Sonoma Musings, Day One

Right, so day one as an official RACER Magazine staffer at the track and to call it whirlwind would be an understatement.

For starters, Infineon Raceway is a much nicer (and hillier) place in person than on TV — I would definitely recommend a visit just for the drive out from the airport if nothing else, with the race as gravy. The track is outstanding for a road course in that you can see most of it from the turn three hill.

Secondly, you really need a detailed look at the entry list this weekend. Martin Plowman’s in his second start, Ho-Pin Tung his first, and Giorgio Pantano’s racing for the first time in six years. Then of all things, Simona de Silvestro runs into customs problems and gets bogged down to where she isn’t her, and the new IndyCar super sub Simon Pagenaud gets here at the 11th hour from Spain to fill in.

Third, a series of interviews produced some great bits. Props in particular have to go to Charlie Kimball who had a lot of good things to say, and to Andretti Autosport — whose hospitality was not only a great place to sightsee (it’s up on the hill overlooking turn 3) — and when I was interviewing Marco Andretti, Mario Andretti comes up and gives him the fist bump and introduces himself to me.

He said simply, “Hi, I’m Mario.”

You don’t get to meet your heroes everyday and it took a stroke of luck to not blurt out “OHMYGOD IT’S MARIO FREAKING ANDRETTI, THE GREATEST DRIVER ALIVE!” I got out a muted “Pleasure, Mr. Andretti, I’m Tony,” and got on with chatting to Marco. Thank God for composure in a moment I can’t believe I actually handled … a class act from Mario.

Finally, talk about being in the right, or potentially wrong place at the right time. I was going to stroll pit lane right before practice started and see where everyone was stationed.

At the exact moment I left the media center, I see Dario Franchitti walking out and signing autographs. So I run to catch up with him and we chatted for a bit (I've known Dario for a few years and he made what I would call the best story of my career so far, my Greg Moore retrospective in '09).

Suddenly, who walks up behind me, unbeknownst, but DANICA. Danica and Dario embraced for a second, Dario putting his arm around her as I was suddenly thrust into the role of media bloke walking alongside the series’ two biggest names.

Inevitably the photographers swarmed as we got onto pit lane, suddenly there were five or six of them in like 10 seconds as they stared each other in the eyes and discussed a proper sendoff for Danica as she prepares to depart for NASCAR in 2012 (see last entry). And there I am as the random person who’s photo-bombing what is bound to be a popular photo.

Alas, I found the shots online this evening. They certainly reveal the embrace between Danica and Dario and me filling space. Goodness me.

It’s still part of the learning process to separate work from the natural fan reaction at this stage. Plus, I have the added pressure of being the youngest one in the media, so I’m more widely scrutinized and have to continually work to prove myself as someone there on merit and with a deep knowledge base, not a “kid media PR stunt.”

For one day at least, it was fun still playing both roles and being caught up in a fantastic moment of pure bliss that neither the fan nor reporter in me will ever forget.

Onto tomorrow, and out for now. Cheers.

A few images below, of Pagenaud, Tung, and Infineon Raceway:

Oh, She's Gone

Our yearlong wait is over.

The economy can begin its turnaround.

The flirtation is over. She has decided to commit to a new entity.

With today's press conference the GoDaddy girl is gone, officially, from IndyCar.

Danica Patrick heads to NASCAR full-time in 2012 in the Nationwide Series.

There's no real news to this announcement, other than confirmation of something that has been a yearlong soap opera and one of the worst kept secrets in sports, let alone in auto racing.

A far different send off from me to her leaving as opposed to Patrick Carpentier.

It's been ... interesting. I'll leave it at that.

I leave it to Hall & Oates to serenade the driver whose tenure in IndyCar was far more polarizing than outright successful.

And here's what she'll be in NASCAR ... even though she denied doing it "just for the money."

Carpe Driven - Patrick Signs Off

I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to share this in my new job, so I'll drop a line on it here first. Quietly but gracefully, Patrick Carpentier retired from active auto racing competition this weekend after a not-so-graceful exit from his final start. That bit was not of his own doing, but we'll get to that later.

The first year I started following motorsports in 1996, a young and studious Canadian wiped the floors of the Formula Atlantic championship. That was Carpentier, who won nine of the 12 rounds that season, including the last eight.

