Im sorry, its not that Im not interested in motorsports, I just dont have the time to make meaningful posts at the moment, with new things cropping up on a daily basis.  Not to worry, Im still here!  -- Im just not at the computer 5 hours straight anymore so I cant dive into these posts like I used to.

As I said, its great to see all those entries back in the BTCC, its a huge field which means its a bright future for the BTCC

And as for NASCAR news, there really hasnt been a whole lot coming up that Ive noticed.  Looks like Montoya is good to go for some ARCA and Busch races the rest of the season

Heres the report from Dover which was a pretty entertaining race, lots of retirements too, been a long time since that was the case.

The race went green with Jeff Gordon taking lead and Ryan Newman following.  After Gordon led the opening lap for a crucial 5 points, Newman passed him and led the first handful of laps but faded deeper in the race as he always does.  Further back in the pack there was lots of action, which is common for Dover, and whats even more common for Dover are early accidents.  Travis Kvapil was the first victim when he spun off turn 4 and crashed hard into the wall.

Almost immediately following that caution came the 2nd most important crash of the race when Tony Stewart broke loose on his own in turn 4.  Kasey Kahne was running the high line and had nowhere to go as Stewart spun up the banking and into the path of Kahne, sending both into the wall, doing much damage to both of them.  Kahne, being a chaser, took a huge hit in the chase points and his race was basically done only 14 laps into 400 lap affair.  Stewart felt terrible about it because he took out a guy who could win the chase title.

After a 3rd caution in the first 30 laps, caused by debutant David Ragan, driving for Roush, who got tagged by Schrader sending him for a spin, the lead changed hands from Newman, who would never see the lead again.  Carl Edwards inherited the lead, with David Stremme taking it over briefly before Ragan crashed again, this time enough to end his debut.  Elliott Sadler took only 2 tires on the pitstop and took over the lead briefly before the dominant car of the race would finally show his face for the lead, that being Matt Kenseth.  Kenseth led for nearly 50 laps.

The 2nd of the chasers that would bite the dust in this race was Kyle Busch who wrecked last week.  This time engine failure and everyone accepts the fact his chase hopes are now gone

A storyline that would present itself in the middle and late portions of the race would be tire failures, most likely from the high line that some drivers were taking.  The concrete was apparently a bit more abrasive up there and could cut down tires a bit quicker.  Over the course of the race a few cars had to pit under green to change tires and a couple crashed because of it, including Robby Gordon on lap 100 and I believe Stanton Barrett at lap 206.  Earnhardt Jr was one of the big names who had to pit under green conditions.

It would mostly be Kenseth's lead for the first half of the race, approaching halfway.  After a debris caution around lap 168, the lead would be Reed Sorenson's due to pit strategy.  His car would be strong enough to stay in the top 5 and lead for quite a long time.  In fact he lead all green flag laps between the debris caution and Barrett's accident.

Biffle would arise to be the new leader, he loves Dover afterall.  He led a good portion of the race until green flag pitstops.  And many teams would take green flag pitstops, unknowningly shooting themselves in the foot.  Big name drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle all pitted under green before Scott Riggs cut a tire down and smacked the outside wall hard, causing caution, and trapping all those cars 2 laps down.  There would be 12 lead lap cars: Kenseth leading and behind him it was Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Jeff Gordon, Dave Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte, and Martin Truex Jr.

Kenseth led and led dominantly up to and including the last caution flag for debris.  Kenseth and Reed Sorenson opted not to pit and felt they could extend their fuel and tires to the end.  Jeff Burton came out pretty well after stops and looked very fast after the restart.  He dispatched Reed Sorenson and would eventually catch Kenseth on the lesser tires. 

Burton looked faster than Kenseth and started to pressure him well.  However disasterous news for Burton as he hears both his teammates almost simultaneously report engine problems.  Both Harvick and Bowyer looked to be slowing.  Harvick was forced to retire from the race due to engine failure, succeeding his 11th place spot, it would be his first DNF of the year.  Bowyer was able to drag the car home weak on power. 

But up front it was all about ex teammates and friends Burton vs Kenseth.  Kenseth did whatever he could to block but not Augusto Farfus-like blocking.  With 5 laps to go, Burton finally got the ground on Kenseth and he was able to pass him in turn 2 and clear him on the backstretch, now looking to claim his first win in 5 years.  Kenseth tried the high line to get the momentum on Burton and he looked like he finally was able to get a big charge on him when he had to let up due to the lapped car of Ken Schrader getting in the way.   This gave Burton all kinds of breathing room and it looked like he could cruise to victory

Indeed, when Kenseth ran out of fuel on the last lap (likewise Reed Sorenson), Burton was miles away from the new 2nd place man Carl Edwards (ironically the guy who replaced Burton at Roush).  Burton cruised to an incredibly popular win, and it was Matt Kenseth who was the first to congratulate him, as they both gave eachother a high-five on track.

