No, It's Definitely Not a Christmas Card
Much to our surprise -- we almost didn't print it -- our compilation
of recent correspondence with CART produced a greater volume of
reader response than anything published in RaceFax since it began as
a fax service a decade ago. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out
how to do a sequel. Then, apparently oblivious to their self-
inflicted wounds, CART sent us yet another letter, which of course we
are also printing, together with our response. Way to go, CART.
Keep those cards and letters coming and we might be able to milk this
puppy right into the millennium....

A War of Words
CART recently took strong objection to elements of a RaceFax article,
requesting several 'corrections,' all of which we declined to make.
What followed was a two-month exchange of correspondence, which
concluded when CART reneged after accepting our offer to print a
'guest editorial.' The accumulated letters, we believe, say much
about CART.

Object of Disaffection
Posted for reference, this is the news item which we originally
published on Oct. 8, 1998, and to which CART has formally objected.
See the article above.

History of the Indy Car Civil War
The roots of the feud between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and
the team owners date back to the 1960s. In an attempt to provide
historical context for the events surrounding the announcement of the
Indy Racing League, we first produced "A History of the Indy Car
Civil War" in January of 1995, updating it twice in 1996, for our
sister publication, 'RaceFax.' It has not, however, appeared in
'RaceFax OnLine,' and in response to several requests from long–time
readers, we have produced what is presumably the last revision.
Sections one through three, covering the period from the '60s up to
the 1995 split, have been revised. The fourth section, which
primarily dealt with what were then future projections, has been
replaced with a roughly five–page overview of the period from 1996
through 1998. In its original form, this history was praised by both
sides as balanced and accurate, and we hope that this revision will
not alter that view. Given recent events, even those who have read
previous versions will hopefully find reading the entire piece to be
worthwhile. If anyone spots any factual inaccuracies, we would
appreciate being notified so that we may correct them.

Back in the U.S.A. -- Indy Secures U.S.G.P. for 2000
Call in an early Christmas present for America. Tony George has
secured a multi-year contract to host a U.S. Grand Prix at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning in 2000. Story and color
track map.

Benetton Blows the Wraps Off State of the Art Wind Tunnel
It took three years and $20 million, but Benetton has a pukka wind
tunnel which will hold a full-size F1 car, and does up to 300 mph.
Rocco Benetton bids for the big time.

Of Bernie, Bonds and Billions
Thwarted in his attempt to go public -- to the tune of $3 billion --
Bernie Ecclestone has bounced back with a plan to issue bonds worth
$2 billion. If he succeeds, he'll raise less money, but will keep
sole ownership of his empire. As with the stock issue, however,
selling Bernie Bonds has F1's commercial rights holder running
headlong into the European Union. Again.

The Incredible Shrinking Numbers
For the third straight year, CART's TV ratings have fallen
precipitously. No less than 40 percent of those who watched CART's
races on TV in 1995 have voted with their remotes. The sponsors are
seriously concerned, and CART seems clueless about how to stop the
slide. When only one guy is left watching, do we still call him 'the
audience?'

F1 Goes 4x4
Not surprisingly, David Coulthard and McLaren topped the time sheets
for the special two-day Bridgestone tire test at Suzuka. We have
the times, and the story on the new four-groove front tires.

A Dream Double-Header
This weekend, Formula 1 and CART close out their 1998 seasons. The
venues -- the fast Suzuka road course and the 'Oh my God' fast
Fontana oval -- couldn't be more different. What they should have in
common is great, straight-up racing, providing an ideal end to the
year.

Sun Strokes
Editor Forrest Bond looks at the Surfers Paradise race and what it
says about CART and its lack of interest in its fans. This article
is primarily commentary, but includes a race report. It was
therefore also posted as the Surfers race report.

World Motor Sport Council Sets F1 Rules, Calendar
Following a meeting on October 15th of the World Motor Sport
Council, the FIA announced 1999 rules changes for F1, next year's
calendar (including China and Malaysia, but no Argentina), major
changes for the FIA GT series and the F3000 calendar. Herewith, the
details and an evaluation.

October U.S. TV Schedule
Motor sports programming in the U.S. for October

Give Peace a Chance
After three years of fratricide, a serious attempt is finally being
made to negotiate a compromise that would end the Indy Car Civil War.
The plan is to have CART back at the Indianapolis 500 in the year
2000, but don't make hotel reservations just yet; there's a long way
to go.

