Norris McDonald's Auto Racing Blog

12 Hours of Sebring’s online; nowhere else

When I first heard that the American Le Mans Series – which opens its season on Saturday with the running of the 12 Hours of Sebring – wouldn’t be having its races shown on live television this year, I thought somebody had lost their marbles.

For years and years, auto racing fans had to make do with either no television coverage of races or else tape-delays.

I remember how thrilled I was in 1986 when Sebring was televised live for the first time (I think, believe it or not, it was on The Nashville Network) and Hans Stuck, Jo Gartner and Bob Akin won.

It’s a melancholy memory, of course. Gartner was killed less than three months later at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; Sebring was his last big victory.

In any event, as the years rolled along, we became used to seeing endurance races like the Daytona 24, Sebring, Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans beamed into our homes as they happened – plus all the other car racing that was available, of course.

So it was a shock when I learned earlier this year that the ALMS had decided to forsake TV for digital delivery of live races via the Internet (americanlemans.com here in Canada). A deal with ESPN/ABC will see "package" TV coverage after the fact. In the case of Sebring on Saturday, you can "watch" the race for 90 minutes the next day, Sunday, on ABC at 12:30 p.m. (WKBW-TV, Buffalo).

I still think it’s a mistake (and I’m not alone: when I interviewed Bobby Rahal for a story a few weeks ago, we talked about the ALMS and he said he thought it was a good series "but I’m not crazy about their television package . . .") but I’m not as adamant about it as I once was.

I think the ALMS might be on the cusp of something radical and may eventually get the credit for pioneering the wholesale move of big-league auto racing to digital delivery. And don’t kid yourself; if motorsports goes that route, so will all the other sports leagues and organizations.

Take a look around you. If you’re on the GO Train or the subway these days, just about everybody is "reading" their phones. Whether at the office or home, everybody is working on PCs or laptops and also using them for news/information and entertainment. So we’re living in a digital world right now.

Most TVs you buy these days have Internet compatibility built in, which means more and more people are plugging their computers into their 50-inch plasmas.

Right now, I have a friend who has an "old" TV. He turns on the Formula One races but he also has his laptop beside him so he can watch the race and also keep track of all the streaming technical information that’s available online.

If he had a newer TV, and was watching the 12 Hours of Sebring on americanlemans.com this weekend, it would all be there on that 50-inch screen: the race and all the info, right there in front of him.

I have it on very good authority that several of the ALMS’s major sponsors, when shown the "numbers" (in the U.S., the deal is with ESPN3.com, which has something like 65 million or 70 million subscribers and is growing rapidly; the ALMS’ former partner, SPEED Channel, has something like 70 million subscribers but isn’t growing as quickly), the sponsors opted to support the digital deal.

Those people have to know something.

I still think it’s premature, but I’m an old dog and what do I know?

I mean, when I ride the GO Train, I’m the only guy still reading a newspaper ...

Canadian racers continue to shine

James Hinchcliffe of Oakville continued to turn heads at the IZOD IndyCar Series pre-season test in Alabama on Tuesday while another young Canadian speedster, Robert Wickens of Guelph and Toronto, topped the speed charts at a World Series by Renault test in Europe.

You’ll recall that Hinchliffe, the 24-year-old Firestone Indy Lights championship runner-up in 2010, finished fifth out of 24 drivers to turn time during the first day of the test at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday.

Well, Tuesday, he slipped just a bit – to seventh overall – but still acquitted himself well. His time of one minute, 12:520 seconds translated into an average speed of 114.175 miles an hour, which was far from shabby.

"Hinch" has consistently been the fastest rookie at the test.

The fastest of them all Tuesday was Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves, whose best lap was 1 minute, 11.943 seconds (115.090 mph). Will Power of Team Penske, who led the first day of the test, was second-quickest with a lap of 1:11.963. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon was third at 1:12.281.

