Talladega Trivia Quiz

The races at Talladega, just as at Daytona, have become highly anticipated events. Here's a little quiz concerning the track's past history and what you think may happen this Sunday. ______________________________________________ The Really Big “Big One”! The 1973 Winston 500 at Talladega

______________________________________________ 1. Okay… What percentage of the starting field got taken out by that huge wreck on the 11th lap? A. 15% B. 21% C. 32% D. 27% ______________________________________________ 2. Following along, what percentage of the starting field actually finished that race? --A. 46% B. 52% C. 33% D. 28% ______________________________________________ 3. Since 1969 there have been 83 Cup races at Talladega. Which of the following manufacturers are correctly matched up to their number of wins at Dega? ______________________________________________1. Buick-- 2 - 2. Chevrolet-- 3 - 3. Dodge-- 36 - 4. Ford-- 3 - 5. Mercury-- 7 --6. Oldsmobile-- 6 - 7. Plymouth-- 18 - 8. Pontiac-- 6 - 9. Toyota-- 2 -______________________________________________ 4. How many races were run at Talladega before a Chevrolet was driven to victory?-- A. 11 B. 18 C. 3 D. 15 ______________________________________________ 5. Following along, who drove the first Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Talladega? ------A. Darrell Waltrip B. Dale Earnhardt C. Donnie Allison D. Cale Yarborough ______________________________________________ 6. Do you know what Talladega means in the Choctaw Indian language? ______________________________________________ Concerning the Aaron’s 499 race this Sunday… ______________________________________________ 7. How many lead changes will there be at the Aaron’s 499? _____________________________________________ Last year’s Aaron’s 499 set a new record with 88 lead changes but it was set due to extra laps on three tries at the green-white-checker finish. Last year’s Amp Energy Drink 500 in October had 87 lead changes in the regulation number of laps. _____________________________________________ 8. How many cautions will there be? _____________________________________________ Here are the last 4 races and the number of cautions at Talladega – _____________________________________________ 2010 AMP 500 – 7 Cautions --- 2010 Aaron’s 499 – 8 Cautions --- 2009 AMP 500 – 6 Cautions and 1 Red Flag --- 2009 Aaron’s 499 – 9 Cautions _____________________________________________ 9. Here are the makes of the last 10 Cup race winners at Talladega – -Aaron’s 499-----------UAW Ford 500--------Amp Energy 500 _____________________________________________ 2006 ------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ------------------------------2007-------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ----------------------------2008-------Toyota---------------------------------------------Toyota ---2009------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Ford ----2010------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Chevrolet- _____________________________________________ Will Chevrolet’s dominance continue this Sunday? ____________________________________________ 10. Will there be any en mass green flag pit stops this Sunday? _____________________________________________ 11. These are the last 10 race winners at Talladega – Alphabetically--------------------- Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers (Gordon won 2 times in the last 10 races). _____________________________________________ If you look at that list, there are two pairs of teammates. Knowing the importance of having a good draft partner at Talladega, do you think the Bowyer/Harvick or Gordon/Johnson combination will result in a winner? _____________________________________________ And finally, 12. Will Sunday’s race have a new face in Victory Lane like the Daytona 500 did? _____________________________________________ Knowing the NASCAR knowledge capabilities of all of you Lug Nuts... The answers will be posted only if necessary. Enjoy!

Off The Wall Racing News

There are two kinds of Indy car drivers: those who have hit the wall

and those who will hit the wall." -- Eddie Cheever.

Formula One

Controversy ought to be Formula One’s middle name. We’re one race into the 2011 season and already several contentious scenarios have unfolded…

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Red Bull – Coming out of Red Bull’s strong showing in Melbourne Australia, with last season’s champion Sebastian Vettel coming in first and Australia’s own Mark Webber placing fifth in Red Bull’s 2011 edition cars, there are a lot of questions concerning a supposedly illegal front wing/nose cone assembly. Last season the same accusations were made and F1A responded by putting the front wing through extensive testing but nothing came of it. These more stringent tests haven’t put a damper on the suspicions. The flex works to create more downforce on the front tires at high speed. It’s claimed that this in turn allows the Red Bull cars to make quicker turns resulting in seconds being cut off each circuit around the track. Here’s video evidence of the flexing nose wing:

Pay close attention to the nose camera position at top speed and after braking for the first corner. I’m not sure about this and maybe our resident engineer can shed a little light on the subject, but I doubt F1’s stringent rules include the type of materials used to manufacture the various body parts on these cars. It makes me wonder if the composite materials used by Red Bull’s engineers have some hidden qualities the other teams’ haven’t figured out.

