IRL Tests Barber - 42 Days to Indy

By all accounts, the two-day Indycar test that ended yesterday at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama was a huge success with several thousand fans paying their way in to watch. Let the lobbying begin folks! Racing here in 2010 seems like it might happen, although the track probably needs some work to create some passing areas. It can't be any worse than Belle Isle! Dixon topped the charts the first day and Power was quick on Day 2 so it's the usual suspects on top heading to St. Pete next weekend. And don't forget Master Rahal who was strong in the test and would love to duplicate his race winning run of a year ago in his very first IRL event! Everyone ran faster the second day and it was disappointing to see Dan Wheldon so far down the charts. He was very entertaining on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain Sunday night (no surprise there) and he was quite convincing about his desire to bring Panther Racing back to its glory days when my man Sam Hornish was ripping up the league. Maybe they will fare better in FLA.


The ALMS had their annual 12 hour blast at Sebring this past Saturday and I'm concerned about the car count. The almighty Audi's ruled the roost once again but they didn't have much competition in LMP1 and the LMP2 class appears to have lost just about everyone! Since Acura is in LMP1 now and Penske took his Porsche power to Grand Am, the ALMS series as a whole could be suffering this year, since the fields would be made up primarily of GT sports cars which are nice but not nearly as sexy as the big prototypes. Maybe everyone is playing it close to the vest until LeMans in June but I don't think so. Don't tell me - I know: "It's the economy, stupid!" But that doesn't make it OK and who knows what the series will look like by the time I get to see them at Mid Ohio with the IRL in August. I wonder if the pursuit of technology and the reliance on manufacturer support has burnt the teams in ALMS. It's beginning to look like the Rolex Grand Am series may have the right formula. I've said it before and I'll repeat myself today: these guys need to merge worse than the IRL and Champ Car did! Why not now! IMSA did a great job with equivalency formulas back in the 80's so I'm sure it could be done now without too much wrangling.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Kenny Schrader has entered a car for the Salem ARCA show which runs April 5th. His biggest challenge will be Frank Kimmel who practically owns this track, and I'm curious to see what kind of young talent Eddie Sharp Racing will bring to these famous high banks. Three rookies for ESR looks like a lot to handle and there could be some mangled sheet metal (as usual) by the time the 200-lapper is done. Even the ARCA bunch is having car count troubles, since when I checked this weekend, there were only about 25 cars entered and several of those had driver "tba" listed, which usually translates to lack of funds. A shorter field for Salem isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, since the ARCA race usually has 6 or 8 guys that are clearly just field fillers and pull in the pits after a handful of laps with "handling" problems, aka, "I can't drive with the big boys and I just came for the starting points and appearance money so I could get out of the house for the weekend." Just kidding!

See you at Salem!

Racing Bits & Pieces

With the IRL season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg Florida now less than three weeks away, the teams will head to Barber Motorsports Park for a test session to fine tune their road course packages. Ryan Hunter Reay has been confirmed for the test in addition to the 21 or so other car-driver combinations that ran the Homestead test. Too bad Rahal Letterman won't be there...



Alex Lloyd will be back at Indy with Sam Schmidt Motorsports as the Ganassi junior team in May to take another swing at the most famous trophy in racing. Looks like Raphael Matos will campaign for The Luczo Dragon team of Jay Penske so it is nice to see a couple of Indy Lights guys make their way to the top series. The TV coverage on Versus is heating up as well since the remaining Saturdays in March will continue to feature one hour programs devoted to the IRL. I'll have to get my DVD recorder fired up since the St. Pete opener is the same day I will be shooting the ARCA stock cars at Salem's high banks. I'd rather be in FLA but them's the breaks - I'm saving for Texas in June! That will be enough of a treat and a chance to go to a track I've never been to before.

For now, I'm wondering what the heck NASCAR and Lowe's Motor Speedway are thinking about. Nature Boy Rick Flair as honorary anything at a Cup race makes the naysayers happy, I'll bet. The series already catches enough flack for being "scripted" like wrestling - can you say "competition yellow"? Now they bring in a washed up old wrestler to help sell tickets. Are you serious?

Then I'm wondering what USAC has up their sleeve with a new Gold Crown series with front engine tube frame cars that will test next year and run on ovals and road courses in 2011. Methinks the test is just to see if anyone will buy the equipment. Remember the "new" Silver Crown car? It all sounds vaguely familiar. That went over real well, now didn't it? Don't get me wrong - I love USAC racing and the short track action in the midwest is second to none. You can keep your wings but give me the slideways midgets and sprints any day. And the Silver Crown cars on dirt one-miles like the Indiana State Fairgounds or DuQuoin in Illinois are a sight to behold. But Gold Crown on pavement? Ovals and road courses? That I will have to see. Should be some interesting photo ops.

