OT: Racing 2012 (Spoiler Alert)

[pk500]

Would anyone care to venture a guess as to what the hell this is about?

http://whatwillkimidonext.com/

Not sure. But I LOVE this guy. My favorite F1 racer of this generation, by far. The ideal package of speed, skill, insouciance and embrace of the on-the-edge lifestyle that should be embodied in every race driver.

[GB_Simo]

Talk about insouciance...this interview, given to Sky Sports after qualifying at Suzuka, should go into every online dictionary as the model entry for that very word:

[toonarmy]

Given how many stupid mistakes Grosjean has made this season I think that he's developed such a reputation that he's going to get the blame for about any incident he's in. At least the one today was somewhat understandable and forgivable, which is quite a departure from previous boneheaded moves he's made. I wish he was more competent in traffic because he's a hell of a driver when it's just him and the track and fun to watch.

Speaking of boneheaded moves, Tony Stewart made one of the most dangerous and dumb moves I've ever seen in NASCAR. I still respect what he's done over his career and think he's an awesome driver, but what a joke of a hypocrite he has become. All his bitching about reckless driving and blocking this year looks ridiculous now that he caused a 25-car pileup in a key race due to his ridiculous attempt at blocking today. Thank goodness car safety is where it is or else that wreck today could have been deadly. He needs to shut his piehole for the rest of his career about how bad every driver not named Tony Stewart is.

Fair disclosure: I'm a Stewart fan. Here was his post-race quote:

"I just screwed up," Stewart said. "I turned down and cut across Michael and crashed the whole field. It was my fault, blocking and trying to stay where I was at. I was trying to win the race and I was trying to stay ahead of Matt there and Michael got a great run on the bottom and had a big head of steam, and when I turned down, I turned across the front of his car. Just a mistake on my part but cost a lot of people a bad day."

Smoke took full responsibility for the wreck. He drove like a fool and knew it.

And probably most of the elite drivers in the garage accepted Stewart's apology, considering the lunacy of plate racing at Talladega. Jeff Gordon did.

"The 55 (Waltrip) was coming hard (on the inside), and the 13 (Casey Mears) I believe was pushing him," Gordon said. "They were going to go right by him, and he just made a late move, and, unfortunately, he turned himself and caused a big wreck.

"But when you look at the bigger picture, is that what really caused it? Because with this type of racing and the way the aerodynamics are and the power of these cars, that's what happens. When you lose momentum, you lose a ton. You're going backwards in such a hurry and the other guys are coming forward with so much momentum, it's inevitable that those types of things are going to happen.

"You're trying to judge making that move, but it's almost impossible to judge it because they're coming so fast. That's aerodynamics, that's power, and that's just the nature of the type of racing that we have right now at Talladega.

"Tony is a guy who takes blame for things, and you've got to respect him for that, but I think there's a little more to it."

Yeah, he took full blame, as he basically had to considering what an awful mistake it was. Hopefully he will now quit his incessant complaining about other drivers making mistakes and blocking. And to be fair he's certainly not the only driver who has become a whiner. I don't know why, but it seems like NASCAR drivers do a lot more whining now than in the past. Their act is getting old. The series didn't used to be so full of crybaby pussies who are more than willing to cast stones, not remembering that most of them make the same mistakes and use the same strategy that the drivers they b*tch about do. I guess that's why I come down so hard on Tony this year. He didn't used to be that way. He used to be a badass who, rather than whine and point fingers, took names and scared the s*** out of people on the track with his driving rather than with his mouth.

I definitely agree about plate racing. It has no place in NASCAR, especially now that the cars are so safe. They might as well not waste our time and just have a 15 lap shootout and call that a race.

[toonarmy]

Talk about insouciance...this interview, given to Sky Sports after qualifying at Suzuka, should go into every online dictionary as the model entry for that very word:

Goodness! I love Kimi.

Anyone else notice than in recent years he is morphing into Chris Lowe? Perhaps once his racing career is done he can become the third Pet Shop Boy.

http://www.segafredo-gasometer.at/data/ ... opBoys.jpg

[GB_Simo]

I don't mind the Pet Shop Boys but had never noticed that before...good shout, Sir.

It'd explain why his title chances have seemed to Go West since the summer break. I suspect It's A Sin to do so, but I can't help feeling an amount of Jealousy when I consider what he's achieved and how he's achieved it. I know, the look on his face before every interview screams, "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" but I reckon it's a mistake to think he's Being Boring. It must be So Hard to avoid openly laughing at an interviewer when Opportunities like the one above come along, but I suppose if I did it in that position, I'd wake up in the morning reflecting on what I said Yesterday, When I Was Mad - Kimi's interview technique is clearly designed to avoid that and in that respect, he's Home And Dry.

I'll stop this now.

[pk500]

My favorite Kimi interview:

[toonarmy]

I don't mind the Pet Shop Boys but had never noticed that before...good shout, Sir.

