Motor Sports Weekly News

By: Drew Hierwarter

It almost didn’t matter what form of racing is your favorite, there was something for you to watch this past weekend.  Oval track, road course, and straight line racers were all in action and it was all on the tube.  

In a nutshell, Clint Boyer won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol. Roger Penske’s Porsche won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Romain Dumas, Timo Bernard, and Emmanuel Collard sharing the driving duties. Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 season opener in Australia. Jeff Burton won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race back at Bristol. And finally, Tony Schumacher, Tony Pedregon, and Jeg Coughlin all scored victories in NHRA competition in Gainesville, Florida. 

The NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol was a rain shortened affair and was ended at 171 laps with Clint Boyer in the lead.  Officials tried for several hours to get the track dry but persistent showers won the day and Boyer was declared the winner because the race had gone past half way.  

Roger Penske’s Porsche RS Spyder ended an eight year Audi winning streak and was the first of the German make to reach victory lane in Sebring since 1988.  Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz teamed up to bring their Acura ARX-01B home second overall, and Butch Leitzinger shared a Dyson Racing Porsche RS Spyder with Marino Franchitti, and Andy Lally, finishing third.

I’m sure that DVR’s got a workout Saturday night as the traditional Formula 1 season opener in Australia was seen at midnight Saturday night on the US East Coast.  Those who did record it saw Lewis Hamilton take the victory as Ferraris had a dismal day. Three different teams made the podium, only seven cars finished the race, and none of them were painted Ferrari Red. McLaren’s Hamilton was joined on the podium by Nick Heidfeld in second, and Nico Rosberg in third.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup race produced another surprise finish so typical of Bristol Motor Speedway, with Jeff Burton getting the win. Tony Stewart dominated the race, leading more laps than anyone, and he looked to have the car to beat until he was wrecked with only two laps to go.  Kevin Harvick tried to dive under Stewart going into the turn when his car broke lose slightly. The resulting contact sent the 20 car spinning into the wall and out of contention. On the resulting green-white-checkered restart, leader Denny Hamlin’s car faltered and he was passed by Burton, Harvick, and Clint Boyer. This was the first 1-2-3 finish for Richard Childress Racing and the first win for Burton since Texas of last year.

Finally, in NHRA drag racing, it was good to be the reigning champion as all of 2007’s titlists won their respective divisions on Sunday in Gainesville Florida. Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel, Tony Pedregon in Funny Cars, and Jeg Coughlin in Pro Stock, all found victory lane.