Champ Cars Will Be Just Fine, Thanks!

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 11:22 (Ref:383279)

All the Doom and Gloom threads have been turned to positives, but the Doom and Gloom headers remain to discourage people who see them listed in the "Today's Topics" on the front page.

Let's start some positive threads where we can discuss the good things and the hopes we have for our series, and encourage people to come over here and get involved!

Chris Pook was talking at Montreal about finding a seat for Michel Valliante; could Mo Nunn Racing be the place for him? And what about AJ Almandinger? Which team would suit him best (besides Players of course, which has a full dance card at present.) How about TCG?

Laagri · 18 Sep 2002, 12:16 (Ref:383333)

There's a story on autosport.com now that Patrick is hoping to have a two car team next year running Oriol Servia and Jimmy Vasser. I thought Patrick and Vasser fell out last year, or am I mistaken?

Please excuse my ignorance of the lower formulae in North America, but who are Michel Valliante and AJ Almandinger? And is Almandinger really his name?

Oh, and how about a full team St George for Darren Manning and Justin Wilson. Is that likely?

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 13:26 (Ref:383406)

If you haven't heard of those two drivers try typing their names into any search engine. That's what I do when someone mentions someone I haven't heard of, it's the polite thing to do.

Valiente probably deserves a Champ Car ride, but I think Allmendinger could use a year in Atlantic to prove he can handle cars that are closer to Champ cars.

There is a good chance of the Manning, Wilson thing at St. George. I am pretty confident that Team St. George will have a two car team next year, but whether it will be those two or not is the question...

Laagri · 18 Sep 2002, 14:09 (Ref:383449)

Point taken Jay, but you try putting "Michel Valliante" and "AJ Almandinger" in Google or wherever. No hits. OK, perhaps Liz spelt the names wrongly, but as I've never heard of either of them I wouldn't know.

paulzinho · 18 Sep 2002, 14:11 (Ref:383450)

Pook has said he's committed to having an English driver in the series next season following team St george's race.

Also don't forget about Forsythe, they're still players (pun indeed intended!)

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 14:12 (Ref:383451)

Point taken Laagri!

Try "Michael Valiante" and "AJ Allmendinger". I don't blame anyone for misspelling those two though... Briefly put, Valiante was runner up in Atlantic and Allmendinger won the Barber Dodge championship.

Lee Janotta · 18 Sep 2002, 15:01 (Ref:383487)

AJ _dominated_ the Barber-Dodge championship.

Why would AJ be a fit at Forsythe, Liz? I mean... He's Californian, not Canadian.

Okay, if we're looking at the talent pool that's out there... The first three drivers I can think of are the ones I expect to form a three-car team with Red Bull (unless one runs in F3000 for the same company)... Phil Giebler (5th in Spanish F3 points, consistently on podium in an underfunded effort), Pat Long (second in British Formula Ford last year, _robbed_ by Robert Dahlgren on the last corner of the last race in a copy of Schumacher's Adelaide '94 deliberate run-in), and Paul Edwards (who we'll get to see race a third works team Champion Audi S4 at Laguna Seca in the World Challenge GT race, he's been out of work since he lost his British F3 ride a year ago when money ran out).

There are some guys in the Star Mazda series who've really been showing a lot of potential: Moses Smith, Guy Cosmo, and Scott Speed. It'd be nice to see them move up, but I can't see them in CART so soon...

Moving past the Americans now, I wouldn't be suprised at all to see Justin Wilson, Thomas Enge or both in CART next year... Both are unable to land F1 rides, and any more time spent in the Euro feeder series would be rather embarrassing...

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 15:25 (Ref:383503)

And of course there's the lovely and talented Ricardo Zonta.

Now that Mo Nunn has a vacancy, why couldn't Zonta fill that seat? BAT was instrumental in getting him into BAR as I recall, and it was not their desire to force him out. Could something be done with this?

I mentioned AJ as a potential Players guy purely because he is a protege of Paul Tracy. (And I agree about his name, it sounds like "Watchamacallit" and I can't spell it).

pferrf1 · 18 Sep 2002, 15:35 (Ref:383507)

Its Michael Valiente, not Michel and its A.J. Allmendinger, not Allmandinger for those who want to look up info.

