Who Needs the Chase?/ Rolex Wraps Up in Utah/ California Fight/ Leffler Featured on BGN/ TV Listings

Who Needs the Chase?
Who needs the chase when the IRL has four drivers that could win the IndyCar Series Championship in a non chase format. Now you could argue that the whole IRL season is almost a chase with a 17 race schedule but four guys with a chance to win it in the last race is exciting.

Helio Castroneves is my pick for the 2006 champion. He leads his teammate Sam Hornish by only one point.

There is no driver out there more hungry than Dan Wheldon. Weldon and his teammate

Scott Dixon are close to beating Team Penske for the title. Dixon led the most laps last weekend but didn’t lead the last one. It is Chip Ganassi vs Roger Penske. Penske surprisingly has never won the IRL title. If either Helio or Hornish win Chicagoland, they win the title. Either Weldon or Dixon would to win and have Team Penske have an average to bad day to win the title.

Rolex Wraps Up in Utah
IndyCar Series title contender Scott Dixon is taking the off week to join with Scott Pruettand Luis Diaz to compete this weekend in the nine-hour Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series season finale at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Panther Racing's Vitor Meira will join Lowe's Fernandez Racing regular drivers Adrian Fernandez and Mario Haberfeld in the No. 12 Daytona Prototype, while Buddy Rice will drive the No. 58 Red Bull Daytona Prototype with regular drivers Darren Law and David Donahue.

On another Open Wheeler related note, one of the best track PR guys in the business, Clark Curtis is now the head track PR guy at Miller Motorsports Park. USAC received first class treatment at Pikes Peak International Raceway, part of the reason why was Clark Curtis. If you live in Utah and are reading this, I highly encourage you to get the camper and go visit this track this weekend.

Win Mopar Thunder Tickets
Something I also encourage you to do is visit www.tjslideways.com to register to win tickets to the Mopar Thunder at the USAC 4-Crown Nationals event at Eldora Speedway. The Four Crown Nationals always prove pivotal in the final points races. This year will be no different. Mopar Thunder is scheduled for September 22 – 23 and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the historic 4-Crown Nationals.

California Fight













Paul Tracy is returning to California site of his last states side fight (San Jose). This time he will drive a car where he can do some “rubbin.” Tracy is scheduled to start his last Busch Series race Saturday night. Paul Tracy reportedly will be making an announcement on SPEED's Trackside Live as to his NASCAR plans for 2007 Friday.













I wonder if he will wear his wrestling mask?

Leffler Featured at BGN
Big Car Series driver, USAC Silver Crown driver and current Silver Crown team owner Jason Leffler is featured in an article by Amanda Brahler at BGNRacing.com.http://www.bgnracing.com/modules.php?name=Features&op=view&rid=292 Leffleris the only Busch only driver in the top 11 in points and has the best finishes of any Busch only driver.

Busch Series Entries for California
9 Kasey Kahne
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 J.J. Yeley
30 Mike Bliss
33 Tony Stewart
34 Paul Tracy
38 Jason Leffler
42 Casey Mears
43 PJ Jones
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar
88 Robby Gordon
99 David Reutimann

TV Listings
Sept 1
6:30 pm Nextel Cup Qualifying California (LIVE) SPEED
9:00 pm ARCA RE/MAX Series Toledo (LIVE) SPEED
Sept 2
12:00 pm Knoxville Nationals Highlights SPEED
5:00 pm USAC Silver Crown Series Springfield Outdoor Channel
6:30 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Fontana (LIVE) SPEED
10:00 pm NASCAR Busch Series Fontana (LIVE) TNT
Sept 3
7:00 pm Bank of America Countdown to Green - California NBC
8:00 pm Nextel Cup Racing from California NBC
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain Rick Eckert, guest (LIVE) SPEED

Images appearing in this blog courtesy of ABC, ESPN, Indy Racing League, NBC and Champ Car World Series.

Not So Fast Week One

Not So Fast Week One
It is finally here, college football season. Time for the return of Not So Fast. Typically on opening week we see good programs take on great programs in what usually turns into a lopsided affair but you never know. On opening weekend, anything can happen.

Marshall at West Virginia. Marshall is supposed to be up this year. Some people are predicting West Virginia to be in the running for the national title. If WV is to be the champs, they must make it past their pesky instate rivals. West Virginia by 10 or less.

Cal at UTK. Give Phil Fulmer credit, unlike Minnesota who opens with Kent State, UTK is playing a good school. This will be a good test to see if the offense has shaken off their demons from a year ago. UTK will be better this season. Cal will play them close but UTK will win in the end by 7 or better.

Southern Miss at Florida. The questions as to how good these two teams are could be quickly answered this weekend. Southern Miss will bring a good defense, Florida... well they have the coach, players and the swamp. Advantage Florida but this will not be a blowout. Florida by 12 or less.

USC at Arkansas. This is the biggest game in Fayetteville in a long time. The Hogs look to rebound after a tough few years and USC plans to show that they haven’t stumbled. USC is not as good as they once where but Arkansas will not win the National Championship either. USC by 7ish.

Kentucky at Louisville. I love cross state rivalries. The Cardinals are the other favorite in the Big Least. A stumble here and a potential national title is gone. But not so fast! Louisville is not going to choke on opening weekend. Cards by 15.

Game of the Week
Florida State at Miami. Many college football gurus are convinced that either Miami or Florida State will win the national title. Miami looks strong and will probably have their way with their conference. Will they have their way in Tallahassee? Not So Fast! The coeds in the stands and Lee Corso’s college roommate Burt Reynolds will make sure that will not happen. No title for Miami this season as Bobby Bowden gets it done winning by 10ish.

The phrase Not So Fast is my tribute to Lee Corso of ESPN. It is not intended to infringe on any copyright laws or trademarks. For more on Lee Corso, visit his official website at www.leecorso.com.

Look for my rankings Monday night following the Miami/ Florida State game.

Taking a Wild Guess at the 2007 Silver Crown Schedule/ The SPEED Report to get Competition/ Hornish to Try NASCAR?/ Red Hot Roni to IPS

Taking a Wild Guess at the 2007 Silver Crown Schedule

USAC typically does not release their Silver Crown schedule for the next season until late fall or early winter. The series has to wait until companion series like NASCAR and the IRL announce their schedules before UASC can make their announcements. Only two dates have been officially announced for the 2007 Silver Crown season, Phoenix and ORP. NASCAR released their schedule for the NEXTEL Cup Series earlier this week. The IRL has released portions of their 2007 schedule. Our friends over at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ have come up with what the 2007 IRL schedule could look like so we decided it is time for us to do some speculating. The following information with the exception of the Phoenix and ORP races are speculative and the dates have NOT been announced. This report is just for fun. Do NOT plan your vacations around what is written in this article. When a track or USAC officially releases the date of a Silver Crown race, we will let you know. Until then, I hope you enjoy this glimpse of what could be the 2007 schedule.

