Top 10 Reasons I Am Looking Forward to 2013

10 - More NGTC = Better BTCC

It's a bit early in the year for motorsport over here but with drivers being announced and the prospect of more NGTC cars on the grid, 2013 should build on the momentum the series gathered last year.
 

9 - New NASCAR race cars
 

8 - Grand Am Daytona Prototypes, last year before "merger"

2013 is the last year for the Grand Am Series as we know it as next year it will merge with the ALMS series. I like the Daytona Prototypes. They look good, sound good, and as last years championship and this years Rolex 24 at Daytona show, they race good too! I hope the newly merged series keep the Prototypes as the top class next year, and don't let the overly technical, expensive, irrelevant European machinery wreck their own homegrown championship!

7 - New NASCAR race cars

 

6 - Year 2 for the new Indycar Series

With a year in the books the Indycar Series should produce more good racing as hopefully more teams and drivers will be competitive in the DW12 chassis this year. Roll on Indy 500!!

5 - NASCAR Trucks on Dirt

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series... at Eldora... on dirt... What's not to look forward to?

4 - New Air Titan technology for NASCAR
 

For a sport which relies on dry weather, the last couple of NASCAR Sprint Cup seasons have been blighted by rain delays early on in the season. The most famous effect of rain was the JPM vs track drier fireball incident at last years Daytona 500. This new technology, developed by NASCAR basically blows the water off of the track so the track driers can dry the track and not the water on the track. Once the water is on the apron another machine sucks the water up. It is a bit like washing your hands and then using a hot air hand drier, the quickest way to dry your hands is to shake the water off and then put your hands under the drier. This should dramatically reduce rain delays. Simply put, in the event of rain, more racing, less waiting!
 

3 - New NASCAR race cars
 

 

2 - Mercedes and Nissan join V8Supercars

The new spec V8Supercars look great! Mercedes and Nissan have joined stalwarts Ford and Holden on the grid this year under the championships new rules package. The Mercedes is especially tasty!! I can't wait to see how they race. The only pity for me is that after years of supplying the pace car, Chrysler have not joined the grid with the 300C SRT, oh well at least the pace car is still a Mopar!

 

1 - New NASCAR race cars, have I mentioned it?

OK I am in love with the new Ford, Chevy and Toyotas in the Sprint Cup Series! You might have gathered, I am of the opinion that if a car looks right it probably is right, and these look... right! I hope the American press and the fans give NASCAR, the teams, the drivers and Goodyear the time to get the racing package right at all tracks. The prospect of 43 of these 2 and 3 wide, nose to tail at all types of race track is one I look forward to. This will be a learning year but the sport has the right goals for this car!
 

2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevy SS... or... Hey Good Lookin' Part 4

The last of next years Sprint Cup race cars has now been unveiled.

 

Next years Chevy race car will be based on the still to be unveiled new "halo" car, the rear wheel drive, V8 engined "SS". The road car will basically be an American market version of the Australian Holden Commodore.

 

The race version does look good but without seeing the road equivalent we have nothing to compare it to. It is odd that with the new NASCAR bodies putting such a huge emphasis on manufacturer identity, or to put it another way, making sure the race cars look like the road cars, that Chevrolet have decided to show us what the race car looks like, but not the road car. I certainly hope the "SS" is more successfull than the Pontiac G8 was!

 

 

 

We are starting to see more and more 2013 paint schemes now, and it has to be said, again, that the 2013 Cup cars do look good!

 

Are we there yet?

Nightona 500

Ten post Daytona 500 thoughts...

1 - Rain rain go away... nuf said.

2 - Wow Here it Comes, Here Comes the Night... The first Daytona 500 under the lights, and on a school night! Well done to NASCAR for getting the race done!

3 - If Jimmy Spencer was Mr Excitment, Elliot Sadler has to be Mr Impatient... Lap 2? Really?

4 - Oh look its a girl in a race suit... the new "face of NASCAR" was stuffed in the wall, hard, in her Duel race, taken out by her team mate in the Nationwide race, and her 500 effectively ended courtesy of Mr Sadler. Pity! Only time will tell if she can win races in either series.

