Autoblog

IndyCar Series returning to Houston at Reliant parking lot street circuit

Noah Joseph — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:28:00 EST

When the IRL and Champ Car reunited a few years ago, the fear among drivers from the latter series was that the calendar would remain dominated by oval speedways. But these days the resulting IndyCar Series races on more street circuits and road courses than it does speedways, and soon we'll be able to add one more as the series has announced its return to Houston, Texas.

Dubbed the Grand Prix of Houston, the race - scheduled for the first week of October, 2013 - will be held on the concrete parking lots of Houston's Reliant Park adjacent to the Astrodome (where the Astros played baseball and the Oilers played football) and Reliant Stadium (where the Houston Texans football team currently plays) - the same location where Champ Car raced in 2006 and 2007.

Drivers at the time criticized the track's rough surface for its devastating effect on tire wear, something that race organizers - who've outlined plans to use the same 1.7-mile, 10-turn layout as the previous races - will have to try and fix for next year. The event will be promoted by veteran open-wheel race organizer Mike Lanigan and title sponsored by Shell and Pennzoil, who are undoubtedly as eager as the series organizers to tap into the fourth largest market in the United States.

Continue reading IndyCar Series returning to Houston at Reliant parking lot street circuit

IndyCar Series returning to Houston at Reliant parking lot street circuit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Paul Tracy gets back in the Indy cockpit

Noah Joseph — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

While most would regard the reunification of open-wheel racing in America as a positive thing, it has been tough on some of the drivers that had come to dominate the Champ Car World Series. Essentially dumped into a field of IndyCar drivers, even the most accomplished Champ Car pilots have had trouble finding a ride.

Take Paul Tracy, for example. The Canadian driver - arguably the nation's most successful this side of Jacques Villeneuve - started out long before the split after winning the Indy Lights title. He went on to win numerous Indy races, and took the Champ Car title in 2003. But since the two series were reconciled, he's had trouble finding a ride, contesting a race here and a race there for a variety of different teams.

This year, Tracy will reportedly be back for at least a few races with Dragon Racing - the team operated by the son of his former team boss, Roger Penske, Jay, who recently split with Gil de Ferran. Tracy will drive at Long Beach, Texas, Toronto, Edmonton and Sears Point for Dragon Racing, and will contest the Indy 500 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - a team with limited success to its name, but it's an outfit that has fielded such names as two-time champion Al Unser, Jr. and racing scions Graham Rahal, Tomas Scheckter and John Andretti. We'll be watching to see how Tracy does against the younger field, particularly his returning nemesis, Sebastien Bourdais.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty]

Report: Paul Tracy gets back in the Indy cockpit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: A century of Indianapolis 500 entrants féted at Pebble

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Racing

Indianapolis 500 100th Anniversary at Pebble Beach - Click above for high-res image gallery

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 this May represented the 100th Anniversary of "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing." The unbroken streak halted a total of five years during our involvement with the two World Wars. It's hard to believe we've had this legendary race for that long, but the centennial was certainly deserving of recognition - and although perhaps a bit incongruous to some, it was celebrated in grand style at no less than the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. As America's premier race, why not have America's - and perhaps the world's - premier classic car event host the festivities?

A large class of past Indy winners and notable contenders gathered in Pebble Beach on Sunday. Take a look at our gallery and you will see most, if not all, of the entrants - many on rare special loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum:

1911 Marmon "Wasp"
1920 Peugeot 3 Litre
1928 Miller "Front Drive Special"
1934 Ringling & Henning "Wonder Bread Special"
1938 Maserati 8CTF "Boyle Valve Special"
1950 Kurtis "Cummins Diesel Special"
1953 Kurtis Kraft KK 500B "Bardahl Special" B
1961 Cooper T51 "Kimberly Cooper-Climax Special"
1961 Watson "Bowes Seal Fast Special"
1965 Lotus 38 "Powered by Ford"
1972 McLaren "Sunoco Special"

Some incredible cars with the strongest of pedigrees are in there, and the best part of this class was seeing how much things have changed while some things seem to stay the same despite the era. Take a look at the gallery below and see the evolution of Indy race cars over a century.

