Finally the Final Standings! And that is Final!

Okay so I finally got round to making it official and crowning Rob Duffield the inaugural 'Midweek Motorsport IndyCar Fantasy League' Champion. He really took a stranglehold on the League round about week 11 at Nashville and from then on he rode Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves all the way to the title. That may be something Helio may have to get used to if his trial goes the wrong way in early March.

So here are the final standings:

1/
Rob Duffield - Team IndyCart - 3572 points

2/
Declan Brennan - Gerry Forsythe's 'Play Your Cars Right' - 3174 points

3/
John Harbey - Come Back to Rockingham' - 3138 points

4/
Tim Gray - I am Tim Gray - 3097 points

5/
Michael Rennick - 3.2 Million Bricks - 3050 points

6/
Julie Werner - Team RPH - 2901 points

7/
Doug Werner - Drivers that weigh more than Danica - 2811 points

8/
Mike Gathman - Weekend Warriors - 2800 points

9/
Matthew Hyndman - Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips - 2591 points

10/
Adrian Bourne - Month of Mayhem - 2562 points

11/
Jim Casey - I hate Tony George - 2454 points

12/
Emiliyan Stoykov - Tony George stole my series - 2448 points

13/
Jason Kwok - Indy pace car speed - 2359 points

14/
Jon Bigger - Team Bigger USA - 2308 points

15/
James Murphy - Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms - 2274 points

16/
Andrew Harbey - Should we stay or split now? - 2213 points

17/
David Harbey - no Ferrari Influence Apparent - 2155 points

18/
Sam Collins - Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings - 2004 points

19/
Maureen O'Neil - PT Cruiser - 1979 points

20/
Andy Blackmore - Super Duper Best Friends - 1930 points

21/
Chris Vince -Danika Wheldon Crash Team - 1901 points

22/
Nick Daman - Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger? - 1680 points

23/
John Hindhaugh - I am Hindy - 1678 points

24/
Louis Berlan - Opposite Lock Motorsports - 1514 points

25/
Simon Speichert - Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons - 1457 points

26/
Matt Thompson - Empty tank racing - 1466 points

27/
Jeremy Scott - One lap down - 1275 points

Standings After The Shagall Grand Prix of Edmonton

1st
2615 - "Team IndyCart" - Robert Duffield
[Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Oriol Servia, Milka Duno, Jaime Camara]

2nd
2409 - "Come back to Rockingham" - John Harbey
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Mario Moreas, Marty Roth]


3rd
2396 - "3.2 Million Bricks" - Michael Rennick
[Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Ernesto Viso, Enrique Bernoldi, Ryan Hunter Reay]


4th
2382 - "I am Timgray" - Tim Gray
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell, Mario Moraes]

5th
2294 - Doug Werner - "Drivers who weigh more than Danica"
[Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, AJ Foyt IV, Enrique Bernoldi, Ed Carpenter]

6th
2161 - "RPH Racing" - Julie Werner
[Helio Castro Neves, Ryan Hunter Reay, Wiil Power, Ed Carpenter, Enrique Bernoldi]

7th
2139 - "Gerry Forsythe's 'Play your cars right'" - Declan Brennan
[Ryan Briscoe, Will Power, Bruno Junquiera, Helio Castroneves, Mario Moraes]


8th
2021 - "Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips" - Matthew Hyndman
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter Reay, Enrique Bernoldi, Milka Duno]

9th
1955 - Michael Gathman - "Weekend Warriors"
[Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Jaime Camara]

10th
1729 - "Tony George stole my Series" - Emiliyan Stoykov
[Vitor Meira, Scott Dixon, Bruno Junquieira, Mario Moreas, Enrique Bernoldi]

11th
1679 - "I Hate Tony George" - Jim Casey
[Ryan Hunter Reay, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe, Darren Manning, Jaime Camara]


12th
1838 - "Month of Mayhem" - Adrian Bourne
[Helio Castro Neves, Vitor Meira, Bruno Junquiera, Townsend Bell, Darren Manning]

13th
1779 - "Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms" - James Murphy
[Will Power, Ryan Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Buddy Rice]


14th
1760 - "no Ferrari Influence Apparent" - David Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Darren Manning, Mario Moraes, Townsend Bell]


15th
1759 - "Team Bigger USA" - Jon Bigger
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Vitor Meira]

16th
1753 - "Should We Stay or Should We Split Now?" - Andrew Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi, Buddy Rice]


17th
1632 - "Indy Pace Car Speed" - Jason Kwok
[Enrique Bernoldi, Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Oriol Servia, Will Power]

18th
1619 - "Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings" - Sam Collins
[Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Jay Howard, Franck Perera]

19th
1614 - "PT Cruiser" - Maureen O'Neil
[Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, Ernesto Viso, Mario Moraes]


20th
1515 - "Super Duper Best Friends" - Andy Blackmore
[Tony Kanaan, Marco Andrettti, Darren Manning, Milka Duno, Marty Roth]


