Indianapolis today with manufacturers and suppliers to lay the ground work for a common engine formula for Indy Car, American LeMans Series (LMP2 class) and the Rolex series (GT Prototype class). Attending the meeting are representatives from Ford (representing Mazda), GM, Audi-Porsche, BMW, Honda, Illmor and Cosworth. I also hear through the grapevine that Hyundai may be there, too.
Obviously a common engine formula would save the manufacturers a substantial amount of money, help contain costs for the teams and provide the fans with some added diversity, rivalry and flavor; which would be much better than watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series powered by Toyota.
Conspicuous by the absence was Toyota. Since they had experience with the several racing series in the past, pumped lots of money into them, weren‘t successful, and left everyone dangling when they pulled the plug on their unsuccessful efforts. Why pay for the R&D when they can get it handed to them or copy someone else’s? I’ll get to that later.
And on the heels of this, it could very well be that the honeymoon is over between Tony George and HRH the Emperor of All Things NA$CAR. It seems Tony got “rode hard and put away wet” in his dealings with HRH and is looking for an out. The recent agreements with Bruton Smith and $MI is a good indication of his dissatisfaction with the France family and only the tip of the iceberg of the problems he’s had with them. Both the Frances and Bruton have had their eyes in the Indy Speedway to add to their portfolios. It’s just the Frances have been trying to get it a lot longer than Bruton has. Stay tuned for more of “As the Race Tracks Turn”.
Recently, a rumor popped up about NA$CAR taking over the Rolex Series. It makes sense in several ways. Both series are owned by the France family. Both series run mandated parts. The Uni-Car is nothing more than a Rolex car built to NA$CAR specs. Could this be the end of Faux King Brian as his uncle runs the Rolex Series and might boot him from his thrown (be nice and flush twice)? I guess we’ll see as more of this develops.
I’m not sure how many folks out there are driving Tacoma’s, but if you are, make sure you get the frames checked out. It seems a lot of Tacoma’s were built with defective metal in their frames and they’re rusting out. Also be aware that if your Tacoma’s frame is rusting out, you won’t be getting it back. Toyota will offer to buy it back from you at about 1.5 times its value. They will also put you in a rental or “courtesy” vehicle either better, worse, or larger than your Tacoma and use “bait and switch” tactics on you to get you to buy another Toyota vehicle. As the old saying goes, “Buyer beware”.
And speaking of the same Japanese manufacturer, rumors have surfaced of The Beak going to DEI to replace Truex Jr and this ties in with the rumor of Tony leaving JGR. Folks, I’ve got it from two different sources that it’s a done deal. I mentioned in the past the GM would have to buy out Tony’s contract in order for him to become an owner or co-owner of the Hass-CNC team. Once again, I got confirmation that GM is doing just that. The second driver for Tony’s team would be Truex Jr. and he’d be taking Bass Pro with him. Armor All and Old Spice would be Tony’s sponsors. Now here’s where it gets weirder. Latest rumors regarding Office Depot and UPS is that they’re going to be sponsoring Truex and/or Stewart, providing Tony buys into the Haas-CNC operation, which appears to be in the works.
So, this leaves Motormouth Motorsports Neverwin Ranch in a bit of a lurch. Burger King's gone, Domino’s gone, UPS leaving, Aaron’s leaving, and Office Depot supposedly going to Tony’s team. Plus with NAPA going to be the Truck Series sponsor as of some rumors a couple of weeks ago, there’s no guarantees they’ll be back. That leaves Motormouth Motorsports with exactly no major sponsors. I wonder if Grey Goose and The Mansion in Miami Beach can afford to sponsor at least one team?
John and I were discussing Russia and China
and how they were always good at copying
things made in other countries; cars, trucks,
motorcycles, and aircraft as examples. No
original thought needed. This got me thinking
about NA$CAR. One manufacturer had no
experience in building or designing stock car
engines from scratch, so they copied the Dodge
engine and other Dodge parts. Recently, that
same manufacturer has added Chevy engine
parts to their list. With the upcoming engine
downsizing and the interchangeable parts idea
that NA$CAR wants to do, you have to wonder
if that same company can actually create
something genuinely new or will they continue to copy everybody else’s technology.
And a tip of the hat to the Army Corps of Engineers over in Iraq. Once again the mainstream media failed to mention that the Corps of Engineers has been busy over there restoring electrical power, building new power stations, and bringing electricity to people who’ve never had it before. The folks in Qudas just got a power station which will provide power to 180,000 people. But like a lot of other humanitarian efforts in Iraq, we don’t hear about. So my thanks to the fine folks of the Army Corps of Engineers for helping bring a better life to those who never had one.
Motherhood, Apple Pie, and John Wayne
Mad Mikie
Curmudgeon at Large
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