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Sauber – Both of Sauber’s cars were disqualified for technical infringements after the post Australian Grand Prix inspections. The cars were in breach of technical rules 3.10.1 and 3.10.2 that deal with the rear wing. The disqualification took away Sergio Perez’ and Kamui Kibayashi’s seventh and eighth place finishes. The infringements concern the measured distances across the wings and the placement of the wing.

James Key, Sauber’s technical director stated, “This is a very surprising and disappointing result. It appears that there is a question over the top surface of the uppermost rear wing element, this area is not the working surface of the component and therefore relatively unimportant to its function. "Certainly this has not led to any performance advantage. We are checking the design of the parts now to better understand the situation and we intend to appeal the decision made by the stewards." _______________________________________________

By the way, the Lotus naming rights controversy continues to boil between Team Lotus and Lotus Renault with a court hearing now scheduled for after the 2011 racing season.

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F1 Makes Several Rules Changes…

The KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) has once again been allowed in 2011. First allowed in 2009, the KERS system was discarded with the thought that it actually slowed the cars down. Red Bull will run their version in Malaysia this Sunday.

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The 107% Rule (drivers must be within this much of the pole time to qualify) has also been resurrected in 2011 due to three different teams being deemed uncompetitive in 2010.

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2011 will also see the approved use of moveable rear wings that the driver can use at any time during practice and qualifying but only under certain conditions during the actual racing. Then the wing can only be moved when a driver is one second behind another car. In another controversial move, the ban on team orders has been lifted.

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F1A removed the ban on team driving saying the ban was near impossible to enforce as it stood. So 2011 will once again see team rather than individual racing… ____________________________________________________ 2011 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX

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IndyCar

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Guess who’s going to drive the pace car at the 100th anniversary of auto racing at Indianapolis… None other than “The Donald”… No not the duck, the Trump!

“It’s a great honor to be selected as the Pace Car driver for such an American institution as the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500,” Trump said. “The Indianapolis 500 has been the gold standard of motorsports for a century, and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Camaro and bring the famous field of 33 drivers to the green flag.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Donald Trump as the driver of the Pace Car for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. “He is an iconic American success story, a business leader without peer who is a fitting choice to bring the field for ‘The Most Important Race in History’ to the green flag.”

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In a sidelight, Chevrolet wants everyone to know the new Camaro SS convertible pace car can handle the duty unmodified from the factory…

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So we’ve got an American built muscle car that flies in the face of the liberal green crew and it will be driven by a leader of American business, institutions under extreme pressure from the left. In addition, Donald Trump has been reported just this week to be running for the Republican nomination for President and is leading the New Hampshire polls…

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St. Pete Revisited…

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has expressed elation at the television ratings the Honda Grand Prix received and the large crowd that attended the event. The fact that the event was shown on network television (ABC) meant a 100% increase in viewership over last season’s final race for the IndyCar title in Homestead Florida that was shown on cable TV (1.4 rating at St. Pete verses a .7 rating). "I'm very encouraged by the ratings for several reasons. First of all, it was a standalone. It wasn't in the late time slot, during which there typically is more household viewership. Second, it's our highest-rated non-Indianapolis show since 2007, but even that show [Mid-Ohio] had a great lead-in with the British Open...," shared Bernard.

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In organized racing for nearly 10 years now, Simona de Silvestro apparently is the real deal and IndyCar is more than happy to have her. All eyes will be on the young driver after her fourth place finish in St. Petersburg.

Will Gene’s proclamation that Ms. de Silvestro is the best woman driver in IndyCar continue to be backed up?

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Driver News…

Bryan Herta Autosport, in a move announced just before the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, signed Dan Wheldon to drive the team’s 2011 Indianapolis 500 entry. Co-owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey are thrilled to have a driver of Dan’s caliber behind the wheel of their car…

Canadian James Hinchcliffe will make his IndyCar debut Saturday in Alabama driving for Newman/Haas Racing in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama next weekend. Newman/Hass will expand to two entries to accommodate young Mr. Hinchcliffe.

