2012 Here We Come... or... Silly Season, You Bet!!

So what do we know about 2012 so far?

Well 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart has a new Crew Chief in Steve Addington and his team has poached Greg Zipadelli to oversee all things "Competition" including Danicas Cup efforts... Sounds good...

Kurt Busch has "left" Penske and has found a ride... where? Seriously...

Penske now have 'Dinger instead of Kurt... Cool...

Smokes former Crew Chief, Darian Grubb, is now with Denny Hamlin at Gibbs...

At Daytona... Smaller rads... Bigger 'plates... Smaller spoilers... Softer springs... Higher air intakes = less tandem drafing? My breathe is held...

In F1 Raikkonen is back... Hhhmmm... We will see...

and Patrick Head retires...

Caterham... in F1? Well I never...

In Indycar... New car is good on road courses but still needs work on the ovals... Keep trying guys as you need to get it right for the sake of the Indy 500. It doesn't matter if they are slower as long as the racings good...

Kentucky off... Watkins Glen on... Pity about loosing an oval but if you have to have another road course the 'Glen is a good'un...

In BTCC... New NGTC cars being developed... Goodo...

and it's not even 2012 yet...

Excited??

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bye Bye 2011... thanks for the ride...

Thank you to everyone who visits. I do appreciate the interest.

Hello 2012... bring it on!

Have a great holiday season and see you in the new year.

How many days till the Daytona 500?

Too many!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

This year I have been a very good boy. I have eaten all my greens, went to bed when I was told and have not been on the naughty step for at least a week!

For Christmas I would like...

BTCC - Lots of nice, shiny, new NGTC cars, all rear wheel drive so the cars oversteer like real race cars and not understeer like my dads boring car...

F1 - can your elfs show McLaren and Ferrari how to build a car like Red Bull as I am bored of Vettel winning all the time...

NASCAR - The two car drafting is a bit silly, and the old pack racing got a bit dull so something in the middle where the cars stay together but can still overtake would be nice...

Better racing at the mile and a half tracks as there are so many of them...

Less "fuel mileage" finishes as there were far to many of them...

Another close Chase as years was really good...

INDYCAR - A new car that drafts and races well at Indy as I really like the Indy 500...

Oh and a Buzz Lightyear...

And a Lightning McQueen...

Please

Thank you...

James
Age 3.2 going on 32.

2011 Review Gallery

V8 Supercars "Car of The Future"

V8Supercars have unveiled the future of their series.

Faced with a limited number of elegible cars, and high development and running costs, the organisers put legendary driver Mark Skaife in charge of the next generation of Australian touring car regulations, known as the Car of the Future or COTF. 

Under the skin the cars are very different, while still being the same cars from the outside.

I had not realised this until now but the current V8Supercars still have live rear axles. The new spec cars will finally have modern independent  rear suspension. The cars also move to a transaxle at the back to help weight distribution. To aid safety a new stronger roll cage with improved side impact protection is mounted to a new floopan. The fuel cell also moves from the boot to inside the new rollcage, again a move to improve safety limiting the chances of the cell being damaged if the car is hit from the rear. The cars also get bigger wheels, now 18" instead of the 17's of the current race cars. Along with bigger wheels also come bigger brake discs.

To me the best thing about the new spec car is what stays the same. The cars will still have the same big V8 engines driving the rear wheels. The cars also look the same as they still have the same production based bodies.

What the V8Supercars web site is not making a big deal of, if I am right, is that the cars will be mechanically identical with the exception of the engines and bodies. This is to keep costs down and to keep competition close. The other big point of the new spec cars is to make it easy for other manufacturers to join the series.

Currently the series is based around cars from Ford and Holden (GM). Historically these have been the Falcon from Ford and the Commodore from Holden, both rear-wheel-drive sedans. However we all know that the vast majority of modern road cars are front-wheel-drive, and with the continued threat of the Falcon and Commodore going front-wheel-drive,  it looked tough for the series to ensure a rear-wheel-drive future.

The COTF regulations should ensure that top level touring car racing in Australia continues to be rear-wheel-drive and V8 powered as the chassis and mechanical package is standardised, regardless of whose body (Toyota?) is on the car.

