WORLDWIDE MOTOR RACING COVERAGE, OPINION AND ANALYSIS

SHE'S THE MAN! DANICA PATRICK WINS "HONDA 300" AT TWIN RING MOTEGI, JAPAN

To paraphrase Richard Nixon, "They won't have Danica Patrick to kick around anymore". And in a nation where women are traditionally held in much lower esteem than men, perhaps a few more women throughout Japan won't have to ask their dads or husbands or oniichan ("cute older brother") for the keys to the car anymore ... Now that Danica Patrick has become the first woman to win an Indycar race, and she did it in Japan. (Be sure to check our left-hand margin for an all-new Photo Album featuring Danica Patrick's historic win at Motegi, or simply click anywhere on this line!)

And, oh yeah ... America's best open-wheel racers will once again be competing in a single series after this weekend, with Motegi the last IRL-only event and Long Beach's street race the final Champ Car event of all time. So, racing history is being made in more than one way this weekend ... And as we watch it all transpire, live and in HD. What a country! (Photos --- Danica Patrick in Victory Circle at Motegi, Japan, and greeting the media following the race).

She's become the first woman to ever win a major open-wheel series racing event, claiming the checkered flag at Twin Ring Motegi, a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval about 70 miles north of Tokyo in a mountainous area of Honshu, Japan's main island. (Photos --- Danica Patrick at speed on the track at Motegi, Japan, and greeting the media following the race).

Patrick ran at a slow, measured pace after taking on the last 22-gallons of fuel in her #7 Andretti Green Racing team car, a Dallara chassis powered by a 650-horsepower Honda engine and shod with Firestone tires. Taking direction from her pit crew, she saved enough fuel to still be running at a fast pace at lap #200, the final lap of the event. (Photo below --- Perhaps some future Danicas arrive at the track).

After the race, Patrick mentioned several times to various microphones that winning "wasn't hard", that it didn't feel any different from running her "regular" race, if the word regular can be used to describe a sport which consists of driving around a race track at nearly 200 miles an hour with competitors of varying degrees of skill. She seemed somewhat surprised by the relative normalcy of it all. Apparently she didn't have to "dig deep" as Indycar announcer Scott Goodyear opined after the race; Patrick learned that she was fine, but that a complete, very serious team effort is what brings a win. (Photo below --- Danica's hand-in-hand work with her pit crew brought her the first victory ever by a woman in a major US-based open-wheel race series).

And her win meant a lot to Michael Andretti, co-owner, with Barry Green, of a four race car team at Motegi  including Patrick. Another team member, Andretti's son, Marco, went into the wall seconds after the green flag dropped and the cars were building-up to high speeds. He probably correctly blamed his maneuver on the relatively cold ambient temperature, about 59 degrees F. As soon as the 650-horsepower Honda engine began putting much of its power to the car's rear wheels, the tires spun and Andretti, who just turned 21, was into the wall, happily with no injuries, other than to the car, which kept him from continuing in the event. This is why Formula 1 race cars use electric tire-warming blankets; to keep the tires at a warm, usable and consistent temperature.

Click below for more words and lots more photos!

FIA SETS VOTING DATE ON "L'AFFAIRE MOSLEY"; JUST IN: AAA, ACCUS STATEMENTS

Our requests for statements on the FIA/Max Mosley scandal have been answered by both the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS). Both are "member clubs" of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the FIA, which was founded in 1904. While the FIA is perhaps best known as the governing body of Formula One, it describes itself thusly: "The FIA is a non-profit making association which brings together 222 national motoring organisations from 130 countries on five continents. Its member clubs represent over 100 million motorists and their families. This is a powerful mandate which the FIA is proud to defend. On issues such as safety, mobility, the environment and consumer law the FIA actively promotes the interests of motorists at the United Nations, within the European Union and other international bodies." (Photos --- Above, The FIA sanctions the World Touring Car Championship, sometimes called "the NASCAR of Europe", Below, FIA's "Jewel in the Crown" is the Formula 1 World Championship series).

The FIA has set a date for a meeting open to all member clubs and other members of the organization, in which the membership will decide what actions, if any, will be taken resulting from the expose' of FIA President Max Mosley's "relationship" with five prostitutes while engaged in Nazi-themed sadomasochism. Here is the complete announcement from the FIA, dated April 9th, 2008:

"Senate Decision
09.04.2008    
   
The FIA can confirm that the members of the Senate have unanimously approved the proposal of the President of the FIA, that further to the recent press coverage relating to his private life, an Extraordinary General Assembly should be convened.

The meeting will be held on June 3, 2008, in Paris. The General Assembly will include a vote of confidence by secret ballot." (Photo --- FIA also sanctions the World Rally Championship).

"Extraordinary General Assembly"? Maybe it loses something in the French-to-English translation, but the name reminds me of the old John Belushi movie, "Animal House," and the scene when the university president threatened Belushi's fraternity with "Double Secret Probation".