A.J. Foyt Racing announced the signing of Brazilian Bruno Junqueira to drive in the Indy 500 this year.

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The 100th Year of racing at Indianapolis…

The celebration is ramping up for the May 29th Indianapolis 500. I was surprised to run across this…

Painted by Thomas Kincaid, known as “The Painter of Light”, I was surprised since I’ve never seen him paint a scene such as that before…

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Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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Enjoy the racing this weekend!

Junior Got Clocked!

There’s an old axiom that says “The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree…” and it’s used to describe how closely a person’s offspring resembles and/or acts like their parent. Evidently this isn’t necessarily true in NASCAR. The two greatest drivers in the sport were followed by sons who, for whatever reason, have not risen to the same heights. Yes, there are other examples of young drivers with well-known names who have performed very well at the top level of the sport (Dale Jarrett and Davey Allison immediately come to mind), but they are few and far between… This shortfall was excruciatingly evident in yesterday’s finale at Martinsville's Goody's 500. Just for a few moments in time (the final two laps), imagine Dale Earnhardt Sr. was behind the wheel of the 88 Chevrolet instead of Dale Jr. Given everything else being equal, who do you think would have crossed the finish line first? _______________________________________________________ But what we got was Kevin Harvick explaining on the post-race interview how sorry he was to be the bad guy for winning the race and then expressing thanks to Junior for driving clean. This while Junior was apologizing to Kyle Busch for bumping him and then hanging his head in his own interview wishing he had won the clock! _______________________________________________________ Man! It’s been what, almost 100 Cup races since Dale last visited victory lane? _______________________________________________________ I’m thinkin’ the Martinsville crowd would have literally gone bonkers if Dale had punted Kevin for the win, I know I would’ve been and I’m not what you’d call even a remote Earnhardt fan… My apologies to you Harvick fans, but that one move for the win by the sport’s most popular driver would have been like a tonic to NASCAR. Junior’s victory in a manner so reminiscent of “The Intimidator” would have been splashed all over the sporting news wires each and every day of the next week. The news would have done wonders for a sport that’s been floundering with fans starving for such a thing… A victory like that would have been remembered for years to come. ________________________________________________________ Yeah, I know. Then we would have been inundated by the whining conspiracy theorists.

Animals Are Cool!

The front page of the St. Petersburg Times online today featured the following video on Busch Gardens' newest member...

He's 40 days old here and they're going to have a contest to name the little guy...

Cheetahs are an endangered species in their native African range.

One of the most endangered species in the world, the California Condor, the world's largest flying bird, is slowly making a comeback. A carrion feeder, these majestic birds soar for miles at a time on wingspans up to 10 feet across. I'm not sure if I saw one once when backpacking in the Sierras, but it was sure one big buzzard if not! If they're close enough while soaring, the white feathers on the underside of their wings give them away...

Then there's the story about Abbey the Bed Bug dog!

Finally, I knew a lady (a friend of mine's mother) who each spring would buy a few baby goats (not yet weaned) and turn them loose on her small ranchette just to watch them run, jump and play!

Once they got too old to have around she'd sell them and wait for next spring to do it all over again! Hope all you race fans enjoyed a little different post...

Let's Talk Points...

