IZOD Indy Car Series loses one of their own, Dan Wheldon

Not much good can be said about what has happened in Las Vegas today. Dan Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, died after suffering major injuries in a crash 13 laps into the last race of the 2011 season. Two drivers were going for the Championship, Dario Franchitti and Will Power; Danica Patrick was saying farewell to the sport, Dan Wheldon was going for the $5 Million, and 34 drivers going for a trophy.

Wheldon, a two-time Indy 500 winner, had gone into the catch fence head first. His and 14 other cars, Will Power’s including, were mangled on the back stretch. Crews scrambled to get the drivers out of their cars and the cars off the track. Cars were airborne, on fire, losing parts and pieces. The wreck took out almost half the field. Four of the 15 drivers involved in the wreck were transported to the local hospital: Pippa Mann, JR Hildebrand (JR lost the Indy 500 to Wheldon after crashing coming to the checkered flag), Will Power (He had gone later after complaining about lower back pain), and Wheldon, who was airlifted by helicopter.

Dario Franchitti clinched the championship, but no one was in the mood to celebrate. One of their own’s future was unknown at that point. Everything was uncertain. The uncertain condition of Wheldon. The uncertain condition of the race. What was going to happen to the rest of the race?

About two hours after the wreck, officials went into the Media Center to announce that Dan Wheldon had passed away at the hospital. This new rocked the social media world. Just like that, Wheldon was gone. Officials cancelled the rest of the race. The drivers decided to give Wheldon a 5-lap tribute. (here’s the video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2PMUNsuZWA)

Today was a sad day for only the Indy Car Series, but for the whole racing world in general.

Here’s what the fans had to say about Dan Wheldon:

Steph Piech first Indy Car driver i ever rooted for when i first started watching the series a few years ago! He seemed like a great guy... smile on his face... down-to-earth. it just seems like a dream :-/ i wish this was just some cruel joke and that he'd be racin' next year... :'-(

Larry Spencer III Hell of a driver, a class act

KristenKahne4 He inspired me. I cannot believe this is how it ended. It isn't supposed to go like that

kchamber2121 Dan Wheldon was an amazing race car driver and I had chills when he won the Indy 500. a truly wonderful driver and person

babbzabbz I keep thinking...what if that had been Johnson last night. :( So saddening.

nascarsweetie99 I didn't watch Indy races a lot. But I will always remember his smile and joy. He truly appreciated all that he had.

Courtnieebaby24 He will always be a champion. His family especially his two sons gained a guardian angel today <3 <3

cmmack426 he was a great guy, saw him win at Indy and no one booed, he was a loving father and husband and he will be missed

LeBron James: R.I.P to Indy Car Driver Dan Wheldon! Dies In 15-Car Crash At Las Vegas Race #tragedy. You'll be missed from Sports

Jerry Rice: My condolences goes out to the family of Dan Wheldon.

Reba McEntire: My heart and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family and everyone in the racing community. My heart hurts.

Kurt Warner: My heart & prayers go out 2 family & friends of Dan Wheldon who was killed 2day in a LV crash! That God b with u during this difficult time!

God may have taken you from us early, but you will always be in our Hearts, Dan Wheldon. You will be missed. As a final farewell, I will leave you with the words of Marty Reid.

'Many people ask me why I always sign off Till We Meet Again, because goodbye is always so final. Goodbye Dan Wheldon.'

What a Difference a Year Makes: Spotlight on Ricky Stenhouse Jr

What can I say about Ricky Stenhouse Jr. that hasn’t been said already? From being so close to losing his ride in his rookie year to being the series points leader with 10 races to go his sophomore year is incredible. Ricky’s whole career did a complete 180 when Ricky came back to racing in July of 2010 when he finished 3^rd. Ricky went on to win the Rookie of the year honors by a slim margin over Brian Scott. This year, Ricky is leading the points standings by a slim 5 points over former Cup driver Elliott Sadler.

