PRUETT: Triple Stint, 12.22

IndyCar

PRUETT: Triple Stint, 12.22

Xmas Suggestions, Remembering Mom-cott and Dad-cott, I Starts Here, Indy’s Lost Youth, What I Re-Learned in OT, Raggedy Sounds of 2012, and more in this week's TS.

Marshall Pruett | Posted December 24, 2009 Oakland, CA

Phyllis and Bob Dorricott. (LAT)

This week we're posting answers for the latest edition of "If You Could Fix Just One Thing For 2010" on Grand-Am (page 2). Next week's Triple Stint will focus on the IndyCar Series. As usual, please try to keep your 'IYCFJOTF2010' submissions solution-minded. Send them .

Your Favorite Auto Racing Memory of the Decade

Next week’s triple Stint will obviously be the last of the 00's, and I have a few goodies in store for the event, but I’d rather spend most of the column featuring your favorite auto racing memories from the past decade.

What event from the 00’s will you never forget? What event still makes you smile and continues to inspire you? Was it a pass, a win, a milestone, a move, a car or something out of the ordinary that comes to mind?

Whether you’re a fan of racing, a driver, a crew member, or an owner -- the floor is all yours –

Xmas Suggestions

Pruett's pick for the holidays? A little bit of DVD enjoyment from Down Under. (V8 Supercars)

It’s time to buy some auto racing-related gifts for the holidays, so here are a few suggestions from MP and a collection of friends and accomplices.

Depending on how fast the shipping goes, these could be New Year's gifts...

My picks are easy – if you’re a V8 Supercar fan, visit the good folks at Pitstop.net.au and you won’t be disappointed. Shipping takes about two weeks, and you’ll need an inexpensive universal DVD player to watch them.

2009 Bathurst V8 Supercar DVD Review: http://pitstop.net.au/view/products/page/query/plu/22209/

2009 V8 Supercar Championship Season Review DVD: http://pitstop.net.au/view/whats-new-last-28-days/page/query/plu/22207/

SPEED Formula One host Bob Varsha chose a cool iPhone F1 app for his suggestion to Triple Stint readers:

It's a tad limited, specifically to F1 fanatics and more specifically to those with iPhones, but there is an official F1 app that gives you access to timing and scoring in real time, with selectable track views and lots of other goodies.

It's made by a company called Soft Pauer Ltd., and it's available from the iTunes store for $29.99. We used an early iteration during our F1 broadcasts this year, and it's very cool.

Happy holidays!
BV

Two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Allan McNish recommends something that reminds him of the Audi/Peugeot battles:

I'd suggest Speed Merchants, but it has to be bought from Vic Elford himself at http://www.vicelford.com/storedvds.html and he will sign it as well!

Great DVD and blast from the past. Two of Sportscar's big guns going head to head in all of Sportscars biggest races......sound familiar?

-Allan

2007 and 2009 Daytona Prototype champion Alex Gurney (co-driving with Jon Fogarty), driver of the ‘Red Dragon,’ chose something close to his own car for your laptop or desktop computer:

I like computer mice in the shape of race cars -- click below to see what I mean. You can probably find a better one than this but you get the idea!

-AG

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Summit-Racing-Equipment/Items/fdm-rm-08chczrwa?&caSKU=fdm-rm-08chczrwa&caTitle=Genuine%20Hotrod%20Hardware%20RM-08CHCZRWA%20Computer%20Mouse

The sportscar theme continues as Guy Smith, winner of the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans, thinks you should add more historic video to your collection.

I would look into buying the Le Mans collection box set DVD's from Le Mans 1980 - 1989 as it was a great era for Sportscars and a great way to wet your appetite for sportscar racing in the future and Le Mans in particular.

Its available at Duke video for £69.99. http://www.dukevideo.com/Cars/DVD/Sportscar-and-Le-Mans/Le-Mans/Le-Mans-1980-89-PLUS-1990-FREE.aspx

Happy holidays.

Guy

Not only do I agree with Marino Franchitti’s Christmas suggestion, I’m also the proud owner of a 2-year subscription, thanks to my wife.

