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.