We are looking forward to meeting some drivers, eating some good food, and seeing (perhaps) one of the last CART races.
The racing will be held on a temporary street circuit near the Bayfront Park area of downtown Miami. Support racing includes a 2.5-hour American LeMans race, the Toyota Atlantic cars, and after the CART race, the Trans-Am cars take the track.
Canadian driver Paul Tracy is in the CART points lead but the championship is far from decided. With four races to go, five drivers are mathematically still in the hunt for the championship. Here are their point standings:
- Paul Tracy -- 204 with 6 wins
- Bruno Junqueira -- 186 with 2 wins
- Michel Jourdain, Jr. -- 165 with 2 wins
- Sebastien Bourdais -- 142 with 3 wins
- Patrick Carpentier -- 128 with 1 win
Mrs. Howell is very disappointed that we might not see Italian heartthrob Max Papis. She is smitten by his Italian accent, his swarthy Mediterranean complexion and his rugged good looks. It's possible that we may still see Papis because the last we heard he was dating Emerson Fittipaldi's daughter!
We know Emmo will be at the race because he owns a car competing in the race. I will be taking my recording gear to capture some of the sounds of the race. I'm considering having Paul Tracy record a message for my answering machine. It could go something like this:
Hello, this is CART Champion Paul Tracy. You have reached 357-1106. Chris and Charlotte can't come to the phone right now but if you'll leave your name and number, they will call you back as soon as possible. Oh, by the way, I was robbed at the 2002 Indianapolis 500.There's also a little race in Indianapolis this weekend. The United States Formula One.
The Grand Prix of the Americas will be televised. Look for us in the stands on CBS and check back here because I'll have a few follow-up posts after the race.