Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Dec 6, 2010, 1:59 pm
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older." - Mario Andretti Since I don't have a snappy hologram or a bunch of guys with Verizon Droids in a conference room I'll make this announcement brief. However, this isn't so much a post as a re-direct. After six months of wandering in the desert ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Jun 2, 2010, 12:02 am
Dearest fellow IndyCar fans (as well as anyone who arrived here via Blogger’s “Next blog>>” feature), It is the with sincerest lack of humor that I am submitting my letter of resignation to you, my readers. For over four years (50 months and one day, in fact) I have endeavored to entertain and...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 31, 2010, 9:21 am
It all started with 33 cars polished and fueled, gleaming on a grid with the highest of hopes in the air along with with news helicopters, high-wire cameras and balloons. When it ended four hours later, some of the cars were still gleaming, while others had to be pulled from the back of a tow hook. ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 30, 2010, 12:09 pm
SPEEDWAY, IN (Sunday May 30, 2010) _ Greetings from @Dale_Nixon, Live from Bloggers' Row on the fourth floor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing...flanked by James Black (16thandGeorgetown.com); Stef Walcraft and Paul Dalbey (Planet-IRL.com). Extra sp...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 29, 2010, 2:50 pm
If there is ever an IndyCar recasting of the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy 27 Dresses (and why would there be, but stay with me for a second), Vitor Meira would have to be cast in the leading role. No driver in the modern era has romanced the podium so many times without walking down the aisle hi...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 29, 2010, 10:46 am
While sitting here and scanning driver tweets during the Public Drivers Meeting (yes, we all know you are at the Driver's Meeting - say something interesting!) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, my colleague Paul Dalbey from Planet-IRL.com and I have come up with a brilliant idea - betting on the I...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 28, 2010, 5:27 pm
The No Sponsor Left Behind Program Two sponsors who had hard luck stamped all over their Versus airtime on Bump Day have found new homes, as Service Central, who were on Jay Howard's sidepods, have found a placement on the second FAZZT Racing Team entry of Bruno Junqueira (it's a yellow car, so no a...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 28, 2010, 2:35 pm
The migrant racing career of Ryan Hunter-Reay has already taken more twists and turns than a blind man trying to navigate the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit. Three different teams in the Champ Car World Series, with a pair of wins; a Rookie of the Year award and a race win (Watkins Glen) in the Indy...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 28, 2010, 10:09 am
Ever had one of those days when you walked into a final exam only to find that it had started an hour earlier and was almost over? And had the whole class turn and look at you as the door opened? Dreyer and Reinbold Racing sophomore Mike Conway had that red-faced, pit-of-the-stomach feeling Friday ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 27, 2010, 5:17 pm
#SPEEDWAY, IN. _ I've got to compliment everyone here at IMS on the flawless check-in and credentialing process (as usual); I think I set a new personal record with about 15 minutes total from picking up the passes to parking in the media lot. Heck, it took longer to turn left at the 16th and George...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 23, 2010, 10:34 pm
The Brickyard is a fickle mistress. And with a centennial birthday celebration in front of her, she took the full nine hours Sunday to remind the 95th Indy 500 qualifying hopefuls that there was still much drama to be written. It was all there in technicolor, and belying her age, HD television as we...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 22, 2010, 8:16 pm
It's amazing how much of a difference a year can make. In 2009, the first day of Indy 500 qualifying had little in the way of surprises and excitement, and the tired format was more distinguished by tradition and procession than action. The tweaks to the Indy 500 qualifying procedure for 2010 were...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 20, 2010, 8:09 pm
Tony Kanaan laid down the gauntlet. And if Penske and Ganassi drivers have left any sand in their proverbial bags, Kanaan's hot lap of 226.775 mph at the very least served notice that the road to the 2010 Indy 500 pole award will at least pass by a 7-11 or two. The affable Brazilian then followed w...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 18, 2010, 12:03 pm
Like many IndyCar fans the first time I ever heard Bertrand Baguette’s name was when it was preceded by the phrase “Conquest Racing announced...", and I would bet I’m not alone in admitting my first reaction was wondering who this probable ride-buyer was. It seems there are always a few driver...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 17, 2010, 5:17 pm
"If you're in the 500, you have a shot at winning the race. So you don't lose sight of that. But you say 'OK what are the things we need to do to beat them? How are we going to beat them?' That's what you really focus on. Where as (big teams) are focused on 'OK, let's not just beat ourselves.' You h...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 13, 2010, 6:06 pm
