Feb 23 marked the return of CART, now being branded as the Champ Car World Series. The name CART was to confusing, but there was nothing confusing about the excitment or the prediction that we are going to see a season like no other. In the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford (geesh what a long name) we have the makings for one of the best seasons in a long, long time.

Last year many people were measuring CART’s tombstone, predicting the series was about to die. In Sunday’s race there was a display of exciting driving that hasn’t been seen for a long time. Close wheel-to-wheel racing, tight passing, drama in the pits and plenty of NASCAR style hot-chicks-in-the-crowd shots.

One thing that is going to add a lot of exciting, and plenty of things for the sports media to report on, is the new inter-team rivaly between Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira. It’s going to be better than F1’s Juan Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Mostly because Montoya can pass Ralf Schumacher on a bicycle. Junqueira and Bourdais are both great drivers and we are bound to see some rim slapping fun betwixt the two.

Now, it wouldn’t be a good sports column if the ole Jetteva didn’t make some predictions.

Season Champ:
I think it will come down to a fight between two people this year, Bruno Junqueira and Paul Tracy. While I think that Sebastien Bourdais will show some true genius and put forth some stunning races, ultimately his inexperience will keep him from being a contenter to the end. We saw a rookie mistake take him out of the action at Sunday’s race at St. Pete’s. Paul and Bruno will sock it out till all season with Bruno coming out on top. And when Bruno wins the 1 million, I hope he calls Chip Ganassi and tells him to suck his european wang.

The Stars will Shine:
I think we are going to see some real good performances this year out of some drivers that are ready to prove they have the goods. I’ve already mentioned Sebastien Bourdais above. I expect to see Patrick Carpentier win a race and I predict Michel Jourdain Jr will win two.

Cowboys:
Mario Haberfeld is going to piss a lot of people off with his crash-you-into-the-wall style blocking. I expect to see him get a handfull of black flags and cause half a dozen wreaks by season’s end. He is going to be this years Townsend Bell.

Should be Watching:
Roberto Moreno will prove this season that he should have retired 5 seasons ago. In his 20 year racing career he’s won only twice. Even mediocre drivers manage to pull one out from time to time. Moreno even fails to have a good race, let alone a chance to win. I think he’ll prove once again that he has a seat someone else deserves more. How about Memo Gidley? Max Papis? Either would have been better for that team than Moreno. Unless Gidley and Papis are too expensive. I can’t imagine Moreno cost more than minimun wage at this point.

The Lights:
Two races this year will be at night, under the lights. One of them my favorite- Cleveland. Cleveland under the lights will be a display I can’t wait to see. I’m only 2 hours away from Cleveland… hummmmm….. maybe Cos and I should road trip…

The Rookies:
Nine rookies start the year. Plain and simple, it’s the best rookie line up any sport has seen. Put any of these nine in the IRL and they’d spank everyone. Add the rookies together into this diverse field, and we are going to see a season to remember.