Alright, I haven't updated this since Chicagoland so forgive me for not bothering to go over the races/qualifying sessions in great detail. Suffice to say that the races have pretty much been shared between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch as both men establish themselves as the guys to beat if anyone wants to win the title. Qualifying has seen the HMS boys of Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr move past Kyle for the lead and with just two races before the Chase begins, there are (mathematically at least) still 26 drivers battling to make the final 12.
All up, 53 drivers have scored points in the QC, with Johnson leading the way after continuing his hot streak in the past month.
Johnson has been on a tear and leads the QC with two races before the Chase.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 24 rounds:
While there has been just the one change in names since my last update (Vickers in for Nemechek), there has been a fair bit of shuffling around.
The RC has seen 46 guys scoring points, with Tony Raines bringing up the rear having finished 17th at Bristol last week. No change in the top 20 as far as drivers go, but Tony Stewart has gone from tenth to sixth so he's faring much better in the races than in qualy.
This has been a familiar sight this year...but Edwards is gunning for him.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 24 rounds:
With the 'end of regular season lead' being between Kyle and Carl, the real battle will be whether or not David Ragan can slip into the Chase at the expense of either Denny or Kevin...I think the rest of them are out of it.
Now, normally, my posts with similar titles are a good-natured poke at motorsport around the globe...but not this time. I've decided to use this instead to give my kudos to Marcos Ambrose on a truly incredible weekend (all the photos are from his website by the way).
While Cup qualifying got rained out, the Nationwide series did manage some practice and Marcos put up times in the top ten which would ordinarily be expected given his road course background. But this was no ordinary NW field...I think there were 20 drivers doing double duty and while Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon weren't in the NW cars, guys like Kyle Busch, Robby Gordon and Kevin Harvick were so you couldn't say this was going to be a walk in the park for the Aussie.
Ambrose leads the way from Busch, Kenseth and Harvick.
Saturday morning came and went, with Marcos qualifying 12th for the NW race and being amongst the frontrunners, if not the frontrunner, in Cup practices...this was starting to look like Sonoma all over again, but would he get that storybook finish?
It didn't look that way as he got shuffled a bit at the start of the NW race. Jeff Burton lost it in front of him (whether or not Marcos tapped him I don't know...the replays were inconclusive but he looked to be too far back to have given Jeff a touch), he sent Sam Hornish Jr into a spin when Sam didn't get good traction in the esses while Marcos did and then with about 15 laps to go, he sideswiped a backmarker.
But, like most fairytales, one has to overcome adversity before the happy ending and this was no different.
His luck changed with 33 laps remaining. As Ambrose pulled into his pit box to get service on his final stop for the day, the caution flew so he (and Ryan Newman who pitted at the same time) escaped without penalty. Carl Edwards then divebombed Clint Bowyer on the restart allowing Marcos to gain a couple more spots in the ensuing chaos. Indeed, by the time the pitstops were all sorted, Marcos was in the top five and had more fuel than the cars in front of him.
Marcos taking the chequered flag.
They say that to finish first, first you have to finish and that rang true as the doorslamming battle between Burton and Busch meant that Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson were able to close down the gap. When Burton made his retaliatory move on Busch, that lifted Marcos to third behind Jeff and Jimmie. Unable to keep up with their pace, Marcos seemingly cruised along saving a little fuel and I imagine gave a huge smile when, first Johnson and then Burton ran out of gas and Marcos took the lead for good with three laps left.
And so, in his 59th start in the 59 car, Marcos Ambrose became the first Australian to win in the Nationwide series and got a tremendous reception after his on-track victory celebration. In nice gestures, Carl Edwards paid tribute to him when interviewed after the race, Kyle Busch gave him a handshake on the podium and even Jack Roush congratulated him on a job well done.
Not only did he smoke those tyres good, he also kept the car off the wall on that narrow front straight!
That's generally where the story says 'The End' right? Ahh, no...not in this case.
After starting shotgun on the field (ignoring those guys sent to the back for engine changes and whatnot...if you want to get picky, then I think he actually started 41st), Marcos stormed his way through the field to be running 15th after 23 laps. The final cycle of pitstops came and went and the #21 Ford Fusion was inside the top ten...but could he keep it going or would similar misfortune strike him like at Infineon?
