The Week In Racing

Both NASCAR and the WRC were active this weekend, so for the most part I'm still waiting for the seasons to begin. The countdown to the Formula 1 season continues; I can't wait for the lights to go out at the Australian GP. With all the changes (see last week's blog post on racing), this season could possibly be one of the most interesting in recent history.

NASCAR
There was some good racing at Daytona this Speedweeks. Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on his Busch and Nextel Cup wins and to Jack Sprague on his Craftsman Truck Series win. The finishes of the Nextel Cup race and the Truck race were terrific, although the Cup race was a bit on the boring side through the middle.

Several drivers were very impressive throughout Speedweeks. First, David Gilliland performed wonderfully through the week; not only did he win the pole for the Daytona 500 but he raced skillfully, showing very well for a rookie. Of the veterans, Tony Stewart, the Busch Brothers (although I was less than impressed with some of Kyle's driving in the 500), Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Burton were on top of their game. Conversely, with the exception of the Duel 150 win for Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon have to be wondering what happened (The 25 team seems to have taken up where it left off).

Despite the humiliation of the fuel controversy, the 55 team put on one heck of a performance. They came back from the brink of disaster by putting a car together just in time and then racing it into the Daytona 500. What they accomplished after having two top team members thrown out of the track and under incredible pressure was perhaps the most impressive performance of the week.

WRC
I haven't been able to catch up on the action in the Rally Norway yet, but I have seen that Mikko Hirvonen won and that Ford came in First, Second, and Third. Quite impressive.
Gronholm leads the points and one has to wonder what has happened to Loeb.

Champ Car/IRL
Unite.
Please.


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net