Finally, I'm wondering why I signed up for Facebook, as if I don't have enough web stuff to manage. First it was Flickr, then this blog, then picasa, now Facebook and soon enough a page on ning.com so I can link with American Motor Journal readers. What the heck. Two years ago this time of year, I didn't even have a job after being laid off at the start of the housing crisis. That's all behind me now and employment sure beats the alternative. I can't exactly do the races in the style to which I would like to become accustomed, but at least I can go and capture some great memories in megapixels. I don't even really care if no one reads this blog but the creative outlet is priceless and has saved my sanity many times the last couple of years. Thank goodness I have an assistant to accompany me at some of the races! See you there.


Here's my links for the week:



Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/jayalley

Indy Countdown Continues with Versus

61 days until the Speedway opens and Versus hits the air this weekend with the opening salvo of its Indy Racing League coverage with a special focusing on Danica and her impact on the IRL. Lots of folks have been bashing the IRL for it's television package for the 2009 season but I say wait and see. It will be hard to top Speed TV's wall to wall Cup coverage but then that's the IRL battle in a nutshell, isn't it?

I'd be happy with any extra coverage Versus provides, especially if the start of every race is shown, uninterrupted or delayed by golf or some other garbage the bigger networks always seem to think is more important. Staying past the checkers for interviews will also be a nice change, as what the IRL really needs in my opinion is for people to see their people. Cup drivers have become so damn politically correct these days, I know what they are going to say before they even open their mouths - "... the crew and the guys in the shop are really working hard and the Bazooka Joe COT just needs a little more work blah blah blah..."

Let's see some pushing and shoving in pit lane, and an ill-advised adjective now and then from the IRL brigade and let some emotion in. For crying out loud, these folks risk their lives at over 200 mph inches apart every race so who can blame them for being fired up when they get out of the car after someone has given them a hip check into the fence and out of a race?

* * * * *

Say it ain't so Helio! The tax evasion lawsuit continues to draw coverage of Helio which must be driving him crazy. With apologies to Shoeless Joe Jackson of Black Sox infamy, I can't help but think of that phrase whenever Helio is mentioned lately. Other than Danica, he is arguably the biggest reason the IRL has gotten national media attention outside of the racing world the last couple of years with his "Dancing With The Stars" win. I never once watched the show but I followed the media reports as he advanced since I knew every soundbite or drop of ink would benefit Indycar racing. In the last interview I saw with him, he talked about being in an element where he was not in control and it was clearly bothering him. He seemed pressed to flash his usual effusive smile and I can imagine he is seeing his career circle the drain in fear that the charges could hold up. For a two-time Indy 500 winner, it just doesn't seem right. On the other hand, the defense that his lawyers are putting forth, that he didn't really have any managing control over the company that got the funds for his driving, seems kind of flimsy. It's hard to fathom this could be his downfall, especially when you see the crap that others have pulled and seemingly gotten away with. I'd rather have an alleged tax evader racing me than an admitted heroin user.

But I'm not in charge. I'm just a Hoosier with an opinion. More to follow you can bet. See y'all!

No Fenders - Formula 1 and Indy Car Racing Blog: Indy Cars sold in Arizona

No Fenders - Formula 1 and Indy Car Racing Blog: Indy Cars sold in Arizona

Camaro Set to Pace Indy 500; Young Guns to USF1?

The IRL and the Indy 500 are finally getting some press! That means May can't be too far away, as the Speedway opens for practice in just 68 days. On a week when the season's first open test got underway at Homestead in Florida, the Indy 500 pace car was unveiled today and it is a gorgeous Chevy Camaro. Old Johnny Rutherford will surely enjoy that this May. For more information on the pace car unveiling, follow this link to the IMS site. They can tell you all about it. While I love the Corvette pace cars, this should be a great shot in the arm for the Chevy brand and the new (old) style Camaro.

I'm glad for that news but there's been much more than eye candy for the IRL this week. The least surprising news was that Briscoe and Dixon led the speed charts at the Homestead test, with Briscoe fastest over the two day affair and Dixon quickest the first day and second to Briscoe on Day 2.


So the boys in the red and white cars are likely to be leading the field again this year. If Will Power can get comfortable with Penske, he should be a more than able complement to Briscoe and of course Dixon's teammate in 2009 needs no introduction: Dario Franchitti.

The other news is perhaps more smoke than reality as the new USF1 formula one team was announced this past week as an entry for 2010 headed by Peter Windsor - I find it hard to believe that anyone can come up with the funding for a new grand prix team right now but maybe they are banking on a global economic turnaround that will help them hit the grid next season. From the IRL's perspective, the talk of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti being considered (or is it that they are just interested in being considered?) for a seat with USF1 has to be good news. There's an old adage that any publicity is good publicity and the IRL needs all the ink it can get these days. I'm skeptical that either Marco or Danica could have a serious shot at Formula One since they don't have the European experience that seems to benefit the rest of the field, plus the cars are so totally different. Never mind test opportunities with Honda. They're history and it's hard to believe that anyone would take IRL drivers seriously. Coming from me that sounds like blasphemy but can anyone really believe that a series led by a man who thinks women belong in the kitchen will give Danica a fair trial? And will Marco be bludgeoned by the mixed history of his father and grandfather as F1 drivers? Michael's time over there was a dismal crashfest with no testing time available and is Marco really ready to just jump in one of their cars and go fast without proper testing?

