I have no idea what the 200 Mile TaG Endurance Race in New Castle, Indiana is (perhaps Joe from Trackside Online can shed some light in the comments), but the race will feature several former, current and future IndyCar series drivers.

Scott Dixon
Sarah Fisher
Jay Howard
Arie Luyendyk Jr
Robby McGehee
Tomas Scheckter
Jeff Simmons
Rick Treadway
Dan Wheldon

Pressdog has fallen all over himself because because The Fisher Queen has been paired with the Dame of Destruction, Ms. Katherine Legge. Yes, the IRL and Champ Car working together, as only ladies can. Can I get a team shirt for my daughter?

While several other drivers were conducting tire tests, you know who was off doing the PR thing in Anaheim to "christen" the Honda Center. I guess the term "christen" has been watered down to mean just about anything.

At any rate, Danica! made a grand entrance by doing doughnuts in the parking lot in perhaps her final ride in the Rahal Letterman Racing #16 car.

“It’s such an honor to be asked to help open Honda Center,” Patrick said. “Anaheim Arena Management has a great partner in Honda, as we’ve learned from their association with the IndyCar Series. If you want me back for more doughnuts, I’m fine with that.”

I know everyone has a different opinion of Danica!’s abilities, and as such related discussions are always fun. I try to categorize my opinions of her exploits as either The Celebrity or The Driver, not letting my view of one affect the other. I don’t think less (or more) of her as a driver just because she’s in every other commercial on raceday. However, there is one thing I’m noticing in the first month of the off-season that is making me simultaneously consider both sides of Mrs. Hospenthal.

What was heard repeatedly (and mocked repeatedly) at the press conference announcing her deal with Andretti Green Racing was that “she really, really wants to win”. OK, that’s fine. I neither doubt that nor think that makes her particularly special. But there has been testing in Daytona and Indy and there will be testing at Iowa Speedway, and there is no mention whatsoever of Danica!’s participation in any session.

Now, I'm sure a lot of this has to do with contracts. It's my understanding she's got a few more days as an RLR employee, and they probably don't want her on a track when they can have a guy like Jeff Simmons simultaneously test and audition. But the old axiom of “practice makes perfect” applies to drivers as well, and it would stand to reason that Mrs. “Really, Really Wants To Win” would be spending her fall and winter chewing up practice laps in her new Batmobile or a shifter kart or whatever four-wheeled vehicle she can find.

And yet, all I read lately of Danica! involves her doing interviews or PR events, which may be necessary but they do nothing towards the goal of helping her actually win a race.

Compare her to Uncle Sam, who is trying to log all the miles he can on road courses to make up for his few deficiencies even if it means driving ARCA cars. Sam doesn’t need to tell anyone because his actions let us know he really, really, REALLY wants to win. And he’s already proven to be capable of winning.

There are still several months of testing ahead, but I would think soon enough someone from AGR or Motorola would ask her if she would like to take a moment from pushing product and refine her driving skills before March. Otherwise she’s guaranteeing herself to be a bad investment, and will no doubt lose value as both a spokesperson and a driver.

Which means Danica! won't be doing any doughnuts in 2007.

The Los Angeles Times has a very uninformative story about the lack of series merger in 2007, as if this is news. You can read it at your own peril, but the one thing that caught my eye was the Champ Car schedule for next year provided at the end of the article.

I won’t reprint the full agenda, but I will say that for a series looking to lower expenditures the CCWS seems to be going crazy with their geography. They have 15 races in total, and seven of them are staged in the “Western” United States of California, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. That makes sense for them, but being in a Western state it bothers the snot outta me.

However, the rest of the schedule is literally all over the map. The only other US races are in Wisconsin and Cleveland, essentially conceding the majority of the country to other forms of racing. The rest of the schedule has three dates in Canada, as well as Mexico City, Australia and China.

This strategy reminds me of “Risk”, where you load up your armies in one or two regions (in this case the Western US and Canada) and then hold one piece of land in every continent so your opponents can’t fortify every round. Kevin Kalkhoven and his buddies may be good at that game, but this seems like a silly idea for a racing series that’s two years removed from bankruptcy.

Which is not to say the IRL is behaving very differently. Their 2007 schedule will focus most races in the Midwest while hosting a few events in other parts of the US as well as one in Japan. Still, the IndyCar series does have exposure in New York, California, Florida, Virginia and Texas, which means they haven’t yet conceded any heavily populated portion of the homeland.

Furthermore, Champ Car has the Australia date in October and the China date in May, which means TWO trans-Pacific trips. Far be it from me to tell these people how to run their series into the ground, but if they really intend to reduce costs that just seems like a really expensive idea.

For what it’s worth, that China date is May 20th – the last qualification day at Indy. There are no other CCWS dates between April 22nd and June 10th, so teams will conceivably have the choice of taking a crack at Indy or a slow boat to China. I know China has a billion people, but it would be folly to think many of them will be watching a Champ Car race. If you had a CCWS team with sponsorship from McDonalds or Wal-Mart, where do you think your sponsors would prefer you race in May?

I had no idea the name would be this popular.

OK, it's bad enough that some dude took a MySpace account using "My Name Is IRL", but now some clown is posting on the IndyStar message boards with the moniker.

Irl 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's starting to look an awful lot like CART, minus the sponsors, talent, sexy cars, etc.

At least the IRL is finally proving that its creation was nothing more than a power-grab by Tony George. I can't wait to see the local short-track racers get their shot to race at Belle Isle.

Regular readers of this site know I would NEVER, EVER say anything so mindless. Please be aware that just because someone may post as "My Name Is IRL" on a message board, it doesn't necessarily mean it is from me, Jeff Iannucci.

While drivers and teams continue their silly season courtship of looking for dance partners for the 2007 season, race fans are sitting around wondering where half the drivers from last year will be. While some drivers (Jeff Simmons, Dario Franchitti) are likely to return to their teams, others (Kosuke Matsuura, Buddy Rice) face uncertain futures. Negotiations are sensitive and ongoing for next year and still, one man holds the key to the future of every unsigned driver.

That man is Scott Sharp.

Scott is the lone driver with enough personal sponsorship backing to choose his future, and what racing team he joins will say a lot about how he wants to end his career.

Let’s face the fact that Scott is in the twilight of a very successful career. He’s no longer considered one of the top drivers, and rarely is he considered a serious contestant for victory lane. He has only two victories in the last five seasons, and his chances of adding a tenth career win seem slim. However, he’s still a good driver, and if he were to get with the right team he could return to the upper echelon of competitors.

Now is the time to decide what he wants to do with his remaining laps in the IndyCar series.

If his main motivation is to try for another IndyCar win, then his best shot is forming a second team with Panther Racing. Although winless in 2006, Panther showed to be the most competitive team for the Red and White Brigade of Penske and Ganassi drivers.

If he wants to add to his financial future, then he might be better served forming his own team. Scott is talented enough to safely run with a low-budget team, and as someone who has been around the IRL since it’s inception he would appear to be a likely candidate for becoming a team owner.

If he wants to stay loyal, then he can remain with Fernandez Racing. There is a dollar value too comfort, and if he enjoyed the staff from this past year he may return if he isn’t overwhelmed with an offer to go elsewhere.

If he wants to take a shot at returning a big name team to excellence, then he should go with Rahal Letterman Racing. Rahal had a horrendous series of bad luck last season, and Scott could choose to lead the RLR resurgence to contention.

It would stand to reason Scott is still considering all of these options, but in doing so he is keeping many other drivers in a holding pattern. Just about all of the free agents would love to get an agreement from any of these teams, and yet those teams probably have Scott at the top of the “best available” list of free agents.

So Scott, can we get this ball rolling? I don’t want to rush you, but it’s October and there are careers hanging in the balance. If you don’t make a decision soon then other drivers with uncertain futures may decide to take offers to drive in a different series.

And from a purely selfish standpoint, it would give me some actual news to report. As it is I have to sit around and waste a few hundred words by discussing what is NOT happening.

Best Wishes to Sarah Marie Fisher, born October 4th, 1980 in Commercial Point, Ohio.

2006 saw the return of the Fisher Queen to the IndyCar series, and hopefully she can secure some sponsorship from companies that realize her durable popularity. We need you back in 2007 to help offset all the coverage of that other driver who happened to start next to you twice this year.

If someone were to ask how a guy like Roger Penske can just get a race added at Belle Isle while no one was really asking for another event in Michigan, you would probably say "money talks".

You would be right. Mike Brudenell of the Detroit Free Press explains.

Council members made it clear the city would not be the scapegoat if there was a shortage of money once the IRL left town for the next race.

Penske, owner of this year's championship-winning IRL team, looked council members square in the eye. He said he'd cough up cash of his own toward the race, which, he said, would cost the city $1.5 million. He'd help with Belle Isle improvements and would go to Lansing, if necessary, to lobby for funds for
the race.

It's amazing what people will do if they think it won't cost them anything. I'd love to see a successful race next Labor Day weekend, but for now I'm looking at that date with a bit of skepticism. As has been noted before, the Belle Isle was previously home to some pretty dull races.

Let's hope The Captain gets it right and doesn't have to "cough up the cash".

MoneyCJ of So Damn Indy has a nice, long Q & A with the ever-popular Big Jamie Little. Pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay (her beverage of choice) and spend some time with her.

Here's my favorite sample for obvious reasons:

SDI: As you have (Ed Note: unfortunately) learned, there's a small, dedicated, and growing cabal of INDY bloggers out there...do you ever read the blogs? Does anyone else in the league read them as far as you know? Do they love us or hate us?

JL: To be honest, I'm always scared to read blogs whether it be motorcycles or IndyCar. I just hate reading the negative stuff that has my name attached to it!!! But I like reading it with other people's names!! It's like reading US Weekly! Once you start reading, you can't stop!! Yes, I can say people who are "inside" the league read the blogs and often times, they take the opinions of those writing seriously. If you guys say you like something or hate something from the broadcast, one way or another it will get back to us. Weird how it works but I think bloggers (and people who voice their opinions in magazines or other forms of racing-related media) are the voice of the average fan.

Much love, and a big hug.

If there is a podium, the Mirror Man will find it in 2006.

Fresh from last week’s IndyCar testing session at Daytona, Vitor Meira joined Highcroft Racing team owner Duncan Dayton and former IndyCar driver Memo Gidley in finishing third at this weekend’s Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta Motor Sports Center. Auto Racing Daily provided coverage of the 10-hour race, which was televised live on SpeedTV for those who wanted to experience their own form of endurance.

Meira's podium was even more remarkable, as he'd never even seen an ALMS race before this weekend, nor had he ever been to Road Atlanta. He only did one stint, albeit a double, but the Indy Racing League IndyCar star from Brasilia, Brazil and Indianapolis went home a podium finisher in the top class in one of endurance sports car racing's premier events.

Is there anything this guy can’t drive well? If he can just up and drive to third place in an endurance race of a series he has never before SEEN, then I’m thinking he’s good for a medal finish driving for a Brazilian bobsled team.

Like John Barnes, the owner of Meira’s Panther Racing #4 said:

"Panther can't see anybody driving the 4 car but Vitor Meira," Barnes stated. "I can tell you, it would cost me my house and home and everything else, my wife would divorce me if he wasn't driving our car. We all love him. We definitely think he'll be in the car for us next year."

Reviewing again: Despite being winless in his career, Meira finished on the podium six times in 14 races in 2006. He also finished sixth or better in nine of the last ten races.

Jeff Simmons and Tony Kanaan got to test the new 3.5-liter, ethanol-only Honda engine today in Indianapolis, and it sounds like everyone is pleased with the new engine.

“There’s a difference, and it’s all been positive so far,” Simmons said. “It’s great to be one of the guys to have the chance to run the new motor next year with the 100 percent ethanol.

“It seems to me, so far, we’ve got a broader power band. We’re going through the corners better. It allows us to do some things with gearing whereas you had to be really precise with the gearing last year. We’re able (today) to pull some really good speed even if we’re a little off on the gearing.”

This from a guy who despite his teams best efforts was spending a lot of time behind other cars.

Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves were also making test runs, although they were using last-year's 3.0-liter engine. Wheldon got dramatic with his description of the Brickyard.

“I’ve seen this place (the Speedway) be absolutely great to me, and I’ve seen it wrench my heart from my body,” Wheldon said. “Hopefully it won’t do that again, and this (test) is a good step for making us competitive for next year.”

He's a regular Robert Frost with the words, that guy.