With a slipping clutch and fading brakes, Marcos passed Martin Truex Jr for fourth and inherited third when Newman ran wide in turn one before 'the big one' happened behind. That allowed his brakes to cool down but that clutch was going to be an issue since the guy behind him, Juan Montoya, isn't well known for his patience. Ambrose went to the inside on the restart, telling Juan that if he wanted past, he'd have to go around the outside...something the Columbian did try on the final restart and ended up having to battle Truex allowing Marcos some breathing room as he closed in on Tony Stewart.
Marcos took the #21 to heights not seen by the team in over three years.
That was where the story ended as Ambrose finished behind Tony and Kyle, giving the Wood Brothers their best finish since 2005 and the best ever finish by an Australian in the Cup series (previous was a 18th by Tony Spanos at Martinsville in 1987 apparently).
Now, I'll be the first to say not to expect a similar result from Marcos in next weekend's Cup race at Michigan since, despite Ambrose saying he doesn't want to be known just for his road racing expertise, he has to be realistic and knows that's when he's able to show off his talent, just like Robby Gordon. But he showed last weekend that sometimes you do get that fairytale ending and nice guys don't have to finish last.
Congratulations, Marcos. You've made Australia, and this Aussie in particular, proud, mate.
Or rather, in racing terms; if you put yourself in position enough times, eventually you'll breakthrough.
I get the impression that might be Marcos Ambrose's mantra for this week as, once again, victory in Montreal slipped from his grasp.
Going into the weekend, there was no doubt that the #59 STP Ford was going to be one of the cars to watch and Ambrose made good on those promises. He qualified third and snuck into second, passing Max Papis, before the first safety car period came out on lap 7. For the first time in NASCAR history, this caution wasn't to wait out the rain, but rather to give all teams the chance to fit a windshield wiper, brake light and whatever else could be done inside the allotted time to help against fogging up windows and helmets.
Once the race got back underway, Ambrose wasted little time in passing Scott Pruett for the lead and then proceeded to get back to where he left off here twelve months ago; giving a demonstration on how to drive this track. By the time the next yellow flag came out, Marcos had built his lead to over eight seconds, he did it again the next time (even going off-track and still retaining the lead) before coming in for his final pit stop on lap 41. Such was his performance (assisted by the weather of course) that, even allowing for his drive-through penalty for speeding, he came out in third and was poised to challenge for the win as his wets were far fresher than those of Ron Fellows (who had yet to make his last stop) and Patrick Carpentier (who chose not to change his tyres at his stop...Kimi Raikonnen at Silverstone last month, anyone?).
Alas, we'll never know if both drivers were holding back or, indeed, whether Ambrose could have gotten by them, as the rain became torrential and NASCAR, wisely, called the race off with 26 laps remaining. It was small consolation for the Australian that he led the most laps for the second straight year as he was interviewed after the race; "We’ve dominated this race twice now and not closed the deal. I’m bitterly disappointed and I feel a little robbed. It doesn’t feel too good."
He may have been in different colours, but Marcos gave a repeat performance of 2007...complete with the same result; no win.
Does Montreal owe Ambrose? Maybe.
But hey, that's racing and sometimes the guy with the best car doesn't win. The good news for Marcos is he doesn't have to wait long for the next road course and if his performances at Sonoma and Montreal are anything to go by, expect him to be running in the top 10...as long as he doesn't dwell too much on the one that got away.
Right, I’m back (sort of…still need to find a job as well as a more permanent place of residence before I can finally relax) after the busiest month in my life having packed up and moved across the Pacific Ocean; hence the new blog title. The race for the QC has closed up dramatically from four weeks ago (though only three points weekends as Michigan qualifying was rained out of course).
Kyle Busch maintains his lead but in those three sessions, he’s managed to score just 24 points while Jimmie Johnson went on a tear and accumulated a whopping 120 points to slash the gap down to just 15 points.
Rocketing into the top 20 due to his pole at Loudon is Patrick Carpentier. Others include Bobby Labonte and AJ Allmendinger at the expense of Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray and Ken Schrader. Among the frontrunners, Kasey Kahne went from sixth to fourth and Jeff Gordon drops one spot to fifth. David Ragan hasn’t scored any points at all since my last update but hangs tough in 14th while there is a bit o####ap starting to form between the top four and the rest as we approach halfway through the season.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 17 rounds:
The races have seen Kyle keep his 'plus one race' margin mainly due to picking up another win while the other three races were shared between Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kurt Busch. Just the solitary change in the top 20 as Elliott Sadler squeezes out Travis Kvapil. Kahne has risen to seventh from 14th while Biffle lost four places and now sits tenth.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 17 rounds:
To Daytona under lights then, where we’ll see if we can get another cracking finish like last year when Jamie McMurray broke a five year drought by pipping Kyle at the line. The smart money (assuming it doesn’t rain for qualifying) will be on a GOGH driver nabbing the pole position and if recent progress is anything to go by, the Dodge camp seem to have gotten over their early season troubles which could be an ominous sign since Penske went 1-2 here in February with what basically everyone said were the ‘slowest’ cars.
