Montreal GP - Hamilton is Lucky 7!

MONTREAL, CANADA – Formula One has sure had an interesting season. Coming into the Montreal GP, there have been 6 separate winners in six races. Canada was going to be no different with Lewis Hamilton crossing the finish line first in his McLaren, and becoming the seventh winner this year. Romain Grosjean came in second in his Lotus with Sergio Perez third for team Sauber. Sebastian Vettel initially led from the pole position, but Hamilton was able to keep him in close range. Following the first set of pit stops starting on lap 16, Vettel was the first to come in, then Hamilton on lap 17 and Alonso on lap 18. Alonso came up on top on after the stops, but Hamilton was able to rocket past the two gaining the lead.

Hamilton easily held the lead and was able to put a few seconds between him and the Ferrari. However, a poor pit stop for the McLaren resulted in him coming up in third place. It looked bleak for the Brit as it appeared that Renault and Ferrari had planned a one-stop strategy. But the one-stop strategy proved to be a poor one on lap 62 as he blasted past Vettel and reeled in and past Alonso by lap 65.

The degrading tires on the Ferrari and Renault were taking their toll on lap times. This gave Grosjean in the Lotus and Perez in the Sauber opportunity to move into second and third place. Vettel finally made the choice to come in for tires on lap 63 and was also able to shame the Ferrari. “I always knew today’s race was going to be incredibly tough. So, in the first stint, I was really pleased that I could keep up with Seb [Vettel], and at that point I already felt sure I’d be involved the fight for victory. Our strategy was always for a two-stopper: we knew it was going to be the fastest way to get to the finish. I looked after my tires really well today, and I used them knowing we were going to two-stop.

The win puts Hamilton back on top with 88 championship points, followed by Alonso with 86 and Vettel with 85. The win had extra meaning for Hamilton as Montreal was the track that saw his first win back in 2007.

In related news, ticket sales for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas went on sale this past weekend. Legal battles between the race founder/promoter and the race investors were put to rest late Friday in an out-of-court settlement. It was also announced that racing great Mario Andretti has been named the Circuit Ambassador.

Wallys for Beckman, Grubnic, and Johnson at Topeka

TOPEKA, KANSAS – It was a great day for Jack Beckman as he claimed his first Funny Car Wally of the season at the Fram . Up against teammate Ron Capps in the final round, Jack’s 4.158 sec, 303.09 mph blast bettered Ron’s 4.107 sec, 304.39 mph by his near-perfect 0.004 sec reaction time. The Schumacher teammates switched cars, crews and trailers following the Vegas race and this is the first time that Beckman has been able to make it happen. “It’s a big win for us,” Beckman said. “We’re right back in the hunt... That was my 13th win, and I try to appreciate every win because you never know when it can be your last.” He continued, “They [the NAPA team] were clearly outrunning us. When we saw them run 4.12 in the semi's, we knew we couldn’t run that without stepping too far that the risk of smoking the tires was too great. Our strategy was to put a 4.15 in it and hope something happened with their car. I think I dodged a bullet on the starting line. I had a hiccup in staging in the final round that could have bit us. The irony is that I don’t know if we could’ve won any other way.”

In Top Fuel, David Grubnic ended up top dog beating out Spencer Massey in the finals. Grubnic ran a 3.893 sec, 319.07 mph against Massey’s 3.910 sec, 309.98 mph run. This is the Australian-native’s first win since 2006. “My whole career has been ups and downs, but you have to go through these troughs to appreciate the peaks,” Grubnic said. “Today is one of those peaks. My first win came here in 2005, and it’s great to do it here again. Why we have success here in particular is beyond me, but we’ll take it where we can get it.

It was a surprise in Pro Stock with Allen Johnson beating the Summit boys. Allen Johnson ran strong all-weekend and was paired with Greg Anderson in the final round. Allen ran a respectable 6.587 sec, 210.54 mph run. Though running in the quicker left-lane, Anderson experienced a bit of tire-shake and only managed a 6.696 sec, 210.21 mph run. “The whole crew for the Mopar Dodge Avenger was just so strong and so consistent all weekend,” said Johnson, “today our mission was to be consistent and maintain lane choice. We did that until the final round, and it just so happened that in the final the right lane turned out to be better than the left, and Greg shook the tires a little bit. So it worked right into the palm of our hands. We’ve been after them [the Summit cars] for the last few races and finally got the win and gave them a run for the money. This Pro Stock battle for the rest of the year will be a knock-down drag out.”

Mr. Harvick's Wild Ride!

TALLADEGA, AL – It was some wild driving at the “’Dega” this past weekend. The Aarons 499, a grueling 188 laps around the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway, ended well for Kevin Harvick, ending a win drought for he and Richard Childress Racing. Harvick had not won a points race since the 2007 Daytona 500, while RCR had not won a race since October 2008. “Everything just played out perfect for us today,” Harvick said.
That was not how it felt for most drivers. A long series of wrecks extended the race by 12 laps with 3 attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. The first restart attempt ended when Newman and Logano tangled resulting in a 9-car pileup. The second saw a spin by Johnson and Biffle after making contact at the front of the pack. On the third, and final (by NASCAR rules) restart, two “teams” jumped to the front of the pack. Hamlin pushing Montoya on the outside and Harvick pushing McMurray on the inside. The McMurray/Harvick team pushed out in front and were running strong. Just at the right moment, Harvick pulled-off a picture perfect slingshot move beating McMurray to the finish line with Montoya following in third place. It was quite an exciting finish.
This year’s exciting race comes after a lackluster race in the fall when drivers were told they would be penalized for “excessive” bump-drafting. The drivers were left to police themselves, and from the fans standpoint, made for a great race. I’d hate to be the team owners that have to pay for the carnage or the crews that have to put the cars back together again. But most importantly, no one was seriously hurt during the race – at least physically. The cold relationship between Jimmie Johnson and car-owner Jeff Gordon was strained further when Johnson cut-off Gordon on lap 183. "The 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad -- and I am pissed right now," Gordon said.
Only 30 cars were running at the end. A couple of NASCAR records were broken this weekend. There were a record total of 88 lead changes with a record 29 different leaders.