Norris McDonald's Auto Racing Blog

Toronto to get two Indy car races in 2013

Here are some Good Monday Morning thoughts on some hot auto racing topics – in the following order:

1. Toronto to get two races next July instead of just one.

2. Half-empty Dover Raceway another reason why the Chase needs road races.

3. Ontario Formula Ford Championship finale as exciting as anything in racing.

4. Final farewell for a champion journalist.

1. IndyCar 2013 schedule

The IZOD IndyCar Series announced its 2013 schedule on the Speed TV show Wind Tunnel Sunday night and the big news for fans of the Honda Indy Toronto is that there will be two races in 2013 instead of one.

And instead of TSN, Rogers Sportsnet will be broadcasting IndyCar races in Canada from 2013 on - although that announcement has not officially been made.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard had suggested in recent months that he wanted to increase the number of races in the series to at least 19 in 2013 and in order to reach that total he wanted to see double-headers – two races, instead of just one – promoted at some venues.

It turns out that Toronto is one of three locations selected for these double-headers – Detroit and Houston being the others. For details, click here.

Now, it’s not unusual for the Indy cars to race twice on the same card. Throughout the sport’s history, and most recently at Texas Motor Speedway, there have been "twin" races promoted with one race run to its conclusion and then a second one flagged off an hour or so later.

But what will happen in Toronto next July 13 and 14 (and at Detroit and Houston) is that the IndyCar series will be the headliner on Saturday afternoon and then again on Sunday.

Whether this will goose the gate, which is the prime reason for the move in Toronto, which has not exactly been setting the world on fire attendance-wise the last few years, is debatable.

Ever since its beginning in 1986 as the Molson Indy, the Indy cars have been the headline event on Sunday afternoon of what has been a three-day weekend of racing featuring touring cars, stock cars and other formula-car series in support of the big show.

For many years, it was almost a tradition that Canada’s premier stock car racing series, first known as CASCAR and now as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, would be the feature event on the Saturday.

But this year, the Honda Indy felt it could do without the Canadian Tire Series, as well as the Canadian Touring Car Series, and it went with an almost complete open wheel program made up of "Road to Indy" championships like the Indy Lights and Star Mazda series.

This did not produce the boffo result the promoters expected either, and so to solve the Saturday dilemma in Toronto the Green-Savoree company that owns the Toronto race is banking on the Indy cars attracting as many people on Saturday as they have been on Sunday the last couple of years and increase the overall weekend attendance total as a result.

A lot will depend on how the Honda Indy Toronto weekend is promoted and priced.

If it was up to me (which it’s not, of course), I would charge premium prices for the seats immediately behind the pits as well as for the suites. Everybody else (kids under 12 would be free) would get in for next to nothing – ten bucks, say – in order to do one thing and one thing only: pack the place.

For that pittance of an admission, I’d also give everybody a hot dog, or a slice of pizza, and a drink. I’d have a big act rock or country concert on stage at noon each day, with the IndyCar race to start immediately after the concert.

I’d bank on a Rogers Centre-size crowd of at least 55,000 each day and at the end I’d be able to say the weekend was a huge success and that Indy car racing as a spectacle in Toronto was back.

I would suggest at this point that it would not be all that hard to sell sponsorship and advertising for the 2014 races and to start making serious money again.

We’ll see, though. All I can say at this point is that it’s going to be interesting.

The Honda Indy issued a release at 10 p.m. Sunday night. Here is what it said:

"The Honda Indy Toronto will feature an important addition in 2013: a doubleheader weekend of IZOD IndyCar Series races. The addition of back-to-back races in Toronto is a first in the history of the event, which will run July 12-14 at Exhibition Place.

"Since we acquired the race in 2008, our mandate has been to create entertainment and excitement for fans, customers, sponsors, tourism and the local community," said Charlie Johnstone, Vice President and General Manager of Green Savoree Toronto.

"A doubleheader allows us to go further, faster in the delivery of our mission and offers numerous benefits. We’re extremely excited to make it happen."

"The Honda Indy Toronto brings a shot of adrenaline to the city every summer," said David Whitaker, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto.

"With the event expanded to two marquee races Saturday and Sunday, visitors have even more reason to plan a weekend stay, while Toronto also benefits from the expanded broadcast and international exposure."

"The Honda Indy Toronto is in the final stages of confirming its support series schedule for race weekend. Fans can expect the full race lineup, along with ticket renewals and sales for 2013 to be announced in the coming weeks."

2. NASCAR needs a road race

The Chase for the Championship of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a terrific idea. Playoffs in any sport are always more exciting than the regular season.

Or they’re supposed to be, that is.

You’d never know it by the attendance at the third race of the 10-race Chase Sunday at Dover Downs Speedway, which was half empty if not more.

Entire sections of grandstand were covered off; the rest of the place had every second seat empty.

I used to think it was the economy. Now I’m not so sure. I’m starting to think that after more than 50 years of watching stock cars go around in circles – endlessly, it seems – even hard-core fans of the sport are tired of it all.

Which brings me back to my soap-box position that NASCAR needs more road races during the regular season (Road America, Montreal, Road Atlanta) and at least one during the 10-race Chase (how about Canadian Tire Motorsport Park?)

NASCAR stock car racing on road courses is way more exciting than it is on most oval speedways (there are exceptions, of course: Daytona, Talladega) because most NASCAR drivers are more versatile than they used to be and are able to race hard and with finesse while turning right as well as left and shifting gears.

But it probably is not going to happen in the short term, which is a pity. We're all going to have to live through seven more oval races before they crown the 2012 national champion.

