Murphy, Heidi and Her Majesty the Queen watched the 133rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday. We sipped our Mint Juleps, we nibbled on wings and other delicacies, we shed some tears for Barbaro. We cheered on Street Sense, James Tafel’s dark bay colt some now pick to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. The American Le Mans Series has made sure we know that Street Sense is the horsey part of a racing family that includes Porsche team Tafel Racing and driver Jim Tafel, son of Street Sense’s breeder. In telling the story to the other side – the side with a five and a half million households tuned in – the PR wasn’t so effective. They got it right on the broadcast that “Tafel’s son is a race car driver,” and then went on to mention NASCAR three times and Ferrari once. Sorry ALMS. Sorry, Porsche.
Help for Weissach, eh?
We saw words last week from the about-to-be most famous Canadian engineer in auto racing not employed by Multimatic. A Fifty million smacker race budget. (US or Canadian, the Bear’s not sure. Does it make much of a difference any more?) Helping Weissach with the Spyder. About employing 550 people. Developing drivers – like a 17-year-old French hottie – move over Danica. The only thing he didn’t do is name his drivers. That’s delayed. Again. But Murphy’s heard nothing to contradict the Lehto and Herbert rumors. As for that and the rest of it, the Bear will be happy enough to have two more of the Spyders on the grid at Lime Rock. Euros having been received in Baden-Württemberg, both Spyders arrived in Atlanta during the Houston Grand Prix.
Lucky dogs
Grand Am’s decided to add the “lucky dog” rule. Definitely not a lucky dog – or is it something other than luck – has been Alex Job Racing, with finishes of 12th, 5th, 9th and 9th in four races. The lastest changes would seem to benefit gentleman drivers. Will those include McDreamy next year?
Seems there has been a falling out between Corsa Motorsport and White Lightning Racing. Murphy hears the Michelins aren’t an automatic, and Corsa might be looking for a tire supplier. Among other things heard in the paddock at Houston: a discussion of Wilsonian (Woodrow, not Harold) foreign policy. No kidding.
Murphy has a friend who thinks there’s going to be another Honda – er, ah, Acura on the grid before the end of the season. The big Honda love-fest at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August would be a good place for a debut, wouldn’t it?
Is a Nissan ALMS program once again “on the table?” And while we’re at this wild and crazy stuff, the rumor persists that Corvette will field a GT2. Others think there’s another GM prototype on the way – or maybe just that there should be.
Is Audi finally taking Lamborghini program seriously? Frank Biela was rumored to drive the Murciélago at Silverstone, but then replaced the recovering Tom Kristensen in DTM at Oschersleben. The line score from Silverstone? 30th of thirty, 26 laps, DNF, 1:48.483 best time. The Bear thinks someone should start paying attention.
Ethanol and a crock
The General is putting pressure on NASCAR to move a little faster in adopting new fuel technology. I guess they figured out that it took the stock car megalopoly thirty-four years to get from leaded to unleaded, so it will be sometime around 2040 before it gets beyond straight gasoline. The boys and girls in Daytona are pushing back, playing the safety card (really), and getting anti-ethanol diatribes from “friendly” scribes. Hear the rumors of an IMSA buyout by the World’s Biggest Racing Conglomerate? Reminds Murphy of the story that the Porsche Spyder was funded by Don Panoz. “That’s a crock,” said Jim France about this latest rumor. Finally – Jimbo and the Bear agree on something.
Murphy’s Top Ten
And finally, the Bear’s top ten ways you know you’re not the weekend’s headliner.
No. 10 - You get your best press in San Diego
No. 9 – Your tools and tires are stranded by the five minutes you get to clear your pit.
No. 8 – Your drivers share 90 minutes track time. John Salley and Kendra Wilkinson get 60 each.
No. 7 – Event Staff on ALMS: “Who?”
No. 6 – Your paddock’s next to Camp Pendleton
No. 5 – Raceday headline: Crashes fail to damper Pro/Celebrity fun
No. 4 – Qualifying results buried below Drift on page B7.
No. 3 – Hugh Hefner is Grand Marshall for Celebrity Race. You get Howard Hughes.
No. 2 – A bigger crowd at a wedding.
No. 1 – Robin Quivers is a bigger deal than Allan McNish.
Mint Julep (Churchill Downs’ Recipe)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Sprigs of fresh mint
Crushed ice
Old Times Kentucky (of course) bourbon whisky
Boil sugar and water for a couple of minutes. Add a couple of muddled sprigs of fresh mint. Cool. If you happen to think ahead far enough, refrigerate overnight. Syrup is enough for about 16 Juleps To make individual drinks, fill an Old Fashioned glass with crushed ice, add one tablespoon mint syrup (about a half ounce) and two ounces of whisky. Stir. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
Nissan? I thought wherever Honda goes Toyota follows.
Didn’t the bear mention he saw the Toyota suits at Sebring? Can one of the bear’s friends look into this one again?
Dear Wrestler,
The Bear\’s decided after wandering ALMS paddocks for nearly nine years that certain \”Poop\” is permanent. Among those \”always in play\” items are Toyota (everything from protos to Lexi), a Panoz prototype, a Dale Jr. drive, (another) BMW return, JJ\’s return, and a few more.
If Murphy fails to mention any of those, just assume they\’re there. Perhaps he\’ll do a column on just those circulating stories.
Sounds good Bear.