Opinion: IndyCar’s Aero Package Is A Recipe For Disaster

Anyone who watched the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway (won by American Graham Rahal) this weekend saw one of the most jaw-dropping races of any kind that we’ve seen in years.

Long-time IndyCar Series observers are already calling the race one of the wildest in the storied history of the open-wheel category, featuring a series-record eighty lead changes at the start-finish line, and countless dozens more elsewhere around the track, but as exciting as it was, for a while, to watch cars three, four and sometimes an astounding five wide, the situation on the track, from lap one to lap two-hundred-and-fifty, was one of intense danger.

This isn’t tin-top racing. Open-wheel cars shouldn’t look like fighter jets diving in and out of packs, running at least four-wide, two and three rows deep, bumping wheels, and trading paint at over two hundred miles per hour. Except that that’s exactly what happened all day long at the wide and fast Auto Club Speedway, where, a few years ago, the worldwide closed course record of more than 241mph was set. That should be an indication of the speeds that this track can produce.

I watched the race with a foreboding sense of doom, almost holding my breath, not so because the racing was so exciting, but because I had a feeling it was going to end horribly. In a way, yes, it was entertaining, with so much slicing and dicing, but, more than that, it was scary. I was scared for those drivers. More by luck than good management, there were no serious injuries. All the drivers are going home to their families tonight, and for that we should be incredibly lucky.

Particularly Australians Will Power and Ryan Briscoe, American Ryan Hunter-Reay and Japan’s Takuma Sato. Power and Sato tangled with less than ten laps to go, after Sato bumped wheels with Scott Dixon in the middle of an angry pack, slid up the track and slammed Power and himself into the wall.

Then, with two laps left, Hunter-Reay and Briscoe came together, the incident punting Briscoe into the grass, where his car leapt into the air, flipped over and over, and came to a shuddering halt. For a moment, everyone held their collective breath, but Briscoe flipped a double thumbs-up to signal that he was okay. Thankfully, there were no lasting injuries.

It’s not like the series doesn’t know what the worst-case scenario is when it comes to pack racing – in the final race of the 2011 season, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with a similar aero package on the cars, a horrific accident claimed the life of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, shocking the tightknit IndyCar paddock to it’s very core.

Whether you’re a driver, crewmember, official or fan, no one who witnessed the fence-tearing crash that took Wheldon’s life will never forget it. In many ways, the series is still recovering from the loss of the incredibly popular Brit. His close friends in the paddock, guys like Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta, haven’t been the same since.

In the aftermath of today’s race, influential faces in the paddock spoke out about the aero package that promotes this sort of white-knuckle racing. Team Penske president Tim Cindric indicated that he and his drivers had known from the beginning of the weekend that the aero package IndyCar mandated for this race was going to produce exactly what we saw on Saturday afternoon. Their pleas for change fell on deaf ears.

Cindric revealed had sat down with IndyCar officials after Wheldon’s death in an effort to make the circumstances surrounding the accident – a fast banked, and a particular sort of aero package – was never repeated. Nearly four years down the road, it has been. Mark Miles, the CEO of the IndyCar series has allowed this to happen on his watch, when he could have mandated changes, and he should be called to account for it.

It’s not like the series didn’t have ample warning that this was coming. NBC showed a package in practice of what cars were doing. It was always going to be emulated under race conditions.

Australia’s Will Power was less subtle than his boss, and appeared visibly shaken when interviewed post-race on NBC: "What are we doing? What are we doing? We went in there and told [IndyCar] it would be pack racing, and that was a [Las] Vegas situation right there.”

2014 Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan said, “I think it was a great race for the fans. I get criticized a lot when I talk about these things. But people are not in the race car at 215 mph doing this to see...I would like you guys to try—the people that criticize us. It's tough, it's stressful; it makes you think if you still want to keep doing this like that. Hopefully we get together and come up with a better solution."

CFH Racing co-owner Ed Carpenter disagreed on Twitter, suggesting that any driver who didn’t want to race in these conditions should retire. Let it be said that Carpenter is the stepson of former Indy Racing League boss Tony George, whose high downforce cars pioneered this sort of racing in the early years of this new millennium.

It was an unwise thing to say, considering everything that has happened. The racing was seriously and frighteningly dangerous. It’s lucky that no one was seriously hurt. Some of the television pictures were spectacular for a while, until you realised that the entire field was on a knife-edge all afternoon. Five hundred miles worth of knife-edge!

I love good racing, but this was a kind of Russian roulette, and asking drivers to take those extreme risks week-in-week-out is unfair. It’s a testament to the skill of the IndyCar Series drivers that there weren’t more serious consequences.

The MAVTV 500 should be the last race of it’s kind. That wasn’t racing, it was unhinged insanity. IndyCar officials are playing with people’s lives here. It has to stop.

