Fernández Moves to IRL For 2004
March 12, 2004
After the past several days of good news for the Champ Car series, there had to be some kind of a downer. That downer came to Champ Car in the form of losing one of its top teams to the IRL. Mexican Adrián Fernández will take his team and driving skills to the IRL in order to pursue “what is best for our sponsors and the future of Fernández Racing.” Which sounds to me like his sponsor may have said “we want to be in the IRL or you can go find another sponsor.”
Fernández Moves to IRL For 2004
March 12, 2004
After the past several days of good news for the Champ Car series, there had to be some kind of a downer. That downer came to Champ Car in the form of losing one of its top teams to the IRL. Mexican Adrián Fernández will take his team and driving skills to the IRL in order to pursue “what is best for our sponsors and the future of Fernández Racing.” Which sounds to me like his sponsor may have said “we want to be in the IRL or you can go find another sponsor.”
Vasser Steps Up To Role Of Owner/Driver
March 11, 2004
Former Champ Car Champion (1996) Jimmy Vasser announced on Monday his new role as car owner/driver at the newly named PKV Racing Team. At age 38 Vasser is the second oldest driver in Champ Car to the only other driver/owner in the series, Adrian Fernandez. Vasser has amassed 10 career wins, 8 poles in 186 starts. His latest win came at the end of the 2002 season when he beat out Michael Andretti on a last lap shootout to win the California 500.
ChampCarReview.com: Vasser Steps Up To Role Of Owner/Driver
Bernstein Aiming To Defend Gainesville Top Fuel Victory
March 11, 2004
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - There’s a Budweiser Racing print ad campaign that pictures the “race faces” of Brandon Bernstein and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It reads:
“When you’re born with the last names Earnhardt and Bernstein, you’re bound to grow up fast.”
That ad seems particularly prophetic and on target when it comes to Gainesville Raceway, home of the March 19-21 Mac Tools Gatornationals.
Smoke And Mirrors
March 10, 2004
When the IRL announced it’s new engine package, reduced displacement in an attempt to slow the field, I was not surprised. But I was some what intrigued and concerned as to why the Indy 500 would be the first race to use the new motors.
The TV Deal And More
March 10, 2004
The long awaited TV deal has been announced, and as previously rumored it is with Spike TV, with no over the air network broadcasts. The interesting thing is that all races will be broadcast on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., regardless of when the actual starting times are. The reason? After being bored watching an afternoon of NASCAR oval-iators, you can then tune to real racing!
speedtv.com: Long Beach Champ Car Season Premiere Notebook
Motorsport.com: Champ Car announces telecast station
Reality Check
March 10, 2004
The Toyota F1 racing team is not having any second thoughts about the quality of the car brought to Melbourne. After their abyssmal performance, they plan on a having a new car on hand for Imola, with aero upgrades at Maylasia, and ongoing upgrades beyond Imola.
skysports.com: TOYOTA TO OVERHAUL CAR
Tommy Kendall Returns To Trans-Am
March 10, 2004
Four-time Trans-Am champion Tommy Kendall will return to the series in 2004. Kendall will drive for his former rival, now motorsports magnate, Paul Gentilozzi’s Rocketsports Racing in a Jaguar XKR powered by Jaguar’s stock-block, four-valve, fuel-injected engine debuted by Rocketsports last year.
This is fantastic news for this series, given that Tommy is in shape and still sharp behind the wheel. No one battled through a pack like TK. I for one am looking forward to seeing if he can re-ignite the old magic. He certainly will have the resources of one of the best teams in Trans-Am behind him.
Tommy will also have the dubious goal of surpassing the late, great Mark Donoghue for most all-time wins in the series. With 26 career victories in Trans-Am, Kendall is just four wins short of surpassing that record.
Trans-AmSeries.com: Kendall Returns to Motorock Trans-Am Series with Rocketsports Racing
Motorsport.com: Tommy Kendall back in the driver’s seat
AutoWeek.com: Former champ Kendall returns to Trans-Am with Rocketsports; Schedule announced
Trans Am Schedule Announced
March 10, 2004
On the heels of Champ Car announcing its schedule, the Motorock Trans-Am Series has followed suit.
Trans-Am will run as one of the support series for the Champ Car World Series at seven races this year, including the season opener April 18 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Other venues pairing Trans-Am with Champ Car are: Portland Int’l Raceway (June 19), Cleveland (July 2), the Molson Indy Toronto (July 11), as well as Road America (Aug. 7), Denver (Aug. 14), and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Sept. 11).
Trans-Am will be the featured series at two events this season: Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (Aug. 1) and at the season finale in Puerto Rico (Oct. 10). The Puerto Rico date is contingent upon Federal Aviation Administration approval.
NASCAR fans will again get to experience Trans-Am thunder, as the Series returns to Infineon Raceway for a second-straight year on June 27, along with the NEXTEL Cup Series.
Newman/Haas Sponsorship Set For 2004
March 10, 2004
As promising news continues to greet Champ Car fans, Newman/Haas Racing, the winningest active team in the series, has announced that both of their cars have secured primary sponsors for the 2004 season. Bruno Junqueira’s ride will again be sponsored by PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., while Sebastien Bourdais will get full time sponsorship from McDonald’s. McDonald’s was the primary sponsor on Bourdais’ car for a few races last season including his win in Cleveland.
Or course there is a deeper tie-in than just racing sponsorship. The McDonald’s sponsorship is in conjunction with the launch of their new line of Premium Salads featuring, you guessed it, Newman’s Own all-natural salad dressings.
Motorsport.com: Newman/Haas Racing announces Bourdais sponor
Motorsport.com: Newman/Haas Racing renews Junqueira sponsor