Texas Serves Up a Cure for Kenseth ...
NASCAR
Score another win for the automatons …
Matty K finally found his fun on the 1.5 tri-oval that is Texas, and along the way took the lumber to the field. Only T-Stew was wise enough to foil the Wisconsin Kid with a daring short pit strategy that would have spiked the entire field but for Smoke’s horrific pit lane speeding blunder while pulling off the grift.
Seems to us that a night run at Texas should produce more excitement … we weren’t expecting a parade.
Red Bull Goes 2-for-2 Without KERS
Formula 1
Red Bull again made mincemeat of both McLaren and Ferrari at Malaysia, and now observers wonder aloud if the technical gap between the leaders and the rest can be overcome in 2012. Sure, McLaren SEEMED to close the gap at Race 2, but don’t be fooled …
Vettel easily ran away from the rest after the little red lights went out, and Button’s close proximity at race end was simply mere illusion, since Vettel literally took his foot off the gas and coasted home over the final ten kilometers. Red Bull is faster, generates more downforce, and turns over a car in pit lane swifter than all the rest. That’s it. We simply can’t see McLaren or Ferrari overcoming the first two attributes in 2011 without a new chassis, which by definition would put them way behind on the final claim.
Power Wall-To-Wall Down in Dixie ...
IndyCar
IndyCar’s admirable promotion push over the winter went up in a puff of smoke this weekend as all were treated to another snoozefest at Barber-Alabama. Team Penske’s Will Power put in a stellar drive, leading wire-to-wire … and he deserves big kudos for such … yet the overall race lacked the passion and drama the Series desperately needs to capture the attention of global race fans.
Let’s face it … no one truly pressed Power all race … the power boosts provided by the Honda engine played no factor in the race … Andretti Motorsport has utterly disappeared as a factor in race victories … and the list goes on. Even CDP’s tried-and-true act of staying out on old tires in order to get track position and camera time falls well short … and plays poorly with race fans who recognize the shtick for what it is. Patrick may think she’s scoring points by shoving her car into the top ten by skipping a stop during midrace, but the only fans still paying attention to IndyCar instead take note of her inevitable descent into the backmarkers after such a stunt … time after time. You’re losing both your track and street cred, Danica. Take heed.
Big props to sportscar guru Simon Pagenaud who put in a brilliant top ten drive as a replacement for Bea Beatrix.