I hope they prove me wrong. But either it's all a PR circus orchestrated by Chitwood and Windsor to drum up money and interest for the IRL and USF1 respectively, or there's a grain of truth somewhere behind the soundbites and pretty photos. Nevermind the fact that Danica is in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue once again! St. Pete should be awesome come April 5th, and don't forget to check the pre-season coverage on VERSUS every Saturday in March. See you at the track!

It Don't Rain in Indianapolis...

Is it May yet?

I ask this question every year about this time, as winter weather wreaks havoc and the only racing to be found is in Daytona. First the Rolex series and NASCAR have broken the season in and I'm counting days to the Indy Racing League season: 55 days to St. Pete and 86 to opening day at Indianapolis. Let's hope the weather this May is drier than last year!

And that's not much time to put programs together in the current economic climate. The strangest news so far is Milka Duno signing to run a third car for Newman Haas Lanigan. Clearly that's all about the money. And how about Bobby Rahal? He must be looking to the skies for sponsor money to rain down since the Ethanol deal is gone and Rahal Letterman may not be available for the season. He missed the 500 in 93 as a driver and I'm sure he'll pull something together for Indy at least. But it's a sure sign that times are tough when two normally competitive teams are faced with these kinds of decisions going into the second year after unification. The timing couldn't be worse for the IRL which can't seem to catch a break. Poised for perhaps a breakout year with all the major open wheel teams together having had a full season to get acclimated, the bottom falls out of the corporate world and threatens to take casualties.

Economic troubles don't play favorites and it will be the top teams that survive and thrive. Tony George's money is still there for those that run the full season and there is good news to be found, but you have to dig for it, and you can't believe the whiners on the usenet who still decry the split in 1995 as the worst thing to ever hit american racing. That's ancient history now folks and most of today's fans don't even know there was a split. Only the diehards and oldtimers like me are still aware of the havoc it created. We understand it was the springboard that catapulted NASCAR to the top of the US racing scene but the 500 is still the 500, and there's no way that will ever be topped by the taxicab crowd. And after last year's Brickyard 400 debacle, even the stock car crowd is shrinking and race tickets are being heavily discounted, at Daytona of all places. Stop me when it begins to hurt, but the fans will still be at Indy and the IRL will still have the best and fastest racing on the planet again this year.

My season begins the same day as St. Pete in Salem, Indiana with ARCA but my DVD recorder will be working overtime that weekend when the new TV package on Versus hits the air. Their expanded coverage surely will benefit the IRL, just as Speed's wall-to-wall NASCAR coverage has boosted stock cars. When I watch NASCAR this year, I think I'll just turn the sound off so I don't have to listen to Larry Mac yell at me or hear DW's boogity bull shit. Give me the sound of an Indy Car any day, and with Bob Jenkins in the booth, a man who thoroughly knows Indycar racing, it is bound to be better for the average fan or the newcomer who doesn't need to be talked down to. We're smarter than that.

You will hear that the IRL has six (6) engine manufacturers interested in a 4 cylinder turbo format for 2011. You will know that Penske, Andretti and Ganassi are the stalwarts of the series and the teams to beat. You will understand that the 1.5 mile ovals generate the closest finishes in any form of motorsports time after time, so you better have a view of the start finish line. You will see more women racing in the IRL at one time than in any other series and giving the boys fits on a regular basis. You will hear "hold your line" and then see someone actually get black-flagged for blocking on occasion. You will see racing so close that smoke comes off the tires after contact but no one spins or hits the wall, or says rubbin' is racin' (because it isn't). Here's the names you can also expect to hear this season:

Penske
Ryan Briscoe and Will Power (Best wishes with the tax judge Helio!)
Andretti Green
Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Hidekui Mutoh
Target Chip Ganassi
Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti (Welcome back Dario!)
Newman Haas Lanigan
Graham Rahal, Robert Doornbos, Milka Duno
Rubicon/Pacific Coast
Buddy Rice
AJ Foyt Racing
Vitor Meira, AJ Foyt IV
Vision Racing
Ed Carpenter
Dreyer & Reinbold
Mike Conway
Panther Racing
Dan Wheldon
KV
Mario Moraes
Luczo Dragon
Tomas Scheckter?
Dale Coyne - tbd
Conquest Racing
Alex Tagliani
Sarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher (at Kansas, Indy, Kentucky, Chicagoland)

So 20 or more cars could be ready for St. Pete and Long Beach. Then it's on to Kansas and Indy. Don't forget guys like Justin Wilson (Detroit winner in 08), Ryan Hunter-Reay (watkins Glen 08 winner), Oriol Servia and Paul Tracy are out there ready to roll if the right package comes together. So while it was great seeing 28 car fields last season, that may be tough to match in 2009 but it's still possible. Running well at Indy can make or break a small team, so let's get ready, keep them off the fences on the street circuits, and come to 16th & Georgetown for the greatest show on wheels that begins May 6th with Rookie Orientation Program.

