As it appears that airspace in the UK might be closing down again soon and perhaps even a new volcano may erupt and cause even greater disturbance than the first did, I thought I’d share some positives to my recent experience with being stranded in the UK.

Now what the hell do I do?

1. You can talk to just about anybody about F1 - In the U.S. I consume racing news throughout all my waking hours and can only discuss on this blog and via email with friends who have an interest. Unfortunately for my wife from time to time I must vent my opinions and she is nice enough to listen (or least make an attempt at pretending she’s listening). But in Europe I could bring up complex questions related to rules, drivers, or Bernie’s plans for the future to any random dude on the street and they’d have an opinion and time to talk about it. You can’t beat that with a stick!

2. Racing is on TV - Not just on some random motorsports channel but its on regular TV. Sky News covers the results from Practice and Qualifying and shows race highlights. Sky Sports, well they cover more. Can you imagine CNN reporting race results? Even NASCAR doesn’t get coverage unless Cousin Carl hits the fence at Talledega and nearly kills himself and a fan or two. They cover more than just race results too. I couldn’t sleep one night so I flipped through the channels to find a documentary about Aston Martin’s most recent attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I almost forgot I was stranded for an hour while I was completely sucked into this show.

3. Top Gear – That’s almost all I need to say. It’s on an it’s on all the time.

4. Top Gear – Yup, I’m putting it on twice.

5. Merchandise in Department Stores - SpeedGear is a great shop. Online and at the track they are the go to spot in the states for getting your Non-NASCAR motorsports stuff. Love ‘em! But, they’re pretty much it. So one of the days I was stranded I went shopping thinking I’d get something for my family back home that was feeling the effects of my absence just as much as I was. When you go shopping somewhere else you realize quickly that the world is a very small place. I wanted something uniquely London without going to the extremes of a shirt with Big Ben on it or that said, “My Husband Got Stuck in London and All I Got was this Lousy T Shirt”. This is a taller order than I thought. The shelves and racks of a department store are interchangeable pretty much no matter where you are (in the developed world as least). But what did I come across much to my suprise? The motorsports section on the SportsWear floor! Yup, right there they had kids-sized McLaren Fire Suits, Ferrari Helmet Key Chains, Aston Martin Racing hats. It was like standing in the middle of an inappropriate teen age race fan’s dream, except I was competely clothed and not surrounding by random people from my past.

Penske Racing DHL RS Spyder 2007 ALMS Photo Credit: kptyson

Autoweek is reporting that Penske racing will campaign three Indycar entries, two NASCAR Nationwide series cars, and three Sprint Cup cars in 2010. Noticeably absent from that list is any sports car series entrants. Drivers Sam Hornish Jr. and Kurt Busch will return, with the addition of Brad Keselowski for Cup. Justin Allgaier will be joined by Keselowski for Nationwide. The Indycar drivers will be Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, and full time next year, Will Power.

It was enjoyable to see Penske campaigning sports cars the last few years under the Porsche banner. The successful organization brings credibility to any series they run. Plus Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas are top notch sports car racers and deserve to be in elite cars. Surely they will land somewhere if The Captain can’t put something together last minute to keep them in the stable. Hopefully Penske will be back in road racing in the near future.

It might be a hassle some times but memories are made at the track. Photo Credit: TequilaMike

I was presented with a dilemma recently.  I received my annual renewal for my Nationwide and Sprint Cup tickets for the August Michigan race.  My family has had four tickets together for both races and we have attended for at least 10 years now.  As time goes by interest wanes with all parties involved; everybody seems so busy these days.  Michigan isn’t exactly an excitement track like Bristol either.  Plus it really is a chore to go to a NASCAR race.  All the traffic, the people, the long walks, and 90+ degree humid Michigan summer day, just doesn’t appeal anymore.  The tickets are getting ridiculously priced too.  So we are reluctantly going to let them go.  Nationwide in the shadow of the pressbox, and turn 1 grandstand aisle seats for Sprint Cup.  Even selling our extra tickets if someone doesn’t want to go hasn’t been possible for the last couple years given my region’s economy.  It just wasn’t worth it.  Or is it? 

Why do we go to races?  It’s easier, cheaper, and you seemingly get to see more up close action with today’s television coverage.  I can even listen to Dale Jr.’s radio through the computer at home better than I can on my old Radio Shack scanner in the stands.   Why do we go?  Yeah, we aren’t down on the track like we all wish we were.  But we have skin in the game when we are at the track.  Well at least sunburnt skin, and lots of sweat.  We are invested in the sport we love.  We are connected to the point we think we are participants.  You don’t get that through the TV.  Not even in hi-def.  You can’t smell or hear the cars. 

