Conference terri::cars_uk

    Is there any truth in the rumour that Newman-Haas are talking to
    Alain Prost with regard to a possible drive in 1994?
    
    Aparantly, the French would-be World Champ is not to keen on being a
    team-mate to the Brazilian upstart Senna next term.
    
    Yours mischeivously
    
    Terry B

I know the last note was tongue-in-cheek, but...

It would be interesting to see Prost on ovals, I doubt he would appreciate the 
danger.

    They said that about our boy MANSELL.  He did win the champiopnship
    this weekend which proved everybody to be wrong.  
    
    I see your point though. Prost lacks BOTTLE. He backs off where Senna
    and Mansell go for it. And that`s what racing is all about, driver
    skill.
    
    C.P.

>>       I see your point though. Prost lacks BOTTLE. He backs off where Senna
>>       and Mansell go for it. And that`s what racing is all about, driver
>>       skill.
    
    Oh dear. Prost and Senna have been head and shoulders above the rest
    bar none for almost a decade now. They are simply the best and no-one
    else comes near them. They may be very different, but their results
    speak for themselves. Prost has been team mate to four different world
    champions and he has beaten all of them fair and square.
    
    I'm not sure that "driver skill" and "bottle" are the same thing, as
    you imply. Nor do I think that they are enough to make a great driver.
    
    I suppose you think that JYS and Emmo also lacked "bottle". They
    were both active safety campaigners during their careers and were
    tactical rather than spectacular drivers. I didn't stop them winning
    five titles between them. Maybe you'd be happier seeing
    drivers in shirt sleeves dicing between the trees and the telegraph
    poles at Francorchamps or the 'Ring?
                
    Edward. 

There was some news from Laguna Seca about team and driver changes for the 1994 
IndyCar season.  Here's the team lineups so far:

o Newman/Haas Racing:  Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti.  Mario has announced
  that he will retire from IndyCar racing at the end of the 1994 season.

o Walker Motorsports:  Hiro Matsushita and Robby Gordon (replacing Scott
  Goodyear).

o Team Penske:  Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy, and Al Unser, Jr. (moving
  from Galles International).

o Chip Ganassi Racing:  Michael Andretti (replacing Arie Luyendyk).  Factory
  team for the new Reynard chassis.

o King Racing: Scott Goodyear (moving from Walker Motorsports)

o Galles International:  The big question mark.  Little Al has left and it
  seems unlikely Danny Sullivan will stay.  Adrian Fernandez is mentioned.

o Rahal/Hogan:  Bobby Rahal and Mike Groff.  Factory development team for the
  new Honda engine.

o A.J. Foyt Racing:  Another question mark, since Robby Gordon is leaving.
  Rumored to be talking to Arie Luyendyk.

o Bettenhausen Racing: Stefan Johansson. 

o Dick Simon Racing:  Raul Boesel.  Likely to be running a car for Lyn St.
  James as well when she returns next season.

o Patrick Racing:  Pat Patrick's team is re-forming.  In 1994, they will be
  doing development testing for the new Firestone tires with Scott Pruett
  as the driver.  They may run a limited number of races and plan to enter
  the full schedule in 1995.

Also expected back are Olivier Grouillard, Scott Brayton, and Olivier 
Grouillard.

--PSW

    Re: .6
    
    Penske are set to run Emmo and Little Al in the Marlboro cars, with
    Tracy in the third car with different sponsorship next year.
    
    Was it Galles who offered Prost a seat for next year??
    
    Any word on who apart from Ganassi will run Reynard chassis?
    
    Any word on who apart from Rahal/Hogan will run Honda?
    
    
    Gabriel

    .6�o Dick Simon Racing:  Raul Boesel.  Likely to be running a car for Lyn St.
    .6�  James as well when she returns next season.
    
    How about Thierry Boutsen ? I heard several rumours about the deal
    being signed while others say Boutsen will set up his own team.

The commentary at Laguna Seca suggested that there weren't any seats around.
Looking at the list there seems to be quite a few. Pity they can't get rid of
Hiro Chicane without loosing oodles of valuable money.

    I have also heard that Little Al is not planning to walk away fromm
    Galles but is only threatening to so that they will dump Sullivan. 
    Supposedly he likes to be part of a 1 car team only.
    regards,
    JP

RE: .11

Well, it's now been officially announced that Little Al will be driving a third 
Marlboro Penske next season.  The Galles driver contingent is rumored to most 
likely be Danny Sullivan and Adrian Fernandez.

--PSW

	CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) -- It's official -- Al Unser Jr. will become part
of a three-car Penske Racing team that also includes Emerson Fittipaldi
and Paul Tracy in the PPG Indy Car World Series.
	Although the Unser/Penske deal was officially announced by the
IndyCar team Thursday, the matchup has been widely reported for weeks.
	``About mid-season, I was talking to several different car owners and
Roger Penske has pretty much set the standard for IndyCar owners
throughout my career,'' said Unser, son of former Penske driver Al
Unser. ``As soon as I had a chance to join his team, we did it and I was
able to get connected with Marlboro Team Penske. ... Dad thinks this is
the best team out here, so we are very happy.''
	Unser said he began discussing the possibility of joining Penske
Racing at the Marlboro 500 on Aug. 1, but actually signed the contract
before last weekend's IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca Raceway in
Monterey, Calif.
	Unser's decision to leave team owner Rick Galles was tough, because
the two had been together for six seasons. But Unser decided it was best
for both if they did move on.
	``Well, it was very emotional,'' Unser said. ``Rick and I are very,
very good friends and we have been together for a long time. Rick is the
one that took me to Indianapolis for the first time in 1983.''
	Penske Racing has campaigned three full-time teams in the past, most
recently in 1990 when Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi and Danny Sullivan
all drove the entire schedule.
	``The primary reason we are doing this -- and I am speaking for Roger
-- we anticipate that the season is going to be the most competitive
we've ever had in IndyCar racing,'' said Dan Luginbuhl, a vice-president
for the Penske Corporation. ``We have to do extensive testing, so that
is a key factor in our decision.''
	Unser, Fittipaldi and Tracy will all drive Marlboro-sponsored Penske
chassis powered by the Ilmor V-8 engine.
	The 31-year-old Unser has 19 career IndyCar victories, including the
1992 Indianapolis 500 in the closest finish in the history of the event.
He also won the 1990 PPG Indy Car World Series title.
	Penske Racing has 79 IndyCar wins, nine Indianapolis 500 victories,
eight Indy Car World Series championships and 104 pole positions.
                               ------
	MANSELL REAPS THE REWARDS: Nigel Mansell of Great Britain reaped the
rewards of capturing the PPG Indy Car World Series championship in his
rookie season during the awards banquet in San Francisco on Monday
night. Mansell collected a $1 million bonus for winning the series,
bringing his season winnings to $2,526,953 in the Kmart/Havoline 1993
Lola/Ford owned by Carl Haas and Paul Newman.
	In addition to numerous awards and accolades, the 1992 Formula One
world champion also received a letter from British Prime Minister John
Major that said: ``Dear Nigel, Many congratulations on your historic
victory in the 1993 IndyCar championships. Following your Formula One
World Championship in 1992, this is a truly magnificent achievement. All
of us in the United Kingdom have marvelled at your skill as you have
adapted so well to the challenge of IndyCar racing.
	``A well as taking plesure in your personal success, I must also
congratulate the Newman-Haas team -- for modern racing is very much a
team effort.
	``I am, of course, also very proud for the Lola-Cosworth team. You
will appreciate my glow of satisfaction at their success as they are
based so close to my home in Huntingdon.
	``I look forward to seeing you repeat your success next season.
	``Yours, Sincerely, John Major.''
	Said Mansell, ``What an historic championship this has been. Actions
speak louder than words, which is why I've signed for another two years
with Newman/Haas to remain in the IndyCar series. This has been the most
fantastic championship I've ever been in.''
	Brazil's Emerson Fittipaldi received $2,575,554 for finishing second
followed by Marlboro Team Penske teammate Paul Tracy receiving $1,422,
253 for third. They were followed by Bobby Rahal, fourth, $858,250; Raul
Boesel, fifth, $1,163,653; Mario Andretti, sixth, $1,111,453; Al Unser,
Jr., seventh, $932,503; Arie Luyendyk, eighth, $1,294,053; Scott
Goodyear, ninth, $920,203; and Robby Gordon, tenth, $796,203.

>night. Mansell collected a $1 million bonus for winning the series,
>bringing his season winnings to $2,526,953 in the Kmart/Havoline 1993

>	Brazil's Emerson Fittipaldi received $2,575,554 for finishing second



looks like it pays better to come second in this championship !

I think the reason for Emerson's winnings being greater is that
he won the Indianapolis 500 with its huge purse.

Jeff

Absolutely and this has been common for a number of years. Depends which race
you win as to where you stand in the earnings. Anyway, whose gonna quibble? Take
the money and run...

    Could it also mean that Penske pays higher salaries than Newman-Haas ?

    I'd guess that is just earnings from winnings isn't it. I think if you
    add in the salary then Nigel probably tops it.
    

    I heard on the radio, Sunday that Mansel had a bad crash during an
    invitational race in England.
    
    6 laps from the end, the car was off the track. Mansel sent to the
    hospital with head injuries.
    
    Anybody else hear anything ?
    
    Fred                        

    He's fine, on his way back to the US with bruising to his hip and his
    ego. It was a heavy shunt and they had to cut him out of the car, they
    also took extra care because of the possibility of aggravating his
    spinal injury from Phoenix.
    
    Paul
    

    Isn't Willy T. tied in with Derrick Walker, Cosby and Service
    Merchandise picking up the tab? I don't know if Hiro-in-his-own-mind is
    part of the equation. Any other 94 pairings? (Poor Scott Goodyaer; King
    Racing doesn't seem to sort cars too well..they ditched Guererro, then
    found Cheever didn't do measurably better)  8{)  
    
    Pete (Ron Dennis isn't returning my calls....)

