I had thought that jbroomy or bc525 would have been all over this one but I suppose I'll do the honours instead.

Last weekend saw two major milestones reached in motorsport; not only did NASCAR finally decide to hold a race in the rain (and yes, I am peeved that they'll refuse to do it for the Cup series if Chad Knaus' report on 'TWIN' had a shred of truth to it), but we also had the 100th different winner in F1 history.

Heikki Kovalainen, aka 'Kovy', was the lucky driver in more ways than one.

He put in a great qualifying lap to start second behind his teammate, and Championship leader, Lewis Hamilton but at the Hungaroring, that means the dirty side of the track. Indeed, Felipe Massa's Ferrari got the jump on both McLarens and took the lead going into turn one with Kovy settling into third...and a rather lonely race for the Finn had begun.

Kovalainen became the 100th different driver to reach the top step of the podium.

Now, some drivers have no winning luck at certain tracks; Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500, Michael Schumacher at the Australian GP, Glenn Seton at Bathurst, Rubens Barrichello at Interlagos and Kimi Raikkonen at Hockenheim just to name a few (dare I add Marcos Ambrose at Montreal to that list?). However, Felipe Massa tends to have more than his fair share of bad luck than most (although, some of his retirements are down to brainfades mind you...not good if he wants to win the title one day) and around Hungary, that 'luck factor' is even worse as he hadn't had a good points race there in his entire career.

That was set to change on Sunday as not only did he manage to get the jump on Lewis at the start, but he was able to slowly build his lead over the next 40 odd laps before he could cruise when Hamilton got a puncture on his left front tyre (either from flat spotting or debris, I'm not sure) with 29 laps to go (70 lap race by the way). At that time, Felipe's lead over Kovy was around 23 seconds and it looked a forgone conclusion that Massa was about to retake the Championship lead as Lewis had to work his way through the field for the second straight race. However, the racing Gods had something else in mind and as Felipe came down the front straight to start lap 68, his Ferrari V8 engine let go in a huge cloud of smoke and his race was over.

And so, that left Kovy to pick up the pieces and secure his first grand prix victory. The Finn, in just his second season finally broke through and repaid the faith Ron Dennis showed by replacing Fernando Alonso, the man who had won the 2005 and 2006 titles, with him. Now, I pretty much expected Kovy to struggle against Lewis this season since Lewis had all of 2007 to get used to 'the McLaren way', but now that he has that first win, his confidence at a title shot in 2009 would have been significanlty boosted.

As for the luckless Massa...well, he can take heart in the fact that his teammate came from further back this time last year to win the Championship so all is not lost yet.

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.

Lakeside International Raceway...where my motorsport addiction all began I suppose.

I don't remember how old I was or if I went with my family on the Saturday or Sunday, but I do remember getting Dick Johnson's autograph...yes, the very same Dick Johnson that had a brief stint in NASCAR in 1989 and 1990 and owner of the Jim Beam Racing team in V8 Supercars.

In 2003, Lakeside made history as it became the first motor racing facility in the world to be given full permanent heritage listing.

The 1.5 mile long paved track itself was around a 20 minute drive from my home and the turnoff from the main road and just opposite a rail station so getting to the place wasn't a major problem. From mid-2001 to April 5 this year, the track had been closed as most series preferred to use the more modern Queensland Raceway located near Ipswich. Throughout its history, Lakeside was used as the venue for a wide range of racing championships including the Australian Grand Prix (non-Championship round at that stage) on two occasions, the Australian Touring Car Championship (now called the V8 Supercars) and the Australian Superbike Championship. Now, another series can be added to Lakeside's illustrious history as the GGW 'Show Your Moon' tour crosses the Pacific Ocean for its ninth round.

'The Trans-Pacific Traveller 150' is the only race of the tour that heads to the better hemisphere (and if anyone wants to argue that fact, I'll set loose all those dangerous critters we have to convince you *laugh*) and competition for the win will be fierce...even if the temperatures will be somewhat cooler than what the drivers have been used to as it's currently the middle of winter. However, 'cooler' is a relative term as the only way this part of the world gets blanketed in white is when it hails...so no snow angels are needed in any of the drivers res

Well, we're just passed the halfway point in the season and it's looking like 2007 all over again; the one guy still leading both titles.

Joe Nemechek managed to bump out AJ Allmendinger after the solitary qualifying run at Daytona (no points for washouts remember) while Dale Earnhardt Junior has swapped places with Jimmie Johnson and closed the gap between himself and Kyle Busch from 54 points to 30.
 
