Old Car New Car

NASCAR New Car Blues

What a disappointment.

I had hoped Charlotte was going to be the race where the Chase drivers got it together and gave us the race, the show, this years Chase needs and wants, but it was not to be.

The highlight of the race was Jimmie Johnsons hard hit into the outside wall. That was not the highlight because it involved the 48 hitting the wall, honest, but because good racing was severely lacking.

After Kansas I found myself pondering the riddle of the edgy setups but Charlotte was a different story. This was the aero push story. The drivers could not run close together without loosing the air off the front splitter and could not run side by side without loosing the air off the rear spoiler.

For the first time since the current Cup car was introduced I am wondering if something about the COT is hurting the racing. Maybe the answer is to run the current front with the unloved rear wing out back. The whole point of the wing was that it allowed air to pass under it and on to the following car, unlike the spoiler. I know this is not going to happen but something not only needs to be done to redress the aero balance, when the cars are facelifted for the 2013 season, but also to limit the aero push, which is hurting the racing.

On paper the Championship looks really close and competetive but on track the racing is not living up to the top billing.

RIP Dan Wheldon

I am still in shock over the loss of Dan Wheldon at last weekends Indycar race.

Now is not the time to debate the decision to allow so many cars in the race or whether it was a good idea to dangle such a large carrot in front of any driver who won the race after starting from the back of the grid.

Now is about Daniel Wheldon.

Many experts with a lot more exprience and authority than me have said all there is to say about his life and career. However I will say this. When I was younger I was fortunate enough to race Cadet and then Junior TKM karts. When I raced three names mattered, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Daniel Wheldon... and Wheldon was the best.

As someone who has more of a passion for American motor racing than F1, I was so pleased when Wheldon won the Indy 500, once and then twice.

As has been pointed out there is an unfortunate irony in the fact that Wheldon, who has spent this year developing the new Indycar race car, a car which should be safer and less likely to hit wheels, was killed in the last race for the old spec car which his efforts were working to replace.

Dan Wheldons death is a great loss and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.

BTCC Champ Crowned

Congratulations three time British Touring Car Champion, Matt Neal!

We can now look forward to next season, which I hope will see all the top runners in NGTC spec turbo cars.

My only comments about the next gen. car...

As always make them all rear wheel drive like this years Audi, and make them less liable to rear suspension damage when making contact, sorry racing, side by side.

Neals car this year had a bumper sticker... "Does my Turbo look big in this?"... No and the trophies don't look bad either!

Indycars Oval Dilema

I read with dispare of the lack of attendance at the Indycar Series oval events.

Unfortunately I am not in a position to help these figures, living as I do on the other side of pond. Neither am I able to watch the races on TV as I cannot afford the TV station the races are on over here. If anybody wants to help with either of these issues please let me know...

Anyway...

The IRL was established as a series for American drivers, racing American cars with American V8's on American ovals. Today the Indycar Series looks much more like a direct replacement for the now defunct CART series with more road courses than ovals and less of an "American" feel.

In its day I loved CART. I used to enjoy the mix of oval races and some of the best open wheel road racing on the planet. But the IRL put on a better oval show.

The American open wheel world has always looked a bit disjointed to me. Over here if a kid wants to be the next Button or Hamilton they can start off at a young age in karts, move up to single seaters, say Formula Ford, in time progress through Formula 3 to the lower international classes and then if all goes to plan maybe become a Formula 1 driver. A nice progressive ladder from start to finish. I do not pretend to be an expert on the American open wheel ladder but going from short oval USAC Midgets and Sprints to the Indy 500 is a big leap. I understand there are single seater classes filling in the gap but the ladder still doesn't flow to me.

The greatest shame of the current situation is that in the early days of the IRL the oval racing was fantastic. Good drivers, good cars, wonderfully close racing and nail biting finishes. The last few years have seen the standards fall with close finishes a thing of the past. However the finish of the last race was very tight, just like the days of Sam Hornish at Texas.

The huge success of NASCAR over the past two decades has not helped either. The big crowds, TV and big money has made it hard for other series to generate the interest from drivers and fans, and with the majority of the three NASCAR series races taking place on ovals, the market for oval racing is pretty full.

The answer to this lies in the succes of the new generation of Indycar.

We all know the Indycar Series has been treading water, waiting for the new car to be signed off. If the series officials and Dan Wheldon can develop an oval package that enables the drivers to run side by side at any oval with minimal aero push, like the good old days of the IRL, then the crowds will come back. Good racing will always bring crowds.

I hope, if not for the sake of the series but for the sake of the Indy 500, that the new car brings life to open wheel oval racing in America.

The Indycar Series needs ovals to ensure the future, and the future importance, of the great Indianapolis 500.

2011 Indianapolis 500 Highlights

If, like me, you were unable to watch the race on TV, here are the official highlights courtesy of Indycar.com



When I raced karts in the UK, at a younger age, the top three Cadet drivers were (in no particular order) Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Daniel Wheldon. Well, Davidson now races sports cars, and we all know what Button does, while Wheldon, now Dan, went to America to race Indycars.

Amazingly Wheldon, a former Indycar Series Champion and Indy 500 winner is without a full time ride for the 2011 season. Which makes the dramatic end to this years Indy 500, and Wheldons an even bigger achievement!

Congratulations to the winner of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500... DAN WHELDON!!