Danica's just doing her job

Scott Dixon wanted the world to know how he felt about Danica Patrick after the series visit to Iowa and didn't mince words, slapping the term "menace" on her. Was it deserved? Aggressive - yes. Driven, tough, uncompromising - yes, yes and yes. A menace? Um, no.

Does Danica make it hard to pass? Does she block? Does she push? Yea. Has she caused crashes - or even near crashes - this season? No. Have there been drivers who had no business being out there - weaving, pushing drivers out of their groove, being off the pace. Yes, many times.

In a run of three recent races Marco Andretti's driving caused three crashes but nary of criticism outside of the team. I'm a big believer in Andretti's abilities and, thanks to open and honest discussion between Andretti-Green's drivers, Marco was more focused by Iowa - his front-row start at Richmond proving that.

But why did Dixon's statements get so much press, and why say anything at all? Because he is talking about Danica and he did win the Indy 500 - and the media loves to pick up on any nugget of controversy surrounding her.

Bottom line - had anyone been critical against Marco, it wouldn't have caused so much interest as it has when Dixon hits out against Danica.

In some ways Scott's statement, made in the heat of the moment, may have been more than he genuinely meant. But, as he was quoted in an article in the Indianapolis Star, "Obviously after the race you're more hot-headed than anything and that's probably when you're going to say things, but some of the things she does in races are too much."

There are many of those who are critical about Danica's driving, particularly other racers. But I've always felt that when the criticism isn't shared by race officials then the truth is somewhere toward the middle. Yes, she's aggressive and won't make it easy for others to pass her, but she's not going to cause a wreck to prevent the pass.

At least one driver compared her to Scott Sharp, who had a similar reputation. While Sharp was certainly aggressive, like Danica, I don't recall a steady stream of wrecks following his career.

Bottom line - driver's are paid to race - to win, not to make friends or play nice. Some use tactics and strategy to move ahead; some use engineering skill to work the car to the front; and some, like Danica, use speed and technique to get to the front. Sam Hornish, Jr. did, to great affect. And not many complained about him...

Mears should call time on NASCAR career

Wanted: American open-wheel series seeks new stars with racing pedigree to join it for the 2009 season.

With 60,000 fans at Richmond last night, when normally the Indycars draw - at best - 25,000, there's no question that even in the heart of NASCAR country, open-wheel racing is becoming a big draw again. And, yes, while Indycar has a Rahal and an Andretti, there's no reason it can't welcome a Mears into its ranks.

At New Hampshire on Friday, Hendrick Motorsports and Casey Mears announced that they would part company at the end of the 2008 season. For the moment, Mears is a free agent, stating he had hoped to confirm his 2009 plans so he could focus on the remainder of the Sprint Cup season.

Anyone who owns an Indycar team should see Mears, son of Roger Mears and Rick Mears' newphew, as hot property. First, consider the Mears legacy. Rick won four Indianapolis 500s; Roger is an off-road racing legend who also has competed at Indy. Second, Mears is a NASCAR driver which means bringing him to Indycar would make news, help the series add to its growing reputation and give the team - and series - some bragging rights.

Finally, Mears has experience in open-wheel racing, having competed in both Champ Car and the IRL. In between then and now he's gained experience and maturity, growing into a top driver who, last year, finished 15th in points in the Sprint Cup.

The only "missing ingredients" at this point is someone with guts enough to go out and sign him, and a sponsor willing to offer up the money to woo Mears away from NASCAR.

Mears, who is now 30, came to Rick Hendrick last year to take over the No. 5 Chevrolet, replacing Brian Vickers.

In a story that appeared on ESPN, team owner Rick Hendrick said, "None of us, Casey included, have been satisfied with the situation this season. We've put a ton of emphasis on the No. 5 program. It's been a total team effort, and Casey has worked as hard as anyone to help us improve. But the results just haven't come."

Mears added: "I know the effort has been there, but we haven't had the finishes to show for it. I've never tested this much or put more energy into racing. But for whatever reason, we just haven't been able to make it click. It's certainly not for lack of dedication on anyone's part."

With the momentum behind Indycar right now, the series should not pass up any opportunity. Think about the propsect to having a Mears run against an Andretti, a Rahal, a Patrick or a Hunter-Reay next season.

