The Bear Returns

Murphy arrived on the Peninsula on Thursday tired from the drive, but still determined to stop in The Sardine Factory for a drink, tapas at the bar, and the piano of David Connelly – who always plays the Bear’s favorite, “The Shadow of your Smile.” It brings a tear to his eye every time.

Then it was off to Carmel to Clint’s Mission Ranch and pianist Gannady Loktianov. Clint must not have heard the Bear was in town, because he didn’t stop in. Prancer, having made the trip many times before, was able to get Murphy and his friends safely back to Salinas.

Mucky Duck

The Bear dropped in the Mucky Duck after the race. Being a smart Bear, he got there early, came in the back (where the band was), and migrated to the front bar. A bit later, there was a long line of hopeful partiers outside hoping – without much luck – to get in. The Poughkeepsie team was on hand as was a Brit engine bunch. All were quick to point out it took a while for the Lola AER to “come good” last time, but it went on to regularly challenge and sometimes beat the mighty Audi R8. Panoz in the early years can claim that, but no one else can. Some friends of the New York team are looking for Mazda to “step up.” Murphy agrees. It’s one thing to brand an engine and get an entry (or a bridge) with your name on it. It’s quite another to get a winner.

Enzo

Murphy attended the small forum party above Turn 9 for the second year in a row. He got a Dancing Zebra mug.

He really likes these guys – all named Chris, he thinks – and will certainly return in May. Last year he got a copy of Garth Stein’s, “The Art of Racing in the Rain.” (A video promo is here.) It’s become his favorite book, and Enzo the dog his racing hero. (The Bear’s review is here. ) On Friday night he learned that McDreamy has gotten the rights and Paramount will produce/distribute. McDreamy plays racing driver Denny Swift. That’s good enough, but Murphy wants to know who plays Enzo, the terrier-shepherd mix who’s the real star. Meanwhile, in June, Enzo’s story hit No. 7 on the New York Times best seller list for paperback fiction – it’s stayed in the top ten since, too.

Algae

It was mentioned elsewhere that the Don just happens to have some dough in a Lake Okeechobee plant that skims algae for biobutanol. However, Dyson Racing sources have been clear that the impetus for the recent fuel demonstration entries came from BP. That seems logical, since DuPont and BP plan to make biobutanol the first product of a joint effort to develop, produce, and market next-generation biofuels. So, if it were up to the Bear, one way or another, the entries at PLM and Laguna Seca would have gotten a ton of visibility. Murphy would have mentioned a hybrid was on the grid, too. But what the hell does a stuffed animal know, compared to the combined genius for promotion of the Braselton Brain Trust?

The Ferrari(s)

USA-based constructor/race team Aten Motorsports has its Ferrari program, in which it will race and build cars for others in Rolex GT well underway. The project, nine months in the making, took delivery of the first F430 on Tuesday. Here’s the first one being stripped down to be built back up as a proper race car.

Miscellany

de Ferran seems a cinch for IRL in 2010, but reading between the lines (and putting a furry ear to the ground) Murphy doubts there will be an ALMS team.

A US-German Porsche racing partnership is about to go out with a very spectacular bang.

Danny Watts could be driving an Acura ARX-01b next season – without straying too far from home.

Chris McMurry’s traded in his friend Shrek for a better deal – family.

Will Robertsons (finally) get some help from Henry’s company? There have been ‘stories,’ one of which mentions a second car. Both seem rather unlikely.

 Brumos and Grand Am

A few friends of the Bear’s who thought – hoped – that NASCAR might dump Grand Am if it failed to improve its fields or attendance are probably going to be disappointed. The boss (no, not Rober the junior employee) is “in it for the long haul,” according to a very good Bear source.

Does the “loss” of “funded” driver J.C. France mean that Brumos won’t return? Murphy said in this space that they were toast even before J.C. indulged in the “tradition” of racing across the Daytona Beach lift bridge (Raul Boessel and Little Al are previous offenders, the Bear was told). In this case, of course, the white powder (probably not confectioner’s sugar)is a bigger deal than the racing. Anyway, Brumos said this past week they’d be bumpin’ an rubbin’ agin in 2010. We’ll see. Murphy’s not holding his breath.

The Party

Moving on from the Middle-aged and Angry to the Bold and the Beautiful (or the Young and the Restless) the big bachelor party is in November. Will the Bear be able to smuggle in a mole? Not likely.