Alrighty then, Dover saw Roush-Fenway somehow lose a race that they should have won…and no guesses on picking who the driver was that spoiled their party.
Qualifying had Greg Biffle collect his second pole of the year, fending off both Busch’s from securing a brotherly front-row. Kyle kept increasing his lead over the rest of the field as Dale Earnhardt Jr failed to score any points this week.
One new face in the top 20 this week as Jamie McMurray relegates Reed Sorenson.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 13 rounds:
On to Pocono where Jeff Gordon won by dint of leading when the rains came and everyone will be hoping Kyle has a bad finish to tighten things up a bit at the top…well, everyone except Kyle of course.
Another side note, that’s it from me for a while…and also the end of my "Trans-Tasman Traveller" title as I make my move further overseas this weekend. Hope the race/s I don’t get to see are great and thanks everyone for putting up with me this past year and a bit *laugh*
Well, after the busiest weekend in motorsport with a fourteen hour drool-fest for us…uh, those channel surfers, not me, I had to go to work since everything happened on Monday morning for me…as attentions turned from the streets of Monte Carlo to the Brickyard before coming to a bleary-eyed stop in Concord, things stayed pretty much the same in both the QC and the RC.
Qualifying had Kyle Busch start from the pole with Kasey Kahne alongside…which meant that Kyle further extended his lead over the rest and is just 16 points away from having enough points that he could take a race off and still retain the lead. The others will hope Kyle has done exactly what the All Blacks do in rugby union; peak too early.
Dropping out of the top 20 this time are Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek, making way for Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers. Among the frontrunners, Kahne was the biggest gainer going from tenth to sixth while Denny Hamlin went the other way; sixth to eighth. All up, 46 drivers have scored at least one point in qualifying as the season kicks off its middle third.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 12 rounds:
The race saw, predictably, Kyle shoot off into the sunset and, but for losing voltage, he would most likely have backed up his win in the Nationwide race the night before. But, thankfully for the rest of the field, he did have issues and the lead was mainly traded between Kyle, Dale Earnhardt Jr (hmm, I probably shouldn’t have put those two together like that, there could be some trouble there), Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch (ta muchly for reminding me about him, klv), Kahne and Tony Stewart.
Kyle, despite his problems finished in third while Jr had an eventful night blowing a tyre and getting whacked up the back by JJ Yeley before rebounding to wind up fifth. Kurt also whacked the wall a couple times but still managed to finish in the top 20. Vickers and Johnson didn’t last the distance as Brian lost a wheel and Jimmie grenaded an engine…first time in nearly 100 races that’s happened to the #48. However, all that paled into insignificance as Stewart easily had the roughest time.
Having closed down the gap to Kahne, he then passed Kasey in the pits and was cruising to victory having over a five second lead with three laps to go…before his tyre let go. Tony did an amazing job to keep his Camry off the wall but his dream of a win on Memorial day vanished as Kasey went by to take the win, becoming the sixth driver to win the All-star race and the Coke 600 in the same year. Greg Biffle followed him home, just like he did last week as well (not the first time that’s happened as tyler did a bit of scouting around). Kudos to Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann and Sam Hornish Jr who all wound up with great finishes too.
No changes in the top 20, just a bit of shuffling around. Biffle’s up four spots to eighth and Johnson dropped two spots to ninth. Due to Carl Edwards running out of fuel on the final lap, Kyle’s lead now exceeds 100 points…but remember, Jeff Gordon was on fire in last years TNRC around this time of the year and Jimmie managed to nip past him at the end (and that was without the Chase I’m using this year) so there’s still hope for the rest. At one third through the season, we have 37 guys who have scored points.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 12 rounds:
To Dover then where Martin Truex Jr dominated this time last year…but he’ll have to contend with all three JGR cars as well as Roush-Fenway, Dale Jr and, after the last week and a bit, a resurgent Kasey Kahne.
