Notes from the Champ Car Race at Portland 2006

Notes from the G.I. Joe's Presents The Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland taken during the CBS broadcast on 6/18/06.

To recap the craziness over the last week: AJ fired from RuSPORT. Nobody seems to know why. AJ goes to Niagara Falls and gets engaged to a former Miss Champ Car. Da Matta hired away from Dale Coyne racing. Dominguez fired from Forsythe, possibly for hip checking half the contenders out of two races, including Paul "I Always Look Like I Want to Kick Your Ass" Tracy. AJ hired at Forsythe to fill Mario's old spot. Mario hired to fill Da Matta's spot. I continue to think the whole thing was determined by a lottery-like ping-pong-ball number selection device.

Welcome to Portland. We're here after the aforementioned swirl that saw the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford (BPCCWSPF) shed its lone American then find him again and have him almost win the pole.

Junk on the pole! Go figure. It's not Bourdais. I checked three times. Media alerted: Boudais did not win the pole.

Michele Beisner has been re-hired (or redeployed). She's been sent out to deliver many viewing-enhancing segments on the super-fun things to do around Portland that may or may not be associated with the race.

In her opening segment, Michele, who I seriously doubt owns any shirts with sleeves in them, has the guns out again and is at the BPCCWSPF merchandise trailer. Many fine gifts for Father's Day. (Father's Day reference number 1 of about 200). Michele says there are many fathers in the house today including those of Nelson Phillipe, AJ Humdinger and Katherine Legge. Tracy is himself a father as is Mr. Kalkhoven who has his daughter in the hizzouse today. Michele says she has, in fact, not gotten around to getting her dad anything for Father's Day yet but says he's the best.

Derek Daly says the track is very fast. The "festival curves" are key. Getting through them is half the battle.

The 41st Brigade of the Oregon National Guard stationed in Afghanistan gives us the "Drivers, start your engine!" Who-Rah.

Rick Benjamin says there are "lots of places to pass" on this track. We'll see. That would make it the exception for street/road courses.

Down to Cameron Steele who is deployed in the Oriol Servia pits. Oriol spent the last few days trashing cars. Oriol wrecking montage. Went through his two and had to borrow his teammate, Katherine Legge's back up car. Slapped a sticker on the nose of it that says "Car Courtesy of K. Legge."

Starting lineup: Bruno Junqueira, A.J. "The Lone American" Allmendinger, Sebastien "What, No Pole?" Bourdais, Justin Wilson, Christiano "What's" da Matta, Speedy Dan Clarke, Will Power, Nelson "Flowing Hair" Philippe, Alex Tagliani, Paul Tracy, Nicky Pastorelli, Oriol Servia, Andrew "Lone" Ranger, Mario "Any Ride in a Storm" Dominguez, Katherine "Show Some" Legge, Charles Zwolsman, Jan Heylen, Tonis Kasemets.

Down to Jan Beekhus in the Bruno pit. Bruno wants a win for Father's Day. Let's go to the video showing Bruno getting screwed in Turn 1, Lap 1 of Long Beach. Cue the circus music. Multiple angles.

We interrupt this report for the start of the race. Let's light this candle.

Yellow-yellow-yellow. Looked like a jail break coming into the start finish. Flag guy waved it off. Hey, we're all professionals here. Maybe everyone knows passing on the start is pretty much the only time you can pass. Just me speculating.

Back to Jan to finish the Bruno Getting Screwed montage with some video of Mario punting Bruno into the wall at Milwaukee and then hip checking Tracy for good measure.

Let's try again to light this candle.

Green-green-green. Holy Jail Break. It looked to me they were about five wide at the line. Like Van Halen fans sprinting for the front row at a general-admission concert. Bruno and Bourdais got jumped like two opera-goers in South Central LA. Mugged.

Pasterilli in the dirt. He's heading cross-country. Left rear is toast. Derek says it was cut by a wing plate, most likely.

Lap 2 -- Tracy up to 5th. Got five spots on the circus start.

Nicky in. Changes tire. Speedy Dan and Nicky were having a good run this weekend.

In-car video of Zwolsman turning left after the contact. Cutting through the festival curves, I believe. Derek says Chuck may have saw the "schlossel" in front of him and decided to avoid all that. Derek is bringing the color, baby. Brace for a stream of heavily accented gibberish. Bring it, Double D.

Down to Cameron with Paul Gentilozi, Nicky's pit guy. Says Oriol got into the rear of Nicky's tire. Doesn't take much to cut a tire.

AJ leads. Derek says this is a golden opportunity. His career was almost derailed by the RuSPORT firing. I think there was Father's Day reference number 16 in here somewhere.

Bourdais is 7th. Just released from the ER for the mugging he got on the start. Got stitched up. Going to the Portland Police Department to look at mug shots later.

Commercial. Ford Bold Moves commercial where the woman pays for the shirts of the guy behind her in the dry cleaning drive through. I'm going to keep track of how many times I see this commercial, because I bet it's about 10 before the race is over.

Speedy Dan Clarke is SECOND. Speedy Dan is in front of Bourdais. Holy angina. The Media is alerted once again. French sportscasters: "Zat cannot be riiiiight."

Legge is 15th. She's the only driver who started on black tires, according to Rick. Saving the reds for the end, apparently.

Derek says "the only thing that doesn't lie in racing is the stopwatch." True-dat, Double D.

Video of Oriol's "Car Courtesy of K. Legge" sticker. Striking.

Speedy Dan is SECOND. I'm having trouble getting over this. Down to team owner Keith Wiggins. It's early, Keith says. Got the speed. See if it pans out. Why the new confidence? Keith -- It's a big step. Two years ago driving Formula Fords and others. We expected it to take some time. May have been spooked by a couple of accidents. "Good guys who stick with it come through."

Video of Wilson blowing up at Portland last year. Oil pump or some such. Died in the Festival Curves. Much fist shaking.

Down to Jan with Carl Russo. Justin and Christiano doing a good job so far. Thinks it will be a heck of a race. Five-ish cars that have a shot. Jan: How tough was it to fire AJ? Carl - Time for both of us to find a new environment. Thinks both situations will work out well. Couldn't be happier for AJ.

Double D -- Tracy is loose.

Double D again -- AJ can't experience brain lock today. "AJ cannot drop a bomb here and throw this thing off into the boondocks." (?) Come on, Derek. Give us a little something-something.

Speedy still second. But wait, his right front is shredding. Needs to slow down or he'll wreck the front wing. DD - - "What a disaaaaaaster for Speedy Daaaaaan."

Bourdais has a run on da Matta. Backs off. Better not to get in there and wreck and screw your championship points situation.

Lap 25. AJ leads by 9 seconds.

To Jan in the Bourdais pits -- Not happy with the start. No panic. Changing strategy.

Junk got shuffled to 6th on the start. Not happy with the start. Kind of like you wouldn't be happy if someone hit you between the eyes with a two-by-four. Very upset thought he was jumped. Jan says the rule is as soon as the green flag waves you can pass. Goofy rule. Just jump the start and claim you saw the flag. Keep doing it until they let a jail break go.

Lap 31. Kasemets taking his time to get used to the heavier BPCCWSPF cars. Kasemets montage. Atlantics wins. Derek says it's a whole new deal in the Big Cars.

Bourdais passes da Matta for fourth. Actual televised pass that did not occur due to a start or a pit stop. Presses are stopped.

Lap 32. Bourdais working on Junk for third. Bruno looks loose as a goose.

AJ pitting. Gets red tires. Wilson pitting. Gets black tires. Da Matta pitting. Gets reds. Bruno beats da Matta out.

Bourdais in a lap after the leaders. Gets reds. Fills the car full. Out in 10.4 and stays in front of Bruno and Tracy.

Derek -- Red tires are .4 seconds faster early in the stint.

Ford Bold Moves Commercial Airing #2.

Will Power pitting. Derrick Walker on the radio tells him to "run like hell." Bourdais 4th. Legge 13th.

Joe Barbieri of Bridgestone with Jan. Reds on long runs don't have much left at the end. 85% to 100% wear.

Lap 45. Clarke still in front of Bourdais. May be a sign of the apocalypse. Zwolsman will get a 10-second penalty soon for continually cutting the course. Tracy has blacks on. Gone from 3rd to seventh. Nelson's dad Thierry Phillipe gets air. Father's Day reference number 42.

Lap 50 -- Double D -- You got Wilson (of RuSPORT) in second behind AJ (Fired by RuSPORT) "Boy this is a grudge match especially at the front."

