Race Fans Are Uneducated (well no not really but others think this malarkey)

For now the tears I shed have dried, until Sunday when I watch the memorial. It’s so weird that its been a week since Wheldons passing it still doesn’t seem real. It seems any moment we will all awaken from this dream, and he’ll be there smiling. But now, in this moment, racing is obviously under attack. The sudden self ordained experts of motorsports have come out of the woodwork. Like distant cousins when you win the lotto. Some have stated racing is ridiculous and that cars going round and round is entertainment for the uneducated masses. Others have said racers only do it for the money. Me personally I have huge issues with those statements. Taking a cue from Daniel Tosh, “let’s take a look at this in this weeks ‘Blog Breakdown’”

Money. Ehhh have you seen the prize money from ALMS? Ya not to much to brag about. I work with several aspiring dirt track guys, and I can tell ya its not about money. It’s about going out in a car and having fun. Granted winnings great, but nothing beats battling somebody cleanly lap after lap. Trying to out smart him corner upon corner. I did it in a go kart this summer and let me tell ya its a rush. After I finally put enough pressure on him to screw up he did. He wasn’t happy I got the better of him. He even bitched about it all the way out to his vehicle, to me that’s winning.

Back to the money topic, some people have said Dan Wheldons accident was a product of the $5 million dollar prize. The only thing the prize money did was get him in the car. He didn’t race any harder then he usually did. If some of these “experts” would do some research they would see that well here’s a shock Wheldon was a damn good racer, and what happened was an accident. Not an overzealous narcsist that a commentor on the LA times wrote.

Race fans being uneducated is something that bothers me greatly. Neat how people who really don’t know why racing exists and what advancements it has given the auto industry, are saying we are uneducated. Motorsports is farther reaching then anyone on the outside could ever begin to comprehend. Passenger safety compartments, safety glass, turbo charging, crumple zones, all came from racing. The cars we lust for were born from racing, the 911, the Corvette ZR-1, any Ferrari. All made in the name of racing. If not for racing we would be driving some horrible crap wagons. If we took racing away then what would the stick and ball guys pimp out? Civics? Oh wait those were perfected through racing too. Ehhh I’m done with that rant.

Should racing be banned…..
Football in between ’91-’06 averaged 4.3 deaths a year. Yet, stadiums fill up 6 days a week. Do I think racing should be banned. NO! When Eric Medlen died in one of John Force’s funny cars. Tire deflated causing the car to shake violently down the strip. Essentialy he was shaken to death. What came of that? John Force made it his mission to make a safer car with the Eric Medlen Project. Now the roll cages are heavly padded and covered by nomex among other safety features. This is exactly what REAL race fans are talking about. Don’t stop make it better, make it safer.

Jimmie Johnsons quote about ovals was taken more out of context than the Danica Patrick Brazil quote. Give me a break folks. “Ehhhhhhh he’s never been in an indycar blah blah blah” Atleast he had the cajones to say something. He’s a racer that doesn’t want to see more drivers hurt or worse killed. Can’t say I blame him.

So what’s next for IndyCar. Well……alot. The ball is in the court with the investigation group. There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered, of not only why, but how can we prevent such an accident from happening again. Several actual race fans not the ones seeking fifteen minutes of fame and internet clicks, and drivers have suggested closed cockpit cars. I’m a firm beleaver in this idea. If done right the cars will look not only bad ass, but fast sitting still. I’m sure two Audi drivers wake up everyday thanking the engineers they went to a closed cockpit car. One concern is the obvious what if the cars upside down, or on fire. I’m sure there’s an easy solution maybe a three piece top with doors. I can envision I just suck at PhotoShop.  Thought of the minute, see how the H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes build thier cockpits. Better catch fences, is another area of improvement. One that doesn’t involve the cars ripping apart. Ballistic glass is one I heard, I say make it close to (I’m sure Tony Johns will like this) what a hockey rink looks like. I’m sure there’s more that can be done in the name of safety, like grass at road courses, tire barriers, and others.

Let’s be honest all that can start Monday. Let’s get through Sunday together first.

Restructuring Speedweeks: Kill the BS (Literally)

On Sunday, the Budweiser Shootout was held, which funnily enough abbreviates to BS.  Pretty fitting, for a race that has less and less purpose as the years go by.  It began as a race for the previous year’s pole winners, but it has turned into a anyone-can-enter waste of time.  NASCAR runs 36 races in Sprint Cup alone, does it really need a non points race, especially as it has the Camping World Trucks and Nationwide series, all of which are televised live?    The Shootout was pretty interesting this year, I’ll give them that, but still, what’s the point?  To test the track in race conditions, they have ARCA, Trucks, Nationwide, and the two qualifying races!  It’s not just the Shootout that’s a waste of time, but also the qualifying; I mean, what’s the point of running qualifying for the race, since they also run the qualifying races?  Take both of those out, and you free up the first weekend of Speedweeks; where the 24 Hours of Daytona could easily fit in.

The new Start to Speedweeks

I’m no fan of the Grand Am series, or even the 24 Hours of Daytona, but, it makes perfect sense to package that race into Speedweeks.  If you watched the Rolex 24, you would have noticed the serious lack of attendance.  There were some people in the infield, but the stands were bare, and for the Grand Am’s biggest event, it was kind of pathetic.  Packaging it into Speedweeks would be good for getting more attention on the 24 Hours of Daytona, and would give them something to kick off Speedweeks with, as they would no longer have the Shootout.  More importantly, since all the Cup drivers are already heading down there, they could increase the amount of Cup guys who run the Rolex, and turn it into a mini “All Star” event itself, with added sports car and Indycar participation.  It helps Grand Am, which NASCAR owns, it keeps the Speedweeks schedule full, and allows them to kill off a pointless (pardon the pun) race.

Don’t worry about ARCA, it could be run after the 24 Hours ends on Sunday. Just run it Sunday night.  Qualifying might have to take place Friday, but that’s no big deal.   As for Daytona 500 practice, the opening weekend of Speedweeks is too crowded, but they have all week to run the practices.  Sure, that’s a little strange, but it gives them something on track for Monday and Tuesday, which currently is empty.

Speedweeks could use a refresh

Is any of this likely?  Not really.  NASCAR doesn’t seem to understand or care that 36 races plus 2 non points races plus the Daytona Qualifying races plus the Nationwide and Truck series might be a little bit of over-saturation of the stock car market.  The 24 Hours of Daytona could use some help with it’s attendance, and running it as the start of Speedweeks would be a good way to kick start the attendance.  The qualifying for the Daytona 500 is similarly pointless.  You’ve got the qualifying races, that renders the qualifying process redundant.  What’s the point?  Adding the 24 Hours of Daytona to Speedweeks helps everyone involved in NASCAR, Grand Am, and ISC, and since they’re all effectively the same, it shouldn’t be that hard to do.  Come on, Daytona, the solution is simple!

2nd Annual Triple League Racing Awards Coming Soon: Viewer Participation Requested

I’ve been busy, and haven’t been updating as regularly as I’ve wanted to, but I do have some things coming up.  Foremost, the second annual Triple League Racing Awards.  The First Year’s awards can be viewed here. Catagories will include Driver of the Year, Team of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Race of the Year, Worst Driver, Disappointment of the Year, Best New Track of the Year (note, new to a series, not necessarily brand new), Storyline of the year, and possibly more.  This year, though, the awards will be split up into multiple posts, because it’s too big to be one post.

The Awards cover all racing series, especially NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide, NASCAR Camping World Trucks, Izod Indycar, MotoGP, WSBK, F1, ALMS, although I’ll consider other series (Moto2, AMA Superbikes, Grand Am).  The awards are planned for the end of November/beginning of December, because I cannot finish the awards until NASCAR and F1 finish.  Some categories(rookie of the year) are closer to completion than others (driver of the year).

Also this year, I’d like to request input from the readers on who/what to nominate and in the end win.  This goes for categories as well, you can request another category, and if I like it, I’ll add it in.  So PLEASE comment and give your nominations!  These awards cover a ton of series, and I may forget something important, plus I haven’t seen every single race in all of these series, so reader input is appreciated.  That said, the final decision on winners is mine.  I’ll also include a fan vote on all categories with the awards.