This announcement, issued under the FIA's official letterhead and on their website, seems to say that the FIA, as a body, has already made a tacit, but important, decision and distinction, by referring to "recent press coverage referring to his (Mosley's) private life". As a statement in and of itself, this seems to say that Mosley's actions, which, by the way, he has not in any way denied, bears no relationship to his public and professional actions or responsibilities. Perhaps some in the FIA will see fit to change this wording in the announcement.

Statement from the American Automobile Association:

"Recent events involving the leadership of the FIA have been very distressing and embarrassing. While this matter may be viewed as private by some, the damage to the image of FIA and its constituents is clearly public. For an organization--and its leader--to exercise the moral authority required to represent millions of motorists and sanction the activities of motorsport they must uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior. AAA recognizes that Mr. Mosley has dedicated many years of his life to advancing the interests of mobility and motorsport. However, after careful consideration, AAA has conveyed to Mr. Mosley that it would be in the best interest of all concerned if he were to step down."

The Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS, was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in the Denver, CO area. They describe themselves in this way: "The Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) is the National Sporting Authority (ASN) of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for the United States.
ACCUS is comprised of the eight major motorsports sanctioning organizations (known at the FIA as "member clubs"): Champ Car, Grand Am, IMSA, Indy Racing League, NASCAR, NHRA, SCCA and USAC, each nominating two directors to its Board. Additionally, a number of independent directors are elected annually. The World Karting Association (WKA) is an associate member."

Here is the statement provided us by ACCUS:

"The FIA has called an Extraordinary General Assembly for June 3 in Paris.  At that time, both the mobility/touring and sports clubs (some 200+ in all) will hear the evidence, cast their votes and render a decision. While many would like to address this earlier, the FIA Statutes govern the notice period."

We appreciate AAA and ACCUS responding so quickly to our requests; they clearly appreciate the critical nature of not only the June 3rd meeting in Paris, but also everything which happens between now and then, in public and private, regarding Mosley. And we'll let you know what we know, just as soon as we know it.

HITLER ATTENDED MOSLEY'S PARENTS WEDDING; AAA, ACCUS, CAA MEMBER? YOU HELPED PAY FOR MOSLEY'S PROSTITUTES!

Max Mosley is president of the International Federation of the Automobile (FIA), the worldwide sanctioning and organizing body for almost 30 major motor racing series, including Formula 1 and World Rally, which lobbies governments for motorists and motor racing and helps set European standards for mileage, emissions and safety among other very serious jobs. Mosley was recently videotaped in the company of five prostitutes, engaging in Nazi-styled sadomasochism. Click anywhere on this line to read the TIME Magazine story on this issue, which has created a worldwide uproar.

What we know now: Adolf Hitler was "a guest of honor", TIME magazine reports, at the wedding of  Max Mosley's parents, held in 1936 at Joseph Goebbels' Berlin home (Goebbels headed the Nazi propaganda machine). By 1936, Jews had already been "purged" from every government and corporate job in Germany and were imprisoned, and, just before the start of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Romanian "Gypsies" in the Berlin area were arrested and sent to concentration camps. (Photo --- F1 leader Bernie Ecclestone (l) and Max Mosley, president of the FIA).

While the FIA is perhaps best known as the governing body of Formula One, it also serves as a lobby for more than 100 million motorists in 130 countries on five continents through member clubs. The FIA is an international sporting organization, one of the largest and most-powerful lobbying groups in the world. (Photo --- Lewis Hamilton leads the F1 pack in the 2008 season-opener in Melbourne, Australia).

The latest news, from TIME Magazine, is that Mosley's parents, both outspoken Hitler and Nazi supporters and leaders in pre-war UK, were married in 1936 at the Berlin home of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda master, and that "a guest of honor ... was none other than Adolf Hitler". (Photo --- That's Max Mosley's dad, front and center; he spent all of WW II in a UK prison for his Nazi-sympathizing, and his wife, Diana Mitford, was a celebrity British Nazi sympathizer in the prewar years).

If you are a member of the Automobile Association of America, or one of its regional groups (for instance,  the Auto Club of Southern California, or ACSC), you may have helped pay for Mad Max's playtime. The AAA is listed on the FIA's website as a "member club" of the FIA.

Also "member clubs" of the FIA are: The American Automobile Touring Alliance of San Jose, CA., and the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States FIA Inc. (ACCUS). The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) is also a "member club" of the FIA.

TWO HORRIFIC RACING WRECKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE WORLD; DRIVERS WALK AWAY UNINJURED

NASCAR and Formula One have a lot more in common than their fans might have realized, at least when it comes to driver safety. This was proven not on a Sunday race day, but in qualifying runs for this Sunday's races, April 6th. NASCAR was at the so-very-American 1.5-mile high-banked oval located between Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas, and Formula 1 was running on a 3.3-mile road course in Bahrain, UAE. Two incredible high-speed wrecks, the kind which, in the not-very-far past, would have caused severe injuries and quite possibly driver deaths, happened at both tracks, but both drivers were able to walk away from their shunts.