It's a rainy day, nothin' to do, so let's talk points. Shall we? If I don’t miss the mark (and it’s been known to happen)… Here are the top twelve in the old Sprint Cup Chase format standings as of March 28th. 1 Carl Edwards-187, 2 Ryan Newman-178, 3 Kurt Busch -177, 4 Kyle Busch-176, 5 Jimmie Johnson-173, 6 Tony Stewart-170, 7 Paul Menard-164, 8 Juan Montoya-161, 9 Kevin Harvick-157, 10 Matt Kenseth-157, 11 Kasey Kahne-157, 12 Dale Earnhardt Jr.-156. But under the new format, if the Chase started today, these are the twelve who would make it with one caveat… 1 Carl Edwards-187, 2 Ryan Newman-178, 3 Kurt Busch -177, 4 Kyle Busch-176, 5 Jimmie Johnson-173, 6 Tony Stewart-170, 7 Paul Menard-164, 8 Juan Montoya-161, 9 Kevin Harvick-157, 10 Matt Kenseth-157, 11 (16) Jeff Gordon-130, 12 (44) Trevor Bayne-0. This is based on Gordon and Bayne both being race winners. ______________________________________ Now, since Trevor declared as a points racer in the Nationwide Series, I assume he won’t be allowed in the Chase even though he won the Daytona 500. With that as a given, then these are the Chasers if it started after Fontana… 1 Carl Edwards-187, 2 Ryan Newman-178, 3 Kurt Busch -177, 4 Kyle Busch-176, 5 Jimmie Johnson-173, 6 Tony Stewart-170, 7 Paul Menard-164, 8 Juan Montoya-161, 9 Kevin Harvick-157, 10 Matt Kenseth-157, 11 Kasey Kahne-157, (16) Jeff Gordon-130. Kahne gets in on points and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would lose out due to his teammate (Gordon) having a win at Phoenix… Am I right? _____________________________________________________________ What if… Let’s say the Lug Nuts Trifecta used a points basis similar to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series to determine our winner. (E.G. First place gets 43 points, 42 for second and so on). _____________________________________________________ Here are the Lug Nuts standings after three Trifectas… 1. moseby -124 points based on 1 1st, 1 3rd and 1 4th, 2. Dwindy1 -121 points based on 2 2nds and 1 7th, 3. Hanny -120 points based on 1 1st, 1 3rd and 1 8th, 4. Ra6an -117 points based on 1 2nd, a 6th and a 7th, 5. CR -116 points based on 1 1st, a 4th and an 11th, 6. tez -115 points based on 1 3rd, a 5th and a 9th, 7. jon -114 points based on 2 5ths and an 8th, 8. SB -112 points based on 2 6ths and an 8th, 9. Bev -103 points based on a 9th and 2 10 place finishes, 10. JD and 11. Kristen both missed one Trifecta and would have 77 and 69 points respectively, and then there's: 12. the Stork and 13. F2 who only participated in one Trifecta each with 34 and 32 points respectively. _____________________________________________ I know, I know, ya can’t change horses in the middle of a stream, but it would make the Trifecta a little more interesting… and reward those of us who don't actually win a Trifecta... (Kinda like how Sprint Cup rewards drivers that don't actually win...) :))

Off The Wall Racing News

NASCAR Edition

Fontana!(?)

Along with Pocono, probably the most maligned racing venue in NASCAR is Fontana Speedway. This weekend Southern California’s Inland Empire populace gets a chance at redemption with a new, shortened Auto Club 400 race moved from the second to the fifth racing date of the season.

The relatively new track built in 1997 by a consortium led by Roger Penske and later sold to International Speedway Corporation, features an asphalt 2 mile long “D” oval with uniform 14 degree banking through the turns, 11 degree banking on the frontstretch and only 3 degrees of banking on the long straightaway. The early on races went along glowingly until 2004 when NASCAR pulled Rockingham’s late season race and moved it to the Southern California track. It suddenly became apparent that the Southern California market is a one race town as attendance dropped even though Fontana was hosting a very meaningful race late in the racing season. The laid back Southern California lifestyle had struck yet another professional sport. This coupled with the ill-will NASCAR generated with its core fan base in the Southern United States by pulling this important race date from one of the South’s historic tracks located in North Carolina has worked to denigrate Fontana.
Even though the track’s layout has led to a refreshingly different style of racing in NASCAR with three wide or more side by side competition being commonplace, the fans haven’t returned after the track’s early success. Today it appears the local politicians have taken notice of just how important the NASCAR race date has been to the local economy and they are openly encouraging everyone in the area to get involved or the region might lose as much as $100 million in revenue if NASCAR completely pulls out…
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Kevin Harvick and Fontana

Fontana can be called the home track to a formidable group of NASCAR stars that includes Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. Of this group, JJ has by far had the most success here while Kevin Harvick for some reason just can’t seem to put it together at Fontana. In 17 career Sprint Cup starts on the D oval, Kevin has just 2 top five’s and an average finish of 17th place. The problems have persisted in the Nationwide Series races as well where Kevin, despite 7 top three finishes in 16 starts still hasn’t won a race. Sometimes when athletes know they have family and friends in the stands they simply try too hard and things go haywire…

Is this the year Kevin breaks out of his Fontana funk?
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The NASCAR Points Racing Change Effect

