Scott Speed Will Replace Johnson In ROC
Scott Speed, the only American driver in Formula One, will replace injured 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson in the Race of Champions on Saturday, Dec. 16 in Paris. 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Johnson suffered a broken left wrist when he fell off a golf cart Dec. 8 in Florida.
Speed will pair with 2006 Rally America champion and motocross star Travis Pastrana for the United States team. Both Speed and Pastrana have racing experience at IMS. Speed competed in the 2006 United States Grand Prix as a rookie with Scuderia Toro Rosso, while Pastrana drove in Porsche Michelin Supercup support races during the USGP in 2003 and 2005.
The Race of Champions is a unique, all-star event that pits top drivers from many types of worldwide racing against each other on a special rallycross track inside the 80,000-seat Stade de France soccer stadium. Drivers race in individual and team competition in a variety of vehicles, including a Citroen World Rally car, Porsche 911 GT3 sports car, Renault Megane touring car, Aston Martin GT sports car and an off-road buggy.
It will be the first time Speed has participated in the Race of Champions. This will be the fourth consecutive Race of Champions start for Pastrana. Other drivers with IMS ties competing this year are United States Grand Prix veteran David Coulthard and Indianapolis 500 veteran Sebastien Bourdais. Coulthard is driving for Scotland and Bourdais for France.
Champ Cars Announce 2007 Rules Changes
The 2007 racing season will be a landmark one for the Champ Car World Series with the genesis of the new Panoz DP01 Champ Car, a number of new race venues including an historic event in China, and the introduction of new teams and drivers to the nation’s top open-wheel racing series. The changes will not affect the basic tenets of Champ Car racing, which include providing fair and equal competition for all teams as well as putting on a consistent and exciting event for the fans both at the track and those watching from home. In producing the 2007 Champ Car Rule Book, Champ Car Race Operations made a number of rule changes to ensure that those basic principles would be followed, while also setting the stage for some new and exciting advances for the series.
The series will introduce standing starts for the Champ Car World Series at venues where the starting procedure can be accommodated in a safe manner. For a standing start, the field will line up in their grid positions where the drivers will see a 15-second board once all cars are in position. A series of red lights will illuminate one-by-one until all the lights are lit, and the race will start once the red lights go out. The standing start is expected to be used in the season-opening Vegas Grand Prix Fueled by Visa.
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Bourdais Will Test F-1 Car
France's triple Champ Car title-holder Sebastien Bourdais is to test for the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso F1 team.
The Newman-Haas driver, 27, has won the US-based Champ Car series for the past three seasons and is committed to defending his crown in 2007. Bourdais said recently that he doubted he would ever switch to F1 as he was not prepared to be test driver without any guarantees of a race seat. He was offered a race drive by Arrows before the team folded in 2002.
Bourdais was considered by BMW-Sauber as a possible replacement for Jacques Villeneuve before the start of last season. The former F3000 champion has also held talks with Williams in the past. Toro Rosso, the sister team to Red Bull Racing, are the sole remaining F1 team with no drivers confirmed for 2007. Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi and America's Scott Speed raced for them in 2006 and may yet be retained.(bbc.co.uk)
Frankie Muniz Gives Up Acting For Racing
As Malcom in the long-running Fox television series “Malcolm in the Middle,” Frankie Muniz spent much of his time navigating life with obstacles in his way. Seven seasons and 151 episodes later, the show ended in May, but that didn’t slow down Muniz. In fact, quite the opposite effect resulted, with Muniz swerving at a faster pace than ever these days. Muniz was hard at work just outside Angleton on Thursday, driving on the Motor Sports Ranch Houston road course working on his new career as a race car driver.
“I’ve always wanted to race, but I never knew what the first step would be,” Muniz said. “I did the Toyota Pro-Celebrity Grand Prix of Long Beach, where they have a pro-celebrity race, for three years and I won all of them. It was fun, but it wasn’t real racing. So when the show was coming to an end, I was actually starting a NASCAR team that I was going to own.”
Instead of becoming a NASCAR owner, the 21-year-old decided to get behind the wheel. His opportunity came in February at the same course he raced on last week, when he was seeing if he had what it takes to get into the business.
“Eric Jensen, who owns my team, knew I wanted to start driving and start racing and offered to let me have a test drive,” Muniz said. “Now I am back here nine months later, racing in the Champ Car Atlantic series.”
