Last week’s editions of this newspaper carried a roster of Indy Racing League drivers for the 2008 season which included their new Champ Car brothers (and sisters). But on this list of 31 drivers, according to my calculation, only 10 are American born, one of which is Graham Rahal, who won at St. Pete in his first outing this past Sunday. It is well known that NASCAR-style stock-car racing holds great appeal for stateside youngsters, but does not the open-wheel facet of American auto racing have similar appeal? A long-held view of this reporter has been the early understanding by foreign drivers that a patron is absolutely necessary for a successful auto-racing career. Someone to pay, or help pay, the bills. The European, South American and Asian tyros long ago got this message, which, unfortunately, is not the case stateside. Putting it another way, foreign drivers learn early on that in almost every instance, one pays to race. Getting that message early enabled most foreign youngsters to find their own patron who — if not paying themselves — locates an individual or company that will. Today’s American driver without a ride has only himself to blame. 

The final race of the Champ Car World Series — April 20 in Long Beach, Calif. — will, hopefully, be remembered as a gala affair by race fans. CARA Charities has big plans for its 6th annual Raceway Rendezvous, sponsored by Toyota, Bridgestone and Acura. Highlight will be Friday’s yacht voyage around Long Beach Harbor aboard the SS Endless Dreams. It’s part of a big day April 18th which will end with a tribute to the Champ Car Safety Team. A deluxe shipboard dinner and casino gaming is planned for the Friday function. Boarding is at 6:30 p.m. at Rainbow Harbor at the foot of Pine St. in Long Beach. A quick docking at 8:30 p.m. will allow those overserved to debark, and then, for the hearty in the group, the voyage will continue until 10 p.m. For full information and tickets call (317) 299-2277.  

Bruton is still at it. Despite long-standing difficulties in site selection, Bruton Smith, the head man at Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which owns seven major U.S. racing facilities, continues to seek an appropriate site to build a speedway in the New York City spectator area. Efforts at the Meadowlands and Atlantic City area have proven unsuccessful.

Guess who? Followers of international auto racing are scratching their heads over who might succeed the now-disgraced Max Mosley as head of the Federation International de l’Automobile should he leave that job. Those familiar with the FIA, which has an annual budget of 30 million euros, say Mosley cannot be fired from his job as there are no provisions for such a step, resignation being the only possibility. Mosley, elected to this job, is currently seated for another year or so before his term is up. The well-qualified Nick Craw (ACCUS president etc.) has been mentioned as a possible replacement but those in the know say the top FIA job would never go to an American. How about Jackie Stewart? Readers of this newspaper may not be aware of the vast non-racing activities in which the FIA is involved; affiliation with auto clubs worldwide, car classification, insurance and other over-the road travel-related projects.

A number of people in Switzerland, concerned over their country’s growing reputation as the place to obtain cat fur for garments and other commercial uses, have raised their voices in protest of their government allowing the killing of cats for commercial purposes. Most European Union countries disallow such feline killing. One of the first public figures to stand up for cat lovers is many-time world driving champion Michael Schumacher, who recently took up motorcycle racing. Schumacher made the news recently as one of the 123,000 Swiss who signed an SOS Chats petition to stop the killing of cats in Switzerland for commercial purposes.

A familiar face disappears. Avid followers of Formula One know full well the name and face of Jean Todt, CEO of Ferrari, who personally ran its racing team from the pits at the world’s Grand Prix circuits. Todt resigned that job late last month and his replacement is former Ferrari General Manager Amedeo Felisa. During Todt’s racing reign at Ferrari, its F-1 team won six consecutive FIA Constructor championships between 1999 and 2004.

Australian-born drag racer Troy Critchley has surrendered to police on felony charges of vehicular homicide leveled after his car plowed into a crowd watching a parade in Selmer, Tenn., last June. His car killed six people and injured 22 others. The 38-year-old Critchley was charged with six counts of vehicular homicide due to recklessness, and 22 counts of reckless aggravated assault according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. After attending a court hearing, Critchley, now a Texas resident, posted a $35,000 bond and surrendered his passport.

Constant reader Joe Evans of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., long ago became fascinated with the long closed half-mile Ho-Ho-Kus Driving Park, later known as the Ho-Ho-Kus Speedway, where Ye Ed saw his first race in 1932. Evans’s research has turned up detailed reports — and photos — of an auto race on the half-mile dirt oval in 1914. One can wonder when and where in this country the very first half-mile dirt-track auto race was held. A July 4 1938 crash, which saw the front-row main-event big cars of Henry Guerand and Vince Brehm veer into the Ho-Ho-Kus infield, right at the start-finish line, killing several spectators, ended auto racing at the track. Beautiful homes now grace the former raceway property.

Tony Stewart’s recent tirade over tires has prompted fellow title winner Jeff Gordon to propose NASCAR host quarterly meetings at which all drivers would attend and discuss what Gordon calls Hot Topics, allowing drivers to vent their feelings before people who would listen. “This going up into the trailer one at a time and one guy says the exact opposite of what the next guy coming in says, does nothing but confuse them and as a result we’re not getting anywhere.” And Ye Ed pats Stewart on the back for his recent haircut. The long-haired Stewart never looked quite right with long hair, but now the new question is, did he just not shave that morning, or is he growing a beard? If the latter is true, one wonders what his sponsor Old Spice, an after-shave product, might say or do.

Back to tires: Fenway-Roush driver Greg Biffle says the newest Nextel Cup tire from Goodyear was a marked improvement over examples which prompted Stewart’s outbursts. Biffle recently tested the new rubber at Darlington. What concerns Biffle far more than tires is the new CoT vehicle now mandatory for Sprint Cup, contending it continues to confound drivers and mechanics.  

Remember sprint-car driver Jimmy Campbell? This kindly IMCA champion-turned-businessman died a natural death in 1996 in his native Missouri. Campbell left a sizeable fortune. His will stipulated that $405,000 go to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, Iowa. This amount immediately went into the museum’s endowment which today totals more than $500,000, according to Craig Agan of the museum staff. Because of the responsibility of managing this endowment Agan enrolled in a fund management class at Indiana University Purdue U. Campbell will be honored on May 31 during the Iowa museum’s 19th Annual Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies. The museum’s main lobby will be named for Campbell. Everyone is invited. Call (800) 874-4488 for details. 

From The NSSN Staff

Ben Kennedy, grandson of the late Bill France, Jr., is racing, and he’s getting some help from Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, as the Mooresville, N.C., dealership will sponsor the son of ISC President Lesa France-Kennedy in the Florida-based Advance Auto Parts Pro Truck Series this season. Kennedy, whose father, Bruce, was killed in an airplane crash last summer, will run in approximately 27 races based out of the Mark Martin Performance shops in Daytona Beach.

Jack Bowsher & Associates Motorsports, the racing team formed by late ARCA standout Jack Bowsher and now operated by his family, has signed French driver Michel Disdier to drive the team’s No. 21 Ford in this weekend’s ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Indiana’s Salem Speedway. Disdier, who began driving at age 14, has had a varied driving career, including moto-cross, endurance and formula racing.

Bill Davis Racing will be getting a facelift. Bill and Gail Davis have fielded NASCAR teams for more than 20 years, and the team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck series. The Davises have hired Marty Gaunt, a veteran of multiple NASCAR operations to serve as vice president of the team. Mark Chambers, who previously served as team manager of BDR’s highly successful NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series effort, will now assume the role of the general manager. Chambers takes over the GM role from Mike Brown, who will move into the position of chief financial officer.