Overheard at Infineon

A perfect day for racing today at Infineon Raceway. The IndyCars were not on track until 3PM local time for a 1-hour practice session so it was a relatively quiet day at the track. We hear that Jimmy Vasser is still working on his V-12 Vineyard. His goal is a 36,000 gallon per year winery with a 7,000 sq. ft. winery cave including production, storage, office, and tasting room facilities; a 5,500 sq. ft. uncovered outdoor crush pad and loading area; a winery/agricultural storage barn totaling 1,800 sq. ft. and including 900 sq. ft. of winery equipment storage; two full-time and two part-time employees; eleven parking spaces; by-appointment tours and tastings with a maximum of 16 visitors per day and 36 per week. The project is located on a 42.4 acre parcel located on the west side of Soda Canyon Road, adjacent to its intersection with Chimney Rock Road, in Napa County, California. They are not selling any wine just yet, but it takes years from the first harvest to being ready to sell the wine……..We hear that Raphael Matos is already signed for next year with the de Ferran Dragon team………Word is that the IRL has set a goal of the end of September to finalize its 2012 engine rules. Without company rules any manufacturer interested in joining Honda in the series will be reluctant to make any firm decisions…….We hear JR Hildebrand's family is hosting a party Saturday night in their beautiful home atop the hills of Sausalito, California overlooking the San Francisco Bay. JR is driving the No. 24 IndyCar entry this weekend……Still hearing that the FAZZT Race Team hopes to run 2 cars next year….The Vintage F1 cars were out on the track having made their way from Laguna Seca last weekend……..We spoke to Martin Tolliday, Director of Motorsport for Cosworth, who confirmed they are actively pursuing an IndyCar engine deal for 2012. They are working every opportunity they can as are the IRL, to marry up a car manufacturer with Cosworth. "We are one of only a few race engine design firm that can design, manufacture, build, and test a competitive engine from scratch in the timeframe we are talking about," said Tolliday. "We very much would like to do an IRL engine, but we would need to complete a deal by the end of October to be ready for 2012. We have many race engine designs to pull from that a car manufacturer themselves would not have. The IRL is being very smart in not locking down the rules yet so as to not put up any design barriers for any manufacturer." As for whether a 4-cyclinder or a 6 is better, Tolliday felt the two can be equalized through air or fuel restrictions. The ALMS and Grand-Am have proven they can do it effectively. "While the 6-cyclinder has some inherent design advantages (smaller pistons, more valves, etc), the 4-cyclinder has a weight and fuel mileage advantage," said Tolliday. The V-6 would have twin turbochargers the 4 may have only one. Again a weight advantage for the 4 but a possible performance advantage for the 6. Tolliday expects that the IRL will not allow exotic materials that will drive up cost or expensive turbochargers. "You can have a $2,000 turbo or an $80,000 turbo," said Tolliday…….We hear Dario Franchitti is not signed yet for next year, but he is working on it with Ganassi. Mark C. reporting from Infineon Raceway