Happy Thanksgiving 2013 from IMSA&IndyCar

To our volunteer Marshals and Course Observers:

With the 2013 racing season now behind us, it comes time to pause and express our appreciation to our volunteers, corner marshals and course observers everywhere. We also congratulate you for seeing all of our series through another long, successful and safe season.

From the “Florida Swing” events in March, to the season closers in Atlanta and Fontana, the nine series represented by IMSA and IndyCar saw plenty of changes; changes in position on track of course, but also changes in participating venues and in two cases, a change in ownership of the series themselves.  Next season, Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series combine to form the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, while the Mazda Road to Indy consolidates all three of its “rungs” under one owner, Andersen Promotions.

The powers and personalities who brought forth these changes have worked long and hard throughout 2013 to do so - and we recognize that our volunteers have also worked long and hard toward making this racing season safe, fair and enjoyable for all our competitors, officials and fans.

The terms “endurance” and “commitment” come to mind while thinking of the challenges you all faced during the events.  Extremes of heat and cold, wet and dry, day and night. Grueling schedules, language barriers, lightning quick turn-arounds, challenging communications and varying flag rules. It’s all in a weekend’s work for most of you, yet you pull it off consistently, all while dealing with a decreasing overall number of marshals nationwide.

We are proud to have each of you on our team and in our racing family. We are thankful that you help to keep our racing safe and that you keep yourselves safe at the same time, to which the serious incidents at VIR and Houston – one day apart – will attest.

From all of us in Daytona, Indianapolis and across North America to wherever you may be spending your holiday season, please accept our sincere, heartfelt thanks to you and your loved ones for your enthusiasm and support.  Please join us again in 2014!

With warmest regards,

Beaux Barfield, IZOD IndyCar Series | Terry Dale, IMSA Prototype Lights | Randy Hembrey, IMSA GT3 Cup & GT3 Cup Canada, Lamborghini Super Trofeo | Vince Kremer, Indy Lights Series | Bill Van de Sandt, Pro Mazda Championship & USF2000 | Paul Walter, Tudor United SportsCar Championship

Thank You, 2012!

A Message of thanks from the Race Directors of IMSA, IndyCar & the Mazda Road to Indy

To all our Volunteers, Corner Marshals and Course Observers:

We pause at this time of the year to reflect on the past season, how thankful we are to be racers, and how very much we appreciate your continued support.

With our seasons concluded, it is clear that both of our sanctioning bodies underwent some significant changes in 2012:

IndyCar bolstered its on-track product with a new chassis, multiple engine manufacturers, a return to previous venues - and of course, a new race director. Eight winners emerged from five teams, an American series champion was crowned in the waning moments of the season and Lights champ Tristan Vautier ascended another rung from his ’11 Star Mazda Championship.

The American Le Mans Series experienced another great season of multi-class Prototype and GT racing and now looks forward to a 2014 merger with GRAND-AM Road Racing to create the long sought after series that will blend the best assets of each organization.  The IMSA development program expanded its Canadian GT Series and crowned two young stars of the future (please remember the names Tristan Nunez and Sean Johnston!)

And of course, at every turn, 2012 yielded the usual excitement, intrigue, drama and uncertainty. Not different from life itself, and perhaps why we are all here. If outcomes were assured, it wouldn’t be racing.

What is very certain to us is the commitment, dedication and bravery you demonstrate every step of the way, no matter the task, time or place.  We appreciate the sacrifices you have all made in your personal lives to make room for our events. We applaud your steadfastness as you endure the challenges created by the elements, the weekend schedules and the competition itself. We value your ideas and suggestions on ways to make Marshaling and service to our competitors safer and more efficient.

Please also consider this a standing invitation to join us again in 2013, from Sebring to Atlanta and from St. Pete to Fontana, continuing your roles as an integral part of the success of each one of our series. We thank you for spreading the word about what we do and how much we love it - pass it along and bring a friend!

From everyone in IMSA and IndyCar Race Control, our paddocks and our entire organizations, we wish you and your loved ones the safest and happiest of holiday seasons.

With regards,

Beaux Barfield, IZOD IndyCar Series | Terry Dale, IMSA Prototype Lights & GT3 Canada | Randy Hembrey, IMSA GT3 Cup | Vince Kremer, Indy Lights Series | Bill Van de Sandt, Star Mazda Championship | Paul Walter, American Le Mans Series & USF2000

IndyCar/IMSA Thanksgiving Messages

To all of our family of Marshals, Support Teams and Volunteers:

IMSA, and the various series that it sanctions and operates, has completed yet another successful season.

