Round 11--Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400

[mlittle]

After a couple of weeks-off, its' back to the track for the drivers and teams of the Champ Car World Series, as they travel to one of my favorite cities'(besides New Orleans and San Francisco), Sin City USA(ahem, I meant, Las Vegas ), for the Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400. With the demands of a banked oval(12-degrees) such as the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there will be a few changes to the cars for this round, as opposed to 2004:

1}As in 2004, the cars will be using the road-course configurations on the front and rear wings, meaning that there will be more downforce(read, drag) on the cars, allowing them to forgo using things such as the 'Hanford Device' on the rear wings.

2}Unlike last year, the drivers will be allowed to use the "boost" function on the Cosworth XFE-2 engine, with one change. Normally, they're allowed to use the boost in one-second intervals. For Vegas, they get ten-second intervals. The drivers that use their boost(s) at the right moment are going to be at the front at the end of the race.

How many people will be there? Last year's "Double Down in the Desert" with ChampCar and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garnered 80,000 people for the two-race bill, and my guess...it'll probably be that many as well. It better be, because ChampCar hasn't exercised their 3rd-year option on the race, and if the people aren't there, the race won't be in 2006.

Here's the weekend schedule for the race:

Practice Session #1--3:00 PM EDT, 23 Sept.
Qualifying Session--7:30 PM EDT, 23 Sept.
Practice Session #2--11:30 PM EDT, 23 Sept.
Final Practice Session--7:15 PM EDT, 24 Sept.
CC Hurricane Relief 400--11:00 PM EDT, 24 Sept.(tape-delayed on Speed Channel, 3:30 PM EDT, 25 Sept.[19:30 UTC 25 Sept.)

Storylines, commentaries, and other things will be posted during the week, w/the requisite qual. and race reviews.

[mlittle]

Here are the storylines lying around Sin City for Saturday night's race. Speaking of Sin City, has anyone seen Bundy or julian? Oh, I forgot, they're over at Binion's Horseshoe watching the World Series of Poker? Oh well, they'll be alright.

1}Another thriller? Count on it, especially now that the drivers have the 60-sec. boost function on the engines for the race. If you're not sure what's going to happen, take it from me....it's ChampCar's equivalent to a full-tilt bullring race; unlike the IRL's race at Richmond, no one lifts off the throttle, not one bit.

2}Home, sweet, home. For a couple of the ChampCar drivers, such as Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy, Las Vegas is a second home for them. Last year, neither did very well, but with the vagaries of an oval race, anything's possible. If the fates are well, we'll definitely see the two of them up at the front.

3}It's confirmed. In an interview on the ChampCar website, PKV racing protege and Atlantics competitor Katherine Legge confirmed in an interview w/Gordon Kirby that she will indeed test a PKV ChampCar over the winter at Sebring, with 1996 series champion Jimmy Vasser serving as driver coach for the session. The date for the test hasn't been set, but if it's successful, we might just see her race at Las Vegas next year in a ChampCar.

4}New car to be debuted in a few weeks. In another CCWS website article, new president Steve Johnson confirmed that the 2007-spec ChampCar will be introduced in the next few weeks. Sources say that the chassis will either be a Lola or a Panoz-built chassis. Chances are....the 2007 car will be built by Lola.

[Julian Mayo]

Here are the storylines lying around Sin City for Saturday night's race. Speaking of Sin City, has anyone seen Bundy or julian? Oh, I forgot, they're over at Binion's Horseshoe watching the World Series of Poker? Oh well, they'll be alright.

1}Another thriller? Count on it, especially now that the drivers have the 60-sec. boost function on the engines for the race. If you're not sure what's going to happen, take it from me....it's ChampCar's equivalent to a full-tilt bullring race; unlike the IRL's race at Richmond, no one lifts off the throttle, not one bit.

2}Home, sweet, home. For a couple of the ChampCar drivers, such as Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy, Las Vegas is a second home for them. Last year, neither did very well, but with the vagaries of an oval race, anything's possible. If the fates are well, we'll definitely see the two of them up at the front.

