Auto racing fans witnessed a thriller at Watkins Glen earlier Sunday, adding yet another great stock car road course race to the record books. It was a classic Tony Stewart vs Jeff Gordon battle that drew the fans to their feet through the final laps.
The racers will race. Ron Fellows had a great run in the 96 car. Robby Gordon drove up into the top 5 with his #7 car, which is also usually a mid packer. Road courses bring out the driver in these guys - give me more of this, and less 100% car reliable ovals.
Once the Champ Car race concluded, you can bet a hand-full of the open wheel faithful tuned into the NASCAR race. They didn't flip their tube to ESPN because they wanted to listen to Rusty Wallace tell us what kind of hot rod Denny Hamlin had, but they switched over to see road course racing on a week where NASCAR is respected by road racing faithful.
Stock cars aren't made for road courses. They're huge, they don't turn, and they don't brake; the best thing about stock cars on a road course is they won't b-r-e-a-k break. The good ole' boys can once again beat and bang without worrying about crumbling their right front fender. Throw the aero out - it's an all out brawl in the final laps at the left/right tracks.
Let's fix the caution rules NASCAR. I understand the field would not always be as bunched without them, but I'm tired of seeing the yellow come out for spins that everyone has already cleared. Notice, it only happens sometimes (or when NASCAR needs commercial time).
Let's fix the schedule. Why do New Hampshire, Pocono, California, Michigan, etc. etc. all have two race dates? Those are by no means big races. They could all be road course dates.
The point of this whole ramble is that road courses are great for NASCAR. They generate excitement (Harvick/Montoya, Ambrose/Gordon, Montoya/Pruett), earn respect from other race fans, and make the racers drive for once! The drivers want to be challenged when the difficulty of California Speedway isn't always enough.
I'm not sure what it is about the Nextel Cup broadcast that makes ESPN suddenly not pay attention to the race. The Busch broadcasts are great - featuring the guys in the booth. Now that ESPN brings in 67 reporters a race in Nextel Cup, everyone has to cover a story.
They all get to talk. It doesn't matter that ESPN misses multiple passes among top 10 contenders. We get to hear about everything and see everything but the race itself, before ESPN returns the camera to the leader for a few seconds and goes back to commercial.
I hope ESPN fixes their approach next week. I feel like I'm watching highlights of a live race while hearing all about the drama of what's going on off the track.
While we're on the subject of ESPN, draft tracks is terribly overused. Drafting only matters at Daytona and Talladega - otherwise it's just dirty air slowing the following car down in the corners and helping out slightly on the straights.
If drafting helps as much as Rusty tries to convince us it does, Kurt Busch wouldn't be leading by 10 seconds as a type.
Once again, a Busch series road course race refuses to disappoint. The fans may have seen it all, but I was left with an empty feeling after the Montreal race.
What happens when a driver doesn't obey a penalty? Robby Gordon did just that when he refused to move into proper position on the final restart of the race Saturday in Montreal.
Gordon spun leader Marcos Ambrose intentionally and went on to act as if he was the winner. Gordon even joined true winner Kevin Harvick in the victory burnouts after the race.
Robby Gordon will be lucky to race on Sunday, or many Sundays to come. Ambrose was cheated out of a win, but managed to keep a smile on his face. What a guy.
NASCAR looked like a joke through the last ten laps. They weren't able to figure out where the 55 should be placed in the running order, and wasn't able to enforce penalty on him before he was able to ruin the races of Marcos Ambrose and Andy Pilgrim.
The #7 Nextel Cup ride is open for tomorrow's race at Pocono. I don't think Robby will be around.
Certain drivers make the Brickyard 400 out to be more than just another race on the schedule. That was apparent when former open wheel stars Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya ran 1-2 in the 14th running of stock cars on open wheel's altar.
Both Stewart and Montoya have run at the top level of American open wheel racing, but left it for bigger paychecks and more competition in NASCAR. You can bet that Montoya could have had every opportunity to run in the Champ Car World Series or the Indy Racing League this season for Chip Ganassi. Stewart could be an Indy 500 winner at this point, racing for multiple IRL championships.
Not to be outdone, former USAC drivers had good showings this weekend. Jeff Gordon ran third in the Brickyard 400, chasing his fifth win at the speedway in a stock car. Jason Leffler made a late pass on Greg Biffle to win the Busch race at ORP.
What all these drivers have in common is the chance to race in big time open wheel racing. Imagine an open wheel series (yes, there would only be one) with the same paychecks as NASCAR. Imagine the Indy 500 being bigger than the Brickyard (yes, the 400 is bigger). These drivers would not be shooting for NASCAR - it would be the open wheel cars.
It's hard to imagine anything like that hallucination occurring in the future. Open wheel racing is dead as long as neither the CCWS or IRL will give. I think the IRL is much more of a household name, and has more name drivers among its measly field. Kevin Kalkoven would do well to make a merger happen and get the large circuits from both series in one schedule.
