Norris McDonald's Auto Racing Blog

Wheldon killed by pole; F1 unemployment line grows

Update: IndyCar said today that a collision with a fence pole was the reason two-time Indianapolis 500 driver Dan Wheldon died at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16.

Wheldon was killed when his car became airborne in the middle of a 15-car pileup early in the final race of the IZOD IndyCar Series season.

Wheldon, who started the race last, was racing for a $5 million bonus he would share with a fan. He'd picked up 10 places before the accident and was running low on the speedway as he prepared to pick off more cars.

The accident review revealed that Wheldon's path on the lower portion of the race track was blocked by the multi-car crash he was approaching. Car No. 77 became airborne and ultimately flew into a vertical post of the track fencing. The pole intruded the cockpit, and the impact with the driver's helmeted head produced non-survivable blunt force trauma.

For the full report, click here

Earlier . . .

Baseball has been famous through the years for keeping itself in the public eye during the off-season. Auto racing has been taking notes.

 

Here it is 10 days before Christmas - my annual Gift Guide can be found below, by the way - and drivers are being fired left, right and centre in Formula One and IndyCar decided that today (Thursday) would be a swell time to release preliminary findings from the investigation into the crash that killed Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas in October.

 

The press conference dealing with the Wheldon tragedy is scheduled for 11 a.m., so we'll just have to wait for that. But meantime, here's what's going on in F1 (which might even have an effect on driver employment in IndyCar before long).

 

On Wednesday, the Red Bull Racing B-Team, a.k.a. Scuderia Toro Rosso, told both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari that their services were no longer required and promoted two rookies, Daniel Ricciardo (okay, he has some experience in F1) and Jean-Eric Vergne, to race seats for the 2012 season.

 

This means Buemi and Alguersuari are now members in good standing of a rapidly growing F1 unemployment line that currently includes Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov, Robert Kubica, Jerome d'Ambrosio, Antonio Luizzi, Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenburg. Although he doesn't have a ride, Canadian superlicence holder Robert Wickens, of Guelph and Toronto, who beat Vergne to the World Series by Renault title this season, could also be included in this list as he is ready to step up but there is nothing available for him.

 

I don't know where all of those guys are going to go, but I can suggest this: most are still young and are not going to retire. As sports car racing is unlikely to be in their immediate futures, it's safe to say that some of them will try to make a move to Indy cars.

 

Which means that if current IndyCar drivers without contracts for 2012 don't move lickety split, they could find themselves on the outside looking in after drivers like Buemi and Alguersuari arrive in the United States carrying satchels of cash to go along with their above-average talent.

 

That Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock (not to forget Pedro de la Rosa) currently have seats in F1 for 2012 while the talent in that list above is drawing pogey is an embarrassment to the sport. But it is what it is and IndyCar was populated for many years in the late '80s and '90s by ex-F1 drivers and that sort of thing could very well happen again.

 

Meantime, as mentioned above, it's nearly Christmas, so here goes with my annual Can't Miss Gift Guide for People looking to Purchase Presents for the Motorsport Fan in their Family:

 

Now, I always have four or five books going at once. They’re all over my house. I’ll read one for awhile and put it down and move on. I go full circle about once a week.

 

Contrary to public opinion, my reading is not all about the motor sport. The best book I read this year (and, actually, I’ve read it twice so far) is one I picked up at a garage sale last spring called The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’, by Bill Zehme and published in 1997 by HarperCollins.

 

All I will say about that book is this: Kitty Kelly and her editors could take a lesson in how to write a book about Frank Sinatra.

But this is supposed to be about auto racing and my purpose today is to tip you off about the best books, videos, models – what have you – that I assure you will be a quality gift.

As always, prices here are Suggested Retail Prices by either the producer or the retailer. Always remember, you might be able to get a better deal at another outlet, or online.

Okay, before we take our annual tour of Toronto-area shops, here are a few good reads I would suggest you keep in mind when you’re either out and about or browsing on the Web.

– No Angel, the Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone by Tom Bower, Faber & Feaber Ltd., publishers, $23.

I have quoted from this book several times in the past year because if anybody has any doubts about how Machiavelian, conniving, sneaky, nasty, mysterious and utterly brilliant Bernie Ecclestone is, a read of this book will remove them all.

He was born into poverty and grew up in a household completely lacking in affection, which helps to explain his ruthless view of business and the world. That he loves nothing more than sticking it to his pals (Ron Dennis, Sir Frank Williams, et al) while at the same time making them even richer is illustrated time and again.

He really is a fascinating man. A very strange man, but fascinating all the same.

– Steve McQueen: A Passion for Speed, MBI Publishing Co., $40.

I first saw Steve McQueen in a 1960s film called The War Lover (a role in which he didn’t have to do much "acting," if you catch my drift). Then came The Great Escape, the Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt and Le Mans. Yes, there were films before and films after but in my book, those were the Big Five.

This book focuses on McQueen’s love of anything that could go fast – primarily motorcycles and racing cars. The pictures are magnificent and the text is illuminating.

I didn’t know, for instance, that the original plan was for McQueen to actually race in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. The studio nixed that idea because of insurance; the compromise was that McQueen could drive the Le Mans course at speed post-race and the film editing would make it appear as if he was right in there.

There are all sorts of tasty tid-bits like that sprinkled throughout this book.

The only thing I don’t like about it is the section that perpetuates something that McQueen said, but which he lifted from high-wire walker Karl Wallenda.

After two members of his Flying Wallendas were killed in a fall in Detroit in 1962, Wallenda told a reporter that "to be on the wire is life, the rest is just waiting." McQueen, in the script for Le Mans, substituted "racing" for "the wire." Fair enough, but he should have attributed it.

— Real Racers: Formula 1 in the 1950s and 1960s — a Driver’s Perspective, by Stuart Codling, MBI Publishing Co. (Motorbooks), $40.

This is an F1 picture book (the Klemantaski Collection) and there are some beauties in it — some you’ve seen before, but many new (to these eyes, anyway). The photos are explained by the subjects — Chris Amon, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, et al.

I get a kick out of the title. “Real racers” was a term coined in the 1980s, I believe, by editor, publisher and commentator Dick Berggren to set U.S. short-track oval racers apart from the wine-and-cheese road racers. Let there be no doubt, however, that the F1 drivers of the Fifties and Sixties were every bit as brave, aggressive and tough as any American dirt-track hee-ro.

Be warned: there are a couple of grisly pictures in this book. Amon driving past the burning Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini at Monaco in ’67 is one I’d never seen before and some people might find it upsetting.

— Dead Man’s Switch: A Kate Reilly Racing Mystery by Tammy Kaehler, Poisoned Pen Press, $30.

I’m injecting some fiction here and this isn’t a bad example. I mean, there have been all sorts of hokey racing books and movies over the years — thin plots, improbable scenarios — but this one’s okay.

Kate Reilly wants to race in the American Le Mans Series and arrives at Lime Rock one day to find a dead driver.  Naturally, she’s a suspect in the guy's murder. She gets a chance to race because, natch, there’s a seat open. (I know what you’re thinking, but stick with me here.)

So between racing and discovering all sorts of twists and turns off the track as well (not a lot of people liked the dead driver), Kate finally helps solve the crime.

The dialogue is interesting and the author has done her homework so far as the racing is concerned.

Okay, here’s what’s available locally.

MINI GRID, 608 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto 416-488-7663, minigrid.com

Owner, and champion Canadian racer, Scott Maxwell suggests a DVD called Grand Prix: The Killer Years (60 minutes, $35). It is not for the faint at heart, however. Says Scott:

“2011 brought back the reality of what motorsports is, always has been and always will be, a dangerous sport that balances along a very fine line between thrilling escapism one moment and tragedy the next.  Events like the death of Dan Wheldon, which are few and far between, remind us that it wasn’t always this way.