Gallery: Indianapolis 500 100th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: A century of Indianapolis 500 entrants féted at Pebble originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndyCar crowns its first post-reconciliation champion (Spoiler Alert)

Frank Filipponio — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:21:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Firestone Indy 300 IndyCar Series finale from Homestead-Miami Speedway

Although he wanted it so bad it hurt, Ryan Briscoe just couldn't buy himself a yellow flag in the Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Team Penske driver was leading the season points battle with just seven laps remaining in this, the final race of the season at Homestead, and might have won the race and the championship had this been any other race. You see, fuel consumption became an issue and Briscoe had to pit with just seven laps between himself and the trophy for a splash and go. The reason? This was the first IndyCar race in history without a single yellow flag.

It's not as if these guys want to see crashes during the race, but up until today, they could always count on at least one incident to slow things down for a stretch, conserving fuel in the process. Not this time. As Briscoe pitted, Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti took the lead and never looked back. Just as in 2007, when it was Scott Dixon who had to pit and thereby relinquish the crown to Dario, Briscoe saw his hopes fade as even Dixon passed him in the race and in the final points tally. Had he been able to hold onto his lead, Briscoe would have been the sixth different IRL/IndyCar champ in the past six years.

As disappointing as it was for Briscoe, the year ended up being a good one for Franchitti, who did short stint in NASCAR before returning to IndyCar's open wheelers. Yesterday's title is Franchitti's second and the third for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. In an odd bit of meaninglessly trivial statistics, it was the 10th series win for Dario, on the 10th day of the 10th month in the number 10 car. And Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy, while Kennedy's was Lincoln. The top three in the final points tally were Franchitti (616), Dixon (605), and Briscoe (604). Due to the lack of yellows, yesterday's race at Homestead went down as the second fastest in IndyCar Series history, with an average speed of 201.420 mph.

[Photo credit: Shawn Payne/IndyCar]

Continue reading IndyCar crowns its first post-reconciliation champion (Spoiler Alert)

IndyCar crowns its first post-reconciliation champion (Spoiler Alert) originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Al Unser Jr., extortion victim?

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Government/Legal, Celebrities

According to a grand jury indictment, a New Mexico prostitution ring mastermind was trying to extort two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. for $750,000 over a videotape. Bobby McMullin, the ringleader, allegedly had an unflattering video of Unser that he promised to release to the public if Little Al didn't pay him. The racer signed a letter agreeing to pay an unspecified amount for the tape, and indeed some payments were made, but authorities don't know how much money changed hands.

Authorities also don't know - or haven't said - what is on the tape. The former racer said he made the payments because of a "morals clause" in one of his endorsement contracts that could have been at odds with whatever was allegedly on the tape. The attempted extortion happened during the 2004 season while he was with Patrick Racing, his last season behind the wheel.

Although it's unclear why Unser is connected with the defendant, Abuquerque prosecutor Mark Drebing has gone on record that it appears Little Al hasn't done anything wrong, and that Unser is listed as a victim in the indictment.

[Source: Indianapolis Star]

Al Unser Jr., extortion victim? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long Beach Grand Prix: Final Champ Car race gallery

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Click above for huge high-res gallery of Champ Car action from Long Beach

We already told you about the final Champ Car race, how it marks the end of the series while signaling the start of a new era in American open-wheel racing. Although we think that we might have been among only a handful of fans to have noticed the series' demise (with most eyes glued to the Danica Patrick champagne bath over in Japan), we understand that with the reunification about to commence there should be happier times ahead for open top racing aficionados in the States. We didn't want it to pass, however, without a whole bunch of photos to commemorate the occasion. Besides this year's contenders the gallery includes some atmosphere shots of the spectacle surrounding Long Beach: The Queen Mary, C-17 and FA/18 flyovers, historic CART cars and plain old scenery shots. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed taking them.

All photos Copyright (C)2008 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Gallery: '08 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Long Beach Grand Prix: Final Champ Car race gallery originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long Beach Grand Prix: People Gallery

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

Click above for high-res gallery from this weekend's LBGP

American open-wheel racing just had a pretty big weekend, in case you missed it. While one era was beginning in Japan, another was ending at America's Monte Carlo. With reunification finally about to commence, the last Champ Car (nee CART) race ever was held at the street course in downtown Long Beach. While we've already told you the outcome, we also wanted to share some more photos. Although the race should be back on the schedule for '09, this weekend's race was truly the end of an era.

