Traditional drivers photo taken before the start of each season
The 2017 Formula One season kicked into high gear in the wee early hours (if you live on the East coast) of this past Sunday morning. I was extremely excited and happy to kick off a new and adventurous year as a fan. Staying up late just comes with the territory for Far East & Oceania races. As expected, Lewis Hamilton captured pole position, followed by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, and Hamilton's new teammate Valtteri Bottas in third. Prior to the start of any grand prix, all teams may go around the circuit from pit exit to pit entry in what are called install laps. These are done to check all electronics, tires, engines, wings, etc. on a car before presenting it on the grid. Once on the grid, you can not return to your garage box for any reason, unless your car is deemed unsafe by the FIA stewards. Case in point, and one of my favorite drivers, Daniel Ricciardo, had quite an eventful warm up lap in Melbourne. Nearing the end of his first install lap, his car would not downshift from 6th gear, prompting him to pull aside from the circuit and request help from his race engineers. The engineers relayed between Daniel and the pit box about what to do. Ultimately, they told him to shut the car off and to abandon the car. Ouch, what a gut blow for the native son!
Ricciardo walks away from his powerless car
Now it was my thinking that if you had to do such a thing before the start of a grand prix, that you forfeited your race completely. I guess I was wrong. After the car returned to the box, the Red Bull team feverishly worked on the car. The crew was able to pinpoint the problem, got Daniel back into the car, and into the race -2 laps down. A delayed start to the race (an unknown reason caused the grid to reform after the parade lap) aided them from starting -4 laps down, compared to their 2.
The start of the 2017 Australian Grand Prix
Hamilton lead the first quarter of the race, closely followed by Vettel in second. Hamilton had complained that he was racing the tires to the max during his first stint, while Vettel, on the contrary, said he could keep up the pace and had no ill feel of his. After Hamilton pitted, Vettel assumed the lead, deciding to pit several laps later. The race was essentially won by a brilliant strategy by Ferrari. They had built up a large enough pit stop delta (a math formula to determine track position before and after a pit stop) to maintain a lead after Vettel's stop. Along with getting the formula correct, Red Bull's other driver Max Verstappen, was in front of Hamilton, preventing him from charging hard to beat Vettel out of the pits. Some would say that Verstappen should have yielded to Hamilton, but it made very little difference. As a matter of fact, Hamilton said after the race that it wuld not have made any difference, that Vettel had a faster car for the race. This was Ferrari's first race win since the Singapore Grand Prix in 2015.
Sebastian Vettel celebrates with his team after winning
Could we have a battle for the driver and constructors championship on our hands between to different teams? I hope so, and it looked so in Melbourne! The next F1 race is the Chinese Grand Prix on April 9th. Once again, it will be a late night/early morning race on the East Coast, oye vey!
Vettel (center), Hamilton (left), and Valtteri Bottas (right) celebrate on the podium
Larson finally breaks through this season
Kyle Larson leads at the start of the Auto Club 400
I am going to sound completely biased in this weeks edition of my NASCAR section, and I have a great reason why. One of my favorite drivers pulled off one of the harder things driver can do at a race weekend. Kyle Larson pulled the double at Auto Club Speedway! He won the Xfinity series race on Saturday and the Cup race on Sunday, which is hard to do, unless your Kyle Busch. To understand why I'm excited about this feat has a much deeper reasoning. My fandom for Larson began last year because of several factors.
Larson driving in his Xfinity series car at Auto Club Speedway
My favorite driver has been Jeff Gordon since the beginning of my love affair with NASCAR back in 1998. His final year of full time competition was in 2015, with him only winning sporadically the last few seasons. I had accepted the fact that I would be forced to find a new driver to pull for, but was not sure who that would be. I established that it would be Clint Bowyer because after all, he was going to replace Tony Stewart in 2017 (I know, that whole deal was interesting, they hired a guy a complete year before he would race), and I have always liked him, even though he and Jeff had some run-ins.
