"NAPA Auto Parts 200, Presented by Dodge" to run August 3-4 in Montreal

Montreal, April 30, 2007 — Stock-Car Montréal l.p., promoter of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, the first-ever NASCAR Busch Series race in Canada, is proud to announce today that Dodge will be the presenting sponsor of the August 3-4, 2007 race event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. This sponsorship gives Dodge cars and trucks exclusive promotional presence at this milestone racing event, and makes Dodge the official supplier of the cars and trucks of the event.

Dodge has a long standing association with stock car racing in Canada. The Dodge Charger will return for another season of high-speed action and will be joined by the new Dodge Avenger. The all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger is in dealer showrooms now, bringing the Dodge Charger heritage to the mid-size segment. It features the signature Dodge crosshair grille, muscular rear shoulders and modern, yet menacing, quad headlamps embodying the Dodge brand attributes of bold, powerful and capable.

We are very happy to welcome Dodge as the presenting sponsor of the event,” said Martin Spalding, General Manager of Stock-Car Montreal. “This new partnership helps us achieve our sponsorship goals for the Montreal event and assure its timelessness to the benefit of all Canadian NASCAR fans. In Dodge, we renew with a partner with whom we have had a great and productive relationship during past events. We are very confident that the agreement announced today will be fruitful for both parties.”

“The Dodge commitment to stock car racing in Canada grows even stronger this year with our sponsorship of the Montreal Busch Series - Napa Auto Parts 200, Presented by Dodge,” said Judy Wheeler, Vice President – Marketing, DaimlerChrysler Canada. “With two distinct Dodge cars racing in 2007, we are supplying drivers with some of the best equipment available. Dodge Avenger and Charger position us well for a win on the track, which leads to a win in the marketplace!”

The race and the race weekend will be officially known as the NAPA Auto Parts 200, Presented by Dodge. In the coming weeks, Stock-Car Montreal and Dodge will unveil details on a joint promotion plan for the event. The NAPA Auto Parts 200, Presented by Dodge, round 23 of the NASCAR Busch Series, will be run on Saturday August 4, 2007 at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The weekend of activities will begin on Friday with Round 12 of the Grand-Am Rolex Series on Friday. Round 6 of the new NASCAR Canadian Series will also be held that weekend. To order tickets for the August 3-4 weekend, fans can call at 514-397-0007, seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or order online anytime at http://www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca/.

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Media Inquiries: Normand Prieur, Stock-Car Montreal l.p.

Pollster Profile: Garin-Hart-Yang

Back in February the DSCC released a poll claiming that their results showed Senator Elizabeth Dole weakened and in danger for reelection. The poll was conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group.

Garin-Hart-Yang is the political division of Peter Hart Research Associates, a Washington based polling firm. They do research for numerous corporations, media organizations, labor unions, and non-profits. The political division does work for Democratic candidates and committees.

Peter Hart is one of the leading Democratic pollsters on the national scene working for more than 40 senators and 30 governors during his 30+ year career. Most of the political work is now carried out by Geoffrey Garin, President of Hart Research, and partner Fred Yang.

Garin-Hart-Yang’s current clients include 12 senators and 18 representatives, including Congressman David Price. Other North Carolina clients include Governor Mike Easley, Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue and former Senate candidate Erskine Bowles.

Sleep Tight, Kids!

Well, all that insomnia prescription/revenue growth had to come from somewhere.

According to research released today by Medco Health Solutions, the children are feeling verrrry sleeeepy. Just don't let them drive:

... use of prescription sleep medications by children under age 19 surged 45 percent between 2001 and 2006; and 52 percent among adults age 20 and older. ... Yet, with those increases have come increased scrutiny on some safety concerns of the medications in this class. In March 2007, the FDA requested that all manufacturers of sedative-hypnotic drug products, a class of drugs used to induce and/or maintain sleep, augment their product labeling to include stronger language concerning potential risks. These risks include severe allergic reactions and complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving, the FDA report stated.

Medco's release is of course designed to raise awareness of generic zolpidem; Sanofi's last Ambien patent expired on April 21st. The most recently available IMS data through April 20th shows Ambien holding onto nearly 41% of new insomnia prescriptions (Ambien CR, Sanofi's extended-release replacement, had nearly 20%), but generic competition from 13 companies means it shouldn't be long before that plummets.

As we wrote last year, market share in insomnia is known to shift quickly--and reliably--in response to DTC advertising. And as the IN VIVO Blog pointed out last month, those DTC ads have gained their share of admirers, and FDA attention.

Medco anticipates saving upwards of $150 million per year thanks to generic zolpidem. And they just might get away with it without the antics of Abe & the beaver, the butterfly, and those meddling kids.

Pollster Profile: Tel Opinion Research

I’m going to do a little profile about each of the pollsters who are doing work in North Carolina. I think it’s fun and informative to know a bit more about the people behind the numbers.

First up is Tel Opinion Research. They do the polling for the Civitas Institute.

Tel Opinion started in 1995 and is based in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s run by Barry Zeplowitz and Bill Lee, two long time Republican pollsters and strategists.

Barry Zeplowitz is based in Buffalo, NY and has done polling in numerous states for political and market research. He has also been a major player in New York State Assembly Campaigns for the Republican Party. Zeplowitz runs his own polling firm in NY in addition to being VP for Tel Opinion. I'm not sure if Tel Opinion's calls are actually made in NY, but that's a possibility.

Bill Lee, based in Virginia, has worked for four Republican Presidential campaigns, was the first Chairman of the National Association of Republican Campaign Professionals, and he has worked for major Republican committees, professional associations and corporations.

Some of Tel Opinion’s notable clients are American Airlines, Virginia Foxx, Walter Jones, Patrick McHenry, Leo Daughtry, Phil Berger, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Neal Hunt, the John Locke Foundation, the NRCC, the RNC, the RGA, and the NC Senate Republican Caucus.

Tel Opinion played an interesting role in the 2006 Wake County School Bond campaign. In April of 2006 they conducted a poll for the John Locke Foundation that found that a $994 million school bond would fail 32% to 63%. In September of 2006, they were hired by the pro-bond campaign, Friends of Wake County, and that poll found that the bond would pass 56% to 37%.

INSIDE TRACK: News & Notes for Monday

Jeff Gordon needed armour plating yesterday after winning at Talladega. Threats and requests from track officials weren't enough to deter some drunken morons from launching full beer cans from the stands, toward the racetrack. There's no word on how many of these weapons ended up hitting unsuspecting fans in the front rows in the backs of their heads.

These people are a black eye on the sport. NASCAR blames the situation on the actions of a few. Let's hope that's the case, but there were a lot of bombs flying out of the stands.

The next logical steps are to stop allowing people to bring their own closed containers (coolers, cans and bottles) into the stands - at least at Talladega - and to force people to buy drinks in soft cups that don't have the same risk of killing someone.

****
There was more fallout on the weekend from Tony Stewart's attack on the credibility of the sport. TV analyst Darrell Waltrip said that caution-causing debris should be put on display for all to see. NASCAR boss Mike Helton responded by saying that Waltrip used to throw stuff out of the window of his car to bring out cautions. Ouch.

****
Is Jeff Gordon reading the Inside Track Breaking News Blog? Last week, we said that Tony Stewart was turning into the Rosie O'Donnell of NASCAR. And this past weekend, Gordon was quoted as saying, "He's like the Rosie O'Donnell of NASCAR. Controversy is something that he's used to. To me, it brings a flavor to the sport."

****
Barrie Speedway will host a test session on Thursday (May 3).

GSK: Seeding More CEDDs?

First there were CEDDs, then a CEEDD, and now, apparently, something in between the two. Confused? So are we.

Let's re-cap: In 2001, GlaxoSmithKline created a series of small, therapeutic area-focused R&D units known as Centers of Excellence for Drug Discovery (CEDDs). The idea was to improve R&D productivity. Four years on, realizing, along with the rest of the industry, that this would be tricky without outside help, GSK expanded the CEDD model to embrace external dealmaking, too. The Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD) was born, with its own management, no in-house R&D, no particular TA focus but a brief to build broad-based, risk-sharing deals.

The concept seems to have caught on-- a good handful of Big Pharma, including AstraZeneca, Roche and Pfizer have since built their own flavor of biotech-like units, albeit (thankfully) with different labels.

So GSK is right to be proud (even though it's still a little early to judge ultimate output, notwithstanding impressive NCE numbers). But now, The IN VIVO Blog has learnt, the company is trying to stretch the model one more step further.

