IndyCar News

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.'

Retired race driver Ralph Liguori probably knew the late Tony Renna as well as anyone. "From the time he was born," Liguori said.

A memorial service for the late Tony Renna will be conducted today (Friday) in Renna's hometown of Deland, Florida.

Klein Tools Inc. and Jim Beam Brands Co. have renewed their sponsorship of the #26 Dallara/Honda/ Firestone IRL IndyCar TM Series entry, Andretti Green Racing officials announced October 29.

CART president and CEO Christopher R. Pook has today confirmed that the final round of the Champ Car World Series, at California Speedway, Fontana, has indeed been cancelled, due to wildfires in the area.

Two of the Indy Racing League's longest serving teams will merge in 2004 after Panther Racing announced that it had bought much of the assets and equipment of Team Menard in order to run a second full-time entry in next year's IRL IndyCar Series.

Adrian Fernandez was one of the many drivers who had a sniff of victory in Sunday's Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise but, on a day where mistakes and moments of madness were prevalent, a spin dropped the Mexican veteran to 12th at the finish.

Bruno Junqueira and Paul Tracy were the lead story in Sunday's Lexmark Indy 300 in Surfers Paradise, Australia as the two drivers were the only ones left standing in the title hunt with two races left in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season.

IRL IndyCar Series driver Kenny Brack continues to improve at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas from injuries suffered in the Chevy 500, said Dr. Henry Bock, director of medical services for the Indy Racing League.

The month-long celebration in May 2004 leading up to the 88th Indianapolis 500 will mix the drama of IndyCar Series racing and the glamour of a Hollywood blockbuster with the theme of "Lights! Camera! Traction!"

Mexican open-wheel racing fans are among the most passionate on the planet and it appears that very few of them missed their chance to see the cars and stars of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford when the series invaded Mexico City last weekend.

Fans will have the a chance to win the ultimate in Lexmark Indy 300 memorabilia thanks to new principal partner, Acer Computer Australia, with the support of Intel, Network Ten and Indy FMTV.