Countdown to Indy: 3 Days to Opening Day

If it's May, this must be Indianapolis and we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Best of all, I no longer have to ask the question: "Is it May yet?"

Sunday May 4th the Speedway opens for practice for the 92nd Indy 500 and most of the new teams will get a jump on the competition with the first two days of practice reserved for drivers who have to go through the Rookie Orientation Program (ROP). Many of the former Champ Car guys have been designated "rookies" due to a lack of oval racing experience, but the chance to run hundreds of laps over the first 12 hours or so of green light time Sunday and Monday will do wonders for those drivers and teams. They're still rookies at Indy until they run in the 500, but the caliber of the new teams is sure to make for a very competitive pair of qualifying weekends.

Over the next few days, I will be adding regular posts with pix from practice days, plus I will do my own observations and predictions as track time winds down to Pole Day May 10th. Right now there are 34 car-driver combinations with today's announcement that 1996 winner Buddy Lazier will again drive the 91 car for Hemelgarn. A total of 39 driver combos are expected and I think the number could rise to as many as 42. Just a hunch, but second week deals seem to materialize out of thin air sometimes, and I'll bet Paul Tracy is in one of those.

The field should be highly competitive from front to back, and I really hope the first three qualifying days are dry so the 11-11-11 format can be fully experienced this year for the first time. The Pole will go down to the 6:00 o'clock gun just like last year, and I'd be willing to bet that at least one of the new teams will be in the first day qualifiers, probably Justin Wilson, and EJ Viso could make it two. Tomas Scheckter can't be overlooked with the Junior Penske team. Dixon and Wheldon would seem to be the favorites for P1 (BTW - don't you just love Dan's new choppers?), and Kanaan and Danica will lead the charge for Andretti Green with Helio in the mix as well for Roger Penske. They will continue to trim the cars out as Pole Day goes along and the bravest will take the spot - but perhaps only if they can go out last on the day!

I doubt Milka Duno will be able to crack the Field of 33 and Marty Roth is another one who is questionable. Both will probably find the SAFER barrier at least once and that could relegate them to spectator roles. One or two of the new guys will probably also test the walls getting used to the track and sustained high speeds, but their teams are strong enough to rebound, assuming the parts issues have all been resolved.

Honda will continue its record lack of engine failures, and I'd be very surprised if anyone is disappointed with the action the first week of what promises to be one of the best Mays in many years. Let's hope the fans come back and everyone roots for their favorites regardless of former series affiliation. Let's go racing!

Winchester Sees Sunshine - Hagen Takes USAC Checkers

At last the clouds parted in Indiana and a beautiful day for racing (and photography) was available. After a week's delay, Winchester Speedway opened its 2008 season with an excellent crowd and an entertaining doubleheader featuring the USAC National Sprint tour in the Rich Vogler Classic and the CRA late model stock cars. Darren Hagen took the USAC feature after surviving a wheel banging incident late in the race with Chris Windom while Scott Hantz took the CRA 100-lapper which was red flagged early after a multi-car crash that took out several competitors, including 13-year old Logan Ruffin who was making his Winchester debut.

Is it just me, or are these guys getting younger all the time? Thirteen years old in a stock car on the World's Fastest Half Mile? Maybe I'm just getting old.

Anyway, the more I get back to the short tracks, the more I realize how much I love these places. Lincoln Park. Salem. Winchester. Hopefully Eldora - soon. These are the places fans flock to in order to be close to the action, places where you can see the whole track, buy a pit pass and listen in on the crews and drivers at close range, see the local guys make good and have a chance to move on. This is where it starts for everyone with a dream to go to Indy or Daytona. Of course the route to Indy has changed dramatically over the years, but the roots are still there. I heard on the PA that Eddie Sachs won the first sprint car race at Winchester in 1956 so you know you're somewhere special when that kind of announcement is made.

I'm off the short track circuit for awhile and heading for the big track this weekend - right here in my hometown. Check back as I post frequently as the buildup for the 500 gets underway in earnest. At last. Meanwhile enjoy the following pix from Winchester for the time being.

Winchester USAC Sprints & CRA Late Model Stocks

Danica Makes History In Japan; Champ Car Finale at the Beach

OK Danica. Now you've gone and done it. Tired of the "when will you win question"? Just wait until you get to Indy in less than two weeks. Everyone's going to want a piece of you and they'll want to know when you'll Indy. You almost did it on your first try so why not now, with some laps behind you and AGR's team savvy keeping you calm? It could happen. I'm looking forward to Pole Day as that should be one heckuva shootout for P1.

I'm beginning to feel like a rain magnet so far this racing season, but you can't blame me for the weather at Motegi! First, Eldora was washed out 2 weeks ago. Then last weekend at Salem the ARCA show was delayed. Now yesterday the USAC Sprint Cars and CRA Super Series at Winchester had to be postponed to next Sunday just as the USAC gang was hitting the track for practice. No big surprise as I keep saying, but I'm glad I was prepared.

As a result, I got to get back to Indy early, and even though the old ELO song lyric "It's raining all over the world" was going through my head, I got home in time to watch part of the Nationwide Series from Mexico City (c'mon Boris - please tell us how you really feel about Ambrose, will ya?) but then I just had to watch the Japan Indycar race on DVD, as I had just enough time to watch it before the Long Beach telecast came on. I knew early in the day that Danica had won her first race, since the local TV morning sports guy spoiled the surprise as soon as I turned on the tube. I wanted to see how she managed a longer fuel run than anyone else (can't say it's a weight advantage anymore boys) and was excited to see how everyone reacted. They know good and well what a boost her win is going to be for Indycars. Not surprisingly, the conspiracy theorists were weighing in on Wind Tunnel later that night by suggesting that Danica was gifted the win by Helio and Team Penske. Since when does Penske give away wins to anybody? Get real.

The same theory had Graham Rahal being handed the win at St. Pete. Did they even watch the race? That kid was flat fast, and he had the best car at the end. So I was anxious to see how the Long Beach Grand Prix would pan out as an IRL event. Rahal made a couple of rookie mistakes and I must say I was very pleased with how the IRL and ESPN handled the whole show. The race wasn't all that interesting for me once Power jumped everyone at the start and Wilson fell out, but the fact that Tony George, Helio and Danica made it there from Japan was a great marketing move. The season is starting off with some great momentum leading up to Indy, where many of the new teams will get the first three days of track time to themselves for their rookie orientations with everyone's eyes on Pole Day May 10th. It will come down to the 6 o'clock gun again this year, of that I am certain, just like last year.

As for me, I will head back to Winchester again this Sunday and probably have to record the Kansas IRL event which should be very interesting to see how much ground the former Champ Car teams have made up since Homestead. My American Motor Journal deadline will loom that evening so I will have my work cut out for me, especially if the weather intervenes once again. By then, the Countdown to Indy will be in single digits. I can almost hear them saying "We are Green!"

Countdown to Indy Part 2 - Is It May Yet?

I saw my first new Indy 500 pace car on the streets of Indianapolis last weekend. What's the big deal about that? Well, living in Indianapolis, seeing the new 500 pace cars for each year's race being driven around town is the surest sign of spring around here this side of robins in your yard. Indiana weather this time of year is notoriously unpredictable - Salem last weekend was a perfect example and I've experienced snow on opening day at Indy in May in the past . But seeing pace cars out and about means May is almost here.

Dignitaries and "500 Festival" personnel are typically loaned the new pace cars to drive each year as rolling promotions and to reward folks for their service to managing the events and hoopla that surrounds the buildup to the 500. Soon enough the echoes of "the world's largest PA system" will bounce between the giant grandstands at one of my most favorite places on earth.

I've jokingly said to family and friends that when I'm gone, they can take my ashes and sprinkle them on my "spot" in Turn 2 and my soul will be happy. I am sure the Speedway would frown on that, but as I said, it's a joke. A couple of years ago, I estimated how much time I had spent at IMS over the years, first as a fan and then as a credentialed photographer. In round figures, if you put all the days I have spent out there back-to-back-to-back, it would amount to something like 14 straight months of my life. Every day. In a row.

And it's probably more now than when I did that estimate, but that amount of time spent at Indy tells you all you really need to know about me. And I'm not the only person who schedules vacation time to work at the Speedway or sneaks away at every opportunity just to watch a few laps. Yellow shirts. Safety crew guys. The numbers of people who feel just like I do would probably surprise people who aren't from around here.

My birthday in late May falls right around the running of the 500 every year too, so the whole month is a celebration for me. If the weather's good, I'm either at the track or thinking about being there. If it's raining, then I'm probably looking at the weather radar and trying to time my escape from work to the moment the track gets dry and the green light comes on for the cars to hit the track. With IMS timing & scoring now available live on the Speedway's website, total immersion in May's track action is now possible. Not only that, but if you're on the westside of Indianapolis while practice or qualifying is going on, if the wind is right you can hear the cars miles away, so you don't even need to be at the track to know they're running. Drive down Georgetown Road or 16th Street now and you can already see the "Welcome Race Fans" banners or the people selling race day parking spaces in their front yards.

All of these signs of spring and speed lead me to ask another question: I wonder how many laps I've seen run out there? My head spins just thinking about it. So I better stop there before I hit the wall and someone takes my picture.

On this weekend of Motegi and Long Beach, I can't help but think about my own personal history at the Speedway, and it is THE SPEEDWAY as far as I'm concerned. Next year is 100 years since the track opened. In 2011, they will run the 500 for the 100th time. It's still hard for me to believe that this will be my 35th Indy 500, with an unbroken string of 33 straight starting in 1976. God willing, I'll make it to the next 35 (or more). They'll probably have to pry my camera from my hands if the cars are still on the track and I'm within earshot.

Motegi qualifying was rained out so point standings set the field with: Helio, Dixon, Kanaan, Marco, Wheldon, Danica, Carpenter, Foyt 4, Mutoh and Hunter-Reay fill the first 5 rows. Another good opportunity for the Vision team, and a great shot for rookie Mutoh in just his third oval track race to show well in his home country. Not sure if I can manage to stay up for the live telecast tonight, but I'll let you know what I think once I see the race soon enough. Count on it.

Allgaier Repeats in Salem ARCA; IRL Off to Motegi (& Long Beach)

After a rain delay of over two hours, youngster Justin Allgaier held off Sprint Cup vet Ken Schrader in a green-white-checker finish at Salem Speedway yesterday to take back to back wins at the historic half mile. Frigid conditions kept the crowd down but they missed one heckuva show, both by the ARCA participants and the track crew who did yeoman's work getting the banking ready for racing. 30 minutes before the race finally started around 4:15 Salem time, rain sprinkles still hovered in the air. It was almost as cold as the Indy 500 in 1992, and that race was dubbed the "Ice Race" by many who were there.

I'm really coming to like the fast Salem track, although this event was by far the coldest I have experienced in "God's Country" in southern Indiana. But what do you expect from Indiana weather in the spring? Wait five minutes and it will change is the old Hoosier adage, but that wasn't the case this day, as the clouds remained gray and low all day, and you could see your breath.

Schrader sat on the pole and erstwhile F1 pilot Scott Speed was extremely racy and a quick study in his short track, high banked debut, leading several laps after snagging the lead on a restart like any veteran would have. But Justin was fastest when it mattered, making his only pit stop at the right time and saved just enough tires to keep Schrader at bay. Frank Kimmel was involved in a number of skirmishes but still managed to finish 4th, following his replacement in the 46 car, Matt Carter.

Ironically, we walked under the grandstands shortly after we arrived around 11 in the morning to see what condition the track was in, and out walked Justin himself. I asked him what had been said during the driver's meeting and he said "We have lights and they're going to get the race in one way or another today." So we knew right then we'd have a long day, but it worked out great in the end - for us and for Justin. I was especially happy after getting washed out at Eldora last weekend that I could actually shoot some pictures! So my racing season is underway at last and my work for American Motor Journal has already been shipped off for the next edition. The following link has several pix from the event and gives you some idea of how cold it was during the driver autograph session. Scott Speed is at right and Ken Butler III is next to him with bundled up fans in the background:

Salem ARCA Kentuckiana 200 April 13, 2008

Indy Racing League to Motegi (& Long Beach)

By now, all the IRL team gear is in Japan and Champ Car prepares for its last race ever - at Long Beach, where IRL points will be awarded. So it's strange to see this combination in play with only 20 days now until practice opens for the Indy 500. So the fields will be split between two series for the last time, even though racers at both events will earn IRL points. While all of that is going on, I will be drying out and warming up from Salem and heading over to Winchester Speedway for a USAC sprints & CRA Super Series doubleheader this Sunday.


The irony of the IRL's roots was not lost on me this weekend as I read the Salem Speedway program where greats like Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Roger McCluskey and others have their names etched in the track's Victory Lane records. This weekend Mario and AJ will be in Japan with their IRL racing sons while the USAC guys run the Rich Vogler Classic 30 at Winchester. As Salem is where Rapid Rich lost his life in a USAC race, it hit me that the sprint cars will be running on another historic track in Indiana, albeit only a half-mile in length, as the Indycars race on an oval half a world away to prep for the big track in Indianapolis less than three weeks from now. How did we get here from there?

It doesn't really matter anymore, but running in Vogler's honor is a fitting tribute for every Hoosier kid who dreamed of racing at Indy. We all know the difficulties those kids face today and many of the best in NASCAR have followed in Vogler's footsteps with a big left turn to the taxicab circuit somewhere along the way: Stewart, Newman & Gordon being the most notable of that group. So who's to say someone running this weekend in Winchester won't end up in Victory Lane at Indy? Some would argue that it is sad that it will probably be in the Brickyard 400 and not the Indy 500, but I couldn't care less. I'm a fan first, a photographer second, and a Hoosier above all. So I look forward to being able to say "I saw them when..." as I bore my grandkids to death someday with tales of what the good old days used to be like.

These are the good old days. I'm glad to be a part of keeping track of the action on the track. See you soon.

Rahal the Rainmeister at IRL St. Pete

Not surprisingly, the Champ Car guys showed their mettle at St. Petersburg on the street/airport circuit and really spiced up the soggy show in the process. What was surprising was that Graham Rahal survived an early spin to splash his way to his first Indycar win in his very first start, especially after crashing in Miami testing and missing the first race of the season. I expected Justin Wilson to be the stronger of the two Newman Haas Lanigan team members, and he showed the way for a number of laps. But Rahal was clearly the fastest at the end.

So now we've seen the tale of the series played out dramatically in the first two races. The more experienced oval track teams fared best at Miami and the road racers overcame unfamiliarity with equipment with driver savvy to run at the front at St. Pete. Everyone now gets time to go their separate ways, with the traditional IRL teams heading for Motegi Japan and the Champ Car brigade having their final fling in the Panoz chassis at Long Beach the weekend of April 19th. Then everyone gets back together for Kansas and Indianapolis opens the following week.

I was really glad to see the increased competition level, which is what I think everyone was hoping for with the merger complete. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I can see that in effect now in the IRL. The backmarkers are going to be shown up more quickly now than ever before, as the top teams are more numerous and the caliber and depth of driver talent has definitely risen. With reports of as many as 39 car-driver combinations being available for Indy, the month of May should be truly spectacular. I might even have to spend more time out there for the first few days of rookie orientation when the new teams and drivers get dedicated track time. By the time bump day rolls around, we could be looking at the closest and most competitive field in Indy 500 history. I sure hope so.

I go to Salem this weekend for the ARCA show and the weather could be the greatest challenge with typical early spring variation at play in Indiana: warm and sunny one day, cold and snowy/rainy the next. The forecast calls for the latter this weekend so we'll have to make the trip and see what happens. The drivers will have the warmest seats in the house!

Is it May yet?

USAC at Eldora Postponed; McDowell's Wild Ride at Texas

I'm sitting in Tallmadge, Ohio this morning outside Akron, feeling the disappointment of another weather related racing delay. I thought I'd had enough rain delays in 2007 but it's bitten me again with Eldora Speedway's announcement that the USAC sprint car show has been postponed. The track website list Saturday May 10th for the make-up date for the event, which also happens to be Pole Day at Indianapolis for the 500. So I'll drive back to Indy today with no pix to show for it. The good news is I got to spend some time with my Mom and help her with some items around her property. So I guess I'll just pack up later and start thinking about the ARCA show at Salem next weekend.

Speaking of ARCA, my man Michael McDowell, last year's ARCA rookie of the year, had a horrific tumble at Texas yesterday but walked away unscathed. I don't know all the details but I am positive something broke on the car, as my experience with him has been he doesn't make mistakes that get him in that kind of trouble. He rarely put a scratch on his ESR cars last year in ARCA, so it seems unlikely he would have had this problem without mechanical failure, especially since he was already locked into the Sprint Cup race lineup. But I could be wrong. His teammate Reutemann qualified very well (he had to) so maybe Michael was trying a little too hard to get into the top 10. You don't mess with the fast Texas track though, so perhaps we chalk this one up to a rookie mistake. He'll start with a provisional tomorrow so I hope he can make a charge from 40th in his backuo. He needs to stay in the Top 35 in owner points and I think he'll recover from this and be strong tomorrow and in the weeks ahead.

Here's a link to the video posted on YouTube:



Talk soon.

USAC Heads to Eldora

And my racing season finally gets underway! Woooo racin'!

While everyone else has been running round and round since Daytona, I finally get to hit the road this weekend and watch the slideways brigade on the storied Eldora track that my man Tony Stewart owns. It will be my first visit after a couple of aborted (or washed out) attempts, and I hope to see the USAC sprint cars run at several tracks this spring and summer. It will help balance out my photo work for American Motor Journal (AMJ) and give me the opportunity to really get back to some roots racing, as I shot loads of sprints and midget races in the 90's. It should be a blast.

Then next weekend it's back to the Salem Speedway high banks for the ARCA show where I'll get to do double duty for AMJ and work on a feature with AMJ publisher Don Hamilton for Stock Car Racing magazine. Salem is fast becoming one of my favorite tracks as it is easy to shoot from a variety of vantage points without walking miles and miles like at many of the bigger ovals. Pit road is kind of insane though, as there is barely room for the cars pitting and the entry road between the walls. The ARCA guys run a variety of lines and it's all easy to see from the infield. Standing on the pit wall between Turns 1 & 2, you can almost see the whole track except where the timing and scoring stand blocks the view. It would be nice if they got a scoring pylon though, since their top 5 scoreboard on the backstretch is impossible to see from most vantage points. With earplugs in, forget about hearing the PA system when the cars are at speed! For the ARCA race, I always try to find out from a team member when they plan to pit since it's usually a one-stop race and filled with cautions.

Then I wrap up April at Winchester for the CRA Super Series tandem with USAC sprints again, this time on pavement. The following weekend, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for Indy 500 practice, so the next seven weeks you should hear (and see) a lot from me as my memory cards get repeatedly filled and emptied. Another few thousand images or so will add nicely to the collection.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Dixon Handed IRL Opener at Homestead

Now the IRL braintrust can focus on St. Pete, since the first race under the unified league banner went off as well as could be expected. Many commented that the new teams were happy to go home (mostly) with their cars still in one piece, and it was clear from watching the race on ESPN2 that the returning IRL teams had what the late Mark Donahue always sought: an unfair advantage - in this case it was sheer familiarity with equipment.

The video of Tony Kanaan all locked up trying to avoid the spinning car of newcomer Ernesto Viso was incredible and I really felt bad for Tony, who I had called for the race win and who appeared to have it in the bag after the last round of pit stops. And that after he escaped a wheel banging incident with his buddy Helio early on! THAT was close!

So Dixon got a gift win and finished where he started: P1. I was really impressed with Marco's run in the lead most of the night, and he may have the oval track handling figured out after all. The Vision guys charged back into the top 10 after getting their qualifying marks DQ'd for tech violations which wiped out their top 3 starting spots and they had to start from the back.

I was most impressed with the way the returning IRL guys handled the debut for the new Champ Car teams: very gracious comments and some of the most professional driving I have seen in years. I still think the new teams will be strong by the time the 500 rolls around 8 weeks from today once they've run a few thousand miles during May. The fact that Tony George paired up experienced IRL teams with the new guys was a true racer's gesture. Now the rumors that Direct TV will sign on as a series sponsor for 2009 could pump new excitement into a series which has been largely overlooked by the masses since the IRL first began racing in 1996. Thank goodness.

Maybe now fans will get the idea that this is still the most exciting racing on the planet for close competition and wheel to wheel action. I sure hope so. These guys are the fastest show on wheels and can win fans back with more performances like last night. But watch out for the Champ Car guys this weekend at St. Pete: drivers can overcome equipment gremlins better on a street course than about anywhere else so I think Power, Wilson, Servia et al will make this the most spectacular St. Pete event yet.

But I'm still pulling for TK. Helio, Dixon, Marco and Wheldon will be close behind. See ya!

McDowell Shines in Sprint Cup Debut at Martinsville

My new favorite driver Michael McDowell showed his stuff for Michael Waltrip Racing today in his Sprint Cup debut at the aged paperclip track in Martinsville, Virginia. Michael ran strong in the top 20 for most of the day, and fought to stay on the lead lap until the very end when a bump cut a tire and dropped him to 26th for the day. The warmest place at the track was probably inside the cockpit where Michael looked right at home.

As I've said before: keep an eye on this guy! He may even win one this season. And don't be surprised if it's on a road course where he might sneak up on people who don't know about his karting, Champ Car and Rolex Series background.

I was fortunate to do some work for Michael the last couple of seasons while he ran ARCA and got to speak to him on a number of occasions. You couldn't ask for a nicer, more approachable guy and I am so happy for him that his hard work is paying off at the top of the stock car world. I was always impressed with his ability to be quick and clean and I suspect that will bode well for him as he challenges the established teams and drivers in Sprint Cup this season. I'd be willing to bet he will routinely outrun his more experienced teammates this season, especially once he starts going to tracks for a second visit. And as much as I like the open wheel guys like Hornish and Dario, I've got to pull for Michael this year for Rookie of the Year. And he'll do it with an abbreviated season!

Go fast. Turn left. Hang on. Go Micheal, go!

Today We Race: Together At Last

The opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is now just 36 days away and the 500 itself will be run 57 days from now. As the countdown continues to arguably the most relevant Indy 500 in many years, today the best in American open wheel racing gather at Florida's Homestead Speedway. Time will tell if the historic reunification of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car brokered by Tony George will have staying power. But when I hear TG state that the 25/8 rule implemented in 1996 at Indy was a mistake, I have even greater hopes for the future of Indycars. In the modern era of blame and shame tactics, how often to you hear a highly visible leader admit they made a mistake? Its virtually unheard of. I hope the Champ Car fans will see this as an additional peacemaking gesture and show their true open wheel colors. Let's also hope the name "Indycar World Series" can be resurrected as Tony suggested. This time, it will really mean something.

So today we race. One series. Lots of newcomers to oval racing and much has already occurred in the last week that will shape the outcome of this race. Graham Rahal is out after crashing in testing, the team short on time and spares. Wheldon crashes during qualifying in the new 4-lap format. Vision Racing teammates Ed Carpenter and AJ Foyt IV will start second and third. But at the point is a man who should be no surprise to anyone: Scott Dixon. He could very well win tonight if he stays out front, as Scotty D knows how to run the huggy pole in these high downforce Dallaras better than about anyone. My pick is Helio, even though new teammate Ryan Briscoe outqualified him. With the new qualifying requirement, who knows who is really running on the edge and who is working on a balance for race day? Penske strategy will likely carry the day.

Seven of the former Champ Car drivers have been designated rookies for the year and that's probably a good thing with so many ovals on the schedule. But watch out for those guys at St. Pete next weekend, and at the Glen, Mid Ohio and Sonoma. Danica will finally win a race this year but she will not be able to match her teammates' speed on a regular basis, nor the racecraft of Tony Kanaan. Marco will probably take a road course win but let's hope he learns how to handle a loose race car on ovals or he will have plenty of DNF's just like last year. Will Power or Justin Wilson will probably win an oval race, maybe at Chicagoland Speedway, once they've got their oval legs and nothing to lose in the season finale. Wheldon can challenge for the season title if his crew corrects their pit and race tactic errors from last year, but crashing in qualifying doesn't bode well for Danny-boy. Methinks he may be trying too hard. Vision just might have it together to get someone in victory lane if Homestead qualifying is any indication. Bruno Junqueira knows the fast way at Indy so he could challenge for several wins this year if the team gives him the proper support; but I doubt it. It should be fun to watch.

My pick for the season title though is Helio Castroneves. I have had toruble being a Penske fan since his teams won Indy so often but I always liked Rick Mears and Sam Hornish, plus he's given Ryan Briscoe a new lease on his racing life with the ALMS Porsche ride and now a season seat in Indycars. Lord knows Helio has always been fast wherever he goes, and despite two Indy 500 wins, he's never been a season champion. Now it's his turn. Tony Kanaan will be right there with his childhood karting buddy, and Scott Dixon will certainly be in the mix as well.

So there you have it - one man's view. The usual suspects. A few surprises. All together now: let's go racing!

Honda Gears Up for IRL Challenge

I have to wonder if there was another agenda for Tony George's recent trip to Japan which ostensibly was to discuss changing the Motegi race date. I have no reason to believe that the race date wasn't a big item but could it be that TG was also making sure that Honda could produce enough engines for Indy and the larger IRL entry list through the rest of the season.

I don't have any inside information on that score, but there has been talk at Indy in recent years of Honda limiting their engine leases. Last year for instance, you could sign up for the whole month of May or get a shortened lease for the second week of practice and the rest of the month.

Honda has a huge investment in the IRL and the last thing they would want to see is having a shortage of engines hampering the series success. Having worked some with Japanese auto companies in years' past, I think Honda would want to be sure their image is not tarnished by a lack of engines, or worse, a spate of engine failures. Since Toyota left the IRL, it seems generally accepted that Honda has provided a detuned engine which in its 2007 form was virtually bullet proof. I can't remember a single engine failure last season. The current rev limiter package also helps make sure the bottom doesn't drop out of their engines and since teams can't do anything with the engine's internals, it's all up to Honda.

Long gone are the days when an Indycar engine would detonate in a plume of foul smelling smoke and oil down a racetrack. Now, Honda has a greater responsibility than ever before and I am certain Honda's QA/QC people are going to be pulling plenty of overtime between now and May to ensure their incredible reliability record remains intact. Anyone that has worked in manufacturing knows that ramping up production can lead to problems with the finished product, yet somehow I believe that Honda will exempt itself from that through its traditional attention to detail and zealous work ethic.

Time will tell if Honda can deliver the same goods as the past couple of seasons, but I am certain they will. And with Acura in the ALMS now, they have an alternate test bed for parts and a fertile training ground for their engineering staff to deal with whatever gremlins do surface. Somewhere in Japan, there are engineers monitoring telemetry every race: of that I am equally certain.

But my opinion isn't important. Tony George must think Honda can handle it, and his opinion is the only one that matters. After all, he knows who his important partners are in the IRL, and Honda is right at the top of the list. Can it be long before the series is known as the "Honda Indy Racing League"?

Countdown to the Indy 500

As I write this today, there are only 12 weeks to the Indy 500. 84 days. It is truly hard to believe that less than a month ago, the open wheel rumor mill really got cranking about a possible merger between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series. And a week ago, it was finally done. I'm still pinching myself to be sure I'm awake.

What I don't find hard to believe is the vitriol that fans are still spewing about the merger and loss of their beloved CCWS. I don't blame them a bit, and that's one of the great things about being a race fan: passion. After all, two drugstore conglomerates might merge in the business world and no one gives a rat's ass so long as you can still go to the corner store and get your prescription filled. But merging the top US open wheel series is another story entirely and just like a merger or marriage gone bad, the hard feelings are going to take time to heal as there is always fallout, some of which is emotional and some financial.

Certainly we're seeing that already, as teams and the schedule are taking hits. With the news that Forsythe racing is closing up shop, Paul Tracy is out of a ride and a few dozen hard working support team members have to look elsewhere to stay in motorsports. Lots of money was spent developing the DP01 chassis for Champ Car and now those cars are museum pieces. Cosworth doesn't have customers anymore. And I can certainly understand how the folks in Cleveland would not be happy about suddenly finding themselves out of a race for 2008, as that event has become a showcase for the city's Erie lakefront development initiatives. Not only that, but having been to the event myself years ago, the course layout is most like an oval of any of the road courses, since it is fast and wide, and fans can see the whole track from their seats. Of course fans are going to be upset when these kinds of things happen. I expect the shakeout will continue through the middle of this year and Tony George has lots of fence mending to do to craft a 2009 schedule that shows off the best of Indycar racing for all its constituents - racers, fans, promoters and communities alike.

But racing is business and businesses must adjust to the marketplace. Tony George has been vilified over the years for changing objectives with the IRL. Plenty of blog posts exist that criticize him for modifying the original vision of an oval based series where the tradition of short track racers coming to Indianapolis could be kept alive. When the IRL started adding selected road and street courses, the howling reached a crescendo and critics ramped up their attacks. Yet how often in the business world do companies change their vision and marketing approach? It's happening in some corporate board room every single day. If they don't, they don't survive and that's what could have happened with Indycar racing if Tony hadn't done something. No one else has the financial wherewithal to make it happen. No one else was willing to go to the mat and make sure everyone could get cars and motors. And no one else has the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where 2009 will mark 100 years since the facility originally opened with balloon and motorcycle races on a crushed cinder track.

So now everyone can get down to business and go racing. Tony's grandpa saved the track from the bulldozers after World War II when developers eyed the property for housing development. I would suggest that Tony has saved Indycar racing from the scrapheap of motorsports series that peaked and then faded away. Only time will tell how Indycars will fare in the current marketplace as stock car racing has a huge head start. It's up to the fans now to decide. So as I've said before, get out and go to a race. Support what you love. Buy some IRL swag. Ignore those that pine for the good old days as they are never coming back, and let's make something greater happen under the sport's current vision. To quote Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

I hope to see you at 16th & Georgetown in a few short weeks. Let the healing process begin.

The following link will take you to pix of drivers or car owners from last season that you can expect to see in 2008 on the Indycar circuit. I am really looking forward to adding new faces to these galleries as the Champ Car guys come back, and I'll have more to say about the season ahead, the teams to watch for and the buildup to Indy as the weeks progress. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Indy Racing League Drivers

Indycars - All Together Now

I have held off writing the last few days to see if I was going to awake from a dream and discover the rumors about an open wheel reunion had been a nightmare. But the dream lives on after all, and despite what many on the internet are saying, Tony George has made it happen at long last. I for one do not think it is too late for Indycar racing to regain its prestige and reputation on the US sporting scene.