February 25 Weekend California
It looks like the 2007 USAC Silver Crown season could open up at California Speedway. We are hearing that the series could visit the 1.5 mile oval in 2007. If that is the case then the series would most likely visit the speedway on the NEXTEL Cup weekend of February 25th since the fall Cup date conflicts with the potential DuQuoin 2007 date. It is important to note that while California has announced their Cup dates for 2007, no date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at California.

March 23-24- Homestead Miami Speedway
No date has been announced for either the IndyCar Series or the USAC Silver Crown Series at Homestead. Our friends at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ are guessing that the IRL could run there on March 24th. If that is the case and Homestead elects to pair the Silver Crown cars with the IRL again then we could see the dates I listed above but again no date has been announced for either series.

May 25 Indiana State Fairgrounds
While no official date has been announced for the Hoosier Hundred, the event normally falls the Friday before the Indy 500. The 2007 Indy 500 is scheduled for May 27th.

June 2-3 Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile announced that the IndyCar Series would run there on June 3rd in 2007. At the time of the announcement, they said they had not discussed a 2007 date with USAC. If the Milwaukee Mile elects to bring back the USAC Silver Crown Series to the mile oval and goes with the same race weekend format from 2006, we could see the Silver Crown Series at the historic oval on the morning of June 3rd. Just remember, no date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Milwaukee.

June 15 Kentucky Speedway

If Kentucky elects to pair the Silver Crown Series with the Busch Series and the Busch Series takes the same date as 2006, then the Silver Crown cars could run on the 15th. The 2007 NASCAR Busch Series schedule has not been released. The track announced that the IndyCar Series would run on August 11th in 2007 at the 1.5 mile oval. In the news release announcing the date, the track stated that the dates for the rest of the 2007 season would be announced at a later date.

June 29-30 Richmond

No date has been announced for either the IndyCar Series or the USAC Silver Crown Series at Richmond. Our friends at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ are guessing that the IRL could run there on June 30th. If that is the case and Richmond elects to pair the Silver Crown cars with the IRL again then we could see the dates I listed above but again no date has been announced for either series. May 5 and September 8 are the NASCAR weekends at RIR. No date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at RIR.

July 13 Chicagoland Speedway

NASCAR announced that the NEXTEL Cup Series would race at Chicagoland on July 15 in 2007. If that is the case and the track elects to also pair the Silver Crown cars again with the Cup weekend, we could see the Silver Crown Series race on July 13th if the track sticks to their 2006 race weekend format. No date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Chicagoland.

May 16 or July 22 Weekends Michigan
We have heard that Michigan International Speedway may host a USAC Silver Crown race in 2007. NASCAR has schedule NEXTEL Cup races at Michigan on May 17th and August 19th. Our friends at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ are saying that July 22nd could be a likely date for the IndyCar Series to visit Michigan although no date has been announced by the IRL. The August 19th date looks out of the question because it would conflict with the potential Silver Crown race at Springfield. That leaves us with the May 16th weekend with NASCAR or the potential July 22nd weekend with the IRL. Once again the IRL date has not been announced and no 2007 date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Michigan.

Aug 3 O’Reilly Raceway Park

Officials at ORP announced that the track will host the JD ByRider 100 on Auguest 3rd as part of the Kroger Speedfest.

Aug 5 Terre Haute
Assuming that USAC returns to Terre Haute after the dustfest that was the 2006 Sumar Classic and assuming that they keep the same date, then we could see the Silver Crown cars on the historic dirt oval on August 5th. Just remember, no date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Terre Haute.

Aug 18 Illinois State Fairgrounds
The 2006 Silver Crown race at Springfield was a success. The 2007 Illinois State Fair is scheduled for August 10-19th. Assuming that the promoters go with the same format as 2006 then we could see the Silver Crown cars at Springfield on August 18th. Track Enterprises and USAC have not set an official date for the Silver Crown Series at Springfield.

Sept 2 DuQuoin State Fairgrounds
Smash Mouth will take the stage Saturday before the USAC Silver Crown Series rumbles into DuQuoin next weekend for one of my favorite stops on the schedule. Assuming that the promoters and USAC pick Sunday night before Labor Day for the 2007 date, then the USAC Silver Crown Series will run at DuQuoin on September 2nd in 2007. Track Enterprises and USAC have not set an official 2007 date for the Silver Crown Series at DuQuoin.

Sept 16 Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway has announced several dates for their 2007 schedule but has not announced a 2007 Silver Crown date. If the series returns to Iowa on the same date as 2006, then we could see the Silver Crown Series make its return to Iowa Speedway on September 16th. No 2007 date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Iowa.

Sept 21-22 Eldora Speedway
If Eldora Speedway keeps the same dates for the Four Crown Nationals for 2007, then we could see the race on September 21-22 at Eldora. No 2007 date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Eldora.

Sept 29 Kansas Speedway
NASCAR announced that the NEXTEL Cup Series will run at Kansas on September 30th in 2007. If Kansas Speedway pair the Silver Crown cars with the Cup weekend again and the schedule is the same at this season, then we could see the Silver Crown cars at Kansas on September 29th. No 2007 date has been announced for the Silver Crown Series at Kansas.

November 8 Phoenix International Raceway

PIR has moved the Copper World Classic to November pairing in up with one of the final NEXTEL Cup weekends of the season. The 2007 CWC will again feature the USAC National Midget and Silver Crown Series. The race will be run under the lights.

Note: The story above was just a wild guess of what the 2007 season could look like. The schedule is by no means official with the exception of the Phoenix and ORP dates.

Red Hot Roni in the IPS

Veronica McCann on the left in this photo is slated to make her first start in the Indy Pro Series on September 9 at Chicagoland Speedway. The 22 year old sprint car driver from Australia was recently at the USAC Silver Crown race at Springfield with Lyn St. James. She is looking at several possibilities for the 2007 season in the states. Red Hot Roni is scheduled to take her rookie test on Thursday at Kentucky with Brian Stewart Racing. She will do her rookie test on Aug 31st at Kentucky.

The SPEED Report to get Competition
JAYSKI.com is reporting that ESPN will produce a daily racing program called NASCAR Now. The popular website http://www.jayski.com/ reports that a program host has not been named.

