Kyle Busch is guy who got away from Hendrick empire

Certainly there have been worse transactions in the history of sports. Take your pick:

The Boston Red Sox selling Babe Ruth so they could finance a Broadway musical. The Baltimore Colts forcibly dumping pouty Sanford rookie QB John Elway for Mark Hermann and a couple of offensive linemen. The Los Angeles Dodgers trading promising righty Pedro Martinez for second baseman Delino DeShields.

But somewhere down the line, in the zip-zip world of stock-car racing, comes this one:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Kyle Busch.

It really wasn't a trade, per se, but it was definitely a choice for Rick Hendrick in 2007 season.

He chose to dump Busch, then a temperamental young buck, to make room for Earnhardt on his talented motor sports team. Earnhardt was, then a free agent who wanted out of the contentious DEI team.

The Hendrick Motorsports empire certainly hasn't suffered. Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin have made sure of that. But Earnhardt most definitely is the weakest link.

He hasn't qualified for the Chase the past two seasons, although he is in better shape now, hanging onto one of the last slots with two races to go before the qualifying cutoff in Richmond, Va.

He remains NASCAR's most popular driver _ he has won the award, voted by fans, for eight consecutive seasons. But his professional profile is kinda like the Tim Tebow deal in the NFL.

Tebow had the third-best selling jersey in the NFL last season, but he might be the third-string QB on the Denver Broncos depth chart this season.

Go figure.

During his popularity run, Earnhardt has missed the Chase in 2009 and 2010, finishing 25th and 21st in the standings. It marks the worst two years of his career.

Busch, meanwhile, keeps cruising right along. He is first in the Cup standings, and has a season-high four victories on the circuit.

Busch has 104 victories in NASCAR's top three divisions. He is only 26, and has great potential to chase down Richard Petty and his NASCAR career record of 200 victories.

Obviously, some people will argue that Busch doesn't belong in the same category as the King because of his 79 victories in the Camping World and Nationwide Series. But there is no debate on whether Busch is a talented driver.

He is, and has proven to be much better than the often-sputtering marketing machine Hendrick has on his hands.

Any bashing of Hendrick comes with a lot of disclaimers. Just look to see who else he has driving for him to see how great he is at identifying talent.

Yet you have to wonder if like so many other people, Hendrick was smitten by Earnhardt mostly for his marketing pizazz and not his driving ability.

Both Hendrick and Earnhardt will do just fine, even if Dale is among the odd men out when it comes to Chase qualifying.

But plug Busch into that race team and do the math.

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Vettel Returns to Victory, at Belgian Grand Prix

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Sebastian Vettel returned to the highest step of the podium for the first time in four races, as the German driver for the Red Bull team won the Belgian Grand Prix, driving from pole position to victory.

But the race was anything but a walkover for the reigning world champion and leader of the series. Vettel, who has now won seven races this season, was one of several drivers who had problems with his tires wearing out and he had dropped down the pack several times, each time having to fight back to the lead.

“I enjoyed every lap today, it wasn’t easy to manage the car,” Vettel said. “But the car was fantastic to drive and if the car does what you want it to do this place is really fun. It was an entertaining race with the strategy to come in early to the pits and all the passes I had to make.”

His teammate at Red Bull, Mark Webber, finished in second, 3.7 seconds behind, while Jenson Button, who won the previous race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, finished third 9.6 seconds from the leader.

Michael Schumacher, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first Formula One race, also at Spa in 1991, finished? fifth after starting last after crashing in qualifying on Saturday. The German driver won this race six times.

“A wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend here in Spa,” said Schumacher. “I think more than fifth place would not have been possible today but making up 19 places was a good feeling.”

Before the race, on the starting grid, Vettel, 24, looked tense and serious, his face a rag of worry lines as he spoke to his engineer after turning a single lap of the circuit to reach the grid.

Vettel had requested from the Pirelli tire provider and the racing authorities an extra set of tires after he found that his softer tires were blistering up. Each driver is allotted a certain number of tires per race, but Vettel and a few others request extra ones on safety grounds.

This meant that Vettel had to make three stops for tire changes and had to take care of his tires so they would not wear out too quickly.

“It’s pretty scary going around with the blistering tires,” said Vettel. “It’s driving into the unknown.”

The race began under cloudy skies but with very little likelihood of the rain that had created uncertainty in the first two days of track action. But the rain did not come, and the tires did not blow out as feared, but they did contribute to the excitement.

“All in all it was a really fun race with plenty of overtaking due to the strategy we had,”? Sebastian said.

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Keselowski continues march into Chase by picking up 3rd win of season with Bristol victory

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Brad Keselowski was a long shot, at best, to race for the NASCAR championship this season.

Then he turned it up a notch and became a legitimate contender to make the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field.

Now, he's the hottest driver in NASCAR and is forcing everyone to consider him a serious threat to unseat five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

Keselowski picked up his third win of the season — second since breaking his ankle in an Aug. 3 crash — and took a huge step toward making the Chase.

"I don't know what more to say about Brad and the (Penske Racing) team," said four-time champion Jeff Gordon. "They're strong, and you put them in position at the end of the race, they're going to pull off the wins. They're, to me, as strong of a team out there right now."

It's an amazing turnaround for Keselowski and his No. 2 Penske Racing team.

He was ranked 21st in points four races ago, when his struggling team went to a test session to work on road course improvement. But Keselowski was in a nasty accident during that session that left him with a broken ankle.

It's hardly slowed him.

Since the accident, Keselowski won at Pocono, finished second at Watkins Glen, third at Michigan and now has the Bristol victory.

Although he's walked gingerly in the month since the crash, he hopped up and down in excitement as he climbed from his Dodge.

"An awesome car, an awesome team!" he yelled. "Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt won this race. It's a race of champions. There are races that pay more, that are races that might have a little more prestige, but this is the coolest damn one of them all."

But Keselowski regretted all the post-race celebratory jumps about an hour after the race.

"Stupid is as stupid does," he said. "Last 100 laps I was certainly starting to feel it. But you know, I don't think anybody wants to hear me whine. Every once in a while I do and they tell me just to shut up anyway, and it hasn't been very productive. It obviously has felt better. I wish I wouldn't have jumped off the damned car."

The win moved Keselowski up one more spot to 11th in the standings, and he's jumped 10 spots over the last four races. He's currently in position to claim the first wild card spot, and could clinch his berth next week at Atlanta by virtue of his three wins.

What's the secret of his turnaround?

"A team that just starts to click and believes in each other," Keselowski said. "We've just made good adjustments to our cars over the last few months. We made good adjustments to our car today and we find ourselves in Victory Lane. I can't believe it, I really can't."