21st
1483 - "I am Hindy" - John Hindhaugh
[Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter, Will Power , John Andretti]


22nd
1441 - "Danika Wheldon Crash Team" - Chris Vince
[Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Graham Rahal , Mario Moreas]

23rd
1230 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]

24th
1217 - "Opposite Lock Motorsports" - Louis Berlan
[Dan Wheldon, Franck Perera, Will Power, Mario Moraes, Roger Yasukawa]

25th
1191 - "Empty Tank Racing" - Matt Thompson
[Marco Andretti, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Danica Patrick, Marty Roth]


26th
1040 - "One Lap Down" - Jeremy Scott
[Will Power, Bruno Junquiera, Ryan Hunter Reay, Thomas Scheckter, Jaime Camara]

27th
913 - "Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons" - Simon Speichert
[Graham Rahal, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia]

- The Commish

The Harbey Colorado Travelogue I

Drag racing is the purest form of motorsport – discuss – part 1

Regular listeners to MWM will recall talk of two centre holidays. These, being MWM, have a distinct motor sporting theme, rather than visiting, for example, two European cities rich in cultural heritage. One J Hindhaugh Esq. probably started it with Sebring plus NHRA at Gainesville a couple of years ago. For us, last Autumn (Fall, even) we did Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta followed by NASCAR at Charlotte a week later. It was felt that NASCAR at Talladega the day after Petit might be a bit much when we had only flown in from London on the Thursday! Both events were thoroughly enjoyed.

This year, we are combining NHRA drag racing at Bandimere Speedway in Denver with a long held desire to visit Pikes Peak Hill climb. As with NASCAR in 2007, the NHRA was a bonus – Petit Le Mans and Pikes Peak were the primary reason for the choice of holiday venue in each case – the second event really just a fabulous bonus when perusing the sporting calendar. As a quick aside, Colorado is well worth a visit for the scenery alone, or should you prefer, South Carolina has places like Charleston to enjoy.

We sat in the stands in the baking hot sun at Bandimere for the Mopar Mile High Nationals having seen all the top drivers presented to the crowd – with a positive invitation to go down and join them near the start. There’s also an open paddock – other forms of motorsport please take note.

I must confess, to my shame, that at this point I wasn’t really sure what would happen next, except that we would see the run offs through to the eventual winners in each category. I’d seen odd bits of British and US drag racing from time to time on TV; we’d also caught up on some highlights of qualifying on ESPN the night before – but had never even made the 30 minute drive from home to Santa Pod in the UK. Nor had I had time to look at Wikipedia or the NHRA website properly, both of which have good descriptions of what happens.

This lack of attendance at Santa Pod may be down to more mainstream motorsport roots or a resistance to yet another UK ex-WW2 aerodrome as a sporting venue! A good friend in the US (who grew up around NHRA with his father who worked with one of the teams) counselled that if NASCAR was redneck territory, then NHRA was even more down market ....

Back to Bandimere. Now, you might expect that they would start with slower categories, building up to the fastest, noisiest Top Fuel cars – but NO – the Top Fuelers were first on. The sound, the smell, the smoke, the visual spectacle of colourful dragsters was stunning. The sound reverberated around the rib cage as they flew past in a furious assault on the senses. And then 4 seconds and 300 mph terminal speed later, peace returned. Until the next pair and so on.

Top Fuelers were followed by Funny Cars – brilliant parodies of passenger vehicles – then Pro Stock and Bikes. Gradually eliminating the losers each time, we cycled through to the eventual winners. For the later semi finals, we stood at ground level – again we were struck by the controlled violence, the noise, the vibrations, the smells.

It was during the opening round of competition that the thought occurred to me – is drag racing not the purest form of motorsport? Yes, F1 is a technical highpoint; endurance racing is a test of the whole team; rallying requires two in the car and touring cars ... erm, don’t get me started on banger racing!

Perhaps then, pitching man or woman and machine against each other over a straight quarter mile stretch of tarmac is the ultimate – “who is best ?” - challenge. A test of reaction time off the start, the ability to control the dragster if it gets out of line and to reach the end of the timing strip first. Reaction times were typically around 0.06/0.07 seconds.

I am not suggesting it is necessarily the best form of motorsport, but rather the purest, the ultimate challenge – one that requires a huge amount of bravery – the risks are there for all to see - the Top Fuel and Funny Cars were running over 1000 yards only at Bandimere following the tragic death of Scott Kalitta just a few weeks ago.

No need for refuelling, changing tyres and human error (Peugeot at Le Mans so memorably described by Hindy as like Fred Karno’s army). No turning corners, simply a straight line, flat out, all the way blast of power.

So the question is posed – is drag racing is the purest form of motorsport? There is a strong argument that it is. However, I might need to revisit that opinion in a few days time. What could be purer than racing up a hill, or even a mountain, which they have been doing on Pikes Peak since 1916?

Part two will follow shortly...

The Harbey Colorado Travelogue II

Drag racing is the purest form of motorsport – discuss –

Part 2

So, here we are the day after Pikes Peak and the 86^th running of the International Hill Climb.