Ricky went into Iowa back in May winless and ready to get that off his back. That’s exactly what he did. Ricky led the most laps and beat his teammate, Carl Edwards, to win his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Ricky led the most laps at LOR, only to be passed on one of the final restarts by winner Brad Keselowski and runner-up James Buescher to finish third.

Ricky would have redemption the follow weekend and the track he scored his first career victory a few months before. Ricky beat Carl again, but this time just a little differently. Here’s the finish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tonqUmFDcDA

Ricky’s been in a tight points battle with Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson for most of the season. Out of the three, Rick has the most victories with 2, Reed Sorenson has a victory, and Elliott Sadler is the only one of the three with no victories.

Let’s compare 2010 to 2011:

Ricky finished the 2010 season with 3 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s and 5 DNFs. 2010 was a roller coaster of a season, being benched after wrecking a few racecars. Ricky used this time to really put his career in perspective. Ricky came back to the series and scored a top 5, finishing third. After that, Ricky caught and passed Brian Scott for the Rookie of the Year honors. He had an average start of 14.2 and an average finish of 19.4.

In 2011, Ricky has excelled and now is just 10 races away from possibly his first NASCAR championship. So far, after 25 of 35 races, Ricky has two wins, 3 poles, 10 top 5’s, 17 top 10’s and had completed almost 99% of the laps this season. He has an average start of 7.5 and an average finish of 10.2. Such a MAJOR improvement from a year before.

Here’s what I think about Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ricky is a talented driver. Can he drive a racecar? Of course he can, better than a lot of the guys he’s racing again. Can he win the championship this year? I think so. Ricky has prove to all the haters and skeptics that he can pull himself out of that hole he dug himself into last year. Ricky can run with the best. I am 100% sure that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can win the championship and be good Cup drive in the near future. I can say that a year ago, I wasn’t a big fan of Ricky. Look at what a year does. I am on the Stenhouse Jr. fan train I don’t think this girl will be getting off anytime soon.

David Ragan finally a Sprint cup winner

Last night, David Ragan redeemed himself for his mistake that cost him the Daytona 500 in February. Last night, we saw the two-car drafting again. It proved to be helpful and hurtful. Both Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards were two of the drivers who fell victim of the tow-car draft. Bayne suffered the most after contact with drafting partner Brad Keselowski, sending Bayne into the outside wall after further contact with the 33 car of Clint Bowyer, who crashed on the last lap. Carl Edwards had gotten spun out by teammate Greg Biffle, getting enough damage to take out the crush panel.

For people who don’t know, the crush panel is on the car to prevent the exhaust from the car to go inside the car. Without the crush panel, your whole car will fill up with carbon monoxide. Most cars have blowers which blow cool air into their helmets. Those blowers have carbon monoxide filters. Carl Edwards didn’t have a blower in his car. Without that blower, Carl potentially put his health in danger while driving the racecar.

Most of the race was pretty uneventful. We saw a lot of lead changes and two-car drafts, seeing Ryan Newman up front the most. When you look at the two-car drafting teams, you saw the obvious team-ups like: Kahne and Vickers, Ragan and Kenseth, Logano and Kyle Busch, Harvick and Menard, Bowyer and Burton; and then we saw some not so obvious team-ups: Hamlin and Newman, Stewart and Gilliland, Keselowski and Biffle (both lost their drafting partners early), Kurt Busch and Smith. In the final laps, both Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne had lost their drafting partners, so what did they do? They teamed up together. They did fairly well considering that they finished 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, with Kahne pushing Logano to the finish.

Some people still don’t like the two-car draft. I think it makes for more exciting racing instead of all 43 cars under a blanket. Two-car drafting allows you to make up time on the track fast. Look at Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. With about ten laps to go, they were deep in the field. A handful of laps later, they were both in the top-ten, fighting to get the lead. They both crashed out though. See? Exciting racing!

