Homestead Updates

The 3 hour Gainsco GrandAm race has fewer than 40 minutes to go...and Scott Pruett leads overall. You will remember that Pruett already has one victory in 2008...the 24 Hours of Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing.

What's going on here department: The second and third IndyCar qualifiers, Ed Carpenter and A. J. Foyt IV, both of Vision Racing (owned by one Anton H. "Tony" George), had last night's qualifying times disallowed after failing an inspection. Because both of those cars move to the back of the 25 car grid, that moves Danica Patrick up to second starting position, and gets Dan Wheldon from a 24th place starting slot, to 22nd. The best action on track will still involve Wheldon (who looks for a 4th consecutive win here at Homestead) coming to the front.

We'll update this post with the GrandAm Rolex Series winner later.

Homestead...the Great Amalgamation begins

Greetings from the Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the first unified IndyCar race since 1978 will take place on Saturday night. It's part of a double header with the Grand AM Rolex Sportscar Series...the Rolex Daytona Prototypes and sportscars race on the road course; the IndyCars will take to the variable banked oval...some 25 of them...for a Saturday night shootout. There would be 26...but when Graham Rahal crashed in practice...there weren't enough spare parts and pieces...so he'll sit out the IndyCar event.

The car you see above belongs to the fastest practicer--Scott Dixon, who you will hear (or have heard) on this week's Race-Talk program. Newlywed Dan Wheldon was second fastest. They'll contest the pole later tonight.

As for the Grand AM series qualifying...David Donohue (yep..the son of Mark Donohue) in the Brumos Porsche Riley...with a speed of 113.390 miles an hour. The race is a three hour sprint...and we'll keep you posted. It's been relatively quiet here...except for a few mechanical gremlins that bite in all series. If it heats up..we'll break in.

Pole Update will follow.

Scott Dixon wins the pole with an average speed of 213.3 miles an hour. Ed Carpenter starts 2nd and AJ Foyt IV starts 3rd. Dixon's teammate Dan Wheldon backed into the wall as he started the first of his four timed laps. The 2005 Indy 500 winner and past IndyCar series champion starts in the back. Dixon suggests you watch for Mr. Wheldon as he drives his way through the field trying to get to the front. Carpenter and Foyt ran their laps as it got cooler...and Larry Curry is the racing honcho (he wrenched Tony Stewart to his IRL championship if you recall) for Messrs. Carpenter and Foyt at Vision Racing.

Another reminder: you forget the Penske Racing teams at your own peril...Ryan Briscoe and Helio (he of the Happy Feet) Castroneves ran well in practice.

We'll rejoin you from Homestead-Miami Speedway tomorrow.

New York International Auto Show 2008

Gas is going north of $3.50 a gallon around the LA area...higher elsewhere. What's a car person to do?

At the NYIAS...electric commuter...hybrid and fuel cell cars were in evidence...no doubt inspired by the $10 million genius prize for the first affordable automobile that will get 100 miles per gallon of gas. Mitsubishi's take on this concept is pictured above.

That day is not as far off as we might think.

But for us unreconstructed car guys...Chevy showed an interesting twist on the HHR...with a 260 HP turbo 4, stick, all wheel discs, and some handling tweaks...and still well above 25 on the highway if you keep your foot out of the turbo. The HHR (also pictured above) bridges the gap between the '53 Chevy Suburban and cars for today.

Show notes: We catch up on our reading on our "Race-Talk" program...but we'll tell you that Lewis Hamilton is fastest at Seepang coming off a victory at the season opening Australian GP. The NHRA is off this week...back on next (yes, I REALLY can read a schedule)...the Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock winners at Gainesville...Defending Series Champions Tony Schumacher, Tony Pedregon and Jeg Coughlin, Jr. They are in action at Houston next weekend.

RANT: A final note about alternative fuels: The reason the Internet is so popular and so effective...is because it is unfettered by a bunch of taxes. Basic economics teaches you that taxing an activity is the best way to depress that activity (are you listening, New York?). If this country were serious about getting more cars and trucks to run on E85 (85% ethanol, 15 percent unleaded gasoline) or bio-diesel (a diesel fuel derived from plant based oils); then it should not collect fuel tax on E85 or bio-diesel--ever. Our farmers, if given the chance, can surely grow enough of anything to make the raw materials for ethanol (they are even making ethanol from cellulose--a building block of plant life like trees, etc.) AND feed the rest of the world. And for those of you who say the government needs that revenue...I say balderdash! The economic activity that would be generated by the market driven conversion to E85 would unleash a boom which would generate more tax revenue derived from activity which is taxed (income). GM has a couple of million E85 cars already in service. Retrofits would drive an aftermarket. And it would once again become profitable to drill for oil in the US of A. This stuff is no different from cassette tapes, vinyl records, and CDs. There will always be a market for them--as there would be for 100% hydrocarbon fuels. The users understand that there would be an extra cost to use hydrocarbon fuels (present tax structure). Justice Learned Hand's words about arranging affairs so as to legally avoid paying taxes (by using a tax free alternative) ring especially true.

As for electric & hybrid cars--they are a great engineering exercise. Until they all yield gas powered performance and range, they will be a nice "feel good" purchase. Yes, the Highlander Hybrid gets V8 0-60 numbers (7 second range) and V6 fuel economy (mid to high 20's combined). But when people need to drive 5-600 miles per day...and they can't wait for a battery stack to charge...the internal combustion engine is still the prime mover of our economy. /RANT.