2015 NHL Entry Draft (Day Two) Recap

Only the most ardent of fan pays attention to the players drafted on the second day of the NHL Draft. Instead, the real interest comes via trades and new contracts that are released to the media throughout. This year was no exception. Here’s the lowdown on a busy day in Sunrise, Florida:

Minnesota re-sign Devan Dubnyk

There was an outside chance that the goalie the Wild picked up at the deadline would be allowed to walk, but general thinking was that Minnesota would get the job done. Dubnyk had a memorable run in the Twin Cities, finally shedding the ‘solid journeyman’ tag. He’s become much more than that.

Minnesota finally has a consistent goalie. They’ve got him for six years at, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, $26 million over eight years, which sees him earn a handy $4.33 million a season.

Cam Talbot traded to Edmonton
Speaking of teams who are searching for consistency between the pipes, the Oilers did a deal with the New York Rangers for their back-up, Cam Talbot, who showed plenty in a stretch earlier this year where he filled in for the injured Henrik Lundqvist. At the time, people predicted he would be hot property come the off-season, and, sure enough, he was. The Oilers sent their 57th, 79th and 184th picks to New York in return.

New York Rangers acquire Antti Raanta

Needing a backup after trading Cam Talbot away, with prospect Mackenzie Slapski not yet  completely ready, the Rangers did a deal with Chicago, picking Antti Raanta for forward Ryan Haggerty. Raanta saw a little time as a starter when Corey Crawford was sidelined with an injury.
Eddie Lack traded to Carolina

A big Saturday for goalie movement, with Vancouver’s Eddie Lack off to Carolina for the ‘Canes’ 66th overall pick. Lack was Ryan Miller’s back-up last year, and has seen plenty of ice time since February, when Miller injured his knee. The acquisition of Lack is a little insurance, as Carolina prepare for life after Stanley Cup-winning goalie Cam Ward.

Hurricanes and Ducks swap Khudobin and Wisniewski

With Eddie Lack coming in, Anton Khudobin is out in Carolina, heading out to Anaheim in exchange for veteran defenceman James Wisniewski. After being traded from Columbus to the Ducks, Wisniewski spent the playoffs as a healthy scratch, and Khudobin had limited success backing up Cam Ward in Raleigh, amassing an 8-17-6 record in 2014-15. New landscapes will do both these guys the world of good.

Anaheim gets Carl Hagelin from New York

The fastest player in the NHL is on the move. No longer will Carl Hagelin’s flowing locks be seen skating up and down Madison Square Garden’s rink, because he’s been traded to Anaheim, and the Rangers receive Emerson Etem in return. The Ducks will enjoy Hagelin’s incredible speed.

As a Rangers fan, I like this trade. Etem’s really had a breakout season, and is a similar player to Hagelin in terms of speed, though he’s not quite there yet. Where Etem is being considered a bit of an upgrade for the Rangers is that he’s a bigger, stronger guy. The Rangers probably upgraded here, though all of us will miss Hags.

First Chinese player drafted

The New York Islanders used pick 172 to draft defenceman Andong Song (who goes by the name Misha) who spent his formative hockey days battling on a smaller-than-regulation rink in Beijing, before moving to Canada.

Like when Australia’s Nathan Walker was drafted by the Washington Capitals last year, this is a major moment for hockey in non-traditional markets. There’s no guarantee that Song will actually end up playing in the league, but that shouldn’t take away from an extraordinary achievement.

No Phil Kessel trade

There were whispers before the draft that Toronto star Phil Kessel, who apparently doesn’t figure in Mike Babcock’s plans going forward, would be traded over the draft weekend, and despite some apparent interest from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kessel remains a Maple Leaf, but will probably not be with the team come training camp. The free agency period opens next week, and Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan has often said that he won’t be forced into a deal before he’s ready. He wants the deal to come to him, and it likely will during free agency.

No Patrick Sharp trade

Sharp, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with Chicago, is likely to be one of the casualties of the Blackhawks’ precarious salary cap situation, along with a few others. A trade didn’t happen at the draft in Florida, so, like with the Kessel situation, it’s increasingly likely that Sharp, a ten-year veteran/fan favourite in the Windy City, will be moved early in next week’s free agency period.

2015 NHL Entry Draft (Day One) Recap

Everything you need to know about the draft picks and trades from the first day of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, held in Sunrise, Florida, is here:

#1 Overall Pick

All season, it’s been the battle between Canadian Connor McDavid and American Jack Eichel to be the first man selected – by the Edmonton Oilers – in this year’s entry draft, though most pundits lent in McDavid’s direction. So it was no surprise when the kid widely touted as the next superstar of the NHL was handed the blue and orange Edmonton jersey as the number one overall pick.

It’s not a stretch to say that McDavid, who has very few – if any – chinks in his armour, from the OHL’s Lake Erie Otters, is the most hyped draft pick since McDavid’s hockey idol, Sidney Crosby, was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

We now know that Crosby turned around the fortunes of the ailing Pennsylvanian squad, and it’ll be interesting to see whether McDavid can do something similar for an Edmonton franchise that’s welcomed plenty of prodigious talent into their club in recent years – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov, for starters – yet has failed to lift themselves from the bottom of the NHL heap.