3}It's confirmed. In an interview on the ChampCar website, PKV racing protege and Atlantics competitor Katherine Legge confirmed in an interview w/Gordon Kirby that she will indeed test a PKV ChampCar over the winter at Sebring, with 1996 series champion Jimmy Vasser serving as driver coach for the session. The date for the test hasn't been set, but if it's successful, we might just see her race at Las Vegas next year in a ChampCar.

4}New car to be debuted in a few weeks. In another CCWS website article, new president Steve Johnson confirmed that the 2007-spec ChampCar will be introduced in the next few weeks. Sources say that the chassis will either be a Lola or a Panoz-built chassis. Chances are....the 2007 car will be built by Lola.

Not watching, Dude, playing
Hows the weather, this latest one looks worse than Katrina, looking at the Sat pics

[mlittle]

Yeah, that'd be Hurricane Rita, barreling down on Galveston and the Houston area right now. It's a strong Cat-4/5 at the moment, and, unlike in New Orleans, everyone's getting out of the way.

[Julian Mayo]

Yeah, that'd be Hurricane Rita, barreling down on Galveston and the Houston area right now. It's a strong Cat-4/5 at the moment, and, unlike in New Orleans, everyone's getting out of the way.

I know you are a tad inland, but keep your head down in case it turns right, ok

[mlittle]

It's already in the Gulf, so if it turns right.....they've already been hit hard once, they don't need another round.

[Julian Mayo]

Speaking from experience, the mongrel thhings will do the unpredictable, still you have to admire nature at its most awesome. Tends to remind me of how insignificant we really are, and most of us need a reminder occasionally

[mlittle]

Reminder to self.....make sure to check with our two intrepid gamblers, Julian and Bundy, and see how much money they've lost...ahem, I mean, won...oops . Anyway, what kind of race can we expect in Vegas Saturday night?

Well....if last year's race was any indication, it will be another old-fashioned oval fight. From the drop of the green last year, as Patrick Carpentier led the field into turn 1, it was a dogfight all the way to the checkers as Newman-Haas Racing's duo, Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junquiera fought the last 15-20 laps inches apart at over 200 mph, neither giving an inch, wheels literally next to the other car's until SeaBass won by 66-thousandths' over Junky.

With Junquiera sidelined, Catalonian Oriol Servia now sits as #2 with the team, but that appelation will fall once the race begins. While Servia finished 12th last year, that was with Dale Coyne's squad; this year, he's proven he can run with Bourdais, Tracy, and Allmendinger. Speaking of PT, he probably feels that the track owes him one; last year, a drivetrain failure on the parade lap cost him a shot at the Vanderbilt Cup as he finished 18th, last in the field. It won't be easy, though...for in his career, he's never won on a long oval(unless you believe that he won the 2002 Indy 500 and not Helio Castroneves!), so he's not the favorite to win. But if he wants to fight Bourdais for the Vanderbilt Cup, he had best do well here.

But the prohibitive favorite is, of course, Le Mans, France's own, Sebastien Bourdais. In his 2+ yrs. in the series, he's won both long-oval races(EuroSpeedway, 2003, Las Vegas-2004) and was very competitive in his one-off at the Brickyard this year. He also, back in April, won a round of the Corwn Royal IROC Series at Texas Motor Speeway, so he knows how to run the banked ovals.

The big question, though, is technical in nature. Unlike 2004, when drivers were'nt given the use of the "power-to-pass"(boost) function on the XFE-2 engines, this year, they'll get the 60-sec. boost, but in 10-sec. increments. This will assuredly add more strategy, as drivers will have to decide for themselves when to use it. Do I use it at the start, during the rounds of pitstops, or at the end? Since the drivers won't lift off the throttle while at speed(100% throttle racing), the key turns to the aero side of the race. With the road-course packages in use this weekend, speeds should hover around 205-210 mph, and if you can "draft" off the car in front, this, and the boost function onboard, could give us should hair-raising, white-knuckle driving.

All I can say going into the weekend is...once the green falls, hold on tight, because its' 166-laps of pure adrenaline the 80,000+ people expected there will witness, and the results could have a major impact on who hoists the Vanderbilt Cup in Mexico City come November.

