Auto Racing Capsules: Drivers curious to see where Homestead fits in '11
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — It's such a badly kept secret that it's not even a secret anymore. The Indy Racing League envisions crowning its 2011 champion at Las Vegas.
And when next year's schedule comes out Friday, IndyCar drivers expect to see those plans become reality.
Which leaves a glaring question: What about Homestead-Miami Speedway, which will host this year's finale?
There is no guarantee that IRL comes back to South Florida next year, although talks have taken place about Homestead possibly having a different date than its once-traditional season-opening spot, which it held until hosting the championship weekend for the first time in 2009.
"It'll be a shame if we don't come back," defending IRL champion Dario Franchitti said.
The latest tipoff that Homestead, about a 30-minute drive south of downtown Miami, isn't exactly held in high regard by everyone in the racing world came last weekend. Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith referred to the track's location as "North Cuba," and said he would be stunned if the IRL finale wasn't in Las Vegas — one of his tracks — in 2011.
"If you're going to do a championship, you've got to do it at the proper place," Smith said. "And I don't think North Cuba is the proper place."
Smith was speaking of NASCAR's decision to host its championship weekend at Homestead, but given Las Vegas' interest in getting back on the IRL schedule, his words clearly had a dual meaning.
Homestead officials took Smith's words in stride.
"We'd also be opposed to a race in North Cuba — given the current sanctions and political environment," Homestead-Miami president Matt Becherer said in a lighthearted statement. "In addition, I'm not familiar with Havana's racing facility, so that could be a concern, as well. On the plus side, imagine the victory cigars."
Becherer's statement went on to point out South Florida's history of hosting other major sporting events like Super Bowls, Bowl Championship Series games, the World Series and the NBA finals. He said "there's a reason" NASCAR keeps coming back to Homestead for its championship weekend, plus added that the track looks forward to hosting another NASCAR championship in 2011.
Perhaps cryptically, there was no mention of IndyCar.
"I'll be sad if we don't come back here," Franchitti said. "I spend a lot of time in South Florida. The track last year was very good to me. I've also left here in a helicopter before on the way to the hospital, so I've seen the ups and downs. It's a track that I like. I think as it's aged, it's been a very good race track."
One of Homestead's perceived draws in the IndyCar world is that the series has so many drivers who make their year-round homes in the Miami area — and the fact that many of them have ties to Latin America and South America is another plus. Emerson Fittipaldi was one of the first big-time drivers to be based in South Florida, and over the past handful of years, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay are among the many who have been added to that list.
"I presume it'll go back to Japan and then Vegas at the end of the season," IRL driver Scott Dixon said. "It's funny, because Homestead's always been the opener or the finale. If we don't come here, it's going to feel pretty strange. Since I started my career in 1999, I've been coming here, so it would be a big change."
Franchitti said drivers are not asked for their input on the schedule. Where it says they go, they go.
Driver Ryan Briscoe says he's aware of the rumors that Las Vegas will be the end of the 2011 IRL schedule, and had no complaints about Homestead.
Still, he acknowledged that he can see Vegas' appeal, as well.
"It makes sense for a finale because of what Vegas is," Briscoe said. "It'd be a fun place to finish and everyone could go and celebrate in a fun city. At the end of the day, we're here to race and wherever it is, we'll go out and do our best."
Milwaukee hosts 2011 IndyCar schedule announcement
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The IndyCar series will announce its 2011 schedule at the Milwaukee Mile on Friday, suggesting that racing will return to the historic track next year.
The Mile withdrew from hosting marquee racing events this year after past promoters had financial problems and no suitable replacement could be found. IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said last month that he was optimistic that the series could return to Milwaukee.
The Mile held its first auto racing event in 1903 and is most closely associated with the Indy-style race it traditionally held the week after the Indianapolis 500.
Formula One
Ferrari facing Formula One disciplinary hearing
PARIS (AP) — Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning a third Formula One title could be wiped out in a disciplinary hearing into how the team broke rules at the German Grand Prix.
Ferrari already has been fined $100,000 after Brazilian driver Felipe Massa appeared to let teammate Alonso pass him to win the race on July 25.
Massa led for 49 of 67 laps on the German circuit before allowing Alonso to overtake him following Ferrari radio messages, but both drivers escaped sanctions.
With six races left in the season, Alonso is 41 points behind McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton — who leads the drivers' standings with 182 points — and retains an outside chance of winning the title.
The Spaniard would lose 25 points if he is stripped of the win in Hockenheim by the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday, a decision that would most likely put him out of contention before the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday.
In Germany, race stewards didn't overturn Ferrari's 1-2 finish but ruled that the Italian team breached article 39.1 of the 2010 Sporting Regulations, which bans team orders that interfere with a race result, and article 151 (c) of the International Sporting Code by bringing the sport into disrepute.
Article 39.1 was introduced following the 2002 season after Ferrari ordered Rubens Barrichello to hand a victory to Michael Schumacher in the Austrian Grand Prix, when FIA president Jean Todt was officiating as Ferrari's team principal.
Current Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has denied any wrongdoing in the case, although Massa reportedly received a message from a race engineer saying Alonso was faster than him. The radio message was seen as a clear order to let his teammate pass him.
Domenicali explained after the race that the team had only wanted to keep Massa aware of the latest race developments and that Ferrari didn't give him explicit instructions.
"And because we have already seen in the past that certain situations could not give the best result for the team, that was the information that we wanted to give and we leave the drivers to understand and take notice of it in order to make sure that the team in terms of the result is the best," Domenicali said. "We're sure the World Council will understand our position on that."
Domenicali and the team's lawyers are expected to pursue the same line of defense in front of FIA's World Motor Sport Council, which has the power to expel Ferrari from the championship, although that is unlikely.
FIA said Tuesday it is unclear whether Massa and Alonso will attend the meeting at FIA's headquarters in Paris and didn't confirm reports saying the pair of drivers would testify via video-conferencing.
Last month, former FIA president Max Mosley — a close friend of Todt — said Ferrari should lose points for breaching the rules and was adamant the ban on team orders should remain.
"Most teams are in favor of the ban being lifted," Mosley said. "But if one wants to fulfill the needs of the audience, then one must maintain the ban. In the event that it is brought into play by a team, we have to impose a severe punishment."
Ferrari's concerns won't end with Wednesday's hearing after FIA opened another investigation into Massa's start at last month's Belgian Grand Prix. FIA is trying to find out how Massa started the race ahead of his designated spot on the grid without it being noticed, therefore escaping a drive-through penalty.
-- Samuel Petrequin