On a side note, it took a full year after williamwilman put the idea out there, but we finally had someone go three-for-three in the trifecta. Dwindy hosted it this week and not only was it a first 'perfect' score, it was also a first time trifecta winner. But, as Dave pointed out on Dwindy's blog, picking the F1 and/or Indy winner is somewhat easier than Cup...most likely since there's only a handful of cars capable of winning whereas there's at least 10 in Cup. So, I guess that means I need to send Lewis Hamilton, Scott Dixon and Kasey Kahne a card or something…hmm, anyone know their addresses?
Well, another track ticked off the 2008 schedule and while the teams had a newly paved place to deal with, at the end of the day it was the same old, same old as Kyle Busch continued his hot streak in both the QC and the RC. Luckily for the rest, he could only manage sixth in qualifying so Dale Earnhardt Jr was able to close the gap by sticking his Impala on the front row but they were all left in Greg Biffle's dust as he pulled a lap out of his bag of tricks to take Ford's first pole position of the season.
With that effort, Greg, along with Bobby Labonte, bumps out Jamie McMurray , Mike Skinner and Juan Montoya (Mike and Juan were tied for 20th last round).
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 11 rounds:
And with his third win of the year, Kyle extend his lead over Carl Edwards in the RC and in a bad weekend for Juan, Travis Kvapil due to his stonking drive pushes him out of the top 20.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 11 rounds:
On to Lowes Motorspeedway where we'll see if Casey Mears can repeat his win from last year...or if Kasey Kahne will claim the place as his again like he did in 2006. As much fun as it might have been to give my driver a bonus 1000 points for winning the All-star race, I didn't think that would be terribly fair so I'll just have to make do with knowing he's safely into that race until 2019.
The 2008 All-star winner.
So, on behalf of, possibly, their Southern-most fan, congratulations to everyone at GEM and to Kasey on their surprise (hey, who'd have thought those Goodyears would last the way they did?) win.
Well, after the washout in Bristol, the qualifying title headed to NASCAR's smallest track where Jeff Gordon proved, again, that he's rather handy around that place as he picked up his second pole position for the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr couldn't crack into the top 17 so Gordon extended his lead to more than a round (78 points), but as we saw last year, certainly not safe from being caught.
A few surprises in the top 10 with Aric Almirola, Jamie McMurray (after a horrid start to his 2008 campaign) and Ken Schrader all starting from the first five rows while Denny Hamlin continued his march up the pecking order as he lined up next to Gordon on the front row.
Texas saw a role reversal for the Hendrick boys as Dale Jr took the pole while Gordon failed to score any points. David Ragan's strong recent form stayed with him, qualifying seventh behind David Reutimann while Sam Hornish Jr picked up his first point of the year.
So, from Atlanta, no change at the top with Gordon leading Jr in a HMS 1-2 but Kyle Busch does manage to get past Carl Edwards for third. Michael Waltrip drops from outright seventh to equal 13th with Hamlin going the other way to move from equal 13th to outright sixth. Almirola, Ragan and Reutimann push out Casey Mears, Scott Riggs and Reed Sorenson to make up the top 20.
Oh, and I've given full points for qualifying unlike what I'm doing with the races...sort of hard to set a cut-off distance in qualifying.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 7 rounds:
I shall put up the TNRC for both rounds tomorrow most likely...no pictures this week since both Jeff and Jr have had pikkies this season anyway so I didn't really see the point *shrugs*
Easy week for the QC as we had our second washout for the season. It looks like we're heading for a repeat of 2007 with those so maybe I should slap down a tenner on Jimmie going back-to-back...despite what frevr3 reckons on his blog.
To the race then; and what a cracking one it was!
Joe Gibbs were the team to beat once again, mirroring their early season pace of 2007, but failing to reach victory lane...hmm, better put it on Jimmie to win the RC too. Jeff Burton finally broke through to win his first Cup race in Bristol, backing up Clint Bowyer's win in the Nationwide race the night before. In a great day for Richard Childress, Kevin and Clint followed Jeff home to score a 1-2-3 finish.
Jeff takes his first win of the season...and also Chevy's first win. Who'd have thought that after 2007?
Carl Edwards dropped from equal second to outright sixth while Bowyer went from 19th to 14th. Bobby Labonte drops out of equal 20th as Denny Hamlin picked up points for finishing in sixth.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 5 rounds:
So what's all those half points for? Well, if you remembered my post in January explaining the new points system, then you'd know that I'm not giving full points for the races that are significantly shorter in distance than the majority. Tough bikkies if you are a Dale Earnhardt Jr fan and believe I'm sabotaging his points...if I'd wanted to do that, I'd have altered my system every week so Kasey Kahne would miraculously get the maximum points.
