All the F1 action at Valencia was off the track

From Autoweek: It was perhaps inevitable that the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia, Spain, was going to be a little flat. Michael Schumacher was there all right, and wearing Ferrari clothing--but not the driver's suit virtually everyone hoped he would. Schumacher smiled a lot and kept wishing Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer well, but that didn't really help. And as he stared at the timing screens, it was impossible to disguise Schumacher's frustration at Badoer's, er, modest pace.

During Friday practice, the hapless Badoer set a record by exceeding the pit-lane speed limit on four different occasions--as the paddock's razor-tongued observers noted, somewhat cruelly, that no one could accuse him of excessive speed on the racetack. In qualifying, the No. 3 Ferrari was dead last; 12 months ago, driven by Felipe Massa, it dominated the weekend.

Read more.

Dario Franchitti leads flag-to-flag to win in Sonoma

From The Los Angeles Times - Sonoma, Calif. - One unique feature of Infineon Raceway is Turn 2, where the drivers make a sharp right after accelerating up a steep hill moments after crossing the starting line.

Maneuvering through that section of the 12-turn, 2.3-mile track is tricky enough when the cars are single file. When they're bunched together, it gets even dicier.

So it was Sunday at the start of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, as a cluster of cars -- including then-points leader Scott Dixon's -- collided as they moved through Turn 2 on the first lap, effectively knocking them out of contention.

But the mishap occurred behind pole-sitter Dario Franchitti, who then held off Ryan Briscoe to lead all 75 laps and collect his first win at the Infineon course in the hills of Northern California wine country.

Yet, with his second-place finish, Briscoe left Sonoma with the lead in the IndyCar championship standings.

Kyle Busch wins in Bristol

From Racin' Today: Kyle Busch held off Mark Martin for the season sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway as both drivers fought for every point available in their quest to make the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup. Hear from Busch and Martin and find out who is on the Chase bubble with just two races to go.

Rubens Barrichello ends winless drought in Valencia

From AFP: VALENCIA, Spain: Drivers world championship leader Briton Jenson Button was upbeat on Monday when he reflected on the positive side of seeing his Brawn GP team-mate veteran Rubens Barrichello winning Sunday's European Grand Prix.

Despite finishing only seventh in a demanding race on the streets of this Mediterranean port city, he managed to increase his championship lead over Red Bull rivals Australian Mark Webber

and German Sebastian Vettel.

Button said: "It ended up as a bit of struggle for me, but I take more positives than negatives from this one - and it is great to see Rubens winning. The team have asked me to push harder now if I want to win the title..."

Barrichello's first win in five years not only lifted him back up to second in the drivers' title race, it also confirmed the two Brawn men as the front runners again after a spell of three races without success - though, as Button said, he would rather have not lost so many points to his partner.

Brian Vickers gets longed-for win at Michigan

From the Detroit Free Press:
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Brian Vickers' weekend at Michigan International Speedway was full of drama that included a tussle with NASACAR's Wild Thing Kyle Busch on Saturday after the Nationwide Series race.

But Vickers' drama peaked, in a positive way, Sunday when he won his first Sprint Cup race in three years, driving his No. 83 Red Bull Toyota to victory in the CARFAX 400. The victory also thrust him into the battle for a position in the Chase for the Championship.

Vickers, 25, stalked Chevy ace Jimmie Johnson in the late laps of the race before Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet ran out of fuel with three laps remaining.

Vickers, whose previous Cup victory came at Talladega in 2006, shot to the lead and the finish line, giving Toyota its first Cup win at MIS.

David Brabham scores a win at Road America

By Jonathan Ingram at RacinToday.com:

Elkhart Lake, Wis. – In a battle of two master craftsmen on one of America’s finest road racing circuits, David Brabham held off the challenge from Gil de Ferran for the last 14 laps to bring Highcroft Racing the victory by 0.461 seconds in the American Le Mans Series event at Road America .

The Acuras of Highcroft and de Ferran Motorsports were nose-to-tail as the green waved for a re-start with 29 minutes remaining in the two hour, 45-minute race.

Once again, a two-tire stop for Highcroft had brought Brabham the lead over the de Ferran entry. But unlike Lime Rock, where a puncture cost Brabham and co-driver Scott Sharp the victory, the Highcroft duo recorded the win and ended the four-race winning streak of de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud.

“You just have to drive the wheels off it,” said Brabham of the duel between the two ARX-02a entries. “We knew whoever got out of the pits first was going to win the race.”

The de Ferran team opted for four tires instead of two, a decision driver de Ferran thought would spell the difference. “I felt we were quicker than David,” he said. “But I had too much understeer behind him. I couldn’t quite get close enough to attempt a maneuver.”

Get qualifying coverage here

Jeff Gordon hurts back in big Watkins Glen wreck

From Sports Illustrated: Jeff Gordon once was the master of Watkins Glen International. Now, he can't seem to catch a break at the storied road course.

Relegated to starting 31st after the worst qualifying effort of his career, the four-time Cup champion was making headway despite some damage to his No. 24 Chevy in Monday's rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International.

WGI is a road course equivalent of Talladega Superspeedway, always capable of precipitating a big crash. Last year an 11-car pileup in turn 11 caused a 43-minute stoppage. On Monday, a multicar crash involving Gordon and Sam Hornish Jr. on lap 63 brought out a 19-minute red flag.

Kasey Kahne caused it when he dived inside Hornish coming out of turn 9 and sent Hornish off onto the grass on the left side. Hornish's No. 77 Dodge caromed off a tire barrier and back onto the track, and Gordon's No. 24 Chevy slammed head-on into it, spinning violently around into the guard rail lining the track.

Both Gordon and Hornish climbed from their cars and were uninjured.

"It's just not what I needed,'' said Gordon, who suffers from chronic back pain. "You take three or four steps forward, take a hit like that, and take a couple back. I knew he was going to ricochet off. I just hoped I could get by him.

"It took a toll on my back again,'' Gordon said. "If we were going to Bristol next week, I'd be concerned. Every time I take a hit, it seems to recover. We'll be all right.''

Gordon completed 61 of 90 laps and finished 37th, his first DNF of the season, and remains third in the standings.

Read more

Scott Dixon's win at Mid-Ohio gives him IRL Indycar record

From the Miami Herald/Sports Network:

Scott Dixon doesn't have the star quality of Helio Castroneves, the Scottish brogue of teammate Dario Franchitti or the All-American stature of Sam Hornish Jr.

What the affable New Zealander does have, however, is the IndyCar Series record for career wins.

