Nov 16

Written by: The Commish
11/16/2010 4:52 PM 

More congrats to Team Gusto from Lake Elmo, MN on clinching the Super 7 Sweep F1 Series championship and the exclusive, one of only 10, Wind Tunnel 1/24 scale Dirt Modified Diecast from American Diecast Company.

So let's start with the F1 finale at Abu Dhabi.  Sebastian Vettel qualified on pole and led the most laps to win both the race and the F1 driving championship, joined on the podium by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.  Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov finished in front of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber, the two drivers who started the race first and second in the point standings ahead of Vettel.  They couldn't hold off the now youngest F1 world champion in history for Red Bull, the team that also won its first manufacturer world championship.

Red Bull Racing started out as Stewart Grand Prix in 1997 but Sir Jackie sold the team to Ford in 1999, when it was re-branded as Jaguar Racing.  Red Bull bought the team in 2004, hired the sport's best designer in 2006 and went from Cosworth to Ferrari to Renault power in winning what should be the first of more than one constructor's titles -- as long as they keep Newey.

Carl Edwards won both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Phoenix International Raceway to hopefully give Ford some big mo for Homestead and then the start of next year's season.  

On Sunday, Carl beat Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Greg Biffle with Jimmie Johnson a fortunate fifth in front of Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray.  Jeff Gordon was 11th in front of Denny Hamlin with Kyle Busch, Dale Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo filling out the FMFL top 16.

Edwards dominated the race from pole, Johnson stretched his fuel mileage to finish seven spots in front of Hamlin -- who had to pit from second with 12 to go for a big splash 'n go -- and how 'bout an attaboy for Jamie McMurray for his top 10 finish after smacking the wall hard early and going lap down.

Saturday's Nationwide race was also a Carl Edwards benefit as the No. 60 Ford driver led more than three quarters of the race in beating Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson.  Aric Almirola, Colin Braun, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Steve Wallace were sixth through 10th with Kyle Busch 16th after losing a lap due to a flat tire early.

Cole Whitt, a 19-year old NASCAR K&N Pro East hot shot, finished 15th in a Red Bull Toyota in his Nationwide Series debut.  Pretty good.

Clint Bowyer drove Kevin Harvick's No. 2 Chevy to a win over Kyle Busch in the truck race on Friday with Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton third and fourth ahead of Aric Almirola, Mike Skinner, polesitter Austin Dillon, David Starr, Justin Lofton and Bobby Hamilton Jr..  Todd Bodine was 12th to clinch his second series championship and Ron Hornaday DNF'd after getting pushed into the wall by an "I got it, I got it, I got it ... I don't got it" moment from Dillon.

That cost a lot of us some positions in our private leagues.  Rats.

This week will be the last weekend of the 2010 Wind Tunnel Super 7 Sweep and after Sunday we'll know who the NASCAR Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series Champions are plus the top 10 in the Charge to the Championship segment -- including the Fanatec Rennsport Cockpit and iracing.com membership!

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