After 25 years of Champ Cars and their predecessors, next year's race will bring us a series that has a female driver who is an honest-to-goodness winner. And not only is she a winner (and a part-time swimsuit model), but she is pretty hardy too. After winning the race at Motegi, she and unfortunate runner-up Helio "Dancing with the Stars" Castroneves hopped on a plane and made it back to LAX and the LBGP by the time things wrapped up on Sunday afternoon.

While we didn't get any pics of Danica or Helio, we did manage to capture a few dozen shots of some of the drivers (mostly ALMS and Champ Car), and a few of the models too. Click below to check out some of the people that made this race weekend a memorable one.

All photos Copyright (C)2008 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Gallery: Long Beach Grand Prix: People Gallery

Long Beach Grand Prix: People Gallery originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Open Arms in Open Wheels: reunited IndyCar season kicks off at Homestead

Noah Joseph — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Click above for more high-res pics from the Gainsco 300

If you've got the Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway TiVo'd and are waiting to watch it, read no further. Chances are that you haven't or aren't going to, though. Because while a spirit of camaraderie prevailed at Homestead, there wasn't a large live or television audience to witness it. Bear in mind, of course, that we're talking about American oval-track racing, whose stock-car counterpart ranks as the largest spectator sport in the country... only by those standards does a headcount of some 20,000 people in the stands count as small. By any other measure, though, the inaugural race of the reunited open-wheel series was a big success, its 26-car field ranking as the largest starting grid of any race (other than the Indy 500) either of the erstwhile separated series has had since 2003.

Gallery: Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

[Source: AutoWeek]

Continue reading Open Arms in Open Wheels: reunited IndyCar season kicks off at Homestead

Open Arms in Open Wheels: reunited IndyCar season kicks off at Homestead originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champ Car files for bankruptcy

Merritt Johnson — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Earnings/Financials

The fallout from the Indy Car/Champ Car merger has begun to rear its ugly head. First, superpower team Forsythe Racing announced its departure from the scene. and now Champ Car has officially filed for bankruptcy. The disruption of the scheduled 2008 Champ Car season leaves contracts broken and bills to pay, but no event revenue to balance the budget. Bankruptcy court papers reveal that the dying series has a multitude of creditors knocking on its door. One of these is engine supplier Cosworth, which is seeking payment of $1.825 million. The compounded liabilities must add up to quite a hefty sum if the series is still in the negative even after the IRL's purchase of Champ Car's major assets. As part of the deal, Tony George is shoveling out $6 million for mobile support facilities along with a total of $4 million for the promotion and production of the 2008 Long Beach Grand Prix. Once the filing passes through court, the final edition of the contract between Indy Car and Champ Car can be inked.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Champ Car files for bankruptcy originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: IRL and Champ Car unification agreement signed

John Neff — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

We had just reported that an agreement to reunite the estranged U.S. open wheel racing series of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series was all but inked, and now it is officially official. The two sides have issues a press release revealing the IRL founder and CEO Tony George, who occasioned the split in the first place, and the owners of Champ Car have officially signed a deal to bring the two series together again. We reported already on all of the logistical hurdles that had to be jumped, not the least of which is combining the season schedules of both series. It appears that all of the wrinkles have been ironed out, and both sides will be presenting the nitty gritty details in a press conference that's just listed as "forthcoming".

Will the joined series be a force once again in motorsports? F1 is considered the pinnacle of racing on a global scale, and NASCAR is the WWE of car racing with legions of fans, while even the Le Mans Series, particularly the ALMS, has grown to become an extremely well respected series. As such, we're both curious and cautious when it comes to making predictions about open-wheel racing in the U.S., but are glad these once warring factions have buried the proverbial hatchet and will get back to racing. Thanks to everyone who sent us this tip!