Fin	St	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Pts/Bonus	Laps	Status	Winnings
1	19	#31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	185/5	400	Running	$230,370
2	6	#99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Office Depot	175/5	400	Running	$172,850
3	1	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	165/0	400	Running	$181,836
4	10	#2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Miller Lite	160/0	400	Running	$153,233
5	8	#16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard	160/5	400	Running	$123,825
6	33	#1	Martin Truex Jr. *	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker	150/0	400	Running	$123,283
7	26	#43	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	Cheerios/Betty Crocker	146/0	400	Running	$124,911
8	16	#07	Clint Bowyer *	Chevrolet	DIRECTV	142/0	400	Running	$90,625
9	23	#11	Denny Hamlin *	Chevrolet	FedEx Ground	138/0	400	Running	$80,875
10	3	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	DEWALT	144/10	399	Running	$136,816
11	7	#41	Reed Sorenson *	Dodge	Target	135/5	399	Running	$102,125
12	38	#22	Dave Blaney	Dodge	Caterpillar	127/0	399	Running	$96,983
13	18	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	124/0	399	Running	$119,861
14	9	#6	Mark Martin	Ford	AAA	121/0	399	Running	$87,075
15	34	#88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS	118/0	398	Running	$105,200
16	35	#19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	120/5	398	Running	$101,466
17	32	#26	Jamie McMurray	Ford	Crown Royal	112/0	398	Running	$114,300
18	20	#40	David Stremme *	Dodge	Coors Light	114/5	398	Running	$93,108
19	36	#21	Ken Schrader	Ford	Little Debbie	106/0	397	Running	$97,889
20	28	#66	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	Haas Automation/Best Buy	103/0	397	Running	$92,883
21	13	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser	100/0	397	Running	$105,166
22	24	#42	Casey Mears	Dodge	Texaco/Havoline	97/0	397	Running	$104,083
23	41	#96	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	DLP HDTV	94/0	397	Running	$70,625
24	4	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	ALLTEL	96/5	397	Running	$111,733
25	17	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Wells Fargo	88/0	396	Running	$87,197
26	5	#01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	85/0	396	Running	$95,345
27	39	#38	David Gilliland	Ford	M&M's	82/0	396	Running	$96,758
28	29	#55	Michael Waltrip	Dodge	NAPA Auto Parts	79/0	396	Running	$68,200
29	15	#25	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	GMAC	76/0	395	Running	$73,550
30	42	#18	J.J. Yeley *	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	73/0	395	Running	$100,475
31	12	#14	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	Waste Management	75/5	393	Running	$65,225
32	25	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	67/0	366	Engine	$101,986
33	22	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	The Home Depot/Six Flags	64/0	303	Accident	$119,786
34	2	#10	Scott Riggs	Dodge	Valvoline/Stanley Tools	61/0	295	Accident	$65,125
35	40	#61	Stanton Barrett	Dodge	Oak Glove Co.	58/0	202	Accident	$64,500
36	43	#4	Scott Wimmer	Chevrolet	Lucas Oil Products	55/0	199	Engine	$64,350
37	11	#49	Kevin Lepage	Dodge	WhatsOnline.com	52/0	182	Accident	$64,225
38	21	#9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	49/0	172	Accident	$101,314
39	30	#32	Travis Kvapil	Chevrolet	Tide-Downy	46/0	118	Accident	$63,975
40	27	#5	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	43/0	110	Engine	$81,800
41	14	#7	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Menards/MAPEI	40/0	98	Accident	$63,610
42	37	#06	David Ragan	Ford	Sharp AQUOS	PE	46	Accident	$63,485
43	31	#74	Derrike Cope	Dodge	Royal Admin. Svcs/Sundance Vacations	34/0	39	Engine	$63,686

Chase points:

Rank	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Winnings
1	+4	Jeff Burton	5351	Leader	28	4	1	5	17	$4,040,040
2	+2	Jeff Gordon	5345	-6	28	1	2	12	14	$4,869,960
3	--	Matt Kenseth	5333	-18	28	0	4	13	18	$5,485,240
4	-2	Denny Hamlin*	5333	-18	28	3	2	5	15	$3,491,800
5	-4	Kevin Harvick	5297	-54	28	1	4	12	15	$4,935,260
6	--	Mark Martin	5276	-75	28	0	0	6	12	$3,436,320
7	--	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	5249	-102	28	0	1	8	12	$4,323,600
8	+1	Jimmie Johnson	5215	-136	28	1	4	8	18	$7,286,050
9	-1	Kasey Kahne	5169	-182	28	4	5	9	14	$4,905,830
10	--	Kyle Busch	5127	-224	28	1	1	9	15	$3,937,290
11	--	Tony Stewart	3537	-1814	28	0	2	11	15	$5,411,190
12	--	Greg Biffle	3320	-2031	28	2	1	6	13	$3,580,960
13	--	Carl Edwards	3295	-2056	28	0	0	9	14	$3,696,300
14	--	Kurt Busch	3094	-2257	28	5	1	6	9	$4,007,760
15	--	Casey Mears	3012	-2339	28	0	0	1	5	$4,357,370
16	+1	Clint Bowyer*	2988	-2363	28	0	0	3	8	$3,156,660
17	-1	Ryan Newman	2976	-2375	28	2	0	2	7	$4,436,760
18	+1	Jamie McMurray	2910	-2441	28	0	0	3	7	$4,056,980
19	-1	Brian Vickers	2910	-2441	28	0	0	4	6	$3,024,750
20	--	Elliott Sadler	2909	-2442	28	1	0	1	7	$3,818,910
21	+1	Reed Sorenson*	2857	-2494	28	0	0	1	5	$2,809,760
22	-1	Scott Riggs	2842	-2509	27	1	0	1	7	$2,578,040
23	--	Martin Truex Jr.*	2783	-2568	28	0	0	0	3	$3,214,750
24	--	Dale Jarrett	2669	-2682	28	0	0	0	3	$3,538,310
25	+2	Bobby Labonte	2627	-2724	28	0	0	1	5	$3,632,980
26	+2	Dave Blaney	2576	-2775	28	0	0	1	2	$2,794,220
27	-2	Robby Gordon	2563	-2788	28	0	0	1	2	$2,538,890
28	-2	J.J. Yeley*	2563	-2788	28	0	0	0	3	$3,453,170
29	--	Ken Schrader	2459	-2892	28	0	0	0	2	$3,310,750
30	--	Jeff Green	2410	-2941	28	0	0	0	0	$2,958,060
31	--	Joe Nemechek	2336	-3015	28	0	0	0	0	$3,219,880
32	--	Sterling Marlin	2205	-3146	28	0	0	0	1	$2,567,930
33	--	Kyle Petty	2163	-3188	28	0	0	0	1	$2,879,060
34	--	David Stremme*	2099	-3252	26	0	0	0	0	$2,694,440
35	+1	Michael Waltrip	1921	-3430	26	0	0	0	0	$2,416,070

It looks like a 6 team chase now, but nobody is dead yet in the chase, though Kyle Busch looks way out of it


Non chase points:

1) #17-Matt Kenseth 4068
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 3898 -170
3) #29-Kevin Harvick 3738 -330
4) #31-Jeff Burton 3658 -410
5) #24-Jeff Gordon 3656 -412
6) #11-Denny Hamlin 3651 -417
7) #6-Mark Martin 3592 -476
8) #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3562 -506
9) #20-Tony Stewart 3537 -531
10) #5-Kyle Busch 3516 -552
11) #9-Kasey Kahne 3483 -585

That lead for Kenseth grows.  He looks pretty good for his 2nd title

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If at first you dont succeed, dont try skydiving
Both diapers and politicians need to be changed--and usually for the same reasons

Don't worry about about not being able to respond so much, I understand

NASCAR Dover: Well done Jeff Burton. He's been having a marvellous season and this (for the moment) caps it. His first victory in five years, must be well over 150 races since he last won. It's a good time to break that losing streak, he now leads the Chase. I doubt he'll win it but you never know, the Chase is about consistency and Burton has certainly been that this year.
I bet you could almost see the grin on the faces of the 12 drivers who hadn't made a green flag pitstop when Scott Riggs brought out the yellows. Dave Blaney again getting a good result. Not a top 10 like the past two effort but still a decent 12th. I feel sorry for David Ragan, you really don't want to remember your debut because of a crash. Sorenson and Kenseth were lucky so few people were on the lead lap so they didn't lose too many places after running out of fuel. Kenseth leading the normal standings but in the Chase he's 18 points down on Jeff Burton.

BTCC, Brands Hatch
Race 1: Matt Neal’s championship lead 53 points (Neal must lead by 53 points after race 3 to win the title).
23 cars managed to make it through to the race, Richard Marsh’s engine problems on Saturday proving terminal. Quest Racing had performed repairs to Murray’s differential but it more of a bodge than a fix and questions would remain over just how long it would last.

23 cars started the race but that didn’t last very long. As the lights went out both SEATs got good starts, Matt Neal got a slightly better one than Darren Turner and found himself alongside the former McLaren test driver through Paddock Hill Bend but Turner managed to fend Neal off and keep second place. In the midfield, Gavin Smith having made a good start found himself going for a gap between a slow starting Mike Jordan and Jason Hughes. As Smith tried to squeeze through there just wasn’t enough room. Smith’s was knocked sideways into Hughes slamming the MG against the pitwall, the MG bounced back into the Vauxhall snapping Smith’s suspension. Hughes kept going but would retire two laps later after the car proved too difficult to keep in a straight line. With Smith’s car stuck midway on the Brabham Straight the Safety Car was deployed.

Once racing had turned green again the two SEATs looked reasonably comfortable up at the front. Neal was applying pressure to Turner but couldn’t find a way passed. However Turner’s run of bad luck continued and his engine failed, he parked the car on the back straight and was a spectator for the rest of the race. Neal promoted now to second place set off in pursuit of Jason Plato.