Motorsport subscription. It's the best magazine ever. http://www.ewa1.com/mghms.html

Best to all,

Marino

Finally, I asked Paul Zimmerman from The Motorsport Collector to put together a list of goodies for my readers, and as always, he delivered a tasty selection for the hardcore fan.

- 1/18 scale 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa by CMC: Perhaps the best model of 2009. Amazing quality and detail. $318.95

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1041

- Truth in 24: Excellent documentary on the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour race produced for Audi by NFL Films. $15.00

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3144

- Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed by Michael Argetsinger: New biography of the American racing icon. $39.95

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2923

- 1/43 scale Dan Gurney 1967 Belgian Grand Prix winning AAR Eagle Weslake: The bargain of the year in 1/43. Limited Edition (750) highly detailed resin model of Gurney's Spa winning Eagle mounted on an autographed base. Only a few left at $85.00.

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2889

- Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman by Matt Stone and Preston Lerner. Foreword by Mario Andretti. Well illustrated chronicle of Newman, his cars, teams, drivers and most of all, his love for the sport. 29.95

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3152&zenid=ff9aa49e060e108f6b033cf8fe9c8cd2

- 2009 Formula One Review DVD: No US version this year, which gives you a good excuse to pick up that multi-format DVD player and take advantage of the selection of great racing titles available only in the European PAL format. $37.95

http://www.motorsportcollector.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_130&products_id=3281

Thanks!

Thanks to all of you that sent emails inquiring about how my little team did in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill earlier this month. To answer the most commonly asked question, my design for the hood wings (or ‘FWings’ as dubbed by the crew) use elements from an ex-Walker Racing Reynard IndyCar. I’m currently designing V2.0 using much more aggressive Lola wing elements. Moooahhahhaha.

The little 'Scone' and its 'Fwings' went fast and harassed much bigger prey before bowing out with gearbox issues past midnight at the 2009 25 Hours of Thunderhill. (John Dagys)

We didn’t make it to the finish (4th gear decided it was tired of being restrained, and chose to free itself from the gear stack. Its friend, 5th gear, got the same idea around 2 a.m., and parted company with 1st-3rd gear, leaving us without the two gears needed most at Thunderhill), but the car was fast and we had fun almost keeping pace with an assortment of ALMS GT-C and Grand-Am GS machinery.

Watching Gary Sheehan post the 3rd fastest lap times during our first night stint, bettered only by two Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, was the highlight of the event. Playing the role of the underdog rarely leads to wins, but it does deliver a lot of satisfying memories. Hassling GT3 Cup cars in what started life as a $17,000 econobox ranks right up there...

As most participants will attest, sportscar racing is like a sickness; from temperatures that dipped down into the 20’s in the early morning to replacing fasteners on a white-hot turbocharger, the things you do to keep going exact a toll that can leave you sleepless, cold, burned and exhausted.

And after a few days of rest, planning and plotting for the next endurance event began…like I said…it’s a sickness.

Remembering Mom-cott and Dad-cott

Among the various memories and recollections that surface each year at Christmas, I’m always reminded of a simple gesture that meant so much to me at the time, and continues to resonate today.

Thanks to Dorricott Racing, drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty have gone onto successful careers in sportscars. Engineers Burke Harrison, Gerald Tyler, and team manager Shane Seneviratne now lead the Stargate Worlds team. (LAT)

As a young mechanic working for Cameron-McGee Motorsports in 1991, one of the main clients for the Steve Cameron-led operation were the Dorricotts of Sunnyvale, Ca. With both father and son, Bob Sr. and Bob Jr., competing in the ACRL Sports 2000 series, the Dorricotts went racing as a family. As Bob Jr. earned success and moved up the open-wheel ladder with their own Dorricott Racing team, they never lost the warm, wholesome approach to the sport.

I'd received a call from Mrs. Dorricott near Christmas one year – after they’d struck out on their own -- asking if I could make a drive up to the shop at Sears Point. Being so late in the year -- when most mechanics and crew members are unsure about their employment for the following season – I wasn’t sure what they had in store for me. I was prepared to be handed my walking papers.

Within moments of walking into the shop, I saw that all of my worrying had been a waste of time. I also felt ashamed for doubting the character of the Dorricotts.

She'd bought us Christmas presents.

Honored by ChampCar for Dorricott Racing's massive contribution to the sport, Phyllis Dorricott was invited to present the pole position award to Sebastien Bourdais at the 2006 San Jose Grand Prix. (LAT)

Rather than give their crew something impersonal -- a gift certificate or a bottle of wine -- Mrs. Dorricott took the time to note everyone’s shirt sizes during the season and went shopping to buy everyone a nice, comfy sweater. A simple gesture like Mrs. Dorricott’s might not sound remarkable, but in the world of motor racing, folks like Jack Roush and Michael Andretti aren’t making special trips to the store to buy fitted sweaters for each of their employees. It was a loving gesture, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to leave that day feeling slightly stunned by her genuine display of care.

After dealing with a countless number of head cases – racing bosses and crew chiefs with too much testosterone, not enough, Napoleon complexes, nervous twitches, or a total lack of social skills, Mrs. Dorricott served as a reminder that despite the malcontents and nefarious types that all too often fill the sport, goodness also has its place.

That wasn’t the style of ‘Mom-cott’ or ‘Dad-cott.’ That’s what they were to many of us – a mom and dad that took extra care of the people they welcomed into their close-knit family team.

Me's likes new logo. (IndyCar Series)

Dorricott Racing later went on to great success in Indy Lights and the Atlantic Championship, but sadly, Mr. Dorricott lost his fight with cancer in 2002. The graduates of Dorricott Racing still fill the auto racing landscape today – Oriol Servia, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, Casey Mears, Luis Diaz, Townsend Bell, and a host of mechanics, engineers and team managers all launched from their halls.

The team is gone, as is the patriarch, but it’s safe to say that the caring gestures of Mrs. Dorricott and the entire family live on with all of the graduates from their incredible program.

I Starts Here

A lot of you like the new IZOD IndyCar Series logo penned by Andy Blackmore. Option #2 and option #3 were the resounding choices, with #2 capturing the most votes.

Thanks to the efforts of Mazda, new series sponsor VISIT FLORIDA will help return Star Mazdas to television for 2010. (LAT)

Now, will the IICS update the dang thing? (And can we just stick with ‘IRL’…it works so much better than ICS, IICS, and whatever it will morph into when the IZOD contract ends.)

While we’re on the topic of IndyCar logos, me like new logo made by IndyCar. It good.

(Anyone think to look at the logo and realize the artistic ‘dash’ they use makes it look like it says “I Starts Here’…seriously, who checks this stuff before giving it the green light? Me wants know.)

Mazda's Soul Brother Number 1

If Mazda was a soul singer, they’d surely be James Brown. As the hardest working manufacturer in auto racing, the big-hearted/low-budgeted marque has been busy trying to improve their impressive tin-top and open-wheel ladder system, to provide new opportunities for a long list of teams and entrants, and to create peace on earth. (OK, I made up that last part.)

You'd have a hard time finding a better crew chief than Penske's Rick Rinaman. Finding the next generation of Rick Rinaman's is proving to be a much greater challenge. (LAT)

The newly re-animated USF2000 National Championship will be Mazda-powered, using an NA version of their MZR-R engine. That’s a lot of engines to replace the 2.0L Ford Zetec powerplant that never had much support from Ford (outside of the UK). Good move there. Looking at how the series falls below Star Mazda, and how Mazda likes to give the winner of each series they support a free ride at the next tier, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2010 USF2000 winner land in a subsidized Star Mazda seat for 2011. Just a wild guess, wink wink.

Mazda concluded a sponsorship package that promotes tourism in Florida and will directly benefit its Star Mazda series. The VISIT FLORIDA Cup will serve as a championship-within-a-championship for the series, and the teams and drivers will benefit via returning the series to television. Another nice move.

They are also helping a lot of people gain access to the Mazdaspeed3 to run in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for 2010. The era of manufacturers making free (or heavily discounted) cars available for teams to run in the Continental ST class have been heavily reduced, but this is an area Mazda hasn’t abandoned.

There are a lot of fantastic car companies that support a wide variety of racing endeavors – Mazda isn’t the only one – but when it comes time to compare the effort and levels of support that Mazda North American Operations and Mazdaspeed deliver while working with modest resources, it’s always worth sending a little bit of extra praise their way.