"The last time I saw Elvis"

Dan Wheldon waits out the afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 15, 2005, during pole day for the 89th "Indianapolis 500."

"The last time I saw Elvis. He was fronting a three-piece band. Rocking on the back of a flatbed truck. With an old guitar in his hand. He was the King."

At night, when I stand in my backyard, while Bitsy sniffs the ground, as she looks for a spot to pee, I can see my breath in the reflection of a bare 200 watt light bulb turned on at the back of the house. It's fall. The demon summer we suffered through is gone now.

Damn it was hot. How many steamy Saturday afternoons did I walk from Jimmy B's, to carry out pizza from Papa Johns, only to eat most of it, and it was always a large size, and then I collapsed on the couch until 6 PM, after which I would wake up with a sour taste in my mouth and a puppy waiting to go for an earlier promised walk around the neighborhood.

How many Sundays did I do essentially the same thing. Of course, if there was an IRL race on TV, I wouldn't drink and stuff myself until the race was over. Then I would booze, gorge myself and finally surrender to my weekend afternoon ritual siesta on the tiny, old blue couch left over from my sad marriage, which sits in the middle of my almost bare living room.

I couldn't be happier summer is done. To hell with that! How many ninety degree days did we have this year - forty? Whatever it was, it was a new record.

Yeah it was wonderful to have sun for most of the races I attended in person this year. But generally, it was too hot. I ran my air conditioner solid throughout July, August and September and I don't like $100 electric bills. I was ready for a change of season and it's here now. Is it ever?

Now we are moving into that Christmas time of year and another Thanksgiving has passed.

You know what really pisses me off? It's all those self proclaimed keepers of our culture who keep trying to tell us Christmas no longer exists. Instead, it's the winter holiday or if you have a kid in school, it's winter recess. What the hell is going on with this world? Sometimes I am glad I am older because when I see what is happening to our society, I want to run away and hide until sanity returns, which I don't feel too confident about.

Then on the other hand we have a handful of oil companies who exploit anything they can to gouge consumers with their daily up and down gas prices. Those lousy son of a bitches make it so the average guy can hardly afford to drive to work every day, or if he does, he has to eat a peanut butter sandwich for dinner. I watched the "big oil" guys sit before Congress a few weeks ago, giving their excuses about why they screw the rest of us so bad.

You know what should have happened. Each of those oil company big shots should have been ordered to the front of the room and had their trousers pulled down to their knees. Then they should have brought in some shaved head bruiser, with one of those old college fraternity paddles, like the public school principals used on me when I was kid. Then that brute should have whacked those old pimply butts until they were cherry red, right there on Fox News, MSNBC or CNN.

What do you think? It sounds good to me. That will remind them that while their companies are entitled to making reasonable profits, they also have a responsibility to the rest of the country to not ruin our lives for the privilege of purchasing their products, which are indispensable to modern human existence. Come on big oil. Give every one else a break!

Where can the little man go? On one side, we have a bunch of secular, "humanoid" robots who refuse to let most of us worship God. On the other side, we have a group of selfish, ego-maniacs who care about nothing but how much cash they can stuff in their pockets.

For a time, it appeared the autumn colors would persist through "turkey day," here in Home Place. But as Mom Nature would have it, not only are the trees bare now, but on Thanksgiving Day, it was cold - like January cold.

Last year, I played hermit on Thanksgiving Day. For that matter, for the past two years I stayed in seclusion on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. My excuse was, I preferred to work on a composition (if you want to call them that) for Bob Jennings' World O' Racing, more than I wanted to celebrate two days that used to mean so much to me and were always among my highlights of each year.

As regular readers know, I haven't exactly been living life at the top of my game in recent years. Hiding out from the world, whenever possible, always seems like the best option. I go to work and take my Wild Turkey 101 at Jimmy B's, but that's about it for me these days.

I am trying to make the transition from COBOL mainframe computer programmer to web developer at work. It's not easy to do. Although I had four reasonably intensive undergraduate classes, the past 2 1/2 years, at Indiana - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), and learned a little Visual Basic .Net and ASP.Net, the website software I am trying to understand now was written mostly in ASP, Visual Basic 6.0 and VBScript and until last month, I knew nothing about what I was doing, with the exception that among the classes I took, at IUPUI, was JavaScript, which is also used in the software I am trying to learn.

