F1 In Monaco

Well can we assume that McLaren is the real deal this year and that they finally have the measure of the Ferrari's? Is Lewis Hamilton the fastest man in F1 after only five races? These are two questions that will be answered in the next two months as the F1 season gets into high gear and the racing will be done on circuits where you actually have a chance to pass another car. Monaco is as Indianapolis is, more a spectacle than a race, more an event than a competition. Racing these powerful 1200 lb cars around a street circuit seems insane to me, but it is one event that will always be on the schedule.

You have to be impressed with what Lewis Hamilton has done so far this season. At times, it was evident that he was faster than the two time champion Alonso, but there was no way he was going to pass him for the win. The scary thing about it is that the kid knows he is as fast as his teammate and has a great chance to win at the highest level of road racing. When he gets his first pole he will guarantee himself his first win, assuming his car stays under him. But what we also have this year is a championship that can be contended by at least three drivers and the possibility of more than two teams in contention for a race win. Time will tell if McLaren can sustain the good fortune they have experienced so far this year. Lewis Hamilton has brought new attention to the sport much in the same way Michael Schumacher did in 1991 when he splashed on the F1 scene. So lets hope for a real fight down to the last race of the year with a few drivers in the hunt and several teams in contention for race wins.

Casey Mears First Win!

Congratulations to Casey Mears on his breakthrough first career win at the Cup level. It was nice to finally see him in victory lane and see someone who really appreciates what it means to finally win a race. It was especially fitting that his sponsor be The National Guard on the Memorial Day weekend. It was the right call to leave him out on the track and take the chance that he would not run empty. There are usually two or three races during the season where the winner is determined by fuel mileage and not who has the fastest car. Casey was the first to admit that he had a fourth or fifth place car and rolling the dice was the only call to make and it paid off big time.

The same decision to stay out at the end also paid off for JJ Yeley, Kyle Petty and Ricky Rudd as each of them placed in the top five. Again, happy to see some new faces at the top of the leader board at the end of a race. You have to feel good for Kyle and Ricky as these two veterans of the sport needed a strong finish as did Yeley who needs to show better if he wants to keep his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing. But congrats again to Casey Mears as I feel this will be the first of more wins for him as he finally has a strong team backing the talent that he showed in previous years.

All Star Mayhem

Well another all star race is in the books and I am very glad that Kevin Harvick came out in front, just to show that someone else other than Jimmy Johnson can win in Charlotte. But I had to smile when I saw Kurt Busch take out his baby brother Kyle in what proved to be the highlight of the night. It was clear to me that Kyle had the pass made and Kurt should have given him more room instead of coming back down on him to cause him to spin and take both of them out.

It would have been a different story if it was the last few laps of the final segment but it was early on in the third when they decided to be stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't care for either one of the Busch brothers, but all the commentators were quick to blame Kyle when I feel that Kurt could have showed him more respect and more racetrack. The type of event it is breeds over aggressive driving but the drivers who actually show more patients wind up in the winners circle. So keep on taking each other out Kurt and Kyle and you will have alot of fans cheering for the eventual outcome.

Darlington Main Event

Well how many times this year will Denny Hamlin come close to wining a race that his pit crew loses for him. Strong car! Strong driver! Strong team? It has to be disheartening to him not to be in the winners circle when he has the best car in a field of 43. To top it off he hands another victory to Hendrick and the hottest driver on the circuit, Jeff Gordon. At least Gordon's crew made the right choice and stayed out on the last caution to beat his teammate and my least favorite driver Jimmy Johnson. I thought I never would find myself routing for JG but like they use to say about dale Earnhardt when he was winning everything, "Anybody But Johnson".

But getting back to Hamlin, this guy is the real deal and when his crew gets it together along with Tony Stewart's team then the Gibbs boys will be a force to recon with. To many times this year they have been close to the winners circle and have come up short. But that is what separates the good teams from the "Great" teams and right now Hendrick is the only "Great" team. Let's hope that the season gets a little more interesting with a bigger mix of winners as a few drivers are very close to eclipsing the Hendrick dominance. Keep it up Denny, you'll get there!

Formula 1 In Spain

So is this kid Lewis Hamilton the real deal? Another strong showing in qualifying and a strong second place finish in the race and we now have a new face in the F1 crowd. As usual the Ferrari's and McLaren's were the class of the field with another strong performance by BMW, who I have to believe will get to the top spot on the podium by years end. But Lewis Hamilton was again most impressive at the start where he again snookered Kimi R and took the third position at turn one. After Alonso's off and Kimi's retirement, Hamilton had a lock on second place.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that Massa was the man to beat in the other prancing Horse Mobile? He now is starting to show the promise and the maturity that is needed to be a consistent point scorer and eventual champion in the world of F1. he Ferrari is still the car to beat and the McLaren's are close but I think as the season goes on they will start to have the reliability problems that plagued Raikkonen in his years there, specifically 2005 when he should have run away with the championship.