As with drag racing in part 1, my exposure to hill climbing has been minimal, apart from Shelsey Walsh and Prescott hill climbs in the UK being on my list of “must go to least once in my life“ motorsport events - oh, and looking for twisty mountain roads on the map when on holiday – and, yes, the big drop is always on the better half’s side of the car !

The Pikes Peak experience can take up the whole week. From Wednesday to Friday, competitors practice on sections of the mountain – and be in no doubt, this is not hill climbing – it is mountain climbing. The start of the 12.42 mile run is at 9,390 ft; the finish is at 14,110 ft. These days half is tarmac; half is gravel, although they are pushing on with plans to tarmac more and more of the road.

The road is open to the public every day, bar race day, and for the requisite number of dollars you too can drive up, but at clearly marked maximum speeds ... So practice has to happen early, very early, in fact so early that we did not get up to go and watch, having finally got used to the minus 7 hour time difference to the UK.

We drove up at more normal hours on Tuesday to suss out where we wanted to watch from. Glen Cove, roughly halfway has a cafe, the obligatory gift shop and other necessary facilities. You can walk up to a tarmac hairpin, down to gravel hairpins – but remember to take your time, you are at 11,000 feet and the air is considerably thinner.

We also re-watched the Ari Vatanen video (see the MWM Collective Facebook site – thanks for posting it, Dex) to get us in the mood. You don’t need me to tell you that he is a star ...

Friday night saw the Fan Fest in downtown Colorado Springs. Now I’m not one for over-hyped American hullabaloo, but I was pleasantly surprised. A good number of people, some stunt MotoX, a lot of loud “Green Day” sort of music, and quite a number of competing cars / bikes. We found Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, the favourite for the quickest time this year and current record holder, standing by his Suzuki – had a quick chat and photo – a very quiet unassuming man.

We also found Richard Meaden – British journalist and racing driver - who was returning for his second attempt at Pikes Peak as Paul Dallenbach’s team-mate. His description of his 2007 attempt in Evo (where he then worked) was useful as we made our plans. You can find his blog at his new venture www.drivers-republic.com. Also to be found was the Lotus 23 that Bobby Unser – the Unsers are THE Pikes Peak family - drove to a class and divisional win in 1964. Having driven up Pikes Peak in our Toyota Highlander, it seemed too low, too fragile – it is a Lotus after all.

04.45 Sunday morning – the alarm goes off. To get the “Race to the Clouds” underway at 9 am, there are strict times for accessing the mountain. We arrived at Glen Cove before 7 am to find the car parking space almost full – the advice we had received was sound. A beautiful sunny morning with a fulfilled promise of fine weather all day – although just a couple of years ago they had rain and snow at the highest elevations on race day.

The local AM radio station was broadcasting from the event and available on-line– sort of Radio Le Pikes Peak – and was a useful addition to the experience. There was also streaming video apparently – so we need not miss out next year !

It was cars first, a mix of Baja type buggies, vintage (Carrera Panamericana), rally cars, drift cars and Unlimited. Highlights were Rhys Millen (of the Millen family) in his drift Pontiac Solstice in Red Bull colours executing a perfect slide round the gravel hairpin where we were watching; Paul Dallenbach’s open wheeler and Tajima of course. The bikers, including sidecars and quads made up the bigger portion of the entry and were started five at a time leading to some good battles as they passed us.

Oh, and then we finished with the trucks ... not Craftsman Trucks (pick ups to the Brits) but proper big rigs – without trailers though ! The faster one set a better time through the speed trap than many of the bikes !

After every competitor has made it up the hill - or retired along the way – they all parade back down together. At Glen Cove, spectators line the road to give high fives to the riders and drivers as they pass – a nice touch. Not everyone did make it, we had 14 red flags during the day leading to some long gaps in action and a couple of hospital trips for competitors.

We were also teased with the possibility of a sub 10 minute run from Tajima – but the weather was too dry and hot and some of the work preparatory to laying tarmac on the upper section seemed to have slowed things down there as well – never fear though, to see cars sliding round a fast uphill gravel hairpin is no bad thing !

Now, to return to the original premise – that drag racing is the purest form of motorsport. Firstly what about Pikes Peak ? It has history on its side, it is against the clock and fellow competitors, but as they said on the radio coverage, this year the winner was the mountain. We came expecting Tajima to better last year’s 10 mins 01.408 secs and get below the magic barrier, but he failed by 18 seconds – although he did beat everyone else by a huge margin !

I’m not sure there is a purest form of motorsport – each to his or her own – every variety relies to a greater or lesser extent on external factors, the weather, the vehicle preparation, the driver’s state of mind on the day, fellow competitors sometimes.

Perhaps the purest form of motorsport has 1 hp vehicles - that is 1 human power – the human body ? It’s a bit like asking who was the greatest Grand Prix driver –the answer, of course, is Jim Clark – in my humble opinion ...

