IndyCar – Viso to Test DRR

E.J. Viso will be testing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on December 9th at the famous Sebring Circuit in a one day event. Hugo must really be tossing a lot of money in support of his Venezuelan talent, and DRR is taking all of it. With Venezuelan Milka Dunno already racing (or pretending) under the DRR flag, a much more talented Viso will be brought in to test new data systems and equipment. Viso, whom currently is without a drive will be looking for employment before season prep really takes…

Read More

Media – NBC-Comcast Deal Nearly Complete

News came out today that a price for the Vivendi-owned portion of NBC has been agreed upon with GE. This was an important hurtle to the much rumored purchase of NBC-Universal by Comcast. Why are we, a motorsports blog, talking about television media industry news? Comcast is the parent company of the Versus network which airs the IZOD IndyCar Series along with ABC. For 2010, ABC will air five races, but the other twelve races will be broadcast on Versus. Here’s an excerpt from the article Vivendi, GE Agree on…

Read More

IndyCar – IZOD IndyCar Broadcast Schedule

Now that the deal for the Brazil race is finally complete, the broadcast schedule for the IZOD IndyCar Series has been finalized and published. …sorta. The network allocations have been made, and the race dates have been finalized, but the race times are still being debated. Many things remain the same as last year’s schedule including ABC showing the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Most of the races will be on Versus, with only five races, including the 500, being picked up by ABC. There are some notable changes from 2009,…

Read More

IndyCar – Danica’s New Ride

Not that its a big surprise, but Danica confirmed the three-year deal everyone knew she had with Andretti Autosport. The mild surprise is her change in primary sponsorship. Motorola is out and no where to be seen on the new car. GoDaddy.com is now featured prominently adding yet another green car to the grid. I guess Andretti Autosport either isn’t superstitious, or has never heard that green is an unlucky colour for race cars. Either way, as anticipated, Danica is back with the IZOD IndyCar Series for no less than…

Read More

IndyCar – Olá!, Brasil!

Well, its finally official. The IZOD IndyCar Series will in fact open the 2010 season in Brazil, but not in Rio as many originally thought, but in São Paulo. Here’s what Terry Angstadt had to say in an article posted at IndyCar.com: “While our primary focus continues to be building the IZOD IndyCar Series domestically, the race in Brazil affords us a unique opportunity to visit a country that has a huge passion for open-wheel racing. With strong support from our major partner Apex-Brasil, a significant television package from TV…

Read More

IndyCar – USF2000 Schedule Fun!

The newly reformed USF2000 series (sanctioned by the IRL) has released their 2010 schedule and it has a few interesting tidbits on it that we should talk about. First, here is the schedule. 3/27 – 3/28 St. Petersburg 5/29 O’riely Raceway Park 6/19 Iowa 6/26-6/27 New Jersey Motorsport Park 7/31 Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, IL 8/21-8/22 Road America 9/30-10/1 Road Atlanta Note that St. Petersburg, New Jersey Motorsport Park, and Autobahn Country Club will be double events. St. Petersburg and Iowa will be held on the same weekend as the…

Read More

IndyCar – Andretti Autosport Announced

Michael Andretti has completed dealings with former team co-owners Kevin Savoree and Kim Green. As was announced previously, Michael Andretti is now the sole owner of Andretti Autosport, while Green and Savoree have taken over ownership of what was previously Andretti Green Promotions which promotes the Toronto and St. Petersburg IndyCar races. Andretti says that they will stick with a four driver lineup next year, but we await official announcements of who all of those drivers will be. Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti are locked in with the newly named…

Read More

#F1 – JR Hildebrand Tests for Force India

2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, JR Hildebrand, will test for the Force India F1 team in the first days of December. Read the full article at Autosport.com. JR has been searching for a ride at the next level ever since August (probably before), but many, including myself, thought that meant a seat somewhere in the IZOD IndyCar Series, or perhaps with USF1 USGPE. Turns out that he has his sights set well above the doubtful USF1 USGPE and on a ride with a legitimate team that actually has a car…

Read More

IndyCar – IMS Announces new CIO

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having recently sacked its entire online media division, just hired a new CIO, Rhonda Winter. Ms. Winter has been around the Indianapolis area for a while working for the NCAA, Indianapolis Museum of Art (check their website! very cool, and not white text on black background!), and most recently with CIK Enterprises (whose web presence also does not suck). Here’s her comments from the announcement article at IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com: “I’m very excited to join the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this new role,” Winter said. “Technology is a…

Read More

IndyCar – PR VP John Griffin Resigns

John Griffin, Vice President of Public Relations for the Indy Racing League for the past seven years, announced his resignation from the league today effective on December 18th. Here’s the official release: “John has been a valued part of our organization and he will be missed,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the Indy Racing League. “His creativity and passion for the sport brought publicity for the IZOD IndyCar Series to a whole new level. We wish him the best of luck.” Griffin joined the Indy Racing…

Read More