People who don't understand motorsports say, "The only reason people watch these races is to see the crashes!" And you know what ... they're right, to a point. There's definitely a minority of fans (don't know how many exactly, but I like to think it is a minority) who somehow "enjoy" the twisting, crashing, smoking hulks of metallic missiles which race cars can become in a split-second or so, after getting airborne and slamming back down to earth, colliding with another car or two or three or simply smashing into a guard rail or wall. And even the most erudite racing observer feels the shot of adrenaline when witnessing one of the horrific scenes; if they say they don't, they're lying. It's the same reason everyone slows to see a wreck off the side of the road. (Photos --- Above, F1 ace Lewis Hamilton extricates himself from his car after he crashed during timed practice, and, Below, Michael McDowell is "along for the ride" as his Sprint Cup car is caught in the middle of no less than eight somersaults which occurred after hitting the wall at 165 miles an hour ... Both drivers escaped serious harm).

Over time, there have been amazing advancements in safety for race cars and passenger cars as well. This racing weekend is not over yet, not for another 24 hours or so, yet we've all been witness to the strength and agility of these cars and their drivers, especially when things go wrong. Also, these two wrecks, one occurring during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, the other during Formula One practice on the 3.3-mile road course in Bahrain, showed the excellent physical condition these drivers must be in to not only compete in races two hours and longer, with cockpit temperatures over 130 degrees (although ... believe it or not ... NASCAR drivers have air conditioning in their drivers' suits and power steering to help them along) and to survive these types of breath-taking crashes.

In Bahrain, the high cockpit sides of the McLaren-Mercedes F1 race car protected Lewis Hamilton from serious injury in a shunt which destroyed his car. Being so far from their home base in the UK, the team doesn't have any extra cars on-hand, which they would if they were on the European continent, so they got to work using a lot of spare parts and probably having parts flown by chartered plane from the UK ... if not an entire race car.

Lewis Hamilton was unharmed after crashing out during free practice ahead of this Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, a session dominated by the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. With just over nine minutes of the second practice session at the Sakhir circuit remaining, Hamilton slammed his McLaren sideways into a tire wall.

The 23-year-old McLaren driver said it was his mistake that led to his session ending early and leaving Ferrari to dominate and take pole position.

"I made a mistake. I got caught out by the kerb and it spun me around. That kerb it is quite spiteful," he said. "If you hit the wrong part of it is spits you off. That barrier is quite close to the side of the track. That's racing. It won't happen again."

Hamilton said the accident would not have any negative effects on him, his car or his race this weekend.

"There is no impact on the weekend. There are no bruises to report from me and we completed most of the session, making some good steps forward," he said. "Ferrari look very quick, but you don't know what fuel loads they are on. I'm hoping that fuel corrected it is a lot closer than things seem. Ferrari did a good job in the last race. We just have to focus on our own work. Pace-wise I feel quite comfortable. We saw from Malaysia that we had the pace to run with them in the race."

For the photos and story on Michael McDowell's incredible crash, click on the link below.

FIA's MAX MOSLEY "EXPOSED" AS SEX-CRAZED FASCIST; HE MUST GO, AND NOW!

When an Arab country dis-invites you from their F1 race because of your sado-masochistic Nazi tendencies being made public, then you know things are bad. And that's what the leader of Bahrain did this week in a letter to Max Mosley.

Max Mosley must quit his position as president of the FIA, and do it now. And Bernie Ecclestone, who runs F1 directly, must also take himself out of the sport and the public eye because of his (apparently singular) support of Mosley. And, as pointed out on SPEED's coverage of the F1 event in Bahrain this weekend, Mosley has written --- while claiming this is a "private" matter, but using official FIA letterhead, no less --- of receiving "support" from the world of motor sport. But he didn't mention any names. Instead, he should heed the call of almost every manufacturer involved in F1, including Toyota, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and more, that Mosley seriously consider if staying in his position would benefit the sport. There's a world-level sport to consider here, and the outrageous arrogance of Mosley and Ecclestone show, truly, that F1, and perhaps the FIA itself, have been little more than playthings to the two.

Here's how "News of the World," the UK tabloid which broke the news, and had the tapes, described Mosley's behavior:

"The son of infamous British wartime fascist leader Oswald Mosley is filmed romping with five hookers at a  depraved NAZI-STYLE orgy in a torture dungeon. Mosley— a friend to F1 big names like Bernie Ecclestone and Lewis Hamilton— barks ORDERS in GERMAN as he lashes girls wearing mock DEATH CAMP uniforms and enjoys being whipped until he BLEEDS. (Photo --- Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley).

The multi-millionaire son of Sir Oswald, who was a pal of Adolf Hitler, plays a concentration camp commandant in a FIVE-HOUR torture chamber video.

Mosley—the most powerful man in motor-racing—barks orders in German as he WHIPS two hookers dressed in striped uniforms reminiscent of AUSCHWITZ garb while girls in Nazi uniforms look on.