Not that he's counting, not even after his dominant victory at Mid-Ohio on Sunday gave him 20 victories in the open-wheel series, breaking a tie with Hornish.

Scott Dixon blazed the field to win Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and surpass Sam Hornish, Jr. for most career victories in the IndyCar Series with 20.

Dixon passed Justin Wilson during the mid-stages of the race and then benefited from a quick pit stop to dominate late in the race. Wilson trailed Dixon by six seconds but ran out of fuel, as he coasted onto pit road for his final stop. His car then stalled while exiting his pit area.

Wilson's mishap helped Dixon to finish nearly 30 seconds ahead of pole sitter Ryan Briscoe for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. He also won on a road course for the first time since July, 2008 at Edmonton.

"Obviously it's a fantastic milestone for myself and obviously for the team," Dixon said regarding his record 20th win. "I've achieved all of those wins with Target. Without them, it wouldn't have been possible."

Dixon, the defending series champion, tied Hornish's mark of 19 career wins in June at Richmond. Hornish, who won three series titles, moved to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition after the 2007 season.

With four races remaining in the season, Dixon reclaimed the lead in the championship standings. He holds a three-point advantage over Briscoe, who has finished either first or second in seven of the last nine races. Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti is now 20 markers behind.

Mid-Ohio produces fourth straight ALMS win for Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud

From Autoweek: Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud went flag-to-flag Saturday to win the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, their fourth consecutive overall victory in the American Le Mans Series. Team owner de Ferran qualified on the overall pole position, and the pairing won at Mid-Ohio for the first time in their careers.

The victorious team boss crossed the finish line in the de Ferran XM Acura ARX-02a 8.358 seconds ahead of Patrón Highcroft Racing's David Brabham and the Acura that he drove with LMP1 championship co-leader Scott Sharp.

Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz won their fifth LMP2 race of the year and were third overall in the Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b. The class championship leaders won the race with a short-fill for fuel on the race's final caution period while running second. The Acura was the first car out of the pit lane, beating the de Ferran Acura and receiving a free pass by the safety car, which had to pick up overall leader de Ferran.

Robert Doornbos returns to HVM; Oriol Servia takes his spot at Newman/Haas Lanigan

From Tony DiZinno at Motorsport.com

That sound you hear off-track this weekend at Mid-Ohio is someone cueing up "IndyCar musical chairs," because it's August and drivers are rotating around the seats until someone is left standing. To start the process, one of this year's rookie-of-the-year contenders is rejoining the team where he won that award in 2007 in Champ Car.

Robert Doornbos, the affable Dutchman better known as "Bobby D," has confirmed a departure from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, after an anonymous first 12 races this season. "Bobby D" now reunites with HVM Racing for the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010.

The vacancy this weekend at N/H/L goes then to a driver also with prior experience in the team, and it's a welcome return for Oriol Servia who filled in admirably for Bruno Junqueira in 2005. Servia, like Junqueira, has spent all but the month of May in 2009 on the sidelines and now takes his spot in the #06 entry.

The 'roar' of Indycars in Miami

In the 1980s real estate developer Ralph Sanchez helped promote Miami by bringing auto racing downtown. First, with the IMSA Camel GT series with a race held just outside the Port of Miami at Bicentennial Park in March and then with an Indycar race held at Tamiami Park in November. While the Camel GT race flourished, the Indycar race never drew as many fans. The Indycar race was held 1985-88 and featured the Marlboro Challenge, a short race featuring Indycar's top drivers from the season all seeking their share of a healthy prize fund.

The most-memorable Indycar race at Tamiami was 1985, when Al Unser beat his son to the championship by a single point. Here are a couple of articles previewing the race, as well as post-race coverage.



A lot of work was done to help promote the Indycar race, including this promotional video titled "Roar of Miami" and featuring David Hasselhoff of Knight Rider fame.


While Indycar stopped coming to Miami, the Camel GT race flourished until 1993. After that season the big and powerful GTP cars were replaced by a new formula that attracted few entrants. Camel money had dried up as well and budget cuts meant the IMSA series would not return for 1994. Ralph had already begun plans to use reclaimed land in nearby Homestead, devastated by a hurricane a few year's earlier, to build a permanent oval. For 1994, Sanchez hosted a Trans-Am race at Bicentennial Park and had hoped to have the oval ready in time for Indycar's return to Florida in 1995. It wasn't, which lead to a one-off visit by Indycar to downtown Miami. Beginning in 1996, open-wheel racers would regularly visit the Homestead-Miami Speedway; some year's both the CART Fed-Ex Series and the Indy Racing League making visits to the track. Champ Car also tried to revive downtown racing in Miami in 2002-03 but the new circuit was crammed into a small section of the city, offered little opportunity for racing or fan access, and was not successful.

Should they stay or should they go? Is Acura about to bow out of the ALMS?

Autoweek is reporting what many in the American Le Mans Series paddock believe is already a fact: That "Acura looks increasingly likely to quit its LMP1 prototype program in the American Le Mans Series."

A global economic meltdown coupled with the departure of Audi from LMP1 and Porsche from LMP2 has created a cavernous lack of competition at the front-end of the ALMS grids this season. And the "show" has suffered. Crowds are down, TV ratings are down and media interest is almost non-existent.

When the ALMS was first formed in the late 90s, it was just what American sports car racing needed. The series quickly attracted top-flight teams and manufacturers, including BMW, Audi, Chevrolet (Corvette) and Ferrari, to name a few.

Within a few years the series was in major markets, hosting its own street race (Washington, D.C.) and getting good ratings on major networks like NBC. The racing only got better when Porsche and Acura joined Audi. But running in LMP1 or 2 costs a lot of money, and Audi was getting upset that Porsche and Acura were getting overall wins while running in the "cheaper" LMP2 class.

Then the economy turned and it made a simple excuse for many to bolt. Meanwhile, the Rolex Grand-Am series developed a reasonable-cost alternative prototype car, getting a number of car and engine builders interested. They've also seen a small reduction in grids, but no where near the drop the ALMS has experienced.

The ALMS still provides a good show - the GT2 class features some great battles between BMW and Ferrari, and Jaguar and Corvette (jumping from the now-defunct GT1 class) are set to join the fray. But these are modified street cars, not the prototype racers that the crowds love to see. Case in point: after the end of the GTP/Lights IMSA era, it was the prototype Ferrari 333SPs and similar racers that made the crowds come, and when they departed, the crowds left.