"The Great Divorce"--(with apologies to C. S. Lewis)

The questions we asked on Friday were sort of answered today moments ago, as Anton H. "Tony" George, and Kevin Kalkhoven announced an amalgamation of the Champ Car World Series into the IRL's Indy Car Series during a break at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

1st--Long Beach will be the Champ Car World Series finale, with the swan song for the DP-01 Panoz Cosworth turbocharged cars. On that same weekend, the Indy Car series will race at Motegi, Japan. The Champ Car teams who run at Long Beach will get Indy Car points--just like they will at Homestead on March 29.

2nd--the two races which will be added from the 2008 Champ Car schedule will be Edmonton and Surfer's Paradise.

3rd--Indy Car competition boss Brian Barnhart says all of the existing teams will likely compete...making the fields much more interesting than 18. The teams coming over will pair up with existing teams...Rahal-Letterman will connect with Newman Haas; Kalkhoven Vasser Racing with Chip Ganassi, etc.

4th--Tony George acknowledges the difficulty for venues like a Cleveland and Houston, mentioning them by name when asked about their absence on the 2008 schedule. He says that 2009 will see a "clean sheet" schedule with a mix of about 10 ovals and 10 road style events...about the right mix IMO.

There are still details to work out...but we'll know more in a couple of weeks.

Hear George & Kalkhoven talk this week on Race-Talk:

http://msrpk.com/podcast/racetalk.rss

Open Wheel Racing Amalgamation--From what we can discern, the process is continuing between Anton H. "Tony George" and Kevin Kalkhoven to dot i's and cross t's--the details I spoke about on "Race-Talk". It is continuing slowly, but continuing nonetheless.

Until we get the release outlining the details, all of us observers are speculating or relaying a snippet of fact. I do feel confident that the concept of a single series has been embraced.

I do have some questions, which I hope will be answered in due time:

What happens with the Long Beach/Motegi date conflict?

Which two of the Champ Car races will be folded into the 2008 schedule?

Which of the Champ Car squads will fold into the series by Homestead? My guess would certainly be Newman Haas (Justin Wilson & Graham Rahal), Forsythe (Paul Tracy et al), PKV Racing, Dale Coyne, Eric Bachelart, and the Derrick Walker crew. If there are 20-24 cars for every race (except the Long Beach and Motegi rounds) then that will show up better on TV than 18 car parades.

What will the 2009 Indy Car series schedule look like? Will International Speedway Corporation bookend the season (Homestead start, Chicago end)? What about the Champ Car races that don't make the cut in 2008?

Be assured, we'll look for these answers and answers to other questions that will come up.

Newman & Donohue--Penske Racing and Engineers

We went to the Champion's Breakfast in Daytona this morning after a long day and short night recounting the victory of one Ryan Newman, who, the books will say, was the winner of the 50th Daytona 500. Newman is a complex individual, with many more facets to his personality and his interests than what appears in a six second sound bite or short quote in a race story. He graduated from Purdue (the home of Gene Keady and Joe Tiller) with a 2.06 GPA (something to do with a lot of racing in the junior and senior years). The parallel between Newman and Penske's first racing engineer, Mark Donohue is apparent. Newman says the greatest thing he took from Purdue was the ability to manage time and solve problems--which puts his in good stead with Roger Penske and crew chief Roy McCauley. The win was Newman's first since September, 2005 in the second NASCAR Chase for the Championship (81 races).

The "Captain" hopes his IndyCar series drivers (Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves) can help him achieve his goal of a Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 victory in the same year.

We're heading back to the office and will post as events dictate.

Daytona 500

Pre-Pre Race: We join you from the auxiliary press room, where our computer is set up. As some of you may know, I have other responsibilities for CBS News Radio from time to time. Since 2000, I've been their subject matter expert on American automobile racing. And I'll report for the network during the day from Daytona. We've talked with some of the CBS News affiliates around the country and all they want to hear about is Junior (Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the National Guard/AMP Hendrick Racing Chevrolet Impala). Our job is to distill 3 1/2-4 hours of action into 35 seconds for a network radio report.

This day marks two milestones; one tragic and one triumphant. The triumph--Dale Earnhardt's win in 1998. The tragedy--Dale Earnhardt's death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Some fans still grieve (though not as painfully as that day in 2001); most all revere the "Intimidator", whose statue adorns the plaza in front of the Daytona 500 Experience.

I have no idea whether Toyota and Tony Stewart will grace victory lane. Some of my peers hope so, so the assembled media members will get a chance to cut Tony Stewart's hair afterwards. I have no idea whether Kevin "Happy" Harvick will repeat his 2007 win. I have no idea whether Matt Kenseth may fly fast enough under the radar and sneak into victory lane. Anyone who tells you that they do is just guessing. You really can't tell who will win until the last 25 laps; and sometimes not until the last lap (2007 again).

I will, however, make an educated guess when I update this post.

Early Race/Educated Guess

I am impressed with Sam Hornish...he was mixing it up with the merry pranksters from Joe Gibbs Racing...of whom all three (Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart) have led most of the 60 laps run so far. They run 200 laps. I like Jimmie Johnson's strategy to stay near the front...but not use up his car. "Educated Guess"--between Johnson and Hamlin, with the edge to Johnson. (Posted at 4:35 PM 2/17/2008)