Other notables: Defending series champion Dario Franchitti was 11th fastest, Canadian Alex Tagliani finished 12th, Danica Patrick was 13^th, Simona de Silvestro was 18^th, Sebstien Bourdais was 19^th (I’m starting to wonder whether his decision to make a comeback with Dale Coyne Racing was wise) and Ana Beatriz was 23^rd.

The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season opens with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 27.

Hinchcliffe talked afterward as if he’s a lock to start the season with Newman-Haas but there still has been no sponsorship announcement.

In Europe, the 21-year-old Wickens was reportedly "flying" during a test at Barcelona and was the fastest driver during Day 1 of the Formula Renault test.

It rained all day but Wickens still ended up more than a second ahead of his Carlin Motorsports teammate, Red Bull British F3 champion Jean-Eric Vergne, who was sixth fastest overall.

Good stuff!

Paul Tracy, meantime, is still waiting, apparently, for any word on 2011.

Hinchcliffe stars in INDYCAR test

Paul Tracy was still waiting for news last night as to whether he had a deal for the 2011 INDYCAR season but other news was exceptionally good for another Canadian candidate.

Although not signed, and still waiting for his Canadian sponsorship proposal to be approved, Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe set second fastest time and fifth overall Monday during the opening day of the IZOD IndyCar Series’ final pre-season test at Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama.

The INDYCAR season will open at St. Petersburg, Fla., a week from next weekend, which is the same time Formula One will get going in Australia.

Will Power of Team Penske set fastest time in both the morning and afternoon sessions at Barber, turning a best combined time of one minute, 12:5056 seconds for a speed of 114:198 miles an hour.

Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing finished second (1:12.5538) and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Justin Wilson was third overall (1:12.6791).

Hinchcliffe, the 24-year-old Firestone Indy Lights championship runner-up in 2010, set a time of 1:12:8729 in his Newman-Haas team car. “It was a good, solid day and I’m definitely happy to be in the top 10," Hinchcliffe said.  “I had certain expectations but today’s efforts exceeded them, which is great."

Ryan Briscoe, Takuma Sato (gee, what a surprise) and J.R. Hildebrand had minor accidents.

Canadian Alex Tagliani was 10^th quickest of the 24 cars that took time, while defending series champion Dario Franchitti was 12^th.

Ex-Champ Car and Formula One star Sebastien Bourdais made his return to Indy cars with Dale Coyne, for whom he will likely drive a road-course-only schedule with Milka Duno likely in the car for the ovals.

Simona de Silvestro was the fastest woman to test Monday with a time of 1:13:4546 – 17^th fastest. Danica Patrick was 19^th (1:13:7102) and Ana Beatriz was 24^th and last with a time of 1:15:0777.

Conquest Racing, the team Tracy is hoping to make some kind of deal with, announced just as the test started that it had signed Sebastian Saavedra for the season. His household name will undoubtedly sell thousands of tickets for the struggling series.

And Coyne surprised everybody by also testing GP2 driver James Jakes, who is another driver completely unknown to North American race fans. (Gee, and they wonder why they have attendance and TV ratings problems . . .)

Tracy had been hoping to have his deal done Monday. By mid-evening, his Twitter account said:

"Still waiting. This day is taking forever."

In other racing news, Red Bull announced it had signed World Champion Sebastien Vettel through the 2014 season. Teammate Mark Webber, however, is only under contract through 2011.

Red Bull was keen to keep Vettel under contract because, rightly, it considers him the cream of the current F1 driver crop and expects big things from him for years to come.

The announcement was also designed to stifle speculation that Vettel would move to Ferrari after his Red Bull contract ran out, a rumour fueled not only by Ferrari sources but by Vettel himself.

Paul Tracy hopes for INDYCAR answer today

Weekend Headlines:

1. Paul Tracy gets ride decision Monday

2. Daytona 200 winner changed engine

3. Ken Wilden gets 12 Hours of Sebring ride

1. Tracy close to INDYCAR employment

Paul Tracy has his fingers crossed that today (Monday) will be the day he finds out whether he has an INDYCAR deal for 2011.

