Gardemeister calls for more speed
Oct 10, 2008 WRC
Toni Gardemeister has called on his Suzuki team to find more speed from the SX4 WRC after the car was off the pace at today’s Tour de Corse shakedown stage.
Duval praying for rain
Oct 10, 2008 WRC
Fastest at today’s pre-event Tour de Corse shakedown, Ford’s Francois Duval is praying for rain as the Belgian chases his first World Rally Championship win since 2005.
Ford deny Fiesta will replace Focus
Oct 10, 2008 WRC
Ford’s motorsport director Mark Deans has scotched rumours the Fiesta will replace the Focus as Ford’s World Rally Championship car from 2011.
NASCAR: Are You Really Giving Tony Stewart That Win?
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
COME ON NASCAR, HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU GIVE TONY STEWART THAT WIN SUNDAY? I KNOW HE HASN’T WON IN A LONG TIME, BUT COME ON.
REGAN SMITH DOESN’T EVER GET AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE HE HAD SUNDAY IN THE AMP ENERGY 500.
HE RACED CLEANER THAN ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE FIELD. HE GAVE EVERYBODY ROOM AND IN MY BOOK EARNED A LOT OF RESPECT FROM HIS FELLOW COMPETITORS.
HE WENT TO MAKE A CLEAN PASS ON STEWART COMING TO THE FINISH. STEWART CAME DOWN ON HIM AND FORCED HIM UNDER THE YELLOW LINE. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. STEWART EVEN ADMITTED IT FOLLOWING THE RACE!
REGAN SMITH COULD HAVE STAYED IN HIS LINE AND CAUSED A 15 CAR PILE-UP AND GUESS WHO WOULD HAVE WON. PROBABLY THE LIKES OF A JOE NEMECHEK OR A KENNY WALLACE. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEEN THAT!
BUT GET REAL. HOW DO YOU TAKE A WIN AWAY FROM A GOOD OLE BOY LIKE SMITH? EVEN WORSE THAN THAT, HOW DO YOU PLACE HIM 18TH IN THE RACE?
NASCAR, REGAN SMITH DID NASCAR A HUGE FAVOR BY NOT TAKING STEWART OUT. HE SAVED JOE GIBBS AND OTHER TEAMS A LOT OF MONEY. HE ALSO SAVED THE CLEAN UP GUYS FROM HAVING TO CLEAN UP A HUGE MESS AFTER THE RACE AND KEPT THE CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS OF TONY ‘SMOKE’ STEWART ALIVE.
GO REGAN SMITH, YOU JUST EARNED YOURSELF A FAN.
Regan Smith Was Robbed!
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
It’s admittedly a little late for vitriol in regards to last week’s race at Talladega, but I’m still steaming over NASCAR’s decision to award Tony Stewart a win over Regan Smith. I still see it as a poor judgment call on NASCAR’s part, one that rings inconsistent with other calls that the sanctioning body’s made in the past.
In lieu of Quick Hits this week, I’d like to blow off some steam.
For those of you living under a rock, here’s the scoop: On the last lap of the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega on Sunday, Regan Smith passed race leader Tony Stewart for the win. However, the pass was disallowed because Smith had moved his car below the yellow line in order to get by Stewart. Stewart was thus awarded the win, and Smith was bumped to the end of the lead lap, “finishing” 18th.
On big tracks like Daytona and Talladega, the yellow line separating the track from the apron is an “out of bounds” line. This means that you have two laps to forfeit any positions gained below the yellow line, or you face a drive-through penalty.
However, there’s a kicker. A pass below the yellow line can be upheld if, according to NASCAR’s discretion, the driver in question was forced out of bounds by another driver. In that situation, the advantage is considered moot, and the pass is allowed. Of course, this call falls under the discretion of NASCAR officials, and this is the source of my vitriol.
NASCAR says that they “do not believe” Smith was forced below the yellow line. I invite any interested party to watch the tape again. Notice that Smith’s car moves toward the inside to make the pass, but then has to make a sudden jerk left, forcing him completely below the yellow line.
Had Tony Stewart not blocked him below the yellow line, he wouldn’t have jerked the vehicle left like he did, would he? He wouldn’t have had to jerk the car to the left if Stewart hadn’t pulled a block.