The idea, according to senior sources, is to create a sort of hybrid CEDD and CEEDD, with both internal and external R&D programs. Each hybrid unit (let's avoid more acronyms) will have about 100 staff (more than the CEEDD, but only about a third the size of a CEDD) but will have to build a CEDD-sized portfolio, in part through doing outside deals. Unlike the CEEDD, though, these hybrids will be TA-specific.

Should I say are TA-specific: the first hybrid is already up and running. Missed it? At the end of March 2007, GSK quietly announced a "newly organised research unit" dedicated to infectious diseases. The Infectious Diseases Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery, or ID CEDD (ouch) "will focus on building an innovative pipeline through both internal efforts and extensive alliances with other companies and research institutions," says GSK.

Hmm. So does this mean the CEEDD hasn't been doing its job properly? Apparently not--it has after all signed a series of broad-ranging deals, as planned, including with Chemocentryx and Epix. But sources fear the new structure will be a step backwards. Biotechs won't like competing directly with in-house programs, particularly when internal and external projects are managed by the same (likely strong-minded) team. That was, after all, why the CEEDD was created—with a (theoretically) independent management that didn’t have to listen to TA-heads if it didn’t want to.

Thus the new CEDD installation may be in danger of diluting the benefits of the last one. The danger is messages get mixed and everyone--including GSK's potential and existing partners--just wind up confused.

Don’t be too clever, GSK.

Fred Smith dominates Civitas straw poll...

According to NC Republican Roundtable.

Smith 62%
Orr 24%
Graham 8%

Update: Presidential results too.

Flamboro opener postponed... plus other southern Ontario Saturday night updates

Flamboro's website has announced "Due to the large amount of precipitation that has fallen and the forecast of rain continuing, Opening Day has been postponed until Saturday May 5, 2007."

As of 12:30, Merrittville is saying that they're racing tonight... but keep checking if any more rain falls in the region.

Delaware's Enduro 250 season opener is also still a go, as is Peterborough Speedway's evening to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Johnson and Thomson Hang in to Finish 11th at Iowa

Courtesy Karl Thomson

Newton, Iowa -- Despite promising practice times which had the Kensai Racing with Compass360 Acuras near the top of the charts, the team suffered on-track calamity and mechanical woes that kept all three of their cars out of the top-ten at Iowa Speedway this past weekend.

Travis Walker and Karl Thomson were fourth and fifth-fastest in Friday practice, a scant 0.017 seconds between the team-mates in their TSXs. Unfortunately, although the team didn't realize it at the time, a drive-shaft was weakening in Thomson's car, which affected qualifying; while Walker qualified in second place, Thomson only managed twelfth. Matt Pritiko, in his Acura RSX-S, qualified immediately behind in thirteenth.

In the short hour between qualifying and the race, the team prepped the cars while the drivers were introduced to the large crowd that attended the event. The Iowa Speedway made for a good venue with more than ten thousand enthusiastic fans enjoying the close racing of the KONI Challenge!

In the first corner those fans were treated to an example of just how close the racing is, when seventh-place qualifier Bob Endicott passed four cars in the first corner. Unfortunately, he tried unsuccessfully to pass for second place and get inside of Walker, which damaged the left rear suspension of the #75 TSX, putting Travis and co-driver Beau Buisson out of the race.

Thomson, struggling with a rapidly deteriorating driveshaft, still managed to take his #76 TSX into ninth place before handing the car to Billy Johnson during the first caution period of the day. Johnson soldiered on, turning consistent yet careful laps, finally bringing the Acura to the checkered flag in 11th place. It was a tremendously important performance, as it kept Johnson and Thomson in the championship hunt; they're now just three points behind the leaders. "Billy did a simply amazing job bringing the car home today," said Thomson. "One small hit on the curbing or a bad angle of attack on the banking, and the drive shaft would have given out. The championship race is really close, and every point counts."

Matt Pritiko, meanwhile, had moved rapidly up the field, taking his Dupont and NAPA-sponsored #74 RSX all the way up to 4th position. "It's important to remember that this was only Matt's third start in a Touring Car," noted Crew Chief Ray Lee. "We're really proud of the maturity he showed today being able to run up at the front with the big guns." Daniel Columbie took over from Matt during a mid-race green flag stop, which put the car in 11th position. Bad luck prevented a good finish for the pair, though, when a front shock gave out just three laps from race's end, stranding Columbie on track. The #74 car was scored 18th.

The team returns to their Toronto home base to prepare their Acuras for the series' next race at Laguna Seca on May 18-20th. "We've scheduled some testing before Laguna to work on the suspension settings," remarked Lee. "The next few races are on road courses, which require a different set-up from the 'rovals' that started the year." The team did well at Laguna last year, with the Thomson/ Johnson duo leading the race and eventually finishing fourth, and the team hopes to continue its fight for the ST-class championship.

McIntosh Bags Top-Ten Practice Performance at Brands Hatch

Courtesy Stuart Morrison Public Relations

Brands Hatch, England (Friday 27 April, 2007) - Sean McIntosh cracked the top-ten in Friday practice for A1 Team Canada as the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent, England plays host to the season finale of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Sunday, 29th April. The 21-year-old from Vancouver placed tenth in practice from the 22 competing nations, Sean keen to break Canada back into the top-ten of the A1GP Nations Standings with a strong final outing of the season.

Québec's Kevin Lacroix was first out for Canada on Friday, the 18-year-old participating in the 'Rookie-Only' session in the morning. Lacroix's first trip to the famed British circuit was unfortunately marred by a stomach virus, the teenager valiantly fighting through his illness to undertake his rookie duties before handing over to McIntosh for the rest of the weekend. A brief spin followed by a fuel shortage led to the day's first red flag being attributed to the Canadian entry but Lacroix would get going again to rack up a total of 19 laps setting a best of 1m17.680s to place 13th fastest.

"I was trying to take in everything as I was learning the track while not feeling at my best today," commented Lacroix. "I was feeling worse towards the end of the session but overall the car was picking up speed and that was then reflected in Sean's times later in the day."

McIntosh, no stranger to the Brands Hatch Circuit from a successful period racing in the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2004-05, was quickly on the pace as he fired the Canadian car into the top-eight early in the afternoon's hour-long practice. His best run, a 1m16.419s set on his 24th lap from a total of 31, ended the day as the tenth quickest with Britain's Robbie Kerr fastest on home soil.

"That wasn't too bad," stated McIntosh. "It was good to get out there and make sure everything was running well with the car and work away on getting a good base set-up. There's one particular corner where I need to improve a little but I'll have a sleep on everything tonight and come back in the morning and see what needs to be done. Hopefully we can push in qualifying as it's crucial to the outcome of the Sprint race. It's great to be back competing at Brands Hatch. I know where everything is and like last time we raced here, the atmosphere feels pretty special."

Official Practice (1 Hour Session)
1 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 1:15.086
2 India Narain Karthikeyan 1:15.661
3 France Loic Duval 1:15.813
4 USA Jonathan Summerton 1:15.815
5 Germany Nico Hülkenberg 1:15.943
*10th CANADA SEAN MCINTOSH 1:16.419

Rookie Practice (2 x 25 Minute Sessions)
1 Great Britain Oliver Jarvis 1:15.043
2 USA Jonathan Summerton 1:15.665
3 India Narain Karthikeyan 1:16.037
4 South Africa Gavin Cronje 1:16.464
5 France Jean Karl Vernay 1:16.611
*13 CANADA KEVIN LACROIX 1:17.680

Sunday's Sprint race starts at 11am GMT (6am Sunday EST) with the Feature race starting at 3pm at Brands Hatch (11am Sunday EST). SPEED will air all the action from Round 11 in Great Britain as a tape-delayed broadcast on Wednesday 2nd May starting at 2pm EST. For more programming information visit www.speedtv.com.

For more info on A1 Team Canada visit www.a1teamcan.com.

Atlanta next stop for Disturbed Motorsports

Courtesy Bruce F. Mehlenbacher

MARIETTA, GEORGIA (April 27, 2007) – The Disturbed Motorsports Georgia-based Pro Modified team will be competing at this weekends AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises at Atlanta Dragway.

“We’ve had a string of hard luck this year,” explained Eddie Ware driver of the Disturbed Motorsports Rupture Streetwear-sponsored 1967 Camaro. “Hopefully we can apply what we are learning and keep getting better.”

The team’s first chance to qualify will be Friday for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, April 26-29 in Commerce, Georgia a few miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

Despite getting off to a slower start this season than anticipated, Eddie Ware is confident. “We tested the car in Rockingham this week and the team has been working extremely hard to turn things around,” added the 32-year old Ware. “Atlanta Dragway has a nice smooth surface, qualifying well would be a great start, and then we need to win some rounds.”

Disturbed Motorsports, headed by Sam and Eddie Ware, is based in Marietta, GA. The team is campaigning a professional entry in the popular Pro Modified division of drag racing in selected National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Modified events featuring the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge, International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series, and Street Car Super National competition for 2007. Sponsored by Rupture Streetwear, Baudier Vehicle Graphics and Mickey Thompson Performance Tires, Disturbed Motorsports plans to run the full IHRA Pro Modified tour.

The AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, GA will be held April 26-29 at Atlanta Dragway.

For information visit www.atlantadragway.com.

Trident Racing Welcomes Canadian NASCAR Schedule

Courtesy Stuart Morrison Public Relations

Montréal, Québec (April 20, 2007) – Tuesday’s long-awaited unveiling of the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule has been welcomed by Québec’s leading stock car operation, Saint-Eustache’s Trident Racing. Richard Durivage, the Montréal-born, owner-driver of the #18 Trident Racing entry, has expressed his relief that the schedule has been announced allowing his team to plan for the season ahead both on and off-track.

“I’m pleased that the 2007 schedule’s finally been announced,” Durivage stated. “I think the list of venues is great as it allows us to participate across Canada and there’s a good mix of ovals and road courses to push us to the limits. The diversity of tracks is a real feature of the series and I’m sure the spectacle of wheel to wheel racing will thrill fans throughout the country.”

The 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Schedule includes oval races at familiar Ontario venues such as Cayuga International Speedway, host of the season-opener on Saturday 26th May, as well as Barrie Speedway and Mosport Speedway with trips west to B.C.’s Sun Valley Speedway and east to Nova Scotia’s Riverside Speedway.

Trident Racing’s home province of Québec hosts what is undoubtedly going to be one of the highlights of the coming season when the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series supports the country’s first ever NASCAR Busch Series event, the ‘NAPA Auto Parts 200’, hosted at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 3rd-4th August. Two weeks later sees the series head north for the ‘Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres’, 17th-19th August.

“We’ve always referred to the old CASCAR Series and now the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series as the younger brother to the likes of the ‘big three’ NASCAR series, Truck, Busch and Nextel Cup,” said Durivage. “For us to be a support race to Canada’s first ever Busch Series race is a great honour not to mention a great opportunity to showcase our product and abilities to some of stock car racing’s premier teams and decision makers.”

The delay in finalizing and releasing the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule, with just five weeks to go before Round 1 at Cayuga, has without doubt posed issues for many of the teams and competitors in the championship as they look to lock-down commercial deals for the year ahead, Trident Racing being no exception.

From its 3000 square-foot race shop based at the Saint-Eustache Autodrome, home to the team’s additional racing operations including entries in the NASCAR Busch Series East and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Cummins Pro Truck Series, team-owner Richard Durivage has been working on securing partnerships for the 2007 season without knowing, until Tuesday’s announcement, the schedule of events.

Commenting on this issue, Richard remarked, “With the schedule taking so long to come out it’s understandable that a lot of potential partners we were in discussion with became a little nervous about the situation. Nobody was too sure where NASCAR Canada was going to take this thing so now that the schedule’s finally out it’s left us all a little scrambling at the last minute to see what commitments we can now generate armed with the knowledge we have.”

He continued, “I want to compete in as many races as I can but needless to say that will depend on what support we can activate knowing where we’re racing coupled with, what I have to say is, a first-rate TV package now that the series will be broadcast on TSN throughout the season.”

Durivage has confirmed his plans to contest next month’s Cayuga opener in the #18 Trident Racing entry, as well as the Speedway’s September return date, along with both Québec rounds in August and the Riverside Speedway date in September in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The 38-year-old plans to bolster his sophomore season of stock car racing with additional dates on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series calendar subject to commercial backing.

For more information visit www.tridentracing.com.

Pro Modifieds as popular as they were in 1997

Courtesy Bruce F. Mehlenbacher

CAYUGA, ONTARIO (April 27, 2007) – The Pro Modified class was a relatively new division in drag racing in 1997 when Neale Armstrong organized the Canadian Drag Racing Series, but the new cars were quickly becoming popular when Cayuga International Dragway Park, now known as Toronto Motorsports Park, held a series for the cars.

At the time, Pro Modified ace and long-time respected car builder Jim Oddy of Elma, NY, held the class record at 6.24-second, 222 mph, with driver Fred Hahn. The Oddy/Hahn team held the track record with a 6.502-second, 215.31-mph pass.

By comparison, Al Billes of Barrie, ON, qualified number one at the first Cayuga PMRA meet in 2005 with a 6.236-second, 226.28-mph pass.

Of the 28 cars listed for the 1997 series, 11 of the Pro Modifieds were nitrous injected, with the remainder running superchargers. Some of the entrants from 1997 are still racing at the Pro Modified level, including PMRA drivers Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, ON, the Grainy Brothers of North Tonawanda, NY, Mike Stawicki of Medina, NY, and Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines.

Others who have raced in PMRA competition from 1997 include Welland, ON’s Larry Sinke, and Tony Pontieri of Toronto. In fact, Pontieri was leading the series with his Camaro, and Pro Modified veteran Johnny Rocca of Virginia was second in his popular 1949 Mercury.

With such a diverse group of body styles, terrific burn-outs, and wild rides down the quarter-mile, the Pro Modifieds continue to be crowd-pleasers, and for those fans who watch the action at the upcoming Victoria Day Weekend PMRA Challenge at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario May 19-20, they will not be disappointed.

For information about the Victoria Day Weekend PMRA Challenge at Toronto Motorsports Park call (905) 772-0303 or visit online at www.torontomotorsportspark.com.

May Primary Tracking Poll Preview

There has been an up tick in presidential campaigning in our region this month. Barack Obama was in Charlotte two weeks ago, Rudy Giuliani is in Raleigh today, and all the Democrats had their first real debate last night across the border in South Carolina.

South Carolina voters say Obama “won” the debate.

Also in April we found out that Obama’s campaign was able to raise nearly as much money has Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and he has narrowed the gap in national polls to within a few points. John Edwards has also risen in the polls to a stronger third place.

Fred Thompson is showing real signs that he will get into the presidential race on the Republican side, and therefore he will be in the next tracking poll.

Will any of this an effect on the primary race in North Carolina? We will find out next week with our next set of primary tracking polls.

FAQs: Weighting

Why do we weight our results?

Accurate polling requires the demographic breakdown of a survey to closely resemble the same breakdown for the population you are trying to measure. For example, North Carolina likely voters breakdown about 53%-47% women to men and about 77%-18%-5% white to black to “other” and we try to have our surveys match those ratios as close as possible.

One drawback of IVR polling is that you are not sure of exactly who you are interviewing until the end of the survey. We can’t set quotas for demographics like traditional pollsters, so we just let the telephone calls run and then work with the data after the fact.

Traditional pollsters can manipulate their respondents during the survey by beginning each survey by asking for the “second oldest woman in the household” or some other method so that they reach their quotas for demographic groups like gender and race.

The most common demographic “problem” for us is that more women answer the surveys relative to men, and not enough African-Americans answer our surveys. To achieve relatively accurate demographic breakdowns we have to employ weighting schemes.

How do we weight?

The first step in weighting we achieve by surveying more than enough people. That allows us to go back and randomly reject individual surveys from demographics that are overrepresented. For example, if you saw one of our surveys with 500 respondents, in actuality 600 people may have answered the survey, but we had to reject 100 female responses. It’s like using a quota but after the fact, and our random selection eliminates any potential bias from the rejections.

We also employ a mathematical weighting scheme that will assign a weight based on one demographic. For example, if a survey is 82% white and 13% black, but needs to be 77% white and 17% black the weighting formula can take care of that mathematically.

It’s hard to be exact on each demographic when weighting, but we try to get our numbers as close as possible. This is when polling becomes somewhat of art. But our end results are available for all to see and to scrutinize.

Pre versus Post weighting

You would think that weighting would have an impact on the survey results. It does, but I am always amazed by how little an impact. Usually the numbers for our substantive polls questions only move 0-2% from before weighting to after weighting.

NASCAR's phone wars head to the courts

From AP

No ruling in AT&T-NASCAR case

Jeff Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet will bear the familiar Cingular markings for at least two more weeks. There was no decision Thursday on AT&T's request for an injunction to have its logos placed on Burton's car.
Instead, U.S. District court judge Marvin H. Schoob listened to almost four hours of arguments from NASCAR, AT&T and Nextel and then set May 7 as the deadline for briefs to be submitted in the case.
At Thursday's preliminary injunction hearing, NASCAR attorneys defended the decision to prevent Cingular — the primary sponsor of the No. 31 car — from changing its branding on the car to the AT&T blue globe.
Cingular merged with AT&T in December, and AT&T is phasing out the Cingular brand.
Sprint Nextel Corp. sponsors NASCAR's premier series, the Nextel Cup, and has exclusive rights as the telecommunications company for the series. The only exceptions are companies, including Cingular, that already sponsored cars when Nextel reached its agreement with NASCAR.
Cingular is arguing that its rights include changing its brand name to AT&T.
"We have changed our name, but we are the same company as we were before we changed our name," said David Balser, attorney for AT&T Inc.
"Sprint has said the value of its investment would increase if they could drive us out," Balser said to Schoob. "That is what this is about, your honor. Sprint Nextel is trying to use our name change to drive us out of the sport."
NASCAR attorney David Gelfand said AT&T would be welcome to sponsor a car in NASCAR's Busch series or truck racing, but he said Nextel was entitled to exclusivity through its 10-year, $700 million investment that began in 2004.

... continued at the link above.

Aim Low?

Another IPO, another bad haircut.

Yesterday Pharmasset, a virology-focused biotech with several clinical assets and a strategic alliance with Roche, priced five million shares on the Nasdaq at $9 apiece, well below its original $12-14 price range, and one million fewer shares than it had originally hoped to sell.

That the biotech IPO market is pretty miserable and has VCs running toward the steely embrace of Pfizer et al. is hardly news. But what grabs us is how just about every company--and just about every underwriter--manages to be so poor at predicting its value on the open market.

So few biotechs price within their stated IPO ranges that it's practically comical. Even the Pharmassets of the industry (companies that supposedly tick all the boxes for public investors: strategic alliance? check. proof-of-concept data? check.) get a poor reception, and pricing above the range is almost unheard of (the exception to that rule being Affymax, last year).

One factor may be the scarcity of significant biotech IPO investors, and the relative pricing power of the handful of specialists, a phenomenon we're looking at in the next issue of START-UP.

Dave Whitlock's new Dickies NCATS paint scheme

Dave Whitlock will have a sharp new look when he takes to the track in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series action this season. The three-time CASCAR National champ will carry the colours of workwear giant Dickies. Thanks to Mark Dilley for providing this.

Bristol as Biotech

Bristol-Myers Squibb is acting more and more like a biotech, and from various points of view.

First and most obviously, it's focusing on specialist medicines while hedging its bets in the far more expensive and risky world of primary care. The strategy turned out brilliantly for it, first in its 2004 deal with Merck on muraglitizar (the drug failed--but Bristol had bought a $100 million insurance policy from Merck, which nicely repaid at least some of its costs); and then in its more recent deal with AstraZeneca, sending two primary-care diabetes drugs to the UK company in return for, potentially, a much bigger pot of cash. Now, with its Pfizer deal, it's going one step further--selling rights to a primary-care product for a potential $1 billion.

In the second place, it's doing what biotechs like to do: take products to proof of concept and, now that proof-of-concept brings such enormous values from product-desperate licensees, sell them, unlocking cash and value that would otherwise be trapped for years. It's a strategy of disaggregation biotechs get--and pharma, by and large, doesn't. In effect, Bristol, like biotechs, are recognizing that it can't handle -- almost no one can -- the astonishing complexity and gambles that now define true vertical integration in the drug industry (among them: the different development, regulatory, manufacturing, marketing and reimbursement challenges, and risk profiles, of large and small molecules and primary-care and specialty businesses).

Third, Bristol seems to be saying that one of the things it does best is discovery and early stage development (not primary-care marketing and sales) -- an astonishing thought for anyone who knew the R&D impoverishment of Bristol in the 1990s, before it hired the late James Palmer, one of the unsung heroes of Bristol's R&D revival. In fact, part of the Pfizer deal brings Bristol development rights to a Pfizer discovery program with potential in diabetes and obesity -- but for which Pfizer will probably take on the lion's share of commercialization: Bristol looks largely to be applying development expertise (expertise evidenced in the earlier Merck and AZ deals).

But in one way, Bristol's program is very unlike a venture-directed biotech: the company is making itself rather difficult to acquire. When Jim Cornelius was named interim CEO, and given Bristol's generics disaster with Apotex and Plavix, most people saw his job as cleaning up the company for a sale. Instead--now that he's been named real, not just interim, CEO--he seems to be trying to clean up the company for continued independent life. With its major primary care products now in the hands of partners, it will be difficult for anyone (perhaps except its partners AZ and Pfizer) to afford a bid--particularly Sanofi-Aventis, its partner on Plavix and Avapro. In short, while biotechs and their investors like to keep their exit options open, Bristol seems to be aiming for a long life as a new kind of biotech.

Death Penalty in North Carolina

More analysis of the recent Elon Poll, specifically public opinion on the death penalty, as reported by the Associated Press.

The poll found that 58 percent of adults support the death penalty, but only 48 percent said it's always the most appropriate punishment for those convicted of first-degree murder, according to researchers at Elon University. Another 10 percent said the sentence depends on the circumstances.

About 38 percent of respondents said they believe life in prison is the most appropriate sentence for murderers.

Those numbers indicated a significant shift from a November 2005 poll that showed nearly two-thirds of adults supported the death penalty, and 61 percent said it was always the most appropriate punishment for first-degree murder. Just 27 percent preferred life in prison.

Poll director Hunter Bacot said North Carolinians are reviewing their positions on the death penalty in light of several exonerations and the botched case against three Duke University lacrosse players, in which a zealous prosecutor charged the men with rape despite flimsy evidence. Attorney General Roy Cooper declared the players innocent earlier this month - a year after they were charged.

"There's always been the sentiment that the system is fair for the most part," Bacot said. "But people are now looking back and wondering if people are truly getting a fair shake in the courts."

INSIDE TRACK: Thursday notebook

The Green Flag Flies...
Peterborough Speedway, Merrittville Speedway, Delaware Speedway and Flamboro Speedway will kick off their 2007 racing seasons this weekend. Peterborough will celebrate the start of its 40th season of racing. Good luck to all, and let's hope for a drier season than last. Those holding tickets from last year's rained-out Oktoberfest at Flamboro will be admitted free to that track.

***
Tony roars about NASCAR
Tony Stewart is turning into the Rosie O'Donnell of racing. Opinionated, outspoken, and unafraid to poke even the biggest players in the eye. On his radio show, Stewart went off about all the questionable late-race "debris" cautions that have been thrown this season. He questioned the integrity of NASCAR, its officials and events. I believe that most fans agree with 'Smoke,' that throwing field-bunching, late-race cautions – for on-track items that the TV crews giggle about not being able to find – is bogus.

Nonetheless, Stewart's behaviour is almost destructive in terms of his future in NASCAR. And maybe that's the way he wants it.

There are more reports and opinions about Stewart's comments here and here.

***
Michael Ledwidge Appointed CARQUEST PST Race Director
Halifax, NS (April 24, 2007) – Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Ledwidge as Race Director for the 2007 CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour season.

Ledwidge is a 33-year-old native of Elmsdale, NS, who has been an Official in Stock Car racing since 1984. He has been involved in all aspects of the sport, working alongside his parents Cathy and Ernie Ledwidge. He started as a lap counter and proved himself each step up, as he moved to more responsible positions. He has worked at Riverside Speedway, New Brunswick Int'l Speedway and Scotia Speedworld. Ledwidge has been involved in the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour since its inception in 2001.

“Michael has experience far beyond his years and although not well known to fans, he is well known by the racers. He has intimate knowledge of the racing business and has been a key part of our team. Growing up, Michael received two educations – one in the school system and the other in Stock Car racing. He has had sole responsibility for our scoring systems, successfully integrating them into the Tour as new methods and versions were introduced. During the last number of years he was the “Tower Coordinator”, the hub of race control. The Tour team looks forward to working with Michael,” said Ken Cunning, General Manager, Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited.

Ledwidge replaces Danny Harvey of Lantz, NS, who leaves the Tour after a year and a half service, to spend more time with his family. “I want to publicly thank Danny. He stepped in when we most needed his services. He wants to spend more time with his wife Sherry and son Timothy, and who can argue with that,” added Cunning.

- From Ken Cunning / CARQUEST PST

Dumoulin to fill-in for Carpentier at VIR for this weekend's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race

Bristol Continues Late-Stage Asset Sale

Bristol-Myers Squibb continued selling off pieces of its late-stage pipeline this morning with a monster deal with Pfizer worth up to $1 billion in upfront payments and milestones.

The move demonstrate's Bristol's biotech-like strategy of monetizing its assets prior to commercialization. Deals like this allow the Big Pharma to hedge its development bets while at the same time, perhaps, providing takeover insurance against the overtures of its most likely acquirer, Sanofi-aventis, its commercialization partner on the blockbuster Plavix.

Pfizer gets a piece of Bristol's Phase III anticoagulant apixaban, in exchange for $250 million upfront cash and up to $750 million in development and regulatory milestones. The companies will share profits and commercialization expenses equally and Pfizer will fund 60% of any development costs from January 1, 2007 onward. Apixaban is being studied in prevention of venous thromboembolism and prevention of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation.

Separately the companies said they would also work together in metabolic disease, in a deal centered on a Pfizer discovery program with potential in diabetes and obesity. There, BMS is paying Pfizer $50 million and the companies will split profits/losses and all expenses 60/40--with Pfizer picking up the lion's share of the tab and rewards.

Pfizer clearly hopes to fill the void left by the failure of torcetrapib, its HDL-raising compound that was yanked from Phase III trials last year. Bristol on the other hand is slimming down, placing its commercial emphasis in specialist marketing and partnering off its late-stage assets in a company-wide hedging process. Until today it's biggest move was partnering 50% of its most advanced diabetes programs to AstraZeneca, in a deal worth up to $750 million in pre-commercial milestones. Bristol also moved today to solidify James Cornelius' position as CEO, who has been the company's interim chief since last year.

Back in the day

Riddle me this: What do hedge funds and steroids have in common? Both have undercut the significance of breaking long-held records, first in baseball (See Barry, above) and now venture capital.

The slew of venture capital surveys this week reported impressive totals for health care companies. In each case, biopharmaceutical and medical device companies finished the first quarter with record totals.

Why? The general press says investors finally have recognized that baby boomers will benefit from new technologies being developed by the companies. Yeah, well, most informed folks recognized that a very long time ago. But what’s really going on are hedge funds, private equity players and venture capital firms that are morphing into one or the other are pouring big bucks into companies with products, revenues and a legitimate shot at going public in one or two years because public investors are eagerly buying into these companies.

This is venture capital today, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This isn’t a traditionalist rant pining for the old days of day games, the reserve clause and start-ups built around pre-clinical products. But what’s off-putting is when venture capital counters include financings like the $110 million raised by CardioNet Inc. into the figures. In that case, a syndicate of hedge fund investors put up significant capital in exchange for discounted shares in the company’s pending (they hope) IPO. (For more complete terms see article in your April Start-Up.)

If the company goes public—and it should file this year—it’s a great deal for the company and its venture investors. But should deals in which public investors are pouring huge dollars into privately held companies simply to obtain the right to buy cheaply into an IPO be counted as a venture capital investment? Probably not. Should they be banned from venture capital figures just as steroids have been banned finally from major league sports? Hard to say. But just as Barry Bond’s assumed steroid use is tainting his charge to be the all-time home run king, big-ticket financings backed by hedge funds with their eyes on IPOs skews the record fund-raisings of today when they’re matched against years past.

Mosport RoadShow heads to Oshawa Centre on Thursday

BOWMANVILLE, ON (April 24, 2007) ­ The Canadian road racing and stock car seasons kick-off next month at Mosport International Raceway and Mosport Speedway, and to get Durham residents up to speed, Mosport’s bringing its popular RoadShow display to the Oshawa Centre for four days beginning on Thursday (April 26-29).

Located at Centre Court of the mall, the display will feature several cars that will be racing this year at Mosport, including the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the Cup Lites Series. Mosport Speedway is Canada’s fastest ½ mile paved oval and the only stock car track in the Greater Toronto Area. Also featured is a sleek, exotic American Le Mans Series prototype, representing the cars that will race at Mosport’s biggest event of the season, Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.

There will be daily draws to win tickets to the Raceway and Speedway, along with the new season schedules and information for pick-up. Fans are welcome to bring their cameras and have their pictures taken with the cars on display.

Port Perry stock car racer Todd Delisle, Limited Late Model Driver, who finished third in points in 2006 will be at the RoadShow display with his car to meet fans throughout the weekend. Also scheduled to appear are Oshawa driver Dave Thorndyke with his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series car and Cup Lites Series driver Simon Elliot with his car.

The green flag drops on Mosport Speedway’s Saturday Night Stock Car Racing season on May 12, while the pro road racing schedule starts with Victoria Day SpeedFest weekend of racing, camping, fireworks and live music, May 18-20 at the 4-km Mosport Int’l Raceway.

The Oshawa Centre is located at 419 King St. West. It is the largest mall in Durham Region with over 200 stores.

For further information about Mosport: Lee Bailie // (905) 983-9141, ext. 306

Kentucky Speedway lawsuit seeks break-up of NASCAR / ISC "monopoly"

From the Cincinnati Post // By Will Graves Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky Speedway no longer wants NASCAR to bring a Nextel Cup race to the track as part of its antitrust lawsuit against the racing governing body and International Speedway Corp.

The speedway filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court last Friday, saying instead of a Nextel Cup race, it wants a judge to break up NASCAR and ISC, both of which are controlled by Bill France and members of his family.

The lawsuit claims breaking up the monopoly would require NASCAR to "develop objective factors for the award of Nextel Cup races that benefit the sport."

The speedway is asking that ISC be ordered to sell at least eight of the 12 tracks it owns that host Nextel Cup races and that the speedway be awarded more than $200 million in damages, which automatically would be tripled under federal law if the speedway wins.

NASCAR and ISC have denied the antitrust claims in court filings and have called the speedway's allegations "thinly concealed expressions of bitterness against a more successful promoter."

... continued at the link above.

McIntosh and Lacroix Head to Britain for A1GP Finale

The eleventh and final round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be hosted this weekend, 27th - 29th April, at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Great Britain with Canada represented on-track by Vancouver's Sean McIntosh and Québec's Kevin Lacroix.

McIntosh will again assume race duties for the Canadian outfit, the 21-year-old aiming to get the team back into the top-ten of the A1GP Nations Standings having scored Canada's first points since January when he took the checkered flag in sixth place in Round 10's Feature event two weeks ago in China. A storming performance from the former A1GP race-winner saw Sean sprint from the back of the Feature grid, having been taken out of the earlier Sprint race, through to sixth at the flag.

Canada heads into the Brands Hatch finale just two points shy of Mexico in tenth place (35-33) and with a maximum score of 17 points on offer from the weekend a strong outing at the 4.22km Grand Prix Circuit in Kent could solidify the Canadian team's standing amongst the top-ten competing nations in A1GP for the second straight season having finished tenth overall in 2005-06.

McIntosh made his third start of the season in China earlier this month adding to the eight straight rounds he contested for Canada in last season's inaugural A1GP series. Back then Brands Hatch had the honour of hosting the very first A1GP meeting in September 2005 and Canada called on McIntosh to lead its charge following some highly impressive performances competing in the Formula Renault UK Championship, where his five victories saw him crowned Vice-Champion behind fellow A1GP competitor, Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis.

The young Canadian seized his opportunity to race for his country, the leap from his 200bhp Formula Renault car to the 550bhp A1GP car proving to be no obstacle despite having had just one day of testing prior to the first round. Showcasing the skills that would ultimately lead to a victory for Canada later in the season in Indonesia, Sean cracked the top-ten in the Brands Hatch Feature race, steering the car to ninth overall and a points paying finish in his series debut.

Looking ahead to his return to Brands Hatch Sean commented, "I'm hoping we can build on our performance in China where we improved with every session. I know Brands Hatch pretty well. I could probably drive the Indy Circuit with my eyes shut having raced there so many times in Formula Renault. I'm looking forward to returning to where my A1GP career began and I know the atmosphere will be amazing as the British fans really love their motor racing. Qualifying will be the biggest challenge followed closely by pit-stops in the Feature, that's where races can be won or lost so it's vital that we get everything right when the pressure's on."

McIntosh will again be joined in Great Britain by Québec stand-out Kevin Lacroix, the 18-year-old taking part in Friday morning's 'Rookie-Only' session before handing over to his team-mate. Lacroix, making his fourth appearance for the team, cracked the top-ten in practice in China and looks set to continue his progress behind the wheel of an A1GP car at the famed British circuit.
"It's my last chance to drive the car this season so I'm keen to make the most of it," said Lacroix. "The circuit looks a little similar to the likes of Mont-Tremblant and Mosport with its sweeping dips and curves. It's probably one of the hardest circuits I'll have faced in A1GP but I'm looking forward to it!"

Sunday's Sprint race starts at 11am GMT (6am Sunday EST) with the Feature race starting at 3pm at Brands Hatch (11am Sunday EST). SPEED will air all the action from Round 11 in Great Britain as a tape-delayed broadcast on Wednesday 2nd May starting at 2pm EST - http://www.speedtv.com/

Top-Ten A1GP Nations Standings after Round 10/11: 1st Germany (113) - CHAMPIONS, 2nd New Zealand (90), 3rd Great Britain (76), 4th France (60), 5th Malaysia (51), 6th Netherlands (50), 7th Switzerland (50), 8th Italy (40), 9th USA (37), 10th Mexico (35), *11th CANADA (33)
ENDS - http://www.a1teamcan.com/

Another approval graph

This Bush Approval in North Carolina graph goes back to 2005. Data is mostly Survey USA and Civitas Polls with some PPP data too.

Press Release of the Week

To paraphrase The Late Show With David Letterman (and Perry Como), we get press releases! Stacks and stacks of press releases!

And don't get us wrong, The IN VIVO Blog is all for a good pun--sometimes, even a bad one. But this release from Datamonitor is a bit much. Roll your eyes with us, below.





If we hadn't regularly received press releases from this guy before, we'd guess even his name was in on the act. In any case, let this be the first in an ongoing series highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly (and the pun-riffic) of biopharma industry press releases. As if you hadn't seen enough.

Bush Approval in North Carolina

The North Carolina Democratic Party is harping on President Bush’s falling approval rating in North Carolina. The Elon Poll has his approval at 36%, while 61% disapprove. That’s all well and good in the political arena, but it may be a bit of fool’s gold.

The previous five approval rating polls in NC, all since the beginning of February, have Bush at no lower than 38% and the last two have him in the 40-41% range. See the tracking graph below; the last data point represents the Elon Poll.



So what’s the big deal? There’s not much difference between 36% and 41%. Well, in a close election five percent can mean the world.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly the latest Elon Poll is of all citizens, not just registered or even likely voters. Here is an instance where that odd methodology may lead to an insight. If the Elon Poll really shows Bush with lower approval ratings among all citizens than among likely voters that means non-voters are even more disapproving of the President.

So among the people who really matter in elections (the voters), Bush’s approval might not be falling right now, but is more likely stagnant. It also means that if the Democratic Party can get more historical non-voters into the process they will create an even more anti-Bush electorate.

No Champ Car teams at Indy in '07

From TSN.ca

Champ Car teams will not be at this year's Indianapolis 500, but it won't be for lack of trying.
Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven tells SpeedTV.com that he made a proposal to Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George earlier this year which would have seen the top Champ Car teams take part in the annual May race.
"I told Tony that if he gives us free Honda engines, we'd buy the chassis and bring four or five drivers to Indianapolis," said Kalkhoven. "I never heard back from him, so I guess it's too late now."
George, who also runs the rival Indy Racing League, acknowledges that the two spoke briefly in February but says his impression of the offer was that it was more of a suggestion rather than a concrete proposal.
"He offered, hypothetically and potentially, that it might be interesting to run 6-8 of the Champ Car teams and drivers in the 500 - which of course it would be," said Geroge.

... continued at the link above.

'Have Bus Will Travel' Racing News

2nd Edition April 18, 2007

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal: NASCAR announced last week that the 1st NASCAR Busch Series Race in Canada (August 4) has been designated the NAPA 200, and a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Race has been added to the program.

'Have Bus Will Travel' Racing Tours are available with Transportainment. It includes: 2 nights accommodations with breakfast, seating in the Johnson Grandstand at $595 (twin) or we have a 1 night option at $495.

Also available for an additional $250 you can attend the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race, the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. The full weekend will run from August 3rd to August 5th. Prices are based on twin occupancy in Canadian dollars with G.S.T. included, where applicable.

Have Bus Will Travel Racing Tours is also heading to Ohsweken Speedway on July 25 for the "Six Nations Showdown" featuring the World Of Outlaws Sprints. Tickets are limited and go on sale May 1st at 8:00 am.

Priced at $75.00 this includes Transportainment (reserved ticket, tailgating BBQ and G.S.T.). Pick-up time is 2:00 PM at Sunset Speedway, Peterborough Speedway and the Oshawa VIA station for Mosport racers & fans as well as other locations en route.

Our local track schedule starts May 26th, with a tour to the 1st NASCAR Canadian Tires Series Race at Cayuga Speedway Park.

We still have seats available for:

Richmond International Raceway: May 3rd - 6th "Racing Perfection" TheCrown Royal 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race and the Circuit City 250 NASCAR Busch Series Race on the .75-mile short track under the lights. Price $649 p.p. twin.

Darlington Raceway: "The Lady in Black" "Too Tough to Tame". This race happens on Mother's Day weekend May 9th - 13th. See the USAC Silver Crown Race, the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 NASCAR Busch Series Race & the Dodge Avenger 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race. Price $625 p.p. twin.

Lowe's Motor Speedway: We are SOLD OUT for the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race.

Dover International Speedway: "The Monster Mile" May 31st - June 4th A triple-header the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race Friday, The NASCAR Busch Series Race Saturday and Sunday the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race. Great trip for shopping and a Casino is attached to the track. Price $649 p.p. twin.

In addition to the above we presently have on sale: Loudon, NH // Chicagoland, IL // Indianapolis, IN // Montreal, QC // Watkins Glen, NY // NASCAR Canada Day@ Michigan Int'l Speedway // and Bristol, TN.

Have Bus Will Travel Racing Tours is in the planning stages for a LOCAL track schedule, the fall Richmond race, 6 of the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and for 2008 the 50th running of theDaytona 500.

Please check out our website at http://www.havebus.com/ for more details on any of the above. Please call us toll free at 888-HAVEBUS (428-3287) to make your Racing Tour reservations. Or contact Doug Andrews directly at: (705) 437 - 4898 // (888) HAVEBUS (428-3287) or havebus@rogers.com

Roush Fenway Racing to Field Part Time ARCA RE/MAX Series Effort

(ITMN Note: Hopefully this will create some action for Pete Shepherd)

CONCORD, NC (April 24, 2007) - Roush Fenway Racing announced today that it will begin fielding a part-time ARCA RE/MAX Series team in 2007 with multiple drivers at the wheel. The No. 99 team will debut this weekend at Kansas Speedway with Erik Darnell, driver of the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, assuming driving duties.

"I'm really happy to have the opportunity to compete in the ARCA RE/MAX Series," said Darnell. "It's a great series to race in, you've got a great mix of veterans and up-and-comers. We're here to race for the win. Hopefully we can be up there in the mix of things on Saturday, and maybe we can put this Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion in Victory Lane."

Darnell competed in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2005. In five career starts, Darnell's best finish is a fourth place at The Milwaukee Mile.

Longtime Roush Fenway Racing employee Jeff Campey has been named crew chief of the No. 99 Ford Fusion. Most recently Campey worked as Roush Fenway's Craftsman Truck Series shop manager. Campey has spent time atop the pit box, having called races for Greg Biffle and David Ragan.

"I'm looking forward to racing in the ARCA Series," said Campey. "We've got a good group of guys over here working on this team, and we're looking forward to winning some races. We feel like we've got a good opportunity to do that with Erik at the wheel. It'll be good to get him some additional seat time, it can only help to strengthen their Craftsman Truck Series program."

The complete schedule and driver lineup for the No. 99 Ford will be announced at a later date.

About Roush Fenway Racing: Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR's largest team operating 14 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O'Quinn Jr.; three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Travis Kvapil, T.J. Bell, Peter Shepherd and Erik Darnell; and one in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with Darnell.