Typically, McDavid professed his pleasure to be a part of the Oilers squad, and new general manager Peter Chiarelli said that the Oilers were “lucky to have” McDavid. The Oilers haven’t made the playoffs since 2006. That’s a long time ago.

Even longer ago now is the Edmonton heyday, when Wayne Gretzky led the Oil to five Stanley Cup titles in seven seasons between 1984 and 1990. McDavid will need to be something approaching Gretzky-good to drag the Oilers out of this morass. Good luck, Connor. You’ll need it!

#2 Overall Pick

Buffalo welcomed Bostonian Jack Eichel to their recently-beleaguered franchise with the second pick. The Sabres are definitely in need of a talent like Eichel’s up forward. The Boston University Terrier product had a huge year in the NCAA in 2014-15, scoring 71 points (23 of them on the power play) with a plus-51 rating. He became only the second freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award for the best player in NCAA Division 1 hockey, and seems like he’ll be a major success at the NHL level, too. After years of hell, Buffalo fans are certainly hoping that’s the case.

#3 Overall Pick

There was talk that the Arizona Coyotes might have traded their third overall pick, and there was no real consensus on who the third round selection would be used on. The Coyotes decided to keep the pick and used it to draft Dylan Strome, who happens to be Connor McDavid’s OHL teammate, and is a budding star in his own right. A big, strong centre, who had a stellar year as McDavid’s running mate, Strome is the younger brother of Ryan, who plays with the New York Islanders.

Boston trades Milan Lucic

The new general manager in Boston, Don Sweeney, had a busy day at the draft. He moved on fan favourite Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for Kings goalie Martin Jones, defensive prospect Colin Miller and a third round pick.

Lucic, a hard-nosed power forward, was definitely a fan favourite in Boston, and helped deliver the Bruins their Stanley Cup championship in 2011. He only scored 18 goals and 26 assists last season, despite playing the entire 82-game slate, and that may have been part of the reason Sweeney moved Lucic on.

The Bruins will look a lot different without Lucic, a key part of the Boston squad for eight largely-successful years, but Los Angeles will benefit greatly from his presence.

Boston trades Dougie Hamilton

It was a busy day for the Bruins down in Florida, and if Lucic’s trade wasn’t entirely unexpected, this one was. Most thought that Hamilton, a former ninth overall draft pick, would be the young defenceman around whom the Bruins would build their team after Zdeno Chara retires. Instead, Hamilton is out the door, headed to Calgary for a trio of draft picks, including a first rounder: the fifteenth.

Reviews were mixed on this from the hockey world, but as one observer pointed out the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto for Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton is now a nothing trade. Seguin plays in Dallas now, and Hamilton is on his way to Canada as well. The Bruins seem to love developing young players to move them on.

Ryan O’Reilly traded from Colorado to Buffalo

The long-time Avalanche centre is heading north-east to Buffalo alongside winger Jamie McGinn, in exchange for a second-round pick and three current players, all young up-and-comers. So much for Colorado GM Joe Sakic saying that re-signing O’Reilly was his “first priority”. Apparently, the Avs priorities have since changed, and now O'Reilly heads to Buffalo, where he will be a big part of their offensive puzzle, probably showing Jack Eichel what the NHL is all about.

Mike Fisher re-signs in Nashville

Carrie Underwood will be happy that her husband is remaining in the Music City for a further two years and $8.8 million. Fisher bounced back from a ruptured Achilles injury that saw him miss the first twenty-one games of the season, and finished with 19 goals and 20 assists in 59 games. He’s a great physical presence in the hockey town they like to call Smashville.

Senators trade goalie Robin Lehner to Buffalo

Pretty solid outcome for both teams here. The Sens obtained another first round pick and Buffalo may very well have picked up their starting goalie for the 2015-16 season. David Legwand was a part of the deal, and it was a successful mission for Buffalo, prior to selecting Jack Eichel with their second overall draft pick, with general manager Tim Murray declaring that Lehner was their “number-one target.”

Opinion: Four Tracks the 2016 Tudor United Sports Car Championship Needs To Visit

As we look towards the 2016 racing season and the release of schedules, I've put together a list of four race tracks where the Tudor United Sports Car Championship should be racing: 

Mid-Ohio

The fast and undulating circuit in Lexington has been a bastion of sports car racing for a long, long time – the track’s full name is the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, after all – and it was a glaring omission from the 2015 schedule. The amalgamation of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series has obviously put the squeeze on a few venues, but Mid-Ohio deserves a date.

Certainly, the near-constant elevation change makes passing a little difficult under green flag conditions, but the IndyCar Series has hit on the right package to make racing exciting there. In 2014, New Zealander Scott Dixon spun out in qualifying, started dead last and ended up winning the race. So, it can be done.

