The remake of the infield Formula One road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to accommodate its 2008 motorcycle racing classic will see the First Turn Terrace, a 5,136-seat bleacher section inside turn one of the big oval, taken down. The Speedway has never revealed its total seating capacity, however private counts have been made. Some years ago actor-driver Paul Newman reportedly got a 283,000 count from Purdue students he hired to count all seats. The Indianapolis Star’s own count — after the First Turn Terrace is subtracted — now stands at 252,189, largest in the world for any sports arena. The next largest U.S. sports facility — from a spectator-seating standpoint — is NASCAR’s Daytona Int’l Speedway, which seats 176,000. For decades it was agreed the Indianapolis 500 attracted the world’s largest auto race (and sporting event) crowd. Of late, however, Germany’s 24-hour touring car race on its famed Nurburgring, an aging Eifel Mountain 14-plus mile per lap roadway with 187 turns and more than 900 feet of elevation change, is said to now outdraw any other auto race in the world. An amazing fact is, in recent years, this increasingly popular German race has been held on the same two days as France’s celebrated 24-Hours of Le Mans sports-car race.       

Congratulations to part-time NSSN columnist Donny Schatz, on winning his second straight Knoxville Nationals, this country’s most prestigious sprint car race. Donny’s writings in these pages should be more interesting than ever now that he plans to change cars and join Tony Stewart’s equipe, where we wish him continued success.

One might wonder if this year’s Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti plans to get a parachute to go along with his pilot’s license — taking into consideration his high-altitude flights of late.

Tires, not cars, are the reason for the dearth of passing this season in IRL races says driver Dan Wheldon. Noting there’s nothing wrong with the current Firestones being used, but they are too soft, offering more grip thus leaving more rubber and debris on the track. Wheldon cites the “inability to get outside the (racing) groove at Nashville,” as he could do in races past.

A look at NASCAR’s statistical analysis reveals 29 Nextel Cup drivers had won more than $2 million each as of late July this year. Kevin Harvick led the 2007 money parade at $5.4 million! An interesting statistic is that the last time a winner lapped a NASCAR race field was in 1994 when Geoff Bodine won at North Wilkesboro. In the 48 races run in 1970 the winner lapped the field 22 times! We learned NASCAR’s biggest victory margin came at Darlington in 1973 when runner-up Benny Parsons was 13 laps behind winner David Pearson.   

The long-shuttered Rockingham Raceway in North Carolina may reopen for racing, as it is scheduled to be auctioned-off shortly. One potential bidder told this column the value of the track’s steel and aluminum alone is $5 million, and that an ARCA race there “just might fly.”

Now that the dust from NASCAR’s recent visit to Pocono Raceway has settled, the Pocono Sports Car Grand Prix, a tri-region Northeast SCCA double regional, comes off at the big triangle this weekend, the 17th thru the 19th. Action begins mid-morning each day. This event is extremely popular as 200-plus SCCA cars from 24 states signed in for last year’s running.

Another biggie this weekend is the 33rd Eastern Museum of Motor Racing convention at its superb showplace in York Springs, Pa., 30 minutes south of Harrisburg. Track time at three nearby raceways is programmed. A drive for younger members is under way by this open-wheel-oriented organization. Details from (717) 528-8279.

Questions are being asked in Motown if the recent sale of the Chrysler car company to Cerberus Capital Management means the end of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Mich. Its manager of nine years, Barry Dressel, recently quit to become president of the Indiana State Museum System in Indianapolis.

He knows the time. Steve Wallace, the 19-year-old race-driving son of Rusty Wallace, had to fight off three muggers in Indy’s Broad Ripple section shortly after the Brickyard’s Allstate 400 race. They were after his flashy wristwatch. Steve fought them off in a struggle outside a convenience store, suffering cuts and bruises in the melee, but retained his timepiece. Shortly afterward, he identified his No. 1 aggressor, who the police arrested.

Now that Thursday Night Thunder, the weekly short-track stock-car racing series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, is over for the year its eighth-mile pit road straightaway continues as a Friday-night dragstrip. Big attraction is a 20-foot long, two-ton, wheel-standing school bus with a supercharged 502-inch big block Chevy engine that puts out 1,000 horsepower. A late-season Thursday night first-time Zaxby’s Bandits winner was Chase Elliott, whose dad Bill, a many-time winner on the big AMS oval, served as crew chief on his No. 9 Bandolero.    

Rhode Island’s hoity-toity Newport Preservation Society attracted more than 200 antique and vintage sports cars plus hundreds of socialite car buffs to a recent fund-raiser. The New York Times published 14 photos of the event showing, among others, Sir Stirling Moss and his wife Lady Moss; Janet Guthrie; Dan Gurney and many glitzy old cars. The event was named for noted auto pioneer William K. Vanderbilt.

The 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones has been chosen as the honoree of the 2008 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance at the celebrated north Florida event next March 7-9. Full details on this classic performance-car extravaganza from www.ameliaconcours.org.

Embarrassing. Following a succession of speeding tickets and other traffic violations which resulted in the revocation of his driving license, three-time world driving champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered by Brazilian authorities to undergo 30 hours of driver-education classes in order to get his license reinstated.

Wisconsin racing devotee Russ Lake is well into the organization of his Oct. 12th David Hobbs Celebrity Roast at the Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha, Wis. It will benefit Curative Ranch Community Services. Though a many-time Le Mans starter, the British-born Hobbs is best known for his skilled Speed TV commentary on Formula One racing. For tickets and other data call Lake at (262) 392-2386 or visit russlake@wi.rr.com.

Oh, how times change. For generations the only way to experience auto-racing competition was to drive a race car or work for a race team. But as with other sports, fantasy sports has become a popular pastime of new-generation race fans. National Speed Sport News is joining the fantasy craze, using www.nationalspeedsportnews.com as the springboard for the National Speed Sport News Fantasy Motorsports Franchise League, which will begin play Aug. 22. The new fantasy racing league will allow racing enthusiasts to enjoy fantasy racing in NASCAR Cup, Busch, Truck, IRL, Champ Car, Formula One and Grand Am Daytona Prototype. Log on and play now.