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IRL Notes: Danica and F1, Paul Newman, and the latest on Loudon

Is Patrick set for F1 test with Honda?

Conflicting reports have emerged that IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick will — or will not — take part in a test with Honda’s Formula One team this fall after the end of the F1 campaign.

According to various websites, HF1 boss Nick Fry had told an Austrian newspaper that a test with the American driver will take place in November at either Barcelona or Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

However, Fry then issued a denial of such statements, telling Autosport that there had never been any plan to put the Andretti Green Racing pilot in an F1 test. However, he didn’t deem the matter closed as he went on to say:

“But if Danica did want to test one of our cars, we would be more than happy to speak to her about it.”

If Patrick does receive a test, she’ll be following in the footsteps of her AGR teammate Marco Andretti. The third-generation racer tested HF1’s 2006 challenger, the RA106, at Jerez in the 2006-2007 offseason.

But unlike Patrick, Andretti has been on Honda’s radar for some time now as a possible future driver for the squad. Although he recently said that he’s happy to be in the IndyCar Series and wouldn’t bolt for F1 “unless the top three teams come calling,” I would think that HF1’s gonna keep tabs on his progress.

On the other hand, I wonder if Patrick’s truly a possible candidate for a Honda spot in the world’s most popular racing series. That being said, considering that HF1 has been stuck in eighth place in the constructor’s points for the past two seasons, Patrick might stand a fair chance of improving things if she did land a seat!

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Paul Newman tight-lipped on cancer rumors

Legendary actor and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing co-owner Paul Newman said that he was “doing nicely,” but did not address reports that said he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Newman, 83, issued a one-line statement to the media through his spokesman last night. According to these unconfirmed reports, the former Champ Car stalwart is said to have been receiving treatment at a New York hospital.

In addition to his work in film and motorsport, Newman is also the founder of the Hole in the Wall Gang camps for critically ill children. He also founded the Newman’s Own line of food products, which gives all of its profits to charity.

Fox News’ Roger Friedman is reporting that Newman has turned over $120 million to charity — the entire value of his ownership in that line.

I hope the reports of cancer aren’t true, but if so, Newman should have our thoughts and prayers. Whether you’re a movie buff or a race fan — or just somebody who appreciates an all-around good guy — he’s given us so much. I’m just glad he finally returned to the Indianapolis 500 last year.

UPDATE: Newman’s business partner A.E. Hotchner has told the media that Newman is indeed battling cancer, saying that he has known about his friend’s illness for 18 months.

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New Hampshire closer to 2009 IndyCar date?

New Hampshire Motor Speedway vice president and general manager Jerry Gappens is telling the New Hampshire Union-Leader that there’s a “60-70 percent” chance that the one-mile oval will score a 2009 IndyCar Series event.

Gappens told the U-L’s Kevin Provencher that there were good vibes between his track and the IRL during their meetings last month at Indianapolis and last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway:

“Interest is 100 percent on both sides. The key component is what they want to do with their race in Japan.”

That may be a problem. Twin Ring Motegi couldn’t budge from its mid-April date this year despite open-wheel unification in February. This, coupled with the Long Beach Grand Prix’s inability to move its date as well, forced the IRL to run both races on the same weekend of Apr. 19-20.

In recent years, the IndyCar event at TRM have been marred by spring rains. The 2008 race was delayed by one day due to track weepers, a side effect of showers on race morning. Let’s hope that was a clue to Motegi officials that perhaps April isn’t such a good time to stage a race.

Let’s also hope that the “Magic Mile” isn’t the only new oval that IRL officials are looking to expand to.

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Another improvement for IndyCar TV ratings

The Bombardier Learjet 550K at Texas may be dipping in attendance, but its TV rating is on the rise.

Saturday’s race on ESPN2 garnered a 1.0 rating, a 44 percent increase over last year’s Texas event (0.7 rating), to become the most watched and highest viewed IndyCar event in the Deuce’s history.

Maybe it was the gas prices after all…

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Other cool stuff

Former Conquest Racing driver Franck Perera is back in the IRL. He’ll be the fourth driver at Guthrie Racing for the remainder of the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season, starting at Iowa Speedway on June 24. Perera is already testing with his new squad as we speak up at the 7/8-mile oval…Now we know where the $100,000 purse for the cancelled Indy 500 pit stop challenge went — the IRL has donated half to the preservation of Detroit’s Belle Isle Park and half to Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camps…

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All quotes have been attributed to their proper writers/organizations.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.