Can you tell me off the top of your head who the points leader is right now in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series? How about Jason Leffler! In a move that makes a lot of sense, NASCAR has shined the media attention light on a group of young up and comers (with the exceptions of Kenny Wallace and Elliot Sadler) racing in the Nationwide Series. Here are the current top 10 in the Nationwide standings:
1. Jason Leffler – 142 Points, 2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 140, 3. Justine Allgaier – 124, 4. Reed Sorenson – 121, 5. Aric Almirola – 119, 6. Trevor Bayne – 112, 7. Kenny Wallace – 111, 8. Elliot Sadler – 110, 9. Danica Patrick – 109 and 10. Brian Scott – 107…

Here’s another example of a home track not yielding success. Long Beach native Jason Leffler hasn’t had much luck at Fontana. Driving for Turner Motorsports, Jason’s unbridled optimism remains intact as expressed in a San Bernardino Sun article by staff writer Louis Brewster:

"This is a really fun race track. It's wide open pretty much all the way around and has multiple grooves, so there is a lot of two- and three-wide racing," said the driver of the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet. "You're always searching for that groove where your car is the fastest."

Leffler will debut a new chassis for the race, and the powerplant is supplied by Hendrick Engines.

"I feel we have the right equipment to make a run for the championship," said Leffler, who's benefitted from NASCAR's new rule the says drivers must choose a series in which to compete for the driving title.
"It's great to race with the Cup guys - certainly we can learn from them - but it's good that NASCAR has decided to strengthen the Nationwide identity."
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The He Said-She Said Rick Russell-Jennifer Jo Cobb Deal Devolves

The owner of 2nd Chance Motorsports (interesting name considering the
circumstances), Rick Russell, has reportedly filed charges accusing Cobb and her crew chief Steve Kuykendall of larceny (stealing/theft). This is a serious matter if true but Ms. Cobb explained it as follows:
"I'm not sure how you steal something from someone when you move it from their property A to their property B," Cobb said, "It's just him trying to stir up more trouble. I'm not concerned. He's just trying to rattle us.
"Picture a divorce,” Cobb added. “You move out of the house and accidentally take the ex-wife's favorite hair brush you both use. That's what this is like."

We all know what happened just prior to last weekend’s Bristol Nationwide race and now this…

As of yesterday, Sgt. S.D. Elliott of the Mooresville North Carolina police department commented that Russell accused both Cobb and Kuykendall adding he’s talked to all parties in the case, and that no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

And the beat goes on… And watch as Jennifer Jo shows up at Fontana driving for Rick Ware Racing.
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Bobby Labonte

Let’s all pay close attention this weekend to former Cup champion Bobby Labonte as his comeback continues. Back driving full-time after a two year hiatus of poorly funded driving, Labonte has been very competitive so far in 2011. Marcos Ambrose’s old number 47 Toyota ride with JTG-Daugherty has been a Godsend for Labonte who has responded, not only thankful to the car’s owner for putting him in a well-funded racing effort but also for the team atmosphere surrounding JTG-Daugherty working with Michael Waltrip Racing’s drivers (Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann) and shop personnel.

Here’s hoping Bobby remains in the heat of things throughout the season!
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Honoring Ronald Reagan


Watch for Richard Childress Racing’s number 33 car driven by Clint Bowyer this weekend. It will feature a new paint job honoring who I consider to be the greatest President so far in my lifetime, Ronald Reagan. This will be part of the year-long Ronald Reagan Centennial celebrating what would have been Reagan’s 100th birthday. Oh how I wish another man of integrity would emerge on the scene to run for the Presidency next year…
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Finally, here’s a look at the forecasted weather this weekend –

The Fontana weather forecast:

Today: Showers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Tonight: Areas of fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest.

Saturday Night: Rain likely, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. South wind around 5 mph.

It looks like practice and qualifying will be rained out today… And green tracks may be in the offing for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races but hopefully the races won’t be hindered by rain beyond that.
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For you open wheelers… Melbourne Australia is forecast to have a chance of rain right up through Saturday night and then have a bright, blustery (winds from 7 to 20 mph) sunshiny day while St. Petersburg Florida will be partly cloudy with daytime highs in the low 80’s all weekend…
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Here we go!

