Since New Hampshire, after which his season’s winnings totaled $1,608,881, Andy has since raced four times (the Brickyard, Pocono, the Glen, and Michigan) and won $391,000 for himself and Kevin Buckler.

The American Le Mans field through Lime Rock totaled $1,046,000. Since Lime Rock, the thirty-odd ALMS entries have raced three times (Mosport, Mid-Ohio, and Road America) winning between them $319,000, and bringing their total earnings in the 2011 season to $1,365,000. With Andy’s total now $1,999,881, the American Le Mans Series field now trails Sprint Cup’s Street Luger by over $600 thousand dollars. Time is not on the ALMS’ side, since Andy has 13 races remaining; North America’s premier sports car road racing series has just three.

The Market

Forget real estate. The market for racing series/sanctioning bodies has really taken it in the shorts. A few years ago, The Don turned down an offer rumored to be on the far side of sixty grand. A year later, he would have made the deal for a mere thirty, but those same folks had lost interest.

Nobody’s put up a “For Sale” sign on the lawn at 1394 Broadway Avenue, Braselburg yet, but they’ve been “willing to listen to offers,” since some time in 2007. And there have been “extended discussions” with one or more “interested parties.” What happened? Well, the auto business went south – that slammed now-moribund Panoz Auto Development. At about the same time, the real estate market went in the dumper. Most of the value Panoz assigned to his racing empire derived from the real estate valuation of Road Atlanta, that having nothing at all to do with its current use as a race track.

Despairing of selling the whole, The Don spun off Mosport first. What will follow is hard to say. Sebring is a lease, and the leasehold is saddled with debt for a hotel and other (relative to debt) cash-flow-poor property. The series itself? “Circling the drain,” is how Murphy’s friend Miles Geauxbye put it. (The Bear won’t go quite that far, but he does believe that a string of lousy decisions have put IMSA at risk once again.)

The hot rumor at Road America was a story that Duncan Dayton was leading a group of buyers that was (is?) close to an agreement for IMSA and the series. One source indicated that intense talks continue. Only Duncan has been named in this rumor, but it’s nothing he’d do on his own, and insiders agreed others are involved. The belief in Wisconsin was that it was IMSA/ALMS “in play.”

However, since Murphy returned home, he’s heard the discussion now (perhaps always) revolves around the Sebring lease, not the series. That scenario would have The Don retaining Road Atlanta and the American Le Mans Series, the latter as a place to race what? The Abruzzi is dead. If Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans loses it’s WEC date (see below), is The Don hanging on for its underlying residential real estate value?  And unless there’s something after the Abruzzi, will The Don keep his sandbox after he’s no longer got a toy with which to play in it?

We’ve been here a number of times before and it all came to nothing. But stay tuned.

Corvette

Chevrolet isn’t happy with the performance of its American Le Mans Series road racing adventures. It’s believed that Corvette Racing is on a two-year “watch.” That may seem like an oddly long period of time – it certainly does to the Bear – but if true it indicates “official” concern for the first time since the auto industry melt-down. Is another driver turnover likely? A Dane and a Monegasque have been mentioned. Though locked in close contests for manufacturer and team titles in both classes over in Grand Am, the Bowtie is concerned about its program there, particularly since the competition – particularly in GT – is expected to stiffen considerably in 2012. One change widely expected is the assignment of factory drivers to more Chebby Grand Am teams full time rather than this season’s part time loans on ALMS open weeks.

It’s even rumored that a Corvette Racing regular will be subbed for at Laguna Seca so he can join Autohaus at Grand Am’s final event. The Bear thought that was a non-starter for a whole raft of reasons, including the fact that the Autohouse drivers lead the GT championship. But since it’s possible to use three drivers in a Grand Am sprint race because each needs only a minimum of 30 minutes, a driver could be added to “save” the GT championships, now down to a scant three-point lead. In any case, It seems there will be a significant reshuffling of Chevrolet’s road racing “assets” before the 2012 season.

Will Corvette move to the WEC? Some say that’s unlikely, since the racing program is supported solely by the North American sales division. But what happens if the competition goes away? Will Corvette be willing to go down that road again?

The Last Petit

Is it already “The Last Harrah” for Petit Le Mans? Murphy’s hearing that although the 2012 WEC schedule will “be based on” (a meaningful choice of words) the 2011 ILMC schedule, only Sebring will be retained. A Japan round at the Tilke-redesigned Fuji Speedway will replace Road Atlanta.

If Sebring is spun off by the Braselburgers, that leaves the series with no “hard” connection to the ACO. Might that be part of the plan? Does that reinforce the rumor that the IMSA of the future will diverge substantially from ACO rules, including even an “open” class?

Robertson on the Ropes?

Robertson Racing is said to be missing from the Baltimore entry. In a Facebook entry, the team says it’s because they skipped Long Beach and don’t have a “baseline” setup for a street course. The rumor mill suggests there’s also a “cash shortage.”

Intersport on the Edge?

They’ve been down this road before, avoiding a significant hit on their racing, but will Intersport be able to shrug off this latest legal trouble for its principal? Yes, Clint is the “owner,” but the IRS has a history of piercing that shield with little trouble.

Jersey Shore

Another F1 race for the United States took a big step forward last week at a meeting in Trenton, New Jersey. The venue will be a street course across form Manhattan (no, not the Meadowlands).

Charm City

Will the Baltimore Grand Prix be “charmed?” An August 13 feeature in the Baltimore Sun was largely positive, but raises the familiar questions about cost/benefit, and doubts about St. Pete’s event.

Is that a Threat?

Rob Dyson and Greg Pickett – among the last surviving racers of their era – requested and got a meeting with Scott Elkins before Mid-Ohio. The Bear hears the message was two part: we’re going to enter the 50th Anniversary Rolex and January, and also Sebring. We expect to be capable of competitive times – with all the LMP1 entries – in March. Then we will decide what to do for the remainder of the 2012 season.  (Murphy suspects lap times the Acura posted in 2009, and those by Lola-Aston Martin in 2010 might be sufficient – but he doesn’t know.)

50th Anniversary GT Entries

Daytona’s 50th will see a much-expanded GT field.  Look for Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, and Audi to join.

More Series On the Block

Trans Am will soon be sold to  an investor group headed by Jim Derhaag of Shakopee, Minnesota.   Simon Gregg is said to be the financial power behind the acquisition.

A revitalized Trans Am owned by a group of amateur racers, poses the same threat “from the bottom” (skimming off the wealthy amateur racers) that the WEC presents from the top (skimming off the factory teams).

It’s not like it’s a big recall. You are dealing with two copies built on left-over Canadian-built race-car chassis. A torch, order some glass, and viola! (The body panels never did fit, anyway.) The bookkeeping makes the Bear a bit crazy, and leaves him wondering how this project can ever produce a competitive race car. Winchester need a part from Hoschton? The Don writes a check in Braselburg, mails it to Winchester, then Winchester writes a check and mails it to Hoschton. Meanwhile, Gordon’s got a consulting job with the Abruzzi at Sebring. Murphy expects he’ll be in charge of the tent flap.

It’s all pretty odd. The Bear remembers a big dust-up 2001 when not enough Bavarian touring cars were built. That led to our first ALMS one-make racing class.

The Baby Sitter Chronicles

[Redacted] If this rumor is true, it will be in the public domain soon enough.

Le Grand Petit

There’s another dust-up of late – this one in the media and in sports car fan forums – whether the entrants at the joint Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round- ALMS Petit Le Mans will be limited by the Road Atlantic track capacity.

Those who dig into such things looked at the Sebring entry plus the ILMC cars that received waivers from the ACO to skip, the possibility of one or two post-Sebring ALMS additions and concluded the Petit entry will go into the low sixties. It’s possible there will be some attrition in ILMC entries, but what we’ve seen so far appears to be only the exercise of waivers offered by the ACO for a few that can’t have a car ready for Sebring, and ALMS entries seem more likely to grow than shrink, with Autocon doing selected events, and Intersport, Highcroft, and Signature “in the wings.”  SpeedTV columnist John Dagys picked up on the problem, concluding after asking Scott Elkins that PLM would be able to accommodate as many as 60 cars.

Meanwhile, Murphy was doing a little digging of his own.

If you apply the FIA formula for track density for an event in the FIA calendar, then you can only start 46 cars at Petit. That’s what a professional track designer with first hand intimate knowledge of Road Atlanta came up with. And it’s what Murphy’s friend, Canuckistani engineer Paul Collins, came up with.

Here are Paul’s calculations:

N = (0.36 x  L x W x T x G) where the letters are all factors based on tables found on pages 12 and 13 of this document. (Appendix O to the International Sporting Code, Procedures for the Recognition of Motor Racing Circuits.)

L is related to length
W is related to minimum width of the track
T is related to time
G is related to the car classes

In this case L = 13 (track is 4.1km long)
W is 10 (width is 40 feet, or 12.3 meters, rounded to the nearest whole number)
T is 1.4 for a race up to 12 h (the value of T only goes up to 1.5, so you won’t gain a significantly larger number of cars by going longer than 12 hours)
G is 0.7 because the cars are sports cars with big engines (this value would go up to 1 if ALMS was GT only – if you got rid of the prototypes, defined as “sports cars” in Appendix O)

That means N = roundup (0.36 x 13 x 10 x 1.4 x 0.7) = 46 cars. If the minimum width of the track were 13m, N would be 53 cars. If the minimum width remains unchanged but we had IMSA GT instead of a mixed field that included prototypes, the number would be 66.
All that is actually irrelevant, however, because the same Appendix O  specifies that the minimum track length for any race that exceeds 6 hours in duration shall be no less that 4.7 kilometers. Road Atlanta is 4.088 kilometers.

There’s even more reason to stop worrying and get on with life. The FIA might never have inspected or rated Road Atlanta anyway. FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting has only made one visit to the track that the Bear could uncover, in the company of CART’s Kirk Russell, at the time Vice President of Competition and Technical Director, in late 1998 after the Don’s upgrades for the first Petit. Reportedly, all Charlie had to say at the time was “I did not expect to see a track like this in America,” taken at the time as a compliment. But that wasn’t an official FIA inspection, Charlie was just along as Kirk’s guest. This was the final inspection for CART, but by then the Don was put off by the constantly increasing CART sanction fees (at that time beyond $3 million) and no deal was made.

ACCUS, the FIA ASN for the USA (go look it up), can inspect a track to the FIA, and might have done so, but, again, the Bear couldn’t find anyone to say so. And Murphy’s learned that you really don’t have to be an FIA licensed track unless you’re holding an FIA championship event, and neither the ALMS nor even the ILMC is that. Not that it would make any difference, there’s really no way around Appendix O, is there?

Wonder where Scott Elkins gets “60?” So did Murphy, but then it occurred to him that since Road Atlanta is a non-conforming track anyway, its capacity can be anything the ACO and IMSA want it to be, and that will likely be somewhere around 60 in October.

There’s money at stake; certainly no one wants to send a team home – contracts were signed with sponsors and drivers based on nine events, and losing Petit Le Mans wouldn’t be a small thing for anyone. The FIA wants PLM to happen, the ACO does, Don Panoz does.

So what now? Then Murphy checked the FIA calendar and saw that Petit Le Mans is a “restricted event.” What was that? Back to FIA documents (this time, to the International Sporting Code, paragraph 19. Restricted Events, and eureka! There it was! (With thanks and apologies to Archimedes.)

In certain exceptional circumstances, the FIA may grant authorisation for restricted international events, which on account of their specificity may be organised as a dispensation to Appendix O of the present Code, to be entered by an ASN on the International Sporting Calendar.

A “dispensation” is an “exemption or release from a rule or obligation,” and Appendix O is “Procedures for the Recognition of Motor Racing Circuits.”

The bottom line is clear. Come October, if 63 cars show up, and all of them survive practice, 63 will race. The rules allow 20% more than the grid limit to practice, anyway, so there’s a big fudge factor up front.

Odds and Ends

As the Bear asked in a Tweet, the other day, if Tony Kanaan, Gil de Ferran, and Jay Penske together can’t raise enough sponsorship money to field one IndyCar, who the hell can? Is it any wonder that Highcroft, Intersport, and others in sports car racing are finding it difficult to raise enough money to race?