From Roush Fenway Racing // www.RoushFenway.com.

Elon: Third Edition

Here’s the data from the final installment of the Elon Poll.

Public Education in North Carolina

Right direction 42.0%
Wrong track 44.0%

How important is the immigration issue

Very important 65.3%
Somewhat important 27.6%
Not at all important 5.8%

Effect of Latino immigration

Good 23.1%
Bad 50.4%
No difference 14.0%

Agree with proposals that would allow undocumented immigrants to stay if they have job

Agree 34.2%
Disagree 62.6%

Corporal punishment in public schools

Support 54.5%
Oppose 40.2%

Raise the age for when you can be tried as an adult to 18

Support 37.0%
Oppose 47.1%

Appropriate punishment for first degree murder

Death penalty 48.3%
Life w/o parole 37.5%

Death penalty for first degree murder

Support 58.4%
Oppose 31.1%

Bob Slack joins Bicknell Racing Products, Inc.

St. Catharines, Ontario (April 23) - Bicknell Racing Products Inc. partners Pete Bicknell and Randy Williamson are pleased to announce that Bob Slack has joined as a partner into the growing racing manufacturing company.

“We’re happy to announce that Bob will be taking over day to day operations of our manufacturing and research and development departments,” reveals Randy Williamson.

“He’ll be a key player with our new product design and testing,” adds Pete Bicknell, “he’s got lots of energy and ideas and will definitely help us move the company to the next level.”

Ironically as a 17 year old, Slack was a High School Co-op student at Bicknell Racing Products Inc.

Now 31, Slack is the grandson of Bob and Leone Slack who for 25 years were owners of the Cayuga Speedway in Nelles Corners, Ontario. Slack’s brother Roger has also spent a lifetime in the sport and is currently Director of Events at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bob and Roger’s father Randy was a racer for 25 years and while concentrating on Asphalt Late Models and the GATR Big Rigs – spent one summer sharing a Don Turner-owned BRP Chassis Big Block Modified at Merrittville Speedway.

Cathy – Slack’s mother owned and operated an embroidery business for many years that served the racing community.

Bob Slack founded Slack Performance Karting, Pro-Fab Metalworks which specialized in motorcycle components and Performance Powder Coating and through-out his successful endeavors has always worked closely with Bicknell Racing Products.

Bicknell Racing Products began more than 25 years ago and has grown today to boast a 20,000 square foot St. Catharines Ontario based manufacturing, retail, and distribution headquarters. Along with the Canadian operation, Bicknell also has distribution and retail stores in Niagara Falls, New York and Thomasville, North Carolina.

“I’m looking forward to working with Pete and Randy and all the staff,” adds Slack, “it’s something I’ve always wanted … I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

For further information on Bicknell Racing Products Manufacturing or to find a dealer near you – call either 905-685-4291 or 716-285-7502 or visit BRP on line at www.bicknellracingproducts.com.

From Randy Williamson // Bicknell Racing Products

More smoking ban contradictions

The Elon Poll shows a divide in public opinion over the proposed public smoking ban much like the recent Civitas poll. People support the smoking ban and they support property rights. It’s a contradiction. Earlier I suggested the disconnect may have been between public buildings versus restaurants. But the Elon results led me to think of another theory for the contradiction.

People want public places free from smoking. So they support a ban. They also don’t want the government forcing property owners to do anything. The public essentially wants business owners to ban smoking from their offices and restaurants on their own volition. They’d rather the businesses do it themselves, but if it takes government intervention, so be it.

That’s the theory.

Regardless, the smoking ban as it is understood in the public lexicon is popular and if legislators follow through with it, then they will have a good issue for the next campaign. Property rights is a fine argument if you dislike the smoking ban, but being anti-smoking ban probably won’t do you any favors come Election Day.

Misrepresenting the transfer tax debate

Many legislative issues are too complicated for quick poll questions. Some need more explanation and I think the transfer tax is one of those issues. While the smoking ban, for example, is self-explanatory.

The transfer tax is not simply one more tax to give the government more of your money. The unfortunate reality in many counties is that tax revenue is not keeping up with the costs of building schools and roads. The transfer tax proposal is a way to give local governments another stream of revenue so that they don’t have to hike property taxes…again.

If you simply ask do you support a new tax to raise revenue, without explaining what the money is for or in the case of the transfer tax how this will save you from more property taxes, of course people are going to be against it! That’s pretty much exactly what Elon did:

“As you are likely aware, there are some proposals being considered for raising revenue for North Carolina local governments . . . one way to do this is using a county land transfer tax, also called a real estate transfer tax . . . just so I'm clear a land transfer tax is a tax charged when someone buys or sells property… Would you support or oppose the land transfer tax?”

The transfer tax is not raising revenue for the sake of revenue. It's proposed because there is a need for more money for infrastructure like schools and property taxes are being raised too much.

F1: In the dark?

From TSN.ca

FIA president Max Mosley says they won't sanction a Formula One night race unless all of the safety requirements are met. There has been much talk recently about staging a night race, either in Australia or Malaysia or at a new circuit in Singapore. Aside from the novelty factor, a night race in the Pacific region would mean a prime time broadcast back in Europe, which makes up the base of F1's television audience.

... continued at the link above.

More from the Elon Poll

More from the recent Elon Poll is now available. They tackled transfer taxes, the smoking ban and the OLF. Here are the results and some analysis will come later.

Transfer Tax

Support 23.9%
Oppose 68.5%

Transfer Tax if all revenue went towards education

Support 50.3%
Oppose 42.0%

Impact Fees

Support 54.7%
Oppose 36.2%

Statewide Smoking Ban

Support 62.0%
Oppose 33.9%

Whose responsibility should it be to ban smoking?

Government 28.6%
Business Owner 63.9%

OLF

Aware 49.4%
Unaware 49.0%

OLF

Support 31.7%
Oppose 34.7%

OLF among people who were aware of the issue

Support 29.4%
Oppose 55.4%

Check here for Mark Binker’s thoughts on the poll.

Raceline Radio Update

By Erik Tomas

The Spring BBM numbers show some very nice audience growth for Raceline Radio across the Network, led by our Toronto affiliate The FAN 590. For those who don’t know, radio lives by ratings compiled by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. It’s the basis by which advertising rates are set. The more listeners you have, the better chance an advertiser has of grabbing customers, so you can theoretically charge a premium for the commercial time, or something like that.

Raceline Radio numbers in our largest market are up around 30% give or take, and that’s good. Very good in fact. Several reasons why. Interest in the sport remains hot, and of course it helps that Raceline Radio is surrounded by splendid programming coordinated by FAN 590 PD/GM/VP good guy Nelson Millman. Nelson wins awards too! The station also does a bang-up job of promoting the show when we’re often called to offer opinions and feedback on key motorsport stories and issues that pop up.

A few of the other Raceline Radio markets report audience increases, and where a few more might not be reporting big spikes, they are telling us about vigorous sales activity, and that’s another vital cog in this gearbox. One station reports the Raceline Radio hour is out-billing their two FM sister stations, the interest in the sport is that good in their neck of the racing woods.

We keep telling affiliates and prospective affiliates and sponsors that motorsport fans are the most loyal sports fans in the spectrum. 3 of every 4 auto racing enthusiasts, we like to call them gear-heads, admit to buying products or services marketed through the sport of racing automobiles. Listeners and viewers to shows that broadcast the game are just as loyal. These latest BBM numbers are the proof.

This show has been on the air 14 years, and to see listenership increasing makes the days where this enterprise drives me around the bend a lot less painful. Good ratings are better than a couple of Tylenol 3’s.

Who has the best race car driver name? Some remember Coo-Coo Marlin and Lake Speed, or Scott Speed ( no relation ). Others like Will Power, and some remember The Fred Flintstone alias Goggles Pyzono, but he was just a cartoon character. The other guys are or were... just characters.

Some of the best racing names of course are nicknames. Former NASCAR journeyman Hut Stricklin’s real first name was Waymond. That is my favourite racing trivia stumper- Hut Stricklin’s real first name. Junior Hanley’s name on his driver’s license? Edward.

But I think I’ve found my all-time favourite racing names: Booper Bare and Chub Frank. These guys are regulars in The World of Outlaws Late Model Series that I’ll be working with on SPEED this summer for a few dashes of the strange and twisty big-body cars on clay. Chub, so named because of his physical stature as a kid’s real name is Jerry and he loves his other nickname: Chubzilla. Jerry or Chub or Chubzilla is a big hit with the kids.