Is Danica’s Gravy Train Ending? And Where Will She Go?

  Danica Patrick has, despite many issues,been the first female driver to win a major league circuit race.  Yes, I know that many female drivers have won in drag racing, but I’m talking about circuit racing, IE: F1, NASCAR, Indycar, ect.  Of course, she’s only got one win, and it came in a rain affected fuel finish…   Still, for the moment at least, she’s the most successful female driver, and the most famous.  Danica, more than any American racer outside of Junior, is a celebrity.  Her celebrity comes from her modeling and success in the Indy 500.  However, there may be a threat on the horizon.  In both NASCAR and Indycar, new female drivers are arriving, and may threaten Danica’s claim to being the most successful female driver.  All this comes at a time when Danica is deciding whether to go to NASCAR or stay in Indycar….

  Danica has always struggled on the road and street courses in Indycar, which is a little odd, considering before Indycar, road racing was all she had done, first in Formula Ford in England, and then in the Atlantics series.  Which, brings up one of the biggest criticisms of her, that she never won a development level race, and sadly, there’s no defending that record, except to say that some people aren’t great in the development leagues and mature into winners latter.  The Unification has hurt Danica more than any other driver outside of Dan Wheldon, because she was becoming almost passable on the road and street courses in 07, with some good runs, including a second at Belle Isle, although that was because of the wreck between Franchitti and Dixon, still, she was running in 4^th on the track.  However, since Unification, she’s really been hurt by both the addition of road/street courses and the addition of strong road racers.  For these reasons, not to mention the increased attention/sponsors/TV, she’s been looking at NASCAR, and actually found a ride in the Nationwide series.

NASCAR has really damaged the "Bunnies and Rainbows" Danica....

In her stock car debut at Daytona in the ARCA series, things went well.  But since then, in Nationwide, things have been bad, to say the least.  In the Daytona Nationwide race, a race that almost anyone can win, due to the nature of restrictor plate racing, Danica fell off the draft and was horrible, until getting taken out in a wreck.  Fontana, now that was a disaster, I mean, it’s Fontana, not the hardest track in NASCAR, and a very power/aero dependant track, which, Hendrick/JRM does well.  And, she was awful, I mean, she was behind teams that are run on budgets similar to her yearly clothes spending!  Vegas was a little better, but she got wrecked, still, way below where JRM equipment should be.  Then, she was off until Loudon, which was another horrific performance, made worse by an early race incident with Morgan Sheppard.  Chicagoland went better; she was only 2 laps down in 24^th, behind such notable drivers as Joe Nemecheck, Shelby Howard, and Tony Raines… 

The Greatest Threat???

In Indycar, this year has been a struggle, outside of a second place finish at Texas, Danica’s been struggling, with only fuel strategy to help her out in a couple races to a good finish.  Worse though, has been the rise of Simona De Silvestro.  Simona is driving for what is one of the worst funded teams in the series, and has put down some very competitive runs, with Edmonton, where she qualified 7^th, just outside the Fast Six, and ran very well, until getting speared by Ej Viso on a restart caused her to lose a lap, as well as damage to the fuel system that would latter take her out of the race, where she had worked back up to 11^th.  The highlight of that was when Simona was running strongly in the top ten, and Danica went plowing through the infield grass… 

A reason why NASCAR may not be Danica's best option....

 At Indianapolis Raceway Park, Johanna Long made her debut in a Billy Ballew Motorsports, qualifying 15^th and finishing 17^th.  BBM is pretty good equipment, with Kyle Busch especially being successful in it, although I’d say it’s probably not at the level of JRM.  Her finish was higher than any of Danica’s NASCAR starts, although granted, Trucks is a step down from Nationwide, IRP is also a lot more challenging of track than any Danica’s been on, with only Loudon coming close.  In the end, one race is not enough to make a decision on Long’s talent, but she’s only 18, and has been very successful in the local/regional racing level.   It would be interesting to see both on track together…

  Which brings something else interesting about the Danica experiment up.  She’s not running that many stock car events.  There have been a LOT of Indycar off weekends, and yet, many times she’s neither testing Indycar’s, nor racing stock cars, at either the Truck or Nationwide level.  If she truly wants success, she needs to basically take a page out of Kyle Busch’s playbook and start racing EVERY week.  If she can’t get to Truck/Nationwide, go out to a local short track and run late models or ARCA!  She has the capability to do this, she’s a MASSIVE sponsor draw, I’m sure Junior and Hendrick could find Trucks and ARCA rides for her.  And if she’s planning on staying with Indycar, than she should spend every off week working on her road racing skills, whether that’s getting an ALMS ride, testing Atlantics/DP01’s, or whatever, if she’s serious about Indycar, she needs to up her road racing game!

  At first glance, moving to NASCAR seems obvious.  After all, its ratings and attendance, while falling, are so much larger than Indycar’s, it’s not even funny.  There are no other women in Sprint Cup, and aren’t likely to be any serious female challenges for a few years, until Ali Owens or Johanna Long move up, which will likely be a few years.  Not only that, but she’s involved with the top organizations in NASCAR, the Hendrick Empire.  She has a shot at getting a full Hendrick ride, because while Martin will be replaced by Kahne, Gordon may not be sticking around that much longer, plus, a 3^rd or 4^th car at Stewart Haas or even brining JRM up is a possibility, it really doesn’t matter, she’ll have Hendrick Power behind her.  However, it’s not that simple.  In Indycar, she’s the big fish in the small pond.  But in NASCAR, she runs the risk of being overshadowed and lost in the sea of drivers.  She will never be most popular, because that’s Junior, and while she doesn’t have to win a bunch to stay popular/famous, she will need to have the potential to win, otherwise she’ll get forgotten, especially if another female driver gets in and starts running up front.  Simona is a threat, but a. her equipment is awful right now, b. her dreams have been F1 (IE: She may leave), C. she might be a little less likely to become a celebrity to non race fans than a Johanna Long or Ali Owens who starts winning races might be.   Plus, she knows Indycar, she’s its big star, and fixing her road racing is probably easier than learning stock cars.  Besides, Indycar gives her more free time to do her other projects than NASCAR will, and as the driver fines NASCAR levied recently prove, Danica may not find the NASCAR atmosphere conductive to her personality.  

  What would I advise if I were her advisor???  Actually, that depends.  It depends on what you feel the future of Indycar is.  If Indycar continues to hover on the abyss, if it can’t get ratings back to respectable levels, than maybe NASCAR is the better option.  While it has risks, if she truly focuses on racing, runs trucks ARCA, and Nationwide, she should be able to do well with Hendrick power.  It’s risky, but it also may give her a ton of money, and NASCAR definitely wants her.  But here’s the thing, what if Danica won the 500 and contended or even won a title?  What would that do to Indycar’s popularity?  And what would it do for the Danica “brand”???  Wouldn’t it raise the brand and series a ton?  And she already knows how to drive in Indycar, plus, Silvestro may leave for F1.  So I guess the decision could be argued either way.  I think in the end, if she can’t get a lot more competitive in Nationwide, then it’ll end, and she’ll return to Indycar, hopefully they’ll find a way to get her a better ride and a chance at the title.  If, however, she starts to get the hang of stock cars, than that move is almost a certainty, unless Indycar’s profile get’s raised by like 200% in the next few years.   What’s going to happen no one knows, but I think it’s a lot more complicated than it looks at first glance.  I’m going to predict she’ll stay in Indycar, although granted, I’m very likely to be proven wrong.

Pre Season Picks and Predictions: NASCAR Edition

 

 The 2010 NASCAR season starts next week.  Despite not doing pre race picks and predictions anymore, I’ll do Pre Season Picks and Predictions.  Due to the Chase, and the length of the NASCAR season, I’ll do a Pre Chase Picks and Predictions as well.  Here are the predictions, and the picks.  I’m not going to pick the Title winner until the Chase is set.  My gut says Hamlin or Kyle Busch. 

