Full Throttle

This weeks first Cesspool entry should upset more than a few Earnhardt Jr. fans, even those that won’t even acknowledge there was a [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/cup.jpg]NEXTEL Cup[/avatar] event this past weekend. Which raises a question, are you a NASCAR fan if you post about TV shows and Lance Armstrong and completly ignore the NASCAR results in your “NASCAR” blog? I Guess the answer is pretty evident isn’t it and can be summed up in the term, frontrunner! And while I’m on this subject hats off to Jaynelle who is at least honest enough to question herself about being a NASCAR fan or just a partisan of Jeff Gordon.

Be that as it may, this week starts off with the Cesspool’s first ever double [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/dunce.jpg]Dunce[/avatar] award given to Dale Earnhardt Jr. The first [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/dunce.jpg]award[/avatar] is by virtue of a lap 49 pitstop that saw Jr. caught by a [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/caution.jpg]caution[/avatar] for debris on the track. In an effort to remain on the lead lap Jr. decided to do an imitation of Speed Racer and was caught by the NASCAR speeding police exiting pitroad at the astounding velocity of 143 mph! It also led to this radio exchange:

Dale Jr.:

Kimi Raikkonen’s title dreams were shattered yesterday when mechanical failure stole victory from his grasp and handed championship leader Fernando Alonso his sixth win of the year.

The Finn had dominated all weekend and looked a safe bet for victory halfway through the race until bad luck struck once again to leave him stranded on the track as his Renault rival flew by.

Raikkonen could only watch in dismay as Alonso gained another vital 10 points advantage in the title race.

“There is still a mathematical chance that I can win the drivers’ championship but it is getting difficult,” admitted Raikkonen.

The omens were there before the race as Raikkonen had never finished a race at the Hockenheim circuit, but the Finn was left shocked after yet another mechanical failure cost him dear.

Engine failure in practice for the last two races in France and Britain cost him potential victories and the sight of the McLaren shuddering to a halt brought shivers to the team on pit wall.

But there was joy in the opposing camp as Alonso was there in the shadows to steal the win, ease home to his seventh career victory, and push himself 36 points clear of Raikkonen in the championship race.

Alonso refused to get carried away, insisting that it could all turn around with 70 points still on offer from the remaining seven races, but he admitted the result put him in a very comfortable position for the title. “It was obviously a fantastic day, perfect for me,” said Alonso.

It was little satisfaction for McLaren that Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya raced through from 20th on the grid to secure them second place, thanks to a different strategy and the teams clear race-winning pace.

It was Montoya’s second podium of the season, following on from his victory at Silverstone two weeks previously, but even he was left admitting his own mistake had cost him the chance of handing McLaren victory.

A podium finish was more of a delight for Briton Jenson Button as it was his team’s first top-three finish of the season and proved they are back on the pace after a tough year so far.

World champion Michael Schumacher looked set to secure fourth but the Ferrari driver buckled under pressure from Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella in the closing stages and dropped to fifth on the penultimate lap.

After a month of [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/cup.jpg]NEXTEL Cup[/avatar] domination by the Joe Gibbs team and Tony Stewart, Jack Roush returned to the forefront with 3 of the top five finishers, led by winner Kurt Busch. The ‘04 season Champ led 131 of 203 laps - those extra three resulting from a late-race [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/caution.jpg]caution[/avatar] - for his second win of the year.

Following Busch across the stripe was Rusty Wallace for his best result of the season. In third was [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/martin.jpg]Mark Martin[/avatar] and Carl Edwards who drove from the rear of the field to fourth place. Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.

For Busch it was a followup performance to last week when two poor pitstops necessitated he drive through the field twice to a second place finish. There would be no such problems this week as Busch led 110 of the first 150 laps then took control late in the race. Pit strategy played into the finish as Rusty Wallace only took on two tires on lap 164 but it wasn’t enough to hold off the four tires and Roush/Yates power of Busch.

Series points leader Jimmie Johnson salvaged a 12^th place finish after spending much of the race a lap down when caught on pitroad when the yellow flag flew. A combination of Greg Biffle’s 17^th place and Tony Stewart’s 7^th enabled Smoke to leapfrog into second place in the standings with 6 events before the Chase.
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Sam Hornish Jr. captured Sunday’s A.J. Foyt 225 [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/irl.png]IndyCar[/avatar] event at the historic Milwaukee Mile. The No.6 Penske driver crossed the finish line 0.383 seconds ahead of runner-up Dario Franchitti.

The victory was Hornish Jr.’s second of the season and 14th of his career. Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon completed the top-five.

Series points leader Dan Wheldon - currently being courted by both NASCAR and F1 teams - questioned his team’s strategy Sunday after finishing fifth. Andretti Green Racing teammates Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan stayed on track when the other leaders, including Wheldon and eventual race winner Sam Hornish Jr. pitted on lap 170 of the 225-lap race, trading a gamble on fuel for track position.

