Chase Update

After the third race of the Chase, I seriously wonder why I bother with Formula One as much anymore. Nascar, plain and simple is a better spectacle. Of course, like any sport, it is capable of producing a snore-bore, but they are few and far between.

Kansas was no different. The top three in the championship duked it out for victory and we saw the difference from a man who wants to win to one who is glad to settle. With a few laps to go, Carl Edwards could easily of decided to settle for second position. But nope, the #99 chased down leader Johnson and took an overly ambitious move to try to take the victory.



It didn’t work out, but at least he tried, even if he did mash his car up some. The icing on the cake? Edwards goes and has a chat with Johnson afterwards, wondering how much he had cleared him by when he jetted by to ensure he didn’t come close to hitting him. Now there is class.

It would still be easy to question the merits of the Chase format. On one hand, it draws everyone together and spices up the last ten races. Anyone looking at the tables after race 26, would think Bush had it in the bag. Then came the Chase, and Rowdy’s luck evaporated like Joe Gibb’s reliability.

It is pretty shocking to see a championship contender fall from grace so quick. After two events, he was more or less out. His third mechanical issue in the three races put the exclamation point on it. Busch-haters are having a field day with it. I have to feel for him. End of the day, you want the best people competing for it. Like him or not, Busch was the best in the run up to the Chase. Of course, that doesn’t explain nor excuse JGR’s shocking problems. After such a great season, it is a shame that it will end like this.

It’s a case of six of one, half dozen of the other in the Chase. Suddenly, everything is mixed up. Greg Biffle, who had horrid luck during the year when in a race-winning car, has sprung up with the opening pair of victories in the Chase, replacing Busch as the main contender to Johnson and Edwards.

Talladega next weekend, a race I am licking my lips with anticipation for. The first race of the season was an awesome spectacle. I expect no different this time around.

Alonso The Shining Star

The cards fell in place for Fernando Alonso, who, starting 15th on the grid, benefitted from his team-mates accident to record his first win of the season. Alonso becomes the seventh different winner this year.

As for the championship battle, Ferrari more or less sent McLaren both titles wrapped up with a ‘please give a loving home to’ tag on them. Shocking, completely shocking is all that is can be said about Ferrari. We can assume we have seen the last of the automated system, with the lollipop back in operation evident at Raikkonen’s last stop. Of course, while ITV Sport were keen the slam Ferrari for it, they didn’t attack the Red Bull mishap that could easily have ended up in similar circumstances.

As for Raikkonen, I do hope Ferrari have some get-out clause. Crashing that late in the race is a joke for a world champion to do. Four non-scoring races for the Finn is completely unacceptable at this level. Even Heikki Kovalainen, who is looking more second-rate with each passing race, has provided more points for his team than the current champion.

Ferrari should’ve easily walked Singapore. Lewis Hamilton was nothing but ordinary, showing none of the racers quality that ITV vault on about. As per usual, I found myself cursing at the television as Allen lauded his ‘magnificent’ move on Coulthard – even though everyone had been doing pretty much the same thing throughout the race. The so-called ‘racer’ who never settles did a great job at settling for third. Don’t get me wrong, it is a smart game he is playing, but, don’t go telling the world your are the bees knees if you aren’t going to back that up.

After qualifying, Alonso was cursing his bad luck. How things can change in the space of a few minutes. The decision to go on aggressive strategy paid off, putting him in pole position for the victory. Alonso then showed why he is one of the best drivers in the sport still, commanding the race from the front.

Nico Rosberg finished in a career best second, despite a stop and go for pitting under a closed pitlane. Aided by a Force India chicane in the form of Fisichella, Rosberg pulled some blinding laps out, allowing him to take his penalty and come out in front of the Coulthard/Hamilton scrap.

Three races left. All Hamilton has to do is follow Massa home at each of the races to secure the championship. That is of course, if Ferrari don’t feel the urge to give McLaren more free points.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso. A fuel pressure problem left him 15th on the grid. At a street circuit, the going norm would say there is probably no point in showing up for the race. An aggressive strategy didn’t work out until his team-mate found the wall. Once out front, he was unstoppable.

