Nigel to Return?
The Jordan Formula One Team has unofficially offered former F1/IndyCar World Champion, Nigel Mansell a ride for 1997. Mansell, who left motorsports after an embarrassing comeback attempt with McLaren in 1995, has since concentrated on his golf business.

Eddie Jordan said the phone call to Nigel was 'just a chat' and that there was no direct negotiations whatsoever.

But Mansell has been quoted to have said that if he did return to motor racing then 'IndyCars in America would be the more likely avenue.'

In preparation for the 1995 IndyCar season, there were talks between Nigel and Patrick Racing about returning to IndyCar. In an exclusive interview with Patrick driver, Scott Pruett, SpeedCenter laid those rumors to rest.

Here is an excerpt from that interview:

SpeedCenter: "Would the [Patrick Racing] team ever consider another car and driver and would you enjoy having a teammate?"

"For instance there was a lot of talk last year about Nigel Mansell coming back and running together and I think that would be an ideal situation for myself as well as Nigel. So as long as the chemistry is the drivers is good I think it's definitely a benefit to have that."

With Raul Boesel now signed on with Patrick Racing as Pruett's teammate, where could Mansell go if he makes an IndyCar comeback attempt? There are still a few seats available.

If Nigel should come back to IndyCars then the two most logical choices would be with Hogan Racing or Payton-Coyne Racing. But, with Emerson Fittipaldi still deciding if he will ever race again, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to progress his racing career into management in concert with Hogan and Mansell for 1997.

Note: Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell have won both the Formula One World Championship and the PPG IndyCar World Series Championship.

Green/Honda Rumors Resurface
Feel like you're watching a tennis match? Ford - Honda - Ford - Honda. Honda = Love.

Whether you're a Brix-Comptech fan or a Team Green fan, this hop-scotch—switch-fest has to end somewhere. At this time it looks like Honda will take the keys from Brix-Comptech and startup the KOOL/Honda car in 1997.

Honda has a history in IndyCar, albeit brief, of following its established drivers (e.g., deFerran) and having a great influence on the associated team. More often than not, the engine and chassis builder(s) normally stay with the team.

1997 Chassis Updates:

Lola
Patrick Racing received the first T97/00 Lola chassis last week and Scott Pruett is pleased with its performance, so far. "We ran a lot of miles with no mechanical problems," said Pruett. "The car felt good. Everything was solid. This is a tremendous advantage for us to get the car early. Last year we didn't get the car until January so we have a two month jump this year. It gives us an opportunity to do more work with the new car which is a big plus, especially as far as our Firestone tire testing program."

Reynard
Team Rahal and PacWest Racing have received their 97Is and should begin testing next week.

Penske
Delivery of the 1997 PC26 is two weeks away.

Swift
Newman-Haas will not receive the new Swift chassis until after Christmas.

1997 IndyCar Spring Training To Include Softball Gig
IndyCar’s stars will trade their helmets and driving suits for bats and baseball gloves to take on a team of Hollywood personalities at the Spring Training Charity Softball Game in Homestead, Fla. on Friday, Jan. 31, 1997 at 7:00 p.m.

The softball game will be part of IndyCar’s second annual Spring Training at the nearby Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex, Thursday, Jan. 30 through Saturday, Feb. 1, which gives race fans an opportunity to see the stars and cars of the PPG Cup both at speed on the track and up close in the paddock. Now, fans will be able to see their favorite PPG Cup stars in action on the baseball diamond, too.

Drivers such as PPG Cup Champion Jimmy Vasser, Al Unser Jr., Paul Tracy, Bryan Herta and the rest of the 200 mph field will do battle with television and big screen stars including Jason Priestley and Ian Zeiring from "Beverly Hills 90210", Sean Patrick Flanery from "Powder" and "The Young Indiana Jones" and Alfonso Ribeiro from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." The complete lineups for both the PPG Cup and celebrity teams will be announced just after the new year.

The softball game will serve as a charity fund-raiser benefiting a variety of local and national organizations as designated by the drivers, IndyCar and Miami Motorsports. It is just one of several promotional events open to the public that will be conducted in Homestead during the three-day Spring Training event.

Following tech inspection of the cars and PPG Pace Car track activities, the PPG Cup teams will debut with the inaugural test session that runs from 3-4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The schedule will expand to a pair of daily test sessions, which translates into 6½ hours of on-track activity, during the final two days. On Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1., open test sessions will be run from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-5:30 p.m.; PPG Pace Car activities from 12:35-1:05 p.m. and 1:45-2:15 p.m.; and press conferences from 12:45-2:15 p.m. A media reception will also be held at Friday evening’s softball game.

The inaugural Spring Training debuted in February at Homestead and the unique motorsports event proved highly successful for the competitors, media and fans. The charity softball game is new to the schedule in 1997.

The 1997 Spring Training will prepare the teams for the season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, presented by Toyota, on March 2 at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex.