Racing News - June 2001 (6/24) - Ralf Schumacher battled in the European G.P. trying to get by his brother for first place. He got penalized for coming out of the pits too wide and that ruined his day. Michael led flag to flag. Montoya finished 2nd. (6/19) - I just found out that Kim Basinger was lined up to drive the Pace Car this year, but due to a case of bronchitis, missed out. (6/17) - New, cool, and short IRL commercial debuted during the Pikes Peak race. John Mellencamp sings a little diddy while he hangs out at Indy and drives an old Indy Car, sans helmet, down the front straight. His beautiful wife was this year's Indy 500 Pace Car driver and appears in the video. (6/17) - Target/Chip Ganassi replaced rookie driver Nicolas Minassian with Memo Gidley (6/14) - Stan Wattles, driving for Hemelgarn Racing, announced his retirement. He had competed in the IRL since its inception in 1996. (6/13) - Regarding the IRL Texas race: Davey Hamilton is recovering in Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Robby McGehee is recovering in Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The IRL, upon reviewing tape of the race, has moved Sam Hornish and Donnie Beechler back a spot as they both passed someone during a caution. The IRL is contemplating punishing race winner Scott Sharp and Greg Ray for aggressive driving! Eddie Cheever stated "It was a very exciting race, but this is not IROC. I like the guy in the #2 car, and I like the guy in the #8 car, but they can't drive like that. You can't be ducking and weaving and pushing people around. I got shoved below the white line and way up into the gray. It's irresponsible lunacy." Scott Sharp said, "It did get a little crazy out there, but most of it was between Greg and myself, and I felt Greg and I raced each other pretty hard. Somewhere out there's a line and some people have a different idea of where that line is. We ran to that line. Eddie is the guy who gives you the least amount of room. He has set the precedent. In this case, the aggressive driving was in front of him. I guess he didn't like the seat he had." While Sharp said he doesn't give Cheever's beef much weight, he does respect Barnhart's position. Sharp realizes the difficulty of balancing competition on the ovals with safety. (6/10) - Hendrick Motor Racing team has won its 100th Winston Cup race with Jeff Gordon's win at Michigan. (6/10) - for the first time in F1 history, brothers finished 1-2 with Ralf Schumacher winning the Canadian GP in Montreal. Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Montoya, both 500 champions, got into a scrap over race weekend. During the drivers meeting, JV grabbed Montoya by the coller and the race director had to pull them apart. Its rumored that during the argument, Juan told Jacques that he'd already killed someone this year. This would be in reference to Jacques getting hit from behind by Ralf Schumacher, which resulted in a track worker getting killed by debris in Oz. Juan consequently was bawled out by Sir Frank Williams for his comment. Villeneuve had this to say, "I am furious with Montoya. It is not the first time that he has tried this maneuver. I tried already to get an explanation out of him but he doesn't appear to understand. Maybe he isn't intelligent enough to understand and if he isn't intelligent enough to comprehend then maybe we will have to teach him a lesson on the track." (6/9) - The IRL race at the Texas Motor Speedway was extremely exciting as usual. Eddie Cheever, Greg Ray, and Scott Sharp diced for the lead, inches apart, lap after lap, with Sam Hornish and Jeff Ward nipping at their tails. There were two violent accidents. The first resulted due to a blown engine. It resulted in breaking Davey Hamilton's legs. Tires were flying loose all over. Sarah Fisher let off the gas moments before she punted one of the loose tires into the infield. If she'd been a blip slower letting off the gas, she'd have been killed by the tire. And as the tire flew into the infield like a cannon, it miraculously didn't venture into the nearby crowd. I hope that some engineer somewhere can come up with more reliable wheel tethers. The second accident happened 4 laps from the end. As the leaders were attempting to pass backmarker, Robbie McGehee, race leader Greg Ray clipped McGehee sending both into the wall, collecting Cheever along the way. Cheever looked to have the best car tonight. He had the power and the best setup. He looked like he could go anywhere on the track that he wanted. McGehee also had to go to the hospital with a broken leg. Now that the Cheever and Ray were out, Scott Sharp won the race under yellow. Wheels were flying everywhere. The first crash was sparked by a blown engine (6/9) - Tony Stewart took the lead and ran away with the IROC win at Michigan Motor Speedway. Al Unser Jr, filling in for an injured Scott Goodyear, picked up second place while Scott sat in on the broadcast as a guest. (6/6) - Hemelgarn Crew Member Celebrates 85th Birthday Ft. Worth, TX -- Hemelgarn crewmember Hoyt "Doc" Kerr celebrated his 85th birthday at the Texas Motor Speedway Friday night following the final practice for the Casino Magic 500. Friends honored the oldest working crewman in the INDY Racing League with gag gifts, cards and a birthday cake. Born in Mechanicsville, Iowa, Kerr moved to central Indiana in 1978. Following his retirement from the real estate business, he stumbled upon a new career in auto racing. Kerr, or better known as "Doc" because of his strong resemblance to Dr. Marcus Welby (Robert Young) of the old TV show, joined Hemelgarn Racing in 1987 hauling parts. He quickly became a permanent fixture with the team taking over as the showcar coordinator. "Doc" spends nearly half the year on the road visiting cities and making friends all over the U.S. and Canada. Team owner Ron Hemelgarn is thrilled to have "Doc" on board. "Doc has been one of the greatest ambassadors for Hemelgarn Racing, its sponsors and the INDY Racing League," Hemelgarn said. "He doesn't know a stranger and makes friends everywhere he goes. "Doc" has found the fountain of youth in his positive attitude towards life." With incredible support from his three daughters and one son, "Doc" shows no signs of slowing down. Time and again, he has proven that age is never an issue. (6/6) - Eddie Cheever has lost his main sponsor, Excite@Home. Coincidentally, I returned my @Home cable modem today. That'll teach 'em. (6/5) - Chevrolet will be providing engines for the IRL in 2002, replacing the defunct Oldsmobile. I hope this means we'll have some more Corvette pace cars! (6/5) - Sarah Fisher will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. (6/1) - Jay Leno will be driving the Pace Car for the Brickyard 400.