PRUETT: Triple Stint, 7/28

Le Mans / ALMS

PRUETT: Triple Stint, 7/28

The latest collection of thoughts from last weekend’s open-wheel and sportscar events and other assorted topics from Marshall Pruett.

Marshall Pruett | Posted July 27, 2009 Oakland, CA

Incorporating the records from CART, ChampCar and a variety of other related Indy-based series into the stats used by the IndyCar Series would be welcomed by almost everyone. If it does happen, it will be a massive undertaking. (LAT)

Thanks again to everyone that joined in for another hilarious weekly open-wheel and sportscar chat (Tuesdays, 5:30pm ET). I'm still working on an update on the Greg Moore award.

Setting The Record(s) Straight

The IndyCar Series has drawn a lot of fire for failing to integrate the records of ChampCar, CART and USAC into their current statistics, and so I reached out to the Series to get their take on the situation. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of hate mail for it, but I can sympathize with the position they’re in.

Having just inherited decades of records and stats from the merger/acquisition of their former rival, the questions of how to merge the historical data they own is a massive one that doesn’t have an immediate answer. IndyCar VP of Communication John Griffin shared with me a unique perspective on the topic.

“Being a traditional stick and ball guy, I look at how they do things. [Wayne] Gretzky is listed in the NHL records as the league's all-time goal scorer but those are just the goals he scored in the NHL and do not include his WHA goals. As I understand it, in the hockey hall of fame they list [separately] his NHL goals and his NHL/WHA totals.

“All that being said, I am working with my staff to better communicate records, i.e. when Scott Dixon surpasses Sam Hornish as the career ICS wins leader we will communicate that, his position all-time open-wheel and the Top 5 of all-time. In recent weeks I’ve requested of my staff, when talking about IndyCar Series records, to talk about "career" records and keep "all-time" for the open-wheel records.

If and when the 100 or so years of Indy-style racing will be merged into one large database is unknown. It’s easy to single out the need to add ChampCar and CART into the books, but what about USAC? The Gold and Glory racers? I don’t think you can place a higher priority on incorporating one series more than the others, and the task is a massive one.

The ALMS just added the historical data for their ten year history to their website in 2009, and it was a major undertaking. While they quickly acknowledge and reference the thirty plus years of history from their predecessor, IMSA, you won’t find IMSA’s facts or figures in their current media offerings.

So what does it all mean? I would love to see IndyCar’s history, including all of the series that were affiliated with its past and the Indy 500 documented in one single place. Is it the responsibility of the IndyCar Series? Good question.

There’s hardly a standard precedent for them to follow, and it would take an additional investment of time and money to get there. How far do they go back? What do they own/not own in terms of ChampCar’s history? Are they also responsible for tackling the Firestone Indy Lights Series when it was owned by CART?

It’s really easy to yell at the Series on this one, and I too would like to see a timeline for working backwards, series by series, until the past few decades are inputted. But it’s not an overnight job. Fans of the series would, I believe, welcome an announcement that some sort of plan to bridge the records of the past with the present is a future goal.

Until then, answering questions like “where did Josele Garza finish at Sanair in 1985?” will be left to those that were there, to old media guides, and to niche websites.

Going back to the dawn of the Speedway, what series should or should not be included in the official history of IndyCar? If you were putting together a panel of experts to decide which series are included, who would you assemble? Who does this project get farmed out to for the next few years? What will it cost?

I’ll pass along your notes.

It’s A Great Day For America!

As Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson opens with, “It’s a great day for America!” The same can be for two of our brightest young open-wheelers as J.R. Hildebrand left the Indy Lights field behind at Edmonton to take his third win of the year, and John Edwards swept both Atlantic rounds at the Autobahn circuit in Joliet, IL, drawing to within five points of the championship leader.

And speaking of Edwards…

America’s Got Talent!

John Edwards is making all of the right moves over the past year and a half. The 2008 Star Mazda champion is known to be highly rated by Mazda, and with three wins from the seven Atlantic races run this year, the 18-year-old needs to be on the short-list of every Indy Lights team owner.

Beyond his championship pedigree, Edwards’ lack of relative experience makes his accomplishments even more impressive. His first season of racing came in Karting in 2003 before heading to race in Europe for two years while barely a teen. Stints in Germany and Italy added to the kid’s life experiences, giving him a more mature outlook than most of his similarly-aged rivals can boast.

John Edwards (middle) -- an American open-wheel star on the rise. (Phil Sedgwick/Atlantic championship)

He returned to drive in the Atlantic Series in 2007 while 16 (!), earning a podium and valuable experience from reaching slightly beyond his comfort zone. Five wins from eleven Star Mazda races confirmed John’s promise, and now in his second Atlantic bid, he’s racing his way towards a second successive open-wheel title.

And in their three races together, Edwards has been more than a match for his teammate at Newman Wachs Racing, the highly touted Jonathan Summerton.

Let’s hope we see John in Lights next year where he belongs. Provided J.R. Hildebrand can make the move up to the IndyCar Series, his Lights seat at AFS/AGR would be a perfect vehicle to groom Edwards for his turn at the top.

Please Keep Grandpa Away From The Innernets Machine
http://www.visionracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=23194

GTP Heaven In Monterey

If you grew up mesmerized by the IMSA GTP Series as I did, you’ll need tranquilizers to handle the turnout at next month’s Monterey Historics at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

I mention the ‘Mazda’ in Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for a reason: I can reveal with their blessing that the awesome RX-792P GTP car will run at the event, believed to be her first on-track activity since the 1992 Del Mar IMSA finale.

Mazda's wailing RX-792P IMSA GTP car will turn its first laps in anger since the early '90's at the Monterey Historics held at...Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Leave the earplugs at home for this one. (Marshall Pruett)

They’ve asked me to keep the wraps on the guest driver scheduled to pilot the deafening beast, but it will be worthwhile to attend it you can make it.

The RX-792P will be joined by 29 other GTP cars in their own class – it will look like a proper race from the past. With Porsche serving as the featured marque, 962s will be the overwhelming chassis of choice, but a collection of Group 44 Jags, a Nissan, and a few Lolas, Marches and specialist Porsche prototypes will round out the field.

I thought it was great to learn a dedicated of Mazda and Mazdaspeed employees, headed by motorsports boss Robert Davis, spent the weekend of the Lime Rock ALMS race prepping the RX-792P for the Historics. What makes the story even better is that Davis and company wheeled a TV out into the shop to watch the ALMS race and were saw Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger win in the closed-top Lola-Mazda while they worked on Mazda's last factory closed-top prototype. The car is due to test next week and let's hope all goes well for them.

If you miss the days where loud wastegate chirps were the norm and traction control was in its infancy, make the trek to Monterey the weekend of August 15th and watch some of the most stunning prototypes navigate one of their ancestral homes.

I’ll be there for all four days and will have some exciting news of my own to announce regarding the GTP series.

Get Smart For Free

Our friends at Racecar Engineering Magazine have created a nice little sign-up deal on their site where students can get a free three month subscription to the digital version of their magazine.

As the definition of ‘student’ appears to be kept rather vague, they don’t require you to input data as to what kind of student you are. Are you a student of life? Go for it -- paste the link below into a new browser!

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/other/383804/student-discount-three-months-free-subscription.html

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