One of my earlier posts was about driver rankings. With 2009 racing finally beginning, I wanted to show off the so far unofficial rankings for 2009. I'm calling them unofficial since only one major series has begun, NASCAR, and there are only two races so far.
Top 20 (after Fontana)
1. Matt Kenseth (last week - 1), 30.000 average
Unsurprisingly, Kenseth is #1 so far after winning the first two races of '09. He still has room for improvement though, since he has zero qualifying points.
2. Tony Stewart (LW - 3), 21.000
Consistency has kept Smoke up near the top. In fact, he registered the same amount of ranking points at Daytona and Fontana (only Kenseth did the same).
3. Kurt Busch (LW - 7), 20.500
A tenth place and fifth place put him at #3 so far.
4. Jeff Gordon (LW - 13), 18.500
Fontana runner-up Gordon jumps ahead thanks to his finish at Auto Club.
5. Jimmie Johnson (LW - t18), 16.750
Scoring a weak (for him) 5.5 points at Daytona, the three-time defending Cup champ scored the second most points at Fontana thanks to his front row start.
6. Kyle Busch (LW - t14), 16.750
7. Brian Vickers (LW - t21), 16.000
8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW - 2), 14.250
9. Juan Pablo Montoya (LW - t14), 14.000
10. Greg Biffle (LW - t21), 13.000
11. A.J. Allmendinger (LW - 4), 12.750
T-12. Clint Bowyer (LW - t7), 12.000
T-12. Michael Waltrip (LW - t10), 12.000
14. Carl Edwards (LW - 17), 11.500
T-15. Kevin Harvick (LW - 5), 11.000
T-15. David Ragan (LW - t10), 11.000
T-15. Reed Sorenson (LW - 6), 11.000
18. Denny Hamlin (LW - t18), 10.250
19. Mark Martin (LW - t10), 10.000
20. Elliott Sadler (LW - 9), 9.250
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Four Left Turns for F1
I was greeted this morning by an article from F1 Fanatic about oval racing for F1.Read the whole article here. I highly recommend it.
I think Keith Collantine brings up a great point for US involvement in F1. If they really want to succeed as a popular form of racing in America, running on an oval is the way to go. Whether we like it or not, the road racing is the USA is a niche racing market. The majority of racing interest is direct towards ovals. An F1 race on an oval would certainly get an IndyCar fan's interest, and likely NASCAR fans would be interested in the novelty of it.
An added benefit of using an oval from an American perspective is that we would see a greater deal of respect towards this type of track from both drivers and fans. To say that "just turning left" is easy oversimplifies what this type of racing requires. I've said this to others in the past that successful oval racing requires a slightly different skill set than road course racing, but nonetheless it deserves to be in a great driver's set of skills. To me that's why I think most highly of guys like Mario Andretti who have been very successful in several disciplines and numerous styles of racing. It's a range that is too seldom seen these days (Montoya may be the last of them right now). It could have an added effect of having older drivers like a Barrichello try IndyCars (or at least the 500) after their F1 careers have run their course in the vein of Emerson Fittipaldi. That would bring a better profile internationally to IndyCars, as it would not just be the F1 reject bin.
But where would they race? The amount of speed an F1 car can generate eliminates high banked tracks like Daytona, Michigan, and Texas from consideration. Besides, a low banked track is an easier transition for oval newbies (see last year's Milwaukee race for proof). That being said, Indy would be an obvious pick: clearly F1 ready, low banked, historical, and could show off the real speeds of these cars. Pocono is one on my radar, since the uniqueness of the track is the most similar thing to a road course. Plus since it's fairly close to NYC the F1 powers that be would be able to tap into the national media easily not to mention allow the muckety mucks to spend time there.
I don't think it will ever happen though. There would have to be some technical changes for the cars, not to mention enough Eurosnobs who don't get this kind of racing. Still, if they ever want to really break into to the US again it would be the best option.