Brad Keselowski won his second Chase race at Dover yesterday by managing his fuel better than his opponents. Click here for full story and results.

3. Ontario Formula Fords

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: some of the most exciting racing week in and week out in these parts is the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge and this weekend was no exception.

The championship was in the balance this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where the Formula Ford title battle was part of the Celebration of Motorsport weekend of races that traditionally ends racing for the season at the legendary road course north of Bowmanville.

Two drivers were fighting for the championship – Michael Adams of Courtice and Caitlin Johnston of Orangeville. Johnston won Saturday’s first race of the weekend after the engine in Adams’s car gave out. He’d been running a strong second to her before being forced off track.

They went into Sunday’s race tied in points. I was unable to attend, so my good friend and ace racing reporter J. Wally Nesbitt of Inside Track magazine emailed me this report Sunday night.

"Adams got a ride in Bill Clubine's No. 64 for Sunday’s race.

"Jesse Lazare qualified on the pole, with Adams second, Sergio Pasian third and Johnston fourth.

"Johnston got the lead by the end of Lap 1, swapped it back and forth with Lazare on each of the next three laps, then took the lead from Lap 5 on.

"On the final lap, Johnston had built up a small advantage but had to slow for a spinning backmarker between Turns 4 and 5A, which allowed the pack to catch up.

"Lazare got past, leaving Johnston in control of second, with Adams third.

"Entering Turn 10, Adams made a bonzai move on the inside and forced Johnston into the tire wall. She was classified a DNF.

"The finishing order was Lazare, Jack Kitchell Jr., Pasian and Adams.

"Johnston lodged a protest but it was not upheld. She has 24 hours to file an appeal (with video proof).

"This process did not affect the race result but the championship remains in doubt."

Thank you, Wally, for that report.

I know both those drivers, I like both those drivers and I cheer for both those drivers.

This is a shame.

4. So long to Chris Economaki

Although he died at age 91 last Friday, it was over for me when his column disappeared from Page 4 of National Speed Sport News in January 2010, several months before the newspaper he owned and wrote in for more than 50 years ceased publication.

Although I thought about him after that, and talked about him with friends, I never again read an original word he wrote so his passing, for me, was somewhat muted.

Economaki was the editor and publisher of  Speed Sport, as it was known, for most of its history. It was a weekly publication that covered everything from local dirt tracks to Formula One. It was the Bible of the sport of auto racing.

Economaki – the press theatre at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is named after him – wrote what was termed the most important column in auto racing. It was the Good Stuff.

And in 1960, after ABC started televising NASCAR racing and messing it up, Bill France insisted that the network use Economaki to improve its product.

Over time, as well as doing NASCAR races, Economaki was the colour commentator and pit reporter for USAC champ car racing, Indy car racing and Formula One.

He knew everybody in the sport and knew just about everything about racing. Two things:

He said on several occasions later in his life that racing was getting too safe."You have to be able to sell the danger or people will stop watching," he said.

If he’d still been in the saddle, I wonder how he would have reacted to IndyCar’s decision to stop the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after Dan Wheldon was killed.

And then there was the fabulous story he told at the very first Canadian Motorsports Expo in 2007.

He set the scene by explaining that ABC’s Wide World of Sports had a rookie director in charge of the live telecast of a USAC dirt champ car race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

The director had noticed that every morning, A.J. Foyt would go out for a walk around the mile-long dirt oval and wanted Economaki to interview Foyt about this particular habit.

As they prepared to go on the air that Saturday afternoon, the young director went up to Economaki and reminded him one last time to talk to Foyt about his morning walk.

So they went on the air and Economaki did as he was told. He caught up to A.J. Foyt standing beside his car before the start of the 100-mile race.

I’ll let Economaki take over the telling of this story.

"So I looked at Foyt and I put the microphone up to his mouth and I said: "A.J., we’ve noticed that every morning, you take a walk around this big dirt speedway here in Springfield. Are you studying the track? Trying to find the soft spots, the places were you can take your car that might give you an advantage during the race today?

"And A.J. Foyt looked at me and said on live television on the ABC network:

'Actually, Chris, if I don’t go for a long walk first thing in the morning, I just can’t have a good sh-t."

And that was just one story. As someone who had the pleasure of being around him on a number of occasions over the years, I know he had a million of them.

As he himself was wont to write in his Speed Sport column: RIP, Chris.

Let's hope for a Schumacher-Ferrari pairing in 2013

The stunning news Friday morning, confirming that the rumours and speculation of recent months about Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were true, now leaves unanswered a most important question:

What happens to Michael Schumacher?

The opportunity was there for the seven-time world champion to say - in concert with the announcement that Hamilton would leave McLaren-Mercedes at the end of 2012 to drive for the Silver Arrows team from 2013 on - that he would retire for good at the end of the season.

It was an opportunity for him to bow out with dignity and class.

But no, his statement about the signing of Hamilton, meaning he is being dropped by the team at season's end, made no mention of him stopping.

I won't repeat in full what I wrote in two columns already this week. He's been a wonderful F1 champion and a legendary F1 performer  but the signs are there that he's not the Michael Schumacher of old - two rear-enders so far this season are two too many - and it would be best if he called it a career.

I don't want to see him embarrassed and I don't want to see him hurt. Yes, he's still fast as lightning in the car but in the million-miles-an-hour world of Formula One, he's no longer quick enough to react when something untoward happens. In short, at age 43 he's slowing down, which is something that happens to all top athletes in all sports.

