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."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, July 13, 2009
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:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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.
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."
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."
Friday, July 10, 2009
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."
Practice 1
Practice 2
"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.
"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."
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
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:
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
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
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Little Al's first win
For Al Unser, Jr. victory number one in Indycars was long overdue. He began racing in the series in 1982 but would not make it to victory lane until 1984, when he won the inaugural Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway. It was also the series "return" visit to the circuit; the series having last raced there back in the early 1900s.
New over at my youtube page is that complete race; check it out.
And for an insight into the parallel path's the careers of Michael Andretti and Unser Jr. have taken, check out Gordon Kirby's award-winning article from a few years back.
For more of the 1984 Portland race, check out my youtube page.
New over at my youtube page is that complete race; check it out.
And for an insight into the parallel path's the careers of Michael Andretti and Unser Jr. have taken, check out Gordon Kirby's award-winning article from a few years back.
For more of the 1984 Portland race, check out my youtube page.
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