So go buy a ticket! Get to a race. Or STFU.

Bash Tony all you want but anyone that follows open wheel racing in America must know that the bankruptcy judge did no one any favors when he bypassed George for Kahlkoven's lower offer a few years ago. Let's face it folks, Indy is the goose that laid the golden egg, and Tony has some spare change now that he doesn't have to feed the F1 greed machine anymore. Hasta la vista, Bernie. Welcome back Paul Newman.

Granted, the bleeding has been severe since the first IRL season in 96, and perhaps the fan base won't recover. But at least everyone is together again. I expect 2009 to be a spectacular season, while the series will experience teething pains this year.

I hold out hope for a number of positives. Perhaps the teams will actually share info and parts, as in years past when new teams were struggling to find speed. I'm sure Dallara has a base setup that everyone will get, and Indy will provide lots of track time for teams to sort themselves out.

Lord knows plenty of guys have gotten up to speed in May with unfamiliar equipment and part time crews in the past, so there's no doubt in my mind that the Champ Car guys will adapt. And much more quickly than many may expect. The established IRL teams will still have an advantage this year, but adding a couple more open tests should help everyone get with the program.

I also think we will hear the CCWS guys glad to be back at Indy. Paul Tracy will even have to admit he wants another shot at Helio, and I doubt he will say that Indy "owes" him one.

Newman Haas will be a force to reckon with, especially for the 500. Rahal and Wilson will have no problem going fast in May.

Derek Walker will somehow find some cash and get a car in the show at IMS. If Greg Beck can do it every year, then surely someone with Walker's savvy will be on the pace in a hurry. After all, he beat everyone a few years ago at Mid Ohio on strategy with the Porsche program that couldn't get out of its own way anywhere else.

With Australia and Edmonton on the schedule, the international fans will be treated to the best open wheel competition anywhere once again. I challenge anyone that would say there's a racier series this year, and don't feed me the F1 techno line as those guys don't race. Indycars do.

I can't wait for May and I wish I could get to Florida for the Homestead and St. Pete races, but my summer will be busy in the Midwest with the middle portion of the IRL schedule. It's really even more of a shame now that Michigan is gone from the schedule, as that is the one track where these cars really can stretch their legs and fans can see the whole show from the stands.

I do have a couple of other questions:

When will Tony Stewart come back?

And, is it May yet?

Motorsports Mayhem: A Racing Photographer's Dilemma

You may have heard an old saying in racing that goes something like this: "There are drivers who have hit the wall, and drivers that are going to." Or, "There are old drivers and bold drivers, but no old, bold drivers." Or, "The only reason people go to races is to see crashes." Each of these is true to a certain extent. If you want to be a racing photographer, shooting wrecks comes with the territory, as the "splash shot" with the moment of wall contact has historically been a wire service staple. Before autofocus and digital imaging came along, shooting a crash was one of the most difficult elements of a race event to shoot. Winner's circle and pit stops are no-brainers. Panning cars as they go by is not much more difficult. Now it seems that almost anyone can grab an EOS camera and call themselves a racing photographer. That's not a good thing in my estimation, and those of us that started years ago don't see much new blood coming into the field.

Many of us started because we loved racing and wanted to get closer to the action. Standing in one spot at Indy day after day for hours at a time waiting for a three second burst of action was often the only way photo stringers could make any money. But race day made it all worthwhile. The vantage points are incredible: nothing between you and the racetrack except other photographers - at least it used to be that way until the safety gurus started putting up fences. At most tracks now, you have to either shoot through the chain link, or share a hole with a dozen other people. But that's another story altogether.

Timing is everything. If the cars are at speed, an incident can happen at any time, so you must stay alert and can't turn your back on the racetrack. An "incident". I've always found that a quaint way of describing a driver's most inglorious moment in a race, like the shot here of Mario Andretti spinning in the first turn at Detroit in 1989. Position and location are almost as important as timing. Go to enough races and you'll know where the likely accident areas are, but they can still happen anywhere, as Dario Franchitti proved twice last year, first catching air on the backstretch at Michigan and then doing it again at Kentucky after the checkered flag had already flown.

One odd thing about shooting crashes: the sound of a car pounding the concrete. Everything gets quiet as a driver pedals out of the throttle or jams on the brakes, but a car (especially an Indy Car) hitting the wall sounds like the slamming of a big heavy car door on a luxury car. Then it really gets quiet. No squealing tires or debris noise raining down around you. Just quiet, and then the cars that are following pedalling even harder to slow down and miss the wreckage and trash that inevitably ends up strewn across the racing line. My hands don't shake anymore after I've shot a crash like they did when I first started, but I still get a rush from shooting a spectacular accident and seeing the driver get out unscathed. Thankfully, I've never shot a fatality but I have been there for some serious injuries and that is never any fun. An old adage has proven true many times over as well: if you see it through the lens, you didn't get it, as the shutter blinds you while the motordrive is humming and what you don't see is what you get.

And I've always found that the language used to describe the mayhem on the track has it's own charm. A driver will hit the fence. Smack the wall. Flip. Get airborne. Pancake the wall. He will get on his head. He may have clouted the barrier or done some agricultural racing on a road course. He might go off. Or end up in the weeds or the toollies. A race might become a crashfest or demolition derby. He may have wadded it up or tried to knock down the walls. I'm sure there are other descriptions you may have heard, but they all usually mean the same thing. And you can bet that there will be a photographer somewhere nearby capturing the moment. The best part nowadays is you don't have to wait for the film to be souped and wonder what you got. With digital, it's all right there instantly, so the anxiety level is greatly reduced over the days when everyone shot Tri-X or Fuji film.

Aside from the hazards of being so close to crashing cars, there are other hazards that every photographer will face at one time or another. And I'm not talking about drunken fans or tornado warnings. Batteries will crap out and the motor drive won't advance. Or the shutter will freeze up. You'll forget something, left behind in your car parked in the infield miles away. Someone will stand in front of you at exactly the wrong moment. You'll leave your extra memory cards at home. You'll be walking back to your spot after a yellow flag and a crash will occur right across from where your cameras are sitting, on top of your camera bag. You're panning with one car and the next one spins but you cut off half the car in the frame. Or turn the lens the wrong way to focus. They've all happened to me.