A Dream Day

A master class performance from Sebastian Vettel resulted in his first F1 win, the youngest in history. It was also Toro Rosso’s, formerly the Minardi team, first win.

It has been a long time since I have seen such a performance, and after the Spa debacle, it was exactly what F1 needed. The past few races, the German has shown us glimpses of his potential. Today, in mixed conditions, he was in a different class to the competition.

Kovalainen was a depressing second. I’m sure questions would be asked as to why he had zero answer for Vettel in an inferior car. Robert Kubica, who was nowhere all day, benefitted from his long run to pit at the ideal time for the tire switch-over. Others were not so lucky, having to come in a second time.

The Ferraris were as what I expected. Fast in spurts, but overall unimpressive in the wet weather conditions. Massa made the best of a difficult situation and should be happy with scoring above Hamilton. Raikkonen was shockingly poor for the first part of the race, before finding pace towards the back end.
Lewis Hamilton was no-where for the first part of the race, continuing his qualifying form. Suddenly, he came alive and was the Lewis Hamilton we know. He played himself to make the most out of a bad situation until the lack of rain meant he had to some back into the pits.

His driving was far from inspiring though. While he could defend running Glock off the road due to the spray, I struggle to see a defence of him nearly running Webber off the road can be conjured. I can remember back to Canada many years ago, where a similar incident happened between Schumacher and Frentzen. Schumacher had a stop-go penalty for that. And Lewis fans think they get hard done by? That wasn’t all from in his unsportsmanlike conduct. He left zero room with cutting in front of people after overtaking people. His move on Alonso a prime example of this.

The championship is down to a single point. Given how bad Ferrari are in the wet versus how good Lewis should be, I’d be happy if I was Ferrari. It could have been a whole lot worse. It is on to new ground in two weeks with the first night race at Singapore.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Sebastian Vettel. A supreme drive that we haven’t seen in years. While James Allen was too busy trying to bring false comparisons between Hamilton and the great weather specialists, he should have been saving them for this man.

He Who Dares...

Sebastian Vettel continued his recent great form, collecting his first career pole in a soaked Monza. It was a day of high suspense and surprise as some of the major players failed to show the kahona’s needed to deal with the weather.

Vettel was quick throughout the day in the changing conditions, driving with the maturity and consistency one would expect from a championship contender. Kovalainen will start beside him tomorrow, the only driver of the top teams to really strut his stuff.

Webber and Bourdais completed a fantastic day for Red Bull as a whole, locking the second row. Like Vettel, Bourdais has been supreme these last few raced. One wonders if it will be enough to convince Toro Rosso to keep him on.

Championship contender Felipe Massa will start sixth. None of his challengers will start in the top ten. Kubica will start eleventh after Massa bumped him. Raikkonen celebrated his new contract with 14th, Hamilton surprisingly in 15th.

Hamilton is perhaps the biggest surprised. Over the past two seasons, he has shown supreme skills in the wet. But yet another cock-up on the strategic front put him on the back foot. The decision to send him out on inters at the start cost him time. Despite the switch to the ‘extreme’ wets, Hamilton lacked the balls and the confidence expected of him. Cars around him were finding more pace than him, including Massa who snuck into the top ten at the time. His performance is baffling.

Starting 15th isn’t the end of the world for him, nor is it for Raikkonen. Both have fast cars underneath them and the Monza straights will provide ample opportunity to overtake. They need to be careful about the first corner, which always causes issue. I’m sure everyone will be hypersensitive to avoid the usual tip across the first chicane as well.

The weather is supposed to be dry, but we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out. The topsy-turvy grid might make for an interesting race for the first time in a while!

Raikkonen Re-Signs Till '10

Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one year extension, keeping him in the famous red car until 2010.

I find myself very surprised at this. I know a lot of people were hankering on about comments made when he first signed, that it would be his last contract. I never put much stock in it because at the time, he was replacing Michael Schumacher, the sport’s greatest. How do you match that? You can’t! So it was easy for Raikkonen to choose such a comment to distinguish him from Schumacher.