**ok, after much deliberating (ta JJD), this is how the points will go; races under 400 miles get half points, the rest get the full compliment. That means the races at Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond, Loudon, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen will all be scored the same way this one was**
No race this weekend as the Cup guys enjoy some chocolate, assuming their trainers allow them, so we'll see in a fortnight if Martinsville can produce a similar race to this one.
Fresh off winning the 2007 TNQC, Jimmie Johnson set about making sure he stayed on top by snagging pole position for the Daytona 500 with Michael Waltrip alongside him. Dale Earnhardt Jr and Denny Hamlin shared the second row of the grid as they quickly got to terms with their new rides for '08.
Rain was the main course at Fontana so the points from Daytona stood as they headed to Vegas. Hometown boy, Kyle Busch, showed that he's doing his best to prove to Rick Hendrick that he made a mistake by letting him go last year as he took the pole while Carl Edwards would start next to him. Dale Jr, by dint of Johson and Waltrip struggling to find the one lap pace to start near the front, leads the Qualifying Championship with Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Busch and Johnson nipping at his gearbox.
"I'm sorry, your name was Jimmie who again?"
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - standings after 3 rounds:
1 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 81 points 2 - Carl Edwards, 78 points 3 - Jeff Gordon, 75 points =4 - Kyle Busch, 72 points (1 pole) =4 - Jimmie Johnson, 72 points (1 pole) 6 - Mark Martin, 66 points 7 - Michael Waltrip, 60 points =8 - Denny Hamlin, 45 points =8 - Casey Mears, 45 points =10 - Ryan Newman, 39 points =10 - Mike Skinner, 39 points =10 - Reed Sorenson, 39 points =13 - Greg Biffle, 36 points =13 - Tony Stewart, 36 points 15 - Scott Riggs, 33 points 16 - Kurt Busch, 27 points =17 - Kasey Kahne, 24 points =17 - Elliott Sadler, 24 points 19 - Patrick Carpentier, 15 points =20 - Bobby Labonte, 12 points =20 - Matt Kenseth, 12 points =22 - David Ragan, 9 points =22 - David Reutimann, 9 points 24 - Juan Montoya, 6 points 25 - Kevin Harvick, 4 points 26 - Dale Jarrett, 3 points 27 - Kenny Wallace, 1 point
After a rather unexpected victor in Ryan Newman won at Daytona, it looked like we were back to business with HMS being the team to beat as first Jeff Gordon and then Jimmie Johnson took turns at the head of the field. But it was to prove irrelevent in the end as the weather made the race go into Monday. And, it was the Roush team who ended up going to victory lane again at Fontana as Carl Edwards took the eighth win of his career.
He didn't have to wait long to win his ninth race either...just six days in fact. Now, there is a little black (fluid) cloud over his Vegas win so we'll see what happens with that. Vegas had me scrambling around for clarification over who finished sixth; Kasey Kahne or David Ragan. Sites were split as to who finished in front ofthe other while the foxtrax gave them the exact same time for crossing the line...but I've gone with Ragan in sixth and Kahne seventh, so tough bikkies if you lose out by two points at seasons end, Kasey.
With the win, Edwards flipped over Kyle Busch who is having a similar start to this season as last; having a great car but not closing the deal.
I still say one of these days he'll misjudge that.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - standings after 3 rounds:
So there we go, every driver who has scored points in both titles is there...I shall just list the top 20 each week after this I think. Thumbs up to Kvapil for a great finish at Vegas and thumbs down to no one mentioning it...guess that's due to not having a sponsor on the car which is a pathetic reason but very much in keeping with NASCAR.
No, I didn't forget about doing my TNQC and TNRC for Daytona...I just didn't really see the merit in posting them this week since the top 17 are, funnily enough, the top 17 qualifiers/finishers so I'll wait until after Fontana to put the list up here...congrats to the Penske bunch though.
So what is a Teretonga you may ask? I'll add two more words for you; Ruapuna and Timaru...no idea?
Well then I suggest you do some geography, or at least look to your right and read my profile...yep, those three are names of racetracks in New Zealand, South Island if I want to get picky. To get to Teretonga, you head towards Invercargill and keep going before you get to the sign which states that it is the southern-most FIA sanctioned track in the world...at least, I think that's what it said but the wind was howling and pushing the rain sideways so it was hard to make out at the time. Luckily the weather did clear up (well, the rain stopped at least) around lunchtime so I could confirm that's what it says.
2008 marked the first ever time, apparently, that NZ hosted a few of the CanAm cars...which strikes me as odd considering how much success Kiwis had during the nine seasons it was raced from 1966 to 1974. In fact, the series was often called the 'Bruce and Denny show' as Bruce McLaren (yes, the same McLaren as the F1 team...rather poor they don't play the NZ anthem when they win but you can't have everything I guess) and Denny Hulme (NZ's only F1 World Champion) pretty much thrashed everyone until the Porsches showed up in the last few years of them.
In the 58 events the duo entered, they collected a total of 39 wins...makes HMS effort of 18 from 36 rather poor really. Oh and another four races were won by drivers using McLarens bringing the total percentage of races won in the nine years to 60%.
A familiar scene...the two orange McLarens out front
CanAm managed to attract drivers from the world over including Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Jackie Stewart just to name a few. So what made drivers want to race these things? I suppose it would be the tight restrictions on what you could race...anything goes.
Yep, the rules for CanAm were very simple; build anything that has wheel arches and you could race it. That meant turbos, superchargers, four-wheel-drive, ground effects, wings, super-fat racing slicks...basically anything nowdays that you can't use *laugh*
CanAm provided the biggest Ferrari V12 engine ever (though I don't think they actually raced it) as well as the turbocharged Porsche flat-12. By the end of the series, the cars were pushing 1300 hp and well capable of speeds over 240 mph. Probably the funniest story we got told was that in a recent race over in the States, there was a quick flip-flop at the end of a straight which everyone was lifting off for. One driver however told his crew that if they #### more wing on, he'd be able to take it flat...and he did...at over 200 mph...rather him than me *hair rise*
Anyway, just thought I'd share that one here and would recommend going and seeing them if you get a chance (there were just five on display here so I can only imagine what 20 would be like)...I just wish the weather had been better than it was at Teretonga.
Been waiting for today to post this so here we go. Australia does tend to have a pretty decent history in motor racing, be it Sir Jack Brabham in F1 or Mick Doohan in the 500cc bikes. But what could 2008 bring for a nation that prides itself on punching above its weight when it comes to sports?
The V8 Supercars kick off at the end of February in Adelaide for the Clipsal 500, raced on the streets where the F1 boys used to be until they moved to Melbourne. Garth Tander has moved from Toll HSV to the Holden Racing Team (HRT) and will be favourite to retain his title. Helping him should be the fact that Holden have released a new Commodore so that should be better than the old one. However, we'll have to see on that since AVESCO have regulations in place that neither manufacturer can have a significant advantage over the other so the racing still should be pretty even. His closest rivals will most likely be Rick Kelly, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup...in other words, the same three as last season. Dark horses could be Mark Winterbottom and Lee Holdsworth. My money will be on Tander but since I'm president of 'The Stoppers', I doubt Garth will be happy with that idea.
Formula One sees Mark Webber flying the flag...again. Mark seems to make a habit of joining teams that then inexplicably decide to push the self destruct button on the cars' reliability (Jaguar, Williams and now Red Bull), but he is one quick guy, particularly when it comes to qualifying. He's twice visited the podium and will be needing some serious good luck if he wants to stand on the top step and hear Advance Australia Fair being belted out. But, with Adrian Newey on board, anything is possible...hopefully Vettel won't take him out again like last year in China when they were behind the safety car. That could have been the first win for an Aussie since Alan Jones back in the 80's, but hey, some people say you "have to lose one to win one," before you can fully appreciate it.
Mark had been running in 2nd and quicker than the leader until this happened.
Casey Stoner is the reigning champion in the MotoGP series after trouncing everyone in his Ducati. Chris Vermeulen is also in the series and he won a rain-soaked race at Le Mans which didn't really surprise many as he's considered somewhat of an expert when the skies open. But Casey has the added advantage of a new teammate this season and his confidence levels will be skyhigh so we could very well wind up finishing 1-2 at the end of 2008...I'd settle for just the 1 to be honest but the main thing for both will be whether their bikes are competitive enough.
Casey celebrating one of his 10 wins in 2007.
The Sebastien Bourdais World Ser...uh, Champ Car Wolrd Series, apologies for getting the name wrong...will be moving into unchartered waters as Seb has left to persue his F1 dream (driving for Toro Rosso). Will Power managed to increase interest from Australia by having a great start to the year, so much interest that the TV networks were forced to show the races instead of just a highlights package...a win for the public finally. Unfortunately, I don't live in Australia so the only race I get to see in NZ is the one on the Gold Coast but that's ok, my interest in the series is nowhere near as high since the death of Greg Moore in 1999...yes Will, that's a challenge that you're welcome to tackle and I truly hope you have better luck on the streets of Surfers Paradise this time around.
