Going To California

With the final race of the championship heading to California, a lot has happened in the final week off and a lot is still to come.

The Passing Of Scott Roembke
Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing principal Scott Roembke passed away on Sunday. He was 50 years old. Roembke loved the Indianapolis 500 as much as anybody and will be truly missed. My thoughts and prayers go to his wife Darcy and his son Chris.

Zanardi Wins Gold, Gold and Silver; Wants A Shot at Indianapolis
Alex Zanardi won a medal in each one of the three handcycling events he competed in this year's Paralympic Games. It started on the 5th, with his gold in the individual H4 time trial, winning by over 27 seconds. Then on the 7th he picked up his second gold in the road race where he won by one second. In the team time trial on the 8th, Zanardi and his Italian team finished second, 43 seconds behind the American team that won gold. All handcycling events took place on the Brands Hatch circuit.

After his first gold medal, Zanardi mentioned a phone call between him and his former teammate Jimmy Vasser, where Vasser said if Zanardi could win a gold, he would give him a car for the Indianapolis 500 and it looks like Zanardi wants that opportunity. More reports came out that Vasser and their former car owner Chip Ganassi are trying to work a deal to get Zanardi a ride for Indianapolis next year. Earlier this year, Autosport reported Zanardi was interested in a ride in the 24 Hours of Daytona for 2013.

Road To Indy Seasons Are Wrapping Up
Jack Hawksworth locked up the Star Mazda Championship at Laguna Seca this weekend. They have one more race weekend at Road Atlanta in October. Matthew Brabham leads the U.S. F2000 Championship standings with one round, two races remaining. He leads Spencer Pigot by 41 points. The U.S. F2000 Championship wraps up on September 15th at Virginia International Raceway. Indy Lights will come down to the final race at Fontana between the Schmidt teammates of Tristan Vautier and Esteban Guerrieri. Last year, Guerrieri finished second to Josef Newgarden and Vautier won the Star Mazda title. After winning the last two races from pole and picking up fastest lap in each, Vautier leads Guerrieri by 11 points.

Legitimate questions can be raised about promotion of drivers through the ladder system. While it looks Hawksworth and the U.S. F2000 champion will move up, whether the Lights champions moves to IndyCar is unknown. The Lights series is the weakest step on the ladder, most races only field around 11 cars, with most of the drivers being ride buyers. Guerrieri was in talks about moving to IndyCar earlier this year but no deal ever formed. Vautier would move up to the top level after one year at each but is that what the ladder system is all about? You win a championship and then it's on to the next one. The other factor though is who in IndyCar is willing to give them a ride. Schmidt has been reportedly interested in a second ride for Rubens Barrichello and did not give JK Verney or Newgarden IndyCar rides after their Lights championships.

Bob Jenkins' Final Race
This is scheduled to be Bob Jenkins final race as lead commentator for the NBC Sports Net broadcast. Bob's wife, Pam is currently battling cancer and Bob choose to miss the Baltimore race to be with her. Jenkins has been a voice as recognizable with IndyCar racing as any other announcer. He has done very well since coming back to television with the NBC Sports Net team and it has been a joy listening to the chemistry that the current crew has together. I don't know who the next lead will be but whoever it is will have big shoes to fill.

The Other Battles
While there is the fight for the championship, there are other battles through out the championship table.   Castroneves leads Dixon by one point for third, two points separate Hinchcliffe and Kanaan for seventh, eleven points cover Barrichello, Servia, Hildebrand and Wilson in the eleventh through fourteenth battle. Seven points covers Tagliani, Sato and Andretti for fifteenth. Only six points separate Kimball in eighteenth and Viso in twentieth with Conway in nineteenth. Finally, James Jakes leads Ed Carpenter by five points for twenty-first. Plenty of drivers fighting for something at Fontana.