Race Weekend Central

Happiness Is… Records, Chicagoland, and Smog

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Grandstand Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Out like a lamb and in like a lamb. That description feels apt for the end of the Cup Series’ regular season and the beginning of its Chase – or is it playoffs? In many ways, there is nothing surprising about the regular season wheezing out as few can remember anything significant happening in that …

Read more

Happiness Is… Themes, Hype, and Silly Season

2015 Darlington Cup Tony Stewart Car Ii Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

The low downforce. The softer tires. The retro paint schemes. The return to Darlington Raceway over Labor Day weekend. All of these elements added up to an interesting Southern 500, one that has seemed to garner overall positive reactions. That’s great! For a sport that has seemingly battled itself more than it should and caused many of …

Read more

Slipstream Saturday: The Tire Topic and Monza Preview

Kimi Raikkonen on track during practice for the 2015 Belgium Grand Prix

© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER FERRARI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

After the race at Spa, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, delivered a tirade attacking Pirelli and the tires teams were forced to use. Vettel, who had been holding down third in the race, suffered a failure at a high speed portion of the track, bringing severe concern for his safety while also hurting his result. Those …

Read more

Happiness Is… Throwbacks, Jeff Gordon and Scott Dixon

Fans in the stands for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway

(Photo Credit: Yvonne Leonard, Frontstretch)

It’s Darlington time this weekend and the race is once again situated on its traditional Labor Day weekend slot. It seems that someone over there at NASCAR HQ finally made some kind of decent decision. Of course, the track had taken a difficult situation and made it its own before this most recent shift in the …

Read more

IndyCar Breakdown: 2015 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

Crowd shot at Sonoma Raceway for the IndyCar finale in 2015 (credit: IndyCar)

(Photo Credit: IndyCar)

In a Nutshell: Scott Dixon earned his fourth IndyCar championship owing to his win at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.  He started the race in ninth and though he should not have been counted out of the championship, still sat in third in the points standings. The caution for Luca Filippi on lap 32 may have …

Read more

Scott Dixon Wins 4th IndyCar Championship

Scott Dixon at Sonoma celebrating his win and championship (credit: INDYCAR)

(Photo credit: INDYCAR Media)

Starting a lowly ninth on the grid, Scott Dixon and his team made the right calls to put him out in front and from there, Dixon cruised to his third win of the season. That third win would be the tie-breaker between he and Juan Pablo Montoya in claiming the championship. Once Dixon got out …

Read more

Will Power Earns Pole for 2015 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

Will Power on track at Sonoma (credit: John Cote/IndyCar)

(Photo credit: John Cote/IndyCar)

He may not be likely to defend his championship this year, but Will Power is starting the final race of the season on point, taking the pole position with a late flying lap to best Josef Newgarden for pole for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Starting third is Ryan Hunter-Reay, followed by Simon Pagenaud. Then …

Read more

Happiness Is… Busch (Beer, That Is), Tires, and the Championship

Pirelli tyres, tires, in the studio (credit: Pirelli)

(Credit: Pirelli)

One of the things that continues to perplex in the wonderful world of NASCAR isn’t the consistent use of lame debris cautions, the myriad of car configurations for this season or that there aren’t more road courses on the schedule.   For a change, the wonderment is pointed in another direction. With Joey Logano’s win …

Read more

Slipstream Saturday: Formula 1 Returns to Action

Nico Rosberg during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 21, 2015 in Spa, Belgium. (Credit: Getty Images)

(Credit: Getty Images)

And we’re back.   Formula 1 returns from its self-imposed summer shutdown to emerge in Belgium. This respite in the calendar encourages everyone to take a moment and get away from the pressure cooker world of the sport. During this time the team factories are shut down and everyone scatters. Lewis Hamilton provided the headlines …

Read more

Happiness Is… A Green Light, Overload & Pocono

2015 Charlotte I Cup David Ragan Crew Guy Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Well, that sucks.   With Rob Kauffman’s decision to take his ball and go play with the cooler kids on the playground, what once was a decent NASCAR Sprint Cup organization is left in shambles. But as Michael Waltrip Racing becomes another team left in the haze of exhaust and burnt rubber as the sport …

Read more

Happiness Is… TV, Ohio & Bills

2015 Pocono Ii Cup Jeff Gordon Pack Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

The nightmare season continues.   With another lackluster finish at Watkins Glen, Jeff Gordon continues his magical mystery tour, with the mystery being how far back in the field he’ll finish each race. Even the race before, at Pocono, Gordon and co. appeared lost, hanging out midpack for much of the event before their fuel-mileage …

Read more

Happiness Is… Kyle Busch, Lewis Hamilton, Safety & The Glen

2015 Pocono Ii Cup Kyle Busch Kurt Busch Racing Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

As usual, everything is wrong with the sport of NASCAR. The best race of this past weekend happened at Iowa on Saturday night at a time when no one was watching. The truck race got besieged by the Cuppers, with Kyle Busch stealing another win from the little guys. And the headline of the weekend, …

Read more