David Ragan was there from the drop of the green flag to the checkered. He raced like a veteran and he won, with the help of teammate, 2003 NASCAR Cup champion Matt Kenseth. Matt pushed him to the victory, just like David would have done for Matt if the roles were reversed and in the Nationwide race the night before, Joey Logano getting the push from teammate Kyle Busch.

David has had so much heartbreak and he has struggled the last few years, but with this win, I think David saved his job. UPS is in a contract year and if David doesn’t perform, UPS may not come back. I think this win will help propel David farther and help keep UPS on board for a few more years. With his win, David is squarely in the top 20 in points and has the second wild card spot for the chase.

Congratulations David! You earned it!

Who will break their winless streak first?

Running out of gas in a green-white-checkered while leading. Running out of gas 500 feet from your first checkered flag in over 100 races. Everyone hates having a winless streak. Several drivers have them. Some drivers haven’t won in years, and some haven’t won at all. Some of the more notable drivers in that winless streak group are fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Martin Truex Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drives the Number 88 National Guard Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, has been winless since 2008 when he won a single race in that season at Michigan in June. The next two seasons were not stellar for the 36-year-old. 2011 has been a big turn-around for the driver. Sitting fourth in points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been there to contend for wins.

Kasey Kahne, who drives the number 4 Red Bull Toyota for Red Bull Racing, has been winless since 2009 when won twice in the Cup series, the most recent coming at Atlanta in September. The 2010 season wasn’t a great one, despite a streak of 3 out of 4 races with a top 5 in the summer months. He finished his worst in the points standings last season, 20^th. Kasey signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, leaving 2011 undetermined. 2011 has been a sort of slow start for Kahne, though he’s had some almost wins.

Jeff Burton, the driver of the Number 31 CATERPILLER Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, has been winless since 2008, winning the Bank of America 500. With the success of his teammates, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick and his new teammate Paul Menard, Jeff has been trying to keep up to par with the likes of them, but 2011 has been liking Burton this year.

Martin Truex Jr., the driver of the 56 Napa Know How Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, has been winless since 2007 when he won at what he considers his home track, Dover, which propelled him to his first and only chase seed. For the 2010 season, Martin made the move to Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2011, Martin has had some bad luck, wrecking at Martinsville, Texas; had pit problems several times, even fired his whole crew during a race.

The big question right now, with 13 races to go before the chase, is when are these four drivers going to break their winless streak, if at all. After 116 votes from my Facebook fan page, 62 people voted that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would go to Victory Lane before the others. 46 people said that Kasey Kahne would. Only one said Martin Truex Jr., and seven said Jeff Burton.

I picked Kasey Kahne. Why you may ask? It’s not because I’m a huge fan of his. It’s because there are so many tracks that are coming up that Kasey is really good at and has won at. Kasey has won at Pocono (where they are running this weekend), he’s won at Michigan (next week’s track), Sonoma, Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte. There are some tracks that Kasey’s not very good at, but he always makes it up by running good at another track.

Whether you’re a Kasey Kahne fan or a Kyle Busch fan, you hate seeing your driver in a winless slump. It happens and there’s nothing you can really do about it. If the driver is good enough, that winless steak will end and a winning streak will start.

Is 2011 the year for the first-time winners?

The two biggest races in the Sprint Cup series were won by drivers that had never won a Cup race before. Is 2011 the year for the first-time winners?

Trevor Bayne, in his second cup start, won the Daytona 500 in the famed Wood Brothers 21, who up until then, hadn’t won a race in 10 years. You could consider Trevor Bayne is a rookie sensation, but after that win, his season hasn’t been stellar. If you look at the Nationwide Series, Trevor was surging until a mystery illness sideline the surprise 500 winner for six weeks. He is in his first race since April right now as I write this.

Regan Smith, who would have won a race back in 2008 if it weren’t for the double-yellow line, won the Southern 500 at Darlington. The race was dominated by Red Bull Racing’s Kasey Kahne. Smith, who drives for Furniture Row Racing, the only Cup team that isn’t based in North Carolina, but in Denver, Colorado, was at the right place at the right time to win the race.

