1007 replies to this topic

[Eric]

In the "Good Men" thread, I mentioned a driver named Shane Hmiel, who  was an aggressive, young talent, climbing the NASCAR ladder and  attracting the attention of big-name team owners.  Unfortunately, Hmiel  and his doctors never figured out that he was bi-polar; unaware of his  condition but aware that something was different, Hmiel spent most of  his life in confusion, and in response, self-medicated with illegal  substances.  Hmiel was suspended in 2003 for failing a drug test, but  returned in 2004 after completing NASCAR's reinstatement program.   Sadly, the problem was not resolved, and Hmiel's NASCAR career ended  after second and third failures in 2005 and 2007, leading to a lifetime ban.

Following this misfortune, Hmiel determined he was bi-polar, got help,  and worked extremely hard to climb from rock bottom to turn his life  around.  Hmiel has been substance-free for years, and has fought hard to  get back into a healthy state to return to racing.  He's been winning  races in USAC's open-wheel short-track cars, and had a deal to join the Indy Lights series with the ultimate goal of running the Indy 500.  The FILS deal was set back, however, after Hmiel suffered a back injury.

Those who know Hmiel know him as a straightforward, friendly man with a great outlook on life following the wake-up call and subsequent turnaround of 2007-2009.

Sadly, though, Hmiel's dream comeback to motorsport and his ambitions of starting in one of America's greatest sporting events has been put on hold, after a terrible accident today.

http://www.popoffval...-at-terre-haute

Hmiel is in stable but critical condition (conflicting reports suggest he is in grave condition, but that term is not commonly used in the medical field, and the report suggesting such was found to be erroneous).  Stay strong, Shane.

I know he'll return, and I really hope he gets to do the 500.  I imagine it will be one of the greatest moments I'll witness in motor racing when Shane Hmiel takes the green at the Brickyard.  The kid's fought so hard.  He'll fight back again.

Edited by lewistEric, 10 October 2010 - 01:59 AM.

[Eric]

Update on Shane Hmiel:

Everything seems okay head-injury-wise, but they need him to wake up from sedation to really know for sure.  He re-broke his back, and broke his neck in two places.

[Eric]

Huge relief:

No head injuries for Shane.

He's regaining feeling in his body, and is able to move his arms.  He has not moved his legs, but they are very swollen, so it's too early to say anything about that.

Because Shane is going to make it through 100% mentally, I'll post the video (on a side note, those cars sound so good).



Such is the world of short track.  The track's don't have the budget for modern walls, yet sometimes, they really need them.  The rollcage on the car itself is not supposed to crumple like that.  They do use the HANS device in the series, though it's hard to see if that made a difference.  Without being too critical on a sensitive subject, the safety response was rough.

What's important, however, is that the every update on Shane is more and more promising.

Edited by lewistEric, 10 October 2010 - 08:40 PM.

[JHS]

I hope the guy gets well soon. Nasty accident...

[Eric]

Hmiel had surgery on his neck last night; he had rods installed.  He's now going to undergo an extensive back surgery.  The doctors are worried about spinal cord damage.

One thing that I did find interesting in all this news was Kyle Petty talking about how Hmiel has a tattoo in memory of Adam Petty; Shane, like many others in the NASCAR community (including Brian Vickers and Justin Labonte), was good friends with Adam.  I never knew that; Shane was around 19 or 20 when Adam passed away.  I know it's a long road ahead for Shane, and racing can't possibly be on anyone's mind right now, but boy would it make me smile to see him in racecar after all this he's been through.

For those unfamiliar with Adam...watch this video.

[HandyNZL]

Eric, on 10 October 2010 - 08:38 PM, said:

Huge relief:

No head injuries for Shane.

He's regaining feeling in his body, and is able to move his arms.  He has not moved his legs, but they are very swollen, so it's too early to say anything about that.

Because Shane is going to make it through 100% mentally, I'll post the video (on a side note, those cars sound so good).



Such is the world of short track.  The track's don't have the budget for modern walls, yet sometimes, they really need them.  The rollcage on the car itself is not supposed to crumple like that.  They do use the HANS device in the series, though it's hard to see if that made a difference.  Without being too critical on a sensitive subject, the safety response was rough.

What's important, however, is that the every update on Shane is more and more promising.

Is that a Sprint Car (you lot call them Outlaws, I think), but without the roof wing?  And why is he the only guy on track?  Didn't know you autocrossed on the dirt tracks too....

I agree regarding the rollcage...have witnessed many midget, TQ, and Sprint cars flip, roll, hit barriers, hit each other, and hit catch fences and not one of the cages collapsed.

You probably won't know, but I'd say that that was an alloy roll cage....which just "go" once yield is reached....steel on the other hand will bend and retain a degree of the structure.  Though that was a pretty much head on hit...most cages are designed for glancing and longitudinal loading...not so much direct compression, which is what his cage appears to suffer.

[Eric]

They do race wingless sprint cars (the Outlaws term refers to the World of Outlaws series) at some tracks, but that's not entirely what the car is.  It's a USAC Silver Crown car, which races both pavement and dirt.  They're essentially big midgets.  USAC has to be one of the only major sanctioning bodies that doesn't use wings on dirt tracks (since they run both paved and dirt); likewise, I can only think of NEMA using wings on pavement midgets.  A wing definitely would have been beneficial.

They do single-car qualifying, which is why he was out there alone.

USAC mandates the roll cages are made of 4130 steel alloy (aircraft quality).  The car and its cage were a few years old.

On another note of safety, the SAFER barrier would probably cost $150,000 or so to put it in the corners.  Tire barriers even less.  Either would be nice.  Short tracks need to get creative and find ways to get safety at an affordable rate; they don't need to be NASCAR state-of-the-art in safety, but they really need to do better than concrete walls when speeds are become increasingly high, especially at a flat 1/2 mile track like Terre Haute.  I've seen plenty of short tracks that care; I've also been to quite a few with glaringly stupid hazards.  One track around here has a big opening in the wall for the safety team...unfortunately, they put the opening at the exit of the corner so if a car runs wide, it goes head-first into the wall.  A few years ago, a driver in a winged midget hit there.  It was written off as a "freak accident," which, to me, is what happened at the same track back in 2000 when a driver's seat-belt ripped, not when someone's car finds a terribly obvious design flaw in the track.  Another track around here has steep banking, but after the banking, there's a big drop-off in the gap between the top of the corner and the wall.  That, too, creates some really wretched angles for hitting (the car's essentially on it's side) the wall; two fatalities since 2004 there, though I'm not sure if they were in the corners.  In short, I don't expect they upgrade the tracks to meet the FIA's highest standards (which aren't as high as people pretend they are), but some of the stuff you see at the tracks isn't from a lack of money; it's a lack of foresight.

Good news, though: Shane's second surgery went well.  Doctors are encouraged by his progress.

[Eric]

HVM Racing will join the American Le Mans Series in 2011 with a Lola chassis.  Simona de Silvestro was confirmed as an HVM driver, though they never specified IndyCar; I wonder if they're going to pull the IRL program altogether and take Simona to ALMS with them (though they say they're committed to IndyCar, but they don't have the funding to do both...they hardly have the funding to just do one).

Two Lamborghini Gallardo GT2s will be fielded in ALMS as well by the Mexican West Racing team; Yokohama will provide funding.



A Panoz Abruzzi (or two) will also join GT2 full-time for 2011.  No one else likes this car, but I do, in a weird way.



ALMS will divide LMP back into P1 and P2, which implies they expect to have enough entries to do so.  I'm disappointed, personally.  I know they want to comply with the ACO, especially with the Intercontinental Cup expanding (inlcuding two ALMS rounds), but it was pretty exciting to see the HPD battle the Aston for a class and overall win at Long Beach, meaning it counted for points, too, and not just pride.

Other ALMS stuff:

They plan to do more endurance races (sorry, not for me...I love the 1:45 ones, personally.  Endurance racing can lead to a lot of strategy, which is interesting, and periods of less action as they have to conserve the cars more for the end.  I don't know; maybe I'm just dumb and get bored too easily, but I loved the short races this year, while, excluding Laguna Seca, the endurance races weren't even worth watching).

They also plan to reduce TV coverage; those horrible docu-dramas one week later appear to be it for TV next year.  I just don't get it.  If you condensed the race into an hour program the next week with extra insights, fine, I'll watch that.  But I have no interest in watching a human interest program where the only shots of racing are slow-motion artsy pictures and not the real battles.  The broadcast needs to be racing with human interest stories, not human interest stories with racing.  If they have to do time-buys (they probably will), then do a highlights program to reduce time.

90% of ALMS fans think developing automotive technology through racing is important.

52% of ALMS fans are willing to pay a premium price for cars with technology developed through racing.

75% of ALMS fans are more willing to buy series sponsors' products over competitors'.

