There has been much debate about the merits and the performance of the Rocketsports Jag so far on the various sportscar message boards. There seems be be a lot of ill will towards the team because of the bad blood Paul Gentilozzi has left in his wake of previous ventures. Putting personal beefs aside, how do people feel about the program? So far I feel they have over promised but I also understand there are always teething problems with a new program. Personally I feel Jaguar is an important marque for the ALMS and would like to see them become a two car effort in time. There are rumours Jaguar might be looking for a new team to head up the project and surely Yokohama can't be happy thus far. They did manage to barely make it to the the chequers at Long Beach, a positive step. Surely an embarrassment at Le Mans is possible unless they improve rapidly, Bill Riley on board should be a great help.
Is there adequate funding? Is there competent management? Is the car a viable GT2 machine?
As a fan of top level sportscar racing I am frustrated and looking for insight, any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Perhaps I am just being too impatient with this project as others have suggested elsewhere, but I don't think so. Perhaps my expectations are simply too high.

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. When people think racing, people think of single seater cars blasting around corners with high revving engines. I myself have never been to one, but it's definetly something I'm doing before I die.

Since the economy and car industry have gone under the past couple of years, the effect of it on motorsport is obvious. It is also especially apparent on Formula 1 because of it being a high spending sport. For 2009 we have seen major rule changes to make the cars be able to overtake more, make the sport better to watch, and to keep Ferrari and McLaren from the podium. 2010 onwards will see Formula 1 change even more. Reading an article in the March 2009 issue of Road & Track says this...

This makes me angry. Formula 1 is the top motorsports racing series but in the next couple of years, it's going to look more like NASCAR with everything standardized and everyone running the same stuff. I hope after we dig ourselves out of this economic hole the rules will go back to hwo they are this year.

Enough of the bad stuff though, there is plenty of better things to happen from 2010 on. For instance USGPE (United States Grand Prix Engineering) will be entering the Formula 1 series with (hopefully) a year of testing under their belt. Bernie Ecclestone is also considering the return of the United States Grand Prix, although it may not be held at Indianapolis according to Tony George unless it makes financial sense. Aston Martin, Lola and Prodrive are also considering entering as well.

So I guess it's up to you to decide whether the future of Formula 1 is going to be better or worse than it is now.

The American Le Mans Series has long promoted a no-spec philosophy when talking about the advantages of racing in the World's premier sports car organization. It's a noble philosophy, to-be-sure, but is it the right philosophy given the current economic climate?

Now... don't start throwing your arms running around in circles and spewing out to me how it promotes competition and yada-yada-yada. You're preaching to the choir. I understand... and, I agree.

However, it seems the tire situation as escalated to the point where perhaps (PERHAPS - please note this is just a consideration) one manufacturer's dominance could raise the question, "should the ALMS have a spec tire?"

When times were good... you know, before the 3 trillion dollar deficit and before Wall Street began looking like a State Fairgrounds dirt oval run by Bernie Madoff..., the premier tire supplier in the ALMS supplied roughly 22 of 28 teams. Four of those teams walked away with class Championships. Coincidence? I think not. Sure, you could argue that it only worked out that way because the numbers were stacked in their favor, but it's a known fact that those tires are faster and stay faster longer. A pretty tough combination to beat.

Now.. make no mistake about it, GOOD FOR THEM. They've done their homework, they've built a superior product and they're getting the job done. They deserve to reap the benefits for their efforts. But, is this good for the ALMS and, just as important, is this good for the competitors in the ALMS?

When we had 28 teams, supplying 22 of them is a pretty dominant ratio. You can't argue that. So why not supply all 28. Let's face it, no other tire manufacturer is "showing up." In other words, they might be there.... but they're phoning it in at best. Sure, the new BMWs are being supplied tires and support from a competing manufacturer, but before they've even turned a wheel under competitive conditions, rumor has it that BMW is already politicking for concessions in the rules. It's tires.

Getting back to the current conditions, we need all the competitors we can get. We don't have 28 cars on the grid. After Sebring, when the Audis and Peugeots head back over the pond and the challenge of Sebring is put to rest for another year, we'll be lucky to see 16 cars at St. Pete. And, by rough count, 12 of those teams will have the tire of choice. So the dominance will continue.. count on it.

So.... aren't we already running a spec tire? At least for some? And, if you're not one of the "chosen" competitors, do you really stand a chance? As a team, does it really make sense to spend your resources, or your sponsor's resources running in a race you have no chance of winning... or even being competitive?

We've lost teams... hell, we've lost a whole class (GT1). I'm not saying it's due to an un-level playing field, but if a level playing field were ever need, it's now. In this economic climate and given the prospect of a shrinking grid that isn't done shrinking, it would seem some form of pro-active measure couldn't hurt.

Maybe a compromise? Let the prototypes have at it with mixed and experimental efforts... let them continue to throw massive amounts of money at the battle. But let's do something to preserve and encourage the fierce competition in GT2.

It's time to take the tire out of the equation so manufactures and privateers alike feel they have a fighting chance. We can't afford to have some teams excluded. We're asking these teams to spend small fortunes to show up and race... we need to let them know this is a place where they are treated fairly and not excluded from the mix. Let's face it, the way things are looking, we're going to need every team we can get.

Again... PERHAPS. This is only food for thought.

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This blog entry is also a featured article on John's official new blog, http://www.thefastline.net. Visit it today!

That's the question many are asking this week following a heated exchange of words between Aston Martin Racing and racecar constructor Lola, over what Prodrive's new Aston Martin-powered Lola should be called.

It all started last Friday when Aston Martin chairman David Richards invited members of the media for a tour of the Prodrive facilities where two of the cars are being built up. Richards stated that the Lola has undergone a "radical redesign" by Aston Martin Racing.

"The basic tub and crash structure are Lola, everything else is ours," Richards was quoted in an Autoweek.com story. "Last year’s car was a bit of an ugly duckling; we’ve tried to turn it into a swan."

Richards' words angered Lola, which issued a formal statement this week on the matter:

"Following a number of inaccurate and misleading quotes given by the Aston Martin Chairman David Richards, regarding the supply of the Lola LMP1 chassis to Aston Martin Racing for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours and Le Mans Series programme, Lola has decided to set the record straight.

"The Lola Aston Martin is a Lola designed and built car. It is not a ‘radical re-design’ as stated by Aston Martin Racing. Aston Martin has undertaken some body styling cues that required some CFD work to try to reinstate the Lola Aero performance and minor bespoke mechanical changes to accommodate the styling changes. Lola has spent over two and a half years in the research and development of this state of the art car costing several millions of pounds.

