Caterham Can Skip US Grand Prix To Find New Owners (UPDATE: Marussia Skips As Well)

((HT: FIA/Sky Sports))

Let's face it...

The situation at Caterham's F1 team is a mess-and-a-half...

The old owner says the new owners are responsible for paying the bills. The new owners are saying the old owner never turned over the keys to the kingdom. As a result, Formula One Major Domo Bernie Ecclestone has given permission for the team to miss the next two races while they get their finances straightened out.

it's so bad right now that administrator Finbarr O'Connell closed the team's doors and no one and nothing is allowed in or out to tinker with anything.

Chief Executive Graham McDonald discusses the current mood


Part of a statement from FIA read:

"In a telephone conversation today between Finbarr O'Connell and Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Ecclestone agreed to support the administrators in their wish to sell the Formula One team to a party with the financial strength to sustain it into the future.

"Mr Ecclestone also agreed to give dispensation to Caterham F1 such that it could, if necessary, miss the US and Brazilian Grands Prix, but hoped that a new owner would be in a position to race the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix."

Ecclestone has said in the past that FIA would be okay with ten squads. But the new owners who thought they were the new owners and have gone back and forth with the Tony Fernandes ("old") group in a war of words saying one group is responsible to pay bills and not themselves.

The lack of a Caterham side opens the door for both Sauber and Marussia to make more owners points in-roads and put Caterham in a deeper financial hole for the beginning of the 20125 racing season.

Especially, if no new owners are found by Abu Dhabi...

UPDATE: Looks like the Marussia squad is done with the US and Brazil GP's as well. The crash involving Juiles Bianchi in Japan has ricked the team to its core. At the last race in Russia- a race the home-owned squad wanted to have a stellar showing- they only ran one car in deference to Bianchi. The group hasn't seemed to be emotionally in the game and their financial issues are leaning them to regrouping for 2015 as well.

FIA rules say that you can sit out three races without violating the racing charter- looks Marussia might do that by choice and Caterham not so much so...

Tony Stewart Won't Race This Weekend Either

((ht: nascar.com))

Suffice to say the past two weeks have not been kind to NASCAR team owner and driver Tony Stewart.

By now, most of you know about the incident at a central New York dirt track Saturday night that cost promising driver Kevin Ward Jr his life after getting tangled with Stewart's car.

After initially saying he wanted to race in the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen the next day, Stewart relented and handed over the #14 Stewart-Haas racing car to Reagan Smith.

Thursday afternoon, Stewart's race team released a statement saying Tony would not race in the upcoming race in Michigan. They did not elaborate other than to say that veteran driver Jeff Burton would drive his car on Sunday.

Stewart has drawn a lot of heat on social media and other places for what appears to be a limited response to a horrible accident/mistake. No charges have been filed and we'd be surprised if eventually they were.

But that should not absolve the millionaire multiple times over Stewart from trying to something to help. As far as anyone knows--and we hope we are wrong, Stewart has avoided the public at all costs and has thus far not reached out to the Ward family.

Stewart will eventually get back behind the wheel and investigators in Ontario County, New York will eventually finish their investigation. And no matter the outcome, we suspect someone is not going to be happy with the results.

Fox Sports gives us the video update: