Thursday, April 30, 2009

Operators are waiting so call now!

Zero degrees Kelvin (0K), or -459°F, is the scientific term for absolute zero, the temperature where all molecular movement stops also known as the theoretical absence of all thermal energy. To put it another way, it is the point when stuff stops being stuff and starts not existing, a little bit like Scott Speed's talent.




















Kelvin Burt wishing for an actual absence of thermal energy, yesterday


I'm a relatively keen student of the great landmarks of physics and I am well aware that this state is purely theoretical and has never been replicated under laboratory conditions. Well that is what I believed until I saw the IndyCar Series ratings for Kansas on Sunday.

The figure I read was so alarmingly tiny that I had to check that I hadn't looked at viewing data for Women's Lacrosse or candle pin bowling. The number, .15 of one ratings point, is all the evidence I need to believe that we are not far off nailing absolute zero seeing as IndyCar and Versus TV almost managed it in far from ideal conditions on Sunday.

In less scientific terms those ratings are marginally above those of good infomercial numbers and maybe this is a positive and indeed a commercial opportunity for the marketing departments of IndyCar and their TV partner.

If Vince Shlomi - The Shamwow Guy - can find time in his schedule to stop battering hookers he could help sort out all the issues about racing in the rain. I mean you have seen what the orange rag can do right? Get a tarp roller made of that stuff and rain delays will be a thing of the past.

We need to get Jack Arute out of pit lane as soon as possible and not just because at Long Beach he announced the death of Sir Stirling Moss live on air while handing him a World title he never won. Incidentally, this made Moss only the second ever posthumous World Champion, and the first to earn that honor while still alive. If Versus are worried about the numbers, just replace him with Billy Mays and start selling all of the stuff that Jack normally has a good look at in the pits. This would include all sorts of worn out, no longer useful tat like tires, brake discs, damaged nose cones and AJ Foyt.

Lindy Thackston can go crazy with the Ginsu knife slashing through everything in her path, well, when I say everything I am of course excluding the TV audience as that could only be split further using a particle accelerator.

This also has to be a tremendous opportunity for KV Racing and Dale Coyne to sell their additional seats for the Indianapolis 500. 'If you buy now we will not only give you 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' but you will also get the Milwaukee Mile and Kentucky Speedway absolutely free'.

My only worry is that the figures will shrink to the point where race budgets will be drastically cut (without the need to resort to Lindy's knife) and teams will be forced into this type of racing and venue.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I swear it wasn't me!

Video footage has been released of the very recent theft of Danica Patrick's race car for Indy.

EDIT: This is a very elaborate publicity stunt.



Kim Green has been quoted as saying:

“I am disappointed that this video was leaked because it creates an unnecessary distraction as we prepare for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500. We are in contact with the individuals in the video and are making progress in getting the car returned prior to Opening Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We have no further information to offer at this time and will provide additional details as they become available.”

What are your thoughts, use the comment bar on the blog.

EDIT: This in from Fantasy League member Austin Hollabaugh.

It most likely has something to do with the commercial they are shooting at the new Indianapolis airport (I forget where I read about it at), but she is going to be driving her *new* paint schemed car down one of the tarmacs. Most likely after she rescues it from these heathens! What a stretch..sorry to ruin the plot for ya!

- The Commish

Monday, April 27, 2009

Midweek Motorsport: Indianapolis 500 Driver Values Special


Hello all. The Indianapolis 500 Transfer Window is now open.

The initial driver values are now up & you can click here for a run down of all of them by the Midweek Motorsport crew.

- The Commish


Presented by 'Car Jack Streets' for iPod and iPhone. Out Now!

What a weekend for Dempsey (Real & Fantasy)!

Well Scott Dixon finally put the earth back onto the correct axis with a dominant run to Victory lane in Kansas. It must be said, however, that NHLR will have given us all some food for thought as we approach the 'Month of May'. Congratulations must go out though to the other big winner this weekend, our own fantasy leaguer, Peter Dempsey. Not only did he take victory in Round two of the Star Mazda Series at VIR at the weekend but he also had a stellar week in the League and he has shot up the table into third position.


