Monday, August 18, 2008

Oh Danny Boy

Whale there certainly seems to be quite a bit of hubbub over the previous story penned by the maestro of Open Wheel Racing, you know none other then that LUV-able curmudgeon Robin Miller...

As inquiring minds wanna know? Just where in the HELL will Dan “SPIKE” Wheldon land next season, after Miller’s infamous TK Going to Ganassi story lit up the Blogosphere and hence I’m assuming Y’all tuned into Wind Tunnel last night, eh?

As one pundit noted, “Dental Plan Dan,” is going to get his shot in ‘dem Tin Top bombers after all! As it appears that The Cheepster is set to do an in-house driver swap, with two BLOODY BLOKES changin’ rides... Err, me thinks a Scot AIN’T NO BLOODY Englishman, but I digress...

As Y’all will be chompin’ at the bit to know just what’s goin’ on in Cheepsterland, eh? Yep! Danny Boy will take over the previously vacated Ganassi/Sabates No. 42 Dodge, with Dario “Where’s my Pants” Franchitti making a return to Open Wheel Racing aboard TCGR’s No. 10 Polaroid Special... (Whale, Otay, Perhaps NOT, eh?)

But seriously folks, what’s all of this talk ‘bout Wheldon not being successful upon Road Courses and hence he’ll be replaced by none other than Bruno “Whiney Bags” Junqueira? Or that Newman Haas Lanigan would let potential series superstar Graham “Son ‘O Stash” Rahal leave their fold?

Yet, the burning question seems to be where will Wheldon ultimately end up? As Indy aficionado Danny B sez; we know he’s NOT going to Penske or AGR... Could he wind-up in a second Rahal Letterman Racing chassis? As that’d be a nice grouping of Ryan “The Dude” Hunter Reay partnered with Danny Beckum Wheldon... But can Wheldon bring any sponsorship with him? As you know RLR isn’t running a second car this season because of a lack ‘O funding.

Of course there’s always Oriel Servia’s seat at KV Racing Technology or any of the other Champ Car Ref, Err Transition teams... Not to mention the lesser known IRL entities... Like some of ‘dem perennial meat packer’s, Err Mid-pack team named Vision Racing...

Yet, it would seem that being from England and having began racing go karts at the tender age of four... Before coming Across the Pond to contest Formula Ford and Toyota Atlantics, prior to making his IRL debut driving two events alongside Sam Hornish Jr. at Panther Racing in 2002, Wheldom MUST have some Road Racing prowess?

Interestingly, Wheldon entered into a rivalry with fellow Brit Jenson Button prior to coming to America, as he’d like to have continued his way up the ladder towards Formula 1 but didn’t have the financial backing... And if Wheldon’s such a right turning slouch, then why did BMW Sauber offer him a contract in 2006? And reportedly Wheldon said he’d like to look at his F1 options after his contract with Chip Ganassi was up...

So, wait a minute, I’ve got it! As The Cheepster’s done it before, as in recall Montoya was worth the price of two F3000 drivers... Yeah, I can now see it very clearly! The Hamburgular will come over to TCGR with Danny Beckum taking up his seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso... Yeah, that’s the ticket! (Nah, I’d expect Wheldon to re-sign for TCGR next season...)