For those who don’t follow the Bear’s Tweets, here’s some other stuff that’s happened in motorsports:

* Lord Drayson off to play with electric cars.
* Intersport off the Sebring entry.
* Luca Moro returns to Sebring, rumored to have been there in 2007 as “Luciano DaSilva.” Another indication that the sport can “overlook” something when it suits them.
* Rahel Frey replaces Katherine Legge at Audi for DTM. Murphy wants another hug from Katherine; maybe now he’ll get it.
* Trevor Bayne won “The Great American Race.” Who?
* Bahrain F1 was postponed. Dodged that one.
* Roger Penske turned 70. Happy B’day, Roger.
* Lou Gigliotti sues GM, Michelin, Corvette Racing, Doug Fehan. Win, lose, or settle, this can’t be good for Gov’t Motors.
* Racer names American Le Mans at Road America the 2010 “Race of the Year.” Who knew?

Pratt & Miller is in pre-build engineering a Caddy for GM. What effect on other GM programs, if any? Seemingly nothing for ALMS fans, since Murphy’s been told that Corvette Racing (the Pratt & Miller American Le Mans Series program in its entirety, he believes) has been approved/funded by GM to race through the 2013 season.

Over at Grand Am it’s different, where GM is pressuring teams to ditch their Corvettes in favor of Camaros – or Camaro look-alikes. So where does the Caddy go? We’ve seen a CTS-V running around the Nurburgring lately…not sayin’…just sayin’…

Grand Am Help Wanted?

A well-known native New Yorker, laid off in recent major Daytona Prototype Grand Am team “reorganization” was  seen at lunch will ALMS team owner. Did he come away with a job offer to help with the new Grand Am program?

BMW  Turbulence

It’s rumored in Europe that BMW will radically cut racing programs in 2011, most pushed aside for 2012 DTM. Less affected (whatever that means) will be the American Le Mans Series program, which has separate, North American, funding. Murphy hopes that means the Rahal cars will be on the track for the entirety of the 2011 schedule – however many events that turns out to be.

Retirement – or Not

Long-time ALMS driver Chris McMurry retired after the 2009 season. Now – in the fine tradition of Michael Jordan and Brett Favre – he’s itching to go racing again and almost certainly will be back in ALMS next year. Sure enough, McMurry has shown up listed as a driver on the LNT Zytek at Silverstone. Does that mean Autocon will swap the Lola for the Zytek in 2011? Or is that driver independent of Autocon and of future plans?

Lizards Live, and Cats, too

Contrary to rumors reported earlier by Murphy, the demise of the Flying Lizards has been much exaggerated. He hears they’re committed to a 2011 return.

Rocket Sports Racing Jaguar will also be back for another go in 2011. That sound you hear is a sigh of relief from David, Ed, and Seth.

 Mosport

The facilities at Mosport are a long-running joke in the ALMS community, and nothing draws more ire than the media center. It’s run-down, cramped, and in a communications black hole. But don’t bother expressing your displeasure. You just might be told if you don’t like it, you don’t have to come back.

With the IT guy unavailable because he was moonlighting in track security, the Bear grudginly has to give credit to management for keeping close watch on the Don’s Loonies and Toonies.

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and Petit Le Mans.

It appears that the new world championship won’t contribute much to Petit Le Mans this season. First, in some some classes, there’s no need for teams to travel between continents. For instance, in GT2 it’s a manufacturer’s championship, to which a combination of teams can contribute. So, for Ferrari there’s no point in sending a European team to Road Atlanta; Risi Competizione and Extreme Speed can carry Maranello’s banner. It’s the same for BMW (Schnitzer at Silverstone, RLR at Road Atlanta), and Porsche. Petit will get the Peugeot and Audi diesels, but it’s always gotten those anyway, and might have this year with or without the cup. There’s a chance we’ll see a couple of LMP2 entries, a pair of Saleens for the otherwise empty GT1, and maybe the Signature Aston Martin. That’s the maximum, according to Murphy’s sources – four diesels and five other entries.

Other additions include second cars for Robinson Racing and Rocket Sports, an Abruzzi (maybe), and an electric Porsche (the Bear likes to call it that), Libra Racing’s Radical. Will Add the 34 ALMS “regulars” to that, and total entries are 48. The ACO in its ILMC page also predicts there will be 48. Are Murphy and the Frogs missing someone?

Schedule Follies

After a decade of announcing its schedule at a multi-media Friday event at Petit Le Mans, the Braselburg Brain Trust tossed it out over a month ahead at a hastily-called Road America presser with the Big Boss sitting alone in front of a Road America banner with a hand-held mike. The Bear’s invite got lost in the mail, so he had to depend on his friends for the poop.

The thing turned out to be as fictional as many of the paddock rumors Murphy writes about. Miller’s “out,” as the paddock expected, and Baltimore is “in.” It was a bit ominous to some of the Bear’s woodland friends that the release tagged a race as TBD (determined), than the far more certain TBA (announced). That worry was well placed. Baltimore (the TBA) came through (Murphy had reported that Baltimore insiders were anxious for its announcement weeks ago) but Oklahoma City (the TBD) cratered. Neither outcome was a surprise.

Road America is back, after rumor (and speculation) to the contrary. That’s a mild surprise because the sports car event is now likely no better than 5th in drawing fans to the picturesque Kettle Moraine region track, after the Nationwide stockers, AMA Superbikes, Brian Redman’s little cook-out, and the SCCA National Championship run-offs. Did a sanction fee cut keep one of Murphy’s favorite race courses on the schedule?

