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.

Busch Title Challenge Back On The Road

Kyle Busch gave us an indication of how complete a racer he is with victory at the Sonoma road course.

The last few weeks have left question marks over Busch’s championship challenge. His attempt at the Triple Crown two weeks ago saw him come home last at Pocono. He followed that up with a top-15 at Michigan. After last week’s event, Busch announced he would give up his pursuit of the three championships.
If this is Kyle Busch focused on one championship, the rest of the field better beware!

I’ve never hidden my admiration for Kyle’s racing this year. When we have seen him, the Las Vegas native has given us a bucketful of excitement. People have criticized him for his pursuit of three championships. Why do that? Here is a guy who wants the race. It wasn’t about the money; it was about that winning feeling. That sort of attitude is waning these days in international motorsport.

When was the last time you saw a drive compete in four races in five days, all in different parts of the country? Sure, it didn’t work out, but his attempt was something to behold. His attention firmly back on the Sprint Cup, Busch made his way up from 30th on the grid to take the lead, cashing in on pitting at the right time. The yellow mixed the field up, pushing the early front-runners down the pack. It was a position that Busch would not relinquish for the rest of the day.

Behind him saw a number of great drives on the day. Australian Marcus Ambrose, who runs in the Nationwide series, took over the #21. He former V8 racer qualified seventh and ran strongly all day long. A move late in the race on McMurray into the turn 11 saw him out-brake the #26 and tag the rear end of Montoya. The Columbian was less than impressed with Ambrose afterwards. Maybe Juan should take it with a grain of salt. He nerfed his team-mate out of the way at Mexico in the Busch series last year.

The last section of the race saw a spate of yellow flags as cars jockeyed for position. David Gilliland came out smiling from it all, finishing second. It’s a fantastic result for the Yates team, who are still out looking for long term sponsorship. Sonoma native Jeff Gordon, who struggled with the car all day, came away with third. Casey Mears brought the #5 Hendricks car home in fifth. It was a strong day for Mears, but according to rumours his good run has come too late. He is expected to vacate the #5 at the end of the year

The race for the Chase is heating up. Matt Kenseth continues his impressive drive to the Chase. His eight place finish saw him slide into the coveted 12th spot. Kevin Harvick slips out, but finds himself only two points outside it. From 12th to 17th, there is just over 100 points separating those who want in the championship challenge.

Kubica Takes Historic Victory

BMW’s promise of a race victory in 2008 was fulfilled at Montreal as Kubica won. The Pole took advantage of Hamilton’s pit-lane cock-up to lead home a BMW one-two.

For all the complaints about how the track was breaking it up, we had a fantastic day of racing. The day was aided by Hamilton’s mishap. Had he ran a clean race he would’ve won by a long shot. Instead he lost his championship lead by his own doing.

Brundle called it a ‘bizarre red light’. I call it a complete and utter cock-up by the Brit and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is reprimanded for his action. It’s very simple – red light means STOP! It’s one of the most basic forms of driving, let alone driving. Nobody can turn around and say it couldn’t be expected, especially after the double black flag of Massa and Montoya a couple of years ago.

I have my own view on it. Hamilton lost two places because of a bad pit-stop. Red mist descended and he was just pissed off that he had lost the ground given his vastly superior car. In that moment, he forgot about the red light and by the time he had remembered, his McLaren was into the back of Ferrari. Hold your hands up and accept it. How ironic that he laughed off his father’s crash during the week...

It was a very disappointing day for Massa and Kovalainen. This was a perfect chance for both to make head-way but they suffered from botched up strategies from their teams. Why they didn’t go on a one-stop when everyone else did is beyond me.
It was a silly decision by both teams. The right call was to go long with the possibility of further safety cars. Massa recovered best to finish fifth, going equal with Hamilton in the championship. Plenty of props to the Brazilian for some opportunistic passing on the day, especially on Barrichello and Heikki at the hairpin.

The race saw seven different leaders and apart from the BMW’s running line astern, which would be in for the final spots was a lottery. Challengers came in and went as they slipped and slid off the road. David Coulthard overcame recent woes to take a podium alongside the BMW pair. The Toyota’s ran a strong day that saw Glock in fourth and Trulli sixth. Given recent troubles for the team, it was a great result. Barrichello continued his mini-resurgence with a second points finish and Vettel, who overcame a whole host of issues on Saturday, took the final point.

Hopefully the bitching and moaning about the track condition doesn’t hurt the Canadian race. We always get a fantastic and unpredictable race that we don’t want to lose.

PC's Driver of the Day: Robert Kubica. Could it be anyone else? He kept his head down and did what he had to do. He take's his first F1 one, the first for a Pole and a first for BMW as a team. Top it off with the championship lead. What a weekend!

'Dega Lives Up To The Hype

Ooh what a race. I have to say that Talladega was edge of the seat watching racing.

The COT provided the perfect platform for the bump racing that occurs at the Super-Speedway. We had cars running two, three, four and at times even five wide. It was an accident waiting to happen and the fact that the ‘big one’ came in the final few laps is a testament to the driving qualities of the field. It had everything including slingshot overtaking moves that fans of Ricky Bobby would know all about!

Kyle Busch picked up his second win of the year on a day where he didn’t necessarily have the best car under him. He was not without his problems on his way to victory lane. Busch went a lap down after missing his pit-box under green-flag pit’s, forcing the young contender to come around again to make his stop. He took advantage of the lucky dog on a caution which allowed him to return to the lead lap. A driver of his calibre took full advantage and quickly found himself up amongst the mix.

