Sunday, June 25, 2006

Big Bad Boris the NASCAR man

I watched the NASCAR race today at Sears Point. I can't bring myself to call it infinity or what ever the curent sponsor is.

It's always entertaining watching the circle track guys try to figure out a complicated road course. I've driven both Sears and Watkins Glen (the two NASCAR road courses) and Sears is by far more dificult.

Jeff Gordon won easily -- proving again he is a true champion. Boris Said (not a champion but one of the hardest working drivers in the sport) did a fine job finishing 9th - even after a love-tap in 11 by Tony "Jackass" Stewart. He finished 29th (about 10 spaces ahead of where he deserved).

Beyond that it was racecar carnage, 3/3a was particularly bloody. 8 claimed it's share of cars. Sears has been reworked so 10 is not the monster it used to be. That used to be where evil lurked. Now it has been straightened and there is plenty of run off room before the big bad wall.

It was my first roundy-roundy race this season. Reminds me of a shirt I saw at the USGP: "Too dumb for opera, too smart for NASCAR; I guess I'l just watch Formula 1."

F1 mid-season

Another F1 race in the book and another Alonso/Renault victory. This season look pretty much done fer. Schumacher/Ferrari need a miracle to have a chance at either Drivers or Constructors titles.

Kimi is clearly cursed. Today it was the curse of the clutch. It caused a looong pit stop - costing him a 30 sec. lead - he came out just ahead of Schumacher. However it was the driving error on the penultimate lap that gave Schumacher the lead. Without the long stop, Schui wouldn't have been close enough to get by. Too bad - he is probably the fastest driver in the field.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Cars - the movie

The wife and I went to see the movie Cars again last night. This is a “must-see” for every car enthusiast. In fact this may be one of the all-time great car movies. It’s not just a great car movie, is a great car racing movie.

The attention to detail is quite incredible. This was clearly created by people who love cars and racing. With references to everything from the 50s to today and from Dirt Track racing to F1 it has something for everyone.

After you have seen it, check out IMDB and Wikipedia for more detail.
The DVD is the first item on this year’s christmas list.