I think Keith Collantine brings up a great point for US involvement in F1. If they really want to succeed as a popular form of racing in America, running on an oval is the way to go. Whether we like it or not, the road racing is the USA is a niche racing market. The majority of racing interest is direct towards ovals. An F1 race on an oval would certainly get an IndyCar fan's interest, and likely NASCAR fans would be interested in the novelty of it.
An added benefit of using an oval from an American perspective is that we would see a greater deal of respect towards this type of track from both drivers and fans. To say that "just turning left" is easy oversimplifies what this type of racing requires. I've said this to others in the past that successful oval racing requires a slightly different skill set than road course racing, but nonetheless it deserves to be in a great driver's set of skills. To me that's why I think most highly of guys like Mario Andretti who have been very successful in several disciplines and numerous styles of racing. It's a range that is too seldom seen these days (Montoya may be the last of them right now). It could have an added effect of having older drivers like a Barrichello try IndyCars (or at least the 500) after their F1 careers have run their course in the vein of Emerson Fittipaldi. That would bring a better profile internationally to IndyCars, as it would not just be the F1 reject bin.
But where would they race? The amount of speed an F1 car can generate eliminates high banked tracks like Daytona, Michigan, and Texas from consideration. Besides, a low banked track is an easier transition for oval newbies (see last year's Milwaukee race for proof). That being said, Indy would be an obvious pick: clearly F1 ready, low banked, historical, and could show off the real speeds of these cars. Pocono is one on my radar, since the uniqueness of the track is the most similar thing to a road course. Plus since it's fairly close to NYC the F1 powers that be would be able to tap into the national media easily not to mention allow the muckety mucks to spend time there.
I don't think it will ever happen though. There would have to be some technical changes for the cars, not to mention enough Eurosnobs who don't get this kind of racing. Still, if they ever want to really break into to the US again it would be the best option.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Good luck Pete and Ken
I watched the USF1 press conference on Speed today. I hope it isn't a mitigated disaster. The culture of Formula One needs to be shaken up a bit - it's not fan friendly and too Eurocentric to be a complete World Championship. I'd love to see a more explicit American involvement in F1 on the team and driver standpoint.
Driver lineup hint? Go young. Develop folks with potential to be great drivers. Avoid Danica, in spite of the sheer amount of publicity it will bring to take her to the grid. I don't think she'd bite anyway (she is too smart about her image to allow herself to look like a major chump).
Taking the Test
Homestead test results so far:
IndyCar (before dinner break)
Justin Wilson has since moved up in the standings though.
Pos Driver No Best Time Best Speed Laps
1 Scott Dixon 9 25.2919 211.372 50
2 Ryan Briscoe 6 25.3614 210.793 53
3 Dario Franchitti 10 25.4939 209.697 46
4 Robert Doornbos 6 25.5077 209.584 70
5 Ryan Briscoe 3 25.5479 209.254 14
6 Mario Moraes 5 25.5680 209.089 62
7 Danica Patrick 7 25.6133 208.720 39
