Racing Year in Review

by Tammy

Simon and I are taking a blog hiatus for the end of the year (going dark for 2 weeks over the holidays), and when I return, it will be January 6, 2014. Leaving aside that I'm not prepared for the new year, at that point, we'll be less than two weeks to the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first race of the year and the first race of the TUSCC (the Tudor United Sports Car Championship). Big stuff.

So it's time to reflect on what I thought was significant about 2013. Chime in with your thoughts and anything I've missed....

• Daytona 24: I was embedded in a race team, and it was fabulous.
• Daytona 500: Danica on pole, which set a bar too high for her to meet the rest of the year. By the stats, I think she did well for a rookie, but of course, the Danica lovers or haters will believe what they believe, no matter what. We'll see if she improves in 2014.
• Long Beach Grand Prix: the introduction of Team Kate! And the start of the long good-bye to the American Le Mans Series (the merchandise trailer was absent from this race, for instance).
• Indy 500: Kanaan wins!
• Le Mans: the death of Allan Simonsen (which, as I noted in a blog post, eerily reflected a plot idea I'd hatched just the night before), the triumph of Audi. Leena Gade as a rock star.
• Baltimore GP: what a bus-wreck of accidents.
• IndyCar: A more contentious year between drivers and Race Control? The oval races were mostly uninteresting? Dario retires.
• Petit Le Mans: farewell to the ALMS. Hello to the Corvette Stingray. A great time had by all.
• Formula 1: a total snoozefest. I'm not sure I watched more than 10 laps of a single race.
• NASCAR: Jimmie wins 6. Danica receives hate mail. Smoke breaks a leg. 

What did I miss? What do you remember as being the most significant racing events of 2013? Overall a thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

Hey, while you're ending the year and prepping for 2014, make sure you're following me on Facebook and Twitter (@tkaehler and @katereilly28)!

The End of an Era

by Tammy

The American Le Mans Series is over. Fifteen years of competition and friendships, perhaps now scattered to the winds. I say that with wistfulness more than negativity, because I get that things change, and I believe that change and evolution are good things. But it was hard to leave the friends I'd made at the end of the night, wondering if I'd ever see them again anywhere but on social media.

It was in the Series that the outlook was uncertain (and that the new series seems more like a buy-out than a merger). In the paddock, Petit was also simply another race to be run and struggled through and won. And 2014 promises nothing but new, exciting challenges, starting with the (former) ALMS teams taking part in the 24 Hours of Daytona, come January.

Pinning down my favorite memory from my experience with the ALMS was pretty hard, until I thought all the way back to the beginning. Sebring, 2004. Team media guy (and now good friend) Shane Mahoney took me from the pits, over pit wall and across pit lane to stand at the wall of the track. During the race. At night. Unforgettable!

And what I'm most excited about for the future is seeing the new Corvette C7.R out on track, whaling on the new GTLM competition. And as a really cool side note, I got to meet Harlan Charles in the paddock at Petit on Saturday. He's the product manager for the new C7 Stingray, and he's a reader. Fingers crossed he's going to like the book I gave him!

What's your favorite ALMS memory? What are you looking forward to in 2014?

Team Kate at Petit

by Tammy

Watch out, Atlanta, here we come! Next weekend is the final race of the ALMS season, and the final race of the American Le Mans Series. What a weird thing to write.

The ALMS has been my racing security blanket—the series I really understood and had friends in. Now I'm afraid that my friends will be too big and too good for me, having merged with a NASCAR operation and all. As if I'm stuck in junior high and they've graduated to high school.

Of course, the end of one era means the start of another that holds a lot of promise. It's going to be really fascinating to see what the United Sports Car Championship turns into.


But first, one last Petit Le Mans for the ALMS! And I'm going to be there with other "crew" ... which means prizes!

Prize details are posted on my other blog, but the basics are this: find me or another Team Kate crew member, and take a photo with us, then tweet it or post to Facebook, and you'll win a prize. Take a photo with us and a female racecar driver? Win a better prize. You get the idea.