60% of ALMS fans switched to Tequila Patrón due to their title sponsorship; brand preference of Patrón is six times higher than the second highest spirit among ALMS fans.

Viewership by the 18-34 market (the coveted one all sports are seemingly losing) has gone up 100% over the last two years (so now they'll squander that with silly docu-dramas).

Riley, Lola, ORECA, and Norma will build low-cost LMP2s; Roush-Yatesm, HPD/Honda, and Judd will supply LMP2 engines.

Highcroft will run LMP1, meaning no more HPD...

LMPC and GTC remain, though some LMPC teams are going to LMP2 (Level 5, for example), and the GTC field will be capped at 10 (2011 and 2010 Porsche 911s only).

[HandyNZL]

Eric, on 12 October 2010 - 07:34 PM, said:

HVM Racing will join the American Le Mans Series in 2011 with a Lola chassis.  Simona de Silvestro was confirmed as an HVM driver, though they never specified IndyCar; I wonder if they're going to pull the IRL program altogether and take Simona to ALMS with them (though they say they're committed to IndyCar, but they don't have the funding to do both...they hardly have the funding to just do one).

Two Lamborghini Gallardo GT2s will be fielded in ALMS as well by the Mexican West Racing team; Yokohama will provide funding.



A Panoz Abruzzi (or two) will also join GT2 full-time for 2011.  No one else likes this car, but I do, in a weird way.



ALMS will divide LMP back into P1 and P2, which implies they expect to have enough entries to do so.  I'm disappointed, personally.  I know they want to comply with the ACO, especially with the Intercontinental Cup expanding (inlcuding two ALMS rounds), but it was pretty exciting to see the HPD battle the Aston for a class and overall win at Long Beach, meaning it counted for points, too, and not just pride.

Other ALMS stuff:

They plan to do more endurance races (sorry, not for me...I love the 1:45 ones, personally.  Endurance racing can lead to a lot of strategy, which is interesting, and periods of less action as they have to conserve the cars more for the end.  I don't know; maybe I'm just dumb and get bored too easily, but I loved the short races this year, while, excluding Laguna Seca, the endurance races weren't even worth watching).

They also plan to reduce TV coverage; those horrible docu-dramas one week later appear to be it for TV next year.  I just don't get it.  If you condensed the race into an hour program the next week with extra insights, fine, I'll watch that.  But I have no interest in watching a human interest program where the only shots of racing are slow-motion artsy pictures and not the real battles.  The broadcast needs to be racing with human interest stories, not human interest stories with racing.  If they have to do time-buys (they probably will), then do a highlights program to reduce time.

90% of ALMS fans think developing automotive technology through racing is important.

52% of ALMS fans are willing to pay a premium price for cars with technology developed through racing.

75% of ALMS fans are more willing to buy series sponsors' products over competitors'.

60% of ALMS fans switched to Tequila Patrón due to their title sponsorship; brand preference of Patrón is six times higher than the second highest spirit among ALMS fans.

Viewership by the 18-34 market (the coveted one all sports are seemingly losing) has gone up 100% over the last two years (so now they'll squander that with silly docu-dramas).

Riley, Lola, ORECA, and Norma will build low-cost LMP2s; Roush-Yatesm, HPD/Honda, and Judd will supply LMP2 engines.

Highcroft will run LMP1, meaning no more HPD...

LMPC and GTC remain, though some LMPC teams are going to LMP2 (Level 5, for example), and the GTC field will be capped at 10 (2011 and 2010 Porsche 911s only).

We get 1-hour docu-drama's of the European LMS, and talk about a frigging bore...like you say, some artsy shots, followed by a driver in the pits, followed by an artsy shot, followed by a team owner scratching his nose in the pits, followed by an artsy shot, followed by a drivers GF in the pits, followed by an artsy shot, followed by a driver in the pits, followed by an awards ceremony.....

[Eric]

COT got freshened up for 2011 with a new nose...



It certainly looks better, though it's still an odd vehicle.

[HandyNZL]

If it's the car of tomorrow....why are they racing it today?

[Eric]

HandyNZL, on 15 October 2010 - 11:05 AM, said:

If it's the car of tomorrow....why are they racing it today?

Because the parents of Brian France's ex-wife (who had been sued by Mr. France in an effort to get them evicted from a home he owned) testified under oath that Brian, while drunk in California, called Mike Helton during the 2006 Brickyard 400, ordering him to black flag Jeremy Mayfield, who NASCAR have always been out to get (like the time he tested positive for meth and then got a ban from the sport; talk about injustice), which was funny because Mayfield wsa not black-flagged during that race and Brian France was in Orlando, Florida.

