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Jimmie Johnson Looking Tough, Arie Jr. and Where Were the Harleys?

Had the chance to see practice for the inaugural MotoGP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not being a bike person, I thought this would be a good opportunity to see that side of racing. I’ve always respected two-wheelers, growing up I remember fellas like Kenny Roberts and Wayne Rainey. I even knew that oval racers like Joe Leonard and Paul Goldsmith came to Indy car racing via two wheels. On the F-1 side, John Surtees and “Mike the Bike” Hailwood were motorcycle legends.

On Friday a light rain fell on IMS most of the day with periods of heavier rain then eventually the rain stopped. In the rain the bikes put on a good show, seeing riders like Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden scream down the straightaway at 170+ M.P.H. was thrilling. It was quite a diverse crowd, many hardcore “real” bikers, meaning you can tell some of these fellas have ridden most of their life. Weathered leathers, the boots, chaps, looking like Burt Munro from the movie “World’s Fastest Indian.” Also, a lot of Europeans and Canadians braved the wet weather and looked like they were enjoying what was most likely their first trip to the Brickyard. It was a crowd similar to the Formula One crowd, most of them staying downtown instead of camping as Georgetown Road was eerily quiet on Friday night. The most interesting thing was the lack of Harleys. I saw only a small handful. I saw many neat street and road legal race bikes. Some bikes I had not seen in years, many older BMWs, Nortons and Moto-Guzzis. Also many older Yamahas and Hondas, very cool. Very disappointed in the lack of support from the American Harley riders, many I dare say are like NASCAR fans they only like NASCAR and not other types of racing. Yes, I know Buell and H-D do not have a presence in MotoGP. Perhaps the Harley riders are more interested in their new leather jackets and shining their chrome instead of seeing the epitome of motorcycle racing.

Looks like 2007 again, Jimmie Johnson is getting hot at the right time. After finishing second at New Hampshire, he commented, “Second anytime is no fun but with the big picture and you look at the guys who had bad luck today. Great effort for this Lowe’s Impala. I’m very proud of these guys. We had a shot at winning. My weakest point all day long was on restarts and Greg (Biffle) was a little stronger then and I’d pull away after 10 or 15 laps. But a great performance. Great fun racing these guys today and we did what we needed to.” Nice to see Biffle win, but Johnson looks like the man to beat for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Some say the in the Chase for the Cup, you get one ‘mulligan.’ If so, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch have used theirs in the first race.

Bryan Gapinski informed me that long-time midget car owner and supporter of Badger Midget Auto Racing Al Weber died at his retirement home in Solon Springs, WI on Tuesday Sept. 9 at the age of 86-years old. Al and his wife Ruth were married for 64-years. Weber, a veteran of service in the Army during World War II, fielded midgets from 1976-94, and continued to be involved in his son Brad’s race career, thereafter. Among Weber’s drivers besides Brad who began driving in 1978, included Greg Nelson, Ron Pfiel, Bob Walldan, John Hartwig and Dan Fredenberg. Brad driving for Al won the inaugural Dairyland Midget Series event in 1984.

The IndyCar race at Chicagoland Speedway was thrilling, the opener earlier in the day was great too. Shortly after winning the Indy Lights SunRichGourmet.com 100, Arie Luyendyk Jr., received one of the two checkered flags that Indy Racing League starter Bryan Howard waved as he crossed the start-finish line.

The driver’s father, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, asked if Howard had signed the keepsake, which the starter gives to each first-time winner. He wanted his son to remember everything about the moment.

“It’s been a long-time coming,” the elder Luyendyk said. “He’s had a lot of opportunities and chances before where he’s missed out on them. There have been ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ but finally he got the job done, so it’s awesome.”

Luyendyk Jr., the only driver to compete in every season of the Firestone Indy Lights history, earned his first career win in the 2008 season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. He passed his teammate and 2008 Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos on a Lap 67 restart and held off Ana Beatriz for the win.

“It was a great run,” Luyendyk Jr. said. “I think in years past, you’ve seen a lot of impatience here and you’ve seen a lot of side-by-side racing for the lead. Sorry it couldn’t have been a better show, but it definitely benefited me the most. That last restart I knew I needed to get it done. It was a good opportunity. I poked my nose through there. He wasn’t able to close the door in time. It’s a great feeling to finally get that win.”

The win capped a rebirth in the racing career of the second-generation driver, who finished second to A.J. Foyt IV in the inaugural Firestone Indy Lights season under the Indy Racing League sanction, but had yet to tally his win in more than 60 starts. That changed with his signing with the AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing team at the beginning of the season.

Thanks to IndyCar Media for contributing to this column

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