Those of us who follow his Twitter posts have been expecting good news for a couple of days now.

Last Tuesday, for instance, he wrote: "Going to the gym. Then it’s time to get these deals put to bed."

But then on Thursday, he wrote: "First and inches to the goal line. Problem is, every time we move, the goal line seems to move. Got to get there . . ."

On Friday, (at 3:37 a.m.) there was this: "CAN’T SLEEP. TO (sic) MUCH ON MY MIND."

And finally, on Saturday: "Hate it when decisions get held over till Monday."

Speculation has Tracy close to a deal with Conquest Racing, which is operated by former driver Eric Bachelart. Let’s hope it’s for a full season. Tracy, one of the greatest, committed, entertaining and most loyal racing drivers of our time, deserves a farewell tour.

DiSalvo gets second chance, wins Daytona 200

My Toronto Star Wheels column on Saturday was about Canadian motorcycle racing superstar Miguel Duhamel (if you missed it, click here), who won North America’s most famous race, the Daytona 200, five times.

Duhamel wasn’t in this year’s event, which is probably just as well. There is much to report – and talk about.

The winner on Saturday was Jason DiSalvo aboard a Ducati. But DiSalvo was allowed an engine change mid-way through the event during a long red flag brought about by concerns that the tires supplied by spec manufacturer Dunlop were not safe.

That engine change and subsequent victory left a sour taste in some mouths.

The concern about the tires came about because resurfacing of the Daytona International Speedway resulted in increased grip. Temperatures on Saturday were much higher than on days when tests were conducted. So, higher timperatures combined with the increased grip resulted in significantly higher tire temperatures and the decision was made, in the interests of safety, to stop the race and order all competitors to change their front tires.

The race, scheduled for 57 laps, was also reduced to 42 laps – the first time that has happened in the 70 years of the event.

Now, this is where it gets interesting.

Moments before the red flag, DiSalvo raised his arm to signal he was pitting because his motor had conked out. He told a TV reporter that he was finished. "Looks like our day is done," he said.

But because the red flag was out for so long, his team completed the engine change before the race was restarted and the American Motorcycle Association gave him permission to continue and he went on to win.

How fair is that?

Cory West was second behind DiSalvo on a Suzuki and Jake Zemke, who won the 200 in 2006 as well as the pole for this particular race, was third on a Yamaha. It was Ducati’s first win in the famous race.

As DiSalvo flashed across the finish line, Dane Westby and Taylor Knapp crashed right behind him. Auto racing crashes at 200 miles an hour are scary but motorcycle wrecks at that speed are terrifying.

Fortunately, both those riders were okay. I suspect, however, that this story isn’t over.

Racing and Racers

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne won the Camping World Series truck race at Darlington on Saturday. Ron Honaday finished second and Todd Bodine was third.

Two things: Kahne was subbing for Kyle Busch, which is okay in one way because Busch owns a truck team but not in another because, yet again, a Cup driver has scored a win in a minor-league series, which is something NASCAR is trying to avoid.

The other thing is that Ron Hornaday had to qualify for this race on time. He was a go- or go-homer, which is really hard to believe. Ron Hornaday is truck racing. Or used to be, I guess.

Kenny Wilden of Oakville will be at the wheel of a Jaguar RSR XKR at next weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring, which will be available for streaming video viewing at americanlemans.com starting at 10:15 a.m. next Saturday morning, March 19.

(That’s corrrect: there’s no live TV coverage of this iconic event. ABC (WKBW-TV in Buffalo) will provide post-race coverage next Sunday from 12:30 p.m. till 2 p.m.)

Wilden will be co-driving with P.J. Jones and Rocky Moran Jr. in the GT category. Said a Jaguar release:

"Wilden has established himself as one of the best drivers and coaches in North America. The Canadian has earned four national championships with wins in many types of cars from showroom stock to endurance to open wheel, oval and prototype.

