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Give Thanks for What You Have by Supporting Carey Hall

Carey Hall, a member of Sarah Fisher Racing, is dying from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

ALS a horrible way to go. There is no cure and not much treatment for ALS, which is a rapidly progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Eventually, patients lose their strength and ability to move their arms, legs, and body. When muscles in the diaphram and chest wall fail, patients cannot breathe without ventilator support. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within three to five years. About 10 percent of patients survive for 10 years or more. Last I heard Carey was in a wheelchair and losing the ability to speak.

Carey will leave a wife and three kids behind. Sarah Fisher has worked hard to raise awareness and money for the family and I have donated twice to a fund for their sake. I invite you to end 2011 by yelling F YOU! at ALS and supporting Carey's Hope.

More info and donation link here.

pressdog® Year In Review Festival of Links

We come to the end of another year, suffused with IndyCar and NASCAR goings-on. During 2011, six new Women of pressdog® were anointed, bring the total to 20. I had the high of Ed Carpenter winning for Sarah Fisher Racing and the low of Dan Wheldon’s death at Las Vegas. In between were recurring diatribes, assorted whining and rantings, occasional praise, many volumes of race notes and assorted farcical moments.

Based on a perusal of postings, here’s what stands out in my mind for the year ...

IndyCar Scehdule: A Festival of Despondency

The new schedule is out, and it's a corker!* (*Denotes sarcasm).

Three -- count 'em, THREE -- non-Indy ovals: Iowa, Texas and California. Texas will NOT be a double header this year, much to Dario's excitement. The schedule only includes 15 races, and IndyCar's contract with IZOD allegedly calls for at least 16, so we got a TBA in there somewhere. Robin Miller did a story on the schedule that talks about how hard Randy Bernard tried, along with some ideas on an additional street race that could be #16. Read it here.

The race in Baltimore is still on the schedule, but last we heard organizers there (cue the Finance Circus Music) had until Jan. 1 to pay their tax debts or the city would shut them down. At one point the crack real journalists at the Baltimore Sun reported race officials owed $12 MILLION to various groups.

If Baltimore goes away, the Randy will have to find two more races somewhere. The IMS road course is looking better and better. I'm super UNexcited about this schedule given it's nearly 75% street/road content. But, as I've lamented before, you can't go where you're not wanted, and IndyCar is not wanted by a lot of ovals out there right now.

The schedule:

Date	Track	Venue
March 25	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street course
April 1	Barber Motorsports Park	2.3-mile road course
April 15	Streets of Long Beach	1.968-mile street course
April 29	Streets of Sao Paulo	2.536-mile street course
May 27	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.5-mile oval
June 3	Raceway at Belle Isle Park	2.1-mile street course
June 9	Texas Motor Speedway	1.5-mile oval
June 23	Iowa Speedway	.875-mile oval
July 8	Streets of Toronto	1.755-mile street course
July 22	Edmonton City Centre Airport	1.973-mile airport course
Aug. 5	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course
Aug. 19	Streets of Qingdao, China	3.87-mile street course
Aug. 26	Infineon Raceway	2.303-mile road course
Sept. 2	Streets of Baltimore	2-mile street course
Sept. 15	Auto Club Speedway	2-mile oval

*Schedule subject to change

 

PippaMann to Drive in India-Based "i1 Super Car Series"

Woman of pressdog® Pippa Mann confirmed today via Twitter that she will drive in the i1Supercar Series in early 2012. Pippa said the racing won't interfere with any IndyCar efforts and has the added benefit of helping her strengthen and rehab her right hand, which was injured in the final IndyCar race in Las Vegas.

i1 Supercar Series is the an all new motorsport racing league promoted by Machdar Motorsport. The i1 Supercar Series will consist of 10 races with 9 teams representing different Indian cities. The inaugural i1 Supercar Series season will begin in January 2012 and be held in India, UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar. The teams will race the Radical Sportscars' SR3 roadster in the sports car racing series. Each team will be represented by two drivers. At least one driver for each team must be a driver of Indian origin. Teams will compete for a $2 million (US) prize.

Pippa will be teamed with 2008 Firestone Indy Lights contestant Cyndie Allemann, who was born in Switzerland and listed as an "Indian International." For more on Cyndie, visit her website here. A news release containing Pippa's comments on the series has been posted here.

News release from http://www.i1superseries.com below:

Shea Holbrook Takes the Ramp into Racing

Sometimes things just work out … eventually ... and seemingly jet-black clouds end up having a blindingly bright silver linings.

For example, there has to be an easier — let alone less painful — redirection from water skiing to motorsports than herniating two lumbar vertebrae. And driving a rented car that “won’t turn left and right” doesn't exactly maximize your chances of winning.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Moves to Main Street Speedway

News release from Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and Speedway Redevelopment Commission ...

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing to move racing headquarters to Speedway

Race team unveils plans for new facility in heart of Speedway’s redevelopment area

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) in conjunction with the Speedway Redevelopment Commission (SRC) announced the race team will relocate its motorsports headquarters from Indianapolis to Speedway’s Main Street, adding yet another motorsports powerhouse to the Town.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing to Main Street,” said Vince Noblet, president of the SRC. “Sarah [Fisher] saw the potential of the prime, development-ready sites located here on Main Street and has already created an excellent vision for her new facility that is directly in line with the goals of the SRC. The SRC, with Speedway businesses and residents, extend a warm welcome to our newest neighbor.”

IndyCar Nails Investigation Report Release

Huge ups to IndyCar for its handling of the release of the investigation into Dan Wheldon's death. The only blemish was the too-short 14-hour notice of the news conference.

But once the conference started Thursday, everything was a case study on how to conduct these things. IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart did an outstanding job of stepping through the findings in a prepared statement and in answering questions. Barnhart's statement was in enough detail to convey the results but not excessive so as to be in bad taste.The video feed never faltered and the sound was optimal as well.

IndyCar also went all in for transparency by releasing the detailed report findings in a 49-page PDF format. (View here.)

Huge shout outs to VP of PR Amy Konrath, CEO Randy Bernard, Barnhart and the entire investigative posse.

Investigators Find Wheldon Killed by Impact with Catchfence Post

  The IZOD IndyCar Series Thursday issued a report that Dan Wheldon was killed by impact with a post that was part of the catchfence at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16, 2011.

The results were presented at a news conference in Indianapolis on Thursday. The medical examiner in Las Vegas ruled shortly after the accident that Wheldon died from head trauma. The source of the trama has been the subject of an investigation launched shortly after the crash.

Leilani Münter Launches "eco education" Racing Initiative

Woman of pressdog® Leilani Münter has launched a drive to connect her passions of environmentalism and racing in a "200mph Eco Education Project in Racing."

From the news release ..

"As an environmentalist, I recognize that the place where I can make the most difference is at the racetrack: it is where I have my biggest audience and I am not preaching to the choir. Racing gives me a platform to speak to millions of race fans about our environmental challenges," says Münter, "that's why I want to take my conversation with the race fans to the next level. In 2012, I am developing a 200 mph eco education program: the goal is to educate and engage 75 million race fans in the USA and inspire them to rethink their day to day choices for our planet."

For more details including sponsorship info, visit Leilani's site HERE.

Ashley Freiberg Adds a Glass Slipper to her Collection of Hardware

Sometimes the phone does ring and dreams do "literally come true." Take the Curious Case of Ashley Freiberg, for example.

After six years of rampaging through karts and Skip Barber open-wheel competition, at the dawn of 2011 Freiberg (pronounced Fry-berg) found herself "living off gardening" and out of a ride, unable to take the step from Skip Barber onto the Road to Indy ladder.