The same thing that made ALMS great - its exotic racers - is what makes Grand-Am successful now, and why Grand-Am abandoned its plans to feature street-based cars for the DPs back in 2001. If the American Le Mans Series is going to remain viable, it has to make a choice: Continue to follow the Le Mans rules and keep car costs high or change course, focus on the GT2 class at Le Mans and let teams build cost-effective prototypes that require minimal manufacturer investment. A third option, hoping the economy turns around and Audi and other manufacturers return, just does not make sense from anyone's point of view.

Jacques Villeneuve gets a job - in NASCAR - for one weekend

Wanted: A road-course specialist for one of NASCAR's Sprint Cup series two stops at a non-oval track.
Start Date: Immediate.
Qualifications: Should have knowledge about race cars, be a proven winner and have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Sounds like the perfect job for an out-of-work former F1 champion and Indy 500 winner whose been beating the doors down in F1 and NASCAR for the past couple of years with no luck - so far - of finding steady employment.
No surprise then that Jacques Villeneuve has "jumped" at the chance to drive in this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen. Villeneuve's also going to compete in the Nationwide race at Montreal this month, and admits to Autosport that he is working on having something lined up for 2010.
It's interesting that a guy who, a little more than a decade ago, said he really didn't care about racing and would walk away from the sport before getting to the point of having to shop for a ride, has spent so much time pounding the pavement looking for work. He certainly doesn't need the money; I guess it's just that the passion for racing never really left him.

2006 Champ Car at Road America

Here's a new video series over on my YouTube page - the 2006 Champ Car race at Road America. This race is infamous for a crash at the start and a much-bigger wreck involving Katherine Legge with a few laps left to go. What's amazing is that Legge emerged from the wreck with nothing more than a bruised knee.

From wikipedia: The 2006 Grand Prix of Road America was the twelfth round of the 2006 Champ Car World Series season, held on September 24, 2006 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The event is most remembered for Cristiano da Matta hiting a deer in free practise, causing him serious injuries, but he'd be fully fit again and also the horrific crash from Katherine Legge which resulted a 42-minute red flag.

To see the complete race:


Want to just see Katherine's wreck:


I've also got a "crash compilation" on the site too:

Ricky Craven on why Denny Hamlin was so confident at Pocono

Ricky Craven writes at yahoo sports: "At one point late in Monday’s Pennsylvania 500, Denny Hamlin, while running outside the top five, came on the radio and said, “I’m winning this race!”

This statement represents the highest level of confidence and is what I refer to as “racing with authority.” But it was also from a driver coming into the 21st race of the season … winless. Where does this confidence come from?

Expectations are often associated with prior performance. Statistically, Pocono has been a very good track for Hamlin. Drivers feel more confident at a place where they’ve had success. Do you need a great car, a great crew, and a great engine? Absolutely. If you have all three, then you will only increase your odds of winning.

Click here for more on Hamlin's win.

1996 Sunoco Ultra 94 Trans-Am Classic at Mosport Park

Back in 1996, Trans-Am was celebrating it's 30th anniversary. Here's a race from the season - the Sunoco Ultra 94 Trans-Am Classic at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.



Paul Gentilozzi, driving the #5 HighwayMaster Chevrolet Camaro, became the fifth Trans-Am race winner in five races, taking the victory at the Sunoco Ultra 94 Trans-Am Classic at Mosport Park. Gentilozzi, of Lansing, Mich., started on the pole after qualifying fifth and became the first Trans-Am race-winner to go flag-to-flag in 1996.

Finishing the 40-lap, 98.36-mile race was Jamie Galles, scoring his third-consecutive podium finish. Galles, in the #2 ICI/Glidden Camaro, finished 0.349-second behind Gentilozzi, while Tom Kendall, in the #11 All Sport Body Quencher Ford Mustang Cobra, finished third.

After five of 14 races, Galles leads the Drivers' Championship point standings with 130, followed by Dorsey Schroeder, 125; Kendall, 117; Gentilozzi, 98; and Ron Fellows, 96 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet leads Ford by six points, 41 to 35.

South of the border: 1998 Rio 400

With Indycar's 2010 schedule out, and the news that the season will start somewhere in Brazil, here's a flash back to the last time American open-wheel racing paid a visit south of the border - In this case it was the CART Fed-Ex series and the place was Rio where an "oval" track replaced what had been a Formula 1 road course. This particular race featured a thrilling duel between Alex Zanardi and Greg Moore.



Results from the CART Fed-Ex Series' visit to Rio.

Rain forces delay of NASCAR Pennsylvania 500

From Reid Spencer at Sporting News
"LONG POND, Pa.—After hours of battling the elements and "weepers" on the racetrack, NASCAR finally conceded defeat Sunday afternoon and postponed the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 until 12:15 p.m. ET Monday.

The weepers—water from saturated ground seeping through the racing surface—frustrated track-drying efforts at Pocono Raceway. A storm cell that arrived after 3 p.m., approximately one hour after the scheduled starting time, delivered the coup de grace and ultimately forced NASCAR to postpone the 21st race on the Sprint Cup schedule.

NASCAR called the race at approximately 4:15 p.m. as track workers were cutting grooves into the asphalt to facilitate runoff of the seepage. Monday's weather calls for partly cloudy skies with a 10 percent chance of rain and a high temperature of 77 degrees."

Ryan Briscoe just beats Ed Carpetner in thrilling Kentucky Indycar race

From The Sports Network/Miami Herald: IndyCar simply wanted a better show. Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter gave the series a little bit more than that.
Briscoe slipped past the upstart Carpenter yards from the finish to take the Kentucky 300 on Saturday night, winning by 0.162 seconds following a 10-lap duel that provided the kind of thrills that have been lacking during a mostly listless season.

There were nights this season when IndyCar veteran Ed Carpenter would hop in his trailer following another ho-hum race, flip on the replay and fight to stay awake. "It was hard for me to watch," Carpenter said. "There were races where we just didn't put on a good show. It's hard for them to even make it entertaining."

Taking a second look at Saturday night's Kentucky 300 could be just as difficult for Carpenter to sit through, but for an entirely different reason.

Ryan Briscoe edged Carpenter by inches to win Saturday's Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

Briscoe and Carpenter battled side-by-side for the lead during the final 10 laps before Briscoe beat him to the finish line by 0.0162 seconds, the seventh closest finish in IndyCar Series history. The Team Penske driver captured his second victory of the season and the fourth of his career.

"I'm pretty happy to get another one for Team Penske," Briscoe said. "I just wanted to keep doing what I had been doing. Ed would get a little bit in front of me in the middle of turns three and four, but with my momentum on the outside, I was able to edge him down the back straight."

Click here for more news from the race.

