2007 Open-Wheel Musings Thread.........

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The purpose of this thread is simple................musings on what's going on in NA open-wheel racing, irrespective of series.


Some questions that have been floatin' abouts my gnarled mind........

~~A driver speaking the truth..........One surprise visitor to the Melbourne paddock during this past weekend's Australian GP was former ChampCar driver Nelson Phillipe, 2006 Surfers Paradise winner(...the reason I say former is that he will not be returning to the series in 2007 for one reason; he believes that having become a far better driver now than when he arrived in 2004, he should be paid to drive in ChampCar rather than having to pay teams for the chance at a seat.........) Here was his quote from Autosport as written at autoracing1.com........

Unfortunately I have to look elsewhere. As much as I want to race in Champ Car (in 2007), I am expected to bring money and I'm not going to do that; I don't have a cent to bring. I'm down in Melbourne and I went to the Formula One paddock and introduced myself around to people like Flavio Briatore(Renault team principal). I'm not prepared to pay for a test drive, and I don't want to move down to GP2. But if I got an offer of a test drive or to become one of Renault's development drivers, I'd take it.

I'm looking at every top open wheel racing series at the moment, but I'm looking at what my options are in V8 Supercars--hey, I might even get paid to race in that!--ALMS, and also Le Mans 24 hours. I want to be supportive of Champ Car, and I believe it is the best series in the world for racing, but I don't want to be expected to bring money each (year). And how can you find a sponsor who wants to put $2 million into a series that hasn't had a television profile in over six years? So I decided to take my destiny into my own hands. I don't think I'm a superstar or anything like that, but I'm not going to pay to drive. I want to have a (race) drive on merit and talent.

First thought...
Second thought............. Bravo, Nelson......Well said!!!! Isn't it refreshing to see some honesty in this sport, hmm?

~~Add one more driver to the mix. After watching a potential race seat w/Cahill Racing fall apart at the last moment, Grand Am sportscar driver Milka Duno appears set to finally get an IndyCar Series race seat; an announcement is set for sometime Friday with SAMAX Motorsports and representatives from both CITGO and the IRL.

What's that famous saying........(paraphrasing)Danica and Sarah and Milka....oh my!


~~Can Mazda fill in the gap left by Ford's departure? Short answer....YES! How? Well......here's what they've done so far: 1--by providing support for the Atlantic Championship and to SCCA's Formula Mazda series, they've essentially built a Mazda-powered ladder system whereby a driver starts in F-Mazda, then moves up to the more-powerful Star Mazda Series and then moves up to the Atlantics. 2--By running entries in multiple tin-top series(SCCA Mazda MX-5 Cup, Grand Am w/the Mazda RX-8, etc.) it gives Mazda North America more venues to test new items, to test engines(under race conditions) and so forth. Kudos to the MNAO staffs for laying IMO some very valuable seeds for the future of racing in North America.

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Q} With the 500 a month away, will there be any "bumping" during the month of May?
A} Depends on your definition of "bumping"...... In all seriousness, I doubt it.....unless the IRL needs to find a field-filler to knock Milka Duno off of the grid for the 500.


Q} Speaking of Duno, didn't she pass the first of her rookie tests a week or so ago?
A} Yeah, she did.....word on the street is that they gave Duno enough rear wing to make going 190-200 mph feel like an interstate drive; like I said in a commentary around the time of the Homestead race, I don't believe she is qualified to drive in an IndyCar, period. If she does pass her rookie test, I definitely will be praying that she doesn't take someone out during the race at Kansas.

Q} Will Honda leave the IRL after 2008?
A} Right now, I'd say around 40-60; Honda has an "out-clause" with the IRL allowing them to leave after the 2008 season, provided they give notice by April 2008. If they leave, I'd expect the IRL to dump the passenger-branding rules currently in place and have Ilmor badge the engines(or possibly bring Ilmor and Cosworth into the series...... )

Q} What are the odds that ChampCar will answer the bell in 2008, given the state of the series at present?
A} Honestly, about 50-50. From what I've heard at both Vegas and Long Beach, publicly the Three Geniuses(Kalkhoven, Forsythe and Gentilozzi) are friends, but privately they're acting like complete idiots. Kalkhoven is at odds with fellow team owner Dan Pettit over Pettit running RuSport Racing; Forsythe's at odds with Kalkhoven over Paul Stoddard's 2-seater program, among other things. The problem IMO is that the more ChampCar's leaders keep cutting corners in the front office, the worse their on-track product will appear. Then again....anyone who seriously thinks Paul Gentilozzi knows what he's talking about needs psychiatric help....now.

Q} Going back to Indy, who do you think will answer the bell for the Indy 500 rookie class?
A} If I had to guess.......Wade Cunningham, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, among others.....I'm not really sure, as long as Milka Duno isn't included on that list.....

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Open Wheel Musings, 9 May 2007.......................

With the sun beginning to set here at 16th and Georgetown, I thought it'd be a nice time to open up the musings notebook..............

~~From the "What the ----? files.......according to multiple sources, RuSport Racing(a/k/a R-Sports) has given team president Jeremy Dale the "order of the royal management boot"(i.e. they fired him..... ); rumor has it the senior leadership and board of directors of CDW, one of their biggest sponsors, is absolutely furious over it and is possibly planning to yank their sponsorship(word on the street is that if CDW goes, then so would Targus, Plantronics, etc......... ) Stay tuned on this one.........

~~ round 2....... Recently, someone asked me why it was taking the FIA so ---- long(their words, not mine..... ) to approve ChampCar's request to move the Zhuhai, China race from late May to late October............word on the international street is that the devil incarnate(a/k/a Bernie Ecclestone) is still trying to block ChampCar's Zhuhai race for fears it may "devalue" the Formula 1 race in Shanghai....how could that happen, considering Ecclectone "fleeces" every F1 race promoter on the calendar...

~~There is a bit of good news, though.......ChampCar officials are reporting that there will be a new sponsor for the Portland race in mid-June; the race will be known as the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland.

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After a weekend which saw Dario Franchitti pedaling' the huggy line around Iowa to victory and Paul Tracy "chrome horn" people left n' right to victory in Cleveland, it's time to open up the musings notebook.......

--Why is it no one on either side of the open-wheel world wants reunification or a merger?
--Two words....................TRUST and CONTROL; neither side trusts the other, and neither wants to give up control


--Looking over at the land of stockers(a/k/a NASCAR), is there anyone over there who could do well in AOWR?
--A bunch.......Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, for starters.......all of them cut their teeth either in USAC sprints or, in Kahne's case, lower-formula single-seaters(Kahne competed in Atlantics back in 1999)


--If you could choose any location for the United States Grand Prix, where would you go?
--Oh, that's easy.........Road America; it's a very, very ballsy' drivers' track and it would give Bernie Ecclestone coronaries just trying to find somewhere suitable for him to eat at.....


--What would be your ideal open-wheel schedule............
--I think I answered that a long-time ago, but here we go again................
**Road Courses(5): Road America, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen
**Street Circuits(5): Surfers' Paradise, Edmonton, Cleveland, Toronto, Long Beach
**Short Ovals(3): Richmond, Milwaukee, Phoenix
**Superspeedways(5): Nashville, Gateway, Homestead, Fontana, Michigan
**The Big One(1): Indianapolis

10 non-oval and 9 oval venues; a good variety of races..............