5 - Pack is back... Much credit to NASCAR for delivering the style of racing the fans wanted while also giving the drivers the ability to race for themselves and slingshot for the win.

6 - Juan for the delay, Two car for the show, Three delays to get ready, now go cat go, but don't you, wreck my new tarmac... or something like that... Who would have thought the "big one" would be between one race car and a jet drier? Que a Twitter and Facebook world full of "Juan less jet drier", or Days of Thunder, "hit the pace car" gags. While it looked like something on the 42 car broke, JPM needs to start looking like the world class race car driver again, and not, frankly, a waste of space!




7 - Two car for the show? It can only be Brad Keselowski... posting on twitter... in the middle of the race... brilliant!!

8 -  More NASCAR love... Half way payout worked perfectly, as did fuel injection!

9 - Umbrella, ella, ella... This years Daytona 500 proved once and for all that in racing... just when you think you have seen it all...

10 - Ford rules... Well done to Matt Kenseth, 2012 Daytona 500 winner!!



Now the regular season starts... roll on Phoenix!!

Indiana Jones and the Yard of Bricks

Star Wars... two sets of three.

 

Three Spiderman films, and by the end of next year there will have been three Batman movies...

Pirates of the Caribbean originally came in three parts...

Raiders of the Lost Ark originally had two follow ups...

What does any of this have to do with racing?

Hollywood loves a twist. And the movie of the Brickyard 400 always throws up a surprise.

Juan Pablo Montoya should have won the last two races at the Brickyard but let both races slip through his fingers. Will this weekend’s race be part three of the trilogy or the much needed franchise reboot? Montoya needs to hold on to this one, or "Indy, no more parachutes!"

Another cast member hoping to turn a great weekend at the box office into a successful follow up has to be Stewart Haas Racing. After starting and finishing in first and second at New Hampshire, (how many times do the front row of the grid finish in that order in a Cup race) the sequel needs feature another set of strong performances but, for the sake of their championship chances, with the “leading man” getting the spoils this time, not his “sidekick”.

The Brickyard is a wonderful setting for a NASCAR rollercoaster storyline...

I can’t wait to see who’s name is on top of the list come the credits!

Smoke and Lewis Swap Rides!

So let me think about this...

The last time something like this occurred was when Jeff Gordon and then Williams F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya swapped rides for a day...

Well Jeff Gordon won the latest Sprint Cup race, beating among others a former Williams F1 driver...

And...

It has been reported that Lewis Hamilton has been sussing out Red Bull to see if they have any seats free for next year...

Anyone thinking what I am thinking?

Performance Parity - NASCAR

Over the last few weeks we have had some fuel mileage racing, some pit strategy racing, some “boys have at it” racing, some good racing, some not so good racing...

The best thing about the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series? To take a phrase from BTCC driver Jason Plato, “Performance Parity”!

The Hendrick cars are up there, but not dominating. Sure Jimmie Johnson is high up in the points and Jeff Gordon has ended his winless streak. Dale Jr is looking good, has come close to ending his winless streak and is also high up in points... but none are dominating!

The Gibbs cars are competitive, are leading laps and getting in the wars, but are not dominating!

Kevin Harvick, the “finisher” and dictionary definition of “boys have at it” has won races and looks like he badly wants the end of season trophy, but none of the Childress cars are dominating!

The Roush Fords are back in the hunt this year after a quiet season last year, but are not dominating!

Holding up the honour for Dodge are the Penske cars, good at times, but not dominating!

This is Tony Stewarts time of year to shine... the Red Bull cars of Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers have looked good... the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars... the Richard Petty Motorsport cars have all been running well... at times very well... however no one is dominating!

But here’s the thing...

Carl Edwards is currently leading the points, just ahead of... the 48! You remember him don’t you; he’s done quite well over the past few years... Somehow the 48 car always seems to find a fifth gear once the Chase begins!

In my opinion the drivers most likely to keep up with Johnson once the Chase starts are Edwards, Harvick, and if he can get it together, Kyle Busch.

I am glad Dale Jr has been running well. He finally looks like he can drive a race car and is third in points right now but does he quiet have enough? Only time will tell.

But again, the question is... Who has what in reserve for the Chase?

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

Missing THE INDY 500

I am not going to be able to watch this years Indy 500... a situation I am not happy about, but powerless to change.

I will miss the pre-race build-up...



Especially "Back Home Again In Indiana"...



I will miss the drama...





The wrecks...



The close finishes...



The racing...



The event...

Think what you will of the current state of open wheel racing in America and the Indycar Series as a whole, but this is THE INDY 500, and that HAS to matter!

I love the Indy 500 and I hope the 2011 race... the 100th race... is a good one!!

"Latest GP NOT a Turkey" and "Hand Bags At Dawn"

Overtaking, wheel-to-wheel, cross-over, round the outside, three-a-breast, and pit lane battles are all terms we would usually associate with a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington, but Formula 1 from Turkey?

Erm... YES!!

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

I have just watched the Turkish Grand Prix. I did not watch it live, I recorded the race so I could forward speedily through the dull bits. However, I watched this all of this race... full length... every lap... the whole lot... start to finish...

And it was good...

Regular readers will know that I am not the worlds greatest F1 fan.

Regular readers will know that when it comes to F1 I can come across a little on the cinical side.

It would be wrong of me, as someone who will readily critisie F1 for boring races and who will openly accuse the drivers of not being able to “race”, and as someone who has done just that, to not acknowledge that the Turkish Grand Prix was none of those things.

While I think the DRS thingy is a bit contrived and false, combined with the KERS, it made for a very good race.

With the exception of Mr M. Schumacher the drivers have remembered how to race and not just drive. They are giving each other room and driving round each other, not just into each other.

Button round the outside of the last corner, the McLarens all over each other, the drag race in the pit lane... the list goes on... all good stuff!

I might even be looking forward to the next race, but don’t tell anybody...


“Hand Bags at Dawn” or “Racing Rivalries”


At Richmond it was Montoya Vs. Newman. At Darlington it was Harvick Vs. Kyle Busch.

The winner in each case?

NASCAR!!

Sure JPM and Newman beat up two perfectly good race cars and wrecked their own chances of a good finish, let alone each others, but it WAS a short track race and this IS NASCAR!

Was Busch loose coming off turn 4? Was he ever in control of that car? Could he have done more to avoid taking Harvick out?

Yes... no... maybe... I don’t care!



The fact is that both sets of incidents made for great TV. Long may drivers get passionate about their chosen sport, and show that passion!!


After all we all know that drivers who lack passion or emotion, and are more interested in strategy than racing don’t race in NASCAR they race in Fomula 1...

Then again...

Wrecks to Riches

V8 Supercars

Start line crash. It's never good to see flames!



NASCAR Sprint Cup

The "Big One" from Richmond which took out Jeff Gordon, one of the main rivals to Kyle Busch.



Montoya Vs. Newman
What started out as a "racing incident" turned into retaliation. Just the latest part of this long running rivalry.

This is why I like JPM and Ryan Newman. Both drivers are passionate about their racing and are not affraid to show it... in their own ways!

Crossing Over To The Other Side

Why can I not get excited about Kimi Raikkonen testing and racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

When Juan Pablo Montoya started in NASCAR I thought he was the sort of driver who could do well. He had raced in the IRL and won the Indy 500, and he had never really fitted in in F1 as he was a “racer” not a corporate “driver”. He was more likely to crash trying to overtake you than execute the perfect pit stop strategy and win.

I guess I don’t see Kimi as that sort of driver. Maybe I am being harsh. We are talking about a driver who went rallying, because he wanted too! To give him credit, he is starting out his NASCAR adventure in the Craftsman Truck series. Many non-American drivers have tried to break into stock car racing by jumping straight into a Cup or Nationwide car and then failed to learn the craft or make an impact.

