The Phillies: Nascar Results

A little late due to the coverage of the Race of Champions, here are the 'Phillies' for the Nascar 2008 season.

For details on each of the awards, see the Award Categories.

Driver of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards
The Missouri native was consistently strong throughout the year. He took a season high nine victories in the #99 Ford Fusion and ran Jimmie Johnson to the final race. Despite the insurmountable odds against him, he never gave up - a testament to his never say never attitude.
He backed up his second place in the Sprint Cup with the runners-up spot in the Nationwide series. In 2009, he will be gunning for the double.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Winner: David Ragan
A simple choice really. In the hands of Ragan, the #6 evoked memories of when Mark Martin was piloting the car. Described as a 'dart without feathers' by Tony Stewart, even the two-time champion had changed his tune by the end of 2008.

Finished best of the rest outside of the Chase, the only thing missing from Ragan's CV is a victory. Expect him to be a Chase contender next year.

Rookie of the Year:
Winner: Vacant
Lets be honest, none of the rookies showered themselves in glory in 2008. The highest placed in the standings was Ragan Smith, who finished in 34th in the standings. The open-wheel invasion failed to establish a beachhead and quickly found itself in retreat.


Flop of the Year:
Winner: The Open-Wheel Invasion
At the start of the year, many traditionalists were worried that Nascar was going to see an influx of open-wheel drivers coming into stock car, thus depriving potential talent from breaking through.
However, as the year went on - they dropped like flies. Villeneuve never returned after an attempt to qualify for Daytona. Franchitti was out after half way through the year and Carpentier soon followed once GEM had signed up Sorenson for 2008. That left Sam Hornish Jr the last man standing.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Winner: AJ Allmendinger
AJ would definitely get an honorary mention for 'Most Improved' of the year. A difficult start to the year saw him replaced with Mike Skinner as Red Bull evaluated the program. When AJ returned, he was a different man.
Growing from strength to strength, it was a major surprise to see him ousted at Red Bull. He continued to garner creditability when he took over the #10 ride. Allmendinger is still without a ride for 2009. It would be a crying shame for him not to be involved.

Team of the Year:
Winner: #48
The combination of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus has been the team to beat over the last two years and this year was no different. When the Chase came along, they were the best prepared. On occasions where things could easily have gone wrong, both driver and crew chief worked to make the best out of what could easily be a bad situation.


Most Improved Team of the Year:
Winner: #18
In the hands of JJ Yeley, the former championship winning team was mired well back in the standings in 2007, never cracking the top-20. The arrival of Kyle Busch and Toyota transformed the team back to winning ways. A poor Chase puts a slight damper on an otherwise fantastic season for the team.


Race of the Year:
Winner: Aarons 499, Talladega
The first race at the Superspeedway was edge of the seat stuff from start to finish. Who needed two-wide racing when these guys can run three-wide for the majority of the race. It was fantastic stuff and a perfect example of what the competition in Nascar can offer.


Surprise of the Year:
Winner: Mark Martin signing up for one more shot
The veteran will return in 2009 for one final shot at the elusive title that has eluded him until now. Despite running a part-time schedule over the past two years, the competitiveness level has never died from the veteran.
If he continues as such in 2009, he should easily make the Chase. With Hendrick's machinery under him, it is more than possible that Martin will write his own fairytale.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards versus Jimmie Johnson at Kansas
Proof that second is never good enough for a racer. Edwards launched a daring slingshot to try to get passed Johnson. The #99 barrelled past, slapped the wall and just lost the momentum, allowing Johnson to slip past by. One can only applaud Edwards desire to win.

Controversy of the Year:
Winner: Goodyear Tires
On too many occasions, tire blow-outs played too much a part in the racing. The lowest point for the issue was at Indy, where the race was reduced to short sprints between yellow flags to get everyone home safe.

Busy Busy

Just a heads up, the Nascar 'Phillies' will be announced tomorrow instead of today. The Race of Champions is on today and for quite a long time - so I'll be tuning into that to cover it.

Also, in the coming week I'll be looking at the 'bright' future of Formula One after the FIA and the teams agreed on cost-cutting measures for the future.

The Phillies: F1 Results

Below are the results of the first annual 'Phillies' for Formula One. These results are of my own opinion. Hopefully in coming years, there will be online voting for it. The Nascar results will be posted next weekend.

For details on each of the awards, see the Award Categories.

Driver of the Year:
Winner: Fernando Alonso
When you look at the drivers occupying the top seats in Formula One, none of them can lay claim to a perfect season. All of them had up's and down's, with some pretty ordinary performances on the way.

The same can't really be said for Fernando Alonso, who throughout the year proved why he is a two-time world champion. He consistently drew the most out of an inferior car and when the opportunity presented itself, took advantage of a situation to score two unlikely victories.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Winner: Felipe Massa
Many felt, including myself, that 2007 would be the best chance for Massa to win the title. He was settled in Ferrari and it offered him the best chance to get the jump on Raikkonen. He didn't and the rest his history. Two races into the season and many questioned how long Massa had left in his Ferrari career.

After Bahrain, Massa went from potential career also-ran to championship contender. Gone away was the ability to preform on certain tracks or to win from pole position. Even his wet weather driving improved. He still has a way to go, as the likes of Silverstone showed, but Massa is now a genuine title contender.

Rookie of the Year:
Winner: Timo Glock
An award that could have easily gone to Vettel, except the German ran a large portion of 2007, hence cancelling him out.

It took the GP2 champion a while to get going, especially compared to veteran team-mate Trulli. But, as one result built to another, Glock easily found himself a constant contender for the points. The highlight of the year for the young German was his podium at Hungary. Unfortunately, his name is more associated with wild conspiracy theories about slowing down on the final lap of Brazil to hand the title to Hamilton.

