ESPN

John Oreovicz

  (10:00 PM)

Good evening dedicated IndyCar fans! It's the 18th time Indy style racing has hit the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia, and potentially the last. So hopefully it will be a memorable race, one good enough to convince the powers that be on both sides that this is an event worth continuing. From my perspective, Surfers has perhaps the most exciting atmosphere of any event I have covered over the last 15 years, but it is an incredibly difficult and expensive task to get everyone and everything there. Let's see if there are any questions....

Travis (Lewisville, Texas

John, will any of the single car teams add a second car for the 2009 season. Teams like Panther racing, Rahal Letteman, HVM racing or AJ Foyt racing

John Oreovicz

  (10:07 PM)

HVM is the most likely. When I asked Keith Wiggins about this at Chicagoland, he seemed pretty confident HVM would be a 2-car effort in '09 and reports out of Europe in the last month have stated that Robert Doornbos has been telling his friends that he will be in IndyCar next year. Doornbos was the surprise of the 2007 Champ Car season. He won two races and got under Sebastien Bourdais' skin a couple of times. He's also a great character, funny, outgoing and articulate. He would be a great addition to the ICS. Rahal Letterman is probably the best equipped to add another car, but I don't see Bobby Rahal and Scott Roembke doing it unless they are absolutely certain they have sponsorship money in the bank. Ryan Hunter-Reay ran really well this year and having a teammate would improve his chances. John Barnes told me that Panther's best years have been when they ran only one car, but if they found a sponsor, I think they would do it. I'd also like to see AJ Foyt take his grandson back so that Tony George could run a car for Paul Tracy at Vision, but that's just me daydreaming.

charles

Here in Fort Myers Florida we have Comcast! No ESPN360 and no ESPN Classic! What to do?

John Oreovicz

  (10:09 PM)

IndyCar.com will have timing and scoring as well as video streaming. If worse comes to worse, I'll probably give play-by-play updates here in the chat. Look at the bright side: At least as a Comcast subscriber you will have Versus next year...

Gerda: (Brookston, IN)

How do the IRL cars compare to the Champ cars in Australia?

John Oreovicz

  (10:14 PM)

They are about 4 seconds a lap slower, which is actually less that I had anticipated. Justin Wilson rand the fastest lap of the weekend in 1:34.5, and Will Power's 2007 pole time was 1:30.0. That broke a record that stood since 1999, which really showed how quick the Panoz Champ Car was because it had about 200 less horsepower than when Dario Franchitti ran 1:31.0 back in 1999 at the height of CART's horsepower war in a Reynard-Honda. It's a shame the Panoz was rendered useless after just a year, but there are plans afoot to salvage the cars for a new single-seater series. I'll believe that when I see it. One other point: the Surfers chicanes are not exactly the same year after year, and the methods used to prevent drivers from cutting the chicanes changed almost annually. So direct lap time comparisons are almost impossible. Suffice to say the IRL cars are a bit slower and a lot louder than the turbocharged Champ Cars were.

Alex (Toronto Canada)

As a Canadian I'm quite concerned with the fact aht PT might not have a ride again in IndyCar in 2009??? What can you say to us Canadian race fans that want to see PT in IndyCar???

John Oreovicz

  (10:26 PM)

Send your cards, letters and e-mails to Tony George and Terry Angstadt at the IRL. You don't have to be Canadian to want to see PT in the IndyCar Series and if you read my earlier answer about sending Anthony Foyt back to Grampa's team you'll see that I am on the same page. PT stepped into a Vision car rusty and with no testing and still finished 4th at Edmonton. If TG was serious about getting results he would find a place for Trace. But nepotism rules at IMS - the Foyts are honorary Hulman-Georges. I think AJ IV is not very good, but he has a famous name, and probably a seat at Vision for as long as he wants it. What is more baffling is the fact that no Canadian companies have stepped up to offer to sponsor PT, and this goes back to the end of 2003 when Player's was legislated out of racing. Maybe the Canadian economy is as bad as the American economy.

Mike (Surfers Paradise Australia)

What are the chances that OUR Surfers Indy Race will stay on Indy schedule next year and do you think we'll see Nelson Phillipe in IndyCar some day???

John Oreovicz

  (10:33 PM)

First up, I really like Nelson Philippe. He was the classic rich boy rent-a-driver his first couple of years in Champ Car, but he worked hard and turned himself into a real racer. When he won at Surfers in 2006, it was totally deserved. He's also a super nice guy and he really deserves another chance in top-level open-wheelers. But he made a firm decision that he was going to get paid to drive and stuck to his guns. I hope he gets another opportunity. As for the Surfers race, I'd put the chances of Indy cars returning at 20 percent. The expense and the hassle of getting everyone and everything there is immense. Having said that, the event is an absolute SHOWCASE for the IndyCar Series. It's perhaps the finest street course in the world and the enthusiasm and atmosphere are unmatched at any other event. Many of the IRL staff never saw a Champ Car event until Long Beach earlier this year and they came away from there excited and impressed. If that was the case, then they are going to be totally blown away by Surfers, because with all due respect to Long Beach, Surfers is much bigger and better. I hope it makes the cut for '09 and beyond because I want a reason other than the V8 Supercar race at Bathurst to come back to Australia.

