Bad start to the Indycar Series 2006 season

The Indy Racing League IndyCar Series started their 2006 season this past weekend with their traditional date at the Miami-Homestead Speedway. I attended several IndyCar Series race this past season including round 2 at the St Petersburg temporary street course in Florida. The 2006 event at St Pete is this coming weekend. Unfortunately, the weekend and drama of the opening race at Miami was soured by the pre-race warmup crash and tragic death of American rookie driver Paul Dana who was starting the season as a driver for the Rahal-Letterman Team. Paul died after a high-speed impact with another car driven by Ed Carpenter which had already spun nearly to a stop after crashing with the outside wall in turn 2 of the speedway. The details of the incident are not clear yet but it appears that when Carpenter made contact with the turn 2 wall, the track caution lights and in-car yellows came on and the team spotters advised their drivers of the incident. Paul Dana's spotter advised him via radio that there was a crash ahead and to go low. Scott Sharp, Buddy Lazier and Vitor Meira all slowed as the lights came out as Dana rocketed by at full speed directly into the rear of the stopped car of Carpenter. The collision sent Dana's car skyward and nearly broke the nose from the car. Dana died as a result of the impact and Carpenter suffered only a bruised lung. The question remains - why didn't Dana yield to the spotter, the caution lights and the onboard telemetry caution lights. Video replay shows that immediately prior to impact, Dana's car struck Carpenter's debri with his right front which collapsed his suspension and tire which could have resulted in him not being able to steer that final 1/100th of a second but why did he not slow prior to this instance.

Paul Dana's Ethanol sponsored car at RIR in 2005 (driven by Jimmy Kite)

The fact is that Dana didn't belong in one of these cars. He was what is commonly known as a ride-buyer. That being a driver with some minimal experience who is able to secure sponorship backing to fund his ride with a team in the series. Dana had the sponsorship and money to gain a seat at Rahal-Letterman racing but didn't have the experience or ability to be out there racing with the top open-wheel oval drivers in the USA. Ed Carpenter would be guilty of the same as he is the stepson of the series owner and is now in his 3rd year of racing in the series. Carpenter has crashed more cars than he has finished with and doesn't belong in the series. Ironically enough, Dana's teammate at Rahal-Letterman - Danica Patrick was a rookie last season and crashed at Miami-Homestead during the race as she attempted to speed by a crash in turn 2. She also collided with the slowed car of Ed Carpenter before sliding up the track and impacting the wall. As a result, Patrick suffered a concussion in her debut race. It remains to be seen whether Marco Andretti, the 19 year old son of Michael Andretti, belongs on the circuit this year. He bumbled his first start at Miami as well and then broke the car on his first pit stop (which was the result of a penalty for the jumped start). Marco has only had 3 oval starts in his career and just a few Indycar style races completed total. Michael should seriously consider his choice of hiring his young, inexperienced son as an Indycar driver considering the crash that just took fellow rookie driver Paul Dana's life.

My sympathies to Paul and his family and the Rahal-Letterman team.

NC International Auto Expo

This past weekend, I went to the so-called NC International Auto Expo here in Raleigh. This year it was held at the NC State Fairgrounds as it's previous location was torn down and is being rebuilt downtown. I expected the show would be a lot of SUV's and trucks but assumed there would also be a nice mix of the cars that I like as opposed to the family wagons and gas guzzlers that bore me to death. Well, my expectations were true even more than I could dream (or scream). Now, upon a closer look at the Auto Expo's website, I notice all the pictures are of trucks and SUVs. A subtle hint that I missed. I would guesstimate that the show was 90% SUV's, trucks and big sedans. Throughout the 2 buildings that the show occupied, there was no Honda, no Acura, no Audi, no BMW, no Mercedes, no Porsche. Yes, Toyota was there but with nothng but trucks, SUVs and Camrys - ugh!! So, there were some cool Lotus Elises, a couple Fords that caught my eye, a Cadillac Sixteen (with its V16 engine and $6 million price tag) and a couple of those new GM sports cars (Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice). The National Guard was there recruiting and had a armored something and the Greg Biffle Cup car. I stood by as the Cup car was fired up and listened as the fat crew guy who started it revved the engine for all to stand in wonder around. I guess I should have lowered my expectations even further before attending as the show would have likely met them. As you can see, 'tanks' were too prevalent everywhere. Since I expected more than what I can see driving down car dealer row in any given city, I was disappointed at
the Raleigh area's pathetic attempt at having an "International" Auto Expo. Instead, I suggest calling it the SUV and truck show for the family guy. Unfortuanately, as much as I like Raleigh, perhaps this show was representative of the cars that our local population are likely to buy - big SUVs, family mobiles and generally; uncool cars that ironically enough - make the dealers and automakers way more profit than the cooler cars I appreciate the most.

