Herbert Sets Sights on Indy
The day after the Kentucky IRL race, team Heritage rolled out a
'works' G Force-Infiniti for Johnny Herbert's first taste of the IRL
cars and power, and his second run ever on an oval. Herbert beat the
previous day's pole time, and now wants to add the Indianapolis 500
to his Le Mans and Grand Prix wins.

Sliding Off the Radar
CART president Joe Heitzler waited until the eleventh hour to get a
TV deal which met his primary requirement: "a good contract for
CART." Unfortunately, it's the worst deal imaginable for CART's
sponsors, its race promoters, its teams and for the vast majority of
its fans, at least 75 percent of whom won't be able to see 15 of 22
races in 2002.

Who's Minding the Store?
Just eight months before the 2002 season, CART has no series sponsor,
no race schedule and no television broadcaster. Races and revenue
have been lost. The engine manufacturers have lost faith in CART to
fairly administer its rules. Even the long-compliant press corps has
turned on CART. The problems are not all of his making, but Joe
Heitzler, the man hired to find solutions, has produced nothing but
platitudes and more problems. Commentary by Forrest Bond

An Interview with Davey Hamilton
The IRL has provided an interview with Davey Hamilton, who is of
course recovering from grave leg injuries suffered in Sam Schmidt's
car at Ft. Worth in early June. We should caution you that the
interview, done today (July 12th) by Bob Jenkins, makes tough
reading.

The Crimson Letter
Following Honda's vindication in the appeal hearing over the pop-off
valve spacer, Toyota sent a letter to CART outlining its plan to
continue the fight, ultimately including a protest of all Honda- and
Ford-powered cars at Toronto this weekend, and if necessary an
appeal. The process will repeat at Michigan and Chicago. If this
isn't the end, you can see it from here.

Sleeping Through the Wake-Up Call
Ganassi Racing and Juan Pablo Montoya served notice on the IRL teams
a year ago. No one got the message. Will they learn after being
blown out of the first six places at Indy? We look at the 85th
running of the Indianapolis 500 and what it says about both CART and
the IRL. This report has also been posted to the IRL section, as the
Indy 500 race report.

CART Cuts Boost, Adds Drag for Long Ovals, Mandates HANS for Road Courses
CART introduces mid-season rules changes, to the consternation of the
engine manufacturers and teams, and at least one change makes sense
from a safety standpoint. Still, the whole thing seems to us to be
more concerned with using Michigan as a test for a package that
would let CART race survivably at Ft. Worth.

Media & Marketing No. 28: Mixed Media
U.S. Formula 1 fans have been made extremely nervous by Fox's
purchase of the Speedvision network. Our Robert Duncan looks at the
possibility of Speedvision becoming the NASCAR Channel, as well as
the continuing saga of F1's commercial rights, and CART's problems
with marketing firm ISL.

Sharp Takes First Indy Pole; CART Teams Fail to Impress
The first weekend of qualifying produced an Indianapolis 500 grid
that was little disturbed by the increased CART presence. Still,
there presence has increased interest in this year's race
significantly.

Tangled Up In Texas: The Unmaking of a Motor Race
We examine what happened in Texas, from grey-outs to lawsuits, and
why. Of equal importance, we look at what should have happened, why
it didn't, and what all this says about CART and its management.

Indianapolis 500 U.S. Television Schedule
A complete listing of all Indy-related television coverage, including
times for Eastern and Pacific time zones.

Texas Motor Speedway Sues CART, Officials for Race "Cancellation"
Texas Motor Speedway general manager Eddie Gossage has announced a
multi-million dollar lawsuit over the cancellation -- CART continues
to call it a postponement -- of the race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Named individually in the suit: Joe Heitzler, the departed Hal
Whiteford, Kirk Russell, Wally Dallenbach and Chris Kniefel. In
reaction, CART's stock was heavily traded, mostly at $15.00 a share.

Ray Quick First Two Days; Ganassi Opts for Veterans
The first of our practice reports for the 85th running of the
Indianapolis 500. The events so far; increased Internet goodies;
selected driver quotes.

Media & Marketing No. 27: CART Goes to the Movies
Robert Duncan reviews CART. We forced him.

With Firings At Least Temporarily Done, Heitzler Begins to Build His Own Team
The CART management team put in place by Andrew Craig and then Bobby
Rahal has been systematically dismantled by new president Joe
Heitzler. Firing people is easy; the test comes when you hire
replacements. Our Robert Duncan looks at the new hirings.

The Battle for Control of Formula 1's Coffers
Bernie Ecclestone and Leo Kirch are squabbling over control of the
commercial rights to Formula 1. About to be left on the sidelines,
the car companies which supply F1's engines are threatening to pull
out of F1 and start a rival series. Welcome to high-stakes poker, F1
style.

IRL Sets Stage for Common Formula with CART; Toyota Will Build Engines
The Indy Racing League has announced its engine formula for 2003, and
Toyota has signed to build one. Both say it could form the basis for
a common engine formula with CART. The move is not an olive branch
offered to CART, but rather an attempt to pirate their engine
manufacturers, and perhaps more.

Who Cares for the Drivers?
A succession of fatal accidents and near misses in Formula 1, CART
and now NASCAR have called into question the competence of the
officials who are, or in the case of NASCAR, should be responsible
for protecting the sport's most precious and fragile asset: its
drivers. In part one, we look generally at the recent fatalities in
Winston Cup racing, and the Dale Earnhardt accident in specific.

2001 Race Calendars
Two calendars in one Acrobat file. First, a week-by-week calendar,
showing all the F1, CART, IRL, F3000 and British F3 races, and our
best guess on the U.S. television broadcasters. Second, a schedule of
races by series, including all the same five open-wheel series, plus
Toyota Atlantic, Le Mans, American Le Mans, Euro Le Mans and NASCAR.
This is a corrected version.

CART 2001 Teams & Drivers
In what amounts to an unofficial entry list for CART's season opener
at Monterrey, Mexico this weekend, we list the teams, and the 28
drivers, chassis, engines and primary sponsors they will field in
2001.

Media & Marketing No. 25: Reflections on a Bad Day in NASCAR
In a wide-ranging column, Robert Duncan writes about Dale Earnhardt
and the aftermath of his tragic death, and the initial Fox Network
coverage of NASCAR, then explodes the popular myth that declining
racing TV ratings are part of a general decline in sports viewership.

Rio: The Unmaking of a Motor Race
How did the Rio 200 come to be canceled? We look at the causes, and
the missed opportunities which might have saved the event, as well as
what it all may mean for CART.

The Gold Rush of '01
F1 observers were amazed when Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley had
their first public feud last week. Appearances can be deceiving,
especially when as much as $4 billion is at stake, and in this case,
they were very deceiving.

McLaunch: The MP4-16
McLaren launches its 2001 racer, but despite the Adrian Newey-
promised revolution, what the team has let us see proves to be
decidedly evolutionary.

Benetton B201: An Interim Solution
Preoccupied with the Renault takeover, a brand new and rather radical
engine and Michelin tires, Benetton's focus in on 2002, not 2001.
That's why Pat Symonds and Mike Gascoyne opted for an evolutionary
approach for the B201.

F2001: Ferrari Gambles on Revolution
With two championships in the bank, Ferrari might have opted for a
conservative evolution from last year's car. Instead, Ross Brawn and
Rory Byrne rolled the dice, creating the most radical F1 car to debut
so far. Will the gamble pay off?

Up the Rio, Searching for a Paddle
Cesar Maia, Rio de Janeiro's new mayor, has backed the former Rio 400
promoter, saying he "is obliged to cancel" this year's race. Perhaps
he just forgot to tell CART...."

Williams FW23: Looking for Wins
Williams and BMW introduced their 2001 challenger, the FW23, at
Silverstone, and while the car is evolutionary, a third in last
year's constructors' championship justifies the approach. With a
presumably improved car, and a new engine which has shown to be an
advance in testing, the only thing standing in the way of narrowing
the gap to Ferrari and McLaren may be Michelin's tires.

An Unlucky Strike
It was supposed to be the formal launch of the BAR 003, but after
Jacques Villeneuve damaged the first example when a wheel fell off,
the team wound up having to show one of last year's cars, in the
2001 livery.

Sauber C20 Unveiled; Prost AP04 First Look
Two Ferrari-engined GP cars broke cover this week, the Sauber C20 at
a formal press launch, and the Prost AP04 at Barcelona. We look at
both.

The Jordan EJ11: A Poor Showing in 2000 Dictates A Radical Departure
After falling from third to sixth in the constructors' championship
in 2000, the Jordan team's restructured engineering department has
come up with an all-new car, from its slimmer nose to its seven-speed
transmission. Once again, there is talk of racing with Ferrari and
McLaren, but the real targets are Williams and fellow Honda works
team BAR.

First Look: BAR-Honda 03
A comparison of photos of the new BAR 03 and last year's 02 show a
number of aerodynamic changes, especially at the front and to the
engine cover.

Jaguar R2: The 'R' Stands for Respect
Jaguar Racing has introduced the R2, its 2001 F1 challenger. A photo
comparison shows the new car to be an evolutionary but significant
updating of last year's unloved R1, by chief designer John Russell
and aerodynamicist Mark Handford.

BAR 004: Last Roll of the Dice?
BAR has an all-new Honda wide-angle engine, and an all-new car to
carry it. We look at what designer Malcolm Oastler has penned,
compare it to last year's 003, discuss the management changes and
look at the challenge facing the team in what could be, barring a
significant raising of the ante, their last season.

The Enemy Lies Within
The defection of Roger Penske and sponsor Marlboro to the
Indy Racing League, and the long-overdue neutering of
CART's supremely inadequate president and CEO, Joe
Heitzler, have shaken the faith of those inside and
surrounding CART. Yet the Penske and Heitzler decisions
are merely typical of a long sequence of debacles which
have befallen CART in 2001, and are far from ended as
teams, sponsors, manufacturers and race promoters prepare
to head for the exits. At the top, CART has become a house
divided, and while most think Chris Pook represents
salvation, there's little likelihood of that, partly
because the fatal wounds have already been inflicted, but
mostly because the enemy lies within.

Race and U.S. TV Schedule for Nov. 2-4, 2001
A complete schedule of events for the CART season finale at Fontana
in various time zones, plus the U.S. television schedule and Internet
live timing URL.

Race and U.S. TV Schedule for Penultimate CART Race, at Surfers
A complete schedule of events for the CART race at Surfers Paradise
in various time zones, plus the U.S. television schedule and Internet
live timing URL.

Power Failure
CART's team owners deluded themselves into thinking the engine
manufacturers would support their hobby forever. Faced with the
unpleasant reality that the three which remain would be gone after
2002, and the prospect of evaporating sponsorship, the owners seized
control from management and voted to adopt the Indy Racing League's
formula. Even that desperation move may not be enough to save them.

F1 Memorial
At Monza on Friday, Formula 1 joined in a continent-wide 10 minutes
of silence, in tribute to the thousands who died in the terrorist
attacks on the United States. Following the race, there will be no
podium ceremony.

Media & Marketing No. 29: It's the TV, Stupid
When CART was created, its owners failed to understand the importance
of television, or how to utilize it. As Robert Duncan observes, the
2002-2004 arrangement with Speedvision proves that nothing has
changed.