Dempsey takes the chequered flag at Virginia International Raceway while his fantasy team leaps into the top 3 this week.


1. Simon Speichert - 817pts
Felony Pursuit
Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wilson & Summerton

2. Robert Duffield - 767pts
Team IndyCART
Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe, Wheldon, Barrett & Hinchcliffe

3. Peter Dempsey - 700pts
Dempsey's Irish Cowboys
Kanaan, Briscoe, Matos, Wilson & Hildebrand

4. Jason Kwok - 697pts
Eco Challenged
Dixon, Briscoe, Carpenter, Wilson & Summerton

5. Jeff Ianucci - 690pts
MyNameisIRL
Briscoe, Kanaan, Wheldon, Carpenter & Beatriz

6. Mike Draize - 687pts
IRL the feeder series to ALMS
Franchitti, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Barrett & Beatriz

7. John Harbey - 685pts
JWH Racing
Franchitti, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hinchcliffe

8. Doug Werner(II) - 655pts
Team Penske and Friends
Castroneves, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hildebrand

9. Ben Harris - 655pts
IRS Racing: Presented By Helio Castroneves
Castroneves, Rahal, Wilson, Wheldon & JR Hildebrand

10. Julie Werner II - 685pts
Times 108th to 109th Most Influential
Castroneves, Kanaan, Meira, Wilson & Hinchcliffe


11. Julie Werner - 620pts
12. Chris Buccola - 610pts
13. Chris Vince - 595pts
14. James Broomhead - 592pts
15. Mike Gathman - 589pts
16. Morwenna Cross - 577pts
17. Emiliyan Styokov - 571pts
T18. TJ Halsema - 562pts
T18. Brian Wright - 562pts
20. Conor Daly - 560pts

21. Matthew Hyndman - 557pts
22. Ryan Ligon - 552pts
23. Paul Menard - 545pts
24. Dan Fay - 542pts
25. Paul Boggan - 540pts
26. Michael Rennick- 537pts
27. Robert Melvin - 530pts
28. Dan Enfinger - 522pts
29. Doug Werner - 517pts
29. Joe Gaal - 510pts
30. Declan Brennan- 475pts

31. Eddie Lynch - 460pts
32. James Murphy - 457pts
33. Philip Moreton - 452pts
34. Simon Green - 442pts
35. Nick Daman - 427pts
36. Martin Wilz - 419pts
37. Jimmy Mangusson - 417pts
38. Andrew Harbey - 412pts
39. Vincent Mellor - 405pts
40. Austin Hollobaugh - 370pts

41. Jeff Fuller - 365pts
42. Mike Brooks - 352pts
43. Jeremy Scott- 340pts
44. Simon Topham - 262pts



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Monday, April 20, 2009

Transfer Window #1: New Driver Values

Okay chaps, the new driver values have been posted. With the unfortunate ousting of Will Power comes a unique opportunity for everyone. I am going to offer a 'like for like' swap with Helio Castroneves. You can now make a direct swap Power of with Helio or pick up HC for the bargain price of $30M.

There is no point in arguing about this with me because you must remember the following.



Enjoy,


The Commish

Week 2 Standings: Who Shot JR (out of a cannon)?