If you even look at the Nationwide series, 2010 Nationwide Series Rookie of the year Ricky Stenhouse Jr., got his first win at Iowa.

If you look at all of these first time winners this year, there is something similar about them. It’s not the team the won for. It’s not the age of the drivers. It’s the driver who finished 2^nd to them. That guy? Carl Edwards. The Sprint Cup Series points leader.

On to what this blog is really about. Who will be the nest winner in the Cup series? Instead of doing the way I usually do to ask questions, I used one of the newest things on Facebook. I asked a question. I only had three options. David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose, and AJ Allmendinger. The results were tremendous. After 78 answers, the results were in. With a whopping 48 votes, David Ragan is pretty much everyone’s picks to be the next first-time winner.

A regular in the Cup series since 2007, David Ragan has had a roller coaster of a career. His sophomore season was a stellar one, finishing 13^th in points, being the high non-chaser in the final points. The next two seasons, however, weren’t as good. 2011 is a make-or-break year for the Unadilla Georgia native. This year, David earned his first career pole at Texas, a race that his teammate won, and earned his best career finish of second last week at Charlotte. Everyone has been saying ‘When will David Ragan break into Victory Lane?’ Here’s what some people said on why they picked David Ragan:

Cindy Huffaker

David Ragan...so much better this year....he's shown he's more than ready to be in VL

Steph Piech David has more experience in a stock car and I feel that he's got a stronger team and better equipment!

Gina Marie Navarra well since Roush Fenway is doing really good right now, why not Ragan? :)

Devin Bachman ragan mis i am picking ford kiss ass there and he win there would be sweet for jack there rouch racings rules there

Matt Kacar I chose Ragan because he has been fast all year long and he’s coming close to winning finishing second in last night race

Coming in second with 18 votes, Australian Marcos Ambrose has had his ups and downs as well. His first full season in the cup series was 2009. He’s been very competitive since then. In 2009, Marcos Ambrose finished 3^rd at Sonoma and 2^nd at Watkins Glen, road courses which are considered his best track. In 2010, after Kasey Kahne announced his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, Marcos was named the driver for the 9 car. In the 2011, Marcos has been a factor at the end of most, if not all, of the races this season. Here’s what some people said about Ambrose:

Ashley Marie Shafer I picked Marcos Ambrose cuz I think he is doing great and I see him getting his 1st win when they go to a road course!! =) (If he doesn't screw up again like last year)
Melissa Goodwin I think that he is going to win this year at Sonoma

Eric Carlson I think if Hamlin doesn't win at Infineon, then it will be Marcos Ambrose that wins there. As long as he doesn't do what he did last year when he shut the engine off and could not get it restarted because he was on the hill and Jimmie Johnson passed him and won

The last driver in the poll was AJ Allmendinger with 12 votes. Starting his career with a generally new team, Red Bull Racing, Allmendinger’s start to his career wasn’t a very good one. After being dropped by Red Bull Racing, Allmendinger bounced around race teams until being picked up by Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2010 season. Now in 2011, AJ, like his teammate, has been running very well. (I would attach things people said about Allmendinger, but no one posted anything)

Will the poll hold true? Will David Ragan be the next first-time winner? Where will he get his first win? Only time will tell if anyone or all of these drivers get their first win in the Cup Series.