Michael is probably ready to make the step up. AJ is still way too young and inexperienced for the step. He's got one and a half seasons of Barber Dodge, a little Formual Ford on his resume and thats it. He needs some Atlantics time.

Other Atlantics guys to move up? Jon Fogarty, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Gurney.

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 16:03 (Ref:383532)

What about Ryan Dalizle? Jay interviewed him at Montreal and he seems very keen on Champ Cars.

Lee Janotta · 18 Sep 2002, 16:06 (Ref:383534)

Hmm... Fogarty might be able to hold his own in CART.

Where the heck does Hunter-Reay get his money??? This guy moved up _way_ too fast with _way_ too few championships under his belt. 5th in points two years in a row is _not_ enough to earn a Toyota Atlantic drive unless you've got a ton of money behind you! And now he comes in 6th in Atlantic points... How does that qualify him for CART? :confused:

Alex Gurney's overrated, he's short on talent and long on money... His best asset in racing is that his last name is Gurney. 16th in British F3? Thank you, have a good day...

Adding to my list... There's young sportscar and vintage racing supersub and Panoz test driver Gunnar Jeanette... This guy won the second race of his career, in a Porsche 935 no less! I wouldn't be suprised to see Paul Newmann put him in a car soon... They co-drove at Daytona, and have raced against each other since. He's also the youngest driver ever to finish the 24 Hours of LeMans: 6th in the GT class in 2000.

Also, I'm starting to think it's pretty likely that there'll be a seat for Papis next year... With so many unknown factors sure to be in the field, he'll at least be experienced.

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 16:11 (Ref:383539)

Gunnar is a good driver, but he reminds me of Beaker, the sidekick of Bunsen Honeydew.

Parenthetically I would add that Kevin Jeanette has more money than God and should Gunnar decide he wants to drive for a Champ Car team, his dad could buy him one out of petty cash.

R · 18 Sep 2002, 16:16 (Ref:383544)

A really good place to look up info on drivers is this page at Speedsport Magazine. As long as you know how the name is approximately spelt, or at least know the first letter, you should have no problem finding the drivers you're looking for on this list. Speedsport Magazine also offer results from numerous series worldwide here (and no, I do not work for them

).

Lee Janotta · 18 Sep 2002, 16:28 (Ref:383549)

Quote:

Originally posted by Liz
Gunnar is a good driver, but he reminds me of Beaker, the sidekick of Bunsen Honeydew.

Quote:

Parenthetically I would add that Kevin Jeanette has more money than God and should Gunnar decide he wants to drive for a Champ Car team, his dad could buy him one out of petty cash.

Gasp! But then he'd have to part with one of his Porsches for garage space! That'd only leave him with... What, 2 dozen? Okay, so they're not _all_ his, but still! Where the heck did he make his money? I want some, dammit!

Jealousy aside, it's no wonder Gunnar's so good considering he learned to drive in beasts like these!

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 16:52 (Ref:383556)

I have some cute pix of Gunnar at the Drivers Parade in Le Mans, signing photos as if he's afraid somebody's going to tap him on the shoulder and say, "Right, you've had your fun, now get out of that car and go play."

Seriously, he is a very good driver for his age and experience, and I wouldn't mind seeing him in Champ Cars at all.

Muppet · 18 Sep 2002, 17:31 (Ref:383577)

How about Johnny Herbert? Return of Sigma to CART. Darren Manning in full time ride.

If I ran a team it would be Ryan Dalziel, Kristian Kolby and Damien Faulkner. No established stars but then again I don't have too much cash! ;-)

Barbarosa · 18 Sep 2002, 19:01 (Ref:383628)

The rumor is on Allmendinger is that he's got the inside track on the Red Bull F1 Driver Search. I'd look for him either going into Atlantics next year or over to Europe. Either way, he'll most likely end up in a Red Bull sponsored Ride in a year or two.