He made his CART debut in 1997 and in particular starred on the short ovals, Nazareth and Gateway, for the Bettenhausen Motorsports team.

In 1998 he moved to Player's/Forsythe Racing, where he stayed the remainder of his CART/Champ Car career. He didn't star as frequently as his teammate, the late Greg Moore; few did. That said, he still had his moments of brilliance with poles again on short ovals in Nazareth and Milwaukee in '98 at simply stupid fast speeds (185 mph average around mile-ovals) and a handful of strong finishes.

Some rather unfortunate injuries knocked him out of competition for a couple races both in 1997 and again in 2000. It seemed the affable and personable Canadian - one of my favorites growing up - wouldn't get that lucky break he needed to finally score his first win.

Then Michigan 2001 happened. Engaged in a thrilling battle on the 2-mile oval where speeds regularly topped 230, admittedly aided by the Handford device, Carpentier seized the victory from an equally game Michel Jourdain Jr. and Dario Franchitti for a popular first win. It was a long time coming and one he certainly deserved.

A breakout 2002 included a pair of wins and third in the CART standings with the unloved, by that stage, Reynard chassis. It also included his most memorable win when at Mid-Ohio, he ran the track draped in only a checkered flag post-race. Further solid if unspectacular seasons followed in 2003 and '04, the latter as a last-minute third entry for Forsythe when he had originally been replaced by a sponsored driver.

A 2005 switch to the IndyCar ranks with Cheever Racing and Red Bull bore little fruit other than an overdue Indianapolis 500 debut, something that had not been afforded to many of his contemporaries during the split.

A hodgepodge of NASCAR starts followed from 2007 onward, but his was the least heralded or hyped of those at a time when Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. were also making the switch. Carpentier scored a pole in the Cup ranks and several top-five and 10 results on the Nationwide side. While none of their results were exemplary in NASCAR, Carpentier lasted a little longer in a desire to make it stick, like a Max Papis for instance, whereas Franchitti had had enough and returned to his open-wheel roots come 2009.

One final, brief, open-wheel appearance presented itself at this year's Indianapolis 500. Carpentier was a last-minute, bump day replacement to replace the possibly disinterested Scott Speed in the underwhelming second Dragon Racing entry. A bad scenario at first glance. Still, in less than 20 laps Carpentier had eclipsed Speed's fastest laps, but in doing so exceeded the car's limits and crashed hard at turn one. A valiant effort, but short for the driver whose speed was never given its proper due.

Then there was his final race on Saturday, the Nationwide Series' event in Montreal. Running in a top-10 position, Carpentier got speared by Steve Wallace (who hasn't), and was done a few laps later with transmission problems. A very unfulfilling ending.

He sat solitary at turn two after bowing out, but not before emerging to the raucous cheers of the Canadian crowd, all applauding and screaming in appreciation of his career. The Canadians are among the smartest and most passionate pure auto racing supporters (far more than in this country, for instance). To see them send Carpentier off with such a response indicates the type of person he is, besides a driver.

I don't know Carpentier very well, in fact barely as well as some of the other current IndyCar pilots. But even just bumping into him at Long Beach this year, he remembered me and thanked me for coming to some of his races in the past. Those who know him better will probably have countless stories about his character and his always upbeat attitude, as well as his undoubted ability behind the wheel.

Speaking on SPEED's "Wind Tunnel" this evening, Carpentier showed that innate drive of a racer, saying the "start-and-park" tactics employed by some of the bottom-feeding Cup teams didn't placate his desire to keep driving. Wanting to not be on the road as much and take care of his family shows a commitment to things beyond racing at this stage in his life.

There aren't that many drivers who I can think of since '96 who have signed off too early rather than too late. Perhaps Rick Mears, but he had retired when I was three.

In contrast to his countryman in the Nationwide race, Jacques Villeneuve, who seems to be clutching at straws for any opportunity while running his mouth every other month on some random F1 topic, Carpentier bows out still at the top of his game and with as much class now as he did when I saw a young, bespectacled 20-something make his CART debut in the same rookie class as Franchitti (whom he beat for rookie-of-the-year honors).

Salut, Patrick. Merci for the memories.

