I've volunteered to lead the discussion for tonight's race (or today's race for our esteemed American users), but everyone is welcome to contribute, of course!

Starting lineup is as follows:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Justin Wilson RSPORTS 49.039
2. Sebastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan 49.180 + 0.141
3. Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 49.092 + 0.053
4. Oriol Servia Forsythe 49.106 + 0.067
5. Neel Jani PKV Racing 49.151 + 0.112
6. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 49.178 + 0.139
7. Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 49.183 + 0.144
8. Tristan Gommendy PKV Racing 49.192 + 0.153
9. Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 49.255 + 0.216
10. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing 49.255 + 0.216
11. Paul Tracy Forsythe Championship 49.270 + 0.231
12. Will Power Team Australia 49.397 + 0.358
13. Jan Heylen Conquest Racing 49.410 + 0.371
14. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast 49.609 + 0.570
15. Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 49.654 + 0.615
16. Katherine Legge Dale Coyne Racing 49.808 + 0.769
17. Alex Figge Pacific Coast 50.083 + 1.044

Wilson was also fastest in this morning's warm-up, ahead of Pagenaud, Power and Bourdais. Dan Clarke suffered a fuel pressure failure early on, so let's hope that doesn't affect his race.

Still waiting on Eurosprout to pick up the ChampCar feed - at the moment I'm watching American Football! Presumably the race doesn't start until 11 UK time, though.

Still awaiting Eurosprout to get their act together. I don't care about the Arenabowl, or whatever it is! I don't want to have to do this through Live Timing!

Thankfully I now have the race on my screen as we get underway!

Bourdais takes the lead into the first corner, Wilson second; bit of a traffic jam at the back.

Bourdais makes a mistake and has dropped way down the field.

What on earth happened at the start?

Bourdais got the run on Wilson off the line; further back, Doornbos collided with somebody, which is why we got the caution, I think.

Lap 4, order is Wilson, Clarke, Servia, Jani, Tracy, Rahal, Tagliani, Bourdais.

Wilson is cruising down the pit lane. :(

Green flag: Servia leads from Jani and Tracy. Clarke has had to pit with damage and is now listed as being 16th.

Well, it looks like Justin is out :(

And Clarke is in the pits again, having damaged his nose for a second time!

Servia still leading on lap 10. Bourdais is seventh, five seconds off the lead.

Caution: Legge has stuffed it into the wall.

The Live Timing reckons that some people are going to try a radical fuel strategy and hope for a caution later on. We shall see if they are right.

Dominguez and Doornbos have pitted under the cautions; track has gone green.

Servia still leads from Jani, but Jani is attaching himself vigorously to the tail of the leading car.

Lap 21, the order is Servia, Jani, Tracy, Rahal, Tagliani, Power, Bourdais, Gommendy.

Three retirements so far, all are Brits - Legge, Clarke and Wilson!

Fuel strategy is playing into this, no doubt.

Tagliani passes Rahal for fourth.

Wilson is off and running again, and has just set the fastest race lap. He is over 20 laps down, so he'll be hoping for a few cautions and a lot of attrition throughout the rest of the race.

Andy, have you seen these cars race this year?

Jani goes into the lead with a great move on Servia into the hairpin.

Once or twice. Why do you ask?

I just wanted your impression of this series.

My general impression is that it's no IRL, to be honest. It's not a bad series, just not as good as other open-wheel series out there.

Tracy pits from third.

I agree. But, they only do road courses and use ground effects to decrease the dirty aero wash. I'm interested in how that's working so I've been watching their progress.

Most of the leaders have now pitted; Rahal stalled and lost a lot of ground - the order is Doornbos, Dominguez, Jani, Servia, Tracy, Power, Bourdais and Pagenaud.

It's certainly an interesting set of innovations, and it's a shame that it hasn't really improved the racing in the way that was expected. Personally I think there's a kind of strange appeal to oval racing, so it's disappointing that CC have moved away from that.

Doornbos sets the fastest lap, but has to stop once more than everybody else.

IRL and Tony George bought all the good venues and forced them to the streets. And, IRL was once only ovals, and they've recently moved to the streets. A business competition that George is winning. IRL, NASCAR (250,000 in attendence today, and F1 (now Moto) to pay the way.

Yeah, it seems that the politics of the split is still rumbling on, and it's Champ Car that are losing out. Will they go under in the next few years, or try to negotiate a merger, or carry on regardless?

Doornbos is now more than 20 seconds ahead of Jani. He will need a caution if he wants to win this race, though.

I think the end is near. George can afford to wait them out. He caused the split and I've always been pissed about it. But, IRL is now better, and Champcars will need to play with him. Like the unibomber said, "Compromise does not exist when one party is considerably more powerful."

Doornbos pits and emerges third. Looks like fuel strategy has played a big part in the first half of the race - what can it do in the second?

I hope there is a merger soon, or somehow the respective merits of the two series manage to combine at some point in the future. American open-wheel racing has never recovered from the split, and the only way it can get back to competing with the likes of NASCAR is for a few people to swallow their pride and put the best interests of the sport first. And pigs may fly.

After 60 laps, the order is Jani, Servia, Doornbos, Tracy, Power, Bourdais, Pagenaud, Heylen.

I noticed that the guys one hand the tight turns because the ratios don't allow full lock with a half rotation of the wheel.