"Dominate by Kyle Busch" (no its not a perfume)

"DOMINATE"

dom·i·natev. dom·i·nat·ed, dom·i·nat·ing, dom·i·nates

v.tr.

1. To control, govern, or rule by superior authority or power: Successful leaders dominate events rather than react to them.

2. To exert a supreme, guiding influence on or over: Ambition dominated their lives.

3. To enjoy a commanding, controlling position in: a drug company that dominates the tranquilizer market.

4. To overlook from a height: a view from the cliffside chalet that dominates the valley.

v.intr.

1. To have or exert strong authority or mastery.

2. To be situated in or occupy a position that is more elevated or decidedly superior to others.

3. Ref. Kyle Busch, Bristol Motor Speedway, August 2010.

Over the past eight Cup races there have been eight different winners... not a bad run.

The last three races have been on a road course, a mile-and-a-half speedway, and a half-mile short track, and each has produced some pretty good racing. Not necessarily really close finishes, but some good racing thru the field.

Kevin Harvick won in Michigan; a race full of 2 and 3 wide racing, with the smooth wide oval giving the drivers various grooves to choose from. While I am not the biggest D-shaped mile-and-a-half fan, I do enjoy watching the drivers go into a corner 2 wide, using the different grooves in the turns with one on the white line and the other an inch from the wall, and coming out of the turn side by side again.

It was good to see the 29 team prove they are capable of not only being consistent, but also of winning races. 

On the whole a good race!!

Then came Bristol... 

In the aftermath of the three-way Kyle Busch walkover, a lot of fans, commentators and journalists will be saying the same thing... say what you will about the mouth, attitude, opinions, choice of haircut blah, blah, blah... but he can drive!!

It is one thing to say you beat the whole Craftsman truck field in your own truck... another to say you beat all the young upstarts in the Nationwide series, and something else to say you dominated a Cup race at Bristol, but to do all three... over the same weekend... that’s something... and remember this is coming from a self confessed 18 non-fan (hater is too strong a word)!!

Other than the Kyle Busch show, Bristol also had some good racing. Once again the variable banking in the turns gave the drivers two good grooves to work with. The Nationwide race also showed, courtesy of the aforementioned Mr Busch, that the bump-and-run is still possible on the Bristol banking. Like it or not and like him or not but Busch had a point when he said “He does it to everybody else. Why can’t I do it to him?” of Brad Keselowski. You've also gotta love that Kyle just came out and said "I dumped him"!!

JJ's drive for 5 is not going as well as planned. He keeps putting himself in a position where he has to race harder than he would probably want, and gets himself in trouble. He should have given Montoya a bit more room, as in my opinion he was half a car width higher than the others drivers who were 2 wide behind him. Still a way to go though and JJ always seems to find extra pace once the chase starts, so don't write him off yet.

Off track, I am glad Marcos Ambrose has got a drive for 2011 with Richard Petty Motorsport; maybe not the greatest team on pit lane right now, but capable of being in the mix as Kasey Kahne has shown. 

On a different note, I was glad to see Keselowski win the second Nationwide "new car" race in a  Dodge Challenger... gives me a reason to include a picture of his pretty car!!

So an off week for the Cup teams and then 2 races before the Chase in Atlanta and Richmond, but for now the moment rightly belongs to Kyle Busch... the first driver to win all three national series races in the same weekend!!

I Love NASCAR Road Racing... part 2!!

Watkins Glen is home to the second and last NASCAR Sprint Cup road course race of the year and the fast, flowing former Grand Prix circuit is as far away from the large hills and kerbs of Sonoma, as upstate New York is from upstate California.

I am always surprised by how good Cup cars look at Watkins Glen. They look at home on the fast esses, and race well through the inner loop, and over the left / right section ending the lap. The first corner at the Glen is an action point too, with the downhill entry and camber causing havoc.

Its also interesting to see how the oval racing etiquette transfers to a road course. The last two corners are a great example of this, with loads of room for 2 wide racing, and the cross-over overtaking method. The first corner on the other hand can be quite tight if the cars are 2 wide, with the car on the inside having to move over to give the outside car room before they run into the armco, approaching the esses. Unless your name is Boris Said.

To be fair to Said, he obviously didn't mean to run Smoke into the wall, he just assumed that the 14 had slotted in behind him. There was one slight problem with this idea; this is a NASCAR race and in NASCAR if you are an inch alongside then you are given the room to race. Said thought like a road racer, and in road racing the idea of giving another driver room to race is alien. As is listening to a spotter, who in Saids case was telling him that Stewart was still alongside him.