I’ve made those comments on numerous occasions, usually when the Alonso-Ferrari link was swirling around. My opinion began to change as the season wore on and Kimi went from the raw racer we know him to be, to become seemingly an also ran.

Belgium aside, we haven’t seen Kimi on top of his game since France, even if a race win was scuppered by a broken exhaust. Since then, he has been anything but Kimi Raikkonen. My view began to lean given that he looked like someone driving towards retirement. This new contract changes everything.

Kimi’s problem isn’t motivation. It can’t be now, not when he has agreed to go on another year. If that was the issue, I’m sure the recent results would even nudge him towards hanging up at the end of this year. However, a greater question is now posed – What is up with Kimi?

You don’t suddenly become a bad driver overnight. Since first hitting the track, Kimi has proven himself to being one of the fastest men in the sport. The talent is there, so why isn’t it coming to the fore?

A possible reason been bandied around is that he just can’t do anything locked in traffic. All drivers, whether at the front or the year, face this problem. If this is such a major problem, then why don’t they go extremely radical on their strategy, especially with Kimi’s qualifying issues?

The car can’t be an issue, given that he has won and dominated in it earlier in the year. It reminds me of last year, where after winning the season opener; he ended up going on hiatus until around France, coming alive to drive to the championship. This year, it is going the opposite.

Is this a good move for Ferrari? I’m on the fence. It closes the door on Alonso, who I would like to see have a crack in the Ferrari. Both Raikkonen and Massa are now tied to the Prancing Horse until 2010. Recent rumours have Alonso heading towards BMW. With this new deal for Raikkonen, expect Alonso to be signed on as Kubica’s team-mate until at least 2010 in the coming weeks.

Momentum Building Jimmie

Same result, different race.

One week on from a relative snooze-fest at California that Jimmie Johnson dominated, the rain-delayed Richmond race was a great spectacle, even if the result was the same. After the farcical nature that Formula One is turning into as of late, Nascar is a breath of fresh air for me.

All eyes were on the battle for the final Chase berth. David Ragan looked feisty in his late charge for the final spot. The youngsters chances took a crippling blow when his car went into a half spin, compounded by team-mate Kenseth doing a synchronised spin, clattering his team-mate. His car badly damaged, Ragan fought on admirably and with some great choice strategy kept him in the hunt till late. Eventually the #6 drifted back, ending his Chase dreams. Regardless, it has been a stunning end of the season for Ragan, who according to reports will have UPS sponsorship next year.

Kasey Kahne, Dodge’s only chance of making the Chase also failed in his attempt. Kahne was anonymous all race long. After a bright mid-season, two terrible finishes in the last few races put an end to the fan favourite’s hope.

Going into the Chase, it is the crème de la crème. Three cars are supplied by the top teams – Joe Gibbs, Hendricks, Childress and Roush. Defending champion Johnson is peaking at the right time now and has all the momentum going into Loudon this coming weekend. Busch and Edwards, current favourites need to pull up their socks now that we are getting into the final stages of the season.

It will be interesting to see the mindset at Loudon. How will the championship contenders play it and, more importantly, who of those who have been experimenting the last few weeks have found the right formula.

While I think there are only three choices for a champion, the format of the Chase does allow for the unpredictable. Clint Bowyer was last year’s Cinderella story, winning his first career race at the start of the Chase, eventually finishing third.

Business is just about to pick up.

Make Up Your Minds!

I’m getting tired of having to wait hours after a race to find out what the result is. What is the point in having a podium ceremony after a race if things are subject to change later on that day.
While Hamilton stood atop of the podium to celebrate a gifted victory, the stewards were looking into the incident between himself and then-leader Raikkonen. He was later handed a 25-second penalty, demoting him to third. The claws will be out by McLaren fans, and in my opinion, this time they are right.