“Back in the 1960s, the rate of fatalities or serious injury was phenomenal.  In fact, at one point, statistics supported the fact that one in four Grand Prix drivers at the beginning of the year would not be around at the end of the season… 

“Things had to change… and this is the story of why and how.  It is stirring, accurate and unfortunately real; but it will also offer perspective on what we view and enjoy today and how far the sport has come.”

Maxwell added that he also stocks other DVDs, books, magazine, models and racing art.

In fact, when I finish work today, I’m heading over to pick up a copy of the book Driven By Desire: The Desire Wilson Story ($52). Why?

Well, I have a framed, autographed picture of Janet Guthrie in my home office and, as anybody who’s read my stuff knows, I’m a huge Danica Patrick fan.

But they say Wilson was the best of the women drivers. I have an open mind, so we’ll see.

TRANSPORT BOOKS AT  DRB MOTORS LTD., 16 Elrose Ave., Toronto, 416-744-7675, transportbooks.com

Says owner Jim Roseborough, as we begin our annual conversation of what’s hot at his place: “If you really want to feel old, buy the two ‘50-year-anniversary books’ I’ve got here on the AC Cobra and the E-type Jag.”

He then goes on to describe what his life was like half a century ago when both these cars first appeared.

“I can remember being in high school, particularly when the Jag came out, and I remember the sensation it caused,” he said.

Mr. Roseborough tells me the first book, Shelby Cobra Fifty Years, is by Colin Comer with a forward by Carroll Shelby and is well-written and has a lot of excellent photographs. He’s selling it for $44 plus GST.

The title of the second book is a bit of a mouthful. Jaguar E-Type: A Celebration of the World's Favourite '60s Icon, is by Nigel Thorley and retails for $43.99 ("a penny saved is a penny earned,” quips Mr. Roseborough, when questioned about the one-cent difference in the two prices).

He is enthralled by the photographs in the Jaguar book. “They give you goose bumps,” he said.

COLLECTOR STUDIO MOTORSPORT GALLERY, 136 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, 416-975-5442, collectorstudio.com

Proprietor Morry Barmack always has treasure after treasure on offer in his Yorkville shop. I guarantee you won't be disappointed if you drop in for a visit.

Here are a few things he's suggesting for this Christmas:

A 1984 Ayrton Senna signed steering wheel. Morrry says that this is an original steering wheel used at the ADAC 1000 KM Nurburgring on July 14, 1984. The wheel was signed in white tire marker after the race by Senna, Henry Pescarolo and Stefan Johansson. 

As with most of the items at Collector Studio, you have to email for the price.

How about this treasure? Morry has a Jim Clark race suit, an original cream Hinchman uniform worn by Clark at Indianapolis around 1964 as well as during the Tasman Series between 1967-1968.

According to Hinchman (the Indianapolis firm that has outfitted racing drivers for years), only one of these Firestone suits was made with "Jimmy Clark" embroidered on the chest, as most had the more formal "Jim Clark."

There's lots more at Morrry's shop. Pop by. 

CAR BUFFS AUTO GIFT CENTRE, Square One, Mississauga, 905-949-9707

I just about fainted when I went into the mammoth Mississauga Square One Shopping Centre last summer and went to where Car Buffs has been for years, only to find it wasn’t there.

But it hadn’t closed; it had just moved to another part of the mall and thank goodness for that, because owner John Cuschieri has always got a lot of stuff — books, clothing, collectibles, etc. — on offer.

His assistant, Julie, said that this year, Car Buffs has got a good selection of “front-of-car” wall shelves that would make an excellent Christmas gift for someone in your family. (You’ve seen them — the grille of an iconic car that can serve as a shelf for books or what-have-you).

“We have Mustang wall shelves, Corvettes and several others. They retail for $109 plus tax,” she said.

One of the things I’ve always liked about Car Buffs is the clothing. Do you want to give someone a shirt that looks like the top half of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s uniform? Or Tony Stewart’s? or Carl Edwards’? There is always a selection of those “pit shirts” on hand and they sell for $95.

Oh, and Julie adds that the store also has a wide selection of 2012 calendars — NASCAR, F1 and so-on — and they sell for $20.

TORONTO MOTORSPORTS, 283 Port Union Rd., Toronto, 416-724-7223, tomotorsports.com

You have to pre-order, because this item won’t be available til next spring (the exact date has yet to be determined), but I think this could make a lovely gift for any IndyCar fan you might know.

The Dan Wheldon 1:18 scale by Greenlight 2011 Dallara tribute car retails for $54.99. This is the only licensed replica from the 2011 season for this driver and is a limited edition. The model features authentic sponsor and team decals, plus detailed cockpit and driver figure. It boasts removable engine cowlings with full engine detail. It comes with a gorgeous window display box.

Toronto Motorsports also has some hard-to-find models for sale, including Paul Tracy’s 1994 Penske Mercedes-Benz Indy car with Marlboro stickers (it’s on sale for $59.99)  Lithographs — paintings and photographs, suitable for framing — of Gilles Villeneuve, Ayrton Senna and others, can be yours starting from $27.96.

Books (Villeneuve: A Racing Legend, photographs by Allan de la Plante) can be purchased for $50, DVDs (Bobby Deerfield, starring Al Pacino) for $17.99 and up and calendars (the Ferrari official team calendar) for $16.99 are also available.

There is also serious memorabilia at this store — race-worn gloves, helmets (a Rick Mears race uniform is on sale for $3,299.99) and so-on.

In fact, you can find just about anything.

JOE RUSSO'S PRESTIGE  AUTO ART & GIFT GALLERY,   890 Yonge St., Toronto 416-929-9090, prestigeautoart.com 

 Enthusiastic owner Joe Russo is most keen to tell everybody that he has moved his shop from Yorkville to Yonge St., just north of Davenport, on the west side across from Canadian Tire.

Once inside, though, you will find that everything you got to know and love about Joe’s emporium when it was in Yorkville is still there, including the proprietor himself.

So what’s hot this Christmas, Joe?

“I have got some really cool, 1:18-scale, Rolls-Royce Ghosts for sale and they can be yours for $250,” he replied. “That’s the high end. Going down the line, for $55, you can take home a scale-model Lamborghini Aventador LP700/4 and let me tell you, that is a real deal.”

Once you get Joe going, it’s hard to stop him.

“If you would like a carbon-fibre arm table light, I have one for you. How about drink coasters that look like brake discs? I have some. How about a ceramic brake disc clock, or a table clock that looks like a Formula One steering wheel?”

Okay, Joe, What are those going to cost?

“Come in and find out,” says Joe. “But I have a big sale going. Walk in and decide to buy something and I will give you $10 to $100 off the list price, right then and there."

Okay, Joe. I'll be right over - er, after I come back downtown from Mini Grid.

Now, in addition to the specialty shops listed above, other racing businesses have gift ideas. 

Mosport International Raceway has got gift certificate packages available that can be used to purchase souvenir merchandise, tickets for major events (the American Le Mans Series will be racing there next July) or passes to the Grand Prix Club (a VIP hospitality area), Call the Mosport Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or go to www.mosport.com and click on the appropriate link.

The Honda Indy Toronto has tickets for sale at www.hondaindytoronto.com or you can call 1-877-503-6869.