Larson and his Xfinity team in victory lane
Where does Kyle Larson fit this story? He fits in right here, the 2016 season. Bowyer was set to have a lame duck season with the now defunct HScott Motorsports in sub par equipment. I thought that Bowyer would be able to use his skills to prove me and everyone else wrong. But by the end of the Daytona 500 that year, I knew it was going to be a struggle. Brutal would be an understatement to how his season went. So by the Martinsville weekend of 2016, I had a backup plan to keep myself from going nuts that season. I liked Chip Ganassi and his co owner, Felix Sabates (actually, I use to go to the same church as Sabates), and what they were doing with their program. It had been a hard couple of seasons for them, but they seemed to catch up to everyone else in 2016 (and now it's really showing in 2017). Larson is a young kid, about the same age as I am, and I think he is going to be in the sport for a long time to come. Plus, I don't want to conform to being a Chase Elliott fan. It left a sour taste in my mouth that he didn't take a different number instead of the 24. I know that someone else drove the 43 after Richard Petty, and now someone else is driving the 3 car after Earnhardt. It just comes with the territory I guess. Anyway, Larson was my sub favorite last season, now achieving my favorite driver for Chevy (Bowyer drives a Ford) this season. It's pretty funny though that both of these guys had their best finishes this weekend, with Bowyer scoring his first top 5 since June of 2015 (holy cow it's been a while!). I guess when your good, your really good!
The massive wide turns at Auto Club Speedway lead to multiple grooves for racing (sometimes up to 6 wide!)
The race was wide, fast, and pretty uneventful until 20 laps to go (about par for course this season). I enjoy this track, and do not understand why the fan base has bashed it so far this week. I'm an old school fan and know what to expect I guess. The segments are a great addition, I will give NASCAR big kudos for the addition of them this season. My father texted me during the second segment and said that Martin Truex Jr (who was dominating this segment) was "showing himself". I replied to him...
The text messages between my father and I
"Showing himself" must've meant showing off I think. Anyway, I pretty much told him flat out who was going to take the checkered flag.
Larson celebrates with his team in victory lane
I called it a week before it happened!
Yes, some may call me the oracle of racing, but I like to think that you just get lucky sometimes. I got lucky on this prediction, Larson dominated the entire weekend, Bowyer got a top 5. All in all, it was a "gnarly" weekend. The next race is April 2nd at the paperclip shaped track of Martinsville Speedway.
The 2017 F1 season will begin this weekend down under in Australia Not much has happened since my last post about this series, except for the fact that there will be a permanent eyesore this season coming from Force India F1. It's somewhat washed out, but trying to watch this monstrosity every grand prix weekend will be a challenge.
Force India F1's new livery for 2017
(Please forgive me. Something goofy happened with this blog that has made all of my opening paragraphs bold) The greatest thing about the beginning of an F1 season is the excitement! Everyone from around the planet get together to watch this unique form of motorsports. It's like the FIFA World Cup, except that it goes for a whole season, from March until November. Probably the second biggest newsworthy item to discuss is the fact that Mercedes has admitted that Ferrari is "closer than many people suspect." I hope that's the case. Its been a Silver Arrows (nickname for Mercedes) show of domination for the last three seasons. I hope that the new rules level the playing field, it's been kind of bland lately. Another small nugget is a revelation from McLaren, who have come out and said that their Honda engine is "sub-par" compared to the rest of the field. Everything about their new 2017 car is cutting edge, except for the said engine, which is mediocre. It's extremely hard to think that Honda has had this much difficulty getting back into F1 after a 7 year hiatus (they left after 2008). Their Indycar program has been brilliantly successful since 2012, when Chevy and Lotus became engine suppliers too. I'm just curious as t why the lack of speed and development from them. Makes many people skeptical within the industry. Oh well, we will find out this weekend! Below is the television schedule for the grand prix weekend. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
2017 Australian Grand Prix television schedule for the United States
NASCAR Heats up in Phoenix, Newman snaps a 3 1/2 year drought.
A bright, hot sun hangs over Phoenix Int'l Raceway
NASCAR stopped at Phoenix International Raceway for its second of three #NASCARGoesWest races to start the season. It was a blazer to say the least! Temperatures were unseasonably warm for the area throughout the weekend, pushing into the upper 90's with no relief from clouds. It was a "dry heat", but hot is hot, and it proved to be on Sunday.