Jan -- Oriol in. 10 seconds. Radio: "Make hay for us." Derek -- Drivers on cold tires with full fuel is when they earn their pay.

Mike Cannon, AJ's new engineer, asked about back-to-back reds. Thinks the track will "grip up" and get "grippy" toward the end so the blacks will work fine then. AJ is leading, "it's like a Father's Day gift for him." (Father's Day Mention number 51).

Rick thinks he may have some insight into the quadruple-secret reason AJ got "let go" from RuSPORT. Flash back to Milwaukee. AJ pits. Gets beaten out of pits. Gestures. Pissed about it. Maybe that flair up of attitude was what did it. Dissing the team on cable TV. Not like AJ had any chance of staying ahead of Bourdais in any event.

Derek -- "Never allow circumstances to dictate your behavior."

Let's review. 6/9 AJ is "released" from RuSPORT. 6/10 gets engaged at Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side. His fiance is from Toronto). 6/13 signs with Forsythe. Two-race deal. Rick -- Like moving in before the wedding. Lynne Kushnirenko is a former Face of Champ Car, Miss Molson Indy and Doctor of Chiropractic.

Lap 54 -- Half-way race recap -- Junk got "snookered" on the start. Nicky takes the dirt in turn 1, Speedy Dan has been speedy but then shreds a tire. AJ clean and green so far.

Lap 55 -- AJ leads by 3.5 seconds. Derek -- this is a great mental as well as physical test for AJ.

Ford Bold Moves TV spot airing #3

Lap 60 -- Bruno accuses Will Power of blocking. Asking for the blue flag.

Cameron down in AJ's pit. Biggest problem is keep bumping into Katherine Legge. AJ is complaining about lapped traffic.

Bruno in third. Legge 15th. Rick reminds us she led in Milwaukee, first woman ever to lead a BPCCWSPF race.

Lap 64 -- Wilson trying to get around AJ. As if. Derek declares this a "fight to the finish." It's a "straight fight" with Wilson vs. AJ.

Bruno in. Jan -- Gets the black tires. Under 10 seconds. Da Matta trying to get around Bruno. No dice.

We're on board with Bourdais. He's behind lapped traffic. Video replay of Bourdais going past the start-finish and gesturing for the flag guy to get the blue flag out (blue flag -- move over for faster traffic). I strongly suspect the flag guy is having a beer somewhere since there have been NO yellows since the wave off. Jan confirms that Bourdais is complaining about the slow-ass cars in front of him. We're back on board with Bourdais in third.

Lap 68 -- Derek -- "This is what it's all about right here. Can Allmendinger withstand the pressure?" Will he have brain lock? Stay tuned.

Will Power is toast in the pits. Much cowling removal.

37 laps to go.

Ford Bold Moves ad airing #4

Lap 72. Replay of Wilson locking up the right front as he thought better of sticking his snout inside AJ. Onboard cam shows he may have a flat spot.

Derek is fired up. "This is what racing is all about. Man and machine going as hard as they can."

DD -- uses his directing skills (roll the video -- STOP IT THERE.) an the telestrator to show us the flat spot on Wilson's car. Much telestration.

The flat spot has Wilson off balance and he's falling back. Derek says two laps earlier "AJ could look in his mirrors and see Wilson's eye balls out on stalks as he was closing in."

Russo -- Talks about the flat spot. I think Carl Russo set a record for amount of air time in one BPCCWSPF broadcast. He's gotten more air time (easily) than Katherine Legge.

Derek -- "I luv it; I luv it; I luv it."

Lap 77. All the lapped cars make it nutty out there. DD -- AJ has a history of having brain fade at critical times but been impeccable today. (So stay tuned!)

Wilson in for tires. The flat spot is throwing off the balance of his car. Game over for this race unless AJ does have a brain fade or maybe comes under sniper fire.

Lap 80 (I may have dozed off right in here). da Matta is running without even his custom seat.

Lap 83 -- Bruno stuck behind Nicky.

Lap 86 -- AJ in for his final stop. This is pretty much the race. He's out again. Clean. Only AJ can beat AJ now. He's ahead by 7.5 seconds.

da Matta in and out. AJ up by 7 seconds. Speedy Dan in. He was third in the race earlier. Faded somewhat.

Rick (or perhaps Derek) says Bourdais is putting on a clinic.

