WideOpenWheel

I Don't even like these things; sorry Despain!

I wish I was in Sonoma’s wine country about now.

When Robin Miller gets air time on his employer’s Speed TV,  just as nascrap is about to run BuscH Karz at
Bristol’s tHUNDEr vALLEy and he is talking live from Infineon Raceway, I take
notice. This is a live remote from an openwheel contest venue just minutes
before a green flag at Bristol. And funny enough, he was still talking about
the last IICS race in New Hampshire. My, but that has been ages ago! TGBB has
already flexed his IRON HAND OF JUSTICE, which means that nothing changed
regarding the finishing order and yet, Mr. Power is light about 30 LARGE in his
wallet. I am quite sure that this paltry sum has already been collected as
gracious donations from the adoring masses, so Mr. Power should not feel in
need of a federal bailout.

For the BEST tweet of the past 24 hours, regarding the worst
kept secret in all of motorsport,  it has
to go to @h3Lio with this comment:

Is there any truth to the rumor that this guy is taking his
arm to NASCAR?

http://yfrog.com/kfc2zogj

God, I hope he sure does! He can keep on ‘splainin about
that open wheel emblem just under Princess Sparkle Pony’s neck strap…..

With appropriate props to Robin, his unusually level headed
comments and final insight into the final farewell. Enjoy this for a few
moments as there is little pontificating, for a change!

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/miller-farewell-to-the-open-wheel-princess/

Who would have ever thought that the final results from
practice session number 1 in Sonoma would have the Chipster and Captain Roger
gunning it out. That is such a shock and soo unusual. What really IS so unusual
is the shoe in P-5. This is a real stunner, so I leave you with the final
results, compliments of Indy Car Timing and Scoring. Quals should prove to be
very interesting, with a last minute driver running in the 78 car of Kalkhovan.

Who Dat on P5??

Still don’t feel like kicking it but here it goes:
It has been a bittersweet week here in Indy: consider the heartbreaking events at the Indiana State Fairgrounds along with the tremendous amount of feel good stories have taken place in the beloved motorsports world. Never in my wildest imagination would I have scripted a story like the impending final days of the IICS Emperor, TGBB. It has been a VERY killer opportunity for Indy Car to get those coveted highlights on ESPN’s Sports Center, thanks to the stereo optic hand and finger gestures of one Will Power.

The ensuing Monday running of Cup @ da Glen (yeah, that’s right, a freakin MONDAY rain out re-running no less!) managed to absolutely kill IICS on sports center midnight highlights. Whenever one of those Michael Waltrip, silver wheeled Toyotas gets air time, you just HAVE to see it. You can find that stuff here, so class, let’s review:

I understand that. It’s just that Willie P giving the internationally understood gesture for “UR#1” to race OUT OF control should make not just the national, but the international news. And as for the final results, hell; we don’t have that so after we have a HEARING, it will remain NONYABUISNESS.

And don’t forget Said versus Biffle! I fell outta my chair listening to the post race pod catch with ESPN radio where Boris said the Biff is just a little man….yeah, that’s what Mr. Said said…..I’m just sayin’

How can I possibly keep up with all that wicked motorsport news? Easy! You should rush over to these two fav blogs to get the inside scoop;
OILPRESSURE
PRESSDOG

Talk to you after Sonoma!

I would post a long one today about all the activity and results in Loudon but in light of the events at the Indiana State Fair last night I am going to take a pass. My heart is just not into it. I would like all to say a prayer for those that went to a concert last night and lost their lives instead. Let that sink in a moment. Racing is just a sport……

Paul Henry

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110814/NEWS15/108140419/Death-toll-reaches-5-State-Fair-Sugarland-stage-collapse?odyssey=mod|defcon|text|IndyStar.com

The calm before the storm

I can begin to wish only good things for Princess Sparkle Pony as she moves her career endeavors to a different form of racing. Since we all know Danistar is still “testing” the waters of Napcrap, with no deal finalized as of yet, I thought I would share some of the finest skooling and guidance she will ever receive. With a tip of the hat to Pressdog for previously posting this, I offer this sound advice from a seasoned driving instructor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwikXZ9uVQQ&feature=player_embedded

Good luck to the Princess and good luck to Smoke as well. He gonna have his hands full! I can hear it now, my car is junk, my team builds crappy cars, IT AINT MY FAULT….
Anyone care to comment on Always Bad Coverage being re-upped for the next 5 years? Just when I thought we were going to be rid of the monotone cockpit of broadcast, BOOM. They are freakin back. Some days I just want to shoot myself. But I will leave the best comments for Robin Miller to produce. This week’s mailbag can be found here:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-millers-mailbag-810

