The Trifecta is back this week and is making 2 stops in Kansas with the meat in this NASCAR sandwich, The F1 race from Japan.  Now this might seem like an easy one, but there is going to be a few rules to each race that may turn this into a real nightmare.  Don’t let that scare you off though, if you get frightened you can tap your heels together and say “there’s no place like home”.  That will wake you up and bring you back to reality.  Here are your events.

 First up is the Busch race from Kansas. It is set to go off at 3:00pm ET, Saturday.  It should be chalk full of Cup drivers, but to bad you can not pick any of them.  This race is restricted to only driver that have not made a cup start this year.

 Second is the Japanese Grand Prix.  It is set to go off at an early 12:30 am Sunday.  I think the only one who is in favor of this start time is Tezgm99, but he is the one who is usually up at all hours to watch the races.  I guess we can give him a couple, eh. Your twist in this one is you can not choose any driver who has won a race this year.  Effectively this eliminates the 2 teams involved in the espionage scandal, Ferrari and Mclaren.

  The final race is the Nextel Cup race from Kansas.  It is slated to start at 1:00pm. ET, Sunday.  As you know this year has been dominated by the chasers (obvious statement there william), and now they seem to be the only ones out there.  This week we are going to change that by only picking cars not in the chase.  We need to do all we can to bring attention to these guys too.

 So there you have it.  Do your research, make you picks and “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”.  The same rules apply for double picks (5 for 1,10 for 2 and 15 for 3) and we are giving up on the bonus for the cup guys because we have figured out how to pick a winner.  Picks are due before the start of the Busch races, and hope your drivers can “follow the yellow brick road” or at least stay right side up.

Well folks this weeks Trifecta is going to be put together really quick. It has been a long day at work but I did want to get one in this week as it is the finale of the IRL season.

First on the card is the Nextel Cup race from Richmond. Although it is the final race before the chase, it’s all but academic at this point. The race starts at 7:00 ET on Saturday night

Next we have the Italian Grand Prix from Monza. It is slated to go at 8:00 am ET on Sunday.

The last Race will be the final IRL race at Chicgoland. It is scheduled for 3:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoon.

Same rules for double picks this week but there will be no bonus for picking the Cup winner as we have figured out how to do that as a group.

Congratulations to photogr who won for the second time in a row last week, making it two weeks in a row successfully picking the cup winner

This week the Trifecta is brought to you by the great number 3.  It is such a beautiful number, used in so many ways.  From being the number of competitors to stand on the podium after a race, to the number of sides on nature’s strongest shape (the triangle) the number three has an important designation in human civilization.   It provides an endless source of wonder and intrigue.  Think of the great movie trilogies you have seen, or your first mode of transportation (the tricycle), and I’m sure you’ll agree 3 is a terrific whole number.   It even has significance to the number of my favorite driver.  Jeff Gordon’s famed 24 frames the 3, maybe showing reverence to a driver who drove a car with that number…....what was his name again?

Anyway your card this weekend starts with the Busch series out in California starting at 9:30p.m ET Saturday.  All drivers are eligible.

The second race this week is the Nextel cup race, in California as well starting at 7:00 pm ET Sunday night (thankfully Monday is a holiday).

The last race is the NHRA’s US Nationals taking place in Indianapolis over the weekend.  This week we will focus only on the FUNNY cars.  The finals are scheduled to run Monday at 12:00 am ET. (Indy is only 1 hour behind Eastern Standard Time right Dave?). 

Final qualifications for the drag races take place on Saturday afternoon so picks are due before the Busch race 9:30 ET Saturday evening.  Same rules apply, but if someone picks the cup winner this week I will be taking away the bonus 5 points as we will have figured out how to pick’em.

Also congratulations to photogr who won last weeks Trifecta with a -3 and thanks for the mention on the radio program last week  The Trifecta before that was won by yours truly (williamwilman) after an exciting trip to Montreal and the one before that was handed to volfan69 who won with a -1.   Both photo and volfan are the only people to pick the eventual cup winner.