"His resume includes claiming the Players GM series crown in 1992, Michelin Enduro Series champion in 1994 and back-to-back runner-up positions in 1995-1996, multiple wins and podiums in the Atlantic Series and second overall in the championship in 1999, success in Trans-Am and Grand-Am series. His most recent accomplishment was winning the 2009 Grand-Am Koni Challenge GS."

Way to go, Ken.

Speaking of next Saturday, Mark Webber will drive his Red Bull Formula One car over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to publicize the season-opening Australian Grand Prix a week later.

I’ve got a great idea. How about Paul Tracy (see first item, above) driving his Conquest Racing Indy car over the Prince Edward Viaduct (a.k.a. Bloor Viaduct) to publicize this July’s Honda Indy Toronto?

How about it, Charlie Johnstone?

And, finally, a little bird tells me that Guelph and Toronto’s Robert Wickens will be in F1 next year, driving for Virgin Racing. I’d like to believe that.

Firestone, INDYCAR kiss and make up

Wow, this was a quick backtrack.

About a week after announcing it would not supply tires to the IZOD IndyCar Series past 2011, Bridgestone Firestone announced today it would continue as the sole tire supplier through 2013.

Which is very good news, indeed, as INDYCAR will introduce a new chassis and aero package for 2012 and any new tire manufacturer would be hard-pressed in the short term to design and test rubber for such a car.

Here is the text of the announcement late this morning:

“Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO) and INDYCAR have announced that Firestone will continue to serve as the sole tire supplier to the IZOD IndyCar Series through the 2013 race season.

"Late last week the companies announced that they would allow the Firestone sponsorship and supply contract to expire at the end of the 2011 season.

"At the end of last week, we had reached the deadline where both organizations had to make a decision regarding the future to prepare our individual operations for the long term," said Randy Bernard, CEO, INDYCAR.

"This is one of those decisions that it is imperative that you have the team owners 100 per cent behind you. Early this week, we called a meeting to walk the team owners through the process and hear their input.  I'm happy to say we walk as one with Firestone.

"We feel that this new supply agreement will benefit everyone. It provides a proven safe and reliable Firestone product for the transition to the all-new cars for 2012. We have to thank everyone at Firestone for working with us to help ensure the best for the long-term growth of our sport," Bernard concluded.

"INDYCAR called a meeting to inform the team owners of Firestone's departure," said Dennis Reinbold, Team Owner, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

"When we learned of this, we encouraged INDYCAR to check with Firestone to see if there might be any chance to continue. We feel that it is important to maintain continuity with their excellent tires as we transition to the new car for 2012. 

“The team owners are collectively very relieved that Firestone had an open mind and that they were able to reach this agreement with INDYCAR.  Firestone racing tires are not only important from a safety and reliability standpoint, but they contribute greatly to the wheel-to-wheel competition for which our sport is famous."

"We are pleased that we were able to reach this agreement with INDYCAR," said Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing.

"As we prepare to celebrate our involvement in the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500 Mile Race (May 29), we are also focused on the future and the great opportunities that lie ahead. While we've reached the pinnacle of success in the IndyCar racing, we're happy to extend our relationship with the IZOD IndyCar Series through 2013, and to continue our winning partnership. 

“Meanwhile, we will continue to evaluate all options for promoting the Firestone brand inside and outside of motorsports, as the Firestone Brand is a very important part of our business."

Firestone has supplied tires to the IZOD IndyCar Series since 1996.

“The new agreement does not include Firestone Indy Lights, the developmental series for drivers and teams striving to reach the top level of open-wheel racing in North America. 

“Firestone will remain as title sponsor and tire supplier of the development series throught 2011.”

It won’t be hard to get a tire manufacturer for the Lights series. Cooper Tires is heavily involved in the INDYCAR ladder system, so will quite likely step in for 2012.

I will also suggest it’s going to cost the INDYCAR teams a lot more money for tires than it has. Drivers bringing money to teams will be particularly affected by this new deal.

Why can't Kurt Busch say 'Indy 500?'

