REALLY COOL.(Competition)(multiple briefs)

Of major manufacturers, General Motors had arguably the coolest thing on the SEMA show floor (page 22). So-Cal Speed Shop, which built a streamlined projectile in the image of a 1940s belly-tank salt racer, made the car for GM to demonstrate the versatility of the company's Ecotech engine. A supercharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder is underhood, developing 200 hp. So-Cal is working on another belly-tank lakester that GM will take to the salt flats next year.

Brack on the mend

Injured IRL driver Kenny Brack should be done with surgeries following his horrific Oct. 12 crash at Texas Motor Speedway, Brack's surgeons told AutoWeek. The 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner had what is expected to be his final surgeries Nov. 4 in Indianapolis; Brack had his lower spine fused and his right ankle strengthened. It should be six weeks before the 37-year-old Swede can put weight on his right ankle, but his left ankle, which was also fractured when the nose of his car hit one of the track's gate posts, should be able to bear weight within a week. Team Rahal officials are circling the date of the Indianapolis 500 as Brack's return to the sport. A substitute driver has not yet been named, team owner Bobby Rahal said.

Manning to Ganassi

Chip Ganassi continued his trend of plucking young, up-and-coming drivers for his teams (they cost less, too). He hired former BAR F1 test driver Darren Manning, who showed well this year in his first season in CART.

Manning nurtured Walker Racing's only car to a ninth-place finish in the season standings with 15 top-10 results in 18 races. He also finished second at what turned out to be the season-ending race in Australia. The 28-year-old Brit has fared particularly well on the oval tracks. He finished fourth at Milwaukee and sixth in Germany this year after leading 18 laps for Dale Coyne's team at Rockingham, England, in 2002.

Way out west