Monthly Archives: December 2024

Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. © [Andy Clary / Spacesuit Media]

by Allan Brewer

It’s tough to be in two places at one time, but Marcus Ericsson at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has managed it well so far this year as he keeps one foot in a Sauber/Alfa Romeo Formula 1 seat as a reserve driver and another (on this side of the pond) as James Hinchcliffe’s teammate at IndyCar’s SPM.

As long as the Swede continues to make advances as great as this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, he is content with the grueling travel he makes for both jobs. “It was a great race for us at Barber,” he said last night after finishing seventh in the Honda IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama.

“It’s a really cool track,” he said. “First time here for me, obviously, but really enjoying it; it’s a lot of fun to drive.”

Though he qualified disappointingly, in P20 at the start, Ericsson quickly ran through the field and ended at seventh place when the checkered flag came out. “I’m really, really happy with my race,” he said. “We got the strategy perfect and it was really nice to finally get the result we wanted. It’s so nice to finally bring it home and not get that bad luck like the last two rounds.”

“I think like St. Pete and COTA, we’ve shown how strong we are in the races. Going from an obviously disappointing qualifying starting from P20 going all the way up to P7, I think that shows the potential we have and the whole package that we’ve got.”

“It’s really positive and really happy for the Arrow guys – they did a great job again this weekend,” he said. “We can definitely build on this performance. Now we just need to sort it out so that we can qualify a bit higher, because if we can do that, we can really challenge for podiums and wins.”

Ericsson feels like he has something to prove in both IndyCar and F1. He was unceremoniously dumped by Sauber F1 in lieu of aging superstar Kimi Raikkonen and young turk Antonio Giovanazzi for 2019. Despite the slight, Marcus was able to salvage a seat with the team as a back-up driver for Kimi and Antonio.

Ericsson has not given up hope on returning to F1 in the future. “I don’t want to close the door on F1, but I’m really looking forward to racing in America and I can see myself staying for a long time,” he said. “That is why it’s very important that every time I go out on track I prove what I can do.”

Allan Brewer covers IndyCar and other racing series for RacingNation.com. Allan is a fixture at the race track, armed with keyboard and camera, eager to take you inside open-wheel sport where the news is being made. He comes to RacingNation.com with multiple professional awards from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AWWRBA). He began his motorsports writing career at FastMachines.com; and solely published IndyProRacer.com and A1GP.com, two award-winning websites for open-wheel racing’s junior leagues, prior to becoming IndyCar correspondent at Motorsport.com. He has also covered Formula 1, NASCAR, Formula E, the Indy Lights Series and its predecessor Indy Pro Series, NHRA events and major auto shows. His major interest outside of competition is automotive technology and its application to the cars we drive every day on the public highways.

The Pratt & Miller aerodynamics design team with the Louis Schwitzer Award.   [Photo by Allan Brewer]

Indianapolis—The 2015 Louis Schwitzer Award goes to the Pratt & Miller aerodynamics design team that worked in collaboration with Chevrolet to develop the new aero kit that put Scott Dixon on the pole for the 99th Indianapolis 500.

Individually they are:

• Charles Ping, Project Manager, Race Operations, Pratt & Miller Engineering
• Chris Berube, Program Manager, Chevrolet Racing
• Arron Melvin, Chief Aerodynamicist, Pratt & Miller Engineering
• Mark Kent, Director of Motorsports Competition, Chevrolet Racing.

Among the notable advances the Pratt & Miller team accomplished was a much smaller rear wing on the Dallara IR12 that generates an equal or greater amount of down-force, but with less drag than the previous rear main plane. The new wing is adjustable to permit aero-trimming of the race car for qualifying or race conditions.

Working with Chevy the engineering team from Pratt & Miller also fabricated an exotic front wing main plane, and end-plates, to direct air from the front tires to the sidepod air intakes along the chassis. The result is improved airflow to the radiator and over the body components astern of the driver.

Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon has demonstrably benefited the most of the Chevy teams using the new aero package, turning his advantage with the package into a $100,000 gain and his second start on the pole of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

“The good thing is the car is now more tunable for qualifications versus the race,” he said after a few days testing the new aerodynamics configuration.

Perhaps his Chevy peer at Carpenter/Fisher/Hartman Racing said it best, though: Josef Newgarden described the Pratt & Miller design as “sexy” in its various iterations of liveries in this year’s field.

About Schwitzer: although he is not as well-remembered as first Indianapolis 500 winner Ray Harroun, Schwitzer actually preceded the Mormon Wasp driver in Victory Lane at the Speedway. Schwitzer won the first-ever race at the track, a five-mile, two lap affair with an average speed of 57.4 mph on August 19, 1909.

He became an important figure in Indy 500 history as the maker of super-chargers and turbo-chargers, and reached a peak of notoriety in 1952 when his company Schwitzer-Cummins put a diesel-powered car on the pole for that year’s 500.

He died on May 7, 1969; and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1970.

The 49th renewal of the award was present on May 6th at a ceremony here in the facilities of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Pagoda Plaza.

The several criteria that describe and are fundamental to the prize (from the Indiana Society of Automotive Engineers website) are:

• The award specifically relates to cars conforming to IndyCar Series specifications entered in the Indianapolis 500-mile race. The cars must pass technical inspection and must meet all supplemental regulation at Indianapolis for that year.
• The award honor engineers selected for their innovative design and engineering excellence.
• The award distinguishes the engineers most responsible for the actual design and development engineering.
• The award acknowledges engineers with the courage and conviction to explore and develop new concepts in racing technology.
• The award specifically rewards functional and recent permutations that increase performance, safety, or energy efficiency. Innovations may apply to engineer, drive train, profile, or chassis emphasizing competitive potential along with future automotive industry possibilities.
• The award specifically recognizes new concepts; however,experiment with ideas arising out of previous awards will be considered if the engineering development has improved on the original idea.

Allan Brewer covers IndyCar and other racing series for RacingNation.com. Allan is a fixture at the race track, armed with keyboard and camera, eager to take you inside open-wheel sport where the news is being made. He comes to RacingNation.com with multiple professional awards from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AWWRBA). He began his motorsports writing career at FastMachines.com; and solely published IndyProRacer.com and A1GP.com, two award-winning websites for open-wheel racing’s junior leagues, prior to becoming IndyCar correspondent at Motorsport.com. He has also covered Formula 1, NASCAR, Formula E, the Indy Lights Series and its predecessor Indy Pro Series, NHRA events and major auto shows. His major interest outside of competition is automotive technology and its application to the cars we drive every day on the public highways.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway wasn’t the only major sporting event happening in Texas on November 2. [Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images]

Eddie Gossage, the energetic President and General Manager of Texas Motor Speedway, wasn’t a happy race promoter when the November 2 date for the 2014 Formula 1 race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX was announced. There it was, smack dab on the same day as his NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase race at TMS in nearby Ft. Worth.

And one look at the NFL schedule for that same date showed both the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans playing at home as well. Couple that with the opening of deer hunting and it began to look like one or both racing events might be in trouble.

Gossage cut his public relations teeth first at tracks in Nashville and Bristol, then as manager of motorsports PR for Miller Brewing in Milwaukee. He got his master’s degree in PR at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the tutelage of iconic promoters Bruton Smith and Humpy Wheeler. It was at Charlotte that he learned how to entertain the crowds with legendary pre-race extravaganzas ranging from battlefield recreations to record-setting school bus jumping. He graduated to his present role at TMS in1996; the year the facility opened.

Ever the promoter, Gossage and his staff in Texas forged ahead with race weekend preparations despite the presumed competition from the various area events.

An exciting Chase race, coupled with the post-race fisticuffs, were the headline grabbers for the AAA Texas 500 and not much was made of the attendance for the race. ESPN cameras, however, seemed to work hard, providing tight shots which kept preying eyes from revealing views of the grandstand seats.

Race day attendance in Austin for the Formula 1 event was announced as 107,000, down from 113,000 last year and 117,000 in 2012.

Both NFL games were virtually sold out, with more than 85,000 in Dallas and a capacity crowd in Houston.

Gossage told the Dallas Morning News that TMS drew 138,000 for the NASCAR race; largest for any of the Chase events so far this season. The same race drew 146,000 in 2012, with figures unavailable for 2013.

There were, however, some empty spots in grandstands at COTA, and perhaps more at TMS. The 1.5 mile oval has the ability to seat more than 190,000 fans, but reportedly reduced its capacity to just over 112,000 grandstand seats, plus infield viewing, when it closed the backstretch seating areas to accommodate the installation of the world’s largest video screen (almost 21,000 sq. ft.); Panasonic’s “Big Hoss”.

And while attendance for both racing events was down slightly, TV ratings for the NASCAR race were up 8% over last year with a 2.8 rating on ESPN. Ratings for the F1 event were also up slightly.

Each event in Texas, and remember there were four on November 2, appeared to be successful. COTA operated under the threat of a race-day boycott by several teams that are struggling financially. The field there was just 18, the smallest in F1 since Monaco in 2005, after Marussia and Caterham withdrew prior to the event, also due to financial problems. Because most spectators purchased tickets in advance, attendance wasn’t impacted this year.

The good news for 2015 is that the two events will be separated by two weeks, with the F1 race in Austin set for October 25 and NASCAR’s Chase race in Ft. Worth scheduled for November 8.

Of concern for the Austin race is the scheduling of the return of the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City on November 1, 2015, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a track that hasn’t been used for F1 since 1992. With two drivers from Mexico currently competing in F1, thousands of Hispanic fans have made their way to Austin from south of the border for its first three F1events. The question for the race organizers in Austin will be whether those fans will continue to travel to Texas or will they stay home and go to their own event?

Gossage is already selling season tickets for 2015, advertising the package as being “A deal worth fighting for”. AAA Texas has also renewed its event sponsorship through 2017.

COTA is planning more entertainment events during its F1 weekend. There are also plans for a hotel to possibly be built at the track.

All of these races are likely to continue in the near future, but long-term survival, especially for F1 in such a concentrated geographic area, racing just one week apart, is likely to become the big question.

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.

Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950’s, Paul had no idea what “that noise” was all about that he heard several times a year. Finally, through prodding by friends of his parents, he was taken to several Thursday night modified stock car races on the old quarter-mile dirt track that was in the infield of the one-mile oval -and he was hooked.

The first Milwaukee Mile event that he attended was the 1959 Rex Mays Classic won by Johnny Thomson in the pink Racing Associates lay-down Offy built by the legendary Lujie Lesovsky. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.

Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. He began covering races in 1965 for Racing Wheels newspaper in Vancouver, WA as a reporter/photographer and his first credentialed race was Jim Clark’s historic Indy win.Paul has also done reporting, columns and photography for Midwest Racing News since the mid-sixties, with the 1967 Hoosier 100 being his first big race to report for them.

He is a retired middle-grade teacher, an avid collector of vintage racing memorabilia, and a tour guide at Miller Park. Paul loves to explore abandoned race tracks both here and in Europe, with the Brooklands track in Weybridge England being his favorite. Married to Paula, they have three adult children and two cats.

Paul loves the diversity of all types of racing, “a factor that got me hooked in the first place.”

Mario Andretti, Canadian Grand Prix 1977. [Photo by Jack Webster]

By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

Not that long ago, Formula One racing was the pinnacle of motorsport. It was the top rung, the place all aspiring drivers wanted to be. Its drivers were heroes, death defying gladiators who put it all on the line each race, going wheel to wheel with one another, pushing themselves and their cars to the limit, all in pursuit of the ultimate prize – The Formula One Drivers World Championship.

Formula One’s history is populated with legendary names: Fangio, Moss, Clark, Hill, Brabham, Rindt, Stewart, Fittipaldi, Hunt, Lauda, Villeneuve, Andretti, Mansell, Prost, Senna, Schumacher and many more.

Jackie Stewart, Canadian Grand Prix 1972. [Photo by Jack Webster] Ronnie Peterson, Canadian Grand Prix 1974. [Photo by Jack Webster] JPS Team Lotus, Detroit Grand Prix 1983. [Photo by Jack Webster] Niki Lauda, Canadian Grand Prix 1972. [Photo by Jack Webster] James Hunt, Hesketh, Canadian Grand Prix 1974. [Photo by Jack Webster] Denny Hulme, US Grand Prix 1971. [Photo by Jack Webster] Jackie Stewart, Canadian Grand Prix 1973. [Photo by Jack Webster] Mario Andretti, Canadian Grand Prix 1977. [Photo by Jack Webster] Mario Andretti, Canadian Grand Prix 1977. [Photo by Jack Webster]

What did all these, and many more, Formula One drivers have in common? They were all personalities, heroes, larger than life figures who were worshiped by legions of fans from around the world. Their driving feats were celebrated worldwide; their individual personalities made them stand out from the crowd. They were Formula One drivers and they were not like us, they were unique both in talent and bravery and they all possessed that special something that is hard to name – for like astronauts and test pilots they all had the “right stuff”.

In the early days and through the 1970’s we lost too many of these heroes. Racing has always been, and continues to be, a very dangerous business. However, with the advent of safer cars, circuits and vastly improved driver safety equipment, the carnage of the past has been largely brought under control.

Perhaps therein lies the main problem. There is too much control in Formula One. What was once a driver’s championship has been reduced to an engineering exercise where the factory with the largest budget dominates the sport. Today it is Mercedes, in the recent past it was Red Bull and who knows who it will be in future. The regulations have been written so tightly that there is no room left for innovation and drivers have become almost interchangeable components. There is so much technology in play in Formula One, it is not surprising that fan interest has waned in recent years and the entire Formula One grid is in turmoil. Hybrid F1 engines? Seriously?

Fans have become weary of tuning into a Formula One race on TV only to see the end result decided by the first turn of the first lap. One team, one car, is so dominant that frankly it is surprising that enough funding is found for enough cars to fill the grid. The mid field running teams have virtually no chance at victory, and the bottom third of the grid might as well not show up.

That is the state of affairs today in Formula One, and unless the powers that be make some significant changes quickly, we are afraid that Formula One as we once knew it will cease to exist.

It is time for some radical thinking with some radical solutions.

Step one: Substantially reduce the technology in use. Keep the safety improvements, but ditch the engineers, computers and hi-tech driver aids. Get rid of the high cost computerized steering wheels and push button gear shifting – make the drivers change the gears like all of the drivers from Fangio to Senna had to do, with a gear shift. Give the cars more power, take away most of the aero devices, make them harder to drive and let us see who really has the skills to pilot these machines. Talent, not driver provided sponsorship, should determine who drives a Formula One car. Let’s make it a real Driver’s World Championship again, not just a video game. Do these things and the competition will improve, the fan base will increase and Formula One can once again regain its rightful place at the top of the racing pyramid.

Step two: Get the fans back into the picture. Formula One is more isolated from its fans than ever. A Formula One fan who goes to a race: 1. Never gets to see a car close up and 2. Never gets to see, let alone meet, a driver. The fans pay their hundreds or thousands of dollars for the privilege of sitting far removed from the scene, isolated from any intimate involvement in the event. A very smart man, Don Panoz, revitalized sports car racing in the United States when he started the American Le Mans Series. He knew the importance of fans to the spectacle of racing and he specifically designed his series “For the Fans” as the American Le Mans Series logo so accurately described. Have autograph sessions, let the fans see the cars and drivers up close, make their attendance important to the event, and not just window dressing in the background for the TV shots.

Step three: Encourage the drivers to be themselves. One doesn’t get to the pinnacle of the sport by being a wallflower or just a corporate spokesperson. Let them be who they are and don’t over coach them in what to say and how to say it. Corporate money has too much of a say in all sports, and in Formula One it has become strangling. Where is our James Hunt or Niki Lauda in today’s crop of drivers? Who knows, they might already be there, but they are so filtered and scripted that their real personalities never have the opportunity to be on display.

Step four: Get costs under control. Formula One budgets are insane; the amount of money needed to run even a back marker team is unrealistic and unsustainable. By cutting the technology currently used in the sport, budgets could at least begin to decrease and stabilize. Also, come up with a fair system for distribution of the TV rights money, so the smaller teams can come a bit closer to the funding of the major teams. More competition means more fans and TV viewers, equaling more money for everyone.

These four steps are at least a beginning in solving some of the problems that Formula One has. Frankly, the current state of the sport is so critical and if something radical is not done, the sport we have loved and followed for years is in jeopardy of not surviving. As lifelong fans of Formula One, we feel that would be a real shame.

Let’s hope that the people in charge of Formula One at least begin to make the changes needed before it is too late.

The clock is ticking.

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.

Artist’s Work to be Displayed at the Sprint Experience throughout the 2012 Season

CONCORD, N.C. (February 21, 2012) – Sam Bass announced today an exciting new partnership with Sprint (NYSE:S) that will get his artwork in front of millions of NASCAR fans across the country. Bass’ work will be featured in the “Sprint Rock and Racing” Sweepstakes-a new feature of The Sprint Experience, Sprint’s mobile marketing display that travels to every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. The display will present Bass’ passion for art, motorsports, and music to showcase the artist’s custom-designed guitars.

Through the “Sprint Rock and Racing” Sweepstakes, one lucky fan will win a custom-designed Sam Bass Gibson Les Paul guitar featuring their favorite driver. Fans can only enter the sweepstakes by visiting the Sprint Experience throughout the 2012 season, with the grand prize winner being selected at random in early December.

“I am thrilled to be able to work with Sprint this year on such an exciting contest for the race fans,” commented Bass. “I really enjoy designing and painting guitars, and to get to showcase my work in The Sprint Experience is a phenomenal opportunity.”

“The Sprint Experience is a ‘must visit’ destination, hosting over half a million NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fans annually, so it’s fitting we showcase the work of one of NASCAR’s top artists, Sam Bass,” said Tim Considine, Director of Sports Marketing for Sprint. “We’re honored to give fans a chance to win a custom-designed piece of Sam’s art. We encourage fans to stop by the Sprint Experience, register for the sweepstakes and learn more about Sprint’s Unlimited offerings.”

The “Sprint Rock and Racing” Sweepstakes will be a prominent part of Sam Bass’ “PAINT, DRAW, and ROCK THEM ALL!!” Tour 2012, with a constant presence at the Sprint Experience for all 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekends and the NASCAR Champion’s Week celebration in Las Vegas. The exhibit will showcase a rotating collection of guitars that Bass will design featuring some of NASCAR’s biggest stars. The tour will also include several appearances by Sam Bass where he will interact with fans at the Sprint Experience, participate in question and answer sessions with Miss Sprint Cup, and sign autographs for the crowd.

“It is going to be quite a thrill to design and paint a guitar for the “Sprint Rock and Racing” Sweepstakes winner,” Bass continued. “I have been doing commissioned custom guitars for drivers, race winners, and entertainers since 1997. This will be the first time for me to do this in a sweepstakes contest and custom design it for the winner. I think Sprint will make some fan incredibly happy with such a special and unique prize. It’s going to be fun!”

In addition to The Sprint Experience, fans are always invited to visit and see Bass’ artwork year-round at his personal studio and display space, The Sam Bass Gallery, conveniently located adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Bass’ work is also available for viewing and purchase online at sambass.com . The artist is also on twitter at twitter.com/sambassartist and Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Sam-Bass-NASCARs-1st-Officially-Licensed-Artist/181404311873499 .

NASCARSam Bass Illustration & Design PR

Charlotte, NC (May 28th, 2012) – All lines are busy right now. An associate will answer your call soon.

That’s how my brain feels right now after what is arguably the most jam-packed calendar of American motorsports to ever grace a Memorial Day Weekend.

The green flag dropped in Charlotte Thursday with practice and qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The Charlotte weekend card of events was easily the best it’s ever been with the World Of Outlaws Sprint Cars headlining Friday’s action on the Speedway’s Dirt Oval. Saturday’s slate produced a NASCAR Nationwide Series and Global Rally Cross doubleheader at CMS. The GRS race Saturday night was really crazy and compelling to watch.

While Sunday’s 600-mile Cup race at Charlotte was pretty much a snoozer, it couldn’t take away from the fact that the speedway gave the fans more racing than ever. About the only way to make it better would be to add a four-wide Drag Race event at X-Max Dragway on Monday, Memorial Day.