Joey Logano leads the field into Turn 1
Coming off of a controversy filled Las Vegas race, Joey Logano capture the pole, but that was the high point for his weekend. He hung around the top 5 all day, leading 84 laps, but late in the race, his right front tire went flat, sending him hard into turn 1, ending his day 10 laps earlier than expected. Our other combatant from Las Vegas, Kyle Busch, had a busy day as well. He led a race high 114 laps, but that wasn't good enough for "ol' Rowdy." Logano's misfortune was Kyle's misfortune as well. His team, along with most of the front runners, decided to pit for fresh tires to sprint to the finish. Not everyone pitted though, specifically Ryan Newman.
Newman (#12 car) wins the 2008 Daytona 500
Newman has been racing in NASCAR full time since 2002, winning rookie of the year, and also a Daytona 500 in 2008 for Roger Penske. The "Rocket Man," known for his fast speeds in qualifying, has been in a 127 race winless drought since 2013. As a matter of fact, his last victory, the Brickyard 400, was the weekend before I left to start my college career at Coastal Carolina University. I'll get to the brickyard in a bit. Ryan is an old school racer, sometimes he works on his car at the track to help fine tune it. I have always sort of liked him, except whenever he would bang heads with Jeff Gordon, he's quiet and does a tremendous amount for animal rescues across the Carolinas. The man has been a shining beacon for Richard Childress Racing, who is also in a three year winless drought, for the past three seasons. He's sort of the "old sage" in the garage area, full of wisdom and stories for the younger drivers. Cool guy, great attitude, he race's hard no matter what.
Newman in victory lane at the 2013 Brickyard 400
Newman had the lead on the final restart, which was a green-white-checker, holding off a hard charging Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch to take the win in the desert. The race itself was not too flashy, but there was plenty of racing to go all around. FOX actually showed a battle for 18th place toward the end. Either that was a desperate cry for viewers, or just a really good battle, who knows! The moral of what happened in the desert was magical. Apparently, if you want to break a drought, go to the desert, the waters of fortune shall rain down upon you.
Newman burns some victory donuts into the Start/Finish line at Phoenix
Ryan Newman and team celebrate in victory lane (see the water and Coke raining down?)
Could the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis become a road course race for NASCAR?
In the latest saga of fans demanding more road courses, an interesting scenario has cropped up. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the oldest and most historic raceway in America. However, NASCAR racing at the brickyard has been under-par for several seasons. Many of the races feature single grooved racing with little passing, aka a boring, 3 1/2 hour affair of parade laps. I know that I have fallen asleep several times over the years during this race. It use to be a marquee event on the schedule, but now it's a shell of the past. Another thing that has been dismal is the attendance. Ever since 2008, the crowd for the race has been dwindling dramatically.
2016 Indianapolis 500, over 400,000 fans in attendance
2016 Brickyard 400, about 50,000 fans in attendance
The Indianapolis 500 will always be more popular than the Brickyard 400. It's literally the Super Bowl of the Indycar Series. NASCAR tried to tap into the Midwest market in the mid 1990's, with success over a decade period (1994-2004). Since the end of the 2000's, the Brickyard 400 has become less appealing for some unknown reason. In theory, and reported by sources close to the track, a change could be on the horizon. Supposedly, track management wants to let NASCAR race on it's infield road course instead of the traditional 2.5 mile oval.
Current road course layout for the Moto GP Series (motorcycle racing).
Current traditional road course layout.
The biggest question would be which road course layout to use for NASCAR? Personally, I like the Moto GP layout more because it has lots of turns, and it races counter-clockwise. The traditional road course is utilized by the Indycar Series for its Indy Grand Prix, held two weeks prior to the Indianapolis 500, and also by different driving schools. In theory, you could run the traditional road course counter-clockwise, and still be able to hit top speeds through the corners. I know it's no consolation to what I think, but I have raced both versions on Forza 6 in a NASCAR stock car, and I really like the Moto GP course. I like the sharp turns, which means having to "roll through the corners," a method that is challenging for many NASCAR drivers. Who knows what the future hold for the track. I think they need to change it up, and I think either of the road courses would be better than running on the oval for NASCAR & Midwest stock car fans sake. The earliest this could happen would be 2018. What is changing though for 2017 will be seen in the Xfinity series race prior to the Brickyard 400. The series will run a restrictor plate, much like at Daytona and Talladega, in an effort to keep cars together and more competitive throughout the race. Great idea? I'm not sure. The only other time a race outside of Dayton or Talladega that was run with plates was New Hampshire in 2000. If you've either seen the race, heard of it, or have read about it, it was pretty awful. Jeff Burton led flag to flag that day in a no contest match. The restrictor plates were used only for that event, and the reason that they were used was not for improving racing, but to prevent another driver fatality (Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr both died in separate practice accidents earlier in 2000). I always believe that NASCAR and the drivers are on the same page in their logical thinking, so it should work, right? Meh, not all the time.
Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA, has hosted the NASCAR Xfinity & Camping World Truck series since 2009
The theory is that if the race is a success, then the 2018 Brickyard 400 will be run with restrictor plates, rather then on the road course. Actually, what could come from the impending debacle is great change all together. All tracks on the current schedule are up for contract renewals by 2020. Hypothetically, the Indianapolis NASCAR race weekend could cease to exist. There is pressure from the racing fan base to head to Iowa Speedway (a ISC race track) in lieu of killing off the Brickyard 400. Because Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an independent track, their existing race weekend would be up for a bidding war between the two major track operators (ISC and SMI), or any other independent tracks. Of course this is just a bunch of thoughts and hypotheticals, but it could play out like this in the future. So will the restrictor plates work? Who knows. Should it be run as a road course? I think so. We will know by the end of July if it worked or not. The final #NASCARGoesWest round will be this Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. This is one of the best races on the schedule due to the age of the current pavement, sweeping low banked turns, and high speeds. Don't forget about the bump down the backstretch, its a biggie!
Welcome back y'all! If you are reading this, that means a lot to me, like literally your my best friend. It's like getting seconds at a Chinese buffet, you know your going to do it! Well then, I guess I better make a good impression again. To make my transitions smoother, I have decided to add bold & underlined titles for now on. Here we go!
F1 Winter Testing from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Valterri Bottas leads the way in his brand new F1 W08 EQ Power+ for Mercedes AMG
As predicted, Mercedes has another shot at going for a four straight constructors title. The team has dominated the sport since 2014, winning an astonishing 51 of the past 59 grand prix races. WOW! Only Red Bull and Ferrari have been able to win those other 8 races that Mercedes did not. This season though, is different. With Nico Rosberg retiring after winning the drivers championship in 2016, the most coveted seat in F1 was wide open. Many people expected Fernando Alonso to opt out of his current contract with McLaren F1, but decided to maintain a leadership role with them. Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, the other Mercedes driver, have been teammates before. It was a hostile environment though between the two, thus ending abruptly after one season (2007). It's a shame to see one of F1's great drivers fade into the abyss with a now dysfunctional team (I miss Ron Dennis). I think Rosberg's replacement, Valterri Bottas, will do a decent job, not as flashy as Hamilton, but consistent in pace throughout his career.
Daniel Riccardo testing out the new RB13 for Red Bull F1
For the rest of the teams in F1, it will be another season of struggle. I only expect to see a few teams "attempt" to challenge Mercedes for wins and the constructors title in 2017. It's strange that I believed that the playing field would become more leveled with the new body designs and new tires for the season. However, with testing underway, it's more of the same. The big surprise for me has been Red Bull's pace, or lack there of. I hope they're sandbagging and just decided to not play their cards just yet. Hopefully they'll have a rocket come Australia time (the first grand prix of the season). Maybe 13 will be a lucky number for them (their car is named the RB13)!
McLaren M32 struggling with their Honda engine
Everyone else is status quo, except for McLaren, who continue to kick themselves over their engine suppliers (Honda) "progress". Oh, did I mention we lost a team? The Manor Grand Prix team closed its doors due to not having a financial backer to pay creditors for this past season. It's a shame that money is so vital to run a decent grand prix program (don't expect to make any once your in F1 either). I can't really say a lot about the team, except that there are some really good engineers out of work because of it. But I will say this, I think a spending cap for F1 is a good idea. It would level the playing field tremendously for smaller teams (at least in theory, I think?).
Cars on track for winter testing.