Oh, want to drive a racing car, rather than just read about it, or watch DVDs? Well, the Bridgestone Racing Academy at Mosport is offering a "Thrill of a Lifetime" gift certificate starting at $295. Check dates and purchase your personalized gift certificates at www.race2000.com/giftcertificates. 

Hey, remember Canadian F1 racer Allen Berg? He drove for Osella back in the 1980s. Well, he has a formula car driving school these days and is offering packages - but you'll have to fly west to go to one of them (his latest opening is at California Speedway). Go to www.allenbergracingschools.com for all the info.

I hope I haven't missed anything or anybody. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Will resignation impact TV coverage of F1?

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after Mark Webber won the Brazilian GP and Britain’s Sky TV announced plans for an HD channel dedicated solely to Formula One starting in 2012, I contacted TSN about their plans for next year.

TSN has been showing F1 races and qualifying rounds for years, most recently by picking up the feed from the BBC. But the Beeb will only televise 10 of next year’s 20 scheduled races live while Sky will have them all (plus all practice sessions, etc.) and, in fact, has hired Martin Brundle to head up its broadcasting crew.

Now, I haven’t heard back from TSN. I suspect there are any number of reasons for this, all of them legitimate. When they have something to say, I’m sure they’ll call. The season doesn’t start till mid-March, so there’s plenty of time.

But I was discussing the situation with a friend of mine yesterday afternoon and, at the end of the chat, he said this: "Maybe TSN won’t have any F1 next year. Maybe we’ll get to watch it on Speed TV."

I agreed with him (although I stressed that I thought it highly unlikely). But then I got an email later in the day that contained some unsettling news.

Hunter Nickell, president of Speed since 2005, has resigned and will leave at the end of the year.

Now, I don’t know Hunter Nickell from Adam, but I do know that in recent years the Speed weekend racing coverage during the season has gone from a one-hour Sunday night wrapup program to pretty much wall-to-wall coverage of the sport during the weekend, starting Friday.

Host Adam Alexander would pop up before the first race of the weekend, usually the Friday night NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, with an update on that weekend’s racing calendar (sports cars, motocross, Moto GP, Formula One and IndyCar races, as well as NASCAR) and then would update with other pre-race reports and results through Saturday and on into Sunday evening.

Kind of a mini-CNN on wheels.

As well as his work strengthening motorsport news coverage in general, Nickell also beefed up coverage of, and solidified relationships with, F1, Supercross and Grand Am in particular.

Now, on the surface, his resignation might not seem like that big a deal. But every time there’s a change at the top of just about anything, the new guy (or woman) moves to put his or her stamp on things.

For instance (and I bet you didn’t know this), the minute the president of a major film studio is replaced, every movie in production at that time goes straight to digital. They are not released in theatres. Why? Because the new head honcho doesn’t want to have to take the blame for any turkeys in the bunch and he/she sure doesn’t want to have to pass on any praise to the guy who was fired.

It’s the same with TV.

It’s highly unlikely that the new president of Speed is going to leave everything as it is. Maybe he/she won’t be that big a racing fan. So maybe the weekend racing coverage, or some of it, gets whacked.

Maybe the new person loves NASCAR and isn’t much of an F1 fan. Uh-oh, I can hear you say. But it’s possible this change could have an effect on Speed's F1 coverage.

Or maybe not. (It really doesn’t matter to us in Canada now, because Speed’s F1 race coverage has been blacked out in recent years. But if TSN or Sportsnet passes on F1 in 2012, and Speed’s coverage is altered, we could be in a fix . . .)

What I am saying is that Speed TV under the leadership of Hunter Nickell has been a good friend of all motorsports and fingers should be crossed that this across-the-board approach continues.

Now, speaking of Formula One, it’s really interesting to watch how Lotus-Renault CEO Dany Bahar is now speaking out of both sides of his mouth so far as the return of driver Kimi Raikkonen is concerned.

Bahar had some of the world’s motoring press over for lunch in London on Monday and said that he fully expects Raikkonen to have some difficulty adjusting to F1 after being away from the sport for two years (ya think?) but that the team is quite prepared to give him all the time he needs.

Said M. Bahar: "You cannot expect from a driver that was absent for two years to come back and adapt to the new tyres and new regulations from day one, so he needs his time. But whether this time is three days, six races or 20 races, we will see. What is important is to see how his tendency goes towards the performance. If it is always improving, then of course we will give him the time."

All very well and good. But then, he said this:

"He knows he has to deliver. . . He is not the same kid as he was at Sauber and at McLaren. These are different times, he has to deliver and he realises that."

Well, which is it? Is it, "We will give him the time?" or is it, "He knows he has to deliver?"

This guy Bahar won’t last long if Raikkonen doesn’t live up to what’s expected of him. And on top of that, he’s about to record an even bigger loss in the arena of public opinion.

The contract Renault has with Robert Kubica, the popular Polish driver who was nearly killed in a rally accident at the beginning of the year and was unable to return to F1 racing as hoped, is about to expire and Bahar seems content to let him go.

As a good friend of mine noted a few weeks ago, when that happens, Kubica will become a test driver with Ferrari and if he can recapture his old speed, will be a very good bet to replace Felipe Massa in 2013.

And if that happens, Dany Bahar’s career in F1 could come to screeching halt.

Wickens wins Bruce McLaren award; 'Hinch' news coming soon

It seems that much of the news that would interest Canadian racing fans these past few weeks has been centred on two young talents in particular - aspiring F1 driver Robert Wickens of Guelph and Toronto and IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe of Oakville.

I suggest today that both will be in the news again before long.

It’s understandable that the focus has been on Wickens. Last week, he was presented with the British Racing Drivers Club’s Bruce McLaren Award in recognition of his championship success this season in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series (a.k.a. the World Series by Renault).

Wickens, 22, who was a reserve driver in Formula One this year for Marussia Virgin Racing, was presented with the trophy, awarded annually to honour the best performance of the year by a non-British driver from the Commonwealth, by motorsport legend Stirling Moss.

Previous recipients of the award, named after the late Bruce McLaren – founder of the McLaren Formula One team – include Mark Webber, Scott Dixon and Will Power.

"I’m tremendously honoured to have won this award," said Wickens. "It’s been a fantastic season for me winning the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and making my debut in Formula One being a reserve driver for Marussia Virgin Racing.

"The award also gave me an opportunity to publicly thank the people who have supported my career over the past couple of years, including Marussia Motors owners Andrey Cheglakov and Nikolai Fomenko, the Marussia Virgin Racing team, my F-3.5 team in 2011, Carlin, and Teddy Yip and his co-owners at Status Grand Prix, with whom I enjoyed success in the GP3 Series last year (2010, when he placed second in that series)."

Wickens will spend the holidays at home with his parents and, according to his spokesman, looks forward to finalizing some "exciting plans" for 2012.

Hinchcliffe, meantime, appears to be on the cusp of landing a top ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2012. Until it’s official, however, it’s best to keep speculation to a minimum.

So a look back at 2011, when he made his Indy 500 debut and captured the series’ top rookie award, is in order because, once the announcement about next year is made, which could be any day now, there will be no looking back.

The following, by the way, is complements of his Canadian spokesman, Stuart Morrison:

Q: You received the news about Newman/Haas Racing closing its IndyCar team just as you were getting ready to fly to England. What was your immediate reaction?

James Hinchcliffe (JH): "Immediate reaction was shock, for sure. I obviously was somewhat aware of the fact that the team had recently received some bad news about potential sponsors, but it’s Newman/Haas. You just sort of always assume that they will find a way to make it work. The cars had been ordered and the engineers were into their preparation. So for sure it was a shock."

Q: You ultimately claimed Newman/Haas Racing’s final title in IndyCar competition, winning this season’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ mantle. How much pride do you take in that accomplishment?

JH: "It meant a huge amount to me before, but it probably means even more now. To do that having missed the first race and coming back from a huge deficit after Indy was a tremendous accomplishment for the team. Now, knowing that it will be their last title – and this team has won a lot of them – makes it a little extra special. I am just so grateful for the opportunity that (Toronto-based sponsor) Sprott and Newman/Haas gave me this year to be in IndyCar and to give me the tools needed to accomplish that. That was our goal from the outset and it’s a big point of pride that we pulled it off."

Q: How does the news affect your plans for the 2012 season?

JH:  "Well after a season like the one we had, there was certainly some interest from around the paddock. It was a very flattering thing, really. For sure, initially continuing with Newman/Haas was the likely option, but it was only one option. There were others and now with that one off the table, we will begin to explore some of the others."

Q: Sunday night (Dec. 4) saw you attend the prestigious Autosport Awards in London, England, for the first time in your career. Was it as good as you hoped having been nominated in the category of ‘Rookie of the Year’?

JH: "Absolutely! That event is something that I have read about for years and I have heard tons of stories from people who have been about what a great night it is. The nomination alone was, again, a very flattering thing and something that I was very proud of. We were in some pretty good company and it’s nice when people you respect in the sport recognize something you’ve done. I had an absolute blast, it was a riot of an evening – I got to meet some people, catch up with some people – just a great night."

Q: What was the highlight of the night for you and did you get a chance to catch up with anyone else from the IndyCar community attending?

JH: "Honestly the whole night was a highlight! There is such a feeling of camaraderie in the room and everyone is there to have a good time. The back-and-forth going on up on stage was hilarious! I did get to catch up with Dario. His table was bread-throwing distance from mine, so you had to have your guard up at all times!"

Q: Your schedule then took you to Milton Keynes for the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race (in which Wickens also participated). The entry list read like a who’s who of the world of motorsport! How much fun was it?

JH:  "The Kart race was awesome! Huge credit to Johnny Mowlem for organizing it, because it turned out better than anyone thought and was such a blast. It was freezing cold and the track was so slick, but everyone was there to have fun, no one took it too seriously. It really is exactly the kind of event Dan would have loved. It was truly an honour to be a part of it and to bang wheels with some great drivers in a completely stress free environment!"

Q: You’re wrapping up a busy few days by flying to Brazil for the Granja Viana 500 kart race – how did that opportunity come about?

JH: "Yeah, I don’t exactly know what people mean by off-season! It’s been pretty flat out since the season ended. The offer to do Granja came from (Indy Lights driver) Victor Carbone, who has an associating with one of the teams. He hadn’t even finished asking the question and I told him that I would go because, again, this is one of those events that I have read about for years, looked like a ton of fun, and I have always wanted to take part in.

"I really have just been so fortunate the last little while to get these opportunities. So I’m looking forward to getting down there, getting back into a more serious kart race for the first time in a while and on top of that, a few days in Brazil is a nice break from surviving December weather back home!"

"I really have just been so fortunate the last little while to get these opportunities. So I’m looking forward to getting down there, getting back into a more serious kart race for the first time in a while and on top of that, a few days in Brazil is a nice break from surviving December weather back home!"

IndyCar cancels 2012 Las Vegas speedway race

The IZOD IndyCar Series won’t be going back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway any time soon.

The series announced Thursday night that IndyCar won’t close out the 2012 season at Las Vegas as previously planned because they don’t want a repeat of the horror show that took place in October when two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car pileup

The series was scheduled to close its 2012 season at the speedway next Oct. 14, but IndyCar and speedway officials said considerable testing with the new car to be used by the series next year is needed prior to returning to the facility.

"We feel we need to give our technical team ample time to conduct thorough testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, once we complete our ongoing investigation into the 15-car accident during the Oct. 16 race at the track," said Randy Bernard, CEO.

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season opens March 25 with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The complete schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

Observers are wondering just how many races the series will end up running. With Las Vegas gone, only three ovals remain from the preliminary schedule, California, Iowa and Indianapolis (the Fort Worth race is also on the buble). The street race in Baltimore is also reportedly at risk because of financial difficulties stemming from the first event.

In other scheduling news, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will open Mosport’s 2012 racing season next May.

 Canada’s only national racing series will headline the Victoria Day Speedfest in mid-May that’s traditionally kicked off the racing season at the legendary circuit north of Bowmanville.

The Canadian Tire series is no stranger to Mosport, having headlined the June Father’s Day Weekend meeting in recent years. And as well as racing on the road course, the NASCAR Canada cars and stars have always raced at least once a seson on the half-mile Mosport Speedway oval and will do that once again in June.

When fans head out there next May, they will be astonished at the improvements that have been made to the facility since racing ended in the fall. A new entrance road, a double tunnel that will allow race transporters to come and go while racing is being conducted on the track, improved spectator viewing areas and much improved access roads around and inside the circuit are just some of the things that have changed since new owners Al Boughton, Ron Fellows and Carlo Fidani took over the plant last June.

Here is the full Mosport Raceway schedule for 2012.

May 18-20        Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series; SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am; Castrol Touring Car Championship; Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada; F1000 Pro Series       

June 15-17        33rd Annual Int’l Vintage Racing Festival

This year’s featured marque is Corvette.  Regular classes include Historic & Vintage Production; Sports Racers; Group 70+; Open Wheel

June 16        Mosport Speedway 200 (at Mosport Speedway)

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns for second date, this time at Canada’s fastest half-mile paved oval

June 22-24        Mosport Sports Car Doubleheader Weekend

Pirelli World Challenge (GT, GTS, Touring, B Spec); Porsche 944 Cup

July 19-22        Mobil 1 Presents The Grand Prix of Mosport

American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón; Cooper Tires Prototype Lites; Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada; IMSA GT3 Challenge; Castrol Touring Car Championship

August 24-26    Mosport Superbike Doubleheader Weekend

Pro Superbike; Pro Sport Bike; Amateur Superbike; Harley-Davidson XR1200; Honda CBR250R Challenge; BMW Motorrad SummerFest

'Hinch' a cinch to drive GoDaddy car in 2012?

When Newman/Haas Racing announced late last week that it wouldn't be competing in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, it promptly threw Sunoco Rookie of the Year James Hinchcliffe out of work.

I did a quick phone interview with "Hinch," the Oakville racer who set the IndyCar series on its ear this year with both his abilities in the cockpit and his public-relations skills, and asked him if he'd talked to Michael Andretti about the GoDaddy seat recently vacated by Danica Patrick that was going to be filled by Dan Wheldon but remains available.

I wrote in my blog entry that, "asked specifically about the openings at Michael Andretti's team, Hinchcliffe was bemused, saying only that they were among several of the quality seats still available and he would just have to regroup."

Wednesday afternoon, Speed TV reporter Robin Miller said it's now expected that Hinchcliffe is close to landing that job.

And in email conversation that I had Wednesday night with a friend who is in the know, it is pretty safe to say that James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., Canada will very, very likely be driving that car in the IndyCar series next year.

Which, when it's made official, will be very good news, indeed.

P.S. Miller also suggests Canadian Alex Tagliani will drive for Brian Herta Autosports in 2012. We'll see.

Several years ago, the World of Outlaws honoured the Brantford-area Ohsweken Speedway for promoting the best race of the year that season.

Now, NASCAR has so honoured the Circuit-Gilles Villeneuve for the running in August of the NAPA 200, calling it the race of the year for 2011.