I love my employer for giving me this opportunity. I just hope I can do the things I need to do, so I can repay their investment in me. Despite the rest of my basically shit life, I am very fortunate to work for a good company - and I am thankful for that - believe me.

My Mom became ill a couple weeks ago and she was admitted to a local hospital on November 17. Thankfully, Mom seems to be getting stronger and appears to be on the mend. But she is 83 - almost 84 - and it concerns me that she is in the hospital.

By the time I came home Wednesday November 23, after a stressful frustrating three days at work, the worry over Mom, and a couple straight up doubles of Turkey, at Jimmy B's, all I wanted to do was collapse on my couch, in front of the TV.

But it was freezing here. I think the thermostat is the problem. Once in awhile the furnace came on, but not for more than a couple minutes, and I don't think it passed sixty degrees the entire night.

The only sensible thing to do, it seemed to me, was to wrap myself in blankets, while I lay on the couch watching movies until I fell asleep Wednesday and then again after I woke up Thanksgiving morning. The wife took Bitsy home on Tuesday November 22, and I was happy for that because it was too cold for my little furry darling to be here, although I missed her terribly.

I watched the old Tom Cruise film "All The Right Moves." Although they didn't show it on the version telecast on TNT, I remember when I saw the movie the first time and got to see Lea Thompson naked. Yum. Yum. Then I watched "When Harry Met Sally" for the umpteenth time and still enjoyed the film.

Gary, the bartender and manager at Jimmy B's, called and he and I actually did Thanksgiving dinner at a Cracker Barrel, along side I465, on west 38th Street. The meal only cost $8.99 and it wasn't too bad, certainly better than the chips and dip I had for Thanksgiving dinner 2004. So I sort of celebrated - a little.

What surprised me was how many folks came into that Cracker Barrel. You would have thought most of those people would have been seated at a large family table, piled high with platters of roast turkey and bowls filled with all the trimmings. If their holiday table was served by prosperous people, they probably would have had white tablecloths, candles, crystal wine glasses and bottles of white wine or champagne. Anyway, there were a lot of travelers coming and going while we were there, more than I anticipated. I hope there weren't too many people in the same situation as me, with the Cracker Barrel being the best they could hope for.

But I could accept Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel and Gary was good company. What ruined my holiday occurred the night after Thanksgiving.

After coming home from visiting my Mom at the hospital, on Friday November 25, I walked into the kitchen here at the world headquarters of Bob Jennings' World O' Racing. I saw this brown thing run across the top of the stove. At first, I thought I was just seeing illusions. But a few moments later, I walked back into the kitchen, and saw a mouse run across the range top and into a burner.

Then the brazen little bastard began running around the top of the kitchen counter top. I know it sounds funny, but the mouse scared the shit out of me. I didn't want to see it again. I went to the store, bought some of those glue mouse traps, and lit a candle, sitting in a dish, and placed it on the stove, hoping to keep that damn rodent away.

There's an old story that goes like this. When Walt Disney was a struggling, young artist, he was sitting somewhere, hungry and trying to come up with an idea that would bring in some cash. A tiny mouse appeared in Disney's line of vision. The rest of the story is history.

I try to respect all living things and want to subscribe to the theory that we have to share this planet with all God's creatures. But mouse, you ruined my Thanksgiving weekend.

The next morning I cleaned up the turds on the stove and kitchen counter. God it makes me sick thinking about it. I feel like I have been invaded. I threw away my food, utensils and coffee pot. I refuse to ever eat anything in this place again. For the next few days, I constantly looked to see if the mouse was caught in one of the traps and each time I hoped it didn't happen.

The mouse came back though, and I woke up about 4:30 AM, a few mornings later, to the sound of the damn thing trying to get free of the glue on the trap. I will give him credit. He (or she) was fighting for his life and wrestled the trap into my kitchen sink. Yuck! When I finally got up the nerve to put the trap in a trash bag and throw it in a trash bin outside, the mouse was still trying to get loose.

Again, I hate to kill an innocent animal and the mouse was just trying to survive in this world, like me. But the creature insisted on invading my refuge, he scared the hell out of me, repulsed me and drove me crazy in the process. Sorry PETA, but it was the mouse or me, and for once in my life, I won.