Other Chase hopefuls didn't fare so well.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Stewart and Clint Bowyer began the race ranked ninth, 10th and 11th, but because none has a victory, they could get bumped out of the Chase depending on how the wild cards develop. Earnhardt wasn't a factor Saturday night and finished 16th, Bowyer struggled the entire race and was 26th and Stewart had a miserable weekend — he qualified last in the 43-car field, was quickly lapped and finished four laps down in 28th.

It was no better for Paul Menard, who could earn a wild card spot based on his victory at Indianapolis. But he struggled, ran into the back of Denny Hamlin as they tried to avoid an accident in front of them, and wound up 30th.

At the front of the field, Martin Truex Jr. finished second and Gordon was third despite leading a race-high 206 laps. Five-time defending NASCAR champion Johnson was fourth and was followed by Jamie McMurray and Kenseth, who led 110 laps.

Hamlin, clinging to one of the wild cards, rallied to finish seventh despite Menard running into the back of his car to cause serious damage. He jumped one spot in the standings to 13th and is currently holding the second wild card because of his one win this season.

"We did what we had to do," Hamlin said. "I wish I could race harder, but at this point we have to have solid finishes. If we just handle business the next couple weeks then we'll be OK."

Ryan Newman was eighth and was followed by Edwards and Marcos Ambrose.

Kyle Busch, who on Friday picked up his record 50th Nationwide Series victory and was looking for his third consecutive win at Bristol in the Cup race, finished 14th after bringing out the final caution of the race with 87 laps to go when a tire issue sent him into the wall.

The finish also cost him in the standings: Busch is now tied with Johnson for the Sprint Cup Series points lead.

"Kind of disappointing day," Busch said. "We just never could get the car to where it would feel like it had in the past."

___

Follow Jenna Fryer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JennaFryer.

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Danica Patrick has full-time NASCAR ride for 2012

Gentlemen (and lady) rev up your engines, because we're about to find out if Danica Patrick has the talent to compete successfully in NASCAR.

Patrick officially announced her intentions to race full-time in NASCAR in 2012 at a press conference Thursday. She will compete full-time in the Nationwide Series schedule and run a limited Sprint Cup schedule, although it is uncertain whether she will race in the 2012 Daytona 500.

"Daytona has a lot to offer as it relates to media exposure and I'm sure they will consider those factors," Daytona 500 President Joie Chitwood said. "If she attempts to run the Daytona 500 it will be good for her, good for Daytona, good for the sport. I will anxiously await her decision."

Patrick will race in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

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The Rain in Belgium Falls Mainly in Spa

Yves Logghe/Associated PressIt rained heavily Friday at both practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps as the Formula One teams prepared for the Belgian Grand Prix.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Friday was a day of mixed fortunes for the drivers, spectators and the weather at Spa as Formula One returned from its summer break to torrential summer showers. That, of course, is typical for the Spa circuit, so no one was surprised by the weather.

Both the morning and afternoon sessions were interrupted by the rain, but more the morning than in the afternoon, when the cars nevertheless had a good hour’s run before the rain really started falling again. In the morning there was only a short period on a dry track, and that is when Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes marked his 20th anniversary return to the Spa track by setting the fastest time of the day. The German set only the 11th fastest time in the afternoon session, however.

Mark Webber’s fortunes also were mixed. He set the fastest time of the afternoon session in his Red Bull after being 16th in the morning.

The most unfortunate story of the day was certainly that of Bruno Senna. The Brazilian driver returned to racing Friday at Spa as a replacement for Nick Heidfeld who got kicked out of the Lotus Renault team for not living up to expectations. Senna spun off the wet track after only seven laps, causing some damage to the car on his debut with the team. Senna, the nephew of Ayrton Senna, naturally had been feeling a lot of pressure.

“I am both excited and nervous,” Senna said beforehand. “It feels like Christmas and my toughest exam have both arrived on the same day.”

It did not look like Christmas out there for the fans as the action was cut so much with all that rain. Weather forecasts predict that most of the rain will fall Friday and Saturday. Sunday, race day, there is a chance of showers. It would would be interesting to see the kind of rain we had Friday during the race, as that would shake up the cards a little.

Meanwhile, if rain breaks up the practice session, I suggest readers fill in the time looking at my preview articles for the race. The main feature is about the F1 summer break that just ended, the team portrait is about Force India, and then there is the Paddock Postcard, in which among other things I mention the weather in this region.

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Vettel Leads Crazy Wet and Dry Qualifying in Spa

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – It was an amazing qualifying session in Spa-Francorchamps today with the changing weather conditions– from wet to dry — forcing cars out on the track throughout the sessions to ensure the fastest lap by the end of the sessions.

Right down to the final seconds the leaders changed, with provisional pole shared between drivers. But for the ninth time this season, Sebastian Vettel, the leader of the series and reigning world champion, scored the pole position in his Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton was second in his McLaren Mercedes, while Vettel’s teammate, Mark Webber, was third.

“It was a difficult session, Q1 and Q2 with very tricky conditions, and the circuit drying,” Vettel said. “I didn’t feel comfortable in the beginning. In Q3 we were quite sure with dry tires, but quite sure if it doesn’t rain it would be all down to the last lap because the circuit would improve.”

The wet track took a few victims as well, including Adrian Sutil of the Force India team, who spun off and out of the second session, damaging his car and causing the red flag to stop the session for a few minutes with six minutes left. The final six minutes were a hectic free-for-all as the cars vied for position in the top 10.

Another victim of the day was Michael Schumacher who lost a wheel and spun off and out on his first lap, damaging his car. He will start the race from last position on the 20th anniversary of his first race at this track and in Formula One. The German holds the record of victories at Spa, with six wins.

After a poor start to his debut with the Lotus Renault team, Bruno Senna, the nephew of the man who won five times at this track, Ayrton Senna, managed to succeed in the qualifying session and will start the race from seventh position. That was one spot higher than Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari. Senna also out-qualified his teammate, Vitaly Petrov, who will start from tenth position.

Senna had crashed out after seven laps in the first practice session.

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Wild boys of NASCAR need a Kindergarten Cop

Depending on your maturity level, NASCAR's "boys have at it" laissez-faire attitude is spectacular or the most idiotic form of reality TV on the planet.

The second notion may be a reach, as long as the mutants from the Jersey Shore inhabit the earth, but NASCAR seems to have taken their business to an art form in terms of immaturity.

Please call the Kindergarten Cops.

Somebody just got their hair pulled.

That's right. We had another royal rumble last weekend, fresh off the heels of the Boris Said-Greg Biffle sparring session at Watkins Glen, where Said called Biffle a "scaredy cat," and asked fans to text him Biffle's address so he could beat him up.

Now this: Jerry Baxter, the crew chief for Patrick Carpentier, pulled the hair of Steven Wallace following Saturday's Nationwide Series race in Montreal.

"I'm sorry for what happened after the race on Saturday and I take responsibility for my own actions," Baxter said in apology issued Monday by Pastrana Waltrip Racing. "…I was just very frustrated and let my emotions get to me. That was Patrick's last race and we wanted to make it special. We really thought he had a shot for the win and everything boiled over when that chance went away in the wreck. Everyone was just racing hard and there was no intent to wreck anyone. There's no excuse for what I did after the race and I apologize to everyone."

Wallace, son of ESPN NASCAR commentator Rusty Wallace, got into Carpentier's car in the Nationwide race, dropping Carpentier to a 32nd-place finish.

"Only girls pull hair," Wallace said in a TV interview.

I'm loving the sound bites, although I don't know if it tops the standard set by Said and Greg "Scaredy Cat" Biffle the previous weekend.

Check out Biffle's response to Said's threat: "Let's get real. This isn't fifth grade. I'll meet you after school behind the merry-go-round ... and we're going to fight."

Biffle's 'merry-go-round' response promoted this classic retort from radio show host Jim Rome:

"What school did you go to Biffle? Carny school?"

Seriously, this is either classic Family Feud material or the most immature bunch of brats on the planet who happen to have keys to fast cars.

Baxter did get fined $5,000 and was placed on probation until Dec. 31 but that's essentially a wrist slap. Imagine the fines and repercussions if this was any other sport. In the NBA or the NFL, they would have been slapped down with a big suspension and probably would have been ordered to kiss the rings of Mr. Stern and Mr. Goodell.

But in NASCAR, it's great for business. This is starting to have an old-school feel to it, just like the days when Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, brother Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough went at it following the wild finish to the 1979 Daytona 500.

Name-calling. Hair pulls. Pattycake punches. Threats of giving somebody a black eye.

Paging all Kindergarten Cops.

Your presence is needed in the pits.

Count Brad Keselowski as one of the biggest fans of the new wild-card format in the Chase for the Championship.

Obviously Keselowski stands to benefit because he has won two races, but regardless, NASCAR has found a way to reward winners.

"I think we've seen different variations of the Chase, but I think this is probably the best one," Keselowski said Tuesday. "It's been a great opportunity for fans, teams, sponsors, everyone because it shows a commitment to making every race important.

"We're holding a value to every race that perhaps was lost in the pre-wild card Chase era. When we came to Pocono in the fall I didn't want to say meaningless race, but the win I had [this year] in Pocono completely changes the forecast and I don't think we saw that before. The system brings value to races not in the Chase [playoffs]."

Agreed. Keselowski is among the hottest drivers on the circuit, finishing 1-2-3 in the last three races. "I'm feeling pretty good about it," he said. "but nothing is a certainty until you're done."

Sorry Junior: Larry McReynolds, former crew chief and now an analyst with SPEED, says that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be one of the odd men out when it comes to qualifying for the Chase. "I just don't have a good feeling about his chances," he said. "I don't see him winning a race in the next three weeks and I don't know that finishing 14th and 15th every week will get the job done. Dale Jr. had a good car all weekend at Michigan and they let it get away from them there at the end. I think Steve Letarte and Dale Jr. are looking at the fact Clint Bowyer isn't running well enough right now to overcome the 30-point deficit he has to Dale Jr. right and Brad Keselowski is too far back to catch him. So, right now, the No. 88 team is trying to make sure they don't make mistakes and allow those guys to leapfrog them."

Roush up in the air again: A year after an airplane crash in Oshkosh, Wis. Left him with multiple injuries, Sprint Cup team owner Jack Roush is back doing what he loves _ flying. "I'm totally recovered," Roush, 69, told the Detroit News. "I just got my medical back from the FAA, indicating that I'm medically sound and I'm without restriction. I have one more validation flight for the (injured) eye and I have that Tuesday [Aug. 23]. Once I get that done I can fly anything I did before. I plan to fly Tuesday." The crash left Roush with a number of significant injuries, including a ruptured left eyeball, damaged left cheekbone, broken jaw and had a compression fracture in his back.

Camry sets pace in Daytona: The 2012 Toyota Camry will serve as the official pace car for the 54th running of the Daytona 500, marking the first time that the manufacturer has served as the pace car for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. "We're thrilled to be able to feature the new Camry in Daytona at the season's biggest race," Ed Laukes, TMS corporate manager of motorsports marketing, said in a prepared statement.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Ecclestone's Bluesy Gift to His Daughter

August 19, 2011, 2:48 pm

By BRAD SPURGEON

Maye-E Wong/Associated PressBernie Ecclestone joined the Black Eyed Peas in the garage of the Ferrari team at the Singapore Grand Prix of 2009.? The group will play at Ecclestone’s daughter’s wedding.

It is no coincidence that Bernie Ecclestone has hired Eric Clapton and the Black Eyed Peas to perform at the marriage of his daughter, Petra. Formula One racing – and auto racing in general – goes together with music, especially rock music. And in recent years, the Formula One paddock has played host to a lot of musicians who are also fans.

Eric Clapton has come to the paddock two or three times, if not more, and the Black Eyed Peas were part of the new business F1 got involved in during 2008 when it began matching races with rock music concerts.

Clapton also, by the way, played on a video of a song written and played by Jackie Stewart’s son for his father’s 70th birthday in 2009. So it is not surprising to see that Clapton will play — for a fee, of course. That is understood to be ￡240,000 for Clapton and more than three times that for the Black Eyed Peas.

Petra, 22, and her fiance, James Stunt, already had an engagement party with Rihanna performing — and the latter ended up visiting the Canadian Grand Prix paddock in Montreal. The wedding next week will take place in the 15th century Odescalchi Castle, where Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes.

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George Diaz: Danica Patrick will become a NASCAR star

Danica Patrick is moving to NASCAR full-time next season

Can Danica Patrick drive a stock car, or is she just a Go Daddy prop getting invited to hang with the big boys just because she’s pretty and marketable?

Gentlemen (and lady) rev up your engines because we’re about to find out.

ESPN.com is reporting that Patrick plans to announce her plans to move to NASCAR full-time in 2012, driving the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

The news is just a formality, since speculation has been rampant for months that Danica was making the crossover from open-wheel to the world of stock cars.

And much like Tim Tebow, Patrick is one of the most polarizing athletes in sports.

Can she drive? I think the answer is yes, but she has to get consistent time in a stock car to be able to get into any kind of groove. Nobody can do this part-time and expect to succeed. She made 13 Nationwide Series starts and finished 43rd in the point standings last season.

Fast-forward to 2011. She finished fourth in Las Vegas in the Nationwide race in March _ the highest finish by any female in a national NASCAR race in the sport’s 62-year history.

“I think that elevated her,” NASCAR chief executive officer and chairman Brian France said at the time. “There was some discussion, did she have the right stuff to compete in the Nationwide Series? You know, I think she dispelled a lot of that. There’s always circumstances in the start of a new career. But sometimes things are out of your control, people can crash in front of you, a hundred other things.

“ I think she elevated herself quite nicely. That’s nice to see. She’s a very competitive person. She’s always said she’s here to compete, not just happy to be here. That fits my criteria.”

And remember that she will be racing with a competitive Nationwide team, and that’s essential in the world of NASCAR. She won’t be a ham-and-egger trying to qualify every week and chugging along at the back of the line.

She will have fast cars. Whether she makes it or not, the ride will be well-documented. Huge win for NASCAR.

Much bigger win if she is competitive and makes it to the Cup level on a full-time basis.

I expect she will. Move over guys, there’s a lady in the house.

And she is going to be a star.

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Report: Danica Patrick to announce move to NASCAR

Sources say Danica Patrick plans to announce her plans to move to NASCAR fulltime in 2012, ESPN.com reports.

Sources told ESPN that Patrick will drive the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Her contracts are still under negoiation.

For more on this report, go to ESPN.com.

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Greg Biffle, Boris Said feud part of quirky road-course dynamics

Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have just been downgraded to the undercard in NASCAR's contentious Summer Slam Series.

Make way for Greg Biffle and Boris Said.

Their post-race road rage at Watkins Glen on Monday had all the feisty elements necessary for a full-blown rivalry. It doesn't get any better than Said calling Biffle a "scaredy cat" and asking people to text him Biffle's address so he can make an unexpected house call and show him a little vigilante justice.

NASCAR officials are investigating the incident because punches were thrown. Biffle popped Said a few times while Said was in his car. Said then got out of his car and had to be restrained from going after Biffle.

The bar most certainly has been raised, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Busch.

"He is the most unprofessional little scaredy cat I've ever seen in my life,'' Boris huffed after the race. "He wouldn't even fight me like a man after. So if someone texts me his address, I'll go see him Wednesday at his house and show him what he really needs."

Later in the evening, Biffle tweeted this: "The roadcourse ringer' caused that wreck," later adding, "Then Mr. Class pulls in behind my truck after the race today?! Shouldn't you go check on David & David? How unprofessional & disrespectful!"

Biffle was referring to David Reutimann and David Ragan, Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammate. Said made contact with the back of Ragan's car on the final lap, causing Ragan's car to slam into the guard rail. Reutimann's Toyota flipped upside down and into a protective barrier. Both cars were totaled.

The bigger picture here, beyond the two guys who obviously hate each other, is the "roadcourse ringer" factor. It happens every time when NASCAR decides that making an occasional right turn isn't such a bad thing, and goes road racing at places like Watkins Glen. The occasional road course specialist like Said shows up. Hijinks ensue.

Said has absolutely no vested interest in the Sprint Cup standings or loyalty to teammates. Said has only raced twice this season — both road courses — and is 714 points behind leader Kyle Busch. Whether the big wreck was simply a by-product of hard racing or an interloper pushing the envelope is impossible to sort out, but the question begs to be asked.

NASCAR drivers get into each other all the time and tempers flare, but at least it's all in the family.

Road courses certainly throw a great curve in the long grind of left-hand turns, but it also invites drivers who are just passing through.

It's like this: Some folks prefer beer. Some folks prefer wine. But trouble often brews when you mix and match.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

Don't look for road-racing in Chase

Although there has been an occasional push from a driver to include a road course in the Chase — I recall Ryan Newman suggesting that Daytona's road course could be a viable venue — don't expect any changes in the current format.

The road racing question understandably popped up at Watkins Glen last weekend.

"There's nothing on the table today," NASCAR president Mike Helton said. "We wouldn't stack races up in the Chase for the benefit of the Chase. The Chase is the last 10 races of the season. But as the evolution of changes go on, who knows what could end up as the last 10 races."

The makeup of the 10 last races that set the Chase for the Championship just happened to coincide with the existing schedule, Helton said.

The feeling isn't unanimous. Jeff Gordon — who holds the record for Cup victories on road courses — argued last week that "in order to make the championship fully complete and find out the true best team and driver, the only thing that I think we're missing in the Chase right now is a road course.

"I feel like the Chase has about everything, from short tracks to superspeedways to intermediates, so I think it's pretty complete right now, but if you wanted to look at just one little thing that was missing, it would be a road course.

"I guess as exciting as the road courses have been here lately with these double-file restarts, I think the fans would be for it as well whereas, in the past, you haven't seen that kind of action. Most people would say that a road course isn't as traditional as the ovals are in our sport, so why have one in the Chase? I could see one in there."

No. 4 for Gibbs: After failing to snag Carl Edwards as the fourth driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, President JD Gibbs has not ruled out plans to add a fourth Sprint Cup team. "…it all has to come together," he said. "You have to have a driver, which is key. You need the right partner to sponsor the team (and) you have to have the right crew. If all that comes together, we're good to go. We can go quickly. But we've also learned that if all that doesn't come together, we're better off waiting, instead of trying to force something to go together. That's where we are right now. We can go quickly if it all lines up, and that's our hope."

HANS upgrade: Continuing its push for safety, NASCAR officials recently approved the Sport II HANS device for competition in all NASCAR series. The upgrade includes a lower rounded collar and is lighter, which allows for a better fit. "No matter what type of car, what kind of track, drag strip or off-road event, a head and neck restraint should be included in any driver's safety equipment," said Gary Milgrom, vice president of HANS Performance Products. In large measure to the mandatory use of the HANS device —coupled with SAFE barriers — NASCAR hasn't had a fatality during a race since Dale Earnhardt crashed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

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20 Years Later, Schumacher Returns to Spa

August 22, 2011, 10:12 am

By BRAD SPURGEON

The Formula One world is beginning to wake up from its summer break, and the teams are sending out their press release previews as they prepare to step back into the fray for the final half of the season. The Mercedes team highlighted the phenomenal moment the coming Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps represents for one of its drivers.

Associated Press File PhotoMichael Schumacher on? Sept. 9,1991, showing off his new driving overalls as he joined the Benetton team after his racing debut at the Jordan team at the previous race in Spa Francorchamps.

It was at the Spa circuit 20 years ago that Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut, at the Jordan team, after replacing the Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot, who was involved in a fight with a taxi driver and could not race. Spa would go on to become the one circuit above all others associated with the Schumacher legend. He would win the race there a record six times. His first victory there was also his first victory in Formula One, the year after his arrival in the sport.

Several other memorable events happened at Spa for the German driver, whose home town of Kerpen is within an hour’s drive. On that first weekend, in fact, he qualified fifth in the Jordan, but had technical problems in the race. That was enough for Flavio Briatore of the Benetton team to hire him starting at the next race, in Monza. He would win two drivers’ titles at Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before joining Ferrari and winning five more.

And even if he took a three-year break from Formula One, a stay of 20 years at the pinnacle with 17 of them active, is a major accomplishment.

“It’s hard to believe that this was such a long time ago,” said Schumacher. “A lot has changed in those 20 years, but one thing has not: the track is still sensational. I just love the great nature of the location and the resulting layout with all the ups and downs. To me, Spa remains my ‘living room’, because it has been the stage for so many things which have been remarkable for my sporting career.”

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Mr. Senna Goes to New York City

Formula One may not have made the foothold in the United States that it has in many other parts of the world, but you would not know that this weekend in New York City.

When I interviewed Asif Kapadia, the director of the documentary about Ayrton Senna, a few weeks ago for my story about the film – called “Senna” – he asked if I planned to attend the opening in New York.

I told him that I lived in Paris, and he suggested I go anyway, since I had only seen the film on a DVD, and not in a cinema. It will be different, he said, seeing the film in a cinema with other people around. Well, as luck would have it, I was able to make it to Manhattan.

I have been?impressed by the presence of the “Senna” film here in New York. The “Time Out” that I bought has a full page review of the film. On Friday, The New York Times also reviewed the film, with a great display on the front of the Weekend Arts section. There was another event linked to the film, with vintage F1 cars on display in New York. And this is supposed to be a non-F1 country! (Aside from the fact that it will have a new?Grand Prix in Austin next year and that some people in New York are fighting for another Grand Prix here … )

So what about seeing the film for the fourth or fifth time? First, let me say that I was glad I opted at the last minute to attend the 5 p.m. show, as the 7 p.m. show was sold out. (Apparently it was also sold out in Los Angeles.) This time around,? I not only noticed details I had missed before, but seeing it with an audience did, as suggested, make a difference. In fact, it actually brought tears to my eyes. It also?made a difference to hear theatergoers respond to certain scenes, like a smart quip Senna makes to Jean-Marie Balestre during a drivers’ meeting, or when Alain Prost flirts with a beautiful British talk show host. But it was during the tragic and emotional moments that you share the sense of collective wonder at the story of this exceptional driver.

I took my hand-held video recording device with me and shot a few little bits and pieces here and there, and I stopped a spectator after the film to ask him what he thought. After all, he was carrying an Ayrton Senna helmet with him that he wears sometimes while riding his motorcycle. So I had to see what he thought. I also recorded the discussion after the film with the writer, Manish Pandey, and with the ESPN presenter who features largely in the film, John Bisignano. The lighting is not very good, but you can still see them and hear them well, and hear the questions from the public. I shot a brief moment of the crowd applauding the film at the end of the film, as well.

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F1 Films on Your Holidays

August 9, 2011, 1:18 pm

By BRAD SPURGEON

Formula One news is scarce as the series is in the middle of its annual summer vacation, with four weeks between races to give the traveling teams a brief break. That means a break for fans too, of course, but the biggest fans, like the team members, never turn off. And this summer is a great time for the fans to look at Formula One in from different perspective.

AP PhotoSenna in the McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix of 1989.

The documentary film made by Asif Kapadia on the life of Ayrton Senna is opening in the United States on Friday, and throughout the summer in other parts of the world. (It opened in June in Britain.) I spoke to the director for an article about the Senna film before the Hungarian Grand Prix. One of the things that we agreed on was that it is difficult to make a fictional film about Formula One, partly because the series always comes up with its own real-life scenarios that no one would believe if they were fictional.

Few other films about Formula One are as interesting, with the exception of “Grand Prix,” by John Frankenheimer, in 1966. What makes Kapadia’s Senna film so good is its subject: Senna’s life and his period in Formula One. And the director put the story together using only television and film footage shot by other people.

On Tuesday the Formula1.com Web site published an interview with Ron Howard, the Hollywood director, in which Howard says he will be directing a film about Formula One, focusing on the battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt for the world title in 1976.? Lauda was involved in a horrible accident that year in which he nearly died and burned off part of his face.

Howard also noted that the stories from real life are the strongest in this situation. But the jury will be out on whether he can pull it off in a drama better than Kapadia did in a documentary, or Frankenheimer did in a film that was particularly remarkable for its filming of live racing footage. Howard said he was not sure yet whether the crew would even film the Nurburgring footage at the track or just in a studio. Hmmm….

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Jimmie Johnson on Kurt Busch: 'I'll remember this stuff'

Think what you want about the Busch Brothers and whether they spice up every race weekend with a feisty edge or are an embarrassment to the brand.

This much we know: They sure get everybody's attention.

After Kyle Busch gathered much of the controversy over his speeding ticket and his infamous dust-up with Kevin Harvick earlier this season, older brother Kurt figured he needed to step up his game.

He found a worthy adversary in Jimmie Johnson at Pocono. Jockeying for a Top Five finish, the drivers traded paint in the closing laps. Johnson – who had made a clean pass at Busch – didn't appreciate Busch's side bump to win back his track position.

If you are old-school NASCAR fan, there is nothing wrong with what Busch did. Just a little rubber 'n racin. On the flip side, the reason Johnson has won the Sprint Cup championship five consecutive years is that he avoids the petty shenanigans and races people clean. He rarely finishes at the end of the line after wrecking his car in a payback move.

Fellas, can't we all just get along?

"We got into each other, or he got into me off of turn two and complained that I was trying to not leave him room or something ridiculous," Johnson said after the race. "I spent the entire fuel run running him down. Had a few chances to play dirty and I didn't. And I finally got by him clean, fair and square, and then he drives into my door off of two. Frustration. It's not like I'm going to go wreck race cars. But I'm going to get out of the race car and speak my mind. We've had enough over the years and he's pretty much a smart ass who wants to run his mouth, so I've got to go over there and say something."

Busch: "Man, it was good. It was just a great battle. We knew we had a loose race car. I was just fighting an uphill battle to hang on for that spot. He (Johnson) got by us down the front straightaway. We drove into (turn) one even. Coming off of one, the car settled and I felt him swerve over into us and I'm like, 'That's over the line,' so we're coming back at him. That's great racing. Our fans want to see that. They want to see doors with donuts on it coming down to the checkered flag and both of us crossed the line third and fourth. It wasn't like somebody got wrecked. Times when he's bump-drafted me in the past, let's just push that aside. Times when he's wrecked us, let's just push that aside. Times when I've raced him clean, let's talk about that."

Bottom line: Whoever you are rooting for, it's good for business.

And stay tuned. Speaking of business, it appears to be unfinished between Busch and Johnson.

"I just keep filing things away," Johnson said. "I'll remember this stuff. There's a couple of other guys out there that have been pushing their luck, too."

Notes

When it comes to athletes who are polarizing, Danica Patrick and Tim Tebow are probably in a love 'em-hate 'em category all onto themselves.

So it's not surprising that not everyone in NASCAR is smitten by the news that Patrick is expected to run a full 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series and partial Cup Series schedule next season. She would run a full-time Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports and a handful of Sprint Cup races with the team owned by Tony Stewart.

"She is not ready for Cup," SPEED analyst Kyle Petty said " End of the conversation. The first year she ran, it was all marketing all the time. This year she has made a tremendous improvement. I give her kudos for the races she has run and how she's done. She has made a huge jump from year one to year two.

"She still hasn't beaten Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch and Joey Logano and guys like that. When you get to the Cup level, that's the guys that are there. You've got to race against those guys week-in and week-out…"

Keselowski's sweet ride: The NASCAR season keeps delivering wonderful story lines every weekend. At Pocono, it was Brad Keselowski, racing with a brace on his ankle and fighting through the pain to get the victory.

He immediately thanked the 30 American service members who died after their helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan recently. It was a sincere appreciation, and not a PC-ploy for the cameras.

One of the servicemen who died was a friend of Keselowski's cousin.

"I might not be feeling great, but those are the guys that are really making sacrifices," Keselowski said. "Whenever I got in the car and felt like, man, this really hurts, it was good inspiration as to what it takes to 'man up' and make it happen."

Keselowski put in a full day of work on Sunday despite crashing head-on into a wall during a test session at Road Atlanta on Wednesday, breaking his left ankle.

Gordon is road king: Since the gang is off to a road course this weekend at Watkins Glen, here's something worth noting: Jeff Gordon set the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for road-course victories, with seven, after winning at Watkins Glen in 2001.. He has since won two more races, both at Infineon Raceway, giving him a career total of nine.

With a victory, two runner-up finishes and seven finishes of 11th or better in the eight races since the halfway point of the Chase, Gordon has moved up from 13^th to seventh in the Cup standings and is now 52 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Gordon hopes to celebrate 40th birthday with 5th Brickyard win

INDIANAPOLIS — It's enough to make NASCAR fans do a double take, but Jeff Gordon — the one-time "Wonderboy" of stock-car racing — turns 40 next week.

Before he celebrates his birthday Aug. 4, however, Gordon will try to boost his track record of four wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with another victory in Sunday's Brickyard 400.

As the Sprint Cup Series returns to the famed 2.5-mile rectangular track, Gordon — a two-time winner this season — is seventh in the standings with seven races left before the Chase for the Cup.

The top 10 drivers after 26 races, along with two wild-card drivers who are between 11th and 20th in points and have the most wins, will compete for the title in the 10-race Chase starting Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway.

A win Sunday also would give Gordon 85 Cup victories and sole possession of third place on the all-time list behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). The four-time Cup champion is tied with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.

This is the 18th year NASCAR has raced at Indy, a race that for many Cup drivers is the second most prestigious behind the Daytona 500 because of the history of the century-old speedway.

"It's still like that for me, just an incredible feeling driving here," said Gordon, who spent part of his teenage years in nearby Pittsboro, Ind. He won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 and won the race again in 1998, 2001 and 2004.

But the race has lost some of its luster in recent years, in part because of a tire debacle in 2008 that forced the cars to pit every 10 to 15 laps, infuriating spectators. While the early crowds topped 200,000 each year, NASCAR estimated last year's attendance at 140,000.

Jimmie Johnson, the reigning five-time Cup champion and Gordon's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, has won three of the last five races at Indy, including the marred 2008 event.

Johnson is second in this year's standings, seven points behind leader Carl Edwards, who never has won the Brickyard 400 in six attempts.

jpeltz@tribune.com

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NASCAR's Brickyard 400 could be crucial for drivers on the bubble

Reporting from Indianapolis—

This year's Brickyard 400 could be a crucial turning point for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and several other top NASCAR drivers who are on the bubble to qualify for this year's championship playoff.

There are seven Sprint Cup Series races left, starting with Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to determine the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Cup, NASCAR's 10-race playoff that opens Sept. 18.

The top 10 drivers in points after the first 26 races of the season qualify for the Chase, along with two wild-card drivers who have the most wins among those who are 11th to 20th in points.

At the moment, Carl Edwards, seeking his first Sprint Cup title, leads the standings by seven points over Jimmie Johnson, who is trying to win an unprecedented sixth consecutive title. Kurt Busch, the 2004 champion, is 11 points behind in third.

Lower in the standings are the drivers on the bubble, including Earnhardt (ninth in points), followed by Denny Hamlin, Stewart, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle in 15th position.

The key for the popular Earnhardt is to either stay in the top 10 in points or quickly win a race, in case he needs it for a wild-card berth. He hasn't won this season and he's never won at Indy in 11 previous starts.

Earnhardt was enjoying one of his best seasons in years until slipping in recent weeks. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was third in points as recently as the Michigan race in mid-June, but he's finished out of the top 10 in the last five races.

"We definitely haven't performed well in the last several weeks," Earnhardt said Friday before the drivers held two practice sessions on a hot, muggy afternoon. Qualifying to set the race's 43-car field is Saturday.

"When things aren't going good and time's running out, time's running out," Earnhardt said. "We're realists about it. I know we've got seven races to try to make something happen. If you get urgent and you get panicky, man, you make mistakes."

Still, "I'm in a position to make [the Chase] right now," he said.

Stewart, a two-time Cup champion and two-time winner of the Brickyard 400, is 11th in the standings. Although he has the same number of points (570) as Hamlin, Hamlin is 10th because he has one victory this season.

Stewart was second in the last race, at New Hampshire, won by his teammate Ryan Newman. "Hopefully if we can have a good weekend here [at Indy], maybe we can get that feeling we're on to something," Stewart said.

But Bowyer said it's tough to gain points positions because "the level of competition is just incredibly close."

Bowyer was in the top 10 in points for much of the season until his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet failed to finish at Daytona and Kentucky early this month.

"That's a huge hit; it knocked us out of the Chase" for the moment, Bowyer said. "I'm just worried about getting back the way we were running before. That recipe was good enough to be in the Chase."

Ragan, who won the summer race at Daytona, is the only driver with a victory among those currently 11th to 20th in points — and thus a candidate to capture one of the two Chase wild-card slots.

But "there are probably 10 guys who are close" to doing the same with seven races left, Ragan said.

"There's no reason we can't get to the top 10 . . . if we continue to run well," he said. "But we also could drop out of the top 20 if we lose our focus and we have some bad luck."

james.peltz@latimes.com

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Carl Edwards needs to stop dawdling -- Roush or Gibbs?

It's not often you see somebody trying to implode their championship aspirations with a stick of dynamite and a bottle of tequila in tow.

Bu that's the image that Carl Edwards is cultivating for himself these days.

He has gone rouge. Or maybe not. Will he be back with Jack Roush next season, or defect into the waiting arms of Joe Gibbs?

No one knows. Edwards isn't saying. Instead he is being coy and evasive, which leads most insiders to believe that he is already gone. There are rumblings Joe Gibbs Racing is offering an $8 million base salary, plus a $10 million signing bonus.

The drama will continue for who knows how long. But the longer it festers, the longer that Edwards is likely to kamikaze his chances of winning a Sprint Cup championship. He is currently first in points and will definitely make the Chase for the Championship. But what happens beyond that could be etched in controversy and chaos.

That's not just me talking.

"Whether or not he's staying or going, it's a big distraction, a lot on his mind," Jeff Gordon said before last weekend's race in Indianapolis. " I think it's unfortunate in some ways because I think this is the best year I've seen Carl have with a team and a car capable of winning the championship, if those things are all playing out — let's say he's going somewhere else, they're done. I just don't see them winning the championship knowing that they're leaving."

Gordon isn't implying that the folks at Roush Fenway Racing will deliberately blow up Edwards' championship hopes. But if Edwards does announce his intentions to leave, it becomes the equivalent of former lovers trying to remain friends and seeing each other casually.

It's often awkward and unfeasible.

"It's obvious that it's coming to a head…" Roush teammate Greg Biffle said. "At some point he's going to have to say that I'm not coming back. He's not going to be able to wait until Homestead [the last race], we all know that, so Carl is a big boy, he's a man and he has to make his own decisions."

Agreed.

Edwards should do the honorable thing and announce his decision quickly. A lot of people think he's already made one, so it's not as if he is spending hours upon hours fretting over what to do.

Other jobs are affected by this, starting with his race team, and who fills in the gap if Edwards chooses to leave.

"The whole world is waiting for Carl to make this decision," Roush said on SPEED TV. "…Everybody in management at Roush Fenway has held hands and said we're not going to let this be a distraction. We're going to try to maintain the best possible relationship and confidence of our sponsors…"

As Biffle notes, Edwards is a big boy. At 6-foot 1-inch, he is one of the tallest drivers on the circuit.

Time for him to stand up and man up and end the waiting game.

Jockeying for top 12

Strap on your HANS device everybody.

It's going to be a wild ride with six races to go before the 12-driver field is set for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

The top seven guys are safe. But once you get below Jeff Gordon, now seventh, there's a whole lot of jockeying for the last five slots, especially since the last two will place a premium on victories.

That could eliminate guys like Tony Stewart (9th) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10th) Clint Bowyer (12th) Greg Biffle (13th). None of those guys have a victory, leaving them in a precarious position to qualify. They will be driving without a safety net. Any major mistakes will take them out of the running.

As always, much of the drama will revolve around Earnhardt. After finishing 16th at the Brickyard, Earnhardt dropped another spot in the points. If he remains winless and continues his downward spiral, Earnhardt won't qualify for the Chase.

"We'll try not to worry about it," Earnhardt said after Sunday's race. "We'll go to Pocono and try not to let that overwhelm us or consume us and try to focus on the next race track. We're going testing next week and try to go to Pocono and do better than we did last time and we had a pretty decent finish there and we'll try to do better."

However it plays out, it will make for one dramatic finish in the regular-season finale at Richmond.

Happy BD Jeff Gordon: Lordy, lordy. Look who's 40. Congrats to Jeff Gordon, who turns 40 on Thursday. "I'm going to be 40, but I'm not in the rocking chair yet." Gordon said after winning at Pocono Raceway in June, marking his 84th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Indeed, he continues to age gracefully. After 20 races, Gordon has scored seven top fives and nine top tens.

Bowyer/RCR are close: Clint Bowyer is dismissing speculation that he will replace Edwards at Roush Racing if Edwards bolts to the Joe Gibbs team. He said he is close to re-signing with Richard Childress Racing. "I hope we have it done in a couple of days," he said. "We're getting close." Asked if he was looking elsewhere, Bowyer said: "No, we are getting close to having a deal put together."

Stewart continues Indy charge: After finishing sixth at Indy, Stewart now has seven top-10 finishes in the last eight races there. At one point, Stewart was all the way back to 32nd place. "That's a long day at the office," Stewart said. "Yeah, that's a hard way to do it, man."

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Vettel: Fear and Loathing on the Autobahn

BUDAPEST – At the Hungaroring on Thursday I heard the answer to a question I had wondered about four days ago after the German Grand Prix.

I was driving my own Ford Focus back to my hotel in Cologne. It was raining, and when I hit 170 kilometers per hour, or about 106 miles per hour, I got scared, slowed down, and started asking myself, “How do Formula One drivers feel when they are in these conditions?” (Remember, there are no speed limits in certain areas on the Autobahn.)

I saw all these other cars whipping by me, certainly moving at 200 kph. And the F1 drivers sometimes surpass 300 kph in these conditions in their racing cars. My feeling was that the Ford Focus simply was not made for such speed. But clearly some BMWs, Mercedes and other German and French cars appeared to be made for it.

If I was getting the willies at 170 kph, what is the breaking point for the F1 driver?

I got an answer Thursday at the Hungaroring during the media scrum at the Red Bull team’s motor home, as the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, faced questions from the media.

Dan Knutson, an American journalist for ESPN, Speed Sport News and other publications, asked Vettel about the last time he felt scared in a car.

“I was actually driving myself; it was two weeks ago, and it was raining like crazy,” said Vettel. “I was driving to Germany and there was a lot of rain and a lot of water. And I got overtaken by many people, so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m going too slow.’ And I was picking up my speed and suffered with lots of aquaplaning, so I thought, ‘Okay, I just have to accept that they are faster today.’ I was a bit scared.”

I then asked him what kind of car it was.

“I can’t say, because then you might think the car was not good enough,” he said diplomatically, before adding, “I think I will have to blame it on the tires for that.”

But he did not say what brand those were, either.

In any case, it answered my question. Even the top driver in the world can get scared on a wet highway with no speed limits if he does not have the adequate car – or tires – for the situation.

His experience also shows just how important personal judgment and feel is in such a situation. But it was fabulous to imagine how the leader of this year’s championship and reigning world champion could be scared on his home highway as others with not half his driving talent passed? him by.

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Paddock Notes from Budapest, Good, Bad and Indifferent

BUDAPEST – Somehow the rain stayed away from the Hungaroring on Friday, but there were some wet tears here and there with some of the news items floating around the paddock.

The good news for fans who like competition and uncertainty in Formula One is that the Red Bull cars did not return to top form here Friday after a brief dip in the last two races as many had predicted.

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in his McLaren Mercedes during the Friday practice sessions; his teammate Jenson Button was third fastest, and Fernando Alonso was second fastest. Alonso and Hamilton won the last two races. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, in the Red Bulls, were fourth and fifth. So maybe the last part of the season will not be dominated by Vettel and the Red Bulls after all?

The bad news comes from Britain, where the country’s F1 fans are seething over the announcement that the BBC and Sky Sports have signed a joint deal to show Formula One from 2012 to 2018, with only half the races being shown on free-to-air TV and the other half on pay TV. Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One promoter, has said repeatedly recently that F1 could not survive on pay TV, as the teams live off sponsorship from companies that thrive on the free-to-air television exposure.

The teams have asked for a clarification of the deal.

Personally, I don’t think it will succeed. I recall Ecclestone’s experiment in pay TV in the 1990s, which failed. He told me recently that it failed because the races were also being run on free-to-air at the same time.

More bad news,? for many: Ecclestone has rewritten the Formula One calendar for next season, and the Turkish Grand Prix has been dropped. The race ran from 2005 to this year, but apparently Turkey has not negotiated a new deal.

Teams had been concerned about the Bahrain Grand Prix appearing at the beginning of the season, while the political problems in the country have not yet been worked out. So the new calendar features Australia as the first race of the season, on March 18, 2012, with Bahrain on Nov. 4, the third-to-last race. The U.S. Grand Prix in Austin has moved to Nov. 18, a week before the Brazilian Grand Prix that would close the season. That makes good sense for travel plans by the teams and media.

The indifferent news? I don’t know, how about the fact that the Hungarian Grand Prix will be the 100th race for the Mercedes 2.4 liter V8 F1 engine? Or the 100th race for the Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg? Or the 200th race for Jenson Button of the McLaren Mercedes team? (Yes, that news provided by Mercedes….) Or perhaps the reappearance of Bruno Senna during the morning practice session in the Lotus Renault?

Actually, the Bruno Senna news was interesting, particularly in that Bruno is the nephew of Ayrton Senna, who won the second of his three races in Hungary at this track 20 years ago this year. Which brings me to my pre-race features, the main one being the story of the Ayrton Senna documentary called “Senna,” which is a hit in the box office in Britain, and which will open in the U.S. on August 12. The other story is my Paddock Postcard: Budapest.

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In Final Seconds, Vettel Takes Pole Position Again

July 30, 2011, 10:41 am

By BRAD SPURGEON

Bela Szandelszky/Associated PressSebastian Vettel of the Red Bull team scored pole position at the Hungaroring for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

BUDAPEST — “Yes! Yes!” shouted Sebastian Vettel in his car on his wind-down lap on Saturday after scoring pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The German driver nabbed the pole in the final seconds of Saturday’s qualifying session, in the dominant Red Bull team car. Lewis Hamilton was second fastest, in the McLaren Mercedes. Hamilton had been on the provisional pole position until those final moments when Vettel took it from him by a tenth of a second.

The Red Bull team had worked longer in the garage on Friday to change the setup of the car. Vettel and his teammate, Mark Webber, had been finding the Red Bull car a bit sluggish. Webber qualified only sixth; we can see the difference a driver makes.

“Especially after yesterday when these boys were faster than us, I think we did the right thing,” Vettel said. “We changed a lot on the car and the boys were working very hard and didn’t get much sleep.”

Jenson Button, the other McLaren driver, qualified third. Felipe Massa qualified fourth in his Ferrari, one spot higher than his teammate, Fernando Alonso. Just a couple of years ago, Massa suffered a terrible head injury at this track.

What does it mean for the race? Are Red Bull and Vettel are back to the top again? Anything can happen.

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Parity, not parody, new key word in Chase for the Championship

Parody has been the operative word in NASCAR for quite a number of years, coinciding with a five-year championship run by Jimmie Johnson. Competition? It was a joke.

Fast forward to the 2011 season, when another P-word is dominating the headlines:

Parity.

Ryan Newman's victory in New Hampshire gave the Sprint Cup circuit 13 winners in 19 races —equaling the total number from the entire 2010 season.

The NASCAR modern era record is 19 winners, set in 2001. Although that's going to be a tough get , there's no question that the rumble of stock cars brings all sorts of unique and intriguing possibilities every weekend.

The most pertinent of which involves the Chase for the Championship. Only 12 guys will make the cut after the field is set with seven races to go. The first 10 drivers in points qualify, but the last two slots will favor any driver with a victory.

That would benefit Dave Ragan, who is 13th in points but holds one of those two wild-card spots and would qualify if the cutoff was today.

That leads us to the second pertinent question — which drivers who made the cut in 2010 are in danger of missing the cut this season?

Jeff Burton definitely won't be back. He's in 25th place. But there are a handful of drivers precariously close to missing the cut: Tony Stewart is 11th, Clint Bowyer is 12th, and Greg Biffle is 15th. Neither of those guys have won a race this season, but will likely have to end up in winner's circle to qualify.

Count me among those folks who didn't think the new points system would spark so much scrambling for those last available slots. But the greater emphasis on winning now puts a greater squeeze on drivers on the edge.

And that's a good thing for this sport.

But you might want to keep an eye on Johnson, too.

He's second in points now, similar to where he was last season as he entered the Chase.

I suspect Johnson isn't the guy anybody wants hovering around, too close for comfort. He knows how to finish, and just as important, he knows out to stay out of trouble.

He rarely gets into tiffs with other drivers on the track, where payback may be therapeutic but not very healthy from a competitive standpoint.

So we do have parity, and that's a good thing.

But that other P-word may yet creep into the conversation.

Everybody keep your eyes on that Johnson guy. Word on the street is that he can't be trusted.

Bad traffic, worse attitude

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