QUOTE OF THE DECADE

I know it's only 2006, but I sincerely believe that this quote CANNOT be topped...

PAUL GENTILOZZI, Champ Car team owner while referring to FLOYD GANASSI, Father of Champ Car, now IRL, team owner, Chip Ganassi. Paul is convinced that ISC, and—at least in perception—NASCAR, have underestimated public opinion in the racing community in Phoenix when they tried to kill the proposed Champ Car street race.

“Arrogance,” he reiterates. “It reminds me of something Floyd Ganassi used to say: ‘The higher the monkey climbs up the pole, the more you can see of his ass.’ ”

WILL WE NAE COME BACK AGAIN?

Bonnie Charlie’s now awa’
Safely owre the friendly Main;
Mony a heart will break in twa’
Should he nae come back again.

Will ye nae come back again?
Will ye nae come back again?
Better lo’ed ye canna be,
Will ye nae come back again?


The words to this old traditional Scottish song of farewell from the eighteenth century seem fitting here don’t they? We aren’t sure right now if Milwaukee or Portland will be visited again on our 2007 schedule. Milwaukee is our longest-running venue and has hosted the most CART/Champ Car races of any track in history, dating back to 1979. Likewise, Portland has occupied our Father’s Day date since 1984.

Tony Cotman always cautions us to “never say never” in this sport, so I will just leave up the big ol’ question mark. We are bringing a brand new chassis from Panoz online next season, and for only one oval now remaining on our schedule, building an “oval package” into the new car may not be feasible. The crowds at both tracks, although somewhat up from last year, are nothing in comparison to their salad days in the eighties and early nineties. On top of that, there is a political group in Portland trying hard to make the track go away. The Sunday morning noise restrictions were not lifted this year, resulting in an odd feeling day where the first on-track event was “Gentlemen Start Your Engines” for the Mazda Atlantic race! A lot like the old days of CART when the final practice was not a warmup, but held late Saturday afternoon. Mix into this uncertainty the still-on-the-table reunification talks, which will have a lot to say towards where we will be running in 2007 or beyond…

Coincidentally, both places really mean a lot to where I have been in this game. I first worked Milwaukee as an Observer in 1984, but three years later got the nod to assist Terry Walsh on the start stand for the American Racing Series, which became Firestone Indy Lights – so I got my first starter’s stand experience there. Portland, back in 1990, was the first race I was paid to travel to as the new ARS starter, so each time I return it feels like another page turning on my fiscal officiating calendar.


THE MILWAUKEE MILE AND 83 THOUSANDTHS (look it up)

But outside of all that, the events clicked along fine and I want to thank everyone involved who came out and supported us! First year Milwaukee Mile Chief Observer Dennis Muise took the reins from Ray George and held on well, despite taking Saturday off for the rather inconvenient (for us) wedding of his son. Had it been his daughter, he’d have been a basket case I think! Stepping in to help us out in Race Control for that Saturday was Tim “Chips” Day, who spent so many years at the Mile across the street from me at Center Pit. It was really convenient to be able to lean over and swat him one when I needed to!

The weather was great, and the food always suits my Eastern European palate, but the great pain about this place is the radios! It’s the only venue we have left that uses them, and since it’s an oval, it’s where we need a land line the most! A strange, difficult, but not insurmountable set-up indeed, as our boys and girls on the ground proved out. No one hurried, we got all of the info we needed, although sometimes it takes longer that way. We were very pleased with the performance of the Mile’s Observing crew, as we have been since I moved upstairs, and they came through for us again. But I want to take the time to especially recognize two great performances under fire. The first from longtime veteran Bob Bocher, who held on to the call for the no-contact spin of Speedy Dan Clarke until the car absolutely stopped, hoping rightly that Dan could keep the car moving. Great touch, great awareness, great timing. The second was Marie Eggert, who handled our Pit Closed/Open boards all day and weathered several changes from closed to open to closed again when we needed it. It sounds simple, yes, but those actions are totally beyond the scope of that position as I had described it. Marie stayed with us on the Champ Car Radio – with no direct prompts – reacting to the messages given to our teams. Another great job!


TALLY HO

On to the great Northwest. If we nae come back again, these are 5 things I will miss about this place and it’s people:

The Start Stand: Although I don’t work there anymore, the nicest looking one there is. Actually designed by an Architect, but maybe for that very reason had to be installed backwards to fit.

Emails from Ken Killam the Flag Chief: The man can write like Shakespeare and has a nickname for every post ala Keith Berman from ESPN.

The dedication and hard work of the Marshals: They don’t come much better, or heartier, standing around for long days in all kinds of weather, even in the height of Summer.

The Light: The beautiful long twilight that stretches well past nine.

One of the best evening cookouts of the year: The local region puts on this traditional fest in the middle of the worker camping area on Saturday. There is a GREAT band there that gets better every year!

And, 4 more things I will miss about this place… NOT!!:

Getting the damned race started: I’m glad I don’t have to try to get these guys down a loooooong wiiiiiiide straightaway any more! Sheesh! Just remember that the race starts at the drop of the green now. Period. And both JD and Tony knew that Bruno was out in front when the flag fell. Take that to the bank.

The Rain: It always shows up a little somewhere, no matter how well the day begins or ends.

The Crossovers: One just past start and and another in the back, I think this is the only major raceway in America without a vehicle bridge or a tunnel. Gotta leave fast during a session? Think again!

The Land Line: Some years the bleedover is there and some years it ain’t, and this year we had a little of both, but the Marshal’s land line runs together in the same conduit with the PA system. It’s a novel way to always know what’s happening but it has been known in the past to be as loud as the posts calling in!!!


FORD (Fathers On Race Day)

The Atlantic race saw a lot of action at the start, and again at the end as the leader Mr. Lewis went sour at the end and was passed for the win on the last lap by James Hinchcliffe. The Champ Car race saw a new winner (the second A.J. to do so) and the blue flaggers had their hands very full with lapped traffic - there were NO full course yellows. We call that a “no-hitter” in Race Control, but unfortunately JD had to wave off the first attempt, so we actually had one lap of yellow. The walkoff race at the end of the day Sunday was FF2000, which had to be called before the finish due to a huge multi-car incident on the backstretch that blocked the track with debris. As there were no cameras running, it was all handled between the comms, Gail Fetterman the chief comm, and the FF2000 Steward in the old-fashioned way… without a hitch, with guts, gumption and just words… yes, we noticed!


So I’m on the way to Cleveland now and… wait a minute… wow… I’m caught up!
Better not tell anyone…

(psst! see you at the race track!)

JHS

CELEBRATING CLEVELAND'S 25TH

25 Years of the Grand Prix of Cleveland

OK, everyone, above is an image of the 25th Anniversary print from this weekend's Cleveland GP. The 18x24 print features some memorable moments and accomplishments from the event and includes images of legends such as Rahal, Unser and Andretti as well as some modern day faves like Moreno, Gidley and of course, Bourdais. The central image is an aerial/plan view of all 24 winning cars streaming thru Cleveland's notoroius Turn One.

If you are interested in obtaining one, my website is still not up and running, but we can use the old fashioned way... just send me a check for $20 for each print ordered and add just $5 for shipping and I'll send it back to you via FedEx Ground in a nice, triangular tube. What a deal...

Send me an email at jhs@champcar.ws and I'll give you my studio address!

HAMMER TIME AT THE FOUNDRY

Up in the air again and time for another update…

HOLA AMIGOS

Off we went to Monterrey for the first of our three back-to-back weekends this season. Alas, I remember a time – not too fondly, however – when we had numerous “doubles” and even some “triples” on our schedule.

A big warm U.S. gringo “Gracias” must go out again from the entire Champ Car family to Fritz Herrmann, Hector Gomez and their 100 strong crew from “Oficiales del Pista de Mexico” or OPM. The dedication and sacrifice that these marshals make – enduring two all night bus rides to and from Mexico City where most of them live – is phenomenal. This year there was also a third bus from Puebla, where 30 or so “new recruits” of OPM have been found due to the World Touring Car race that happens there in the fall. The first Mexico City bus arrives mid-day Thursday, and for those who can only squeak out but one day off, the second bus leaves at dusk Thursday night and arrives at the circuit only a few hours before the first green flag! And remember, the distance between Mexico City and Monterrey is approximately the same as Chicago to Washington DC!! Carrrrrrumba! (Nobody down there ever says that.)