Regan Smith is a professional auto racer. Professional auto racers understand that jerking a car around at high speeds is a recipe for disaster. Given the speeds that a large racetrack like Talladega facilitates, and the potential for things to go wrong given any sudden movements (there were two major accidents in the race), Smith would not jerk the car around unless something gave him a reason to do so. In this case, that “something” was Tony Stewart.
I would call that conclusive evidence to point towards “force,” wouldn’t you?
Interestingly enough, Smith’s nose never actually went in front of Stewart’s until the No. 01 was at least partially back “in bounds.” Watch ESPN’s replay from the tri-oval cam, and it becomes apparent that the No. 01 had no track position advantage while he was still completely below the yellow line.
Regan Smith, not Tony Stewart, won that race.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Smoke fan, partially because he’s willing to call NASCAR out when it makes a bad call. This is when I channel Tony Stewart and call NASCAR out myself. If in 2007, you don’t penalize Johnny Benson for passing other drivers under the yellow line at the end of a truck race, then you shouldn’t be calling that penalty on Regan Smith in 2008 at the end of a Cup race.
Sadly, I understand that NASCAR is god and will never go against its previous decision. But on the bright side, I’ve got a new favorite driver.
Congrats on your first Sprint Cup win, Regan, and may there be many more to come.
NASCAR: A Sport of Bone-headed Moves
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
As a NASCAR fan, it’s not uncommon to ask yourself and others, “What were they thinking?” It’s probably our most used and favorite question.
After Talladega last Sunday, I found myself asking that question, and it had nothing to do with the Regan Smith and Tony Stewart finish.
No, my thinking comes from 14 laps earlier when 12 cars created their own junkyard in turn three. Six of the 12 damaged cars were Chase contenders, including Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Greg Biffle.
Carl Edwards caused the melee when he hit and turned teammate Greg Biffle. So Carl, what were you thinking?
“I was worried about the idiot when you come here, and I was the guy that caused that one.” No, I didn’t mean what you were thinking after the wreck, I mean what were you thinking when you knew that bump-drafting in the turns is a no-no and you still pile-drove your teammate?
“It’s my fault, and I apologize to everybody caught up in that wreck,” Edwards said. Well, it’s a start but it doesn’t change the fact that he possibly eliminated drivers from the championship, and made it harder for himself and Biffle.
Edwards isn’t the only one that has us making confused faces.
Remember Michael Waltrip’s cheating scandal at Daytona in 2007 which started the season with a black cloud? Prior to the Daytona 500, Waltrip’s car was found to have a fuel additive in the manifold.
He said that the additive was not approved by himself or any of his management personnel, but it didn’t get there by itself. NASCAR confiscated the car then fined and suspended various team members.
What was Michael Waltrip Racing thinking?
Now, we fans love to jump on NASCAR and point out all their incompetence. It’s also no secret that many don’t like the west coast races.
After February in California, it’s really not shocking why. NASCAR made a bone-headed move when they attempted to run the Auto Club 500 on Sunday night after the rain cleared away.
But the kicker was that they didn’t make a decision until midnight on the east coast, when many had to get up early the next morning.
NASCAR’s main concern is to have the race run, but it seems they need to make sure their audience will be watching and their competitors safe. The track also needs to be ready and when chainsaws are out cutting the track, that doesn’t seem ready.
Days later, many still questioned and wondered why NASCAR waited so long to make a decision.
The word decision played a major part in out next two suspects’ “What were you thinking?” moments.
Let’s start with Teresa Earnhardt letting Dale Earnhardt Jr. walk away from his father’s company.
Teresa took a lot of heat from fans, drivers, and the media. One journalist went as far as to compare DEI’s decision to that of the Boston Red Sox trading Babe Ruth, saying that it only took 86 years for Boston to recover and DEI may be in the same boat.
Now, Earnhardt Jr. is in a better place both personally and professionally, we still have 85 years to deliver the verdict on DEI.
Remember talking about decisions? Well, someone at Joe Gibbs Racing made the decision to put magnets under the gas pedals of the No. 18 and No. 20 cars in the Nationwide Series at Chicagoland.
We all know why they did it, in order to have NASCAR feel bad for them because of the new engine rule.
