THE LINE

April 28, 2010

 The Indy Racing League. Publisher's Note: Just when you think the IRL actually has a snowball's chance in hell of making progress they go and announce oval and road title championships within the overall IZOD IndyCar Series driver championship beginning with the 2010 season. Here's what the IRL said today: "Using the current championship points system, the highest-scoring oval and road/street drivers will be crowned champion of their respective racing discipline.  The road title will culminate on Aug. 22 at Infineon Raceway, while the oval contest will conclude Sept. 19 at Twin Ring Motegi. The Oct. 2 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be reserved to honor the overall IZOD IndyCar Series champion. Drivers will compete for bonuses presented to both category champions, with the purse to be announced at a later date." Here's what I say: Are you frickin' kidding me? Do I need to remind anyone down in Indianapolis that we're talking about a so-called major league racing series that can't earn a single TV rating point except for the Indianapolis 500? And now you're going to confuse and dilute the issue by splintering your championship in the hopes of generating more fan interest? Really? I'm sorry, Mr. Randy "I did wonders for the PBR" Bernard, but this is flat-out Bush League Bullshit if I've ever seen it. You have the potential to have a great racing series, yes, but your critical need right now is to define the next generation rules package and attract other manufacturers (besides Honda) to your sport. Until you get that accomplished, coming up with another gimmick that will allegedly boost fan interest is not only beyond lame, it's pathetic. Here's a tip, Mr. Bernard - do what you've been hired to do. The time for getting "the lay of the land" is clearly over. Get the IRL's house in order. That means nail down the next-generation rules package and get more manufacturers involved. Do that and you won't have to resort to gimmicks, because the fans and the ratings will come. - PMD

(Photo by Chalmers Crowell)
The 34th Classic Motorsports Mitty, presented by Mazda, at the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta course in Braselton, Georgia, April 29-May 2, will feature hundreds of vintage racing cars, including dozens that have won some of the most prestigious races in the world. Drivers and owners all agree that the Mitty, sanctioned by Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) the past 20 years, features some of the most competitive racing to be found anywhere. “The racing is very close to professional racing,” said former IMSA winner Bill Adam of Florida. “You might leave a little more room at times but the racing is very, very competitive.” “Professional racing is different because they have a different agenda. We go because we love to race cars. There’s no big payday. It’s all about fun,” he added. Adam will be driving an Audi R8 for fellow Floridian Jim Rogers that was runner-up in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000. With more than two dozen races over three days, the Mitty will feature competition in everything from 1950s-era sports and production cars to modern day Mazdas and Porsche Caymans. There also will be races Saturday and Sunday for vintage motorcycles. Peter Brock of Cobra and BRE fame is Grand Marshall of this year’s event and will be honored at a BRE Memorial Dinner April 28. Several of his cars will be racing and on display during the event. Former drivers Bobby Allison and John Morton also will be at the event. Lotus is the featured marquee and will be highlighted in a 20-lap Formula 5000 race Sunday that will include 1969 series champion Tony Adamowicz in the same Gurney Eagle he drove to the title. For more information, go to www.TheMitty.com.

(ALMS)
Peugeot will return to Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans in September as part of an entry into the inaugural International Le Mans Cup. The French manufacturer – which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le Mans last year and this year’s running of the 12 Hours of Sebring with its 908 HDi FAP prototype – joins diesel rival Audi Sport and Drayson Racing as the first confirmed LMP1 entrants for the global championship. In addition to serving as the second of three rounds in the International Le Mans Cup, the 13th annual Petit Le Mans is the season-finale for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The 1,000-mile/10-hour classic - the Series’ cornerstone event - is scheduled this year for September 29-October 2 on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course roughly one hour northeast of Atlanta.

(Al Merion/SCCA)
Brad Rampelberg (No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5), of San Jose, Calif., edged Dean Copeland (No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/Insynch Radios Mazda MX-5), of Bowie, Md., by just 0.024-second at VIRginia International Raceway in the closest SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup race in the history of the series. Michael Cooper (No. 84 AMG Racing/Bromante Landscaping & Design Mazda MX-5), of Syossett, N.Y., finished third. Officially, there were 10 lead changes in the 20-lap, caution-free race, which covered 65.4 miles in 45:41.207 for an average speed of 85.899 mph. The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup returns to action in less than one week, racing at Road Atlanta April 30–May 1.

(mustangchallenge.com)
A special new Ford Mustang made its debut as the Hurst Pace Car last weekend at the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge at Virginia International Raceway - round three of the 2010 championship - which was won by Jason von Kluge. The unique Hurst-themed Pace Car will also make special appearances at the Hot Rod Power Tour, at numerous Larry H. Miller dealerships across the country, and will also be featured at several auto shows including next November’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. Beyond pacing the pony car field during the Mustang Challenge race weekends, the car will also be eventually auctioned to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation, the Official Charity of the Mustang Challenge.  Larry H. Miller Dealership Group partnered with Hurst Performance and donated the vehicle for this project. Other partners of the project include Whelen Engineering, Ford Racing, and BFGoodrich Tires. 

(Photos courtesy of Audi)
(From Audi): For the first time since 1937, the sound of two Auto Union Silver Arrows will echo through the narrow streets of Monte Carlo at the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique on May 1 and 2. Behind the wheel of these giants of a past era will be former Formula One stars Jacky Ickx and Hans-Joachim Stuck. Ickx will take the wheel of the Auto Union Type D. This car was the final stage in the development work undertaken by the Auto Union racing department. At the end of the 1938 season a change in the rules was announced; engines had to be limited to a displacement of three litres. This meant a new Auto Union racing car with a  twin-supercharged, 485HP,12-cylinder engine that rocketed the latest Silver Arrow up to 330 km/h. Ickx drove the Type C at the Monte Carlo event in 2008, and is looking forward to this year’s Grand Prix de Monaco Historique: “To drive such a car here is a privilege!” Stuck will drive Audi Tradition's authentic 520HP, 16 cylinder Audi Tradition’s replica of the original Type C, a racing machine that recorded a top speed of 340 kilometres an hour in 1936.  Hans-Joachim Stuck explains how much this guest appearance means to him: “It will be a very emotional moment for me when I sit in the car that my father also drove in Monte Carlo. When I think of the sound the 16-cylinder engine will make in those built-up streets, it already sends a shiver down my spine!” It was Hans Stuck who brought home the first major successes for the newly established Auto Union racing department back in 1934 in the 16-cylinder mid-engined racing car designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The “Hillclimb King”, as they called him in those days, broke several world records on the Avus circuit in Berlin. And that was only the start because he triumphed in most of the season’s races and became the unofficial European Champion, a title that was only acknowledged by the sport authorities in the following season. The Monaco Grand Prix was held twice in the 1930s, in 1936 und 1937. It was not one of the venues at which Auto Union scored a victory. The best placings were achieved by Hans Stuck: third in 1936 and fourth in 1937 at the wheel of the Auto Union Type C. This is the seventh time that the Automobile Club de Monaco has staged this competition for historic racing cars on the Formula One circuit in Monte Carlo. This year, historic Formula One cars from 1947 to 1978 and Formula Three cars built in 1984 or earlier will contend with each other in genuine race conditions. The Auto Union racing cars will start together in two special events, and complete a number of laps at about midday on Saturday May 1 and again on the afternoon of Sunday May 2.

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