The best advice is to enjoy your motorsport – whether watching or taking part ! We certainly intend to return to NHRA and Pikes Peak one day – perhaps when the latter is all tarmac – now that will be quick ! In the meantime, where is that Santa Pod fixture list, oh and the European Hill climb Championship calendar for 2009 ... ?

David Harbey

Footnote #1 – I have posted a few photos to illustrate the above on the Collective Facebook site

Footnote #2 -I should acknowledge the huge and willing contribution of my Mrs H. Madeline is a wonderful woman with great forbearance and fortitude who I hope one day to take to V8 Supercars at Bathurst, Indianapolis 500, WRC in Corsica, Monaco Historic GP and many other events !

Qualifying update and more from the MWM Spy Chart

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series qualifying was sensational, with teammates Andrew Ranger, defending series champion, and rookie Alex Tagliani starting together on the front row! Last year Ranger led a phenomenal race until the last lap, having driven the tires off his Ford. Like Ranger, Tagliani has done well at this track in much faster machinery, but the twisty rhythm sections demand absolute finesse in a heavy stock car.

Jonathan Bomarito won a competitive first race of the Atlantic Championship double-header. Bomarito trailed polesitter James Hinchcliffe for most of the race, followed closely by Markus Niemela and Star Mazda champion Dane Cameron. Bomarito pressured Hinch into making a mistake and overtook, Niemela following into second place. All the Canadians - Hinchcliffe, Daniel Morad and Walker Racing's Kevin Lacroix - ended in the top 10. Greg and Leo Mansell are Lacroix's teammates and are completely pants.

Indycar qualifying was outstanding. Paul Tracy would have made it into the fast 6 of his group if he'd had one more lap - as it was he kept going after the chequered flew, and the announcers thought he made it to the next round for a moment. The crowd went wild and then groaned as it was announced he hadn't beat the clock. Knockout qualifying is a blast, except if you're in Marty Roth's group. Roth held up almost every car at one point.

Merchandise selection here is piss-poor. Last year Champ Car had tons of shirts, hats, visors, bags, flags, you name it. Crew shirts that were going for $150 sold out. There was driver-specific merchandise for Bourdais, Rahal, Wilson, Legge, Tagliani, Doornbos, Neel Jani for god's sake. Here? Danica and Helio. That's it. It's pathetic. On track things are better, but there are some presentation pointers the IRL folks could stand to listen to.


The Grid for this evening's race:

Fast Six By Firestone
1. Ryan Briscoe (6) 1:00.7311
2. Helio Castroneves (3) 1:00.8360
3. Oriol Servia (5) 1:00.8584
4. Scott Dixon (9) 1:00.8585
5. Will Power (8) 1:01.0154
6. Justin Wilson (02) -0.0001

7. Bruno Junqueira (18) 1:01.2991
8. Graham Rahal (06) 1:01.4573
9. Dan Wheldon (10) 1:01.6656
10. Mario Moraes (19) 1:01.7552
11. Enrique Bernoldi (36) 1:02.0227
12. Marco Andretti (26) 1:02.2991

13. Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 1:02.1039
14. Danica Patrick (7) 1:02.4171
15. Paul Tracy (22) 1:02.2387
16. Vitor Meira (4) 1:02.4907
17. A.J. Foyt IV (2) 1:03.1346
18. Darren Manning (14) 1:02.6644
19. Mario Dominguez (96) 1:03.1359
20. E.J. Viso (33) 1:02.9242
21. Hideki Mutoh (27) 1:03.8100
22. Buddy Rice (15) 1:03.4276
23. Ed Carpenter (20) 1:03.8825
24. Townsend Bell (23) 1:03.6396
25. Marty Roth (25) 1:09.0498
26. Jaime Camara (34) 1:03.8572
27. Tony Kanaan (11) -0.0001

So Kanaan starts from the back and Paul Tracy misjudged his final qualifying run. Oh well, we'll just have to watch them charge into the top 10, that's a shame. Unfortunately there is little room for error here and the chances of the races being truncated, ruined or delivering an unlikely winner are very high. On saying that it is a wonderful track and it's making me miss Cleveland even more this season.

Enjoy the race.

- The Commish

Live blogging updates from our embedded guest in Edmonton

Simon Speichert gives us the latest from the track in the hopes of giving you all a steer when it comes to those all important driver choices today:


I can't wait for qualifying, I think there may have been some rain last night, we'll see if there's any rubber still on the track.

Just watched this lap of Bobby D (Robert Doornbos) in the Panoz (Champ Car) last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVl9IJC32XM

Good god those Dallaras are slow. I miss turbocharged cars! Watch in the carousel, he's on the throttle throughout. Not only did they have more power, but they sure as hell turned better. Watch the last corner, which Doornbos calls Big Balls Corner - it's a flat chicane for the Panoz while the Indycar has to shift down! I think that might be where they lose the most time. It gets a lot faster once the track rubbers up.

The point has been made that if there was a 107% rule, Marty Roth wouldn't qualify. His fastest practice time was 1:07.2, which would put him 12th on the grid for the Atlantic race in his Indycar. Lord, wouldn't that be a sight!?