His team-mates both had cars capable of winning, with Stewart and Hamlin leading on several occasions. Stewart’s day took a turn for the worse with a cut tire before been involved in first of two late crashes. Hamlin pushed everyone and their mother to the front but didn’t appear to have a car capable of leading on its own.
The top ten featured unfamiliar faces after Busch, with Montoya pushing him to the line for second. David Ragan and Brian Vickers ran up front all day and were rewarded with fourth and fifth respectively. Robert Yates driver Travis Kvapil came home sixth, a great result for the team which for many a race has come to the track sponsor-less. Fan favourite Dale Earnhardt Junior finished tenth having been involved in the same incident with Stewart. The accident put paid to his own hopes of breaking his own winless streak.

It was an awesome race to watch. Within a lap you could fall from first to twentieth and back up again the following lap. It was that sort of race. We had familiar faces intermixed with new players to the front. If there was ever a race to sell NASCAR as a sport – this one would be it.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Kyle Busch. He appeared to a touch behind his Gibb’s team-mates. Busch fell off the lead lap after missing his pit stall when boxed in. ‘Wild Thing’ kept his head, stayed with the leaders and got his lap back before moving his way to the front. After a few races where he was off the boil, Busch firmly reminded the establishment of his ability.

Rally Ireland; F1 Transfers; Nascar Finale

What a historic weekend for Irish motorsport with our first ever World Rally Championship event.

It was a great success to boot! I would’ve loved to have gone out to the West to watch it. Alright, in fairness I would’ve loved to gone out and took part but we don’t always get what we want. I’ve always felt from years of travelling our back roads that we would make a great staging for a rally event and finally the dreams of many came to fruition. Of course, with someone as savvy as Eddie Jordan involved at the helm of an operation any plan can get done! Watching it on television as the next best thing and we got a fantastic event. It’s a shame that we appear to be only on the calendar bi-yearly though. That been said, given that most motorsport is heading towards Asia for new events it makes the achievements of the Rally Ireland team all the more impressive.

I have to give a massive amount of credit to Michael Lyster who headed up the RTE programming. While it didn’t show as much action as I would’ve liked, for a presenter who is usually associated with Gaelic and hurling here he did a brilliant job and at no time looked out of his depth when talking about motorsport. The same can’t be said for the droning of Peter Collins in the actual live commentary. One of those from the old RTE F1 commentary team that would give James Allen a run for his money in terms of poor ability to convey excitement in the sport. Oh the painful memories of having to watch an F1 race with them behind the mike.

In F1 news – McLaren’s appeal came to nought as many expected. At this stage to change the champion would have been nothing short of farcical. McLaren’s already tattered reputation took another couple of dings from it. They have spent weeks claiming that they were not appealing for the title but their lawyers were looking for the disqualification of the BMW and Williams. Wonderful PR disaster there for the team. At least it is all over now and that we can finally look forward to 2008!
Timo Glock has been confirmed as Toyota driver after the contracts board ruled on it. This will be Glock’s second stab at F1 after a brief stint with Jordan where he scored a point on his debut. After a stint in Champ Cars and GP2 will only make him stronger. At the very least he should keep Trulli on his toes! Today Briatore says that Alonso is 60% certain to be in a Renault. That must mean there is a 40% chance of a sabbatical given there is no currently free seats.

I have to admit I’m a bit surprised that some teams didn’t wait for him to make his call. I expected the market to revolve around him and that empty McLaren seat. It could be down to an early decision to join Renault which has only been delayed by the current spy allegations against the former world champions. With each passing day it looks like we have seen the last of Ralf Schumacher and Fisichella with only the Force India/Spyker seats open. Neither appears to have been invited to test for the team with a raft of younger drivers been given a shot in recent tests.

Over Stateside and Jimmie Johnson has successfully defended his Nextel Cup in the season final against team mate (and owner mind you) Jeff Gordon. I’m really hoping to have some way to watch NASCAR next season live and not have to resort to watching a flash page update every lap. Juan Montoya secured the Rookie of the Year award in the series. Montoya has come along way since his departure from F1 and say what you want about US racing, it is in no way easy to make the transition that he made. Next year will be another acid test for him. It’s one thing to win on a road coarse but if he wants to be taken seriously he’ll need to start racking up those oval wins.

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.

The Next US Import

Come next season we will see a new face on the grid in the guise of Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais. For those of you not familiar with Bourdais a small refresher course. A former F3000 (now GP2) champion, he failed to find a contract in Formula One despite testing for Renault. Like Montoya before him, he made the jump to Champ Car where he has been extremely successful. Three titles already with a fourth on its way he has been the class of the field in recent years over in the States.

Bourdais will be an interesting one to watch. He's a long time out of the hot seat in terms of European competition. That been said, he's doing alright at the tests he ran with for Toro Rosso.

People will point to history been against him. Zanardi flopped. Da Matta wasn't much better and Montoya, despite winning races never delivered to the full expectation. Villeneuve was the last successful US racing export in recent times.

An advantage for Bourdais is that these days, Champ Car is all about road courses. None of that oval stuff that the others had a mix of in their experience.

Of course a point in his favour people will point out 'Hey, he's been the most successful Champ Car driver of recent times so he should do well.' We must remember that compared to the past, it's a substandard competition, so he shows up more. In recent years there has been a migration of the top drivers and teams to IRL leaving nothing more than a carcass of a series that was once top-notch. US racers make up the minority in the league and drivers with pre-dominantly European pedigree fill the ranks.

Will he, won't he. I think he has more of a chance than those who have tried recently. If Toro Rosso give him a decent platform to work with then he could buck the trend.