There was a time—not so long ago—when I felt if I was going to add a fellow blog brother to my sidebar that they had to be worthy of some sort of inherent “stamp of approval”—an unspoken “I recommend this person, I like what they do.”
Well, now that I’ve had an opportunity to reflect on what that, indeed, means, I’ve come to one conclusion: what an arrogant PRICK I am. [stabs self in thigh with Bic]
Just exactly, who the hell am I?! Who gave me the right to pass judgment on what you may or may not like to read? [furiously bangs head on table]
After all, we’re in this together, right? The totality of readers and writers alike—we’re just passionate about American open-wheel racing and like to share in each other’s opinions.
When one blogger succeeds, we all succeed. We feed off each other’s prosperity.
So... what’s this all mean? This: my acute attack of rectal-cranial inversion is OVER. Some of you may have already noticed that I have opened up the ...and he’s on it sidebar to include a plethora of sites that focus on IndyCar.
Brilliant idea? Yes! But not mine. IndyCar blogging pioneer, Jeff Iannucci over at mynameisirl.com (and more recently onelapdown.com), is where I stole this little gem of a concept from, and I know there are others out there that boast an equally stout blog roll.
And let’s be absolutely clear: this is NOT an indictment of others who choose to do differently. Everyone has their preferences and, as far as I’m concerned, individuality is what makes the world go round, so you’re encouraged to patronize whatever sites peg your tach.
Bottom line? Want to find out where the latest in IndyCar opinion/editorial, news, and humor is hidden? Swing by ...and he’s on it (or the site of your choosing) daily and GET READING. And don’t forget to comment—your thoughts are always welcome and encouraged.
Lastly, I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all IndyCar bloggers, to say thank you for your patronage. We appreciate it.
63 days, my friends...
—JM
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Skinny on Soucek: A Brief Bio
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| Andy Soucek is under consideration for a ride with Andretti Autosport |
I thought it might be nice to know a bit more about him before he joins our little party.
Here's the Cliffs Notes version of his bio:
Nationality: Spanish
Age: 25
Racing Career:
- 2010 Superleague Formula (partial season); Test Driver, Virgin Racing F1 Team
- 2009 F2 Champion
- 2008 GP2 Series, (14th in Championship); Superleague Formula (partial season)
- 2007 GP2 Series (16th in Championship)
- 2006 Test Driver, Toyota F1; World Series by Renault (4th in Championship)
- 2003–2005 Spanish F3
- 2002 Junior Spanish F3
BTW: Andy's on Twitter, so give him a follow, if you so choose.
—JM
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Backstage Conversation from the “State of IndyCar” Address
FILS Dude #1: [casually] “So, you called Conor’s rep, right?”
FILS Dude #2: “Uh... no, I thought you called him?”
FILS Dude #1: [agitated] “No. I didn’t call him. I’m on confetti, remember?”
FILS Dude #2: [confused] “I thought I was on confetti.”
FILS Dude #1: [angry] “No. DUDE. You are NOT on confetti. And if you didn’t call his rep and I didn’t call him that means they have no fu**ing clue about what is... [stops abruptly]
LOOK. Forget it. He’s about to make the announcement, and we’re completely fu**ed. Get back! I’m doing the confetti.”
[Moments later (in a biblical downpour of diced paper) Roger Bailey, Executive Director of the Firestone Indy Lights Series, announces that 2010 Star Mazda Champ, Conor Daly, will be stepping up to FIL, sharing driving duties for next season with USAC scholarship winner, Bryan Clauson—participating in the road/street races that Clauson does not take part in.]
[Daly’s thought bubble] “WTF?!?”
**************************************************************************************************
Okay. So the conversation may be something I conjured up, but the announcement of Daly’s ride, and the fact that he didn’t know a thing about it, was NOT [insert favorite farcically-induced acronym here; ROFLMAO]. Here’s the proof:
FILS Dude #2: “Uh... no, I thought you called him?”
FILS Dude #1: [agitated] “No. I didn’t call him. I’m on confetti, remember?”
FILS Dude #2: [confused] “I thought I was on confetti.”
FILS Dude #1: [angry] “No. DUDE. You are NOT on confetti. And if you didn’t call his rep and I didn’t call him that means they have no fu**ing clue about what is... [stops abruptly]
LOOK. Forget it. He’s about to make the announcement, and we’re completely fu**ed. Get back! I’m doing the confetti.”
[Moments later (in a biblical downpour of diced paper) Roger Bailey, Executive Director of the Firestone Indy Lights Series, announces that 2010 Star Mazda Champ, Conor Daly, will be stepping up to FIL, sharing driving duties for next season with USAC scholarship winner, Bryan Clauson—participating in the road/street races that Clauson does not take part in.]
[Daly’s thought bubble] “WTF?!?”
**************************************************************************************************
Okay. So the conversation may be something I conjured up, but the announcement of Daly’s ride, and the fact that he didn’t know a thing about it, was NOT [insert favorite farcically-induced acronym here; ROFLMAO]. Here’s the proof:
Now, you might think this would be stellar news for Conor but, ruh-roh, PROBLEM. It’s no secret that Daly has his eyes set on Formula One, which means the next logical step for him is Europe’s GP3 Series.
Did Conor already have a GP3 deal done when the announcement came? Was he set to do some FILS races with a team other than the one associated with Clauson’s scholarship? Who knows... since the above tweet, Conor’s been pretty quiet on the subject, so we’ll have to see how this one plays out.
Regardless, this is one wickedly funny episode in the life of a race car driver.
Stay tuned...
—JM
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Randy’s listening... No, REALLY, he’s listening.
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| Tweeting? Maybe... Photo: Paul Dalbey, morefrontwing.com |
Knowing Randy Bernard’s kooky philosophy of actually wanting to hear what fans have to say about the state of the IZOD IndyCar Series, I’ve often wondered if, maybe, he was covertly monitoring Twitter as a way of gauging fan feelings. After all, Twitter’s where it all goes down, right?
Well, we now have confirmation he does, indeed, walk among us.
After Tony Kanaan met with Mr. Bernard, yesterday, he tweeted this:
Shortly thereafter, Arni Sribhen, Media Relations Coordinator for IndyCar, responded with this:
BAM.
The point? The leader of the IndyCar Series is a fan-friendly STUD (until proven otherwise) and he is listening to what you have to say.
So, all the more reason to (respectfully) tweet your concerns, or votes of confidence, about the greatest racing series on the planet, because who knows what the Series’ response might be?
Tzit...
...and, Mr. Bernard, if you’re in earshot, I heart you, man.
—JM
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