Courtesy of a posting to the Internet, here's some 1994 IndyCar silly season 
information.  These drivers are confirmed:

Newman/Haas Lola T94/Ford XB
	Nigel Mansell
	Mario Andretti

Penske Racing Penske PC23/Ilmor
	Emerson Fittipaldi
	Al Unser, Jr.
	Paul Tracy

Walker Motorsports Lola T94/Ford XB
	Robbie Gordon
	Willy T. Ribbs

King Racing Lola T94/Ford XB
	Scott Goodyear

Rahal/Hogan Lola T94/Honda
	Bobby Rahal

Galles Racing Reynard 94I/Ilmor
	Danny Sullivan
	Kevin Cogan

Dick Simon Lola T94/Ford XB
	Raul Boesel

Pacific West Racing Lola T94/Ford XB
	Scott Sharp
	Domenic Dobson

Bettenhausen Racing Penske PC23/Ilmor 94
	Stefan Johansson

Forsythe/Green Reynard 94I/Ford XB
	Jacques Villeneuve

Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 94I/Ford XB
	Michael Andretti

Scott Brayton had been set to drive for Dick Simon, but his Amway sponsorship 
deal fell through.  It is thoght that Scott Brayton will drive for Menard next 
year.  No word on whether that's for a full season, selected races, or the Indy 
500 only.  Lyn St. James will definitely race at the Indy 500 with Dick Simon. 
The rest of the season is still in question.

Mike Groff will drive a second Honda-powered Lola for Rahal/Hogan if they can 
line up the sponsorship.  Ditto with Adrian Fernandez, who is currently the 
Galles Racing test driver.


These driver/team pairings have been mooted but are not confirmed:

All-American Racing (Dan Gurney) Lola T93
	Juan Manuel Fangio II
	Geoff Brabham

Tom Walkinshaw Racing Lola T94/Ford XB
	Davey Jones

Indy Regency Lola T94/Ilmor
	Olivier Grouillard

Patrick Racing Lola T94/Ilmor
	Scott Pruett

CompTech Racing Lola T94/Honda
	Parker Johnstone

Tasman Motorsport Lola T94/Ilmor
	Brian Herta

Hayhoe Lola T92
	Jimmy Vasser

Hall/VDS Reynard 94I/Ilmor
	Teo Fabi

Leader Card Racing Lola T92/Ilmor
	Buddy Lazier

Soverign Racing Lola T92/Ilmor
	Marco Greco

Euromotorsport Lola T92/Ilmor
	Andrea Chiesa
	Andrea Montermini

Turley Motorsport Penske PC21/Ilmor
	Robbie Buhl

Cheever/Menard Lola T94/Ilmor
	Eddie Cheever


Seats still open:
	1: Foyt Racing Lola T94/Ford XB
	1: Dick Simon Lola T94/Ford XB

--PSW

    Boy, it's been quiet in this note for a while. Guess it's just that
    time of year. There was a picture of the new Reynard in AUTOWEEK and
    the car looks great. It appears that they have NOT copied the Lola
    design, though I'm sure the temptation was there. After all, you have
    to start somewhere and a proven design isn't a bad jumping off point.
    It looks like the Reynard folks are trying some aero ideas around the
    side pods and tail that give the car a distinctive look. Off course, no
    amount of time in the ol' wind tunnel tells all, so we'll have to wait
    and see how the car acts on the ovals. I would think that Reynard would
    be getting a pretty fair amount of info and feedback since they'll have
    a number of teams and cars running this year which should help the
    development time.
    
    I noticed when looking at the driver/car/engine line up in the previous
    note that there is more diversity than ever in the number of chassis
    and engines, lots of different combinations. It will make it even more
    difficult for the fans to figure out what's working and what isn't. So
    it should be fun watching the cars test and develop.
    
    Paul
    

    Hi Paul,
    
    .23�    the car looks great. It appears that they have NOT copied the Lola
    .23�    design, though I'm sure the temptation was there. After all, you have
    
    Why would they do that ? For a long time now, Lolas have been oversized
    and overweight cars. Reynard has easily beaten Lola in every discipline
    they have engaged, the latest being F3000. My guess is that it won't
    take long before the story repeats in F Indy, unless the Reynards are
    only used by mediocre teams which is far from being the case.
    
    Several people I know think that Eric Broadley has moved into money
    making some 10 years ago, after having produced some very interesting
    advanced designs for many years. Over here, Lolas have virtually
    disappeared from the racing scene. 
    
    Their latest entry (the 1993 Scuderia Italia Ferrari powered F1 car) has 
    been a disaster in terms of results while being a very juicy business
    for Broadley: Mr Lucchini, the boss of Scuderia Italia is a very rich man
    There won't be any Lola in F1 next year and by the same token Mr
    Lucchini was so disappointed that he has decided to move to some other
    discipline (touring cars ?).

    RE: .24
    
    Lola may have been unsuccessful in other formulae, but they have been
    wildly successful with their IndyCars.  For at least the last 5 years,
    the IndyCar driver's champion has driven a Lola.
    
    --PSW

    re: .22
    
    I saw only two teams listed with HONDA engine.
    
    Didn't FORD make fuss about HONDA comming into Indy and tried to make
    it difficult by changing rule?
    
    I thought that the new rule forces Honda to provide engines to at least
    three teams.
    
    MN
    
    
    

    RE: .26
    
    The engine supply rule says that a new engine supplier must supply 3
    cars on at least 2 teams.  Honda complies with the rule.
    
    --PSW

re::Lolas
As Paul noted, the Lolas may not be big winners elsewhere, but they certainly are 
winners in Indycars. Only the Lolas and Penske have been consistent for the last 
5-6 years, with Galles getting a few. Last year, the Penske won 8 to Lolas 8, with 
the Penske seeming to be better on the road courses with the Lolas good on ovals. 
Lot's of folks mentioned that the Lolas were tricky to set up AND drive at the 
limit, but they certaily were successful.

The new Reynard, on really close inspection, is a departure from the Lolas in a 
few interesting ways. The front wing assembly sweeps forward and is raised more 
than the Lolas - it looks a bit more "F1-like". Reynard's claimining that it will 
be smoother and cause less turbulence. At any rate, it looks very nice. At the 
sides and back there are a few other changes. The sidepods are shaped differently 
with more sculpturing around the air exits, and the bodywork at the tail is very 
coke-bottle like. Actually, it's reminds me a bit of the 84-5 McLarens. All in all 
a very nice looking design.

I know that Reynard's been very successful in other formulae. They have a fine 
reputation. But getting a car to be quick and stable at +220MPH is a real test. I 
wish them luck. They have enough customers that they ought to get a lot of 
developemnt time and information back. Michael's already tested and had the car 
going quite quickly, though it was on the newly resurfaced Phoenix track, so one 
should not put too much hope in the times. I'm sure we'll have a better idea after 
both Penske and the Lolas test there.

Paul 

Reynard has built winning cars on both sides of the Atlantic, but they 
haven't been able to build a competetive car for the U.S. Formula 
Atlantic series. In fact, their FA effort wasn't even close to being 
competetive to the Swift DB4 and now the Ralt RT40. FA may be as close 
to Indy cars as anything else in the U.S.

It seems that the tracks in Europe are quite different than those in 
the U.S. Just to compare Formula Fords, the Swift DB1 has been
dominant in the US and can't win in Europe. I think Reynard FFs win in
Europe, but don't win in the U.S. In Formula Continental (FF2000)
in the U.S., Reynard has now taken a back seat to both the new Swift
DB6 and the new Van Diemen. 

In fact, at the SCCA runnoffs this year, the first Reynard FC was
10th. In FA, the first Reynard was 5th. In FF, I think the first
Reynard was 19th. 

I for one want to see Michael Andretti up front, so I hope the Reynard 
is quick.

Glenn

re:-1

Good point. The same America/Europe differences showed up in IMSA where successful 
teams in Europe had a difficult time adjusting to the climate in the US. It seems 
to me that a large number of the tracks in NA are narrow and rough compared to 
tracks in Europe. So changes in the chassis, suspension geometry and adjustment, 
and aerodynamics are critical.

I'd like to see MA run competitively with the Penskes and Lolas just to keep 
things mixed up. What with the potential to have at least three competitive 
chassis, and three (Ford, Chevy, Honda) engines, it should be even more 
interesting than last year. Lots of combinations.

About the engine rule. I believe that it was properly stated that a "new" engine 
manufacturer must supply two team and three cars minimum is its first year of 
competition. It wasn't Ford so much that resisted Honda's entry into Indycars. The 
CART board of directors did. The board is made up of the team owners - Haas, 
Penske, etc. It was they who feared Honda's entry and created the additional 
barriers to entry. When Chevy came in with Penske, as I remember, they ONLY 
supplied Penske in the first year or so. Soooo, Honda (and Toyota and Nissan?) 
will have additional hills to climb to compete in Indycars. I really don't like 
this rule. Ibelieve it to be selfserving and not in the best interest of the 
sport. It is an example, I believe, of allowing the police to police the police. 
I'd rather see a strong, independent governing body.

Firestone has a similar problem. They wanted to come back to Indy in 1995. The 
board, with much input from Goodyear, decided that the rule would be that any tire 
supplier had to be prepared to supply 50% of the field. I can see Goodyear's point 
of view on this. They have spent millions in the last +25 years. They doiminate 
the very top of the motor racing heap - F1, Indycar, NASCAR, NHRA - and they won't 
take kindly to any interloper. Still, there's nothing like a good tire war. 
Inspite of the new rule, Firestone say they'll be ready in '95.

Paul

    RE: .30
    
    I, on the other hand, think that the "3 cars on 2 teams" rule for new
    engine manufacturers is a good thing.  It prevents the "if you don't
    have the X engine (where "X" used to be Honda and now is Renault), you're
    nowhere" situation that has plagued F1 since the mid 1980s.
    
    Self-rule by the teams in CART seems to have worked out quite well,
    IMO.  IndyCar seems to have been mercifully free of Balestre Disease
    since they split off from USAC.
    
    I do agree that requiring Firestone to be able to supply half the field
    in its first year is taking things to extremes.
    