With Jensen Motorsports, Muniz is on a two-year program to learn the intricacies of car racing. After spending this season in the Formula BMW USA circuit and reaching speeds of 140 mph, Muniz has moved up to the Champ cars. After getting comfortable with the Champ Car, Muniz will have two pre-season races — in Sebring, Fla., on Jan. 7 and in Miami on Jan. 14. His first Champ Car Atlantic race will be April 7 in Las Vegas. ..MORE>...(thefacts.com)
Carpentier Will Run Rolex 24
Former Champ Car and IRL front-runner Patrick Carpentier has been confirmed as one of Milka Duno's teammates in next year's Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in the #11 SAMAX Motorsport Riley-Pontiac. The Canadian born driver will partner (with) the Venezuelan lady in the twice round the clock endurance along with two other yet to be confirmed drivers following a successful test at the Homestead-Miami Speedway recently. The Homestead test was very successful as the #11 CITGO Pontiac Riley was scored second fastest at the end of day one and fourth fastest in the combined times of both days of testing.(crash.net)
Stewart Racing Announces Lineup
Two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and officials from GM Racing and Chevrolet announced today that Chevrolet will power and sponsor Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) entries in the United States Auto Club (USAC) and the World of Outlaws Sprint Series for three years beginning in 2007. In a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart and Mark Kent, director of GM Racing, unveiled the partnership along with TSR's driver lineup.
Levi Jones will drive for TSR in the USAC National Midget and Sprint car divisions alongside teammate Tracy Hines, who will also compete in both divisions. Jones will pilot the No. 20 entry and Hines will drive the No. 21 machine. The two drivers will also compete in USAC Silver Crown events whenever the series races on dirt.
Paul McMahan returns for a second season behind the wheel of the No. 20 Winged Sprint car, as TSR rejoins the World of Outlaws full-time after spending the 2006 season competing with the National Sprint Tour and part-time with the World of Outlaws.
Chevrolet will serve as the primary sponsor and engine supplier for all of TSR's USAC teams, with Bass Pro Shops carrying on as an associate sponsor.
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(Speed News Now)
Graham Rahal Impressive In Test
Graham Rahal has yet to be officially confirmed as a Champ Car driver for Newman/Haas Racing in 2007 but the talented 17-year-old continued his impressive audition Wednesday afternoon at Mercedes Sugarland Raceway. Graham Rahal has yet to be officially confirmed as a Champ Car driver for Newman/Haas Racing in 2007 but the talented 17-year-old continued his impressive audition Wednesday afternoon at Mercedes Sugarland Raceway.
A week after matching lap times at Homestead, Fla. with three-time champ Sebastien Bourdais, Rahal smoked the track record at MSR by eight-tenths of a second. The son of the three-time CART champion toured the 2.38-mile road course in 1:10.37 in Newman/Haas' Lola-Cosworth. The old mark of 1:11.29 was turned in last winter by former F1 driver Antonio Pizzonia for Rocketsports.
Young Rahal, who finished second in the Atlantic series this season and scored the most victories (five), was sharing the track with PKV Racing's new driver, Neel Jani and the Swiss GP2 front-runner had just cracked the 1:12.00 barrier when rains ended practice for the day.(champ car worlds eries)
Marco Andretti Gets F-1 Test
Marco Andretti has received many accolades and rewards since completing his first IndyCar Series season and earning Bombardier Rookie of the Year honors. Perhaps the one which rates the highest on the 'cool-factor' scale will take place on Friday, Dec. 15, when the driver of the #26 NYSE Honda-powered Dallara will have the opportunity to pilot a Honda RA106 Formula 1 machine at Circuit Jerez in Spain. The test is in recognition of his accomplishments in a Honda-powered IndyCar over the past season.
The test drive will be a part of the final test in 2006 for the Honda Racing F1 team as part of its winter development program.
Andretti, the son of two-time IndyCar Series championship-winning team owner and former CART champion Michael Andretti and the grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti, became the youngest driver to win a major open-wheel race when he won the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway this past August. He finished second in the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 and posted a seventh-place finish in the final IndyCar point standings while earning the Bombardier Rookie of the Year Award as well as the Rising Star Award.