In truth there wasn’t so much going on at the front of the field so attention turned to the midfield. Paul o’Neill was showing some good pace but had been let down by his start, dropping behind Dave Pinkney, James Kaye and Chris Stockton. Stockton had a good turn of speed in the Lexus and fought with o’Neill for a few laps. However o’Neill was in the superior machinery and finally got his nose alongside Stockton at Paddock Hill and got by. O’Neill started to close in on Dave Pinkney who was being held up by James Kaye. Kaye was using all his experience to keep Pinkney behind him. No matter what the car advantage, Pinkney just couldn’t find a way by. However Kaye’s car was not in the best of health. The aging Civic had been suffering since Knockhill and Synchro had to buy parts off Mark Proctor’s Fast-tec Honda. The car started to really suffer late and Kaye’s pace dropped considerably. Pinkney and o’Neill would get by the veteran.

Chris Stockton meanwhile slid wide one lap at Paddock Hill and drove through the gravel, luckily not beaching the car. This lost him places to Adam Jones and Martyn Bell, rejoining just ahead of team mate, Darren Dowling who was having to fend off Nick Leason. Dowling appeared to have some dreadful oversteer in the car, the rear end of the Lexus kept on stepping out. This must have been quite a spectacle for the crowd but I doubt Dowling was enjoying it as much. The oversteer finally got the better of Dowling, the Lexus went into a big slide at Clearways, the driver just keeping from completely losing control, however this let Nick Leason go by him.

Finally there was a bit of action near the front. Gareth Howell had been following Rob Collard all race. Finally Howell (perhaps out of boredom) dived up the inside of the MG at Clark. Through Clearways and onto the Brabham Straight, Collard tried to cling on but Howell got by. However that lasted for just one lap when through Clark, Howell went wide onto the wet grass and spun . He hit the tyre wall and was out. It later appeared he had suffered a puncture. Concern for Team Dynamics’ tyre wear would have been raised and it right too. On the last lap as Jason Plato claimed victory from Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden (who had been third) went off at exactly the same place as Howell. Another puncture, Shedden lost several places and had the field not been so spread out (how can the highest grid of the year on the shortest track spread itself out that well I have no idea), he would have lost more. As it was he got seventh ahead of Jordan, Pinkney and o’Neill, claiming a point on his return to the BTCC.

Result
1. Jason Plato SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
2. Matt Neal Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
3. Colin Turkington West Surrey Racing MG ZS
4. Tom Chilton VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
5. Rob Collard West Surrey Racing MG ZS
6. Fabrizio Giovanardi VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
7. Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
8. Mike Jordan Team Eurotech Honda Integra Type-R
9. Dave Pinkney Motorbase Performance Honda Integra Type-R
10. Paul o’Neill Tech-speed Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
11. James Kaye Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R
12. Adam Jones Xero Competition Lexus IS200
13. Chris Stockton BTC Racing Lexus IS200
14. Martyn Bell Geoff Steel Racing BMW 320.i E46
15. Nick Leason Team NJL Racing with Daniels Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
16. Darren Dowling BTC Racing Lexus IS200
17. Mark Smith In-front Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156
18. Mark Jones Team Forward Racing Lexus IS200
DNF. Gareth Howell Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
DNF. Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
DNF. Eoin Murray Quest Racing Alfa Romeo 156
DNF. Jason Hughes Kartworld Racing MG ZS
DNF. Gavin Smith VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
DNS. Richard Marsh Team Griffin Racing Peugeot 307
Fastest Lap: Jason Plato 49.483

I'll do the other two races tomorrow.

News: Vauxhall are the first team to officially commit to 2007. They said they will continue next year with a new car (probably the Vauxhall Vectra but they kept tight lipped on it). Fabrizio Giovanardi has said he would like to stay in the championship with Vauxhall (a big boost to the series) and they just need to work out the details.

Motorbase Performance are also moving forward with their plans for 2007. The team have announced they have purchased two of last year's SEAT Toledo Cupras (the ones used by Luke Hines and James Pickford) to race with next year. No word on who will be driving for them but personally I'm hoping one of the cars will have a touch of pink.

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Scratchit: But he's a cripple!
Blackadder: He's not a cripple, Mrs Scratchit. Occasionally saying "Phew! My leg hurts!" when he remembers to wouldn't fool Baldrick!

BTCC, Brands Hatch
Race 2: (Matt Neal’s championship lead is 47 points, Neal must have at least 53 point lead by the end of race 3 to win the championship)
Joining Richard Marsh on the list of Did Not Start was Nick Leason who had suffered an oil leak at the end of the first race, Martyn Bell who lost drive leaving the dummy grid, Eoin Murray whose differential had finally fallen apart, Darren Turner the engine problem had proved terminal and his debut BTCC season was over. Turner has shown plenty of speed and good race craft but lacked luck, I see no reason why SEAT won’t hand the drive to Turner full time in 2007. Meanwhile Mike Jordan had to start from the back of the grid after some problems on his Integra.