8 Tony Kanaan 11 25.6134 208.719 14
9 Raphael Matos 12 25.6165 208.694 70
10 Graham Rahal 2 25.6476 208.441 63
11 Marco Andretti 26 25.6786 208.189 27
12 Hideki Mutoh 27 25.6984 208.029 54
13 Mike Conway 24 25.7075 207.955 58
14 Ed Carpenter 20 25.7481 207.627 56
15 Will Power 3 25.8672 206.671 43
16 Milka Duno 23 25.8837 206.539 50
17 Vitor Meira 14 25.9387 206.101 33
18 EJ Viso 13 26.1302 204.591 16
19 Jaime Camara 34 26.5155 201.618 16
20 Stanton Barrett 98 26.5531 201.332 46
21 Justin Wilson 18 26.7566 199.801 51
Indy Lights
Pos Driver No Best Time Best Speed Laps
1 Pippa Mann 16 28.4776 187.726 144
2 Ali Jackson 59 28.5138 187.488 70
3 Sebastian Saavedra 27 28.5216 187.437 181
4 Martin Plowman 15 28.5620 187.172 190
5 Mario Romancini 5 28.5674 187.136 106
6 Junior Strous 18 28.6193 186.797 175
7 Ana Beatriz 20 28.6775 186.418 136
8 James Hinchcliffe 7 28.6884 186.347 141
9 Sergey Mokshantsev 3 28.7227 186.125 126
10 Andrew Prendeville 2 28.7416 186.002 149
11 JR Hildebrand 26 28.7427 185.995 118
12 Sean Guthrie 4 28.7734 185.797 147
13 Brandon Wagner 32 28.8110 185.554 171
14 James Davison 21 28.8480 185.316 131
15 Jesse Mason 49 28.9948 184.378 127
16 Daniel Herrington 28 29.0297 184.156 66
17 Jay Howard 37 29.1379 183.472 46
For the second straight day, Pippa Mann tops the charts. Panther was always great on ovals last year, but to see an inexperienced driver on ovals do well bids well for her. Indy Lights might have two women with a good shot of winning races (the other of course being Ana Beatriz).
IndyCar (before dinner break)
Justin Wilson has since moved up in the standings though.
Pos Driver No Best Time Best Speed Laps
1 Scott Dixon 9 25.2919 211.372 50
2 Ryan Briscoe 6 25.3614 210.793 53
3 Dario Franchitti 10 25.4939 209.697 46
4 Robert Doornbos 6 25.5077 209.584 70
5 Ryan Briscoe 3 25.5479 209.254 14
6 Mario Moraes 5 25.5680 209.089 62
7 Danica Patrick 7 25.6133 208.720 39
8 Tony Kanaan 11 25.6134 208.719 14
9 Raphael Matos 12 25.6165 208.694 70
10 Graham Rahal 2 25.6476 208.441 63
11 Marco Andretti 26 25.6786 208.189 27
12 Hideki Mutoh 27 25.6984 208.029 54
13 Mike Conway 24 25.7075 207.955 58
14 Ed Carpenter 20 25.7481 207.627 56
15 Will Power 3 25.8672 206.671 43
16 Milka Duno 23 25.8837 206.539 50
17 Vitor Meira 14 25.9387 206.101 33
18 EJ Viso 13 26.1302 204.591 16
19 Jaime Camara 34 26.5155 201.618 16
20 Stanton Barrett 98 26.5531 201.332 46
21 Justin Wilson 18 26.7566 199.801 51
Indy Lights
Pos Driver No Best Time Best Speed Laps
1 Pippa Mann 16 28.4776 187.726 144
2 Ali Jackson 59 28.5138 187.488 70
3 Sebastian Saavedra 27 28.5216 187.437 181
4 Martin Plowman 15 28.5620 187.172 190
5 Mario Romancini 5 28.5674 187.136 106
6 Junior Strous 18 28.6193 186.797 175
7 Ana Beatriz 20 28.6775 186.418 136
8 James Hinchcliffe 7 28.6884 186.347 141
9 Sergey Mokshantsev 3 28.7227 186.125 126
10 Andrew Prendeville 2 28.7416 186.002 149
11 JR Hildebrand 26 28.7427 185.995 118
12 Sean Guthrie 4 28.7734 185.797 147
13 Brandon Wagner 32 28.8110 185.554 171
14 James Davison 21 28.8480 185.316 131
15 Jesse Mason 49 28.9948 184.378 127
16 Daniel Herrington 28 29.0297 184.156 66
17 Jay Howard 37 29.1379 183.472 46
For the second straight day, Pippa Mann tops the charts. Panther was always great on ovals last year, but to see an inexperienced driver on ovals do well bids well for her. Indy Lights might have two women with a good shot of winning races (the other of course being Ana Beatriz).
Friday, February 20, 2009
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