 

Of course, the Outlaws centred out Ohsweken for race organization, ambience and the facility itself (that little dirt oval on the Six Nations Reserve is a gem) while NASCAR simply said that the Montreal race was the most exciting of the season.

To recap: Australian driver Marcos Ambrose qualified for the Sprint Cup race at Michigan before taking a private plane to Montreal’s Dorval airport. He transferred to a helicopter that flew him to Ilse Notre-Dame and then was taken across the Olympic Rowing Basin to the circuit by boat. He strapped himself into his race car with just moments to spare before the start.

Starting last (he missed qualifying), he charged his way through the field in an effort to catch local favourites Jacques Villeneuve (who’d won the pole), Patrick Carpentier (driving in his last race before retiring) and Alex Tagliani (who’d started on the front row beside JV).

To say he “charged through the field” is a misnomer: he bashed his way through and took the lead by running Villeneuve off the track on a restart with 26 laps remaining. He managed to squeeze past Tagliani just before the end to take what the news release said was an “improbable victory.”

After the race, Carpentier’s crew chief grabbed driver Steve Wallace by the hair when he was still in his car as a result of Wallace deliberately spinning out Carpentier to ruin his final race.

Have at it boys, indeed.

 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion Scott Steckly of Milverton is in Charlotte, N.C. this week to celebrate the 2011 season along with the six other NASCAR Touring and Weekly Series champions.

The week of festivities will culminate in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday.

In addition to Steckly, Max Gresham (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), Greg Pursley (West), German Quiroga (NASCAR Mexican Series presented by Toyota), Ron Silk (NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour), George Brunnhoelzl (NASCAR Whelan Southern Modified Tour) and Philip Morris (NASCAR Whelan  All-American Series) will each receive trophies and all the other accolades that go along with them.

Both evenings will be covered by live streaming. Go to www/nascarhometracks.com at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday for coverage in English, French and Spanish.

Speed Channel will broadcast one-hour biography specials of the six people going into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January, starting this Friday night.

First up will be Cale Yarborough at 8 p.m., followed by Dale Inman at 9. A week later, on Dec. 16, at 8 p.m., Richie Evans will get the treatment. Then, there will be a break through Christmas and New Year’s, with the “Biography” series picking up again on Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. when Darrell Waltrip will be profiled. On Jan. 13, again at 8 p.m., Glen Wood will get his 60 minutes.

The third annual NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Friday, Jan. 20 in the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing will have a bigger on-track presence in the American Le Mans Series next season with the team fielding an LMP Challenge class entry alongside its LMP1 program, which will will be announced in the coming weeks.

Drivers Memo Gidley (he’s half Canadian, you know) and Mike Guasch will lead the team's effort in the Challenge class, which features the Michelin-clad ORECA-Courage FLM09 prototype.

Here’s a tidbit. According to a story on speedtv.com, an Austin Healey 100S Prototype connected with the worst tragedy in motorsports history was sold for $1.3 million last Thursday at auction in the U.K.

Essentially in ratty “barn-find” condition, the Healey’s value was multiplied immeasurably by its role in the fiery crash during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans that claimed 84 lives and injured 120 people.

This Healey, which was driven by Lance Macklin, swerved to avoid Mike Hawthorne’s Jaguar D-Type, which was braking to enter pit lane, putting it directly in the way of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR driven by Pierre Levegh.

The Mercedes hit the rear of the Healey and was launched into the crowd of spectators. Levegh was among those killed and Mercedes-Benz withdrew from racing until 1980.

Here’s an early reminder about the 2012 Grand Prix of Canada that will be held at Circuit-Gilles Villeneuve next June.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rc5V3qE21E

Kurt Busch gets his comeuppance

It’s finally happened.

A high-profile professional athlete has found out what things are like in the real world.

No more pampering, no more putting up with temper-tantrums, no more embarrassing the boss or the sponsor who pays the bills.

Kurt Busch has been told by Roger Penske not to let the door hit him in the butt on the way out. He’s been fired, canned, downsized, whacked.

And not a minute too soon.

Penske fired driver Busch late Sunday as the result of a public meltdown following his elimination from the season-ending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this month.

Penske waited until the weekend's end-of-season ceremonies in Las Vegas were over before handing Busch the pink slip. According to Charlotte.com, which broke the story Sunday night, the official announcement would be made some time Monday (Penske link here).

(Both Busch and a spokesman for Penske Corp. said Monday afternoon that Busch was not fired but that there was an amicable parting of the ways. Both Busch and the Penske executive couldn't have said nicer things about each other if they'd been written . . .)

The reason for the firing - er, amicable parting of the ways - was Busch's tirade directed at ESPN/ABC pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch when the network was slow to leave race action in order for the driver to be interviewed after he was forced out of the race because of transmission problems.

After asking "why can't we tape this?" Busch became agitated and swore at both interviewer Punch and a camerman. Eventually, Punch said to "forget it" and walked off. Busch went into the Penske hauler but the scene was recorded on video by a fan with a cellphone (see the video below).

Warning: Strong language

This was the third or fourth incident this season in which Kurt Busch - not to be confused with his younger brother Kyle Busch, who escaped being fired recently by Joe Gibbs Racing after losing his temper during a Camping World Truck Series race and deliberately wrecking an opponent - lost control of his emotions.

He dressed down his crew and swore at his crew chief during a race (the profanity over the team radio was heard on live television), had to be restrained from attacking a television reporter who asked him a charged question and refused to answer questions when confronted by another journalist.

Some of these transgressions may appear to be minor (I sympathized - somewhat - with Busch when I saw the cellphone video of the Punch incident; he had just suffered a major disappointment and had to wait, and wait, and wait to be interviewed when, I'm sure, he just wanted to get out of there) but in the commercial world of NASCAR, where the teams and drivers are paid millions to represent corporations who are providing those millions, you can't behave like a Saturday night dirt car jockey just starting out.

As professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey and golf players are not allowed to behave like jerks, racing drivers aren't either. Both Busch brothers have lost sight of this throughout their careers and it is to Roger Penske's credit that he said enough is enough, and pulled the plug.

You wonder if executives at Mars Inc., which agreed with Joe Gibbs to continue to support Kyle Busch in 2012 after removing their wraps from his cars in the last two races of 2011, might be wondering today if they should have done the same thing.

Of course, Mars has an executive board and those things are quicksand when it comes to making a decision. Penske runs Penske and his word is law. Although Roger has a board of directors, it's clear that he calls the shots. And he calls those shots pretty well.

It's also clear that Kurt Busch didn't see the dismissal coming. He gave a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday in which he talked about working through some issues with a sports psychologist but then veered off on a tangent and said some pretty strong things about a previous employer.

He must have known he was walking on thin ice and yet he still kept going further and further out from shore.

The ice finally broke Sunday night.

There are few, if any, good rides available for 2012, so Busch could be in some trouble - unless he takes his personal millions and purchases the Red Bull team, which is in the process of going out of business, and runs his own entry.

On the other hand, this might turn out to be good news for Sam Hornish Jr. Hornish was a highly successful Indy car driver for Penske but has had trouble adapting to stock cars.

However, Penske has never wavered in his support for Hornish, who won the second-last Nationwide Series race this year (his first in NASCAR), and announced plans to run him for a full season in the Nationwide in 2012.

Might Penske move Hornish up to the big team? We'll see.

'KURT BUSCH STILL DOESN'T GET IT' - SEE NORRIS McDONALD'S TUESDAY COMMENTARY HERE

Meantime, last week was not a good one for promising young  Canadian racing drivers.

Two, in particular.

Ironically, they're both profiled in the current issue of Sportsnet magazine as young guys on the way up.

Robert Wickens, 22, of Guelph and Toronto, was the first one to get a kick in the stomach when he found out, at the Grand Prix of Brazil, that a Formula One ride in 2012 that he had been led to believe he had a shot at was being given to a young European driver whose curriculum vitae is nowhere near Wickens’s.

There was Wickens, at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, site of the last F1 race of the 2011 season, in his role as official reserve driver for the Marussa-Virgin F1 team. He was reigning champion of the World Series by Renault and had been told by his sponsor, the Marussia supercar company, that all they were looking for in a potential F1 driver was results.

He had kept his part of the bargain and delivered, in spades. He had won the 2011 Renault F3.5 title after two seasons of finishing second in two other European F1 feeder series, Formula 2 and GP3.

So right in the middle of the Grand Prix weekend, Wickens find out – as did the world – that a young French driver named Charles Pic, who in six years of racing in comparable series to Wickens had never finished higher than third in the standings, would become a Formula One driver in 2012 as a teammate to the underachieving Timo Glock.

Of course, the Marussia-Virgin F1 team – like most of the teams in F1 these days (McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari excepted) – never saw a cheque it didn’t like. Despite what Wickens had been told, that all Marussa was looking for was results, in the end they went for the money and not the talent.

So that was disappointment No. 1. Here comes No. 2.

In mid-week, James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, who had won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title in the IZOD IndyCar Series this year, found out that he was suddenly unemployed as a result of his team, Newman/Haas Racing, announcing it would not be participating in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2012.

Hinchcliffe, who turns 25 today (Monday), had paid his dues and was enjoying his success. A veteran of the Formula BMW, Star Mazda, Champ Car Atlantic, A1-GP and Indy Lights series, Hinch put all his eggs in one basket over the winter of 2010-11 and made it plain that it would be the Big Leagues or nothing by the time spring and summer arrived.

Thank goodness that the Toronto investment firm Sprott Inc. opted to sponsor him. Despite missing the opening race of the season, Hinchcliffe went on to finish 12^th in points, won the rookie title and looked to be well on his way.

But then came Thursday’s announcement and despite putting his best face forward – "I'll have to regroup but there are still some seats available on good teams," he told me on the phone – he had clearly been gobsmacked.

"Hinch," like Wickens, is the perfect driver for a modern-day racing team: fast in the car but – just as important – social media savvy. He’s just the ticket needed to connect with young fans.

Although not officially disappointment No. 3, the fact that two young tiger Canadian drivers are now looking for rides in 2012 does not bode well for Paul Tracy in his quest to land full-time employment in 2012 (I still maintain Wickens would be better off trying Indy cars than continuing to try to make an impression in Europe).

It was going to be an iffy proposition in any event. Love him as we all do, Tracy is just not as fast as he was when he was a kid and when push comes to shove, and the choice comes down to a Wickens or a Hinchcliffe or a Tracy, some car owner is going to nod toward the first two before he sticks out his hand to the veteran who's third in line.

And that, as Stone Cold Steve Austin would say, is the bottom line.

Notebook:

– Tony Stewart was crowned NASCAR Sprint Cup champion in Las Vegas at the weekend and that pretty much wraps up the 2011 season. The Red Bull stock car team is kaput (although there is a rumour around that someone still wants to buy it . . . Jacques Villeneuve, perhaps? . . . but just what is left to purchase?) The employees have all been let go and what infrastructure remains is anybody’s guess.

On the driver front, Kyle Busch is being urged to just be a Sprint Cup driver in 2012; the thinking being that trying to race in three series might be contributing to his periodic meltdowns. Meantime, his brother, Kurt Busch, has let it be known he's working with a sports psychologist to try to get his emotions under control.

– Autosport magazine threw a gala in London Sunday night and handed out a pile of awards. Sebastien Vettel was named international racing driver of the year and Jenson Button was honoured as British driver of the year. Dan Wheldon was given a posthumous award to recognize his lifetime achievements in motorsport, which was accepted by his father, Clive, and his IndyCar friend and rival, Dario Franchitti. F1 driver Paul di Resta was named Rookie of the Year.

– French driver Sebastien Ogier won the Race of Champions over Tom Kristensen at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf. Michael Schumacher and a whole bunch of racing people were there. In Brazil, F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari won Felipe Massa’s annual go-kart celebrity race with Lucas di Grassi and Rubens Barrichello second and third. Jules Bianchi, a soon-to-be-Ferrari driver (development program) actually won but was disqualified for being underweight. His car was too light, that is.

– The World of Outlaws sprint cars will race four times in five nights in Canada next July, kicking off their "northern swing" at Autodrome Granby, Autodrome Drummondville, Cornwall Motor Speedway and then the Brantford-area Ohsweken Speedway, where the feature this year was won by none other than Tony Stewart. Trust me on this: if you have never seen the Outlaws in action, go.

Hinchcliffe still has hopes for IndyCar ride

NEWMAN/HAAS RACING WON'T PARTICIPATE IN IZOD INDYCAR SERIES IN 2012

WILL OTHERS FOLLOW?

Mario Andretti and Paul Newman are seen in Toronto during the glory days of the Molson Indy (note size of the crowd). Newman/Haas Racing was the only team to compete in every Toronto race, going back to 1986. That streak will, sadly, come to an end in 2012.

Despite the shock announcement Thurday by his employer, Newman/Haas Racing of Chicago, that it wouldn't participate in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, Canadian Indy car racer James Hinchcliffe of Oakville remains optimistic he will be on the grid when the season opens next March.

"I'll have to regroup but there are still some seats available on good teams," said the young Canadian, who won the series Rookie of the Year title in 2011.

Hinchcliffe and his teammate, Spanish veteran Oriol Servia, were left high and dry Thursday when their employer issued a terse, two-paragraph statement in mid-afternoon.

"Newman/Haas Racing announced today that it will not enter cars in the 2012 IndyCar Series," the statement said.

"The economic climate no longer enables Newman/Haas Racing to participate in open wheel racing at this time,” said Carl Haas, owner and co-founder of Newman/Haas Racing."

Hinchcliffe edged young American J.R. Hildebrand for the top rookie award. Hildebrand is under contract with Panther Racing for the 2012 season.

It's a huge disappointment for Hinchcliffe, who showed the IndyCar world in 2011 that he was ready to join the big time after a half-dozen years in the minors. He only found out the bad news himself on Thursday afternoon.

"About 10 minutes before you did," the racer told me in an interview. "It's a sad day for the sport."

Hinchcliffe said he's thankful that the announcement came on Dec. 1 instead of Jan. 1 because there is still time to find a quality ride for next season.

"A lot of people (in the series) had approached us in the off-season," he said. "But because we were under contract to Newman/Haas, obviously we couldn't go too far in the discussions.

"But this has changed things and so I'll make a few phone calls. In fact, the phone has been ringing off the hook for the last 20 minutes."

Hinchcliffe said he feels badly for the 40 or so full-time employees of the team who now find themselves out of their jobs. "They're a great group and worked so hard and I'm so sorry for them."

Asked specifically about the openings at Michael Andretti's team, Hinchcliffe was bemused, saying only that they were among several of the quality seats still available and he would just have to regroup.

The news also means, of course, that the team won't be participating in the 2012 Honda Indy Toronto, scheduled for next July, thus breaking a record of participation in the Toronto race that goes back to the first Molson Indy in 1986.

The IndyCar Series is introducing a new car for 2012, designed and developed by Italy's Dallara Automobili. Although costs have been kept to a minimum, a two-car team would have to spend in the neighbourhood of $2 million just to stay in business and it's a known fact that a number of IndyCar teams are not in a position to spend that kind of money.