[Source: IndyCar.com]

BREAKING: IRL and Champ Car unification agreement signed originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champ Car and IRL working hard on truce for 2008 season

John Neff — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:35:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, the two de facto open wheel racing series in North America since CART split after the 1995 season, are reportedly close to a truce that could reunite the two series as soon as the 2008 season. AutoWeek is reporting that Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and league chairman of the IRL, along with two of his associates, flew to Motegi, Japan recently to meet with track officials about changing the date of the Motegi race on April 19th. The reason is because the IRL race conflicts with the Long Beach Grand Prix, a mainstay on the Champ Car schedule. In order to consolidate the season schedules of both series, officials from both sides are apparently working hard to resolve conflicts like this. The fact that Tony George himself would fly to Japan indicates to AutoWeek that the man responsible for the split in the first place is serious about mending what he helped rend apart. And date conflicts between races are but one obstacle among many in bringing the two series back together, though they appear to be the biggest thing in the way of a resolution that could see a unified open-wheel racing series back on track in 2008.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Champ Car and IRL working hard on truce for 2008 season originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Newman-Haas defecting from Champ Cars to IRL

Noah Joseph — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:41:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Newman-Haas' Sebastien Bourdais at the 89th Indy 500

At several points in the last thirteen years since American open-wheel racing split, the two parties have tried to come to an agreement that would allow them to reunite, but none have yielded fruit. Carl Haas is tired of waiting, and has announced that deal or no deal, he's taking his team to the IndyCar Series by 2009.

Haas is co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, the most dominant team in Champ Cars. With Sebastien Bourdais driving, the team took the title the past four years running, for a total of eight championships - second only to Penske Racing, which also defected to the IRL in 2005. The next most successful team, Chip Ganassi Racing, moved to IndyCars in 2002.

The news is a further blow to the dying Champ Cars series, which was recently snubbed by rising star Rafa Matos who refused a $2 million grant from Champ Cars in favor of IndyCars. The major obstacle keeping the two series from rejoining has reportedly been Indy boss Tony George's insistence on controlling the combined series, but with the Champ Car World Series barely limping towards the finish line, George is rumored to have made another offer to Champ Car executives to "merge". Once Haas is gone, there may be nothing left for George to take over.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty]

Newman-Haas defecting from Champ Cars to IRL originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champ Car Atlantic champ turns down $2 million

Noah Joseph — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Earnings/Financials

Every year the driver who wins the Atlantic Series gets a $2 million grant earmarked towards moving up to the Champ Car World Series. Critics say it's not enough to secure a ride in the competitive racing class, but who's going to turn down a multi-million-dollar purse? Raphael Matos, that's who. The cash-strapped Brazilian driver needs the green to continue racing, but rather than take the money and run, as Steve Miller would advise, Matos is instead moving over next season to the Indy Pro Series, Atlantic's equivalent in the competing IRL framework. Andretti Green Racing is giving him a ride as a stepping-stone to the full-fat IndyCar Series for 2009. Matos may continue to drive for Team Brazil in A1GP, as well.

While the snubbed officials at Champ Car try to figure out what to do with Matos' prize money - it could go to runner-up Franck Perera - they've also got to find a replacement for Executive VP and race director Tony Cotman who is leaving his job. Cotman's departure follows that of Beaux Barfield (seriously, that's his name) who was replaced by Johnny Unser as director of the Atlantic series. That on top of four-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais' departure to race in Formula One means Champ Car racing could be running on its last set of tires before the wheels come off altogether.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Champ Car Atlantic champ turns down $2 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gallery: Long Beach GP weekend round-up

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:04:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

We present you with another big gallery of photos from the weekend's activities in Long Beach. Besides the Champ Cars, ALMS, and Toyota Pro/Celebrity races we've already covered, the Long Beach GP hosted Formula D, Champ Car Atlantics, and Speed World Challenge GT racing. We were there on Friday during practice and captured some images to share with all of you. Next year we hope to get an earlier start to secure some credentials so we can get access to pit lane and head-on shots along the fence line. But for now we have these tower shots and some random pics from around the grounds.

Right on the water, with the Queen Mary and various cruise and cargo ships in the distance, there is a definite charm to this temporary street course that has hosted Formula 1, CART, Trans-Am, Can-Am, Rolex and ALMS over its 33-year history. Close to Hollywood, this is the racing event most likely to attract celebrities on the Champ Car schedule. Between practice sessions and races, fans had a lot of other things to keep them occupied. Minardi has a special two-seat formula car that allows passengers to experience 180-mph thrills, for just $10,000 a go. There are also rides and vendor booths everywhere, making the place feel like a community carnival as much as a racetrack.