At one point the wrinkled 67-year-old—who publicly likes to give the impression he has put his father's evil legacy behind him—yells "she needs more of ze punishment!" while brandishing a LEATHER STRAP over a brunette's naked bottom." (end of NOTW report)

According to Canada.com: "Mosley's fall from grace is particularly sensitive because of his real-life links to fascism - his late father, Oswald Mosley, founded the pre-war British Union of Fascists, and Adolf Hitler is reported to have attended his wedding in Joseph Goebbels's home." Oswald Mosley was imprisoned in the UK during WW II for his pro-fascist and pro-Hitler activities. (Photo --- Max Mosley's father, Oswald, front and center in this photo of members of the fascist, pro-Hitler organization he founded in the UK before WW II; Mosley was imprisoned during the War).

While the FIA is perhaps best known as the governing body of Formula One, it also serves as a lobby for more than 100 million motorists in 130 countries on five continents through member clubs. The FIA is an international sporting organization, one of the largest and most-powerful lobbying groups in the world. Even if Mosley's sexual antics were not so outrageous and deplorable as they are, anyone stupid enough to put themselves in the position of having their fantasies taped for all the world to see should not hold office of any import.

Last night on SPEED, during their coverage of the F1 practice sessions from Bahrain, the announcers, including Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Peter Windsor (the one SPEED reporter actually at the events, while the other three sit in a studio in Connecticut watching the same TV and computer info we at home see, yet they all mesh together very well) did themselves proud. But you had to feel for Bob Varsha when he said, for the the purposes of "full disclosure", that SPEED and "News of the World", the UK tabloid which broke the Mosley story, "share ownership", which would be that of "News Corporation" the gigantic worldwide organization controlled by Rupert Murdoch, which also owns "FOX News" in the USA. (Photo --- Sir Jackie Stewart said on SPEED TV that Mosley can not remain head of the FIA, that his position has become "untenable").

And Sir Jackie Stewart, in a short interview, audio-only, with Peter Windsor, proved once again why,   despite his diminutive size, he is still very much the biggest man in world motor racing. He said one word when Windsor asked him how he viewed Mosley's position in the sport given these revelations: "Untenable", said the Knighted Stewart. "If this had been any other sport, any other organization, any other company, he would have already been gone," continued Stewart, as he reminded Windsor and the SPEED audience that motor racing is a worldwide movement which is supposed to "bring people together", not drive them apart, and the sport is able to transcend different cultures, religions and moralities between them because of its inclusive nature. Stewart and others mentioned golf, baseball, football ... and all other major world sports ... and said if Mosley had been in-charge of any of them, he'd be gone. Stewart also brought up the "Governor of New York State, George Pataki" and how his tenure was over within two or three days of the public learning of his liaison with a high-priced hooker.

If Mosley is somehow able to remain in his position, then Ecclestone's departure becomes even more necessary. If Ecclestone is unable to convince the man he has called "his best friend" to resign and leave the FIA and public scrutiny, then Ecclestone's position becomes "untenable" as well. And there are more than a few car-makers who wouldn't mind seeing them both go; this latest "L'affair Mosley" only adds napalm, not gasoline, to the fire over their actions and statements whch have been questioned for many years. (Photo --- Lewis Hamilton, F1's biggest star sensation, is of Black heritage; one must wonder what Mosley thinks of this young man).

Incredibly, many American-based websites which cover the motoring world were very reserved in their criticism of Mosley, if there was any criticism of him at all. Born of the same magazine industry which "never met a car they didn't like," these websites continue a sad tradition with editors and writers who are so meek, so afraid of offending their advertisers, that they do not even have the balls to criticize an outrageous and now self-professed pro-fascist, pro-Nazi like Mosley ... But "twas ever thus". Most Jewish journalists, and the few Jewish executives who have reached the upper levels of the Detroit Three and their affiliated businesses, learned a long time ago that the "restricted country club" culture, whose members controlled the auto industry in the US for so many decades, might officially be gone --- But just a slight scratch of some corporate executives finds anti-Semitic, if not outright pro-fascist and pro-Nazi feelings, which are still there, only slightly under cover.

PLANE CRASH CLAIMS UK RACING GREATS

A plane crash in the UK this past week killed the five people on-board the business flight, and three of those were figures in world motorsports. Two of them, David Leslie and Richard Lloyd, were well-known. Also killed were the craft's pilot and co-pilot and Christopher Allarton, 25, a race team data engineer. With reports culled from several sources, we're able to report this sad story. Although not well-known to most American racing fans, Leslie, Lloyd and Allarton were on their way to test a Jaguar racing car in France when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday afternoon, March 30th. The pilot and co-pilot, Mike Chapman and Mike Roberts, were also killed. The house the plane hit was unoccupied as the owners were on vacation; they arrived home just hours after the crash occurred, unaware of the event until they saw their ruined house. (Photos --- Above, Crash site in the UK; Below, Bentley "Speed 8" at the 2003 "24 Hours of LeMans").

Former Grand Prix racing champion Damon Hill knew Leslie and Lloyd for many years through their involvement with motor racing, and described them as "lovely guys".

The twin-engined Cessna Citation I crashed on Sunday at Farnborough, about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of London, and burst into flames. Nobody on the ground was injured as the couple who lived in the house were on holiday.

Mr Leslie was best known for his wins in the British Touring Car Championship at the height of its popularity in the 1990s, and more recently he was working as a racing commentator on Eurosport. The 54-year-old, from Banbury, Oxon, leaves behind a wife, Jane, and two sons.

Mr Lloyd ran the Bentley Le Mans 24-hour team earlier this decade and helped Audi win saloon car and touring car championships in the 1990s.He was also once a former driving partner of Sir Stirling Moss.

The 63-year-old was principal of Apex Motorsport, based in Buckinghamshire, and also once worked for Decca records in the 1960s, managing Cliff Richard and the Shadows. He lived with his wife Philippa, 56, and three daughters close to Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire. (Photo --- From upper left and clockwise, Richard Lloyd, Mike Chapman, Mike Roberts, David Leslie).

IRL OPENER TRUE-TO-OLD-FORM, UNFORTUNATELY; ONLY FOUR CARS ON LEAD LAP AT END

OK, we wanted to like this race, we really, really did ... But it gave us so few reasons to do so. Admittedly, the super-fast "merger" of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car will take at least a season, maybe more, for the effects to be felt, but we'd hoped for a bit more professional racing in this first "combined" event. And, no, I have not been an open-wheel racer and know almost-nothing about going around a 1.5-mile race track at over 200 miles per hour (something which the ESPN announcers feel compelled to mention every five or ten seconds during their race promotion, uh, coverage), but, then again, I am not getting paid several million bucks a year to drive these cars, only to (thank goodness) watch them and comment, based on what we all see, and what we all know about the sport. (Photo Above --- Winner Scott Dixon, foreground, dices with Tony Kanaan).

Quick race report: Gainsco Auto Insurance 300, opening meet of the 2008 Indy Car season. Congratulations to winner Scott Dixon, followed by Marco Andretti (more on that below), Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, Danica Patrick, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, AJ Foyt IV and Vitor Meira, the race's Top Ten. All of that group were running Dallara chassis, Honda engines and Firestone tires ... No, no, now wait a second ... This just in: All 25 of the starting cars had that same chassis/engine/tire set-up! And, someone tell me again, why is this not a "spec series"? (Photo --- "Geez, I know I left it in here somewhere...", team owner Dale Coyne still gets down-and-dirty with his race cars).

So, let's see ... The first race of the suddenly-combined Indy Racing League and Champ Car series was run this evening at the 1.485-mile Homestead-Miami race track, with four cars actually completing 200 laps in front of several dozen fans. At the checkered flag, there were: Four cars on the lead lap, and 16 cars still running out of the (event-record) 25 which had started. Tony Kanaan's car, leading the race with only about 10 laps to go, was collected by a spinning Ernesto Viso (who?), resulting in Kanaan's right-front suspension and wheel assembly coming off the car, except for a carbon-fiber safety strap somehow holding it all together. Kanaan was permitted by Indy Car officials to run in the #1 position for several laps under the "yellow" condition necessitated by Viso's spin, while the track was cleared from the same incident which crippled Kanaan. (Photo --- Danica Patrick, in always-fashionable black, has her way with Ryan Hunter-Reay).

Ah, Indy Car ... Welcome back!

Of several other very familiar notes hit by the IRL, which, it is being reported, did not "merge with" but rather has "absorbed" Champ Car, much like worms might absorb dirt and leaves to make mulch, was that of the only Andretti in the race, one Marco, aged 21, son of Michael, grandson of Mario. And what was so familiar about his run? Young Marco led for 85 of the event's 200 laps, yet, as everyone connected to the event in any way, shape or form knew, he wouldn't win. Couldn't win. And Andretti placed second ... And 'twas ever thus. Ain't it? We won't even go into detail about the bad call made from the pit by Marco's boss and dad ... Which led directly to his second-place finish. See what we mean about "familiar"?

And that official IRL hottie, Danica Patrick? See "Andretti", above. Finished the race, brought the car home in one piece, and placed a "respectable" sixth, after starting second (but never the pole). Unofficial IRL hottie Milka Duna finished 20th after starting 16th and running almost 120 laps before problems befell her.

And here's the really big news, direct from the Indycar website:

"Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008, will be the grand marshal for the Honda Grand Prix of St.   Petersburg on April 6. Haglund, 19, from Farmington Hills, Mich., is the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network. Haglund will participate in pre-race activities and will give the "start your engines" command." (Photo --- Doing his best 'Richard Nixon,' Scott Dixon claims victory at the end of the Miami-Homestead season-opener).

You just know Donald Trump will somehow be involved with that race ... If Miss America is there, The Super Sleaze himself, The Donald, can't be too far behind. After all, this is the racing series which gave new life to rock group KISS.

Like was said: Indy Car! Welcome back!

IT'S SOAP BOX DERBY TIME! GET INVOLVED!

BE THERE! Saturday, March 29, 2008, the "14th Annual Coachella Valley Don Berry Memorial Soap Box Derby" will be run on Avenidas Bermudas in La Quinta, California. From 9am until every entrant has run, late in the afternoon, there will be all the excited thrills and spills which occur in every kind of speed contest, but also a lot more. There will be great amounts of love, enthusiasm, coaching, learning, caring, mentoring and winners and losers ... But truly, no losers at all. All the competing girls and boys, from age 8 through 17, have, along with their adult "partners", built their own Soap Box race cars, made from kits which are shared by every participant, developed new ways to coax more traction and speed from their vehicles, learned about working with sponsors and, especially, the local media, to get the word out about this great annual event. These are great lessons for anyone of any age ... Just imagine if you'd had these kinds of lessons when you were much younger!

