From the Awesome TSO: As best they can tell us, the Indy Racing League gives us this as it’s 2010 schedule:

Sun March 14 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sun March 28 St. Pete
Sun April 11 Barber
Sun April 18 Long Beach
Sat May 1 Kansas
Sun May 30 Indy 500
Sat June 5 Texas
Sun June 20 Iowa
Sun July 4 Watkins Glen
Sun July 18 Toronto
Sun July 25 Edmonton
Sun August 8 Mid-Ohio
Sun August 22 Infineon
Sat August 28 Chicagoland
Sat September 4 Kentucky (might be Sunday, though)
Sat September 18 Motegi
Sat October 2 Homestead

Props to Joe at Trackside Online for sharing this over an hour before the press conference. If you aren’t a subscriber, it’s highly recommended and well worth the subscription fee. All the news and on-site reporting straight to your inbox, or you can choose to read it all on their site.

Sneak Leaks: We’re expecting the full schedule later this week, but some of the details are sneaking out now. Here are some guesses leading up to Indy:

• Mid-March – Preto Riberao, Brazil (and maybe another race as well)
• March 28 – St. Petersberg, FL (via St. Pete’s Twitter feed)
• April 11 – Barber Motorsports Car Park (via various media reports today)
• April 18 – Long Beach (Googled it and found it on the LBGP web site)
• April 25 – Kansas (? – a guess)
• May 12 – Opening day at Indy? If they stay with the shortened month, a May 12 start would mirror this year’s timeframe. Does this not feel reallllly late?

Kentucky has Labor Day, if previous reports hold true, and we know Watkins Glen wants to return to September.

Race-time Fun: I love open wheel racing, and I really don’t know many folks out here in CA who are into it. So lately, I’ve been immersed in social media while watching IndyCar races – lots of different types for different experiences.

Live Blogs: One person’s view of the race’s events – comments are possible, but it’s a soapbox for a blogger to react to what’s happening (or not) during a race.

Twitter: Quips, quotes, news, photos, and one-to-many comments. You can have conversations on Twitter, but it’s not as concentrated as other forms of contact. Twitter is where it’s at, and it’s not just what’s for dinner anymore.

Group Chat: A few of us gather in a single chat room to experience the races together. Loads of fun – like a virtual race party or tailgate that is very fast paced with lots of zingers flying.

One-on-One Chat: There’s always Yahoo Messenger, once and still the bastion of kids, stalkers and lonely married men getting off in their basements or hotel rooms during narty chats (usually not with their wives). I’m enjoying it as a way to have side conversations with one or two others during a race.

Email: Slower and less-centralized version of one-on-one chat.Good for long-form expression, but I know someone who uses it like text messaging. (Might as well just use chat…)

Texts: One-on-one chat, short version. Good for when one or both parties are actually at the race.

Facebook: Some folks have their Twitter comments populate their FB status; others use FB as a full-featured Twitter. I like it best when race teams and fans post photos and happenings from the race site – using the FB galleries for multiple photos is a lot more convenient than one-at-a-time shots from Twitter via Twitpic or Yfrog.

Forums: They roll a little slower than a group chat – a laid back version of a tailgate party.

At one point today, I had one of each of these rolling, along with the TV broadcast with the volume down and the radio network coverage streaming. It’s a lot of input to take in, and I couldn’t do it all day, but it’s definitely enhancing my enjoyment of the races.

Slammed with Racing: Still have racing and coverage from two weeks ago to watch, and then there’s F1, IndyCar and N ASCAR at Indy from THIS weekend to follow. I’ll be watching all day and still only get halfway through. Then there are some blogger podcasts, a whole week’s Talk of Gasoline Alley shows and Thursday’s Trackside to listen to. Gonna take all week… 

Love, Hope, Strength..and Dollars: Kilimanjaro Rocks is benefit climb featuring musicians Mike Peters of The Alarm, Cy Curnin of The Fixx, Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats, Robin Wilson of The Gin Blossoms and Nick Harper. They’ll be joined by cancer survivors, trekkers and supporters to raise money and awareness to provide treatment and screening equipment to a cancer center in Nairobi, Kenya.

My friend Carrie is planning to participate in Kili Rocks. She has $7400 and needs $1600 more to reach the $9000 participation donation. She needs to raise the $1600 in the next month to secure her spot on the climb. I’m scheming up something I can do to help raise a little $, but if you can add anything – $5 is terrific – please visit Carrie’s Kili Rocks page and scroll down to the Paypal donation button and lend her a hand. Your donation will help save lives in Kenya.  Thanks!

Looks Are Deceiving: A cute little sunny frog face has me in a world of hurt!