(That's what's called Fren-glish).

Out for now, ahead of what promises to be a busy week in the office. Cheers.

Surreal start in the OC

I’ll admit a guilty pleasure in starting this brief post. I watched “The OC” with my three guy roommates for a semester during my junior year of college.

(Praying that doesn’t revoke my man card…)

At the outset, when Ryan shows up from Chino, he is welcomed with little fanfare and the rather rough line of, “Welcome to the OC, bitch.”

Reflecting a little more than a week after getting here, and a full week of work, I think I can say with confidence that my intro to this polar opposite of Milwaukee didn’t go off quite like that. In fact, far from it.

Within the week, it’s been a whirlwind of interviews, events, tasks and getting integrated into my new job. The fact I’ve been so busy has provided a nice deviation from the concern I might be missing home or family, purely on my own and going through life without anyone else for the moment.

Without going into too much more detail, other than this picture taken from the skies (teaser alert!) so far work’s been a helluva ride and — this might sound weird for a job — pretty damn fun. I hope it keeps up.

***

Some other thoughts …

My professional obligations might present some conflicts in revealing my full opinion following the Loudon IndyCar restart fiasco. So, simply, I think Brian Barnhart is the only person who could have even remotely thought the race should have restarted how it did. Everything that follows from here hurts more than it helps as a whole.

***

Football is back. YESSSS. I’m holding out some hope of getting tickets to the Packers-Chargers game in San Diego in November, but that seems remote at the moment.

***

Jersey Shore is back. NOOOO. This year, our batch of eight fine feathered and tan guidos, guidettes take their schtick and fist-pumping to the motherland. When this was announced in February, I was none too pleased. The odd thing is the show is like a train wreck, I hate it, but I can't take my eyes off it. Two episodes have set the scene for another season of more of the same drama. Same crap, different continent.

***

I don’t have to go back to college? There’s probably going to be a post about that in the near future. Hope all my former colleagues among those working at the Marquette Tribune this year go out and dominate.

***

More later, out for now. Cheers.

Closing the Mil-Town Door For Now

In two days, I embark on the next chapter of my life - in parts daunting and exhilarating alike. Friday marks the start of what should be a four-day road trip from Milwaukee to Irvine/Orange County, California, about as diametrically polar opposites in terms of culture, attitude, atmosphere and weather as you might get. It's all to start what is, basically, a dream job straight out of college.

Myriad laptop woes that have plagued me for the better part of the last month have meant working from a hodgepodge of computers. That should be rectified once I arrive. But what that also means, is I'm not sure how likely a series of road trip blogs might be. Hopefully they happen, but if not, I know I'll be tweeting from the road at twitter.com/tonydizinno. I'm sure some sort of humorous anecdotes, sarcasm or photos will happen from there.

For now, that means shutting the door on my time in Milwaukee - a place that has always been a second home to me and one that I've come to love even more during the college years.

Rather than go into excruciating detail about every little thing that happened along the way, here's a few things I'll miss about Milwaukee, in no particular order:

-Mom (she moved back here) and other cousins/family members
-Marquette in total
-Marquette basketball
-Winters (at least initially, until it's 60 in January/February and I can rub it in)
-The food vendors (Pita Bros., American Euros, Tigerbite and The Fast Foodie, among others)
-Packers football/Lambeau Field/post-game and local sports
-The summer festivals (Festa Italiana > Summerfest, but both still awesome)
-Greendale and Ferch's
-Kopps' and Sobelman's (Sobelman's gets the edge on my favorite burger)
-Road America (although, I hope to be back in 2012 if IndyCar and ALMS could have a double-header weekend)
-Marquette friends, notably the Tribbers and Zahn twins (probably the coolest set of peeps I met at MU)
-Caff's, not so much Murph's
-Brewers games
-Being so close to Chicago
-The light traffic
-Spotted Cow and Leinie's Summer Shandy

There's more for sure, but those are some of the ones off the top of my head. It's a great city and highly underrated on the U.S. scope of such great cities, being in such close proximity to both Chicago and Madison. With a couple cousins still in college here, as well as family still to visit, there's no question I'll be back - but now is about the turning the page and seeing what comes next.

In two days, that journey begins.

Out for now, cheers.