The V8Supercars organisers seem to have a very good handle on equalising the aero packages across the Fords and Holdens while still basing the cars on production bodyshells. I hope this continues with the new spec cars and is as successful with any new manufacturers joining in.

Basically the series faced the same issues as NASCAR, with the COT, and BTCC, with the NGTC, those of cutting costs, improving safety, ensuring close competition, and encouraging  brand buy in.

NASCAR went for a standardised body and chassis, and have been developing and enhancing the identities of the cars ever since. COT mark 1 was not very successfull at differenciating between a Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota. COT mark 2 or the Nationwide car to you and me, is much better, still standard bodies in terms of aero but with very different "faces". It will be interesting to see what COT mark 3, the next Cup car, due to be updated for 2013, looks like.

BTCC, with the NGTC, went for standardised mechanicals to keep costs down but still keeps the manufacturers happy by using road based shells to contain those mechanicals. The issue for me with the NGTC is that there appears to be a strange mix of front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive, not always being based on the layout of the equivalent road car... rear-wheel-drive Audi anyone? 

I like the concept of the COTF, still V8 powered and to start with still Ford vs. Holden! I like that the series will be protected from the threat of front-wheel-drive road cars with the new standardised mechanical package. If the cars are safer and cheaper too, whats not to like?? 

Paying attention Mr Gow?

2011 Shiftin' Gears Quotes Part 2... Others

To start the off season I thought I would review my favourite quotes from this seasons blogs... so here we go...

Part 2...

INDYCAR -

I hope, if not for the sake of the series but for the sake of the Indy 500, that the new car brings life to open wheel oval racing in America.

Congratulations to the winner of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500... DAN WHELDON!!

RIP Dan Wheldon

BTCC –

First 2011 rear wheel drive entry is... an Audi A4?? Pardon?? When was the last time you saw a rear wheel drive A4?? The BTCC NGTC specs state - "Drive-train layout (i.e. front or rear wheel drive) as per base vehicle." So much for that idea...

Good things - The new turbo engines seem to be working. Anybody can now buy an engine, put it in a car and be competitive! Lots of different cars! Bad things - The driving standards are appalling!

Two weeks ago I watched the worst of the BTCC. Rubbish driving standards with far too much shoving and not enough clean overtaking.

It appears the new spec cars are prone to terminal damage when making contact with another car. This means they will have to give each other room and race cleanly if they want to finish races! That would make a change!

We can now look forward to next season, which I hope will see all the top runners in NGTC spec turbo cars.

F1 -

…the DRS "overtaking" system (Drivers can't Race on their own System),

KERS, (the Kinda E-relvant, but the racing so dull we need to, Recover it System)

Hold the Front page... “Latest Grand Prix, NOT A Turkey!”

How much overtaking is needed in F1?? Well "any or some" would be a start!

What happens when you combine the latest line of young “racing” drivers, the most overtaking friendly F1 cars in quiet some time and the tightest, yet most prestigious “racing” venue? The answer... you get racing!

At Silverstone the track and the grandstands have separate postcodes!

Among the topics in my last post, entitled "British Grand Prix - Quick Thoughts", you will not find any mention of the Red Bull team order issue. This is because I wanted to give the issue more than a quick thought. I wanted to take the time to deliberate, consider if you will. This is the end result of those deliberations... Its rubbish, but that’s F1 for you.

Other -

Ginetta is Betta... erm Better...

I am loving the new G55‘s. They look good, sound good and race great! At last a National series I look forward to watching!

In a word Cars 2 is fun. It is entertainment that never takes itself seriously and just revels in taking you along for the ride.

2011 Shiftin' Gears Quotes Part 1... NASCAR

To start the off season I thought I would review my favourite quotes from this seasons blogs... so here we go...

Part 1... NASCAR

In the world of NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway is the new Noahs Ark and the drivers are coming in two by two!!

If 2010 was "have at it, boys" then maybe 2011 is... "NO LONGER YOU'RE GRANDDADS NASCAR"!

Las Vegas wasn’t the greatest race ever, but it does show that anything can happen, and probably will!

Kyle Busch, who led most of the race, was trying to hold on while Jimmie Johnson did everything he could to take it. At the same time Kevin Harvick got physical saying "I don't think so" and beat them both... and all that in the last two laps! A great ending!! Pity they didn't have KERS or DRS movable rear wings though...

I have nothing against international drivers racing in NASCAR as long as they earn their place, and as long as the series for the “good old boys” stays true to that.

“Hand Bags at Dawn” or “Racing Rivalries”

I think it’s a shame that the ”All Star Race” is included in NASCAR probationary periods, imposed after a driver has done something untoward. The non-points scoring sprint race format is be the perfect arena for drivers to “have at it,” safe in the knowledge that their actions in the “All Star Race” would not affect the regular season.

Am I the only one who thinks it a bit odd that the track creating the best old fashioned bump-‘n-run racing is... not Martinsville or Bristol... but... a road course?

Performace parity... that's BTCC talk, in NASCAR it's called good hard racing!

I have never minded the two car bump drafting we are currently seeing at the ‘plate tracks, however when it gets to the point where drivers plan in advance who they are going to work with, and stay together until the end without any thought of changing, it has gone a bit too far.

Jeff Gordon is now third on the all time NASCAR win list!

One point has to be made though... while Tony Stewart might have won the race because of his fuel strategy; he got to the front by out racing the opposition!

I enjoyed watching Jeff Gordon lose last weekends NASCAR Sprint Cup race from New Hampshire. I also enjoyed watching Clint Bowyer lose the race.

For the first time since the current Cup car was introduced I am wondering if something about the COT is hurting the racing.

I would be like to thank Richard Childress Racing for putting the "R" back in "NASCAR", for letting their drivers "race" for the win and not just drive.

Was I supposed to be surprised by the actions of Kyle Busch in last weeks Truck race? Oh good, 'cos I wasn't.

A few weeks ago I may have commented on the particularly disjointed nature of the pre-Chase regular season. No one driver looking strong enough to dominate, but many in with a shot… I might have been wrong..

What will 2012 bring??

2011 NASCAR Memories

With the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at an end I thought I would start the off-season by looking back at highlights of this tightly fought Championship...

After five consecutive Jimmie Johnson titles was 2011 going to become number 6?



The season got off to a great start with a new name, Trevor Bayne, winning the years biggest race. Not only that, but he also put one of NASCARs oldest teams, Wood Brothers Racing, back in Victory Lane!

The Daytona 500 signalled the start of an up and down year for restrictor plate racing in NASCAR with "tandem drafting" one of the stories of the year. Two cars have always been faster than one, but this year things got physical with drivers literally pushing each other all the way round the two 'plate tracks. Sounds exciting but was not always, until...



The finish was close but many fans were not convinced by this style of racing, me included. The downside of this style of racing was that the drivers teamed up before the race and decided who was going to do the pushing and who was going to be pushed. It all got a little too planned for my liking. I do not want a return to the old "pack" races where drivers could not overtake, but it would be nice if a driver could race for themselves... then again...



Clint Bowyer proved that even in the era of the "tandem", the slingshot is alive and kicking!!

That wasn't the only close finish of the year...



2011 brought a renewed emphasis on winning and several drivers took their first Sprint Cup win this year...





Which brings me on to another story of the year, Kyle Busch... for all the wrong reasons...



"Boys Have At It" has always had an imaginary line that drivers should not cross, trouble is NASCAR decided that he did! NASCAR told Kyle he wasn't racing any more that weekend, put him on probation to the end of the year and issued him with a fine! He also got in trouble with his team and his sponsors. What effects that incident will have on him for next year only time will tell.

"Retaliation" and "payback" were two of the years watch words...




Which brings me to what will be the long standing story of the year, not a sixth title for the 48 car but the battle between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. After such a dominating run by one driver it was great to see that run broken by one of the tightest battles in NASCAR history.



One of the greatest NASCAR Championship battles ever?

Certainly!

Do NASCAR have to work on the product a bit... I think so, but that's for another day...

And That's How You Do It!!

WHAT A RACE!

WHAT A CHASE!

A few weeks ago I may have commented on the particularly disjointed nature of the pre-Chase regular season. No one driver looking strong enough to dominate, but many in with a shot.

I might have been wrong...

