The proposed Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Grand Prix, which would feature the IZOD IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series, is hoping to gain a major piece of funding this afternoon. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, commissioners in Broward County, Florida will decide today upon approving hotel-tax funds that would help promote the street race.

The Sun-Sentinel passes along word from the race's promoters, Andretti Sports Marketing, that attendance could top 120,000 for the weekend and an economic impact of $70 million+ could be had. Fort Lauderdale and the South Florida market have been on INDYCAR's radar for some time now; the series last raced in the region in 2010 at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, who currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, has been pushing for a race in his hometown, telling the Sun-Sentinel last month that such an event "could be the crown jewel of the series behind the Indy 500." But there are several hurdles in the way, including a potential date conflict with a major boat show in the city.

Dragon Racing has announced that Sebastien Bourdais will return to the team for the 2013 championship.

The four-time Champ Car World Series champion competed in 11 races for Dragon last season, which featured a switch from Lotus to Chevrolet power for Jay Penske's operation. This decision forced Bourdais and British driver Katherine Legge to share the team's No. 7 machine for the rest of the year, with Bourdais handling road/street courses and Legge running on ovals.

Bourdais' top finish was a fourth-place run at Mid-Ohio. He also collected Lotus' lone top-10 finish in 2012, a ninth-place effort at Barber Motorsports Park early in the campaign.

New INDYCAR interim CEO Jeff Belskus has released the following statement to fans on the series' web site, days after taking over for the departing Randy Bernard. The following statement is posted here without comment:

Open Letter to INDYCAR Fans:

Without a doubt, the last few days have been challenging for the INDYCAR community. We have received and heard many passionate opinions from caring fans of this sport, and we appreciate the communication.

While much of the conversation has been difficult, we must take this opportunity to harness the energy and emotion of this time for the good of the sport we all love. Before I discuss our commitment to you, the fan, for a strong INDYCAR in the future, I want to step back.

Today, I am in the same position as I was three years ago at this time, as the CEO of INDYCAR. I was previously in the position of CEO of INDYCAR in July 2009. In addition to leading INDYCAR through the remainder of the 2009 season, my focus was preparing INDYCAR for the 2010 season and searching for a permanent leader for the series. We considered and spoke with many potential leaders and ultimately hired Randy Bernard to lead INDYCAR in March 2010.

There has been, and continues to be, speculation and rumors that Randy was fired. That is just not true. A mutual separation and an advisory role for Randy was accepted last Sunday evening in a special board meeting.

Randy brought us fresh ideas and energizing leadership at a time when it was truly needed, and he helped us overcome the challenge of getting new cars created and competing.We thank him for his contributions. Today, we still face challenges and are moving to address them immediately, but we also have a great opportunity and reason for hope from which we can build.

We are actively executing our 2013 plan that includes new events, an experiment with double-header weekends, the return of the Triple Crown, the introduction of the movie ‘Turbo’ that features INDYCAR and the Indianapolis 500, and the Texas race being broadcast in prime time on ABC. We are also reviewing our long-term plan, and we are focused on adding value to our stakeholders, creating more excitement and engagement with our current fans, and increasing our fan base.

So, where does all of this put, you, the fan? Quite frankly, in the most important spot of all.

Without you – your eyes watching our races, your social media reminders to your friends as to why you are passionate about our drivers and events, your financial sacrifice to travel to and purchase tickets to our races, and your passion to stand up, be counted and tell us your likes and concerns – we will not succeed.

The INDYCAR racing journey began more than 100 years ago, and we plan on being here for another 100 years.

We watch the racing for the racing.  We do not want it to be about off-track politics. It is my job and the job of teams, drivers, owners and others in the INDYCAR community to use our energies to get the focus on our racing.

