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Knights of the Oval Table: We (heart) Street Races, Sarah, Danica and Leilani!

Three states. Three time zones. Three homeys. The Knights of the Oval table came together via IM chat room to mull the burning questions of the age.

Click it for the latest from the Blog Boys: pressdog, Jeff of MyNameIsIRL.com and MoneyCJ of fastmachines.com (we may get fire suits).

pressdog's Guide to Watching Road/Street Races

OK, peeps. This is better late than never, I guess, but it's come to my attention that many Ovulators could benefit from sage tips on how to watch a street/road race without losing consciousness. So here we go.

The big four of road races (note to the anal, I'm using "road race" to cover all non-oval races on temporary street circuits or permanent road course circuits. Simmer down.):

1) Starts and restarts

2) Pit stops

3) Pit strategy

4) Circus Music Moments (also know as Crazy-Ass Shit).

And the Guiding Principle (GP) of Road Races: It's hard as hell to pass on the track.

Keep those four and the GP in mind, and here are some tips on how to watch, maybe even enjoy, street races.

Champ Car Cancels Phoenix Race (or Phoenix Cancels Champ Car Race, Depending on How You Look at it)

Phoenix, apparently, does not have Champ Car Fever:

PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) -- The promoters of the season-ending Champ Car World Series event in Phoenix on Dec. 2 have cancelled the inaugural event due to a lack of sponsor support.

``An event of this magnitude requires considerable corporate support and, though we did establish some outstanding partnerships, there were simply not enough of these to create economic viability,'' said Dale Jensen, owner and managing member of the Sports Property.

Our boy Jeff of MyNameIsIRL.com lives in a tony suburb of Phoenix and will likely be crushed since he's an in-the-closet Champ Car fan. Also, when reached for comment, Jeff's fellow Phoenix suburbanite, Danica Patrick, said: "What's a 'Champ Car?' " (OK, I made that Danica quote up. But the rest of this is true. Including the part about Jeff being a closet Champ Car fan.)

Read the entire AP news story here.

pressdog Girds Himself for Chicagoland

The girding has begun. Chicagoland Speedway is hiring extra security to control the mayhem and insanity that always erupts when pressdog is in the house. I'm rolling to Chicagoland, one of my fav tracks, for the weekend madness Sept. 8 and 9. Get ready for the Big Duke-Out for the title.

Screw opening day of the NFL! TiVo it. If you live within range of Chicagoland you gotta roll to the race. Click the link, grab some tickets and go! If you're going to Chicagoland, post a shout out in the comments below. See ya there.

Notes Taken During the Champ Car World Series Race at Zolder, Belgium 2007

Notes taken during the ESPN-ish broadcast of Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium, Zolder, Belgium, August 25, 2007.

Welcome to the Race Director version of Champ Car Belgium. It's 7 a.m. Central time, so the pressdog beer of the race is actually Millstone Black Onyx Organic coffee. Tasty. A day earlier I had a Wittekerke, authentic Belgian wheat ale, in honor of the race. Five percent alcohol by volume brewed in Bavikhove, Belgium (168 km east of Zolder! pressdog is a yahoo maps jockey!).

I have to watch via Race Director because I don't get ESPN Classic. Race Director coverage starts with a stunning shot of the lower half of a person sitting in a chair. Someone has obviously laid down a camera that is now live. Hope this person doesn't do anything nutty.

Notes Taken During the Infineon AGR Block Party at Sonoma 2007

Notes taken during the ESPN broadcast of the Optima Batteries IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 26, 2007.

pressdog beer of the race is Millstone Black Onyx organic coffee. Kidding. I had to drink that this morning at 7 a.m. as I watched the Champ Car race from Belgium. pressdog's real beer of the race is Guinness. Brilliant!

Welcome to some of the most beautiful countryside in the Sonoma Valley (where it looks to be mainly brown to me). Championship montage. Dario Franchitti gets airborne at Michigan. And Kentucky.

Is Champ Car Looking to Make a SPEED-like Channel?

I got an email from the Champ Car Inner Circle Champions on August 23 asking me if I would either switch cable/dish providers to get a Champ Car Channel.

Click the image for a better view of what they sent me. Is Champ Car considering launching a rival to the The SPEED Channel? Or did they just let The Racing Channel survey CC fans?

Jeffy Has a Brush with the Umlauted Hotty

You're going to want to race -- yes, race -- over to our boy Jeffy's magic site, MyNameIsIRL.com, for on-the-spot coverage of the Infineon throw down. Jeff phoned in a breathless report as he was literally rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge of how he met and exchanged extended pleasantries with The Umlauted Hotty, Leilani Münter.

In case you missed it you can see Leilani exhibit some very un-Tree-Hugger-like behavior after she got collected in a crash at Kentucky in the latest Arni the Insider report. Love the fire, LM.

CC Bringer of the Law Lands on Speedy Dan

Speedy Dan Clarke apparently suffered one brain lock too many.

Champ Car Bringer of the Law Tony Cotman banned Clarke from racing in this weekend's festival of Belgian beer.

ZOLDER, BELGIUM (TICKER) -- Following an incident during Friday's morning practice session, Dan Clarke has been barred from participating in this weekend's Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium.

Champ Car race director Tony Cotman will make a decision a week from now as to Clarke's status for the Bavaria Beer Champ Car Grand Prix of Holland.

"This morning's incident was totally unacceptable and completely avoidable," said Cotman said. "Dan was already on probation after previous incidents in San Jose which helped lead me to my decision today.

Read the whole blurbage here.

Clarke has become increasingly known for driving first and asking questions later.

Credibility Police Report Finding Stealth Cattle

International Racing Credibility Police confirmed Monday they've located "what appears to be some evidence of cattle" on property controlled by IRL Chief Steward Brian Barnhart.

"It's difficult to tell for sure, since the allegedly cattle were shrouded in secrecy with a large 'This is None of the Fans' Business' sign outside the barn," said Deputy Chief Superintendent Barney M. Chesterman of the credibility police.