There’s an ad on the radio for a free trip to the Indianapolis 500 and the race in Charlotte the same day.

It’s a Pennzoil promotion and the voiceover stars Kurt Busch, who drives for Roger Penske in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

In the ad, Busch says the prize will be a flight to “the big race in Indianapolis,” followed by a private jet ride to Charlotte for the “Coca-Cola 600” later in the day.

Did some copy-writer write that? Did some Pennzoil-connected ad person really write “the big race at Indianapolis” instead of its official name, which is the Indianapolis 500? Which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year?

Or did Kurt Busch take it upon himself to change those words?

After all, when Busch won the race in Charlotte last May, he said over his car’s radio: “The real Victory Lane is in Charlotte.”

Ha ha.

Now, bear with me here.

Years and years ago, I lived in Montreal. People in Montreal like to tell Toronto jokes. “Why do the lights on the Decarie Expressway keep burning out? They were made in Toronto.”

Ha ha.

All the years I’ve lived in Toronto, I’ve never heard a Montreal joke so I wondered what was with all the Toronto jokes I heard in Montreal.

Then it dawned on me: Montreal people felt inferior and it was their way of feeling superior by putting down Toronto.

So, it’s obvious that Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, feels inferior because, somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to say “Indianapolis 500” in that radio commercial.

Of course, he should feel inferior.

Kurt, when it comes to comparing the Indianapolis 500 and the race in Charlotte, there ain’t no comparison.

The real Victory Lane always has been, and always will be, at 16th St. and Georgetown Rd., back home in Indiana.

Speaking of NASCAR, the Camping World Truck Series is the only professional series in action this weekend. The trucks will be at Darlington Saturday for a one-day show.

The Sprint Cup and Nationwide groups have the weekend off. Let’s hope it doesn’t stall NASCAR's early season momentum because attendance has been up, as have TV ratings, for both series since Daytona. Trevor Bayne and Danica Patrick have given both series a boost.

Oh, and to refresh your memory: the Formula One season was supposed to start this weekend in Bahrain. There’s still talk that the race will be held at the tail end of the season but don’t count on it. F1 continues pre-season testing and will do it for real in Australia in two weeks.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will test in Alabama next weekend, with the season opening in Florida the same weekend F1 gets going Down Under.

That Alabama test will signal just how healthy that series really is. There are a lot of names and teams being bandied around out there but there haven’t been a lot of formal announcements.

Right now, today, I count 19 cars and drivers signed, sealed and delivered.

As I said, lots of talk; not a lot of action.

Why not a SAFER barrier for hockey?

When the NHL, in the interests of protecting its players, gets around to ordering bigger ice surfaces, I hope it has the sense to borrow a page from auto racing and install a SAFER barrier-type board system.

In fact, it could try this sooner rather than later on the stanchions that exist in all present-day rinks. Yes, they’re padded, but the padding is almost as rock-solid as the stanchion itself.

In any event, I thought about this Tuesday night as I watched a replay of Zdeno Chara’s hit in Montreal on Max Pacioretty, whose career might now be in jeopardy.

The SAFER system, which has now been installed at just about every big-league oval racing speedway in North America, was developed by engineers at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in an effort to make racing accidents — well — safer.

 Financed by Tony George and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the SAFER barrier (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barrier), which is also known as a soft wall, is constructed of polystyrene foam between an inner and outer shell. The barrier absorbs the energy when a racing car makes contact with it. The race cars go “into” the wall rather than bouncing off it. There is “give,” whereas before there was nothing but a solid wall.

Race cars are no longer damaged as badly as they were pre-SAFER, and the wear and tear on the race drivers has diminished significantly. In fact, no NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers or Indy car drivers have been killed as the result of a collision with a wall since Dale Earnhardt Sr. died 10 years ago and that happened before the first SAFER barrier was installed, at Indianapolis, in 2002.

It’s worked for auto racing and I can’t help but think it would do wonders for hockey. The "boards" would still be solid, so pucks would carom off them much as they do now, but the players would be better protected when crashing into them.