Chasers:  Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards.  These drivers are drivers who I believe will all easily make the Chase.  Yes, Busch missed it last season, but I think he’ll be back on to top form this season.  Otherwise, these are all drivers who make the Chase most years, and I expect to do so again this year. 

Likely:  Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Juan Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Dale Junior.  Yes. this is more than 12 drivers.  The point is none of these drivers making the Chase would surprise me.  All are proven winners/Chasers, it’s just a matter of how they put it together.  Kurt Busch should make it, but he’s struggled to put his car into the Chase in back to back years.  Junior gets in because of Hendrick Power.  Kahne almost fell out, but the combination  of him and Francis can do the most with the least. 

DarkHorse:  Joey Lagono, David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurry, Marcos Ambrose.  These drivers could make the Chase, although I would be surprised, I wouldn’t be shocked.   Lagano and Keselowski are the people I think most likely to do make the Chase.  However, the 12 car was horrible last year, so Keselowski’s success is very team dependant.  Lagano, he has the team, but is he ready?  I don’t know, he needs to run up front more to make the Chase.  The three MWR drivers are good, and the teams improving.  Their main problem is they have to beat a lot of strong teams to break into the Chase.  I don’t know if they will be able to take that step, but dropping Waltrip has to help.  McMurry seems to really do well with the Ganassi group, maybe he’ll do something good for once.

Not a Chance: Start and Parks, Front Row, Furniture Row, Scott Speed, David Ragan, Aj Allmindinger, Paul Menard, Elliot Sadler, Boris Said, Bobby Labonte, Part Time Teams, Sam Hornish Jr., anyone I’ve forgot.  The name says it all, Not a Chance.  The only glimmers of hope are Ragan and Allmindinger.  I like Aj, but a non Kahne driver isn’t going to do much in RPM.  As for the rest, compare them/their team to the likely/Chasers categories, and you’ll understand.  The new teams, and Start and Parks clearly won’t make it, and of course Part Timers can’t. 

Predictions:

No 5 Peat:  I do not believe Jimmie Johnson will win his 5th title.  It’s possible, but he’s benefited from some great luck, and that just can’t hold.  I also think that Gibbs, Roush,  Penske and Childress will be working around the clock to beat Hendrick.   Not to mention his own teammates, Gordon, Martin, Junior, Stewart, and Newman. 

Worst Rookie of the Year fight, EVER:  Kevin  Conway will probably win the RoY award, and no one will care.  Partly, because he’ll probably have ZERO top 10′s, and struggle for top 25′s.  And you thought Scott Speed was bad.  Terry Cook may be running as well, although it may be a Start and Park. 

Start and Park in the Top 35?:  Possibly, it depends on what happens with Front Row, Key Motorsports, Tommy  Baldwin Racing, and Lat43.  If these teams don’t start and park, then no, because even if a couple teams close down, real teams will take there spots.  However, if Baldwin is in fact a Start and Park again, and Lat 43 and Key close down, then it is possible.  If that happens, maybe NASCAR will fix the rules?  Probably not, just make it more contrived. 

Poor Racing:  I just don’t know how much better the racing will be.  None of the changes are really going to fix the issue’s with the CoT.  The only hope is in that another year of poor racing will finally move NASCAR to REAL ACTION.  The rumored changes coming in 2011 and 2012 could finally change this.  I really hope I’ll be proven wrong. 

Edwards Nationwide Champ:  The only way he’ll lose is if Busch runs the full schedule, or Keselowski has an amazing year.  Otherwise, Edwards might as well be crowned at Daytona. 

Kahne out at RPM:  Kasey Kahne won’t be back at RPM next year.  He may be at Stewart Haas Racing, or Hendrick, or Gibbs, or Childress, or even Roush, but no way back at RPM.  Many, including myself, think Kahne and his crew chief are possibly the best in the series, because they turn a horribly uncompetitive RPM car into a race winning car.  He needs to get out of the second tier cars and into the championship caliber cars.  The other drivers should be scared.  If he can win with Petty, what will he do in a real team?

Penske Improves:  Penske’s NASCAR team is very up and down, but I think they’re going to be strong.  Penske knows how to build a great team, and it seems that they are financially sound.  Adding Keselowski is a good move, and Horinish hopefully will improve.  If he doesn’t, then Allgier can move up and replace him.  Penske’s in it for the long haul, and as long as Dodge isn’t completely lost, should be in the SuperTeam catagory.  And soon Penske will probably switch manufacturers, probably Toyota, although maybe either Ford or a new manufacter.  I can’t see Dodge staying in much longer. 

End of the Trucks?:  The Truck series is probably dying.  Very, very low Truck count, and not a whole lot of purpose.  For small teams, ARCA, NASCAR east/West, Whelen Modified Southern tour/NorthEastern tour, or even the dirt late model series(Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws) are probably better options.  The manufactur’s support is probably going to die, and why would anyone want to sponsor third tier NASCAR that runs in front of empty stands?  Of course, they can get as many people into the stands as the Istanbul GP, but thats another story. 

 

Thoughts on Danica’s Stockcar Debut: ARCA 200

  It finally happened.  The much hyped Danica stockcar debut happened at the ARCA 200 race at Daytona.  How did she do?  6th place, battling door to door with Ricky Carmichel at the end. 

  Some were suprised about her finish, but I really wasn’t.  The driver who finished 5th in Indycar points in 2009, and who’s in a Hendrick prepared car, has no reason not to finish up front.  I wasn’t surprised when she moved up from 20 something to the top 10, Hendrick Power can do that for you.  Personally, I was a little disappointed, I felt that she should have been top 5 with Hendrick Power, but 6th is pretty good.  This is ARCA, though, the real answers will come in the Nationwide series, and ultimately the Cup, if it gets to that.  The event was successful, and if she wants to run Nationwide at Daytona, she’ll definitely get certified(as if there was ever any doubt). 

  But, the broadcast was Danica mania.  The Speed people seemed to think Danica had never been in a racecar before, with brilliant observations about everything she did.  They would congratulate her for missing wrecks that she had minimal risk of being involved in, although I guess compared to some of the other ARCA drivers, those were good saves.  Kyle Busch, on twitter, even commented about how over the top the Danica news was.  I understand it was a big deal, but they really, really overdid the Danica hype.  When she started moving up to the front at the end, I worried that Darrell might have a heart attack. 

   And then, there’s the post race articles.  You would have thought she had lapped the field reading some of these articles.  She finished 6th in an ARCA race, people!  She’s finished 3rd in the Indy500, won at Montegi, and finished top 5 in Indycar points!  I think Danica’s a good driver, and I thought she ran well, but she didn’t win, so they need to tone it down a little.

  Danica was the highest finishing female driver.  Leilani Munter and Milka Duno were involved in one of the opening wrecks.  Milka was one of the great drivers who ran into the wrecks instead of slowing down.   So much for her outrunning Danica…  Ali Owens looked like she might finish ahead of Danica, but in the end she got pushed back some. 

  As for Nelson Piquet Jr. he showed why he’s no longer a Formula One driver.  He stalls the car after a red flag, gets involved in a wreck and spins Danica Patrick(very, very ironic), then, and this is the worst, as he’s getting lapped, he stays in the bottom lane and nearly caused a massive wreck.  I understand he’s new to NASCAR, but Danica, Speed, Montoya, ect. could all handle ARCA races.  As for his contact with Danica, did some angry ARCA drivers pay him for that? 

  James Buscher and Bobby Gerhart were to top two drivers.  James led early, but lost it when he pitted.  Gerhart pitted early, and took the lead when the others pitted.  Gerhart then dominated the race, and easily won.  For Gerhart, it was his 6th Daytona 200 win.  Frank Kimmel struggled, but unlike Piquet, he knew to drop below the yellow line when getting lapped, and did not nearly cause a wreck.  Finally Ricky Carmichel ran well, finishing 7th.  So maybe there’s hope for Rossi?  Carmichel is making his transition okay, but then, I don’t know if Rossi will be able to find a good F1 ride, he’s kinda old for most teams. 

  As whats next for Danica, we don’t know.  Probably she’ll run the Daytona Nationwide race, which I agree with.  She’ll then run at least 12 other races.  The Danigasim is going to get worse, although at least in Nationwide they’ll sometimes mention Edwards, Busch, Lagono, and Keselowski.  It was a good start, but there’s a long way to go for her.  And when ARCA driver get let into Daytona, they manage to take out about half the field.  Finally, never, ever trust Nelson Piquet Jr.

Team Meeting: The Post Award Show Edition

NASCAR:

 Danica may or may not be running at Daytona.  She will certainly be at Fontana, but may or may not at Daytona.  I really think she should be at Daytona, personally.  First off, the biggest fear that her people have is that Daytona has a ton of cup drivers.  I understand that fear, but it’s a plate race!  Plate tracks are crapshoots, and ANYONE can win, from the talentless ride buyer, the rookie owner/driver, the top cup driver, or the rookie with JR Motorsports!  Of course, anyone can wreck, too.  Besides, it would make the NASCAR Nationwide Daytona race a lot more exciting. 

  The ARCA Daytona Test wrapped up, and the controversy over Danica has already began.  Some people, mainly Indycar fans who don’t understand RP racing, were happy that Milka Duno was faster than Danica during the second day of the test.  I believe, and I posted my feelings in the comment section of www.pressdog.com, that it didn’t matter.  Some delusional Danica haters seem to think that Braun is a stronger team than JRM, that Milka is a better driver than Danica, and other insane things like that.  Look, a RP test is all about two things.  The single car runs are irrelevant because cars NEVER race that spread out.  For single car speed runs, a lot of special techniques are used, often which make the car faster yet not able to run for a long period of time.  Danica ran a much larger amount of laps than Milka, so I would guess her team didn’t do that as much as Milka’s.  Milka’s engine blew up on day three, so draw your own conclusions….  I would hope Milka could keep up in an ARCA Daytona test, because it’s just flat out, no talent required.  From what I’ve read, only small drafting groups were allowed, so really it would have been easy even for her to keep the draft and not wreck.  As for the Braun/JRM debate, I believe that the people who claimed Braun is a stronger team than JRM are either insane, complete Danica haters, or have never actually watched a NASCAR race in their life. 

  I know a lot of people are probably over the Danica stuff, but personally, I’m enjoying it.  It’s something more positive than the down economy, the fall of De Farren, the contraction in NASCAR, new street courses in F1 ect.  

 Junior Motorsport looks like they’ll run 2 full cars, the 7 and 88.  Dale Junior will run the races Danica doesn’t, and I’m guessing a few other people will run when he doesn’t feel like running.  I’m sure they’ll have plenty of choice of drivers.  Kelly Bires is planned to run full time, although they are having a tough time finding sponsors.  I would guess that having Danica and Junior run a car together should help fix the money problem a little.  I think one big thing to watch is Danica vs. Bires.  Kelly Bires has a lot more stock car experience, but he’s not a veteran by any means.  He’s only got 1 full season under his belt(2008) and only has 8  top ten finishes.  Really, he is a lot like Keselowski, and Junior picked a great talent in him.  Still, the results between them when they run together should be interesting, they’ll be two drivers in similar equipment, and neither are well established stock car drivers. 

 Road America has been confirmed for the 2010 Nationwide series!  I am excited, because Road America is the best road course in America, and the perfect track to show off road racing for oval racing fans!  Now, if only F1, IRL, and Sprint Cup would run there….

  Jimmie Johnson won the AP’s Male Athlete of the Year award.  I’m glad they consider racing a sport, but I really don’t agree with this award.  First off, I don’t like  how Mario Andretti, Aj Floyt, Micheal Andretti, Jeff Gordon, Valentino Rossi, Micheal Schumacker, Nigel Mansell, Senna, Prost, Alonso ect. haven’t also deserved it, and never won it.  I wouldn’t even consider this Johnson’s greatest year, I’d say 06 and 07 were both better seasons for him.  Secondly, I wouldn’t say this year his year was better than Rossi’s just in the racing world.   I don’t know if I’d consider him better this year than other stick and ball athletes either.  But, all that said, it is pretty cool to see a race car driver win that awards. 

  Grand Am has moved it’s HQ into the NASCAR HQ!  So, soon it will be renamed the NASCAR Rolex Grand Sham Series. 

Indycar:

  It looks like Gil De Farren’s team will close down, and so the Indycar team will not happen.  It’s very, very upsetting, I really had high hopes for this team.

  Brazil is STILL NOT CONFIRMED!!!!!!!  It’s been almost a month since the Sao Paublo confirmation, and yet still no actual location!  I’m guessing we won’t get conformation for AT LEAST TWO WEEKS!!!  This is just insane!

  I am a big supporter of the Delta Wing Chassis.  If it is decided that Indycar will be single chassis, than I really hope this is it.  The fact is, yes, the car does need to race well, and it does need safety testing.  But, I think that a radical re design is what Indycar needs badly.  If they go multiple chassis, than I would love to see Swift, Dallara, and Delta Wing compete against each other.  That would be cool.  Delta Wing would have an insane advantage since most of the team owners seem to be on board, unless they defect, which is always a possibility.  I really hope that the Delta Wing thing happens, though.  It hopefully will be an American made and produced chassis, which is a good thing.  Also, I think they might be trying to build an engine too, although I dont’ know.  If that is true, than I hope they use it, because than there wouldn’t be as many issues with NASCAR drivers trying Indy, since Honda wouldn’t be involved.  And, we could finally dump Montegi!!!!!

  Last but not least for Indycar, the Month Of May will be reduced to a two week three weekend format.  I like it, overall.  My concern is with this hurting the last minute rides, though.  Still, it should be a good thing.  It does upset the long time fans a lot, who want it to be the full month.

F1: 

  The Micheal Schumacker to Mercedes seems to be getting a lot more serious.  I still find it hard to believe, but, I think it’s a great thing for him, and for Mercedes.  I worried a lot about the future for Brawn, but by picking up Micheal and Roseburg, and by picking up the Mercedes title, they, I believe, can contend for the title next season.  I’m really hopeful about next year, I really hope that Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mclaren all are really competitive.

  The other big news is that the  Rome GP will likely replace Istanbul in the near future.  NO MORE STREET COURSES!!!!   The last thing F1 needs, Indycar needs, LeMans needs, NASCAR needs, ANY TYPE OF RACING NEEDS! Is another street course.  They are boring, they are pointless, and I do not want to see another street course!  At least it is replacing a Tilke Track.   It’s too bad Istanbul is the best Tilke Track, and we’re losing that instead of say, Shanghi. 

  Well, that’s all.  Hope everyone enjoys the Holidays!  I’ll still be posting stuff, I think. And, there is a small possibility you’ll see a post by me in an unexpected place, but I can’t get into that!

First Annual Triple League Racing End of the Year Awards

  This is the  start of the first ever Triple League Racing Award.  Awards will all be handed out in one post, by far the biggest of my blog’s brief history.  This will encompass all the racing series that I followed.  6 people/things will be nominated in each category.

Race of the Year:  What’s the race of the year?  The best race of the year, as in the most exciting.  One hard thing about this is I didn’t watch every race of every season.  So, for instance, I didn’t watch all 35 Nationwide races. 

Honda Indy Toronto, Izod Indycar:  The race at the Toronto race was the best road/street course race in the Indycar series.  Alex Tagliani took the lead away from Dario Franchitti and looked like he would be in contention for the win.  Later, Paul Tracy and Helio Castroneves wrecked.  Dario Franchitti won the race, but,  there was plenty of passing and interesting things going on throughout the event.

 Meijer Indy 300, Izod Indycar:  After many boring oval races, Indycar changed the aero rules, and added push to pass on the Dallara’s.  The race at Kentucky proved this was the right choice.  Lots of passing, and Ed Carpenter looked like he was going to get his first win.  Sadly, Ryan Briscoe beat him, but it was a close wheel to wheel finish that Indycar hadn’t been able to have all year.

Peak Anti-Freeze & Motor Oil Indy, Izod Indycar:  If Kentucky was good, Chicagoland was great.  Chicagoland was 2+ hours of exciting, wheel to wheel action.  In the final laps, both Graham Rahal and Mario Moreas both looked like they could win, and Justin Wilson finished 10th, a big improvement for Dayle Coyne Racing.  Slightly disapointly, Ryan Briscoe won again, and extended the Big Two’s Reign of Terror.  The race was so good, Robin Miller and some old time fans were upset by it!

12 Hours of Sebring, ALMS:  This was a pretty good event.  Car count was down, with only 3 LMP2 and 2 GT1 cars.  However, the battle between the Pugeot and Audi was epic.  LMP2 wasn’t good at all, in the end the two Mazda’s failed to finish, so Adrian Fernadez’s team won the race easily for LMP2.  Still, it was a good endurance race, although the Acura’s struggled to finish well.

24 Hours Of Daytona, Grand-Am:  Yes, I put a Grand-Sham race in the top 6 races of the year.  Daytona was a pretty good event.  The Brumos 58 and Chip Ganassi 01 were the top two cars, and ran nose to tail for the last laps.  The Ganassi car was up front, but when the Brumos car passed them, they were unable to get back into lead.  The race was marred by the fact that Ganassi’s team’s engine’s were more restricted then Brumos. 

Carfax 250, NASCAR Nationwide Series:  There were a couple good races in the Nationwide Series, but I’ll pick this one.  Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch were very angry about this one.  Brian Vickers blocked Kyle, which allowed Keselowski to take the lead and get the win.  Kyle and Vickers had a post race conflict, and the finish was exciting. 

And The Winner is… The Peak Anti-Freeze & Motor Oil Indy.  The race there was just the best, most exciting, and the winner was never assured.  The race at Chicagoland reminded many disillusioned IRL fans to take hope into the future.  Chicagoland was by far the best race all year, because there was never a dull moment.

Rookie of the Year:  The Rookie of the Year award, sadly, is hard to give out.  There weren’t many rookie drivers this year, and of those who were rookies, they struggled badly.

Joey Logano, NASCAR:  Joey Logano struggled very badly at the start of the season.  He looked like he was about to fall out of the top 35 in owners points.  However, a Nationwide win at Nashville in the spring reinvigorated his season, and he pushed his way into the top 20.  The highlight of his season was the “win” at Loudon, although it was pretty poorly done, he wrecked, and so refueled, and when the other drivers pitted, he was able to get the lead, and the rain came, giving Logano the win.  He won 5 total Nationwide wins.  Still, he wasn’t that great, and in the end fell back to 20th in points.

Raphael Matos, Izod Indycar:  Raphael Matos won the Izod Indycar Rookie of the Year Award, but it was not all that great of season.  His highest finish was 6th, and he finished 13th in points.  Not an awful year, but not spectacular.  I’d make the wild prediction that Matos won’t win the award. 

Brad Keselowski, NASCAR :  Brad only made 15 cup starts, but he had 1 win, and four top 10′s in relatively poor equipment.  His win at Talladega was exciting, and he backed it up with a good run at Darlingon.  Brad also won 4 wins in the Nationwide series, and without Joe Gibbs equipment.  For the next season, he will drive for Roger Penske in the 12 car.

Justin Allgaier, NASCAR :  Justin ran a full time Nationwide Series for Roger Penske in the 12 car.  He ran well, but nothing spectacular.  He didn’t win, or run up front that often.  Just like Matos, I’ll make the wild guess that he won’t win this award.

Kamui Kobayashi, F1:  Kamui stepped into the Toyota seat after Timo Glocks injury.  Kamui finished 9th in his debut, and got on the radar by upsetting World Champion Jenson Button by racing him “too hard”.  At the Abi Dahbi round, Kobayashi finished 6th, scoring three points, more than Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastion Bordais, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jamie Alguersuari and a few others in just 2 rounds.  However, Toyota pulled out of F1, and he currently lacks a ride.  Lotus is considered his likely destination.

Ben Spies, World Superbike, MotoGp(1 round):  14 wins in 28 rounds.  World Superbike champion.  Ben Spies had a great rookie year in World Superbike, winning the title for Yamaha.  What is there to say?  Ben Spies is moving up to Tech 3 in Moto Gp, and finished 6th in his first start for them this season. 

And the Winner is Bens Spies!   Ben Spies won the World Superbike title, and won 13 rounds!  Ben Spies wins hands down, because Logano only could be successful with the rain, or in a Gibbs Nationwide car, Kobayashi ran two races, Keselowski ran well, but wasn’t a championship contender, and Allgaier and Matos were winless.

Team of the Year: The top team of the year.   There is lots of competition in this award category.  

Hendrick Motorsports(including Stewart Haas and Phoniex with Keselowski, plus the part time 25), NASCAR:  Hendrick Motorsport finished 1-2-3 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, with Stewart Haas finishing 6th and 9th and Phoniex Motorsports, with Brad Keselowski winning at Talladega.  The lone blemish on this team is that Dale Earnhart Junior finished 25th in points.  Otherwise, it was total Hendrick Domination, in the Cup, not in Nationwide, thought.  Junior Motorsports, the front name for Hendrick’s Nationwide team, was behind the Joe Gibbs and Roush Fenway teams. 

Joe Gibbs, NASCAR: Gibbs continued to dominate the Nationwide series.  Any driver in Gibbs equipment could almost be guaranteed a win. Joey Logano, a midpack Cup driver, was top 3 in Nationwide.  On the cup side, Gibbs was second best, but they were clearly second best.  They were clearly better than any cup team other than the Hendrick Group.  All three drivers won, although Logano’s win was very, very lucky.  Hamlin was a championship contender, if only he didn’t struggle so much, and Kyle Busch was inconsistent, and failed to make the Chase, but still won 4 races. 

Brawn GP, F1:  Brawn, the former Honda team, started development on the 2009 car during the 2008 season.  Ross Brawn bought the team, and was able to get the car on grid.  When they took the field, they had something special, called a double diffuser.  Because of this, Brawn dominated, winning more races than they’ve ever been near.  Button dominated early, but fell of greatly, while Barrichello came on strong towards the end.  Brawn had the strongest season ever,  and they were able to beat Ferrari and Mclaren.  But, they fell back by the end of the season.  Mercedes bought the team and renamed it Mercedes GP for the 2010 season.

Red Bull Renult, F1: Red Bull got there first win, with Sebastion Vettel.  They started without the double diffuser, but Adrian Newey was able to put one on there cars.  Red Bull cars were very strong, and became arguably the best cars overall.  Although the team failed to win either titles, they are well set up to enter next season. 

Target Chip Ganassi, Izod Indycar Series:  Target Chip Ganassi finished 1-2 in the points, with Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.  Target Chip Ganassi is half of the “Big Two”.  They dominated this season, with Penske, winning every race but one.  Target Chip Ganassi benefited from having both cars able to run for the title, and not deal with the issues that Penske had with Helio.  Franchitti won the title, and both drivers won 5 races each, and Franchitti was coming of his disastrous NASCAR foray. 

Team Penske, Izod Indycar Series:  Penske failed to win the title, but Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500.  Helio wasn’t a real championship contender, but considering how his year started, it was pretty good.  Ryan Briscoe turned from laughing stock last year to nearly winning the title this year.  Will Power ran a few races, and even won a race at Edmonton. 

And The Winner is… Hendrick  Motorsport!  In the end, it came down to a battle between Hendrick and Brawn.  But, Hendrick finished much stronger than Brawn.  Hendrick put 5 cars into the Chase, with only Junior missing it.  Hendrick dominated Cup level over any other team, and in the end, the biggest title contenders all came from Hendrick, with Jimmie, Martin, and Gordon 1-3rd, and Tony Stewart a major contender.  No other team was quite as dominating as Hendrick. But, is wasn’t much fun to watch, either, as NASCAR’s TV ratings show.