Therefore, it's the Car of Tomorrow, because NASCAR, unlike Mayfield (as he deals with the six lawsuits he's in right now...him suing NASCAR over his drug test, him suing his step-mother over murdering his father and using a loan for building a barn to do things that weren't related to barn-building, NASCAR suing him for violating NASCAR's driver-sport agreement waivers, Arrington Racing Engines suing him for not paying his engine bills, his attorney suing him for not paying his legal bills, and the IRS suing him over unpaid taxes), will be racing it tomorrow and into the near future.

Okay, yeah, the name's stupid.

Edited by Eric, 16 October 2010 - 03:26 AM.

[HandyNZL]

Soooo....long story short, it's the car of today, and they'll be racing it tomorrow?

So what are they using next week?

[Eric]

HandyNZL, on 16 October 2010 - 03:56 AM, said:

Soooo....long story short, it's the car of today, and they'll be racing it tomorrow?

So what are they using next week?

They're racing NZ stock cars next week.  Here they are racing in the pack at Talladega.  The restriction plates really keep them close.

Next year, though, Ganassi won't be racing three IndyCars (in NASCAR or in IndyCar).  Just two.  Dario and Scott.  Kanaan and Rahal continue to search.  And they won't land at Newman/Haas, who are quietly trying to sell their team.

2012, well, who knows who will be racing IndyCars.  Some say the DeltaWing break-away series is gaining some ground; Audi allegedly support the idea.  That's exactly what the U.S. racing scene doesn't need: another series to further divide the road racing fan-base.  It needs to be one or the other.

7-Eleven are aiming to move to NASCAR with Hendrick Motorsports.  Expect them to take on some races with Jeff Gordon and maybe even a few in Nationwide with The Danica.  Certainly a lot of exposure in backing those two, so I can see why they left.  Meanwhile, the real 7-Eleven (the Japanese one) keep finding themselves on Red Bull F1 cars at Asian races.

NASCAR's ratings are tanking.  The first 13 races (on FOX) averaged a 4.8 (excluding Daytona, they averaged a 3.37, but this included two races shown on Monday due to rain-outs, which scored 2.1s.  Most Sunday races were in the 4s).  The next 6, on TNT, averaged 3.0.  11 races into ABC/ESPN's coverage, the ratings are getting even worse.  Even with decent ratings to begin, the Chase ratings are as good as the FOX rainouts: 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, and 2.9.  I wonder if it's time to admit that the Chase is a bad idea, and racing on Sunday afternoons during football season is an even worse one.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month always means a few pink-ish cars, but finally someone's just done a proper one:


Speaking of liveries, both UPS and FedEx have updated theirs for 2011, and they look good.

Jeff Gordon is now third all-time for poles won with 69; Richard Petty leads with 123, while David Pearson has 113.  With 69 poles, 82 wins, and 4 championships in the most competitive era of the sport, it's hard to say Gordon isn't the best ever (or damn close).

Last NASCAR tidbit: E15 Ethanol for 2011 (lolwtf) and fuel injection by July 9, 2011 (the all-new Kentucky race).

[Eric]

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/87473

That's been known for a while, but finally confirmed.  Good stuff.

EDIT: Nevermind, read the article closer.  It's not replacing Grand-Am.  Eh.  It should.  Doing both isn't very sensible on NASCAR's part.

Edited by Eric, 16 October 2010 - 06:30 PM.

[HandyNZL]

Dude...these are NZ stock cars:

Stockies

And this is Tiger Wood's caddy driving his Saloon Car

Steve Williams

As you can see....there are no sheep....

[Eric]

I like how much grassroots racing New Zealand has.  Very cool.  The NZ stock cars are a bit like the F1 stock cars in the U.K., yes?

Grand-Am DPs get a new look for 2012.  Here are some renderings:





Definitely an improvement, though how much will be reality is beyond me.

The text version of their plans: http://auto-racing.s...s-set-for-2012/

[HandyNZL]

Yep, like the UK...though we have two succinct speedway factions (as it were)....we got the rednecks in the Stockcars, Superstocks and Ministocks, with Saloons and Productions Saloons (which are gutted Honda's and Toyotas and stuff with welded on steel bumpers) and demo-derby races, and then you have the high brow speedway guys with the Sprintcars (Outlaws), Midgets, TQ's and Motorbikes.

