Ok, if Will turns up, I'll pull this down.

The FBAS Trifecta this week (Fox Bloggers at Sonoma) sees those wacky double dippers jet-setting between Napa and Milwaukee depending on what car they're driving and to tide us over between races, the F1 boys hit Pommie soil for the British GP.

No penalties as I can't be bothered figuring it all out though I was tempted to say you could only pick drivers from countries that you have lived in for a year or more meaning I'd get sole possession of Ambrose and Webber but even I'm not that mean *laugh*

Nationwide - Saturday night, 5:30pm PST
Formula 1 - Sunday morning, 5am PST
Cup - Sunday arvo, 2pm PST

Indeed, as odd as the title suggests, 2008 Truck champ, Johnny Benson, may have a ride after all...the #51 that Kyle Busch usually occupies.

Might we see a third driver using this truck this year?

From jayski:


Johnny Benson might have a one-shot deal at next Friday's Truck race at Milwaukee Mile thanks to [Kyle] Busch. "That really stunk, because I would have liked to have seen last year's champion keep his ride," Busch said. "But unfortunately, money woes there took him out of that deal. "If I could, I would have stepped out (of my truck) this week, but too much stuff with (primary sponsor) Miccosukee and I couldn't do it. I would have liked to give Johnny my truck ride -- I have enough to do. That didn't quite work out, but I think we are going to get it worked out where he can drive mine at Milwaukee."


So, after all the slagging Busch copped last week, I trust people will be in an uproar over this as well if it happens.

Ok, this is taken straight of Yahoo Australia's sports section...please don't sue me, Yahoo, I've only just managed to land a job.


V8 Supercars star Jamie Whincup has given the strongest suggestion yet he is heading overseas, with North America looking his likely destination.

Whincup's contract with Triple Eight Racing ends this year and speculation has been rife the Queenslander is keen to take on a new challenge.

The 26-year-old has dominated the championship for the past two years, claiming his first title last year and starting this season with four consecutive wins.

His streak came to an end at the third stage of this year's championship in Winton but many feel Whincup believes he's achieved all he can in V8 Supercars.

And Whincup himself admits he is tempted by the prospect of a new challenge.

"I'm very, very close to making a decision but not quite there at this stage," Whincup told Sydney radio station 2KY on Friday.

"I've got massive interest to go overseas but of course, at the same time, I love my Aussie V8s as well.

"I'm trying desperately to try to get a happy medium ... to still race in Australia but then to do international events. If that's not possible then I'll have to make a decision either way."

Whincup said the US was his preferred option for driving overseas, inspired by former V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose's success on the lucrative NASCAR circuit.

"Most likely America but the way the economy's going and the way the world's going who knows? I keep saying the whole NASCAR thing, it looks so appealing," Whincup said.

"With Marcos going so well over there maybe there is a door that's open.

"I think I can do well over there, it's just a matter of opportunity.

"I have my options. What I've got here in Australia is unbelievable, I've got a drive with one of the best teams which I'm sure I can renew and a fantastic championship with cool, fun cars to drive.

"In some ways I'd be crazy to walk away from that, so the decision will be made shortly."

Is Jamie Whincup's racing career about to land in the States?

So there we go, could we see the Aussie contingent in NASCAR doubled? Being a fellow Queenslander, I hope Jamie does get a good deal like Marcos was able to get from JTG Daugherty racing but time will tell. There are a few differences between Ambrose and Whincup however; Marcos was the pioneer so his success could make things smoother for Jamie. Also, Jamie would be a couple years younger than when Marcos first went over. And lastly, unlike Ambrose, Whincup has won V8 Supercars biggest race, the Bathurst 1000, so there would be no potential for 'loose ends'...it all sounds pretty good if you ask me.

I imagine that the first question most of you have is why didn't I pick my racing idol or fellow Aussie, Greg Moore or Marcos Ambrose? Well, I doubt very much that I could write a blog even now about the person who got me interested in oval racing knowing how his story ended in 1999 (if you want a truly tragic motorsport story, read his...or better yet, get his book 'Legacy of Spirit', it's really good). As for Ambrose, despite all the success he had with Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) in V8 Supercars, there was one prize that eluded him; winning the Bathurst 1000.

Before Marcos Ambrose came to America, there was this bloke.

Now, admittedly, if I wanted to pick a driver who had won that race a bunch of times, I'd have been better off picking someone like Peter Brock or Mark Skaife...but Jason Bright's tale is a far more tantalising prospect for he could have been Australia's answer to Scott Dixon or even Marcos' predecessor into the world of NASCAR.

But we'll never know.

Born in the town of Moe, Victoria in 1973, Bright burst onto the V8 radar in 1997 when he and Alan Jones (yes, that's the same 'AJ' who won the F1 title back in 1980) finished third in the Sandown 500, our 'test run' of who are the cars to beat at Bathurst. Things didn't pan out quite as well at Mount Panorama however and the duo had to be content with eleventh. The next year saw Jason move up to the V8's on a permanent basis, driving for SBR in the #4 Ford Falcon, the very same car that Ambrose hopped into when he made his debut in 2001. Ninth place at seasons' end may not have been as brilliant as Jason might have hoped given the way he dominated the Australian Formula 3 series but he and codriver, Steve Richards, did manage to secure victory at Bathurst and many drivers say that they'd trade a Championship for a win at Bathurst.