Lights went out and Jason Plato made a good start leading away from Matt Neal. Neal found himself alongside the quick starting Colin Turkington. Turkington was on Neal’s inside and slotted ahead of the championship leader into Paddock Hill Bend. However Neal cutback in behind Turkington on the exit of the corner. Neal now managed to draw alongside up the hill into Druids and re-take second place into the hairpin. Turkington tried to hang around the outside of the corner but all this did was give Tom Chilton a chance to come up alongside the MG. Chilton couldn’t quite get by and on the exit of Graham Hill Bend, Rob Collard drew alongside and passed Chilton into Surtees with Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gordon Shedden following Collard through. Jordan now making his way through the back markers suddenly found Mark Smith’s Alfa Romeo spinning in front of him on cold tyres and Mark Jones. Both Jones and Jordan just managed to avoid Smith and the Alfa continued in the race.

Giovanardi started to pressure Collard and later found a way by the MG up the inside at Druids. There was slight contact but Giovanardi took the spot. Collard now had Shedden all over the rear of his car. On the exit of Clearways, Shedden got a good run on Collard and pulled level with the MG. Collard squeezed Shedden right over onto the grass alongside the pitwall but Shedden kept his foot on the accelerator and Collard was forced to yield. Tom Chilton tried to follow Shedden passed Collard but the two made some contact into Paddock Hill, this was enough to lose both cars some speed off the corner and let Dave Pinkney come storming up the inside of the both of them. Up the hill into Druids, Chilton turned in, hit Pinkney and this sent the Vauxhall out into Collard’s MG. Collard was sent wide, letting Pinkney (gaining two places) and Chilton through.

Adam Jones and Chris Stockton were in a battle for the title of best Lexus. Jones was holding off Stockton but the BTC Racing driver was still having a very good turn of speed especially considering he was carrying some 45kg of late entry ballast. Into Paddock Hill though Stockton tried an overly ambitious move. This punted Jones into a big spin off into the gravel on the exit. Jones was clearly angry with Stockton. I doubt Jason Plato was a fan either. Jones’ car was deemed in a dangerous position and that meant the Safety Car had to be deployed, completely eroding Plato’s lead to Neal.

Lights went green and this gave Gareth Howell a good boost. He had been struggling to find a way by James Kaye’s ailing Civic (Mark Proctor had to drive some 150 miles down from Fast-tec’s base in Yorkshire to deliver parts to Synchro Motorsport). Howell managed to get the drop on Kaye as the Safety Car pulled in, Howell pulled passed and soon was focusing on Paul o’Neill who was running in a solid 9th place. O’Neill knew he was race rusty, he afterwards that he couldn’t even judge how big his car was. Howell by now fully de-rusted from his 10 months of no racing clearly had the edge on o’Neill. Howell got by, diving up the inside at Clearways to gain the place. A lap or so later Dave Pinkney suddenly found himself getting into trouble at Clearways. Pinkney had been pressuring Giovanardi for 5th place but then slid out wide coming into the corner. This let Tom Chilton and Rob Collard back through.

Some of the best action was once again to be found at the rear of the field. In this case, right at the rear. After recovering from his first lap spin, Mark Smith looked on course for a lonely race until the safety car had been deployed. Smith, who is planning to change car for 2007, caught onto the end of the queue and the rear of Mark Jones’ Lexus. Smith was actually faster than Jones and soon began to look for a way passed. Smith dived up the inside of Jones at Clark but then slid wide at Clearways letting Jones get back through. But along the Brabham Straight, Smith drew level again and went right around the outside of Jones at Paddock Hill Bend (having seen that corner for myself I can say that’s no mean feat) and took the place.

James Kaye’s car continued to go slower and slower, Mike Jordan and Chris Stockton got by Kaye late on in the race, however Jordan then retired with another car problem. Paul o’Neill looking on course for another points finish then went off late on, damaging his front splitter. Jason Hughes took advantage of this went through into 10th place. Up at the front Jason Plato claimed his 8th victory of the season from Matt Neal and Colin Turkington.

Result
1. Jason Plato SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
2. Matt Neal Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
3. Colin Turkington West Surrey Racing MG ZS
4. Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
5. Fabrizio Giovanardi VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
6. Tom Chilton VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
7. Rob Collard West Surrey Racing MG ZS
8. Gareth Howell Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
9. Dave Pinkney Motorbase Performance Honda Integra Type-R
10. Jason Hughes Kartworld Racing MG ZS
11. Paul o’Neill Tech-speed Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
12. Chris Stockton BTC Racing Lexus IS200
13. James Kaye Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R
14. Mark Smith In-front Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156
DNF. Mike Jordan Team Eurotech Honda Integra Type-R
DNF. Mark Jones Team Forward Racing Lexus IS200
DNF. Darren Dowling BTC Racing Lexus IS200
DNF. Gavin Smith VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
DNF. Adam Jones Xero Competition Lexus IS200
DNS. Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
DNS. Martyn Bell Geoff Steel Racing BMW 320.i E46
DNS. Nick Leason Team NJL Racing with Daniels Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
DNS. Eoin Murray Quest Racing Alfa Romeo 156
DNS. Richard Marsh Team Griffin Racing Peugeot 307
Fastest Lap: Jason Plato 49.780

Race 3 tomorrow.