In his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson saw, at very close range, a 46 point clinic by the 76'ers veteran guard and playground legend, World B Free. College superstar, Brian Bosworth, began his debut season in the NFL by signing an enormous contract but he received an even bigg...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 12, 2010, 5:36 pm
Marshall Pruett's latest Triple Stint column is a must read this week. In particular his chat with ex Champ Car pilot and current endurance superstar, Simon Pagenaud, is well worth checking out. Pagenaud was somewhat of a victim of the open wheel merger in early 2008 when he lost his team Australia ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 11, 2010, 3:33 pm
"We need to blow up IRL...It needs to be (known as) IndyCar. To the purist, (IRL) is a negative acronym. We need to get away from using it... (we need) some sort of press statement to show that (IRL) is dead. We need to let people understand we're trying to change." - IRL and/or IndyCar CEO Randy Be...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 5, 2010, 10:56 am
Considering Graham's stint with SFR is done and Bobby's team has been moth-balled, it shouldn't be surprising that... 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal and his Rahal Letterman Racing team announced today that its entry in the 2010 Indy 500 would be piloted by his son Graham. Graham, who is ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - May 1, 2010, 1:24 pm
Welcome to Kansas where your humble host is glad to not be. Not because I'd rather be at home than at a track - oh, heavens no - but because Kansas seems to be always be place where Mother Nature has her huge hissy fits or meteorological fury. Last year there were tornadoes all around the track, an...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 30, 2010, 4:46 pm
The Kansas City Star has what would normally be considered a “puff piece” on Dan Wheldon, who won the IndyCar series event at Kansas Speedway in ‘07 and ’08. And while “puff pieces” are normally designed for people who don’t follow racing, this one might be telling something to those o...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 30, 2010, 12:03 pm
There may be some of you who don’t appreciate the more satirical pieces of work on his blog, but don’t let that stop you from catching up on the REAL REPORTING Bill “pressdog” Zahren has been doing over at his site lately. It's enough to make a fellow blogger shed a manly tear. Check out som...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 29, 2010, 3:29 pm
Adam Carroll really ought to be racing in Formula 1, thank goodness he's not. It is stupendously good news for IndyCar Racing that Andretti Autosport has secured his signature for a select number of races later on this season. Marco Andretti will have few doubts about the wee man from Portadown can ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 29, 2010, 1:16 am
"This is a really special opportunity for me - getting to drive for my cousin, getting to race on the same team with Marco, getting to work with a race team that just won a couple weeks ago and an organization that has won a lot of races. This is such a great opportunity to come here and participate...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 29, 2010, 12:39 am
By now you've probably heard that yesterday the IZOD IndyCar Series has decided to: 1. Crown separate oval and road/street course champions 2. Name the awards after two historic drivers 3. Do this IMMEDIATELY, as in this year My first thought was "Oh, hella yeah!" if for no other reason than this fi...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 26, 2010, 7:33 am
Buried in a relatively uninteresting press Q&A, about the much needed re-surfacing of the Daytona Speedway, was a rather intriguing morsel. Daytona Speedway President, Robin Braig, discussed the logistics and time frame for the repaving of the oval and dropped a startling bombshell with regards to t...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 22, 2010, 4:03 pm
What does this one say? (In case you don't recognize him, the follically challenged skinny guy in the black shirt is Paul Tracy. The, uh, well-rounded guy in the blue shirt is Super Tex. And the guy in the white shirt is likely in possession of a different skill set than the other two.) Photo:...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 22, 2010, 11:22 am
Now in its sixth year, Danicamania continues even though the crowds around Mrs Hospenthal seem, at least upon first glance, to be dwindling a bit. Perhaps that’s due to her lack of amassing wins, or her participation in some questionable commercials, or her flirtation with the other side of Americ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 20, 2010, 5:10 pm
"The experience I’m most looking forward to is the Indianapolis 500. I continue to hear what an unbelievable and life-changing type of an event it is. I think that it’s going to be even more exciting this year because we’ll have a minimum of 40 cars trying to qualify, which we haven’t seen i...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 20, 2010, 9:37 am
Behold a few of the sights at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, as captured by the way-less-than-professional camera on my Blackberry.