You probably won't hear my name though, unless you're in the Indy 500 Oldtimers room at the Speedway. I hope to be accepted this year, having worked 21 Indy 500's since 1984 and I hope I don't show my age. A lady friend calls me Mr. Photographer, but the truth is, I am just a Hoosier, like it says at the top of my blog, and I can't wait to get to the track. See you in the pits!

Donahue Storms Daytona with Brumos

I haven't had much to say through the winter racing doldrums, but I saw history made today at Daytona and that means it's almost time for me to go racing too. David Donahue took the 24 Hours of Daytona by the scruff of the neck today, passing Juan Pablo Montoya with less than 40 minutes left to win over the almighty Ganassi team which had been seeking its third straight win. Historic for Brumos, which hadn't won in, well, forever. Historic for Donahue, winning 40 years after his famous father, the late Mark Donahue, won in similar fashion from pole. A final hour fight among four Daytona prototypes that were nose to tail after the final pit stops. A record number of laps for the race and a record number of cautions. This time, I was only couch racing from Indiana where it is cold and snowy but one day I will get to Daytona for the Rolex spectacle. The above pic is from last summer's rainy foray at Mid Ohio. Let's hope the Brumos team can get several more wins this year, and keep Ganassi, Penske and the other big name teams honest in Grand Am. I've already got my room booked for Mid Ohio this June and I can't wait to see these guys run.

By then I will have been to Salem for the April ARCA show, dealt with the month of May at Indy, and gone to Texas for the trucks and IRL. I can't wait for those events and much more this summer. Not that I am going to be setting any records personally, unless we're talking about the number of images I will probably shoot. It's incredible how fast a 4 gig memory card will fill up over a two day race weekend! And my thanks again go out to Don Hamilton's American Motor Journal publication who is helping to make it possible.

While my personal favorite is Indycar racing, I love the sports car scene as well. The names at Daytona this weekend remind me that the IRL will be on track soon, and the 24 hours was a tune-up for many of Indycar's best. Buddy Rice in the winning Brumos car. Defending IRL and Indy 500 Champ Scott Dixon teaming with Dario Franchitti (welcome back!) at Target Chip Ganassi this year. Ryan Briscoe - who may be running alongside Will Power while Helio gets his tax problems sorted out. Ryan Hunter Reay. Danica. Darren Manning.

It's really too bad what is happening with Helio. After another bridesmaid finish for the season title last year, I was looking forward to him running up front this year, as Helio has provided some of the IRL's best action the last couple of seasons. It's potentially a huge break for Power who was one of the most impressive of the transition team drivers in 2008. This year may be different, as the tax man wields a mighty hammer that could keep Helio off track for most if not all of the season. Too bad for the IRL. Helio and Danica are arguably the IRL's best known drivers, and I'm sure Penske saw this coming, but it might go to prove the old adage that any publicity is good publicity. My biggest question this year will be car counts due to the economy. If the IRL teams struggled to find funding when the economy was good, how are they going to manage now in a recession? The IRL is already taking this into account by dropping two practice days from Indy 500 preparations, and announcing that several race weekends will be reduced to two-day shows. That can't be a bad thing for the teams struggling to make ends meet.

This May will be 100 years since Carl Fisher and the boys held their first events at the crushed cinder oval at 16th & Georgetown - balloon races! The balloon folks will be back to kick off May this year in honor of the first century of existence at the greatest racetrack in the world, and by the time pole day rolls around on May 9th, answers should be in hand for how the season will shape up. I'll be back again soon to show what I see through the lens as my view from the racing road continues into its third year here on blogspot. Thanks for shopping! Y'all come back soon.

Mr. Photographer At The Track

Every season I try to have a pet project to work on. It helps keep things interesting when there's downtime, and lord knows if you go to enough races there will be downtime. One year I shot license plates on cars parked in the infield at the Indy 500. Another year I shot flags. Sometimes it has been fans. I love rain puddle reflections and sunsets at tracks too. So this year my pet project was to try and get yours truly at as many events as I could. That is, when I remembered. Thankfully, I had a fantastic assistant at some races who took a few of these, although most are self portraits. Thank goodness I have long arms! It may seem silly but how does a photographer get his picture taken? I'm always on the other side of the lens so it's nice sometimes to be the subject matter. This particular shot was at the season opener at Salem in April for the ARCA race - cold and wet, this the gloves and jacket. Salem marked the first of numerous road trips and hundreds of laps. 220 miles round trip from Indy. 200 laps.

Then Winchester. 150 miles round trip. Rain interrupted the USAC sprints and CRA stock car show during hot laps, so back I went the next weekend, another 150 miles. 100 laps for the CRA contingent, multiple heats and a 30 lap feature for the sprinters.

Next up was Indy. Lots of trips in between raindrops. Only 40 mile round trips but probably 8 of those for 320 miles. Walking the garage area day after day looking for something different. Trying out Canon gear. Awesome baby! Then 200 laps and 500 miles for the IRL main event, after a rain shortened carb day and postponed Indy Lights Freedom 100 on the day before the 500: 40 more laps.