Chase Future not to Bright for Open Wheelers
It doesn’t look good for Open Wheelers looking to get into the Chase. Only four Open Wheelers are mathematically eligible for the Chase. Of those four, half are currently in the top ten with two races to go. Jeff Gordon is in the best shape. The former USAC driver moved up one position in the points to 5th after a 5th place finish at Bristol. Tony Stewart slid to 8th after coming in 22nd at Bristol. Kasey Kahne is on the bubble in 11th just 90 points out of the Chase. Carl Edwards will have to have strong finishes and others will have to falter at California and Richmond for the Silver Crown owner to make the Chase. Edwards is 261 points out of the Chase in 13th.

Open Wheeler Cup Results Bristol
1. (17 Matt Kenseth)
5. 24 Jeff Gordon
7. 99 Carl Edwards
8. 12 Ryan Newman
12. 9 Kasey Kahne
13. 21 Ken Schrader
14. 22 Dave Blaney
17. 42 Casey Mears
22. 20 Tony Stewart
27. 7 Robby Gordon
31. 18 J.J. Yeley

Hornish to Try NASCAR?
Viv Bernstein of the New York Times reports that we could see Sam Hornish Jr. in the ARCA RE/MAX and Busch Series in 2007. Bernstein quotes Roger Penske saying it is not a done deal. The article does say Hornish will compete in the full season in the IndyCar Series in 2007 regardless of what will happen in the fendered cars. http://www.nytimes.com

IRL on Your Cell
The Indy Racing League will soon be coming to a cell phone near you. Michael Smith reports in today’s edition of the Sports Business Journal that the IRL will partner with Digital Orchid Inc. to create screensavers, wallpaper, and incar audio and video. Smith also reports that the IRL is building a special stage to crown the series champion at Chicagoland. The championship presentation will be held on a stage in the grandstand. The final IndyCar Series event of the 2006 season is the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean at 1:30pm on Sept. 10 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will be telecast live by ABC.
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=51656

2006 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Results
1 Marco Andretti
2 Dario Franchitti
3 Vitor Meira
4 Scott Dixon
5 Helio Castroneves
6 Dan Wheldon
7 Jeff Simmons
8 Danica Patrick
9 Sam Hornish Jr.
10 Bryan Herta
11 Tony Kanaan
12 Ed Carpenter
13 Kosuke Matsuura
14 Scott Sharp
15 Buddy Rice
16 Ryan Briscoe
17 Tomas Scheckter
18 Jeff Bucknum

Images appearing in this blog courtesy of R.E. Technologies.

Bristol Update

Edwards Back in Second
Carl Edwards may not win the Busch Series title unless Kevin Harvick decides not to race the last few events of the season. Harvick has a over a 500 point lead and looks to be a lock to win the title. While Edwards will not catch Harvick, he did reclaim second place in the points standings with his eighth place finish last night at Bristol. Jason Leffler also had a good points night moving up to eleventh with his fifth place finish.

Busch Series Bristol Results
1. (17 Matt Kenseth)
4. 9 Kasey Kahne
5. 38 Jason Leffler
6. 39 Ryan Newman
8. 60 Carl Edwards
9. 99 David Reutiman
10. 11 Paul Menard
12. 18 JJ Yeley
14. 10 John Andretti
24. 77 Burney Lamar
25. 66 Ken Schrader

Open Wheelers will have to Dig Tonight
Open Wheel drivers will have to either be carefull or move up through the field quickly tonight if they hope to finish. The majority of the Open Wheelers start outside the top ten. Only Tony Stewart starts inside at 5th. You can easily get caught up in someone elses mess at the shortest track in NASCAR. It will take a little luck and a lot of patience to win tonight.

Open Wheeler Cup Qualifying Bristol
1. (2 Kurt Busch)
5. 20 Tony Stewart
11. 42 Casey Mears
13. 24 Jeff Gordon
17. 21 Ken Schrader
21. 12 Ryan Newman
22. 22 Dave Blaney
25. 18 J.J. Yeley
31. 9 Kasey Kahne
39. 99 Carl Edwards
42. 7 Robby Gordon

Brian Tyler Back on Top

Brian Tyler Back on Top

This season has had its ups and downs for Brian Tyler and his team. They won the second race of the year at Homestead in a great battle with Aaron Pierce. The team looked like it would win it’s second race of the season at Milwaukee but a tap from Aaron Pierce sent Tyler spinning out of first place. The points race has gone back and forth ever since with Bud Kaeding winning two races then Tyler defeating Carl Edwards to win at ORP. The next night Brian Tyler and his team were done early as a result of a multi car pileup while Kaeding went on to take the win. Saturday at Springfield, the ball bounced back into Tyler’s court. Kaeding came into Springfield with a 18 point lead over Tyler. This time it was Kaeding who was forced to retire early. Tyler went on to finish second taking a 26 point lead with him.

“You always want to win but we had a left rear tire vibrating real bad from about halfway in,” stated Tyler. “There at the end from halfway down the straightaway it was a big blur getting off the corner but we held on for second. It was a big points day. Bud had some bad luck like I did last week at Terre Haute. It is racing and you have to be consistent and look at the big picture and if second was as good as we were today we will take it and go to the next race and you know maybe we will be first there.”

Brian Tyler and his No. 21 Team Six R crew will take the points lead into DuQuoin a week from this Sunday. The USAC veteran is not worried about who has the points lead but is more concerned about finishing up front.

“It is too early to worry about points. I have never been a person that worries about points. You know I figure if I run hard and run upfront every race, the points will be there. I let my crew and the rest of the guys worry about the points that way I don’t have to think about it.”

Bud Kaeding looks to get back on Tyler’s heals at DuQuoin. With a strong contingent of drivers and cars this year, anything could happen. We will be there to cover it for you right here on Open Wheeler.

Rookie Open Wheelers Have Tough Night at Bristol
Only one Open Wheeler finished in the top 20 at Bristol Wednesday night. The lone driver was Mike Bliss. The team meetings did not help Erin Crocker as she finished second to last at the tough short track.

Trucks Results Bristol
1. (Mark Martin)
8. Mike Bliss
21. Terry Cook
24. Kraig Kinser
28. Boston Reid
29. Bobby East
35. Erin Crocker

Busch to Canada
Earlier this week we told you that the IRL jet was in Montreal over the weekend. According to Marty Smith of NASCAR.com, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve could be on the 2007 Busch Series calendar.

All images in this update courtesy of RE Technologies.

Crocker Talks about Meetings, Mayfield and Communications/ Where did the Flip Come From?/ Carl’s Response/ Should the NST Reunite with the WoO?

