THE LINE #435

ALMS. The fallout from the implosion of Champ Car continues. First, Forsythe Racing closes their Champ Car operation, knocking Paul Tracy out of a ride, and now the Grand Prix of Houston is being called off for this year. Originally scheduled for April 25-27 at Reliant Park, Grand Prix officials made the determination that after the unexpected absorption of the Champ Car World Series by the Indy Racing League and the resulting exclusion of Houston from the IRL schedule, it was not possible to stage the event in 2008. However, Grand Prix officials are already in discussions about the possibility of holding the Grand Prix of Houston in 2009 with the American Le Mans Series and the Indy Racing League. That means that the ALMS schedule will fall from twelve races to eleven races in 2008, with a full month-long gap between Long Beach on April 19th and the Utah Grand Prix on May 18th. Fans who have previously purchased tickets for the 2008 Houston event will receive a full refund on the ticket price beginning later this week. Details will soon be available at www.grandprixofhouston.com.

(Photo by Jimmy Sykes)
Whelen Engineering will be back in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in 2008, gunning for the driver's championship. Eric Curran, who recorded four Speed GT wins, a pole at Mid-Ohio, three fastest race laps and the distinction of having led more laps in SPEED GT than any other driver in 2007, will be back with Sonny Whelen on the Whelen Engineering team for 2008. “This is a huge year for us,” driver and team sponsor Sonny Whelen said. “Ted Marsh and his team have worked incredibly hard preparing our Whelen C6 Corvettes. I’m positive Eric and I will hit the track at Sebring with our best chances ever in World Challenge.”

 

(Ford)
Ford unveiled their 2008 Focus RS World Rally Car this week.

(Brian Czobat ©2008, autostock, USA)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford) won his second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in six days when he won the UAW-Dodge 400 last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) finished second, Greg Biffle (Roush-Fenway Racing 3M Ford) third, and Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick (No. 29  Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) and Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) rounded out the top five. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart survived heavy crashes during the race, with Gordon particularly lucky after his vicious hit against an inside retaining wall (which had no SAFER barrier) with five laps to go. The shit then hit the proverbial fan for Edwards' Roush-Fenway Racing team when his Ford failed a post-race inspection, as NASCAR officials discovered the lid was not on the oil tank box of his car. The verdict? NASCAR has cracked down hard on Edwards and Roush-Fenway racing. Edwards has been docked 100 points and been relieved of the 10 bonus points he earned toward the championship chase. Jack Roush has lost 100 owner points. And Crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000, suspended for six races and put on probation for the rest of the season. The 100-point penalty dropped Edwards from the top of the Sprint Cup standings to seventh.

 

(LAT USA)
Marco Andretti will drive the XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01b entered by Andretti Green Racing with Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi in the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Sebring will be the first start in the American Le Mans Series for Andretti. “I’m really looking forward to getting into the XM Satellite Radio Acura,” said Andretti, who will turn 21 on March 13. “I’ve had a chance to drive the car in a couple of tests and I’ve been very happy with it. The car has been really quick, fun to drive and has been incredibly durable.”

(Ron McQueeney/IRL)
Tony Kanaan was quickest for the second consecutive day during the IndyCar Series Open Test at Sebring International Raceway. Nine drivers tested March 3-4. A second group of nine will test on the circuit’s 11-turn, 1.7-mile circuit March 5-6. Kanaan took over the top position on the speed chart from Andretti Green Racing teammate Hideki Mutoh with less than 15 minutes remaining in the day and then topped things off with his fastest lap as the checkered flag waved. Kanaan’s 124th lap came in at 52.8609 seconds, 113.732 mph. AGR's Marco Andretti was third quickest Tuesday. Testing resumes at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 5) with drivers from A.J. Foyt Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Panther Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske taking to the track. The 2008 IndyCar Series season begins under the lights with the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 on March 29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Michelin. Having secured its 10th consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, Michelin is seeking a 10th consecutive overall race victory in the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring. Michelin-partner teams claimed victory in the LMP2 (Andretti Green Acura), GT1 (Corvette Racing) and GT2 (Risi Competizione Ferrari) classes last year. Michelin will also be seeking its third consecutive ALMS class championship sweep in 2008 after securing every ALMS manufacturer, team, driver and tire championship for the past two years. All of the 2007 championship teams return to competition with Michelin for the 2008 season. They will be attempting to win their ninth consecutive ALMS Tire Championship in the LMP1 and GT2 categories and their sixth in GT1 and third in LMP2. Unlike other forms of motorsports, which run a “spec tire,” the ALMS enjoys a fierce battle among numerous tire companies with six tire companies fighting for ALMS honors, including five different tire makers in the GT2 class alone. 

The IRL. As expected, Gold Coast Indy officials and the Indy Racing League announced an agreement today on a six-year contract to have the Gold Coast Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise on the IRL schedule through 2013. The deal follows the absorption of the Champ Car series into the IRL last month.