Click one of the images below to go to our gallery. We also had one of our readers pass along a link to his own gallery of incredible shots from Saturday. Make sure you check them out. Thanks for sharing them, Mark!

Gallery: 2007 Long Beach GP weekend

Gallery: Long Beach GP weekend round-up originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spoiler Alert: 2007 Champ Car Long Beach Grand Prix

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:24:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Click image for large gallery of live shots from Friday's practice

The festivities from Long Beach are winding down as the Champ Cars just finished their second race of the season. The Long Beach Grand Prix has been a fixture on the open-wheel schedule for more than 20 years and even if the series has lost some of its drawing power, the racing was as good as ever. Two-time defending champion Sebastien Bourdais looked to make it a threepeat on this oceanside street course that has been labeled America's Monaco. Close enough to Hollywood to bring out the stars, the Long Beach weekend even hosts its own celebrity race, which we covered Sunday morning. One of the celebs on hand for that race served as honorary starter for the GP. And Star Wars creator George Lucas did a better job on the stand than he did in the Scion on Saturday. ALMS also made an appearance this weekend in Long Beach for the first time ever, and based on the crowd, we'd guess it will be back. But Sunday was all about Champ Car.

After a rough start to the season in Las Vegas, three-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais was looking to get back on track, so to speak, and return to his winning ways. With two previous wins here, it came as no surprise to find him on pole for Sunday's main event. Looking to have a successful follow-up to his Vegas win, Team Australia's Will Power (almost as good a name as Scott Speed for a racer) bested teammate Simon Pagenaud for second on the grid. Behind Pagenaud were Alex Tagliani (RSPORTS), Bourdais teammate G. Rahal (Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing), Former F1 pilot Robert Doornbos (Minardi Team USA), Justin Wilson (RSPORTS), former champion Bruno Junqueira (Dale Coyne Racing), Tristan Gommendy (PKV Racing), and veteran Mario Dominguez (Forsythe Championship Racing). One late substitution found former series regular Oriol Servia filling in for the injured Paul Tracy in the other Forsythe car. Servia qualified 14th. Race day was typically spectacular with a big crowd, endless blue skies, and lots of excitement. Click through to see the race results.

[Source: Champ Car World Series]

Gallery: 2007 Champ Car Long Beach Grand Prix

Continue reading Spoiler Alert: 2007 Champ Car Long Beach Grand Prix

Spoiler Alert: 2007 Champ Car Long Beach Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger to drive NASCAR for Toyota

Scott Davis — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:04:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Toyota

Can you say, "Show me the money?" Champ Car's Rookie-of-the year in 2005 and currently second in championship points with only one race remaining, A.J. Allmendinger (shown at right with commemorative glass guitar after winning Cleveland's Champ Car race back in June) has signed a multi-year deal to drive the #87 Toyota Camry for Red Bull Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2007.

Why are open wheel superstars suddenly jumping ship into NASCAR, besides the dollar and cents? Could it be built up road rage from the sometimes-too-timid open wheel arena?

Juan-Pablo Montoya traded cars for a day at Indy with Jeff Gordon to make some good TV and ended up signing a contract with Chip Ganassi to run first an ARCA car, then a Busch car and ultimately for 2007, a full-time Nextel Cup car. Jaques Villeneuve has also reportedly signed up wish ROUSH to run a car in the Busche leagues after losing his F1 ride with BMW-Sauber. Now, A.J. Allmendinger will make the jump to Nextel Cup after running a couple of NASCAR Craftsman Series truck races earlier this season. Of course, Allmendinger is a 23-year-old American-born racer, so the jump to NASCAR isn't quite as large a leap perhaps than the one Colombian-born Montoya is taking.

These guys are sure in a hurry, too. Bill Elliott has stepped aside to let Allmendinger run the Red Bull Nextel Cup entry in the next two races at Texas and Atlanta, two of the series' fastest tracks.

Thanks to Josh for the tip!