Tony Stewart and his crew dominated their way to the title. They did not have it easy, nor did they make it easy for themselves but in the end Stewarts take-no-prisoners driving at Homestead earned them the title.

It may also go down as one of the greatest drives ever.

With the level of competition that high, and with the cars evenly matched, the 14 car literally took on all-comers and walked away the winner.

He overtook 118 cars...

Two, three, and four wide passes...

Had to win the race...

Race won...

Championship won!

First owner/driver Champion since Alan Kulwicki.

The great thing about this years Chase was that it came down to two drivers, one-on-one for the race win. Not a maths equasion of "if he finishes here then I can be there" but a straight battle to the chequered flag. That alone is good, that it was also for the title made it great.

Carl Edwards did more than keep Steward honest, it was his title until the last race, but ultimately he could not stop the unstoppable and unthinkable.

Congratulations to Tony Stewart and Stewart Haas Racing...

2012 NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONS!

I said you would only need the edge of your seat...

First 2012 Daytona Prototype Unveiled

2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype

Looking Good!!!

3... 2... 1...

3... points.

2... drivers.

1... race.

Ford vs. Chevy.

Stewart vs. Edwards.

Win the race, win the title.

Nothing else will do.

They both need to win!

Homestead Miami...

Sunday...

Get the beer and dips in...

Don't worry about a complete seat...

You will only need the edge...

Bring It On!

To Finish First... First You Must... Start

To Finish First...

Another Chase race and another good one.

At one of NASCARs fastest tracks the top two in points went head to head, Carl Edwards vs. Tony Stewart... And Smoke came out on top. Que cheesy headlines, "Stewart Smokes 'Em", etc.

Stewart did what he had to do, win, while at the same time Edwards did what he had to, shadow Stewart.

At Texas that was enough but it will not be enough from now on. At Phoenix, with only three points seperating them, they will be all out for the win, again.

Just how a Championship should be decided then!

... First You Must Start!

Was I supposed to be surprised by the actions of Kyle Busch in last weeks Truck race? Oh good, 'cos I wasn't.

Was I supposed to be surprised that Mike Helton threw the NASCAR rulebook at Kyle? Good, 'cos I wasn't.

Was I supposed to be surprised that the majority of fans think Kyle should loose his job as a result of what he did? Good, oh you get the idea.

Kyle Busch is NASCARs marmite, you either love him or hate him, or you love to hate him. Regardless of what fans thought of this one incident, if you ask the question a lot of fans will want Kyle out of the way.

The problem with Kyle, as has been well documented, is, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, "Rowdy is as Rowdy does".

Drivers lose their cool from time to time. However Kyle seems to loose his, not so cool, more often than most and when he does he also looses any sense of what to about it.

Have NASCAR been a bit heavy with the penalties? I think not. They have always said they would encorage "boys have at it" but there is a line in the sand and cross it at your peril. No one can debate that what Kyle did crossed that, until know, unseen line. As I said after Martinsville, retaliation on a short track is one thing, at a fast mile-and-a-half, something else. And lets face it this incident is the latest in a long line.

Whether Kyle will be out of a ride in a couple of weeks time, I would have thought is down to how patient Coach Gibbs and his sponsors are. I am not a Kyle Busch fan but I will openly admit that he has some of the best car control in the sport... And the sport is better off with contraversial drivers like him around...

If only he could reign in his ego he could win Championships... But then so could I if I only had his talent... And thats not going to happen... If only...

NASCAR Draws The Line

Wham Bam Thank You Men

Martinsville.

Action...

Wrecks...

Contact...

Retaliation...

All the top drivers having a go...

A late caution...

A late pass for the lead and a close finish...

What was not to like?

The little paperclip delivered just what the Sprint Cup needed, a good old fashioned short track bust up, and in the process injected some much needed on track action into the Chase.

We watched the sports best, from Gibbs, Roush, Childress, Hendrick Stewart Haas and others battle it out, no holes barred.

Finally they all got it together at the same time, and the result was great to watch.

The late pass by Tony Stewart on the outside of Jimmie Johnson showed class from both drivers. From Smoke a classy move, squeezing the 48 down low and getting the win. The lack of contact once the lead was lost showed a level of respect from the reigning Sprint Cup champion towards his fellow driver. Would I be blaming or holding it against the 48 car if the bumper had been used, no, thats short track racing, but it did show respect and a level of class from Jimmie Johnson.

