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Money CJ Rawks Richmond

Our boy Money CJ of fastmachines.com is keeping it real and getting to the heart of the matter on the ground at Richmond. Check his most excellent updates here.

Rush Immediately to an AAMCO Near You

I rolled with a quickness to the AAMCO repair center in tony Urbandale, Iowa, this morning for an oil change on my personal performance automobile (2001 Ford Focus. The 'dog rolls in style, yo.) Imagine my excitement to see a big "show us what you got" banner featuring Helio, Sarah, Marco, Sammy and Kanaan hanging up in the store along with sundry Sarah Fisher-featured items.

I told them I was there exclusively due to their involvement with the IRL and Sarah. In fact, until they started sponsoring Sarah, I had no idea they did anything but transmissions there. Then, when I found they had wireless Internet in the waiting area, I wept softly, for it was a beautiful thing. They'll be seeing a lot of me. Find the AAMCO nearest you and get some coupons, etc. at www.aamco.com, and be sure to tell them Sarah/the IRL sent ya.

Knights of the Oval Table: Money, Irl and pressdog Enjoy a Festival of Carbon Fiber

Once again I got three-wide with fellow IndyCar blog freaks Jeff of MyNameIsIRL and MoneyCJ of fastmachines.com (SoDamnIndy below).We talked about Danica's hair (of course), reactions from the Festival of Carbon Fiber at Iowa, Money's impending trip to Richmond and, of course, assless chaps. Check it out by clicking below.

Notes from the Champ Car Festival of Carbon Fiber at Cleveland 2007

Notes taken during the CBS broadcast of Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland on June 24, 2007.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Montage! Aussie Will Power like his countrymen AC/DC brings intense power from down under (props to Champ Car for working an AC/DC reference in there).

Paul Tracy Fight Club montage. In this corner, weighing in at about a buck fifty, Alex "The Helmet" Tagliani. Also video of the helmeted Bourdais getting into Tracy's grille. Tune in to pay-per-view for CCWS RAW!

Notes from the Iowa Corn 250 Traffic Jam 2007

First of all, the rage meter is off the hook for shizzy here in Iowa as thousands of people were stuck in an epic traffic jam and missed much if not all of the race. The Super Deuce's track is neato and super-keen, so we were told over and over and over, state-of-the-art and ultra cool -- except for the traffic design, which sucked. And, if you'd been in the traffic jam, as I was, you'd know that the inane traffic design for the track was to blame for the delays and it was NOT just one of them racin' deals. This was not 100,000 trying to get to Bristol or 150k descending on TMS.

Iowa Speedway Debacle

I left my house at 9:30 and got to the track at 1 p.m. It takes 45 minutes to drive to the track. Sat in a stop and start line of traffic for TWO AND A HALF HOURS after I hit the Newton exit. Mad props to the Iowa Speedway for such an effective traffic plan. Really. What you want to do is charge fans $50 a seat, talk up how super neat the racing facility is, then make them sit and wait for two and a half hours to get in.

Also, thanks for making me look like a total asshole for highly recommending everyone I know go to the race. I got to my seat on lap 89, but only after I walked by a few thousand totally pissed fans. The biggest professional sporting event ever held in Iowa was apparently too big for the Iowa Speedway.

I'll be sending a pissy letter to the speedway management and I expect the "Sorry, we'll do better next time" response. How about refunding a third of the $250 I spent on tickets? Didn't think so.

Updated 6/25/07. Here's the response to my bitching email from the track:

Unfortunately, a limited number of racing fans experienced traffic problems at our IndyCar Series race this weekend. Obviously, that’s not the kind of experience we want people to have when they visit Iowa Speedway.

Right now, we are gathering facts to see what the problem is – and what kind of solution is required. We intend to have any traffic issues resolved by our next race, the Rolex Daytona Prototypes and Rolex Grand American Sports Car GT Series events, July 13-14.

I appreciate the apology. Oh, wait ... I also feel better knowing I was part of a "limited number."

Check the Live Blog

Check out the witty observations and comedic stylings of my boys Jeff of MyNameIsIRL.com and MoneyCJ of fastmachines.com. They''re live blogging during the race today here.

Notes and stuff from me later today or tomorrow. Peace out.

pressdog Does Newton, Day 2

What up, homeys? Thanks for the mad props and popping in to read the frivolity yesterday. Mega shout outs to the Indy Car PR staff and Iowa Speedway posse for letting me hang about like some kind of real media person. The IRL PR kings and queens do an awesome job helping the media cover the series. And I'm not just saying that to suck up. Seriously.

Last updated 6/23/07 8:10 p.m.

pressdog Does Newton, Day 1

Yo yo yo from the media center at Iowa Speedway in tony Newton, Iowa.

Click below for the latest highlights. Last updated on 6/22/07 at 5:45 p.m. Central.

Blogcast: Money, Irl and pressdog Warm Their Tires for Iowa

My homeys MoneyCJ of fastmachines.com and Jeff of MyNameIsIRL.com get all three-wide in front of the Iowa race. Will Danica ever call me? Why does Scheckter reportedly get so much action? Will Marco finish an oval? Can Money ever get over Milka's sponsor? See for yourself.