No Margin for Error
Two men. Two races. One title. Michael Schumacher and Mika
Hakkinen will decide the 1998 F1 championship at the Nurburgring and
Suzuka. We look at the key ingredients: performance, reliability,
team orders, tires and the choke factor.

If It Wasn't for Pit Stops, We Wouldn't Have No Racin' At All
Parades don't merit race reports. In lieu of a blow-by-blow, editor
Forrest Bond offers his opinion on why the Laguna Seca CART race was
so bad, and why the ESPN broadcast was even worse. (The article has
also, however, been posted as a Laguna race report, to keep the
section complete.)

U.S. Television Schedule for September
F1, CART, IRL, F3000, FIA GT and BTCC programs for the month of
September.

The Agony of Defeat
Robert Duncan looks at CART's inability to capture the excitement of
its racing on television and its failure to either create or promote
star drivers. Typical of both: missing the initial excitement of
first-time series winner Dario Franchitti in the Elkhart winner's
circle. And they wonder why the ratings are sinking....

Grave Robbing: An Introduction
Sports Illustrated columnist Mike Reilly took CART to task for not
stopping the Michigan race after three fans were killed. In turn,
editor Forrest Bond takes Mr. Reilly and SI to task.

Mid-Life Crisis, Part 3
In this third installment of editor Forrest Bond’s mid-season
commentary on the three largest open-wheel series, we show that CART
has lost three out of every 10 of its domestic television viewers in
less than three years. We look at why CART is a critical success at
the track, and yet has become a looser of epic proportions in the
living room.

This third installment in what is now an unintendedly long–running
series should have been published much earlier. In fact, it was
nearly completed two weeks ago. Then, on the Monday following Mid–
Ohio, CART finally agreed to comply with our long–standing and
repeated requests for detailed information on its television ratings.

Once the ratings data had been obtained, we found that it was
possible to produce a far more detailed and accurate look at CART's
television presentation. At that point, we had no choice but to
scrap the original article and begin anew.

Part Four of 'Mid-Life Crisis' will deal with CART as a business, a
now publicly owned business, and the vast majority of the extensive
research for that piece is already in hand. We expect that article
to appear in 10 days to two weeks, aided by the fact that there are
no races this coming weekend.

August Motorsports on U.S. Television
The August broadcast schedule for open-wheel races and programs of
interest. Be sure to check local schedules, as program air dates are
subject to change.

Fueling the Audience
Robert Duncan adds his perspective to our on-going dialogue about
CART's fuel restrictions.

You Had to Be There
Our media and marketing guru, producer Robert Duncan, takes another
look at how CART's races are presented on television, as well as the
half-hour promotional program, "Inside CART." He is not impressed.

Mid-Life Crisis, Part 2
Continuing our mid-season look at the three (okay, two and a half)
major open-wheel series, we examine the current state of CART. Next,
we'll conclude our examination of CART, take a brief look at the Indy
Racing League, and then provide our conclusions and recommendations.

Schumacher Escapes McLaren Protest
McLaren protested the finish of the British Grand Prix, and despite
losing the protest, their protest fee was refunded. It was the
perfect conclusion to a series of chaotic events which began with
Michael Schumacher passing another driver under yellow, being
penalized 10 seconds in the pits, and then having the penalty
'rescinded' because the officials had also violated the sporting
regulations. Confused? Read on.

July U.S. Television Schedule
Based on reader reaction, we have reverted to providing a schedule
by day, rather than by series.

Mid-Life Crisis, Part 1
Formula 1, CART and the IRL each face a variety of serious problems,
some of them potentially life-threatening. Editor Forrest Bond takes
a look at all three in a multi-part commentary. Herewith, the first
installment, which provides an overview and deals with Formula 1. An
examination of CART and the IRL will follow, and in the conclusion,
we will offer possible solutions.

U.S. Television Schedule for June '98
This month, we've provided the schedule in two versions. As usual,
we've provided the calendar with broadcasts listed by series. With
four races taking place the first weekend of the month -- Montreal
GP, CART at Belle Isle, Le Mans and the IRL at Dallas/Ft. Worth --
and considerable overlap in the broadcasts, it seemed a good idea to
add a version showing what's on each day, even though it increased
the file size and runs eight pages.

Smokescreen
What do CART head Andrew Craig and Sen. John McCain have in common?
Apparently, a strong desire to kill meaningful national legislation
which might stop the tobacco companies from peddling their life-
threatening product to 'underage' consumers. Both men should be
ashamed. We look at the state of legislation now before the Senate,
how it will affect racing if passed and Craig's reaction to it.

Mosley's Annual Monaco Conference: In F1, Passing is the Pits
FIA president Max Mosley takes advantage of the influx of press for
the Monaco Grand Prix to hold a press conference. This year, he used
the opportunity to expand on his view that the near absence of
passing on the track in F1 is actually part of the sport's appeal....

Indianapolis 500 Results
Who finished where, and what each was paid after the 82nd running of
the Indianapolis 500.

1998 Indianapolis 500 Grid
The line-up for the Indy 500, including car numbers, chassis/engine/
tire, major sponsor for those that have them, average speed for the four qualifying laps and total time for the 10 miles. Also, a performance history, showing the best practice and qualifying times for the 33 starters.

The CART Prospectus
How much does Andrew Craig make? How long is his employment
contract? How much did Carl Haas have to pay to get the Houston
street race? What's in the CART-ESPN television contract? Which
team owners sold how much CART stock? All of these questions and
more are answered in CART's 'S-1,' the prospectus it filed with the
Securities & Exchange Commission before putting its stock on the
market. There were several versions, things coming and going with
each iteration. Over the last few weeks, we assembled a sort of
'S-1 Greatest Hits' for reference, and thought you might like a peek. The manuscript runs over 150 pages, and at 585k, the download will
take a couple of minutes. We think you'll find much of it to be very
interesting reading. An index is provided on page two, and the
vertical scroll bar in Acrobat lets you quickly jump to specific
sections.

Stairway to Heaven, Highway to Hell
CART president Andrew Craig has taken CART onto the stock market,
generating around $75 million in cold cash. Editor Forrest Bond
looks at what CART intends to do with the money, and what that
portends for the future of America's premier open-wheel series.

May U.S. Television Schedule
Open-wheel racing and specials on U.S. television networks for the
month of May.

F1 Coverage: Less Can Be More
After watching the coverage of San Marino and Nazareth, our media
critic, Robert Duncan, concludes that better races aren't required to
produce better broadcasts.

Couch Test: Speedvision vs. Fox Sports
In the U.S., Formula 1 fans now have a choice of broadcasters,
Speedvision and Fox Sports Network. Our media wizard, Robert Duncan,
and editor Forrest Bond give their somewhat differing views of the
two very different approaches to Bernie's World Feed.

Keeping the Customer Dissatisfied
Well wound up after what he describes as the Off-Season From Hell,
our media and marketing guru, Robert Duncan, looks at the impact on
racing of stock offerings, both planned and aborted, and Rupert
Murdoch, looks at Fox Sports and Speedvision, then settles in for an
extensive examination of the good, the bad and the downright ugly
among early season F1 and CART TV broadcasts. And it only took him
14 pages. By mid-season, we expect Duncan to finally have a lot to
say on these matters....

Who's In Charge Here, Anyway?
The FIA's imprecise regulations leaves F1 designers unsure of what is
legal and what isn't. Designers are asked to pre-qualify design
concepts with the FIA technical department, but its opinions can be
wrong, and are not binding. Teams are at the mercy of race stewards,
whose competence varies. The FIA's abdication of responsibility is a
prescription for unnecessary expense and controversy, as McLaren's
brake-steer problems showed.

Stewards Rule Brake-Steer Illegal
The Brazilian GP stewards have ruled that brake-steer, as used by
McLaren, Williams and Jordan, is illegal. The full text of the
decision.

Indy Lightweight
Two races into the second season with its own cars and engines, the
Indy Racing League is still more demolition derby promoter than
professional race sanctioning body. Editor Forrest Bond looks at the
artless state of the series, and comes to an unavoidable conclusion.

Parity, Thy Name is CART
We look at the season set to begin this weekend at Homestead and find
an equality of equipment which forecasts perhaps the closest racing
in CART history, which is saying something. Our crystal ball --
which it should be noted also predicted Michael Schumacher to be the
F1 champ this year -- says it will primarily come down to the
drivers, and one driver in particular.

A Phony Finnish
It should have been the perfect public relations coup. In the season
opener at Melbourne, McLaren–Mercedes secured the front row with
apparent ease, then Hakkinen and Coulthard provided a dominant
victory demonstration, which included lapping the entire field.
McLaren fulfilled the promise of pre-season testing in style, then
saw it all turned to ashes by a 'communications error' and a staged
finish. (Duplicates the race report filed in the F1 race section.)

Australian Grand Prix Driver Quotes
The driver quotes from the Australian Grand Prix, in order of finish.

F1: Full-Tilt Into the Unknown
The new season is finally upon us. In our season preview, we look at
the probable effect of the new rules, and assess who is most likely
to benefit from them.

Yet Another 1998 Race Calendar
With the schedules almost set in cement -- we still don't know for
certain whether there will be a French GP, though its appears likely
-- we offer up yet another season calendar. Make that calendars.
We've provided one by weekend, combining F1, CART and the IRL, and
individual series calendars, as well.

F1 Entry List
Now that car numbers have been assigned to the drivers signed after
the FIA published its initial entry list, we have the complete
roster, with a second list, by tire supplier.

Sharp Tops 'Test in the West' Times
A revised timing sheet for the IRL's two-day 'Test in the West' at Phoenix.

March Television Guide
A new format, which is intended to make it a bit easier to find the broadcasts of your favorite series.

1998 CART Entry List
A handy guide for the season which begins March 15th at Homestead. Drivers, teams, primary sponsors, chassis, engines and tires are provided, with separate lists arranged by engine and tire supplier.

Minardi Introduces M198
After weeks of running their new car at several venues, Gian Carlo
Minardi and Gabriele Rumi held the formal press introduction of the
M198 on Monday (2/23). Features include Benetton-like side impact
protection and a rather different front wing.

Sitting Pretty: McLaren Dominates Testing
Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard spent two weeks in Spain exchanging
the off-season testing record in Barcelona, ending up half a second
clear of the next quickest runner, Giancarlo Fisichella, who was also
on Bridgestone tires. With Williams and Ferrari absent, however,
domination once the season starts is not yet guaranteed. Full
report, including the best times by week and overall, through
Thursday, February 19th.

McLaren 'Livery' Launch
McLaren showed its Mercedes–West livery on the new MP4-13 at Barcelona today, at a track the team 'owns' after topping the times in testing last week. The car is, like the -12, the prettiest, as well as nominally the fastest, in Formula 1, at least by our subjective evaluation.

Spring Training: Ganassi Team Still on a Roll
CART reduced the scheduled track time to two days for the third edition of Spring Training, and then high winds cut that in half, but all the teams were there. When it was over, Jimmy Vasser was quickest, but the times indicated another year of close competition for the series.

Williams FW20 -- Good Enough for the Double?
We look at the first Williams of the post-Adrian Newey, post-Renault era, and find -- predictably this year -- a car not that different than last year's. Will it be enough to successfully defend two world championships?

Lucky 13? The McLaren MP4-13.
McLaren has finally taken the wraps off their challenger for 1998. We provide photos of the car, shown so far only in traditional McLaren orange, with information on both the car and the new Mercedes-Ilmor engine which powers it.

Orlando First Practice Times
We've had a bit of trouble getting the 1997 race reports moved to an archive, and thus have been unable to post Orlando reports to the IRL section. We'll get that straightened out, but for now will post Orlando info to the Feature Articles section. We'll later move the reports to the IRL area, and delete them from Feature Articles.

New Car Fever
Alain Prost unveiled his team's 1998 car, the AP01, at Barcelona
today, and following what is becoming a trend, the car looks much
like last year's. We examine what differences there are, and offer
several photos, plus a couple of the new Benetton B198.

Change vs. Progress
Comparison photos of the 1997 and 1998 Ferrari indicate that the new
Formula 1 cars won't look very different from last year's, except for
those silly tires sucked up against the bodywork. We examine the
rules changes which have produced clean-sheet-of-paper cars across
the board, what the rules were intended to do, and what the likely
reality will be. In addition, we show you the new Williams livery,
which has caused an uproar in Australia.

How F1 Rules are Made
How did we wind up with grooved tires and a reduction in the track
for F1 in 1998? By an elaborate rule-making process spelled out in
the Concorde Agreement.

Mercedes-Ilmor IC108E
The first photo of the all-new Mercedes-Ilmor Champ Car engine
defines the term 'downsizing.' Smaller in every dimension than the
108D it replaces, and lighter, the IC108E takes up one-third less
space than the engine it replaces, and looks every cubic inch the
ideal device for defending Mercedes-Benz's CART manufacturers' cup.
We offer the specifications Mercedes is willing to release, and look
at the new design concepts embodied in the newest turbo V8.