The racing weekend that was - Wk 46 - UPDATED

NHRA at Pomona, California:
What a final race to the NHRA 2014 season, with championships on the line and that of the Pro Stock category going down to the wire. To watch the race recap, click here.

In Top Fuel, Morgan Lucas took home his second victory this season and his 11th of his career by posting two of the top three quickest runs in category history. In the final round he bested newly crowned Top Fuel World Champion Tony Schumacher, who clinched a record eight championship at the end of qualifying on Saturday.

In Funny Car, a thriller showdown between Matt Hagan and 16 time world champion John Force, who were on opposite sides of the ladder, would go mano-a-mano all day long, Force would have an uphill battle though. First, in an uncharacteristic mistake his crew fired up the engine during a routine warm up without any engine oil. Then, Alexis DeJoria, who had run strong all day, tried to play the role of spoiler in the semis but ended up smoking the tires. And even though Force won that round, he did not set a backup record to earn him the necessary points to stay in contention for the championship, which went to Matt Hagan.

With the title lost, Force tried to win the race and deprive Hagan of the icing on the cake. And though Force seemed poised to win the finals, towards the finish he lost power leaving Hagan (pictured on the right) to blow by him and take the Wally. All in all, John Force put up a hell of a fight, as he usually does.

Worth notable mention, Tommy Johnson Jr. won a drag race by the closest margin of victory in Funny Car history, a mere .0001 second or 1 inch/ 2.5 cm.

In Pro Stock, the lady and gentlemen drivers of this category put up an epic battle on Sunday. The title contenders Erica Enders-Stevens and Jason Line, on separate sides of the ladder, kept going round after round. Though Line was mowing down the tree, Erica was running consistently in the 49's, which was faster than anyone else. One major hurdle for Line came when he had to face Dave Connolly, who's moving next year to Top Fuel. But Line managed to dispose of Connolly is commanding fashion. In a script ending that could not have been written better by Hollywood, Erica and Line would meet in the final round of the race. Line knew he had to cut a great light for Erica had the horsepower to beat him. What nobody foresaw was that both would red light. Unfortunately, Line moved first giving the win light (of the race) and with it the Pro Stock World Championship to Erica Enders-Stevens.

This marks the first time a woman has taken the Pro Stock championship.

Another notable mention, in the semi's between Erica and Jonathan Gray, both drivers had a reaction time of .000!!! Something that has never happened before, as far as I know. Incredible day of racing.


In Pro Stock bike, in what would become Adam Arana's last race as he will be joining the U.S. Coast Guard next year, his older brother maintained his families name in good standing. Hector Arana Jr. on his Buell outran newly crowned Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Andres Hines, to take home the Wally.

Andrew Hines clinched his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship, his first since 2006, after his first round win over Angie Smith. Hines won a total of 6 races on his Screamin' Eagle Vance and Hines Harley-Davidson. Of course, the H-D high brass were on hand to enjoy the moment.

The 2015 season begins Feb 5-7 at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.

Update:
Below a picture of the stats of the Pro Stock drag race between Enders-Stevens and J. Gray. Just mind blowing for both drivers to get the perfect light. Thanks to MVM Motorsports for sharing.

Of course, when your daughter breaks down the barrier what happened in the photograph is understandable. Erica's mom jumps into the arms of her husband. Note the margin of error for both drivers!! Jason Line was way soon but Erica was pretty damn close to a perfect light..

NASCAR at Homestead, Florida:
One can imagine with all the rule changes in Nascar that the season finale would be intense. The race at Homestead saw for the greater part of the 400 mile race, the four remaining championship contenders running close together. These were Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano. Unfortunately, the latter had some bad luck, first with a lug nut issue and later when his car slipped off the jack, leaving him outside of the running towards the end of the race.

As is often the case in Nascar racing, tire strategy played a critical role in deciding who would challenge for the lead at the white line. At what would be the final restart of the race, Hamlin opted not to come into the pits for tires (2 or 4). Newman came in and took only two tires, while Harvick took four tires which put him in twelfth position. However, now with fresh new rubber he was able to cut through the field like a knife through butter and crossed the line just half a second ahead of Newman. What a race to the finish line it was!