1986 IMSA Camel Continental at Watkins Glen

The 1986 IMSA Camel Continental at Watkins Glen marked the third running of the "Continental" endurance race at Watkins Glen. The race would become a popular stop on the IMSA Camel GT tour. Here's a news item from the race.

Also, here's some history on the Camel Continental and the six-hour endurance races at Watkins Glen and an interesting series from later in the season previewing IMSA's visit to Road America.

Michael Schumacher plans on making return to Formula 1

Michael Schumacher is hoping to take Felipe Massa's place at Ferrari and returning (albeit temporarily) to F1. According to an article at The Mirror, "Motor racing legend Michael Schumacher is to make an astonishing return to F1 to replace injured Ferrari ace Felipe Massa. The seven-time world champion retired three years ago and is now 40. But if the German passes a fitness test he could start the European Grand Prix on August 23 and stand in until Massa is fit again."

Click here for more about Schumacher's return.

Massa is also making a fast recovery from injuries suffered during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. He is walking and speaking three languages. Click here for the latest about Felipe.

BMW to leave Formula 1, but Toyota and Mercedes to stay

With the news that the BMW is bowing out of Formula 1 at season's end because of the global financial crisis, according to Motorsport.com, "Both Toyota and Mercedes on Wednesday played down speculation they may follow in BMW's footsteps and withdraw from Formula One. "With the reductions of costs we are continuing our Formula One engagement," a spokeswoman for Toyota is quoted as saying by the German news agency SID.

"That has been communicated to us from Japan," she added.

However, the other carmaker mentioned as likely to emulate BMW and Honda's decisions to quit - Renault - has not made any comment so far.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said: "We regret the Formula One withdrawal of BMW. This decision does not have any influence on our Formula One engagement."

It was said at the end of last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix that the ratification of a new Concorde Agreement was imminent. Once this occurs, all signatories will be bound to the sport minimally until 2012.

Click here for more news about BMW's departure.

Indycar heading to Alabama, but return to historic venue in Milwaukee in doubt

As the 2010 Indycar schedule continues to come together, at least one new event is confirmed - Indycar is heading to Alabama in April.

Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham is a first-class facility and several hundred turned out for a test session prior to the 2009 season, proving there is fan interest. The track also draws a good crowd for the Rolex Grand-Am cars, as well as good racing.

But while Alabama celebrates, there is growing doubt that The Milwaukee Mile will return next year to host any kind of racing, let alone keep it's traditional post-Indy 500 date. Also in doubt is a possible return to New Hampshire. I have to applaud the efforts of this year's Milwaukee Mile promoter, Claude Napier through Wisconsin Motorsports, which brought large crowds to the Indycar race with great ticket prices and incentives (like a section of grandstand that offered ticket-holders all the beer and brauts they could stomach). But, unfortunately, what Wisconsin Motorsports couldn't produce was the revenue to cover the bills and now it would take a miracle to bring the race back.

New Hampshire is still waiting to see if it will get an Indycar race in 2010 - right now it's best "hope" to get a date is if Milwaukee drops off the schedule.

"With the doubt at Milwaukee, with the promoter being taken out of power there, and the uncertainty that surrounds the Milwaukee Fairgrounds, I made a call back and expressed interest in that date if that was an option as well," Jerry Gappens, New Hampshire International Speedway's vice president and general manager told the Concord Monitor. "They communicated back that they're working on it, and they appreciated our interest. So there's still dialogue going on, and there's still hope of trying to bring them to New Hampshire for 2010.

"I'd rather be there then, than not on the schedule at all."

Gappens said he didn't want to come across as "a buzzard circling Milwaukee," and he hopes the track finds a way out of its fiscal trouble. He also expects the IRL to exhaust all options before giving up on the place. But he does present himself a track that would make a logical replacement for the Wisconsin site if it can't get things straightened out.

Indycar is also looking to start its season in Brazil next year. One thing is for certain, when the final 2010 schedule is announced Aug. 1, expect it to look a lot like the Indycar season of the mid-90s with an almost even mix of ovals, road courses and street races. Sometimes all that is "old" is new again...

1998 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey from Laguna Seca

A new one from the archives - the 1998 CART Fed-Ex Series race from Laguna Seca. This race marked Bryan Herta's first open-wheel race win, and the chance to get revenge on Alex Zanardi, whose daring pass through the Corkscrew two year's prior denied Herta the opportunity to score his first victory.

Here's also some news from qualifying.

Here's some more on the 1998 season.

Renault banned from European Grand Prix

The Associated Press is reporting that Renault has been suspended from the next Formula One race, the Grand Prix of Europe, after the latest in a string of safety mishaps for the sport.

Renault was disciplined Sunday after Fernando Alonso’s right-front wheel came off his car and bounced wildly down the track as he rounded turn No. 9 during the 13th lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The sport’s international governing body, the F.I.A., said it issued the suspension because Renault had failed to advise Alonso, a two-time Formula One series champion, that a wheel nut was not properly secured.

Click here for more coverage.

Felipe Massa awake and moving his limbs

From the Associated Press: BUDAPEST, Hungary — Formula One driver Felipe Massa is awake and talking to family members, making significant improvement after his high-speed crash.

The chief surgeon at AEK hospital says Massa is now breathing unassisted and moving his limbs. In addition, a drain from his skull wound was removed.

Chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros said Monday the 28-year-old Brazilian is groggy but able to adequately answer questions. He says further improvement can be expected.

Massa crashed Saturday during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix and was near death for two days.

Will Power dominates Edmonton Indy

From the Edmonton Sun: If you were scoring, Team Penske got the win and the save.

Will Power won the Rexall Edmonton Indy. And the pit crews of the three Penske teams saved Tony Kanaan when his car caught fire leaving his pit area and the Penske crews came over the wall to extinguish the fire and pull Kanaan out of his car before suffering more than minor burns to his hands and chin.

“I tried to pull out of the pit and looked down and unfortunately what had happened, happened,” said Kanaan.

“I need to thank Penske and all of the guys who pulled me out of the car.

“I do have second degree burns on both of my thumbs and a little bit on my face.

“It is what it is. I think the fans for supporting me when I got out of the

car. It was a tough day for us.”

With Roger Penske cars qualifying 1-2-3, the race was a Penske parade from start to end and came within one lap of becoming the first ever IndyCar race to go green from start to finish.

Check here for more Edmonton Indy news.

Here's a video from the Indy Lights race.

Jimmie Johnson wins Allstate 400 at The Brickyard

From Speed TV: Jimmie Johnson might not have had the fastest car Sunday for most of the race. Nonetheless, his car was fastest when it counted the most-- the last 25 laps of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.