Down to Greg Allmendinger, AJ's dad. Give a shout out to the Allmendinger clan. I think in EVERY interview they said thanks to Forsythe and Red Bull. Major sponsor thanks. Father's Day mention number 105.

Ford Bold Moves Commercial airing #5.

Lap 93. Speedy Dan is 7th. Fixing to have a fight with Paul Tracy.

Last time an American won in BPCCWSPF was Ryan Hunter Ray in 2004 on an oval (Milwaukee Mile). AJ is having his day in the sun, according to Double D.

10 to go. It will take a mortar attack or AJ to completely go mental for him to lose. Down to Lynne Kushnirenko in the pits. Got engaged when AJ was technically unemployed. No worries. It was time for a change. Thanks Forsythe everyone else who stuck with him. How he handled it showed his maturity.

10 to go. Derek says for AJ this is "hang on to your hollyhocks time." I knew it was coming. I was a junky, waiting for the "hang onto your hollyhocks."

AJ now up by 9.5. Wilson has had five consecutive top-5 finishes.

Bourdais registers fastest lap of the race at 59.4. Last two were fastest laps of the race. Tracy is fighting for 6th with Speedy Dan. There's something you don't hear every day.

6 to go. 5 to go. Bourdais is on the rev limiter. You can almost hear him screaming with rage over the engine. 4 to go. AJ by 8 seconds. Bourdais is all up on Wilson's tail. 3 to go. 2 to go.

Lynne Cam activated. Her and Allmendinger's mom got the tears going on. DD used to call AJ "Wallmendinger" the one-man crash highlight reel.

1 to go. Bourdais can't pass Wilson. I think it's a good thing that Bourdais is not armed. Allmendinger wins. Sun freezes. France declares national day of mourning. Files protest with international tribunal.

AJ celebrates by dropping the F-bomb on national TV over his radio. "You guys are f*cking .." (quickly cut off). I think he was going to say "f*cking awesome" or something. It wouldn't be a BPCCWSPF race without the F-bomb in there somewhere.

Finish: AJ, Justin Wilson, Bourdais, Junqueira, da Matta, Speedy Dan, Tracy, Nelson, Lone Ranger (one lap down), Oriol. Legge 13th, two laps down.

Donuts. Father's Day reference number 132. On the rev limiter doing donuts. Going to blow up that Powered By Ford item.

Let's go to AJ's dad. Emotional. On fire. Gives Forsythe a shout out. These guys are amazing with the Forsythe mentions.

Down to Jan with AJ in the winner's circle. Your thoughts? AJ is farklempt. Thanks Forsythe. Awesome. Thanks Red Bull. Parents. Lynne Kush. Thanks Carl Russo for all he did for him over the last three years. Wishes he could have won the first one for him. Classy statement. Makes up for the F-bomb.

Wilson comes over to congratulate. Wilson may be the World's Tallest Open Wheel Driver. He's like 6-foot. Maybe Tracy is his size. Wilson says "fresh start is what was needed." Father's Day reference number 143.

Atlantics Montage -- Graham Rahal punted in the start. Major circus music in this race. Bumper cars. Twisted sheet metal in this one.

Down to Michele who is playing poker with Tags at some location (filmed before the race, obviously). She wins this hand. My viewing is enhanced. It's almost like they had some Michele segments left over and had to wedge them in there.

Bourdais -- Frustrated. Third on the grid but was seventh before crossing the start-finish line. Declares it bogus. Thought the first start they waved off was way better than the second one. Had a great MAC-donald's car today. Frustrating.

Over to Bruno who is with Jan. Bruno says the first start was great. Did it perfect as the pole sitter. Don't know why they threw the yellow. Second time they brought out the green much earlier. By the time he was through turn one he was 5th. Color him screwed at that point. All the work in qualifying was hosed on the start. Bruno is not happy.

Bold Moves commercial airing #6.

Jan is with Steve Johnson, president and CEO of the BPCCWSPF. What about that IRL merger talk? Steve says everyone is still talking. Stay tuned.

Speedy Dan. Happy with sixth. Passed Tracy on the last lap. Dan talks for about five minutes here. Father's Day reference number 176. Over to da Matta. Happy with 5th. He thought the start was fine. Bruno and Bourdais were napping. Got caught up. Had to brake.

Next race: Cleveland. June 25. 2:30 p.m. eastern. CBS. Look for Bourdais to get on the gas about half a lap early at the start.