And the winners can make it all the way to the this year's "71st Finals" in Akron, Ohio.

This coming July 26, 2008, over 100,000 spectators will gather in Akron for the finals of the "71st All-American Soap Box Derby". Over the decades, the Derby has had its highs and lows, as any large event might, but in the past few years, along with a resurgence in Americans' patriotism, it has re-built itself into a huge, exciting contest not only for boys and girls, but also for their moms and dads, aunts and uncles, granddads and grandmoms, mentors and coaches of all types and kinds.

We'll be there at Avenidas Bermudas on March 29th, cameras and microphones in-hand, interviewing and taping all the kids and their great efforts, along with those of their mentors and sponsors, who are often the most emotional people at the event, based on past experience, for a future  'CAR NUT TV' show, and of course we'll post all the video on this website, too.

Over the years, many people have been great contributors to the Coachella Valley's Derby, including the late US President Gerald R. Ford, who with his wife, Betty, was for many years a local resident, and always a great font of encouragement for the Derby and all its participants and supporters. Don Berry, for whom the local Derby is named, established the event and was a person of non-stop action and enthusiasm, doing everything which needed to be done to guarantee the local Derby would continue on for years, even without him, as it has. Fred Mohler, now a longtime local Coachella Valley resident, was the national winner of the Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, in 1953, and gives willingly of his time and effort, wherever he might be of the greatest good to encourage his "kids". We do point out, however, that while Mohler was from Muncie, Indiana, the next three finishers that year, 54 years ago, were from Los Angeles, only 100 miles from where our local Derby will be held on March, 29th, in La Quinta.

And we want to encourage all the adults from the Southern California area who visit this website --- more than several hundred a day --- To participate as sponsors and mentors in their own local Soap Box Derby! It's fun, it's a great learning and teaching experience,  and it's a fantastic way for kids and adults together to learn patience and teamwork. And all the local events need sponsors of all kinds, large and small, as you'll read below.

To paraphrase Dragnet's Sgt. Joe Friday, "Here's just the facts":

Race Date: March 29, 2008, 9AM Start - till approximately 4-5PM

Location: Avenida Bermudas in the La Quinta Cove area

Contact information: 760-564-3761; E-mail: Luciam@dc.rr.com

Coachella Valley Soap Box Derby Local Website: www.cvsbd.org

Ages: Stock 8-13, Super Stock 10-17

Divisions: Stock & Super Stock (Masters Division to be held in 2009)

Local area for competitors: All of Riverside & Imperial Counties (and portions of San Bernardino, i.e. 29 Palms)

Cost of New Car: Approximately $700

We are always looking for sponsors to help with the costs to send the winners back to Akron. 

Anyone interested in a sponsorship, please call 760-564-3761.  We can get your names in the event program for this year's event if you contact the Derby by March 25th.

Click below to read more for the sponsor and contact information ... Maybe you can help out! Maybe you should help out! What if someone had helped you when you read about the Soap Box Derby as a kid ... maybe you dreamed about participating ... but for whatever reasons, you couldn't ... Maybe that was because that someone who could have helped you never called when they should have ... So NOW is YOUR chance to help! It'll be fun! You'll LOVE it ... So DO it!

HAMILTON DOMINATES F1 SEASON OPENER; CHAMPION RAIKKONEN'S FERRARI IS NINTH

Any doubts F1 fans might have had following the incredible debut year of McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton last season were quickly dispelled even before the start of the 18-event 2008 season-opener at Melbourne, Australia. That's because Hamilton took the pole position and led every lap of the event, except for those few laps he pitted to take on fuel. (Photo - Hamilton leads the pack in Oz).

Other than that "excitement", the winner of the race was never in doubt. Nick Heidfeld in a BMW and Nico Rosberg in a Williams-Toyota took second and third; a great season start, especially for Williams-Toyota.

The 3.3-mile race track in Melbourne, Australia, spends most of its life as a public road, so changing surfaces, from concrete to blacktop to everything in-between, add up to only a small part of what the drivers had working against them in the first Formula 1 race of the season.

Taking on this course is a difficult job even on the best of days and conditions. Add 100 degree air temperature, over 120 degrees on the track surface, humidity of only 15% and steady winds, and there was little joy among the drivers in the Land of Oz. None of this was to stand in the way of the still-remarkable Hamilton. He's only 23, but in his rookie season last year, he was almost frighteningly good, winning four events and being on the podium at races' end for almost every meeting of that season. (Photo - Fernando Alonso represents in his favorite Renault colors).