Crocker Talks about Meetings, Mayfield and Communications

Open Wheel driver Erin Crocker talks about team meetings, the Mayfield to Sadler switch and communications in her latest journal entry at NASCAR.com http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/truck/08/23/ecrocker.road.bristol/index.html that is co-written by David Newton. In the article, she does not make reference to the lawsuit between Jeremy Mayfield and Evernham Motorsports nor does she reference media reports (Sirius Speedway, Wind Tunnel and SPEED) that say Crocker and Evernham are dating.

Instead she talks about a team meeting with herself, her truck team and Ray Evernham. She stated that “Ray was at that meeting, and usually he's not here. It was a good time to throw everything out on the table.” She used the replacement of Jeremy Mayfield by Elliott Sadler as an example of how important communications is saying, “I knew Elliott has had success before and the team has had success before, but you never know how that relationship is going to go. It seemed the team's morale was really up. For whatever reason that 19 wasn't running well and something needed to change.” The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series runs Bristol tonight. We will have a full wrapup of how Crocker and the other Open Wheelers finished tomorrow on this website.

Where did the Flip Come From?
Carl Edwards won the 2004 Truck race at Bristol. Before the race he told a SPEED pit reporter that he does the back flip because he saw then WoO driver Tyler Walker do a back flip when he won and thought it was pretty cool.

On another Edwards note, the Missouri native will be featured on TNT’s prerace show Saturday night. The story will profile “Carl’s Thrill Ride” sweepstakes.

Carl’s Response
We like to pride ourselves on telling both sides of the story. Tuesday NASCAR announced their penalty for Carl Edward’s contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. following last Saturday’s Busch race at Michigan. Roush Racing issued a response to the penalty but the response came after our deadline and did not make it into Tuesday’s update. Here is their response:

Roush Racing announced today (Tuesday) that Carl Edwards recognizes and accepts NASCAR's penalty and will not appeal.

“I put everything I can into winning races,” stated Edwards. “I was wrecked and I reacted. It was wrong on my part. NASCAR penalized me and I respect that. Most importantly I apologize if I upset any of my fans or sponsors.”

Edwards will drive in both the Busch and Cup races this weekend at Bristol.

Should the NST Reunite with the WoO?

There has been a lot of reunification talk by promoters and fans who would like to see the NST and the WoO become one series again. What do you think? Should the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the National Sprint Tour become one series again? Vote now by scrolling to the bottom of this page and vote in the web poll.

TNT’s 2007 Broadcast Team Leaves Something to be Desired
Thank goodness that TNT only has six Cup races in 2007.

Their in booth broadcast team is less than perfect to me. Bill Webber always looks like he is bloated and sometimes I wish I could tell Wally Dallenbach to shut up. TNT has announced that both will be back in their broadcast booth for Cup races in 2007.

I can’t stand Bill Webber. He doesn’t hold a candle to Allen Bestwick. Dallenbach does do a pretty good job of providing the proper analysis at the proper time but he is no Benny Parsons. He did do a good job this past weekend while Parsons was out. Wally Dallenbach is better than Darrel Waltrip who shoots off at the handle too much. Unfortunately with Wally comes the worst segment in the history of race broadcasting, Wally’s World.

The segment consists of a celebrity riding in a car screaming while Wally is behind the wheel. Do away with this segment and I think I would give him a thumbs up.

Coming later this week, a conversation with USAC Silver Crown Series points leader Brian Tyler.

All images in this update courtesy of SPEED, NASCAR Images, TNT, NBC and RE Technologies.

I am Trying to Get The Why?/ IRL to Race Montreal in 2007?/ Edwards Receives Busch Probation and Fine/ Springfield Images Posted/ TV Lineup

I am Trying to Get The Why?

SPEED revamped their one hour news program with new anchors, a new set and a new name. The purpose was to draw more viewers in but it may have caused some loyal viewers to tune out.

The new and improved version of Speed News (Now The SPEED Report) claims to answer the “Why” but leaves out a large portion of racing. This week SPEED covered NASCAR Cup and Busch Series, WGP Motorcycle racing, ALMS, CCWS, AMA Superbike, World Rally, ARCA and Hooters Pro Cup. Left out in the video world were the NHRA, WoO, Late Models and USAC.

I like what SPEED did in the programming department tying NASCAR Victory Lane together to The SPEED Report (TSR) and TSR tying together with Wind Tunnel. It keeps the viewers attention and hooks them in to watch all three hours. The problem I saw in last week’s broadcasts was that TSR spent the first ten minutes of the broadcast pretty much talking about what we just saw NASCAR Victory Lane talk about for an hour. If you missed NVL then the recap is good but if you saw the race and saw NVL, then the first 10 minutes of the broadcast killed you. After 6 minutes of Cup highlights, they throw to Bob Dillner who babbles for 3 minutes.

Bob does a good job of getting the story but often talks slowly like he is talking to a child. He needs to “speed” it up. Isn’t that the name of the network?

From there Nicole Manske and Drew Johnson tease the web poll to push people to the website. Common TV practice. 1/6 of the show is now complete and we head to commercial.

Back with 5 minutes of motorcycle racing and then 3 and half minutes of the ALMS at Road America. I do like a little bit of quick commentary by the folks that called the races. It gives you more than just the highlights. To commercial again and 1/3 of the show is now over. Nicole and Drew return to talk more NASCAR.

This time they spend 5 minutes telling the story and getting analysis from Jeff Hammond who is in the studio. (Wait, didn’t we just see this during the NASCAR prerace show on SPEED, yep, same footage.) They need to find a way to do this segment faster. Unless you just turned on the tube, you probably are hearing this again for the umpteenth time. We are back again from break and only ¾ of the show left so let’s pick up the pace. A good quick wrap up of what is going on in CCWS with Paul Tracy (tease Wind Tunnel appearance) and Cristiano da Matta’s recovery.

It only takes 2 minutes and we are cooking with grease. The other big NASCAR story of the week was the bumping and grinding between Dale Earnhart Jr. and Carl Edwards in the Busch Series. That and highlights all in 3 minutes and this segment is done. Back from commercial and I am beginning to feel the air sucked out of the room. Time to get childish with the “Angry Minute” which features to commentators in this case Bootie Barker and Robin Miller taking pot shots at each other’s favorite form of racing. This is a waste of time. This WOT actually goes more than 1 minute, more like 3 by the time the intros and anchors are done babbling.

I am about to throw something at the TV when they finished the segment by playing a comment by Will Farrell who babbles something incoherent that someone thought was funny as SPEED but did not translate to me at home. Only 20 minutes left now in the broadcast. We are going to have to pick up the pace if we are going to ever see any USAC or WoO highlights.