We watch racing because of our drivers and the on-track action, and this year the action and excitement were plentiful. Consider some of these 2012 moments that are great examples of why we watch racing:

--Rubens Barrichello, the most prolific starter in F1 history, tested an Indy car and liked it so much he chose to spend a season racing here

--The 2012 Indianapolis 500 had the most lead changes in the event’s history

--Takuma Sato risked everything in Turn 1 at Indy to make a pass that would have delivered him the most coveted victory in worldwide motorsports

--Ed Carpenter did the improbable and beat the giants of the sport for the second year in a row at the end of the season

--The 2012 championship went down to the last laps of the last race

--Ryan Hunter-Reay became just the second American series champion in 10 years

No question these last 96 hours have been tough on us all, and especially on you. The INDYCAR community must remain together as one unit. And despite our differences, owners, promoters, drivers and the series must communicate as one.

Together, we will power through this. And with your continued support, we will grow our sport and make INDYCAR as exciting as ever.

I commit to you that I, along with the staff at INDYCAR, have heard you, and we are going to make you proud that you are a fan of INDYCAR.

Sincerely,

Jeff Belskus

After testing one of their cars yesterday at Barber Motorsports Park, Simona de Silvestro has now officially joined KV Racing Technology for the 2013 season.

The "Swiss Missile" will be joining former IZOD IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan to create a two-car program for Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser's group. She'll also bring her current Nuclear Clean Air Energy sponsorship over to her new home as well.

De Silvestro suffered through 2012 as she and her now-former teammates at HVM Racing were uncompetitive thanks to a horribly poor Lotus engine. But now it appears that she'll have a fighting chance next year with the Chevrolet-powered KV team.

"I’m really excited to be joining KV Racing Technology," De Silvestro said in a team statement. "I think it’s going to be great having Tony as a teammate. It’s never easy to make a change like this, but I’m confident that it’s the right move for me going forward.

"I do want to thank Keith [Wiggins] and HVM Racing for helping me gain a ton of experience these last three years. Even though we struggled last year with our engine, I learned a lot. Now it’s time to move on and look forward to next season."

Kalkhoven stated that he was looking forward to seeing what the young De Silvestro can bring to the table and how she works with Kanaan, who will be her first teammate ever in IndyCar.

"I have been watching her race for many years and she shows tremendous talent," he said. "I think we will really see this on the road/street courses and having Tony as a teammate will provide her a wealth of information, so I am excited for what the 2013 season will hold."

In addition, Imran Safiulla, one of Simona's key supporters, will be joining KV as a team principal for 2013.

For a while now, there's been a widespread belief that Tony George was looking to retake control of INDYCAR for himself. But it appears that the grandson of Tony Hulman had something else in mind.

The Associated Press has managed to get hold of a proposal made by George to the Hulman & Company board of directors earlier this month that called for a new management team to take over INDYCAR operations, the separation of the series from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a sanctioning agreement with IMS to run the Indianapolis 500.

The AP's Jenna Fryer also writes that according to the document, George and his group, ICS Acquisition, offered $5 million in cash and $25 million in reserves for stabilizing the series. But the proposal expired on Oct. 15 and four days later, George resigned from the Hulman board (citing a conflict of interest).

In addition, the document states that Just Marketing International's Zak Brown would be the CEO and commissioner under George's plan.

Call it all another chapter in a wild saga that appeared to have reached its climax with Randy Bernard stepping down yesterday as INDYCAR CEO following a three-year run (IMS CEO Jeff Belskus is currently serving as CEO of the series on an interim basis).

One could also argue that it's a rather strange one, especially considering that George was looking to take INDYCAR out of the IMS/Hulman sphere of influence; as you'll likely remember, he spent a lot of IMS/Hulman cash to help his then-Indy Racing League along during his time as leader of the sport.

Last night, the San Francisco Giants claimed their second World Series title in the last three seasons with a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers that completed a four-game sweep. The Giants' triumph also allowed The Raceway in Sonoma to claim victory in their World Series wager with the Detroit Grand Prix.

Per the rules of the bet, Detroit GP chairman Bud Denker must send Sonoma president Steve Page a variety of pizza pies from Detroit-based Little Caesars and 12 turkeys. Page will deliver the gobblers to San Francisco's Glide Memorial Church for use in its Thanksgiving Day celebration, which will see the church serving 5,000 meals to the city's less fortunate.