1. Robert Duffield - 662pts
Team IndyCART
Franchitti, Will Power, Mutoh, Matos & Hinchcliffe

2. Simon Speichert - 630pts
Felony Pursuit
Power, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wilson & Summerton

3. John Harbey - 585pts
JWH Racing
Franchitti, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hinchcliffe

4. Doug Werner(II) - 565pts
Team Penske and Friends
Power, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hildebrand

T5. Mike Draize - 560pts
IRL the feeder series to ALMS
Franchitti, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Barrett & Beatriz

T5. Peter Dempsey - 560pts
Dempsey's Irish Cowboys
Kanaan, Briscoe, Matos, Wilson & Hildebrand

7. Chris Buccola - 545pts
Team Blue Flag
Franchitti, EJ Viso, Rahal, Wilson & Hildebrand

8. Conor Daly - 530pts
Team Bold Glory
Franchitti, Viso, Wilson, Wheldon & Hildebrand

9. Julie Werner - 525pts
Time's 101st  to 107th Most Influential
Eco Challenged

Dario, Briscoe, Viso, Conway & Hildebrand

10. Ben Harris - 480pts
IRS Racing: Presented By Helio Castroneves
Power, Rahal, Wilson, Wheldon & Howard


11. Dan Fay - 477pts
12. Chris Vince - 475pts
13. Paul Menard - 457pts
14. Paul Boggan - 450pts
15. Mike Gathman - 449pts
16. Julie Werner(II) - 445pts
17. Jeff Ianucci - 440pts
18. Jason Kwok - 432pts
19. James Broomhead - 430pts
20. Brian Wright - 410pts

21. TJ Halsema - 405pts
22. Robert Melvin - 390pts
T23. Joe Gaal - 385pts
T23. Andrew Harbey - 385pts
25. Robert Melvin - 390pts
26. Ryan Lygon- 375pts
27. Eddie Lynch - 370pts
28. James Murphy - 365pts
29. Emiliyan Stoykov - 361pts
30. Doug Werner - 357pts

31. Morwenna Cross - 337pts
32. Declan Brennan - 335pts
33. Michael Rennick - 332pts
34. Jimmy Magnusson - 330pts
35. Martin Wilz - 317pts
36. Matthew Hyndman - 292pts
37. Jeff Fuller - 285pts
38. Austin Hollobaugh - 265pts
39. Vincent Mellor - 260pts
40. Philip Moreton - 252pts

41. Nick Daman - 237pts
T42. Dan Enfinger - 227pts
T42. Jeremy Scott- 227pts
44. Simon Green - 207pts
45. Mike Brooks - 197pts
46. Simon Topham - 72pts



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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Some clips on which to ponder.

A lap of Long Beach with Midweek Motorsport's own John Hindhaugh




A trip down memory lane and an indicator that course knowledge could be crucial, at least during qualifying this weekend. One of our players, Conor Daly, may recognise one of the front row occupants.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A quick Long Beach Preview with a chubby lad.



I'm not sure where they got their 'expert' but he makes some good points, on his brief stop between the cake shop and the pie shop, and hopefully he will refresh your memory with regards to who is hot and who is not in the Firestone Indy Lights Series.

I would suggest that a sleeper for Long Beach is Raphael Matos who has relatively recent experience on the streets there.

So make sure to get your amended teams, if you are planning to shuffle them, to me by Midnight EST on Friday.

Don't forget, I will have all of the weekend's coverage including the Indy Lights race right here on your favourite shabbily constructed blog.

Enjoy.

The Commish

Monday, April 6, 2009

Week 1 - Standings

1. Simon Speichert - 440pts
Felony Pursuit
Power, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wilson & Summerton

2. Jason Kwok - 360pts
Eco Challenged
Dixon, Briscoe, Carpenter, Wilson & Summerton

3. Mike Draize - 345pts
IRL the feeder series to ALMS
Franchitti, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Barrett & Beatriz

T4. John Harbey - 340pts
JWH Racing
Franchitti, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hinchcliffe

T4. Peter Dempsey - 340pts
Dempsey's Irish Cowboys
Kanaan, Briscoe, Matos, Wilson & Hildebrand

T6. Chris Vince - 330pts
And Round We Go!
Kanaan, Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Meira & Hinchcliffe

T6. Jeff Ianucci - 330pts
MyNameisIRL
Kanaan, Briscoe, Wilson, Viso & Beatriz

8. Robert Duffield - 322pts
Team IndyCART
Power, Briscoe, Mutoh, Matos & Hinchcliffe

T9. Doug Werner(II) - 310pts
Team Penske and Friends
Power, Briscoe, Doornbos, Barrett & Hildebrand

