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TURNING LEFT: NASCAR & IndyCar
By Charlie O. Mallonee August 7, 2009 |
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NASCAR: First it was wet, then it was wild! The Pocono weather refused to cooperate on Sunday, and the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 had to be postponed until Monday. Those fans that could not stay over for the race are probably very unhappy because they missed a great race. Denny Hamlin had not won a Sprint Cup race since 2008 at Martinsville, but Pocono has been one of his favorite tracks. Hamlin swept both races at the big tri-oval in 2006, so the expectations are always high for him in Pennsylvania. Hamlin did not disappoint. Hamlin – who said on Friday he expected to win – took over the lead with 13 laps to go and held on to cross the finish line .869 seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. While thrilled to win, Hamlin was in tears for another reason in Victory Lane. Hamlin recently lost his grandmother and his tire specialist, Patrick Mullen, had suffered the loss his mother. It was a victory dedicated to the two women. “I was definitely driving aggressive out there, trying to do everything I could to get a win for them. It’s emotional. We had a dominant car with two heavy souls in our racecar today. I said in my mind that I wasn’t going to settle for anything less than a win. With every corner I went in, that was 120 percent.” The second-place finish was refreshing for Juan Pablo Montoya who was so frustrated after the Brickyard 400. JPM was able to take advantage of staying out on the track after a yellow flag was displayed on lap 167. Montoya had just been in his pit for service on lap 165 and did not need to pull off the track with the leaders. “Restarts made it interesting,” Montoya said. “I told (the team), I think we have a car that can win the race. I think the biggest thing was where the 11 (Hamlin) was going to be. I thought I had a car fast enough to hold (off the) 11. I got hit in the last restart, and he passed me.” Bowyer finished third, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Kasey Kahne. Brian Vickers, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart completed the top 10. The Race for the Chase After 21 races, Tony Stewart continues to lead the Race for the Chase – the Top 12 drivers who vie for the Sprint Cup Championship: The Top 12 Rank Season Last Driver Driver Points Wins Poles 1. Tony Stewart 3,188 2 0 2. Jimmie Johnson 2,991 3 0 3. Jeff Gordon 2,989 1 0 4. Kurt Busch 2,751 1 0 5. Denny Hamlin 2,713 1 0 6. Carl Edwards 2,665 0 0 7. Kasey Kahne 2,642 1 0 8. Juan Pablo Montoya 2,631 0 1 9. Ryan Newman 2,627 0 1 10. Mark Martin 2,622 4 4 11. Matt Kenseth 2,564 2 1 12. Greg Biffle 2,563 0 0 Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon continue to battle each other at the top the standings. Johnson has a 2-point lead over Gordon. Both Hendrick teammates are a legitimate threat to overtake Stewart. Four drivers are 121 or less points away from cracking into the Top 12. Greg Biffle is the “man on the bubble” with Kyle Busch just 101 points behind and determined to make the Chase. Brian Vickers (-104), Clint Bowyer (-115) and David Reutimann (-121) also have realistic hopes of making the Top 12. The biggest problem the Chase racers face this weekend is the venue. The Sprint Cup Series makes its second and final visit to a road course. Watkins Glen is a historic track that has spelled demise for many a driver. The Glen is a 2.45-mile 11 turn course that is tight and challenging. Qualifying well is a big key to success this week. Passing is difficult and track position is everything at the Glen. One unique factor for this week’s race is the rain tires. The cars will qualify and race in the rain – if necessary – running on Goodyear rain tires. The race will be stopped only in case of a severe thunderstorm. The race at the Glen will broadcast by ESPN starting at 10:00 AM PDT/1:00 PM EDT. IndyCar: From going in circles back to twists and turns The IndyCar Series returned to oval racing last Saturday night under the lights at Kentucky Speedway. Race fans were happy to see the open-wheel cars back on a 1.5-mile oval because the racing is always fast and furious. Saturday night ’s race lived up to expectations. Ryan Briscoe brought home another victory for Team Penske and broke the hearts of the Vision Racing team. This was Briscoe’s second win of the season. Briscoe held off Ryan Hunter-Reay to win his first race at St. Petersburg to kick off this year’s schedule. Carpenter led Briscoe by three-tenths of a second when they went into the pits for the final stop on Lap-180. Carpenter held unto to the lead out of the pits but not for long. Briscoe reclaimed the lead on Lap-192. Briscoe and Carpenter’s cars looked like Siamese twins hurling around the 1.5-mile track. When they crossed the finish line and took the checkered flag on lap 200, Briscoe led Carpenter by a mere 0.162 of a second – the 11th closest finish in IndyCar Series history. Briscoe’s average speed of 200.893 was the second fastest in IndyCar history. No one likes to finish second but for Ed Carpenter and his Vision Racing team, it was a major accomplishment. The P2 result was the best ever for Carpenter and the Vision Racing organization. Vision is owned by Tony Hulman George - former CEO of IMS, Inc and IndyCar. This has not been a season to remember for Mr. George, but the strong finish at Kentucky by his race team has to be very positive event for a man who has auto racing in his DNA. Tony Kanaan – who was coming off the pit lane fire incident in Edmonton – posted a P3 finish. Helio Castroneves finished P4 in his Team Penske machine while Graham Rahal came home in fifth spot for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. The Kentucky win vaulted Briscoe into the championship points lead for IndyCar. Briscoe now has an eight-point lead over Scott Dixon and an 11-point advantage over Dario Franchitti. Briscoe’s teammate – Helio Castrovneves – is 75-points back in fourth position. With five races remaining, it is wide-open fight for the championship. Of the five races yet to be run, two are on road courses and three are on ovals. This Sunday the series moves to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. This is the home course for Graham Rahal. His father’s racing organization – Rahal-Letterman – is headquartered just a few miles away in suburban Columbus. Mid-Ohio is a 2.258-mile, 13-turn course that the drivers will have navigate 85 times. Look for lots of action in Turn 2 known as the Keyhole - the track’s signature turn. The long backstretch will allow for speeds up 200 mph, and the action will furious coming through Turn 12 – the Carousel – heading on the main strait. This weekend will also feature the debut of the Overtake Assist system that will add 5 – 20 horsepower when engaged by the driver. Not unlike the KERS system utilized by F1 cars, the system is designed to give a diver that little edge when trying to make a pass or runaway from a car behind them on the course. The downside is that when engaged the fuel mileage also goes down faster. The introduction of the system should be interesting to watch. Sunday’s race can be viewed on the Versus Cable Network beginning at 10:00 AM PDT/1:00 PM EDT. |
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