Though the traffic around Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway was heaviest in years Saturday, it was racing as usual for the Indy Racing League’s top runners, as they outsped their newly acquired Champ Car brethren in the opening race of the season. A Chip Ganassi-owned entry took opening-day honors for the third straight year, thanks to his antipodean driver Scott Dixon. It can be reasonably expected things might change somewhat as the season unfolds when the Champ Car newcomers become adjusted to IRL surroundings and — in time — new cars.

Fans watching TV Saturday got a surprise when the IRL opener on ESPN2 began before the tape-delayed Grand Am race on Speed finished. This made for two racing shows at the same track being aired at the same time.

Big bucks fly in Motown. The Ford Motor Co. sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover Brands to Tata Motors of India for about $2 billion — about one third of what it paid for the British cars — made headlines in business publications due to the huge loss Ford took on this deal. In the past two years, Ford has lost $15 billion via normal operations and now this virtual giveaway of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata substantially adds to Ford’s bottom-line red ink. The buyer, Tata Motors, is based in New Delhi and is India’s biggest automaker. Tata says it will follow the business plan for the two brands outlined by Ford through 2011 and — for the nonce — continue to build the cars in England. 

The price goes down. As attention turns to the now-unified open-wheel IRL series, the cost of that unification to Indianapolis Speedway co-owner Tony George is open to wide speculation. It was initially estimated at $40 million, and then dropped to $30 million. And now, a few weeks later, others claim it’s really only $20 million. And there’s a cadre suggesting only $10 million actually changed hands. Champ Car World Series bankruptcy filing revealed George agreed to pay $2 million each to CCWS owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe plus another $6 million to purchase Champ Car’s assets including its mobile medical center. In addition, George agreed to provide cars and engines to series entrants valued at $1.8 million per entry. The early rush produced six new IRL entrants.     

It was with great dismay that I read Jim Aust was one of nine top U.S. Toyota executives to retire. Aust, a 31-year Toyota veteran, oversaw the company’s entry into the Craftsman Truck Series, Sprint Cup and Nationwide series racing in this country. Whomever the new head man — or woman — named to become VP of Toyota Motorsports and President and CEO of Toyota Racing Development will have a tough act to follow.

Those involved in this country’s used-car business have been wondering why so many worn out and beat up Pontiac Fieros were being bought and shipped overseas. The Italian police provided the answer when recently arresting a group of locals and charging them with using the Fiero chassis as the basis for knockoff Ferrari Modena 360 models. These gyppo Ferraris were going for some $30,000 each until the scam was stopped. The Italian police are now saddled with 14 examples of counterfeit Ferraris.

Back in the 1930s when Ye Ed was just breaking into auto racing, there was a widely held view among car owners that a driver slowed down once he married. This recollection was triggered by the report Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon recently took a bride (not Danica Patrick) in St. Petersburg, Fla. It is said the bride, Susie Behm, looked beautiful. The now-wed slowdown theory was never proven — nor disproven for that matter. Just prior to the nuptials the new groom underwent important surgery — a major dental overhaul. Now, dashing Dan can flash a million-dollar smile.

Being a long-time Word Nerd, Ye Ed feels writers (including a couple of contributors to this publication) need to examine some often misused or misspelled words, like premier/premiere and rein/reign. They have radically different meanings despite being like-sounding. And don’t forget fair and fare as well as this often confused pair affect and effect. 

Will they stop in time? That’s the question the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now putting to General Motors about its turbo-engined 2008 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports roadsters. Braking power is a big issue with the NHTSA. 

Julianne Hough, the blonde “Dancing With the Stars” TV performer who waltzed to a well-publicized victory with auto-racing ace Helio Castroneves last year, and who has been blamed for the breakup of Helio and his fiancée, was paired on last week’s show with an ungainly hunk named Adam Carolla and posted the poorest DWS score of the 10 couples competing that night.

The Western Racing Ass’n, an active vintage midget and sprint car group, recently announced no limit on engine size for its sprint cars using domestic iron blocks. Reason?  Engine size is too hard to police for a vintage group. Want more? Write WRA, PO Box 152, San Dimas, Calif. 91773.

From The Staff

Nice guy Steve Barrick and his company, Program Dynamics, Inc. is starting its 34th-consecutive season publishing weekly auto racing programs with this weekend’s scheduled openers at Thompson (Conn.) Int’l Speedway and Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway. PDI also supplies programs to Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway, New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway, Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway and Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway.

Despite temperatures below freezing, Lucas Oil Speedway opened its gates for the first time this season on Saturday, drawing just short of 120 cars for the season opener. “The car count is amazing,” raved track general manager Kevin Grevan. “Forrest Lucas built this place for two reasons — the racers and the fans.”

A benefit dinner will be held this Friday (April 4) to assist former Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway late-model champion Jim Nave. Nave lost all of his possessions, including his home, to a fire earlier this winter. For more information, contact Eric Zembower at (814) 285-8516.