But why the early announcement? It’s good Murphy’s Braselburg Mole is on the job. The sleeper agent’s bugs in a conference room on Broadway were able to catch this:

(background noise unintelligible)
Unidentified Voice: …that stupid bear thinks Road America will drop off the schedule. (laughter)
Media Honcho:  He got the Baltimore thing, though. (silence)
TV Guy:  Hasn’t everybody? (laughter)
Media Honcho:  But the Bear reported the Baltimore committee is waiting for us.
Big Boss:  I refuse to read that stupid stuffed animal. What does he say about Oklahoma City?
Media Honcho:  He doesn’t believe it will happen.
Big Boss:  Well, we’ve got him there, then, don’t we?
(Here there’s a long pause; has there been a bug failure?)
TV Guy: (quietly, breaking into the silence)  He says Miller will not be back.
Big Boss: (angry or frustrated)   I wish we could keep something secret around here. I thought we had that damned mole, but he’s still lurking around here somewhere. I want him found! (bangs table). (more quietly) Sorry, it just makes me so mad.
Chief Sycophant:   They still think we’re going to have a bigger schedule on the forums. One “best guess” was 12 races.
Big Boss:   So?
Chief Sycophant: (sputtering)   Well, I thought…ah…that, well…that would be good…that you’d like that, Big Boss…(trails off)
Big Boss: (with determination)  We’ll have ten, that’s more than this year. And that damnable Bear thinks it will be just eight. Let’s announce it and stop all this stuff. Besides, the stuffed one will be wrong, then, won’t he?
TV Guy:  But…but…it’s not final yet.
Big Boss: Close enough. Have you check arranged the TV stuff?
TV Guy:  Do we have to announce that?
Big Boss: I suppose we can do that later…
IMSA VP Guy: I’ve been working on the schedule this year.
Big Boss: (irritated)  You have?
IMSA VP Guy: (tentatively) You asked me to…
Big Boss: Ah, yes, I guess I did. So?
IMSA VP Guy:  There might be changes after the announcement.
Big Boss: It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?
IMSA VP Guy: I suppose not….
Big Boss: That’s it then. The announcement will be in Wisconsin, we’ll say we’re doing it early for the teams, sponsors, yadda, yadda, and act like it’s all set. If it has to change later, then so be it.
Sycophant Guy: (eagerly)  Yes, boss.
Media Hondo: Yes, boss.
IMSA VP Guy: Yes, boss.
TV Guy:  Yes, boss.
Big Boss: That’s what I like to hear.

The Bear has absolutely no idea who those guys on that audio are, nor whether it has anything to do with the American Le Mans Series. It’s probably fiction and likely just coincidental that at Road America the Big Boss announced a schedule of ten races later reduced to nine, with an 11 week gap in the middle which later changed to 12, with a date for PLM that later changed, and a date for Mosport that later changed, too. Of the ten race dates announced at Road America, six will actually happen as announced – so far.

It seems that Braselburg isn’t done adding to the 2011 schedule yet. Not all of you frequent the independent American Le Mans Series fan forum (Murphy recommends it), so the Bear got permission to post this item  about an expected 2011 ALMS event.

The Bear got this note from A.C. tonight. The famous motorsports writer was inspired by the big upgrade to Speedtv’s Le Mans commentary, and expresses some doubts about Murphy’s recent rumor record. Always a practitioner of careful journalistic research, A.C. even gives us a statistical analysis of  the Bear’s scurrilous stuff.-Murphy-
 
I watched some of the garbage known as Le Mans, only because “The Most  Interesting Man in the World” was doing some commentating. Thank goodness he was there, reminding the viewers 236 times about his Rolex collection. I was especially impressed how Scott had such an in depth knowledge of Le Mans, even though he personally could care less about prototypes that are fast, technologically advanced and not made by Riley. And I have to laugh a little at the Audi R15. The design of this car was obviously based on the Riley. Look at them side-by-side. Can you tell a difference?
 Corvette had a rough go of it at Le Mans after a fine start. Perhaps they could learn a few things watching the fine performance of Corvettes in the Rolex series.
 
I am really excited about the smaller fields that Grand-Am has introduced this season. The Rolex series has always been geared to simpletons who like NASCAR, so fewer cars and classes are the way to go. I bring that up because my understanding is that Grand-Am may be restructuring in 2011, going from two classes, to no classes. Not sure how that will work, but Mark tells me one of the benefits is that Timing & Scoring will no longer be needed. More details to follow.
 
The thing I hate most about sports car racing, other than the Nicotine Patch, is all the rumors. That little furry bear seems to always have a rumor about something, and less than 90% of the time, 10% of it is half true and the other 80% is not even close to the majority of the
20% he says might happen if it doesn’t.
 
On that note, let me dispel the rumor there is growing dissension among the NASCAR Nationwide and Truck Series about the money wasted on Grand-Am. I can report to you this is absolutely, positively, probably not true. I have been personally assured by the Grand-Am management that everyone in NASCAR is in full support of subsidizing the road racing department, and that the France family has allocated one trillion bazillion dollars to insure it will exist well into the 2011 season, if not longer. As a shareholder in International Speedway Corp., I can tell you that I am in full support of the company’s involvement in road racing. And so is Godwin. As long as we can keep using those loaner Pontiacs.
 
Another rumor floating around is that the above mentioned company is buying Sebring and Road Atlanta. I have been told that is not true. However, there is interest in buying the ACO and the Le Mans circuit. I know NASCAR has been very keen on building an 8.5-mile tri-oval in France, and this would be an ideal site.
 
I got a lot of nasty emails after my last column about J.C. France. It seems many of you think J.C. got those charges dropped because he was a member of the France family. That is simply not true. J.C. has EARNED everything he has, including all 14 of his exotic cars.
 
Finally, let me issue an apology to the Continental Tire competitors. I have no idea this series exists. Can you prove it?
 
Until next time,
 
A.C.

Sports Car racing has always been the preferred pursuit of a menagerie of miscreants, so it was no surprise it took J.C. France, cocaine-using (possessing, anyway) son of NASCAR vice chairman Jim France just a half season to get back to competing in Grand Am. Though the Daytona Beach News-Journal wrote he would not, a Bear source said he was indeed at VIR on the weekend.

As soon as the family lawyers got a dismissal of drunken driving and possession of crack cocaine, NASCAR reinstated his license. It seems the arresting officer was had chased the fleeing France out of her jurisdiction before he finally pulled over. Apologists will say “he wasn’t convicted,” but Murphy’s more convinced by the fact that the arrest report still stands, and the confiscated crack still exists, the fact of neither having been challenged by La Familia’s mouthpieces. So France is back to his “lifestyle” without so much as a slap on the hand, though NASCAR said he’d gone through rehab and “rigorous” drug testing. (For six months – right.) Half bro Russell Van Richmond (or is that Reginald van Gleason III) had it a bit tougher. He had to “serve” six months probation.

Grand-Am vice president of communications Kevin Hinson said Grand-Am has no formal substance abuse policy, such as NASCAR’s, and does not expect the sanctioning body to implement one in the near future. Nope, don’t need one of those. Grand Am’s equivalent of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Murphy thinks.

Get drunk. Race. Lead cops on a chase. Refuse breathalyzer. Have your crack seized. Get it all tossed. I am a Grand Am driver. Priceless.

Indy Keeps 1979 Le Mans Winner

Speaking of miscreants, it takes real talent to make Don Whittington – Le Mans winner, IMSA champion, and former importer of South American agricultural products – a sympathetic figure. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway pulled that one off, though, beating Don out of his famous and valuable Porsche 935 (the one that won Le Mans in 1979). Of course, if you can unceremoniously fire your own brother….

More Change at Haas

Murphy hears Carl Haas isn’t well, that he requires care. It’s rumored whomever was supposed to be doing that at Long Beach “mislaid” the motorsports icon in the lobby of the team’s hotel, and there, like a potted plant, he spent the day. Paul Newman has passed into history. Mike Lanigan is gone. Bernadette (Bernie) is in charge now. Will she move to front and center like other recent (and infamous) female sports team owners Georgia Frontiere and Marge Schott? 

Villeneuve will join the team for Indianapolis and after. Haas now owns the parts business of EMT, leaving that company little more than a shell.

Prototype Cat

Word around the paddock is that Paul Gentilozzi’s Rocket Sports Racing will supply a “free” (fully sponsored/supported) Cat engine to anyone willing to stuff it in a prototype and go racing. How this offer (and Gentilozzi) will be affected by the impending departure of Mike O’Donnell, the program’s most prominent champion at Jaguar, is unclear.

Tequila Trouble in Paddock for Patron

On the heels of the dust-up over telecast start time and display of liquor advertising, ALMS has run into resistance to the new “presented by Tequila Patron” graphics for team transporters.  After NASCAR’s Grand Am had little trouble getting compliance with its “presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16…” graphics, the American Le Mans Series is getting “push back” from major teams that don’t want the association with booze so directly made on their own equipment. Murphy doesn’t underestimate the leverage of NASCAR (or the difference in culture between it and ALMS).

Ménage à trois of a sort

With a new name surfacing over this past weekend, the count is three. Three who have been rumored at some stage of “talking” about acquiring IMSA, ALMS, the tracks, and whatever else might be thrown in. Will that be the “critical mass” that will lead to a sale? It might. You can get one suitor without at least hinting you’re “available,” but not likely three.

Each of the suitors has somewhat different interests, though there is general agreement about the highest value asset – 750 acres of land in Northeastern Georgia. Yes, Road Atlanta is valued not as a race track but as potential residential housing.

USF1 Design Lands in Serbia

When Zoran Stefanovic recently sat at a table with the Mayor of a small town a few miles outside of Belgrade, it wasn’t the announcement of his grandiose “Stefan Technology Park” that was of interest in North Carolina, but rather the large graphic on the wall behind them. Yes, there’s no doubt that rendering is of the USF1 design that graced the team’s assembly bay in Charlotte and also appeared in Racecar Engineering’s March issue.

So, how did it get there? Sold? Copied? More importantly, does it represent a transfer of the design rights?

All that’s important because USF1’s lawyers are telling the North Carolina Department of Labor it has no assets so can’t pay its former employees what it owes them. Ken Anderson is reported to retain shop space at 9900 Twin Lakes. What business is being transacted there? Meanwhile, for billionaire Chad Hurley it’s clearly “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”

Hurley and Anderson join Murphy’s April “Gallery of Miscreants.”

Porsche Prevails

The Bear hears from VIR that the crowd was pretty good, at least a significant improvement for Grand Am. Porsche got its 3.8 engine, a 75 pound penalty on the Mazdas, and a 50 pound penalty on Leighton Reese’s Corvette and – not surprisingly – a win. Murphy watched the Speed telecast, and though it wasn’t a riveting show, it was way better than has been seen for ALMS events.

Flav and FIA settle

Flavio Briatore’s “lifetime ban” is over, replaced by a bar from “any operational role” in F1 to be in effect through 2012, and from “other FIA motorsport” through 2011. The Bear thinks the different dates aren’t likely to be without purpose. So in what FIA-sanctioned motorsport will we see Flav in 2012?

A friend of Murphy’s asked, “Is Jaguar an endangered species? At Sebring, the car smoked more than a hookah in Istanbul. This is not doing the Jaguar reputation for reliability any good.” The Bear asks, “What reputation?” Ok, there were the Castrol/Silk Cut and D types. But any more of this…

The Bear has heard not a few in the paddock are wondering how large a check Tata wrote to the ACO for the Rocketsports’ Le Mans invitation. Now Bill Riley is on board to do what he can before June. Murphy hears several team owners from the ALMS, GA, and IRL have made contact with Jag about taking over the program. The smart money is on a European operation that’s been talking to Tata HQ in India. The car will have to get to Le Mans, and then perform substantially better that it has thus far, or it will be a very quick exit for Rocketsports.

I’m Daniel Orr, and I’m a Grand Am Driver

Before Momentum Race Group’s transporter had even returned from Daytona, Daniel Orr and Jordon Musser had put together a contract that would see them in the AmSource Capital/Monster Graphix #06 Camaro GS.R for the entire 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race schedule. So wrote Momentum’s press flack in February.

That all ended in another one of those spectacular race-driver-arrested stories. Daniel J. Orr, 40, went into the Space Coast Credit Union branch in Palm Coast, Florida and tried to open an account with a $63,000 check, Flagler County sheriff’s spokeswoman Debra Johnson said.

A hold was put on the account until the check cleared, but it never did because officials from Wells Fargo Bank, where the check supposedly was issued, said the account number wasn’t valid.

Orr claimed the problem occurred because the account was dormant for a while, and returned a few days later with a second check for $65,000. When another hold was placed on the account, an unknown woman called and claimed to be the branch manager. She ordered the hold to be lifted, the report states.

Orr then cashed two checks, $400 each, before bank officials noticed the hold was lifted. “The investigation indicates that Mr. Orr has done this in other states and other areas in South Florida,” Sheriff Donald Fleming said in a statement. “He told bank officials that he had a significant amount of money in that account and wanted to move it to a local account so he could live off it, until he got his new found racing career going.”

 Orr was charged with two counts of grand theft and two counts of organized fraud to scheme. He remained at the Flagler County Inmate Facility on Wednesday on $45,000 bail.

Trophies by El Cheapo, Inc.

The Bear is hearing that the ALMS’ 2010 trophies are el cheapo specials of the kind your nine-year-old might get for Pinewood Derby “participation.” Another observer called them “a workshop project.” In one of the dumbest excuses for penury the Bear’s heard yet, someone at the series said they had to be “downsized so the Tequila girls could handle them.” So, get bigger and stronger girls. Besides, the girls don’t need to hand you the trophy; a hug and kiss will do. Let Hindy handle the hardware.

What’s Big Mac doin’?

The Bear hears McLaren and the ACO are in talks about something or other.

Abruzzi Explained

Tom Milner is designing – and will build – the race car in Winchester, Virginia. Danny and the boys at Elan will build some road cars so the race car meets homologation requirements. Elan Motorsports Technology is manufacturing some tooling and perhaps a bit of bodywork. Meanwhile, It’s the classic race car first strategy.

Where is Miller Barrett?

Miller Barrett Racing announced it would skip Grand Am’s Barber round – and perhaps more – because Grand Am rules, even with recent revisions, leave Porsche’s iconic 911 uncompetitive in its Cup form. Kevin Buckler’s TRG quickly followed suit, leaving just two second-tier-team 911’s in the Barber GT field. None of this will surprise the Bear’s readers, of course, since he told you last year that Porsche was cutting its support for Grand Am, and teams would naturally follow Weissach out the door.

However, that’s still not the whole story. As Murphy advised over Twitter last week, “Miller Barrett Racing won’t do Barber with its Porsche; read the Bear next week for where they’ll be and what they’ll be doing instead.” The clue to that (if Murphy’s sources are correct, of course) was in a little noticed line in the same Miller Barrett presser: “We understand that other rule adjustments are under consideration, and we respectfully await those decisions.”

While the rest of the Grand Am gang is at Barber, Miller Barrett will be at Road Atlanta testing a Porsche 911 Cup with a 3.8 liter RSR motor, the Bear’s been told. Rumor has it that Greg Loles snuck a 3.8 through tech at least twice last season, and TRG may have done so another time.

Why all the sturm und drang? Another line in that press release is telling: (Along with the unibody “Prep 1” Porsches , Grand Am allows) “modified production or tube-frame chassis (Prep 2). Although series rules attempt to equalize the different manufacturers’ cars, the Porsche has been uncompetitive against the new Prep 2 cars.”

Note the reference to “modified production…chassis.” Murphy bets y’all thought Prep 2 meant “tube frame.” It’s not that simple. It’s not against just the Mazda, but also the Corvette – a Prep 2 tube frame – on the pole at Homestead, and new “modified production chassis” waiting in the wings that Porsche teams know they will struggle with the engine-hanging-in-the-back 911, unless they get a “game changer.” The 3.8 RSR engine (and its transmission) is rumored to be that game changing “other rule adjustment under consideration.” Even if it is “a bit expensive,” Murphy said, with characteristic understatement.

Sebring Quote of the Year

A GT2 driver, “What is up with Jaguar?  Did Gentilozzi pack the car in the transporter following the Laguna Seca finale and then simply unload at Sebring in March of 2010?”

Sebring Quote of the Year, Runner-up

“What’s Don been spending his money on? Certainly not this track.”

Follow the Bear on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Murphythebear

I’m writing this in the Homestead media center as I occasionally glance at the monitor to see yet another caution period in front of 80,000 empty grandstand seats.  Caution is the operative word in Grandamland this weekend. The shock has yet to wear off over the arrest of one of our legendary drivers. Indeed, when I left the World Center of Racing yesterday morning, things at International Speedway Boulevard were in full damage control mode.  No Lamborghini in the parking lot.

Of course, this sad incident is in no way a reflection of the Rolex Series. And quite frankly, no one here particularly cares, since the Indy Racing League is getting 98% of the attention.

While some may use this incident as a reason to bash the France family and its support of the Grand-Am series, you must admire their courage (and bank account). So many teams benefit from their financial generosity, its hard not to admire their honest and open way of doing business. One bad apple should not reflect on the whole tree.

I was very pleased to see the 2010 schedule and that Grand-Am is not wasting its time at elitist venues such as Laguna Seca, Road America, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Infinion or Mosport.  I hear for 2011 they are considering running every race at Daytona, which would be fine with me and make a great deal of sense. The idea of a spec-track series has been going around the halls of NASCAR for several months and I think this idea will be a winner.

Other Grand-Am news for the 2010 season I heard about this weekend: Daytona International Speedway’s legendary security department will be simply known as the “SS” beginning next year (Speedway Security). They just got a grant from the American Oval Track Institute to purchase special RRF (Road Racing Fan) Pepper Spray for next year’s Rolex 24  …All Koni Series races will run on Mondays in 2010, according to a GA official who said “mainly because they simply always get in the way of everything” … All Grand-Am team owners will wear special sensors that will activate an alarm if they stand within 25 feet of a an ALMS Le Mans Challenge car… Grand-Am Koolaid Award winners Matt C. and Andy F. will be awarded special vacation packages at the Chateau Elan in Braselton Georgia … Jim France will no longer pay for Rolex team owner’s massages … Jim Hunter’s new book “Dirt Under the Nicotine Patch: An Underground History of the American Le Mans Series” will be out in January (Jack Flowers is rumored to be the ghost writer) … Since most Grand-Am races are non-spectator events, the NASCAR PR Department will bus in residents of Assisted Living Facilities so the “Record Crowd” press releases can continue.

Well, I see now that the race will end under caution, and so will the season. And so will this column.

A.C.

That pilot hogged so many laps the Jedi were fuming. Even more ominous, a Sith apprentice well known within the Empire had stationed himself outside Turn one to dutifully record upon tablets who piloteth the new land speeders, and how fast. Like his driver compatriot, he would report to the Dark Lord on the Peninsula.

The Dark Lord is angry. With one purchase order already in hand, the challenge to the Empire is clear and present.

Rolling

The oil magnate wrote off one of his two guppies testing at Daytona last week. The TWR design acquired by a builder of ubiquitous prototypes and “sold” (or something – all that’s a matter of legal dispute) to the Houston gentleman driver is pretty much a lame duck, or a ruptured duck, or a dead duck.

The Bear’s gotten the story behind the Lola-Krohn fracas. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Martin expected his “partnership” with the oil gazillionaire to be about selling cars (since that’s the business he’s in). So it came as a big shock when Roger mentioned (rather off-handedly) that the oil magnate’s chief henchman had (rather rudely, Murphy hears) turned the Captain down when he wanted to buy two of the Lolas (better engineered, was the observation) instead of the Rileys he ended up with. Is it any surprise that news was doomsday for the partnership? That’s what the Bear heard anyway.

A reported Italian tire failure sent the Dee Pee barrel rolling down the front “straight” (beginning past the tri-oval, Murphy’s told, past the turn-in to the infield course and nearly to NASCAR 1)  The car is toast. With the legal dustup between the oil gazillionaire and the car’s Brit builder it certainly won’t be replaced. So where does the 1970’s psychedelic green go? To a Challenge LMP?

Rolling II

After the weekend the sports stations were gushing over the same mundane kind of “roll-down-the-track” routinely seen in NASCAR. That media machine was doing its usual good work keeping the Empire at the top of “Sports Center.” The much more spectacular Scott Sharp ALMS incident was unnoticed. Is that becaue the “good guys” in Braselton think it should be about “the racing,” or perhaps because it didn’t fit their “green message?” Or has the our favorite road race series dropped so far below the radar that even a spectacular crash goes unnoticed?

Talks

There are not-entirely-cordial talks in progress about the Braselton racing conglomerate  and its biggest tenant at its most iconic property. Neither is happy it seems. The Georgia gang seems to want to offload operating costs while retaining the cash flow. The tenant wants some of the latter in return for picking up more of the former. The Bear overheard the phrase  “sanctioning authority for international events.” Wonder what that means?

Thanks

The Bear sent his friend his “visit” tracking results, now over 25,000 a month, only to have one of them claim to be responsible for most of them. Murphy’s west coast friend says he’s “obsessed with rumor, innuendo, and conspiracy…especially when they’re based in fact…” Some in high places would like to silence the Bear. The furry one will persevere.

Auto Union and Acura

IF Audi has any interest in an ’10 car, it has to be well underway by now, even if it’s a revision of the R15. Reports (ok, “rumors,” but there are rumors and there are rumors, right?) are that indeed “a new car” is “in build.” Whether that’s to ’10 rules, or to ’11 rules (though those rules aren’t published yet, Audi and others have met with the ACO and have likely gotten enough information to proceed with initial design), or both, isn’t known.

New car or not, Audi’s unlikely to return to an ALMS in which there is no competition, and it’s all but certain now that Acura will not return under any circumstances. (Though the Bear still thinks that some smart competitor will grab an HPD engine lease.) Even if Toyoter (cute, huh?) is thinking about a return to sports car racing it won’t be soon enough to make 2010 look anything but bleak for our favorite road racing series.

The Circus 

They were catching up with Murphy at Suzuka. The “big rumor” was the split between the team descended from the Land of the Long Cloud and the Deutsche daughter. The motor that will power the team’s new supercar was also mentioned as evidence they’re able to jilt the daughter.

The board was meeting in Aichi prefecture, and the Bear hears the plug will be pulled soon. Whether that’s good for sports cars is a matter of dispute around the sport.

Murphy’s Mailbag

Dear Bear: “Any word on how the Don’s Friday dinner went? Didn’t he find $25,000,000 for his LMP?” Jim Bob, Daytona Beach, Florida
Dear Jim Bob: No go. Not enough crazy people in the room. (Besides, only the gubment has that kind of dough, and you know who’s got the peninsula gubment wrapped up, don’t ya? (wink) But the Bear hears the Don is off to Monza for Superleague with Haas’ right hand man. The Haas – Panoz deal is still in works, perhaps imminent.

Dear Bear: BMW and Dunlop have made their partnership official. Does this mean the M3 program will be around for a while? – Bobby, Hilliard, Ohio
Dear Bobby: Yes. But it doesn’t mean they’ll pick up more of the tab.

Dear Bear: Do you think we can get the Captain back in the American Le Mans Series? Scott, Braselton, Georgia
Dear Scott: You saw the headline, ”GM to Wind Down Saturn Brand After Penske Halts Talks,” and you used to work for him, so Murphy shouldn’t have to remind you that whatever the Captain does is fully paid for, and that doesn’t mean out of Rogers pocket, either. The Empire is paying him for another season. Can you find someone to foot the bill for Green Racing? The Bear thought so.

The Bear’s Society Page

Before he landed in the annual get-together in Road Atlanta’s Turn 10 woods, Murphy visited Don, Barbara and the Sebring Turn 13 gang at Turn 10. (That’s a lot of Turns, a lot of friends, and a lot of beer. All of which is the beauty of road racing. The Bear can’t even imagine keeping his furry little butt in the same bleacher seat for a whole race!)

The Bear’s off to Laguna Seca, his most favorite place. He’ll be partying down (and across) the track from the corkscrew on Friday night (photo above from last year’s event), and otherwise can be found at the Sardine Factory, Knuckles, Mission Ranch, the Mucky Duck, and other favorite hangouts.

Petite Field
How petite will the field at Petit Le Mans be? Murphy figures it’s 29 firm, with four more possible. The “solid” LMP entries – announced and likely to show up to race (not the same thing) -  include these eleven:

Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 – 2
Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 – 2
Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a
DeFerran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a
Oreca Racing Oreca-Courage LC70 AIM
Intersport Racing Lola B07/10 AER
Drayson Racing Lola B09/60 Judd
Corsa Motorsports Ginetta-Zytek 09SH
Autocon Motorsports Lola B06/10 AER

The lone possible addition is Team LNT’s Ginetta-Zytek 09S Zytek

Five LMP2’s are likely to occupy the Road Atlanta paddock:

Dyson Lola B09/80 Mazda – 2
Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b
Cytosport Porsche RS Spyder
Van der Steur Racing Radical R9

Murphy’s unaware of any likely additions to LMP2

There are 13 GT2 entries on the list in Braselton:

Corvette Racing Corvette GT2 C6-R – 2
Primetime Racing Dodge Viper CC
Falken Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
 PTG Panoz Esperante GTLM
LG Motorsports Riley Corvette Z06 GT
Robertson Ford GT40 Mk VII
Flying Lizards Porsche 997 GT3 RSR – 2
Risi Competizione Ferrari 430GT
Farnbacher Loles Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Rahal BMW E92 M3 GT2 – 2

Among possible additions are a Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT for Tracy Krohn, a VICI Racing Porsche 997 RSR (not two), and a lone Rocket Sports Racing Jaguar XKR.  The minimum Road Atlanta grid looks like 29, the maximum 33. The Bear takes 31 in the “over-under.”

A pot of money – what are the odds?
A rumor at Mosport had a former F1 constructor fielding Audi prototypes in the American Le Mans Series next year, but Tim Cindric told a Euro mag that, “we see no business model that would allow us to return to the ALMS in the near future.” A big pot of money would solve that “business model” problem overnight, of course.

Japan
Murphy saw that the ACO doesn’t know the difference between Road Atlanta and Road America in its September 1 Asian Le Mans press release. The Bear predicted the Japan rounds would follow Shanghai into oblivion, but it seems the ACO is determined to go ahead as an undercard to round 11 of the World Touring Car Championship. Twenty-three entries. That’s after subtracting a couple (Signature and KSM) on the original entry. Only one race is mentioned – has something happened to the second Japan round? Is the putative series salvaging ¼ of its planned schedule.

DP Happenings – or not
Murphy’s exposé of rumors of DP departures in Paddock Poop 136 were not only confirmed by sources in the Mosport paddock, but at Montreal. Even motorsport.com had jumped on this bandwagon. A north Florida car dealer will concentrate on selling street cars (arguably a full-time job these days). Some think they (the car dealer) will stuff a Cayenne engine in the back of a Riley, but Murphy hears it will be someone else that does that with the former car dealer’s chassis.

Not-So-Amiable Split
The partnership stresses that the Bear told you about exploded when one team’s DP’s were withdrawn before crossing the international border. Subtract a pair of Grand Am prototypes for the rest of the season – and for next, too. No, forever, that’s certainly the end of the Brendan Griven (TWR) designed package, of which none were sold except to the US partner. So the big-time racing car builder and its oil magnate partner may be headed to court. Clearly both partners’ expectations were way out of line with reality. If this keeps up, the DP ranks will be as depleted as the ALMS prototype grid.

Stayin’ put with Vette Bodies
A Grand Am team that’s staying put will put a new body on its frame and buy another, going from one now dead “Excitement” to a pair of America’s Sports Cars. A Scot was lead driver and will stick around; with another car they’ll add another. Bet on a Dyson pilot, a long-time friend of the team’s manager, to fill that seat.

Television
The American Le Mans Series has opted to say not a word about its television ratings, even though Grand Am is perfectly willing to hype numbers hovering around .1 (that’s point one) as some great proof of popularity. So how bad could the ALMS broadcasts be? A recent network broadcast had overnights of .4 (that’s point four). That’s evidence that the Speed broadcasts are awful indeed. (Bear message to ALMS PR: If they aren’t lousy, publish them. Otherwise, “go gentle into that good night.” Thanks to Dylan Thomas.)

Quickies
A former IMSA team champion will run a more extensive Patrón Challenge program next year, perhaps supporting more than one ALMS Challenge class competitor.

Scott and Dario will help out a pair of teams (you know who) at Petit.

The English gardner will spend some time with the Poughkeepsie team in a non-driving advisory capacity.

If Grand Am does Indy, it will be in support of the Brickyard 400, not as a stand-alone event.

Versus went dark on Direct TV. Tony can’t be happy. (Nor are IRL sponsors.)

Murphy’s working on his Petit Le Mans trip plan. So should you.

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

Ever since I stepped in that Clydesdale poop on the Sebring grid, things have not been going my way. My daughter was planning on attending Duke, but it looks like it will be Daytona Community College instead, thanks to Henri Zogaib.  Unless she gets a golf scholarship, or Henri finds that sack full of money I gave him to invest, it is not looking good. Even my part-time job polishing motorcycles for a friend of mine has fallen through.

As I sit here in the Watkins Glen Media Center writing this column, I can’t help but think you just don’t know who to trust these days.

And speaking of trust, I got this rather angry phone call during my radio show (2-4 am on WZQU Ormond Beach, 1850 AM). This idiot, foaming at the mouth, was yelling that NASCAR should be sued for antitrust violations. Something about how they control what tracks get what races, control the sanctioning bodies, control television, and even pay teams to run in one series and NOT in another series.  Is that ridiculous or what?

So I got on Wiki and checked up on antitrust laws. It seems there are three main elements to fair competition violations, which I can easily prove do not apply to the NASCARization of road racing, or any other aspect of motor racing.

1. Practices that restrict free trading and competition. In the spirit of fair play, Kevin, you can go back to the ALMS.  Please! See how easy that was?!  Any team in NASCAR road racing is free to race wherever they want. We are not responsible for what happens to them after that, however.

2. Abusive behavior by a firm dominating the market. Of course that doesn’t apply to NASCAR. They are far from dominating the market.  They still don’t own every track, yet. Abusive?  While the ISC Security Department has that word on their shields, it is NOT the policy of NASCAR from a business standpoint.  They are a friendly, open and honest company always willing to help anyone in the road racing community see the light.

3. Mergers and acquisitions that hinder the competitive process.  That is why NASCAR doesn’t want to acquire the ALMS.  We feel sorry for them. In fact, they want them to survive so Jim and Roger have something to make fun of at staff meetings.

I guess I ruffled a few feathers about NASCAR taking over Sebring and Road Atlanta next year (they don’t want Mosport because its too hard to learn to speak Canadian).  As mentioned above, NASCAR believes in fair competition, so instead of taking over Sebring and Road Atlanta, NASCAR will just wait for Darwin to finish the job, if you know what I mean.

So if you going to call my radio show, please don’t waste my precious air time with this anti-competition nonsense.  I am happy to talk about how Scott Pruett freed those journalists held in North Korea, or why the Riley DP is the most technically advanced prototype in the world, or how the Rolex Series has record crowds everywhere it races, or whether Enzyte really works.  But please, stop the antitrust questions.  And no mention of all those empty grandstands at NASCAR races, either.

With another successful NASCAR Grand-Am season nearing an end, stay tuned for some very interesting news from your favorite motorsports journalist.

AC