 Tomas Scheckter (2) 222.241
11 Ed Carpenter (20) 221.848
12 Townsend Bell (90) 221.695
13 Tony Kanaan (1) 221.316
14 Danica Patrick (16) 221.069
15 Buddy Rice (15) 220.136
16 Jeff Simmons (17) 218.111
17 Felipe Giaffone (14) 217.777
18 Buddy Lazier (5) 216.897
19 Marty Roth (25) 208.447
Merger Announcement, not Any Time Soon
Indianapolis Star reporter, Steve Ballard reports in his column, Pit Pass http://www.indystar.com/ that talks are continuing between CCWS and the IRL but an announcement is not imminent, that according to Tony George.
Winged Sprint Car at Indy
A winged sprint car allong with a Funny Car and an IndyCar are all on display today as Ethanol Day.
Jason Leffler not in the 500
NASCAR Scene is also reporting that Jason Leffler will not be able to run the Indy 500 this season. The newspaper resports that Leffler talked with the PDM Racing team about running in the Indy 500 but said it was too late to do it this year.
Paul Tracy Stays, Will Return to the 500
Paul Tracy announced today a five-year extension of his contract at Forsythe Racing. He told Indy Star reporter Steve Ballard that he would like another shot at Indy. Tracy said he was cheated from a win in a controversial finish of the 2002 Indy 500 but would race there again if the merger happened and the best drivers in the world were there again.
Whatever Happeded to Sarah Fisher?
Back before Danica Patrick, there was Sarah Fisher who was the stand alone female in the Indy 500 lineup. So, where is she now? According to her website, SarahFisher.com, she is not doing anything. There is no schedule for her nor any active team links. The webiste does say she is engaged to be married. It also provides a link to a NASCAR.com Janruary article that says the former IRL driver will drive for a developmental team on the east coast but there is no information on when she will race. Two sources tell me that she is looking for funding for an ARCA ride. She did have an opportunity to drive in this season’s 500 but these same sources say that those two rides required funding and Fisher elected to save her funding for an ARCA ride.
Neither Hines nor Foyt to Run this Weekend
NASCAR Scene is reporting that FitzBradshaw Racing will field only one car in the Busch race at Darlington. Joel Kauffman will drive the No. 12 car while the No. 14 will stay home at the shop.
That means Tracy Hines and A.J. Foyt IV will have to sit out another weekend of Busch racing.
Dave Blaney Gets Busch Ride
While Hines and Foyt will have to sit this weekend out, Dave Blaney announced that he will drive the No. 32 Braun Racing Chevy in eight races beginning at Charlotte.
Bad Boys Bad Boys, What Ya Gonna Do?
Mike Bliss will drive the No. 30 Smith & Wesson Chevrolet this weekend at Darlington. The car will feature a unique “black-and-white” law enforcement paint scheme with FOP logo displayed on the deck lid.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NBC, FOX, NASCAR Images, Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IMS Productions, ABC and SPEED.
posted by Blake Johnson at 6:13 PM
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