Had sometime to digest the racing weekend. From NASCAR to Formula One, World Endurance Championship to USAC, a lot of action took place.
1. Let's start with Formula One at Singapore. Sebastian Vettel put down a dominating performance. Another grand chelem for the German, leading every lap from pole position. Say all you want about him having the best car and he wouldn't be able to do what he has been doing at McLaren. That may be but going through what he has done, it isn't just the car. Scoring a point in race one, in a substitute role for an injured Robert Kubica at Indianapolis. Then going to Scuderia Toro Rosso where neither Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed couldn't score to qualifying in the top ten, running up front and leading the monsoon that was the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix before getting into Mark Webber and ending both their days. Then he received a five spot penalty in qualifying at China, dropping him to 17th. All he did in the race was give STR their best finish in Formula One with a fourth.
In 2008, Vettel was the number two at STR to Sébastien Bourdais. All he would do is outscore his French teammate by thirty-one points (back when points went 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1), scoring in half the races and pulling off a pole and win in another monsoon at Monza. Then the promotion to Red Bull where he picked up the teams first victory and pole... in the rain of course... in China. Three more poles, three more victories and finished second in points to Jenson Button by eleven points. Following year Vettel made an improbably comeback from thirty-four back entering the final five races. He went out to win three, finishing second in another and if his engine didn't go sour late while leading at Korea he would have won the final four rounds. I don't think I need to go on. Vettel may be obnoxious and not a team player but he is arguably the most talent driver in the world, let alone Formula One.
2. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch are on place to finish 1-2 in every Chase race and look to give Toyota their first NASCAR Sprint Cup title. It has quickly become a three horse battle between the Gibbs drivers and Jimmie Johnson as eighteen points cover the top three and fourth place Carl Edwards thirty-six back of Kenseth. After the headache that was the two weeks prior to New Hampshire, it has gotten better but it won't go away. NAPA is leaving Michael Waltrip Racing, 5-Hour Energy won't make a decision until a later time and Aaron's is staying on board. Truex is free to look for a ride while Bowyer's role remains safe at the team. This won't be end before the season is over
In Nationwide news, Nationwide will be leaving as title sponsor after the 2014 season. Even when a Cup driver isn't entered, a driver ineligible for Nationwide title won... again. Ryan Blaney won his first career race on Saturday night beating Austin Dilon, Truck points leader Matt Crafton and Sam Hornish. Hornish leads Dillon by fifteen with six to go.
3. Audi won again in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval picked up their third victory of 2013 in the first race held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The Toyota of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin had the lead late before having to make their final pit stop. Audi has won each of the five races in the WEC season. Mike Conway, John Martin and Roman Rusinov has won back-to-back rounds as Conway is looking for the Texas hat-trick should he sweep the doubleheader IndyCar weekend at Houston. Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni took the GT points lead, three ahead of Porsche drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz.
Aston Martin swept the GT classes at Austin with Bruno Senna and Frédéric Makowiecki taking GTE Pro and Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall taking their second consecutive GTE Am win.
4. You know, with the NASCAR season ending on November 17th and WEC running Bahrain on November 30th and Toyota has an extra TS030 in the stable and they're rolling it out for Fuji. Why not roll it out for an all-star team of Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and team them with either Kazuki Nakajima or Alexander Wurz. Kyle Busch never tested that Formula One car like he was suppose to. Let's make this happen. The banquet is the following week. Let's see what they can do in an LMP1 car. I am sure there are some regulations that would get in the way but screw regulations.
5. Speaking of regulations... Mark Webber's ten grid spot penalty for getting a ride back to the pit lane is ridiculous. Mansell-Senna, Schumacher-Alesi, Piquet-Arnoux-Alliot-Johannson. Drivers have been giving other drivers lifts back after either running out of petrol or breaking down for years and now it's crime. And the safety violation claim Lewis Hamilton is making, let me get this straight, you can go 180 MPH and avoid hitting other cars and concrete barriers but when you're going 50 MPH you can't avoid a pedestrian? How the hell you are able to overcome the fear of hitting someone to drive on the motorway is beyond me. Maybe that is why you speed? You can't possible think you won't hit anyone when in the triple figures but when driving at a normal commuter's pace you are a moment away from vehicular homicide.
By the way, nice job by Mark Webber, tweeting a photo of steward from the Singapore Grand Prix Derek Warwick getting a ride from Gerhard Berger after the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix. Here is a nice collection of drivers getting rides back to the pit lane. From World Champions to Grand Prix winners, Jackie Stewart to Thierry Boutsen have stuck out their thumbs post race and some of good samaritans to allow a driver to hop on include the likes Jochen Mass, Alan Jones and Alex Zanardi
6. Bobby East has won back-to-back Silver Crown titles while Chris Windom won two at the Four Crown Nationals at Eldora. He won the Silver Crown race in dominating form, leading forty-seven of gift laps. The Sprint car races, couldn't have been any more unpredictable. Daron Clayton looked to win, leading the first twenty-four laps before flipping after banging into the cushion. This gave Tracy Hines the lead and looked well on his way to win after the restart but coming to the checkered flag he flipped in turn four after making contact with the wall, handing Windom the win.
Rico Abreu took the midget car race while points leader Christopher Bell finished second. Hines, East and Dave Darland rounded out the top five. The rookie Bell extended his point lead to seventy-four over Bryan Clauson who retired after leading the first six laps.
7. Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf extended their winning streak in the American Le Mans Series to seven after winning at Austin. Luhr and Graf have already locked up the LMP1 title, the final LMP1 championship as United SportsCar Championship will not permit LMP1 cars from competing. Ryan Briscoe and Scott Tucker took victory over Marino Franchitti, Guy Cosmo and Tucker. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garciá took the GT victory over the Viper of Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer. Dirk Werner and John Edwards finished in third. Kyle Marcelli and Chris Cumming won in PC with Ben Keating and Damien Faulkner winning GTC.
8. Yvan Muller took another World Touring Car Championship, his fourth in six years. Hungarian Norbert Michelisz and Dutchman Tom Coronel split the races one Sunday from Suzuka. This is Muller's fifteenth title. Along with his four WTCC titles, he won the 2003 British Touring Car Championship and was won the Andros Trophy, a French-based ice racing series ten times.
Some 2014 calendar related news:
9. Twenty more laps for the IndyCar race at Texas in 2014. Hopefully this 600km race won't get cancelled like the last one.
10. 2014 WEC and USCC schedules were released at Austin. The WEC calendar is exactly the same except Silverstone and Spa have each been pushed back a week, while Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain were each push up a week. The inaugural USCC calendar starts in Florida for the 24 Hours of Daytona and Sebring, follow by back-to-back races in California with Prototype and GTLM class heading to Long Beach and all classes running Laguna Seca. Belle Isle remains at it's late May-early June date except all classes but GTLM will compete as the GTLM prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After Le Mans, Watkins Glen, Mosport, Indianapolis and Road America will feature all four classes. VIR will feature two races, one for PC and one for GTLM and GTD. The final two rounds will be Austin and Petit Le Mans. Each class runs eleven races over the twelve weekends.
No problem with WEC, would love to see the series add Monza but it's fine. USCC did the best they could. A little disappointed Mid-Ohio, Barber and Lime Rock aren't on the schedule but I will live.
11. V8 Supercars announced their 2014 schedule and Austin is not on it. A schedule conflict with the X Games has caused the absence but the series looks for that event to return in 2015 and would like to have another round in the States as well as other international expansion. It's going to be a little awkward for Pirelli World Challenge who announced they were going to Austin in May with V8 Supercars. Adelaide opens the 2014 season with the only changes being Winton moving to April with Sydney Motorsports Park being added in August.
In all honesty, I'd like to see IndyCar and V8 Supercars run together at Austin in February or March. Plenty of other nice places for V8 Supercars to go in the US. Road America, Laguna Seca, hell why not run them in May at Indianapolis? Other international rounds, I expect a Japanese round soon rather than later since Nissan is in the series. A European rounds seems like a stretch but with Mercedes currently participating and Volvo entering in 2014, I wouldn't rule it out completely. Especially if the money is there.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
