Gordon/Montoya-Tradin' Paint

[LaserModVee]

This is turning out to really cool!!!!

Gordon looks like he knows what's going on behind the wheel of that BMW Williams.

Gordon is very impressive.

Can't wait for the USGP!!!

[sms]

I've been busy but not actually in a cave! What ARE you talking about??? Or is this the same old rumor that comes every year with the Canadian and US races? Details please!

Speaking of Montoya swapping paint...

[LaserModVee]

Haha!
That picture was taken a little south and a few rows up from my seats!!
Too cool!

Here's what was going on...

BMW Williams brought last year's car over to IMS. Hendrick brought the 24 car.

IMS opened the road course section for the drivers.

Gordon and Montoya swapped cars and turned hot laps!
This was all televised live on Speed today at 1:00.
It was cool as hell!!!!

For more on the story CLICK HERE (http://www.speedtv.com/speed/press.php?p=6572)

Speedchannel will be re-airing this tonight at 7:00 PM EST

We'll have to hook up at this year's F1 race. Hell, you practically sit next to me!

[BarryStrawn]

I wonder how many spectators showed up? Probably more than for Tony 500 qualifying.

[sms]

Small world! I've had these two seats since the inagural race. Every year I apply for more tickets in the same "block" but can't get them 'cause no one wants to give up turn one seats. See you there.

[LaserModVee]

Tony 500!
Hehe.

My uncle calls the IRL, the "Imitaion Racing League".

I still watched this year. It was the first year I watched flag to flag since the split.

I was so heartbroken when they split. I was lucky enough to camp at the north forty and watch qualifying in my dad's van the last year it was CART. I think that was the year Rahal didn't qualify??

Anyway......admission was free...if I still lived in Ohio, I would have been there.

From the onboard shots it looked as if not too many people knew about the event.

Worth watching tonight!
You could watch Gordon getting more and more comfortable with the Williams. I would like to see him get three days of testing the F1 car.

He kept underdriving turn 10? I think. The turn that leads you into the short chute between oval turns 1 & 2. There is a bump where the pavement merges around there. I think that had him a little nervous.

Check it out!

[BarryStrawn]

How about TonyCar. A few years ago when the IndyCar trademark was still tied up in the court settlement, I wrote the IRL suggesting they adopt TonyCar as their trademark. For some reason, I never heard back ;)

I also watched parts of the 500 this year. First time I turned it on since JV won the 505. Still as boring as ever. I wish I had watched the year JPM won, I heard it was humiliating.

[gaineso]

Gordon and Montoya were both having fun. They didn't really have time to get used to someting they'd never sat in, but it was easy to tell they both are race drivers. It was fun to watch. They said they had never seen such a grin on Gordon's face.

[BarryStrawn]

Just watched most of the rerun. Nice to see two racing drivers having fun and not have to fill every sentence with sponsor plugs.

[CDave]

I was impressed how well Gordon did but like he said that last second is hard to get.
Gordon wouldn't make it in F1.

Runnin' fast by yourself with a light load of fuel is different than racing with a race setup.

I was shocked to see Montoya flat spot the tire. It just goes to show you you just can't hop in a Cup car and run with the big dogs. Even if your a Montoya.

Different disciplines, different skills.
It reminded me of the line in Days of Thunder, Your use to runin' a car that weighs half as much and has tires twice as wide. Now you in a car that weighs twice as much and has half the tire and your burnin' them up. :D

BUt the main thing is both drivers looked like kids at Christmas time!!!

[RedAllison]

I was wonderin if I was the only one that watched that. Everyone I told about it looked at me like I was on crack. I watched it live and then about 3 more times on replay. That picture says it all. Every swingin *%#( PACKS the granstand for the Winston Cuppers and even that sorry ass Indy 500 (Immitation Racing League... lmfao!), THE baddest racing machines on the planet show up and it looks like the granstands at the local dirt track on Friday night.
Formula 1 RULEZZZZZZZZZZ. ANY redneck can get in grocery getter, stand on the gas and turn left for 500 miles. Hell even the track is banked to keep em in :D :D :D But what about those AMAZING machines turning 19,500Rs!!! And turning and breaking with enough Gs to make a fighter pilot blush. Did you see when Gordon turned onto the straight, stopped the car and the CREW CHIEF launched it from the pits with the anti slip computers?
Gordon also ran within .5 second of lastyears American GP qualifying times!!!
Now that NASCAR is only riding on Dale JRs shirttails. I wish Gordon would say screw it and put an American name in the history books of F1... The money in that sport (F1) makes the rest of the entire American racing sanctioning bodies combined look like a bunch of small town wrestling promoters.

Idlein at 10K????????? :eek: :eek: :eek:
RA

[BarryStrawn]

Frank Williams is quoted as saying he inquired about Gordon's retainer and he was making far too much money in NASCAR for them to afford him. Montoya is reported to be making only about $5 million a year on his current contract although his teammate Ralf Schumacher is supposed to be more like $12 million a year. Someone said in his divorce it came out Jefe was pulling in around $1.5 million a month. Maybe he will get bored.

[RedAllison]

I guess your right when speaking of the highest paid NASCAR stars (Gordon, Dale Jr, Tony Stewart ect) if you count their offtrack money they can quickly get into the "million+ a MONTH!" club. Michael Shumacher (sp) is reported to be paid $30mil just to drive the damn car!!! He obviously is the top gun in F1 and probably makes the most as well. But what I wonder is if he is being paid such an amazing amount like that for a driving contract, do the people who signed him take away his endorsement and appearance rights? For that kind of money does he basically become "Theirs" and they get any money he would otherwise generate for sponsorships and such???

I STILL wish an American would go over to F1 and kick ALL their asses and right now Gordon is about the only one with that kind of ability!!!
RA

[CDave]

The "word" is that Schumi makes over 100 million a year with all monies combined.

[LaserModVee]

When Schumi broke both of his legs a few years ago, I remember reading that he made $100,000 per day. He had a provision in his contract that covered him when injured.

Can you believe that!??!!!:eek:

As far as Americans in F1...

As much as I would love to see it, I wouldn't hold my breath on Jeff Gordon.

Other candidates?
IRL has the young Americans, and they only turn left, so forget them.
CART has no youthful Americans, forget them.

That leaves us with F3000 for the near future and Toyota Atlantic even further out.

F3000 has four American drivers.
Townsend Bell---Last year, 20th in points in CART w/Patrick racing.
He's 28 years old too......NOPE

Will Langhorne----29 years old, varied ALMS races, carting, Barber Dodge, Toyota Atlantic, even a little IRL...... No big time success. NOPE

Philip Giebler-----Not taking the racing community by storm either.

Derek Hill---28 years old. A couple decent finishes in F3000, where he drives A JORDAN!!!! Blah! Barber Dodge champ....
Maybe a little too old, especially if he's getting into a Jordan sometime soon!


I am praying one of these young guns come out of Toyota Atlantic to get into F3000.
Like......
A.J. Allmendinger, 21 year old Danika Patrick, (that would be wild), Alex Figge, 17 year old Kyle Krisiloff, or 21 year old Bryan Sellers.

Many of the Americans in F3000 are out of the Toyota Atlantic, but in my opinion, they took too long to get there.

[BarryStrawn]

Kurt Busch seems to think Ford can get him a test with Jaguar. He seems little more than average in NASCAR so I don't see it.

What we need in the US is something like the old Formula 5000. But don't look for anything positive to happen for open wheel formula racing in the US if it poses any threat to the business interests of NASCAR, Indy, or the Japanese car companies.