Victorious Tony Stewart feeling Heluva Good! At The Glen

Literally raining on the parade for stock car drivers, teams, and fans when the planned Sunday August 9th start of the Heluva Good! At The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup event was pushed to Monday. As many of us are forced with busying ourselves with earning a hard day's pay, the Sprint Cup teams took to earning Sunday money. As Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Chevrolet led the field to the start of the 90 lap affair, Kurt Busch overpowered Johnson for the top spot and held on for 19 laps. Road race professional and Sprint Cup rookie took the helm of the race Marcus Ambrose by staying out when the majority of cars received tires and fuel. At this point, Ambrose's team were establishing themselves for a long first run which wouldn't see the #47 Toyota on pit lane until lap 43.

Early mayhem resulted as the #12 Penske Dodge of David Stremme made a dive into Watkins Glen famous busstop chicane and lost control through the grass within the corner. Creating the second caution for the race, Stremme's spinning car honed in on Jeff Gordon's Dupont machine which escaped maliciously with only light contact from the black #12 Dodge. This luck did not hold for Gordon as the #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala of Kevin Harvick could not avoid the out of shape Dupont Chevrolet resulting in heavy right front contact for Harvick and a serious blow on Jeff Gordon's passenger side. While Stremme and Gordon were able to soldier on from the accident, Harvick's car spent a multitude of laps behind the wall.

For the legions of Dale Earnhardt Jr fans awaiting for the resurgence #88, the Watkins Glen race further paints the tapestry illustrating a season of misfortune. Before the race even started the season of the AMP/National Guard car has been plagued by a 2009 season with few highlights. Last year, Earnhardt and the #88 Hendrick Chevrolet came into Watkins Glen 4th in Sprint Cup points. For the 2009 season championship, Dale Earnhardt Jr entered the race weekend 23rd on the points sheet.

Once the green flag fell, the #88 Chevrolet Impala diced from its 38th place starting position, passing 13 cars in only 12 laps around the Watkins Glen race circuit. However, in course with this season's trend of good race runs materializing into poor finishes, Earnhardt Jr's car began to experience brake problems after 1/3 distance in the race. By Lap 41, Dale Earnhardt Jr's car lost braking power in turn 10 and was left heading into the back of #43 Dodge of Reed Sorenson. Without sufficient brakes, Earnhardt Jr could only turn his #88 Chevrolet into the sod along the corner of the track but was unable to avoid contact with Sorenson. This collision resulted in both cars becoming buried in the gravel runoff area where the incident attracted the third caution.

At the lap 45 restart, Kyle Busch ceased the lead for only the restart as Tony Stewart bypassed the #18 M&Ms Toyota. The younger Busch brother was never happy about the handling of his Toyota throughout the race but his pit crew would become invaluable in keeping the #18 in the upper part of the scoring board through to the checkered flag. Holding on for 11 laps, Tony Stewart's #14 Old Spice Chevrolet ran faultlessly until him and 6th place Juan Pablo Montoya made four tire pit stops. Kurt Busch and the wounded Dodge of David Stremme took turns leading the event until former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed took the spot for the first time on a road course during a Sprint Cup series event.

At lap 62, the biggest accident of the today was commenced when Kasey Kahne #9 Budweiser Dodge and Sam Hornish Jr #77 Mobil Dodge were battling through turn 9. Turn 9 at Watkins Glen had been already been a epicenter of chaos through the NASCAR Nationwide series as Jason Leffler and Joey Logano both had dramatic crashes into the retaining barriers. In Monday's Heluva Good! At The Glen, Kahne's Dodge delivered an unintentional side-by-side rub to Hornish sending the #77 Dodge off track and into the outer wall's tire barriers. Instead of drawing the car to a stop with the impact, the Sprint Cup Dodge slid sideways allowing the #77 to bounce off the tires and spun back up to the track surface. With a group of race cars rushing past, one of those cars was Jeff Gordon's Dupont Impala which was violently hammered by the #77 Dodge's rear end. The impact drove Gordon hard into the inner Armco guard rail completely compacting the #24's front. Hornish's car would also collect Jeff Burton as the vehicles' front ends collide. In spite of the severely mangled sheetmetal of those cars as well as a few cars which escaped with only slight damage, all drivers escaped this without serious injury. However, the incident's effect on Jeff Gordon's preexisting back problems were, and are likely to continue to be, a matter of concern.

Following a 20 minute red flag to clean up the scattered debris, Scott Speed enters the pits relinquishing the lead to Kyle Busch with Tony Stewart, Marcus Ambrose, Greg Biffle, and Juan Pablo Montoya rounding out the top five with when the green flag would drop again at lap 66. The next lap, Tony Stewart and his #14 Old Spice Chevy took on Busch's #18 Toyota in turn two, allowing his Hendrick engine to propel him by for the lead. This move proved to be the last lead change of the race as he led the final 27 laps to win the 2009 race at Watkins Glen. With some drama developing from fears that many of the leaders, including Stewart, would not go the distance on fuel economy, all the lead cars made the checkered flag. The #14 Chevy even had enough fuel for celebratory burnouts.

Having grabbed the pole for the 2008 Cup race and winner of the Watkins Glen Nationwide race for the last two years, Marcus Ambrose lived up to expectations by finishing second place. Rounding out the top six in order is Carl Edwards who ran a quiet yet productive race, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Juan Pablo Montoya. With Ambrose and Montoya full time NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, hired gun road course racers found it hard in this event at Watkins Glen. Finishing best amongst the group of limited schedule runners was Max Papis in 8th place (though him and Germain Racing have included numerous ovals this season in commitment to run much of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule). Andy Lally traded his typical Grand Am sports car Porsche GT class car for The Racer's Group's (TRG) Chevrolet Impala coming home 27th, on the lead lap. Apparently, Lally was the only road course regular not to be bitten by mechanical gremlins or by the competition. Second place finisher for the 1999 At the Glen race Ron Fellows was left out of contention for a strong finish early with a faulty starter in his #09 Chevrolet. Another freelance road racer failing to score a worthy result due to mechanical issues was fan favourite Boris Said. His #08 Ford's engine was struck with overheating problems which caused him to park the car at lap 76. Concluding the road ringer bunch were PJ Jones and Tony Ave who dropped our early by a listed transmission and overheating problem. Finally, Patrick Carpentier day consisted of having his #55 NAPA Toyota used as a pinball by David Stremme and later Elliot Sadler through contact with the French-Canadian driver. Carpentier was listed running at the end, 12 laps down from the leader.

The third points win for Tony Stewart this season, the two-time Cup series champion is well in reach of clinching his birth in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup for 2009. After missing the top 12 just one year ago with Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart's current 698 point lead over 12th place in points Matt Kenseth could secure a position by the next race at Michigan International Speedway this Sunday.

Rain washes out Sprint Cup race at Waltkins Glen. Where are the rain tires?

Photo provided by Ford Media


For the second week in a row, the Sunday feature race for NASCAR will be running on the first day of the work week. The Heluva Good! at the Glen road course race at Watkins Glen for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will start Monday at noon. With Watkins Glen being a road course, the delay for the race is highlighted by the fact that NASCAR had rain tires available for several previous years. As we would learn watching the ESPN broadcast of the Nationwide race on Saturday, Goodyear did bring rain tires but only for the Nationwide series cars. In the television booth, NASCAR's president Mike Helton took a few minutes to explain that it was "a business decision" not to use Goodyear rain tires during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race activities. He did not elaborate specifically but it left me wondering what resulted in that business decision.

One of the more plausible thoughts relates to Goodyear's logistical abilities to provide an sufficient tires for the longer Cup series race. However, road course race strategy would justify that only one more set of rain tires per car would be needed (if even that many). The Sprint Cup cars run only 8 scheduled laps more than the Nationwide series variants. However, with the Nationwide series race run under dry conditions, the question is whether those Nationwide tires could be been converted to run on the Sprint Cup cars. For the steel wheels themselves, wheel size and stud patterns are identical. For many race tracks, in attempt to save time and money needed developing proper rubber compounds for NASCAR, Goodyear would frequently arrive with the same race tire for Nationwide and Sprint Cup series for race weekend at a single track. This was even allowed to continue with the Sprint Cup's fundamentally different Car of Tomorrow (COT) for multiple oval races. Therefore, it should be feasible to fit rain tires to the Sprint Cup series machines. Goodyear spokesperson has commented on the Nascar.com that the company is confident that the current package would work if NASCAR would elect to employ them in the top series.

The Montreal race at Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve was one of the most exciting Nationwide events in 2008. On that day, NASCAR was initially hesitant to drop the green flag but found that those fears were largely without basis. Of course there were a few cars that lost traction but that is common even during dry weather road races. In fact, many of the NASCAR oval track regulars were surprised at the minimal learning curve needed to run these heavy Nationwide stock cars in the rain. While the rain was halted past the halfway point when the rain turned to a monsoon, cars raced skillfully through a steady downpour for more than an hour. Canadian Ron Fellows won a thrilling home soil victory that year in his GoDaddy.com Chevrolet as fellow Canadian and open wheel transplant Patrick Carpentier came home second. A big race for Canada in NASCAR, it was also a significant event for road course specialists (so-called Road course ringers) as they snatched four of the five top finishing positions. While this point may be resulting in a very thin conspiracy theory, might NASCAR and regular championship contending teams fear rain tires could allow important Sprint Cup series races to fall in the hands of road course ringers? It should be noted that NASCAR regulars such as Juan Pablo Monytona and Marcus Ambrose (who came close to winning the rain-soaked Montreal race) came from road racing backgrounds, favoured for victory as much as dry weather. Also, the one conclusion that could be drawn from the splendid Nationwide race at Montreal last year was that race car drivers throughout NASCAR are capable to almost instantly adapting to the unique wet weather race. Camping World Truck series driver Ron Hornaday as well as young oval track ace Carl Edwards placed fourth and sixth on the final running order.

As a third thought, perhaps the Sprint Cup's COT car isn't prepared for racing in the rain. The older style Sprint Cup cars were fitted with wet weather racing equipment (treaded tires, windshield wiper, rear signal light, and defogger system) since Suzuka, Japan exhibition of 1996. The closest this package came to racing in the NASCAR Cup series came in 1997 when the non-points race on the Suzuka road course ran almost completely in the rain. With exception to one practice session held at Watkins Glen ages ago, Cup cars never ran a competitive lap in wet weather on North American soil. This historical lack of demand for rain tires and the costly addition of rain equipment has likely contributed to its exclusion for 2009 COT vehicles.

Back to the 2009 running of the Heluva Good! at the Glen, the weather forecast for Watkins Glen, New York hints strongly at the same rain and thunderstorms which postponed Sunday's planned running. With this likely not to be the only fan voice to urge the usage of rain tires for the Sprint Cup road course races, we shouldn't be surprised if NASCAR, ever desperate to remain on the fan's side, might provide some requirements to the Sprint Cup COT cars for 2010.

Friday at the 2009 Honda Indy Part 2

Since the 2009 Honda Indy Toronto concluded nearly a month ago, does it not make sense for me to post part 2 of my trip to the Friday event? I'll just say I was backed up and that I send my apologies to this website's viewer. The good news is that my sunburns have finally resided after a full day at Toronto's CNE grounds on July 10th.

With part one of my adventure ending during noontime its prudent to pick up from that moment. By the time I finished my lunch after a long morning of indulging in the Honda Indy festivities, the drivers and teams of the Firestone Indy Lights series complete their second practice of the day; this second and final session before later afternoon qualifying. Australia's James Davidson topped the session during the last minute of practice with a 1:05.5191 second lap. While not evident by the throaty engine notes and their aggression around 11-turn street course, the Firestone Indy Lights car will show themselves four seconds slower lap speed to the IndyCar series when timing is settled for the day. Another noteworthy driver rounding out the practice session is hometown favourite 24 year old James Hinchcliffe placed fifth fastest.

As the Indy Light cars depart the track, the showcase was given to a the nostalgic grouping of the Vintage and Historic GT race practice. Perhaps a refreshing taste from the flooding servings of open wheel racing, these classic vehicles are built to compete in sports car racing of the 60s, 70s, and into the 1980s. With the newest car being a 1989 Pontiac Firebird, the oldest entry is an elegant Jaguar E Type from 1963. Regrettably, their half hour session involved very few green flag laps for the day. Through much as the brief session a blue #17 car, a 1966 Ford Mustang, struggled to leave pit lane as crew members made a feverish attempt to give Matt Fusillo and his car track time. Admiring these classic performance cars as they briefly reunite with their pedigree of speed, the practice fortunately ended without the loss of any of these machines.


As the Vintage and Historic GT cars depart back into their paddock area inside the Direct Energy Center, the IndyCar open wheel racers take back to the track for an afternoon practice. With Penske's Will Power leading the first session, this second chance to find speed was an opportunity to improve on any morning struggles or back up their previous fast times on the warmer, faster Toronto street circuit. The session contained a few additional moments of excitement for two drivers. The first involved 2005 IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon looping his #4 National Guard car when negotiating the difficult turn 3 after the fast stretch of Lakeshore Blvd. No damage came to Wheldon's spin, but the second major incident of the session would not end so fortunately for one of the Penske cars. Helio Castroneves made some on track contact which resulted in damage along the right front corner of his red and white #3 race car. In a minor surprise, the top of the speed chart of the second IndyCar practice was rookie driver Raphael Matos who appeared in the top two for both IndyCar prep sessions. Justin Wilson and his Dale Coyne racing team found some considerable speed as her vaulted himself from 12th in the first IndyCar practice to 2nd in the afternoon session. Will Power, Robert Doombos, and Ryan Briscoe rounded out the top 5 speeds. After posting 5th fastest time, Paul Tracy's #15 Ontario Honda Dealers/Woundedwarriors.ca team slipped to 13th overall in the afternoon practice. With only the Toronto and Edmonton race planned with KV Racing, Paul Tracy committed “in the afternoon we tried a few things for the race setup that didn't work for the car, so we lost our way a little bit”. Tracy continued to say that we felt confident about Saturday qualifying for the Sunday main event.

Of course, between the time of the Friday practice and when this posting is being completed, we know about the Sunday event resulting in a race ending crash between Helio Castroneves and Paul Tracy. While as a fellow Canadian, I wasn't thinking too highly of Castroneves at the moment when he was attempting to hold his position on worn tires, but watching his interview being held shortly after a chorus of boos from the grandstand full of Canadian flag race fans made me quickly sympathize with the Brazilian driver. Being very apologetic by the incident with Tracy, Helio Castroneves seemed almost saddened to bring such displeasure to the Toronto crowd. Following the Friday afternoon practice session I can almost guarantee him to be fan's racer. At the end of the practice, Helio rode with his crew members on the team cart as his car was due to arrive to the attention of Penske's mechanics. Considering the fact that some race car drivers take even minor vehicle damage seriously, a crowd of race fans saw a chivalrous Helio Castroneves who signed autographs and posed for photographs with dozens of fans with a smile on his face. Just as he was relishing the fanfare his damaged Penske Dallara-Honda was being guided into the paddock area by a tow truck.


On the other side of the Paddock, one of the biggest fan draws was Danica Patrick. With hundreds of people standing around her car at all times, Danica made herself scarce through the day's racing activities as she lent little time to converse with fans. Perhaps of victim of her own success, the sports star and the model provocative Godaddy.com ads is sought over by adoring fans who holds no ill feelings for the most popular woman in motorsports. Danica Patrick's on track performance on the street course may have been a concern for her, an ultra-competitive driver who trailed all but two other drivers in the final practice of the day. However, while Patrick never gained the speed she needed for qualifying on Saturday, she survived the chaos of Sunday's race for a resurgent sixth-place finish.

With the leading series' on track activities wrapped up for the day, the feeder series of Firestone Indy Lights championship set out at 3:10 for a 45 minute qualifying match. Columbian 19 year old Sebastian Saavedra grabbed the pole mid way in the session and held on to the coveted spot for Saturday's race. James Hinchcliffe's came close to the pole coming less than two-tenths of a second away from Saavedra mark. Falling just short of the first place starting position for his hometown race, his efforts was applauded from the grandstands as he achieved greatness through merely a hearted attempt.




As a finale for the four-wheel proceeding of Friday, the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires take to the 1.721 mile street circuit for the second time of the day for their qualifying. Their practice at 8:00 am provided the first engines to voice the festivities of the waterfront race competitions. Featuring an eclectic group of Honda Civics, BMW 3 series, Saab 93, and even a pair of Hyundai Genesis coupes, 43 cars of these Canadian tour compete within two classes. During the qualifying, Gregory Pootmans took his BMW 328 to the pole position for two races held on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at an average speed of 124.273 kilometers per hour (75.73 miles per hour). The close automobiles to what would be seen along the street race route during the majority of the year, these Canadian Touring Cars were obviously tested.

Spinning within the turn 10 and 11 complex, the #64 Lexus IS300 of Andrew Wojteczko (which placed second in the morning practice) quickly recovered without contact. Wojiteczko's Lexus would place 4th overall in the timed session.

As the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship concluded after just half an hour, I began to make my trek back home via the TTC streetcar. This trail went through one last visit to the Direct Energy Center where I partook in purchasing a few well-priced items at the vendor area.

In days passing, I've been attempting to gather information on the attendance for the 2009 Honda Indy weekend but has noticed that some news outlets were unable to obtain this data. Knowing that the race in its prime years of the 1990s drew between 130,000 to 150,000 spectators for the three-day event, estimates have placed attendance lower for 2009. Not surprising for the result of a higher Canadian dollar and a less than favourable economic picture forcing some belt tightening, the 2009 Honda Indy event would be no less of a casualty than the majority of auto races. There was also a threat of weather on the Saturday morning which likely injured the gate sales during that day. However, as a witness to the beautiful weather of the Friday action at the CNE grounds I can attest that the crowd appeared to be right on par with Fridays of yesteryear editions of the Toronto race.

With that ended my day at the 2009 Honda Indy and my first time back at the Toronto Indy car race since 2003. I forgot how much I missed it, feeling only relieved that this year's event brought a strong, reunified presentation of open wheel racing.