Andretti shows two hot shoes the door

Bryan Herta's won in every form of racing he's competed in. Christian Fittipaldi was a sold teammate to Michael Andretti for many seasons at Newman-Haas. But pedigree, fraternity and results just don't cut it in the sometimes cold hard world of auto racing.

Herta and Fittipaldi were told this week they have been dropped from Andretti Green Racing's American LeMans Series team, which fields Acura LMP2 prototypes in the series. Instead Frenchman Franck Montagny, a refuge of F1 who made his "North American Debut" at the final Champ Car series race at Long Beach this year, will take over the No. 26 car along with some as yet-to-be-named co-drivers.

In the end it must have come down to results and money, though neither side is saying too much. Certainly Herta and Fittipaldi command bigger paydays than Montagny, who also has a pail (not bucket) of cash to offer teams. Montagny has been shopping himself for months to various Indycar teams, and now has found a home, at least in the ALMS.

I'm not bashing Montagny here; he's a solid racer. But he's no Herta. He's no Fittipaldi. Maybe he will be; he's still young. But what American racing needs are heroes we can identify with, and when they are American, it's a bonus. Yes, with a run of endurance races facing the ALMS teams, I can understand why, based on the the results of Herta and Fittipaldi, the team would not want them as co-drivers in the same car.

But, instead of dropping them altogether, how about letting them share duties with Montagny in races. And, besides, Montagny doesn't have a wealth on endurance race results anyhow, though he does have a podium finish at this year's 24 Hours of LeMans on his resume. At the next race, being held July 12 at Lime Rock, Montagny will be team with Marco Andretti. For the rest of the season the Frenchman's teammate will left TBA.

Herta told the Daily News of Los Angeles, "It was a complete shock to me. I'm at a bit of a loss for words. It's their sandbox. Right now it's all kind of a bit of a surprise. I'm not going to jump at something. I want to see what happens."

Bryan's had a solid career in open-wheel racing, and made a great transition to endurance racing. He won twice for Andretti's IRL team before being asked by the team to switch to its ALMS program to make room for Danica Patrick.

He partnered with his former open-wheel teammates Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti in the race-winning car of the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring. According to the Daily News article, "Herta said he was not happy with the way the team dismissed him from his driving duties after all he accomplished. 'I don't think it's very good treatment in return,' he said."

"Making a change in the middle of the season isn't something you enjoy, and I think it's even tougher in this case because we're talking about Bryan and Christian," Michael Andretti told the Daily News. "Bryan has done everything we've ever asked him to do since he joined Andretti Green in 2003, including helping us win the 12 Hours of Sebring in our first ALMS start last year. Christian joined us this year and wanted to win as badly as we did. We will always appreciate the effort that both Bryan and Christian gave to the team."

This season, Herta and Fittipaldi had three top-10 finishes but struggled in the longer races, finishing eighth in Utah and 18th at Sebring. Herta told the Daily News that neither her nor the team were satisfied with the results. "I wasn't happy with them and they weren't happy with me," Herta said.

Indy not on F1 schedule

Apparently without a major title sponsor there will not be a United States Grand Prix anytime soon, at least not at Indianapolis. The 2009 F1 provisional calendar was released this week and, once again, does not contain the United States Grand Prix on it.

This comes despite hopes by the speedway and Tony George that f1 would be back. As an ardent supporter of F1, whose attended every USGP since 1982, I can honestly say Indy was the best venue of all. The atmosphere was great, the track was great, the racing - bar one year - was great.

It amazes me that certain F1 races can go years without a title sponsor but the USGP is penalized for not having one, even though, according to everything I've heard it turned a tidy profit for all concerned, and certainly was one of the biggest draws in terms of attendance. But all hope is not lost, according to George. This is, afterall, the provisional schedule and, he hopes, that the Grand Prix might return - if not in '09, then perhaps in 2010 or 2011.

Honda could get a little competition

A couple of months back, when the Indy Racing League decided to hold an engine manufacturers summit, expectations were that - perhaps - three or four companies would turn out. The usual suspects - Honda, Cosworth and Ilmor - to be sure.

But no one, not even the IRL, could have anticipated that over a dozen manufacturers and engine builders would attend the summit, held Tuesday. For sure, by 2011, Honda is going to have a little competition in Indycar racing. And competition is always a good thing. The trick is to balance competition with competitiveness, so you don't get parades or walkovers. It's something Indycar is concerned about.