Kevin Magnussen debuts his new VF-17 for the American-based Haas F1 Team
The American team, Haas F1, has shown good speed and a solid pace so far in testing. A big problem that the team had last season was brakes. I think they've resolved the issue. But being F1, once one problem is fixed, another is sure to follow., The team also welcomed a new driver, Kevin Magnussen, to continue to develop and improve the car over 2017. Realistically, I think the team as a whole will be able to score points more consistently this season, as opposed to last season when they scored the majority of them in the first few rounds. The opening round of the 2017 season is one week away (March 26th) down under in Melbourne, Australia (most likely, I'll be watching it live at 1am on NBCSN ). It's a tradition for me now, especially since I've watched it 8 years in a row!
From Worst to First, Indycar has quiet start to season
Will Power leads the field into turn 1
The 2017 Indycar Series season kicked off in St. Petersburg over the weekend with very little fanfare. I'm not trying to put down this series, because I know that it has great potential, but the lack of passing and overall "excitement" level was questionable at best. Perhaps I am a little salty, due to the fact that my favorite driver had a terrible, no good, dirty rotten, poop of a day, Let me explain why. Will Power (the driver) had such a bad day. In opening practice, he crashed his car halfway through the session (angry face emoji). He rebounded well during qualifying, capturing pole position for the race (happy face, sunglasses face, thumbs up emoji's). Then the race started and it went sour real quick. He lost the lead after the initial caution flag (it was for a spin on lap 1, with the restart several laps latter), falling back slightly. During his first pit stop, he somehow screwed up leaving his pit stall, causing race control to penalize him with a drive through penalty. This meant he would be playing catch up for most of the race. Nothing was working for the team, and eventually they lost power in the car, prematurely ending his day (insert sad, crying, thumbs down emoji's).
Sebastien Bourdais celebrating in victory lane
The race was very quiet, except for Sebastien Bourdais, the Furious Flying Frenchman. After starting last on the grid, the small Dale Coyne Racing machine charged its way to the front at a quick and effective pace. Bourdais has been known for his consistent lap progression during his career, so it was no surprise that he could do it. The big surprise was that his equipment let him. Dale Coyne Racing has the smallest budget and resources in Indycar. For them to take the charge to legendary teams Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, proves that every dog has its day. Maybe we're seeing a balanced playing field in Indycar this season. I highly doubt it, after all this is only the first race. I hope I'm wrong, because who doesn't like an underdog story? The next Indycar race is the historic Long Beach Grand Prix on April 9th.
NASCAR goes Aces Wild in Las Vegas
The start of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas
Before the track went green for opening practice on Friday, there was a buzz of confusion around another SMI track. Charlotte Motor Speedway had an open test on its in-field road course over the offseason, with NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger (formerly an open-wheel ace) conducting it. He praised that it could add a unique variable to the current schedule, which is bloated with cookie cutter 1.5 mile quad oval's. Track president Marcus Smith is a brilliant mind and marketer. I think that a "roval" would be a good idea, but I'm not sold on the idea of it at Charlotte.
Wow what a finish! Well, kind of. The race was similar to last week at Atlanta, meaning that there were few cautions and lots of multiple grooves for racing. Not much happened during the majority of racing, but the last restart proved to kick start one of the craziest finishes we've seen this year. Martin Truex Jr and Brad Keselowski dominated the race, sharing the lead several times throughout the day. The final restart proved critical for both drivers. Keselowski stole the lead after the restart, making it look like he would run away to the checkered flag. Luck has a lot to do with racing, some days you're the bug, the other times you're the windshield. Truex Jr is notoriously known for his late race bad luck. That day was not the Vegas race day. Keselowski had a problem occur with four laps to go. He slowed and was passed by Truex going into turn 3, completing it out of turn 4. He didn't look back and won the race. In the process of Keselowski falling back, he held up the high lane that Kyle Busch was racing in. causing him to abruptly move to the inside, hitting and moving Joey Logano out of the way. They entered turn 3 two wide, with Logano pinched just a little bit below the white line, causing his car to become loose under Busch. The result is below in the videos.
The altercation & replay of the wreck
Joey Logano explains his side
Kyle Busch threatens his new foe
Martin Truex Jr celebrates with his team in victory lane
What did we learn from Las Vegas? We learned that things can get dicey in Vegas, the dominance that Truex Jr has shown in the past is back for this season, and Penske is ready to explode (in a good way) this season. The second of three west coast races is at Phoenix Int'l Raceway this weekend. It's going to be a hot and slick track for the drivers, with temperatures forecasted in the mid to upper 90's throughout the weekend. The heat should add to the excitement of the #NASCARGoesWest campaign. Heat=Loose cars=accidents (I hope). Tune in next week for my Phoenix review.