Congratulations to all 3!

Okay folks and fans, first I must apologize for not being able to put on a Trifecta the last 2 weeks. Things at work have picked up and I find myself with a lot less free time than earlier in the summer. That is good, it pays the bills, but it is hard on the free time to pull this together. But this week there is some good races so I am making time to marquee 3. The Busch race is already underway and I would be watching it except my darling wife has taken over the remote, so it is not on the card.

First, we have is the Saturday night shootout at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Nextel Cup boys. Starting at 7:30 ET, and this is also when your picks are due.

Second is the Formula 1 race from Hungary at 8:00 am ET.

Third and last on the card is the IRL race from Infineon Raceway in California. That race starts at 3:30 ET.

Also that last time we played no one correctly picked Kurt Busch to win, no dominate, the race in Pocono, so the bonus points for picking the winner of the cup race has moved to -10. The same rule for double picking stands at 5 points for 1, 10 for 2, and 15 if all 3 of your picks have been previously taken.

Sorry as well for the late post, but good luck to every one.

As many of you know this weekend my Dad and I are going to Montreal to watch the NASCAR Busch series make its racing debut in Canada at the world famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The track which is named after Canada’s most storied race car driver is visited by Formula 1 each year takes up an entire Island in the St. Lawrence River. It has been documented that Busch series teams have been advised to be prepared to run in the rain which could make this inaugural event even a bit more interesting. The race is scheduled to go off at 3:30 EST on Saturday afternoon and is the first event on this weeks Trifecta card.
The Second event is the Formula 1 race from Budapest Hungary and is set to go off at 8:00am EST Sunday morning.
The last race on the card has the Nextel Cup cars in Pocono Pennsylvania set to go at 1:00pm EST. The June race there saw a rain shortened day with Jeff Gordon taking the checkers. I believe 2 of the last 3 years the races there have been swept by a single car and we will see if it happens again this year. Hope so.
The same rules apply for double picking a driver and this week picking the winner of the cup race will give you a bonus of -5. Picks are due before the start of the Busch race.

Photogr showed us all how to get it done by having the low score and taking the Open Wheel Trifecta.  Sunday’s prize was very much in doubt until the closing laps of the CCWS race from Edmonton Alberta.  photogr, who proclaims to know very little  about open wheel racing did very well pick great finishes in all 3 races with a worst pick of 6th.  His closest challengers were HotfootLori (who’s pick of Wheldon continued with his own issues) and Tezgm99 (who managed 2 first place picks but could never fully recover from Kimi’s hydraulics/ gearbox issue). 

Some have called photo’s win a result of sandbagging while others have said he was #### lucky.  Which ever the case he proved himself a winner taking his first Trifecta and continuing to lead the points with the lowest picking average.  It is also worth noting he is 1 of only 3 players who have competed in all trifeci to date.

Congratulations photogr.

photogr-----------12
HotfootLori------15
Tezgm99---------16
Dave_in_Indy---20
JayJayDean------21
IowaGirl---------25
williamwilman--29
volfan69---------42(because the missed pick in the IRL race)
 
Well this weekend sees the F1 and IRL teams off and the cup boys are visiting the famed Brickyard for the 400 mile event there.  We have never picked the winner of a cup race and the bonus points for doing so are up to -10 this week. 

The first event on the schedule is the Busch race from Indianapolis Raceway Park at 8:00 pm on Saturday evening.   There are not many cup drives listed try the race so all drivers are eligible.

The second event is the Nextel Cup race at the Brickyard which starts at or about 1:00 Sunday afternoon.

The final event is the NHRA event at Infineon Raceways ¼ mile strip starting at 3:00pm EST.  The way this is going to work is you can pick the winner of either the top fuel dragster or top fuel funny car but you can not pick the same driver as some one else.  There is a possibility of having 2 winners but that is okay.  I didn’t want to limit us to just 16 cars, but your average will be calculated against only 16 cars.

Your picks are due before the beginning of the Busch race.  You can change you NHRA pick up until 2:00 pm EST Sunday because I am not sure when qualifying will be posted.  If you see it posted please let us know.

The same double pick penalties will be applied for the first 2 races and the second to pick a cup race winner will not receive any bonus points.  A double pick for the NHRA event will not be considered. 

HotfootLori is the winner of the Midwest Trifecta. She showed the boys who to pick in the NASCAR races and finally found a way to beat JayJayDean. JJD had what seemed a strangle hold on victory lane after winning 3 of the last 4 Trifecti, (plural?) losing only in the gimmicky French Tri and that after being goaded into picking upsets. He also was able to post a record low score of 13 in the Holiday Trifecta. But Lori, the rookie, came through with some good, consistent picks this week and held off a bullet out of the gate by photogr, who looked to be running away with the weekend, only to end up with trouble in the late stages of the cup race.
Here are your final results (some have been changed slightly due to some miscalculation in the Busch race)
HotfootLori-----------17
Dave_in_Indy--------27
Tezgm99--------------27
williamwilman-------28
photogr----------------39
JayJayDean-----------80

Your over all standings look like this
photogr-----------29.85
HotFootLori-----32.27
Dave_in_Indy---35.07
JayJayDean------37.24
14Falcons--------37.45
Tezgm99---------38.94
williamwilman--42.26

Folks we haven’t seen for a while
IowaGirl----------35.68
volfan69----------56.93
SouthernCindi---67.55

Should I be worried? My points system seems to be rewarding consistency. Looking really good photogr, now you just need to put it all together in one weekend. Stay tuned for this weekends Open Wheeled Trifecta which should post sometime Friday evening (I'm giving up Trying to put an exact time on it)

    This weeks Trifecta is going to be an all NASCAR competition (sorry Dave_in_Indy) to get us through the off Cup week next week. Next week I am planning a special all open wheel edition. This week we see the trucks, Busch and Cup guys all in action all in the mid-west but at different tracks.

    On Saturday afternoon the Busch cars are at Chicago supporting the Cup series. The race starts at 2:30 est. and this is when your picks are due. Only non-Cup regulars are on the ticket again this week. This includes drivers who have made less than half of the cup races this year.

    On Saturday night, 7:30 est. the trucks do battle at the Kentucky speedway. This event is open to all drivers.

    On Sunday at 2:30 est. the main event is on, as the Cup cars go for it at Chicagoland. The trifecta has never picked a cup winner so if you are lucky enough to do so you will receive -5 from your total score. This is going to be awarded like the old Unocal bonus so every week that someone doesn’t claim the prize the bonus adds by -5. This score will not be reflected in the points system but could easily turn a bad weekend around in a hurry.

    The same rules apply for double picks this week, but if you double pick the Cup race you will receive a 15 point penalty no matter if you have doubled before or not. So leave your picks and I’m going to work on updating the points from the last 2 weeks.

Good Morning Trifecta Contestants.

Doesn’t it seem when you’re on holidays that your schedule gets turned upside down. Sorry for being a day behind and I hope it doesn’t effect the turn out. Enough with the excuses though and on to the other FOX NASCAR bloggers contest. We’ll leave it up for debate which one is more fun.

This week will start out with the Nextel Cup race, the Pepsi (formerly Firecracker) 400 from Daytona on Saturday 7:30 ET. Being dubbed the last restrictor plate race with the old car, it will take place Saturday night.

Next the F1 race at Silverstone on Sunday morning (8:00am ET). Hamilton returns home to show his country how to get it done. Will he cave under the pressure or rise to the occasion. You decide.

And lastly we will have the IRL race from Watkins Glen 3:30 ET Sunday afternoon. Finally they go to a track where throttle control is important and then the Nascar guys will be holding it wide open. Ahh, the irony of it all.

I also wanted to know how many of you are interest in champ car racing? It seems to me to be the bottom of the heap, because of instability and predictability. They are racing through the exhibition grounds here in Toronto this weekend and I think the only ones who are still interested are local media. No points for this one but you can tell me who you think will win.