Already there are suggestions he will drive for Sauber (which has a seat open next year as a result of Sergio Perez signing with McLaren to replace Hamilton) but then he would just be doing what Jacques Villeneuve was doing in the final years of his once-glorious F1 career - hanging on.

Allow me to float - again - my suggestion that Schumacher return to Ferrari on a one-year contract for a Farewell Tour that will culminate with his retirement. I think the signs are there for this to happen:

- Ferrari allowed Felipe Massa's contract to lapse, which means the seat is open in 2013.

- Schumacher is still fast enough to challenge Fernando Alonso but he would not be a threat (and we all know how Alonso reacts to teammates he can't handle . . . )

- This would be a wondeful public relations move on Ferrari's part and give the Scuderia a year to get its ducks in a row so far as its driver lineup of the future is concerned. As Alonso cruises toward his own inevitable retirement, he could then mentor and be partnered by one of the fine young chargers Ferrari has in its driver development program.

Let's hope in the days ahead that the news about Michael Schumacher's future is positive.

The world of aging athletes looking bad as they try to keep going doesn't need another sad story.

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Speaking of sad stories, legendary racing reporter and TV commentator Chris Economaki has died at age 91. I can't think of anyone else who contributed as much as he did to the growth of racing in North American. I will have more to say about his life and legacy in the days ahead.

I'm a huge Schumacher fan - but he should still step down

The trouble with the Internet is Google.

Unlike the good ol’ days of newspapers, when people who read your stuff were aware of your body of work and you didn’t have to explain every last thing you put in your column, people these days type — say — the words “Michael Schumacher” into their Google search window and lo and behold one of my blogs of recent days pops up in which I say the old guy should call it a day and people go and get the wrong impression.

They don't think I like him.

But the truth is, I am a huge Michael Schumacher fan. I admire his commitment, his determination, his drive. All F1 drivers have these qualities, of course, but some more than others. In my books, Schumacher is tops in those departments.

Ever since I was a kid, I have admired artists, be it Willy Mosconi shootin’ a little straight pool, or Vladimir Horowitz playing the Warsaw Concerto on the piana, or Christopher Plummer being King Lear, or Michael Schumacher steering a Ferrari through Eau Rouge — particularly the latter.

Now, as it is with many of my heroes (particularly Paul Tracy), I’ve had my issues with Michael from time to time.

Although he was the greatest driver of his generation, and maybe of all time, I howled along with many people when he won his first championship. It appeared as if he deliberately drove in front of Damon Hill in Australia in 1994 to cause a collision that put them both out of the race. We know he drove into Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 in much the same way he drove into Hill. He very nearly put his old pal Rubens Barrichello into the wall at Hungary in 2010 while  “defending” his position. And, of course, there was the parking of his Ferrari in the middle of the track at Monaco in 2006 to prevent Fernando Alonso from going faster in qualifying and the manipulation of the finishing order in Austria and the United States in 2002.

But the positives over the years have far outweighed the negatives. On the morning of his last race before his first retirement, I was on CBC television talking about what a wonderful athlete and champion he'd been.

I particularly liked how he went to Ferrari in 1996 and convinced his old Benetton pals Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn to sign on and proceeded to turn the legendary Italian marque into one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport. He (and they) won five consecutive championships between 2000 and 2004. And with one or two exceptions, he holds all of the F1 records and he probably always will.

I always felt, just like a certain Canadian prime minister at the end of the 1970s, that Schumacher was hounded into retirement, that perhaps he wasn’t as convinced as he said he was that it was a good idea to quit. But Ferrari put out a release that said he would be finished at the end of the 2006 season and that he would continue as an assistant to then-team CEO Jean Todt, so he stepped down. I thought — wishful thinking, perhaps? — that he was being groomed to take over the running of the team.

When Felipe Massa was injured in 2009, there was talk he would take over for the rest of the season and although that didn’t happen, the very fact that he was considering a return to combat suggested to me he was getting itchy feet and a comeback wasn’t out of the question. In 2010, he joined Mercedes. I was most pleased.

I've been cheering for hm ever since. I was cheering for him, in particular, to get a podium at the Canadian GP in 2011 and he ran second or third the whole race, slipping to fourth in the final laps.

I have written about this affection I have for the old campaigner many times.

But this year, I started to get worried. I couldn't put my finger on it but I got the feeling there was something that wasn't quite right. Yes, he still was fast enough to win the pole at Monaco but he was penalized five positions for smashing into the back of Bruno Senna’s car at the previous race.

This is what I wrote at the time:

“Michael Schumacher was penalized five grid positions at Monaco for running into the back of Bruno Senna and ending both their races.

“As is the case on the street, the onus is on the driver following to avoid a collision. Schumacher did not do that and deserves the penalty – probably.

“But Schumacher said Senna changed his line twice – and he did. Watch the replay again, if you can, and I think you would agree that Senna broke the rules. I know, the stewards ruled otherwise, but they are not always right (as we all know).

“But here’s what I think really happened: Schumacher got confused. I don’t think that accident would have happened five years ago. I know it wouldn’t have happened when Schumacher was a kid of 25.

”Why? Because his eyesight would have been better then and his brain would have reacted faster and his reflexes would have been just that much quicker.

“Yes, he still has the desire and he’s still fast when he’s out there all by himself. But that world, the world of million-miles-an-hour F1 racing, is going way too fast for a guy his age and it’s time to call it a day.”

Then we had the situation at Singapore and it happened again — he was late on the brakes and crashed into the car in front, in that case Jean Eric Vergne.

I don’t want him to hurt himself. And I want him to retire for good, with dignity. I do not want him to go out looking like a fool.