It'd explain why his title chances have seemed to Go West since the summer break. I suspect It's A Sin to do so, but I can't help feeling an amount of Jealousy when I consider what he's achieved and how he's achieved it. I know, the look on his face before every interview screams, "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" but I reckon it's a mistake to think he's Being Boring. It must be So Hard to avoid openly laughing at an interviewer when Opportunities like the one above come along, but I suppose if I did it in that position, I'd wake up in the morning reflecting on what I said Yesterday, When I Was Mad - Kimi's interview technique is clearly designed to avoid that and in that respect, he's Home And Dry.

I'll stop this now.

Lol. "It's Alright'. "Actually" that was "Very" amusing "Behaviour". "Yes", your post is a "Winner".

[DChaps]

No more F1 on Speed for 2013?

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/ ... r-in-2013/

It's disappointing to learn that F1 has elected to move forward with a different media partner. SPEED had been the US voice of F1 since the mid '90s, and it was a passion for many people at the network. FOX Sports Media Group made what we believed to be a fiscally responsible bid based on the sport's current viewership levels, but F1 has elected to go in another direction. We wish them well." FOX Sports Media Group spokesman

I really hope this gets worked out. I barely watch racing anymore, but the F1 Debrief is a highlight for me every couple weeks. I really love the Varsha, Hobbs, and Matchett team and I sure hope they somehow stay together.

[pk500]

No more F1 on Speed for 2013?

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/ ... r-in-2013/

It's disappointing to learn that F1 has elected to move forward with a different media partner. SPEED had been the US voice of F1 since the mid '90s, and it was a passion for many people at the network. FOX Sports Media Group made what we believed to be a fiscally responsible bid based on the sport's current viewership levels, but F1 has elected to go in another direction. We wish them well." FOX Sports Media Group spokesman

I really hope this gets worked out. I barely watch racing anymore, but the F1 Debrief is a highlight for me every couple weeks. I really love the Varsha, Hobbs, and Matchett team and I sure hope they somehow stay together.

There's nothing to work out, Don. F1 is gone from SPEED, probably moving to NBC Sports Network.

Don't fret. This is a smart pre-emptive move by FOM and NBC, as SPEED probably is going to disappear soon so FOX can use that cable and satellite slot for an all-sports network to take on ESPN.

As long as NBCSN hires Varsha, Matchett and Hobbs, I'm happy.

[toonarmy]

I like F1 debrief a lot as well. They do a great job with it. I know Varsha is the only one contracted with Fox, so maybe the other guys will be kept in place. Perhaps Varsha can get out of his contract. Who knows.

I hope that NBC doesn't cock things up by showing abbreviated pre-race shows. Speed did a good job doing the pre-race show, then showing the full post-race stuff. I see that NBC will also be showing some of the races on NBC proper, with the bulk of races being on their sports channel. I'm pretty sure that means f***in tape-delay for races on the main NBC channel, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that all races will be live. Why not show the races from the Americas on the main channel so that those can be live, and at the same time be in the afternoon for the US east coast? I always got pissed when FOX would show 4 taped races each season, meaning I couldn't watch them and also look at live timing and scoring and follow the various forums in real time unless I watched an internet stream of the race.

If NBC shows practice, qualifying, and does a good pre- and post-race show then I am cool with the change. They can do a lot of cross-promoting with the Indy races as well, and perhaps even have a nice weekly racing show. Side by side commercial breaks would be awesome. Hopefully NBC does a good job with F1.

[toonarmy]

With NBC officially getting rights to show F1 in the USA, they released some details. So far, so good. Practice, qualifying, races, and studio shows will be shown. The last 4 races of the season will be on NBC proper (India, Abu Dhabi, Austin, Brazil). All races will be shown live on an NBC web site, and they are hoping to show all races live on TV, but that is not set in stone.

They damn well better be showing the last 4 races live. Obviously Brazil and Austin will be live, but I'm worried about the other 2 being live on NBC. I doubt NBC will want to show F1 races on the main channel at odd hours, but hopefully I am wrong. The announcement on their web site got off to a rocky start with a grammatically inept caption, along with identifying the wrong driver.

[pk500]

Expect those kinds of grammatic miscues to continue at NBC Sports' website. It has the journalistic and style chops of a sixth-grade book report.

[Rodster]

Wow, I just read that Randy Bernard resigned. Shame really, I thought he did some good things for the series. I also read on Autosport.com that Tony George wants to takeover the series.

[Dave]

Marshall Pruett delivers the goods, as usual. Looking forward to part 2:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ard-part-1

I'll admit to being on Bernard's side, despite the obvious imperfections. As an IndyCar fan for as long as I can remember (and my first memories are as a 3-year old from John Paul Jr.'s Michigan 500 win) there hasn't been anyone in charge that seemed to give a damn about what the fans thought prior to RB.