The Mole

Speaking of moles, the Braselton Brain Trust believes there’s one in their midst, and they’re “closing in.” It hasn’t occurred to them, of course, that if you lay someone off or cut their pay in a small Georgia town, it will take about, ah, maybe five minutes for the word to get out? Murphy can play that game, too. Who amongst “the big five,” (Tim being gone) would have “loose lips (that) sink ships?” (Borrowing a phrase from history.)

Reprobates

Murphy’s breaking a long-standing rool by doing so, but he thinks this item is interesting enough to pass along from the americanlemansfans.com forum: Poster sullystable reports he was told at a visit to Lou’s Wylie, Texas shops that the No. 28 Corvette is being prepared to compete at Petit Le Mans after testing at Watkins Glen. Murphy has just one question. Why will the Texas-based team test in New York before a race in Georgia? Perhaps Lou will drop the Bear a line. He’s got the address.

Rug Rats

Guy and Alicia welcomed Priya Mae Smith, and Butch and Kirsten brought home Henry Christian Leitzinger. All cute, happy, and well behaved, of course. Each was also welcomed by a big sis (and Henry by a grinning Grandpa Bob Leitzinger).

Where’s Waldo? (or Chapman)

The Dublin, Ohio team ran with two drivers. The kid started and finished, Dad in the middle, which will usually get the best result  – in Murphy’s opinion, anyway. The Bear didn’t see anything of Chapman Ducote. There was advertising for a funded driver a couple of weeks ago. Will this become another argument for a new sports car racing business model?

Wedding bells and other stuff

It was wedding bells and a Carmel honeymoon for an ALMS exec – with whom the Bear had a Lime Rock chat. Yes, they’d heard the “rumor” that Jim from Daytona was telling folks at Barber they were “close to a deal to acquire the Sebring lease.” This was clearly ( in the opinion of our ALMS exec) an instance of disinformation. Sure enough, Murphy later heard the same story from Barber. Does it make sense? Not really. The Bear thinks Sebring is a cash cow for the PMG if there is one, so how can you peel it off? Either there’s nothing here or there’s more than meets the eye, so to speak.

On the Road with Jim-Bob

Big boss Jim (not J.C., he’s there every time noodling around in a prototurtle) shows at an occasional Grand Am race, waving the flag for a series that badly needs it. Let’s face it, it’s a hell of a cash drain that Sprint Cup teams are none too happy about, and with eleven Daytona Prototype entries on his personal life support system, he and the family have plenty of skin in the game. One of the ways to push the guppie gang forward is to get NASCAR drivers the seats. He’s been working his backside off to help get a star in a seat in a Ganassi second entry. Ryan Newman was a no-go, as was Kyle Busch, who pretty much summed up the history (and business model) of sports car racing in one sentence. “Way too much effort for way too little return.” They’ve actually got some pretty smart cookies over there don’t they? (Not that you’d have to look much further than the bank accounts to figure that out.)

Guppies in the mix?

Adding to the dissonance is recent rumor that ALMS will create an equivalency rule that will add DP’s to the prototype ranks. Gordon Kirby threw that idea into an otherwise good article on Acura’s ARX-02a program and got a lot of attention, when he wrote that, “a veteran team owner and manager with close to forty years experience said at Lime Rock that if no new manufacturers front up with P1 cars for next year IMSA will create an equivalency formula to encourage Grand-Am Daytona prototypes to race in the ALMS.”

How will they do that, put drag chutes on the LMP’s? Turbos on the DPs? Murphy’s not sure how rational any of this stuff is, but the noise continues unabated. As the series’ CEO told Speedtv.com’s Marshall Pruett,  “this year they (rumors) have been more frequent and widespread than in the past. This is a byproduct of the worst economy we have seen in decades and the unprecedented instability that unfortunately surrounds most industries including motorsport at this time.” In that he was right, of course.

What equals two?

Putting two and two together is the way the old saying goes, and in this case the sum is still two. As in two classes. There’s a lot of background noise that the American Le Mans Series may make two classes an official thing. Or maybe just semi-official. But definitely more than just de facto. Murphy’s a bit of an expert on rumors, and you can believe him that there are all kinds. One is the “over the top” rumor, something that doesn’t seem quite logical. Sometimes, though, there is so much volume and repetition that the Bear can’t ignore it. Sometimes there’s a suspicion that a rumor has been ‘planted.’ Even beyond that, some unattributed stories (aka ‘rumors’) seem to be orchestrated. They come up in an interview…kind of out of the blue. An article appears in a place not known for speculative pieces. You start to hear some “what if” discussion. Two classes are like that now.

ALMS’ boss has found yet another way to say “If you knew what I know,” the new version being, “When we announce our plans for 2010 and beyond – you’ll know what I am talking about.” That just after a reference – common lately – to “rules and regulations that work best for our (presumably North American) circumstances.” Read those comments and tell Murphy again that we aren’t headed for two-class racing – perhaps even including DP’s? But of course, the Bear knows nothing!

Sometimes “bad luck” is an excuse

The Challenge Porsches contributed excitement in much the same way that rocks, water, and fences contribute to a steeplechase. On the other hand, Martin and Melanie Snow have paid their dues over the years, and even have a Sebring class win to show for it. They captured the first outing of the Challenge class at Utah and had this one wrapped up until they came in for a splash about seven minutes short of the checkered flag…and the starter failed. Bad luck. On the other hand, if they can conserve a bit more fuel…

Red Molly

Murphy spend Sunday with Red Molly at Bodle’s Opera House in Chester, New York. Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner and Carolann Solebello are Red Molly, playing Americana, which includes acoustic music from various traditions; bluegrass, folk, gospel, Appalachian, country, blues, and even a touch of jazz/swing. A key component in all of our songs is the use of three-part vocal harmonies, as well as driving rhythm guitar and Dobro. “Front Person” Laurie MacAllister describes the Molly’s night at Bodles:

“Bodles Opera House in Chester is one of our favorite local places to play.  It’s more of a pub than an opera house, really, and always seems to be filled with the most friendly, laid-back people.  I think the writers of “Cheers” actually based the show on this club.
 
In any case, it was a big night, with Carolann (Solebello) debuting her new solo CD “Glass of Desire” and singing a song solo for the crowd!  She hadn’t performed solo in about 5 years, but really nailed it. 
 
We debuted a new Red Molly song called The Last Call, written by our opener Anthony da Costa (much to his surprise!).  He played his own set introducing his latest release “Not Afraid of Nothing” and even joined us on stage playing bass on Beaumont Rest Stop.”

Murphy really liked yet another combination – Anthony da Costa and Red Molly’s Abbie Gardner performing a cut from their 2008 duo CD release, Bad Nights / Better Days.

Very cool stuff. Not just bears…people would love this Americana stuff too.

Follow Murphy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Murphythebear

“So am I, buddy, so am I. Sure. But not over the phone. Can you meet me?” was the response from NASCAR’s favorite local scribe.

“Sure, where?” asked the Bear.

“I hear you’re in town on business, I’m near Hooter’s on International Speedway…across the street, actually. Can you meet me there?” asked A.C.

“I’m close,” said the Bear, with a grin (Hooter’s in Daytona Beach is one of Murphy’s favorite places.) “When?”

A.C.: “About 15 minutes.”

Murphy: ‘You’re on, my friend.”

The Bear got there first, renewing acquaintances – and getting hugs. By the time he’d ordered a Warsteiner and some wings (Murphy’s been a Warsteiner fan since the “German Budweiser” sponsored the GT1 championship in the late ’90′s), a shadowy figure with a turned-up collar and a turned-down hat was sidling up to the table. It was A.C.

“What the hell…” blurted the Bear.

“Shhhhh…” from the muffled figure.

Murphy: “A.C?”

“Yes. Hold it down…if someone sees me…” whispered A.C.

“Hell, A.C., you’re right across the street from the World Center of Racing in a trench coat, talking to a stuffed animal, and you think no one will notice?” asked Murphy.

“You might be right, Murphy, but they’re used to odd characters around here…I mean, there’s J.C.,” the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s crack scribe let his voice trail off, aware he’d said something that could, well…cost him his media pass, the key to the executive wash room at the World Center, and frequent luncheon spreads…life is good, he thought to himself. Murphy’s voice brought him out of his reverie.

“So, about the stories I’m hearing…” asked the Bear, leaving the question hanging.

A.C.: “Ah yes. Well it’s true. The Miller thing, that is.”

Murphy was aghast. “What, why, how…” he sputtered. He’d already written that such a thing was unlikely.

“One question at a time, old friend,” retorted A.C.

“First, what: They haven’t done it yet, but it’s serious…hot and heavy, you might say. They’re talking to the Don about grabbing the whole shebang. It really is a mess over there – as I’ve been trying to tell you ALMS Cool Aid drinkers for over a year.” A.C. had that ‘I-know-more-than-you’ look on his face, like you get from big-time print scribes, from Miller, and over at motorsport.com.

“So, if Miller was right, how come he’s kind of backed off it now? asked Murphy.

“Geez, you are a dense bear, aren’t you?! Miller sometimes engages mouth just a little bit before brain. He knew this time he was risking the gravy train, so he clammed up. But this is a good as the ‘Tony-on-the-bricks’ thing, trust me,” explained A.C.

“Why, then?” asked the Bear.

A.C. looked at Murphy like he had couch stuffing for brains. “Because it’s there,” he said (quoting Sir Edmond). “Look. Who went after NHRA? Who bought bike racing? Who created Grand Am?” A.C. put up his hand to quiet the sputtering bear. “Who?” Jim-Bob. Brian-Bob. J.C.-Bob. Control. They want it all. Besides, ALMS and that Elan thing are pretty much in the poor house. The Don doesn’t own a big chuck of the Irish drug biz any more, so today’s J & J thing doesn’t do anything big for his cash flow, either.”

“But what does NASCAR get they want?” asked the Bear. “I mean, they won’t run P1 and P2 against their protoguppies, will they?”

“Of course not….and it’s prototurtles, not guppies,  you stuffing-for-brains-bear,” the famous scribe said, endearingly, to his old friend. “But think of the other stuff: three tracks, Sebring being the prize that Jim-Bob’s always wanted. Star Mazda, the little BMW’s. Control of sports car racing. They’ll cherry-pick the events for the gup…er ah, turtle…damn, now you’ve got me doing it…those beautiful Daytona Prototypes. The rest gets dumped. Including that dump in the Georgia hills…ever see Deliverance, Murphy?”

“But A.C., no one goes to Grand Am races,” exclaimed the Bear.

“So what?” responded A.C. “They will when that’s all there is, won’t they?”

“OK, how, then?” asked the Bear.

“Cash,” said A.C., “something the Don needs right now.”

“But, I hear Grand Am isn’t doing all that well either,” said Murphy.”

“Ah, do I have to educate you all the time? chided A.C. “At the risk of repeating myself…’So what?’ Haven’t I told you to look out when NASCAR grabbed the reins at Grand Am over the winter? More money than god, of course. If they want to spend it on keeping Chip in Grand Am rather than keeping Richard in Cup, well, then that’s their business, ain’t it. And ol’ A.C. ain’t got no doubt of Brian-Bob and Jim-Bob’s business sense. No siree!”

“Ganassi gets…?” Murphy sputtered.

“Second car, the one with Kyle Busch in it this weekend,” smiled A.C. “How – or why – does that happen on Chip’s nickel? It doesn’t, that’s what. It does prove Jim-Bob and Brian-Bob are serious about all this, though.”

“How serious?” interjected the Bear.

“Big money serious, said A.C, “as in over half of DP regulars get some cash-type, ah, incentive, to keep going.”

“Geez,” murmured Murphy, “that’s kind-of “T.G.-like. Who else?”

“Ever wonder how nice guys in a little Daytona Beach race shop go from a single ancient tube frame crapping out on lap ten once a year in February to a pair of full-schedule DP’s? It ain’t because they’ve been cultivating “grass roots motorsports,” A.C. said, chortling over his own joke, “although Florida’s a good place for that kind of importing business, isn’t it? Hey, getting those Coyotes from Cheever, paying Pratt & Miller for development, that takes serious scratch, ya know?”

“I’ll take that as good news,” said Murphy, wryly.

“Brumos doing it all alone? That’s more J.C. than the Porsche dealer, for sure. I know a rent-a-ride driver who’s come up short for this season. Jim-Bob kicked in. Team owner’s not really happy, says ‘If he’s going to put out money, then send it my way and I’ll hire the driver I want.’

“But if the Cup teams are suffering, aren’t they pissed off at money going to Grand Am?” asked the Bear.

“Of course they are,” said A.C. “But what are they going to say? They’ve been on a gravy train, and they aren’t going to upset that apple cart. There’s some trouble, though. I hear a couple of Grand Am teams – one “biggie” included – may be on the way out anyway. At the end of the season it could get pretty nasty, but of course if ALMS is gone…see? They’re business geniuses across the street…”

A.C. suddenly remembered where he was, gave the Bear a quick – but manly – squeeze, said, “one more thing, “If – as is possible – the Nationwide taxi race gets rained out, then it clears, the DP’s just might have to go home without turning a wheel. You didn’t hear anything here,” then quietly slipped out the door. A moment later the Bear heard the rumbling tones of a V8 – but a V8 rarely heard in this World Center of Racing.

“What’s with the wheels?” wondered Murphy.

(to be continued)