Onward Iowa!

As the Indycar worlds shifts it's focus to the waving cornstalks and flatulent cattle of Iowa (see, I knew I could get both stereotypes into the first sentance), Danica has made her big announcement:

She's not deciding anything until after the 2009 Indycar season.

You know, if I was her I'd do the same thing. Might be smart to see how those NASCAR tires do at the brickyard before your throw your lot in with that group.

Bunnies and Rainbows to DANICAR, Episode 428

Before we get started... DANICAR. You like that? Back off, jackals, you heard it here first. It's Copyright 2009 Racemind Inc. (Or at least it would be if such a corporation existed.)

Anyway, I just took a quick poll of a few very knowledgeable racing fans to get their take on the Danica-to-NASCAR media hyperventilation, and the results are unanimous: no way. Regardless of how you slice it, along lines of dollars or publicity or competition, it's a bad move. To use the NASCAR vernacular, "it just don't make no sense at all."

Which is why she'll probably do it.

On the other side of the coin: Pressdog correctly points out that she will have exactly zero chance to win in DANICAR, and sees her going to Ganassi instead. MyNameIsIRL posted an entry entitled Danica And My Crystal Balls (oh dear) where he goes a step further and predicts Danica running HER sponsorship in that third Ganassi car.

I think it's simpler than that; Target subcontracts their Ganassi sponsor space to products they carry in exchange for better store placement. Motorola (and now presumably the Boost people) have always been rather happy with Danica. So we just need to ask this question:

Who sells Boost phones?



Perhaps Boost Mobile and Target make sense together already. Danica at Ganassi with Boost... It could work.

How To Start a Tomas Scheckter To NASCAR Rumor

Tomas Scheckter to NASCAR? Naw, not to my knowledge -- but if you're looking to start a rumor, here's how you can back it up:

Scheckter is tweeting about how much he loves the new Palm Pre. The Pre, mind you has gotten lukewarm reviews, so why would Tomas like it so much?

Recall Scheckter's post-race interview after at Kentucky in 2003, when he impetuously exclaimed that Sam Hornish, running the Chevy Gen IV engine, won the race with "that Ford Cosworth". Now fast-forward a few short months, when Hornish had moved up to Penske and Scheckter suddenly found himself in Hornish's old ride at Panther -- which Scheckter suddenly felt was powered by a Chevy once again.

It was an amazing change of opinion, was it not? There he was in his Chevy hat, making sure his Chevy bowtie lapel was on-camera, complementing the Chevy power when he won at Texas. Not so much a Ford anymore, was it Tomas?

As much as he may cringe at the memory, Tomas has always been able to adapt to the cards he's delt. Which brings us back to the Schecker's much-praised Pre. The Pre, carried exclusively by the Sprint network. The Sprint network, series sponsor for NASCAR. Exclusive wireless carrier of NASCAR. You see where I'm going with this.

Of course, any hypothetical rumor arising from this can be easily debunked: Perhaps he just likes the Pre.

Hornish in 2009: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

Queue The Clash, it's time to ask the same question we did one year ago: Will Hornish stay or will he go? With Helio's legal problems making his availablity uncertain, there's been talk over at TrackForum of bringing Hornish back to Indycars.

It makes some sense: If Helio is out, why put someone new in the seat when you have the 2006 Indy 500 Champion and 2006 Season Champion right there in the garage?

I have absolutely no inside info on this one -- darn those water-tight Penske garages -- but I imagine that Roger will give Hornish the opportunity to voice a preference, and then Roger will make the final call. Penske isn't going to worry about, as one TrackForum poster put it, Hornish getting "blown away half the season" on the road courses; Hornish notched a 2nd at Watkins Glen and a 5th at Infineon in 2007.

Alas, as much as I would like to see Hornish in Indycars, it makes sense for him to give the tintops one more season to see if he can break through with some success.

The Truth: Speed DOES Matter

When TracksideOnline nails it, they nail it. An except of a recent email received via their (fantastic) subscription service, talking about the Firestone Indylights Series:

"...there are 26 cars practicing for this year's Freedom 100 with JR Hildebrand the early leader in the session at 191.575 miles per hour. Not that it matters but the qualifying record for IMS in a Sprint Cup NASCAR stock car belongs to Casey Mears at 186.293 mph, 48.311 seconds, Aug. 7, 2004."

While many NASCAR fans smugly declare that even the second-tier Nationwide outdraws the Indycar Series, it's worth pointing out that on the track our second-tier series can flat-out demolish the Cup cars.

Those guys can have the crowds. We'll take the speed.