Here is the lineup for todays season opening IRL race at Homestead, FL. Good luck to all! I'll have wrapup opinion and observations after the race as well as the rest of the F1 previews.

At Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Fla.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (15) Buddy Rice, Panoz G Force-Honda, 217.388.

2. (51) Alex Barron, Dallara-Chevrolet, 216.904.

3. (4) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 216.678.

4. (27) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 216.599.

5. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 216.545.

6. (2) Mark Taylor, Dallara-Chevrolet, 216.432.

7. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 216.322.

8. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 215.976.

9. (52) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 215.924.

10. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 215.887.

11. (24) Robbie Buhl, Dallara-Chevrolet, 215.774.

12. (1) Scott Dixon, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 215.401.

13. (10) Darren Manning, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 215.070.

14. (26) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 215.017.

15. (13) Greg Ray, Panoz G Force-Honda, 214.593.

16. (12) Tora Takagi, Dallara-Toyota, 213.296.

17. (8) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Toyota, 212.769.

18. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz G Force-Honda, 212.602.

19. (14) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 212.387.

Jaguar (jaguar-racing.com)

Pity poor Jaguar. While their major owner is the Ford Motor Company, they have one of the lowest budgets in Formula 1. While Renault and Ferrari spend upwards of $400 million per season, Jaguar’s budget is around $150 million. While that is a lot of money, it is chump change in F1.

Even Bernie Eccelstone has even weighed in on the subject and has gone so far as to question Ford’s commitment to the venture. Bernie’s questioning of the Minardi team was absurd. But his concerns over Jag are well founded. This is a team that should be able to compete, but simply don’t.

Since 2000 when the Leaping Cat took the track for the first time, the team has garnered only 2 podium finishes. Unless Jag’s drivers are miracle workers, this season will bring more of the same.

Once again this year Jag will sport what I consider the prettiest car in the F1. HSBC is back as the main sponsor with the traditional British green livery. Jaguar has a new car, the R5 which team boss Tony Purnell has pooh-poohed in the press. However, returning driver Mark Webber has downplayed the cars shortcomings. Again this season Jag will run the Cosworth engine. It is the same engine as Jordan will run.

Webber is joined by 21 year old Christian Klien who brings lots of Red Bull money to the table. Generally this is not the way F1 works, but tight budget teams may start looking for this kind of financial help. Bjorn Wirdheim has signed on as test driver and will probably make a bid for one of the race seats before the season is done. Wirdheim won the F3000 championship last season.

Testing has been so-so this preseason. At Jerez, Webber was 9th out of 14 and 8th out of 15, while Klien was 11th both days. The team did improve at Valencia with Webber going 4th and 5th of 11 while Klein was 11th and 3rd. Yesterday at Silverstone, Wirdheim was 4th of 4.

The Leaping Cat will once again this season find the going tough. Last season the team scored 18 total points with Webber getting 17 of those. The entire life of this team has been topsy turvy. From Jackie Stewart to Bobby Rahal to Nikki Lauda and now Purnell the instability has been from the top to the bottom. This team is a fan favorite, but they are a lovable loser. Don’t count on anything really changing that fact this year, although Mark Webber is a fine driver.

Sauber (www.sauber.ch)

Swiss based Sauber gears up for another round of F1 racing in 2004. The team which brought Red Bull to America is looking to improve on last years 6th place finish in the Constructors Championship. It won’t be easy.

Sauber is one of those teams that just seems to always changing drivers and staying in the second half of the pack. 2004 is no exception. Replacing one driver always disrupts a teams chemistry and flow. But changing two is killer. This year, defending Brazilian Grand Prix champion Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa replace departing drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld. Honestly this is not the kind of change a team makes to get to the front of the pack. But one wonders if the front of the pack is really where Peter Sauber wants his team to go.

Does he really want to spend the money that Williams and McClaren spend and does he have the financial pockets and resources of a Ferrari or a Renault?

Sauber will probably compete with the C23-03 chassis this season, although they have had the C23-02 out for practice. So far they seem pleased. Results have been typical Sauber to a little better than expected. In Jerez, Massa was 12th out of 15, 10th out of 12 and 4th out of 14. Fisichella was 13th, 9th and 5th. At Imola they were about the same, but at least showing improvement daily at both tracks.

Sauber will go with Bridgestone tyres and while labeled the Petronas 04 the engine still has a strong resemblance to the Ferrari engine they were being supplied with a couple of years ago. They will continue to sport the Petronas colors as well as those of the great vodka mixer, Red Bull.

As usual, if you are wagering on the races you will probably be advised to stay away from Sauber. While the drivers are okay, they aren’t top tier and with two new drivers the team is bound to struggle early.

Toyota (Toyota-f1.com)

Toyota enters its third Formula 1 season looking for the continued improvement they have shown in their first two years.

Toyota goes into 2004 with the same drivers they had last year. Christiano da Matta (10 points) and Olivier Panis (6 points) drove Toyota to 8th in the Constructors Championship last year. While Panis managed to outqualify da Matta rather consistently, da Matta in his first year after a couple of very successful seasons in CART regularly finished higher than his teammate.

Toyota enters 2004 with a new car (the TF104) and a new engine (the RVX-04 V10) which they are very high on. Toyota is hoping it is as fast as they say it is reliable. Once again this year the team will be on Michelin tyres.

Organizational wise, Ove Andersson who headed up the operation the past two years and organized its launch has moved to a consultant role while John Howett takes over as president of the F1 operation. This is one of only three true “in house” efforts in F1. Only Toyota, Renault and Ferrari build both the chassis and the engines.

In testing so far, results have been mixed. Panis was middle of the pack at Barcelona while da Matta and test driver Ricardo Zonta were about the same in Valencia last week.

The Cologne, Germany based Toyota team is a big money effort. There are no corners cut as they continue to chase their main rival Honda into any venue they may choose. Frankly their results have embarrassed Honda. While preseason speeds have been a little off, the team will continue to improve. Look for da Matta to have a solid year. This team isn’t ready to challenge the top 4 just yet, but I fully expect them to see the podium on more than one occasion this year.

BAR (BARF1.com)

It’s the dawn of a new era at BAR. For the first time since the teams’ inception, 1998 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve is not with the team. The 1995 Indy 500 champion never lived up to the hype when he joined the team in 1999. As with any new team, struggles were to be expected. But BAR’s struggles were the stuff of legend. Even with Honda power plants the team failed to produce results. Last year they did manage to finish 5th in the Constructors Cup with 26 points but by then the team was imploding. Villeneuve challenged number 2 driver Jensen Button by saying he would have no respect for him if he could not drive faster than himself. Button responded by consistently outqualifying and outfinishing the Canadian. Ultimately Jacques was released, as the Brackley based team could no longer stomach his demeanor or his outrageous salary.

While BAR has rid itself of the baggage that was Villeneuve there are still issues surrounding this team. For one, BAR was the first, and with the exception of Jordan, to threaten a move to the Middle East. Claiming the laws in Europe are counterproductive to running a race team, team principals have sought friendlier environs.

BAR may also be losing Honda at the end of this year. While Honda remains committed to its F1 effort, it may well be with another team. And finally, the team has made the switch from Bridgestone tyres to Michelin. This was a rather odd move as they were a coveted by Bridgestone and rewarded for all of their testing and Michelin never actually courted them to switch.

But with all of the turmoil at BAR, practice times have been impressive. Jensen Button and new driver Takuma Sato have been at the top of the speed charts constantly so far this year. In a four day test at Jerez last week, Button was fastest on the first two days, Sato was second on day 2 and 3 and fastest on day 4. Everyone but Ferrari took place in the tests. Not everyone believed BAR to be as fast as they were, but needless to say the team was ecstatic.

BAR does have a new chassis this year. The 006 will be powered by the Honda V10 engine and run on Michelin tyres. So does BAR have a chance to improve this season? If preseason testing is any indication they certainly do. Yes, there are issues, but not having Villeneuve will be a major improvement for this team. Not having him around has to be like having that 800 pound gorilla off your back. I don’t mean to bash Jacques, but since this guy won the World Championship he has sucked, and his attitude was completely wrong for a new team. Maybe now they can get a good clean start and make something of this season and their future.

My 2004 season preview for Jordan. (jordangp.com)

This team is one that is always hard to figure out going into a season. Last year they pretty much stunk after not having a bad 2002. So the question for Eddie Jordan and his crew is ‘Which team will show up?”

Jordan enters 2004 with a new car and one new driver. The car is the EJ14. Once again this year the Jordan will carry Cosworth power and Bridgestone Tyres. However, so far in testing the team has had little success climbing up the speed charts. In fact, in last weeks and today’s tests at Jerez the team was consistently last in speed.

On the other hand a team like Jordan is not capable of the reiteration of testing that a Ferrari does because of money and owning their own test facilities. So the season and especially the next two weeks will be crucial for the Silverstone based team. Especially if they wish to avoid a season like last.

Nick Heidfeld will once again be the lead driver for Jordan. He is joined by Italian Giorgio Pantano. From all reports, negotiations between the team and former driver Jos Verstappen went south when Verstappen’s agent made “outrageous” demands and forced the team to look elsewhere. Verstappen for his part has said he is too good of a driver to drive the Minardi. So with that bridge burnt and now the Jordan ride gone, Jos will sit this year.

Jordan once again will sport the colors of Benson and Hedges, but as usual will find have to come up with some sort of catchy phrase to replace the words on the logos due to tobacco advertising rules around the world. Team owner Eddie Jordan has also predicted a land rush on the middle east for F1 teams. Not sure where that is coming from but it has been disputed in all corners. Keep an eye on that as Jordan has said he has no interest in selling his team, but with F1 making it’s middle east debut in Bahrain this season, he may find a wealthy suitor for this outfit.

So for 2004 I really see this team making any substantial moves up the ladder. Toyota should be improved so they will make getting over just one spot difficult. Eddie Jordan will continue to make absurd comments and generally be the most entertaining owner in the garage, but that may about all they have this year.

DAYTONA 500 WRAPUP

I’m sure you all know by now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the winner of the 46th Dayton 500. You probably know I am pretty freaking happy about it too! Way to go Junior!

Well as it turns out Daytona had just about everything we have all become used to seeing with the exception of a mad dash close finish. At the end Junior just had it covered. He was the fastest car all day and his only competition was Tony Stewart who didn’t have anything for him when it came down to it. Kurt Busch seemed to have a fast car, but seemed reluctant to get involved in the finish since he was a lap down. Greg “Whiffle” Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Scott Wimmer and Kevin Harvick all were strong, but never really strong enough to hold a lead if they got there. Whiffle might have had a chance, but he stepped on his dick and drove into the pits about 100 mph costing his a stop and go penalty and possibly the race.

We had the “Big one”. 12 cars were taken out when some cars got together on the backstretch. Michael Waltrip seemed to take the biggest hits and actually flipped a few times. There were a couple of other incidents, but nothing major.

Speaking of Waltrip, he added to what probably amounted to the most exciting, or fun part of the weekend: driver comments. Waltrip was very critical of the safety crews and their extrication of him from his wrecked racer. Waltrip told the crews he was all right and to turn the car over. It took them 10 minutes to do so and Mikey was not a happy camper. There has been a push, especially amongst the drivers the past couple of years for NASCAR to retain their own safety crews. Waltrips comments will certainly add fuel to that fire.

As usual, Tony Stewart had plenty to say over the weekend. Apparently him and John Andretti were involved in a couple of on track incidents and in an interview while parading around the track yesterday he said he had told Andretti to stay away from his car, that John didn’t think he had done anything wrong and that that is why the Petty’s fired him. Stewarts crew chief Greg Zippadelli had similar comments later in the race. Andretti, as usual, just looked like a deer in the headlights.

So the big one is done, now the reality of a long, grueling season sets in. Can Junior stay up front and stay in the top 10? Probably, but competition will be keen these first few races. One thing of note is that only two driver car combinations did not make the race. That does not bode well for the rest of the season. I will be keeping an eye on that situation as well.

Here is the first of my F1 preseason reports. The season kicks off on March 7th at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.

First up is one of last year’s back markers Minardi. This team based in an industrial park in Italy scored no points last year in the World Championship chase. With drivers Jos Verstappen, Nicolas Kiesa and Justin Wilson the team struggled at nearly every track. This is a seriously under funded effort run by Paul Stoddart. In fact since it’s first F1 race nearly 20 years ago this team has struggled.

This year, and especially at this time the team is optimistic. With two new full time drivers in Zsolt Baumgartner and Gianmaria Bruni, Minardi has been pleased with the evolution of their PS04B, the Cosworth power plants and even the Bridgestone tyres.

Recent tests in Italy have gone smoothly as both Baumgartner and Bruni have been more than 2 seconds under the times they last posted at the Autodromo Santamonica in Misano.

The team seems excited for the start of the season and thinks they have a chance to “claw” their way up the F1 ladder. Funding, as usual is a concern. Once again this season Minardi will sport the European Aviation colors as their main sponsor. But team principal Stoddart is always trying to find more money. F1 Kingpin Bernie Ecclestone has chided Stoddart for his actions calling him a beggar. But who give a shit what Bernie says.

Regardless, Minardi will probably find the going difficult with basically two rookie drivers who are each 23 years old and a budget more suited to a NASCAR effort. But at this time of the season, hope springs eternal and Minardi seems to have plenty of that.

Next up: Jordan

Welcome to my 2004 Racing Season blog. Thanks to BLOGGER.com for hosting this site and making my life so much simpler by allowing me to use their space to express my opinions.

So without further ado, let's go racing!

Thankfully we only had a couple week window between football and racing.

This week is Speedweek in Daytona. The closest thing to the Month of May in racing. It is also the Test in the West week for the IRL. Someone mentioned that OWRS had a Spring Training, but I have yet to find any evidence of it. The F1 boys have all been out testing in Spain and Italy and it is shaping up to be one hell of a year. Even this IRLic is excited about Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Daytona always marks the start of the season. Followed by the other leagues, Daytona gets everyone back in the feel.

Saturday night Dale Jarrett won the Bud Shootout for last years pole winners and previous Shootout winners. On Sunday, Greg Biffle and Elliot Sadler took the top two spots on the grid in qualifying. Today the Twin 125’s were run. Junior won the first one wand will line up third Sunday. Sadler won the second so fourth will be decided by time.

Junior is off to a good start with this win. His time Sunday was third best and he is always fast at Daytona. I would really like to see him win Sunday and take the championship. It is his time. Go Junior!

Past that it really is more about who I don’t want to win. Your Tony Stewarts, your Jeff Gordons and even your Kevin Harvicks. I don’t want anyone hurt I just don’t want them to win.

I’ll have more on Daytona as the race draws nearer.

The main focus of this blog will be the IRL and everything it entails, including its ongoing battle with OWRS.

About a month ago some moron federal judge here in Indy had a chance to put the struggling OWRS out of its misery once and for all. He didn’t do it. So once again this season there will be two leagues. That is if OWRS ever hits the track.

Something has to be done. The IRL puts on great shows but other than Indy has shitty attendance. CART/OWRS has nothing anymore. All of their “stars” are in the IRL. They have Paul Tracy as their big fish. Past that they have Bruno Junqueira, Patrick Carpentier, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Alex Tagliani. I like those guys, all right, not Tracy, but geez, talk about a lack of passion or pizzazz for us Americans. The IRL would have welcomed those guys. Couple that with the fact that the IRL will be in the road course racing business within a year and why keep OWRS around.

That judge made a huge mistake.

So we all know how I feel about OWRS. It shouldn’t be. That doesn’t mean I won’t watch their tape delayed parades. I just know there is not enough room for OWRS and the IRL and the IRL isn’t going anywhere. But both sides are killing each other. Sponsors are too few and far between to make everyone happy. This is the time to start eating into the 800 pound gorilla that is NASCAR. They have made some ridiculous point rule changes and have pissed off a lot of people. But no, we just continue with the Open Wheel Civil War.

On to the test in the west. Yesterday Julio was fastest in practice at the Phoenix International Raceway. 2003 IRL Champion Scott Dixon was second. Today they practically swapped positions with Dixon fastest and Julio third. Sammy got in there for second today. As of this writing 18 drivers took the track today and turned 1297 laps. That is good, but 18 are not enough. On the other hand, not all teams participated.

In other on track news, Robbie crashed his car. Sounds like it was too bad to be repaired. Once again this team starts the season behind the proverbial eight ball. Robbie has to get out of the car and be an owner or give up owning it and just drive. Not sure why he can’t see that. Other involved in the crash were Tora Takagi (what a surprise) and newcomer Darren Manning.

Speaking of Robbie, his sometime former teammate Sarah Fisher signed a deal with Kelley Racing. Details were not confirmed. Got to say she looks pretty cute schlepping’ beers at Johnny O’s.

While NASCAR’s new point system is a joke, the IRL and OWRS both instituted sane changes to their scoring systems. The IRL will give the same amount of points to drivers back in the finishing field in an effort to keep them from racing when they have no chance. OWRS will give the winners more points in an effort to separate the competition, which is what NASCAR should have done.

By the way, earlier I said there had been no details on the OWRS Spring Training. There were reports that 4 of their teams showed up at Sebring. This league will struggle. I heard that OWRS Homer Derek Daly say he thought they would survive, but then what else would that boob say. There’s still room on the IRL bandwagon Derek, come on over.

That will do for today. I will cover F1 in greater detail in the next few days especially once we get Daytona behind us.