Win, Fail, and WTF?

by Tammy

Let's evaluate the racing weekend, shall we?

Formula 1: By all accounts, the U.S. Formula 1 race made a good showing this weekend. Consider: drivers seemed to like the track, fans packed the stands, and (gasp!) there was even a thrilling, on-track pass for the race win. (So the traffic in and out of the Circuit of the Americas was a drag ... we didn't experience that watching on television.) The results of this race even set up the last F1 race of the season as the championship decider. Bottom line: not just another boring F1 go-round. And in a good timezone for us to watch!
Score for F1 in the U.S. again? WIN

NASCAR: Jimmie was leading, Brad was mid-pack. One ahead in the Chase standings, then the other, then a tie. One hundred laps to go, and Jimmie stops for gas, guaranteeing he can get to the end with only one more stop. Brad doesn't stop, no one's sure he can save enough fuel to do a one-stop. Sixty-two laps to the end, Brad runs out of fuel, makes it to the pits, rejoins in 24th place (too low to secure the title). Fifty laps to go: horrors, Jimmie's crew misses a lug nut, he has to return to the pits, and he rejoins a lap down, 29th place. He seems out of it, but anything can happen in 49 laps, 48 laps....

And then something broke in the back of Jimmie's car, and they went to the garage. Day done. Season done.  Not the way anyone wanted to see them end. But as long as Brad can get his car around to the checkers (which he does), he's the champion. Everyone's happy for Roger Penske who wins (unbelievably) only his first NASCAR championship. Jimmie is classy in defeat in the media center, Brad is classy in the championship circle. Even Jeff "Mr. Retaliation" Gordon, who wins the race, is classy in the winner's circle.
Score for Penske: WIN
Score for Keselowski as Champ: WIN
Score for how Jimmie lost: FAIL

Hats: Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske reportedly swapped hats in the championship winner's circle when Hendrick (losing car owner) went to congratulate Penske (this apparently has history for the two men). And then there were the podium hats in Austin (seen on Hamilton, the race winner, to the right). Clever? Perhaps. But ... let's just say, once seen, can't ever be unseen.
Score for Hendrick/Penske hat swap: WIN
Score for one-of-a-kind Pirelli cowboy hats: WTF?

What do you all think? Do you agree? Do you want one of those cowboy hats?

Thrilling Qualifying

by Tammy

I was awake for the very end of Formula 1's qualifying sessions at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona (map below) Saturday morning (yes, it was 6:00 a.m.; no, you don't want to know), running on a treadmill in a hotel fitness center that, amazingly, carried SPEED Channel.

Mind you, I haven't watched much F1 this year. Of course, I haven't watched much of any racing this year, given that I'm scrambling to a deadline and have chained myself to my computer.

But there I was, looking for entertainment as I (slowly) pounded out a couple miles. And I was as shocked as anyone to encounter an F1 qualifying session that made my heart pound. Seriously, I couldn't have written a more thrilling qualifying script (unless Kate was in Lewis Hamilton's shoes and car). This is what qualifying is supposed to be.

The clock ticked down. Teams waited, some planning to skip the qualifying session because they didn't have enough tires. Others were playing strategy. Lewis Hamilton was the only driver with a time on the board, a 1:22:56, the same time (within 15/100 of a second) as he'd set in all three rounds of qualifying.

Then, with less than three minutes to go, Rosberg, Perez, Raikkonen, Grojean, Alonso, Maldonado go out. So does Hamilton. Most of them begin their flying laps with 30, 20, or 15 seconds left on the qualifying clock. This is the only lap that will count.

Home-country hero Fernando Alonso circulates, and the crowd screams, because his times are leading the pack. He crosses the line in first place.

Seconds later, Pastor Maldonado (right) in the Williams-Renault takes pole away from Alonso in the Ferrari. Wait, what? Williams?!?! Seconds after that, Hamilton crosses the line a half-second faster than Maldonado and 0.7 seconds faster than his previous best, taking pole for McLaren Mercedes. The announcers were giddy, my jaw was on the floor. When's the last time F1 was this much fun? Was this unpredictable?

Of course, this was only a prelude to more shockers the rest of the weekend: Hamilton being stripped of pole for not having enough fuel in the car, Williams winning its first race since 2004, and a massive fire breaking out in the Williams pits after the race was over. Crazy weekend.

Did you all watch? Or did you have eyeballs on the Lady in Black?