The IndyCar owners seem to want some good ol' boy network club racing. They can go F themselves at this point, they're getting the ratings and national attention their actions deserve. Without Bernard, we might still be subjected to the ancient Dallara IR-05 and spec Honda motors.

The silence from IMS and the owners, save for a few comments (mostly awful, like Ganassi) here and there, is both deafening and depressing.

[Gurantsu]

A very good article. I for the most part thought RB did a pretty good job. Certainly there were flubs (like the race at Milwaukee), but in general I always got the feeling that he had the interests of the series at heart and did a pretty decent job. What worries me is the feeling that the inmates are trying to run the asylum.

And I'm sorry, but I'm sick of hearing the drivers whine about the double file restarts. Ya know what? You guys are professional drivers. You guys run thousands of miles every year. And you mean to tell me you can't figure out how to get through turn one safely? If there is a wreck on a double file restart, it isn't an officials fault, it's a drivers. How many times have we heard the phrase "you can't win a race in the first turn but you sure can lose it"? Yes, you are out there to win. Yes, you are all trying to get any advantage you can. But, and this may just be the endurance racing fan in me, you all have been racing for years and understand when you need to back off in order to be safe and work on racing, not just out-braking the next guy into turn one.

And while I will defend forever the way Tony George put on the USGP's at Indy as an example of how to do it right, if he ends up in control of Indycar in any way, you can forget me going to the Baltimore Grand Prix. Unless it's just for the Saturday ALMS race.

[GB_Simo]

But, and this may just be the endurance racing fan in me, you all have been racing for years and understand when you need to back off in order to be safe and work on racing, not just out-braking the next guy into turn one.

It has always confused me somewhat that a bunch of professional racing drivers, some of them grown men, can't fathom that in order to see the finish line, you need to give every so often rather than taking all the time.


Earlier this week our sport lost a grown man who gave plenty, not just in racing but in life generally. RIP John Fitch.

[pk500]

Classic Kimi on the radio today during his victory in a superb race at Abu Dhabi:



Love this man. Stoked he's back on top of the box!

[Zeppo]

The capper was after the checkered flag, his engineer was all "woohoo!, yeehaaa!" and Kimi just said, calm as ever, "thanks guys, good job." Classic.

But poor Kimi, who's waited all season for this moment, has to suffer the fake, non alcoholic crap instead of being able to get the usual long, deep draughts of the real thing he was so used to.

Crazy race. Vettel was unreal coming all the way from the back. Insane.

[pk500]

The capper was after the checkered flag, his engineer was all "woohoo!, yeehaaa!" and Kimi just said, calm as ever, "thanks guys, good job." Classic.

But poor Kimi, who's waited all season for this moment, has to suffer the fake, non alcoholic crap instead of being able to get the usual long, deep draughts of the real thing he was so used to.

Crazy race. Vettel was unreal coming all the way from the back. Insane.

Insane race, no doubt.

Zep, European media reported The Kimster leaving his garage 45 minutes after his final post-race commitment, beer in hand. If anyone can find plenty of booze in an Arabic nation, it's Kimi!

[toonarmy]

Easily the most entertaining race for me of the season thus far. The race had plenty of drama, some great driving and passing (Button and Vettel showed how wheel to wheel passing is supposed to be done), and a great finish with Kimi getting the win. Kimi's comment on his radio, "Just leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" has to go down as one of his top-ten one liners. The post-race conference was even entertaining, as Kimi got censored, while Vettel was able to sneak a F-bomb by the censors, then proceeded to douse a bit of beverage on an unimpressed Coulthard's head. Can't wait for the Austin race.

[GB_Simo]

A game for you all to play. Watch the Moto GP race from Valencia and as the field heads into the first corner, pause the broadcast while you try to guess the top 5 finishers. Order is not important, just the 5 names.

I got 1...

[F308GTB]

After watching the 3 practice sessions and qualifying from Austin, I must say the track is nice. The first corner after cresting the hill is different, and that turn 19 has been catching quite a few drivers off. The weather in Texas has been a bit cooler than usual lately, so the combination of the new track and low temperatures has made for some interesting early sessions. Vettel is looking strong to get his 3rd championship.

[EZSnappin]

Great inaugural race in Austin. But why was Vettel on the radio whining about Hamilton's pass? If Lewis was too close it was because Seb was blocking. Heckuva talented driver, but I thought Seb had put that pouty petulance behind him.

[F308GTB]

Great inaugural race in Austin. But why was Vettel on the radio whining about Hamilton's pass? If Lewis was too close it was because Seb was blocking. Heckuva talented driver, but I thought Seb had put that pouty petulance behind him.

The track allowed for plenty of passing. Kimi's driving was ballsy at times but the big drive goes to Alonso for keeping the chase alive until the final weekend. And the hats for the drivers was an interesting touch.

[Rodster]

Sky Sports was saying that it should be a wet race next Sunday and by the looks of this weather forecast they could be right.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/S ... X0232:1:BR