Leading into this new season, during testing in Spain, it was widely reported that many Spanish fans who  had come to see the testing screamed invectives and insults at Hamilton. Unfortunately, as Hamilton is the only Black man in F1, he's said that he is fairly inured to that kind of treatment. But considering the huge number of problems which surrounded his McLaren team last year, it's kind of a wonder that he not only stayed with the team, but also bravely decided to keep living his dream in spite of what a few racist Spanish spectators might have felt; indeed, possibly because of them.

To say that anyone's first year in F1 would be difficult is a great understatement. Hamilton, who "signed" an agreement with McLaren principal Ron Dennis when Hamilton was only 11 years old, made his dream come true and entered F1 last year as the "second" driver on the two-car McLaren Mercedes F1 team, traditionally one of the best in the sport. With Hamilton #2, his teammate was two-time F1 defending champion Fernando Alonso, who had left the Renault team where he'd won his two titles, for what he thought would be a better fit for him and his career at McLaren. (Photo - Champ Car's four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais in his first F1 race finished a very impressive seventh, gaining his STR-Ferrari team 2 points).

The opposite was true. It was Hamilton, not Alonso, who quickly got the worldwide media attention, whose victories, coolness under pressure and amazing driving skills and maturity, especially with the media, made his team owner proud and gave the fans something very special; the best rookie who'd ever sat in an F1 cockpit.

By the close of the 2007 season, Alsono was not speaking with either teammate Hamilton, or their boss, Ron Dennis. Alonso went back to his Renault team as fast as he could pack his bags and walk out the door of the McLaren Mercedes shop. And no one warned him to "not let the door hit you in the ass on" his way out. No love lost there.

SHOCKER AT '12 HOURS OF SEBRING'; PENSKE PORSCHE WINS OVERALL, A FIRST-EVER FOR LMP2-CLASS RACER

PENSKE/PORSCHE WINS OVERALL AT "12 HOURS OF SEBRING", FIRST 'AMERICAN LEMANS SERIES RACE OF THE SEASON; FIRST OVERALL WIN EVER FOR AN LMP2-CLASS CAR AT SEBRING. (Photo- Roger Penske's Porsches ran like clocks, taking their class and the overall win).

Celebrating the ALMS' tenth anniversary, this year's Sebring competition, from 10am to 10pm, from light into dark, provided a great "birthday party", with fireworks, for the teams, drivers and some 60,000 spectators who found seating, with folding chairs, blankets and on the tops of motorhomes, around the runways of the airport where the racing is held. No one could have been happier than two men who are, shall we say, a bit older than "middle-aged" yet still dominating forces in American racing, "Captain" Roger Penske, the winning team owner, and Dr. Don Panoz, the super-wealthy "patron" and founder of the series.

It was a big day for Porsche at the "12 HOURS OF SEBRING", the longest-running major sports car event in the US. The German manufacturer took two class victories as well as, somewhat surprisingly, the overall win and the first0-ever overall trophy for a LMP2-class race car. Other class wins went Audi's R10 V12 turbo-diesel-engined machine and a factory-supported Corvette C6R.

After winning the NASCAR Daytona 500, his team's Dodge race cars finishing one-two, the first win at Daytona in the history of the PENSKE RACING SOUTH team just a few weeks ago, now brings home the over all (and LMP2 class) win at the '12 HOURS OF SEBRING'. Roger Penske's skill as a team owner, putting together a team which gives their drivers cars which definitely win races, the legend of Penske, known to racing insiders as "The Captain", grows even more.

Drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas (LMP2 class) took the overall and class win at Sebring. Dindo Capello and Allan McNish took the LMP1 class victory in their Audi R10 turbo-diesel racer, a terrific come-down for that team which completely dominated last season's ALMS series. All the "big" cars (class LMP1) had problems at Sebring, and the first car in that class, the Audi R10, finished fourth overall (complete top fifteen results after the jump at the bottom of this story).

Peugeot, which fielded their own "Frenched" version of the Audi R10 turbo-diesel, finished third in class, behind the two Audis. We saw that race car (or a non-running facsimile; a "show car" version of it) at the 2007 TOKYO MOTOR SHOW in October, 2007. Both Audi and Peugeot are going to be selling vehicles with diesel engines in the US (Audi's Q7 SUV is the first Audi diesel-powered vehicle which will be on-sale in the US) and they will both be advertising their "diesels bred by competition"; at least they should. Mazda won the "24 HOURS OF LEMANS" in 1991, the first (and still only) time a Japanese-made car won that race, and certainly the first (and still only) time a car powered by a Wankel rotary engine won there. However, they never advertised that victory, at least not in the US, and Mazda missed-out on a bonanza as far as their reputation as car-builders. The Wankel engine, which had a bad reputation for reliability, could have also gained new believers --- But the advertising which should have happened never did. We don't think Audi nor Peugeot (which also will be selling cars in the US soon) will make that same mistake. (Photo - Audi's R10 diesels dominated the ALMS series last year and won the "24 HOURS OF LEMANS"; but it was not to be for them at Sebring, at least not this year).