Besides, it’s easier to pass in sports cars, where a bit of car-on-car contact isn’t going to wreck your day. Who can forget the two Corvette machines bumping on pit road and into turn one a few years ago? It’s a great action track, Mid-Ohio, and it’s a shame that one of the longest-standing circuits in America, one with ‘sports car course’ in it’s name, doesn’t have a scheduled slot on the premiere sports car series in North America.

Road America

Yes, I know the series already visits the best road course in North America, but the current 2hr 40min sprint race doesn’t do the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin circuit justice. Back in the halcyon American Le Mans Series days – 2007, 2008 and 2009 with Porsche, Audi and Acura/Honda in the prototype ranks showcased racing as good as anywhere else in the world – there used to be a 500-mile event around the circuit, allowing the exotic sports cars to really put on a show. I’d even go one step further and make the Road America event into a 6-hour race, one that starts in the afternoon and ends at night.

The Tudor series has a North American Endurance Cup package, an endurance event that runs inside the main championship, and currently featured the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the season-ending Petit Le Mans race in Georgia. Adding a 6-hour event at Road America further legitimises the endurance component of the season. Fans will love it!

St Petersburg, Florida

As far as I’m concerned, the more IndyCar/sports car double headers that can be arranged the better, as the fan bases are very similar, and there’s a heap of crossover appeal. The street/airport circuit where the IndyCar Series traditionally begins it’s season is a better-than-average temporary racetrack, and was a staple of the ALMS when Honda, under the guise of Acura, ran in LMP2.

The St Pete circuit has some really good passing opportunities, and is always popular with fans. Plus, the weather is nearly always perfect down in Florida in late March. Considering that Honda sponsor the weekend, and that the Extreme Speed Motorsports squad run HPD engines in their LMP2 prototype, it makes sense. The more top-level series running at any given race track is only ever a good thing!

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Sports cars raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the ‘Super Weekend’ concept with NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series for a few years, but stopped that practice in recent times. Since then, an IndyCar Series race has become a reality, which led to drastic improvement of a circuit often ridiculed for being boring. That’s not the case now. There’s been plenty of action – and controversy! – in both this year and last year’s running of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Ideally, the Tudor Series could visit IMS on the first weekend in May, and assume the role of curtain raiser to the IndyCar Series event. The more track events that weekend, the better, if the track and the city of Indianapolis are hoping to grow the controversial road course event. The sports cars would definitely put on a good show.

More than anywhere else, including Daytona and Sebring, Indianapolis is the heart and soul of American racing. NASCAR admitted it by sending their top-level series to race at the speedway in the 1990s. All the big North American series race at Indy, and this list should grow to include the Tudor Series. Sports car drivers want to be able to list ‘Indianapolis Motor Speedway race winner’ on their resumes, too!

Book Review: National Security by Marc Cameron

Published: January 2011

Chronology: Jericho Quinn #01

Genre(s): Military, Espionage, Thriller

Kitch’s Rating: 8/10

As I’ve alluded to in previous reviews, I love the fast-paced military/espionage thriller that pits a usually indestructible – or mostly indestructible  – American hero, either a current or former member of the military, against a heinous plot engineered, usually, by a Middle Eastern terrorist, and often with slimy American politicians undermining everything to engineer their own advancement.

Marc Cameron’s debut is a great example of what I love, though without the corrupt American politician, and I enjoyed it so much I finished it inside of a few days, basically reading large chunks whenever I could. The basic plot is predictable, and you know what’s likely to happen, but that doesn’t make it any less gripping.

Cameron writes like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Brad Taylor and others: at breakneck speed, and his hero, Jericho Quinn – codename: the Hammer – a member of the USAF’s Office of Special Investigations, is a Jack Bauer-type hero, who’ll do anything to get a result, including torturing the bad guys.

The beginning of the book details the early stages of a plot masterminded by some religious zealots: they’ve developed a virus that can be given to one of their martyrs, who then is to roam around America, infecting millions of people before dying in the most gruesome of manners. The bad guys staged a bombing in a Denver shopping centre to keep the Americans looking in the other direction, and when a man is infected on a flight heading to the US – ostensibly a test – the USAF are forced to shoot the plane from the sky, after all it’s passengers show signs of developing symptoms.

It’s a pretty serious and jaw-dropping start to the book, and, the gateway to a scheme that is relevant and scary. Imagine a real-life scenario and how many millions could die horribly after being infected with a virus engineered to be easily passed around. Cameron’s descriptions of the final death throes of victims is horrible, but well put. The seriousness of the threat can never be forgotten.

At the same time as Washington is dealing with the burgeoning threat, Quinn is working in the Middle East, and rescues a Marine by going against orders from his commanding officer. A court martial ensues, but it turns out the man he saved, with assistance from a burly Marine, Cajun Jacques Thibodeaux, is the grandson of the president’s head of national intelligence, and it’s Palmer who rescues Quinn from a seemingly-certain dismissal and Quinn, along with Thibodeaux, is sent on a desperate hunt for the three terrorists who are transporting the virus into America.

