FIA President Max Mosley told his teams,  “If you want to draw up your own rules, then you can organise your own championship. ”

So that’s what they apparently did.

If you haven’t heard, the majority of Formula 1’s top teams are going to take their cars and go home, or at least, take their cars and start their own series.

It’s a move that could shake racing’s foundation, and have far-reaching implications here in the U.S.

Mosley wanted to introduce a $60 million budget cap on teams. The teams that refused to agree to that rule, would have extra technical restrictions put on them.

The teams, who are used to throwing as much money as they want at the championship, naturally balked.

So as of now, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso are heading off to their own series, leaving Williams, Force India and several newcomers to contest the “F1 World Championship”.

If you’re a racing fan, especially an IndyCar fan, you know how splits work.

This apparent F1 split is much more similar to the 1978-79 USAC-CART split, than the 1994-1995 CART-IRL split.

It could have MAJOR implications on Indianapolis and IndyCar racing.

For example, you’d have to think that the breakaway FOTA series would be very interested in North American venues, such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Could Ferraris and McLarens be back at IMS as early as next year?

In addition, just as the CART-IRL split opened up additional jobs, this F1-FOTA split would of course do the same, perhaps doubling the number of  seats.

Would one of the new “F1″ teams be interested in a current IndyCar driver? It’s certainly possible, especially one with F1 experience, such as Robert Doornbos.

This story, which has dominated the F1 season so far, is just getting started.

The IndyCar Series was off this week, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any news coming out of the series.

Ryan Hunter-Reay is on the move again. RHR keeps getting passed around the ICS like a bad penny, which frankly makes no sense, because as I’ve mentioned in this space on several occasions, he’s EVERYTHING the IndyCar Series needs.

Hunter-Reay moves to A.J. Foyt’s #14 car, from Vision Racing’s #21. The #21 team ceases to exist, so the car count drops by one, plus an outstanding American driver moves to his third different team in the last year.

It’s somehow being billed as a “win-win”. It’s certainly a win that RHR is still in the series, but losing a car from the grid is never a win in my mind.

I hope RHR can get the Foyt car back to the front. The #14 has been racy at times in the past couple of years, RHR is going to get everything out of the car there is.

In addition, Alex Lloyd has left Ganassi Racing. The talented Brit raced for Ganassi “satellite” teams in the past two Indianapolis 500’s, but as he mentioned when he joined us on SportsLocker Saturday, he didn’t want to be seen as an Indianapolis-only driver.

Lloyd now joins the racing unemployment line, which is frankly way too stocked with talented shoes who should have full-time rides in the ICS. I hope Alex finds a ride quickly, but unfortunately there are more drivers available than there are seats right now. Think about it, Paul Tracy doesn’t have a full-time gig, neither does Townsend Bell, and now add Alex Lloyd to the mix.

Lloyd was a great sport this past May when he donned a shocking pink firesuit to drive the “rose” colored HER ride for Sam Schmidt, here’s hoping he gets a deal done soon.

I have to give a shout-out to David Brabham. The son of the great World Champion Jack Brabham finally got his long-awaited win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend for Peugeot.

Brabham races with Highcroft Racing in the American LeMans Series. The last two years Brabham came on the late, great TrackTime program at my former station. He was a great guest, and is a great guy. Congrats David!

By the way, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is always a fun event, I caught some of it on television and the internet.

It’s a special race.

Of course, any race where there’s a giant Bibendum standing next to the track is worth my time.

While I’m on the subject, Bibendum, better known in the U.S. as the “Michelin Man”, has to be the best corporate mascot ever. Well done Bibendum.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a big IndyCar Series fan, IndyCar racing has been my favorite sport since I was a kid.

Of course, my favorite sporting event is the Indianapolis 500, but my second-favorite IndyCar race is the annual shootout in Texas.

I enjoy the race at Texas so much, it actually caused a breakup with a woman I was dating a few years back. It seemed she really wanted me to take her to a specific restaurant for a date on the night of the Texas race. I told her I’d be happy to take her to dinner, but we had to either go to a restaurant with a big screen TV, or be finished with dinner before the green flag.

When she decided that wasn’t for her, that was the end of that. If you’re wondering, I really wasn’t that broken up over this particular breakup, because she was actually fairly annoying, but I tell you that story, to illustrate how much I enjoy the Texas race.

Fast forward four years, and it was time for another Texas tussle.

Except this year’s race was a little like that former relationship, i couldn’t wait for it to end.

The side-by-side, nail-biting battles we’re used to seeing, were really nowhere to be found on this particular night. Ryan Briscoe ran off and hid, until a mysterious caution flag.

Any racing fan knows about the so-called “NASCAR cautions”. These are supposedly “engineered” cautions to bunch up the field if a driver gets too big of a lead. A writer I used to know in Toledo called these flags “Pierre DeBris”.  I don’t think the ICS threw a “NASCAR caution”, but unfortunately, there are going to be questions, because of the timing of the yellow.

Even after the caution flag, there really wasn’t too much side-by-side action until teammates Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti went at it late.  Helio Castroneves won the race, and celebrated on the fence, but something was missing.

After the race, the people looking for the old Texas started getting louder. The well-respected champion Scott Dixon sounded off, saying there needed to be some kind of rules change to make the racing better.

Ed Carpenter came out for change after the race. “I’m disappointed for the fans in particular because Texas is supposed to be exciting racing and unfortunately the cars are too similar now and it weakened the product. I’ve never seen this race turn into a one groove track before. We want to put on a good show and I’m afraid this was not it. You couldn’t pass and you couldn’t pass guys that were a lap down. It turned into a fuel strategy, track position, no passing race and no one wants that. Texas is usually the place you shouldn’t have to be playing fuel strategy gambles. This is a place you should be able to drive from the back to the front and unfortunately it is just not that way right now.”

Carpenter is of course, the stepson of IndyCar boss Tony George, so he’s in a unique position when he makes a statement like this one. But Carpenter’s right, the racing wasn’t as good as it had been in the past.

I am not an engineer, so I can’t solve the problem in this blog, but I hope this is just a blip on the radar for the IndyCar Series.  The IndyCar Series has a lot going for it, it’s easily the most fan friendly series in motorsports, and for years, it’s had the best on-track product.

Except for last Saturday.

I was entertained by today’s race at Milwaukee, another win for the IceMan, Scott Dixon.

Dixon may not have had the dominant car, (Ryan Briscoe did), but he played the traffic game just right, and showed once again why he is one of the best in the business.

It was a good day for drivers born in Australia, as they finished 1-2, and could have been 1-2-3, had Will Power been allowed to compete. I really hope Verizon Wireless takes some of the money they get from my cell phone bill, and give Power some additional races. A top 5 finish at the 500 showed just what a quality shoe Power is.

Graham Rahal has been knocking on the door for a big result on an oval, and he got one with a 4th place finish. Graham has been preaching patience to himself, and he delivered in a big way. Rahal 2.0 is a definite title contender, mark it down.

Danica Patrick has had a solid season, other than an accident at St. Pete (that wasn’t her fault), DP has been near the top of the scoring pylon each week. She’s a title contender as well, as long as she doesn’t hit another mid-summer cold streak.

I saw most of the Dover race in picture-in-picture. Sam Hornish Junior had another nice day, and I thought Tony Stewart was going to get his first points-paying win as an owner, until Jimmie Johnson stole it at the end.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that today is the 44th anniversary of my hero Jim Clark winning the Indianapolis 500. Even though he won the race before I was born,  I can imagine how that beautiful Lotus looked when it crossed the finish line first. Happy anniversary to Jim Clark.

By the way, for all the people who sent me a kind note after my pneumonia bout of this week, thanks! I appreciate it.

Is the 94th Indianapolis 500. (It’s never too early to start the countdown)

I have gotten several e-mails wondering why I haven’t put up a blog this week. The reason is simple. I got hit with pneumonia on Race Eve, and have pretty much spent all week in bed.

It’s never fun getting sick. It’s really no fun getting sick on my favorite day of the year. I spent race day battling a 101-degree fever, but I am not going to complain.

That’s because, for the first time, when “Back Home Again In Indiana” was sung, I was a Hoosier.

I’ve waited my whole life to be an Indianapolis resident on race day, and as I told some co-workers, I’d have to be dead to miss the 500.

As always, the month of May went by way too fast for my tastes, it seems like opening day was just last week. But this year was different, I got to be at the track every day, and got to visit with a lot of friends.

Helio Castroneves is a deserving champion, he’s a truly good guy, who makes everyone around him jovial.

I was disappointed by the pit stop that sent Dario back, I really thought he was a possible winner.

I am glad that Vitor Meira is ok, it was just not his day, from the pit fire, to that savage crash. Vitor is a great guy who really “gets” Indy and its’ history, and so I wish him a speedy recovery.

My biggest disappointment, other than the race day fever, was Graham Rahal’s finish. My friend Graham WILL be an Indy 500 winner some day.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a quick look at Milwaukee, and a shout-out to May 31, 1965.

One of the coolest parts of my job, and my place in the collectibles world, is the people I get to meet.

Monday, I had lunch with Dick Wallen at Charlie Brown’s, which turned into an amazing experience.

For those who don’t know, Dick is a famous filmmaker who documented the 500 for years. In addition, he’s an accomplished author, his books on the old board tracks, and the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s, are an absolute must-have for any race fan interested in the past. I have bought several autographs from him over the years, and he’s truly one of the best people in the world.

Dick invited me to lunch, and while we were there, well-known television personality Robin Miller showed up with a group of former drivers.