Talladega Nights: the two-car draft

With a new racing surface down in Florida, Daytona has now become just like Talladega. What we saw in February at Daytona, we saw in April at Talladega. Gone are the 30-pack cars fighting for the win, in it’s place is the Two-car draft. It’s new. It’s different. It’s…something we fans and the drivers haven’t seen before. Sure, it’s still bump-drafting 101, but it’s different than that. Instead of bump drafting in the straight-aways, the drivers bump-draft all around the track. That could get dangerous. Bump drafting leads to wrecks, spins, flips, cars that go airborne, etc… Anything that can go wrong, could go wrong. You never quite now what to expect when you go plate-racing. When the Cup series goes to Daytona and Talladega, you’re always wondering what’s going to happen. Are we going to see wreck fests? Are we going to see a 30 car train for 50 laps? You never know what’s going to happen. In February, we saw a surprise winner in Trevor Bayne. Two weeks ago, we saw the closest finish in NASCAR history, tying the record holder from 2003 at Darlington Raceway, Ricky Craven beating out Kurt Busch by .002 of a second. This time is was Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson beating Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer.

Like I always do, I take a subject that has everyone talking through out the whole weekend and I take it to the internet. This time, I asked what people thought about the two-car draft and here’s what some said:

Matt_Kacar I am not a fan of the Noah's Ark racing but it does produce great finishes at plate tracks

Speedys_Sweet82 the two-car draft is a great way for drivers to interact with non-teammates, yet it also can be dangerous if the drivers who are "dancing" don’t know what their partner is doing. Gotta be perfectly smooth in order to win or get a top 10 :)

jester_3 I like it, just sick of yellow line rules.

britt4875: hmm I don't really know what I think of them.. but I do think it gives great endings and restarts

denver2u ...It's makes for some really good finishes, but if you’re stuck with a slow car or no car to partner with ur screwed. Not good Or you're buddy gets into wreck..( KK n BV)..then who do u buddy up with? Just not my style of racing, but we are stuck

Joe Fisher I like it gonna take a while to get used to

Theresa Robinson LOVE IT!!

Evan Snider I like it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire race. You never know what's going to happen and it creates some great finishes.

Tyler Gray MUCH better than watching them run in a 30 car train around the top for half the race. I hope it will catch on, I think a lot of people are just having a tough time getting use to the change because you can't argue with the stats like lead c...hanges, passes, and of course the photo finishes that have occurred in almost every race since they started the 2 car drafting. As for the radio debate, I don't have any problems with it. It's pretty much necessary when you race like that and it can create some entertaining sound bites.

Scott Youngers I did not get to watch the race today. But I did get to listen to it on Sirius NASCAR Radio. I like the 2 car draft. I also liked the ability to listen in to the radio communications and hear the talking. I agree with Tyler that it is necessary for safety reasons.

11in11Embracer I'm still confused if I like it or not. I mean, we had 8 people fighting for the win at Dega, and a first time sprint cup winner and Daytona 500 champion, Trevor Bayne. In other ways though, I kinda miss the big packs. I miss seeing someone bump their way through the middle and get the win. So I will probably be undecided for a while.

For the drivers, it’s like riding a roller coaster for how many odd laps, not knowing when it will end. For some, it ends sooner than they think. For some, it takes them for a wild ride through the grass, through the air, anywhere. And for the those lucky few that make it through without any trouble, it’s very rewarding. When you go plate racing, expect the unexpected, because you never know which track is going to show up on race day.

History in the making: Jimmie Johnson

I want everyone to close their eyes and try to imagine the following scenario. You are in a tight three-way battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with two very good drivers. You closed on the points leader at Phoenix and now you had your sights on that championship everyone thought wasn’t yours. You raced a great race at Homestead-Miami, keeping your two competitors behind you most of the race. You cross the finish line 2^nd in the race and first in the point standings, being the only driver to the win the championship after being second when the race started. You just made history by winning a fifth consecutive championship. Now open your eyes. Who did you see in the scenario? You? Or the driver who actually did this last season? Yes, I’m talking about the driver of the number 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson; 5-time; Superman; what ever you want to call him. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can say they won 5 consecutive championships. Love him or hate him, you can not deny that Jimmie Johnson has to be one of the greatest drivers of our generation.