Sure, National Security doesn’t have the same nuance as a Tom Clancy novel, but it also doesn’t get insanely bogged down on the technology front. Cameron’s pace is flat-out fast all the way, making it hard to stop reading. There’s always something happening, and some great secondary characters – CDC doctor Megan Mahoney and Quinn’s outlaw bikie brother, Bo – pop up every now and again as Quinn and Thibodeaux, whose chemistry is one of the strengths of this story, chase down and kill the terrorists, who centre the climax of the scheme on Fort Worth in Texas.

Or is it the climax? The epilogue sets up future events nicely, and I can’t wait to read more of Jericho Quinn.

Opinion: 2016 IndyCar Series Schedule Possibilities

It’s the back end of the IndyCar Series season, which means we turn our attention to what venues will host a race in 2016.

Cornerstone events like Indianapolis, Toronto, Detroit and Long Beach are set in stone, but there are a few question marks about some other venues that’ve been talked about recently. Here’s my synopsis:

Auto Club Speedway Fontana

This year’s race on a Saturday afternoon in late June in the furnace of Southern California is really make-or-break for IndyCar fortunes on the big 2.0-mile oval, and given the allotment it has on the schedule, I’m not expecting a big crowd. No matter that track management have bent over backwards to provide great value-for-money tickets, the simple fact is that you’ll only get a smattering of diehards on such a hot day.

A night time race at Auto Club is the best alternative as far as the weather godxs but being a west coast venue, a night race there (or even one that starts a little before sunset) is a nine o’clock green flag on the east coast, you’re at risk of the already-small IndyCar fan base falling asleep before the race reaches halfway.
I doubt we’ll see Auto Club Speedway return, but IndyCar management does crazy things, so nothing’s off the table.

Boston

The IndyCar Series announced a new street race through the historic Seaport District, on an 11-turn, 2.25-mile course that will pass by the Convention and Exhibition Centre. It’s scheduled for September 2-4 2016, the Labour Day weekend, and will serve as the IndyCar Series finale.

Back in the heady days of American open wheel racing, before the CART/Indy Racing League split, the New England region was a big part of the schedule, with the New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosting races on it’s 1.0-mile oval for many years, and always to good crowds.

The same cannot be said of the one-off return to New Hampshire. The initial contract was a multi-year affair, but the promoters lost somewhere around one million dollars and opted not to continue. A street race, in the middle of one of America’s biggest cities, has a better chance at success, and I’m excited to see what the city puts on next year.

Pocono

The third leg of the reinstated Triple Crown of 500-mile races is scheduled for Independence Day weekend, and track owners will be watching what sort of crowd comes through the gates.

Whilst racing at the front of the pack has been pretty good on the triangular track in the Pennsylvania mountains, the rest of the field tends to get too strung out. Twenty-odd IndyCars on a 2.5-mile oval isn’t nearly enough. You just don’t have the same battle through traffic at Pocono (nor Auto Club Speedway) that you get at Indianapolis when there are thirty-three cars racing. Surviving back markers is half the thrill of racing at Indy.

Without a big crowd next weekend, I don’t see Pocono back next year.

The Milwaukee Mile

Press in the last few weeks has indicated that Michael Andretti’s promotional arm, who run the race on Milwaukee’s famous 1.0-mile bullring oval, is looking at stepping away if this year’s race isn’t a success. That would be a shame, as it has long remained one of the bastions of American open wheel racing.

Sadly, the traditional date that Milwaukee had for such a long time – the weekend after the Indianapolis 500 – has been snatched up by a race on the other side of Lake Michigan, in Detroit, and it seems to have driven most of the crowd away. There’ve been complaints about long gaps with no on-track action, even when the entire event is run over just one day, practice and qualifying in the morning, the race in the afternoon, on a Saturday recently.

Whether or not Milwaukee remains on the schedule depends largely on this year’s attendance. Tradition dictates that the IndyCar Series needs to be there. Will it be, though? I’m not so sure.

NOLA Motorsports Park

There’s been some talk recently of a lawsuit surrounding NOLA and the water-logged inaugural IndyCar Series race there earlier in the year. Promoters, Andretti Autosport, filed a lawsuit against the owner of the venue after getting ‘assurances from NOLA Motorsports that there would be enough state grant money to help compensate the company for its services.”

New Orleans-area media reports that the entity set up to collect the government money is now in financial dire straits, and Andretti hasn’t been paid. Race reviews were mixed, and the torrential weekend-long downpour didn’t help matters much, but if the promoters aren’t getting paid, there’s every chance that the Grand Prix of New Orleans might be one of too many recent one-and-done IndyCar events.

Road America

The one that every IndyCar fan wants! The purest road course in North America – and, easily amongst the top five best, worldwide – is home to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Tudor United Sports Car Series, but not the IndyCar Series, which is damn near criminal.