Yes, I have suggested that there could be a Farewell Michael, Tour - with Ferrari. He could sign a one-year contract to partner Fernando Alonso and then retire from the team he will always be identified with.

But that’s not likely in the cards. So he should do everybody, but particularly himself, a major favour by standing up one of these days and saying he’s had a wonderful life in F1 and a wonderful career but it’s time to move on.

When that happens, I’ll be happy and sad at the same time.

But it will be for the best.

Grist named 2012 Team Canada Scholarship winner

Reprinted from eFormulaCarNews.com

Rising young Ontario driver Garett Grist of Whitby is the 2012 winner of the 2012 Team Canada Racing Scholarship. The up-and-comer will represent Canada at the 41st running of the world-famous Formula Ford Festival in England in October.

Grist, who's competing this year in the very competitive U.S.  F1600 Formula F Championship Series, is the second winner of the scholarship. Quebec racer Xavier Coupal was the first last year and almost stood the Festival on its ear by finishing second in his heat, winning his semi-final race and starting the championship race from pole before being hit from behind and crashing out of the event.

Grist, a former karting standout, has consistently challenged for top honors in the Formula F championship, displaying not only great speed and race craft behind the wheel but also the skill and professionalism of a future champion outside the cockpit.

Building on a strong debut car racing season in the Ontario F1600 Championship in 2011 - which featured two wins en route to second in the point standings - Grist is currently fourth in the F1600 Formula F Championship Series title chase, with three podium visits as a rookie driving for series newcomers Bryan Herta Autosport.

Grist, a member of the Sofina Foods Drivers' Development program, is now poised to face his biggest racing challenge to date. He'll travel to the famous Brands Hatch Circuit in England to go head-to-head against the best F1600 racers in the world in the Oct. 27-28 festival.

"I am really excited to be selected for the 2012 Team Canada Scholarship," Grist said. "It is a great opportunity to represent Canada at one of the biggest Formula Ford races in the world. For anyone racing F1600, this is the event that you want be in at some point in your career.

"Xavier [Coupal] set the bar pretty high last year, so I know I have my work cut out for me. The chance to run with Cliff Dempsey Racing will be a great experience for me as a driver. I really want to thank everyone on the selection committee for believing in me. I also want to recognize the incredible group of drivers that were on the list. I have raced against most of them, and it really makes this award very special."

Grist was chosen as the 2012 Team Canada Scholarship winner following an extensive evaluation process by the 2012 selection committee of Brian Graham (Team Canada/BGR Team Grote), Ian Willis (AIM Autosport), Kyle Marcelli (Merchant Services Racing), Allan Craighead (eFormulaCarNews.com), and Norris McDonald (Toronto Star).

In what was painstaking affair, the initial list of 10 gifted drivers nominated was narrowed down to five, with Grist emerging as the scholarship winner, marginally ahead of Formula Tour 1600 Series racer Nathan Blok, USF2000 Championship driver Scott Hargrove, Ontario F1600 Championship driver Michael Adams, and USF2000 Championship racer Matthew Di Leo.

"This was a very very difficult decision," saud Graham, one of the three founders of the Team Canada Scholarship program.

"The final group of five drivers were so impressive. We went back and forth trying to pick this year's winner. If we had the funding, we'd send all five, as they are all deserving winners. That being said, we are very excited that we will have Garett piloting the Team Canada entry at this year's Formula Ford Festival and are confident we will be challenging for top honors come Sunday's Final at Brands Hatch."

The Team Canada Scholarship program would not be possible without the  assistance of its corporate sponsors, partners and supporters: Brad Morris & Grote Industries of Canada ( http://www.grote.com ), Nick Majors and the Race Driver’s Guild of Canada ( http://www.racedriversguild.ca ), Gen. Lewis Mackenzie (Ret.), Formula Tour 1600 Series (http://www.siteformulatour1600.com ),LSI Industries ( http://www.lsi-industries.com ), Rod Ends Mechanical ( http://www.rod-ends.com ), Jim Hallman, EFCN ( http://www.eformulacarnews.com ), BGR-Team Grote Racing ( http://www.briangrahamracing.com ), Bamford Produce ( http://www.bamfordproduce.com ), Bollenbach Insurance ( http://www.bollenbachinsurance.com ), Harvan Engineering Ltd. ( http://www.harvan.com ), and Door Doctor ( http://doordoctor.com ).

For more information on the Team Canada Scholarship, see http://www.teamcanadaracing.org 

You can follow the team on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/groups/216921815005015

On Michael Schumacher and NASCAR Canada fisticuffs

Yesterday, I suggested it was time that Michael Schumacher retire for good from Formula One racing because I don’t think his mental ability to process information quickly and to react physically is as razor sharp as it once was.

In other words, like the aging heavyweight who’s been on the receiving end of a left hook or right cross from a much-younger opponent and unable to do anything about it, it’s time for Schumacher to call it a day – I think.

Seems I’m not alone.

The picture above was posted on a Facebook page yesterday populated by fans of world championship leader Fernando Alonso. Click here for a link to that site.

Now, just because I think Schumacher should call it a day in F1 doesn’t mean he can’t keep racing and winning, although I would hope he doesn’t follow the lead of Rubens Barrichello and take a crack at Indy cars because that series is not the walk in the park a lot of people think it is.

But Le Mans and other European-style sports car races would be right up  Schumacher’s alley.

Meantime, last Saturday night at Kawartha Speedway, NASCAR’s "have at it, boys" dictum was taken literally by some of the Canadian Tire Series combatants.

In short, there was a fight at the finish of the last race of the season.