To the AMA Super Bike Series (which airs on SPEED) for 3 minutes of highlights and analysis, then to commercial. Back for a short stretch of ARCA (which can be seen on SPEED) and Hooters Pro Cup (which can be seen on SPEED). I think I am seeing a trend here. This quick segment takes about 2 and ½ minutes to complete. Back from commercial and the horse can see the barn with 10 minutes left in the program.

To World Rally (which can be seen on SPEED) for 2 minutes of highlights then to the Fast Five Moments of the week. Hey check out the bottom of the screen. It’s USAC! USAC has made the SPEED Report!

Oh wait, I could have read this on the internet. Why do I need to read the bottom crawl cleverly titled “the Fast Lane” when all of that info can be viewed off the web? Commercial. Back for the last 5 minutes of the program and what do I see, not highlights but a graphic saying “Bobby Santos went from last to first to win $50,000 “Big Car” USAC midget race at Stafford Speedway.”

Ok now my intelligence has been insulted. If there are any SPEED employees reading this:
A. The PRA “Big Car Series” is not the same as USAC.
B. A midget is not the same as a “Big Car.”
C. USAC did not race at Stafford on the night in question, it was the PRA.

GET A CLUE PEOPLE!

Congratulations to Bobby Santos for getting it done twice in the same night at Stafford.
Nicole and Drew now end the show without showing a second of grass roots open wheel racing. I guess the 15 minutes rehashing the 1 hour NASCAR Victory Lane program took too much time away from the Open Wheel highlights. I guess if SPEED does not carry your race, you won’t get on.

A Better Way
I agree that there are more people out there that would like to see Cup highlights than USAC highlights but there is a better way. Why doesn’t SPEED take the unused highlights that didn’t make the show and put them on their website? You can promote that the highlights can only be seen at SPEEDtv.com and drive more viewers to your website. Just a thought.

Kudos also go out to Nicole Manske who shed that awful looking dress last week for something a little more nicer.

The SPEED Report has improved in some areas but needs work in others. There is not enough time to get to what folks like I want to see (USAC and WoO). Why not put unused highlights on the SPEED website? I think it could work.

A quick note on Wind Tunnel while we are still on the subject of SPEED. The funniest part of the Paul Tracy interview came when Paul told Robin Miller,

“You are safe because you are not French,” in reference to his two scuffles. He then added, “San Jose was my fault. The deal with Bourdais was just a racing incident. The only reason I was fined because I was on probation. Talladega nights was the story of myself and Bourdais. The film studio only used NASCAR to get more people to see it.” Tracy rightly pointed out that he caused the wrecks but did not start either of the fights.

Enough bitching, now on with the news...

IRL to Race Montreal in 2007?
Our friends over at TrackSideOnline.com have reported that the IRL is looking at staging a race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal in 2007. Over the weekend the jet that is used to shuttle IRL personnel to and from races flew to Montreal International according to FlightAware.com http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1RL. Champ Car World Series will race at that very same 2.709 mile road course this weekend.

Edwards Receives Busch Probation and Fine
Carl Edwards is now on probation in both the Cup and Busch Series. He was already on probation in the Cup Series for a incident at Pocono. Today NASCAR put him on probation in the Busch Series for hitting Dale Earnhardt’s car following the completion of last weeks Busch Series race. His Busch probation will last until Dec. 31 and he was also fined $20,000.

Springfield Images Posted
Images from Springfield have been posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/ and in the photo section at www.retechracing.com.

Two Open Wheelers in ARCA Field
Two Silver Crown drivers will race this weekend at the Governor’s Cup ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Milwaukee Saturday. Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 16 Auto Xpress-Hoosier Tire Midwest-USAF Chevrolet entry and Peter Shepherd will attempt to race for a second time this season at the mile behind the wheel of the No. 39 Griddly Headz Gamez-Beavex-Logel's Auto Parts Ford. Shepherd raced in the Silver Crown event at Milwaukee earlier this season.

Open Wheeler Truck Entries Bristol
10 Terry Cook
16 Mike Bliss
17 David Reutiman
21 Bobby East
25 Boston Reid
46 Kraig Kinser
98 Erin Crocker

Busch Series Entries Bristol
9 Kasey Kahne
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 JJ Yeley
38 Jason Leffler
39 Ryan Newman
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar

TV Listings
August 23
8:30 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
August 25
3:30 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
5:00 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Bristol (LIVE)
7:00 pm Nextel Cup Happy Hour Practice - Bristol(LIVE) TNT
7:45 pm Busch Series Racing from Bristol TNT
August 26
5:00 pm USAC Sprints from Salem Outdoor Channel
7:00 pm Bank of America Countdown to Green - Bristol TNT
7:30 pm Nextel Cup Racing from Bristol TNT
August 27
1:30 pm CCWS Montreal NBC
3:00 pm Rolex Sports Car Series Infineon Raceway SPEED
3:30 pm IRL Infineon Raceway ESPN
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED


Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NASCAR Images, SPEED, NBC, Champ Car World Series and R.E. Technologies.

Silver Crown by the Numbers

Silver Crown by the Numbers
The following information was taken from results that I have archived from the 2005 and 2006 USAC Silver Crown seasons to date. Other information was pulled from USAC media guides from 2001 – 2006. The results of this study are property of Open Wheeler. Please contact the web master (see right side of the page) for permission if you would like to use the results in any form.

The USAC Silver Crown Series has taken a lot of heat this season. Some deserved and some that is unfair. I thought I would crunch some numbers for you to give you a big picture.

The 2006 season features 14 events up from the 10 of 2005. The last time the series ran 14 events was 2000. Like 2005, this season will see 5 dirt races. With 4 races to go, here is where we stand.

Driver Count
Right now, only 4 drivers have run every race this season. 2003 also saw only 4 drivers run every race. 2002 and 2001 saw 9 drivers run every race. So far, 9 teams have appeared at every event.

Car Count
In 2005 Phoenix and ORP tied for highest car count at 45 while Eldora had the lowest of 24. This season, the low point was in Phoenix with 12 cars but the dirt low was set at Terre Haute at 26, still higher than the 2005 low. USAC is down an average of 8 cars on dirt.

Finishing Races
There has been much talk about cars not finishing races this season. The highest percentage of cars to finish a pavement race in 2005 was 69% at Pikes Peak compared to the 71% at Homestead. The lowest amount to finish in 2005 was 39% at the Hoosier Hundred. This season the lowest average to finish was 36% at Chicago and ORP. The average number of cars to finish a race is down 6% on dirt and 10% on pavement from 2005 to this season.