"Aston Martin contracted with Lola in December 2008 to buy our cars because they knew that as a result of the 2008 performance that we had the leading LMP1 customer car and Aston Martin didn’t have the time to develop their own car. When Aston first mooted rehomologation of the Lola car and was given the cost of their contribution to IPR and R&D the negotiations broke down. It is completely inappropriate that Aston Martin should now attempt to achieve “ownership” through misrepresentation in the media.

"Lola’s binding contract with Aston Martin is for two cars the nomenclature of which under the contract is that the cars must remain Lola Aston Martin."

This topic was discussed in detail on Wednesday's Midweek Motorsport radio show, with a number of auto racing journalists giving their input into this issue. Here are my thoughts:

It appears Aston Martin Racing has indeed put a considerable amount of work into the Lola to create a unique image for the brand. However, most of that stems from bodywork changes, and not the critical components such as the suspension and chassis itself.

The car is still homologated as a Lola. Aston Martin Racing elected not to go through the process for it to become a pure "Aston Martin" due to alleged financial reasons. Therefore, it was entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Le Mans Series as a "Lola Aston Martin."

It's obvious that both companies want to take credit for this new and exciting project. But from these public statements, it's clear there's some friction between the two British firms. Will that go away when the cars hit the track? Probably not. Could it impact the future of this project? Possibly.

It's not a good sign to have executives in a war of words before the car even hits the race track. Let's hope that things get ironed out and the results will speak for themselves.

This blog entry is also a featured article on John's official new blog, http://www.thefastline.net. Visit it today!

On Monday, Didier Theys announced his retirement from the sport, leaving some sports car loyalists reflecting back on the Belgian’s storied career. While writing the news story on his retirement, I couldn’t help but realize how much of an impact Theys had on endurance racing over the past fifteen years.

It hit a soft spot for me in particular, as some of my earliest memories of sports car racing involved Theys. I still remember watching ESPN’s telecast of the 1998 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, where he and co-drivers Gianpiero Mortelli, Mauro Baldi and Arie Luyendyk sailed to victory in their Doran Racing/Momo Ferrari 333 SP. And of course there was 2002 – the final year for SRPs at Daytona – when Theys went to Daytona victory lane for the second time piloting Doran Racing’s Lista Dallara Judd. Daytona was a magical place back then.

Theys’ SRP championship in 2002 was also memorable. He even took a stab at Daytona Prototype racing the following year, although only for a handful of races. He and Lienhard were itching to go back to “proper” prototype racing and after entering a few ALMS events with Lienhard’s Dallara, the duo took up a new challenge in the European-based Le Mans Series. Theys enjoyed success there too, picking up two LMP2 class wins with Horag Racing – the last coming at the Monza 1000km in 2007 – with Lienhard and Eric van de Poele.

Theys’ retirement actually comes one year earlier than expected, as he had hoped to once again compete with Horag Racing in the Le Mans Series with Lienhard’s Porsche RS Spyder. However, with Lienhard retiring last year, and the current economic climate, funding wasn’t apparently found for the program to continue, which is a real shame.

Over the years, Theys never had to prove himself on the race track. He always had the speed, consistency and veteran mentality to bring the car home in one piece, and usually on the top. You don’t see a lot of that today, as young ex-open-wheel hot shoes are brought in and told to go flat out, sometimes risking it all. The star power in sports car racing has changed, and while it has made for intense racing and increased exposure, it’s not the same as it was ten years ago.

Luckily, Theys will not vanish from the sport, as he’s already become active in driver coaching and instructing. He’ll likely be showing his face at the racetrack from time to time, reminiscing on his storied past.

This blog entry is also a featured article on John's official new blog, http://www.thefastline.net. Visit it today!


It seems like the critics come out of the woodwork every February when the the Automobile Club de l’Ouest releases the entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I must admit that I’m no exception. Each year, I prepare my own list of “probable” entrants I’d envision the ACO to select in the days prior to its release. Usually I’m not perfect, but almost every time, a few surprises pop in. Surely enough, the 2009 edition was no exception.

Today, the ACO revealed its selections for the 77th edition of the “Grand Prix of Endurance,” and by all means, the organizers did a commendable job to shape this year’s field. Considering there were 83 applicants for 55 spots (plus 10 reserves), the ACO had to make some tough decisions.

Without a doubt, an incredible group of competitors were selected for the two prototype divisions. Audi Sport Team Joest enters three brand-new Audi R15 TDIs, while Team Peugeot Total returns with three of its 908 Hdi-FAPs, seeking revenge. To add to the mix, Aston Martin Racing has taken its factory team to the prototype ranks and fields three V12-powered Lola Coupes.

That’s nine fully factory backed P1s right there, but there’s more. Audi will be lending support to Colin Kolles, who will run a pair of year-old Audi R10 TDIs. Peugeot didn’t want to be outdone and has given one of its 908s to Le Mans stalwart Henri Pescarolo to campaign.

In this economic climate, nobody would have imagined a few months back that there would be a dozen factory backed or manufacturer-assisted cars on the P1 grid this year. But there is. I believe this speaks volumes for Le Mans-branded racing worldwide, and the automaker’s will power to stay in the sport. Sure, Audi has pulled the plug on its American Le Mans Series and European-based Le Mans Series programs, but it’s still rolling out a brand-new car and remains faithful to Le Mans.

If you look at the depth in the LMP2 category, you can see manufacturer presence there, too. Despite dropping its factory backing in the American Le Mans Series, Porsche is continuing to support its RS Spyder privateers in Europe. In fact, two new teams, Team Goh and Vitaphone Racing, have entered RS Spyders for Le Mans. And Team Essex has risen from the ashes to take one more stab at the twice-around-the-clock classic.

Mazda, on the other hand, has increased its support on both sides of the Atlantic, with a two-car program with Dyson Racing in the ALMS and four teams with Mazda MZR-R power at Le Mans. Then of course there’s Chevrolet, which has continued to fund its Pratt & Miller-run Corvette Racing squad despite the brutal US car market, and fields two Corvette C6.Rs in the GT1 class.

The ACO knows it needs to have a good balance of manufacturers and privateers in order for its rather complicated formula to succeed. If you look at this year’s entry list, the organizers have achieved that in P1. Sure, there’s certainly some disappointed teams today, finding out the news that they’re not in the race. I feel for Autocon Motorsports and ECOSpeed Racing, teams that didn’t get an entry. But there’s only 55 spots, and only so much room, especially this year with the increased factory presence.

However, It was interesting to note that the ACO only selected eight GT1 entries out of 22 that filed a request. Was that decision based on the current level of competition (or lack there of it in the ALMS and LMS), or the category’s future? Next year, both GT1 and GT2 will be restructured under new regulations proposed by SRO Chairman Stephane Ratel. Ratel is pushing ahead with plans for a World GT Championship, and the ACO is so far going along with those changes.

A lot of questions remain over what exactly will happen in 2010, though. The rules, which call for current GT2-style cars with engine displacements of over 5.5 liters being classified as GT1 and below 5.5 liters as GT2, doesn’t seem to be gaining much momentum, with only one manufacturer (Nissan) possibly showing interest to race in GT1, and the rest of the marquess content to stay in GT2 (Chevy, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin). Those “big four” have been calling for a single GT category, but Ratel isn’t responding. What will come of all this, and could the GT1 category’s low entry count at Le Mans have any political ramifications?

Did the ACO only select eight cars on purpose? There were a handful of teams that had the right qualifications (professional drivers, full-season entries in the Le Mans Series), but still didn’t get an invite. Take a look at Larbre Competition for instance. Here’s a team that has been at Le Mans for the last 16 consecutive years, and is put ninth on the reserve list. Or Full Speed Racing, a new team run by GT specialist Graham Nash that recently signed sportscar ace Christophe Bouchut. Was there just not enough room for these two teams, or does the ACO have a grand new plan for future GT regulations?

Even without Larbre and Full Speed, the GT1 grid at Le Mans will be very strong – something the ALMS and LMS has lacked in past seasons. Between Corvette Racing’s two factory racers and a pair of Luc Alphand Corvette C6.Rs, along with two strong privateer Aston Martin DBR9s and Reiter-engineered Lamborghini Murcielagos, there is potential for a competitive race.

Fourteen entries make up GT2, with an overwhelming majority being Prancing Horses. But to the ACO’s credit, five of those were automatic invites for Ferrari’s success on the racetrack from last year. The three Porsche teams, Flying Lizard Motorsports, IMSA Performance Matmut and Team Felbermayr-Proton, are certainly all very strong squads, as long as they don’t run into trouble. Last year, two of the Porsches collided in the early hours, knocking one out of the race and severely delaying the other.

Aside from the Porsche and Ferrari battle, there’s some variety in the category with an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 and Spyker C8 Laviolette. While it may not be completely balanced, the ACO did the best job it could given the circumstances.

If this entry doesn’t get you excited for Le Mans, I’m not sure what will. Without a doubt, Le Mans will be the sportscar race of the year. I’m already counting the days…

Buckle up my friends.

Think about it... we may be finally be facing the realization that what we do (race petroleum based machinery as a sport and form of entertainment) may soon be viewed has irresponsible and pointless. Irresponsible because of energy challenges facing the global economy and climate, and pointless because even the Scion Xb that is parked on my driveway may soon be viewed as a transportation "dinosaur." Of course, I don't mean in size or function... just its form of propulsion.

We've heard this dialogue for nearly two decades. Guess what.... you hear that knock on the door? .... it's reality and it's coming in whether you answer it or not.

The "PR" problem that will hurt us all will be the NASCAR fall-out, which is inevitable. All the noise NASCAR has made with their growth over the past 10 years is going to come back and bite them (and all forms of racing) right in the ass.

Any time I mention I photograph motorsports, the response is always... "Oh, NASCAR?" And, of course, I set about explaining to them that there are other forms of racing besides NASCAR.

So... as NASCAR begins to navigate their way over the cliff (speaking of irresponsible use of petroleum based energy) toward their ultimate doom.... we're going to be tossed into their wake.... with all the other flotsam.

I'm not trying to be doom and gloom here.... but unless there's a fleet of Chevy Volts ready to take the grid for the first Dura-Cell / RayOVac 500.... we're going to waiting around a long, long time. I'm afraid this deal ain't coming back.

Believe me... racing as we knew it is winding down. The restructuring of the automotive industry will include the restructuring of the automobile. The talking is over.

This deal is going to require... no demand, outside the box thinking beyond our standard definition of outside the box. What we were cheerily promoting as "diversified" over the past couple of years will not cut it given the most recent downturn in the economy. Let's face it... this is impacting every part of our lives... it is the proverbial perfect storm.

Most gasoline cars produced currently will sit like ... 1965 Coupe de Villes. People are going to avoid them like the plague. No one is going to want to be seen as being cavalier or irresponsible. Everyone is going to get a conscience. They're going to buy as GREEN as they can. Not only for all the right reasons.... but to give the right impression.

This country and the auto industry has squandered umpteen opportunities and "warnings" to get out from under petroleum based energy. When the rest of the world was paying $5 per gallon, we were paying a $1.50 and buying Hummers and Escalades. We got wake up call after wake up call and stayed in bed.

So... now it's here.

The proof of how bad this is, is the fact that low gas prices aren't having any effect on anything... AND even Dubai is collapsing under the strain of falling oil prices. Attempts to boost oil prices via reduced production is not working.

So, when you see what happens to the middle east when we don't use our quota of petroleum, it tells you.... that this is the key to disarming the disruptive impact the middle east has on the rest of the world.... If we devalue their product by reducing the deman, we reduce their global clout. That includes the financing of terrorism.

Any "help" the US Goverment gives to the car makers is going to have GREEN strings attached. Any incentives passed on to the "main street" tax payers will come with GREEN strings attached. If you want to do any thing... get anything done, or do anything new and innovative... it had better be GREEN.

Racing ain't green. Certainly the perception of racing ain't green. We've got trouble.

I was watching "G Word" on Discovery Channel's Planet Green network and got excited when I heard they would be talking about an e85 powered Corvette. Naturally I thought they would be talking about OUR very own Corvette Racing's pair of e85 powered monsters. I was sadly mistaken. Though the story did show some grainy clips of of the yellow cars we know pretty well, the focus was on the e85 powered Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car. Indy cars parading around the lap following a Corvette pace car at street car speeds, not the nearly 600hp yellow blurs racing at nearly 200mph on the same fuel. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for the American Le Mans Series to show off it's Green Racing initiative, but it seems that their message failed again. At the end of the story, they even mentioned the fact that some racing series' are "going green" and again I expected a nod to the ALMS. Wrong again. They mentioned NASCAR going from leaded to unleaded fuel, "Well, that's a start". Yeah it is a start and exactly what the ALMS needs to do to get people more excited about this series. I don't blame the viewers or the networks for getting excited about a pace car, or the most popular motorsports series in the US using fuel we have been putting into our cars for years. It isn't their fault they cant get excited at all about what the American Le Mans Series is achieving, but if that message only gets as far as the dedicated fan, what exactly are they achieving?

Having been to the final race of the ALMS season for several years running (7 or 8, can't recall), this year my wife and I brought along a co-worker/ friend and her 10 year-old daughter. Now, they watch as much as they can on TV, they went to Long Beach for the first ALMS race there, but just didn't really enjoy it, mostly because of lack of viewing areas.
So, this year, they were able to road trip with us to Laguna Seca. They had a blast. We ended up with VIP parking this year, and on Friday, backed our rental Mazda CX-9 literally against the fence at the exit of Turn 2. We sat there for a bit, "tailgating," then shopped vendor row, walked the paddock, where Brenna (the 10 year old) and I were standing by the Kelly-Moss paddock, watching the IMSA Cup cars being prepped, while her mom and my wife were getting smoothies (some of the best out there are at Laguna). She see's an airhose connected to one of the cars for the jack system, and asked what that was for. I explained it to her, and as I finished, one of the crew members (wish I could remember his name) comes up to Brenna and says, "I need someone just your size to help me work on this car." So I tell her to follow him, he helps her get in, then gives her a total tour of the cockpit. She couldn't stop grinning when she realized her mom had watched her climb in.
After a big day paddocking, Cork Screw climbing, watching qualifying, and shopping, we headed to Monterey for seafood.
Race day, Brenna was dressed in her Ferrari finest (cap and shirt, she's a Ferrari fan and loves Mika). While hitting the autograph session, we notice at the Audi table, (she loves Pirro, too), she's standing with her arms crossed, like she's a little impatient, and we all thought that was sort of odd for her. Days later, her mom asked what the deal was with that, as she was hanging the Audi poster and Risi picture in her room, and she says she was trying to hide at least the Ferrari logo on her shirt so the Audi drivers won't get their feelings hurt.
Come race time, we had the SUV parked near the fence, at the same spot outside T2. Since there were so many people along the fence, I lifted Brenna up to sit on the roof. That worked for her. Someone handed her his digital camera to take a few pictures for him. Another Ferrari fan asked to take her picture, since she was decked out in Tifosi gear.
We walked the track again, using the may yellows as time to move to the next spot. Twilight brought an other wave of excitement for Brenna and her mom, with brakes glowing and flames belching, then, of course, what kid doesn't like fireworks? Even those at the end of the race.
Post race, back to the wharf for more seafood, more shopping Sunday, this time in Carmel-by-the-Sea (Ferrari team owner Jim Tafel sighting!), and a great drive home.
They're already talking about Monterey next year, and, with a little luck, a race some where else, as well.

This week, I attended a media teleconference hosted by Corvette Racing to announce its Le Mans program for the next few years. Rumors had spread around giving hint to the possibility of the factory team building a prototype for LMP1, but instead, they committed to moving to the GT2 division with an all-new Corvette C6.R starting next year.

While this news didn't catch many people by surprise, it did have an implication on the future of the GT1 class, which the two Velocity Yellow C6.Rs currently compete in. With the only competition coming from Bell Motorsports' privately entered Aston Martin DBR9, question marks now hang over the future of this category.

Corvette has committed to running two ALMS races in GT1 next year - the season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The decision to take the cars to Southern California was mainly based on marketing, since the Los Angeles is one of the largest in the country. After a final race in GT1 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the main focus will shift to developing the new GT2 car. Who will that leave in GT1?

Bell Motorsports has yet to confirm its 2009 program, while speculation leads that the American Le Mans Series and IMSA could just do without GT1 for next year. It would be pretty embarrassing to see only one car racing in that category. Instead, the focus could be on 2010, when the new GT regulations come into effect.

These new rules are aimed at providing a world arena for GT cars. Stephane Ratel, promoter of the FIA GT Championship, confirmed his plans to take his series global in 2010, to become the "FIA World GT Championship." Ratel has already inked plans to race at a newly constructed circuit in Russia, and will take his current championship to Argentina this November. Ratel is also in negotiations with a nearly a dozen other countries around the world regarding the possibility of hosting a round of the "World Championship."

While this World Championship will not likely involve a factory team from Corvette Racing, they will be providing cars to customers, much like what they are doing already for Phoenix Carsport Racing and SRT, among others. The FIA regulations will be identical to the ACO's used in the American Le Mans Series, (European) Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Once they come into effect in 2010, the big question is will there be anyone in the (new) GT1?

Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan doesn't think there will be, and this could have huge implications on Ratel's plans, as GT1 is the one and only category for the "World Championship." The new GT2 cars would be used for a European-only Cup, much like how the FIA GT3 European Championship operates right now.

With more questions than answers regarding the future of GT racing worldwide, we can be rest assured that Corvette Racing is in it for the long haul, and will be on the grid in the 2010 American Le Mans Series with two Corvette C6.Rs. Now all we need is the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin to commit to racing in the same category. Then, we will be up for one hell of a fight.

It's not often that a new manufacturer to the American Le Mans Series could have as much instant success as Acura has enjoyed. In only its second season of competition, the brand now leads the LMP2 manufactuers' championship over rival Porsche. Thechange-up happened last weekend in Detroit, when Acura scored its first-ever 1-2-3 sweep of the overall podium. It also marked the first overall victory for Andretti Green Racing, and first for drivers Franck Montagny and James Rossiter as well. But what makes 2008 so much better than last season?

It all comes down to perseverance. Despite claiming its debut victory at Sebring in 2007, Acura's three-supported prototypes didn't win another race that season. Porsche had reigned supreme with driving talents Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, who not only scored class victories, but also overall triumphs. This season, the Penske duo only have four victories to their credit, and are only four points within losing the drivers' championship lead from Patron Highcroft Racing's David Brabham and Scott Sharp.

Out of all four Acura teams, the Duncan Dayton-led Highcroft effort has been the most impressive. Four wins, including Acura's maiden overall victory, plus a number of other podium results. The team's will to never give up has put them in this championship hunt this year. Highcroft was rewarded for its efforts last weekend, when Acura named them as one of the two teams that would step up to LMP1 next year with the brand.

De Ferran Motorsports is the other team that will make the move to P1 in 2009. While many question this decision, given how new the team is, Gil de Ferran and co-driver Simon Pagenaud have been equally as strong as the Highcroft duo in practice and qualifying. In the races, though, the team's youth has been shown.

The logical favorite to get a P1 seat was Lowe's Fernandez Racing, but a recent string of bad luck may have been the determining factor for the Tom Anderson-led effort to stay in P2 for next year. Acura's fourth team, and recent race winners, Andretti Green Racing, have not yet been included in Acura's plans for 2009. The team has been rumored to be leaving the series at seasons end, but recent reports indicate they still want to stay, pending sponsorship.

With the Sirius and XM Satellite Radio merger nearly complete, it's still too early to tell if the company will be able to renew its deal with AGR in the ALMS. This will most likely be the determining factor if AGR will be back in 2009 or not. What we do know is that AGR will enter the A1GP series in 2009-2010, becoming the American team flying the stars and stripes. Could that have an affect on its ALMS program as well?

Despite some question marks still up in the air, the future for Acura's American Le Mans Series program looks very bright. With its downright impressive performances this season, and its mega plans for 2009, the sky seems to be the limit for the Series' latest "greatest hit."

UPDATE 9-6: I ran into Honda Performance Development President Erik Berkman Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway, as he oversees HPD's Hondy IndyCar program. We discussed a number of topics, including the future path of Acura's ALMS efforts.

Berkman said the future of Andretti Green Racing's Acura ALMS program now is in the hands of the team itself. Acura is waiting on AGR to commit to 2009, which is dependent on sponsorship. However, there are a number of other possible teams in line to take that coveted second spot in the P2 class. He seemed not worried about getting a fourth factory-supported team if AGR cannot commit for next year.

Berkman will be at Silverstone next weekend for the Le Mans Series finale, discussing the future prototype rules. The ACO has scheduled a press conference to reveal the 2009 regulations and future trends for the sport. This conference will hopefully put many questions to rest concerning the future of the prototype and GT ranks.

Finally, there's been talk of HPD possibly supplying Acura engines and/or complete packages to customers in Europe. Berkman said there's been inquiries from teams wanting to put their engine in chassis such as a Lola B08/80 or a Courage-Oreca LC75. However, they are leaning towards supplying the complete package, especially with a few ARX-01b chassis sitting idle in 2009. We will have to see how that plays out in the coming months.

Well, the racing season is in full swing all over the world and is really starting to ramp up here in my little corner of the world.

I know alot of the members here at The Forums are fellow photography buffs, and with the Mid-Ohio season opener fast approaching, I thought I would post up a quick and dirty little "photography guide" for the race fans who won't have the access that some of our Pro's do. This is by no means a definitive list, just a few locations from someone who has spent a few weekends at Mid-Ohio. I am sure I will miss a few spots, and probably am not aware of others, so by all means if you know of some good shots not listed: Post'em Up!

Without further adieu':

First the map:





We'll start with Turn 1 and work our way around to Turn 8. A few examples:


T1: You can get to the inside of T1 at the base of the drive over bridge leading to the infield. This is a good spot because there is no catch fencing. You have to be on your game here as this is the fastest corner on the course, AND they are coming at you kind of blind from under the bridge. You also can get them at their slowest here as the pit exit is inside of T1. One problem with this location: Sometimes for the big events, ALMS for example, the track uses this area for private hospitality. You can't get in. There is however another area right next to the T1 area which allows some nice side pans. there are also some small grandstands in this section you can shoot from for an elevated shot.

We will skip T2 and T3 as there are blocked by catch fencing and the Pro series don't run the chicane anyway.

T4: This is the Keyhole. This section is wrapped entirely in catch fencing but there are a few Pro photo holes you can reach through from behind the fence if you have long enough glass. Beware though, when the headlining series are on track, these holes WILL be clogged with working pro's. Your best bet for shots from here is during the support series, and even then they will more than likely be occupied.

The straight stretch from 5-6-7 is all fencing.

T7: Another spot with no catch fencing. This is a good spot because Mid-Ohio starts their races on the back stretch, so on the opening lap this is effectively "Turn 1". This is the turn where Marco Andretti ended up on his lid during last years IRL race.

T8: Turn 8 is also wrapped in fencing. you can however shoot a nice "going away" shot from T7 as shown in my example above.



T8 continued: While T8 is fenced, there are holes in it for the working pro's to shoot through. I have had moderate success shooting through two of them from behind the spectator fence. Using a 300mm, and some cropping in post got me the examples above. As with the holes in T4, expect these to be clogged during prime track activity. "hole 1" is at the top of the hill, while "hole 2" is slightly down hill, shooting up into 8. there is also a shot of the cars exiting Turn 7 heading into 8, pretty much a head-on shot, from the top of the spectator mound, shooting over the fence. You will need some long glass to make it though.

T9: The catch fencing is extended from 8 all the way down the hill to T9. The stretch from T9 to the Honda Bridge (T10A) is all open. You can get a nice view as the hit the apex of T9. Also alot of space for side pans on the stretch from T9-10A.

T10A: The kink right aftyer the Honda Bridge. Lot's to do here. The spectator fence runs all the way up to the base of the Honda bridge. You can shoot from there and almost get a clear head-on shot, well, it's more of a 3/4 shot, but it's still pretty good. This is a popular spot with photog's, so get there early and claim your little piece of fence. You can also turn around and get a shot of the cars cresting the hill after 10A, shown in my shot labeled "going away 2". Shooting from the 9-10a stretch and pointing back at the bridge gets you a nice going away shot with the bridge in the background, shown above as "turn 10A going away ."

T10-Outside: If you are feeling young and fit and fancy a hike, cross over the Honda bridge intot he back camp ground, hang a right and hike up to the section between 10B and T11. This is again, a fenced section of track, and again, there are holes in the fence. You can get a nice shot of the cars coming down the hill and apexing 10B. Long Glass, plus some cropping in post. The shot in my example above was shot with a 300mm and uncropped, so you can get an idea of whether or not the hike is worth it.

Turn 11: From the outside= not much opportunity, all fencing and/or trees, with the exception of a "going away" shot as they exit 11. It's been awhile, but I think this may have been shot from the same photo hole as the 10B shot, just pointed the other direction. If it isn't the same hole, it is close, just walk a little further towards T11 until you find it. There is an example in the photo posted below. There is also a shot from the infield, on top of a spectator mound, shooting back towards 11 over the fence. The hill/ mound is just past the infield bathrooms, directly up the hill from the second walkover bridge. The example above, again 300mm un-cropped.




The stretch of track from 11 to the entry to 14 is all catch fencing, and from the infield you can't really get close between 12 and 13. Outside the track there is a spectator mound between the second walk over bridge and T13, but I have never personally shot from there.

T13: There is a photo hole in the fence in the infield giving a great shot of T13 as they exit "Thunder Valley" with the bridge in the background. You can reach through it with a 300 and a little cropping. Beware though: this is one of my personal favorites, to a fault, so expect it to be clogged, if not by me then by some other shooter.

T14-T15: If the hole at T13 is occupied, just walk a little further up the hill to "The Carousel", T14. No catch fencing, you will be slightly elevated compared to the track, and the Honda Pavilion is in the background. A really good spot to shoot from. You can also shoot the T15 "going away" shot from up here, as the cars race down the pit straight.

Again, if you fancy a walk, head through the paddock, past the false grid, to the grandstand outside of the Carousel, T14. There are 4 sets of stands, the 2 in the middle sit a tad bit higher than the others, and if you climb to the top, you can shoot over the fence and catch the cars at the top of the "hill" before they enter T14. Right after T13 actually. the example above shot with 300mm and cropped.

T15 Outside: This is a shot in the dark. There is a set of grandstands, right next to the false grid, where you can shoot the cars as they enter and exit T15, and the pits. As with T1 though, Mid-Ohio sometimes makes this a private hospitality area.

False Grid: This is back by the outside of T15, the backside of the paddock. This si where soem fo the support series line up before heading out on track. A great place to get close up shots of cars with drivers "armed and ready"

The Paddock: Sometimes you are required to buy an additional pass to get into the paddock, sometimes it is free. Depends on the series really. If you need to pay, it IS worth it. You get access to the garages, haulers, etc.. The garages at MO have the added benefit of having "lofts" where you can walk up the stairs and look down into the garages. There are three seperate sets of garages. The sets on either end have the walkways that overlook not only the interior of the garages, but also offer a view of pit lane. Good stuff.


And with that, we are back to T1. Again, this is not the definitive guide so do some of your own exploring and find your personal favorite spots. If there is anything I missed, certainly post it up.

I hope this can be of some use to some of you.

See you at the races!!

-Chris

A bit late and a bit long but here it is.

I've been going to races for years approximately 30...my whole life. Prior to this years Long Beach Grand Prix, I had never been to a temporary street course. Why? Well I live approximately 5 miles from the location of the San Jose Grand Prix, to which I could have taken a short ride on the light rail to the track. Problem is I didn't care to see ChampCar or any other series that was there at the time. In the past I had followed CART a little, but at the time they had a race at Laguna, so why would I travel to Long Beach?

I'm getting married in May, so I needed to figure out something for my bachelor party. In the past my friends and I have rented houseboats on Lake Shasta, been to Vegas and Vancouver, BC. I wanted to try something new and maybe introduce some folks to 'World Class' sports car racing. I thought about making a trip out to Sebring, which would make an excellent bachelor party, but we're already asking our guests to join us in Hawaii for the wedding and thought another multi day trip back east would be a bit much. I've been to the Utah GP the last two years, we could have rented an RV and made a little road trip out of it, which would have been fun. The problem with that is, there is a slight conflict with the wedding and I'm sure my fiance would not approve missing the wedding for the bachelor party. So the only race left a drivable distance away was the Long Beach GP.



My Dad and I made it to Long Beach just after noon on Thursday and prior to the 'close' of the track, so we were able to park down in the Shoreline Village. I decided to bring my Camera and two lenses (70-200 w/ 1.4x and my 17-40 for paddock stuff, the 400 stayed home) in a small pack. The ALMS paddock sure was cozy, some teams had no more than a transporter width to prep their cars in. If the doors of Lou's Vette were open team members were trapped on one side of the car or the other. Other teams seem to have made out like bandits, Dyson had room for two transporters with one with full awning down, 10 to 12 feet of space, and their other transporter. We were able to see the ALMS cars pre-grid and drive by us on their way onto the track, which is always fun. For the first session we started off just before the hairpin shooting towards T10, met another fan photographer who was already positioned to shoot through a hole in the fence. Nice guy chatted a bit about the ALMS and he said I could take his spot after a few laps. I ended up finding a space a bit further down that gave me a bit better access to the apex for the head-on shots I was looking for. I was able to shoot through the fence, through a photographer hole and at the apex of T10. From there, we moved to the outside of the track by the hairpin, where again I was able to shoot through the fences. My dad tried to get up to the photography tower, but militant security guards were already on station. There were a couple other holes in the fence to shoot there, but some not so friendly fan photographers would not give up there spot, pretty rude if you ask me. They would stand in a hole take some shots, do some chimping, and take more shots...whatever. They were there in one hole for nearly the entire session. Then we moved down the front straight, where I thought if I kept the shutter speed slow enough(I tried at 1/45 and 1/15, go big or go home right?) the catch fencing would be blurred away enough to make a descent shot. Next up was some drifting...I've never witnessed such a lame 'motorsports' spectacle in my life. I'm sorry...real drivers try to reduce oversteer and what's with the silly wings and dive planes? They aren't going fast enough for them to work. Then were some other imports that didn't seem to be drifting, but they were taking the racing line either. So I have no idea what they were doing. For the second session we started on the platform above T1 on the inside of the track, Got some shots of the cars turning left on Aquarium. Then I looked down below me to see an empty photographer hole looking at the apex of T1. So I headed down there where I eventually was joined by other fan photographers where we promptly SHARED the hole until a couple pros came by. They were polite and apologized for taking our hole, I told them not to worry about it...it was their job. The pros moved on after a few laps and the four or so fan photographers and I continued to share the hole until the end of the session. From there Dad and I headed to the Yardhouse to grab some beers while waiting for my brother to arrive from San Diego. The Yardhouse has beers on draft from around the world probably over 100, so we proceeded to partake in a couple German pilsners and moved on to Stella. We had some food when my brother got there, then we took off to pick up a buddy from Seattle and head to the hotel to check in. Once we were settled in the hotel we had a few C minuses (Coors Lights) and hit the sack.


We headed to the track early Friday morning to catch the first and only official practice. Started off the practice in the stands on the outside of T10, moved to the hairpin, and finished off down the front straight. I pulled my camera out for about 5 seconds but between all the the Pros and the fans you couldn't get anywhere near the holes I shot through the day prior, so the camera went back in the bag. The four of us made our way down to the T1 area while the open wheel cars paraded around the track. We ended up lounging in the Mai Tai Bar, where the waitresses are easy on the eyes, for a little lunch and some adult beverages. Just after lunch another three more of my buddies made it down to So Cal, being hungry after their drive we all headed to Bubba Gump's so they could get a little lunch and the rest of us had a Bubba Boiler (a beer and a shot). Next up was the ALMS qualifying, so we headed to the stands on the outside of the track near T1, where we could see the cars braking for T1, see a video monitor and hear Hindy over the PA system (very important). I also had my Blackjack smart phone going with LT&S up so I can keep track of the progress. After a pretty good qualifying (any qualifying where the Lizards are on top is good in my book), we headed back for the trolley to retrieve the cars. Once back at the hotel we had a couple coffee pots (exactly 2 C minuses (Coors lights) fit in most hotel coffee pots) and headed out for dinner at Fred's in Huntington Beach. I'm a big fan of Fred's fish tacos if you get a chance try'em out. Two fish tacos, a few Coronas, and a couple shots of tequila, we made our way back to our hotel rooms to crash.


Well after a night having an adult beverage or two we decided not to get up for the short morning warm-up. We made it in time for the Champ Car qualifying, which we watched from the grand stand on the front straight. A couple of my friend, not big race fans, commented how boring it was compared to the ALMS qualifying. I agreed, between the announcer on oxygen (literally...he was hooked up to a machine) and a poor qualifying format, it just wasn't very interesting. The plan was to head for the ALMS paddock to watch the cars pre-gird. Unfortunately we watched the Champ Car Qualifying a bit to long and didn't make it to the ALMS paddock it time, as they went out to their pit stalls one session early. That was a big bummer, it's always fun to take new fans right up to a C6.R as it starts it's engine. So after missing the pre-grid we decided to head to where we were going to watch the race from. I decided I was going to do something I had never done at a race before, stay in one place for the entirety of the race. Why you ask? Well we had a rather large crew, there were people everywhere, and the good spots to watch from were a couple people deep. It would have been hard to keep us all together and have a good view of the race. So we sat in the stands on the inside of T6 were we also had a view of the braking for T1 and that all important view of a big screen. The race was a good one with plenty of action, all of my buddies seemed to enjoy it. After the race we headed back for the hotel to clean up for dinner. Like the night prior we had some drinks, went to dinner in Newport, hit a couple bars, and headed back to the room for a nightcap.

Saturday we reluctantly headed back to the track to watch a little bit of the Champ Car race. The race started around noon or so and went until 3pm. Our GA tickets did not gain us access to any of the stands on Sunday, so that was a bummer. We ended up watching about 45 mins of the race an decided to start our journey back North. Champ Car just doesn't do it for me or any of my friends, big yawner in my opinion.


Overall Thoughts:
Well I'm glad I got the opportunity to go, we had a really good time. I think the biggest question would be...will I go back? The last two year my dad and I road tripped to Utah, where we had a much better 'sports car' experience. The ALMS is a little to second class citizen at Long Beach for me. I'd rather drive the 12 hours to SLC and see a proper track than 6 to see Long Beach. Part of the fun for me is taking pictures, which is nearly impossible at a place like Long Beach with all of the catch fencing. Long Beach is a decent racing experience, plenty of fun was had, but more because I was with a bunch of good friends than the actual racing. The ALMS race was good, very good, it was cool being there...but the race is only part of the reason I like attending ALMS events.

A Penske Porsche RS Spyder leading a Dyson Porsche RS Spyder leading a Fernandez Lola B06/43-Acura leading a Cytosport Lola B06/10-AER at Mid-Ohio. Image Credit: SPYDERMAN360

It’s The Open Road Challenge For ALMS Cars

With the American Le Mans Series running in Utah this weekend, one wonders ... why doesn't the management of the American Le Mans Series plan to take in the Nevada Open Road Challenge along the way as a “Qualification” round?

If there ever was an event designed to take into account the uniqueness of the full-bodied racing automobiles of the American Le Mans Series classification of cars, it is this open road challenge timed racing event that is held two times a year through Central-East Nevada.


Drivers patiently wait in line for the tech inspection at Broadbent Park in Ely, Nevada for last September's 20th anniversary of the Silver State Classic Challenge open road speed rally. Image Credit: The Ely Times (2007)

Technically, the Nevada Open Road Challenge (May 15-18, 2008)/Silver State Classic Challenge (September 18-21, 2008) event is a rally format that includes a navigator along with the driver held on a 90 mile open stretch of Nevada Highway 318 between the towns of Lund and Hiko. The cars are run in classes at five mile per hour increments, from 95 mph to 180 mph, with the class determined by the vehicle's safety equipment, the driver's experience level and the driver/navigator comfort level.

There is also an Unlimited Division for very experienced drivers with full race-equipped cars. Vehicles are started at one minute intervals and 30 second intervals, beginning with the 150 mph class and working back to the 95 mph class. Once the last 95 mph class vehicle clears the course, the Unlimited Division and the higher speed brackets over 150 are run as the final group.


Image Credit: SSCC

This is where the ALMS could make an impact in the annuals of American racing (assuming that the organizers accomidate the ALMS with a basic rules change - driver only) ... have the ALMS cars line up and qualify for the upcoming race in Salt Lake City at the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix by driving the 90 miles from Lund, Nevada to Hiko, Nevada, and may the best time win its bracket. With a little planning, this idea would create some history and possibly capture a Guinness Book world record along the way.


Image Credit: SSCC

This excerpted from the Silver State Classic Challenge website –

Silver State Classic ChallengeA Brief History

The State of Nevada closes down 90 miles of Route 318 and more than 200 drivers from around the world converge on the little town of Ely in the central high desert of Nevada. Why do they come? To experience first-hand the adrenaline rush of driving flat-out on a public highway. Not just professional racers, but men and women from all walks of life, pursuing the Walter Mitty dream of speed, horsepower, and high performance. Yes, there’s a place for everyone in the Silver State Classic Challenge events.

As the Silver State Classic Challenge Series of Open Road Rally Events continues into the new millennium, we thought it might be interesting to trace the history of this unique American auto rally event. It began simply enough in 1988, as a showcase for vintage racing cars. Along with Ferrel Hansen, then President of the White Pine County Chamber of Commerce, the organizers received approval from the State of Nevada to close the highway based on the event’s potential for pumping money into the local economy. That left less than two months to organize the event, which meant getting the go-ahead from all three counties, formulating a traffic control plan, lining up the Nevada Highway Patrol to secure the highway, and arranging liability insurance of one million dollars. After Steve Waldman, one of the original organizers and then Marketing Director of the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas, agreed to make the Showboat the official host property, everything was in place.

When the Silver State Classic Challenge debuted on Sunday, September 25, 1988, it was the first legal open-road rally of its kind in the U.S. in a half-century. In addition to vintage autos, it pulled in a mixed bag of late model, high performance vehicles and muscle cars. Among the 50 odd entries were six Ferraris, thirteen Porsches and four Corvettes. The oldest American car was a ’56 Dodge D500, which blew its engine after just twenty minutes into the event. Overall, three cars failed to finish, but fortunately nobody was injured. For the record, a red 1988 Ferrari Testarossa, driven by Jim Liautad, Jr. of Elgin, Illinois, which averaged 162.58 mph, clocked the fastest time.
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Thanks to favorable press in nationally known publications like “Motor Trend” and “Autoweek”, the next event drew over one hundred competitors, including a 19-year old phenomenon name R.J. Gottlieb blasted through the course at 197.99 mph, hitting speed in excess of 220mph, a record that has only recently been broken.