"It was actually a really good day and probably exceeded our expectations from what we thought we might get into," Brian Barnhardt, the president of the competition and operations division said in a teleconference held yesterday. "The process began a little over a year ago in thinking about how to approach our future specifications. And yesterday's meeting was kind of the first of its kind in a very unique presentation format. We were very happy to begin with the quantity and quality of the people that attended the meeting.

"We were very well represented with 14 or 15 engine manufacturers and race shop engine builders in the room. And it was a very positive meeting from all aspects of it. And as I said earlier, probably exceeded our expectations."

What I would like to see is a return to the turbo that lead CART/Indycar/Champ Car so well for so many years. That engine is certainly better on the ears than the V8 Indycar currently runs, and Cosworth proved you can build a reliable - and low cost - turbocharged engine.

The IRL isn't looking to put a cap on the number of engine manufacturers coming into the series - a good thing! What I think they can do is cap the costs by locking certain aspects of the engine design while allowing for flexibility in other areas (ala CART in the last 90s). This will push innovation.

To keep costs down have the big car manufacturers outsource construction to shops like Cosworth and restrict engine redesigns to once a year, as well as building in a requirement that engines have a minimum service life. Also, a cap on the engine lease fee would help set the standards the manufacturers would have to live within.

Barnhart stated the turbo did mean additional expenses because you have to add in a turbo charger and waste gates, but, he also mentioned some pros, such as the noise and the power control.

"The best positives associated with it are two‑fold," he said. "One being with the diversity of the schedule that we run, it is a great power control and helps us adjust power levels. If we need a little more power on the street and road courses, we can certainly adjust the boost up. And if we need less power, we can turn it down and control the boost level down from that standpoint.

"And also you can't underestimate the second positive that is also just playing the sound. It's the natural muffler. With more road and street courses, city streets, that type of deal, it's nice to turn our adjustables down a little bit, and it's got a great sound to it."

'Barn find' is as a real as it gets

In May of last year, Tom Cotter of Sports Car Market Magazine first reported the discovery of 180 cars locked in a barn in Portugal. According to the story at the time, the new owner of the property had no idea the cars were in the barn, but was more than happy to learn "find" them inside. The original story can be found here.

The cars are covered in years of dust - but look to be in good condition, if not in working order.

Cotter, this week, has some new news about the cars. According to an article, here are some of Cotter's finds so far:
"1) A Portuguese lawyer reports he handled the estate of the old couple who owned the farm where the barn was located.
2) An SCMer has actually visited the barn and tells us where it is.
3) Another SCMer writes that car hoarding is not uncommon in Portugal and his neighbor has 30 Porsches and Citroens sitting in an orchard.
4) SCM has photos of the cars when they appeared in a big show last spring.
5) The son of the dealer who gathered the barn cars between 1960 and 1990 now has plans to disperse the collection."
Check out this slid show of the cars as they were found in the barn.
The magazine is also going to have coverage on another barn find - some 300 cars stored in an Australian barn.

I thought this was a great photo of Kyle Busch celebrating his win at Infineon on Sunday. I'm not going to cover too much NASCAR here, but this was too good of a photo not to share.


An update on what's going on over at my youtube site. Over the past few days I've uploaded a couple of International Race of Champions races from 1986 (Daytona and Mid-Ohio) as well as a couple of IMSA races and the 1990 Molson Indy Vancouver.
You can visit the page here or check out this great IMSA race from New Orleans in 1991.

Racing, wrecks and 'palace intrigue'

Two very sad news items over the weekend. The first was the tragic death of NHRA racer
Scott Kalitta at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey. Though I don't claim to know much about drag racing, anytime anyone loses their life in auto racing, all fans should take a moment to stop and pay their respects, as well as pray for Kalitta's family. Kalitta was a two-time Top Fuel champion who had 18 career victories.

The second piece of sad news, though not auto racing related, was the passing of George Carlin. A very funny man, even if you didn't always agree with his views, he was always there to remind us never to take ourselves too seriously. The world needs more people like him.




