Newman team closing in on two drivers

UPDATE #2 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' tonight as Joe D'Agostino was announced as one of Newman Wachs' drivers. He brings no money but won the ride based on his impressive test.

02/14/06 Word here in Los Angeles is that America's Joe D’Agostino and New Zealand's Daniel Grant are close to landing the two Newman Wachs Atlantic seats. Paul Newman gets it, we need more Americans in Champ Car.

02/12/06 According to this Champ Car article, Eight drivers. Three days. Two seats. One tough decision.

Those were the vital numbers from last week's shootout in Florida to determine the lineup for the newly-formed Champ Car Atlantic team of Paul Newman and Eddie Wachs.

"It was good and it was interesting but it's really going to be hard to pick just two because three of them were so equal," said Wachs, who spent last Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday with Newman judging talent at Morosso Park outside of West Palm Beach.

"We've got a Frenchman, an American and a New Zealander and you could throw a blanket over them so Paul and I are going to have to have our own shootout on the phone to decide.

"Or maybe we'll just run all three of them."

Whether it's France's Simon Pagenaud, America's Joe D’Agostino or New Zealand's Daniel Grant (or all three), the announcement will be made this Tuesday in Los Angeles when Champ Car unveils the new Atlantic chassis.

But, since the revamped Atlantic series figures to be the deepest and most competitive since the '70s, Wachs and Newman opted for a shootout instead of a buyout.