Johnson ran behind race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin until Montoya received a pass-through speeding penalty during a late race pit stop.

That put Montoya back in the pack and another caution a few laps after a restart compounded things for the man who led 118 of the 160-lap distance. Starting from 12th, Montoya improved his position by one spot to finish 11th.

The race was left for Martin, who took the lead shortly after the final restart with 25 laps to go. Johnson, however, had other ideas and zipped past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate a lap later and held Martin off to the end. It made it back-to-back wins for Johnson and his No. 48 Lowe's team, a first for this race.

NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader and two-time champion Tony Stewart finished third with Greg Biffle fourth. Brian Vickers was fifth in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota and Kevin Harvick was sixth. Kasey Kahne was seventh, David Reutimann was eighth, four-time champion Jeff Gordon finished ninth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10. Montoya was 11th and rookie Joey Logano was 12th.

Check out a video here.

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton produced a faultless display in Hungary to claim his and McLaren's first grand prix victory of the season, ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Mark Webber, according to an article from The Guardian.

The reigning formula one world champion began the race in fourth place on the grid, but made a superb passing move on Webber to take second place after five laps, before the leader Fernando Alonso went into the pits after claiming pole position with a light fuel load.

Alonso was forced out of the race shortly after his pit stop, when a problem with his right front tyre saw it fly off the Renault and bounce down the track. It was a worrying moment in the race, thoughts of Henry Surtees' tragic death and Felipe Massa's accident on Saturday inevitably coming to mind.

But Hamilton, who assumed the race lead when Alonso pitted, maintained his composure to produce the kind of race that have made him one of the most respected drivers on the grid.

There were few threats from other competitors, and he crossed the finish line 70 laps later with Raikkonen and Webber taking second and third positions.

A naturally delighted Hamilton said: "It's an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and given the struggles for my team. But I'm so proud of them. They've never given up, which is so rare to see in a large group of people."

Click here for more news from the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Will Power leads Penske and Ganassi drivers going into Sunday's Edmonton Indy

From the National Post: EDMONTON -- The 23-car field is dotted with far more pretenders than contenders, and we can all curse the domination of Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi for that sad statistic.

The veteran Indy Racing League teams have won nine of the 10 races this year and are just so smart, skilled, experienced and well-funded that they rarely give away anything to anybody but one another. So it comes as no surprise that Penske's Will Power sits on the pole for Sunday's Edmonton Indy. He won that prized position during three rounds of gruelling elimination-format qualifying Saturday that whittled the field down to the fastest six.

Three of them are Penske drivers, two are Ganassi boys and Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Graham Rahal is the only interloper in the first three rows.

"I think every driver agrees, man that is exhausting, getting to those final laps when you're going for pole, it's tough," Power said after the 65 minutes of qualifying in scorching hot temperatures and a pressure-packed atmosphere that produced a couple of spinouts - by Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Paul Tracy - and some decent entertainment.

Click here for more news from Edmonton Indy.

Here's highlights from qualifying:

Mark Martin on pole for Brickyard's Allstate 400

From USA Today: INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway is celebrating its centennial this year, so it's fitting the pole-sitter for its NASCAR race Sunday is a man who can appreciate getting better with age. "I like making history," Mark Martin said with a smile. "That's cool."

Martin, 50, did just that Saturday, capturing the pole position for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with a 182.054-mph lap that punctuated a Sprint Cup time trials session offering a bevy of storylines saturated with historical significance.

Click here for more from the Brickyard.

Outcome of Felipe Massa's surgery 'positive' doctors say

From the Associated Press:
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa underwent surgery on life-threatening skull injuries Saturday from a high-speed crash during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying in Budapest. He was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a military hospital.

The accident happened when a loose steel spring from Rubens Barrichello's car hit Massa in the helmet, causing him to veer into a tire-lined barrier at about 120 mph. The front of his car was shredded, with both tires gone and the front nose open. The impact of the part damaged the left side of Massa's helmet, ripping out the visor and leaving a long dent on its side. Blood was seen above Massa's left brow.

Massa underwent surgery about an hour after arriving at the hospital. Hospital doctors said his condition was "serious, life threatening but stable" at a news conference, but ultimately ruled the Formula One driver was in "stable, satisfactory condition."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/25/SPNA18UCNE.DTL#ixzz0MKezPoRd

Also, here is a video clip of Felipe's final lap during the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix and his celebration in Parc Ferme afterward. Let's hope we see more of the happy Brazilian for many years to come.

Felipe Massa in life-threatening condition following surgery

From the Associated Press:

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hospital officials say Formula One driver Felipe Massa is in "life-threatening" condition after surgery for a fractured skull from a high-speed crash at Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Officials at the AEK military hospital said Saturday that Massa will be kept sedated on a respirator in an intensive care unit.

Medical director Peter Bazso said at a news conference that "Massa's condition is serious, life-threatening but stable."

Bazso and chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros say they expect Massa to be awoken Sunday.

The 28-year-old Brazilian had surgery one hour after arriving at the hospital, the doctors said.

Massa was struck in the helmet by a loose part from another car and his car slammed straight into a tire barrier.

Edmonton Friday practice highlights

Here's a short highlights reel from Friday's Indycar action in Edmonton:

Fernando Alonso grabs pole in chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

By Sean Chaney at the BBC:
Fernando Alonso grabbed pole position for Renault in a delayed final qualifying session for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The session was significantly delayed when Ferrari's Felipe Massa (pictured at left) crashed head on into a tyre wall.
Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber finished second and third in a chaotic qualifying session in Budapest.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton qualified in a season's best fourth position while Brawn's Jenson Button was eighth.
Williams's Nico Rosberg was fifth fastest at the Hungaroring ahead of Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen who was sixth.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will start Sunday's Grand Prix in seventh while Brawn's championship leader Jenson Button goes from eighth after his worst qualifying performance of the season.

News of the final results was delayed when timing and scoring at the track was lost toward the end of the session. Check here for more qualifying news.

Felipe Massa injured in high-speed wreck during qualifying for Hungarian Grand Prix

From the Associated Press: BUDAPEST, Hungary — Ferrari driver Felipe Massa crashed at high speed during qualifying for Formula One's Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday and was airlifted to a hospital in "stable condition."

The Brazilian driver was conscious and moving his arms before being evacuated from the Hungaroring's medical center by helicopter.

Ferrari team officials said Massa's condition was stable.

A spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car flew up and struck Massa in the helmet, apparently dazing him as the Ferrari continued straight through a curb, across the track and through the gravel area alongside the circuit before slamming into a row of protective tires that line the circuit wall.