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 18, 2010, 4:02 pm
Welcome to Southern California where your humble host is LIVE on site for the 36th running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. I've had a blast this weekend talking to race fans and now I'm going to sit down and bring this week's LiveBlog coverage from the spectacular vantage point of ...th...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 17, 2010, 7:58 pm
I'll try to continue by avoiding any name-dropping today, simply reporting the news that fits. Here's what this fully sunscreened word butcher uncovered today. Paul Tracy had a presser announcing what everyone anticipated would be a three or four race deal. Turns out it's an Indy-only f...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 17, 2010, 1:42 pm
Good morning from beautiful Southern California, which because of the proximity to the beautiful Pacific Ocean will always be just as beautiful as any other universally-proclaimed beautiful facility elsewhere. After re-reading my own post from last night (yes, I do read my own press - ahem) I reali...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 17, 2010, 12:13 am
It's been a while since your humble host was actually in attendance for an IndyCar event, but after last year's enjoyable time wandering around the IMMENSE grounds at Long Beach I decided I had to come back. Mind you, I'm not beating the path to try to find actual news, but to try to bri...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 15, 2010, 4:00 pm
Forgive me for invoking the name of the heroic Butler Bulldogs in this post, but the comparison in this case might be appropriate. For most of nation, Butler's story this year was that of a relatively unknown who managed to scrape their way to play for the win in their hometown. It was a feel-go...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 14, 2010, 11:53 am
There aren't too many interviews done here at My Name Is IRL, but when the opportunity to have a little electronic chit-chat with VERSUS announcer Bob Jenkins comes along, well, saying "no" isn't really an option. Here's his resume for those who may not know: Jenkins has 30 years of pro...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 13, 2010, 7:16 am
Quinn's worth a look: If PBIR's latest recruit, Niall Quinn, makes the Indy Lights podium at Long Beach do not be surprised. He was born and raised in Dunboyne, County Meath, a town whose streets were the backdrop for the historic Leinster Trophy Races for a decade from 1958 to 1967. Racing...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 12, 2010, 11:44 pm
"I wanted to see what happened in the first race and I had heard there wasn’t going to be any passing but I saw plenty of it out there...I intend to sit down and talk with the IndyCar people but really, I don’t think we need to change a thing." - George Barber, owner of Barber Motorsports Park, ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 12, 2010, 12:37 pm
In case you missed it, here's Simona De Silvestro demonstrating her freaky inhuman visualization skills this weekend. Clear the space in front of you for when your jaw inevitably hits the floor. I'm told Professor X strongly disapproves of this kind of public display by any his pupils.
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 11, 2010, 3:16 pm
Welcome to Barber Motorsports Park, also known as "a beautiful facility". A gorgeous road course with a spectacular museum that, if previous auto races are any indication, promises to feature virtually no passing whatsoever today. But it's the "Augusta" of road courses. Today's race feature...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 9, 2010, 10:03 pm
What does this one say? (Photo: AJ Foyt Racing)
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 8, 2010, 7:39 pm
This week, the #10’s livery is all about Dario’s magnificent hair. Suave will serve as the primary sponsor of the Target Chip Ganassi Racing No.10 Honda Dallara for reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti in Round 3 of the series at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Leg...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Apr 8, 2010, 5:31 pm
Yeah, I know, I’ve been gone a while. I could try to explain my absence but there’s little fun in such, much as there’s little fun in explaining how Butler missed defeating Duke by roughly the same margin Ed Carpenter missed defeating Ryan Briscoe last fall. (DAMMIT!!!) It would be more exci...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 29, 2010, 10:05 am
So from a national broadcast on ABC, Sunday afternoon, with a N***** rain-out, to a Monday morning on the Deuce. Randy Bernard is going to have to get a rain totem and soon if the Izod IndyCar Series is actually going to attain a whole number rating before May. Nice to see Jamie Little back on pit ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 28, 2010, 3:54 pm
Welcome to St Pete where...it's wet. Very wet. With lots of wind. And lightning. And puddles so deep they might be harboring alligators. And while that might add an extra level of excitement for race fans in the comfort of their homes, it's a living nightmare for the IRL logistical staff as ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 27, 2010, 10:05 am
Learn to spell the name of your partner's biggest event. Well done everyone at IZOD & IndyCar for collectively making yourselves look like buffoons! This is the Washington 'Natinals" all over again. Washington's baseball team have blazed a trail of ineptitude since they moved from Mont...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 24, 2010, 3:22 pm
At this point it's just a rumor according to Robin, but... Graham Rahal rejoins the IZOD IndyCar series this weekend at St. Petersburg in Sarah Fisher's car but the 21-year-old second generation star is poised be reunited with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team for the rest of 2010. SPEEDtv.com ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 24, 2010, 11:31 am
Sunday's race at St Pete will be the 200th start in Dario Franchitti's illustrious CART and IndyCar career. He's marking the occasion with toilet paper. Cottonelle Brand to Sponsor Dario Franchitti at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg INDIANAPOLIS (March 24, 2010) –Target Chip Ganassi Rac...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 23, 2010, 3:32 pm
Based on totally unscientific feedback gleaned from such reputable samples as blog comments and message board posts, the consensus is that despite issues with the weather and the track surface (or perhaps because of them) the street race in Sao Paolo was pretty high on the entertainment charts. The ...
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Jeff I. posted an article on My Name Is IRL - Mar 23, 2010, 12:48 am
“I’m not going to be like someone else -- who you can probably figure out who...I’m not going to sit here and hang the N****R carrot over everyone’s head and say ‘Oh, well, if you guys don’t help me I’m going to just leave.’ That’s not the way it is for me. I’m committed to this....
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