[Source: NASCAR.com]

Related posts:

Allmendinger to drive NASCAR for Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Bold Moves - Episode 16: The Warriors (and one wicked crash)

John Neff — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 18:18:00 EST

Filed under: Videos, Ford

The Ford Bold Moves web-based documentary series has released its 16th episode, which focuses on Ford's Warriors in Pink program that supports the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We're glad the series switched off the topic of product, as we were becoming increasingly frustrated with its back-against-the-wall, underdog-pulls-it-out attitude towards Ford's current situation. This episode, however, highlights Ford's giving nature, and give it has. The company is about to reach $100 million in total contributions made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We meet the Warriors in Pink in this episode, who are foot soldiers funded by Ford and charged with the mission of eradicating breast cancer. We also spend the day at the track with Champ Car driver Katherine Legge during her recent race at Road America where she slid behind the wheel of a special car wearing Warriors in Pink livery, i.e. a baby pink paint job. Unfortunately Katherine scratched up that pretty paint job pretty good when she lost control of the car, hit the wall and virtually disintegrated the ride. The crash looked worse than it was and the safety measures did their job, as Katherine was fine and returned to racing five days later.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

Ford Bold Moves - Episode 16: The Warriors (and one wicked crash) originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Oct 2006 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Champ Car's Katherine Legge walks away from 160 mph crash

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

With less than 5 laps left in Sunday's Grand Prix of Road America, Champ Car driver Katherine Legge lost part of her rear wing heading into a high-speed turn, crashing into the wall and then flying into the air. Although the car disintegrated around her, the 25-year-old rookie walked away from the crash with only bruises on her knees to show for it. She even walked out of the medical trailer to smile and wave to the fans and provided this interview to let everybody know she'll be just fine.

In the video she says that she was relieved when she saw the engine break away from the rest of the car during the accident because she knew any potential fire would follow the motor and not her. This shows that she remembers most of the accident, which is even more incredible. She does admit at one point, "I think I had my eyes closed for most of it." Legge, who was driving a pink race car to support breast cancer awareness, seemed remarkably unshaken after the crash, apparently still planning on attending the Champ Car Atlantic Series championship banquet in nearby Kohler on Monday night. "Just a bit of bruising, which won't look good in my dress," Legge joked.

Series fans might remember that Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta sustained serious head injuries while testing at Road America last month. His car collided with a deer that had somehow managed to leap an 8-foot fence and had run onto the track. The safety team was taking extra care because of that incident. Da Matta, by the way, was able to fly back home to Miami on Friday.

[Source: Speed, Sydney Morning Herald]

VIDEO: Champ Car's Katherine Legge walks away from 160 mph crash originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champ Car: Dario Franchitti joins series for final three races

Stuart Waterman — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 07:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Champ Car veteran and current IndyCar Series competitor Dario Franchitti looks set to be RuSport's replacement for the injured Cristiano da Matta for the final three Champ Car races of the 2006 season.

In his most recent road course outing at Infineon Raceway (pictured), Franchitti finished a close second to Marco Andretti, and although winless this season the Scot currently lies 8th in the IndyCar championship standings. Franchitti's current contract with Andretti Green Racing expires with the IRL's season-ending race next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, and so far he hasn't signed with anyone for next season, although he has admitted to considering a return to Champ Car, among other possibilities.

If Franchitti inks a deal with RuSport, we should see him alongside Justin Wilson at Elkhart Lake, Surfer's Paradise and Mexico City.

[Source: SPEED Channel]

Champ Car: Dario Franchitti joins series for final three races originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Sep 2006 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cristiano da Matta seriously injured after colliding with deer

Alex Nunez — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 12:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta was seriously injured yesterday when he collided with a deer that had wandered onto the track during a practice session at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. The unconscious da Matta suffered head injuries and was medevaced to Theda Clark Medical Center.

A CT scan showed that he had a subdural hematoma, and emergency surgery was performed to remove it. According to his RuSPORT team, da Matta is currently recovering in the intensive care unit, where he'll be monitored 24/7.

Deer strikes are dangerous enough in regular passenger vehicles, so we shudder to think how much worse it must be in a an open-wheel racer traveling at very high speeds. According to Motorsport.com, the deer impacted on the right side of da Matta's car and landed near the cockpit.

[Source: RuSPORT, Motorsport.com]

Cristiano da Matta seriously injured after colliding with deer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Aug 2006 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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