Massa appeared to regain control of the car just before the crash at turn No. 4 as his front brakes were locked upon the violent impact.

Camel GT visits Lime Rock Park

The latest from the archives is the 1991 IMSA Camel GT Toyota Trucks Presents The Lime Rock Grand Prix, held May 26, 1991. Check out the results from the race, in particular the number of manufacturers taking part -- Nissan, Toyota, Chevrolet, Jaguar, even some privateer Porsches and a couple of Ferrari-powered Spices in the Lights class.

There's also this interesting article from the New York Times on how the series was working to change its image.

Team Penske leads the way in practice in Edmonton

From the Canadian Press

EDMONTON — Team Penske dominated on practice day Friday for this weekend's Rexall Edmonton Indy.
Helio Castroneves finished first, hitting 115.405 m/ph on his final lap in practice at the 14-turn airport-road course at the City Centre Airport. Teammate Ryan Briscoe was second at 114.595.
"It's not over," said Castroneves. "We need to keep it up for qualifying."
Toronto's Paul Tracy was 10th in the 23-car field. He ran among the leaders for most of the session but dropped back after making some late adjustments.
"We made a shock and spring change on the last run with a new set of tires and it put an imbalance on the car," he said. "We'll just go back on it and figure what we have to do for qualifying."

Check out more coverage from the Rexall Edmonton Indy.

From the vault: 1987 Trans-Am race from Lime Rock Park

There's been lots of requests for some Trans-Am action - so here is one from 1987 - the "Bendix Trans-Am Weekend" at Lime Rock Park. I don't want to spoil the results, so here's a link to the results.

And here's a news clipping from the race.



Also, found this interesting video clip of Barbara Walters getting a helluva ride from Paul Newman.

Ganassi: We've talked to Danica Patrick but no deal right now

In advance of this weekend's Indycar race in Edmonton, Chip Ganassi talked about Danica Patrick. According to Fox Sports, Ganassi said on Friday that he'd "be lying" if he told the media he hadn't talked with Danica Patrick about her plans for next season or wasn't interested in her for the future.
Patrick, who is currently fifth in the IndyCar Series standings, is in the last year of her contract with Andretti Green Racing in the IndyCar Series and is currently weighing her options for 2010.
"Like a lot of teams, they've had discussions and she's on the market right now and she's ready to make the next step in her career — wherever that takes her. I wish I could tell you I'm a lot further down the road on that, but the fact of the matter is, like most other teams, we're at the top of the first inning on that subject. We're on the pace lap here. It's way early."
Ganassi senses that Patrick won't make her decision until the end of the season. He feels that it's premature to assume she'll venture to one series or the other. His initial advice to Patrick is to finish what she started in IndyCar as NASCAR will be waiting in the future.



Visit indycar.com for live coverage of practice and qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton leads the way for McLaren during practice for Hungarian Grand Prix

From Reuters: "Happy Hamilton Puts McLaren on Top"
BUDAPEST - World champion Lewis Hamilton led a day of domination for McLaren at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday while Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari made a confident Formula One debut with Toro Rosso.

Hamilton was quickest overall with a lap of one minute 22.079 seconds, ahead of last year's winner and team mate Heikki Kovalainen in 1:22.126, in the afternoon. Kovalainen was fastest in the morning in 1:22.278.

There's also been lots of talk in the past few days about British Formula 3 champion Jaime Alguersuari. The Spaniard is set to become the youngest F1 racer in the sport's history at 19 years and 125 days - and his arrival has sparked lots of debate and fear that he will be a danger to the other drivers on the grid.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway still makes Jimmie Johnson say 'wow'

From Randy Covitz at the Kansas City Star:
"INDIANAPOLIS - He’s raced here seven times, winning twice. But each time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson pulls into historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he can’t escape the wow factor.

The Brickyard, celebrating its Centennial Era, is equal parts Fenway Park for its history; Lambeau Field for the tradition; Wimbledon for its reverence; Churchill Downs for its wall-to-wall crowds; and Daytona for its speed.

Johnson tried soaking it all in as he arrived this week to defend his Allstate 400 at the Brickyard title on Sunday.


<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:1a43b7dd-9c89-4bf1-ba3d-f2939d22106b&showPlaylist=true&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&fg=everyzing" target="_new" title="NASCAR on FOX: Brickyard preview">Video: NASCAR on FOX: Brickyard preview</a>

Heikki Kovalainen leads the way on Friday morning in Hungary

From Reuters/New York Times: Kovalainen Quickest In First Hungary Practice

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Last year's race winner Heikki Kovalainen highlighted struggling McLaren's improved pace on Friday with the fastest time in opening Hungarian Grand Prix practice.

The Finn, whose only career victory came at the Hungaroring last August, put in a best lap of one minute 22.278 seconds right at the end of the session at the tight and twisty circuit near Budapest.

From the vault: Michael Andretti wins in Toronto

A new video on my You Tube page: Michael Andretti's victory in the 1995 Molson Indy Toronto.

Also, here's some news from the race.

The 'way back' time machine lands in Del Mar for the 1991 Camel GT finale

By request I have the 1991 IMSA Camel GT season finale on my You Tube page. You can go there to look at it, or, if you are really feeling lazy, check it out below.

Now, for a news junkie like me, I was looking for some "news" about the race to post on the blog and came across a cool Google service - seems the folks at Google are not only scanning and archiving books, but newspapers as well. So here's links to two articles on the race:

Article 1

Article 2

Henry Surtees had hoped to 'emulate his father'

Henry Surtees dies after F2 race crash - from the BBC:
A teenage racing driver killed in a "freak" race crash set out at the age of eight to emulate his Formula One world champion father John Surtees.

Henry Surtees, who picked up his first major trophy at the age of nine, was hit by a wheel that flew off a car during a race at Brands Hatch, Kent. The 18-year-old had said his father had provided "fantastic support" for his career but he wanted to be his own man.

His motorsport legend father won the Formula One World Championship in 1964. John Surtees, now 75, is the only man to have won world titles on both two and four wheels.

In an interview earlier this month, the teenager said: "My father has been a fantastic support for me throughout my career. Ultimately I am the one driving, so it all comes down to me."

"Of course we fall out sometimes, and I'm the first to tell him he's wrong, but it is fantastic to have him alongside me at the races.

"He is a great source of advice, as he was an engineer before he was a driver, and he really knows his stuff.

"The main thing for me though is that I have to be my own man - ultimately I am the one driving, so it all comes down to me."