I must also take time to point out that OPM was more than ready after the shoddy treatment they received from the organizers in Mexico City. They took charge of securing their own provisions, which was a relief to all, but we owe yet another debt of gratitude to Champ Car’s Billy Kamphausen for providing a pickup truck and three vans to ferry marshals out to their posts each morning, one of which expertly driven by myself… “Proximo puesto, por favor?”

EL DIA DE CARRERA

As I am not the prime communicator on a non-English land line, I spent more time than usual tuned in to watching the various battles up and down the field on our race control TV monitors. There were plenty at this race, and off track excursions and mishaps were at a bare minimum, so the race had an “old school” feel. Race Director Tony Cotman and our stewards were very busy, handing out hinderance penalties during qualifying and three drive-thru penalties during the race for blocking. No warnings, no regrets, just in you come. Done. It got a lot of attention in the paddock, and Tony is now trying to get out from under a new Race Control nickname of “TC Hammer”… It’s not that we enjoy handing out penalties, but it was all at the request of the drivers this time!!

But despite the TVs, we certainly cannot see it all. So just a reminder again that the marshal calls during the race do get noticed whenever you see signs of blocking – remember any driver during the race that alters his normal racing line due to the presence or actions of a following competitor is blocking, and when Race Control can verify it the trigger gets pulled. Our Mexican marshals are not overly aggressive, but they aren’t shy either when they see something irritating! They were all over our blue flag calls from Race Control, and promptly verified to all on the line when the crucial passes were completed. So I would say that with each race (and they are the only collective group that does two CCWS events a year) their skills get sharper, they get more in tune with our operations, and I daresay they even think a little more like us in Race Control each time!

BUT YOU CAN TOUCH THIS…

When I return from Portland, I will be putting up an image of the 25th Anniversary Cleveland GP print I have spent most of the month on. Although I know that all but 33 of you are NOT working the event (ahem,) The 18 x 24 print will be sold that weekend by Speedgear at the Champ Car Merchandise Trailer. After Cleveland, I can ship them to any of you who may be interested for a MERE $25 via FedEx Ground. The concept is similar to the 20th Anniversary piece I did last season for Toronto (which sold out) that features scenes and moments from some of the great races we have had there, and the central organizing element in the composition is a stunning aerial plan view of a field of Champ Cars streaming though the infamous Turn One. So please just drop me a line at jhs@champcar.ws for more info!

Talk to you next month, and see you at the race track!

JHS

KEVIN KALKHOVEN ON WIND TUNNEL

Kevin Kalkhoven was Dave Despain’s guest Sunday on Wind Tunnel. Let's Just say this is pretty newsworthy stuff that affects all of us. Read on...

DESPAIN: Temporary circuit racing in a major metropolitan area plays an increasingly important role in the Champ Car World Series. But their latest street race proposal has put them at odds with the promoter of the two big NASCAR races at Phoenix International Raceway. Why? Well, Champ Car wants a downtown Phoenix race a week after the November NASCAR date and that has lead to something of a war of words. Kevin Kalkhoven joins us now, and Kevin we thank you for doing so on a busy day in Milwaukee. You have some pretty harsh words to say for what you call “big, bad NASCAR.” Their promoter out there fired back about your ‘Tinker Toy’ race. Lots of headlines, lots of hostility, what the heck is going on here?