Moto GP is a series I haven't payed too much attention to up until recent weeks. An announcement for yet another Red Bull US GP while F1 removes their only American race is enough to draw me to watch.
FOX broad casted the race from Laguna Seca last weekend. Whether is was live, I don't know. Whether they broad casted every second of every lap, I don't know. I know what I saw was a race short enough for the stick and ball fan to not lose their attention span, but long enough to satisfy me as a race fan.
When I watched the race, I was surprised to see Americans. When Nicki Hayden was taken out in turn 1, there were other Americans to watch. Brother Roger Hayden provided entertainment as an AMA racer showing his stuff among the racers on a international stage.
The racing was visibly difficult. I think when some see racing, especially NASCAR, they assume they can do it. That thought never crossed my mind as I watched the US GP. Each rider was in good shape. They did everything to get an aerodynamic advantage - tucking in under acceleration, leaning over on the bike. The way the rear wheels spun off the corner shows how difficult it really is.
Moto GP can appeal on so many different levels. It's racing, it's an extreme sport, and it's physically demanding like a stick and ball sport. With more exposure it might find a larger niche among the American public.
ESPN NASCAR coverage was the best of all time. Since NASCAR has gone to FOX/NBC/TNT in 2001, the coverage has gone down hill. That is the view of your run of the mill NASCAR fan, who doesn't seem to appreciate flag to flag coverage, a long prerace show and multiple opportunities for NASCAR on network TV.
This Sunday, NASCAR returns to ABC/ESPN at the Brickyard. Skeptics are growing. Suddenly, Dr. Jerry Punch isn't what he used to be. Rusty Wallace doesn't belong in the booth. Brent Musburger should stick to football.
NASCAR fans amaze me. For a bunch that's lucky a network will show cars go in circles for four hours they can't quite be satisfied.
Maybe the racing fans should focus on the race. Stick and ballers crave ESPN coverage for their favorite teams, and NASCAR fans should appreciate the return to sports' biggest television stage.
On a side note, I do not think NASCAR teams need more weeks off. The drivers get the whole winter off, plus they're doing what most can only dream of doing. Teams work hard year round, but who doesn't? Welcome to hard working America.
Race cars will no longer be prepared at the place Dale built, effective immediately. DEI has merged with real estate mogul Bobby Ginn and will still fly under the DEI banner. Ginn brings a lot of money, new technology (including a 7 post shaker rig), and infinite possibilities to DEI.
This weekend at the Brickyard, DEI will field four cars with Mark Martin in the 01. Paul Menard's #15 will be locked in thanks to owner points from Ginn. These are all positive effects of the merger that Teresa Earnhardt, the so called non dedicated owner of DEI, made happen.
I didn't think it could happen, but DEI has turned it around. Max Siegel seems to be making things work that I didn't think an entertainment guy could do. I'm left wondering mostly about the future of the #8 car, and whether driver #8 wants to go back on his deal with Rick Hendrick. DEI has all the tools in hand to compete with the big guns now.
Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne lead talks to drive the Bud car next season. DEI wants Busch. Bud wants Kahne. The ideal situation would be Kahne at DEI after an off season at Evernham Motorsports, but major negotiations need to go on with both sides.
A deal with Busch, Bud and DEI would create a brother beer battle 36 weekends a year. Kahne would bring a huge fan base and an overall positive image to Bud.
DEI as a whole will move to Ginn's large race shop. The 13 and 14 cars will be sidelined, making the future of rookie driver Regan Smith unknown. I think a deal should be formed to put Smith in the Busch series full time as long as Aric Almirola will split time with Mark Martin in the 01.
In the end, the naysayers were right. DEI will become a museum, but that's the old DEI - the "old" DEI.
Lewis Hamilton's streak of podiums was snapped last Sunday at the European GP. If any races will call on Hamilton to live up to the hype, it will be in the coming weeks.
Talks of his teammate Fernando Alonso not sharing information with Hamilton in practice are spewing from within F1 garages. The two time world champ hasn't been outright in sandbagging, but his practice times are down from earlier in the season with race performance not following suit.
Team McLaren Mercedes was recently accused of stealing documents from main rival Ferrari. Alonso might not be the only one slowing down a McLaren with the organization possibly not using that key information any more. Nothing has been proven in this case, but evidence is mounting.
Hamilton now has pressure. For the first time in his 10 race career, Hamilton will be expected to perform to expectations. Nobody knew what was coming when the soon to be star lined up on the grid for his first F1 race. Now, a podium is expected every race weekend. With Alonso within only two points of championship leader Hamilton, it might be time for the rookie to show some grit.
Let's not forget that the Ferrari's are looking stronger than ever this season. Felipe Massa had the European GP locked up before the rains came for a second time. Kimi Raikonen has been performing under some pressure of his own, with only a miscaulculation by Ferrari engineers keeping him from a solid finish Sunday.
Hamilton's chance to become a permanent F1 superstar is now. Does he have what it takes to be named with such drivers as Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikonen, or will the rookie sensation become an also ran failing under pressure?