Seen/overheard at Homestead
The light at the end of the tunnel for the Champ Car World Series may not be a train after all.
The multi-year deal Kevin Kalkhoven and partners [Editor's Note: A lot of credit goes to Champ Car's Mark Reilly for negotiating Champ Car's best TV contract in years] signed last week to have their races on sports television giant ESPN could very well shed enough light on the series to bring it back into the consciousness of American sports fans.
So important was this new television package that its signing became the topic de jour at the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. And trust me, when those guys perk up and pay attention to what's going on in another racing series, you know it must have had an impact.
The most amusing anecdote making the rounds in South Florida was a variation on what it must have been like to be in a room with Indy Racing League owner Tony George when he first got the news that his personal piggy bank (ESPN/ABC) was letting his rivals make a withdrawal.
The folks at ESPN, however, were certainly pleased with the announcement. Kim Jessup, a publicist for ESPN who was at the NASCAR final, said the Champ Car package completed a programming lineup that has all of North America's major racing series under one umbrella.
"ESPN/ABC now has NASCAR Nextel Cup, the Busch Series, the NHRA (drag racing), Champ Car and Indy Cars," she said. "If a motor racing fan is looking for a fix, he or she knows to come to ESPN/ABC."
11/20/06 Word among the NASCAR crews in Homestead is that A.J. Allmendinger is being set up for a big fall his first year to 1) Ensure Toyota pays their dues before being allowed to win, 2) To prove NASCAR drivers are the best in the world, though we always thought IROC was slanted to prove that……1/2 way through the race we spotted a dozen media members on the tram heading out of the speedway. We also noted many of the "Hispanic" media bored to tears with the most boring of all races. Why is the season finale at Homestead, the most boring of all tracks? Oops, we forgot, the France family owns it.
11/20/06
Seen at Homestead: Max Papis (no surprise) and Roberto Moreno (friend of JP Montoya)
Eddie Cheever is rumored to be looking into possibly starting a Busch team.
The Montoya experiment is a failure so far. The cheers he received at the drivers introduction of the Busch race was less than those for drivers like Stacey Compton. The Busch race was the gauge as the Cup race was sold out months before the JPM move. Our sources at the credential offices said the number of "Hispanic" credential requests were about the same as last year.
NASCAR officials were ticked off with Montoya's entourage as they blocked the walking area behind his pits.
NASCAR really has nothing to say officially about the ABC/ESPN Champ Car deal. Off the record there is some grumbling. Seems they were expecting to be the only real game on the Network a la FOX. IRL and NHRA are considered filler.