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - top 20 standings after 19 rounds:

1 - Kyle Busch, 507 points (2 poles)
2 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 477 points (1 pole)
3 - Jimmie Johnson, 465 points (1 pole)
4 - Kasey Kahne, 396 points (2 poles)
5 - Jeff Gordon, 339 points (2 poles)
6 - Mark Martin, 339 points
7 - Carl Edwards, 313 points
8 - Greg Biffle, 270 points (2 poles)
9 - Denny Hamlin, 261 points (1 pole)
=10 - Ryan Newman, 255 points (1 pole)
=10 - Elliott Sadler, 255 points
12 - Kurt Busch, 225 points
13 - David Ragan, 222 points
14 - Tony Stewart, 204 points
=15 - Bobby Labonte, 180 points
=15 - Scott Riggs, 180 points
17 - Martin Truex Jr, 174 points
18 - Joe Nemecheck, 158 points (1 pole)
19 - Patrick Carpentier, 157 points (1 pole)
20 - Kevin Harvick, 146 points


The two races have been a complete Kyle Busch benefit as his lead over the rest has grown to over two full races now.  No personnel changes within the top 20, but Matt Kenseth, due to his recent hot form, has risen to fourth from eighth while both Jeff's lost two spots.

Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - top 20 standings after 19 rounds:

1 - Kyle Busch, 732.5 points (7 wins)
2 - Carl Edwards, 551 points (3 wins)
3 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 475.5 points (1 win)
4 - Matt Kenseth, 405 points
5 - Jimmie Johnson, 396 points (1 win)
6 - Jeff Burton, 378 points (1 win)
7 - Kasey Kahne, 364 points (2 wins)
8 - Jeff Gordon, 345 points
9 - Greg Biffle, 337.5 points
10 - Tony Stewart, 324 points
11 - Denny Hamlin, 311.5 points (1 win)
12 - Kevin Harvick, 304 points
13 - Ryan Newman, 279.5 points (1 win)
14 - Brian Vickers, 279 points
15 - David Ragan, 270.5 points
16 - Clint Bowyer, 246 points (1 win)
17 - Kurt Busch, 226.5 points (1 win)
18 - Martin Truex Jr, 181.5 points
19 - Mark Martin, 150 points
20 - Elliott Sadler, 145.5 points
 

After a week off, the teams head to Indy and Tony Stewart will be hoping to repeat and give his season a big shot in the arm.

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On a side note, I did some digging around and found some interesting stats. The comparison between the actual Cup points this time last year and now makes for interesting reading:

(2007) Jeff Gordon - 2911 points, 4 wins, 12 top fives, 17 top tens, 1 DNF, 764 laps led and a 303 point lead over second place (Denny Hamlin at that stage).

(2008) Kyle Busch - 2881 points, 7 wins, 12 top fives, 13 top tens, 1 DNF, 1065 laps led and a 262 point lead over second place.

Now, I don't seem to recall Chevrolet attracting as much stick about having a significant advantage over everyone else (they did launch a new engine package, remember?) as Toyota are this year and yet Jeff had a bigger lead in the Championship. I do wonder if Kyle will be getting all of those "the Chase is unfair since he'll lose his big championship lead!" comments like Jeff did around this time of the season...something tells me he won't, but Kyle won't care as long as he can keep winning I guess.

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 of a gap 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:

1 - Kyle Busch, 480 points (2 poles)
2 - Jimmie Johnson, 465 points (1 pole)
3 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 426 points (1 pole)
4 - Kasey Kahne, 396 points (2 poles)
5 - Jeff Gordon, 339 points (2 poles)
6 - Carl Edwards, 313 points
7 - Mark Martin, 279 points
8 - Greg Biffle, 270 points (2 poles)
=9 - Denny Hamlin, 255 points (1 pole)
=9 - Ryan Newman, 255 points (1 pole)
=9 - Elliott Sadler, 255 points
12 - Kurt Busch, 225 points
13 - Tony Stewart, 204 points
14 - David Ragan, 186 points
=15 - Bobby Labonte, 180 points
=15 - Scott Riggs, 180 points
17 - Martin Truex Jr, 174 points
18 - Kevin Harvick, 137 points
19 - Patrick Carpentier, 133 points (1 pole)
20 - AJ Allmendinger, 129 points


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:

1 - Kyle Busch, 588.5 points (5 wins)
2 - Carl Edwards, 491 points (3 wins)
3 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 442.5 points (1 win)
4 - Jeff Burton, 378 points (1 win)
5 - Jimmie Johnson, 336 points (1 win)
6 - Jeff Gordon, 327 points
7 - Kasey Kahne, 326 points (2 wins)
8 - Matt Kenseth, 321 points
9 - Denny Hamlin, 311.5 points (1 win)
10 - Greg Biffle, 292.5 points
11 - Tony Stewart, 285 points
12 - Ryan Newman, 255.5 points (1 win)
13 - Kevin Harvick, 238 points
14 - Brian Vickers, 225 points
15 - Clint Bowyer, 219 points (1 win)
16 - David Ragan, 201.5 points
17 - Kurt Busch, 181.5 points (1 win)
18 - Martin Truex Jr, 153.5 points
19 - Elliott Sadler, 130.5 points
20 - Mark Martin, 125 points

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.