Measuring success is a complicated process. From a motorsports business perspective, "success" could be determined by measuring how many sponsors connected their businesses financially to the sport and if they yielded results. Also, to a large degree, how many fans, enthusiasts and spectators made the decision to follow the exploits and excitement of the on-track product - either in person or through one of the many media outlets of TV, internet, print or by some other means. Were they entertained by what they saw and experienced? Enough to want to see more in the 2012 season? And to tell their families, friends and co-workers?

The Race Operations Team at IMSA is made up of both full and part time members who all share a passion for motorsport. We know that we share this passion with similar enthusiasts across North America at the tracks where we are priviledged to race. Without question, the experiences we have at those venues are often challenging but always rewarding. That reward and satisfaction comes from working with, if only for a few short days, some of the best and most committed people in the world. The local flaggers, tower and track staff, safety teams, paddock and pit lane officials, registration and on and on. There are just so many who contribute to IMSA's "success" that we truly could not do what we do without them.

At this special time of the year, the IMSA Race Directors and Race Control Operations Team Members want to say a very special 'Thank You' to all of you dedicated people who work so hard to make our events as successful as they are. We enjoy sharing the stories and, even more, appreciate the talent and expertise that we so very much count on.

Please - Have a very happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season with your families and friends! Have a safe winter and we all very much look forward to seeing and working with you in the coming 2012 Season!

Beaux Barfield

Race Director - American Le Mans Series and IMSA GT3 Series

Terry Dale

Race Director - Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship

FIA International Steward - ALMS

Paul Walter

IMSA Clerk of the Course

...and all in IMSA Race Operations

# # # # #

Dear Friends:

The seasons come, the seasons go. By anyone's standard, 2011 had its share of emotional and sometimes difficult moments for IndyCar. We experienced some thrilling highs, like the exciting finish of this year's 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500, and also the devastating low of the loss of our Indy 500 winner and 2005 Series Champion Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas.

But what isn't difficult is being thankful - especially at this time of year - for our faithful and steadfast groups of Marshals, Observers, Track Support Personnel and volunteers, who keep IndyCar and its three support series running along, week in and week out, no matter the track, conditions or challenges.

For 2012, IndyCar will continue to move forward in the areas of competition, safety and innovation. The new Dallara DW12, initially test-driven by Dan, enters its final stages of development with all three engine manufacturers and will debut at the season opener in St. Petersburg.

We will

welcome several new teams to the IZOD IndyCar Series next season. The Mazda 'Road to Indy' will continue to develop new driving talent via the Indy Lights, Star Mazda and USF2000 Championships. And we will further our commitment to explore ways to provide increased safety for our competitors and exciting racing for our fans.

Such is the view of the "big picture" for IndyCar. But when we look closer, we see this picture is made up of thousands of individual efforts. We stand

grateful and encouraged by your commitment, skill and perseverance. The downpour in Sao Paulo, our oval rain delays, the bitter wet cold of Edmonton, and the trying long days of Baltimore are just a few of the challenges our volunteers and crews faced this year. Yet each was considered a success in no small part due to the dedication of all of you, no matter the task.

We also welcome and appreciate the positive attitude with which you carry out your roles at our events. Whether it be aiding a competitor, assisting our officials or answering questions from fans, we consider you all to be very important features of the "face" of IndyCar.

Thank you again so much for the

sacrifices you and your families make whenever you offer your time, talents and support to participate in our events. You have our respect and appreciation.

From our entire IndyCar family, we extend warm holiday wishes to you and all of your families for a safe, happy and peaceful holiday season, along with our sincerest hopes to see all of you again in 2012!

All the best,

Brian Barnhart, IZOD IndyCar Series Race Director

Tony Cotman, Firestone Indy Lights Championship Race Director

Bill Van de Sandt, Star Mazda

Championship Race Director

Paul Walter, USF2000

Championship Race Director

...and all of IndyCar Race Control

LAND HO!

May I have your attention please...

I can finally say I will be joining the Race Control staff of the IZOD IndyCar & Firestone Indy Lights Series as Operations Communicator, talking to the teams, participants, pit lane officials and pace car. My two year "exile" from motorsports officiating is over.

For those of you who followed this blog who remember one of the final posts regarding Sir Walter Raleigh's trip to the new world, I now know exactly what he meant and how he must have felt. Land Ho!

Although I will no longer be on the Land Line for the series, I will be attending all the Marshals' meetings and overseeing all the Marshals' activities in regard to the road and street courses. It will become a growing work in progress as the season goes along. One of my marching orders is to continue to grow the relationship between IndyCar Race Control and the volunteer F&C Marshal corps nationwide.

So I will be off to the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama the third week of February for the open test session, and then on to Sao Paulo, St. Pete, Barber, dear ol' Long Beach and so on. I'm not sure what my limitation may be yet with this blog, but it's shaping up to be an interesting year!

Thanks and God Bless! I wonder if the teams will like to hear Mark Knopfler between sessions?

JHS

EPIBLOGUE

Just like back in the days of “Quinn Martin” Productions on television
shows like “The FBI” and Twelve O’clock High”, after all was done there
was a brief “epilogue” after the commercial at the end of the show.
It’s been a while, but I finally have time for mine. That it took this long
is a clear indication of how hard I am peddling now to keep up.

When Champ Car expired, it took a decent percentage of income away,
and I always wondered what life might be like without it. I finally got to
experience that, and it hasn’t been all bad nor all good, just different.
As I mentioned to several who asked as the CCWS was folding up,
'whatever changes come into my life because of this, they were
necessary’. I am now an artist again for the foreseeable future and
a new focus on those efforts has seen me busier than I’ve ever been
on the drawing board. I have been almost non-stop since Mexico City
last year, and at this writing there are still three commissions (from the
activities at the Long Beach race) still left to execute before its off
toward the banquet pieces.

The Long Beach weekend was just like a dream. The CCWS closing
was announced in February and we got the call a few days later that
the officials would be rounded up just one more time to make it happen,
which I am truly thankful for. So we had all resigned ourselves to the
series being done. The weekend itself seemed like a dream where it
was all back together again. But on Monday morning we all woke from
the dream to remember it was indeed finished.

I want to thank the good people of Cal Club and all the other Marshals
from around the country and around the globe for putting up with the
odd circumstances. All on track rules were Champ Car but the race
was run for IndyCar points. They all did their usual great jobs, quick was
the word and sharp was the action! I wish you ALL could have been there.
At a pre-event breakfast, I was presented with a photomontage made by
Gail Fetterman outlining my career as a Marshal, Starter and Clerk that
was very welcome and touching to see.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the very last meeting of the
Champ Car Inner Circle Club on Saturday evening and organizers Bill
and Linda Wood went out of their way to invite as many special guests
as they could to stop by and say a few words. Among the show-ups
were Dale Coyne, Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Bruno Junquiera, Jeremy
Shaw, Tommy Kendall (who played Tracy’s straight man,) Bridgestone’s
Joe Barbieri, Chris Kneifel (who limited his F-bombs to only two,) JD
Wilbur, Race Control’s Brian Hughes and the inimitable and ever-stylish
Nelson Philippe. We were all thankful to show the fans how we felt and
thankful more for the faith they showed us in the last five seasons.
When asked my opinions about the future, I reminded everyone that
the last great shot of growth and innovation in this series was brought
about by Mr. Cotman. He’s got a million and one ideas. When formed, the IRL had to be different by its very nature to offer something different from CART.

Now with the demise of Champ Car, there is no reason at all for
the new IndyCar series to be different anymore. They are the only
open wheel series in town!! I’m pretty confident they are looking at
more road and street events in the near future, and if they are smart
it will surely be onward and upward as far as our modern-day
economy (which is a far cry from the salad days of CART) will
allow it.

Am I eager to be a part of it? Damn-betcha! Remember I grew up in
Indiana! But the CCWS closure came so late that all plans for 2008
were firmly entrenched. As far as myself, I’m more than willing to
get back into a series in whatever capacity I can contribute. Tony
Cotman works for IndyCar and Beaux Barfield works for the ALMS,
and they both know what I can do. And you all too for that matter…
The Atlantic Series now continues under the IMSA sanction but
economy dictates meant no room for a traveling comm on the
roster which is no great surprise.

