I didn’t do it for the love, I did it for the money, SIR!

Here is a little confession for you; I am a fool for parades. Parades such as Watkins Glen with CUP; IICS at Barber; Formula One at Indy. But nothing beats a good F1 show. Not even a GOOD F1 show….isn’t that a contradiction? I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a riveting Formm-Yoo-Luh one event that took my breath away. Hell, the last one I personally went to was when a tire non-war, screw the FAN event erupted at the Hallowed Ground. I think that was the second to last USGP for a while and the man sometimes referred to as the “Troll” took his hand out of US pockets. Of course, being a local makes one have these personal views on things. Of course……

It was quite a bit more then a shock when I read about the city of Austin, Texas being chosen to host the next incarnation of the USGP. Everyone knows that one of Mr. Ecclestone’s spectacles comes to your town for a princely sum and nothing less. My post back in August talked about the $25,000,000 to be put up each year by the state of Texas to support the ongoing USGP. You are smoking those left handed cigarettes if you think that the citizens of the People’s Republic of Texas will continue this very long. I also doubt that Eddie Gossage would remain silent and not speak up on the topic of subsidies.

Now we come to this; yet ANOTHER potential, perhaps it will happen, possibly a GP of America. Why is it that when I type that, I hear a chorus of angels in the background? Angels aren’t skeptics, are they? One would think that they are, or at least should be when it comes to dealing with FOM. You have to hand it to Bernie, he sure knows how to blunt a direct, head on question. Here is how he did it (and props to RACER mag for this fine piece of editortial effort):

http://www.racer.com/f1-chiefs-to-discuss-calendar-concerns/article/215737/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

So, after spending a week cruising the well stocked motorsport blogosphere, I came across some more information about the 2013 GP of America. It really is astounding how fast peeps like Indy44 and SBPopOff Valve post fresh, breaking and sometimes (well, most times) humorous material about all things motorsport. You had best add them to your must follow list. More of my “To Follow” selections and lists to come your way at a later post. But, back on point, this info has been out there for a long time now about Bernie coveting a Neuu Yaawwk race. It was just a smarter school of thought to believe that it was totally impossible to shut down Manhattan for a motor car race. Then, along came Governor Christy and the rest, as they say is history (no, the rest is still subject to approval and the clearing of the checque in the FOM account). I will say this, if you do not follow some of the prolific tweets and nuggets of info posted by these afore mentioned new media types, then you also missed this;
New Jersey GP of America simulation lap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m10_f1o_0So

Given the elevation changes and the general layout of the course, it sure feels like Monaco. I cannot fault the beauty of a Manhattan skyline as a killer backdrop. All I can say is time will tell. The future picture will look a lot different 6 years from now if both Austin and the New Jersey venues continue to operate under the guise of an F1 sanctioned event. That adds up to 50 million in today’s paltry U.S. Dollars. See? Like the title says, I did it for the money, SIR!

Since this is supposed to be an open wheel column and not just a motorsport electronic rag, I would be remiss if I failed to chat up the recently completed Chris Griffiths Memorial Road to Indy Test. A great time was NOT had by all, especially if you ask Woman of Press Dog Shannon McIntosh. She was transmitting on 453.8375 on Saturday and she was just coming out of the pits from yet another stop to chase an engine performance issue when the checkered flag fell. The session was shortened and I am guessing that an ambient temp of 52 degrees had something to do with it. As for the results, well; that has been covered by many scribes and is old news. But please DO enjoy these 2 links from the Saturday afternoon session. Sorry for the stupid, amature footage; I shake a little after some of Fuzzy’s best. It tastes sooooo good. Right, Ed?
See you next time!
GForcePaul

The good stuff: