Formula 1 Friday: Back on Track … Finally

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*Praise be…..F1 is back!*

After what has seemed a quite interminably long break which has been filled with lots of running, jumping, throwing and a fair haul of gold, it gives me enormous pleasure to tell you that once again this weekend the Formula One circus rises again from its mid-season slumber at my personal favourite track, Beligium’s fearsome Spa Francorchamps. The first half of the season has been thrilling so far and there’s no reason to suspect that the second half won’t be equally as unpredictable.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Miguel Paludo on Bristol, Birthdays and More

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_Welcome to the latest edition of Miguel Paludo’s Driver Diary. Every few weeks, Miguel sits down and tells the Frontstretch all about the latest in his on track career as well as his personal life. Kick back and enjoy as Paludo dishes on Bristol, looks forward to Atlanta and so much more._

We were a little off in practice at Bristol. We tried some different things with the right front because Dover is one-mile long and concrete and Bristol is almost the same, just shorter. We had a plan to try and if it didn’t work, we could go back to what the No. 30 and No. 31 (teammates Nelson Piquet, Jr. and James Buescher) had. And we actually did that because first practice wasn’t really good, and then in the second practice we were around 12th. My hopes were to qualify in that same area, around 12th or 13th, but we just didn’t have speed in qualifying.

The Importance of Being Ambrose

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The on-track accomplishments of Marcos Ambrose over the past month have been nothing short of inspiring. While always considered a threat to win on road courses (which he did in a wild, dirt-throwing, metal-bending show of last-lap fireworks at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago), Ambrose is also proving to be a worthy contender on other kinds of racetracks, as well. His recent back-to-back, fifth-place finishes at Michigan and Bristol demonstrated his talents on both superspeedways and short tracks – finishes that had him in-the-mix with Sprint Cup notables such as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Potts’ Shots: Agreeing To Disagree – To A Degree

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First off, a comment from *Steven Sturm* says I goofed on SCCA flag procedures last week, saying,

One mistake: with yellow flags, there is no passing until you pass the
incident, not the next flag station.

OK, Steven, I guess you’re speaking from experience and have some knowledge of the subject. However, I wasn’t sure about that when I wrote it, and I got my information from a video on one of the SCCA regions’ website. Maybe it differs by region. I ended that column with the note that we had a lot of fun in those days.

It’s a Real Shame When Drama Overshadows The Racing

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We should be talking about the great racing we’ve seen this season. We should be talking about the championship and whether Will Power will finally bring it home or whether one of the other three drivers still in contention can mount a comeback. We should be talking about keeping the momentum going and having an even better 2013. Instead, the story that just refuses to die this summer is the alleged effort of some unhappy team owners to put together funding to buy INDYCAR and oust current CEO Randy Bernard.

Mirror Driving: The Bristol Verdict, Temper Temper And Silly Season Summary

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*After Bristol Motor Speedway made changes to the track over the summer, the track promoted racing closer to what fans saw prior to 2007. But did the track live up to the hype?*

Summer: Oh yeah. The helmet throw was enough for that to be a reality.
Kevin: I think it did. I wasn’t able to look away for both the Cup and Nationwide races, and in that regard I think the races were at least successful.
Mike N.: Closer to racing before the repave? No. Closer to before they put concrete down? Yes. It was different than we’ve seen there in the last 20 years. Prior to the concrete, they used to diamond the corners kind of like they did Saturday night. It was great racing.

The Best (and Worst) NASCAR Helmet Throws

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So, it happened again.

No, I’m not talking particularly about the amount of accidents and subsequent cautions in last weekend’s Bristol night races for the Cup and Nationwide series, though I will say they certainly spiced up the action and definitely lead to what I’m going to talk about.

Just a few weeks after Todd Bodine’s helmet toss (and miss) at Nelson Piquet, Jr. to express his displeasure at their Pocono incident, Tony Stewart hurled his in Matt Kenseth’s general direction during the Bristol Cup race — with a direct hit squarely on Kenseth’s hood.