With the exception that I wish I could afford a cleaning lady once a month and the fact I worry about walking Bitsy around this neighborhood after dark, I have been cautiously comfortable living in this place. But no more. Since the mouse came to visit, I want to get out of here, even though I only moved in at the end of March and I hate the hassle of packing.

Holiday weekend or not, the worries, regarding the 2006 Indy Racing League season and even the 90th "Indianapolis 500," continue to come on a regular basis every few days. Read em' and weep.

Toyota to Pull Out of the IRL One Year Earlier

Written by: Robin Miller

The Indy Racing League will become a one-engine series one year earlier than it anticipated because Toyota is not going to answer the bell in 2006.

As predicted on SPEED NEWS three months ago, SpeedTV.com has learned that Toyota will officially announce its withdrawal from Indy cars in the next few days and Honda will power the entire IRL field in '06.

"I don't have anything I can confirm for you, that's pretty much where it's at," said Jim Aust, president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development, late Saturday afternoon. "I guess you should probably keep in touch with Brian Barnhart."

According to a source inside the IRL, TRD informed Barnhart, the IRL's chief operating officer, that it did not intend to do any more engine development next year, in what was supposed to be its last season of IRL competition.

Barnhart then went to Honda Performance Development president Robert Clarke to inquire about the realities of Honda being able to service every team in '06. Clarke, who was unavailable for comment Friday and Saturday, reportedly confirmed to Barnhart last week that it was going to be a challenge, but possible.

The 2006 IRL season doesn't open until March 26 so Honda does have more than three months to ramp up its production and it's also got Ilmor Engineering as its partner for one more year.

Honda had already agreed to extend its contract with the IRL through 2009 and last month Clarke admitted his company would likely have no competition in 2007 with General Motors already gone and Toyota pulling out after '06.

Yet the news that Toyota is bailing early is hardly a surprise.

After winning the Indy 500 and IRL championship in 2003, Toyota has been thumped by Honda the past two years. Honda drivers have won 26 of 33 races, back-to-back IRL titles and two straight Indianapolis 500s.

Roger Penske, whose team gave Toyota five of its six victories in 2004 and 2005, recently jumped to Honda for 2006 and Ganassi had been negotiating with them. Without Penske and Ganassi, Toyota would only have Cheever Racing, Hemelgarn and Vision Racing left on its roster for '06.

Reached Saturday afternoon at Homestead, Fla., Ganassi was asked about Toyota's early withdrawal. "We'll see what happens. Call me Monday," replied Ganassi, thought to be the only IRL owner receiving money from Toyota. "All I will say is that we had some good years with Toyota."

TRD captured the CART championship in 2002 before moving to the IRL and its priorities clearly are not on open wheel racing. TRD has moved some of its key people to Charlotte, N.C. to prepare for its NASCAR Nextel Cup assault in 2007.

presented on the Speed TV website on November 19, 2005

I am so pissed off at Toyota for the truly piece of shit effort they put in during the two most recent Indy car seasons. I think they stink.

As I have written previously, I have driven Toyota automobiles since December 1978. That includes four Celicas and three Camrys. I love the cars and I figured I would drive Toyotas for the rest of my life. Ain't gonna happen now though. My next car is going to be a Honda.

Why is it that the most prosperous auto manufacturer in the entire world does racing so piss poor? How can that be? Once Honda got the hang of IRL racing, Toyota was done. I read or heard somewhere that Toyota spends more money in Formula One than every other team. They still haven't won an F1 race though.

I hope when Toyota gets to Nextel Cup, they fall all over themselves. I can understand why General Motors is pulling out of the Indy Racing League. GM looks like it's going broke. Did they ever put the money back into the employee pension fund? I feel badly for the 30,000 General Motors people who are scheduled to lose their jobs. This world is one mean old bastard.

However Toyota has no excuse for their failure in the IRL, except ineptitude. Just admit it Toyota. You got your ass kicked by a guy less than half your size.

Panther Racing Forced to Downsize

Written by: Robin Miller

Panther Racing claims its doors aren't closed for good but more than half of its crew has now been laid off as one of the Indy Racing League's most successful stories struggles to keep the lights on.

Winners of two championships and 15 races during the past eight years, Panther had to lay off 14 more employees earlier this week due to financial reality of open wheel racing.

