Raikkonen Wins British GP For Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen won the British Grand Prix in convincing style over the McClaren duo of Alonso and Hamilton for his third victory of the year. It was evident from the first stint that Raikkonen's Ferrari was faster than the McClaren of pole sitter Hamilton. With a heavier fuel load Raikkonen was able to keep pace with the rookie sensation and was noticeably quicker prior to the first pit stop. Alonso used a short fuel fill on his first stop to leapfrog into the lead, but Kimi had a longer and quicker second stint that put him back in the lead after the second stop and he coasted to the victory. Philippe Massa had the misfortune of stalling his engine on the starting grid and started the race from the pit lane. It was fun to watch him carve his way trough the field as he was much faster than all but the first four finishers.

The BMW's of Kubica and Heidfeld were again strong runners and it will be nice to see them step up to the next level and start pushing for pole position and eventually a race win. The competition this year seems to be a bit more spread out, mainly because of the retirement of Michael Schumacher and the use of a single tire source in Bridgestone. Formula 1 can be very fickle as just two races ago everyone wanted to write of Kimi Raikkonen as a bust for Ferrari but now he is the driver winning races as all thought he would be. Just goes to show you everybody loves a winner, and right now Kimi is a winner.

Fantastic Finish In Daytona

In what had to be one of the most increadable finishes in recent history, Jaimie McMurray beats Kyle Busch by not more than the width of the front bumper to take the victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. A much deserving and long awaited victory for a good driver who had gone almost five years since his first victory at Charlotte in October of 2002. The monkey or should I say "Gorilla" is finally off his back as all the promise of great things that never came to pass were forgotten for at least one more race. It was great to see the final lap not interrupted by a wreck as was the Daytona 500 last February and so many other restrictor plate events. McMurray had a good car all night and he made some great moves in the end to get to the front and with some much needed help from his teammate Carl Edwards, made it a finish to remember.

The night would not have been complete without some controversy. What was Tony Stewart thinking when he took his teammate out? I mean Tony is one of the better drivers on the cup circuit but at times he makes some bonehead moves. And it was not fun for me to see my favorite driver, Dale Jr., not be in the hunt most of the race because of some bad luck. I'm just glad that Johnson or Gordon didn't win because racing gets boring when the same two or three guys win all the time. But a hearty congratulations to Jamie McMurray and the Rousch racing organization and also to Ford who needed a win in a big way. I'm still looking for Toyota and Dodge to make a statement and make the second half of the season a bit more colorful. See you next in the windy city.

Hamlin Beats Gordon In New Hampshire

Denny Hamlin made the most out of the two tire change on the last pit stop to record his first and very deserving victory of the year in New Hampshire. Jeff Gordon made it very interesting on the last lap as he and Hamlin made contact out of turn four to finish within less than a car length at the checkered flag. The COT may not be the prettiest car you have ever seen, but all the races have had very close finishes. I guess this is what NASCAR had in mind when they developed it and it seems to be what they expected.

As usual, the pole sitting Toyota of Dave Blaney went backwards from the drop of the green flag, and Chevy finishes with eight of the top ten positions. I know there is allot of racing left this season, but the other manufactures better get their cars together or Chevrolet is going to make a joke of this season. Congrats to Toyota on the pole position, but many of their cars still could not qualify to race which is a sad commentary for the worlds largest car maker. What is the answer to fielding competitive cars? Better drivers? Better crew chiefs? More money? God knows they spend more money than any other maker. As a race fan I hope they can figure it out, not only in NASCAR but in F1 also. But congrats to Denny Hamlin on the win and lets see what happens next week in Daytona!

Raikkonen Wins In French GP

Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Ferrari routed McLaren in Magny-Cours in Sunday’s French Grand Prix, finishing more than half a minute ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren. It was a dominating performance, one that the Ferrari team needed after they were relegated to second fastest the last two races in North America. Not only was it a race Ferrari needed but Kimi Raikkonen had the kind of weekend that was expected of him since the first race of the season in Australia. He finnally made a good start from the third position on the grid and beat Lewis Hamilton to the first corner and that was all he needed to keep pace with his teammate.

After the second round of pit stops Riakkonen was able to stay out three laps longer on a heavier fuel load and get out comfortably ahead of Massa for his second victory of the season. It is also a shame that this could very well be the last race in France for a long time as the expense of running a Grand Prix takes its toll on the birthplace of the sport. Many of the racing venues this year may not be on the schedule next year as the cost of Formula 1 goes to the highest bidders as Lord Bernie Echelstone waves his magic wand.

But congratulations to Kimi and team Ferrari on a most impressive weekend that has put them temporarily in front of McClaren and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton. With Hamilton scoring a record 8th straight podium finish he still has a comfortable lead in the championship. I still feel that there should be a wider gap in the points from first place to second as a race win is diminished with only a two point spread between the positions. Oh well, that's F1 for you. Let's look forward to another good race next week in jolly old England.

NASCAR Makes A Statement?

Well it looks like Chad Knaus and Steve LeTarte will get a six week vacation from the Nextel Cup circuit for violations committed at last weeks race at Infineon. Suspending the crew cheifs, docking the driver and team 100 points and a $100K fine is really just a slap on the wrist for a team like Hendrick. I know that NASCAR doesn't want any team messing with their COT after all that hard work to create a car that nobody likes and drivers can't drive. But hey, they are NASCAR and they will deem what they feel is necessary when a team breaks the rules.

If they really want these fines to have an impact than they should suspend the entire race team for a race or two, maybe then teams like Hendrick, who have the means to cheat better than the others, will sit up and take notice. These fines are just a slap on the wrist for the heavier funded teams and it will take much more than these trivial fines to stop them. Taking the crew chief away from the track doesn't do a thing as they just sit at home and email or text instruction to the pit crews. They should be at least banned from all communication for the length of the suspension, maybe that will send a message. Somehow I don't think so.