In between the Lights race and the 500, I drove to Kentucky Speedway for the Kimmel Street Stock Enduro, roughly 300 miles on the road and 100 laps (150 miles) in the race. In June, I made the first of two trips to Mid Ohio, first for the Rolex sports car series. It was about 600 miles round trip on the road (with a detour to the worst hotel ever) and two straight days of racing in the rain. Too many laps to count with all the support races and the main event with the DP & GT machines.

Then in July things really got busy. 650 miles to Nashville and back; more rain and a shortened IRL event from 200 laps to 178. Back to Mid Ohio the next weekend for the ALMS and IRL events. Another 600 miles on my Integra, plus the 3 hour ALMS race and 200 miles for the IndyCars.

The next weekend I got to sleep in my own bed with the Brickyard fiasco in Indy so that was only three 40 mile round trips (120 miles) and 160 laps in the parade, I mean NASCAR "race". Two weeks later (now we're in August) it was back to Kentucky for the IRL and another 300 miles on the road and 200 laps on the racetrack. Then in mid-September, it was off to Joliet for the Chicagoland IRL event with my assistant - probably 400 miles or more on the road with the long distance trip to the hotel in the middle - and a fantastic (200 lap) 300 mile race that decided the season championship, Helio charging from worst to first in a photo finish to win the race but Dixon took the season title from second on the track.

The next weekend was an Indy-Salem doubleheader, shooting MotoGP in the rain on Friday (40 miles) and traveling to Salem the next day (220 miles) for another 200 lap ARCA event. And that was that. Which also explains why I haven't written much here since then: I haven't been to any races and now it's almost Christmas with New Year's around the corner so I figured an update was past due (even if my assistant is the only one reading these!) But that's OK. I had a great year for American Motor Journal and had 8 pix used in their season ending "Best Of 2008" issue. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do this kind of work. It's nice to be passionate about what you do. And this is what I do.

So after all that, what is the tally? Roughly 4070 miles on the road to go racing. Roughly 2140 laps of racing. And that doesn't include all the practice laps at Indy or any of the other tracks. Probably more than 10,000 images shot on digital.

I'm exhausted just writing about it. But it's all good and I can't wait to pack up and hit the road again. Is it May yet?

Big Blue at Kimmel Enduro

Welcome to Indiana-ville!

Paul Newman: A Racer's Racer - May He Rest In Peace

The racing and entertainment worlds have lost a giant of a man: Paul Newman. We will miss him at Indy and on the big screen. God rest his soul and bless his family in their loss.

My connection with PLN is minimal - I'm just a Hoosier and a lowly photog. But I have had the chance to be near this legend in the pit lane at Indy on many occasions, to shoot him racing in the Trans Am series at Detroit and elsewhere back in the 80's, and my greatest memory is not from the racetrack at all, but from the movie theater.

I was about to turn 12 when the movie "Winning" came out just before Memorial Day weekend in 1969. I remember my dad asking if I wanted to go see it, and then getting a discount ticket for the last time as a person less than 12 years of age. Watching the movie itself I was completely spellbound, and it remains one of the great racing movies of all time, along with "LeMans" (Steve McQueen) and "Grant Prix" (Jim Garner). It will always rank above the others IMO since it was about the Indianapolis 500.Frank Capua. Lou Erding. In-car camera views for the first time. Swatches of several Indy 500's montaged into the film. The first lap wreck in 1966. The Speedway motel where the infamous affair occurred that added to the personal drama for Newman's character that mythical month of May. And so much more than just the story of a racer.

For me that pretty well sums up his life. Lived on a grand scale, but always humble. You were lucky if you got a shot of him without his sunglasses on and I never saw him sign an autograph, but he was never rude or uppity when someone asked - he would just say, "Sorry, I don't sign autographs." I don't think he believed in his own celebrity and his charitable work is second to none, so the kids who benefited from his salsa's and salad dressings don't know how lucky they have had it to be the beneficiaries of this great man. I have some of his back bean and corn salsa in the fridge right now as a matter of fact...

PLN. Indy wasn't the same without you after the IRL-CART split and it won't be the same now without you in the future. I'm so glad you had the chance to grace us with your presence again this year for one last lap at the Speedway. If only your drivers had won Indy during your lifetime. So close but yet so far - Mario and Nigel among the best ever. Just like you. I miss you already.

The pic above is from Indy in 1986 at the pole draw as is the one which follows where he is being greeted by Roger Penske (in red shirt). And I had to include one from Detroit in 1984 in the Bob Sharp Racing Nissan. God bless and thanks for the memories.