Cars on the Lead Lap
Phoenix saw the most cars finish (57%) on the lead lap in 2005 while Homestead saw 64% finish on the lead lap in 2006. However the number of cars finishing on the lead lap is down 5% on dirt and 10% on pavement from 2005 to 2006.

There is still 2 dirt and 2 pavement races to go in the season. While we have seen cars not finish races this season, we have seen the same in 2005. The obvious difference from 2005 to this season is the smaller car count on pavement but that is to be expected with a change in the style of car. The key will be getting more car owners for 2006. I don’t have the answer and I just didn’t tell you anything you or USAC doesn’t know. They are working on it and I expect a larger car count in 2007. The results of my research are posted below.

There have been 7 teams/ cars that have run all of the races so far:
1. 21 Team Six-R (Tyler)
2. 29 BK Leffler
3. 199 Carl Edwards/ RE Tech
4. 26 Sam Pierce
5. 00 Reutiman
6. 1 Team Six-R (Steele)
7. 17 RW Motorsports

So far in 2006, 4 drivers have started 10 events.
In 2005, only 7 drivers started all 10 races that season.2004 also saw 7 drivers compete in all 13 events.2003 saw only 4 drivers start all 12 events.2002 saw 9 drivers start all 10 events.2001 had 9 drivers start all 13 events.2000 had 7 drivers start all 14 events.

Car count
2005
Phoenix 45
Hoosier Hundred 43
Terre Haute 32
Richmond 33
Pikes Peak 39
Milwaukee 36
IRP (now ORP) 45
Springfield 39
DuQuoin 33
Eldora 24
Average dirt (excluding DuQuoin and Eldora) 38
Average pavement 40

2006
Phoenix 12
Homestead 14
Hoosier Hundred 34
Kentucky 13
Richmond 14
Chicagoland 14
Milwaukee 13
ORP 14
Terre Haute 26
Springfield 31

Average dirt 30
Average pavement 13

Number of cars to finish the race
2005
Phoenix 24 out of 37 65%
Hoosier Hundred 13 out of 33 39%
Terre Haute 15 out of 27 56%
Richmond 19 out of 33 58%
Pikes Peak 22 out of 32 69%
Milwaukee 19 out of 33 58%
IRP (now ORP) 22 out of 32 69%
Springfield 19 out of 30 63%
DuQuoin 22 out of 33 67%
Eldora 12 out of 24 50%

Average dirt 55%
Average pavement 64%

2006
Phoenix 7 out of 12 58%
Homestead 10 out of 14 71%
Hoosier Hundred 17 out of 34 50%
Kentucky 8 out of 13 62%
Richmond 5 out of 14 36%
Chicagoland 6 out of 14 43%
Milwaukee 8 out of 13 62%
ORP 6 out of 14 43%
Terre Haute 12 out of 26 46%
Springfield 16 out of 31 52%

Average dirt 49%
Average pavement 54%

Number of cars to finish on the lead lap
2005
Phoenix 21 out of 37 57%
Hoosier Hundred 12 out of 33 36%
Terre Haute 13 out of 27 48%
Richmond 13 out of 33 39%
Pikes Peak 13 out of 32 41%
Milwaukee 13 out of 33 39%
IRP (now ORP) 5 out of 32 16%
Springfield 14 out of 30 47%
DuQuoin 10 out of 33 30%
Eldora 7 out of 24 29%

Average dirt 38%
Average pavement 38%

2006
Phoenix 7 out of 12 58%
Homestead 9 out of 14 64%
Hoosier Hundred 13 out of 34 38%
Kentucky 5 out of 13 38%
Richmond 3 out of 14 21%
Chicagoland 2 out of 1414%
Milwaukee 4 out of 13 31%
ORP 4 out of 14 29%
Terre Haute 6 out of 26 23%
Springfield 12 out of 31 39%

Average dirt 33%
Average pavement 28%

Number of cars to drop out of the race
2005
Phoenix 13 out of 37 35%
Hoosier Hundred 20 out of 33 61%
Terre Haute 12 out of 27 44%
Richmond 14 out of 33 42%
Pikes Peak 10 out of 32 31%
Milwaukee 14 out of 33 42%
IRP (now ORP) 10 out of 32 31%
Springfield 11 out of 30 37%
DuQuoin 11 out of 33 33%
Eldora 12 out of 24 50%

Average dirt 45%
Average pavement 36%

2006
Phoenix 5 out of 12 42%
Homestead 4 out of 14 29%
Hoosier Hundred 17 out of 34 50%
Kentucky 5 out of 13 38%
Richmond 9 out of 14 64%
Chicagoland 8 out of 14 57%
Milwaukee 5 out of 13 38%
ORP 8 out of 14 57%
Terre Haute14 out of 26 54%
Springfield 15 out of 31 48%

Average dirt 51%
Average pavement 46%

All statistics were researched by and are the property of the webmaster. To use these stats, please contact the webmaster or do the research yourself. DON’T STEAL.

Hines Wins Springfield after Dave Steele is Disqualified

Hines Wins Springfield after Dave Steele is Disqualified

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Tracy Hines was the man to beat Saturday afternoon at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Hines was in the top eight in practice times, set a new track record and led the most laps during the race. Only one driver stood in his way and that was pavement expert Dave Steele who took the lead from Hines on lap 65. Steele crossed the finish line first but failed post race technical inspection when his car did not make weight according to USAC rules. Tracy Hines was 12th quick early in the first practice session of the morning. At the end of practice Hines had improved to 8th quick. Brian Tyler was 6th quick in that session and Dave Darland paced the field. USAC utilized group qualifying Saturday. That resulted with Tracy Hines shattering the track record for the one mile Springfield oval at 29.305 at 122.846mph. Dave Darland timed in second quick at 29.766. Bryan Tyler would start 6th, Steele 15th and points leader Bud Kaeding 18th. The green flag dropped and immediately the red flag came out when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. flipped wildly in turn two after making contact with two other cars. Stenhouse was uninjured. Tire wear would be a factor in the race. Dave Darland blew a tire on lap 41. The same fate would find points leader Bud Kaeding on lap 67. Meanwhile Brian Tyler was moving forward looking to make it a three peat at Springfield. On the final restart Tyler chased Hines but could not pass him. The second place finish propelled Brian Tyler to the lead in the seesaw points chases. Tyler and Bud Kaeding have traded the points lead several times this season. The Michigan native now leads Kaeding by 26 points. Wayne Reutiman Jr. experienced mechanical problems sending him to 4th place in the drivers points and Aaron Pierce to 3rd. Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies Racing jumped from 5th to 3rd in the owner’s points with the 5th place finish by Jerry Coons Jr. The USAC Silver Crown Series now has two dirt and two pavement races left on the 2006 schedule. The series will be in action two weeks from this Sunday on September 3rd at DuQuoin, Illinois.