In LMGT1, the factory-supported Corvette C6R took the class win and finished ninth overall.  The driving  team of Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows, who have been the team's drivers for several years, celebrated especially for Johnny O'Connell, who set a record by winning his seventh class victory at Sebring, taking the title from Phil Hill, the American F1 and endurance racing ace. I took a ride with O'Connell several years ago at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California, when he was one of the drivers of the Nissan factory-supported sports car team, and take it from me ... He's FAST! Canadian Ron Fellows also enjoyed the much-deserved win, as he was the lead test driver for Chevrolet throughout the development of the phenomenal C6R machine. Combined with Magnussen, this is a driving team which could win in any class, any series ... Chevy is lucky to have them. The second Corvette C6R finished eleventh overall, second in class, with Olivier Beretta, Olivier Gavin and our old friend, Max Papis at the helm.

LMGT2's winners were the whimsically-named "Flying Lizard Motorsports" Porsche 911 GT3, driven by
Jörg Bergmeister, Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb.

For all you real CAR NUTS (and super-gearheads) here are the specifications for the 2008 Penske Porsche ALMS race cars ... And the sheer numboer of people on the teams ... And don't forget, Top Fifteen results also after the jump:

Porsche RS Spyder

Concept:         Two-seater, open sports prototype according to A.C.O. regulations;
                      LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) class. (Photo - Peugeot's oil-burners had their first Sebring outing, but the diesel-powered cars will undoubtedly be a factor later in the season; we first saw this car on a display stand in October, 2007, at the TOKYO MOTOR SHOW; check the Photo Albums in the left-hand margin of this page for more Tokyo Motor Show photos).

Bodyshell: Carbon-fibre reinforced monocoque; front, side and rear body sections made of reinforced carbon/kevlar; underfloor cover with skid block and rear diffuser; rear wing adjustable on two wing elements; six-point seat belt with Head And Neck Support System (HANS) modification; fire extinguishing system; helmet protection to FIA and A.C.O. regulations; three-point pneumatic car jack.

Aerodynamics:  Variable as a function of rear wing and body height.

Power unit:      Eight-cylinder V-engine with 90-degree cylinder bank angle; watercooled; four valves per cylinder; oil cooling with oil/water heat exchanger; intake system with a 44 mm (1.73”) restrictor for ALMS Regulations; intake system with individual throttle butterflies; dry sump lubrication with separate oil tank; Bosch MS 4.2 electronic engine management; sequential multipoint fuel injection.

CHAMP CAR, INDY RACING LEAGUE SIGN AGREEMENT ENDING 12-YEAR SPLIT --- SERIES COMBINE UNDER IRL NAME; RACING STARTS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI, FL MARCH 29th

ESPN Bulletin (2-22-08) 1:00pm EST Detroit, MI - The Indy Racing League and the Champ Car series have signed a deal to unify the two American open-wheel series.

IRL spokesman John Griffin said Champ Car co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe signed the agreement with IRL founder Tony George on Friday. As many as six of the nine teams expected to compete in Champ Car in 2008 could field cars in the IndyCar Series, including Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, PKV Racing, Forsythe/Pettit Racing, Conquest Racing, Walker Racing and Dale Coyne Racing. The addition of up to 10 regular entries from Champ Car teams would increase the size of the IndyCar field to more than 25 cars for the first time since the late 1990s.  -30- (End of ESPN bulletin)

SPEEDTV's Robin Miller, America's best open-wheel series journalist, broke the story about the rift being healed earlier this week, and we carried it on this website. And now, the papers are signed, the champagne uncorker and "Let's go racing!" is the call heard throughout the land. Well, at race tracks, anyway.

HERE'S THE BACKGROUND

There could not have been a better Valentine's Day gift for open-wheel racing fans around the world, and there's also poetic justice, with the split between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League (IRL) being repaired the same week that Roger Penske's Penske South Racing team won their first NASCAR race at the Daytona Speedway; that's because IRL founder/Indy track owner Tony George often held up Roger Penske as an example of everything that was wrong with CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams). George would typically complain on and on at press conferences about how big-time team owners in the sport also had a say in the way the sport was being run, and George thought that a terrible idea. It's poetic justice because at the time of the CART/IRL split, George himself was a quiet-partner in the ownership of at least two IRL teams.

Reports say that George is supplying free chassis and engines, plus $1.2 million, to any Champ Car team able to compete the entire season, adding at least eight cars to the IRL grid.

This is all good news for everyone who is a racing fan and even those who aren't; the winner of this year's Indy 500 will once again be the winner of, truly, what the folks in Indy like to call "Greatest Spectacle in Racing".

It's absolutely good news for every single person in the sport, because by wisely bringing the two sanctioning bodies back together quickly, the all-important sponsors and TV networks willing (and wanting) to carry the racing should be trooping back to the sport with their millions of dollars and millions of viewers.

The best news, though, is that starting grids for this combined series will be filled by the best   possible drivers, and the flying starts of the races may see more than just the first row aligned properly; some IRL starts have been absolutely laughable, setting aside the inherent danger of having unskilled drivers in these 200+ mile per hour race cars. Join us now for a trip down Memory Lane ... No one said they'd be good memories, so hang on ... And be sure to let us know what you think, too, about this now-official rapprochement.