It’s been a few years since he actually raced at the track (he was rained out in the year of the Rainman, 2004), but Autosport says Robby Gordon is interested in returning to the Indy 500 in 2007.

"I have been offered a lot of rides for Indy," said Gordon. "Next year the race could be the most competitive it's ever been and that would be fun.

"Looking at the package for the Indy 500, every team will have the same tools to work with one engine manufacturer and one tyre supplier."

I’m thinking he was probably misquoted there, since the league has had one tire supplier for a while. Maybe he said “one chassis supplier” and the reporter was confused or deaf or both.

In any case, the combustible Gordon has always proven to be fun given his old-school approach to shooting his mouth off. Remember how he complained about Danica!’s unfair “weight advantage” even though he wasn’t driving against her that year? How about in 1999 when he dropped some live expletives over the air as he ran out of fuel before taking the white flag while leading the Indy 500? And his post-race interviews - oh, the frivolity!

Disclaimer: I’m not discounting his “weight advantage” argument. In fact, I’m not even going there.

Whether or not you would be cheering for the guy, it’s always fun to see drivers attempt the double of the Indy 500 and the 600 mile NASCAR race in Charlotte the same evening. Forget IROC – this is the truest test of cross-series driving ability any man or woman could attempt.

Unless of course you include the helicopter ride from Indianapolis to Charlotte, in which case a licensed chopper pilot like Mr Judd would probably win.

I love that several drivers have online diaries designed to keep fans updated on what they are doing. Usually these are either a few sentences every week or a dissertation every other month. Still, it’s all info, it’s all love, and it’s all good.

But I want to take a moment to single out the latest entry from The Fisher Queen’s diary at ESPN.com, if only because it provided this shocking image.

On a more relaxing note, I was on the IndyCar Celebration cruise aboard the Disney Wonder that traveled to the Bahamas. We had an amazing time. Laura George did a phenomenal job organizing all the logistics and events for the trip … and what killer events they had planned. The first night Gene Simmons had a Halloween party to kick off the weekend. Andy and I went as a pair of dice. I know, it was a bit cliché, but it was easy! I believe Tony George dressed up as Gene Simmons … so as you can imagine, we all had a good time.

I am now wiping the coffee I spewed off the monitor.

This isn’t exactly a secret and it’s been speculated since testing was announced at the track at the end of the 2006 season, but the Daytona Beach News-Journal has been the first to come out and say it.

After successful tests in the Daytona International Speedway, the Indy Racing League will also open the 2007 IndyCar Series with a preseason testing in DIS. By 2008, DIS and the Indy Racing League hope to have a race in Daytona during Speedweeks.

Speedweeks are a pretty jam-packed pair of weeks in February, but the IRL would be scoring big time if they can lock up participation in these festivities. Even though they would be racing on a different course from the NASCAR racers, the league would garner a sizeable audience during what has become the most popular race event in North America. League officials, teams, and sponsors would all be pleased.

BTW – It pains me to say that, but I can’t ignore the truth. The Daytona 500 is more popular than the Indy 500. But not in my house.

Now, inking a deal for Speedweeks isn’t all a bowl of cherries. Would racing on the undercard of the Daytona 500 give the appearance of secondary status? Well, duh. Does it give Uncle Sam, Well Done, et al two weeks to hobnob with the mega-bucks of NASCAR? You bet. Would it make the IRL look like a feeder series for NASCAR? Quite possibly.

But despite these concerns it would more than likely be a successful (read: profitable) event for the league, and in the long run profitability is more important than any appearance of subordination. More money draws new sponsors, owners and drivers – just ask those guys in the bumping behemoths.

Besides, if the IRL is going to keep ending the season in September then there is much to be gained by getting the IndyCar season fired up in early February.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans today, and may the rest of the world have a whole lot to eat as well.

This year our family is having a few friends over for the holiday, and as a joke we thought of having a plateful of White Castles waiting for them when they arrived. For those who don't know White Castles are these, umm, well...

The whole discussion reminds me of a funny video with Tomas Scheckter. A few years ago some folks from his team (then Panther Racing) decided to take the South African out for his first White Castle. Enjoy.