News: With news of Motorbase Performance having bought two SEAT Toledos, it has emerged that they are hoping to race one at the last round of this season at Silverstone with a yet unnamed driver.

2006 Renault Clio Cup champion, Tom Onslow-Cole is looking to move up to the BTCC next season and does appear to be in contention for a drive with WSR in 2007. D!ck Bennetts has said he’s been keeping an eye Onslow-Cole. WSR meanwhile are still looking to capture a deal to run a works manufacturer operation.

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Scratchit: But he's a cripple!
Blackadder: He's not a cripple, Mrs Scratchit. Occasionally saying "Phew! My leg hurts!" when he remembers to wouldn't fool Baldrick!

BTCC, Brands Hatch
Race 3: (Matt Neal leads the championship by 45 points. Neal must score 8 points more than Jason Plato and lose 4 or fewer points to Colin Turkington to win the title)
Jason Plato drew the #6 for the reverse grid, making him and Tom Chilton very happy. Chilton would get to start from pole with team mate Fabrizio Giovanardi starting alongside him. Richard Marsh, Darren Turner, Eoin Murray and Nick Leason did not start. When the lights went out Gordon Shedden got a good start from 3rd place. Despite Giovanardi moving over to try and block Shedden the Honda was already alongside and passed into Paddock Hill Bend. Colin Turkington made a bad start and lost places to Matt Neal and Jason Plato. In the midfield, Chris Stockton was forced onto the kerb but then one of his rear wheel bearings suffered a sudden failure and this sent him spearing into Dave Pinkney. The hit shattered Pinkney’s steering and smashed the front left wheel clean off Stockton’s Lexus.

The Safety Car had to be deployed to recover both the wrecked car but the field were still racing for rest of the lap. Giovanardi was pursuing Shedden and into Clark, the Italian out braked the Honda and got up his inside. Out of Clearways, Giovanardi pulled ahead of Shedden but the Scot started to pull level again. Whoever got to the line first would claim second place for the Safety Car period. It appeared Shedden would just edge it and (after half a lap of debate with the pitwall) Giovanardi conceded 2nd place.

After Stockton and Pinkney’s cars had been hauled off the track racing got back underway. Mike Jordan wasting no time in passing Paul o’Neill at Paddock Hill, o’Neill clearly showing he needs to work on his starts as Gavin Smith followed Jordan through, out braking o’Neill at Druids. While Jason Plato pressured Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden appeared to let Fabrizio Giovanardi go passed. At first it looked like Shedden had a problem but then he regained normal race speed and slotted in ahead of Neal. What had happened was Giovanardi had just been ahead as they crossed the line as the Safety Car had come out on track, so Shedden had to give the place back or incur a drive thru penalty. Vauxhall now had a one-two with Tom Chilton trying to breakaway from the chasing pack and Giovanardi holding them at bay.

In truth after this not a whole lot happened. Mike Jordan passed Jason Hughes but couldn’t catch the lead pack. Laps went by and it appeared no one was quite willing to overtake. However with half a dozen laps left in the race, Tom Chilton started to lose some pace as his tyres began to go off. He had been pushing too hard and was being caught by his team mate and just about everyone else. However Giovanardi wasn’t about to risk a Vauxhall one-two on an overtaking move. Chilton’s car began to look unstable in the higher speed corners, he was having to adapt his driving style to get better drive out of corners. But it still looked fairly good for Chilton, still on course for his first win of the year. However out of Clearways with only 3 laps to go, Chilton went into a big slide. He somehow managed to stop spinning but Giovanardi drove by to take the lead. Chilton kept ahead of Gordon Shedden but now he was having to deal with a hard charging Honda. Out of Paddock Hill Bend, Shedden moved to the inside of Chilton and began to pull ahead on the way up to Druids. Matt Neal seeing the gap followed his team mate up the inside of Chilton. Into Druids, Shedden was through but behind them there was a concertina effect. Neal had to brake so not to go into the back of Shedden and Plato (also following right behind Neal in the hope to get by Chilton as well) couldn’t quite stop in time and gave Neal a slight tap from behind. This coincided with Chilton turning in on Neall and making more contact with the Integra. This launched Neal’s car right over the front right corner of Chilton’s Vauxhall. Neal speared off into the gravel and into his second non-finish of year. Chilton sustained damaged to his car and was knocked very wide. The rest of the train that had formed behind Giovanardi passed Chilton. Plato and Turkington were the first to get by. Chilton tried to recover slotting in ahead of Rob Collard but at Clearways the MG tagged the rear of Chilton sending the Vauxhall into it’s second slide at that corner in two laps. Collard, Howell and Jordan passed but the tagged had slowed Collard and Howell slipped up the MG’s inside into Paddock Hill. All this left Chilton 8th where slightly more than a lap before he had been leading. Fabrizio Giovanardi, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington were the biggest benefactors from this. Giovanardi claimed his second race win in two meetings while Turkington and Plato cut Neal’s championship lead.

