What a strange weekend. Danica Patrick joins the winner's circle and Will Power thunders to the last ever Champ Car victory. While it's possible to believe that Danica would someday win an Indycar event, few would have taken a bet both Indy and Champ Car would someday unite.

I must admit, I was doubtful of Danica Patrick. Not of her driving ability though, but of the media machine that she seems to be. In many ways she was more hype than substance, at least until that first victory, which some critics decried would never come. Much like Dale Jr. she was more of a media personality than a real race car driver to many. And while I congratulate her on the victory we should bear in mind that the triumph will do little to quell the criticism.

The problem is that until a race car driver wins several championships or at the very least several major races in different disciplines they will rarely have the respect of most critics. It's a hard feat to achieve, and few are able to make the grade. Still we all secretly pulled for the first girl open wheeler and the son of a NASCAR legend.

On the other hand the Champ Car / IndyCar feud was something that we blocked from memory. Though I grew up in the South, less than 30 miles from NASCAR central I still managed to watch a few Indy 500s and to marvel at the most venerable event in motor racing history. Indianapolis was the center of open wheel racing and for the longest time I couldn't understand why a dispute would shatter the sanctity of gasoline alley. But it did and in the absence of a cohesive formula I watched as open wheel spiraled into oblivion.

Truth be told I never expected a reconciliation, and in some ways that belief came to pass. It's not so much as Champ Car merged with Indy but that the series could no longer shoulder the cost of sustaining the war between them. Thankfully Indy extended the olive branch to Champ Car's abandoned teams and though the adjustment has been tough I think many will survive the transition.

And while it's great that the world of open wheel is finally reunited I think many Champ Car fans wanted nothing less than one great hurrah. Today Will Power, one of the series most promising young drivers, won the last ever Champ Car event at the historic Long Beach course in California. Power dominated the event and lead all but two laps.

While neither happenings surprise me I do find it quite coincidental that both managed to happen while America's most popular motor sport, NASCAR Sprint Cup, was off lollygagging. In some ways it's only fitting since both series have hemorrhaged fans to stock car racing and in all honesty have only managed to earn headline status while the good ole boys were on vacation.

One year ago the race for GT2 at Sebring came down to a final lap battle between Porsche and Ferrari. It was spectacular! The 2008 event in less than two days promises at least as many surprises and a lot more variety.

The big news this year: two diesels, the Peugeot 908 and Audi R10, battle for the overall victory; Porsche and Acura will go toe to toe in LMP2; Aston Martin returns to challenge Corvette; and GT2 will feature seven different manufacturers: Porsche, Ferrari, Panoz, Corvette, Aston Martin, Dodge, Ford.

The buildup has been immense for months with rumors circulating that the French Peugeot team would make an appearance along with a factory Aston Martin effort, and possibly the long awaited Ford GT. This will also be the first outing of the GT2 spec Corvette C6 which has been a particular hit on YouTube with early testing videos posted in the months leading up to its debut.

Coverage began earlier this week on Radio Le Mans which is available on the Internet. Race day coverage begins at 9:30am Saturday on SPEED TV and XM satellite radio. In the mean time you can catch up on last seasons action via the American Le Mans website

I'm not a huge fan of the Rolex series but few sports car fans can ignore the Daytona 24. The 2008 event promises to be an all-star event, as usual. This year features extended coverage offered on a newly redesigned Grand Am website. New additions for the year include two live video feeds as well as the venerable live timing and scoring. You can also tune into the broadcast on Speed TV, which will air 15.5 hours of live coverage.

Advanced Live Timing

The 24 Hours of Le Mans has come to a close and once again Audi has taken top honors. It was anything but easy and the winning R10 was the lone survivor of the event. The Peugeot camp fought hard but ultimately the long hours and occasional off track excursions would take their toll. An American team Binnie Motorsports, which competes in the Le Mans Series in Europe, won in LMP2 with ALMS driver Fernandez following in second. The battle royale in GT1 came down to the factory Aston Martins and the Corvettes as everyone expected. A lone Corvette was at the finish after its sister car broke a drive shaft leaving the path open for the 009 Aston Martin DBR9 to take its first win at Le Mans. In GT2 the victory went to French team IMSA Matmut and American driver Patrick Long who simply outlasted everyone else. Other honorable mentions include the Henri Pescarola squad who finished third on the podium in LMP1 in spite of all the odds and the Saleen teams who managed to find reliability and survive until the end.

On the Le Mans party front I'd have to say that it was a huge success. This year we ran both a time trials competition as well as a head to head match race. After resolving some network trouble the gang was able to gather round the gaming setup and listen to Radio Le Mans during the early afternoon Speed TV coverage blackout. As the night rolled on and the drink flowed there were several pitched battles between drivers including an all out banzai 3 lap race at Le Mans in the Audi R8.

Needless to say the day after I was a bit tired. About 35 hours of racing and being awake with a short 3 hour nap. I'll gather the statistics and make an official post of record over on the ERS site along with a few pictures as they come in. Anyway, till then it's back to work with only a long look toward the 2007 Petit Le Mans this fall.