Dave Steele DQed at Springfield 3:50pm

Dave Steele DQed at Springfield 3:50pm
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Tracy Hines won the USAC Silver Crown race at Springfield after Dave Steele was QDed for being to light. Brian Tyler was second. Full story later today on this website.

Hines Sets New Track Record 11:45am

Hines Sets New Track Record 11:45am

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Tracy Hines set a new track record grabbing the pole today at Springfield with a time of 29.305 at 122.846mph. The old record was 29.776 set in 2005 by Josh Wise. Hines set the time on his last lap of the group qualifying session. Dave Darland was second quick followed by Jay Drake. Local driver Justin Allgaier is fourth quick. The Springfield native is scheduled to drive in the ARCA RE/MAX Series race here tomorrow. Full results are posted at www.retechracing.com in the Live Trackside portion of the website. DuQuoin remains the fastest dirt mile in the USAC Silver Crown schedule. Tyler Walker holds the track record there at 29.138. The ARCA trucks are now on the track. We will probably not see a non-qualifiers race today. The Silver Crown feature is schedules for 1:30pm.

Darland Leads Practice at Springfield 11am

Darland Leads Practice at Springfield 11am
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Dave Darland led the first practice session at the Tony Bettenhausen 100 today. Darland turned a time of 30.978 in the second practice session. A complete listing of times has been posted in the Live Trackside section at www.retechracing.com. Live qualifying will not work today because USAC is using the group qualifying style. I will post the results as soon as they are available.

Good Day for Racing 8am

Good Day for Racing 8am
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Hello again this time from the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Thirty-nine cars are on the pre-entry sheet for today’s race. Crews are currently working on their cars getting them ready for racing. Road crews are also working in the pit area to clear the main stage of equipment from last nights Big and Rich concert. Tonight the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows take the stage. We are under cloudy skies and the temperature is climbing but should be more comfortable that past years. The track looks a little damp from last night’s rain but should be in good shape by the time to race. Below is the pre-entry list.

1 Dave Steele
4 Shane Cottle
7 Cole Carter
10 Josh Wise
12 Jeff Swindell
15 Teddy Beach
20 Ron Gregory
21 Brian Tyler
22 Levi Jones
26 Aaron Pierce
27 Mat Neely
29 Bud Kaeding
32 AJ Fike
33 Roger Rager
35 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
36 Chappy Knaack
37 Tracy Hines
43 Johnny Parsons
45 Donnie Beechler
48 Shane Hollingsworth
51 Russ Gamester
52 Jay Drake
55 Randy Bateman
56 Dave Darland
59 Dickie Gaines
62 Tim Siner
63 Ray Bull
77 Chris Urish
86 Justin Allgaier
90 John Heydenreich
91 Derreck King
96 Rodney Weesner
99 Paul White
114 Davey Ray
153 Tom Capie
155 Alex Shanks
156 Hud Cone
199 Jerry Coons Jr.
00 Wayne Reutiman Jr.

Good Morning from Springfield 5:30am

Good Morning from Springfield 5:30am
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Good morning from Springfield, Illinois where we are under partly cloudy skies and the temperature is 70F. The forecast for today has greatly improved overnight. The National Weather Service forecast http://www.crh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=ILX&map.x=143&map.y=151 is a little behind as there is no rain on the radar headed to Springfield in the next two hours. All the precipitation is south of the area and moving east. The Weather Channel forecast http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USIL1114?from=search_city looks great. I am leaning more towards their forecast today.

It should be a great day of racing as fans will see both the USAC Silver Crown Series as well as the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series run.

Shane Cottle was the top dog last night at Gas City winning the opener for Indiana Midget week. Points leader Jerry Coons Jr. was second and Tracy Hines was third. Jay Drake who is second in the points finished fifth.

It is time to head to the track. I will post an entry list when it becomes available. Check back for the next update around 8am.

Hello from Springfield/ Carl Edwards ORP Silver Crown Race Airs Saturday/ Big Mouth vs Big Mouth

Hello from Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – We are here in Springfield for Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown race. We will be doing updates beginning at 8am since the pit gate opens at 6am. Brian Tyler is the two time defending winner. He is only down 16 points to points leader Bud Kaeding in the points chase.

ORP Silver Crown Race Airs Saturday
The USAC Silver Crown race at O’Reilly Raceway Park airs Saturday at 4pm central time on the Outdoor Channel. The broadcast will feature Carl Edwards’ in car camera view of his slide and incredible recovery while chasing Brian Tyler for the win in the closing laps of the race.

Big Mouth vs Big Mouth
First it was Paul Tracy vs Alex Tagliani, then it was Paul Tracy vs Sebastien Bourdais. This weekend it will be Paul Tracy vs “I’m not French” Robin Miller. This will mark the first time Paul will not spar with a Frenchman in a few weeks. Miller will co-host Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. Paul Tracy is the featured interview.

Gone in a Cloud of Dust/ Where did Bop Em Bob Come From?/ Double Duty/ Springfield Updates/ Racing Lawsuits of Note

Gone in a Cloud of Dust

How quick can someone go from being a champion to second place in the USAC Silver Crown Series? All in a cloud of dust.

That is all it took for Brian Tyler to go from having a good lead to trailing Bud Kaeding in the points. Thursday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Tyler was on top of the world. He has beaten NASCAR NEXTEL Cup star Carl Edwards to win the JD ByRider 100 and extend his points lead. It would all come crashing down on Saturday night. Bryan Tyler started in 16th and was looking to move forward.

He had won the event in past years starting from the back and this year looked like he would have the hot shoe again. Nine laps into the Sumar Classic 100, Tyler “got runover” when two cars aparently could not see where they were going because of the dusty conditions and one ran over the points leader’s right rear and the other ran over his left rear ending Tyler’s day. Bud Kaeding took advantage of Tyler’s misfortuines. The California driver was able to avoid incidents that brought out the 19 yellow flags and 2 red flags on the evening and win the race.

The victory was win number three on the season for BK. Kaeding now has an 18 point lead on Tyler going into Springfield. Bud Kaeding may have the points lead but Tyler has history on his side. Brian Tyler has won the last two Silver Crown races at Springfield coming from 16th to win in 2005 and 21st to win in 2004. Another interresting development from Terre Haute was the No. 26 car of Aaron Pierce. Pierce went into the infield during the multi car pileup that knocked Tyler out of the race. Pierce tried to get the No. 26 back on the track but flipped. That brought out the red flag. Remarkably, his crew was able to put the car back together, get back in the race and finish 11th, just 24 laps down. Aaron Pierce trails Wayne Reutiman Jr by 11 points for third. Fans may also want to keep their eye on Jerry Coons Jr. The Arizona native has been strong at Springfield finishing second three times and third once in the last five years.