The Atlantics are only about 3 seconds slower than the Indycars. I really hope IMSA promotes Atlantics, because the cars are fun to watch, good looking, and it seems to be a good training ground for prototype racers, if not Indycars.

All the best,

Simon

Evening Practice Results from Edmonton

The gauntlet has well and truly been thrown down. KV technologies, as mentioned in the preview, landed the early blows against Penske in this prize fight. Although a quick look at the judges score cards will tell you tell you that there is very little in it at this point.

The literal heavyweight in this fight, Paul Tracy, has made a terrific start to his comeback weekend and at this point cannot be ruled out of a top 5 finish. His current value may make him a relative bargain this weekend.

Other notables include Bruno Junquiera who made the Top 10 in the second practice despite the fact that he had limited running time after an early off. He has shown the speed to make the 'Firestone Fast Six by Firestone presented by Firestone' this season and can also be considered a bargain pick up.


BREAKING NEWS!!!

....this just in from our MWM guest reporter at the track, Simon Speichert

'Will Power was showing some pretty good pace, as were both Penskes. I like sitting at the carousel, it's a nice wide radius hairpin with a wall on the outside, so the exit is key. Will had some nice car control - it's such a slow corner and it's easy to want to get on the power too soon - and got faster as the corner rubbered up.

Will's pole time last year in the Panoz was 58.403. Bourdais' in 2006 in the Lola was 58.560. It's KV vs. Penske this weekend!'


More to follow after the morning practice to morrow.

- The Commish

1. Will Power (8) 1:02.3404
2. Oriol Servia (5) 1:02.3900
3. Helio Castroneves (3) 1:02.5365
4. Ryan Briscoe (6) 1:02.5831
5. Justin Wilson (02) 1:02.6220
6. Scott Dixon (9) 1:02.6685
7. Tony Kanaan (11) 1:02.6806
8. Paul Tracy (22) 1:02.6933
9. Graham Rahal (06)1:02.75281
10. Bruno Junqueira (18)1:02.8760
11. Dan Wheldon (10)1:02.8800
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay (17)1:02.9395
13. Mario Moraes (19)1:03.28561
14. Hideki Mutoh (27)1:03.4641
15. Marco Andretti (26)1:03.4684
16. Mario Dominguez (96)1:03.5862
17. Vitor Meira (4)1:03.8570
18. Ed Carpenter (20)1:03.9548
19. Darren Manning (14)1:03.98661
20. A.J. Foyt IV (2)1:04.1350
21. Buddy Rice (15)1:04.1646
22. Enrique Bernoldi (36)1:04.2360
23. Danica Patrick (7)1:04.3010
24. Jaime Camara (34)1:04.8655
25. Townsend Bell (23)1:04.9073
26. Marty Roth (25)1:07.2098

Edmonton Preview & Official Window Opening

He's Back!

Who knew the crudely edited joke (see below) in the Rules & Regs would prove so brutally apt?



The food in question being Subway and the work, of course, is pulling the fans in, North of the border, in large numbers. Paul Tracy will jump into a Dallara for Saturday evening's race and will be sure to put a rat amongst the widgeons.

Will he have any significant influence on the proceedings? It is hard to predict at this stage, but, he will, as usual, be worth watching. He is as likley to win as he is to roll the Vision car up into a small ball. He could also do a 'Cleveland' when he did a mixture of both by winning and using three (count them), that's three, nosecones in the process.

The shoe is finally completely on the other foot for the Champ Car refugee drivers and teams as this is the first track the Indy Car regulars have no track knowledge and no set up data to rely on. In many ways, this is almost a preview of what we should see more often next season as a whole.

Who is going to win? I have no idea, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves must be favourites but one cannot rule out Justin Wilson based on his performances this season on all road courses, the one thing he has not had is luck. KV racing look very strong for the top five too with Power and Servia. It in entirely possible that not one of last year's Indy Car regulars could make the top 5.

I have adjusted the driver values accordingly. The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that Mario Moraes has increased in value substantially this weekend. This is based on his execellent performances over the last three weeks.

Enjoy and please remember that the transfer window will shut prior to qualifying on Friday night at 10.15pm BST or 5.15pm EST.

Enjoy.

