Underdogs?

Not really. But popular Australian Mark Webber did take his first race in Germany...and despite all the action off the track, the action on the track was still pretty good.

Toronto was also pretty exciting. Road courses have always interested me more than speedways. Dario Franchitti won, but it was the normal Toronto...mess, a race of attrition with fortunes being reversed left, right and center.

Talking of speedways, Martin took Chicagoland in good style, despite a lot of contact.

(Scott Speed....learn to drive a stock car before your next race. Please.)

Formula...whatever.

I don't think the German Grand Prix has ever been so clouded.

First, we have a Jewish group demanding Ecclestone's resignation. He retaliates by blaming the recession on the Jews. Way to go, Bernie.

And the FOTA is walking out of talks with the FIA.

But, the race has to go on. It will go on on Sunday, in the country that produces way more than its fair share of good Formula One drivers.

So, I'm more interested in NASCAR, which hits Chicago this week...fun in the windy city. This year's Cup is proving pretty interesting all over.

Indy heads even further north. Toronto, anyone? And maybe we'll have even more excitement. Underdogs for the win.

At a personal level, I'm intrigued by plans for a new Indy race to take place in the environs of Baltimore's Inner Harbor...supposedly intended as an answer to Long Beach for east coast people who can't afford to travel to California. If all goes well, the first running of this race could be as soon as 2011.

Sweet victory...

...for Dale Coyne, who was handed his first win by Justin Wilson on a picture perfect day at Watkins Glen.

He's only been an owner for twenty-five years. Is that a record? I have to think it might be.

Less perfect...Tony Stewart winning the Daytona NASCAR race after taking out Kyle Busch. Or was it Busch's fault? It was really quite hard to tell. Probably, we should just put it down to aggressive driving.

Jeremy Mayfield did not start, despite having won an injunction against his suspension...apparently, he couldn't get the car ready in time.

(Really, Jeremy, do you *really* expect us to believe a meth false positive came from cold meds?)

Oh, and Paul Tracy, at least, only took *himself* out at Watkins Glen. Sigh.

Logano wins maiden victory

Yes. I've been on vacation. And although I did get to watch the race, I was still tired and recovering. Thus, I have very little to say.

I will, however, congratulate Joey Logano on his victory at Loudoun. Always nice to see somebody break his maiden, isn't it.

And it was a good race, what I wasn't half asleep for.

Well...

First an oops. This weekend's NASCAR race was, of course, Sonoma. I blame NASCAR...their site was, for some reason, a little confusing.

Said race...and NASCAR road courses are always fun...was won in a green white checkered (surprise) by Kasey Kahne. It was a pretty exciting race.

Indy and F1 to come after I've actually seen them.

This weekend...

Whatever happens, this weekend's British Grand Prix will be the last run at Silverstone for at least the near future. Starting in 2010, the Formula One circus will...assuming there still is one...be moving to the much more accessible location of Castle Donington, in the East Midlands. (A track currently best known for hosting the British Motorcycle Grand Prix). This is not...good...for Silverstone, but is definitely better for the fans, as the track is practically walking distance from an airport. As in, end of runway on one side of street, track entrance on the other.

NASCAR will be celebrating the summer solstice at Sonoma. At least in this series there's some question about who will win the race.

And IndyCAR will be in corn country, Iowa. It's even being sponsored by corn.

And...

...the FOTA tries for compromise. It may work. The FIA has agreed to relax the budget cap a little. (Remember, the teams are trying to look out for their people here...the original budget cap would have cost a lot of people their jobs), but the FOTA is now asking for an independent accountant to oversee it.

Fair enough, but can you really see the Emperors giving up any power? We'll see...