Wow! If you weren't a NASCAR fan before Daytona, you sure are now! That was one of the most expensive speedweeks in memory. Crashes are a part of racing, but there seemed to be a plagued of them, or a going out of business fire sale. I honestly got to the point of saying, "holy crap guys, get your heads out of your tails and just freaking race!" Someone did the math on how many cars across all three series were either involved (meaning they received damage) or crashed out, and it was shocking. At least 75% of the 102 (40 Cup, 40 Xfinity, 32 Truck) had damage or were totaled. Mind boggling!
Kurt Busch after winning the 2017 Daytona 500
Even the eventual winner, Kurt Busch, had damage to his car. Remember, "rubbin is racin," an old redneck proverb that proved to be true this year. Here is a highlight of Busch barely getting through the wreck at Daytona below.
There was so much carnage and mayhem that day, and for the entire weekend. The video below is literally 28 minutes of all the crashes from Speedweeks 2017 in Daytona.
Those were some big hits! Let me go ahead and tell you that this was not an average NASCAR race. It felt like the entire week was on steroids. The premier series (Cup) just signed a new title sponsorship with Monster Energy drink (now collectively known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) had re-energized the sport for a younger demographic. I think its a great way to market to the skeptics of the sport. The youth movement in NASCAR is apparent, even with it's drivers.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series "Monster Girls"
It's definitely not your Sprint girls, but I can adjust to it. There's a debate going on in the NASCAR world that these leather clad women are "degrading and sexing up" the sport for women. But honestly, have you seen the Supercross Monster girls? Yeah, go ahead and open a tab for them at the top of your browser. Its a lot less clothing, right? I think they are fine, they're not causing any unintentional attention (hell, i had trouble finding them in victory lane this past weekend at Atlanta). If you go to a NASCAR race weekend, your going to see some weird shit. It's gonna happen, and you just have to take it in and go with it.
But for the most part, the fans are the best in the world, absolute diehards!
NASCAR fans are brand loyal, meaning that if one of their favorite drivers is sponsored by a specific brand, then that will be the only brand they buy. For example, Kevin Harvick is sponsored by Jimmy John's & Busch Beer. Brad Keselowski is sponsored by Miller Lite. Both drivers race for Ford (one brand), but both have differing beer sponsors. That's where families and fans become divided and loyal. I like Busch, but not Jimmy John's, so I might pull for the driver thats sponsored by Subway (which is Daniel Suarez). But wait a second, that Subway car is a Toyota! I guess I'll suck it up and eat Jimmy John's if it means that my driver gets to continue to race. See what I mean by loyalty? If I don't like Toyota, then I'll suck it up and eat Jimmy John's.
Moving along the grueling 36 week schedule, NASCAR headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway to play on its 20 year old surface. The track was reconfigured and repaved in 1997, hence she's a hungry beast. She's not hungry for crashed cars, but something that's very important for race cars, their tires. The abrasive nature and age of Atlanta's surface has made this track one of the most exciting and strategy driven races on the schedule. Unfortunately, the big wigs at Speedway Motorsports Inc (SMI) decided this past offseason that 2017 would be the last race for the old surface. The backlash by fans was loud and during the race weekend, the drivers voiced their displeasure as well. They actually signed a driver-backed petition to the owners at SMI to postpone the repave and find an alternative to preserve the worn out surface. Many said that the surface was the only thing that they liked about the track because it gave it character, something that a lot of "cookie cutter" tracks (a 1.5 mile quad oval) are missing due to repaves. I would try to band-aid that track as much as possible, because it is literally the best 1.5 mile track NASCAR goes to all season long!
Repaving sucks, but it is an evil that chases tracks year after year. Look at Kentucky Motor Speedway for example. It had an original concrete surface from 2000 that had begun to show aging signs in 2010 with the development of a large bump on the frontstretch. The owners, SMI (do you see a trend?), decided that after 2015 a total resurface project would be done.
Kentucky Motor Speedway repave
Also, the modified turns 1 & 2 to be banked steeper and tighter than 3 & 4 by six degrees (going from 14 degrees to 20 degrees). Well, the racing sucked in 2016 after all that AND they had to redo turns 1 & 2 due to an "integrity" problem with the first round of repaving. Oye vey!