There is a ray of hope, given that track officials have been vocal about working towards a 2016 date that, instead of being a double-header with the Tudor Series, would feature the IndyCar Series, plus Indy Lights and the rest of the Road to Indy ladder system that features a variety of junior open wheel categories.

In recent years, IndyCar has shied away from a race at Road America as they try to embed the race at the Milwaukee Mile. The two tracks aren’t far away from one another, and although in theory it was a good idea, the crowds just haven’t been flocking to Milwaukee, so now might be the time to test whether people’s antipathy towards the Mile has to do with the race not being on it’s traditional date, or IndyCar racing in Wisconsin, full stop.

It’s a shame that the Tudor Series isn’t in the frame, as IndyCar/sports car double headers have worked well at places like Long Beach, beggars can’t be choosers, and if the IndyCar Series does return to Elkhart Lake, we shouldn’t complain about anything else.

Opinion: Salary Cap Issues Will Dampen Chicago’s Stanley Cup Celebrations

Shedding parts – large or small – of a roster after a successful Stanley Cup run is a fact of NHL life nw. You know it’s coming. I know it’s coming. The players know it’s coming. The front office definitely knows it’s coming. It’s a part of the game that’s understood if not exactly loved by fans who grow accustomed to various players skating in their jersey, only for them to be shown the door due to salary cap constraints.

One thing you need to know: sport, in North America as much as anywhere else in the world, is a business. Look at it from that perspective, and you begin to understand it a little more. At least, that’s how it worked for me. To the point that, these days, I watch the final handshake line after the Cup-clinching victory and try to guess which of the players celebrating a championship will be with the franchise when the puck drops for a new season in October.

It seems that players are hoisting Lord Stanley one day and calling in the removalists the next. It’s the ugly side of winning a championship, and it happens to pretty much every team who scales the mountain.

At least Chicago fans aren’t strangers to the concept. In 2010, after winning their first Stanley Cup in this dynastical run – there’s that word – that’s seen them net two more since, with basically the same core of players, they shed some pretty big names, including playoff heroes Dustin Byfuglien and Antti Niemi.

It was such a massive fire sale that coach Joel Quenneville, speaking earlier this week, admitted that he would lose so many, and gave Blackhawks fans reason to not dread the process so much this year, predicting that there wouldn’t be the same volume of forced departures.

So, who goes?

We’ll start at the top with Patrick Sharp. He’s a ten year veteran in Chicago, an associate captain, and a fan favourite who’s been present for all three Cup runs. Earlier in the season, there were rumours about a trade for Sharp, who was fingered in some circles as being a guy bringing a level of discontent to the locker room.

Sharp is a great player, and he’s going to be pretty popular in the market. I mean, what team wouldn’t want a three-time Stanley Cup winner with a bunch of good years left in his career? Moving Sharp on means the Blackhawks don’t have to deal with his $5.9 million cap allowance. That’s going to ease things up a lot, and probably help pay some of the surely-large salary that’ll be given to promising young forward Brandon Saad.

Letting go of Sharp won’t go down real well amongst the Chicago fan base, but if it helps them fend off big-money offers for Saad, then it’s the right move to make. Sharp is towards the back end of his career, but Saad is very much just beginning, and will be a long-term servant for the team. It’s a good move for the future, and I’m sure most Blackhawks fans will admit that, however quietly.

It’s likely that two more favourites in Chicago – Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell – will be let go. The team simply doesn’t have the money inside the cap limit to pay these guys what they’re owed. It’ll be the second time Versteeg, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, has departed. He left for a few seasons, including the Blackhawks’ 2013 triumph, and returned to claim his second championship ring this. Like Bickell, he’s an honest, hard-working player: exactly the sort of guy fans love.

Chicago are likely to go in opposite directions to a crop of unrestricted free agents. Topping that list is Antione Vermette, a deadline acquisition this year from Phoenix, who scored two game-winners these playoffs. He was effectively a rental, brought in to bolster strength for a Cup run, and Vermette did his part. It was a shrewd move by General Manager Stan Bowman and the ‘Hawks front office, and it paid rich dividends.

It’s unlikely that defenceman Johnny Odouya, who skated alongside Nicklas Hjalamrsson as the Blackhawks’ second-string defensive pair (behind only the Duncan Keith/Brent Seabrook combination) will be gone, along with injured defenceman Michael Rozsival, who missed the Western Conference decider and Stanley Cup Final.

Also probably jetting out of the Windy City is veteran forward Brad Richards, who did played his role inm Chicago on a one-year deal worth peanuts – he’s now a two-time Stanley Cup champion, eleven years apart – and enforcer Daniel Carcillo. On that: enforcers are featuring less and less in the NHL as the year’s progress. A lot of the afore mentioned players are favourites inside the United Centre, and their loss will definitely be felt.

