2006-2007 IRL Off-Season News.....

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Now that we're a month or so out from the 2006 season finale, it is time to open up the off-season news thread.........

~~Several IPS teams to test over the next few weeks.........more info here......
Several teams in the Indy Pro Series will be testing in the next few weeks, among them Sam Schmidt Mtrspts as they will be testing series champions from the Star Mazda Series(Adrian Carrio), Formula BMW-USA Series(Robert Wickens) and US Formula Ford Zetec Series(J.R. Hildebrand) on the 2.21-mile infield road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition, Part Sourcing Intl. is expected to test at Chiacgoland Speedway this week or next, while Brian Stewart Racing will test at Homestead in mid-November.

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After driving with 7-11 sponsorship for Andretti-Green Racing the past 4 years, 2004 IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan will sport new colors for the 2007 campaign, as Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems, one of longest-running sponsors in AOWR, have agreed to a 1-year sponsorship deal(w/additional option years). Breyant's involvement in NA open-wheel racing dates back to 1958, and they've been on the sidepods of around 50 or so racecar through the years.

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One of the keys to being a successful IndyCar Series team is having great engineers onboard, and earlier this week, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing brought aboard two of the better engineers in the sport, Chris Finch and John D ick. D ick, who has served w/Red Bull-Cheever Racing and Aguri-Fernandez Racing, will oversee DRR's engineering talents, while Finch, who has been a race engineer, will move into that position w/DRR for the 2007 season.

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More information can be found here
with a full media transcript of the team's announcement here.....


According to the first link, veteran IndyCar Series driver Scott Sharp will join Rahal-Letterman Racing for the 2007 IRL campaign, joining returning driver Jeff Simmons. The second link listed is a media teleconference held to announce the team's driver lineup for 2007; included in the teleconference are RLR co-owner Bobby Rahal, RLR drivers Scott Sharp and Jeff Simmons, Patron Spirits president Ed Brown and Tom Slunecka, repesenting the Ethanol Promotion & Information Council(EPIC).

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American Honda Motor Co. and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course officials confirmed today that Honda will be the title sponsor for Mid-Ohio's IndyCar Series/American LeMans Series event weekend......here are some quotes from those involved........

John Mendel, Senior VP-Auto Operations, American Honda Motor Co.:

There are many reasons why this monumental racing weekend is such a great fit for Honda and Acura. There is our long-time presence in Ohio as a manufacturer, Honda's tradition in open-wheel racing, currently as single-engine supplier to the IndyCar Series, and now in the American Le Mans Series, where Acura will be powering multiple teams in its' first year of competition. Add to that our decade-plus partnership with both the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Mid-Ohio School, which has brought us tremendous exposure as Officlal Vehicle and Official Pace Car. We're bringing Honda's and Acura's highest-profile domestic racing programs virtually into the backyards of more than 15,000 company associates who are based at our plants in Marysville, East Liberty and Anna. We're thrilled to play a significant role in this historic racing weekend, and we are extremely grateful to our partners at IndyCar, the American Le Mans Series and Mid-Ohio for helping to make it happen.

Michelle Trueman-Gajoch, President, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

We've enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Honda and are thrilled with their involvement in this new event. Honda's passion for performance--combined with our rich motorsports tradition--will undoubtably translate into a thrilling weekend for our fans and the thousands of Honda associates that work and live in Ohio.

The Honda Grand Prix of Ohio, round 12 of the 17-round 2007 IRL IndyCar Series season, is slated for the weekend of 20-22 July, 2007; both the IndyCar and Indy Pro Series' will compete that weekend.

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IMS and IRL officials have announced respective replacements for retiring medical director Dr. Henry Bock; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway selected Dr. Geoffrey Billows, while Dr. Michael Olinger will serve as the IRL's Chief Medical Officer. Some background on the pair........

Currently, Dr. Billows serves as the medical director of LifeLine Air Medical Transport and is an adjunct clinical professor of emergency medicine in the Emergency Medicine Department at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis; Bolinger also serves as Chief Medical Officer at the Clarian Infield Medical Center at IMS and has been a member of the IRL's Delphi Safety Team since 1998. Dr. Olinger has served as Director of Outpatient Medicine at Methodist Hospital and is an adjunct clinical professor of emergency medicine at Methodist; Olinger has also served on the Urban Search and Rescue Teams for both Marion Co., Ind. and the City of Indianapolis.