Yes, he cut the chicane, but at that stage there was no quarter been giving by either driver. I can see why the stewards probably flagged it. While he dropped back between Raikkonen, he stayed up his gearbox and one could say that he technically had an advantage of momentum from it. But not enough to warrant it I feel. It wasn’t as if he was a second or so back from Raikkonen when he made the move. So I believe the stewards got it wrong.

It was a chaotic race, one I think Ferrari gifted to Lewis on a silver platter in the end. They had the pace, but having a car that struggles in the wet-dry conditions gave the McLaren ace the opportunity to pounce – and with a driver like Lewis, you only need one chance.

Raikkonen crashing out settles a problem for Ferrari. Up until five to go, the Ferrari brass would be wondering how they were going to pick a driver. Kimi smashing the wall solves that nicely. Heidfeld and Alonso, taking late gambles to switch to the inters dived past cars left and right on the last lap. For Heidfeld, the drive was vital with his place under pressure.

The late rain took a shine off a fantastic afternoon for Toro Rosso. Bourdais, another man driving for his career, was a solid top-five man all day. In the last lap mayhem he slipped to seventh, but has aided his chances of staying next year. Vettel, running long on the first stint played himself into contention made it a double points day for the junior squad. Kubica, who had an extremely quiet day, came home sixth. The Pole didn’t look anywhere near what he was capable of on the day.

It was a day of penalties, with Glock picking up his own 25 second penalty for passing under yellow. That moves Webber into the points. Kovalainen, who had a torrid start, compounded his day by smashing into Webber and earning a drive-through, retired on the last lap.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Sébastien Bourdais. With his drive on the line, the Frenchman looked like he actually belonged in Formula One today. His drive was assured and mature, he was unlucky to drop to seventh in the end. A much needed boost to his career hopes.

Johnson Stakes His Claim

Like a stealth assassin, defending champion Jimmie Johnson provided a reminder to Busch and Edwards – don’t count me out yet.

The #48 dominated the race at California, the only time that anyone got close was at restart. It was the sort of display we all expected from Hendricks’s this year. The timing of the run, pivotal, with the ‘Race to the Chase’ starting in a few weeks. His experience of the Chase format, knowing what it takes to win, is something neither Busch nor Edwards can call upon.

The race was hardly one to remember. The most interesting battle was that of the bubble drivers. With this my first season to watch Nascar live in many years, it is my first with the Chase format. From the outset, I thought it was a bit cheesy for motorsport. But now, I have a very different opinion of it.

The battle at the bubble is fascinating. Kasey Kahne and David Ragan are on the outside looking in, but even a minor hiccup for current 12th spot man Bowyer and either could be in. Let’s not forget that eight position man, Tony Stewart, is only 138 points ahead of Ragan. With the reliability and durability of the cars today, an early smash at Richmond could have massive implications for those near the bubble.

It’s an interesting element for a race that is ten away from the season’s chequered flag. At the end other end, we have the battle to stay in the top-35. I still remain somewhat sceptical of this concept, but again it does offer excitement. Sure, most people probably don’t find it interesting, but I do. A.J. Allmendinger, who is one of the most improved drivers of the year, has found himself just inside the top-35, after chasing the coveted position all season. Much like the Chase, there are a number of drivers within a small point’s margin. It will be intriguing to see how this places out comes seasons end.

Elsewhere, Dario Franchitti will be returning to the IRL next season, replacing Dan Weldon in the Ganassi team. Reading this on Autosport, I did drop my jaw at the fact Weldon got the kick. He’s third in the points! Surprised a team like Ganassi couldn’t expand for a car for him, given that IRL is cheaper than Nascar. Perhaps the recent shifts – starting with the closure of the #40 team and have since been followed by the loss of Texaco as a sponsor for the #42 and Reed Sorenson moving to GEM, it is a sign of bigger issues at Ganassi.

It’s a smart move by Franchitti. He showed the odd spark, but nothing that made him stand out and made me think he could last. His injuries hardly helped the situation, with Stremme filling in and running the car up front. It’s never good to have your car do better than you managed with it. A return to the Nationwide saw him show better consistency, but I figure there wasn’t many a team willing to take him on.