If you are going to make it work you have to do your time, earn the respect. Obviously you have to learn to drive the cars, but for a driver from a “European” background you also have to learn the etiquette. Grooves are an alien concept in most European racing, especially single seaters and that includes F1. In Europe we have a racing line, not grooves, we have no idea of spotters and quite frankly not many race cars even have three pedals anymore.

So which non-American drivers would I like to see testing or racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

If, like me, you are from this side of the pond, you may have a favourite short oval driver who you would like to see have a shot at the big time. You may even have a favourite ex-ASCAR or Pickup Truck driver who could give it a go, or a BTCC driver you think might make it. But in terms of F1 or other international series?

With moderns form of communication and transport the world is not as big as it used to be, however in racing terms I still believe the world to be a big place.

I believe different parts of the world have different styles of racing that work in their own markets but don’t necessarily work in other parts of the world. In the UK we like F1 and touring cars. In Australia they love touring cars too, but theirs are very different to the UK machines. The same applies to Germany. In Japan they like a different sort of racing again. Americans love NASCAR, but we are not talking about moving championships, we are talking about drivers crossing over. Drivers like Marcos Ambrose, and JPM have switched disciples successfully. Others like Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti found it much, much harder.

Would I like to see Messrs Hamilton or Button in a Cup car? No. I would rather NASCAR concentrate on developing the next generation of American stock car drivers.

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.

Close... But Not Quite

eWe all know that Dale Earnhardt Jr is NASCARs most popular driver. After Martinsville Kevin Harvick must be the most un-popular driver...

However, for the second week in a row Kevin Harvick has driven his way to the front in the closing stages... and what a closer, and what finishes!!

We also all know that Dale Earnhardt Jr has a 98, now 99, race long winless streak that he would love to break. The good thing for Junior Nation is that their driver is now in contention, now up front!

However at Martinsville I hoped for more. Not because he didn’t win, but in the way in which he raced for the lead. I hoped for a battle... I expected a fight... I was looking forward to a struggle... I wanted some good ol’ fashioned short track rubbin’ for the win... What I got were the top drivers not wanting to be the “bad guy”. Before you turn on me, I understand that Junior got loose and Harvick had the quicker car. Not much was going to stop the 29 but I loved it when the 88 moved the 18 with about 20 to go, and wished for more at the end...

The 88 wasn’t the only car looking good. Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin as always, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer were always up there. One drive who raced well and finished well was JPM. The driver who used to have a distinct lack of patience on the short tracks looked pretty good on one!

We did get to see a very good short track race! Some very good tight racing, some good bump’n’runs, some good wrecks... and a very good finish.

I am glad the 88 car is up finally racing up front, and it was good to see him drive well throughout the race, and the emotion he showed after the race shows how much he cares. In the off-season I said that for the 88 to win races, first he must be in contention, so it's all good so far this year.

Another great race... however... Next time, don’t be afraid to be the “bad guy” and be the poster boy NASCAR needs...

What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas??

If you are were a Chevy driver on Sunday, you’ll be hoping this is the case. Tony Stewart had the best car in the race, and with one bad pit stop threw the race away. The Hendick drivers had an average day with the previous weeks winner Gordon in the wall, the 48 not really a front runner, while Earnhardt put together a top 10 run... or to put it another way, Earnhardt Jr ran well all day and finished in the top 10! To be fair JPM’s 42 Impala had a very good day too with a third place finish...

Toyota had also better hope that what happens’, stays’... The top Camry driver was “Rowdy” Busch and his day ended early. The top finishing Toyota was Martin Truex in sixth.

Ford however had better hope that what happens in Vegas’ stays around all season long. While the Ford Fusion of Carl Edwards won the race, the RPM Motorsport car of Marcos Ambrose also ran well finishing fourth!

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

Oh, another person who will want to carry the momentum gained in Las Vegas forward, after a fourth place finish is Danica... Good Job!! 

Next up, an off week, then Bristol... mmm Bristol!!