"We've never, ever laid anyone off before but when you don't have any income what else can you do?," said Mike Griffin, one of the five co-owners of the Indianapolis-based team. "We wanted to be up front and honest about our situation. It's not like we shut things down, it's just that we don't have an operating budget at the moment.

"With our situation with Pennzoil, there's simply not enough cash to sustain 50 people and right now there's nothing for them to do anyway. We understand the consequences of letting guys go because they've got to look out for their families so we know they're out looking for jobs.

"We've still got 23 people on the payroll and, hopefully, we'll be calling people up to come back in a few weeks if one of our sponsorship deals comes through."

Panther Racing has been sponsored by Pennzoil since 1998 but that contract, estimated to be worth $4 million, expired two months ago so the principals of Panther have been scrambling to find money.

"We're looking at several options," said Griffin, whose group is thought to be talking with Pat Patrick and the sons of Jonathan Byrd about keeping Panther alive. "We've got five sponsorship deals in the hopper and several people have inquired about buying the place. The people we're talking to want us to stay in the IRL and, obviously, our druthers would be to keep going in the series we love.

"This has always been a family deal and we want to keep it going. But you can't do anything without money."

Keeping driver Tomas Scheckter and his reported $1.5 million salary would appear to be out of question since the Honda engine lease is likely to cost $1.8 million and it takes another $4 million to run one car competitively.

"We told Tomas if he finds something to go for it because we don't know what's going to happen," said Griffin. "We just need one of these sponsor deals to come through and we could have a positive answer for everybody by December 5."

Panther's plight is the latest to hit IRL mechanics. Eddie Cheever had a massive layoff at the end of this season and Ganassi Racing let nine mechanics go when it decided to cut back from three to two cars.

presented on the Speed TV website on November 23, 2005

If Panther goes away and Team Cheever moves to Grand Am racing, that will leave only A.J. Foyt and Ron Hemelgarn from the old, original group of Indy Racing League team owners. Most of them are gone now; Fred Treadway, Tom Kelley, John Menard, Greg Ray and now maybe Panther Racing and Team Cheever. There's no other way to put things. They aren't good.

What about Tomas Scheckter? What is he going to do? Is he even going to be in the Indy Racing League next season? Talk about things looking gloomy, this is it.

It seems impossible that Tomas Scheckter might not have a ride in the IRL in 2006, but that looms as a potential I guess.

Ever since it became apparent that Dan Wheldon and Andretti Green Racing were going to part company for 2006, I have been hoping that Scheckter could get the ride in car 26. But I haven't heard anything to indicate Tomas has talked to AGR. Most of the speculation I have read concerning Wheldon's replacement focuses on Vitor Meira.

I don't understand that either. Meira is a good driver, but I honestly believe Scheckter is better.

Scheckter had his best season ever, highlighted by the Texas win, in June. Tomas came within two laps of victory at Twin Ring Motegi, in April. Scheckter led eight of seventeen IRL races this season, for a total of 365 laps. Only Dan Wheldon (752), Dario Franchitti (448), Tony Kanaan (375) and Sam Hornish (367) led more laps during the 2005 season. If the Panther team had performed better during pit stops, Scheckter easily could have been in a position to win at Kansas, Michigan, Chicagoland and California. Tomas also had third place finishes at Milwaukee and Michigan, in two stirring drives, and the South African had a total of six top five finishes throughout last season.

Sure, I may be prejudiced about Tomas Scheckter. Yes, I did pull for Jody Scheckter to win Formula One races and the World Championship, after Jackie Stewart's retirement at the end of the 1973 season, through the 1980 season, when the elder Scheckter retired at the ago of 30. What really hooked me on Tomas Scheckter however was his near win in the 86th "Indianapolis 500," at the wheel of the metallic blue Red Bull Team Cheever Dallara - Infiniti number 52. From then on, he was one of my two Indy car guys, along with Al Unser Jr.

When Little Al retired after the Indy Racing League race at Richmond International Raceway, in June 2004, Tomas Scheckter had my undivided attention.

I am still waiting for Scheckter to hit the big time and make that transition from fast racer to race winner to consistent race winner to series champion to "Indy 500" winner to all time great. I think Tomas is absolutely good enough to make the move up from a two time IRL winner, frequent race leader and pole winner to regular winner. I am ready for it.

Some might say that Sam Hornish won eleven Indy car races and two IRL titles when he drove for Panther. Yes, but the Indy Racing League of Hornish's time, in Pennzoil Panther cars, bears little relationship to the IRL of the past two years when Honda and Andretti Green Racing exploded on to the scene. That isn't to say Sam Hornish isn't a wonderful talent. On ovals, he is likely the very best driver in today's Indy car world, regardless of whether you're talking only about the IRL, or including Champ Car too. But the Pennzoil cars Sam drove and the Panther team, who put them on the track, were both significantly better than what Tomas Scheckter has had to work with during 2004 and 2005.

It's difficult to understand why Dan Wheldon is leaving Andretti Green Racing for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. That's one that doesn't quite add up for me. From what I can gather, Wheldon's intention was to make it to Formula One. But once again, as so often happens with Indy car drivers, they are not wanted in F1.

I wonder how much money Chip Ganassi and Target are paying Wheldon. Reportedly Wheldon earned $3.4 million from Andretti Green. That sounds good, but I read somewhere the decision to leave AGR occurred to Wheldon when he found out teammate Dario Franchitti was being paid more.

So, since Dan Wheldon is gone, why not give Tomas Scheckter the chance to make it big - finally? Why not? I don't think there's a better driver available and I think my guy would fit right in with Tony Kanaan, Franchitti and Bryan Herta and win his fair share of races right away.

Tomas Scheckter prepares to practice for the 88th "Indianapolis 500" on May 11, 2004.

If there are CART fans out there chuckling about my disappointment over recent developments for the Indy Racing League, you guys don't get off the hook either. Dig what one of you mouth pieces, David Phillips, recently wrote for the Speed TV website.

PHILLIPS: A Work In Progress

It seems like ages ago that Judge Frank J. Otte awarded the assets of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) to Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi and Kevin Kalkhoven (who have since morphed from Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC to Champ Car). In two racing seasons since, the Champ Car World Series that emerged from the carcass of CART has developed into a vital property that, if not exactly going from strength to strength, is clearly in the ascendancy.

In contrast to the aftermath of Judge Otte's decision, the questions now revolving around the Champ Car World Series involve what shape it will take in '06 rather than whether there will even be a shape . . .

The great "car count" debate has been, if not silenced, then quieted after at least 18 cars showed up for the start of every race weekend in '04 and '05. Is that enough? Of course not. Not until 22 or 24 cars and drivers show up with any regularity will the Champ Car World Series be able to make a defensible claim to having "full fields."

Still, the hemorrhaging of drivers and teams to other arenas has been staunched. And although Newman/Haas Racing has dominated the past two seasons (and will start '06 as a prohibitive favorite to stage a three-peat), one old rival (Forsythe) continues to provide formidable opposition and two relative newcomers (RuSPORT and PKV) have shown they can win on any given weekend. Other teams -- including Team Australia, MiJack/Conquest and Rocketsports -- have proven podium-worthy and may be ready to make the next step in '06, given the right combination of driver talent, resources and racing luck.

Together, Forsythe and Kalkhoven acquired key, no critical, assets for the series in the form of Cosworth, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Molson Indy Toronto. As well, Champ Car solidified its relationships with Bridgestone and Ford, breathed new life into the Formula Atlantic series, unveiled its new spec Champ Car chassis, regained its position on network television while retaining an attractive package on SPEED Channel and inaugurated two sensational events at Edmonton and San Jose with a new and improved Houston race on the '06 calendar. And it's fair to say the day-to-day functions of Champ Car have never been in better hands than they are today, thanks to president Steve Johnson and vice president of operations Tony Cotman.

It doesn't get any better than this. Right?

Wrong.

Storm clouds are gathering on the horizon in Montreal, Monterrey and Mexico City. Last week, Molson announced its withdrawal as title sponsor of the Molson Indy Montreal, and while that may be part and parcel of the brewery's decision to get out of the sports event management business that led to the sale of the Toronto race, it is the latest in a series of troubling news surrounding the four-year-old event. The '05 Molson Indy Montreal, of course, took place amid an atmosphere of rumor that Champ Car was on the way out of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in order for promoter Normand Legault to stage a NASCAR Busch and/or Indy Racing League IndyCar Series event there. And though Legault later issued a public statement affirming that Champ Cars will race in Montreal next year, '06 is the final year of the current contract. I, for one, wouldn't book my hotel rooms for the '07 Montreal Champ Car race just yet.