Other drivers caused problems by trying to go round the last corner 3 wide, resulting in JJ spinning, and Hamlin having nowhere to go but into the 48.

So it was left to JPM, and Marcos Ambrose to show us how to drive a stock car through right and left turns, and what a display it was. Montoya dominated the race and was able to pull out a gap on most restarts and keep it. Ambrose had a tougher day, battling with JPM for a while, and with Kurt Busch at the end.

Other road course "experts", like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon did not have as good a day as the 42, with both struggling. The Busch brothers both showed promise, with Kurt grabbing second from Ambrose late on, and Kyle working his way up from the back to a top 10 finish.

I have said this before but... I love that the Sprint Cup has two road course races, no more, no less.

Should one be in the Chase?? I think so!!

So now its on to Michigan as the season gets closer to the Chase. I hope the Ganassi drivers can keep the momentum up and I hope Harvick can hold on to the top spot.

Will Johnson get his drive for 5 back on track?? Will Jeff Gordon end his winless streak?? Will the 88 ever look like it deserves to be in the show?? Will Stewart get his summer form back on track??

Whatever happens... it will be fun to watch!!

2010 Red Bull Air Race Photo Gallery

Congratulations to Paul Bonhomme, winner of the "2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship", and to Nigel Lamb... Brits in first and third!!

 
Thank you Red Bull Air Race... please come back soon...

Todays Scores... Wall Won vs. Schumacher / Sadler Nill

F1 -

• Something's never change... Schumacher still thinks he can get away with anything, after all it was only one move to protect his position... Pity the Stewards did not have enough time to black flag him...
• Something's do change... Barrichello didn't back off!!
• Vettel gets penalised for messing up a restart and the team blames radio issues. Apparently the Red Bull cars and drivers are radio controlled now, and the drivers have no need to understand the regulations...
• Going into the mid season break, Red Bulls number 2 driver is leading the points ahead of Hamilton... with Ferrari on form... should make for a good points race, if Ferrari actually race...
• Schumacher is obviously finding it hard to drive the latest generation of Ross Brawn designed F1 car, or in Mercedes speak, the front tyres are "peculiar"... oh that's the reason...
• The FIA / Ferrari post "team order" controversy hearing is being held after the next race... F1 have the best part of a month off and the FIA cannot organise themselves to make up their collective minds in time for the next race. The world should know what is happening now, not in more than a months time!
• Interesting quote from the Autoblog web site (www.autoblog.com) that gives us an idea of the American attitude towards F1... "Instead of the usual parade of high-tech machinery proceeding in procession, sapping the excitement out of the sport – or worse yet, lamentable team orders sullying the day – this latest round in the Formula One World Championship was packed with fate-altering, nail-biting action – and rivalries both old and new – from start to finish. A fitting way, then, to sign off before the season takes a nearly month-long summer break." 

NASCAR -

• Say what you want about the current Cup car in terms of looks, costs or effects on the racing but no-one can debate the safety standards of this car design. Elliot Sadlers hit at Pocono was HARD, and once again the driver walked away, long may this continue!
• The racing at Pocono was good, again... I still think the combination of the spoiler, the side draft and a larger drafting effect and the fact that the drivers have to sit up and drive these cars, along with 2 wide restarts have transformed some tracks and races from dull processions to races that are good to watch.
• Sadlers wreck does show how safety standards have advanced. Sadler hit armco not a SAFER barrier and the engine got ripped out of the car, ouch...
• When was the last time a wreck happened in a Cup race that was not covered by at last 5 different TV angles??
• Finally a Ford, in the hands of Greg Biffle, wins. NASCAR always needs different drivers up front, and it's always good when you have Chevy vs Ford...
• So Kentucky is going to have a Cup race, another 1.5 mile track added to the schedule. I hope New Hampshire keeps its two races to maintain some element of variation in track design. Personally I would put Pocono down to one race, regardless of how good this years races have been, or swap one intermediate track for another. Less cookie cutters and more short tracks please...
• Watkins Glen next, the second and last road course race of the year... Marcos leave the engine running this time!! 

Other stuff -

• Good luck to Paul Bonhomme at this weekends 2010 Red Bull Air Race finale at Eurospeedway Lausitz Germany. It will be interesting to see what the race looks like with only the sky as a back drop.
• Sorry to hear the 2011 Red Bull Air Race season has been cancelled. In motorsport if a series takes a year off it is usually the first public indication of nails in the coffin, but I hope this is not the case for the Red Bull Air Race.