Merry Christmas to one and all! I hope that Santa brought the racers that new helmet or set of tires for the upcoming season. Race fans, I hope you got your tickets to the Clash at the L.A. Coliseum or a T-shirt or hat with your favorite driver emblazoned on it.
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With the 2021 racing season over, this week I’ll deal with breaking news items and a bunch of rumors and raw random data. First off, some good news – Alex Zanardi is now at home after two years in the hospital following a crash with a truck while riding his racing handcycle. Knowing the former Indy car champion and handcycle champion, it won’t be long before he’s racing something again.
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Lewis Hamilton declined to attend the Dec. 16 Formula 1 gala awards ceremony in Paris as required. According to incoming FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Hamilton may be subject to fines and other sanctions for his action. This happened while rumors swirled about Hamilton retiring from F1 after race director Michael Masi’s late-race decision robbed him of his eighth championship. Rival Max Verstappen, who benefitted from that decision, expressed doubts that Hamilton would retire, as did Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. Hamilton has not appeared in public since he received his knighthood from Prince Charles earlier this month. To be continued.
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Jimmy Johnson last week announced his intention to run a full IndyCar season in 2022, including the Indy 500 and all the other ovals on the schedule. Johnson had a rather lackluster first season in IndyCar, finishing 26th in points with a highest race finish of 17th. Hopefully the 46-year-old seven-time NASCAR Cup champion will be more competitive in the coming season. After all, he has a lot of wins on ovals.
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In other IndyCar news, former F1 driver Romain Grosjean will race for Andretti Autosport in 2022, replacing Ryan Hunter-Reay who is out of a ride. James Hinchcliffe announced he will not race a full IndyCar schedule but will be trying other forms of motorsport, as yet undefined. Perhaps IMSA or NASCAR Camping World Trucks?
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Speaking of NASCAR, teams have been testing the Next Gen car at Charlotte, and the 550 horsepower package did not perform well. Last Tuesday NASCAR announced that the 670 horsepower package will be used on the majority of tracks along with a four-inch spoiler. A number of drivers weighed in with comments on the new car and the testing. The consensus was that the Next Gen machine has more mechanical grip but less aero grip, particularly side force. The car is much more on the edge, and is less forgiving than the old car, making it more difficult to drive. There is still a great deal for teams and drivers to learn about the new car, and I expect the first few races to be fairly mistake-filled. The teams who first come to grips with the new car’s idiosyncrasies and the drivers who are able to ride the edge will be the ones in the playoffs come fall.
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Looking ahead to 2022, the Chili Bowl Nationals kick off the racing season Jan. 10-15. Next up is the IMSA Roar before the 24 Jan. 21-23, followed by the Rolex 24 at Daytona Jan. 29-30. The NASCAR Cup Clash at the L.A. Coliseum is Feb. 6 with Daytona 500 qualifying Feb. 13. The Duels to set the field are on Feb. 17 and the 500 runs on Feb. 20. The NHRA Winternationals at Pomona take place Jan. 16-20, IndyCar kicks off their season Feb. 27 at St. Petersburg, and the first Formula 1 race is at Bahrain on March 20.
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