Max Pacioretty might still have been injured as the result of that hit into the boards/stanchion last night but he might not have suffered as serious an injury if there had been some type of SAFER system employed.

Video: Villeneuve wins race in ice, snow

Our Jacques Villeneuve is in the news a lot these days, giving interviews in Europe in which he questions Michael Schumacher’s motivation (see story here) and laments the passing of traditional racing circuits in favour of “artificial,” purpose-built tracks in places like Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

(Well, he won’t have to worry about the first one anymore because if anyone thinks they’re going to be racing there anytime soon, including this year, they must be riding on the same spaceship as Bernie Ecclestone.

(Speaking of Bernie, now he’s getting himself into the papers by predicting that when he retires, a woman will run Formula One (see story here). Nothing wrong with that, of course, but the last time I looked – or anyone else looked, for that matter – there wasn’t a woman in a position of power or responsibility anywhere near Formula One, so what’s he talking about?

(Unless, perhaps, he has one of his daughters in mind . . .)

Okay, getting back to Villeneuve. He’s still racing, as well as talking, and he’s doing better, it seems in the former than the latter.

John C. Bassett, who wrote the excellent IZOD IndyCar Series preview in wheels.ca’s Special Section: Auto Racing 2011, sent me this link yesterday and it’s so fine that I thought I’d share it with the rest of you.

Great action, great photography and vintage Villeneuve in winning a race in the Andros Trophy 2011.

Watch it here. And enjoy!

Danica off to NASCAR after 2011

Weekend Headlines

1. Edwards wins race, Danica Patrick gets headlines

2. Ecclestone’s rain idea stolen from my friend Dave

3. Toronto driver wins two sports car races

1. It’s all Danica, all the time

It’s pretty safe to say for sure that 2011 will be the last for Danica Patrick in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

She’ll move to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2012, now that she’s proved – again – that she’s not just a pretty face behind the wheel of a big-league race car.

Her fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas on Saturday (won by Mark Martin – full story here) was earned and deserved.

She qualified 22^nd in the 43-car field and fell behind two laps at one point but excellent pit strategy on the part of her team and excellent race-craft on her part, particularly toward the end of the race when she went wheel-to-wheel with several cars on her march to the front, paid off with the best finish ever recorded by a woman in a NASCAR-sanctioned race.

To her credit, Patrick said her fourth place was nice but that she has bigger fish to fry. "I’m out there to win," she said afterward.

How can I be so confident that she’ll definitely make the move to NASCAR?

Because the Danica Show is back on TV, big-time.

When she first showed up a year ago February in Daytona, the reporters couldn’t get enough of her. NASCAR promoted her big-time, almost to the point of irritation.

But when she didn’t do all that well, and then went off to INDYCAR to fulfill her contract in that series, the focus and attention on her pretty much died down. And even this year in Daytona, the TV announcers and the writers – while mentioning her from time to time – didn’t make that big a deal out of her.

All that changed Saturday afternoon. From about the mid-point of that race, which Brad Keselowski was dominating, the ESPN crew led by play-by-play man Marty Reid and colour commentator Dale Jarrett literally didn’t talk about anything else but Danica.

And when the post-race stories were posted on websites and filed to newspapers, the headlines on them all said "Danica Patrick finishes fourth."

Except for the trucks, which will be racing at Darlington next weekend, NASCAR has a weekend off and won’t race again till the bull-ring at Bristol in two weeks.

If you tune in for the coverage, don’t be surprised where the focus will be.

Mark Martin won that race, by the way. Keselowski blew out a right-front tire on the last lap and went into the wall. He managed to keep going to finish third.

In the Sunday Sprint Cup race, Carl Edwards was first, followed by Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya (full story here).

As is the case with most races at Las Vegas, it was kinda boring.

Tony Stewart led most of the laps but he ran over an air hose during a pit stop (how can that happen?) and was penalized. Then decisions by his crew on whether to change two tires or four backfired and he wound up about two seconds behind the winner.