The Formula Two driver entered his first race at the age of eight and won his first major trophy the following year. Within three years, he had moved on to faster 125cc races.

His achievements were all documented on his father's official website.

His own website, which was taken down after his death on Sunday, had listed Brands Hatch as his favourite circuit. The teenager was flown to hospital after the crash at the weekend, but died later.

More coverage

Kyle Busch wins at Gateway

By The Associated Press

"MADISON, Ill. — Kyle Busch continued his domination of the NASCAR Nationwide Series with a victory in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Saturday night.

Busch, who leads the Nationwide standings, won for the sixth time in 19 races this season and also earned the 27th victory of his career."

Gurney, Fogarty enjoy victory in Birmingham

By Nancy Knapp Schilke at Motorsport.com

"It was a late dash between two of the top Grand-Am Rolex Series teams in the final 20 minutes of today's race at Barber Motorsports Park. Not only were they going for the win but in the long run, the two teams are aiming for the championship at season end.

"A late caution set the scene with Alex Gurney in the No. 99 Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley and Scott Pruett in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley for the eighth race of the 2009 season.

"We didn't want to see that last yellow," said Gurney. "We had a great strategy that kept us out front and our car was good enough to win. So it was a great day."

Lime Rock brings excitment to American Le Mans Series

From the Epoch Times review of the American Le Mans Series' visit to Lime Rock Park on July 18: "American Le Mans showed why it remains the most popular sports-racing series in America year after year, with an epic battle at the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park that featured amazing technology, scary speed, non-stop competition and racing drama for the entire length of the 2-hour, forty-five-minute event.

"The LMP1 Acura of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud started from the pole, swapped the lead with the Highcroft Patrón Acura, fought through traffic, and eventually took the win after accidents, incidents, off-road excursions and non-stop excitement."

German Grand Prix winner Mark Webber to have surgery

From The Sydney Morning Herald: German grand prix winner Mark Webber will undergo surgery on his leg after next week's race in Hungary.

The Red Bull driver, who broke his leg in a cycling accident while competing in a charity challenge in Tasmania last year, will have screws removed next month.

He will have several weeks to recover before the European GP in Valencia on August 23.

The 32-year-old had two locking screws taken from his right leg before last weekend's German race but the major operation will wait until the end of the season.

And the winner is ....

The 1992 Molson Indy Toronto, which received the most votes in the "you pick it, I'll upload it" contest held as part of Indycar racing's return to Toronto. The runner-up - the 1995 Molson Indy Toronto - will also get uploaded to my youtube channel soon. Until then, enjoy this gem:

Dario Franchitti scores Hondy Indy Toronto win

From Curt Calvin: Dario Franchitti went to victory lane Sunday in Toronto after surviving a bumpy afternoon--both on the track and on pit road.

Franchitti, the pole winner, had a long first pit stop because of a lug nut problem on his left rear tire. No one on the Ganassi Racing crew panicked. They just fixed it, and their driver did the rest, although he got a big boost on his second stop when, for the second time this season, a race went his way because the caution periods suited him perfectly.

Franchitti was committed to pit road as Graham Rahal banged into Ed Carpenter. Race officials ruled that Franchitti could make his stop and, just as important, gave him the position ahead of crowd favorite Paul Tracy, who stayed on the track. Franchitti won in Long Beach earlier this year in similar fashion.

Mark Webber wins his first Formula 1 Grand Prix with victory in Germany

Mark Webber took his first pole position, then translated that to a win at the Nurburgring today, July 12.

From the Associated Press:
NUERBURGRING, Germany (AP) -Red Bull's Mark Webber has won his first Formula One race after overcoming a penalty to take the German Grand Prix.

The Australian beat teammate Sebastian Vettel by 9.2 seconds Sunday despite a drive-through penalty for bumping Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello at the start while defending his pole position.

It was the second straight 1-2 for the Austrian team and third overall in nine races.

Felipe Massa gave Ferrari its first podium finish of the season by coming in third ahead of Nico Rosberg of Williams.

Overall leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP was fifth to increase his total to 68 points.

Vettel moved into second with 47 points and Webber is third with 45.5 points. Barrichello has 44 points after finishing sixth.

Mark Martin scores fourth win of season at NASCAR race in Chicago

Mark Martin is proving "old" racers aren't slow drivers taking their time to head into retirement. The 50-year-old won last night's Lifelock.com 400 in Joliet, his fourth victory this season. From the Chicago Tribune:
The close-cropped stubble on his head contains as much salt as pepper, and the wrinkles run across Mark Martin's face like long-ago dried-up riverbeds. And for a while, twilight racing had a far less poetic meaning, semi-retirement leaving him with a loose grip on the track.

So it was with unmistakable giddiness that a man a half-century old took to the radio early in the LifeLock.com 400 on Saturday, his Chevrolet efficiently chopping through traffic and turning the Chicagoland Speedway's 1.5-mile tri-oval into a veritable senior circuit.

"This is easy, bud," Martin told crew chief Alan Gustafson.

He spoke far, far too soon, as double-file restart dueling extinguished his well-earned lead and then returned it to him, all in the final 50 laps. But in the end, Martin remained a 50-year-old verging, taking his series-leading fourth Sprint Cup victory of the year and reasserting his place in the chase for the first championship of a nearly three-decade career.

Dario Franchitti on pole for Honda Indy Toronto

Heavy rain, lightening and wind disrupted the morning warm-up but it didn't stop Dario Franchitti from taking pole position for Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto.

According to the Canwest News Service:
Scotsman Dario Franchitti won pole position for Sunday's Toronto Indy with the fastest lap in Saturday's time trials around the 1.75-mile street course.

Franchitti completed the 11-turn circuit in 1min 1.0249secs to edge Australian Will Power for the inside front row position.

American Graham Rahl was third followed by England's Justin Wilson, who won last week's race at Watkins Glen, then Canada's Alex Tagliani and IndyCar rookie Mike Conway of England.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon, the defending series champion and season points leader, will start in eighth position.

Ryan Briscoe, who shares second in the points race with Franchitti at 19 adrift of Dixon, will start 11th.

Now for something completely different: the folks at Performance Racing News magazine got to do this wild ride around the streets of Toronto.

Mark Webber earns first pole at German Grand Prix

It's been a long time coming, but for Mark Webber the wait is over as he earned his first pole position in the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. He just edged out fellow veteran F1 hot shoe Rubens Barrichello and world championship points leader Jenson Button third.