Will we see you there?!

Winter Blues

by Tammy

It's happened again, hasn't it? The days are growing shorter, the temperatures are falling ... and we're nearly out of racing for the year.

Dammit!

Grand-Am is over. The ALMS is down to one race of the year and of its life. NASCAR has only six races left, and F1 has only five. Sure, we've still got some good competition left (except for F1—ouch!), but I can smell it, can't you?

The dark weekend days of winter with nary a car race to be had. *sniff* That must mean it's time for Christmas shopping and plotting our fantasy race teams for 2014, right?

Here's what I want to know:

1. How are you going to make the most of the last few races of 2013? Viewing parties? Getting to any races?
   Me? I'm headed out to Petit Le Mans in a week and a half.
2. Who do you think will take a championship? (Any of them, pick one.)
   I'm tired of Vettel, who will undoubtedly win F1 again. And I'm thinking Corvette will take the last ALMS GT title (hooray!). NASCAR? I still think old five-time could make it a six-pack (that's Jimmie Johnson). 
3. What will you miss about this season?
   Hmm, I'm not sure there is anything. This year's been a little lame-duck in my sportscar racing series, and the anticipation is high for next year.

I didn't even get into all the driver-swapping and silly-season moves ... that'll have to be another blog.

Patrick Dempsey and Le Mans

by Tammy

Did you all watch the first (of four) parts of "Patrick Dempsey: Racing Le Mans" last Wednesday? (For info and schedule, see the Velocity website.)

I loved it, for two reasons.

One, it doesn't sugar-coat who dreadfully expensive and how much stupid hard work racing is—and if that sounds odd coming from someone as race-obsessed as me, know that I love the sport in part because it's such an absurd thing to do ... I love the stories generated by that level of commitment and insanity.

Two, the show (so far) is a who's-who of my experiences in the ALMS over the last nine years. Starting with Patrick Long (fooled you, didn't I?), who drove for my team back in 2004, and who I've rooted for ever since. Check him out here in a co-starring role....



I'm also quite sure future parts of the series will include my good friend Pattie Mayer, pace car driver and all-around inspiration, who I believe was with the Dempsey Del Piero team at Le Mans this year.

Do I think the show is perfect? No. I do agree when Dempsey talks about it being very difficult to secure and maintain sponsors for a racing team ... but let's be honest: it's a hell of a lot easier for Patrick Dempsey to secure sponsors for the racing team he's the face of than it is for hundreds of racers who no one outside a small portion of the racing world has heard of. Then again, maybe that's his point: if it's hard for him, imagine how hard it is for others (though that sounds more egocentric than something he'd say).

Oops, here's a third reason I loved the show: Dempsey is excited to get more people interested in sportscar racing. Now, that's a purpose I can get behind! Watch the show, people!

My Long Beach Highlights

by Tammy

It was a long (loooooong) and really fun weekend for me at the Long Beach Grand Prix and the LA Times Festival of Books. If you see me the next couple days, I'm not talking to you ... because I'm not talking to anyone, as my throat is about to give up. But I had a ton of fun catching up with race friends and mystery fans, and in the meantime, here are a few pictures.

Winners of the action for a signed book and named characters in the next Kate Reilly Racing Mystery: Tommy Kendall (racecar driver, auctioneer), me, Chris Syfert (ALMS scorekeeper)

(left) the view on the way into the track on Thursday

(right) ALMS Technical Director Charlie Cook giving a talk on inspection processes

 Me and Pattie with her pace/safety car

Simon, mega-fan (of racing, mysteries, and authors) and friend Barb Kreisel, and me in the bar at the convention center, taking a break from the race-day sun

My view for the first part of the race (Turn 6) 

My view for the last part of the race (Turn 10, from the ALMS Patron VIP terrace)

Still sporting my racewear on Sunday at the LA Times Festival of Books!

Racing in Braking Points

by Tammy

My second Kate Reilly Racing Mystery, Braking Points, will be officially released tomorrow! I thought I'd share some of the videos I watched to check my details, recreate crashes, and immerse myself in the feel of turning race laps. These and more are posted on my Pinterest page for Braking Points, Kate Reilly #2.

Road America: Braking Points starts in the middle of this race, with rain and a big wreck in the Kink. The video is in the car with my friend, Porsche factory driver Patrick Long.



Road Atlanta: A week and a half (and a whole lot of chaos) later, Kate and the American Le Mans Series arrive at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans. The single greatest video I've found to date is this one, a helmet cam on Tommy Milner for night practice in the Corvette. Talk about a perfect view of the track and the wheel/dash! Just pretend this is Kate giving you the ride-along....


If' you're interested in more of the videos--including the book's theme song and a great video on driver fitness--and photos of people, places, and accessories (shoes!) that inspired me while I wrote the book, check out Pinterest. And I hope you'll check out Braking Points!

Let the Racing Begin

by Tammy

I know, some of you will argue the racing year has begun already. I could argue that myself, having attended the first race of the year. But it feels like so long ago now that I was in Daytona for the 24 Hours. And NASCAR hasn't done much for me lately.


But next weekend ... it really begins.

Saturday at 10:45 a.m. Eastern the green flag will fly on one of the world's best endurance races: the 12 Hours of Sebring (poster image from sebringraceway.com). I estimate about an hour and fifteen minute break before coverage of the Formula One opener begins, live from Australia. 

Once you sleep off your racing coma and get a couple work days in ... the next weekend brings you the second F1 race of the year, from Malaysia (home of the afternoon typhoons that always seem to impact the racing), and on Sunday, the first IndyCar race of the year from St. Pete.

Racing is finally back!!

I've got a sportscar racing bias, right? So I'll tell you what I'm looking forward to: the all-out battle for the last American Le Mans Series title. I'd love to see Dyson get it, for their hard work, commitment, and longevity. And I'd love to see Corvette Racing repeat. It'll also be interesting to see how various teams and suppliers start positioning themselves for 2014's combined sportscar series. (Stay tuned this Thursday for the announcement of the new Series name....)

On the IndyCar side, I'm more curious to see how fans react to the seemingly ongoing chaos that is Series leadership—though, as always, props to Beaux in the booth.

In F1? Well, I'll be mighty interested to see how Hamilton's going to fare with his new team. Was his move the mistake many (including me) thought it? Will he have the pace to play with the leaders? Will we see anyone but Vettel and Alonso at the top of the boards this year?

Anyone have any opinions, predictions, or different hopes? Bring it on, 2013, we're ready for you!

Grand-Am Le Mans

by Tammy

While the new year means resolutions and diets and such for many people, for race fans, it means a renewal of optimism. The Roar Before the 24 happened this weekend, giving everyone a taste of 2013 racing ... lame duck as that might be for the ALMS and Grand-Am, which will merge into one series in 2014.

As promised, planners of the combined series are starting to make some plans for the future. Some make sense, such as appointing Paul Walter to be race director for both the ALMS (a position he's held for a year now) and Grand-Am this year. I think that's an excellent idea that will begin to draw the series together before that merge is official.

Some plans both make sense, and are really confusing. I'm not going to recap the new proposed combined class structure, I'll just point you to the basics in an article on Jalopnik: ALMS and Grand-Am Announce Plans to Become the Most Confusing Thing in the World. It's entirely possible that headline is right.

On the other hand, they've got seven different classes to condense into fewer than that. Plus new, experimental cars to accommodate (the case in point is the Delta Wing). So I don't have an answer for making it less complicated.

What do you think? Could they do it better?

Onward to the racing season!

Wrapping Up Our Predictions

by Tammy

Early in the year, Simon and I set out our picks for who we thought would win season championships in various series. Along the way, a couple friends jumped in with their picks. I figured it's time to see how good we were at telling the future ... though let's just say, none of us should quit our day jobs.

Formula 1 Driver

SIMON: Jenson Button

TAMMY: Lewis Hamilton
RICK HUNT: Jenson Button
RICK HELMS: Sebastian Vettel

Verdict? Rick Helms pulls this one off, while Tammy and Simon/Rick Hunt are almost in a dead heat (2 points apart) for the McLaren drivers. 

Formula 1 Manufacturer

SIMON: Red Bull

TAMMY: McLaren

RICK HUNT: McLaren
RICK HELMS: Red Bull

Verdict?Simon and Rick Helms correctly pick Red Bull. Hey, at least Ferrari didn't win, right?

IndyCar Driver

SIMON: Dario Franchitti

TAMMY: Will Power

RICK HUNT: Will Power
RICK HELMS: Scott Dixon

Verdict? None of us picked the ultimate champion, Ryan Hunter-Reay, but Tammy and Rick Hunt got closest with Will Power.

IndyCar Team

SIMON: Chip Ganassi

TAMMY: Penske (gotta go with the combo of Power, Castroneves, and Brisco)

RICK HUNT: Penske
RICK HELMS: Ganassi

Verdict? Tammy and Rick Hunt again; Penske drivers had a 422-point average to Ganassi's 348.

ALMS GT Driver

SIMON: Jan Magnussen (b/c I raced against him--once)

TAMMY: Patrick Long (maybe that's just hope)

RICK HUNT: Joey Hand
RICK HELMS: --------

Verdict? Simon comes the closest, with Jan Magnussen, who finished third in the GT drivers' ranks.

ALMS GT Team

SIMON: Paul Miller Racing

TAMMY: Corvette Racing!

RICK HUNT: Team RLL BMW
RICK HELMS: --------

Verdict? Corvette Racing, all the way! It was their year.

NASCAR Cup Driver

SIMON: Jeff Gordon (he's a local boy)

TAMMY: Carl Edwards (honestly, the bigger question is if Junior will win a race this year)

RICK HUNT: Jimmie Johnson
RICK HELMS: Greg Biffle

Verdict? Tammy fail. What happened to Carl this year, honestly? Jimmie, Biffle, and Gordon were all in the Chase with a chance. Kudos to Rick Hunt for the call (at least Rick Helms got his ABJJ result ... Anyone But Jimmie Johnson). (Photo from @keselowski.)

NASCAR Cup Team

SIMON: Chip Ganassi

TAMMY: Hendrick Motorsport
RICK HUNT: Hendrick Motorsport
RICK HELMS: Hendrick Motorsport

Verdict? Hendrick swept the board, placing all four of its drivers in the Chase, compared to neither of Ganassi's two. But we do have to give Montoya the moment of the year, however, for his wreck with the jet dryer back in February....


OVERALL TALLY? Tammy and Rick Hunt picked 4 winners correctly, Rick Helms picked 3, and Simon picked two. None of us should quit our day jobs.... Thanks for participating, all of you! Everyone start considering your picks for next year.

What Are You Thankful For About Racing?

by Tammy

The racing season is now over, and we're staring down the end of the year, as well. With Thanksgiving and all, I spent some time being thankful last week about my life in general. But I wanted to cover a few items I'm thankful for with regard to the world of racing.

Corvette Racing 2012 ALMS Champs: I'm pretty dang happy they pulled it out to win the season championship, their first in the (combined) GT class.

Last-race championship decisions: An awful lot of season championship battles came down to the last race of the year: F1, IndyCar, several of the ALMS classes. Well done with all of the battles, guys.

Pressdog, the blogger: A racing friend introduced me to the Pressdog's blog, and I have to say, he brightens my week. It's my dream to be a Woman of Pressdog (R).

The ALMS/Grand-Am merger: I still have some concerns about how this will turn out (specifically that it won't be a case of losing the good in favor of the ponderous), but I'm hopeful. If nothing else, I think change is good to shake things up. And if nothing else, it makes it really easy for me to transition Kate from the ALMS to the 24 Hours of Daytona for my third book in the series....

TrueCar Racing sponsoring a bunch of female racers: Yeah, I'm letting my feminism out. But I think it's fantastic that a company stepped up and sponsored six female racers across a variety of disciplines. It was neat to follow their tweets as they traveled en masse to races to support each other. I hope TrueCar keeps it up.

Twitter and passionate racing fans and friends everywhere: It's amazing how we can stay involved in the racing world these days from our desk or chair at home. Thank you Twitter, and thank you, committed Tweeters. I don't always agree with what everyone's saying, but I love the virtual community we've got. And what's even better is making true friends in that virtual world. (Find me there.)

So what about the rest of you? What were you especially thankful for in the 2012 racing season?

Seasons' End

by Tammy

IndyCar, Grand-Am, and now the American Le Mans Series, all done for the year. All headed for the off-season now, the extra-silly-season.

For the ALMS, which wrapped up its season with a dramatic 9.5 hour Petit Le Mans on Saturday (that's the Turn 10a/b complex in the photo), and for Grand-Am, this means time finally to work on the specifics of the merger for 2014 (those in charge have promised decisions about the class structure for the merged series by the end of 2012). For teams in respective series, it means gearing up for a final, possibly lame-duck season as a separate entity. Because while they'll be preparing for 2013, their eyes will undoubtedly be on 2014. I can't imagine there won't be losers in the merger, but it's certainly too early to tell who that will be.

For IndyCar, F1, and NASCAR, it's time for drivers and sponsors to move teams and new deals to be struck. For fans, it's time to hunker down and either get friendly with Aussie V8 Supercar racing or haunt racing sites daily for the latest news. Maybe we do both. Certainly we spend some time trying to teach ourselves the new driver, sponsor, number combinations (for NASCAR, at least).

For me, it's time to do some of the above, plus a lot of writing on a new book. But I know I'll be following the off-season soap opera that is racing, avidly. Sometimes I think I like the stories about racing even more than the racing itself. I suppose that figures.

But hey, there's still a month of racing left! So until the fat lady sings, signaling the end of F1 (4 more races, finishing Nov. 25) and NASCAR (4 more races, finishing Nov. 18), I'll savor some of the year's last competition and look forward to 2013. Only 96 days until the 24 Hours of Daytona!

Who's with me? Are you done with racing for this year? Hanging on to the bitter end of F1 or NASCAR? Making travel plans for Daytona?

Petit Le Mans Tomorrow!

by Tammy

Simon is away being celebrated this weekend, but I'll be at home, sitting in front of the computer. Because Saturday is Petit Le Mans! I attended this race the last two years and have written about it in my next book, so it's a race I really enjoy.

Check out how cool this race poster is. That's the Delta Wing there on the right, and ahead, the 2012 GT champion Corvette! All of them sweeping down the hill at Road Atlanta into Turn 12. Great spot!

Will you be watching with me? Coverage starts at 8:30 a.m. Pacific/11:30 a.m. Eastern, on ESPN3.com. I'll also be posting a lot on Twitter: @tkaehler. Hope to see you around the mediaverse!

Stop Copying Me!

by Tammy

Grand-Am Road Racing released their 2013 schedule at the end of last week, and it contained a few ... well, not surprises, given the coming merger, but features that would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

For one, Grand-Am is racing at Road Atlanta (owned by Dr. Panoz, who owns the ALMS). I'm hoping in return we see the ALMS at Watkins Glen (owned or closely affiliated with Grand-Am/NASCAR interests). But one race on the schedule almost made me fall over in shock.

You see... I started writing my second Kate Reilly Racing Mystery in 2006. Then I scrapped most of that idea and started it again in 2007. Ditto 2008, 2009 (you're getting the trend here). Every time I restarted it, I changed the two featured tracks and races.

I always knew it would include a visiting NASCAR star, and so at one point (probably in 2009), I decided that the star (Miles Hanson, who made it into the final version) wouldn't be present because he was racing in the ALMS. I came up with a much more far-fetched idea: the ALMS and Grand-Am would share a double-header race weekend for a SportsCar Summit.

Where did I set this unlikely, fictional event? At the Road America track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

So imagine my shock when I saw that Grand-Am's 2013 schedule includes an August double-header weekend race event with the ALMS. At Road America.

Life imitates art? I suppose. But maybe the new Grand American Le Mans Series (or whatever they're going to call it) should put me on the payroll ... just sayin'.

Best Laid Schemes

by Tammy

In his poem "To a Mouse," Robert Burns famously said, "The best laid schemes of mice and men/Go often awry." We all know this to be true, and most of the time our best laid plans are shot straight to hell. But once in a while, they turn up trumps.

The news last week of the merger between the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am (which Simon and I discussed on Friday) threw me for a loop. First, the surprise that it would happen. Second, wondering what it would mean to me.

See, in 2010, as I was preparing my first book for publication, I faced a dilemma. I'd written the book in 2005, which was before Lime Rock Park revamped its track and before the ALMS restructured its racing classes. So my book didn't match the current state of the world. At the time, I made the decision to add a note to the book asking for readers' indulgence, and leave it as-is.

Well, now the ALMS is changing again, but bigger. And I dodged a bullet that the ALMS will still be the ALMS in 2013, when my second book set in the ALMS is published (BRAKING POINTS, due out April 2013, set at Road America and Road Atlanta).

Where it gets interesting is because I'm starting to think about Book 3, which I plan to set at the 24 Hours of Daytona and hope to publish in early 2014. The nagging worry in the back of my head has been how to forge the same kind of contacts with teams and officials in Grand-Am that I have with the ALMS--contacts that are vital to do the kind of insider research I like to include.

But you see what happened here, didn't you? I think my work just got easier. Because now I'll know some teams (and even officials) in the new combined series whose first race will be the 24 Hours of Daytona 2014. Not to mention there will be a whole bunch of new drama to write about, with new competition, new rivalries, new rules, new suppliers ... and plenty of the above who've been left out in the cold, because, let's face it, we're downsizing from two series to one. Yeah, I can work with this.

But it just goes to show: you never know what's going to happen to change your plans, and you never know if the change will be for the better or worse. Has anyone out there had a situation where you thought a change would ruin everything, but found it was the best thing in the end?

And Then There Was One

TAMMY: An earthquake rocked the racing world this week: As of 2014, the American Le Mans Series and the Grand American Road Racing Series--the two premier sportscar racing series in the United States--will become one.

Let's look at what we sportscar racing fans stand to gain:

1. Wide-open track choice. ALMS GT battle at Watkins Glen? NASCAR at Road Atlanta? Bring it on.
2. No more trying to pump up car-counts in either series with lower-level classes (the competition in ALMS Challenge classes has been good, but you didn't need them when you had a robust class of manufacturer prototypes).
3. The first string of commentators. Love them all, but I really, really miss Leigh Diffey and Dorsey Schroeder.
4. A solid roster of manufacturers in one place, not halfsies in both.
5. One series to point to and say "this is the best sportscar racing in the world." (Yes, that's US-centric, I know, but I'll argue ALMS GT is the best in the world right now, so it's not a stretch.)

I've decided what we have here is another case of Fred and Ginger. You know what they said about them? He gave her class, and she gave him sex appeal. In this case, it's the ALMS with the class and Grand Am with the sex appeal (money and muscle). It's just possible that the merger of the two series--both of which have struggled for manufacturers, car counts, and fans--is going to be spectacular.

I just hope we really do get the best of both worlds, and not the worst. Simon, what are your thoughts? Are you optimistic or pessimistic?

SIMON: I'm actually happy about this because I think it will inject more competition. My issue with multi-class racing is that some classes end up with a handful of entries and it weakens the appeal, but the merger will make results a little harder to come by. Also with the bad economy, I think it makes it more cost effective to combine series so that the bad times aren't so apparent. Look at Euro F3 and there's just over a dozen entries. That series would benefit with merging with the British F3 series which also has small grids. I think over the last decade or so, motorsport has stretched itself a little thin with too much expansion. This merger is a step in the right direction.