So the question has to be asked: is the Newman/Haas announcement the first crack in the dike? Will other Indy car teams be forced to follow suit because of poor economic conditions?

In addition, engine competition has been re-introduced for 2012, with Chevrolet and Lotus joining Honda in providing power plants for teams in the series. Engine leases have also been kept as low as possible but they run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and will also  be a problem for some entrants.

Newman/Haas Racing was formed by the late actor/race car driver Paul Newman and racing entrepreneur Carl Haas in 1983 and has been one of the most successful open wheel racing teams in the sport's history.

 

The team participated in 29 consecutive seasons of competition from 1983-2011 and earned a total of eight championships, 107 race wins and 109 pole positions with drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira, Servia, Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, Hinchcliffe and others.

The team finished fourth in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series with Servia and earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award with  Hinchcliffe.

What's with all the geezers, retreads in F1?

What’s with Formula One’s signing of geezers and retreads these days when there’s a whole bunch of young tigers around, waiting for a shot at the Big Time?

Michael Schumacher (on the cusp of 43) is an exception, He’s won seven World Championships, so he gets a pass.

But the signing the other day of Pedro de la Rosa to a two-year contract by the HRT team was a shocker. The guy’s 40. If he was Superman, I could maybe understand it. But he’s not. He’s a very ordinary driver from Spain who’s had a very ordinary F1 career (one podium in 86 starts) and should be retired.

Kimi Raikkonen’s return to F1 as a Lotus-Renault driver in 2012, announced Tuesday, is also a puzzle. Does anybody seriously think he is going to be anywhere near the pace after a two-year layoff?

Remember Jacques Villeneuve? After getting his butt kicked by Jenson Button at BAR, JV was without a ride for 2004. For reasons never completely clear, Flavio Briatore signed him to drive the final three races of the '04 season for Renault and it was embarrassing to watch because not only did he fail to score points, he failed to finish any of the races on the lead lap.

He said it was the layoff that killed him and that was for less than a full season. Kimi’s been out for two years, so he doesn’t stand a chance.

(By the way, the Kimster spent his time the last two years in the World Rally Championship, where he was largely unnoticed. He took a crack at NASCAR and bombed out there also.)

Mark Webber will turn 36 next season and has already said it will be his last year. Good for him, because despite a victory in the last race at Brazil, he was clearly not the driver this year that he had been in 2010 and things will only get worse.

Jarno Trulli, 37 going on 73 (it seems), will again drive for Lotus in 2012 (when it will be called Caterham) and it boggles the mind that he still has a seat. He has done exactly nothing the last two years – no podiums, no poles, no nothing. He finished 21^st in the world championship of drivers in 2010 and again in 2011.

Who decides to hire these guys?

Poor Rubens Barrichello is 39 and counting and telling everybody that he will drive for food - er, I mean he'll sign to drive for anybody in 2012 for a very small retainer – whatever that means in F1 parlance. Williams hasn’t called him to say he’s still on the team and they were nogotiating with Raikkonen before he signed with Renault.

Presumably, Kimi was too rich for Sir Frank’s blood, hence Rubens’ public declaration that he comes cheap.

It’s a mystery that the old guys and the comeback artists are being courted, particularly when there are drivers out there of the calibre of Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Wickens, Esteban Gutierrez and others, who could properly be called "racers," rather than all the octegenarian "drivers" we’re stuck with now.

Meantime, here’s something to chew on. 

Renault is not anxious to have the injured Robert Kubica return to the team, particularly now that Kimi Raikkonen is the big name associated with it. Although Kubica has said that he won’t be ready for the first race of 2012, the suggestion is that he’s not far off and Autosport has speculated he could do some rehab work at Ferrari.

Now, Ferrari has poured cold water on the speculation but I have a friend who really knows his stuff, who says flatly that the Scuderia’s denial means something is definitely in the works. Writes my friend:

"If Kubica somehow rounded back to form, then the gamble would pay off in a huge way. . . It would put pressure on Felipe Massa if Kubica were to somehow get it back together. Ferrari would not hesitate to dump Massa."

I think he's on to something.

Other racing news: 

– There are problems with the new Dallara Indy car for 2012, the car that Dan Wheldon spent most of 2011 testing. In a nutshell, it’s been significantly slower than expected in tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and only marginally quicker in road course trim. Dallara and IndyCar have a mere four months to get everything right, with the opening race of the 2012 IZOD season scheduled for March 28.

– Old-time supermodified star Harvey (Leadfoot) Lennox was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame recently. Here’s a link to the induction video:

Harvey Lennox induction

– The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will operate under a new points system in 2012, it was announced this week.The new structure awards points in one-point increments. As an example, race winners earn 43 points (equal to the maximum number of starters), plus three bonus points for the win. Drivers also can earn an extra point for leading a lap and leading the most laps, bringing the race-winning total to a possible maximum of 48 points.

The points system was simplified, NASCAR says, to make it easier for fans, competitors and the industry to understand. All series under the NASCAR umbrella, from Sprint Cup on down, will be scored the same way.

Bernie Ecclestone explains F1 mess in Texas

There is a link to a very good interview with Bernie Ecclestone that I will include at the bottom of this entry. It is from Autoweek and deals with the mess that is the proposed U.S. Grand Prix at Austin, Tex.

 

Ace F1 reporter Adam Cooper did the interview with Ecclestone and asked all the right questions. Read it and I think you will agree that the U.S. GP at Austin, scheduled for 2012, will likely never be held.

The deadline is tomorrow, Nov. 30, and it will pass without a resolution. What a wasted effort.

You can do your own reading between the lines, but I suggest this is what happened to create this embarrassment.

A promoter made the deal with F1 (Ecclestone) and the state of Texas and became partners with local interests, who would raise money to build a circuit.

The local interests and the promoter then had some sort of disagreement, or falling out. The promoter bailed. The state of Texas, which was on the hook for $25 million, very quickly got cold feet.

The local interests decided to try to go it alone, even though the state and Ecclestone had only dealt with the promoter. So Ecclestone sent them a contract.

Not only did the local interests not sign the contract, which would have left them up the creek without a paddle, but they tried to bluff their way through by sending a contract of theirs for Ecclestone to sign (knowing full well he wouldn’t, thus letting them off the hook because of the realization they were in way over their heads).

The Austin Grand Prix seemed like such a good idea at the time.

If the Grand Prix now scheduled for New Jersey/New York in 2013 falls through (it's also quite possible), the United States may never get another crack at an F1 race - at least so long as Bernie Ecclestone is around.

Here's that link. Read it and weep.

Exclusive: Bernie Ecclestone speaks to Autoweek about Austin Grand Prix

Webber wins but did Vettel try to embarrass Red Bull?

'CRAZY LEO URLICHICH' WINS RALLY OF THE TALL PINES; WICKENS LOSES OUT ON F1 SEAT

Mark Webber won the Grand Prix of Brazil on Sunday, with his teammate Sebastian Vettel second and Jenson Button third (see Sunday post below, or click here for race details) but the question must be asked:

Did Vettel deliberately try to make his Red Bull-Renault team look bad when he was asked to give way to Webber, allegedly because of problems with his gearbox?

There are all sorts of conspiracy theories out there about how the gearbox story was concocted by Red Bull in order to throw Webber a bone.

The team’s No. 2 driver had been decimated by his World Championship-winning teammate this season (a record 15 poles and 11 victories in 20 races for Vettel, zero and three for Webber going into Brazil) and the feeling is that Red Bull – as Ferrari did with Eddie Ervine and Rubens Barrichello during the Schumacher years – wanted a win for Webber, if for nothing more than to boost his confidence heading  into winter.