Off The Wall Racing News

Your 2011 Open Wheel Primer...

Indy Car

IndyCar: Interest shown in $5M gambit

Remember the $5,000,000 IndyCar is prepared to hand to any non-IndyCar driver who might win their season finale race in Las Vegas? Well, according to IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, the offer has spawned a lot of inquiries from the other circuits' drivers. Without divulging any names, Bernard stated, "Some of the names are fantastic. I think people will be surprised on who wants to drive it."

Included in the overtures were drivers from NASCAR, Formula 1, Supercross and Rally.

"The bottom line is us trying to gain credibility, to say that our drivers are the best drivers in the world," Bernard said. "They're the fastest, most versatile drivers in the world. That's really what this is all about, is putting that out there to say, 'If you don't believe it, come take a look.' "

Last year’s IndyCar finale from Homestead was broadcast on Versus while this year’s Las Vegas finale will be on ABC with Bernard pointing out, "Our whole key to this is last year we did a .3 rating on our championship race. In my opinion, that's the best-kept secret in motorsports. If we can't do a 1.5 or 2 rating on network television, I would consider it a failure."

"Our drivers have not been able to create the credibility they need," he said. "It's not because they don't have the talent; it's because there's been no emotional attachment to our fan base. What we have to do is bring that back."
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IndyCar 2010 Final Point Standings – Top 10 –


1 Dario Franchitti - 602
2 Will Power - 597
3 Scott Dixon - 547
4 Helio Castroneves - 531
5 Ryan Briscoe - 482
6 Tony Kanaan - 453
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay - 445
8 Marco Andretti - 392
9 Dan Wheldon - 388
10 Danica Patrick – 367

To the victor go the spoils... Dario and wife Ashley Judd.
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Here’s a list of the 2011 IndyCar Teams and Drivers

Chip Ganassi Racing – Car #9 – Scott Dixon – Sponsored by Target, #10 – Dario Franchitti – Target, #38 – Graham Rahal - Service Central and #83 Charlie Kimball (R) – Novo Nordisk
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Team Penske - #3 – Helio Castroneves – Shell/AAA, #6 – Ryan Briscoe – IZOD/PPG and #12 – Will Power – Verizon Wireless
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Andretti Autosport - #7 – Danica Patrick – GoDaddy.com, #26 – Marco Andretti – Venom Energy Drink, #27 – Mike Conway – GoDaddy.com, #28 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – DHL/Sun Drop and #43 – John Andretti – Window World
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Panther Racing - #4 – J.R. Hildebrand (R) – U.S. National Guard
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Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - #22 – Justin Wilson – Z-Line Designs/Dad’s Root Beer, #23 – Paul Tracy – Wix Filters and #24 – Ana Beatriz (R) – Petroleo Ipiranga/Lubrizol
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A.J. Foyt Enterprises - #14 – Vitor Meira – ABC Supply Company and #41 TBA – ABC Supply Company
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Sam Schmidt Motorsports - #77 – Alex Tagliani – Bowers & Wilkins, #88 – Jay Howard – Service Central, #99 – Townsend Bell – Herbalife and TBA – Wade Cunningham (R) – Creatherm
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HVM Racing - #78 – Simona de Silvestro – Entergy
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KV Racing Technology – Lotus - #5 – Takuma Sato – Lotus Cars/Panasonic, #8 – E.J. Viso – Lotus Cars/PDVSA and #82 – Tony Kanaan – Lotus Cars/ GEICO/Cerveja Itaipava
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Dale Coyne Racing - #18 – TBA – TBA and #36 – TBA – Boy Scouts of America
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Newman/Hass Racing - #2 – Oriol Servia – TBA and #6 – TBA – TBA
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Conquest Racing - #34 - Sebastian Saavedra (R) – TBA and #36 – TBA – TBA
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AFS Racing - #17 – Raphael Matos – Automatic Fire Sprinklers
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Sarah Fisher Racing - #67 – Ed Carpenter – Dollar General
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Team REDLINE Xtreme – #TBA – TBA – REDLINE Xtreme Energy Drink
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Bryan Herta Autosport - #TBA – TBA – TAB
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So we’ve got 36 potential cars with 29 signed drivers and 30 cars with sponsors…
Where’s IndyCar’s 2003 Rookie of the Year and 2005 Indianapolis 500 Champion Dan Wheldon? He was replaced at Panther Racing by rookie J.R. Hildebrand!
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The 2011 IndyCar season kicks off this weekend in St. Petersburg Florida with the running of the Honda Grand Prix.