The much-hoped for rain didn't come Lewis Hamilton's way in France. The race should have been Kimi's but for a broken part that let Felipe Massa through to win. What bothered me was the strange officiating during the Grand Prix. Hamilton gets penalized for what was - at best - a mistake when he shortcut a chicane after making a pass. Meanwhile, later in the race another driver, though much lower on the food chain, shortcut a chicane and used it to gain position, but was not penalized...
F1 has always had dodgy officiating, particularly when championships are at stake, so I guess this only confirms that not much has changed. Congratulations, too, to Jarno Trulli and Toyota for finally getting a podium after a couple of years away. Not sure this is a sign that things have turned around for the team, but it was welcome.

The bigger news, though, is the much-rumored move by Max Mosley to redistribute F1's distribution rights, in part to "punish" Mr. Bernie Ecclestone, who would lose a lot if a new Concorde Agreement takes money out of his "pockets" and places it into the team's hands. Of course, this would also go a long way to easing tensions between Mosley and the teams over his alleged Nazi sex scandal video...money always makes life easier, especially if you are rich and powerful.

It was nice to see an Indycar race finish under green after a couple of yellow-checker finishes at Milwaukee and Texas. The racing was close, and clean, and exciting to watch. The stands were full and it was great to see Dan Wheldon win, for it was also a win for those helping in the aftermath of flooding in Iowa. It's also great to see a tight point's battle up front - the top four in points - Scott Dixon 316, Helio Castroneves 268, Dan Wheldon 267, and Tony Kanaan 216, are separated by only 100 points. Congratulations also to Hideki Mutoh. I didn't expect much out of him, but he has impressed as a rookie driver.

On qualifying and the rain

Kimi Raikkonen took pole for tomorrow's French Grand Prix but Lewis Hamilton, whose been stuck with a 10-grid penalty for his pitlane accident in Montreal, is praying for thunderstorms in tomorrow's Grand Prix. My prediction: If it stays dry, Ferrari will win because its chassis still favors the Bridgestones in the dry. If there's a sudden downpour, then keep an eye out for both McLaren and BMW.

Dario Franchitti isn't too pleased that he failed to make the cut in NASCAR's first road course race this season. His car was "too loose," leaving him out of the race at Sonoma.

Indycar in Iowa: Danica Patrick was fastest in testing at the speedway - but qualifying isn't until 6:30 p.m. tonight. You can watch it live at the official Indycar site.

F1 in the countryside

I've never been a big fan of Magny Cours. If it rains, the races are exciting...if it's dry and sunny, it can be a bit of a bore. I've been to F1 races at Magny-Cours and I can see why for many it's a race to forget about. It's in the middle of nowhere, it's usually held in the middle of hayfever season and it lacks anything remotely approaching atmosphere. But, the food is good and there's usually plenty of places to watch the race.


Friday practice turned up the usual suspects at the top of the time sheets. I was glad to see Robert Kubica in the top five. He is - was - the most underrated driver in F1, until his win in Montreal. He's rewarded BMWs faith in him, and I'm sure more wins will come his way.

An interesting note, maybe I've followed F1 too long but there seems to be a pattern forming in the story lines. Felipe Massa has done nothing but a stellar job at Ferrari, again he's fastest on a Friday, but stories continue to circulate that he'll be dropped. Sound familiar? Ask Rubens Barrichello or Gerhard Berger or Michele Alboreto...

And what about Kimi Raikkonen. He's not the first driver to talk about life outside of F1 but it seems it's always the Finns who get talked about as if they are about to bolt away from the sport. Mika Hakkinen and Keke Rosberg were dogged with "retirement" stories throughout their career - I recall one Autosport headline from 1992 suggesting Mika was going to leave F1...

Spare a thought also for Sebastian Bourdais. He's racing on home turf this weekend and getting the most press he's had this season. It's got to be a little tough - and humbling - to go from Champ Car star to middle/back of-the-grid in F1. It's not for lack of talent, just lack of a good car.

Rahal follow's in dad's footsteps

The DesMoines Register continues to provide great coverage in the lead-up to this weekend's race in Iowa. A great piece of writing on Bobby Rahal and Graham Rahal can be found here or read the complete article below:

"Graham Rahal could have been a safety instead of a racer.

Or a wide receiver.

Maybe a punter.

But his dad, Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, deftly diverted him from football's hits, bumps and turf toe as a child with one simple phrase.

"(He) always told me, 'I like your knees the way they are,' " said the younger Rahal, who will race in Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton.