Oh and we have supermarket trolley racing too:



See....they're all racing to get to the park closest to the doors at the supermarket

(Historics race with these guys....or should I say, they race with us....biggest motorsport field in NZ...usually 60+ cars turn up for a race weekend, so they get split into two classes)

[Eric]

Are TQs three-quarter midgets?  Just curious; that's what it means in the U.S.  I've seen them a few times racing indoors (at a hockey rink).

In other news, it's a hat-trick for Jamie McMurray!  Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and now the Bank of America 500.  What a season he's had.  It's such a shame he missed the Chase.  Regan Smith, driving for Furniture Row, scored P13, which is incredible for such a small team (based way out in Denver, too, so they don't have access to the talent and resources in North Carolina most teams utilize).  Johnson now has 41 points on Hamlin; five championships in a row looks likely.

[Eric]

33 winning cars on the grid at Indy.  Enjoy.

[HandyNZL]

Yes...TQ's are 3/4's.

You lot come over every year and try to beat us and the Aussies in a tri-nations test series....NZ usually kicks arse....except when Sleepy Trip used to race...then he kicked a##!

Edited by HandyNZL, 18 October 2010 - 08:44 AM.

[HandyNZL]

Eric, on 17 October 2010 - 09:28 PM, said:

33 winning cars on the grid at Indy.  Enjoy.

Nice to see the Jimmy Clark car back on the track {Lotus #82) (it was parked up the very next day after he won and never touched again till its recent restoration by Classic Lotus), and interesting half wing on Andretti's #2 (bright orange one).  Those were cars....hand made beauties....and more beautiful lines than the current crop, even with riveted panelwork.

[Eric]

Villeneuve/Durango are now looking to NASCAR as the F1 budget never came together.

Someone might want to tell them that a Sprint Cup budget is often equivalent to an F1 budget, especially if they think a driver and team with no NASCAR experience can even qualify for any of the races.

[Eric]

I found this interesting:

George Gillett owned Liverpool F.C., but John Henry purchased it, a move Gillett planned to take legal action against.

How does it relate?  John Henry owns 50% of Roush Fenway Racing; George Gillett owns Richard Petty Motorsports.  Roush Fenway Racing supplies cars and engines to Richard Petty Motorsports.

After the Liverpool incident, RFR decided to be a little less generous with RPM, who are now in major financial troubles.  They've released star driver Kasey Kahne five races early, as well as a number of employees from his team who were going to leave with him at the end of the season (including crew chief Kenny Francis).  The team may shut down entirely before season's end; they're also losing sponsor Budweiser at the end of the 2010, as well as the Menards funding that comes with Paul Menard, who moves to RCR for 2011 (the car, the 98, likely disappears).  A third driver, Elliott Sadler, is leaving, and his team will likely dissolve as sponsors shift to the 9 to replaced Budweiser.  Marcos Ambrose and current driver A.J. Allmendinger are signed to drive for RPM in 2011, if there is a 2011 for the team.  They also expected to get a third car out for Trevor Bayne part-time, but Bayne, being a Roush driver, may now be loaned elsewhere after this dispute.  So, if they run 2011, it's down from four cars to two, neither of which seem fully-funded yet.

What a mess.  Odd how the Liverpool sale triggered it all.

EDIT: Looks like RFR repossessed all of RPM's equipment beyond their Martinsville cars (already in transit, obviously).  They released the cars for next week (Talladega).  Apparently they "owe money," which may be true, as they have loads of back-salary to pay Kahne, but there seems to be an element of RPM getting a little message for biting the hand that feeds them.

Edited by Eric, 21 October 2010 - 11:15 PM.

[Eric]

Worth a mention:

Seven years ago today, Tony Renna passed away in a testing accident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Renna started seven races in the IndyCar series for the smaller Kelley Racing team.  In that time, he scored five top tens, including a fourth at Michigan (2002) and a seventh in his lone Indianapolis 500 (2003), driving for charitable organization "Cure Autism NOW."  A gifted oval racer in what was then an all-oval series, Renna caught the attention of Chip Ganassi in his brief career, and signed to drive for the 2003 champions for 2004 and beyond.  The year was to mark his first full-time season in IndyCar, and to do so with a top team was quite the testament to Renna's potential.

His Ganassi debut came October 22, 2003, following the conclusion of the 2003 IndyCar Series season.  He and teammate Scott Dixon were to test tires at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Renna lost control of his car in turn three and died instantly in a vicious impact.  He was 26 years old at the time.

[Eric]

I doubt many people have the interest and the time to watch a nearly 60-minute ESPN 30 for 30 episode on Tim Richmond, but I'd recommend it.  Not being alive in the 80s, it was especially interesting for me, as I've heard much about Richmond and seen some of his races on ESPN Classic, but beyond that, I was clueless.  I remember reading a story where Richmond was running late to the driver's meeting and a kid stopped him for an autograph.  He didn't have the time, so he picked the kid up and carried him to the driver intros to give him an autograph there (if you miss intros, you have to start dead last).  He asked the kid who his favorite driver was, to which he responded "Dale Earnhardt."  Richmond replied that Earnhardt was his favorite, too.

That's not what's intriguing about Richmond, though.  He was an IndyCar-type in a time when NASCAR was heavily based in the deep South, heavily Christian, and good ol' boys-centric.  He was extremely aggressive and extremely quick on the track, and off-the-track, well, he certainly had fun.  He starred in a movie and, years later, Days of Thunder would be made based on him and his crew chief, Harry Hyde.  Richmond's love beyond racing?  Women.

I won't spoil the documentary for you (if you want Tim's full story before watching, or because you aren't going to watch, there's always in the Internet to tell one side of it), but it's not a happy ending, and NASCAR did not handle everything well.  It's extremely well-done and worth the watch if you have the interest.  Part one is below; six parts in total.



Enjoy if you so choose.

[Eric]

J.R. Hildebrand's testing with Panther Racing.  Perfect fit for the team and the sponsor.  Hopefully he'll have Ed on his wing at the ovals.  That would be one easy-to-like pairing.

Kanaan's officially out at Andretti.  RHR re-upped two years; no sponsor yet.

People continue to ejaculate "news" that Rahal's going to that magical third Ganassi car that Chip himself promised would never happen.  Meh.

Richard Petty Motorsports are going to collapse.  George Gillett's trying to sell, but now's not the time to be buying NASCAR teams if you want to treat your money with respect and affection.  Something about Richard buying the 43 and fielding Toyotas out of Michael Waltrip's shop.  Marcos Ambrose back to V8s if he can't get a Ford in NASCAR, and A.J. Allmendinger and Best Buy and Stanley Tools to...do something.  Messy.

Talladega this weekend.  The key to the Chase.  Nothing doesn't happen at Talladega.  Not wrecking pretty much ensures a fifth title for Johnson, so we'll see if he can continue his playoff greatness.  I doubt a Chaser wins, though, considering McMurray and Montoya aren't in the Chase.  You best have an ECR engine to compete this weekend...

Or you could try to cheat.  Whitney Motorsport, one of those small start-and-park teams, did.  They hollowed the a-arms and filled them with ball bearings to make them significantly heavier.  Old trick that's been done forever.  But usually it's done well.  Whitney's job was pretty shoddy; some ball bearings fell out during tech inspection and they got caught.  Parts confiscated and such.  Expect a big points and monetary fine to come.

[Persevere]

____, on 17 October 2010 - 09:28 PM, said:

33 winning cars on the grid at Indy.  Enjoy.

Thanks for the link, Eric.  Lots of fond memories here.

[Eric]

11 years.

----------------------

On a lighter note, I watched Talladega in Spanish today.  A lesson in how to commentate a race:



(That was the April Dega race, not today's, for the record.  Bowyer won over Harvick and Montoya).

My Spanish isn't particularly great (I met my three-year foreign language requirement last year so it's been a few months since I've spoken, read, or heard much Spanish), but I much prefer that to the English feed ESPN vomits out for us.

[Eric]

Both on the same track on the same day!  Grassroots open-wheel meets the big-time at the 1.058-mile oval in Loudon August 2011.  90 minutes from my house.  I think I need to go.  What an awesome pairing and great way to bring a New England tradition to the New England's newest race.  Respecting the roots is the way to go if you want to bring in fans, develop popular talents, and remind everyone that just because the budgets have an extra zero or two doesn't mean these drivers and team members are any different from the ones we can meet with a $5 garage pass at the local bullring.  NASCAR, take notice.

Speaking of good stuff, as you may or may not know:

USAC overall champion (midgets, sprints, and big midgets) gets a fully-funded Indy Lights ride for the ovals.  That's the right way to get USAC and Indy back together; splitting into a separate series wasn't.

Chevrolet confirmed for engines and aerokit in 2012.

Lotus confirmed for engines (yes, engines) and aerokit in 2012.

Alfa Romeo likely for 2013.

Dallara will supply an aerokit and Honda an engine as well.  Good news, all of it!