ABC TV's coverage: Live Sunday, March 27th @ 12:30pm-3:00pm ET

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And for all you fellow head-scratchers out there when it comes to picking a winner...

From the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book here are the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg odds:

http://robertsnascarnotes.blogspot.com/p/las-vegas-hilton-super-book-auto-racing.html

Will Power 2/1, Dario Franchitti 5/1, Helio Castroneves 5/1, Scott Dixon 6/1, Ryan Briscoe 7/1, Ryan Hunter-Reay 12/1, Justin Wilson 12/1, Graham Rahal 15/1, Sebastien Bourdais 15/1, Marco Andretti 25/1, Alex Tagliani 50/1
Mike Conway 50/1, Tony Kanaan 50/1, Takuma Sato 100/1, Raphael Matos 100/1, Danica Patrick 100/1 and Vitor Meira 100/1

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Formula 1

Bernie Not Going to Melbourne

The President and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, Bernie Ecclestone won't be on hand for the Formula One season opener in Melbourne Australia this weekend so he can meet with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to discuss plans to put in a Formula One race circuit on New York City's Staten Island. The move (snub) has added fuel to a growing fire that this season will be the last for the Australian Grand Prix. Only time will tell...
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Robert Kubica To Have More Surgery

Since his accident in a rally on February 6th Robert Kubica has gone through three operations (seven hours to save his right hand, one on his shoulder and another on his leg) and now he will have a final procedure on his elbow. The good news is that he has feeling in his hand and can move the fingers. How long his recovery will take is only speculation at this time but I’d be willing to bet he’s anxious to get his Lotus Renault ride back from Nick Heidfeld.
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The 2010 Formula One Final Standings – Top 10


1 Sebastian Vettel - German - RBR-Renault - 256
2 Fernando Alonso - Spanish - Ferrari - 252
3 Mark Webber - Australian - RBR-Renault - 242
4 Lewis Hamilton - British - McLaren-Mercedes - 240
5 Jenson Button - British - McLaren-Mercedes - 214
6 Felipe Massa - Brazilian - Ferrari - 144
7 Nico Rosberg - German - Mercedes GP - 142
8 Robert Kubica - Polish - Renault - 136
9 Michael Schumacher - German - Mercedes GP - 72
10 Rubens Barrichello - Brazilian - Williams-Cosworth - 47
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Here are the 2011 Formula One Teams and Drivers
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Red Bull Racing – Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button
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Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro – Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
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Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team – Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg
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Lotus Renault GP – Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov
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AT&T Williams – Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado
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Force India F1 Team – Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta
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Sauber F1 Team – Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
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Scuderia Toro Rosso – Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari
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Team Lotus – Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen
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Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) – Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi
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Marussia Virgin Racing – Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio
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The Australian Grand Prix!

SPEED TV’s coverage -

Live 03/27 @ 1:30am ET… Replay 03/28 @ 12:00pm ET

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From The Spread.com

http://www.thespread.com/sports-betting-articles/032311-formula-1-odds-2011-australian-grand-prix-vettel-favored

Here are the Australian Grand Prix winner’s odds:

Sebastian Vettel 11/10, Fernando Alonso 13/10, Mark Webber 7/2, Lewis Hamilton 15/4, Nico Rosberg 6/1, Michael Schumacher 6/1, Jenson Button 7/1, Felipe Massa 10/1, Nick Heidfeld 20/1, Rubens Barrichello 40/1, Kamui Kobayashi 100/1, Adrian Sutil 100/1, Vitaly Petrov 100/1, Paul di Resta 120/1, Pastor Maldonado 200/1, Sebastien Buemi 200/1, Jarno Trulli 250/1, Sergio Perez 250/1, Heikki Kovalainen 250/1, Vitantonio Liuzzi 750/1, Timo Glock 750/1, Narain Karthikeyan 1000/1, Jerome DAmbrosio 1000/1 and Jaime Alguersuari 1500/1
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The Quantas Airlines Australian Grand Prix Grid Girls...

Bernie, if you're not going to miss Australia I know a lot of guys that will!