KALKHOVEN: It’s really simple, Dave; there are two promoter businessmen in Arizona and Phoenix. One of whom owns majority of the Diamondbacks and is the minority owner of the Suns … also does property development. They wanted to develop a 10-block area of downtown Phoenix into an entertainment complex. And as part of that, they wanted to hold a festival by using the Long Beach model … they wanted to be able to have a race. Sounds really simple. It does not involve any government money, or taxpayer money, it would all be done on their own dime. They would pay for everything, with a significant inflow of revenue to the city, both on a tax and revenue basis … so that is the original program.
The next thing I know, there are letters flying off from ISC to the (Phoenix) city council containing a number of falsehoods. But more disturbing, within two weeks, there is a motion being passed at the state level – well, trying to be passed -- which would, in fact, ban all forms of motor sports if it isn’t on one of the ISC tracks. Whether it be karting, all across motorcycling, MotoGP -- you name it, anything that has (decibel levels) more than 90 decibels would, in fact, be banned. We’ve gone from a simple case of promoters trying to do downtown development … they wanted to use the Long Beach model … to all of a sudden, all motor sports in Arizona which aren’t being run on a permanent facility are being banned.

DESPAIN: Do you have evidence that this was NASCAR’s work or ISC’s work?

KALKHOVEN: This is all a passing coincidence (said with a chuckle) … of course, one of their employees has been actively involved in it. I assume that he was not doing it on his own accord.

DESPAIN: I am told that bill has been tabled. What do you think is going to happen with that, and what are you doing to insure your race can go forward?

KALKHOVEN: We are doing two things. First we are trying to protect the interest of motor sports … not just our race. Let me also say, it’s not us who are holding the race, there is a promoter who wants to do this … a very respected developer and citizen of Arizona. What are we doing? First of all, we made it perfectly clear to various members of the assembly exactly what the implications of this bill were. I think that many of them were horrified about this, and that is why the bill got tabled. This is not a bill which openly insinuates itself as being a motor sports activity bill. It was, in fact, an add-on to a marriage license bill which had already passed. And therefore if it would have gone to committee, it would have been made law. It was the ultimate stealth tactic. And that is what we were really upset about.

DESPAIN: Is a surprise to you that the track is upset? By running a week after them, you are going to be competing with them for local sponsorship, local media time. Did you not expect them to put up with some kind of stink about this? Whether we believe that it was under-handed and below the belt, you must have expected some resistance from them?

KALKHOVEN: Just to remind you, in Southern California, where Long Beach was the dominant race for many years, they never objected to building in Fontana. So, what goes around, comes around.

DESPAIN: Touché! For the record, there has been an exchange with NASCAR. We invited them on here, to give their side of the story. The essentially forwarded us the statement released earlier in the week. And it says: “Neither NASCAR, nor any of its representatives, agents, or employees, has taken a position on Champ Car’s proposed event in Phoenix or participated in any conduct that would impede Champ Car’s ability to run an event. Nor is it in NASCAR’s best interest to do so, NASCAR understands that in order to keep motor sports healthy and vibrant in North America, it is imperative that race tracks and race fans have a broad ‘product list’ from which to choose.”

DESPAIN: Let me ask you about the much discussed business of reunification. When you and Tony George basically asked the media to butt out, leave you alone and let you work on it. Wind Tunnel did that. We abided by that until Robin Miller broached the idea a couple of weeks ago. That you, Champ Car, would consider opening up your May schedule and allowing your teams to do the Indy 500. That caught me off guard. Are you in fact willing to do that?

KALKHOVEN: It kind of caught me off guard as well. The talks with Tony are being very fruitful. There is no doubt about that at all. They are being held in a real atmosphere of trying to accomplish something. I can say that we don’t have a time scale on the results that we are trying to achieve, but in good faith both sides are talking. As part of that, if suitable arrangements were to be a stepping stone for unification, then sure we would consider stepping stones for unification. If it helped both sides, provided a positive influence to where both sides are trying to get to.

DESPAIN: Would clearing your May schedule, and enabling your teams to lease equipment and race in the 500, would that meet the criteria in your mind … meet the criterion for moving things forward?

KALKHOVEN: It’s part of a bigger picture, Dave. If it really does move things forward as part of a bigger picture, then sure, we would consider it. In fact, we have discussed it. We are still concentrating on the bigger picture for the moment.

DESPAIN: I read a lot of opinion, that timing is critical. That is has to happen now, or it can’t happen because of your new equipment formula and all of that, you will have simply gone too far apart. It is simply dooms day. Do you buy that in any way?