This is my massage therapy ball. Nothing special about the ball – I bought it at a toy store. I’m using it to break up the adhesions in my abdomen by placing it under my tummy and slowly rolling over it. When I hit a sore spot, I stop and stay there and just breathe through the pain. I’m supposed to do this for 15 minutes a day until there’s no more pain, then five minutes a day after that for maintenance. I’m gonna have to work up to that 15 minutes, I’m afraid. Just spent my first few minutes on it this afternoon, and I have already learned to fear the frog…

Tony Talks: Well, sorta. It’s a press release, but Tony George has finally spoken about his removal as CEO of IMS and Hulman & Co. and his decision to chuck his CEO of the IRL role for the trifecta. Our universal translator, Jeff at MyNameIsIRL.com (pr: “My Name Is EARL”), reads between the lines. Don’t miss this one, kids!

Break Time: I’m one of those people that others come to to vent about their concerns or find a friendly ear or get some advice. And it makes me feel good to think that I can help in some way by lending an ear and my time. I wouldn’t want people to stop relying on me in that way, but sometimes  I spend too much time analyzing what folks might do to make their situation better. I don’t tell them about my “solutions” unless they ask, and I don’t meddle – not my place – but I worry like a den mom over her cubs. The last couple of weeks have been full of that sort of thing and I need to have a nice, calming weekend spent thinking about fun stuff!

Think I’ll go to bed early so I can get extra sleep and still catch IndyCar practice online in the morning. Bubble bath, then big comfy bed with super soft sheets and an even softer feline…sounds like the perfect kickoff!

Thank You, Mr. Friday: Gavin shared a video on his site about his responsibilities as consultant on the 360 Tour. In it, he spun his usual yarn about being anything and everything to the band, but he also revealed the name of that tantalizing unreleased U2 track that ushers the band onstage: The Kingdom. Thanks, Gav! Nice to not have to call it “that mesmerizing, mysterious mystery music from Morocco” anymore. More shits and giggles here:

Booze and Bombs Don’t Mix: A friend in Indiana told me her neighbors were a drunken mob on the 4th and spent the night trying to light off illegal fireworks. Hope none of them ended up with the infamous Fireworks Mullet: Gone in the front, singed in the back.

The Good: Well, great, actually. Not usually one to spend much time on the phone, I got a call from The Fixx’s Rupert Greenall today, thanking me again for organizing the gathering after the band’s show at Santa Cruz. Rupe’s a scream – not much you can do to get a word in edgewise, so you just listen and laugh!

Then I got a call from The International Superstar himself, Shane Rogers, sharing details about his visit with IMS historian Donald Davidson among other things. Always good fun to chat with him. We met at Texas not long after I had surgery, and he’s been aware of the road bumps and keeps asking after my condition. Smart, funny, attractive, dedicated and a good guy – this is the kind of guy you want as a friend.  And as an employee for your IndyCar entity. Jussayin’.

The Bad: It feels like I’m forming adhesions in my abdomen. Had surgery in there three years ago, and this most recent bout uncovered loads of adhesions – all my organs were stuck together. Feels like it’s happening again – the usual stretching or too much walking and there’s a pain in my tummy. The fix if it keeps on this way? More surgery. And what causes adhesions? Surgery!  LOL! Left work a little early because I was hurting a bit. Bubble bath and early to bed for Bashie tonight  – more hours in the “off” position gives a better chance at getting some decent sleep.

Nice View:! If I’ve read the map correctly, I should have a similar view of the U2 concert at the Rose Bowl in October. This video was shot from Red Zone 2 at the second show in Barcelona last week.

I’m No Insider: Watkins Glen offered a meager points haul for this Downforce member. Thank goodness I already have enough points to score a pit pass for Sonoma, but it was a laughable week from team results standpoint – my picks finished a bit back from the podium. Was great to see Justin Wilson get Dale Coyne’s first win – two nice guys who are completely deserving.

Speaking of J-Dub: The blogging world’s very own Meesh got her photo of Justin in Victory Lane in the Indy Star – here’s the electronic version! Good on ya, Meesh!

Fitting the Mood: This track managed to slip past us here in the US but was a hit in many other countries. It just fits my mood and the June gloom that’s overstaying its welcome here in SF. It features Larry Mullen, Jr., doing something he was born to do – smolder.

Complications: I’ve hit a bump in my road to recovery – things in my abdomen don’t feel quite right and I’ve been super-tired this week. Ended up catching a flu bug, too. I missed half of the four-day work week and am glad for a long weekend to rest up.

Angel of Indiana: U2 dedicated their performance of “Angel of Harlem” to the “Angel of Indiana,” Michael Jackson, during last night’s tour opener at Barcelona, with Bono singing a bit of “Man in the Mirror” and “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” at the end. Here’s the performance: