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NASCAR Nationwide Gets 1.1 Rating, IndyCar 0.35

Versus IndyCar ratings ARE suddenly YOUR BUSINESS, at least indirectly. Various sources (including IBJ The Score here) report the rating for the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway was 0.35, up 33% from the previous year. Where these ratings come from, I don't know. IndyCar, maybe.

Meanwhile, ESNP PR kicked out this news release about their Natrionwide race ...

ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Saturday, June 25, earned a 1.2 household coverage rating (1.1 U.S. rating), averaging 1,621,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company.

Last year’s race aired on ESPN2 and earned a 1.1 household coverage rating.

Iowa Double Dip? Whither Milwaukee?

Nots of sparks still flying after the magnificent show at Iowa Speedway in front of an announced crowd of 35,000.

Doubleheader at Iowa? One thing that came up almost immediately is the possibility of a doubleheader at Iowa in the near future. This is kind of under the "if some is good, more must be better" category. Personally, I'd be leery of a double dip in Iowa. As others have said, I'd rather have one spectacular event at Iowa than two mediocre ones.

Seventeen F1 Tracks Threatening to Bolt to IndyCar? Huh?

According to an article on Pitpass.com shot to me by frequent commentor George, 17 F1 tracks are threatening to bolt to IndyCar if speculated changes are made to the F1 engines.

Speaking of dogs and cats ... living together ... MASS HYSTERIA. The Threatening-to-walk tracks include Monza, Spa, Monaco (for the love of God) and Silverstone.

This has to be a spoof story, but there it is, bold as brass. Read it HERE.

Deluxe Notes Taken During the 2011 IndyCar Race in Iowa

Notes from trackside and the Versus broadcast of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa, June 25, 2011.

Yo yo yo and welcome to Iowa, home to me and 3 million other people, 13 million acres of corn and 15(ish) million hogs. I was at Iowa Speedway for the wonderment of this race, along with 35,117 other people. Iowa Speedway thinks attendance IS your business and usually announces said figures.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Post Race Transcript

Provided by IndyCar PR ...

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by our third place finisher, Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing. This is Scott's best finish at Iowa Speedway. Scott started 23rd to finish third. Talk about making up those 20 spots.

Dr. Will McCarty aka @IsItMayYet, Real Meteorologist, Predicts Race Goes as Planned

A bit of a Festival of Weather Panic on Twitter and elsewhere since it rained -- RAINED -- at 10 a.m, which is just TEN HOURS from scheduled green flag for IndyCar.

As I said, 10 hours in Iowa weather terms is like nine days. We could have a tornado and sleet rumble through today and still be clear, dry and 80 degrees by 8 p.m.

Will McCarty, along with being the photoshop legend who created the famous Death Star graphic (below), is also a for-real meteorologist, and confirms there is NO REASON TO PANIC. Will predicts we WILL, repeat WILL, have a race on schedule tonight. Here's Will's flash communique sent to me and Joe of Trackside Online, to which you should all subscribe ...

There's some crap (scientific term) over you now that should blow past in the next 2 hours or so. Luckily, the heavy stuff is to the south of Newton. After that, it should gradually become less cloudy. As the sun heats up, there will be a chance of storms. right now, central Iowa appears, to me, to be on the good side of the edge of thunderstorm activity. It's looking like pop-up storms at most, so you should be good even if you do get hit by rain this evening because it'll be quick. One of the two models looks really good for a race tonight, and I'd say the other isn't overly threatening. I think it should be dry and stay dry at race time.

Pork Chop -- the Car Behind the Woman -- Speaks

It's a car ... with its own Twitter account (@78_porkchop). A car that gets called by name by fans of its driver, Simona De Silvestro. An older, heavier, backup car that was pressed into duty when Simona's primary car, "Janet," got totaled at Indy. 

Pork Chop -- so named by De Silvestro due to its heavier, older -- let's be honest -- slower nature. Despite his shortcomings (or maybe because of them), Pork Chop has become a bit of a fan favorite, getting called by name both on TV and in print, with nearly 1,000 followers on Twitter.

Dogs and Cats Move in Together at Iowa Speedway

Takuma Sato is on the pole for the Iowa Corn 250 this weekend in Newton.

Just let that soak in for awhile. Keep letting it soak. Marinate, if you will. Now imagine those of us trackside, staring at the monitor, wondering why the number 5 is in P1. FIVE? Where have I seen that number before? 5... Looks familiar. And also, why has the earth lost gravity causing us to float weightlessly for several seconds. Finally, WHY is Satan shopping for a space heater.

Wheldon, Bryan Herta Autosport Named 2012 IndyCar Test Team

Someone called this awhile ago. Was it Robin Miller? News release ..

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 23, 2011) – INDYCAR announced today that Indianapolis 500 winners Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta Autosport have been selected as the test organization for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series prototype chassis.

ABC Rating at Milwaukee Settles at 0.8, Nationwide at MIS gets 1.5

Overnight for the IndyCar Race at Milwaukee was 0.9, final is 0.8. Nationwide at MIS on ABC Saturday drew a 1.5. Continuous props and shout outs to ESPN/ABC for kicking out ratings news releases, regardless of what the ratings were.

ESPN news releases below ...