Such a busy weekend coming up for IICS. Already today, Thursday, it is 9am and cars are OUT ON THE TRACK. The teams have been given 3 sets of racing tyres for the testing and practice today. I look for lap times to come down to about 21.5 seconds which is absolutely smoking! And if Scheckter can keep it off the wall, he will figure into the mix quite nicely. The return of the mighty Pippa Mann to open wheel oval racing is a very nice treat. She is photogenic, well spoken and is a sponsor’s dream with her willingness to sign anything thrust in her face while in the paddock. This lady has what it takes on an oval and gives her engineers very good feedback at to what the car is doing. You should rush over to her site and look at some of the work out video she made at Pitfit in Indy. Thanks and props to Bob Rahal for opening his arms and giving her a shot. Me thinks she will deliver. More on the Mighty Pippa can be found in the blog post by P’Dog and you can find it here:
http://pressdog.typepad.com/dogblog/2011/08/parabolica-pippa-ready-to-turn-her-oval-brain-on-at-new-hampshire-.html

So, with not one but two shout outs to one individual, I leave you with this little gem; I predict that Pippa will finish ahead of the Princess Sparkle Pony.

See you ’round the track!

With the conclusion of the oHIo twisty, I am going to fix my sights on the bullring that is next on the schedule (or as my Brit friends like to pronounce; shed-U-al), Loudon. There are far more competent bloggers out there that covered the Mid oHIo parade and the world does not need MY take on regurgitated data. A far better job was done by far better scribes than me (that would be Pressdog and Oilpressure; you HAVE to hit those blogs! Scoot over there now, but do come back here!). The highlight of the race has to be the stealthy Conway rolling up and just inhaling competitors and his on track prowess….never….made….it….into….the….broadcast. The second best part of the race was Dan Weldon’s unveiling and shakedown of the 2012 car a day later. (Oh, did I say that?) Details here:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-2012-car-breaks-cover-at-mid-ohio

I miss the days that open wheel raced at Richmond. Until the end, to used to be quite a show at Richmond. I really enjoyed the action as it reminded me of the Milwaukee Mile in that it was a very busy track. An interesting question here for you to reflect and comment upon; just how many push to pass mashes on the button will it take to rocket one lap around Loudon? Current logic is just one….

I really look forward to the side by side that can be achieved in a venue like this. You are going to have to give, you are going to have to take and when you commit, there ain’t no taking it back. Go ahead, stick your nose in there and see who chops it off! They refer to NHMS as the magic mile. I bet it is quite magical to see whom is going to get their asses kicked and whom will have the fortitude (read balls) to lift last going into turn 3 while running two and a half wide.

So, now that your appetite is whetted, tell me class; whom was the last person to sit on an open wheel pole at NHMS? Class….class…Buehler…..BUEHLER? D’oh, it was none other than Billy Boat! You need to do further study to recognize that the last open wheel winner there in 1998 was Tony Stewart. Look it up…..It is also important to note that Billy Boat has a fine racer son named Chad. Look that up, too! The kid is going to be heard from in the future.

So, that is all the words of wisdom for today. About 400 words is a short blog but even I realize that your time is valuable.

Today’s required reading and links:
http://nhms.com

Bonus feel good points if you hit this link, in honor of the Mayor of Hinchtown. He had a very interesting day at the office at Mid oHIo.

http://www.newman-haas.com/

Sunset over oHIo

Listening to the KING (no, not Elvis, Mike) doing IICS practice sessions on the world wide internets makes me want a root canal. Then again, ABC can do that sometimes. I love it when the world wide internets signal from Indy Car fades in and out, so that I can practice making up the story line. How about this one: Penske/Ganassi Death Star places P18 through 20? Well, at the end of session 2, the leader board shows only Taku as the lone party crasher amongst positions 1 through 6. Times indicate that the track finally absorbed enough ‘Stones rubber to provide grip. If you ran a 1:09.6 on Friday in session 1 you were on the pole. Today, in session 2 that would put you 16th on the grid. That would be E.J Viso in P16 ……

I bet it was a skating rink out there at the start of session 1. Don’t get me wrong, the league needs support races so the promoter can provide value to the paying public by way of longer times they see race cars on track. At least that is what I want when I go to GEORGOUS FACILITY courses. Green landscapes, plenty of coolers and lots of cars. Cars going fast…..