    --PSW 

Paul - 

The 3 cars, two team rule probably isn't bad by itself. It expands to 3 teams, 6 
cars in year two just for the reason you point out. What bothered me was that the 
rule was put into place AFTER Penske had exclusive use of the new Chevy Ilmor in 
year one. Admittedly, the engine became avaialable after that, but the rule seems 
to be aimed at "foreign invaders". BTW, now that M-B has bought out GM's share of 
Ilmor, they (M-B) plan to have a brand new engine in '95 that will race Indy as a 
Merc. Penske, as you may know, bought controlling interest in Detroit Diesel a few 
years ago from GM and has done well with it. He sold 20% to Mercedes and thus was 
instumental in getting M-B to buy Ilmor. Rumor has it that M-B outbid Chevy 3-1 
for the GM stake. Figure that one out. Nevertheless, the new Ilmor M-B will be 
subject to the same rules as Honda. It's fair, I guess.

Paul

    RE: .32
    
    What I *do* consider blatantly unfair is what IndyCar tried to foist on
    Honda recently:  they said that the two teams involved in the "3 cars,
    2 teams" rule had to be CART franchisees, something that wasn't part of
    the original rule.
    
    --PSW

Paul -

I agree. That certainly seems unfair. It's things like this that make me wonder 
about CART's rules making. Honda didn't flinch when told that they had to supply 3 
cars and two teams, but was clearly unhappy when told about the franchises. Honda 
has said that it will comply. I'm not exactly sure just how. Rahal is franchised, 
isn't he? That takes car of two cars. Who else is running Honda engines in '94?

Paul

    Anybody seen the 94 Incycar calendar yet

March 20     	Surfer's Paradise, Oz	2.793 Mile temp. road circuit
April 10     	Phoenix, AZ		1 Mile Oval
April 17     	Long Beach, CA		1.676 Mile temp. road circuit
May 29	     	Indianapolis, IN	2.5 Mile Superspeedway Oval
June 5	     	Milwaukee, WI		1 Mile Oval
June 12	     	Detroit, MI		2.1 Mile temp. road circuit
June 26	     	Portland, OR		1.922 Mile Road Course
July 10	     	Cleveland, OH		2.359 Mile temp. road circuit
July 17	     	Toronto, ON, Canada	1.78 Mile temp road circuit
July 31	     	Brooklyn, MI		2 Mile Superspeedway Oval
August 14    	Lexington, OH		2.25 Mile Road Course
August 21    	Loudon, NH		1 Mile Oval
September 4  	Vancouver, BC, Canada	1.704 Mile temp. road circuit
September 11 	Elkhart Lake, WI	4 Mile Road Course
September 18 	Nazareth, PA		1 Mile Oval
October 2    	Laguna Seca, CA		2.214 Mile Road Course

Some info on this coming season's IndyCar team lineups, posted to the
Internet.

From the February 1994 Indy Car Racing issue:

"Best Guesses"

Driver			Team		Sponsor		Car

Nigel Mansell		Newman/Haas	Kmar/Havoline	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Mario Andretti		Newman/Haas	Kmart/Havoline	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Emerson Fittipaldi	Penske		Marlboro	Penske/Ilmor
Paul Tracy		Penske		Malboro		Penske/Ilmor
Al Unser, Jr.		Penske		Marlboro	Penske/Ilmor
Bobby Rahal		Rahal Hogan	Miller G.D.	Lola/Honda
Mike Groff		Rahal/Hogan			Lola/Honda
Raul Boesel		Dick Simon	Duracell	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Michael Andretti	Chip Ganassi	Target/Scotch	Reynard/Ford Cosworth
Adrian Fernandez	Galles		Tecate Beer	Reynard/Ilmor
Robby Gordon		Walker				Lola/Ford Cosworth
Willy T. Ribbs		Walker		Service Merch/
					Cosby		Lola/Ford Cosworth
Mark Smith		Walker		Craftsman	Penski/Ilmor
Jeff Andretti		Burns/Miller			Lola/Ford Cosworth
Scott Goodyear		Budweiser King	Budweiser	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Stephan Johanson	Bettenhausen			Penske/Ilmor
Olivier Grouillard	Indy Regency	Malboro(Europe)	Lola/Ilmor
Arie Luyendyk		Indy Regency			Lola/Ilmor
Dominic Dobson		Pac West			Lola/Ilmor
Fredrick Ekblom		Sovereign	Alfa Laval	Lola/Ilmor
Teo Fabi		Hall		Penzoil		Reynard/Ilmor
Davy Jones		Foyt		Copenhagen	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Scott Sharp		PacWest				Lola/Ilmor
Jimmy Vasser		Hayhoe		STP/Kraco	Reynard/Ford Cosworth
Jacqes Villeneuve	Forsythe/Green	Players Ltd.	Reynard/Ford Cosworth
Alessandro Zampedri	Euromotosport	AGIP/
					Hawaiian Tropic	Lola/Ilmor


"Maybe"

Stephan Gregoir		Project 500			Lola/Ford Cosworth
Mauricio Gugelmin	Ganassi				Reynard/Ford Cosworth
Buddy Lazier		Leader Card	Financial World
					Magazine	Lola/Ilmor
Hiro Matsushita		Granatelli	Panasonic	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Danny Sullivan
Johnny Unser		Coyne		Ruger FIre Arms
Parker Johnstone	Comp Tech			Lola/Honda

			TWR				Lola/Ilmor
			Bettenhausen			Penske/Ilmor
			PROformance			Lola/Ilmor


"Indy 500 Only"

Lyn St. James		Dick Simon			Lola/Ford Cosworth
Dennis Vitolo		Dick Simon			Lola/Ford Cosworth
Scott Brayton		Team Menard			Lola/Brayton  
Eddie Cheever		Team Menard			Lola/Brayton
Al Unser		ASA				Lola/Ford Cosworth

"Special Assignment (Patrick Racing is Firestone's development team)"

Scott Pruett		Patrick		Firestone	Lola/Ford Cosworth
Al Unser		Patrick		Firestone	Lola/Ford Cosworth
    

    
    I don't want to turn this into a NASCAR note...but I read today in the
    latest issue of Road and Track magazine that Nigel Mansell wants to get
    some "part-time" rides in NASCAR - Brickyard race..plus a few others..
    
    Is this true?
    
    PS - I've cross-posted this in both RACERS and 
         NASCAR conferences for obvious reasons..    
    								-mike-

    
    Testing Notes, etc. Nigel got under 20 sec at Phoenix, an all-time
    record. His time was beaten, several days later, by Scott Goodyear.Both
    remarked that the re-paving has made a significant difference in both
    lpa times and driver comfort; the removal of the bump between turns 1
    and 2 especially so.
        Honda may have dodged the 3-car, 2-team stipulation, as there are
    no more CART franchises available. Evidently CART has given them a
    waiver for 94.....
    
    Pete 

    More IndyCar driver news:  David Tennyson, a driver for Dyson in IMSA
    GTP sports car racing, has signed up as full-time test driver for AJ Foyt's
    IndyCar team.
    
    Danny Sullivan has moved on to NASCAR Winston Cup competition.
    
    Hiro Matsushita is reportedly having trouble putting together a team
    and sponsorship package with Vince Granatelli.
    
    --PSW

    Mansell also under the record at Laguna Seca, the papers say he is very
    happy because the car is miles better than last year. It certainly
    seems to be on a much better par with Reynard and Penske this year.
    
    As always testing is one thing.......

The mystery of which team is going to be the second team for the new Honda 
IndyCar engine (rules say they must supply 3 cars on 2 teams in their first 
year) is over.  Dale Coyne Racing will be running a Lola/Honda this year.  
After the Indy 500, it will be driven by Parker Johnstone, who drove the 
Comptech Acura Spice with such success in IMSA GT Lights competition.  It's 
not clear yet whether Parker Johnstone will drive at Indianapolis.  Dale 
Coyne will also be fielding a Lola/Ford.

--PSW

Didn't see much on this, but it's interesting to note that the Galles team is experiencing a lot of trouble. Little 
Al's departure indicated that something's wrong. Danny seemed to have a ride but now is trying to put a 
NASCAR deal together. He is also suing Galles Racing for breach of contract. It would appear that the 
team is in serious financial difficuly - this after being one of the top teams just a few years ago. Speculation 
is that the venture into chassis design and building really hurt the team more than most knew. Sounds right 
to me. Anyone have more ont he subject?

Paul

Here's the preceding note, reformatted to fit in 80 columns:


Didn't see much on this, but it's interesting to note that the Galles team 
is experiencing a lot of trouble. Little Al's departure indicated that 
something's wrong. Danny seemed to have a ride but now is trying to put a
NASCAR deal together. He is also suing Galles Racing for breach of 
contract. It would appear that the team is in serious financial difficuly - 
this after being one of the top teams just a few years ago. Speculation
is that the venture into chassis design and building really hurt the team 
more than most knew. Sounds right to me. Anyone have more ont he subject?

Paul

RE: .43, .44

Galles racing has been hit by a few financial setbacks in the last couple 
of years:

- Maury Kraines has reduced his (financial) involvement in the team.  I  
  notice that it's now "Galles Racing", not "Galles/Kraco".

- The Galmer chassis project failed.  I think it likely that Galles's long
  term financial plans icluded recouping the Galmer investment with chassis
  sales to other teams.

- Some sponsors have dropped the team.

I think Little Al left because it was clear that the team would not be 
competitive for a while.  Danny Sullivan's complaint is that Galles dropped 
him at the last minute, when it was far too late for him to negotiate a 
competitive ride with another team.

--PSW 

    CART has informed Reynard that they must modify the gearbox casing on
    their new Indycar. The casing has a pair if fins, ostensibly for
    cooling, which CART claims are aerodynamic strakes, illegal under
    present rules. 
    
    Pete

Does anyone in the US know where and when the race will appear on tv on Sunday?

I thought it would be on from 2:00-4:00 on Sunday.  I am not sure where I saw
this.

TV Guide says 2:00 Eastern Time on Sunday, broadcast on ABC.

--PSW

    Mr Indianapolis motor Speedway, Tony George, is going to go it alone
    with USAC to promote a new Indycar series, he believes that the current
    series is going nowhere, he resigns from the board and it seems like
    he's taking the ball too.
    
    Watch this space.

Hi,

Are there any other notesfiles / internet groups / etc.which also discuss the
indycar series ?  It's just that I'm craving for more information than is
normally available here.