Dissapointment of the Year:  This award is about the most disappointing driver.  To be disappointing, there had to be reason to expect something from them, so Milka Duno and David Stremme don’t count.   This was an unfortently competitive category, and the competitiveness of it might account for the general apathy towards racing this year.  It was so competitive that many “deserving” teams and drivers couldn’t make the cut.  Childress, Roush, the entire Nationwide series, the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, the Indycar race at Texas, Renault, Toyota, and BMW didn’t make the cut. 

Dale Earnhart Junior, NASCAR: Dale Earhnahrt Junior drove for the most successful team in NASCAR, but he failed to win a race, or even be near the front.  He finished 25th in points, and was by far the worst performing driver in the Hendrick stable.  This was particularly disappointing because he was one of the better Hendrick drivers last season. 

Voldoforne McLaren Mercedes, F1: Mclaren went from the winners of the Driver Title to a team that only could win 2 races, and only with Hamilton.  Ron Denis was forced out after the the lieGate issue at Melborne.  They did win twice, though, but it was a big fall from title contenders.  However, the outlook for next season is very good.

Ferrari, F1:  Ferarri was the 08 constructors champions.  In 2009, they fell very far, with only 1 win, by Kimi Riokken.  Felipe Massa was injured, and Garno Fishichella and Luca Bolder replaced him, but failed to do anything in the car.   Kimi was dumped for the next season, replaced by Fernando Alonso.  The 2010 lineup is Felipe and Fernando, and it looks very strong.

Carl Edwards, NASCAR : Edwards was the pre season favorite for the Cup, and had won 9 races last year.  This season, he was winless.  Edwards also was unable to back up last years Nationwide title.  So, not a good year. 

Kyle Busch, NASCAR: Kyle Busch entered the 2009 as one of two favorites for the championship.  Unlike Edwards, Busch won 4 races, but, he failed to make the Chase.  He also was never able to get any consistency throughout the year.  In the end, his crew chief was fired, and a new one brought in. 

Andretti Autosport, Izod Indycar:  Andretti Autosport, formerly Andretti Green Racing, had a season without a single win.  Because of this, the Big Three turned into the Big Two.  Money was also a problem, as Marco Andretti struggled to find sponsorship.  Tony Kannan started off strong, leading the points going into Indy.  But, at Indy he crashed and was injured.  Then he got lit on fire at Milwaukee.  He never really got back on  track, and finished behind Danica, in 6th.  Danica had her most consistent season yet, and finished 5th in points.  It started really well, but after the half way point she started to fall off.  Sadly during the exciting races at Kentucky and Chicagoland she was no where in sight, and at Homestead she, and the whole team fell off the lead lap!  Marco showed little improvement, I guess he did get a little more consistent, but his career has really stalled.  Hedeki couldn’t even finish in the top 10 in points, and won’t be back with the team next season.  Andretti Autosport hasn’t been the same since Dario left, and there has to be concern over next year, because 3 poor years is going to make people wonder if AA will EVER get back to form.  After all, Dayle Coyne, Newman Hass, and KV are coming.  Micheal Andretti took total control over the team from Kim Green, hence the rename. 

The Winner (Loser?)  is… Andretti Autosport!  In the end, it came down to a shootout between AA and Junior for most disappointing.  Both were the only finalists to fail to win a single time.  In the end though, AA was worse based off the fact it was 4 different drivers, and a whole team that sucked!  Junior was really close, though, because every Hendrick driver either won a race or finished in the top ten, and he did neither.  I would compare it to the finish as Chicagoland this year in Indycar, inches decided it. 

Story of the Year:  The Story of the Year award goes to the top story of the year, not usually based off on track stuff.  For instance, the 4 peat doesn’t count,neither does Junior’s struggles, Ferrari/Mclaren’s struggles, ect.  Things like Jermey Mayfield, Danica to stock cars, ect do make the cut.

Danica To NASCAR?, NASCAR:  Danica Patrick’s contract with Andretti Autosport came up this year, and so like always, the Danica to NASCAR story came out.  There were more twists and turns than Road America, but in the end, unlike before, she actually will run some NASCAR races next year, for Junior Motorsports in the Nationwide series.  She will continue with Andretti Autosports through 2011 at the least.  So, this won’t be the last time Danica to NASCAR comes up.

Economy, All:  Everyone knows the economy sucked this year.  Racing was hurt very badly, with lower quality fields and lower car count across the board.  Track attendance was also down, as were TV ratings, although that my not have been completely the economy’s fault.  ALMS was hurt particularly badly, with Audi pulling out, Porsche pulling out, Penske leaving sportscars completely going into next year, and the ACURA mess.  De Ferran is likely dead, as is Adrian Hernandez’s team.  The economy led to a ton of mergers in NASCAR, and a lot of ride buyers in the Nationwide/Indycar series.  In F1, a lot of major teams, BMW, and Toyota, left, with Renualt pulling back. 

NASCAR Drug Testing/Jermey Mayfield, NASCAR:  NASCAR implemented a new random drug testing policy, but decided not to tell anyone what was actually banned.  Jermey Mayfield was the first major driver to be banned.  He was supposedly on Meth, although he disputes this claim.  The truth is hard to find in this, due to conflicting information, and the fact many “official” NASCAR writers are PR people, and may not report the whole truth on this.   But it sure looks like there are no good guys here, and it’s just a matter of who’s more wrong.  This story is not going to go away until at least next year.

Return of Michael Schumacher?,F1:  After Felipe Massa’s severe injury, Micheal Schumacker was rumored to be his replacement.  It was pretty likely, since he was even testing a 2007 Ferrari.  People either loved or hated this.  But, in the end, a neck injury from earlier this year prevented that from happening, and Luca Bolder got the ride, until he was so terrible he lost it to Fischella, who also was miles behind the departing Kimi.  However, as the year closes, the current rumor is Micheal to the new Mercedes team.  As of writing, it looks pretty likely. 

Poor Racing/Apathy to Racing, Most:  Overall, 2009 was not a good year on track.  In NASCAR, the only last lap passes were Restrictor Plate or Fuel Mileage.  Indycar had a few good races, but a ton of parades, such a Richmond, Texas, Indy, Infenion, Mid-Ohio, Homestead.  The championship was won based off a fuel mileage finish!  F1 had different winners, but once everyone moved to Double Diffusers, it was a Brawn/Red Bull parade instead of a Ferrari/Mclaren parade.  F1 and all three top NASCAR series championships were clinched before the finale(I know Johnson didn’t officially clinch until Homestead, but it was close enough), and of course having the Indycar championship decided by a fuel finish wasn’t what most people would want.  The Pettiet LeMans was rained out, as was the Daytona 500!  So, overall a down year for racing.  The combination of Spec/Ugly cars, low car counts, boring drivers, poor tracks, and just not caring about fans took it’s toll. 

Rise of New F1 Teams, F1:   Going into 2010 the FIA opened three new slots for F1 teams.  USGPE, Manor/Virgin, and Campos got those spots.  Then, when BMW pulled out, Lotus was given that slot, and latter Sauber got Toyota’s spot.  So, going into 2010 we’ve got 4 completely new teams, and there is concern about USGPE taking the field.  USGPE is a whole story of lies and broken promises.  The real question is which of these teams will be around in 5 years?

Often at Fontana, only one car would be in the TV screen at a time!

And the Winner is… Poor Racing!  Poor racing was a bigger story then the Economy because the poor racing made everything worse.  The drop in NASCAR’s TV ratings cannot be blamed on the economy,  and with the massive price drops at certain tracks, they shouldn’t have had some of those embarrassing attendance figures.  ALMS could blame more of their problems on the economy, but the end result was very poor racing, like at St. Pete.   Indycar and  F1 also produced poor on track products.  The boring racing sadly doesn’t look like it will be better going into next season…

Worst Driver:  This award is for the worst driver of the year.  This is a sadly competitive division, since the poor economy led to the Rise of the Ride Buyers. 