At least we don't have to worry about banging the end of the roll of film in the middle of an "incident" anymore. Thank God for digital.

The following link has selected spins and crashes going back to 1984, many of them scanned from prints from a variety of racing series.

Crash & Bash

Indycar Union Possible?

Anyone with half a brain knows that big time open wheel racing in America has suffered since the 1996 split into two series. The Indy Racing League (IRL) and the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) have been at each others' throats ever since then. Now it seems there's a real chance for unification, just as the eyes of the racing world look to Daytona for NASCAR's biggest race. So did Hornish, Franchitti, et al leave too soon?

Recent reports by Robin Miller of Speedtv.com are almost too good to be true: that Tony George has offered free cars to all CCWS teams and will incorporate several CCWS races in the 2008 IRL season. And that Kevin Kahlkoven is actually listening! But haven't we been down this road before? Just when things seemed to be getting close to a sensible deal in the past, something always seemed to happen and it blew up, both camps going to their separate corners and extending the stalemate. Well that stalemate has just about cost open wheel fans their beloved sport and while I have been a loyal IRL fan from the beginning because of my allegiance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I've followed Champ Car and watched their races too. It's been obvious that one series is better than two, and the casual fan only cares about who runs at Indy, so it's better for everyone to get together.

I won't hold my breath that this latest news is for real until I see photos of Tony and Kevin standing together at the yard of bricks shaking hands. It sure would be awesome to see Tracy back at Indy, along with Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson and the rest. Full fields with legitimate bumping at Indy. 24 or more cars at road courses. 30 or more on ovals. Imagine that.

I guess since Tony doesn't have to feed the F1 money monster anymore, he must have some extra cash lying around so what better place to spend it than on top level open wheel racing right here in the good old U. S. of A?

Thank God. So let's strap in, shut up, go fast and turn left. Please!

"Racing is Life - Everything Else is Just Waiting"

Anyone that enjoys racing movies knows this quote from the late Steve McQueen in "LeMans". I can definitely relate.

I can't even begin to guess how many races I've been to over the years. I do know that if you put all the days I've spent at Indy back-to-back, it would be in excess of 14 months. So I guess racing has been life for me in many respects. As I've been going back through my photo collection for post material like this shot of Keke Rosberg at Detroit in 1984, so many memories have come flooding back to me. Some of them still give me goosebumps even now.

Many of the pix I've attached to this post fall into that category. Awesome events at Michigan International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt in a Busch car at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Shooting in the pits at the Indy 500. Being up close with legends like Gordon Johncock or Rick Mears at Indy. Foyt waving to friends in his Turn 2 suite at Indy after qualifying. Nelson Piquet pondering his lone attempt at Indy, only to be horribly injured in a Turn 4 crash, never to return.

There's something special about being close to the track, peeking over the top of my camera, waiting to react to the slightest bobble, watching the right front tire at Indy to see if it's riding up out of the groove. There have been times during races when shooting becomes effortless and instinctive, where I've tapped into the energy of the moment - entered the same "zone" that athletes talk about when concentration is at its highest. It's only happened to me a couple of times and by the time I realize I'm there it's over. The Indy 500 in 1992 was one of those times - the "Ice Race" - when it was freezing cold and there were crashes galore for the first half of the race on almost every restart due to cold tires. Everything I shot that day was spot on, the cars went by in slow motion, the air was crystal clear and electric at the same time... I could go on and on.

Anyway, what good are a bunch of pictures stuffed in a photo album if no one sees them? That's why I'm here again this evening. Enjoy! Talk soon!

Racing is Life

Indy 500 1986: Rain, Rain & Racin' on my Birthday

The 500 has had remarkable luck through the years with weather. 2007 was wet of course, but they got the race in (or most of it). 1986 was one of the marathon years, longer even than 1973, since the race had to be postponed a week after the slated date was washed out, and the following day it rained non-stop. I didn't even go to the track the second day as I recall. This photo is from the scheduled date and gives an idea of things fans used to do in the infield to kill time. You can bet alcohol was involved. There's another pic in the attached album showing another popular infield pastime, but this is a family blog so I won't go into details here. I tell people they postponed the race to my birthday in '86 and it was nice that they threw the biggest party in the world for me at 16th & Georgetown that year.

But getting the race run was a monumental effort. Back then, USAC ran the 500 under its rules, and CART ran all the other Indy-style races. The Speedway didn't want to run the 500 on a regular work day after the Memorial Day weekend (original race day Sunday, rain date Monday Memorial Day), as I am sure they were worried about a drop off in attendance. But CART had a race scheduled at Milwaukee the next weekend, so the Speedway and CART had to work together and Milwaukee got rescheduled so the 500 could be run on Saturday May 31, plus still have Sunday June 1 for an additional rain date if needed. Given the state of open wheel racing today with the IRL and Champ Car still at odds, the kind of cooperation demonstrated in 1986 is almost unbelievable in hindsight. But the powers that be made it work somehow. If only cooler heads could prevail today and get Indy racing unified again...

The 1986 500 was my third year working as a credentialed photographer at Indy for UPI. I was in the south short chute in '84, Turn 4 in '85 and Turn 3 for 1986. Turn 3 was a long way from everything back then with only one small section of stands across the track from my shooting position. Infield parking was a free-for-all and the police presence was virtually non-existent. The attitude seemed to be as long as no one got hurt, anything was OK, and just about anything could be seen at the track then. After all, the Speedway became the second largest city in Indiana every year on race day, so anything that happens in a city could (and would often) happen on race day. It was a human zoo.