What got some folks riled up were the shenanigans during the green-white-checkers finish.

At the green, eventual winner (and 2012 Canadian Tire champeen) D.J. Kennington (about to win his seventh of 12 races) led Scott Steckly, Andrew Ranger, Pete Shepherd III and J. R. Fitzpatrick across the line. At some point in the next two laps – and cars were sometimes three wide at this point – Fitzpatrick got under Steckly and pushed him out of the groove and up into the marbles.

By the time Steckly regained control, most of the the front-runners had passed him by.

At the checkers, the order was Kennington, Ranger, Fitzpatrick, Shepherd, Rookie-of-the-Year Martin Roy and then Steckly, who - as you can imagine - was steaming.

On the cooldown lap, Steckly – a two-time Canadian Tire champion – and Fitzpatrick - who finished second to Kennington in points this season - played bumper cars on the backstretch.

At that point, NASCAR Canada announcer Adam Ross stopped talking about the wonderful performance of D.J. Kennington and drew everybody’s attention to the developing feud.

"J.R. Fitzpatrick has stopped his car at Scott Steckly’s pit," yelled Ross, approximately, over the track's PA system.

"He’s exchanging words with some of Steckly’s crew," he continued (these quotes are paraphrased, by the way).

"J.R. Fitzpatrick is getting out of his car and it looks like a brouhaha is developing. He’s taking quite a chance. His pit crew is all the way down at the first turn. They’re starting to run to his assistance but in the meantime J.R. Fitzpatrick is surrounded by Scott Steckly’s crew. NASCAR officials are getting involved over there. J.R. Fitzpatrick’s crew, the cavalry, are starting to arrive but they’re all out of breath . . ."

And then it was over and the Victory Lane celebrations to crown Kennington King of NASCAR Canada were held.

I had watched the race from the "press box" in the Kawartha clubhouse, so I went to the infield to track down the 24-year-old Fitzpatrick to find out what had transpired.

I found him over at the post-race tech inspection area, laughing it up and thoroughly enjoying himself.

One thing: he hook hands with his left hand and kept his right hand stuffed deep down in the pocket of his jacket. It seems it was just a tad tender.

NM: What happened, J.R.?

JRF: "Well, I got my car started (after the contact with Steckly’s) and I drove around and Scott’s crew was leaning over the wall all yellin’ at me so I stopped to have a discussion.

"One guy was gettin' really lippy so I took off my helmet and got out of the car and went over and I said, ‘Who wants to go?’ And this guy says, ‘Me,’ so I grabbed him and I got two really good shots in, wham! wham! – and that’s how I hurt my hand – and then by that time they were all over me and they got some good ones in on me too and then the officials arrived and broke it up."

NM: So you got hit?

JRF: "Yeah, I got hit on the side of the head and I got one on my ear but I don’t think anybody hit me as hard as I hit that first guy."

NM: So do you think they’re going to fine you, or anything? I mean, you have a habit of getting into scraps at this track (several years ago, he was involved in a ‘brouhaha’ with Kerry Micks and his crew)."

JRF: "Listen, I’m the only driver who brings any excitement to this series. Without me, it would be boring. Without me, all you’d have is D.J. Kennington winning seven races - and how exciting is that?"

And the whole time, he had the biggest grin on his face you’ve ever seen.

Roundup: Schumacher should leave F1, Hamlin wins NASCAR

Although Lewis Hamilton suffered terrible luck in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix and Sebastien Vettel went on to win, the question many people are asking in the aftermath is:

Should seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, 43 years old, retire for good after rear-ending another car during the race?

It is not the first time this season that this has happened – a sign, perhaps, that the aging veteran is losing his touch.

But first, the race.

Hamilton looked set to win his second consecutive race and his fourth of the season after starting from pole. He was in total control of the Grand Prix when, on Lap 22, disaster struck and he was forced out.

What turned out to be a gearbox problem for Hamilton was a gift for defending world champion Sebastien Vettel, who cruised to victory for Red Bull-Renault over Hamilton’s McLaren-Mercedes teammate Jenson Button and world championship leader Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari.

Vettel, who was pushed by Button throughout the race but always seemed to be in control, became the first driver to win consecutive Singapore night races.

Paul di Resta drove a storming race to finish fourth for Force India-Mercedes, while Nico Rosberg was fifth for Mercedes. Lotus-Renault teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were sixth and seventh, followed by Felipe Massa (a marvelous comeback after having to pit in his Ferrari at the end of the first lap because of a puncture), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) rounded out the top ten.

Timo Glock finished 12^th for Marussia-Cosworth, which is one of the best-ever finishes recorded by a tail-ender team.

The start was particularly frantic (most are, but this one was spectacular), with Alonso slow to get off the mark and Bruno Senna (who’d qualified 22^nd) passing cars as if they were standing still.

Several cars then had to cut the corner at the first chicane and, ever mindful that one can’t improve one’s position by taking the short way around, just about everybody backed off and fell into line pretty much where they’d started the race.

A big exception was Pastor Maldonado, who’d qualified second and was beside pole-sitter Hamilton when the lights went out. But while Hamilton took off like a rocket, the Williams driver was letting discretion be the better part of valour and was subsequently passed by Vettel and Button in about the time it took to read this sentence. Maldonado eventually suffered hydraulics failure and dropped out on Lap 36.

It was Alonso’s eighth podium finish of 2012 and he now has a 29-point lead over Vettel for the championship, with Hamilton dropping to fourth in the standings.

The question of whether Schumacher will continue in F1 in 2013 might have been answered in this race.

