Blogginisracin

F1's Red Bull team now has full control of Toro Rosso

Red Bull gained full ownership of Toro Rosso on Tuesday after buying Berger Motorsport's stake in the Formula One team. Red Bull, led by Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, acquired the 50 percent stake controlled by Gerhard Berger in a deal still pending approval by regulatory authorities. Toro Rosso, long seen as a development team, outperformed Red Bull last year. Torro Rosso's Sebastien Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix to become the youngest F1 champion. At the end of the season, the 21-year-old German driver swapped teams to ride for Red Bull next year.

-- The Associated Press

Formula One may soon determine champion in new way

Bernie Ecclestone is unhappy with the way the Formula One drivers' title was settled, and he says awarding gold medals to race winners is a way to create more drama.
The suggestion by the Formula One boss comes after Lewis Hamilton clinched this year's title by finishing fifth at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Ecclestone said Wednesday he does not like the idea that “someone can win the world championship without trying to win the race.”
Under the proposed system, which Ecclestone said should be approved by the sport's governing body next month, the driver with the most gold medals during a season would win the title. In that format, Felipe Massa would have won the title this year because he beat Hamilton 6-5 in race wins.
“It's going to happen,” Ecclestone said. “All the teams are happy. The reason this happens is that I get fed up with people talking about no overtaking.”
In the current system, the winner of each Grand Prix race earns 10 points in the championship standings, with second place worth eight points and third place worth six. Each of the top eight drivers in every race earns points.
Ecclestone was asked if it didn't seem unfair under his system that someone could finish second in every race during the season and lose the title to a rival who got lucky and won a single GP.
“You'll have to try harder next year,” he said.
Read more here.

-- The Associated Press

Benson, Hornaday battled to the very end

Looking back at the 2008 season ...
While fans and media alike bemoaned the anti-climatic end to the Sprint Cup Series, the Craftsman Truck Series provided plenty of suspense and good racing. And the title wasn’t determined until the checkers flew on the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Johnny Benson, above, just ahead of defending champ Ron Hornaday Jr. on the track. That on-track edge gave Benson enough cushion to win by a mere seven points over Hornaday in the series’ second-closest points battle in its 14-year history. Benson (five wins, three poles, 14 top-five finishes) and Hornaday (six wins, five poles, 14 top-five finishes) were the class of the field all season. Benson collected four of his wins in a five-race span during the summer. Hornaday swept the Truck races at Texas Motor Speedway, his first two career victories at the track. The championship was Benson’s first in Trucks and helped earn Toyota its third consecutive manufacturer’s championship in the series. He joins Greg Biffle as the only drivers to win Truck and Nationwide titles. And while Benson was celebrating his first CTS championship, his owner, Bill Davis, was cherishing his first NASCAR title. The season had a fantastic finish, but it also featured several firsts, a new member in the ownership family, and rookie of the year with Texas ties. Four drivers earned their first series wins — Matt Crafton, Ryan Newman and rookies Donny Lia and Scott Speed. Lia ended the season driving for the newest and perhaps most famous owner — New England Patriot’s receiver Randy Moss. And the series rookie of the year was young Ovalo native Colin Braun, whose previous racing experience came in karts and sports cars.

Looking ahead to next year ...
For NASCAR’s Truck Series, 2009 likely will be a mixed bag. Gone is long-time series title sponsor Craftsman and arriving is new backer, Camping World. Gone from Bill Davis Racing is champ Johnny Benson, who announced late in the season that he wouldn’t be staying with the team even if he won the title. Rumors have him moving to Red Horse Racing to be teammates with Texan David Starr. Gone is long-time team Bobby Hamilton Racing, which announced this week it is ceasing operations. Gone also is the financial backing of manufacturers Dodge and Ford. The economy has affected the Truck Series in the same way it has stifled all of racing. Many teams are laying off employees and several series veterans — Dennis Setzer (above), Chad McCumbee and Todd Bodine — are or may be looking for rides. On several occasions late in the season, truck races didn’t have a full field (36 trucks), and that trend will likely continue. But despite the hardships, the series still produces some of the best racing to watch in person and on TV. Speed Channel, which broadcast all but two Truck races in 2008, saw 19 of it 22 races have increases in viewership over 2007, making it the highest-rated Truck Series season ever on the motorsports channel.

-- Michele Vincze
Photos: Getty Images (top), Star-Telegram/Gregg Ellman (bottom)

Bobby Hamilton Racing to cease operations

Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia announced this week that it will cease operations. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, which was founded by the late Bobby Hamilton in 1998, started 2008 as a two-truck team but reduced to one by the end of the year, lost its sponsorship from Dodge at the end of the season. Read more here.