For the opposite style of racing look at Earnhardt Jr among others. Again, nothing wrong with a bit of contact, nothing wrong with a bit more either.

Should NASCAR be worried about the retaliation? Not in my book. The rules at Martinsville may be different to those at Texas but I am still all for "have at it boys".

NASCAR has always been a contact sport and there have always been rivalries. It may be a bit "primal", a bit "wrestling" but hard hitting short track racing is as much a part of the sport as drafting at Daytona... And long may it continue!

N.A.S.C.A... R!!

I would be like to thank Richard Childress Racing for putting the "R" back in "NASCAR", for letting their drivers "race" for the win and not just drive.

After a few fuel mileage finishes, a few lacklustre races and some disapointing restrictor plate races, the last lap, last corner, one on one slingshot and drag race to the line was exactly what NASCAR not only needed but is also what the sport is all about.

The latest 'Dega and 'Tona drafting style may be a bit "planned" for my liking but the changes NASCAR made to the cooling did make a slight difference, and in a good way. The cars were not able to run away at the front only to get caught by the pack one lap later, it kept the cars more bunched, the racing a little more "steady"... a little... And the RCR drivers proved that the slingshot is alive and well, if the drivers want to win the race and not just push each other.

The "wildcard" race lived up to its billing as several drivers had days they will want to forget, but probably won't be able to. The Hendrick drivers miss read the race and were not able work there way to the front after running around at the back all day. The third RCR driver, Kevin Harvick ended the day in the garage, not what his title hopes needed.

The title fight is between four drivers now, but with no clear favourite for the title... who's gonna step up and make it happen?

Old Car New Car

NASCAR New Car Blues

What a disappointment.

I had hoped Charlotte was going to be the race where the Chase drivers got it together and gave us the race, the show, this years Chase needs and wants, but it was not to be.

The highlight of the race was Jimmie Johnsons hard hit into the outside wall. That was not the highlight because it involved the 48 hitting the wall, honest, but because good racing was severely lacking.

After Kansas I found myself pondering the riddle of the edgy setups but Charlotte was a different story. This was the aero push story. The drivers could not run close together without loosing the air off the front splitter and could not run side by side without loosing the air off the rear spoiler.

For the first time since the current Cup car was introduced I am wondering if something about the COT is hurting the racing. Maybe the answer is to run the current front with the unloved rear wing out back. The whole point of the wing was that it allowed air to pass under it and on to the following car, unlike the spoiler. I know this is not going to happen but something not only needs to be done to redress the aero balance, when the cars are facelifted for the 2013 season, but also to limit the aero push, which is hurting the racing.

On paper the Championship looks really close and competetive but on track the racing is not living up to the top billing.

RIP Dan Wheldon

I am still in shock over the loss of Dan Wheldon at last weekends Indycar race.

Now is not the time to debate the decision to allow so many cars in the race or whether it was a good idea to dangle such a large carrot in front of any driver who won the race after starting from the back of the grid.

Now is about Daniel Wheldon.

Many experts with a lot more exprience and authority than me have said all there is to say about his life and career. However I will say this. When I was younger I was fortunate enough to race Cadet and then Junior TKM karts. When I raced three names mattered, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Daniel Wheldon... and Wheldon was the best.

As someone who has more of a passion for American motor racing than F1, I was so pleased when Wheldon won the Indy 500, once and then twice.

As has been pointed out there is an unfortunate irony in the fact that Wheldon, who has spent this year developing the new Indycar race car, a car which should be safer and less likely to hit wheels, was killed in the last race for the old spec car which his efforts were working to replace.

Dan Wheldons death is a great loss and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.

BTCC Champ Crowned

Congratulations three time British Touring Car Champion, Matt Neal!

We can now look forward to next season, which I hope will see all the top runners in NGTC spec turbo cars.

My only comments about the next gen. car...

As always make them all rear wheel drive like this years Audi, and make them less liable to rear suspension damage when making contact, sorry racing, side by side.

Neals car this year had a bumper sticker... "Does my Turbo look big in this?"... No and the trophies don't look bad either!

Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That...

Take 43 of the best stock car drivers...

Pair them up with the best Crew Chief they can find...

Have the best teams in the business run them...

And watch one driver dominate?

Not one team, but one driver.

The Sprint Cup races this year have me baffled. Each week there is some good racing throughout the field, and we have seen a lot of different winners this year but still there is no consistancy. A while ago I was championing this as a good thing, variety being the spice of life as they say. However this variety has me wondering how one driver can hit on a set up so much better than all the others that they dominate a race like Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team did at Kansas.

What did that team do which made them the best, on that day, by some margin. You would have thought out of the other 42 cars someone else would have hit on that magic formula as well and given the 48 a run for his money. Stewart got close at times but only ever looked like he had a second place car and not one able to battle for the win.

It's not as though one team is dominating, as last Sunday Gordon had an average race and Earnhardt and Martin were never really in contention. In fact if one driver in a team is winning you can almost guarantee that the others in the same team are nowhere to be seen. If Tony is winning then Ryan is average. If the 48 is up front the 24 is at the back, and visa versa. If Brad is hot, Kurt is not and again visa versa.

You may say track position, and being the lead car, has a part to play in this but I don't buy it. The racing behind Johnson was good and proved overtaking was possible using the various grooves through the turns.

Is it down to the edgy nature of the cars? They are hard to drive ane we often hear Crew Chiefs talk about the fine line between a car that works and one that doesn't. However with the regulations for the cars being so tight, or to put it another way all of the cars are more or less the same, you would think that more than one team would find a setup that works on a given weekend. Also considering the limited number of car builders, Hendrick for Chevy, Roush for Ford, Penske for Dodge and MWR/Gibbs for Toyota, you would think the secret formula for the ultimate setup would not be secret for long.

I look forward to the race when all the top drivers find a setup that works at the same time, Homestead perhaps, and then we will have a race on.

I am not complaining, I am just puzzled. It looks like the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion will be the driver and team who can hit on that magic setup the most over the coming weeks, and not fall that far when they miss.

NASCARs DW at the 2011 Bathurst 1000

Darrell Waltrip on The Mountain



American coverage gives the world DW's "Boogity Boogity Boogity" at the start of a V8 Supercar race!?!

2011 Bathurst 1000!!

The 2011 Bathurst 100 came down to this...

1000 km's... 161 laps...

Garth Tander vs Craig Lowndes...



You've just gotta love it!!

but not this, ouch..



But this is great!!

Indycars Oval Dilema

I read with dispare of the lack of attendance at the Indycar Series oval events.

Unfortunately I am not in a position to help these figures, living as I do on the other side of pond. Neither am I able to watch the races on TV as I cannot afford the TV station the races are on over here. If anybody wants to help with either of these issues please let me know...

Anyway...

The IRL was established as a series for American drivers, racing American cars with American V8's on American ovals. Today the Indycar Series looks much more like a direct replacement for the now defunct CART series with more road courses than ovals and less of an "American" feel.

In its day I loved CART. I used to enjoy the mix of oval races and some of the best open wheel road racing on the planet. But the IRL put on a better oval show.

The American open wheel world has always looked a bit disjointed to me. Over here if a kid wants to be the next Button or Hamilton they can start off at a young age in karts, move up to single seaters, say Formula Ford, in time progress through Formula 3 to the lower international classes and then if all goes to plan maybe become a Formula 1 driver. A nice progressive ladder from start to finish. I do not pretend to be an expert on the American open wheel ladder but going from short oval USAC Midgets and Sprints to the Indy 500 is a big leap. I understand there are single seater classes filling in the gap but the ladder still doesn't flow to me.

The greatest shame of the current situation is that in the early days of the IRL the oval racing was fantastic. Good drivers, good cars, wonderfully close racing and nail biting finishes. The last few years have seen the standards fall with close finishes a thing of the past. However the finish of the last race was very tight, just like the days of Sam Hornish at Texas.

The huge success of NASCAR over the past two decades has not helped either. The big crowds, TV and big money has made it hard for other series to generate the interest from drivers and fans, and with the majority of the three NASCAR series races taking place on ovals, the market for oval racing is pretty full.

The answer to this lies in the succes of the new generation of Indycar.

We all know the Indycar Series has been treading water, waiting for the new car to be signed off. If the series officials and Dan Wheldon can develop an oval package that enables the drivers to run side by side at any oval with minimal aero push, like the good old days of the IRL, then the crowds will come back. Good racing will always bring crowds.

I hope, if not for the sake of the series but for the sake of the Indy 500, that the new car brings life to open wheel oval racing in America.

The Indycar Series needs ovals to ensure the future, and the future importance, of the great Indianapolis 500.

Lose Some, Win Some

I enjoyed watching Jeff Gordon lose last weekends NASCAR Sprint Cup race from New Hampshire.

I also enjoyed watching Clint Bowyer lose the race.

This is not because I have some weird adversion to the drvers of the 24 or 33 cars, far from it. I may be a fan of the 14 car and its driver but this is not about the individual drivers, or a sudden fondness for fuel mileage races. What I enjoyed was the thinking behind the way in which they lost the race and Stewart won it.

The 24 and 33 cars lost the race by desperately trying to win it! The 24 car, with a sizeable lead remember, went one lap too far on a tank of gas, one lap, and it cost him the win! In the same way, Clint Bowyer lost the race, handing the win to a currently on form Tony Stewart.

The Cup drivers are doing everything they can to win, not finish high up, but win! For a fan of the sport this is great. By pushing the fuel window, not at the end of the race, but on the way to his final pit stop, Jeff Gordon showed us that the 2011 race for the Chase is win or nothing for these guys.

So we have a Chase race in which the "favourites" are not doing so well and others find themseves a position to win it... or loose it, we will see. Factor in a 'Dega race with a different plate and cooling package and who knows what will happen.

Is it too early to join the "Anybody but Jimmie" camp?

Keep it up Smoke!!

Zero to Hero

Zero to hero with one with one win, but don't get too comfortable as one bad race can put you back down the standings again...

Tony Stewart really did Smoke'em at Chicagoland, one of only two drivers to make it into the Chase with no wins in the regular season, Stewart addressed that with a win in the first Chase race of 2011!

However this season is still wide open, and one bad weekend can turn the points standings on its head. The good news for Stewart is that the next race is New Hampshire, and we all know what happened there earlier in the year!

If the latest chase points system has done one thing it has put more of an emphasis on race wins. The old points system, along with the long race season put an emphasis on consistancy. Despite the changes I think the emphasis is still on consistancy, only now instead of being consistantly in, say, the top 15, now you have to be consistantly winning or very, very close.

You can not afford to have a bad weekend in the Chase if you want to be in the top 3, and in with a chance, at the end.

What is it with the mile-and-a-half races this year? They should produce some great racing, and some close finishes with the smooth wide surfaces giving the drivers lots of racing room and various grooves to choose from. However many races this year have ended as fuel mileage races. Before you say it, yes fuel strategy is part of NASCAR racing and so it should be, however I would shorten some of the race lengths to put the emphasis on racing not fuel economy.

One point has to be made though... while Tony Stewart might have won the race because of his fuel strategy, he got to the front by out racing the opposition!

The question is... who can be the most consistant in the run to the Championship?

85 Wins... and... NGTC Podiums

85, that’s 85 Wins!!

Jeff Gordon is now third on the all time NASCAR win list!

I find it easy to forget, in the era of the 48, just how much the 24 has achieved. Remember Jeff Gordon started racing against the black 3 in Luminas, and you were either a 3 fan or a 24 fan. Yes I was a 3 fan, but I can now look back and appreciate what an achievement those Championships and all those wins add up to.

Watching Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon slipping and sliding their way round Atlanta at the end of the race was great. How sideways was the 48 coming off of the last turn??

And how about Tony Stewart, where did he come from. In the last 100 laps he worked his way from about 20th into the top 10, and with about 10 to go looked like an 8th place finish was as far as he was going to get. However as we watched the leaders go at it, he stormed his way up to third!

So with one race to go the 48 is leading the points standings... am I supposed to be surprised by this? He does not, however, look as dominant as he has in the past. Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon among others can race with and beat the 48. I think the title race will be between those three.

Knock Knock Knockhill at the door...

If you look in a racing encyclopaedia under the topic “bad day”, it will say see the 2011 BTCC Knockhill round and refer to Matt Jackson. He went in to the meeting leading the Championship and came out with three DNF’s. Oops...

It was good to hear that next years new Honda Civic race car will be a NGTC spec car. Following the first two podiums for the new spec car, (well done Frank Wrathall) next year needs to see the series moving forward, and not have another year like this one. Don’t slow the NGTC cars too much. If they are to be the future, encourage them, I want an NGTC car to win a race!

In one way I feel sorry for Plato... but no by much. Even after playing with the turbo boost levels the old naturally aspirated cars cannot keep up with the newer turbo cars on the straights. My answer to that, get a turbo! However... Plato has been known to drive aggressively and when he is on the receiving end of that kind of driving it is hard not to think, “what goes around...”

I find it hard to believe the MSA will not ask Tom Boardman to write a cheque for the restart accident he caused on his way to the win. The leader can dictate the pace and can decide when to accelerate, but stopping in the middle of the track is just plain stupid, and he was lucky not to be taken out himself. Slow the field down, yes, stop, er... no!

There is one thing the drivers need to get their collective heads around. It appears the new spec cars are prone to terminal damage when making contact with another car. This means they will have to give each other room and race cleanly if they want to finish races! That would make a change!

I still say the organisers should ban the old naturally aspirated engines from next year and then just allow the NGTC spec cars from 2013! Firstly it would stop Platos whinging, create a more level playing field, and move the series a step closer to the future!

Appologies

"Shiftin' Gears" wishes to appologies for the lack of new content in recent weeks. Unfortunately my laptop and internet issues have reoccured and I am currently without a computer so am unable to access the internet.

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED AND CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. 

"SHIFTIN' GEARS" WILL BE BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!

Cars 2, The Review

I am on holiday this week, so have not seen a single lap of the Brickyard 400 or the latest GP, so...

Sometimes critics take themselves and their chosen art too seriously. Be it a food critic harping on about "cooked to perfection", a motoring journalist getting excited by "feel and balance", or a movie critic boring everyone with "characters and emotion".

There are times when everyday people want food that is good for the price they are paying for it, most of the time people choose a car because they like it, and at times people just want to watch a movie that entertains!

The vast majority of reviews I have read about Cars 2 talk about the lackluster plot, the average this, the not good enough that. It's not as good as the Toy Story series or Wall-E. It doesn't have enough for adults to be entertained, and it only exists as a merchandising money stream for Pixar.

Does any of the last paragraph matter to me...

NO!!

I have just watched Cars 2 with my wife and my 5 year old daughter and we loved it!!

If you are a child you will love it! If you are an adult, and are willing to leave your adultness at the door and let your inner child out for a couple of hours, you too will love it! If not go watch some black and white foreign move with subtitles.

In a word Cars 2 is fun. It is entertainment that never takes itself seriously and just revels in taking you along for the ride.

The plot is good fun, save the world and trust your friends. The script is a laugh, from "Tow Mater, average intellegence" early on, to Flo and Sally eyeing up the Italian racers "open wheels" without letting on to Ramone or Lighning near the end. The film never slows down, from one action sequence to the next, one laugh to the next or from one stunning piece of animation to the next, and the animation is wonderful. The racing sequences are a delight, while the car-ified world is fabulous. One big diffference between the original Cars movie and this sequel is the number of "real" cars in this one. In Italy Luigi dances with a new Fiat 500, and in London the police cars are Ford Mondeos... ok maybe I am taking this a little too seriously.. back to the "fun"...

The in-gags are there to be spotted too, a banner at one of the races for "LasseTyres" is a cool one for the man himself to slip in there, and "Big Bentley" and a train called "Stephenson" and... and...

The film is very much the Mater show. It doesn't have the deepest characters or greatest plot in movie history. It does nothing to move the art of the computer animated motion picture on, even half a step.

BUT as I said earlier, does any of the last paragraph mater to me...

If you are a car person, if you want to have a laugh, if your inner child needs to be let out for a bit...

Watch Cars 2, you will love it!!

This review was written for "Shiftin' Gears" by James age 3.2... going on 32...