Beer Rumors Abound!
There are several rumors zipping through the IndyCar mainstream about Budweiser. One rumor says that the Bud sponsorship will move from Newman-Haas to the Patrick Racing Team with Scott Pruett. Another rumor is that Budweiser desperately wants to leave Newman-Haas because of their switch to the un-tested Swift chassis in 1997, but still has one year left on their contract and are not too "swift" on being sued by Carl Haas. That rumor has Brahma going to Newman-Haas/Christian Fittipaldi.

Yet more rumors have Brahma going to Patrick Racing with a second driver. And speaking of a second driver for Patrick, there are rumors that Pruett's teammate for 1997 will be Patrick Carpentier -- No word on the supposed sponsor on that deal.

One rumor that can absolutely be dispelled is that Scott Pruett will not be going to Barry Green's Team Kool. That has been confirmed.

Yet another Brahma rumor has Raul Boesel taking the Brahma sponsorship, forming his own team, and adding a yet to be named Brazilian teammate.

Okay! Enough beer rumors already.....

P.J. Jones to take a Kool Ride
Native American, P.J. Jones, is said to be close to signing a deal for Team Kool Green for 1997. The Kool sponsorship deal insists on an American driver for the team next year. P.J. drove a partial season with Dan Gurney's hobbled AAR/Toyota team in 1996 and did quite well, considering the equipment he raced with.

PPG to Stay with IndyCar in 1997
Overlooked by many since the May rumors, but it is a 99% sure-deal that PPG will remain with IndyCar for at least one more year. No details are yet available, but I will personally be making a phone call tomorrow to get the latest scoop.

My source says the deal has already been signed.

Nazareth to be Repaved (non-rumor)
In what seems to be an eleventh-hour decision, Nazareth will be repaved for the 1997 season. Patrick Racing was slated to practice at "The Naz" next week, but got the news that there will be no testing for the rest of the year at Nazareth.

SpeedCenter's Committment to the Off-season News
SpeedCenter is committed to its readers to stay on top of the latest news, rumors, testing times, sponsorship/driver changes, the release of the 1997 schedule and much, much more.

Just as the season ended, our work began. We are working on a 1996 Season Review, arranging telephone interviews and making great plans to keep our readers informed every step of the way as we forge ahead into the 1997 PPG IndyCar World Series.

In the next few weeks, as soon as we can get driver/team/sponsor confirmations, we will publish a list of what driver, is with what team, is with what sponsor. At this point in time, there are too many deals in the works to say that anything is confirmed.