Cheers,

Steven

OASS::RACERS? Not sure if the node is still valid but it's in
TURRIS::Easynet_Conferences #1005

Dave.

Yes, OASS::RACERS is valid, but for lots of discussion on Indycar racing as 
well as F1 and others, try rec.autos.sport.

Dave (mod of RACERS)

I read, with interest, the note about Tony George and his decision to leave the 
Board of Indycar. Then the item (in AUTOWEEK?) that he and USAC would pursue a 
competing series. I would see this as a "real" threat. There is clear strength on 
both sides of the issue. With USAC controlling the Indy 500, they can make things 
sticky for competitors. On the other hand, who can George get to run Indy (and the 
series) if not the current crop of Indycar owners? Who has more power?

Clearly, Tony George believes that the Indycar owners (the "franchise" holders) 
are not acting i the best interest of the sport. He's right on that point, I 
think. On the other hand, how could he attract a quality field if not from this 
very group? I just don't see Penske or Newman-Haas jumping ship. And the smaller 
teams don't have the quality or drawing power.

It's still another act in the power struggle to see who will run this show. It 
will interesting to see what real plans George comes up with.

Paul

RE: .51

rec.autos.sport on the Internet is the main discussion area for IndyCar 
racing on the Internet (as well as F1, NASCAR, and just about all other 
motorsport).


RE: .50, .54

About 2 years ago, CART reorganized itself, the Board of Directors that 
consists of one vote per franchisee delegating the day-to-day running of 
things to a smaller Board of 4 or 5 people, one of whom was Tony George, 
representing the interests of the Speedway (I don't think George was a 
voting member, though).  There then followed a period of detante in the 
CART vs. USAC controversy.  This fall, the CART Board of Directors decided 
to go back to the old organization.  Bill Stokkan (CART president) left and 
was replaced and the 4-5 man "operations committee" was dissolved and the 
old franchisee BoD took over.

What Tony George announced to the press last week was that he felt 
frustrated and disappointed with the CART franchisees and their way of 
running things, to the extent that he was investigating running his own 
racing series (with USAC sanctioning) next year.  He emphasized that the 
plans are very tentative at this time, and warned the press that they 
should be concentrating on the PPG IndyCar World Series and the race at 
Surfer's Paradise, not on rumors coming out of IMS about this possible new 
series.  He only made the announcement at this time because rumors were 
bound to leak out later in the year and he wanted to forestall unwarranted 
speculation and innuendo by making a formal announcement now.


It's not clear to me what George's beef is with CART, unless it's just that 
they hold most of the power in the series and he doesn't.  I also have 
grave doubts as to whether he could actually organize a competing IndyCar 
series successfully.  CART, after all, successfully broke away from USAC a 
little over a decade ago, and so we know that whatever the Speedway might 
think about how CART runs things, the major teams, race venues, promoters, 
and sponsors think that CART does a better job than USAC.  Unless Tony 
George can convince one or more of the major teams (such as Newman/Haas or 
Penske or Ganassi) to leave CART, I don't see how he could succeed.  But 
these teams hold the power in CART as it now stands, so I see no incentive 
for them to break ranks.

Another possibility is that Tony George may be looking to FISA and the 
"world open-wheel oval racing series" that Max Moseley wants to set up.

In my opinion, while CART isn't perfect, the general concept of the team 
owners doing the governing seems to be superior to the 
rule-by-a-generalissimo approach (e.g. J-M Balestre) or the 
rule-by-not-directly-involved-sanctioning-committee approach (e.g., USAC, 
FISA).  F1 was a happier and more stable place when FOCA was in control and 
the CSI a more or less rubber-stamp body, and likewise IndyCar is working 
more smoothly under CART than USAC.

--PSW

--PSW

The first race is being shown, and then repeated a couple of times, 
on Sunday on Eurosport.

WIll Nige do it again???

Peter.

Good note, Paul. You certainly added more detail about George's announcement and 
his warnings about the press paying attention, something they often don't do.

Running CART or USAC (or any other business) is always tricky. I agree that CART 
seems more stable and successful under the current structures than USAC was. One 
could argue that the FIA and FISA has done a resonable job at running F1 - at 
least in regards to the current level of success, income, etc. The dictator 
approach can work. Look at NASCAR. That's what I would call a benign dictator. The 
Frace family has ruled the NASCAR domain for years, but never in a capricious way. 
It was that part of JMB and FISA that always seemed to upset folks.

Back to the issue here. I agree. I don't see USAC and George simply setting up 
another series by themselves. BUT, if there is some backing from the FIA for some 
international open-wheel championship.... I could see a series that would grow, 
and in a few years include the Indy 500. That might force things. But it would 
still be pretty risky from a financial standpoint.

I believe Tony George is quite bright and appears to be a good businessman. He 
obviously has a vested interest in the sport's success - he does run a track, 
quite successfully I believe. (Take a look at the interest in the 400 miler NASCAR 
will run in August there!) I don't see Penske and Haas giving up there control of 
CART to George (or anyone else) any time soon.

Paul

Some times from first practice at Surfer's Paradise:

 1 Mansell	1:36.63
 2 Gordon	1:36.69
 3 Tracy	1:36.73
 4 Mic Andretti	1:37.33
 5 Unser Jr	1:37.57
 6 Fittipaldi	1:38.17
 7 Vasser	1:38.27
 8 Rahal	1:38.40
 9 Mar Andretti	1:38.50
10 Gugelmin	1:38.75
15 Montermini	1:39.76
17 Villeneuve	1:39.99

--PSW

    Don't follow Mr. George's concerns regarding the "health of the sport".
    This year is the strongest in CART's history, with new manufacturers
    entering Indycar (Honda), several poised to enter (Mercedes/Illmor,
    Toyota, perhaps Nissan) and a new chassis manufacturer (Reynard).
    IMS has added seating, the Brickyard is inevitably sold-out, and
    attendence for all venues keeps rising. 
    I think he is just after a power play. Agreed, the CART board and it's
    configuration is far from ideal, but I see nothing to gain by setting
    up another rival series under USAC sanctioning.  
    
    Pete

    re .58
    
    I was just looking at the first practice times and thinking....how many
    of those (top 10) guy's have F1 experience. 
    
    Just a thought..
    
    								-mike-

RE: .60

The grid at Surfer's Paradise:

1. Nigel Mansell	2. Michael Andretti
3. Emerson Fittipaldi	4. Adrian Fernandez (!)
5. Al Unser, Jr.	6. Paul Tracy
7. Mauricio Gugelmin	8. Jacques Villeneuve
9. Robby Gordon		10. Jimmy Vasser
11. Teo Fabi		12. Stefan Johansson
13. Mark Smith		14. Mike Groff
15. Arie Luyendyk	16. Bobby Rahal
17. Scott Goodyear	18. Scott Sharp
19. Mario Andretti (!)	20. Raul Boesel (!)
21. Alessandro Zampedri	22. Willy T. Ribbs
23. Hiro Matsushita	24. Robbie Buhl
25. Davy Jones		26. Dominic Dobson
27. Gary Brabham	28. Marco Greco
29. Buddy Lazier

Andrea Montermini and David Kudrave wrecked their cars in practice and, 
having no spares, had to withdraw.

In the top 10 qualifiers, 4 have had F1 experience (counting Michael 
Andretti).  In the second 10 qualifiers, 5 have had F1 experience.  In the 
bottom 9 qualifiers, 2 have had F1 experience.  Seems to be a pretty even 
distribution.

--PSW

    Only seen it briefly on CEEFAX, but Michael Andretti brought the
    Reynard accross the line first for its maiden victory in its maiden
    race.
    
    Nige spun out of contension on lap 25 and finished ninth in what he
    described as a lottery.
    
    The race was cut short by 10-laps due to a late start because of heavy
    rain, etc.
    
    Plenty of smilling faces at Bicester, I should think.
    
    Terry B
                                                     

    Glad I decided to turn off the 4am alarm when I went to bed on
    Saturday. Got up at around 7.15/7.30am to check ceefax for the result
    only to find it still going on live!
    
    What a shambles. Now that more races are being shown live rather than
    in highlight form, the tedium of endless yellow flag laps really comes
    through. Awful c*ck up from Mansell, nearly another one from Andretti
    Jnr when he clouted the tyres. Good result for Reynard - yet another
    tick in the box for winning their first race in any series they enter.
    All that's left is F1.
    
    Roll on Brazil and some real racing from some non-geriatrics :-)
    
    paul

    On the surface, Surfers Paradise shows that:
    
    	1. Any F1 scrub can win in IndyCar racing.
    
    	2. The "magic" of F1 wears off after a year.
    
    Bjorn

I was up skiing over the seek end, but had enough foresight to set the VCR. A few 
comments on the race:

1) Glad it wasn't live. In all fairness, the weather played havoc with the start 
and then there was the mess at the back of the pack on what should have been the 
first racing lap. (I HATE street courses any more! They inevitably have turns that 
are too narrow and they seem to create problems. And Surfer's isn't bad by most 
street course standards!)

2) Nige can complain all he wants, but it was he who chose the dry tires at that 
point in the race and it was he who spun out. And it was he who spun out again 
being agressive trying to move up.

3) Say what you will about Michael and his F1 experience, but he drove a hell of a 
race yesterday. He and the Ganassi team have put in the parctice and testing 
miles, they know this car, and they went out there with confidence. Michael's pass 
on Nige on the first lap was very impressive, and he dealt with the iffy 
conditions better than anyone. He deserved this win.

4) Jees, how dark does it have to get before they call the race?

Paul

This was the messiest IndyCar race I've seen.  It's too bad that the F1 and 
IndyCar race organizers can't schedule their Australia races except during 
monsoon seasons.  Or is it always raining in Oz?  :-)

I think Nigel Mansell went into the race overconfident and unprepared 
mentally.  The guy who was out there spinning off the course wasn't the 
same man who drove in F1 and won the IndyCar championship last year.

Michael Andretti went into the race hungry and with a lot to prove, which 
he did so resoundingly.  As the ABC TV interviewer said to him after the 
race, welcome back to IndyCars, Michael!

