IndyCar News

Sam Schmidt Motorsports continued its pre-season preparations by staging an Infiniti Pro Series and Indy Racing League test at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week - but most of the attention was taken by a rather special occupant of the cockpit.

Emerson Fittipaldi is the latest former driver being linked to a possible buy-out of 'Pat' Patrick's eponymous Champ Car team, as the veteran team owner seeks a way out of the series.

The Snap-On Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow national karting series has unveiled an exciting 2004 schedule that includes some of the most legendary race tracks in America as well as new facilities and a special international marquee event.

Stefan Johansson has revealed that he is no longer associated with the Champ Car team which raced under the name American Spirit Team Johansson in 2003, having decided to look elsewhere for an involvement in the sport.

Several of the leading IRL IndyCar Series teams got an early taste of the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway last week as the series begins to finalise and tweak the final rules package for the vastly different 1.5-mile Florida oval.

Continuing an innovative partnership designed to provide generations of open-wheel and Indy 500 fans with high-quality home entertainment products, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IMS Productions and Shoreline Media Group (SMG) have announced the next addition to the highly popular Indianapolis

Last week's episode of the CBS crime drama CSI: Miami, filmed on location at the Grand Prix Americas Presented by Sportsbook.com in late September, turned South Florida's streets into a 200 mph blur with thoroughbred Champ Cars screaming through downtown as a high-profile Hollywood murder mystery

The yet to be constructed Unser family racing museum in New Mexico has had its future exhibitions increased by one after the project's founder, Al Unser came away from Vince Granatelli's auction with another prominent Indycar for his collection.

Reigning IRL IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and 2001 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone competed in Juan and Connie Montoya's charity go-kart event last Saturday in Cartagena, Colombia.

Rocketsports' driver, Alex Tagliani will lend his support to karting in Canada at the Mosport Kart Club 2003 Banquet of Champions this coming Saturday at the Holiday Inn, Oshawa.

Actor-racer Jason Priestley has finally decided to abandon his on-track ambitions, but admits that it was not his own massive smash that finally convinced him that his future lay away from racing.

If the California Department of Transportation had Jesse James and his band of renegade car builders from the Discovery Channel's mega-hit series Monster Garage on their staff, every highway line in the entire Golden State could be re-done in about two days.

Mid Ohio and the EuroSpeedway Lausitz are the only two 2003 Champ Car World Series venues to be left off the struggling series' first incarnation of what will form the 2004 schedule although the status of Brands Hatch, Fontana and several other venues is still seemingly up in the air.

Sarah Fisher was named the 2003 IRL IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for the third straight year earlier this week while Arie Luyendyk Jr. received the same honour for the Menards Infiniti Pro Series.

This year's National ICA karting champion Robbie Pecorari has won the annual Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Award for the 2004 Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by Racer.

Lynx Racing today announced the signing of Bryan Sellers, as the team's driver for the 2004 CART Toyota Atlantic season. Sellers was the 2002 Formula Ford Zetec champion with eight wins and seven pole positions; he drove four Atlantic races with the Lynx team in 2003.

After two days of a simulated CART-Champ Car Barber Dodge Pro Series race weekend, Joey D'Agostino won the 'Big Scholarship' Run-Off by stepping to the fore in the final on-track session for the six competitors.

Just over a week ago, British single-seater ace Darren Manning created something of a shock in US racing circles by inking a deal to join Chip Ganassi's Indy Racing League team in place of the late Tony Renna.

IRL star Kenny Brack is reported in good condition after undergoing further successful surgery on his back and right ankle at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis this week.

Panther Racing has taken advantage of Mark Taylor's sterling form in winning the IRL's Infiniti Pro Series to expand to a two-car team, with the Briton running alongside Tomas Scheckter at Panther Racing for 2004.

The long and storied association between Firestone and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will continue to grow next season, when a special edition Firestone Firehawk race tyre debuts during track activities surrounding the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2004.

Kenny Brack will undergo further surgery on his injured back this week, after a minor problem during initial operations in Dallas prevented the entire planned repair from being carried out.

Much attention has been focused on Kenny Brack since his horrific season finale accident at Texas Motor Speedway, as the racing world monitors his recovery from multiple fractures incurred when his car hit the catch fencing.

"There's going to be work to be done, you know? You never walk into a place and say, 'OK, this is going to be a fairytale.' You go into a place you and say, 'I am going to work hard, I am going to do what I can do to make sure that me and the team succeed.'