More qualifying news from The Press Association:
"Mark Webber will start on pole position for the first time in his Formula One career following a stunning qualifying for Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Rain blighted the middle 15-minute session at the Nurburgring, but it stayed dry for the vital top-10 shootout, and it was the Australian due to make his 130th start who heads the field.

Red Bull Racing's Webber then had to anxiously wait in the dying moments as the Brawns of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, as well team-mate Sebastian Vettel filed through, but they will start second, third and fourth respectively.

Lewis Hamilton proved his practice performances of Friday and Saturday morning were no flukes, the world champion starting fifth in his much-improved McLaren.

The weather certainly helped team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn lines up sixth - remarkably followed by Adrian Sutil, giving Force India their first top-10 position.

Behind Sutil come the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, with Nelson Piquet completing the top 10 for Renault.

For the first time in 27 races since joining Renault, Piquet finally out-qualified his more illustrious team-mate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Remarkably, the Brazilian did so with speculation rife this is his final grand prix for the team and that he is to be dropped in light of his previously under-performing record over the past 18 months."

Indycar 'rookies' Matos, Wilson fastest at Honda Indy Toronto

A great piece from "up north" on the first day of practice at the Honda Indy Toronto. The biggest news - Raphael Matos and Justin Wilson - both Atlantic/Champ Car stars who are finally getting a chance to show their stuff in the Indycars - topped the times. The second biggest news - the track, which was looking a little tired when Champ Car last raced there, is now bumpier than ever.

"It feels bumpier here," Wilson, who took his second career checkered flag last weekend at Watkins Glen, N.Y., told writer James Bisson. "I don't know if a couple more winters have made a difference, but . . . it's really bumpy. "You're getting thrown about, you're hitting your head on the headrest, and it makes it very difficult to see. It takes you a second or so to refocus after you hit your head like that, and it's every lap that you're doing it, in two or three spots on the track."

What's perhaps not too surprising is that behind former Champ Car drivers Matos and Wilson is another ex-Champ Car driver, Will Power, who took his first career victory back in 2005 at Toronto.

Local hero Paul Tracy, dubbed many years ago "The Thrill From West Hill," could only set the 13th fastest time.

"In the afternoon we tried a few things for the race setup that didn't work for the car, so we lost our way a little bit," said Tracy. "But that was what the practice session was for. We have another practice (Saturday) morning to get ready for qualifying and I'm confident that we can be back in the top five."

Some video from the Honda Indy Toronto Friday practice sessions:

Practice 1

Practice 2

Sports Illustrated: Vickers, Johnson favored as NASCAR races in Chicago

From Sports Illustrated:

"For the second straight week the Sprint Cup Series drivers take to the track on a Saturday night, but that's where the similarities end. Last week's race at Daytona was wild and crazy, while this Saturday night's Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway is likely to be a more subdued event. That's not to say it won't have its share of excitement, but it's not restrictor plate racing — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"After last week's carnage, the battle for the final spots in the Chase went through the spin cycle. Only 184 points separate 10th-place Matt Kenseth from 16th-place Clint Bowyer with eight races before the Chase field is set. This weekend's race will be a good test for the drivers that hope to be sitting at the head table at the end of the season since 1.5-mile tracks dominate the 10-race Chase for the Championship. But before the title can be decided for the Sprint Cup or your league, we must first tackle the Windy City. So what drivers will raise you to the top of the scoreboard this week or blow away your chances at the top prize? Read on to find out this week's favorites, sleepers and longshot."

Lewis Hamilton leads the way in second German Grand Prix practice

It was the third time that Lewis Hamilton topped a practice session this season, but it may not mean much when qualifying takes place tomorrow. Hamilton, the defending world champion, lead the way in his McLaren-Mercedes, but some suggest the car's true form may come to light tomorrow as he was running very light on fuel.

The weather adds in another factor as today was cool and wet at the Nurburgring. Once again the Red Bull-Renaults and Brawn-Mercedes machines were near the front, with German Sebastian Vettel second in his Red Bull machine and championship points-leader Jenson Button third in his Brawn.

For more on Hamilton's thoughts on the German Grand Prix, check out this video:



Also, check out this "chalk talk" video from SPEED TV's Steve Matchett as he compares today's Formula One car to the technology of the water mill that has existed for thousands of years:

Webber leads first Formula 1 German Grand Prix practice

Mark Webber set the pace in his Red Bull-Renault during morning practice for the Formula 1 German Grand Prix. Current F1 points leader Jenson Button finished second-fastest in the session.

Read Autosport's session report for more details.

1 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:33.082
2 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:33.463
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.745
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:33.795
5 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:33.839
6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.840
7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:33.902
8 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:33.909
9 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:33.952
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:34.148
11 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:34.221
12 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:34.227
13 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.483
14 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:34.694
15 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:34.738
16 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:34.827
17 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:34.878
18 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.893
19 Timo Glock Toyota 1:34.911
20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.092

Vote for your favorite Indycar race in Toronto

And the winner is...

Check out my youtube page and vote for your favorite Indycar race in Toronto. The race with the most votes will get uploaded to my page there. I will probably also upload the runner(s)-up as well...

Some more site news about the youtube page, the 1987 IMSA Camel GT race at Laguna Seca is the latest race added to the site. Check it out.

Indycars in Baltimore?

Those who know me, know my passion for Indycars. They also know of my love for Baltimore. I'm usually there at least once a month. So put the two together and you get one very happy race fan.

It seems there's plans in the works to try and bring Indycars to the Inner Harbor/Camden Yards Stadium area in Baltimore by 2011. By all accounts, both city officials, some neighbors and the promoters are all in agreement that it would be a great thing for the city. Now all it will take is selling the plan to Indycar.

The Baltimore race stands a far better chance of coming to reality than Paul Newman's attempt to bring Champ Car to Philadelphia a few year's ago. There was much opposition to the planned layout of the circuit, the improvements needed to the city streets were too great to be feasible and the promoters faced an indifferent city council that didn't even understand the difference between open-wheel race cars and NASCAR.

Some of the numbers thrown about for a Baltimore race are a little inflated - 150,000 attendance over three days is ambitious and the revenue it could generate for the city (claims run as high as $100 million in revenue when taking into account hotels, meals and shopping). My concern is that could be a recipe for dissapointment, such as what Edmonton in Canada is feeling these days with their Indycar race. The race there has been well-attended (truly coming close to the 100,000 mark over three days) but, even so, the promised tens of millions in revenue has not materialized. I think it would be best for the Indycar community and the promoters to pull back a little bit and make sure everyone involved sees more realistic numbers.

Me, I'm already standing in line to buy tickets!

(Credit goes to the Baltimore Sun for the track layout map)