Surfers Paradise in 2009?

The 2008 Nikon Indy 300 on the Streets of Surfers Paradise could be the final race on this popular circuit. It's a shame that a race that draws the size of crowd and promotions backing (see commercial below) that this race does could be on the chopping block but it comes down to season-long sponsorship deals.



It seems that this could be an ongoing issue until the series identifies itself as an international series or an American series. Many would contend that the decision has already been made, the IndyCar Series races in several international markets (Japan, Canada, Australia, talks of Mexico, etc.) but the clear majority of their races are in the United States and specifically, in the midwest. International sponsors don't want to limit themselves with a majority of US races and US sponsors don't want to lose several races per year to international markets. Granted, much of the sponsorship issues comes down to viewers, but I wonder what the sponsorship discussions would look like if it was billed as strictly American racing or strictly international (with the addition of several new international venues).

This weekends race is shaping up to be a solid race for the Aussie favorite, Will Power, who took the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award. Here's how the practice and qualifying in the days leading up to the race turned out (from IndyCar.com):

First round

(Two groups; 20 minutes per group with top six advancing)
Group 1: Ryan Hunter-Reay (1:53.1807); Alex Tagliani (1:53.4650); Vitor Meira (1:54.2486); E.J. Viso (1:54.5978); Mario Moraes (1:55.1731); Ryan Briscoe (1:55.4900).
Not advancing: Graham Rahal (1:55.6155); Oriol Servia (1:55.6628); Bruno Junqueira (1:58.0183); Ed Carpenter (1:58.7664); Townsend Bell (1:58.9264); Danica Patrick (No time).

Group 2: Will Power (1:50.4357); Tony Kanaan (1:50.6625); Justin Wilson (1:50.6966); Scott Dixon (1:50.7996); Dario Franchitti (1:51.3389); Helio Castroneves (1:51.5920).
Not advancing: Marco Andertti (1:52.2084); Hideki Mutoh (1:53.3353); Dan Wheldon (1:53.9160); Jaime Camara (1:54.0514); Buddy Rice (1:54.3489); A.J. Foyt IV (No time).

Second round

(One group; 15 minutes with top six advancing)
Advancing: 1. Dixon (1:39.2049); 2. Castroneves (1:39.6232); 3. Dario Franchitti (1:39.8594); 4. Briscoe (1:40.3121); 5. Power (1:40.4642); 6. Hunter-Reay (1:40.8848).
Not advancing: 7. Tagliani (1:41.3122); 8. Kanaan (1:41.4023); 9. Wilson (1:42.0429); 10. Viso (1:42.9185); 11. Meira (1:44.3348); 12. Moraes (1:51.5054).

Firestone Fast Six

(10-minute shootout)
1. Power (1:34.9451); 2. Dixon (1:35.7672); 3. Briscoe (1:35.8007); 4. Franchitti (1:35.9336); 5. Hunter-Reay (1:36.4030); 6. Castroneves (1:36.7425)

Porsche, Audi & Alfa Romeo Interested in the series

From Speedtv.com: |

Porsche and Alfa-Romeo didn't have much success the last time they tried Indy cars but apparently both are seriously considering coming back to the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar series. SPEEDTV.com has learned that Porsche, Alfa and Audi were the three engine manufacturers at last month's meeting here and all have shown interest in joining Honda in the series starting in 2011. Read more...

It will be exciting to see how the 2010 and 2011 seasons come together. (Not to mention next year!) I'm thrilled to see new interest in the series and think it can only mean good things. I do wish we would see some US based interest.

It's especially surprising to see Porsche and Alfa Romeo interested in returning considering the bad experiences they've had in the past with the IndyCar Series. Having said that, the IndyCar Series seems to be the best deal (value?) going in motorsports right now for drivers, sponsors and apparently manufacturers.

Matos to drive for Luczo Dragon

Luczo Dragon Racing announced today that Raphael Matos would take over the drivers seat in the number 12 Symantec car as a full-time entry to the IndyCar Series in 2009. Matos, who is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, enters the IndyCar Series with an IndyLights Championship under his belt. Click here to learn more about Matos.

Update on the Castroneves story

CNN Story Here. What a shame for such a nice guy and for the league. Helio has plead not guilty and paid $2 million cash and signed an $8 million personal surety bond to gain his release. It seems that he has placed his trust with his finances in the hands of the wrong person. Here's to hoping the IndyCar community supports their star until proven guilty. While we can all debate his guilt or innocence one thing that we can all agree on is that he is an asset to the series and would be severely missed if he left for any reason.

We'll continue to provide updates as they're released.

Dancing his way to tax evasion??

Say it isn't so...

From the AP - Full Story Here.
MIAMI (AP) — Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and TV "Dancing With the Stars" champion Helio Castroneves was indicted Thursday on tax evasion and tax fraud charges, accused of using offshore accounts to hide millions of dollars in income from the Internal Revenue Service...