Jimmie Johnson wins 7th race at Texas Motor Speedway
Kevin Harvick (inside lane) leads from pole position for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
I took last week off from writing because, well, um, I guess I don't really need to explain why, but I did, and you can't change the fact that I did! Moving on with better things, did you see the Cup race from Texas? Hot-diggity-dog was it strange! From "monsters and dragons laying rubber down," to "hug the bottom," the Texas weekend had a little bit of everything, including a Massive Gut Busting Burrito .
Texas Motor Speedway being repaved
From my first article, I had mentioned that the track had a repave recently, as in 2 months ago. It was made clear that the track would be bland and single file for most of it's first few races. Thank God for that tire monster and dragon! The racing was exciting on Sunday. All track activity before the race was sketchy at best. Many top level drivers either were tip toeing around the track, or spinning and crashing. The major concern was that if you got out of the groove, you were essentially doomed. That was not the case Sunday.
Kyle Busch taps the wall off of turn 2
Erik Jones slams the wall off of turn 4
Chase Elliott spins off of turn 2 and hits the inside wall
Kevin Harvick led the way for a little bit, but it was the single car team from Stuart, VA, aka The Wood Brothers, who dominated the day. Ryan Blaney is a heck of a young driver. He comes from a long line of racers, but none of them have much success in the Cup series. Ryan's father, Dave, had a best finish of 2nd at the fall Talladega race in 2007, and won one Xfinity race, coming at the fall Charlotte race in 2006 (I was there for it!). Ryan has a rare fire and desire to prove he's the best underdog in the sport. His biggest problem is that he's been kicking Jr Nation a little too much this season. Also, he rents a house on Jr's property, so like yeah, that could be a problem. Anyway, he dominated most of the race, winning segments 1 & 2, but a late race pit stop mistake by him cost the team a shot at winning.
Ryan Blaney leads the field after a restart
So if Blaney didn't win, and Harvick fizzled out, then who won? Well, the Texas repave did not keep a certain "7x Champion" from continuing his track dominance (not dominance during the race, but over his career at Texas Motor Speedway). 'Old 7x"captured his 7th career victory at the track but making a late race move around Joey Logano, who had been on an alternate pit strategy, to accomplish the feat. Mr. 7x is none other than Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson (#48) passes Logano (#22) for the lead and eventual win
Johnson and team in victory lane
Jimmie has been the best driver of the 2000's and 2010's (check his stats, they prove it) by far, and pretty much kicked Jeff Gordon off of the pedestal at Hendrick Motorsports. It's extremely ironic that Gordon brought Johnson to Hendrick. Why would you bring kryptonite into your layer? I have grown to like Johnson more and more over the years, especially since Gordon retired. So for all you Jimmie haters, hush hush. Why deny greatness before your eyes? The next race is in two weeks' time at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Lewis Hamilton drives away to victory in China
Hamilton celebrates his first win of 2017
There wasn't much to talk about in China for Formula One. Hamilton lead from the start of the weekend, Ferrari fibbed that they were "holding back until Sunday," and Red Bull were brutally honest in mentioning that they would be "at least a second off of Mercedes & Ferrari's pace." Hamilton dominated a somewhat boring race, but there was a brief glimpse of what's to come. Passing! The race featured a significant amount of Non-DRS Passing, meaning that drivers were pushing their cars to the limit in order to make one, instead of relying on mechanical manipulation.
Start of the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix
The big story this week in F1 is the quick turnaround from racing in the Far East to nigh time in the desert of Bahrain. Literally, each team began its preparation for Bahrain before the end of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. In F1, logistics is your best friend and mortal enemy. Most grand prix's are homologated together, but sometimes feature quick movement. This week will prove crucial to team performance off the track. I believe that Red Bull can challenge for 2nd place this weekend against the Ferrari's, given that Bahrain has more turns than China did. Mercedes will have a challenge from Ferrari this weekend because of this as well. Mercedes have the best straight line speed, but lack the cornering acceleration that Ferrari and Red Bull have. It's a thin line though between the three teams. You could throw a blanket over them for much of the time! Catch the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend on the good old peacock network.
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James Hinchcliffe foxtrot's down the boulevard in Long Beach
Hinchcliffe celebrates his first win since a life-threatening injury in 2015
"It's a ten from Len" for Mr. Hinchcliffe this past weekend in Long Beach. After competing last spring on "Dancing with the Stars," James Hinchcliffe returned to the land of movie stars in a cheerful and triumphant way. With a little luck during a pit stop, his team was able to foil the bigger teams of Penske and Ganassi. Ok, well, and a little controversy from Indycar officials too. Yes, Hinchcliffe was victorious, Penske seemed vulnerable this weekend, and Ganassi struggled (for what they're use to).
Scott Dixon (lead blue car) goes inside of Hinchcliffe into turn 2 at Long Beach
Back to that controversy though. Indycar is notoriously known for its questionable ethics when it comes to racing. There was an extended period of caution for a stalled car on track. This type of caution should have been a "quickie" yellow (a quick clean up and restart). Instead, the caution was prolonged for six laps. Those extra three laps helped Hinchcliffe's team save enough fuel to go the distance and win the race. The big teams cried foul, but for Hinch's team,they laugh in the spoils of victory. Ah Indycar, art thou a tricky one? Indeed thou are. The next Indycar race is in two weeks on April 23 at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