[mlittle]

In the practice session just ended at Las Vegas, it appears that the dominance of Newman-Haas Racing continues, as only Sebastien Bourdais and Oriol Servia were able to consistantly hold their cars on the bottom of the track, posting the two fastest times in the session, a 26.416 sec.(204.421 mph) for SeaBass, and a 26.529 sec.(203.551 mph) for Servia. Bourdais's main rival, Forsythe's Paul Tracy, had the 10th fastest time, at 26.951 secs.(200.364 mph). The biggest surprises came from a pair of rookies, HVM's Bjorn Wirdheim and Walker Racing/Team Australia's Marcus Marshall, who sit P3 and P8 on the grid following the session. Here is the qualifying order for tonight's one qualifying session(the grid is set by each driver's fastest of two flying laps)....

NOTE:the order is the reverse of the practice results(i.e. P18 in practice goes out first)

1}Rodalfo Lavin--HVM
2}(R)Ricardo Sperafico--Dale Coyne
3}(R)Andrew Ranger--MiJack-Conquest
4}(R)Timo Glock--RocketSports
5}Ryan Hunter-Reay--RocketSports
6}Nelson Phillipe--MiJack-Conquest
7}(R)Ronnie Bremer--Dale Coyne
8}Alex Tagliani--Walker Racing/Team Australia
9}Paul Tracy--Forsythe
10}Justin Wilson--RuSport
11}(R)Marcus Marshall--Walker Racing/Team Australia
12}Mario Dominguez--Forsythe
13}Cristiano DaMatta--PKV
14}A.J. Allmendinger--RuSport
15}Jimmy Vasser--PKV
16}(R)Bjorn Wirdheim--HVM
17}Oriol Servia--Newman-Haas
18}Sebastien Bourdais--Newman-Haas

Qualifying is slated for 7:30 EDT; results to be posted this evening....

[Julian Mayo]

what was the gap between Tags and Marshall?

[mlittle]

Marshall posted a time of 26.869 secs., while Tag posted a time of 27.009 secs. Not much, but on a long oval, that amts. to a couple of car-lengths difference.

[Julian Mayo]

Marshall posted a time of 26.869 secs., while Tag posted a time of 27.009 secs. Not much, but on a long oval, that amts. to a couple of car-lengths difference.

Yes, thats about a six and a half second gap at the finish line at the end of the Bathurst 1000

[mlittle]

The French have this saying(pardon the translation...)"plus ca change, plus ca meme."; i.e., the more things change, the more they stay the same. Case in point, NHR dominance at Vegas. With qualifying now done, both NHR cars are 1-2, and here is the qual. grid for tomorrow's race...

Row 1:#1 Sebastien Bourdais, 26.381 secs
#2 Oriol Servia, 26.388 secs.
Row 2:#12 Jimmy Vasser, 26.477 secs.
#21 Cristiano DaMatta, 26. 632 secs.
Row 3:#4 Bjorn Wirdheim, 26.635 secs.
#7 Mario Dominguez, 26.638 secs.
Row 4:#55 Rodalfo Lavin, 26.732 secs.
#10 A.J. Allmendinger, 26.800 secs.
Row 5:#9 Justin Wilson, 26.860 secs.
#5 Marcus Marshall, 26.974 secs.
Row 6:#34 Nelson Phillipe, 26.985 secs.
#19 Ronnie Bremer, 26.995 secs.
Row 7:#15 Alex Tagliani, 27.026 secs.
#3 Paul Tracy, 27.037 secs.
Row 8:#8 Timo Glock, 27.110 secs.
#31 Ryan Hunter-Reay, 27.175 secs.
Row 9:#27 Andrew Ranger, 27.250 secs.
#11 Ricardo Sperafico, 27.423 secs.

If there's any surprises on the board, it's the fact that PT's 14th on the grid; however, if past experiences are any indicator, he'll be at the front soon enough. Observations to follow later in the evening.

[Julian Mayo]

Im surprised to see Tags two rows behing Marshall. This is the first time Marshall has out q'd Tags isn't it ?
Bodes well for the team next season.

[mlittle]

First time. Heck, Julian, I think it's Marshall's first time P10 or better this year. Shocking, a'int it?