News and notes (cont.)

Auto Show Attendance Declines

Just how bad is the American automotive industry? Well, if the recent Indianapolis Auto Show is any indication, it's in big trouble from the American public.

The auto show is usually one of the post-Christmas traditions in Indianapolis as gearheads come to the Indiana Convention Center to get their fix of what the new cars look like. It's a chance to see the latest innovations up close, an opportunity, sometimes, to see the unveiling of the official pace car for the Indianapolis 500.

But crowds for this year's show were way off. There were more attendees at the "Campus Crusade for Christ" annual Christmas Conference at the convention center than those who went to the auto show.

Even with a loan from the federal government, the American auto industry is in big trouble and that could have a deep impact on auto racing in 2009 and beyond.

Good Seats Available

On the heels of a disastrous AllState 400 at the Brickyard, during which the Goodyear tires were so bad they were blowing out after just eight laps, sources at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are expressing concern over the 2009 event. A bad economy combined with a bad race in 2008 have meant a slow response for ticket sales for the end of July race.

No other sporting venue in the world has as many seats as IMS, and while the Memorial Day Weekend Indianapolis 500 remains an American sporting tradition, a bad economy could impact the facility as it celebrates its Centennial in 2009.

Empty seats at a 100th birthday party would definitely dampen the celebration.

Arca Gets To Test ...

While testing is banned for NASCAR's three major division for 2009, ARCA concluded a three-day test at Daytona International just before Christmas.

"If there were five days, I would be here for all of them," said Bobby Gerhart, who was one of the last teams to load his cars into the hauler after the test. "We try to get here first and we're always the last to leave. That lesson was taught to me a long time ago."

Gerhart, who hails from Lebanon, Penn., works tirelessly on his Daytona International cars and says that every year the field of drivers only gets tougher.

"The field is great," he said of the 2009 entry list. "I know when I come here I become a very unpopular guy. In a way, it's going to sound odd, but that's a pretty big complement. That really goes to the level of exposure that this place has brought to this race.

"I've always felt that coming here to Daytona is a huge privilege for anybody. Just coming to the garage and being a part of this thing, let alone getting on the race track and, in my case, being unbelievably fortunate to win one [race], and looking back on it to be where we're at today. I never could have envisioned that. It's a huge privilege for any racer to come here and show their stuff right here. "

Gerhart, who highlights his Daytona triumphs on the side on his hauler, says the testing sessions are a good indicator for what a team has in a car.

In the middle of three-day test, Gerhart was leaning toward using an older car in the upcoming Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on Saturday, Feb. 7. The car was the same one that propelled him to his 2007 Daytona win.

... So Logano Takes Advantage

Joey Logano, who will compete in five races during Daytona Speedweeks, including the Budweiser Shootout and his first Daytona 500, turned his first laps at DIS during the three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test.

The Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie driver, who will drive a Toyota for Venturini Motorsports in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, was introduced to the Daytona bumps during the test.

"It was quite a bit bumpier than I thought it was going to be," Logano said. "I heard it was bumpy and a little bit slicker than Talladega. That was the only thing I was going off of. Besides that, it's similar. It's a superspeedway and once you get in the draft, it's going to be a lot more fun."

At Least A.J. Foyt Has A Sponsor

ABC Supply Co. Inc. has extended its contract with A.J. Foyt Racing to sponsor the No. 14 IndyCar Series machine driven by Vitor Meira. The contract locks in the sponsorship for the 2009-2010 seasons with an option year for 2011.

As part of the agreement, the company will again sponsor the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar Series race at The Milwaukee Mile on May 31.

In a time of economic challenges, Foyt's name still has value. He is, arguably, the greatest American race driver ever and the first to win the Indianapolis 500 four times.

With Meira as his driver, Foyt hopes his team can return to glory and solid sponsorship is a good first step.

Just Passed Drivers' Ed

At 22, Marco Andretti isn't much older than some of the 200 young drivers ages 15 to 21 that he spoke to recently in Las Vegas as part of the Driver's Edge program.

Driver's Edge is a free classroom and behind-the-wheel program for young drivers. It teaches real life emergency avoidance and response techniques and overall driver safety. Driver's Edge was developed to address the high number of young driver automobile collisions and fatalities that occur each year.

"The thing that's cool about being a guest instructor for Driver's Edge is that I get to use my experience to help people my age become safer and better drivers out on the road -- maybe even help save a life," Andretti said.

During the event, Andretti and the Driver's Edge team of instructors gave behind-the-wheel instruction on skid control, collision avoidance techniques and panic braking skills -- things that aren't typically taught in traditional forms of driver's education in America.

"Motor vehicle collisions kill more teens every year than drugs, guns and violent crimes combined, yet conventional driver's education in America continues to simply teach young drivers how to pass a test and then sends them out on the roads," said Jeff Payne, founder of Driver's Edge. "We're trying to do something about that."

The event wrapped up the 2008 Driver's Edge season, which included a 16-city national tour along with another eight events in the program's home state of Nevada.

Fallout Of Detroit Grand Prix Cancellation

Let's take a closer look at what the cancellation of the Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar race will mean to the city of Detroit.

The Grand Prix has brought tremendous benefit to Belle Isle Park and to the region since the event returned world-class auto racing to the Motor City for the first time in more than six years, in 2007. Both the 2007 and 2008 races established themselves as one of Detroit's most popular summertime events, featuring both the American Le Mans Series and the IndyCar Series.

Over $7 million in infrastructure improvements have been made to Belle Isle since the return of the Grand Prix, including the paving of roadways, repairing or replacing damaged lighting and drainage, landscaping, the renovation of the Belle Isle Casino and Scott Fountain and the installation of pedestrian bridges, children's playgrounds and irrigation systems on the island.

According to a joint study conducted last year by the event and the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau (DMCVB), the Grand Prix generated over $55.2 million in economic impact for metropolitan Detroit in 2008 and another $12.8 million in direct spending throughout Detroit and its surrounding tri-county area.

The study also revealed the Grand Prix helped attract thousands of visitors to the area as 28 percent of event attendees came to Detroit from outside the tri-county region and 52 percent of those visitors came from outside the state of Michigan.

"I want to thank all of the fans that have supported the 2007 and 2008 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix events," said Bud Denker, Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Event chairman. "Over 100,000 people attended each of the past two Grand Prix races and we are hopeful we can extend the excitement of world-class racing on Belle Isle in the future. If the economic conditions improve, we hope to be able to bring the event back to Detroit in the summer of 2010."