For the second time this season, an incident in which there was a crash suggests that Schumacher’s once razor-sharp mental and physical reaction time is no longer good enough for Formula One. Earlier in the season, he ploughed into the back of Bruno Senna and in this race the victim was Toro Rosso’s Jean Eric Vergne.

Schumacher told this to London’s Telegraph: "First of all, I broke a little earlier than normal but the car wouldn't decelerate. I went straight on the brakes then hard and locked up everything. The accident at that moment was not avoidable. I feel sorry for Jean Eric and for the team but we need to find out what happened."

What happened was not the fault of the car.

Even the best have to realize at a certain point in time that they can’t do it any more. Hockey stars can’t score like they once could, home run hitters don’t hit. Prize fighters get knocked out.

For Michael Schumacher, it’s time.

Notebook Jottings

- Schumacher is in the third year of a three-year contract with Mercedes following his first retirement. Mercedes racing boss Norbert Haug suggested to Canadian reporters at the Canadian Grand Prix in June that he wasn't fussy about Schumacher continuing.

- The stewards penalized him 10 grid positions at the next race in Japan in two weeks. After he rear-ended Senna, he got five grid places at the next race at Monaco as a penalty. Then he went out and won the pole at Monte Carlo. Will history repeat itself in Japan?

- Incidentally, Schumacher was involved in a similar accident at Singapore a year ago.

- Instead of his usual yellow, Lewis Hamilton wore a different coloured helmet at Singapore because of sponsorship considerations. As TV commentator David Coulthard suggested, betcha he wears yellow from now on.

- Although it was after dark, air temperature it was still around 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the race, Singapore being close to the equator.

- Felipe Massa's performance might suggest to Ferrari that he still very much has "it." As mentioned, he recovered from a first-lap puncture to finish in the top ten but his amazing car-control ability, as exemplified by his saving of the race car after being squeezed almost into the wall by Bruno Senna late in the race, was wondrous to behold.

NASCAR

You have to admit it: Denny Hamlin has guts.

He said, going into the second race of the Chase Sunday at Loudon, N.H., that he "guaranteed a win."

Then he qualified 32nd and still said "no problem."

So what does he go and do but win that NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with Jimmie Johnson second and Jeff Gordon third.

Clint Bowyer arrived home fourth, Kasey Kahne was fifth, Brad Keselowski, who won the first Chase race last week, was sixth, Tony Stewart was seventh, Joey Logano was eighth, Brian Vickers ninth and Ryan Newman was tenth.

Hamlin was so sure of himself that when he got out of the car, he pretended to point to the centre field wall and hit an imaginary home run, a la Babe Ruth's "called" home run.

Will he win the Chase? We'll see.

It was an okay race; rather routine, in fact - other than Hamlin's performance, of course.

Kennington wins Pinty's 250, Canadian Tire title

D.J. Kennington won his seventh race of the 12-race 2012 season and his second championship in three years as he took the Pinty's 250 presented by Dodge in grand style Saturday night at Kawartha Speedway.

Scott Steckly was pushed wide in the fourth turn and finished sixth. Andrew Ranger was second, J.R. Fitzpatrick third, Pete Shepherd III was fourth and Martin Roy was fifth.

On the cooldown lap, Steckly and Fitzpatrick tangled on the backstretch and fisticuffs followed.

Nobody was hurt, but egos were bruised.

It was a wonderful end to a wonderful season for Kennington. An incredible performance.

SATURDAY LIVE BLOG

There will be a green-white-checkers finish as a caution was thrown on the last of the 250 laps because of a spin in turn four.

Earlier

At the restart, Fitzpatrick appeared to bog down, allowing Steckly and Ranger to pass him. Shepherd also got by, so Fitzpatrick is now in fifth behind Kennington, Steckly, Ranger and Shepherd.

Hold on!

Earlier

Jason Hathaway spins in turn one and the yellow is out, setting up a frantic restart with just a handful of laps to go.

Kennington is still first, Fitzpatrick is second, Steckly is third, Ranger is fourth and Shepherd is fifth.

Earlier

Kennington takes the lead!

Earlier

With 30 laps to go, Kennington makes a move into second. Fitzpatrick, Kennington, Steckly, Ranger, Shepherd.

Will Kennington win his seventh race of 2012?

Earlier

Strategy might have saved Pete Shepherd. In NASCAR Canada racing, a driver has to pit multiple times to change all four tires and top up with fuel.

For instance, one stop for left-side tires, one stop for right side and one stop for fuel. Fitzpatrick, who still leads, and Steckly, in second, stopped three times. Although Shepherd was lapped because of the schmozzle in turn one, he got that lap back by only pitting twice, for fuel and left-side tires.

So the running after 175 of the 250 laps is Fitzpatrick, Steckly, Shepherd, Roy and Kennington.

Earlier

Poor Pete Shepherd, who won this race two years ago and was looking good in the early going, moving up from fifth to third in some pretty tough company, was just caught up in a first turn scramble as the leading pack was lapping backmarkers.

All the others got through but Shepherd is now so far back it is unlikely he will be a factor later in the race.

The leaders went to the pits for tires.

Earlier

After 100 laps, Fitpatrick is first, Steckly is second, Shepherd is third, Kennington is fourth and 50-year-old Quebec driver, Martin Roy, who started 12th is running fifth.

Roy is the 2012 Rookie of the Year as a result of his steady performances this year.

Earlier

Fitzpatrick still leads after 50 laps, with Ranger second, Steckly third, Kennington fourth and Pete Shepherd III fifth. Watch Shepherd. There have been several yellows but nothing of great consequence.

Earlier

Fitzpatrick leads the first laps. Andrew Ranger is up to second. Clean racing so far.

Earlier

With one lap to go before the start, Papis is in the pits. Perhaps it's a loose wheel, the track announcer says.

Earlier

They just gave the command to start engines at 5:30, 30 minutes after the scheduled 5 p.m. start time with the words, "Drivers and chicken wing lovers everywhere, start your engines!"

Pinty's is a pub frozen food company, hence the chicken wings reference.

Earlier

The show is a half hour late because it rained here at Kawartha Speedway, near Peterborough, earlier today and the track had to be dried.

Earlier

J.R. Fitzpatrick is on the pole and defending champion Scott Steckly is beside him on the front row as the field of 28 awaits the command to start engines.

D.J. Kennington will go off fourth. The winner of six races so far this season, he will likely win his second championship in three years today.

International road racer Max Papis - yes, the Max Papis of CART, NASCAR, sports cars and just about any kind of race car anywhere - will go off 16th in one of Steckly's spare cars.

Lewis Hamilton takes pole for Singapore GP

Lewis Hamilton drove his McLaren-Mercedes to pole position for the Grand Prix of Singapore today, with Williams-Renault driver Pastor Maldonado storming to second place in time trials.

Hamilton scored his 24th career pole (to tie him with two greats of the sport, Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet) and his third in the last four races.

After Maldonado came defending World Champion Sebastien Vettel (Red Bull-Renault), Jenson Button (McLaren), currrent world championship leader Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Romain Grosjean (Renault), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) and his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Eliminated in Q2 were Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, Kimi Raikkonen (Renault), a clearly disappointed Felipe Massa of Ferrari and the very promising Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari).

An early surprise in a very exciting night-time qualifying was the elimination after Q1 of Kamui Kobayashi, who couldn't get his Sauber-Ferrari to work at all.

The Singapore circuit (it's really too bad the race isn't run in daylight so those of us who've never been there could appreciate the architecture and beauty of the metropolis) is a both good and bad street track, in that there are a number of wide-open straight stretches (good) and terribly tight turns (bad) where more than one driver bent up their mounts by nudging the barriers.

Even Hamilton brushed a wall but it didn't appear to have any effect.

Grosjean was one of those who got into the barrier early in Q2 but the car wasn't badly damaged and he made a terrific comeback to get through to Q3  and to qualify eighth.

Schumacher qualified for Q3 after time had run out in Q2 but then he and Rosberg stayed in the garage and didn't post a time in the final session.

Webber's seventh-place starting position was under review, as he was accused of getting in the way of Timo Glock at some point during Q1 and forcing the Marussia-Cosworth driver to slow down.

SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING RESULTS

Pos Driver Team Time Gap  

1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m46.362s 

2.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m46.804s  + 0.442 

3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m46.905s  + 0.543 

4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m46.939s  + 0.577 

5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m47.216s  + 0.854 

6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m47.241s  + 0.879 

7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m47.475s  + 1.113 

8.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m47.788s  + 1.426 

9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             no time

10.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             no time      

Q2 cut-off time: 1m47.943s Gap **

11.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m47.975s  + 1.310

12.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m48.261s  + 1.596

13.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m48.344s  + 1.679

14.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m48.505s  + 1.840

15.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m48.774s  + 2.109

16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m48.849s  + 2.184

17.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     no time

Q1 cut-off time: 1m49.809s Gap * 

18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m49.933s + 2.245 

19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m50.846s + 3.158 

20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m51.137s + 3.449 

21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m51.370s + 3.682 

22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m51.762s + 4.074 

23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m52.372s + 4.684 

24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.355s + 5.667 

107% time: 1m55.226s

Edmonton Indy gets the red flag

You have to winder if there was some kind of a race to first announce the cancellation of the Edmonton Indy, which was made official by IndyCar at 8:36 p.m. Eastern on Friday night but was on the Edmonton Sun’s website about an hour earlier (5:33 Mountain).

The Edmonton Journal had the news even earlier (4:01 p.m. Mountain) when it quoted from a City of Edmonton media release that the race on the runways of the City Centre Airport would not take place in 2013 because the event’s owner, Octane Motorsports of Montreal, had decided not to promote it – even though there is one year remaining on the three-year contract between them.

The city’s chief financial officer told the Journal that the event had run its course and there will be no attempt to find another promoter to pick up the slack.

Now, there is a bit of deja vu here, in that the Edmonton race was cancelled once before, in 2011, after the city and Octane couldn’t agree on who would pick up the $3 million tab to repave portions of the temporary circuit.

In the end, the city put up $2 million and a group of local businessmen paid the other $1 million to ensure the race would be on the schedule.

But, after all that, Octane couldn’t make a profit – or much of a profit – and Edmonton was tired of spending millions of dollars to guarantee that the race would take place.

Edmonton was an odd place for an Indy car race to be held in the first place.

Back in the glory days of CART, the Molson Indy Toronto was started in 1986 and the Molson Indy Vancouver joined in four years later.

But while Toronto has managed to keep going ever since (with the exception of 2008, when the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League merged and there wasn’t room to squeeze T.O. into the calendar), Vancouver’s last race was held in 2004.

Although redevelopment of the Expo 86 property was frequently cited, the real reason auto racing was chased away was because Champ Car (which succeeded CART) was told by the city of Vancouver, the province and local corporations that money was being squirreled away for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the cupboard was bare.

So Edmonton inherited Vancouver’s race – but face it, friends: there was (and remains) no comparison between the two locales. One is a sophisticated, cosmopolitan city and the other isn’t.