KALKHOVEN: It is interesting to see the opinions on this. The people that have sat in the room with Tony and me and listened to our discussions … they realize that we don’t have a time scale. We are trying to do it right. We are really talking in good faith. That, I think, is the important thing. I don’t think that any specific timing matters here. I do think that we are trying to move toward unification in a positive way that meets the requirements of our partners …we are concentrating on the bigger picture first.

DESPAIN: As you go forward, what is the message that you will send tonight to the fans of both series, yours and the IRL, about the future of American open wheel racing?

KALKHOVEN: I think the answer is really very simple … there have been many years of conflict. But certainly, at this moment in time, there is a strong desire I think on both sides, to achieve some degree of unity. And to be able to move forward in a way that encourages the desire of both sets of fans. I think that it is possible to do that. I don’t know what exactly what the time scale will be. But I think what we’ll try to do is find something that satisfies all of the fans and try to create new ones.

NIGHT FIGHTERS

Champ Car’s return to Houston was a lot tougher of an event than I was ready for this early in the season, but the Houston Region organized marshals “warmed” to the task, and gave it their all, despite heat and humidity by day and darkness and intensity by night. A good number of marshals on hand had not done a CCWS event since we last came downtown in 2001, but their numbers were bolstered by a contingent of veterans from California, Canada, the Midwest and even some visitors from the Netherlands, Norway, and Mexico.

I would like to heartily thank all those who participated and put up with the long days (starting with the ten o’clock meetings,) while working very deep into the evenings. And an extra-extra special thanks to Flag Chief Jim Lowe who busted his butt from laying out the posts in the weeks leading up to the event, through the weekend which saw him create and staff two entire posts that were required just hours before the first session. An incredible, highly dedicated leader who really cares about his people – thanks, Jim

A CHICANE FROM WHOLE CLOTH

Even though the layout was on the books for some time, you just cannot get a feel for a place until you see it in three dimensions. The pit straight was long and had some gentle bends, but due to the location of the Reliant Center at the end of it (turn two,) there just wasn’t an adequate runoff for such a long straight. This did not go unnoticed by a small faction of CCWS drivers who effectively lobbied late Wednesday afternoon for a remedy. Chris Kneifel, our former Chief Steward/Race Director/Circuit Director, who is now consulting as a circuit builder, stepped up to the problem with Tony Cotman fresh with the knowledge gained last year getting San Jose off the ground (get it?) CSK led the construction crews all night – even the Grid Girl competition stage had to be picked up and moved - to create a mini version of the old Festival Curve in Portland – a sharp 90 left followed by a 120 right and a 60 left back onto the straight to set up for turn two. Posts 1A and 1B were created, landlines were dropped by Palmer, flags and equipment appeared, Jim Lowe did some very quick reassigning and we were ready to go – very much on time – by 11 on Thursday morning!

1B HAS BINGO

Just like its namesake in Portland and its cousins in San Jose and Australia, this chicane generated many opportunities to bail out and run straight through it, putting extra pressure on our crews to catch all the short cuts. I cannot speak for ALMS or Star Mazda, but the combined shortcut totals for CCWS and CCAC were easily over 100 for the three day event. Yeesh. But while irreverently poking fun at the whole affair on Friday, a brainstorm hit me, and I only wish I’d have thought of it earlier in the weekend. Later that night, I drew up two different sheets of car numbers in a 5 x 5 square, one each for Champ Cars and Atlantics, and presented one each to the keepers of said dreaded real estate, posts 1A and 1B – For the warm-ups, they were gonna play SHORT CUT BINGO!!! The CCWS card featured a #12 Jimmy Vasser Free Space. Sure enough, near the end of the Atlantic warm up, ol’ 1B came through for us - good show! I’m gonna check to see if they play Bingo down under and get three cards ready…

SCARED OF THE DARK?