David (Liverpool England)

Is Justin Wilson ride at NHL safe????

John Oreovicz

  (10:35 PM)

I think so. I feel bad for Justin - he was the absolute favourite (see, I spelled it the right way for you!) to win the Champ Car title this year but the series went belly-up. He and NHLR had some struggles adapting to the IndyCar Series, but everything finally came together at Detroit and his win there was very popular. Justin is a great guy and an absolute pleasure to watch from trackside. His driving style is very smooth and tidy and he'll win more road races next year.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

Hi John, is ESPN doing 'Racecast' tonight?

John Oreovicz

  (10:36 PM)

I have no idea, to be honest with you.

John Oreovicz

  (10:37 PM)

They are on the pace lap and the weather is beautiful. Thank goodness, because a wet race at Surfers can turn into a disaster - think back to 2002 and '03.

John Oreovicz

  (10:38 PM)

I'm going to take a 5-minute break to watch the start. I'll lay 5-1 odds that there is a 1st corner accident and the yellow flag will be out. I'll also lay 8-1 odds that the race will run to a time limit rather than the full 60-lap distance.

John Oreovicz

  (10:44 PM)

Well, good thing this column isn't called 'Ask The Expert' because I was wrong about the 1st lap accident. Nice driving by Moraes! Dixon skipped the 1st chicane so he was told to move over by IRL officials and let Briscoe past. That explains part of why Power had a 3-second lead after lap 1. But some of it is also the fact that the guy is mighty on this track. BAd start for Franchitti, compounded by Helio dodging past.

Johhny (Montreal Quebec Canada)

Will the IRL ever consider going to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and will Alex Tagliani be back with Conquest Racing in 09????

John Oreovicz

  (10:48 PM)

I think the IRL will consider Montreal for 2010 if F1 does not come back. But I think NASCAR has the inside track and it will turn into a Cup race. They get big crowds for Nationwide. Also, I don't think it has been officially confirmed but I expect Tags to be back at Conquest. So at least there will be one Canadian driver at Toronto and Edmonton...

John Oreovicz

  (10:52 PM)

That was the longest consecutive run of green flag laps I can ever remember at the start of this race, but Moraes ran out of talent and spoiled it.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

They ran a morning warmup? Are they going back to that? Et tu Rusty Wallace?

John Oreovicz

  (10:53 PM)

The IRL only dropped warmups from oval races, in my opinion as a knee-jerk reaction to Paul Dana's fatal accident a couple of years ago. Marco Andretti and Scott Dixon have called for their return.

John Oreovicz

  (10:58 PM)

Pit stops were made by Castroneves, Rahal, Servia, Wilson, Wheldon and Camara. I have still not ascertained why Wilson started from the back. He qualified 8th and was 2nd fastest in the warmup.

Travis (Lewisville, Texas

John, do you expect Stanton Barrett with 3G Racing to have much success in 2009? How about Raphael Matos with Dragon Luzco racing ?

John Oreovicz

  (10:59 PM)

I think Barrett will be the new Marty Roth. Matos, on the other hand, is a very good driver and I believe he will occasionally run in the top 5. It's a bad deal for Tomas Shceckter that he got dropped, but frankly, he just didn't perform.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

I agree this will probably be a timed race, so IMHO it's time to pit. If they run 50 laps, your window is open.

John Oreovicz

  (11:00 PM)

That's a good observation. The race has been cleaner than I expected so far, but let's see how this restart goes. They just showed a good replay of Helio doing a banzai on Danica - under yellow, it must have been - and she has a busted front wing.

Felipe (São Paulo Brasil)

Is Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes going to be back at Dale Coyne racing in 09???

John Oreovicz

  (11:01 PM)

They will probably both be back at DCR in 2009. Moraes did better this year than a lot of people expected.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

Boy... twinkletoes and the Princess have an incident... and ESPN abandons coverage of the actual race.

John Oreovicz

  (11:02 PM)

Another good one. Yes, they have completely abandoned the actual race coverage. Not surprising, actually. The world revolves around Danica, and to a lesser extent, Helio.

John Oreovicz

  (11:03 PM)

FYI, Power leads Briscoe by 2.1 seconds and Dixon by 2.8. For those of you who care about drivers other than Danica and Helio.

John Oreovicz

  (11:13 PM)

As Derek Daly would say, "Well Well Well!" Briscoe was putting pressure on Power and WP cracked. His LF corner is toast.

John Oreovicz

  (11:14 PM)

Franchitti needs to get past Tagliani.

John Oreovicz

  (11:20 PM)

What a surprise...EJ Viso wrapped up in an incident.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

warning....tantrum approaching!

John Oreovicz

  (11:21 PM)

Thanks for beating me to that comment. Dario must be very low on fuel and is going to get screwed by this yellow.

John Oreovicz

  (11:28 PM)

Yep, Dario is P13 now. Let's give a shout to Alex Tagliani, who is solidly in third. Also impressive is seeing Junqueira in 7th.

