Monday Musings, 10/24/11

Ah, the good old days at Daytona. No tandems. (Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson)

Everyone went into this racing weekend with heavy hearts. We learned this week that, although the types of racing may be different, racers are all part of one big family. NASCAR and the V8 Supercar series had fitting tributes to Dan. It literally broke my heart today listening to Nicole Briscoe talk about Dan Wheldon during the prerace Sunday. Then what a moving memorial service to remember Dan Wheldon. Thanks to the Wheldon family for sharing that experience with the fans.

But racing did continue this week. Here are my thoughts on what I saw this weekend:

V8 Supercars - So have I mentioned how much I love V8 Supercars? The series picked up where they left off after the Bathurst 1000. It was tight, competitive racing to the very end. Congrats to Sebastian Bourdais, who won the inaugural Dan Wheldon trophy for top international driver.

As I learn more about the rules in V8 Supercars, I wonder how they would play in NASCAR. First, with four races left in the championship, the regular drivers must put their trust (and their championship hopes) in the hands of international drivers. What if the Sprint Cup drivers had to share their car with a driver from a non-NASCAR series? That could be pretty cool.

Also, drivers earn points only if they complete 75% of the laps. This is a great incentive for drivers to enter the race and be competitive, thus eliminating start and parks. Another interesting wrinkle -- all cars two or more laps down must go through pit lane on the restart so they don't impede the lead lap cars.

Sprint Cup - Do you miss the packs? Because I do. Denny Hamlin goes a lap down early because he literally was the odd man out. What kind of racing is that? It's kind of fun watching these guys find new partners when they lose their old one. It's a little like musical chairs. And regardless of whether it's tandems or packs, it's one car getting pushed over the start/finish line by one other car. But I'm still not sure I like it. This much I do know -- as a fan, I wouldn't necessarily be spending my money going to see a race at Talladega or Daytona at this point in time.

As far as the race goes, I was glad to see Clint Bowyer win, but I would have been happier to see Jeff Burton win. Looks like being patient and staying in the back didn't quite work out for Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this time. And there's this talk of Trevor Bayne and team orders. But isn't that inevitable with tandem racing? Deals are made between spotters and crew chiefs, and the drivers abide by those agreements.

Truck Series - It's about time someone from the Wallace clan won a NASCAR race, although I'm not sure I thought it would have been Mike. This was Mike's first Truck Series win since 2000 and his first NASCAR win since 2004 (a Nationwide win in Daytona that my husband actually witnessed). Austin Dillon learned the same hard lesson that Marcos Ambrose learned at Infineon last year -- it's tricky playing the fuel mileage game and sometimes it can backfire on you.

Monday Musings, 10/10/11

I've won the championship this many times!
(Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson)

This weekend had one championship clinched and two championships heating up. And I found a new racing series.

F1 - Was there really any doubt that Sebastian Vettel would win the driver's championship this weekend? There was absolutely no doubt in my mind after he won the pole 0.009 second over Jenson Button and then avoided a penalty for his aggressive move against Button at the start of the race. McLaren did manage to spoil the moment a bit with Button winning the race. And on a side note, I expect debris cautions in NASCAR, not in F1. And how awesome was it that Button used his $15,000 steering wheel to stop his car from rolling?

V8 Supercars - It was awesome. But I've already gushed about it.

Nationwide Series - There was a time when the Nationwide Series races were more exciting than the Sprint Cup races. But that's not the case anymore. Cup regular Brad K. (as the commentators insist on calling him) dominated the race, but the points battle between the Nationwide regulars is getting a little tighter. Of course, part of the reason for that is the off-track drama this week when Turner Motorsports released Reed Sorenson, who was third in points. Elliot Sadler is now within 20 points of Ricky Stenhouse. Let's hope for a close points race down to the finish.

Sprint Cup - The points race is still close, with Carl Edwards ahead of Kevin Harvick by one point, Jimmie Johnson lurking four points off the lead, and the top eight drivers within 20 points. But while the overall points race may be exciting, the race today wasn't. And why don't I ever remember any races from Kansas? More on that this week. Also, I know the media has officially changed Jimmie Johnson's name to Five Time, but I don't think Six Time rolls off the tongue quite as well.

Quick Review: Bathurst 1000

This was the first time I really sat and watched the Australian V8 Supercars, and all I have to say is -- what's not to like?!? The track was spectacular, the cars are amazing, the drivers are unbelievably talented, and the racing action was close. And the cars are fast! Where else can you see four-door sedans do more than 200 mph?

But wait! There's more! They have a driver named Frosty Winterbottom. There was fire on the track (thankfully driver David Besnard was safe).  And the best past was the drama right up to the last lap, with Garth Tander holding off Craig Lowndes.

Looking forward to the Gold Coast 600 in a couple of weeks, which adds international drivers as co-drivers (and a lot of names that we know in the United States). I'm intrigued by the addition of the V8 Supercars to the 2013 schedule in Austin.  Hmmm. May have to add that one to my travel itinerary.

What did you think of the V8 Supercars?