With a bit more luck, Will might have challenged Seb for the title.
NASCAR...bit like F1 really where Marcos Ambrose is the only representative. His debut season in the Busch series last year went exceptionally well with the only thing missing being a victory. And if I know Marcos , he'll be keen to put that right this year. He'll also be making his Cup debut (ok, so he did at Watkins Glen last year but the weather ruined his chances as qualifying was cancelled so that doesn't count in my books) and run a part-schedule (around 15 races or so). I am not really expecting much in the Cup series since the Wood Brothers aren't exactly what you'd call a topline team anymore...but they do have a great heritage and the knowledge he'll get from racing with them will put him in great stead if he manages to make the switch to Cup fulltime in 2009.
Back for another tilt in the States, Marcos is looking to improve on his best finish of fourth.
Discounting the V8's since it's a home series, our best chance of winning clearly comes from the MotoGP...but we like to spring surprises and I know I won't mind if any (or all) of the rest pulls a Steven Bradbury ;)
So why did I wait until today before posting this? I suggest you look up January 26 and Australia on Google and find out.
'Australiana' by Austen Tayshus (from 1983)...thanks to HotFootLori for the instructions although the sound needs to be up quite high to hear it
Alrighty then, the season is finally over, even though this title had been decided last time out. I waited so long to post this since I wanted something to do this weekend. Next weekend sees the final round of the V8 Supercars from Phillip Island so I'll update that this week...from the previous round in Tasmania; Marcos Ambrose country.
Anyway, that's next week and the wrong series so let's do this thing since it's the last one.
Homestead saw Jimmie Johnson start from pole but it was the fourth place man who smashed everyone...driving a Roush-Fenway Ford...number starts with a 1...and first name with four letters...scary stuff *laugh*
But no, Greg didn't do the fourplay (sorry, couldn't resist using that) as teammate Matt Kenseth completely dominated, leading around 200 laps and finally breaking through for his second win of the season...Fontana in February must have seemed an age away for the #17 Dewalt guys. So kudos to Matt and co. for transferring their late season surge into a visit to victory lane.
This was the view a lot saw in their mirrors...as Matt came up to put them a lap down
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship (TNRC) Standings - final standings
1 - Jimmie Johnson, 164 points (10 wins) 2 - Jeff Gordon, 152* points (6 wins) 3 - Tony Stewart, 99* points (3 wins) 4 - Matt Kenseth, 90 points (2 wins) 5 - Denny Hamlin, 83.5* points (1 win) 5 - Carl Edwards, 81 points (3 wins) 6 - Kyle Busch, 76.5* points (1 win) 8 - Jeff Burton, 68 points (1 win) 9 - Martin Truex Jr, 60* points (1 win) 10 - Kurt Busch, 56 points (2 wins) 11 - Clint Bowyer, 51 points (1 win) 12 - Kevin Harvick, 46 points (1 win) 13 - Ryan Newman, 46* points (doesn't get equal 12th since Kevin had a win while Ryan didn't) 14 - Greg Biffle, 45 points (1 win) 15 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 41 points 16 - Casey Mears, 33.5* points (1 win) 17 - Mark Martin, 33* points 18 - Juan Montoya, 24 points (1 win) 19 - Jamie McMurray, 20 points (1 win) 20 - Reed Sorenson, 17 points =21 - Kasey Kahne, 12 points =21 - David Blaney, 12 points 23 - David Ragan, 10 points 24 - Jeff Green, 9 points 25 - JJ Yeley, 8 points =26 - David Gilliland, 6 points =26 - Kyle Petty, 6 points =26 - Brian Vickers, 6 points =29 - Ron Fellows, 5 points =29 - Mike Wallace, 5 points =31 - Robby Gordon, 4 points =31 - Elliott Sadler, 4 points =31 - Johnny Sauter, 4 points =34 - Bobby Labonte, 2 points =34 - Ricky Rudd, 2 points =36 - Scott Riggs, 1 point =36 - David Stremme, 1 point
(* denotes half points only awarded as race did not reach 75% completion)
Well, that's it...I think I've done the points right this time so I won't have to look through anything. It's been fun to do this and as I've said before, the format will change next year to the V8 Supercars one...top 15 score points in it so consistancy should be a bit better rewarded *cough* Jeff and Clint *cough*
Regardless, even without a Chase, Jimmie showed that when it came to the crunch, he was the best driver...end of story.