That race was remarkable not only for the week's delay, but for the way it ended. We got paid off handsomely for waiting a week as Bobby Rahal charged past Kevin Cogan on a restart with a couple laps to go to win. Rick Mears finished third in the closest 1-2-3 finish at Indy up to that time. Sneva, Mario, AJ, Unser, Rutherford and all the historic big names were still racing, and the driver mix was eclectic as usual: Guerrero, Geoff Brabham, Roberto Moreno, Ongais. One of the more poignant elements of that year was the fact that Rahal's car owner, Jim Trueman, was dying with cancer but few people knew about it. I remember walking pit lane one day during practice and seeing him with the team and I barely recognized him. He was always so fit and tan in prior years, but it was clear that he wasn't his usual self that year. Not long after the 500, he passed away, leaving a legacy at Indy and at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course which he owned. God bless people like Jim Trueman for what they do (or have done) for racing.

It's hard to believe the changes that have occurred at the 500 since then. But I guess that just means I'm "experienced". Youth challenged. An old fart. Whatever. My pictures will outlive me and I've been blessed with the opportunity to be involved.

Indy 500 1986

Indy 500 Memories - 1982

Arguably one of the greatest Indy 500's ever took place in 1982 when Rick Mears chased down Gordon Johncock over the final 11 laps, knocking a second per lap off of "Wee Gordie's" lead and challenging him in Turn 1 on the white flag lap. Gordie's chop job was classic although Mears still almost pulled it off. At the time, it was the closest finish in 500 history.


My vantage point was above Victory Lane that year with the ladies of the Indy 500 Festival, the Queen and her Court, one of whom I was fortunate to be dating. I had borrowed a camera from a friend of mine to take to the race - no motor drive, maybe a 135 mm lens, and I was just beginning to learn how to shoot. The day began with no sleep after a party at the house I was sharing lasted into the early hours of race day. My date and her Festival sponsor picked me up in the Camaro pace car around 6 a.m. and we started off with a breakfast reception at the former Indiana National Bank Tower, then followed a police escort caravan of all the Festival pace cars to the track. We were part of the pre-race ceremonies where the ladies sat on the roof of the cars on a lap around the track. I was squeezed into the tiny back seat trying to take pictures as we circled the oval. When that was over, we went to the reserved seating area above Victory Lane for the race itself.


Then the carnage began. At the start, Kevin Cogan bounced off of AJ Foyt, (that "damn Coogan" as AJ later said over the PA system) and slid to the inside wall and collected Mario who had started on the inside of Row 2 and tried to get through a gap between the spinning Cogan and the pit wall. In the back of the pack, one of the Whittington brothers, Dale, ran over Roger Mears so four cars were out before the field even got to the yard of bricks. The Whittingtons had their own story (more on them another time) but Dale had no business being in the race. During the red flag, we could see AJ hammering on his car with a rubber mallet trying to get the car out of gear. Cogan later said he thought a CV joint broke, but I will always believe that he just lit up the tires when the turbo kicked in coming down for the green flag. And Mario - well, he seemed to be cheating up from his row mates and if he hadn't jumped the start himself, he might have been able to miss Cogan.


At any rate, Cogan's career was forever damaged by this incident, and he never took his helmet off as he walked back down pit lane, out of the race before it even began. He probably thought someone would take a swing at him. Keeping his helmet on was likely a good decision. The whole mess was really terrible for Cogan, since he was seemed very talented. Photogs still talk about people running the "Cogan line" as he could run higher in the turns that about anyone I ever saw at Indy. As I recall, he lost his ride with Penske after the 82 season. In 86, was leading the race when he got snookered by Bobby Rahal on a restart with only a couple of laps to go. I still remember Sam Posey trying to talk to Cogan on the 86 ABC telecast during that last yellow, and Cogan responding, "I'm kinda busy right now"!


During that 82 race, the Festival folks took us all up in the scoring tower just past the halfway point. It was my first time being up there and the view was spectacular. I remember bumping into TV personality Joyce DeWitt who was one of the celebrities attending that year. As the race wound down, the crowd couldn't sit down as Mears chased Gordie down and everyone realized a fantastic finish was possible. It was the only time I can recall at the 500 that the crowd noise drowned out the cars and it was impossible to be heard by the people next to you. Gordie never lifted and was a popular winner, as Mears was still a relative newcomer and his day would come. The pictures I've posted today are from film and scanned from 25 year old prints, but they are representative of my early work at Indy.


Wild start. Great finish. Victory Lane seats. Awesome day from beginning to end. Is it any wonder I haven't missed a 500 since 1976?

Indy 500 1982

Photog History - One View of Indycars

After getting the "royal" treatment at the Indy 500 in 1982, I knew I had to get to more Indycar races. The urge to photograph what I was experiencing also was growing. My best friend and I went to Michigan in the fall of 1982 for the Detroit News Grand Prix where CART ran the feature race with support races for ASA stock cars and the super vee series. We almost got hit head-on on US 12 on the way up to the track the night before but we made it in my friend's van and got into the infield after midnight. One of many adventures getting to or from races as I look back now. Like the first time I went to Michigan in 1981 for the Norton 500. We had enjoyed a beautiful day in the holding area on Saturday only to have the race washed away the next day and I couldn't get back. 1982 found some of us in the Turn 4 infield across from where Hector Rebaque took out AJ Foyt. But I got in the pits that day with a borrowed camera and couldn't get enough.

In 1983, I went back to the infield at Indy with friends but I was growing tired of the madness. I bought my first real camera that year - a Canon A1 with a cheap Sigma zoom lens and thought I was ready to go shoot. Boy did I have a lot to learn. The picture with this post is from the Michigan 500 in 1983 with Rick Mears (1) racing Al Unser Sr. (7), Mario Andretti (3) and Bill Alsup. Several of us went up together and had seats in the pit terrace bleachers where this shot was taken from. About an hour before the race was to start, a tornado warning was issued for the area and they cleared everyone out of the stands. So we went back to my friend's pickup truck and waited out the ferocious thunderstorm that rolled through. As quickly as it came it was gone and the sun came out which dried the track in short order. An absolutely awesome race followed with John Paul Jr. passing Rick Mears going down the backstretch on the last lap for the win, and Mears crashing between Turns 3 and 4 trying to catch him.

500 miles at Michigan was a sight to behold. It's a shame they don't run that distance up there anymore. What's worse is they don't run there at all anymore. Back in the day, they usually had at least 28 cars and more often than not had a full 33 car field. I miss those days.

But I don't miss the craziness that sometimes accompanied those road trips. Maybe someday I'll tell y'all about it.

Jay