T9. Ben Harris - 310pts
IRS Racing: Presented By Helio Castroneves
Power, Rahal, Wheldon, Wilson & Howard

T9. TJ Halsema - 310pts
Ray Harroun's Ghost
Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Doornbos, Conway & Saavedra

12. Paul Menard - 305pts
13. Jimmy Magnnusson - 300pts
14. Julie Werner(II) - 295pts
T15. Robert Melvin - 275pts
T15. Chris Buccola - 275pts
17. Mike Gathman - 267pts
18. James Broomhead - 265pts
T19 James Murphy - 260pts
T19 Julie Werner(I) - 2670pts

T21. Eddie Lynch - 255pts
T21. Paul Boggan - 255pts
23. Austin Hollobaugh -250pts
24. Declan Brennan - 240pts
25. Brian Wright - 235pts
26. Conor Daly - 225pts
27. Jennifer Gaal - 225pts
T28. Doug Werner (I) - 220pts
T28. Matthew Hyndman - 220pts
30. Ryan Ligon - 205pts

31. Emilyan Stoykov - 197pts
32. Philip Moreton - 190pts
33. Andrew Harbey - 180pts
34. Jeremy Scott - 175pts
35. Dan Fay - 167pts
36. Nick Daman - 145pts
37. Morwenna Cross - 140pts
38. Jeff Fuller - 135pts
39. Martin Wilz - 122pts
T40. Mike Brooks - 120pts
T40 Michael Rennick - 120pts

42. Simon Green - 115pts
43. Dan Enfinger - 65pts

Friday, April 3, 2009

Free practice pointers and deductions

The IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights Series both ran in free practice this morning. I am afraid the rain probably didn't give any of you late Fantasy League entrants much, if any, useful intelligence with regards to the performance of the teams and drivers in either category.

The Indy Lights got the brunt of the rain and the early part of the session was run in fully wet conditions. Rookies Duncan Tappy and Richard Phillipe were the class of field when the track was at it's worst and as the track gradually dried out it became impossible to get a real handle on the relative speed of the field. If the rains continue, I will be picking Tappy for my free pick this weekend. Anyone who saw his performance in dreadful conditions at Zolder in Superleague Formula will know that rain will not cause him any undue stress.

The lack of car/barrier interface situations was a pleasant surprise with only Pippa Mann in her Panther car hitting the tyres. So, in truth, we will have to wait and hope for a dry session later on this afternoon so that we can get a clearer picture of the real pace setters in the Lights category.

The drying track also meant that we were offered an uneven and almost entirely false picture of the IndyCar field (just think of a landscape drawn by the man whose Museum is in St Petersburg - Salvador Dali). The track had only one drying line for most of the session and only really invited more committed lappery towards it's conclusion. Although nobody was particularly surprised that the Target Chip Ganassi cars topped the time sheets.


1 10 Dario Franchitti 1:04.5032
2 9 Scott Dixon 01:05.1481
3 19 Justin Wilson 01:05.1836
4 6 Ryan Briscoe 01:05.2055
5 4 Dan Wheldon 01:05.3390
6 13 E.J. Viso 01:05.3966
7 26 Marco Andretti 01:05.6370
8 3 Will Power 01:05.6496 7
9 5 Mario Moraes 01:05.7412
10 02 Granham Rahal 01:05.8199
11 06 Robert Doornbos 01:06.0882
12 14 Vitor Meira 01:06.2692
13 2 Raphael Matos 01:06.3043
14 34 Alex Tagliani 01:06.3868
15 21 Ryan Hunter-Reay 01:06.4209
16 24 Mike Conway 01:06.5339
17 27 Hideki Mutoh 01:06.7729
18 7 Danica Patrick 01:07.3126
19 20 Ed Carpenter 01:08.5418
20 23 Darren Manning 01:08.6726
21 98 Stanton Barrett 01:10.6443


Tony Kanaan decided not to venture out at all. Maybe he knew something we didn't? I suspect more hands will be revealed in the afternoon sessions. It will be the last chance you chaps have to adjust your teams before the Midnight EST deadline.

- The Commish

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

We're off!.............................................................almost

Hello all,

The IndyCar Fantasy League and blog is back. So just to help you don those thinking caps, here is a brief preview of the series from a fantasy players point of view.

First of all remember this is a squad based game with only your four active players scoring at each race. The weekly wild card pick from the Firestone Indy Lights field could be critical in terms of finding an edge from week to week.

So what should you look out for when it comes to picking your full squad? How should I know, I ran the thing and I couldn't even work out how to win last season!


A quick look at the rookie class and Mike Conway's mildly peculiar hair.

The revised system this season should eliminate the 'I'll just pick Scott Dixon and put my feet up' school of thought. The supporting cast who accompany your inevitable superstar choices are going to be the key. I'm not going to tell anyone who to chose but the slightly dubious rookie status of Robert Doornbos (he is an IndyCar rookie) should set alarm bells ringing in the minds of many players. His rookie bonus points could well be the difference come the end of the season.


Robert Doornbos laughing at his slightly ludicrous rookie status, yesterday

The late additions of some rather experienced pilots, namely Darren Manning, Alex Tagliani and Tomas Scheckter (from Long Beach onwards) provides some tasty low rent pickup opportunities. Good road racers in bad cars (I'd throw Justin Wilson into that category) could pay off especially on the technically challenging street circuits which kick the season off.

So please think carefully and take as much time as you need to come up with your selections, the deadline is Friday Midnight EST and there will have been two full practice sessions to absorb before you have to commit to anything.

As for your Commish? I have got no clue as to how I'm going to go with my selections, I may just wait and see what Mr Duffield does.

Enjoy and the very best of luck.


- The Commish

Pre season thoughts from our Fantasy League members.

Simon Speichert is a happy man North of the border in Canada and he wants to tell everyone:

There’s a lot of positive news coming out of the IndyCar Series in the run-up to the season. It’s been announced that Darren Manning and Tomas Scheckter have drives, and Milka Duno doesn’t.

But seriously, folks, this season is going to be crucial for the series to continue building momentum – interest needs to increase before VW comes into the series in 2011 or 2012 and the new Dallara chassis is run. Things are looking good, with activated sponsorship from IZOD, a diecast deal with Hot Wheels and, most crucially, lots of well-promoted TV time on Versus.

The field is extremely strong this year. There are 10 IndyCar race winners, two more (Power and Doornbos) with wins in Champ Car, and a rookie who manages to win in every kind of car he drives (Matos). Dan Wheldon will be a shot in the arm for Panther Racing, who haven’t won in quite some time, and the driving abilities of Vitor Meira and Justin Wilson should bolster the teams they’re driving for. Rookie of the Year, while not as strongly contested this year, should go down to the wire between Doornbos and Matos.

Even the minor leagues are benefiting. This year’s Firestone Indy Lights driver lineup is arguably the most talented junior formula series in the world this year. Jonathan Summerton, Charlie Kimball, Ana Beatriz, James Hinchcliffe, Duncan Tappy, Stefan Wilson, Richard Phillippe, J.R. Hildebrand and Jan Heylen are just some of the names, along with two former champions (unfortunately) in Jay Howard and Wade Cunningham. Better yet, IndyCar Series teams have incentive for testing Indy Lights drivers – they’ll be awarded additional testing miles for their IndyCar drivers. And Indy Lights will be shown on Versus as well.

What’s not to love? Talented teams and drivers in the series, and more interested in it as time goes on. A comprehensive TV package that will include more than 2 minutes of airtime after the conclusion of a race. American open-wheel racing is looking better equipped to make gains as the goliath that is NASCAR begins to sputter.