Over the next few minutes I got to meet and talk with two great drivers from the past, Ralph Liguori, and Jigger Sirois. Neither ever made the 500, but both were popular drivers, who made HUGE contributions to the sport. “Ralphie The Racer” had a fine career in both IndyCars, sprint cars, and NASCAR, and Sirois, of course, was the hard luck guy who could have been on the pole in 1969.

Also at the lunch, were Bill Vukovich II, and Bubby Jones, among others. (It was great to see both Vukovich and Jones in good health, because both have been battling various ailments recently).

It was racers sitting at a table, talking about the good old days and enjoying each other’s company.

It would have made a great television story, but frankly that would have ruined the spontaneous conversation and jokes.

They don’t make them like this group anymore, and I was honored to be a small part of it.

If you’re a racing fan, today had everything.

If you’re not a racing fan, I can’t help you.

Today’s drama at the Brickyard was simply top-notch.

33 cars will start next week’s Indianapolis 500. ALL of them earned their way in the show.

None of them got provisionals, or past champions passes, and 75 percent of the field wasn’t guaranteed a spot, as you might see in other major races.

Instead, brave men and women put their foot to the floor, sometimes over and over, to get in the greatest race in the world.

You have to feel happy for John Andretti. When I spoke to him when his deal with Richard Petty was announced, he didn’t have a care in the world.

Today, he looked like a two-ton boulder was lifted off his shoulders. Andretti looks like he’s aged a year this month, from a practice crash, to a search for speed that appeared in vain, to his father’s illness.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog,  you know that I think Ryan Hunter-Reay is one of the most talented drivers in racing. But RHR has never gotten it going this month, and it appeared he was actually going to miss the show, until his amazing last-second run.

Unfortunately, that run knocked out Alex Tagliani, a genuinely good guy, who drives for the very classy Eric Bachelart and Conquest Racing. Hopefully missing the show with their primary car will not set this quality group behind for the rest of the season. Chin up Tag, you did a great job in your first month at the Brickyard.

Speaking of great job, Nelson Philippe deserves a shout-out. I wasn’t sure what I’d see from the Indy rookie today, but not only did he stick it in the show, he was smooth.

If you don’t consider Bruno Junqueira a top shoe, there’s probably not much more he can do to convince you.

The Return Of Bruno (a rarely-seen Bruce Willis reference there for you), saw Junqueira put a Conquest Racing entry in the race, after literally not having been on the track until Bump Day.

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the 11/11/11/Bump format, but having seen it in action, I really enjoyed it from a “fan” perspective. But as a driver, I’m not sure how much I’d like having to go out over and over again.

Either way, the action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not disappointed this month.

Expect an official announcement from Conquest Racing tomorrow morning that they WILL field the #36 car.

And it’s a former Indy 500 pole winner you can expect to see in the ride. Bruno Junqueira, who earlier today, seemed pretty down about his prospects for a ride, has been tabbed for the seat, according to sources close to the team.

The #36 car will make 36 car and driver combinations.

Conquest is run by former Indy 500 driver, Eric Bachelart, one of the classiest men in motorsports.

That I first went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, my favorite place in the world.

When my dad was growing up, he went to the track with my uncles and grandfather, and it became a yearly tradition to go for the first weekend of qualifying.

My uncles were who really got my hooked on the 500, when I was about 5 years old, my uncle Ron told me that I could go to Speedway “when I was old enough”.

Year after year I studied the maps, and learned about the track, hoping it would be the year.

Finally, 1982 was the year. We packed up the cars (my cousins Tom and Eric joined us as well) for the drive from Toledo to Indianapolis. We drove all night (which was weird being up past midnight as a kid), and both Tom and Eric got popped for speeding (in separate cars, minutes apart, that takes direction).

We finally got to the track in the morning and caught practice and qualifying.

I saw it all that day, great speed, records (Kevin Cogan and Rick Mears were flying in the Penske PC10’s).

And then it happened. A guy that my cousin Tom always seemed to get in our race day pool was Gordon Smiley.

He got killed a few yards away from us, and I had to ask my dad, “does this happen a lot?”

Despite the tragedy, and the long delay for the Smiley accident, (in which I scared my dad by wandering off for a couple of hours. Just for the record Dad, I knew where I was the whole time, even if you and the Indiana State Police didn’t.)

I never forgot that incredible day and I couldn’t wait to go back.

I have loved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for as long as I can remember.

Today I got to stand on pit lane for my job, and I heard the roar of the engines just like I did for the first time in person, on May 15th, 1982.

Thanks Uncle Ron.

Thanks Uncle Bill.

Thanks Dad.

As I first reported here yesterday afternoon (despite what 16th and Georgetown, and MyNameisIRL might say

Dale Coyne’s #19 car is being rolled through Gasoline Alley right now.

On the side of the car is the name of, Tomas Scheckter, as we told you yesterday here, and at 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM.

One other interesting note this morning, riding around in a Sarah Fisher racing golf cart was Jaques Lazier.