As night fell, the joint took on an entirely different character. The CCWS has done night events before, but either on ovals or the vast wide-open spaces of Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport. But this was an honest-to-goodness STREET race, with walls and fences and banners and signage, replete with the shadows those pesky things create. Some of the darker colored cars, and especially the metallic charcoal grey of the CTE cars were VERY hard to see as they darted into the shadows. Downright spooky if you ask me, and I was glad again to be inside. But our comms and flaggers did the job we expected and I neither heard nor had any complaints. One scary incident involved Paul Tracy moving over on Dan Clarke (in one of the dark CTE cars, you guessed it) and they had a coming together on the ultra-fast long, blind sweeper that skirted the edge of the Astrodome. Wonder if Tracy lost him in the shadows?

IF IT’S HOUSTON, THAT MUST BE A.J. (no, not that one…)

We had the great pleasure on Friday morning to witness a first in CCWS Marshaling history as our morning briefing featured an actual Champ Car driver stopping by to say a few words. We have done some things at the end of the day in Montreal with Quebecois drivers, and in Mexico with Mexican drivers, so I thought it only fair to nab an American for this big moment. So a big ON COURSE tip o’the hat to A.J. Allmendinger for helping us out and sharing his thoughts about the circuit and the series. What made it even easier was the late morning meeting start time and the 75 or so steps it took to walk over from his transporter - which was in the same corner of the expo center as the SCCA compound!

LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT

So back to the chicane again. The race start, and how we were gonna get everyone through there on lap one, became a huge discussion point at the drivers’ meeting. I’ll just say there were wildly different opinions and very few had the confidence that it could be done. One suggestion was to watch the ALMS start on Friday night, and it was damned impressive! Yes, yes, they have fenders – good on’ em. But there was a palpable air of “let’s help one another out and get through here, boys” and it worked. They singled up at the drop of the green and they went through with hardly a bump. And they only created one full-course-yellow in nearly three hours of racing!! For a tow-in!! ALMS is an endurance series and all its participants bring a very calm, cool “endurance” mentality to the table. A huge credit to them.

So CCWS Race Director Tony Cotman spent the better part of race day morning lobbying this same approach. The idea in brief was to pair up early, beam back a nice picture of some orderly two-by-two rows for the international audience and voluntarily thin in out upon the acceleration of Mario Dominguez the pole sitter. And for the most part it worked, the only casualty being Justin Wilson losing some parts in a side-to-side. Fair enough, but no big melee or shortcut extravaganza. Some times (actually oft times,) the true meaning of Power is not “power over” but “power with.” (Where was this thinking in 1996?) Enough philosophy, it was a great thing to experience.

The race itself seemed to take three hours, like we were doing a 500-mile race in the dark. I think up in race control we girded ourselves for a very busy and troubled race and when you heighten up your senses for a period of time, time seems to slow down. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way. Sebastien Bourdais qualified only fifth but Newman/Haas got him there again for the win. But the long day ended on a pretty freaky incident in turn three, so maybe that’s what I had sensed.

We were coming off a yellow with one lap to go til the green after yet another shoving match at the chicane. On the straight between turns two and three, Alex Tagliani gassed it to clean his tires and then to the naked eye appeared to deliberately accelerate straight into the tires in the turn three runoff. Of course he gave the land line cable running behind the wall a massive belt and the insidious hum appeared on contact, signifying a big problem. Tag hit right at the seam between two wallblocks and caved them back about two feet, obliterating the front nosepiece and burying himself in the tires. I saw the tape thereafter, which was incomplete as he also took out the cable for the TV camera as well! So we were in the dark for a while until we got the word from the post that he was out and appeared fine. But when something that weird and unexpected completely startles you (remember we were under full-course yellow) it’s a disturbing thing to see… The short story is that the pump that feeds his water bottle came loose and was rattling around in the pedal box area. It is actually mounted forward of the pedals in the nose box, but it shook loose and somehow got to a location behind the pedals toward Tag. He tried many times to move it toward him so he could grab it but could not do so. SO under caution the pump got lodged in between the throttle pedal and the heel rest, it caused the throttle to stick and that is what sent him into the tires.

So from here in the dark in Houston it’s off to the sun and heat and dust in Monterrey. More in a couple days.

Adios,

JHS