Whether there were problems or not, Red Bull notified Vettel about a third of the way through the 71-lap race that he’d have to baby his gearbox if he wanted to make it to the finish. It was suggested he not hold up his teammate, Webber (they were running one-two at the time).

A radio transmission between Vettel and the team was garbled, but you got the feeling that he wasn’t 100 per cent in agreement.

Three laps later, on Lap 28, he turned the fastest lap of the race, to that point. Then, a lap later, he pulled over and suddenly slowed down to let Webber pass and take over P1. He left no doubt in anybody's mind who was watching that he was following team orders.

Despite having to be warned at least twice more to stop trying to take it to Webber (he set another fastest lap on Lap 46), Vettel subsequently held station and drove his car home in second place, well clear of third-place finisher Button’s McLaren-Mercedes.

It must be hard for a racing driver to be told to slow down, particularly a driver who’d recently wrapped up his second consecutive world championship season and one who is clearly – at this point in time – head and shoulders above his competition.

But auto racing is a team sport and selfishness has no place. He didn’t have to stick it to Red Bull with that ultra-quick lap before ceding his position, as well as the one later, and I suggest Christian Horner will have taken note.

Note: With the basketball strike settled, and tons of hockey and baseball news out there, this blog might not appear regularly in the Top 5 sports blogs lineup on the sports home page this winter. But it's updated almost daily and can be found at wheels.ca and thestar.com/sports/auto racing. Have a great off-season.

Notebook Jottings:

– An interesting part of watching the last race of the season was guessing which drivers will be back in 2012. As announcer Martin Brundle pointed out, the same five drivers have been on the podium in the last 51 races, so I suggest that everybody outside the top five should be worried about keeping their jobs.

Rubens Barrichello, for instance, won’t be back at Williams (but is Sir Frank really serious about hiring Kimi Raikkonen?) And Jaime Alguersuari likely won’t be back at Toro Rosso because Red Bull wants to promote Jean-Eric Vergne and although Alguersuari beat his teammate, Sebastien Buemi, in the standings, Buemi brings big money to that team and money seems to be the name of the game in F1 again: drivers with money get the rides and drivers without it, don’t.

Case in point. Charles Pic is a French driver with bags full of cash. He has had a very ordinary motor racing career to this point. However, the Marussia-Virgin F1 team announced at Brazil Sunday that Pic will partner Timo Glock in 2012, leaving Canadian Robert Wickens, who has had a pretty successful motor racing career to this point but who hasn’t got a dime, on the outside looking in.

Jerome D’Ambrosio has been dropped to make way for the ultra-quick Pic (ultra-quick, as in nobody can write a cheque faster).

- Quick Monday Morning update: Patrick Head, Sir Frank's right-hand-man at Williams forever, will end his involvement with the race team during the off-season as he moves to another role with the company, director of Williams Hybrid Power.

– I’ve got a call into TSN about F1 coverage in 2012, so that will be a blog entry this coming week when they get back to me (everybody was out west at the Grey Cup).

But F1 coverage could be a problem because TSN gets its feed from the BBC and in 2012, the BBC will only televise 10 of the expected 20 races live. Sky Sports, a British pay-TV channel, will cover all the races live and has announced a dynamite package in which every practice, qualifying session and race will be carried live with all sorts of digital add-ons available.

Anchorman Brundle has already announced that he is leaving the BBC for Sky and analyst/sidekick David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and the rest will undoubtedly follow.

The implications for Canada are, shall we say, interesting. Hopefully, TSN will be able to make a deal with somebody so that live coverage of all races continues.

– Speaking of TSN, their commercial placement in the first hour of Sunday’s telecast interfered with some serious on-track action.

I know that it’s a crapshoot – they have to stick the commercials in somewhere, and at least we get side-by-side coverage so we’re not left totally in the dark – but it’s still irritating to have a commercial playing (complete with sound) on the right side of the screen and all hell breaking loose on the other.

When they went to commercial the first time at 11:14 a.m., Michael Schumacher and Bruno Senna collided and there were repercussions as Senna was subsequently given a drive-through penalty (yes, there were replays, but that’s like missing a goal in hockey).

When they next went to commercial at 11:24, everybody went into the pits for fresh rubber. Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Webber – everybody. Lots of action on a screen the size of a postage-stamp.

Here’s a suggestion: when the checkered flag fell, it was 12:36 p.m. When Webber, Vettel and Button went out on the podium, is was 12:42. If they put six minutes of commercials in there, would anybody mind?

– Everybody in F1 is stick thin – the drivers, the engineers, etc. So when I saw a Force India jack man with a pot belly, I didn’t know what to think:

1, Formula One has an image to protect and what’s a fat guy doing out there?

Or . . .

2, Hey, there’s a fat guy in Formula One! There's hope for all of us fat guys yet!

– I’m confused. Martin Brundle clearly said F1 is so sophisticated now that "you can’t damage your own gearbox any more . . . it’s the luck of the draw whether or not it holds up." If that’s the case, why would a driver be told to be gentle with the gearbox?

– Coulthard kept switching back and forth between pronouncing Vettel’s name VET-ul and Vu-TELL during the telecast (it’s really FET-ul, if you want to know). I don’t know why he can’t get the correct pronunciation around his tongue, considering that he sits (or stands) right beside Brundle, who’s got it mostly right.

Which is reminiscent of Jacques Villeneuve’s years in CART, when Paul Page used to call him "Vellano." I loved Paul Page, the true voice of Indy car racing, but I couldn’t figure out what was so hard about "Veel-noov."

– Being an F1 fan requires effort. Most of the summer, you have to be up at the crack of dawn to watch the races, or else rest up in anticipation of staying up half the night.

Which is why Canada and Brazil are my two favourites. The start times are just so much more civilized.

We had an early lunch Sunday, while enjoying the 11 a.m. race. Delightful.

CRAZY LEO WINS RALLY OF THE TALL PINES

THE MAN HIMSELF, 'CRAZY LEO' URLICHICH, HAS X-GAMES AMBITIONS.

Hey, talk about timing. Two days ago, I posted a feature interview I did on Thursday with rally driver 'Crazy Leo' Urlichich. Saturday, he went out and won the Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft.

Here's the report.

“Crazy” Leo Urlichich, of Thornhill, and co-driver Martin Brady of Ireland defeated a record-breaking number of entries at the 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines, their first win at a Canadian Rally Championship event.

The competition was extremely strong, with 2011 Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L'Estage of St.-Jean-sure-Richelieu, Que., second-place Pat Richard of Squamish, B.C. and 2011 Rally America champion David Higgins of Trefeglwys, Wales, in action.

 “Wow, this is incredible,” said Urlichich, who literally jumped around on the podium in excitement. “All season the whole team has been working hard to get to this point, and so this win really proves how much the team has put into the effort.”

With the Canadian Rally Championship already decided in favour of L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard of Halifax, nobody was holding anything back and all teams were attacking from the start.

L'Estage won the first four stages, taking control of the event, until disaster struck at the end of the fifth stage. The transmission in his car shattered, with large pieces of the casing falling off.

Said L'Estage: “Well, it's too bad. We were leading the rally, and had a good lead, but it's okay. The important thing is we are Canadian Rally Champions.”

The 2012 Canadian Rally Championship season is only a few short months away, with the season kicking off Feb. 4th and 5th with the Rallye Perce Neige in Maniwaki, Que.

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that goes from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Tire Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi Canada.