Result
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
2. Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
3. Jason Plato SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
4. Colin Turkington West Surrey Racing MG ZS
5. Gareth Howell Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
6. Rob Collard West Surrey Racing MG ZS
7. Mike Jordan Team Eurotech Honda Integra Type-R
8. Tom Chilton VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
9. Jason Hughes Kartworld Racing MG ZS
10. Gavin Smith VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch
11. Paul o’Neill Tech-speed Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
12. Adam Jones Xero Competition Lexus IS200
13. Martyn Bell Geoff Steeling Racing BMW 320.i E46
14. Mark Smith In-front Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156
15. Darren Dowling BTC Racing Lexus IS200
16. Mark Jones Team Forward Racing Lexus IS200
DNF. Matt Neal Team Dynamics Honda Integra Type-R
DNF. James Kaye Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R
DNF. Chris Stockton BTC Racing Lexus IS200
DNF. Dave Pinkney Motorbase Performance Honda Integra Type-R
DNS. Nick Leason Team NJL Racing with Daniels Motorsport Vauxhall Astra coupe
DNS. Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon
DNS. Eoin Murray Quest Racing Alfa Romeo 156
DNS. Richard Marsh Team Griffin Racing Peugeot 307
Fastest Lap: Tom Chilton 49.852

Drivers’ Championship
1. Matt Neal 265
2. Jason Plato 230
3. Colin Turkington 216
4. Gordon Shedden 186
5. James Thompson 150
6. Fabrizio Giovanardi 149
7. Tom Chilton 119
8. Gavin Smith 114
9. Mike Jordan 89
10. Rob Collard 86

In order to win the championship in race 1 at Silverstone, Matt Neal must score at least the same or more points as Jason Plato.
In order to win the championship, Jason Plato must take 12 points off Matt Neal per race. Plato has more race wins so any tie on points will give Plato the championship.
In order to win the championship, Colin Turkington must win all three races and claim at least two bonus points from fastest laps or pole position without Neal scoring any.

Teams’ Championship
1. Team Dynamics 447
2. SEAT Sport UK 392
3. VX Racing 341
4. West Surrey Racing 295
5. Team Eurotech 90

News: Erkut Kizilirmak withdrew from last weekend's races at Brands Hatch due to family problems. However he will be racing at Silverstone in two and a half weeks.

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Scratchit: But he's a cripple!
Blackadder: He's not a cripple, Mrs Scratchit. Occasionally saying "Phew! My leg hurts!" when he remembers to wouldn't fool Baldrick!

Re: Race 1--Almost nothing happening up front, but thats expected especially when the 2 SEATs have the monopoly of the race. 

Lots of new faces in new places in the back and Kaye with that car that needs to be replaced it seems, found himself battling with them all.  Paul o'Neill looking very good in his return.

Howell, not surprisingly, created the excitement late.  This guy is looking like a human highlight reel.  I can respect that as long as hes not out of control.  But those tire problems must have been cause for concern for the entire weekend for Team Dynamics.

Plato cruised

Re: Race 2-- Shame all those retirements happened even before the race began, but you have to expect such things when there are so many teams and many underfunded teams in there aswell.  I was pretty impressed with Turner too.  He did a fine job.  Not super but good enough to earn the ride for the future.  Hes got lots of potential

Plato, Neal and Turks had that early race scramble, but Plato far and above everyone in the race.  All the action happened in the back of the pack.  It seems the field is even but even in 3 different tiers.  In this race the 2nd and 3rd tier had all the battles, especially with Neal thinking more about the title than the race wins.  No need to push it. 

That late race caution had all the makings to change things up but in the end not a whole lot changed up front.   Shame Paul o'Neill couldnt make it 2 for 2 with that late race slip up.  But I certainly understand his rustiness.  Its funny how little we think about things like figuring out where your own car's fenders are.

Plato cruised once again

Re: Race 3--That incident between Stockton and Pinkney proved to be an important one as that battle with Giovanardi and Shedden must have been really close and thrilling to watch.  They couldnt even find enough evidence on who to hand the position over until after the restart, geez!  And as the race wore on (after all the boredom of the mid race), Giovanardi taking the lead from his ill handling teammate, that move to get 2nd before the restart would prove huge as Giovanardi, not Shedden would take the lead.

Neal had terrible luck to be taken out in the battle with Shedden and Chilton.  Chilton's terrible handling caused all that havok and he must have been terrible to drop all those spots so quickly.  Its like Talladega without all the drafting as he got freight trained.