MARCO ANDRETTI, #26 NYSE DALLARA/HONDA/FIRESTONE:
"I've said all along that I'm a racer," said Andretti. I'll drive anything with a motor and this definitely ranks at the top of the list. I still have my sights set on the IndyCar Series; there are still some things I need to accomplish. But to have the opportunity to put in some laps in an F1 car is an opportunity that you don't pass up and I have to thank Honda for that."
MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN, ANDRETTI GREEN RACING:
"This is a tremendous opportunity for Marco to experience a different type of race car," said his father, Michael. While he remains committed to Andretti Green Racing and the NYSE team in pursuing our future goals, I definitely encourage him to take advantage of opportunities such as this and to learn from them. He's young, fast and has a great future ahead of him."
Andretti Wants To Race Indy 500 Again
Michael Andretti still isn't ready to announce the fourth Indy-car driver for Andretti Green Racing, much less the fifth. But both are in the works. Andretti said this week he plans to return to the Indianapolis 500 for his 16th run at the Borg-Warner Trophy, but there are details still to be worked out. Specifically, who's going to pay for the one-race program. "But I'd like to do it."
Andretti figured last year's run would be his last after a three-year absence, but he enjoyed being a part of the team, was not a distraction to the other drivers and was competitive on race day. Now he wants to try again. Andretti led as late as lap 197 of 200 and finished third behind Sam Hornish Jr. and rookie Marco Andretti. It was only his third top-three finish.
"It was a great month." Andretti, who turned 44 in October, has led 430 laps in the 500, good for 10th place on the all-time list (tops among non-winners). AGR has confirmed Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick as its full-season drivers. Dario Franchitti is expected to return as well.(Indy Star)
2007 Bombardier Length Extended
Texas Motor Speedway’s petition to extend the length of the 2007 Bombardier Learjet IndyCar Series race has been granted by the Indy Racing League, speedway president Eddie Gossage announced today. The Indy-car race traditionally has been a 200-lap, 500-kilometer affair, but the 2007 event scheduled for June 9 will officially be extended to 228 laps and 550 kilometers. The race, formerly titled the Bombardier Learjet 500k, will now be renamed the Bombardier Learjet 550k.
The Bombardier Learjet race – also known as “America’s Original Nighttime Indy Car Race” – has long treated fans to exceptional side-by-side racing and dramatic finishes, but Texas Motor Speedway officials had noticed that the races were routinely being completed in less than two hours. Speedway officials were particularly concerned about the trend when this past season’s Bombardier Learjet 500k established a track record with a race time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 1 second.
Looking to provide more value to the fans, TMS officials petitioned the Indy Racing League to extend the race length beginning in 2007..
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(Speed News Now)
Free Day At Indy Museum
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is in the giving spirit and offering the public free admission to the museum and the narrated track tour on Friday, Dec. 22. As part of an Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association holiday promotion - appropriately named the "12 (FREE) Days of (Indy) Christmas" - the Hall of Fame Museum is among a group of leading Indianapolis-area attractions offering free admission to the public for one day. The promotion provides easy access to one of the world's premier collections of race cars, classic automobiles, motorsports artwork and artifacts.
More than 75 automobiles and motorcycles, representing the Indianapolis 500, stock car racing, sports car racing, and vintage luxury passenger models, are on display at the Hall of Fame Museum at all times. Cars that are part of the Museum's collection include: the Marmon "Wasp," winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911; A.J. Foyt's four Indianapolis 500-winning cars; Smokey Yunick's famed "side car;" the one-of-its-kind 1957 SSI Corvette; a Benetton F1 car driven by Michael Schumacher; and Tony Stewart's 2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard-winning Chevrolet.
Stewart's stock car is part of a larger exhibit featuring cars Stewart drove during his rise to fame, including a USAC Midget and Sprint car and the Home Depot-sponsored car he drove in the 1999 Indianapolis 500. The Hall of Fame Museum is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Dec. 22, as it is everyday of the year except Christmas Day. For more information, contact the Museum at (317) 492-6784 or log onto (www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com).
After browsing the Museum's collection and enjoying the track tour on Dec. 22, shopping for last-minute gift items for Indianapolis Motor Speedway fans is steps away, in the Official Trackside Gift Shop locations in the lobby of the Hall of Fame Museum. Fans can also place ticket orders for 2007 IMS behind-the-scenes "Grounds Tours" as gifts at this time. Information is available at the museum's welcome desk.
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