I am glad to see that Phil Geibler will get another shot at Indy, though I gather this means Jacques Lazier is now without a ride. Also, I am curious if the Zimmerman involved is the same Zimmerman who used to own a team back in the early days of the IRL. Does anyone know?
INDYCAR... Home of the BEST RACING on the planet!
Here's the IRL story:
Majority ownership of Playa Del Racing has been purchased by former Indiana Boxing Commissioner William T. Kelsey and Arizona businessman Eric Zimmerman and will be known as American Dream Motorsports.
American Dream Motorsports will attempt to qualify for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 with 2007 Chase Rookie of the Year Phil Giebler behind the wheel of the No.21 Honda-powered Panoz.
Former Playa Del Racing co-owner Susan Schafer will oversee American Dream Motorsports' Firestone Indy Lights program.
"It's an honor to be a part of the Indy Racing League under the new format," said Zimmerman, an Indianapolis native. "I truly value my new relationship with Susan Schafer."
Giebler qualified 33rd in 2007 and finished 29th after being involved in a single-car accident on Lap 106.
"It's hard to put into words what it means to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500," Giebler said. "I had a huge learning curve in my rookie run last year, but I plan on this being a much better year. To say Indy is all I've thought about for the last 12 months would be an understatement."
Al Unser III will continue to drive the American Dream Motorsports Firestone Indy Lights No. 21 entry for the remainder of the season.
"I'm extremely excited to start this new relationship with Eric and American Dream Motorsports," said Unser, who is ninth in the Firestone Indy Lights points championship. "This is a great time to be in open-wheel racing, and I'm looking forward to continuing our hunt for the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights championship."
Kelsey owns GB Management Company, a real-estate management and acquisitions company, in Indianapolis. Zimmerman and wife Penny have owned restaurants for more than 30 years. American Dream Motorsports will be headquartered in Indianapolis.
With Giebler in the #21 and assuming Beck/Agajanian does run - that means we
have 37 car/driver combinations.
Eric and Penny Zimmerman used to own Zali Racing who ran Billy Roe in a painfully slow car in 2001.Originally Posted by irlracingfan
I found a photo of the Zali car which was recently posted in the "Fans Photo" section of the Indycar site. I can't seem to post it here.
[img]file:///C:/Users/Patrick/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg
I met Eric years ago and thought it may be the same person. I wish them well. It would be good if this could eventually become a full-time effort.
Though others may not share my opinion, I'd like to see 33 cars at EVERY IndyCar race... as that is IndyCar racing... the 33 fastest cars! Bringing in new owners, new teams, etc. is healthy and necessary for growth.
I recall that they ran most of the season without any telemetry because they couldn't afford to buy a telemetry system.
Eric used to be the owner of Zali Racing as noted above. He was basically run out of the State of Nevada for not paying a lot of people who he owed money to. There are still a number of people with liens on his assets, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out if he is actually an "owner" in this new effort.
I remember when Antonio Ferrari was an owner and the sheriff came to padlock his garage at IMS, IIRC they were forewarned, and a lot of his "assets" were scattered into several other garages in the garage area.
It's always been about the Indy 500!
I realize I have the right to remain silent, but don't have the ability or enough common sense to do so.:rolleyes:
Great News!
With 37 cars, what is the chance for a single car panoz team to make the field?
I would say slim to none.
Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon 1978 - 2011
That Panoz almost won the "500" last year. Giebler can get that car up to speed. I can see several of the former Champ Car teams not making the field this year. Giebler should be able to run faster then several of them. IMO
I wish the sheriffs would have done that after the 6 car USGP. That would have been sweet!I remember when Antonio Ferrari was an owner and the sheriff came to padlock his garage at IMS, IIRC they were forewarned, and a lot of his "assets" were scattered into several other garages in the garage area.
"The problem with internet quotes and statistics is that often times, they're wrongfully believed to be real." - Abraham Lincoln
That was another "Ferrari."
Almost won, oh well, as MOST of us have been saying the last two weeks, "a win is a win."
No Panoz will gualify this year without some serious weather issues on Bump Day, the team better find a Dallara.
Great News. It will be challenging to make the race, but I hope they make the show. Does Jacques Lazier have money? Maybe he ends up in another ride.
Lazier, money, Vail, CO, Tivoli Lodge, probably enough, but considering Jaques Indy 500 record/results, I would rather have him in a car than PJ, Yasukawa, Barron or Hearn.
What you have against Barron? He has had two very good runs in the "500". Barron would have won in 2002 if Tomas didnt crash in turn four.
Having trouble following this run-on sentence.
Nothing, I just said "I would rather have Jaques in a car." Barron is an IndyCar winner too, I just like him at Indy.
And Morris, I guess the Lazier family has the funds, he should be a good pick without that. You asked if he had money, I said probably. You can put someone in a car with funds and he could wad it up in a ball in a 2nd-week "Q" run like Giebler did last year. After he crashed last year there were people working all night on that car that didn't even have their car in the race yet.
Last edited by Mack Too; 05-03-2008 at 05:20 PM.
Jaques is a winner too. Chicagoland '01, I think.
If I were Ed Carpenter and you were a lady...
IMO Barron's a better driver.
You are right, he has won, I had forgotten, it was Chicagoland in 2001, for John Menard. thanks
I would definately take Hearn over J. Lazier. Richie took a "Tub O' S***" car from Hemelgarn / Racing Professionals last year and got it up to speed with only 14 laps. The first seven laps with one hand while holding his helmet on and barely being able to see over the wheel (cockpit was set up for a much larger Jon Herb). Too bad Richie, another former race winner, doesn't have the funding. The car was a true handful in the race but Hearn brought it home in one piece.
Lazier failed to follow a team order and crashed into TK on a re-start.
I saw that crash - at first I thought Tony hit Jacques from behind, but the replay
shows that while it was extremely close, there is no strong evidence for
contact prior to Jacques spin. I'm curious what the team order was ???
We'll see if the "Elfen Magic" continues this year!I am glad to see that Phil Geibler will get another shot at Indy...
Sad... Geibler deserves better.
It is a sad day for Indy Racing if they let Eric Zimmerman back in the mix.
Actually he is a "real sweet guy" but he will charm you right out of your pants.
This guy owes money to everyone he has ever done business with.
That's the truth. Ask some of his old team members or some of his previous suppliers. Just for fun, run a credit check on the guy. He has leans and judgments on him up the Wazoo ! The guy is a total con artist and if he is involved, this can only end badly. The only way he could ever seriously get in the game again is to do the honorable thing and pay his previous debts. Sadly, there is not an honorable bone in his body. It is true that he was run out of Indy, and run out of Nevada, and was also run out of Arizona for a while. BTW, Does owning a Hot Dog Cart count as owning a restaurant ?
I think at least one or two Panoz chassis will make the field for the simple reason that there won't be 33 Dallaras available to qualify. Full-time teams that would normally make T-cars available for second-weekend deals are going to keep those cars in the garage this year. They will do that because they have to think ahead; with the current shortage of spares, they may need those T-cars for Milwaukee.
Hola amigos,
Don't know this Zim gringo but Geibler is a gunner. He gonna keep it real and make the big show and do well on race day no matter what kinda tamale wagon his speed pimp give him.
Go Geibler Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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