He was not amused.

Last week’s winner, Jeff Gordon, crashed out. Defending series champion Jimmy Johnson finished 16^th.

Speaking of Johnson, his crew chief, Chad Knaus, had dinner over the weekend with – guess who? - Danica Patrick (who’s hired Johnny Benson to be her driver coach).

Although she’ll be moving to the Cup series next year, she doesn’t yet have a team.

So the courting has begun.

2. Eccleston’s rain idea stolen from my friend Dave

On March 12, 2003 – which is eight years ago – I wrote the following words in my Toronto Star Wheels column:

"My pal Dave Morton used to drive one of my race cars. Actually, crash one of my race cars would be more accurate but we don’t want to nit-pick.

"Dave, who is known to his friends as "Nutsy," has some definite opinions when it comes to the state of Formula One auto racing. Dave does not discriminate: he is a fan of every class of racing. But he’s particularly passionate about F1 and he’s been saying for years that all it has to do to make the races more interesting is to water down the track surface.

" 'Before they start any race,' he says, 'they should dump water all over the circuit. Then, when it dries up, they should stop the race and dump water all over it again. The skill of the drivers, rather than how good the car is, would then determine the winner.' "

Several years later, Frank Williams said this about the never-ending tweaking of F1 rules:

"The rule that is needed the most is that every Grand Prix will be sprinkled with rain at least once."

A couple of years ago, I read a "Lunch with" interview in Motorsport Magazine in which John Watson was asked what he would do to spice up the F1 show and his answer was – you guessed it – a little rain on every race wouldn’t hurt.

These days you can’t call up a racing website without finding a story quoting Bernie Ecclestone as saying that artificial rain showers should be created to fall once or twice during every Grand Prix.

What’s terrifying – and I really mean it, terrifying – is that the Pirelli Tire Company is saying that it’s a terrific idea and they wouldn’t have any trouble at all coming up with a special tire for just such occasions.

Now, when my pal Dave Morton said this eight years ago, it was hilarious. Every time after that got a little less amusing. When Ecclestone started talking about this two weeks ago, I rolled my eyes, But now we have the F1 tire supplier saying, on the record, that this is a good idea?

Has everybody gone nuts?

You know, the most popular sport in the world is soccer (football) and it’s the same game with the same rules that’s been played just about forever. You try to kick a ball into a goal.

The National Football League is the biggest sport in North America. Although the game has evolved from a running game to essentially one of passing, and rules are periodically tweaked in the interests of safety (you can’t hit the quarterback, no hits to the head), the game of professional football is pretty much as it’s always been. Same with baseball, hockey and so-on.

So how come the people who run racing keep messing with it?

Take NASCAR. Once upon a time, not too many years ago, a Plymouth would win a Winston Cup race and on Monday morning everybody would go out and buy Plymouths. Or Chevrolets. Or Fords. And the drivers were all characters. Alan Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix and drove the wrong way around the track in celebration, explaining later that it was a "Polish victory lap." Or Dick Trickle, who won the Winston Cup rookie-of-the-year title in 1989 at the age of 48 thanking, at the Victory Banquet in New York that December, NASCAR for the opportunity "on behalf of all us young guys."

Now, the cars all look the same and the drivers all look and talk like they have MBAs and NASCAR wonders where its audience went.

Once upon a time in F1, the only thing you might find on a steering wheel was the driver’s hands. Now, there are so many buttons and switches that the drivers are worried they might press the wrong one in a moment of crisis.

And the guy who runs the series muses in one conversation about letting cars take shortcuts at certain times during races and in another about artificial rain showers (an idea, no doubt, stolen from my friend Dave Morton, who was being facetious).

One of these days, they’re going to mess with it so much they’re going to ruin it.

Here’s a radical idea: determine the engine size, and the length, width and height of the car and the tire size, and leave everything else alone.

That way, the drivers would have to race. And isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?