Whether due to ineptitude or some vast conspiracy involving Legault and/or Tony George and/or the France family and/or Bernie Ecclestone and/or D.B. Cooper, attendance was way down at Montreal this year, in no small part because most of the best grandstands were missing. Thus it was something like deja vu all over again when Champ Car arrived in Mexico City to find upwards of half a dozen grandstands at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez had either vanished or were filled with fans disguised as empty seats. An explanation was forthcoming, namely that the city authorities had denied the promoters the ability to sell those seats owing to planned development on the site. Still, there was no denying the fact that the throngs who attended the event -- particularly on Friday and Saturday -- in the past were nowhere to be seen this year.

Again conspiracy theories abounded -- even more complex than in Montreal owing to the fact that Forsythe is co-promoter at Mexico City -- as did rational explanations. To wit, the Mexican economy is in the dumps, not to mention that, although Tecate and Telmex were the presenting sponsors of the event, the absence of Herdez, Tecate and Gigante as major team sponsors and Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr. in race cars had to affect attendance -- as it has, in recent years, in Monterrey. Still, Montreal, Mexico City and Monterrey used to be among the strongest bulwarks of the Champ Car schedule. By any reckoning, their strength eroded last year.

Nor are Montreal, Mexico City and Monterrey the only trouble spots on the Champ Car calendar. Milwaukee is on a short leash, attendance-wise; playing second fiddle to the Craftsman Truck Series in front of acres of empty seats at Las Vegas can't be serving anybody's interest; the Korea race remains as enigmatic as ever and, while Champ Car is rightly excited about the prospects of returning to America's fourth-largest city (Houston), the deal to race in its fifth largest (Philadelphia) city in '06 or '07 has, evidently, not been closed.

Champ Car and its teams have made progress on the commercial sponsorship front. Sherwin-Williams has signed on as an associate series sponsor, Team Australia will serve as a platform for a major U.S. marketing campaign by the Australian wine industry and RuSPORT is said to be close to making a major sponsorship announcement. Still, too many Champ Car teams finished the '05 campaign with minimal commercial support and Newman/Haas has apparently yet to finalize a deal for a third car in '06 -- one all but guaranteed to win races and get plenty of TV time.

All this is not to suggest Champ Car is in anything like desperate straights. But it is to offer a note of caution that, for all that Messrs. Forsythe, Gentilozzi and Kalkhoven have accomplished since January 28, 2004, much remains to be done. Call theirs a work in progress. Then again, Bill France Jr. and Bernie Ecclestone would probably say much the same thing about NASCAR and Formula 1.

presented on the Speed TV website on November 22, 2005

Hey who do you think you are Champ Car series fans? What gives you the right to be hopeful? The Champ Car boys did pull off another good one when they put Road America back on the schedule however. The race is set for Sunday September 24.

Hell, maybe I will go to Elkhart Lake. I haven't been to Road America since the 1996 CART race and I always loved that place. I went to the CART races, at Road America, every year, from 1982 through 1996, with the exception of 1989. It's a terrific place to get racing photos. The Indy Racing League season will be over by then. I am impressed by Justin Wilson. I used to be impressed with A.J. Allmendinger, but his RuSPORT teammate Wilson is better. Still, I find Allmendinger an interesting new racing personality and might enjoy watching him compete in person.

If Tomas Scheckter doesn't get a good ride with an IRL team next season, he might go to Champ Car and Road America might be one of the few opportunities I get to see him race. God, I hope that doesn't happen. But with all the shit that has been going on lately, you never know.

OLSON: Dear Tony, Please Come Home

Written by: Jeff Olson

To: Tony Stewart

Columbus, Ind.

Dear Tony:

You don’t know me, but you probably know lots of people like me. I’ve seen you race at the fairgrounds, Winchester and IRP. I saw your first IRL race, back in 1996 at Orlando. I’ve seen you drive late models, sprints, midgets, Indy cars and Cup cars. I can’t drive three blocks in this town without seeing an orange No. 20 on somebody’s pickup truck. In case you didn’t know it, you’re huge in these parts. Bobby Knight and John Mellencamp huge. Reggie Miller huge. Peyton Manning huge.