So on to the next round in Monaco, a race that I consider to be much like the Indy 500, a specticle and not a real race. If you can qualify at the front and stay out of trouble than you will score well but you never know about Monaco. I think it will be a good venue for Kimi and his Ferrari and he has to score a win in the next round to stay in touch with the other three front runners. Let's wait and see.

Where Will Jr Go?

Well the inevitable happened, Dale Jr is leaving DEI in search of greener pastures or should I say in search of a team he can win a championship with. Was it majority ownership or some other factor that caused Jr to leave the team his famous father founded? Why wouldn't Teresa Earnhardt give him control of the company? Where do they go now? Who will they get to replace Jr? Where will Budweiser go?

I have to assume that not giving Dale Jr what he wanted is what Teresa had in mind all along. I know you can choose your friends but not your family and sometimes family business is the nastiest business. Although DEI is now partnering with RCR for engine development I have to say that in the long run I think the two teams will merge as one in the not to distant future.

If Jr really wants to win a championship he should strike a deal with Hendrick Motor Sports because they will have the strongest Chevy team for years to come. Gibbs would be a close second and possible Roush third but I can't see him running a Ford. My gut tells me he will bring the Bud sponsorship with him to what ever team he lands with and that team will be Hendrick. What do you think? I'd like to know.

Where Is Toyota?

They may know how to sell cars in the world market, but when are they going to figure out how to succeed in the higher levels of motor sport? Once again in Richmond they fail to put several cars in the show as notables such as Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip and Brian Vickers cannot make the show. At least Dave Blaney seems to run somewhat consistently from week to week. This is probably so because they were an established team (Bill Davis Racing) that had a strong working knowledge of how things work.

In my opinion Toyota should have gone after other established teams such as Robert Yates Racing, who would have been a better fit since Ford has basically abandoned him. It would have made more sense to partner with a past wining team to help bring Toyota into the sport. At this point in the season they have to be very embarrassed at the the number of times they have failed to even qualify for a race.

I also believe that owning and running your own team and being the full time driver has proven to be a losing proposition. Just ask Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip and Robby Gordon. Although Gordon has had some decent results there is no way you can be competitive as an owner driver. So why Toyota chose to go with Michael Waltrip is a real mystery to me. I guess the name goes a long way in the sport, but Michael Waltrip? That makes sense, go with a mediocre driver who has never owned a team. I know the top teams have strong ties to Chevy and Ford and maybe this is the way they have to proceed, but Toyota should insist that Michael Waltrip find younger drivers other that himself and DJ and concentrate on running the teams. Sponsorship probably has a lot to do with it but he sponsors can't be happy when the cars never even make it into the race. What's the answer?

COT In Richmond

Well the fourth COT race in Richmond gave a very predictable result, another win for Hendrick Motor Sports. Once again the cream rises to the top as Jimmy Johnson shows why he has one of the best teams in Nextel Cup. But my questions is why does NASCAR have to mess around with a wining formula? Why have they put the teams that provide the entertainment for race fans in a position of developing two cars for not one but two race seasons?

It seems to me that most of the team owners and drivers are not critical enough of the decisions that shape their future. When you have the stars of the sport like Dale Jr expressing their complaints about a car they can't drive or adjust, does it actually get any attention from the France family? Once again, I am still trying to remember the reason for making the change to this ugly beast. Anyway, congrats to Jimmy J and the Lowes team for another victory, but I hope that other teams can figure things out an give Hendrick a run for their money. Things tend to get very boring when one team starts to win all the races. Who will step up? Let me know what you think.

A Record Set At Talladega

When you are a race car driver as good as Jeff Gordon and with the best team in your sport you should expect nothing less than winning races consistently. No surprise that Gordon won his 77th Cup race to surpass the late Dale Earnhardt. The question still remains, how many races and championships will he win before he hangs up his racing gloves? In my opinion he has a great shot at wining six or seven championships and exceed 100 wins and maybe surpass David Pearson in wins to be second only to Richard Petty.

It still astounds me that race fans at Talladega can be so stupid as to throwing full cans of soda and beer at a driver who just risked his life for their entertainment. OK, be a fan for your favorite driver but don't be so small minded as to display that type of behavior for someone you don't root for. Safety comes in many forms in motor racing and fans have to know that it works both ways. I heard they banished more than 14 fans from ever buying tickets at that venue and I applaud NASCAR for doing so. I was never a fan of JG's but when I see behavior that that I am beginning to like him just a little more. Congrats Jeff, many more wins hopefully, but more important, keep those rowdy fans under control NASCAR!