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Turning Left: NASCAR, Indy Car, F1
By Charlie O. Mallonee July 30, 2009 |
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NASCAR Shut up Juan Pablo – You were speeding! Juan Pablo Montoya needs to shut his “ pie hole” and concentrate on driving his race car. There is no vast, right wing conspiracy in NASCAR that wants to keep JPM from winning the Brickyard 400! Late in the race, Montoya came into the pit area too fast. NASCAR has very sophisticated electronic timing devices that records exact speed. The pit road speed was 55 mph at Indy with a 5 mph grace allowance. Montoya and his crew pushed the envelope and got caught. Montoya was assessed a drive through the pits penalty and lost his chance to win the race. JPM is a great driver. He would have become the first driver to win the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400. Unfortunately, he pushed the limits and was penalized appropriately. It is now time to stand up and take it like a man. I hate whiners. Another boring Brickyard I love NASCAR racing at Indy. It is a great idea, but NASCAR has to do something to make the racing more competitive and exciting at the Brickyard. Many thought the side-by-side restarts with the front runners leading the pack would create some excitement. The new restart plan did not help the competition. The field strung out quickly and raced single file. One solution may be to make Indy a restrictor plate race. Drivers hate the restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talladega while the fans love those races. The restrictors keep the racing even and close. There were more empty seats at Indy than I have ever seen for a Brickyard event. It is time for NASCAR to step up and find a way to make Indy a more exciting race. On to Pocono Pocono is NASCAR’s strangest track. It is basically a triangle with three turns, two long straightaways and a short chute that is longer than some short track straightaways. The turns are low banked (basically flat) and have a different degree of banking on each turn. The straits are wide and the cars will sometimes get four or five wide. The turns will not accommodate more than two cars wide. Turn 1 will provide a lot action for the fans. The June race was won by Tony Stewart and dominated by the Chevrolets. Expect strong performances from the Hendricks cars, Juan Pablo (the whiner) Montoya, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Jeff Burton. Look for Tony Stewart to win again at Pocono. He was not that happy with his performance at Indy. Stewart is always dangerous when he feels that his team under-performed the previous week. My money is on the No. 14 team. The Sunday broadcast begins at 10 AM PDT/ 1 PM EDT on ESPN. FORMUAL ONE Massa improving and Schumacher shakes off the rust Felipe Massa continues to improve after that devastating head injury suffered when a suspension spring from another race car flew off and hit him in the head at 120 mph. Those who have seen Massa say he looks like a boxer who lost a very tough bout. While Massa is doing well, don’t look for him back in a car for some time. My guess is that he will not return until next year. Former seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has been asked by Ferrari to fill in for Massa, and he has said yes. This reporter and race fan is not thrilled with this development. Drivers retire for a reason and returns from retirement do not always go well. Schumacher has not been in a F1 machine since the end of 2006. I wish him the best and hope it is a safe return. Schumacher will have some time to get ready before the next race. Up next is the European GP in Valencia, Spain on August 21. INDY CAR The family feud is about to get ugly Everyone knew that Tony Hulman George would not be able to stay quiet for long about being ousted from his posts as head of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Car. Mr. George posted a response on the website of his Vision Racing Team. Hulman George told his family he wants an explanation for his ouster. Stay tuned, Falcon Crest – I mean the IMS soap opera will continue. Saturday night under the lights at Kentucky After three straight races on road/street courses, Indy Car returns to an oval this Saturday night. The Kentucky Speedway is 1.5-mile oval that offers the drivers a chance for some fast, close racing with lots of passing. The Target/Team Ganassi drivers will again be the favorites in this race. Scott Dixon leads his teammate Dario Franchitti by just three points in the fight for the championship. You can watch the race on VERSUS beginning at 5:45 PM PDT/ 8:45 PM EDT. |
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