Reynard obviously have done their homework and put together a good chassis. 
It qualified well (2nd and 4th) and was competitive in the race.  Adrian 
Fernandez needs more actual race experience, but he's got good potential 
and it looks like the Galles team is better prepared now that they can 
concentrate on one car.

--PSW

The ABC broadcast of the Surfer's Paradise race had a bit more on the 
situation regarding Tony George and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  It seems 
that Tony George's main concern is about plans CART has to expand overseas. 
Tony George thinks that IndyCar racing should concentrate on the US first, 
and that he wants to see more opportunities for the teams that right now 
race only at the Speedway (teams such as Menard).  He has some backing in 
this from some of the minor teams in the CART camp.

Frankly, I don't see how a series composed of the Indy-only teams and CART 
also-rans can make it.

--PSW

I had a hard time understanding George's point about the expansion of Indycar 
overseas vs. the home front. Granted it was not the whole interview, but his 
comment seemed a bit shortsighted. I am not sure what to make out of all this. It 
is not at all simple. Whaile I agree that letting the owners "run the show" may 
not be in the best interest of the sport, but they certainly have done a 
reasonable job of it over the years. This is, in part, I believe to the strong 
influence that Haas and Penske have over the sport.

Is this a power play where Tony wants to see Indycar, USAC, and the Indy 500 
joined at the hip - with him as the head of it all? Could be? He's certainly 
acting as if that's part of it.

Paul

    re: Mr. George's plans: Where will they race? He's stated the series
    would 'return to it's roots" by scheduling more races on oval tracks.
    
    Hmmm...let's see; they could race at....Michigan?; oh, yeah owned by
    Penske.  Nazareth has a great facility. But, well, it's also owned by 
    Penske.  Well, how's about Milwaukee?  Carl Haas runs the oval there.
    THe new oval to be built in Florida?  Locked up by CART for at least 3
    years.  Guess that leaves a) The Brickyard b) New Hampster
    International  and c) Pocono (if any drivers will run there) 
    Some series....
    
    Pete 

Yeah, it's hard to understand exactly what all that means. This "returning to the 
roots..." isn't clear. I read that more as a covering statement. But who knows.

There was an item in the new RACER that addressed George's resignation, as well as 
a letter from a fan. The concern is that Indycar (CART) has not included enough 
attention for the fans and track owners. Understandable until one realizes, as the 
previous noter did, that many of the tracks are owned or operated by CART team 
owners like Haas and Penske!

In another item, it was noted that CART improved their attendance (including Indy 
numbers) by about 4% over 1992, while the folks a NASCAR had another good year 
with a 7-8% improvement.

Paul

Phoenix is coming up and with the repaving of the track, most expect that the 
qualifying record will fall - along with the overall grid speed. At least three 
drivers have already cracked the :20 barrier, including Mansell who said that the 
speeds really are terrific for a 1-mile oval. He figures that the cars are going 
192-195 mph on the straights! The average is over 180. With traffic that makes 
racing a very busy time with the driver constantly adjusting rhythm and having to 
look ahead and plan. I believe that the race will be pretty competitive. It will 
be interesting to see if the Penske will show the same level of competitiveness 
they did last year when Tracy, then Fitti were so far ahead of the field.

Paul 

Seems that George is partly bluffing. He has reopened negotiations with CART
(he'd never even spoken to the new guy) and what he is looking for is less
power for the team owners and more power for the organisers and other franchise
holders. Hmmmm, isn't that what he wanted before he left CART??

Yeah, it sounds familiar. These things are carried out so much in the press 
anymore. Everyone uses the media to state their case and bring additional pressure 
to bear on the talks. It's probably impossible to tell, with any certainty, what 
folks are really after. One of the letters in RACER expressed some of the 
reservations found here about Craig and George and the whole thing. It probably is 
NOT a real Chicken Little situation - yet. The fact is that both F1 and Indycars, 
for all their warts, still operate big shows with lots of bucks involved. Until 
revenue takes a serious downturn, I don't think you'll see the parties taking any 
drastic actions.

In the meantime, I've watched both the Indycar and F1 openers, and it looks to me 
that this will be a competitive and interesting season. I'm for that. That's what 
us fans want.

Paul

The Phoenix race proved interseting agin this year, tho for different reasons. 
First, the grid positions looked a bit different from Surfer's. Jacques Villeneuve 
proved to be surprisingly fast and qualified on the front row with Tracy. Mansell 
went fast but to get third. You wonder if last year's accident bothers him.

In the race the Penske's were quick with Tracy leading the early going. The 
accident involving Tracy, Mashushita and Villeneuve proves just how strong these 
cars are. Thank God! Hiro's car was torn in two, and I believe that Tracy would 
have been killed had he gotten out of the car sooner. I can't remember a more 
destroyed car since Kevin Cogan's at Indy a few years back.

Fittipaldi showed good speed and race craft in taking the lead and holding it. Al 
Unser, Jr had a typical race. He started back in about 12th or 14th, worked his 
way up and finished behind his teammate Fitti.

Mario had a big off on the front straight about 150 laps in. Looked like there may 
have been a suspension failure. In the crash that followed he was hit by another 
car (I forget whose) and one of his wheels/tires looked like it was catapulted 
over the fence and into the crowd. There were 3 fortunately minor injuries.

The competition is fierce and close this year. I look for Unser to go quickly at 
Long Beach. He always seems to go well there and on the street courses. Tracy will 
be quick, as will Mansell. I pick little Al to get his first Penske win.

Paul

    I've watched some of the race live on Eurosport (until the big crash)
    and then some of the replays. I enjoyed the race, even if all you see
    is cars turning left all the time 8^)), and I thought the in-car views 
    were pretty good. Maybe this has to do with the lenses used but I found 
    that the speed impression was good (certainly MUCH better than in F1
    where you feel the cars are moving so slowly). 
    
    I must say I'm not a great fan of Indycar road races because they don't
    compare well with F1. On the other hand racing on this short oval was
    really interesting, there was a lot of action and suspense.  

Paul

The old man took out his son, Mario's accident took out Michael.

Interestingly, this race was definitely won in the pits, firstly with some great
Roger Penske thinking and secondly Mansell getting caught out by the clutch,
Not for the first time either.

After last years race it was a little obvious that Penske has something
special at Pheonix.

The Villeneuve accident was another example of what happens when you jink out
trying to avoid the slow car in front of you. The yellows were a little late in
coming on and poor Villeneuve had nowhere to go. How Matsawhatsit survived I
will never know.

What wasn't so obvious was that four spectators were hurt by flying debris in
the Andretti accident. Don't ever forget, Motor Racing IS dangerous.

RE: .74, .76

Mario's crash left debris (including the whole rear wing section) all over 
the track.  When Michael Andretti encountered this area shortly thereafter, 
he had to take evasive action to avoid the debris.  His left front wheel 
ended up touching Scott Sharp's right rear wheel, and the contact tore off 
Michael's front wheel, launching it about 70 feet in the air.  It came down 
beyond the wall and catch fencing, then bounced up the hill towards one of 
the hospitality tents.  Four spectators were injured by the tire, 
fortunately none of them seriously.

--PSW

Patrick -

I don't know what the commentary is like for the Indycar races in Europe, but one 
of the interesting aspects to oval track racing is the constant speed coupled with 
traffic. Phoenix is a 1-mile oval (as is Nazareth, Milwaukee, and New Hampshire) 
and the speeds were terrific. The leading cars were lapping in the 20-second range 
which is about 170-175 mph - that's the lap average speed, which means that things 
are happening very quickly. No question that smoothness will get you around the 
track quickly, but as was pointed out, if you jerk the wheel at all or move out of 
the groove, bad things happen. It's this high speed + traffic that makes turning 
left interesting. That and the pit strategy. Penske sure seems to have the pit 
work down and always is fast at Phoenix.

That accident with the Andrettis was bad enough without the spectators getting 
hurt. But when those cars come apart, the pieces fly. I hope the injuries were 
minor.

Paul

RE: .75, .78

Another aspect of racing at these speeds on 1-mile ovals is that executing 
a pass is sort of like a chess game.  When you're actually watching the 
race in person, you can see drivers setting up a pass 1/2 or even 1 lap in 
advance:  driver A will take a high line on the front straight so that he 
can swoop down out of turn 2 into the back straight just as driver B (who A 
is trying to pass) gets trapped on the high line behind slower traffic.  B
of course will try to counter this.

These strategic moves don't televise very well, because except for the 
blimp shots, you can't see enough of the track at once for the moves to be 
clear, unless you know what to look for.  I used to think that oval races 
were pretty dumb and boring, until I attended one in person and found out 
what to look for.

--PSW

re -2 The injuries were minor thankfully.

Whilst being at a 1 mile oval is obviously much better than TV, TV is much
better than GP TV. You can see gaps increasing or decreasing much better than a
GP. The TV people should take a leaf out of NASCAR's book though giving more
whole field summaries, individual progress reports and they regularly give stats
on gaps and lap speeds. I know the Brits will complain that the Yanks go
overboard on stats but when you aren't there and your vision is limited to the
square box it provides info on the bits you can't see. I can't see Murray Walker
coping with all those figures though!

Mike

re.80:

Murray Walker might not be able to cope with statistics but teletext could,
these could then be optionally displayed (like cricket scores are done) whilst
watching the race.

Dave.

'ere, that's a bid too radical for the likes of the Beeb, it would appear far
too much like they were providing something we wanted!

;-)

Nice idea though? 

A thought, do they have the same kind of teletext service in the US or is their
archaic method of transmission too overloaded and if they do have they ever done
anything like you suggested??

re.82:

But the Beeb already do it for cricket, so it's not too radical for them.

Dave.

    re: .75
    
    I find that ESPN uses the in-car camera better at IndyCar races than
    it's used in the F1 feeds.  However, I think that the angle of view
    of the F1 airbox camera provides a much truer perspective than the
    equivalent (side of roll-over structure) IndyCar view.  The IndyCar
    lens is too much of a wide angle lens and distorts the view.  The
    closing rate to and the separation rate from the car ahead is
    exaggerated by the view.  (This difference in the angle of view has 
    been translated into the PC games "World Circuit" and "IndyCar Racing" 
    and is the main reason that I find "World Circuit" much more "driveable".)
    
    re: .79
    
    For all the reasons cited, watching an IndyCar race on a 1-mile oval
    (like NHIS) is simply fantastic.  When I watch the tape afterwards, I'm
    always disappointed by how poorly the event translates to TV.  The F1
    races I've been to at Watkins Glen or Montreal can't compare in terms
    of racing to the two IndyCar races at NHIS.  However, there is no
    comparison between the cars in terms of spectacle.  F1 cars are
    great to watch and listen to (I have a CD of the 1992 Japan GP
    but not even my 1000+ W hifi system can properly reproduce the sound of
    the cars.)  IndyCars have a nice enough sound, but on a 1-mile oval with 
    26 very similar sounding cars going around with no gear changes, the 
    sound is not a major attraction.  (I'm sure IndyCars are better to
    listen to on road courses and, of course, alone on the track almost any
    race car sounds great.)
    
    I was surprised that Penske didn't put up a protest when Nigel
    drove off the pit-out lane, through the grass, and onto the track
    after his last pit stop.  Perhaps he figured that with Emerson a lap
    up and Al, Jr. in second, Nigel was not a serious threat for the win
    and that he could use this incident to his advantage in the future if
    one of his driver's did the same thing or to ensure a black flag if
    Nigel did it again at a critical time.
    
    Bjorn

    .78�I don't know what the commentary is like for the Indycar races in Europe, but one 
    
    I can speak for French EUROSPORT: the commentary is terrible. The guy
    is sitting in a studio watching ... so words just reflect what every
    body can see by themselves.

    .79�These strategic moves don't televise very well, because except for the 
    
    I don't entirely agree. The Phoenix race was pretty clear. They kept
    switching from in-car camera, on-circuit cameras, helicopter camera
    while tracking the same car for a while. You could very well see the
    strategy.
    
    At the Brazilian F1 GP some cars were equipped with cameras mounted 
    on the side of the rear wing with "normal" angle lenses (compared to 
    wide angle for cameras mounted right behind the driver's helmet) and I
    found the views really terrific.
    
    As I said the Phoenix race was very exciting. I'll look for the next
    one (on EUROSPORT, of course).

    re: last
    
    >>.79�These strategic moves don't televise very well, because except for
    >>    the
    
    >>    I don't entirely agree. The Phoenix race was pretty clear. They
    >>    kept switching from in-car camera, on-circuit cameras, helicopter 
    >>    camera while tracking the same car for a while. You could very well 
    >>    see the strategy.
    
    ESPN used the in-car and blimp cams well at Phoenix, but you'll have to
    see a race on a 1-mile oval in person to appreciate how badly they
    televise.
    
    >>    As I said the Phoenix race was very exciting. I'll look for the next
    >>    one (on EUROSPORT, of course).
    
    Do I sense a developing appreciation for "bull ring" racing?  Next up is 
    Milwaukee (after Indy).
    
    Bjorn

Listen, Patrick and I are more than a little grateful that we get to see ANY
roundy roundy racing at all!!!! Damn, I missed last nights NASCAR.......
I fell asleep.

Mike

    .87�    Do I sense a developing appreciation for "bull ring" racing?  Next up is 
    .87�    Milwaukee (after Indy).
     
    Maybe. As I said earlier I'm not turned on by Indycar road races
    because (European view here) they don't compare well with F1. I have
    watched Indy 500 on TV a number of times in the past and after a couple
    of times I find it unexciting (as a TV viewer). But I really liked
    Phoenix, mostly because it's a short oval, the drivers keep racing all
    the time, they obviously have to play changing tactics because of
    slower traffic and aerodynamics, ... Yes, I really enjoyed this.
    
    And I loved those views from over the driver's shoulder. I think I'd
    love to jump into a Penske and be given a few laps ... 

So maybe I'm a cynic, but it seems to me that the Indycar season is made for Lola and 
Reynard. Their revenue streams for new and repaired chassis has never looked better!

Good race for Unser. He had a very good qualifying run and made the most of the race. It 
would have been interesting if Fitti hadn't dropped out. Would Unser have challenged 
him? Tracy certainly looked quick, but those brakes seemed to be over biased to the 
rear. They must be pretty tough to modulate when they are that far out of balance. It would 
seem that Tracy could not get more adjustment from them in the cockpit.

Now we enter the twilight zone where the next six weeks (!!??!!) are consumed with Indy. I 
realize the importance of this event, but six weeks? It would be hard to pick a clear favorite 
at this stage of the game. The Penske's look great, but there are some doubts as to the 
reliability of the new engine. During the race yesterday it was reported that because of the 
rules, the MB "stock block" push rod engine, with it's additional boost, may make close to 
1,000 bhp. Exageration? Maybe. The net is that they will very likely have a horse power 
advantage and should win the pole. After that, who knows? They have been doing a lot of 
endurance testing and I wouldn't be surprised to see them last even tho only one Buick 
ever made it 500 miles. But that was Buick and this is Penske and MB. 

Paul

    Busy day yesterday. Woke up at 5:00 to watch the Pacific GP on TF1,
    Eurosport and Swiss TV until 7:30. Then watched Long Beach on Eurosport
    before going to bed about midnight. 
    
    Aida is an interesting circuit requiring a perfect setup and very good
    brakes. Some infield battles but boring race since only car/driver had
    the perfect setup. 
    
    Long Beach is still Long Beach, not very exciting. Good view from the
    on-board cameras. 

    There is an interesting article (and editorials) about Tony George's
    recent action vis a vis Indycar and the new series. George is concerned
    that Indycar is bieing run be (and mostly for) the franchise owners,
    i.e. the team owners, and the fans and track owners have not been
    considered in the decision making. So, while the future looks good, it
    probably isn't. There is discontent among the track owners and race
    promoters. Most of the team owners are NOT track owners or promoters,
    with the exception, of course, of Penske and Haas.
    
    George is no fool. Within the next two years, nearly all the contracts
    Indycar (CART) holds with track owners and promoters expire. George,
    who holds the ultimate trump card in the Indy 500, feels that he can
    win contract from a number of these promoters/owners. It would seem
    that he could in fact build a series that would compete with the
    current series since a number of the race dates could be wooed away
    from Indycar. It's still a gamble, but not nearly as much as was first
    thought. If he goes forward with the series, it would begin in the 1996
    season - plenty of time to pull it together.
    
    Andrew Craig wants to negotiate with George. Can Craig come to an
    agreement that will suit most of the players? In this scenario, I can
    see where George might just be able to entice enough tracks into his
    fold and set up a series that would compete. (Forget, for the moment,
    the technical differences there may be in the cars.)
    
    Things are supposed to be quiet on this front until after the 500. Then
    I think we'll see things develop.
    
    Paul 
    

Meanwhile, there's another interesting development.  Secretly over the past 
year, Penske and Ilmor have developed a 3.4 liter pushrod engine that meets 
USAC's rule for "stock block" engines and thus is eligible for an extra 10 
inches of turbo boost at the Indy 500.  This engine has been badged as a 
Mercedes and will be raced by Penske in this year's Indy 500.  It 
reportedly delivers 1000 bhp.  The big unknown at this point is 
reliability.  If it can last 500 miles, Penske may well be unbeatable in 
the 500 this year.

Penske has also announced that he's building a new race track in California 
across the street from where Ontario Motor Speedway used to be.  The 
intriguing thing is that OMS used to be a replica of the track at 
Indianapolis.  Is Penske planning on building a 2.5-mile "square oval" to 
replace Indianapolis when IMS splits away from CART in 1996?

--PSW

    So how does the supplying 2 franchise holders/3 cars apply?  I know
    Penske has 3 cars, but does he have 2 franchises?  If he does and I 
    was another team owner I'd be a bit hacked and think it's time to
    "expand" that rule to: 2 DIFFERENT franchise holders and/or cars from
    two different team owners.
    
    I can imagine what Penske, whoops I mean Ilmor, will charge for the
    first evolution of this engine.  That is after they have the second or
    third evolution available to Penske.  It would probably be in the 
    $50 to 100k range.  If they've been working on this engine since, what, 
    last August, it prob'ly cost $200 - 500K to R&D and build the first
    batch.  I figure this would be a great opportunity to reduce costs for
    all of CART by offering it for $25K each.  
    
    Ok, ok, end of dream

>    So how does the supplying 2 franchise holders/3 cars apply?

It doesn't apply to the Indy 500 which is run under USAC rules but the 
results do count toward the CART championship.

    The current arrangement in Indycar has Ilmor and Ford supplying engines
    to teams in a lease program. You lease an engine for about $100,000 and
    then pay about $25-30,000 for a rebuild which is required after about
    600 miles. This means that a team would have 6-10 engines per car in
    some kind of a rotation - probably 4-7 in the shop/transporter and the
    rest being rebuilt. Even a small team would have something like $1m in
    engine expenses for a year. A 3-car team like Penske might be $5-6m.
    And that does NOT include engine management electronics, which often
    vary from team to team.
    
    Penske is unaffected by the franchise rule unless he elects to try to
    use the engine this year in the Indycar sponsored events. I don't
    really believe that any other 2.5 mile oval would ever "replace" the
    Indy 500. If Penske builds the California track, it will be because he
    thinks its a good piece of buisness and that the track will be added to
    the series (whatever series that is). It must be a hugh investment. My
    guess would be that he has some favorable financing, tax and other
    arrangements with the state and local governments. Without it it is
    nearly impossible to justify the financial outlay. I wish him luck on
    the venture.
    
    Paul
    

The last 'major' sppedway built in the US was NHIS and it is only 1 mile 
and already had an existing road course, parking lots, access roads etc.
This was reported to have cost somewhere around US $20 million.  Consider 
the buisness climate in California these days and that the speedway is 
reportedly going to be 2.5 miles and built from scratch and I can easily see 
that this speedway will cost at least US $40 million.  The track will have 
to run NASCAR, CART plus something else to be feasable.

