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Detroit, 11:49 AM
Tue Nov 24
24 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/21/09
"At the pit stop, I ended up with some drops of petrol in my eye, from the fuel line stuck on Kovalainen's car and then I was engulfed in flames and blinded: I was going to stop, but luckily the flames soon went out. Even now, my eyes are still burning, but I'm alright. After the restart, I could only try and use the strategy to move up the order and at least I brought home a few points. I am disappointed because today I'm sure we could have made it to the podium."
So all you Kimi haters can just ask yourself, have you been doused in petrol, set on fire and leisurely returned to a F1 GP?
Good show Jens, but I do like Vettel and I I'm sure in the right car he will be (is) very good. #jensonbutton
10/21/09
Kamui Kobayashi holding off points leader Jenson Button then going on to place 9th in his first ever F1 race.
Jenson Button singing "We Are The Champions" badly over the team radio.
Regardless of whether you like F1 or not, it's definitely been an interesting season. #jensonbutton
10/21/09
A great achievement by Ross Brawn (sure that's your real name, call me Wolf Blitzer), but it's sad to see the crass commercialization has already started!
The BBC says the Brawn rear diffuser innovation made the car significantly better while other teams protested until everyone adopted it, nevertheless Button winning first 6 of 7 is impressive. He lost in so-so cars and won in a good one. #jensonbutton
10/21/09
The Brawn domination early on was a combination of extremely good aero efficiency and tyre preservation and a leading pack that had bad cars (Mclaren, Ferrari et al). It was also a result of the cubic dollars that Honda poured into the 09 car in 08. #jensonbutton
10/21/09
@skierpage: We beat them to the track by a couple months. #jensonbutton
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10/21/09
I'm so glad for Jenson. He's been a favorite of mine ever since I saw him on Top Gear and to see him win the WC was just stellar. #jensonbutton
10/21/09
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10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
Don't forget the list of championship-winning "ringers" who are always supposed to wax the tails of all the NASCAR rednecks.
Scott Pruett
Ron Fellows
Boris Said
Patrick Carpentier
Jacques Villeneuve
Paul Tracy (could never get a ride)
Dario Franchitti (Indy 500 winner, IndyCar champ)
That's just off the top of my head. All the international sports car racing wins and championships, none of them have accomplished squat in Cup. Fellows has won twice in Busch, and that's pretty much it.
The last "outisder" to win in Cup? Mark Donohue in 1973.
F-1, ALMS, IMSA, SCCA, CART, IndyCar... all that expertise doesn't mean a thing when you get into a full bodied car with a steel V8, 4 speed, and a 10" tire.
10/08/09
Racing stock cars, whether it's NASCAR or Sportsman class at your local track is a differenty style of racing than open wheel. However, it is pretty easy to make this jump. Tony Stewart and many of the current "stars" in NASCAR have made this transition.
Racing oval track is a different style of racing than road courses. Especially when you drove road courses in an open-wheel car. I think this is where the majority of IRL/CART/F1 drivers who switch to NASCAR have trouble. The car is a lot different. The style is a lot different. The strategies are a lot different, etc.
It'll be interesting to see how Piquet Jr. can do.
@Uncle Bo: Excellent point. I laugh when teams bring in ringers, because it rarely seems to help. Although, I've often wondered how much of that is the equipment. Let's face it, the championship caliber teams usually aren't the ones bringing in the ringer. I wonder what Said would do with a Hendrick or Roush Fenway car.
10/08/09
Said does run Roush cars and Fellows has driven Hendrick and DEI cars, neither with much success. Scott Pruett runs Ganassi cars.
It's not equipment, its seat time.The feel a driver gets from a Cup car is very different than what a guy like Ron Fellows usually drives. He simply can't drive both cars the same way and a transition takes time.
The open wheel guys struggle because they are very very reliant on aero grip and technology. Sam Hornish is now driving tracks like California and Michigan that he used to run flat out in the IRL. Can't do that at all in a stock car. The rest of the guys simply never figured it out.
All of this means Montoya's success is impressive. Its taken him 3 full years of dedication but he is finally running up front consistently. I don't think any F-1 driver could make even the slightest impact in NASCAR without having teh same dedication.
10/08/09
10/08/09
Plus I though NASCAR loved people with Jr in their name?
10/08/09
I always wondered if there'd be a stigma for betraying the team that betrayed him.
10/08/09
Waiting on the French driver to arrive after the Brazillian...
10/08/09
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