-- Michele Vincze

Dixon a sure thing in '08, but economy may hamper IndyCar in '09

Looking back at the 2008 season ...
Scott Dixon, right, started out the 2008 IndyCar season with a pole and a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and it only got better from there. After losing the 2007 title to Dario Franchitti on the final lap of the final race, Dixon dominated this year with a series-high six victories, seven poles and 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts. He won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and earned his second IndyCar title, edging Helio Castroneves by 17 points. But 2008 wasn’t only about Dixon. The season saw the demise of the Champ Car World Series, which forced most of its teams to migrate to IndyCar and finally unified the American open-wheel world. It didn’t take long for one of the former Champ Car drivers to shine when young Graham Rahal won in his first start in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) on April 6. Another series first came in the next race when Danica Patrick earned her first IndyCar win at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. And Castroneves made news when he finished second seven times before earning his first win of 2008 at Infineon Raceway in August. 

Looking ahead to next year ...
Helio Castroneves, right, will likely be one of the biggest storylines in 2009, but not because of his one-track talents. Castroneves is scheduled to go to trial in March as he faces federal tax evasion charges. His status with Team Penske is uncertain. Also uncertain is the racing careers of several drivers who raced full time in 2008. Justin Wilson (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing), Ryan Hunter-Reay (Rahal Letterman Racing), Will Power (KV Racing Technology) and Oriol Servia (KV Racing Technology) are all “looking” for rides because their teams have not yet secured sponsorship for their cars. Others searching for a place in the series are veterans Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Tomas Scheckter and Darren Manning. If, or when, these talented drivers find a ride, they’ll be challenged by a slightly different IndyCar schedule. The series starts the year on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and ends on the 1.5-mile oval in Homestead, Fla. The schedule is well-balanced with eight road/street courses and 10 ovals. The series will run united for the first time in the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 19 and return to Japan at the end of the season. Thirteen races will be broadcast on Versus, including the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5. The other races will air on ABC.

-- Michele Vincze
Photos: Star-Telegram (top), The Associated Press (bottom)

Warning: Rookies on track

Looking back at the 2008 season ...
You might have missed it, but NASCAR did crown some rookies of the year in 2008. One actually has ties to Texas. Regan Smith, right, beat out former IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr. by seven points for the Sprint Cup honor. Landon Cassill, driving a partial schedule for JR Motorsports, won the ROY in the Nationwide Series, beating out Bryan Clauson by eight points. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ovalo native Colin Braun became the sixth Roush Fenway Racing driver to win ROY honors in the series. Hornish came up short in his bid, but he shouldn’t hang his head. He was the only former open-wheel star to survive his rookie campaign in Sprint Cup. He said he’s committed to staying in NASCAR, despite rumors that had him returning to IndyCar. Lack of sponsorship and an ankle injury doomed IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti’s attempt at NASCAR, and former Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier was fired at Gillett Evernham Motorsports after a spat with his crew chief at the fall Talladega event. Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve saw his Cup venture cut short after failing to qualify for the Daytona 500.

Looking ahead to next year ...
Winning Rookie of the Year doesn’t seem to come with any guarantees. At of the end of the 2008 season, Smith was the odd man out when Dale Earnhardt Inc. thinned its stable of cars after it merged with Chip Ganassi Racing. Cassill’s ride with JR Motorsports is in limbo because Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to find sponsorship for the No. 5 Chevy. Braun seems to be the only driver able to set solid goals for 2009. Mercifully, perhaps, the open-wheel trend seems to be coming to an end in Sprint Cup, with only former Formula One star Scott Speed, above, scheduled to attempt a full-time run in 2009. He’ll battle teenage phenom Joey Logano and possibly Chad McCumbee for the ROY honors. Should be a good scrap. At least better than 2008.

-- Michele Vincze
Photos: Getty Images

F1 driver Webber has surgery on broken leg

Formula One driver Mark Webber had surgery on his broken leg after being hit by a car during his charity multi-sports race Saturday.
“The surgery is complete, a pin inserted and the recovery begins,” Geoff Donohue, event director for the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“He'll be in hospital for at least three days, for sure under a week,” Donohue said. “I was speaking to him before the operation, and he was already thinking about his rehabilitation.”
Webber, who drives for F1's Red Bull team, was riding a bicycle along a road near historic Port Arthur in the southeast of the island state of Tasmania when he collided with a four-wheel drive vehicle, Tasmania Police Sgt. Jon Ford said.

-- The Associated Press

F1 driver Webber hurt in bike accident

Formula One driver Mark Webber broke bones in his arms and legs after being hit by a car during a charity multi-sport race, police said.
Webber, who drives for F1's Red Bull team, was cycling along a road near Port Arthur in the southeast part of the island state of Tasmania, Australia, when he and a four-wheel drive vehicle collided, Tasmania Police Sgt. Jon Ford said.
Ford said the Australian driver was competing in his own charity event, the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, a 175-mile challenge using mountain bikes, kayaks and trekking, when the accident happened.
“As a result of the collision, the rider, Mark Webber, suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries,” Ford said. “He was attended at the scene by paramedics attached to the event before being airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital.”
Ford said the event was being raced on open public roads and it was not known whether the stage along that road was cordoned off specifically for the racers.
The challenge, first staged in 2003, is scheduled to end Sunday in Hobart.
Red Bull has already begun its testing program ahead of the 2009 F1 season, but Saturday's accident is likely to have a major impact on Webber's preparation for the season, which begins in March.

-- The Associated Press