IndyCar News

Indy Racing League veteran Billy Roe will drive in the final three Infiniti Pro Series races of the season for Kenn Hardley Racing.

Jaques Lazier's apparently love/hate relationship with John Menard is back on again for the time being after the Colorado-based native was re-hired by Menard in place of the injured Vitor Meira for this weekend's Firestone Indy 225.

As the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship heads into its final, three-race stretch run - beginning with Saturday's Molson Indy Montreal - rookie AJ Allmendinger holds a 20-point lead over Scotland's Ryan Dalziel, but the RuSPORT driver is well aware that the glory could still be snatched away

Earlier this week IRL IndyCar Series drivers Scott Dixon, Sarah Fisher and Sam Hornish Jr. swapped racing overalls for bowling shoes as they participated in the "PeyBack Bowl" at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis in a charity event set-up by pro-footballer Peyton Manning.

"We are pretty close to the [new] deal. Everything was not quite done yet. I told Panther Racing I would let them know by mid-August. I wanted to keep my word to them.

Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. announced today that team owner Derrick Walker has relinquished his position as a member of the Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Just one day after his crushing, ninth career, IRL IndyCar Series victory in Sunday's Belterra Casino Indy 300, double defending IRL Champion Sam Hornish Jr announced that he would be leaving Panther Racing at the end of the current season.

The strong performances of the Panoz G Force chassis continued on Saturday at the Kentucky Speedway as three of the five drivers using the Anglo-American built chassis qualified inside the top ten in the closest starting grid in series history.

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series calendar will remain at 16 dates after series officials confirmed plans for next year between practice sessions on Saturday at the Kentucky Speedway.

Sunday's Belterra Casino Indy 300 on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway tri-oval is the 12th of 16 events on the 2003 IRL IndyCar Series calendar but only the second in which Mo Nunn Racing's Tora Takagi will use a Dallara chassis.

Kentucky is famous for horsepower of the four-legged variety, but the focus at this weekend's Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway will be on the horsepower of the new Gen IV Chevy Indy V8.

"I could not have asked for better teammates. Certainly, with Michael's help, initially as a teammate as well as team owner, and certainly Tony Kanaan, that has been a fantastic help. I think being in this situation has helped speed up my learning curve.

A clash between Michael Valiante and points leader A.J.

Fernandez Racing has restructured its engineering department with the departure of Race Engineer David Watson earlier this week. The changes will take effect with this weekend's Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, Round 13 of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.

Currently contending for the points lead in the Star Mazda North American Championship, aspiring US single-seater racer Moses Smith has found enough time and funds to explore his options in the Infiniti Pro Series this weekend.

AJ Allmendinger did not go faster than his time from provisional qualifying on Friday, but turned a lap quick enough to pace final qualifying and add to his Toyota Atlantic championship lead heading into Sunday's Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

With the second half of the Toyota Atlantic Championship now underway, the series heads north for the second of the three Canadian races on the schedule, at the historic 1.52 mile course in Trois Rivieres in Quebec.

PAUL TRACY (#3 Player's/Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone):

The Champ Car series heads to Elkhart Lake this weekend to race at a venue christened by the first Mexican success in CART racing and with the country's senior statesman eager to add his name to the list of victors.

Canada has long been one of the strongholds of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, with crowds in excess of 160,000 coming out for a three-day weekend every time the CART Champ Car World Series contenders turn a wheel 'north of the border.'

"That was a real battle. I've still got the old donuts on the side of the RAC Walker Racing car from hitting Adrian (Fernandez), unfortunately. I damage my front wing in that incident and I had to keep going with a broken wing until my final pit stop window opened up with 30 laps to go.

"What I've done is been able to concentrate on what I have to do, the job in front of me. And my concentration is not what happened on Friday or what's going to happen in the future, because it's out of my control.

Due to the late addition of the Mario Andretti Grand Prix of Road America onto the 2003 CART Champ Car schedule, the complicated issue of finding a network/cable television slot to carry the race live has meant that the 12th round of the season will only be available on a pay-per-view basis.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Tomas Scheckter and Scott Dixon swept the front row during MBNA Pole Qualifying for the Firestone Indy 400 on Saturday at the ultra-quick Michigan International Speedway.