Yet, all is not lost in Chicago. The offensive core of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa is still there. As is two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Corey Crawford. And star minute-eating defencemen Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson. All those guys, aside from Crawford, have been present for all three Cups, and with such a roster, number four might be coming along pretty soon, which will really support the argument that the 'Hawks are a dynasty.

Then, there’s fresh talent coming through, guys who’re set to really blossom in the next few years. The likes of Saad, gritty pest Andrew Shaw and young Fin Teuvo Teravainen are already making waves – and big plays – on the ice. The future is bright, especially with a crop of highly-touted prospects playing in the AHL, junior hockey in Canada or NCAA hockey in America.

A little short-term pain will result in long-term game, and, even with the players Chicago will likely be losing this summer, they’re probably going to be serious contenders again next year.

Opinion: 2015 V8 Supercar Darwin Triple Crown Talking Points

Wow! What a weekend of racing in Darwin. Plenty to digest as the V8SC circus roars back to life after a long absence. Here are my talking points from the weekend:

David Reynolds: Fifty-seven races since his last victory, way back in 2013, and the drought is over. This was the victory Reynolds needed, especially given that his stablemates at Prodrive Racing Australia, Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom, have been winning regularly with the new Falcon FG, and Reynolds, in a contract year, had yet to show similar pace in a car that’s obviously fast.

Finally, Reynolds has shown he can be fast in both qualifying and race trim, and it might be the opening of the floodgates for a driver in a contract year who probably needs to visit the top step of the podium a few more times if he’s to keep his current ride, which will be a very much sought-after gig this silly season.

It was a wonderful weekend for the Prodrive squad, who’ve combined with Triple Eight to win the last eleven Hidden Valley races.

Craig Lowndes: There’s little I can say that hasn’t already been said about the man once known as The Kid, and now is the people’s champion, having taken over that mantle from his mentor and close friend, Peter Brock. One hundred race wins seventy-five in a Holden Commodore, including his first Australian Touring Car Championship way back at Eastern Creek in 1996, and twenty-five in a Ford Falcon.

I’m a Ford fan, and although Lowndes is driving a Holden now, it’s hard not to like the guy, and admire his achievement. He appears to be as good a person as he is a race car driver, which is really saying something. Evidence of that was the giant crowd at Hidden Valley, particularly across the back side of the circuit, where everyone, whether they were wearing blue or red clothes, stood and applauded. Lowndes’ longevity is something to be celebrated, having been through the old ATCC days, through the early V8 Supercar days, across two manufacturers, and now into this ultra-competitive era, where race wins are becoming harder and harder to notch up. Hasn’t stopped Lowndes, though!

Although Lowndes is something an elder statesman in the V8 paddock these days – he turned forty-one on Sunday – there’s no evidence that he’s slowing down, so we’re likely to see him stack up a few more wins, and as good as Whincup is, I doubt we’ll see anyone break the century mark again. That’s fitting, because Lowndes is a legend of the sport and deserves such an immortal mark.

Sprint race success: By far and away, the pair of sixty kilometre sprint races on Saturday were the best we’ve seen out of the front end of these much-maligned SuperSprint weekends, and it isn’t a stretch to say that the pair of Saturday races at Hidden Valley were amongst the best races we’ve seen all season.

There’s nothing like soft tyres and a resurfaced racetrack to bring out the best in all the drivers. When Russell Ingall said that the field should stop driving like gentleman – or words to that affect – on the FOX Sports pre-race show, did any of us have the faintest idea how crazy the two Saturday races were? We saw skirmishes throughout the pack, teammates getting into it with each other, Fabian Coulthard not surviving the first corner unscathed in either of the two races, and a whole lot of other excitement.

Normally the Saturday sprint races are sleep-inducing, but not this time around. If I’m V8SC management, I’m mandating that soft-tyre package as the norm for as long as these short races exist.

Nick Percat: He called Jamie Whincup a “tool” after having his car opened up like a can of tomatoes during one of the early incidents in race one, and although Nick would probably like to have his time again, at least in terms of identifying who was actually at fault for the incident with Heimgartner and others, but Percat’s refusal to tow the line and be polite despite obvious frustration on his face – we’ve seen it before, too many times – and instead actually say what he’s thinking was incredibly refreshing. We don’t see it enough in this era of image-conscious drivers. So much of Saturday reminded me of the best parts of NASCAR racing.

On Sunday, the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport squad enjoyed it’s best day of the season, with Percat driving to an impressive sixth place. He kept his nose clean, showed good speed, and was rewarded. Great to see the little teams punching above their weight.

Scott Pye: it was a red-letter day for the new DJR-Team Penske squad on Saturday with the highly-touted Pye surviving plenty of carnage around him for a pair of top ten finishes. It’s the best we’ve seen the #17 Ford look all season, and as much conjecture as there is regarding Marcos Ambrose and his full-time driving future with the team, Roger, Dick and Tim Cindric should sign Pye up long-term, and quickly.