That brings us back to Booper. I haven’t been able to find anyone or anything that can tell me his real name. Maybe Booper is his real name. It’s a dandy, and his hometown is just as good: Rock Bridge Baths Virginia. Who else hailed from RBB VA? Right! Retired former NASCAR “Winston” Cup veteran Rick Mast. You win a cookie.

Got a favourite racing name? Drop me an e-mail! So what do YOU think? Any suggestions? Opinions? Comments? Better ideas? Keep the E-Mails coming for The Raceline E-Mail Bag! The address: erik@raceline.ca. Do you agree or disagree with the commentary? We invite your feedback!

Leading Workwear Brand Partners with Whitlock Motorsports

Courtesy Linda Jones

WOODBRIDGE, ON (Monday April 23, 2007) - Williamson Dickies Canada Co. makers and distributors of Dickies®, the leading global workwear brand – announces today their partnership with Dave Whitlock and Whitlock Motorsports for the 2007 racing season.

“NASCAR is one of the fastest growing sports in North America with a phenomenally loyal fan base” said Dennis Bowie, President of Williamson-Dickie Canada Co. “We are excited about our new partnership with Dave Whitlock and Whitlock Motorsports. Dickies has been involved for over six years with NASCAR and three years with the Dickies 500 race in the U.S. We are looking forward to bringing that same excitement to the fans here in Canada.”

Whitlock Motorsports will race the #39 Dickies Dodge Charger in twelve events on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series circuit in 2007. Dave Whitlock won two races in 2006 and boasts three National CASCAR Championships and continues to post top five finishes in the point standings each year. “Dickies is the perfect brand for the Whitlock team,” said Dave Whitlock, owner of Whitlock Motorsports. “Racing is all about hard work, dedication and endurance. The Dickies brand and the Whitlock team are great examples of all three.”

TOYO TIRE CANADA INC. signs sponsorship agreement for 2007 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship

TORONTO, ON – April 19, 2007 – Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship officials announced today Toyo Tires will be the presenting sponsor of the new series. The series will be known as the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires.

As an integral part of the sponsorship, Touring Car competitors will be using the highly regarded Toyo Proxes RA-1 exclusively for the entire season. For the benefit of the competitors Toyo has made a significant contribution to the year-end purse, set up a tire voucher award program for each event and has a discount program available to all competitors.

“I am very pleased to announce our Toyo partnership today,” said Touring Car President John Bondar. “As we continue to grow the Championship into the premiere racing series in the country, we are looking for partners that believe in our product and want to help us grow it. Toyo is one of those companies and we’re thrilled they are on board,” he added.

The Toyo RA-1 tire has been a staple within both the grassroots and professional racing circuits in Canada for some time now. Although rubber compounds have continuously evolved over time the tread design itself will be familiar to most serious racers. The tire has the reputation of providing a predictable response and heat cycles consistently. The Toyo RA-1 is directional and may be used full depth for wet conditions or shaved for a dry track. In spite of its quickness the Toyo RA-1 has a reputation for longevity when compared to other tires in its class.

“Toyo’s affiliation with Canadian touring car racing goes back five years and over that time we have always been impressed with the continuous improvement in the caliber of both the competitors and the events themselves,” said Bruce Bridgman, National Manager, Marketing & Strategic Planning, Toyo Tire Canada Inc. “The launch of this new series has already attracted serious media attention and will undoubtedly bring motor sports enthusiasts out to witness the keen competition resulting from such a strong and varied field. At Toyo we are extremely excited to be part of this new series and that the Toyo RA-1 has been selected for use by all competitors.” As part of the evolution of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires, fans can expect to see large grids of some of the country’s hottest sportscars. Brands including Porsche, BMW, Saab and Lexus will be competing head-to-head with Acura, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and Honda.

About the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship - Boasting Canada’s best drivers in today’s hottest sportscars the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship will consist of three classes of competition, over eight weekends, with the marquee event being the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto. Other races will be held at the famed Mosport International Raceway, the new Calabogie Motorsports Park and Shannonville Motorsport Park.

From the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship

MOSPORT readied for another great racing season

BOWMANVILLE, ON (April 19, 2007) ­ With less than thirty days left before a busy new racing season begins, ground crews at Mosport International Raceway are hard at work preparing the tracks for a summer schedule that will include the only Canadian round in the prestigious American Le Mans Series for exotic prototype and GT sports cars and two races from the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (formerly CASCAR Super Series). Tickets for all events are now on sale.

"We're excited about the upcoming schedule and the variety of racing that we've been able to put together. We have the best road racing lineup in Canada this season," said Myles Brandt, president and general manager of Mosport International Raceway. "The mix of both new and returning events will provide plenty of exciting entertainment for our fans, on and off the track this season."

The season kicks-off with a long-time Mosport tradition, the Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend (May 18-20). Racing includes the thundering muscle cars of the American GT Series and the Sundown Grand Prix endurance race for Touring and GT cars. Joining them will be the United States Endurance Racing Association (USERA) Spec Racer Challenge, along with rounds in the F1200 and Cup Lite Series. As the unofficial start to summer, the Victoria Day holiday is a big weekend for camping, music and fireworks, and all are important parts of Mosport’s SpeedFest.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, makes its Mosport debut on Father’s Day weekend (June 15-17) for The Clarington 200 presented by Canadian Shield Anticrime Response Corporation on the road course. Joining the stock cars in the second half of the twin-bill will be the U.S. based Grand-Am KONI Challenge featuring domestic and imported high performance sedans competing in separate races for the GS and ST races.

Mosport takes a step back in time and celebrates the past with the 28th Annual International Vintage Racing Festival (June 22-24). Organized by the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC), this is Canada’s premier historic racing event and includes cars from Mosport’s storied past. A special highlight of this year’s Festival is an F1 reunion that will mark the 40th anniversary of the first Canadian Grand Prix, which was held at Mosport.

Motorcycles take centre-stage, July 13-15, for the Canadian Superbike Doubleheader Weekend, as the country’s top riders and teams from the Parts Canada Superbike Championship compete in their only Toronto-area stop of the season. In addition to factory-supported Superbikes from the likes of Suzuki and Yamaha, Canada’s biggest motorcycle race of the year includes the Pro 600 Sport Bikes and the fast-growing Canadian Thunder Series for Buell, BMW and Ducati production-based sport bikes.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns for an August 11 date on Canada’s fastest ½ mile oval in the Full Throttle Energy Drink 200 presented by Canadian Shield Anticrime Response Corporation.

The summer racing season wraps-up with Mobil 1 presents The Grand Prix of Mosport (Aug.23-26), Canada's biggest sports car race of the year. Last year more than 70,000 enjoyed three exciting days of sports car and open wheel racing at a circuit that’s recognized by drivers as one of the finest and most challenging road courses in the world.

In this year's featured American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race, two Canadian drivers headline a highly competitive field. In what may be his final ALMS appearance at Mosport, Mississauga's Ron Fellows returns to his home track to drive for the Corvette Racing factory team in the GT1 class. One of the most decorated, respected and well-liked drivers in motorsports, Fellows is one of the greatest drivers Canada has ever produced. Among his many accomplishments in ALMS are three GT1 championships and 56 podium finishes (the most in series history).

Toronto native and series veteran Scott Maxwell also makes his return to Mosport and will once again drive for the Panoz factory team in the GT2 class. Now in his ninth season with ALMS, Maxwell is one of the few drivers who has won his class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours. He has also won in two different classes.

In additional to the Le Mans Series race, the line-up includes the SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Series, the IMSA GT3 Cup for Porsches, IMSA Lites and two North American open-wheel classes, the Star Mazda Series and Formula BMW.

Specially priced advance weekend SuperTickets and camping passes can be purchased online at mosport.com and ticketmaster.ca or by calling the Mosport Ticket Hotline (1-800-866-1072).

Since 1961, Mosport International Raceway has been Canada’s Home of Motorsports. Located less than an hour east of Toronto, this 750-acre, multi-purpose facility boasts a 4-kilometre road course, a 2.4 kilometre driver development centre with skid pad, a 1.4 km kart circuit and a half-mile paved oval.

Click here to see Mosport's 2007 major event schedule

For Further Information: Lee Bailie 1-800-866-1072 (ext.306) // Jerry Priddle 1-800-866-1072 (ext.305)