Overheard in Cleveland

Rumor has it that Champ Car and the IRL will try to avoid racing on the same weekend in 2007, and of course as previously rumored, there will be an attempt to run some joint race weekends. Races we hear mentioned are St. Pete, Long Beach, Mexico City, and Toronto…….Word is that the 2007 Schedule could see as many as 18 races if everything falls into place…..Heard again that Honda was lobbying to use their loud IRL engines in a merger (that won't happen)……Heard someone mention LeMans, France as a possible companion race to Assen if it happens…..Look for Jimmy Vasser to run another race or two this year…..Talked to Bobby Rahal who was ecstatic with the performance of his son Graham this weekend. Team Rahal had a full hospitality unit in Cleveland and they were entertaining many guests…..The Dominguez crash on Saturday broke the tub and he had to race his backup car on Sunday. The team must send it back to Lola to fix or find a replacement elsewhere……Heard that Panoz usually subs out the fabrications of their suspension pieces. If the Panoz DP01 is the car of choice for the merged series, rumors say Dallara might be given that work, which can be a lucrative business given how many suspension pieces get replaced in a year. And of course that is assuming a single spec chassis is used and it is not opened up to competition, which we do not expect…..AJ Allmendinger is moving to Toronto to live with his fiancée who has a Chiropractic business in the Canadian city of Ontario……After the spate of crashes in the last two Champ Car races there is fear of a Lola parts shortage, especially tubs. With a new car coming, Champ Car teams have not ordered any new Lolas this year…..After the race Mario Dominguez was not mad at Dan Clarke. “I’d been struggling with gearbox problems the whole race," he said, “and then the engine starved for fuel starting the last lap. That allowed the CTE car to get a run on me to Turn One and he passed me. Unfortunately, he spun exiting the turn and I couldn’t avoid him and the steering rack got broken on my car. It’s a shame because we had a great run. Dale Coyne is a great guy and the guys on the team have got to be the hardest working crew in racing." Mark C.