Jilly

    Lynn St. James (not her original last name: she assumed it because she
    was a fan of actress Susan St. James of the TV show "McMillan and
    Wife") outqualified Nigel Mansell during Pole Day qualifying. 
    Apparently, it was the talk of the Monaco pit lane today.  Al Unser,
    Jr. put one of the Penske-Mercedes cars on the pole with Boesel and
    Fittipaldi next.
    
    Bjorn

    I just wanted to let everyone out there know that Digital Canada is
    sponsoring the two races in Canada.  We have our own grandstand and
    special customer events planned throughout the three days.  It should
    be a blast as long as the weather holds out.  
    
    reagrds,
    JP 

To follow up on the So. Califonia track story - looks like it is true. There is an
article in RACER this month that provides the detail. The effort is a joint 
ownership deal between Penske and the land owner, whose name I forget.
At any rate, Penke is pushing the deal and wil own 80% of the operation.
The goal is to have the track online in 1997. The bigeest and toughtest issues
are environmental, as you might imagine in California. If anyone can guide 
this thru, Penske can. He has NASCAR's backing and interest. They want
a race in that location and will add it to thier calendar.

Paul

    So Al Unser (do we have to say Jr. anymore?) cleans the field at
    Cleveland.  Nigel did pretty darn good to come in second.  Tracy seems
    to have had Roger sit on him and is actually finishing races. 
    Villeneuve will soon displace Michael A. as the fastest and most
    consistent Reynard driver.  Does anyone else think he or Robby Gordon
    

Mario seems to have suffered another attack of brain fade at 
Cleveland.  He should know better than to pull a move that almost 
takes his (faster) teammate out of the race!

--PSW

    re: .102
    
    Mario suffers brain fade attack again at New Hampshire, this time 
    taking himself out (hard) and Nige (damaged suspension, eventually 
    dropped out).  It was really a shame, because Nige was the only one 
    who could challenge the Penske cars.  At the time of the crash, he 
    was closing on the leader at about 1 sec a lap (by my watch).
    
    Why Mario, who had already been lapped, would not let his teammate 
    by is incomprehensible---until you remember the litany of Mario's 
    past "bad luck."  (I like Mario and he's had some good drives, but 
    you really have to shake your head when he does things like this.)
    
    Ken
    

RE: .103

Parnelli Jones, as Master of Ceremonies for the race, gave the start 
engines command with the words, "Gentlemen and Mario, start your 
engines."  Parnelli raced many times against Mario.  This sort of 
behavior from him is therefore probably nothing new.

The unfortunate thing about this, in my opinion, is that inexcusable 
behavior like this is one of the main things likely to drive Mansell 
back to F1.  Nigel may whinge a bit now and then, but his being here 
has been entertaining for the fans and good for the sport of IndyCar 
racing.  If he does leave, I'll be sad to see him go.  I hope he does 
decide to stay--Mario won't be around next year.

--PSW

    re the latest incident at Loudon, Mansell apologised to Mario because
    he honestly thought he was half a car ahead, Mansells car not handling
    as well on the exits as Marios. It happens on ovals.....

    This was not Mario's fault this time...
    
    Nigel's car drifted out and the two cars touched. Nigel knew what he
    had done and spoke about it over the radio after the exit from turn 2.
    
    It was just as .105 stated...Nigel's car developed a push during early
    morning practice...and they never were able to fix the problem.
    
    I had the good fortune to be able to spend Fri/Sat/Sun with each of the 
    IndyCar teams both in the pits and the garage - it was fun and an 
    interesting experience! I spent most of the race just 10-15 feet behind 
    Dick Simon's pit.
    
    								-mike-

Couldn't Mario have given Nigel a bit more space though ?  I'm waiting 
(hoping!) to see this on TV sometime - but at the time it looked like 
Nigel was down below the yellow line with no where to go.

May be Nigel's comments was just him being appologetic and forgiving like
everyone keeps saying he should be :-)

Sounds like you had an excellent weekend Mike - how do you do it ??!

Martin

    re .107
    
    Nigel was in a good mood all 3 days...so maybe there's something to
    what you say (ie. appologetic and forgiving like everyone keeps saying
    he should be...)
    
    My neighbor works for a company who is under contract from PPG/Indycar
    as well as NASCAR and now from what I heard this weekend F1 too (race in
    Canada) to be at the track all 3 days to reprocess all the oil coming
    out of each teams car. I can give you all the details over the phone if
    you send me your DTN. If you saw the race on ESPN..then you saw me and
    the crew I was working with right behind Hiro and Raul's pit.
    
    The amount of work I had to do and the one day (Friday) I took off was
    a small price to pay for working in and around all the Indycar teams
    for 3 days.
    
    								-mike-
    
     
    

    re .107
    It's not that easy on ovals, lifting in the middle of a turn does
    absolute wonders for the handling of a car. As I said, Nigel caused it
    but it was a typical oval accident unfortunately. What it wasn't, was
    an accident like the Bodine's had at the Indy 400. That was stupidity.
    
    Mike

    I watched the video of the Mario/Nigel accident last night, and after
    seeing it several times I would have to say it doesn't look too good
    for Mario. Nigel seems to be ahead of Mario by about 1/2 a car length
    plus he's all the way down below the yellow line...Mario should have
    seen this and given him a little more room.
    
    Even though I was there...you only know for sure after viewing the
    video a few times.
    
    I'll miss Nigel if/when he leaves to go back to F1. 
    
    								-mike-

There was an interesting posting recently in rec.autos.sport 
concerning Hiro (aka the moving chicane) Matsushita.  Fans listening 
in to Emmo's pit radio heard him refer repeatedly to Matsushita as 
"King Hiro".  The true meaning of this strange nickname became clear 
when they noticed that Emmo has the habit of starting to talk as he 
keys the mike, which causes the first syllable of his sentence to be 
cut off.....

--PSW

Tee Hee! I cannot understand how the guy is allowed to race sometimes. He rarely
gets within 110% rule.

    re .112
    
    That's an easy one...look at his last name and then think about who's
    name is on the side of his car..(ie. Panasonic) 
    
    It's his grandfather's company...
    
    								-mike-

I know that, I'm just being naive and stupid. All the adverts in between are
Panasonic adverts, I guess PPG just can't afford to lose that kind of money.

Why don't they send him on a drivers school then??

RE: .114

I think you mean "CART can't afford to lose the money".  PPG is 
Pittsburgh Paint and Glass, an automotive finishes firm that is the 
main sponsor for the Indycar series.  CART (Championship Auto Racing 
Teams) is the sanctioning body for the series.  IndyCar (tm) is the 
marketing arm of CART.

Back to Hiro Matsushita.  He is, indeed, the son of the founder of 
the Matsushita electronics firm (which markets under the name 
Panasonic).  There is no 110% rule for qualifying in IndyCar.  
Arguably, there should be.  The big problem with Matsushita is that 
he's been able to buy a ride with top equipment on a top (well, 
near-top) team.  I don't think there's anyting wrong with bought 
rides per se--it's always happened in motor racing since the 
beginning.  But Hiro's just quick enough to be annoyingly difficult 
to pass, and he is either too discourteous or too oblivious to move 
over for faster cars.  He ends up spending most of each race running 
near the back, surrounded by a gaggle of traffic trying to get by or 
having just gotten by.  Sort of the IndyCar equivalent of those 
clueless old biddies who drive on country roads on Sundays at 10mph, 
and always wonder why there's so many accidents on the roads these 
days.

Contrast Hiro's behavior with Bobby Rahal.  He knows he's not quick 
due to the underpowered Honda, but he always pulls over at the first 
opportunity to let the race leaders by.

--PSW

RE: .115

Make that grandson.  Drives like a grandfather, though.

--PSW

    re .116
    
    But the big question is....in a race between Hiro and Willy T....who
    would win?
    
    >Make that grandson.  Drives like a grandfather, though.
    
    Your too fast for me PSW...I was going to point that out but you beat
    me to it 8-)
    
    							      -mike-

Carl Haas reported in a press conference today that the Newman/Haas 
team is releasing Nigel Mansell from his contract following the last 
IndyCar race this season (Laguna Seca).  Mansell has expresssed a 
desire to go back to F1 in 1995, and Carl Haas and Paul Newman do not 
wish to stand in the way.

So here's a goodbye to "our Nige for two years" from one of his US 
IndyCar fans.  I look forward to following him in F1 again, but I'll 
miss not seeing him next year at NHIS.


One big question is whether the new European following for IndyCar 
racing will continue to follow the sport once Nige leaves.  Maybe if 
Derrick Warwick can get a ride, the interest will remain?  Warwick 
was at NHIS looking for a ride (I looked for somebody sitting behind 
a sign saying "will drive for food", but I didn't see him.  :-) ).

--PSW

    I'm also sorry to see Nigel go; anyone could see his frustration
    this year, but oh what a rookie year he had in IndyCar :-)
    
    I just wish I could get rid of this sense of misgiving in the pit
    of my stomach.  I've seen a lot of drivers leave F1 while on top
    and then go back; unfortunately most of them are not with us now
    (with the exception of Fittipaldi and we know how his F1 career
    ended).
    
    It would have been great if Nigel would have given PPG another
    year; hope he his return to F1 is safe and successful.
    
    

RE: .119

Fittipaldi never left F1 and went back.  After winning his second 
Championship, he left McLaren to be the driver for his brother's 
Fittipaldi team, which, alas, was never very successful.

--PSW

    -1
    
    Your memory is probably better than mine :-)  I thought Fittipaldi
    was severely injured in F1 within a short time of Mark Donohue being
    killed; however Donohue's death killed my interest in F1 for many,
    many years.  I thought Emmo came close to losing it all in F1
    and upon recovery simply moved over to Indy cars.
    
    Either way, Nigel celebrated his 40th this year; some of the F1 starts
    scared the bejesus out of me.....just wish Nige would leave it to the
    younger fellows :-)
    
    

    Just a "nit", but it was Nigel's 40th birthday LAST year at New
    Hampshire Int'l Speedway (which he won, I believe)
    
    

    Just to amuse you, Murray Walker was a co commentator on the Indycar
    transmission from Nazareth last night....mumble, mumble, mumble....

    I watched the Nazareth race live on Eurosport ... and liked it. The
    race and the tactics used were not as interesting as during the other
    race I had watched earlier (Phoenix ?) but Indycar oval racing is
    indeed worth the attention. The track is a fast one and there were not
    enough cars to make it really fascinating, yet I ket watching until the
    finish line.
    