But some still asked “What were they thinking?” when they have the strongest team in NASCAR. They felt it wouldn’t hold them down and they would obviously be caught and they were.
They didn’t find a very creative or non-obvious way to get their point across.
There are plenty of dumb and questionable moves that happen every week on the track, bad pit calls, certain on track moves or contact, tire choice and interesting interviews.
Then eventually off the track, company changes, firing and hiring and NASCAR rule changes or lack thereof.
They normally result in us shaking our heads and wondering, because we NASCAR fans have tons of questions….
Rain gives Johnson Lowe’s pole
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
Rain washed out all on-track activities for the Sprint Cup Series on Thursday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, forcing the cancellation of qualifying and putting Jimmie Johnson on pole for Saturday’s race
Edwards, Harvick in shoving incident
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
NASCAR Sprint Cup title contenders Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick were involved in a verbal and physical exchange on Thursday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway before Nationwide Series practice
Stewart-Haas sign US Army for 2009
Oct 10, 2008 NASCAR
Tony Stewart’s newly-formed Sprint Cup team announced on Thursday that current DEI backer US Army will sponsor teammate Ryan Newman’s car in 2009.
Ferrari, FIAT Propose Potential Spec Chassis for F1 in 2010 (Humor)
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Scuderia Ferrari, in conjunction with its Uncle FIAT, unveiled a possible SPEC F-1 chassis which be used by all of the F1 teams for 2010.
FIAT is waiting on Ferrari’s racing development team on trying to get the McLaren ECM to work seamlessly with the drivetrain.
Once that work is done, it will be submitted to the FIA for approval sometime in November of this year.
Montreal to Lose Formula One’s Canadian Grand Prix
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
As we were remembering and celebrating the first Formula One victory of Gilles Villeneuve 30 years ago this week, a bombshell hit the organization led by Normand Legault.
Bernie Ecclestone unveiled a version of the 2009 calendar this week and the Canadian Grand Prix is not on the list. The 2009 calendar was supposed to contain a total of 19 races but is now only showing 18. The Canadian Grand Prix is nowhere to be found on the list.
In reaction to this fact yesterday, Normand Legault, the only remaining private Formula One race promoter, announced that he and his company (Grand Prix du Canada) are retiring themselves and will not negotiate for any future Formula One Grand Prix to be held in Montreal. The amount of money asked by Bernie Ecclestone to run again in Montreal is too much for Legault and his company. In a word, the Canadian Grand Prix is officially dead.
The only way that another Formula One race could be held on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit is through a negotiation with the Canadian government. This is the way that the other Grand Prix are negotiated right now and there is no alternate way to negotiate with the ”money-hungry” Ecclestone.
There is a waiting list coming from all around the globe to organize an event to replace Montreal, and Ecclestone knows it too well. He will ignore the fact that the majority of the pilots and crew chiefs appreciate the city and the event itself for him to earn even more money.
As they say, there are no feelings in business.
(Picture: Gilles Villeneuve circuit, Canadian Press.)
Raikkonen insists he is still motivated
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Kimi Raikkonen insists he is as motivated as ever to succeed in Formula One, despite an ultimately difficult season with Ferrari
Hamilton tops first practice in Japan
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton led the way at the end of a quiet first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix
Government keen to save Montreal race
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Montreal government officials have vowed to do all they can to get the Canadian Grand Prix back on the calendar, ahead of imminent talks with Bernie Ecclestone about the future of the race
Honda trial new pit light system
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Honda Racing have begun an evaluation process of their own pit stop light system, with team principal Ross Brawn convinced it can be safer than traditional lollipop releases despite Ferrari’s recent dramas
Red Bull still puzzled by Singapore failure
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Red Bull Racing are still at a loss to fully explain the cause of Mark Webber’s gearbox failure in the Singapore Grand Prix, but remain suspicious that electronic interference from a passing metro tram may have triggered the problem
Sutil calls for tougher pit penalties
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Force India driver Adrian Sutil is calling for more stringent penalties to be introduced for unsafe pitstop releases and plans to raise the matter in today’s Japanese Grand Prix drivers’ briefing
Hamilton bullish after strong start
Oct 10, 2008 Formula One
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is confident he will be strong at the Japanese Grand Prix after a solid start in practice on Friday.
(3.5 out of 5)