Will (Melbourne Australia)

If Surfers isn't on the schedule in 2009 and Team Australia pulls out where on earth will Mr Power land???....Will Power is a talented driver and today another example of why he is becoming the Surfers Paradise master.

John Oreovicz

  (11:31 PM)

Well, a good example for 18 laps. He is a tremendous qualifier. Good question where he would land if Craig Gore pulls the plug on Team Australia. This whole future of this Australia race is turning into a high-stakes game of poker and it will be interesting to see who gives in. I am hoping that when the IRL people experience the event in the flesh it will make them a little bit more flexible in terms of their attitude. It is clear to me that the Australians do not want to change the date from late October.

Travis (Lewisville, Texas

John, it looked like the Champ cars run the best in ovals at Chicago. Will Power was fifth and EJ Viso and Mario Marores were up front for part of the race before they experienced setbacks, Graham Rahal as well. Should we expect the former Champ car teams to be more competitive in 2009 on the ovals?

John Oreovicz

  (11:46 PM)

Yes, they should definitely be more competitive. They will have a full winter to do aero and 7-post testing, computer simulations etc. They will not completely close the gap to Penske and Ganassi because they have years of experience with these cars (and bigger budgets), but they will be closer. I think AGR is the interesting team to watch. They certainly seemed to miss Franchitti's car setup ability this year and were pretty uncompetitive at a few tracks. Not to mention the volatile relationship between their drivers....

John Oreovicz

  (11:47 PM)

Hey, I got one right! Kanaan says he had a suspension failure without hitting a wall.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

Marco seems to fade in each green flag stretch. He's nearly four seconds behind Rice, the largest gap in the field. That's happened each run.

John Oreovicz

  (11:49 PM)

What's going to happen to Marco's reputation around the world, specifically in F1 circles - not to mention Danica's - if they get SMOKED in A1GP?

John Oreovicz

  (11:50 PM)

Briscoe has done two of his three fastest laps over the last three laps. L36 best, followed by L38.

John Oreovicz

  (11:51 PM)

Looks like pit stops for fuel-grade Ethanol. Briscoe held the position.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

Would the IRL consider tacking a southern US race after surfers, so the season didn't end in the wee hours of the morning on millions of turned off American TVs?

John Oreovicz

  (11:55 PM)

Sounds like a good idea to me. If they moved Surfers to the spring and ran it back to back with a spring race at Motegi, they could end the season Chicagoland - Mexico City - Homestead-Surfers and run the finale at Phoenix or Fontana.

John Oreovicz

  (11:57 PM)

This will be good - Viso vs. Tags + Rahal. Wonder if we'll see any of it?

John Oreovicz

  (11:57 PM)

Here comes the blocking penalty for Viso.

John Oreovicz

  (11:57 PM)

Nice clean move by Tag.

Dennis Lakeland, FL

Marco's reputation as a road course ace seems to have already flown the coop. Remember when road courses were his strength (back when the ovals just flat scared him). His win at Sonoma is as tainted a win as I can recall, and he's been average at best since then on the twistees. He may have peaked just before Sammy blew by him at Indy in '06.Am I being too harsh?!Great point about A1GP, but I was hoping the USA would at least be remotely competitive with AGR taking over.

John Oreovicz

  (11:59 PM)

I'm not saying they're going to look bad. But the potential exists. New cars, new circuits, little testing and all that.

John Oreovicz

  (12:21 AM)

Briscoe and Dixon each turned their best lap on L57 and Briscoe was a tenth quicker.

John Oreovicz

  (12:22 AM)

Another 35.8 for Briscoe and he pulled another 0.2 on Dixon.

John Oreovicz

  (12:25 AM)

And Ryan Briscoe scores a popular victory! The first for an Aussie in this event.

John Oreovicz

  (12:26 AM)

Thanks to Dennis for sticking it out. That was actually one of the better Surfers races.

Fernando (Calgary Alberta Canada)

If Bourdais does get dropped by STR and comes back to America to race do you think any Indy Car team would sign him....I would be guessing NHL would be an option but how about Seabass going to drive for Roger Penkse in the #3 car...

John Oreovicz

  (12:28 AM)

That's a radical thought. Bourdais certainly deserves another year of F1, especially if Vettel is as good as everyone seems to think he is. That may explain why Carl Haas hasn't confirmed Wilson for '09 - keeping his options open.

Ardis Renell Eaglin {Prevost}

Hey this race in Brisbane at Surfers Paradise is just like the Rio De de Janeiro and Mexico (MEXICO CITY) raceways. I am disappointed that too many drivers in my opinion received DNF, the lack of traffic prevents passing through race strategies. This race at Surfers Paradise was not a success.

John Oreovicz

  (12:30 AM)

Well, there were 19 of 24 cars running at the finish. If you think this was a bad race, go back and watch the '02 and '03 races.

John Oreovicz

  (12:32 AM)

Remember this race will be rebroadcast at 11 p.m. tonight (Sunday) on ESPN2. Thanks for the questions!