The same thing happened at Texas Motor Speedway (you guessed it, another SMI track), except their problem was weepers in the track and dampness. An Indycar race in 2016 was delayed from June until August because of it. It had rained the night of the race in June, which lead to it being run during the day, which had a red flag fro a severe crash and rain only 60 some laps into the event, meaning that said event was rained out and rescheduled to August, all due to the track not being able to breath.
Indycar drivers inspect one of the damp weepers
The Atlanta race did not disappoint. It was a grueling 500 mile race with very limited cautions, and an insane amount of tire degradation. The race weekend was shadowed by a driver petition and plea to not repave the aging track surface. Before the race started, the SMI big wigs and Atlanta Motor Speedway track president announced that track officials would re-look at the imminent repave to perhaps try and save the old aging wonder. Many hope that it will not get repaved, but I seriously think we'll get maybe another year out of it before it crumbles. Sucks though, but that's asphalt for ya!
Start of the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500
The race was hard fought throughout the afternoon. The only caution flags to fall were for the end of segments 1 & 2, a blown engine by Gray Gaulding in the #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota ("Lil Sweeeeeeet, blowin up a motor, yeah!") with about 50 laps to go (out of 325). After the restart, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr were battling in the top 10 with Clint Bowyer on the high side coming out of turn 2. Martin did not know that they were 3-wide, pinching Jones into Bowyer, subsequently hitting the wall. He managed to keep on driving, but the damage was done and several laps later, Clint was in the wall with a flat tire. That caution meant that there would be one final pit stop for the race, barring any other late race caution.
Kevin Harvick and his pit crew during the final pit stop
Harvick has dominated the entire race, leading at least 200 or so laps, if not more. Pit stops make or break races for teams. All day, Harvick's crew had been fast, almost "freaky fast". Leave it to the driver to go too fast on pit road, meaning that he would start at the end of the lead lap cars. Ouch! Gut punch, knockout blow for Harv & Co. Only a caution would help them now. But that caution never came.
Brad Keselowski celebrating his victory by doing donuts with an American flag. That's straight up badass!
Eventual race winner Brad Keselowski had drama though to capture the win. He got off sequence midway through the race with a tire vibration (at least that's what we think), causing him to play catch-up for a little while. Prior to the Harvick speeding penalty on the caution before, Brad's pit crew had an amazing stop too, which elevated him to first for the restart. But, there was a problem. The left rear tire was loose. Brad had to come down pit road before the restart to fix the tire, putting him deep in the pack to rebound. Give the #2 team credit for a "never down, die hard" mentality. They persevered and came back through the field to take the lead and capture his first victory of the season on the final restart.
Brad and team in victory lane
I like Brad because he is an old school racer. He races you hard and really doesn't give any flying you-know-what's. That's exactly what the sport needs. We need more Brad's in NASCAR!
This weekend we are headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway! It is one of my favorite's of the cookie cutter variety tracks. The setting is picturesque, the speeds are fast, and the stands are always packed.
However, this year there is added excited and sadness to this race weekend. It was announced on March 8th that track owners SMI had met with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to discuss and implement a second NASCAR weekend for the 2018 season. The process eliminated the fall race date at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, angering many New Englander race fans. Honestly, this was long coming in my opinion. Vegas has money (literally) and more fan appeal than Loudon, NH. It seems like SMI has been in the racing news a lot this season so far. The addition of the second Vegas date means that the track will be the only double triple header on the schedule for next season (meaning that Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup will race at both race weekends in March and, well, we think it'll be September, but it could change). Personally, I think what should happen is a logistical swap of the SMI tracks that are in the NASCAR playoffs. The former fall New Hampshire race was the last weekend in September, Charlotte the second weekend in October, and Texas the first weekend in November. A simple switch of the now Vegas race from September to November, Texas to October, and Charlotte to September would help. The "penultimate" round of the season is at Phoenix, so wouldn't it make sense to stay out west for 2 weeks instead of crisscrossing the country several times? Just some food for thought I guess.
This concludes my first edition of Year of Gears. Tune in next week when I review the Vegas race weekend, Formula One winter testing, and the season kickoff of Indycar from St. Petersburg, Florida.
