Reports from around the web are stating that the operations of the fledgling USF1 team have ground to a halt. The brainchild of Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson which had the backing of YouTube Founder Chad Hurley apparently has informed their recently signed driver that they are going to miss at least the first 3 races of this season and as a result will not make the remaining races either.

Rumors now abound that Hurley has pulled his support for the team due to lack of progress and may likely be taking his money elsewhere to a more established team and even that the US team’s entry in the 2010 championship may be taken over by the Serbian based team Stefan GP.

So this is what the web is saying. Here’s to hoping that its all a bunch of crap and that they really will be pulling things together and all will be well. There have been many skeptics since the beginning. At this point I’m going to stay on the happy train and not necessarily go with what a European News Paper is saying. At this point it appears they are the only ones reporting it directly and everyone else is just using them as their source. It seems like an awful lot of work and money has been thrown into this to have it all fall apart this close to the start of the season. Now saying that this stuff happens in racing all the time. My fingers are crossed that it’s all bullshit. Perhaps its just a well timed publicity stunt to make their debut that much cooler.

Signed,
Delusional USF1 Fan

IndyCar.com is reporting that Dan Anderson has announced an agreement between his company Anderson Promotions, LLC and the Indy Racing League that will not only bring back the famed open wheel feeder series but will have it sanctioned by the IRL. 

Anderson is quoted as stating that he invisions a 12 event schedule in 2010 with some double header weekends, an emphasis on road and street courses, but also mentions the possibility of 2 ovals being on the schedule is out there.

I think this is excellent news.  The open wheel feeder system has been a bit lacking as of late.  The USF2000 Championship should fit nicely in that niche that falls just below Atlantics and Indy Lights.  Although Star Mazda exists there now I believe a 2nd tier feeder series with a solid affiliation to IndyCar is critical to grooming talent for the future of the series.  Not to mention that it could foster the creation of development programs at even early stages for young drivers. 

If the majority of the 10 races coincide with IndyCar weekends not only would it promote IndyCar teams participation in the feeder series it would make for more track events during those weekends.

You can check out the full story here:  http://www.indycar.com/news/?story_id=15341