3. Toronto driver wins two sports car races, Toronto team fourth in first Grand Am start

Toronto's Paul Dalla Lana teamed up with Bill Auberlin on Saturday to win the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Kia 200 on the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida (full story here).

This followed by several hours their victory in the GT class in the Grand Prix of Miami Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series race.

This was only the second time in the history of the Grand Am that drivers have scored double victories on the same day.

Other Canadians in the top 10 in the Continental race: Scott Maxwell of Toronto sixth; Ashley McCalmont of Ancaster, ninth.

Meantime, although the seemingly unbeatable Grand Am Rolex Daytona Prototype team of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas won the Grand Prix (full story here), the AIM Autosport team from Woodbridge finished fourth and it almost felt like a victory.

After missing the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and with limited pre-season testing (an afternoon at a road course in Georgia on the way down to Florida), the AIM team with drivers Mark Wilkins of Toronto and American Burt Frisselle just missed the podium when the car started to lose grip in the closing laps.

"It’s very encouraging," said Frisselle afterward. "We’re still playing a bit of catch-up because of our lack of experience with the Continental tires (new to the series this season) but we’ll keep chipping away."

Said Wilkins: "Burt did a great job, driving hard and staying out of trouble. (Team co-owner) Ian Willis and the boys gave us a great car."

Added Willis: The (BMW) engine was delivered just 15 days ago and everyone did a huge amount of work to get us here."

Next on the Rolex schedule is Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala., on April 7-9.

That race will be a double-header with the IZOD IndyCar Series, which will start its season in St. Petersburg on March 27, the same day F1 gets going in Australia. (I wonder if Bernie, leather helmet and all, will go up in some WWI bi-plane and seed the clouds?)

Speaking of INDYCAR, Speed TV’s Robin Miller reported last night that it looks like James Hinchcliffe of Oakville will be driving for the famous Newman-Haas team in this year’s IZOD series. No official announcement yet but it would be great if it happens.

The American le Mans Series 12 Hours of Sebring will go to the post in two weeks with two Canadians – Tony Burgess of Toronto and Kyle Marcelli of Barrie – signed to drive.

Soon, something other than NASCAR.

Rahal on Firestone exit: So what?

Although some in the media are wringing their hands and predicting doom and gloom for the IZOD IndyCar Series as the result of Firestone’s announcement late Friday that it would no longer supply tires for the series as of the end of the 2011 season,  it doesn’t seem to be bothering a couple of pretty high profile team owners.

I wrote my column for the Toronto Star Wheels section this week on Bobby Rahal’s many Canadian connections (if you missed it, you can read it here) and during the course of our conversation I asked him about what was then a rumour that Firestone might not continue.

In so many words, Rahal said: So what? There are other tire companies out there.

Here is his direct quote.

“You hate to see Firestone go but there will be some other tire company come in. It used to be all Goodyear and they left, so Firestone came in. You hope that they stay in because of continuity but if they go it’s not going to hurt the series.”

Ditto for team owner Brian Stewart, who for many years was the king of the Firestone Indy Lights Series.

Said Stewart on the phone the other day: “Bridgestone (Firestone’s Japanese parent company) left Formula One and it didn’t take long for Pirelli to sign up, did it?

“There are all sorts of tire companies out there. Michelin, Goodyear — hey, Cooper Tires is heavily involved in the INDYCAR ladder system so maybe they’ll bid to build tires for the big cars.”

Rahal and Stewart, if you read between the lines of what they’re saying, seem to suggest that this move is Firestone’s loss — and I’m not the only one who thinks they may be right.

INDYCAR is on the brink of having many, many more eyes on it than has been the case for years. New cars, new engines, more manufacturers and the possibility of much more U.S. TV network exposure means the league is on the cusp of a breakthrough.

So Firestone might be walking away from a racing series just when it would be wisest to be a part of it.

As a friend of mine said in an email: “Having worked for so long to generate a positive image, to squander it now seems like a really poor decision.”

AUTO RACING 2011: A SPECIAL SECTION