Hamilton on Pole at Fuji. Alonso in second, followed by the big red team in third and fourth. Bet a dollar that we have a McCrash in the first turn? JB
Hamilton prepares to put a dagger in the heart of Alonso's title hopes -- he's on pole with Alonso in fourth in China. Strong chance of rain for tonight's race. The Rookie could clinch the championship tonight even if he comes in one position behind the Spaniard. JB
Cup Series For those that missed the sweet move by Gordon, you can see the video here. - Spydertrader
Gotta give the devil his due. That was a great drive by Gordon. He was lucky to get in front of the 20 on the last lap, but he waited and picked his spot, unlike Stewart who was all over the track. I thought Stewart made a mistake. He should have stuck on Gordon's bumper and settled for no worse than second and maybe have a chance for a slingshot digging for the line. Instead, he swung high but no way the Penske boys were going to help him. They both hate him. So he ended up 9th in a first or second place car. Tough deal. It would have been nice if his so-called teammate Hamlin would have gone with him instead of pushing Johnson, but Hamlin is all about himself only. At least next year Stweart will have Kyle Busch to work with. As screwed up as restrictor plate racing is, that was a great finish. I give credit to Jacque Villaneuve for staying out of trouble and proving the doubters wrong. Still, it was a bad decision to let him use Talledaga as his first race. Also, I was impressed with the drive by Montoya, who has made more than his share of blunders. He was in the lead draft and from what I could see, handled himself pretty well.
Class act. Jackie V qualifies sixth, but voluntarily elects to move to the back of the pack in an effort to avoid any mishaps which might alter the outcome of the championship. The guy sets ego aside and does the right thing, when clearly, the decision to allow his first start at Talladega occurred after cash exchanged hands. Nobody ever accused the NASCAR brass of having worked on rockets. That is for sure. Gotta' hand it to the #24 bunch as well. An uncharacteristic pit road penalty appears to ruin their day, when Lady Luck causes Bobby Labonte to pull a Ricky Bobby, and turn left - well before the straightaway hand ended. The penalty keeps Gordo 1.75 miles away from the wreck, and the subsequent caution, catches the #24 back up with the rest of the field. Also, I don't want to hear Johnson complain about Jeff jumping out in front of the #20. Gordo followed his teammate (unlike Hamlin) right up until Jeff had a shot to win it all. I can hear Jeff now ... "Tony is flying up the right side. I can A. Stay here and finish fifth. Or I can B. jump out in front of The Home Depot Chevy and win this thing right now with half a mile to go before the checkered flag. C'ya Jimmie!!" Easy decision. - Spydertrader