Jamie Whincup: Not one podium for the six-time series championship, and short of a miracle, it’s going to be tough for JW to make it seven this year. He just hasn’t showed the same consistent speed as we’ve become accustomed to. I guess a new championship winner is good for the series, but that won’t make Whincup too happy.

Darwin: It’s great going to a race track and a state where there’s nothing but positive vibes for an event. It’s unfortunate that the Top End doesn’t get many big-time sporting circuses visit, but when the V8’s come to town, it’s always a packed crowd, matched with wonderful weather that makes a mockery of winter, and a great all-around atmosphere.

Those who turned out – a healthy number – were rewarded for their effort with as good a weekend of racing as we’ve seen in 2015. No wonder the Northern Territory government are pouring more money into the track and the event: it’s a winner for everyone concerned.

Book Review: The Fateful Lightning by Jeff Shaara

The fourth and final instalment (after A Blaze of Glory, A Chain of Thunder, and The Smoke at Dawn) in Jeff Shaara’s epic tale of the ‘western’ theatre of the American Civil War, the campaigns fought in Tennessee, Georgia, South and North Carolina, is perhaps his best.

Picking up in Georgia following one of the most controversial events of the entire Civil War, controversial Union General William T. Sherman’s torching of Atlanta, Shaara’s narrative focuses largely on Sherman, as is to be expected, and the incredible March to the Sea, which involves the Yankee infantry storming through the middle of Georgia from Atlanta to the eastern coastline, and the seaside town of Savannah.

It was an infamous march, northern soldiers marauding through the middle of the Confederacy, because Sherman, wanting to strike as much a psychological blow as a physical one on the enemy forces ordered his armies to torch everything – well, anything that Sherman reasonably determines can be used to aid the listing Confederate armies prolong a war he’s ready to see over and done – in their path.

The total war concept was one that outraged most of the southern populace, and earned Sherman a level of enmity that exists even to this day. Tactically, it was a brilliant move, and is recognised as such now, albeit grudgingly in the southern states. The move to destroy so much infrastructure almost certainly played a part in bringing about a swifter end to the ‘western’ campaign than might otherwise have been the case.

As Sherman’s men liberated towns and cities along the way, a huge number of freed slaves chose to follow the Union soldiers, figuring that they were their safest with the men whose president, Lincoln, planned to abolish slavery. It was a remarkable thing, so many thousands of slaves following the surging Yankee army into an unknown world, far from the small pockets of Georgian land they have called home for, in most cases, their entire lives.

One of these men, simply named Franklin, has been chosen by Shaara, whose meticulous research gives voice and thoughts to men who are famous, like Sherman, and others less well-known in Civil War lore. Franklin is definitely from the latter category, freed from a property owned by the Georgian governor, Howell Cobb. The treatment that Cobb allowed of his slaves is nothing short of abominable.

It’s a fascinating tale, following Franklin as he discovers simple things like letters for the first time, and watches the army go through it’s paces, working as an unofficial aide de camp to an officer in a regiment from Ohio, and, later, for a time, forced to enter the fighting. Like his treatment of the Vicksburg civilian, Lucy Spence, Shaara shows a more human side to the war, away from command tents, regimental life and bloody battles, and The Fateful Lightning is enriched as a result.

As is his stock in trade, both the Union and Confederate sides are told, and men like James Seeley, Joseph Wheeler, William J. Hardee and, later, Joseph Johnston, the Confederate general sent south and east by President Jefferson Davis to somehow try and pull the rebel army out of the fire, occupy many chapters. The work is purely fiction, based on personal correspondence, but you can’t help but think that Shaara is pretty close to the mark, as far as things go. Hardee’s particular despair at what he knows is the end of the Confederacy is rather poignant.

The March to the Sea became – and is detailed in the second half of The Fateful Lightning – a chance for Sherman’s men to drive deep into South and North Carolina, and make an effort to link up with General Ulysses. S Grant’s army, who are trying to trap the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, though Robert E. Lee surrenders before the two Union armies can be joined together.

The important meeting in City Point, Virginia of Grant, Sherman and President Abraham Lincoln is one of the most fascinating parts of the book. We know that Lincoln had just days left to live, and feeling Sherman’s despair upon learning of the president’s assassination in what was then known as Washington City – and Joseph Johnston’s, the Confederate general lamenting the loss, and what it meant for bridging the large chasm between north and south – is another strong section in a book full of them. Sherman’s chapters, which are the majority, get better as they go by.

Fifty chapters in all (and a little over 600 ebook pages), this book flew by. It’s a real shame that this series, timed around the 150th anniversary of the war between the Union and Confederacy, has come to an end, especially considering it’s more than likely that Shaara won’t write another Civil War story – he’s pretty much told all the tales from that destructive conflict.

For the last four years, around May or June, reading of the ‘western’ campaign, which I knew little about, has become a part of my life. Sad that there won’t be any further instalments, but at least The Fateful Lightning goes out on a high. It was brilliant!