Kimmel Wins at Salem ARCA 200

My 2009 racing "season" ended where it started exactly 5 months earlier: Salem Speedway in southern Indiana. Only this time, instead of cold and rainy conditions, it was hot and steamy. And the ARCA master, Frank Kimmel, drove like a bat out of hell to win for the 9th time at Salem. The car count was lower than for the spring race but the crowd was much larger and we were treated to a typical ARCA short track show:  close racin' among the top 10, some wreckin', and lots of paint being traded. I still can't figure out how Dexter Bean finished 3rd after causing the big red flag wreck of the night. Pit sequencing was a complete mystery as the teams only needed one fuel stop to go the distance, so fast guys like Scott Speed and Justin Allgaier ended up back in traffic as often as not. It bit Speed the most as he got dinged in Bean's smokescreen-induced pile-up on the backstretch but still managed a top 10 finish. Looks like he will be series champ as well as rookie of the year for ARCA this year.

So now I am left with the task of sorting through the several thousand images I shot this year for American Motor Journal to come up with 20 or so "best of" images for their year-end special edition that will come out in a couple of months. I'll do a couple of recaps here of my season on the road, display some more pix from all the tracks and series I shot this year, plus add a few pix of Mr. Photographer" at the track too just for giggles. You'll love the hats!

I thought Talladega was a possibility again this fall but I just can't swing it with work and other demands on my time being what they are, not the mention a long solo drive and the cost of gas. Even my Integra needs a rest every now and then.

Rossi Wins Red Bull Indy MotoGP; Hayden Second

Valentino Rossi sliced through the remnants of Hurricane Ike in Indianapolis Sunday to win the first motorcycle race at the Speedway since the track opened in 1909. While I was only able to get to the track for a couple of hours on Friday, I was thoroughly impressed with the bike control exhibited by the GP and 125cc riders. It was a typical Indiana weather weekend too - intermittent to pouring rain Friday, 90 degrees and steamy on Saturday, then hurricane winds and driving rain for the main event Sunday. If you don't like the weather around here, then wait 5 minutes and it will change, or so they say...

There was an excellent crowd on Friday and from all reports I've seen, IMS officials are happy with the first running of this event. There's talk of changes to Turn 5 to give more runoff room for next year, and with the race scheduled for the last weekend in August, maybe the riders will get the "dog days of summer" heat & humidity all weekend instead of just Saturday. It still looks like the esses leading onto the south short chute are too slow, but what do I know? I'm a car guy.

And 2009 will be 100 years since the track opened with the two-wheelers, so it should be an even bigger event. I had to go shoot the ARCA stock cars at Salem the next night so I had all the racing (and wet weather) I could stand for one weekend after Friday. I was thinking if I stayed away, then maybe the rain wouldn't follow me but it didn't matter to Ike. Or the roughly 100,000 fans who showed up at IMS Sunday. There's no place like Indy. Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Helio Last to First at Chicagoland; Dixon Takes Season Spoils

Not quite 48 hours after returning home to Indy from Chicagoland Speedway, I'm still amazed by what I saw Sunday as the Indy Racing League put on its best show of the season. With a unified series putting 28 cars on this fast track, Helio Castroneves ran the race of his life to win by a nose from last place after his qualifying run was disallowed. Scott Dixon and the Target team were up to the challenge however, taking the lead on the final fuel-only pit stop only to lose out for the race win on Helio's last lap high side pass at the finish line in the second closest finish in Indycar history. Chicagoland has a reputation for highly competitive races and close finishes and Sunday's race was one for the ages.

Frequent three wide racing, lap after lap, not just among the leaders, but back in the pack as well. Too much side by side racing to shoot it all, even with a 4 gig card in my 40D. Close calls on the track and in pit lane. Packs of cars screaming by in unison, one long Honda whine until the next pack came through. I thought last year's finish was spectacular when Dixon ran out of fuel on the last lap, but this year's event topped it by a bunch. Helio's charge was a thing of beauty. He was 12th by lap 12, blowing by people high or low. He was clearly on a mission and did everything he needed to do to give himself a chance to win the race and the season title. But for the blocking call at Detroit last weekend, he would have a three race winning streak, and his reaction in victory lane after being told he had in fact won the race was pure Helio. I've always enjoyed watching his pleasure in racing and pure joy in winning, and he never seems to get down no matter what is going on. True to form, the top teams fought it out right to the checkers so it was a perfect ending to a very interesting season. Now they can all go to Surfer's and let it hang out for bragging rights on the street course with nothing on the line but a win.

One of my best moments for the weekend came Sunday morning after the photo meeting when I went outside the media center to smoke. I saw Jack Arute walking up and I mentioned he had a great interview with Helio after the Detroit race - the "Save me Jackie" comment in particular. He responded that the joke was going around with the TV crew that they were going to get t-shirts printed up with "I Have Nothing Smart To Say" on them to sell on the circuit. I'd buy one, for sure. And that's one of the greatest things I've experienced the last couple of years since getting back out into the racing world with my camera. Seeing people only at the race track, some whose names I know and most I know only by facial recognition, always ready to talk or share a story of what they saw. Hanging out in the media center getting hydrated again after the race and listening to the driver and owner interviews. Having someone to talk with about the day on the drive home - that is especially true for me as the sounds of race cars buzz through my brain for hours afterwards. As with so many other things in my life the last few years, I've been blessed with a second chance to pursue something I love and there are few things that get me jazzed up like chasing race cars around the midwest, seeing the results on my cameras immediately, and posting them on the computer later. It doesn't get much better than this, and if I die tomorrow, then I know I've been taken care of.