Just kidding. Then again, maybe not.

Indy

While the total number of the events at Charlotte was impressive, the Indianapolis 500 again proved to be the best and most compelling race of the weekend.

The race – an American institution since 1911 – again captured the imagination of the nation with a number of compelling storylines, the best of which was a dash and crash to the finish on the final lap.

The racing at Indy is forever breathtaking lap after lap. There’s an edge, a sense of danger that is evident. Amazing stuff, and based on what we saw yesterday, the Indy 500 is still ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.’

More ‘Calls’ –

Anyone who watched the weekend roar by was treated to a bunch some great and not so great moments. Here’s some that made our radar.

Good –

Tony Stewart’s doughnut and controlled power slide into his pit box after getting dumped on pit road in Sunday’s 600 was a joy to behold. You know ‘Smoke’ was steaming, but he still had the focus to spin and four-wheel ‘drift’ his car back into position in one seamless move. Amazing, amazing ability and car control.

More Good –

Loved the Global Rally Cross event Saturday at Charlotte.

Very cool stuff. Great, different cars, cool paint schemes, lots of new, interesting personalities and enough on-track action to send even the most demo derby craving NASCAR fans home with a smile on their faces.

Goodness – Part 2 –

ABC again got high marks for their telecast of the Indy 500. With cameras seemingly everywhere around the track and in the cars, fans viewing the race got an unparalleled virtual experience.

ABC also continued its practice of going ‘Side-By-Side’ during commercial breaks allowing fans to view both the race and an advertisement simultaneously. We have applauded this breakthrough in race telecast thinking and banged the drum heavily for this to be standard in all race telecasts since ABC/ESPN introduced this years ago.

Finally, the ABC team of announcers did a good job of calling the race with concise, timely commentary. No need to embellish here – the on-track action was compelling enough.

Kudos to all at ABC/ESPN for making this Indy 500 telecast an award winner in every way.

Last Goodness –

The giant TV/Video Screen on the back straight at Charlotte is a total marvel. I am amazed every time I see it. If there was only some way I could get that in my sunroom.

The Bad –

As satisfying as the Indy 500 telecast was this weekend, the FOX broadcast of the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 was as equally disappointing. It is difficult – and perhaps a little unfair – to compare the two. Then again, it’s hard not to when the two events are run back-to-back.

The FOX effort Sunday (and this season for that matter) seems overproduced and is totally overhyped. From the annoying rock music played under the comments of the pit reporters to the tinny, almost hollow engine sound enhancements, the FOX crew misses the mark.

The additional ’embellishments’ added by some of the FOX announcing crew are even worse. First of all, there are too many announcers. The race for space seems to push several of the FOX personalities (you know who they are) to launch into hyperbole in an effort to make their little slice of face time memorable.

Additionally, many have been buttering their bread with NASCAR for decades and are so tied to the sport that the line between objective journalism and PR/marketing/damage control seems to completely disappear at times.

FOX, like ABC, does a good job of visually bringing the race into your living room (no Side-By-Side until the final laps), but there seems to be a fundamental disconnect at FOX when it comes to reporting the event.

More Badness –

You can’t say racing doesn’t love its women.

The FOX folks did their best to chronicle Danica Patrick’s every move at Charlotte Sunday and worked even harder to convince everyone that a 30th-place finish, five laps behind winner Kasey Kahne was a great effort.

Seriously people – we’ve had women drivers since they turned the first wheel in NASCAR competition more than 60 years ago. This isn’t anything new. Give Danica her due when she runs well. Until then, please focus on someone else who is.

Meanwhile, ABC did it’s best to play up to actress Ashley Judd as she celebrated her husband Dario Franchitti winning his third Indy 500 Sunday.

Judd gave an uneven performance including an obviously rehearsed 1-2-3 signal in her post-race interview. And, while I don’t mean to sound catty girls, haven’t we seen that big floppy hat and printed sundress before?

Yeech.

We love the ladies too, but in an era of tight sponsorship, struggling teams and job cuts, let’s give airtime to those men and women alike who earn it and leave the fluff to the tabloids and social media outlets.

Last Call –

Charlotte and Indianapolis were just two of the hundreds of American towns that held auto races this weekend.

At one of them in Wisconsin Dells, WI., good buddy Rich Bickle added yet another Super Late Model victory to his racing resume. This one may have been a little more special than most as Bickle dedicated the win to his mother, Jackie, who is battling illness in Charlotte, NC.

Jackie – or ‘Ma Bickle’ as she is affectionately known to by many – has been at Rich’s side throughout his entire racing career. Only this recent illness has ever kept her from the track.

That said, you can find a race report on Bickle’s latest win at –

http://dellsracewaypark.com/stars/article/052712/bickle-fends-prunty-continues-drp-winning-streak-tundra-round-one

Congrats Rich.

Love you Ma.

Have a great week everybody.

John Close covered his first NASCAR race in 1986 at Bristol. Since then, Close – a former Associated Press newspaper sports editor – has written countless articles for numerous motorsports magazines, trade publications and Internet sites.

His Close Calls column appears each week on www.CloseFinishes.com, www.MotorsportsAmerica.com and www.RacingNation.com.