What do you guys think?

Big Shots Versus Poor Relations

by Tammy

Will Buxton, SPEED Channel's pit-lane reporter for Formula 1, posted a blog last week about the experience he had visiting the IndyCar race in Sonoma, CA, the other weekend. (Read the post.) To paraphrase, he loved it. 

Now, you have to figure that WillB (I hope he doesn't mind me calling him that) had the best treatment possible--access to all drivers, owners, bigwigs. But even so, he spent part of the race in the stands and he visited the fan zone. One of his comments is this: "It really feels like a community, not just between the teams, drivers, and media, but among the fans too." Then he says this: "The simple fact is, Indycar works. It works because it is fun. It works because it understand how racing should be and what the fans should get for the price of their ticket." 
I have two points to make about this: 

1. His post confirms my growing impression of Formula 1. Sure, it's technologically advanced and impressive, and the biggest, most everything. But it takes itself pretty seriously. Pretentiously. It doesn't seem like much fun. WillB doesn't say this explicitly, just implicitly.
2. I think that IndyCar v. F1 is a lot like ALMS v. NASCAR. One side of that equation seems bigger, cooler, more, and the other seems like the poor relation. But the poor relations in these cases give you a better experience and more access to the action. 

I know I've been spoiled by my experiences with the ALMS and the access I have there. In part, I've resisted attending more NASCAR races (only been to one) or any F1 races (not that any have been nearby), because I know I'm used to a lot of access, and I won't have that with NASCAR or F1. But I'm beginning to suspect I just won't enjoy them the same, with or without the access. 

So for everyone out there who loves watching live racing, I'm going to encourage you to go see the "poor relations." I'm talking about the ALMS and IndyCar, but also Grand-Am, World Challenge, Indy Lights (or whatever they call it now), SCCA weekends, historic races, or whatever. Sure, the lure of the money and the stars is appealing. But if you like to watch racing, there are plenty of places to get right up next to the action.

The Evolution of a Series

TAMMY: I read with interest this week that the ACO (the sanctioning body that governs the 24 Hours of Le Mans and inspires the ALMS) was scrapping the last two rounds of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) because of a lack of entrants. Effectively, canceling the ELMS this year. The few extant ELMS teams will have a home at Petit Le Mans this year, which is great news for the ALMS and viewers.

The release from the ACO talks about the ELMS returning next year ... but I had to wonder, because those two canceled races were two of only four rounds the series was to have had. Was two endurance series too many for Europe? (I'm stretching things by considering the WEC or World Endurance Championship, started by the FIA this year, to be European when it's really worldwide.) Here in the U.S. we have two sportscar racing series (ALMS and Grand-Am), but we couldn't support two open-wheel racing series (CART/IRL = IndyCar). 

My first thought: It's pretty lucky (for me) the ALMS has survived into its second decade!
My second thought: I wonder what series that's around now will fade away?

The latter question is on my mind because of the article in Jalopnik about the Ten Greatest Failed Racing Series of All Time. Certainly it seems like the ELMS won't be around, even into next year. But what about the WEC? What about the lower-level "feeder" series that get less attention and less money but serve the vital role of grooming our future top-level champions?

I suppose I shouldn't fret about the loss of what I know now, because all things change, right, Simon?

SIMON: I think for a lot of series to survive, I think they need to join together. I think the UK got it right in the late 80's/early 90's. Formula 3, touring cars, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Renault, Ford Fiesta, etc. would race as part of a super line-up.  It helped with crowds and introduced people to a lot of different types of racing and built fan bases. Then touring cars and F3 (the two most popular series in the UK) went their separate ways and ran on different line-ups (taking some of these support series with them) and F3 suffered because of it and is still suffering (with small grids). I sort of see the same thing here with ELMS and the like. 

Sports car racing isn't the most popular type of motorsport in the UK and Europe (not as a series, but as a one off super race, yes). Could be something with the length of the races or something.  So I don't think they can "headline" and survive for too long. Throw in a competing series and someone will lose. The IRL killed CART. I think these smaller series work better playing second fiddle to a more popular form of racing. I think for ELMS, ALMS and any series that doesn't have a good billing with the public, should be a support race for something else. It makes economical sense and that equals sustained racing.

TAMMY: While I think it would be hard for ALMS or Grand-Am to give up top billing, I think all series do better when they combine forces for joint weekend, such as the ALMS with IndyCar at Long Beach, or Grand-Am with NASCAR at the Brickyard this weekend. It's an interesting idea. What do the rest of you think? What series out there today do you see going away? Or what do they need to do to survive?

Green-White-Checker?

by Tammy

Two races this weekend finished under yellow (were there more? the two I watched did), the ALMS race at Lime Rock and the IndyCar race at Toronto. In both cases, there were terrific battles taking place for key positions. In both cases, accidents happened with only a handful of laps/minutes to go in the race, and the races went full-course-caution.

Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth from disappointed fans who watched a safety-car parade to the checkers, instead of last-lap battles.

So here's the question? Should other racing series adopt NASCAR's green-white-checker rule?

For those who don't know what it is, in brief: NASCAR makes one attempt for the race to finish under green, no matter the lap count, by throwing a green flag for cars, then a white the next time by, then the checker. If there's a caution on that first lap between green and white flags, they try again. If there's a caution after the white flag waves, the race is over (aka, once the white flag waves, the next flag ends it).

Gimmicky? Perhaps. But it does combat the disappointment of teams not fighting it out until the end.

Problematic? Possibly, especially for the ALMS, which is based on time, not laps. But that could probably be surmounted.

What do you all think? Should more series adopt the G-W-C?

Checking Our Predictions

by Tammy
I decided it was time to check in and see how we were doing with the fantasy picks we've made. I'll take them category by category ...
F1 Driver
I'm kicking some behind here, with my pick, Lewis Hamilton, scoring 88 points to Jenson Button's 49 (the pick of both Simon and Rick Hunt).


F1 Team
But Simon's got me and Rick beat here, with his Red Bull pick scoring 176 to McLaren's 137 (my pick and Rick's).
IndyCar Driver
Again, Rick sided with the light (that would be me) with the pick of Will Power, who's outscoring Simon's pick of Dario Franchitti by 70 points (286 for Will, 216 for Dario).
IndyCar Team
I made an executive decision on scoring here, averaging driver totals, since Simon's pick of Ganassi has two drivers to my (and Rick's) pick of Penske. Result? Penske 251, Ganassi 244.
ALMS GT Driver
My sentimental choice of Patrick Long isn't working out so well for me (but the season is still young!), with 19 points, but Simon (Jan Magnussen 48) and Rick (Joey Hand 52) are neck and neck. Advantage: Rick.
ALMS GT Team
I'm pleased to say that my Corvette Racing pick (62) is dominating the season so far, over Rick's Team RLL BMW (55). Simon's Paul Miller Racing (20) needs some encouragement or luck....
NASCAR Cup Driver
Rick has the pick of all of us, with Jimmie Johnson (610) ranking above my Carl Edwards (503) and Simon's Jeff Gordon (453). But the most amazing statistic here is Junior in second place, with a race win to his credit! That answers my biggest question. (And I agree with Rick that we should pick anew once the Chase field is set.)
NASCAR Cup Team
Another average of driver totals, to compare the two drivers of Ganassi (Simon) to the four of Hendrick (me and Rick) ... and Hendrick is outscoring Ganassi by more than 100 points, 537 to 424. If only JMP got points for taking out the jet dryer.
So by my tally, Rick and I both have top picks in five categories (overlapping, obviously), and Simon has a top pick in one. What does this mean? Not a thing, except I get to needle Simon some....
Anyone else want to play along? Just submit your picks in the categories.