In addition, the Detroit GP staff must wear Giants ball caps during the Friday on-track activities of their event on May 31, 2013.

The Detroit GP had this to say in a series of posts on its Twitter page, @detroitgp:

"Want to say thank to @tigers for a great 2012. Disappointing result in the World Series but the team will be back at it again next year! ...and we will be working to pay up on our World Series bet with @RaceSonoma. Turkeys and Pizza are on the menu for Thanksgiving in SF."

If the event that the Tigers won the Fall Classic, Page had promised an assortment of Ghirardelli chocolate (made in San Francisco) and his own group of 12 turkeys for the Detroit-based Gleaners Community Food Bank.

With Randy Bernard stepping down as CEO of INDYCAR after a three-year run, Andretti Autosport has released the following statement on the situation:

"Andretti Autosport thanks Randy Bernard for his tireless efforts during his term as CEO of INDYCAR. In recent months, others have spoken on our behalf and until now Andretti Autosport has refrained from comment, but we believe now is an appropriate time to address our company's position regarding the leadership of INDYCAR.

Randy worked hard to further the Series; we are grateful for his time with the sport and we wish him well in his future endeavors. We supported Randy just as we will continue to support the new administration. We believe that the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, IMS President and CEO Jeff Belskus and the Hulman-George family will make the right decisions that leverage the many strengths of INDYCAR for the benefit of the fans, teams, drivers, promoters and sponsors."

The Randy Bernard era in INDYCAR is officially over.

Bernard, who took over as CEO of the series in 2010, has stepped down from the role following a special meeting of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors this afternoon. Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus will take over Bernard's duties on an interim basis.

"I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with the entire INDYCAR community, its teams, drivers, loyal partners and fans," Bernard said in a statement from the Speedway. "The last three years have produced some exciting, and some difficult, times. But we have created a foundation for INDYCAR that positions it to grow over the next several years, and I am proud of what everyone at INDYCAR has been able to accomplish since I came on board."

Bernard shepherded the series through several major events, including the tragic death of Dan Wheldon last fall and the introduction of new cars and engines this past season. He also succeeded in creating an expanded schedule in an effort to give more exposure to the sport.

However, he has been criticized for multiple matters, including: The cost of the new Dallara DW12s and its parts; a deficit that was caused by the cancellation of the August race at Qingdao, China; and a tweet he posted this past June shortly after the Indianapolis 500 that said a team owner wanted him fired.

"We are very grateful for the tireless effort that Randy has invested into learning, understanding and working to grow the IndyCar Series over the last three racing seasons," said Belskus. "As both Randy and our organization have reflected on the past season and as we look toward the opportunities ahead and how to best take advantage of them, we agreed that the timing was right to pursue separate paths."

Bernard will continue to work with INDYCAR in an advisory role, about which he said that he was looking forward to staying involved "on a strategic level."

"As INDYCAR fans, we need to unify behind the sport in order to move it to the next level, and I look forward to providing input and being part of that unified voice along the way," said Bernard.

In the statement, Belskus said that a specific timetable in finding a permanent replacement for Bernard as INDYCAR CEO had not yet been established. He also reiterated that the series was not for sale -- perhaps a nod to recent reports of series founder Tony George and a group of investors looking to purchase it from the Hulman-George family.

"The organization is full of talented professionals, and we will continue to prepare for what will be a very exciting 2013 racing season," Belskus said. "Once again, INDYCAR is not for sale, and the organization remains completely committed to owning and operating INDYCAR."

After a poor 2012 season that saw her weighed down by the uncompetitive Lotus engine, Simona de Silvestro appears ready to move to a new home for 2013.

AUTOSPORT is now reporting that De Silvestro will leave HVM Racing for Chevrolet-powered KV Racing Technology and will also retain her current sponsorship package with Entergy Nuclear.