Close has also authored two books – Tony Stewart – From Indy Phenom To NASCAR Superstar and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – From Desert Dust To Superspeedways.

Close is a weekly guest every Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tradin’ Paint on NASCAR SIRIUS Channel 90.

You can follow John Close on Twitter @CloseFinishes and on Facebook at John Close.

Be sure to visit John’s website – www.closefinishes.com

Close CallsJohn CloseMotorsports News

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 26, 2007) ? NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 24 and No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams that compete in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found this past weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Both cars ? the No. 24 driven by Jeff Gordon and the No. 48 driven by Jimmie Johnson ? were found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); 20-2.1E (parts or components of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that have been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted); and 20-2H (fenders may not be cut or altered except for wheel or tire clearance which must be approved by the Series Director) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during the initial inspection process last Friday.

As a result, Gordon and Johnson have each been penalized 100 driver championship points. Their respective crew chiefs ? Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus ? have each been fined $100,000, suspended for the next six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events until Aug. 15, 2007 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2007.

In addition, Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 24, has been penalized 100 car owner championship points as has Gordon, who is the owner of the No. 48.

New Berlin, WI – March 9, 2013 – Hamlin’s mad, NASCAR’s upset, another Hobbs is coming and so is the Delta Wing. That, and more, as the 2013 season is on its way.

• The tumult by NASCAR fans over the censure and $25,000 fine levied on Denny Hamlin has seen hundreds of comments left on various websites and Twitter posts. Though 98% of the feedback sides with Hamlin and his post- race Phoenix diatribe regarding the lack of the Gen. 6 car’s race-ability, NASCAR must be smiling. They have often taken the “it doesn’t matter what you say about us as long as you spell our name right” attitude regarding matters like this; upset on the outside, but counting ratings points in the office. And just like the Gordon-Bowyer excitement of last season, the TV ratings should be higher as fans and non-fans alike tune-in this week for the Las Vegas race to see what the fuss is all about. Enough has been said about the lack of passing by the latest NASCAR vehicle, and Hamlin is just the latest driver to voice his frustration-perhaps too publicly. But two races don’t make a season and the passing ability of the car is a work in progress. Perhaps NASCAR didn’t schedule enough testing in the off-season and the lack of on-time parts delivery to the teams probably slowed the development of the racer. But these things take time to get right, and with thirty-plus events still to be run, the car will get better and the complaining will hopefully lessen. In the mean-time Hamlin’s fine for expressing his opinion needs to be rescinded and the teams/drivers need to show some patience. BTW, the “comment” and “fan community” sites on the NASCAR website are “temporarily unavailable.” Wonder if the volume of fan comments was too much for it to handle?

• On another NASCAR note, have you noticed the smaller than usual number of cars on the entry lists for the first three races? Daytona (46), Phoenix (43) and Las Vegas (44)? Several observers have blamed lack of sponsorship and the general state of the economy, but with the introduction of the Gen. 6 car,costs for teams to field an entry have likely gone up to the exclusion of some. Or, have the “start and park” teams been given the message?

• The SPEED Channel will cease to exist after August 17 as Fox Sports 1 is introduced to the cable TV world. Seemingly modeled after the ESPN brands, NASCAR racing will be just one of many sports featured on the channel. Most NASCAR race programming will remain among the host of NFL, MLB and college sports that will be available in 90 million homes. But missing from the list of NASCAR shows in Fox’s press release is the much-watched “Wind Tunnel” show hosted for years by Dave Despain. The show seems to have been reduced from its one-hour format to a quick thirty minutes this season, and Despain’s displeasure showed through last Sunday as a technical glitch, combined with the shortened format, canceled a scheduled segment and lessened the show’s usual biting commentary and interviews. However, Fox Sports 1 did announce that ageless Regis Philbin will host “Rush Hour,” a 60-minute weekday show where “Regis leads the charge along with a panel of sports professionals in this brand new and unpredictable talk show.” The Speed Channel didn’t always please racing fans as it morphed from the majority of its original format that centered on motorsports, to the general car programming provided recently. Let’s hope Dave’s show does survive the cut and that it returns to its original time frame. Regis Philbin ? Weekdays ? Save us all!

• When Don Panoz’ Delta Wing project was being considered for the design of the new Indy Car several years ago, the reception by the racing community was tepid at best. The design seemed too radical for the Indy ovals and tight street courses. Panoz’ original team included Dan Gurney, Ben Bowlby, and Duncan Dayton (Highcroft Racing), but having competed at Le Mans and Road Atlanta last season under Nissan power, Panoz has switched his radical narrow wheel-based arrow design to a two-litre turbo engine based on the Mazda MZR powerplant from Elan Motorsports; another of Panoz’ interests. With Gurney et al having left the project, Panoz will send the car to Sebring this week, after testing earlier at Road Atlanta, with its black exterior having been replaced with silver (chrome) and red livery. Frenchman Olivier Pla and Andy Meyrick will man the cockpit for the 12-hour ALMS endurance classic. The prototype entry will run in Florida with an open cockpit but will feature an enclosed driver compartment for at least two more races scheduled for the car likely at Laguna Seca in May and Baltimore later in the season.

• Eighteen-year-old Andrew Hobbs, grandson of legendary British pilot David Hobbs, will compete in the Mazda Road to Indy Cooper Tires US F2000 series in 2013. “I’m incredibly excited to announce that I will be running for Arms-Up Motorsports this year,” said the Milwaukee native. “I’m so happy to be a part of their program that will hopefully take me to the IZOD IndyCar Series.” “Like his grandfather before him,” said the senior Hobbs, “open wheel racing is his first choice and what better goal than the most famous and biggest race in the world.” “We tested Drew straight out of his first three-day racing school where he made a great impression on the team,” said Gregg Borland, owner of the Milwaukee-based team. Andrew Hobbs has competed in karts and in the Skip Barber Summer Series prior to signing with Borland. The team’s first F2000 event is scheduled for the weekend of the Sebring 12-hour race.

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.

Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950’s, Paul had no idea what “that noise” was all about that he heard several times a year. Finally, through prodding by friends of his parents, he was taken to several Thursday night modified stock car races on the old quarter-mile dirt track that was in the infield of the one-mile oval -and he was hooked.

The first Milwaukee Mile event that he attended was the 1959 Rex Mays Classic won by Johnny Thomson in the pink Racing Associates lay-down Offy built by the legendary Lujie Lesovsky. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.

Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. He began covering races in 1965 for Racing Wheels newspaper in Vancouver, WA as a reporter/photographer and his first credentialed race was Jim Clark’s historic Indy win.Paul has also done reporting, columns and photography for Midwest Racing News since the mid-sixties, with the 1967 Hoosier 100 being his first big race to report for them.

He is a retired middle-grade teacher, an avid collector of vintage racing memorabilia, and a tour guide at Miller Park. Paul loves to explore abandoned race tracks both here and in Europe, with the Brooklands track in Weybridge England being his favorite. Married to Paula, they have three adult children and two cats.

Paul loves the diversity of all types of racing, “a factor that got me hooked in the first place.”

Fourth TurnMotorsports NewsPaul Gohde

Twenty-five years ago, popular Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth, TX known as ?Lone Star J.R.? in the yellow Pennzoil Jim Hall Racing Chaparral 2K-Cosworth held off offensives from Al Unser and Team Penske to win the 1980 AB-Dick Tony Bettenhausen 200 at The Milwaukee Mile.

The 200-miler was the first race sanctioned at The Milwaukee Mile by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The previous Indy Car race in June of 1980, Championship Racing League (CRL) sanctioned the Gould Rex Mays 150, which was a short-lived amalgamation of both CART and United States Auto Club (USAC) organizations and officials. Front row starters for the 200-mile race were Rutherford and Unser who battled hard throughout the first two-thirds of the race.

Unser had left the Jim Hall team after aiding the development of the revolutionary ground-effects machine to join Bobby Hillin?s Longhorn Racing after the 1979 season. Unser drove one of his most competitive races of the year in the new Longhorn LR01-Cosworth.

The race was spiced with a spectacular accident on the 65th lap. Veteran Mike Mosley was running in fifth place substituting for flamboyant rookie Tim Richmond in the UNO-Starcruiser Penske PC7B-Cosworth. Apparently Mosley had a rear suspension failure at the end of the front straightaway causing the car to slam into the wall. The white and red car climbed up the wall causing it to become airborne, subsequently the car came down slamming the wall a second time. Mosley who was dazed in the accident came away uninjured.

Tom Sneva driving the Sugaripe-Jerry O?Connell Racing Phoenix-Cosworth spun and hit the north turn wall on the 137th lap. The O?Connell team was using the temperamental Phoenix chassis for the first time in place of their trusty McLaren M-24 dubbed ?Ol Hound.

Meanwhile Unser and Rutherford continued their battle, however on the 166th lap Unser’s right front upright broke sending the austere white #5 car hard into the north turn wall. Unser who led 136 of the first 165 laps was uninjured. Rutherford easily held off Penske teammates Rick Mears and Bobby Unser who were eventually penalized one-lap for pit violations however kept their second and third place finishes respectively.

Rutherford led the final 35 laps averaging 105.062 mph over the 200 miles and winning $20,150 of the then record $137,850 purse. Tom Bagley finished fourth in the Patrick Racing Phoenix-Cosworth and Spike Gehlhausen came home fifth in the Fletcher Racing Penske PC7-Cosworth.

Rutherford eventually won five races enroute to winning the 1980 CART championship.

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.

Around The BendSteve Zautke

Charlotte, NC (October, 18, 2010) – It was inevitable that someone would make a movie of Tim Richmond’s life. On Tuesday, ESPN will debut Tim Richmond – To The Limit – a 60-minute documentary about the NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) driver who died of AIDS in 1989. The film, which is part of ESPN’s 30 For 30 series, will air at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday.

The ESPN public relations ‘tease’ to the film indicates it will highlight some of Richmond’s on-track highlights and the controversy surrounding his passing of AIDS. Included in the list of those appearing in the movie are former NASCAR drivers Darrell Waltrip and Richard and Kyle Petty, Richmond’s team owner Rick Hendrick, racing promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler and ESPN reporters Dr. Jerry Punch and Ed Hinton.