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Team Penske officials, along with officials from Eastman Kodak, announced today that Kodak will serve as an associate sponsor for the team's two IndyCar Series entries driven by Sam Hornish, Jr. and Helio Castroneves. Here are some quotes from those involved...........

Gregory T. Walker, Eastman Kodak VP-Marketing(Presence/Multicultural):

Our 2007 racing sponsorship program with Penske Racing will boost our brand visibility with motorsports fans. Helio and Sam are both Indy 500 champions with huge, loyal followings. We're proud to support (them for) 2007.

Tim Cindric, President, Penske Performance, Inc.*

We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Kodak for 2007. Adding Kodak to our list of marquee brands supporting our IndyCar Series program further demonstrates the success of our platform.

*--Penske Performance, Inc. is the parent company based in Mooresville, NC; PPI includes their IndyCar Series program, their NASCAR Nextel & Busch Series programs and their American LeMans Series program.

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They say everything's bigger in Texas, and here's another example, as series and track officials announced Friday that "America's Original Nighttime IndyCar Race" will now go from 500 to 550kms(which means instead of 200 laps, the race will now run for 228 laps). In addition, the race now has a new start time; the race will start at 10 pm EDT for broadcast on ESPN2(-4 hrs. GMT). Here is the expected broadcast schedule for Texas..........

TV} ESPN-2, 10 pm EDT 9 June 2007
Radio} domestic AM/FM--IMS Radio Network; satellite--XM Satellite Radio, Ch. 143, IndyCar Racing
Other}(tv/radio/shortwave) United States Armed Forces Network

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In recognition of his accomplishments in the 2006 IndyCar Series season, Andretti-Green Racing driver Marco Andretti will get to test an F1 car with Honda Racing F1 at Jerez on Dec. 15th. Here are some quotes from some of the principles............

Marco Andretti, Andretti-Green Racing:

I am thrilled that Honda has offered me this incredible opportunity. 2006 was a fantastic inaugural year for me in the IRL and I look forward to fighting for the championship next year. However, as you would expect of any racing driver, when Honda offered me the chance to drive, I grabbed it with both hands--no hesitation! I can only imagine what an awesome experience this is going to be and I'm just going to take my time and enjoy every moment.

Gil de Ferran, Honda Racing F1 Sporting Director:

We are delighted to have Marco join us in Jerez next week for his first run in a Formula 1 car. Marco has had an outstanding first season in the IndyCar Series, making a big impact at such a young age. As part of the extended Honda Racing family, it will be a great pleasure for us to give him the chance of his first experience of Formula 1.

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With Christmas rapidly approaching, it is time to open up the ole' notebook and see what bits of news, rumor and whatnot have been collected......

1}New IRL team in the works........for months, the NA motorsports community has seen ChampCar add at least one new team(Pacific Coast), with a second(Stoddart's) and possibly a third(Gelles Racing....); well, now the other half of Indianapolis can celebrate. According to the Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin, former IRL team owner Larry Cahill has tentatively announced plans to return to the series with a 2-car team, consisting of sportscar veteran Milka Duno and World of Outlaws sprintcar racer Jeff Matrisin. According to the article, Cahill, along with businessmen John Mecom, Jr., Jack Weis and Joie Chitwood, Jr., are also interested in working with series officials in sanctioning a street race to run on the Mississippi Gulf Coast(most likely Biloxi, Miss.) beginning in 2007 as a non-points event, then becoming a points-paying event in 2008.

2}Will Dreyer & Reinbold Racing answer the bell in 2007........short answer, yes. Long answer, yes, but.......according to most sources, D & R is still interested in running in ChampCar for 2007, which would explain why team co-owner Robbie Buhl was seen as several ChampCar races this year, most notably Road America.