2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick

"It didn't pan out real well there to be honest with you," Harvick admitted. "But that was the call that won us the race. We were able to go so hard on the restarts. [Crew chief] Rodney Childers isn't scared to make a call - he does what is right, and right or wrong we had to believe in what he did and kept going with it."

The top five of the race:
1. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing
2. Ryan Newman, Richard Childres Racing
3. Brad Keselowski, Team Penske
4. Paul Menard, Richard childres Racing
5. Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi.....

Pole sitter Jeff Gordon finished in tenth after he decided to pit while running in second place after an accident brought out the yellow on lap 255.


More on the meaning of Erica's win on a later date.

Photo credit: Getty Images/kshb.com, NHRA, Mark J. Rebilas,

The racing weekend that was

In Formula One, at Sepang, Malaysia:

In only the second race of the season, the Formula One racing series is already engulfed in controversy.

Webber leading Vettel

Sebastian Vettel (RBR) who started from pole, fell back to second following the first round of pit stops, and trailed Mark Webber (RBR) until the late stages of the race, when he went mano-a-mano with his teammate Mark Webber. And even though team orders required Vettel to hold position, P2 that is, in a move that shows his total disregard for team orders he passed his teammate to take his 27th Grand Prix win, equaling three-time champion Jackie Stewart in the all-time list.

In a race which had many complaints about tire wear two teams stood out, and both had team orders passed out to its drivers. Interestingly enough, some listen better than others. For RBR instruction or code "multi21" means for its drivers to turn down their engines and hold station, which Vettel did not do.
As for the Mercedes, P4 driver Nico Rosberg tried in vain to get his team to let him pass his teammate Lewis Hamilton, driving in third place but at a much slower pace.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is that when you are a multiple world champion you don't have to follow rules.

Below I've posted an interview with RBR team principal.

And then, there is this story on Jalopnik, by Raphael Orlove, titled: An In-Depth Analysis of F1's Most Awkward/Amazing Podium. A must read for F1 enthusiasts. To view it click here.

Race results:

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull_Renault,

2. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault,

3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Mercedes,



Fastest lap: Sergio Perez, McLaren-Mercedes 1m 39.199s

Alonso drives with a damaged front wing

F1 Drivers' Championship (2 of 19):
1st. Sebastian Vettel 40 points, 2nd. Kimi Raikkonen 31 points, 3rd. Mark Webber 26 points, 4th. Lewis Hamilton 25 points, and in 5th. Felipe Massa 22 points.

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso explained that he was "very unlucky" to have to retire from the race, after contact with Sebastian Vettel on the first. The incident caused him to lose his front wing, when the Scuderia gambled on leaving him out instead of bringing him into the pits for a nose change.

In NASCAR, at Fontana, California:
For those of you who followed NASCAR during the past week, you know that what happened during the race could have been scripted in Hollywood, which is a stone's throw away from the track.

The intense rivalry between Joe Logano and Denny Hamlin which started in the previous race, two weekends ago, continued without missing a beat. The two cars were so evenly matched they were running close the entire race. On the final lap, it appeared as if Logano opted to settle scores rather than take the win, even telling reporters afterwards: "That's what he gets."

Below a short video on the final lap and the above mentioned race incident.

The eventual race winner, Kyle Busch, had won the Nationwide race the night before, and had started the Auto Club 400 race from fourth. Even so he lead the race for more than 125 laps (out of 200) and was running in third as the Logano-Hamlin duo fought it out for first. Eventually he got the sweep as he swept in front and won the race on the last lap. With this win, he breaks a 31-race winless streak stretching back to Richmond in April 2012.

Race results:
1. Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing), 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr, (Hendrick Motorsports), 3. Joey Logano (Penske Racing), 4. Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing), 5. Kurt Busch (Furniture Row Racing).

With Dale Earnhardt's second place finish he is now in the lead of the championship point standings, followed by Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Formula One, Crash.net, NASCAR, Wikipedia

Photo credit: Totally Cool Pic.com