July Racing 2004

IRL After a one race break Mark Taylor will return to the IRL in the Access Motorsports G-Force Honda at Saturday’s race in Nashville. Taylor, who hit everything in sight, was released by Panther Racing two weeks ago. This is a curious move to be sure. Access Motorsports raced in the first five races of the season. However, at Indianapolis it was apparent that team owner and at the time, driver, Greg Ray had no money. He didn’t get on the track until the last day of qualifying. Unfortunately for Ray his day ended when Darren Manning knocked him and Sammy into the wall. That left Ray with a badly damaged car, little money and only tow weeks before the Texas race. Somehow Ray made the show at Texas and managed a very respectable 7th place finish. However, Ray did not make the trip to Richmond and the word is that he took the car to Kansas, went through tech and then put the car back in the hauler and went home. So now we get word that Mark Taylor will become the driver for the balance of the season. Of course there is all kind of speculation that Taylor’s dad bought the ride for him. I don’t know how valid that is, but Taylor is, like I said, a curious choice. Taylor has only made it through the Phoenix race without crashing. For a team that has little money it would seem that Greg Ray would want someone with a little better track record. Of course his crashing could be an inherent part of life as the second driver at Panther Racing. Taylor won the IPS championship last year and was a good solid racer. For Greg Ray, Taylor’s and Access Motorsport I hope he is able to return to those roots! F1 Silly season is in full swing in F1. A couple of weeks ago I said that I thought Jeff Gordon would end up in the second Williams car alongside Mark Webber. On Sunday, Peter Windsor reported that Giancarlo Fisichella would end up in that ride. That would leave the Sauber seat open for Jacques Villeneuve. Although I just don’t see that happening. With the improved performance of the Mercedes McLaren this past weekend, JPM has to be feeling better about his upcoming move to the Woking team. Christiano demanded Toyota tell him what their plans for 2005 were. Right now it looks like it will probably be Ralfie and Olivier Panis in the Toys. Look for Christiano to be back in OWRS next season unless he takes a spot at Jordan or Minardi. The teams are off this weekend before the German Grand Prix. Rumors will continue to swirl, especially regarding the Toyota and Williams teams as they will probably get theirs before the rest of the picture comes into focus. NASCAR I don’t defend that asshole Tony Stewart very often but I am today. Sunday, Stewart got behind Kasey Kahne on a restart. For some reason Kahne did not come up to speed as quick as Stewart. Now we can split hairs and say Tony has to be in control of his car, but it was just a tap and in my eyes nothing more than a racing incident. For the first time this season, or so it would seem, NASCAR saw it the right way. Of course Kahnes team didn’t see it that way. Half of his crew went to Stewarts pit after the incident and a shoving match ensued. Team owner Ray Evernham said Stewart needed to be suspended. He’s right of course, but not over this incident. In this case Kahne’s pit boys need to be fined. Is Stewart a menace? Of course. He’s shitty driver who can only win by pushing you out of the way, but in this case he could hardly be held responsible.