Nice to see 26 entrants for this event, ‘specially the nicest family man on the circuit, Ed Carpenter. He works for a pretty nice family, too and while turning right is not something everyone likes, his times are coming down. Well, not really, but Ed and the Mrs are really fine, family type peeps! Pressdog did an article on Ed yesterday and you should stampede on over to his blog and take a gander.

http://pressdog.typepad.com/dogblog/2011/08/ed-carpenter-ready-to-get-his-twisty-on-happy-to-be-back-in-the-arena.html

The Mid oHIo sports car course rolls through the countryside along natural terrain, with many off camber turns. Friday, Daniel Incandella (another motor head you must add to your fav’s bar) took today’s cover shot that mimics the Mid oHIo Sports Car Course. Props and thanks to Daniel.

Drivers either excel there or fail miserably trying. For the most part, I find it to be a parade, but then again, so are street courses. No room and darn sure no passing zones.

Slide on over to Indycar.com and hit this link to grab the latest results of session 2!

http://www.indycar.com:8080/var/assets/indycar-results-p228.pdf

Normally, I would write something clever, something witty on a Tuesday but since there is so much IICS Breaking NEWS going on now, I thought I would give props to my spiritual guide, Pressdog (Bill Zahren). P’Dog is one blogamaster that everyone should add to their “must follow” list. So, without further ado, from today’s Indy Car PR release, to Bill’s blog to God’s ears and now to you:

August 02, 2011
Conway, Hunter-Reay and Tagliani on Not-So-Double-Secret Probation
IndyCar PR release ..
INDYCAR PLACES CONWAY, HUNTER-REAY AND TAGLIANI ON PROBATION
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 2, 2011) – INDYCAR officials have placed drivers Mike Conway, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alex Tagliani on probation through Dec. 31, 2011 for multiple instances of initiating avoidable contact during IZOD IndyCar Series events this season.
“We are disappointed in these actions, which have exhibited a pattern of driving that endangers on-track safety and adversely affects competition,” said Brian Barnhart, president of competition and operations, INDYCAR.
Conway, of Andretti Autosport, was penalized for avoidable contact with Ryan Briscoe at Toronto and Oriol Servia at Edmonton. Teammate Hunter-Reay was cited for the same violation after contact with Briscoe at Barber and Takuma Sato at Edmonton. Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ Alex Tagliani was deemed in violation of the rule after contact with Will Power at Toronto and Graham Rahal at Edmonton.
If the improvements are not met, INDYCAR may impose other penalties at its discretion.
Per Rule 9.3 of the rulebook, a competitor must not initiate or attempt to initiate avoidable contact that results in the interruption of another competitor’s lap time or track position.
The drivers may protest as pursuant to the rulebook.

I encourage you, no, I implore you to jump over to Pressdog’s blog and add it to your fav’s. Do it today!
 http://www.pressdog.com

Shew…what a busy weekend for lovers of motorsport! From the debacle in da heat that was the Brickyard, to the on again, off again rainy F-1 race at the Hungry ‘Ring, it was a wide open weekend. Do you think that Indy would result in a mileage race, of all things? Hard to believe that it really came down to that. Now, don’t get me wrong BUT…I sure liked the winner at Indy. Sorry, Mr. Gordon, it just don’t look like it is going to be your day. Sweet Jesus, you got FOUR of those wins! Give it to someone that has never been to the place (oh, wait; John Menard has been trying to win Indy for 30 years now)! So what if he finally did it in a taxicab……I still like the Menard family.

Did you catch the Wee Scott on Wind Tunnel talking to the Wee Scott? Man I felt like I needed a translator. Come on, you are kidding me; that really IS English???? Hello….Robin? Can you help a poor Scott out here with that easily translated Hoosier twang of yours? Listen and react here:
http://www.speedtv.com//video/newest/wind-tunnel-dario-franchitti-1089790910001/1

Next up for IICS is Mid Ohio and everyone knows what happens next, right? Class….class…Buehler? BUEHLER??????

How about the 2012 car on the track the day after the race with Dandy Dan Weldon (the king of St. Petersburg, FL I might add) behind the wheel. Think Jimmy Vasser has a leg up on the Ganassi/Penske Death Star for next year? Not with GM and Penske, not a chance……details are here:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-2012-car-nearing-first-test/

Sorry for the short post today, folks but I need to go watch some more reruns of Leave It To Beaver. I get my inspiration in the dandiest places!