    On the contrary, Road America at Elkhart Lake was really boring.

Murray Walker made a brief appearance on the ESPN IndyCar coverage 
here in the US.  Roger Penske (who owns the Nazareth track) invited 
him and John Watson over to do the broadcast on-site.  Walker didn't 
say much, except that he was impressed by the constant high speeds in 
Indy oval racing, and he wasn't able to get any more info on Nigel 
Mansell's future plans than any of the regular IndyCar broadcast 
crew.

If Murray has as much trouble as they say with confusion about which 
car's in which position in F1 races, I don't see how he can cope with 
an Indy short-track oval race, especially once the pit stops start!

--PSW

    Murray seemed enthused about the PPG race; but when ESPN gave him
    the mike, he did ramble on, I thought they'd never shut him up :-)
    
    

    Re the Nazerath race
    Poor Eddie Cheever! he doesn't normally run in the leading pack
    and he was doing really well until Grandfather Andretti shoved 
    him into the wall... I can't decide which Andretti I dislike most
    They seem to have a particular brand of arrogance.Michael expects
    everyone to get out of his way whether he has a realistic chance
    of passing( although he did a couple of classic passes on Mansell
    the other week) and Mario's either gone senile or he still thinks
    he's so fast no one is possibly going to try and pass him.
    Oh where did he come from!
    Full marks for Cheever's diplomatic "Mario couldn't have seen me
    or he wouldn't have done a thing like that" These chaps really are
    gentlemen! I can't imagine F1 drivers being so nice about each other
    except perhaps Shumie....
    
    Matt.                                        

A lot of drivers were battling loose (oversteer) conditions at 
Nazareth.  A loose car on an oval is a very bad combination, since 
the back end of the car is prone to break away and put you into a 
spin into the outer wall at any moment, without warning.  This is 
what happened to both Mario and Jacques Villeneuve.  The dirty air 
from Cheever's rear wing probably upset the aerodynamic balance of 
Mario's car enough to cause the back end to break away, and Mario 
then had no choice except to drift high to avoid a spin and a crash.  
Unfortunately, Cheever was still there.  Mansell, suffering from the 
same problem, decided he was in over his head and parked it.  Would 
the Mario of 10 or 15 years ago, with better reflexes, have been able 
to avoid the problem?  Maybe.  Who knows.  I've always been critical 
of Mario's lapses of judgement, but in this case, I think it really 
was a racing incident.

--PSW

    re: -.1
    
    The guys who were loose we're in real trouble at Nazareth on Sunday
    (about as much trouble as the guys they took out of the race).  In the
    Mario/Cheever incident Cheever was behind Mario and closing fast.  I
    don't see how the dirty air from Cheever's rear wing could have upset
    Mario's aerodynamic balance.  Mario was already on the straight when he
    moved over on Cheever.  I think that Mario simply had another one of
    his increasingly frequent lapses of concentration.   Mario is still
    very good at setting up a car and still fast in qualifying, but he can
    no longer concentrate for the duration of a race.  He's been a great
    driver and was competitive until early this year but I'm glad he's 
    retiring.
    
    Bjorn  

RE: .129

I'd love to hear what AJ Foyt had to say about that incident.

--PSW

    Apparently Lola have identified "a fundamental flaw" in their design.
    Could be why all the Lola teams have been having so much trouble this
    year. Both Mansell and Andretti are known to be good test drivers,
    there must be something wrong big time with that chassis, it's ok on
    the road circuits but on some of the ovals this year it has been truly
    dreadful.
    
    Mike

    .131�    Apparently Lola have identified "a fundamental flaw" in their design.
    
    Must be something wrong with mass balance and/or aerodynamic balance. I
    think I heard/read that Nigel Mansell quit the Nazareth race after he
    had lost 8 (EIGHT) laps in 87 laps ('the car is basically undriveable').  

RE: .132

Just about everybody except the Penske team had major problems with 
severe understeer (loose) conditions at Nazareth.  Apparently track 
conditions had changed drastically since the morning warmup.  This 
year's Lola seems to be particularly sensitive and hard to set up.  
The Newman-Haas Lolas were particularly badly affected.  Mansell 
indeed gave up after 80 laps or so, deeming the car undrivable.  
Mario should have given up, but stuck it out and instead ended up 
suddenly going loose and crashing with Eddie Cheever.

--PSW

    re: .132
    
    Road Racing		Oval Racing
    -----------		-----------
    understeer          push, tight
    oversteer		loose

RE: .134

Right, I got it backwards.  Loose=oversteer, not understeer.

--PSW

    tut tut, not like you to make that kind of mistake, looks like you need
    a break....

    Am I right in thinking Mclaren are based in Oxfordshire?
    
    Tyrone
    

 .... and thats Surrey!

S.

Article 1103 of rec.autos.sport.info:
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport.info
From: Jonathan David Kemp <[email protected]>
Subject: INDYCAR: Cheever to Foyt, Herta to Ganassi, etc.
X-Copyright: Copyright 1994 by Motorsport News International and the author
X-Original-Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 19:38:36 PDT
X-Issue-No: 1082
Lines: 18


AP wire services report that Eddie Cheever, who has taken over for the 
injured Bryan Herta, will drive for A.J. Foyt next year.  Herta, who 
raced for Foyt this year until a season-ending injury, is expected to be 
announced as the primary driver for Chip Ganassi next year.  Ganassi may 
yet run another two-car effort (thought possibly out of separate garages) as 
Gugelmin, Ganassi's current #2 driver, is trying to finalize sponsorship 
matters to race for the team.

Additionally, Newman-Haas is expected to officially announce that Michael 
Andretti will race for them next year and that the team will be gaining 
Budweiser sponsorship.  Haas is trying to work out the details with Paul 
Tracy this week for the secong Newman-Haas ride, but Penske has delayed 
announcement on his option of Tracy until after the season finale at 
Laguna Seca this weekend.

Jonathan

    So where are the Penke's made?
    
    On an interview from Laguna Seca heard Roger Penske thank the people in
    Reading...
    
    That's here!
    
    I know the other chassis -- Lola and Reynard -- are of UK origin and
    manufacture, but didn't realise the same was true about the Penske.
    
    Or have I got it all wrong.
    
    Enjoyed the race, although it does seem to need the yellows every now
    and then to keep things tight. And, er, entertaining.
    
    Tracey and Unser Jr. looked good, as did Villenueve.
    
    Terry B.
                                                        

    I thought the cars were made in Poole in Dorset. The reason that all
    the cars are made over here is the sourcing of high quality parts and
    the biggest concentration of high quality engineers. Roger recognised
    this many many years ago and is still more than happy with the
    arrangement. If they have moved to Reading can someone confirm?
    
    Mike

    .141�    On an interview from Laguna Seca heard Roger Penske thank the people in
    .141�    Reading...
    
    Reading, where ?
    
    There must be a dozen Readings scattered around the USA.

    That's Reading, Pennsylvania.
    
    Bjorn

Article 1132 of rec.autos.sport.info:
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport.info
From: "Jack D. Durbin" <[email protected]>
Subject: INDYCAR: Final standings (Racetrak)
X-Copyright: Copyright 1994 by Motorsport News International and the author
X-Original-Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 09:37:36 -0400 (EDT)
X-Issue-No: 1109
Lines: 50


                   INDYCAR:  Final Season Standings 
                  After Laguna Seca, October 9, 1994
        ========================================================


                                              TOT  -Behind--
            POS CAR Driver Name               PTS  1st  Next
            --- --- ------------------------- ---- ---- ----
             1. #31 AL UNSER JR. (USA)        225    0    0
             2. # 2 EMERSON FITTIPALDI (BRA)  178   47   47
             3. # 3 PAUL TRACY (CAN)          152   73   26
             4. # 8 MICHAEL ANDRETTI (USA)    118  107   34
             5. # 9 ROBBY GORDON (USA)        104  121   14
             6. #12 JACQUES VILLENEUVE (CAN)   94  131   10
             7. # 5 RAUL BOESEL (BRA)          90  135    4
             8. # 1 NIGEL MANSELL (GBR)        88  137    2
             9. #11 TEO FABI (ITA)             79  146    9
            10. # 4 BOBBY RAHAL (USA)          59  166   20
            11. #16 STEFAN JOHANSSON (SWE)     57  168    2
            12. #40 SCOTT GOODYEAR (CAN)       55  170    2
            13. # 7 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (MEX)     46  179    9
            14. # 6 MARIO ANDRETTI (USA)       45  180    1
            15. #18 JIMMY VASSER (USA)         42  183    3
            16. #88 MAURICIO GUGELMIN (BRA)    39  186    3
            17. #28 ARIE LUYENDYK (HOL)        34  191    5
            18. #17 DOMINIC DOBSON (USA)       30  195    4
            19. #10 MIKE GROFF (USA)           17  208   13
            20. #15 MARK SMITH (USA)           17  208    0
            21. #71 SCOTT SHARP (USA)          14  211    3
            22. #24 WILLY T. RIBBS (USA)       12  213    2
            23.#095 BRIAN HERTA (USA)          11  214    1
            24. #60 ANDREA MONTERMINI (ITA)    10  215    1
            25. #19 A. ZAMPEDRI (ITA)           9  216    1
            26. #22 HIRO MATSUSHITA (JPN)       8  217    1
            27. #14 EDDIE CHEEVER (USA)         5  220    3
            28. #33 JOHN ANDRETTI (USA)         3  222    2
            29. #25 MARCO GRECO (BRA)           2  223    1
            30. #64 CHRISTIAN DANNER (GER)      2  223    0
            31. #42 BRIAN TILL (USA)            1  224    1
            32. #50 FRANCK FREON (FRA)          1  224    0
            33.#094 DAVY JONES (USA)            1  224    0


** **   ** ***** **    ** *****    ***    *****   Jack Durbin
** **** ** **  ** **  **  **      ** **   **  **  Tallahassee, Florida
** ** **** **  **   **    **     *******  *****   [email protected]
** **   ** *****    **    ***** **     ** **   **