Upcoming Events

UPDATED:

Look for me and my friends in 2006 at the following races:

April 22-23 Grand Am Rolex Series and Cup Series at Virginia International Raceway
June 24 Indy Racing League IndyCar Suntrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway
June 30-July 2 Formula 1 World Championship United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
August 19-20 AMA Superbike at Virginia International Raceway
September 29-30 American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta
October 7-8 Grand Am Cup Series 12 Hours at Virginia International Raceway

Truths and lies to follow each event - see them here first.

Where have I been?

In brainstorming my ideas for future postings; I realized that most of the items and comments that will appear have yet to occur but I thought it would be fun to recall the race courses and tracks that I have visited in the past to kick start my memory. Some tracks were quiet the day I showed up, others were the weekend of an event. In no particular order:

Rockingham Motor Speedway - Rockingham, NC
Virginia International Raceway - Alton, VA
Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY
Lowes (Charlotte) Motor Speedway - Concord, NC
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL
North Wilkesboro Speedway - Wilkesboro, NC
Circuit de Gilles Villenueve - Montreal, Quebec
Washington DC temporary street course - Washington, DC
Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN
Richmond International Raceway - Richmond, VA
St Petersburg temporary street course - St Petersburg, FL

The fastest 3/8 mile race track in America

Good news for Piedmont NC and southern VA race fans. Orange County Speedway is back in business. Once home to the NASCAR Busch Series and aspiring Cup drivers, OCS shut down in 2003. Now reopened and running Saturday night short track events, OCS once again hosts a variety of Late Model Stock events and even an ASA race in August. Scott Riggs, a Cup regular now, built his name and started his career at OCS before heading off to the Craftsman Truck Series. The Burton brothers and Sadler brothers also raced here regularly in the 90's along with OCS's sister track - South Boston which is across the state line in VA. The first professional racing event I ever attended was the final Busch series event held at OCS in which Hermie Sadler took the checkered after a last lap collision tore his rear bumber off the car. I am guessing the local favorite is still available at OCS - fried bologna sandwiches which go down a lot better if eaten after drinking a beer or 12.

2005 Events Schedule Recap

Last year's events which I attended included:

April - Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Florida
Indy Racing League Indycar Series, Infiniti Pro Series, Speed World Challange

May - NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Pole Night, Lowes Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC

June - Indycar Suntrust Indy Challenge, Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, VA

August - Champ Car World Series Molson Indy at Circuit de Gilles Villenueve, Montreal, Quebec

October - Grand Am Rolex Series and Cup Series at Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA

Opening day

Today is the first day of Spring 2006 and it is already a few weeks into the annual racing scene across the globe. This past weekend, Round 2 of the Formula 1 season took place in Malyasia along with the Le Mans Series' 12 Hours of Sebring. As I plan the races I will be attending this year; I found this would be a good time to start a blog on my travels and experiences as they unfold. Looking back over the past several years, I already find my self forgetting the memories I built on each trip I have taken, each event I have attended and each day I spent following my passion - motorsports.

I don't work in racing nor do I define myself by my love and enjoyment of following motorsports; however, I have a deep passion for many forms and levels of racing and love to share my experiences, interest and knowledge of it with others.

Each year, depending on what else is going on my life, I find a way to attend events and get myself close to motorsports and anything associated with it. Sometimes, it's local to my home city of Raleigh; other times, I travel alone or with friends to attend an event farther away. There are often stories to be told afterwards and this is my spot to do so. In addition, any photos posted; are taken by me.

Please check back and enjoy the ride.