Roger Diez: Racing drivers keep testing the limits

Racing drivers are always exploring the limits; limit of adhesion, limit of pit road speed, limit of fuel supply, and limit of tire wear to name a few.

Apparently, a couple of NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors exceeded the limits of the “Boys (and girls) have at it” rule at Martinsville last Sunday. Matt Kenseth drew a two-race suspension and six-month probation for taking out leader Joey Logano as Logano was lapping him. Fans cheered the move, but NASCAR officials were not so congratulatory. In fairness, Kenseth was taken out of the Chase for the Championship when Logano knocked him out of the way in Kansas, and Joey’s teammate Brad Keselowski similarly roughed Kenseth up earlier in the Martinsville race. So it’s understandable Kenseth was feeling less than charitable toward the Penske duo. Not quite so understandable by either a three-man appeals board, nor by final appeal judge Bryan Moss, however. Kenseth’s two-race suspension was upheld by both, although Moss reduced his probation from six months to the remainder of the calendar year. Gibbs Racing Camping World Truck driver Erik Jones will take over the No. 20 Toyota for Texas and Phoenix, and Kenseth will be back in the car for the Homestead season finale. Danica Patrick had a similar dispute with David Gilliland, and when she escalated the exchange by attempting to take him out (unsuccessfully, I might add), she drew a $50,000 fine and loss of 25 driver points.

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While all this was going on, Jeff Gordon quietly went about the business of winning his 93rd Cup race and ninth win at Martinsville. He also punched his ticket to Homestead and a shot at his fifth title. So who will join him in the four-car battle for the championship in the season finale? Keselowski and Logano finished 32nd and 37th respectively at Martinsville, and Kurt Busch was 34th, so all three drivers are in an almost certain “must win” situation to advance. Points are important for all the others still in the Chase, because it’s entirely possible a non-Chase driver could win the next two rounds. Jimmie Johnson has five wins at Texas, the most of any active driver, while Carl Edwards has three victories there, more than any other Chase driver. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are tied for second place in the Chase standings, and Kevin Harvick is currently fourth in points. But Harvick has owned Phoenix in recent years and is heavily favored to win there again next week. The only certainty at this point is Gordon is going to have a shot at retiring as a five-time champion.

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One interesting side note about Kenseth’s suspension. He’s currently second among active drivers in consecutive starts with 571, second only to Gordon’s 797. With Gordon retiring, Kenseth would have assumed the top spot, but it now goes to Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, with 501 each.

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Although the 2015 Formula One championships, both the constructors’ and the drivers’ titles, were settled prior to last Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, the competition was no less fierce. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg needed a confidence boost, and he accomplished that with a vengeance, taking the hat trick of pole, win, and the fastest lap of the race. Newly crowned three-time champion Lewis Hamilton come home second, making it the 10th Mercedes 1-2 finish of the season. Rosberg also moved back into second place in the standings, as Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had an absolutely horrible race and didn’t finish. Rosberg’s win also puts an end to teammate Hamilton’s quest to tie Vettel’s record of 13 wins in a season. Hamilton has 10 wins so far, but there are just two races remaining on the F1 calendar for 2015, Brazil next weekend and the Abu Dhabi season finale two weeks later.

And the Haas F1 team, the first American team in Formula One in decades, has finalized its driver lineup. Ferrari test driver Esteban Gutierrez will join Roman Grosjean as the team’s second driver for 2016.