Milka Duno, Izod Indycar:  Milka Duno continued to be a mediocre chicane.  She was in the way every time she got into the car.  To her credit,(but not to the races) she did make the Indy 500, though.  Still, compared to any of her teammates (Thomas Sheckter, John Andretti,even Mike Conway) she just was twenty steps BELOW them!  She may be back next year, although she is also testing an ARCA car, probably in preparation for her NASCAR Start and Park career.

Jon Wes Townsley, NASCAR:  Possibly the worst driver in NASCAR.  He is the definition of Ride Buyer, a no talent kid with rich parents/friends.  He was awful, wrecking a ton of cars.  Other drivers had to come and save him with during practice!  He was a disaster, and at the road courses when other drivers got into his car, they ran okay.  In one of the most depressing moves of the off season, he will be running the full time Nationwide series with RCR. 

David Stremme, NASCAR :  Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 last year in the 12 car.  This year, Stremme couldn’t even find the top 10 once!  He was so awful that he was let go before the end of the year.  Stremme was even worse than Sam Hornish Junior!  You could almost count on Stremme wrecking every other race.  At least he broke up the monotony of 5 hour parades!

Luca Bolder, F1:  Ferrari’s test driver for a long time got to run races this year because of Massa’s injury.  Sadly for him, he was the worst driver by far both races, and was removed in favor of Fischella.  This was made worse by the  fact Kimi was a ways ahead of him.  He then lost his test/reserve role to Fischella permanently, so not a good year for him. 

Stanton Barrett, Izod Indycar:  Stanton Barrett, the stuntman/racer decided to switch to Indycar from NASCAR.   He always was a somewhat interesting driver in NASCAR, a real underdog story.  Sadly when he went to Indycar, he was just a speedbump!  He was incredibly slow, admittedly in the worst team in the league.  But, still, others could get more speed then him.  He failed to qualify for Indy, the only full time team to fail that badly!  Supposedly he was injured at Milwuakee in practice, and didn’t return to the car until Montegi. 

Nelson Piquet Jr., F1:  Nelson Piquet makes this for his sub par performance, scoring 0 points.  But, he really gets this nomination for his classy, classy handling of CrashGate.  He went with the team orders, but when he was released, decided to go to the FIA to get back at Renault.  Classy stuff.  Loved how some people tried to make him into a hero, because I’d agree, if he hadn’t actually wrecked on purpose, and then cried about it when things didn’t go his way.

And the Winner is… Nelson Piquet Jr.  Nelson wins because he was much, much worse than Alonso, and because of his complete stupidity.  It would have been one thing if he had refused to wreck, and then came public, but to do it, and then only come out about it because Renault dumped you, is ridiculous, and I wish he had been banned too.

Driver of the Year:  The big one, the award for driver of the year, and for me, the biggest award on this awards show.  All the nominees are champions, and the prestige of this list is such that Mark Martin, Ron Hornaday, Scott Dixon, Gil De Farren, Helio Castroneves, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastion Vettel didn’t make the cut. 

Ben Spies, World Superbike:  Ben Spies had the highest winning percent of any of the drivers on this list.  World Superbike is a pretty competitive series, although admittedly, it’s not one I watch a ton.  But still, Ben’s accomplishments deserve note.  He dominated in his rookie year at the world level, on tracks he’s not run on before.  World Superbike has a large number of manufacturers, and a high level of competition.  For the next season, he will move up to Tech 3 in MotoGP.  

Valentino Rossi, Moto GP: Rossi won his sixth Moto GP title, his second in a row.  Valentino won the title and the most races.  Valentino is a huge star in MotoGp, and has tested Ferrari F1 cars in the past.  His season is impressive, and the fact he won his sixth MotoGP title shows he hasn’t slowed down.  He faced tough competition from his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, but managed to triumph over him still, clinching before the end of the season.  The only issue going into next year is that suposedly there is tension on his team because he wants to be the undestputed #1 driver.

Jenson Button, F1: Jenson had a career year.  He won the most races of the year, 6, and easily won his title, clinching the title at Interlagos, despite struggling heavily by the end of the season.  After winning six of the first seven races, Button only finished on the podium two more times, and he really limped it to the finish.  He will move to Mclaren next year to be Lewis’s servant   teammate. 

Dario Franchitti, Izod Indycar: Dario was a disaster in NASCAR, and many wondered how his return to Indycar would go.  It went great, 5 wins, and winning the title.  He won early at Long Beach, and was in the top end of the points for the whole year.  Dario was not the favorite throughout the year, but at Homestead he won the fuel mileage finish and thus the title.  He will continue with TCGR next year.

Kyle Busch, NASCAR: Kyle Busch dominated the Nationwide series, winning the title, and pretty much clinching at Phoniex.  He won in the Truck and Cup series too.  But, his Cup season also saw him miss the Chase.  He has a new cup crew chief, and will drive for a new Truck team that he owns, and may or may not run the full Nationwide series, at this point that is unkown.  If he does everything agian, his chance of a cup title drop significantly. 

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR:   Jimmie won his fourth consecutive championship.  He also won the most races, 6.  He won the Brickyard for the second year in a row.  Jimmie dominated the Chase, and affectively clinched at Phoniex.  He won well, but not an a particularly memorable or exciting way.   The group stays together for next year, and many are giving him his fifth title already.

And the Winner is… Valentino Rossi!  This was a close category.  Kyle Busch and Jenson Button were eliminated first.  Kyle because he did his best stuff in the minor leagues, while the major league wasn’t that great, four wins, but he missed the Chase.  Button won six races, but after Istanbul, only had two more podiums throughout the year!  Neither were driver of the year material.  Then, sadly, I had to eliminate Franchitti.  He won against tough competition, and in the most diverse group of tracks, but, Helio missed the first race, Tony was injured, Paul didn’t have a full time ride, and Wheldon just sucked.  Plus, I don’t hold the fuel win against him, but to have the title decided by a fuel finish just leaves a bad impression.  With three left, Spies is the next to drop.  Only because World Superbike is below Moto GP in the racing community, and because I have to make a decision.  The final match is between Valentino and Johnson.  Both race in the top series in their discipline of racing, and both have a lot of wins and titles.  It was really about a dead heat, but I gave it to Valentino because he had a higher winning percentage and did it over a full season, instead of the Chase.  But, really, it could have gone either way.

  That wraps up the first annual Triple League Racing Award Show.  If you agree or disagree with my picks, comment below.  Thanks for reading the longest article in this blogs history! 

 

Team Meeting: Pre Show Edition

  I’m still working on the Triple League Racing Awards, I’m not even half way done, and then I’ll need pictures.  So, I don’t know when they’ll be posted, hopefully in the next few days.  Soon, though, and the winners will surprise some people.

  There is actual news this week!

NASCAR:

  Danica News!  She tested with JR Motorsports Friday.  Okay, I’m getting tired of saying this, but I’ll repeat myself.  The Nationwide Series is not a series with much depth  of competition.  Danica should be able to do very well.  Why?  Because first, there’s just not that many full time drivers, and most of the Nationwide only full time drivers are not that good, and/or are not on good teams.  If Jr Motorsports can’t get Kelly Bires a full time ride, then there will be NO full time Nationwide only driver on a winning team.  I don’t count Townsley as a full time driver.  Junior Motorsports is just slightly behind Joe Gibbs Racing, and really tied for second with Roush.  Her equipment will be very, very good.  The only problem is  that Tony Eury Jr. will be her crew chief.  Go read this, and particurly Robin Millers part.   

  The question was posed will she do better than Franchitti, Hornish, or Villenueve.  I’d agree with Miller, Yes.  Villenueve, he was running an unfunded Bill Davis Racing Sprint Cup team, and anyways, Villenueve’s commitment and drive have been under suspicion for a while.  Hornish and Franchitti both jumped into the deep end with Cup, and while they did run a few Nationwide races, Danica will have three years of that before having to make a decision.  Team wise, you can’t compare it, and Danica will have a ton of backing from the Hendrick camp, they will give her everything she needs to succeed, and any advice she wants.  The best team in NASCAR will give her the best chance to be a winner.  So while I would be very concerned if she were to try and move to cup next year, Nationwide is just not that hard. Yes, the cars are different, and yes, the short tracks might be her biggest problem, but otherwise it won’t be that bad. 