Bizzo5000 · 18 Sep 2002, 19:26 (Ref:383642)

I think Forsythe is going to buy the series.(no, really) Hell, he's already talking 4 cars for next year. And can't we get 'Dylan' from 90210 to compete against 'Brandon'. Think of the ratings on that one! Then we can get Tori Spelling!! Sorry, just trying to brighten everyones mood.

paulzinho · 18 Sep 2002, 22:43 (Ref:383764)

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee Janotta
Pat Long (second in British Formula Ford last year, _robbed_ by Robert Dahlgren on the last corner of the last race in a copy of Schumacher's Adelaide '94 deliberate run-in)

I'd be surprised if Pat goes back to the states, I know what he's looking to do next year and hopefully he'll get it, guess its a case of wait and see!

Smashing bloke though and more importnantly he's FAST!

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 23:01 (Ref:383773)

I think some of you may be going a little far...

Allmendinger has shown a lot of promise, but that was in Barber Dodge. Barber Dodge is a great series, going from Barber Dodge to Cart is a huge step...which is why almost everyone goes to Atlantic first. He would be wise to try and succeed in Atlantics before stepping into the spotlight in Cart and being put under that kind of pressure.

Ryan Dalzeil is a great guy and has shown a ton of promise this year in Atlantic, but expecting him to make the jump to champcars next year is unrealistic. He is still quite young, and wants to take a run at the Atlantic Championship, which he will undoubtably be a contender for next year. If that goes alright, I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a future star in champ cars...maybe even F1. I have to wonder what his thoughts are on his friend jumping to the Invisibles though....

Lee, just because you don't win the Barber Dodge championship, doesn't mean you won't do well in Atlantics. The Barber Dodge cars are..well...something else to drive. They are extremely challenging (much more so than Atlantic cars) and do not suit all drivers. Hunter-Reay definately falls into that category. I interviewed him in Montreal, and he seemed much happier in the Atlantic machines. And money or not, he has a ton of talent...he just needs to have his head in the right place (my opinion).

Lee Janotta · 18 Sep 2002, 23:21 (Ref:383786)

Quote:

Originally posted by paulzinho

I'd be surprised if Pat goes back to the states, I know what he's looking to do next year and hopefully he'll get it, guess its a case of wait and see!

Smashing bloke though and more importnantly he's FAST!

I'd heard Pat was still having funding problems... Well, if he can line up a season-long ride in British F3 or F3000, good for him.

Personally, though, I've never felt American drivers racing in Europe is a very good idea... Takes you too far away from the fans and sponsors who'd be interested in supporting you.

paulzinho · 18 Sep 2002, 23:25 (Ref:383789)

I'm hoping he gets where he wants because he certainly deserves it.

BTW whats happenning with this Red Bull F1 driver programme? Last I heard was that they were gonna sponsor 4 US drivers in various European formulae?

Lee Janotta · 19 Sep 2002, 00:00 (Ref:383809)

I've heard as many as 16 drivers will be selected to recieve some degree of support from Red Bull... Seems like things change with every press release.

Liz · 19 Sep 2002, 11:32 (Ref:384052)

Sort of like all the guys that are going to be driving at Players and Newman Haas next year?

Lets hope at least two or three of them prove to be true.

Barbarosa · 19 Sep 2002, 15:27 (Ref:384209)

Red Bull will be announcing their four finalists at the USGP. They will then go to Europe and complete in F3000, F3, Formula BMW, and I think Formula Ford for Red Bull while they are groomed for an F1 spot. I figure they plan on staggering them through the European ladders so that they can roll one after the other into an F1 seat, then hopefully get picked up by bigger teams.

Personally, I have to agree with the Americans in Europe angle. I don't like it. We have our own ladder and it has turned out some good drivers and has some outstanding talent in it. But, if you want to drive F1, you have to satisfy the F1snobs who believe that if it is not a European based ladder system - Brazil uses a similar system - then it is not professional racing. Some members of the FIA have been trying for years to make it a requirement that you have seat time in F3000 before you can get a Superlicence. From what I understand, Ecclestone has been fighting it, since it would alienate just about every young up and coming American driver and team, not to mention all the drivers for CART and IRL who want to be F1 drivers some day. He took a real beating over Christiano's remark that F1 does not take CART drivers seriously in the American Press. If Bernie wants a bigger share of the American Market, which he does, he has to keep the F1snobs in the FIA in line.

Barbarosa

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