CHAMP CAR--- VEGAS ROUND ONE CHATTER

[tooshaggy]

SO!!!!! Champ car is starting up soon. I have the pleasure of working the first two races (Vegas and Long Beach) as a corner marshal and I can't wait!!!
So many changes this year... new teams, new drivers, NEW CARS!!!!
What about Graham Rahal getting a ride in CART and NOT in IRL (indy wrecking league)????? Does daddy think the competition is better in CART, or does he think it is just a better/safer series????
Will Tracy get the hang of the paddle shift???
Will the 'standing start' be a disaster or will it work????
Will Paul Stoddard destroy CART from behind the scenes like he did with F1???
Just a few thoughts.

[checkered]

A tough call, but Bourdais

looks to be on form - and comfortable in machines like the Peugeot 908 LMP, too. I hope the top tiers of US single seater racing can finally sort out the financials and raise the profile of the concept coherently and in parallel to NASCAR. The DP01 chassis looks sleek overall, only the shaping of the radiator inlets have left me wondering whether this quest for "sleekness" has overridden more functional considerations in that area.

But this is a minor consideration in a single make series. Happy to see Cosworth engines in action, still can't believe there weren't any takers (for the time being?) in F1. The learning curve in the 'standing start' is steep - once bitten, twice shy. The race can only be lost in the first corner, not won. Stoddy can make waves, but it's up to others to ride'em or be capsized.

Have fun marshaling and good races. Vegas and Long Beach offer plenty of distractions, too, if there's any down time around the weekends!

[Scuderia_Russ]

Bourdais is still so fired up and from what I've seen still feels he needs to prove a point. Welcome to the board, and nice avatar!

[DaveKillens]

Welcome tooshaggy, lucky guy.
What can I say, I'm a Tracy fan and believe he is still smarting after being taken out by his teammate at the first race of the season.

IRL makes me nervous, running open wheelers side by side on a fast oval is always a recipe for disaster.

[Giblet]

Hopefully Tracy rolls his sleeves up for more fisticuffs this year.

Giblet