I miss Michigan being off the schedule, but Chicagoland is fast becoming my favorite track in the series outside of Indianapolis. I'll have more from this race to post once the American Motor Journal edition comes out, plus I get to go to Salem to see the ARCA race this Saturday, and MotoGP at Indy Sunday, so if anyone's out there reading this, I hope you come back or leave me a comment. Meanwhile, congratulations to Scott Dixon and Target Chip Ganassi Racing for another fantastic season in the world's best open wheel series. Anyone who says the races on these 1.5 mile tracks are boring needs to get off their butt and go to the race track and see the action up close and personal. You might have a different view than the one from couch racing.

But then, I have nothing smart to say...

Wilson Takes Belle Isle: Indycar Finale Hot for Chicagoland

Congratulations to Justin Wilson for taking the street course race at Belle Isle in Detroit. I felt bad for Helio that he didn't get a warning from IRL officials before being penalized for blocking, but anytime you make two moves, it's hard to justify keeping the position. Barnhart's explanation after the race was reasonable and Helio's ABC interview was priceless but you knew he was mad when he said "Save me Jackie. I don't have anything smart to say!" I'm sure the Penske brigade wasn't happy either since their ALMS team got a penalty for blocking in the Saturday race at the Isle. But seriously folks: is that a real race track? Give me a break. Nowhere to pass. Lots of empty area with no fans along the riverside. I've seen better events on I-465 here around Indy. At least there's some passing. Anyway, good job Newman Haas Lanigan. That's two now for the pre-eminent former Champ Car team and they have managed to upstage KV Racing in terms of results this season. Good for them!

The other big news this week was about drivers for 2009. Ever the bridesmaid, Vitor Meira is out at Panther and Wheldon is in. Dario Franchitti is back from his aborted NASCAR foray in the other Target seat. How odd it will be to see him teamed with Dixon next year when they fought it out to the last corner of the last lap at Chicagoland last year. It will be good to see him back in open wheel racing. Maybe Penske can bring back Hornish now and all will be right with the world. At least until Tony Stewart decides to let someone else drive his Stewart Racing Sprint Cup car and come back to Indycars where he belongs...

So now it all comes down to one race and two men with a shot at the championship: Helio and Dixon wheel to wheel. 30 points between them so if Dixon finishes 8th or better, Helio has to accept second. Meanwhile Scott Speed and the ARCA boys will run Saturday night in the prelim that should be quite exciting. This race was a crash fest on Saturday afternoon last year and I'm glad they moved it to the evening for Speed TV this year. Then Sunday the action starts early with Indy Lights warmup and race before the Indycar "hot laps" and the main event to wrap things up in the afternoon. I'm looking forward to it all, but the schedule is so jammed Sunday I doubt I will have time to post anything from the race track like I did from Kentucky. We'll see.

Maybe I'll see you there.

Indycars go to Detroit: 2 to Go - 2 Man Show

Will Helio and Dixon be on a collision course this weekend?

Will others play a role to preserve the championship race one more week? Will "one of them misfortunate things" (as AJ used to say) befall one or the other? How will team tactics play out? What about an "inadvertent" bump or spin? Don't forget all the furor about the "intentional" spin from last year's race folks. By now, Dixon must be lamenting his St. Pete finish. And his screw up at the Glen. And last week's slow going at Sonoma. So what was a large points lead not all that long ago is now down to less than one race worth of points. And Helio finally got a win to go with his remarkable record of 7 second place finishes this year. I'm sure both teams will pull out all the stops this weekend, and both Dixon and Helio will want to be on the front row since track position will be essential at Belle Isle. That should make Turn 1 interesting!

Back soon. I'm couch racing this weekend but I'll have an opinion anyway and I'll be at the Chicagoland finale next weekend for the third year running. I hope it goes down to the last lap like the last two years.

Indy Racing League Kentucky Follow-up

I am off the road now for a few weeks and have had an awesome weekend at the Indiana Dunes to recharge and get ready for the wrap up of my racing season over the next month. I'll do some of the US Nationals at ORP over Labor Day weekend, then head to Chicago the next weekend for the ARCA/IRL show and I am excited to see they are running the ARCA event at night that weekend. SPEED TV probably dictated that. Then back to Indiana roots at IMS for the MotoGP event wrapped around the ARCA Salem fixture. Then it will be time to edit down my best of the season for American Motor Journal and start thinking about next year. By Christmas, I'm sure I'll be asking the tired old question:

"It it May yet?"

Here's a slideshow with some keepers from my Kentucky IRL work. I love shooting from the outside at that track and I managed to cover everything with a little legwork and sweat. Well, maybe more than a little. See ya next time!