Seriously! How awesome is this shot! We took this picture! Photo Credit: Angry Race Fan

I go to races so that when I’m BSing with my buddies, I can say, “yeah, but I was in Cleveland when Danica and AJ were running Barber Dodge cars.”  Some of the races you remember clear as day.  Some are forgettable, either because they are boring (MIS stock car), or because you drank so many oil cans of Fosters at an F1 race at Indy and you don’t even remember getting home six hours away (I wasn’t driving).  It is the most fun when you can stay on site for the weekend.  Jimmy Vasser played football with his buddies next to our camp site at Road America.  Paul Newman practically drove through said campsite on his scooter staring at the sky. 

I feel as though I was truly a part of the IRL/CART split. I sat in the stands at the US500; people with portable black and white TVs sitting behind us were watching Indy and giving us updates.  I watched a buddy almost get killed by Chip Ganassi driving like an idiot on his scooter, or same friend almost run down by AJ Foyt on a golf cart.  Since we don’t have the talent to drive side by side with Juan Pablo, and we can’t call a race like Tim Cindric; we accept our role as fans.  As a race fan, you truly need to put your butt in the seat at a racetrack as often as you can.  That is where you truly connect with the sport.  It also makes watching those races on TV more enjoyable.  You subconsciously recall it all, and you truly know what it would be like if you were there. 

OK, so I’ve waxed ecstatic and gotten a little too romantic.  You still need to vote with your wallet first and foremost.    Babies still need shoes, and you need to take your lady or man out for dinner.  Those dance class and gymnastics for the kids don’t pay for themselves.  Whenever you can pull it off though; take in a race.  It’s worth it. 

Now I hope I didn’t already recycle that ticket renewal slip.

Is Pruett Leaving Ganassi or pulling double duty? Photo Credit: ScrapNancy

According to AutoWeek Scott Pruett will not be assisting the the test of the new RSR (formerly RocketSports) Jaguar XKR this weekend at Petit Le Mans as was originally planned.  This is most likely due to the fact that it was originally to occur on Friday during practice and is now looking like it will be more of a parade lap or two on Saturday.  Scott will need to be in Miami at this time taking care of business with his Ganassi team mates

(Hi to Scott’s family at home.)

Although they originally thought they may debut the car at Mid Ohio earlier this year it had later been pushed to Petit Le Mans @ Road Atlanta this coming weekend.  That too was later changed to be a practice session and now has been  back further and has been referred to as “some demonstration laps”.  RSR does plan to have the new XKR’s race debut at the ALMS season finale at Laguna Seca on Oct 11th.  Marc Goossens and Paul Gentilozzi (RSR Team Owner) are slated to drive at that event.

Another big point of interest from the AutoWeek article was the mention that Scott Pruett would not be driving for RSR this weekend but is scheduled to drive the XKR in GT2 next year.

Huh?  Could that be?  Is Scott going to leave the Ganassi boys?  This one came as a shocker to me.  Now in theory he could run partial seasons in bothseries.  I don’t think the 2010 schedules are out yet for either series so there probably is no way to commit doing running both or partial schedules at this point.  Seems that a fellow would have to pick one.  Especially Pruett who said in a 2008 interview with Crash.net that where he was quoted as saying, “He likes the Grand-Am schedule, which allows him lots of time with his wife and three children”. 

After considering it for a bit it does make some sense though.  Scott has been in Grand Am running that Lexus DP for some time now.  He’s proved that he is a damn good driver by winning multiple Rolex 24s and Daytona Prototype championships.  I haven’t seen if RSR is planning on taking the RSR to Le Mans next year but if that is the case this would give Pruett a shot at a another class win there (he previously had two wins in class).

Well however it ends up working out its all interesting to me.  It’s good to see Jaguar back in sports car  racing, good to

RSR unveiled their new GTS XKR at Road Atlanta this week. Bad Ass!

see Michigan-based RSR back in competition, and whether Scott stays in Grand Am or moves to ALMS you can bet he’ll be saying hi to his family at home.

(And I’m going to throw this in too.  There aren’t nearly enough children’s books related to motorsports and Pruett has written a few good ones.  Honestly can’t say I’ve bought them but I have flipped through them.  You can see and buy them here.  Start the kids out early!)