So Rahal races at speeds in excess of 200 mph instead, and has swiftly become one of the Indy Racing League's most popular drivers since joining the fold after the Champ Car World Series' February merger with IRL.

His name didn't hurt his prospects for fame.

His driving ability - most recently evidenced by becoming, at 19, the youngest driver to win an IndyCar Series race, April 6 at St. Petersburg, Fla. - makes his star shine brighter.

"We've gone through a lot of ups and downs," the Newman Haas Lanigan racer said of his season, which includes a 16th-place standing in points. "Obviously, winning was a great thing, but (recent) race weekends have been pretty difficult. We're just trying to recover the best that we can. We've certainly learned a lot."

Rahal's early learning curve includes a fifth-place finish in last year's Champ Car standings, as well as becoming the youngest driver to win an SCCA national title in 2005.

Iowa Speedway, he said, could boost his profile - and be a boon to former Champ Car drivers who are accustomed to tight places, staging races primarily on street and road courses.

"It's a fast place and it's small, so it comes down to a lot of set-up," Rahal said. "I'm looking forward to it."

He also enjoyed the one-weekend break between Texas and Iowa.

Maybe even needed it.

"It's damn nice just to get one weekend off away from things," Rahal said. "You need to get your mind away from racing a little, otherwise you can get too caught up in it."

Rahal got caught up in racing by taking early childhood trips with his family to places such as Cleveland and Mid-Ohio.

He called the excursions a blend of fun and trouble.

"Fun would be Domino's Pizza, they always had a Domino's Pizza inside the track at Mid-Ohio, so every night we'd order (some) and guys would deliver it on a golf cart to our mobile home," Rahal said.

"Then we'd take the golf cart and drive it around the infield. We're only like, 5 years old ... so that's not allowed. That was good trouble."

And, despite not donning pads himself, Rahal's a big football fan.

He watches his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes each fall with his legs propped up, both knees intact - thanks to dad.

"Obviously, everyone that lives in Columbus, Ohio, is pretty passionate about the Buckeyes," Rahal said.

"And if you're not, I don't think you're a real Ohioan."

Check out this for more Indycar preview news:

This Spice is nice

I got a chance to see (on TV at least) the Group C cars run at the historic race before this year's 24 Hours of LeMans, and was very happy to see the 1990 SE89P.002 Pontiac Spice in action once again.

I have a certain affinity for this car - my father worked at Pontiac in the 70s, I have always owned Pontiacs and I've always had an affinity toward the Spices and Pontiacs (both in Lights and in GTP).

The Pontiac Spice was a lightweight car with a powerful engine, but initially was skittish on the track because, thanks to its light weight, it couldn't get heat into its tires. By 1990 the team had switched this car to Goodyear tires and an Oldsmobile engine, which lead to some improvements.

That weekend in 1990 the car was being driven by Mike Brockman and Paul Newman. They had qualified seventh for the race, and finished in the same place. It was one of four races the car would run in 1990, a time when IMSA was changing the rules to favor the stockblock, push-rod engines developed by Olds and Pontiac. But it was also a time when the fortunes of many teams was in a state of flux, as the Milner team demonstrated. There was the feeling that there was a lot of potential in the car, but that there wasn't the budget to make it a true front-runner.

In 1991, the car was sold to Rudy Klein and raced by Tom Milner's group, but it would not continue beyond the 1991 season. It sat in Milner's garage for over 10 years before Rudy sold it to Jim Oppenheimer in 2005. The car would spend only a short time in his company before being sold to Italian racer/businessman Stefano Rosina.

I watched Jim a couple of years ago when he brought his 1990 Nissan NPTI-9/C to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, just a few months after he bought the Spice, which had been restored to its original specifications by Florida-based John Starkey. I had always hoped to see Jim run the Spice-Pontiac in anger stateside, but was happy enough to see it found a home in Europe running the the historic Group C championship series.

Rosina, who has 18 years of rallying experience, has been a regular visitor to the historic LeMans races; he qualified the Spice toward the front and finished in the top 10 in the "classic" race.

The following is the complete broadcast of the Classic race from this year, courtesy of my youtube page.

The day Gordy hung up his helmet

The following article appeared in Time magazine following the decision by Gordon Johncock to retire from racing. It was a well-written, insightful piece on what "drives" someone to race, and to know when to stop.

"A Circus Kind of Calling" Monday, May. 27, 1985 By Tom Callahan (published Monday, May 27, 1985)

Just as qualifying trials began for next week's Indianapolis 500, the illustrious class of 1965 lost Gordon Johncock, a two-time winner. His car was ready: it had been running near the front at over 210 m.p.h. But the driver was out of tune and time. "That morning I lay there in bed thinking about everything. All of a sudden I sat up and said, 'That's it for me.' " Mario Andretti, a classmate present later at Johncock's valedictory press conference, called his friend's retirement "clever," an odd word. "I've always thought of race-car drivers as being clever or stupid," Andretti explained. "I'm still trying to figure out which we are."

Twenty years ago, Andretti finished third, Johncock fifth and Al Unser ninth in their first Indy, when a bumper haul of eleven rookies made the field of 33 and five finished in the top ten. "An eternity ago," says Andretti, 45, a compact man with a Roman bearing. "It doesn't seem that long" to Unser, 45, who at first professed to understand Johncock's decision. "No, that's not fair," he amended. "I don't understand it. I haven't done it." This is the usual difficulty in discussing anything about auto racing. No one who hasn't done it can quite understand it.

Sixteen years since his only victory, Andretti will start the 69th Indy 500 from the second row, just behind Pole-Sitter Pancho Carter and just ahead of Unser. Sons Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti will follow in the fourth and fifth rows of brilliantly painted cars scattered three abreast across the asphalt track. A circus kind of calling, racing regularly summons more than one generation of the same family, though these are the only fathers and sons who have ever raced together at Indianapolis. In his christening two years ago, Al Jr., 23, brought a smile to the speedway during the closing laps by trying to block the path of Winner Tom Sneva on behalf of Runner-Up Al Sr. Last May, Mario welcomed Michael to the life with a short glance across the row they shared. "I don't have any first memory of my father, the race driver," says Michael, 22, "because that's my whole memory. Ever since people started asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up, there has been only one answer."

"I'm happy but I'm not happy," his father mutters. "I don't like to talk about the downside of racing, but obviously I'm guilty of getting him involved. 'Guilty' may not be the right word. But it's the only one I can think of. In my whole life, I've let myself get really close to just three drivers. They're all dead." One was another of the Indy rookies of 1965, Billy Foster, killed two years later in a stock car. "But on the upside, my son now knows what I do, or he's starting to. All along he's been a passenger on this road. Now he's a driver. He's beginning to see."

Unser would seem to have even greater cause for dread. His brother Jerry was killed at Indianapolis in 1959. But, to the contrary, he says the risks do not haunt him. "If I felt that way, I would never have got my boy involved. You ask yourself: Is it in the blood? I don't know. I don't think anyone does. Let's not kid ourselves: at seven or eight, Al Jr. didn't know what he wanted -- it was me. But at 16 or 17, he started to realize partially what it was all about. It's about being the best there is." Still as boyish as his freckles, young Unser recalls, "When I was five and six, I always sat in my dad's lap and steered the family car. Uncle Louie (nine-time champion of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb) sometimes would clamp his hands over my eyes to scare me."

In this family, helling on highways constituted such a free-form joy that Al Jr. reached the surprising age of eight before discovering it was a business. "We had a wrecker yard and towing service, and Dad was just an auto-repair guy to me. The first time I realized he didn't have an eight-hour job was in 1970, the day of the Indianapolis 500. We went to the closed-circuit showing in Albuquerque, and I got to sit in the front row. I couldn't get over how big the cars looked on the screen. How big and beautiful. Dad won." That was Unser's first championship of three. Another brother, Bobby, would win three too and quit abruptly at 48.

Several multiple winners, other men of advanced years, remain in this year's field. Johnny Rutherford, 47, also seeks a fourth championship. Only A.J. Foyt, an Indy racer since 1958, has won that many. Foyt is 50 now, the age of senior golfers. While old duffers try to make a putt to save their lives, Foyt continues to be the principal star of the Indianapolis 500. Johnny Bench retired from baseball at 35 when his mind started wandering at the plate. If Foyt's attention ever slips in the middle of a game, he will never settle into any sedentary life appropriate to his paunch. "In a race car," says Al Unser Jr., "experience overcomes youth, overcomes strength, overcomes agility, overcomes just about everything there is. That's why the Old Guard endures here."

Johncock's experience must have told him to go at 48. "What he had to tame inside him," Andretti figures, "must have been unbelievable. He was a truly fierce competitor." In 1982 Johncock beat Rick Mears to the finish line by 1 6/100ths of a second, one of the sunniest moments at the dreary old track. But in 1973 he had been awarded the race after several rainy days and 332 1/2 hideous miles. Art Pollard was killed in practice. Swede Savage was mortally injured during the race. A young pitworker named Armondo Teran was run over by a fire truck rushing to Savage. He died too.

Home on his Arizona ranch, tending cattle and repairing fences, Johncock sounds a little let down, left out and relieved. "I guess I've seen the best and the worst of Indy," he says, "and I have to say I've loved the competition, though I needed to get away. If your heart isn't in this, you might get yourself in trouble, or somebody else." After 20 years of loving something, the heart is not always wise. "I'm not going to say that two or three months from now I won't go back to racing," he says wistfully. "But I hope I don't." He says that cleverly.

Racing in Cuba

I was doing some research on the great Gran Premio's held in Cuba in the late 1950s, just before the revolution and Castro's rise to power. In doing the research I came across a wonderful blog about the 1957 race by Albert Quiroga, who was there to witness the race when he was a child. His memories of the 1957 race were much more pleasant than what took place during the race in 1958.

His post included an article from Time which appears below. It's the story about the 1958 running of the race, of Juan Manuel Fangio's "kipdnapping" and of death and danger in pre-revolution Havana.

"Death on the Malec" originally appeared in the Monday, March 10, 1958 edition of Time magazine.

As the world's No. 1 road-racing driver, Juan Manuel Fangio is an old friend to danger. The 46-year-old Argentine has seen its blurred face in the swirling landscape of a hundred tracks, known its angry snarl whenever his sports car skidded through a tight turn. But one evening last week he stared at danger in a new form: the muzzle of a pistol. Poking the weapon at him in the lobby of Havana's Hotel Lincoln was a tall young man in a leather jacket. "Fangio, you must come with me," he ordered. "I am a member of the 26th of July revolutionary movement." One of Fangio's friends picked up a paperweight and cocked his arm. The pistol moved alertly. "Stay still!" its owner said. "If you move, I'll shoot." Fangio went obediently to a waiting car and was whisked off.

In town to race in the Gran Premio de Cuba, Fangio was himself the prize of no ordinary kidnapers. His captors rushed to tell the world who they were, as they launched a week of revolutionary sabotage right in President Fulgencio Batista's front yard. No sooner had they hidden the racing ace than they were bragging to the newspapers: If President Batista wanted to hustle up the tourist trade with a big sports-car race next day, he would do it without Argentina's defending champion.

Steak & Fear. Fidel Castro's rebels embarrassed the authorities, but the race went on. Next afternoon the cars were ready, the Malecon that curves along Havana's lovely coastline had been cleared. A crowd of 150,000 lined the broad boulevard. The Cuban National Sports Commission delayed the race for more than an hour while local cops ran down false rumors of Fangio's release. Then France's Maurice Trintignant slid into Fangio's empty seat in a blue Maserati, and the big buckets of power were sent careening around the 3½-mile course.

Fangio, meanwhile, was under guard in a comfortably furnished apartment. He had eaten well (steak and potatoes, chicken and rice), and he had slept "like a blessed one." Faustino Perez, Castro's second in command, had come personally to apologize for the inconvenience. The rebels even supplied a radio so that Fangio might listen to the race. But he preferred not to. "I became a little sentimental," he said. "I did not want to listen because I felt nostalgic." Yet Fangio was also fearful that his life was endangered, not by his abductors but by a clash that might come at any moment between them and the police.

Turn to Trouble. On the Malecón, the danger more familiar to Fangio began to haunt his fellow racers as they whirled into the long (315 miles) grind. Britain's Stirling Moss took the lead in a Ferrari, Missourian Masten Gregory, driving another Ferrari, was second. Fangio's Maserati, in Trintignant's hands, fell far back to 13th place. By the end of five laps, all the drivers saw that almost every turn was slick with spilled oil; they knew that they were in for trouble.