The Long Beach race itself went off well. Our two series owners finished
first and second. But the biggest wrinkle of the weekend came out of
our old nemesis, oval track weather. Tony Cotman, now with IndyCar
was given the task of Race Director for the weekend while the rest of
their crew were off at the Motegi event in Japan (I liked the place but
the food was too damned squishy.) Since the Japan race was on
Saturday afternoon there, (which was Friday nite in Long Beach) Tony
invited Messrs. Tony George and Brian Barnhart to fly to Long Beach
after the race in Japan to sit in on our race control activities to see
what we could do. But Saturday’s race in
Japan was rained out and was held Sunday, not leaving enough time
for the two to make it over. We found out just before the race started
that they weren’t coming, and it did take some wind out of the day.

As long as things keep happening on the race track, I’ll keep watching,
and I should have subjects to paint. I’ve left an awful lot of friends out
there. We will see what 2009 holds, but the result is more focus,
attention, and energy directed at my art and that’s been both a boon
and a blessing so far in 2008. I’ve often wondered if I could survive on
just the art and so far that’s a yes. I see my wife more often, and
spend more time at home. After 18 seasons on the road, that part
of it is extremely welcome. Love and comfort can be found wherever
you look.

I just updated my website yesterday, and the latest offering is the
Mexico City finish from last year, which was the last race for the
CCWS that counted toward our series. I don’t get to paint myself
too often anymore since then starters stand days, but I’m very
happy with it. Please have a look when you have a chance
at www.jimswintal.com !

Edmonton is coming up this weekend, and a good number of you
will be out there all three days, continuing to carry the torch forward.
I will miss being there for sure, and I’ll be watching at home with
timing and scoring info pouring into my laptop, waiting for the next
big deal. I shall join you again soon in one way or another.

Thanks for reading.

And as I often said over the landline on many exciting Sunday
afternoons: please work together, take care of each other out there, do
your best, don't forget to enjoy yourselves and God bless you all.

Over and out.

JHS

MORE FROM BOB PIRTLE

Today we received this email from the man himself:

I am doing very well. I can walk a couple of blocks without assistance. I do not have any problems with motor skills. I can type and do almost everything that I could before the incident. It was a very scary time, but I am recovering well ahead of schedule. Thanks for your concern. Jim can communicate my condition. I would be delighted to hear from any of my old friends in racing!

Blessings,

Bob

Apparently, Bob was felled by the stroke just a few days after Long Beach, but only spent a brief time in hospital. You can email him at bob@cliffordroberts.com or write to:

404 Plover Court
Lincoln, Ca. 95648

Please keep him and his wife Vee in your thoughts! Anyone who had ever been to one of our Race Day briefings knows the care he put into our well being with his benedictions.




Speaking of LB, at some point I will get around to putting some thoughts down, as it was quite and experience to draw a sheet over what was once such a big part of our lives. The strange thing is that since the collapse (it wasn't a merger) I have NEVER had so much artwork to do! Between now and late July I have SEVEN full sized pieces to create! Just not enough hours in the day right now to get to everything. I promise it will be a thoughtful read...

Thanks

JHS

RALEIGH

Thanks all of you who have written emails to me to ask how I am doing. I have not gotten back to all of them yet, but thanks just the same.

Last night, Diane and I sat down to watch the DVD of "Elizabeth - The Golden Age." In it, Queen Elizabeth listens intently to Sir Walter Raleigh describe what it feels like to sail across an ocean without knowing what's on the other side.

Raleigh:

"Can you imagine? Can you feel? What it is to cross an ocean?
For weeks you see nothing but the horizon. All round you.
Perfect, and empty. Your ship is small - tiny - a speck in such
immensity.  

"You live with fear. In the grip of fear - fear of storms, fear
of sickness, fear of the immensity. What if you never escape?
How can you escape? There's nowhere to go!

"So you must drive your fear down... deep into your belly...
and study your charts, and watch your compass, and pray
for a fair wind and - hope. 

"Pure, naked, fragile hope.

"When all your senses scream at you, 'Lost!'                      

"...Lost!"

"Imagine it. Day after day, staring west, the rising sun on
your back,the setting sun in your eyes, hoping...
hoping...  

"At first, it's no more than a haze on the horizon, the
ghost of a haze, the pure line corrupted. But clouds
do that, and storms. So you watch. You watch.

"Then it's a smudge. a shadow on the far water. For a day,
for another day, the stain slowly spreads along the horizon,
and takes form - until on the third day you let yourself believe.
You dare to whisper the word - 

"Land."

"Land. Life. Resurrection. The true adventure. Coming out of the
vast unknown, out of the immensity, into safe harbour at last.

"That - THAT - is the New World."