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.

Rain Cuts Loudon Short; Ganassi Woes

Rain brought the Lenox 301 to an end with 15 laps to go with the Busch name on top of the pile. However, it was older brother Kurt who took the spoils.

The #2 Miller Lite Dodge didn’t have a car capable of winning on the day, but that didn’t matter. He chose to pit early and attempt to make it to the end without another stop. The rain, which threatened all day, finally arrived in the final stages. Nascar, after a period of waiting called the race, bringing Kurt his first win of the season.

It has been a difficult season for the former champion. After finishing second at Daytona, it has been all downhill. The chances of making the Chase are bleak, but not impossible. Kurt needs to put in a run of performances to match his brother if he wants in. He did so last year, but whether he can pull it off again remains to be seen.

Busch wasn’t the only one to benefit from the rain. Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley, Truex Junior, Sadler and Sorenson all benefitted from the rain stoppage to pick up valuable points. Before the rain arrived, it looked like it would be Tony Stewart’s day. But the need for a final stop, coupled with the decision to take tires while the rest went with fuel only, left him rueing what might have been in thirteenth.

Championship leader Kyle Busch, who was on the same strategy as his brother had to stop with the leaders. I didn’t pick up the reason for this over the broadcast. It ended up been an eventful finish for the #18. Running along with Montoya in the final stages, the pair rubbed sides, a norm in Nascar. The Columbian took exception and purposefully spun Busch around on the front straight. What goes around comes around for Montoya however. The spinning car of Busch came around and clipped Montoya.

A quick whine about having to touch sides to the press, the former F1 star admitted that he had done it on purpose. Nascar docked him two laps. It could have been worse for him. As the commentator’s put it, Juan has had a season of frustration, that probably finally boiled over.

It was a weekend that started with much promise for the Ganassi team. Yesterday it was announced that they were closing shop on Franchitti’s team. The #40 has struggled for sponsorship all year, despite having a name driver in the team. Franchitti, for all his effort, has failed to impress. He had the luxury of been able to start the first five races but has failed to keep the car in it. Whilst other open-wheel converts Carpentier and Hornish have made strides and showed consistent speed, Franchitti has done little.

Where he goes from now will be interesting to see. He remains committed to stock cars, but whether he is up for spending a year or two in the Nationwide at his age remains uncertain. I’m sure there may be a temptation to return to the IRL given its current strength.

Paperclip Racing

Martinsville – the paperclip. The track is completed at speed in twenty seconds. 500 laps of mayhem around the half mile circuit and NASCAR didn’t disappoint last night.

There were a grand total of eighteen yellow flags before Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin took victory. It’s the second of the season for manufacture Toyota. Hamlin took advantage of a different strategy to beat the Hendricks team to the line. At one stage it looked like the #11 FedEx car had made the wrong call when he got himself out of sequence with the lead bunch. Weather threatened to play a part in the race but it was limited to spits and spurts.

Hendricks saw an upturn in fortunes on a track that they have been long dominant on. However the team which was nigh unbeatable at times last year has yet to win a race this year. Not that they should be worried. All but Mears are now into the top 12 – which after 26 races will be locked into the Chase. Earnhardt Junior continued his impressive form since the move to Hendricks. He might not have won a race yet, but you get the feeling it’s only a matter of time for the man with the biggest fan following.

Championship leader Kyle Busch had an afternoon to forget. Spun around by his own brother earlier on he struggled to find the right balance in the car before car issues sent him to the back. It was amazing that for the majority of the race we had all 43 cars out on track. There was plenty of bumping and grinding, but that’s what Martinsville is all about. Of course if you plan to get someone back, you’ll get nicked for it. Just ask Matt Kenseth who got held for two laps after deciding to get his own back on David Gilliland.

Dario Franchitti enjoyed a better than he’s previously had. Although he went much of the race without been mentioned, the Scot finished 22^nd. Still not enough to earn him a spot in the Top-35, meaning he’ll once more have to qualify on speed at Texas, but it was an improvement for him in a season where he’s struggled to impress so far. Jamie McMurray, a man who was outside the Top-35 drove his way back in with a car that rarely left the top ten all day. Regan Smith is now the man on the bubble after Hornish fell out along with David Reutimann, who took over from Dale Jarrett in the #44.