Giovanardi won the race but I think Plato was the real winner of the race to chip into Neal's lead.  But Plato and Turks have to do ALL KINDS of work to take the title

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Heres the starting lineup for today's race at Kansas:

Pos.	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Speed	Time	Behind
1	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	178.377	30.273	Leader
2	10	Scott Riggs	Dodge	Valvoline/Stanley Tools	177.936	30.348	-0.075
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	176.887	30.528	-0.255
4	25	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	Garnier Fructis	176.846	30.535	-0.262
5	18	J.J. Yeley*	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	176.800	30.543	-0.270
6	07	Clint Bowyer*	Chevrolet	Jack Daniel's	176.771	30.548	-0.275
7	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Miller Lite	176.344	30.622	-0.349
8	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	DEWALT	176.177	30.651	-0.378
9	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	176.137	30.658	-0.385
10	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	176.022	30.678	-0.405
11	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	175.942	30.692	-0.419
12	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser	175.919	30.696	-0.423
13	5	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	175.530	30.764	-0.491
14	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Reese's	175.308	30.803	-0.530
15	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	ALLTEL	175.273	30.809	-0.536
16	43	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	Cheerios/Betty Crocker	175.194	30.823	-0.550
17	22	Dave Blaney	Dodge	Caterpillar	175.103	30.839	-0.566
18	01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	174.961	30.864	-0.591
19	6	Mark Martin	Ford	AAA	174.774	30.897	-0.624
20	38	David Gilliland	Ford	M&M's	174.735	30.904	-0.631
21	20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	174.729	30.905	-0.632
22	06	Todd Kluever	Ford	3M	174.543	30.938	-0.665
23	1	Martin Truex Jr.*	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker	174.526	30.941	-0.668
24	45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Wells Fargo	174.436	30.957	-0.684
25	11	Denny Hamlin*	Chevrolet	FedEx Freight	174.390	30.965	-0.692
26	41	Reed Sorenson*	Dodge	Target	174.267	30.987	-0.714
27	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Office Depot	174.165	31.005	-0.732
28	14	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	Ginn Clubs & Resorts	174.087	31.019	-0.746
29	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard	174.020	31.031	-0.758
30	44	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	GMAC	173.784	31.073	-0.800
31	66	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	Haas Automation/Best Buy	173.661	31.095	-0.822
32	88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS	173.656	31.096	-0.823
33	42	Casey Mears	Dodge	Texaco/Havoline	173.645	31.098	-0.825
34	61	Chad Chaffin	Dodge	Front Row Motorsports	173.639	31.099	-0.826
35	55	Michael Waltrip	Dodge	NAPA Auto Parts	173.472	31.129	-0.856
36	21	Ken Schrader	Ford	Motorcraft Genuine Parts	173.410	31.140	-0.867
37	32	Travis Kvapil	Chevrolet	Tide-Downy	173.305	31.159	-0.886
38	96	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	DLP HDTV	173.038	31.207	-0.934
39	37	Bill Elliott	Dodge	Melling Auto Parts	172.999	31.214	-0.941
40	40	David Stremme*	Dodge	Lone Star Steakhouse/Saloon	172.474	31.309	-1.036
41	26	Jamie McMurray	Ford	IRWIN Industrial Tools	172.447	31.314	-1.041
42	7	Robby Gordon+	Chevrolet	Harrah's	172.414	31.320	-1.047
43	78	Kenny Wallace	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Racing	172.491	31.306	-1.033
Did not Qualify
44	4	Scott Wimmer	Chevrolet	Lucas Oil Products	172.035	31.389	-1.116
45	49	Kevin Lepage	Dodge	WhatsOnline.com	170.616	31.650	-1.377
46	34	Chad Blount	Chevrolet	Fox Collision Centers	170.342	31.701	-1.428
47	46	Carl Long	Dodge	MILLSTAR Tools	-	-	-

No real big surprises.  You see Bill Elliott in R&J Racing entry, this will be their only 2nd race this season I believe

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If at first you dont succeed, dont try skydiving
Both diapers and politicians need to be changed--and usually for the same reasons

NASCAR: Nice to see R&J Racing made another race, of course it would take someone like Bill Elliott to get the car into the race. Kasey Kahne going well in qualifying, Jimmie Johnson is the quickest of the Chasers.

F1, Chinese Grand Prix
Aguri
23. Sakon Yamamoto 16th
22. Takuma Sato DSQ
Takuma Sato had been running quite well, he was keeping reasonable pace and was certainly quicker than the two Spykers. However what happened at the end of the race was completely inexcusable. Sato held up Nick Heidfeld for over a lap, ignoring blue flags. Then into the hairpin for the last time Sato chopped right in front of Heidfeld, forcing the BMW to practically stop, which then got Barrichello to crash into him. Sato was rightly disqualified for this bad behaviour. On the bright side for Agrui, Sakon Yamamoto finished his first race, albeit 4 laps down.

Toro Rosso
21. Scott Speed 14th
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi 10th
The Toro Rossos looked pretty quick today. Their V10 Cosworth engine gave them an edge in the rain but then both drivers conspired to spin their way down the field. They probably wouldn’t have scored points but they might have done better. Once again they were close to the Red Bulls, Liuzzi managed to beat Robert Doornbos.

Spyker
19. Tiago Monteiro DNF
18. Christijan Albers 15th
The biggest concern for Spyker was that their orange livery on the TV screen unfortunately looks a lot like a Ferrari, the team needs to make the orange more yellowy. Spyker may also be conce