Flop of the Year:
Winner: Kimi Raikkonen
World Champion? At times you would be hard to believe. The Finn spent the majority of races anonymous, barring a few speedy laps. The contract extension announced at Belgium was a complete shock, given the lack of motivation from him. His reputation battered, there is no excuse for a lack of motivation for next year.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Winner: Sebastien Bourdais
The four-time Champ Car champion endured a difficult season, like many drivers who cross the Atlantic divide. However, by seasons end, Bourdais consistently joined Vettel in the third around of qualifying. The Frenchman endured some rough luck despite the better form. The loss of a podium at Belgium, starter issues in Italy and a unfair penalty at Japan are just a few examples of where the Frenchman's luck abandoned him.

Whether he gets a chance to redeem himself is still up in the air as he vies for a seat at Toro Rosso. Bourdais recently admitted that finances as much as talent could determine if he gets the seat.

Team of the Year:
Winner: McLaren
It could have been so easy for McLaren to blame the Spygate fallout on their ordinary performances at the start of the year. Heck, ITV used it around the Spanish grand prix. The team kept their heads down and plugged away, closing the gap on Ferrari.

Most Improved Team of the Year:
Winner: Toro Rosso
It is hard to believe that this team used to be tail-enders under the Minardi name. The late arrival of the 2008 was the potent weapon that starlet Vettel required to show his raw talent. The team went from straight to straight, qualifying both cars within the top-ten on a number of occasions.

Victory at Monza for Vettel was the first for the Red Bull organisation. The icing on the cake came at the end of the season, with the team beating the sister squad in the constructors standings.

Race of the Year:
Winner: Interlargos, Brazil
Everything we wanted in a season finale and then some. I remember more bad races than good this season, but the final race of the season easily ranks in my top-five of all time. The seven point lead Hamilton enjoyed could easily have made the race a foregone conclusion. While the expected result occurred, we were left on the edge of our seats till the final lap for a Hollywood style finish.

Surprise of the Year:
Winner: Vettel's victory at Monza
With weather afflicted races, we have often seen results that are against the norm. But that doesn't take away from the raw talent on display at the Italian race. At times, he was in a class of his own, bringing back memories of what made Schumacher a wet racing maestro. I look forward to see what the young German can do in the coming years.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Winner: Massa versus the McLarens at Hungary

As I said above, this was a season that we saw a more well rounded racing craft by the Brazilian. The start of a race is vital at Hungary, as like Monaco, overtaking chances are at a premium. It was a 'balls to the walls' move that unfortunately, didn't count for points at the end of the day due to engine problems.

Controversy of the Year:
Winner: Inconsistent Penalties
Whether you agree or disagree with the calls made, they were a major talking point. Myself, I agree with a number of them. But the main stickler I had was races decided after the chequered flag. Sending people home, not knowing if the guy they saw on the podium is a winner is not how the sport should handle itself. Once every now and then, that is fine and dandy. But the amount of times it occurred this year is unacceptable.

The ‘James Allen’ Award:
Winner: Lewis Hamilton at Montreal
The moment where the most basic of road rules went out the window and allowed BMW and Kubica to pick up their first victory. I still shake my head at the whole thing when I think about it. I still think the whole thing came down to a 'red mist' situation, given that Hamilton lost time with a vastly superior car on the day.

I will definitely miss the Canadian Grand Prix. The North American race often provided us with classic races year after year.

The Phillies: Award Categories

Here are the award categories for the first annual ‘Phillies’. Results will be announced sometime over the weekend. Each category will have a winner and I will also give a brief word on why I believe they deserve said award. There will be two sets of results, one for Formula One, the other for NASCAR.

Like I said, this will be the first annual awards. Next year I’ll try to add more categories and hopefully for more sports if I can get the time to cover them adequately in 2009. If any readers have any thoughts on how to improve this concept, feel free to contact with your ideas!

Driver of the Year:
Awarded to the driver who, throughout the year, has shown the most skill.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Awarded to the driver who has shown the greatest amount of improvement since last year.

Rookie of the Year:
Awarded to the driver, who in his first season has shown the most promise.

Flop of the Year:
Awarded to the driver who failed to live up to standard.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Awarded to the driver who got canned more than he deserved.

Team of the Year:
Awarded to the team who preformed to the highest standard throughout the season.

Most Improved Team of the Year:
Awarded to the team who has shown the greatest amount of improvement since last year.

Race of the Year:
Awarded to the venue which produced the best race of the season.

Surprise of the Year:
Awarded to the person/team/moment that caused the biggest ‘what the?’ moment of the year.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Awarded for the most interesting passing move of the year.

Controversy of the Year:
Awarded for the moment that had everyone talking.

The ‘James Allen’ Award:
Awarded to the person/team/moment for the most botched moment of the year.

Off-Season Plan

With the Formula One and the Nascar season both over, one would think there wouldn’t be too much to do other than hibernate until the season starts up again.

Don’t fret though, as I will be following the important news and moves that happen over the winter months. I contemplated doing season reviews, but let’s be fair – you don’t really want me to regurgitate everything that has happened. There are already enough season reviews going around that the market is flooded with them.

So instead, I’ll have what will be the first annual awards here on the Chequered Flag. These will be called ‘The Phillie Awards’. Yeah, ingenuous ain’t it? You’ll just have to imagine in your mind all the pomp, ceremony, glitz and girls in your mind. I figure if I sent out invitations to everyone for it, I’d be classified as a nut.

I’ll be posting the categories in the coming days, before announcing the winners at the weekend.