“I’m not sure about the call we made,” “I’m not blaming anybody, but I’m not sure that we thought properly about it.” - Dan Wheldon

“I’m not sure about the call we made,” said Wheldon, who won four of the first five races this season, including the Indianapolis 500, and has now gone five in a row without winning. “I’m not blaming anybody, but I’m not sure that we thought properly about it.”

“When you know your two teammates are staying out, who can stay out and control the pace of the race and save the amount of fuel that you need to, and we didn’t do that. It’s very, very difficult and I think we should learned this from practice.”

What was a comfortable lead in the season standings has shrunk to just 68 points over Hornish and Franchitti, tied for second. Kanaan, the defending series champion, is fourth, 71 points behind his teammate.

Rookie Danica Patrick finished 16th after crashing into the wall on lap 125. She was taken to the hospital, but was not injured.

It was another lightly attended IRL event as the announced attendance was 28,592, although there appeared to be fewer people in the grandstands.

Answer: When Jeff Green takes the lead on the white flag lap of the ITT Industries 250 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, then motors on to his first win since 2003.

David Green grabbed the lead on the second-to-last lap and held off polesitter Clint Bowyer to win of the NASCAR Busch Series’ ITT Industries 250 on Saturday.

The ninth Busch win of Green’s career was his first since Oct. 4, 2003 — a span of 60 races.

“This came at a great time and is a good way to turn things around,” said Green, who started 14th in a Ford. “It was there the whole day, and I knew our car was good. I knew I had him in a lane he didn’t want to be in, and when we got to turn three, it was do or die.

“It played out really well in our favor at the end, and the key was not having any cautions.”

Green and Bowyer had a similar battle at the Federated Auto Parts 300 in Nashville, Tenn., last month when Bowyer got the best of Green. This time around, Bowyer didn’t have the tires to hold off Green.
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Let the bidding war over control of Formula One begin!

Upon further reflection… how much of a war could it be? Not many have $1 billion dollars to toss around!

Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong-Kong based conglomerate controlled by the tycoon Li Ka-shing, is preparing a $1bn (

Jamie McMurray - Ganassi lame duck¹ - was the surprise pole winner for todays running of the Pennsylvania 500 in Long Pond Pa. It was McMurray’s second career pole and first since the final race of the 2003 season and made him the 18^th different pole winner in the last 19 Pocono races.

Series points leader Jimmie Johnson turned in a fine effort in a backup car after a practice crash and will start inside the fifth row. In another surprise Ken Schrader starts 12^th in the Schwan’s Home Service Dodge.

Carl Edwards, winner of the June event at Pocono, has his work cut out for him. He starts at the tail of the field after ARCA regular Bobby Gerhart qualified his #99 Office Depot/Scotts Ford. Edwards missed the qualifing session - and continued racking up frequent flyer miles - while in Colorado for the Busch event at Pikes Peak.

Michael Waltrip won the pole in the spring race and the soon-to-be former DEI driver posted a less than solid effort - 24th quickest. But even that mediocre effort over shadowed team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr who starts seven rows further back in 38^th.

1. Ganassi Racing to pick up McMurray’s option [back]

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Team Betta Electrical

At the head of the field for Sunday’s German Grand Prix will be Kimi Raikkonen. To complete the set of field spanning bookends will be team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya who crashed on the last turn of his warm-up lap and starts at the tail of the field.

1. RAIKKONEN McLaren 1m14.320s
2. BUTTON BAR 1m14.759s
3. ALONSO Renault 1m14.904s
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1m14.927s
5. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m15.006s
6. WEBBER Williams 1m15.070s
7. HEIDFELD Williams 1m15.403s
8. SATO BAR 1m15.501s
9. TRULLI Toyota 1m15.532s
10. KLIEN Red Bull 1m15.635s
11. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m15.679s
12. R.SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m15.689s
13. MASSA Sauber 1m16.009s
14. VILLENEUVE Sauber 1m16.012s
15. BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m16.230s
16. ALBERS Minardi 1m17.519s
17. DOORNBOS Minardi 1m18.313s
18. MONTEIRO Jordan 1m18.599s
19. KARTHIKEYAN Jordan no time
20. MONTOYA McLaren no time

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) - Points leader Frank Kimmel took the lead on the 53rd lap and won the ARCA 200 Saturday at Pocono Raceway for his series-high fourth victory of the season.

While Kimmel has dominated the ARCA series with six straight championships, he found it pretty tough to take the checkered flag at Pocono. Since winning at the 2.5-mile triangular track in 1999, Kimmel finished second in the race three times.
“We’ve had a lot of great success here, we just haven’t won a lot,” Kimmel said.

Chad McCumbee roared back from the 34th spot to finish .963 seconds behind Kimmel and Erin Crocker, one of stock car racing’s promising young female drivers, was third in the 80-lap race. David Ragan and Ken Weaver rounded out the top five.

Driving for Evernham Motorsports, Crocker