The really interesting bit though is that AUTOSPORT also reports that HVM won't be involved in De Silvestro's 2013 drive despite recent rumors of HVM and KV possibly working together next season. However, KV co-owner Jimmy Vasser has denied any sort of merger between those two particular groups in a piece from SPEEDTV.com's Marshall Pruett. KV is expected to run two cars during a test session at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday.

If De Silvestro is indeed joining Tony Kanaan and KV, it'll definitely be a change of pace. Up to now, De Silvestro has never worked with a teammate. That said, KV is certainly a step up from her previous surroundings, and she'll definitely be glad to have Chevy power after running all of last season with an incredibly problematic Lotus.

She was the only one from Lotus' original roster of five drivers that stayed with the English manufacturer for all 15 races in 2012. But if AUTOSPORT is correct, it appears better days may be coming for the talented "Swiss Missile."

INDYCAR having to deal with another potential battle for control of the sport

A couple of days ago, the IZOD IndyCar Series’ reigning champion was the guest of honor at a party that was thrown by his hometown.

Andretti Autosport pilot Ryan Hunter-Reay, who rallied to defeat Will Power in a thrilling finish for the 2012 championship, received the Key to the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and soaked up the praise that he definitely deserves.

Meanwhile, as Hunter-Reay and his fellow Floridians celebrated the biggest achievement of his career, rumors continued to swirl in Indianapolis about, possibly, yet another fight for control of open-wheel racing.

After resigning from the Hulman and Company board of directors last week, series founder Tony George is reportedly attempting to buy it back as part of an investor group. Hulman/Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus has stated repeatedly that the series is not for sale, and there’s been reports saying that George isn’t actually interested in handling day-to-day operations of the series.

Regardless, many in the fan base have vowed to stop following the sport if the grandson of Speedway savior Tony Hulman comes back into power and sends current INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard packing.

George may be the most polarizing figure in all of American motorsports. In some quarters, he is hailed for helping to create the SAFER Barrier and opening the Speedway to other forms of racing. But in others, he will never be forgiven for his role in the devastating schism between his Indy Racing League and CART that lasted from 1996 to 2008 and shook open-wheel to its core.

It was Bernard who took the reins from George after the latter was ousted by his own family in 2009 as CEO of the Speedway (he later chose to resign as CEO of the IRL as well), and while Bernard’s tenure has been far from perfect, INDYCAR appears to be in a better overall state under his stewardship.

Yet despite Bernard’s good deeds – such as overseeing the much-needed introduction of new cars and engines, expanding the 2013 schedule, and even helping INDYCAR hit the silver screen with next year’s DreamWorks flick “Turbo,” he hasn’t been able to fully mute rumblings that involve his days somehow being numbered.

One could argue that it had gotten to the point that any talk of Bernard getting the ax was almost comical since it had been repeated so often. But it’s not funny anymore, and neither is the fact that INDYCAR must deal with this type of situation once again when it should be building up for 2013 with an American champion and a stellar racing product at its disposal.

What must this be doing to teams trying to nail down potential sponsors who may be skittish about joining the series? Those valuable entities are probably even more skittish now with news that the man who ran it for 15 years but was unable to make money off of it may be aiming to get it back somehow.

For the last few seasons, INDYCAR has shown noticeable progress coming out of open-wheel unification in 2008. The last thing it needs is something (or, in this case, someone) that could completely kill that growth by its mere presence. And while I do not dislike Tony George, whose personal love for the sport and his Speedway cannot be questioned, he is simply too divisive a figure for most followers of open-wheel racing.

He’s been tolerated as a team owner, but he simply won’t be if he takes control of the whole operation again. He’s just not the guy that can take the sport forward.

And now more than ever, that’s where it needs to go.

---

Condolences go out to former INDYCAR broadcaster Bob Jenkins and his family on the loss of his beloved wife, Pam, who passed away Thursday evening after a months-long battle with a form of brain cancer. According to the Indianapolis Star, the couple was married for 44 years.

Jenkins, who most recently served as the voice of NBC Sports Network's racing coverage, retired from the broadcast booth at the end of the 2012 campaign in order to spend time with his ailing wife.

Our thoughts are with him and his loved ones at this time.