October 2006 Archives

Fallout from the A.J. Allmendinger move to NASCAR has Buddy Rice in the Champ Car World Series for Forsythe Championship Racing.
Rice, winner of the 2004 Indianapolis 500, the jewel race of the rival Indy Racing League, will be in the Champ Car World Series season finale in Mexico City Nov.12.
Allmendinger was one of two drivers for Forsythe Championship Racing in the Champ Car World Series. He won five races and is second in points. But Sebastien Bourdais clinched his third straight Champ Car World Series championship in Australia and left little reason for Allmendinger to race in Mexico City.
Instead, Allmendinger is headed to NASCAR for Team Red Bull. He will try to qualify for the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and will be driving full-time for the team in 2007.
“I would like to thank Jerry Forsythe and the whole Forsythe Team for the opportunity that they gave me," Allmendinger said. "The last few months of my life have been incredible and I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Team, we had great success and I’ve made great friends. I am starting a new chapter in my life and I’d like to wish the best of luck to the Team and to Buddy and hope they win in Mexico.�
Rice, a veteran of open-wheel racing, will be making his first Champ Car start in Mexico City. He has been driving for Rahal Letterman Racing in the IRL since 2004.
“I’m very excited! It was looking like being a very long off season so I can’t wait to be back in a car and driving again," Rice said. "Forsythe is one of the top teams out there and there’s no better feeling than knowing that you will be in a competitive car that can run up front and win races. This will be like a homecoming for me; I won the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2000 and that’s where I honed my driving skills, so being back in the Champ Car family is something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I’m also super excited about going back to road racing; it’s going to take some adapting specially since I haven’t driven a Champ Car in years and the turbos take some getting used to, but I am confident that we’ll be quick right out of the box. I have to thank Jerry Forsythe for giving me this huge opportunity; I’m determined to make the most of it!�

Kevin Harvick was asked what he thought about A.J. Allmendinger being the latest open-wheel driver to make the jump to NASCAR. Allmendinger will make his Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and will drive full-time for Team Red Bull in 2007.
Harvick was more confident about Allmendinger's abilities than some of the stock-car prospects who have been getting a chance to race at the Cup level in recent races.
Allmendinger has raced in two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race for Bill Davis Racing in addition to the entire Champ Car World Series this year.
"Well, he's done a good job in both of the truck races that he's run," Harvick said. "At Talladega he did an extremely good job. Obviously I don't think he wants to get started off on the same foot that David Regan got started off on at Martinsville and running into everything on the race track and spinning out and causing half the cautions that the race had. I don't think that's the right way to do it. It's going to be tough."
Even though Harvick sees potential in Allmendinger, Harvick also said it's going to take more than talent to get into races.
" I mean, they're starting a new team and they had Bill Elliott in the car at Charlotte and missed the race, and the learning curve is going to be pretty steep," Harvick said. " I think the best thing he can do is just go out and try to gain all the experience he can and concentrate on just trying to make the races for the first little bit."

A.J. Allmendinger is leaving Champ Car to race in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Team Red Bull. He will attempt to qualify for Sunday's Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will race full-time in 2007.
The driver from Hollister, Calif., won five races in the Champ Car World Series and is second in points with one race to go. Sebastien Bourdais won his third straight Champ Car World Series championship by finishing eighth in the Lexmark Indy 300 in Australia.
Allmendinger will drive the No. 84 Toyota Camry and be teamed with driver Brian Vickers at Team Red Bull.
“I'm really excited about this next challenge in my racing career," Allmendinger said. "To race against some of the best drivers in the world in front of fans that are as enthusiastic about racing as I am is going to be a pretty big thrill. I know this is going to be a lot of work in the upcoming months, but I couldn't be happier to do it with Team Red Bull. Hopefully, we can all go out and deliver a good show.�
Rick Viers, who worked with Allmendinger in two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races for Bill Davis Racing, will be the crew chief for the No. 84 team.
“I see a huge amount of potential in AJ," Viers said. "On the racetrack, he’s smart, patient and definitely not afraid to race. For the first half of next year, AJ must use his patience to learn as much as he can before moving forward in the second half. Hopefully, he’ll be a solid rookie of the year candidate by year’s end.�

M.K. Kanke is one Elite Division driver who will be happy to see NASCAR drop the Southwest Series.
Kanke, the Southwest Series leader in career wins, has always been critical of the way NASCAR ran the Southwest Series.
Now that NASCAR has decided to eliminate the four regional divisions from competition, Kanke said he is pleased to see them go. There is a hope among NASCAR that the Elite Division drivers and teams will move up to the Grand National Division level or beyond. But Kanke said he is not too optimistic that Elite Division teams will make the move.
"The problem is: Your taking an $80,000 car and NASCAR wants to run a division that costs two times to three times as much to be competitive," Kanke said. "You have to look for other options. NASCAR priced everyone out of their league."
Kanke will be one of 40 Elite Division drivers racing in the All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway Friday and Saturday night. Drivers from the Northwest Series, Southeast Series and Midwest Series will be traveling to Irwindale Speedway for the Showdown race.
Kanke remembers traveling to Arizona, Texas, Missouri and Colorado for races during his career in the Southwest Series. He sympathizes with the drivers coming across the country for the Showdown.
Those drivers will have a disadvantage when it comes to track time and preparation.
"Everything's good," Kanke said. "I just wish they would have given the guys more time to set up."

The Elite Division drivers will be making their final appearance in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway this weekend. NASCAR will eliminate the Elite Division from its developmental ranks after this season.
In its fourth year of existence, the All-Star Showdown brought together the top-40 drivers from the four regional Elite Divisions for a race and a chance to win a part of the $500,000 purse.
Rip Michels, a driver from San Fernando and the Southwest Series champion, said he isn't approaching the Showdown any differently than in the past.
He is making his third start in the Showdown and his first as Southwest Series champion.
But he said the motivating factor to do well will be because the race is televised on Speed, not because it's the last Elite Division Showdown race.
"I'm not looking at it that way," Michels said. "It's the only race everyone watches live."
By everyone, Michels means the drivers from the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series who have moved on from the Elite Division ranks over the years.
David Gilliland, a driver for Robert Yates Racing at the Nextel Cup Series level, won the Grand National Division Showdown in 2005. Auggie Vidovich and Burney Lamar, drivers in the Busch Series, have participated in the Showdown in the past. Vidovich won the Elite Division Showdown in 2005.
Michels said he's more concerned about putting on a good show for those drivers than it is to win the race, the last Elite Division Showdown.
"That's the biggest motivation," Michels said.

If there was any question that NASCAR is ready to take over North America, if not the world, an upcoming announcement should leave little doubt.
In what is probably the worst kept secret in motorsports, it looks like NASCAR will announce a race date in Canada for its Busch Series drivers on Monday.
This really means there will be a date in Canada for NASCAR to showcase its best prospects and some of its established stars on a date when the Nextel Cup Series is off, much like the Busch Series race in Mexico.
The announcement is scheduled for 2 p.m. PDT on Monday and will be made at the Fairmount Queen Elisabeth Hotel in Montreal.
My best guess is that the race will be in Montreal as well.
Brian France, the Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, Martin Spaulding, the general manager of Motorise International, John Saunders, the executive vice president and COO of ISC and Roger Edmondson, the president of the Grand American Road Racing Association are scheduled to participate in the teleconference.
There will also be distinguished guests and drivers from the Busch Series participating in the announcement.
Given the guests on the teleconference, the race will most likely be a road course event and will be accompanied by the Grand American Road Racing Association.
There may even be a handful of NASCAR drivers in sports cars that weekend. Sounds like it could be a mini Speed Weeks like at Daytona Interantional Speedway every February.
It looks like NASCAR is expanding into an international market. Even the drivers, with the arrival of Columbia's Juan Pablo Montoya, are taking on a international flavor. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get one of the Canadian drivers from Champ Car, or even France's Sebastien Bourdais, in a stock car so someone will be able to talk to the Montreal media in post-race conferences.