2004 schedule announced
September 30, 2003
CART has announced confirmed venues for the 2004 season and a list of pending circuits. Pending the series’ survival no doubt. I always manage to get myself all worked up when these kinds of things are announced. Then I remember how desperate the CART situation really is and loose interest again. If OWRS is sincere in trying to make a go of the series they desperately need to settle the Vannini issues and get on with funding next years teams.
motorsports.com: Champ Car announces confirmed venues for 2004
McNish to IRL?
September 30, 2003
What ever happened to Tony George’s vision for the IRL to be a series to give American racers a venue in which to shine and excel? Sam Hornish, Jimmy Vasser, Al Unser, and….Who else? Please don’t embarass us with Sarah Fisher,
I’m talking race drivers here. While I wouldn’t begrudge Allan a ride, I think the series needs to search out guys like J.J. Yelly and other demons of American oval racing, and promote them to IRL and possibly provide an entry to F1.
Please retire Allan or go back to Le Mans where you had success.
autosport.com: McNish evaluates IRL alternatives
Changes for 2004 season format?
September 30, 2003
Some ideas on how to improve the qualifying formats and season testing opportunities. Which team would be opposed to ANY changes? Ferrari? Gee, what a surprise. If there is one way to improve competition in F1, it would be to limit the amount of tire testing any teams can perform for any tire maker. Bring the racing back to car set ups. let the team’s creativity loose on car design but limit the amount of tire testing.
f1-live.com: A new Grand Prix weekend format in 2004 ?
Minardi sale imminent?
September 30, 2003
Giancarlo Minardi and Paul Stoddart are rumored to be very close to selling the team to an Italian business group. Hopefully the new buyers have a good understanding of the costs involved and would be willing to invest in achieving respectability. Any chance? I doubt it.
f1-live.com: New owners for Minardi ?
Dennis denies Montoya rumor for ‘04
September 30, 2003
Dennis: ‘I Won’t Steal Sir Frank’s Lady’. Nice way for Ron to describe his unwillingness to pirate Juan Pablo for next year. 2005 or later? Read on.
Childress Letting Park Go in 2004
September 30, 2003
Richard Childress announced today that he will not be renewing Steve Park’s contract to drive the #30 AOL car. This is not surprising given the mundane results Steve has gotten out of the car. However, the DEI #1 car that Steve was removed from hasn’t faired very well either since his departure. You really have to wonder how much is the driver and how much is the car.
It seems to me that three car teams tend to follow a pattern of two of the three teams being dominant and a third taking a back seat. Look at the #25 Hendrick car. That car has hardly done a thing for many, many years, while the #5 and #24 have both won championships. And now it seems that the #48 and #24 are taking dominance leaving the #5 and the #25 in the dust. Same with the #1 as of late at DEI and the #30 at Childress. Is it possible for a NASCAR team to have three dominant, race winning cars in the same season?
ThatsRacin.com: Park out of the 30 for 2004
Down To The Wire
September 30, 2003
In all reality, Michael Schumacher has this championship all sewn up. However, there are memories of Nigel Mansell in 1986 gifting the championship to Alain Prost that year when he went into the final race with a 6 point lead only to cut a tire and retire early. There are never any guarantees in racing, even with the current situation favoring Schumacher heavily. And that is why I’m pretty sure Kimi will have a big bull’s-eye on his car in the final race of what has been a great season. And that bull’s-eye will be struck not by Schumacher; he learned that lesson the hard way in 1997 with Jacques Villeneuve. No, he’ll get one of his henchmen to do it. Either Ruben’s or a Ferrari powered Sauber with nothing else to lose…
BBC: Ferrari fear title could slip away
BBC: Raikkonen remains defiant
Sauber Drivers Out
September 30, 2003
Heinz-Harald Frentzen was rewarded for his podium finish on Sunday and the 13 points he earned Sauber this season by being released yesterday, along with teammate Nick Heidfeld. We already know that Jordan’s Giancarlo Fisichella will be in one of the Sauber seats next season, while the other is rumored to be set for the return of Ferrari test driver Felipe Massa…
Perry McCarthy Silliness
September 29, 2003
Perry McCarthy has a very funny and fast paced piece on Crash.net covering the ridiculous web of rumors surrounding silly season in F1…among other things…
Crash.Net: PerryScope 1 - The Perry McCarthy column
For those of you who didn’t know (myself included) Perry is famous for being involved in one of the worst efforts in F1 history…
Waltrip Tests New Escape Hatch at Talladega
September 29, 2003
Michael Waltrip got the opportunity to test his new escape hatch at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday. Fortunately, he only used it to pop up out of the car after winning the EA Sports 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race, holdingoff his teammate and the rest of the other 22 cars on the lead lap for a five-lap shootout.
Photo courtesy MichaelWaltrip.com