Though missing Rookie of the Year honors in 2002, Jimmie Johnson didn’t let that slow him down. He is the only driver to qualify every year for the Chase. In 2006, his 5^th season in the Cup series, Jimmie Johnson captured his first Cup championship, beating Matt Kenseth. In 2007, Jimmie Johnson outran his teammate and owner of his car*, Jeff Gordon for his second championship. In 2008, Jimmie matched the only driver to win 3 consecutive championships, Cale Yarbrough, by beating Carl Edwards, despite Carl winning the season finale race at Homestead. At this point, was anyone thinking he could do it again in 2009? I sure didn’t. But, in 2009, Jimmie Johnson won a record 4^th consecutive championship, beating his teammate Mark Martin. All of these championships, Jimmie was leading the points going into the final race. The 2010 season was totally different for Jimmie. Jimmie didn’t run away with the Chase. Though he did lead the points standings during the chase, Denny Hamlin led most of the Chase. After a miscue with Mike Ford at Phoenix and an early spin at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson just drove right through that door Denny Hamlin left wide open.

What makes Jimmie Johnson, well, Jimmie Johnson? Is it running for Hendrick Motorsports? Is it the 5 championship trophies? Is it his willingness to contend for the win every weekend? Between 2002 and 2011, Johnson has recorded 53 wins, 137 top-fives 206 top-tens, and 25 pole positions. That is quite a feat considering he’s only had 333 starts in the Cup series. Jimmie has spent about 62% in the top ten, 41% in the top 5, and 15% in Victory Lane. Get this. In 333 starts, Jimmie Johnson’s average FINISH is 11.7. He finished 11^th yesterday at Martinsville. He has NEVER been any lower than 6^th in the final point standings since 2002.

Every so often, I take a question to twitter to see what people think. Most of the time it’s about something that happened in the race. This time, it’s to talk about the 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson. I asked what everybody thought of him. 99% of responses from twitter and my Facebook fan page were…positive. You’d think more people, when given the chance, would say bad things. I was surprised that people didn’t take that chance. Here’s what some people said about the 5-time champ.

@jennyslaunwhite: Jimmie is a cool driver and he wins the clean way and seems good with his fans

@speeds_promdate: he’s a great driver. Has a ton of ability Always walks away with a positive attitude. No matter how bad a finish, he’s up beat

@denver2u: I think JJ is a very polite, down to earth kinda guy, who just happens to win! He’s been really cool to have on twitter and he’s funny, has a good attitude, is having fun an diaper duty. Oh yeah, he’s got talent as a driver. I like JJ

@britt4875: I guess I like him more of a person outside of racing (there was more to this, but I don’t think I should put it in)

11in11Embracer: I think he’s a good guy. I think he deserves the credit for winning 5 in a row, even though he beat [Denny] (again, there was more to this, but I only got a portion)

@nascarchick_3: he’s a good driver, just after winning 5 championships, I feel it’s time for someone else to win one

@KK_KFfan4: I think Jimmie is a great driver and he is funny. Not Vanilla

@Nascartalk10: Jimmie is an awesome guy, just wish he would let someone else have a chance at the cup trophy for once

From not being ‘vanilla’ to being an awesome guy, Jimmie Johnson is that kind of guy that people like as a person, not as a driver. Who can blame them, really? The guy is ‘Winning’ A LOT! 5 championships, 53 wins in 333 starts (and counting, I might add). He’s at the top of the sport! For the past few weeks, Jimmie Johnson started using twitter and has become quite popular (not as popular as Danica Patrick or the Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne). Jimmie does what quite a few celebrities don’t do on twitter. He interacts with his fans. He tweets his fan when they tweet him. I actually have had the 5-time champ tweet me this past week, nothing too big. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/JimmieJohnson. I’m sure if you just tweet him, you could get a tweet back.

*The first car Jimmie Johnson ever drove in the Cup series was an old Jeff Gordon car. Ever since then, Jeff Gordon has been listed as the owner of Jimmie Johnson's car.

Taking Dale Earnhardt to discussion for the next blog! Stay tuned!

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