It seems like 2010 is the year for problems between racing teammates.
First it was the Jeff Gordon-Jimmie Johnson problem. Then Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Now the virus seems to have infected Formula 1.
If you didn't see the F1 race in Turkey last Sunday, Sebastian Vettel made an over-ambitious attempt to pass Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, not the easiest person to pass in the best of circumstances. The result was Vettel's retirement from the race and Webber's demotion from the lead to third place.
The McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button finished 1-2, but not until after trying to repeat the Red Bull scenario. Vettel and Webber subsequently met with the Red Bull team principals to discuss the matter, and the word is that they have made up and will play nice with each other in Canada next weekend. We shall see.
• A few weeks ago, I mentioned a plan to build a Formula 1 track in upstate New York. Well, it appears that F1 will in fact return to the USA in 2012, but in Austin, Texas. The buzz in Turkey last weekend was a recently announced agreement between F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone and entrepreneur and racer Tavo Hellmund, who claims to have financing, a track designer, and a timeline to get the track built in time for the 2012 season.
Supposedly the race would be scheduled either before or after the Canadian race in order to save the teams an extra trip across the Atlantic. While it would definitely be exciting to have F1 back in America, I'll believe it when it actually happens.
• NASCAR has a split program this week, with the Camping World trucks running last night in Texas, the Nationwide series at Nashville tonight, and the Sprint Cup series at Pocono tomorrow. Geoffrey Bodine, oldest of the Bodine brothers, is back in Sprint Cup, qualifying Tommy Baldwin's number 36 car for tomorrow's race. At 61, Bodine is three times as old as Joey Logano, and the only driver in the field who can call Mark Martin "kid". If you want to watch tomorrow's race, you'll have to turn to a new channel. TNT is taking over the Cup broadcasts from FOX as of this weekend. I sincerely hope that they don't repeat the interminable pre-race folderol that FOX inflicted on us. At least Digger is gone until next year.
• I had the opportunity to visit the Reno-Fernley road course last Saturday for the first test and tune session under the new track management. I met John Woods, the General Manager, and Operations Manager Dave Gengenbach. Both have extensive motorsports backgrounds. Woods is an ex-sports car and formula car racer, with a stint in the old Champ Car series as part of his resume. Gengenbach has worked with top race teams and was an instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of high performance driving. He took me on some hot laps around the track in his police interceptor Ford Victoria, sliding it around the corners with great enthusiasm. The new paving in several of the braking areas have improved the driving experience immensely. I spoke with Dan Haney, a local vintage racer who has two Datsun 510 racers done up in BRE livery. He was delighted that the track has reopened, as were most of the other racers who were on hand. Woods told me that they have a number of weekends scheduled. Motorcycle groups, SCCA time trials, and test and tunes are already on the calendar, and they are working with others like HMSA, the sanctioning body that has run the Reno Historic races for the past five years. The Hot August Nights drags, which have been one of the more popular events at the track over the past several years, are on the schedule for August 6, complete with a beer garden and other amenities.
• After a frightening crash and a disappointing finish in the East/West K&N Pro Series shootout in Iowa, Mackena Bell will be back in action Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Hopefully, she has used up all her bad luck for the season.