3}Will there be any more "silly season" surprises.....probably not. Most of the seats(13) are filled for 2007. Add both Tomas Scheckter's expected return to Vision and Dario Franchitti's return to AGR(assuming the Three Wise Men can find the Scotsman's 1-yr. contract for 2007...... ) and the number goes up to 15. Then it gets a little interesting. Assume Cahill actually puts a 2-car team on the grid for Homestead; that makes it 17. Throw in 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice(who, by all accounts, will likely drive a third car for Vision Racing in 2007.....), and that makes it 18. After that.........darts, anyone?

4}Will anyone challenge Penske and Ganassi in 2007? Gee, let me think about that.......yes. As I said elsewhere, unless you were driving for either Penske or Ganassi, you had a better shot of predicting when paint would dry. Here are my early predictions.......
~~Penske: they'll remain at the sharp end of the spear
~~Ganassi: ditto for the Chipster
~~Andretti-Green: in 2005, all four AGR drivers(Wheldon, Kanaan, Franchitti and Herta) won races; I think 2007 could be one of those years
~~Rahal-Letterman: after 2 seemingly jinxed seasons, I think they'll return with a vengance; Scott Sharp still has the fire to win, and Jeff Simmons could surprise everyone next year
~~Aguri-Panther: as with a certain AGR driver, 2007 hopefully will bring Vitor Meira his first IndyCar victory after oh so many near-misses; having a new teammate(Matsuura) will push him more to the front


As for everyone else..........start predicting when the paint'll dry, fellas.....

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On-site renovations and improvements are set to begin at Belle Isle Park, which will host its' first Indy-style race since 2001. According to the Detroit Free Press, over a 1/2-million tons of concrete will be poured in what is to expected to be a months-long renovation/improvements project spearheaded by Team Penske owner Roger Penske. In addition to all the fresh concrete, other improvements to the areas designated for paddock space and other areas of the island. Everything is expected to be done in advance of the Labor Day 2007 race, part of the 17-round IndyCar Series season.

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Indy Racing League officials today announced changes to the 2007 rules in both technical areas and in the manner event weekends are conducted; according to IRL Technical Director Les Mactaggart,

Though they are not dramatic, the changes made for 2007 are necessary as our drivers and teams face the most diverse schedule in racing. (These) changes will enhance an already competitive race product.

~~Technical changes........
1=Beginning in 2007, the size of the Honda Indy H-16S V8 engine will be 3.5 liters, increasing low-end torque on short ovals and road/street courses
2=the fuel cells used in the IndyCar Series will decrease in size from 30 gallons to 22 gallons as a result of the switch from 90-10 methanol/ethanol fuel to 100 pct. ethanol racing fuel(due to what is reported to be a big increase in fuel mileage from the use of ethanol.... .........)
3=rear safety lights will be mounted on the gearbox attenuators of all IndyCar Series racecars
4=on short ovals and road/street courses, teams will be allowed to make changes in front wing angle from -5 to +5 degrees; teams will also be able to, for the first time in series history, change rear wing angles on all road/street course events

~~Event weekend changes...............
1=Beginning in 2007, there will be no final practice sessions at all oval-track events; instead, all practice sessions prior to qualifying will be extended by 15 minutes
2=In the event that qualifications are cancelled, grids will be set by driver entrant points, not by combined practice standings

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1=Beginning in 2007, there will be no final practice sessions at all oval-track events; instead, all practice sessions prior to qualifying will be extended by 15 minutes
2=In the event that qualifications are cancelled, grids will be set by driver entrant points, not by combined practice standings

I dont like the idea of these changes.....

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1=Beginning in 2007, there will be no final practice sessions at all oval-track events; instead, all practice sessions prior to qualifying will be extended by 15 minutes
2=In the event that qualifications are cancelled, grids will be set by driver entrant points, not by combined practice standings

I dont like the idea of these changes.....

No argument from me on 'em, T-K......

[<T-K>]

1=Beginning in 2007, there will be no final practice sessions at all oval-track events; instead, all practice sessions prior to qualifying will be extended by 15 minutes
2=In the event that qualifications are cancelled, grids will be set by driver entrant points, not by combined practice standings

I dont like the idea of these changes.....

No argument from me on 'em, T-K......

Maybe its just because its half past three in the morning, but that could be taken two ways....were you agreeing with me, or happy with the rule change?