hugging the curves

IndyCar: Kentucky Indy 300 is Key Race in IRL Points Chase

September 2nd, 2010 admin

The IRL Kentucky 300 at the Kentucky Speedway this coming Saturday will feature a classic points battle between road race expert Will Power and defending IRL champ Dario Franchitti. Although Power has not performed well on the ovals, he did win the Mario Andretti Trophy. The award is given to the leader in points of all the IRL road races.

Dario Franchitti is a solid road racer but he will have the edge on Will Power for the next three races, starting with the race at Kentucky. The Kentucky Speedway is a one and a half mile cookie cutter track that Franchitti has won on in the past. Racing on the mile and a half tracks has proved to be nerve racking in recent races.

The Indy cars tend to race on the cookie cutter tracks much like NASCAR restrictor plate races. They race inches apart, nose to tail for most of the race. If any driver flinches, it could lead to a massive pile up at high speed. The racing is tension filled and passing is not easy.

The best qualifying cars have the best edge in a race at Kentucky Speedway. This will give an edge to Penske Racing who has won two races at Kentucky while Ganassi Racing holds one trophy at the speedway. Both Power and Franchitti have teammates that have won recently on the Kentucky track. Ryan Briscoe, Power’s teammate and last years winner, always puts his best foot forward for Penske Racing on these type tracks. Franchitti’s Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon also won the Kentucky race in 2008.

Dario Franchitti

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Indy Car Race at Infineon Will Be Power’s Last Chance on Road Course

August 18th, 2010 admin

The Indy Racing League travels to the beautiful Sonoma Valley to race on the classic Infineon Raceway, in Northern California. The picturesque, quiet countryside will be invading by the sound of whirring Honda engines this weekend. Will Power is the heavy favorite in online betting to win on the last road course of the 2010 IRL season.

Power has dominated on the road courses this season and has already wrapped up the first Mario Andretti Award this season. The new award will be given to the driver that scores the most points on road race courses throughout the IRL season.

Dario Franchitti is still on Power’s tail for the overall IRL points title and after this last road race, he could begin making up ground on Power. Franchitti is no slouch when it comes to Infineon. Franchitti performs well on this track and he will not lie down for Will Power in this last road race.

Other drivers to watch for in the Indy Racing League at Infineon will be Ryan Briscoe and a driver that has fallen on hard times of late, Ryan Hunter-Reay. Briscoe, driving for Penske, has run well at this track and Hunter-Reay is just that good on a road course.

Don’t forget about Helio Castroneves. Helio is just about over his anger over losing the Edmonton Grand Prix and this would be a great bounce back spot for him to get back into Roger Penske’s good graces. The race boils down to a car owner battle between Penske and Chip Ganassi if Scott Dixon is thrown in for good measure. Strap into the Lazy Boy and hold on. This will be a race to remember.

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Kasey Kahne is top qualifier in Michigan

August 14th, 2010 admin

For Kasey Kahne the present doesn’t look too bad for him and his future has been settled. Kahne turned in an impressive performance for his current team Friday, with a lap of 187.183 mph to win the pole position for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, after finally finding out where he’ll be driving next season.

Kahne does know it’s nice to know he’ll be driving for Red Bull Racing next season, although he isn’t sure whether facing an unsettled future affected his driving in recent weeks.

Kahne said, “I don’t know how much that’s been on my mind. It’s hard to say. I feel like I’m focused pretty good each week and really trying to do the right thing. It’s something I definitely think about a lot. So I think that can help me some.”

Of the season, it is Kahne’s second pole and the 18th of his career. Jimmie Johnson qualified second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Kahne said, “I want to win races and I want to run competitively and make the Chase — things that I think you can do there. Red Bull has shown that they can do [it] in the past. I feel like we’ll be able to do it next year.”

Kahne is trying to finish the season strong for his current team, for now. He just wants to grow more in his experience in the future.

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Open-Wheel Racing: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Preview

August 6th, 2010 admin

The Honda Indy 200 being held at Mid-Ohio August 8th, could be a grudge match between Penske teammates. Helio Castroneves and Penske teammate, Will Power were involved in a sticky situation at the conclusion of the Edmonton IRL race.

Castroneves as the leader, was black flagged for what was judged by IRL officials as blocking. Viewing several camera angles revealed no blocking, although Will Power said upon emerging from his car after the race, that Castroneves did indeed block him. Castroneves was involved in several heated conversations after the race and subsequently apologized.

Will Power holds a 50 point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti but was unable to clinch the championship in Edmonton due to the issue with his teammate Castroneves. Power is the best road racer in the IRL currently and he will be the favorite to win the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Helio Castroneves always performs well under pressure and he will be under scrutiny from all sides for this race at Mid-Ohio. Castroneves should be there at the end of this race and if it comes down to himself and Power it will be worth the price of admission.

Don’t count out Dario Franchitti, last years IRL champion. Franchitti is a solid road racer and he will be gunning for wins with reckless abandon now that his title hopes are all but dashed.

Ryan Hunter-Reay has quickly become Andretti Autosport’s road race ace. Hunter-Reay is always in the mix at the end of a road race and it isn’t because of pit strategy. Hunter-Reay will make the top five of the Honda Indy 200 and he will also be the best Andretti Autosport driver.

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IndyCar Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen Preview

July 1st, 2010 admin

On July 4th, the IndyCar series will travel to Watkins Glen International in New York for the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen. Watkins Glen is 3.4 miles long and has a total of 11 turns. The high speeds mixed with the turns always proves to be a challenge for the drivers.

Last year, Justin Wilson took the win here after starting 2nd. He will be a threat to win again this year, as he has 4 top tens in 8 races so far. However, Scott Dixon hopes to foil Wilson’s plans for a repeat. Dixon comes into this race 2nd in points and has 4 top fives at Watkins Glen, including 3 wins.

Currently, Will Power is leading the IndyCar points. However, he has only raced at Watkins Glen once, and he only finished 15th. If he wants to keep his lead and hold off a hard-charging Scott Dixon, he is going to have to have a good race this weekend. He also has to deal with Dario Franchitti, who sits 3rd in points. While Franchitti has never won at Watkins Glen, he has two top tens in 4 races.

Anytime the IndyCar series shows up to a road course, the only thing guaranteed is excitement. There are so many good drivers in the IndyCar series that anyone can win on a certain day. Tune in on July 4th to see if Justin Wilson repeats at Watkins Glen or if someone else steps up and makes history instead.

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The Brickyard 400: NASCAR

June 28th, 2010 admin

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway gets ready for a great presentation of NASCAR, on July 25th, 2010, Sunday. Getting the most fans in the stands, for which this Sprint Cup race is known for. It is difficult to predict who will come home with the win, with so many drivers driving well and consistently this year .

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR betting star might just do it again as he took the win last year. In the spring cup, he has five wins so far this season, more than any other driver . He is currently third in points and he has finished in the top 10 eleven times out of the 18 starts. For winning this race, he’s the favored driver.

With a changing order every week, the race to the chase is a dramatic one. Some of the all top drivers just outside the cup chase are: Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, and Ryan Newman. The motivation that they need to lead their teams into victory lane might come from the fact that they being so close to the top 12.

While still living on a budget, see this race for yourself. Since, it is affordable and exciting, this race brings more fans to it than others. For as little as $40, tickets can be found. With convenient shuttles to take you straight from baggage check to the race gates, the speedway is located just minutes from the airport .

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Indycar Preview: Iowa Corn Indy 250

June 16th, 2010 admin

As the Iowa Corn Indy 250 approaches many people will have their eyes on Penske racing. The Indycar Race Series event will take place this Sunday at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
Track.
The Penske team has been a consistent force in the sport for years and has continued to have success this year. They have already won four races to this point in the season, bringing their total to 39 overall. The reason that so many eyes will be on the Penske team is because they have failed to win a race at the Iowa 250.

This race will need a lot more than just speed. There are 250 laps to complete and in order to win this race it is important to be in control and at a good speed for all of those laps. This is not the type of race that you can just sprint ahead right at the beginning if you hope to take the victory.

In the past the NASCAR odds favorite, Penske team has managed to put up good stretches, but could not bring the consistency that was necessary to win the race. They Penske team has actually been in the lead in many of these Iowa 250 races, but has failed to finish higher than 7th place in the last few years.

In other news, Graham Rahal will be racing with Dreyer and Reinbold for the race. This will be the first time that he has raced with the team. This marks the third team that he has raced with over his career to this point.

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Formula One race is scheduled in Austin, Texas

June 1st, 2010 admin

President and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, Bernie Ecclestone, recently announced that a Formula One race is scheduled in Austin, Texas, in 2012. Since the United States Grand Prix in 2007, it will be the first Formula One race in the United States.

F1 race, contrary to speculation that the online sports betting favorite game would be held in the northeast near New York, the race will take place in Austin. From 2010 until 2021, a deal is underway that will see Austin as a home for F1 races, if they can build a course specifically for F1 races. “For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event,” said Ecclestone.

Full Throttle Promotions organized the race. Hellmund has mentioned that to right the wrongs of past Grand Prix’s held in the United States and they see it as an opportunity to capitalize on growing interest into Formula One racing.

“We realize that over the last 30 years there have been one or two missing pieces from the previous editions of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix,” said Hellmund. “We have a tremendous opportunity at hand to do it right – to feature Austin as the backdrop and produce the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix as one of the great sporting events in the world.”

It remains to be seen who will end up designing it and where the track will be built, but Hermann Tilke & Associates will likely take the job. For the past decade, they have designed all the new F1 tracks around the world.

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Pocono Raceway – Gillette Fusion 500 – Preview

May 28th, 2010 admin

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will return to Pocono Raceway on June 6. During the season, this is the most unique track that NASCAR visits. The things that stand out the most are the track itself, the location, and the speed.

Shape is the most unique thing about Pocono. In NASCAR, it is the only track that is a triangle. At Pronco, Tony Stewart has it all figured out, as he won this race last year, giving him his 2nd win. Kevin Harvick, the current points leader and sportsbooks star, has never fared well here, managing only 5 top 10’s in 18 races.

In the Pocono Mountains, Pocono Raceway is nestled and there have been incidents here in the past involving wild animals. There is a heavy population of deer around the raceway and it is one of the biggest problems, as you never know when one is going to wonder onto the track.

At Pronco, the speeds are some of the fastest in all of NASCAR. Going down the straightaway, drivers can hit around 204 mph. This has been dangerous in the past, as racer Ken Schrader lost his brakes in 2003 and had a violent, fiery crash.

The races at Pocono are usually far from boring. The track not only provides special challenges, but the area surrounding it does as well. Tune in on June 6th to see if Kevin Harvick can finally master Pocono, or if someone else steps up to take the points lead.

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Samsung Mobile 500 Preview – NASCAR

April 7th, 2010 admin

For the NASCAR Sumsung Mobile 500 Sprint Cup race, Texas Motor Speedway will be the venue and it gets underway on April 19, 2010. Every spring some great racings are witnessed in the speedway located in Ft. Worth, TX. It’s a tricky 1.5 mile quad-oval, similar to the tracks in Charlotte and Atlanta. The speeds keep increasing each year even though it’s a relatively new track with construction beginning in 1995.

The only two-time winner of this race is Jeff Burton. Carl Edwards won in 2008, and Jeff Gordon won in 2009. This race is getting more and more important to the teams with the close standings in the Sprint Cup points. The top 7 drivers in the standings are separated by 125 points. Jimmie Johnson, the top bet across all betting lines, leads the points by 14 over Greg Biffle and 16 over Matt Kenseth, on the strength of his quick start to the season. Denny Hamlin who won last week’s race isn’t even in the top 12.

Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Biffle, and Dale Jr. who keeps running well each week should post strong challenges this week. Dale Jr. could be back in victory circle and one of these weeks the breaks will go his way.

For Carl Edwards, this is also a favorite track. On a side note, this week   the pre-race concert will be perfomed by Peter Framton. Should be fun.

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