However, Edmonton more than matched Vancouver’s enthusiasm for the sport of Indy car racing.

I was there for the first Edmonton Indy in 2005 and I couldn’t believe it when I walked out of the media centre to watch first practice on the first day of competition.

First, because of U.S. television sports commitments, the race – which was shoehorned into the "new" IndyCar schedule that year, remember – had to be held on Saturday instead of Sunday, which meant the race "weekend" started on Thursday instead of the usual Friday.

And Edmonton is in the central part of Alberta, which is way up north. Although it was the middle of July, it was cold and it was raining that Thursday morning.

So imagine my surprise when I walked around the pit suites grandstand and saw that every one of the 80,000 seats that had been erected for that first race was filled.

To this day, I shake my head at the turnout – on a workday Thursday, in the rain.

The first year, the race was called the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix. Then the Brick got involved. Then Rexall. Then Honda. But since 2011, there has not been a title sponsor.

And that’s been a problem for Octane, because the other race it promotes in Canada each year, the F1 Grand Prix of Canada, likewise has not been able to attract a title sponsor and that, ladies and gentlemen, makes things extremely tough.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, in making the official announcement Friday night, said the cancellation won’t have an effect on his determination to have 19 races on the 2013 calendar and that he hopes to have two Canadian races again in 2014.

Now, good luck to Bernard on the 19 races. It’s the middle of September and he wants to release the calendar in early October and I’m not so sure it’s that easy to pluck race locations out of a hat, considering that until a few days ago Edmonton would have had at least one of the spots.

In fact, the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones is reporting that Edmonton was being targeted as one of the "double header" locations in 2013.

So far as 2014 is concerned, there will now be much speculation about the location of the second Canadian race after Toronto. Quebec City will get mentioned on occasion. Maybe they can find a location to build a temporary circuit again in Vancouver (which would be my choice). Or perhaps Calgary will take the place of Edmonton.

Whatever, in the end the cancellation might be viewed by some as another blow to IndyCar, which continues to have problems with attendance and low television ratings.

But if Bernard can come through in early October with that 19-race schedule he keeps talking about, it will go a long way to silence any of that criticism.

(The photo in this entry of the start of the 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy was taken by Ryan Jackson of the Edmonton Journal)

Some good news about Canadian racers

Here’s some good news about Canadians in stock cars, karting and European Formula 3.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will close out its season with the Pinty’s 250 presented by Dodge at Kawartha Speedway near Peterborough Saturday evening and the national championship will be won by either D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ont., or J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge.

I hesitate to say that all Kennington has to do is fire up his motor and take the green flag because, well, anything can happen. But for Fitzpatrick to win the title, he will have to win the race and lead the most laps to score maximum points while Kennington will have to finish worse than 19th. That would give them both the same points total but Kennington would win because he won more races — six to Fitzpatrick’s one.

When Kennington won the Canadian Tire race at Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia last weekend, he tied the record for most wins in one year that was set in 2009 by ex-Indy car star Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que. Kennington can make the record his own on Saturday if he wins at Kawartha, where he finished first in 2009 and again last year.

“It’s been a phenomenal year,” he said. “I’ve got the best race team out there and they’ve worked tirelessly to make this a possibility. We’ve got one race to go, though, and nothing is clinched yet.”

The Pinty’s 250 will get the green flag at 5 p.m. Saturday.

You’ll recall that in August, I wrote a feature for Toronto Star Wheels on 12-year-old Gianfranco Mazzaferro of Montreal, who is one of Canada’s finest young karters.

I asked Paul Cooke, vice-president of competition and director of karting for ASN Canada FIA, to keep me informed as to Gianfranco’s progress.

Wrote Cooke the other day: “After your article, Gianfranco proceeded to win:

“1. The Eastern Canada Karting Championship;

“2. The Quebec Karting Championship;

“3. And his main goal, the ASN Canada FIA Canadian Karting Championship.”

As a result, Cooke continued, “Gianfranco will be part of Team Canada going to the Rotax World Finals in Portugal at the end of November. He will be an intern, however; there to observe, as he is not yet age-eligible to compete.”

Wow. Way to go “GF,” as his friends call him.

That kid’s going to be World Champion one day. You watch.

Meantime, Ben Cooper, SRA Karting Team Member from Mont-Tremblant, Que., took the top position at the final event of the Rotax European Series DD2 kart class at the Salbris circuit in France last weekend.

And Nicholas Latifi, Sofina Driver Development Program team member from Markham, won the F3 Italia race at Vallelunga, Italy.

Speaking of F3, Gianmarco Raimondo of St. Catharines is leading the 2012 European F3 Open series (a.k.a. Spanish F3) by winning four of the 11 races to date, including one at the Hungaroring two weeks ago. He’s got five second-place finishes and never finished worse than fifth.

Congratulations to all these outstanding young Canadian drivers.

There was an outpouring of support following the feature by Matthew Strader, published in Toronto Star Wheels last weekend, about 13-year-old karter Austin Riley of Uxbridge, who suffers from autism. To inquire about sponsoring Austin, please email his dad, Jason Riley, at jriley@utech.ca.

And Remember When - The Early Years of Stock Car Racing in Southern Ontario, is now available online. The author, Rick Sharples, grew up around the sport and recently published a fascinating book with stories about the early years at Oakwood Stadium, CNE Stadium, Pinecrest and more. There are profiles of more than 20 drivers with almost 200 illustrations. Remember When is available online at yesterdaysspeedways.com. The price is $28.50 (including shipping and handling); delivery in 4 - 6 weeks.