Talk about a tight pit lane. If Formula One thought they had it bad with eleven cars maximum, not that we ever actually that, in the old Monaco pits on race day – just have a look at Martinsville. 43 cars into a tight pit lane with just enough room to breathe. It too saw its share of incidents with a couple of collisions as people tried to exit as others entered.

Mister Consistency Jeff Burton takes the lead of the championship going into this weekend’s race at Texas. I’ll find myself multi-watching dependant on start times with the IRL from St. Petersburg. Add the Bahrain race on Sunday morning and it’s another engine-revving packed weekend of sport coming up!

PC’s Driver of the Day: Jeff Gordon. Slightly late to start his feature for NASCAR. Despite not coming away with the grandfather clock (NASCAR have some of the coolest and unique trophy ideas), Gordon was a dominant force on the half-mile. The four time champion ran into problems after getting caught up in when Almirola spun Labonte, dropping him down to near the rear of the field. Gordon drove with the determination and skill long associated with the former champion to drag his #24 Chevy back to the front and keep Hamlin honest. Had the fates swung a different way for Gordon he might well have won it.

What A Race!

Nope, ain’t talking about the Italian Grand Prix. Not really going to mention it much. It was an alright race with nothing too amazing, apart from the end of Massa’s title run, Kimi trying to put the cat amongst the pigeons with a one stop and good move by Hamilton (though in fairness, if Kimi had turned in then Hamilton would’ve been in the wrong from coming back from so far.)

No, what I’m going to talk about is the IRL season finale at Chicagoland. What a race. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon have three points between goings into the race. It’s a close race with a pack of six cars up front until yellows come into play leaving the two title chasers on their own. The last thirty, forty laps were amazing with the cars dicing amongst those who were not on the same strategy.

It all comes down the last three laps with Franchitti trying to find a way by. Dixon looked to have it. Last lap halfway around Dixon runs out of fuel. Franchitti is champion. What a way to end it. It was a great race to watch. Any one of about six to ten cars at one stage had a chance of winning. Fantastic battling. F1 could learn, at the very least from the way the broadcasting is done. If there is action across the track the US coverage has split screens. Why don’t we have them in F1? It would make watching close dices without having to complain about not seeing the action. The same has to go with pit radios. Right now we get the diluted radio streams about a lap or two after they were said. In the final part of the race we had live radio streams from the spotters. All of it made this race all the more enjoyable.

For sure I’ll be giving the IRL coverage allot more notice come next season.

Goin' Truckin'

Little more than a year after he was ejected from Formula One, Jacque Villeneuve appears to have found his new home – NASCAR. There he will join a familiar face with Juan Montoya.

Those that have seen him test the Craftsman Truck claim that he has done impressive as he begins his steep learning curve with the hope of been on the Sprint Cup circuit next year for Bill Davis Racing. His capture for some will say that NASCAR is now able to attract big name drivers. The likes of Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Junior have also been linked with moves to stock cars from the Indy Racing League. But those with the sharper eye will see that NASCAR is only receiving these drivers who are, let’s be fair, and are in the twilight of their career. An article that really hit me on this was by David Caraviello, one of the man good journalists on NASCAR.com (ITV Sport should take note on how these writers are able to stay unbiast). ‘They’ll come to NASCAR, but only as a final option’ is a great read on the topic if you get the time.

JV’s move conjures memories of his time in F1. Many claim him to be a great success, a driver with real balls. Sure he had his moments but I don’t agree with the assessment that many treat with him. When he entered F1 in 1996 he arrived in the best car. There were no challengers outside of his team-mate Damon Hill and the pair duly fought it out for the title. In 1997 again Villeneuve had the car advantage and like any good driver, took it and secured his world title.

But what about after that? When he found himself in a sub-standard Williams he was banished from the top step of the podium. A foolhardy move to BAR saw him wallow in midfield for the rest of days, the spark many claimed he brought seemingly extinguished. His career achievements were all but complete after 1997. His final race win was at the Nurburgring in 1997, his final podium in 2001 before been first ousted in 2003 before a brief fling return from late-2004 till mid-2006.

For a driver much heralded his lasting mark on the sport is similar to NASCAR refugee Juan Montoya - in fits and spurts where his ability to make a few overtaking moves overshadowed a career wrought with failing to live up to his full potential. How he will fair in NASCAR will be interesting to watch, especially how the sport takes to him.