- The Commish

Updated Scores after Nashville & Mid Ohio

1st
2330 - "Team IndyCart" - Robert Duffield
[Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Oriol Servia, Milka Duno, Jaime Camara]

2nd
2234 - "3.2 Million Bricks" - Michael Rennick
[Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Ernesto Viso, Jay Howard, Ryan Hunter Reay]


2nd
2234 - "Come back to Rockingham" - John Harbey
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Mario Moreas, Marty Roth]


4th
2207 - "I am Timgray" - Tim Gray
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell, Mario Moraes]

5th
2089 - Doug Werner - "Drivers who weigh more than Danica"
[Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, AJ Foyt IV, Enrique Bernoldi, Ed Carpenter]

6th
2006 - "RPH Racing" - Julie Werner
[Helio Castro Neves, Ryan Hunter Reay, Wiil Power, Ed Carpenter, Enrique Bernoldi]


7th
1974 - "Gerry Forsythe's 'Play your cars right'" - Declan Brennan
[Ryan Briscoe, Marco Andretti, Bruno Junquiera, Helio Castroneves, Mario Moraes]


8th
1811 - "Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips" - Matthew Hyndman
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter Reay, Enrique Bernoldi, Milka Duno]

9th
1810 - Michael Gathman - "Weekend Warriors"
[Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Jaime Camara]


10th
1729 - "Tony George stole my Series" - Emiliyan Stoykov
[Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon, Bruno Junquieira, Marco Andretti, Enrique Bernoldi]

11th
1709 - "Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms" - James Murphy
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Buddy Rice]


12th
1704 - "Team Bigger USA" - Jon Bigger
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Vitor Meira]

13th
1698 - "Month of Mayhem" - Adrian Bourne
[Helio Castro Neves, Vitor Meira, Bruno Junquiera, Townsend Bell, Darren Manning]

14th
1690 - "no Ferrari Influence Apparent" - David Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Darren Manning, Mario Moraes, Townsend Bell]


15th
1679 - "I Hate Tony George" - Jim Casey
[Ryan Hunter Reay, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe, Darren Manning, Jaime Camara]


16th
1598 - "Should We Stay or Should We Split Now?" - Andrew Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi, Buddy Rice]


17th
1562 - "PT Cruiser" - Maureen O'Neil
[Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, Ernesto Viso, Mario Moraes]


18th
1529 - "Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings" - Sam Collins
[Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Jay Howard, Franck Perera]

19th
1472 - "Indy Pace Car Speed" - Jason Kwok
[Enrique Bernoldi, Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Oriol Servia, Will Power]

20th
1450 - "Super Duper Best Friends" - Andy Blackmore
[Tony Kanaan, Marco Andrettti, Darren Manning, Milka Duno, Marty Roth]


21st
1446 - "I am Hindy" - John Hindhaugh
[Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter, Will Power , John Andretti]


22nd
1366 - "Danika Wheldon Crash Team" - Chris Vince
[Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Graham Rahal , Mario Moreas]

23rd
1186 - "Empty Tank Racing" - Matt Thompson
[Marco Andretti, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Danica Patrick, Marty Roth]


24th
1177 - "Opposite Lock Motorsports" - Louis Berlan
[Dan Wheldon, Franck Perera, Will Power, Mario Moraes, Roger Yasukawa]

25th
1125 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]


26th
1000 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]


27th
913 - "Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons" - Simon Speichert
[Graham Rahal, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia]

- The Commish

Standings After Watkins Glen Miller Lite 250 or whatever it was called

1st
1919 - "3.2 Million Bricks" - Michael Rennick
[Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Ernesto Viso, Jay Howard, Ryan Hunter Reay]


2nd
1890 - "Team IndyCart" - Robert Duffield
[Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal, Milka Duno, Jaime Camara]

3rd
1802 - Doug Werner - "Drivers who weigh more than Danica"
[Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, Ernesto Viso, Enrique Bernoldi, Ed Carpenter]
Scott Dixon

4th
1769 - "I am Timgray" - Tim Gray
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell, Mario Moraes]

5th
1769 - "Come back to Rockingham" - John Harbey
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Mario Moreas, Marty Roth]


6th
1674 - "RPH Racing" - Julie Werner
[Helio Castro Neves, Ryan Hunter Reay, Wiil Power, Ed Carpenter, Enrique Bernoldi]


7th
1612 - "Gerry Forsythe's 'Play your cars right'" - Declan Brennan
[Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Justin Wilson, Helio Castroneves, Mario Moraes]



8th
1542 - "Tony George stole my Series" - Emiliyan Stoykov
[Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon, Bruno Junquieira, Marco Andretti, Enrique Bernoldi]

9th
1520 - Michael Gathman - "Weekend Warriors"
[Helio Castroneves, Ernesto Viso, Hideki Mutoh, Enrique Bernoldi, Jaime Camara]


10th
1510 - "no Ferrari Influence Apparent" - David Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Darren Manning, Mario Moraes, Townsend Bell]


11th
1469 - "Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms" - James Murphy
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Buddy Rice]


12th
1456 - "Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips" - Matthew Hyndman
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter Reay, Enrique Bernoldi, Milka Duno]

13th
1409 - "Team Bigger USA" - Jon Bigger
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Vitor Meira]

14th
1400 - "PT Cruiser" - Maureen O'Neil
[Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, Ernesto Viso, Mario Moraes]


15th
1383 - "Should We Stay or Should We Split Now?" - Andrew Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi, Buddy Rice]


16th
1366 - "Month of Mayhem" - Adrian Bourne
[Helio Castro Neves, Vitor Meira, Bruno Junquiera, Townsend Bell, Darren Manning]

17th
1344 - "I am Hindy" - John Hindhaugh
[Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter, Will Power , John Andretti]


17th
1329 - "I Hate Tony George" - Jim Casey
[Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi]


18th
1287 - "Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings" - Sam Collins
[Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Jay Howard, Franck Perera]

19th
1255 - "Super Duper Best Friends" - Andy Blackmore
[Tony Kanaan, Marco Andrettti, Darren Manning, Milka Duno, Marty Roth]


20th
1169 - "Danika Wheldon Crash Team" - Chris Vince
[Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Ernesto Viso , Mario Moreas]

21st
1112 - "Indy Pace Car Speed" - Jason Kwok
[Enrique Bernoldi, Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Oriol Servia, Will Power]

22nd
1026 - "Empty Tank Racing" - Matt Thompson
[Marco Andretti, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Danica Patrick, Marty Roth]


23rd
982 - "Opposite Lock Motorsports" - Louis Berlan
[Dan Wheldon, Franck Perera, Will Power, Mario Moraes, Roger Yasukawa]

25th
950 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]


26th
873 - "One Lap Down" - Jeremy Scott
[Will Power, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Thomas Scheckter, Jaime Camara]

27th
733 - "Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons" - Simon Speichert
[Graham Rahal, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia]

- The Commish

Transfer Window Open - Road Racing is now go!

Okay All,

You have until Saturday, just before final qualifying to get your selections in for the road race at Watkins Glen. I have adjusted the prices accordingly and there are bargains to be had as we hit the second half of the season.

The official entry list is as follows:

2 A.J. Foyt IV
3 Helio Castroneves
4 Vitor Meira
5 Oriol Servia
6 Ryan Briscoe
7 Danica Patrick
8 Will Power (R)
9 Scott Dixon
10 Dan Wheldon
11 Tony Kanaan
14 Darren Manning
15 Buddy Rice
17 Ryan HunterReay
18 Bruno Junqueira
19 Mario Moraes (R)
20 Ed Carpenter
23 Milka Duno
24 Jay Howard
25 Marty Roth
26 Marco Andretti
27 Hideki Mutoh (R)
33 E.J. Viso (R)
34 Jaime Camara (R)
36 Enrique Bernoldi (R)
96 Mario Dominguez (R)
02 Justin Wilson (R)
06 Graham Rahal (R)

Standings after Richmond Crashfest (Trinidad & Tobago)

Here are the standings after the Richmond Crashfest, report to follow unless it crashes.......

1st
1835 - "Team IndyCart" - Robert Duffield
[Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal, Milka Duno, Jaime Camara]

2nd
1757 - Doug Werner - "Drivers who weigh more than Danica"
[Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, Ernesto Viso, Enrique Bernoldi, Ed Carpenter]
Scott Dixon

3rd
1749 - "3.2 Million Bricks" - Michael Rennick
[Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Ernesto Viso, John Andretti, Ryan Hunter Reay]


4th
1672 - "I am Timgray" - Tim Gray
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell, Mario Moraes]

5th
1664 - "Come back to Rockingham" - John Harbey
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Mario Moreas, Marty Roth]


6th
1547 - "RPH Racing" - Julie Werner
[Helio Castro Neves, Hideki Mutoh, Wiil Power, Ed Carpenter, Enrique Bernoldi]


7th
1502 - "Gerry Forsythe's 'Play your cars right'" - Declan Brennan
[Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira, Justin Wilson, Ernesto Viso, John Andretti]


8th
1442 - "Tony George stole my Series" - Emiliyan Stoykov
[Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon, Bruno Junquieira, Marco Andretti, Enrique Bernoldi]

9th
1420 - Michael Gathman - "Weekend Warriors"
[Helio Castroneves, Ernesto Viso, Tony Kanaan, Ed Carpenter, Mario Moraes]


10th
1335 - "no Ferrari Influence Apparent" - David Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Darren Manning, Mario Moraes, Townsend Bell]


11th
1304 - "Team Bigger USA" - Jon Bigger
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Vitor Meira]

12th
1300 - "PT Cruiser" - Maureen O'Neil
[Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, Ernesto Viso, Mario Moraes]


13th
1266 - "Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips" - Matthew Hyndman
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter Reay, Enrique Bernoldi, Milka Duno]

14th
1244 - "Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms" - James Murphy
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Buddy Rice]


15th
1238 - "Should We Stay or Should We Split Now?" - Andrew Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi, Buddy Rice]


16th
1231 - "Month of Mayhem" - Adrian Bourne
[Helio Castro Neves, Vitor Meira, Bruno Junquiera, Townsend Bell, Darren Manning]

17th
1139 - "I Hate Tony George" - Jim Casey
[Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Jaime Camara, Enrique Bernoldi]


18th
1135 - "Super Duper Best Friends" - Andy Blackmore
[Tony Kanaan, Marco Andrettti, Darren Manning, Milka Duno, Marty Roth]


19th
1107 - "Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings" - Sam Collins
[Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Jay Howard, Franck Perera]

20th
1099 - "I am Hindy" - John Hindhaugh
[Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter, Will Power , John Andretti]


21st
1080 - "Indy Pace Car Speed" - Jason Kwok
[Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Tomas Scheckter, Justin Wilson, Milka Duno]

22nd
969 - "Empty Tank Racing" - Matt Thompson
[Marco Andretti, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Danica Patrick, Marty Roth]


23rd
940 - "Opposite Lock Motorsports" - Louis Berlan
[Dan Wheldon, Franck Perera, Will Power, Mario Moraes, Roger Yasukawa]

24th
864 - "Danika Wheldon Crash Team" - Chris Vince
[Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Ernesto Viso , Mario Moreas]

25th
840 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]


26th
701 - "One Lap Down" - Jeremy Scott
[Will Power, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Thomas Scheckter, Jaime Camara]

27th
696 - "Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons" - Simon Speichert
[Vitor Miera, Thomas Scheckter, Bruno Junquiera, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia]


- The Commish

Standings after Round 8 - The Iowa Ethanol Rocks!! 250

Here are the standings after Iowa, report to follow.....

1st
1675 - "Team IndyCart" - Robert Duffield
[Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal, Milka Duno, Jaime Camara]

2nd
1654 - "3.2 Million Bricks" - Michael Rennick
[Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Ernesto Viso, John Andretti, Ryan Hunter Reay]


3rd
1592 - Doug Werner - "Drivers who weigh more than Danica"
[Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, Ernesto Viso, Enrique Bernoldi, Ed Carpenter]
Scott Dixon

3rd
1592 - "Come back to Rockingham" - John Harbey
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Mario Moreas, Marty Roth]


5th
1520 - "I am Timgray" - Tim Gray
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell, Mario Moraes]

6th
1437 - "RPH Racing" - Julie Werner
[Helio Castro Neves, Hideki Mutoh, Wiil Power, Ed Carpenter, Enrique Bernoldi]


8th
1347 - "Tony George stole my Series" - Emiliyan Stoykov
[Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon, Bruno Junquieira, Marco Andretti, Enrique Bernoldi]

9th
1262 - "Gerry Forsythe's 'Play your cars right'" - Declan Brennan
[Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira, Justin Wilson, Ernesto Viso, John Andretti]


10th
1222 - "Team Bigger USA" - Jon Bigger
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Vitor Meira]

11th
1120 - Michael Gathman - "Weekend Warriors"
[Helio Castroneves, Ernesto Viso, Tony Kanaan, Ed Carpenter, Mario Moraes]


12th
1197 - "Joe Blob & the Spoonerisms" - James Murphy
[Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes, Buddy Rice]


13th
1195 - "PT Cruiser" - Maureen O'Neil
[Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, Ernesto Viso, Mario Moraes]


14th
1194 - "Chip, your name doesn't mean you have to eat Chips" - Matthew Hyndman
[Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter Reay, Enrique Bernoldi, Milka Duno]

15th
1190 - "no Ferrari Influence Apparent" - David Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Darren Manning, Mario Moraes, Townsend Bell]


16th
1123 - "Should We Stay or Should We Split Now?" - Andrew Harbey
[Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Enrique Bernoldi, Buddy Rice]


17th
1101 - "Month of Mayhem" - Adrian Bourne
[Helio Castro Neves, Vitor Meira, Bruno Junquiera, Townsend Bell, Darren Manning]

18th
1035 - "Sideways Sam's Sideways Tings" - Sam Collins
[Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Jay Howard, Franck Perera]

19th
1014 - "I am Hindy" - John Hindhaugh
[Helio Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter, Will Power , John Andretti]


20th
970 - "Indy Pace Car Speed" - Jason Kwok
[Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Tomas Scheckter, Justin Wilson, Milka Duno]

21st
952 - "I Hate Tony George" - Jim Casey
[Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Jaime Camara, Enrique Bernoldi]


22nd
910 - "Super Duper Best Friends" - Andy Blackmore
[Tony Kanaan, Marco Andrettti, Darren Manning, Milka Duno, Marty Roth]


23rd
889 - "Empty Tank Racing" - Matt Thompson
[Marco Andretti, Will Power, Enrique Bernoldi, Danica Patrick, Marty Roth]


24th
880 - "Opposite Lock Motorsports" - Louis Berlan
[Dan Wheldon, Franck Perera, Will Power, Mario Moraes, Roger Yasukawa]

25th
691 - "One Lap Down" - Jeremy Scott
[Will Power, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Thomas Scheckter, Jaime Camara]

26th
664 - "Danika Wheldon Crash Team" - Chris Vince
[Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter Reay, Bruno Junquiera, Ernesto Viso , Mario Moreas]

27th
615 - "Why do we keep turning Left on our way to the merger?" - Nick Daman
[Tony Kanaan, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Jaime Camara, Mario Moraes]


28th
606 - "Team IROC - Indignantly Racing Our Crapwagons" - Simon Speichert
[Vitor Miera, Thomas Scheckter, Bruno Junquiera, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia]


- The Commish