Full Throttle

With the A1GP Series about to embark on their third season at Zandvoort they have announced changes to it’s sporting regulations.

In the first two seasons of A1GP, the Feature race grid was decided by the finishing order of the earlier Sprint race.

This year they’re splitting the two qualy sessions with two used to determine the grid for the Sprint event and the second two sessions utilized to form the Feature race grid. The previous practice of using an aggregate of two qual sessions is being scrapped in favor of a teams fastest lap across the four qual sessions will be used.

Additionally, a change to points awarded is being made. The victor of each race will recieve 15 points, second 12 points, third ten points, fourth eight points, fifth six points, sixth place five points and so on until the tenth placed team which will receive one point. A further point can be earned in each race by setting the fastest lap.

Last but not least, A1GP will also have a International Man Pit Stop of Mystery.

The Feature race grid is still required to complete a mandatory stop between laps 8 and 16 as in the past.

A second stop will take place in a different pit stop window and varies dependent on venue. The window in which this new pit stop must be taken will only be revealed as the pit lane opens; half an hour before the lights turn green.

Thus, A1GP’s “Pit Stop of Mystery”.

I don’t see it’s “mystery” to be much of a disadvantage, not in this day and age of ECU’s and computer control of every function on the car. 30 minutes is more than enough time to crunch the numbers and determine how to service the car during its first stop.

It will provide a second chance for some of the weaker teams to screw up a stop, something that’s been common in the past, and will continue if they don’t step up their pit stop practice.

The Feature race length will remain at 69 minutes plus one lap, the Sprint race’s length will be increased to 29 minutes plus one lap.

IN OTHER NEWS: Nicolas Prost has been confirmed as a member of A1 Team France as the team

That’s all I got, posting the image along with the snarky title is enough.

The image is of Jacques Villeneuve taken at Chicagoland Speedway during his recent NCTS test for Bill Davis Racing.

The one who comes up with the most snarky/comical comment will win some sorta sumptin’.

Maybe.

Talk among yourselves.

Recently friends and fellow bloggers Charlie and Bob has occasion to attend recent Cup events at MIS & Watkins Glen. (lucky stiffs!)

Both reported, as well as others, that many of the schwag trailers were holding discount sales on Dale Jr. merchandise.

As an aside and in apparent anticipation of a Gibbs move to Toyota Smoke’s schwag that featured images of Chevys was also discounted. But I digress.

The evidence is no longer anecdotal, it’s fact and measured in cold hard cash. Or rather the lack of cold hard cash.

ISC, who co-owns Motorsports Authentics the operation that runs most if not all the schwag trailers parked trackside at NASCAR events has reported a sudden loss of revenue.

During a conference call with investment analysts July 10, executives at ISC “attributed as much as half the shortfall — up to $10 million — to the slowdown in orders for Earnhardt’s goods.”

Ouchy-wah-wah! That’s tough to take even for a company with such a high bottomline.

But it should be noted part of the slowdown in July applies to “orders from the company’s biggest retailers, including Wal-Mart and Target, especially for apparel.”

Others selling Jr. schwag haven’t noticed a drop in sales and haven’t been able to keep up with demand:

“If any dealers are saying they’re losing sales, we’ll buy the stuff off them,” said Jeff Barnes of City of Industry-based High Banks Racing, a leading Southern California merchandise dealer. He said he had no trouble selling out his supply of Earnhardt’s die-cast cars, including an Elvis Presley theme that will adorn Earnhardt’s car at Richmond (Va.) International Speedway on Sept. 8.

JR Motorsports, Earnhardt’s licensing company, says it has detected the same falloff in the market as Motorsports Authentics. “It feels like an after-Christmas sale right now,” says Joe Mattes, vice president of licensing.

So is that a glass half full, or a glass half empty?

Hell if I know, but I tend to believe sales are being driven by the discounts and because revenue loss by Motorsports Authentics is due to lost wholesale orders their numbers won’t mean much until Red Nation officially becomes Red & Green Nation.

One other note, when the Dale Jr. Elvis-themed cars were offered on the shopping channel QVC this month, 15,000 cars were gobbled up in minutes.

But was that the Dale Jr. Effect, or the Elvis Effect? I mean think about it, some nutjobs think Elvis is still alive and walking the mountains of Bolivia. It’s not that far out of the question some saw the word “ELVIS” on their idiot box and got all Pavlov dog-like and dialed QVC without knowing it.