Ok so this hasn't been updated since Dover where Carl Edwards dominated. Fortunately, Jimmie Johnson decided to make things a bit easier for me by thumping everyone else the past month (ta for that mate, much easier to keep the points up to date if I know who's going to win each week).
I'll just put up the top 15 drivers and it's rather interesting to note that my top 12 matches the Chase drivers...and I didn't use a Chase format so they really have been the best 12 drivers this year.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship (TNRC) Standings - after round 35
And there we go, it's all over since the gap is more than ten points. So say what you want about how Jeff's been robbed by having such a big lead or whatever, but with the F1 format, Jimmie has the most wins and has wrapped it up with a race to spare.
It's over; Jimmie wins the 2007 TNRC
Well done to everyone who works on the #48 Lowes Chevrolet. You guys have managed to do what I thought no one could three months ago; overhaul Jeff Gordon.
And congratulations to Jimmie Johnson; the inaugural winner of the TNRC title.
Ok so I haven't updated this since Talladega...urgh, great, five weekends ago *rolls eyes*
At that stage Jimmie Johnson had taken a good grip on the qualifying title and that hasn't changed. What has changed is that Jeff Gordon has moved up to second (how ironic since they're also 1-2 in the race standings; both NASCAR's and mine) with Ryan Newman dropping to third.
While Johnson has been on a tear in the races, doing a three-peat, it's been his consistancy that has seen him keep his points lead over Gordon. Not that Jeff hasn't been trying, he's outscored Johnson 39-31 over the last five races...he just let Jimmie get too far ahead at the start.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - Chase for the Plate after Qualifying 9
So with one qualifying session to go, Jeff must outscore his teammate by nine points to win this thing outright and save me doing a countback...the bonus point for pole would be very helpful as would some bad luck for Jimmie. But, as this season has seen, those HMS cars are pretty much bulletproof so it's really Johnson's title to lose.
Down to two; only these guys can win the first TNQC title next week in Miami
To the rest then where, after this weekend, Martin Truex Jr has wrapped up 13th with Greg Biffle doing the same for 14th.
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - Best of the Rest after round 35
13 - Martin Truex Jr, 74 points (1 pole) 14 - Greg Biffle, 51 points (1 pole) 15 - Bobby Labonte, 40 points 16 - Kevin Harvick, 37 points 17 - Scott Riggs, 34 points 18 - Clint Bowyer, 33 points (2 poles) 19 - Dave Blaney, 30 points (1 pole) =20 - Casey Mears, 29 points (1 pole) =20 - Tony Stewart, 29 points 22 - JJ Yeley, 28 points (1 pole) =23 - Matt Kenseth, 25 points =23 - Mark Martin, 25 points =25 - David Gilliland, 21 points (1 pole) =25 - Reed Sorenson, 21 points (1 pole) 27 - David Stremme, 19 points 28 - Ricky Rudd, 16 points =29 - Jeff Burton, 15 points =29 - Johnny Sauter, 15 points 31 - Michael Waltrip, 13 points (1 pole) 32 - Dale Jarrett, 10 points =33 - Joe Nemechek, 9 points =33 - Tony Raines, 9 points =35 - AJ Allmendinger, 8 points =35 - Robby Gordon, 8 points =35 - Brian Vickers, 8 points =38 - Sterling Marlin, 6 points =38 - David Ragan, 6 points =38 - Ken Schrader, 6 points =38 - Kenny Wallace, 6 points =42 - John Andretti, 5 points =42 - David Reutimann, 5 points =42 - Boris Said, 5 points 45 - Jacques Villeneuve, 3 points =46 - Ward Burton, 2 points =46 - Bill Elliot, 2 points =46 - Mike Skinner, 2 points 49 - Paul Menard, 1 point
Tez is a rare creature; an Australian who was living in New Zealand before moving to Canada. He's also a Civil Engineer who is hoping to spend his Monday to Friday sitting in front of a computer surfing the inter...uh, working hard for an Engineering Consultant or Contractor when he finds a job. His heart is torn between his two loves; F1 and NASCAR.
Due to his high interest in those, his blogs will likely focus on them with the occasional foray into sports that don't get much (if any) mention on this website. All blogs and/or comments will more than likely have his usual dollop of sarcasm and general Aussie spin on them.
Amazingly, he also managed to score 2 MiB nominations on consecutive days (August 5 & 6, 2007) after announcing he had been keeping track of them...he's considering hiding under his bed as a result.
