Racing, wrecks and 'palace intrigue'

Two very sad news items over the weekend. The first was the tragic death of NHRA racer
Scott Kalitta at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey. Though I don't claim to know much about drag racing, anytime anyone loses their life in auto racing, all fans should take a moment to stop and pay their respects, as well as pray for Kalitta's family. Kalitta was a two-time Top Fuel champion who had 18 career victories.

The second piece of sad news, though not auto racing related, was the passing of George Carlin. A very funny man, even if you didn't always agree with his views, he was always there to remind us never to take ourselves too seriously. The world needs more people like him.




The much-hoped for rain didn't come Lewis Hamilton's way in France. The race should have been Kimi's but for a broken part that let Felipe Massa through to win. What bothered me was the strange officiating during the Grand Prix. Hamilton gets penalized for what was - at best - a mistake when he shortcut a chicane after making a pass. Meanwhile, later in the race another driver, though much lower on the food chain, shortcut a chicane and used it to gain position, but was not penalized...
F1 has always had dodgy officiating, particularly when championships are at stake, so I guess this only confirms that not much has changed. Congratulations, too, to Jarno Trulli and Toyota for finally getting a podium after a couple of years away. Not sure this is a sign that things have turned around for the team, but it was welcome.

The bigger news, though, is the much-rumored move by Max Mosley to redistribute F1's distribution rights, in part to "punish" Mr. Bernie Ecclestone, who would lose a lot if a new Concorde Agreement takes money out of his "pockets" and places it into the team's hands. Of course, this would also go a long way to easing tensions between Mosley and the teams over his alleged Nazi sex scandal video...money always makes life easier, especially if you are rich and powerful.

It was nice to see an Indycar race finish under green after a couple of yellow-checker finishes at Milwaukee and Texas. The racing was close, and clean, and exciting to watch. The stands were full and it was great to see Dan Wheldon win, for it was also a win for those helping in the aftermath of flooding in Iowa. It's also great to see a tight point's battle up front - the top four in points - Scott Dixon 316, Helio Castroneves 268, Dan Wheldon 267, and Tony Kanaan 216, are separated by only 100 points. Congratulations also to Hideki Mutoh. I didn't expect much out of him, but he has impressed as a rookie driver.