Next time around, Cuba's Armando Garcia Cifuentes, 27, met trouble headon. His bright yellow-and-black Ferrari skidded out of a shallow turn and tore into the crowd. It spewed up at least 40 casualties, including seven dead. In its wake lay empty shoes; spectators had been knocked right out of them. Said Porsche Driver Ulf Noriden, who stopped his car and ran back to help: "I couldn't even see the Ferrari. The bodies were piled all over. I was wading in arms and legs." Panicky survivors swarmed across the Malecón, careless of the still racing cars, and police swung their billies to keep the mob in check. Just 15 minutes after it started, the race was called off.

Stirling Moss, who held the lead, was declared winner.

After that, Fangio had no trouble talking his captors into turning him over to the Argentine embassy. "Well," he philosophized, "this is one more adventure. If what the rebels did was in a good cause, then I, as an Argentine, accept it."

Person or Persons. Satisfied that the oil slick was not rebel sabotage, the authorities placed all the blame for the accident on Driver Cifuentes, who was barely alive in a hospital. He was charged with manslaughter. Criminal charges were also filed against the "person or persons unknown" who kidnaped Fangio. No one found it worthwhile to criticize the "person or persons who" permitted the crowd to line the trackside, i.e., the National Sports Commission, headed by Brigadier General Roberto Fernandez Miranda, who is President Batista's brother-in-law.

Even USA Today is covering Indycar

Not that I consider USA Today one of the nation's best newspapers, it is, after all, a national paper and considering how it had been covering Indycar/Champ Car/IRL in the past few years, a large article in today's editions was impressive. You can read the article here - there's even a poll you can take!

Also, the Des Moines register, despite the very-necessary flood coverage, is also paying attention to the upcoming Indycar race there. Click here for an article on Dancing Helio. In fact if you want a lot of coverage about the upcoming race, check out their auto racing page.

Just updated over at my youtube video page are two new videos from the 2008 24 Hours of LeMans. The first is Speed TV's rolling credits at the end of the broadcast, a MTV-generation music and video highlights montage. The second is Speed Report's report on the race. Kudos to Speed and its commentators for another great broadcast from LeMans.

The stuff of legends

"McQueen Drove the Car, Too" is the headline of a New York Times article written by Richard S. Chang about an upcoming auction featuring the Porsche 908/2 raced at Sebring by Peter Revson and Steve McQueen. The car is expected to fetch between $1.5-$2 million. The car was also featured in the movie LeMans, but that year's Sebring is long-remembered as one of the greatest endurance races of all time. In fact a book's been written about it.

Although Chang states that it may be the greatest race no one has ever heard of, there is a lot of information out there about the race - enough that the comment is better "adjusted" to no one outside of racing enthusiasts has ever heard of. Check out this site with a short review of the race and plenty of photos. And Paul Spurell has a bit about the race and his Alfa Romeo Spyder.

The article:
VERY few auction notices that appear in my e-mail inbox catch my eye. But a recent one did that was from Bonhams & Butterfields about a Porsche 908/2 being auctioned on Aug. 15 during the Pebble Beach auto weekend in California. Steve McQueen raced the Porsche in 1970 in the 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the greatest sports stories you've probably never heard of.

Mario Andretti won, driving for Ferrari, but the race was an event where even the subplots were tremendous tales, none more intriguing than the driver pairing of the second-place car, McQueen and Peter Revson, a budding Formula One driver. Revson was also an heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune.


The lineup that year included Andretti, Jacky Ickx and other Grand Prix legends. McQueen's accomplishment was more than a celebrity dabble. He drove Sebring with a broken foot in a cast that was duct-taped together.

''I remember they kept announcing, 'Steven McQueen! Steve McQueen! Steve McQueen!' '' Andretti told me. ''They never mentioned Revson, and Revson drove the lion's share of that race because Steve had a broken foot. Revson was doing a phenomenal job, obviously, but he never got mentioned.''

Running out of fuel in the final laps, Andretti made a quick pit stop (a move that's become part of racing lore) before regaining the lead. Revson finished only 23 seconds behind.

''I thought he did a tremendous job in that car,'' said Andretti, who figured Revson drove eight or nine hours that day. ''I think he deserved all the credit for keeping it so competitive. He had to be so focused. I mean, I was spent.''

Revson, who finished second in the 1971 Indy 500, was killed in a crash in South Africa in 1974.

Check out these photos from the race and a complete list of winners is available too.