I was there in my usual seat in the southeast vista when you won the Brickyard in August. If you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I almost cried that day. I never almost cry. A lot of guys around me who never almost cry were almost crying, too. Maybe that will give you an idea of how important you are to Indiana. Grown men almost cried. Most of us wouldn’t almost do that if the world came to an end, but we almost did it when you won at the Speedway.

Anyway, my neighbor invited me over to his place yesterday for the biggest day of televised sports in this state since the Hoosiers played for the NCAA basketball title back in 2002. We couldn’t decide whether to watch the Colts or you, so we set two TVs side-by-side and watched both. I’ve never been so proud to be from this state. We screamed for four hours, but we didn’t almost cry. That means winning the NASCAR championship is kinda like beating the Bengals. We expect it. But winning at the Speedway? That’s epic, man.

You know this state pretty well. We’re touchy sometimes about the way the rest of the world views us, but at the same time we pretend we don’t care. We’re not fancy, and we don’t care for people who want to be. We’re straight-forward, hard-working, stubborn, kind-hearted, sometimes ornery and neighborly as hell. You grew up with us. We know you. You’re one of us.

So, since I feel like we’re neighbors, I’m going to make a neighborly suggestion: Please come back to Indy. Not the Brickyard. Indy. Come back to the 500. It still has significance, and not just around here. It still has global influence and attention. It’s still the race you need to win if you want to seal the deal, and I know you want to seal the deal.

No offense, but watching you race stock cars is like watching Peyton Manning play Nerf football on a 50-yard field. It’s not a complete use of your talent. The world deserves to see what you can do in a car that’s 45 mph faster and requires a much more precise discipline. I wouldn’t normally say this out loud, but sometimes NASCAR races are about as interesting as wet paint. We want to see you win a race that would change your life and blow people’s minds. We want you to make it cool to drive an Indy car again.

I know, I know. They made it almost impossible for any of the NASCAR guys to cross over to the 500 when they moved the starting time last year, but it can still be done. If you, Gordon, Junior, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears hell, any of the top NASCAR guys told your owners, your sponsors and manufacturers, NASCAR, Tony George and Honda that you truly wanted to make a serious run at the Indy 500, I’d be willing to bet that all the differences between all the players could be put aside for the sake of the moment.

There’s a reason why Speedway has a capital S around here, and you know it better than anyone. The racetrack defines this state and these people. It sets them apart from the rest of the country. It is a part of their youth, their families and their identity. Most middle-aged Hoosiers can tell you stories about skipping school on Carb Day. Stop anywhere in Indiana and begin a conversation about the past 10 years of Indy car racing, and people will have pointed opinions, one way or the other, yea or nay. This form of racing is in a strange place right now, but most of us still think politics aside it’s incredible.

I suppose I could be a cynic and say that you don’t really need the 500 and the 500 doesn’t really need you, but I’m a born romantic. I believe you both need each other. People think this race has gone downhill, but those are the people who haven’t watched it the last couple of years. Did you watch Buddy Rice win it in 2004? It was like watching Milan High School win the state championship. It was beautiful, man. I haven’t seen a race like that in years, all guts and speed and drama. Can you imagine what would happen if you were in it the year after winning the Cup? Can you imagine what would happen if you won it?

I’m old enough to remember the glory days, when A.J. and Mario made their careers out of driving anything at any time. I remember Foyt’s fourth, Unser’s fourth and Mears’ fourth. I saw Cale Yarborough and Lee Roy Yarbrough, Bobby and Donnie Allison and Tim Richmond race here. I remember when stock cars were a regional game and Indy was king. I remember when the NASCAR guys would have bitten off their right arms to be an Indy car driver. Not the other way around. You could be this era’s Foyt or Mario, but you can’t do it by staying in one place.

I’ll never forget the first time I knew you were going to be a major star. During that first IRL race in Orlando, you carved it up. You’d never been in an Indy car, hadn’t even known you were going to be in one until days before the race, yet you sliced your way through the field to finish second. I knew then that you’d someday make it big. I always thought it would be the 500, but I always understood the nature of the game and why you ended up where you did.

Congratulations on the championship. Now I’d love nothing more than to see you win it all. All meaning the real race at Indy. It would mean everything to you and to us. I promise not to almost cry.