  Final Danica point, some people say that Danica will be roughed up on track by drivers who either don’t want to be beat by a woman, or drivers who are jealous.  Maybe a few will, but I don’t think it will be that big of issue.  First off, how many drivers are going to risk their own shot at success by taking down Danica?  Secondly, and this hits conspiracy theory territory, but do you honestly think NASCAR will allow that?  I’m guessing the sanctioning body will take a pretty dim view of intentionally wrecking Danica.  Third, Danica is known for her temper, so, things could get bad, but I don’t think you want to be on the other side of a Danica attack. Fourth, Dale Junior, when at Charlotte a couple years ago Keselowski was hit by Hamlin under caution, Junior retaliated to Keselowski, so anyone doing that would risk the wrath of Junior, and in turn, Junior Nation. 

  Final(really) Danica point.  I really am annoyed at Jeff Gluck and the whole group of NASCAR writers who think Danica’s going to fail at Nationwide/ARCA!!!!!!!!  If she were jumping straight to Cup, that would be different, but she’s not. 

  Time to move on.  Kyle Busch announced another poorly kept secret.  He will start a brand new team in the Camping World Truck series.  Two trucks are for sure going to be full time, one for Busch and Brian Ickler, and another for Tayler Malsam.  A third full time team is possible for Johnny Benson if sponsorship can be found.  First off, it is a seriously big team, I’ve read it’s a big garage he’s got, lots of stuff, and good people working for him.  Secondly, I really hope Benson gets a ride with them, he deserves it, and having the reigning champion without a ride the next season really hurt the Trucks credibility.  Third, I still think the top end of the Truck Series should merge with the Nationwide, and the bottom end should merge with Camping World East/West. 

  Brian France is not going to be able to keep the details of his divorce secret from the public.  The question is, will it get covered?  I know many NASCAR writers have said they won’t, while many bloggers will.  Will I?  I don’t know, depends if it’s interesting/relevent to NASCAR’s issues.  RE: if he’s a drug addict/alcoholic, or something that could explain his insanely poor plans for NASCAR.  I think anyone who covered the Jeremy Mayfield case HAS to cover this.  I’m looking at Rowdy, which one of the members on the podcast today said they will not cover it, despite covering Mayfield, and some of the other “personal” stories.  Like Mosley, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person…

  Milka Duno is going to test for Braun at the ARCA test.  That is depressing.  On the Braun thing, they are planning to expand to a four car Nationwide team, but I have a bad feeling that will mean Start and Parking or ride buying.  I’d rather see them run 2 proper cars then 4 half A**ed cars.  Also, please stop referring to Milka’s Grand Am and ALMS wins, they came because of her teammates, and in no way reflected any skill.  Plus, I think they were GT races, and that meant Gentlemen(or, Gentlewomen, I guess) drivers. 

  Sadly, both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch may start trying to run the full time Nationwide season.  Why does probably the biggest threat to Jimmie Johnson want to waste his time/luck/energy beating 10 real cars and a bunch of field fillers?

  Steve Addington is going to go over to Penske and join Kurt Busch.  Good luck to him, out of the frying pan and into the fire.  But, I’d warn the Busch brothers to be easier on crew chiefs, because it’s not good to have a high turnover of crew chiefs. 

  Budwiser Shootout eligibility status has still not been set.  The whole reformatting of it sucks, and I really want it to go back to the old pole sitter format.  So please, please just make it the Coors Shootout!

  Ethonal may be used in 2011, although I’d hope they fix the COT racing problems and then add fuel injection and THEN do Ethonal.  But really, if your going green, is ethonal the best choice? 

Indycar:

  De Farren’s Team looks dead.   I just don’t see this thing getting off the ground, at least for next season.  That’s pretty upsetting, because I had, and I think most people had, high hopes for this team.  Miller has said he thinks a one car team is possible, although I was hoping for a competitive team, and I don’t think thats going to happen, sadly. 

  seriously, I don’t understand the fire Helio sentiment that some people have.  So what if he only won two races, he won his THIRD Indy 500.

  The whole Road To Indy development thing doesn’t make sense.  The Indycar development series ladder is broke, but I don’t see how adding F2000 AND Star Mazda works.  I really like what I’ve seen from the Atlantic series, I don’t understand why the Unified Indycar series won’t support them!

  A fifteen year old is going to run Atlantics, that shows something of the state of that series! 

  Simona De Silvestro ran a test for HVM at Sebring, and is reported to have done quite well.  Hopefully she’ll get a ride for next season. 

F1: 

  The stories of Shumi’s return get louder, although I still won’t believe it until I see it announced officially. 

Renult still lingers in it’s decision about continuing or not.

  I do NOT LIKE THE NEW POINTS SYSTEM FOR F1.  I understand it may help the new teams, and I respect that. But I’ve always enjoyed the difficulty of the F1 points system to score points.

  That wraps up this weeks edition of Team Meeting: Weekend in Review.  Next up is the Triple League Racing Awards, to be posted, I don’t know, hopefully this week.

WTF: NASCAR Writers: Darrell Waltrip’s Danica Hate

 

First, link over here.  Also, read this older article.

  Alright, this is bringing something I  do from Twitter onto the site.  On Twitter, I’ll highlight stories wrote about NASCAR, often by “official” writers, although not always, and ridicule whatever there is to ridicule about them, and there is often quite a bit to do. Really, two things get a writer on to this group.  First, write something that’s clearly PR for NASCAR.  Second, write something stupid.  Darrell, he’s landed into the stupid pile. 

  First off, how the hell does a Grand Am race run on the ROVAL going to help Danica race on the OVAL?  He claims that the Grand Am race will give her knowledge of the bumps and stuff, which is somewhat true, I guess.  But, the racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona is completely different then a Restrictor Plate race. 

  Then, he completely contradicts himself.  He claims that she’ll run well at Daytona (which I believe) but, then he goes on to say he thinks she’ll struggle on the 1.5/2 mile tracks, because she’s not used to running side by side.  Seriously, he said that.  Clearly, he didn’t watch Texas, where she and Marco ran side by side for laps.  Plus, if she can’t handle side by side, she’s screwed at Daytona. 

  On the ARCA race, I do somewhat agree that there’s a good chance she’ll get wrecked, this years race there was an embarrassment.  Truthfully, I think she’ll be the one getting run into, not the one spinning it, though, if it happens. But, ARCA is her BEST SHOT AT A WIN.  Her car will be one of the best, and a lot of people will be taken out in wrecks.  If she can avoid them, her shot at victory is there, as long as she’s on the lead lap.  If she gets wrecked in the ARCA race, yeah, it will give the haters (DW) ammo, but she’ll be able to overcome it.  Besides, wrecks will happen, sooner or latter.

  Finally, this year on Fox Sports TV coverage, Darrell made the comment he wasn’t sure Danica had the upper body strength to handle stock cars.  Okay, I’ll admit she’s a smaller women.  But, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin aren’t a whole lot bigger than her.  And, no one is ever going to say Danica isn’t in good shape.

  Okay, I’m also going to go into something I’ve mentioned before, and will mention again.  NASCAR Nationwide series are heavy cars with very low power, they have a tapered spacer that restricts horsepower by a lot.  because of this, the cars are flat out on all tracks over a mile.  So, first off, an Indycar on an oval that size if flat out.  Secondly, the Nationwide car is not nearly as difficult to drive as a COT.  So, I don’t think she’ll struggle that badly.  Look at it this way, Joey Lagano is top 3 Nationwide, yet top 20 cup.  I don’t think she’ll instantly be top 5, but to expect top 15, top 10, I don’t think that’s to much to expect.  Look at the full time Nationwide roster, and look at the teams.  I think her problems may come most at the short tracks, which are very different from anything she’s done so far.  Kentucky should be her best track, because it’s a downforce track that is not run with that many cup drivers, it’s the perfect place for her best run.  There, or a Restrictor Plate track.