I’ll do a wrap up next week from the past 2 weeks(when I have time back at work). I just wanted to get this out before it was too late. Picks are due…. lets see… we’ll change it up and say before the start of the Saturday night race (7:30 ET)(yes that is after F1 qualifying.)

Same rules apply for double picks.

Well let’s start with the wrap from the weekend that was. JayJayDean continues to set the bar becoming the first back to back trifecta winner and the first 3 time winner. JJ had a great runs in both NASCAR events and managed to get through the crash fest that was that IRL race at the new Iowa speedway. JJD’s main competition was again photogr who managed to get a hit a high note by picking the #2 finisher in the Nextel Cup race.  So in 5 weeks we have not been able to correctly predict the winner of a Cup race (albeit we have had 3 first time winners). He picked Jeff Burton who finished 3rd but Kevin Harvick was who was 2nd was not eligible being a past road course winner.

When I put together the non-road course winner aspect, I thought for sure somebody would take Juan but it ended up being too obvious of a choice.

Congratulations JayJayDean.

Final Results

JayJayDean--------------18
photogr--------------------22
Tezgm99------------------28
williamwilman-----------33
Dave_in_Indy------------(29)
14Falcons-----------------(30)

The last 2 were put there because their picks for the Busch race were late. I’m glad they didn’t win or I would have had to impose a real penalty. Any way they seemed like honest mistakes but those races will not be considered in their overall average. One last note, I think if we take those picks into consideration this had to be out lowest collective score(average) by almost 10 points. Good work folks. Once again I’m pulling down the class average (it’s just like high school all over again).

Season Averages

JayJayDean-------------23.92
photogr-------------------28.17
Tezgm99----------------36.60
Dave_in_Indy-----------38.32
14Falcons---------------40.75
williamwilman----------47.15

Now on to this week where all three major series’ are in action. And to put a little twist on things and because the French are famous for their backward way of thinking I have to decided turn the Trifetca upside down. This week you want to pick THE WORST FINISHER in each event. That’s right, who will finish last, so you want to get the highest score. The averages will be inverted to continue to show true statistics.

The 1st event is the IRL race in Richmond on Saturday.

The 2nd race is the French Grand Prix on Sunday morning at 8:00 am ET.

The 3rd and final event is the Nextel Cup Race in New Hampshire.

So here is your chance to show off how much you really know about the different series’. It’s easy to pick the cars that are up front every week, but now you are forced to go top the bottom of the pack to find the poorest finishers. Or maybe there is a driver you can’t stand and want to see finish last. Whatever the case, if you’re the ultimate stopper this Trifecta is for you.

JayJayDean not only won the Fathers Day trifecta but put a whoopin’ on us all with a microscopic score.  Infact, the score that photogr (2nd) ended up with would have won (or tied) any of the previous weeks, but JJ ended up the winner, with the largest margin of victory to boot.

This is JayJay’s second win and he is the first player to win more than once.  He did it by staying in touch with the leaders through the first 2 rounds and going for the jugular in the final race of the weekend.  He also set the bar in picking the highest ever finishing position in a Cup race (Tony Stewart finishing 3rd).  Obviously he has been doing his homework, studying all the stats, and pulling out the stops when the time is right.  You can check out his work on his blog  “JJD’s NASCAR bolg and other stuff” for your own insight as to who to pick in the NASCAR series’.

Your final results are

JayJayDean----------------------15

photogr---------------------------20

Dave_in_Indy-------------------33

williamwilman-----------------54

Tezgm99------------------------56

volfan69-------------------------57

14Falcons------------------------70

Your updated over all percentages look like this

 JayJayDean-------------------%24.24

photogr------------------------%26.96

14Falcons---------------------%38.02

Dave_in_Indy----------------%38.64

Tezgm99----------------------%41.55

williamwilman---------------%49.02

volfan69-----------------------%56.93

Nicely done JJ, and look at that percentage.  I guess that means you’ll be taken Gordon this weekend if he’s not busy becoming a father.  It’s in the numbers.  I was also thinking of taking the percentages over a set number of events.  That way you could better your numbers a little easier by having bad runs eventually drop off you record.  Any ideas on how many races it should span?