Although much off the silly season was placed on hold waiting for Scott Sharp to make his decision, the last few weeks have featured a flurry of chair-swapping in the IndyCar series. Here’s a brief summary of where things stand.

Rahal Letterman: As the best available driver, Scott Sharp is as good as it gets for RLR. He can still race well, although driving over a hundred oval races in the last ten years appears to have left him with the same road-course affliction as Uncle Sam. Still, he’s an asset in many ways beyond his driving. Additionally, the team retained Jeff Simmons and his brain full of Ethanol knowledge for 2007. This looks like a good move as well considering Simmons was arguably the most competitive RLR driver towards the end of 2006.

Panther: They did what they needed to do (keeping the Mirror Man) and what they wanted to do (landing a sponsored second driver) to keep them nipping at the heels of Penske and Ganassi. While much discussion exists about Danica! possibly winning her first race in 2007, Meira has to be considered a better bet for a maiden win. Matsuura is what he is, and even with Panther I don’t expect him to set the world on fire. He’s been driving fulltime for three years as a mid-packer, and even with the Panther team behind him it would be a surprise for him to appear in the top 5 of any race. However, the Aguri financing that accompanies Matsuura is fantastic news to a team that was selling parts to keep racing last year.

Foyt: Darren Manning – interesting choice. On the one hand there are critics who will see the outspoken Englishman as heading towards an inevitable conflict with Super Tex. On the other hand he was possibly the best guy willing to drive for Foyt, and having a year off might make him even more motivated to prove his worth. I still think Manning crashes too much – which is especially painful for a single-car team - but a year away from the IRL may makes Manning more appreciative. We will find out in 2007.

An interesting point about the Foyt announcement was that they mentioned focusing on Manning in the “primary” car. Foyt Enterprises has sold off it’s NASCAR shop and they have spoken about fielding a two-car team. I have read speculation that either nepotism or familiarity would mean any secondary car would be driven by Anthony Foyt (a.k.a. AJ IV). However, Curt Cavin would seem to think otherwise.

Question: Was the falling out between A.J. Foyt and A.J. IV so severe that they will never team up together again in the IRL? Also, will Foyt's team ever be competitive again? (Jim, Atlanta, Ga.)

Answer:: I don’t know if you can say never, but it’s not likely anytime soon. The race team is seeking a more experienced driver for 2007, someone hungry like Townsend Bell, Darren Manning or Tomas Enge. As for IV, he won’t land an open-wheel ride of significance until he improves his road-racing skills.

Let’s back that up with AJ’s own words (or rather his lack thereof) from a recent teleconference.

Q: What about A.J. IV? Has he given any thoughts to coming back to Speedway cars, and do you have a leased car in which you could stop George Snyder?

A.J. FOYT: George, he's like A.J. Foyt, he's not on the uphill climb anymore; we're all on the downhill run. No, I really don't know. I told George, I was teasing him last year, I could put you in a car in qualifying, but first of all, the cars are not big enough, for me and George.

Those were the good old days, I'll agree there, but those days are long gone, you don't see that no more.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time today.

Doesn’t sound like there’s a lot of unbridled enthusiasm to bring back Anthony.

As for remaining rides:

Andretti Green: Mr Judd still hasn’t formally announced an agreement with AGR, but it’s gonna happen…right?

Vision: We’ll assume Ed Carpenter George will return to Tony George’s team. The second ride would appear to be going to Tomas Scheckter, but nothing has been announced. There has also been mention that Vision is speaking with Buddy Rice, but who knows if that’s for a second or even a third car. Rice finished 10th out of 18 cars in his Champ Car audition in Mexico, but he finished one position behind rookie teammate David Martinez – who was also auditioning for the single available Forsythe ride next year. Keeping an Indy 500 champ in the IRL would seem to be a logical move for Tony George. At the same time, Scheckter had more success than Rice in 2006, so you it would be a difficult decision to throw him overboard.

Dreyer & Reinbold: Who knows. Could be one car, could be Champ Car, could be Sarah Fisher, could be they’re still trying to line up sponsorship to support whatever decision they make.

Cheever, Fernandez: don’t ask.

One last thing to note: I haven’t seen a word printed about NEW ownership of any kind – not even from George Foreman. While the IndyPro series is expanding, the IndyCar series looks to be hanging on to car counts by its fingernails. Eighteen cars continues to be the magic number.

Although he was able to pass a few drivers early on, Uncle Sam crashed on Lap 4 and finished last in his second Busch series race. NASCAR may be proving to be more of a challenge than he anticipated.

A couple of hours after qualifying 24th for Saturday's Ford 300 Busch Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sam Hornish Jr. was advancing through the field when his night ended much sooner than expected.

An incident on lap 4 of the 200-lap race sent Hornish to the 1.5-mile track's garage and eventually relegated the Indianapolis 500 winner to a 43rd-place finish in his second Busch Series event in as many weeks. (MORE)

You're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars *next* year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in... 60 years. - Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane

Yesterday ESPN announced a multi-year deal to televise Champ Car races on it's family of networks. No less than 11 of the races will air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC in 2007, with the network taking over exclusive broadcasts in 2008.

Now before you do a spit take in disbelief that the network that covers the Indy Racing League would jump in bed the other open-wheel league, understand this is a different type of agreement. Whereas the IRL is paid at least something to televise their races (if only to allow coverage of the Indy 500), the CCWS has reportedly spent the last few years paying it's way onto TV. Previously they have been on SPEED, with league owners such as Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe, et al footing the bill to pay for two hours of coverage for their races in an effort to attract more sponsors.

Well, now they will get more coverage but at an even higher cost. The big brains at TrackSide Online have a whole lot more on this, but the estimate is a quarter of a million dollars per hour to be on any given network from the ESPNs. Say two hours per race, 11 races next year and you've got over $5M just for air time. Plus you've got equipment, crew, on-air talent and you're basically paying some serious coin for people to please watch the races.

Now consider that the heads of Champ Car are also going to be buying the new Panoz DP01 chassis they paid to develop and will couple it with their Cosworth engines for the purpose of renting to prospective team ownership. What you have is a series trying really, really hard to get anyone into their league. How far behind can no-meny down financing be with these guys?

Here's the money quote (pun intended) from Kevin Kalkhoven yesterday.

"I'm actually very pleased by the whole deal," Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven told ESPN.com's John Oreovicz. "It's a favorable long-term contract for both sides and it brings stability to our television package. Stability is very important to our future. For motor racing fans, it's a very good thing. There are two key aspects. To be on ESPN gives us access to U.S. racing fans. ESPN also offers a total package for sports fans, with the Web site and the magazine.

"If we can't have open-wheel unification, at least we can have a common broadcast partner. Once you get past that, the channel is outstanding in a lot of ways. Now, American open-wheel racing is at a place where fans can find it. Speed Channel [the previous broadcast sponsor] has become so NASCAR-centric that we were just a speed bump in their day."

I marked the important parts in bold, and even if I didn't you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure what this is all about. Kalkhoven went to Indy this year and was seen at IRL races on weekends Champ Car was racing. He has spoken publicly a lot more than Tony George about unification, and it would seem this move to ESPN would be for no other reason than to try to force the IRL's hand into a merger.

Seriously, the NASCAR comment is bogus since ESPN (the Engine Sports Programming Network) will be televising NASCAR next year. I'm confident they won't be putting open-wheel racing of any kind above stock cars on their broadcasts.

TSO says IRL officials are concerned but not worried about this development. Why should they be? Most American race fans have seen Champ Cars and they probably won't suddenly start watching a bunch of generally unknown drivers go around in a parade. It's not like Champ Car (or even the IRL) has another ten million fans in America who can't see the races.

The worst possible outcome for the IRL is that this forces a merger. ESPN is still paying for the IRL so they would presumably want that product to remain strong, but giving cable audiences all the open-wheel racing they can handle may create an urgency for a merger if only to avoid confusion. Then again, race fans may actually be smart enough to figure out which league has Danica and Andretti and which doesn't.

The best possible outcome for the IRL is that at some point Kalkhoven and his pals spend themselves into the ground trying to force a merger. It's a strange situation that the series that actually has a paid TV contract with the most famous race and well known drivers is NOT the one with the strongest financial backing. The Hulman George family is well off to be sure, but not like the Champ Car guys.

With this announcment Kalkhoven has fired a serious shot across the SS IndyCar and let them know he wants to merge these leagues and he will do everything in his power to do it. He knows what he wants and putting both series on the same TV networks is part of his plan to get it. Hey, you can't blame a billionaire for trying.

If you have any interest in finding out what happens “behind the scenes” in the world of racing then SPEED is set to fix your jones. Tonight and tomorrow night the network will twice air “Racing Incorporated”, two one-hour specials showing the goings on of Chip Ganassi Racing and their IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand Am series operations.

“Initially, I needed a little convincing to green light this project,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “We, as an industry, have historically been very tight-lipped about how we do things. When filming started it took us beyond our comfort level, but as we became more and more at ease with the crew it became much easier to allow them the access that we did.”

I’ll have the DVR set to record. Anytime you have the opportunity to get Dan Wheldon and a microphone together you have the possibility for quality TV.

TrackSide Online is reporting that AJ Foyt Enterprises is poised to name Darren Manning as their driver for 2007. No word yet on if there will be a second car for the Foyt team.

While you are waiting for the official announcement, do yourself a favor and sign up for TSO. That way, you'll know when I know and we can all know together.

UPDATE: It's official.

On a personal note, these are a few things I noticed at the track this weekend but did not comment in my previous summary:

• I have never seen an IndyCar race at night in person, but the night racing actually made the Truck race on Friday more enjoyable than the Busch race on Saturday. The IRL is definitely doing the right thing by shifting some of their current races to the PM.

• The victory spinout thing is becoming parody. Johnny Benson won the truck race and almost pulled a Kanaan by wrecking during his donuts near the finish line. After inching his way out of the smoke he just created, he then drove down the wider but heavily-banked first turn to try some more. He got half a donut before he spun all the way down the track, nearly hitting the interior wall. This was the most amusing part of the race.

• I saw a Mitsubishi with the license plate “BOGOTA” in the parking lot, but was unable to locate one reading “DFIANCE”.

• Crystal Hornish was wearing jeans, but I don’t know if they were the “lucky” Rock & Republic jeans. Results would indicate otherwise.

• I mentioned Erin Crocker, who seems to be polarizing the fans. She was cheered loudly on introduction, but everyone I spoke with was unimpressed with her racing ability. At least she wasn’t booed like Kurt and Kyle Busch. For the record all of her pit stops were due to clutch problems, and her pit crew had to push her to start after every one. She owes them many beverages.

• I don’t know what “RaceGirl” is, but they have a pink car bearing Penelope Pitstop decals…and the driver is a dude.

• None of the fans I spoke with knew JJ Yeley or Casey Mears had raced IndyCars. Then again, I’m sure many IRL fans didn’t know that either.

• A local radio station actually had some Jamie Little wannabe interview me and my boy (and others) after coming out of the restroom. What did they ask? “Excuse me sir, did you wash your hands?” Nice. I said sure, and go ahead and confirm with my boy. I doubt they had a male equivalent sitting outside the ladies room inquiring about feminine hygiene.

• Speaking of the boy, for a series that tries to promote itself to the smallest of fans they sure have some adult-oriented sponsors. My kids and I could only go into about half of the promotional tents because so many were “18 and over”. Beer, liquor, chewing tobacco, tobacco substitutes and the local casinos all had significant representation. However, there was plenty of representation for my kids by the Army, Navy and National Guard. Come climb the rock wall and we’ll call you in ten years.

• All kinds of IndyCar shirts were being sold for $3 each at the “Blowout Sale” truck. Very sad, but still they make for excellent stocking stuffers.

• I think I spotted a relative of MoneyCJ wearing a t-shirt that said “I feel sorry for people who drink. When they wake up they know that’s the best they’ll feel all day.”

• Lastly, for the single guys out there: if you go to a NASCAR event looking for companionship then be sure to wear Dale Earnhart Jr gear. The majority of the quality members of the fairer sex were sporting the “8”, and there wasn’t even a close second place.