Where Did Bop Em Bob Come From?

You have seen the saga of Bop Em Bob on this website but where did the punching doll come from? Wayne Reutiman Jr. told Rob Klepper on the USAC Racing Show Monday night that Bob was a gift from someone in the shop. It appears that from time to time Reutiman would get frustrated with some bad luck and someone in the shop got him a punching doll so he would have something to take out his frustrations on. Bob is scheduled to be in the Reutiman pits this weekend. Hopefully his services will not be needed.

Double Duty
I don’t have a list of the Silver Crown entries for Springfield but two Silver Crown drivers are entered for the ARCA RE/MAX Series race there on Sunday. AJ Fike is scheduled to drive the No. 12 on Sunday while Justin Allgaier is set to pilot the No. 16. Allgaier set the ARCA track record at Springfield last season. Springfield, Illinois is also his hometown. The ARCA Lincon Welders Truck Series will join the Silver Crown cars on the track Saturday.

Final Fact
While Brian Tyler won the last two races at Springfield, who won the races there from 2000-2003?
Answer: Dave Darland 2003, JJ Yeley 2002, Paul White 2001 and Jack Hewitt 2000.

Updates from Springfield

Please join us Saturday beginning at 8:30am for coverage of the Tony Bettenhousen 100 right here at http://www.openwheeler.blogspot.com/ and http://www.retechracing.com/. The RE site will have results in the Live Trackside portion of their website and will also have live qualifying coverage during the qualifying session. We hope you enjoy the coverage we have brought you this season and will look for you this Saturday.

Racing Lawsuits of Note
Two stories involving the courts have come to my attention. Since I have not seen the court doccuments personally, I am electing to just link to published stories that appeared on SceneDaily.com. One law suit involved Shane Hmiel vs Braun Racing. http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2006/08/14/scene_daily27.html
The other involves a lawsuit between Jeremy Mayfield and Ray Evernham. http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2006/08/14/scene_daily32.html

Programming Note: I am moving my story on “my take on the new SPEED Report” to next week. I thought it was not fair to judge the program only on one viewing. I will watch it again this Sunday and then have a story for you next week.

Images appearing in this blog courtesy of R.E. Technologies.

IRL Rain Beats CCWS Fight/ Pathetic Penalty/ Corn to Sponsor IRL Race, Guess Where?/ Kahne Races Open Wheel Car in Memphis

IRL Rain Beats CCWS Fight

The Indy Racing League’s rainout at Michigan beat Champ Car World Series fight at San Jose

in the latest sports rating in this week’s edition of the Sports Business Journal.
<http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&arti
cleId=51492> On a rare non-NASCAR Sunday, the IRL and CCWS had the same time slots on two major broadcast networks, ABC and NBC respectively. The IRL suffered through a rain delay for the complete 2.5 hours of the broadcast. Still, the program drew about 1,118,000 households according to the SBJ.

Over on NBC, we were treated to a so so race with not a ton of passing but it was still better than rain. The CCWS broadcast only drew about 844,000 households according to the SBJ. It was the CCWS race on NBC that made news when Paul Tracy made an ill advised move on the racecourse.

Alex Tagliani, who Tracy ran over then wanted to fight Paul Tracy and let him know how he felt. Unfortunately not a lot of people saw it until it made Sports Center that night.

So ABC and the IRL had more viewers in the US and would have probably had more viewers if the rain never hit the track. The SBJ reports that the 1.1 million households that tuned in to ABC was actually down 19.4 percent from the audience for last year’s race. NASCAR Busch Series race the night before also was subject to rain. The IRL’s rain on ABC beat TNT’s rain by 234,000 households.

The actual Busch race did beat the IRL when it went green by 85,000. The IRL’s rain delay ranked fifth in the broadcast sports ratings according to the SBJ. CCWS did not make the top ten. I guess the moral of this story is that the IRL and CCWS should reunite. Both sides can offer something to the other. They just need to get together.

Pathetic Penalty
I guess probation in Camp Car World Series is worthless. The Indianapolis based open wheel series showed it’s teeth this week when it penalized Paul Tracy a whopping 3 points for fighting with series points leader Sebastien Bourdais after he took Bourdais out at the end of the race. The Frenchman has a chance for the championship while Tracy is 129 points back. Tracy was also fined $25,000. But CCWS unleashed their fury when they extended the Canadian’s probation one more race. The funniest thing about this is Forsythe Championship Racing’s reaction to the “harsh” penalty.

“I believe that the penalty imposed to Paul Tracy for the last lap incident is simply wrong and not appropriate, but we have to accept the decision of the Series even if we don't agree with it,” said Neil Micklewright, Vice President of Team Operations.

Micklewright then went on to ask for a penalty on Sebastien Bourdais for starting the fight. CCWS has got to get some teeth.

Pulling bonsai moves and taking other cars out two races in a row is uncalled for.

Starting a fight but not receiving any penalties is unacceptable.

Finally, probation should mean something. Violating probation and walking away with a slap on the wrist as we say here in the south, “just ain’t right.”

Corn to Sponsor IRL Race, Guess Where?
The Iowa Corn Promotion Board will sponsor the IndyCar Series event at Iowa on June 27, 2007. When the IRL takes the green flag at the new speedway, all of the series cars will run on Ethanol. A natural fit considering the amount of corn that grows in Iowa. Iowa as well as Minnesota sweet corn is a summer favorite of mine. If you have never tried it, you are missing out.

Kahne Races Open Wheel Car in Memphis

I guess you can consider a tricycle an Open Wheel vehicle right? My buddy Craig Wack
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/auto_racing/article/0,1426,MCA_462_4920272,00.html of the Commercial Appeal reports that Kasey Kahne raced a tricycle against kids who live at the Memphis Ronald McDonald House. He also talked about returning to Memphis for the Busch race later this year. Kahne has raced at Memphis before in USAC Silver Crown action. The Memphis track will see some action in the next week. The NHRA is here this weekend and Greg Biffle will test at the paved oval on Monday and Kurt Busch will test at the oval on Tuesday in preparation for the Cup race at Richmond. Memphis and Richmond have similar layouts.

Images appearing in this blog courtesy of TNT, NASCAR Images, SPEED, NBC, ABC, Champ Car World Series, the Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and R.E. Technologies.