It will be interesting to hear some of their comments and if time has changed their opinions at all. Shortly after he came to NASCAR, Richmond got the nickname ‘Hollywood’ from his fellow competitors – many of whom disliked, envied or were jealous of his talents on and wealthy lifestyle off the race track.

Why not dislike Richmond? He was a rock star both. He had all the trappings – airplanes, fast cars, and women – and had possessed them a long time. On his 16th birthday in 1971, Richmond received a new Pontiac Trans Am, a Piper Cherokee Airplane and a speedboat from his parents. Not that Richmond didn’t earn it. As a youth, he was a top athlete at Miami (FL) Military Academy, good enough that they retired his football jersey. He also excelled in other sports and wasn’t a bad student. Why not give him a plane at age 16? By that age, he already had a pilot’s license.

Tim Richmond was special – someone who excelled in everything he ever did. So it was in 1980 that he graduated from Indy cars and finishing ninth earning rookie of the year honors in the Indianapolis 500 to NASCAR. A lot of the old ‘southern guard’ drivers in NASCAR didn’t like Richmond. They liked him even less when he swept both Cup road course events at Riverside in 1982. Richmond had arrived, was winning races and grabbing headlines. For some drivers like Waltrip – the 1981-82 and 85 Cup champion – that made Richmond a target.

After three more seasons and two more wins with team owner Raymond Beadle, Richmond jumped ship to join Hendrick’s team in 1986. Hendrick was relatively new to NASCAR then but he had already experienced success with Geoff Bodine winning three times over the previous two seasons. Now, he would team Richmond and Bodine together for the 1986 season. The move worked to perfection as Bodine won twice – including right out of the box at Daytona – while Richmond posted a monster year capturing seven checkered flags. The team, led by crafty veteran crew chief Harry Hyde, came together winning the 13th race of the season at Pocono. In all, they won six of the next 10 races including Daytona, Watkins Glen and the Southern 500 at Darlington. Richmond finished the season with another victory at Riverside and third place in the final 1986 points chase.

So it was when Richmond became ill after the 1986 season that rumors started swirling about why he wasn’t at the track when the green flag dropped on the 1987 Daytona 500. Initially, Richmond’s illness was reported as pneumonia. Some speculated it was drug abuse. Richmond was eventually healthy enough to make it back to the race track by the 12th event of the 1987 season at Pocono. Richmond ignored some of the biting, nasty and – for the most part – uninformed public comments by his detractors to win both at Pocono and the next race Riverside. Unfortunately, the run didn’t last long as Richmond’s endurance lasted only eight races as Richmond stepped out of the No. 25 Chevy for the last time after the Champion Spark Plug 500 at Michigan on August 16, 1987.

A second comeback attempt at the start of the 1988 was short-circuited when NASCAR suspended Richmond for a failed drug test resulting from a non-prescription over-the-counter allergy and respiratory medication. Richmond sued NASCAR over the suspension and was later retested and reinstated. By this time, however, Richmond was all but blackballed in NASCAR. People who had no clue about what they were talking about were making public comments about Richmond’s condition and suspected vices/ailments.

Frustrated and sick, Richmond withdrew into privacy in Florida for a year and in July, 1989 he was hospitalized with what they were now calling a motorcycle accident. On August 13, 1989, Tim Richmond died. Ten days later, a medical press conference was held revealing that his death was due to complications from AIDS. Richmond’s death did little to stop the controversy that surrounded him in life. Stories began to surface that Dr. Forest Tennant and NASCAR allegedly falsified drug-test results to bar Richmond in from competing in 1988. While there was never any confirmation or litigations to come out of the accusations, NASCAR did install its current drug policy to its list of participant requirements in the wake of Richmond’s death.

Other than the drug policy, Richmond’s legacy to NASCAR has been a silent one for the most part. Although named as one of the 50 greatest NASCAR drivers of all time in 1998 and inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002, Richmond is a usually omitted when there’s a discussion of the 1980’s NASCAR greats.

Even 20 years later, it’s just more comfortable for a lot of people to talk about ‘The Intimidator,’ ‘Jaws,’ or ‘The Ice Man,’ Cale or Bobby than it is to talk about ‘Hollywood’ – the NASCAR driver who died from AIDS. That’s why Tuesday’s ESPN movie about Richmond is important to watch. Let’s hope they do the story justice with balance and truth and not produce just another layer of veneer over the life and career of Tim Richmond.

John Close covered his first NASCAR race in 1986 at Bristol. Since then, Close – a former Associated Press newspaper sports editor – has written countless articles for numerous motorsports magazines, trade publications and Internet sites.

His Close Calls column appears each week on www.CloseFinishes.com, www.MotorsportsAmerica.com and www.RacingNation.com.

Close has also authored two books – Tony Stewart – From Indy Phenom To NASCAR Superstar and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – From Desert Dust To Superspeedways.

Close is a weekly guest every Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tradin’ Paint on NASCAR SIRIUS Channel 90.

You can follow John Close on Twitter @CloseFinishes and on Facebook at John Close.

Be sure to visit John’s website – www.closefinishes.com

Close CallsJohn CloseNASCAR