The End of the Trail in California

Notes from the End of the Trail in California

• Oh, c'mon. You like it. You're just like me. The purists can whine and whimper, but, if you watch auto racing for the seat-of-the-pants adrenalin rush, you love the tension of fast cars on a big speedway. Keep your parades through the streets of some trendy city. Give me Michigan or Fontana.
• "Have you driven a Ford lately?" Four Honda drivers and two Toyota pilots may have been asking themselves that question. No Fords swallowed parts and belched smoke and fire.
• Okay, I've admitted I'm a fan of the big fast speedways, but I've gotta admit to a bit of confusion. Is it driver skill or tuning that causes the pack to separate out as it does. Take our man Memo Gidley, as an example. Early on he was contending for the lead. As the race laps burned off, however, he dropped back, so much so he wasn't able to dice for position at the end.
• It was interesting to tune in early and catch the end of the Indy Lights race. I really don't think those cars could've run any closer together.
• What was up with the weather? I thought everyone got off schedule because of rains, but what was that in the air? Fog? Haze? Smog? The announcers never said a word. Apparently orders came down from the ABC Television honchos after a friendly phone call from the California Chamber of Commerce. Whatever it was in the air, it sure made the long lens shots fuzzy.
• I'd be reluctant to invest in a business with Max Papis. He's a great guy, a proven winner. Sunday Scott Dixon spins a micro-second too soon, and da Matta nips Papis at the wire. Could it be worse? Well, his Rahal ride is apparently on very, very shaky ground.
• You gotta like Cristiano da Matta, though. Those in the know are reporting he's only the fourth driver to capture a win on all four types of circuits on which the series runs: street courses, permanent road courses, short ovals, and large ovals.
• Speaking of Dixon, he's CART's Rookie of the Year. Bet he's not too proud he let his car get away from him in the last laps of the last race of the season.
• Last year there were six cars running at the finish and, oh, probably $5,000,000 worth of engine debris in the paddock. Other than the four engines that went up in smoke, Bryan Herta had an alternator problem and dropped out. Setting aside the contact drop-outs, that's a significant improvement in mechanical reliability.