Martin Ambrose (leading car) Blows His Chance for a Maiden NASCAR victory with a Stupendous Blunder at Sonoma.
NASCAR Sprint Cup at Sonoma, 6.20.2010
A classic road race duel between Jimmie Johnson and Oz racer Martin Ambrose ends up in disaster for the latter on the road course at Sonoma.
Ambrose comfortably leads Johnson in the closing stages of the race until Brad Kezlowski’s spin with nine laps to go again bunches up the field. All seems normal as the cars parade around under the caution condition, yet as the cars cross over the finish line and proceed up the hill behind the safety car, Ambrose’s car suddenly slows to a stop. Race fans and commentators scratch their heads in confusion for several moments before Ambrose finally refires his vehicle and dashes back up to the lead position. We learn soon thereafter that Ambrose, in his plan to conserve fuel, cut out the engine just prior to the hill climb and inadvertently stalled out his engine.
But wait … the NASCAR rules require that all racers maintain a safe speed during a caution condition, and that a driver who does not maintain such a speed AND is passed during such a state must forfeit his prior position. The hammer blow strikes hard as Ambrose and his crew realize that their overkill fuel conservation strategy (not required, given their recent final stop, the few remaining laps left, and the caution condition) costs them the lead and the driver’s maiden NASCAR victory. Jimmie Johnson (48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) inherits the lead and cruises the remaining six laps to victory while a dejected and humiliated Ambrose slinks away in shame.
Now that both Formula 1 and IndyCar are both turning wheels in anger, we here at DataGrange Motorsport can once again revisit our favorite pastime … awarding the Big Spanky for the week’s racing blunders and boners. Please stay tuned all season … and remember, kids, … it’s all in fun.
Big Spanky #1 for Red Bull Racing
Who Dropped the Wrench on the Exhaust Header at RBR?
The F1 racing world now glows neon amidst the glories of Fernando Alonso’s fabulous debut victory for the Scuderia at Bahrain, yet most fans who watched the race in the small hours clearly witnessed the significant power advantage Vettel’s Renault airpump enjoyed over the Ferrari motors. Many minds in racing fandom expressed disappointment when Vettel’s broken exhaust header denied the young Teuton a sure handed victory, yet those same emotions devolved into shock after we heard race commentary suggesting that RBR implemented a new exhaust header design on its cars just days before travel to the island kingdom AND WITHOUT ANY TESTING ON THE SAME. Are you kidding us? Why stop there? Are we sure the failure wasn’t simply the case of a pair of missing pantyhose stuffed up the header as a hiding place? Vettel has the makings of a true F1WC … can RBR at least hand the youngster a break and do something about their release version management? A classic instance of team management not reining in the technorati at the moment of truth.
Big Spanky #2 for Ryan Briscoe
I Thought I Was Pushing the Brake Pedal ...
RBR’s hyper-tinkering to the demise of Vettel at Bahrain considerably fades when compared to the sheer botchery executed by star-crossed Penske ace Ryan Briscoe down at the Sambadrome in Sao Paolo. We here at DGMS are a bit tough on Briscoe given his titanic pit exit blunder at Motegi last season, thus gifting the IndyCar trophy to Ganassi … and Briscoe does nothing to salvage his reputation after another inexplicable miscue in Brazil. With only twelve minutes remaining in the race and under heckling from highly skilled yet still unproven Ryan Hunter-Reay, Briscoe should have easily withstood the pressure and blocked his way to victory on the narrow Sao Paolo circuit. We hate to admit it, but Briscoe again showed his true form by utterly blowing the braking mark on a tight right hander, thus sliding straightaway into the facing tire wall and deeper into racing ignominy. Briscoe cracked under the strain, just as he did at Motegi, and he cracked with the unbloodied RHR nipping at his heels. Will Power salvaged the day for Penske, yet brows must be raised over Briscoe’s questionable performance.
Diehard Ford enthusiasts should check out our new Ford Performance Model E-Book, a true collectible, at Classic Car Gear.