2011 BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT RACE DAY!!

Lineup -

1.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.		7.	Clint Bowyer		13.	Juan Montoya		19.	Matt Kenseth
2.	Tony Stewart		8.	Ryan Newman		14.	Jamie McMurray		20.	Mark Martin
3.	Carl Edwards		9.	Derrike Cope		15.	Jeff Burton		21.	Kyle Busch
4.	Denny Hamlin		10.	Michael Waltrip		16.	Kevin Conway		22.	Joey Logano
5.	Kasey Kahne		11.	Greg Biffle		17.	Kurt Busch		23.	Jimmie Johnson
6.	Bobby Labonte		12.	Jeff Gordon		18.	Kevin Harvick		24.	Regan Smith

The season starts here...


GREEN GREEN GREEN!!

Coming Soon - NASCAR 2011!!

The 2011 NASCAR season starts this weekend with the Shootout!!

So what are my hopes for the new season?

Let's start at the end with a close points race resulting in a new Sprint Cup Champion! Not that I have anything against Jimmie Johnson, I would just like somebody else to end the year on top. A good points battle would create interest in the Chase, and a new champ would create lots of "Can JJ Regain His Crown?" articles for the following year!

A one-on-one battle from the white flag to end the Daytona 500! With the new surface, and the better looking cars, THE 500 should be a cracker! The last few years has shown that these cars draft better than NASCAR has seen in a long time and a one-on-one slingshot for the win is exactly what NASCAR needs to start the year!

"Boys have at it"... again! Give the drivers the space to race, again! Give the drivers room to express themselves, to get annoyed and do something about it, again! Keep the reigns loose and let the personalities breathe some more, again!

The 88 mans up and starts competing! Junior Nation may hope this is the year Dale wins races and the Championship, but for me just having him look competitive week in, week out, is good enough. If Dale could finally show that he deserves to be there I reckon a lot of fans would go along for the ride with him! Put in that postition he may win, he may not, but to have a shot at winning you have to be competitive in the first place!

RCR keeps its momentum! Childress lead the points last year with Kevin Harvick until the Chase kicked in and were in the hunt to the end, but could not quiet deliver the Championship. I hope they start this year as they ended the last! NASCAR needs a team other than the Hendrick 48 team in the headlines. 

Kyle, stop talking, start driving! I don't want to hear anything from Kyle Busch this year. I want his driving, his performance on track, his wins, to do the talking. I am not much of a Rowdy fan, but the sport would be much better off if he just "shut up and drive!" We all know he can pedal, we all know he can be controversial, don't change anything Kyle, just deliver, on track, this year!

Ford back in the game. Two years ago the Ford of Carl Edwards was winning races. Last year, nothing. This year NASCAR needs a FORD back in the game! NASCAR has always been about Ford vs. Chevy. Recently Dodge and Toyota have joined in but the basis should always be the Blue Oval against the Bowtie!

Richard Petty and the 43 become relevant again, Stewart Haas raises its game and becomes competitive all year and not just late on, Jeff Gordon breaks his winless streak, JPM finally wins an oval race preferably Brickyard, Ambrose finally wins the Nationwide road race that keeps escaping him...

As long as the racing's good, I'm happy!!

 NOT LONG TO WAIT NOW!!

Quick Racing Thoughts

• GrandAm - Gotta love Juan Pablo Montoya... he was so aggressive over night in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, that his Daytona Prototype needed a new nose! In fact, by the end of the race, the car was on it's third nose!!

• NASCAR - If the manufacturers want more "brand identity" in NASCAR's Cup series why don't they follow Ford's Nationwide Mustang lead by using the graphics to help make the race cars look more like the road versions. Dodge now have a front that looks like the road car, but why don't they put the side "scoop" on the race cars, as Ford did with the Mustang?

 

• 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...   

• F1 - New cars being unveiled and tested. Queue lots of media articles about performance and testing times... when was the last time pre-season testing gave an accurate preview to the year ahead??

• BTCC - Read an article lately in Autosport; John Cleland reunited with his old 1991 Vauxhall Cavalier GSI2000. Fabulous!

• NASCAR - Only 10 days to the Shootout!!