This week the IRL series is coming to Iowa, where I believe we have a couple of contestants living so look for that to be on the card as well as a possible twist on the Cup race.  I hope to post it around 10:00pm Thrusday evening.   I hope to put the trucks on too so check in before Friday night.

This week is the Fathers Day Trifecta. I have a little Dad story I wanted to share first. Last weekend my family and I attended a car show/cruise and over in the corner was a local race car on display. It caught my 2 and a half year old boy’s eye and we headed over to have a closer look at it. It was red so of course my son says “Kasey Kane car”. The guys looking after it laughed and ask my son if he would like to get in. At first he was timid but after we circled the car a couple of times he had to get in. I was such a proud Dad when he was making the engine noises. Then he stops and says to me “fix the tire Daddy”. So after dad completed a pit stop (complete with air gun sound effects) he was on his way and then he yells out to his Mom “need my checkered flag” (which we had just purchased earlier that evening). It was so cute everyone that was around laughed and the guys looking after it showed him how use his flag to pose for his victory lane photo. I couldn’t get the smile off my face for the rest of the day.

Second on the card will be the USGP from Indy. Kubica has been replaced this week, doctor’s orders, but says he feels 100%. Again it is a miracle.

Third is the Nextel Cup race from Michigan.

The same rules apply as last week. You will be penalized for picking cars that have already been taken. You will also be penalized for picking late. Picks are due before F1 qualifiying, 1:00pm ET Saturday. But if your Busch pick doesn’t make the race you will be granted a do-over at the cost of 3 points. (I’m not sure when Busch qualifying is.)

Dave_in_Indy comes up with the right combination for a controversial win in the Great Canadian Trifecta. The initial results of the Grand Prix showed Tezgm99’s pick Massa finishing in 12th place but because of the disqualification he landed in 21st. Trifecta officials have decided to standby the F1 ruling, giving the win to Dave_in_Indy by the smallest margin to date.

Dave had a rough go of it in the first two races on the schedule and found him self in last place in the tightest field of contestants yet. Only 17 points separated all 6 who were led by photogr (always a strong runner in the first 2) and williamwilman (surprisingly enough).

The final race, the rain shortened Nextel cup Pocono event, coupled with the harsh reality that is the F1 rules proved to be what Dave would need to take this weeks Trifecta. Congratulations goes out to Dave_in_Indy who writes a blog called “A Partially Able Mind”. It is a collage of interesting takes on the sports he enjoys including open wheel racing. His articles leading up to the Indianapolis 500 were insightful.

Your final results are

Dave_in_Indy--------------27

JayJayDean-----------------28

Tezgm99--------------------28 (a tough ruling by the judges)

14Falcons-------------------37

williamwilman-------------40

photogr----------------------47

With 36 cars on the lead lap JayJayDean edges out Tezgm99 for second spot (just to rub salt in the wounds). williamwilman was the closest with 32.

I would like to tie up a few loose ends. First of all, “your welcome” to everyone who keeps saying “thank you” for running this little pool. I just wanted to let you know I enjoy it as much as you all do.

Second Canadiens is spelled that way because they are located in the province Quebec which is French speaking and spelling.

Lastly the points system. Now I wanted to devise something fair for all and didn’t require perfect attendance. Not all races have the same number of cars so I am going to give each player a percentage based on the place cars finished in their respective races. I don’t want to make it too confusing (it may be too late for that).

So here are the standings after 3 weeks

JayJayDean -----27.44

14Falcons-------29.43

photogr-----------29.64

Tezgm99--------30.93

IowaGirl---------35.68

Dave_in_Indy—44.86

williamwilman-46.61

volfan69--------62.34

SouthernCindi-67.55

I will be posting the Fathers day Trifecta at about 10:00pm ET on Thursday. Hopefully it doesn’t get to buried in all the Jr. talk.