Sincerely,

A. Dreamer

Your No. 1 fan

presented on the Speed TV website on November 22, 2005

Wow, a powerful piece of racing commentary from Jeff Olson that is! For the past couple years, I have admired and enjoyed Olson's work on the Speed TV website, and before that I used to read Olson's articles in Racer magazine - when I read Racer magazine. This offering is unquestionably the one I enjoyed most. Olson's words say so much. I wish I could do half as well.

Wouldn't it be so cool if Tony Stewart came back in May to race in the 90th "Indianapolis 500," for the sixth time in his career? For me, it would be the most exciting thing that could happen in racing. If by chance, the "Rushville Rocket" were to win the "Indy 500," it would be the greatest thing to happen in today's racing that I can think of!

The last time Tony Stewart raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in May, in the 85th "Indianapolis 500," in 2001, there were flashes of that old excitement "Smoke" created during the opening three seasons of the Indy Racing League. Stewart led a total of thirteen laps in the 2001 "500." He was leading when rain brought a halt to action on the track, with only 52 laps remaining to run.

Do you recall that situation? There was the uncertainty over whether Stewart could remain in Indianapolis, for the rest of the "500," or have to make his complicated trip to Lowes Motor Speedway for the start of the NASCAR Cup event and abandon a race he was leading. Then too, there were the muscle spasms Tony was experiencing and when he stopped in the pits, with the rest of the field, he rushed to a first aid station for relief from the pain.

The rain let up quickly and Stewart was able to return to the race, rather than give up the number 33 Target Chip Ganassi G Force - Oldsmobile to pre-determined replacement Richie Hearn. To my disappointment however, Tony lost the handle on the red car 33 once the race restarted and he fell to sixth place at the finish, behind Helio Castroneves, Gil de Ferran, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser and Bruno Junqueira. But just having Tony Stewart back in the "Indianapolis 500" and having him lead the race and be in a position to win was my personal highlight of the 2001 racing season.

To punctuate a good day for Tony Stewart, after he arrived in Charlotte, he finished third in the Winston Cup event to Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick. The NASCAR statistics don't show it, but didn't Stewart have to start at the rear of the field because he missed the drivers meeting?

Tony Stewart was the original star of the Indy Racing League, before Sam Hornish, Helio Castroneves, Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick. Stewart and his merry band of early era IRL competitors Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier, Eddie Cheever, Scott Sharp and Billy Boat represented something new and fresh and I loved the direction in which Indy car racing appeared to be moving back then. I wish we could turn back the clock. Of course things didn't quite work out that way, but I still relish the memories of those early days of the IRL and Stewart's part in it.

After Tony Stewart won the "Brickyard 400" last August, his dad Nelson told his son that he needed to win the "Indianapolis 500" next. Tony shrugged of the suggestion. But man oh man, do I wish he would come back to "Indy" next May. That would be one neat deal!

My Compaq laptop has a screen resolution set to 1250 x 800 pixels, or something like that, and browsing this website gives a different perspective using those settings. Unfortunately, that perspective gives Bob Jennings World O' Racing an untidy look in some cases.

However, one of the things I decided, when I started doing this project, was this website would be mostly evolutionary. In other words, except in rare occasions, content would remain as originally presented, warts and all, kind of like a history book or something like that. What was written, during one period, would be a reflection of how I was feeling at that time.

The focus is always about racing, but the personality is always me. I am an extremely shy person and I become more so each day. However Bob Jennings World O' Racing affords me the chance to tell my story in whatever small way, since such a large part of the story is racing. Blah. Blah. Blah.

So I leave formats the same, untidy they may be, but at the same time I want to improve as I go. Recently, I realized this website is more a blog than a website. I have spent the past 2 1/2 years of my life, trying to learn web programming. I want this website to be more than html and jpeg files. So, over the next couple months, I plan a little ASP.Net, ADO.Net stuff, with more statistics and other experimentation too.

Before I do that however, I am going to introduce JavaScript to Bob Jennings' World O' Racing. Not only am I going to debut some interactivity, as primitive as it may be, I am also going to play some music for you all, that is if you let me and turn on your speakers.

I hope Eric Clapton doesn't mind. After all, I am huge fan and this is only a hobby website.

Anyway, here goes. Click on the thumbnail below, if you want to try something new. I like this little twist and plan to expand on it.

"The last time I saw Elvis. He was up on the silver screen. Pushing a plough in a black and white movie. And everybody started to scream. Yes, he was the King"