SPEEDtv.com Forums

Swift 016 approved for SCCA Club racing

2009-10-20T19:00:10-05:00

The SCCA has finally approved the 016 (with various restrictions aimed at parity) for use in Formula Atlantic.

I suspect a number of teams that found themselves 'on the fence' will now sell their cars since there's a secondary market for them in club racing.

Steve

Two races for the 2010 F2000 season leaked… and additional information regarding the F2000 formula.

2009-10-22T00:42:03-05:00

Two leaked races for the IRL's new F2000 series [in 2010] will be:
- Indianapolis
- Iowa

The IRL sanctioned F2000 races will be part of a triple bill with Firestone Indy Lights in addition to the IndyCar Series. The remaining 10 races will be held on road and street circuits in support of IRL-sanctioned events with at least two of them being doubleheaders to reduce operating expenses.

As it pertains to the formula for this new series, it will not be spec and it is as follows [for 2010]:
- Zetec engines
- Several chassis will be allowed including: Piper, Citation, Van Diemen, and Mygale among others.

Atlantic Series Not Paying Their Dues To Drivers/Teams..?

2009-10-19T23:09:43-05:00

From Marshall Pruett's article stating Newman Wachs is either looking at Indycar or GP2 for Jon Edwards.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-newman-wachs-ready-to-move-up/

“Our fallback is that we haven’t sold our Atlantic cars yet. We haven’t advised anyone on our team that we aren’t going to go forward if our sponsorship plans fall through. We also haven’t been paid the purses from the Atlantic Championship we were told we’d be given, so some of our move is centered around that.”

Umm..oops..If the Atlantic Series can't even pay their drivers what they're promised - they should fold.

Jim Russell to promote 2010 champ to F2

2009-10-21T22:43:17-05:00

Move over Red Bull, there is another US driver
search. With USF1 already aboard to get US
drivers to F1, Jim Russell racing school will
make a huge promotion with the Jim Russell
series champ to be awarded a fully funded ride
in F2.

Share your opinions everyone.

Report:
http://www.jimrussellusa.com/about/news?news_date=2009-10-16

Developmental Open Wheel News for Firestone Indy Lights and Atlantics Championship [2009 - 2010]

2009-10-04T02:48:00-05:00

- Indy Lights Chief Steward Tony Cotman has formally ended the suspension of Sean Guthrie. Guthrie has now formally signed with Rahal-Letterman/Anderson Racing and will compete at the final race at Homestead finale [Indy Lights] with plans for a full season in 2010. Guthrie will race alongside Mario Romancini in the car Jonathon Summerton drove earlier in the season.
- Leilani Munter has been formally signed to race for Team 3G at Homestead finale [Indy Lights].
- Barrett Mertins has signed to race for Jensen Motorsport for the finale at Laguna Seca [Atlantics].

Testing News for 2010:
- Stefan Wilson testing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
- Charlie Kimball testing for Andretti Racing/AFS.
- Martin Plowman testing for both Andretti Racing/AFS and also Herta Autosport.
- Carl Skerlong testing for Herta Autosport.
- Adam Christodoulou testing for Herta Autosport.
- Ron White testing for Rahal-Letterman/Anderson Racing.
- Palm Beach International Raceway [PBIR] has launched a unique program to field at least one rookie for 2010 with full PBIR sponsorship. They are testing drivers who have not driven more than 5 road races at this level or have never driven an oval at this level.
Palm Beach International Raceway: 2010 Rookie Challenge

open-wheel develomental ladder news: Indy Lights, Atlantics and GP2

2009-07-18T19:02:56-05:00

Lots of news, some you may already know about...

- Former CCWS and IndyCar driver Franck Perera has returned to GP2 for the 2009 season.
- The Atlantics C2 class has quietly been mothballed after only one car was entered in consecutive races.
- Jonathon Summerton has moved from Atlantics' Genoa Racing (with whom he has won) to Newman Wachs for the remainder of the season.
- Matt Lee ran a one-off deal with Conquest Racing at the Atlantic's Lime Rock race. The end result was unfortunately not desirable as Lee's car finished in last place after only completing one lap.
- Firestone Indy Lights Chief Steward Tony Cotman declined to allow teams to pit under a "competition yellow" or "red flag" at Toronto when the weather changed. The result was the first green flag pit stops for the entire field in Indy Lights history which was widely applauded by fans despite the fact some teams quietly frowned upon the measure while other owners praised it.

Poll: What is next for Edwards?

2009-10-12T10:46:40-05:00

After winning 2 championships ( Star Mazda and
Atlantic Series), what will it be next for John
in 2010?

Will he remain stateside or will Europe open
their doors?

Hopefully, GP3 or the Formula Palmer Audi be
calling.

IRL to sanction U.S. F2000 National Championship… first step in Cotman’s new ladder?

2009-10-20T18:06:46-05:00

http://www.racer.com/US-F2000-National-Championship-to-be-revived/article/155827/

Recall Marshall Pruett's column in August where he described an official IRL ladder system of F2000, Star Mazda, and then Indy Lights leading from karts to IndyCar that Tony Cotman was attempting to put together.

Panther Racing Lights Team Done

2009-10-18T12:47:21-05:00

Question: Just a note: Panther Racing's Indy Lights program will be shut down as of Friday, Oct. 16. All Lights equipment has been turned around upon its return from Homestead and is for sale. (George, Camby, Ind.)

Answer: Yeah, I heard that, and it's too bad. That was a good team with great people, a real championship bunch. I hope many of them will be retained, but I fear they won't be. I know Pippa Mann was at the shop yesterday to meet with everyone and say her goodbyes. She told us Sunday at Homestead that she was staying in the U.S. another year to race, so it seems she has leads. Best wishes to all.

http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpert/2009/10/oct_15_on_pippa_panther_and_po.html

Indy Lights: JR deserves better

2009-08-24T09:13:45-05:00

Another huge break for JR Hildebrand has caused
to close in on the Indy Lights title after his
teammate Sebastian Saavedra was forced to
changes engines. As a result, Hildebrand has
taken his 4th race win in the final road race
of the season.

A 13th place finish or better will give him
the Indy Lights title.

Ken, Peter: Sign him up!!!!!!

Report:
http://www.indycar.com/pro/news/?story_id=14965