Battistini Takes Kentucky Indy Lights Win

Dillon Battistini held off fierce challenges from James Davison and Arie Luyendyk Jr. to win the Kentucky Indy Lights 100 mile event tonight. Indy winner Battistini controlled the pace of the race from the front, leading every lap except the first one. Lots of drivers had trouble on a night when three and four wide pack racing was the rule rather than the exception. It looked like the race would end under yellow when a backmarker spun with less than two laps to go but he got out of harms way and the Indy Lights officials waved the white flag anyway. After the gift Davison got at Mid Ohio last month, he seemed pleased with a second place finish and was gesturing madly prior to the podium ceremonies about what looked like close calls and wheel banging during the event. These young guys sure can put on a show given the chance.

This is my last post for the evening before I hit the road for Indy. Thanks to Don Hamilton and American Motor Journal again for the opportunity. I'm loving every minute of it. It was a beautiful night for racing. Next year, they need to run the IRL race later so we get the added thrill of the bright lights. Maybe the new contract with Versus will get that changed. I'm sure the Lights guys enjoyed it. They probably felt like they were the feature, even though the stands were half full when they ran.

One last observation: for a race they said was sold out, there were a lot of fans dressed up as empty seats tonight. I wonder what that was all about.

The US Nationals are next up for me. Night qualifying. Awesome. Loud. Earth shaking. Flame throwing. My one night of the year for the straight line brigade. It should be fun!

Dixon Lucky & Good at Kentucky!

Scott Dixon overtook Helio on the last lap tonight after a Penske fuel gamble backfired in a desperate attempt to get the Brazilian into the winner's circle. Marco Andretti ran one of his strongest races in a long time and battled Dixon throughout the race. Late fuel stops scrambled the leader board several times and the outcome was in doubt to the very end. I covered a lot of territory tonight and was in Kanaan's pit for his final splash & go. Too bad for Mutoh that he had mechanical problems as he looked good early. Next up is the Indy Lights race and perhaps Ana Beatriz can pick up another win for the fairer sex. She looked great at Nashville and this should be another good test. Matos is on pole again and he has been tough everywhere in the AGR "junior" team so keep an eye on him too.



Back to work!

Kentucky Speedway IRL Update

I just took my first walk through pit lane and the garage area. I like to walk the pits to see who's pitting where and there hasn't been much mystery this season. It's usually the Target team, Penske and AGR at pit out and today is no exception. Mutoh has the pit closest to pit out of any of the AGR drivers which could be an advantage for him.

Not many drivers out in the garage area yet but the bombs are going off now for the start of pre-race festivities. There's supposed to be an ATV jump in front of the driver intro stage on the front stretch which should be strange. Must be a Bombardier tie-in. I only saw Scott Dixon in the garage are by the team haulers but he was surrounded by autograph seekers. He looked confident and even a little cocky, judging by the look on his face at right. There was the usual crowd around the Danica hauler but she never comes out until the last minute and is always mobbed. I'll get her in driver intros.





Sarah Fisher's car looks gorgeous, with Dollar General sponsorship and a bright yellow paint job. She's back in 16th starting position but after her unfortunate run-in with TK at Indy, I'm sure she's glad to be back on track. She's won pole here at Kentucky before and has run well in the past so it could be a good night for her.

I've got to go out and get ready for the festivities now and go to work so I'll be back later.

Live from Kentucky Speedway: 2 Hours to Pre-Race

A great day for a drive today from Indianapolis down I65 through Madison, Indiana and along the Kentucky side of Ohio River. Right now I'm live from the media center at Kentucky Speedway. When I got to the credential building at 2:30, the line was out into the parking lot and traffic was already backing up with fans getting to the parking lot. I've heard the race sold out yesterday and they started selling some standing room tickets today. The green flag flies at 6:36 tonight and they'll run into the twilight under the lights. I'm loving these Saturday night races!

It should be a great show with 26 cars starting the race behind Scott Dixon on pole with Meira 2nd and Wheldon 3rd. I'm sticking with my darkhorse candidate, Hideki Mutoh, to contend for the win. He will start 4th and has so far this weekend outshone his other AGR teammates, with Kanaan 7th and Marco 9th. Danica is starting shotgun on the field after crashing in practice and missing qualifying, so it will be very interesting to see how she fares coming up through the pack. She may have to play a track position game to make up ground. She'll have to wend her way through a number of the transition team drivers as they did not qualify well. The biggest surprise to me was Marty Roth who will start 11th. Servia and Power with KV are the highest starting transition team drivers in 12th & 13th. The Vision team continues to start well with Carpenter 8th and Foyt 10th. We'll see how well they race, as this is a track where speed and handling both matter. A pole speed of 218+ is plenty fast for a 1.5 mile oval and race laps over 210 should be the norm. Two-wide and three-wide racing is also expected and that should make for an exciting race, and good photo ops.

Everything's a photo op when you get right down to it, so today it will be another challenge with the skies darkening and the Musco light system firing up as the event wears on. Then the Indy Lights take the track so it will be a long night. Back again soon with more.