That win was an interesting one as it very nearly didn't happen. Not only did Bright crash the car in practice, a problem with a wheel early on forced the car into an unscheduled pitstop and they nearly went down a lap. Luckily a safety car came out a short while later which allowed Bright and Richards to catch back up to the tail of the field. And with their early stop, they didn't have to do a splash and dash towards the end of the race and so were able to take the lead when the rest did stop. This marked the last win for Ford at Bathurst until the Lowndes/Whincup duo started to work their magic in 2006.

Jason giving the kerbs a good whack in his Champcar.

He improved his standings to eighth in 1999 but, like what happened to Marcos, the lure of America proved too strong to ignore and Bright was signed to compete the entire 2000 season in Indy Lights for Dorricott Racing. Considering the fact that Oriol Servia had won the '99 Championship with that team, one can assume expectations were high for the Aussie...but alas, he came up against some guy from New Zealand by the name of Scott Dixon and could 'only' manage sixth by the end of the season. That said, he did pull off a win at Portland and second place at the Milwaukee Mile so, maybe in other circumstances, Bright may have been given a shot in the Truck series had he pushed like Ambrose did, but his heart was set for openwheelers at that stage. He became just the second Australian to compete in the Gold Coast Indy and was looking good for a top ten result...but it wasn't to be as he got caught up in an incident on a restart towards the end of the race and was forced to retire the car.

That was his only race in Champcar and also pretty much ended Jason's career Stateside so he returned to the V8's to pair up with Mark Skaife and drive for the Holden Racing Team who, at the time, were the best team in the series. He had his best seasons from 2001 to 2004, finishing third (having led the first half of the season) and fourth (with two wins and a pole position) with HRT before moving to Paul Weel Racing for 2003. While he finished fourth again, it was mainly due to his consistency rather than outright pace but 2004 was a far better year and he wound up third again having won three races.

Bright did what Tony Stewart is currently doing...just not with quite as much success as 'Smoke' is managing.

2005 saw him switch back to the Ford marquee, even starting his own team (Fujitsu Racing, named after the title sponsor) but driving for Ford Performance Racing and he endured an inconsistent couple of years (ninth and fifth) before driving for Britek in 2007. Results haven't come easy for Jason, indeed he finished 21st and 19th in the last two V8 standings but he did nearly win again at Bathurst in 2007 but for a bad call on tyres on a pitstop (slicks on a damp track) left him smacking the wall with ten laps to go.

2009 could see a return to form for the battling driver/owner as his team is under the umbrella of, ironically, SBR, just like what JTG Daugherty have with MWR in the Cup series...so will he be able to recapture his form or will the weight of being in "Marcos Ambrose's old team" drag him down and keep him as being known as a 'nearly-man'?

Back in familiar surroundings, Bright will be hoping to bring back the glory days for SBR.

We'll just have to wait and see but if there's one thing Jason Bright isn't afraid of, it's a good challenge.

So here we are, just over a quarter of the way through the season and Marcos has now used all four of his paint schemes for 2009. With his astonishing run to fourth last week at Talladega...aided by not one but two 'big ones' of course, but he did miss both incidents...Ambrose snuck into the top 20 in points. His race today at Richmond further cemented that position as, despite driving a wrecked car courtesy of Sam Hornish Jr, he ended up 11th.

I read on Marcos' website that Frankie Kerr, his crew chief, believes Ambrose has both the talent and the equipment to win on an oval before a road course...big words, but with the momentum he's currently carrying, not totally inconceivable. Yes, that means I have finally tossed aside my preseason prediction that he'd be riding around midpack and thrown my full weight behind my fellow Aussie (I can hear klv and Lori cheering from here *laugh*).

Like his Kingsford car, Marcos' form has been hot lately with the Australian punching above his weight.

Assuming both Toyota and MWR have gotten to the root of their mechanical gremlins, Marcos should be able to enjoy a good run of races where the only thing he needs to worry about is getting caught up in other peoples accidents. He did brilliantly well to avoid everything at 'dega but it was Richmond that made me change my mind. Ok, so having battle scars on a short track doesn't necessarily hinder your progress, but having backed a car into the wall usually signals a reduction in overall performance I think most everyone would agree. But Marcos soldiered on, helped by the uncertainty of the weather which had all the teams scrambling to find the best strategy to beat the rain, and recorded his fifth top 15 effort in the past six races.

Not only has he gone from 26th to 19th in the points, he's also been included in the foxsports power rankings for the second straight week (and made the nascar.com one for the first time)...and will surely make it three in a row come Wednesday afternoon. Such has been his current form that he's ranked 11th in the most recent rankings, higher than what he should be but, like they say, he does deserve his moment in the sun.

If I have any criticism of Marcos' season thus far, it would have to be the performance of the pitcrew. Now, I know they're a new team so there will always be a steep learning curve, but the races where they've had to scramble to fix Marcos' car, they've been badly shown up. At Las Vegas, Marcos should never have gone down that second lap and barely avoided being trapped one lap down tonight. However, that is merely nitpicking since it isn't just the driver who has the biggest climb in a rookie season.

All in all, I would give Marcos a B+ rating at the conclusion of 'term one' and actually agree with his crew chief about maybe getting a win sooner rather than later. Remember, Ambrose wound up sixth on his first ever visit to Dover and as good as his Nationwide team were, they were no match for Roush, Gibbs and Childress in 2007.

This time though...well, bring it on!