At the risk of being stoned to death, some of the Dale jr. schwag purchasers are pretty Pavlovian themselves. All they need is to come up with a few thousand Dale Jr. impersonators to match those of Elvis and they’d be pretty much even.

Now I better get outta here before the rocks come flying my way!

Regardless of what some believe, or say, or blog about or dream the best racing in NASCAR is ongoing. Research shows that in 1970, 22 of the 48 races were decided by more than one lap.

Throughout that decade, 110 races were won by more than one lap. In the ’80s, a one-lap margin happened 16 times. Such a margin of victory happened just twice in the 1990s.

As a matter of fact, the last race won by more than a lap occurred in 1994.

If you want to argue it’s because of “Phantom Debris Caution Flags” go ahead, that only explains a small percentage of the difference.

(This public service announcement was brought to you by the Half-Vast Staff™ of Full Throttle)

The fiddlers of CCWS, IRL, F1 and finally A1GP keep fiddlin’.

What is it with open wheel racing in America? Has the genre become a carrier of an infectious disease so virulent that everyone is fleeing the isolation ward?

As we are all aware Bernie, surgical mask firmly in place, took his plaything and went home to Asia and Europe leaving America without open wheel’s premier series. (Saying something to the effect, “We don’t need no stinkin’ USA”)

The two nutcases co-owners of CCWS have taken half of their 16 event schedule out of the United States and spread them over Europe, Asia, Mexico and Canada.

What’s left is half a CCWS season (part of that is in Canada) and the IRL with it’s 16 event schedule and fields half the size of a decent local dirt bull ring’s 30 lap feature.

The final “fiddler” as Open Wheel Rome burns is the A1GP who just announced their schedule for the upcoming season. What’s missing?

Sept 30 - Zandvoort (Netherlands)
October 14 - Brno (Czech Republic)
November 4 - Asia (venue to be decided)
November 15 - Sepang (Malaysia)
December 16 - Zhuhai (China)
January 20, 2008 - Taupo (New Zealand)
February 3 - Sydney (Australia)
February 24 - Durban (South Africa)
March 16 - Mexico City (Mexico)
April 6 - Shanghai (China),
May 4 - Brands Hatch (England)

Very perceptive sports fans, the Good Ole U.S. of A. (also MIA are Estoril and Dubai)

Organizers say another date is to be “added at a later date.” Presumably that will be Laguna Seca where last years event was held. And there is that big fat open date on 9 March the week before Mexico.

The A1GP bills itself as the Grand Prix of Nations and A1 Team USA fields a car carrying the tagline “We the People,” the people of America should get a chance to see their “branded” team race on its home court.

Not to mention, A1GP will be facing stiff competition this year from Bernie’s new baby GP2 Asia Series. The three year old World Cup of Motorsport will find it very hard to compete against Bernie’s billions.

Early this year Bernie noted F1 Mclaren’s long-time investment in Lewis Hamilton and blasted the current crop of F1 owners: “I told these bloody people: ‘Why don’t you run a GP2 team and during the year you can sift through half-a-dozen drivers, and maybe you’ll find the right guy?”

Indeed, and at this point (granted it’s early after only two seasons) A1GP hasn’t “graduated” anyone to a higher form of racing. The closest to moving up would be A1 Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan (”Fastest Indian in the World“). But his record comes with a caveat, he debuted in 2005 with the Jordan’s F1 team that predated his involvement with A1GP.

Interesting enough Karthikeyan is reportedly (reportedly because the contract hasn’t been signed) set run in the Speedcar Series that will run as a companion event at some GP2 Asia events. It’s a cinch he won’t be a member of A1 Team India’s driver lineup this winter if he runs Speedcar.

Also note A1GP’s retreat from Dubai, that venue is scheduled to be the opener for both Speedcar and GP2 Asia. I suspect that’s Bernie’s first monetary shot across A1GP’s bow. And it won’t be the last.

A1GP better firm up this years stop in the U.S., and add more in the future, and also start thinking very hard about a couple venues in Canada as well.

If not A1GP may not make it to it’s fifth anniversary two years from now.

UPDATE: How Timely. Confirmation, not that it’s needed, of how screwed up the U.S. open wheel scene is: The final CCWS event at Phoenix is no more, Kaput, finished, history!