However, it was later determined that the course was 2 miles shorter than originally thought. Therefore, the old record was retired and a new mark of 186.73mph was set in the May, 1996 event by veteran open road participant, Kelly Seivers. Again in 1999 the course was remeasured by an independent civil engineering firm and found to still be about 2,000 feet short, and so that record was retired and the new Public Highway Land Speed Record was established after moving the Start Line to bring the course to exactly 90 miles in length.

The current record now stands at 207.7801 mph (334.3896 km/h) set by Chuck Shafer and his navigator Gary Bockman at the May 2000 event.
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The year 2001 was a year of big developments in the SSCC history. We were accepted into the Guinness World Book of Records for two records, Highest Speed On A Public Highway and the Fastest Road Rally.
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The organization’s many dedicated volunteers work hand-in-hand with the State of Nevada to boost travel and tourism in the region. Upcoming events will host the world’s top open-road drivers, names like Chuck Shafer, Rick Doria, Kim Baker, Todd Carpenter, Dave Golder and Tarik Ben Jabar, as they go for broke in their attempt to set new Public Highway Land Speed Records.

One thing’s for sure, in the words of Phil Henry; “We can count on these guys to come out with the fastest machines to ever set rubber on a public highway”.
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

Mario Dominguez mastering the hairpin just before entering the Long Beach Shoreline Drive straightaway in his Pacific Coast Motorsports Panoz DP01 Image Credit: Andy Sallee - TSO Photographer (2008)

… or, when the pure love of motorsport meets a strong management style.

This year, 2008 has been quite a year for Pacific Coast Motorsports. It started off smooth enough, the kick-off party at the Hard Rock Hollywood was a complete success. Members of the C-300 volunteer group in Long Beach, luminaries’ from the Grand Prix of Long Beach Association, card carrying Screen Actors Guild members, photographers, and fans enjoyed themselves under the guitar and beside the Atlantic racing cars before retiring inside for food and chat.

At that time, back in the middle of February, Pacific Coast Motorsports, under the management of team president, Tyler Tadevic, had plans to compete successfully in two major American open-wheel series. After all, in 2004, the team had put together a series championship winning campaign with Jon Fogarty and was looking to do the same in the ChampCar World Series after what the team had learned from completing its first season in 2007 with a two car, three driver effort with Alex Figge, Ryan Dalziel, and later, ChampCar veteran Mario Dominguez.

In about the time it took the PCM transporter to leave Oxnard and drive to Sebring for the first at speed testing for the Atlantic series where Frankie Muniz (yes that, "Malcom In The Middle" star, Frankie Muniz), and Carl Skerlong were anxious to get the season started … an announcement came down that the CCWS would merge with the Indy Racing League starting immediately.

The investment in equipment and relationships that had been forged over previous years that were planned out and put in place, in order to compete at the highest levels of professional motorsports had to be totally re-assessed in a bizarre game of high-stakes 52 card pick-up.

What was once viewed as a 2008 sophomore season chase toward a championship title with American born driver (a dwindling breed) Alex Figge, just became a rookie motorsports competition effort with new equipment, new tracks, new rules, and no driver, no sponsor. All of this with the prospect of having to run one last race through the streets of in about two months.

This edited and excerpted from Racer Magazine -

SPECIAL: PCM - Poster Child of What’s Possible
Written by: David Phillips - Senior writer, RACER Magazine - http://www.racer.com - 04/29/2008 - 04:50 PM - Calif.

“You look at the other teams and most of those other teams had some sort of investor to facilitate the move from Champ Car,” Tadevic observes. “But ours is one of the only ones that’s set up 100% on sponsorship, sponsorship derived from a driver who went out and sold the program. I like to think of us as the poster child of what is possible.”
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PCM then ran the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am GT in ’05 before finishing the year in Daytona Prototypes. A full season of Daytona Prototypes followed with another one in the cards for ’07 until a chance meeting between Tom Figge and Kalkhoven led PCM down the Champ Car path.
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“I was able to put myself as far in hock as my creditors would allow me,” Tadevic continues. “I scraped up the sums necessary to buy the company out. Mr. Figge was gracious enough to allow me to do so. As I explained to everybody, ‘I’m all in on a pair of twos!’ I’m either gonna get another two on the draw or I’m gonna have to fold and find something else to do!”

Fortunately, Dominguez arrived with that missing two with a three to boot – as in a third-place finish in the Champ Car swan song at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The deuce? That would be the Visit Mexico sponsorship.
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Over the winter, we hired some really capable people with IRL and oval experience, including Didier Francesia a chief mechanic from Target/Ganassi, and we have (crew chief) Roy Wilkerson and (mechanic) Chuck Miller who were with us last year and have a significant number of Indy 500s and time in the IRL under their belts.

“Then, engineering-wise, we brought on Gerald Tyler, who has a ton of oval experience in Indy Lights and Champ Car. It’s the same with our general manager, Michael Harvey. So I think we’re better prepared personnel-wise for the IRL than a lot of other teams. Can we be ‘best of the rest?’ I think we can and I think what we did in , Long Beach displays that. As an organization we’re really matured and I think we’re ready to make that next step.”
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“I’ve become pretty good friends with Michael Cannon, race engineer at HVM,” says Tadevic. “Michael told me the other day, ‘You’re the most ambitious man in motorsports.’ I think what he was really saying was that I’m either the most ambitious man in motorsports – or the stupidest. But we’ll see. All I can say for now is that failure is not in the scope of things.
Reference Here>>

The key to Pacific Coast Motorsports and Tyler Tadevic's management style (and the absolute love of the competition provided through racing automobiles) can be found in this Tadevic statement, “Every off-season we liquidated what assets we had procured for the series for the season before and throw those funds back towards a new series.

We’d go backwards a bit every time, but not as much as you might think when we were able to take our capital investments and basically roll them into the next investment throughout that entire time.”

It is this tough but smart management strategy through the years at Pacific Coast Motorsports that has allowed Mario Dominguez, at this very moment, to pursue the lifelong dream of competing at the Indianapolis 500. The dream begins Sunday, May 4, with the Rookie Orientation Program on track from noon-5 p.m.

We, here at The EDJE, are doubleing down on the success of Tyler Tadevic and the Oxnard, California based team at Pacific Coast Motorsports.

... notes from The EDJE