Is it Official?

[SactoIndyFan]

Is Carpenter officially with RBTC? On the IndyCar site, it says that he is testing today at Phoenix and it listed him as teammate to Barron.

[sabin_24]

No, it's not official. I heard that Cheever is going to test several drivers in the off season.

[Jim Wilke]

Must have been a fairly big deal; Tony was there. Of course, he may have wanted to get a look at the reconfigured track as well.

[SFracer]

I wonder if he is considering testing some drivers from CART. I think Vasser or Gidley would be a good fit.

[Jim Wilke]

There's something about Gidley that doesn't meet the eye. The fans and media love him, and yet, he's tested and driven for a number of teams in CART and the IRL and he keeps getting passed over. His age is becoming a factor now and I believe his day is done. I doubt you'll ever see him in a permanent ride again.

[SFracer]

Yeah, I have to agree with you on that Jim. He really showed well when he was driving for Chip and was wondering why he didn't get picked up. Gidley would probably drive for nothing compared to drivers in F3. IMHO, at Indy a few years ago he got a raw deal when Herbert decided to bail on the western union entry and was thrown in the car with very little track time. I just read that he is teaming up with Landon Yee & Chris Ortenburger for a Karting Endurance race at Infineon

[theunions]

Originally posted by SFracer
Gidley would probably drive for nothing compared to drivers in F3. IMHO, at Indy a few years ago he got a raw deal when Herbert decided to bail on the western union entry and was thrown in the car with very little track time. I just read that he is teaming up with Landon Yee & Chris Ortenburger for a Karting Endurance race at Infineon

Do you mean Renn Ortenburger (his housemate and author of a terrific article on him this summer in Kart Sport), not "Chris?"

And as far as age not being on his side...well, considering that he didn't turn a wheel in a race car until he was 21, age has NEVER been on his side.

[Jim Wilke]

Don't misunderstand, I think Gidley is a great kid and a terrific story. I would love to see him succeed, he'd be a great addition to the IRL. Still, for some reason, he isn't getting the call. I have no idea why but the team owners must see something that the fans don't. My understanding is that he is clean as a whistle, hard working and very cooperative so it has to be related to his on-track performance and potential.

[mnkywrch]

I think if Gidley had pulled that win off at Cleveland a few years back things would have panned out differently for him.

[sabin_24]

Originally posted by mnkywrch
I think if Gidley had pulled that win off at Cleveland a few years back things would have panned out differently for him.

I'm not so sure about that. Look at Barron, he didn't have a ride this year after an awesome 2002 season. I think a lot of it has to do with money. Car owners are greedy, and they'll take money over talent any day.

[Lucky161]

"I have no idea why but the team owners must see something that the fans don't."

Ain't that the truth?

[theunions]

Originally posted by SFracer
I just read that he is teaming up with Landon Yee & Chris Ortenburger for a Karting Endurance race at Infineon

And...guess which team won?

Jim Russell 4-Hour Karting Enduro Report

You're right, it was Chris, who I guess is Renn's brother.

No details about the DQ though...

[MichaelP]

Originally posted by mnkywrch
I think if Gidley had pulled that win off at Cleveland a few years back things would have panned out differently for him.

I've been to over a dozen races at Cleveland, including that one. I've never seen a driver pull out such a huge lead as easily as Memo was able to that day.

[bever911]

Originally posted by theunions
And...guess which team won?

Jim Russell 4-Hour Karting Enduro Report

You're right, it was Chris, who I guess is Renn's brother.

No details about the DQ though...

cool

[Feed 'em Beans T]

For what it's worth (probably very little), Tony and Eddie were chillin' together at the Pacer game Tuesday night.

Beans